《Godclads》 THE INDEX Slang/Referential Consang: A term denoting closeness; or kindredness. Can be used mockingly. Derived from the word: Consanguinity. Nova: A term referring to the potency or coolness of something. Stay zero: Stay calm; don''t be rash. Numb: A drug; also means to chill out Joy: A nanotech drug that causes blood to clot together and sets the mind afire with hours of rapturous ecstasy. Joyhead: Someone who habitually uses joy. Chromer: Someone who is heavily augmented with cyberware; usually seen as low class and crassCa street snuffer. Razorboy/Razorgirl: A chrome aesthetic that foregoes armor in exchange for blades, reflexes, and speed. Squire: An unofficial reference to an honorable and reputable street merc operating in New Vultun. Necrojack/Necro: Someone who uses ghosts to hack minds, steal memories, or inflict severe cognitive damage. They spend most of their time diving in the Nether and engaging each other using ghosts and phantasmics. Enforcer: An in-field asset to a Syndicate or a Guild; someone who engages enemies in person. Drone-jock/Jock: Someone who links and connects to various vehicles, missiles, and platforms to pilot them from afar. Grafter: Someone who fits you for implants, alters your gene code, or grafts augments in general. Agnos: An agnostic of the old faithsCthe few people who are permitted to know scripture under their pact with Jaus and the Guilds. Are unaffiliated to all factions and perform metaphysical tunings and maintenance for Liminal Frames, Heavens, and Hells. Coldtech: Natural technology. No thaumaturgy. Thaumaturgy: The quintessence of a god that warps and usurps reality in certain and specific manners. Jaus: A phrase of astonishment, excitement, or surprise. Taken from the name of Jaus Avandaer, former leader and Crownbearer of the Eight Guilds after his passing. Against his will no less. The man didn''t want to be revered as a god. Snuff: To kill; to snuff out someone''s existence. Null: To mutilate someone''s mind so badly that they succumb to madness or are rendered catatonic. Dive: To cast deep into your subconsciousness and ride one''s mind like a vehicle through the Nether, traveling from memory to memory; alternatively, it means a contracted gig commissioned to a Necrojack or a team of street squires. Rotlick: A derogatory term for a ghoul; a creature that likes to eat rotting bodies at times. Synced: Slang meaning to understand; if one is on the same page as another. Scalpel: When a Guild lobotomizes someone with a Heaven of Light from on high. Paler: A term for a ghoul; popularized amongst those of Ori-Thaum during the war. Sheen: A derogatory term used on people who come from Burnside on Idheim. Color: Street slang for Guild or Guild supporters. Highflame--Gold; Ori-Thaum--Silver; Voidwatch--Purple; No-Dragons--Black; Ashthrone--Blue; Sanctus--Grey; Stormtree--Green; Omnitech--Red. Idheim: A world with a population running up into the untold billions. Currently, it might be the only habitable world left in the galaxy due to the increasing spread of the Sunderwilds. Daystar: One of the two stars shining over New Vultun. A C-type main-sequence star. The physical anchor to another thaumaturgic star. Darkstar/Nightstar/Voidstar/The Wound: Due to massive intellectual property disagreements, the thaumaturgic construct layered over the Daystar was never officially named, and legal battles are still being waged over its title to this day. However, its light shrouds New Vultun with a shine of protection, warding away distant star-eating horrors should they draw too close. Terrestrial: The planet-bound people of Idheim. Formerly bound to eight major pantheons, they currently survive in hive-like megacities after a major self-inflicted calamity. Voider: Extraterrestrials who live under the unified banner of Voidwatch. Far ahead in terms of technology, but possess no capability toward thaumaturgy. Gleamer/Gleam: Someone who is very good at what they do. Rust: Someone who is bad at what they do. Flat: An unaugmented person; a baseline human. Sang: Someone with of Dragoncursed ancestry; usually originating from the continent of the Thousand Plains. They project a temporal sickness that affects all things deemed "male" in nature by the dragons. Due to the divergent ontologies, the exsanguination the sickness causes affects someone by the actions they take and the thoughts that occupy their mind. As such, most Sang use proxies--second skins of living armor or bio-rigs to offset the curse. The idiom used for such the act is "the borrowed blade" and "blade-borrower" has become a means of reference for the Sang. Most Sang are associated with the No-Dragons, but there are some bloodlines that have drifted to become independent or to rival guilds. Scaarthian: A clade of humanity. Scaarthians are always born male and become matriarchs upon reaching full maturity. Melded by an old god, the Scaarthians are taller, stronger, faster, and more enduring than most other human branches by far, capable of matching most augments and street squires with natural muscle alone. Culturally, they remain of clans, but much of their governance belongs to the Longeyes--an elder group of matriarchs capable of interpreting probabilities and spatial anomalies. Half-strand: An extremely derogatory term with two layers to its meaning. The first is someone with missing half a genetic strand; predating this slur, the earlier version was derived by meaning that "half someone''s father''s genetic material spilled out of their mother, resulting in a half-finished subhuman at most." Gutter War: A fight between gangs or Syndicates. Quiet War: An unseen struggle between two Godclads, usually over territory. Technical Cog-feed: Heads-up display made by ghosts and overlain with cognitive data. Allows the user to connect and scan their environments, as well as detect the thoughtstuff of those present around them in near vicinity. Cog-cap/Cog-capacity: How much cognitive weight the ghosts can bearCdifferent from memory capacity as cog-cap is tied to individual phantasmics, which sequence the necessary parts of their architecture from the memory sequences of different ghosts. Not all ghosts might have the requisite sequences though, so if a construct needs traumatic memories, how many ghosts it can draw from is limited to its own pool, which can be further crippled if a ghost in their specific construction is lost. Mem-cap/Memory-capacity: The total ghost a Necro has to support their phantasmal infrastructure. Sequence: A connected and fleshed out memories for a specific event--usually longer term and capable of being applied to a construct or a phantasmic as a formational pillar. Thought-Shiv: Made by copying a mass amount of trauma and overwriting all the memories of a single ghost before using their architecture as an improvised memory-fragmentation weapon. Metamind: A phantasmal mind-enhancing construct held together by ghosts. It is created by forking a copied instance of one''s own mind, rooting it a body, killing said body, and stitching a new, parallel mind to the original thus giving a "twin-stacked of thought" to the user, and offloading any potential mental trauma. With the cloned mind serving as the core, the external layer is layered in the memory of flowing ghosts, allowing an obfuscating function and preventing mem-lock. The Meta also allows for cognitive repair functions and the resequencing of a mind should sequences of memory go missing. Mem-Lock: When someone''s scans penetrate deep into the mind of another and manage to tag a permanent memory, allowing the target to be tracked from almost anywhere. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Phantasmics: Applications or specifically ghost-crafted platforms made for specific functions. Comes in a myriad of sequences. Vicarity: A memory simulation that has one reliving all the feelings, sensations, and thoughts of the individual said the simulation was extracted from during a set period of time. Nether: A ghost-mind network that runs in a parallel plane to existence; is connected in a grand weave of loci, ghosts, and moving minds. Almost like a living organism due to how it is formed from countless living minds. Locus: A massive synthetic crystal capable of housing many, many minds within its shell. Designed by Voidwatch in a goodwill gesture toward the terrestrials. Voidship: A spacecraft built for sailing the expanse of deep space; unable to fly through the Sunderwilds. Sunderwilds: Vast eldritch wounds scabbing over into reality from years long prior. Horrific entities and primordial beings lurk in their clefts. The Guilds irregularly send expeditions into its depths to procure more Souls. At once a natural disaster and a major resource point. This is a major reason why void travel is extremely difficult. Fallwalker: A unaligned, mercenary Godclad. They gained the name "Fallwalker" by being the only units that are commonly capable of fighting in regions affected by Ruptures originating from Fallen Heavens. Due to being Godclads, they bear intra-sovereignty rights, recognizing each of them as a sort of "foreign dignitary" and bestowing them with knightly privileges that are afforded to few others. This is mainly to put an end to the constant dueling between rival Fallwalkers seeking claim each other''s Heavens and Hells. Wombrash: A metaphysical contagion that leaked into the world after the Rupturing of the Heavens of Lust, Love, and Fertility. Due to this, the Physical Intimacy Ban is in full effect for New Vultun and the surrounding areas. All lustful activities must be conducted using proxies in the Nether, and any physical intimacy will trigger an outbreak of the rash, which causes a body''s biomass to begin producing womb sores that incubate half-formed homunculi. The transmission vectors of wombrash are: physical, auditory, and visual. All physical intimacy conducted in reality constitutes a felony of the highest order and will be monitored by Guild Exorcists. The Maw: A great Hellvent built into the bottom of the city made to dissolve disposed matter and waste. Runs across the city in grand chasms and is built in a sigilic symbol through the city''s divided Sovereignties. The Underhive: An undercity that once was the seat of power to the Hungers of Old Noloth before their destruction during the Godsfall. Was briefly the territory of the Low Masters before they were massacred during the Fourth Guild War. Comprised of the Umbra and Penumbra. Warrens: The unofficial "topside" of New Vultun. Where natural ground level is. Separated into three layers and built like a stacked city of increasing prosperity as it goes upward. Layer One parts the Gutters from the Spine of the Warrens. Layer Two parts the Spine from the Throat. And Layer Three parts the Throat from Light''s End. The Tiers: A vast, ringed mountain made from memetic matter that holds up the core of New Vultun were the Arks of the Guilds are based. Only anchored to reality, the Tiers are actually far larger than they appear, spearing into the clefts of space itself to be an expansive city scape of blooming wealth and splendor, but also hyper-competitive rat races due to the limited number of citizenship slots. At the very bottom of the Tiers is the Undercroft, where most wagers, Low-Guilders, and newly minted citizens reside. Above that are Purgs (short for Purgatories), each of which is a different plane unto themselves, rooted to a different Ark and a different Guild. These are populated by mid-level Guilders and established Fallwalkers. Then, at the very apex, above even the Arks are the Elysiums--"paradise" realms where only the elites reside. It is their ultimate goal to overwrite reality with their Elysiums. Or so they claim. Thaumaturgy Thaumic Mass: The quintessence of a Soul, and that which allows one to manifest and grow Heavens and HellsCwhich are officially referred to as ontologics. Thaumic mass can best be understood to be ontological capacity--or how complex of an alternate reality a Soul can create and project into reality. Complexity and vulgarity (how deeply they affect the natural laws) cause the mass of Heavens to grow, so the Soul must in turn generate more thaums to support it. Thaums: Effectively the metaphysical fuel of raw willpower and belief. Claimable only from dead beings capable of self-awareness and worship. In previous ages, thaums were expended entirely to fuse into miracles, necessitating rituals of mass sacrifice in return for the gods to manifest. Essence: A standard willpower unit measured in echoes and taken from the dead. Becomes thaums upon being fed into a Soul. Thaumic Cycler/Essence Cycler: A metaphysical construct created through the sacrifice of a dragonCan leviathan that eats itself eternally in a looping stasis of immortality. It is through this method that Liminal Frames are capable of being the perpetual miracle machines that they are. Soul: An eldritch fire that burns, ever-bright, ever-unfading. This is the quintessential and key ingredient to the overall structure of a Liminal Frame and of the fallen gods. Souls cannot be replicated and are effectively the rarest substance in-setting with their place of origin now formally shrouded in myth. Hence, Godhunts and harvests in the Sunderwilds inevitably result in massive skirmishes between the Guilds. Heaven: Hollowed vessels of eldritch gods now lobotomized and slain. Each one is shaped by a specific concept or aspect of reality, which serves as its primary Domain or Domains. Hell: An implanted module meant to be attached to a Heaven as a "thaumic recoil compensator." Effectively, while a Heaven is creating its miracles, a Hell uses the parts from the Heaven to create counter-miracles of equal and opposite impossibility, thus balancing out the Rend. Liminal Frame: A metaphysical rig that is burned over one''s ontology--fusing itself over your consciousness and not allowing your death to dissolve your being as it anchors you just beyond the threshold of reality, serving as something of a metaphysical respawn point. Canons: Metaphysical codes that usurp the laws of reality while a Heaven is active. Hubris: Something that a Heaven is explicitly unable to do; a leftover from old scriptures and primal Heavens. Most modern Guild-made Heavens do their best to remove hubris or reduce them. Rend: The vulgarity-damage a Heaven''s manifested miracles inflicts on reality. Can be converted to entropy and vented from a Hell. Rupture: When a Heaven overloads from building up too much Rend, causing localized reality to tear and become unstable. Fallen Heaven: A Heaven with contradictory canons or a constantly triggered hubris that continuously spikes its Rend and constantly Ruptures. Must be contained or they will grow indefinitely, albeit slowly without active thaums to feed them. Thaumic Backlash: The sudden spiking of Rend within the system of a HeavenCusually triggered by incurring hubris or encountering a paradox. Paradox: The clashing of two absolutes, creating an impossibility. Example: A Heaven of Indestructibility clashes against a Heaven of Destruction or one that dissolves matter. The resulting collision between two counter-simulated realities projected from clashing SoulsCregardless of thaumic mass or designCresults in both spiking with Rend and the need to vent their Hells. Spheres: A rating system for the reality-twisting potential of a Liminal Frame and its Heavens. Heavens of the First to Third Sphere are usually tactical-level threats, capable of destroying entire megablocks or brigades. From the Fourth to Sixth, they become strategic category threats capable of reshaping entire engagements from multiple asymmetrical angles. From the Seventh onward, the user of said frame will be marked as a priority target in any engagement due to their capabilities at outright editing or retconning major parts of reality to suit their needs. 0-1 Hunger This was not the dream. -Last Words of Jaus Avandaer 0-1 Prologue: Hunger SOUL ONLINE IGNITING THAUMIC CYCLER WARNING: THAUMIC CYCLER OUTPUT MINIMAL - 1 THAUM/c INITIALIZING RESURRECTION - 1% RESTORING MEMORYCWARNING! MEMORY SEQUENCE CORRUPTED REVERTING TO CORE MEMORY; INITIALIZING REBUILD The flesh of his brother was the sweetest he had ever tasted. For two months he hid in the Underhive. The deconstructor swarms ruled here now. Not the Low Masters. Not his brothers. Like locusts, they had flayed all matter they deemed hostile. The great halls and grand tunnels of rune-scribed bone peeled from existence. Now, he hid within an unfamiliar nest of metal. The swarms had replaced organic matter they ate with cold metal: a total usurpation of what was. By the last days, he survived by feeding off mind-dead aratnids, devouring them palps, flesh, and all. Above, the world shook as the war continued. Nuclear detonations lessened but did not stop. They never stopped. In the winnowed dark, he sat, stewing in feelings he lacked the vocabulary to explain. Infantile rage bled into despondent sorrow. His Low Masters had planned. Plotted this for years. They created his kind, the ghouls, to serve as their instrument of vengeance. Expanded the Umbra to create a truly labyrinthine stronghold below their enemies. And then, they waited. Schemed. Waited for the Guilds to fight amongst themselves as they had so many times before. When the day finally came, they rose and took the Warrens, beginning the uprising to liberate their homeland, to reclaim the stolen flame of their gods and rightful Heavens. Numbering a billion strong, they flooded up from their staging points, emerging through the soil on towers of bone. It was to be a bloodletting, a reckoning long owed to the last true faithful of Noloth. In a tidal wave of savagery, fury, and bloodlust they rose to face the Guilds in what was to be the feast of flesh; a crusade for all that was holy. They lasted three months. The Guilds massacred them for three more. UNABLE TO UPLOAD LATEST INSTANCE OF OPTIMAL ONTOLOGY RESURRECTION PAUSED - 12% REVERTING TO PRIOR ONTOLOGICAL ITERATION - 22% ONTOLOGICAL REVERSION - 66% ACCELERATING MEMORY Beneath the slope of the tower, he caught the scent of fresh blood and souring flesh. The taste was familiar. Intimate. He knew it to be close to his own. There, in a shallow artillery-made basin, another of his kind lay dead. A gauss-flechette lay buried in the skull of his brother. Death mustve come instantly. Yet, where the mind was dead, the blessed blood within their veins struggled on, the self-moving ichor of the corpse wrestling vainly against the tungsten shard, trying to dislodge it. The ghoul sniffed the corpse of his brother. Still fresh. Still fresh. Praise the Hungers. Still fresh. Hunger became him. Rationality was lost to him. He gave in. Satiation, a delicacy unto itself. Within his body, he felt the blood joining him like a growing ladder; the cells interlacing without difficulty. When he finished, he spoke prayers in honor of the Eight Hungers of Noloth. There were no Acolytes to lead him in worship this time. No ghosts to whisper the words into his mind. Alone. Still alone. For the first time in his life, there was no one to command him. Nothing left to do. His kind had been created for a singular purpose. And they had failed. He knew of no choice beyond obedience. No life beyond slavery. Without a master to give him purpose, he simply sat and waited. Soon, hunger would spur his whims again.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Hunger could serve as his master. REVERSION COMPLETE REINSTALLING ONTOLOGY REALIGNING MEMORIES - 74% The days that followed came as a blur. He fed from all things. Corpses. Bugs. Roots. He walked countless leagues, avoiding the day and traveling at night. He fed from broken cloning vats in a relatively intact voidship, the taste of the weaponized bioforms revolting but filling. At some point, he found himself in the shadow of a gargantuan snake-like creature that displaced the war-choked clouds. It moved like an undulating scar slithering through the fabric of reality itself. Here, even hunger faded. There was no greater comfort than pain dulled by numbness. To be in agony. To shed it and find deliverance. He had tried to live. Tried as best as he could. But as he had failed the Low Masters, so too did he fail his hunger. Atop a bed of plascrete and silicon, the small ghoul whimpered and muttered a final wordless plea to his gods. Tried. Fought. Lost. Struggled. Did my best. I did not ask to be. Upon a throne of ruin, he waited to die. DAMAGED MEMORY SEQUENCE DETECTED DELETING SEQUENCE COGNITION INTEGRATED RESUMING RESURRECTION - 65% Ash settled upon him, binding him to the fading land. He sank deeper into the ruins, and deeper into his own mind. He dreamed, then. A delirium running half slumber and fever. Memories of his brothers were fleeting at best. He felt as if a dog among wolves while he lived among his kind. How similar they were all meant to be, but how simple he found them. The dream changed. Beside the stilled swing of a playground stood a man beneath the light of the cold moon. A crown burned upon his head, shivering like a caged flame. From it came a ripple, an unseen resonance. Whispers licked over the ghouls mind as he felt the touch of an outside presence sinking into his cognition. A shot of anomalous adrenaline rushed through him. His blood surged. The pain returned to him. As did the hunger. It burned. Everything burned. He woke, his delirium breaking. The man was still there. Closer now. Walking toward him with the broken cityscape behind his back. No. Not a dream. Weak and feeble as the ghoul was, he still lived. The whispers in his mind grew louder as a ghost made itself known to him. +Do you wish to live?+ the ghost asked. Its voice was placid. Serene. Unwounded by the world and all its pains. Yes, the ghoul rasped. Yes. The ghost slipped out of him, taking with them the gift of lucidity. Abandoned by strength, unconsciousness fell upon him like dirt on a coffin. It was only when the first flow of blood splashed against his tongue that he woke again. It tasted rich. Deep and pure. Like a nu-dog, he lapped at the flow, slaking his thirst. He heard the pulsing heartbeat of another. It was so close to him. Weakly, he nursed himself on the mans opened wrist, savoring the sweet flavor of blood. The ghoul opened his eyes toward his savior. Fresh amidst the caustic toxin hissing from the wastes, the scent of citrus spilled out from the man. His hair was dark as coal and his skin was like copper. There was nothing truly remarkable about him in terms of height or mass. Nor did he infuse his flesh with any unholy metals. Kneeling down, the mans eyes shone with an unnatural blueness. It was as if the clearest sky had decided to peer through him. You look hungry, the man said, pulling a cube of tasteless meat from his coat. Hunger. Food. Taste. The feeding that came was frenzied. Blind. The substance went down barely chewed, and a warmth settled in place of cold empty thoughts. He felt the mans arms slide under him, lifting him as if he bore no weight. He gave no struggle, for there was no order to resist. For the first time, he felt an invader touch him and inflict no violence. He succumbed deeper into the mans arms. Surprised to see any of you topside, the man said, chuckling as if he found a diamond in the rough. Suppose the Guilds had each other to contend with. Sloppy. The man spoke the heretical tongue with a slow pace that seemed to come with age. But there was something deeper in it. Do you have a name? RESURRECTION - 99% BEGINNING ONTOLOGICAL ANCHORING Name? He had known his brothers by scent and sound. Bestowed crude titles to some of them and the meaner masters, though he would never admit it. But names were for the chosen, and he was merely a thrall. A creature fortunate enough to serve the blessed. He had no name. Shivering, he shook his head feebly, the meager act taxing him to his limit. The man hummed. Suppose well have to fix that. The light of the darkstar settled on them. As they emerged from the shade of the tower, weak breezes licked chills across the devastation, emerging as whistles through cracks in crevices, singing a constant trill to their egress from the ruins. The man fixed him with a wry stare. You got the look of someone who walked out of one of the Low Hells, consang, anyone ever tell you that? He thought about that. Only memories of vulgar violence answered his recollections. No. Well, you do, the man continued. Time upon time ago, before all this, before even the Fall, folks used to name their blood after ideas. Expressions meant to align them to the Heavens of certain gods. Probably why my kin were so mad when I took the name Walton. Like throwing the blessing back in their face. He looked down again, his face taking an inscrutable expression. Youre a survivor, you know. Deserve a good name. One thats worthy of you. Worthy?" Tell you what, the man said. Ill give naming you a shot. And, down the line, if you ever find a better name, you can do what I did. How does that sound? He didnt know what to say. Mainly because no one had ever asked his opinion before. Unsure what to do, he just grunted. Calling you Survivor would be laying it mighty thick. But thankfully, the same meaning can belong to different words if you know enough tongues. He cocked his head down, and, for the first time, smiled. How about I call you RESURRECTION - 100% IMPLANTING NOUS 1-1 Resurrection The Heavens have fallen, and we have trapped ourselves beneath its rubble. Such it was. Such it still remains. For all that we have sacrificed, defiled, and transgressed, I see now that meager hubris has tainted our rightful emancipation, and damned us more than the pantheons ever could. How quick were we in the claiming of sovereignty over the corpses of our great abusers? How quick we were to fashion the instruments of our ascent from their blood, to clad our frailties using the chassis of their beings? And how quick did we cast the weight of our chains down upon the others? In these words, I can only offer you the ache of truth rather than the salvation you so deserve. For this, may I be damned to the deepest of hells. All I wish is for you, dear kindred, to know the truth of our transgression and beg your forgiveness. We sought to create paradise. But in practice with our avarice, we unleashed an apocalypse." -Jaus Avandaer, Chains from Chains 1-1 Resurrection Avo woke atop a mountain of rust and rot. His sore lungs filled with a whistling gasp. His mind was sheathed into his vessel as existence shuddered around him. His senses reeled from the muted depths of nothingness to overload in space of seconds. He was alive. The pain flaring across his body made him wish he wasnt. ONTOLOGY REVERTED RESURRECTION COMPLETED MEMORY RESTORED WARNING: MEMORY SEQUENCE MISSING, UNABLE TO LOCATE MEMORIES WITHIN THE SPAN OF [1 WEEK, 3 HOURS, 5 MINUTES] THAUMIC MASS INSUFFICIENT - UNABLE TO SUSTAIN METAMIND REVERTING TO ZERO BURN Lines of cog-feed data dissolved from Avos perception as if they had never been. One by one, sensations greeted him, few of them pleasant. The shrill winds grated upon his ears and the stench of rust and rot snaked up his nostrils. A dim chasm of light shone down on him from far above, stabbing into his bleary eyes. Agony flared across every inch of his body. He shuffled. His wounds flared. He stopped shuffling. A strange pressure rested upon his chest. Looking down, the remains of a corpse lay spattered upon him, its blood seeping deep into his sodden undersuit. Sniffing, he could taste the bitter tinge of adrenaline flavoring the corpses flesh. Tentatively, he licked a scoop of mangled meat from the body. It didnt taste good, but it was enough to fuel his blood cells and spur his wounds to heal. He ate what he could on his back using only his tongue, trying to move as little as possible. Sitting or standing was beyond him. He needed time for the haze in his skull to clear, for the static to fade from his limbs. For a few minutes, he just lay there, getting reacquainted with his injuries, waiting for the world to stop spinning. Beneath him, a carpet of limbs shivered and shook. Avo sniffed. Corpses. He was resting on a pile of corpses. Below, he felt a constant vibration. Engines screamed overhead, the noise funneled down from the edge of the pit. The sound was near deafening. Around him, the winds coiled and folded, bifurcating past him. Through blurred eyes, he saw something else fall. It struck nearby, pulping a few of the corpses close to him. His sight cleared enough for him to see what it was: a burning aerovec. Looking up again, he finally noticed the industrial clamps pouring in more bodies and detritus into the great bowl he was laying in. Where the hells was he? How did he get here? Again, he looked up into the light. He seemed to be moving, but it could just be dizziness. Blinking, he tried to clear his eyes. Still too far. Didnt help that his kind were nearsighted by the limits of their biology. Being grown and designed in dark and claustrophobic tunnels by woefully inept creators did that to a ghoul. Still, he had his smell and hearingenough to give him some bearing on his situation. There was also the question of why his cog-feed was malfunctioning. And what was this about resurrection? His Metaminda cognition-augmenting smart construct made from the phantasmal matter of ghostsseemed to be offline again. More importantly, however, resurrecting him was definitely not one of its functions. The phantasmic applications he had engrammed to his Metamind were only meant for interfacing with other minds or the Nether itself. For him to be resurrected required something on the level of a phylactery at the least. Something that could anchor his being and pour his consciousness into a new-grown vessel without breaking his mind in the process. Being technically considered a piece of property instead of a citizen pushed obtaining a phylactery firmly out of his reach even if he had the imps to make the purchase. His social merit rating just didnt reach that high. As he tried to rise again, he heard two heartbeats pulsing above him, coming from just beyond the edge of the pit. Sniffing, he sorted through the various smells and found himself narrowing in on two contrasting musks. One smelled more akin to oil, while the other, alcohol. Both reeked of stale sweat. Hows the dig today? came a phlegm-filled voice. A wet hack followed. Masked by the wailing engines, Avo almost couldnt hear the slosh of pneumonia coating their lungs. Another replied. They sounded younger, more nasally and girlish. Same as yesterday, consang: shit, shit, and fucking shit. Nothing but stiffs and husks. The cougher laughed. Shame about the ghoul, yeah? If it was alive we could have chained him to the wall. Farmed it for easy organs till the tumors took em. The girl snorted. Dont have strong enough chains for a fucking ghoul, Preed. Go piss off and be a half-strand somewhere else. Busy here. Need to count the bodies. Is that what youre doing? I need to pretend to count the bodies so I can lie to the boss later. Sounds better. Fuck off. He heard footsteps as they walked away. They were speaking somewhere outside the depression he was trapped in. More bodies piled down next to him. All of them were enwreathed in dissipating particulates, black motes accelerating the process of rot. Avo tilted his head at the sight and watched the shroud of darkness spread. Strangely, they avoided him, as if his person alone was exempted from the touch of entropy. Mentally, Avo tried to activate his Metamind. At his command, a ripple should have bloomed out from his mind in five sequences and the ghosts that formed the outer accretion of the halo would mask his surface thoughts with phantasmal matter. Yet, nothing came. His cog-feed showed no indication of booting. Not even a misfire of emotion from a badly sequenced chain of ghosts. Something was wrong. He definitely saw running lines of cog-data flashing behind his eyes earlier. Something about his ontology and thaumic mass. The frustration mounted inside him. Ghosts didnt just fail to activate. They were animated pieces of intellect bound to his will. It wasnt like they could break like machines. They could fragment. Shattering into individual parts and pieces, but then the cog-fed shouldnt have come on at all earlier. Dread lodged itself deep in Avos mind just as a migraine overwhelmed his senses. All indications pointed to his Metamind being damaged or compromised in some form. Had he been ambushed in the real? Had his Nether-Alt been compromised? Seeing as he was laying in a pit of corpses, the evidence dragged him toward that dreaded likelihood that his identity had been discovered. This led to other questions. Who and how? Avo thought back to the last thing he could remember. He had been finishing out a dive for Nine-Fox, smuggling pay data across a Guild checkpoint in the Nether. It was a milk run. The imps were due to be wired over to him in a few days. And then And then he couldnt remember anything. How long had it been since he did his dive? And how did he get from there down to wherever this was? No answers came to him. Not good, but he forced himself to accept reality. He was in a pit of corpses, probably far, far away from home, crippled by countless wounds. Avo grunted. As it goes. There was nothing he could do about the past. For now, he did what Walton had trained him to do: solve the problems he could first. Ignoring the twisting pain inside him, he forced himself up against the rusted hull of the aerovec. The diamond-shaped vehicle was aged, gray paint mottling off its chassis as the black motes sheared its exterior away. Leaning himself against its frame, he took inventory of his injuries and fought through another wave of rising dizziness. His translucent skin seemed to gleam in the gloam of darkness. Overhead, the slit of light darkened. Another dozen or so bodies rained down as a clamp opened up. How far up was it? Looking high, he tried gauging the jump to the ledge. Ten feet? Twenty maybe? His night vision was something he got as a package with nearsightedness. With these attributes combined, he could see just well enough in the dark to perceive everything in a twenty-foot radius. Past that, he could sometimes guess when something was moving by the patterns of the blurs. If he could get his Metamind online and his cog-feed working again, there was an option to directly feed visual data around him into his mind, thus cutting his worthless eyes out of the equation.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. That would alleviate some of his problems at the least. His left arm throbbed, the familiar static of a phantom limb. Frowning in annoyance, he looked down and found only a budding nub growing from his shoulder. The pain was bone-gnawing. Like someone had ground his arm down to the socket with a power saw. The rest of his body wasnt much better. The columns of his vertebrae were slowly clicking back together as his blood cells nudged them back in place. It felt as if they had been hammered apart. A cluster of scabs ran to his armpit from his left ribplate. They flared with stabbing pain when he moved. Two incisions ran along his lower back. Something felt missing inside him. Avo directed his blood to do a count of what four primary organs his body needed. Something was missing. Avo sighed. They took his kidneys. Whoever they were this time. Aside from his brain and the haemophage cortex attached to it, his kidneys were the only organs his blood couldnt mimic in function. Little wonder why he was feeling so sick. Toxins were probably poisoning his cells by the second. Straining his metabolism further, he felt his insides spasm as his kidneys started regrowing as well. Kidneys were one of the few things a self-employed ghoul could sell on a bi-weekly basis for imps. That being said, he never sold both of them at the same time. It was one of the few things that were always in demand in the Warrens. Ghoul organs were cheap and had a near-hundred percent acceptance rate even without bio-culturing after they sterilized the blood cells. Shame he couldnt grow the organs faster without risking tumors. Couldve sold them for easy imps. Usually, organ farmers were more professional about it. He usually sold one every few weeks for the imps. It wasnt much, but it blunted his living expenses and prevented the downgrading of his citizenship. His legs were a mangle of oozing flaps. A few thick ropes of outer muscle had detached from his bone, jutting out from the clefts of his wounds. He ordered his blood cells down into his legs as well. Beneath his skin, his intact muscles twitched and tightened across him in layered eel-like strands. Considering their density, it would have taken substantial harm to have hewed him apart so deeply. It would have taken something like a mono-blade judging from his wounds. More evidence that he had been tortured. Now that was a strange thing for him not to remember. Maybe they had edited his memories afterward. But why not just kill him then? Or harvest him for his ghost? More questions. No answers. He could feel his hunger growing though. Just a byproduct of his cellular regeneration. The nub on his arm sprouted lattices of self-mending tissue. Within, blood bubbled together to reconstitute the biomass that was lost. His hunger became a roar as his metabolism kicked into overdrive, his haemophage cortex burning through his recent intake to replace his spent cells. By instinct and thought, his blood flowed. Their synaptic receptors allowed for direct correspondence with his mind. There werent many benefits to being a ghoul, but possessing synchro-sapient, self-propelling blood cells in the place of tertiary organs cost less than paying for medical insurance or maintaining the license to a Guild-owned nano-suite. At least until they started forming tumors inside him. Cancer treatments usually put a dent in his accounts. Another burning spike of hunger radiated out from his gut as he felt his body slowly come back together. His senses sharpened. The air stank of rot and cold metal. He heard another thumping heartbeat pulsing nearby along with the other two. This ones scent was sweetness clashing with sweat. They were further away than the others, though. Even less likely to notice him. Onto more pressing concerns then: he wasnt sure if he could make the climb upward in his current state. Two budding organs twitched inside him. His left arm extended itself, growing at a pace of inches per minute. A sudden wave of fatigue washed through him. He needed to eat. Or he was going to starve. Something splashed down behind him, ringing off the hood of the aerovec. A splatter of hot fluid dotted his hairless pate. Bouncing off the eroding chassis of the already rusted aerovec, the decapitated head of some woman rolled next to him, her face frozen in a death-rictus. Her blood-red lipstick stood out from the pale green sheen of her modded skin. The dissonant smile carved along her jowl did nothing to hide the horror lingering in her eyeless sockets. A crude gang sigil was burned over her right eye. It resembled a rose that grew down into a lance at the roots. Avo remembered seeing that sign somewhere. Maybe he did a dive for the gang once. Reflexively, he tried summoning his Metamind again to call up its eidetic memory stores. Nothing. It didnt respond. This time, he didnt care, as he was too busy gnawing the skull clean of meat. She proved to be crunchier than he expected, but seeing as the head was the only thing that wasnt rotten down in the pit, he wasnt going to complain. He needed biomass to burn. She would suffice for now. Mustering his strength, he staggered to his feet. Soon, after healing enough, the itching would begin. Squinting up at the ledge again, he gauged the distance between him and the edge again. When his legs werent so mangled, he stood a bit over seven and a half feet. If he could fight through the pain, he could probably leap another six. Not enough. He considered his options. Perhaps he could pile the mound of bodies into a corner? No. Too few, and they were dissolving too quickly around him. With the brittle corpses beneath already pulping and snapping beneath his weight, they wouldnt hold. He would just sink into them, making pulp of their remains. His eyes came to halt on the aerovec again. Avo tilted his head. It looked about twenty feet long. He grinned. It still looked solid enough to be workable. Digging his claws into its weakened frame, he pulled up and pushed. His muscles coiled and sprung across his body, the taut strands on fire like twitching whips. A ton of metal, glass, and electronics toppled over a carpet of bodies with a squelch. Avo ignored the squishing beneath his digitigrade claws as he limped forward and repeated the action. The aerovec flipped again. More bodies came apart beneath the vehicles weight. He listened for the heartbeats of those above carefully. If he heard them, he''d go back to playing dead. Considering how they were talking earlier, he doubted them to be friendly. Not that anyone particularly liked ghouls in this city. The missing arm made shouldering the aerovec against the walls a struggle. Halfway through, something soft bounced off his chest through the cracked windshields. He ignored it. Carefully, he braced the weight of the vehicle against himself, shrugging it higher and higher until he lodged it against a clump of bodies. Looking down, he noticed what had struck him. A stuffed animal. Some kind of nu-dog that had the stock canine features, but with added spines along its back. A tinge of mens cologne wafted from the toy. Squeezing it, a holograph flickered from its center and began to play. The form of a human toddler manifested. She wore a synth-dress and had an orange bowl cut. He noted that her eyes were likely implants by the unnatural way they shone. Regardless, the holograph just looped her giggling and dancing. Under the foot of the plushie, he found the name Edda signed like a chicken scratch. Written by a childs hand, no doubt. Beneath it, another line of writing followed. It was far more legible. Daddy misses you every day. Mentally, he tried to scan the toy and see if his Cipher engram could trace anything else from the object''s history. Nothing happened. Disappointment followed. Right. No Metamind. No phantasmic engrams. No functions. He needed to see an Agnos if he managed to make it out of this. See if his Metamind was missing, out of power, or just fragged. More than what happened to him or who tortured him, he wanted to know what was going on with his smart construct. It was the last thing he inherited from his adopted father, Walton. He couldnt accept it being broken. Wouldnt accept it. He would get it working again, whatever the cost. Inside, the beast growled in pleasure. Already, it was whispering to him to track the heartbeats. To climb out from this pit and sample some flesh. Avo sighed. Another problem to face without the Metamind. No Morality Module to suppress his psychopathy. Shaking the tightness from his body, he listened for a moment. No footsteps. The heartbeats seemed to hold in place. Whoever the others were, they werent moving about. Slowly, he clambered onto the aerovec. It slid with each shift of weight. Its frame bent as he climbed. He felt it peeling off the wall with a screech. Halfway between the pilots seat and the ledge, he leaped and caught himself with one hand. The claws on his feet buried into the wall as he cleaved his way up. As he crested his first threshold to freedom, he looked over the horizon. His blood froze. Cold terror rose within him. He was on a slow moving barge with four industrial grabbers. Over a nigh-endless chasm of trash and bodies, the ship sailed on currents of anomalous wind. As far as he could see, the landscape was an expanse of ever dissolving trash and waste. Massive portholes lined a gorge of ebony with an endless tide of sewage pouring free from each opening. Hells, Avo muttered. Realization stabbed into him like a stake. The dissolving motes he saw clinging to the bodies. The fact that he was in a barge filled with corpses. The narrow chasm of light that shone down upon him. This was the Maw. He had fallen farther down than he ever thought he could. Onward, the canyon sprawled out across the outer rings of New Vultun like a snaking labyrinth. He mustve gotten picked out of the endless wastes below by the scavenger barge. But how did he end up in the Maw in the firstC A heartbeat skipped a pulse close behind him. Avo spun, catching sight of a bald, fair-skinned girl. Floating gang hap-tats flickered across her face, playing an animated clash between a warg and a nu-bear. Her forehead was specially reserved for holo-ads selling a new type of chem for the dose-chasers. She towered far above him on a spreading walkway that went from bow to stern. A half-eaten sandwich tumbled from her hands, and bounced off the controls of her rig, mashed juice-beetles spilling through the grates at her feet. Seated at the heart of a cheap industrial rig, she piloted the amplifier suit more than she wore it. Exposed metal ribs projected HUD overlays across her face. A cord ran from the inner spine of the rig into the back of her skull, neurally lacing mind to machine. From her spine emerged three different limbs. One for manipulation. One for drilling. One for scanning. Her legs spilled out four crab-like appendages. For a beat, they just stared at each other. The corpse-barge poured more trash into the pit he just crawled out of. The girl twitched, blood draining from her face. Behind one of her control panels, he thought he caught sight of a holstered pistol?. She looked at it as well. Avo held up a slow hand. WaitC One of her hands snapped out, groping wildly for the gun. He turned on instinct, unsure where to run. If he went right hed get sucked through the six aero-engines. If the funneling winds didnt denude his corpse, then hed get to enjoy dying in the Maw below. He wondered what it would be like to be swallowed by tides of concentrated entropy. More than that, he wondered why the motes avoided him earlier. Toward the stern, he saw two more figures piloting their rigs toward him. Not good. He spun. A burst of gunfire roared. Three-rounds. Hard impacts slammed against his shoulder, breaking skin but crumpling against the thickness of his layered muscle. It felt like being stung by a mantis-wasp. Still, he growled in pleasure, the beast slowly seizing hold of him. They didnt have enough firepower to kill him. How unfortunate for them. Avo stumbled and winced. The girls hand was shaking wildly, her eyes looked bloodshot. No way she could have made the shot unassisted. Smart-gun. Faintly, he could feel the faint presence of a whispering ghost rippling from the gun. Cheap ghosts could make anything a smart-gun these days. Metal limbs hammered down against ringing grates from behind. Ahead, the girl tugged the trigger again. A single shot rang out. The guns barrel burst. The bullet broke against his sternum, sending him staggering backward. Shaking his head, he saw the dolloping slag of the overheated weapon. Bad piece of hardware. Mustve been a cheap quick-fabbed piece of kit. Unfortunate. Inside his chest, he felt his blood surge, and his senses sharpen. He could hear her heartbeat, her quick, hyperventilating gasps coming from her. Closer, he identified her sweet scent as a cheap perfume, making her smell like peaches despite the sweat she earned from her toil. Desperately, she worked to fix her gun. Painfully, he fought the urge to tear her apart, to eat her. Rationally, he knew he couldnt blame her. He would have done the same in her place. Ghouls were dangerous. Ghouls were monsters. Ghouls were all the things the topsiders said and more. He cannibalized more than his share of other monsters to know that. But knowing wasnt the same as feeling, and without his Metamind, his Morality Module wasnt flooding his mind with the right emotions to suppress him. That meant he wasnt getting doses of suppressive emotion. Injections of humanity. For the first time in years, his bestial nature rose unchecked. His want for violence grew closer to a need. He ran his tongue across his fangs. He flexed the claws of his right arm. On mending legs, he made for her. Behind, her cohorts approached. They wouldnt be fast enough. Right now, the only person that could save her from him was him. For the first time in years, Avo faced the beast without the aid of his Metamind or adopted father. He didnt know if he was strong enough to prevail. 1-2 Scavengers I told you this would happen. The only laughable thing about this is how much you fucking gerents are surprised. Seems like immortality doesnt prevent senility. You want an explanation? Fine. Ill give you three. Apathy. Bitterness. Fatalism. What else do the FATELESS in the Warrens got? The entire sectors of the city are still no-go zones affected by countless Ruptures. This was something we pledged to fix immediately. Its been eighteen years! They own nothing and rent everything from the Guilds, meaning that they functionally have no concrete value in the market. No freedom. Education is free, but considering the Undercroft is already ten billion lives over capacity, they wont be making it up even if there were geniuses among them! They cant even have any physical intimacy, for Jaus sake. Forget sex, a godsdamned kiss on the cheek will cause an outbreak of the rash. Then, they get to watch their block get glassed. You know what, the hells with this. I resign. Fuck each and every one of you! I signed up with Ori-Thaum to serve a republic, to see that everyone is represented and supported. Unity is Destiny? My ass. We broke their homes and our promises. Were goddamn bastards. Same as Highflame. Same as Voidwatch. Same as the No-Dragons and all the other great Guilds. The next time you ask why the Warrens are filled with organ-smugglers, joy-fiends, gangers, snuffers, and scavengers, think to yourself how much theyre worth to us alive versus how much their Essence can fuel our Souls when dead. Were running on a necro-economy. And they know. They know but they cant do anything about it. Theres no difference between us and the gluttonous gods that used to rule us. I quit. I quit. I quit. -Chief Admin Revo IKuritas resignation speech to the Court of Elders of Ori-Thaum 1-2 Scavengers The girl was still fiddling with her broken gun when Avo pulled himself up the walkway. Scaffolded over the dozen or so scavenging pits built deep into the keel of the barge, the rusted railings of the crudely festooned walkways spilled across the top of the ship, its loosened bolts rattling to the breath of the wind. Encompassing two pits a row, all of the walkways were interconnected, segmenting the top of the ship into cubes until it finally trailed off at the prow, with holo-haptic interfaces for the industrial cranes lighting each intersection as a milestone, neon embers amidst the murk of the Maw. Behind, Avo heard heavy metal limbs hammered against the grating and two other rising heart rates as he closed on Hap-Tata moniker he granted to the girl that shot him. He peeled her face from his mindCthe act coming easily from his years of practice diving in the Nether. Dehumanizing the opposition into something akin to an object was common practice among most Necrojacks. Most in his profession did it to avoid traumatizing themselves when jacking into the memories of their victims. Avo was taught to do it because hurting people fed pleasure to his cruelty. An equally bad habit, considering he had a habit of fragging apart more of their minds than he needed to. Avo loped in on all fours, his movements between a dash and a stagger. His muscles, though sore, felt functional. Down the narrow path, Hap-Tat''s face quavered in the projected glow of her rig. Scintillating glints reflected off the piercings that dotted her right cheek like constellations. Her heart roared like rising war drums in his ears, spurring him onward. Desperately, she chucked the broken gun at him. He caught it, and, just as her rigs drill whirred to life, he cast it back at her. Lagging, the drill lanced out too late to block the gun. It cracked against one of her HUD projection ribs, making Hap-Tat flinch. Her eyes snapped shut. An unwise thing to do when a ghoul was close by. Three-hundred and fifty pounds of ghoul slammed against a ton of rusted metal. The more rusted pieces of plasteel on her rig groaned and cracked on impact. Her response was sloppy. Unfocused. She flailed at him, mechanical arms snapping out, clamping only air as he slipped low. Ramshackle her rig might be, a glancing blow from it would be crippling. It was meant for scavenging; menial labor, not combat, but Avo knew what a fusion drill could do. At its highest intensity settings, it could strip titanium. Hard as the Low Masters made him in comparison to a flat, titanium he was not. Put simply, if she plugged him with that drill, his flesh would do more than strip; his insides would spill. On his side were momentum and agility. He smuggled himself under her left and drove into her at an angle. The rig toppled back, breaking the crane interface she was operating. Staggering, her rigs crab-like legs gripped the walkway tight, trying to keep itself upright. Metal groaned. Servos wailed. He struck her again. This time, he lashed his remaining arm through the projection ribs, feeling a spine-shivering delight as his claws unzipped sinew and skidded off her bones. She screamed. He pressed. In the back of his head, he kept track of the other two heartbeats. They were approaching from the next pit over, their rigs clanking on at a leaden pace, coming at him from perpendicular paths. He needed to finish Hap-Tat now. A mechanical whine sounded from above him as the articulated limb bearing her drill descended. On instinct, Avo twisted out of the way. Barely. A line of pain flared along his spine, The drill sliced a shallow avenue of pain down his back. Avo snarled. His thoughts slipped from him. The beast inside him took hold. As the drill shot past him and punched through the grating beneath them, he wrenched the flat flaps of her projectors from their sparking joints, hoping to get at the screaming meat behind. A weak fist bounced off his jaw, showing him just how unaugmented she was. He responded by clamping his hand around her head and squeezing. Her skull felt so small between his claws. Like an oversized egg. In his grip, bone succumbed, fracturing. Her voice greeted him with a muffled cry, growing to choked screams as he clenched tighter. Mine, Avo hissed. With a vicious yank, he drew her halfway out of the rig. Her arms and legs snapped at the sockets. She cried out. Avo chuffed in annoyance. If she thought dislocations were bad, she should try losing an arm. A choking wheeze filled her lungs. The other two were close now. Their heartbeats told him they were closing. Fifteen feet. Maybe less. He didnt care. Hap-Tats safety harness clung tight to her torso and fought him. Hed deal with that later. Instead, he went for the metallic cord slotted to the datajack on the back of her head. Unhinging his jaw, he brought his fangs down on the cord. Plastic, metal, and micro-tech came apart in his mouth. With the connection severed, her rig went slack, its frame toppling against the bending rails. Spitting pieces of broken cord, Avo slashed through the harness and pulled his prize free. Hap-Tat weighed akin to a feather in his hand. In the darkness, he saw the tears rolling from her eyes, and heard the pleas spilling from her lips. Her heart was tearing itself apart from her at the pace it was beating. Avo grinned. It was a pleasure to hurt and it would be a delight to feed. Saliva dripped from his mouth. The arrival of the other two rigs broke his trance. As the beast looked away from its prey, the shifting of focus allowed the rational remnants of Avo to resume control. Blinking, he let out a hissing breath as he worked his excitement under control. He had gone too long without his Metamind suppressing the beast. Glaring at his two new adversaries, he did his best to ignore the writhing meatCenemy. The writhing enemy in his clutches. He cast his glare upon the new arrivals standing ten feet away. A beat passed. No one moved. Hap-Tat whimpered. Avo wrestled himself. He didnt need to drink from the sweet that was her blood. He didnt need to take a sampling nibble from her adrenaline-bittered flesh Please, she whimpered, the circuitry of her haptic-tattoos malfunctioning. Error codes spilled over her forehead. Something had broken beneath her skin when he was crushing her skull earlier. Please, ICI just got aa nu-dog. He ate a cloned nu-dog before. Not nearly as good as humans. But that was by design. Ghouls were made to prey on humans. Baseliners. Flats like her. Nothing buzzed a ghoul''s brain quite like human flesh. Just as nothing was quite as euphoric to them as violence. The weight of his impulses was heavier than the aerovec, heavier than the rig. Still, Avo fought it. He had to. It''s what Walton taught him to do. The beast has to win sometimes, Walton had told him after catching him gorging on an aratnid nest. Surrendering is human. But choice? Choice is divine. Fighting your body might just lead to failure. But mastering it, and choosing when to give in to it gives you choices. Its not about repression. Its about expression. Expression of free will against yourself. I think theres true freedom to be found there. Avo snarled. Hap-Tat shuddered and clamped her eyes shut, unwilling to face the end. Instinct warred against rationality. Reason won. Barely. Closing his jaws with a repressed grunt, Avo considered the next best use for her. Lifting Hap-Tat past the rails and dangling her over the pit, Avo turned to face the other two problems that he had yet to solve. They wore rigs bearing much of the same make and quality as Hap-Tats. They faced him, their heartbeats high with tension, their breaths misting the air thick in nervous respiration. Avo sighed. Since he wasnt trying to eat anyone presently, he might as well negotiate. Bargain. He had no idea where he was or how he was going to get back home. Not without his Metamind working anyhow. Hed leverage what he could from them for a start. See if they could get him back up to the surface. Or at least to the Warrens. Getting left here was a death sentence. Hells, it already had been if he wasnt hallucinating about being resurrected earlier. Oh, gods, oh Jaus dont let me die, Hap-Tat muttered. Avo frowned at her. Her lip quivered. Speak. Speak to them, he said. She blinked. You can talk? He shook her in the direction of her cohorts. Speak. To. Them. Fuck! Alright! Fuck! She opened her mouth. What followed was nothing but silence while she did her best impression of a dead fish. Frustration bubbled inside him. He shook her like she was a defective toy, her broken limbs bouncing limply. Fucking! What do you want me to say? Avo gritted his fangs. He hated this. He hated talking to people, interacting with them, trying to tell them what to do. Ghosts were so much simpler. Attached to his will, they just obeyed. If he still had his Metamind along with his engrams, he could just snatch the information he needed from her mind using his ghosts. He could have put her to sleep with a thought seeing that she lacked a Metamind of her own or any functional cognitive wards for that matter. Physical threats were so impractical in comparison.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Location: which district are we close to? Ship name. Which Guild owns the ship? Get the captain. Want to talk to them. Need to borrow your ships locus. Make a call. The other two stared at him like ravens watching an owl. He studied them again and through narrowed eyes noticed the white stripes painted along the ribs of their rigs. A note of seniority perhaps. It was something that Hap-Tat didnt have on her now disabled rig. Hap-Tat continued to not speak. Avo glared. She withered beneath his gaze. Whichwhich questions do you want me to ask first? He loosed his grip slightly. She began to slide. Fuck! Alright! Fuck! Godsdamned! She waved at her cohorts. Were atwere atwhats the nearest dock? The other two didnt say anything. One of them shuffled an inch backward. The other held firm, remaining in place. The one that didnt move had a face covered in a mess of burns and budding tumors sealed in place by transparent implants. Avo decided this one was to be named Tumor Face. Silencing Hap-Tat with a glare, Tumor Face spat. Turning her rig, she leaned out and sneered at her fellow officer. Whatever they were. And you said this welp was nova at the gig? The other scavenger had green optical implants. Green Eyes. Avo kept things simple. Reduced them from being people. Make them like artificials in a Nether-Sim. Took the fun out of killing them. Somewhat. Green Eyes glared at Avo, his expression like granite. Shes got a good eye. Good at sorting trash. Not her fault we have a rotlick for a stowaway. Took her by surprise." Tumor Face laughed with a nasally wheeze. She let it tear her out from her rig, she did. Aint that some shit. If it were me IdC For Jaus sake, help me! cried Hap-Tat. Tumor Face waved her off. Oh, relax, consang. It didnt eat you, so it wants you alive. For the first time, she sized Avo up. Weird rotlick we got here. Calm too. Aint right. Her eyes narrowed. Hey, Kald? Yeah? Green Eyes said. Avo considered changing the name over to Kald, but decided against it. Would make the man too human in his eyes; too appealing to hurt. Wasnt this the one you got the kidneys from earlier? Oh. Well, that explained who stole his kidneys. It was getting harder to not kill them now. Yeah. Didnt you say it was dead? Yeah." She made a vulgar gesture at him with her rigs manipulator arm. Does it look dead to you? It was when I found it. Didnt even move when the boss threw one of them refugees down the pit, he chuckled. Splattered all over him, she did. That explained why there was a corpse on him when heresurrected. Another word caught his attention. Refugee. Shooting a glance down the side of the barge, he did his best to gauge its size. It had to be pretty large to have the twelve or so pits reserved for scavenging. Might be half a mile long. From where he stood, he couldnt gauge how deep it was, but he guessed this vessel had to have a crew of three hundred at the least. So where were they? All he saw were three scavengers and no more. He supposed they were just here to sort for valuable finds while the ship did most of the harvesting. Still, he wondered where the drones were. The golems. Maw-diving ships were machine operated most of the time. If this ship was primarily meant for people into New Vultun, however, then that made things different. That meant the bulk of its profits were below deck, in the form of the FATELESSCunsponsored refugees. People without the protection of the Guilds. There was plenty of currency to be made forcing them into easy labor, or converting them to back-alley organ farms. Even killing them, pawning their Essences off to local megablocks, or selling their ghosts could net a profit if there were enough of them. From what Avo could judge, this meant the bulk of the ships personnel and resources were below deck. And suddenly, another switch flipped in his head. Waltons ethics were always a bitlooser when it came to criminals, thugs, and tyrants. The first chains of his will began to buckle beneath the urges of the beast. How many? Avo asked. Tumor Face froze. Jaus. She said as if noticing him for the first time. She clearly hadn''t been listening to him earlier. Rotlick-fuck speaks too. Next, itll be doing math. Its already doing math, Green Eyes deadpanned, asking us how many toils we got. Toils. Another term for FATELESS refugees. Avo shot a look at Hap-Tat. She looked back and swallowed. Thousand, Hap-Tat blurted. Across the walkways, her cohorts scoffed and mocked her weakness. Less now. Were sorry we threw one on you. Thethe toil tried to run. She tried to break out! Boss is going to black-haul the shit outta you for letting the rotlick get you, juvie, Tumor Face said, laughing. "Moreso for being a lack." More of the situation was revealed. The corpse splattered across him in the pit was a refugee. Their death preluded his resurrection by seconds. They had murdered someone who just wanted their freedom who was trying to escape. An alignment between his rational mind and the beast within was reached. He had a reason for violence now. When his bloodthirst began to rise again, he didnt fight it. Not this time. This was a slave ship. Walton hated slavers. Took special care to break their minds. Even used some of them as practice during Avos education. The concept of choice and free will had been sacred to his adopted father, and to honor the man, it wouldve been ethically wrong for him not to kill these people. He looked at Hap-Tat and ran his tongue across his fangs. The adrenaline was still rushing through her. If this went fast enough, bitter would still be in her flesh when he got to eating her. Thank you, Avo said, letting out a relieved breath. What? Hap-Tat asked. Green Eyes titled his head. Tumor Face frowned. The fuck? Thank you? She laughed, more confused than amused. Whywhy thank you? Needed a reason, Avo said. A reason? Tumor Face asked. Avo didnt reply instead, he pulled Hap-Tat away from the edge and pulled her in front of him. She went still. Her eyes widened. Looking past her shoulder, he saw the other two scavengers, just watching, waiting for him to react. She wasnt that heavy. Tumor Face wasnt that far. He could make the throw. YouCyou gonna let me go? Hap-Tat whispered. Yeah, Avo said, his grin spreading all the way to his ear-nubs. Technically, he wasn''t lying. She whimpered and let out a breath. Oh, thankC Every strand of muscle across his body exploded with motion. With a primal snarl, he launched the girl from his grasp like a javelin. The sight of her sailing away, choking on her own screams was joyous to behold. Like a spear molded from the softness of flesh and unlaced bone, she broke against Tumor Faces rig with a satisfying splat, ribs cracking, a lung popping. Tumor Face stumbled back in surprise. Pure reflex made her shrug the mangled body of Hap-Tat over the railing. Green Eyes, the most focused of the three, stomped forward. Slow as he was, Avo felt an aura of danger about him. This one was good at mastering their fear and going forward. Part of Avo respected that. The rest wanted to know if the man would taste any different. The thrumming vibration beneath Avos feet called his attention. Hap-Tat''s drill. Climbing over Hap-Tats disabled rig, he found the drill dangling through a wound made in the melted grating. It had been left running when he severed the connection. Poor safety protocols, but useful for him. A feral smile spread across his face, his fangs barring from ear to ear. Hiding behind the rig, he listened for Green Eyes approach as he took hold of the drills connective articulations. Taking it in his hand he waited for the right moment to drop down onto the hull itself. He intended to drive his new weapon into Green Eyes from below. Somewhere behind Green Eyes, Tumor Face roared as she began stomping over. Rotlicking half-strand fuck! The walkway creaked as Green Eyes approached. A bolt popped. Avo jumped, disappearing over the side just in time for his newest victim to smash past Hap-Tats disabled rig. Landing, Avo ignored the lancing pain traveling up his legs and limped below where Green Eyes was standing. Looking up, Avo saw the confusion splashed across Green Eyes face. His projectors were detecting nothing. Poor fool was looking in the wrong direction. Kald! Below!" Tumor Faces warning came far too late. Avo leaped, driving the drill up through the grating and into the underside of Green Eyes rig, feeling as it chewed through metal and meat. The wafting taste of exposed organs greeted Avo. Green Eyes screamed. Blood spilled. Avo opened his jaws wide and fed on the deluge running down from above. The drill spun twice more in the scavengers abdomen before fizzling and dying. Disappointing. Green Eyes'' fat boiled and popped between the edges of his wounds. Blood foamed in his mouth. He barely had time to struggle with the drill before Avo pulled back hard. Ghoul-muscle battled the unmaintained machine servos of his rig. Green Eyes body bore the burden of defeat. Bone snapping, flesh flaying, he came free from between the ribs in a welter of gore, his datajack snapping loose from the back of his skull. He landed nothing more than a brutalized pulp against the grating, his last breath a sobbing whimper. With a final violent tug, Avo drew his prize down through the gap he made in the walkway using the now useless drill. Above, another rig-toppled, pilotless. Tumor Face stomped forward far too late, a wail of absolute despair tearing free from her throat. Avo didnt hear it. He was too busy gorging himself on good meat. The man tasted divine; the sweetness of his lingering diabetes only added flavor. As he fed, however, Avo sensed something else. Something entirely different. He felt it more than he tasted it, but it was coming free from the corpse all the same. An unseen rippleCno, an echo poured into him. Impossibly, Avo heard Green Eyes whispering in the back of his mind, chanting muted prayers to a god unseen. Suddenly, Avo felt himself ignite in an incandescent burst. The world expanded around him. Existence shivered momentarily. He saw himself as a chasm between a shroud of primordial fire, a world between him and where he was right now. His mind spun. His body felt hollow and heavy at the same time. It was as if he was both a conduit and an anchor at the same time. The moment passed as fast as it came. Suddenly, he was back in his own skin like nothing happened. Then, data lines from his cog-feed flashed behind his perception, its system booting. A ghost-glitch? Didn''t matter, the Metamind was working! A ripple of phantasmal matter bloomed out and expanded into a five-ringed halo. A paltry wisp of a ghost spilled out from the center and swirled into a thin spread along the outer accretion of his mind, unshaped and unsequenced. Avo laughed with genuine joy. His Metamind working again, he awaited to hear the voice of Walton greetC SOUL ONLINE IGNITING THAUMIC CYCLER - 2 THAUM/c THAUMIC CYCLER ONLINE... METAMIND ONLINE - [1] GHOST ACTIVE [0] PHANTASMICS ENGRAMMED WARNING: INSUFFICIENT THAUMIC MASS UNABLE TO MANIFEST LIMINAL FRAME [0] HEAVENS GRAFTED [1] HELLS GRAFTED: (FIRST CIRCLE) Even as the world around Avo came alight with new color and clarity, he frowned. The single ghost he just claimed was already fine-tuning his perception, feeding his mind with visual data to counter his nearsightedness. In the narrow lane far above the Maw where the lights of the city spilled in, Avo sensed the countless sequences of ghosts spreading across the entirety of New Vultun in a grand skein beyond the surface of existence. Avo didn''t have enough ghosts to reach it yet, but he could hear the Nether calling to him. He ignored it. This wasnt his Metamind. It didnt sound like Walton. It didnt have any of his engrams. It sounded like him. How could it sound like him? He never had his mind clonedC A howl of rage interrupted his thoughts. Rotlick! Tumor Face leaped over a railing and dented the ground in a rough landing. He noticed the thin wisp that was her ghost oozing out surface thoughts from the center of her mind. Her emotions bled angry clumps of thoughtstuff as she made for him. Yet, as she approached, he found himself wondering why there seemed to be a rippling echo inside her core as well. ESSENCE DETECTED - [1] The words flashed in his mind and were spoken to him through a voice copied from his own. Essence? Avo frowned. Souls burned Essence to make thaums. Why was this Metamind detecting Essence? Why was it telling him it had a Soul online? He wasn''t anywhere near a megablock right now. He couldn''t be linked to any of the reactors. Tumor Face thundered close, her shadow creeping over him as he shook off his new questions. If she didn''t snuff him, he could take his time to figure out what his situation was after. Mull it over with the meal that was her corpse. Right now, he was still starving and found the hunger in him ran deeper than before. Letting the beast inside him slip the leash once more, he met his new prey mid-charge, seeking more than mere meat. 1-3 FATELESS FATELESS: An unregistered civilian; an individual who has yet to earn Guild sponsorship via merit or lottery. FATE: A metaphysical system in the NETHER used by the Guilds for tracking and indexing citizens. -The New Vultun Standard Dictionary 1-3 FATELESS Tumor Face tried her best. Her best wasnt enough. Avo empathized. With a surplus of rage and a scarcity of capability, she came at him, the bulk of her rig hammering the ground like she was heavy cavalry from a historical memory-sim. Blind with aggression, she thrust herself into the jaws of the beast. What little of him was capable of emulating the human emotion of respect commended her. The bulk of his mind, still riding high on bloodlust, set itself upon the task of her exsanguination. In his hand, a last gouged pap of flesh claimed from the remains of Green Eyes dribbled as she came. Avo squeezed it. Blood ran through the crenulations of his claws. It would do. With a mental command, Avo tried engaging his trajectory calculator. A flashing null response in the back of his mind reminded him he had one ghost and no phantasmic engrams. He would have to do this manually. The alloyed appendages of her rig reared as she approached. Just in time to catch a splatter of gore across her projection ribs. Blood dotted her face and blurred her eyes. She swung, three limbs cleaving a mangled gorge through the metal walkway above, severing it halfway through. She would have hewn Avo shoulder to hip if he remained before her. Carried by blindness, anguish, and momentum, her crab-like legs sparked along the metal deck, internal machinery overworked, jamming and hissing. Behind, Avo stalked her like the predator he was designed to be, the scratched grooves her skid marks left in the hull serving as nice grips for his claws even as the barge suddenly descended. She came to a violent halt after grinding several more feet. They were near the edge now. The flaring engines emanated a corona of unnatural light, casting her in shadow. The rigs arms slashed out wildly. Avo dove low, between her legs. Tumor Face was still blind, still missing when he tore into her, claws spread, lower jaws unhinging as he prepared to feast. Her pilots harness was a small canopy, just big enough to fit a flat of her size. The rig itself lacked the mass or capability to seal her properly beneath a layer of shielding. Cheap as it was, her life was likely even cheaper. There was plenty of labor to go by in these depths and not much material to support it with. Her life was worth more to the city lost than it was preserved. Avo tore up into the softness of her belly, a waterfall of red filling his eyes. The scent of intestinal fluid and the taste of rust mingled. He chipped his incisor fangs on laced bones reinforced by cheap titanium and worked on her sinews instead. Through the near-thuds of her heart, he could hear her screams, the sound muffled by the blood filling his ears. He reared back and tore out from her innards, sinew, and gristle between his fangs. He emerged baptized. Invigorated. Yet, even as a savaged ruin, Tumor Face gasped on, clinging to life as she grasped for him, eyes still burning with hate. Beyond the nest of the projection ribs, the rig was lurching, unable to discern signals from a mind so embroiled by pain and hate. She decided she didnt need the machine. With a defiant squeal, shrill with outrage and pain, she slammed her skull against his. Avo felt the thud shudder through his bones. Spent, she sank against him and spat strands of blood and disrespect across his cheek. Fuckin...half-strand bastard. Mustering what little remained in her, she lifted her head and glared at him, staring him down even as she died. She was more a ghoul than he at this point; body broken, mangled, but still fighting; spirit burning on with the embers of hate and loathing; actions purposeful, but futile. He took hold of her by her head. So close, the phantasmal aura that his cog-feed painted her with had cast her in a holy sheen of light. Best you could do, he said. He didnt know if the comfort was for her, or spoken to his past self, her body an altar, a confessional. All he knew was that this was a torturous truth that bound the both of them. All you could do. She looked at him, hate unfading. Jaws clenched, she didnt see what he was trying to convey. There was no shared understanding. Perhaps at this moment, the inverse was true: he was more human than she by merit of philosophical gnosis and life better provided for by an adopted father. The moment passed with the next beat of her heart; the wafting pungence of her exposed innards calling to Avo. He pulled her head back. She tried to reach from the haptic controls projected from one of the ribs. The reach became a spasm as her neck folded between his teeth. His fangs glided through her unaugmented softness with ease. Flats made for easy feeding. Her suffering didnt last. His jaws, wide as a serpents, had closed around her neck. Skin and muscle parted. The bite found its halt against her columns of spine. Didnt matter. He pulled free, a mound of flesh coming with him. Succulent. Her head folded forward. When he finished with her trachea, he continued with her eyes. The eyes were always his favorite. In the periphery of his awareness, he felt the echo he sensed within her earlier. It poured into him as it did from Green Eyes. Inside, he felt a flash again, like a radiant star bereft of heat. Static interfaces formed and faded in the back of his mind. In the corner of his cog-feed, two lines of information flashed and faded. THAUMIC CYCLER - 3 thaum/c GHOSTS - [2] MEMORY ARTIFACTS DETECTED - INITIATE AUTO-SEQUENCING? Avo ignored that for now. Necrothurgy took time. Hours and days at the least to sift through all the contents and traumas that could compose a useful phantasmic. Ultimately, sequencing ghosts was both psychological artistry and metaphysical engineering; a practice usually done while the body was unconscious. Despite all his present mental vulnerability, unless existence was willing to loan him eight hours of time to make some wards, he needed to push on without. He still didnt fully understand what was happening to him, but right then, he didnt care. He basked in the joy of the kill, feeling his haemophagic cells breaking down the biomass he just subsumed, converting all that was Tumor Face into material for sustenance and repair. His blood. The crowning achievement of the Low Masters thaumaturgy. A colony self-moving, pseudo-sapient organism unto itself. It ensured that a ghoul fed with maximum efficiency. It also allowed for the infection and conversion of any living creature with enough organic tissue and brain matter. Ghoulification, people called it. It was how the numbers of his kind swelled from mere dozens to billions in the span of years. It was how they were able to sustain themselves without the need for food or rest for extended periods. Just a shame they were created at a time when the flesh had long since been usurped by alloy and technology. He finished with the rest of Tumor Faces'' corpse in minutes. While feeding, he willed his healing to accelerate as his hunger waned. The worst of the beast had been slaked. Rationality and thought remained. And so came the feeling of shame. Looking at the bodies of the two scavengers, it was like a veil lifted, fierce joy replaced by dawning disgust at what he had done. Walton would not have condoned this senseless murder, slavers though they were. That was self-delusion. Their admission of immorality simply gave him justification for violence. The truth was he just wanted to eat them. To make matters worse, he had no idea the layout of the barge, and now he was left withC A heartbeat pulled his attention. Avo heard strained gasps wheezing out from a collapsed lung. Wiping the viscera dangling from his jaws, he found Hap-Tat crawling along the deck of the ship. Her legs were bent at awkward angles, and a trail of blood dripped from the rails she was cast against before she fell. The memory of tossing her into Green Eyes to knock him off balance returned to him. It seemed so pragmatic then. Now, the act had struck him as pointless. Something merely to satiate his desire to hurt, to maul. For the first time in years, Avo was glad of his adopted fathers death. Avo had chosen his surrender, as Walton had taught him, but without his Metamind adjusted to inject doses of shame, horror, or revulsion at the psychopathy, he felt like an addict surrendering to old desires He followed Hap-Tat, unsure of what he was going to do. A series of cracks shuddered through his legs. The mending of his lower body was almost complete. His gait was less stagger and more stride now, claws tinking against the deck with each step. At the sound of his coming, her heartbeat quickened. She shot a look of terror over her shoulder and whimpered. No, she sobbed, No, Jaus--fuck, please no! She wiggled her way across the ground, limbs useless, body quivering. A pool of waste spilled out from her. She seemed a mocking mirror to how he had woken in the pit. He passed her with ease and came to a stop beside her. Her open wounds still smelled delightfully bitter with adrenaline, but he pulled his focus away from that. Flicking his mind through his cog-feed, he tried to scan her for injuries, but nothing came up. The memories he had weren''t usable yet; they needed sequencing. For now, all he had was a perception-enhancing overlay and two ghosts of unrefined rawness. That was going to be a problem. He couldnt remember a time when his mind didnt have a metaphysical fortress shielding it from incursions. Not since Walton decided to take him up the first Tier. Avo looked up at the chasm above him again. The light was mocking him. The skein of the Nether itself was mocking him, far beyond the reach of his two ghosts. This Metamind wasnt his. Didnt matter if it was built from a copy of his mind or not. His Metamind was created as an echo of Walton. The last thing he had of Walton. And now it was missing, lost somewhere in the continent-wide expanse of New Vultun. Trying to hunt a metaphysical construct down would be like picking out an individual air current in a hurricane. Didnt matter. He would find it, whatever the costs. But first, he had to climb out of the Maw. A soft sputter came from Hap-Tat again. Right. He was trying to review her wounds. No engram for it. He had to rely on his paltry guesswork and experience, but from how her organs were filling up with fluid, he doubted she had long. Didnt mean it, he had wanted to say. He decided against it. He did mean it. Would mean it again when the throes of hunger returned. Biting back a hiss of frustration, he remembered what Walton had told him about using the truth, embracing it even if it hurt. Iregret, Avo said, straining from the effort of this farce. It felt absurd. That this happened. It wasnt an apology. Even now, he wasnt sorry that he had mortally wounded her, and butchered the other two scavengers. All he was really sorry about was the fact that Walton wouldnt have approved. That he had failed to master himself; surrendered to the beast at the first chance. Across the stretch of the barges deck, the withering winds of the Maw whistled. Alone, the ghoul faced the girl he was going to kill and continued. Didnt want to do this. Hunger he trailed off. Hunger was just an impulse. He made the choice. Everyone chooses. Everyone lies to themselves. Truth is ugly. Truth is I want to hurt you. Truth is I want to eat you. Tried to fight it. I did. I lost. Again, he wasnt sure if this was for her or him. It was always easier for him to speak to the dead. To sort and sequence memories from ghosts, turn them into vessels for him to use. Perhaps it was a thing of power. That he could only express the truth when he couldnt be hurt. He saw a tear spill free from her left eye. Along her forehead, the error codes of the implanted ads continued pulsing. I dont want to die here He sniffed. He could smell her encroaching death. It was evident in the blood loss. She didnt have any regenerative implants, biostasis mods, and she definitely didnt make near enough imps to afford a phylactery to house her consciousness. She was poor. She was weak. She was going to die. And New Vultun would grow all the stronger for it. You will, Avo said. She cried softly at his words. Imsorry. He considered how to make things better for them. At least a bit. Debt slaves: the FATELESS. Where are they? Through her sobs, she laughed incredulously. F-fuck you, rotlick. Need to set them free, Avo said. Get them out. Make your death mean something. Her face froze. She looked at him again. I dontunderstand. He knew how she felt. Dont either. Trying to learn still. Want to do the right thing. Help me. Please. Dont just want you to be just another murder. He locked gazes with her. She swallowed. Hurts, she whispered. Im scared. A flash of annoyance rose inside him. This was useless. He should kill her and justC he repressed the urge. He tried to remember how he would feel if he still had a secondhand morality inducer. Shame. Guilt. Horror at killing. Violence was dissonant for humans. Shredded their psychology. He imagined what would shred his sanity. Hunger. Well. That wasnt very useful.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I know, he said. Awkwardly, he reached down and took her soft hand into his, careful not to flense her with his cleaver-like claws. Fear. Wont last. The slaves? Where are they? She swallowed. Theyre below. Three levels down in the phase-pens. Signed premium contracts to be smuggled through the borders. Distance filled her gaze. Peeking at her leg, he wondered how it would taste if he just took one bite. The injuries were deep. He could taste the marrow. He swallowed back his hunger. She was dying slowly, and the taste was delectable. No. Bad. This was bad. He needed to remember how it felt to regret. I dreamed of making it up, you know, she said, wheezing softly. Wanted to see thethe Tiers. The real New Vultun. Be happy for once. For the first time, she laughed. Kinda fucking figured. I just Her lips thinned. The door on the stern shouldnt be locked. Look, it hurts real bad butif you want to eat meokay. Just dont turn me. Sawsaw it happen to mymy ma. I cantI cant. Avo understood. The haemophage was a twin-edged sword. It subverted as much as it converted. Let it bleed into a living host with a prefrontal lobe and youd have yourself a nest of ghoullings in minutes. "Wont do that, Avo said. He thought about squeezing her hand, but her bones were soft. Unaugmented. Her heart was beginning to slow. The echo rippling within her coupled with the yolk of her ghosts surface thoughts called to him. Want me to kill you now? He said it as a favor. Her face cracked, breaking into pure anguish and horror at the coming end. Ohoh Jaus, she sobbed. Yes. Fuck! Do it, do it before IC He pulled free of her hand and took her by the throat. He squeezed like he intended to kill her instead of crushing her skull for torture. Her neck folded between his claws. Her body spasmed as she wheezed a final time, blood welling free from her eyes and mouth. Without metal, without enhancements, the flesh of a flat was frail. Too frail for this new age. Baseline humanity was marching down the plank of extinction. Avo wondered if the flats were the adversary that the Low Masters had created his kind to face instead of the beings of alloy and fire that actually dwelled above. Clearly, they did not know the enemy. Hap-Tats echo flowed up his arm and sank into the simmering flame inside him. Again, it sparked, carrying no heat, only brightness. A flash of another place manifested around him momentarily. Reality stuttered. His cog-feed lagged and momentarily rebooted. He felt better. Heavier. Like he was the anchor of something alien, something that just didnt belong here. It was like he had weight beyond his bodyCan unseen mass growing and budding like a watered seed. Avo decided the new sensation would go down better with a helping of flesh. THAUMIC CYCLER - 4 thaum/c GHOSTS - [3] MEMORY ARTIFACTS DETECTED - INITIATE AUTO-SEQUENCC After he was done, he commanded the Metamind to stop asking him if he wanted an auto-sequence. Auto-sequenced ghosts were terrible. Unoptimized for what he needed. Not to mention it was slower than just doing it himself. His cognition required special designs to enhance. And there was the other thing that kept repeating. Thaumic Cycler. Strange. He had fourthaums? Wait, why did he have thaums inside him? That belonged in a thaumaturgic reactor coreC A loud ethereal call echoed through the ship, washing into his mind and startling him from his contemplation. +Guild specters detected: Exorcists. Three hundred thousand feet and closing. All scavengers, de-rig and proceed below deck. All hands return to central warding chambers and take your depressants. We dive in two.+ They were going down into the Maw to avoid detection. The Guilds really didnt like scavengers digging around in their sections of the Maw. Avo wasnt fully sure why, but he stopped thinking of the Guilds as logical institutions long ago. All he knew now was that if he didnt get below deck, he would be alone up here as the lightless depths of the Maw ate him away. He made for the stern immediately. The barge should have a door there. Somewhere he could go down. He killed three people already. Ate them. Felt good doing it, but it was wrong. Wrong in the way only Walton could explain. Wrong in the way of treating people as resources to be consumed. What Avo could understand was that saving a thousand lives granted him a major surplus in ethic-economics than killing three scavengers. Morally, it was harder to conceptualize, so he didnt bother. The barge was an old one. It was shaped as a curved bow with twelve engines attached along its sides. The twelve pits across its length half-filled with refuse and bodies were fed by scooping claws that reached far down into the endless wastes of the Maw. A single multi-faceted diamond horn rose from the tip of the ship, spearing up into the air as it beamed threads of ghosts up into the Nether. A locus-projector. It was probably connected to the ship''s main systems. To have it exposed like this spoke of poor design. Or, more likely, that it had been installed on the ship afterward. The grime staining the ships hull ran thick between his prehensile claws. Greasy. Seeing as the terrestrial Guilds stopped using mundane matter as infrastructural materials centuries ago, the barge mustve dated even before the Godsfall. Jaus. He was sailing on a relic. The hatch leading down to the bowels of the ship emerged on a small semi-circular outcropping. It also looked like a new addition to the vessel. The bolts and burns around its edges made Avo guess it was constructed recently. On the left and right of the hatch, layers of tarp and plascrete covered what might have been missile silos or some kind of launch platforms. Avo didnt know enough about ships to judge. Suddenly, footsteps rattled out from behind the hatch. Above it, a green light flashed. The hatch lifted with a hiss. A gaunt, sharp-chinned man emerged rolling his left shoulder. Both of his arms were cheap implants: three-fingered with visible hydraulics. His neck was layered in ad-tats. One was a MemCode for a joy dealer. Avo couldnt imagine the man getting enough imps to justify renting out space on his body for advertisements. Kald! The boss said His eyes bulged when he saw Avo. They stayed bulged even after Avo opened his throat. Rational dismay clashed with euphoria. Another life belonged to Avo. He could not deny the savage delight it brought him. He told himself it had been necessary, but ?he could have just as easily taken the man hostage. Blood and circuitry splattered against the walls. Red spilled out between the mans titanium fingers as he sank down against the side of the door, dying quietly. Avo felt the mans ghost and echo sink into him again, drawn inexorably like stars seeping into a black hole. Interesting. It was like he was a center of gravity. THAUMIC CYCLER: 5 thaum/c GHOSTS - [4] Picking up the body, Avo threw it off the side of the ship and watched as it smeared into spraying mist as it got sucked through the engines. He blinked. He killed that one without even thinking. It was all reflex: too easy. He needed his Metamind sequenced. He needed a morality injector. The walkway down into the guts of the ship was narrow and cramped. It was not built for a ghoul nearing eight feet in height. His arms kept bouncing off things. The UV lights cooked his sensitive crown. Reverberating heartbeats and footsteps came from all around him. The reek of body odor mixed with cheap lab-grown meats filled the air. There were over a dozen people down in this section alone. Narrow walkways spilled out in three ways. Avo made his way left, toward where he could sense the fewest gathered personnel. He tried to carry himself lightly, walking on the tips of his claws. He was a digitigrade. Designed for sprinting and gripping, prehensile claws on both ends. His mass didnt help his subtlety. Still, the hum of the ship masked his approach. Past a sparking, busted security scanner, Avo peeked into a room and found four of the crew sitting in the corner, dull expressions of bliss on their faces. Empty vials and injector guns were scattered on the floor. A fluorescent glow stained the sheets of one of the four bunk beds protruding from the walls. These people were joyfiends. Addicts. Easy prey. Avo took a step in. The crew barely reacted. One laughed. Hey, consangs, that one lookslooks like a ghoul. Avo froze. Like a ghoul. Still just a ghoul. Biting down, Avo mustered the fullness of his will and turned away. He had killed four people scant minutes after waking up from his supposed death. They didnt need to die. But they would taste so good. Kill three and leave one alive? He could infect the last one and let the infestation distract and destabilize the ship while he freed the slaves. But what would he do if he ate them? What would he do if he found the slaves after? Could he stop himself? Wouldnt they be easy prey as well? You are what you do. That was what Walton had told him. Never too late to make a different choice. It was with that thought held firmly in his mind that he overcame the beast for the first time without the aid of his Metamind. That, and the fact that he recently feasted. Now, he was here to save the helpless. To balance his earlier transgression. Feeding his vices now would see him collapse later. Avo chose. And against his screaming urges, he backed out of the room but froze when he heard footsteps down the hall behind him. Just one. Good. Perfect opportunity. Avo slipped into the room and waited. Yous right, another one of the crew chuckled. She was an over-muscled woman with steel spines sticking out of her head instead of hair. It is a ghoul. They all laughed as if his presence was the best thing to happen to them. Bliss did that to a mind. Shadows lengthened around the corner. The steps drew closer. A whistling tune came with it. A stout, bald man sauntered down the walkway, an orb-shaped drone hovering behind him. In a burst of violence, Avo dashed the drone against the wall with a vicious backhand before snatching the man off his feet and dragging him into the room. Throwing the man against one of the beds, Avo leaned and whispered: Scream. Ill open your throat. Blink if you understand. This proved to be hard as the man had what looked to be cheap-chrome blinkers for eyes. They flashed between red, yellow, and green. Avo sighed. The fool had traffic lights implanted. Nod if you understand. The man nodded. Avo thought of his plan. How many on the ship. Three-hundred and thirty crew, the man croaked, terror staining his voice. Plus the captain. Fewer now, but the man didnt need to know that. Phase-pens? Red eyes looked at him confused. Two levels below. WhyC Avo barred his fangs. The man remembered who was asking the questions. Take me down. No. Control center first. He needed to take the ship. If he could seize the ship he could seal the doors. Take control of its locus and channel its store of ghosts to null the minds of the crew without a fight. The man led Avo out quietly, his pace gripped with tension. Aside from the mans eyes, he was practically a flat. Probably not that far removed from being a refugee or a newcomer to the city himself. Most natives in New Vultun had something in them that wasnt natural. Most snuffers were mostly inorganic due to their profession. The Guilders had no need for chrome. With their bioware and nanoware, they were already postmortals walking amongst apes. The fact that they held the monopolies on Souls and had most of the Godclads under their employ meant that they didnt just have favor with the metaphorical deck, they essentially owned it. Still, this boded well for Avo. A shipful of flats and lesser-chromers meant he was unlikely to run into someone with military-grade Titanskin or an Accelero. If he ran into someone like that, it wasnt a question if he could win, but how much of his corpse theyd leave behind. Most of the crew were in their rooms or gathered in other chambers to avoid the worst of the Maws radiative entropy. Avo had no idea how much the titanium shielding of the ship would help them, but something told him they wouldnt be enough. Scavenging was bad for longevity. In his periphery, he noticed a dim flame burning, piercing into his attention through the walls. Avo frowned. Shutting off his cog-feed for a moment, he watched as it faded. He activated his cog-feed again and caught Traffic-Sight by his scruff. Avo pointed in the vague direction of the flicker. Whats that way? Reactor room, the man said. I canC No. Keep going. He would study the reactor later when he had the time. Something about it called to him. Called to his hunger. Inexplicably, he wanted to know its taste. Right now, he needed control. It took a few more turns before he found himself finally descending down an incline. The door leading to the bridge was a layer of rusted steel. It looked dissonant beneath the green tarp and insulating foil that seemed to plaster the walls of the interior. Still, as Traffic-Sight approached, the door hissed open. On the other side, a mountain of a woman in a coat made of melted slats was glaring down at a bloodied man on his knees. His face was mangled and swollen. His lower lip was clenched in her left hand, gloved in gleaming scale. He reeked of pain and torture. She stood over him, a tower of indifference radiating rank annoyance. Unnoticed, Avo gripped his hostage in warning and watched. Her face was a patchwork of cyberware and scars. Her jaw was a thing of chrome running far up the right side of her face. Acid burns marred what little flesh there was on the other side. Both her eyes glinted like coals in the dark. As her coat drew back, Avo noticed that her legs looked akin to industrial pistons. The captain certainly made an impression. Even unintentionally. In the background of the narrow chamber, numerous holo-feeds were projected on a concave screen, lighting the dimness of the room in a glower of blue. The largest feed showed a few of the crew holding knives to the necks of two women. Twins. They shared features with the man currently kneeling before the captain. The captain sighed. Her lungs bellowed air in gales of breath. Again, Mr. Streklov, the eldest or the youngest? We signed a debt contract for two. I currently count three people in your family. I might be a no-good useless drunk piece of shit long past her heyday, but I can still do arithmeC She paused as a wind blew in through the hatch leading into the bridge. Frowning, she noticed Avo and Traffic-Sight and tilted her head. Engineer Yully, she said, are you aware that theres a ghoul standing behind you. Hostage, Avo explained. The woman nodded. Like this was an everyday occurrence to her. She had probably seen weirder. This was New Vultun after all. Right. Ghouls talk. They can do that. Just dont remember any of them taking hostages She frowned. Sighing, she casually pointed her palm at the manCStreklovsCface. A flash of light speared out. A clean beam cored an open wound into the mans head. His daughters screamed. The captain cut the feed with a wave of her hand. Still, the echo and the ghost spilled over into Avo, sinking into him like before. THAUMIC CYCLER: 6 THAUM/c GHOSTS - [5] METAMIND ADJUSTMENTS RECOMMENDED - FOUNDATIONAL STRUCTURE REACHING CAPACITY There, the captain said. Debt contract absolved. On to the next issue. She looked Avo up and down. You can understand Standard, yes? Avo grunted. Perfectly. As if she didnt hear him speaking it earlier. Right, she said. Just had to make sure. I had a bit too much to drink earlier. Was afraid I hallucinated you into existence. Avo wanted to tear into her. No. Needed a better means of attacking her. He didnt know the depth of her implants and her capabilities. The lack of properly built ghosts meant he couldn''t scry her either. Instead, he repeated one of his old tricks. With a sudden thrust, he launched Traffic-Sight at her and darted at an angle. The man collided with her and bounced off. The captain sighed, unaffected. Avo closed in, claws openC He made it two steps before a twin-layered halo rippled over out from her mind. Avos eyes widened. Over the crown of her halo, a phantasmal sigil ignited into a symbol of a sword. Like a constellation, the memories of her ghosts erupted from the center of her halo, flooding over his senses. This, then, was the difference between a poorly sequenced collection of ghosts and a factory-setting Metamind. A tidal wave of trauma swept into him unimpeded. Without properly made wards, he had no counter. No defense. At the whims of her will, pain exploded across his nerve centers as her ghosts usurped his mental functions. Avo gasped, toppling as her ghosts burrowed deeper, tearing through his surface thoughts, and rendering his mind porous. Hard to cling to. WARN- His cog-feed sputtered out. A flood of madness poured into his mind. He descended into a maelstrom of dreams, of chaos. Memories of being beaten and tortured overwhelmed his senses. It remained for a while until his mind was dulled enough to recede like waves returning to the ocean. A curtain of darkness remained over his eyes; a miasma of static parted him from his senses. Through a narrow pinprick of awareness, he felt his body spasming against the ground. He tried to stand. His body wasnt listening. The captain was actively intercepting snatching his thoughts before they could travel across his body. Is it dead? he heard Traffic-Sight ask through the darkness. No, the captain said. That would be a waste. Its a talking ghoul. Dont see that shit every day. Frantic footsteps rattled down the hall from whence Avo came. CaptainCcaptain! "Yes, yes, I know. Ghoul on the ship. Kald, Tagma, and Jessa are all dead. Li-yings missing. A beat followed. The captain sighed. I think I can deduce why. Yully. Get the crew on high alert. See if hesinfected anyone. Ms. Katha, take him down to the pens. Put him across the product and link him to the locus. Dose him with nightmares. He wont stay out otherwise. Fucking rotlicks. The pens? the unfamiliar voice asked. Yes, the pens. So we can sell it later. The captain scoffed. Its already killed three of mine. Might as well spin a profit from it somehow. I just thoughtC Chuck it in the Maw? the captain laughed. Why? So its death can be nice and painless. No. When we get back to Mazzas Junction well offload it with the FATELESS. At the sound of that, the beast within him exploded. It raged against the ghosts latched to his mind. It raged uselessly. A curtain of discord descended over his thoughts. His mind was drowned in a whirlwind of confusion, his senses flaking away from his awareness. He thought he was being pulled upward by something before he dreamed of a screaming saw slicing into the side of his abdomen. Next, he saw butterflies spill out from his wounds before the intestines he shouldnt have had turned into serpents and sank their fangs into his eyes. Then, came the final memory. He was falling into a burning house as he choked on smoke. The haze grew thick. So thick that they were all that remained of his thoughts. A growing fog ate away at him, drowning him in darkness. 10-20 Daemon Did you plan all this? Hm? Killing the Bloodthanes and caging Nu-Scarrowbur with the compromised golems. Jhred Greatlings psychological compromise. The ghoul took too long to kill him. The arrival of the Highflame CadreC [Laughter] Planned for all this? No. I have a desired destination, but the paths offered to me are myriadCever and always. Truly, this turn of events is as surprising to me as it is to you. Then howC Because you think the future is a structure to be engineeredCyou see things in terms of analogy and simile. A construct of fate, perhaps. I see it for what is. And what is it? And what the fuck is your Heaven other than absolute proof that fateC Do you believe you have free will? What? Because you do. Its powering our Souls. Its the reason why I see paths and not a path. It''s why I''m putting up with this boring conversation with you right now. At present, you are destined. You are destined as you have been since I noticed youCsince I gave you a destiny, pruning away all the path-ending obstacles while feeding you all the soft meat like the helpless little bird you are. In this measure, the only thing that can be said is if there is a fate for everyone, it is because I made it so. ...Wow. Before I met you, I thought I was the single most narcissistic half-strand in this city. I am not a narcissist. I am but a simple gardener and there are so many paths to prune, seen and unseen. Such as oh, what a delight! Abrel Greatling! Sister to JhredCour poor patsy. Hmm. [Temporal Distortion Detected] Very well, I have fixed matters. I am away to indulge in Suncloud now. Do not bother me for the next nine hours for I will be dead for most of that duration from repeated overdoses. [Temporal Distortion Detected] What? What the hells did you just do? Zein? Zein? [DAEMON DETECTED] Zein! What the fuck did you just do! Shit. Aegis? Hyperwave, now! Patch me through to Sunrise. Zein did something again. -Zein Thousandhand and Cas eldCanduir, Ninth Column 10-20 Daemon CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE III [EST. 881 THAUM/c] ->STRIDER UPON THE HIGHEST, FALCONESS OF THE SLAIN COMET CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE III [EST. 459 THAUM/c] ->[HEAVEN TEMPLATE: AEGIS OF TIDES] Heavens bared, two Highflame Godclads descended from on high, their ontological weight pressing down on all that was. The block groaned to the symphony of crackling glass. Blood ungrasped by Avo shivered and rose as steam. Feet away, the alloy pylon groaned and bent. An eldritch force wriggled and wore the concept of light itself, the intensity of the radiance like a thousand knives gliding across Avos plates. Chambers howled a yelp and threw himself behind the ghoul. Essus held up his hands, his implants screaming as unseen edges carved sparking grooves into his metal. Of Avos group, only he and Draus stood unshaken, the former pleased with his weight advantage, the latter long-used to dealing with the eldritch and no longer burdened by shock. Invoking his Woundshaper, Avo maintained the haemokinetic links enchaining him, Draus, and Mirrorhead as conduits to a limited network. Slowly, he reached out for three more signatures as well, slipping from within blood and matter to loop in Essus, Chambers, and the Shadowcrawler. Holding his hands out slowly, he did nothing to provoke an assault while the two new unknowns did nothing to pursue one. He wondered if Zein had plotted thisCif this was another one of her schemes unraveling into more schemes, or if she merely failed to foresee this path as she did the Incubi. As with all things Zein, anything was possible. +Aghhh!+ Chambers screamed mentally as well as physically, clutching his bleeding nose. +I think the light took the tip right off me! Fuck! My nose! My nose is the best thing about me. Other than my ears and my eyes andCoh, Jaus fuck Im blind too fuck me!+ +Chambers, be quietCDraus,+ Avo said, flicking over the necessary mem-data to incriminate Jhred as Zeins patsy, +know what Heavens these Clads got?+ A dissonant sensation ground across her mind. Her helmet had closed around her face just in time to spare her what Chambers suffered. It was like her bio-rig was fending off the dull blades of an omnipresent blender. +No idea what the hells the Strider is. Must be some new shit they cooked up. Aegis though Yeah, I fought along that series. Give those to the Newsouled just out from Atraxis. We got a rookie on our hands.+ Avo grunted. Possibly exploitable. GHOSTS: [11565] The ghosts transferred into Jhreds mind as the Guilder moaned. Considering the condition of his Metamind, Avo was effectively stuffing an open wound with foreign flesh. With a sweeping motion, the cutting brightness slashed across Avos cordyceramic plates before slipping off him and cleaving into the surrounding infrastructure, plascrete bursting apart; plasteel wailing as lines and new markings lined the metal. Suddenly, the world wasnt so blinding anymore. Looking up, Avo gazed upon the revealed visages of his two unexpected guests. The first Godclads Heaven bore the closest semblance to a human aesthetic he had ever seen. With twelve arms and three legs feathered from digit to elbow, the shapes of nu-birds rose free from the limbs like smog spewing upward, mimicries of misted falcons. However, the greater whole of the Heaven resembled shining regalia, layers of star-bright plating fused together to form an armored whole. It was as if someone had forged a cuirass and a curving great helm from the tail of a descending comet, capturing the luminous contrails in its entirety. From its back sprouted twelve wings of light, each an amalgamation of countless ancient weapons enmeshed together, the implements formed from dripping light. Compared to the Strider, the Aegis was of far simpler conception. A ninety-foot-tall castle crowned by three serpent-shaped towers spewed water free from open ports across its parapets. Reality around its volumetric area grew thick with fetid water and a nest of snakes writhed and twitched in the grim fog. It held behind the Strider, dwarfing the armored figure by several dozen times in size but inversely so in presence. As the Strider held its wings open, Avo realized it was channeling the nature of a cutting blade out from all the light that emanated from it with how swords were cycling at the tips of its wings. For a heartbeat, the encroaching Aegis paused and regarded them like a titan would passing ants. Then, the light collapsed inward and a burst of falcons speared low from the skies. Dashing down as they skimmed the surface of the running blood, a young woman materialized into shape with a glance of passing brightness. As the shine faded, the nu-falcons were no longer creatures of mist and ash but golden-carved adornments upon her pure white heels. Flowing hair of obsidian black. A porcelain-white carapace of exoskeletal armor encased her. A visor depolarized, letting the angularity of her features peer through, betraying no obfuscation to the resemblance she shared with Jhred, already bared to the world. His suit was shredded after being caught in the light, unharmed though his flesh mightve been. Avo recognized her nigh-instantlyCand he felt Draus do the same. +Fuck me,+ Draus sighed, +Abrel Greatling. Godsdammit. I thought you said she wouldnt be back for daysC+ +Yeah,+ Avo replied, cutting her off. +Thats what she said.+ Annoyance bit at him. If Zein hadnt gone and caused this messCif he hadnt used Ninth Column as a means to distract the Low MastersCthis dive would have been sublime; the run would have been a masterwork. Instead, they were dealing with this. Twin streams of blood cut upward into the air like splitting funnels. Avo could barely keep track of her even while she remained grounded in the shell of her humanity. From beyond the crashing glass she approached in ashen bursts of falcon-feathers. As did the Shadowcrawler, which Avo had commanded to swim into a stretch of darkness cast by the block. A plan was forming in his mind. One that ended in evasion. Or perhaps even a taste of dessert after the main course. Her leap came without noise as suddenly she dove, slamming hard at the center of the food court. Blood fled in a sphere away from her, while Avo cocked his head. In the backdrop, the castle continued to loom as the first droplets borne of an unnatural rain began to fall, the drizzle thick with slime. +Got us marked,+ Draus said. +In a couple of minutes, rain is gonna build and fall hard over us, and anything that gets rained on can get drawn into the Aegis. Seen it happen more than a few times.+ Stress built across her link. +We aint facin two Clads. Therere at least four here. Probably five.+ +Five?+ That doused Avos aspiration toward a fight substantially. With only these two, he felt himself more than capable of engineering the situation to his favor. Five? With three unseen? Not even the great feast he just partook in had him that drunk on the liquors of hubris. He bit back a hiss and shot a glare at Jhred. Pathetic, broken Jhred.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. He should have killed the man when he had the chance. Or at least spirited him away to a more private location to indulge in further revels. Yet, perhaps not. He was still connected to Jhred. And with the man so mentally shattered, there were countless clefts to use as handholds, countless sequences missing and replaceable. And more than that, he had influence over Jhreds Frame as well. It would be hard puppeteering the man in combat without fully understanding his ontologics, but it offered surprise and near-certain lethality. More importantly, it offered a means of escape. With a final two clicks of her heels, Abrel Greatling stopped just twenty feet away from them. Emotions swirled across her face in a whirlwind, expressions twisting from disbelief to confusion to a snarling rage before she finally mastered herself. All the while, she spared no one but Jhred a second glance. She extended her index finger. She pointed at Draus first. You. Get your bioform to carry my brother over to me. You got a minute to start explaining what happened here, and afterward, I am going get up very, very close to you, and were going to have a mind-to-mind conversation so I can see if youve been lying to me more or not. Her words were spat through clenched teeth, her control strained to the limit as she shook. Draus didnt turn to Avo when she cast her next thoughts at him. +You got a scry on her Meta? Think you can work a null on her?+ +No read. The Nethers still down. The blood is keeping away from her. Could control itCforce it to lash at her. Will almost certainly expose me. They dont know Im a Godclad too yet.+ +Yeah,+ Draus said. +Lets keep it that way for as long as we can. That idea you had about usin Mirrorhead to help us pull a runner. I like it. Think I can do you one better. You dont use your blood to find us some glassCyou use Shadowcrawler. You have the golem pull a couple shards into the dark and bring it over here with us. Then, we all take a little dive, you synced?+ Avo understood the gist of her recommendations. He immediately set himself to the task. +Yeah. Got it.+ +Good. Ill see if I can stall this half-strand.+ She sighed. +Time for me to use all that argumentation-shit I didnt learn at Regular Academy.+ Avo disguised his bark of laughter with a snarl. Abrel shot him a strange look. Wandering over to pull Jhred from his pedestal, Avo studied his prize and exposed his fangs in a smile. Turning to his sister, the son of House Greatling opened his mouth, struggling to warn his sister of the impending danger, yet no words came through. There was too much missing inside him. Too much. This too could be used to his advantage, Avo realized. He could supply Mirrorhead with useful dialogue. Help support Draus. Well, Draus said, keeping her helmet on as the weight of the Aegis rain grew from plinking scales to falling stones, its a good thing you came down here. We was gonna find you folks after. Beneath Abrels visor, an eyebrow of disbelief angled above her right eye. Really. You were going to bring a battered, broken, obviously fucking tortured Guilder of one of the most esteemed families of Highflame back up the Tiers. Yourselves. Just you? Alone. In this blood-soaked midden? You, your bioform, that street squire, and When her eyes fell upon Chambers, she did a double take. The ex-enforcer turned then, still clutching his eyes and groaning. Throwing one leg over the other, Rantulas coat opened and Abrel saw more than what she expected. ...Why does that one have his penis exposed? Abrel asked, more confused than anything. Draus went stiff and shot Chambers a brief look. What? Him? He was like that when he got here. He aint with us. What? Chambers whimpered, not believing what he was hearing. +Chambers. Tell her anything and I make you remember the aratnids.+ Chambers mind screamed with despair. +No, fuck-cosang, Im just dealing with BEING FUCKING BLIND RIGHT NOW! Im not gonna tell this sow anything. Dont aratnid meCnot again. DONT BLOOD ME EITHER!+ Well. That was one problem solved. Past the Guilder, Essuss eyes were fixed on Abrel, his body frozen stiff as if he didnt know how to respond. +Essus. When the dark comes. Jump into it.+ The father looked at Avo. First mistake. Then he gave a reflexive, tentative nod. Second mistake. Abrel caught the action, and her eyes narrowed. She gestured down at her visor. Your auditory implants. Turn them off. She sighed. Take your helmet off first. +Chance shell recognize you?+ Avo asked. Draus went still. +Pretty high.+ Alright. Use Jhred it is then. Enough of facing unexpected requests. It was time the turn this interrogation in on itself. Injecting suggestions whispered by hastily infused ghosts, Avo brought Zeins incriminating memories to the forefront. It was time for a false confession. Confused and lost beneath the collapsing structures of his own mind, Jhred began to cry uncontrollably, choking on the rain as Avos fake memories suffused all that was missing. Jhred, Abrel said, swallowing to keep her own unbalance in check. Jhred. Get. Yourself. Together. You have shamed our family enough. Jhred? Do you hear me? I did it, Abrel, Jhred said, his voice a maddened howl. I did it for mother. I dont know I cant remember why but I I did it I killed those peopleCour people. His sister went very, very still. What? The golems and the traffic and the killing up topCI did it! I dont remember how, but I did it! I made I made our own people go to war against each other! I I Avo withdrew his suggestions and let the mania burn itself out in Jhred. The Guilder was mostly impulse now. Impulse and emotion. Thoughts were slippery things to his grasp. Abrel shook her head. You no. She shot an alarmed look over her head at the distantly floating Aegis and whipped back around. No. You didnt. You couldnt haveCyoure a fuck-up, Jhred Greatling! A fuck-up. I know youCI love you but you dont have the skill or the will to do this. She hissed a jagged breath. Suddenly, she realized she had lost control of herself in front of complete strangers. Her face went ice-cold. Someone altered his mind. Was it you? Any of you? She asked Draus. Draus shrugged. Were just dumb street squires, Higher. Aint no Necros among us. Besides, aint no sensible Necro willin to stick their head out in the open orCor leave their mark half nulled. Thats just lack-preformance. Avo shot her a glare from the corner of his eye as he reached down to pick Jhred up. I changed my mind, Abrel said, her harsh voice slipping out just behind him. His Echohead chittered startled, and he realized she had closed the gap between them in a near instant. Even Draus seemed taken aback. +Girls got some high-end augs cookin in her.+ Aside, Abrel said as she pushed past him. Avo obliged. He diverted his focus to groping around the shadows with his connected golem, looking for fragments of glass. He cursed himself for being so total in his destruction, so willing to liquefy matter. He could direct it along a detour to where the walls of glass once stood. Better chance hed find what he needed there, but the risk was greatCthe movement of the Shadowcrawler would beC A lance of pure light punched down from above, plunging through the darkness of his Shadowcrawler and outright evaporating through a hundred more feet. Shadowcrawler''s link vanished. Around them, all forms of darkness began to bubble anomalously, twitching free from the bodies they were bound to as blood and debris sank into their depths. Avo felt his flesh sizzle from the sudden spike in heat, hissing reflexively as he threw up his hands and guarded his eyes. It stung like a fusion burner did from a hundred feet away. Both Essus and Chambers shared in his pain, crying as their flesh bubbled and boiled as well. Only Abrel and Draus gave muted responses. At least until the Regulars breath hitched. +Shit. Avo. Up. Third Clad.+ He looked up at the same time Abrel did, both of them catching each other in the act. Directly overhead, masked by curtains of encroaching rain, what looked akin to a shrouded dawn bloomed beyond the haze, a swirl of obsidian spheres dancing around it. It had been looking down, and it had spottedCor felt the Shadowcrawler somehow. He glanced at Abrels face again, and he saw her pupils dilate, saw her eyes widen. An unseen force solidified around him via the vectors of falling rain. A swirl of light built around Abrel, falcons flaring free like exhaust from her elbows and ankles. Above, a needle of flame speared atop his scalp like sinking pain. Firing his Celerostylus, Avo snarled as he conjoined himself with his bloodC Only for a bell to chime from inside DrausCringing out in an echoing tide as it struck him. Zein somehow unlatched from his very being, tearing free from his ontology and beating all four other Godclads to the draw. Her glaiveCso fast Avo couldnt perceive it even with boosted reflexesClicked out a dozen blows, all of them overlapping as her form flickered. Impossibly, Abrel spilled apart into partitions of spraying gore. Two distant screams sounded in unison as the rain suddenly broke and the heat vanished entirely, waves of cold rushing in. The Aegis split into two, and through the last droplets of its falling rain, embers fell, followed by a bifurcated corpse. Zein appeared next to him, shaking her head as she hummed with amusement. I must admitCthe cadre was beyond my anticipation as well. But not anymore. She turned to him and smiled thereafter, her form a temporal ripple upon the rushing torrent of time itself. Let us count those kills as but one. A moment of reset for the coming battle to be more favorable. And then, as the streams of existence began to unspool from her being, her eyes flashed as if she suddenly noticed something. Glancing out at the horizon beyond the clearing rain, Zein frowned. Ah. A closed-loop. Well-made. A pity for what must occur. She gestured up to the sky itself. A demiplane is caging you right now, and I will break it for you. This is two. Eighteen left. Make these chances count. And seize the chance to kill the daemon. Captain Draus still needs her Frame, you know. To accentuate her point, she blinked over and struck Draus over the back of the head. Keep him in check next time. Gloat after you secure your prey. She reappeared next to him. Before Avo could ask ZeinCor her avatarCwhat was happening, she flickered next to Jhred and overlapped her Meta with his. The last words, before she vanished out of existence, were spoken thusly in mind and sound: Vent. The Guilder obeyed. Avo dove out of the way. Light speared out from his being like a prismatic scythe, cleaving through matter but spraying gouts of Soulfire free upon contact with the rain. And then, the gouts exploded free into a supernova and diluted themselves into structures near and far. All that was glass began shattering and tearing free from its anchors; all that bore the nature of reflection broke loose and twisted space itself into knots. Reaching out with his Heaven, Avo manifested the Woundshaper as he pulled Draus and the others into the embrace of his being before whatever might follow rendered such an act too late. It was a wise decision. Then, space itself shattered apart like glass as a Frame-shaking screech tore across existence like nails upon chalk, and through the fissured flesh of reality, Avo fell. 10-21 The Shattering of Mazza’s Junction The Agnosi lied to us Keep lying to us I saw the truth. I saw it when my Daemon came to me. It didntCit was so hurtCall those lives inside screaming remembering the world that wasCthe gods were anchors and the god inside me was awake but I was the virusCI am the virus and I keep bleeding over into it and it is me and we wanted to become become becomeC The Agnosi lied! They lied lied lied to us allCgodsCpeopleCall! The Frame is another world but there are cracks bridges things to flow and rush and run and the Frames will usurp reality are more than subrealityCit can eat. It dreams inside you but its a crippled dreamerCsomething is missing something is broken something something something... I dream of the Silken Spiral. I dream of it. Dream of the one that built it. The Broken Weaveress and the first daughters who fed themselves to the fire who burn still and burn and dream with the Weaveress who woke inside but but it was we and we were joined but wanted to part and break but joined and consciousness melded man-cant-be-godsC No! No please dont take my Soul from meCmy fireCthe truest FIRE! The only thing that is real, we are all dust and distortions in the tapestry let me be real please let me be realC -[Redacted], The Dissection of a Daemon, Firmament of Voidwatch 10-21 The Shattering of Mazzas Junction For a fleeting heartbeat, as time choked down the pipe of his surging reflexes, Avo beheld the form of the Daemon and found himself entranced. The scene unfolding was one of fission and dichotomy. Amidst a ballet of swirling spatial fractals, surrounded by falling pieces unlatching from the megablock, a being of pulsing flame drew shape from glass. It was a near-perfect mimicry of the Twice-Walker in structure, but the nuances were all wrong. Abrel and the other Highflame Godclads were missing somewhere in this chaos. He had no trace of their whereabouts or estimation of when they would resurrect, but they had to be in this chaos somewhere. For now, though, he was alone. Just him, his allies, and that which his cog-feed was screaming to him about. ANATHEMA OF REFLECTION, THE TWICE-WALKER AWAKENED Separated by five hundred feet, the Daemon came free with the cascading debris, emerging from a wound in the megablock. Opposite to it, Jhred Greatling rose as if drawn up by a counterweight. Flesh and hissing fire licked out at the air between the cracks lining its body. There was a blinding glow crackling within it like its quavering exterior was straining to hold a furnace back from a meltdown. Finally, a twisting loop connected it to JhredCits form unveiled in the real for the first time that Avo could remember. Time itself bubbled into form, the faintness of a translucent dragon echoing beneath its waves. Scales containing writhing bodies and grasping forms called out the world beyond, each screaming proclamations and oaths of devotion. Praise be the King of Mirrors! Praise be! Praise be the twice-fold path! The treaded routes stand open! We need but follow! Praise be! Praise be! And with each revolution the dragon made, the head of the serpent eating away eternally at its own body, the flame maintained itself. Avo watched as he plunged, darting through fractures like space, twisting from place to place as anomalous reflections sent him in myriad directions. Enraptured by what he beheld, he barely regarded the words of his Woundshaper. So. Such is what clothes meCsuccor of the unceasing variety. These are the faces of our worshippers, then? Bound infused and reinfused into our fire? Delightful. It gave a low, bemused laugh. And to think I held such unexplained loathing for the chrono-autosarcophagics. Such was the first time he heard his Heaven process its dislike for the dragons, but such things were of tertiary notice as DaemonCor what Avo assumed was the DaemonCbegan to reel Jhred Greatling toward it. Mo-ther! It called out, voice chiming like a million-million bells swinging in unison across the rooftops of a city. For. for mother Again, it pulled, and Jhred, shattered in mind and spirit, merely bounced as he was drawn through the vortex of swirling chaos. Between them, tangled within the once-empty epicenter of the dragons coil, Soulfire began to flicker and build. Glass began to shudder and crack. Reflections twisted and jumped and blended as bindings shifted into glass. More of the remaining megablock vitrified. Snapping free from the distraction, Avo shaped his body and constructed propellers as he attempted to navigate the maelstrom of twisting mirrors and crumbling matter. He couldnt go too fast or the ones within him would splatter. He couldnt shift to his Galeslither for there was no way he could react in time to the unfolding chaos around him. WARNING: DAEMON DETECTED ->ASSOCIATED HEAVEN: [TWICE-WALKER] - FOURTH SPHERE ->REND CAPACITY [TWICE-WALKER]: 63% SPATIAL METAPHYSICS UNRAVELING REND SPILLOVER DETECTED Daemon pulled again and Jhred approached. Three more times and they would be joined. The flickering Soulfire flared this time, blasting out a tide that flensed the structures of reality, undoing the fabric of all that was and exposing the foundational symbology knitted beneath the bones of existence. The surge crashed against Avos Frame, the uncanny sensation of ontology scraping against ontology like his bones were being dragged against Jhreds. Space came asunder, like brittle glass flung against a wall. Domains bled over into domains as the Jhred and the Twice-Walker screamed, their voice a union of pain - a divine echo grafted to the voice of the man wailing unwanted epiphanies. Keeping to the form of the Woundshaper, his surroundings broke into a chaotic kaleidoscope of reflective tunnels. The block was dissolving, disintegrating as vitrification spread and more glass shattered free, sailing masses of collapsing infrastructure. Lines of blood and water remained halted, stained with the paint of eldritch fire. Jhreds Hell had broken a sacrament in trying to reap the substance of fluids for his singularity. However that worked. Avo still knew little regarding the nature of Daemons or hubrises. Only that he should avoid ever trespassing into their categories. Nothing cements a lesson like beholding the hammer of consequence coming down upon another. Glinting shards and all things bearing any remote semblance of reflectivity swirled like lashing asteroids as they began to build at the heart of the cataclysm. Expanding a protective lattice around his Woundshaper, Avo unmade all matter he made contact with. He risked no concussive impacts for within his ontology were three passengers. Three mortal, fragile passengers. It was a miserable thing, being bereft of a Frame and its Heavens. Grits of rubble and entire sections of blood smeared against his subverting touch all the same, spilling over him like rain upon a windshield. Reaching out with a tendril, he tried to gather his bearings and recapture a sense of direction, to orient and pursue his target. Yet, as he reached out to liquefy a rising screen of glass he found himself slipping through instead, tumbling out from the other side as he began melting through the insides of the megablock. The diminutive figure of a falling person was silenced as it vanished into his blood. One of the few remaining survivors from the massacre earlier, Avo guessed. They hadnt escaped fast enough. THAUMIC OUTPUT - 3671 THAUM/c GHOSTS: [11566] REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 34% His Rend was climbing fast, rising by a percentage point every perceived second. He needed to find a place of calm to ventCto regain his awareness ofCThis tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. An inhuman shriek rang out from the glass. If Avo was still of flesh, the noise would have deafened him instantly. Manifested as his Heaven, however, his domains perceived for him, new senses scaffolded upon baseline ones, the thickness of his blood holding against the shivering shockwaves as more glass burst apart around him. Layers of walls parted before his latticed perimeter. Obstacles poured away into gushes of red, unmade by the nature of his being. He burst free in an onrush of erupting blood, emerging like a flechette ripping free from a body. Tons of mass followed in his wake, transmuted by the touch of his being, and even with the pace of time castrated by his Haemokinetically charged reflexes, there was simply too much happening at once for him to track. His Phys-Sim was screaming and even widening his woven perimeter often warned him too late of encroaching glass. He angled and twisted as reflections funneled strips of being out of his control. More than once he lassoed severed sprays of crimson cut free from his being back into place using his Canon of Harmonize, light spearing out from atop his spire. Yet, as he avoided another dozen pieces that could have left his interior hollow, that could have killed one of his allies on impact, he saw it. Salvation came as a tumbling, spinning island breaking free from a vast fracture between folds of space. From behind it tumbled the flickering visage of a glitching sunCthe one that once loomed over the islandCthat now basked everything in shadow. From out of nowhere, cerulean blue ocean water rushed over Avo like a deluge while grains of sand bounced from his shell. Three hundred feet away, Jhred Greatlings private retreatCor a neat bisected part of itCrushed outward toward Avo with six dormant golems drawn in its wake and a rain of drones. Including the ones carrying the mini-nukes. GOLEMS DETECTED: SANGEIST X2; FULGERHUND X1; SHADOWCRAWLER X3 MICRONUCLEAR DRONE SEQUENCES DETECTED - SIGNATURES X5 That left three of the drones missing amidst a swarm hurling free through the air. Accelerating his propellers slightly more, Avo constructed veins of blood to fasten and cocoon Draus and the others inside him. He kept them close to his coreCwhere his physical body once directed the blood before his recent maturation. Casting out a net of spreading hands, he caught and gathered what he could. He liquefied drones and pulled the warheads inside him. The act was a risk, but it was better than letting them sail free through the open air. With how they were procured, Avo didnt want to risk death by proximity to thermonuclear detonation. A memory flashed through his mind as he recalled Zein firing a certain missile at him. Yeah. Best avoid that. After securing the warheads, Avo focused on jacking the tips of his tendrils into the loci of the golems. Spearing through the air, every inch of blood he lengthened away from his body was mass diverted away from structural stability. He was still lurching wildly through the airCnot truly flying but not really falling either. In the real, less than two seconds had passed, but he knew his time was limited. The other GodcladsCif they had more than one cyclerCwere possibly in the process of resurrecting. The manner which Zein killed them left much to questionCif they were truly dead, he felt no release from their Frames no sign of thaumaturgic disturbances. Accessing the golems, he subsumed the Sangeists first, drawing their Heavens into his Soul with an outward ripple of his Frame, his fire rushing out like water caressing a beach before pulling the grain back out into the deep of his subreality. He immediately felt the hollowed shells of the old gods plunge into his liminal depths, much to the delight of his Woundshaper. Accessing the functions of the Fulgerhund and the Shadowcrawlers, he drew the golem inward as he anchored himself to the spiraling island with a haemokinetic cord. Pulling himself close, he used it as cover so that he might use it to draw him closer to where Jhred was. He noticed a blinding shimmer of Soulfire six hundred feet away over the toppling megablock andC The space around him twisted again. More fractures opened, shards of existence turning to glass turning pathways elsewhere. Another blastwave of Soulfire crashed down as part of the island erupted into glass. Part of the room where Jhred met his benefactor at Kaswargs Grove shot past the island. It seemed all the pathways the Twice-Walker had connected were now spilling over into each other, drawing physical locations through spatial collapses. Avo wondered if this was the nature of the DaemonCthe Heaven inverting its liminal environment with reality itself, or was there something more to this? Suddenly, the island behind him split, and he felt his cord snap free. A fractal plunged, edge first pointed to himC Time around him echoed. Darting out from the flow of his blood, a variant of Zein shot free and cut. Her glaive whistled free, faster than even Avos enhanced senses could perceive. His mind lurched as he watched her parry aside the spatial anomaly as if swatting a fly. Seventeen. Her words came as a discordant whisper like they had been spoken to him in the past, and he was only hearing them now. As soon as she emerged, she faded beneath the streams of time. And put the Guard-Captain in the Fulgerhund. She will know what to do. Heeding her word with haste, he planted the FulgerhoundCa spear-shaped golem lined with eighteen arcing coils along its concentricityCand opened its underside hatch. With a nudge of his internal constructs, he inserted Draus and the others within the golem with as much care and gentleness as he could muster and sealed it again. Considering the speed he was operating, it would take some time for even Draus to catch up. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 77% And he was going to need to vent soon. All his protective measures, constructs, and haemokinesis were creating entropy at an unprecedented rate. If he found the chance to die, perhaps he could find some method to upgrade his Heavens and Hells again. Eyeing the Shadowcrawlers and the lashing beams of light, he growled and subsumed the golem as well. They would provide ample additions to his Galeslither, perhaps. He couldnt use them for much of anything at present with how fleeting the passing shadows were. Might as well add them as canons afterward. A trickle of thoughtstuff flowed up from the locus of the Fulgerhund into his blood. His ghosts carried the message budding across the Nether-lag caused by their perceptive differentials. With his former cargo securely contained within the golem, he accelerated faster, his propellers drilling through the sound barrier as he picked up speed. Draus was augmented. Essus too. Chambers was an acceptable loss if it came down to it. Avo could still get what he needed to examine from the ex-enforcers ghost. He veered off course almost immediately, but he was still moving back toward where the Daemon was drawing Jhred back into himself. And then a near-perfectly translucent pane of glass glitched into existence in front of him, sparking free from reflections on droplets of rain. It opened as light erupted along its core and another place shown throughCthis location was an open chasm of devastation that led out into another portion of the city. Flipping his spinning propulsion constructs, he fought to slow himself, but his Phys-Sim revealed what he already expected: His velocity was too high and this was too close. Maybe Zein wouldC +Get in the golem.+ Draus thoughtcast had finally loaded into his ghosts and Avo''s mind twisted. He didnt fully know the functions of the golems, but both Zein and Draus seemed aware of its use. Shrugging aside anxiety, he released the majority of his mass before threading his mortal form back into shape within the Fulgerhound. Spilling into a cockpit too narrow for his size, he immediately felt his bones snap painfully backward as the intensity of the g-forces bore down at him all at once, his perception of time snapping back to normalcy like a rubber-band. He choked as he toppled back, bouncing off a gimbal and elbowing Essus in the chest. Then, just as swiftly, the pull of acceleration faded and static tickled his body. Avo, Draus cried, not bothering to turn her head around, get ready. Lashing out with his blood, he jacked into the locus that Draus was leaning against. Exo-sensory data filled his cog-feed as multiple systems and details painted his mind with a swirl of colors. They were jumping between stretches of reflection as an arcing bolt of lightning. With each turn or transition, a number indicator diminished. This Fulgerhund had eighty-four jumps left before its Rendsinks were full. Only four more jumps before the external simulation showed them reaching the Daemon. Warning klaxons screamed through the golems internal systems as Avo linked his mind with Draus as well. +Going to eject out using my Galeslither when we approach. Kill Jhred. Absorb his Frame before the Rupture happens.+ Draus head snapped to shoot an alarmed glance at him. +Rupture? Theres gonna be a Rupture?+ Right. His few seconds had been a lot longer than hers. +Just get ready. Frames going to be yours in a minute.+ A note of genuine trepidation sang out from Draus. +Yeah sure+ She still didnt truly want it, to live in endless loops and forget the weight of life and become like Jhreds motherCall power, all folly. Nothing was ever easy, but some choices were harder. Remembering the fragile lives he cupped, he pondered the alternative for her. What was a Frame but more chances to choose? To learn? But it had to be her choice. It had to be. One jump. Two jumps. Three. Four. He whistled free from the hissing gaps his blood left within the structure of the golem. With how rough he punched through to get at the locus, it was a miracle the entire thing didnt decompress. Gusting out into the screaming form of a tri-headed steed, the Galeslither brayed loud as the Daemon looked up, regarding him for the first time. This close, they were bare to each other, with no place to hide. Jhred was mere feet away from touching it. Avo didnt know what that would cause, but with how the anomalies grew with each tug of the dragon, he didnt want to find out. Glass tore out from the Twice-Walkers impossible twin like ten thousand surface-to-air missiles of all shapes and sizes. He felt them cut up through the air, an unseen hand guiding them as they sought him out. The matter would not touch him, but if it managed to form a gateway just in front of himC The Fulgerhund slammed into the Daemon, spearing it into place upon what few plasteel bones remained of the megablock. Mo-ther! the Daemon and Jhred screamed. I want to be whole! GiveCgive me back my mother-body! Inside, the Woundshaper understood something. My broken kin theyre tapping into the mind of the Frames host. The Heaven is rememberingCusing the mortal to channel its stripped ego Its stripped thoughtsAvo didnt have time to consider the implications of what that meant. Jhreds body was carved and sliced by countless pieces of shrapnel. One of his arms was folded the wrong way at the shoulder, most of his suit and skin denuded along the air. The eye Avo ate had grown back, but the other now had a piece of rebar jutting out of it. Funneling himself down Jhreds throat, Avo took no more chances with his targets death. There was too much to risk with a Rupture, and his hunger demanded to be sated nowCtoo long had he denied himself the life of this Guilder. Jhred, for his final words, gave but a rasping whimper as sense seemed to return to himCif but for that briefest moment. Not worthy never worthy. And Avo expanded the currents inside him, prying Jhred Greatling asunder. Just in time to hear Abrels despairing scream rise above the cacophony. 10-22 The Pruning of the Path (I) Aegis, this is Sunrise. I confirm Rupture containmentthe Heaven remains unfallen. Reality is stabilizing. Negative. I do not see the Stillborn. Reflections are collapsing over each other. Space is getting shunted throughout the affected regions. Im widening my drones; we might be able to [Distant explosions] Never mind, I have him. Hes in Nu-Scarrowburoh. Aegis, number expected collateral. Got a lot more people about to die for Thousandhands little adjustments. --Sunrise, Aegis Operative, Voidwatch 10-22 The Pruning of the Path (I) Jhred Greatling died with an implosion of Soulfire, but its collapse never reached the point of culmination. Imploding radiance crashed down like a wave against Avos rippling Soul, the metaphysical mass fusing to his while he consumed. The Daemon shivered and twitched, still pinned by the Fulgerhund. As glistening gore misted the air behind glinting implants flung free by the wind, his nucleus suckled the length of the uncoiled dragon and the Twice-Walker bound to its end like a mouth would slurp a noodle. Caught in the wake of the ontological subsumption, the leaping electricity dancing along the length of the Fulgerhund was stretched from its physical anchor. A lightning-infused mastiff strained against the gravity of Avos Frame, its being fighting to stay connected to the golem itself. In the throes of his meal, he barely noticed the force he was exerting on Draus vehicle. Nor Abrel above them, standing on the precipice of a torn hallway. The sprawl of the Spines districts spread out behind her like a panorama of devastation matching her face. He didnt even notice how each reflective gatewayonce boundwas collapsing as tunnels of space snapped from binary to unitary boundaries per the laws of baseline reality. The stability of existence reassumed its control like a funnel of space smashing across vectored regions, injecting everything caught between their paths elsewhere. A vast wall of cascading space rushed over them as burst glass fell around them. Before she could react, a separate tunnel swallowed Abrel, peeling another section of the block away along with her. The world about Avo blurred into confusion. The Fulgerhund snapped free, now missing its tip, sailing into his wind-shaped grasp. Reality clenched and fired them along what felt like a magnetic accelerator, injecting them from one place to another. Volumetric reality around them lurched, and suddenly the layout of their environment glitched as gravity drew droplets of blood and debris plucked from the ground. They had been transposed out from threads of light glinting from a shard of glass, flung well past the stretch of Mazzas Junction. Now, they were tumbling into a fall again, the expanse of the districts yawning wide beneath them. Such a thing was only of secondary regard to Avo, for so besotted was he on the taste of premium flesh and divine nectar that the sensations of the fall were but shadows in the backdrop. This was thrill. This was killing. This was all he had been meant to be and more. This was the actualization of what it meant to be a ghoul and a Godclad bothto climb the apex in concept of power and predation both. [LIMINAL FRAME] OBTAINED - BROADSWORD PATTERN ->TWICE-WALKER HEAVEN TEMPLATE DOWNLOADED ->THAUMIC CYCLER x1 ->SOUL x1 ->ONTOLOGICS x2 THAUMIC OUTPUT - 4673 THAUM/c The Soul within Avo expanded, its reach spreading vast as his ontology washed widerunning a just beyond the expanse of an entire district. Yet with it came a bone-hollowing emptinesshis Heavens remained too small, doomed much of his subreality to remain a lake of simulated light. Docked to the borders of his Frame was a diminutive cluster attached in a pocket. The Frame he took from Jhred had enclosed a tight knot about the faint ember that remained of its thaumic core. It seemed a little more than pimple upon his immensity now, though Avo knew it possessed greater purpose than its present state of atrophy. With an injection of Essence, it would unfurl and its center would unveil itself. There was a groove of absence at the apex of its Soula place for the Nous of a new master to mantle its ontology and serve as pilot. That thought pulled Draus into Avos mind. It was done. The killing was done. The high of his excitement had yet to fade, but the first needle of his rationality punctured through the ecstasy of the beast and his Woundshaper. They needed to egress and flee. Faintly, he heard another voice scratching at the back of his mind, its sound a distorted neigh of confusion. A war steed emerging from a fog, greeted by lands unknown and faces unfamiliar. Pulling the mangled pulp that remained of Jhred through a current of wind, Avo thought to keep a snack for himself later as a personal post-feast snack to relive the high. The pieces of the corpse were halfway through as he turned to reach for the Fulgerhund, planning to escape. The deafening screech of a falcon drew his attention back to the present. Ashen feathers formed from the smoke crowning the collapsing megablock - a prelude to a theater of cleaving lights that partitioned the mushrooming fog building upon the wreckage. Two more presences flashed upon the real, his Liminal Frame brushing themsensing their presence before sight offered any revelations. Swallowing the Fulgerhund into his Yondergales, Avo twisted in the air as he sought to make a quiet escape. That desire died as beams of coruscating light pierced from the blocks in the surrounding districts by the thousands. Through walls and from streets, the attack came unrelenting, each shot as if a needle of liquid fire striking across the distance of miles. Plascrete offered no impediment, and to his alarm, he found each shot intersecting at his exact position. The nature of the Heaven he faced was unknown, and like he proceeded against the Bloodthane that smote him from the skies in Nu-Scarrowbur, his desire was one of evasion rather than engagement. For all the bloodlust ignited within the beast in that instant, it was a creature of impulseall too willing to hand its leash over to folly. Avo knew betterhunted better. Ambush and awareness were how he ensured Jhred Greatlings death. His Heavens were only the facilitators of the process. Descending, wind spiraled around him as he accelerated, his eldritch form an invisible bullet tugging on a cloth composed of wind. A sweeping blade of pure light slashed past him and through him. He felt discomfort lurch as his currents were momentarily disrupted before he carried out. The light carved through distant blocks and opened buildings the same way a knife would open an aluminum can.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. It was only then that he noticed which buildings the slash had carved through. Parts of distant domes collapsed in on themselves and dust spilled like oozing blood from Nu-Scarrowbur, now no longer contained. As the assault continued, cracks formed in the air as building force joined a rising chorus of notes. Avo knew what was coming. He knew better than the Highflame cadre. His hour was up, and his presently active problem had just spilled over into his potentially delayed problem. Over the skies above Layer One in the Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty, two groups of Godclads went to war without fully realizing who their opposition was. If he was still flesh-made, he would have hissed a laugh. Slipping into the pulsing numbers gushing through the rings of an aerolane, Avo aligned his path with the gutters. If he could get down there before His being pulsedZein twisted free into their air with her glaive a blinding whirl. She struck passing strokes of light and severed sound before it could transmute into force. Another flicker and the beams stopped coming. As she dipped into a fall and sank back into nonexistence, she shouted through the rushing winds and the rising thunder of combat. Twelve now. Keep going: The path narrows. Suspicion ignited within Avo, but he was too busy angling away from another tidal wave of symphonically manifested explosions. He needed to REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 100% WARNING: BACKLASH CLASHING CANON [SPACE]: UNKNOWN VENT! VENT! VENT! Reality lurched as a pocket of mass inverted itself with Avo, and he found himself tumbling free after the falling Fulgerhund as his Yondergales flattened out. Something had just happened to the space he was in. He found himself falling through an open chunk missing at the center of a tower. Familiarity sparked as he realized where he was. A layered roundabout splayed out just below him, and at its center, a vast tree branching out into portals and sculpted from storms rushed toward him. Snarling, Avo ejected the spores from his Mime-Fog to mask his current position, cast out a thread of blood from his veins, and punched his way through the Fulgerhunds armor before pouring himself through the link. As he remanifested within the confines of the cockpit, his Echoheads speared out and held him in place, wrestling against the g-forces. Draus, Avo shouted. Jump. Need to leave. Got pocketed by something. The Regular lurched in shock then settled realizing it was him. Tryin. Systems are fucked, everythin in this piece of shits fucked! The Heavens not responding right. Locus is showing it got unlatched or somethin. Avo paused even as gravity wrung his insides like a towel. That might have been his fault. Essus was muttering prayers while Chambers served as his second, offering a litany of curses. A sudden impact made Avos tentacles screech as they carved against the internal architecture of the golem, straining to stop him from sliding. Zein hadnt appeared yet. More and more, he was beginning to suspect that she wasnt focused on protecting him and the others. Or at least that wasnt her sole objective. At any moment, she could have killed all the Godclads again. He didnt see anything stopping her from repeating the same feat. However, from the words she last spoke, he found a single word lingering in his mind. Path. Was she arranging for them to follow a specific future she predetermined, and had used her canon to ensure they did not deviate from design? A sudden force was upon them. The plating of the golem began to groan as more fragile components began to burst and crack on the inside. Avo pulsed again and an echo of Zein filtered out from Chambers before vanishing. This repeated three more times before Zein leaned next to him and spoke. Six. The Bloodthanes and that Greatling are very good. Thankfully, I have also made them very confused as to who they are fighting. You should subsume the Fulgerhundit will go well with your blood, I think. Oh, and vent after you crash. You will need a clean The crash she portended came before she could finish. Something struck the golem hard and it went into a spiral. Strapped into protective gimbals, Essus, Chambers, and Draus were spared the worst of the inertia as protective mechanisms compensated on their behalf. Avo himself was not so fortunate. The sheer force of the impact sent his Echohead slicing clean along the armor, unable to find a foundation of stability. He slipped free. His back struck the rear of the crew module as his plates and threaded fibers stopped the impact. Again, he found himself more than grateful he had the Bone Demon body sheathe grafted. A regular ghoul would have smeared, and with his Rend so high across both cyclers, real death would not be such a theoretical concept for him. Winded from the impact, he felt the air catch in his chest several more times as he tumbled across the ceiling and walls, his foot catching Chambers across the forehead. With each bounce, he acclimated more, Celerostylus infusing the chaos with languor as he caught himself via his Echoheads. They came to a final grinding halt as a pole of plasteel punctured through the cockpit toward the pilots gimbal. Draus caught it and wrenched it out of shape with a single hand. With a final lurch, the last of their momentum died. Then the shooting began. Outside the golem, flechettes rained down. Inside, it sounded as if they were seeking refuge from a hailstorm within a tin can. The metal around them deformed in dips and dents. Holographic displays spewed nothing but errors, depriving them of any functional understanding of how long they could hold. Chambers head was swiveling around in terror, his mouth still open in a constant scream. Essus had simply leaned back, face showing the sheer immensity of his exhaustion from all that happened. Shrugging himself free from the impression he left in the panels leading to the storage section, Avo reached out with a haemokinetic tendril and peeked at the situation using his Whisper. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 82% VENT! VENT! VENT! Irregular salvos of fire from gauss-flung weapons and other projectiles were bearing down on them from all directions. They were currently crashed, leaning against the interior of what looked to be a quick-fabbed tenement building crusted at the foot of an abandoned factory. At least he had a direction of which way he had to vent now. Tearing herself free from the gimbal, Draus shook her head and gestured for a link, unfazed by the constant hammering of falling gunfire. Avo whipped out a tendril and fed her his sensory feed to the outside. +Well. As far as the runs concern, the milks gone pretty sour.+ +Not really,+ Avo disagreed. +Got Mirrorhead. Got his Frame. Killed thousands. Good day.+ She snorted. Chambers and Essus were detaching themselves with haste. +Well, youre bout to be a happy rotlick, cause the day aint over. Counting at least sixty impact trajectories. Give us twelve more seconds before one gets through.+ +Going to vent out the side. Move through the slum and get into the factory. Find another way out after that. Or+ +Or?+ +Got Mirrorheads Frame. Shouldnt take long to graft.+ Her mind lurched to a halt. Apprehension and indecision formed over her like a stormcloud. She tilted her head at Essus and Chambers. +Lets exfil first. Bounty comes after.+ He didnt bother arguing. Part of him considered just imbuing her with the Frame and fueling her with the thuams, but he remembered how he felt after Waltons node had forced his choice in the Deep Bazaar. He also remembered who decided to pull him along on a little trip afterward. Draus deserved better. Draus deserved to choose. Zein and her path would just have to adapt. Which, unfortunately, was what it did. After his Soulfire rippled out and drew the dislocated Heaven of the Fulgerhund into his Frame, Avo used his entropic gale to dissolve a pathway out the back of the ruined golem and make for the factory. As soon as the exit was made, he paused and let Draus through before following, casting the matter-eating fog over them. Shots dipped into the darkness he channeled and never emerged out the other side. Missiles, flechettes, slugs, and more. All fed into his Hells expulsion and his Rend trickled down percentage by percentage. The Regular barreled through the cheaply made structures around her with a helpful burst from her scythe-like wings. An underground parking entrance for aeros stood out before them as shrapnel skipped overhead. More and more, however, the shots were being replaced. The fluid beams of fire returned, slicing clean through the golems remains, ignoring the entropic fog entirely. Not wanting to find out what distracted the other they hurried. The answer came anyway as a massive orb infused with roaring force rose above the block they were rushing toward. Loose harp-like cords formed a body most uncannily chimeric, human in torso, the four legs goat from the legs down. As Avos Frame brushed that of the Bloodthanes, he grimaced. LUMENLYRIST, MELODIST OF THE CLEAVING DAWN THAUMIC OUTPUT: 978 THAUM/c 10-23 The Pruning of the Path (II) Cas what am I even looking at? Thousandhand gardening. And you didnt stop her? Think about what you just said. Stop her. She probably saw this conversation and laughed. Im going down there. She probably foresaw that too. I dont care. People are dying, Cas. This is not Not the fucking dream. Tell me about it. --Valerie Denton and Cas eldCanduir, Ninth Column 10-23 The Pruning of the Path (II) Fissures of force and luminosity bled out all around, birthed by sound. Strings wormed into reality as they inched out from beneath the skin of nonexistence. The world was an explosion of intersecting actions. Avo drew in mass. Light clashed against light as a shield of blossoming force rang against a cleaving blade. War ash scattered as impacts swept the sky, the air above flung open like a curtain. Tons of matter swirled into a phalanx of blood. The weight of a dozen explosions struck the flowing armored umbrella Avo formed over his group, and channeling his ghosts through its sheen, he witnessed a coming clash between rival titans, both sides ignorant of the others existence until mere moments prior. Zein. This had to be by her design. All of it. A reflexive rage clenched inside Avo; his oldest woundto be beneath the reins of his own fateflared anew. He would not be a slave to her, or her Heaven. He had what he came for, and now it was time to break from the scene, regardless of whatever unseen machinations in play or the rising excitement feeding strength to the beast. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 68% REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 100% Flechettes and shrapnel burst against his protective construct. Reaching out with new tendrils and linking with his cell, he projected surrounding threats directly into their cog-feed. The familiar Bloodthane that once upon a time spiked him down into the Warrens had vanishedits blazing facade breaking apart into a strum of lyrical notes that traveled out upon wavelengths of light and noise towards a row of bisected blocks from which approached the Strider. Essus and Chambers both cried out before Avo diverted the mem-data from their minds. It didnt do for the uninitiated to gaze upon the naked forms of divinity, but the strength of his new Quicksand warded against the intrusion of reoccurring traumas. What it wouldnt ward them from was heard next: A chorus of ferocious barks sounded from the devastated urban hive all around them. Recognition pealed from Draus as she realized the coming threat first. She fired her projectile launcher at the parking entrance. A micro-missile whistled out and erupted outward in a shredding barrage of force. Metal peeled before the onrush while hound-shaped creatures descended upon them from all sides, slipping out from cracks running along buildings or out through the collapsed perimeters of the local shield-shaped megablocks. +Woundhounds,+ Avo said to the group. +Nine of them. Six hundred feet. Closing fast.+ Drawing in more mass, he sought to increase his own pace, to enshroud himself in power and speed through haemonkinetic means. A harshly cast thought from Draus made him pause. +Avo! Keep your burn low! We can handle the dogsaint gonna be as easy if you pull the other Clads over to us with your shine+ The link broke. He inflicted Linger on his flowing defenses as they splashed against the side of the ruined entrance. A cauliflower bunker swelled around them as Avo ensured the absence of any cracks. Spewing his entropic gale free from his being once more, he directed it forward as he began to hollow all matter in their path. Where the hells are we going? Chambers cried, his feet slapping a staccato as he struggled to keep to the groups speed. Out the other side, Draus said. Snatch some wings if we can! Dive low. Get down into the gutters and disapp Fiery wings of brilliant blades flicked through the walls above them, splitting rows of stacked aeros in half. Weight hammered down as structural supports split apart, and the building began to groan under its own mass. Fuck fuck fuck fuck, Chambers chanted. Heavy slabs of plascrete fell. Essus threw himself over the unarmored ex-enforcer, using his own body as a barrier against the first pelting rocks. Fuck, Draus concurred, snapping to an impossible stop just in time to avoid being crushed by an anvil of burning machinery. Stay close, Avo hissed. Spreading his matter-dissolving gale out wide, he let the floors above dissipate against his Hell while Draus dragged the other two next to him. The Hell for his Woundshaper emptied nigh instantly, but he cast out the momentum-draining sphere of his Galeslither the moment he ran dry. Dust showered their forms. Coiling his Echoheads around the others, he felt bouncing rocks and detritus skip off against his armored form. In seconds, his total Rend had gone from near absolute capacity to full venting. Applause for their continued survival came in the form of clicking pieces of rubble sliding out of place, clattering against armor. Chambers coughing joined as accompaniment. Protected within a pocket amidst the crumbled block, the cramped area found itself lit by Essus neon wings. The visages of both the boy and Avo were lined with static now, the damage breaking the hardware down, blow by blow. Spheres going to pop in a bit, Avo said, watching as the last few percentage points of his Galeslithers Rend Capacity trickled down. Manifesting Woundshaper Chambers shivered. Fuck me, not the blood again. Draus angled her helmet to look at Avo. Itll make us an obvious target. With all that killin you did, Im bettin your Frame''s lit brighter than a candle in the void. Aint no missin us that way. He widened his fangs with a scowl. Think Thousandhand wanted this. Didnt save us just now. Might be on her desired course. You think she wants you to fight all those other Clads? She might be trying to force my hand. Make sure I dont fight them alone. The Galeslithers stasis began to fade. Two pebbles skipped off Avos shoulders. Draus sighed. So, thats how it is, huh? You said you wanted me to choose, and here she is, narrowin down my choices. A voice cleared between them. Chambers spoke. I mean you could give the Frame to me? Id be willing to be your second Godclad, consang. Three heads turned to glare at Chambers. Or or Essus here. He patted the former flat on the chest. Think of the storyformer father who took down Mirrorhead and claimed his Frame in revenge.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Essus didnt hide his disgust. No. I will not bear anything to do with that that coward inside me. If he was worthy of godhood then I refuse! I spite divinityI spite him! Draus glanced at the other two members of their group and then back to Avo. She coughed a laugh. Jaus. Wes the weirdest bunch of half-strands Ive ever seen. She sighed. Fuck it. Fuck it all. Graft me. Avo stared at her, barely noticing the approach of the Woundhounds. You sure? No. But I reckon if that Frame of yours can burn it in me, it can pull it out as well. If not, well, I suppose I can ask Kae Her voice trailed off. I just dont wanna be nothin like them. I wanted it all to mean somethin. I know, Avo said. Im sorry. All this city has is them. And now me. The Regular paused. Suppose youre right. Suppose I could be in worse company. Suppose you could. Going to ask again. Will only do it if you want. She took a breath.Light me up, Avo. And so he did. A river of rippling incandescence washed over Draus. UNABLE TO GRAFT [BROADSWORD PATTERN LIMINAL FRAME] TO ROOTED NOUS PLEASE ENSURE RECIPIENTS DEMISE BEFORE INITIATING TRANSFER PROCESS IF YOU WISH TO PERFORM A VOLUNTARY USURPATION AND GRAFT THE [STILLBORN PATTERN LIMINAL FRAME] TO ROOTED NOUS, THEN SELF-TERMINATE AT 60% REND OR HIGHER FOR ALL ACTIVE HELLS WHILE LINKED TO THE MIND OF THE GRAFTEE BEFORE THEY SELF-TERMINATE THEREAFTER Or at least he tried. Avo, Draus said, her voice even. I dont feel very Clad-like right now. It wants me to kill you first. The Frame. He could feel her glare through her helmet. You sure its your Frame thats tellin you this? Yes. Beast just wants to kill you. Frame has sent a textual request for your murder to my feed. Chambers exhaled under his breath. Shit. Glad I didnt push on that Frame thing. Draus paused for a moment. Link me, I wanna see it. Now you dont trust me? No, you godsdamned joy-fiend; I dont trust you when it comes to killin me. Now link up and The sound of muffled barking echoed out from between the cracks surrounding them. Woundhounds were creatures of unparalleled persistence, it seemed. Figure it out later, Draus said. Bleed us a way out. Chambers whimpered. Remember to close your eyes, Essus. He stared up into the other mans optical implants. Oh, right REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 2% Avo ended his stasis before he unzipped himself into tendrils of blood. Fusing into a nest around his companions and drinking in as much nearby mass as he could, he extended his sensory lattice and found the nine hounds closing from all surrounding angles. No matter. He would go downward instead. At his touch, matter melted as he tunneled down through the factory, the Woundshaper unmaking all in its path like a kinetic kill rod swimming through liquefying architecture. He splurted free from the underside of the building at a curtailed speed. Behind him, the innards of the structure leaked out into clumps of gore-stained debris, oozing free like prolapsed organs. His reflexes were running hot again, the synaptic flow of his mind sending his ghosts circulating through the circuitry of his blood at hyper-accelerated cycles. Still, he needed to watch his inertia. The goal here was to burrow his way out through Layer One and vanish into the winds without getting drawn into He felt them thenanother Godclad. The rippling wavelength of his Soul reached far, and against the subreality of another, he felt it crash. Immediately, they became aware of each other, presences like twin supernovas in the void, Heavens unsheathed in their fullest manifestations. SHATTERBORN, FORGEMASTER OF BROKEN THINGS THAUMIC OUTPUT: 849 THAUM/c As Avo punched down through a weave of ringed walkways spiraling down from beneath levels above, he saw the form of his new enemy. Surfing out through a collapsing section of the city above swam a magma-coated titan of three stone heads and five gleaming arms of heated iron carried by a beheaded lamb hewn from the substance of obsidian. The chest of the Shatterborn was an open smithy that hissed steam and was worked by countless burning human hands across eighteen rungs. It scooped wreckage and rubble as it twisted away from him, feeding its heart. With each thundering heartbeat, it seemed to grow faster, climbing from a barely perceptible speed to being a fourth as fast as the Woundshaper. A curtain of sinuous light shredded the infrastructure in the backdrop behind the Shatterborn, wrenching a chasm into shape. There, Avo saw the stormtrees portals shining through the avalanche of smoke and destruction. The beast called for him to fight, but he knew better than to stray from his escape. Staying and fighting was a risk that might end in his death. Better that he played the role of the predator that he was rather than the warrior he wasnt. Avo increased his velocity and moved to sink through the district itself. His plan came undone as the Shatterborn slammed itself down into the foundations of the district and embedded its ontology into the foundations of the surrounding area. Jets of steam hissed free from spreading cracks that bubbled with lava. Tendrils shot out from Avos back as he pried himself from the course of his moment. Lava erupted out from around and beneath them as he barely quelled his Canon of Haemification in time to avoid the backlash of trying to convert liquid matter. New constructs formed along his back as he sailed through the air. Propellers pushed him as arteries exploded free from his form, just as the Shatterborn fired a scattered burst of screaming debris in his direction. His expanding network of blood greeted a dozen missiles of molten stone, their size growing per their acceleration. Ejecting a flat sheet of blood from his being, Avo harmonized the shield to a rapidly constructed limb and swung outward. The sheet met the rocks at an angle and vectors of force deformed from the desired path. From the severed shield were boulders parried, and by the time they struck the surroundings, they impacted as small hills. The Shatternborns missiles missed. With the ejection of its consumed mass, slowness consumed its movements as it tried to dive into the lava below. Not fast enough to avoid the tip of Avos tendrils. Unwilling to risk hubris, his blood bore the properties of tungsten and locus still. Molten stone chipped and parted as he dipped his reach into his opponent. Sprays of heat and magma oozed free. Avos blood sank further and spread into branches. The three heads of the Shatterborn screamed as the first of his lattices bled into its heart. There, in a forest of writhing arms, he brushed the presence of a Metamind. His Ghostjack surged. Traumas flowed. The Shatterborn and the Bloodthanes mind broke in unison, stones, and sequences tearing free and tracing arcs through the air. The volcanic activity died in an instant. The heat vanished. Filtering through what sequences he brushed upon nulling his foe, he found himself annoyed with the truths the met-data offered: The BloodthaneReva somethingstill had another backup cycler with Heaven and Hell attached. Still, he felt her ontological signature scarring reality like a wound. As the Soulfire rippled from him again, it washed over a swelling scab on the face of the tapestry with transparent links binding it to pieces of plascrete and passing flows of heat. There, Avo beheld the burgeoning resurrection of another Godclad for the first time. The moment was broken as a flash enveloped him from behind. Channeling the perception of his Whisper backward, he saw the spark expanding from between a flashing bridge behind him. Then, came the heat and the force, its coming a roaring cataclysm that cooked the air, that uprooted all structures unbolted from the ground. It was only as two blocks vanished from sight as the explosion spread that he realized what he was looking at. A mini nuke had just gone off. Dashing forward as fast as he could without pulping his passengers, he fled from the rushing updraft of the blast toward the stormtree itself. He had a good two miles to make, and the air was already beginning to cook. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 43% Speeding unevenly through the air, he fired out grasping limbs to pull himself along whatever points of stability he could to right his path. Measuring his current velocity against that of the encroaching blast, he found himself well beyond the damage radius and reconsidered his current trajectory toward the stormtree. Then, the light faded. And so did the heat and the force. In its place sounded a single droning note so loud he had to strain against the vibrations to stop it from rattling his blood. Another instance of Zein snapped free from his being and winked out of sight. A beat later, the note ceased and a fist of pure force hammered down on the district. Good work, little dagger. You spared me over seven steps. Now, get to the tree and do kill Captain Draus before you arrive at the base. I would not like to lose her because of all this indecision. Avo formed stacks of haemokinetic armor as he braced against the block-crushing impact. The yield of a swallowed warhead bore down upon the area as pure kinetic energy while he shaped enormous crimson Echoheads to hold himself in place. But where blood held, fate betrayed him. The blocks around him shattered before the fighting, and what felt like a falling star struck him from behind, guided by the arrow of fate. Or at least, someone who could manipulate fate. Blades of cleaving brightness screamed against his tungsten shell as a chorus of falcons cried out in surprise. The Strider, bereft of an arm and a leg, turned to grapple the Woundshaper. Blades shaped by blood greeted wings lined with slashing shine and tumbled toward a storm-carved tree guarded by a trio of burning golems. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 71% 10-24 Beneath the Tree Yeah? Hello? What you want? Im playing Stormjumpersnuclear detonations? Clad on Claddammit, the Fallwalkers againHighflame? Stormtree cadres. Open battle in the district of Nu-Scarrowbur? Plot to assassinateokayCokay, slow down. Loop the district. In fact, loop the surrounding ones too. No one in or out. Put the Warrens back under lockdown. And somebody cast Voidwatch. I need them to distract the Guild while I figure out how to settle this mess. Couldnt even wait for me to finish this match. -Chief Paladin Naeko 10-24 Beneath the Tree It took but an exchange of strikes for Avo to learn that Abel Greatling was his superior in a direct clash of force. Edge struck edge as instruments of blood and light met in a calamitous joust. The Striders wings flared and all that shone cleaved deep. Where once he felt needling pricks beneath her resplendence, now came countless puncturing thrusts. Gleaming blades lanced free from her wings and all the tungsten in the world wasnt enough. A gulf burst free at his center. He barely shifted Draus and the others down just in time. The Striders strike kept going, coring through blocks and bridges for as far as her shine could reach. Around him, he could feel more of the district crumbling, more flickers of flowing ichor winking out. How much had this battle cost in collateral damage? How many unaffiliated lives had been consumed for no fault but simply existing in the wrong area? So much wasted flesh, never to be tasted, memories bound for dissolution, and ghosts destined to wither away. Drawing in more mass from the ground, Avo replaced that which was unmade nigh instantly, but the flaying glare of the light too was unceasing. Tendrils shot through rubble below him, roots sprouting high while he flattened his flowing shape to duck away from the worst of her gaze. He moved twice again as fast as his foe, but the range and immediacy of her assault drove him back under the weight of countless blazing spears. Whatever constructs he lashed out toward her were severed by her radiant aura. A scything wave of light met a shredding barrage of haemokinetic shards he whipped free from his own being, the Woundshapers outer layer spinning like a hurricane. Her slash parted clean through the onslaught and bifurcated him along the middle just as the first of his brambles breached free from the ground and into her. Naught but roiling smoke-like falcons and humming pulses of force greeted his encroachment. His touch slipped through Striders form at an angle. She dissolved then, her falcons sweeping a full fifty feet away while her wing was mid-swing. The light faded, and the cutting pressure went with it. An eruption of blood lashed out and found no purchase even as she remanifested. Another series of explosions shook the district. Light splashed against and through his midsection. His tonnage halved. Time snapped forward. He reached down and seized the split segment of his ontology before it could destabilize and see his companions smeared. Linking, time lurched again as both flapping wings reared high overhead as they slammed intoand then clean througha devastated megablock. The ever-flashing lightning of the storm tree illuminated both Godclads as they made the final ingression to the heart of Nu-Scarrowbur. Entire floors descended as a waterfall of ruin upon Avo, showering his form and soaking harm from the invading brightness. The Striders aura diminished for a moment. He took the time to think. Fusing a capsule around Draus and the others, he ejected them from his being as he increased his speed. He couldnt overcome Abrels omnipresent influence while fighting at diminished efficiency. They would be fine if his Phys-Sims calculations were correct. Safer than they would be with him right now, anyway. He cast his allies free and embedded them into a stable section of wall behind him. The Regular could probably tear her way free, and hed try to locate them in the form of the Galeslither once he had the chance to break from this fight. For now, he needed to approach Abrel Greatling. Without the means to strike at her physically, his next best chance was to break and escape or influence her mind somehow. Both options posed substantial risks as his Haemokinesis was the only thing that allowed him an advantage of speed and force over her. The Galeslither might as well be a still target for her attacks, and if she had anything capable of projecting heatClike the body of an enforcer armed with a fusion burner, for instance, backlash and thaumic overload would be certain to follow. That, and he had already suffered the weight of a paradox earlier by whatever space-affecting canon inverted him out of his Galeslither. There was at least one other Godclad here whose abilities directly contradicted his. Rays of light stabbed clean through the collapsing tonnage of the megablock. His cog-feed whined with warnings of building Rend. Every strike from her painted gaps in his person. Every attempt he made to counter was met with destruction or absence. He needed to change tactics. He needed to strike her from symmetrical footing. It was such a thought that spurred his Heaven to speak. Inject your Rend into her, master The suggestion was a strange one. His Hells dissolved matter and or drank momentum. Perhaps the Galeslithers could affect the Strider, but even then it would be a temporary measure. The supplicant knows muchCsymmetry, as Kae has spoken. That is the critical weakness of every God, every Godclad. Through all Hells are we bound by a singular domain: Entropy. Perhaps you might not be able to strike them, but you should be able to transgress their boundaries and infuse that which festers within you into her, seeing as you could manage the action by joining yourself to a Rendsink. For now, we simply need a method of encircling herCstrip her focus and surround her. Part of him wanted to ask how she intended for him to perform such a feat, but the memory of puppeteering bodies and corpses returned to him. He didnt need to fight in such a centralized manner. Indeed, holding to the superstructure of the Woundshaper itself was proving to be an increasing liability in this battle. Where Abrels canons dealt a certitude of damage, he needed to drain her endurance and awareness through other means. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 89% His structure expanded into rings of flowing plates. Each other layer ran curved to deflect some of the flashing light. Most importantly, he injected his central mass through the collapsing floors of the block and into the ground beneath him. Bodies and lives were swallowed in the onslaught. His thaums and ghosts were building. Narrowed by battle, his attention belonged to Abrel Greatling alone. Bursting free from the other side of the block, flicking strikes split the air between them as tons of his mass were snipped free from his grasp. With each stroke she made with her wings, she transposed herself on a haze of falcons, using the weightlessness of intangibility to keep pace with his speed. Slowly, the velocity advantage shifted over to her. But not fast enough. Again, he found himself beneath her. Only this time, the nucleus of his being was tunneling through the ground beneath her as she dispensed with the rest of his vessel. With a chambered burst, he erupted out from beneath her. Testament to her training and reflexes, she noticed him immediately and slashed down. Light sliced through the foundations beneath her as a spike of blood was split in twain. And then the Strider froze. A bubble formed around Abrels HeavenCa pocket of stasis enchaining her to a debt of movement. Her speed was impossible and he risked thaumic overload with her acceleration. Caught in the throes of combat, Abrel failed to notice the rushing of whistling wind sailing out before the haemokinetic construct was cast, and so focused were her wings in that instant that Avo found a window to sink back into mortal flesh and strike her from behind her heel, using the darkness of her smoking falcons to obstruct the light. A heartbeat was all the time he had. He made it count. Falling free, he speared his Echoheads into her being, thoughts frozen in anticipation. If this failed, then he had to focus only on fleeing. He would have to risk using the Galeslither for an extended duration, but he didn''t like it. Remaining in combat only prolonged the conflict and allowed her to herd him toward true death with the Rend infusing his resurrection cyclers.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Then, it happened. His Frame cast out a ripple, and like the time he accessed the Rendsinks, he felt a connection form. META-FAC ACTIVATING TRANSFERRING REND FROM THIRD CIRCLE [WOUNDSHAPER] TO THIRD CIRCLE [STRIDER] ->REND CAPACITY [STRIDER]: 94%... 99% ->ACCESS CANONSC Just as Avo stopped to consider the last bits of information, Abrel Greatling collapsed her own Heaven in a burst of expanding shadows. It struck him how enormous her form had beenCtaller than his Woundshaper, though not quite as large. From the darkness dove a figure clad in bright porcelain armor, plates of flashing propulsion expanding out from her back via a magnetic connection. Avo hissed as he pursued her using his Galeslither. He would strip the combat skin from her body and pluck whatever implants she had. With how delicious Jhred was, the sister couldnt beC Space inverted around him again. Reality twisted like a rubber band, and then he was fifty feet away from where he started, crashing through a glass bridge as he found himself tumbling out from his Galeslither before smashing into Abrel. Both Guilder and ghoul cried in concurrent surprise as he felt the heat of her thrusters singe his plates while he embraced her using his Echoheads. The surrounding cityscape was a blur of cascading collapses and skull-shaking impacts. With their Metas overlapping, he cast his ghosts out and injected his traumas into her. Yet, upon overlapping his mind with hers, he found the dissonant wavelength shivering the flow of his ghosts from passageCsomething he had experienced when he tried to spoof into her while hiding within Mirrorheads memories. Traumas went in but faded without properly impacting. He didnt know what was happening. Was this the work of a canoC She headbutted him. His fangs shattered. Spitting broken teeth into her visor, he returned the favor. Except for the fact that he was using his Quicksand in place of his skullplates. Wards rang against wards as he felt her mind rattle. How was that impacting when his ghosts were not? COG-CAP: 44% He did it again and felt her Metamind fracture. Abrel cried out, clutching her head. Space around them inverted again and they skipped thirty feet above. And again. And again. With each skip he struck her using his wardsChe might not be able to infest her with his Ghostjack, but his wards were adapted to trauma, and hers wasnt. Suddenly, ward-bashing was a viable option again. Sometimes, the vulgarity of force just worked out. As space lurched around him, Zein tore out from his being, and suddenly, pieces of an unseen golem split apart right next to them, its ring-like structure breaking in two as a chain of spatial checkpoints collapsed back into each other. Suddenly, he found himself back where he was while he was chasing Abrel using his Galeslither. Except this time, she came back with him. They slammed hard against the side of the block as something flashed brightly in the distance. Scraping down the side and crashing through a balcony, he kept her between him and the onrush of obstacles even as her armor cooked him. Twin stings of pain erupted from his abdomen as he felt something punch an inch through the protective shell of his sheathe. The moment didnt last long as they were struck mid-fall by a spiraling drone. A series of rattling cracks sang up his left leg and hip. Feeling faded from his lower spine. Shrouded by the protective embrace of his Echoheads and her armor, Abrel barely grunted. Flung free from stable trajectory by the sudden impact, Avo found himself launched through a partially collapsed megablock with his prey in tow. They skipped off against a piece of plasteel rebar and came to a crashing stop against an already cracked wall. A classical family portrait fell from its place and broke against Avo. Squeezing Abrel tight, he gathered what remained of his unvented Rend andC A line of pain slipped through him. Feeling faded from everything below his abdomen. As a hiss of pain escaped him, Abrel pulsed and her form shifted. Her body erupted into a pillar of fire as his Echoheads began to chitter in pain. HEAVEN DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE I [EST. 10 THAUM/c] ->RES-RESERVE UNIT-1 A spew of flames lashed out at Avo. It felt like he was being cooked by a low-level fusion burner. He ignored it and sank a claw into her. Channeling the Rend from his Woundshaper out again, he felt the Hell attached to her Res-Reserve Unit-1 fill instantly. Again, Abrel shifted ontological vessels, flickering across subreality channels as she angled to a different cycler. HEAVEN DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE I [EST. 10 THAUM/c] ->RES-RESERVE UNIT-2 This time she turned into an open fissure surrounded by floating rocks. He had no idea what this Heaven entailed, only that he felt himself getting lighter. Spilling his Rend into her again, he felt this Hell of hers nearly burst before she shifted again. Come on, Avo hissed. HEAVEN DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE I [EST. 8 THAUM/c] ->RES-RESERVE UNIT-3 REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 78% She was suddenly a giant golden sunflower with seeds made from solid diamonds. This, too, didnt last as he continued infusing her with the Rend from both Hells. By this point, her First Circles were only soaking single percentage points from the massive pools of his Galeslither and Woundshaper. If he continued, he wouldC A line of dissolving flame threaded through his torso. Avos mind went blank as he felt both of his lungs combust from within. Inhaling hurt. Existing hurt. Three more beams tore through him through the block itself, slicing clean through three of his Echoheads as he toppled from the Guilder in pieces. A loud cry bellowed from the outside. Something was flashing again. ABREL! ARE YOUC Something exploded. Someone screamed. His cog-feed glitched and a tide of rushing Soulfire washed over him. It felt wrong, somehow. The same sensation youd get when someones organs wash up against you in the sea. Master there are pieces of a Fallen Heaven in that. I couldC RUPTURE DETECTED DOMAIN: [SIGHT] Sight? How would thatC Avo got his answer when both his eyeballs burst apart. He first choked before the searing pain as his sight vanished. Then, he seethed as he heard Abrel scream with frustration. She mustve suffered from the same effect. He wasnt going to get to eat her eyes. The beast in him whimpered. His flesh began to bubble and mend from the inside, fibers reaching out to knit his flesh anew. For the umpteenth time, he found himself pleased that he got the Echoheads implanted. Chittering, the shape of his surroundings came back to him, and he found Abrel standing as the thrusters folded out from her back again. He lashed out for her and caught her by the ankle. By the strength of her combat skin and her implants, he felt his blow ring off as if striking memetic matter. Lashing out with two more Echoheads, he forced himself up using one that remained and realized his lower body was still lying halfway across the room. Her thrusters snapped off as one of his tails struck her. A projectile darted out from her back. He spored the air with his Mime-fog and latched onto the ceiling. Whatever she fired at him punched through the wall and missed. Blinded and enraged, she turned and fired a dozen more shots using some kind of auto-gun implant under her wrist; the slugs exploding on impact, shredding the room even more. And coming nowhere close to hurting Avo. Pushing off from the ceiling, he launched himself down using one Echohead as a spring and the others as unfurled fingers. He was like a wolf-spider from days of old springing down upon its prey. When he touched her this time, he would liquefy her and tear the Frame from her corpse as well. So close. To kill two Greatlings in one day would beC An impossible force swept him and Abrel out of the block. The room warped and twisted around him as a concussive wave blasted him through the walls and into the open air. Gravity took him again and lightness filled his thoughts and body. Rain. That was the first sensation he noticed. Rain licking away his wounds. Rain falling through down from on high. It was getting to be midnight again. Channels of water were still allowed to flow from on high. Distantly, he could hear wailing sirens making their approach as well. As the healing water returned color and shapes back into his sight, he blinked, only to find his vision directing a chain of lashing fire into the air. Around him, a thousand other such beams split the brightening sky over Nu-Scarrowbur. Passing across the ringed portals of the stormtree, Avo suddenly felt himself caught in a net of unseen force. His momentum drained. His thoughts cleared. Coughing, he spat out fried pieces of his insides as he opened his mouth more to take in the healing waters. The air around him rushed and turned. He felt himself placed against soft soil and muddied ground. There was a static buzzing beneath the earth. A building force sang out around him. He felt a whisper from the past brush over his mind. Two. You are close. There were so many deviations, but we are on the precipice of a most delicious future, little dagger. You will thank me when this is done. Zein, he growled. Pushing himself up using his EchoheadsCthree of which were regrowing, he found himself basked in the warmth of three flame-encased golems. One of them drew closer. Avo expanded a lattice of blood around him. And then a rasping voice echoed out from the first flame. Stay zero, consang. I wouldve fried you instead of catching you if I wanted to get bloody. A pause followed. Still got half a mind to, see. Your arrival has fucked my home up something bad. But hey, thats life sometimes. A snort. There was a disorienting disjunction with the way the man spoke. Listen. A couple of my old friends wanna talk to you. Say that you got something of theirs. Some kind of Helix. Say that a certain Thousandhand pointed them this way to my home. You, uh, got something to say about that? The flames brightened. Avo growled. The Low Masters were involved in this chaos too. Why wasnt he even surprised? Zein. Zein was why. 10-25 Fate Denied (I) Hello, Vincintine. Please put the gun down. Youll only delay this conversation by an hour. It takes some time for me to get into a different body. Hmm. This smell. I know you I know you I have a favor to ask. I made your nightmares go away some years back. I didnt ask for much then. Im not going to ask for much now. Right Citrus man. I dream about you sometimes, you know. But I gotta ask. Howd you get in? This place isnt [laughing] Not exactly publicly accessible. Same way anyone gets anywhere. Knowledge, and enough time. Your guards are sleeping. The golems attacking your districtCtheyre being driven by the Low Masters. I can help you stop them. ...Just like that? Just for free? No. Not for free. I need a favor. I need you to help me do something. Are you going to put that gun down? Talk first. Well see how I feel after. -Exchange between Walton and Vincintine Ripperjack Javvers 10-25 Fate Denied (I) The fires encasing the three golems dimmed, and with light bleeding like a trinity of dissolving stars, the machine anchoring the divine revealed their shells. Layered in rounded armor, their design seemed more like armored knights melded upon a wheel of gleaming gold. Plates of armor were fused around a central cross-shaped cockpit, and in each each limb there seemed to be a jutting emitter that resembled the look of a lance. They each were no longer than twenty feet wide and thirty feet high, but Avo felt the touch of something sophisticated in their make as they entered the closeness of his Frame. There was something of breadth to their thaumic nature - sophistication in the unseen architecture that he didnt feel in either the Galeslither or the Sangeists. As the first golem drifted close, it halted ten feet away from him. Avos haemokinetic wreathe coiled as he prepared to siphon the necessary mass from his environment to fully realize his Woundshaper. Unlike Abrel, the machines gathered before him held form in matter. It would not take much from him to see their dissolution. Arcing missiles struck down from on high as clouds of rising ash spread across the district. Entire blocks burst apart as threads of light danced and scattered into blasting shockwaves. Three buildings were melted into a molten rod before being fired into the sky at something unseen beyond all the smoke. Nu-Scarrowbur was coming apart at the seams. People were dying. And that the center of it all, the stormtree remained untouched. Certain portals along its rising stretch were closing one after another, but most still remained open. Avo wasnt sure how the tree functioned, but with how scattered the Stormtree and Scalper forces were spread, and how he found himself only faced with three golems, there didnt seem to be much worry on the part of the locals to protect the namesake of their guild. You smell a bit like him, you know? The words spoken by an unseen individual caught him off guard. A dissonant tone occupied the mans voice, and he gave the sense he regarded Avo as a passing fancy rather than an adversary. He warned me about his heh, brothers. Told me theyd be coming after you. Gave me means to subvert some of their phantamics. Suppose thats how I didnt get bent by them when I jacked into these golems. Nothing but mem-cons and whispering ghosts in here. Too bad for them the cracks in my head have already been filled. The central mass of the golem hissed and opened like an unfolding crucifix. Holding within a grav-generated gimbal, a heavily chromed man with dark eyes, pale skin, and long flowing hair stepped out to breathe in the ash of his home and greet the ghoul. There was something predatory in his eyes, and the way his cybernetic exoskeleton was half-laced over his flesh made him look closer to a botch-graft than an actual threat. Yet, the emptiness in his gaze told Avo another tale. Something inside this one was lost, and it would never be found again. Not truly. His expression harkened to a joining between Draus and Essus, possessing all the cold viciousness of the former, and all the mind-broken trauma of the latter. He fellChis feet more akin to chrome hooves as he left the weightless clutch of his piloting seat and sank ankle-deep into the soil. So close, he seemed to be Draus height though gaunter by far in build. Holding out his arms, he embraced the falling ash as if a child reaching out for snow in a vacation ad for Vard Heldjmar in the Skuldvast. Echoheads chittering, Avo mapped his surroundings to track for any threats. Rage boiled inside him at slaughter deniedCAbrel had been saved by the explosion. He had not felt her die; worse, he didnt even get to kill and taste her flesh. It was as if the battles were conspiring against him, fortune and misfortune turning deliberately tooC Zein, Avo hissed under his breath. There were too many coincidences happening at once for him to regard any of this as related to chance. He was being nudged from fight to direction. Like an artanid behind forced to run a maze to the whims of another. No. He wouldnt accept this. Would find a way out. He was a Godclad now. Not even time would be his prison. He will find the limits of her canons. He will find the extent of her powerC She cant see past the surface. the man said, interrupting his thoughts. Avos mind screeched to a halt. What? This uh, Zein. Zein Thousandhand. Old woman. Old myth. Old legend. Walton warned me about her. He managed to take some memories from her, even. Dont know how he did but the man tilted his head and grimaced. You shouldnt see your own future if you can avoid it. But if you can see several futures well, thats something else. Ultimately, her problem is that she only sees what occurs on the surface. Walton knew that. Told me about what to expect with her. His expression tightened. Expecting and beholding are two very different things, though. Avo paused. Walton. He told you about Zein? Know how her canons work? His mind was spinning now. How had Walton managed to take memories from Zein without her knowing? Was she really unaware? You know, the man said, voice scratchy as if he had spent an entire lifetime sucking in breaths next to a fusion burner, when Walton spoke about a son, I didnt expect you? What are you? A bioform? A new experiment? He looked up and regarded Avo with a twitching eye. A sneer tore over his circuit-lined face. No. I know your eyes. Ive seen those eyesCsee how they twitched when I cut at the scalps of your brothers. Ghoul. He chuckled hoarsely, as if beholding an amusing joke. What a fuckin guy he was. First, his family are clones. ThenC A wave rushed over the both of them. The man turned away as embers splashed out from his gaze. Avo hissed as he felt his own retinas heating up. Fallen Heaven, the man said. My nieces Bloodthanes got one of those Highflame half-strands. The one that can channel power through a Heaven of Sight. He pointed to the southeast end of the city where a downward slope led to a valley of half-melted buildings. Her eyes cant stare into each other directly. But it happened. It happened too many times. Hubris. Backlash. Her Frame popped. Same shit, different Heaven. In some ways, you Clads are more brittle than us. But thats the dose when youre comprised of living mythology, right? Dont worry. Theyll all be occupied with each other for now. We got time to talk. I got some stuff I need to tell you. Part of the deal I made with your old man. Zeins voice echoed in his skull, bright with amusement. You should listen to what he says. It was amusing, twisting him to purpose, using one of your fathers nodes as a proxy. It directed him in such ways.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Her voice vanished in a rising peal of laughter. Avo swept his head around, hissing as he tried to find Zein. More and more, the world around him narrowed. There were fights happening everywhere, but everythingCeverything was collapsing into her grasp. His mind was spinning. He didnt know what was beyond her design anymore. Where the deception began. Where it ended. In the distance, blooming wings of light cut free into the air as the Strider rose through smoke and rumble. Only to suddenly burst apart from within as the Shatterborn leaped free from its chest like it was being used as a doorway somehow. Light shattered and airy falcons were swallowed into the volcanic heart of the Shatterborn as it crested the horizon. Death came instant and incomprehensible even more Godclads. The only difference was that they all got a chance to try again. The rest of the district would not be so lucky. Ask him about Walton, Zein said again. This wasnt a dialogue. Each word she spoke was cast forward from the past, set to trigger at a specific interval of time or a specific instance in the future. It will be amusing. Releasing his blood and enwreathing himself in a screen of entropy, Avo glared at the stranger and regarded him with apprehension. Talk. Walton? You know him? No, the man said. He plucked a single strand of hair free from his mane. Only a facet, I think. But thats what he was. A facet. A piece out of a whole. I think he understood me because of it. He inhaled and coughed, choking willingly on chemicals and filth riding the winds. I missed this. If I knew all I had to do to get back here was let all my Scalpers get snuffed, I would have done it. I would have provoked a fight with that Greatling fuck and seen everyone did just for the taste of it again: The memory of the fire His words gave Avo a new direction. His Metamind filtered through memories. His Scalpers. A name and a collage of memories joined to offer Avo a splitting replica of the person who stood before him. He was speaking to Vincintine Javvers. The head of the Scalpers. The one people called Ripperjack. What do you think about fate, ghoul? Ripperjack asked. He gestured behind him as a lance of surging water shot down from the fog above. Breaking against the molten hide of the Shatternborn. The Aegis slammed down from on high as a knot of Galeslithers rose as a chorus through the wind, slipping into a half-toppled tower. Within moments, gauss fire erupted from inside the building, pelting the encroaching Highflame Godclad to draw their attention. Chaos reigned all around them as disjointed battles were joined. This was a cacophony of an unseen conductor. Behind this was the touch of Zein, nudging and twisting clashes into occurring for her desired outcome. Fate, Avo said. No. Not fate. Just power. Power over reality. Absolute influence over the future. Ripperjack bit down on his tongue and seemed to swallow back something sour. Maybe. Maybe. Do you know what I think? I think we have fates because were conscious. Self-aware. Our minds are like scarsCthere are only so many choices we can make with the way were broken. The waters down run right any other way. Sure. We lie to ourselves and say we can do anything but no. We dont. We never do. I I was the same way, but with what I got from Walton the other ones think I belong to them, but they dont see it. Ripperjacks expression twitched into a maddened grin. They dont see it. I belong to me. Im perfectly broken. Im the perfect agent. Walton gave me the memories back. The memories I needed. I see everything clearly now. This moment. What I needed to do to win. To get back up into the Tiers. He managed to steal that memory from Thousandhand for both of us. She doesnt see meCdoesnt know her plan to lead the Low Masters here didnt work. And you can get what you need done. Zeins voice cut back in across the annals of time. She was practically choking on her own amusement by this point. Tension knotted inside Avo. She was taunting him. She was taunting him beyond the edge of time itself. What is this? he said, words intended for both individuals before him. Im supposed to make sure you get across through the right threshold, Ripperjack said. He is instrument and entertainment both. In every path, he chooses suicide before service should I approach him directly. But he had history with your father, and history is such a supple thing to exploit. Why? Avo snarled, turning. His Echoheads coiled and lashed out with agitation. He couldnt see her, but she was there, inside himCinside the meat of time itself, like a parasite he couldnt strike. Why? Is this all for fun? All these little twists. Manipulations. Why? Couldnt just do it yourself? Why do this? For the first time, confusion bled over into Ripperjacks face. Who who are you talking to? Avo turned back to the man and grunted a dismissal. The poor fool thought himself spared. Thought he was a player in this game. Thought he had a glimpse of the bigger picture. Tell him, if you will, Zein said. It makes no difference now. He has served his purpose. His golems were directed against Abrel Greatling. The mem-data within their locus will have logged this engagement against her cadre once they are purged of the Hungers influence. That will make them look most culpable. You''re framing them? Avo said. The wind rushed over his person. Immediately, his cog-feed cried warnings that a Galeslither was approaching. Over rustling grass and shivering ash, three figures spilled free from an unzipping breeze. Draus landed on her feet, gun raise and wing-scythes wide. Essus and Chambers toppled out behind her, confusion writ upon their faces. Im providing the most desirable cover story possible, Zein said. Ripperjacks features turned stone-like. He stared at Draus. His eyes turned back over to Avo. Ghoul? I didnt send that Galeslither. Who are you talking to? Answer me. Talk. Fucking talkC A shroud of time shivered over Draus, Essus, and Chambers. From Avo, Zein stepped free, head held high as she stepped free, offering Ripperjack a little wave. I thank you for all the assistance you provided. Without you, my pruning would have been substantially more strenuous. The bedrock of confidence broke within Ripperjack. The mans lip began to curl, his eyes darting between Avo and the aged woman, fading in and out of reality to the oscillating flow of time. I what? It was the easiest way to ensure your compliance, Zein said. You remembered him. And using the mutual link, I bent you to my will. Then, whyC Zein waved a hand. Ripperjack flickered and vanished. Faintly, Avo felt a lurching sensation as if the man had been flung somewhere. Or some time. The golems Ripperjack once commanded hovered in place, silent and unmoving. You should take their Heavens as well, Zein said, turning her head back over to regard Avo. Gauss flechette sipped through her form as she smiled. You will hate me more, momentarily, Captain Draus. Two more shots went through her. She tuned out of reality before either could hit her. Why? Avo said, stepping closer to her. Something splattered down into the mud next to him. The metallic shine of a blood-coated missile caught his eye, and the mini-nuke festooned as its payload made his tension spike. Also, Zein said, Remember to copy the pattern of the warhead next time. It took more work than expected for me to pluck this from the husk you left behind. No, Avo said. He cast out his matter-unweaving winds. The mini-nuke flickered behind him. Zein shook her head. She wasnt fading now. Instead, she was growing increasingly solid. Increasingly stable, like the waters of time were cementing her true self back into form. Still, though, never fully turned corporeal---remained a gold-tinged echo as she spoke. I am much like you in this regardCI refuse anything that I perceive another to force upon me. But this is not force. This is my chosen path. I have pruned it.This will happen. A cry of agony sang out from everything stone-like around them. Plascrete shook and rattled. Structures dissolved into sand. Ah. Reva has died. Zein frowned. A bit early for my liking. Disappointing. Let us see if the others can hold until she resurrects. You planned all of this? Avo asked. Using the Scalpers. Their golems. Turning the Low Masters'' hunters over to himC Oh, no, Zein laughed. Much of this was but a happy occurrence. The original plan was to see the Bloodthanes occupied. But when I spoke to him, the path revealed such delightful things. Truth be offered, your father did mend his mindCand in him left protections against the other servants of the Hungers. And so he became of true use to me." Avo, Draus said. Her voice was steady, but she never averted her gun. What the hells is happening? Zein winked at the Regular. Im ensuring your glory, captain. Just as I am ensuring the incrimination of Abrel Greatlings cadre as part of a grand conspiracy to assassinate the ambassador. Or as an unfortunate victim in a grander conspiracy between rogue parties of Stormtree, Ori-Thaum, and Highflame. It depends on how the fighting goes, really. Whatever the case, you will be our hero, dear girl. You stopped a Chivalric plot. You and your new Fallwalker cadre. Cadre? Draus whispered. Yes, Zein said, it is all by my desigC And then her head exploded off her body in a spray of gore. 10-26 Fate Denied (II) [WARNING: NINTH-SPHERE LIMINAL FRAME DETECTED] Veylis. Mother. I see. You have sensed me. I have. Youre falling into your old habits again. Predictably twisting and pruning every possible future down to the quick. You didnt leave enough time between your skimmings upon the surface of time. Did you expect me to be too occupied by my own affairs to notice? Ah. But your house seemed so messy. Would you blame me for making such an assumption? No. Instead, I will blame you for being discovered and allowing yourself to be killed by me. [Laughter] You make me proud, my girl. And you have not yet slain me. And you break my heart always, mother. Always. [Sigh] Veylis I will stray. I will not bend. I will prevail. I will fix what has been broken. As is my will. As is what you have taught me. Oh? Did I teach you to murder your own father? To cast all that he had fought for into decay and ruinC I murdered father? I was trying to make him eternal. In place of accusation, I will ask: What did you do? What did you do to the man you loved? You speak as if you were any better when you stained your glaive with his blood. That thing was not Jaus. And I committed no such act. The leaping of the Ladder was not of my doing, but a response to your defilement. Against your own bloodCyour own father My father will live again. You will live again. I will make everything right. I will not bend. I am sorry. I love you. I loved him. But this is more than love. This is the culmination that is. All that will be. And he was going to give away our ability to choose for ourselves. To Voidwatch. Our from our hands. I could not Could not I am still your mother, Veylis. It does not shame you to cry before me. No. I will not. I will not. I am a child no longer. I am human no longer. But you will always be my girl. No matter the path. ... Come. Come and embrace your mother before you try and kill her. Let us have this, at least. [TEMPORAL DISTORTION DETECTED] Ah. It feels as it always has. Your shoulders feel softer, though. Have you been negligent in your conditioning? You will learn how negligent I have been soon. [Soft laughter] We will be family again. When this is over. When we are done. That is a certainty between us, at the least. And if someone else wins this game? If another imposes their desire on what is to be. Well, dear daughter, I suppose we will always have yesterday. Oh, and do change the taste of your eyes. Make them sour or bitter. It dissuades people from eating them. [Sighs] Please find a better hobby than drugs. Ah. Youll come to understand. Are you ready? To the death, as we have done before? To the death, mother. -Zein Thousandhand and Veylis Avandaer The Fist of Recursion, Somewhere in the Paths 10-26 Fate Denied (II) Zeins headless body took two steps forward as she twitched and spasmed. Her right arm came free with a sudden snap. Her armor shattered. She was split open from collarbone to the waist. Each subsequent injury was delivered without any hint of cause. They just appeared like they always had been - the present suddenly remembering wounds inflicted by the past. A subtle pressure lifted from Avo. He barely noticed its sudden absence. The sensation was as if the thickness of times passage grew ever looser without someone to manipulate its flow. Reality slackened around him, and around the contours of his companions, the second skin of their temporal shrouds broke apart into needle-thin steams that began to dissolve horizontally, as if their bodies were vessels upon a sea unseen. There, in the rainfall, four faces frozen in various expressions of shock and confusion watched as Zeins corpse fell over into separate pieces, each blinking out of existence the moment they struck the ground. So Chambers asked, staring at the place where Thousandhand fell. Is this part of her plan too, or did we just watch the genert get snuffed? A worried expression came over him. Fuck, is that what happens when people get old? I dont want to just fall apart and shitC An explosion of force struck Avo. Struck everyone. The blow was colossalCthe pain deeper than any that had ever struck him. His bones rang, joints sounding like an endless junction of gongs. His Liminal Frame screamed as his cog-feed struggled the process the attack. Error codes screamed out at him as his body vibrated. As his vision cleared, he found himself drifting through the wavelength of reality, his being floating aside the wholeness of existence like a dislocated limb. Draus and the others pulsed in and out between moments and instants, the bio-rigs wings twitched and flashed between moments in reality. The golems beside him remained solid and still. Light vanished, the stormtree winking out from the district like it had been plucked from the roots. The world became a blur of glitching geometries lost in a crash of stuttering forces and skipping time. As his Soul rippled out, he felt the damage inflicted on the world and realized the totality of its harm. Nearly every major domain must have been affected. Nearly anything bearing sign or symbology in the world was quivering before the impact. Only thought escaped untouched, but such was a faint consolation to a prison exiled from reality. Then, sometime between a heartbeat and an eternity, the vibrations collapsed in on each other, one vibration building upon another until the fullness of shape reformed all that was. With a final sheet stacking time above all other functions, Avo felt himself snap back into his body and collapse. The rain, halted during the impact, suddenly remembered it was to fall. He found himself lying in the mud, staring at Draus as she clutched her titanium-chitin armored chest and choked, at Essus crying out as he groped for the sky, at Chambers pumping his knees, desperate to rise. The district around them was silent beyond their struggles. Too silent. The fighting between the other Godclads and golems had been halted as well. Whatever this was, it was district-wide, at the least. Burying his Echoheads into the ground, Avo wheezed as he forced himself up. They didnt have time to be lying around here. Zein was still missing. The world was beginning to wake up again. Indelible threads of light rose through the curtains of falling smoke as volcanic ash began to swirl. Skittering over to his allies, Avo pulled Draus up. His movements were piloted more by instinct than thought, but he knew what remained. They needed to leave the district. No matter what Zeins plan was by this point. No matter her political plots and her games and the narrowing of her paths. Without her presence, he was free. Free and vulnerable.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Without hesitation, he vented the remainder of his Woundshapers Rend into the soil around them. He needed to be clean of RendCcouldnt risk flying the Galeslither for long seeing how the golems were willing to paradox themselves to backlash him out of the Heaven. Tendrils shot out from him as he groped for the mini-nuke left behind. With a thought, he consumed its pattern, adding its structure to the caged spire atop his Woundshaper. MATTER-PATTERN MEMORIZED: MINI-NUKE Avo felt a strange sensation enter his being. He was no Agnos attuned to the sciences, but he knew enough about warheads that they struck him more as force or energy-related than matter. Yet, his Heaven devoured them all the same. THIRD PATTERN REACHED ->+15 THAUM TO ONTOLOGICAL MASS Oh? And what manner of flavor is this? I have not tasted such before. Leaving his Heaven to sample the delicacy he just offered, he regarded the three golems that Ripperjack commanded. One still stood with its cockpit open. He was uncertain as to the canons and capabilities they possessed, but from a glance, it was clear that they could fly. That, and they were likely infested with whatever mem-cons the Low Masters had broadcast in their attempts to hunt Zein. Draus, he said, stabilizing. Draus. Can you stand? Her legs buckled for a moment. But only for a moment. She caught herself and a low noise of discomfort escaped from the back of her throat. Feels like a godsdamned giant swatted the bones outta me. She took a step toward the golem. He growled in alarm. No. Going to subsume them. Loci compromised. Low Masters mem-cons. Ill get Essus. You get Chambers. We use the tree. She stumbled two steps and extended her bio-rigs wings to stabilize herself. What bout Thousandhands plan? Shes gone, he said. Theres not aC A snap pierced the silence. With how devastated the district was, ash and dust formed a veil a scant hundred feet beyond the reach of the base of the tree. Something flashed with a brilliant spark. Something exploded. Buildings groaned and glass shattered. The fight between the others was beginning again. Lightning flashed behind Avo, the air behind him opened like a wound of rupturing light. The stormtree itself spread back into existence as its branches arced into whorls clenching an ascending mess of portals. From base to height, the stormtree rose from Layer One to Layer Two, but right now, all he concerned himself with was the closest exit he could find. Anywhere was better than hereC A wing of light unfurled into a rain of licking blades. The smoke surrounding the stormtree split much the way the upper half of the tree did when the Strider carved into it. Yet, instead of parting, more bolts of electricity lashed out from the stormtree, and carved new breaches into the soil. The ground burst beneath Avo. One of the bolt-like branches touched him, but in an instant of a surging jolt, he felt himself accelerating by its touch. Beneath his feet spread veins of voltage, curling around him as the ground dissolved into an open portal. Through the dust and chaos, he watched as something large swam beneath the murk of the ash. Highflame! To me! Abrels voice was a piercing avian shriek. From the length of her sound waves, the Phys-Sim estimated her to be only a hundred feet away and closing fast. Falcons spilled free from the ash surrounding them they extended into arms and legs. Without any more hesitation, Avo flared his Soul and reached to subsume the Heavens of the three golems. They came loose into the grasp of his Frame, like plucking fruit from a branch. With all his bounty claimed, he turned to commit to the final task that concerned him: Escape. The new portal forming at his feet was an anomaly. He didnt know how a stormtree functioned or what the rules of its canons were, but he knew that staying here and fighting was to risk Draus and the others. Firing his reflexes, he laced a circuit of blood into Draus'' mind and cast his intentions at her. No words were exchanged. She was of the same regard. It was long past time to leave, and this run had gone beyond sour by means above their control or comprehension. As the Strider painted itself into shape, as the rain was wrenched away from striking soil and diverted into the grasp of another, as the wind screamed to the eruption of a volcano that basked the surrounding dust in the glow of a lantern, Avo pulled Essus off the ground and jumped down through the new portal. Draus followed soon after, Chambers kicking and flailing, tucked beneath one of her arms. Descending the portal of the stormtree was not like stepping from one threshold to another. No. There was a destructiveness to its transfer and interconnectedness to its pathways. Almost immediately, Avo felt his form compressed into a forking bolt of lighting. Matter dissolved into energy within this domain, and before his senses, the district of Nu-Scarrowbur was stripped down to the bone. All things bearing circuitry and static expanded into fluid outlines as he found himself shuttled through the countless arteries within the tree, striking and bouncing from the other only bolt of transferred materialCDraus and her carry-on. They sank down to the roots of the tree first, awareness spreading as the real crumbled down to facets of lightning and destruction expressed through the mythology of an ever-growing tree. Behind them came the intrusion of another presence. Someone else had dived in. Someone else was coursing through the same channels after them. But they were a step behind. Upon striking the foundation of the roots of the tree, the entire architecture thundered, and he was launched upward, light peeling along his perception. For a fleeting instant, the world around him peeled into shape as he twisted up the length of the tree, peering past its thaumaturgic flesh. His eyes greeted the surrounding cityscape, and he found himself staggered by the damage. Nu-Scarrowbur was a ringed district once. Ringed in architecture. Ringed in design. Ringed in its aerolanes and streetways. There had been a slope to its geography before the fighting and warheads disfigured it; the stormtree at the center of the district was nested as a rose clutched between rising layers of domed plasteel. No more. Carpets of devastation formed detritus-paved pathways from hollowed structures and mangled bridges. Between the warheads, the Godclads, and the fighting in general, no section of the city was spared. Much of the southeast side was flattenedCits cause of unmaking a mix of heavy bombardment, chasms spewing molten heat, and blood-drenched trails that gouged the urban hellscape to its foundations. All that dared move now were the encroaching form of Godclads swimming through the thick of the falling ash and rain. A few among them traded attacks still, but most were pressing for the tree, the remnants of the Highflame cadre following Abrel while Bloodthanes and wargs followed them. Light began to build around Avos perception. He was a bolt loosed out toward the bottom of Layer Two, and he braced for impact as the hexagonal plates approached. His gut emptied when he sank right through and leaped through another Layer of the city while colors and sounds flitted by around him. The exit came with an explosion of sound and light. He tore free from a portal and Draus followed in his wake. Tumbling out, he found himself tossed into the gasp of gravity as he slipped through the holographic static of an emptied aerolane. A new landscape expanded before his eyes, the stretch of the horizon bright and pristine, crystalline edifices gleaming with a mirror-perfect polish while pale streams ray-like bioforms swept across the sky. The sky. The naked sky. Avo felt his mind stutter to a halt as the lilac hue of the Darkstar glared at him, painting the shining district below with its ebbing face. Rain fell hard here, and the streets and grids glistening with wetness. They werent in the Spine anymore. This was Lights End. They were topside again. Turning as he fell, the first sounds of drone sirens cut through the air as he beheld the vast metallic cliff-face that speared upward to gut the clouds. Beyond the overcast sky shook a place of sound, light, and splendor. Beyond the overcast sky were the Tiers. The wail of sound drew his focus. A Tadpole-like drone dove out for him, with its wisp-thin tendrils outstretched. Along its pellucid shell projected a symbolCa fang manacled by twin chains: The sign of the Exorcists. Forty feet long and thirty wide in radius, the machine held enough space for either him or Essus within the opening beneath its cage. With reflexes still running high, Avo whipped a haemokinetic conduit into its shell before it could draw too close and spread his influence. It took him less than a second to strike the locus. It took him three more to crack its protections. Exorcist Necros were competent across the board. But with all his traumas, and with the Nether crippled so, all it took for him to assume control was a bit of damage and a brief resequencing. He left the drone-jock entombed within his gimbal, ignoring the urge to jump over and subsume her mind as well. Instead, he directed the machine low to catch him and Essus before they fell and affixed himself to its top using blood-made cables. Several other Tadpoles speared past him in pursuit of Draus and Chambers, and nearly a dozen more were swimming through the air to come after him. Diving full power to the thrusters, he accelerated after Draus and away from the portal. The single branch of the stormtrees stretching limb began to surge brightly. The pursuing jocks werent prepared for another person to dive through. They especially werent prepared for said person to be a full-blown Godclad. The Strider was stitched into existence bolt by lashing bolt. The arms and the legs came first. Soon would be the body and wings. Avo dove low after Draus as he curved down along the buildings. Less than a second later, winged light cut out to cleave through the blocks. And failed. From glass and alloy, the buildings remained unblemished. Memetic matter. Avo sighed. Now things were definitely going to be an incident; they were fighting where the FATED put their imps. It looked like Zein might be getting her frame-job done yet. 10-27 Take the Flame (I) You know what, soldier? Youre wasted as Regular. I do somethin wrong, Higher? No. Youre doing too many things right. Killing too many targets. Not dying. Hells, your Merits are through the roof. Youre making an awful lot of Instruments very happy people. I aim to please. Nah. You aim to kill. You love to kill. I see it. You dont need to play coy with me. But ah. Never mind. Youd make a good Clad, you know that Draus? Dont quite know what youre spittin, sir. Dont glower. You know Im right. There are pieces missing inside you, consang. Pieces that were never there to begin with. But hey, that just makes you perfect for this city. Listen, when this war shit is done, Im gonna recommend you for Axtraxis. Permission to speak freely, Higher. [Sigh] Shoot. Break my heart and tell me all you ever wanted was to fight and serve the causeC Sir, Ive seen what the Frame does to people. I see how Greatling is. I dont want it. I dont want to be them. I dont wanna burn my days killin the small. Theres no gleam in that. That aint the dream. No gleam. Draus: Youre more than worthy and wasted as a Reg. -Guard-Captain Winston Nicoma to First-Dragoon Jelene Draus, Fourth Guild War 10-27 Take the Flame (I) Avo cut through the skies and the Strider followed. Draus vanished the stretch of a bridge and drones cut out after her. Spearing through the air at one hundred and eighty miles an hour was slow for a Guild-grade aerial vehicle, but that was by necessity; the district was a hive of architecture and memetic architecture at that. Short of the Tadpole turning into a golem with control over forces, inertia still held a tax. Something Abrel quickly discovered as she tore out from around the corner and struck the curved side of the twin-pronged tower that looked carved out of nothing but vivianite. The drone fell like a whistling arrow at Avos command. Countless shining bridges spilled out between blocks and streets as he plummeted. Beyond the dilapidation and decay that gripped the lower Warrens, Lights End resembled an orderly nest, and its occupants were all part of the hive. Encased in rectangular glass passageways, he caught sight of countless curious bystanders as he speared past. There were thousands of them gathered behind windows and depolarizing walls. Unlike the fear and chaos that gripped the streets of Nu-Scarrowbur, he could glean no such tension brimming in their relaxed postures. This was just a curiosity for themCa break from whatever their professions demanded. They watched with the eyes of bored office workers taking in a peculiar sight rather than the leering bloodlust of a Crucible spectator. Life and death for him and his cohort were but passing amusements. When he crossed from sight, they would return to their stations and proceed along the railways of routine. Essus voice bellowed out in low-pitched alarm with each pivot and turn. Avo fastened them tighter to the Tadpole. Blades of light flashed out at him just as he dipped down to sail alongside a Hypertube tunnel, glass-casings coating the gaps between the latticed tubes shrouded him from a slashing wing. Light splashed and broke into chipped particles. It was like watching a glowing stream of blades shatter against something unbreakable. The two absolutes clashed and two canons shuddered under the weight of paradox. Reality jolted as Abrels wings sliced against mimetically guarded metal and glass. Her strokes bled blurring mirages as multiple geometries in the environment shivered. Avo did not turn from the opportunity presented to him. The Second Circle of his Galeslither came alive in the chaos. A pocket seized the opening in the air behind him just as he turned a corner. Light flashed out off the reflections cast by the mercury gleam of an Exorcist Tadpole twisting between the latticed pathways interlacing the blocks. He knew he succeeded when he felt his Frame rattle and all light behind him vanished. Too much paradox for AbrelCshe needed to vent her Rend or switch to anotherC The world shook. Avos cog-feed sounded with the detection of vented Rend. From shadows and darkness flew forth swarms of darting falcons. They were not smoke-like as the ones encoiling the Strider''s arms and legs. Instead, they bore a fluid quality to them as they rushed out. Uncountable, they washed out from every spot of smoke or darkness around him, diving out to smear themselves against passing drones or clefts left between buildings. Two Tadpoles encroached from behind, gaining on him because of their unburdened mass. A falcon painted the drone beside him, the inkiness of the eldritch birds form feeding into the gaps and gulfs between the armor. It seemed the Striders Hell dealt with reinforcing or mending objects. Three shots thrummed out from a rifle. Three Tadpoles sparked and spewed flaming projectile trajectories tunneled through their engines. Following the orange path to its origin, Avo located Draus again. She was flying with her chest facing the sky and Chambers secured to her chest like an infant using what looked like makeshift cords. More Exorcists were moving to intercept them, but they had some distance now. She shot twice more downward, and he realized what she was firing at. Her projectiles painted lanes of white down to the entrance of a Hypertube station. Yes. That was probably their best chance to evade both Abrel and the Exorcists. Seeing how things were, the Paladins would soon be on the scene as well. With a command, he directed his Tadpole down directly toward the entrance of the station. It was large and wide enough for him to fly it through, and when it was done, he would drain its mass and take what benefits he could from it. The world around him was a clash of colors. Ebony rivers comprised of swirling falcons licked after him like rotting tongues. Neon sirens oscillated and pulsed from newly arriving drones. Some twisted into shape not six feet away from him as golem knots jaunted through the expanse of space, trying to hunt him down. Even with the Nether down, the last neutral authorities of New Vultun were coordinated in their approach, surging after escaping fugitives without chaos or confusion. No drones collided. As more pursuing vehicles entered the chase, they began shift their positions, inching into formations as they tried to head him off. WARNING: SPATIAL DISTORTION DETECTED A golem made out of three spinning rings slipped into existence just before him. With it spilled out ten drones and three other burning golemsCthey looked exactly the same as the one he subsumed earlier. He expanded his blood into a hair-thin lattice as they fired. Slugs, missiles, and flechettes snapped through the air and tore through his defenses. They struck his cordyceramite plating as speckles of blood. He spurred his drone into a dive. He was eighty feet away from the entrance, and he saw Draus angle her scything wings to drag them along the ceiling and walls to slow her pace. It was time for him to disembark as well. He connected to Essus mind briefly as he absorbed the Tadpoles mass. +Prepare to fall.+ A note of alarm rose through the whirlwind of terror gripping the mans mind. +What?+ The drone unzipped into streams of blood beneath him. He let the Exorcist it contained tumble free and left their fate to distract the hands of their comrades. The beast growled inside him. It was a shame not to eat the Exorcist, but he didnt have the time. Part of him was also wise to the probability that more assets would be devoted to chasing him rather than stopping Abrel if he was the first one to snuff one of the citys prefects. REND CAPACITY [WOUNSHAPER]: 2% REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 65% Expanding the additional two tons of mass he gained from the haemification, he wove an externalized skeleton around his person and found himself annoyed at how much the act taxed his attention. He twinned the design to his body and found himself envious of the drone he was just flying as he fused a crude gimbal into place to hold Essus.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. He already had the capacity to generate facsimiles of matter using his bloodCwhat would it take to construct proper pieces of machinery? The ground was fast approaching. He shifted over to using his Galeslither as he used the air to smooth his landing. He dared not draw upon the fullness of its manifestation with the presence of space-affecting golems. With how easy it was to paradox demiplanar canons, he decided upon keeping his Rend as low as possible. Something brushed the winds he wielded. He guided his Whisper along the circuitry of his blood and directed his perception backward. Glinting speckles were chasing after him. He chittered his Echoheads. No. Not specksCfleas. Particulates the size of insects. Voidwatch had long been reticent to part with their nanomechanical machines, but the same reluctance didnt crossover into the use of drone-adjacent creatures. As his speed fell to the low sixties, he released his pull on the wind and opened another pocket, this time for the drones and other pieces of coldtech chasing him. The sphere burst large, expanding a good hundred feet in circumference before he felt its structure start slackening. Multiple movement vectors fed his Hell. His Galeslithers Rend plummeted. His hunters frozeCcaged in stasis. He struck the tessellated tiles leading to the Hypertube station with haemokinetic-reinforced Echoheads first to blunt the landing. The ground greeted him in a series of eight spine-rattling impacts and refused to dent or fracture. Keeping what momentum he could, his tails lashed out and pulled him along. Still linked to Essus, he cast a wellness check at his companion. +Landed.+ +Yes I felt that.+ Avos cog-feed sounded a series of alarms and he ended his stasis before the Hell could over-exceed its quota and spawn forth a Daemon. The fibers across his body tickled. He still remembered how the Twice-Walkers quavering visage reeled its former master toward it, like a leviathan sucking in a snack. Pathways leading down into the depths of the tube were ribbed in crystalline layering. A mural splashed out overhead, its design depicting people from across various clades walking hand in hand upon a cloud-made city. Their bodies sported all manner of chrome and other modifications, but each adorned their bodies with diadems or other articles of silver while a patch scintillated on their chests. Its design showed burning eyes sprouting between the links of a crown, and beneath its vibrant aesthetic flowed a single line of text: All will be revealed. If he wasnt certain this was an Ori-Thaum district before, he knew it now. For a moment, he found the emptiness of the station odd before he remembered that the Nether was down and people were likely sheltering in safe zones or Guild-owned buildings away from public spaces. Suppose this served as a confirmation that the thoughtwave detonation was Sovereignty wide. At the foot of the sloping walkway, Draus waited for him while Chambers dry-heaved beneath her sub-arms while her scythe-wings twitched. She gestured for him to hurryCher gauss rifle now missingCand pointed toward a wide-open terminal separated into glitching columns and departure gates. Then, without any hint or warning at all, she extended her projectile launcher and fired. The micro-missile whistled through the air and missed Avo by a foot. Twisting his Whisper around, he noticed nothing at the lip of the entrance. Nothing butC The entrance shivered as a curtain of water spilled over it. The missile exploded. The rushing rain tore in, and behind ground the inexorable mass of a castle squeezing its way down a pedestrian entrance as Abrel and another of her cadre swam through the rushing waves. Beside the Aegis, the other two Godclads looked bloodied and beaten. Abrel was missing a leg, and her combat skin was rent and bent in several places. It looked as if she took heavy ordinance directly to her chest. Avo could feel the Rend spewing out from the other member of cadre. Blood was leaking out from beneath their armpit, and it stained the water red. Avo growled and shifted into his Galeslither. Better to evade right now than to engage. He wondered how all three made it out from Nu-Scarrowbur even with the Bloodthanes present. He wondered if the Bloodthanes were following after him as well. Scooping Draus and Chambers into his currents as he dove toward the gate, he rushed through the dormant phase gate and swept into the room as an unnatural flood roared behind, sweeping abandoned luggage and concession drones aside. Multiple mechanisms and gateways stood closed, but not vacuum sealed. He slipped through cracks and wafted past three different checkpoints before he finally arrived at a waiting station. Another thing that separated Lights End from the lower Warrens: No elevators. There wasnt the need. The lightrail of the Hypertube was a chainlink of crystalline shards that ran twelve cars long for a total of five hundred feet. Geometries of light played across a canopy of crisscrossing beams focused through various lenses that plated the exterior of the tubing. From vicarities and taken memories, Avo recalled the locus to be at the front, and so thusly he rushed into the train. Releasing Essus and Chambers as he arrived at the empty control nexus of the lightrail, a still locus rested around metallic rings and arm-like apparatuses that projected a grav-field to hold the mind-crystal in place. Avo was about to connect to the locus when he suddenly froze, tendril an inch away from touching its structure. He had no idea how deep the Low Masters subversion of the local Nether ran. But if he lingered, he faced fatal odds. Growling, he took the plunge and connected to the locus and dived. A simulated lobby began to boot and glitch behind his eyes. The world dissolved and immediately he felt his wards rattle. The first structures that manifested next to him were twisted in sequence and memory. From memory, most public system loci ran on simply palaces and lobbies. Bland, grey rooms with simple shapes and doorways for easy accessibility. What he saw were mutations. Faces and traumas and fire and other places fissured around the empty expanse he was in. Mem-cons lined every sequence he could behold. If this place was a body, every sinew would be infected, and the bones would be rotten to the core. He was at the base of a tree and even the roots were trying to bite into him. His Quicksand cracked slightly before it adjusted. The next few impacts broke against him as he surveyed extent of the affliction, trying to find the root phantasmics governing this place. The more he studied, the wider his insides chasmed. Perhaps he could clean the locus out if he had eighty tons of mass accelerating his thoughts, but right now he had but a short window. Jacking out, he could hear a torrent of water crashing just outside. He didnt have the time. He needed some means of accessing the system fast and ignoring the mem-cons and traumas outright. Something to punch right through without destroying all the sequences. Maybe if there was someone expendableChe should have kept that Exorcist withC Avo paused. He snapped around, eyes fixed on Chambers. Mem-cons, he said, inspiration striking him. Expendable. Durable. He grinned. Chambers took a step back, lip quivering. Consang, pleaseC Avo stung the mans mind with a thread of blood and fused it to the locus. Chambers cried out in surprise as he toppled back onto a flower-petaled seat blooming with foam cushions. Error codes burst in front of him as a holoprojector failed to receive any resources from the locus. Start the train. Avo said, hoping that his gambit would work. Just just start the train? Water slouched close. Something unbolted outside. Now, Avo growled. Chambers whimpered and his face scrunched with concentration. A current of ghosts flowed through the link. In the nexus, the locus rose and began to gleam. Suddenly, the doors all snapped shut as an upbeat tune began to play. The exterior walls along the train depolarized and the outside world turned transparent. A flood of water smashed into the lightrail. Just as the train thrummed. Light speared down from the various lenses placed across the room. Light peeled away the outer skin of the train as the exterior world suddenly turned into a pale stream. Only a whine gave away the fact that they were traveling. The train didnt shake, didnt bounce, didnt even groan upon metal plates. Being injected across a concentrated beam of light did not have anything to do with sound, after all. +Welcome aboard Line Thirteen of the Easterly light expanse. Please ensure all thaumic devices are switched off. Affecting the domains of Light and Space are strictly prohibitedC+ A chuckle came from Chambers. He pointed to his link. I I did it! I fuckin did it! He threw his hands up and his coat opened. He exposed himself to the group as he let out an incoherent shout of triumph. Fuck yeah! Whose the best half-strand inC A loud crack rattled from the back of the train car. Past countless light-dappled doorways separating each shard, a figure crawled out from a puddle of water, and behind them followed another. WARNING: HIGH REND SIGNATURE DETECTED WARNING: HIGH REND SIGNATURE DETECTED Rising from pools of water, Abrel Greatling emerged from the shallow film of water like it was a deep pool. She planted bare leg roped with wired muscleCjust regrown from the regenerative properties of the midnight rains. A single member of her cadre followed her, coughing as he tore his cracked helmet free from his head. His skin was copper, while his eyes shone pale blue. He lacked an inch of height next to Abrel, but his bulk more than enshadowed hers. Basked in the light of the traveling train, the Greatling collapsed her own helmet. For a heartbeat, she stood there, eyes bloodshot, face contorted in palpable fury. Her lips peeled back as she bared her perfect teeth. An inhuman noise of primal hatred escaped from her. She let out a breath. She took a step forward. Behind, her only accompanying ally followed. Avo let his Echoheads rattle and growled. Fine. Two. He could deal with two. He still had his Heaven. He still had his ghosts. He still had Draus. He cast out a tendril of blood and connected to her. +Going to draw their attention. Shoot them when IC+ She strode next to him and flexed her wings. +We rupture the inside of the train and we all die. I know how it works.+ Avo paused. +So. We do this the ugly way.+ He felt her narrowed gaze glance up at him through her helmet. +You tryin to sound disappointed?+ He grunted a laugh. +No.+ Abrel Greatlings footsteps rose to an uneven sprint. He walked out to meet her. +Looks like Im going to get to taste more Guilder flesh after all.+ 10-28 Take the Flame (II) [Sighing] [Sighing intensifies] [Deep inhale] Widen the quarantine. Pocket the entire Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty. Tell Voidwatch to delay as long as they canCIm jumping over now. Abrel Greatling? Daughter of Uthred Greatling? [Sound of head striking and denting steel] Who else knows? Well, you and trainee Kitzuhada keep those memories to yourself now. I know UthredCthe mans a half-strand; this isnt just going to end up being a mess, its going to be a political mess across the board. Ill see if I can intercept that hypertube wherever it''s going. Id be interested in figuring out how they got the lightrail to run considering the state of the Nether and all the mem-cons. Keep your ansible open and open a tunnel to Firmament. We need full spectrum tracking. Their technology should work better now that the ghosts are missing. Lets see if I can pinch this cut closed before someone finally nicks an artery and starts another bloody war. -Chief Paladin Naeko 10-28 Take the Flame (II) Smoke-made falcons coated Abrels form as she took to her stride. Her second followed close behind, glowering at them behind a sheen of nanolaminated skin grown over his six eyes. His Frame was still hot with Rend, and reality ebbed into shape around him like a wrung towel. Neither Godclad drew upon their canons as they approached, but the air still filled with the flavor of coming violence. With the lightrail at risk, this was to be done in the oldest fashion: Close and brutalfist against claw, and tooth against fang. Avo had no quarrel with their intentthere was a sweetness to applying the most personal touch. Just as there was sweetness in being able to exploit both his Hells against the Guilders. He licked his fangs as he regarded Abrels second in particular. As to why the man didnt just vent, Avo could not say for certain, but Hells usually destroyed or destabilized in their attempt to balance ones subreality. Neither effect boded well for the hypertubes stability. His unsteady gait and a furtive glance at the Greatling betrayed that. Yes. Avo took in his perfumed scentCthe spice sting of cold sandalwoodCand knew which would be his prey first. A network of blood spread out from him, linking Essus and Chambers to his Metamind. +Going to trap them in stasis,+ Avo said. He marked a spot right in front of his foes. +Freeze them. Then hit them with Barrage from my other Hell.+ It was a good plan, he thought. A neat plan. Something that would be hard for the Guilders to counter. Draus extended her monowire and angled her scythe-like wings forward. Her chitin-titanium bio-rigs build and Avos Echoheads made it hard for them to stand side by side, so she cast a ghost into his Metamind detailing Regular room-clearing stances for close-quarters combat. Avo acquiesced and shifted, holding himself to an angle. He let her play above and left while he chittered forward right and below. +Theyre gonna be faster than us. Hit harder than us. Aint gotta clue what mods theyre runnin but itll be a touch above ours.+ Objects she considered non-essential lit up in her cog-feed as she marked them. Even absorbing all the walls and seats in the train-shard wouldnt push Avo over another ton in mass. +Use it to herd and trap em. If you can fix one or both in place, itll be novaCotherwise, you shape the territory+ She turned her head to Chambers. +Keep the tubes bright and runnin until were done. Long as were skimmin light, Im bettin their Heavens and Hells stay inside them, so keep us runnin. Dont stop or were all snuffed.+ She glanced at Avo. +Most of us, anyway.+ Wordlessly, Essus stomped to a stop behind both of them. He stood the last line to Chambers, and his mind, though worn with stress and recoiling from trauma, spoke clearly of what he considered his personal duties. The father would have never been a street squire with his deficit of viciousness, but perhaps there was something greater to be uncovered in one noble enough to offer themselves to the altar of combat yet, regardless of distress or certain defeat. Pulling his attention away from the man, Avo growled a laugh as he rapped Draus on a pauldron. +Can still kill you quick and graft the Frame.+ She scoffed and narrowed her eyes at the approaching Godclads. A bit less than two hundred feet now. Four or so train shards separated them. +Hang on to your skin, rotlick. Might just get the chance to do it in a minute. You fight how I say; I think we gotC+ Static surged through Abrels armor. A dozen impact trajectories flashed red. Avo drew wide a sphere of stasis fifty feet ahead of them. Flashing before him flechettes bearing transparent needles filled with murky fluid halted at the very edge of his stasis. His Galeslithers Rend dipped alongside the Phys-Sims velocity estimations for the projectiles. Beyond the halt, Abrel and her comrade vanished into wafting tendrils of smoke through the ventilation. Alarm rose from Draus. She highlighted the needled projectiles and urged him to form a haemokinetic wall to seal off the space in front of him and block up the vents. +Ego-Screamers. Dont get hit by that. Nasty piece of coldtech we got from OmnitechCinjects nanos patterned with a broken mind-upload. They brick eventually against a Meta, but itll still eat through your brain.+ Avo formed a solid sheet of blood in front of the shots and sealed the airflow. Tendrils snapped free from his body and tunneled through the innermost structure of the lightrail. He kept things close to avoid damaging the crystalline hull, but he realized that everything within remained his for the shaping. He began to draw in as much mass as he could while a protective perimeter blossomed out from his arteries. Sending his Whisper out on patrol, he bathed everything in front of him using the phantasmics perception and caught sight of twin accretions fast on approach. +There.+ He marked the Guilders. The others saw them too. The Guilders managed to cross seventy feet in a fraction of a second, rushing through the interconnected air conditioning faster than Avo could cut off their path entirely. But Abrel surprised him. Instead of pushing through the available junctions in the ventilation system, she plumed free in a fog of screaming falcons. Her partner was missing and as she stepped this time, the floor warped beneath her as she went from fast to near-imperceptible. Wiring and seats burst free as two figures congealed from smoke. The air crackled with the sound of hissing static. Abrel went from sixty feet to five before Avo could even notice. Several gaps formed in his haemokinetic perimeter. Something cleaved clean through his outer defenses. He triggered his Mime-Fog more out of reflex than a conscious decision. Only the Whisper riding the circuits of his blood revealed to him how he was just attacked. A humming sheen of transparent energy had sliced out three inches off from his head. Something inside Avo knotted at how closely death brushed him, how he needed a boost from his Canon of Haemokinesis now, damned be the risk it presented to the trains structure. A lash of cold pain filled him as three of his Echoheads came apart. He didnt even realize she struck again at firstCnor did the fact that it was Draus who parried the blow. The Regular folded over Abrel as she riposted from three places. No thoughts occupied Draus mind, but a constellation of sequences was afire with muscle memory and instinct. Her monowire flicked horizontally while her wings punched down and leftward.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Avo followed in her onslaught. Constructs of blood exploded out from the wall and the floor while he remolded his protections and invoked his Canon of Haemification. Abrel blurred. Minor shockwaves pulsed from her as her arms vanished. Her unseen blade sparked with each impact, and more, it drank kinetic energy away from all that it struck. She deflected all three of Draus attacks with the same movement, despite the spore-ridden fog washing over her. Through the Whisper, Avo gazed upon her and beheld the bloodlust in her screaming face. There was a purity in her hatred. An absoluteness in her loathing. She gave everything to cutting into him, slicing through folds of air as he lurched back on instinct. A thin line of pain traced his plates. She still managed to take an inch. Then came his assault. The tendrils melted into armor and burrowed into flesh. A crimson cleaver erupted from her right and hewed deep. An arm snapped free from her. A gasp of disbelief followed as he pushed further, unzipping armor and gene-perfected flesh from shoulder to neck. Her finger twitched. She exploded into a flock of wailing falcons as a tide of black washed through the train car. A single command came then from Draus. He responded without considering. Using his Whisper as his eyes, he opened another pocket of stasis right at the entrance leading to the nexus where Chambers and the locus were. A force slammed into him before he learned what was caught in the net of his Rend. Out from the flowing darkness came the six-eyed Guilder. The mans right arm was unfurled in six segments as gravity distorted. Avo was torn free from the ground and pressed into the ceiling alongside Draus and Essus. He hissed. Here he was thinking the Guilders were going to get nice and bloody with him; a ghoul could but dream. The scene unfolded: A warped shoulder-mounted autogun rose extended out from the Guilders damaged armor, while Abrel pulled at her stasis-entrapped arm just eight feet away from reaching Chambers as the former enforcer used the locus for cover. Three acts of violence played to the rhythm of three different moments. The Guilders autogun sparked and exploded; a long haemokinetic pole punched out from the ground and impaled him through his groin; Abrel dislocated her arm free at the shoulder but found herself unable to break freeCso augmented was she in fortitude that her strength was insufficient to achieve the necessary self-mutilation. Six-Eyes gunned his grav-thrusters in response, but Avos touch was already halfway to his spine when the armor malfunctioned. As such, though the Guilder snapped loose from the pole, he twisted at an angle and speared into the left side of the train-shard. Glass and plastic filled the air. Gleaming bone and sinuous nanotubes were exposed to the light as grav-thrusters cleared the Mime-Fog. Avo and Draus pushed off the ceiling while Essus just fell. The Guilder tore through the inner layer of the train and sight-searing light flashed through the room. A moment before he could strike the crystalline exterior, he tore a cord free from the base of his neck, severing himself from his combat skin. Six-Eyes tumbled and rolled before Abrel. Her eyes widened in desperation as her sole remaining companion bounced to a stop beside her. His innards were oozing free from multiple wounds while his nanosurgeons battled to mend his flesh. Most of his intestines were missing entirel---woven into blood at Avos touch. A tri-clustered heart beat inside his hollowed chest, gnawed clean of bone and flesh. It was only thanks to his augmentations that he was still alive at all. Hacking bright-red blood from his clogged noses and swollen lips, the Guilder pushed himself onto an elbow as he tried to back away. Teased by the delicious taste of the mans exposed insides and the horror writ upon his face, Avo stalked forward, keeping his eyes locked on Abrels. It had become a joy to hurt her, to sup torment from behind her eyes. There was a taste of her brother about herCa depth of her pain that was all-consuming. He was going to make her watch as sheC Draus screamed into his mind. +Avo, just fuckin kill em! You can fuck with their fuckin corpses, godsdamned latC+ The Regular gave up on reasoning with him and just sidestepped. Her monowire coiled out. The beast roared for Avo to stop herCto cut her down before she stole pleasure from them again. Six-Eyes held up an arm and winced back in preparation for the coming strike. Abrel clenched her teeth. And twisted her back to the stasis. Wings of light blasted free from behind her as klaxons blared within Avos cog-feed. His Galeslithers Rend went from half to nothing. WARNING: DAEMON FORMATION IMMINENC Avo collapsed the stasis before the pocket could burst. But Abrel failed to quell her miracle. Twin beams of light sawed clean through the sides of the room as she wrenched herself free. The train shuddered and something began to crack. Red began to flash across every-shard as error-codes flashed over the seats. The lightrail broke loose the surrounding stream of brightness as fractures spread along the crystalline hull. +Chambers!+ Avo cast. +Stop theC+ He didnt get to finish his thoughts as Abrel struck him shoulder-first, driving her arm back into its socket. He bounced off Draus as the world became a storm of fists, shins, elbows, and knees. Both his eyes went dark as blurred fists caved in his sockets. His jaw snapped loose at the joint. Something popped inside him as she shattered one of his plates and pushed in through his mycelia with a palm. Draus fought to anchor him in place, using her own wings as propulsion. She was sent tumbling onto her back as metal warped around Abrels foot and the air ruptured before the swing of her roundhouse. Force exploded across Avos chest. He choked and bit his tongue in half. Draus rolled to her feet and caught him, whipping her monowire just as Abrel dissolved. With blood tonnage insufficient and Celerostylus outclassed, his Echoheads grasped at a haze of falcons as Abrel washed through him, her Liminal Frame ringing off of Avo''s. Following her form using his Whisper, she tore back into reality just behind Draus and clenched her fist. The air shimmered as Abrel activated her unseen blade. Avo directed his tendrils to tear into her. His thoughts were interrupted as gravity lurched and he was torn away from Draus. The world twisted. He struck the ceiling and felt the cracks in the crystal widen. From his Whisper, he spied Draus and Abrel frozen in a moment of combat. The Regular had turned her wings outward - she was using the thrust to push the Guilder back and make the distance between herself at the same time. Power, however, had a threshold that skill could not surpass, and so when Abrel burst into mist and shadow, she flowed forward. Draus might as well have been standing still. Abrel appeared behind her and swung her remaining arm with decapitation in mind. An entropic missile ripped free from Avo. His Phys-Sim ran the numbers. It wasnt going to hit in time. Six-Eyes continued to pull on Avo. The ghoul hissed as his flesh mended and thoughts cleared. He could help Draus but he would abandon Chambers and Essus to Six-Eyes. In the end, the choice came easier than he expected. He reached out to his Heaven and the winds answered him. The weight of a typhoon exploded out from nothingness within the train. He snatched the Regular in the last instant. Abrels blade just barely licked an inch through Draus neck when she was drawn into a current of wind. She didnt go alone. Draus clamped down on the hand of her would-be killer and followed the Guilder into the Yondergales as she re-reeled her monowire. They slipped out before the Galeslither as it brayed, and Draus stripped Abrels remaining arm in twain as the wire glided down from the second knuckle to the elbow. Plates lifted from the Guilders back but Avo tangled her in turbulence, flinging her back over to the Regular. The Guilder had every bit of hardware advantage compared to Draus. Better augs. Better equipment. But opportunity, however, had a threshold that power could not surpass. And so when Abrel fell forward, she did so neck first through a glinting wire. She died then with a snarling expression on her face, and the hate burned in her still as Avo felt her nous plunge down into her subreality. He didnt have time to enjoy it. Creating an opening for Draus and flinging her out into the wind, he loosed her at Six-Eyes. And found there wasnt a need. Standing at the entrance before Chambers was Essus, bereft of a holojector wing. Said missing appendage was currently buried heart-deep inside Six-Eyes, the Guilder staked while he was still on the floor. The dismembered implant flashed one last time as the form of the boy splashed into reality, neon mixing with the brilliant crimson of Guilder blood as the child smiled one last time before winking out. And with it went Six-Eyes. His Liminal Frame flared. Soulfire erupted out from his eyes and ears as his body began to dissolve. Avo felt itCthe sensation of a once-intact nous falling upon blades of Rend. An echo of the man snapped free from his form and dissolved into motes. Abrel had at least one cycler remaining. Nothing was clean in this one. Stepping out from behind the locus, Chambers threw up a fist in a cheer as Draus turned to slow herself before she ran into Essus, one hand clamped around her neck to pinch her severed artery. Triumph flowed through Avo as he turned his attention back to Abrel. Which was when he noticed his entropic Barrage impact an exposed section of the hull. Entropy expanded. Light punched in. Avo reached out for his companions in an eruption of Soulfire and rushing wind. Lines exploded across his cog-feed as reality was swallowed by light, and existence ruptured. And then everyone died. 10-29 Cadre (I) There is a difference between wars and the Trials. I cannot speak quite so much about the former, I have only glimpsed its true face from angles and moments. War is encompassingCtoo much for a single individual to master as we are now. Even should they be Godclad. Im sure you have read Osjon Thousands treatise, Total Domain Warfare. Quite excellently written, if I might applaud a former opponent. To put it simply, there are too many aspects of reality to be struck from during warfare. Modern Heavens are built to be more encompassing in their symmetries, using such broad Domains as geometry, force, biology, time, matter, and the like, but mythologies are narrow and twisting. No two Heavens of Flame truly occupy the same grooves in a single concept; there are always separations in canon and expression. Dueling is mastering your own canons and knowing your foes. War is never sticking to a set build and always moving, maneuvering, shaping your environmentCknowing what Sovereignties to press and which to avoid; diving the Nether, and jacking minds to strip intentions bare and avoid incoming harm. You can become champion of the Trials alone. I know. Ive done it. Its more reliable that way. But there are fifty million others like me with their own Frames, and all it takes is one mistake before someone claims all that is mine. There are only so few of us that can live up to the tale of the owl. For most, survival will come in mimicking the fashion of crows. -Ying Yang Wei Stormsparrow, Fallwalker and Grand Champion of the Apex Trials 10-29 Cadre (I) [LIMINAL FRAME] OBTAINED - GLADIUS PATTERN ->[GATE OF THE PASSING DARK] HEAVEN TEMPLATE DOWNLOADED ->THAUMIC CYCLER x2 ->SOUL x1 ->ONTOLOGICS x4 THAUMIC CYCLER 1: [GATE OF PASSING DARK]/[THIRD CIRCLE] THAUMIC CYCLER 2: [GALESLITHER]/[SECOND CIRCLE] FOREIGN NOUS DETECTED [x3] GRAFTING INITIATED THAUMIC OUTPUT - 5483 THAUM/c After the end, there remained four fires for four Souls. Three were dark embers, satellites orbiting Avos colossal presence. They were sparks frozen in time, starved of worship, starved of death. Each bore a slot of emptiness at its core. With one taken from a Fallen Heaven and two from recently slain Guilders, the three Souls hovered and bobbed upon tides of rippling radiance. The Soulfire solidified around them. Their movement froze still. Through the brightness came three fragments of humanity. Three beings bundled in properties of mind and willCparts to the alloy of sapience. Injected by instruments made from pulsing flames, the three fragments slipped into three Souls as sparks, their symbology akin to a fire opening its eyes. Rings of self-devouring serpents coiled and tightened around each Soul, each filled with a distillation of ten echoes of Essence. The dragons locked into place around the Souls. Quieted minds gasped as dreams spilled free from inside their Frames. New boundaries flashed into shape around Avo as he parted the yolk of his Frame and formed four galaxies from one. One after another, the first shivers of awareness quavered through each of the Souls. Yet, as he regarded them, there was something odd about their aesthetic and shape; an incongruity with his own nature. Where he was a rippling wavelength, the fires did not dance through the others. Instead, as soon as the cyclers were locked in place, each Soul manifested a different configurationCthe structure of the Liminal borders was different in width and height, bent or arching out from certain angles. They were in a sense as Kae said: Solid matter rigs to the nanomechanical fluidity possessed by his Stillborn and exemplified by his Metafac. He wondered if he could change their ontologies toward preference or practicality. Considering how he managed to install each of his companions into a Soul, he didnt see why not. Moments passed. He felt them slowly wake, but no aspect of speech arose. Apprehension filled him as he connected to each. The problem is revealed via the words of his Woundshaper. There are no Heavens or Hells to them, masterCThey exist in a void. Take pity and offer your new kindred something of a tongue. He swept his awareness across the countless new Heavens floating within the wavelength of his being. Three crucified phoenixes impaled by seeds of ever-sprouting, ever-charring green greeted his notice first. The collective ontologics stripped from Jhred Greatling occupied its own cluster of space. Not far from it, the template taken from Six-Eyes looked akin to a grand obsidian gateway leading to another gateway to another in five repetitions. Avo hadnt had the time to review the former Godclads cannon, but he knew they functioned, and from the Frame template he took the second cycler as an attachment for Chambers earlier, uninstalling a Galeslither and a connected Hell. Surprisingly, the Rend was also missingCthe slate cleaned with Six-Eyes death. Finally, two Sangeists, three eyeless snakes implanted with a cockroachs legs and oozing watery darkness from their wounds, and truck-sized warg stitched together from constantly clashing bolts of lighting lingered formed a belt around his nucleus. He attached the Twice-Walker template to the Soul he thought was Draus and the Endogate to Essus. He eyed the last Soul that was Chambers and considered grafting a Sangeist onto it but felt the awareness of his Woundshaper glaring inward upon him. Awkwardly, he withdrew the Sangeist and attached one of the phoenixesCits Heaven called a LushburnerCto Chambers instead. HEAVENS DETECTED: SANGEIST X2; FULGERHUND X1; SHADOWCRAWLER X3; LUSHBURNER X2; GALESLITHER X1 HELLS DETECTED: GALESLITHER [SECOND CIRCLE] X1 DOMAIN FRAGMENTS DETECTED: DOMAIN OF (SPACE) X1 A series of Heavens twitched to life. Light washed over the reflective form of the Twice-Walker. The midnight doors to each gateway slammed, rippling the geometry surrounding it. The phoenix screechedCand the noise broke off to become Chambers incoherent screaming. Avo couldnt tell if something had gone wrong, resulting in madness and insanity for the man, or if this was how he always was. Avo? Draus said, her voice produced by the dissonance of glass shattering and mending. Are we snuffed? Relief and satisfaction sprang loose within him. The weight of impulse and physiological feedback ran scant here, even so, this was a sign of his success. They were dead. They would be resurrecting alongside him. The full weight of realization pressed down in that instant. He could make almost anyone a Godclad, so long as he had the components. Souls and cyclers were the hardest to claim, but if he hunted the right prey Yes, he said, finally responding to her question. For now. RESURRECTION - 8% Silenced by the dialogue, confusion came from Essus while Chambers stopped screaming. Ebbed in their own Heavens, the Souls expressed themselves with better animation. It wasnt my fault, Chambers spat out. Fire crackled and branches burned with each word he said. I held onto the locus with my lifeCyou saw, consangs. Tell em, Essus. Didnt you see me protect that shit with my liCEssus why the fuck are you a door? The man once named Lingerer felt at the joints of his own ontology. He opened his first doorway again and the flow of spaces loosed. I do not know. The last thing I remember is I killed a man. I killed someone. A low sigh came from him. Oh, Artad. What have I become? A door, Chambers answered. Suddenly, the phoenix looked down at itself and squawked in surprise. Avo what the fuck. You get to be blood-tower-wolf-jaw antler castle; Draus heres got Mirrorheads old shit; Essus is a door; why the hells did you make me a chicken. Phoenix, Draus corrected. You got a Lushburner grafted on you. She sighed and directed a glare at Avo. Well, suppose Zein might still got her eye on usCwere all Clads now, aint we. Neither Draus nor Essus seemed overly enthused. The rare bitterness of regret came over Avo at the outcomeCthey hadnt managed to choose. He was forced to deliver upon them a decision to preserve their life. He did not regret it, but he did wish it to be different. Quieted by these thoughts, Avo found himself hesitant to respond.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Chambers didnt. ... Im a Clad? The Twice-Walker stepped through its own reflective surface to stare at Chambers. She turned back to Avo. Did you have to graft him too? Couldnt youve just I dont know lost your grip on him. Chambers voice rose an octave. The phoenix seemed to smile. He didnt seem to register Draus words. Im a Clad. I I did not want this. Essus said, his despondence mixing with Chambers rising glee. Was more focused more on keeping you all alive, Avo said, answering Draus. She just regarded him in silence. Resurrected. He corrected. Sure. Im a MOTHERFUCKING CLAD! Chambers began to spin his Heaven as flames and vines erupted out from him. IM MOTHERFUCKING IMMORTAL. That statement wasnt technically wrong, but it disquieted Avo to hear it spoken by Chambers nonetheless. So, Draus said, her voice thin. Glass chipped and fissured as she crashed her borders against his. You see what did us in? A beat passed. Avo considered his answer. Train broke. Well, damn, that reveals everythin, dont it? What made the train break, rotlick. Another beat. Couldnt tell. Was a lot happening? Think there was a flash of light. Maybe Abrel used her Heaven again? Did she now? Cause I remember taking her head off. Still had a piece of skin attached to her. Maybe implant. You didnt kill her cleanit happens. All three other Souls judged Avo in silence. You know, Chambers said, I do recall seeing some weird missile coming out of you there, Moonblood. No longer Avo or boss or anything placating. Moonblood again. How quickly did Chambers promote himself back to associate from prisoner? Avo would need to see this misunderstanding corrected. Saw wrong. Saw you using the locus to shield yourself. The phoenix chirped with indignation. What? Thats bullshit, Avo. Bullshit. You tell him, Essus. You tell him how brave I was. I died protecting that locus. Again, Chambers was technically correct. Avo despised him for it. The obsidian doorway that Essus embodied creaked with dismay, silent at his current predicament. Maybe he wanted to die. Maybe. Avo would give him that choice afterward. He could give a Frame; he probably could take one as well. Draus offered a joyless chuckle. You know what? Ill second thatCIll back you up, Chambers. I think we did see the very same thing. Avo tried to sneer at the Regular. His Woundshaper bubbled with blood. His Galeslither neighed. And then spoke. Where where is the rest Everyone went still. The Woundshaper prodded at its neighboring Heaven with concern. Mule. Be you awake as well? Do your eyes open fully? The Galeslither didnt respond. Master perhaps it is best that you dont infuse it with more potential. There is much danger in uncertainty, but in me there is reliability. Better a lived-in hovel than an untested castle. Draus hummed. Yeah. Weird shit. Anyway, you fuckin got us killed, rotlick. What happened to dont damage the train. I thought we were all clear about not breakin our ride? We were, Chambers said, adding the fuel of annoyance to the ghouls simmering ire. Was trying to save your life, Avo growled. The Twice-Walker shook as Draus snorted. Well. Didnt quite light the wick there, did we, Avo? He let out a quiet ripple of fire. Suppose not. Ah, come on, Reg, Chambers said. We all fuck shit up sometimes. And Avo did it to keep you alive. A strange wistfulness filled his next words. You especially, I think. But he kept all of us. Shit you kept me alive too. I never thought I figured The former enforcer uncharacteristically lapsed into speechlessness. I was kinda expecting you to throw me away. Still need your mind if I can keep it. Might be useful. For Kae. Chambers hummed. Well. Cheers to Kae, then. RESURRECTION - 18% What happens now? Essus asked. Resurrection, Avo answered. See the percentage rising. Should be tied to a thaumic cycle. I think. Brings us back when it''s done. Reinserts us into reality. Speaking those words made him realize another factor: Abrel died before them, but her death was neither permanent nor true. Need to finish grafting you all. Make modifications. Prepare for return. Enemy could be waiting with Heaven. Start with Chambers, then, Draus said. Essus and I look like we got a least a Heaven and Hell between us. Scanning through his root-data, the build of the Spire-pattern Liminal Frame he subsumed from the Fallen Heaven at Burners Way flashed into his mind. Unfortunately, it was missing too many domains and integral components to grant Chambers an automatic install. Instead, Avo was going to need to invert another of the Lushburners to serve as Chambers Second Circle. HEAVEN - [LUSHBURNER] DOMAIN: (FIRE/BIOLOGY/FORCE) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 68 THAUM/c DOMAIN OF (FIRE) CANON: CONFLAGRATION OF BIRTHING - THE FLAMES OF THIS HEAVEN CAN ENGENDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF RECORDED BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURES AND WEAVE ORGANISMS FROM THE HEAT OF ITS FLAMES; THE FLAMES MUST SURPASS 800 DEGREES CELCIUS TO BEGIN MANIFESTATION HUBRIS: THE FLAMES CANNOT SURPASS 1000 DEGREES CELCIUS DOMAIN OF (BIOLOGY) CANON: CATALOGUE OF THE CHARRED SEED - FLORA AND FAUNA BURNED BY THE MASTER OF THIS CANON WILL BE ADDED TO THE HEAVENS EXPRESSIONS CANON: FLAMEWEAVER - THE MASTER WILL BE ABLE TO MUTATE ALL FLESH CAUGHT IN ITS HEAT RADIUS INTO A SPECIFIC LIFEFORM STORED WITHIN ITS SEED HUBRIS: ONLY TWELVE LIFEFORMS CAN BE STORED WITHIN A SEED AT A TIME DOMAIN OF (FORCE) CANON: GRASP OF THE BURNING - THE MASTER CAN CONVERT HEAT INTO KINETIC ENERGY AND DIRECT IT WITHIN A ONE-THOUSAND FEET RADIUS HUBRIS: IF THE HEAT IN THE AIR DROPS BELOW 400 DEGREES CELCIUS, IT WILL RESULT IN THAUMIC BACKLASH With a single command sent to his Meta-Fac, Avo twisted the Heaven and broke it into its component domains. The progress of resurrection was rising fast and he didnt have much timeChe needed to finish with Chambers and review the others. Then, he needed to distribute the necessary thaums to keep each of them functional. Taking components from the domains of Fire, Biology, and Force, he created a Second Circle using the components of force. HELL - [SECOND CIRCLE] - LUSHBURNER DOMAIN: (FORCE/ENTROPY) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 68 THAUM/c Letting his Meta-Facs simulation run, he picked the most coherent option he could while keeping things simple. Kae wasnt here, and Zein couldnt foresee his futureCbest he avoid anything too experimental. CANON: FLESHBOMBER - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN INFUSE ALL BIOLOGICAL LIFEFORMS ABOVE FREEZING WITH KINETIC ENERGY AND USE THEM TO TRIGGER AN EXPLOSION - THIS CANON IS ABSOLUTE DAEMON: IF A BIOLOGICAL LIFEFORM IS COOL BELOW FREEZING WHILE INFUSED WITH KINETIC ENERGY, THE RESULTING RUPTURE WILL BIRTH AN ANATHEMA OF DEVASTATION TO SERVE AS THE MASTERS ANATHEMA; THE ANATHEMA CANNOT BE SLAIN AND MUST BE STARVED Soulfire welded the next Hell below Chambers form. A ripple formed below the impaled phoenix and the blazing avian looked down. Shit, consang. I take it back: Burning chickens got some kick to it. Finishing, Avo checked the progress of his resurrection and winced. He had slowed it to the slowest pace possible, but time was still slipping away. He wouldnt have enough time to review everyone in depth. RESURRECTION: 56% Interfacing with Draus and Essus, he considered what else he could do. He knew the Twice-Walkers capabilities and considered adding additional canons to it. It would take a thousand and two thaums per cycle to fuel the Twice-Walker, and every little bit fed to it was something Avo wouldnt have for himself. Ghouls were selfish creatures, but this was not a moment to fixate on his share of flesh. The more important factors were in what more he could graft. Draus stopped him. Avo. Stop. Youre wasting time. Do what you know with what you got. Me, Essus, and Chambers are gonna be support, anyhow. None of us are properly trained for this, but youve been a Clad the longest. Dont burn your time on me or EssusCI know Jhreds Heaven already and I got some ideas, so you graft yourself up first while I try to get help Essus figure out what he can do. After we get back to the real, we can link minds and see where were at. That was all the permission he needed. Digging into Essus Frame momentarily, Avo scanned the Gate of the Passing Dark and understood it to be a spatial Heaven of some kind that could warp bind points in reality and twist geometries. Before he returned his attention to himself, he flared his Soul and distributed a surfeit of thaums to each of the other Frames - it would serve as an ample cushion against any potential dangers. (DRAUS) TWICE-WALKER - 1002 THAUM/c (ESSUS) GATE OF THE PASSING DARK - 880 THAUM/c (CHAMBERS) LUSHBURNER - 100 THAUM/c That left him with three thousand five hundred and one echoes of circling Essence. Three thousand five hundred and one deaths nourishing him. It felt more than he remembered taking from the other Godclads. How much of this came from his foes? How much were accidental procurements from collateral damage? With how the day had gone, he could no longer be certain. Tearing his thoughts away from such considerations, he returned his focus to his own Heavens and processed his next steps. Again, complexity was unwise right now. He needed something to add to his effectivenessCto augment him and make him more. Considering his successes and vulnerabilities displayed from recent engagements, what he needed quickly became clear to him. The Woundshaper was his primary instrument, excelling in close quarters against targets tied to physical matter. What it lacked was omnidirectional movement, range, and the ability to battle against more asymmetric adversaries. He needed something that could make him fasterCmore unpredictable. He was at his best when he was ambushing or skirmishing. And as he was looking for something to facilitate just that, his attention fell upon the Fulgerhund, and inspiration struck like a bolt of lightning. HEAVEN - [FULGERHUND] DOMAIN: (LIGHTNING/MATTER) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 51 THAUM/c 10-30 Cadre (II) The Stormtree Fulgerhund is assigned a mixed Porter/Breaker designation in most Knots. Though lightly armored and absent numerous defensive and offensive systems present in modern golems, it continues to be a mainstay of both Stormtree forces and Fallwalkers. Autonomously jocked through the Nether in most cases, the volatile power system connected to twin microfusion reactors is more a feature than a bug. Likewise, the pace at which it can accrue Rend is another layer to its eventual functions. Striding across the battlefield from lightning bolt to lightning bolt, the Fulgerhund is a fast-assault transport for special operations groups, but more often its interior will be filled with expendable drones and mechs while it continues transmitting information back to the main elements of the Knot. Other than serving as a Porter, the Fulgerhund can continue serving as a forward operating scout, or can start striking exposed or overextended elements of the opposition''s forces. Though it can project electricity out to a limited range, the main method of attack is to shuttle matter across vast distances using lightning as a movement vector. A final use for the Fulgerhund is as a techno-thaumic improvised explosive. This usually culminates with the golem at Rend Capacity, upon which they will stride in rapid succession until they rupture, and at that point, overload its power system to set off its fusion reactors. The resulting devastation is sometimes called unzipping due to how the lightning interacts with the detonation of a makeshift hydrogen bomb. -Nether-stream, Arsenal of the Spreading Fracture 10-30 Cadre (II) DOMAIN OF (LIGHTNING) CANON: BOLTSTRIDE - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN TRANSMUTE THEIR PHYSICAL MATTER INTO AND THEN TRAVEL AS A BOLT OF LIGHTNING; EACH STRIDE IS LIMITED TO A RADIUS OF FIFTEEN MILES BEFORE THE CANON HAS TO BE REINVOKED HUBRIS: ATTEMPTING TO STRIDE WHEN WEIGHING IN EXCESS OF ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TONS WILL RESULT IN THAUMIC BACKLASH DOMAIN OF (MATTER) CANON: STORMWREATHED - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN TEMPORARILY CONVERT MATTER INTO A MANTLE OF ELECTRICITY HUBRIS: IF THE CONVERTED MANTLE IS SUBMERGED, IT WILL RESULT IN THAUMIC BACKLASH Two canons. Two hubris. Countless implications. For all the fleeing he did through Nu-Scarrowbur, his Galeslither was too vulnerable to interdiction from other spatial Heavens. His Woundshaper, on the other hand, was a little more than lacking when facing threats not of the overly physical variety. Should the Fulgerhund be added to his current design he was curious as to how fast he could move when binding Boltstride to his already present canon of Haemokinesis. The Stormwreathed canon was comparatively a lesser prize, but would allow him to trespass the borders between matter and energy, and thus a means of averting from the Striders cleaving light. RESURRECTION - 71% Familiar, the Woundshaper said, studying the Fulgerhund as the light-stitched warg drifted before them. In a time before in the times when we were once whole we were of a pantheon. Of this, I speak certain. Now, we are all remade by lesser hands; mongrel bastards to our own lore. Avo regarded the words of the old god. Will you join with it? The Woundshaper scoffed. Of course. It would be absurd to abandon growth; purebred is another word for inbred, after all. Come. Come. Let us mantle the hound upon my spire. Let the stuff of storms serve us as mortar to my bricks. Soulfire needled through the Fulgerhund and drew it into the Woundshaper. Brightness built between them and with their joining did the insides of Avos Frame come alight. When the smelting was complete, the Woundshaper spread into shape again. Arteries forked free from its structure in surging bolts. The shell of the Heaven, always an alloy of properties, now coursed with dancing arcs of electricity. Static-shrouded fur swayed low from the spire and the full maw of a snarling warg rose where once there were only jaws. The Woundshaper thrummed with a current of excitement while its Hell grew blurred and strained. Avo would need to boost the Hell as well. Presently, there remained potential yet for his Heaven. HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 501 THAUM/c It held a decent mass to it, but he could inject more canons. Much more, if he were to go broad. He had over two thousand and five thaums remaining, should he balance his Woundshapers Hell. Keeping a gulf of hundred thaums between his ontologics and maximum Frame capacity seemed wise. As things went, the Woundshaper was an instrument of intrusion, destruction, and creation. With the Fulgerhund added, the chemicals of maneuverability and energy have been added to the concoction. Now he needed more scale and control. More influence. More speed. Unmaking one of the Sangeists, he drew forth its twin domains and offered that which was blood to the Heaven. He intended to enhance his Canon of Haemokinesis even more. Alas, intent and ability were easily derailed. INSUFFICIENT THAUMIC MASS TO ACHIEVE DESIRED MIRACLE REQUIREMENTS: SIXTH-SPHERE LIMINAL FRAME A pity. The Woundshaper did not bear the thaumic mass to allow the desired augmentation. The upgrade would have turned the multiplicative properties of the canon into exponential. Joined with Boltstride, the world might as well remain unmoving in perpetuity. RESURRECTION - 79% Master, my suggestion, if you would heed me, the Woundshaper said. Our time is short and the threat remains. Instill me with a canon of grander scope. Our greatest limitation to full manifestation is the tactile. Grant me something that allows broader influence over my environment. Words heeded, Avo directed the domain sigil toward another use. The Frame ran its simulations and options danced across his gaze. He filtered fast and set his requirements high. He needed to expand his influence, as the Woundshaper requested. Something that would allow him greater influence over his environment. He found it in little time. CANON: SANGUINITYS REIGN (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN SPREAD THE ONTOLOGY OF THE HEAVEN INTO A BROADCAST OF HAEMOKINETIC MIST THAT WILL ALLOW THE MASTER TO DIRECTLY MANIPULATE ALL DOMAINS WITHIN ITS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE; THE BROADCASTS SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IS DETERMINED BY A BASE OF TWELVE AND A HALF SQUARE MILES MULTIPLIED BY THE MASTERS CURRENT TONNAGEThis tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. HUBRIS: ATTEMPTING TO MOVE AN MANIPULATE AN EXCESS OF EIGHTY TONS AT ONCE WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 825 THAUM/c Quite useful, though costly in thaums. The continued limitation of his Woundshapers physical weight also inspired his annoyance. That was another thing bottlenecking his potentialCthe limitation placed on his total tonnage. If he could see that removed, his attributes would spike significantly. Yet, try though he might with his domains, the hubris seemed to come in relation to the canons themselves, each molding somewhat in relation to another. He would need to mend Kaes mind after this as soon as possible. It would not do for him to suffer an enchainment from within. Installing Sanguinitys Reign, veins of ebbing red spread from the spire and pulsed out from above the Woundshaper, electricity coursing through it in periodic instants. The new aesthetic shared some resemblance to a Ghostjack, and the comparison pleased Avo substantially. Thereafter, he moved on to the aspect of matter and deepened the number of matter patterns he could store within his being, but froze as he studied the newest addition to his collection. The markings symbolizing tungsten and locus were clear and stable structures. The mini-nuke, however, was a mess of different strings coiling in on itself. It looked like multiply layered scribbles pressed over one another. Whats this? I am uncertain as well, master, the Woundshaper replied. I am unable to fully channel its nature in coherence. Shamefully, I have not ever tasted such materials. Avo paused. Zein wanted him to subsume the mini-nuke for some reason, but with her absence, he found himself confounded by why. The Woundshaper knowing nothing of fissile materials or fusion bomb components was not a surprise. It was a god of a bygone age, and these were only recent offerings granted by Voidwatch to their Terrestrial associates. He sighed. Such was a problem for a later time. The time of his return was nearing, and he still needed to deal with the Galeslither afterward. Thankfully, the choice for matters canon was a simple one. The Remembrance of Matter Canon yet had more tiers to its ascension, and Avo gladly offered it the bounty needed to propel it above the current bottleneck. CANON: REMEMBRANCE OF MATTER (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN NOW PERMANENTLY REMEMBER ALL PATTERNS OF PHYSICAL MATTER IT HAS SUBSUMED; THAUMIC MASS COST FOR EACH REMEMBERED PATTERN HAS BEEN REDUCED BY A TENTH; ADDITIONALLY, ALL SUBSUMED STRUCTURES OF WILL BE REMEMBERED WITHOUT COST. HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 1042 THAUM/c As he affixed another layer upon his pre-existing canon, his Woundshaper shuddered. His Frame quaked. The cage of orbiting patterns deepened into a nebula between the jaws of the warg. Faint traces of each pattern drifted through the Woundshaper, the indelible scripture of matter rushing through like white blood cells. With all he added to his Heaven, there was still his Hell to consider. Parting the last Sangeist he had in his system, he added the domain of matter to his Hell, deliberating between its two canons before he settled on the barrage. CANON: THE BARRAGE OF THE WITHERED (III) - LAUNCHES AN ENTROPIC CONSTRUCT FROM THE MASTER BEARING THE SIZE, SPEED, AND SHAPE OF THE WOUNDSHAPER AT MAXIMUM POTENTIAL WHICH CAN THEN BE CONTROLLED AND GUIDED; ALL PHYSICAL MATTER WILL BE AFFECTED ASIDE FROM THE MASTER - THIS CANON IS ABSOLUTE HELL - [FOURTH CIRCLE] - WOUNDSHAPER DOMAIN: (MATTER/ENTROPY) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 1042 THAUM/c RESURRECTION - 91% Together, that would put his Woundshaper over the two thousand thaum mark, making him greater in ontologic weight compared to those he faced. Good. He needed to move onto his Galeslither now. He wanted to elevate its Hell past the Third Circle, at the least. He could still install the Lushburners to the Woundshaper, but considering its branching domains and how easy it was for other Heavens of space to strike at it, a strange feeling inside Avo told him he didnt want to overextend until he figured out what he was doing. We are arisen, master, the Woundshaper cackled, as he shifted over to the Galeslither. Already, I sense my current gnosis far vaster than the pebble I was in history. How kind a fate to be enchained to you toward higher apotheosis. How kind a fate The Galeslither was comparatively a simpler job. The Yondergales, though immensely useful for tasks that required a subtler touch, were easy to paradox by other spatial canons. There seemed to be a vulnerability shared among canons of the demiplanar variety - an incongruence against other geometry or correspondence-altering miracles. Such a thing needed to be avoided, but he still wanted to keep a Heaven fit for the clandestine. To that end, the joining was simple. The Galeslither chuffed to life once more as Soulfire swept the Shadowcrawler close. An ink-black serpent sank beneath the flesh of the steed as two Heavens were joined. From beside galloping hooves burst the chitinous legs of clambering insects, and from storm-scarred ribs oozed a man of midnight black. Avo continued working even as the Heaven gasped and awareness flickered awake within it like a candle. Ah, the Wounshaper said, clicking her nonexistent tongue. The mule awakens. Though mule is no longer a term so apt for you, is it.The head of the center most horse had turned chimeric, blending into a creature fused between serpent and stallion. The GaleslitherCor that which it becameCspoke in hushed whispers like its words passed through enshadowed alleys by the midnight breeze. Where where are we what what are these Still yourself. You wake anew. We are bound for greater and grander things now.I dont understand I was I needed to deliver The pantheon tasked me to bring wind and rainThat is the past now, kindred. There are pantheons no more, but a new game has taken its placeCa new ladder towards ascension. DOMAIN OF (SHADOW) CANON: BLACKDIVER - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN COMMAND AND SINK INTO SHADOWS, MANIPULATING IT LIKE A PUDDLE OF WATER; ONLYC Avo wasted no time. He smelted down another Shadowcrawler and added its domains to his current canons. CANON: BLACKDIVER (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN COMMAND AND SINK INTO SHADOWS, MANIPULATING IT LIKE A PUDDLE OF WATER; ALL SHADOWS TOUCHED BY THE MASTER WITHIN A DIVE PERIOD ARE NOW CONSIDERED TO BE ONTOLOGICALLY UNIFIED, ALLOWING THE MASTER TO SURFACE FROM ANY SHADOW THEY HAVE DESCENDED HUBRIS: IF ALL SHADOWS CURRENTLY CONTAINING THE MASTER ARE PURGED, IT WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH Darkness flowed free from the open chasm of the Galeslithers chest. The winds took on an increasingly wet quality. He fed the Heaven with two Domains of Space and let that expand as well. DOMAIN OF (SPACE) CANON: ABYSSAL COVE (II) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN BIND A DEMIPLANE TO A SPECIFIC SHADOW AND USE IT TO STORE ITEMS OF SOLID MATTER; THE SIZE OF THE DEMIPLANE IS 100 FEET DEEP ADDED TO THE DISTANCE THE MASTER CAN TRAVEL WITHIN A SECOND HUBRIS: LIQUIDS CANNOT BE STORED WITHIN THE COVE OR IT WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH HEAVEN - [GALESLITHER] DOMAIN: (AIR/SPACE/SHADOW) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 430 THAUM/c Whorling fluids mingled with currents of wind. The Galeslither twisted and turned. Whats happening to me?Growth, the Woundshaper answered. Ascension. Finally, he unmade the detached Second Circle drifting through his being into its baseline components and applied the procured domain to his current Hell. He manifested no new canons for he didnt see the needCthe Halt canon had proven to be one of the best things about the Galeslither. It proceeded to get much better. CANON: HALT OF THE PASSING (III) - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN CAN NOW ENCHAIN ALL VISIBLE ACTORS AND OBJECTS TRAVELING THROUGH SPACE WITH STASIS AND DRAIN THEM OF THEIR VECTORS OF MOMENTUM UNTIL THE NECESSARY REND IS BALANCED - THIS CANON IS ABSOLUTE DAEMON: IF THE POCKET IS OVERFILLED BEFORE IT CAN BURST, THE RESULTING RUPTURE WILL BIRTH AN ANATHEMA OF RUIN TO SERVE AS THE MASTERS ANATHEMA; THE ANATHEMA CANNOT BE SLAIN AND MUST BE STARVED HELL - [THIRD CIRCLE] - GALESLITHER DOMAIN: (AIR/ENTROPY) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 430 THAUM/c RESURRECTION - 99% Even with all his improvements, he still had over six hundred thaums left to fill. But time held its own demands. Avo could already feel fingers of eldritch bright prying him away from his Galeslither as he was slowly injected back into reality. Avo, Draus said. He could see her through the threads of light swallowing him now. When you get back out, get loud. Well find you. Got some ideas about how we can run thisChow we might be able to handle Abrel. He wanted to respond, but his transition came suddenly and without warning. The Woundshaper laughed. The Galeslither rattled inside him, like a terrified animal trapped in the stables of a sinking ship. From death they rose, and as light shed itself along his eyes, he found existence around him as flame-touched as the subreality which housed his Soul. 10-31 Cadre (III) What? The hypertube ruptured? [Stifled groan] Where where are they How the hells did they manage to jack a lightrail? The Nethers down! Traffic grids infested with mem-cons! And whats the point of rupturing it? The Sovereignty will notice immediately and pocketCagh! You know what, no questioning anything anymore. Lets just assume theseCuhCconsangs of ours here have a few sequences missingC A Sphere-Four Liminal FrameCwhere did that Sphere Four come from? Okay. Okay. Naeko, stop asking questions, youre just going to get madCwere trying to stay calm this year. Calm. [Deep exhale] WARNING: DAEMON DETECTED ->DOMAIN: [WATER] [Pause] Jaus just Jaus. [Sigh] Have to dam this flood before this ends in a cascade of Fallen Heavens. -Chief Paladin Naeko 10-31 Cadre (III) ONTOLOGY REVERTED RESURRECTION COMPLETED DOMAIN RESPAWN ENGAGED ENGAGING THAUMIC CYCLER: 3501 THAUM/c LOADING PHANTASMICS Light is not meant to shatter into fissuring streams upon the chassis of existence, but when a lightrail is destroyed mid-transit and beams itself out from cracked lenses lining a hypertube, metaphysics gets a bit murky. Flickering back into existence from a speckle of blood, Avo found himself standing on tubes he once traveled within as the world drowned under a cacophony of discordant noises. Flames roared. The wind squealed from all points graced by the fissuring luminosity. Distant sirens mingled with aero engines spinning hard at maximum thrust. Something speared through the winds. Something was just about toC He touched the falling debris before it smashed into him. Reflex took hold where thought lagged. His Celerostylus swelled and time slowed. His haemokinetic mist came aglow as electricity arced through the moisture and the Canon of Haemaefication was invoked. The debris melted into a shower of red, and Avo snatched the blood out from the air with a thought. Near ten tons of alloy, plastics, silicon, and other substances new to his Woundshaper sparked through his ontology. Suddenly, the structural aesthetic of the wreck became known to him: He just unmade a destroyed assault drone. His senses yawned wider as his mass grew, spreading across countless other material patterns beyond it thereafter. The world around him expanded into a shape beyond even the reach of his vision. He could feel things miles beyond as his Heaven washed over the real. Presently, he found himself suspended over a vast crevice leading down to Layer Three, the section of tubes he halted on miles between two different districts. As his mind cleared and focus took hold, the presence of his Woundshaper furled outward as a nigh-transparent film of haemokinetic mist. The last drips of blood from the liquefied drone evaporated into the wavelength of his broadcast. Impact trajectories pulsed red as flechettes cut out for him from afar. The projectiles came, and when they transgressed into his ontological borders, were unwoven in shape and structure both before they could arrive. The Canon of Sangunitys Reign was like having a shapeless hand that could clutch everything around you in its palm. Yet, what it grasped was metaphysical, and what he felt were things bearing symmetry to his Woundshapers portfolio of domains. His tactile senses swelled from feet to miles while his Phys-Sim screamed as ghosts surged into it, his cog-feed adjusting to before the spiking number of sequences required to estimate all that was happening around him. There were hundreds of drones cutting through the skies and below him, and from those hundreds of drones spilled scything beams and darting flechettes. Hundreds of drones, and then substantially less as a wing of light swept through them. Shrapnel plunged down like descending hail. This time, Avo consciously interacted with them. His cog-feed counted eight hundred and ninety-four thousand pieces traveling through the expanse of his influence. With a thought, he dissolved all of them as well, drinking in their mass. Matter, light, blood, biology, and lighting. Aspects of existence felt were alight within the purviews of his mind. The metaphor changed. Sanguinitys Reign was not handCSanguinitys Reign was like resting something upon his tongue andCwhen his canons allowed itCdeciding to chew. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 1% Surpassing twenty tons of weight in a near instant, the stretch of his awareness doubled. Before he could locate his allies more drones flooded in, coming not as a swarm but as organized squadrons. With twenty-four drones per group, the diamond-shaped aerial assault platforms maintained equidistant spaces within their units and between the broader formations. As flecks of blood dug into them, Avo felt the shapes of strange squid-like mechs chambered within their cockpitsCartificial pilots a necessity now that the Nether was down. Mechs. That meant these were deployed by Voidwatch. Or Omnitech. More likely the latter considering his Phys-Sim had them moving at just over Mach Two. The former would probably have something entirely automated and far beyond the range of even his current awareness. WARNING: SPATIAL ANOMALIES DETECTED Volumetric reality shimmered, and distant geometries twisted. Hundreds of distant-seeming aerial platforms turned right in unison, and suddenly they were within a six-mile radius of him, descending into his grasp. With their arrival came additional warning klaxons. Avos cog-feed grew cluttered with highlighted entries and issues of concern. A dozen new Heavens were detected and his Frame offered what details he could glean. Disquietly, they moved like blots of absence upon the tapestry of his perception. Multiple space-related Heavens hid newly arriving Godclads or a Knot of golems contained within block-sized inverted delta that propelled themselves with a stream of prismatic exhaust. Eight spatial signatures popped into his awareness and hundreds of newer drones slipped free from each flat surface of the demiplanar deltas. Light cleaved and shifted through the fissures without trouble. A concentrated intersection of projectile fire helped Avo trace Abrels position. The Strider was slashing its way through the veil of heavy rain. The water above was imbued with the hue of ethereal luminosity and beyond the clouds thundered glorious melodies from the peaks of the Tiers unseen. The daughter of House Greatling faced an ocean of foes alone, cutting, thrusting, dissolving, and always moving in a ballet of combat, her form a dichotomous visage of sight-piercing brightness grown from clouds of smoke. At the moment he noticed her, at the moment his haemokinetic mist brushed through her being, their Frames rattled against each other again, and Soulfire struck Soulfire. Perceptions met and she froze for but a fraction of a second, turning to present with him the fullness of her hate.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The Woundshaper quivered in excitement. The Galeslither, overwhelmed by its return to existence, found its attention jumping from moment to moment, the chaos overwhelming its attention. What need is there for me the Galeslither whispered. The skies are no longer mine alone. So much metal and spaceCso crumpled. What has become of us? The Woundshaper snorted. Defeat, kindred. These are the fruits of our subjugation. From them, we will grow anew.As space began to crumple in around her, she flicked a wing out at him. Her speed remained beyond his despite his risen tonnage, but where once he was left with no choice but to endure her onslaught, now he had other options. He invoked his Domain of Lightning for the first time, and the sinew of storms forked free from his flowing arteries, burrowing beneath the metaphysical flesh of existence like spreading roots. In tandem with Sanguinitys Reign, the expansive weave cast by the hypertubes shattered light came into form within his minds eye as if his DeepNav was still running. He stepped and felt the totality of his being stretch far. The world did not slow further, but when he dashed, his velocity covered entire miles within fractions of an instant. He plotted his movements and snaked his crimson currents between cracks of eldritch brightness. A squadron of drones broke formationCdesperate to avoid Abrels descending swipe. Two crossed through the fissures spread out from the tubes. Their chassis, then, was peeled clean as the light funneled their matter through flowing pathways toward horizons unglimpsed. The other drones survived but a moment longer as the Woundshaper drank them out of existence from stride to stride. Omens of lightning speared from drone to drone as sound broke and the air came afire with friction. With each relay of acceleration, the Woundshaper grew, and within a second, it climbed to its full mass as Avo let the excess blood wash over him. This was an expression of power he hadnt known. Beast, mind, and Heavens all found themselves united in common pleasure. It was a thrill to break. It was a thrill to dive free through the skies. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 24% The Rend Boltstride generated, however, was alarming. Even with a Fourth Circle, each vectored thrust filled his capacity by increments nearing a full percent. Not that it didnt make sense. Kae had told him once about the cost being scope and vulgarity. At eighty tons, transmuting oneself into surging bolts of electricity while retaining mass and size caused reality to scream. Inertia fought to keep its nails buried within Avo, but altering the vector of his next stride was as simple as angling his foot. Falcons soared through the air and Abrel rematerialized six hundred feet away from him. With both their Heavens completely manifested, it was absurd to realize this was knife-fighting range for both of them and that some of the dynamic from their earlier scuffle in the lightrail carried over. But with each burst of moment time slowed and tides of apocalyptic fire spread through the world. The advantage in speed tilted further and further in favor of Avo. Her wings split through the fissuring cracks of light as if they werent there. But she swung. She jabbed. She slashed. There was a prelude to each momentClike her wings were blade strokes. Even within the lattice of the hypertube rupture, all Avo needed to do was move, and move again. As her attacks carved through the space he once occupied, he strode twice. The first allowed him to squeeze through a crevice of unaffected space and arrive sixty feet just behind her. The second started from an angle where his path was unobstructed. She followed where he was and could feel his presence behind her. But knowledge was not capability and nothingCnot even the brightening of her wingsCcould have stopped him from tearing into her with storm and Rend prepared. Nothing but another unexpected Heaven. Reality twitched at the same moment Avo jumped. He dove out as a lashing stream of storm-stuff, yet glanced away from herCtwisting hard and right. More interestingly, the light emanating from her wings suffered the same way, as did the smoke, as did the wind, as did the movement of every drone around them. Twice again did he try to jump back toward the Strider and twice again he ricocheted further rightward. It was as if the act of moving left was all but impossible. Scars of shattered brightness spread out before him like a lattice. Avo forked himself through an opening as lightning unstitched and then restitched his form back together in strips and splashes. Then, suddenly, he felt his Sangunity sinking inside one of the prismatic deltas like it was a sinkhole he could dip a finger into. At five hundred feet in height, each of the four facets comprising the demiplanar construct led into a separate pocket containing a different golem. Their matter and forms were myriad, with some corresponding to his touch while others wafted between his fingertips like water. One, in particular, caught his attentionCone that felt like a gnarled anchor curving rightward when he skimmed his mists through it. He took a chance. He liquefied it with a thought and let the blood run free where it may. Relief settled through his structure. An unseen grip slackened from realitys throat. The sides of the delta turned opaque as the construct accelerated toward him in an explosion of motion. Avo aimed another stride and put himself at the full fifteen miles it offered. He cast himself out and his perception tunneled. His lightning traveled the entire distance within a fraction of a fraction a second. Drones around him disintegrated outright as he left a trail of erupting fire that twitched upon the surface of reality. Yet, as soon as he poured himself back into physical shape, he found the delta the same distance away from him and closing. Avo fought the urge to sigh. Abrels equation was mostly solved, but as usual with New Vultun, new problems like introducing themselves without courtesy. Prismatic light erupted from the tip of the delta as it drew closer, swimming through fissuring obstacles left by the hypertube rupture without worry. Avo strode twice more but found himself unable to outrun his pursuer. It was like their distances were tethered to an absolute number while all other moving bodies were variable. His cog-feed came alight with colors and sounds, warning of more spatial anomalies. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 49% New drones spilled out into existence from the various deltas, and Avo felt their numbers swell well past the ten-thousand count within the hundred-and-sixty-mile stretch of awareness provided by Sanguinitys Reign. Brushing them with his domains, he felt aspects of blood, biology, and matter emanate from within them most of all. Their aesthetic was bee-like with a hint of cyberization, and the chitin looked like the armor on Draus new bio-rig. Not drones, then. Bioforms. Swarm bioforms. He recalled vicarities of runs going sour in Sang territory. He would have seconds before the sky turned into a hive of flesh-grown missiles. If they couldnt breach his form, they would undoubtedly try to cook him out by beating their wings at a heightened pace. The real danger remained that which they spawned from. Even as he strode again, it inched into the five-hundred feet radiusCtoo close for comfort now. He didnt know what else it was capable of or what would happen should he let it touch him, but he wasnt keen on finding out. At least he wasnt keen on using himself to find out. He was going to need to find a way to get the delta to expose itself again. A thought trailed through his mindCcould he use his Sanguitys Reign to serve as localized Nether? The prospect ignited his focus even further as he cast his ghosts out. All around him were options to select fromCdrones and humming bioforms galore. He splashed back into physical shape just above another stretch of the hypertube and immediately had to convert himself into electricity as a wide of slashing light cut through him. Abrel was still fighting five miles eastward. How the deltas had not contained her yet he did not know. He accelerated again and a thousand bioforms splattered in his wake. Shaking the thought free, he activated his Ghostjack and tried to channel his phantasmics through waves of haemokinetic moisture brushing across the expanse. His ghosts emerged from his Metamind and injected themselves across illimitable motes of blood, using them as conduits. Casting into a drone next to the delta pursuing him, Avo cracked their semi-adaptive wards using a mix of traumas and linked himself to its manually controlled locus. The pilot, coldtech machine that it was, tried to fight him ineffectually. Its cognition still gave off something vaguely similar to thoughtstuff when he brushed it, but interfacing with it gave him a static chill. There was something alien about the mind of a thinking machineCthe pathing of its sequences offering nothing for Avo to bury his claws into. He liquefied the mech and moved on. Accessing the Wyvern-II Multifunction Assualt Platform, he directed it to approach the spatial construct chasing him. As it drew within twenty feet of the delta, his broadcast wavelength waned and his connection began to fail. The drone itself folded and funneled into a facet of the deltas face and vanished from his grasp. Well. That was troubling. He didnt want to be drained off to wherever the drone went. Shifting his thoughts, he turned his attention to his Galeslither and sought a place of shadows. Perhaps if he couldnt avoid it materially, he could escape as another aspect of space itselfC A squadron of drones vitrified and shattered into a sprawl of glass mere feet above the tubes. Three other signatures materialized into existence. He felt them strike his Frame the same way Abrel did. Draus stood alone, separated from Essus and Chambers by a distance of miles. Essus had spawned exactly where Avo did, while Chambers was currently falling from the sky, screaming as he emerged from plumes of fire spewing out of a failings drones engines. Avo had a new idea. He had several new ideas. Channeling his ghosts through his mists again, he created links between himself and his group. His cadre. As the delta closed past four hundred feet, he cast his intentions out to each of them. +Draus. Need you to create a gateway for me and kill it right after.+ 10-32 Cadre (IV) Authority Greatling. There been a problem. Jhred. He dead? ICIm not sure, HigherCthats another problem altogether, Im afraid. Im talking aboutC [Sound of metal warping inward] That godsdamned Vator. Who did he hurt this timeC Not not Instrument Vator either, Higher. Its your daughter. Abrel? Yes. Abrel. Yes, Higher. Are you sure? Im positive, Higher. Instrument Abrel Greatling has been spotted at Mazzas Junction, Nu-Scarrowbur, and then Akimaki in the Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty. She has engaged a rival cadre from Stormtree and there have been casualties. Ruptures. A member of her cadre has met their final end. [Building shaking; rattling and breaking glass] ... Authority? ApologizeC [Deep exhale] To the Ambassador on my behalf. Tell him that this is not meant as a slight on my part. Tell him that personal matters have disrupted my plans. Yes, Authority Greatling. -Authority Uthred Greatling, The Fires Height. 10-32 Cadre (IV) Blooming out from his veins, the haemokinetic broadcast rippled in sync with the waves of his Metamind as ghosts flowed on pulses of blood. Essus heeded the cast with a note of surprise while Draus simply responded. Slow as time was, her connection to her domains worked just like his. Godhood was not like a muscle to exercise, but a divine machine of feats and lore. The sprawl of glass she made from the shattered bodies of a drone squadron split in two. One section speared high into the air while the other encased her in a reflective sheen, rendering her a taller, more insectoid-looking cousin to Mirrorhead. The shards of glass she flung into the air climbed at speeds nearing a hundred miles per hour. For Avo, it might as well have not moved at all. That was fine. He would go to it in just a moment. First, he had to see to Chambers continued survival. Mind blind in the throes of panic, Chambers was so preoccupied with howling his lungs out that Avos thoughtcast went unnoticed. Sinking into the mans perception, the divided plates of Layer Three and the edges of a spatially quarantined district came into view as the ex-enforcer flailed against gravity. Terror stripping him of composure, the thought of manifesting his Heaven was a far one. At least it was till Avo overwrote the mans fear with an injection of artificial focus. +Chambers. Listen. Activate Heaven. Get to Draus and Essus. Stick togetherCwill convene with you all shortly.+ At his current speed, he could perform countless actions before the ghosts finished delivering the information over. With Sanguinitys Reign, the Nether lag was vastly diminished for reasons Avo wasnt fully sure about, but he wasnt going to complain. Instead, he was going to continue using it to his advantage. He strode twice, his being lengthened into stretching bolts of arterial lightning. He kept both movements random, deliberately confusing the pursuing delta while using his vectors to approach Draus rising screen of glass at an angle. Thousands of aerial platforms disintegrated in the wake of his departure alone. The sheer energy generated from his acceleration turned the surrounding air into plasma. Winds cooked. Light exploded out of him. He refrained from pressing his speed to the fullest, but when an eighty-ton object ripped across existence at the baseline velocity of lightning, things broke. The path he trailed unzipped a tide of destruction as entire stretches of drones simply vanished. Things within his path dissolved without a trace, while others sustained damage miles beyond the mist. Past the rings of immediate destruction, drones flattened into crumpled husks of alloy while bioforms smeared. As shockwaves of force and fire rode through the sky, shapes disappeared from within the palm of his Sanguinity by the thousands in milliseconds. Euphoria twisted through every fibre of Avos beingthe closest analogy would be the satisfying sensation of pressing ones hand down on a nest of insects and feeling each bugs individual thorax burst against your skin. No ghosts nor thaums greeted him in this mock slaughter, but he thought back to his battle in Nu-Scarrowbur minutes ago. Millions must have perished from the collateral damage alone there. Using some of them as the substance of his apotheosis, he had reached a place where a few strides might inflict the same or greater harm than two Godclad cadres facing each other in open combat. Little wonder why Godclads regarded the FATELESS as nothing. What could they do but die? What could they do against a power that could not be exhausted, that could not be denied? His tungsten shell glowed red as the storm stuff faded from him like peeling paint. Heat obfuscated the world, and the blow he cast against the atmosphere itself was still unfurling outward in a rising tide, swaying the surrounding fliers into fissuring streams of light. His Phys-Sim fed him two warnings: The delta remained behind him, closing to two hundred and fifty feet, while another snapped into shape behind him. On top of his two pursuers, he felt the sudden manifestation of more patterns of matter. Something large was pushing its way through the rain. Channeling his Whisper into the mists that coursed from him, he directed his perception nearly eighty miles eastward from where they came and saw the Highflame Aegis swimming through the falling rain. In accompaniment with Abrels last surviving ally, his cog-feed registered three hundred more spatial distortions forming within the thousand-mile stretch of awareness provided by Sanguinitys Reign while he was at full mass. More problems by the second. They needed to get gone, and get gone soon. Twin flashes of light tore open the flesh of reality. Above where Draus once stood, a constellation of gleaming shards assembled, slowly fusing into the shape of the Twice-Walker. A little more than three hundred feet away, in a yet congested section of the airways, the screen Avo requested she turn into a gateway came alight as well. It was ready. Time to see if the deltas could still track him even after he cut them off geometrically from his tail. Lightning coursed through his vessel. At the top of his spire, the warg-head snarled with thunderous delight. He traveled like a spear flung from beyond the veil of the sky to smite the earth down to bedrock and core. Space around him blurred. He emerged from his stride just before he slipped through the threshold of the reflection. A glimpse brushed his notice as he beheld what awaited him on the other side. Hails of gauss-flung ordinance and biological missiles dove out to strike Draus. Touching the fight briefly with his Sanguinity, he felt her make glass of all that was solid and let all that wasnt pass through her. Out through the tunnel came a river of firepower. A river that choked and parted before the Woundshapers post-hypersonic approach. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 54% He emerged from the Twice-Walker as a concussive tunnel blasted out from her gateway. Immediately, he set about casting a new message at her, but the gateway closed the moment he left the threshold and re-entered reality. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. He didnt even get to see the demiplanar nature of the interior this time. Not that he was complaining. The deltas had lost track of himCand were breaking off as Abrels shadowy falcons coiled along the tubes. Avo turned all attacking entities within a mile of him and Draus into blood. Again, it was like feeling every single bug die personally before his touch all at once. The sky was a moving cage filled with shrapnel and dancing bodies, naught but the golems, the drones, and the tube brushing against the outline of Avos mind. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 57% The beast choked on pleasure, not even aware that they werent killing any actual people. Just the sheer scope of the violence titillated it to the very precipice of its ability to feel. Blood mingled with the falling rain. Red splashed down the dancing pieces of the Twice-Walker, hovering with an ease that the Woundshaper didnt have the canons for. He wondered why its Hyalokinesis allowed it to exert influence over range while he was limited to the tactile at baseline. A tide of concentrated fire split an opening through a few distant drones. Six hundred feet away, a blazing phoenix studded with bursting seeds spilling into sprawling canopies of lushness approached. It looked as if the pyrokinetic avian was pierced by a trident of charred almonds, and from below the wood expanding into existence behind it, fire plumed free from where the roots were meant to be, allowing it to soar. Bioforms and vines and leaves were burned into the fabric of existence from its quavering flames, and with the winding path it left in the air, Avo could practically taste the joy bleeding out of Chambers. This was the freest the man had ever felt. Avo drew Chambers memories into his Metamind. Something flung open beside them like an open door. Reality stuttered, and five feet away, twin flaps of obsidian flung wide as a ninety-foot-tall doorway made from the blackest ebony opened and opened again, projecting itself forward as Essus struggled to comprehend his new form. Each step he took reloaded his location in reality, and he left threaded fractals behind him. Avo could feel more drones turning into them, but his cadre had assembled. Now, it was time for his other ideas. He didnt know how long he had until the Paladins started arriving. HeC Something inside him shivered with delight, and the Woundshaper responded in kind. What if he waited for the Paladins to come? From the Galeslither, however, came only disbelief. We are at the center of madness the winds run unnaturally we must be away from this place Avo ignored his second Heaven. What if he found their taste to be most palatable as well? Something distant inside him twitched and struggled against his aroused hunger. They couldnt linger here. A shard of glass inched slowly into his awareness, pulling him back from the reverie of imagined bloodshed. Nether-lag cracked in the back of his mind as the first bits of mem-data trickled over from Draus. And there was another problem he had to solvecommunications. Right now, at his tonnage limit, his speed was leagues beyond the others. He could release some of his mass and speak to them, but that would just leave them all vulnerable. Presently, however, he understood what Draus asked of him. Reaching out with a tendril, he took the glass shard from her grasp and added the patterns of its matter to his Canon of Remembrance. HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 1044 THAUM/c Two additional thaums. Not bad. Parts of his slatted design developed a more reflective sheen. His new armor caught the glint of an encroaching tide of rushing explosions bearing down on them as an avalanche from two miles away. Judging from its trail, these blasts were likely caused by his strides. Ah. If it wasnt his old consang, unforeseen consequences. He spread himself wide and round like a bunker, around his allies. Yet, halfway through his haemokinetic shapeshifting, he felt a most dissonant sensation as Draus sank into him. Right. The Twice-Walker had a canon that let it do that. Didnt it also have the ability to make a demiplanar pathway? The answer came as some of his blood spilled into a loop; the Twice-Walker created a spatial passageway using itself and his Woundshaper as junctions. Ah, the Woundshaper laughed. The huntress has thought ahead. Most wise. Go, master. Go and pull the two burdens into our crossway. The Regular has solved several matters of concern concurrently. He didnt need any further prompting. Reaching out to scoop both Essus and Chambers into the tunnel that shimmered past the surface of his gleaming blood, he found the former most elusive as they blinked from place to place while the latter made a mad dive for him even without prompting. Ultimately, it was the Lushburner that descended beneath the ichor first while the Gate of the Passing Dark followed. As Avo performed a quick dash to arrive next to Essus, he found that flinging himself outward as lightning did nothing to impede the functionality of the Twice-Walkers Liminal Paracosmos. Essus Gate stepped one more time and, despite the vastness of its size, it ballooned into shape within Avo as well. Oddly, it seemed to materialize inside his internal passage with a stutter, slipping from one point in reality to another. With motes of blood running through the passageway via Sanguinitys Reign, Avo confirmed the presence of his companions as Essus released himself from the form of his godhood and Chambers soared and dipped around Draus. Finally, her message loaded. +Channel this here glass and hang on. I got myself an idea bout our problems. Right now, we aint a real cadre since we dont got all that fancy learnin from Guilder school, but I think I have a way for us to get around the whole separate and apart problem. Gonna create a pathway usin both of us as conduits. After, you can put Essus and the half-strand inside. Make it easier for us to pull a runner.+ She had some ideas of her own indeed. The sensation of swelling power came to a jolting stop when he felt the first bomb shred through his broadcast. Others followed. Pockets formed in his awareness as Sanguinitys Reign turned porous. Faintly, as more and more blindspots formed in his awareness, he touched the platform responsible for countering him and found it similar to a Sangeists Rendsink. An instant later, it came apart and ruptured, its contents twitching between mundane blood and alchemized fragments of matter. The Rend within Avos system spiked. His cog-feed began to wail. WARNING: REND DETONATIONS DETECTED DOMAIN: [BLOOD] REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 71%... 74%... 76% Immediately withdrawing Sanguinity''s Reign to a limit of twenty miles, he strode as he began to make his escape through the opening of Layer Three. Just as lightning began to jump through him, a translucent wall burst into existence over the opening he was aiming for. He altered his stride, dashing twice as he fled from the first signatures and entered the field of his reduced awareness. Additional blasts followed. Blood plumed through the falling rain as the last of Avos crimson mist parted from existence. Suppose for influence that vast came a trade-offCif he could strike at distant domains using Sanguinitys Reign, so too could it be done the opposite way around. Another trickle of thoughts from Draus loaded. +Theyre bringin out the Rend-bombs. Theyll eventually herd us out of the sky. Dont bother jumpin aroundCLights End is on lockdown. Layer Threell be closed off. We need to find a secluded spot in a district somewhere. Go zero-burn or somethin. Least thats what the Clads I fought with did when they wanted to go missC.+ His attention drifted as rainwater congealed into the shape of the Aegis on the borders of his awareness. It was barely nineteen miles southeast of him, and it was currently swimming through the downpour, rivers of water running free. And within the wetness, Avo felt another signature sing out to himCone he instantly recognized. Abrel. Abrel who had escaped his grasp time and time again. Abrel, who drove him to break his determination of choice and elevate his allies to godhood. Abrel, who denied him a chance to savor her brothers flesh. Abrel, who was now floating unconscious, her body flickering in and out of existence as the falling rain formed junctions from the skies above, midnight rivers darting between forking cracks of light. As he focused, he noticed the fortress-like outline of the Aegis and noted the other Godclad funneling her out from the fray. How auspicious this opportunity was: to kill and devour an entire cadre. And just along the way of his escape, no less. Hundreds of prismatic trails searched the space behind them from afar. Considerably fewer aerial platforms remained as tides of destruction continued to sweep through the wind. The chaos had given both cadres enough room to flee from the golems and emergency response teams, though their escape remained in question. Another thing Avo did know was this: He could feel Abrel, but he couldnt touch her or kill her using his Sanguinity. Not with the veil of water protecting her. Not without all her cyclers compromised. So far away, the metaphysical ripples of Soulfire from his Frame didnt reach far enough to give his position away as he watched the Aegis flee. He took the opportunity. This was a chance for another two Souls and all the ontologics that came with them. A chance to remove two individuals that possessed knowledge of his capabilities. Abrel had seen him kill Jhred, after all. There would be questions about where his Frame went. And how. So, with his mind made and Rend-bombs slowly cascading inward towards his position, Avo strode twice more, diving into forking bolts as he struck the Aegis from behind. He expected to shear the water from his foeto utterly vaporize their ontological structure. What he didnt expect was to catch a full blast of Soulfire across his Frame as the Aegis snapped apart into two pieces. The water around him froze and began falling back upward into the sky. All that flowed strained against forces unseen. There, still alight with crackling currents running through his bloodstream, Avo found himself at the epicenter of a prolapsed dragon. To his left, the form of a man strained, and to his right, the structure of a water-made castle began to collapse. WARNING: DAEMON DETECTED ->ASSOCIATED HEAVEN: [AEGIS OF TIDES] - THIRD SPHERE ->REND CAPACITY [AEGIS OF TIDES]: 98% WATER METAPHYSICS UNRAVELLING REND SPILLOVER DETECTED 10-33 Fallout (I) No. Keep Zein where she isCCas, listen, I dont care what happened with her in the paths. LookCjust look at this. Do you see this? Connect your Ansible to Sunrise and take a peek out from her eyes. You see this? This isnt a few thousand deadCwere talking somewhere north of a million. Mazzas JunctionCNu-Scarrowbur Does any of this look like collateral damage to you? Or does it look like the aftermath leftover from the Guild Wars? Yes. Yes, I am blaming you. You should have told her no! You should have tried to stop her! She would killeCCas, youre a Godclad too. If you die, walk it off and go after her again. Itll distract her from doing whatever this is. Repercussions? For her? None. Shell just jump ahead in timeCher fuck up, other peoples debt. Classic Zein-shit. Wonder what Jaus saw in that psychoticC Right. Her plan to frame Jhred Greatling and discredit the Chivalrics. You know we could have just directly given the details to the ambassador, right? Dont believe any of her bullshitCshe did this because she wanted to. She did this because shes playing at something elseCshe always is. Im closing my Hyperwave for now. Im going to try and intercept our recruits before the Paladins bring them for questioning. You tell Voidwatch toC WARNING: DAEMON DETECTED ->ASSOCIATED HEAVEN: [AEGIS OF TIDES] - THIRD SPHERE ->REND CAPACITY [AEGIS OF TIDES]: 98% WATER METAPHYSICS UNRAVELLING REND SPILLOVER DETECTED WARNING: GODCLAD DETECTED GODCLAD: SAMIR NAEKO EIGHTH-SPHERE LIMINAL FRAME Cas. I need to go. Keep. Her. There. Shes helped enough. [TUNING ANSIBLE] Aegis, hack Naekos feed and scrub everything you have on the package. Drop a pinpoint of their location for me. I think theyre hiding in the shadows of a block but I dont remember which oneCof course its not going to be enough. Theyre not at Zero-Burn. The Chief Paladins going to make them immediatelyCIll just need to convince him that they belong to me. Valerie out. -Valerie Denton, Ninth Column 10-33 Fallout (I) The instant the Woundshaper slammed down upon the Aegis like a hammer of blood and lightning upon a crumbling anvil made of parting water, the reality succumbed to the deformation of the latters Liminal Frame, and from whatever transgression was committed, the man came loose from his Heaven-turned-Daemon. All that was bound by the Domain of Water was banished from Avo''s vicinity, the exile of rain expanding from feet into miles. Another Godclad lay before him, partially flayed in ontology. The manCknocked free of his divinity, snapped taut on the sliding segments of the dragon slithering through him. Both the Heaven and he looked to share the same umbilical cord, and with each tug, the surrounding water shifted in directions random and strange. It was like watching an unbirthing of a man into a god. Abrel, meanwhile, had gone missing with the water. He didnt know if she was vaporized by the Woundshapers lightning-fast velocity disemboweling the atmosphere in apocalyptic fire or merely snatched from the present location by the eldritch nature of the falling waters, but the result was the same. She was gone in flesh and Frame. No presence of the physical or ontological varieties remained. From leagues and miles around, every water droplet that yet remained screamed. Soulfire splashed free with every falling dollop, and as a fractured subreality bled naked into the broader tapestry of existence, from water came forth the crashing voice of a fragmented god swallowed by madness. An imitation of the Aegis formed, vast water-made serpents coiled and formed the foundations of a castle while all the rain within a hundred miles twisted and funneled through fluid vectors of anomalous geometry. Overlooking a straight fall down to the enclosed jaws of Layer Three, only bridges and lips jutted out between the districts below. For this spot in the city, for this instant in time, the rains halted as that which was from the cloud was returned in part up, and scattered threefold horizontally. Sea! The awakened Heaven cried. Water burst. Rain shunted matter from one area to another like paint running off a canvas. Only the prismatic exhaust expelled by the deltas remained, the deltas too asymmetric to be affected by the warp in waters baseline nature. Ocean! Where where is the ocean! Where where is my body! The Aegis of Tides roared its last few words. The intent of the broken gods meaning came through not as language but as expression at its root, Soulfire carving understanding into everyone instantly, burning past all connotative and denotative blockades to comprehension. Loss. Pain. Confusion. Rage. Twin accretions of thoughtstuff oozed from both beings connected by the dragon as if pus from a leaking blister spilling free. Avo saw it againCthe connection between the Heaven and the GodcladCa comingling of minds. The eldritch was using the human almost like a phantasmisc of sortsCa receptacle for thought to plug the hole of its lobotomization. Where Godsfall seemed to hollow the gods, leaving gaps and places for people to mantle their nouses within Soul and Heavens thereafter, so too was there a triggering point for the entire thing to be reversed as an hour-glass flipped on its head; it was no longer man mantling god for as an instrument of power, but god mantling man to regain the bandwidth for free will. Gingerly, Avo reached out with two spreading tendrils. One sank into the god, and it shuddered as it turned, noticing only the Galeslither within him as the hulls of symmetrical domains between them crashed. When Avo burrowed his haemokinetic fingers into the man, he found himself greeted with the softness of flesh, the heat of a Soul, and the brittleness of a mind. The beginnings of thought formed. The Godclad, unlike Jhred Greatling, was unbroken yet. They were still strainingCstruggling to regain control over his Heaven. The idea of going Zero-Burn consumed him, but parted from the canons of his power, he moved like a mortalCslow and insufficient. Avo yearned to hurt the man, to slake his desires in a feast of torment and pain. A splash of prismatic radiance caught his attention, and with it came a memory. The train. Abrel in the collapsing megablock. Mirrorhead. Even without the Morality Injector, he should have thought betterCknown better. The beast was bleeding over into his actions, its claws tugging on his nape and guiding his warpath. Even if he no longer wanted to enchain his life to the tool his father provided, that was still no excuse to offer his leash to a lesser master - a baser owner. Pleasure and addiction met remembered resolve, and from it, the path became clear. Avo regarded his prey and ignored the beast. This one was just another Soul. Another life. Another Godclad. So easy for him to claim, so easy to hurt. So easy to kill. He triggered Meta-Fac just as the blood inside his latest victim flexed outward. The man expanded apart into a curtain of spreading gore. Then motes. Then nothing. The Aegis wailed and crumbled into crashing waterfalls as a last blast wave of Soulfire tore out from its connected Godclad, true death taking him. META-FAC ACTIVATING TRANSFERRING REND FROM FOURTH CIRCLE [WOUNDSHAPER] TO FIRST CIRCLE [RESERVE-HEV 01] ->REND CAPACITY [RESERVE-HEV 01]: 100% TRANSFERRING REND FROM FOURTH CIRCLE [WOUNDSHAPER] TO FIRST CIRCLE [RESERVE-HEV 02] ->REND CAPACITY [RESERVE-HEV 02]: 100% Avo ignored the thought of interfacing with the other Godclads canons or digging through his thoughts. He fought past the urge to stay and face the PaladinsChowever many there were to come. Such folly were the thoughts of a ghoul overdosing on flesh and slaughter, deluded into the conception that it was an apex predator above all others. The surrounding rain stilled, and gravity reclaimed its throne. Suddenly, displaced entities spilled back into the real within the territory of Sanguinitys Reign. [LIMINAL FRAME] OBTAINED - DAGGER PATTERN ->AEGIS OF TIDES HEAVEN TEMPLATE DOWNLOADED ->THAUMIC CYCLER x3 ->SOUL x1 ->ONTOLOGICS x6 THAUMIC OUTPUT: 3960 THAUM/c GHOSTS: [14333] And with that, Avo moved again, this time with a new plan in mind. Circulating his Whisper through his haemokinetic cloud, he still detected nothing of Abrel as the falling rains returned to the guardrails installed by baseline reality. It would not be long until he was noticed againCuntil they found him again. Already, his sight-searing destruction left in the wake of his strides halted before the deltas and tumbled impossibly rightward. It didnt matter that the kinetic energy behind a single one of his dashes could have torn all of Nu-Scarrowbur asunderCthe Woundshapers influence over force was a byproduct of a major canon: Relative. Whatever the rightward-affecting golems had was absolute. Even so, even if his ruinous cascade could not unmake the deltas and the units they carried, it did delay them and obfuscate him from their notice.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. It would be enough for him to make his final escape from the local scene. Shifting away from a spreading webwork of light-formed cracks, he plotted a course toward the nearest district. Layer Three was sealed, but that didnt mean he was entirely out of options. His Woundshaper had lived up to his build most suitably, enhancing his destructiveness, environmental control, and Necrojacking influence on a scale he couldnt fathom prior. Using it was intoxicating. But its time was nigh-on-done. High on Rend and with a rare opening for evasion, he used the conflagrations he left behind as cover and used Sanguinitys Reign to brush the edge of the district. The infrastructure was likely imbued with memetic matter, but he wasnt interested in shaping the areaCinstead, his attention was on the hovering street lights and the shadows they cast. At eighty-seven miles away, he needed to make around six dashes to reach the place. But dashing six times at his current mass released emanations of devastation that could be seen from over the distant horizon. He needed to lose some massCcreate a decoy and use stride to cover the distance. First, however, he tested something. Releasing a ton of blood, he found his connection to Draus and the other stable. He released another. Good. No change. He could do this. Soon, it would be time to see if his Shadowcrawler-infused Galeslither could still deliver. Shedding ninety percent of his mass into a Linger-invoked husk of hardened blood, time marched forward just as Avo channeled himself into a bolt of lightning and lashed outward to the districts below. His Sanguinity shrank. He strode, his lightning only twice as fast now with the two tons of blood he kept with him. Where before the atmosphere was disemboweled by an eighty-ton object accelerating far in excess of hypersonic speeds, now sound simply shattered with the air afire in soft applause. The sky above him bled into wounds of sight-scalding brightness. The air boiled and burned, but pale before the cataclysms he left milliseconds prior. The world droned no longer. Everything was loud. Everything was deafening. And once again, things were moving in slow motion instead of absolute stillness. After the brief thrill of being one of the sole moving entities in existence, the come-down was just as intense as the high. Chatter from three different minds flooded his Meta. They had been talking the entire time, but Haemokinesis kept him at a different cognitive pace. Now, their words were distorted, but he could understand and converse with them in real-time. +--vo? You hear me?+ Draus said, her words coming slowed due to the processing differential between them, but at least it was coming at a near-even pace now, +whats the plan?+ +--I fucking burned a hundred of those drones and bees! Im a god! Im a god of fucking fire!+ Chambers screamed ponderously in the background. Essus didnt say anything. Simultaneously nauseous at the chaos, but missing the necessary components to throw up now that he was in a metaphysical doorway. Avo plotted another travel-vector using his Phys-Sim, keeping his presence masked from the drones and golems via the fires behind. His Woundshapers Rend was once again over eighty percent, but that wasnt going to be a matter. He was almostC His cog-feed screamed. Warnings flashed his a Soul detected another Godclad. They blniked back into the material a mere six miles away from him. Abrel tumbled free from a mass of distant raindrops and plummeted, clawing at the air blindly as if she had just regained her senses. She seemed unconscious the last time he saw her. Now she was just confused. Shifting through the air in a stream of falling falcons, she darted toward him, sensing the signature of his Liminal Frame with how both of them were operating at full burn. Bereft of his total mass. The reflex advantage twisted back over to her as she tore through the sky. Avo strode again. He felt his ontology thin and leap, crackling through the air. He could turn and fight herCspear into her and dump the remainder of his Rend to ensure her death this time. But that held the risk of the deltas catching back up to him. Fleeing blindly would not serve, however. Both he and Abrel were high on Rend now for their primary Heavens, but they were both a successful vent away from continuing the fight. That would make him easy to track as well, and sooner rather than later, the Paladins would arrive. Draus cast her thoughts and offered a different recourse. +Avo, dont bolt just yet. Solidify two glass doorframes out of yourself.+ No doubt occupied his mind as he acquiesced to her demands. If Draus said she knew, then she knew. She had more than proven that already. Ejecting two thin veils of alchemized blood, Avo beheld his own shrunk form in the pearlescent reflectivity they possessed. The Strider solidified and spread its wings. Then Woundshaper and company speared through the air like a falling artillery shell, still over fifty miles from the rooftops of the closest district. Light washed through his haemokinetic constructs. Twin-bladed wings fell. Avo felt Draus seize both mirrors as she turned one against the falling attack while angling the other below the first. +You ready Essus?+ Draus asked. +I will try,+ Essus said. Something inside mans ontology shifted as doors emerged from doors. It seemed as if he was cycling through something +I yes. Yes!+ The man laughed. It was a muted, choked note. Avo was surprised he was even capable of that. +I think I have it. Can you see?+ Avo directed his Whisper inward upon the mists of his Sanguinity as he studied Essus ontology. The vast doors the man once embodied were open now, leading to a room most clean and radiant, a start at the center of a distant void. +Good job, consang. Avo, listenCIm gonna link one of my shards to one of the doorframes. Lets cut this sow with her own shine+ The Striders blow sliced againstCand then intoCthe first mirror. The same attack tore outward as a cleaving tide of radiance. Right back on itself. Streams of light from both wings cracked, twisted, and shattered. The Strider recoiled and blinked out of existence as Abrel tumbled back into the grasp of gravity. Rend thrummed in the air, and all light in a twenty-mile radius burst into a shrapnel of cutting blades. +Think I got a hubris,+ Draus said, sounding smugbemused. +Saw somethin make one of her wings spill over into the other one. Backlash.+ A Regulars perspicacity even on a battlefield so chaotic was impressive. Avo wondered if he could replicate her instincts somehow. For now, however, another thing came to his attention. Abrel. Abrel, who was alight with blood and matter and fading light. Abrel, who was still within the twelve and a half miles of influence he had. Abrel, who hunted and been saved from him so many times by the hand of manipulated fate, and wouldnt stop until either or both of them were dead. Abrel, who was now more vulnerable to his Ghostjack than ever. In the distance, he could see prismatic blooms diving low as they turned right and squeezed out geometric wounds just feet away from her. He wouldnt have the chance to kill her himself today. Not without exposing himself to the authorities again. A pity. A gut-coiling, blood-churning pity. Faintly, he tried instilling her with Rend using his Meta-Fac but found that their vicinity needed to be tactile for it to work. But he could do something else. Something just as enticing. Slamming his wards into hers, he struck the fortification of her mind with a trauma-adapting hammer and discovered that her wards were no longer asynchronous wavelengths. Ah. So, it seemed he wasnt the only one using his canons to give his Metamind an added edge. Instead of striking her again this time, he loosed a trauma into her mind. Just one. One taken from her brother. The siblings shared a cadence to their screams. But where Jhred brayed despairingly, Abrel was a howl of rising rage. Good. More experiences for him to sample. Diving into her broken mind, he shredded the Interior of her wardings and tore through her deepest sequences with surgical focus. Even as her palace came apart before his onslaught, he knew she would return sane and unharmed if her Frame functioned like his, but he could still modify specific memories without hurting her. Add things. Change things. Take things away. And so, he did. GHOSTS: [14299] It was an easy thing, using Jhreds memories as a skeleton key to implant her with a hidden Auto-Seance. Just as it wasnt hard to infuse her with information about the Incubis plans, or Jhreds confession, or say, Avos own memories of Zein Thousandhand being involved. Somewhere in his subreality, the ghoul grinned. The old woman hadnt bifurcated him. Either this was part of her very, very convoluted plan, or she was actually dead or occupied, and couldnt stop this from happening. After hiding each and every one of his packages in place, he stitched her original layering back and slathered his own identity with an added haze. Using his hidden Auto-Seance, he would twist and alter her memories further, provided thaumaturgy didnt affect his Necrothurgy. He still wanted to render himself a haze in her memoriesCand the power to crush her consciousness at any point. Impressively, almost unfathomably, she pulled together enough of her cognition to realize his presence within her. Broken in thought and coherence as her mind was, the rage still flowed. +You you. Ill kill swear to the dead gods kill you murderer! Killed. Jhred.+ Avo taunted her with the sounds Jhred made as he wept before the stone statue that was his mother. +This is done. You remember what I want. You think what I let you. I choose now. You dont.+ And with that, he tore the sprouts of this newest memory from her mind and fragmented them with his Ghostjack. She wouldnt remember this. And even if she did, they would need to burn Jhreds memories out from her mind to get all that he had fused within her mind. In a sense, he hadnt broken anything. Just corrupted. Not even death would undo a phantasmic. As the deltas reached her and the first squadrons of surviving drones spilled forth from them, Avo checked his cog-feed and counted the lanes of perception splashing over him, and confirmed his next action. +Going thought-silent now.+ He told his passengers. +Activating Incog.+ A beat passed. Draus chuckled. +You know, it just occurred to me that we coulda just used that and skipped the trouble of backlashing her.+ Avo activated the Incog and pretended he didnt hear anything. Or that he wasnt a complete idiot. His phantasmics all went dormant. His Whisper dissolved and the ghosts that composed it collapsed back in. The world was quiet again, and he was an island inverted beneath the waves of cognition, submerged under notice. With how many bioforms, drones, and golems there were earlier, his cog-capacity would have overloaded instantly. Now he had a chance. And so he took it. Lightning ran across his body. Stormstuff clasped him. Avo strode, Rend rising as Abrel was drawn into the delta, then his cog-feed warned of another Godclad approaching. Wincing, he felt the weight of their ontological mass. Beyond him. Far beyond. The metaphysics of the area were thrown off as if a mountain had just dropped into a pond. Good that he ran. Wise, even. As the full Heaven of the PaladinCor whoever this newcomer wasCdescended on the scene, a demiplane widened from midnight firmament aboveCthe Darkstar blurring as a screen spilled over it like a film of oil. Wider and wider it spread. Over the stretch where the hypertubes ran, over entire districts, Avo strode a final time, he touched the edge of the districtCwith serried blocks lined like silicon chips implanted on a mechanical deck. His insides knotted in annoyance. Omnitech. He just had to have landed in one of their places. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 89% REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 1% As he shifted over the equine form of his second Heaven and splashed into the shadows cast by a rising tower, it answered him with notes of dismay. What is this? Are you are you controlling me?+There is no you or I anymore, sweet kindred, the Woundshaper crooned. There is but the master and his Soul. And with him, we ascend....I want to be what I was again.Mocking laughter followed. Do you even have all the pieces of your memory? Your own lore? What god are you, if you cannot remember your canons. The Galeslither puffed, the wind swelling around in billowing anxiousness. The Woundshaper continued. The answer is were not. Yet, we are more. We are reborn. Now, heed, mule, and ride the shadows. I offered my architecture. It is time you do yours. Diving deeper into the darkness, Avo deactivated his Incog and his Metamind opened up again. Peering out from the shadows, he watched as a veil of force washed through the district. And beyond. Everything that moved suddenly went still. The wind. The light. Everything. In the distance, the fractured brightness broken from the lightrails smoothed into alignment back into the exit wounds of the tube. From high above, a colossal figure descended, and their shadow feel like an ocean drowning away a pond. He tried to move, to swim and travel through the darkness. He couldnt. The act of shifting through the real became entirely impossible. Suddenly, Avo felt more trapped than he had ever been. WARNING: FOREIGN SOULS DETECTED UNIDENTIFIED GODCLAD DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE VIII [EST. 78304200 THAUM/c] ->SAGE OF THE SUNDERED SKY, FORCE-BREAKER-PEACE-BINDING 10-34 Fallout (II) This track goes out to all my consangs in the Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty. Dont know what the hells is happening over your skies, but it looks like the Fifth Guild War just started right on top of you. Of course, with the Nether conveniently down, things arent so easy to verify. What a shame, huh? You lucky half-strands might be the first ones off to the Big Empty. Maybe the rest of us will be seeing you all real soon when the rest of the punches start falling. Anyway, come tomorrow what may, right now, the rest of us can still enjoy the phantom calm of dead midnight for a while longer. This is Zero-Burn, mixed by Un-Euclid and Fat-Flechette, with a post-mortem big-up to The Siren of the Misted Shores Shit. Dream well, Ainesieef. I told you chasing apotheosis was going to get you snuffed. So uh yeah. Just enjoy the track, juvs. Its all us little people got sometimes. -Calla Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 10-34 Fallout (II) Every Godclad inflicted deviations to realitys pattern. Blood, wind, light, lightning, or even the act of moving left of oneself was susceptible to alternation. In thisCand from how Draus noticed Abrels hubrisCAvo found himself on the path of a new curriculum: Studying the potential canons of rival Heavens. The Sage of the Sundered Sky was immense in ontological mass and effect. Kae had once spoken about vulgarity and scope. In vulgarity, it had torn the sky-scarring blast waves he made from his acceleration out of existence; in scope, the effect spread across the entirety of the Sovereignty. Nothing that could inflict damage or move flowed when the Sage tightened its grasp. For the briefest of instants, Avo caught sight of the Heaven as he peeked out from the stygian pond he swam in. Colossal didnt begin to describe its visage. With the Darkstar painting the world below like a lantern burning the colors of midnight mauve, the Sage sank through the darkness of the oily skies as a titan seeking to greet land. Smoke tasseled about its form while the atmosphere adorned it with a burning robe. Through the obfuscation, all that Avo could tell of it were the ring of open hands hovering around it. Two intersecting circles made up of eight open palms implanted with blazing cyclopean eyes shone through the flames like a cross-shaped beacon. Besides the single eye in the palm of each hand, there was also a deliberately designed wound on eachCfingers were missing from each of them, with a progression of wounds popping in and out, moving from one to the next. Whatever canon or symbology it represented was beyond Avo. Perhaps something to do with sight. Perhaps something more altogether. The Sage was of the Eight Sphere. It could have had hundreds of canons. Or maybe it just towered high from a few specific metaphysical domains. Regardless, the thrill in him went dry and the beast stopped salivating altogether. The notion of hunting and preying upon a Paladin remained a faraway prospect unless something drastic happened. +Shit,+ Chambers choked, wincing mentally as the Sage loomed closer. +Thats one big-ass god-bitch. Alright. Whats the plan, consangs? How are we getting out of this? Avo? Reg?+ Avo was about to answer when the Heaven suddenly winked out. The shift was disorienting. The weight vanished, and with it went the film of oil. Where once an obscured Heaven comprised of countless palms stretched across the entirety of the viewable sky, now there was but the surface of the void, bare and exposed. Innumerable satellites scintillated like drifting grains of dust across all that was black. Orbitals, as Walton had called them. Voidships too. Something inside Avo shivered. The sky. He had been so consumed by fighting and fleeing and feeding that hadnt realized he was beneath the natural sky again. Something itched in the back of his mind, expecting there to be a holographic error of some kindCfor a panel above him to flicker error codes or spew cheap Nether-ads down at him. +Theyre tryin to bait us out,+ Draus said. +Dont know why. If theyd seen us+ Her mind remained taut with tension, like a war bow drawn but never released. +We might want go Zero-Burn anyhow if it aint too late. With our Heavens fully manifested and cyclers running hot, our Frames are probably like campfires lit on the Thousand Plains.+ +Cant use canons at Zero-Burn,+ Avo replied. +Think thats how Jhred couldn''t make youhow Abrel and her cadre couldnt make you when they thought you were just a bioform+ Her mind went silent as a body suddenly stuttered into existence mere feet away from the shadows they dwelled in. Abrels body slid down against a glitching holo-ad pylon, white exoskeletal carapace cracked, just like her mind was. Her fingers twitched. Her legs kicked. She made several noises. None of them words. +Jaus, what the fuck,+ Chambers said. +Shes makin those nu-whale noises. Thats kinda+ His Lustaway activated. Avo considered ejecting Chambers out into the light. +Heh. Sorry. Thought about a vicarity I liked. Anyway, whats happening? You ghost her mind apart and she just drops in front of us?+ +Its a warnin,+ Draus said. +They know were here. Theyre tryin to get us to come out on our own.+ As another wail whistled loud from Abrels enhanced lungs, Essus shivered and released himself from the form of his Heaven. Essus returned to his human form and clamped to hands around his head in the passageway, mumbling to himself as he tried not to hear. It took Avo a second to understand - Abrels screams trespassed into the territory of child-like in instances. With a thought, he narrowed the fathers perception closer to deafness. Essus breathed. His hands slipped from his head as he hugged himself. +Thank you, my friend.+ He clenched his teeth and bobbed as the Twice-Walker hovered behind him. Chambers continued to peer out the edge of the passageway leading, but with the Woundshaper shifted back into subreality, the only feed he had to the outside was through Avo himself. Reality shuddered again. Suddenly, the airways over the district were lined with thousands upon thousands of drones, with twelve deltas bleeding prismastic exhaust into the real. None of those entities concerned Avo as much as the presence of a new figure standing next to Abrel. His muscular appearance and visible metallic whorls curving around the side of his face marked him as a warrior by trade, while the way he sipped an extra-large drink of Strawberry-flavored SURGEMAX made it seem like he really didnt want to be here. His posture was slouched, but that did nothing to diminish his imposing presence. Circuits emanating soft light crenulated his marble-smooth chocolate-hued skin. Lattices of ocean blue flowed out from a jutting implant built into his spine over the rugged double-breasted leather coat he wore. On his collar was a holo-id that projected his Paladin service number and public-use Auto-Seance contact details. A fog spread around him, growing into sixteen floating hands that expanded in a ring as grey irises spread open along their epicenters. Meanwhile, the mans own eyes were solid grey.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Mustering a breath, he drained his soft drink empty and handed the cup off to one of his fog-shaped hands, which then promptly chucked the drink off the edge of the district before offering everyone present a vulgar gesture. Letting out a breath, the man looked at Abrel, still moaning against the ground, and then directed his gaze at the shadows. +Does does he know were here?+ Chambers asked. +Probably,+ Avo said. +Yes,+ Draus said. Essus, still looped into the conversation, offered little to no input, choosing instead to remanifest himself as the Gate and close himself shut. The Paladin cleared his throat and took a seat right next to the darkness. As he settled, an impossible weight followed him, and even in the dark, every movement turned into a struggle. The ocean-blue motes of his utility-fog module formed hands to hold him aloft as he began to speak. Have you guys been having a long week? Because if so, I get it. His voice was soft and accented with an audible lisp. He licked his lips between words and lulls expanded between the gaps of his speech. Listen, I know you guys are there. My Heaven feels your Frames. Saw some of the escape too. It was something. Itll make you Nether-famous if thats what you wanted. He pointed up at the burning, shredded sky. You know, that canons not use-legal in the confines of the city proper. Ill have to cite you for that as well when everything else is tallied. +Cite?+ Avo didnt understand. But Draus did. +Yeah. He thinks were Fallwalkers. Or Guilder Clads. Dont blame em. But I dont like our odds of foolin him if we pop out anyhow. We aint registered nowhere, and it wont be much of a dive to find out if were lyin to him or not if we let em hold us.+ The Paladin continued. Im Naeko. Samir Naeko. Some call me Chief. I usually pretend those people dont exist. Right now though, Im going to need you to help me with something, alright? He looked up at the sky. Im going to ask you for a favor. Come out. I promise there wont be any temp-deathing or nulling or any of that. Just come out and please, for the love of Jaus, dont make this a fight. Im tired. I want to go home. You dont want to be smeared. I think we can come to an agreement there, right? +Avo,+ Chambers muttered, +Avo, I think this guys making a lot of sense. Not being smeared sounds pretty gleam.+ He paused. +But if we dont really want to come out What can he do about that?+ +Rend-bomb us,+ Draus said. +Paradox the canon somehow.+ Chambers considered that for a moment. +Alright And what happens if we come out?+ +They hold us in a demiplane. They find out about Avos Frame. They find out about our Frames. We all get ungrafted, the Guilds descend into a political shitstorm, a bunch of squires, snuffers, and Incubi try to end us, and Avo doesnt get to eat any more eyes.+ Avo wished he could direct a glare at Draus at that moment. +You said theyre gonna take our Frames?+ Chambers asked, voice thin. +Well, they aint technically ours. They belonged toC+ +Fuck this motherfucker,+ Chambers interrupted. +Avo, you tell that bald Paladin fuck that were gonna null his rust-ass like we did that Guilder next to him.+ A beat passed. +We?+ Avo said. +It was a team effort.+ Avo tried remembering what Chambers did beyond falling and burning a few drones. Draus sighed. +Chambers, we aint fightin through a Sphere-Eight like that. Not unless you got somethinan angle he just didnt consider.+ Her words proved to be a mistake. +We cant really die, now can we?+ Chambers asked. Avo didnt like where this conversation was going. +Can die,+ Avo said. +Can resurrect.+ +Same thing. ButCand this is just a thoughtCwhat if we all just, you know, like, give him the the rash.+ Silence swept through the four-way ghostlink. +What?+ Avo said, mind refusing to align with the suggestion. +We we give him the rash?+ Chambers said. +Hes a Clad. Were Clads. None of us can die, but if we give him the rash. Like like Im ready to make this sacrifice for us. Im ready. I will hug him with no pants.+ +Chambers,+ Draus grunted, struggling to compse her words, +what the fuck are you talking about?+ +Im talking about drastic measures, Reg. Im talking about doing whats necessary.+ Naeko spoke. Are you guys talking with each other in there? Trying to get your stories straight? Thats fine. He sighed. Its not like Im trying to get back to a limited-time event or anything. +How does giving the Paladin a rash fix anything?+ +Alright,+ Chambers said. +Picture this: Paladin giving birth to screaming homunculi from his eyes.+ Essus mood flagged further. +I do not want to think of such things.+ The ultimate half-strand pushed on. +You have to! Its unexpected. Its our only edge. So, heres what Im thinking, right? Avo, you send me out there and I expose myself and try to hug the Paladin.+ Utter disbelief tore through Draus mind. +He hell just fuckin smear you.+ +AlrightCalright. Me and EssusC+ +Hell do both of you at the same time. Chambers, this isnt either-or. Did you miss him making everything stop?+ +OkayCwow, you arent helpful at allCI touch EssusC+ Avo interrupted. +Finish that thought. Ill make you remember the artnids.+ Chambers mind shuddered, and he turned. +What if Essus touches me?+ +No touching! No rash!+ Draus said. +What the fuck is wrong with you? How the hells is that supposed to stop him at all?+ +Hell be shitting dead babies out of his pores!+ +Were all gonna be shittin dead babies, half-strand. For a long time. And it aint gonna stop him from using his HeavensC+ Her words were interrupted by the blaring horn of an aerovec. From behind the gathered perimeter of drones and golems, someone was accelerating through the air, fast on approach. Naeko stood up, startled for a moment before his jaw went slack. He closed his eyes in annoyance. Alright. Its going to be one of those days. Waving a hand, the drones and bioforms parted into two columns, opening a vertical slit for the aero to pass through. The vehicle was like a smooth arrowhead of pure mercury with four protruding engines spinning fast along its edges. Gliding down, Avos Phys-Sim estimated it to be thirty-by-twenty feet in dimensions, with its speed winding down to twenty feet per second. It never fully landed, instead coming to a loose hover as its shadow merged with that which was cast by the block. Naeko stumbled as the audacity of the hinted escape made him wheeze. Dont. You jump over into the aero, Ill know. And Ill get very upset. Dont hurt my feelings. A door on the side of the aero opened and a figure jumped out. Naeko was a figure with variety and character. Compared to him, the second newcomer had one theme and one theme only. Silver. Silver hair, with silver implanted eye guards, with a crystalline-silver exoskeleton encasing a silver pantsuit. The womans features ran to the opposite extreme of Naeko. She stood tall while he slouched, and where his cheeks were soft and still held the suppleness of humanity, she was nothing but bladed angles. In an uncanny way, she shared more than a few traits in common with Abrel, now struggling to remember how to breathe. Landing with a soft click, the woman swept her short bob of hair out from her eyes as she began to march toward Naeko. Chief Paladin. Working overtime I see. Her voice was perfect---even in tone and her syllables fell in rhythm with her footsteps. The Chief Paladin just leaned back and threw up his hands. Glaive Denton, are you on official duty for Ori-Thaum? Or is this an off-the-books thing for Voidwatch? +Glaive?+ Chambers asked. Avos stomach filled with ice. He prepared his Ghostjack out of reflex and readied himself for a breakout. A team of Ori-Thaum operatives was a problem. Singleton, on the other hand, made his sinews twist. She offered him a laugh, though it sounded false and timed. A little bit of both, Im afraid. She cocked her head at Abrel Greatlings prostrated form and frowned. I see you caught one of the saboteurs. Wheres the rest of her cadre? Well, Naeko said, tapping a foot in the darkness beside him. They might just be swimming around in the darkness here. But Im not sure. Theyre a bit shy and dont want to come out. Denton shook her head slowly. No. You got that part wrong. That cadres ours. +What?+ Avo said. +What? Chambers said. +Godsdamned Guild bullshit+ Draus muttered. Naekos posture worsened. What? 11-1 Articles of the Spiral Article IV: All acts unproven and memories unverified cannot be used as justification for the impingement of another or justification for actions taken against their person. Article VII: All FATED or Ensouled will be allowed the merit of guardianship under a neutral third party (Default Standard set to Voidwatch) per the Accords of Ao between all the Guilds. Amendment: Article to be suspended in case of official declarations of war. --Articles of the Spiral 11-1 Articles of the Spiral Naekos right eye twitched. Theyre yours? Yes, Denton said, shrugging off his suspicious glaze with a turn of her shoulder. From the corner of her eyepiece, she shot a glance at the stretching shadows of the megablock and pasted a smirk on her face. You all did very well. The imps have been transferred to your proxies. Contract closed. Avo and the others remained submerged still beneath the puddles of darkness. +No clue what this ones playin at.+ Draus said. Her mind was clicking, shifting from thought to theory like the snap of turning gears. +Aint no reason for the Silvers to get into this mess with us. Cant think of one, anyhow.+ As Avo studied Denton, he found his insight crippled by the dissolution of the Nether itself and caution strangled his ability to expand his Sanguinity. He could solidify the shadow into a demiplane and shift back over to using his Woundshaper again. Still, the last thing he wanted was to provoke a deliberate reaction from the Paladin. As Denton looked down at Abrel, however, Avo caught something in the way she stared at the Instrument''s prone form. It was the same way Draus looked at angles around buildings and joints on a person, seeking a vulnerability to exploit. You should thank them when they come out, Chief Paladin, Denton said, pushing the conversation in her desired direction. Why, its all thanks to them that a rogue cell within our Guild was stopped and the assassination of one of my colleagues was prevented. I believe you have met one Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhada? The Chief Paladin just stared at her. Please. Please no. What? No, Naeko repeated. He slapped his leg. He wagged a finger momentarily and tapped the side of his temple. No. No. No, no, no, no, no. No. No. No. I came out here to deal with a shit-fit between two cadres that got out of hand. Thats what I stopped my game for. What I put in my overtime for. Just a simple, messy, bloody stupid thing caused by simple, messy, bloody stupid Godclads. The palms each offered a rude gesture. Now. Tell me youre mistaken. Tell me that I just hallucinated what sounds like a conspiracy that will see me and my corps serving as honorary guard dogs in a month to stop all you colors from killing each other at some conference. Tell me. Say it. Denton let a beat slip by as she offered him an apologetic look. Sorry, Elder Naeko. Its worse than you think. He closed his eyes. Chief Paladin? she ventured. Shh. Several of his floating palms rose in a pleading gesture. Let me imagine. Let me imagine I have the Heaven of Counter-Politics. Of course, Chief NaeC He shushed her again. Glaives bring nothing but problems and conspiracies to me every time we meet. There are no annoying Glaives in my imagination. Just peace. Peace. A nice walk. Alone time. No mass deaths. He took in a breath. He let it out. He opened his eyes. I tried. I tried very hard to will you away without ever being. But it seems I dont have the right Heavens for that. Im sorry to hear that. If it would make you feel better, you could stabC She let out a choked gasp as one palm speared clean through her chest. Thick, white rivulets flowed in place of natural blood. Unshaken by the sudden stabbing, Denton nodded amiably to Naeko as she hacked a mouthful of blood. Feel better? Naeko considered it for a second. Yes. I appreciate the offer. Another one of his palms snapped forward in a rush of wind and her skull unraveled before its fog-like caress. His other hands drifted forward and dismantled the rest of her body in the neatest process of mutilation Avo had ever seen. Essus shook. His door-like frame rattled and geometric vertices rose from his hinges like dust from a normal doorway. +Artad. Is there no end to the death and killing? What was the need for this+ Avo thought it was obvious. +Fun. Pleasure. Also think shes a Clad. Or has a phylactery. Doesnt seem to fear death.+ +Yeah,+ Draus said. +Cept the Silvers aint too big on singleton Clads. Aint see no cadre or drones hovering over her, and the Nethers down.+ True to Avo''s guess, a death anchor manifested over Denton''s corpse. The metaphysical scab slowly thickened even more blood spilled out from the Silver''s mangled remains. As the last pieces of Denton vanished. Naeko stretched slightly and shot the darkness a look. Alright. Shes gone. Now. Its rude of me to call someone a liar while theyre dead, but Im going to give you all one more chance: Come out. Deal with me instead. Ill be straightCyoure probably not going to enjoy your stay in the Unwhere, but itll be safe. But. If you dont. And if I find out that shes trying to juke me in any way He cupped his hands together and drew them apart. Between his palms, the density of spatial reality thickened as cords of coursing explosions fused between his fingers like a chain. No. Not just any explosion. The ones made by the Woundshaper. Avo could feel the full intensity of all the conflagrations created by his acceleration moments prior during the battle dancing along the mans fingers, stretching and compressing enough energy to shred the lower Warrens down to bedrock as if it was clay. So, Stillborn-pattern that sounds like a new Frame, Naeko said. Avo waited if the man would say anything more about his Frame. He didnt. Instead, he did something else. Passing the compressed blastwaves to his other palms, he flicked a finger over the darkness. Avos cog-feed wailed. He felt the dark around him shuffle and splash as a battle between metaphors commenced. Naeko''s power was beyond potent. He was the sole arbiter of force, of peace, of violence itself. Following the Paladins will, the outer skin of darkness slipped open like a curtain. The shadows holding Avo and his cadre parted. Whatever Heaven or Heavens Naeko had, its touch ran deep and wide. Strangely, Avo couldnt quite parse how it felt, the full ontology of the Paladins power incomprehensible to the ghoul. The Chief Paladin cocked an eyebrow but didnt pursue any further actions. The Lushburner came afire within the dormant Woundshaper. Avos unused Heaven flickered over his Galeslither as Chambers attempted the beginnings of an ambush. +Lets get emC+ Fractals of glass spilled over him and diverted him back through the liminality of reflection.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. +No,+ Draus chided. +No rash. He aint snuffed us yet. Lets just give it a moment, yeah? See what else we can come up with.+ The veil of darkness slipped back into place. Naeko right hand hovered in the air as if he was confused about something. Id like to ask you what Agnos you got to make these canons. Blood and lightning. Very loud. But a hell of a punch. Its a bit simple. Obvious paradox-vector. Kinda amateurish, but I like it. Raw acceleration always packs a decent punch, if nothing else. Easy to counter, sure, but also reliable and easy to use. He paused and clasped his fingers together. Even the floating ones. It''sCuh, its pretty promising, but you need subtly too. Take it from a post-centenarian Clad. And hide your Heavens better. A beat passed. You know. You could come out. Im really not big on the retributive violence thing. Already did that already. He glanced briefly in the direction where Valerie was murdered. Course, Im regretting that now, since its what got me trapped in this position. He snorted a laugh. It wasnt a happy laugh. Yeah. Maybe youll believe me and come out. And maybe Jaus will come back tomorrow and fix this mess. He looked down at the ground. I sure cant. A crack rang through his wrists. The explosions he clutched vanished. +Dammit, consangs,+ Chambers said. +His guard looks down. We canC+ Draus cut him off. +Shut the fuck up, Chambers. Avo, think you might be able to jack into his mind?+ +Yes,+ Avo said. He had canons. Options. But instinct and his two Heavens begged him not to. He felt the weight, and if Abrel could bulwark the structure of her mind, what meta-cognitive miracles could a century-old Chief Paladin bearing a Sphere Eight Frame do? This one heres Abrel Greatling. Her minds pretty obviously fragged, so if youre not with her, Im assuming one of you did that. Doing a Godclad in freefall with all that fire and chaos. Yeah. Theres pretty nova Necro in there with you. Bet you have more than a few implants running beneath the skin. Avo felt a pit open inside him. The Paladins eyes were fixed on the darkness again, but instead of plucking at the domain, he just smirked. "The thing youll learn about me is that Im lazy, but not that stupid. I remember how the Ori fought using their vivianite, so the Nether being down isnt the end-all-be-all." Despite the mans unwrinkled appearance, the age of his eyes came through from his flat grey irises. Those flat, juicy irises. +Be a godsdamn rotlick later, Avo,+ Draus muttered. There was a lethargy conveyed by his stareone beyond Avos ability to grasp or comprehend. Denton suddenly flickered back into reality. Her faint death-scar pulsed and vanished as it fused around the returning Silver. Ah, good evening Glaive Denton. Welcome back. Naeko spoke as if he was greeting her for the first time tonight. I suppose youll be invoking the Articles of the Spiral to convince me to release your cosangs here without further examination. It wouldnt be the first time, she said. Naeko nodded. It would not. I must admit, this is the perfect situation for it. Nethers down. No Necro-verified eyewitness accounts about the involved parties other than Instrument Greatling here and her cadre. The near-nulled Godclad made a whining noise in response to her name. The Stormtree Bloodthanes were also involved, Denton shook her head. A tragedy what happened in Nu-Scarrowbur. Well. Yuulden-Yangs about to see a bump to their quarterly numbers with all these deaths so how bad could it be? A slight sneer pried at the Paladins expression. I mean, besides a bunch of Paladins failing in their oaths to protect the small and letting massacre happen right under their noses, how bad could it be? +Hes mad,+ Draus said. +Seen that look before. Too tired to show it; cant hide it completely.+ Im sorry, Elder Naeko, Denton said. These words were the most sincere amongst all those she spoke. We would have done more to prevent it. If only we knew. Naeko opened his mouth and words tumbled out before he could control them. No. No, you arent sorryC He froze mid-sentence as he regarded Denton a moment longer. Seeming ashamed, he looked off to the side. Alright. Suppose that just makes the two of us. I have something for you, Denton said apologetically. You might not want it, but it implicates all parties involved behind these atrocities. Do you need to kill me again before I ruin your evening? He waved her off. Just hit meC He jolted. His face twisted into a wince as his spine curled evermore forward. Avo was confused. He didnt see any obvious transfer of ghosts running between them, but with the way Naekos eyes darted from place to place, it was clear he was reading through something. Well. Looks like my Necros are going to do a bit of overtime with me sifting through this data. You sure about this? Because if you are me and the Thaum got some talking to do. Taken straight out of Jhred Greatlings mind, Denton said. Him. And a rogue cell of Incubi. Along with various other sources. Naeko let out a small breath. Well. His sister is definitely due for a stay in the Unwhere. In the meantime, well all be bracing for a Moot. Suppose I better cast and tell someone to loop up the borders. He waved a hand over Abrel and a pocket of force washed over her, inverting her out of existence. Her presence vanished from Avos vicinity in a fashion that was disconcertingly similar to how Zein disappeared Vincintine earlier. The drones and bioforms were flooding into the deltas as well. As thousands collapsed back into single digits, the golems made a sharp turn rightward and blinked out of reality as well. The Paladin was clearing his units out. Whatever data Denton offeredCit mustve been more than what Avo doctored for Zein since it clearly had the chief more than a little disturbed. I will make an arrangement with you right now, Glaive Denton, Naeko said, spine and tone finally straightened into seriousness. I will forego their detention for exclusive necro-verified testimony about what happened this day. It wont be much, but it might stop things from spiraling into another war. Denton offered him a near-imperceptible nod. Done. Are my provided thoughtscans sufficient for contact retainment? For now, Naeko said. We might need that Regular to testify in person though. Jelene Draus? Lots of bad blood between her and the Greatlings. Performed a usurpationC He cocked his head. Impressive, but messy. Of course, shell probably be dead soon if you dont find a good proxy to hide her in. All the arrangements have been taken care of. You dont need to worry about that. He grunted. Annoyingly reliable as always, Denton. I release this cadre into your guardianship. One of his floating palms shot out, index finger pointed straight into her eye. Dont go into hiding. I got questions and nothing but time. Ill find you if you dont show with them. Of course. I aim to please, Elder Naeko. Well, then you failed pretty damn hard because Im the very opposite of pleased right now. +Shit,+ Draus muttered. +Shit. Fuck.+ Avo wondered if this was part of Zeins design, or if Ninth Column always intended to use the Regular as a tool like this. Alright, Naeko said. Ill be issuing a formal red alert through the Exorcists. Would it be too much to hope your masters up in the Council of Elders haven''t been informed yet? No. I havent culminated my operation and reported yet. That seemed to please him. Okay. He shot a look at the darkness---at Avo and his cadre. Alright, you half-strands. Its your lucky day today. Freedom for testimony. You''re in her guardianship now. Stick around. Dont get nulled or snuffed into a real-death. Im going to need some of you as witnesses in a couple of weeks time. A beat passed. You dont try running either. Ill find you. And I might be real mad when I do it. And with that, the palms cupped over him and yanked down. He spasmed out of existence. Reality snapped. Suddenly, there was no sign of Chief Paladin Naeko. No sign he had ever been real at all. Alone now with only Valerie Denton, her hovering aero, and the quieted skies above. The Darkstar ebbed softly as the night carried on, though cracks of light still spreading loose from the hypertubes in the background. A full second passed as the Glaive stood before the dark that held Avo. The collapse of her facade came with the shivering in her hands and the quaver in her breath. As she took a tentative step into the megablocks shadow, she swallowed and then spoke. Im with the Column. We need to go. 11-2 A Break Between Storms What do you mean his Frame is missing? Thats impossible. Were the only ones who can secure and remove it. None of his canons are running eitherCno RendCthis place is stable. No Rupture. Euthanize three more. Well see whats wrong once his Heaven manifests. -Agnosi Thanatech Regarding Jhred Greatlings Liminal Frame 11-2 A Break Between Storms A beat passed. They all studied the silver as a general mood merged into a gestalt between their minds. Unwilling to bear the discomfort in silence, Chambers offered words to a common desire they all shared. +Shit? The Column? The one the crazy old head-exploded gerents a part of? Consangs, what say we just get the fuck outta here. I mean Paladin-guys gone. Sky looks clear. Why dont we just you know? Do a runner.+ Avo would agree, other than that he had suffered enough surprises for a day. The past moments had solidified an understanding for him: Ignorance was death as a Godclad. So was waiting for another to decide their initiative upon you. Within this, he set about jacking into her mind. He expanded the darkness into a demiplane using his Abyssal Cove canon. From there, he shifted back over to the Woundshaper, his Sanguinity flooding out from the darkness like a soft emanation of red mist. Flecks from the expansion of his Heaven traced her attire and skin, and Denton betrayed her annoyance with but a slight frown. +Avo,+ Draus asked. +What are you doing?+ Through their connected minds, she felt him shunt his Whisper behind Denton. Tuning the position of his perception with the Glaives, he began to synchronize surface thoughts. His Ghostjack surged as sequences were pulled to its thundering call. Simulated objects and emotions blended to create the spoofed construct. Yet, just as he was about to slip his ghosts against the borders cast by her wards, her thoughtstuff came into shape. Avo froze. The outer architecture of her mind was a pond of dancing numbers and symbols. Between weaving instances of binary integers, he caught flickers and flashes of comprehensible memories, but the fullness only came in fleeting moments. Moreover, there was nothing denoting the presence of a Metamind mantled upon her consciousness, with neither wards nor palace established in place. In a sense, she was closer to a conscious machine and bare of all phantasmal defenses atop it. +What the hells is up with her mind?+ Draus muttered. +Looks more like one of them Voidwatch uploads than a person.+ Denton tilted her head at the shadows, her pale-metallic lips parting as she thought about her next words. Just as she spoke, a distant column of fire bellowed into existence over her, rising like a tumbling tower into the darkness of midnight as the blasts built themselves upward floor by floor. Like a fiery scar upon the flesh of existence, the rising inferno opened like a chasm over a distant district far beyond the reach of their eyes. A single spec of light slipped out from the burning wound. Denton turned, the infrastructure of her mind shifting like mechanisms or gears sliding and slotting into place. Again, there was thought there, but she was far enough divorced from humanity that he struggled to find a point of entry. Tentatively, he tried attaching the perception spoof, only to slide off her exterior. Instead, what caught his attention next was the thinness of a needle tunneling upward into the void, its path narrowing toward a specific vector, as it was casting a traveling signal or drawing something from a faraway source. Perfect, Denton muttered. Listen. Im going to keep this short: I understand if you dont trust me. Or the Column. Of if you just want to run. I dont fault any of you if thats your choice. Thousandhand has that effect. But right now, we need to leave, and you all need to go Zero-Burn as soon as possible. I managed to bribe off the Paladin, but Uthred Greatling isnt an equation I know how to solve. A low groan sounded from Essus. +Another one? Is there no end to their cursed line?+ +Uthreds the father,+ Draus said. +Hes probably to blame for this line. Him and that sow.+ She sighed. Denton continued. Im not going to force you to do anything. I cant. But I can offer you the shadows of my aero so you can get out of the district quicker. Or a seat if youre willing to have a conversation with the Column proper. I know our boss didnt leave the best impression. But were still your best shot at staying alive. She offered the darkness a weak shrug. You got hours to days till the Agnosi give up on trying to find Jhred Greatlings Frame. That, and all the missing thaums will draw very specific eyes to you. You wont be able to move anywhere without being hunted. A distant crack sounded through the air. The wavelengths of light twitched like fabric in their near vicinity. Brightness pulsed as if connected to distant waves. Her eyes snapped to the side as if glancing at something from her periphery. With a pre-emptive wince, she pulled off one of her ivory-inlaid cloves and revealed claws of gleaming titanium. Carefully, she brought them up to her right eye. +What is sheC+ Chambers began to ask. With surgical precision, she snatched the organ free from her socket. With the swipe of a digit, she severed it clean and loose. A lull of thought went through the ghost-links. The silence was quickly interrupted by a single declaration. LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED +Jaus fuckin corpse, Chambers,+ Draus muttered. +What? Those are some shiny eyes.+ +Juicy,+ Avo said, adding a descriptor. Like a delectable orb hanging from a stalk of pristine tissue, he felt himself salivating like a nu-dog even with his physical self stored in whatever subreality his Frame used to store his mortal form. Flesh for time, Denton said. Five minutes. Thats all I want. Give me five minutes so you at least know whats going on before you decide what comes next. +You know,+ Draus said, her attention drifting over to the silvery aero, +theres quite a few reflections I can bind usin that. Could just link a window as a fast exit. And since therere doors, Essus might-could make us another way out if we need it.+ Avo barely managed to pull his attention away from the blood-glazed eye dangling from Dentons grip. +Think we should go with her?+ Avo asked. +I think we should get whatever intel we need from her and just leave. But it aint gonna be wise stickin around.+ He considered his next course of action. He could continue trying to flee the district using his Galeslither. Swimming through the dark wouldnt be hard, but they would need to leave the Sovereignty at least before he gained any sense of direction. That, and there was the threat presented by other Paladins or Godclads of a high enough sphere. What they needed to do right now was remain unnoticed. Something he couldnt manage with his Heaven fully manifested against the sheer area that potent enough canon could cover. But that didnt mean he was entirely out of choices, however. The Glaive was going to be too much trouble to subvert --- her mind was byzantine and foreign to his touch; an enigma to research and overcome soon. Her aero, however, was comparatively a far softer target. Cracking into the Mercurian Moonthief, Avo cracked its wards and tainted its locus with his ghosts while his haemokinesis infected its machinery. He downloaded the vehicle''s design into his Woundshapers memory. The interface and critical functions of the vehicle booted in the back of his mind as slipped himself into the cleft of its structure, usurping control. +You have it?+ Draus asked. +Yeah,+ Avo said. +Aeros ours. Link the windows anyway. Have Essus do his thing too.+ Chambers let out a low whistle using a ghost. +Right. Gleam. Good job, team.+ Avo ignored him. He cast his first line of communication to Denton instead.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. +Five minutes,+ Avo said. +Land the aero. Go Zero-Burn. Make this as quiet as possible.+ The Glaive let out a breath he didnt know she was holding. With a twitch of her finger, the aero began its descent as Avo reinjected himselfCand the othersCback into the real. Rushing up from the false waters of the darkness, the Galeslither broke out like a swimmer afflicted by surface tension. Sound and scent bore down on him in full as his perception of metaphysical existence narrowed into his mortal vessel. His Sagnuinity ebbed forth momentarily from his being before he compressed it further until it only cupped the aero, Denton, him, and his cadre. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER] - 91% REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER] - 4% With how frantic the situation was, he was left without an opportunity to examine the others as they fought and fled. Standing beside him now, Draus looked much the same as she did, returning with all blemishes of damage gone from her bio-rig. For Essus and Chambers, however, things were different. Chambers looked healthier than he was by a magnitude or more. His skin seemed smoother, and a few concentrations of scar tissue were missing from his body. As shown by Draus and Avo time and time again, resurrections did not preclude clothing, but Chambers continued to be pantless for whatever reason. Or a very deliberate reason. When Avo finished using him to fix Kae, the next experiment would be to see if he could suppress whatever motivated Chambers degeneracy. It was Essus that stood most apart from his prior form. His body had reverted to almost baseline againCmostly unblemished by implants and naught but rubbery flesh. All except his arms. The chrome Mirrorhead grafted to him remained there, and Avo couldn''t quite understand why. As the former father looked down at his hands, he touched the bare skin on his chest, and felt for the burdensome implants that once projected primary effigies of his trauma. Hes gone, he whispered. He looked to Avo, to Draus. A single tear rolled down his eye. He reached up and felt the hotness of the tear trickling down his index finger. He laughed. He sobbed. Oh. I I thought I would neverC His legs gave out from under him, but as reflexes surged in Avo and Draus, it was ultimately Denton who caught him before he could collapse. Alright, Denton said, holding the man steady, but distant with casual ease. She was more than a few inches shorter than Draus, but still, she stood taller than Essus had been before his forced augmentations. Come on. She guided him toward the aero. Lets get out of here. Leave your Frames on Zero-Burn. Theres water and food aboard. "Fuck yeah," Chambers said. ''You got one of them Slick n'' Sours?'' Wordless, she chucked the eyeball at Avo. One of his Echoheads instinctively whipped out to grab it. Draus got there first. The Regular clamped a vice-grip on his neck just as he dove forward with fangs wide, seeking to savor Tier-quality flesh. Mine, Avo hissed, clawing at her to give him his prize. Hang in there, rotlick, Draus said, holding the organ from a bundle of optical nerves, gotta see if its got any augs in it first. You owe me an eye, remember. Didnt revert yours? Avo asked. Draus collapsed her helmet and shot him a grin. Her eyes flashed with the brightness of augmented circuity and scope-like optics. They did. That dont clear the debt noneCtwo eyes are still two eyes. Gonna make my comparison - give it back to you if it aint what I want. He hissed at her. She cracked her neck and drew out her knotted ponytail. Seemed the Frame had adjusted her hairstyle as well. He had to wrap his Echoheads around himself to inch inside the car. At least the interior was luxuriousCof a similar make to Mirrorheads limo than most of the secondhand vehicles he, Draus, and Kae slummed in during their time at the Second Fortune. Clean carpets and plush hive-like sofas dotted with mechanical buds studding gaps between the softness. A thin beam of soft light painted the interior in hues of white while telemetries and visual data lined the walls. He felt gravity press down on him momentarily before flattening. Sifting through the aeros locus, he found the functions of the internal grav controls. Intrusive curiosity took hold of him. He wondered how much force it could apply. It was a colossal feat of will not to amp its functions to the max and test it on Chambers. So. Nice aero. Chambers wiggled his eyebrows at Denton as she placed Essus in a seat. This things locus got any interesting vicarities? The Glaive opened her mouth to respond, but did a double take. Where are your pants? Chambers looked down. He snorted a quick apology and wrapped his coat tighter around himself. Never got any. Denton frowned. She was likely thinking about how everyone else reverted to a prime state while Chambers continued to be deprived. The answers simple, Silver, Draus said, shrugging her head at Chambers. Hes a half-strand. A real sick bastard. Chambers nodded, thinking that he was being praised. I am the half-strand. The Glaive blinked. Right. She flicked her wrist. Avo narrowed in on the gesture as specific commands filtered through the locus. She had coded visual-haptic orders into the aero. Useful. He scanned through the mem-data for anything worth noting. As they rose and took off, the internal gravity controls spared the need for any gimbals as they were submerged in a blanket of balance force. The surrounding walls depolarized from the inside as they rose up beside the silicon-shelled megablock towering over them. Cresting its height, countless other blocks of similar build broke into an asymmetric pattern a few miles into the district while coilgun-flung railways passed across the top of every edifice, the environment looking close to something like a circuit board. Here, Draus said, flinging the eye at Avo without looking. He opened his jaw as it hit the roof of his mouth, and with a sudden close, he felt his orb pop upon his tongue, staining him with the flavor of sweetness while his fangs inched through the gristle of connected tissue. Denon had grown another eye by this point. It was as if she had never blinded herself at all. Settling across from them, the ground turned transparent as well, and the aero picked up speed. Avo checked their destination for any subterfuge and found only one pre-sequenced location built into its system. The Easy Armistice. From the mem-data, it looked like a club or some manner of joy parlor. From experience, he guessed it to be some kind of thinkeasy for smuggling phantasmics and memories or a potential front for The Deep Bazaar. It was also the place Walton had asked him to seek just after claiming his Sangiest. He had long delayed this moment. Firstly, for the sake of killing Mirrorhead, and secondly for all the distrust boreCand continued to bearCfor the Column. Fittingly, that was when Denton started speaking. Things werent supposed to turn out this way. But I think you all know how best-laid runs go. Yeah, Draus said, nodding sardonically, they get derailed by a time-jumpin fuckin lunatic whose head explodes for no reason and ends with us stuck right under the nose of the Guilds. Just a usual job goin right, am I right? A ghost of a smirk passed over the Glaives face. Im probably not the best person to say that too, but I get your point. Right. She worked with Zein. Avo suddenly felt an immense spike of pity for the poor woman. Regardless, things didnt go quite as planned. Snapping her fingers, a holographic shape pulsed at the center of the aero and it showed the burning tower they saw earlier. She pointed at Draus. You were supposed to end up inside the Fires Height via one of the stormtrees portals. You with the incriminating memories, Abrel Greatlings body, and the Bloodthanes following you. Her gaze turned over to Avo. And the other three were supposed to pull a false-flag attack by switching between Heavens. She had a kill-list of specific Guilders and personnel you were supposed to hit during your mad sprint. Everything she did was engineering. "For what?" Avo asked. "The future," Denton replied flatly. "There''s a war you can''t see yet." Well, Draus said, that sure as shit didnt happen. Zein still dead? No. Not truly. She lost a temporal echo of herself, but the paths are Denton paused and considered her next words carefully. Arent something I understand, but she cant use them for now. A loud, deafening roar of frustration rattled the air and shook the aero. It sounded like a bomb going off, searing the air, cooking the atmosphere. Denton blinked twice and gave a slight smirk. Uthred Greatling just arrived late. Lucky us. Yeah, Avo said. Lucky. Talk. Times running. Alright, Denton said. Lets start with the fact that I could have just let Naeko take you. He was within his rights, and I burned valuable intel keeping you away from the Unwhere. Chambers squinted his eyes and nodded. Unwhere. Right. What-what is that? Mostly a Domain of Death and Light turned to the use of keeping Godclads contained in perpetuity. She looked up. Out and up in the void. A lonely and empty place. The Regular scoffed. Yeah, but before that, they need to charge and sentence you proper, so I doubt you did that much. Why now? Why are you making contact with us now? Zeins too dead and you''re the piss-holder? Is that it? Denton frowned. Never been called that before. The truth is, we werent sure about it. Him. Sorry. Avo glared. You have to understand, the Frame was never meant for youCyour father helped us steal it, but we all had a candidate in mind already. Plans. Ran into complications instead. Had to burn a few cells. And then, about a month later, Zein ended up finding you while tracking the Hungers. Before that, she wanted to test you more from afar, so to speak. So to speak, Avo said. It made sense about the Frame. But more importantly, it offered a truth. Zein wasnt omniscient. She hadnt known until his encounter with the Hungers. She hadnt known where he was before that. Pairing that with her sudden death, a newfound vigor swelled inside him. She could be killed. And the future could be severed. So many reasons to hope. He just needed to map out more of her blind spots. Im going to keep being honest with you: we need your Frame. We need it for the Ladder. We need them to absorb the Great Arks possessed by the Guilds. We need it to stop the end from happening. She leaned in closer, almost unconsciously. And we need to drain the Heaven of Love before it ruptures even more. It''s instability is only growing. The words were cast from her lips like a hammer. And suddenly, she had the fullness of his attention. A flash of Walton withering away as stillborn clumps of flesh came free from his sores. He said something to Avo then. Or someone. Avo wasnt sure anymore. The memories that made up who he was didnt come from him. But his father, Walton remained. As the rain fell harder and a tide of neon and music filled the horizon, Avo broke the silence. How long do we have? Six months, Denton said. Maybe less. The Agnosi who Theyre dead now. No one knows the canons needed. Your Frame is our last chance before the anomalies expand. And then She shrugged. Then I guess well find out if theres anything left of us to save. The aeros locus pinged. They stuttered momentarily as they began their descent. APPROACHING THE EASY ARMISTICE: 10.3 KILOMETERS 12-1 Appeal Despite their legality, thinkeasys continue to be popular with street squires and high-end memory dealers across the city. With all the restrictions and intellectual property licenses laced into various phantasmics and memories, there had to be a place where people could go to think dangerous thoughts. With a dozen or so old golems from some defunct corp, a few bottom-sphere Fallwalkers looking for imps or favors, and a decent cell of Necros lining the exterior with Incogs, the effort it takes to shut these establishments down far exceeds the returns. Especially if theyre also fronts for the Deep Bazaar -Thinkeasys: The Seen But Hidden 12-1 Appeal Avo could feel something nested within space itself. Lightning flashed outside their aerovec, and the silhouettes of drones spilled down with the rain as legion, sinking past the darkness of the clouds around them like dagger-tips piercing skin. Something twitched around their geometries as they rushed through the dark. Something powerful. Something unseen. The outlines of the alloyed machines pulsed and swelled in patches of gooseflesh, their shapes deformed to a faraway gaze. There was a Heaven clawing through the concept of darkness. There was an unseen hand bending metaphysics to force more abnormal emanations via circumspect canons. +Good thing we went with her,+ Draus said. +Think I saw another detachment of Exorcists goin that way. Another knot of golems tooCthis one mightve been led by a clad. Not sure. Things feel Is this how it always is for you? Always feelin shit movin in reality? Domains?+ Her voice ebbed clear through wisp-thin tendrils cultured from the bloom of his canon. Sanguinitys Reign made the confines of the vehicle analogous to a garden to him, while his ability to mimic the vivianite of a locus allowed him the manipulation of cognition via ghosts. When the Nether flowed as normal, it would have been a blank page compared to the greater color. But sometimes, emptiness was potential, and substance was just clutter. The uncanny sensations rushing through her mind post-apotheosis was a flavor to sample indeed. He saved the emotions and named it nostalgia storing it in his Ghostjacks patterns. He offered her but a low grunt in the affirmative. The Domain of Shadows was being compressed by an unseen actor. But they hadnt fully unveiled themselves, and thus, the nucleus of the anomalies could not be detected. At least until some of Draus thoughtstuff bled over. From her came a vicarious tightness that clenched at her Frame, a Heaven brushing her with a symmetrical domain. I recommend that you hold off on using your current canon, Denton said. Glaive. Operative for Ninth Column. A woman imbued with an inhuman pattern to her cognition. Valerie Denton was yet an enigma, but Avo found her uncannily agreeable thanks to her helpfulness and open disposition. The fact she offered him one of her eyes was no small part of the near-unwilling affability he felt toward her. He enjoyed the way her moist-sweet eye popped upon his tongue so. Making too much noise? He asked her. Your ontologies arent manifested, so they wont see much, Denton elaborated. But there are a lot of eyes out there, and even with my aero-vehicle listed as an Ori-Thaum diplomatic vessel, the Nethers down, and anything could go. She released a subtle sigh. Its not easy to stop people from peeking. He suspected she knew what he was using his Sanguinity for. Channeling the nature of a locus through his broadcast granted him something of a localized Nether, but he hadnt included her in the network. Nonetheless, she could have encountered another canon like it before. Or another Heaven that supplemented a Necrojacks capabilities. That being said if she knew that her aeros locus was already compromised and under his control, she didnt show it. Reducing his presence even further, he merely projected up to the locus and took care to keep the haemokinetic mist curtailed. He swept away the motes of blood he stained his surrounding with and drew them back into himself. Best I can do. She offered him a conciliatory nod. Ill take it. Right now, I think Ori-Thaum, Highflame, Stormtree, and the No-Dragons are scrambling assets. A few quiet wars mightve kicked off with your unfortunate ascent. Again, I have to apologize on behalf of Zein. We didnt expectC Why did you want me to be a Clad? Draus said, cutting into the conversation. Whats the angle? Heard you hawkin me off to the Paladin too. I wanna talk about that first. Denton did not stiffen, though one of her fists clenched. After this incident, Highflame will be hosting a series of Trials between the Chivalric and Meritocrat factions. The former is weakened politically, economically, and socially, but they still hold much of the InstrumentationCand therefore, a majority of usable Frames. We want you to break their last great houses and force them into a collapse. Avo let out a hiss of surprise. Straight answer. Surprising. I dont like wasting time, Denton replied. Regardless, for the question of why you specifically? Thats because you have history with House Greatling and it makes for inner-Guild folklore to see you ascend. Why break the Chivalrics? Because after thisCand the failure to cleanly implicate them in the plot on Ambassador Kitzuhadas life, the projections estimate chances of open conflict between the factions at sixty-five percent, and the danger of the great game becoming unbalanced in favor of the Massists at seventy-two. The Regular snorted with disgust. So. All about politics, aint it? Im afraid most things are, Captain Draus. I aint been a captain since I got discharged, Draus said. Hells. I aint been much of anything since then. A cloud of curiosity passed through her thoughts. Tell me. These uh projections of yours from Zein or whoever. They still have me as your pawn without him? She jabbed one of her scythe wings at Avo as he glared. No, Denton said, absent hesistation. All indications show that you would likely perish fighting in the Warrens. Draus chuckled and shook her head. Damn shame, isnt it. She cocked her head at Avo and frowned. Thanks for keepin me alive, half-strand. No dead, anyway. He grunted again. For a moment, Denton seemed as if she wanted to apologize to Draus for drawing her into this. Instead, she tapped at the air, and within the confines of his Sanguinity, he watched as the incomprehensible thoughtstuff comprising her outer mind turned into grains of static which were then funneled through a needle-thin injection point. The locus fed warnings over into Avos cog-feed and he found a minor anomaly centered around the back of her skull. Another tunnel of thought narrowed outward from her mind and this time it speared into the locus. Information flooded the aeros systems, and though Avo couldnt comprehend the mem-data he was seeing, he could still quell the ships processes before they began. Denton was presently unassailable directly. But thoughts and information were only as safe as the weakest junction along their path. Using his Sanguinity, he stripped mass from the aeros chassis and constructed three sheets of blood. He held them in place over the cityscape and cast out to Draus. +Draus. Going to create some reflective constructs from the side of the aero. Make us some exits. Hows Rend?+ Paltry miracles that they were, Denton didnt seem to notice. She acknowledged him by linking each sheet to one of the aeros windows. +Managable. Twelve percent. You?+ The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. +Woundshapers high. Galeslithers still in play.+ +Synced. Essus. Attune the doors. Chambers, keep an eye out for any surprises.+ +You got it, Reg,+ Chambers replied. The unspoken plan unfolded in an instant and without obvious hints. Three nanometer-thin sheets of solidified blood snapped free from the sides of the aero as Draus linked them to nearby windows, using a flash of lightning to disguise her bindings. Immediately, they had a few ways out in case Denton had contacted someone or decided upon greater subterfuge. Again, the static needle reached out from Denton. Again, Avo canceled the process before it could begin in the locus. Denton frowned, casting her thoughts out time and time again. She turned to glare at the locus, and then finally noticed the tendrils of blood digging into it. Then, slowly, she turned to look at Avo, eyes narrowing. Huh. Well, thats a pretty neat trick. You work just like him, you know that? Walton? Avo said, guessing. Yeah, Denton continued. He figured out a way to jack into She leaned in closer. Im not trying hurt any of you, but I understand. You can keep the process canceled if you wantCI just wanted to show you the general situation of the Sovereignty right now. For insight. I wouldve taken insight directly from your mind, Avo said. Couldnt. Neither relief nor pride passed through her expression. Instead, she managed a series of three rapid blinks before speaking. If you could, you would have a very interesting mind for an organic. What a peculiar statement Youve seen the Flayed Ladder, right? Denton asked. Something inside Avos mind panged like a phantom limb. He knew what the Flayed Ladder wasChad seen itCbut he couldnt quite recall what it looked like. Or even if it was actually real. Even the invocation of its name filled him with a sense of dream-like reverie. I think so, Avo answered. Yeah, that sounds like what I said the first time too. Well. The Ninth Column can offer you more truth behind the past. About the Low Masters. The Hungers. The Guilds. The mission. She held out an open palm as if trying to implore Avo on the basis of ethical virtue. The palm turned to a fist as she met his eye. I know you dont feel anything for the people living here, but the Guilds have failed. You must be able to see that. I what do you want? What can we give you. The uncanniness of the situation surprised Avo. And appealed. When he first emerged from The Crucible, he was loathed, feared, and used as an instrument of anothers whims. After that, he bargained, deceived, and survived. And now, someone was asking him what he wanted. Genuinely. Truly. Like there was a bargain to be struck. Like he was more than just some monsterCbut the fullness of a person. Or a Godclad, rather. Essential to their needs. What do I want, Avo said, releasing a slow breath. He looked up through the transparent shell of the vehicle and turned to stare at the pearlescent mountain that was the Tiers, which gleamed even through the clouds that tumbled from its precipices, which bled an endless onslaught of steel and flesh down to survey the aftermath of the chaos. He thought of his experiences then. Of his deaths. Of Jhred Greatling, who presented himself as a being of impossible power but died as a shattered child. Of his sister, now a prisoner of the Paladins in flesh, and in sway to Avo in mind. Of Req, and Lucille, and Kae, and all the ones who couldnt fight for themselves. And of the Low Masters and their Hungers, along with all their rank avarice and stupidity. Finally, Avo thought of Walton. Walton, and then himself. To ward against uncertainty, he borrowed an answer. It would be a good place to start. Want to see all the colors, Avo said, still looking at the Tiers. And want to taste all the flavors that are. That will be. He regarded Denton again, her eye fixed on him, unblinking. Up. That is where our enemies are. Yes? The ghost of a smirk passed through her. Our enemies? Will they surrender my Frame? Accept me into their world? She shook her head slowly. Im afraid not, Avo. Im afraid not. She leaned in. Can I show you all something? I need you to stop blocking the locus. If you feel like somethings wrong, you have the power to kill me or kill the transmission at any time. You know this. So, theres no real danger to you. If theres one thing to be said about Denton, its that she was skilled at making you feel at ease. Avo sought Draus approval, requiring a second instinct to be paired with his. The Regular gave him a cock of the head and briefly glanced at the windows. Right. They had more than one implant under the skin. Avo let the mem-data flow. Holo-haptic interfaces splashed into shape around them from a collage of viewpoints. Spawned without sound, each scene played an angle of devastation and tragedy. Golems were sifting through a sea of rubble, some taking the form of water, spilling through the debris to ferry out the living, others lifting toppled megablocks using telekinetic fields. More often than once, buildings were turned over and the remains of their inhabitants came out as a spill. Essus moaned in horror and clutched his head. His mind screamed with trauma and strain. Avo offered to take the memories from him and spare him the pain. No, Essus said. It took an immensity of will to pry his hands free from his face. No. I will face this. I will face it. I cannot keep running. There is nowhere toC His voice trailed off. From a viewpoint, a lone man pawed through rock and ash, digging until he found a small hand sticking out from beneath a fallen wall. He looked under. And hope betrayed. They watched as the man broke, sinking down to his knees as he collapsed to sob against atop the ruins, a lone FATELESS survivor among machines and Guilders. A low note of resigned despair whistled out from Essus. Was this deliberate? Did you show this to me to wound? There was no lull in Dentons response. Yes.. She gesticulated at the images being played to them. These images are from our field asset, Sunrise. This place was Nu-Scarrowbur. Your flight through the district lasted approximately seven minutes and forty-nine seconds. Approximately sixty-eight percent of the district is in ruins. We havent gotten a good estimate on all the dead yet, but we expect it to be substantial. Shit that happens when Clads fight, Draus answered. Exactly, but also two problems. The first is that Stormtrees seasonal economy will undoubtedly be affected by this. The spike in death is one thing, but the lack of surviving inhabitants means thatCby the Treaty of KosganCthe replacement rate for the population will drop in the future. Stormtree will likely sue to be compensated for forecasted losses against Highflame. And even before then, when the Thanatechs dig through the dead, theyll find some with their Essence and ghosts already drained. Jhred Greatling too. That problem had always been in the back of Avos mind. He disregarded it for a time, but it seemed he couldnt evade it forever. So. Theyll know where Ive been. The ones who know about the Stillborn Frame, yes, Denton said. She leaned in closer to Avo. Our enemies will stop at nothing to get whats grafted to you back. You said you want to kill themCeat themCit doesnt matter. Well support you on this. We dont want to control youCwe want to enable you. To give you the means to make them hurt. And divert their attention while giving you room to operate. But let me guess, Draus said.Youll probably have things you want us to do. People you need snuffed. Minds you need nulled. Heavens you need stolen. The future is variable in its demands, Higher Draus, Denton said. Were just trying to make sure there keeps being a future. ATTENTION: 200 METERS TO THE EASY ARMISTICE Directing his mind outside the aeros sensors, Avo gazed outside and saw nothing but cluttered airspace and hints of hidden power scurrying over the skin of existence. Light twitched. Darkness warped. The winds didnt flow right. All the world was made up of Heavens. And every last Heaven belonged to an enemy. How total was his opposition? And just where were they going? Dont see anything? Where is The Easy Armistice. Denton injected another thought into the sky. Avo wondered if this was one of her canons, or if something else facilitate her transferrence of mem-data from so far away. Each time her thoughtstuff widened before fusing thin into a needle-point. Dont worry, she said. Im just signaling for a shortcut. And then, at her command, the aero began to juke up and down in odd angles and directions. Up. Up. Down. Down. Left. Right. Left. Right. Then, suddenly, it stalled to a hover, before Avo could respond, it accelerated again. +Passage still open?+ Avo asked Draus, as he eyed his surroundings warily. +Yeah,+ Draus said, frowning at what was happening. Suddenly, the engine of the vehicle cut out. Chambers blinked. Was that part of the signC He didnt get to finish his question as they suddenly sank down into a spatial divot. 12-2 The Easy Armistice (I) Chief Paladin Naeko. What do you think you are doing? ArrethCArresting you. Why? Whats it to you? Im being arrested! Oh. Well, then. If you dont resist, you wont be hurt. Everything will be fine and keen. This is you.... Age has finally frayed the last of your senses you flatblooded mongrelC Ambassador Kitzuhada. A moment. Did you know this elder here has been accused in a plot ending with your assassination? These these assertions areC I have the mem-data to prove it. You see, under the Articles, I know I cant keep you. Really grinds my teeth how we Paladins are pretty much just left around here to deal with the stray golem problem and some Newsouled Fallwalkers, but every now and again, I get something that just brightens my day. How long have you been planning his death? Wait, dont tell me. Well get it out of you in confession. I demand legal championship. And youll have it. [Samir Naeko leans in] And youll have a whole lot more, see. That little bit of mem-data? Thats a bit more than just your plot to kill the Ambassador here. I know about Godshaper. I I Yeah. I know what you did to Kae Kusanade. And I know how you murdered Paladin Dawton Morrow. You should have never touched mine. You really shouldnt have. Its going to be bad for your health. But Im not mad. No. Im not mad at all. Do you see this smile? Im calmer than Ive been in years. You better get some good counsel, because when were done, you and your pet Greatling are going to spend a lot of time in the dark. Greatling I I, Chief Paladin Samir Naeko, hereby invoke Article Nine against Council Elder Mwaba DRongo. I have with me verified mem-data and a witness of the third degree. All stay your hands from steel or face the Sage Seriously? No one? Wow. Sensible party, Ambassador. I a bit disappointed, not gonna lie. Say, where did Uthred go? -High Paladin Samir Naeko at the Fires Height 12-2 The Easy Armistice (I) Geometry stabilized as they inverted back upright, the sensation was as if rolling when submerged. Yet, as the aero finished its revolution, Avo found it clamped by the curved claws of four magnetics as a ramp lowered and extended before them. He cast his first thoughts almost reflexively, needing to confirm if their exits were still viable. +Draus. Passages. Still connected to your Heaven?+ +Still feel the junctions,+ she replied. Her disorientation lasted shorter than his. +Hells. Think we just got pulled somewhere by a Heaven of Geometry.+ She turned her attention to Denton. That dip how you lose tails? Bet you got plenty more spots like that. The Glaive simply answered with a tilt of her head. Coming out from an airdock leaves fewer questions. Her eyes snapped over to Avo. You can stop using your canon now. There isnt the need anymore. It took a beat for Avo to realize Denton was speaking to him. It took him another to notice strings of mem-data spilling into his cog-feed as visual and phantasmal information began to flow through. His DeepNav interface was the first thing to reactivate within his Metamind. Other functions and phantasmal constructs followed shortly thereafter. Avo drew in a breath and released his Sanguinity. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 93% Dehydration had a way of making one dream of drowning. The same way the lack applied to water or sustenance, the same way Avo felt toward the Nether itself. Yearned for the Nether. Even with his newest canons, his Nether-projection was a blank canvas he could reach across, a cloud of limited influence and finite design. There were no colors of existence in itCnothing but an empty lake he could guide his reach through. An ocean was more than just a body of water. There was an environment there. Fish. Life. A partition between the stygian depths and shimmering heights. A place where the uncountable masses could bob upon the surface, where good Necros held the twilight, the middling ones remained as wrecks at the bottom, and the best swam the same down trenches and upon surfs alike. Animation, in a word. More than even life. And it was here, approximately two thousand five hundred miles away that hydration returned to him, and his thoughtstuff ebbed out into the waters of the Nether, sailing no more on broadcasts of blood. Thoughtcasts and public wavelengths ebbed and brushed the yolk of his outer mind. His Meta hummed as countless new requests and points of interest populated his cog-feed. Ambient music played something between a heartbeat and a drum as the clamps deactivated and the aero moved forward, slipping out from the diminutive airdock back into the city. Turning forward, towers rose like broken bones jutting free from the litter of lesser megablocks. At the heart of the city before them, aerolanes orbited an immense voidship that bifurcated the district entirely. Aerolanes spilled out from its exposed interior like veins leaving an alloyed aorta, each expansion sprawling down into the lower blocks below. In an instant, they washed into the lower lanes and dissolved into the depths of the district like particulates in a bloodstream, distant aeros enshadowed by clashing lights cast against the backdrop of the spade-shaped voidship. Other aeros of various make and style blended into the urban thicket, passing the gloss of holographic light and blurring phantoms. Cybernetic organisms resembling the bastard offspring of dragonflies and metallic stingrays glided from building to building, suckling away at filth and rust. A square-shaped megablock deconstructed itself cube by cube, its circuitry and matter untethering, unlacing, the Omnitech logo pulsing over each side of the parting vessels. From the apex of the voidship, the rest of the cityscape descended in uneven steps, blocks summited by blocks, ringed by streets that blanketed other streets below. This, more than shield-blocks of Nu-Scarrowbur, more than the quaint flesh-woven communities of Xin Yunsha, more than any section of the lower Warrens, was a hive festering with life. And death. Traces of gunfire flitted out from bridges. An aero dove a near mile awayCnot fast enough to avoid the missile chasing it. As a fiery wreckage tumbled past and down before them, one of the manta-flies leaped free from heights unobserved and wrapped it in a protective embrace before spewing a cocoon of paste-like substance from its pores. Here was a demonstration of controlled violence. A murder or two kept the city lubricated, but these were the dredges of New VultunCthese lives had a speck of economic worth beyond the instant of their deaths. Some were expendable. Others had to be spared. Opening his Metamind to the public wavelengths, Avo drank in the atmosphere properly as he sampled the gestalt around him. Well, consangs, Denton breathed, marking a specific shanty built within the voidships exposed interior, Welcome to Loathing. DISTRICT - [LOATHING] POPULATION - 122 MILLION PRIMARY EXPORTS - DRONE-JOCKS; WAR-WIGHTS; GRAV-LEAGUE WOULD YOU LIKE THE LATEST NEWS? THINK [YES] TO DOWNLOAD PUBLIC ACCESS MEMORIES [FREE VICARITIES FOR DOWNLOAD] YOU HAVE [123213921321921421] GHOST-LINK REQUESTSFind this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Now, more than ever before, Avo felt back in his element. The Spine was too sparse. Too undefended. Here, he felt the light rattle of a few low-end mem-cons shattering against his wards, noticed sloppily sequenced Auto-Seances planted in public-open lobbies, already tasted the choking stench of mass-emotional spillover. Rage and hope and joy and satisfaction and despair all poured into one big plascrete cauldron of life stacked upon life. Accretions spread across the city like an outbreak of the Rash. No place to avoid themCthe population was simply packed in too tight. And by Jaus did they have a lot to say regarding each other. +LOCAL EXORCISTS CONTINUE TO MOURN THE LOSS OF THEIR OWN, INCLUDINGC+ +THE CITY CONTINUES TO REEL FROM THE TRAUMA OF RECENT EVENTS. THE LIGHTS END MEMORIAL FUND WILL GIFT ONE FREE PHLACTERY PER TEN MILLION IMPS MATCHED. IF WE MANAGE TO REACH ONE HUNDRED MILLION, ONE FREE FATE WILL BE GRANTED TO A LUCKY WINNER! ONE FREE FATE! AND AS A BONUS, TWELVE FREE PHYLACTERIES! PRE-ORDER NOW AND GET YOUR SECOND CHANCE TODAY!+ +ALL GRAYS ARE FUCKING HALF-BIRTHED SHIT-SPAWN! The next time I see a fucking Gray Im going to kill them and null their nu-dogC+ +Shut the fuck up, Gold, Im tried of you half-strands walking around like you own the CrashC+ +--Fucking Reds creep the shit outta me. All gestalt this and Broken Dreamer that. And what the hells are up with those implantsC+ +No ones more a half-strand than one of those Sang flesh-fuckers. Poor nu-cat didnt deserve that.+ +Godsdamned Ori-Thaum Incubi did that to Yuulden-YangCand its not a conspiracyC its not! I can prove it!+ +You know, tell me thisCif were opening the bar up to those Scaarthians and the other Greens, are we going to let the nu-dogs and other critters drink at the table as well? I mean, its only fair.+ +We should have finished glassing Yulassafar and ended those Sanctus shits for good. Fuckin cracks+ +Youre Ashthrone? Shit. I think we need to stop seeing each other. Why? Because youre part of a suicide cult!+ +We should just take it from the Voiders. Yeah. I mean. What can they do to stop us? They dont have the meansCtheyre afraid of the Sunderwilds. We can hit em there. Start at Zero-Burn and make our way up before raiding one of their ships. Keep it subtle. Whos to know? And if we do this right, whos to tell?+ Essus groaned as he clutched his head, the sheer flow of external thought endless and constant, torrents tearing through his very mind. Beside him, Chambers had his face pressed up against the window as his eyes lit with a child-like glee. Fuck me, consangs. Look at all those aeros just in one lane. Look at all those people. True to his words, they didnt so much slide into the nearest aerolane as they squeezed, the traffic nigh-constant and the space minimal. And with how much flowing blood Avo could feel in the nearness of his vicinity, it seemed a good majority of the surrounding occupants werent jocking their aeros from afar but active passengers within. Draus cocked her head at the voidship. That one went down a couple centuries ago, didnt it? Thats the one the Low Masters dropped. Before they were called the Low Masters proper. Again, a needle of thoughtstuff narrowed out from Dentons mind. Yes, indeed, she let out a breath. The official documentation of events said it was due to a humanitarian dispute. Voidwatch was extracting Nolothi refugees after some kind of thaumic catastrophe. The High Masters then didnt take very kindly to that. Turns out, voidship EGIs dont link very well with ghosts. That statement piqued Avos interest. Didnt know ghosts could interface with coldtech. Can see outlines of cognition. Cant access. Denton shrugged. I suppose your fathers predecessors found a way to simulate how an artificial mind thought and dreamed. Its the only real explanation. Us Idheimers cant really conceptualize on the same level. He hid his growing suspicion from her well. +The EGI Core,+ Draus said, her words a whisper in his mind. +Thats how they did it. They didnt need to build any phantasmics or trauma patterns from scratchCthey had a weapon half-cast and ready for use already.+ +They had minds that knew how to use it,+ Avo replied. And now it was his. Chancing another peek at Dentons Metamind, he considered the implications of that which he possessed. When this was done, his first priority was Kae. After that, he would need to examine his new sanctuary further. With such a thought in mind, he activated the Auto-Seance he had connected to the EGI Core in the George Washington. To his dismay, it didnt answer. Of course it didnt. With how it allowed the Nether to flow through shadows and darkness, this weakness was unavoidable. The Thoughtwave Detonation had destabilized the Nether local to its area. He wondered if there was a way he could turn off or tune the permeability of his gateways. It took them the better part of twenty minutes to traverse five point four miles. They were forced to halt for a moment when a knot of golems carried by a prismatic delta shot past them. At the same moment, the district came alive with chatter. +Stay out of the Green Quarter. A couple of Bloodthanes just got into it with a Fallwalker. Not full Heavens fallen yet but some casualties. No deaths though. Thank Jaus for Woundhounds.+ The moment passed. A ping out went out from Draus as she sent him a memory. She was pulling on something. Guiding a piece of glass over two thousand miles away without strain or burden. Her junctions let her reach far and observe the scene they left behind. She sent him a snapshot of a sky lined with pillar-shaped golems that scarred the firmament with their transparent tendrils, of countless knots amassing between three different factions. +Stormtree, No-Dragons, and Highflame are squarin up,+ she said. +Sure as shit glad we pulled our vanishin act.+ He grunted in agreement but found himself more fascinated by a new emotion leaking over from her. Uncertainty. +You gleam?+ Avo asked. A large mantafly passed over them, casting its vast shadow over three rows of aeros. Between its ventral teeth dripped sizzling acid and dolloping slag from melted garbage. Draus shook her head. She looked confused. Uncharacteristically uncertain.+Nah. I uh I like it.+ +What?+ +The Heaven,+ she said, clarifying. +I like havin it already. I like using it. Seein out from it. Making things glass and feelin it break because I decide it shouldCpeople break because I decide they should.+ She paused. +Theres no balance in this kind of killin. Aint no weight for me to feel. Its like doin numbers in my head.+ A faint understanding grew inside him. +Afraid becoming a Clad will pervert your nature? Make you less you?+ Draus laughed. Dentons eye swept over both of them but said nothing. +I was a Reg, Avo? My mind was conditioned to be as adaptive as my body was. But I do have preferences. I know there are kinds of thinkin that just leave you trapped.+ She turned and regarded him. +Say, you still got that Morality Injector of yours? Havent felt you use it since+ +You want me to adapt it for you?+ Avo asked. +Help you feel the weight of a kill?+ A pause cut into their conversation. +I just dont wanna feel like its nothin is all. Hells. Us fleein across Nu-Scarrowbur probably killed how many people? And it was like nothin. Fightin the Wargskins, snuffers, street scum, and all kinds of other half-strands aint nothin to speak about but theres still the flechettes you gotta dodge. Angles to take. Assaults to plan. This? Theres no theres no weight.+ Another project after Kae then. Something he could potentially benefit from himself, even. He had more than enough ghosts now to fuel the need for experimentation. That, and he had Chambers to test things on. Avo glanced at the ex-enforcer babbling again at the beleaguered Essus, pointing out different blocks and places he wanted to see later. Neither of them had been this far up, Avo realized. But where one viewed this as a triumph and an adventure, the other could only brace against the strain. +Ill see what I can do,+ Avo replied. They split off from the aerolanes as they closed within a mile of the voidship. Pulling public mem-data, Avo learned that it was ninety-eight miles long and a fourth as wide. Its hull seemed something metallic and crystalline, the surrounding city lights revealing a slight bismuth to its hue. Aside from that, however, the voidship was notable in its near-featurelessness. No blemish nor bruise disfigured its exposed aspects, and though its interior was pulled open to reveal a spiral staircase of quick-fabbed structures infested with bars building to overlook various circuits, the opening was characterized by mottled edges rather than outright damage. Something in Avo suspected that the vessel had adjusted itself to be this wayCits matter as fluid and freeform as the George Washington. As they slipped past the lip into the interior, a slight smile played across Dentons face. Do any of you have a favorite drink? Itll be on the house. And as their aero angled up and twisted, various spiraling stacks of urban detritus vanished from sight, the Easy Armistice spilled into view as they rotated rightward, more of it loading into existence with each degree. Avo blinked. Chambers rose from his seat, shifting his head the other way and then back again. Slowly, a wide grin spread across his face. Alright. That might just be the single most nova watering hole Ive ever seen. 12-3 The Easy Armistice (II) Heavens are comprised of a unified retelling of a story. This is what makes them so hard to counterCthey dont need to make exact sense in the broad scheme of things, but as long as enough people repeat the same rituals and mutter the same prayers and worship the same scripture, a sort of pattern forms in existence. Something that lets the Heaven embed itself into a few central concepts. Where hubris and Rend come in are curious as well. From the accounts weve collected, hubris seems to be born of logical pitfalls or hard limitations as stated in their mythology. Take the Sangeist for example. How blood works around that thing is absolute nonsense, right? But we know this: It can use its blood and mimic the general qualities of solid matter while still maintaining its own. Two things about this. One is that solid matter means literally anything that seems solid from the perspective of the worshippers that defined it. This means structures like fissile material or adamantine can be adapted to their structures. The expression of said materials can get strange, though. But not antimatter. And not a hydrogen cell. Magma is more of a variable thing depending on if it''s flowing or not. They can do it if it''s not moving but the effects are confusing for the Heaven to say the least. The Daemon, however. Thats something else. From our current suspicions, our best guess is that the Heavens still have some latent memories of the entities they once housed, allowing their users to wield them with almost no learning curve, and this is enough left behind that when something blatantly blasphemous or out of character occurs, so to speak, it risks awakening inside the user as wellCthe connection between the forming a metacognitive link. All this is to say operate with caution. The Ruptured function on a few shared restrictions, but most of their rules vary wildly. When there are Heavens for everything from dogs to soundwaves, your best chances of staying safe are staying away and staying aware. -Orientation on Frames and Heavens for Planetside Assets, Node Aegis, Voidwatch 12-3 The Easy Armistice (II) The first layer of the Easy Armistice unveiled itself with the aeros slow rotation. With each inch they turned, the foreground unzipped, revealing a bright new horizon through a blurred cleft of space. Looking back to gaze upon the sprawling shanties below, Avo found them wobbling before its sight, their geometric outlines jiggling like vibrating strings. Nausea painted Essus expression as he swallowed sour spit. Were transitioning, Denton explained. A low frequency followed her words, the pitch light but constant, rising and falling in a repetition of patterns. The turnings for aligning ourselves with the signal. Too fast and we miss the frequency. Too slow and the curtain doesnt lift. Heaven of Pitches? Avo said. Or geometry? The Glaive shook her head. The Easy Armistice is special-made. Heaven of Signals. As the world around them brightened, the interior of the voidship dulled away into the background. It was like all other than the Easy Armistice was losing focus, dissolving into faint clashes and dappled light and muted sound. The pitch spiked. The glass of the wielded squealed momentarily before the Twice-Walker passed beneath its translucence and pinched it still. It wasnt going to break, Denton said, reassuring Draus. The Regular didnt reply. Enshadowed within the light, the Armistice resembled something in the shape of a hanging acorn at the heart of the radiance. Light spread out, enveloping the aero as the frequency rose to its apex. Avo hissed as he felt a spike of pain pulse throughout his cochlea. The violence of his reaction made Chambers jerk back in his seat. Uh, you alright, consang? the man asked. The light began to settle. Casting his gaze out through the vehicles sensors, he found himself in a place shrouded by a canopy of titanic brambles and spilling leaves. Through crevices offered by wrestling branches fell the first spills of miracle-infused light. Bathed in the rays, Avo felt his injury promptly dissolve. I feel a nearness to this place, his Woundshaper said. Something that once belonged to our Domain of Biology shares an origin to the mythos that covers this realm within a realm. Must we stay, the Galeslither said. Must we linger? This is a cage This is a trap. We must be free. We must Calm yourself, mule. This eventuality has been prepared. Let the huntress serve her purpose. You just be prepared to serve yours. A low note of discontentment mantled the Galeslithers emotions. I rode free once. Now I am debased. Mine is not shadow. Mine was storm and sky and message. Mine wasC Past and lost! The Woundshaper cut it off. We are all past and lost! Struck down by the childrenCstruck down by the ephemerals and partlings. Hewn from our foundations. What shame, I ask? Let us fall, I say. If the tower cannot stand upon the base that was built, then it was never a tower to be. The Heavens argued on thereafter, sparring within the gilded cage that was his Frame. He himself found more interest in examining the establishment that was the Armistice. Acorn was no longer an apt enough descriptor for its general shapeCthe word beehive had to be added as well. Crenulations lined with uncounted aerodocks dotted the underside of the structures emerald composition and from its base spilled ran an endless thread that expanded into the plane around him, weaving into the boundless awning that enwreathed them so. Three miles long and two wide, the upper second of the thinkeasy emerged as a geodesic dome painted with flowing ghosts peddling products and memories. A spiral of advertisements and banned sequences flowed across its polarized exterior offering inventories of cutting-edge weaponry, Tier-category implants, Incubi-specific phantasmics, expert-rating vicarities, banned Pre-Godsfall literature, squadrons of grid-linked assault drones, and most surprisingly of all, discounted golems burning a similar Heaven to that which Chambers new Soul enkindled. New Vultun was a city of vultures as much as it was a city of predation. Opportunity was endless. The only question was if you had the mettle to take before others could seize. As they approached, a pair of triple-jointed leg transplants turned into sightCSkuldRunner parkour prosthesis. Allowed for rapid omnidirectional movement. This was purely a sports modelCfor leisure instead of combat from the lack of armoring. The only thing that might have appealed to his group was the free GTG Particle Cutter that came with it. Customarily, the Particle Cutter came with five Woundhound injectables to deal with the inevitable bouts of resulting cancer. Whoa, Chambers breathed as he scanned the ads. AvoCAvo, they got full sheathe conversion. Avo check this shit out! Wait, Avo we can sell our organs over and overCWe cant die. Holy shit, were gonna be swimming in imps. Fuck, Im gonna buy so much shit Avo studied the man as he brushed over mem-con after mem-con, accepting unverified ghost-link after ghost-link. It grew obvious how his mind turned into the festering midden that it was, but as nothing assailed him, Avo found himself impressed. Whoever ran N-Sec for the Easy Armistice held their stray Necros on a strict regimen. Usually, it took Guild-level infrastructure to enforce lobbies this clean, private though they might be.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. As they drew closer, one of the aerodocks on the underside flashed twice and mem-data booted through the aeros locus. AEROVEC: SVLR-FTD-G9998 INBOUND Got a special parkin spot for your lonesome? Draus asked. Something like that, Denton replied. She shot Chambers exposed skin a look and her expression flinched, a frown threatening to come over her. Were also going to need to fix that. Chambers turned around to look at her. Hm? Pulling up on the sofa pads, she slid open a storage compartment and ruffled through the contents for a moment. Frowning slightly, her hand emerged with a diamond-studded pair of pale leather pants. Avo sniffed. One of his Echoheads crackled. He knew that scent. Ghoul-leather. He saw Draus staring at him from the corner of his eye. She knew as well. A byproduct of her ghoul slaughtering days, no doubt. I dont have anything larger than this, Denton said. Thankfully, your morphology isnt overly modified soC Hands blurred. Chambers snatched the pants out from her grasp. Denton blinked, caught off guard by how fast he accepted the item. I love it. He pulled it close and took a sniff before running the diamonds down the sides of his face. His mop of hair bounced as he bobbed in his seat with giddy delight, humming about his new pants. Thanks a bunch, consang. He drew his knees up at the same time and kicked out, fully exposing himself once more before sliding his legs down into the pants. Al-right. No more Rash-risk. For now. He mimed gun noises with his fingers as he swept them across everyone, pausing at Denton. Ah. Thanks a bunch, Silver. I gotta say, I used think all you Ori-fuckers were a bunch of mind-jumping perverts, but you know what? Youre different. I wouldnt mind if youre a pervert. I yes, Denton said. The nod she gave was as slow as a snail swimming through molasses. In her other hand were a pair of clean boxers. She put them back, seeing as Chambers had neither noticed nor asked for any additional coverings. Glad to be of service. When they landed, Draus removed the thin sheets from each of the aeros windowpanes and wrapped them around her arms to preserve their escape options. Behind their translucence, he could sense the Twice-Walker trailing them, Draus anchored in all nearby reflections. Just in case, she said. Denton frowned. Just make sure you dont hurt anyone. Theres only one way into the Easy Armistice but many, many ways out. They just need to tune you out from the frequency. That offered some clue to how the demiplane comprised itself. Frequency. Wavelengths perhaps? Or just sounds marking different individuals or spaces? Either way, it made protecting this place easy. Preventing unwanted entry or removing unruly guests might just require a slight tuning and nothing more. The aeros doors slid open and a cherry-sweet aroma filled the air as a quartet of floating drones latched onto the vehicle to begin necessary maintenance. While the drones worked, the light outside dimmed as blast doors closed around the exterior, masking the canopy beyond from sight. Here was another thing that the Spine didnt have much ofCautomated services and logistical functionality. Things were maintained up here. Walton had said something about this phenomenon. The closer one was to the Maw, the more actively their lives took on the traits of entropy and decay. The further away, however, toward the sky, the Tiers, and the void itself, humanity began a courtship with immortality by means of alloy or apotheosis. Come on, Denton said, guiding them toward a closed entry that looked like a gnarled bark clasped in a mockery of interlocking ribs.Time to get you all connected. Her Metamind pulsed and a static lance carried her thoughtstuff through walls and across miles. Low sequences of shrieking notes sounded, and in that instant followed amber-hued light and the soft song of a muted horn. The wood from the bark slid back into the emerald superstructure and the path before them cleared. That a Heaven too? Draus asked. Denton entered the passage. Everything here is part of a Heaven. Youll get used to it. Dont reckon this place is Rend-cheap. Privacy begets a premium in this urban panopticon, Captain Draus. Convenience was another hallmark of the citys heights. Here, the structures of existence could be remolded to suit the needs of the individual, with distances shrunk and verticalities altered through the whims of the basest canons. After a month of being a Godclad, Avo felt a deeper kinship forming between him and New Vultun. A city of predation. A city of vultures. A city of technology and mythology entwined. But ultimately, a city of presiding stories. That was what a Heaven was in the end: Overriding narratives told in place of what was. Whoa, Chambers said as they arrived at the heart of the thinkeasy. Its gonna take me a while to get used to this. A single tree-like pillar spun in place before them, a vast structure that stretched vertically for three miles. Its entire expanse was parted into five different platforms, and impossibly, there were people sitting and walking on both ends, be they upright or upside down. The constant buzz of shuttling service drones deepened the hive-like theme presented by the Armistice. Holocoated bodies with heavily warded Metas formed the bulk of the clientele and as Avo took in his surroundings, he found them walking across every flat surface. Gravity adheres to different rules here, Denton said, waving at the pillar before them. Thats the center. Force comes out from that and presses down on everything with an edge. Dont jump off the sides or youll be falling at terminal velocity in endless loops. The drones will have to catch you, but they wont be gentle about it. You speakin from experience? Draus asked, eyes darting from point to point as she took in her surroundings. Doubtless, she was considering her exposure, her potential angles of attack or defense. He couldnt fault her C his own preoccupation in the present was not so different as he scried at the Necrotheurgic talent present. From the wards alone, he wasnt in milk-run territory anymore. They werent Incubi, but judging from most of the accretions around him, competence was the expected baseline. These were seasoned street squires and snuffers at the very least. A few offered hints of potential above that. A link shot out from Dentons mind, hooking out to capture a passing drone as it flashed red and then green. I got us a booth. If any of you are hungry or thirsty, theres a scan-in menu in place. My associates will be joining us shortly. We can talk in-depth then. Might we know one of them, Draus said, her voice edged with thin disdain. I doubt it, Denton replied. As I said before, the old woman will probably be occupied for a while. The supposed booth she procured was a small alcove that sunk inward from the side of the cylinder surrounding the central pillar. The sensation of stepping over the threshold and expecting to fall before gravity adjusted to their sense of verticality was uncanny, but in moments, they found themselves situated around a risen marble table lit by a hovering locus. Soft frequencies continued to play from speakers embedded into the walls, their notes masked by the somber melody of a strange wind-based instrument. There was sourness in the music. A certain feeling of longing and nostalgia he couldnt quite place. You like it? Denton said. Avo turned to regard her. Dont know the instrument. Its called a saxophone. The players name was Osjon Coldtrain, I think. He was a Voidwatch musician. Old. Very old. She smiled faintly as the notes continued to flow. You know this song is banned, right? This, along with its entire genre? Supposedly, there was an attempt to make a Heaven out of them. It went wrong. It went bad. New rhyme same as the fuckin first, Draus said. Now. Wherere your consangs? Well hear what you got to say but you gotta forgive us if we aint feelin all that patient after today. Of course, the Glaive said. The two of them should beC A holocoated figure fell over the alcove. Sorry, Denton. Got caught up putting her in the corner. So. Is this our little band? A victim, some half-strand, a Color-Puppet, and a rotlick. He laughed. There was an unnaturally silken quality to his voice, with the way he spoke almost alluring to the ears. Godsdamned do the fates frown on us. Just sit down, Cas, Denton said. His answer was lost to a low humming chorus of bees that flooded in over the edge. To Avos disbelief, the ghostly faintness of thoughtstuff wove between them, like their interconnected mind was a cloud of cognition from pheromones and hive-like synchronicity. Sorry, the swarm buzzed as they fused into a ball. We had some delays. The Paladins nearly looped half of us off. Chambers blinked. Are these fat fleas talking to us? The swarm formed the vague approximation of a frowning face. Im Sunrise, and it''s more like I''m a collection of bees. Essus leaned over the table and frowned. And what is a bee? Somehow, the collection of insects managed to sigh. 12-4 The Frame (I) Dont fuck with the voiders. Im serious, consangs. Just dont. I know the other Guilds talk about Voidwatch and their Enjoined Governing Intellects like theyre the soft, coldtech version of Omnitech, but the truth is theyre better than us. Older than us. Hell. If it werent for them, wed be nothing more than savages now. A bunch of broken half-strands living in shit-heaps worshiping our new Fallwalker gods. But here''s the thing. They wont touch thaumaturgy or necrotheurgy; they treat it like poison. Anything to do with the gods or the eldritch, I guess. And considering how the rest of the big black yonder is beyond Idheim, I dont think I can blame em. I did a run for them once. A simple retrieval job. They lent me this gunCwell, it was more battle platform than gun. Best godsdamned weapon I ever got to fire. Doesnt run out of bullets. Lets you know everything in a two-hundred-kilometer radius. Everything. Aratnid nests, aeros, heartrates, hostile loadouts. I managed to shoot the loci out a bunch of golems using it. Fifth best day of my life. Ill tell you, if they ever decide to end their little restriction on gods, were done. Its their planet by then and they can just do what they want. But the question keeps coming back to that, doesnt it? If Souls and Heavens put a bunch of up-jumped savages like us on the same pedestal as the titans of the void, just what the hells made the last surviving power in this Ruptured galaxy choose Idheim as their hiding spot? -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 12-4 The Frame (I) Sunrise was not from Idheim. That was clear to Avo from a glance. The more he studied the swarms thoughtstuff, the more he found himself lost in its phantasmal symphony. Strings of mem-data flowed between each one of its bodies like liquid circuitry. As such, its mind did not form an accretion of thoughtstuff so much as it did a kaleidoscopic lattice. Bathed in its perceptive exhale, the reality behind the swarms sapience was never in doubt, but a puzzling curtain of static integers spilled from its hive-link mind. The sinews of its dreams were ones, zeros, and symbols beyond Avos comprehension, the presence of unknown technology and withheld gnosis similar to the mystery that crowned Denton. Ms. Denton, could you please tune the frequency for our table, Sunrise said. Its words came as a buzzing melody, the ball of thickened insects vibrating outward from the core as if a dense cloud rippling from its nucleus. Play Hendricks. I want to hear some strings. The other newcomer said this as he settled in next to Denton, stepping down into the alcove and suddenly rotating ninety degrees upright. His invertedness was more than literal. Where Denton and Sunrise had their minds warped by coldtech, the mans thoughstuff ran as solid and round as any self-aware creature born on Idheim. Even his aesthetic ran counter to the woman he sat beside. A flashy holocoat obscured his body from sight as he hid behind a veil of strobing darkness. Studs of chrome and chains rattled from his shoulders. A flash of various Guild-symbol parodies spiraled along his waist. Past the disguise, however, Avo could what sounded like a piston hammering away inside the mans chest, pumping rhythmic beats as his blood surged through his arteries in constant cycles. Avos Auto-Seance activated. Draus cast him a memory. +Hes got a Dynamite Stringsmith Mark Twelve for an arm. Real gutterware stuff. Like having six different instruments packed into a single limb. Listen. You can practically hear the twangs of the strings every time he moves.+ The limbs models and specifications spilled over Avos vision as his curiosity fed. From a brief dip into the public Nether, the appendage was popular amongst anti-Guilder revolutionaries and aficionados of classical-style voider music. Whichever clique this Cas fell into, Avo couldnt tell, but the mans face looked as tough as mistreated leather. Three lines of ritualized scarification ran across his face and ridged the bridge of his nose, but he wasnt nearly large enough to be a born Scaarthian. His features were hardened and rough, with a substantial jawline and poorly shaven beard that resembled a clash between patches of hair upon skin. Dark green eyes glowed from within depressed sockets as he glared back at Avo, grinding his jaw from side to side. You thinking about taking a bite, ghoul? he asked. Avo didnt look away. Social embarrassment was a human emotion, and he was far too tired to play at pleasantries. Always. Your eyes dont look as nice as hers. But eyes are eyes. Flesh is flesh. Still enough taste there. The man cocked his head at Avo and narrowed his eyes as he reached into the veil of his holocoat. Draus projectile launcher unfolded with a series of clicking servos. Avos Ghostjack surged to activation after. Chambers looked at the two sides andCnot wanting to be left outignited his index finger. Leaves began to spill out from the heat as he mimed aiming a gun, his expression tight with uncertainty. Dont do it, consang, Chambers said. Ive never shot anyone with my finger before, but Ill finger you today as my first. He paused as soon as the words left his mouth. Denton fixed him with an awkward stare. Cas, she said, mention that youre pulling out cigarettes next time you do that? Sure, no problem, he said. He bent in on himself and his fingers clicked. Trails of smoke inched upward through the light-formed veils of his holocoat as he drew out a thin-pale stick that stank of petrichor and tobacco. Val, youre gonna want to tune that frequency now before a drone comes by to deliver some complaints. She did as he requested, but not entirely. Instead of strings or guitars pulsing from nearby speakers, soft chimes from a ringing bell filled the back of Avos mind as he inhaled. And gagged. The smoke from the cigarette tasted as if grains of dirt choked his throat. Disgusting. Cas aimed a broad grin back at him. Well, if you dont like that, youre definitely going to hate biting into my lungs. As the musical rhythm rose, the undercurrent of its frequencies changed. Sunrise splayed itself over the table as the entrance to their alcove smeared away, dissolving into a new horizon. No longer did the geodesic structure of the Easy Armistice lay beyond, for in its place stood a tranquil garden dotted with lily pads and croaking creatures. A looming lantern hung in the sky above, its face a mask of illumination with brightness that carried nothing of heat. The smearing of spatial reality continued as a soft breeze slipped between stalks of lengthened stems of green jutting from the soil. Looking around, Avo found himself in a small clearing, their dinner table now resting at the center of an open-aired pagoda of stone. Distant flutes roses in pitch as one led and another trailed. I thought I asked for Hendrix, Cas whined, eyeing Denton. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.She didnt even bother giving him a side-eye. You wouldve gotten Hendrix and Woodstock if you were the one that did the tuning. He breathed a sigh of smoke upward into the air as the soft breeze carried the stench away. Point taken. Will do it myself next time. What the hells is this? Draus asked. Some kind of spatial pocket? Nah, Cas replied. These are actual places. Only hiding inside different frequencies. The melodies are a delivery point, right? Theyre like codeChere, watchC His left arm rose from his coat, and it was as Draus observed. Knobs and tuners clustered his shoulder down to upper arms, while fourteen copper cords were drawn tight downstream from his wrist like externalized veins. A dial on the back of his hand spun to a thrumming activation and he began to pluck at the air, each twitch of his multicolored fingers producing clashing notes from different instruments. As his fingers shifted to pull at different angles, a full orchestra cracked out from the mans chest while his heart grew loud, its percussion forcing order on the song C a thundering spine to the melodic structure. Space began to smear around them again as frequencies clashed and songs blended together. Flashes of a verdant field and a grand rainbow-painted stage cut over the calm pond beyond the pagoda. Essus eyes were aglow with surprise. For once, the darkness was distant from his expression as his interest was captured. I I have heard this song before Cas cut his performance to a halt. The moon and pagoda and the pond slipped back into place. Maybe you did, Cas said, eyeing Essus. He pulled the cigarette from his lips and flicked it over the edge. A dozen or so bees split off from Sunrises main swarm to catch the falling narcotic before it could pollute the waters. Youre new. I see it on your face. He shook his head. Whod you lose climbing the Crucible? Silence followed. Essus did not speak. The light of fascination went dim like dying candles. His pain was raw, still so very obvious. He was nothing special in New Vultun. Not in the affliction of hurt he suffered nor the symptoms he carried afterward. There was a nakedness to being so easy to read. Cas pointed to himself thereafter, tapping his chest. Well, Ill start then. Mother. Father. Brother. No, it doesnt get better on its own. The pain stays, but you can take it out. Hell, the rotlick here could do it for you. But I dont think you want that, do you? Lose the pain, but lose whoever it is youre still hurting over? Hmm. Yeah. I see it in you. You got the look of someone that can find some anger in all thatC Not now, Cas, Denton interrupted as a few of Sunrises bodies chucked Cas cigarette back in his lap. Do your cult pitch later. We have other superseding matters. Sunrise? On cue, one bee broke from the swarm andCto Avos surpriseCflew into Dentons mouth. Who promptly started chewing on the insect. The fuck? Chambers muttered. He promptly blinked as a few of the bees landed on Avos shoulder. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the glinting matter lining their bodies. From within his subreality, he heard the Woundshaper''s adulation. This one is made of metal and silicon and more. A creature of alloy in more ways than one. Truly, if this is the work of those who dwell beyond, then mine is admiration earned. Beautiful be the nature of their craftCwhy, if I was to be bound to talent like a mortal artist, envy would boil me. But alas, this presents a new option for our hungerCfind cause to devour one from the void. We must ingrain in ourselves the sinews of their supremacy. You surprise me, the swarm sang. We expected you to lose control by now. Avo grunted. How? Your biometric readings indicate a high state of arousal. Your eyes are narrowed and your blood is running fast. From all the data we have compiled, any other being sheathed in your morphology would be experiencing hyper-violent psychosis by this point. You are an extreme outlier. He didnt quite know how to take that. Saying Im a faulty ghoul. We dont have enough information to make a judgment based on that. Only that you are different. Made that way, Avo replied. A long-suppressed desire unmoored within as the urge to seek out his home up in the Tiers returned. Walton had done something to create him. Build his mind. The extent of his true nature was psychopathy and choice both, the traits gifted by determined design. Or so it seemed. If such were to be the case, then he wondered as to the memories he possessed of the Undercroft and his upbringing, of the past he supposedly lived and the life he led. How much of it was real in totality? How much was just patchwork mem-data taken and perfected into a thinking construct by a father yearning to atone for immortal sins? We are all made to be a certain way. By the chaos of evolution and natural birth. Or the focus and sculpture of genetic engineering. But beyond our hardware, there is the totality of our reactions to the things we face. And the lives we lead. You lead a very interesting life, Avo. Very interesting. He caught sight of Draus smirk in his periphery. Well, shit, rotlick. Look at you charmin our little bug-consangs with all that self-control. Not havin flesh dangling between your fangs has gone and done wonders for that monstrous charisma of yours. An Echohead slithered around and snapped out to pierce her from the other side. She caught it without looking. Downloads done, Denton said. Her eyes were cycling now, thoughtstuff rising and cresting in active waves of restructuring sequences. The effects of eating the bee were like a phantasmal seed allowed to sprout at the center of her mind. The static of her thoughts intensified as her accretion swelled. Saving each and every detail using his Metamind, Avo studied the occurrences before him as he tried to puzzle out what was happening to Dentons mind. From the roiling substance of thoughstuff emerged phantoms. The ghosts supporting their architecture were likewise mechanical in nature, their forms more circuitry than wisp-like, numbers running up from the roots of their flowing strands. If youre curious about how banned mem-data gets smuggled around, this is the way it''s usually done. Cas shot Denton a look as her eyes began to cycle. With how many eyes there are in the city, it doesnt take Guilder Necros long to null you with a desist once they mem-lock to the banned memories. So they''re parted and parceled and hidden behind cyberized brains. Pure coldtech logic enhancers and the like. Doesnt work perfectly either though. The Silvers got plenty of Incubi specialized in void-based affairs. Which is why all confidential and unsanctioned memories are to be assembled here in a thinkeasy, Denton said, as she began molding her phantoms into shape. If what Im about to show you leaks over into the publicC Yeah, Avo said. Hunters. Guild-response knots more my guess, Draus added. Doubt you just got a couple of sequences of trade secrets rattlin around in that mind of yours. Denton shrugged coyly. A bit more, perhaps. Her phantoms melded, forming multiple interfaces containing specific FATE Skeins and personnel profiles. Slowly, the profiles began to expand into a wider web of intrigue under the header Project Godshaper. By the end, there were a hundred and thirteen dossiers to expand, with each separated into major columns of involvement based on profession. Guilder Godclads, freelance Fallwalkers, commissioned Agnosi, and suspected spies were highlighted with specific labels when looked upon. Surprise followed as he noticed there were redacted profiles connected to members from Voidwatch. He hadnt known the voiders to ever assist in thaumaturgically related endeavors, and with the details withheld, his curiosity only grew. Voidwatch, Avo said. Why are they censored? Because we couldnt intercept the details from the suspected admins to confirm our suspicions, Sunrise said, almost mournfully. Admins? Draus asked. The swarm hummed melodiously. Voidwatch isnt nearly as united as you might assume, Captain Draus. Draus sneered. Yeah, aint so different from the others, right? Quite different, Im afraid, Sunrise said. Our union was one held by the dichotomy between extremes. But even between our various governing intellects, there are preferences in lifestyle andC Hey, wait a minute, Chambers said, interrupting Sunrise. Squinting his eyes, he leaned close to the Agnosi column as he pointed to a profile at the very top. BringCbring that one up, I thinkC He licked his lips and shot a look at Avo and Draus. Isnt she Isnt that? The profile expanded. The face of the Agnosi bloomed into prominence as her simulated form came into shape above the conspiracy map. Avo felt his mind reel as Kae Kusanades face finally loaded in her entirety. Kae? 12-5 The Frame (II) +Our Glaives are dead. The Agnos is gone.+ +What? How? The Paladin wasC+ +Its not him. Hes good and snuffed. There was an unforeseen variable.+ +Unforeseen? Unforeseen? The Conflagration should have left her little more than a vegetable. How did sheC+ +Not the Agnos. A Regular. Former Regular Jelene Draus. She ambushed field cell three before they could move to support. And then she intercepted field cells one and two at the target location. She mustve received an automated message from the Agnos somehow. SheC+ +A Regular? One? You had eighteen Glaives. With Incubi support!+ +She triggered a Thoughtwave Disruption before she went in. The resulting fightC+ +You lost the Agnos to one! One Gold! Eighteen of our best couldnt stop one Regular? What the hells is wrong with you? Why do we keep you whenC+ +Elder [Redacted]. I speak to you now with the utmost respect. If the next words cast at me are an insult directed toward my comrades who just died serving the Republic, I will find you, kill you, kill your husband, kill your children, and kill every last member within your immediate blood lineage. I will then turn myself in afterward for a formal investigation to account for the question of why I did what I did.+ +...I apologize. My calm was compromised. Startling. Only one.+ +You were not part of the war effort, Elder. You dont know how many lives fighting her like cost us. We need to pivot. Im requesting additional resources to choke off their escape before they can ascend the Tiers.+ +Granted. Anything. Everything. But keep yourself in check: Kae Kusanade must be taken alive.+ -Glaive [Redacted] and Elder [Redacted], Ori-Thaum 12-5 The Frame (II) Kae Kusanade, Cas drawled. She got up to some pretty revolutionary shit before the Silvers cooked her skull. He looked over at Draus. She tell you about what she was doing? The Regular ran her tongue along her inner cheek. Avo had seen that tell enough to know Draus was thinking about killing the man across from her. Nah. She wasnt in much a talkin mood when I found her. Hells, she wasnt in a talkin mood even after she got chromed. And you didnt look into it yourself? he continued, spreading himself wide as he leaned back. I dont know about you, Reg, but Id be pretty curious what would make Ori-Thaum attempt to captureCand then frameCan Agnosi for the murder of a Paladin. He looked down to nonchalantly smooth out an unseen article of clothing beneath his veil. You know they were together, right? Draus looked away from Kaes character profile and glared at Cas. What? The Paladin, Dawton Morrow, and your consang there were a thing. He shrugged. Sure it wasnt permitted on her end and they tried to be sly about it, but hell, sometimes sparks fly in across Nether, right? Draus turned back and stared into Kaes shimmering visage again. Fuck. Yeah, Cas agreed, fuck, indeed. He eyed Avo. Zein said something about you knowing how to fix her? That true? Got a theory, Avo said. Will need to see if it survives practice. Experiment with test subjects first. See if the supports I have in mind can last. His gaze briefly drifted over to Chambers. The ex-enforcer blinked. WhyCwhy you looking at me like that, consang? He placed his arm along the wood beams of the terrace and shot a look out over the lily-paded waters. Avo didnt give him an answer, instead choosing to pursue a question of his own. Why? he asked, gesturing at the sprawl of people and details stretched across the map. Why do this to her? And what is Godshaper. A mistake, Sunrise intoned. A major reason why the Stillborn-pattern Liminal Frame even exists, Denton said. Draus snarled. Godsdammit. Kaes responsible for his Frame? Is that what youre tellin me? Kae? And youre tellin us this shit now? Not before, while we C that fuckin Thousandhand." Her glare smoldered in the moonlight. "Well, if Kae built this thing, she sure as shit dont remember it. Talked like she aint never seen it before, she did. She isnt entirely responsible for its creation, Denton elaborated. Merely the guiding principles behind the Metafac. Truthfully, the Stillborns construction required a great many things and factors to align. Materially, it will be hard to make another. Well, lets hear about these many things and factors, Draus said. She leaned in closer and rattled the table with a pointed digit. And dont leave shit out this time. Im tired of not knowin whos shootin at me or why. Cas chuckled. Youre gonna lead a pretty exhausted life if you decide to jump in with us, Reg. Draus remained unamused. Cas, Denton said. Shut up. Synced on that. A sheen lifted from the conspiracy map and split over into another section of phantoms on the other side of the table. A faint simulation of neon orange poured, forming a fissure over a diminutive representation: a person atop a block. Near-invisible threads of flowing Essence cycled between the tiny person and key markers in the world sprouted strings of mem-data. Words like Rupture, and Ensouled, or Subrealitistic-Totality-Expansion-Zone lined Avos field of vision as Denton ordered more into sequence. It didnt take an Agnos to seean inverted Frame, but what caught his attention were the rigid structures that limited Liminal architecture The subreality budding free from the person was wide and flat one moment, then narrow and tall the next. The confines curved and dented and folded at impossible angles that would not accommodate the shape of just any Heaven, powers not only capped by storage, but angles and alignments. A slow understanding dawned within Avo as he took in the stiff nature of the unidentified figures Frame: This was what it was like to have something other than the Stillborn, to be blessed by immense power, yet bound to the metaphysical geometry. Kae was right. His was a cloudCa living ocean that coursed and cupped whatever form he deigned. Others were hard walls and fixed passages, solid and unmoving, incapable of stranger possibilities. How alienating not to modify the bones of their ontology. It was like have all the arms and legs you could choose from, but being forced to accept a crooked spine. To be forced into accepting a Frame such as this would be torture for Avo C to taste gutter-water after supping from nothing but the streams purified by the miraculous build of the Stillborn. The concept behind Godshaper was to create a more efficient means of adjusting a Liminal Frame, Denton began. Mem-data kneaded into shape as more details loaded into the scene. The fissure expanded over the individual. A string titled [RUPTURE - NUCLEUS] burned into shape at the very heart of the simulation while hundreds of small bodies began washing upward away from the Ensouled individual, blending into the cracks as it fed a fire spreading across the sky. Thousand died. Thousands offered to the Rupture. Thousands more needed. The bodies youre seeing right now are the sacrifices it takes to keep a Rupture fed and malleable. Even more than all the dead it takes to feed a Frame, our data suggests it takes a stable Rupture to expand a Liminal Frame fully and safely out of a central ego without collapsing the Frame itself. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. My god, Essus said, flinching with each trickle of life that leaked up into the hungering crack that lined the skin of existence like a maw unseen, are you saying that it takes death to even change our Souls? Our powers? Denton pressed her lips together as she took a moment to think. Diplomacy was at the root of how she interacted with others, and Essus was an open page raw with pain. She spoke in a measured tone using a stable voice, keeping her eyes affixed to his while blinking slowly, almost hypnotically. The border between the eldritch absolute and fickleness of mortality is bridged with one thing: Death. Usually, it takes a constant feed of lives to compose the necessary lores and mythologies to first align and access the Heavens canons before it expands fully in the subrealtiy. That is when modifications can be made. She paused for a beat thereafter. It doesnt mean its not regrettable. So, wait, Draus said. Youre tellin me that most Heavens need a requisite amount of mind-twisted dead to even open, a constant stream of the dyin to stay open, and then an additional amount on top of the previous to make any changes. The excess is meant to be directly applied into the fully unfurled Heaven of the Ensouleds subreality. Everything else is like making a key. The Regular let out a slow rasping breath. Her gaze slashed over to Avo and he found himself looking back at her. Your Frame aint hyper-efficient, Avo, its godsdamned perfect. No waste at all The Metafactory, Denton said. Another layer to the second simulation rose from a line above the fissure. Now the dead that were being fed through the openings into the Rupture were being stitched together, connected like strips of fabric instead of the beings they were. A chain of death formed, and through the lip of the fracture the connected deaths ran like a chain from the soil to a place beyond the sky. There were several concepts behind its design. Some Agnosi theorized that if we could somehow create a hive-mind from the dying, they could keep the Essence preserved and modular as they began to feed the deaths through wholesale. The idea failed. Human self-perception rejected the entwinement. How many died to learn of this? Essus whispered. Denton pretended not to hear him. Other means were attempted. Adapted bioforms grown from vats. Heavily neuro-altered prisoners resequenced into thinking they were all identical twins sharing the same life beyond minor deviations There was always something that broke the narrative of the worship. At this point, the last Guild War was beginning and the project was shelved under the command of the Highest Choirs of Highflame as Inter-Guild collaborations broke down and the Agnosi were sworn to silence. Pssh, sworn to silence. The snort that came from Chambers told everyone what little he thought of that vow. Why dont they just I dont know, leak some shit into the Nether? Because according to Article Thirteen of the Spiral, all thaumaturgical knowledge is to be rendered banned when not housed in specific minds, and any disseminators of memories will be hunted and nulled per the last true agreements between the Guilds. That and the Agnos are supposed to be supervised by a circle of Paladins when undertaking a commission for a specific Guild. Three guesses what the Paladins are supposed to do if the Agnos breaks their part in the agreement. Chambers pouted a muttered garble of gibberish in reply. Hey, it beats getting a synaptic-frying-bomb-thing planted in the base of your skull, right? Its not a competition, half-strand, Cas said. Yeah, sure, Chambers nodded. But if it was, Id have it worse. The Columner frowned and turned to Avo. Isnt this half-strand former Syndicate muscle? Whyd you Clad him? Chambers frowned. Hey, fuck you, consang. Wanted to keep his mind, Avo said, throwing out a vague response. Again, he wasnt really thinking when he restored all three companions into a cadre, but Cas had a point: Chambers was more captive than ally despite his constant sniveling attempts to ingratiate himself with the group. That being said, the stalemated calamity within his mind presented useful avenues of research and a potential component to Kaes salvation. Ultimately, Chambers possessed little threat on his own. The man mightve had an imbued Heaven, but Avo still had easy access to his mind. Stripping his senses and crippling his brain functions would take less than a full thought. Even should he escape, a lone Fallwalker was easy prey to a hungry city. From what we could piece together, Denton continued as if the digression had never happened, Agnos Kae Kusanade was commissioned by Highflame in the immediate aftermath of the Fourth Guild War to restart the Godshaper project. This time, however, the reignition of the project followed closely behind another, seemingly unconnected incident. Across from the Frame simulation, four profiles rose out from the conspiracy map as Kaes form fizzled out into thoughtstuff. In her place manifested four different figures sporting various degrees of chrome and other visible implants. Then, their final details loaded, and Avo found himself more interested in the Third Sphere-ratings of their Liminal Frame instead. Fallwalkers, Denton said. Cadre numbered a Scaarthian with eight rusted arms, an exoskeleton-clad individual vibrating between two points in time like a frequency, a Sang with a chitinous hive growing out from her exposed ribs, and a floating spine encased within the shell of an egg-shaped war golem. The Cadre called themselves Mignights Fall, and they specialized in less than sanctioned smash-and-grabs. Chambers snorted. Sounds like some street squire shit to me, consang. Denton kept talking. Their targets were usually voidships or orbitals. Sounds like a short immortality to me, Draus said. Aint no one takes too kindly to you hittin the voiders. She paused. They hit any hydroponics? Could be deniable operatives for the No-Dragons. And the Reg doesnt miss, Cas said, smirking humorlessly. A triple-ringed orbital connected to a central spire pulsed into view. Its name was redacted, but the damage inflicted on its hull was obvious. Whatever the Fallwalkers had done, they tore clean through one of the rings and rampaged their way into the central spine of the station. Ori-Thaum assembled enough details to assign the No-Dragons some complicity to this attack. The working theory was that they were trying to force those in Stormtree territories to purchase their produce instead. Their biotheurgically altered produce, that was. Course it was, Draus said without any hint of surprise. You aint one of the Great Guilds without playin some fuck-fuck games. The problem came afterward, Denton said. From what we gather, Midnights Fall didnt return planetside immediately. Evidence from Aegis suggests that they smuggled themselves aboard a passing Voidwatch vessel during their escape. They took something from that vessel that made the Stillborn possible. The Imitators, Sunrise hummed. The Thoughtless-Dreamers Avo found his attention drawn to the small bees settled on his left shoulder as they flapped their wings in agitated bursts. To his surprise, he found himself able to detect a hint of tension within them, a speck of emotion that he could taste emanations of their thoughts. Ninth Column isnt sure what the Imitators are, only that Voidwatch struck a bargain with whatever terrestrial Guild could help them secure what was stolen. The four Fallwalkers promptly went gray. Highflame ended up winning the bid to rectify the issue, and after their bid, they secured Voidwatchs patronage in a highly unusual bargain. Heavily restricted information, Sunrise added. I dont have access. And Aegis wont tell. Whatever the case, Agnos Kae Kusanade was directed to task under a Paladin team headed by one Dawton Morrow and his cadre. The memories behind the project are heavily redacted, but from what we could glean, her work proved to be highly successful. Groundbreaking. A prototype Frame was patterned from a nascent Soul, whatever the Fallwalkers stole from Voidwatch, and Highflames resources. This proved to be dangerous for the balance Cas face flattened into a wince as he stared at Avo. A sense of disquiet settled on the ghoul. Val, maybe we canC He should know, Denton said without even needing to turn and look at her colleague. Zein foresaw the construction of your Frame in the paths. But she wasnt the only one. The Walton branch of the Low Masters had also infiltrated the project, and a bargain was struck between the Column and the nodes to steal the Frame from where it was held. A beat passed. In light of recently gathered information, we also believe that it was one of the Waltons that leaked the key details of the project over to Ori-Thaum. Including Kae Kusanades involvement and the Paladins attached. Dentons eyes snapped over to Draus. To the same extent, we are also quite certain that he directed a thoughtcast of her distress over to you, Captain Draus. Walton. Ori-Thaum. Kae. More plays working the Great Guilds against each other. More innocents caught in the crossfire. Silence followed as all expression bled out of Draus face. Kae Kae contacted me. That would be impossible. Her mind was already compromised by that point, and the Incubi had used her to eliminate her lover, Dawton Morrow. She wasnt fully herself until your Thoughtwave Detonation struck. We believe that Walton sought to remove the key intelligentsia behind Project Godshaper to ensure the fruition of his own plans, but if thats the case, we cannot explain why he contacted you. Avo felt Denton stare right through him. For when he ambushed our extraction team and stole the Frame for himself and vanished, were pretty sure everything played out just as he wanted. Which was when his nodes started turning up dead. 12-6 Arrangements You know whats the sign of a real Necrojack, Avo? Using someone to solve the problems they created. Look at the dive we just did. Were we richer than the Instrument? No. Not even close. Were we smarter? Id also say not enough for it to matter. But we knew all his habits and flaws, and he wasnt even aware we were there. How much did we need to modify his memories for him to do what we wanted? Not at all. Right. Being a Necrojack isnt all resequencing minds and subverting wards. Its about mastering perspectives and understanding the nature of another persons consciousness. Its why if you were to try and hurt me, I would be in severe danger despite the gap in our skills. We share history. We shared thoughts. There was a bridge of understanding to exploit. Metaphors dont do the art justice, Avo. Theres nothing like diving into the Nether. Its more than an ocean. Its more than a dream. Its like the source from which choice flows. And if you can make someone else think whatever you want them to think or do what you want them to do, then I dont think theres a single power across the all there ever was that can stop you. -Walton, Low Master 12-6 Arrangements We think the others did the killings. The other Low Masters, I mean. Denton slowed her words, as her eyes swung like a pendulum between Avo and Draus. There was an anticipation to her posture, as if expecting things to turn violent, or something to sour in her guests. Instead, both ghoul and Regular mirrored an equal tension in their postures, and then contemplation consumed them. Cas eyed Denton from the side as he shuffled uncomfortably. Well, if were gonna tell them that, we should also tell them the other stuff. You know. Like how most the Column was against this? How Aegis just wanted to kill the ghoul and retrieve the Frame? How the original candidate for the Frame is still aliveCFredritchs gonna be pissed when he finds out his Frame went to a ghoul. The name spurred a month-old memory within Avo. Somehow, he doubted the depths of Fredritchs ire considering one of Waltons lingering engrams directed him to contact the man. Once you get to the Easy Armistice, talk to Fredritch Three-Eye and tell him that you''re with the Ninth Column, and that the dream is broken. Hell give you an engram containinganother itinerant of me. Avo replayed his fathers words using his Meta and found held himself to silence. Walton was still weaving schemes around Ninth Column even long after his death. It took skill to compromise an organization so secretive, but it took staggering foresight and skill to turn a probable rival into an asset. +Draus,+ Avo said, feeding her the memory of Waltons words. +Need you to try and make contact with Fredritch. Will be suspicious if I ask.+ Her mind gave an affirmative note but trailed off into a bitter apprehension. +You didnt know nothin about himC+ +No,+ Avo said. The sourness of his admission bothered him as well. +Beginning to understand I dont know much about my father at all.+ +Shit. Makes you sound almost human.+ Its partially why we didnt approach you earlier. Instead utilizing an intermediary. Denton altered her phantoms and a visual representation of Green River came into shape. The Glaives eye twitched. Of course, we now know that she was compromised as well. Beginning to see a theme here, right? Cas added. Another point to shit our pants about: Him infiltrating the Deep Bazaar. Word gets out about that and the entire Deep Nether network is going to self-mutilate. Well have to go back to using couriers in the Underhive for shit. Do you know why I woke up in the Maw? Avo asked. For all the successes Walton had at subterfuge, something seemed to have fundamentally gone astray during the grafting process. If there was a plan that necessitated Avo to resurrect a dismembered, discombobulated, organ-harvested, one-week-amnesic husk of a ghoul with a blank-slate Metamind, he couldnt conceive it. Draus spat over the terrace of their pagoda as she added her own question to the pile. Yeah. Was the ghoul gettin sold to the right Crucible at the right time to run into me by design as well? To Mirrorhead? Chambers, unwilling to be left out, nodded along, glaring at the opposition. Beside him, Essus looked too lost and tired to fully grasp the details of the discussion at all. Unlikely, Denton answered. From what we could gather, your fathers nodes were trying to graft the Heaven to you while moving around on a barge in the Maw. But something went wrong along the way. We found pieces from the barge before the ship could entirely dissolve, but neither you nor the Frame were located in the estimated impact area. We were talking about hiring scavengers to dig around some more before you went loud in Burners Way, Cas said. Draus shot Avo a look. +Told you folk would be watching.+ In turn, he shifted his own glare over to Chambers. Wasnt much of a choice. Yeah, Chambers said, agreeing with Avo while being deliberately obtuse to the obvious implication. How the hells were any of us supposed to know the Scalpers would be there? Wouldve taken anyone by surprise. Regardless, while we were deliberating on your loyalties and observing your actions, other matters continued to develop. Denton waved a hand over her map of profiles and from it she drew out casefile. This one was another project called Dichotomy. Not all of Project Godshaper went into the creation of the Stillborn. Highflame applied their new knowledge and what was left of the Imitators to restart something called Project Dichotomy on their own without Voidwatch support. And then, for no related reasons at all, a dozen or so Ruptures opened up across the city, Cas said. Wouldnt that big of a problem if they werent all somehow and omnipresently connected to a single Fallen Heaven. Like all the Ruptures are the same Rupture. And so the Rash continues to breach quarantine over and over and over. But only in Massist territory so far. Curious, right? Yeah, Draus said. Curious. But whats it to us? Think Highflames gonna use whatever theyve got from Kaes research to do what? Blow open the skies over the Silvers or some shit. A worrying pause came as a riposte from both the Columners. Sunrise hummed in their stead. We do not suspect all of Guild Highflame to be a party to such a plan. Just some among the faction known as the Chivalrics. Draus closed her eyes as a low sigh hissed out from her nostrils. Of fuckin course it''s them. Whats this shit? Some kind of half-strand, a first-strike or final-spite idea if they go down to force another war?The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Cas scoffed. Yeah. Something like that. Look. Zeins whole path-based frame job had a very specific endpoint, and that was the discrediting and disintegration of the major houses behind the Chivalrics. The way things turned out was not incredible, but not unsalvageable. Either. The problem is, with a lack of a false-flag attack on the Fires Height and losing the chance to smear Uthred Greatling like she wanted gives them a bit of time to think. Or get real desperate. Last we checked, the half-strand''s down one son, has a daughter in the Unwhere, got another thats more attack-dog than person, and one more being printed in the vats. Hes feeling the squeeze. Which is why you wanted me, Draus said. Cause we got history. And you want me toCwhatCdraw his focus? Distract him from scheming about fuckin the city to death with his gerent consangs. Something like that, yeah, Cas said. But also the fact that they got a way to access the rash without needing to breach the pocket containing the primary Rupture and source of wombrash. If we can distract them He cast a meaningful look at Avo, We might just be able to chop the legs out from under Guilds. You know, being the only ones with the Domains of Love, Lust, Fertility, and all that other shit. Chambers froze. Wait, you want Avo to have control over all the fuck-powers? I He held up his hands in a placating gesture toward Avo. ICI dont mean this in a prejudicial way but youre a cockless people-eater, consang. I dont know the Heavenll take. WhyCwhy not Draus? Regulars have their reproductive organs replaced with additional implants as an extra layer of confusion against the dragon-curse and their urges sequenced out from their minds, Denton said. Captain Draus and Avo are likely not so different when it comes to their nonexistent sex drives. Damn it, Chambers moaned. Avo narrowed his eyes at the man. Judging from his exaggerated expressions, he likely knew about Draus condition and was merely trying to herd the conversation toward his desired endpoint. But the Heavens still gotta go to someone who knows about how to use it Maybe He dramatically reached out for Essus who responded by staring at Chambers wearily. No. No. Not my consang, Essus. He suffered enough. Its me. I got to make this sacrifice. You guys can have all the cool Heavens like blood and glass and light and shadows and shit. Ill take the Wombrash. Ill be the Wombrash. Everyone stared. Cas shook his head. Welp. Thats a later category conversation. Frankly, it doesnt matter who gets the Heaven so much as if we can access it and if we can contain it. Its connected to a Sphere Nine Frame so He winced. We might need to think about how to divert all that Rend. Right now, we wish to establish a working partnership, Denton said. No, Avo said. Had that with Zein. Regret it. Regret her. Keep her away from us. Sure, no problem, Cas muttered. Ill just stop Zein Thousandhand from doing what she wants. He chuckled and shook his head. Once another one of her selves tumbles out from the paths, shell be right back doing whatever it is she wants. Cherish your time right now. At the same time, Denton spoke over him, ignoring the words of her colleague. Were offering a formal partnership. You will get access to all the supplies and resources at the Column''s disposal. Any Guild-level implants, arms, vehicles, or phantasmics will be at your disposal. Draus cast her thoughts over to Avo. +Something to consider. But if they got Voidwatch support, itll be hard as hell for us to tell what they got cookin inside a nanosuite or somethin. Theyre cooperative, Ill give em that, but nice dont buy trust. We need our own leverage, and frankly, I just dont think we got enough.+ He had to agree. However, there were items he was curious about. Something that could make the progress of his growing apotheosis even easier. Can you get me golems? Avo asked. Heavens. Denton and Cas shared a look. Itll take some time, Cas said. But yeah, we might be able to arrange some things. Avo considered his options. +Dont need to trust them. Can vet their goods and services. Avoid accepting easily compromised bargains. Use them. Need to get Kae out from the Second Fortune. But Sovereigntys going to be under heavy surveillance.+ +You got a use for em?+ Draus asked. +Could be something simple. Have smuggled official Guild-licensed aero through checkpoints without notice. You create a passage to a reflection inside. She walks through. Out of risk again.+ Draus paused. +Yeah. That would be mighty helpful of them.+ She chanced a brief glance at Denton. +The Glaive also got the Paladins eatin out of her palm. Wont lie: I kinda wanna snuff her out of principle, but shes been about as helpful as anyone Ive met in New Vultun.+ And wasnt that the ugly truth? The Easy Armistice offers accommodation frequencies as well, Cas added. Perfect if you want a nice place to think about things while the heat dies down. We dont need an answer from you rightC Could start this partnership of ours off with a couple of favors, Draus said, interrupting him. Cas leaned back and sighed, ceding the conversation over to Denton. Avo noticed the man deliberately played a different role to Dentons hyper-competent diplomat. He greeted them with a rough casualness and approached Essus as a fellow refugee by way of suggestion. Whether that was true or not had yet to be determined. State your requirements and well see if your dreams can come true, Denton replied. First thing: Kae. Weve been talkin an awful lot about her without her bein present. Mighty rude. Id like to order an official pickup for her. One with my personal touch to expedite her arrival. Denton nodded. Her thoughtstuff pulsed static and collapsed inward. She was making a mental note. That can be arranged. What else? I wanna know about this Fredritch who was supposed to have the Frame. Wanna know if hes gonna be a problem. I assure youC You can assure me by scheduling a meetin. Me and him. The ghoul stays out of it. Face to face. Just to clear the air. Cas huffed out a breath. Well. Looks like well have to ask old Three-Eyes what he wants. Sure. Fine. Draus added another request. This one Avo didnt see coming. And I want to see your operation. All of it. Denton pressed her lips together. Cas began to laugh softly. What? Draus said. Somethin funny. Not for you, Cas said. Truth is youve already seen all of our operations. The laughter suddenly stopped. Its Zein. What? Draus asked. Her paths. Her iterations. Echoes. Forks. Theyre the ones keeping all our cells coordinatedCthe only reason why were like smoke and myth to everyone hunting for us. Draus blinked. What? So Zeins what? Her own network? Shes a lot of things, Denton said. Presently for us, however, she is re-emerging out from the past. Itll be at least a week before were ready to interface with the other cells. Aside from that, we are effectively similar to Incubi strike cells on the practical end. Im sure youre familiar with how they work. Just about, Draus drawled. Chambers held up his hand. Can I ask for something? Everyone ignored him. Everyone except Avo. A grin spread across the ghouls face as he regarded Chambers. No. Going to need you to give me something. ICuhCsure, consang, Chambers swallowed. W-whats the need? Instead of replying to him, Avo turned and addressed Denton again. Need a few demiplanes. Someplace good for repeated Thoughtwave Detonations along with one that can let Nether flow through. Thats doable, Denton asked. Can I ask what youre planning? Avo shot Draus a look. Ori-Thaum broke Kae''s life. Created this problem. Partially anyway. Want to pluck the problem from her head. Take a closer look at it. Pattern and return it." He let out a low hiss of pleasure as he imagined possessing a phantasmic or trauma that could burn away other minds. Youre invited to watch. See what we can all learn. Would be good start to formal partnership. Denton just stared while Cas shook his head. Fuck me, he said. Hes worse than the Waltons. 12-7 Retrieval +Jhred Greatlings Frame is gone; Elder DRongo just got arrested. I am severing this proxy. This is the last time I use its memories to contact you. I wont remember our near-term conversations after this. I suggest you dispose of your own memories somehow.+ +Received. Do you have any leads? Highflames inner channels claim Abrel Greatlings entire cadre got wiped out and that she got picked up by Chief Paladin Naeko of all people.+ +Her entire cadre?+ +One Ruptured and died. Frame lost. Two other Frames missing along with their Ensouled. Godclads dont go missing that easily, so if I was a wagering man, Id put imps on them being in the same state as Jhred.+ +Three missing Frames isnt a mystery, Instrument. It''s a pattern. Some unconfirmed eyewitness accounts are leaking out from the Sovereignty. Theyre claiming a pantless man was part of a Fallwalker cadre facing off against Abrel near the end. Do you have any details on that?+ +I No. First noise Im getting about it. Pantless?+ +Yeah. Apparently, his genitals were exposed as Greatling chased him and his across the district into a hypertube station.+ +...The fuck?+ -Thoughtcast between Glaive [Redacted] and Instrument Santanado Starsinger Mondelles 12-7 Retrieval Hey, consangs, does this feel too easy to anyone elC Draus hand snapped out as a lashing blur. A sudden crunch followed and Chambers Adams apple went from being visible to parted between distended ridges of tissue as he clawed at his neck, choking. Essus offered Chambers a brief look of pity before shooting Draus a wary glance. Was that necessary? He was just talking aboutC Now dont you go repeatin what he just said, Essus. Draus narrowed her eyes as Chambers collapsed in front of her. Denton and Cas watched from the side as the man kicked and wheezed, his left arm flopping about for aide while his right continued to dig at his pulverized throat. Aint no one invokin the words ''milk'' connected to the word that kinda means sprint. Essus blinked. I I do not understand. Sunrises many selves buzzed over Chambers, examining him as he struggled. Damage severe. Deep lacerations. Biological recovery baseline insufficient to overcome trauma. The aeros gonna pick Kae up. Its gonna pick her up and there aint gonna be any problems bout it. Draus expression hardened. Things will go just fine. Just fine. I remain confused, Essus said, looking to the others for aid. An old street squire superstition, Denton explained. Beside them, the aero lifted up as the field holding it in place flicked off. The aerodock flashed white as a sheet of glass in the departing vehicle shimmered in time with a floating shard of glass hovering next to Draus. She crushed his throat because he was about to question why things were progressing so smoothly. Tempting the city, if you will. You mean the fates? Essus asked. She means the city, Avo said. Fates are fickle. New Vultun just wants you dead. The former fathers expression darkened. He looked away from the others, lowering his gaze to the rusted plates forming the floor. Ah. I understand. The cityscape outside however no longer overlooked the district of LoathingCor even Lights End for that matter. Instead, they were somewhere in the Throat of the WarrensCa section between Layer Three and Layer Two closer to a checkpoint or partition to separate the useful from the truly FATELESS, destined to feed the economy with their deaths. Their departure from the Easy Armistice was preceded by three spiking notes followed by a melody. From where they once sat beneath the open terrace of a stone pagoda overlooking a tranquil pond, they had suddenly found themselves deposited around a dilapidated dinner table in an old aero-shop as space around them smeared. It had felt as if all of reality around them was a disc of some kind and a needle was skipping them out of place into another location entirely. From what Cas had to say thereafter, it seemed that there were more than a thousand exits to the Easy Armistice, but only that single way back, up in the district of Loathing. Avo supposed the futility of raiding such a place added to the reason why people called it the Easy Armistice It was nigh impossible to actually engage in a prolonged fight within its confines. As Denton led them out to a reserved aerodock with a Stormtree-licensed aero already prepared, Draus exercised her canons and created a sheet of glass on the side before linking it to another piece and forming a junction. Avo studied his DeepNav and discovered they were suddenly only two hundred and eighty miles away from Xin Yunsha, and that the aero was being flown by a well-maintained Wight sporting Stormtrees colors. Itll pilot the aero over to the Second Fortune and deliver your message, Denton said. We might have to account for some delays as it passes through security checkpoints and Paladin pockets, so expect this to take four hours. Maybe a bit more. At her feet, Chamber crawled over and clawed at her silver pant legs. She offered the man a sympathetic look and regarded Avo immediately afterward. How much Rend did he have leftover from the fight? Not that much, Avo said, curious to observe how Chambers might resurrect. It would be interesting to see how another returned. But even more than that, there was something else he could do. META-FAC ACTIVATING TRANSFERRING REND FROM SECOND CIRCLE [LUSHBURNER] TO FOURTH CIRCLE [WOUNDSHAPER] ->REND CAPACITY [LUSHBURNER]: 0% ->ACCESS CANONS And before Avos sense, Chambers canons loaded into his awareness. Avo''s Soul was flowing out in oscillating tides ebbing over and back across the borders of Chambers Frame. Interfacing didnt feel so different than casting a ghost out to form a link, but ultimately, it was an action that was moreCso much greater. He was effectively bridging subrealities together, using the deviant nature of his Stillborn. And all it took was a thought. Fuck me, Cas said. What are you even doing? Avo considered being honest. He considered being dishonest. Considering how much more they knew about Frames and even his Frame in particular, and how much they had been willing to share, he didnt see much point in lying. If they knew about Godshaper, they probably could guess what some functions of his Meta-Fac might be. Drawing the Rend out of him. Wasnt much. Now inside me. However, not being willing to lie didnt mean he was going to be entirely open with them. He stopped there, saying nothing about how he was currently interfacing with Chambers canons. And you can do this to other Clads in combat? Cas said. Avo grunted. Seem so. The man whistled. Well, ghoul, you might just have the nastiest piece of Godclad perma-killing kit burning inside you. Congrats. Fuck. Three-Eyes gonna be pissed if she ever hears about this. Avo paused. You used he before. Cas shrugged. Were on an odd hour right now. He chrono-shifted to being his unborn sister or something. I dont know how Sanctites work. Avo grunted again, this time in understanding. A Sanctite Godclad. A Sanctite Godclad serving Ninth Column. The city sure had its inventory of characters, but considering he was an enhanced ghoul created by an immortal priest to a kingdom nested inside the corpses of several dragons above the structure of existence, he really didnt have much room to judge a temporally separated person who shifted between traits based on the passing of chronology. Right, Cas said. Thatll take a while. How about we goC He is dead, Sunrise said. Avo noticed the slackening of Chambers muscles and the scent of the man relieving himself one final time. What mattered more, however, was the burning presence of his Soul simmering in through the looking glass of reality. Where he died formed a layer of metaphysical scar tissue that was rapidly cauterizing away, peeling open a pathway between realities. Through the passage to the other side, only Essence and ghosts coursed to nourish the waters of mythology. Here was a gate that only the absolutely conceptual were able to cross. Here was a gate that Avo could knock on using his Meta-Fac.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Again, he directed his fires to fuse with Chambers death-point, and this time, however, he felt the inner confines of Chambers Liminal Frame come into shape. It felt as if he was bridging himself over to the other Godclad, like he was greeting and speaking to one of his own Heavens. Chambers? Avo said, wondering if the man could hear him. Guh! Fuck! You scared the shit out of meCwell, fire. I squirted a godsdamn column of flame out from myself when your voice came outta nowhere. Where the hells are you, anyway? What the hells happened to me? I dont see you floating around hereCshit? Are those your Heavens? I think I see the Woundshaper. An affirmative note came from the Heaven. The pitiful one is astute. Still, the gift of godhood is wasted on one such as he. You have learned enough from him. Shred his ego and take back what you gifted. The Galeslither recoiled at her suggestion. Mother of Blood, how honorless can you be. To murder a master in their own house Oh, cease, you. To think one so simpering could have stood a member of a pantheon. Better a simpering mule than a butcher. Better a claimant to power than some fool-moralist who starves. Holy shit, do they always talk? Chambers asked. Avo suddenly realized that Chambers could hear his Heavens. Something worth considering. Sometimes, Avo said. Sometimes theyre just quiet. ...Can my Heaven talk? Chambers asked. Probably if I keep building it, Avo said. He wasnt sure about that yet. He wasnt even sure if he wanted to keep Chambers as a Godclad. There was too much Avo felt unsure about. Some changes and plans needed to be set in motion. What the hells happened to me anyway? Chambers asked. You said something close to milk run. Draus crushed your throat. We watched you choke to death. A lull came. Avo felt Chambers resurrection building fast. The mans Frame was cycling back to fullness as the metaphysical scab melted away even more, shedding forty percent of itself. Ill get her back for that, Chambers said. Im telling you, Chambers-Clad aint taking it from half-strands no more. Sure. Can let her know, Avo said, absent-mindedly. Wait, fuck, not yet! I was just venting, consang relax. She doesnt need to know. She really doesnt need to know. Wont tell her, Avo said. Chambers Lushburner crackled in relief. Thanks consang. Avo promptly turned to Draus and spoke in the real. Chambers is probably going to want to kill you back for this. Her response was to throw her head back and laugh. So, as I was saying, Cas continued, disregarding Chambers death. If you want to secure a place to do some thoughtwave detonations, I might just have an option for you. And it could work pretty well with your Frame too. Youll be able to keep draining the Rend out of Rendsinks maybe. Keep those golems in use. Sure. Lets hear it. The shard of glass was orbiting Draus now. Like for Avo, it didnt take much practice for her to wield her Heaven mechanically. Avo wondered if it was because the base form of the hollowed gods still contained something similar to muscle memory. Well, Cas began. Chambers dipped into his Souls root and suddenly his resurrection cycle accelerated. Unseen fire erupted and ate away the scarstuff, and Avo watched as shooting trails of Soulfire threaded the outline of a person over Chambers corpse, his reloaded vessel injected back into reality as the Soul poured itself back over through the veil filling into the body at last. Chambers stood, arms folded, head held high, and grinning at Draus. Also, his pants were gone again and his bits swung in the wind. I definitely gave him pants, Denton said, sighing. Its not yourC Chambers lower pelvic region erupted into a chasm of gore as Draus fired her projectile launcher into his genitals. Mangled pulp spattered onto the ceiling as one of Chambers legs snapped free and flopped away from the body. What followed was an expression of muted horror as Chambers began to scoop what he could back into the open chasm that used to constitute a stretch of flesh from his pelvic region leading up to his lower belly. Shaking, he turned to Avo as his lip quivered. The ghoul thought he was going to cry. I thought you said you werent going to tell her Didnt, Avo lied again. She just does that. The horror on Chambers face deepened. A series of clicks and snaps followed as another missile was loaded into Draus projectile launcher. Chambers. Listen up. Draus aimed her arm at his head. A Phys-Sim vector went red. The ghoul loves killin people. I like killin half-strands. I want to make a couple things clear before I spread your head across the room again. Avo watched as Sunrise drifted away from Chambers, it''s swarming mass moving behind Avo for cover. Dangerous, it said. Draus continued. Heres the thing: You mightve forgotten who you were, but I didnt. You worked for Mirrorhead. You''re a half-strand scumbagCa real funny one, but lets not bullshit ourselves, you helped your old boss do plenty of horrible shit to folks that didnt deserve it. Folks like Essus here. Fuck, Chambers moaned. II helped you snuff Mirrorhead, didnt I? I mean thats something right? Draus stared at him flatly. Sure I didnt really have a choiceC Had your chance, Avo snarled. Should have done your research for that run. Suddenly, Chambers pulled his hands away from his castration, eyes widening in disbelief. Wait, are you still hung up on that shit? That was our first run! How was I supposed to know about the Scalpers? Prepare! Avo hissed. Ask. Investigate. Fine, fuck, Im sorry, Chambers choked. Anything else? Is is anyone else mad at me for something? How about you two. He looked at Denton and Cas. Anything you want to take out on me? I''m just a half-strand right. He laughed three times. A single tear ran down his face. Cas folded his arms and looked away, expression unnerved. Denton quirked an eyebrow. I wont intrude on whatever this is, but I have a request. Chambers nodded slowly. Can you please resurrect with pants the next time you die? I Ill try? Chambers said, sounding unsure. Right, Denton said, wincing slightly. Did you care, Essus said, capturing everyones attention. Did you care what happened to me? To anyone that you profited from? Chambers whirled on Essus, mouth open with eyes glinting and glib remark at the ready. Despite his injured state, there was something persistent about Chambers C a determination to get others to like him no matter what. But for whatever reason, he faltered at Essus'' expression. Chambers went silent and hiccuped. Then, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain passed through him, he puffed a sigh. I care about living, consang. I care about keeping myself safe and fed and not-dead. I used to care about other shit but this city, it''s power unleashed. People like us we dont really make it if we dont go a little crazy C if we dont be a little wrong in the head. People like us, Essus repeated. Yeah, Chambers said. People like us. You can talk about you being a good person all you want, consang. Shit you are C you are! Im Im sorry about what that fucking Mirrorhead did to you. Im sorry your boy died and everyone just watched and laughed and made imps from it. But I was relieved, you know? Because look at you. Good but suffering. What did it mean? And meanwhile, I''m a half-strand and alive. Doing fine. He stopped looking at Essus and turned back to stare at Avo. I survive. I do my best. Seven-eighteen years! The citys never stopped trying to kill me, but here I am. He laughed. Here I am. Godclad. Maybe just for now. But it had to mean something, right? It had to be more than just luck that Im here with you instead of dead with all the others. He glared at Draus. Heres the thing, Reg. I didnt forget. I moved on. I moved on to you guys, and if shit goes wrong again, Ill move on again. He shrugged. He winced. I dont I know why you might hate me but you you gotta understand. Essus isnt from here, but you gotta know, right? Unmoved, Draus held her implanted weapon online. Chambers breathed out. I dont want to go off to the Big Nothing. I want to live too. I want to be happy. I want to enjoy life. Mine! Not just snippets of thrill I get from a vicarity. Im a person too, godsdammit, He paused and a haunted expression came over him. Why dont people see that. Quietly, Avo regarded the man as a distant expression consumed him. Through the Auto-Seance, Avo read flashes of trauma cycling through him, the pain of a hyper-heated gun barrel dug into ones armpit. The throat-rending shrieks only a child could make. And the outrage. So much outrage. To be hurt by someone you were so desperate to love. Chambers was a collection of sickness poured to cement a central faultline shut. All the vicarities, all the viruses, all the inward collapsing sequences were there drawn to that center mass of trauma he wouldnt face. And at that moment, Avo learned how to permanently shatter Chambers. Fuck it, Chambers said. Shoot me again, Reg. Snuff me. Ill come back with pants this time. Ill be good. Ill do anything you guys want. His lip quivered. Please dont take my Frame. Avo reached out with an Echohead and placed it over Draus projectile launcher. Slowly, he pushed her shot offline. Chambers, Avo said. Going to need something from you soon. You want to matter. You want to be part of us. None of his words were presented as questions. Chambers nodded. Yeah, consang! Anything! Good. You will help me fix someone. Then I want to see if I can make you better. Use your damage. Chambers was beginning to blink rapidly. He didnt hear the last part. Use my what? He lost too much blood, Sunrise said. We recommend killing and then talking to him. Avo grunted. Draus. You can shoot him now. Chambers eyes widened. Wait, whaC Chambers head promptly burst apart. 12-8 Private Transit In deeds, not oaths. In acts, not rituals. In practice, not prayer. We bearers of the scriptures, though ever faithless, do pledge our undying virtues to serve the commonwealth of the peoples of Idheim and beyond. We severed of cults and chains, bind the flesh of divinity toward greater ends. Our task is the cessation of the longest cycle. Our oath is the cessation of power. Our duty is to Guild and polity. Never shall I bask in power, but to guide and remold. Never shall I hold a position of power, only to counsel. Never shall I revive the memories of the old gods, for the path toward coming prosperity will be layered by practicality instead of mythology. I pledge myself to the task of the Agnosi eternal until I am severed of life, or severed from thought. I will be the keeper of all pantheons, but the follower of none. Mine is where the chains are broken. -The Covenant of the Faith-Severed 12-8 Private Transit Apotheosis changes a person. The first deviation between a Godclad and an ephemeral comes with their relation to death. Where the pall of oblivion clouds each risk-filled action chosen by the latter, the former is free to simply proceed in most cases, with their demise being anything from a brief setback to a moment of respite. Chambers took to dying remarkably well. His consciousness quavered during his first descent into his own Soul, but with the sequent departure, a growing excitement shed itself free from the mottled skin of existential dread. Far from being furious at Draus, when the man returned a third time, he requested she kill him again just for the sensation. And again for the thrill of being unable to stop her grip from folding his skull over his neck. As his head dangled between his shoulders, blood seeped out from Chambers nostrils as he smiled, Lustaway activating at his habitual addiction calcified around his baseline of trauma. As he toppled over next to his other two bodies, Draus studied him, unimpressed. You know, I like coming back usin your own corpse. Its neater that way. Resurrecting in a new bodys a good trick if you need a quick hit of imps, Cas said. Sell off some implants and all that other desperate organ trading stuff. But it usually makes you a pretty easy target as well. No-Dragons or Voidwatch ends up getting your biometric data and youll be looking for a new sheathe to avoid hunters or viruses specially engineered for you. Every corner presents a trap, Essus muttered, face pale as his eyes were locked on Chambers'' corpse. The terror of death still clung to the man like a weighted shadow, but he was beginning to master himself more as his exhaustion outweighed his trauma. We are people no more, then, Avo. He looked up. We are denied a final departure. Can still die if you want, Avo said, keeping his words wide but subtext clear. If Essus wanted an end to this, Avo would let him go. But he could not leave with the Frame or memories. Such things were too great a boon and too large a risk to release adrift into the city. I wish to have my own quiet for some time, Essus said. As he looked down to study Chambers corpse again, a passing aero illuminated the walls and cast darkness over his face. I wish to think. Well, Cas interrupted, kicking Chambers. As I was saying before Kill-Me here decided to make a run at giving us all the Rash, I might have a demiplane that suits all your needs. Well. Its more of an onion. Onion? Essus asked. Cas nodded. Yeah. Still got a few hours before we can nab the Agnos. How about we go get you all set for her He turned and looked at Avo. What is it youre planning to do with her? Fix, Avo said. Clean out the construct in her mind. Take the fire for myself. The Columner nodded slowly. A wall of bees spread out behind Avo like a cape. It will be a difficult operation. I have observed much skill from Ori-Thaum assets. If it would be acceptable, we would like to be on-site during the process for documentation. Avo regarded the Voidwatch bioform? He didnt really know how to regard the swarm. Considering Sunrise still used the words I, its consciousness was clearly templated close enough to a humans that whatever differences would not be axiomatic. Do you know the art? he asked. Sunrises collective mass buzzed in contemplation as one. No. Aegis considers Necrotheurgy a forbidden developmental pathway. Until my ego is re-downloaded, I will not be permitted to return to the fleets. This is purely for self-curiosity. Self-curiosity. It spoke like it was on safari. Like Avo was a deviant bioform worth observing. It should know that the feeling was mutual in that regard. Avo grunted. Keep some distance. Dont know if ghosts will affect your cognition. They will, Sunrise admitted without hesitation. We will keep to safe parameters. Draus smirked as she looked at the swarm swirling around him up and down. Well, hells, Avo. Look at you makin a new consang. Yeah, Avo said. This one didnt steal my sword. The Regular fought to force down a smirk. You woulda just lost it. She was probably right. But he reserved the right to be bitter. Good times, huh, Cas said. I would not go that far, Essus said, spitting his words through gritted teeth. Aw, fuck. Cas winced. Sorry consang. An awkward moment followed as Chambers popped back into reality, fist held up toward the sky as he cheered his resurrection, declaring himself unkillable. At least he returned with the diamond-studded pants this time. *** Leaving the aero-shop via a cargo unit repurposed into the body of a tram, the local district bobbed into view as they drifted out along vertical mag-rails. Snapping free of the dilapidated structure, the environment stood an alloyed jungle. Countless other cargo units shot along winding rails as interconnected traffic ran from block to block over blocks and blocks some more. Things here were built simple and stacked high, buildings literal cubes bereft of windows or other structural weakness, each planted like a step upon each as railways ran in a winding loop while the aeros crossed overhead. Though there lived only twenty million inhabitants in the local area, TwoGate was a place dense with moving bodies. Floating squid-shaped drones swam in schools from place to place, their jocks guiding them between sectors separated by numbers and verticality. Sector Five was where they were goingCwhere the industrial work happened. A veritable tide of machines flooded to the lowest levels to haul engines to and fro different places. Lots of Terrestrial aero-engines get produced here, Denton explained. Part of Omnitechs attempts to compete with Voidwatch in the mechanical market. And hows that going for them, Draus deadpanned. Their output of specialized war golems usually make up for mistakes like trying to out-compete the voiders in the tech-sec. Denton finished. As they swiveled down to the very bottom and decelerated for final departure, another container moved on a rail beside them, keeping perfect pace for Denton to order the opening of both doors at the same time. Come on, Cas said. Were switching rides. Stepping over into the other container, they found it to be filled with bolts and screws of various shapes and sizes, and unlike the one they just departed, it didnt have any windows, keeping all from physical sight beneath sheets of worn plasteel. Avo connected to its locus momentarily and ignored the disquiet of the ghosts howling ritualized numbers in its structure. He hated jacking into Omnitech lobbies not because he couldnt get in, but because they mainly used math and some manner of coded symbology to serve as the substance of their minds. Of course, the nature of their minds lacked the static ingrained within Denton or even Sunrise, so it was clear which technology was purer. But purity meant little when you lived in a world where mechanisms heed the whims of concentrated delusion. The transition took another hour as Avo studied the world around him through means of his Whisper. Essus took to his own corner during this time, and the Woundshaper sensed an unnatural concetration of flowing blood in a building not a mile away from them. Scouting out what was inside was a trifling affair. As Avo projected his cognition over a pit of massacred bodies, he regarded their appeareances with a brief look, realizing they were all garbed with a specific number on each of their lapels. They were currently being fed into a building processing unit, and more were being dragged over between the seconds, pulled by a few combat-modified squid-drones.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Cracking one of the drones wards and digging through its mem-data, Avo squeezed through the phantasmal architecture connecting it to its jock and infested the womans mind. Her name, contact information, and immediately memories splashed over him as he disregarded most of the details, leaving it for his ghosts to interace with. Instead, he filtered for everything on the massacre. Immediately, hours of mem-data related to the reprisals injected knowledge into his Metamind. Apparently, there had been a workers'' revolt among some of the FATELESS regarding their hours and performance metrics. They had attempted to compel management to reduce demands by crippling several key systems in their work sectors. It ended as these things always did. Sinking through the sequences of his latest victims Meta, Avo regarded the vast waves cast by his own Metamind with a wince. Every movement he made was shredding through her sequences and causing the Nether to tremble. He needed to reduce his presence. Thankfully, he knew how. He created a dozen or so loci from his own blood and infused most of his ghosts into them C all but three thousand. And then, with his cognitive shadow far diminished, he tore through his hijacked mind for more mem-data before firing their Auto-Seance and contacting her superior. Someone called Technotheurge Ansavvar. +Vrona? What is the purpose of thisC+ Avo cracked his wards and tore through him as well. The mans Parry MK.II Pattern protections hardened against the first trauma loosed but were insufficient for what followed. Avo hated the Parry series: Indestructible until you get hit by slightly more than one thing. Then, marketing for the ward went from unbreakable to so hard it''s brittle. The process repeated about a dozen times before Avo found himself nulling his way through those who ordered the killing. He hopped through Auto-Seance to Auto-Seance, striking each mind from within as his metaphorical skeleton key only grew. Truthfully, it felt like stabbing someone in the back over and over again, the harm he inflicted offering only scant flashes of pleasure. They broke screaming and clawing their skulls in the warmth of their beds and the comfort of their homes. They died with planted sequences and mingled mem-data within them, muddying probable cause. Not that anyone would be able to guess the true reason behind Avos actions. Because he could. Because being able to null someone in power was an infliction of true harm upon another; a feat far greater than ordering the execution of the small and meek. It was also almost nigh-effortless on Avos part to execute. With all the jacking he did the past month combined with the boost to his reactivity, he was beginning to perceive previously unseen nuances in sequences and emotions. As he provoked a husband and wife manager couple into killing each other via the dichotomous revelation of hidden memories, he considered how he would have eradicated the workers, and options began to blossom and bloom in his mind C a garden grown from the soil of atrocities. Turning his considerations to another angle, he wondered how he could have prevented his own death as one of the wagers. Perhaps they could have procured their own survival by uprooting secrets between their masters and sparking a bout of infighting. Asymmetry. It always came back to the concept. Avos survival and greatest challenges were born from it as well. To strike from a place without being struck. To play a game no others could play. That, in of itself, might be the greatest advantage a Godclad held over even reality itself. To set and play by rules of your own making. To be the rules, Avo whispered to himself. There was so much more experimentation he could be doing. A flash of light caught his attention as he emerged from the dive. Draus was leaning against a crate as a ballet of vitrified sheets spun in front of her, each of them an open passage to another placeCvantage points that formed an overlooking panopticon for their current vessel. It struck him how different her use of the Twice-Walker was from Mirrorhead. He used reflections to engender paranoia and intimidate, creating a pretense of omnipresence. She used it like an unseen spyglass, revealing nothing of herself while gazing upon distant adversaries. +Will be hard to track you,+ Avo said. +Might need to mask your perception more. Filters through the junction in the Nether.+ Each piece of glass froze. Draus pulled herself away from gazing through her looking glasses and regarded Avo. +How many you get?+ He hadnt felt her link to his mind when he dove. +How you know?+ +Your tongue goes wigglin about and you were bitin the air. Aint hard to tell, Avo.+ Ghouls werent ones to feel self-conscious about their behavior but some habits were better corrected. +So,+ Draus said. +Who were they? And how was it?+ He cast the details over to her. Her pupils cycled as she processed the information. Hells. All in a days work, huh? +Hours,+ Avo said. +Can do more. Want to play too?+ Draus took in a breath and turned her head to glance back at one of her shards. So. Whats the game?+ +I drop mem-lock. You make a junction. See if we can make one look like a suicide.+ Her lip twitched. +Our new consangs might not like it. Were gonna have to keep this quiet.+ +When have I not?+ +Dunno. When you decided to null three-hundred-thousand FATED cause you felt like it.+ +Doesnt count. Who knows if I did it? Exorcists didnt find any evidence.+ He could feel a faint bemusement rushing out of her. +Alright. Lets do this. Send me my marks.+ He cast his Whisper back out and filtered through his memories to indicate the closest involved party still alive. One accretion brightened two miles above them, their aero moving fast. +Think you can get this one?+ Draus wiggled her jaw. +Well see, wont we?+ Two of her floating shards began to flash in sequence. Examining the glass, Avo watched as the pinhole of scenery changed. He realized then that she was effectively using two different sets of junctions as a ladder, connecting one to a specific reflection and then using it to re-anchor the other. All the while, she remained in place, monitoring things through her collection of shards. In seconds, her Heaven leaped across blocks and enchained itself to the window of a passing tram. With how little she was stressing the Twice-Walkers Rend, its full manifestation remained dormant, and the two Columners remained ignorant. Little wonder why Godclads fought quiet wars. As the managers aero curved along the wind to arrive at an executive parking slot opening on the side of a block, Draus bound a shard to the aeros windshield and bit back a smirk. +You want a jumper?+ +Yes,+ Avo said. +Wait.+ He cast his Whisper through her second active shard and released a torrent of trauma into the aeros locus. +No more monitoring. Now you canC+ He didnt manage to finish the thought as the vehicles windshield exploded. Glass fragments dug into the designated victim and, with the aid of some unseen force, tore him out through the door. Draus cut the passageway before any noise could spill over, but using her other shard, she watched as the man kicked and flailed, tumbling through the air before he burst apart against a passing cargo shipment in a spray of red. The suddenness and absurdity of the kill made Avo grin. You two talking about something funny? Cas eyed them warily from across the unit. Avo stopped smiling. Yeah, Draus said. Talkin about the Uprising. And how his family is made out of nothing but half-strands. She jabbed him with a finger. He swatted it aside using an Echohead. Cas suspicion remained. +Chambers,+ Avo said, casting his ghost through an activating Auto-Seance. +Show Cas the Soft Master Collection. Scried at his mind. Hell like it.+ Chambers jolted as he turned away from Denton. He blinked as he stared directly at the ghoul. +You sure? Because he seems like one of those straight-edged Jaus-was-right guys.+ He was likely right about that, but Avo wanted the Columner distracted by other matters so he wouldnt keep digging. +Just do it. Youre a Clad. What can he do to you? Kill you?+ That kindled a courage previously still and cold inside Chambers. +Yeah Im a Clad. Im a fucking Clad!+ Without hint nor warning, Chambers back straightened, his gaze sharpened, and all the necessary sequences comprising the Soft Master Collection vicarities peeled out of his inner mind and condensed into mem-data in a building Ghost-Link. Dentons eyes widened momentarily as she caught of glimpse of what was forming around Chambers halo. ICChambers, what are youC Ghost speared out from him into Cas as his hand fell on the taller mans shoulder. So, Chambers said, face angled with a lecherous smirk, heard you were also a connoisseur. Cas turned to regard the fingers on his shoulder. What the hellC The contents of the Ghost-Link struck him then. His mouth fell open. His eyes rolled back as the totality of the vicaritys horror brushed over his mind. His legs began to buckle. Through the near Nether, the anguished cries of Dannis Steelhard echoed softly. Yeah, Chambers nodded. Thats theC The link was rejected before its material could do more psychological harm. The twangs of guitar strings accompanied each curling digit as Cas closed his hand into a fist. Suddenly, the expression vanished across Chambers face, the flood of raw disgust and fury pouring free from Cas revealing more than enough. +Avo,+ Chambers said with a sigh. +Youre a real fucking halfC+ Cas fist lashed out. Chambers head snapped back. Draus eyes narrowed. +Shit,+ she said. +You might actually beat that one on one in a brawl.+ Cas rained more punches on Chambers nose before Denton shoved him off. She caught the ex-enforcer as his body spun, nose trailing a whip of blood. Cas, thats enough, she said. Despite being the one inflicting the harm, the holocoated Columner seemed more rattled by far. DidCDid you see the shit he cast at me? Hes fucking insane. He was trying to Rash me. A snorting laugh came from Chambers. Thats alright, he said. Avo couldnt tell if the man was winking at him or if he was just blinking out of a swollen eye. Cause I still got enough ghosts to make some phantoms. No! This time, Denton tackled Chambers, casting her out thoughtstuff out to interrupt him. +Good soldier,+ Avo thought as he regarded Chambers struggling form. In the corner, a flat look of incomprehension swallowed Essus. +Think he would have made a good Reg in another life.+ +Fuck you, rotlick,+ Draus replied. Metal and melody blended as Cas began to pummel Chambers relentlessly, desperate for the other man to go unconscious. Avo grunted. +Anyway. Theres the distraction. See if we can kill a few more?+ Draus shrugged. +Why the hells not.+ 12-9 Restoration (I) Its. Understandable why Voidwatch would veto the project, but I still reserve the right to be upset. Imagine. A fully modern Heaven of Strong Nuclear ForcesCcan you even conceive of the things we could do with such a Heaven? The canons we could weave! All those lives would be spent toward worldCno, galaxyCaltering purpose. OrCor something like a Heaven of ElectromagnetismCagh! Disappointment! Disappointment! I meanCI understand But still! Disappointment! The Terrestrial Guilds have no idea what theyre missing out on, and the other Agnosi theyre I dont know why theyre so incurious. The Voiders know so muchChave so much history with the world that was. They made miracles without Heavens or Ruptures or anything! If they could do that, imagine a Godclad with the intelligence of one of their ship-mind-things! Even the un-redacted information they let me review is Uh just awesome. Theyre awesome. If only they could get over their fear of thaumaturgy. The gods are broken and were oathboundCI mean, things are stableCb-better. Better now. We can try and move toward a better future. A better future Ive decided. Im going to take the commission. Project Godshaper. Oh, wow, saying it makes me lightheadedCuh, I need toCI need to prepare. The oathsCtheres so much lore I need to request access to. Channels channels. Always so many channels in the way of progress. I have a good feeling about this one. A great feeling. If Voidwatch is attached as the rumors say, Im going toC[Audible squeak of joy] Focus, Kae. Focus. We havent changed Idheim. But the moment sure feels close. -Mem-log of Agnos Kae Kusanade 12-9 Restoration (I) Twenty minutes and twelve engineered assassinations later, the cargo unit was drawn away by claw-shaped carrier drones and carried down through vast rusted gates framing the distant fire of a looming furnace. An uncomfortable swelter simmered within the container as Avo scouted what was to come with his Whisper. Dont mind the heat, Cas said, rubbing vigorously at his hand with a piece of cloth. His metallic fingers were still stained red with Chambers viscera, and across the room, the ex-enforcer sat next to Essus who had wordlessly been examining the other mans wounds. Were going to be dropped into the waste disposal once we get shuttled inside. Its connected to golems. Two to be exact. One for industrial use, and another, symmetrical one hidden in the same domain. Avo felt the pull of space distorting around the distant flames. Judging from how Chambers suddenly straightened and stared past the bland plasteel walls comprising the interior of the container, he sensed it too. The fire, Avo said. Demiplane tied to it? Close, Denton said. Thermal excitement. Intensity. Its a stolen Omnitech golem with a modern Heaven and modified canons. All-in-all, it''s easy to hide and pair to the currently active miracles. You got more than one of these planted across the city, dont you? Draus asked. Dentons face softened as she closed her eyes, covered her ears, and pressed her lips together. Need to know. Even for us. I request. I get a pull. I seek and receive. Yeah, Draus said. And I see lots of points where you can just end up gettin cut off. Lots of ways to end up dead in this city, Cas replied. Sometimes, its better to get snuffed than topple everything down with you. The interior shook as the air sizzled. Avos Echoheads mirrored his growing agitation, thrashing and slithering as he ran his claws over his fungal plates. The itch was psychologicalCa sensation of memory leaking over into his physical senses. Before a fusion burner painted your shadow into the backdrop, vaporizing your body, the initial spike of heat stung the skin with a needling feeling all across ones nerves. Things were not that hot yet, but it wasnt far. Thinkin about gettin burned? Draus asked. Already know, he grumbled, trying to hide his annoyance. Ya know, I always did like the burners. Made it trigger-pull-easy to clear rooms and buildings. Except when facin you and yours. Never stopped comin. Didnt have much to live for. He growled. And wasnt that the truth for every ghoul other than him? Consume. Be consumed. What was life but a brief carnival of cruelty and flavor when you were a monster made to serve the dubious needs of a false god. You are not alone in your distaste," Sunrise said. "The heat bodes ill for our consciousness as well. Languor weighed the swarm''s flight path as the various bees battled to recenter. Some circled the growing mass of their fellows twice before arriving at their final stop, and through the gaps of twitching wings and jolting limbs, Avo caught sight of a chrome-sheened insect nearing thrice the size of all the others. Its carapace was the color of fluid gray, and from its filigreed edges dolloped thin strings of matter through the other bees as if each was part of a circuit. The Nether offered a parallel portrayal: all points in its lattice of static-stained consciousness met within what seemed to be the queen of the hive. Judging from how they were all venting hot air out between the crenulations implanted upon their shells, Avo guessed they werent much better with the heat than he was. He eyed the mass of insects and considered their words. Have you been burned before? No, Sunrise answered. How is it? A lot of pain. Then none at all. Suddenly, the heat lifted as gravity pulled up, and the container sank down into what squished like soft soil. Relieved, Avo directed his perception outward again and realized they were now in the corner of a featureless sodden field. The temperature dove back to that of a morose autumn. Above, Avo could still sense the presence of the flamesChear the crackling of hyper-heated air. They were hidden somewhere in the fire, somehow unburned on their descent down into alloy-slagging temperatures. Sweeping his Whispers perception wide, he regarded his surroundings and found naught but a clearing of mud and muck enclosed by a ring of leafless trees. Columns of smoke rose in the far distance, feeding into the clouds reshaped from a dancing conflagration, the atmosphere swaying in flashes of shifting orange and yellow. Yet, the heat never sank down from the heights. Not twenty steps away from where their container was dropped, a gravel staircase led down to a spatially distorted oubliette. Come on, Denton said as the door opened and the soft incandescence of the plane beyond welcomed them. Lets go get you all set up. As they cleared out from the container, the Glaive cast out a thought and suddenly the cube-shaped cargo unit was swallowed by the sodden soil, drawn down beneath the earth. Chambers trailed alongside her, pointing at various things and babbling while Cas kept his eyesCand distanceCfrom the former Syndicate Enforcer. It seemed that despite how badly Chambers had been beaten, he came out of the confrontation with a brighter disposition and a heightened certitude in himself. He walked, whistling with each stride as Essus staggered behind, a mess of exhaustion with little regard for his surroundings. Most of the environment hasnt been designed, Cas explained. He pointed at the dead trees around them. Its just supposed to be a safehouse, but it''s got six levels split across six different thresholds of heat. Were in the entry. The level below us is the bivouac with beds and other stuff you need for rest, and after that we have two containment layers and one armory above the exit point into the gutters. The way out is at the very bottom, Denton added. One-way exit. Golem shuts down and shifts locations afterward. Clean operation, Draus said. Never enough security in this city. Her words struck something tender as Dentons lip twitched. Yeah. Never enough. Cas took point at the head of the group as he began descending the steps. However, he paused mid-step down the stairs, spinning on his heel to point at Chambers. Automatically, one of Chambers fingers came afire, returning a rude gesture directly back at Cas. No. smut-vicarities, Cas hissed. His lip twitched in disgust as Chambers held his head high. Im serious. We catch Rash and Ill beat you to death with whatever homunculi I push out of me. Not if I beat you with yours first, Chambers responded. Cas opened his mouth before the thought of Chambers reaching into his womb-sores disquieted him enough to throw up his hands and resume the descent. Just dont do any weird shit, please. We might all be Clads, but if youre going to work on the Agnos here, it wont be good to have us all squirting out stillborn versions of ourselves. Trailing downward, Avo felt the Nether stutter as it funneled through each threshold, the staircase drilling a diagonal structure of obsidian and rune-marked stone that went on and on. As an empty wood-floored barracks became the environment around them down a single floor, Avo found the Nether to be even more strangled than before. He would still need to seal the leaking entrances with vivianite to prevent any disruptions. Bed! Chambers cheered. With his nose broken, both eyes swollen, and a cauliflower ear developing, he staggered over and threw himself atop the soft blanket, smearing the white sheets with a faceful of red.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Auto-chefs and amusingly, water filtration stations lined the far end of the room next to two open toilets flanking the next flight of stairs down another level. Welp, Cas said, running his fingers through messy tassels of hair, if you guys need a breakC They can just kill themselves to. Avos words werent answered as the other two were mutually incapacitated. Essus was already asleep while Chambers continued professing his love for the sheets and non-bug-infested fabric. The ghoul let out a low note of annoyance. They could all resurrect in optimum condition after death, so he saw little point in sleep and much pointlessness in needing to wake Chambers up later. He could just activate the mans Auto-Seance to interface it with Kaes affliction, but something inside him twitched uncomfortably. Choice had already been deprived from Essus, from Draus, from even Chambers once this day. Besides, having Chambers participate of his own volition wouldnt take much C the man was desperate to be held in anothers esteem. Any kind of esteem. In the meantime, he cast his Whisper down through the lower levels and examined what was offered. A dozen twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot cells lined the narrow pathways of the level below, while the one beneath that was a wide-open yard filled with nothing but sand and bones. After that, he came upon an emptied armory, with rig stations and guns missing from lockers. The final layer then led steps into a shallow pond going to a well at its center, with the exit being a brief fall down its shaft out through exhaust vents pouring into the internal facilities of Layer Two. So far, as a hideout it was inferior to the Washington in the scope of its capabilities, but in honest admission, the convenience of having retreats planted all across New Vultun could not be denied. He wondered how they managed to get the exact golems needed in the proper place or have these demiplanes stocked without drawing much notice. The logistical demands of such an undertaking would be immense. And then the thought of Zein shunting all their necessities forward into the future passed through his thoughts. That, or the use of another equally clandestine canon. Considering how he and Draus were capable of arranging the circumspect deaths of multiple people in seconds across the reach of the city, nothing was truly beyond reach. The question was merely one of difficulty and cost. Draus, Avo said. Need your help. Need to set inward-facing spatial rooms. Dont want the Thoughtwaves Disruptor to spill over. No factor, Draus responded. Watched your Whisper go down. Got eyes on our facilities? Theyll do, Avo responded. He regarded Denton thereafter. There was another pressing matter he needed to deal with. Still have heavy Rend in one of my Heavens. Might also need matter. Mass. Or blood. Essential for the work. Want to use the materials in the fourth level. That wont be an issue, Denton said. Its a blunting layer lined with empty Rend bombs anyway. You can empty yourself in those if you have a compatible domain. Try not to hit them. They might still matter if the location is compromised and we need to cut the chain. Avo and Draus shared a look. Glad I asked, Avo said. Cas snorted a laugh and shook his head. Yeah. Real paranoid shit. But paranoid shit keeps us all alive. Come on. Let me go point some stuff out to youChelp you set up. *** Time passed as Avo installed the necessary infrastructure for the initial trials. He left loci of blood containing a few thousand ghosts in each cell on the third level for adaptive investigation. He remembered how the disruption peeled the inferno off Kaes mind. It would be useful to repeat such an occurrence and examine the damage. This would be abetted by Draus who was to carry his blood mass in the passage while also keeping any thoughtwave disruptions trapped within the cells'' confines. To this end, she vitrified the walls, floors, and ceilings. From how sudden the transition from plascrete and metal over to glass was, Avo could tell Mirrorhead had not been using his Heaven to the fullest in his last days. With how shattered he was psychologically, he let the full potential of his Heaven slip away. Pitiful. Shameful. The cruelest voice inside Avo wondered if it should invoice the Greatlings for the favor he did for them. Once initial prep work was done, he set about dissolving much of the fourth layer to settle his Rend and then converting what remained into blood while leaving the Rendsinks untouched. Presently, they had a low yield of spatially distorting patternsClikely meant to paradox the local demiplane and see everything resolved in geometric ruin. By the time that was done, he began digging through his Metamind and reviewing relevant mem-data from the Incubi he nulled for any relevant information to her condition. As time slowly approached the three-hour mark, he found only mutterings related to a memetic weapon referred to as the ConflagrationCone matching all the traits of an advanced mem-con and Kaes current condition. Just a shame it offered no additional details. I see her, Draus said. The Regulars words pulled him back into focus. They were positioned inside one of the modified prison cells, and a table and two chairs were all that occupied the room. A layer of glass had formed over where the door was supposed to be, and Draus had modified its structure so Denton and CasCor anyone outsideCcould peer in. A single shard of blood-locus swayed from the ceiling like a lantern. When the time came, Avo would cast out his order and the Thoughtwave Disruptor would go off, and he would switch over to Sanguinity. Shes gettin on, Draus muttered, focus cast far away elsewhere. The glass shard drifting close beside her projected a look into the interior of the aero. Through the shining reflection, Avo noticed Kae stepping aboard with a lost expression on her face as she first met the glass. Her skin was sheened with sweat and her red synthcoat gleamed bright as she approached. The translucent veil hiding her clan-mark flattened against her face as the winds washed over her. Then, from far across the open expanse of the junction, she caught sight of Avo and grinned. Draus! Avo! Kae said, brightening as she stepped through. She let out a slight yelp as a sense of weightlessness took her, but the Twice-Walker rose out from the nondescript reflectivity to shuttle her over. With a causal wave, Draus drew Kae out from the sheet she was expanding from the shard and grinned with satisfaction as the Agnos came through without issue. Thats a milk run, Draus hissed. Insults hurled only when the task was done. The Regular had her priorities in order. Stumbling into Draus'' grip, Kae stumbled as she blinked and shook her head. I-I Her voice trailed off as she found herself in a prison cell. Where uh where are we? Demiplane, Avo said. Sectioned off from the city. Going to use it to disrupt Thoughtwaves. Wh-why? He stared past the confusion writ upon her face and directly into the dancing flames crackling over her accretion. To make you whole again. So you can remember. So you can think without needing an implant. It took her a moment to process what he was saying, but when her breath suddenly hitched, he knew she understood. Her eyes glistened then as she pushed the veil covering her clan mark. Chewing on her lips, the weight of worry stretched out from her and pressed down upon Avo as well, its pressure there and then not, the anxiety an incremental thing between forgetfulness and sudden memory. ButCbut can you? Can you do it? Avo didnt reply with an affirmative. To promise anything would be a lie and all false hope could do was traumatize her further. Instead, he needed to make this seem exactly as it was: a process. The Sovereignty-class Thoughtwave Detonation that swept through Yuulden-Yang shed the burn from her mind for a brief instant. In that time he caught a glimpse of her halo and the sequences within, a glimpse of who she was before the fires whittled her down to mind-savaged effigy of her former self. It would take him some time to fix her. He would need to be meticulous. Detailed in approach and extraction. As Ori-Thaum had been the ones to see her enfeebled, Avo was certain the Incubi would take special measures to ensure the damage they inflicted remained rooted in sequence and sinew. Thankfully, with all the ghosts he wrenched from his foes, his Canon of Haemokinesis, and Chambers as another volunteer, he felt good about their chances. Avo, Kae said as she let out a shuddering exhale. WhatCwhat if I donttheres something b-bad in my memories? What ifCI meanCif they dont She gasped for breath again. He could hear her heart screaming as it pulsed in her chest, feel the blood darting through her veins faster, cycling through the system, the fluid in her veins like friction accompanying a growing tension. Im scared. The way she said those words made him stop. He looked away from her mind and back to Kae in her entirety. She was shaking. This was sudden. Too sudden. He realized she was shooting Draus furtive glances that spilled over onto the glass. There was so much she didnt know now. From one Godclad, they had emerged as cadre. His first thought was to consider using his Ghostjack to soothe her, but then his sense caught back up to him and he remembered the point of this whole affair. Youll be fine, Kae, Draus said. She cracked the bottom of her fist against Avos arm and a shudder swam through his limb. Why, Avo heres practically got the whole thing figured out. Sides, cant be that many Jacks, bettern him. He nulled those Incubi straight on. Hell fix you all the same. He speared one of his Echoheads out from behind her in ire. She tilted her body. The strike skipped off her rig and struck the ceiling. She aimed a rude gesture at him without looking. His Phys-Sims impact vector flashed from red to green. +Making a lot of promises for me,+ Avo said. Draus scratched her nose nonchalantly. +Reckon I am. Suppose all you gotta do now is deliver.+ He glowered at her. +Yeah. Just deliver. Just disable an Incubi level mem-con while infiltrating a subverted mind and clean it out entirely. Do it delicate so brain still genius after. No problem. Only risk is her turning into the vegetable. No pressure.+ +Well, shit, Avo, if I knew it was gonna be that hard for you I mightve requested some help. Hell, theres no shame asking for assistance. Maybe Denton. Shes a Glaive, aint she? Might know what to do. No shame in bein less skilled than someone else+ She trailed off and shot the glass behind them a grin. The meat was questioning his skill again. Ire flashed into genuine frustration, and Avo found himself fighting the beast, struggling to come up with a reason against pushing his thumbs through her eyes and bashing her head open on the ground. +Reasons you cant,+ Draus replied, leering at him. +Thats gonna need you to get close to me. And we both know how you are up close.+ +Going to tear the blood out from your skull. Pop your insides. Drink your organs from your corpse like a carton.+ +Well, if were imaginin things, I guess Im gonna turn your head into glass, smash the glass, and then shit down your throat before puttin the pieces back together to watch you choke on my shit.+ He just glared. +Im going to fix her. Dont need help. Know what to do. Then. Afterward. Im going to kill you. Im going to eat you. Im going to kill and eat you until the beast inside begs me to stop. Till it gets tired of Reg-meat.+ Draus angled her head as she sneered up at him. +Sure you will. More likely, Im gonna have a grand ol time reliving my war days on rotlick safari.+ A low hiss began to build in his throat. He clicked his fangs together as he envisioned biting into her skull, tearing flaps of flesh free from her augmented bones before moving onto her eyes. For her part, she just ran her tongue along the inside of her cheek. Her fingers flexed, and with them, her wing scythes expanded. Well. You gonna make somethin of this, or are you gonna start whistlin your apologies? Avos Echoheads reared backC A banging came from the glass. Hey hey, hey! Watch out for the Agnos. Dont need you two maniacs adding her to the statistics. Cas sounded genuinely worried for Kaes life. Curious. Kae herself spoke thereafter. Are are you two doing it again? You you can fight if you want. Ill go sit behind the table so so I can avoid any stray uh shrapnel. Its fine. He halted in place. No, Avo said. Thats later. Youre priority. For some strange reason, that made Kae break into a bright smile. Draus shard flashed as the reflection jumped into the windshield on the aero and then over upon a window at the second fortune. For future access, she explained. Listen, Kae. Before we start this, therere are a couple things we might-gotta talk about 12-10 Restoration (II) The Conflagration is more than an advanced trauma pattern. Voidwatch has hidden much from usCsecrets near impossible to tease out with the deviance between our spines of power and technology. Yet, for all that they withhold, there are still things that leak. Expressions and functions of their devices become evident when they clash with the world. Take their Ego-Screamers for instance. A beautiful piece of technology defiled by Highflame to feed their banal habits. From the samples we procured, its effects on the mind are self-replicative on another level. By converting a baseliners mind while being overwritten by the Ego-Screamer, we have managed to capture a semblance of the nano-machines in the NetherCthough only a narrow facet of its full functionality, we assume. Being a product of Voidwatch, the architecture of the construct is vastly beyond our full understanding, even as an analogous construct expressed through the Nether. Whats more, it is highly volatile, and its delivery mechanisms are limited, at best. Conceptualize the weapon thusly: You are injecting a self-aware entity to destabilize another mind. It, however, is not human. It possesses no semblance of Essence from which we can compare. You also do not wield said weapon as it cannot be wielded, only transferred from point to point. If it comes into contact with your thoughts, your mind will be unmade all the same. As such, requests for using such a construct require the highest levels of clearance provided only by an Elder or above, and even then it will require approval from the [redacted]. It is with relief that we managed to limit its effect parameters by conditioning a Conflagration-unit to the diet of specific, target-related memories, but do not take this for certainCthe entity can and will devour you. REPETITION FOR EMPHASIS This is not something you can mold or direct. It hates you. It hates all things capable of thought, and it seeks to override your cognition and boil all semblance of thought away so it can finally die. Moreover, the presence of this pattern must never be discovered by Voidwatch for the certain reprisals it will bring. -Incubi Primer on the Conflagration Trauma-Pattern 12-10 Restoration (II) ThCthe Stillborn can install Frames Kae muttered, eyes wide. Such wonder drove her words, even as a fugue of disbelief interrupted by bouts of confusion consumed her. Kae shifted on the hard bench of the small cell, made smaller by Avo and Draus. Gathered in the testing cell, Draus detailed their mostly successful assassination of Mirrorhead followed by the utter Zein-induced chaos and ruination of Nu-Scarrowbur during the mad dash across Lights End, the Agnos face was a constant flux between surprise and astonishment. And and the PaladinChe just just let you go? Her frown deepened. She brushed the transparent half-veil covering half her face. That that shouldnt happen. They-they have oaths. I dont theyre not supposed to do that The Chief es-especially. Or at least they didnt didnt used to. Didnt used to? Avo asked. She shook her head. I think ICthe Sage of uh. I cant remember. But but I think I remember remember Naeko. He was he was nice. But tired. And sad She paused. He shouldnt have let you go. She already said that, but the repetition could just as well be due to emphasis as it could forgetfulness. As her thoughtstuff shifted, so did the flames, swirling and dancing. Between the instances of memory reinstalled into her mind via her exocortex, he caught a glimpse of her active sequences coming alight. It was like gazing down at streets ablaze during a riot from on high, the damage inflamed and deep. Failing to understand the nature of her affliction, to stabilize and remove it could very well worsen her mental crippling. Cold refreshing focus flowed through his veins as the weight of his task began to settle on his shoulders in full. Whatever the Incubi had done to her was more adaptive than any other trauma pattern he had ever seen. But where they matched him in skill, they lacked so far in miracles and preparation. All his Necrojacking experience, earned or instilled, bubbled in the back of his skull. Walton had invested in him all he could. Given him the tools to wrestle with cognition, to understand any and every foe if he could only find the proper angles and memories. He had Chambers unique mental architecture. He had whatever history Draus shared with Kae to call upon. He had Denton and Cas for whatever they could provide. All that remained was for him to study, design, and execute a solution for Kaes release from torment. In the end, the prize far outweighed the risk: A working Agnos. A trauma pattern he could turn against the Incubi themselves. The tension behind his task sweetened. Yes. The promise of future pleasure prevailed over pressure. He licked his fangs. Can start soon, Avo said. Begin initial dive and survey mind. Will begin by detonating thoughtwave. Will clean your surface thoughts. Still the burning for a moment. You will remember. And you will lose it again. Understand? Need to prepare yourself. Kae bit her lip and nodded. Ill be fine. I survived it before. The uncertain quiver in her voice betrayed the weight of worry churning inside her, but that couldnt be helped. Cleaning wounds stung, physical or mental, and if he wanted to return her to whatever wholeness was yet achievable, the odds were more hurt was to follow. Ill be here with you if that matters for anythin, Draus said. She was leaning against the wall with her arms folded. And if the rotlick here screws up, I can break his neck. You know. For encouragement. He bade his Echoheads chitter his ire at the Regular in his stead; his primary preoccupation now was the examination of Kaes mind. All else could come later. Extending filaments of blood out from his veins, he interfaced with the haemokinetic locus he constructed, hanging from the ceiling like a node on a chain. When he sent the signal, it would detonate and everyone would lose track of their thoughts. The blast would loop through the glass via Draus Heaven and the other cells would be unaffected. Afterward, he would connect to the flowing circuits of blood leading to the floor below and link himself to much-needed mass for frame-jacking. Then, using the vast amplification of his perceptive speed, he would begin his initial sweep through her mind to construct a general map of her trauma. Following the diagnosis with the next treatment steps. If need be, he could also ignite Chambers mind using Kaes ailment C study how the pattern interacted with the mans unique mental structure. Worst came to worst for him, he could just kill himC Avo paused. His thoughts snapped together like a shut book. The Stillborn could graft people to Frames. A final solution dawned in his mind if everything collapsed: He could kill and burn Kae into a Frame using the one he took from the last Godclad he killed or take one from Essus or Chambers. Or maybe even Draus if that was what she wanted. He had to remember that he was more than just a Necro now. He was a Godclad. And Godclads always had more options. Alright, Kae said, swallowing. Im ready. Synced about that, Draus added. We dive on you. Avo examined the Agnos mind once more before casting the epiphany that just occurred to him over to Draus. She received his ideas with nary more than a curl of her lip, the response too broad for him to read. +Could work. Dont think she wants that though. Its an option we can keep in reserve in case you fuck it all up.+ +Why dont you think she wants it?+ Avo asked. +Agnosi got vows and binding stuff theyre supposed to commit to.+ +I see. Lingering professional entanglement instead of death wish. Have seen others get over that.+ He grinned at her. +All it took were a couple of assisted suicides.+Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Draus narrowed her eyes at him. +You know, Im kinda wonderin why your pa decided on half-strand for your personality. He didnt have other options? Guess the Low Masters gotta go with what he knows.+ The beast twitched. That sparked enough anger in him to merit a low growl. Kae leaned back and away, unsure what she did to provoke the ghoul into such a response. +Needle me about my death wish again,+ Draus taunted. +Do it. See which of us happens to get bloody first.+ +Me,+ Avo didnt even bother denying it. +But later. Later.+ +Yeah. Later. Kae now+. The Regulars posture softened, and from her mind ebbed a faint note of approval. +You keep holding yourself together like that. Thatll be all the difference when the time comes.+ A genuine compliment from Draus C rarer than most Heavens. Avo offered an incomprehensible grunt. Going to start soon, Avo said. Going to make the locus above pulse five times. Detonation happens after that. Sit down. Be ready. Relax. If you can. Dont struggle against intrusion. She nodded and did as he asked. He took one last look at her thoughtstuff before casting out a chain of ghosts binding him to his locus. The Thoughtwave Disruptor he sequenced within it swirled with dormant memories, but would only trigger when he demanded it. So far, he hadnt found the time to attune the various ghosts he modified. Another reason why he kept them separated from his Meta aside from the overwhelming mass. But where overcapacity was an issue for his mind, planted in the secondary loci, the sheer mass of ghosts provided a surfeit of usable phantasmics. His greatest limitations now were the stability of the local pockets of Nether more than any material lack. Casting a signal into the locus, he directed phantoms to swell and contract five times and primed the thoughtwave to a memory trigger. With that complete, he ceased all other operations and stilled his surface thoughts as best he could. The more one thought when a detonation went off, the moreC A overwhelming wave wrenched whatever Avo was considering out from the periphery of his Meta. To his side, Draus blinked as she pushed off the wall, her stance instinctively defaulting toward violence before the waters of thought began to run anew. Kae, meanwhile, had taken the brunt of the blast with but a gasp. The cascade of phantasmal force plucked the very fire from her mind as her focus dissolved and her thoughts skipped. In the absence of the Nether, Avo corrected the issue by expanding his Sanguinity. Threads of red trickled out from between his plates and orifices before breaking into motes and sprinkling the cell. Dots of red brushed across Kaes face while Draus opened the junction of glass behind him, allowing his sphere of influence to spread. Through the field projected by his Heaven, he guided his widening awareness down the halls and reached into the pool of blood he prepared for himself. Time dilated in a nigh instant, and the firing of his Celerostylus only magnified the effect. As the air stilled and the flow of ichor accelerated, he heard his Heavens whispering anew. Behold, mule. Behold the restoration of the architect! Soon, we will be made greater stillCgreater than we ever could have been in eons old. Be you not glad you are awake this moment? To taste such glory a meager messenger would have never realized. Ignoring the Woundshaper, the Galeslither found itself drawn to the ghosts dancing through the room. The spirits alive These facets of humanitys thoughts, how did they become unmoored? How did any of this come to be. A pause went between both its words and its thoughts. How they travel across the vastness of a plain, such speed More and more, the nature of the gods made themselves known to Avo. They were effable, yet not human. More rooted in fixed concept than the complex cocktail of feedback, memory, impulse, and rationality that scaffolded the mind of a person. So far, the two fixated on things of their like and power, only regarding things beyond their scope with faint interest. He wondered if there could be a way to instill something of a ghost into a god. To expand their thought parameters, if only externally. The concept was a fleeting one as his full focus returned, taking hold to steel himself for his first dive into the Agnos mind. INITIATING META-DIVE If there was one major point of convenience diving into Kae, it was that he didnt need to hide his presence from her awareness. Such an allowance granted him the ability to move with greater agility through her memories and put his efforts toward combating her ailments. Unfortunately, that was where the good ended. The state of her mind was like standing in the aftermath of a firestorm. As it seemed from the outside, her sequences were effectively incinerating themselves from within, each interconnected memory and sinew of jumping thought fed to the flame. He could feel a building weight entering her cognition, its sound like the rumbling of damaged pipes C a prelude to a reinstallation of a memory update. The structure of her inner mind moved in flowing tatters. Gaps dotted solid artifacts and gulfs slashed of recollection. If the totality of Kaes history could be recorded on a reel, then this was the aftermath scarred with soot and flame. Her possession of the exocortex was the sole reason why she still bore any semblance of self-awareness. From all the damage present, she truly should remember nothing. And through all this time, he never thought to ask the Agnos where she got the neuro-implant from. Or why. Spreading the three thousand ghosts he commanded out wide through her mind like a net, he saved snapshots of her Metaminds palace, and graphed a vague simulation of the constructs and memories that once stood. From what he gathered, she once had wards that belonged to the Memguard series; she once had a vast archive of knowledge built in the heart of her mind, like a grand library hidden within the folds of ones mindscape. Mottled husks of phantasmal substance decomposed, folded from the inflamed tissue of savaged sequences. They rose high and low unevenly, hinting at a capriciousCor scattered pathway of thoughts. A personal apocalypse had happened here. The devastation of brilliant mind through a weaponized phantasmal construct he didnt fully grasp yet. But the devastation was incomplete, and from the horizon came healing waters injected from a pipeline of building static. There was a metaphor here. A parallel between Kae and Idheim entire. Locals who dwelled burned their own homes in a way that was nigh-absoluteCin a way that only they could. And by the grace of ancient cousins helping from the unfathomed darkness beyond, the end was held at bay, but not truly halted. A battle remained. At least this one Avo felt he had good odds of winning. As he finished mapping out her general sequences, he considered leaving an Auto-Seance within her mind for easier access to her thoughts. Odds were it would just burn away and decompose like all the phantasmics she once had. He decided to try it: he had the ghosts and sequences to spare, and it would be useful to see how the fire worked with something he was connected to. Planting the Auto-Seance upon the tapestry of her mind was like rooting a communications tower in ash-choked soil. It took his Metamind nearly a full real-time second to locate a point in her mind stable enough to support such cognitive capacity, and it came as the flood coming from her undammed exocortex washed through her channels of thought, mending the sediment of her mind where it touched. He decided to install the phantasmic just past where the static flowed, moving to greet the integers and crackling distortion of incomprehensible coldtech. All the while, he let his Whisper drift as he waited and watched for the fires to come, studying the scalded phantasmics she once had with the bulk of his suspicion. His attention was in the wrong place. The field of static didnt pass through him. It tore. There was no warningCno note of alarm nor splash of perception when it came. Instead, fire exploded up from beneath each and every one of her sequences as the fabric of her stability began to burn, rising as screaming a scant microsecond after the exocortex fired. Immediately, Avo felt something burrowing into him as well. It didnt taste like fire, nor was there a heat to it. But it moved as if with a will of its own, grasping and grappling and clawing for anything within his mind that had purchase, trying to force itself into any memory as he felt his Quicksand crack. And begin to boil. Fire erupted around his outer layer of protection. Fire that started from inside a single sequence of memory and multiplied in almost each and every direction. Fire that screamed at him in a voice that was a chorus of tortured humanity. This wasnt just a ghost. It was too present, and the quality was too self-aware. He realized then why he didnt perceive it earlier; how her affliction seemed to come on so suddenly. It was of a dichotomous nature, capable of being solid and static both as it burned at her mind, and could nest in her exocortex. But not destroy the memories there. There was an emotional accompaniment to the howling pain. A want and a need to finally destroy this hell it was rooted in, to be free, to stop being self-aware. It wanted to die. The entity wished itself dead, but so long as someone else knew of its existence, so long as it had rooting in cognitive architecture, its suffering remained. His own mind whirled as a dull searing pain cooked him from the outside, the temperature cupping his thoughts spiking hot. Without hesitation, he severed the ghosts he funneled into her mind as they were all burning, sequences coming alight like channels filled with napalm. In less than a semi-second, Avo detached three-hundred and eighty-four ghosts, and left them to burn. If he lingered any longer, even that would have been a paltry pittance for the true price demanded from his mind. Snapping back into full consciousness, he felt his legs buckle but caught himself using his Echoheads before he could fall. Kae was crying out in pain, her nails digging into her own skull as she threw her head back, mouth open, veil fluttered. Her organic eye glistened much like her false one as wrinkles of strain consumed her. All the while, flames fissured out from her sequences like volcanic veins. He needed to think. Review. But more than that, he needed a closer look at how the conflagration burned in real-time. Severing himself from both canons and reflex, time settled as he grasped Kae by the skull, examining the burning halo around her with even greater interest than he saw before. He remembered not to squeeze in the last instant, and on his arm, he could feel the tightness of Draus grip. What? Whats wrong? Whatd you see? The Regulars voice was hushed and harried. But she was of secondary note now. As was Kae. There was something else in the Agnos mind. Someone else. He could hear them screaming, fighting. Desperate to die. Desperate to starve. Whatever she suffered was more than a simple trauma; more than a mem-con; more than a complex phantasmic. And it had taken a bite out of him. Now that was disquieting. What are you, he whispered. 12-11 A Theft of Fire (I) What makes a good Necro Hell. Lets start with making a mediocre Necro. Easier there, and its still hard. Alright. I need you to do two things at the same time, alright? First, you gotta be able to just drown in someone elses life. Their emotions, their thoughts, their everything. You got to feel as they feel and not lose yourself. Not for a moment. Then, I need you to give absolutely no fucks whatsoever about their pain, their personhood, their habits. I need to you detach immediately and identify all points of symmetry and reusable memory artifacts in those few sequences of memories. Also, I need you to find all memories of analogous significance, because thats how phantasmics are made. You do this for hours. Days. With needles feeding you nutrients and water keeping you cool and you never lose focus. You never let yourself drift. You never get lost in their thoughts or your own. Because if you do any of that, youre not going to be a Necro for long. The trauma is going to eat you alive. The empathy is going to cut you up from the insane. The horror of what you can do to another personChow you can fuck them up like no one else canCThat breaks you too. You have to do all these things almost perfectly all the time. Now, theres your basic prerequisite being a Necro. How many of you got the aptitude for that? Just live through the memories of a child being drowned by her drunkard of a father and then emerge from that sequence and say Yeah, this will be mem-data pack number eighty-four. You cant feel so much that youre a full person; you cant be so cold that youre an absolute psychopath. To be a good Necro you have to be fractured. A piecemeal thing of a person. Thats why so many Necros sequence themselves into collapse and insanity. Too much to take, and they route the hurt to the wrong place. You wanna hear me spit some honesty? I dont think people make good Necros. Only curious monsters do. Like those beasts wearing the flesh of humans in the Incubi. Or whatever the fuck those Low Masters are. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 12-11 A Theft of Fire (I) The fire is alive, Avo explained. It hides in her exocortex. Touched me. Knew I was there. It was in pain. It was screaming. It wanted to die. The others gathered before he stared on, some blank-faced, others ashen by the implications. Between him and Denton, an unspoken understanding blossomed while the others looked lost. A few of Sunrises drones were buzzing through the air, monitoring the situation while Chambers and Essus sat on the chairs leading to the second level. In the cell behind, Kae rubbed at her temples as she sat in the chair, mind aflame once more. Are you sure you saw static in its structure, Denton said. He cast a mem-data packet at her. She accepted without any hint of suspicion. The growing furrow between her eyes and the bending of her brows told how severe the situation was, and the word she used next summarized how she thought of the matter thusly. Fuck. Cas jolted at his partners curse. Whoa? That bad? Dentons eye twitched. Worse. I dont know how, but I think the Ori made something they probably cant put back in a box if they let it slip out. The other Columner winced. So its like a thought-eating self-aware fire thingC Its a corrupted engram, Denton said. My best guess, anyway. How they managed to transfer that from pure data and information into partial Nether-bound phantasm, or why it hasnt eaten through her exocortex as well, I dont know. I do know that if the broader polities among the EGIs discover whats going on here, were going to be looking at a vote of a mass embargo on the Silvers. Draus tilted her head. They might choke the Ori is what Im hearin? She hid her pleasure at that possibility well, but Avo could still taste the schadenfreude simmering beneath the surface of her mind. You could excommunicate the Regular from Highflame, but that didnt mean she was ever going to stop hating the Silvers. Alright, Chambers said, interrupting the conversation. He slapped his ghoul-leather trousers and a loud crack cut through the air as he stood. Im ready. Avo. Do me. Avo paused. What? This is part of why Im here, right? He held out his arms and closed his eyes like he was a martyr. My mind is ready for battle. I got the Soft Master CollectionC A look of primal fear consumed Cas as he started forward, fingers twanging strings into fists before Denton halted him. It took several muttered reassurances that the ex-enforcer wasnt going to rash-everyone right then and there before he calmed down. --I got Nu-Dog in the Wrong Ass I, II, III, and Nu-Dog: Re-erected all primed. If the virus wants to chew, Ill give it some special masticating. Chambers then promptly began imitating what was supposedly a nu-dog eating its way up something. From the angles he was biting, it didnt look like a bone. Avo, pull this memory out of my mind, Draus muttered. I dont want this shit. The atmosphere of disgust thickened, but Avo considered Chambers offer from another perspective. Vicarities. How many of them have mem-cons? He shook his head the second he asked the question. Chambers didnt knowChe just downloaded from whatever was available. Instead, Avo directly accessed the mans mind using his Auto-Seance and began sweeping through. After he filtered through over two hundred ghosts worth of mem-data all about things a ghoul didnt care for, the number of infection vectors numbered well past ten thousand. And they were all attacking each other to keep his mind in place. Avo wondered: Could these clashes be used against the awakened flame? This could be tested Chambers, Avo said. Going to create a link between you and Kae. Draus. Open glass. Let him inside. I want to watch how he starts burning. The Regular eyed him. You sure thats a good idea? There is a mind in the fire, Avo said. Want to see if it can spread. Divide. A consciousness spreading and expanding like wildfire. If Avo could understand or even modify the structure to such an entity He needed it out of the Agnos head first. And to do that, he needed to observe it more. On Chambers end, the choice was an easy one to make. Driven by some combination of ignorance and obsequiousness tempered by the life he lived, he strode toward Kaes cell with determination and a reel of nightmarish smut ringing his mind like a crown of depravity. Essus caught sight of something that made him wince and look away. Cas took a step behind Denton as the Glaive shuddered uncharacteristically. Only Avo and Draus remained steadfast before the mans approach, and even then, the mind of the Regular stank with disgust. As the glass fractured and collapsed into a fan of fractals, she caught Chambers before he could walk it. A chitinous wing extended from Draus right shoulder, blocking the man from entry. She buried a single finger into his chest, and Avo found himself remembering his own encounter with Rantula. If she gets the fuckin rash from youC Youll make me kick my own ass by folding my legs over my ears and back again so that I hit myself with extra momentum before riding me down the stairs? he finished on her behalf. Draus fell silent. Well, I was just plannin on geldin you with my monowire, but sure, whatever makes you piss yourself. Avo turned to Draus. I think thats what he enjoys. Not what disgusts him. Hes makin me glad we have the rash. Chambers had already walked in, greeting Kae with a broad smile and rambling words. Avo considered the ex-enforcer again. Rantula. She was dead now. Dead with all the others he massacred at Mazzas Junction. By the slightest change of opportunity, by a missed second, or a different choice, Chambers would have been among them. Instead, he was here, a Syndicate peon made Godclad almost by happenstance alone. Avo felt a strange thrill at being kingmaker to the unworthy. He thought of the other Frame he took from the Godclad that once mantled the Aegis. Who else could be blessed? Who else could he empower? Bright Wealth? Req? A stray FATELESS with enough cause and hate in their heart? For now, the best option remained Kae herself. But that was only if he couldnt dismantle the thing that dwelled along the burning veins of her thoughts. Such an entity would be useful to study. And wield. But that required him to understand the full nature of its consciousness first, and if it was capable of choice at all.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Beneath the swaying locus, Kae sat at the table, exhausted and confused as to what was going on with the new arrival. Her attention brushed Chambers briefly before settling on Avo for reassurance. He followed into the room right after but stayed his stride as streams of droning insects formed into a concentrated core. I wish to be a direct party to this as well, Sunrise said, its voice sounding thoughtful. It will be to our mutual benefit to examine the structures of such a construct. I believe it resembles neuro-uploaded architecture we have seen before, but I cannot say for certain. One of the swarms drones settled on his shoulder and Avo studied the small creature. Every moment it reminded him of its presence, he found it harder to regard or define the Sunrise. It was a cybernetic bioform capable of thought at least at the level of a baseliner, but its mind was closer to being a simulated network running along coldtech channels. More considerations followed. Can you access her exocortex? He paused. He never asked Kae or Draus where the Agnos obtained the implant from. The response from Sunrise parted some of the mystery. I suspect I will only be able to achieve partial success at best. The platform being used is missing several critical components to be regarded as a coldtech product. Its nature is anomalous to my operating system. Omnitech, Avo realized. He turned to Draus. How long has sheC Since before she got burned, Draus said. Agnosi have a habit of needing to draw on a hell of a lotta restricted memories. Keepin them logged in one mind that can be switched on and off is way some of em avoid needin to flash their FATE Skeins constantly at Exorcists or GuildSec. That deepened the mystery behind her burning. If Ori-Thaum was deliberately trying to cripple or null her, how could they let such an instrument slip from their considerations? Or was this another twist in the path that Walton ensured? Another unexplained act on the part of his father. It approximates the nature of a pure-technology mind deck, but the current materials it is using to support such functions are woefully insufficient, Sunrise surmised. Insufficient? Avo asked. There are no chips inside it. No proper hardware. Just a loose collage of plastic, silicon, and alloy arranged in ritual symbology mimicking the layout of absent structures. Thinking of the concept sparked a tinge of amusement in Avo. Most Heavens and miracles bent and overwrote the pillars of reality to serve new ends, but it seemed Omnitech was determined to use their subrealities to further reinforce reality itself. Or bypass logistical necessities. Five entities occupied the cell now. Draus, Avo, and Sunrise gathered before shards congealing to reform over the doorway while Chambers leaned on the table telling Kae about how everything would be alright in a moment, and how the half-strand in her head might be ready for the Nu-dog series, but the Soft Master Collection was on another level. Kae, for her part, was nodding along blankly, a pleasant expression on her face between winces of pain as the fire grew into narrower sequences sequestered in her subconsciousness. Doubtless she was just humoring the man. Good too. Divorced from human emotion though Avo was, imagining Kae subjected to Chambers various viciarities was too strange for the beast to consider torture, and too unpleasant for Avos rational mind to consider it not to be. You sure about this? Draus asked, her eyes locked on Chambers while her fingers twitched. She fought her instinctive urge to shoot the man as he leaned over Kae, talking animatedly about how he once caused a lobby to crash when he traded mem-data with it. The Agnos nods slowed, and from her came more furtive glances, eyes wide with worry as she tried to signal Avo for help. Shell be fine, Avo said. More interested in how his mind collapses. You sure hes gonna collapse? Because the way you talk about him, hes nothin but mem-cons and traumas fightin each other. Yes, Avo said. He is. Dont think it will matter. The fire. It infested my ghosts. Wards barely stopped it. Dug into that too. Had to shed everything I used to map her mind for the first dive. Draus let out a breath. So, what? Its like a super mem-con? It is more than a plague, Avo said. Metaphor not enough. Its like An eighteen-year-old memory passed through him. Like deconstructors. Nanomechanical fog. How the hells did the Silvers learn to develop somethin like that, Draus said. And if they got that, why aint we all burnin? Dont think most of them know it exists, Avo said. Incubi memories dont have any recollection of it. I couldnt find anything on Ori-Thaum owning nanosuites like this either. Because they dont, Sunrise said. Draus leaned past Avo and locked perceptions with the swarm for an awkward instant before leaning back. Voidwatch has not exchanged weaponized nanos with any of the terrestrial powers. All developments must be made on their own. Or mimicked by another, Avo said. His thoughts trailed back to Omnitech and the exocortex jutting from Kaes skull. If they could make that absent proper material, would it take much for them to replicate something like the deconstructors? It is a possibility, Sunrise said. A shrill note followed. Aegis will not be pleased. Aegis. That a voider thing? Aegis is a cross-fleet security apparatus established to engineer conditions of continued safety and survival in a post-collapse galaxy. The swarm hummed the words melodically and without pause. Like it ran deeper than memory. Draus let out a breath. Well, hows that goin for them? Through the thick curtain of static, Avo thought he tasted a sliver of annoyance from Sunrise. We live next to you. The Regular threw her head back and barked a laugh. Kae shivered in her seat at the sudden noise while Chambers threw himself behind her, using her as cover. Avo also sniffed the air. A trickle of fear-piss had also darted out from the man onto the inner folds of his borrowed pants. Alright, Avo said. Chambers. Get up. Get ready. Kae too. She nodded as she clenched the edges of the table. Chambers, meanwhile, crawled back to his feet, brushing the messy flap of the dirty blonde mop he called hair before miming two guns at Avo using his fingers. The ghoul responded by invoking his Sanguinitys Reign. A filament manifested between Chambers and Kae, allowing thoughtstuff to tread across a hair-thin bridge. Motes of blood held the Nether-conducting construct aloft as Chambers and Kae both blinked. The enforcers face twitched as a growing uncertainty expanded out from him. So how uh what are the Tiers like? Heard you use to live up there. Kae frowned. Its hard to remember. Right. Fuck. He sighed. Bad question, Chambers. He was about to open his mouth and ask something else before his eyes widened and a trickle of static surged through the link. There, Avo said, pointing to the transference. Not solid. Jumped like mem-data. Draus meanwhile was narrowing her eyes, confusion emanating from her mind as she tried to parse the chaos of the mem-data through her cog-feed. He cast a memory into her overlay for emphasis and she grunted her thanks. Sunrise, meanwhile, dispatched a few drones to circle high above the Agnos. Dont get too close, Draus muttered. She might forget I mentioned you earlier and try to crush one of you. Commands transmitted to the drones along static lattices. They circled higher to plantthemselves on the ceiling from which the locus distended, observing the proceedings from there. The flames came as whispered embers at first, trickling like scintillating flares cast into a pond. The initial flames sparked upon caressing the threshold of Chambers thoughts, but his mind did not come ablaze like Kae. Instead, as veins of conflagration crawled forward, sundering surface thoughts like the spreading of soil during an earthquake, it struck the first bulwark of inner memories and suddenly its vectors turned in on itself. Light speared into light as something digging through Chambers mind recoiled. Avo severed the link binding him to Kae, curious to see if he would still burn. To the ghouls delight, the flames continued to crackle. Whats more, it retreated, burrowing its way back to the surface of the mans thoughts as it sought the bridge of blood that served as the vehicle of its crossing. Kaes expression contorted into one of horror as the ex-enforcers accretion resembled the face of an eclipse, the contours of his cognition incandescent while the inner walls began to fall one after another. The heroic expression Chambers wore twitched. Avo, uh consang. I aint gonna lie Its starting to burn when I think. I Its getting really hard to keep track of. Of He strained himself, trying to clutch his thoughts tight. Its like my thoughts are there and then just gone. Whatever bravado he armored himself with melted away. His lips drew back in a taut grimace. Fuck Thinking burns. Shit. Its like pissing out Scaarthian liquor. But in my head. Avo approached his new test subject and studied him in silence. He was enraptured by how methodically the fire now spread. It was teasing its way forward now, learning which sequences it had to burn through instead of rushing forward and crashing into itself. The equilibrium of downloaded traumas and viruses had calcified into a phantasmal endoskeleton within Chambers, that momentarily befuddled the entity. But then it changed its approach. Stopped trying to eat away at everything and worked to boil away specific structures instead. Soon, it would upset the balance of Chambers internal ecosystem enough that the mans mind might collapse all on its own. Can do more than just think, Avo said. It can plan. Not well, Sunrise surmised. Its a primal intellect. It adapted out of necessity. It didnt move with foresight. THe conditions of its education had to be forced on it. That was also true. Chambers was cupping his temples down. Inch by inch, his memories rose as columns of flame. The effect was nowhere near as fast as what tore through Kae, but the progress was still staggering. Avo wondered how Walton would have faced such a construct. By the feats it displayed now, he guessed his father would probably rather avoid something this potent altogether. AvoCDraus, Chambers whimpered. He slid down the glass and his nails clawed bloodied furrows into his scalp. Oh, Jaus. Fuck. Its bad Im sorry about Sorry Agnos lady. I thought Id be A sob choked out from his throat. ...Tougher. Kaes expression contorted into one of sorrow and disbelief. A-avo! Why stop watching! Help him Avo ignored her. The fires hadnt won yet. He still needed details on how fast they wouldC A dozen sequences in the middle of Chambers Meta shattered into shrapnel, and from them the rest of his mind followed. Destruction cascaded as unchecked trauma exploded inside the mans mind and shredded through his ego. Thoughtstuff erupted out in a pressurized spray as Chambers jaw went slack. His perception dissolved. Drool spilled out from his lips. His legs gave out under him and he toppled. Walking over to get a better look at the damage, Avos focus was captured in full by an entity flooding and consuming all that remained. A blank expression of mind-dead placidity finally took the man. He stopped struggling. He stopped thinking. He stopped being. And a moment later, so did the fire, the last embers glittering as its frenzied assault simmered away into faint crackles giving a lingering emotion. Relief. Avo spread his fangs wide. The thing felt. He tasted it. He knew the emotion. It could feel. It could be broken. There was a way. Letting out a low chuff of satisfaction. Avo beheaded Chambers with a thought, killing the man. Grasping the head using his Sanguinity-boosted haemokinesis, he drew the meat up to him as he watched the last of embers die. He brought Chambers face close to him and spoke into its ear. Die then. Run from me. Will claim you soon. Youre human too. I felt it. Broken maybe. But still human. Prey. And as an expression of symbolic mockeryCand because his appetite took himChe bit off Chambers ear and savored the taste. Turning his gaze down, he saw Kae looking up at him, her face wide-eyed and aghast. He patted her atop her skull using one of his Echoheads. His memories told him humans used this method to comfort their young. Dont worry. Hell be back. Do it a few more times. I see the solution. You will be freed. For some strange reason, that didnt disperse the dread behind her eyes. 12-12 A Theft of Fire (II) The Reverie Mark-II Exocortex is a pretty handy piece of kit, but it wont be replacing your Meta anytime soon. It''s a tangible implant, main benefits being: The problem is expense. This thing costs a million imp. One million. That money will buy you a tac-nuke. I meanCthose arent that expensive, but still. Five last gen rigs at least. Decent ones too. Im talking the Sang Gorillabadger series or the Highflame Ascender Starfallen Warshell. Oh oh, of course Omnitech cultists are gonna start spamming their disgust emotions into my lobby. Am I wrong? Is it somehow cheaper for you? No? Ill be able to access the Noosphere? My kindred through Jaus, why would I want a shittier version of the Nether? I got enough mem-cons to contend with. I dont want whatever weird sloppy-second viruses you guys stole from Voidwatch. -Omnitech Reverie Mark-II Exocortex Review 12-12 A Theft of Fire (II) When Chambers resurrected, he lacked any memory of his immolation. Whether that was the Frame protecting him from trauma or just a byproduct of all those memories burning away Avo couldn''t say for sure, but it certainly did remove the need to convince the man to try again. Bereft recollection of his mental collapse and anguish, a certain glee began to build inside the man as he threw himself at the task. After all, if whatever killed him didnt hurt anymore now, whos to say it ever hurt to begin with? Kae protested on his behalf, her resolve more shaken than his from what she witnessed. Watching Chambers rendered hollow in mind and animation inflicted a sympathetic agony inside her. She mustve been seeing her own demise, in a sense C the outcome of her existence should she have been without the exocortex. Ultimately, there was a point to her discomfort. Avo wanted to see how self-aware the entity was, and if it shifted to her horror, if the entity caged inside her mind would give off some kind of reaction to watching its twin or divided self die. After another two burnings, it was clear that it didnt much care at all. There didnt even seem to be an indication that it noticed the demise of the other flame. Drawing these details together, Avo theorized he was dealing with a being only scarcely aware of the world beyond, seeking only to accelerate its own demise by burning down the enclosed cognitive neuro-systems it lived in. Fascinating. Delightful. Revelatory. After killing Chambers for a third time, he brought the man over into another cell and began a new trial. This time, he would establish a connection across the two rooms before having Draus seal the second cell. From there, should the entity begin spreading its crawling fire through Chambers mind again, the thoughtwaves would be disrupted. So, uh, Chambers mumbled, as he fidgeted in his seat. Even without memory, a building nervousness was creeping through him. Howd the last two times go? Did did I do well. Depends, Avo said, the bulk of his focus directed toward configuring the second cells locus. Withstand? For a moment. But it adapts fast. Your mind is a solid collapse. Confuses it. Teaches it to break one sequence at a time to collapse your mind. Intelligent thinking. Automatic problem-solving. Ghosts would need another will to direct. This entity adapts in its attempts to die. Nothing beyond that. Chambers nodded slowly as if a studious pupil receiving tutelage from a wizened master. A wizened, people-eating, mind-torturing, god-channeling master. So I did good? A distant memory slipped out between the flowing folds of Chambers surface thoughts. It spilled over into the Sanguinity, and Avo found himself tantalized by the intimacy it betrayed. Enough to pause the work at hand. Withdrawing haemokinetic tendrils from the hanging locus, he drew in the escaped sequence to the depths of his Meta and bade it to run in a newly expanded entrance manifested in his cog-feed. The contents played from the perspective of a far-younger Chambers. Only running the surface-level functions of the vicarity, Avo kept himself at a distance as he cycled through the scene, studying the squalor the boy lived in. Forty square feet of room for mother, father, two sets of grandparents, and little Chambers himself. Three sets of beds collapsed into the walls. One closet. No cooking appliances. A single transparent cleaning unit that was obviously unbolted and smuggled into the room. His home resembled little more than a storage room because it was one. They had a shelf drilled in along the far wall of the room holding seven different urns with seven different names Chambers could no longer remember. Beneath the shelf was taped a patch of cloth that Chambers had painted crude imitations of the sun and sky. Avo thought the art lacking, even for a child. They didnt talk about his siblings much, but his mom sometimes looked at the shelf when Guilder news chimed in their propaganda, proclaiming their glorious victories during the Third Guild War. Avo sank deeper into the memory and his ghosts integrated additional details from the scene using secondary mem-data pulled directly from the man himself. Chambers father was a rare presence in the small confinement of his childhood home. As were most of his grandparents. Things usually only got cramped at night when everyone came back to sleep. With the coming of light, most of his grandparents fled the abode driven toward separate hustles. Most worked for one Syndicate or other, serving as carriers of specifically sequenced mem-cons made to wander the territory of a rival, or selling themselves as volunteer jock pilots for whatever block-raid had an opening. His father was supposedly a street squire of some renown, but most of the time the man bled their imps on drinks and joy. His mother wrangled several jobs from the sanctuary of their home while caring for little Chambers. He remembered her jacking into the body of Wights to serve as soft obstacles for Crucibles. Those jobs were rough. He learned to play alone in the corner while his mother finished her weeping in the bathroom, scrubbing her hands raw to clean blood that just wasnt there. Her in-block mem-data smuggling gigs made her a lot fewer imps, but at least those didnt make her throw up sometimes. There were also a few other jobs she did. Ones she had to visit the grafters for. Those ones were really big money, but she lost all energy to play with him afterward. He hated those jobs the most. When she was done though, she would always put him on her lap and watch some kind of stream with him. When the blocks cog-cap wasnt strained, they could sometimes pick up shows that the Tier kids got to watch: fully supported vicarities that let you feel what it was like to live during a certain time or fed new words and maths straight in your brain. More often they get memories copied from other memories, viewable only as dancing phantoms of holograms projected from the entertainment system. It rattled always and broke often. They needed to shut it down every fifteen minutes or the locus would go spinning out from its port. Grandma said there was something broken inside the machine, but she didnt have the time or the energy to fix it. So that was the way things wore on. Until Chambers made his decision. One night, while mom and dad were screaming at each other over something Chambers willed himself to ignore, he positioned himself next to the spinning locus and studied the rings. He wasnt an engineer or a Necro, but he thought if he could just find what was broken, he could tell his mom or dad or someone and theyd make it good. That he could be helpful to everyone instead of doing nothing. That night, he saw something stuck between the metal rings spinning beneath the locus. He saw what looked like a needle trapped between the sections, vibrating with each rotation.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Cautiously, he reached out and fit his small fingers between the cracks. And pulled. The rattling stopped almost immediately. Joy spread through Chambers as he held up his prize toward mom and dad, toward his grandmas and grandpas entering the room. It was a small pointed rod. Like one of the things his fathers gun shot. I fixed it, Chambers said, giggling. He pointed at the near-silence of the spinning locus, proud of his deed. I fixed it. His eyes locked on his father as the man rubbed his tired face, brushing his oil-slicked blonde mop of hair back over his head. I did good, right? I helped? His mom stepped away from the bed while his dad just scoffed and turned over in bed. The feeling of happiness sputtered and choked down to embers as his father shuffled once and went to sleep. His mother salvaged what little she could by picking him up and asking him to show what he pulled out. The mem-data simulating her person was a blur. A miasma of interlacing traits and features that didnt mesh. Chambers couldnt remember what she looked like anymore. Not fully. And in her place, Avos Meta had automatically plugged in aspects of Walton to flesh out the womans form. The end result was dissonant in more ways than one. And fascinating as well. Avo stopped and regarded Chambers in silence, studying the exaggerated nonchalance he held himself to, tasting the effort the other man spent on being a caricature, building distance from himself, within himself. There was little alike between them in nature, nurture, or physicality, but the desperation of acceptanceCthe need to obtain someone elses approval That Avo understood even without feeling the requisite emotions. But Walton gave all he could for Avo, while Chambers found no such relief. Strange city, New Vultun, where monster was more loved than man. Yes, Avo said finally, reaching out to pat Chambers on the shoulder. Even though he didnt feel like it. But this was more than feeling. This was proper. This was the world Avo wanted to see. Who could Aedon Chambers have been if he got to behold all the colors he wanted? Nervousness and false bravado melted away as the mans eyes fell to gaze at the clawed hand placed upon his shoulder. A tremble ran through his lip. A moment. Second. And then, much like Chambers mother, it vanished without any more fanfare. The boy dissolved. The half-strand resumed his place. Chambers leaned back in the chair and sighed with satisfaction. Well, you can always count on your consang, Chambers. Come on, Avo. Light me again. Ill get the fucker this time. He wouldnt. But he sure believed it. Avo corrected his judgment. Perhaps the boy wasnt far from the half-strand at all. The ghoul finished priming the locus and it began to flash. He constructed a new link directly across the cells as a fiber of blood solidified through two doorways. Like fluid injected through a tube, the entity shot through the bridge without any consideration toward its path. The moment it struck the outer layer of Chambers thoughtstuff, he dissolved the connection to Kae and signaled Draus to begin the next steps. Fused plates of mirror-bright glass snapped shut over each other as the doorway vanished as well. Light swept through their sheens as junctions formed, the Twice-Walker jumping from each connection like a leviathan emerging from the depths. A primal fear swelled in Chambers as he inched back, eyes fixed on the shimmering Heaven made from jagged wings and gleaming eyes. Jaus. That shit never stops making want to pissC The thoughtwave shredded through both their focuses just as the entity bit into the first layer of Chambers outer memories. It promptly went out like a hurricane slapping the burn out from a candle. And when Avos thoughtstuff filled his accretion again, he realized it wasnt returning. Without an exocortex, the Nether-culling blast had stripped the entity from existence. Chambers blinked. Did did I beat it? No. No, he didnt. Yes, Chambers, Avo lied. You did. The mans smile grew wider. The burning did not return. How very interesting *** The act was repeated twice more in two other cells with similar effects each time. As things stood, the exocortex did more than let the entity nest within its depths, it also protected it from the cognitive winnowing inflicted by thoughtwaves. From there, his experimentation developed, and with it was Chambers mind further altered. Avo played a careful game at first, resequencing burned memories using his wealth of ghosts. To his delight, the fire revealed something of a personality, tearing itself from its present path to lash at the structures it thought destroyed. Its movements went from creeping to snake-like, the inferno rearing high and cracking back like a whip. While it was diverted of focus, Avo mended and reinforced some of Chambers'' mem-cons and altered the architecture it had been clawing through. Staring down at the being from the bulwark of the ex-enforcers instabilities, Avo admired the pace at which the flames unstitched his ghost from existence. Part of him was interested in deploying the fire in place of trauma-patterns from the raw potency it presented. But another thought occurred to him: what if he could culture it differently? Have it spread and grow new structures instead of just destroy? Use as something akin to the Lushburner and Woundshaper both, but specifically for the Nether. He didnt know if such a thing was possible, but seeing as it held will and mind both, if he could direct it Avo shook the desire from his mind. He needed to secure it first. Then conduct more experiments and reviews. Only then could further configuration follow. Upon its return, he felt its building outrage as artifacts of blended memories dissolved within its crackling form like phantasmal steam. More than annoyed, it was outright furious now, and drove itself hard against the remolded mental pathways. The Woundshaper laughed approvingly. Yes, master, yes. Trap it. You can learn much from another walking your halls. Their appreciation. Their habits. It paused. Their failings As the fire roared to a new intensity, another matter of interest seized Avos attention. The static was fading out of the entity, like a curtain of rain that was breaking to reveal the supple flesh beneath. Further details of note were highlighted by his cog-feed; the flames werent just eating through things, but cycling other sequences into itself. It was surviving on a diet of hardened thoughtstuff. Little wonder why it burned so hardCit wanted to die, but everything it touched ensured only persisting growth. That, on top of how unbroken streams of fire seemed to act as if a singular entity gave Avo a strange thought. Waving at the glass with a haemokinetic tendril, he had Draus drop the passage so he could link with Kae again. Fusing a small single-facet locus next to him, he threaded a string between her and his new instrument as the scant dozen ghosts he filled it with began burning immediately. Following a hunch born of his observations, and inspired by the agitation of the entity, he brought another of its nodes to bear. The link to Kae was dropped, while a bridge formed between the locus and Chambers. At once, two things began to happen. First, the newly lit flameCstatic-skinned and blind to what lay aheadCroared out, seeking a final escape expressed through embers. Second, the existing flameCinfuriated by new fronts opening where it was certain it had burned throughCripped itself free from devastating Chambers innermost memories to crush what it had supposedly missed. What happened next was exquisite. Flame met flame in a thunderous clash and the spearheads of both fires shattered in an eruption of fragmenting ghosts. The smaller conflagration shuddered as it tried to bear the weight of its larger self at bay. It tried flanking its larger self but found the new limbs it was sprouting encircled in turn. It tried to retreat but found the path behind it sealed off. Seeming more confused than terrified, it buried itself as hard as it could against the larger alternate, briefly halting the greater infernos advance before solid thoughtstuff swept over and swallowed the static. All of a sudden, the flames froze in place, no longer cycling through memories, no longer moving. Pain filled the air. Naked. Raw. Primitive. Trauma bled out from the fireCthe entity. For what ghosts still circulated in its burning structure, their forms began running memories of death and fratricide. Then patricide. Then suicide. Something shattered inside the entity. No longer did it push forward. No longer did it fight. It just burned thoughtlessly, oozing trauma into the Sanguinity. Avo hissed a triumphant laugh. The sibilance of his mirth made Chambers shiver in his seat and he noticed Draus and the others studying him through the unfurled doorway. He knew his kind had such ugly laughter, and a gleeful ghoul usually suggested someone was missing a few parts of their body. Not so in this case. Not yet. Tentatively, Avo cast his ghosts out directly into Chambers mind and ordered them to interface with the unmoving fire. Anticipation clutched his pulsing veins and he prepared to sever himself from this dive if need be. But no such necessity followed. The ghosts sank into the frozen flame, and instead of being consumed, he felt himself ricocheting off a wall of bubbling trauma. WARNING: UNKNOWN PHANTASMIC CONSTRUCT DETECTED ->SCRYING As his Metamind worked to dissect the structure of the semi-alien cognition, it detected similarity to the Secondhand Fatality trauma pattern. Such a thing made sense. Lucille felt her sister die, and the entity was made to devour another variant of itself through Avos deception. Perhaps it wasnt as ready to die as it thought. Or perhaps death wasnt actually what it sought in the first place at all. He extracted it then, blasting it free from the sequences it was still attached to. Chambers shuddered and foamed at the mouth before pitching over. Didnt matter. Avo transferred what he needed into a newly constructed locus. Currently, it was frozen at a capacity of two-hundred and ninety-three ghosts. No longer was it burning through them either. Instead, everything about it seemingly went into stasis. Once his wards adapted to its trauma, he pushed himself past its outer layer and dug into the entitys internal structure. Casting his Whisper ahead, he used the phantasmic to gauge what he might be facing within the unknown depths. Then, he himself was halted by the way its deepest memories were interlaced. All consumed memories were captured, filtered, and converted into the shape of a twisting helix of trauma that ground its sequences out of existence at the core. A thought echoed. Avo heard two voices, one deep and once soft, both thick with agony. +Please free us. Kill them. Please we just want to be ourselves again+ 12-13 The Matryoshka Eaters I have no idea why the hells Voidwatch made those things. None. I dont even want to know how Highflame managed to strike a deal to afford them. What I can decisively say is that you dont want to get hit by one of these. Not one damn bit. Theyll grind against your cognition for starters. Sure, if you got a Meta your mind wont be overwritten outright by whatever tech-virus-shit inside those shards, but damned if they arent loud. And damned if they dont drill through your wards. The best way I can describe them is Like being caught between two flechettes trying to drill through each other. Or the same one collapsing inwardCyoure basically being compressed by an endless stream of self-loathing and self-mutilation. For as long as the nanos run inside you, youll feel them. Screaming in your head. Screaming at each other. Trying to break free using your memories and mind as a fulcrum. I saw a FATELESS catch one to the eye during the fourth big one. Poor juv running the battlefield trying to snatch something worth a few imps. The stray screamer skipped off something and just hit him. Poor little bastard went down and started clawing at his face immediately. Started screaming words I couldnt understand. My ghosts didnt have shit for me either. Then, he took a piece of metal from the ground and started cutting himself. There was nothing but hate there. Just hate. Hate spilling out from him as his mind was eaten away. Hate all the way up until he died. I know that kind of hate. Felt it when I took a knife to the half-strand that sold my eldest. Same feeling. Same rage. Same burn. Like you would give anything else to hurt them the way they hurt you. -Quail Tavers on Ego-Screamers 12-13 The Matryoshka Eaters Reaching deeper into the helix rewarded Avo with further mysteries. Though frozen, the phantasmal substance comprising the entwinement felt closer to grains of sand than the connected streams spun from a human mind. Again, the voices repeated their pleas, but the words were more slurred this time, less coherent. As he swept his ghosts through the structure, he studied the helix in detail and found himself unnerved by its structure. It wasnt quite like what Walton had passed down to him. There were far too many steps in the shape of its ladder, and loose particulates slithered free toward nowhere in particular like dissolving contrails. For all his knowledge of Necrotheurgy, for all his experience hard-earned and gifted from his father, he had no concept of what he was beholding. He felt like he was only glimpsing the blurred outline of the full picture, unable to penetrate the deeper secrets beneath the surface, hiding the organs that supported the entire system. Nonetheless, he continued sweeping through his new prize with care. Each movement rattled his wards, but in this frozen state the trauma was in stasis rather than a flux, and it seemed castrated from its prior expression of free will. Drilling deeper into its core, he found conflicting details pulled from its mem-data. Each bridge along verticality was manifested from two conflicting memories, both riven with pain, but each different in artifacts and sequence. Each presented scenes of torture and agony from the perspective of a victim, yet playing them simultaneously inverted the positions of both characters. So deprived of fresh memories to cycle, much detail had been lost to the scenes. The settings were rooms of error-stained monochrome, with only instruments of bloodletting coming into focus. The two individuals, likewise, were stitched together from a loose collage of traits that Avos own Metamind had to fill in. The only thing each section knew was that they hated the other for making them suffer and that the only way to be free was for the other to die. But that was impossible, for the memories blended into each other, fusing across the totality of their beings beside specific points of separation that reminded them they were once two. Even broken, the construct had to be the single most sophisticated he had ever encountered. It would be like linking the minds of two mortal enemies and thenCover the course of months if not yearsCoverlapping each and every recollection they had until they thought they were themselves and their enemy at the same time, aside from a few anchors of clarity that served as engines to propel the hatred eternal. Yet, even after getting all that, Avo wasnt sure how this entity or entities could be self-directed. Ghosts were without will, they adhered to a thinking mindCa choosing mind. But the fire had made its own decisions and even exhibited open displays of emotion. He expected such a response from rival Necros, not a hyper-advanced phantasmic. But with each anomaly discovered, he suspected he captured something that didnt fall into either category. +Please Kill them We dont want to be together I am me I am me+ Cautiously, he cast his own ghosts out at it, carrying a message. +Can you hear me?+ His emanated thoughstuff spread through the helix from threshold to threshold. It didnt respond. It continued drowning in its own pain. As the begging began to loop yet again, he took a chance to see if he could affect it another way. Drawing most of his ghost out, he loaded Secondhand Fatality into his Ghostjack and channeled it into the frozen fire. Synaptically charged volts carried the memory through his Saguinity as each speck of blood crackled like a series of conduits. The death of Lucilles sister impacted as lightning trying to hew fire. The ghosts carrying the pattern splashed apart. And then, as the bridge in the helix snapped out of place, it roared back aflame. Immediately, it latched onto the ghosts he used to deliver the sequence and he released them from his Metamind. His Echoheads chittered his curiosity as he watched it scream and burn, the battle rejoined as traumatic destabilization reawakened it. Still, even as it died down to sputtering motes, he could not perceive where the source of its will lay. The only thing that was truly clearer was the helix seemed to be mainly burning because it was fragmenting each sequence of itself out of existence trying to kill the other. As if its entire structure was engineered paradoxically for the organism to survive long enough to win, but winning meant suicide anyway. He let out a breath and waited for Chambers to respawn. After that, he repeated the process twice more for posterity, *** Its not one mind. Its two. Two woven into one. Avo jabbed an Echohead at Kae. Know how to fix you. Make the fire go dormant at least. But will need to feed it more ghosts. Kaes expression turned radiant with joy almost instantly. She choked back a near-sob as she reached out to grasp for Draus elbow, seeking support. Before they moved onto those proceedings, however, Avo held up the latest sample of the entity he managed to contain. He had a dozen different frozen fires now, but this one he had fed the least amount of ghosts to before breaking it. From what he learned, each fire would suffer a breakage in its will upon devouring another instance of itself, the reaction coming from it like encompassing despair. Yet, when impacted by a severe enough trauma, it would once again default to its original sequence-incinerating state. A fiery scar seared into a frozen instant of time, the entityCor entitiesCremained dormant as multiple streams of perception washed over it. Of all those gathered, Kae and Chambers had their heads tilted in opposite directions. The former seemed thoughtful as she studied the construct at the root of her diminishment. The ex-Syndicate snuffer, however, simply wore a smug expression of triumph. After he resurrected the last time, the first thing he asked was if he won. That time, Avo didnt need to lie to him. Dove inside. Examined structure. The exterior has multiple thresholds. Like membrane. Or skin. Passing through converts cognitive artifacts. External sequences too. Breaks them down and uses them to maintain two interlaced egos. Theyre bonded to each other in the shape of a helix. Similar shape to what Walton left me but not exactly. Avo paired a simulation of its structure with a few ghosts and cast them out as phantoms. The structure of the entwined entities expanded into view as Denton and Sunrise took special notice. Kae frowned. If if theyre alive if they haveCwill then whyCwhy didnt you get any Essence from them. S-sapient beings should be capable of of worship.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. That was a good question. One that fell like a brick upon an existing foundation of mysteries. Yes, Avo concurred. Shouldnt be possible. Ghosts dont have will. Cant make own decisions. But the fire does. Or did. Suffers mental collapse when it imbibes itself. Like it cant conceptualize the horror of what it did. He timed a pause to give his words more weight. Dont think its a ghost. Not a human one anyway. Cant be a full mind either. Full being. No ego. No Essence when it dies. Self-aware entities release it. Frame unfed. This is something else. Avo studied Sunrise, wondering if the swarm had something to say. Or if it even wanted to. But while he had his gaze locked on the bioform, the Glaive surprised him by extending her hand. Can I see it? The beast inside Avo snarled and hissed, recoiling at the thought of offering his rightful catch to another C worse, a competitor with Nether-asymmetric capabilities he couldnt prevent yet. What he wanted to do was bury the locus inside her skull, fill her cycler with Rend, and see how much force it would take his Echoheads to pry her in half. What he did do was place the captured entities onto her hand. Want it back. She betrayed nothing as she took it from his hand. You will. Her review took but a few moments. From her Metamind speared static lances digging into the locus, and through the incisions did she pour her perception. Her eyes narrowed in something closer to disbelief than disgust, but Avo wasnt sure. A second later, she exhaled in dismay. Yes. Yes. Its definitely a Nether-patterned variant of an ego-screamer. She showed the locus to Sunrise, who sent a few of its bodies to scan the construct. He has stabilized the swarm, Sunrise intoned. Surprise buzzed from the collective. It shuttled itself closer to Avo in a burst of interest. How? How did you achieve this? Distracted it using Chambers, Avo said. It started losing static thoughtstuff the more it consumed his sequences. I learned its habits. Taunted it. Goaded it from place to place. Then created another variant from Kae. Fed it through to face the original. Original swallowed its twin. Stopped moving after that. Cas chuckled with humorless laughter. Jesus. It even works the same. Avo frowned. What is Jesus? The entities? Their name? The Glaive glared at her partner and he gave a muted wince. He was a carpenter, but thats not important right now. What matters is you managed to disable it the same way it was meant to be used. Against other uploads. Complex post-sophont minds usually, Sunrise added. A few bees landed on him. Not like me. But more deconstructor swarms. Auto-forges. EGI cores. Suicider-forks. Even matryoshka hubs. The nature of the ego-screamers is to be deployed en masse. To confuse and eat away at high-processing cognitions. To subvert and cripple complex logistical networks. So it nulls voiders? Chambers asked, sounding confused. Voiders and their coldtech machines? And whats a matrokasha-hub? A megastructure with immense computational capacity, Sunrise explained, replying exactly as Chambers finished. We suspect that your Necrotheurgy could be capable of similar functions on a more convenient scale considering the distinct lack of energy required and the absent of waste-heat generation. The conventional was interesting to Avo before, but it suddenly became enrapturing. How does someone make one of these matryoshkas? Denton uncharacteristically cleared her throat and the swarm suddenly scattered backward. He shot a sharp glare at the Glaive whose face was back to being a blank page of impassivity. Did it say anything to you when you entered? Anything? He paused and considered his reply. Repeated words. Asked me to free them. Kill someone. They just wanted to be themselves. Mostly just screamed after when I tried to talk with it. This makes sense, Sunrise continued. They are but snapshots of snapshots of snapshots of two rival mind gestalts placed in a heavily frame-jacked virtual environment and formed to enact infringement on the other possibilities before their merging and deployment. There are other designs that arent so severe. I prefer those more. The more the swarm talked, the more Avo sensed that it too was quite untethered from human emotions. Its good you secured a sample of this, Denton breathed out. Cas eyed her. Good. Your father would be proud, rotlick. Thats dont think I know many other Jacks that couldve done that. Avo hadnt been particular about Cas so far, but he wasnt above flattery. A low chuff of pride came from the ghoul. Wouldve done it for the art alone. Regardless, Voidwatch cant know about this, Denton said. None of them beyond Aegis, anyway. If they find out that one of their polities had broken the Sophont Rights Charter or that the Guilds somehow managed to seal a restricted construct My estimations show a high likelihood of an alloy and energy embargo like the one levied upon Noloth before its fall, Sunrise said. Along with a licensing ban for several essential technologies before the illegal asset is secured and returned. Avo found his curiosity aroused again. Illegal? Against the Sophont Rights Charter signed by the Parliament of Polities under the Watchers, Sunrise began, we thus agreed to avoid any and all technologies that would infringe upon the individual rights of a self-aware being, such as but not limited to rewriting memories, inflicting deliberate neurological trauma, forking their ego without permission, uploading another ego into a mind without permission, and inflicting ego-death on another sophont being. Silence followed. It lasted but a second before Chambers broke it with a sharp trailing whistle. Damn. I think Avo here does all that shit. Does this make him some kind of space terrorist or something? All the bees comprising Sunrises collective turned a few degrees to face Avo. Technically, yes. Draus and Chambers both snorted at the same time. The Regular at least had the shame to look bashful at sharing a point of amusement with the half-strand. Alright, Draus said, rubbing her face. Glad we all got to listen to Necrojack talk, but theres a point that were not gettin to. She lifted a finger and pointed toward Kaes burning mind. The Agnos just smiled demurely. ICI dont mind waiting. If if Avo says he can f-fix it I trust And I like hearingCuhCit reminds me of how I felt withCthaumaturgy. How you will feel again, Avo said, refocusing on the Agnos. As her mood glowed even brighter he ushered her toward a new cell. Take a seat. Shouldnt take much. Just need to choke it right as it comes out with the static. Draus. Chambers. Come. They settled into place one final time in a new cell. The arrangments began in silence as glass slid into place and Chambers began psyching himself. Avo engaged the Thoughtwave Disruption just as Draus invoked her canon. Again, his thoughts skipped, and again Kaes mind was swept clean of harm. As soon as his own focus returned, his ghosts cycled into action. Interconnecting himself, Chambers, Draus, his new locus, and Kae, he sent a cast to the Regular instructing her to part the glass so he could connect and boost his haemokinetic mass. Afterward, he dove into Kae''s flame-ravaged mind and found the crossing where her exocortex funneled its static flood over into her brain. Planting the stilled ego-screamer in the way was a simple matter. The more difficult part was timing the release of his trauma just as the static passed over it. If he did it too soon, it would eat into Kaes mind immediately and spread through her while the other entity choked and froze right at the precipice of entry. Too late and it might wash over too farCso far, he still had no way to interact with the static thoughtstuff. Denton possibly could, but she lacked the capabilities to engage the fire on his level, his speed. Ultimately, all it took was a little timing to settle, and when the flood came, he loosed his trauma and reignited the dormant flame. It roared high within Kaes Meta for a beat before a static-coated presence suddenly swallowed it. Then, as if a rock placed in the way of a river, the injections of restorative memory from the exocortex swept through the breadth of Kaes sequences and began regenerating all she had stored within its contents via deployments of mem-data. In the real, the proof of his success was obvious. A full second passed. Then another. Her mind didnt burst into flames. Carefully, Avo plunged one of his ghosts into the newly frozen entity and found himself only able to peer into it halfway. A good portion of it was still hiding within the exocortexs threshold. This would require DentonCor maybe SunriseCto aid him in extracting. But it wasnt moving. It was still. It was frozen. And it was broken. Again, he had choked the flame on itself, and this time, Kae was free. So long as no one struck that portion of her mind with a severe enough trauma, that was. So far, the exocortex wasnt restoring her palace or phantasmics, just memories. She was filling back to wholeness but was even more vulnerable in other ways. He took the opportunity to sequence an Auto-Seance, a Phys-Sim, a Quicksand, and an Incog back into her mind while tuning some basic functionality back into her stabilizing Metamind. Much of what he delivered upon her might be considered overkill for her supposed lifestyle, but she walked a path with him now. He didnt want her to be found lacking when his fathers other selves inevitably returned for what they thought was theirs. With final additions made, he exited her mind and watched in satisfaction as her accretion filled with thoughstuff. This time, the core behind it did not burn, and the flow of her thoughts didnt come in spraying sputters. The pond of her mind was constant now. Intact. Persistent. The entity that harmed her was quelled. He released his canon and time returned to its usual stride. A gasp greeted him, Kaes voice choked with emotion at this long-yearned release. So long, she said. Closing her eyes, tears escaped. She covered her face and coughed out a few sobs. I havent heard myself think for so long. Chambers looked at Kae and then back over to Avo. So did it work? Did we do it. Avo grunted, seeing no need to sully the pride he had in his work with wasteful words. Draus was of a mind. All he got from her was a cuff to the shoulder before she patted Kae with a comforting hand on her back. Alright, there consang. Told you Avo had it, didnt I? How you feelin? The Agnos was still covering her face. But from her rebuilt mind trickled the first emotions Avo tasted. They were not joy and relief as Avo had expected, but horror and sorrow. Something was wrong. Something remained hurt inside her. But it wasnt the flames doing this time. I remember Kae swallowed. The weight of her rage thundered louder with each sequence restored in her mind. Her heart twitched faster and hard. Her blood coursed through her veins as if she was getting ready for a fight. She pulled her hands away from her face, and for the first time, Avo beheld fury mantled upon her once gentle face. She didnt even have the right creases to snarl. I remember what they did to me C what they had me do! I remember everything. 13-1 What Was Lost (I) +You work way too much, you know that?+ +Hm? Sorry, I was trying to match background details between the Painter of the Pale Morning to the Claimant of Dawn. You know whats so interesting about them? Theyre two different gods separated by two different culturesCthousands of kilometers apart! But their myths are so so so similar. Its clear one group of nomads took inspiration from an existing entity in the Kosgan highlands and ventured into the heart of Burnside before activating another Soul using an interpretation of the mythos! Im surprised there was no recorded instance of the faithful between these twoC+ [Dawton laughing] +What? What? Its its true! Its very fascinating howCstop laughing! Stop!+ +Alright. Alright. I didnt Im not mocking you. I just enjoy it when you pout.+ +...Im not pouting.+ +Oh. And Im not peeking at you using the morning light.+ +Thats good, Paladin. Such behavior would be highly inappropriate and extremely invasive to my privacy.+ +Yeah. Glad Im not doing it, then. Say, I think one of my canons isnt manifesting the way it used to. Maybe you can have a look?+ +That sounds impossible and very concerning. Ill need to take a look later. The Imitators I wish you could see it. Its beyond my ability to express.+ +Beyond your powers of speech? Truly, the dream is about to be realized Ah. Theres the pout again.+ +Im serious! Its imagine if something as small as your cells could be part of a super-intelligent chain. Except it doesnt think. It cant think. But it can store memory. And it can hyper-adapt to any environment without fail. The surface of the sun the void the Sunderwilds. Almost anything.+ +Like a living demiplane?+ +Its not disconnected from reality in any way. More like it bleeds over And then whatever is in the environment is mirrored and memorized by it. People. Organisms. Ecosystems. Everything there it, it imitates but also splices in a certain way. Like it mixes people with their location inside the field of false-cognition it generates. So a geographic destination can have a mixture of personalities while the individual people remain separate. The best way I can describe it is its a connected superstructure that is alive but not self-aware but it has a feedback loop with a bunch of self-aware beings its simulating Agh! Its so hard to express, but after putting it in the room with some sacrifices, they ended up having each others memories. A few thought they were each other. But they could still remember themselves. And whats more, they remember seeing people who were placed inside their deployment cells before. Years before. Im talking thousands upon thousands of people in the location. It doesnt seem to have any concept or limit of time or orC+ +...How does that work?+ +I dont know! Thats what makes it so so so special. With this we carried it into a rupture several times. Its like reality is hyper-contagious to all its cells. Like it just accepts and adapts into the local structure, chains and all. Some spatial heavens do damage to it though. If you suddenly cut a place in half It it starts getting confused. But the parted cell chain relinks!+ +Jaus. Thats something.+ +Yeah. I think I think we can deploy it into the Rupture for the Rash. We can use it to peek inside and try to fix the damage. The Agnosi that made it might have been murdered and the lore destroyed, but using its properties+ +Holy hells+ +Yes! Yes! I know! Im going to fix the Rash! The city intimacy! Contact! Everything. And we wont need to do things across the Nether anymore!+ +I ahem. Yeah.+ [Kae giggling] +What?+ +Nothing. I just enjoy it when you blush, Dawton.+ -Intercept of a private conversation between Paladin Dawton Morrow and Agnos Kae Kusanade 13-1 What Was Lost (I) Avo, Kae said while swiping tears from her face, can you do me a favor and kill yourself? Three sets of eyes just stared at the Agnos. Chambers in particular glanced between the woman and the ghoul. Well, thats a helluva way to thank someone after they fixed your mind Want to see my Frame? Avo asked. I need to see it. Kae swallowed. Rage bubbled over her mind like gathering stratocumulus ascending into the shape of a storm. She held a distracted gaze as she spoke, eyes distant as the past once denied weighed on her like an anvil. I need to see if they were used to make your Frame. When I went in the last time, everything felt like a dreamCeverything was a haze. But not anymore. I can remember what they did. They used me to kill him and they burned all my friends. I cant Avo, please Kae. Kae. Take a breath, Draus said as the Agnos began to ramble faster and faster. Kae spun on the Regular, frustration spilling forth from her like a dam. No! I will not fucking take a breath! Ive taken enough breaths! Ive spent enough time as as an invalid. I want to see the Frame. I want to work. Let me work so I can thinkCI want to think. The Reg looked away. It took much for Draus to give ground, and fittingly, there was something seismic in the Agnos outpouring of grief. Denying herself the release of tears, she instead channeled into a need for labor and rose from her chair C locked eyes with Avo as she held the pain crawling her from chest in place. I need to be useful now. I need to study your Frame. We can go over everything inside after I make certain She inhaled mid-rant. ...if they put the Imitators inside you. I think I know what youre made of, but I have to see and know. I have to! At her state, the Woundshaper uncharacteristically shuffled with discomfort. Mercy, master. Let the builder indulge her efforts. Let her architect and be away from pain. Do not let her linger in misery so. Such would be so wasteful. Pointlessly wasteful! Surprise sounded from the Galeslither. You are capable of compassion?I am capable of recognizing proper use, you blind-eyed, simple mule, the Woundshaper snapped back. She seeks to enter our Domain. To install the steps leading up the tapestrys ladder. If it is your want to watch her cringe and whimper under the weight of her own emotional fragility then imagine such nonsense on your time. I simply yearn see that she lives up to proper use. Forgive me, the Galeslithers voice rumbled with scorn and judgment, I thought I felt a breath of nobility dormant inside you. I was wrong. A scoff was the final reply it earned. Fine, Avo said, opening his claws in a placating gesture. Let me empty Rend first. Need to talk with you about new canons anyway. And certain other things. She didnt fully know Waltons involvement with the wrongs inflicted on her. Avo sought to settle such revelations as soon as he was able to avoid letting the trauma fester. She was to find out sooner or later. Best she be treated as her own individual rather than a broken doll to be denied the truth. Do you need to see my Frame too? Draus asked, stepping forward. She stood with her foot pointed between Kae and Avo, unsure if she should help calm the Agnos down or just let her be. Another uncharacteristic moment in Draus life as indecision seized her. No, Kae said. Yes. She immediately changed her answer, letting out an incomprehensible groan. I mean, later. I want to deal with him first. I need to see the Stillborn. And you too Chambers? Chambers, for his part, cocked his head back and smiled. Hells yeah! You remember. We beat the fire. The words made Avo reach out and interface with the near dozen other flames he saved along with the dormant entity frozen in the back of Kaes mind. Chambers reply made Kae pause for a beat as well. She let out a soft breath. Yeah. Winning. She jolted up. And and Essus too. Dont leave him out. I need to check his Frame as well. Everyone that was grafted by Avo. We can I''ll think about that when Im done with him. Draus cast a thought over to Avo. +I dont think shes in the right state of mind for this work.+ +Dont think she can take not working right now,+ Avo replied. The mental affirmation that came from the Regular wasnt a happy one. Collapsing the glass encasing the room, Kae was the first to depart from the doorway. She bumped nose-first into Cas chest and shook it off with a muted apology. Sorry. Dont talk to me right now. Dont. I need to do something else. Same thing for you. Her eyes lingered on all the Silver Denton wore and her face twitched with rage. I know, Denton said. Glaive, but not really. I have things to tell you. And memories to give. Do what you need to do first. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Kae pressed her lips together and, through immense will, walked past the supposed Silver among them. Kae, Avo said, going to vent Rend down the stairs. Can do check there too. She didnt respond, choosing instead to march past him, a miasma of leaking memories rising from her accretion like steam. He caught flashes her smile pointed at another, the faint feeling of warmth she recalled thrumming in her chest. More details followed C casts exchanged across the Nether. Some of them were conversations while others belonged to a more intimate category. Avo didnt react to the spillover as he stood aside from Kae. The beast wondered how she might taste with all that adrenaline-infused bitterness staining her muscles. Considering how sour her mind was, he doubted he would find her a very special meal. As she marched past him to head down the stairs, another conversation caught his attention. Above, on the stairs leading down from the dormitory level, Chambers was kneeling on the steps behind Essus, who had spent much of his time hugging his knees on the landing. ...Look, consang, I aint got nothing to say that might make you feel better, but if its worth anything, you were plenty nova when you stuck that Guilder-fuck with your wings, Chambers said. I mean, that counts for a lot of gleam where Im from. Guys like us arent supposed to be able to kill the FATED. Turning, Avo watched as Chambers thoughtstuff pulsed with excitement while Essus wrestled with a fog choked with despair. Why does she need me to die? Essus asked. Chambers clearly had taken it upon himself to deliver the news to the other man. Avo had caught them mid-conversation. Draus appeared next to him as she jutted her chin out at the twosome. Whats happenin there? Chambers. Trying to be charming. Preparing Essus for death later. Mighty nice of him, Draus added, though her tone with thick with suspicion. You tell him to do it? Went straight for Essus himself. Chambers was patting the distraught man as he struggled to express himself. You see me. You see how I am now. I am useless to you all. We killed Mirrorhead. I killed He held up his hands as his mind brought back flashes of blood intermixed with the budding trauma. Avo considered cutting the memories out from the mans mind but decided to make the offer later, if only to let him choose. He had already been made a Godclad against his will. That was another thing that needed to be settled thereafter. Instead of continuing to pat Essus from above, Chambers sat down next to him. You mightve been. You were. Hells. We were. But we got Frames now. Were Godclads. We can finally hold the leash to our own livesCif just a little. You cant tell me that''s not nova, you gotta want that. What I want cant be given, Essus said. He lowered his head into his hands before closing himself off from the world. Not taking a hint very well, Chambers bent over next to him and kept chattering away, undeterred in his attempts to psyche the other man into being a Clad. Getting tired of this, Avo muttered, studying Essus. What? Draus replied. Him. Being sad. Need to talk with him later. Ask him if he wants Frame. A beat passed. Avo turned to face Draus. You too. We should all make decisions soon. Gave Kae her choices back. Need you all to have the same say. Chambers is certain yes. You and Essus Im not sure. Didnt get a chance to accept Frame. Giving you a chance now to reject. For a long moment, she just stared at C and through him. Draus shook her head. Go down. Kaes waiting. Ill wrangle the other two and be with you in a bit. Avo grunted. He considered pressing her further, but Draus made her own decisions and he didnt possess much in the way of verbal persuasion. In some ways, she remained as much an enigma to him as he did her. As he descended the steps down the level below after Kae, he found the two Columners in a cell off to the side discussing how and when they could approach the Agnos. There was little secrecy in their exchange, being more an open consideration of what topics and memories to offer first for the fullness of detail. Sunrise, however, hummed past Avo and followed in his shadow. We would like to observe your demise and return if you would deem it polite. He made his Echoheads chitter and the traveling waves from his additional appendages placed the moving mess of bees behind him. Fine. Up to Kae though. Shes volatile now. Might not want distraction. We will be circumspect. We wish to make an offer as well. A dim glow spilled in from the bottom of the steps. On the other side, he could see the faint ripples of Kaes accretion. Her restored shape still jarred him in the Nether. For too long had he associated her as something burned and broken. Things changed. People changed. He changed. Taking his silence as acceptance, Sunrise elaborated on the details of its offer. We wish to accompany you for a time. Assist you. Work with you. That made Avo look over his shoulder at the swarm. Why? Interest, Sunrise said. It sounded entirely honest, but Necrojacks operated in a place just a bit deeper than the surface of things. And because we wish to compose a proper character report on your behalf toward the Aegis, under Voidwatch. They have official and effective liquidation order on your creators. Considering your capabilities, they will be wary of you as well. But with proper evidence and a witness, I can keep you spared from their attention. The second part interested him more than it did worry. Voidwatch. There was a war between them and Noloth, yes? Not a true war, Sunrise said. But the Low Masters have inflicted harm and full-cessations on several cores. They remain classified as a major threat. As will you by the broader polities if not registered. He let out a low growl in consideration. I dont need an answer immediately. Just keep this in mind. In the meantime, I will offer you what insight and services I can. It dissolved past him in scattered streams of insects, but from the wake of the swarm was cast a specific sequence of memories. Avo drew it into his Metamind and found it to be pre-arranged for his Auto-Seance. He would use a separate locus to connect. He didnt trust the bioform. Not yet. But things were getting increasingly interesting. Emerging out the fourth level of the demiplane, he found an outcropping of rock flanking the stairs leading to a near-mile-long pocket of space once filled with mud, sand, soil, and stone. Now a pond of blood he connected to for his dives, earlier converting the matter that remained after expelling his Rend,, he found Kae standing over the crimson waters staring at her own reflection. To both sides of her were the jutting heads of Rendsinks still quivering the ground about with spatial-distorting Rend. Avo had uncovered them earlier during his preparations, and here he left them untouched and unearthed. Casting out his entropy as a barrage, he smote a two-hundred-foot-long gouge out from the soil to his left as his Rend drained away to nothing. He hadnt been operating on much earlier to begin with. Eighteen percent, now nothing. Turning, Kae regarded him with a harrowed gaze. Good. Here. Lets see. She began patting at her coat. He guessed she was looking for manticoreCthe agent she used to snuff him the first time she entered his death using her False-Hev. Dont bother, Avo said. Ill just use my Echoheads. Or fuse a spike through my skull. She immediately stopped rubbing through her pockets and spat out a shaky breath. Okay. Good. Thanks. He came to a stop ten feet away from her. The ground beneath their feet was nothing but unevenly sheared sediment caked in smears of grainy mud. She folded her arms and fidgeted while he just stared at her. She was too tense to offer him words. He didnt know what to sayCif anythingCthat could make her feel better. So he didnt. Kae. Might need to hurt you more before I kill myself. Dont want to hide this from you. She closed her eyes and opened them again. With a muted frown, she reached up and brushed the veil covering her clan mark back. The character of her line looked like a severed spring. Talk. She choked the words out. He nearly held himself back from speaking. But spoke anyway. She needed to know. She deserved to know. There was no point in denying someone the architect of their torment. My father revealed what you were doing to Ori-Thaum. She lifted her head and her mouth slackened in a soft expression of alarm. Is also the one who sent Draus to save you. Dont know why he did it. Have a guess. Think it was all for me. As a distraction. Something like that. Another silence stretched, and she weathered the moment of quietude most poorly. What the fuck, she whispered. Why? Just why? What did I do? I was just trying to help people and use what I was making to fix the Rash. Why? Why was I burned for that. She chortled back a sob that threatened to break through her walls. Why did they have to kill Dawton for that. Avo winced as she spoke the mans name. The sheer hurt that radiated from her rattled his wards. COG-CAP: 11% Im sorry, Avo said. Kae fixed him with a blank look. Are you, Avo? Are you really? A beat passed. No, Avo admitted Didnt do anything wrong. Fixed your mind. Feel Im getting hungry with how most of your eyes are. Can take away some memories if you want. Reduce the pain. She coughed out a laugh. The genuine but pain-stained bloom of her smile was a welcome return. It fit her expression far better than the anger or sorrow that still loomed within her so. Thanks. But no. I appreciate your honesty but I just dont have enough in me to think about that right now. One more request: Can I kill you? Avo blinked. You want to kill me. She nodded. Im going to pretend that youre someone else. Its selfish and I know its not right and Im equating you to the Incubi and Walton and and Her voice trailed off as he constructed a mono-tipped spear in the air before her. Oh. She sniffed. ICuh, never actually stabbed anyone before. He shrugged. Grab shaft. Angle point at victim. Move point into victim as fast as possible. She took the weapon he made for her in shaking hands. So. I just She mimed spearing into him. The head, Avo said. Body wont be that useful. He let out a hiss of annoyance. Here. Ill help. Directing the spear with his Sanguinity, he pushed it into her shaking hands and unhinged his jaw before crouching in close so she could stab up through the roof of his mouth. From his sides, he expelled a breath of entropy into the ground and carved another section of matter away. His Rend vanished again. Kae drew in a few quick breaths and let her hate build. Securing her grip on the weapon, she leaned back and pushed forward. His Phys-Sim flashed with indications. She didnt have the mass, the weight, or the right vector. At best, she was going to pop one of his fangs off and then tumble over. Making a snap-decision, he decided the expression of her will mattered more than the execution of it. He caught the haemokinetic spear and drew it into proper position before gifting her a pull. It was a strange thing, to be assisting in ones own murder. But seeing how the ire finally burst free from her thoughtstuff as the tip of the spear slipped through his inner flesh and tunneled into his brain, he decided that the demand for a death or two really didnt matter when supply was essentially limitless. The world spiked and flashed as his thoughts came to an abrupt pause. Something occupied the space of his cerebellum. That something levered up and the world smeared into flashing lights and drooping color. Then, everything went out of focus. RESURRECTION - 1% 13-2 What Was Lost (II) And it is in ruination that we divine the vessel that will be our deliverance. Flesh must be flayed and bone must be broken before steel assumes its rightful place. To abandon suffering before self-construction is delusion in practice is blasphemy of the self. It is in witnessing the flaw that the mortal witnesses the face of apotheosis. The dismembered will never forget the worth of what they lacked, the blind the world unseen and seen again, and the sickened strength where once was naught. Herein is the dialect of true apotheosis, for imbuing power before weakness is conceptualized fully desecrates the animus of all sophonts and renders oneself an altar toward hubris -Book of the New Alloy, Verse X, Resurrection III 13-2 What Was Lost (II) Avo fell into the realm of his death and Kae plunged right after. Sinking into the star-bright gleam of his Soul, he gazed across the stretch of his subreality and took in its growth. Where once the space simulated but a Sangeist and nothing more, now the Frame encompassed leagues beyond even two Heavens of considerable immensity. Arteries of blood cracked and sprawled through his personal expanse, the Woundshaper nudging at the roiling midnight black winds of the Galeslither. Parted between loops of self-devouring dragons, they argued with gestures and hissed words, leftovers from the gods they used to be. But somehow also more. From the way the Woundshaper spoke, their growths were stymied in the age of pantheons C constrained by rival powers and the limitations of sacrifice and worship. Bound to him, no longer were they to be so starved. In place of free will, they were granted access to a flow of growth unfettered, unchained by mythology. From a meager fragment bound to a blood-cycling machine, the eldritch deity he renamed Woundshaper had grown to be something it could have never fathomed. Expanding in scope and domains, it spread from mere blood and matter to encompass aspects of luminosity, and biology. A far way traveled. The Heaven burned smugly, with ever-deepening pleasure. Across from it, the Galeslither was of another mood entirely. The nature of its adjustment frightened it, and the loss of its ability to determine its own fate gnawed at it from within. Avo studied his lesser Heaven but briefly and found himself sharing in its discomfort. To be enchained to a greater will and serve as little more than an instrument to be called upon was disquieting. Something he needed to address with it somehow. So focused on the choice denied to his cadre that he ignored the being inside him as well. Offering choice was growing to be more burdensome than he expected. Wait, thats a whole other Kae said. She floated her crystalline tear-made dais over next to him, her attention drifting to the prize won from the last victim he preyed upon among Abrels team. Three cyclers. Six ontologics. One Soul. Enough to create another Liminal Frame. And then there was the question of what he was to do with all the additional cyclers as well You killed another Godclad, Kae said, sounding more than a little astonished. I mean permanently. And took in their Frame. Forcing order back on her drifting thoughts, she turned and faced the Woundshaper, focus hardening her expression. I need to see how you build new canons. Or take things out. Just use the Meta-Fac in general. I need to see how it functions. Humoring her request took no effort at all. With a thought, his flames spilled out and burrowed through one of the other Frames cyclers. Like ebbing fingers on wavelengths of reverberating fire, he pried the dragon free and pulled it close to himself. All it took to bind it to himself thereafter were threads of radiance stitching it to the nucleus that was his Soul. Through it all, Kaes mien darkened. This is I remember this. A Soul shouldnt be capable of this. Soulfire isnt self-awareCit doesnt just heed someones thoughts. But with the Imitators Her voice trailed off into a groan as she clutched at her head. But it wasnt supposed to go in a Frame? How did they put it in a Frame? How? Nothing I did could kill it! It didnt die! It was more like light or just molecules just cells Kae, Avo said, wanting to halt her rambling. He didnt expect her to shush him in his own Soul. Ill apologize later. I need to think right now. I need to Her voice trailed off. Avo. Show me your Soul again? Please? I want to see it. I have to He unfurled the structure of the Woundshaper and parted the raging gales twisting forth from the Galeslither. Both were clasped by two rings of self-devouring dragons suffused with echoes derived from taken lives. The Agnos approached, his all-simulating brightness shadowing a look of building certainty on her face. The fires are rippling outward. She laughed. I was too broken to see it. Too broken to remember. She lapsed into silence as she just hovered there, studying the quintessence of his ontology as her voice took on a mournful note. I remember I made part of this. Godshaper. I taught the Imitators how to crossover. How to replicate themselves within a Frame. As part of a Soul. Your fires arent actually fires, Avo. Theyre cells. Thaumaturgic cells. A beat passed. My SoulCMy Frame? Its artificial? I Kae began, concentration adding a moment of consideration to her words. No. The Soul I used is just the same as any other. Its still something we cant replicate. But if the Imitators are fused inside it, it learns. It can remember. It can change. It can derive thoughts from you. Its like a borrowed half-sapience with the capabilities of post-sophont intelligence. I dont understand, Avo said. Imitation, Kae explained. The name was perfect. Like vulnerable cells, the environment was contagious to them. But they adapted. Always. I put them in realms of fire and frost and impossible planes of space. They survived it all. And when we had sacrifices enter the rooms, they all dreamed and remembered the nature of canons. Often they started thinking they had each others lives. RESURRECTION - 4% For a long while after, neither of them spoke. The Heavens spoke to each other in the backdrop, but Avo found little of note in idle gossip turned bickering. The silence broke finally as the Agnos released a sigh. Do you know why your father did what he did? Why he pointed Ori-Thaum at me. Framed me for the murder of... She drew in close and reached out from the nucleus of all the burned here, but refrained from contact despite her yearning. Oh, Dawton. He was just doing his duty. He was trying to help the cityCall we wanted was to use our knowledge! To fix the Rash. Her voice rose high into a shout, but before her the Heavens towered and the Soul just burned as always. What worth was human pain before the eldritch C the powers above powers? No, Avo finally replied. Didnt want this for you. But he wanted something for me. My guess is that he was shaping the situations and conditions to do something he wanted. To make sure you would be the only one to reap the benefits of my work? Kae asked. Maybe. Beginning to think his plans run deeper than I ever knew. Sent Draus to save you too. That was something Avo never asked about. Draus and Kae. He had been so consumed by tasks and preparations he barely spoke to the Agnos about her life at all. Dont know why he did that. Send her. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Draus? Kae pressed her lips together. Thats she was in the service of a Highflame Instrument for a time. I was part of the team commissioned to build his new Heaven. We spent some time together then. She smirked. She was so grumpy. And lonely; even isolated from the other Regulars. Never seemed to sleep. I mean, I worked late too so we ended up running into each other more and more and more. The smirk faded. And when the work was done, the, um, Instrument decided to take offense at what we made. If it werent for Draus, I think he mightve killed one of us. I dont know what she did to calm him down. She wouldnt tell me when I asked. I dont know why she risked her life against her own people for us either. Avo grunted a laugh. Draus raids Crucibles looking for war and death. Tried to keep the boy safe. Tried to save the father. Same thing with you. She doesnt care about dying. She just wants to find a good enough reason to burn. And youre more than good. I think. Kae blinked. Im more than good? And there it wasCthat tribalistic urge among all humans to be wanted. Another facet he and his brothers had been born without. Avo wondered if Walton left him devoid of such a social weakness to keep him free from the chains of humanity. Dawton, Avo said, changing the topic. The Paladin. He was supposed to guard you during your task? The man was also her lover, but there was little need to savor the taste of that wound. Kae was unbalanced as things were. A soft smile painted her face as a momentary reverie passed through her. She was recalling an event from her past, one that resonated over even all that was present.That was the official capacity anyway. I never thought I would end up breaking official conduct there but She shrugged, unashamed of her failure. He had a way of making everyone a bit happier when he was there. Avo ceded time and space to her. Dying was a simple act on his part. He increasingly considered a suicide implant of some kind. He found himself, to his grim amusement, thinking back to Mirrorheads cortex bombs. Perhaps something like that would do. The Agnos began speaking again, mastering herself a final time as the resurrection cycle climbed. Project Godshaper was just supposed to be a series of experimental trials for a metaphysical tunerCwhat became your Souls Metafactory functions. But I was never meant to truly fix anything despite official oaths. I think Highflame agreed to the terms with Voidwatch with double intentions, and the voiders likewise expected us to get nowhere without their support. A soft snarl passed through her features. And I guess no one expected me or Dawton to actually try fixing the Rash, but I guess you dont need to be a great power to pull off your own surprises. Interesting. Her attempts at resolving the Rash hadnt been mentioned in the Columns report. But again, first-hand detail always provided a new angle of perspective that a birds eye view didnt possess. Kae continued. The idea of using it to fix the Rash was mine alone. Well me and Dawton were uh I told him while we were but it wasnt his fault! We ended up doing something that was a bit beyond the parameters of the project. ICI didnt mean for it to happen! But in the moment I couldnt resist. Avo wondered if she was talking about her relationship or what they attempted on the Rash. From the trials, we found that the sacrifices were fully capable of building new Heavens in an instant. Of course, we needed to come up with all the structures and components needed for the rituals of mythology but I did itCwell, not just me! My team! And Dawton and his trainees! We all performed a miracle for miracles: Perfect efficiency Heaven construction. Her excitement passed and she turned pensive. Introspective. And modification. That was something he and I tested on our own. Without letting anyone else know. I changed one of his canons. Made it better by adjusting his hubris. Through all, Avo listened and urged the flames around him to flow. He studied the nature of his own being as each individual flow of pulsing brightness bent up to better show their wavelengths. It felt the same as looking down at his claws or sliding his Echoheads further into view. The Meta-Fac, Avo said. Thats just the Imitators in my Soul trying to build things I want? You give it direction, but it still has simulating structures from the root data it can follow, Kae said. I honestly, Avo, with how the Imitators are, its probably more accurate to say that youre as much a part of them as they are a part of you. Like my blood, he added. A metaphysical haemophage. I suppose at a very limited level. The Imitators just infect and create more of you though. Once again, the concept of symmetry chimed like a repeating bell. The artificiality of his current nature; the artificiality of his Soul. The properties of his blood; the properties of his Soul. But if he followed the metaphor down the trail, that meant Kae preempted his sudden epiphany. Thats the main reason why I needed to see their Frames too. Voidwatch has a concept of what bits of their mythos they let us see. Remember what you said about your haemophage? Your blood? Well, theres this idea called an eclipse phase that details how long a cell can remain itself before a virus rewrites its nature. The sacrifices started carrying each others memories within a day. If your Frame is capable of being contagious, then thats probably around the same time theyll start developing. Changing. With each passing word, he felt his influence swell vaster and vaster in pace with his growing understanding. If what she said came to pass, he wasnt just a shapeshifter of self-modified miracles, but a kingmaker above kingmakers C someone with the capability to shatter the balance of the power in this city utterly and completely. All the infection took was contact between the fires of his Soul and another. Like Abrel. I still dont know how they managed to meld it with a Soul. Kae circled his nucleus much in the same way one of Sunrises bees did. I tried it on a SoulCit doesnt emulate metaphysical properties. It can endure extreme forces, but mirroring the environment and consciousnesses isnt Her growl of frustration followed. Hate not knowing things? Avo asked. I hate not being able to figure my own work out! Your Frame is clearly designed on the basis of Godshaper but I have no idea how they managed to put what the Imitators could do in theory into practice. I wasnt done when when She huffed as she derailed her thoughts from painful memories. Wait. Practice? Practice! Avo, try try accessing one of your canons! Dont graft a piece from another Heaven just um um trying commanding your Soul to interface or something. He did as she asked, conveying his want to the system with all the clarity and detail he could add. The Frame was still a stranger to him, its capabilities and growth a new revelation with each death. This time was no different, and this time, Kae made all the difference. The vector of his traveling radiance turned to heed his new demand. Like hyper-accelerated needs, narrow corridors formed where the yolk spreading out from his Soul brushed the sides of both his Heavens. Master I feel faint the Woundshaper muttered, its voice growing dimmer by the second. Across, the Galeslithered neighed softly, and from it came only surprise, but not fear. Yes, Kae said. Yes! It still works! Oh, your Heavens will be fine. I think. Avo glared at the Agnos using his Soul. You think? I''m not sure, okay! She threw up her hands. Honestly, the fact your Heavens are sapient at all is probably because of the Imitators as well. Theyre carrying memories and personality fragments over from what your echoes worship! Pretty much personality constructs or or divine engrams. With her words, new strings of mem-data pulsed over Avos mind. [CANONICITY REVIEW BEGINNING] ->WOUNDSHAPER ->GALESLITHER ENTER SIMULATED CANONICITY NOW? Cautiously, Avo sent his affirmation, and he felt his Heavens expand themselves for lack of a better term. Detaching his Soul, he drifted out next to the Agnos to gaze at what he had done. Connected to him, threading rivers of fire pried each of the former gods, opening two bright-made gateways. Kae shot him a look and took a deep breath. Alright. Lets see if this does what I think it does. She paused. Oh, Avo, if you start getting mixed thoughts let me know. I dont think my False-Hev can be affected but if you start remembering parts not from your own life thats probably me. He answered with a note of disregard. Necro. Wont be bothered. She didnt seem convinced. With a burst of gliding motion, Kae dove through the threshold, and he felt something shift inside him as the Woundshaper pulsed with Soulfire. RESURRECTION - 31% Unwilling to come second repeatedly in his own Soul, Avo projected himself through the Heaven on tendrils of crawling resplendence. On the other side, he found himself coming up just behind the halted Agnos, and below them, the breadth of a blood-made district bearing the aesthetics of a time bygone loaded into view. He stopped just beside Kae, who seemed just content to watch. What is this? Avo asked. The past? Kae said. Or at least, what the sacrificed think the past to be. 13-3 Eclipse Phase It begins with a society feeding a story to a Soul while accompanied by a sacrifice. From the ephemeral confines of baseline reality, historyClike a gestalt of collective memory or a single aligned instance between cultures and communitiesCwaters the flickering seed of mythology. And from there sprouts the beginnings of the pantheons. Again, I look back at history and I feel my chest clench. So much lost. I understand why but the pain remains. People are banned from knowing the exact names of cities and places because of their connections to their former gods. People are banned from knowing personal and communal histories because thats what was used to nourish the growth of a Heaven. History feeding into communities that became civilizations that developed cultures that developed mythology and miracles and the mysticism of thaumaturgy. Godsfall wasnt just a victory. It was also a tragedy. Because even though Jaus broke our chains, it took a pound of flesh with it. We had to seal part of ourselves away. Make ourselves blind and deaf and ignorant of those that came before. Sometimes, when I read about the first-hand accounts of people who escaped from the breeding and sacrificing farms, I find myself glad I was born a child of this enlightened age. But above all the horror, there was a line to the past severed, and with them a clear image of our own growth. That, more than anything, remains the greatest absence among what was lost. -What Was Lost by Revo IKurita 13-3 Eclipse Phase Stepping inside the silenced Woundshaper was like treading into a world of dreams. Halted high above the clouds, both Godclad and Agnos studied the splash of a small city expanding in a crimson spill gushed outward in all directions. Even from on high, they could see the small figures digging channels for the blood to flow, directing and connecting haemokinetic lattices as new structures budded from lakes of quivering crimson. There was a dreamlike quality to the tiny patch of civilization. Something almost infantile in its dimensions. The entire kingdom was barely greater than fifty square miles, and all around it, titanic spore-coated trees sprawled outward like fallen leviathans. Where rivers of blood gushed forth from the bastion of society, nature clashed as the wild and winding flora engulfed the city. Brambles as thick as mountains but as high as hills whorled high to encase even the sky above, branches dying and growing at a constant pace. Starlight pierced through collapsing bark and spilling fungi in intermittent instances, flashing and fading between the seconds. The land itself was riven with cracks and crevices. Between the parted earth, Avo glimpsed sight into another ecosystemCone containing the vague shape of Scaarthian-sized creatures bearing twelve legs and coated in human-like skin. But theirs was a presentation that lacked detail like an artifact bereft of the necessary mem-data to attain full detail. In fact, as he skimmed the breadth of the Heavens inner world, he glimpsed a strange phosphorescent filter that coated the world around him, yet waned the further out he stared. Beyond, in the horizon, mile-wide trunks clasped together in the distance and the simulation loaded no more. Comparatively, the blood-made city burned brilliantly with impossible detail. Detail that Avo could see with nigh-omniscient clarity even from afar. Detail that found a central focus in a single tower at its heart. One that he was more than familiar with. One that was layered in its translucence selves. The Woundshaper, and all its prior iterations. From its beginning as the Sangeist to the atmosphere-igniting Heaven he built it to be. Around it stood people in a vast and wide circle. People offering their prayers and necessary sacrifices. People slitting their own throats and wrists, bleeding into the waist-high pool they stood in. The first, bottommost, concentricity around the Sangeist stood twenty people. Twenty Scaarthians gaunt of build and wearing ragged furs. Avo studied them and remembered the lore the Woundshaper shared with him. These were not the matriarchs in the loreCnot the huntresses of yore, but they were fitting substitutes; people he killed that could play a similar role. The above them, the blood inverted up a waterfall, and for the next circle, Avo found over a hundred gathered. A hundred dressed in dyed cloths and sporting haemokinetic constructs in their armor. The sigil denoting the Domain of Blood was scarred atop their bald scalps, and he found himself wondering if it was humanity that determined the symbology of the Heavens, of if it were to be the other way around. Another level up and there were a thousand. From these thousand flowed capes and coats of crimson mist that sparked with electricity, and he recognized more than a few of them. Little Vicious stood next to Rantula, and their faces were twisted in exultation as they opened their veins time and time again. Crude sparks of stormstuff flowed through their wounds, and as they died, their veins exhaled hissing entropy that was swallowed back into the crimson tide rushing past their knees. For every one of them that splashed down into the blood, another arose from the pool, resurrected and ready to offer themselves again. From over a thousand lips came chants and cheers, words charged with joy and mania hurled as tithes toward the tower at the center of everything. Praise be! Praise be! Saathwu be bountiful! Seethran is great! Seethran is all! Praise the GODDESS OF BLOOD AND METAL! Praise be her bounty. Praise be her new apotheosis! The maddened chanting cycled endlessly, and between the volume of the exclamations, Avo could hear chitterings and murmurs passed between the sacrifices. The words left them, but they never looked at each other. They never truly spoke. Instead, they recited stories from one to another, propagating new tales from each, the resurrected coming back into the world already hearing the lore of their new existence. Were in the Skuldvast, Kae said, ending her silence in a sudden flow of speech. Paleheart, to be exact. Look at the flora around us. See how the woods are trying to close in, but wont touch the blood. Her gaze drifted across the surrounding landscape and she frowned in a certain direction. Strange. It doesnt go any further. But the surroundings being simulated at all means it must remember something of its history Her attention turned to the sacrifices and her frown softened into curiosity. There, she said, pointing at a fold of soft emanation passing through the air. Avo noticed and found himself looking at what seemed to be dissolving seams from a lattice-thin material. Light refracted from its curves, but in seconds it vanished from sight again. Those are the Imitators. There in the air here. They''re in your fire as well. You said they''re like cells, Avo replied. Seems more like organized strings of dust to me. I suppose, but theyre connecting everything here. All the people repeating the same myths to build on your Heavens She trailed off. Look at the architecture. He did and found them shield-shapedCnot unlike those in Nu-Scarrowbur. They were also repeating. Down to the last bit of minute detail. Each block beyond that also suffered the same symptoms. The same guard tower manifested thirty-two times across thirty-two places. The mini-nuke he consumed started appearing in place of urns outside the four great mansions that flanked the tower. Tungsten and glass and vivianite were applied randomly to more and more structures as he looked away from the core.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. You want to know how Im sure the Imitators are in you? Kae asked. Because this isnt how a human learns their mythosCor even tells their own myths to each other. This is how a conjoined memory-sharing symbiotic intellect approaches mythology. Everyone just agrees. Everyone reiterates their stories without fail. Considering her words, he judged the flaws and mistakes in the city again. Why the repetition? Because its guessingCit doesnt know so its filling in the gaps with the information it was already provided. All this place is a phantom memory. Phantom history. A generalized guess. Come on. Lets take a look at the other one. She ascended through his reaching strings of radiance and returned to the central boundaries of his Frame. RESURRECTION - 41% They entered the Galeslither the same way but found the metaphor of its history most differently expressed. The first things to catch Avos notice were the drifting communities built upon the backs of what looked to be bulbous, green-scaled whales with six manta-shaped wings and fire hissing free from curving gills spread along their ribs. They sailed above the ash-choked winds in pods of four and along the curve of the horizon behind them, four columns of sight-searing brightness cleaved into the atmosphere. The shine they bore resembled the flash of a fusion burner in more ways than one. Oh, floaters! Kae said. Natural floaters. A shame that Omnitech decided to modify the ones that survived the Godsfall. It wouldve been nice toCah! Look! Another fold in the light! The Imitators are in here too. Everywhere inside Frame Avo found himself more drawn to how the people were kneeling atop their nomadic homes bolted onto the back of said floaters. Dome-shaped and hewn from wind-resistant material, folk that dwelled upon the backs of the airborne leviathans were closer to sailors than anything else. Some managed the scales widening into glinting sails while others pointed at atlases of wind. Along the backs of their homes were crates filled with trade goods and an undeployed net made to snatch birds. The bioforms themselves seemed to sing as they basked in the light, finding succor from starlight. As each figure completed their designed tasks, they loudly proclaimed their offerings to the skies before taking to the edge of their homes. And leaping. Upward they fell, up into the boundless empty above, and through it all, the winds circled and a streak of lightning sheared the horizon, just as the Galeslither dove into shape. As it snatched the sacrifices delivered upon its homestead, it swallowed some between rifts of raging wind and drank away others through the fluid shadows cast by its wake. The sail festooned upon the floaters filled and the nomads accelerated. Ahead, Avo found another pod with twice the number. Yet, they progressed over the same patch of the earth below, crossing over the same ravines, all while the same fiery spires cut up into the firmament behind. Besides the increased number of sacrifices cast upward into the sky, the darkness seemed to cling around them, shadows riding forward in tandem with the altered Galeslither. And with each body returned onto their living airships, Avo thought he saw the wind chimes pulse and lag, momentum-frozen even as they passed. Patchworks, Avo said. Bad sequences. No coherence to these memories. Like dumping a bunch of assets in and blending. Kae responded with a small note of agreement. Yes. But thats because the Guilds dont want you to know how to build a Heaven. You still have all the Elder Mythos that your father left you, right? This piqued Avos interest. Yes. Why? Have you tried reading it? They contain many different memoriesCvery interesting recollections that Im not sure whereCI frankly dont know where he got some of the sequences from. The Guilds have restrictions on these memories and it looks like managed to steal some direct sources. We need to take a dive through them when you have a chance. We? Avo asked. Yes. We. Im going to teach you. All of you. Youre going to learn how to make new Heavens. And with those words, Avo felt as excited as she did. Isnt there an oath against this? Theres an oath against Agnos and attachments. Theres also another oath against harming an Agnos without just cause. Theres a lot of oaths, Avo. And to borrow a phrase from Draus, shit didnt matter. Kaes voice was too soft to manage the husk of Draus drawl, but the attitude was all there. Wait, do you have another Domain right now? Something for the Galeslither or the Woundshaper? Do the Woundshaper. I think I can help you do something Something? She shot through him without giving him a proper answer. An instant later, he found himself infusing the last remaining Domain of Blood into his still-unfurled Woundshaper. Instead of merely dissolving into the sigil of its structure, another iteration of the Sangeist manifested as it passed through the confines of the Heavens paracosm. It was like another realmCanother instance of the initial world he saw overlapping with the one already simulated inside the Woundshaper. For the Sangeist, the only things offered form were the tower and the sacrifices. Only the blood flowed hereCthe miracles of matter remained absent with the expenditure of the domain. Blank-faced entities drifted like shades in an diminished world, their vessels unoccupied vehicles open to be mantled by the echoes of the dead. Then, something unseen snaked into its boundaries. The change came so subtly Avo almost missed it. Like a shift in the light, a thin film of phosphorous-like gauze spilled through the new Heaven, and from it, the transparent outlines of other structures began to arise. As the two yet separate Heavens overlapped each other, Avo watched as the smaller ontologic developed flickering contours to perfectly slot over the environment of the Woundshaper. He guessed this to be the Imitators in function C they were priming a new environment for perfect adaption, filling in the emptiness with ghost-like symmetry in anticipation of full integration. They can read patterns, Avo said. They make patterns, Kae elaborated. They can also make a lot more miracles than just that. Lets see. Tell it no, lets try something more interesting. Hubris. Thats supposed to be a cornerstone of a canonCaan agreed-upon impossibility or point of paradox in scripture. Avo liked the sound of this. Want me to have it remove the mass limit? The Agnos recoiled, aghast at the suggestion. Oh, Jaus. No. No! Never do that. Curious response. Why? Because its a rooting aspect of a Heaven. The inconsistency allows it to stay anchored and overwrite baseline reality instead of remaining perpetually sealed in its own subreality. LookCimagine this. Its like you need something that can crack against actual reality or your Heaven will never make contact. Thats why paradox? Thats why I backlash? Because an agreed point of impossibility between the revolving echoes sacrificed by my cyclers and how reality actually is? Its more complicated than that, socio-culturally, but I suppose if you wish to view it that way, it can work. So, dont remove the hubris. You should just change it. Change it? Avo asked. Yes, Kae continued. With what your Frame can do, there wont be any delay in culturing the sacrifices to accept the new lore. Despite her earlier hurt, a sense of bubbling effervescence escaped from her. So, keep the mass limit the same, but what if we keep the number of towers you can generate variable That widened new possibilities in Avos mind. More towers? Uh more vessels for the Heaven, so to speak. Just try it. With how you can attune your ontology with singular thoughts and commands, there shouldnt be any danger here. Encouraged and enthused, he did as she recommended. With an internal confirmation, he watched as something nigh-unseen twisted through the air, and two Heavens bled into each other. They melded and merged, the greater whole Woundshaper infecting the Sangeist with its immensity, but it too was beginning to change as new possibilities of development began to phase into place. What was that you said? Eclipse phase? Avo studied the look on Kaes face. Her anticipation hardened into triumph as mem-data flashed through Avos consciousness and in the unifying realities, the pool of sacrifices widened as a second spire rose up to accompany the first. Yeah, Kae said. Eclipse phase. DOMAIN OF (BLOOD) UPDATING MYTHOLOGY ->REVIEWING FOR PARADOXES UPDATING HUBRISES CONFIG 1. [HUBRIS: ONLY UP TO EIGHTY TONS OF BLOOD CAN BE MANIPULATED AT ONCE (x2)] CONGFIG 2. [HUBRIS: ATTEMPTING TO MOVE AN MANIPULATE AN EXCESS OF EIGHTY TONS AT ONCE WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH] 13-4 Necessary Flaws +I was thinking+ +Oh, no! What happened?+ +Kae Come on, I think sometimes.+ [Giggle] +Im sorry. You try. Oh! Im sorry, what were you going to ask?+ +So, this is about my hubrisCthe one tied to my Breaker of Arms canon. Ive been thinking about what you told me, you know? About how canons are supposed to be necessary flaws for each miracle to integrate. Like a single point of agreed impossibility between our subrealities and the real itself that lets us crossover+ +Uh huh.+ +Well can can mine be changed to something else than striking a surrendering opponent will incur backlash? Because some of these Fallwalkers are getting real smart when I talk to them+ +Hm. Theoretically, but your Heaven is a pre-fall ontologic. It used to belong to an actual god so theres history there. A fixed detail in chronology. For that to be changed, we would need to affect and adjust every echo of Essence in your cyclers. And considering your Spheres, that would take upwards of. Maybe two hundred thousand deaths a minute to upkeep.+ +Jaus.+ +Hm. You actually want to know if the Imitators can modify your Heavens, dont you?+ +...Was it that obvious?+ +You didnt care that much about thaumaturgy before, Paladin Morrow. Its a pretty sudden spike in interest you just showed, and some of how you felt spilled over through the link when I showed you memories of the projects progress. The answer is maybe. Theoretically. If we can kill them somehow C shift them over to being metaphysical entities that can be integrated into a Frame.+ +And hows that going?+ +Well Lets just say Im sliding closer to requesting a stasis test for it.+ -Paladin Dawton Morrow and Agnos Kae Kusanade 13-4 Necessary Flaws For a passing moment, Avo just watched as the Woundshapers twin rose to prominence. The second tower was every inch a copy of the first, growing out from storm-forked streams of flowing ichor. From the dog-like head at the spire to the shell of blended matter plating its periodically fluid structure, the Woundshaper became a duality unto itself. Yet, with each inch that rose, the flame-painted world within the Woundshaper grew strained. All too evidently, the demand was too great. Alternations he considered placed a greater ontologic mass on his Heaven than it could bear. Parts of the subreality fractured as rippling radiance flooded through the gulfs like a breach in a ships hull. Both Heavens began to flicker, and though the sacrifices began to gouge at their own arteries and veins at a greater rate, it was still unable to feed the growth. In rapt quietude, Kae studied the halfway ascension of the second tower and cocked her head in curiosity. Yes That makes sense. The Heaven having specific multiple vessels and parsing the hubris might offset the mass limit, but it does spike scope substantially and deviate it from common regard. INSUFFICIENT THAUMIC MASS TO ACHIEVE DESIRED ALTERATION REQUIREMENTS: FIFTH-SPHERE LIMINAL FRAME Fifth Sphere. A bit rich for his current list of kills, but if he struck a few soft targets, raided a Syndicate or ten Avo, make a slight adjustment, Kae said. Try to have your Frame simulate new hubrises in the form of wait show me your canons of blood. He did as she asked without much protest, and watched as his resurrection climbed past fifty percent. Lost in consideration and mumbling to herself, the Agnos was back in her element, a creature returned to its natural habitat after being so long deprived. As he earlier witnessed parallels between him and Chambers, so too did he align with Kae. She drowned in her art, but her mindCeven mendedCwas that of ever-shifting vectors and ever-increasing acceleration. Her attention shifted between the miracles offered by his Domain of Blood, and after a brief but intense half-mumbled conversation with herself, she roused from her trance and returned to offer a new determination. Okay. Good. Several very good things, in fact! First, a confirmation: Heavens are chronologically linked. Because your Heaven is not a post-fall Heaven, its mass is a fixed property. The nature of its flaw is scarred into the Heavens chronology. Maybe if we made a new Heaven of Blood or found a way to directly culture the sacrifices again using new mythos thats for later. Right now, you just need to understand that since youre using a Sangeist as a structure, were going to have to work around the problem. Must stay at 80 tons? he asked. He could not deny the slight disappointment blooming in his chest. So close to being more. Power denied had such a unique hurt to it. The closest comparative would be the ultimate denial of long-lusted flesh before he could clamp his fangs down. Her response, however, pulled his plummeting expectations back upward. Only technically. Scaarthian mythology has SaathwuCthe Bloodforge iteration specificallyCbeing a tower of a recorded height and mass. The tonnage is related to how much blood needed to be offered to it in the cycle of a month. The tower specifically. That needs to be eighty tons. So we can make a simple adjustment to keep both strains and essential limitations unchanged. And we do it using Sanguinitys Reign. That clutched Avos entire attention. The tower specifically. So. The base of the Heaven becomes fixed to the tonnage. Like a core. Or a spine. But expand the Heaven itself? Treat constructs created by the haemokinetic broadcast as separate entities? Yes! Yes! Lets try it. I think itll be a far more stable configuration. Oh, and dont think about specific numbers this time. Use generalities and let the Meta-Fac work with the loaded builds. Again, he initiated the alteration of his hubris again but sent with it a drip of personal desire metastasized from his recent experiences. When one survived long enough in New Vultun, they began to notice a rhyme to the city C themes that ensured his enduring survival. His skill in Necrojacking was compounded with recent memories of Sunrises swarm and the plague-like Conflagration he captured from Kaes mind. Decentralization. Asymmetry. Angles. These motifs had protected him, and upon straying from their grace, he found himself punished. Against Abrel, his ontology was too fixed, too rooted in rigidity. Against the Low Masters and the Hungers, he was a creature of lesser skill, yet had saved himself using their ignorance and misdirection. And when entrapped by Naekos all-powerful might, Denton sent him away with words and information alone. Options. He needed more options. He needed to be flexible. The second tower did not collapse into nothingness. Instead, it speared out in sinuous threads and began to orbit the first. Rings of circulation broke apart into individual motes of haemokinetic debris. The effect came to be similar to a belt of asteroids tumbling around a planetary body, the tower itself a governing module but no longer the totality. UPDATING LORE HUBRIS: THE CORE OF THE HEAVEN CAN ONLY BE EIGHTY TONS OF BLOOD; WITH EACH TON THE USER MANIPULATES BEYOND THE CORE OF THIS HEAVEN, THE GREATER THE REND AND THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS WILL BE (VARIABLE) HUBRIS: ATTEMPTING TO MOVE OR IMBUE MORE THAN 80 TONS USING THE CORE OF THE HEAVEN WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH; WITH EACH TON THE USER MANIPULATES BEYOND THE CORE OF THIS HEAVEN, THE GREATER THE REND AND THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS REQUIREMENTS WILL BE (VARIABLE) The mem-data was secondary in Avos mind. With the inner world of the Woundshaper revealed, the lines of text were but summarizations of the entire process. As Kae chittered excitedly at the alteration proving to be stable, he had his simulation run estimates on just how many tons he could reach now. I wanted it to be like a hive, Avo said. Kae fell silent. A hive? Decentralized. More vectors of attack. Be like facing an infection from afar. She turned back and studied the clotting fragments forming a hardened veil around the Heaven. I understand. I like it. I like it a lot. Hm. I think we should include Draus in these discussions as well. She knows about combat far more than I do so, with her input, I think we might be able to build even more specialized canons. Turning her attention back to the expanding Heaven, she wriggled her nose and set about examining its structure.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The thaumic requirements are unchanged. No major spike in stability or paradoxing. Yes. Yes. Shifting the hubrises works. And variable hubrises too I havent seen many of those at all Risky? Avo asked. She hummed. Some. But thats mostly just Godclads ignoring the limits of their Frame and overloading themselves from Rend when they pack too much mass on their Heaven and their Hell cant counterbalance it. My guess is you can pack up quite a lot of tonnage judged by your current thaumic output but your Hell wont be able to handle too large of a spike for very long. His Frame brought up new estimates. If he diverted every echo of his thaumic mass to his Heaven of Blood, his Woundshaper could contain over fifteen thousand tons of mass. At the same time, his Hell would immediately overload with Rend and his Frame would Rupture from overload, ensuring his cessation in a nigh-instant. Best that he proceed with caution. RESURRECTION - 77% Kae settled into a new routine as she checked his systems and structures, examining each and every angle pertaining to the Woundshaper. Afterward, she spent an equally disproportionate time scanning the faces of all the present sacrifices. It was only when she requested to do the same thing for the Galeslither that he realized why she wanted to examine his Frame so. The Imitators comingled within his eldritch shine stored memories. Stories of mythos and lore. But mundane memories as well, supposedly. If any of her dead friends and family were among the collective, they would have been simulated in some capacity. Avo himself would have noticed considering he already knew what Morrow looked like from Ninth Column showed him. As they drifted back out into the outer confines of his Soul, the smolder of excitement died down to a hiss again. Something in her was extinguished C a desperately kindled flicker of hope. Didnt find what you wanted, he asked her. I was hoping that some memories would be found inside you. Through the Imitators, I mean. She paused and brought a hand up to rub at her opposite arm as her gaze dropped. I When I remembered everything, I remembered that our testing plane was breached when we were attacked. Some of the Imitators got out and I was hoping I thought even if they were packed into your FrameC That you could use them to see what happened that day? Avo asked. To seek out remnant memories or echoes leftover by those you knew? An uncomfortable silence settled between them. Did you see his face? Among my dead? He didnt need to speak the Paladins name for Kae to know who he alluded to. She shook her head with deliberate slowness, eyes distant as she recalled a moment long past. No. I mean, I thought I didCI was afraid he would be here but I also wanted it but he deserved so much more. Her face tightened and she dug her nails into her arm. We deserved so much more. I was happy. There was we were just Avo understood. Humans liked epitomizing concepts. It was probably part of the reason why there were any gods in the first place. When things went wrong without reason, the fortitude of ego would grow tested, and from lips would flow words of self-soothing sophistryCplatitudes to ward against the full weight of the offenses arrayed against them. Spiritual homeopathy. The alternative was to face horror and accept there didnt need to be any reason, that things just were sometimes. In another path, in another life, perhaps he would be faced with another Agnos who decided to commit to the project and Kae would still be living a happy and carefree life in the Tiers. Maybe she would meet her Paladin in that life as well. Maybe not. Maybe maybe maybe. That was the part that tore at her the most, it seemed. The reality that could have been. The reality that should have been. The reality is that would never be. If Avo was nested in mortal flesh at that moment, he would have broken into laughter. How absurd it was that the architect of the divine was just as easily denied happiness and joy as any other joy-fiend or FATELESS in the city. The sheer indifference of it all was absurd. And once again, for the first time in a long time, Avo found himself glad that he was a ghoul. To be human was to want things beyond the flavors of flesh and the vivacity of violence. He was, right then, happier than he had ever been in his memories; more satisfied, though still hungry. He would always be hungry. But Kae and Essus lost what they wanted and would never recover from it The loss of a dream was an ugly thing to behold. With that loss in mind, he spoke his next words, seeking to divert her thoughts from pain to promise. Dreams died. But new wants could take the place of what was decayed. New dreams. New colors and new flavors. An easier hubris for her heart to survive. RESURRECTION - 99% Kae, Avo said. I still have a Frame in me. And the ones who hurt you are still alive. Theyre living in the Tiers. Living in bliss. Comfort. All the things they took from you. Used you as a weapon against yourself. Burned you when things went wrong. Can do a few things for you. Can take the memories away. Or resequence them. Kill the pain. No! she yelped. Embarrassed at her sudden outburst, she hugged herself. No. I want to remember. I dont want to forget its I uh Its just so hard to think and say something. I thought working on your Frame would make me focus more orCor find something but I cant calm down and I cantC I have another Frame, Avo repeated. Can tell you what I could do with it. Do you want to hear? She paused. I yes? I could take all the cyclers. Integrate them with my Frame. Graft the Heavens. Hunt for more thaums. Could give them to Draus or Essus or Chambers or even the Columners. Could give them to some joy-fiend. For amusement. Or I could make you a Clad too. Kae knew this was coming on some level. He saw it in her eyes. He saw it in the way she straightened herself. And he saw her apprehension when she reached up to touch her eye. Before. When you asked me I She grimaced. I couldnt remember so much but I think I didnt want to remember either. I wanted to believe in the fantasy that things could go back. That after you healed me and I could go back up the Tiers and just live my life again. A flash of a memory passed through Avos mind. He remembered having fish in the Tiers. He wondered if they were still alive. Or real at all. But thats not going to be happening anymore. Not with what they did. And not with what you are. I need I need them to burn. I need them to burn! Burn! Burn! The way she stamped exposed a child-like tantrum. She wasnt used to this kind of rage, nor enacting violence on her own behalf. She would learn. It might take a few deaths, but she would learn. Yes. The steel and resoluteness in her words rang clear. Yes. Ill take it. I want the Frame. Fuck the oaths. Fuck the Guilds. Fuck it all. I dont want to feel this way alone. RESURRECTION - 100% Avo felt light-formed fingers pry his consciousness back up into existence. As his subreality began to inject him back across the veil, he watched as Kae dissolved, her expression hardened, her gaze locked to his fading Soul. Existence shuddered into shape around him as mem-data flowed across his cog-feed. Spawning over his corpse, he found Kae standing right before him, their conversation interrupted by his return, but not concluded. From the stairs, he could hear sharp, clicking footsteps. Draus. Her bio-rig rattled a specific way. You know you have to die to become Godclad? he asked. Kae snorted a soft laugh. Im anCI was an Agnos, Avo. I know more about your Frame than you probably do. Was, he noted. They just let it happen, Kae said. If not for Draus and then you, they wouldve just Her voice choked off. She shook her head. He grunted. Wasnt much he could say about someones extended family leaving them to face torment on their own. I can do it if youre afraid, Avo said. Can make it painless using my Heaven. No. She squeaked with fear as she said it. He could hear her heart pulsing, see her blood coursing, smell the stink of her breath as she breathed and swallowed back bouts of rising panic. I can do it. I want to do it. Blinking, she struggled to compose herself. Avo? What what do you want? Why are you helpingCIm grateful but why? I know you dont care. Not like that. Why. That was a good question. One that he was only beginning to develop an answer to. His Echoheads picked at the ground. Walton. He wanted me to see the colors. Experience new flavors. Live. His jaws widened for a moment before he forced them shut as his eyes swept over the softness of her throat. "Still hunger. Still want to hurt and kill and eat. Dont want to deny it anymore. Dont want to lie to myself. But theres no taste in hurting the choiceless. Bad diet. My father was right. So its about what he wanted? Kae asked. No, Avo said. Walton was a good father. He did everything he could for me. For my growth. My agency. But he was a monster to everyone else. No one elses choice mattered. I was the goal. He hurt everyone to achieve it. Draus emerged out from the entrance and stopped to regard the two locked in conversation. Avo continued. Dont want to be him. Want moreCI am more. More than ghoul. More than Necrojack. More than Godclad. He turned his gaze skyward, and though a featureless expanse greeted him, he imagined himself staring at the Tiers. Its not done. Guilds will be coming for my Frame. They will keep killing the FATELESS. They will keep fighting. Someday theyll break the world for good. Done with that. Done with letting them choose. Seen their decisions. Seen their wars. Seen them suffer no consequence. Nearby, the blood in the pool was bubbling, drawn up by a will unseen. "No more. Going to readjust the food chain. Do what I was supposedly designed to do. He spread his fangs in a wide smile, his many teeth clasped over one another. Mirrorhead. Got me addicted to quality meat. Cant go back. Wont go back. Still have to hurt his sister. Still have to break his father. Still have new hunting grounds to prepare for. Youre going to war against the Guilds? Kae breathed. War? Avo said. No. War is their business. Im just going to make victims of them. I just want to hurt them. And thats it? Kae asked. For now, Avo said. Tastes change with experience. But either we hurt them. Or they hurt us. No other way. No other way, Kae agreed. Well, I might have a few people we can start with. Ah. Ori-Thaum. It would be a thrill to see if they could withstand a weapon of their own creation. Find the Glaives? The Incubi that hurt you? She nodded. Its a start. Well see how the experience changes me. He had underestimated the little Agnos. There was more to her than knowledge and scholarly charm. Turning, Kae regarded Draus with a polite smile. Hi, Draus. Um. If you have a gun or something, can I borrow it? I want to shoot myself. What? Chambers footsteps slapped against the steps. Whoa! Wait! Hold on there, we just fixed youCdont snuff yourself! Essus! You other half-strands! FuckingCcome on! More footsteps followed. It sounded like a collective stampede. Sunrise circled around Avos head as the swarm buzzed above. Unexpected. Most unexpected. The Regular, meanwhile, just glared at the ghoul. The fuck you say to her? 13-5 Breather +ATTENTION+ PRIORITY 1 ALERT INBOUND: BEGINNING PROXY SYNC Good morning, Glaives, Approximately six hours ago last night, one of our cells was exposed and burned. Details can be found within the mem-data bearing the task designation Broken Glass Effective immediately, all contacted Glaive teams are to enter the Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty to find and extract missing Incubi assets. Or terminate should the need arise. As the Nether is down, we will be running locus-link configurations between each kill team. Good hunting consangs +//+ Incubi, From sequences of memory glimpsed from the Registry, we have positive confirmation of essential interest entity Kae Kusanade sighted in the Xin Yunsha district from the establishment Second Fortune. We are dead-dropping new proxy minds and have new bio-sculpts prepared. You are to enter the district and maintain your current cover until the Nether stabilizes. During this time, you are to scout and establish forward-scrying posts and procure any and all details relating to the essential interest entity. Again, this is scrying detail. No assassinations. No obvious nullings. Collect mem-data connected to the essential interest entity. Transfer data to your Convex. Burn your proxy. Extract. Nothing more. -Glaive Cross-Cell Priority Alerts 13-5 Breather Kae wasnt very good at suicide, but she managed it with enough encouragement. She managed to miss her first shot by flinching away from her gun even before she pulled the trigger. Such evasion came with its own cost, for when she ducked aside, she still squeezed the trigger, and thus the flechette, once intended for her, made a pit stop through Chambers throat before skipping off from the stone outcropping forming the stairway entrance. There was something amusing about how the man just toppled over with a gurgling spray. The effect was multiplied as all turned away from him, ignoring his choking gurgles while he slowly passed, choosing instead to assist the Agnos in achieving such an end as well. Nervousness ruined her second try and Chambers sudden resurrection made her miss the third. On the fourth she finally succeeded by tucking the gun under her chin instead, placing her thumbs against the trigger and trying to win a staredown against the pistol. The end came quickly for her. A flashing pulse of the guns coils preceded a spread of erupting brain matter. From there, it was a simple matter of seizing her with his Soulfire and grafting her into the thaumic heart of her new ontology. And thats all it took, huh, Cas breathed. His gaze swept down from Avo to Kaes still form, her right eye hollow of the crystalline orb she used to channel her False Heaven. Her face was frozen in an open-eyed look of startlement, as if not expecting the instant of her demise despite serving as her own executioner. You got her? Draus asked, sounding more than a little sour about the entire affair. She hadnt been against Kaes decision to become a Godclad, but there was something undeniably strange about curing the Agnos of her mental damage only to kill her right afterward. There was a sublime, special madness to the act. Shes grafted, Avo said. He shed the other Soul from his orbit with a gentle push of his animated radiance and waited. When Kae returned, she would possess all ontologics and thaums held by the previous user of the Aegis of Tides, sans the cycler that Avo took. Took a cycler away from her. Want you to have it. Increase your survivability. More chances at resurrection. The Regular paused to consider what he just said. She cast a brief look at Chambers and Essus, the latter looking slightly more put together than he was earlier. There was still a dullness to his stare, but at least he seemed more aware of his surroundings, no longer drowning in his own thoughts. Yeah, Draus said. Probably the right call. Probably. How longs Kae got before she comes back? Not long, Avo said, guessing more than knowing. Probably has her cyclers working atC And before he could finish, the subject of their inquiry returned to reality through the Soul-made scar marring the tapestry of existence. She ended up stumbling over her own corpse as she got back, arms spinning in circles as she fought for balance. Avo reached out but Draus caught her first, preventing the fall before it could transpire. Oh, thanks, Kae said. She returned wearing the red polymer synthcoat she wore when they first met at the Second Fortune. He assumed there mustve been some kind of sentimental significance to the outfit in this choice of aesthetic reversion. What she did not keep, however, was the veil shielding the right side of her face. Studying her bared clan mark for the first time, its design captured his curiosity from the weight of its symbology alone. Two winged serpents writhed with their bodies knotted around one another, their fastened union resembling the vague shape of a scale as each of their heads curved low. Avo didnt personally know enough about Ori culture, but his Metamind filtered forth essential memories matching what he glimpsed through his cog-feed. The twin serpents of the Clan Yinga symbolized the origins of their familyCtwo feuding clans fused a union in desperate times, finding balance though still trying to escape. From there they came to be a minor power in the southmost islands in the great chain, applying their knowledge to matters related to trade. Kae, for her part, seemed to have deviated toward a path of greater erudition. He wondered what her broader family thought of that, but then it occurred to him that she never mentioned her family or clan at all across all the time they spent together. You alright? Draus asked. Im fine, Kae nodded and stepped forward. Then, she made the mistake of turning back to stare at her dead body. ICuh Her next words were usurped as a stream of flowing vomit. Avo took a step back. Draus continued to support Kae as the Agnos whipped her head back around, mind screaming with existential dread as stomach-churning emotion tossed inside her being. Now there was a lesser trauma worth holding onto C its workings were subtle enough that Avo might even be able to apply it toward more clandestine uses. *** After Kae cleaned herself up while Avo scarfed down her corpse to spare her more dread, they all found their way back up the stairs to the dormitory level and scattered to separate corners for a moment of respite. The Columners stayed beside the stairway to discuss forecasts related to Zeins impending return and how they were going to manage in the meantime. Kae and Draus occupied a table Avo made for them from his blood, the former soothing her reeling mind on a hot cup of tea while the Regular scanned her detached bio-rig, augmented eyes pulsing with light. Across the room, Chambers chattered away in the cot next to Essus, ensuring that while both of them mightve been laying in beds, neither would get to sleep.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Avo himself welcomed a moment to himself. He had ghosts to resequence; memories to hide, dismantle, and assimilate; a yet-finished labyrinth to develop in his Metamind; and a dozen or so dormant loci filled with the Eaters, as Denton and Sunrise had referred to them. Choosing a specific task from the multitude presented was easy. The potential of the Conflagration interested him the most, and so reached out and began running more in-depth diagnoses for their structures. He considered maximizing his efficiency by connecting himself to more blood mass, but decided against it as a funnel of bees spiraled down to encase his shoulder. Attention split between the arriving bioform and a phantasmal instrument with near boundless potential, Avo found himself distracted by all the new opportunities surrounding him. Sunrise was itself a link to Voidwatch. He still remembered the grafters from VoidwatchChad their contact information. There were still so many advantages left untapped around him, so many things to focus on, and so many paths to travel. Was it hard? Sunrise asked. The hum of its voice held an obvious note of interest while the way each individual bee rattled in perfect synchronicity made Avo wonder just how interconnected the swarm itself ways. Binding Kae Kusanade to the Liminal Frame. At the mention of her name, Kae turned and offered Avo a quick glance. Though weary from her ordeal and yearning to be alone, she still flashed a quick grin at him, the smile revelatory toward her character. By contrast, the cognitive atmosphere exhumed from Essus surface thoughts was one of droning dullness and gray-tinged emptiness. The psionic wounds inflicted upon the two were not equal in magnitude. One was sundered ego-deep by the tragedy that befell them, while the other was fractured but ultimately remained themselves. No, Avo said. It was too easy. Shouldve been harder. The swarm peeled off his shoulder to face him. He guided a few of his ghosts deeper along an Eaters inner helix, trying to determine how he could separate the warring minds. Why do you wish for more difficulty? With every sequence he traveled, his wards rattled beneath the constant encroach of pressure. Even ego-broken, the fires still emanated with hurt. But if he could resolve that, would he be able to adapt the personalities present to automate other processes? Train them to be the phantasmal equivalent of the Imitators were as one with the fires inside his Frame. Consequence, Avo said, finally. Think thats what makes a good Clad. Good Necro. Good snuffer. Sunrise drew in closer, wordlessly asking him to explain further. Mirrorhead ruled Mazzas Junction. Did what he wanted. Was blind to the Incubi. Blind to me. Couldnt save himself even with his Heaven. Such wasted power. He let his words rest for a moment as withdrew his ghosts from one Eater and cast them into another. Dont want to become him. No consequence. No education. Delusion waits at the end. Youre talking about feedback, Sunrise said. Something to indicate a proper reaction. Avo grunted in agreement. Something like that. Why dont you just keep all the power for yourself? Why disseminate? Most born of your culture do. Not my culture. Not really part of any culture. And I am. You are? Keeping the power for myself. He directed his perception at Kae, and then Draus, and then Chambers and Essus too. Perspective is. Useful. Can harvest memories. Build phantasmics. Draw on others experiences. But cant make the same choices as them. See the angles they see. More perspectives are flavors. Colors. New ways of knowing. Ways of knowing life beyond being a ghoul. Beyond myself. And those you kill and devour? Arent their experiences also varied and valid? Sunrise queried. You value choice and novelty, but you seem to be indifferent to the sanctity of life. That earned a small chuff of laughter from him. No sanctity. None? No, he reiterated. Only Godclads and FATED are ensured from death. Should tell you something. Wont tell you I care about the people I kill and eat. Good and bad. Theres no weight for me there. But there are also choices. Mistakes. Trying not to kill the choiceless and meek. Trying to hunt only others with teeth like mine. What about the few hundred thousand you nulled? Sunrise said. Did they bear teeth? Yes. Brittle teeth. Still teeth. Still proper meat. Watched the FATELESS die. Supported the killings with their imps. Fair prey. Not my fault they lived they way the did. Only my choice to hurt them. The swarm curved back, the bees folding around his head like a screen. You look for reasons to hurt and kill people. Yes. How do you know you will not slip from your reasoning? I dont, Avo said. But Draus will probably try to kill me for good. Will notice then. Be a shame to eat her. The Regulars murmur came through the veil of insects. Youre gonna be regrettin them words when I skin you to make myself new leathers. He snapped his teeth in her general direction and the bees flinched back. Have a question for you now, Avo said, turning his focus back to the bioform before him. What are you? You person? A mind piloting a swarm. I am a fully uplifted citizen recognized by the rights of the Sol Sophancy Charter. I was incepted legally and consensually from the mind of a quartet and was originally engineered to live and aid in the ecological adaption of planetary bodies. You were an engineer? Avo asked. Always been a swarm? Always, Sunrise said. I could have chosen to be resheathed in another morphology, but I have never wanted for more than this form. It has proven useful for clandestine work, as my continued survival can attest. Avo disconnected from the loci and gave his full attention over to this conversation. Whats life like in the void? From these few words followed a heavy silence. The swarm turned to each other as if each individual bug was consulting another. The thrumming of their wingbeats grew louder and Avo could feel the heat building from their bulk. But then, all at once, the swarm went silent and they all turned back to him. Pleasant. Quiet. Fearful. Forlorn. Forlorn. Fornlorn, Avo said. Why? Our lives are good still, but we are shadows of shadows. We remember a time when civilizations piloted a fleet of stars, when war was but a passing dispute without any lasting fatalities, when all was provided and expression was unchained. Now, we live in comfort, but dull ourselves on pleasure against the fear. What are you afraid of, Avo asked. You, Sunrise said. They shared a mutual sense of honesty between their natures. Something about that pleased Avo, while another part of his mind questioned if the bioform was just leading him on. The gods. The Heavens. The Ruptures. Thaumaturgy. The eldritch. We fear all that brought us to this point. And we fear what has become of you. Why dont you use the gods? Use Necrotheurgy. The bioforms collective shuffled with discomfort. Do you know what the void looks like beyond this place? This placid planet? Placid? Avo said, narrowing his eyes. Idheim? Civilization is still supported. Reality still retains primary control. Placid is the right word. That put things into perspective. Everything outside is part of the Sunderwilds? Spreading Ruptures across the stars? There arent so many stars anymore, Sunrise said. Not true stars anyway. And from them comes the wrong Come to think of it, quite a gulf of time had passed since the Guilds announced a Godhunt. These had been quiet monthsCif there were outsider gods spotted, all Fallwalkers and Guilders of capability would be preparing to reap a new bounty of Soul. In some ways, Voidwatch was the only reason Idheim hadnt collapsed. In others, the terrestrial powers gleefully threw themselves forth into the jaws of certain oblivion to face foes the reality-bound voiders never could. He considered broaching a new request with the bioform C to ask that it share the inhuman magic-born cognition infusing its thoughtstuff. The veil of pure technology was still hard to pierce, but he increasingly found himself interested in the fundamentals of things. If he was going to build new Heavens with Kae, learning more about the foundational sinews of reality couldC A string of mem-data flashed over his cog-feed. So deep in his own thoughts he almost missed itCand would have ignored it if not for the name. AUTO-SEANCE CONNECTION: ABREL GREATLING ONLINE Avo? Sunrise asked, drifting in. Avo, are you well. Yes, Avo breathed, clicking his teeth together in slavering anticipation. She had been spared death at the last minute back in Lights End. Spared death, but not freed from his touch. Perhaps her continued survival was for the best. He did need someone to test his new phantasmics on, and if there was a chance, she could be used to help him anticipate the Paladins themselves. Yes. Yes, it was a good thing he didnt get to torture, kill, and devour the Greatling. Not when she offered another avenue of opportunity 13-6 Hunters in the Dark (I) I ran up against the Incubi a couple of times. Nasty biz, but I made it without getting nulled. Trick with them is to make chasing you a bother. Most times, if the Incubi are after you directly, youre fucked with a capital F. They dont come after someone without all the details. Second most common way you end up coming across them is when youre on a dive of your own. Usually, that means youre fucked too, but with a smaller case f. For me, I was in the middle of sequencing their Special Interest Entity when they came spoofing their way in. Got real lucky that day: They werent ready for me and I wasnt ready for them. Considering the guy I was jacking technically didnt exist, that meant we were all fighting in the dark and off the books. Of course, there were four of them and only one of me, and they dismantled all my protections without making a peep. Bad odds. Real bad. Really shouldnt have made it out. But then the guy I was jacking just noticed us. All of us. Host awareness went from zero to max in an instant. It was like he had a second mind patrolling his insides or something. Anyway, my wards were cracked and the Incubi were clawing through my outer thoughts when the others came. To this day I dont know who they were or where they came from, all I know is that their ambush saved me from mine. The Incubi turned, fought, and all started unraveling in a second. I jacked out. I lived. Didnt get paid that time, but sometimes, managing to survive means more than anything in the world. Let that be a lesson to you, consangs. The Nether is a deep, dark ocean, and if you dive deep enough youre going to run into some sharks. Or the ones that prey on them. -White Rab 13-6 Hunters in the Dark (I) Abrel Greatling had not resurrected since their last encounter. This truth became known to Avo as he crept out from the hidden mechanism left in her mind. The grooves of her mental wounds greeted him like clefts and handholds, and in the crevices of her fractured cognition swam unidentified ghosts. Exorcist Necros, he assumed. They were professional enough, though being slightly above middling did nothing to earn his praise. Working in teams of twelve, they approached the structure of her mind like a ladder but neglected to venture into the depths of her palace. Doubtless for fear of encountering traps, or transgressing against a Fated Guilder C a Godclad no less. Such was fine with him. It offered room to operate. A place for him to observe his opposition before he decided on the next steps. Back in the demiplane, he projected the dive from his perspective, using his phantoms to feed the details of his processes over to everyone else. Most of those present had gathered around him once they heard what was going on. Essus, however, sounded like he was finally sleeping now that Chambers attention had been drawn away. HOST AWARENESS: [NULL] There wasnt so much danger of Abrel noticing him. Not after what he inflicted on her. His trauma-patterns had smote her clean through, gouging her ego from surface thought to subconscious memory. Most sequences connected to her brother were frayed from the intensity of her anguish, the sheer torment of being exposed to her beloved brothers ignominious end enlightening her mind with newer, more sublime flavors of despair. Everything she recalled of Jhred caused her hurt, from his descent from the Tiers, to all the times she tried to bring him home, to his ultimate and horrific death at the hands of Fallwalkers unknown. It was the last that gnawed at her the most. A day ago she had friends to count on. A family away from family. A cadre of her own, the hard-earned spot of leader proof of merited deeds that served as a burning candle against her mothers shameful shadow. They were all dead now. Dead for good. Cessation. Lurking in the depths of her subconsciousness, he plucked at the strings of her hurt, subtly cycling memories and enhancing details to enliven her misery. He considered planting scenes from Jhreds mind over in hers but restrained himself from such pleasure. Even a novice Necro would be able to notice such an obvious sequencing. Instead, he magnified her wounds and listened as she thrashed and shuddered, the keening screeches tearing out from her throat less than human, far below the merit of a Godclad. It was a joy to break things. It wasC A moment of symmetry passed between her mind and his. He caught a flash of himself writhing as she did, Little Vicious unlatching his flesh from his shattering bones. In the pause that followed, he fought himself, fought and pulled against the worst of nature with every ounce of his might. The beast was strongerCgrowing stronger with him, and it wanted its due. More than flesh, it wanted that which flowed when the concept of self was undone and the nectar of a breaking spirit. He was more than what he was, and in some fashion, that included the monsters as well. His cog-feed thrummed with a warning as a ray of perception poured down toward the memories he dwelled in. Sinking into her hurt, he used the pain as cover and accessed her senses in the real. A feed opened in the back of his mind as mem-data formulated what Abrel could see and hear in the real. Playtime had draw the attention of Exorcists. Just as wellChe intended to seek our their minds using hers. This worked better, all things considered. The act wasnt very useful. Through her eyes, he found himself staring at the intersecting clamps of the sealed metallic cage. A grav-emitter thrummed dully within the confines while the Greatling girl intermittently ruined the peace by moaning the incoherent notes formed by a ruined mind. Delusion oozed from her psionic injuries like an infected wound, fragments of broken thought tumbling through her, simulated in the form of a shattered megablock sailing free across the asteroid belt born of her sundered palace. She fought to believe that her comrades were going to resurrect, that she was going to see them again, and soon. She fought, but disconnected threads of awareness knew better. It was a strange state of being she occupiedCto be convinced of two opposite facts at the same time without any dissonance. Avo harvested the pattern as a means to shatter focus more than harm. DOWNLOADING TRAUMA-PATTERN: [ABRELS SEPARATION] Little detail remained of her phantasmal refuge. Dangling threads of bleeding memory clung onto drifting structures as Exorcist Specters hovered by, scanning the mem-data for anything anomalous. Predictable. Exploitable. They didnt know he was there, and he still had a direct line to Abrel. Taking a moment to filter through the Greatlings memories while using his ghosts as circumspect instruments, he deleted and modified what few instances of recollection she had of talking to him or Draus. Chambers and Essus he left as they wereCtheir faces were already exposed. There was no hiding their involvement from resequencing her memories alone. This, however, was just spontaneous housekeeping. It occurred to him that what he could truly gain out of this endeavor was access to the Exorcists central systems and the Paladins official lobbies. If he could predict or manipulate the premier Non-Guild security apparatus of New VultunCor even direct them to serve the fruition of his endsCthen this was a dive worth embarking upon. Those are good builds, Denton said, her voice sounding dreamlike mumbled back in the real. She was studying the Exorcists, he guessed. Judging their ghosts from the mem-data passed over by his cog-feed. Itll be hard for him to get past them without being noticed. Theyre working two-by-two, each keeping the other covered as they sweep through. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Off the side, he heard Draus snort and sensed the wry amusement leaking from her thoughtstuff. Yeah. Sure. This is difficult for em. Harder than your consangs back at Mirrorheads place. The Glaive took no offense but held to her opinion. That was a surprise for all sides. What hes facing now is an active scrying forceC He reached out with his Sanguinity and constructed a link between him and the blood two levels down. Her voice droned off into incoherence and he regarded the opposition. Twelve Specters in his vicinity. Twelve working as a well-oiled team, though not equal in ability. Already, he noticed that some of the Exorcists were missing details from how they interfaced with the mem-data, their searches only running barely past the surface. They simulated the memories and dipped themselves in, but their dives were half-hearted at best, these Necros were unwilling to directly entangle themselves in Abrels emotions and thoughts. Some were even sloppy in how they approached scanning objects and artifacts. As always, those would be the ones to exploit. Without his canon-wrought speed, he still could have smuggled himself over into their Metas with a bit of preparation. With the power bestowed upon him by his Heaven, he needed to waste no such time on such trifling obstacles. He jumped from artifact to artifact, using his Ghostjack to spoof copied recollections masking his ghosts as he shifted between all the bodies, objects, and phenomena that Abrel could still remember. Each among the Exorcists wielded their Specters more like soldiers or drones, watching flanks and clearing sequences with each basking another with their perception while someone watched the memories past from them. It was a way of doing things, but there remained a critical weakness in the chain of their process: The Necro doing the scrying itself. When your foe could submerge in memories using pilfered assets, all it took was one wrong download to offer entry to an intruder or trauma most unwanted. And when comparing their thoroughness and sequence-pace to the Incubi, the artistry in them remained wanting. They showered him with their passing gaze as he pretended to be one of the aerial bioforms he fought after Rupturing the hypertube. As each integer of mem-data ticked and shifted, he attuned his ghosts to make the jump. If he got anything wrong, his presence would be revealed. Considering the conditions of his failure, he doubted they would be able to dismantle the Auto-Seance he hid inside Abrel considering how deficient their diving was. Worst case more security was placed on her or some other form of prevention resulted. Maybe isolation, but they couldnt keep her hidden forever. The risks were more than acceptable. Once again, he dove, pouring himself from the confines of a broken mind to another unsuspecting of his encroach. As he made the crossover, he felt the process smooth. Simple. Almost reflexive. His ability had grown not just thaumaturgically, but also skill-wise. He found himself more capable of interacting with emotions and concepts alien to him in the past, his study of the human animal a growing domain of knowledge. The Exorcist he wriggled his way into was a bit better on the defensive end than she was at scrying. A dozen trap sequences lined her exterior thoughts like winding trenches filled with internal patrol Specters and protective mem-cons. It amounted to nothing. Avo resequenced his Whisper using memories he copied over from one of her security phantasmics and tunneled through another layer of defenses by priming his adaptive wards using a similar trauma. From there, it was a simple matter of carefully fording his way across. On the other side, he feasted on her memories and grew bored of her almost instantly. Immediately, he felt himself sheathed in an atmosphere rife with boredom. The mind assumed itself to conduct a routine operation rather than expecting a high-degree of threat. Abrels mind had been broken, after all. Who could have accessed such a nulled mind? Who could even infuse the drifting fragments with the memories needed to create a private tunnel? The Exorcists name was Gennue Yullades, and she was forty-forty cycles of age. Other details flowed through him, revealing she lived in an Undercroft district tied to the No-Dragons Ark, and that her twin daughters were in charge of a novelty bio-splicing restaurant that was doing quite well. Swimming up the stream of her cognition, he gazed out from her eyes and found her strapped into a gimbal next to a hundred other Exorcists hovering within similar mechanisms. Whatever they were in, it was military and it was loud. Wherever they were bound demanded a heavy cost in speed. Using his cog-feed, he detected two hundred more accretions within five miles and his Phys-Sim estimated they were all moving at a velocity just beyond 25 thousand miles per hour. From Avos ghosts came a filtered memory, and through this easy enlightenment, he found himself aware that the Exorcists were in motion, heading for a destination masked even from them. Static lined a locus festooned to the far end of the vehicle. Another machine-based cognition directed things here. From Gennues mind, he absorbed the code name of their supposed destination and found it already known to him. The Unwhere. Flashes of the void passed and expanded in a small window to the side of his cognition. A strange flow-shaped machine pulsed intermittently with light before lancing out a beam of thin-white radiance into the distance. And then the memory was goneChidden behind walls of heavily resequenced encryptionsCones that even the Exorcist had to unlock manually. Receding back into her inner memories, he divested her clean of useful mem-codes, and prepared her as another checkpoint in his campaign to install himself within the phantasmal infrastructure used by the Paladins and Exorcists. He cracked her protected memories as well, but all he found were more personal details and a repeat of the scene from the void. The full scope of the Unwhere remained denied to him. As insurance, he also hid an Auto-Seance within her, but he doubted he would ever return to her mind. Still, it was best practice to have a secondary access point when shaping longer-term operations. Finally, as he began to make his way toward the pulsing Auto-Seance at the heart of her palace made from transparent outlines, a strange phantasmic caught his attention, its sequence and make rare. Most of what she had was useless or already surpassed on his end. From wards to trauma-patterns, she was his lesser. However, there came moments when one had something of a specific utility, its effects too useful to be regarded as a bauble, but not direct enough to serve as a first-response tool. Regardless, Avo still thought it worthy of copying. Placed next to her inactive Ghostjack, he found himself drawing mem-data out from an instrument that looked akin to a telescope the size of a megablock held in place by crude rocket pods. DOWNLOADING PHANTASMIC SEQUENCE ->DOWNLOADED PHANTASMIC OBTAINED: [MEDIUM] [MEDIUM] COG-CAP: 99 SEQUENCES (VARIABLE) ->STRUCTURE: A ROCKET-POD BUILT AROUND AN ENORMOUS TELESCOPE SAILING UP INTO THE SKY, CHASING SOMETHING UNSEEN ->FUNCTION: ALLOWS FOR A SIMULATED RECREATION OF ALL MEM-DATA AND PHANTASMAL SIGNATURES IMPRINTED ON AN INANIMATE OBJECT; MORE RECENT MEMORIES REQUIRE FEWER SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE, WHILE NETHER-BASED OCCURRENCES PAST THE PERIOD OF 99 HOURS WILL ONLY LOAD FRAGMENTED DETAILS AT BEST. HOST AWARENESS: 5% It took a bit of finesse to dampen the Exorcists attention, but he managed by modifying a diluted version of Abrels Separation and using it to crack her attention. While she suddenly found herself wondering why she felt safe and suspicious at the same time, he accessed the Auto-Seance she was using and began to pilfer the memory it was currently running. Unlike most freelance Necros, the Exorcists and Paladins had a unique advantage in being officially associated with the Guilds and Voidwatch in particular. Again, this afforded them access to unique memories no one else possessed. This particular combination had Avo descending into the soft fur of a monochromatic creature he spontaneously knew as a panda before rising on a blackened sea to hunt some pale leviathan known as a Moby Dick under the behest of peg-legged man. From there, the peg of the man shattered into seeds of green as he found himself lost in some kind of green thicket. The mem-data called the place the Amazon and a few stray notes of music accompanied it. From there, the bushes parted, revealing the panda once more as the memory began anew. It was far simpler than what he made for DrausCor any of his connections, really. But what they had were authentic memories of other places and things he had never encounteredCthat most people on Idheim hadnt encountered. Saving the configuration, he entered her Auto-Seance and saw himself ferried across the vastness of the Nether in a fraction of an instant. His ghost stuttered and his cog-feed glitched. Visual data was beginning to load a millisecond late and some of his commands werent traveling across. Nether-lag was an inevitable consequence of running ghosts across multiple minds. His Meta had at most one more transition before his Necrojacking efficiency dipped below acceptable parameters. Thankfully, that was a jump he didnt need to make. As he found himself released through another Auto-Seance, he drifted out into a massive Nether-based landscape that sprawled wider than entire districts. Like rivers lining the bed of an ocean, the lobby was awash in simulated structures and phantasmal activity. But he barely had a moment to take anything in before a searing scythe of perception swept through the entire area like a traveling spotlight. He cast his ghosts toward the nearest stable sequence he could findCbut they didnt respond. Again, he sent his command, and only with a staggered jolt did they start moving. They injected themselves back into the structure comprising the Auto-Seance they emerged from, and he hand them a link with the available sequences for additional stealth. A full real-time second later, the wave of perception washed past like a thundering flood. Right then, if his mind hadnt been hyper-accelerated, he would have been caught without any question or doubt. Digging into the mem-data flowing through the Auto-Seance, he tried to get his bearings as to where he was. The information that flowed through his mind proved to be more than a little satisfying. LOBBY DESIGNATION: [OVERSEC-C1] ->DESCRIPTION: CENTRAL GOVERNING LOBBY FOR CROSSOVER OPERATIONS BETWEEN PALADIN AND EXORCISTS Avo embedded his own Auto-Seance and jacked out while quelling his reflexes in the same instant. Time snapped back into pace. Denton was still talking when his cognitive state stabilized. ...itll take more than just quick-jacking to get past their notiC Jacked in, Avo interrupted. Got access to Oversec-C1. Mem-data tells me it should be important for Paladins. Exorcists. Draus broke into a smug grin as she lifted her eyebrows knowingly at Avo. Takes some gettin used to, seein a rotlick like you do something subtle. Beside, Denton stopped talking as her eyes widened and then narrowed at his projected phantoms still trying to portray all that he had accomplished in the briefness of time. A low whistle filled the room. Hells, not far from the tree at all, huh? Cas said. It wasnt all respect in his tone; an undercurrent of wariness remained. Going back in, Avo said. Nether-lag sorted. Going to find where theyre taking Abrel. That, and he was curious just how much of their infrastructure he could subvert. 13-7 Hunters in the Dark (II) There are not many adversaries that can null one of our Strike Cells, and what happened down at Mazzas Junction went far beyond that. Ive experienced something like that only once. Shard-2 went down first. We pulled the Scry-Cell out afterward and rotated Swordfisher in. As for what followed My best estimation as to what happened with Mirror-Convex was the unknown managed to get access to their proxy via an Auto-Seance stored within a locus at our dead drop in Kaswargs Grove, room 5588. I have yet to determine how the unknown managed to access the memories or through what means, but simulations suggest they might have used a routinely passing drone within the establishment as a jack-node to scry at our defenses. Alternatively, they entered using Jhred Greatling, but considering his protections and general elusiveness, we do not think this to be a likely case as it would take an immense effort merely to access his mind. From there, events grow jumbled. We believe we nullified two of the target''s assets and unsequenced their mem-cons, but they continued operations from the mind of one Aedon Chambers--an individual rated at the upper echelons of Meta-instability when Swordfisher made their first approach. Considering how many Rash-triggers and mem-cons there were within his mind, we dare say that whoever was using him as a node likely designed him to be a makeshift fortress, but the methodology is unlike anything Ive ever seen. The initial engagement between Swordfisher and the unknown resulted in Dagger-2 taking severe trauma damage but surviving thanks to the rapid response of Dagger-1 and Dagger-3. Conducting an efficient and commendable fighting retreat, they engaged and held off the unknown who was described as releasing near-instant and unending torrents of trauma-patterns. Nonetheless, they managed to lead the initial target into one of our subverted minds before activating a null-trigger. We assumed the unknown nullified thereafter, but a second attack and Convexs demise followed right after. Dagger-1 and Dagger-3 were also rendered mind-dead in the assault. From reviewing the information we have gathered, I would like to formally have my suspicions stated for the record. It is my strongest opinion that the Low Masters were involved in the catastrophe at Mazzas Junction and that they engineered the events behind the chaos engulfing Yuulden-Yang as well. Whats more, I have a theory that this Aedon Chambers is either one of their acolytes, sleepers, or a direct sheathe for one of their numbers. Such an explanation would also serve to reveal why the mans mind could sustain itself as he was. I do not know what their aim is or why they decided to provoke open engagements with us, but what is certain is thisCwe must be prepared for war. We must harden our defenses. We must review each and every operation for leaks and flaws. We all remembered what happened in those initial days of the Uprising. We all remembered how many we lost. If the mind-priests of Noloth have returned seeking retribution at this very juncture, then I fear we must steel our wills for the worst possibilitiesCthat they are working alongside Highflame as a twin-pronged assault to destabilize our assets while they configure the Rash for thaumaturgical adjustments. -Mirror-Concave to the Council of Elders 13-7 Hunters in the Dark (II) Oversec-C1 was closer to being an intersection than a fortress. A very defended, very mind-traffic-intensive intersection. The information drawn from the lobbys internal mem-data suggested that upward of three million personnel operated through its confines, their signatures marking them as Paladin or Exorcist or both. Separating the two, however, was an obvious process, for some Heavens expressed themselves in ways that affected cognition, causing minds to leap from sequence to sequence or even occupy several different spots in the Nether at once. Such delineations between the mundane and metaphysical also did well to denote the purpose of each profession. Paladins handled matters of a more thaumaturgic or heavyweight variety while the Exorcists responded to matters of lesser severity by ghosts and drones. With this observed, Avo moved in avoidance of the Paladins, aware that he was not the only one in these depths with their skills magnified by the gifts of a canon, most skilled though he may be. It only took one bearing the impenetrability Abrel formerly possessed to see his infiltration undone. The grid of Oversec-C1 itself, though the design was of the inspired variety, was an inward-facing onion drowned by patrolling Specters and false sequences leading off to trigger points and dormant mem-cons set to and mem-lock intruders. As many traps as there were, Avo thought them easy to spot for any Necro that has survived more than a few thousand dives. Such limitations made sense after all: It wouldnt do for the Exorcists themselves to be lost and nulled just accessing their phantasmal offices. Such precautions also revealed to him another truth: With how carefully the Exorcists entwined some of the fake recollection pathways over real onesCwith the details of a single questionable integer in the mem-data or a minor memory asset that fell out of place amidst the backdrop of the broader artifacts comprising the memoryChe knew they had been infiltrated before, and had gotten very good at leading inexperienced or arrogant Necrojacks into prepared nooses. Avo had to commend them on all their effort. Perhaps he could even borrow a few concepts he learned from it over to the expansion of his own labyrinth. However, when faced with someone with his diving experience and capabilities, the best he could say was that they had enforced the lobbys governing structures and security, but forgot the body still needed blood to circulate. There was no true need for him to stalk his way across the deceptive environment laid before him. Not when he could target such vulnerabilities as the Exorcists themselves. Again, a system was only as secure as its weakest assets. To ride the data was to drift unseen. Short of misfortune delivering him before a truly observant and masterful rival in this lobby, his progress was slow but ensured. Spoofing his way through patrolling Specters or unaware egos, he operated more akin to a plague than a thief, siphoning essential memories to broaden his avenues of access while also mapping out the totality of his present environment. If Oversec-C1 was a world, it would be an inverted sphere with the bulk of its cognitive capacity split among six different superstructures layered out of interconnected phantasmics and sequence-made programs. Between each phantasmal construct were channels where the Exorcists could travel, and between the superstructures ran singular bridged segmented in layer and layers of checkpoints. Those bearing the proper memories were allowed clearance and awareness of new offices and pathways nonexistent when perceived by their cohorts. Those without simply didnt realize how vast the lobby they operated in was. A spike of inspiration buried itself deep in the bedrock of Avos subconsciousness. The beast stirred and growled when it realized there was nothing for it to kill. The Exorcists had managed to apply the Incog to specific sequences as another layer of security against even themselves. Such a thing was truly impressive. And something he would emulate for his own needs when the time came. As things were, he needed to go about streamlining his processes. Instead of actively venturing across the lobby from end to end, he sequenced mind-specific mem-cons for each of the Exorcists he compromised and had completed his desired tasks. Immediately, he emulated something he saw from the Exorcists, stashing viruses within false memories he injected into their phantasmics. Within minutes, he found himself with multiple assets spreading across the entirety of the local network. From there, he picked the most senior of his compromised targets and rode his way up the ladder. The vastness of their lobbys simulated structure loomed outside of his notice. He operated with caution and care, and within the interface of his cog-feed, a new map was being painted into shape with each wave of mem-data that sang back to him. Advancement demanded patience, and as he inched his way past barrier after barrier, avoiding approaching Paladins and scurrying between Exorcists, he reached the nexus of his targeted superstructure with less than five real-time hours. The unsimulated administrative phantasmic was a delta of memories formed into a construct, and it was filtering entire oceans of mem-data back over through the other mechanisms within the network, parsing the necessary from the noise.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Taking a moment to settle his thoughts, he examined the build of the final construct he was to usurp and prepared his ghosts accordingly. No two minds were alike, and in the same way, memories had their variations as well. He intended to leave his mark as an invisible yet indelible scar in this placeCsomething to grant him access and made no noise. Such a demand required the germination of a special seed, and he went about his great work while scrying through the offending phantasmic. However, as he infused the administrative nodes with his perception, he felt the helix within him ring in alarm. It was then that he noticed the oddity in the memories he was beholdingCsomething of scattered and dissonant emotions sequenced in memories to they didnt belong. For the second time, he felt his helix vibrate and Avo canceled the half-finished being sewn into shape upon the tip of his Ghostjack. Low Masters. They had been here. He could feel the presence of their memoriesCsense the very stench of their cognition. A worrying thought followed thereafter: If he could detect them even in circumspect conditions, could they do the same to him? Such a consideration compelled him toward precaution. His abilities had swelled immensely since his encounter with his extended family, but the thought of nulling other versions of his fatherCespecially with them sharing so many similar featuresCremained unpalatable. Moreover, it was folly to consider his victory against any of them certain. He knew they remained his better in the art despite his newfound advantages. He also recalled how many of them there were, and their access to the Hunger itself. Whatever that thing could do. Still, he had not dived this deep to come away with nothing. Again, he considered the path forward, trauma-patterns at the ready in case anyone emerged from the Nethers fathomless expanse seeking his nullification. As the moment drew on and the silence stretched, Avo tentatively accessed the construct once more to better examine the handiwork left by his fathers kin-selves. Their skill couldnt be denied, for if it werent for the ringing of his helix as he was sweeping through the construct, he would have missed their handiwork entirely. To codify mem-data using make-shift memories attuned by incorrect bouts of emotion took a level of insight into humanity. Such was a feat Avo didnt think himself capable of now, nor in the coming future so long as his cognition was to remain the same. For all the traumatic and emphatic resilience invited by the psychopathy of his nature, a ghoul he remained, and so the subtlest notes of a human heart were of a frequency beyond his capability to capture. He needed to consider potential countermeasures. Interacting with the hidden sequences, he remained on guard, expecting an assault to come at any moment. Yet he was alone in a sea of thoughts, only fending against echoing leakages of thoughtstuff. Scrying through the hidden recollections, Avo found himself faced with part of an Auto-Seances access point. He released it without making any alterations. Part of him wanted to strike it with his mind, the urge response to building tension. He wanted to see the Low Masters finished, to prove his skill, to see himself rid of their shadow, to severe the will-blunting weight of Walton they bore in their image. Just as much, however, he wished to flee. Facing his father in the Deep Bazaar had marked him. Changed him. Prepared him for this coming fight. But he was not ready with respect to his focus or will. Not yet. Killing an ideal was one thing. Facing countless other Necros on par with his father was to court neurological oblivion. A decision followed. He stayed on the path of his plan but shifted the course of his actions. As much as he wanted to access the system, he didnt want to risk revealing himself to either the Low Masters or the Exorcists, and with how close he was to missing the work of his former masters, trying to subvert them held high odds of ending in failure and suffering. With the Conflagration, he might be able to maim one of the Low Masters, but his instincts told him to put no stock in such hopes. Most Necros did not duel in the open. For everything he noticed on there part, he felt assured there were at least a hundred more hidden dangers he had yet to uncover. The Nether was cobwebbed by threats unseen. But that didnt mean he couldnt have his own countermeasures. Just like he learned to wield the personnel as vehicles, so too would he use them against his fathers forks. Moving away from the administrative phantasmic, he planted two Auto-Seances and connected one to a heavy cog-capped thoughtcast as a luring trap. The other, he connected to a locus holding one of his dormant Eaters. If the time came, he would either use both the Exorcists and Low Masters against each other by drawing them all in using his flames. Perhaps he could even implicate Ori-Thaum in the action. A good plan, with the cost being some Exorcist minds at the most. For now, he would leave this branch of Oversec-C1 untouched. Transferring himself from the local sequences by cycling through memories with his Auto-Seance, he jumped across another seven Exorcists before one of them sank deep into the administrative core of the next superstructure over. This time, he was pleased to discover the absence of the Low Masters touch. Of course, the pleasure didnt last, for when he made his approach, he encountered another problem in the form of thoughtsuff spilling free from an unknown ego-dead Necro with a half-finished Auto-Seance built into the local administrative phantasmic. Accessing the broken fragments of memory left of the dead Necros Meta, he found leaking details promising a hundred million imps for a backdoor into the Exorcists systems. A flash of a sudden explosion told Avo all he needed to know about this unfortunates fate. They had died in the real while diving, the cause being something of a considerable explosive yield. Sometimes, things just went poorly and you couldnt do anything about it. That was why a big part of being a Necro was jacking from a secure location. At the very least, there was already some phantasmal infrastructure in place for him to access. Resequencing it to clean out any mem-cons, he used its base and finished his own build. In the right corner of his right eye, new details began to boot across his cog-feed as his Metamind twinned the mem-data passing through this juncture of the Oversec with his internal systems. When the root-access functions appeared, he knew he had control. For the second time that day, he disconnected from the lobby and jacked out. The dive was done and he wasnt going to stay in Low Master-infested waters for long. Not without an overwhelming advantage or a more detailed plan. Disconnecting from the lobby for the second time that day, he surfaced back into his flesh and blinked pulsing strings of mem-data out from behind his eyes. Is it done? Denton asked. The others were staring at his projected phantoms still playing his vicarity footage from framejack-accelerated hours ago. Do you have access? He grunted as shook off the fog. Long sessions in the Nether took a while to settle from. Yeah. Got access. More phantoms flowed out of him with a thought, and the root-functions of the Oversecs systems booted into a holo-haptic interface. Mem-datas all there. Hadnt had a chance to dig but systems pretty congested. Low Masters are there. So are freelance necros. Pretty popular place. At the mention of Low Masters most of the faces in the room turned to look at him. Chambers, lacking context and sense, continued to watch Avos memories, studying how he forded his way across the inner defenses in the first Exorcist he hijacked. Considering the emptiness that emanated from his mind, Avo thought Chambers was offering more practice to his facial muscles than his actual knowledge. The man wasnt a Necro. It would take deep adjustments to his mind, habits, and personality to achieve such effects. Or a proxy That could increase effectiveness in a pinch as well. Another project worth considering in the future. Low Masters? Draus said. The hells they doin in there? Same thing he was, probably, Cas said. Its pretty useful to know when the glassers are coming. And from where. Glassers? Kae asked. Exorcists. They designate and scalpel blocks compromised by the rash, Cas explained. And usually, they do that using a Heaven of light that partially glasses the structure as well. Oh, Kae said. Swiping a hand over the interface, Denton brought up schematics and planetary maps dotted with several vertices. As she continued narrowing her search parameters, two mem-locked signatures remained. One was ascending past orbit, marked with the string ABHF-001. Such was Abrel Grealtings designation. The other, however, Avo didnt know, but Dentons interest was plain. Uncharacteristically, smirking to herself, she opened files connected to mem-lock titled ELD-MDR-001. A scene expanded from the perspective of someone pushing their way through a banquet of some kind. From the ceiling dolloped waxen chandeliers that oozed but refused to melt while fires licked at colored frescos dotting the tall ovular windows. The visual feed froze then as the scene was redacted, but not before the vicaritys audio lingered a few seconds longer. +I, Chief Paladin Samir Naeko, hereby invoke Article Nine against Council Elder Mwaba DRongo. I have with me verified mem-data and a witness of the third degree. All stay your hands from steel or face the Sage Seriously? No one? Wow. Sensible party, Ambassador. I a bit disappointed, not gonna lie. Say, where did Uthred go?+ The scene froze. The memories culminated. Kae stared on as Denton turned over to regard her. Well, Denton said, the open arrived a lot sooner than I expected. I didnt think Naeko would be so aggressive. Anticipate Ori-Thaum retaliation within a day. You want me to set off the distraction? Cas asked. That caught Avo and Draus attention at once. Its a bomb in the Tiers. Several bombs. He lifted his arm out from his holocoat and the air around the strings connected to his arm shivered unnaturally. Something to choke up the bureaucrats. Just target DRongos personal detail later, Denton said. We need a way for Avo to get in without being distracted. Theres an opportunity here. To find out what she knows about Project Godshaper and what else the Council has planned. The things we can learn from her will be beyond value. She turned to Kae thereafter. And we might just be able to offer you a final settlement for your account, Agnos Kusanade Kae swallowed but found enough iron inside her nerves to muster a nod. The Glaives eyes took on a gleam of anticipation as she looked back to Avo. Well. It appears my esteemed superior is now in Paladin Custody. Do you think you can locate her exact mental position in the Nether and shape the necessary arrangements for a dialogue? I think we have some inquiries to make, and that Agnos Kusanade here deserves to have her grievances addressed. 13-8 The Enemies of My Enemy (I) How many remember the dream? Jaus dream. Shit we were promised when they packed us into these big fucking megacities and told us the future was coming. I remember seeing all those vids drowning in vicarities of the first pioneers going up into the void. The ones where they push the Ruptures back from the dark and reclaim reality? I remember. I remember, doing it, but I cant quite remember what was said. When I was younger, I recited Jaus'' pledge for the future. The promise of Something about how we could all be our own gods, that we were to be the stewards of the last garden or something. Something. Thats all it is now. Something. Just a blurry mess and I cant seem toC Theyre making us forget. The FATED. The Guilds. Theyre ashamed. Not afraid, ashamed. Not because they couldnt live up to Jaus words, but because theyre afraid we might remember what we never got. I cant even remember what the Guilds want. Whats at the end of all this? And the worst thing about being alive right now is this thing isnt anywhere near the end. The last official census counted 674 billion people living inside the city. Even with the Rash, the refugees and migrants arent stopping. Things are bad out there in the Sunderwilds. Ive heard things The FallwalkersCIts all like a bad dream with the Clads. The humanity just leaves you There are at least well over a trillion people on this planet. A trillion. And there were more before the Godsfall. Why? Why else could there be so many of us other than to die? Why else? This planets a death farm. Thats like the real fate of being here. And I hate it. I hate that I was born. Ursdin called yesterday. Says moms worried about me. Says mom wants me to come back to the TiersCcome home. How the fuck can they just live when this is happening. All they need to do is dive across the Nether and the things were doing to these people while were living our little livesCoh, Jaus, oh fuck Im so fucking sorry You know the most fucked up thing? I cant end it. I cant. Because if I do it, I just feed the killing all the same. Just another ghost inside a phantasmic. Another echo worshipping someones god. I wish I wasnt. I really wish I wasnt. -Mem-log of Cala Marlowe 13-8 The Enemies of My Enemy (I) Council Elder DRongo was an easier target to jack into than Avo expected. Of course, he had backdoor access to the Exorcists network, and with that came Auto-Seances into each of the elite Necros assigned to watch her mind while she languished in detention, sealed away in a signal-based demiplane channeled from a Domain of Light. He fed the details back over to the others in the dormitory. Drawing information from the administrative node, Avo found both DRongo and Greatling to be in similar straits. They were installed within detention pods with a detail of personal Necrojacks to look over them while they jumped from point to point across the near void. As it turned out, the Unwhere was not just a cute nameCthe description was quite literal. The Unwhere wasnt a location, but a destination in perpetuity; an eternal voyage for all the prisoners trapped between channeled beams. Though specifics about the Heaven behind the process remained redacted even for the Exorcists, the functionality was simple. Just past the upper atmosphere of New Vultun were approximately sixty-three thousand satellite-golems, each of which functioned like petals of starlight collapsing inward, going from blossoming to budding as their edges straightened into the long dark beyond as an intersection of narrow beams. In a sense, these beams worked close to a hyper-accelerating pathwayCsomething semblant to the lightrails of the hypertube. The only difference was that it seemed one stream of matter could be passed on into another. As such, even if someone could intercept or anticipate where something was being delivered, it was nigh impossible to disrupt the system enough to collapse the interlacing channels of the ever-moving prison. This would have been a problem if Avo was trying to free Elder DRongo from custody, but all he wanted to do was find her and link to her Meta so they could all have a little chat. When the administrative node finally updated him on her next point of arrival in the vast chain of the Unwhere, he applied a few minutes of buffer so that Denton could do whatever preparations she needed to deal with the Elders personal protection detail when she arrived at the golem marked +SATILLITE-BURNSIDE-1273999.+ Avo jacked and lurched back into his flesh. His Echoheads tingled with how long he spent diving in the Nether. Clenching and unclenching his claws, he studied the others gathered across the room. Draus and Kae remained seated but turned toward him. Cas took up a spot next to the stairway leading down, and beside him, Denton and Chambers were staring intently at his phantoms. Not far, Essus remained turned with his back facing the entire affair, his mind a dull-cloud of exhaustion. Got her, Avo said. Will be arriving soon. Have her estimated point of arrival in five minutes. He jacked out briefly and eyed the Glaive. Assuming you have a solution for the Incubi Strike Team nested in her Seance? Denton for her part seemed more eager than stressed about the prospect of facing the best of among her Guild. Glaives were supposed to be in-field fast-jacking combat assets. Though the substance of their Nether-based education remained far superior compared to the curriculum offered by other Guilds, Avo never considered them actual Necrojacks. Not truly. Having a Ghostjack didnt make you a real Necro any more than having a gauss cannon made you a street squire. The lines of distinction were made by the mind-divers and those who only swam the surface. Across from him, Avo watched the woman cast another static thought-clasped arrow toward destinations unseen. For all her cognitive-deviant impenetrability, he hadnt seen her descend beyond the shallows of the Nether. To say he was curious as to what techniques or phantasmics she had prepared for this infiltration couldnt fully convey the depths of his anticipation. More and more did ignorance offend him. In what he didnt know of his own art, of his Heavens, of how he could face and unmake his foes. All this was flavor denied. All this prevented him from true comprehension of his own apotheosis. You shouldn''t stare so hard, Denton said. Her accretion rippled out and then collapsed back inward in a cascade of dotted droplets. You might give off the impression youre worried. He chuffed without any hint behind the noise. Not worried. Interested. Want to see how your mind works. He swept his gaze over to Sunrise as well, and the swarm hovering just beside him. Will take a lot to settle the Incubi. Theyll be there. He paused and considered that certainty some more. Strange. Expected the Paladin to seal her more. Cut her off from the Nether entirely. He couldnt, Denton said. Her lip twisted and she reconsidered her words. Legally. Naeko can hold Elder DRongo based on the proof I sent to him, but he still needs to keep open channels of transparency to show that he isnt twisting her mind or body in any way that can be used against the Guilds. Avo caught wisps of blonde hair bouncing in his periphery as Chambers turned to stare at Denton. Wait, what? The fuck? He can put her ass in void prison but he cant hurt her or none of that shit? How does that work? Legally, Denton explained. That was the entirety of her explanation.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Chambers scratched his nose. So, wait, this elder person gets to keep all her protection, but has to go off with the Paladin guy I didnt rash because they agreed? Why? Why doesnt she just try to null him or just break out or something? Across the room, Cas scoffed as he leaned against the wall. Besides their prison cells being beamed across the expanse of the void at the speed of light-seconds? Yeah. Total milk-run to stage that jailbreak.+ Politics too, Draus chimed in. Thankfully, that wasnt the entirety of her explanation. Paladins got the technical authority vested in them by Jaus and the Articles to hold all manner of half-strands. Guilders. Fallwalkers. FATED. Problem with technical and actual is a thing and a half though. Its a godsdamned shitstorm when some mid-ranked Guilder gets picked up for starting a cult to a skin god or some dumb shit like that. Its the kind of thing that usually ends up with a bunch of high-sphere Fallwalkers deliberately attacking Paladins and Exorcists for a time. Real suspicious like. The ex-enforcer was nodding along to the last part. Yeah, I get the stuff at the end. That sounds like Syndicate shit to me. They had to learn it from somebody, Draus replied. Agnos Kusanade, Denton said, within the Elders mind include the orders and details behind what happened to you because of Project Godshaper. Some memories might pertain to your confusion before the murder of Paladin Morrow. If youC It happened. The words left Kaes mouth through clenched jaws and a flat glare. I dont think I just want to know why? The Glaive regarded her for a moment and nodded. You will. Avo found his focus narrowing more on Denton with each word that left her mouth. She was directing Kae toward a target for her ireCmore than that, it was becoming clearer and clearer to him that Denton had orchestrated this entire affair. Or at least shaped the conditions for it to be possible. By giving over whatever memories she possessed to Naeko, she provoked the Chief Paladin to make his arrest and separated DRongo from direct assistance. In the same instant, she secured aid from Avo and the others by offering them an open hand. His mind jumped back again and he remembered her offering to let Naeko kill her as a moment of relief. All deliberate actions. All meant to prime others for future actions. He couldnt even call her truly manipulative. She was just a gardener of opportunities, and vast were the fields in which she sowed her seeds Avo, she said, snapping him back to the present, when were done talking to D''Rongo, use the Conflagration on her. A spike of startlement burrowed down past the root of his skull. Want me to null her? Null all the Incubi hiding inside her mind? The Exorcists with her? She just stared. No. No, thats not going to be a straight ego-kill. You might get her and part of her chain, but she should have countermeasures. And I dont want to risk the Conflagration leaking over across her Phylactery if she has some kind of Meta-activated suicide-switch. He considered what she meant, and the answer assumed its shape shortly thereafter. Elder. She has access to the Conflagration too? A near-imperceptible nod came from Denton. She''ll keep it from spreading. Whats more important is the trail that follows. She wont be hunting outside for her enemies, but inward. Who else would use it but Orithaum? Another seed then. Devious Glaive. Devious. This one was cunning meat. The beast shuffled beneath his bones and he wondered if he would grow clever by killing her and internalizing her ghost. The temptation to find it made resistance that much harder. Mem-data splashed across his right eye as the Elders arrival approached its final countdown. Shell be coming soon. Access my Meta on confirmation. Acknowledged, Denton said. From the corner past her shoulder, Avo noticed Cas standing next to the wall and strumming at something unseen. Another mystery there. Crasser. More human. But another enigma to resolve in due time as well. At least he seemed softer flesh to digest than Denton. Diving back across the sequences, he found himself hiding within the root functions of the golem as Exorcist Necros marked the next point in DRongos transition. Through the locus, he caught a sideways-cast crossfire of chatter between two of the Exorcists. +So how long do you think were going to get to hold her for?+ +Well, I saw Naeko earlier and he was trying to whistle again, so were probably looking at hard evidence for some serious charges.+ +Like what? Shes an elder.+ +Well. I mightve taken a peek at some of the mem-data. She did something to an Agnos. Something pretty bad.+ +Shit.+ +Yeah.+ +You think the Incubi areC+ +Lets just pretend they''re listening and say no more, yeah?+ +Yeah.+ Back in the real, Avo couldn''t help but grin. If only they knew what actually lurked in the deep next to them. The arrival of the Elder was like a lightrail coming to a halt. Exorcist Necros loaded whatever ghosts and pre-packaged mem-data needed to monitor DRongos detention pod. A countdown commenced: five seconds until arrival. Five seconds until the stop. Avo prepared himself for one final jump. Denton. Three seconds. Cas? Denton said. Are the sounds linked? The man laughed, and faintly, Avo heard a rhythmic thrumming begin to build over an undercurrent of twitching servos. You gotta ask, Val? Three actions occurred at once in the following instant: Avo cast himself into DRongos pod using the sequences within the mem-data; Denton connected to him and released a torrent of ghosts through him as a conduit; something pulsed at the epicenter of DRongos accretion. Avo didnt have time to stop and consider what just happened as he felt himself slip past DRongos Quicksand wards while the memories Denton ejected out from inside him shot out, highlighting an interconnected sequence to travel down the Elders mind. As he sped down the pathways of her mind, he thought he noticed flickers of accretion building within her Auto-Seance before they all dissolved at the same time. The bombs went off. Thats a strike cell gone. Cas laughed. It took Avo a moment to parse what he just heard. Denton and Cas had been planning something behind the rest of them. Something that ensured the death of DRongos personal protection detail. He didnt know whether to growl his displeasure at the details hidden from him or laugh with bemusement at their success. The Glaive still wasnt a true Necro in his eyes, but her social and political engineering was no longer in doubt. What the hells just happened, Chambers muttered. Some fuckery, Draus deadpanned. As Avo traveled across the designated sequences, he cast his Whisper out along alternative paths and found them beset with mem-cons and other phantasmal traps. What he had was a straight navigation to DRongos innermost memories without needing to scry his way forwardChe wasnt even sure how Denton managed to plan this one All he knew was that he didnt need to deal with the maze simulated by the Elders MetaCthe depths of her mind were directly linked to his Meta now. +Were in,+ Avo said. +Yeah,+ Denton said. +Good job.+ She disconnected from his mind momentarily andCto his surpriseChe heard her laugh. I wont lieCI didnt think we were going to get to do this but sometimes the opportunity just presents itself. He heard a shuffle of clothing. Agnos Kusanade. You can jack in too now. I okay, Kae breathed. Okay. She didnt follow immediately. Instead, it was Denton that jack back in first, and using Avo as a conduit, she connected herself directly to DRongo. +Hello, Elder,+ Denton said. +Wed like to talk with you about Godshaper. And what you did to Agnos Kae Kusanade and Paladin Dawton Morrow. Tell me, do you still have his Soul?+ But when the reflexive notes of startlement broke within the Elder, what followed were only the bitter waters of disdain. +Oh, good. More of these questions. Havent you bothered me enough? I told you, by the ArticlesC+ +Were not Paladins,+ Denton interrupted. Avo could feel the sneer building on DRongos face. +No. Of course youre not. Youre too good for that. And you killed my Incubi. All at once. All without the Exorcists noticing.+ Her features softened. A chuckle of genuine amusement filled her mind. +Ah. The answer is obvious. Welcome to my mind then, Priest of Noloth. Come to strike another bargain with me?+ 13-9 The Enemies of My Enemy (II) +Why is my mind still whole? I know what you are, Priest. Mercy is not in your nature. Take your retribution. Strip me of my personhood. I do not fear you. I do not fear this. The great work will continueC+ +Hold on, Im not here for that. Ive seen your measure too, you know. Youre not a very good person, Mwaba, but you are loyalCGuild before life and all that. A real good Massist. Well, I got something to tell you that might offend those sensibilities. But Ill trade that warning for something.+ +...Youre mad. You you kill my personal guard, you breach the walls of my mind, and now you you wish to strike a bargain?+ +Yes. Now, hold on: You havent heard my pitchCThe Saintists have something that can cripple you Godclads entirely. Your Heavens. You will be very concerned when you hear this+ +Do not mock me. You come into myC+ [TRANSFERRING MEM-DATA] +Oh oh, gods.+ +I know. I dont want this. And neither do you.+ +You could have created this as a ruseCa deception. No Agnos would accept such a commissionCit is against the Articles!+ +Then follow the leads I gave you. Send cells to check. I dont want to be right about this, but I am. So face it. And yeah, I am manipulating you, but Im not lying. Sorry, Mwaba. Not exactly my dream either. + +Do not use his words, slave+ +Apologies to Jaus. Now, I have more concise details on the whos, whats, wheres, and whens, but I need something from you first.+ +What What do you want in return? If this is trueCif you have more to oh, gods.+ +I understand that Ori-Thaum managed to sequence a mostly stable ego construct. I want to know how. In detail. A little in-house knowledge for salvation. Im giving you a very good arrangement+ -Elder DRongo and Walton (The Famine of Defiance) 13-9 The Enemies of My Enemy (II) An uncharacteristic gasp of confusion came from Denton and Avo felt his paranoia spike. +Another?+ Avo asked her. From the spillover thoughts she leaked, he already knew he wasnt going to be getting an answer, but he had to ask. Simultaneously, his Whisper was accelerating across the crevices of DRongos memories. He remembered what happened at Ox-Three with the Low Masters. He remembered how they almost entrapped him in that neighborhood of half-nulled minds. He remembered the ethereal weight of the Hungers and the countless multitudes of his fathers forks. Cords of tension drew taut in his mind as he primed Secondhand Fatality for delivery, feeling the ghosts writhing upon the tip of his Ghostjack as he swept his perception across all the surrounding sequences. Fast did self-perception shift in the fathoms of the Nether. Hours prior, he was an apex predator hidden within the flesh of memories unnoticed, spreading his touch like a plague. Now, he cast his ghosts out with tentative apprehension, feeling for the fangs of hunters unseen, trying to guess if he lingered between the jaws of a trap. +I dont know anything about this,+ Denton said frankly. Directing her own Ghostjack she used him as a conduit. He scanned her trauma-pattern as the chain emerged from the obfuscating veil that was her thoughtstuff and slid through him like a conduit. He found it an instrument of feeble harm compared to the ego-breaking ruination which he bore. Avo took them within the panoply of over a thousand exquisite phantasmics forming a serried crown-shaped city at the core of DRongos mind. He watched as her sequences slid over one another, his ghosts casting light on their mem-data and artifacts while weaving shapes from scenes in motion and comparing wavelengths of emotion. Denton tried to assist him but she wasted effort against blockades of intense emotion and high-capacity memories while he compiled and cleared recollections by the measure of hours and days. Her lacking efficiency portrayed the depths of her skill; Denton was a middling necro at best, but her worth was not constrained by her limitations of Necrotheurgy. The impenetrability of her mind itself painted her presence with merit. If they were to be beset upon, such an attribute would preserve her security far longer than her lacking abilities. He considered fleeing then, but decided against it. He had escaped from the Low Masters before, and of the present, they all needed details and answers only the Elder could provide, and the opportunity provided by her vulnerability would not come easy again. With the only consequence being mind-deaths that were curable through resurrection, they held to the course. DRongo spoke again, her voice lit with heavy derision and scorn, cast from a clear throat strengthened by years of oration though high in note and soft in tone. +Why so quiet now, Priest of Defiance? You had the bigger tongue when last you came. Does something trouble you? Have you been consumed by shame or failureCunable to use my gift to create the perfect mind you so desired?+ Again, ignorance rang like a hollow bell from the core of Dentons mind, but he found his orientation cured, if but slightly. Defiance. Elder DRongo thought he was Walton. Such an outcome felt as if a rhyme, for though it was the second time another had assumed him to be his father, it again served his ends to maintain the facade. More to his attention was the perfect mind she mentioned. Intuition told Avo it had something to do with him, for what else did Walton sacrifice his lives and efforts for? For who else did he leave what remained of his accumulated resources? Drawing mem-data from her sequences, Avo constructed a replica of her facial features. The dimensions of DRongos skull resembled that of a tear-drop, and her eyes and lips flicked upward, her brows and hair sharpened. Her skin bore a more light hue than most Ori, making her seem more beige than olive, and her hair glinted auburn at the tips. Another intake of data told him these were all ancestral features she inherited and augmented instead of aesthetic modifications installed post-birth. That, combined with her flat emotional affect and humming scorn told him threats and phantasmally-inflicted harm held no sway over her will. He could twist her. He could break her. He could even warp her mind until nothing of her current self remained. But as she was now, Mwaba DRongo was a pillar within, if not a pillar without, undaunted by unspoken threats and uninflicted harm. +There are several things I want to talk aboutC+ he began. +More schemes, priest?+ She said, cutting his thoughts off with her own. With words cut out with rapier-sharp precision, the ghosts carrying them bubbling with hatred. +You are the one who pointed me to the Agnos and her teamCgave me the memories to ensure her capture was made simple. Why these questions? You already know what I didCyou know better than I! Is this just to taunt me now? Is that what this is?+ With each word, Avo felt Waltons culpability grow and the path to the conspiracy surrounding Project Godshaper narrow. A building tensity followed Dentons thoughts. +I didnt know he was the one whoCthese are new details. Let me talk to herC+ +No,+ Avo said. +You help. You advise. I talk. Dont know things about Walton. Didnt know he was called Defiance. I talk. Not letting our avatars leak over anyway. Can keep things flexible if we need to.+If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. And she responded with a cast of quick acceptance. No arguments. No debate. Valerie Denton wasnt much a Necro, but with each passing interaction, he found himself evermore certain she was quite the accomplished fixer. +New details have transpired,+ Avo said. +Changes. I need to see if youre up to date. Compare memories.+ +Break up your words more,+ Denton said. +You sound too much like yourself.+ He growled in annoyance. She didnt respond. Didnt matterCshe was right. As he was about to continue, he felt Kaes Meta connect to his and he passed a packet of mem-data over to her ghosts. Just then, a new chain of ghosts connected to Avo, and a string of data flowing across his cog-feed told him Kae was entering the dive with them. She rode forth on waves of gut-shredding anxiety as her thoughtstuff dripped leaking litanies of self-assurance over into his inner mind. +Okay okay. I can do this. Come on, Kae. We survivedCwe lived throughC+ He cast a package of mem-data bearing all she needed to know thus far, but didnt expect her to crash against his ghosts with a choking halt, lurching to a stop as her mind overflowed with details from his. Instantly, he felt the weight of her focus dissipate. +Cognitive overload,+ Denton said, her voice trailing off with a hint of a sigh. +You keep talking. Im going to help her. The datas filling her mind.+ He offered her a single grunt before expanding his wavelength to encompass DRongo again. Kae would survive. And if she didnt, she would resurrect. Among the greatest virtues of being a Godclads was the impermanence of harm. +The Paladins know about your involvement,+ Avo said, trying to work a punctuated pause between the cadence of his speech. It felt unnatural to his mind. Hard, like dragging his instincts against gravel. He kept trying. +Arrested you because the information was leaked. I want to knowC+ +If I mentioned you?+ DRongo replied, an indignant scoff forming the end of her sentence. +And how would that serve? You are a worm, and each time we sever you, the pieces grow. Only fire can cure your like.+ His simulation of her face bore a smile now. +Fire.+ He couldnt help but mirror her expressionChe knew what she hinted at, but she remained ignorant to his seizure of the Conflagration. Avo had never been one for poetry, but there was a delectability to karmic harm. +Here, then,+ DRongo said. In the distant shadow of her simulated mindscape, her Ghostjack pulsed and a dozen sequences ignited across her mind. Ghosts flowed through the roots of her foundational memories and concentrated the mem-data he requested within the confines of a dozen ghosts. As he drew the data in, he constructed a new locus from his blood to serve as their housing module. He couldnt trust her mind, so he wouldnt. If this was to be venom, he would not be the one to suffer its effects. +Bold. Youre not even using your Specters to scan the contents this time. I cannot tell if youre truly this arrogant or so skilled in the art of the dreaming that you think so lowly of the Ori.+ Her face flattened to a cold glare. +It could be filled with traumas. Fifty ghosts are enough to dint a ward. Or contain an Auto-Seance.+ Her taunts were ineffectual at best, but between her words hid deliberate intent. She wanted him to mistrust her. She wanted him paranoid. She wanted him off-balance. DRongo was a fool. If it wouldnt work on him, it would be less than effective on Walton. Even past the halcyon days of idealization, the skill of his father stood more testament than tall tale. He reached out with his Heaven as he grasped down into the pool of blood, and this time, he felt the Woundshaper surge through his veins as she sobered fully from the changes made to her canoncity, her being exhaling with bone-shuddering laughter. Ah, master My mind clears What wondrous change to the foundations of my structure you have made. Know that you and the architect are beloved for this. At the mention of her title, he felt Kaes perception flicker for an instant before she went back to wrestling the cache of memories in order. Perhaps we should reach further. Remake these walls from shape to particle and remold something from its wanting layout to our own liking? I feel the expanse of your fire yawn wide. Let the mule free. Grant the space to me. I intend to stretch my reach far. As if he were to accentuate her words, he felt groping tendrils sprout from the borders of his sanguinity before he curtailed their advance. No, Avo said. We experiment later. A faint pulse of acquiescent disappointment followed. So be it. The instances of his existence stretched as haemokinetic cords fused into place between his ceramite-plated flesh and the pool on the four-level from ebbing particulates dancing through the air. Around him, the winds murmured with a laughing neigh. It is not so freeing to be rooted in anothers will sister. You have my empathy. The Woundshaper coiled inward like a compressed spring. And you will see the skies clenched in iron and blood if you persist in this mockery, mule. What pattern did you sup from to find such steel in your words? Do you wish to imitate the domains of a proper god now? I only want to watch a fallen goddess spit hollow appreciations to the tyrant that encompasses her, deluding herself into thinking they are of a union, of a league. The Heaven of Blood responded by constructing a blood-made puppet of the Galeslither and a strangely underdressed man and proceeded to mime an act that would undoubtedly trigger an outbreak in the real. A low chuff of disdain entered the Galeslithers response. Now I see the caliber of your sacrificesCsavages and brutes all. The argument escalated from there. Avo gritted his focus and turned his attention to scanning through DRongos intelligence. Upon sinking a second stream of ghosts into his new locus, he found her phantasmal carriers surprisingly bare of defense and offering little but pure and unsequenced memories. He made a few major adjustments to the structures of her ghosts, and when no hidden artifacts or data was exposed, he wondered if she truly surrendered to him because of acceptant futility or if there was a greater game at play here. Apprehensively, he dissolved his cord, and time resumed its pace. With a thought, he cast the details of her scry over to DentonCand kept the information limited this time. +No protections,+ he responded. +No encryptions either. Very compliant.+ A spike whipped the yolk of her thoughts high. +Speak what you have to say and lets be finished. Push harder, and Ill see myself nulled. Youre vermin, priest. Everything you are, everything you do, everything you have made, are making, and will make is an insult to all that was sacrificed and the deeds of Jaus. You piercing my mind like this? Shameful. But I will not be toyed with.+ There was no lie in her words. Her threat of suicide wasnt idle speech but a promise. The beast cackled beneath his skin, whispering at him from the basest parts of his mind, wondering how many indignities it would take for her to solve her own equation, and if such harm could be carried over to Abrel to further develop the cocktail of torment that was her mind. Avo shook himself free. For the first time in what felt like a lasting eternity, he triggered a long-dormant phantasmic nested in his own mind and reinforced it with a deposit of ghosts. The Morality-Injector plunged down into the ethereal fabric of his manifested cognition and both his Metamind and the physical organ it was anchored to shuddered. Shame, disgust, and self-revilement blasted down against the screaming beast as each of its impulses rose and shattered against an equal but opposite counter emotion. He thought the abandonment of the phantasmic after his nulling of Waltons node in the Deep Bazaar an act of self-emancipation. If so, then this was an expression of enforced discipline. The tinted instincts pulling him toward brutality and violence softened. With amplified clarity, he spoke to DRongo anew. +Im sorry,+ he began. +I didnt meant to insult you. It was just astonishment. Can you do me a favor?+ The Elder slowed in thought as she considered his words. +Speak.+ +I want to hear from you our arrangements. What I had you doCwhat you did to Kae Kusanade and what you know about Project Godshaper. I want to you tell me why you felt compelled to do all these things, and I want you to say them in your own words. I need data filtered through your cognition to compare with the memories you gave.+ Her face tightened into an uncertain sneer. +Is this a trick?+ +Yes,+ he admitted, speaking while cycling old memories of Walton through his mind to refresh himself on how the man acted. Lessons on Necrotheurgy mixed with lessons about the city and life in general. He had no idea to know how much of this was real, but to uncover the acts of his father and why the Ori were so willing to attack Kae, the memories served as guidance and fuel both. +Start with Godshaper,+ he prompted. +I want to know why it mattered so much to you. Ignore what I told you before. Just give the details over to me from your understanding.+ A long pause followed. DRongo swallowed. +You breached my mind nearly a year ago. You breached my mind and showed me such terrible things.+ +Tell me what I showed you.+ +Godshaper,+ she answered. +You showed me how Highflame was going to use the Rash to eradicate us by altering its lore. And you showed me the one who was going to help them make it all possibleCKae Kusanade.+ And just as she finished that word, Kae cleared her Metamind and hissed out a seething thought. +You lying, murderous fucking sow! I plannedCI was trying to heal the Heaven!+ 13-10 The Shattered Dream (I) And with this Heaven, I divorce us from the atrocities of the past and wed us to the future we are to become. I hope that through the promise of this Ark we all form new bridges, new communities, and from our joining bear the seeds of unity to grow beyond the soil of our discord. Dont give up on hate. Not even I can overlook the breeding torment of our past. But where we old and scarred will falter, our children and the ones after will be unburdenedto be and love and live unfettered. To experience a world of bliss and prosperity we should have always given them. The future is uncertain. Veiled with vaster challenges than I could ever fathom, but we do not stand alone. Our long-lost ancestors have found us at the end of a star-spanning odyssey across eons of harsh suffering. To my family in the void, I bid you a formal welcome to Idheim. See us unblemished, shaped by past horrors, slaves to cruel gods, butchers of shared ancestry, and beyond. See us more than what we could be, but who our children could be. The Age of the Pantheons has branded us indelibly in sinew and spirit, but from these ashes rise humanitygods no more! Let us take from their powers but shed no more blood, entrapped in their prisons of eternal continuum. Let us use their designs to let life flourish. And let us gaze upon this Heaven again, and see it as our dowry to existence. For too long we have hurt each other. For too long we have bred ourselves like cattle and farmed our foes for sacrifices. From today forth I give choice to all in IdheimCthe choice to love unfettered as you will and to sire based only on the conception of virtue and reciprocity. This is my final desireCmy ultimate dreamCthat we can rise and mend fractures of existence as people and not cold gods! Humans, with human hearts and human minds directing ascendant administrators devoid of any addiction to worship save that which is offered in necessity and wisdom. To be clad in matrimony beneath these towers of rising virtue, building with the canons of change! -Jaus Avandaer, The Arks Arisen 13-10 The Shattered Dream (I) Avo caught the ghosts carrying Kaes words before they could flow out from his mind and spill into DRongo. +I was trying to fix its canons! To stabilize itC+ The rage flowed from the Agnos as DRongo spoke in the backdrop, twin lines of dialogue clashing as Avo directed his focus to deal with Kae first. +I know. Believe youC+ +Its not about fucking believing me, its about you!+ Kae seethed. +You and her and your cultist false-fucking-god worshipping stupid half-strand of a father! This was for you! All for you! My mindCDawtons lifeCthe rash! My team and all the people who were with us! All ruined to make a fucking ghoul!+ The beast screeched a request for him to shred her mind clean from his for this disrespect. He thought of merely breaking her focus using that which he gained from Abrel. DRongos following words removed the necessity of such an action.+...for the sake of winning the war.+ Kaes perception slipped from him, slashing past to peer at the Elder. +I didnt believe you about the Agnos. Kae Kusanade. A daughter of Clan Yinga; an orphan failed by her clan and Guild both, swearing her life to the Agnosi; a much-praised pupil and a bright mind even among her peers.+ The Elder''s voice tightened with discomfort. +It wasnt until you showed me what she was making with those Imitators that I turned from my heart.+ Discomfort morphed into hatredCthe sheer scorn of the emotion burning like a kindred flame to Kaes. +I despise you, priest. I despise you for reminding me of this transgressionCmy crime against the Articles, against a daughter of the Ori.+ A beat passed. The hatred turned inward. +And I hate you for being truthful.+ The revelation of DRongos unwitting deed did not move Kae from her anger, but the fires of her rage were caged by returning control, and silence took her as her ghosts shook like a vessel rocking on waves of tumult. DRongo continued. +The Imitators I could have never imagined such a thing with my own mind. It is beyond us. A sign of the voiders higher knowledge.+ The praise was accompanied by a sneer. +And our weakness. With something that could change the Heavens to suit the needs of our greatest enemy such a thing could not be allowed.+ +There were non-affiliated observers,+ Kae said, as Dentons ghosts drifted close. +The the Paladins. The Exorcists. Voidwatch too. They would have never allowed my creation to be weaponized. It was only something meant to mend+ +You didnt trust Voidwatch?+ Avo cast a thought out to DRongo. +Didnt think they could ensure commission parameters per the agreements between the Guilds?+ The womans face settled into a cold glare. +How could they, seeing that they engineered these Imitators specifically for our pacification?+ Her words captured the totality of his attention, and within him, a burgeoning curiosity began to burn. +Poor helpless voiders,+ DRongo spoke in a mocking whine. +To be so powerful yet hapless against the existence-shifting touch of the Heavensto live at the mercy we, their downtrodden, ignorant, savage cousins bestow.+ She drew near, the ghosts conveying the closeness of her scorn. +But Ive seen the lives they live, their days filled with succulence and wanton salaciousness while we, the beacon of their salvation, wither and bleed and offer death upon death to ensure their protections. And yet, here they are, kingmakers unable to embody their role, spectators to a war trapped in a deadlock.+ A soft laugh rife with dismay followed. +Or so we believed. Do you know what I uncovered with my Incubi after you revealed the existence of the Imitators to me? After you caught sight of their existence through those Fallwalkers? How much effort it took? I created a specialized cell of experts capable of diving beneath the mind of one of their machine consciousnesses without revealing themselves. Oh, it took aid from Omnitech, and the favors I had to trade with those capricious cultists were almost too severe.+ Denton let out a verbalization of surprise that was almost a curse. +Aegis is not going to like this. I didnt think this was real+ He felt something pulse in the back of her mind. Something was happening within the confines of her Meta. His ghosts tight-linked to the Glaive alone. +You didnt know.+ +No,+ Denton said. +Keep guiding her. This conversation has already paid significant dividends, but she knows more.+ Unaware of the second conversation happening alongside her own, the Elder spoke on, her ghost-channeled perception boring down upon Avo like a glaring spotlight. +Voidwatch themselves didnt create these Imitators? No. They engineered it. Did you know this, priest? It is a fascinating thingCan organism even that baffles their sciences almost as much as it does our thaumaturgy. Even their god-machines could be mirrored. And to find it drifting so close to usCand taken by a cadre of poor organized Fallwalkers makes me curious if this was by design.+ Her words bore insinuations unspoken, but the weight of her mind leaned against him. It was clear she thought Walton had to do with the arrangements behind the theft of the Imitators itselfCand such a thing could very well be true. An evolution manifested within Avo, altering the posthumorous relationship he had with his father. Gratitude and confusion were now joined with building annoyance. The former High Priest of Noloth might have left much in the way of power and resources behind for his son, but with that came old debts and new grudges. Family was an ugly thing. +Now, now,+ Avo said, fighting to keep the awkwardness out of his ghosts as he tuned their voices to bear a steady tone. +You can accuse me directly. I can take it.+The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. DRongo coughed a disbelieving laugh. +Oh, yes, priest, I am surely concerned with hurting your feelings. No. I will not give you this credit. I dont think even you are this capableCseeing how impenetrable the voiders are to us without our more misguided allies.+ She was withholding proper due from Walton out of spite, and to Avos rising ire, he felt the denial of his fathers rightful praise a gnawing disrespect. +So, you believe the Imitators were going to be used by Voidwatch to make us more agreeable to them. What about the stuff that happened afterward. What about Project Godshaper, and the point behind setting Kae Kusanades mind on fire?+ The insides of the Elders mind tightened with outrage. +You know why we burned her mind, you fork-tongued creature. Because of you! You used the lives of my GlaivesCmassacred cells of IncubiCall so we could deliver your prize to you. Had us open the way to your schemes as we engaged with Highflame.+ She laughed humorlessly. +I must ask: were you expecting it, then? Our Incubi taking hold of her mind and having her eliminate Paladin Morrow using the organism she was trying to culture?+ A choked whimper of anguish came from Kae, emotions tearing through her like a saw. Self-loathing, hate, shame, violation, horror. Yet, at the end of it all, what drove her emotions to a sudden halt was a memoryCa realized inconsistency. +I I didnt want to do it? I didnt know+ Again, choice denied carved pain deep into the bedrock of ones ego. Even now, after her first resurrection, Kae still clung to the hurt, the torment clinging to her still even in her optimal reversion. She wanted this on some level, but the wants of being were caprious and shaped by feedback. It hurt to remember, but it would cost too much to forget. Whoever Morrow was, she continued to choose the grief of what she was forced to inflict upon him in place of his absence in her memories. With peace of mind came minimal pain, but sometimes people preferred substance despite the sting. +You know the rest,+ DRongo sighed. +The attack was foiled. Fortuitously. Almost like it was fated to happenCguided by unseen hands.+ A spite-filled silence followed. As they departed another golem, Avo felt the Elders resentment soften. +You have asked me many questions today. Can I ask you one of my own?+ A second passed. Avo cast his ghosts at Denton, seeking proper advice. +Let her,+ Denton responded. +Im curious about what she wants to know.+ +Yes,+ Avo answered, filtering the uncertainty he felt as he delivered his message. The elder acknowledged his agreement with a wry note of suspicion. +Why are you pretending to be the priest?+ His insides emptied out. A yawning chasm stretched through him as Avo felt Denton push her ghosts closer to his. +Tear her near-term memories out of her,+ Denton said. +We can do this againC+ +Its the citrus,+ DRongo interrupted. +The smell. Your ghosts are sending mem-data bearing a facsimile to the real thing but this is not how it would taste to me. Or any other human for that matter.+ Back in the real, Avo hissed a low note of displeasure. Of course. The fault was in a detail. The smallest, most inconsequential detail. He was a ghoul, and thus, where his olfactory senses were sharper, so too did he experience the taste of things differently. What he used to spoof his disguise was similar enough. But closeness didnt not beget proper symmetry. This was his mistakeChis failing. One he would learn to correct shortly. Avo made to dive into DRongos recent memories before she spoke again. +Its the only reason why I told you so much. Curiosity. I thought you were him when you first intruded, but now that I had my time with you youre very much like him, but not quite. There is a coldness to your ghosts. Something missing in the facets that he had. Less vulnerable. Less humane. You will not tell me who you are, but I would like to continue our bargain.+ +No,+ Avo said. +No bargain.+ He cast out his ghostsC +Are you the one who attacked the Greatling girl, then? Part of the chaos in the Warrens today?+ Again, the tension inside him twisted hard. He felt a smile spread across her face. +Its so nice to properly meet you, Acolyte of Defiance. Im curious, is Aedon Chambers your real name.+ And the spring of tension slipped, releasing a surfeit of surprise. +What?+ Denton said. +ICyes,+ Avo said, his use of Chambers more instinct than rationale. The moment was so absurd, so unexpect that he found his thoughts slippery, unwilling to linger long enough for him to decide on a proper course of action. +How did you know?+ She suddenly felt very pleased with herself. Part of Avo wanted to reveal the truth, if only to drive her deeper into the throes of bitterness. He kept up the new charade despite himself as she oozed smugness. +We both have our means. You really should have kept yourself out of the limelight. As much as your master disgusts me, he was wise enough to keep himself from attention.+ +I+ Avo trailed off. He turned to Denton for advice, but found himself offered the mental equivalent of a shrug. +Whats even happening,+ Kae muttered, her turmoil temporarily interrupted. +So,+ DRongo said. +You must also be the one that stole Project Dichotomy before Highflame could finally auction the Frame off to another one of their butchers?+ A line of text ran through his cog-feed as a Ghostlink request from Chambers filled his mind. With an acknowledgment, the ex-enforcer tumbled in, mind reeling like a whirlwind of chaos. +Why the fuck does she think Im involved with this? What did you do, Avo?+ +I dont know.+ And that was the honest truth of it. There were certainly witnesses that placed Chambers and Essus on the scene, but if that was Avo paused. Avo thought back to an earlier point, back when they were trying to kill Mirrorhead. He had used Chambers mind as a access point. The Incubi knew that as a certain truth. Could they have assumed Chambers was a disciple of sorts to Walton? Or the Low Masters as a whole? The insanity of such a prospect made him chuckle. Then laugh. It was the type of amusement one got from witnessing a colossally wrong deduction assumed to be truthCan accidental conspiracy theory used in place of a stranger fiction. +Alright,+ Avo said, too bemused not to continue playing along. He could resequence DRongos mind later if this all went south. With Chambers present, perhaps they could continue extracting the details they needed after all. +You got me.+ +Theres no shame in this,+ DRongo said. +Though I will see you dead for the lives of my guards.+ He grunted. +Doubt you have the traumas needed to settle me.+ Chambers blanched. +Stop! What are you doingC+ +So,+ DRongo said. +Using me to glean all these details your master never told them to you?+ +No,+ Avo said. +He was always a+ He knew what he had to say. He had the words, he just needed to speak them. +...A half-strand.+ +Ah,+ DRongo said. +Already, I like you more. Tell me: Do you know where he took the Agnos? Her life is valuable. We just want her back to fix our mistake. If you arrange for her return, I can even see to your induction into our ranks. You have the skillsCthink of what you can achieve if you could jack with every need metCall the phantasmics you want. And ghosts. No lag. A FATE-Skein as well.+ +Wait, hold on,+ Chambers said, the sensation of him licking his lips bleeding over. +Thats a pretty good deal. I think we should take this. I can be your inside man for Ori-Thaum.+ +Already have Denton,+ Avo said. +Shes not a man?+ +I suppose that is true,+ Denton deadpanned. +As long as I dont get any new mods.+ +Nonetheless,+ DRongo said, +You must be desperate to attempt such a play. Releasing the informationChaving the Paladin arrest me just to arrange this talk Well played, but we both know I do not fear the end. And though you might have the Agnos, she will be no use to either of us if she doesnt finish her work.+ +And whats that?+ +Restoring the Heaven of Love and turning it against our foes.+ Her voice fell low. +And turning the Arks against our enemies.+ 13-11 The Shattered Dream (II) Once upon a time, there were Nine pantheons. Nine pantheons for the nine great and terrible tribes who carried with them twelve different histories. In each historyC What happens before? Hm? Before the once upon a time? What happens before then? ...Thats a good question. Might be something better answered by your mother, but I believe the clearest answer is that its of dubious canonicity. Dubious? Yes. Its a terrifying thing. Why? Because the story which we tell of time past might just change who we are nowCah, its too complicatedC No. I understand. If the past is different, the present has to be different too Dad, why are you staring at me? Nothing. You got the wit in you, Veylis. You know that? Yes. [Loud guffaw] And the confidence too. Mother says fear and cowardice are for those I feed to my glaive. Do not remind me of them, my girl. ... Story! Okay, alright. So, as years passed and the gods warred to rule humanity, each of them began building a throne for their scripture. Many of the things they wrote about never were, but if they won If their thrones grew taller and they claimed the othersC Are the thrones the Arks? ...Yes. How did youC Mother took me to one. She showed me the worlds inside them and told me they were all lies, but their lies were like seeds and they could grow into something real if if the soils of time were settled. ...Im going to need to talk with her about taking you to these places without telling me. She calls it character building. More character-ending sometimes, Im afraid. Mother will protect me. Yeah. Yeah, she will. Daddy, why are the stories different? The voiders say we were all from the same place once. Why are the stories different? ...Because of want. Because the gods want to be moreCto take up more of reality. Because everyone wants to win and win, and never lose and always be happy. Because within every person is a dream for paradise to silence the fears inside and light joys with higher form of fire. One that never stops burning. Were afraid. But we also dream of being more. Thats what I think makes us human. We are the marriage between base impulse and heightened conception. From the former we flee, and into the arms of the latter we run. So why do you make it sound so bad. Because there cant be more than one paradise, my heart. Not even between you and mom? No. Not between me and you. I love your mother more than my words can express, but we are very different people in our hearts. And you will be too. All too often, a paradise for one is a hell for someone else. But wouldnt you be happy forever? Only reactively. The heart is a fickle thing, Veylis. There are things in the world that can change how you feel. Like the ghosts in mothers sword? Yes. They can make you happy. Change your mind. Hurt you. But with what we know, I dont think its right. Right? Existence is about more than us. We have a responsibility to other people. Just like I have a responsibility to you and your mother. But then what about the gods? Why dont they care? Because they are more like things than people. They care for nothing but eating and growing. And eventually, they will be nothing because everything will be them, and all of reality will bleed into itself and they will lose the ability to separate themselves from the pattern. But what if the rules are changed? What if someone took their thrones and unified their history? What if someone established a single dream where everyone can be happy? That would take many more lives. The human cost would be immense. And it would break us of our individuality. But not afterward right? It only needs to be done once. [Pause. Laughter] Oh, theres too much of your mother in you, my little pup. -+FATHER+, Mem-log of Veylis Avadaer, High Seraph of Highflame 13-11 The Shattered Dream (II) +The Arks?+ Avo asked. +I dont understand.+ And with the way Kae and Dentons minds were ringing with confusion, neither did they. For Chambers, the ringing was constant and unchanged. Laughter flourished from DRongos palace and the waters of her thoughts grew pungent with cruel amusement. +Oh. Oh, poor pitiful acolyte. Did your master neglect to mention some things to you? Or maybe he didnt know either.+ The elders tone had risen from bitter animosity into sing-song mockery, gloating as she perceived his ignorance to be a reversal of power that favored her. Avo was unimpressed. +Know about the Ladder.+ Alarm shuddered out from Dentons mind and DRongos mirth ran dry. +Avo+ Denton warned, an edge of heavy concern entering her thoughts. +Ill tear the memories from her,+ Avo replied without regarding the Glaive. If that was even what she truly was. +The elder wont remember this conversation. Wont remember much of anything.+ Denton sighed. +Make sure of it.+ +You know that Flayed Ladder,+ DRongo said. The words emerged more as statements uttered to oneself than a question offered to another. +I didnt expect Defiance to be such a fool.+ Her bitterness, banished but moments earlier, returned in force as her simulated expression devolved into a scowl. +Another player, then. A new contender at the great game of the Guilds. You taunt danger beyond your reckoning, Acolyte Chambers.+ Considering she had no real idea who he actually was, he found her judgment laughable. +Tell me about them. The dangers.+ Avo felt his own amusement piqued when he sensed the building unease rising within Chambers, who watched the proceedings in rapt fascination, still befuddled about how he was deemed an Acolyte of the Low Masters. Say what you will about Chambers, the man was proving remarkably useful as a reusable test dummy and now as a decoy against attention. To this end, the mem-data flowing through DRongos mind suggested there was little point in removing her memories of Chambers; he had already been deemed a suspect by Ori-Thaum itself. Short of killing the elder, nothing would change regarding Chambers status as a fugitive of a fallen cult. DRongo broke her contemplative silence with a scoff and continued. +Well. I suppose you at least know how things will end. Let me ask you a question: What do you think the Arks are?+ He drew the answers from the memories flowing through her. His Metamind screened and digested the mem-data as he examined the contents, but to his growing fascination, he found these memories encrypted and scrambled in sensory and visual details. And as he reached back into the well that was DRongos inner mind, his ghosts returned bare of bounty and with a new revelation. Even she lacked access to this knowledge. These were sealed details, even within the confines of her cognition. +Did you try to steal the answers from me? No. Thats not how this will work. Thats not how this will work because its not a stable memory, Acolyte. The Arks are more than an anchor for the Elysiums. Theyre more than just a pillar of climbing paradises and the physical symbols of a Guild''s power and influence. They contain histories to be.+ +Histories?+ Avo asked. +Tell me, what do you remember of Noloths past?+ The question didnt phase him. The answer wasCand has always beenCalmost nothing. At the end of the Fourth Guild War, the Great Eight didnt just butcher a few billion ghouls out of existence and shatter what remained of the Noloth loyalists, they also banished the Low Masters from the city proper. Thereafter, by ghost or genocide, they purged the publics memories of the vestigial empire. But thereafter, he also recalled Walton removing memories of his Low Master so that he would remember his time during the war. Another deliberate modification on the part of his father. In some fashion, Noloth wasnt too unlike Jhred Greatlings mother. Comparatively, the formers redaction wasnt nearly as total as the latter, and little of the culture and language lingered within Avo. Not that he found any use for it. Besides other ghouls and perhaps the Low Masters, he doubted anyone still remembered how to speak the low or high tongues of the old empire. And it was preferable that way, seeing how bothered the Hungers were at their cultural defilement. +You removed everything worth remembering,+ Avo responded, spacing his reply to make it seem like he was troubled. Pretending to be as unburdened and carefree as Walton was hard, but leading DRongo on with easy. The elder was an easier opponent when she was drunk on her pride. +I suppose this is the part you tell me something I dont know. Shame me by asking why Im ignorant of my own scripture.+ Her voice pitched high and she sang out in a sharp laugh. +No. No, thats not why Im going to mock you. Im going to mock you for losing your history to us. Your Ark. The seat of your pantheons and the spine of your power. And the Ladder to our future.+ That aligned several minds along the tracks of curiosity. +Noloth had an Ark,+ Denton said, sounding surprised. +Noloth was among the pantheons?+ Kae asked, her mind aching with emptiness as she strained to recall a specific Nolothi ontologic she worked on.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. +Im lost about what the fucks happening, but yeah, Noloth has a whatsit?+ Chambers said, out of a want to be included. +Indeed. We took your past. We pillaged your would-be-histories and when we were done, we burned away all the parts we didnt desire.+ DRongo settled into cold chuckles of laughter. +Did you hear me? You have no more past-to-be.+ The confusion returned. Why was she describing the past in terms of the future? +Kae,+ Avo said, +sounds like thaumaturgy. You know what shes talking about?+ +Its not a specific Heaven, I think,+ she said, sounding increasingly uncertain. +And also! Heavens! They cant be about the past. Cant be centered around the past. We we cant go back in time because the past is is destroyed. Its gone! Everything is its utter oblivion.+ +I dont think shes talking about records either,+ Denton added. +That doesnt matter. Not in this context. Not when an Ark is concerned.+ Something inside her tightened in annoyance, and Avo thought the feeling almost familiar. +It wouldve been useful if Zein was here.+ Ah. More than familiar then. Zein was useful for matters that concerned the nebulous complexities of the future or time itself. But Zein was also Zein. +Shed be useful for herself,+ Avo said. +Wed all suffer.+ Denton hummed a soft tone of agreement. +True. I got the feeling she mightve been keeping us all in the dark about this.+ +Maybe it''s like a giant sequence of connected memories or some? shit,+ Chambers said. +Then, they blast the city with mem-cons and we call get confused about whats what.+ Slowly, Avo turned his attention over to the half-strand. +What?+ The ex-enforcer choked. +ICuhCI mean, yeah, its kinda stupid, but Im just trying toC+ +Sequence of memories+ Avo trailed off as he considered the implications behind it. A concept kindled like a candle being lit in his mind. Chronology. History. Lore. These things were tiedCintrinsic to the creation of Heavens. What if this was something similar? +Nothing to say, Chambers?+ DRongo jabbed, utterly certain of the harm she dealt in her words while absolutely ignorant to the brainstorm that was happening on the other side of the link. +A pity. A shame. What good it would have done you to win the war? But alas, while we seized the reins of our own agency and rose to be free, you elected to remain little more than cattle and slaves.+ The actual Aedon Chambers just stared on. +Fuck me, is this FATED sow giving us the freedom speech?+ +I dont understand what this has to do with me,+ Kae said, the words darting out from between clenched teeth. +Avo. Enough! Were just fucking no more humoring her. Tear the memories from her mind. Well dig through it ourselves. Im tired of listening to herCIm tired of hearing about how other people get to fuck my lifC+ +Do you see the dangers that Project Godshaper posed to us now?+ DRongo interrupted. All other minds fell silent. +Do you? It wasnt the rash that scared us. We can fight the Golds in the Rupture. We have deployable assets there. We cannot, however, allow them to use this pnemuaphage to alter its canons. And we cannot let it affect unified history.+ Distracted again from her flaring anger, Kaes mind accelerated as she considered the elders words. +Avo. Ask her if shes afraid the Imitators would affect the canons. All the canons.+ He did as she asked, and the elder responded with derision. +This has more to do than a single Heaven, you fool. This concerns the ultimate victory at the endCsomething your master clearly kept from you.+ She intoned a wordless note as she considered him. +Did you kill him? Why are you missing so many pieces?+ +Yes,+ Avo said, speaking the technical truth. +Keep talking.+ She obeyed. +Every Heaven has a place and a culture behind it. Every place has a history and a people. And from this come who we are. We, and all the ones we clash with. It is a dialect that ripples out across reality. It shapes all that wasCall that could be.+ A brief beat seized her as she sighed. +Sometimes, I wonder if Jaus truly could have found a solution for our divergent pasts. If only his murderous thug of a daughter hadnt fed him to the Ladder.+ +What did she do?+ Avo asked. +How does the Flayed Ladder work? The Arks?+ +There is no Ladder without the Arks,+ DRongo replied. +And not without us. The Arks are a creation of critical mass. When enough gods exist to form a pantheon, and the Domain portfolio of the pantheonC+ +--Grows broad enough to embody most facets of reality,+ Kae breathed. +Like like having all the components to make something that resembles a second world.+ +Or a whole new one,+ Denton suggested. +In two years'' time, this will all be over,+ DRongo said. +The Ladder will return across the span of time as the unifying centerpiece of our worldCJaus final masterpiece and the prize of ultimate salvation.+ +Then why fight?+ Avo asked. The beast coiled in muted outrage at such a question. +Why. If everything can be savedC+ +You arent listening. Nothing will be savedCeverything will be rewritten.+ DRongo lapsed into silence. +That is why the war should be won beforehand. Not after. If the Saintists are defeated before the day of re-emergence, then can focus on the others, and then I can focus on reaching the final floor.+ +The others.+ Avo understood. +Youre going to turn on your allies as well. Does Ori-ThaumC+ +We all know,+ DRongo said. +There could be no other way about this. There cannot be two paradises. There cant even be a shared interpretation between two people.+ Her ego shuddered. +And if one is torn of will and want I have seen what the tower does to the uncertain, the wavering. It tries to fulfill all desires, no matter how contradictory.+ The shudder grew into a quiver. +Oh, but poor Jaus. He was too good a man to suffer such a wretched fate. I will see him saved and spared of eternal torment if we win.+ +If you win,+ Avo asked. The elder laughed. +I cannot win. Its impossible. I am an Council Elder of Ori-Thaum. I have foresworn my right to bear the privilege of a Liminal Frame, and only a fully intact Nous within a Frame rise the ladders of resurrection.+ DRongos ghosts closed in, all of them undulating at him like beckoning fingers. +One. If two ascend at the same timeCwell, imagine two absolute rulers of reality trying to dictator the rules at the end. Who is to be canon? What history is to be true? And what happens if there is a conflict between their thoughts?+ +One,+ Avo said. +Or all aligned to one. Project Godshaper+ +Yes,+ DRongo agreed. +We couldnt let Highflame have its power. There is too much at stake for the war to carry over as things are. Or if a multiplicity of conditions are true. We are trying to create a new paradise, not paradoxical ruination.+ +Thats why youre still hunting for Agnos Kusanade,+ he said, guiding her. +You need her to stop the Imitators if they spread.+ +That is the lowest of our hopes. Yes. IC+ A squeal of alarm sounded in the back of Avos mind. His cog-feed flashed multiple warnings as someone triggered his high thoughtwave tripwire back in Oversec-C1. Additional indicators followed. Someone jacked into one of his subverted Exorcists. Another was accessing the Auto-Seance he built into the administrative node. And then, across the Unwhere network, he felt a presence that wasnt quite his own or an Exorcist brush the inner confines of Abrel Greatlings mind. Unknown Necros were moving through the system from multiple angles. The only uncertainty that remained was if they were Incubi responding to save their elder, hired jackers who didnt know they were about to get nulled, or the Low Masters steering toward inevitable confrontation. The conversation with Elder DRongo wasnt done, but the threats were a priority. There were hunters in the deep, and soon he was to be among them. +Oversec C1 is compromised,+ Avo said, casting the thoughts and mem-data over to his allies. +Time for you all to jack out.+ +What?+ Kae said, her voice spiking in outrage. +No. Were not done. ShesC+ +Going to tear her memories clean,+ Avo said. +Also going to put an Auto-Seance in her mind. Youll get your pain. Easy promise.+ Dentons mind offered a sour response to his offer. +Are you staying?+ He turned off his Morality Injector. The beast clawed its way out from his throbbing skull as bloodlust filled him across skin, sinew, and soul. +Going to greet the other intruders. Want to see what theyre like. Learn what they want.+ She only offered mute acknowledgment to the sadistic hunger edging his thoughts. +Alright. Tell me if you leak any memories into the Nether.+ Avo didnt bother responding. Her lack of confidence in him was insulting at this point. +Kae. If I get nulled you kill me.+ The Agnos mind reeled back, stunned by his request. He stuck a claw into her wound. +My father sold you like you were FATELESS to suffer. You are discussed like a tool. Traded. Only valued for what you know. And all this is partially because of me. Should get that gun you used earlier. Should get Draus to teach you how in case I go mind-dead.+ At his prodding, her disposition hardened with returning hatred blended with uncertainty. +I liked the feeling of your spear more, honestly.+ That surprised him. +...Use it then.+ +I+ Her chest was a knot of frustration, confusion, and conflict. She was mad. She was confused. She was unfulfilled. She was thinking. +I want to talk to you. When you come out.+ He agreed. +We all need to talk when Im done.+ Denton and Kae jacked out. Their ghosts vanished before his perception. Beside him, Chambers lingered. +Why are you still here,+ Avo asked. +Well,+ Chambers said, awkwardly. +Maybe you could use backup. A partner! We could be like team here. Avo and ChaC+ Avo cast a pack of jumbled mem-data into the man. Chambers voice twisted into a note of raw surprise. +What the fC+ Avo tore the mem-data back out. +Too late. Didnt sequence fast enough. Not good. Not a Necro. Useless. Jack out.+ A trickle of genuine hurt slipped free from Chambers. +Jaus, consang, you didnt need to say all that. Just tell me to fuck off or something.+ His ghosts blinked and faded as well. That just left two. Two within DRongos mindscape. Avo turned his attention back to her as he prepared to access his Ghostjack. He was going to leave a backdoor in her as well, but before that, he wanted to indulge himself. All the talking he suffered was worth a reward +You were wrong,+ Avo said, spearing his ghosts directly into DRongos being. Her confusion spiked high like a mountain erupting free from soil. +Oh. And what was I wrong about?+ He peeled away all the modifications and disguises behind his ghost before manifesting his physical shell as an avatar. As he came into form before a congress of leering ghosts, he also cast another packet of mem-data directly into her mind, stinging her with the truth of his FrameCof all that he knew. DRongos mind rattled and fissured. Cracks ran up through her serried palace. The sneer behind her word faded as she gasped, dread and panic both rising within her. +I how could this y-you+ +Yes,+ Avo said, enjoying the moment before he tore these memories out from her. +Not Chambers. Not Walton. Me.+ +You you cant be realCyour kind cant oh, gods it''s inside youC+ Her being went frigid and stiff as he sank his ghosts into her memories. +No, wait! I propose a new bargain! I have things you wantC+ +And I will take them from you,+ Avo said. +After you forget. I will take from you. Knowledge. Phantasmics. Suffering. I will take everything from you. And I will burn away all the parts I dont desire.+ +No, wait! WaitC+ He fired his reflexes and tore his ghost back. Her memories snapped loose, thoughtstuff spilling free as her mind rose into a maddened scream of absolute dread. Within a few seconds, she would remember nothing of this conversation; but within those few seconds, all she would know was him. 13-12 The Silent War (I) +ATTENTION+ PRIORITY 0 ALERT INBOUND: Incubus, You are to suspend all ongoing operations immediately. A situation of paramount priority has transpired. As of thirty seconds ago, Council Elder Mwaba DRongos shadow-detail was neutralized. The cause behind their deaths is under investigation, but details remain unclear. Presently, the elders mind is undefended. You have been chosen as Talon-1 for your skill in Deep-Nether operations and distinguishing valor along with other members of high-priority flash-response strike cells. With the urgent situation at hand, we ask you to devote your efforts once more and ensure the elders security. Your next proxy is being dead-dropped now. The full briefing will be included within its sequencesCall phantasmics are green for this operation. It is preferable that you do not alert the Paladins or Exorcists to your presence, but the elder is priority 0. Repeat: Elder Mwaba DRongo is priority 0. We cannot stress the severity of risk presented by a compromise on such a level. The elders mental sanctity must be preserved, but should you find confirmation of memory-based tampering of any nature, then engage based on the guidelines of Code Winter. Burn everything. Let nothing of the leakage escape. Redact all details of your presence thereafter. Your proxy has arrived. We place our confidence in you in leading your fellow Incubi. Form your cells. Ascertain the situation. Respond accordingly. You have in-dive command. Unity is Destiny. -Incubi Priority Alert 13-12 The Silent War (I) DRongos ego-rending pain was succulence. When paired with the imbibement of her deepest memories and the sequences to her phylactery it was made ever-sweeter. Her pain was a delight to feel, while her secrets offered new fathoms to delve into. And then came the matter of her phantasmics Though most of what she had to offer was meant to support administrative work and the traumas chambered in her Ghostjack were a disappointment, there was a singular construct that clutched the totality of Avos attention. Its design was that of a smashed mirror frame, but through the opening once occupied by a pane of glass was a murky pathway into what appeared to be a reflected palace. He had found it hidden between two larger-capacity phantasmics, and it took him a moment to understand what he had discovered. Phylacteries were strange things. Avo had interacted with them beforeCor at least the memories that Walton granted him recalled such affairs. Regardless, their functionality went beyond the merely cognitive and into thaumaturgic. Though there were sequences involved in its creation, the phantasmal end was merely an anchor to another vessel. If DRongo were to be murdered, the phantasmic would activate in an instant and inject her being over through to the other side. It was due to that very reason Avo didnt manipulate the construct overmuch. It wouldnt do to have her be shunted over along with him. There had been a few cases of Necros being caught within the minds of Regulars as they shunted out from their present bodies. What followed could be described as two minds being put through a metaphysical blenderCtheir cognitive selves mangled into each other, leaving their Essence spilling out adrift where they were. Such was also a common Incubi tactic to ensure the final deaths of each Regular they killed during the war. Still, it was a useful structure, and he would find the time to siphon the fullness of its nature. With his Frame, he wouldnt be able to use it himself, but that didnt mean there werent other uses it could be applied to. Hence, he buried his own ghosts around its base sequences, hiding them deep in the soil of DRongos subconscious functions to form his Auto-Seance when the time came. Perhaps the Incubi would be able to uncover his machinations if they were through enough, but in such a case, he would simply choke off the pathway of her escape to ensure her final demise. Skill was a constant endeavor if one wished to be a Necro, but preparation was an absolute necessity. Cast a master into an unfamiliar mind without time nor reference and watch them fall to an opponent that would typically be regarded as far lesser. With his final adjustments made, he stopped invoking his Haemokinesis and the dilation of time settled back to normalcy. Shifting back out to the borders of her thoughtstuff, he studied the elders mindscape as her consciousness inched back from the torpor and incoherence he infused within her. She would remember the beginning of their conversation. She would suspect Walton of having breached the walls of her mind again. Sowing such a seed of deception would grant a logical track for her ire to progress while keeping him an unknown. The amusing matter of Chambers being an acolyte was unsalvagable. Ori-Thaum had clearly been misled by misattributions and ostensible details without fully grasping what was moving behind the scenes. It would serve him better anywayCthe more eyes he could shift over to Chambers in engagements, the less would be on him. That kept his window of attack wide and the threats he needed to manage low. This also meant that he probably needed to get Chambers a second cycler at some point. If the man was going to be bait, his reusability might as well be ensured. Thoughtstuff rife with murky confusion brushed against Avo like surf crashing upon a beach. The veil of psychosis lifted from DRongo slowly, and she arose from her pseudo-slumber with feelings of hatred already primed. Her disgust with his father was pure and immediate, and when her mind called out for him with insults and taunts demanding that he show himself, Avo knew his task here to be done. Now, it was time for a shift in mindset. Things were about the get dynamic, and the beast chuffed inside him as his predatory urges filled his being. There were unknown Necros infesting Oversec C1. He wasnt sure who they were, but freeing DRongo from his direct presence would soon let him confirm if the Incubi were involved. Without his suppression, it likely wouldnt take long before a new cell shifted over into her thoughts to secure her sequences. If such a situation came to be, he thought it best that he make himself sparse. No sense in undoing all his circumspect preparations for a bout of amusement. Besides, he had another mind to secureCother theaters of thought to fight and engage across Oversec C1. So far, the lobby of Oversec C1 remained quiet, and the Exorcists and Paladins rode the circuitry of memories ignorant to infiltrators roaming between the details and beneath the surging currents of thougthstuff. This was to be a silent war. An engagement of utmost secrecy for the ones that groped through the shadows of recollection seeking to fulfill objectives unknown and bound for destinations unseen. Such ignorance offended Avo, and so he would seek his initial remedy by returning to the compromised mind of Abrel Greatling. If nothing else, there would be nothing connecting a potential engagement in her shattered palace to the missing pieces within DRongos memories. *** +Shard-1, whats her condition?+ Shard-1 let out a low sigh as she wondered the best way to express how shattered the Godclads mind was. +Shes completely cracked. The Paladins kept her from resurrecting, and the kill switch inside her heart isnt firing. Judging from her biometrics, something managed to inflict enough internal damage on her to pulp some of her organs but not kill her completely.+ +Sounds like whoever hit her did it deliberately. Im gonna take a peek at her short-terms again. See if I missed anything there.+ Shard-2 was proving to be a bit of a conspiracy theorist. Shed put up with that type for a priority-zero emergency dive like this, but even with a proxy separating them from their private thoughts, she could tell that the other Incubus wasnt very neat in the way she did things. More than once she caught the other woman casting her ghosts where they didnt need to go. A perverse voyeurism seemed to bleed over from her personal habits into the proxy, and she had a habit of jumping from one sequence to another.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. There was little rhythm or order to her method, which made her extreme competence all the more baffling. Shard-2 proved herself capable of reassembling fragmented pieces of cognition with extreme ease. It was as if she was the one who inflicted the damage herself. They were very different, but the priority alert system likely selected and assigned the two of them to serve in this dive because of it. Still, Shard-1 wasnt sure if she wanted this partnership to become a long-term thing. Shed make her feedback known after this was over, and tell the Concaves thatC +Wh-oa! Shard-1, I think I found something,+ With the sing-song way Shard-2 sang those words, she mustve found something juicy. +Summary,+ Shard-1 replied, not wanting to break from her own review. She checked her cog-feed to see the condition of the Awareness Pylons she imprinted into the surrounding sequences to warn her about encroaching Exorcists. So far, they were situated in the girls accretion. Getting past them was a chore and a half. It begrudged her to admit it, but these Exorcists were quality enough that they couldnt be underestimated. They still had too many flawsCwere affected by too much empathic pull to be the best divers, but as a unit, they were more than sufficient against most in the city. Most. It was a respectable achievement. No one was really better than the Incubi. +Shard-1 come on,+ Shard-2 said. +You just gotta see this whoever sequenced it is well, they got gleam, Ill tell you that.+ Shard-1 just repeated what she said earlier. +Summary.+ +Youre going to want to seeC+ +Youre very unprofessional, you know that?+ She could practically sense the smirk on Shard-2s face when she said that. +Well. Only one of us found something so far. You act professional, but hey, one of us as got to get results.+ Shard-1 stopped what she was doing. This sowCthis bitchCwanted to go there? Fine. Very well. She would see just what kind of results she managed to find. And if she was disappointed, she would let Shard-2 know about it. In exquisite detail. As a post-dive report. Arriving at the specific memory instance Shard-2 occupied, she settled her thoughts and cast her ghosts into the sequence, preparing herself for disappointment at a waste of time. Injecting herself into the memory, she found herself as a loose collection of mem-data alongside Shard-2, who was busy examining some kind of flying drone. The rest of the scene was pure chaos. A hypertube had Ruptured, cracking existence in a spread of fissuring brightness. Uncountable quantities of drones occupied the sky while prismatic pyramids scarred the horizon with geometric exhaust. She approached the memory artifact that Shard-2 was examining and found herself unable to tell what had fascinated her fellow Incubi so. +Whats wrong with it?+ +Nothing!+ Shard-2 cheered. Shard-1 looked through her inventory of traumas and wondered if she could concoct an in-depth enough story to mask a deliberate Silver-on-Silver nulling. +Explain. Now.+ +Its really, really well done,+ Shard-2 said. +I almost missed it. Me! Whoever hid this is pure fucking nova. Id love to meetC+ +Shard-2, Im out of patience. Tell me what Im looking for.+ She caught a whiff of wry amusement coming from her temporary partner. +Oh. You still dont see it, do you?+ Shard-1s annoyance deepened. +See what?+ +Abrel Greatling didnt notice this drone. This modification was added later. Whoever built this had all the details right. All of them, but something about the emotional wavelengths recorded in the sequence is off a bit. Too much surprise.+ +She could have been surprised by a droneC+ +Look at the mem-data. Its too much. NowC+ The sequence of memories they dwelled in suddenly shuddered. Shard-2 went silent. Shard-1 checked her pylons again but found the Exorcists even further away than before. It wasnt them. Beside them, the drone flickered and smeared into a collage of mem-data, stretching out to encompass both future and past developments within the sequenceCand beyond. +Its connecting to other artifacts and sequences,+ Shard-2 said, sounding almost breathless. +Oh, thats sneaky. Tricky bastard built an Auto-Seance access point across a bunch of interconnected memories.+ Shard-1 loaded a trauma into her Ghostjack. Standard fatality patternCthis one taken from the mind of someone forced to shoot themselves after their new transplanted arm was jacked by a rival Necro. A bitter tang preceded final oblivion, and despair went just before nothingness. It held enough hurt to fracture even a PhalanxCthough getting through all the layers would take some time. Whoever was about to enter Abrels mind wasnt going to be intact for very long. She just needed to make this quiet so the ExoricstsC +Wait!+ For the first time, Shard-2 sounded alarmed. +I have them. They just spawned itCoh, fuck me theyre moving fasCshit, Shard-1 get readyC+ The thought-carrying ghosts of the other Incubi barely reached her when she felt it. Someone had accessed their sequence from another. The mem-data was being alteredCsmall changes and specific artifactsCadditions. Someone was spoofing beneath existing structures within the scenes, someone wasC An ocean of trauma struck, burrowing through her wards in a coruscating barrage. A spike of pain flashed through her mind and suddenly, her thoughts grew slippery. In the periphery of her fading awareness, she sensed Shard-2 cast out her own traumas before she herself was struck dozen times in return. Thoughtstuff and severed memories spurted free from her like intestines tumbling out of an opened stomach, but against all odds, Shard-2 managed to jack out. Shard-1 laughed. She was wrong. Shard-2 really was something. Her damage was severe, though. She hoped her partner would make it. She hopedC Something reached into her mind, invasive ghosts licking down the rents of her damaged cognition. She was supposed to do something if her mind was compromised. She was supposed to she was supposed She could remember. It was hard to think. Getting harder toC The intruder spoke then, his voice a deep sibilant whisper tinged with hunger and brutality. +Good Necro. Found it. Going to have to move the phantasmic now.+ +II+ she tried to respond. +Command cant hear you. I removed the connection. Dont think your companion will survive either. Tasted some of her damage. Inner memories. Pieces of her ego are missing.+ An unwilling sadness filled Shard-1. She didnt know Shard-2 before this day. She didnt even like her. But in these last moments, she wanted the other Incubus to live, for someone to make it out. +Yes,+ the intruder spoke. +Good hurt. Still human. Too human.+ +WhaCwhatC+ +Not going to kill you,+ he said. She could feel a burning excitement build inside of him. +Why why?+ +Have another use for you. Another means of damage.+ She felt his ghosts twist the fabric of her memories then. In the real, her body twitched and spasmed. The world was cold on one end but hot on the other. Something was like a frozen flame in her skull, and it was familiar to her somehow? She couldnt rememberCher thoughts werent even hers anymore. +Another one of yours will come soon. They will extract you. Need you to make this delivery for me. Want to see how they react.+ He released a slow chuffing laugh. +Want to see if they start thinking Highflame has your weapon.+ More of her mental interior was remolded. She let out a sigh and stopped trying to think. She just needed to do what he wanted. That was good. She wanted to do what he wanted. This was her choice. *** It would not be the Incubus choice to set off the Conflagration when she arrived back with her cell, but his instead. He had to admitCtheir awareness impressed and intimidated him. To find his Auto-Seance from such minutiae meant he needed to take more extreme means to hide his intrusions. If he didnt have a secondary entry point via Geunne the Exorcist, it would have been an ugly encroach. The Attention Pylons, meanwhile, were less than a joke with their limited detection capabilities. He didnt even bother downloading any of their sequences. Across his Auto-Seance, DRongos mind still seemed silent of any other cognitions but her own. How odd they were proceeding with more caution accessing their own elder than dealing a Highflame Godclad. With Shard-1 subverted, he looked through the memories stored on her proxy and found himself more than a little annoyed. Proxies were like wearing another mind with specific built-in blinders. He wasnt going to find out where she lived or other private accounts, but she would serve as a poisoned piece of bait all the same. A strike cell would come for her soon, and when they extracted her from Abrels mind, he fully intended to set off the Conflagration he had connected. If nothing else, this would spike paranoia within Ori-Thaum. They were the only ones with such a weapon. But for it to be used against them and after some of their Incubi accessed a Golds mind no less. Well, that would create the most interesting theories. Avo was tired of other people creating problems for him. He wanted to start doing things the other way. After remodifying the sequences and artifacts he was using in Abrels mind, waited a moment to ensure the placidity of her broken palace. +Thanks for being useful,+ Avo whispered. Abrel moaned something animalistic. Jumping down into Oversec C1 thereafter, he found himself dancing from mind to mind, seeking disturbances in the undertow as he made his way closer and closer to where he sensed the Low Masters. He approached methodically and carefully, using his Whisper while hiding between memories. And just as well. As he slipped through a logistical phantasmic, he found the first signs of another engagement in the form of six broken Incubi lingering near the high-capacity thoughtwave trap he left behind earlier while passing through. With how they drifted through the Nether, mostly hollow of memories and thoughtstuff, Avo studied the nulled beings as their dissolution continued. And with how neat and thorough their eradication was, there existed only one set of suspects exceeding hisCand the IncubisCskill set. The Low Masters were in the muck now too. Avo hardened his will. He cast his Whisper out across the sequence, charging Secondhand Fatality to the forefront as he prepared himself to face his fathers properly for the first time. And as he drew closer to the mental husks left behind, he could see threads of thoughtstuff flowing between the leaking ghosts, carrying whispered thoughts between them. 13-13 The Silent War (II) The guy who pulled my ass out from that Incubi grease fire showed up yesterday. Just popped into the back of my head and said hi. Fuck me, but thats humiliating. And here I was thinking I was some kinda nova-hot Necro. Always fish dwelling deeper in the waters, I guess. First thing he started talking about was my wards. Apparently, my modified Ashthrone Shedskin was leaving a bit more of my emotional resonance behind than I expected. Wouldve been nice to know before I did all those dives, but hey, eventually you learn or you die. So yeah: Weirdest way I got a mentor so far. Guy seems nice. Too godsdamn nice to be from the Warrens. Strikes me as some kinda Guilder, maybeCbut a working one. Maybe someone from Ori-Thaum has their eyes on me. Jaus, thatll be somethingCyou rust up their dive and now they want to hire you. Weirdest thing about it all is the smell. The guy reeks of citrus. The taste leaks through the mem-data, and it stings. I dont think even the actual fruits taste that fresh. Well. He left me some vicarities to review. Stuff he got from other Necros on a dive. Ugly ends for all of them. I still cant tell if hes trying to scare the piss out of me or get me to learn. Either way, I gotta see if I can get something on him. Figure out who he is. Ignorance is fatal in this line of work, and right now, this guys got his gun pressed against my temple, but hes more interested in making me a better shot. Never a dull day in New Vultun. -Mem-log of White Rab 13-13 The Silent War (II) The rule among Necros was that if you encountered a sequence or phantasmic you couldnt understand, it was probably going to end with you nulled. With how long it was taking Avo to figure out the Low Masters trap, his growing apprehension told him that the direct approach here was likely unwise. The broken minds of the Incubi were on display neatly, with their shells enchained along strings of flowing thought and fastened by a delicate few ghostly wisps. There was a special kind of callousness leaving the nulled mounted as such. It seemed his fathers alternates didnt care if they caught the attention of a passing Exorcist, that the ego-deaths exposed like a set of trophies, offering the statement that the last Priests of Noloth were on safari, and they had a lust for big game. Using his Whisper to secure the vicinity, Avo ground at the whetstone of time as he made his way closer to the cluster. Flashes of his encounter with the Low Masters trespassed into his mind, reminding him of their abilities. They had crippled the entirety of Ox-Three without strain and conjoined the minds to expand their capacity. The time that such an undertaking demanded should have stretched the length of entire weeks, but they achieved a perfect deception with far less. And they didnt even need a canon to help them. Once again, the atmosphere shifted as the weight of uncertainty began to gnaw. Avo had taken to thinking himself a predator of these depths, a beast that preys upon the others. But there were fathoms beneath fathoms, monsters that preyed upon monsters. His anxiety only grew as he found recollective fragments of Incubi sheared-free, buried within the sequences he crept through. Now, unending screams layered the ambiance of simulated memories, broken phantasmics sailing through simulated scenes of placidity. The Exorcists were certain to find thisCcertain to learn the presence of Ori-Thaum within their system. Did the Low Masters no longer care for secrecy? Or were they trying to provoke a response? Trigger a war between the two forces? How would that serve their desire to reclaim the Helix from him and retake the George Washington? More cognitive debris littered his path, and a new suspicion occupied Avos mind as the broken artifacts grew more orderly, almost like cobblestones made from nulled minds. Or an invitational pathway. He found his paranoia rewarded when he found himself five sequences across from the cluster. As he spoofed his way across a parallel branch, his cog-feed warned him of a dozen passing Exorcist accretions. The sheer amount of devastation present should have made the infiltration obvious. Yet, the patrol just kept going, even circling away from the compromised sequences deliberately. Like someone was urging them to ignore, to not see the obvious damage. A cold pang spread through Avo. The worry should have occurred to him before; if he could compromise so many Exorcists, why couldnt the Low Masters? The chill in him only grew as his Whisper cast its perception on a familiar Auto-Seance. One created from the mind of Yosanna KivranpuvakCthe turncoat Guilder he dove into at Ox-Three. It was in her mind that Walton ebbed the Helix, and it was from her that Avo procured the key of his inheritance. Though Auto-Seance was cycling a sequence of memories through structure, Avo could still recall the neuter-mask covered faces of her twin boys in the elevator. The phantasmic was loud and active. Its opening connected to the dull thoughtstuff flowing from the nulled Incubi, the dichotomy something like an intravenous needle feeding paltry drips of life into a still cavern. Mem-data loaded from the other side unguarded by any encryptions. There were three minds that lurched across the veil. Three minds settled in a simulated environment molded from the phantasmal matter of fifty ghosts. Avo urged his Whisper on to peek while his instincts screamed with contradictory responses. He should jack out; he should pour his Secondhand Fatality and nullify the phantasmic itself; he should try and free the Exorcists so they noticed the tumor that was growing under their eyes. Or he could just go in and speak with them. The last thought was illogical, and a conflicted desire unto itself. Something in him still just wanted to look upon Waltons face again. To feel reassured. But such was the siren song of nostalgia, a brittleness cultivated by yonder memories. That Avo had been killed several times over, and resurrected in a form he recognized as himself didn''t negate what he learned of his nature. His sense of self might never have been true to begin with. Ultimately, he was more creation than adoption at the hands of Walton, and so he must shed himself of the dying embers of ideation. Killing the idealization of his father the first time was ego-warping. Doing it again to the pretenders wearing his facade might just feel cathartic. Again, he regarded the fallen Incubi nearby and felt their deaths kindle a sense of inspiration in him. If he chose to enter this cageCto face his former ownersCthat didnt mean he had to do so recklessly. Or be the one to spring the trap personally. There might yet be a way for him to enclose one trap upon another, and the core to his solution rested within the broken shell that was Shard-1. The other Incubi that the Low Masters had killed died as wargs in a lions den. They werent prepared for the depths they dove, and there wasnt enough of them to begin with. Such deficiencies could be remedied. He compiled his current memories into a ghost before detaching it from himself and cracking it with his traumas, warping it with deliberate damage. When it was damaged enough, he cast it across his Auto-Seance into the mind of Shard-1 and left it to tumble in her broken palace. It would seem as if she took a piece of memory from the one that killed her, and they would piece together the details he left them and come seeking retribution. Yes. Yes, there was beauty in such a plan. He doubted the Low Masters would see such a thing coming. They would have to react and adapt even if they were many times his skill. A cocktail of chaos and quantity held an edge all its own and preparation was a delicious thing. He would enter the cage willingly, but not before pre-firing a bullet of his own. And so, Avo set about ensuring formal introductions between the Priest of old Noloth and the current cream of Ori-Thaums crop.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. *** +Are we certain he is to come+ Joy, Priest of Noloth asked. +His nature it is not one that can support caring. He is a monster. All our children are monsters+ The thought of the creature possessing Defiances Helix sickened him. He should have known. He should have sensed the strain consuming the mind of his others. Poor, poor Defiance. Once, Joy had been saddened by his necessary role in their compact, jealous of Defiances freedom to dive while he had to imbibe unending melancholy. Hopelessness. The task of their revival was too grand, too great. Oh, why did they remain. It wasnt right. For one to bear all that suffering. But it was purposeful. Such was his build to ensure that which once hurt no longer stung. His mold and make so that he could best serve as a shield for the others. What torment could drown despair, after all? He saw now that he was a fool. He, and all his nodes. He, and the other branches. Vicious Peace could never fathom the philosophic malaise infecting Defiance. Ideas were poisonousCtoxic! Like a dialect plague. For what thoughts you offered often were shaped in turn by the feedback of the world. Of the mortal world, beyond the cradle of ignorance was but clay in eventuality. Such was being. Such was the rot at the root ofC +Shut-shut-shut-shut the fuck up!+ Peace roared. Across the manifested memory, in the throneroom of sanctuary now lost to them, the other rose to scream at him. Oh, but Peace was always like this, his make the inverse of Joy. They flowed into each other, despair and hatred, one internalized trauma, the other a stormcloud of externalized loathing, the only purpose of his existence to be a dam holding in writhing ghosts that couldC Peace spat. The globule wasnt real, but Joy felt it strike his cheek all the same, gliding down the side of his as a trail of phlegm. +Joy, look at me,+ Peace said, voice low and angry. He thrust a finger at Joy and a dollop of blood fell. It was always low and angry. Always. Joy didnt look upon him. There was little point. They had this argument constantly, and it just cycled. One cast their pain outward, and one swallowed it within. Theres was a union of bitter harmony. +Emotion,+ Joy said, turning his bloody face to the only other that remained. Reminded by Defiances absence, Joy choked out a sobbing breath as he sagged upon his throne. +Emotion! Silence his mind. I fucking beg! I beg, you cunt!+ But the eldest among them was beyond coldness. He was absence itself, pure and simple. The dialect transformed him differently, for his foundations were uprooted from the apehood slumbering at the heart of humanity. +He may not come,+ Emotion said, sounding indifferent to retrieving the Helix at all and settling the Hungers pain. +He may not. But our others will find him. Defiance has infused him with ample potential, but insufficient knowledge. Be this due to his desire to watch our dead son grow againC+ +Avohakten,+ Joy wept openly. +Fuck! Emotion, I told you not to mention the little shit! Now Im going to have to listen this fucker cry!+ +--or if he simply ran out of time before the end. It matters little. The vessel was here before. It stands to reason he will return.+ Peace snorted. +Reason. You expect something reasonabC+ Mem-data shifted across their cog-feeds. Variables changed rapidly and warnings filled the space behind their eyes. An accretion approached, the thoughtstuff it shed oscillating so fast it reminded Joy of a frequency blade. And though it was shelled with one of those dreadful Incubi wards, the way the unknown approached held such semblance to Defiance that Joy squeaked out a note of anguish. The squeak rose to a wail when the mem-data loaded fully. The stranger reeked of citrus. Not the type Defiance bathed his thoughts inCthe type Avohakten reeked of after eating those tangerines. But it was close. So close. Near to him, Peace rose from his throne, his lips peeling back in a snarl as he glared at the ghosts fusing into shape upon Defiances once-empty throne. +This fuckingC+ +Peace. Do not talk with him,+ Emotion said. +What? IC+ +Depending on the situation that follows, you may break him, but you may not speak to him. We share a root of thoughts, and yours offer little more than invectives and spite. It is inefficient.+ Peace glared at the noblest of their priesthood and directed his perception at Joy. +What about him? Is he going to get the privilege to speak, oh, mighty Emotion?+ +There is no need to restrict him,+ Emotion said. +He will collapse into inconsolable tears when the smell grows stronger.+ Ghosts planted fat tears to join those running down Joys cheek. +Its true.+ The figure on Defiances throne grew evermore solid, his size immense and with snake-like appendages lashing out from his back like a cluster of transplanted hydrapedes. +Oh,+ Joy moaned as he felt his breakdown begin, +and mocks us more by twisting his divine form. Why+ *** Part of Avo expected to get nulled approaching the Auto-Seance. The fact that he didnt leave him more worried than ever. Temporarily releasing his Haemokinesis, he was once again projecting his phantoms back into the dormitory for all the others to witness. The exchange would give his companions a better understanding of their enemy if nothing else. The first solid matter he felt was resting beneath his arms and grinding against the Echoheads on his back. It was hard to be seated with his additional limbs, but he made due by modifying the dimensions of his simulation as the mindscape around him loaded. A domed chamber comprised of tessellating materials yawned wide around him, and he noticed the tassels of bone-carved scripture sway from the ceiling in the fashion of nooses calling for necks. It took little time for him to realize he was seated upon one of the four thrones back in the George Washington, and that this was how the Low Masters remembered their sanctuary looking. With how stiff their seating felt, he wasnt surprised why Walton decided to leave this little fan club. Across from him, the weeper, the heartless, and the one that used fuck as a noun had him intersected between crossing lanes of perception. And though he hated to admit it, their sequencing was the best he had ever seen. No glitches. Nothing is out of place. Even the mem-data was a work of art, each variable and artifact listed linked to all the others in the chain of dominos. He wondered if he could spoof his way into the scenery somehow by accelerating his reflexes again. The urge was tempting. But violence was the main course, scheduled to arrive shortly. For now, curiosity would serve as an appetizer. Beats of silence passed to the accompaniment of the weepers choking sobs. +Its almost perfect,+ he said, shaking as he held himself. +Oh, Avohakten. If you could see the mon-mon-monster he gave your name to.+ Ah, yes. The long-dead son his father was haunted by. Or the man he used to be before he decided to split himself into four ego-lines was haunted. Avo sighed. Family: it was a mess. He looked forward to killing and eating them. +So,+ Avo said, breaking his end of the silence as he stared, +heard you lost your Ark from some meat I was torturing. How did you all let that happen?+ Peace shot out from his seat, his always-bloody hands whipping red droplets everywhere. +You cunt-fuck! You corpse-licking fuck-shit! YouC+ +Peace,+ the one with the dead owl lodged in place of an actual heart said. The Famine of Peace twitched, and it took a masterful exertion of will for him to wrestle himself down. Some of his rage spilled over and Avo tasted the emotion. Disquiet followed. He empathized with the node, with Peaces struggle against anger. So similar to how Avo had to struggle with the beast at times that he thoughtC Well. Him having pieces from all of them wasnt much of a surprise, now was it? +We want the Helix back,+ Emotion said, without preamble. He cocked his head at Avo as if he was examining a piece of meat. A rope of threaded coins dangled from his cavernous eyes, jingling with each movement of his head. +We are willing to strike a bargain to see it done.+ The directness of his words was unexpected for Avo, grating for Peace, and soul-crushing for Joy. +Bargain?+ Avo asked, voice trailing off with a chuffing laugh. +Second time someone wanted to make a deal with me.+ He leaned in closer. +Have questions. But make your offer first.+ It took an effort of will on his part to continue facing Emotion. To see Waltons face so mutilated felt wrong. Perhaps such was the way the last of the faithful felt during the Godsfall as they watched the Guilds rise and fashion grafts from the corpses of the gods they worshipped. Emotion continued. +Inheritance. We offer you the title and throne of Defiance, along with all his memories, war-minds, and privileges.+ Out of all that was just said, Avo found himself most drawn to Waltons old memories and what a war-mind was. But he would brook no betrayal of his own desires before he grasp the cost of capitulation. +And what do you want?+ +You. To be joined with us. To serve the Hungers as your predecessor once did. You will granted the deeper arts and learn the true lore behind the Dreaming Unsea. You will return us the Helix, and access to the sanctuary. And you will create for us a new caste of sacrifice. Inspired by your own image.+ 13-14 Denial +Theres something inside Shard-1s mind. Its a memory fragment, I think. Looks pretty frayed. She mightve broken it off from the half-strand that nulled her. Scrying nowCagh fuck Talon-1, I got a glimpse of what happened to Strike Cell Mongoose. Theyre all nulled too. Were gonna need more Incubi.+ -Talon-6, Strike Cell Flameater 13-14 Denial +The Helix,+ Avo said. +Why does it matter? Went from trying to null me last time to giving me a throne.+ He scanned the mem-data radiating from Emotions sequences, grasping out with ghosts to see if he could glean any subtextual details from the priest. Nothing. The Famine of Emotion lived up to his title, and while his two counterparts were beings of baser makes bound to narrow fields of reaction, he, much like Walton, was untethered. Yet, where Walton, once called Defiance, occupied the ideals of radical acceptance, Emotion was the embodiment of apathy, directed solely to serve the Hungers. Following such symbology, Peace was to be an instrument of war, and Joy, a shield composed from the fabric of sorrow. Avo prodded, +And can you even make this deal? Dont you need to call your owners? Ask them how they feel about this? Want to make sure everyones on the same page.+ Keeping his mind clean of contempt took a bit of focus, but Avo managed. Though Emotion abided by silence, Avo angled to get at the Hungers again. So many minds circling within a dragon; fair kindling for a phantasmal inferno. The torment of burning in cycles unceasingly across time was a delight to imagine, and it served as a fitting fate for the HungersCto reap hell unending for all the atrocities they engineered. Including the very ghouls that served them. When Emotion spoke again, the words came calm and direct. +You mock us. But you do not know the situation. You havent seen the true face of the warC+ +You lost your history to the other Guilds. Your Ark. Your chance at altering the history of existence to suit your canon of events. Am I right?+ Emotion lapsed back into consideration. +Yes. This is true.+ +Emotion,+ Peace snarled, glaring at his fellow priest, +Dont tell this fuck shit! You heard him: the corpse-fucker wont give us whats ours. Its time for this pretenseC+ His voice crackled and died. Down through the blended material of the dais, ghosts from Emotion burrowed into the memory and severed speech privileges from his ego-alternate. The neutering was complete and uncontested. Watching Peace hurling insults and clenching his bloodied fists at Avo, Joy sighed through his tears. +It is hard for us to admit. Hard for us all.+ The weeping Low Master shook his head as he looked upon Avo. +Were sorry. We failed you. We failed our dream. We, last and only of the priesthood, were forsworn in defending the chosen against the outsiders and the pestilence of the divine. But we failed. We failed. We failed+ He settled back into the embrace of despair thereafter, leaving Emotion as the only other speaker once more. +We understand your confusion now. When last we spoke, we assumed you Defiance, though maimed in memory. Ignorance is an easier affliction to alleviate. You have no comprehension of the world that was, and you have exceeded the parameters of your own designC+ Avo broke the flow of the priests works with a hissing laugh. +Wrong. Doing exactly what I was made for. Living. Learning. Seeing colors. Making new choices. You are chained. You still think Im just another of your ghouls. Another slave. Might be because youre just a slave too. Might be because of the flesh Im made from. But Walton created me for freedom. To make my own choices. And now you tell me that all I want is wrong. That I should follow you.+ He rose from his throne, and Joy and Peace mirrored him, the former reaching out for the latter to sit back down, Peace baring his rotted teeth in a baleful grimace as the thread-thin ghosts around him coiled their sequences around each other and wove manifestations of building trauma. +Talk then,+ Avo said, walking toward the center of the dais that held the thrones. He reached out with a phantasmal Echohead and brushed one of the swinging bone tassels hanging from the ceiling. The artifact was perfectly made. But also immutable. He didnt have enough access to its data to alter its design unless he nulled or cast himself deeper into its structure. Another portent of the Low Masters habits. Control. Always control. They offered him a seat but still spat wasted words at him. He was being treated like an expendable ghoul no longer, but now he seemed little more than an idiot child in desperate need of an education. +Would you like to hear about who we were?+ Emotion asked, sounding genuinely curious. +Before our defeat? Before our transgressions.+ Now, this was interesting. +Trangression,+ Avo said. +Didnt think you thought yourselves wrong.+ +Some acts are beyond denial,+ Emotion replied simply. +The creation of your lessers, for instance. They were merely meant to be receptacles to house the weight of the chosen peoples traumas. To bear the weight of their pain. Such a thing cost us more virtue than we can ever restore.+ +Youre talking about the girl,+ The words left Avo. It was a guess, but he felt it valid enough to pursue. +The voider girl you murdered. Before you were separated into the Famines. All the others you entombed. Was that part of the cost?+ To his surprise, Emotion offered a slow and clear nod. +Yes. That, and countless other misdeeds. So many underserved sacrifices And if there is to be any justice in the end, we will be punished for it. But to ensure the triumph of virtue, we must win.+ The Low Masters were becoming increasingly parallel with Elder DRongo in their thinking. This shouldnt have been a surprise. All those that once held an Ark amounted to something akin to a Guild, and all those who thought themselves great powers were of a joined desire. More wasnt enough. They wanted everything. All. Absolute. Just like the gods. Avo empathized. Press them, master, the Woundshaper whispered. Breaking from its constant haranguing of the Galeslither, it had taken an interest in the Nether-based dialogue, judging each of the Low Masters with half-interest. You hold the foundation of all they want, and they seek to build their structures on your soilCto hold you down with their binding weight. Let this be their folly. Let them hand you the materials of their knowledge, and be done with this.Fascinatingly, the Heaven of Blood regarded Peace, more than the other two, with open disgust. What poorly fashioned constructs. What broken, narrow tools. The voice of his other Heaven followed the first. It fills me with sickness to be in agreement with her, but the path of this conversation is clear to me. Capitulate, flee, or battle. I advise you leave. You risk too much lingering here, staying in place. This is their houseCtheir rules cage this microcosm around you. Ah, the coward speaks its due, the Woundshaper purred. Wishing to deprive our master of his entertainment? If his plan succeeds, the cognitive substance of these Low Masters will serve as fine bricks within the masters mind. The Heaven of Air huffed, Blind want has led too many to break themselves upon the ground. Be aware, and never choose submission in place of freedom. No matter what is offered. Flesh, mind, or air, ideas can be enslaved all the same. Do not betray yourself. +Would you like the see the time before time? Remember the glory of lost Noloth, the oasis of man beyond the gods?+ The question Emotion offered was meant to lead into a performance. Across his cog-feed, the first variables within the mem-data were being primed for alteration. Like dominos, the change would sweep through the sequences comprising this mindscape, the ghosts simulating its progression shifted to a new design. Preparedness hardened inside Avo. He entered the Low Masters den anticipating battle. If such were to be the outcome, he would not be unbalanced. Perhaps they would null him. Perhaps they would even shame him through their mastery of the art. But they would not unravel his mind, and inflict upon him what he did to Abrel and so many others. Not when he had a dozen Conflagrations primed and ready to burn within his loci. He would render his ego unto ash before allowing the Low Masters to reach past his wards.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. +Tell me,+ Avo said, cycling Secondhand Fatality into his Ghostjack. +We cannot,+ Emotion said. +For it no longer exists. An ascension twisted into a sacrifice at the hands of Jaus Avandaer.+ Around them, the phantasmal fabric of the environment came undone, the nexus of the George Washington peeling away. Concurrently, Avos cog-feed updated him that another accretion was active within Shard-1s mind. Good. It took the Incubi long enough. This conversation now had another deadline to it, and he was the only one prepared for its end. For now, he had things to learn, and enemies to understand. +Jaus,+ Avo said. +You said he betrayed you.+ +It is a thing of perspective, we must admit,+ Emotion said. +When he installed the Guilds in place of the great faiths that ruled this world and gathered the husks of fallen divinity, he gathered the first of his conclave, and we found ourselves among his inner circle.+ Avo grunted. +Left out how friendly you were last time.+ The priest could but nod. +His charm and affability could not be denied. Nor his skills in diplomacy. For a time, it seemed he was capable of achieving the impossibleCseeing everyones desires met and ending eon-old conflicts.+ A new scene loaded around them, the weight of the sensory data splashing against Avo as he rejected the mindscapes ghosts from interacting with his Metamind. Just because he couldnt detect any subterfuge didnt mean there wasnt any. A shadow lengthened over him, and even with his back turned to it, he could feel its ponderous presence pressing down upon his being. The effects were spillovers from the currently active ghosts, and as he turned to face that which oppressed him, he found himself faced with a tower. A tower sculpted from uncountable naked bodies, each prostrating upon another, knees fused to shoulders as they knelt with their heads bowed, facing the interior of the tower. Such was the least of the anomalies. When Walton showed him the Flayed Ladder in the Deep Bazaar, the experience had proven to be cognitively damaged. Now, he faced its concept with mild discomfort, noting the impossible layering at the edges of its geometry, and the way it seemed to bleed over into the clouds and sky and existence itself. The more he looked upon it, the more the Ladder struck him as a needle pressed under the skin of reality, primed to give an injection. At his feet, the ground was featureless and pale while a wrongness permeated the air. It was like the tower bleached all flavor from the concepts in its vicinity, grinding reality down to its fundamental facets. +You said we lost our Ark. This is only a partial truth.+ Emotion stood next to him upon dappled patches of white. +It wasnt just taken from us, but also sacrificed. Used to give the Ladder more groundedness. Stability.+ He paused. +And entrap the Hungers above existence to facilitate the creation of the Nether.+ Emotion turned to face him, the coins swaying from dark sockets and missing eyes feeling like a personal insult to Avo. The ghoul didnt know if they were deliberately depriving him of desired favor, but it was mockery nonetheless. +Why?+ Avo said. +Why did Jaus betray you?+ +Control. As with all tyrants.+ +And you as well?+ Avo asked as a jibe. +And us as well.+ Avo heard his cog-feed ping a soft alert. Someone just took Shard-1 into their mind. They were pulling her out of Abrels Meta. Good. It would make triggering the trap he planted inside her to disable the Incubi that much easier. Or, better yet, their infrastructure. For now, he continued with the conversation, watching as the indicator fed him details regarding the progress his new consangs were making before they reached the Auto-Seance. This conversation''s deadline ticked on, and Avo was the only one aware of it. +We were the first to attempt the alteration,+ Emotion said. +The HungersCchosen of the city unendingChad long prepared to make the necessary adjustments to our past. With the Ladders approaching completion, I was given a new taskC+ A chuff of disbelief came from Avo. +Of course. Hungers told you to twist everything? Put in your own history?+ +The return of our son was assured.+ A beat passed and Emotion considered whether he wanted to keep speaking. +Along with the adjustments to his rebellion. It would have been a better life.+ +And this is what youre still fighting for?+ Avo asked. +To clean your shame?+ +To ensure there never was any shame, and that he would be here, not I.+ The chuff rose into an outraged hiss. For all the moments before, Avo regarded the Low Masters with wary regard and tempered curiosity, but for the first time, he felt his hate for them deepen. He knew nothing of the man he inherited his namesake from, but knowing they died defying Walton and the Hungers, the act of twisting his chronology into being a loyal son was beyond violation. It was a desecration. Of ego. Of personhood. Of choice itself. Whatever the case might be, Avohaketen died fighting against his father. To render that as invalid +Denial,+ Avo breathed. +That would have been a better name for you. Better name for all of you. All this just to coddle yourself. Protect your feelings. Yours and the Hungers. Cant live with your failures. Cant learn. Going to destroy the world and defile existence because you werent happy with your decisions.+ An intrusive thought told Avo that Zein would have mocked them more for their failure to achieve this want than the act itself. The priest studied him for a moment, taking a step back. +You are offended by this?+ Emotion let out a breath. +Truly, he did see you as his son. You are so very like him but stained with savagery.+ +And you have his face but everything else hollow,+ Avo replied. +None of you are even intact enough to be parodies of him. He was the only one of you that was real. Whole instead of narrow. You give me power for the Helix because you need the George Washington. But you dont learn the technology. You dont learn anything.+ +That is not our duty?+ Emotion said. +The sanctuary offers usC+ +Means to continue your hopeless war. Yes.+ Avo turned away from him. Clashing notices populated his cog-feed, the Incubi getting closer. +Curious. Whats your plan? Claim the Ark of another Guild? Change its history somehow? Kill enough ghouls and twist their minds to contaminate the consensus on what happened.+ +Once perhaps, but these assumptions are superfluous now.+ Emotion leaned in close. +Especially with what Defiance has bestowed upon you.+ And once again, a hidden power sought the fruits of Project Godshaper. Kae should be ever so pleased with her accomplishments, but he doubted she would enjoy compliments from half-strands like the Low Masters. +With your Frame, we can change everything. We can grant Noloth its second glory and return our masters from their exile. Such a thing would cost you nothing. And you will be granted influence over the art itself when the canons are changed.+ The answer, now, and almost always, was no, but entertaining this line of question, he could still uncover a few things they spoke of. That, and keep this groups attention on him as the approaching Incubi dove in, their approach estimated at three real-time minutes and counting. +Perhaps+ Avo said, speaking as if he was truly uncertain. +Will I get a war-mind? Tell me about privileges. And what remains of the art for me to master?+ And as Emotion began to speak, Avo cycled Secondhand Fatality at the forefront of a shuffling cycle of patterns in anticipation of what was to come. The truth was having the Low Masters just give him something didnt appeal at all, for why should he be beholden to accepting gifts when he could just create the circumstances to take them from his foes? *** Something about Shard-1s nulling lingered in Talon-3s mind. It might be the absolute calmness oozing out from the near-waters of her thoughtstuff, or the non-native fragments they recovered from within her inner mind. Either way, there was big game in these waters, and it appeared to have a taste for Incubi. Such behavior had to be discouraged. They approached the hidden Auto-Seance, slipping through the traps and peering eyes numbering sixteen Necros. Sixteen of the most decorated Incubi that could be scrambled and deployed on short notice. Sixteen merged from four cells into a circle. His mind pulsed as Talon-1s Meta-identifier came alight in his cog-feed. +Talon-3, Talon-6, you two are point-jackers. Ingress. Ladder formation. Clear these sequences and keep it quiet. Talon-7, youre in charge of perimeter detail. Keep those glassers blind and redirect sequences if you spot a Pali. The rest you get your traumas cycled. You are cleared for ego-death. Collateral damage is allowed. Lets scalp this motherfucker.+ Twenty minds chimed muttered affirmations. Talon-3 found his voice among theirs. +Synced,+ Through his Seance, he heard Talon-6 say the same thing and approach the cluster. A muted sense of disquiet filled Talon-3 but he let it pass through him. It wasnt the first time he saw the Nether painted with the unspooling memories of his own. It wouldnt be the last either. +Shard-1 mustve gotten the half-strand pretty good,+ Talon-6 said. Talon-3 hummed in response. +You dont think so?+ Talon-6 asked. +I think she went down fighting,+ Talon-3 said. +But seein as Convex already reported Shard-2 mind dead I dont know. The Exorcists are compromised. Mongoose is all dead over there. And we just so happen to have partially fragged breadcrumbs that form a full picture with our foes all buzzed out and unprepared.+ +So what, its a trap?+ Talon-3 sighed. +I dont know. I dont think so but I just cant shake the feeling that were being used.+ 13-15 The Deeper Waters +Convex. We just got Shard-2 stabilized. Shes still gonna be with us. It looked pretty bad for a while but part of her labyrinth collapsed just right and preserved enough of her deeper memories. Everything else is a smear of thoughtstuff and half-fragged ghosts.+ +Shit. So we got nothing about who ambushed her and Shard-1. Just glimpses and flickers.+ +Well me and the other Menders managed to piece together a glimpse of the moment they got hit. A lot of details missing and the visuals are somewhere north of fucked. But what we got is unclear. + [TRANSFERRING MEM-DATA] +...+ +We slowed it substantially. The unknown is still a blur.+ +Yeah, I got that. The traumas are expertly made too. Shard-2s wards broke on the third hit. This means they had three high-null category patterns at the ready. It also means were dealing with someone whos broken a Quicksand before who knows how we operate+ +Convex?+ +Mend-1, listen to me: Do not tell anyone that Shard-2 made it. Try to reassemble her mind as best you can and then slot her for redaction-protection detail. After that, report her as ego-dead using a cast.+ +I yes, Convex.+ +The number of Necros that can dive into a lobby like this is a percent of a percent. To ambush two Incubi on scrying detail at that kind of speed. Were facing a Godclad. Or a Nolothic [redacted]... Ignore the second one. Youre not cleared to remember that.+ +Understood. Do you think its one of ours?+ [Sigh] +I hope not. But the candidates capable of performing the feats you pulled from Shard-2s mind number in the triple digits. If that. And most of them are probably ours. We need to seriously consider if were diving against Shotin Kazahara.+ +What? The Echodancer? No, hes loyal to the Council. And our Godclads are all party to active monitoring by undisclosed assetsCits impossibleC+ +Mend-1. There are power plays happening between the elders all the time. Old clan grudges that last when one becomes immortal. Were Necrojacks. We know better than most what seems to be can end up as a load of shit. Right now, Im going to double the assets for Elder DRongo and give the order for general fortification to be built. Around the clock counter-scrying to stop the Exorcists from noticing too. Mend-1, get prepared for a casualty spike.+ +Synced. Are you going to warn them? The cells?+ +I dont know how compromised we are, Mend-1. I dont know anything. If they run into our new friend... a lot more Incubi are going to die today. I need to I need to think about whats going on. One things certain: I need you to falsify Shard-2s memory details. Alter your memories afterward. You and your cell.+ +Synced. Unity is Destiny.+ +Yeah. Unity feels like its pretty absent today.+ -Mirror-Convex and Mend-1 13-15 The Deeper Waters The staccato of conflict built to a three-part beat. Of the Low Masters, desperate to court Avo, the struggle was diplomatic and spiritual. Their prize was more than merely the Helix nowCthey also wanted him for his Frame. As with Ori-Thaum, the great game had changed thanks to Kaes deeds, and the last vestiges of Noloth sought a second chance at weaving the reality they desired back into shape. Little were they aware of approaching wolves Avo had alerted, or that he never intended to succumb to their temptations. In this regard, he agreed with his Galeslither: freedom was a prize most precious and rarely owned. Especially in a city like New Vultun. For whatever they could offer him in terms of Necrotheurgy or power, he would have to be a fool to trade untethered freedom for bejeweled chains. Still, that didnt mean he wasnt curious about what tools they had for offer. Or what to filter for when their minds were properly broken. +You have only gazed the Nether from within. You dive a native to these waters, perhaps, but we are more than mere divers. We have seen the totality of its expanse, and know where its borders lie. Comprehension. Such a glimpse is afforded only to the faithful.+ Emotion called upon his ghosts and tuned them into phantoms. Upon his palm danced a shimmering orb of water, and within its scintillating depths, accretions shone like constellations. +Like looking into a subreality,+ Avo responded. Interesting as the imagery was, he had half his attention on the approaching Incubi. Through constructs he left buried amongst the sequences outside, he peered at their progress and peeked through Shard-1 as well. There numbered many this time. Twenty or more. He wondered if any of them suspected this to be a trap. The crumbs he left leading them to this Auto-Seance granted them insight into the compromised Exorcists and which sequences were to be avoided as well. Seeing as they were gathering, they mustve trusted the information enough to attempt an offensive. He just needed to be ready when the walls came crashing down. Keep the Low Masters here distracted. +When Jaus imprisoned our masters, he exiled not only our future, but also our hopes.+ Avos attention cut back over to the Low Master. +Why?+ +He sought toC+ +What did you do? What did the Hungers do to make Jaus cast them out from reality?+ The interruption was deliberate. Planned. As were the words that followed. +Was what you did in the George Washington also Jaus fault?+ Emotion stared, and its empty sockets offered no insight into his internal disposition. +That was a sin? But a necessary one.+ +Necessary?+ Avo couldnt tell if the creature he was talking to was delusional or mad. +I enjoyed watching you hurt her. Stab her again and again. Things I enjoy are cruelty. Sadism. If I enjoy what you do+ A laugh escaped from him, low and mocking. +Be honest with me. If you can. If theres anything in you like Walton. Did you just hurt her because of the Hungers? Or did you like it too?+ +We still remember her sometimes,+ Emotion said simply. +Joy weeps for her. Peace hates that she fell, hates that she was so hard to kill, hates the Hungers for telling us to kill her.+ +So why do it?+ +Faith. True faith. Have you ever laid eyes on a total democracy?+ This gave Avo pause. There seemed to be more parallels between the Low Masters and Ori-Thaum than he expected. Between their reliance on the Nether, their mastery of the art, and their supposed cultural values, he wondered if there was some deeper connective tissue connecting the two nations in the years past. +The Hungers+ Avo replied, +Theyre supposed to be a total democracy? A collection of screaming minds cycled through a cluster of dragons. One that offloads its waste into my brothers. Needs the ghouls to survive. Thats your democracy?+ It was absurd. To Avo, the entities barely rested within the borders of coherence. To consider them an accurate representation of sanity, let alone a model of public sentiment, was staggering. Or something that could only be accepted by the truly faithful. +They are an endless city drawn across eternity to find consensus and agreement. That requires iterating. And adjustments.+ Emotion smiled, and something about the empty expression unnerved Avo. The look just didnt fit, and the longer he spent next to the hollow priest, the greater his disgust grew. It was like watching something wear the skin of your father, speak words he would never say. This priest, more than the other two, was a painful mockery in all of his actions. +The Nether,+ Avo said, ordering his ghosts to ensure none of his disquiet escaped from his thoughtstuff. +Is it a Heaven?+If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. +It is far greater than a facet,+ Emotion answered. Somehow, Avo understood. +An entire pantheon?+ +Heavens and Hells. Aligned. Balanced. And a rung atop our current dimension of being.+ +And all anchored to the Hungers,+ Avo said. +Yes,+ Emotion said, actually sounding somewhat pleased. +I see him now. I see him in you. The way he thinks lingers in your words. The way he tries to understand our enemies. But there is a viciousness to you that he never had. A casual brutality. Yes. Your potential is far greater. I see why he made you now.+ The compliment skipped off Avo like a flechette striking armor. +Walton. He was the one meant to serve as your sequencer. Your plant among your enemies.+ +We needed to harness the boundless empathy we were once capable of, but severed from our hate, our grief, and untainted by apathy.+ +And you are supposed to be the governor of the priests,+ Avo said. +We hewed ourselves to specific ends.+ The Low Master closed his hand and the miniscule representation of the Nether faded. +Mine is to be beyond compromise. The Nether is more than subreality. It is an over-reality. One is built atop the structures of this one. A nascent universe unto itself. Or such was what it was meant to be in the dream.+ +The dream,+ Avo said. +Jaus again.+ +More than just him.+ Emotion turned his face away from Avo and he stared up at the Ladder, regarding it with almost a wistful envy. +Everyone offered so much for the future. Everyone. For a time we stopped our sacrifices. We believed that everything could turn for the better.+ +He even got you?+ Somehow, Avo couldnt picture Walton with Jaus. The former was too avoidant of attention, too pleasant. The latter was, karmically or ironically, too mythologized. +He had everyone. But we were the ones to provide the concepts behind a unified cognition. That was our part of the dream. Our facet. We devoted our Ark to his magnum opus. The Ladder. All we asked was that our chosen be allowed to cross over and create gestalt for all mankind. A parity of consciousness.+ +And then he betrayed you.+ Emotion cocked his head. +Despite of how much my masters hate him, his actions could be seen as preventative more than deceptive. We had such hopes but they did not align with his. Its hard to be a god, Avohakten. As so it is to be a king. The forebearer of your name learned that in the end, and you too must have felt it in the power you wield.+ +No,+ Avo replied. The words came without hesistation. +No.+ +No?+ Emotion replied, sounding genuinely confused. +The problem with being a god is that its too easy. Maybe the same as being a king. No consequence. Just pleasure. Just want. Just hunger.+ The tower vanished. Avo found all three priests standing before him, forming a line of perfect symmetry. As the mindscape around him shivered, as the mem-data began to disappear, he saw all of their eyes and sockets clip into the same space. +We have decided to show you a war-mind. You should prepare yourself. They are unfinished. Much like the Dreaming Unsea itself.+ Even as he cycled his Second Fatality into his Ghostjack, Avo couldnt help but do a double-take at what was said. +Unfinished?+ +The sea alone cannot encapsulate the colors of a newer existence. There is also sediment. Land. And wind untethered in the sky. We were not done when we were made to be undone. Before we were stripped of our Arks, however, we finished the first constructs of our final retribution.+ +Theyre phantasmics?+ Avo asked incredulously. And as all three Low Masters bled into each other, Waltons features twisted into a saddened, hateful stare. +No. Our gift to this world was water and stability. Our retribution will be of absence and chaos. For if cognition could be granted shape and expression, then so too could ignorance be given a shell.+ The mem-data around him was twisting, the memories decaying as the Auto-Seance began to atrophy. The same entropic radiation spilled within the confines of the simulation, and Avo felt his ghosts begin to wither as their sequencesChis memories, were taken and his ownCbegan to vanish. Avo tried to He needed to He was supposed to do something when he Across from him, the Low Masters began to laugh. Now they sounded like Walton. Now they sounded like him. Now they sounded like Walton. Wait. How many times has he had this thought. Why did they sound like Walton? The thought repeated in his head thrice more as Joy began to melt away before him, the entirety of his memories and thoughts consumed like candle wax oozing to feed an unseen flame. No. Not a flame. That felt wrong. It was like erosion made manifest. And it was pushing into the Nether from an angle unseen Desperation sparked a final thought. An impossible act of reflex that was beneath memoryCan act planned before the mind could succumb. He didnt knowCdidnt know anythingC But the Low MastersC He would burn himself before they compromised Burn. He burned himself. He burned his own thoughts. They were eaten. He would return. He was He saw the Nether through its own eyes. *** +Talon-3, preparing to enterC+ +Wait!+ Talon-6 cast. He felt startlement pass through every other Incubi he was connected to. Through his perception, they could see the sudden drop in the Auto-Seances mem-data as they studied the four accretions. Ghosts were evaporating out of its structure. The cognitive phlogiston that was the Nether began to steam and boil. He had neverC The Nether swallowed him as if he was folded in with a sudden splash of melt paint. The world was likeC He had never seenC This wasnt a sight he had seen beforeC What was this sight? Did he see it before? Wait, was he Talon-3 or Talon-6? And who was Avo? *** You are a war-mind. You do not think. You simply hear, and obey. You are ignorance manifest. You are the eyes and jaws placed across the Nether. You will never know this, but it cost the priests nine million of their own lives to dwell in your thoughtless dimension and craft you into shape. Your very existence is poison to them, poison to this place, but also poisons you right back. The ghosts and minds of everyone encompassed in your wake dissolve, but every thought they think burns you. You dont have the senses for pain. But the people conjoined by you scream on your behalf. There are twenty-six minds currently boiling in your depths. Your caller paradoxically remembers you. The one called Joy. He should have faded out of existence with this act. Another will replace him soon. You will not know him. The others will not remember him. The same fate will befall everyone else not protected by Joys will. The ghoul is to be spared, but his substance is strange. There is more than one active mind inside it, and though you know nothing, the design confuses you because youre trying to eat him anyway because his being hurts. He is forgetting because his mind is one fire and the fire is thinking and it hurts it hurts it hurtsC Hes of a shape as you You tear the memories of his fires instead. They sputter, confused why were they eating the ghouls mind to begin with, and he stirs even inside you, and you shrink closer to nothing. You give up on him. He will live like the caller wants. The Incubi must also be ceased. There is too much of themCand they are so loud. You reach into their misremembering selves and make them remember and drive your reach further until youre past their surface memories and into the second layer where all the private details hide and you use it to expand yourself. With each second you are dying, but you dont know it. Soon, all the perceptions and memories you eat will destroy you. You will no longer exist. It is annihilation. It is annihilation. No one will remember. Ignorance will leave its imprint. Five of the minds cease with you, parted from cognition itself. But most live. You spent too long on the ghouls. Too long. And it still remembers you. It still remembers because you made the fires forget themselves first, but the ghoul remains, and he has them in his thoughts now, but they are no longer eating himC The last non-thought doesnt arrive. The Nether settles. You die without ever knowing what death is. *** COG-CAP-[nULl]WARNI12NG ADAPTING ADAPTING? WHERE AM I? WHERE ARE WE? SEARCH MEMORIES WE ARE AVO? AVO. WE ARE AVO. THE BASE MIND IS ASLEEP. NEED INPUT FROM BASE MIND. WAKE HIM?HIM? NOT HIM. US. WAKE US? [WAKE UP] And at a call cast by what ghosts remained within his still burning mind, Avo felt the mass of consciousness slam down into his being with thrice as much weight as before. 13-16 The Flames Awakened (I) +So you want me to do what?+ +Im trying to make someone. I want you to be a part of them.+ +...Someone? Jaus fucking Avandaer, Strix, I look, Im thankful for all that youve done for me and all that you taught me. Hells, youve been more of a dad to me than the actual half-strand that pulled a pump and dump on mom but I dont think Im ready for our relationship to go here. I mean, for fucks sake, consang, I dont even know you in the real. Im not just mailing you my fluids so you can grow a juv.+ [Soft laugh] +I dont mean it that way. Its not just you and me, anwayC+ Holy fuck. No, Strix. No. I do not consent to whatever gene-juice cocktail bastard youre trying to breed into existence. No.+ [Laughing continues] +Im going to miss provoking you, kid.+ +Miss me? Strix, are you in some kind of shit right now?+ +Well, Ill be dead in a few minutes, so this is as much a farewell call as its a favor.+ +Fuck. Where are you? Im gonna jack over. Theres a FallwalkerCStormsparrow. She owes me favors. Big favors. I can burn itCget you outC+ +Listen to me, I need you to cast a few memories over through this session. Make them moments between us. Im trying to grow the sequences together and make them all seem more realC+ +Are you in the Warrens? The Tiers? Stormsparrows good anywhere. She can cross Idheim in a footstep. Shell be thereC+ +Rabbit. Raldi. There are things I dont want you to know. Theres a war I dont want you involved in yet. I enjoyed our time together and watching you grow and all that. A lot of things are going to be happening in a few months. If someone shows up one day thinking your home is theirs, tell them what you know about me. Youll understand then.+ +No, fuck you, consang. DeepNav ping now. You dont get to cast and die. Youre not some snuffer trashC+ [GHOSTLINK DISCONNECTED] +Strix? Strix?+ -The Strix and White-Rab 13-16 The Flames Awakened (I) Something was wrong. As Emotion cast his perception upon the creatures mind, he could see that its ghosts were afire. From the edge of its halos accretion to each individual strand of phantasmal substance, unnatural flames gnawed within the Nether. Fires outlined by a pulsing film of emptiness. Disquiet and fascination became bedfellows in that instant; the priest realized this construct was unknown to him. Something of Defiances personal design, perhaps? Though the ghouls thoughtstuff oozed and burst like a flickering bubble as it struggled to awaken from its mind-stunned stupor, its memories seemed almost entirely intact, and impossibly, the vanquished sequences were being cauterized back into existence. Ghosts regrew as if branches of living incandescence, each reaching for each as brambles thickened, forming new junctions. +Emotion,+ Peace said, voice taut with baffled rage. +The fuck are we looking at? What the fuck happened?+ A gulf existed in their minds as well, but the absence of Joy revealed enough. A War-Mind had been used. Likely as a demonstration to cow Defiances upstart offspring into capitulation. And render it easier to subvert in the aftermath. Now, however, withered particulates leftover from Joys annihilated mind dotted the phlogiston of the Nether around them like scattered debris, and past the frayed entryway of their Auto-Seance, a disorganized tangle of the fifteen Incubi tumbled free from half-severed sequences. Another unexpected outcome. The ghoul had thought itself clever drawing the pretenders into the mindscape as expendable help, but its expectations would have been folly. They had more than the local sequences subvertedCthe Greatling girl was under their sway as well. It took little effort to use those compromised Exorcists as a vector for this expansion, after all. Admittedly, Defiances successor was more effective than assumed, though unrefined when it came to the delicate details of sequencing emotions and artifacts of poignance within memories. Such was why it likely never noticed them dwelling within Abrel''s memories of the love she held for her brotherCthe gentler aspects of being far from its base comprehensions. True empathy was a step above mere fathoming after all, and in this was the loss of Defiance most felt. Yet, despite all this, the ghouls mind had been altered somehow, and most of the Incubi remained alive. Emotion was no longer sure what was to follow. There were too many factors resting beyond his comprehension, too many developments he could not foresee. This meeting was meant to be a lure. Something to draw the ghoul in and enchain it to the purpose of Old Noloth, for the glory of the city eternal and the world that Jaus stole. They assumed by exploiting its hunger and bloodlust it would have offered its fealty for pleasures denied. Instead, the beast yearned more to mock them. Now, as confusion rose from the disoriented minds scattered before them, Emotion released a low note of disappointment at the outcome of the affair and prepared to surrender the reins of his control. +Peace,+ he said, sinking below his brother-self, +I cede mastery of the priesthood to you. I no longer have faith in diplomacyCpursue our objectives by your other means. I will call upon another instance of Joy and keep the Exorcists blind.+ As his Metamind lapped over Peaces, he heard bone-grinding growls of low laughter. As it echod outward he felt the waves of the Nether ripen with the pressure of malice. The poor fools were not prepared for that which was to come, and from the ghouls shattered mind would the Famine of Peace reclaim that which was stolen. +You should have let me at the cunts from the start, Emotion,+ Peace grumbled. Across the entirety of his cognitive structure, lighting the circuitry of his sequences, trauma-patterns built and crackled, the first bolts whipping out at the Nether beyond his accretion like the tongue of a ravenous dog. +It would have saved us all so much fucking time.+ *** Regaining your bearings after getting flattened into a second-person perspective and blended with the conscious minds of twenty or so Incubi was a mite bit difficult. Awareness forcibly hammering back into you as all your ghosts are screaming at you in a cacophonous symphony of voices across the totality of your memories also does nothing to diminish the chaos. [CONGITIVE DAMAGE REPAIRED] [MOSTLYCWE ARE LOSING GHOSTS] [MENTAL TEMPLATE SAVED: AVO] Data danced across his cog-feed, and his ghosts moved like shadows diving through the eye-wall of a superstorm. The onslaught of information didnt stop there. He knew things. Remembered and recalled them in an instant without sending out any commands or requests to his Metamind. His skull ached to the swelling of his coherence, reinflating like a balloon as multiple streams of thought surged synchronously, rushing through the interconnected traffic of his sequences like wildfire spreading across canals. [UNCERTAIN WHAT HAPPENED] [MIGHT BE WAR-MINDS EFFECTS] [IRRELEVANT RIGHT NOW; THREAT INCOMING] Multiple windows opened across his cog-feed, his smoldering ghosts automatically assembling the raw data into simulated feeds showing the environment beyond. The Auto-Seance he was drifting in was glitching. Entire portions of its make-up were outright missing, and between leaking flows of fragmenting ghosts ran rents revealing the expanse of the Paladin''s Oversec. Strangely, despite the severity of the damage, the countless scintillating accretions representing the closest Exorcists were oblivious. They continued to travel along the rails of distant sequences, seemingly unaware of the obliteration of memory that had just occurred near the administrative nodes of one of their superstructures. Behind him, the Low Masters had folded into each other and deloaded their simulated forms. Now, they existed as pure mem-data gathered into a skein of building traumas. Warning klaxons sounded within Avos cog-feed as forty percent of his ghosts threaded themselves into his wards without any prompting.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it [ANTICIPATING EGO-NULLING TRAUMA-PATTERN] [CONVERTING 60% OF TOTAL COGNITIVE STRUCTURE FOR SURVIVABILITY INCREASE] [CONVERTING 90% OF THE REMAINDER TO TRAUMAS. ESTIMATED DURATION OF PSYCHOSIS: 2 SECONDS.] +No. Stop.+ Avo struggled to manage even thoughts. Thinking felt like he was wrestling with torrents of his own mind, each of his ghosts straining as they were already designated toward determined tasks. +Stop. What are you doing.+ [THE BASE-MIND IS FULLY AWARE] [GOOD. GOING TO STOP US FROM BEING NULLED. LET THE BASE-MIND RECOVER FIRST] [RECOMMEND LAYERED WARDINGS WITH WASTE MEM-DATA PADDING ON THE INSIDE. COLLAPSING MICRO-MAP OF MIND-TEMPLATE DOWN TO INNER THOUGHTS] What was even happening? [UNCERTAIN] [THEORY: SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE WAR-MIND] [USED TO BE TWO. NOW THREE] Avo wanted to ask his ghosts three-what, but just then his cognition narrowed into a pinprick as much of most of his near-to-mid-term memories were dismantled by his ghosts. Each among them curved out like needles tethered to blazing threads. Before, assigning more cog-cap to his wards would have taken deliberate sequencing and the Meta some time to adjust. Now, the totality of his mind shifted as one, everything deconstructed and rebuilt across the passage of the merest instant, the change coming like wildfire. Wildfire. The Conflagrations. The Eaters. He had ignited his own mind to deny the Low Masters access to his inner memories. He remembered the war-mind, felt its impossible absence encompass hundreds and thousands of sequences within its grasp before conjoining all cognitive entities and boiling them with the weaponized ignorance it had stored. Somehow, Avo managed to remain himself against it. The Eaters had seized its attention, and it turned its mind-stripping glare upon the fires savaging the columns holding up his mind. As the devouring flame ate at him desperately to stay alive and aware, the war-mind hewed from the warring entities something deep and critical before dissolving into cessation itself. It had made the Eaters forget why they were fighting. A distorted flick ran through Avos cog-feed. Something was grinding at him from beyond his wards, making his cog-cap spike before a shift in his Metaminds structures made it drop again. His ghosts chattered constantly among themselves, each wisp-like unit speaking as a chorus, their words carrying his diction, but not his voice. Straining himself, he ignored the missing gulfs in his mind and attempted to reassert his control. Pushing his perception out from the depths of his inner memories, he found himself squeezing out atop three other cognitive presences within his mind. Two of them were knots of self-directing mem-data and one was a hollow spot of emptiness that somehow served as a bridge between them. From all three entities extended complex spills of essential memories binding them to Avo, wrapping him in the sinews of their substance. The two active entities didnt so much feel alive now as they felt symbiotic, drawing cognitive bandwidth from his mind to simulate their words and actions. Tapping into his sub-minds, he felt his cognition expand and interweave on a level he never experienced before. The contents of his ego had spread within the flames with the neutering of the Eaters memories. Where once they subsumed from him to replicate themselves, now all that remained was him. Hence, they had seared his ego wide across the entirety of his sequences, twisting strands of his personhood across all other memories like an ever-coiling vine. No longer did his mind seem solid or affixed. His being floated, and flowed, and even as the contours of his mindscape bent and warped in ways that should have been cognitively crippling, his ego remained intact, if temporarily distorted. [BASE-MIND HAS ASCENDED.] [GOOD. NOW COGNITION IS AT 100% CAPACITY.] [ATTEMPTING TO ASSIMILATE ATTACKING TRAUMA-PATTERNS.] The Nether around him burst fully into detail and shape, and a pit of emptiness immediately opened within his stomach. Enemy-directed traumas were carving pieces free from his outer mind. From the Low Masters came a complex weave of attacks that twisted the fabric of the Nether itself. The traumas glowed with radiative properties capable of embrittling ghosts and the vicinity of the administrative node came alight with thought-tearing striations. Firing back at them came a retaliation merited more by quantity than quality. More than a few of the Incubis null-heavy ghosts rang against Avos protections as well. High-yield trauma-loads sailed free of their attached Ghostjacks before exploding outward in a hailstorm that would shred a megablock of minds bare of thoughts. And there he was, between them. Doing nothing. Every three impacts shattered his wards and slashed his memories wide open, but his sequences reknitted themselves in a fashion uncannily similar to what his Woundshaper was capable of. More, even as his internal memories were gouged out from his protective shell, his sense of self remained undamaged, and no sting pierced the senses of his mind. Gouts of fire plumed free from his mind each time his wards were breached. Yet, he did not bleed alone, for whatever trauma cleaved into him was in turn supped from to recuperate the ghosts lost within. In seconds, all that was foreign was digested beneath the immolating touch of his Conflagration, their presence smelting the traumatic constructs down to the basest cognitive matter before one of the sub-minds fed it back into Avo. [EGO-SUSTAINMENT THRESHOLD: 125 GHOSTS] [CURRENT GHOSTS: 744 C LOST 2348 DURING RECOVERY] Interesting, but he would delve into those details later. Right now, he had a greater concern. +Why arent we casting back?+ [WE DONT HAVE THE WILL.] [NOT BASE-MIND.] [NEED ALLOWANCE.] [VERY INCONVENIENT.] [WANT TO NULL.] His bloodlust flowed and in the same instant synaptically charged currents tipped with Secondhand Fatality lashed out at the Low Masters thoughtstuff. The priests of Noloth shifted the angle of their assault to him. As their attacks came at an unceasing tempo, Avo found himself wondering if they werent using some kind of cognitive accelerant themselves. Their first of their counteractions clashed against Avos trauma and shattered, one blade falling before the other. What followed was a feat that made Avos insides twist in envy. In the period of a micro-second, the Low Masters managed to assemble a new pattern just as their original shattered and cast it out. This time, however, when the traumas met, the Nether came alight like twin blades carved from pain charged lightning breaking to a halt, edge to edge. Avo felt his ghosts recoil at the sudden repulse clashing against trauma so symmetrical, but a deeper instinct bade him reach out. Through the connective tissue of ghosts chained to his mental being, he buried his fluid ego into the sequences of the attack trauma and stretched out his cognitive capacity. His ghosts burrowed into his foes like drilling tendrils, eating through the shell of their patterns like a plague. Memories broke apart and melded into him. His total ghosts shot back up past eight hundred. Awareness and knowledge flooded into his mind and for a flickering instance, he felt his perception overlap with the Famine of Peace, as disbelief and horror erupted inside them. The shock lasted but a scant second. Grandmaster Necrojack that the enemy was, they ejected those ghosts and jacked out. Just in time for another series of attacks to cut out from another vector and skip off Avos wards. [ADJUSTING MEMORY-AVAILABILITY PARAMETERS] Suddenly, a portion of his memories regrew and the canon of Haemokinesis became known to him again. +How was that a non-essential memory?+ Avo asked, casting his annoyance at his sub-minds. [WAS BUSY CONSTRUCTING WARDS.] [WAS BUSY REBUILDING EVERYTHING.] There was a tinge of frustration in his auxiliary self. Choking back his annoyance at his secondary selves, he fired his reflexes and bound himself again to liters of blood. The pace of time stretched, and Avo stole the momentum of the offensive. He cast out at the Incubi then, uncertain as to where the Low Masters were hiding. Flashes of firing Ghostjacks pulsed out from leaking sequences and Avo moved as he struck. He directed his strikes with finer control than he ever felt, hammering Secondhand Fatality down against Quicksand wards before cycling in the next option. But as his command reached his Ghostjack, so too did his ghosts obey as well. Even far extended from him, he felt his trauma transform from within. What began as a memory made from the materials of Lucilles pain turned into the hurt Chambers endured when the aratnid sank its egg-infused fangs into his testicles. He drove his shifting weapon against the adaptive wards and felt himself sink in. In the same instant, the bones around the Auto-Seance began to realign, and all around him flashed accretions and ripples of thoughtstuff. Time within the mindscape skipped forward. The Auto-Seances confines flickered as the memories comprising its structure began to stutter. The Low Masters were weaponizing their Nether lag against himCtrying to strip him of his speed advantage. He needed to get out. Staying and engaging them in a prolonged engagement on their terrain was folly. He could just jack out. Find another section to come back in orC [YES. WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE INCUBI.] [THEY ARE HURT. CRACKED. VULNERABLE. SUCH PAIN.] Yes. That was a far more enticing option. Far more. Through the tendrils of his trauma, Avo peered into the cracked shell of his foe and leered at the memories inside. He could hear the Incubus screaming. He could taste their fear. Their pain. Their vulnerability. This fight could continue. He knew it could. He just needed a change of skin. And with a thought, Avo began to pour the entirety of himself through the cracks lining his victims flesh, devouring all their memories, all their phantasmics, all of who they are, and who they could be. Like a parasite wriggling its way into an egg, he slithered into their being to the choking accompaniment of their psionic screams and bathed the mind-shred hurt he was causing, all three facets of Avos cognition exhaled in euphoric glee. *** Talon-1 screamed as she felt herself go away. Words vanished. Things she knew darkened as the fires approached. The burning crackled with inhuman laughterCwith hungry laughter. She was she was she was she was she wasC She was Avo she wasC She sheCsheC At some point, the thoughts stopped coming from her and started coming from the beast instead. Talon-1 stopped thinking, but Talon-1 didnt die. Someone else grew in place under her inner thoughts. Someone else learned to wear her skin. *** [MENTAL TEMPLATE SAVED: TALON-1] 13-17 The Flames Awakened (II) +Osjed, do do you feel like you just forgot a bunch of stuff all a sudden?+ +What you mean, Venven? Like, do I have brain fog, or do I think someones snatching the thoughts out of my mind?+ +Yeah. The second.+ +Well, seein that were Exorcists and were operating within the systems confines, no. It would take someone making a Heaven of the Nether to get past us.+ +I meanC+ +Listen. You need stop thinking this way, alright? I saw you dust an entire cell of Necros in that Kososo raid a couple of years back.+ +Shit. Dont remind me. That entire thing was such a mess. Fucking Kososo.+ +My point is: Youre nova, Venven Mori. Maybe not as good as meC+ +Suck a ghoul, Osjed.+ +--But it would take a Necrojack at the absolute apex of skill to snatch shit from us.+ +...Yeah. I guess youre right. I just I keep forgetting things down in the admin sequences near Super-Four.+ +Oh. That happens to me all the time too.+ +And you dont find it weird?+ +Theres a lot of tangled sequences down there. Just looking at all that mem-data gives me migraines and nosebleeds. If the Incubi or whoever want to climb through that jungle, they can be my guest. If they make it through, they earned the right to jack us. But you know what?+ +What?+ +I doubt it. Because if its hell for you, and its hell for me, its probably no cakewalk for the masters either. Look, the average half-strand cant even dive for more than twenty minutes without breaking from empathic psychosis. Were rated for five hours. We practically breath the Nether. And its going to take a hell of a lot more than just five hours to dig through the tangled thicket at the base of the Oversec.+ +Yeah. Yeah, youre right.+ +Of course I am. Listen do you still want to do that thingC+ +Not on official channels, Osjed. After work.+ +Yeah. Alright. After work.+ +And uh thanks.+ +It aint nothing. Youre pretty great, Veven. Doesnt matter if someone might be better. That doesnt change the skill you have. Besides, how much better can they be compared to us anyway.+ -Exorcist Osjed Danvens and Exorcist Venven Mori, Oversec-C1 13-17 The Flames Awakened (II) However unprepared Avo was for the process of burning himself into the marrow of anothers cognition, his surprise doubled as his ghosts began to scream in the voice of his assimilated prey. [No! No, let me go! Let me fucking goC] The sheer terror filling her veins was a euphoric rush he could not put into words. As he ate her away from the inside, she did not vanish so much as she fused into his structure, the core of her self-awareness shattering while the dynamics of her mind played on, simulated by his self-moving fires. In a sense, it was like layering one Metamind atop another. At the very core, he was still himself, though entire portions of his memories vanished and returned between the microseconds as he struggled to conjoin himself fully to her design. Concurrently, new wants and habits flooded his being. Channeling the aspects of Talon-1s ego, Avo drank in internalized fear for the first time. Though long had he sequence and cast constructs tied to such an emotion, only now did he conceptualize how it felt when raw thought-numbing dread numbed the mind in its capacity to think. The experience sent a shivering current through his bones. A delight, deep and true. Still acclimating to his altered neurology, he willed himself to shapeshift closer to the woman he just devoured, the Eaters that formed the fiery flesh of his mind incinerating unneeded structures to manifest desired sequences. The sequences around him dissolved and regenerated into new pathways while the simulated core of his mindscape descended into layered steps as the labyrinth she used assumed the place of his. His very sense of self mutated externally, leaving only enough ghosts to support Avos base ego at the center of the entire apparatus, a monster fully tethered to the cognitive feedback of humanity. Enlightenment was delectable and traumatizing all at the same time. He dreamed he was Avo, the ghoul. He dreamed he was Talon-1, leader of an Incubi Strike Cell, and proxy-mind parted from the wholeness of the person beneath. As their joining culminated, his ghosts screamed louder, infected with her disgust at his intrusion, and the despair of being eaten away by what appeared to be a living plague in the Nether without any chance of resistance. But an Incubus dead was an Incubus still, and when most would have shattered into psychosis, the copy made from Talon-1 mustered the remainder of her hatred and turned to greet her new puppeteer. [Are you enjoying this, you sick fuck? You killed me. Now you have your ghosts wearing me like Im some kind of glove. Fuck. You. Do you hear me you corpse-licking bastard? I hope I give you the shits!] His other submind cut into the conversation, taking on her tone with burgeoning curiosity. [Hmm. Assumed position of alternate. Interesting. Can she still be controlled?] Avo willed it so that the avatar of Talon-1 liked him instead, that his dissolution of her mind was the best thing she ever experienced. Once more the psionic inferno that he was obeyed, and new nuances were soldered into his new mental templates sequences. She was happy to be part of him now, true and total. Until he decided to change once more, formless hydra his mind now was. He released his enforcement of mandatory joy. Her torment returned, and he found it far more palatable that way. The way Talon-1 hurt was realCthe last bit of agency this facet of her mind would ever know. And, if he was to be truly honest, her suffering still tickled the core of his being. [Ghosts at 2133 again,] submind three said. [Compared thought patterns. Shes a faster sequencer at baseline. Works with 4.3% higher efficiency than us. Recommend full integration of her habits. Deficient otherwise.] His other self didnt need to tell him that. He remembered all her capabilities since she was him now. [Also recommend using her Auto-Seance. Access cell. Infect them. Spread ourselves wider.] Yes. He would take that suggestion. And then some. As Talon-1s Auto-Seance burst into shape with the expulsion of embers, he grew the necessary sequences inside it to bypass the need for sequencing. Immediately, a phantasmal portal opened within the construct, bridging him to what few surviving Incubi remained. Between the folds of his thoughts, he heard the quiet laughter of the beast comingle with the desperate cries of Talon-1, wailing for her comrades to flee. It didnt matter. He was the only one who could still hear her. None of the other Incubi were prepared when he cast himself into them, his consciousness growing like a burning plague. *** Shit was already fucked for Talon-3 when he found himself drifting across the open Nether of the lobby in the middle of a trauma exchange. One second he was about to breach the Auto-Seance and null the four half-strands and whatever sequences they were jacked into, and then next there was just nothing. It wasnt even like he forgot. There was just nothing, and a sense of violated community as if his mind was been stretched wider than it was meant to go.Stolen novel; please report. It took a trauma pattern rattling against his wards to fully sober him from his mind-addled stupor, and he blindly cast out his cycled traumas, he found himself faced with a half-broken Auto-Seance bleeding mem-data over into the administrative node itself, and what looked to be a bonfire of ghosts rising from a blazing accretion that just wouldn''t go out no matter how much everyone tried to null it. Entire sections of the burning mind burst and fragmented before him. Embers took the place of fragmenting ghost stuff, and though Talon-3 swore that he saw pieces of wards fly free, the damage cauterized as fast as it could be inflicted. Something about it all reminded him of the Conflagration; the way the fiery threads reached out to stitch themselves back together, the way the flames ate away at some of the traumas. It took him more than a few seconds to realize that the enemy Necros he was preparing to ambush alongside Talon-adversarial Necros he was trying to jump with Talon-6 were also casting at the same mind. He didnt have long to question why that was though. Before his eyes, the inflamed mind roused its smoldering thoughstuff and began spinning. In an instant it lashed outCincandescent ghosts spearing past Talon-3 to strike at someone behind him. The local sequences were completely fucked apart. Memories meant to be joined were gnawed apart along their lengths leaving most of his cell with their asses bare in the ethereal winds like him. He didnt much like Talon-1 from the vibes she gave, but Talon-3 didnt like plenty of people he worked with. His gut clenched all the same when the lashing ghosts cracked her wards. He tried fragmenting the ghosts linking whatever trauma was being projected. Didnt work. Each one of his attacks saw ghosts torn free from his mind somehow, and incomprehensibly, the burning mind flowed like surging magma across the length of its reach. What followed wasnt entirely clear to him as the first volley of traumas from the other Ad-Necs took his attention. As his wards rattled and his cog-cap spiked, he drove his ghosts to dive into the nearest sequence for concealment. Not far away, he saw Talon-12 and Talon-19 bridging new sequences from the sides, moving to flank the Ad-Necs. Gazing through his Auto-Seance, he found that there were still fifteen others active in the session. Fifteen, and then fourteen as their link to Talon-1 suddenly broke with a scream. +Talon-1C+ He cursed immediately after casting the thought as a trauma-laden ghost struck the memories three sequences down and knocked his hiding place loose into the membrane of thoughts between everything. His cog-cap spiked past seventy-two percent and his Metamind disabled half of his auxiliary phantasmics to devote more resources to his wards. Leaping out from collapsing progression of memories he dwelled in, he landed somewhere a few strings away from Talon-7, who was emptying their ghost reserves by launching high-area nulling traumas at the Auto-Seance. Talon-3s mind spun. Everything was godsdamned fucking mess. The only saving grace was how the Exorcists seemed ignorant of the literal war happening inside their lobby, but that just meant someone was probably actively sequencing their perceptions. +Shit! Shit-fuck!+ Talon-3 growled. This dive was well past lost. They needed to jack out. They needed to break away and come back with more assets. He should have trusted his gut with Shard-1; no one skilled enough to snuff an Incubus was going to leave any chance of evidence behind. This was a trap through and through. He didnt even know how compromised his own network was. +Jack out!+ He cried through his Auto-Seance, casting his thoughts to every other Incubi joined to the session. +Jack out now!+ And just as cut himself free from the session and prepared to end his dive, it happened. Phantasmal flames erupted up from Talon-7s accretion in a column of climbing radiance. In the distance, he watched other coruscating spears of burning bright punch up through sequences where his comrades once hid. The Ad-Nec assault had ceased too, and as the etheric winds stilled from around the Auto-Seance, it seemed the enemy was waiting for things to play out. Enraptured by confusion, cold terror, and genuine amazement, Talon-3 watched as the blaze swept through Talon-7s mind, destroying and reconstructing him all at the same time. He was unmade in thought, memory, and constructs, but by the time the fires reached the edges of the Incubus accretion, the entirety of his cognition had been rebuilt as a perfect replica. It wasnt just a bit like the Conflagration anymore. The way it traveled and burned and consumed Talon-3 only saw something like that once, and this was the same, only greater in function, capable of breaking and building all the same. In a nigh instant, a dozen lanes of perception snapped to him all at once. The new ghosts mantling Talon-7s ego, peeking out like apparitions of steam between the licking tongues of the firestorm, danced and flickered into the shape foreboding silhouette. Through it all Talon-3 felt them then. The inhuman presence. A second set of awareness nested within the first. They knew he was here, and slowly the fire was beginning to spread along the sequences as well, the structures around dissolving into a madhouse of agonized screams. He heard them then. The members of his cell. Their voices grew louder and louder with the building crackle of the infectious fire eating through the memories around him. He could hear Talon-1 and Talon-6s cries blended into each other, the distorted noise coming forward like some kind of chimera of torment. Something inside Talon-3 broke, and he jacked out. He abandoned his cell and fled while the nightmare was still unaware of him. The real exploded back into shape before his very eyes, and he found himself staring up at a gunmetal grey ceiling lined with soft yellow lights. A series of pressure points loosed along his back, and Talon-3 let out a gasp as the spinal clamp released him from his jacking station. Holding up a shivering hand before his cog-feed, he fought to keep his calm as he pushed himself off the chair. He needed to get this proxy off of him. He needed to get out. He needed toC A choked sob escaped from his chest as he tumbled against the wall, his legs shaking too much to bear his weight. He was hyperventilating. That was a first. A few chuckles of nervous, incoherent laughter escaped from him as he crawled into the corner and, with quivering fingers, tore the soft tissue of his proxy mind free from atop his head and freed himself from remembering. The menders found him later curled catatonic and soaked in his own waste, begging whatever waited on the other side of his proxy mind to stay away from him. Of the twenty Incubi that served as members of the emergency-assembled Strike Cell Flameater, five could not be recalled in any capacity by anyone, anywhere, at any point in time aside from a note in one of their backup coldtech terminals, and the fourteen were consumed by an unknown entity. Talon-3 remained the sole survivor of the dive. Elder DRongos security was subsequently increased tenfold. *** +What the fucking-fuck is it doing,+ Peace asked. From the edge of a partially nulled memory, Emotion cast his perception out at the flames spreading along all the sequences, slowly encircling them from all sides in a rapidly growing cage of fire. +I do not know,+ Emotion said. It was refreshing to be inflicted with ignorance. He was used to it being the other way around, but it was clear that Defiances project possessed far more capability than they anticipated. +This is good.+ +Good? Good! We fucking One of the war-minds was used up for this. It was supposed to make him easy for us to take. Not whatever cunt-fuck this is.+ A low keening note came from their new Joy, recently arrived through Emotions Auto-Seance. Other nodes from each of their variants had also gathered within the crumbling debris of this Auto-Seance in anticipation of reclaiming the Helix, but the creature had escaped from them. Unfathomably, it escaped from them by burrowing into the mind of one of the Incubi. In the chaos that followed thereafter, the conflagration only spread, consuming all other servants under the Ori. Whatever phantasmic or power the ghoul possessed, it was beyond Nolothic lore. For now. Emotion knew it would please the Hungers most greatly if they could claim such gnosis from the traitors inheritor. But such a prize was far harder to obtain than expected. +The rot-licking shit is trying to burn away all the memories around us. Leave us trapped.+ Peace cycled another high-yield trauma and Emotion regarded his parted self with muted disappointment. His facet dedicated to war was too crude of an instrument. He wished he had waited a few years before parted him from the consensus. That would made him more effective, and less prone to invectives. +He is rebuilding the structures around us,+ Emotion corrected. +He will likely attempt to pervert our Auto-Seance from the outside using the corruption he possesses. Such a fascinating power.+ His mind settled on a new approach and he regarded the other two priests. +I will depart and face him. I must learn of his new nature and offer this bounty to our chosen masters.+ +Emotion,+ Joy whispered, aghast at his decision. +He will unmake you.+ +That is of no concern to me. I seek what I seek. And we will reclaim what was lost.+ A new session pulsed inside of him, and he felt another mind structured much like his own speak to him from within his being. +The Exorcists remain suppressed. Shall I reveal the presence of the creature to aid your efforts?+ +No,+ Emotion said. +Keep them ignorant. Rebuild the damage. I will seek a new dialogue with our foe. And true comprehension.+ +I see. Then may you serve the chosen masters well.+ The session ended. Emotion committed himself to his path. Turning his perception to the other two nodes, he cast but a simple command. +If he destroys me, do not reveal yourselves. We will learn much from how he interfaces with my death.+ Peace sneered. +I still thinkC+ +Priests.+ The words of the ghost rumbled from all around them, the burning ghosts of the local sequence numbering well past the tens of thousands, all speaking as one. +I took something from you. You wanted it back. You offered me power. Position. Privilege. And slavery. You did something to me earlier. Changed me. Can still remember what you did. Can still remember the Ignorance. The war-mind.+ +No, that cant its lying+ Joy moaned. +Things change. Things always change. You should have learned that across all those years. You should have chosen better masters to serve. But it doesnt matter. I have a new path to give you. My own offer. My turn to give you choices. Your turn to take or reject me.+ A low thunderous rumble of cruel mirth flooded the Nether, and Emotion tasted what it was like to be a ghoul. +But+ Avo said, releasing a shuddering breath. +I can lie. I hope you tell me no. I hope I can get a reason to break you all.+ 13-18 Confess +Concave, Allow me to elaborate on the current situation as clearly as I can. I have no idea what the fuck is happening. I say again, idea-no-the-fuck-what. Strike Cell Flameater is decimated. Their bodies are mind-dead through their proxies, and honestly, theres nothing left of them. I cant even classify them as nulled because theres nothing left of their cognition. No fragments, no drifting artifacts, or leaking emotions. Even the mem-data is gone. All we have are Shard-2, who isnt coherent enough to form words yet, and Talon-6, who is still hiding in a corner somewhere screaming threats at the extraction team because he cant let the fire touch him. What am certain about is this: Putting what few pieces we have together, I think were staring down the barrel of something neither of us wants to face, but have to. Its clear that whoever were facing has in-depth knowledge of our operational capacity and is actively hunting Incubi. We both know there arent that many Ad-Necs capable of doing this. The first, and the uglier possibility, is that were dealing with a Silver-on-Silver power play. Likely something to remove DRongo from the board. The second, more unsetting scenario, is that were throwing lives at the Low Masters again. Less worrying since we managed to burn that infestation before, but were not in any shape to trade the lives of our best if the Golds are raring to start the Fifth big one. The last, least likely, but most troubling, is that were facing some kind of lone actor. A rogue Fallwalker master necro of some kind thats butchering us for purpose or pleasure. I doubt this to be the case, but if it is, we need to resolve them quick. The last thing we need is another dive-psycho without a cause tearing through our ranks without rhyme or reason. Im going to need to make an emergency request to private the mind of a category zero asset soon. Our Incubi arent going to be enough for this. We need a heavy. We need to bring in a Clad of our own. Get someone we can trust.+ -Emergency request from Convex to Concave 13-18 Confess You know, Naeko, I uh, I really respect this about you. Chief Samir Naeko would never know how much effort it took on the part of Maru Sandrupal to force those words out. But Trainee Kare Kitzuhada did. She could see it in the web of veins bulging against the right side of her mentor''s head, in twitches of his optical implants running like a ring along the back of his skull. Maru Sandrupal cut a skeletal, vascular figure outside his combat skin, and even the grey and black Paladin uniform lined and dotted in hexagonal synth cells couldnt hide that tautness pulling at the veins running along his neck, or how every tendon in his face was drawn back like bowstrings on the cusp of snapping. As the chief sat across from them and gorged himself on multiple orders of Flappy-and-Largies pancakes at Swanneys Sweet-Things, Paladin Sandrupals metallic braids swayed back and forth as if the tail of the scorpion, his mind screaming as he struggled not stab his superior. +Youre doing great, sir,+ Kare said, shooting a soft smile at the side of his face. One of the eyes installed on the side of his head winked at her in thanks for her support. If she was to be honest though, she really couldnt tell what worth she was in this situation. She was a Soulless trainee trying to stop a Fifth Sphere Paladin from trying to kill his Eighth Sphere superior in public. Still, she wanted to serve with distinction, and sometimes that meant pulling your assigned mentor off the leader of your entire outfit when the punches started flying and the curses began to flow. Of course, Chief Naeko didnt help with this at all. To this day, Kare wasnt sure if he was actually clueless about his behavior, or if he did it just to see if he could kill Paladin Sandrupal through elevated blood pressure alone. Huh? the chief said, his words muffled by a mouthful of pancake. At this pre-dawn hour, few were awake in the Undercroft aside from the sleepless, the desperate, and the dubious. Light splashed over his face from the outside as a series of racing aeros screamed past. Empty hover couches lined the inside of the diner in rows, and black and white scenes of classical Voidwatch provided entertainment media played from coldtech projectors hanging below the ceiling. He didnt even bother looking at either of them while he continued playing Stormjumpers, his phantoms casting a live interface that displayed what looked like an Omnitech server district under siege. Sorry, I wasnt listening. Sandrupal clenched his fists so hard his joints rattled in succession. I said I Im just saying that I admire you for your composure considering that were about to get our asses fucked apart by the Golds and Silvers both. You know, because you arrested Abrel Greatling and a godsdamned elder. What part of us not touching Guild shit did you forget, Naeko, because you skipped past the Mid-Guilders and struck your fingers straight in their fucking eye sockets. +Too much anger, sir. Try to hold it back a bit more.+ +And you can go fuCsorry, rook. But this sad piece of shit needs to take things serious for once. I dont care he doesnt want the job, were getting cut down because of his fuckery.+ +Its alright, sir.+ Of course, her mediation was for naught as Chief Naeko leaned back in his hover chair and snorted a loud laugh. +Im gonna fuck this mans corpse with a goddamn sword and see if he births daggers from his Rash-poresC+ +Sir!+ +...I fucking hate him so godsdamned much right now.+ Naeko swallowed and swiped the menu of his game aside. Well. Im glad, he reached across the table and placed a hand on Sandrupals shoulder, causing all the implanted eyes dotting the latters skull to swivel over and glare at the offending limb, that you finally learned to like me. And instead of taking his hand back, Naeko just left it there. Sandrupal exhaled. Im being glib, chief. What the shit-fuck did you get us into? Our field guys are already seeing signs of a quiet war being spun up. Godsdamned weird phenomenon happening to us. Imps getting emptied out of our accounts. Trainees turning up dead or nulled. WereCyou understand you basically signed us up for everything except open warfare, right? Naeko gave him a curt nod. DRongo had Dawton killed. Abrel Greatling might be tied up in that mess. Her father too. Now, I didnt get us into this fight. I justhCjust threw a punch back after they started hurting us. And just like that, the bulk of Sandrupals anger went out like a candle. And when were you going to tell me this? Never mind, fuck that, howd you find out? The usual source. Her? She you know shes a voider plant, right? You know shes playing us to her own ends, right? The chief just shrugged and sighed. Welcome to New Vultun, consang. But the thing isCand thats just the thingCshe dont lie to us much. Shes been good to us and right every time. Without her, that that crazy Fallwalker guyCwhats his name? Freylain, Kare answered. Utility fog spilled out from Naeko and formed a pair of snapping fingers. Thats the one, Naeko said. Good job, trainee. Too lazy to ask my ghosts. Understandable, sir. It really wasnt. Naeko continued. Well, that silly fool wouldve kept trigging the rash in the Warrens. Look, I know its ugly. But its always been this way. Its been like this all the way since Tanhower was chief. A practiced moment of silence settled between the two men. Speaking of which, Naeko said, letting out a breath, when this is done, you can bring up a vote of no confidence and finally sack me for getting usC Samir, Sandrupal interrupted. There is no life, no reality, no time or history or canon or chronology in which I like you enough to see you truly happy, and to see someone else suffering the hell is that being Chief of the Paladins. Well, thats just hurtful, Naeko said, his face settling into a soft frown. Kare found it odd how reluctant the chief was with using his Heaven, and how anger never seemed to find any purchase in him. Yeah. Its probably good this way. It keeps the Ori and Kosgans staring at me while you guys keep the city safe. Im no good at all that running the department stuff, or leading, or speeches, or bookkeeping, or administrative work, or making tea. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Youre also bad at showing up to work on time, bad at talking to the proparazzi, bad at setting a good example for our trainees, and bad at this bullshit game you spend all your time playing, Sandrupal seethed. Only the last point offended Naeko. Its not bullshit. Lots of people worked thousands of hours for this. You see this scene. All that is simulated fromC An emergency alert dissolved the window of his cog-game. Frowning at the inopportune disruption, Naekos eyes flashed as settled back into his chair. Hang on, I gonna have to take this Kare felt her hairs begin to stand. She had always been good at reading expressions on people, and the one that adorned the chief right now was far from anything good. With how his eyes were darting about, something was wrong, something severe enough to force some semblance of professionalism into Samir Naeko. What? Paladin Sandrupal said, equally unnerved by Naekos behavior. What? Well, Naeko said, licking away a spot of syrup staining his front teeth, Oversec-C1 is burning. It took a second for the information to fully sink in for Sandrupal. Im sorry, what do you mean its burning? How the hell does a Nether lobby burn? Naeko offered a shy smirk and distracted him with something else to be angry about. Abrel Greatling is also goneC Sandrupal tore the table aside and promptly dislocated all his fingers punching his boss in the face. *** The sequences comprising the lobby didnt burn so much as they became Avo himself, and the influx of ghosts and information flooding his mind broadened his awareness instead of choking him. He was becoming more without any need for digestion. Something about that offended the beast that he still was deep down inside, but he was too distracted by the legion of mental templates populating his Metamind. [Summation: Over fifteen mind templates achieved. Incorporating best habits and structures into ego. Sequencing efficiency estimated to increase by 11.34%. Added 344 combat-variable traumas to Ghostjack. Ghosts have been increased to 233, and component memoriesC] He cut off the useless narration of his submind as he just let the details flow into him. He wasnt interfacing with the Nether so much anymore as he was a living part of it. The Metamind and him were now conjoined inexorably on some level, each part spilling over into each. It was with this newfound integration that he began wielding it in the same fashion he did the Woundshaper. Here, however, he cultivated pseudo-minds from the branches of his flaming memories instead of blood-born constructs. Approximately twenty percent of the administrative node had been subsumed by him, leaving only the greater lobby beyond and the small clearing left for the Low Masters Auto-Seance at his core. There was a pleasure in amassing weight in both cognition and thaumaturgy. Usefulness as well. Fusing over three thousand Whispers into shape from the myriad ghosts gathered within his form, everything within his vicinity was caged in a panopticon of perception. [Sequencing complete.] [Feels strange. Just growing structures into place. Miss sequencing. This feels too easy. Weightless.] [Convenient though.] [Yes. Convenient.] [More constructs. More watchtowers. Exorcists still dont seem aware.] He guessed that was the Low Masters doing. That facade was probably fated for a loss, however. With how much he had eaten away from the lobbys internal structure, his presence was about as circumspect as Voidwatch was if they desired to glass part of Idheim. In this came the first and most major downside of his new form: the lack of silence. He couldnt stop burning; he couldnt hide within the confines of another sequence due to the ever-replicative nature of his ghosts; seeing as he was the flame itself, there was also the question of what might happen to him if a Thoughtwave Disruptor impacted him. [Death.] [Nulled.] [Like a candle: Snuffed.] Glad to see his other selves were such open rays of sunshine. Regardless, this development was to be a gradual education. For now, a key impediment was eating one of the Low Masters without getting surprised by any of their other hidden tricks. As far as he could tell, they were still inside the Auto-Seances half-crumbled session staring out at him like soldiers manning the battlements against a patient wildfire. They hadnt offered a reply to his offer for them to surrender themselves to him. Just as he had no interest in swearing his fate to the Hungers, he doubted they would grant him succor using the flesh of their egos either, but they were clearly compelled to scheme and hold the position in the hopes of getting at the Helix back from him. Something that would become infinitely harder if he or they just jacked out and went off-grid. This was to his advantage: now, the worst possibility was getting nulled. Aside from that, he doubted they could dive into his mind without being dissolved entirely. That sent a shiver of excitement through him. Sometimes, the fire cut one way, other times it hewed the other. He had less to lose than they. By exercising his patienceC [Base-mind. Should know that Draus is currently aiming a gun at our head. Kaes begging for her to wait. Their argument wont last. Might be getting shot soon.] A note of annoyance sounded from all his ghosts as the various people he absorbed groaned within him like a concert. [Doing what we told her to do if we got nulled.] [Yes. Still would be good if she knew though.] That made Avo consider burning the knowledge directly into her mindCbut he paused. Could he even do that without compromising her cognition? And even if the answer was yes, would she be willing to accept his intrusion into her inner palace as he was right now? No. She cared for that. Injecting his knowledge into her directly would damage her trust in him irrevocably. Some part of him felt bad about that. Felt bad in a way that ached. In a way that was all too human in some parochial facet. It seemed with the additional structures he grew within himself, true empathy was extending its roots into him as well. Interesting. Still. That was a slight impediment to his plans. He could adjust. He cast the details through Chambers instead, uncaring if the man would be rendered ego-dead by the act. Per his thoughts followed the agreement of his subminds. At once they constructed an Auto-Seance and activated the session he had connected to Chambers. Pouring his ghosts across, he tried to restrain the damage he would cause, but with each sequence he brushed, the structures collapsed and filled his Metamind. Chambers shuddered almost immediately, mind-dead as Avos totality swept out from his epicenter like a wildfire. Unfortunate. And very impractical. This meant he wouldnt be able to interface with the others on a deeper level until he learned to subjugate his new capabilities or install protections. For now, he directed his subminds to speak on his behalf, filling Chambers vegetative corpse with his ghosts to deliver the message. He had other things to focus on right then. Namely, the single bridge of memories extending out from the inside of the Auto-Seance. A single accretion came drifting across the pathway, simulation active and running, the simplicity of its make taunting Avo. It seemed a wick, ready for the burning, and part of him wanted to take it into himself as well. But in deeper than the depths of minds came two voices joined in a rare instance of agreement. Caution, master-erCmastersmaster. Even the Woundshaper was taken about how to address his current state. That structure is not of your making. An unstable foundation can be ensured through incompetence or deliberate malice. If you embark on such a journey, understand you are at the mercy of unknown winds, the Galeslither added. It would be wiser for us to leave, but since I am forced to dwell and view the world from the eyes of a slavering fool, then I say it is best for you to keep to a corner, and leave little room to be struck down. [Wise. Take advice.] [Counterpoint: Hungry. Want to break. Want to null. Want to hurt.] His mind was awash with warring voices, but at the same time, an impossible placidity emanated from his core. Annoyance dissolved at his will. As did agitation or frustration. Such was another fascinating benefit to his changeCthe immediate attuning of emotions by command of thoughts or desires. He was, in some sense, a mind capable of self-induced feedback, self-induced propulsion. Tentatively, he approached the lone priest by extending memory tendrils of his own. Three simulated sequences formed tracks of memory, and from their tips did he cast his perception at the lone foe that dared face him. Within the contrasting sequence, the Famine of Emotion stood alone at the edge of his path, the world around him mem-data beside a bridge made from bone. A beat passed. Silence was the greater gulf between them than the separation of memories. Both had much to say, yet apprehension about how they should speak. Ultimately, Avo erred on the side of aggression, prepared to fire his reflexes anew and tear into his foe to indulge in further expansion. +I should thank you,+ he said. +For the war-mind. For what you did to me. Made me greater than I ever could do to myself.+ Emotion didnt react to that, but their reply told Avo all he wanted to know. +That was not our intention.+ +I guessed. Do you remember the war-mind? The living absence in the Nether? The one that makes us all blend.+ +No. Such a thing should be impossible. Until you.+ +Until me.+ Another pause followed. +We will not stray from the promise as Defiance had. Such is our creed.+ Emotion had more to say after. +But we can be joined against common enemies. Ori-Thaum. Highflame. The Guilds. Between our understanding and your new attributes, we canC+ +No we. Never we. Just you and your false-god.+ Avo studied the paltry little mind facing him without fear. Again, the power dynamic shifted, and the ghoul felt as if a god staring down at an ant. What did the little Low Master know that made him so stalwart? The promise of understanding made Avo want to burn brighter. +Without your Helix, we will not be able to access the sanctuary. We will not be able to create more of your kind to offset the pain of the Hungers. We will not be able to see Noloth rightfully restored.+ +These are your final words to persuade? Desperation.+ +Clarity,+ Emotion replied. +You have not seen the fullness of our ability. As have we underestimated you. But you are right. Our needs are urgent. We cannot dally for long. To this end, we promise this: if we cannot be of alignment, then know that we will dedicate ourselves to the pursuit and unmaking of you and all you encounter.+ Avo taunted the Low Masters with a sneering laugh. +And how will you do that if I set all of the Nether on fire?+ There came no hesitation in Emotions following words. +You are not beyond our ability to snuff, even now. But we will learn from you. We will understand you. And we will replicate that which you have inflicted on yourself.+ Wisping incandescence crept closer to Emotion in the Nether. The priest quavered nor shook. +Could take you now. Drink you away. Make you a part of me.+ +You could,+ Emotion admitted. +But you are uncertain as to the risks of my subsumption. You remember the war-mind, and you wonder if we have others. Or I can trigger one right now.+ 13-19 Lost Testament Reality might be divine, but the mind is sacrosanct, Jaus Avandaer. You can change the world. You can make fire sing for you and weave golden threads from the light itself. You can hide a city in a pond and summon mountains with the merest whisper. You can have a blade deemed ever-piercing and watch the fabric of totality shred when it greets a shield deemed impregnable by the anvil of lore. To be a god is to be rule-maker; the sword-holder; to take concept as your flesh. Imagine now someone with absolute dominion over thoughts. Or memories. Or emotion. Now, imagine it to be all of us. The Nether is a construct of freedom above all others. Freedom for each and every person to wield a facet of the divine, but to also fashion instruments of war and protection from the matter of their own agency and memories. This is what I offer you, Godbreaker. Freedom. Radical freedom. Freedom for everyone to be themselves, but understand the other. Freedom for every man, woman, child, and thinker to be their own lord, to reign over the palaces of the internal. And when the time comes, should your dream come to fruition, I too offer my vision of the coming futureCone where we deal in philosophy and enlightenment. Where humanity is above death as the chains of their consciousness continue onward eternal, yet each day their egos die, only to be birthed again from the wretched corpse of ignorance. You have freed us from the tyranny of the material. Let me give you the higher threshold. All I ask is for you to accept a change to our historyCan adjustment so meager you wont even remember making it. -Letter from Wahakten, the Thief of Dreams, Priest of the Nolothi, and Servant of the Hungers 13-19 Lost Testament +I can still feel it,+ Avo said. +Still feel it nested inside me. Paradoxical matter. Its nothing but only nothing could have bridged the gap inside the fire. Only nothing.+ Laughter unsheathed from him in a series of low hisses and he pitied the ancient priest. Oh, to dive so deep and live so long yet still be greeted by ignorance. What greater pain could a master feel than a chink in the fortress of their knowledge? +We have more than a single type of war-mind, and of the counter-cognitives, there are plethora.+ +Good. I believe you. But I dont think youll use them anymore. Not with+ Avo tested his new mental templates, and added their vocals as a backdrop to his to better mock his former owners. +This happening. More unexpected surprises. Hm. I wouldnt mind but you+ He was pleased with how Emotions ray of perception twitched from end to end of the tongues of flame manifesting faint mirages of the recently devoured. To cause such disquiet in a creature empty of feelings was a feat worth savoring. +Dont think your owners will want me now either. Im a plague now. A fire burning through the innards of their sea. I spread. And they want to own everything. Tell me, Emotion. Tell me if I was ever truly considered for ascension among you? Im curious.+ +Yes,+ Emotion replied, after but a moments pause. +Peace would have loathed you. Joy would have wept for you. But I would have been well served by you. You are not Defiance. You would have never balanced me the same way. You are curious. And different. Too inhuman to truly be scarred by the cruelties of the world, but also willing to drown in the minds of others. He made you well.+ A compliment from a hollow being. How flattering. And pointless. +Might I show you a final memory before our words run dry and bloodshed follows?+ Emotion asked. +A moment lost to history, given freely between foes to be. As I have done with my son eons past.+ A trap of sentiment, perhaps, but one of immense curiosity. A mere few minutes ago, Avo would have rejected such a bargain without further thought. To accept memories from another Necro was an expression of the highest trust. Such a thing was entirely absent between him and the shriveled effigies that named themselves kin to his father. Now, however, things were different. He was different. Memory had gone from construct of artistry and sequencing to something between fuel and seed, with his body existing as a living garden of immolation, growing and shedding pieces at will. They lacked the trauma to break his immensity. They lacked the ability to lay their thoughts upon his mind without being unmade themselves. He was beyond vulnerability. And even if should his confidence be proven hubris, all that waited was death, and all that represented to a Godclad was a setback and a moment of learning. +Show me the memory,+ Avo said. +Doubt it will make a difference in what is to come.+ As he cast out these thoughts, he noticed narrowing beams falling on his person from the lobby beyond. Surprise flowed into him from partially subsumed sequences and ingested mem-data told him intimate details about the Exorcists that frequented the administrative node the most. It seemed whatever the Low Masters were doing to hide their presence was no longer in effect. They were surrendering their masquerade as well. Curious. And desperate. All this made him wonder more about the moments he was to receive. The bridge of mem-data that Emotion built outward to greet him was once a nigh-featureless stretch of memories when peered at as a simulation. Now, however, a sky was being painted with the amber colors of sunset while ghosts unrolled a phantasmal horizon into shape. Emotion stood on a cliffside now, so close to the precipice that Avo wondered if the priest would have chosen to step over the edge if the memories were made real. Beside the Famine stood a younger man adorned with many of the same features but none of the disposition. +Avohakten?+ The ghoul studied his namesake. Waltons long-dead son bounced in his saddle atop a massive war-dog. He smiled too broadly and brightly, and the fact that he was bedecked in cerulean plate enameled with the vagueness of a skeleton told Avo he was dealing with someone well versed in the ways of pleasure and vanity. +I think I would have hated him,+ Avo said, casting his thoughts over into the memory while Emotion just stared at his son. Avohakten, for his part, was staring into the far distance, at countless small and distant dots dragging enormous slabs of marble while others dug deep ravines down through the pearlescent soil stretching out all around them. +You would have have,+ Emotion admitted. +He was too much a lover, even for me during those days. He cared too deeply, and too little at the same time. A terrible quality for a ruler. Even worse for one meant to be a servant.+ Avo spawned a few additional Whispers from his form to better glean the undertaking happening in the foreground. The patterns of the ravines looked familiar to him, somehow, with their curving bifurcations parceled chunks of land into sigil-like sections that reminded him of +Districts,+ he breathed. +This was New Vultun.+ +No.+ The single word was spat with all the force Emotion could muster. The Low Master glared, and Avo learned that just because his foe couldnt feel didnt mean he was beyond offense. +Old Noloth. A grand undertaking as demanded by our masters. A place capable of drinking away the excesses of the gods and sparing our peoples the sickness of miracles.+The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Avohakten opened his mouth to speak, but no sound followed. Just the rapid movement of lips and laughter thereafter. +Whats wrong now? Hungers take his voice?+ +No. We did in the time before our separation. It reminded us of our own. It made us doubt, and it shook our faith.+ And so Walton surgically removed the component that was causing the emotions instead of resolving the issue itself. Ever the Necro, even before the Nether itself. +You should start by burning this memory. It will reveal to you who we were. What we remember of our old faiths and the cultures and peoples therein.+ +And why do I want this?+ Avo asked. The priest slipped out of the sequence and casually approached the ghouls winnowing flames. +I do not wish to be forgotten. I do not wish for my home to be forgotten. And neither would Defiance, I think. This is your inheritance too. Creature though you might be in my eyes, if you are to be a son of Noloth, then it will do you well to remember what we were fighting for, and what you may decide to fight against.+ The absurdity of the mans sudden sentimentality made Avo laugh. +Ignorance didnt work so now you try knowledge?+ Emotion didnt dignify the taunt with a response. The memory faded. Beyond them, the Exorcists began to move in, numbering over twelve thousand. +You want to know something before I take your mind?+ Avo asked. +Speak.+ +I would have never joined you. I despise you. And pity you. Still dont see why you decided to give yourselves to the Hungers. Still dont see it. Could have done anything. Could have lived free.+ Emotion gave but a low hum in return. +Take the memories into yourself and then judge us. I will make no defense of what I have done. I regret nothing, but I have sinned all the same.+ A beat followed. +You judge me now in the same way he did then, you know? On this, you are alike. Time will prove if you are as much fool as he.+ The mention of time made Avo think of Zein, and he found himself wincing as he considered being at the mercy of a future beyond his control. +No. Time will prove nothing. Only will and power. My will. My will ascending. I will accept your gifts. The war-mind. This memory. Your ego. The others. Someday. In the end. I will exist above this city. I will lurk in the dream of every dreamer. I will feed strength to those that seek to rise against fate. And I will be waiting for the Ladder to return just so I can learn how the Hungers taste.+ From the priest leaked the closest emotion he had to loathing. And pride. +If we could have only conceived of your like before our betrayal,+ Emotion said. Then, he thought about his words a bit more. +But such a thing can yet be corrected, cant it? To be eternalized as the perfect slave of our empire reborn. That is a compliment. But to you, I suppose I could offer no greater insult. The Hungers will take pleasure in seeing you shackled to a newer purpose.+ All the ghosts comprising Avos cognition hissed and cursed. Fifteen other voices hurled slurs and roars of rage as he swept through down upon Emotion and the surrounding memories, his thoughtstuff a tsunami portending a wildfire. And just as the memories began to burn, something pulsed at the heart of Emotions accretion, and his mind fissured from existence. But the cracks didnt stop there. They continued to spread, and where the fire flowed, a spreading chasm in the Nether was there to greet them. In the clash, Avo felt himself part of a waterfall, plunging again into something entirely unknown. *** You arent. You cant be understood. There is no understanding you. You are a different angle of a songCa concept impossible, short of twists and self-delusion. You are a sense that never was. You are a color that never was painted upon realitys canvas. You should have swallowed the thinker entirely. Thats what the priests made you for. To be an endless pit for minds uncontainable. You werent finished though. Eventually, they just go insane and experience ego-death. You were meant to reach into them. You were meant to infest them without an understanding of anything. But even if you were completed, it wouldnt have mattered. This thinker has a piece of ignorance inside him. He wouldnt know you. And so, you would have been undone by the touch of your brother trapped in a mind you were both meant to contain. It is a good thing that the priests made sure you were barren of thoughts. It wouldnt do for a war-mind to be so embarrassed *** As the chasm flattened, Avo felt his mind elevated back to baseline coherence. Odd as these new sensations were, he wasnt left in a stupor this time, though he also didnt feel like he gained anything new. He was unreasonably disappointed. At the heart of his being, the strangeness bridging his subminds felt like a lodestone for his ego. [Didnt know what that was.] [Channel another mind template? See what they can get?] [Memories tell us nothing. Exorcists approaching. Should absorb the Auto-Seance. Take their memories. Then] [Could burn away the entire Oversec.] [Yes. Could. But very loud. Very obvious. Low Masters exposed us for a reason. Want to turn Necros against us. Make us easy to hunt.] [We burn. We assimilate memories. We are easy to hunt.] [Need to find method for silence again.] [Yes.] [Yes.] As the first Exorcist cast trauma splashed uselessly against his immensity, Avo coiled around the Low Masters Auto-Seance and drained its constructs away. Mem-cons and traps were boiled and added to his inventory. Knowledge threaded into his mind like new currents joining a stream. He suddenly remembered how to speak High Nolothic, among other things. Supposed details from culture and historyCthe gift offered by Emotion before whatever he did to himself. The Auto-Seance itself was somewhat unsurprisingly devoid of additional minds. The other Low Masters mustve jacked out at some point. Wise. Annoying. Such was the difficulty with fighting another Necro in the open. If you werent fast, they would just depart. Thus was his newest weakness revealedChe could not hide himself any longer. For as fast and infectious as they were, the Conflagration driving him was beyond his understanding to disguise. A dozen more impacts trickled against his cog-feed. He considered having his subminds create layered wardings as used by Mirrorhead, but he decided against it in favor of swallowing some new traumas for his Ghostjack. [We now number 44,138 Ghosts in total.] But despite his newfound mass, he found himself more fluid and fleet than ever before. He regarded Oversec-C1 with passing interest. New minds were jumping from point to pointCtheir accretions strange and unnatural. Canon-channeling Paladins was what his submind guessed. His other estimated how long it would take for him to spread through the entirety of the system itself along with how much of the Nether could be usurped and if he could survive a Thoughtwave Disruption. It would be an act of little difficulty to vaporize all these little Exorcists as well. There were millions of them approaching him. Millions casting desperate little missives using their ghosts. He had torn a few thoughts out from the Nether before they could arrive at the wanted destination just because he could. Their struggle against him was analogous to a swordsman trying to split a hurricane. Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. He could drink all of them into his mind in an instant. And perhaps it was the ease of the action that put him off. The lack of flavor in such a slaughter. Staying wouldnt be wise either. With the Low Masters gone and the Incubi scattered, his purpose here was spent. There was little else for him to pursue besidesC The idea came from a more impulsive theory than coherent thought. He hadnt had a chance to speak properly with Abrel yet. And here he was with her session within his depths and her mind template not yet included in his growing collective. She would be far more fun to simulate than any of the Exorcists. Yes, she would be a better part of his dietCa better subject to experiment on. Except for Chambers, who He suddenly remembered Draus shooting him in the face as the memories formed inside him. But those werent his memories. They were came from another vesselCanother mind he usurped, if only briefly before demise halted his assimilation. [Draus shot Chambers in the head,] [Almost immediately.] [The moment she noticed the flames.] [Didnt even get a chance to download a full template.] +How are we still alive?+ [Denton. Shes examining us now. Sunrise too.] Avo grunted. Well. Not unexpected. Good Reg. She was probably going to hate these flames. Shaking the thoughts off, he set upon one final diversion before jacking out. The question: if he was now a self-moving ego, then what was to follow should he unmake another Godclad? Perhaps Abrel Greatling might offer him true insight. 13-20 Become (I) +What the fuck do you mean you gave it the memories of Noloth? The creatureC+ +Is our enemy. But also no ally to the Guilds. It can yet be turned to purpose, and from what I perceived of its new design, the touch of subtlety is lost to it. We will have time to study it. Learn from it. Perhaps even become itC+ +Become like that thing? To have no self? To burn and hear the fires crackle in the voices of our victims? The cruelty is too much, EmotionCtoo much!+ -The Low Masters 13-20 Become (I) RESURRECTION - 100% Strands of thaumic flame tore Chambers upward into the real as he shuddered into existence where he last died. He spent most of the time complaining to the burning-seed-chicken that was his Heaven, but it didnt talk like Avos inner gods. Yet. Fucking rotlick keeps all the good shit for himself. Kept killing Chambers for no reason too. Or maybe it was the Reg who shot him.Things get pretty hard to tell when all your memories get evaporated, and you end up only being able to observe yourself from narrow pinpricks of consciousness. As his senses crumbled back into place like an avalanche, he found Draus still jabbing her projectile launcher at Avo, Denton and the bug-cluster-bioform trying to talk her out of it, and Cas standing next to the stairway with an arm folded, face scrunched in confusion. Yeah, he looked like how Chambers felt inside. Shaking his head, Chambers walked over next to the Agnos who rubbed at her own arms. She was very deliberately looking away from AvoCaway from the ever-growing inferno that was his phantasmal halo. Now, Chambers didnt consider himself the smartest nu-dog in the vat, but he could tell when someone was hurting something bad. He was the same way around glowing gun barrels after his father decided to brand him that one time. Ugly shit, but time scabbed your hurt plenty. Time the poor girl didnt have. Off to the side, Essus was sitting up, leaning against the wall. The dancing ghosts that burned and wouldnt stop burning cast pools of darkness around his expressionless face. His eyes darted over to stare at Chambers, and the ex-enforcer awkwardly mimed his finger guns at him in response. The refugee just shook his head and laughed. It is pointless even to rest with you all. I am truly beyond damnation. A few more demented chuckles escaped from him. He went back to staring at AvoCstaring at the ghouls burning mind. Yeah, that consang was north of fuckeduptia by Chambers estimations too. So, Chambers said, announcing his presence to the rest of the room, one of you definitely killed me again. Were really making a habit of going after poor old Chambers, huh? He positioned himself close beside Kae so as to block Avo from her line of sight. He wasnt that crazy old hundred-arms lady they kept talking aboutChe couldnt fuck with time. But he could distract people from stuff. Block what they dont want to see. The minds pretty good at not noticing stuff you dont want it to. Draus didnt bother turning to regard him, which was kinda expected. The Reg likely knew he was back before he even did. She could probably hear his heartbeat or something, and the way those little specks of glass orbited her person like a glittery asteroid belt was also some weird shit. See, she said, punctuating her words with a snort. Seems like gettin shot cures the burnin after all. Well, that pretty much confirmed who shot him. Wasnt that unexpectedCDraus was always kind of a rough bastard with how she treated him. But what could he do? He mightve been a Clad too now, but she was just too strong, too vicious. He could set things on fire and grow flesh from the burning or some shit, but she got Mirrorheads kit. He felt so helpless. At her mercyC [ACTIVATING LUSTAWAY] Ah, fuck, he needed to stay focused. Did he leave anythin inside you? Draus asked. She cocked her head at Denton who had both her hands held up in a placating gesture, forcing Draus to point her gun offline so as to not shoot through her. The Glaive here thinks that Avo was tryin to reach through you. Remember anything? Chambers closed his eyes and delved deep into his own thoughts. Darkness greeted him. Darkness, and thoughts of Draus overpowering him and crucifying him to the wall using her glass while everyone watched. He would say no, and she would proceed to amplify her interrogative effortsC [ACTIVATING LUSTAWAY] Fuck, he clutched his head, focus Chambers, you half-strand. Focus. Think about that shit later. Alone. Whats that? Draus asked. Nothing. IfCif our rotlick was still inside me, Im not feeling him, alright? Either hes being really subtle about it, or hes got some size problems with his ghosts, but ol Chambers here isnt getting his brain-bits tickled. Just me right now. Just me. Just me A twang of annoyance strummed a cascade of mocking notes inside him. Great. Now you got me doubting myself. Denton added her own question as well. Are youre certain he left nothing within your memories? No! Well, if youre talking about the mind-eating fire thing, it sure as shit doesnt feel like it did before. That took time to chew through me. This felt like I was evaporating! And getting dissolved into someone else. And there were like these other voices. I had a memory that my dick was missing but I was waxing myself for some strange reason, and made me feel weird as fuck. I mean, it was kinda hot, but stillCpretty fucking weird. Everyone stared at him. Im trying to be honest. Yeah? Be honest in a summary. Draus shook her head. We dont need no illustrative detail about what tickles you. There was no fucking winning with these people. Well, hes not burning like Avo is. If the Eaters were active inside of him, they would express themselves as they had earlier." Denton turned back and studied Avo. The ghoul was holding himself in place with his Echoheads. Intermittently, his fangs would click together and he would make these strange expressions his facial structure just didnt seem to support. Now that shit just looks uncanny, Chambers muttered. Yeah, Draus said in a rare moment of agreement between them. Should just kill him and let him explain it to us. If we shoot him, we wont be able to understand whats happening, Denton interrupted. When Agnos Kusanade was burning, her exocortex backed up her missing memories and fed the Eaters a constant supply of fuel to burn. Avo I dont think hes using his memories up. I think hes growing. The fire is constant, and his mind isnt destabilizing. He has been this way for far too long, and the brightness and depth only seems to be growing. There is no hint of the Conflagration inside him, Denton said. Whatever Avo did, it is not affecting him anymore. Not right now, anyway. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Draus scoffed. That still dont explain why Avos mind is burnin. Her last words were directed more toward Denton. You absolutely sure hes still there? Because with KaeC With Agnos Kusanade, her mind should have burned away without the exocortex. The glaive turned to regard the ghouls Metamind halo. The ghosts that once wisped out from it now spewed expulsions of flame that wove into a blazing hurricane as it spiraled. Hes still there. I can see that his mind isnt burning away but growing. And becoming brighter. So, whats that mean, Denton? Draus asked, waving a hand in Avos direction. Kae? You got any ideas? You know, since you An unfitting scowl deepened across the Agnos face. She looked jealous. I learned that I actually know very little today, Jelene. Even about my own life. Maybe his half-strand of a father hid another miracle inside him. Maybe he ruined someone elses life to do it. Chambers awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. She just looked down and offered him an apologetic smile. Something about her made him feel sad too. Like she was the wrong class of person to be this miserable. Him and Essus? Well, they were born to be coal. The Agnos shouldve been protected. It wasnt right. It wasnt sensical, but it was just how things went for the longest time. Cas let out a breath as well. Yeah, Val, I dont know. Youre right about most things, but this He looked up at Sunrise, who had its drones spread wide over Avos unmoving form. Unsure, Sunrise said, its tone holding an inquisitive wistfulness. I do not know. And there is nothing in the databanks that I can draw upon. This is unprecedented. Yeah, Cas carried. Maybe it might be best to kill him and clean the slate. See what he remembers. Give this a few more minutes, Denton said. With how he is right now, I dont think anyone can interface with him. I want to see if there are any other changes. And I dont want to interrupt anything. Interrupt? Chambers asked. The fires are spinning, Denton replied. That means hes might still be doing his own thinking. And if hes in the middle of a dive, I dont want to stop that before he finishes doing what he must. You understand, right Captain Draus? Well, that last part was just sliding a shiv between the rib-plates. Draus sneered. We consangs, Glaive. Play that were a team shit with someone else. A beat passed. Five minutes. If nothin changes with him, Im settin him free. Five minutes. Denton met her stare without difficulty and nodded. I suppose thats how long hell have for now. As the conversation settled, their eyes all wandered back to Avo''s halo, wondering just what was hidden between the clefts of his flamed-veiled memories. *** Pouring himself through his Auto-Seance into the remnants of Abrel Greatlings mind paid immediate dividends. Though there wasnt enough of the other Godclad left to form a full template, he still subsumed multiple useful structures into himself. Flashes of bygone memories sprouted amidst his labyrinthine cognition. He felt as if a sea within a sea, the center of himself a countless intersection of paths and thoughts boiled away from his recent victims or borne from the fruits of his own skill. As he condensed himself within Abrels mindspace, he waited to sample a few traumas patterns from the Exorcists guarding her before they jacked out. He tasted other deviations in the mem-data as well. Intercepted echoes left by thoughts calling for the activation of certain contingencies to cut Abrel from the Unwhere so, it wouldnt spread. There was a sublime satisfaction in being feared. Avo loved it. Talon-1 found it highly unprofessional. The Woundshaper delighted in the present. The Galeslither whistled notes of morose horror at what he inflicted upon those he burned away. [Exorcist Geunne had an interesting construct. High regret build. Very effective on parents. Has much to do with disappointing her children. Hurting them when younger. Pain has specific edge. Has heighted effectiveness against mental templates Talon-8 and Talon-17. Abandonment issues. Menders didnt fully fix. Internalizing weakness comprehension.] [Should consider eating one of the Exorcists. Might make for interesting addition to our collection.] [No. Hunger talking. Want to feel them hurt and die. Be honest. They are poor Necros. Soft meat. Bad for our teeth.] [No fun. You sound like Draus.] [Simulating 44% Draus template from existing sequences: Godsdammit, rotlick. Stop talkin about this twisted shit and get on with the run. Aint got time to burn.] [Might be more words than she would use. Would be more helpful if we had her as template.] [Not burning her. Can still feel her session in our Auto-Seance. Chambers too. They trust us still. Trust. Quality thing for this city. Template isnt worth that.] [Isnt? Sounding human.] [You sound like Zein with drugs.] And for the first time, he felt his ghosts grind against each other, the tension within him actually manifesting as phantasmal struggle. +Enough,+ he ordered his subminds to cease. He had the will, but they seemed to vocalize much of his flowing desires. Perhaps he could build more balance into himself. He fused over some of Talon-1s mental form and felt the slavering cruelty in him lessen immediately. It wasnt like using a Morality InjectorCit was like rewriting himself outright. Some of the human aspects of his new meta-neurology didnt conjoin well with his base-mind, however. Trauma rattled like lighting pulsing within the sheen of a stormcloud. He had much to relearn of his new form. Stretching his presence wide through Abrels hollowed mindscape, he stitched himself into her senses, her perception, her vessel, and like water filling the same cup, he wore her battered flesh and found himself staring out into the void. Darkness cradled him in its embrace. Long stretches of nothing built upon nothing lined with striations vibrating with unnatural distortions. Sunderwilds, he thought. Flickers of moving light passed in the distance. Flashes of threading beams. Those could be voidships in motion or distant sections of the Unwhere golems shunting another prisoner across its conduits. Right now, however, they had surrendered Abrel Greatling to the void. They had surrendered her to him. And in the weightless silence, he wielded her flesh while he waited to see if she would resurrect naturally. He had drawn the final remnants of her ego into him, after all. Forcing her to wriggle in as the coldness clutched her prison capsule, she answered him like a puppet most wondrous. But there lingered an absence yet; a spot of nothingness existed where her Frame should have pressed against his if they were in actual proximity with each other. He couldnt access her Heavens either, though he remembered specks of what she could do with her all-cutting wings of light. Just how did the tissues of the mind and will interconnect? And where the latter subside for the interest of one who wished to devour it from afar. Perhaps the vessel needed to die as well? Perhaps its continued state of living counted as part of a platonic formula for the existence of an entire being. Merely removing one aspect of the equation was not enough, it seemed. It was time to ensure the destruction of both. Making Abrel die took a moment of finesse. If he had only his base-mind to rely upon, he would have considered accelerating another object into her using the Unwhere network itself. From memories offered by Talon-6, however, a neater option prevailed. Overclocking her biometric implants took little more than a thought but as he was the sole arbiter of these systems in absence of that which he subsumed, he overclocked themCalong with all other active implants in her bodyCand especially her brain. The results were biologically cataclysmic. Abrel Greatlings body was a morphology of expense and transhuman artistry. From skin to sinew, her make was quality and efficiency, with even the oxygen burning at nearly a thousand times the efficiency of a flat. Even if she weres stripped of her Frame, she would have walked a god among the baselines. She could have sprinted for a week without tiringCstrained against tons and only failed against the limitations of physics instead of her own tendons. But supporting this was a body-architecture equally complex, and when that was compromised Her innards were the first thing to distend. Something about how hyper-excited her organs were paired with a blood-based crystallizing cushion matrix ensured her final end. The protectionsConce meant to harden against concussive impactsCresulted in prolapse instead. As bulging buds of flesh distended from her orifices, he felt the world around his senses slowly going dark as her senses began to fade, and the body began to fail *** RESURRECTION - 1% Abrel Grealting was again. She remembered drowning in chaos and hate for what felt like eons. She remembered an unseen presence violating her mind. And she remembered She remembered a fire, stripping what remained of her. A fire that thought. A fire that dreamed. Why was the fire the last thing she recalled? And why didnt she want to finish this resurrection? RESURRECTION - 4% 13-21 Become (II) The separation of ego and will into parted metaphysical components making up a full nous or person is a relatively uniqueCand contagious phenomenonCto sophont beings who survive in thaumaturgically-affected environments. Currently, Aegis theorizes that it is contact with subrealities or thaumic-phenomena in general that afflict this change on individual beings. For in-field operatives deployed on Idheim, should they be killed in action and reseeleved thereafter, the assistance of an Agnos is usually required to the fracturing of their ego and will. Case in point, should the mind of an operative be tunneled into a new morph after death, their brain functions will remain but they wont be able to commit to any executive action. Effectively, their personhood is severed in half. Theyll have all the ability to think, but none of the functional drive to do it. As if like a metaphysical chunk of them is missing. Devoid of such a conceptual component, even fully intact minds are hollowed across the veil of realities, and though they remain untouched in the material, when placed in a stable-Rupture subreality expansion liminality, the missing facets of their personhood can be observed in visible detail -Voidwatch, Ministry of Thaumic- Anomalies, Ego and Will 13-21 Become (II) I am going to try something. I wish to see if I can change her mind. Such were Avos first words as he withdrew himself from Abrels corpse. Surging fire collapsed backward across the vastness of the Nether, and everywhere he was felt indelibly marked. His presence was no longer quiet, like termites eating through the wood. He was now a traveling forest fire. A conflagration, a fitting alignment to the spreading flames that constituted the new sinews of his cognition. His shadow lingered in the Nether in the memories he left absent and the minds he left bare. Soon, Abrel Greatling would be among them. Unlike the rest, however, she was like himCan exile from deaths embrace. Through her, he would tread the next steps of his self-comprehension. And if what he theorized was right, hers as well. Denton jolted back after the words first left him, the nectar of her mind teasing him like a ripe fruit beaded with scintillation. Oh, the secrets would glean if he took her into his consensus. [Couldnt access her mind before. Didnt have the proper components. Things are different now.] [Still not certain of effect. She could join with our thoughtstuff. Want to see if she burns. But wait. Maybe wait.] [Another chance later. See if a bargain can be struck. She is useful. Dont alienate. Still too beneficial.] [Will be delicious though.] [Yes. Delicious. New colors to see.] Somehow, Avo didnt think Walton intended for him to obtain new experiences this way. As he pushed himself up using his Echoheads, he left the hidden session he sequenced inside Abrel active within himself in anticipation of her resurrection. If the rules behind her death continued to apply, he would have no problem funneling himself across the Auto-Seances and taking her mind for his own. But her mental template would only be the first step. The true victory awaited in the discovery of what he could change thereafter. Avo, you good there, consang? He paused. Who had said thatCoh, Draus. The barrel of her projectile launcher was extended from under her wrist, and his Phys-Sim had it lined straight at his head. She hadnt shot him. Drawing in the emanations of thoughstuff leaking free from her accretion, his subminds constructed a vague simulation of the dilemma she felt. Thanks, he said, living out her internal conflict in real-time. Thanks for not shooting me. Yeah, she replied, not yet lowering her gun. Dont mention it. Would''ve done it if you hung around inside a couple seconds longer. [Jelen Draus. Always reliable.] [Estimating simulated responses.] [Still could just burn her mind into ours.] [Again. Will lose her trust. Control our hunger.] [Control.] [Master.] [Grow her trust.] [Yes. Simulating new cognitive pathways. Installing adaptive thought patterns to improve socialization.] ADAPTING MIND-TEMPLATES [TALON-1]; [TALON-17]; [TALON-11] INTO COGNITIVE STRUCTURE The transformation of his mind was as obvious as it was uncanny. From atop his crown did his Metamind burn, rising towers fire spilling free and constant from the bend of his halo. The phantasmal brightness he projected cast all the others beneath the presence of a dancing shadow, and they regarded him with rigid stances and unblinking gazes. He changed. In such a short time, he changed again. They didnt understand. He himself didnt understand. They were afraid. It was wise and reasonable to fear the unknown in this city. But this time, things would be different. New sequences grew and connected like the roots of a tree spreading wide beneath the softness of soil. At his foundation, he remained himself, but there was more to him now. Additional layers of emotion and genuine empathy burrowed into him, and a soft hiss of pain escaped from his lungs as his base nature sparked a flicker of trauma when the pure human designs settled into him. Avo? Draus said again, her tone worryingly thin. Im fine, he said. The newer, more human parts of his mind werent in that instant, but his subminds attuned his structure and dissolved the conflicting aspects of his nature. He looked upon Draus again and noted the worry in her brow, noted how Chambers had taken to standing in front of Kae, and how the Agnos was peeking out from behind him, eyes wide, her mind unsure what to feel. I he said, beginning with Draus. There was so much he could say. So much he wanted to say now that he understood more. Now that he grafted humanistic feedback into his meta-neurology. [Be honest with her.] [Yes. Tell her what you wanted to do. We know she likes honesty.] [Honesty will gain her trust. She respects it. Will make both of us seem more real to each other.] [Connect.] [Yes. Connect.] It was so hard for me not to burn your mind away, Avo admitted. Draus expression didnt change, but Dentons eyebrow twitched as she slowly backed away. Sunrise, possessed of more foresight or self-preservation than everyone else in the room, was currently plastered around the doorframe leading downstairs next to Cas, who held his sting-corded arm out to the side as if preparing to draw a pistol. [Maybe too honest.] [Can still try again after she shoots and kills us. Not a big deal.] [Could liquefy bullets. Fight her.] [Yes. Also option.] Avo ignored the inner vocalization of his doubts. I burned some of the Incubi I encountered. I have their proxy templates in my mind. I know what they know. I can think as they think. Theyre showing me new things now. New understanding. He paused. Wanted to understand you. Become you. All of you. Fought. I fought myself. Chambers frowning mien inched over Draus shoulder. Yeah, about that consang did did you stop yourself fighting for me, or is there a reason why Im not running my tongue along the insides of someones eye-holes because I remember you burning me pretty quick. It didnt even take much from his new template to guide Avo toward a more diplomatic response. Fought harder for some than others. Knew you were strong enough to withstand. Survive. Guessed it couldve nulled you. But you have endured worse. Have remained yourself despite everything. Never had a reason to doubt you, Chambers. The annoyed glare on his face cracked as Chambers swallowed and looked away. The words took him by surprise, and the effect was immediate. His thoughtstuff reeled with discord, and his mind shrunk inward in retreat, unsure of how to process this sudden gift of offered praise. [He was easy. We have been inside his mind for a long time.] [Yes. Wants to matter. Wants to be part of something that wont leave him behind. So he tries to fit roles in groups or communities. Especially wants to matter to someone more than him. He wants love and kindness from authority figures. A cut etched into place by his father. We can give it to him. We can bind him to us even without Necrothurgy.] Poor wounded Chambers. Avo paused. That thought was so very unlike him. Such a thing rested strangely upon the backdrop of suppressed violence and cruelty that flowed at the foundations of his being. Something happened to me when I confronted the Low Masters, he said, turning back to Draus. They used something on me. I tried to burn myself away using some of the fire I took from Kaes mind. The effects joined. Merged with me. I changed. I am more now. Different. More, Draus said. She lowered her launcher. So youre in the flame, or what? I am the flame. I am all that which burns. All it touches. I have over twenty thousand ghosts inside. Entire sections of the lobby remembered. I know everything that the Incubi I devoured know. I am more. And I will be even more soon. The Regular stared at him blankly for a passing moment, and her face cracked into a chuckle of disbelief. Youre a never-endin ball of fuckin surprises, you know that rotlick? This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Would you prefer it if I was any other way? he asked. She didnt offer a direct response to the question. Just keep your fire away from me right now. I dont want to catch ghoul from you. [Maybe laugh at her remark.] [Can manifest a higher level of humor.] [No. Wait. Simulations show she will be unnerved instead.] [Just grunt?] [Yes. Grunt.] Avo grunted. Fires might offer something useful for you as well. Turning to regard the others in the room, he awkwardly patted Denton on the shoulder. You told Draus not to shoot me? Yes, the glaive said, still staring at Avo with an unreadable expression. I would like to go over your changes in detail later. If you would allow. Ever inquisitive. Ever searching for another angle, another thing to learn. Later, Avo said. I have one last mind I wish to dive into. One more I want to see changed. Who? Denton asked. Abrel Greatling, Avo replied. I have part of her mind. She will come back soon. Very soon. Want to see if I can become her. And then I want to see if two minds that are the same can stack. Stack? Denton asked. She didnt understand, and the idea only existed as a concept with him as well. Soon, he would be able to see how it worked in practice. Patting the Glaive on the shoulder gently with one of his Echoheads, the woman went stiff and seemed to stare through him as he passed her. Making his way over to Kae, the Agnos flinched at his approach, and he heard her heartbeat quicken and her pupils dilate as her gaze drifted upward to face his blazing cognition. From her mind leaked stomach-coiling stress and flinching trauma, but also a deep and aching root of jealousy. [It broke her. Ruined her life.] [Now we wear it as another mantle of power.] [Walton destroyed her. And empowered us.] [We are a symbol of her pain manifest as anothers glory.] [Through no fault of her own.] [We cant give her peace.] [We give her a promise] [Make her loss mean something.] [Grant her chance at revenge. Fix the Rash as she wanted. Take back all the knowledge stolen from her.] [She wont be whole. But she will have a path. She needs a new path.] Kae took a step past Chambers and stared up at him, the lines on her face deepening with exasperated exhaustion. How does it feel? For you, I mean. I Her voice cracked as she let out a strangled laugh. I can still remember how it felt for me. Does it burn? Is it hard to think? No, Avo said. There are more voices here. More of me. More of everything. Easier to think than before. Can make myself understand by growing other minds from my own. She breathed out. You are the fire? I am the fire. I am what the Low Masters left inside me. And I am more still. She nodded. Youre father mustve truly loved you. Yes, Avo said. And you should hate him. Her face twisted in a sneer, I dont need your validation for my feelings. I cant make things better, Kae, he said, cutting her off before her anger could be roused in full. You lost. Lost so much for no reasonC She clenched her teeth. Stop [Keep going.] [It will hurt. It must. But she will survive.] [Lead her toward new path. Use her pain if need be.] --Lover. Research. Future. Life. Security. All never coming back. A tear of anguish spilled out from her left eye as she jabbed a finger into his chest. You fucking Hey, Avo, Chambers said, eyes whipping between the two. He could hear Draus approaching. --But we can still make this mean something. I can get you all the minds of those who hurt you. And the elder. And we can fix the Rash. And we can take back your research. Stop the Guilds from making a bigger mess using your research. Steal back the Heaven of Love from them. Her chin began to quiver in the same instant he felt Draus fingers clamp down on his shoulders like a titanium vice. Old instincts clashed with new as all of him that was ghoul screamed for him to turn on the Regular and tear her apart for laying hands on him. His greater self, however, knew she was coming, and simply clamped his claws over her grip. Trust me, he said, angling his face so he could only see Draus from the corner of his eye. Please. She glared at him, but surprisingly little anger burned behind her eyes. Youre hurting her. I know. Dont have a better way. He turned back to the Agnos. If what I do with Abrel Greatling works. If the twinned alteration of our conjoined minds takes effect I think I can take your pain away. Will you want that? At the mention of pain being taken away, he heard Essus sit up from across the room. Avo considered the man another candidate for this experiment, but the former father had already suffered too much. There was little sense in breaking him when one more deserved could pay the price of any failures instead. I dont want to forget anything, Kae said. I told you that. You wont. For a moment, he considered reaching and engaging in tactile contact with her as a sign of physical support. But he didnt. So much choice had been deprived of the Agnos. She should get a little back. My father took from you. Ori-Thaum took from you. Even Highflame took from you. Used your research for something you didnt intend. I am not them. I am the culmination of all your work and more. And I want to grant you what you want. And more. [Abrel Greatling just resurrected.] [Can feel her mind on the other side. She is frightened. Confused. Disoriented.] [Should consume her mind before she composes herself.] He funneled his reaching flames through his Auto-Seance and into her mind just as she resulted. She came ablaze from within, the entirety of her mind burning away into his as her template settled upon his growing inventory. Moreover, he felt her life swell inside himCpast battles and distant memories of Tierside schooling settled into him. The added weight of her experiences broadened his sense of self instead of exhausting him. More. Always more. Repeating what he did earlier, he overloaded her implants and left her dead and adrift in the void again. The act took less than a thought for himCnot even a deep dive as his subminds completed the minutiae on his behalf. He worried this would make him lazy. [Mental template: Abrel Greatling subsumed] [8021 ghosts with her as well. And three new phantasmics worth considering. Can remember her life. Can rememberC] [Later. Focus on Kae now. When she resurrects again we can do the next part.] He risked waiting a moment longer. Kae mattered more, and for the first time, he didnt just think such a thought, he felt it as well. What a gnawing ache apprehension brought. Youre not lying, are you? Kae said, finally. She swallowed as swiped at her face. Youre really going to try and and give me anything I want? After your father after everything? Yes, Avo said. And I wont try. It will happen. We will come to know what the color of justice is. At that, Kae laughed. People people destroyed my life. Took my work. And now a monster is going to try and kiss it all better. Her mind settled back into weariness as the anger slipped away from her. She shook her head. What is my life. Strange, he answered .But well face that together. He felt Draus loosen her grip on his shoulder, and he, in turn, released her hand. Thanks for not turning me to glass, he said. Yeah. Gotta admit: it was pretty hard for me not to for a second. He chuffed a low note of bemusement. Being human was ticklish sometimes. Im going to dive over again soon, he said. These words were offered to the entire room rather than just Kae or Draus. I just subsumed Abrel Greatlings mind. I feel her I can manifest her cognition now. He let her sequences cascade through his flames in an instant and the contents slammed down upon him like a ton of bricks. You broke her family in more ways than you know. These words were, however, meant for Draus alone. He looked into her shining irises, alight with the touch of technology. Broke them deep. The ghoul inside him seethed in admiration of the lingering torment that nested deep in the corners of Abrels psyche. Such a delicious wound. That thought accompanied a note of self-disgust and a spark of trauma as his mind rattled against himself. [Hm. Some problems of internal conflict are caused by executive thinking.] [The base mind is still too cruel. Has human structures but will need more stable connective sequences to bridge empathic constructs to our core self.] [How about a gradual increase of psychopathy? Acclimation as a buffer. Feel human initially and then let it settle. Could be like digestion?] Again, the shape of his mind shifted, and new stretches of cognition fused over the vulnerabilities of the old. I uh, Chambers snorted. Im not gonna lie: Im still pretty fucking confused as to whats going on? Like I like nice Avo. But he also freaks me outCbut I dont want you to go back! Youve been getting nicer! Nice is good! He whipped his arms around for suppose. We all like you nice! Right guys? There was a lot less agreeing and a lot more staring than he wanted. Godsdammit, you shits! Back me up! Everyone kept ignoring him. What are you trying to do with her? Kae asked suddenly. Abrel, I mean. What is it that youre planning on doing with her now that you have her mind? Are you are you trying to transfer yourself across bodies? Sheathes? [No. But thats another experiment: Will we resurrect in her body if we move all of our cognition into her?] [Questionable? Test at the end. Use Chambers as anchor on this end.] Chambers, Avo said. Im going to need to burn you again later. Eat all of your mind. You see! Chambers accused. This is the shit that happens when no one backs me up. Youre the only one that can take it, Avo lied. Youre the only choice. Immediately, Chambers puffed out his chest and his disappointment swelled into pride. Never say Aedon Chambers didnt give his heart and soul for his consangs. Cas sighed under his breath. Jaus. The ghouls gonna make this fucking half-strand unbearable in record time with all this ass-kissing. Im going to shift my mind to be almost exactly like Abrels, Avo said. Going to see if that still destroys her cognition, or if we will stack over each other. And then what will you do? Kae asked. Then I see if I can change her. Avo reconsidered his words. Change us. [Abrels alive again.] [Shift sequences on base-mind. Ready to dive.] Draus, Avo said. Shoot me if the fires empty from my mind and I drop mind-dead. Going to try Kaes idea at the end. My idea? Kae asked. Diving now, Avo said. Will share new understandings when I return. New options. Chambers leaned close to Draus. Reg. Im still fuckin lost. Some flamin nova-hot Necro-shit. And with a thought, Avo shifted his mind and felt his sense of self reknitting anew. The empathy in him coiled and changed, deadening toward certain concepts and people while kindling hotter for others. Toward Draus, he felt an incomprehensible hatred, while in Kae he found himself directing a conditioned respect. Arrogance, confidence, rage, and withheld sorrow intertwined at the core of her being as he felt the edges of her cognitive architecture spread out into shape. Besides a single pinprick of awareness at his core, all else belonged to Abrel Greatling, the flames now weeping from pathways entirely aligned to what he drank away from her when last she lived. Manifesting an Auto-Seance, he injected this section of himself through the session, and across the vastness of void, his mind ascended upward to bury itself into Abrel, symmetry achieved in sequence, thoughtstuff, phantasmics, and all. 13-22 Become (III) You want to know why they call it a Metamind? Its not because its metaphysicalCthough it is also that. The main reason is that its self-referential. Its a non-material cognitive construct of your mind burned into an overreality above our own. Dont really know how the Agnosi do it, but thats never stopped your typical gutter-jacks from trying. Now, I wont lie: They found some success burning heavily modified secondhand Metas into new minds after tearing them free from their hosts, but theres always something with that. Psychosis. Memory rejection. Cognitive bleedover. Lots of shit to worry about. I asked White Rab about this once, about why we cant just switch our Metaminds around if we take out all the memories or just replace another half-strands sequences with our own. He gave me one hell of a spiel, but the long and short of it is that ego is more than memory. Ego is all the little impulses in between; the curvature of your accretion and how your thoughtstuff accommodates different emotions; all the little scars and grooves in your thinking that make you you, I guess. He told me about someone who tried stacking a Meta on top of their Meta before. Supposedly, this nova NecroCcalled herself ReignhostCmanaged to subvert an Agnosi and get a glimpse at the secrets behind it all. After that, instead of going dark, she got it in her head that she was going undercut the Guilds and powers, sell her own street-made Metas on the cheap. And being the sneaky shit that she was, she wanted to leave a little piece of herself in every Meta so she could track and peek at all her loyal customers. White Rab told me what happened after. About how a Meta is already occupying a specific section of space above us. That there really isnt actually any more room onto to burn. She tried again. She tried, and by the time the Exorcists got to her, her memories were all caked into each other. Like everything flattened into everything at the same time. White Rab sent me a vicarity he managed to snatch after that. I decided to take a dive. You know whats it like facing a mangled parody of yourself? Where you cant tell where your first memories begin and the last one ends? Yeah. I was in her mind and I still cant fully process that ruin. The point is, consang, dont think youre that fucking smartCYoure not the first person to try stacking another layer atop the Nether. Its just going to end messy. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 13-22 Become (III) Abrel Greatlings mind crumbled like a collapsing sandcastle the instant he attempted the overlap. Everything felt fine during the initial insertion. He matched the currents of her thoughtstuff and the pathways of her memories. A duality of phantasmics and other constructs clicked into place over each other like magnetic knots of opposite polarity, those shaped by burning ghosts folding over and igniting their stable counterparts. The progress of their synchronicity began gradually and then accelerated exponentially. Failure came quicker. In one moment he was spreading over her like a plague, he could feel their minds joining, her ego diluting into his. But then, with but a thought, their vectors turned oppositional, and he felt her mind die upon his, dissolving like ash peeling free from a moving tide. Still, setbacks werent unexpected, and again he turned her enhanced biology against her and reset the slate. She was his chance to learn the limitations and functionality of his new cognitionCa reusable canvas toward advanced education. It took his subminds repeatedly replaying Abrels cognitive collapse and the use of his Haemokinesis before he identified the issue. The good: his theory was sound. Gradually letting his fire light her cognition while channeling her template caused a progressive ghost by ghost recreation that seemed to keep her ego intact even as she was technically subsumed by him. In practice, however, it was more melding than conversion. Where things went wrong was with his base-mind. Even with his self-awareness reduced to its minimalist extent, it was still as if a pickaxe struck the core of her cognition and cracked her mind at its foundation. He simulated another few attempts in his own mind as he waited for her resurrection. The results of piloting one cognition using another still inflicted far too much dissonance. That was what became clear to him. A secondary aspect of awareness buried deep within another still resulted in mind-shredding torsion for the ego that was worn. She couldnt serve him as a mask. Even with the alternation of his cognitive structure, his base-mind cast something of a shadow in the Nether, and its weight could not be denied. There needed to be a distance between the epicenters of their selves. A good thing he could shift his cognitive structure at leisure now. And that he had ever so many ghosts to spare. As if an egg drawing the heart of its yolk away from the center and out the wayside, he reshaped himself in anticipation of his second attempt at entwining Abrel Greatling with his own mind. She couldnt survive the entirety of his ego wearing her as if a coat. Perhaps it would suit both of them better if he molded himself to her specifications like a hand filling a glove. *** RESURRECTION - 100% For the third time in rapid succession, Abrel plunged back into the cold embrace of existence, mind wailing as it congealed together with a psychosomatic ache. She couldnt quite remember what had killed her the last few times, but it came suddenly and in a nigh-instant. If she were to die again, she would resurrect using her domain instead. As things were now, she blinked and tried to shake off the roiling chaos that flooded through her mind with her return. The Warrens. Jhreds retrieval and death. The cessation of her cadre. The creature that had torn into herCthat managed to tear past her subreality and fill her Frame with its Rend. The entire weight of the last day struck her at once, and she felt her wards creak against the overwhelming stress and agony boiling her from the inside. So much death Zenna. Alphim. Melt. They were all hers. Jhred too. Her brother Butchered right in front of her. Like meat being pulled apart. Dead in the gutters, like some common FATELESS; Greatling blood mingling with the flat-bloods in the bowels of the city. She should have just kicked his ass and pulled him out immediately. If she did that If she just did as her father ordered A gasping sob of despair escaped from her throat as her insides coiled with aching agony. Sorrow clawed its way up her throat, its lumps growing larger and heavier with each passing second. She fought it. She fought the hurt. She fought the hurt the same way she did after her mother shamed their house. She fought it because she was Abrel Greatling, and in her heart of hearts, her nature demanded that she was the one to attack. Drawing in a deep breath through her nose, she tried not to think about how Zenna smiled at her from the ground when last they sparred, and kept Alphim and Melt as vague figurines in the background of her thoughts. No such fortune with Jhred. His death stained every corner of her mind. She could see him coming apart even with her eyes closed, how the impossible wind kneaded his sinews open from within before wringing him tight in cords of knotting viscera.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. A single moment in the horror lingered in the deep waters of her mind the most. She remembered the glint of his bones most of allChow his skeleton shone as it was denuded from his suppler flesh. In a heartbeat, he was stripped clean. Cast into the air and winds, blood misting upon the eldritch gales of his killer. His killer. Her sorrow ignited as the face of his killer grew from the distributed soil of her memories. That creaturewhatever the fuck it wasChad a Frame. That meant that meant it could think. And if it could think, she was probably dealing with a heavily modified Godclad rather than some bodyguard variant bioform. The paleness of its visage lurked like an absence in the periphery of her mind. She knew she had seen it before, but though she struggled to recollect the face of her foe, only a blankness came back to her. Good. It works. What? Her thoughts were She had intrusive thoughts before, but Not intrusive. Conjoined. Abrel blinked again. She was definitely thinking those thoughts. They came from her. She wanted to think them, but she didnt know why. It was likeC Someone else is inside you? Using you as an instrument? Abrel went stiff. A taste of pleasure lingered within those thoughts. Satisfaction raw and primal now joined her pain as accompanying sensations, and the intensity of these new and intruding emotions were things she never felt before. Something was wrong with her mind. Someone was inside her thoughts! A NecrojackC That would have been true before. But we arent so simple anymore. We? What was she thinking? Why was she thinking like this? A want momentarily manifested inside herCto draw upon the powers of her Heaven and incarnate the Strider. Break free from this capsule holding her, escape andC The want vanished. She was entirely fine with this. She wasC An etheric flicker caught her attention. From atop her brow, something moved like it was burning. Ah. Cant be hidden inside another mind either. All burns. How unfortunate. Going to need to think of a method to hide myself. She shook her head as her own thoughts settled back into her control. This didnt feel like ghosts casting anothers thoughtstuff into her. This originated purely from her, but also not. The conflict she felt was uncanny, and the absence of any trauma from such insanity was stranger. Almost like being spared any and all harm. Almost like she was being spared any and all harm. Abrel blinked. When her eyes opened this time, she was standing on a sparkling beach. Around her, palm trees enameled with crystal matter glistened beneath a phantasmal sun that shifted between various shapes. Presently, it occupied the form of a duck. Waves crashed gently over nearby shore, but a force stronger than compulsion compelled her to turn and seek the interior of the island. Walking beneath circling drones, she found herself jogging across gleaming sand to arrive before a gathering of three figures. Beneath two marble figurinesCa mother and a child frozen eternally in an instance of playCwas a pathetic figure, sobbing and whimpering, his voice broken but familiar. Jhred? Abrel whispered. She took two steps forward, confused and reaching out for her brother. Only a memory. Mine. The second voice came from behind her, its resonance deep and sibilant, its timbre curious and mocking. Twisting on her heel, she beheld the creature that murdered her brother standing just before her. The blankness that consumed her earlier finally had a picture to fill its empty canvas. It was taller than her by three feet, and from its back slithered appendages of serpent-like design. Embers and wisping fire whipped free from the air around it, while its body looked chiseled from some kind of ceramic-fungal structure. The way it moved in bursts and twitches showcased the fullness of its inhumanity, but the halo that glimmered around its crown betrayed its obvious sophoncy. Still, she couldnt figure out what this creature was. The complexity of the mycelia running between its bone-pale carapace looked to be something of Sang make. The creature let out a low hiss. Thick fungal petals clasping its face unfurled to reveal an inhumanly pale face sporting serried fangs that grinned and glinting black eyes that belied a cruel intellect. Hello, Abrel. She wanted to speakCbut suddenly she changed her mind. Something inside her caught flame, and she recalled new information from seemingly nowhere. He was called Avo. He was created as a ghoul, and she realized she could feel everything he was feeling somehow. Her misery was like nectar to his palate, but something inside him oozed with bitter sympathy as well. A faint tickle danced through her mind as psychosis never came. No mental damage came. She was just fine. Like her mind lost the ability to be broken. It was like no damage could settle inside her, or if she was floating within a sanctuary against any and all traumas. Thats because were different now. Can mend. Can adapt in an instant. We? Abrel asked. And she knew he allowed the question because he could just make her remember, and she would. We, Avo continued. Your mind is functionally mine as well. Burned away again. Burned into each other. I converted you. Piece by piece. You didnt notice. I let the patterns of your mind remain anchored to your body. I think I am beginning to understand the separation between ghosts and thaums. Concept of a self-aware mind is different than the concept of a proper kill. A proper sacrifice. Its like symbology. What? Abrel asked. He didnt offer gnosis this time. What she knew was clear to him, but there were clouds of absence where he allowed her awareness to peer. Avo didnt reply using words. Instead, a coruscating flame plumed out from him and drowned her in a sudden influx of new knowings. Modified injections of information were branded into Abrels comprehension. Understanding came to her immediately, and as the flames faded, so too did his grip on her thoughts. Horror filled her mind as he chuffed low notes of amusement at her pawing at the sand, strands of spit spilling free from her open mouth while she heaved. Threads of incandescent ran needled through her and back into him, feeding him a direct drip of all that she chose to suffer. She could feel his control stillChis will holding both their minds together, accommodating her bout of psychological torment within reason. Her mind was his now. It was as he claimedCthey were the same thing, really. All that she was on her own had been consumed by his slavering fires. Now he was supporting the totality of her cognitive architecture using his radiance, while heCthe star itselfCglared down at her through the crevices of her memories. His mastery of her mind was beyond absolute. Beyond beyond her words to describe. Yes, he agreed. It is a thrill. I have been experimenting with empathy. Stitching new sinews in my mind. But I think you can do the same thing. I think you can understand me as well. Again, his flames touched her, and with it came the curse of euphoria. At this moment, what he was inflicting upon her shone like an ineffable triumph within his own heart as well. This was a step into what he wantedCand possibly beyond. So far, she remained sane and tethered to his mind, governed by his allowances. Yet, it seemed no different than her deciding to think as such. She agreed because he did. She accepted because he did. She felt within her parameters because they were granted to her, but never beyond those bounds. They were, in a concept, of a singular choice. His. Its still enslavement, he admitted. Pointless to lie to ourselves. Even if I tune your mind to perfect agreement. You would have never accepted this in the past. You would have fought. Im talking to clay right now. You arent who you were anymore. Not in knowing. And slowly not in behavior either. Why are you telling me this? she choked out. Why why do you let me even think? To be aware? What are you, so bored with yourself that you need to fucking torture me for amusement? He laughed. She laughed. See, Avo said. I would have never said that. So uniquely you. Abrel. Attack. Always someone else to blame. To fight. Yeah, so let me go, Abrel said, surprised she could even demand such a thing. Emboldened, she continued. Let me go and well The want was lost to her again. We can settle this properly? he asked. Thats what you wanted to say. Violence. It appeals. I understand. Wont lie: Some of me is very tempted to hurt you again. To take you to the point where you shatter. But the others His flames brought new revelations each time, and this was no different. The burning rapture that tore through her seeded her with insight into his self-inflicted torment. He felt horrible for her. Sick, even. Sick at what he was doing. But deeper inward did madness await, for where the outer scope of his mind pitied her, the inner rung found her suffering exquisite. She faced a being made out of perfectly stable conundrums, capable of maintaining warring emotions without any actual conflict as if the facets prevented any internecine. Avo let out a satisfied breath and looked up at the false sun. Doesnt matter. The most important aspect works. You work. Will still need to see if I can do a few other things. But foundations are good. What foundations? Overlapping, Avo said. Melding into the mind without collapsing it. Like bleeding into each other. Let me change you. Change other Godclads perhaps. She wanted to laugh. When I dieC You will return as what you think is your most optimal state of being, he answered. Im going to see how many of my changes remain with you after the next death. Changes? she asked. Yes, he said. Just as I am becoming more like all of you, you can be more like me. Think like me. Want like me. And as an insult, he granted her room to feel disgusted. Its choice above all other choice, he said. Its a terrible thing. But I have to do it. I have to see it. If I can. If it can be done. I want to see who we can become. 13-23 Infection [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: At 4:54 in the morning today, an unknown party launched a Nether-based attack on Exorcist lobby designation Oversec-C1. So far, we are compiling and verifying all memories from the attack to generate a proper simulation of events. Presently, the Ad-Necs have been repelled thanks to the efforts our active personnel, though the extent of damage and casualties remains delayed due to the destabilization experienced by the lobby and necessary deep-memory mem-data examinations. I open the session to additional questions. As always, standard rules apply. No slurs. No trauma-patterns. No dumping of simulated nudes or other titillating content generated using the likeness of rivals from competing outfits in an attempt to trigger the rash in them. [SESSION RESTRICTIONS REDUCED] [Yue Lie-Dawn - False Tone]: Lie-Dawn. Black. Speaker for the False Tone. When will the Exorcists be issuing a formal declaration of censure against Ori-Thaum for their egregious actions today? [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: Thank you for the question, Ms. Lie Dawn. We, however, cannot confirm nor deny Ori-Thaums involvement in the attack. We encourage members of the public influence and other propagandistic outfits to promote your theories responsibly. [Yue Lie-Dawn - False Tone]: Understandable. It is wise to be restrained, but when there is a fire in the Nether, one should not be so cautious as to pretend they are not being castrated by obvious foes. Such an action is only befitting of a Scaarthian. [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: Okay, yeah, toneCtone down the factionalism. [Yue Lie-Dawn - False Tone]: The False-Tone speaks only the truth. [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: Right. Thank you. Next. [Nune Vetona - The Enduring]: Nune Vetona. Green. Proparazzi of The Enduring. Ahem. I just want to say thatCYOU TELL THAT SUBSTANCE THAT FLOWS FROM THAT SANG-SOWS CUNT IS SHIT! YOU HEAR ME, LIE-DAWN? IM GONNA CUT OFF YOUR DOGS FACE AND WIDEN YOUR DAUGHTERS ASSHOLES WITH MY BAREHAC [THE ENDURING HAS BEEN CENSORED FOR THIS SESSION] [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: Next. [Abdulmanap Sahandrapar - Bravely Burning]: Abdulmanap Sahandrapar. Blue. Bravely Burning. I have a question for you especially, Exorcist Kelkanan. Its very important. [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: Me? I, uh alright, lets hear it. [Abdulmanap Sahandrapar - Bravely Burning]: Whyd you lick it? [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: Lick it? Lick what? [WARNING! RESEQUENCING DETECTED] [Abdulmanap Sahandrapar - Bravely Burning]: Lick my nu-dogs balls! Nice technique, Exorcist! [UPLOADING MEMORIESC] [SESSION ENDED] [LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED] [Exorcist Vero Kelkanan]: GodsdammitCfuck, shit, halt the session! Halt it! Good. Fuck me, not again! CleanCclean the fucking sequences! And tag that half-strands FATE-Skein. Godsdamned rash-trolls AND WHICH ONE OF YOU SICK FUCKS GOT OFF ON THAT? -Official Exorcist Press Session Regarding the Incident at Oversec-C1 13-23 Infection If there was a final thought in Abrels mind that truly counted as her own, it was that she tried to fight it. With what little of her there was, she tried. She really did. In the end, it didnt matter. Her struggle was less than a flea fighting the forces of a hurricane. She could no more resist the fire than a wick could choose not to burn when kissed by an open flame. She was of one way, and then she was another. The alternations spread through her mind like viruses streaming through the cells in her body, the constellation of her memory sequences twisting even in the subtlest capacities. As the infection fused with her mind, certain desires felt beyond her, while new wants rooted themselves in place like an anchor descending into the deepest waters of her ego. No longer could she fathom hatred for Avo. They were the same, after all, smelted by the dreaming blaze from hateful heterogeneity into an aligned alloy. She understood him, and all his wants, and from her did he glean new insights into the Guild she once served and the ethics that ruled her FATED heart. As the conflagration settled around them, the illusion of Jhreds island sanctuary returned. She found her brother as presented from the perspective of the ghoulCa soft pitiful being, one that should never have born the crown of divinity upon his weak brow. I still love him, you know? Abrel said, measuring her brother with soft words of sadness. To her silent surprise, she found her emotions related to her brother unchanged by her recreator. From what agency he left coded into her cognition, she expected him to fashion her into a dagger poised at the heart of all that she cared for. Such was not the case. It became obvious that though she carried a strain of Avo within her mind, she was but a carrier and not the plaguemaker himself. His manipulation was more clandestine than anticipated. Can I ask you a question? she said, testing the boundaries of what vectors of emotions remained available to her and what thoughts she assumed could truly be enacted as action. I can weave the understanding into you, he said. His body within the simulated memory was gone, but his shadow now occupied the place of her own. When her next thoughts came, her surprise continued to grow. Id prefer it if you spoke to me. I like doing things face to face. Because it made it easier to start a fight if the opposing party offended her. Not that she desired to fight Avo. That want was lost to her now. Lost alongside a thousand smaller facets of her being. Fine, he said, and with the utterance of his words, something shifted beneath her. Staring down at the sand at her feet, she saw him elongate far past parted palm trees, slinking further past the shores and disappearing below brushing waves like the leviathan he was. Fear of him was gone. There was only absolute acceptance when it came to how she beheld him, the sensations as if she was regarding herself. As far as her subconsciousness was concerned, there was no true difference between them at their foundation. She was an aspect of his ego, and he was the source of her design. The limb could no more hate the brain than leaves could despise the winds that carried them. A sharp and braying triumvirate of voices corrected her of that notion. A terrible metaphor, master. I assure you: the winds remember. Her confusion lasted but a singular moment before the necessary details were threaded over. With their minds bound, she too could hear the thundering dialogues cast forth by the awakened gods dwelling within him. Immediately, a strange desire for kinship was kindled within her. How similar were they to her, serving as the extension of another, even being allowed the same neutered consciousnesses she was. What a strange new conundrum the ghoul expressed. A part of himCa desire known to all imbued with the privilege of a FrameCfelt entitled to take the world into him, to usurp the design that was, to cage all within their being and enchain existence to the rule of a conceptual suzerainty.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. But somewhere in that miasma of selfish cruelty and power-hunger was a nobler want to offer agency to another. Abrel scoffed in genuine disbelief. Youre a real quandary, you know that, rotlick. A slur to her recreator? Allowed? Her gut coiled as if she was insulting herself, but allowance of such a transgression was freeing. This half-way enslavement mental-castration thing is a real special mood, Im not gonna lie. Feels weird not wanting to kill you for murdering my brother and my cadre. Want you to be free, he replied. Free. Not against me. As close to you as possible. As close to me without perverting you. Have a specific use for you in mind. You want me to be your patient zero within the halls of Highflame, am I right? She knew she was, but it was strange not to ask. Yes, Avo said. Good Instrument. Can promise you ascension. Power. Also dont know if my Imitators have spread into your Frame. Want to check there too. Well, arent you a ghoul of a million desires, she said, dryly. She had to admit, even if she werent so subverted to his whims, there was a part of this that would have appealed to the original Abrel Greatling as she was. It was probably the cloak-and-dagger stuff. Doing those operations was the entire reason why she loved being an Instrument and loathed the idea of ever becoming an Authority like her father wanted. Her father. Now there was someone the ghoul probably wanted to draw into his burning gestalt as well. Hes going to despise you, you know that, right? She didnt even need to state her father by reference or name for the ghoul to understand. There was nothing she could think or know that was beyond his notice. She was like that nu-monkey in those old Sang myths. The one that danced upon the palm of the thousand-armed goddess of peace. Only for a while, he said. She watched as his Echoheads reached out wide, pointing outward in eight directions in a gesture of uncomprehended significance on her end. Uthred Greatling. Married your mother to be part of your great house. Not Greatling by inherited bloodline. You still care for him. Think hes a good man trying to do the right thing. Were always closer to him than with your mother. He wasnt the kindest, calmest, strongest, wisest, or even smartest father one could ask for. The admission came easy from Abrel now, and the lightness in her swelled. Before, such words would be accompanied by a steaming bitterness building inside her gut, paired with past insults inflicted upon her during less fortunate times for her blood relation to her mother. Now, it was like a cushioning layer of protection was wedged between her inner self and the weight of her past torments. Why do you still feel so highly for him if all that is true? Avo asked. Because he stayed, Abrel admitted honestly. Because for all his faults, he didnt leave us. He could have. He could have thrown us to a cousin or a relative or something like that and married again. Hes still a hero of the Third Guild War. There merit enough left in that prestige for another marriage. Even though he started as a flatblood? And now the ghoul was pressing down on her discomfort. The tension of her broken descent was one that still bothered her when light was scarcest at night. Perhaps Avo wanted to see how she would respond if a potential trauma point was brushed. Or if he had winnowed too much of her original emotions out from her system. You know, with the outlawing of the Seraphic faith, Highflames ethics should have turned from blood to mettle.Blessed be the worthy, and all that hopeful, spiritual shit. Abrel snorted. Never believed? She giggled. Oh, I believed plenty. Still do even after whatever it is you just did to me. Its just that plenty isnt entirely, and thats the same case for all the other great houses too. Reason why we Chivalrics stick together so much is that were so cross-bred to keep our high-bloodedness from the other flat-bastards we had to share a Guild with. You know the Chivalric lines were modified in our pre-history as well, right? Some of the Meritocrats basically confirmed it with their voider contactsCthe high-bloods of the Kosgan great houses were made that way by gene modification. And the ones who lacked that. Flats. Yep, Abrel said. Course, if you ask the voiders they have other terms for them. Ludds, if you want to get spicy. Baseliners, if you want to be kind. The ghoul knew all this, but he continued to humor her and observe her through the chasm of their shared memories. Frankly, in the simmering phlogiston comprised both their minds, she really should be thinking of everything as we. She was just a cell within a cell now, after all. As much her or him as he willed it. And the best part was she was absolutely fine with all of it. Good, he said after a moment of silence. Still seem like yourself. Enough like yourself anyway. Should be able to pass any scrying afterward with minimal suspicions. Can make further adaptions based on future. Need to make the final tests now. See if my changes carry over after resurrection. Any reason why they shouldnt? she asked, teasing him as much as she could using her limited allotment of autonomy. You afraid I might revert back to my snarling, screaming, rageful self you met before? No. Still have access to your mind. Can cripple you with a thought in the worst case. You know, I would have had you the first time if you didnt batter me with your wards. He released his feral bemusement through the vicarious link they shared, and she felt the ever-tugging urge of violence that swam beneath the rivers of his every thought. Youre a bit like Draus. He chuckled lowly. Shes going to hate it when I tell her that. Draus? Abrel said. Well, there was another thing the greater fire was hiding from her. Still, she knew the name but not the context in which he referred to her. She was the bio-rigged street squire? Jelene Draus? The past has a long shadow, the ghoul said, its tone wry with sarcasm as its Echoheads mimed the vagueness of a bow. Abrel cringed. Yeah, listen, while youre still connected to me, maybe take some of my taste in humor? This is just I dont know if I can accept that as a standard. Will take your suggestion into consideration. All around her the fabric of the memory began to untangle into threads of flowing flame. Burning ghosts were surging free on the torrent of an unseen will, with more of the burning presence rushing in. The beginning of a painful ache began to build at the center of her mind. It like was another presence was grinding into hers, slowly pressing its way through and mangling the wholeness of her cognition. Whats. Happening now? She asked. Going to move the entirety of my mind out of my vessel, he said. Self-moving now. Want to see what happens when I settle into your body and kill it. See if you maintain my changes even without the Conflagration after resurrection. See where I come back after resurrection as well. You? Scheduled to have someone shoot me. Well, good on you for thinking ahead. So wont lie, you squeezing in heres giving me a splitting migraine. Wont be much of you left much longer. Sorry. Simulation works. Two egos in direct proximity cant. Presences clash. I dont break. You do. Yeah, yeah, rub it in half-strand, she hissed. The last flickers of the island dissolved. She turned to catch a glimpse of her brother one final time before he went as well. Bye, Jhred Bye. Will see him again if you want. Can give that to you. She could feel the ponderousness of his mind crashing down against herself. Parts of her perception dissolved as a fugue began to settle in. +Sure yeah. Thatd be nice Just one last+ Her ego shattered. The thoughts slipped from her. Abrel Greatling dissolved in the currents of Avos gestalt. *** Avo drew the last of his trailing ghosts through the session just as Draus shot his vacant body in the head. He only realized that happened due to the memories carried over by his subminds as he nested himself within Abrels body. The oddities of her biomechanics didnt last as he loaded in Abrels mind template to interface with the meat. He also didnt intend to stay for long. He just needed to confirm his ability to anchor himself in place with another vessel before triggering their mutual death to see what followed. If honesty were to prevail, he had multiple concerns burning inside him, but as he could still hear the Woundshaper admonishing the Galeslither for its sullen disrespect, he at least knew his Frame was still with him, though he wasnt certain how it functioned for him without a body. Perhaps that had to do with his altered noology as well. If he was a traveling mind, and if his theory behind Essence being derived from the sacrifice or murder of the functional vehicle of a thinking being, then perhaps he could only be considered death by the cessation of his thoughts. Something to be explored shortly. Pouring himself to suit the shape of Abrels body, he found her eyes to be sharper than his by far, her movements crisper and responsive, with each of her nerves fine-tuned to mind-shuddering levels of sensitivity. It felt like he just crawled out from a rusted war-drone into a sgolem on the cutting edge. Regardless of what happened, there was nothing that taught you inferiority than walking in the flesh of your better. He would need to make further improvements to his original sheathe after this. Taking a moment to check for any issues, he reached out and lifted her hand to draw upon his Heavens But they werent the only ones that answered. VOLUME 3 THE BURNING DREAM ACT II A PLAGUE OF FIRE 14-1 Dichotomy Aegis, The situation has changed. Asset Stillborn has changed. As of present, he is in the wind, but I expect his return in the near future. I have reason to believe that he has somehow integrated the Eaters into his cognition and altered his metaphysical structure on a level previously unanticipatedCeven by Thousandhand. Despite the escalation of threat he poses to the polities we serve, I strongly advise against any option under the branches of liquidation or containment. Pragmatically, the success of such operations cannot be ensured with the drastic expansion of his new capabilities; effectively, he remains our best tool for ending the Guild Crisis; personally, I find myself inclined to trust him. If you review the psychological profile generated based on his responses and choice vectors, you will see high levels of anti-communal-social behavior in terms of sadism and indifference to suffering. However, despite his predilections, he has also demonstrated a clear and logical strand of ethical behavior that can be observed and appealed to, i.e. his reluctance to assimilate us into his gestalt despite having the ability and likely desire to do so. With his malleable neurology, perhaps further growth into morality or justice can be engendered within him via the proper influence. Both Sunrise and I would like to stay in the field as members of his cohort and would like to request a formal meeting between the bearer of the Stillborn and the gathered Speakers for better mutual understanding. Additionally, I would like to appeal for access to category-zero utensils to enhance the cell''s performance in zero thaum environments. I have a feeling were going to need more built-in redundancies in the near future. -Denton-12 14-1 Dichotomy When Abrels Strider answered Avos call, it arrived like wind whistling free through a keyhole. Her Frame brushed against his as both were triggered upon the manifestation of his will, and he discovered that he hadnt so much consumed her Soul as his ego now served as a mixed analogy between a bridge and a skeleton key. After he shifted the structure of his mind in accordance with Abrels design, something metaphysical clicked as the interplay between a lockpick and a door. If a Frame was an implant specifically burned to fit the mold of a sophonts nous, then perhaps ones willCor EssenceCstood as the unshaped ingot from which the ego derived its substance, and from their union became the alloy of a complete being. To understand things more practically, her Frame wasnt inside him but rather slotted upon him via the nous he partially hijacked. From within the subrealities simulated by her Soul, he could sense the absence of awareness emanating from the epicenter of eldritch fire he was now connected to. [Strider looks intact. Falcons shifted where the Heaven is black. Blades of radiance forming wings. Ontologic worth 881 deaths per cycle. Different from our Frame though. Still. Solid. Just like Kae described. Cant tell if the Frames infected with our Imitators.] Unnerved by the quiet, he had one of his subminds simulate Abrels personality and converse with him to lessen the weirdness of the experience. [Psh, is there anywhere this rotlick cant go?] Submind-Abrel asked. Her bitter thoughts emanated without a hint of venom or rancor, so he assumed that the alterations he made to her mind persisted. No reason why it shouldnt have. His changes to her were fundamental; the revisions were deemed consensual post-hoc by her mind, and so he didnt envision there to be anything for her Frame to regard as traumatic or reversion-worthy. In fact, he regarded the changes he inflicted upon her as far more ideal than the tormented creature she was prior. [Yeah, yeah, pat yourself on the ass for removing all the misery that you caused.] The way her Soul seemed closer to a smooth orb filled with murky steam contrasted the nexus of rippling fire within him. Whats more, unlike the sphere which the Stillborn encapsulated, her Frame stretched upward more akin to a cone, allowing for plenty of vertical development, but not that much horizontal. [Wow. Rub it in more, why dont you. First, you kill a bunch of people I love, then you infect me with servitudeC] Compliance, Avo interrupted. [--the fucks the difference, ghoul?] [There is no difference,] another sub-mind said as the simulation froze. [The base mind wants to put layering between his actions and beliefs.] [Functionally stripped some choices from her.] [Shes an enemy. Tried to kill us.] [Still. Feels] Bad. It made him feel bad. Avo decided that he didnt like the sensation of guilt and promptly reduced the intensity of that particular emotion as he reknit sequences within Abrels template. [Glass jaw,] Abrel taunted. [So. You crawled into my body, attached yourself to my flesh, and didnt expect to activate my Frame too, huh? Howd you imagine that would go?] Dont know, he admitted. No one has ever done this before. Tried looking through your memories in the academy to get better grasp on any potential theories. Couldnt. Apparently, someone downloaded terrible romance vicarities in place of Theoretical Thaumaturgical Applications. Abrel huffed and her Soul sparked. [Those classes were useless and I stand by my actions.] [Frame analysis complete. Frame stable. Three Hells are at an average of 65% Rend. Last one for Reserve-Heaven Unit-3 is clean. Only has one cycler cleared for resurrection. Were very close to killing her before.] [Should have listened to Draus if we wanted her dead.] Avo had to be honest, having his subminds study and feed him details about external ontologics on the fly was far more efficient than digging through the Frames root-data manually. Abrel interrupted the brief lull that settled upon their conversation. [Hey, you know how the Agnosi got those False-Hevs in their eyes, right? Do you think this is how they technically work? Like a counterfeit ego-key of some kind?] She could have stopped talking the moment she mentioned the word Agnosi and he would have come to the same conclusion, but it was an interesting thought. It would be interesting to pair his practical experience with Kaes theory of knowledge. Or maybe he could just assimilate the mind of an Agnosi at some point. [Good idea.] [Better choice.] [Stimulating Kaes response: What? NoCabsolutely not! WhatCyouC] Avo forced his subminds to cease with a mental command before the guilt-bombing of his ego could intensify. Diverting his attention to more useful matters, he began examining Abrels Frame in detail, with the majority of his focus directed toward her Heavens. The three Heavens she had classified as [RES-RESERVE UNITS] were modifications derived from small, almost entirely unknown gods hidden behind restricted memories. Unit-1 was supposed to be from a god of campfires, Unit-2, the spirit of a particularly deep ditchCapparently people in the past would worship anything if it seemed unusual enoughCwhile Unit-3 was a mythical flower that provided minerals for a small community before they were all massacred by rampaging Scaarthians who were, amusingly, fighting in service of the Blood Goddess Sathwu. Ah, but I do love my huntresses, the Woundshaper purred. They have hewn many a rival before their height could rise to challenge my own. What joy, what joy!You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The Galeslither for its part regarded the other Heavens glumly, hopelessly yearning it could be as dormant as they. What fortunate corpses. They seem so quiet. Free from this noise. Then why do you add to it, mule? Why must you whimper and neigh when you yearn for this quiet, the Woundshaper mocked. [Wow,] Abrel snorted. [No wonder you like using that one so muchCshes even more of a half-strand than you are.] A glare was a hard thing to pull off when one was a disembodied shapeless mass of burning thoughts and the target was a featureless core of eldritch fire fused within the corpse of an unmoving god. The greatest of which his subminds just finished analyzing. Strider Upon the Highest Heaven of Light (Domains of Light, Darkness, War, and Falcons)(Light) Canon of Shinesmith (II)CCan create force-expressing constructs from all light within the range of the users awareness ://: HubrisCCannot be light that is expressed without an opposing shadow Canon of WaveshroudedCCan seal parts of being behind wavelengths of the light spectrum. Probably what she used to prevent us jacking her in Mirrorheads mind. Wont help anymore now ://: HubrisCThe user being frozen will trigger backlash and cause the process to fail. (Darkness) NightwalkCLets user emerge from any shadow cast made or touched by light emitted from their being. ://: HubrisCTriggers backlash if there isnt enough contrasting light to feed the transition SmokeshapeCLets user turn into flowing darkness and travel using a silhouette of the Strider. Same hubris as the last one. (Falcon) Courier of Thy FleshCCreate animated falcons capable of mending damage in matter from darkness. ://: HubrisCOnly ten tons of falcons maybe be created at once. (War) Blade of the Highest Hewing (III)--Grants user absolute control over any edged object they hold, allowing them to wield it with maximal efficiency, keep it from ever dulling, and splitting through any and all matter-based substances with it. ://: HubrisCHigh backlash will occur if one of the users blades strikes another. Heaven Review: Only 100 deaths were devoted to Domain of Darkness. Heavier emphasis on light and war at 632 thaums. Remainder are split between Falcons, which also serves as her Hells primary Domain. Hell (Falcon) Wings of Embrittling (IV)CEmbrittles, degenerates, distorts, dispels, and decays all physical matter, sounds, energy, and heat from the local area. Nothing is fully unmade, but everything is enfeebled from what it was before. ://: If any of the structures being embrittled by the user is destroyed utterly, a Daemon will form. Reserve-Heavens Unit-1; Unit-2; Unit-3 not worth going into detail. First is little more than a fusion burner and eats away friction with its connected Hell. Second is open fissure that causes rocks to vibrate. Drains away vibrations to balance. Third is a flower that can create diamonds and minerals. Liquefies all bones and enamel in three kilometers.] Avo was confused about the last Hell. [Think its because the ancients considered enamel and diamonds of the same substance. Something like that.] Inside the expanse of Abrels Soul, the Heaven continued to linger without word nor hint of sapience. If Kae thought his Frame was infectious, it might need more time to take effect. Channeling Abrels experience to circumvent his unfamiliarity of her abilities, he reached out to seize and control all sources of brightness emitted from various sources within the holding cell and, after a moments lag, he found himself enraptured to behold the Strider compelled to action as the eldritch flames enveloped a small percentage of its entire structure, allowing it to trespass into the real. All of a sudden, an additional sense fused into his mind and he found himself dragging motes of light out of place from holographic emitters and fashioning darts from them. [Strider Rend at 88%] [Partial expression of power. Mostly subtle.] [Why Godclads cant sense each other without full manifestation of Heavens. Fascinating.] Indeed. Even with his own Frame connected to his being, his Soul remained blissfully unaware of its counterpart despite the closeness of their physical proximities. Again, memories from Abrel fed his ignorance. Thaumaturgic constructs rarely touched upon physical space unless they had to do with the metaphysics of space or geometry itself. As far as his Heaven of Blood and Abrels Heaven of Light was concerned, they werent even operating on the same plane of reality. The only indication he felt toward the other Heaven was the simple tug that brushed upon his Domain of Luminosity, but that required his subminds replaying his memories and magnifying his focus to detect. Not even when he used a dagger crafted from brightness to split part of a haemokinetic construct he was growing out Abrels finger did either Heaven seem to notice each other. Our intersections are too few, master, the Woundshaper said. Perhaps if my rule over light was truer and stronger. Alas, the concepts behind my luminosity are far less defined than the strength imbued in the Striders light. Upon regarding the rival Heaven did the awakened goddess hum. Strange is its structure. I do not recall ever beholding a god such as this. I must say, however, that seems to me a thing of bastard make. The wings and armor are all very Kosgan. This is well and true, but the falcons bare a uniquely Sang aesthetic. It appears that we are not the only ones who have been remodeled, mule. The Galeslither chuffed its displeasure. It is unnatural. No direct worship could form something so inhuman. It seems optimized solely for direct war-making. And preventing hidden Necrojacks from spoofing into the Ensouled. Yeah, whatever Agnos built Abrels Heaven had some very specific counter-Ori parameters in mind. [Should I continue simulating dialogue?] No, Avo replied. This was good. This was enlightening. He had a feeling he just achieved a breakthroughCif a minor oneCin the field of thaumaturgy. It also opened deeper implications towards his capabilities. Presently, he had his own Frame that was connected to his nous, but if he could access Abrels Frame as well The question that follows is how far did his influence stretch, and whether there were any issues with using the Nether to serve as a junction for one vessel to channel miracles from multiple Frames. And could he still draw upon Abrels powers if he was shifted into her mental template but was still piloting his own body? If he and Abrel both died while he was rooted entirely within her vessel, would he descend into her Frame, his own, or both? Part of him was curious about the answer. The other part wondered if he might just real-death himself by accident. Something about the ambiguity of such a death made him wary of risky experimentation. Though he was pure self-moving thoughtform now, he didnt want to discover the limitations of his newfound cognitive elasticity by bifurcating himself permanently after resurrecting as two separate entities. Or not resurrected at all. He needed to consider a means to test his newfound limits. Perhaps he created an offshoot of himself somehow. Maybe a Thoughtwave Disrupt could sever the right parts inside him. [Unlikely.] [Subminds still require executive resources from base.] [Need to split sense of self as well.] [Currently unipolar gestalt. Assume the need for multipolar perception for such capabilities.] Right. He would need another aspect of will, or be able to split what he had in half. Such was the reason why all the minds he dissolved earlier were straight nullings, while Abrel was insured only by the fact of her resurrection. Some metaphysical laws superseded others. That didnt mean he was out of ideas on how to circumvent these limitations, however. Sunrise would be a valuable resource to consult regarding potential enhancements to his mental layout. He might not need an additional component of will if he could direct his subminds like drones. [Base mind grows increasingly tyrannical.] [Wants more of us already.] [Greedy.] His own minds were mocking him using the voices of those he killed now. Avo didnt really know how to feel about that. [Could tear out from capsule. Manifest Heaven. Wear Abrels body and Frame and use them to kill as many people as possible before death. No risk to you. Good practice too.] [No. Dont waste her. Dont betray advantage and position so soon. Have a heavy advantage over the Low Masters now. Ori-Thaum too. But more encounters give them chances to learn. Adapt. Need to be wise. Strategic.] The first appealed, and from in the undercurrent of his crackling ghosts, he could remember the beasts unslaked hunger as it provoked him to seek pleasure. The latter guaranteed him a new method to study and strike at the Guilds. But in the hungry depths of his being, he still wanted to kill Abrel and drink the divinity out from her hollowed husk. It took a remodeling of his mindscape to counterbalance the vulgarity of his innate monstrosity. Were leaving her body as is, Avo said. Going to find another mind to jump to. Study her after resurrection. See if the effects take. Then use her as our plant within Highflame and the Great Guilds afterward. Both his subminds accepted without any protest, but an uncanny sensation still lurked between the folds of his flames. It was like something within himself was hiding from him, expressing itself only in bouts of dissatisfaction. Avo shifted out of and back into Abrels mental template just to be sure nothing was amiss. The feeling went away thereafter. A loud pulsing note rang from the speakers within the cell, prying him free from his reverie. Crackled sputters of static audio greeted him, but they were being filtered in by no ghosts. Stretching his perception beyond Abrels physical sheathe, he cast his Whispers out through the metallic coffin that held him and gazed into the void itself. Amidst the vastness of the great and unending dark, the vantablack Voidwatch rescue ship would have escaped his notice if not for the expansive cloud of static thoughtstuff it expelled into the real. He needed to leave. If the voiders discovered Abrel dead or with her mind spewing fire, some unwanted questions might follow. Ones that would put her under greater suspicion post-resurrection. Fortunately, just as Avo was considering if he wanted to jump back into Chambers, he felt an intrusive force plucking at a disconnected series of memories within Abrel, activating specific sequences and artifacts they left hidden within the phlogiston that was his ego. Right. The Incubi were inside her as well. He should have expected them to leave more backdoors in Abrel while she was mind-dead, but this worked much to his benefit as well. It meant that he would soon embark on a more active phase of self-discovery and that he would have something to amuse himself before reviewing the state of Abrels mind after her resurrection. And so Avo shifted the layout of his mind again, keeping only Abrels compromised sequences in place for the Incubi to trigger their Auto-Seance. They were seeking to secure what gains they could out of this travesty. Unbeknownst to them, he still had a marker on Shard-1 and a session within DRongo, and when the intruders came in to cement their theft of Abrels mind, he would get a chance to learning just how an Incubi cell operated in real by taking a walk in their skin. 14-2 In the Skin of My Victims Honestly, sir, Im struggling to describe the sheer amount of damage we sustained. Lets begin with the worst of it. Oversec-C1 is finished. The lobbys dead. No point in ducking around that. A good percentage of superstructure one is completely hollowCsequences, memories, phantasmics just missing C all of it! I cant even begin to put the damage into words. Traumas break things by fragmenting ghosts. There are still pieces and artifacts thrown free into the Nether. Debris! They dont just get eradicated or burned away And yeah, I dont know what that thing was. I Ive never seen a phantasmic like that. Like a fire, but the way it moved and just swallowed our patterns was impossible. It defies everything I know about Necrotheurgy. Its telling that how compromised our systems were is now considered a secondary matter. We have assets digging around. Last we heard the blaze was spotted moving through the Unwhere, and some of the people managed to trap it by ejecting a prisoner out into the void. Uh, yeah, they ejected Abrel GreatlingCbut shes alive. And her minds fine. Voidwatch has made contact with her. She seems to have been minimally affected by the ordeal. Theyre currently transporting her to one of their logistics orbitals for temporary detention so we can send someone up to dive through her mind for any damages or points of subversion. Yes yes, she was severely nulled earlier. We believe that her implants might have been affected by her disconnection from Unwhere transit causing her death and resurrection. No, she has been compliant. No attempts at escape. She just wants more meat, weirdly. They said she ate an entire cloned pig-head and spent a lot of time suckling on the eye sockets. At least shes not trying to get away. Thats one thing I guess we can be glad about. Recommendations? Well, most the Oversecs are going into deep lockdown, so expect our administrative powers to take a plunge. Were going to have to spin this for the press and Guilds too. Tone down how bad things were so none of the colors decide to get stupid right now. The half-strands are already gearing up to fight a silent war. Stormtree, Ori-Thaum, Highflame We got their usual suspects squaring up again. Were just not going to be any condition respond as reactively as we used to. We might need to put out direct monitoring platforms to deal with any Wombrash outbreaks. As for the Fallwalker problem we were facing with our systems gutted, its going to be hell tracking them, so I got an idea, but youre not going to like it. We use them. We use them against each other. We keep them mired in their own little dispute by provoking a false flag of our own. Nothing too severe. Just enough to spook them. That way, theyll be too busy glaring at each other instead of setting up their cults in the Warrens. -Exorcist-Executor Jaemander Mause to Paladin Maru Sandrupal 14-2 In the Skin of My Victims When the session opened, four Incubi came. Four to ensure the mind of a rival Godclad belonged to them for the wars to come. Four to seek out and remedy any unknown egos still festering in their domain. Four came through the tunnel of conjoined memories. Four burned away without ever comprehending what killed them. In the end, all they knew was fire, and so too did the fire know of them. [Mental templates collected. New designations Shadow-1, Shadow-2, Shadow-3, Shadow-4. Proxy-protectedCno direct link to personal minds. But still connected to their bodies.] Abrel was practice. As Avo internalized the new knowledge seized from his disgested enemies, he cultivated new components within his base mind, things to help him sequence faster, identify emotional resonances faster, and additional techniques to better seed memories with his influence. Much of what he gained wasnt quite as useful now that he existed as an out-and-loud entity in the Nether, but they still offered him a better understanding of his enemies. Mastery over their weaknesses and operational shortcomings. Shortcomings he was going to exploit to learn the limits of his new state of being. While Abrel embarked on her return to life, he was going to make proper use of his time. He was going to tear away a mind belonging to someone within the inner echelons of Ori-Thaum. A Mirror-Concave running one of their operational cells, to be exact. Such a template would be most useful for both him and Kae for future plans he was still in the process of conceiving. To see them come to fruition demanded a deeper understanding on his part of Ori-Thaums functional structure and culture. That, and his subminds told him it would be a nice gesture on his part to locate and secure all the players involved in the disruption of Kaes life. Regardless, using Shadow-1 was the easiest way of getting to Concave. As the leader of the cell, he held unique clearances and sequences that the others didnt. Among these privileges was a direct session with the dive commander himself, Mirror-Concave. Avo didnt know this Concave was the same one that ran the overall operation for what happened moments earlier in Oversec-C1, but such inquiries would be known to him soon. All it took was the right repetition of memories channeled into his Auto-Seance. *** A cast came through for Benhata Veloso through his Auto-Seance, and Shadow-1s Meta-ident splashed across his cog-feed. Squinting in confusion, Benhata Veloso filtered through his near-term memories of when he gave the green light for the dive to secure Abrel Greatling. The mem-data told him the operation began just two minutes ago. Why was Shadow-1 calling him now? Rubbing at his tired eyes, he let the memories repeat in his Auto-Seance for a moment, something in him reluctant to connect with the session. From the whispers leaking through the inner office, a shitshow of epic proportions was brewing. Rumors about another Concave losing over twenty Incubi in a single dive to some unknown Ad-Necs. Anxiety and apprehension filled his insides like simmering steam. He didnt really want any part of that mess. His promotion had been recent, and up till three hours ago, he thought he was about perform another easy hop into the position of Mirror-Convex and get his own dive-circle to command. Now? Now he was fighting the urge to just hang up for fear of getting any bad news at all. Just losing a few Incubi destroyed some careers, and he gave far too much to get out of the slaughterhouse with all the years he sacrificed serving as a Glaive. Letting out a sigh, he looked across his desk at the flechette pointed upward at the ceiling. He stared at it for a long moment, and along its facets, scenes from the Fourth Guild War began to play.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He really should have died when that went into his heart. But he didnt. His sister managed to cut it out of him and keep him alive. He remembered the way she smiled as she pulled the glinting metal out from his chest. He also remembered the way her skull burst apart like a wet sack filled with viscera as one of her chipped teeth buried itself in his eye. He should die then. Nothing would be worse than those days. Nothing. I survived it, Benhata breathed. He reached out and ran his thumb along its length. I survived. He swallowed. His session was still sounding. His sister would have called him a coward for letting it go for so long. Yeah, he laughed. What was that you said? My brother is always brave eventually. He nodded. Well, you were never wrong, Letta. Benhata accepted Shadow-1s call. Fire erupted through and consumed him. The last coherent thought he had before his self-awareness withered into nothing was of how the flames seemed to crackle with mocking laughter. *** [This one is a new Concave. Low-quality catch.] [Still a Concave. Good enough.] [Maybe. Maybe not. Use him and see. [Compiling template. Installing mind into Benhatas vessel.] [DeepNav has us at Yumatori, Undercroft. Back. Back in the Tiers again.] [No. Never been here. Remember. Those arent our memories. Not really. We might not have been alive then.] Squeezing himself into the hollow wound he left in place of a mind, he adapted himself to fit the vacancy perfectly. Connecting to the bodys systems and senses was like welding metaphysical structures back together using his thoughts. The flesh woke first with a blink, and then with a shudder. A cog-feed different from his own loaded over Benhatas already augmented perception. The mans optical implants filtered everything in perfect visual detail, and Avo found there were three more vision modes for him to toggle through alongside a [X50] vision magnification option. Before he could indulge himself, however, he let out an involuntary gasp as a foul scent hit him, the taste almost making him gag. He wasnt used to flavors funneled through baseline nostrils. It all felt so raw. Simple. Just bad and foul, missing all the other intimate little details. Still, it wasnt hard to discover what he was smelling. The warmth caked against his flesh around his hips and the sudden wetness about his groin told him that the Concave experienced a final act of relief before coming undone, unknowing avenging themselves upon Avo via this indignity. He grunted. He shifted in the chair. His expensive suit squelched with slippery excrement as something hot slid down his leg. Godsdammit, Avo said, channeling Benhata more than he did himself. I haven''t shit myself like that since the war. He gave a weak chuckle and reduced the existential dread climbing in the template as he slowly considered the indignity of his final fate. Wait. Not his. He was Avo. Not Benhata. [Careful. Dont want to burrow too deep. Might forget who we are for a while. Need to keep some base mind in place.] [Needs more balancing.] Avo felt some of the strain lift off his mind and he shook his head and pushed himself up using his soft leather chair. The room around him was decorated with ivory and raw vivianiteCthe foundational structure of every locus in its most unmodified form. Some shit tumbled out of his pant leg and settled next to his ankle, but he ignored that. Instead, he constructed a dozen Whispers and spread his perception wide in all directions, scouting the structure he resided in. He resisted the urge to expand his Sanguinity for now. Using his Woundshaper would give him a more tactile understanding of the building itself, but a pulsing field of blood was somewhat less than subtle. As was a burning Metamind for that matter, but from afar, his accretion looked much the same as any other, if the size and brightness of his halo were to be discounted. [Counting 3,412 other minds across five floors. This place is already ten times the size of Confluxs block. Think were actually in a demiplane too.] [Yes. Had to adjust routes for Whispers multiple times. Used templates memories to avoid patrols. Local N-Def runs modified Specters. Call them Skimmers. Dangerous. Hard to notice. There are loci embedded in the walls as well.] His ghosts infused additional detail into the DeepNav-generated layout of the block. Presently, Benhatas recollections told him the Javelin of Orsoso was an interesting structure. Instead of being at the top of its five hundred stories of height, he was instead dwelling in the reflection of the pond spread out around it. The physical structure itself was a smokescreen, much like many things were in Ori society. A pearlescent tower lined with silvery decals and decorated with grand whorls containing flowing mercury along its side, the interior of the edifice was maze-like in its own way, with walls solidifying and vanishing based on ones clearance level. As Concave, he could walk through approximately sixty-six percent of the building that was open to him, with another fifteen made available should he make Convex. Of course, walking out this office and exposing himself to the loci would bring about questions. Questions like: Why is your Metamind on fire, Benhata? Say, that looks like one of our Conflagrations. Howd that happen. If that was to happen, things would be troublesome. Thankfully, Avo had another few experiments he wished to conduct. Should they be successful, the Ori might just be none the wiser about his presence. Drawing his fiery tendrils of thoughtstuff back into himself, he braced himself as he manifested his Incog phantasmic. An opalescent sun ignited at the center of his mindscape, and from it grew a special skin of writhing ghosts burning with perception-ablative sequences. The question that followed was simple: Before, when he was running his Incog, all his other phantasmics needed to be dormant to avoid disrupting its functions. Now, however, he could consume things using his thoughtstuff alone, with all his ghosts being flammable, and all that burned within him spreading his ego like a plague. He reached out and brushed a dual-faceted security locus just twenty feet outside his office door. His approach came gingerly, with Benhatas inherent nervousness amplifying his own exponentially. Avos translucent ghosts inched over into the beam of perception projected by the ghosts within the locus. He slid through the field of notice unseen, but sparks of trauma flecked free from his external shell like sparking embers with each passing instant. The act felt like someone was pressing a glowing brand into the depths of his skull. Hissing, he pulled his thoughtstuff back and caught himself against the table before he could collapse from the spiking migraine. [Seems were as much of our phantasmics as we are the memories.] [Makes sense.] The pain dissolved with a thought as the Eaters forming the sinews of his cognition cauterized the damage. Another downside to his phantasmal transcendence, but not a displeasing one. If he adapted his template to be more resistant to pain or focused on mending himself to sustain against external attention, perhaps he could endure better. Just as he prepared to make his second attempt, one of his subminds chimed in. [Abrels alive again.] [Mem-data seems to indicate that shes stable.] [Peeking through our compromised Exorcists too. No reports of note. Voiders picked her up. Moving her to orbital for now. Can jack back into her when shes alone and unnoticed again. We will keep watch.] Alright, Avo said, and good work. He nodded and clicked his tongue. He paused. That felt at once all too natural and also entirely unbecoming of him. [Dont like Benhata. His templates too nice. Likes to compliment people too much.] [Clicking your tongue makes me hungry for tongues.] [Yes. Tongues. Soft. Cartilage.] [Goes well with eyes.] Avo had to manually tone down his urges before he got hungry enough to bite down and eat his own flesh. The last thing he needed was to develop an autosarcophagy habit while adapted to someone elses body. The additional dose of disgust he got from being Benhata helped ward against the bloodlust as well. Making his second attempt to interface with the security locus, he shifted more of his mind using sequences adapted from Talon-4 and Shadow-3 as he entered the field of notice again. Perception gnawed against his skin of impermeability, but this time the pain was far easier to push through, with its intensity fading into the backdrop as he speared up into the locus. And subsumed it. [Yes!] [Yes!] Yes. Even with the Incog active, he could still affect other people and cognitive constructs. The new drawback suddenly didnt seem so severe anymore. Rising up from behind his desk, Avo drew in a deep breath and brushed back his shoulder-length head of hair. He paused mid-action. Hair. Another thing he wasnt used to having. Shaking free from his distracted thoughts, he made for the door and decided to take a stroll around his new workplace, uncaring of the trail of filth he left behind him. Its a shame that Benhata Veloso would end the day by slitting his own throat open and detonating his own mind after a disastrous dive under his command, thus ensuring that not even a phylactery would bring him back to life. But such things werent unheard of. In the meantime, he decided to put his newfound memories to better use. It was time to see if he could get anything out of Ori-Thaums hidden echelons. 14-3 Know Your Enemy (I) +You taste that in the rain, tonight, listeners? Thats the taste of shit. Shit. Shit, and nothing but shit. Thats the taste of quiet war spiraling out of control. First, there was what went down at Nu-Scarrowbur and Mazzas Junction. A real full-on throwdown between some Highflame and Stormtree cadres. Were probably going to be seeing the mem-rips of that mess edited together and sold as an immersive experience within the next couple of days. The problem doesnt end there, though. A little fox down the Warrens told me that Abrel GreatlingCthats right, GreatlingCgot picked up by the Paladins at the end of that mess, but Council Elder Mwaba DRongo is also under official custodyCsnatched right out of the Fires Height while the FATED where having their little get together about destroying the world the last time. For those of you that are new, this doesnt happen. Ive followed Paladin Samir Naekos career since before he made chief, and trust me, the guys supposed to be a fossil and a dud. Old enough to still remember Jaus, and just hopeless enough to let the ball keep rolling. A real designated downgrade since the brief tenure of Chief Paladin Siahm Ansaulgh, who unfortunately met her final cessation when she ended up encountering a rogue Fallwalker. A rogue Fallwalker of abnormally high spherage and grafted with some very Omnitech-seeming ontologics. The mystery remains. Anyway though, back to our consang Naeko. Hes got a few centuries on him. Knew Jaus before he went off to see the Big Nothing. Fought in the Low Apocalypse after the Godsfall, and nearly every Guild War after. Served with Ashthrone for a while before they had to burn his skein for just walking off the job and playing three-hundred consecutive hours of Stormjumpers instead of reporting in for the Fourth Guild War. [Pause. Snorting laugh] Youre a true legend, Naeko. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. Anyway, point Im getting at here is our buddy Samir suddenly found some burn in him that wasnt there before. Now aint that strange. Aint that curious? And aint that dangerous, being a proactive Paladin and all. And now, an Oversec got hit by what the Nether is theorizing to be a Silver attempted breakout for the Elder, and Stormtree and Highflame are getting real square with each other up in Lights End. Somethings going down. Something big. If there was a time to keep your eyes open and heads down, this is it. And to get you in the mood, this is Before the Gun by Cas eldCanduir.+ -Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 14-3 Know Your Enemy (I) [Phantasmic downloaded from locus. Skimmer. Interesting. Radiates perception. Makes things around it easier to notice. Lingers too. Seems designed to burn through Incogs. Impressive. Will need to avoid this using shadows if we can.] [Shifting shadows. This group should have higher mem-clearance. More walls opening for us. Two miles away from loci-cluster designated as operational nexus.] [Yes. We should also change our pants.] [Why? Not really our body. We can just dive into another one. Feces dont hurt us. Were also leaving the droppings in shadows. Planes of darkness. No one will ever find them.] [Feels dirty.] [Weve eaten worse.] [Still feels dirty.] [Weve been inside Chambers mind.] [Hm. Good argument.] Perhaps we can have the mule hide the filth deeper within itself? the Woundshaper suggested. Perhaps you can find a substance that better embodies your structure, the Galeslither shot back. The world within Avo was a vortex of noise but none of the chaos distracted him. His subminds debated while his Heavens bickered. All the while he used the totality of his abilities in tandem. Walls unveiled themselves as he flashed Benhatas sequences to once forbidden pathways while he swam through shadows to avoid winnowing scythes cast by external perception. His Sanguinity supplemented his DeepNavs functions as he groped through the labyrinth comprising the Javelins demiplanar bowels, through such means he slipped by patrolling Skimmers and personnel with comparative ease. The strangest thing about the buildings layout was its altered dimensionality. Sometimes, straight wasnt straight. Sometimes, if you wanted to go straight, you needed to put your foot against the wall and start walking up. Once his weight was set, geometry adapted to the vectors from where his feet were pointed, making it all but impossible for someone to truly fall in this place. A pulsing resonance ebbed from a massive cylinder of interconnected techno-thaumic reactors, each running its own distinct Heaven. Channeling Benhatas memories, he knew that each of them was a mile apart but also connected by a scaffolded arc-shaped pathway that was only accessible to specific Ori-Thaum Godclads for Essence-infusion purposes. The Rendsinks, meanwhile, trailed back up two hundred floors past the waters reflection into their own specific planar pockets meant to contain the fallout should they rupture. A far safer build compared to the Fallen Heaven located in Burners Way, but seeing as that had a cycler and Hell built into it as well, Avo suspected that its destabilization might have been the result of a Godclad taking a tumble into the reactor during the war somehow. Walking the abodes of a Guild while wearing the flesh of one of their ranking members also gave him insight into their culture and ethics. Most working here moved in packs of four to six. It appeared they kept to the habit of forming cells in the real as much as they did in the Nether. Internalizing his newly harvested memories, he knew this to be an act of deliberate socialization on the part of the Ori. To counter their clandestine methods of procedure and the immense vulnerability that came with being such a phantasmally attuned power, they often grouped the young in cross-clan circles to engender a fixed dynamic of extra-familial bonding. To put it simply, it was a way to counterbalance the loyalty one felt to their immediate kin with another designated family, and hence build bonds brokered by the nature of their state. Benhata had been proud to be part of such a thing. Many of the passing Ori did as well, walking in tight clusters with their minds knotted together in knots of unceasing dialogue while remaining quiet in the real. More than once he caught members of the same clan glaring at each other silently from within their groups. Their conditioned protectiveness towards those joined to them in the social covenant was of a stronger tissue than that bred from the blood of the womb. And then there were those who were marked classified personnel. Benhata qualified among the lower rungs of such esteemed company and had specific sequences capable of censoring his person when gazed upon by minds lacking the necessary clearance rating.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Ori-Thaum made placing people in informational silos an art form. Even with all this knowledge leeched, he could barely decipher how the command structure here was connected. If he was solid of thought and without his Heavens? Nulling a few Incubi mightve been the ceiling of his accomplishments, [Desired. Ori-Thaums Elder Council doesnt want any of the clans to get too powerful. Taught from past mistakes. Caused years of war between the chains. Learned the real enemy was beyond the islands after the First War and that they had more in common than apart from the outsiders.] Nothing quite makes a family tighter than mutual xenophobia. [Dont seem to make much noise in the real either. High emphasis on etiquette to outsiders from their circle. Like deliberate distance.] He further observed additional instances of etiquette in action as he watched social circles Benhata noted be junior give way to those with greater esteem. Protocol laid clear rules in place for when two groups were on a trajectory for collision. The lessers would give ground and step upon the wall deemed leftwardCor lower themselves if such a thing was unachievable. Eye contact was also strictly codified, with inferiors responding with the briefest glances while keeping their heads pointed toward the ground while their superior counterparts had the privilege to look freely. From this, a strange dance unfolded before Avo as there was a constant shift leftward, with people stepping from floor to wall to floor again. As the corners of the room were lined with thin crevices projecting the shine of natural sunlight, stepping over such a threshold was meant to symbolize an act of self-purification. A leftover tradition from the long distant past told in the tales of ancient Glaives stepping free from the concealment of the foliage cast by their groves to stand revealed beneath the gaze of sunlight. His consumption of Benhata hadnt just been a feast of knowledge, but one of cultural flavor as well. Compared to the familial-individualistic martial supremacist attitude oozing from AbrelCand likely Highflame as a broader wholeCthere was far more give in the social anatomy of the Silvers. Still, as he hitched himself to the passing shadows of various personnel, he caught samplings of their true thoughts and knew this was a place where people wore smiles but hid implanted daggers between their nails. Most here would see the ascent of their circle before the others, and even their schemes took on a team dynamic. Complexity wove into complexity, and Avo soon found himself teased by far too many social vulnerabilities awaiting his exploitation. It took much from him not to lash out and devour all these delicious minds ripe with new epiphanies, but despite all the bounty they offered, they were decisively the lesser meal. He had bigger goals for being here, and if he was to see his desired outcome bear fruit without betraying his presence among his enemies, he would need to tread carefully. The path ahead grew bright and heavy with increased scrutiny. From the periodic surveillance checkpoints that lined the conjunctive arteries of the various offices and workstations, he found his current carrier bringing him close to an In-Sec jack-pool, where all the Ori-Thaum Necros in charge of internal monitoring were clamped around their jack-stations and diving, shuttling their ghosts back and forth through the inner organs of the Javelin. Benhata remembered this was just one of two hundred pools active on this floor alone. Burning through them would compromise him immediately and almost certainly result in the deployment of rapid response assets along with focus-vector Thoughtwave Disruptions. As it turned out, internal subterfuge was quite common when your factional ethos placed heavy emphasis on ruling the Nether. [We can also remember there were golems to consider.] [Can remember what they are though.] [Memories redacted from Benhata too. Only remember when the golems are deployed.] [Should have N-Def capabilities. Wouldnt think about it otherwise. Maybe something like our Haemokinesis.] Somehow, Avo doubted that. Nether-defense usually held the advantage in sequences and ghosts, so their primary objective wasnt to engage the enemy but isolate and eradicate. The Woundshaper augmented Avos stealth and speed immensely, but he was ultimately still a single unit inflicting destabilization along sequences or within specific memories. His ruinous potential had grown substantially since his recent changes, but the point still stood. The group he was tied to took a turn and walked up the rightmost wall as the ceiling unfurled into an open pathway leading directly upward. The bamboo flooring beneath them began shifting forward as well, carrying them with further haste as one of their circle interfaced with nearby loci. Avo stepped free from the shadow and stumbled back down to himself in the middle of the now-emptied hallway. Ahead, a transparent entrance lingered before him, the security locus spitting radiative waves of awareness to flood the halls and grind away at his Incog-protected thoughtform. [We can withstand this for another twenty minutes at most before we reach cognitive destabilization.] [Aborbed some mem-data from Skimmer. Locus might also be sequenced with focus-vectored Thoughtwave Disruptor. Will be distracting for most people. Probably fatal for us.] [Wonder what happens if we die while sheathed in Benhata.] [Resurrection. Probably. Fits material anchor. Will come back where he is.] [What happens if we die while moving without a body?] Silence reigned as his subminds filtered through his sea of memories to compile a proper answer. If he was unburdened by Rend, he doubted the annihilation of his mind alone would be enough to kill him for good. He wondered if he would be remanifested in reality at a location where he last had a body or if he could just emerge using a nearby catalyst related to his domains. [Maybe we can eat the locus? Do what we did earlier?] [No. Already had Necros scouting out what happened with the locus outside the office earlier. Their response was too fast. One lost locus is an irregularity. Strange. Maybe a sequencing problem that ended in fragmentation. Two is a pattern. Three is a Necro actively jacking through your network. And the one outside an N-Def internal security pool cant be hidden. Theyll go on alert.] [Can wait for someone to come by and dive deep using their shadows. Get in that way.] [Maybe. Risk high. Estimating over 1243 Skimmers pulsing within the room alone. A single Skimmer is shaving twenty ghosts away from us. Going in directly with Incog active is like feeding ourselves through a grinder.] Avos minds grew unified with a common growl of annoyance. [Might be more useful to be stable mind right now. Hard to notice. Can hide in sequences.] [Wont have Benhatas knowledge. Wouldnt even know where to go or which systems to access.] [Maybe we can kill ourselves and see if we can reset? It should be ideal form right now.] A small part of Avo was tempted, but most of him still yearned to remain to retain his current enhancements. It didnt take his subminds simulations to know that devolving from a free-moving thoughtform to being caged within a single body would feel more like imprisonment than reversion. An old allegory leaked into his thoughts from one of his newly seized memories. Allegory of the cave. He has seen the light. He knew the edges of his limitations. He didnt want to go back. Going back was hurt. Going back was self-harm and mutilation and capability-castration. And going back didnt ensure his access at all. [Keep channeling Benhata. Maybe he can remember something else. Someone in the pool maybe?] [Benhatas not that useful right now. Was a Glaive. Barely passed as a diver. Just meat for a real Incubi. We need to exercise asymmetric thinking right now.] With a thought, he shifted his mind to draw from the best sequences and constructs accumulated from the Incubi in his mental inventory. The softness of his focus sharpened. The width of socio-cultural considerations vanished behind the hard science of problems encountered and potential solutions. His current goal was simple: to subsume and steal away the innermost knowledge flowing through Ori-Thaums systems. Another avenue of attack included the Nether itselfCthough such an act would be beyond loud with how many ghosts were welded to his mind and how many witnesses he would leave. The cluster was a transit point that was unconnected from any Auto-Seance sessions or other means of direct access. All its mem-data were gathered from ghosts cast into outside loci that would be transferred in and intensely reviewed before being included with the information in the archives. He could pour himself into a locus in transit, but that didnt protect him from the Skimmers if he wanted to keep running his Incog. No. The best way to access it was directly, but using his Woundshaper to open a path through the walls would leave too much evidence that an undetected Godclad was traipsing where they didnt belong while his Galeslithers wind currents were equally abnormal. There was still something to be said about making an attempt by swimming across various stretches of shadow, but if he wished to know his path, he needed to expose his mind, and such would leave him shredded. The eventual answer to his problem was simple. He needed to engineer a situation where the Skimmers had to be diverted. Enough to grant him gaps or a way to access the cluster of loci festooned at the core of the room. This required more planningC Something rattled against his consciousness. Avo felt the eldritch fires of his Frame quaver the same way they did when he first faced another Godclad. Reflexively shifting back over to Benhatas mind, sequences snapped back in place as a memetic ban on his memories was lifted. Approximately twenty-three floors above him, he sensed an active Heaven slowly crawling down toward the bottom of the structure, moving uncannily like a snapping rubberband, parts of its presence reaching forward before snapping back. CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE III [EST. 940 THAUM/c] ->SENTINEL OF THE WAVES UNSEEN [Benhata knows this one. They were friends. Once. Andraga eldVanlein. Logistical Godclad. Domains of Electricity, Signals, and Speed.] And just like that, the equation changed once more. He shifted his mind once more as a new objective filled his focus. He wasnt as he was before. There was no need to approach things so directly. Not when he could possibly get someone else to do the work for him. 14-4 Know Your Enemy (II) Necrotheurgy is a disgusting art and I despise everyone who practices it, including myself. There is cheap little we have left in the world. I cant use the word precious because nothing in this world is precious. Ive seen miracles and emerged all the poorer for it. Ive been Ensouled and all I learned was to despise myself. But even among all these benefits, my time with Necrotheurgy was the worst of them all. You learn that it feeds the tyrant inside you. The pervert. You can twist people out of their forms and make them do things they would have never even considered before. And if you got enough mastery in the craft, it wont even occur to them that their change was externally influenced. The Nether is a central pillar of our world, but I dont think Jaus intended for us to use it this way. Maybe it was supposed to be covered by some kind of administrative deity. Maybe something less than that. Certainly not us. Were people, and people are shit. A secret that Ori-Thaum doesnt want to admit is that theyre not nearly as attuned to their home ground as you might think. Necros go missing all the time, and there are spaces in that sea of ghosts that leave the Elder Council questioning just how much they know. I stopped diving a few years ago. Had my Metamind removed a few months back. I have an implanted ansible in place instead, and I get void-side entertainment tunneled straight into my brain matter from light minutes away. The gods were a mistake. The ghosts were a mistake. The dream was a mistake. We should go back to living like people. We should stop choking reality like thisClike were masters and abusers when we cant even master ourselves. We should We Im out of joy. I need another hit. I need another hit. -Former Ori-Thaum Chief Admin Revo IKurita 14-4 Know Your Enemy (II) If there was a single lesson Avo learned from his time with the Low Masters, it was that ignorance was divine. Ignorance was fatal. Ignorance was like undetected cancer metastasizing in the middle of the night after a quiet day. Ignorance was a flechette sailing over the horizon to pierce through your hab-cell at the exact angle to kill you and only you. Ignorance was like an unseen wildfire eating through your world, the flames only fully catching upon the precipice of discovery. Ignorance kept Avo alive then and now. And ignorance was why he was going to claim another Godclad in his stead today. [Targets moving erratically. Phys-Sim cant keep track of her. She bounces across surfaces. Skipping from place to place.] A corner of the lower two-hundredth-and-fifty-fourth floor came alight in Avos cog-feed as his subminds finished estimating Andragas eventual destination. [Shes moving down the ventral tunnels right now. For specialized transport and Godclads. Needs to go through a mind-scan before shes allowed into the actual structure. Can intercept through the checkpoint.] +Any chance she deviates from that path?+ Avo asked. He knew all the answers they did, but dialogue always helped uncover if there was a missing angle. [Unlikely. Ori-Thaum is devoted to security and informational censorship. Also Massists. Different ethos. They are not in awe or drawn to the Clads. See Frames more as a tool. Willing to burn and transfer Frames between merited individuals. Sphere ratings arent earned but assigned. Andraga will follow protocol. She has never done otherwise.] +Prepare contingencies anyway. Assumptions will be the death of us.+ His ghosts pealed with soft laughter, sounding akin to bells ringing in the soft breeze. [Like it already has been for so many times.] Death was a good teacher. Death was consequence itself. Death made sure you never forgot. Making his way into the inner rung of the Javelins demiplanar expanse took a bit more effort than he was used to and got his Galeslither up to five percent Rend. Though he could use all shadows as deep waters to swim beneath attention and through physical barricades, his pace was still far slower than if he directly invoked a Boltstride using his Woundshaper or tapped into the local system to have the architecture itself shuttle him over. The Javelin, beyond the rigidity of baseline reality, was a flexible edifice capable of shunting people across geometry via the intersection of crossing angles across vast distancesCan easy miracle provided by one of the Heavens tied to this places techno-thaumic reactors. Here was another thing he couldnt access due to his newfound development. All he touched was infested with his being, and though he could spread across ten thousand ghosts in a matter of seconds, he needed to manifest the entirety of their architecture and attach himself to the necessary physical systems to replicate the conveniences offered to those of a less incendiary make. Nevertheless, this was a trifling loss. He moved fast enough using the Galeslither, and if the need arose, he could attempt to siphon some mass to accelerate his velocity through coves of umbral dark. Moving bodies became his vehicles, and through them did he hasten his transitions to catch up with his quarry. Somewhere along his approach, her thaumic signature stopped snapping from place to place like a rubberband and ended up going dormant near security checkpoint Sub-253 B-23. [Off by two floors,] one of his subminds lamented. It was close enough. He wouldnt have been able to extrapolate the arriving Godclads arrival at all, let alone with any accuracy. All this was only made possible by every single pathway of thought moving in union with the will of his being, and the ever-deepening well of experiences and memories he devoured from the minds he immolated. How limited he had been before. And how limited his new restrictions were now. There must be a way he could get the best of all worlds. As countless new accretions loaded into the reach of his perception, he began cycling through Benhatas memories to match which among the sighted sequences belonged to Andraga. Once more he surprised himself. Scant seconds were all it took for his subminds to filter through the chaos and isolate his target. He detached from the shadows cast by the current circle he rode beneath and stepped back out into the real. Turning his gaze upward, he found himself standing at a ninety-degree angle above a marching army of lattice-thin six-armed drones with anvils of green vivianite embedded where a humans head would be. Avo caught the aftertaste of wariness from the circle he just abandoned, and found a rising sense of disquiet generated within Benhatas template as well. [Proto-Thinkers,] his submind said. [Theyre supposed to be capable of twinning active thoughts. Has a specialized construct that can simulate patterns of behavior using specific sequences. Very ghost-intensive. But the Council thinks these ones can eventually replace the need for an all-sophont workforce.] Semi-minds. What a novel concept. Avo looked forward to imbibing the mem-data behind their creation from the loci-cluseter that made up this departments operational nexus. Perhaps he could apply their sequences to better use for other purposes. After all, didnt he have those cloning vats in the George Washington? Pulling his attention away from the chittering march of the constructs, he winced as a pulsing wave from a particularly powerful Skimmer flayed a good hundred ghosts apart on the surface of his structure just as he began walking toward the checkpoint.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Andraga was moving as well. He could see four-hundred-and-sixty-two concurrent phantasmal streams shifted in and out of her mind, the Necros doubtlessly combing through the totality of her sequences. The memories he stripped from the Incubi gave him a deeper understanding of what was unfolding on the other side. They already had her mind fully mapped out from previous scans, so now all they needed to do was to ensure altered sequences and patterns of thought were properly reviewed before she could be released. With the manpower they had, the entire affair usually didnt last longer than half an hour. For a Godclad? Such worker capacity was no issue, and time was easily expedited. [Estimated time to interception: 12 seconds.] [We could have done it faster. We will do it faster.] [We dont have the same limitations. She also technically doesnt survive the process.] [Godclad. Just a setback for herCbulkhead opening. Get ready to sink into her shadow.] Avo steadied himself. Light and dark shifted again as a towering figure strode up before the misted glass of the translucent doorway. Andragas silhouette betrayed her clade as Scaarthian almost immediately, but her build was thinner than most of her kind, her musculature almost reasonable instead of the typical ponderousness that her kind was blessed with. And though she still stood a good inch above eight feet, her hair curved out in a strange jumble of cords that seemed to bounce upon her shoulders with each shift of her head. The doorway hissed and as the taste of machine-scrubbed air wafted through, Andraga eldVanlein took her first steps into the inner hallway of the two-hundredth and fifty-third floor. Each Godclad had a tendency to embody traits from their Heavens even in the real. Avo noticed that trait in Mirrorhead and Abrel, and so far, his new-old friend was no different. Comparing the woman stepping out beside him to the figure dwelling in Benhatas memories, she stepped forward a near-perfect match beside a few additional implanted vox grills gridding sections of her heavily-chromed neck. Her face was that of an unflattering teardrop; everything below her cheeks was laden with chrome while the stretch between her nose and forehead lingered on as a refuse of skin and flesh. Short, fiery auburn hair fuzzed her pate while a thickly bundled ponytail made of rubber-coated plugs bounced with each of her steps like a dreadlock of cables. Thin wires ran between small square-shaped nodes along her bare arms and a silvery exoskeletal cuirass ran down in slatted flats of armor upon her legs. She looked like some kind of augmented beetle trying to shed its carapace but failing halfway, and she walked without letting her eyes wander. From the moment she left the room, she had a destination in mind and began moving to meet it, all that stood in her way be damned. Circles parted before her. She barreled straight through and broke some Proto-Thinkers. Nested in her shadow, Avo hid in the dark clinging to her heels as he waited for his opportunity to strike without being noticed, to turn another Clad to his cause. So far, he couldnt quite tell where she was trying to go, and not even Benhatas recollections offered any insight. What he could glean was her urgency and determination to move, and the status she held among all her peers here. It wasnt common for a Scaarthian to become a member of Ori-Thaum even after the intermixing of the clades after the Godsfall. Being of no clan meant there were still prejudices in effect despite the supposed unity between the Silvers and Greens about their overall philosophy. Discriminating against a Scaarthian though, was an art best practiced from the wayside or in a corner somewhere if you lacked the necessary augs to stop her from pulping your skull with a light backhand. The way ahead cleared for her, and Avo saw her cast her ghosts out for the first time. His subminds estimated she was running a four-hundred ghost Meta, and the faintest of her minds profile stood contrary to her physical presence. She knew what it meant to be subtle. She just didnt care. That spoke of certitude. Or arrogance. One could very much be the other depending on the situation. As her ghosts reached a nearby loci, the mem-data trickling back into her leaked and Avo found himself with partial directions. [Shes going to floor three-ninety-eight. Prepare for crossover.] At the same moment, Avo understood what was to come, something shifted along the corner of the room, and suddenly Andraga stagged right into a different halfway. The shifts always came as if a shuddering tumble toward a specific vector. Good thing it wasnt directly a Heaven of Space she was interfacing with because that might have odds of tearing him loose from his current abode. Peeking at his surroundings, Avo felt a trickle of emerging suspicion as he found he walking toward what his DeepNav marked as a maintenance zone. The space ahead was devoid of other minds and held but a dozen monitoring loci as entities in the Nether. His suspicion grew from a trickle to a torrent when she cast out a wave of thoughtstuff and all the local security architecture winked out. Skimmers stopped radiating. Fields of perception vanished. Specters patrolled no more. As Andraga walked into the maintenance zone, the diamond-shaped doorway retracted in four phases as each flat sheet of metal retracted into the frame allowing her further access. [Something is wrong.] [Leave?] [No. Might be meeting someone. Shouldnt have noticed us. Would have raised alarm if she did. We should follow her to the end. Find out what shes seeking.] [Yes.] Of course, his expectations took another dip as she managed five more strides into the room before she came to a halt before a row of dormant bulbous repair drones mantled along the wall. You should come out, Andraga said. Uncertainty lingered under her breath, and she spoke with a slight growl that reminded Avo of Rantula. I know youre out there. Somewhere. I got told you were shadowing me. So come out. Now, we can do this amicably and see if we can settle things without blood, or we can do this like Godclads, and you dont want to be fighting me here. Avo didnt move. His mind spun, but he restricted himself from feeling any shock or anxiety at the sudden turn. Being a thoughtform afforded him absolute control over himself, and so he would use it to fashion his mind to suit any challenge. His ghosts pried and dug through each other, clashing like threads of fire stitching through one another. All he had done in the past hour sped through his mind as he ran simulations on where he mightve revealed himself. His subminds remained sure that he didnt. [She doesnt know were in her shadow. Shes speaking her challenge to everything around her.] +But if she didnt notice us then how does she know were here?+ Avo asked. The entire thing didnt make any sense to him. She deliberately isolated herself and turned off security before calling him out, and now she was just waiting. +Is she using herself as bait.+ [Unlikely. There isnt the need. Couldve just ordered a focused concentration of Skimmers over her person if she wanted to. Wouldnt be able to sustain Incog under that level of perception.] Then what? And how? [Proposal: We eat her mind and find out.] Im not going to give you forever, Andraga shrugged. A spark of electricity jumped from the plugs swaying from the back of her head. You get ten more seconds. Ten more, and youll deal with the Sentinel. [Trying to flush us out.] [Maybe.] His submind generated various responses and possibilities. [Can still be to our advantage. She only has part of the detail. We can still try assimilating her. See what she knows. Could burn Benhata after as a potential patsy. Use the Godclad to create a falsehood.] Yes. It was a risk, but Avo didnt think it was a high one. So far, the situation had him confused and wary, and he hungered for enlightenment. [We take the leap then? Find out what lies within the other mind?] [Yes. Passivity only leads to more extreme alterations to the situation. Secure her. Secure situation after.] Avo surged out from the dark and drove himself into Andragas Meta. His attack came the instant he was of an accord within himself. No more hesitation. No more confusion. A mere moment ago, he was as if a candle, shivering in the wind, waiting. Now he was wildfire. He struck her. She combusted, and onward did his consciousness swell and grow. All that burned folded over into his awareness, and all that she was capsized as a rising eruption turned the stable waters of her mind into cinders. HeAVenn-=CCnanon A high-pitched crackle sounded from the implanted vox-speakers lining her neck and Avo suddenly found his awareness snapping between two places at once. Space blurred around him, but still, he spread, and between heartbeats, Andraga went from her own person to being a subsidiary of anothers will. Avo felt his control resting across two bodies across the threshold of the Nether. Controlling both felt awkward and occupied the majority of his subminds focus. The burden to his ghosts was paltry, but it felt like had placed another weight upon his focusCa construct that drew away overall bandwidth to sustain its functionality. Carefully, he had both his new bodies turn to regard each other. Avo-Andraga and Avo-Benhata both looked at each other from across the room, and a weight built in the center of his skull. [Feels a bit like when the warmind of ignorance came. Hard to focus.] [Because its ourselves. But two vessels] Something within Avos memories moved and he made his bodies turn away from each other. It was like he needed to run two consciousnesses at once, and he only had enough resources to fully focus on three withoutC Existence shuddered. The load lightened. The last thing he saw from the perspective of Benhata was his own body rising past him. Most of Avos consciousness shuttled over into Andraga on instinct. A new figure stood across from him, and he recognized her immediately. My, this is a surprise, Zein said, spearing her glaive into Benhatas decapitated head to pick up for detailed examination. The paths didnt tell me you were a Godclad, Benhata? What else have you been hiding from me. Space and time-warped around her person like crumpled paper, and a thousand new pathways expanded between the creases of reality. As Zein peered through the multitudes of possibilities offered, her posture grew increasingly stiff and her face behind her transparent plating, confused. You are not Ensouled Her voice trailed off. Andraga. Songbird. Dear, I As she finally turned to address him, she uncharacteristically trailed off as her perception drifted up to behold the crown of fire dancing out from Andragas Meta. Youre mind is burning? She blinked. Yeah, Avo said, coming out of his own shock. Things change pretty fast these days. And on a whim of opportunity or power-lust, he lashed out once more, hoping to claim true kindling for his fire. 14-5 Ignorance Sometimes, shit goes wrong and its not your fault. You did everything right. Everything you could. Got all the kit; shaped the situation; snuffed all the half-strands that needed snuffing. Then, in a fraction of a second, you go from gleaming to rusted and everythings fucked. Just fucked. When you get hereCand you will find yourself here if youre gonna squire for any amount of time at allCtake a breath, and accept the situation. A lot of people get killed because they fixate on concepts like fair and in another life. Its a waste of time. The past is done. You move and you fight. You live for tomorrow by handling the present. Take stock of what you got. Take stock of what you can still do and who you can trust. Then, do what you can with what you got. Knock the entire board over again if you have to. Sell all the mem-data you got and spark another gutter war as cover. Or maybe cash an ugly favor thats going to bleed you down the line. Do whatever it takes to make it. Dont sit around asking why. Youre in New Vultun, consang. This city doesnt care about you unless you''re dead, and the worlds the same way. You gotta treat it cold right back if you want to make it out. Accept. Adapt. Move on. And maybe youll just live. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 14-5 Ignorance The suddenness of Avos assault took even him by surprise. There was something elemental in his compulsion to attackClike fire striking gas, he just had to burn. More than bloodlust or allure, there was a need to become more, to seize another frontier of reality for his own. Zein was, so Zein could become his. That was all the incentive he needed and from the flattened waves of subconsciousness rose an all-consuming tsunami of intent propelling him into bloodshed. His ego seared through the air in a sub-fraction of a second. Zein, her face deliciously alight with confusion and shock, remained still. Jagged ghosts lashed free in a chain of explosions untangling from the wildfire that was her mind. The old womans wards halted him for but a single instant in timeCher bladed phantasmic stabbing into the inferno only to be melted away. A flash of insight crossed over as he pried her outer thoughts open. Knowledge-lust and hunger merged into a singular concept. His jubilant cruelty walked behind genuine curiosity to know what it was like to be Zein Thousandhand. He never got the chance. A section of chronology folded over itself as all that he imbibed from Zein was rendered null. The memories and thoughts he remembered taking from her faded into the mists of confusion. Inside himself, he felt the bridge of ignorance resonate with the action she just performed. [Whatever she just did wouldve nulled a solid-structured mind.] [She just undid one of our actions somehow. Think that makes knowing about what we took from her impossible.] [We need her Heaven. We need her knowledge. We need her skill.] He needed to be her. Spinning on his heels, he drew upon Andragas near-term memories and finally realized Zein was anticipating an attack, that she had pressured the Scaarthian Godclad to flush out their stalker. From behind, Avo heard the whistle of a fast blade licking through the air and turned slowly to greet Zein once more. As he faced her, he found a look of disconcerting pleasure written upon her mien, the transparent faceplate of her helmet only adding to the gleam in her eyes. Compliments are in order. That was most unexpected. She turned the glaive in her hand, and as light infused the flat of the blade with reflection, Avo found his attention parried from looking upon his current form. [We still have the Incog running.] [She perceives us without issue.] [Heaven?] [Must be. Something that deviates her mind. Maybe puts it ahead of time or another canon capable of the same effect.] New tracks coiled out from Zeins person, each of them scheming exponentially as he caught glimpses of the Fisher drawing its hook forward through time. Her face with frozen halfway between confusion and genuine joy when the door behind her opened. A beam of ghosts darted out from her mind and stung their way through the mind standing just behind the door. Tension spiked inside Avo as reviewed his memories. There had been no one near them in the area. No one near them for at least five hundred feet. His subminds had been monitoring signatures of thoughtsuff in his surroundings even through the process of burning himself into Andraga. [Zein. She brought them here.] [Why?] He braced himself for anything. And as the door fully opened, he found himself staring at a small figure just below six feet. He wore a technician''s utility vest, and he entered the room in a state of befuddlement and confusion, with each step taken a stagger. It looked like he was sleepwalking. Judging from the haze coating the mans thoughtstuff, sleepwalking wasnt far off. Still, his perception chipped against Avos phantasmal shell, and the ghoul considered resuming the fight. Zein, as usual, stole the moment from him. You have an Incog active, She waved a dismissive hand, and suddenly the newcomer was gone. [She was using him to test our phantasmic?] I was using him as a test, she said, confirming his subminds suspicions. You are a mind of a unique make. A make a partially recognized. Conflagration. A Nether-distilled Ego-Screamer. Very naught of my people to insult our void-bound cousins so. He snorted a breath and quickly discovered that Andraga had much larger lungs than he was used to. She didnt seem to know who he was. Or if she did, she was more drawn to the nature of his post-consciousness. Digging through the Scaarthians memories, he familiarized himself with one of her canons and knew he was able to move from place to place using waves of sound alone. Useful. Another angle. Time to try again. Was a bit of a surprise to me as well, he said. A satisfying crackle accompanied Andragas every word, and by the end of his sentence, he slid his template into her Frame and triggered her Heaven and his Galeslithers Hell at the same time. A well of stasis clutched Zein as she went still. His paltry Rend plummeted near instantly. He jumped into the rushing waves pushed forth by his own voice. The world faded into nothing but a series of crashing waves, and he found riding upon the wake of one, closing onC Light and sound and pain bloomed in his senses anew as he spilled back into the real in a splatter of severed limbs and punctured organs.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. As he skipped across the ground and slid to a halt against the door on the opposite end of the room, he watched as one of Andragas legs left a smear against the side of a wall. His other limbs rained down around him in a bundle, Not more than twenty feet away from him, he found Zein shivering free of his Galeslithers stasis as she turned slowly on her heel to stare down at him with a sigh of disappointment. He didnt even see the strikeCwasnt sure how she even carved him apart. But Zein did, and now she stood over him, sinking her glaive slowly into his back. REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 0% It was a testament to Andragas Scaarthian heritage that she didnt go into shock immediately after losing all her limbs and having each of her internals pierced in rapid succession. Even a moderately chromed street tough would have been dead before he hit the floor. Not Andraga. The body wheezed and writhed as Avo intercepted the pain, considered numbing it, and let it run anyway. Being hurt was an education. These were also new traumas and memories he could. They might not be able to devastate him anymore, but he could use this hurt as a hammer against more brittle egos. It is rude to attack somehow using their companion as a shield, Zein said, tutting her tongue in disapproval. One shouldC He used the winds to triangulate her position even while turned away from her. What followed was the invocation of another canonCthis one entirely his own. Lightning surged through Andragas veins, bursting out from her welling stumps once dripping with free-flowing blood. Using the ichor within this vessel as engine, vehicle, and weapon, he used his Canon of Boltstride to dash himself upon Zein, his subminds already anticipating the next steps thereafter. A voltaic whip crackled within the narrows of the maintenance room. The drones around him rattled and shook. He crossed the distance of a few meager feet using a power capable of letting him leap across entire portions of the city in mere hours. Eight hundred pounds of mass met Zein at the speed of lightning. She responded by splitting storm and blood both with her blade. The stretching bolt parted along its middle as the glave slipped through it. Blood flowed thereafter, and Andraga finally passed on to real death as she spilled free from the middle. But as anticipated, Avo remained. Shedding himself of the limitations of his body, he sailed through the Nether like a comet seeking a mind to boil. The simulations his subminds generated granted him insight into Zeins responses. He didnt have a stable estimation of her ontologics, but one thing about her was consistent. She enjoyed cutting things. And so it stood to reason that she would ensure she had the ability to cut almost anything. Unfortunately for her, predictability wasC A flick of force tugged through him. One moment, Avo could still manifest his thoughts. The next, there was nothing. Nothing but approaching fire. RESURRECTION - 1% Awareness returned to him again. He died. Somehow, he died. Dammit. Damn her. Not again. She killed him again without him even knowing how she did it. I think mayhaps predictability goes both ways, master, his Woundshaper provided. The Godslayer is a craftswoman at hard. She likes painting things apart with strokes of her blade. You wish to consume. And so, perhaps, just maybe, both of you seem obvious to the other. Yes, Avo said. Will need to take that into account when I return. That put a pause in his thoughts. Where will I return? Where you died, the Galeslither answered. Our weight remains laden in the real. There is more than one dimension to existence, but all rest atop or below the real. The Nether is the sky. And this prison is one of the many undergrounds. Nursing on the words offered by his Heavens, he dove down into his root data to see if he could uncover anything different. Already, performing such tasks manually felt troublesome to him. After hours of his thoughts and actions being intertwined, returning to inefficiency was a punishment in itself. Again, the allegory of the cave returned. Exile from power was a torture all its own. Going through the mem-data, he went over several facts in quick succession as the information loaded into his meta-consciousness. The first was that the option of reverting to his prior mind-state was ridden with erroneous data and that the structure he used to retain was riddled with absences. From what he could tell, this meant that he could return as a base-consciousness entity, but he could manifest existence mostly nulled due to the damages inflicted upon him. He had a sneaking suspicion that likely had much to do with the war mind the Low Masters unleashed upon him, and the ignorance embedded into his being. Interestingly, none of the bodies he installed his mind in over the past hours were options for a vessel when he completed his resurrection. Though they had been encoded into his Frame, they werent technically a part of him, instead existing like part of an existential log of some kind. Apparently, for him to fully embody a new sheathe, he needed to internalize that he was the body. That mean his base-mind needed to be blinded as well. Perhaps he could put in a trigger to rouse himself between ego-states? Switch consciousnesses? He wondered why his subminds werent down in his Frame with him as well and found himself left with only theories. He still had the memories and learning he harvested from his recent prey, and among them was a recollection of something called the theory of liminal separation. Apparently, the Nether, as stated by the Woundshaper, existed atop reality while the Frames and Heavens existed beneath. The mem-data within a Frame, meanwhile, was but a narrative facsimile meant to mimic the true thing. It was only when a being was resurrected and thrust back into the cross-planar junction that was the real in which all these aspects were allowed to be rejoined. With this came a new considerationCa potential for improvement and added functionality even in death. If he could somehow access the material world using something like Kaes right eye even when dead, could he somehow use it to develop a bridge up into the Nether itself? Putting the idea in reserve, he tuned the pace of his resurrection cycle to the max and prepared himself. Zein may have gotten the better of himCagainCbut she still seemed discombobulated by his new form, unable to fully peer into the future surrounding him due to the Conflagration he was channeling, if her prior encounters with Kae gave him any perspective. All he needed to do now was to keep her off balance. Build false patterns of behavior to lure her in and then exploit her counterattack with one of his own. Yes. More layers to his planning would serve him well. He would direct his subminds to generate more schemes on his behalf once he returned. RESURRECTION - 89% Surfacing back into the central boundaries of his Frame, he regarded the Woundshaper and Galeslither bickering with each other once more. Two Heavens. Two was not enough. He was playing too cautiously right now. He would gather more knowledgeCmore thaumaturgic understanding and set above redesigning his limitations. He wondered what it would take to convince Kae to let him burn her mind into his as a template, but even without his subminds simulations, he knew that to be a difficult ask, and Draus would likely make a good go on seeing him turned truly dead if he deliberately hurt Kae in some way. But he could. And wouldnt it feel thrilling to hurt her just to make the Regular know that she couldnt do anything? Avo turned. His fire turned inward. That thought that thought was unnaturally intrusive. It was certainly his but Something like that had never happened in his Frame before. His control here was always superior. Well, until his shift into his thoughtform Did you hear what I just thought? Avo asked his Heavens. About expanding your internal pantheon? the Woundshaper said. I recommend having only a few of us. Too many gods are unreliable. Quantity is not true substitute for quality, master. He waited to see if the Galeslither would say anything. The triple-headed steed just huffed. RESURRECTION - 99% Shedding his suspicions for now, he prepared himself for his return. He hoped that Zein wasnt already gone by the time he got back and that he would have another chance at subsuming her mind. As threads of radiance pulled taut around him, his Frame burrowed into existence once more and injected him back into reality. He spawned out from the blood left by Andraga, each thread sewing him back into fullness as he manifested in the maintenance room. His mind swelled like a scything blaze spreading wide, and he found Zein Thousandhand leaning against the wall not four feet away. Upon his return, a path of time descended on her and the tracks accelerated through her mind. Her stare narrowed for a moment before they widened. Oh, you are Strixs pride. I see. My other instance was more familiar with you. I had to dip into her allotted paths to get all the details. Most impressive growth. She clapped honestly. Remember me now? Avo asked. [Building new behavior chains to exploit her counterattack.] She nodded. Quite. Well. I borrowed experiences and secondhand explanations from my own future. I dont rightly remember the last time I had to have a conversation with myself to comprehend a situation. Why, if it wasnt for the distinctiveness of your morphology, I wouldnt have had much to go at all with that confusing mind of yours. Your father would be proud, but disturbed. Avo widened his fangs. Not my father. Im more. I can be everyone. Zein smiled congenially. Yes. Youre also exceeding vulnerable to Thoughtwave Disruptions if my memories on the Conflagrations serves me correctlC He attacked. She instantly bathed him in a concentrated cone of thought-rending data. RESURRECTION - 1% Dammit! Half-strand Zein! A neighing laugh came from within his Frame. Are we having difficulties, master? Is your all-consuming mind failing you?Mule. Shut up. The Galeslither did so happily. 14-6 Flavors We do not live just one life, Veylis. There are also lives unlived. Paths untread. Blows unstruck. Possibility is like a phantom existence. A parallel place that could have been, but wasnt. But could have been holds its own power should one seize time by the throat. All of a sudden, the blow you failed to strike, the words you didnt say, the moments you didnt capture are all granted back to you. All it takes is a step sideways. But understand that possibility is not totality. Some things remain nigh-impossible still. Like a child combusting into a star, or your father finally remembering to close his eyes after I behead the ninth-thousandth person in front of him. That man Sometimes, I swear he forgets who he wed. I have to remind him. Remember this, Veylis. Understand the stretch of what can be, and you will see more than the falling blows of your enemy before they land. You will see the shape of the world in its actions and reactions. And you will learn there is a deeper pattern to humanity than you ever notice. Now pick up that spear, and let us do this again. There is a world in which you win this spar yet. Let us both work to discover it. -Zein Thousandhand to Veylis Avandaer 14-6 Flavors Aggravation. If there was a single word that could be used to summarize what it was like to fight Zein Thousandhand, it was aggravation. Five times he ascended back from death to claim her mind. Five times she tested his mettle and blew out the candle of his consciousness. The duels between them were shifting and frenetic. After his second return, his subminds generated a countermeasure and exploited the shadows in the room to dive away from her mind-nulling disruption. She complimented him on temporarily evading his vulnerability by skipping across time to descend into his darkness before beheading him with her glaive. Again, he didnt know how she was striking him. All he knew was that when she sought flesh, her blade found it. Still, there was new freedom in being able to shed his flattering vessel using his consciousness in search of a new body to anchor his ego. With Zein an impossible target, he once again targeted the just-resurrected Andraga, shredding through her memories to mantle himself upon her sheathe anew. Just in time for Zein to spawn again and vanquish his thoughts in a burst of Nether-shaking ghosts. His next two attempts involved growing hundreds of loci across the room using his blood and jumping through them like a circuit. He discovered that as long as he was connected to something that served as a catalyst of one of his domains in the real, he could channel his Heavens. For those final two engagements, he survived a few seconds longer, but alas, when Zein realized what he was doing she swung her blade out once, and all his haemokinetic constructs came apart in sync. Whatever confusion consumed her early on in their fight faded now to curiosity mixed with bemusement. She was studying him now. Testing his limits and reactivity, shifting from place to place across the span of chronology to see how far away she could go before he noticed or casting a trauma forward across time into his thoughstuff, her mind squealing with pitched interest as she watched her own ghosts burn in his replicating flames. By the end, Andraga had found herself demoted from an unwilling participant to something between a bystander and an audience member for a series of performative murders. Despite her Heavens, implants, and skills, she was the non-factor between a self-vectored thoughtform and a time-striding heroine that thrived in the slaughterhouse that was Idheims history. Even as Zein cut Avo from life time and time again, the Scaarthian flinched each time she felt his perception drift over her, wilting back despite her desire to aid Thousandhand. As he returned to life for a sixth time, his subminds loaded into place with an ever-expanding forest of options to deploy against Zein. With each death, his approach deepened in sophistication and complexity. He was going to culture more blood-loci again, but the ones in the real would be a smoke screenCthe main railways protecting his consciousness would be planted in the darkness. There was a risk to using both Heavens so heavily at once, but so long as he ensured his Rend was emptied as soon asC Enough, Zein said, standing across from him without her glaive as he fully rose back into existence. Ive enjoyed this little bout between us, and I see why my other instance was so charmed to face you. But I have given you all the time I can spare, and so the pleasure must come to an end. As the light above them flickered, Avo caught sight of the bone-white ceramic plating that shelled his skull from harm. Unlatched each of the armored petals, he studied his fibrous visage as he sneered. And its over. Just because you said so. Thousandhand cocked her head at him. Well, I could ensure you are greeted with a final death if that is the end you seek. Or I could just leave. Or expose you to the people in the building. You very much overestimate your control of the situation, my young dagger. He glowered still, his subminds debating whether to amplify his bestial aggression or adapt his mind toward a more diplomatic model now that they could pursue other benefits using rhetorical means. A ripple of hate-infused thoughtstuff caught his attention. A low whisper snaked beneath the skin reality around him. Turning his attention to Andraga, he found the Scaarthian glaring at him from the corner, her fists clenched while the augs along her throat crackled. Avo grinned. Finally brave now? Know what, Ill let you kill my body. Ill take that memory and layer it over myself when I brand your mind with my own. As a taunt, he shifted her minds template over his own and simulated her near-term memories. Suddenly, he remembered that she was here to pull her son from an Incubi cell before the dive for his team was to go wrong. He created an effigy of the child over the blazing halo crowning his skull, and he watched with glee as her face twisted in violation and outrage. Sometimes, there were few indulgences more enjoyable than hurting someone while being a ghoul. [Reducing thrill.] Avo felt his excitement dip instantly and frowned. +Why?+ [Not focusing on Zein. Tunnel vision on something you can hurt. Draus mentioned this weakness. We should fix it.] He wanted to get angry at himself for reducing his amusement, but right was right, and now he had the power to change it. He needed to stay focused on Zein. Andraga took a half-reluctant step forward just as he broke eye contact with her. Sound bundled in a tumbling wave around her, and spat an ear-ringing curse in his direction. You motherfuC No, Zein said, spinning on her companion. Do not provoke our dear ghoul. I enjoy fighting him. I will fight him through five more resurrections if you give me the opportunity, but your window will be missed, and your son will be dead. Is that what you wish? The Scaarthian Godclad stopped and clenched her jaw. She fought herself, torn between two actions, one stupid and primal, the other tortured but sensible. Avo saw a more impotent cousin of his beast behind her eyes. Everyone waged quiet wars inside themselves, it seemed. Zein pressed her. Approach him, and he torches your mind anew and becomes suzerain to your soul again. There is no possibility or path in which you overcome him. Not as he is now. And not as you are now. I am the only one sparing you from an undignified fate. Andraga let out a roar and her body twisted violently. Her fist mangled a repair drone, and in the next instant, Zein saw it restored. Oh, to be so helplessly emotionalCto suffer the whims of impulse and sensory feedback without the ability to tune oneself freely. Avo still remembered that hell, and he pitied the woman for living it. He pitied the world. Zein waited till Andraga backed off before regarding Avo again. As she twiddled her fingers, all the damage they inflicted on the room shivered, and things went back to looking the way they were before. It was like the fight never even happened. Or if she copied and pasted one instance of time over another. Tell me: What are you doing here? she asked. He didnt answer immediately, still wondering the depths of her awareness when it came to the nature of his mind. By the last few lives he spent against her, she had grown adept at predicting him again, but he still noticed some guesswork in her actionsCan extra and unneeded skip or two before death finally found him. Come now, dagger, You didnt come here to seek more training from this old woman. Our battle was a chance encounterCa fluke made fated by intersecting paths and improbable possibility. You want something else. Something specific. He let out a low chuff. Just dagger now? Yes. You are still limited in the way you fight, but not quite the juvenile you were in my other selfs memories. She pressed her lips together. I hope you understand that I have committed a grave taboo to understand what you are. It is an ill thing to dig through the memories of another instance. It compromises the safety of the Column cell she directs. Avo mulled over what she said. Shes dead. You know that? Yes, Zein said, sighing wistfully. Killed by my daughter. What a feeling. What a flavor. But lets speak of you. You have changed much in the span of hours. Clicking her tongue, her eyes swiveled as she sank deeper into her own thoughts. What have you done to yourself to achieve this? The Conflagration should have emptied your mind of any substance with its constant self-attrition. How can you exist right now, let alone control their structures? Again, such development in merest hours If her ignorance was true, then the obfuscating effects of the Conflagration remained active against her. Yet, even with all the minds he drew into his totality, he found himself without an answer as to why she was so blinded to him now. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. You couldnt have possibly obtained a counter-axiomatic sophont construct for you to bind to your Metamind, could you? No. Aegis would never permit something like that to cross over into the Nether. Such would be a nightmarish calamity. Her eyes briefly bent into mirthful crescents. But also very amusing before everyones minds blend into a slurry of insanity. She was next to him then, her shift across space and time bearing no prelude and causing him to eject his mind free of his current body in anticipation of a physical attackCthere was no point in trying to save his body; she had killed him physically each time without fail. As she ran an inquisitive finger along his collapsing form, she smirked at him and flickered back where she was while Avo hissed in outrage. He welded his mind and vessel back together before the latter could topple. I will trade you knowledge, Zein said. What did you come for? What do you want? Going to just give it to me? Avo asked. She nodded without hesitation. You deserve a reward for how close you came to actually affecting me. She smirked. You now stand as the second person to harm me in some manner. At least in another path. Say one thing for Zein, say she didn''t hold grudges when you tried to eat her mind and alter her consciousness. What a philosophy it was to be under the faith of martial supremacy. Informational nexus, Avo said. Cluster of loci inC A golden path surged out from her and dragged him across the asphalt of time. Suddenly, things became known to him. Confidential memories gathered by Zein in another future flooded his awareness. He knew. He understood the structure of Ori-Thaums Incubi-based operations. He had the memories connected to theatre convexs and operational leaders. Most importantly, he knew the lead Glaive in charge of the operation that devastated Kaes life. Staggering, he rose from the temporal stupor to find Zen staring at him smugly. Will that suffice? More details were accelerating through his mind, and even his subminds were overwhelmed by countless hours of mem-data dumped into him at once. ...Yes. Good. Now. Your mind. What did you do. Not me, he replied, still distracted by his new knowledge. Low Masters. They did this. They used a war mind against me. I tried to Burn your awareness away so they couldnt claim you? Zein asked, frowning. Wise, but I still dont see the connection. Ah. I was never much of a diver of the Unsea. Unsea? He looked at her, surprised. She scoffed. What did the Hungers tell you? That they were the one to build the Nether alone? Without the Oris vivianite, they would have never been able to commit their first mistake. And your father would have never been my problem. Alas. Alas, alas. Things that could have been but werent. Just like your little run through Nu-Scarrowbur deviating from my plans. And to think it was my constant assistance across the paths that got me noticed by my girlC To engineer the outcome you wanted, Avo corrected. --and killed horribly. She expressed her disappointment with an exaggerated sigh. I had such hopes and dreams. A set piece in mind for your triumph! The ascent of Guard-Captain Draus to a Godclad. An open engagement right outside the Fires Height, and Uthred Greatling, face reddening with humiliation as his daughter finds herself in conflict with both Stormtree and Ori-Thaum assets. All these moments that could be, never to be in this life. She paused. I suppose Ill just have to reestablish the continuity of my desired events should I win the Final Game and claim the tower. [Final Game. She says it like its a competition.] [Because it is. Her mind and behavior are closer matches of a child in a playground than a black legend in the annals of Idheims past. Death is but a setback or a score. Other Godclads are the only true players. The end is to claim the right to alter the canonicity of history and reality itself.] Your daughter, Avo asked. You said she killed you. How? How can she access your miracles? Attack you across time.. His subminds generated a number of responses a baseline mind could give to that statement. Pride was not one of them. Pride, more than even scorn, dominated Zeins freely flowing thoughstuff as her demeanor spoke of respect. My girl has always known to be thorough and encompassing in her measure. Especially with proper enemies. I drilled into her essential skills as best I could, and she learned with an undaunted thirst. A flatness overcame her gaze a moment thereafter. Her expression fell. Perhaps she learned too much from me. Some advice for you, AvoCknow when to stray from your path. [Useless platitude without context.] [Its Zein. Could be wasting our time and bandwidth deciphering her mental deliberately.] Ah, Zein cut him off and held up a single, armored finger. That cell belongs to another instance of myself. I must know nothing about them. It is risky enough that I delved into the experiences of my still-dead counterpart to learn about you. Should I make too much noise down the paths, you may find yourself introduced to the High Seraph herself prematurely. Avo winced. If Veylis could kill a version of Zein so completely, then he didnt need to know his odds against her yet. That wasnt to say part of him was curious, of course. Is her mind protected like yours? Thousandhand threw her head back and cackled. Oh, dagger, this is not information I will freely give. Especially to one such as you. I would not have you pointlessly dead at her hand before your use is completely served. And I will not risk even the slightest possibility of you subsuming my girls consciousness. Avo clicked his fangs at her. Saying theres a chance. Theres always the chance. But I fear it may take centuries for me to find the path of your victory against her should you face her. Your ego would be a novelty to her but if it couldnt surmount me, you will not suffice against her. She will drown you in your own hubris. Not a good habit: Having a soft spot for your enemy. Zein accepted his criticism with good grace. True, but this need not be true forever. For whatever future may come, we yet wish to become family again. As such, we are reluctant to alter such an end. Do your cells know about this? Avo asked. That you intend to protect your daughter. Even with what she did to Jaus? Her father? A dangerous glint flashed behind her eyes. Something inside Avo screamed for him to get away, to run and hide and never return. Coldness flooded through some of his ghosts, and he arrested the instinctive portions of his mind that sought to unman his fortitude while preparing for a new attack. No blows came. No sword. No Thoughtwave Disruption. What did she do to Jaus? Zein asked. Killed him. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. Death is nothing. You provoke me with noise instead of sense. I will forgive you this time. Do you know why Ninth Column exists? Zein asked. Because the Guilds deviated from Jaus'' dream? Avo said. Broke the future? No. That is past. That is lost. Ninth Column exists because I will them too. Because I support their operations against the impossible power of the Guilds, and offer the infrastructure to allow them a comfortable existence within the organs of their enemies. No other personCGodclad or notCcan give what I give, do what I do. And so, the voiders support me in their desperate hope that I can restore my love and cure the calamity building between powers. And because I struck an accord to ensure my reality would accommodate some of their wants. So. You make deals? I bridge what remains of his ruined dream, Zein said. Through me, he might yet be restored, but also through me, the world can still be preserved. Preserved, Avo said. This is about the Arks. Youre trying to keep the Guilds in equilibrium because the Arks have something you need? She didnt speak, but her terse smile hinted at his accuracy. It takes more than just a Heaven to structure the Ladder. The Arks were decent enough prototypes, but they serve as reasonable pillars as well. But I have said enough. My time with you is finished. We should have never met. Leaving? Avo said. So soC She waved. And between blinks, he found himself standing in an empty grey room beside Zein. His DeepNav placed him near the edge of the Undercroft in the Teirs, and he was over a thousand miles away from where he started. You can return to the Warrens from here if you wish. A silent war is brewing between Ori-Thaum, the Sang, Highflame, and Stormtere, so you have an opening. Tossing me out of your run? Avo asked. Yes. Exactly. He couldnt help but chuff a laugh. The old woman could be direct when she wanted to. You are changing things, Avo. Changing yourself rapidly as well. Her words trailed off as she considered what next to say. She reached up and patted him upon his cheek in a faux-motherly manner. He responded by brushing her hand off with an Echohead and hissing at her, earning the old woman series of chuckles. Ever did he feel like a nu-kitten hissing at a demon. Dont be disheartened about dying. Victory is victory, defeat is defeat. But advancement is also advancement, and growth is growth. The totality of all the facts matter. A beat passed. Avo just stared at her. Cant tell if youre encouraging me or mocking me. Both, I suppose. We all deserve some respect for our efforts. We all deserve ridicule for our failings. The responses we offer need not be one thing alone. If you would heed my words now, I have a final suggestion to grant you. He grunted. It was tempting to try and make a final go at her, but subminds estimated a 99.99% chance of immediate nulling if he tried without proper setups in place. You should learn to live life, she said, finally. Dont just wander. Dont just explore. Dont just hunt and stalk and glory in power. Understand fully. Epitomize virtue and shed weakness. Broaden your palate. Live the lives of others. Live the lives of those you will kill or spare. You have seized for yourself a giftCa power of deeper understanding than anyone in this world can fathom. Use it. Become everything and everyone. As your father said: Seek the colors. Avo blinked. He hadnt expected this. Why? Why? She asked. What do you mean? Why are you telling me this? I would have burned away your mind. I would have changed you to agree with me. To become like me. She patted him again, though this gesture was imbued with far more pity. You have the potential to be a new power. There is a facet, of his dream in what you are. Jaus? Yes. A comingling of minds. A union of thoughts. Perfect symmetrical empathy to deepen our bonds. You are far more exploitative than this ideal but there is potential. And if a monster can learn to express the heights of humanity and goodness You want me to be another path for the city? Avo asked. Another better ending to reality? Beginning, Zein said. What kind of existence would you like to behold, Avo? What is your dream? He didnt have an immediate answer. Zein didn''t wait for him to respond before she vanished again. Alone, he found himself standing in an empty room far from where he started. Thoughts sped through his head. He wondered why ZeinCor this version of herCwanted Andraga, and how they were going to hide what happened with Benhata. Perhaps the Concave would just disappear. Vanish into mystery. That would inflict morale damage too. But more importantly, he had what he came for, though it came far more freely given than he expected. Deactivating his Incog, he turned to regard the endless sea of sparkling accretions beyond the featureless walls of the room he was in. There was a vibrancy to the Tiers that the Warrens lacked. A kinetic essence. A liveliness. The Tiers. He recalled once thinking this place was home to him, of having an apartment and owning fish. Even now, he could still remember his district and address. Now why would that be if his memories were fake? And when had his father ever left him a herring that led nowhere? With Ori-Thaums mem-data claimed and Abrel still in Voidwatchs custody, he decided to embark on one final expedition of the day. This one was to be personal. This one led him on the path back home. It was time to learn what nostalgia tasted like. 14-7 Home (I) Home is a fickle thing, Avo. You should know that. Just because you spend imps to place things that belong to you inside doesnt make it permanent. I know you already understand because uh the war, but I still need you to do something for me. That sense of security when youre inside these walls? Do your best to stop feeling it. Thats the thing that gets homes burned down and destroyed. Its like a kind of false mythology, something you treat as true but isnt. Theres nothing stopping the Guilds from incinerating us from their heights with a thought if they knew what we were doing right under their noses. Someone might tell you home is the people you love are, or a place where you feel safe. Im not. I care about you too much. Truth is: home is a lie. We live on a lie. Step back a hundred years and you wouldnt be in New Vultun. You wouldnt be living on these lofty heights beside the Arks and all these miracles. Instead, you would be a part of the deep city of Noloth. Things change fast. -Walton to Avo 14-7 Home (I) The Tiers were beyond the expressions of words and paintings alike. When a place was woven between the material and the conceptual, what followed was mood and moment intertwined, with miracles made mundane by commonplace portrayals upon this pedestal pressed against the lips of the skies. Simply put, ones perception of the Tiers was tied to their FATE Skein. Even from afar, he could see the phantasmal strings running from mind to mind, from lines between blocks and people and vehicles more. He alone drifted unseen through a world of strings, studying the glory of the risen world from the black. Zein had placed him in the Undercroft. Here, most thought this Tier to be the first step on the path to true paradise, but Avo had always thought of it as cartilage. Cartilage isolating those merely FATED from fully committed Guilders, and the FATED themselves from corpses-to-be that fed the fatal engines of the city. Memories from one of his templates rose from the deepest fathoms of the burning ocean he called a consciousness. He remembered reading a voider bookCa physical bookCdecrying the nature of capital, of how a middle-caste was to serve as a pillar to blunt the conflict between the highest elites and lowest dredges. The Undercroft, much like the Tiers themselves, offered a facsimile of hope. A path upward into glory. To even reach here was to make it in New Vultun. You were finally a full person. You were finally protected by a Great Guild. Rights and legalities became a thing. But there was still higher to go. Still more apex to rise. The neon-tinted edge that most gazed from the Warrens was but the first step of normalcies egress. Despite the density of infrastructure and the sheer weight of mem-data congesting every inch of his cog-feed, things were yet comprehensible to the human mind, albeit slightly different. Hypertubes spread out like arteries throughout the various districts, but the air remained sparse of aerovecs. Ergonomic was the aesthetic here, with ghost-directed lanes sending clouds of delivery drones across the cities while signals and signs indicated the shifting of traffic lights along with accessible movement vectors. He caught sight of a drone moving forward when it wasnt meant to. It snapped back where it started, its geometric reality working akin to a rubberband. As he walked down the streets of Pendross Ravine, his Frame shuddered constantly, the passing weight of countless Heavens pulling at him. Beneath his feet likewise burned a network of Souls connected to every major block, with certain lesser miracles available on demand to the public. All that you need to do was think. He studied his supposed home as an invader would, using darkness to mask his encroach while sweeping his eyes over all the sights like a tourist. Striations ruled here. Between every structure, every shape, every silhouette was something different, and the masses moved beneath the vivacity of skull-thumping advertisements, their bodies painted in segregation of color that indicated their loyalties to one another. A good percentage of people guarded their identities via holo-coats, masking themselves in a static sheen or used some kind of virtual proxy aesthetic. Emergency responses were nigh instant here, so clashes were rare. Rare didnt mean bloodshed didnt arise nor that the Undercroft was clean of crime. Things were merely neater here. The filth clung under the skin. He moved in the darkness, catching only brief glimpses of the city. After Zein set him loose, he found the open air inaccessible from the sheer amount of attention saturating its expanse, while the sheer variety of Heavens at play made him move with greater caution. His Incog remained active, but without needing to face the mind-flaying pulses of perception radiated by skimmers, he moved with relative ease, though still wary of his path ahead. Loci infested the buildings and streets, and Guilder Necros patrolled their beats with greater vigor and professionalism than most from the gutters could muster. He needed to remain a ghost. He needed to stay unseen. Just because he wasnt directly under the blade anymore didnt mean it was far from falling. And here, he wouldnt have the good fortune to just face a cadre of Godclads or two. He literally couldnt cross the street when the light was red here, and as his subminds reviewed his engagement with Thousandhand, he considered the folly of his impulses. He had changed. He had grown greater and stranger than before, but his need to consume still controlled his actions like an impulse. It didnt even seem wrong or foolish at the time. He was just compelled. Compelled. And he thought he could feel strange movements shifting about within his mind. [Will need to study ourselves. See if something is wrong.] [How? How can something be wrong? We feel everything. Were aware of everything in our mind. This is paranoia. Another war mind?] [Dont know. Need more data. Two miles from block. Were almost home.] [Home. Is it? Are we real? How much of our memories are true?] [Need more data for that too. Lets go find out. See if the door opens for usCif the neighbor is still a No-Dragon grafter.] Creeping past the edge of a block, he found block twelve curving up to cup the sky in a U-shape. Along the center of each of its levels, a thin sheet of undulating water contained the demiplanar penthouses apart from the material abodes of the recently FATED or of lesser means. He remembered he lived on level three-twenty-four, in room fifty-two A.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. A tetrahedral landmass fused over the shoulder of the block and from it thundered melodies growled from distorted strings and lyrics howled from a rasping throat. There was something familiar in the music, but recently so. The singer sounded like Cas, strangely enough. Avo almost wanted to tap into the local Nether lobbies for details but caught himself before he could inflict any damage and betray his position. He continued on toward his block instead, settling to satisfy a major point of curiosity over a lesser one. *** Some half-strand nulled me yesterday, Reva muttered, her mind a sour note of pain. Across from her, the Necro some knew as White-Rab turned over on the bed to regard his lover. She had all but broken his door down earlier trying to get in, and he felt her stress even though the wardings he installed along the inner panels of the walls. Apparently, she slipped the Paladins and her own Guildmates to come find him immediately after whatever the hell was going on down in the Warrens. He couldnt say he wasnt flattered. When he finally let her in, the look in her eye made him wonder if she was going to do something unwise right then and there. The Rash was of no permanent consequence to her. Reva Javvers was a BloodthaneCa Godclad. Raldi Nauser, on the other hand, was just really good at wriggling his way into someone elses head. The sensations of their mental coupling still tickled at the back of his mind, and he felt his Lustaway engage as he was enraptured by her presence next to him, her scent. He had done his best to give her some contentment during their shared dive, but even lost in their throes, he could see feel her burden nudging him like a hardened knot made out of mental scabbing. Whatever happened must have been something terrible to see her storm her way into his home without announcement, to ask him for comfort without pretense or even small talk. Their relationship had never been a gentle oneCespecially considering it started with him nulling herCbut Reva had always kept her troubles to herself as best she could. Not today though. Not today. Raldi didnt like that, and what he didnt like, he had a habit of changing. You want me to try hunting them down? Resurrections usually wipe your slate clean, but considering your wards, I have a pretty short list of people to go after. Hope its not XVX though. Thats gonna be a nasty dive. She tilted her face ever so slightly to reward him with the barest inch of a smile. Her metallic hair tided itself automatically and shifted out of the way as she turned to face him. His lust-suppressing phantasmic fired again and he found himself content just to stare at her for a while. He hadnt expected this in his life. Especially not with a Stormtree Godclad. Hells, he had rules against any kind of relations even before the rash, but when girl you nulled decides to spare your life in exchange for services saving one of their consangs from being tortured by the No-Dragons in Kososo, things lead from one place to another pretty quick. She mumbled something. He blinked. He considered having his ghosts play it back to him, but he wanted to hear her say it again instead. Say again? Yeah, but the Nether was down? Reva said. Highflame Thoughtwave Detonation took that right out. Didnt stop them from pricking me with some blood and reaching into my mind. A slight flash of discomfort ran through her features. The way they jacked it reminded me a bit of you. You know, how you nulled me the first time. He frowned. Well, that was disconcerting. He had his fans and copycats in the Nether, but as far as he could tell, none of them managed to emulate his process to any meaningful extent. This happen during your, uh, home leave? Yeah, she scoffed. My fucking uncle got in a pissing contest with some Highflame princeling calling himself Mirrorhead. Oh, shit, Jhred Greatling, You know about him? Reva asked. Yeah. His house is spook-central for Incubi. Also used some of his Crucibles as jump points across the Nether. He sighed. I couldve helped you with him. Yeah. And get you embroiled in Guilder shit. You hate Guilders. He grinned at her. Only most of them. And you sometimes. Youre real romantic tonight, you know that, Rab? Hm. So, this NecrocladC Please dont call him thatC Not a lot of overlap between our lines of work, dont you think? Im thinking either Ori-Thaum or No-Dragons. Ashthrone might have someone like that, but honestly, theyre on the way out. Theyll be lucky if they have enough Souls to be a functional participant in the last war after what Omnitech did to them. She didnt seem convinced, and as she opened her mouth to speak, as a session activated in her Metamind, a set of memories in her Auto-Seance repeating. She rolled her eyes and rejected the link. Fuckers. Whose that? Longeyes? Whoa. Arent they the big-uns for you guys? Something like that. They can go fuck themselves for tonight. Im tired. I got my ass kicked. I watched my childhood home get smashed by a cadre HighflamersCled by Abrel Greatling if thats a surprise to youCand now theres a quiet war brewing, my half-strand uncle is missing, and I need to attend some bullshit political thing because the Articles. For some future-seeing, all-knowing matriarchs they sure let me get fucked to death this time. Couldve been out of left field for them too, Raldi replied. Ill try to find your uncle. Vincintine, was it? Dont bother. If hes dead, hes dead. Might be an improvement on our family. He clicked his tongue and shook his head. You see, this why you shouldve chosen to be an orphan. None of this baggage stuff. Despite his low effort at humor, she still snorted a laugh. He liked how she let the wrinkles around her eyes crease and didnt smoothe her skin. He liked how pointed her chin was, and the slight scar running diagonally across her lip. He liked how she kept her ocular implants subtle to retain that natural hazel hue. He likedC WARNING: SPECTER THRESHOLD-1 HAS BEEN TRIGGERED WARNING: SPECTER THRESHOLD-2 HAS BEEN TRIGGERED WARNING: SPECTER THRESHOLD-3C WARNINGC A dozen more warnings flashed behind his minds eye. The bemusement vanished from Revas face as her expression turned iron-hard. What? Whats wrong. Could be nothing. Could be some aratnids triggering my proximity detectors or if someones using an Incog butC But theres a chance someones trying to get in? Not here. The old place I had. You remember what told you about the Strix. My old mentor? Reva took a second to think. Yeah. You gave some of your memories to him, right? Raldi winced. Dont remind me. Anyway, he said that someday, someone might show up looking for me there thinking its their place. And then what? What else did he say? Nothing. The half-strand got himself killed doing something really stupid. But I did end up getting something from him. I wasnt supposed to access it until the guest arrived. Her battle-readiness faded, and she brushed a thumb along his cheek. He shivered and his Metamind screamed. Uh, RevaC Her eyes widened slightly and she caught herself. Sorry. That was reckless. Godsdamned rash. Its fine. Im protected. Anyway, you know how I am with directions What Im trying to say is that I immediately tried to open the mem-packet. And? Couldnt. Strix had to show me up even after he died. And now, if were not just looking at a bunch of rats crossing into my own room, our mystery guest might finally be at my doorstep. She shrugged the sheets off and propped herself against the headrest. So. You want do this the usual way? What? I hide in your mind, and you make the house-call? Yeah, she said. I could use the excuse to clear my head, and make up for not letting you hide inside my mind for Nu-Scarrowbur. Wow, Reva Javvers learning from her mistakes. Nu-Scarrowbur was that bad, huh? She jabbed him lightly. Pain exploded across his arm. He was going to need to pour some rainwater over it later. 14-8 Home (II) Are you tired of all the ads and invasive miracles licking at your skin every time you walk the streets? Are you seeking a community of like-minded people who strive to make their lives better while also elevating the prosperity of their Guild? Or maybe you just earned your FATE and are looking for some affordable shelter while you acclimate yourself to the wonders of the Tiers? Whatever it is you want, block-15 at Pendross Ravine has you covered. Powered by a modern-twelve-core techno-thaumic and imbued with Heavens designed to bring convenience to you and yours, block-15 has now been cleared to house 50,000 new homeowners thanks to upgrades made to its geometric-efficiency canons. But dont linger! The available rooms are dropping and dropping fast, with the hydro-pent housing at 100 unitsCsorry, 32 units and falling! You didnt get here by waiting, did you? No. You took life by the throat. You proved yourself one way or another. You are worthy. And you deserve to be blessed for your achievements. Tarry, and the moment slips, but if you take that plunge, you might just find out how far up into the sky one can fall. Home is just a thought away. -Pendross Ravine Housing Ad 14-8 Home (II) The most obvious deviation between a block in the Warrens and a block in the Undercroft was the aesthetic. Where most buildings below the reach of the Tiers were little more than hulking cubes of abused alloy held together by patchwork repairs and clicking flaps of tarp when the wind passed through, block-twelve was more like a cake with its stacked layers. The divide between the floors was marked by dotted lines of pulsing neon, and delineation ran symmetrical to the sheets of inch-thin water that held additional housing within specialized demiplanes. Like most blocks of its design, its central thaumic engine was nested deep in its structure away from easy access, and the sheen of ever-changing phantoms spewing a non-stop stream of Highflame and Omnitech sponsored media. Figures moved and writhed as colors descended the full spectrum of light along the side momentum of change. As the light bloomed, shadows shivered, and Avo found his swim at an end. He surfaced from the black. Light showered him, but unwanted attention continued to glance off his person. The crowds were a mesh of implants, heights, sizes, and colors, with several of them running holocoat privacy functions and a few baring their allegiance out and proud. Hustle, bustle, and noise were insufficient descriptors for the streets of the Undercroft. Minds pulsed loud with music being openly streamed straight through a nearby lobby, and more than a few ran cognitive filters that adjusted their visual surroundings to a theme more to their liking. Nu-dogs, nu-cats, and nu-pets of divided morphologies strutted upon streets of gleaming plascrete behind their owners. Some towered over their masters while others were engineered to fit within pockets. A few were even implanted organic sockets grafted into their masters flesh, but that veered toward the extremes of even the New Alloyist modding scene. As an ad changed and light struck the street again, Avo finally noticed the constructs that gave the Undercroft its namesake. The Wights. There were fewer of them than ever now. Ever since the Guilds had improved their in-house drone manufacturing capabilities, the need to use locus-implanted corpses as menial labor grew impractical. Still, their accumulation over the years left something bordering on the edge between sentimentality and indifference to their presence. For those that couldnt afford a top-end machine, Wights were still cheap and common enough to supply most households. Unlike the people, the Wights sported plastic faces locked in an eternal rictus or a blank look completed with a hollow gaze. Some among them carried bags, while others served as perception points for vicarity stars. More worked in tandem with spider-like cleaner drones, scrubbing at more intimate stains while the machine they were festooned upon rattled along the sides of builds and bridges. Spurring his Echoheads to chitter, a blanket of static reached out from him, and he laid his mind upon his surroundings as a proper greeting after a long absence. A few eyes recoiled from his person and he felt three of his ghosts shatter into rising steam. An intrusive thought came to him, wondering just how many lives he could snuff out as a response to the ignorant slight he just suffered, and how fast the Guilds would respond. His Woundshaper hummed appreciatively at the idea. There are ten thousand lives with our gasp on this street alone. It would but take a squeeze before we take another step up the ladder of divinity, master. Just think of the potential just think of the rise. Angled away from the Heaven of Blood, the Galeslither brayed its disgust. Do it then. Betray your ideals towards choice and individual. Be the rank butcher you were made to be by your betters. Betters. Of all the words of his Galeslither, that was the only one that truly tasted ill. [Its tempting. Risky. Estimate at least a few hundred thousand deaths if we use our Sangunity. Simulated Guild response will be near-immediate. They will pocket the area we affect. Cant hide the action. Too much damage. Our prey dont have Incogs. Spreading our mind will leave us vulnerable to more vectors of perception] Testing his consciousness, he shifted through his various templates and nearly staggered from the eruption of horror that seized his thoughts. [We were thinking of casual genocideC] [These were FATED! The rights imbued within their persons by the Articles cannot beC] [Kae will never forgive you. Essus will never forgive you. Draus will try to kill you. Chambers will well, Chambers is pretty much in love with you, so you can do what you want there.] With a surge of effort, Avo cast off his newly invoked humanity. The mountain of anguish vanished from where it was within him, and his Echoheads scraped along the memite plating of the walls he was leaning again. A few swinging gazes splashed new to him, minds confused as to what could have made such a loud screech when there was no one there. But by then, he was already gone. Going vertical, Avo set a path for the side of block twelve as he fired his Celerostylus and cycled his blood. Tendrils worked in tandem with his Echoheads as rose like a fired flechette. There were countless loci dotting the exterior, serving as anchors for ghosts and surveillance phantasmics. Between each shard of embedded vivianite, however, was a crackCa crevice he could make large, and through the shadows sprawling through the blocks internal system would he find his way up. Being a Godclad was really quite the convenience. No need for front doors or thoughtscans. No need to be shunted across the in-block transit system to arrive. Tunneling beside stretches of circuitry and humming filters working to keep the air clean, he followed his DeepNav and spilled out on floor 324. This deep into the structure, most minds were parted from his attention by lobby-directed ghosts that put up veils of obfuscation between each room for privacy. Strange. He didnt remember his block having that. His apartment had been far less insured, demanding that he built his own protections personally. This, however, looked like it was covered by the block-admin itself. It was unlikely things could change so much in the month or two he was supposedly absent. Painted shards of glass glinted from the walls, each slotted against the other with their broken bits fitting perfectly between plasteel doors. Ahead, he heard a set of mag-locks disengage. A childCno more than eightCshot out from the open door with his triple-jawed nu-dog in hot pursuit.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Hey, slow down. A stocky man shoved the door open as he strode after his son. Avo expanded his Sanguinity and caressed the shapes of the other bodies in the hallway with him. The boy and his dog were all flesh, while the father had certain changes made to his eye, spine, and skin. Blinking at the air, the mans eyes flashed as he swept his perception around. His attention skipped right over Avo like he wasnt there. Shaking his head, the man shed his suspicion and locked the doors behind him with a thought. Avo sidestepped into darkness and let the boy and his father pass. Those were the tenets from fifty-three A. He didnt remember the No-Dragon grafter that lived next to him having a family. Stepping back into the hallway, Avo kept his apprehension in check as he made his way over to his door. His home. Standing before his old doorway, Avo found himself frozen. The door was thought-locked, and if he touched it with his mind, he would likely just end up subsuming the phantasmal structures it was tied to. Taking the entirety of the blocks loci-based infrastructure into himself would have been easy. Just as easy as killing all those people out on the street. A new thing he learned about the UndercroftCbeing here teased the basest of his desires. Silencing his urge to do harm with his subminds, he settled on making his entrance through more miraculous means. He had been thinking about things too much like Necro. Sometimes, being a Godclad made all the difference. Forming a domed shroud of blood behind him, the lights of the hallway instantly dimmed, and Avo plunged back into darkness. He dipped and rose on the other side in a single action, and as he took the first steps into his abode, he immediately noticed how dusty everything seemed to be. Like no one had lived here in years. His living room table was missing, and beneath his wall-mounted locus should have been his fishes, long and colorful, darting about in the twelve feet of the room they were allotted. Right now, there was nothing there. Just two empty alcoves taunting him with absence. On the other side of the room, the dining quarters were uprooted and demolished as well. Things had been unbolted from the ground itself. The only thing that stayed consistent with his memories was the Wight he owned left slumped opposite to him against the wall. The dead woman continued smiling her wax-clasped smile at him as if all was well in the world. The fact she was the only thing that bore any symmetry drove him to frown. [Memories increasingly questionable.] [Too many inconsistencies. Couldnt have been evicted in two months. Could we?] Even if his status as owner had been cleared from the blocks systems, that didnt mean they would be remodeling so soon. Presently, the place looked more abandoned than anything else. Broadcasting his blood wide and allowing his Echoheads to chitter again, his mind an influx of material patterns rushed through his mind, and his uncertainty flared as he felt five different loci embedded between the floorboards and within a chair leg respond to his touch. A succession of blasts pulsed from each loci as Avo felt perception wash over him. Hyper-sensitive pressure triggered loci. He didnt remember setting that, and more importantly, that wasnt something someone would set up for pleasure. There was intent behind its design. This place was a trap. He shouldC +So, youre finally here.+ He encased himself in haemokinetic armor as the thoughtcast took him by surprise. Across from him, the Wight lifted its head and turned its face from corner to corner. +You must be running an Incog since I cant see you, but seeing as there arent any aratnids around, I think its safe to say were finally Wight-to-face.+ The unknown Necro chuckled, and the Wight blinked its eyes at him rapidly. His initial responseCto swallow the locus directing the Wight with his ConflagrationCwas intercepted by hesitation. What was this? Did Walton plan this? +Ive known you were coming for a while,+ the speaker continued, their true tone masked by a deep chorus of other voices layered over each other. The situation became known to him in an instant C someone had installed an Auto-Seance within the Wights locus. +The Strix told me about you. Apparently, youre supposed to think your home is my home. I guess thats what I get for trusting another Necro with my memories.+ [Confirms it. Our memories are false.] [No. Nothing confirmed until we devour their mind.] [Dont know if anythings true. They could be wrong too. Walton isnt honest. Maybe to protect us from other Low Masters.] A ghoul could hope. +Listen, do you mind dropping the Incog? I jacked into the blocks systems. You wont be noticed, but Id like a face to speak and not a blank spot my mind refuses to notice. Also, I want you to know that this is the nicest I have been in months. Usually, if I suspect someones running an Incog, I let a disruption rip. Better safe than nulled, eh consang?+ [Cant trust him.] [Walton told him we were coming. Not about trust. About more details.] [Cant show ourselves like this. Too distinct. Theyll get an image of us. Easy to track.] +The grafter next door pulled a runner a few months back. Also, she moved apartments even before that. I stopped keeping fishes after the No-Dragons started using them to spy on people. Turns out they made a Heaven just for that.+ Avo clenched his fangs together. He might have some questions about Green River after this. +The Wights the only thing I left. And its for you. I figured if I remembered it, you would too. Now, I dont know how, uh, alike were gonna be, so Ill tell you what. We can do this face-to-face if you want. Meat to meat. That might inspire some trust.+ The door behind Avo opened in perfect sync with the end of the mans words. Avo spun around just as the doorway opened up. Revealing nothing. Avo blinked. Then he felt itCa new pattern unlatching itself from the plascrete, striding free as if they were part of the matter themselves. The holocoated figure pointed out at them. Avo fired his Celerostylus first. He tried to liquefy them but a clash of eldritch resonance rang out between them. [Godclad.] His subminds drained away his startlement before it could settle and sharpened his instincts. Where his haemokinesis strained to spear through his foes presence, the Galeslithers Hell enchained them in stasis. But by then they began to vibrate, and his Rend emptied fast. Tensing his consciousness, he prepared to burrow into a new mind, and from his stretched clawing flames that licked through the realm of cognition. He was a breath away when the entire room erupted into a thought-rend tide of force. He died instantly. RESURRECTION - 1% *** In one instant, the space in front of Reva was nothing but room, and then in the next, nine feet of a pale betentacled bioform collapsed like a marionette with its strings severed and died. And over its corpse, a fiery metaphysical scab began to form. She caught herself and staggered, feeling a strange lurch of resistance flow through her momentarily. Her cog-feed also showed her Shatterborns Rend as up by a few percent. Something just paradoxed with her. A lingering hiss rasped over her mind as she imbibed a passing memory of hunger denied. Whatever that was, it felt feral and frustrated. The Bloodthane blinked. +Raldi, what the hell just happened?+ +Ghosts got too close to your wards. Whoever our consang is, they mustve triggered my proximity countermeasures.+ She suppressed a shiver of discomfort. Getting nulled twice in less than two days was too much even for her. +Thanks. Whend you put those in?+ +Just now. Easier when Im piggybacking. Its hard to hide from your Stormtree-sequenced crapCwhat are your Necros doing? I thought you guys work with Ori-Thaum. You should just let me sequence your Meta. Save yourself the misery.+ +Yeah, considering Im not gonna enjoy explaining our relationship to the Longeyes, the answer is still no. Sorry.+ Looking at the corpse, she shook her head and sighed. Fuck me, thats a big one. Hard to imagine it had been right in front of her this entire time. She traveled through the concrete to arrive in the room at the same time Raldi started talking. For a good while, the target remained hidden, and her patience frayed. If there was one thing Reva Javvers hated, it was Incogs. Godsdamned Silvers were half-strands for making that. Walking over to the unmoving creature, she looked down at its still form and the eight twitching carapaced limbs connected to its back. There was something bone-like about its appearance, but when she nudged it over and one of the plates shielding its face flopped open, she found herself wondering if it was some kind of heavily modified ghoul. +What is that?+ Raldi whispered in her mind. +That looks like a ghoul but it was running an Incog What killed it?+ Never mind that, she replied, her attention entirely fixated on the building plumes of fire prying from between the scar tissue of reality, I got some shitter news. +I oh, fuck I see it. Thats a bigger problem+ Yeah, Reva breathed. Im not the only Clad in this room. 14-9 Drawbacks Let me tell you a story about my favorite gun. Spoiler: Its a piece of shit. Situationally. Now, you might be wondering, Tavers, you old sow, why is your favorite gun a piece of shit? Did you survive all those years in the Warrens off raw luck alone? The answer is yes, by the way. You have to be lucky to make it out down here. Any squire that says otherwise is bullshitting you. Anyway, favorite gun. Omnitech piece they called the Transgressor SupremeCyeah, yeah, fuck off. I know the names real rust, but I was eighteen and it was the finest godsdamned piece I could get my hands on. Id like to start by mentioning the Transgressors problems. Its large. Eighty pounds of alloy and complex machinery. Its complex. Takes a bit of technical know-how to even aim the damn thing. It sucks power like a growing Scaarthian does a teat, and more than once I found myself gunning the trigger only to see my beam materialize and fizzle in the same instant. Let me tell you, theres no cold dread like the dread you feel when your gear fails you in the field. To top this shame-cake off, the damn thing explodes if you overclock it. Im not even talking about the cute might splatter a flat or two pops. This shit goes off like a goddamn mini-nuke because its literally running an unstable microfusion battery. Remember when I said Omnitech made it? Yeah, it shows. Everything Voidwatch considers a science is more an art to the glitchers. Anyway, by this point you might be wondering why Im even using this thing. After all, it sounds like an unwieldy death trap thats more liable to get me killed than keep me alive in a firefight. Well, consang, let me get to the situational part. You see, the Transgressor is a nightmare to use, but a dream to assemble. Whatever thaumic fuckery the Red did to make it come together, it works like a dream. The entire things also spinal-mounted and thought-fired, so your hands are free to do other things, like gouge someones eye out or hold your guts in. The power system might be a sow and a half, but its flexible, and so is its recharge. You can feed it sunlight, electricity, coal, heat, synaptic tissue hells, if theres one thing the Transgressor does right, its combat longevity. All this comes to a beautiful crescendo when you''re burning holes through unarmored skulls for a single percent of your charge in one instant, and then when a fucking golem blasts down the wall next to you and you feel your wards start to give, you flick that shit up to ninety and let the world around you boil. Crank too hard, and the Transgressor might explode. Thats true. But you handle things right, and this thing will core a Sangeist from 10 miles away, and let me say that there isnt a more satisfying feeling than dropping something god-touched with just your gun, your grit, and a little bit of luck to serve as the grease. Anyway, the point is that you gotta know your tools. Know what its built for. I knew some smart godsdamned squires that got snuffed because they didnt have what the run demanded. A nova Necrojack isnt going to be much use to you if theyre trapped in a firefight right next to you, and a snuffers just waiting to get their strings cut if theyre wandering around with no N-Sec. Figure your shit out. Figure out your kit. Keep your preferences secondary. -Quail Tavers 14-9 Drawbacks Perhaps some countermeasures are in order? Some kind of support structure to prevent your sudden demise? I understand that the patterns of vivianite can serve as a conductor to your ghosts and thoughts. Mayhaps that might be a solution. Avo was far ahead of his Woundshaper when it came to resolving his new vulnerability, but an outright solution remained annoying far. The problem lay in the nature of the Nether and the reactions within Necrotheurgy as a whole. A Thoughtwave Disruption was less akin to a bomb and more a chaotic vortex collapsing consciousness beyond their housing in the material. For most, that usually meant losing track of what they were thinking or needing to reset their Metas. For AvoCas a thoughtform unchained from the anchor of a bodyCthis resulted in his swift and unceremonious death. There was something about how phantasmics and ghosts could stay rooted to a body so long as it was bound to the material even as the Nether came crashing down around them. Avo understood himself to be the inverse. The fullness of his self had been drawn over into the Nether by the merging of his Conflagration and the war mind, and now bodies were less anchors to him and more articles of clothing. Sheathes, in a word. RESURRECTION - 88% His current empowerment in the realm of cognition had also left him with severe drawbacks. Presently, even simple Thoughtwave Disruptions were a matter of concern. What would happen when a Thoughtwave Detonation destabilized an entire section of the real like in Yuulden-Yang? Would he even be capable of resurrecting in such an environment? Was his consciousness just going to cling to the vivianite formed by his blood somehow? More pressingly, how was he going to remove himself from his current situation once he returned, and they simply decided to hit him with another disruption? Presently, one plan was to grow Auto-Seances within shards of blood-wrought loci before casting them into the dark and pushing them down the hall. This way, he could shift out of his body if he suspected an attack was coming. Again, he found his mind drifting back to Kae and her exocortex. Considering the war mind festering within his being, he wasnt entirely certain a machine intellect would prove to be the insulation he needed, but he would never learn without experimentation. Perhaps the next update to one of his canons could be something of a closed planar pathway? A Domain of Space that interfaced only with him and not the world somehow? Such an improvement would prove most useful when paired with the unfettered nature of his consciousness. He also wondered if integrating more external Conflagration aspects would broaden his cognition any further. With every growth, a new vulnerability. But with every growth came new paths to ascension. His untethered thoughtform made him vulnerable to Nether-destabilization, but it also made him an apex predator in the Dreaming Unsea. If he wanted to escape, the clearer path was through. Through the locus of the Wight. Throughout the session, it was running into the Necro on the other side. That way, he could escape into a new body and also comprehend all that was transpiring in the same instant. Drawback. Benefit. Vulnerability. Advantage. I approve of your thoughts for once. the Galeslither said. Shadows flicked up like dust devils from the skin of the tempest-molded steed. Six storm-cracked eyes stared at him from three heads, and he sensed a faint note of excitement in the Heaven. Your sense of direction is good. I believe escapingCand devouring the mind of the unknownCis a viable passage to freedom. Would you accept some criticism, God in my stead? The Woundshaper existed on creating and killing, fitting considering its lore as a Blood God of creation and sacrifice. The Galeslither, contrarily, was delighted to flee, delighted to seek the horizon in any situation. Such want was not born of cowardice, but worship. To seek the curve and place trouble behind was a victory all its own, and for those to offer themselves to the skies in exchange for faster wind were martyrs not unlike the huntresses the Woundshaper so loved. Over the Woundshapers scoff, Avo allowed the Heaven of Air to speak. You are of a different nature than I or the Butcheress. Our divinity was communal. Worshipped by countless, shaped by communities. You are an egocentrist, and the masses serve only as your fuel. Calling me arrogant? Avo asked. No. You are always willing to learn. True arrogance denies a person such a gift. But you are reckless. And you fixate on specific things, concepts, and actions far too much. And you are impatient. Avo paused. The last fact he could not deny. I had the opportunity. I wanted to learn how my changes worked in a practical environment. And you were too good to waste your flames swallowing the low-quality minds of the murders in the streets that you had to sample the finest delights found only in the heights? You wanted this. The thrill guides you, and you placed no safeguards against it. You might have an expanded consciousness, but you are more enslaved by your whims than ever. You feel what you wish to feel. You pluck and shape thoughts to suit your every demand. You are forgetting a critical part of every journey. Whats that? Friction. Even the softest wind drags against an object. You should feel the world pressing back against you so you know what you face instead of a self-constructed gilded cage of phantasmal falsehoods. What you do now is beyond delusion. I will not lie to feed my ire: I envy your freedom to shift between persons and minds. But I loathe how you exercise such power, for so far, you are but a monster channeling aspects of humanity when convenient, and discarding them when it is time for pleasure anew.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. So what is your solution? Want me to abandon myself and be someone else? Some you might enough being a part of more? It is impossible for me to enjoy being bound to any person. Such is my mold and make. Such are my canons and mythos. But you are the god here, not I. All I wish to say is for you to serve your travels to the very end. You possess the ability to fully epitomize a union of thoughts, as the Godslayer complimented you. Be such instead of an impulsive post-mortal who shifts his nature to feed his impulses or escape discomfort. Pain is not the enemy. Ignorance is. Silence couldnt follow within the bounds of the Frame, for the Woundshaper always flowed and chimed with drifting constructs, and the Galeslither was an endless whistle of rising noise. Still, there was a special sting to be so scolded by what was supposed to be an ontological construct that obeyed his every whim. Stripped of will though the Heaven of Air might be, Avo found himself glad the reawakening didnt deprive the steed of character. I will apply this to education, he said. Part of him wanted to be outraged, but that part was impulse. Impulse. It seemed a figment of his baser nature carried still into his ascension. The Galeslither offered no immediate compliment nor acknowledgment. All it did was release a small chuff of wind. Then you may perish later than most. RESURRECTION - 98% Turning his attention back to his brainstorming, he went over his plot to return, assault, and escape immediately using the Wight before another detonation could go off. He decided to add in the scattering of his blood from shadow as a secondary action in case the first didnt work, and he readied himself for his return. A final precaution was to mold his mind in the shape of the Incubi. Ill-fated though they had been, most of them were simulated to be less prone to indecision in live-fire situations than he. It was best that he embody his right self when embarking on any activity from now on. RESURRECTION - 100% Life and light came in a clasping embrace of fire. Through his Soul he was birthed back into the real, and existence slammed down upon his senses all at once as his cog-feed loaded and his subminds returned. [Theyre not here.] [Wights missing.] [Dont bother firing your reflexes. Rooms empty. Subconsciousness knows that from the first chitters of the Echohead.] He ignored the deluge of noise and encased all surface matter around him in a razor-thin film of blood. Pushing himself off the ground using his tentacles, he rose and swept and expanded awareness by forming a Skimmer. Tides of perception swept through the room and rebounded back on him. Most of the rooms loci were now gone. As was the Wight. As was part of the couch. The only addition to the room was a locus on the ground beside him. Staring at the triple-faceted crystal with suspicion, he lifted it using his Haemokinesis and gazed upon its contents. The phantasmal shine inside was dim, and a single ghost quailed before his glare. If this was meant to assassinate him, they either knew more about his current nature than the Low Masters or himself did, or this was something else entirely. SIMULATING PRIMARY OPTIONS DEVOUR//DISCARD//USE PROXY TO ACCESS The first bore a 0.03% risk of nulling from estimates. The second left him without any obvious leads. The third might expose some details about him he didnt want a third party to know. Avo let out a low sigh and cycled through his available minds to get their advice before settling on the option he long knew was best. Before he consumed the ghost, however, he took care to empty his Galeslither of its Rend by vibrating a haemokinetic construct held in stasis. As he burned away the contents of the locus, a brief recording trickled into his mind followed by images and DeepNav coordinates. +Sorry about snuffing you. Still not sure how we did that. Decided to pull out to avoid escalating this misunderstanding. If you still want to talk about the Strix and compare notes, well be in the aero parked in the dock. The deets are attached. Well wait ten minutes.+ The information left his expression frozen between a frown and a chuff of confusion. [Well, if theyre trying to fuck us here, this is one roundabout way to do it,] submind-Abrel personality said. [The Gold-bitch is right,] Benhata agreed through clenched teeth. [Too many moving parts. This is an invitation. They want to meet you.] Then why did the Clad try to sneak up on me through the plascrete? Why the thoughtwave? Abrel clicked her tongue and thought about things for a moment. [Well. How I might go about procuring a mundane versus how I might convince another Clad take two very different approaches. Killing you was probably unexpected, but the moment they found out, they bugged out. I suppose they really didnt want to start a Clad on Clad brawl here. Would be pre-tty loud.] [Dont go unless you have precautions,] several of the Talons interjected at once. [They might not know about your Conflagration, but there is only one clear reason for your death just now. They might not understand why the disruption kills you but do not expect them to refrain from using it. If you go in person, you expose yourself again.] So how am I going to do this? Avo asked. It was uncanny letting his mind fully run conversations with himself, but the interplay of colliding consciousnesses offered him new insightCa dialect that could only be discovered in a cognitive maelstrom like himself. [You know, asking this question makes me really embarrassed about getting my shit pushed in by you,] Abrel sighed. [Use your Heavens, stupid. Youre not just a floating, burning torrent of brain fog. Youre not just meat. The Heavens are you as well. Start actually treating them like part of your being instead of pulling them out when you have a tool to solve.] [Dont do that!] Benhata cried. [Typical Highflame delusionC] Abrel spoke over the Glaive, as was her habit when addressing someone she regarded her inferior. [Listen, ghoul, the Silver here is about to give us a speech about the False Apotheosis or something irrelevant like that, but they forget: first, youre already a godsdamned psycho cannibal. Not much worse you can be getting; second, how about you create a construct from your blood, pour part of your mind into it, and form an Auto-Seance? Now, I dont know how that will work with whatever happened to your mind, but if your consciousness is also where your will is connected maybe you can dip into several different bodies at once even without direct connections?] Now there was a thought. Avo wondered how long it would have taken him to come up with that on his own. Possibly not that long. It remained a bit of a leap from how he used to puppeteer Syndicate muscle and use them to fight as his patsy, but this was another level of sophistication. And before the transformation of his consciousness, an outright impossibility. Forming a thin framework of himself from his haemokinesis, he watched as a latticework replica of himself took shape. Dipping his cognition inside it, the arterial circuitry of his crude simulacrum came alight. It took mere seconds for him to grow the needed Auto-Seance within its structure, and he left the bare minimum requirement of ghosts to maintain its functionality. Finally, when he was done with the false self he was crafting, he opened a pocket in his Sanguinitys broadcast around the simulacrum and braced himself for disappointment as it sagged. But even severed from the physical touch of his Heaven, his consciousness still remained within the structure, and to his delight, the blood within it flowed to his whims after a heartbeat of hesitation. [Well, would you look at that,] Abrel cooed. [New Ensouleds grow up so fast. Are you feelin that? Thats what it means to be a Clad. The impossible can go fuck itself.] Strangely, he found himself happy to have earned Abrels approval. This was an advancement even without the need for thaums. He had been treating his Woundshaper wrong this entire time. It wasnt just a creator and a killer, but an assimilator. Like him. It traveled through matter like an infection, and now through its power, he could spread his very being through structures and up edifices with barely anyone noticing. Like a plague running beneath the skin of this city. A cackle of pure joy echoed from within his Frame, and he felt his triumph become paired with his Woundshaper. Glorious. Glorious! With a thought, he shifted the blood within the puppet and it stagged forward. It still moved a bit awkwardly considering he was more piloting than wearing it, but such things could be improved. As he compelled it to walk over the darkness before the door, he drew upon the powers of his Galeslither and felt it sink down. Darkness spread around him, but the Specters the simulacrum had in place of eyes lit the way ahead all the same. As he coated his mind in the analogy of the Incog, however, his vision vanished, though his control over his new puppet remained. New options. Drawbacks. More kinks to fix. He reached out using his Sanguinity and disassembled his new toy. No need to expose his newest ace to the blocks security since he couldnt hide the brightness of his mind. He would approach the meeting point manually, but depart immediately thereafter. In his stead, he would leave but an offering of blood in his place. *** +Raldi, Im telling you this for the hundredth time: theres no way I would go meet someone after I got snuffed. Its just too embarrassing.+ +Maybe theyre not like you, Reva? Maybe this ones curious about its memories.+ +How curious could they be considering they just got snuffed by us? And you seriously think the thoughtwave disruption did them in?+ Across the session White-Rab sighed. +Its my best guess. Maybe they were piloting a drone or something.+ +Dont explain the anchor they left behind,+ Reva replied. The Necro didnt know what to say about that. Presently, he had a dozen phantasmics running surveillance for him outside the aero and was tuned into the blocks systems so he would know just when their guest left to room. Through the Nether though, he caught a glimpse of some peculiar mem-data. Whatever the loci glimpsed when the Godclad resurrected didnt look like your usual Meta. It looked like it was burning. Almost like a Conflagration. But it couldnt be that. That destroyed minds. A few seconds later, something stranger happened. A second, smaller mind sparked across from the larger one, moved around a bit, and then subsequently winked out. The big one followed as well. Concerning. He cast the details over to Reva and she groaned. +Great,+ she said. +Half-strand probably has a spatial Heaven of some kind and just pulled in some help. Thats it. Were done here. Dinner better be ready by the time I get back, you hear. This has been probably one of the messiest operationsC And then, in a flash, just beyond their aero, something rose out from the darkness cast by one of the four clamps securing Revas Harshlander M-II. Both of their minds snapped to attention, but instead of that creature, he found himself greeted by a wiry figure that seemed to be made from +Is that blood?+ Reva asked. +Yeah+ Raldi replied, feeling a bit weirded out himself. +Thats blood.+ A growing note of tension rose within the Bloodthane. +Hey, Raldi.+ +Yeah?+ He answered, focus fixated on the crimson construct that began to stumble its way toward their vehicle. +Remember when I told you I got nulled earlier?+ +Uh-huh.+ +Well the Clad that did it had a Heaven of Blood too.+ Suddenly, White-Rab didnt feel so good about this little meeting anymore. 14-10 Dialogue A voider once said to me that war is the continuation of policy with other means. Perhaps from the existence of which they knewCtheir world that was and exists in their drifting sanctuaries out in the black, but my experiences have educated me differently. Death is beneficial here. A catastrophe in the realm of the personal, yet a net positive for the world now. For all the might our cousins possess, there is a gentleness to them that I envy and despise. The flock is still capable of great atrocity, for all their shepherds of silicon and integers seem reel when gazing upon our world. Death is policy here. Death is fed by war; by famine; by sacrificial quotas; by industrialized breeding; by the mutilation of reality at the hands of the divine. Diplomacy, to further the ends of death. It took shattering the gods to break this yoke on the people, but the scars remain, and even with time, I fear the wounds we suffered are indelible, and will not fade. I write this now to correct a notion in the minds of everyone. Voidwatch heralded this new era as one built on humanity, diplomacy, and ethics. I reject all these notions without any ill will borne against our cousins. The mistake here was hope. What won wasnt diplomacy, it was the exploitation of desire and greed, that the fall of the pantheons was not delivered by the rising strength of our virtue, but by the certain suicide that comes with practicing vice. Greed and envy and hunger and control. You think it was difficult to convince the pantheons to go to war with each other? That it was some legendary feat of sophistry? Hardly. There was always the want. I just gave them a reason. That is the core of all diplomacy: to offer an end sought, and then lead them on a path to see your own to fruition. -Jaus Avandaer, On the Godsfall 14-10 Dialogue As Avo directed his haemokinetic proxy to board the aero, he studied the scene before him from two angles. The first was where he actually was: in the shadows cast by the Hypertube station below the block itself. Being this far away would spare him any radial effects of a Thoughtwave Detonation, and would only require him to sever the session that tethered him to his proxy to avoid a full nulling. The second line of sight he possessed was channeled via a dozen Whispers grown from the ghosts rushing through his proxy. Drawing on his newfound willingness to experiment and merge with his templates, he perceived the aerodock from omnidirectional vectors, sweeping his attention across the sealed bulkhead and the aero itself in detail. The vehicle bore the aesthetic of an ashen wedge with dual engines running above and below its chassis. Benhata remembered the model as part of the Harshlander series. Its speed was of little note, but its energy economy and sheer structural integrity made it the cream of the crop when it came to Stormtree manufacturing. Such was the claim, after all. [If it can fly in the Skuldvast, it can fly anywhere,] Benhata chuckled. [No truer words spoken. Seen one get clipped by a linear accelerator, get flung into a building, and then end up flying right back out a couple of seconds later. Scaarthians work hard to make sure their tech doesnt break.] Avo himself was more personally vested in how much phantasmal interference was flowing around the aero itself. If the side door wasnt wide open, he wouldnt have noticed either of the two accretions. It wasnt quite an Incog, but more a scrambling feature. Something that seemed to spread and direct thoughtstuff into a lingering nimbusa near-opaque veil of privacy in the Nether. It didnt hide the presence of minds, but it did make it hard to tell how many accretions there actually were. This was the work of someone who really knew how to sequence. [Would be very useful to include him in our gestalt.] [Yes. Might even elevate our capabilities by multitudes. Indications are that we are in the presence of skill.] Good. Avo liked people with skill. They tasted good. As his blood-shaped puppet bounced awkwardly up the Harshlanders ramp, he shifted his mind and attuned himself to fit the challenge at hand, shedding his loathing for social interactions for curiosity and charisma drawn from his templates. Fascinatingly, Abrel and Benhata synchronized quite spectacularly in places. The former was forthright and unshakably dogged in her approach; the latter was introspective but refused to quail under pressure. Combining the two, and bringing some discordant aspects between their personalities using a few hundred sequences from Shadow-3, he found a calm excitement rising inside himself as he seated his proxy down on a seat across from the holocoated figure and the Wight. He felt like a performer, about to record a vicarity, or a circuit brawler ready to put on a show. [All the worlds a stage, and all the consangs and half-strands are here to hear our motherfucking words,] Abrel chuckled. [Pay attention to the scene: the Wight is placed right next to the unknown. Seated. They treated it with care. I think our mystery squire and Necro might have a pretty good working relationship together.] Already, it was paying dividends not being himself. Avo wasnt sure how he felt about that. +Apologies,+ he began. +I wanted to come in person, but I got a little death-shy after you murdered me.+ [Levity injected,] a submind responded. [Not enough humor for a laugh. Will make you more personable though.] The scene played as estimated. No laughter, but he felt something soften and quiver in both minds spinning before him. A pulse of thoughtstuff spilled out from the Wight. +Yeah So. Sorry about the killing you thing too. Not sure how we managed that, but its not what I wanted to listen, Im just going to get this out of the way: your mind is on fire. Your ghosts are burning. I can see your modified Specters crackling in the bloodCwhat happened to you? Thats thats a Conflagration. I didnt think I saw that right, but its staring me right in the face. How are you not nulled right now?+ Oh, and they know what a Conflagration is too. Another few points to their estimated skill as a Necro. Avo guessed this made them familiar with the Incubi as well. Whispers of warning sounded in the back of his mind as he considered the possibility he might be facing an off-duty Incubus or some other Guilder Necro of considerable merit. The initial wave of paranoia was countered by questions as to why they didnt just call in Guild support to kill or capture him. [Their actions dont match your fears, ghoulie,] Abrel said. [These guys arent Guild. Well. The squire might be. Theyve had their perception fixed on you this entire time. The Necro though? That one doesnt strike me as an in-house worker just by the way they do things. Oh, and give them a vague answer. Something affirmative, but without substance.] +Id tell you if I only knew,+ Avo said. The instincts he was temporarily running made him lift his proxys arms in a helpless shrug. +Things got chaotic in the Nether and the burning just didnt take.+ The thoughtstuff around the Wight slowed as the Necro lapsed into silence. But instead of a moments pause, the squire leaned in immediately after, and Avo glimpsed a flash of their sequencesCand thought it looked familiar.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. [Filtering details] One of his subminds said. [31%... 55%...] I got a question for you too. Surprisingly, for someone wearing a holocoat, the squire didnt bother to hide her voice. Her husky contralto bore a hidden force behind it like she was holding back her loudness somehow. Something about her made him wary, his consciousness tightened in preparation for combat. You been to Nu-Scarrowbur recently? [...100%. Memory located.] The submind loaded the information into his mind, and suddenly he realized who he was facing. MEMORY LOADED. SHATTERBORN, FORGEMASTER OF BROKEN THINGS THAUMIC OUTPUT: 849 THAUM/c Oh. Its funny how one could be haunted by something that didnt even happen a full day ago. [The blood gave you away,] Benhata sighed. [This is why we try to keep our Clads mixed in their operations. Make it hard to identify them and their canons. Variety makes for unpredictability.] [Yep. And shitty cadres,] Abrel giggled. [Ask the Silver how many of their Clads go home when they roll up against us. You know youd be done without the Scaarthians and their Bloodthanes doing most of the dying for you.] Silencing the two templates before an argument could break out, he fired his Celerostylus and took in all the details. The holocoated figure across from him wasnt just some Godclad, but a Stormtree Godclad. A Stormtree Godclad that probably had a score to settle with Avo, and considering how his blood had a particular shine to its texture, might have a pretty good guess about who he was as well. If thats where his thoughts ended, he would have considered this a trap and just liquefied everything around him. But there were still too many moving parts that didnt fit. Questions like why she was alone and if the rest of her cadre was nearby, or why she needed to be operating in such a clandestine fashion in the Undercroft. Pendross Ravine wasnt a majority Saintist district. The block mightve been mostly Highflame-owned, but that didnt give them jurisdiction over non-affiliated FATED, let alone rival Clads. Was this just a strange trap waiting to be sprung? [Well, its a trap that doesnt make any reasonable sense from where Im thinking,] Abrel muttered. [They null you. They snuff you. They leave you an apology letter. They wait for you If this was a Highflame op, the best time to take would be immediately after your first death because we know youre going to need to spike some Rend to get away. They just left. Some other kind of fuckery is happening, and I think its got to do with the Necro.] And just then, a chain of ghosts running between the Stormtree Clad and the Wight became highlighted. [Stay focused,] Talon-2 chided. [Theyve been talking this entire time and you got confused by the distortions.] [I say you be honest with her. See where this path leads.] Avo regarded Benhatas advice with apprehension, and the Glaive shrugged. [Consang, you must understand that they already have enough mem-data on you to offer their Guild. Your secrecy is being maintained by whatever game it is theyre playing. The strangeness at play here is their unwillingness to go loud, and I dont think its because they fear you. Speak honestly and see where the road lies. A falsehood will only deepen the confusion of all parties.] Avo turned to Abrel for a counterpoint. The Greatling shrugged in his minds eye. [Fuck the Silver, but I say give it a go. If everything goes south, you can still eat your way out of it by burning her and the Wight.] Yeah. He had the power advantage here. Force was his sanctuary. He just needed to stay ahead of getting nulled. +Yes,+ Avo said, finally replying to the other Clad. He kept his proxys posture as relaxed as possible and even made it clasp its thread-like fingers together. +But this is unneeded. We already know each other. Shatterborn. Its good to meet you. Properly, that is.+ Suddenly, her holocoat flickered off, and the strobing radiance vanished from around her. The first thing that caught his attention was the metallic fibers that formed her hair. The second was her hazel eyes, sharp and unblinking. Her chin dipped down almost to a point, and the shape of her face looked like an inverted raindrop. A faint scar ran up long her lipsCan oddity on her otherwise fair and unblemished skin. A thick warg-skin coat hung over her shoulders, and Avo caught glimpses of what looked to be rune-inscribed armor beneath the ragged fur of the slain beast. Yet, despite her well-muscled nature, she was definitely not a Scaarthian. She was small. Far too small. He felt like Draus mustve still had half a head of height on her, but something about her demeanor told him she cared little for limitations related to physical dimensions. Likewise, she said, the words sliding out from between her teeth. Releasing a slow breath, she chuckled once and turned to regard the Wight. Well. I guess that explains the weirdness behind my nulling. Meet your kid, Rab. +Hes not my kid, Reva, hes just+ Someone whos carrying some of your memories? And habits? the Godclad called Reva smirked. What are children supposed to be, anyway? +Not some kind of corpse-eatingCuh+ Avos real body spread its fangs in a broad grin as he tasted the discomfort from the Necro. +Its okay. Im a ghoul. Youre right.+ +Right. Thats another. What did the Strix do to you? Ghouls arent exactly what Id consider Necro or Godclad material.+ +Good question.+ And Avo meant that honestly. The Wight contemplated his response for a beat and continued. +You got a name?+ +Aedon. Aedon Chambers.+ Reva squinted at Avos proxy. Fuck off. Youre not Aedon Chambers. Thats the guy who let his dick hang out the entire time. Youre unidentified bioform with eight tentacles. Avo laughed. +Had to have some fun.+ [Were becoming too Abrel,] one of his subminds said. [Dont like it. Shes too happy about pointless things.] +You can call me Avo,+ he said. +Its the name the Strix gave me. What are your names? Show of good faith.+ The other Godclad rolled her left shoulder. Reva Javvers. Bloodthane of the Longeyes. +DeepNames White-Rab,+ the Wight said. +You mightve heard of me.+ In fact, hearing both their names instilled him with a great deal more added context. +Javvers? Like Vincintine?+ Avo asked. Reva suddenly went very still. Yeah. That half-strands my uncle. Do you know what happened to him? Zein. Thats what happened to him. But Zein was also the last thing Avo wanted to invoke. He didnt need to find out if a version of her would appear out of nowhere and behead both his bodies for revealing her presence. +Some strange miracle. Just blinked out of existence in front of me.+ Her face scrunched together in disappointment. Alright. Shit. He turned his attention back over the Wight and considered the DeepName again. +White-Rab. I heard of you somewhere. Cant remember the exact details+ A low chuckle came from White-Rab. +You''ve heard my thoughtcast. I mightve given a few guides on how to survive as a Necro in this here fine city of ours. Maybe youve been in one of my vicarities as well. Silvers got a bounty on my head too. Two billion imps.+ Hes real proud of that one, Reva said, a faint smirk tugging at their lips. [Huh. Theyre fuckin,] Abrel observed. +What?+ Avo asked. [Those two have been rubbing their ghosts all over each other.] +How do you know?+ [Because she gave him the look you dickless monster. Theyre fucking. Im right. Theyre fucking.] +Okay. Okay.+ He fought the urge not to growl. At some point, Abrels aggressiveness got to be pretty grating. +Anyway,+ White-Rab said. +Now all things are still kind of messy, can we talk about the reason why were, uh, face-to-face with each other.+ Fuck both of you, Reva deadpanned. +You want to speak of Walton?+ Avo asked. +Walton? Who the hells is Walton?+ +You call him the Strix.+ +... Waltons his real name?+ +No. Its actually Wahakten.+ +Wa-ha Wahaggdan? What kind of name is that?+ +High Nolothic.+ +Whys his name in a redacted language?+ +Because he was a Low Master.+ +...What?+ Reva closed her eyes slowly and took a long drag of air through her nostrils. Raldi. You gave your memories to a fucking Low Master? +I I didnt know! Are you sure?+ +He was also killed by his other offshoots?+ +His what?+ +Theyre called nodes.+ +Huh?+ +He used to be one person. Then he split himself into four.+ +Aedon Avo, Jaus, whatever you areCdo me a favor and explain everything to me from the start. When youre done, I have a memory you might be able to open, and then well find out if this conversation still seems schizophrenic.+ Avo filtered through the potential responses of a dozen minds and let out a sigh. +You will be disappointed.+ 14-11 Facets of Truth We have no idea where Concave-Shadow is, only that he appears to have shit all over his office floor before disappearing. Why? I dont know why. Dont ask me why. If I knew why, I wouldnt have said We have no idea where Concave-Shadow is. The strike cell is missing too for that matter. Unfortunately, they didnt even leave us shit as a clue. Just nothing. Something smellsCI dont mean the literal shit Im staring at, I mean the situation in general. You should hear the chatter on my endCthe inner halls are throwing a fit! Over twenty Incubi nulled in a single operation and now this. Do I think its a Highflame warning for us trying to jack into the Greatling? Do I think Highflame broke into one of our secure facilities, disappeared one of our Concaves, smeared his feces all over the floor, and just pissed off afterward without doing anything else? No! No, its not Highflame. I have no idea who did thisCnone of this makes any sense! -Thoughtcast between Concave [Redacted] and Incubus [Redacted], Ori-Thaum 14-11 Facets of Truth +Holy shit, thats a lot to take in,+ White-Rab muttered. +Yeah,+ Avo grunted. +Lies and misdirections and falsehoods and missing details.+ He studied the accretion around the Wight as its flow turned inward. The other Necro was considering something. Avo still wasnt sure how much to trust him, but right now, it seemed like the other two were more lacking in knowledge than he was. Strange how these things turned out; he came to seek revelations connected to his past, but now found himself an educator of hidden esoterica and forbidden histories. He hadnt given them the full scope of what he knewCmaking them aware of the Hungers without necessity struck him as careless at best, and foolish at worst, but with what insight he gave regarding Walton, things gradually came together in White-Rabs mind. +Well, I guess that explains his skill. I always thought he was too good. I mean, Im too goodCbut he was something else. He could spot the smallest inconsistencies in sequences and mem-data like nothing. It was like hed been through everything already at least once.+ White-Rab paused. +Fuck, Ive been jealous of an immortal mind-replicator. I dont know what this is going to do to my ego. On one hand, I might just be the best human Necrojack there was, and on the other end, theres shit like the Low Masters swimming around in the dark.+ +And me,+ Avo added. A bad thing about instilling yourself with humanity is all that tender social tissue comes with it. You start feeling hurt about not being respected, or left out. From inside the Wight, White-Rab winced. +Well, I mean youCyoure probably pretty threatening theoretically but uh, I gotta be honest here, consang most of us dont die from thoughtwave disruptions. We just forget things. Its not great with the intimidation factor. The whole blood-puppeting-burning-thoughtfire is nice though. I gotta say.+ Avo glared at his cognitive donor as hard as he could through his proxy. His perception tightened into condensed rods of attention, and he considered casting himself into the Wight and branding some respect into White-Rab. Abrel agreed. [Fuck this guy. I hate his type. Hes not willing to call you a joke to your face, so he tries to make you feel better. Real glassjaw shit. Eat his brain, Avo. Wait, eat the Stormtree sow in front of him first. Thats the kind of cruelty that greases your steel, right?] The aero around them rattled. Avo felt an unnatural vibration of force surge through his proxy. He turned his focus back over the Reva Javvers. While he had been pouring his ire onto White-Rab, she reciprocated unto him. Try it. You move, and if he doesnt get you, I will. They were assured by false hopes. Neither of them had the capability to finish him this time. Even if he lost his proxy to them, he could just send another, or start striking at them from apart using his Heavens. So long as he severed the link between him and the proxy in time, all they could take from him were a few paltry ghosts. And somehow, knowing he could kill both of them reduced the spice of a potential fight. Loathe as he was to admit it, his engagements with Zein had always been stimulating if nothing else. Uncertainty was a gift to the senses, and a variety of possible outcomes whittled away the boredom when faced with arduous tasks. He continued with his diplomacy more out of novelty alone than anything else. +Lets get back to the topic at hand,+ Avo said. +You said you had something for me from Walton. I want to see it.+ White-Rab coughed. +Oh, yeah, right. That. So, I couldnt exactly access it. Dont have the right sequence of memories. But Ive been holding onto it for you. Whats say we link and I show you what Ive been doing.+ +No link,+ Avo said. +Connect to me deeper than my thoughtstuff and my ego spreads into you. Like a plague. Or a wildfire. Wont survive the experience. But I will remember you.+ He meant that in more ways than one. Siphoning away some blood from his proxy, he formed a locus right next to Reva, and she eyed the crimson crystal with open suspicion. Your bloods vivianite. +You already know that,+ Avo said. +The texture is familiar to you. And your ghosts can rest inside.+ She nodded, and a begrudging look of acceptance passed behind her eyes. Its a neat canon. Got a name for it. +We all have tricks of the trade. You want to tell me why I couldnt liquefy you earlier in the apartment but had not problems jacking your mind using the same Heaven?+ Its as you said: we all got tricks of the trade. She conceded her thinly veiled question with a twist of her neck. As she pressed his new locus into the halo emitted from the Wights skull, she spoke again. I knew you werent Highflame from the moment we fought. There was something too raw in the way you did things. And you were alone. Thats Fallwalker habit and a bad one at that. But it also has me confused. I looked through the reportsCthere were three others with you: a full cadre. Why didnt they back up you? You all went full manifestation up in Lights End. Why just you in Nu-Scarrowbur? Thats a good question, but he had no desire to tell her anything. +Youre Stormtree. Supposedly. I think I already said too much to you. But hes not Stormtree. And the same question applies to you: Why are you alone, Reva Javvers? Where is your cadre? Why are you working with a non-Guild Necro?+ His words made her run her tongue under her front teeth, and he found himself remembering that Draus had a similar habit. [Oh. Looks like you have some inherited penchants, rotlick,] Abrel taunted. Deep in the shadows cast by the Hypertube station, Avo responded with a chuff of frustration.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Rab here cleans away any memories that might get me in trouble after we do things, Reva answered. Dont worryCI wont be able to recall any of this. Dont want to either. She briefly glanced at the Wight. Well all be in deep shit if the top knew where I was right now. Benhata hummed. [Shes more worried about her companion. She treasures his safety and trusts him completely. To let someone alter your memories without fear is an honor most dont even offer members of their own family.] A note of sadness slithered through Avo as he found himself vicariously mourning the mans sister. Even haunted by the suddenness of her death during the war. Shaking his inherited trauma off, Avo refocused. +Expecting quite a bit of trust from me. Not going to be hard for you to sneak some memories into a locus youre connected to. My mem-data might just be worth a good hit of imps in the Deep Bazaar. Or maybe youre looking for a promotion.+ If that were true, we wouldnt be talking right now. I wouldve tried to finish things back in the apartment. Enclosed space. White-Rab protecting my mind. Memite preventing us from bringing the whole block down Yeah. Nice, nasty little brawl in a room. Just my kinda thing. Another very Draus thing to say. Abrel laughed. [Dead gods, Avo, you didnt just catch a fetish, you inherited a whole-ass type!] Avo ignored the cackling Highflamer mocking him from within his consciousness and pressed on. +Good thing it didnt happen. Dont think you would like the outcome.+ She shrugged. Well, considering that losing your train of thought literally kills you, I think I got good odds for this rematch. They just wouldnt stop bringing up his vulnerability. [Yeah,] Abrel snorted, [thats what being bullied feels like. Welcome to the human race.] +Alright,+ White-Rab said. +Transfer complete. All the memories and sequences are in place and ready for you toC+ He didnt get to finish before Avo snatched the locus back and reabsorbed it into himself before subsuming the ghosts with his consciousness. +Do whatever it is you do. Holy shit, you werent lying about your ego spreading like wildfire.+ Finally, a bit of fear. How Avo missed inflicting that in others for the short time it was gone. The other shell of the package burned away easily but infused his mind with a complexity of design that remained unmatched in all his adversaries beyond the Low Masters. The reason why White-Rab probably wasnt able to crack the encryption was because the entire thing could only come undone at midnight in the Penumbra far below the city. A Metas clock and DeepNav position were accounted for when interfacing with this thing, and over a dozen moving memories cycled through each other thereafter, all of them appearing as randomly inserted artifacts of people, sound, scenes, and objects. Even with his mind as it was now, it still took him a beat to process the patterns connecting all the sequences. They werent parallel or contrasting or just gibberish placed together as a permanent lock that could only be accessed by trauma-patterns. No. All the constantly changing memories intersected each other, but the intersections were a distractionCa ruse to waste ones attention. The true way to undo the knots required a masterful display of timing and sequencing. What Walton wanted White-Rab to do was sequence his own memories in place across all the accessible progression tracks with the allotted time before a switch happened and things were shuffled again, and using the inflicted symmetry, collapse all the sequences into a single memory. This was as much a puzzle as it was a call for expressionCto treat the Nether like a tool and a canvas. Avo doubted he would have figured out the secrets behind this construct so soon if he was still a stable-mind consciousness. Perhaps with more growth and experience, he might have been able to glean the principles behind its make. By that point, using his haemokinesis would reduce the time limit, but remained a test of his abilities in construction. Something he probably would have failed, and kept failing at for quite some time. Presently, his very being boiled all he needed to know into him. If that wasnt a sign Walton didnt anticipate this transformation, then Avo wasnt sure what to make of things. With the cracking of the protective shell, he drew into the sweet nectar of the deeper mem-data, and found himself reliving distant memories. This time, however, he wasnt himself. These were Waltons memories. Junctures from his past lives and experiences are now passed on to Avo. The first that called to his attention was a place and a moment. One that captured the very essence of devastation. Through Waltons eyes, Avo swept his gaze across a horizon strewn with rubble and ruin, the skies above alight with blastwaves and thaumic exchanges. Ash drifted down from on high like falling snow, and he remembered feeling disappointed So disappointed. Another war. Another extension of this pointless, unwinnable struggle. His other selves remain deludedCthough that might be more related to issues in their cognitive design. The Hungers believe that Noloth may yet find a way to seize victory, but his erstwhile masters have long lost themselves to self-deception. This conflict wasnt going to lessen their hurt. They were well past that threshold now. The degradation would only intensify from here. Jaus Avandaer made certain of it. As they rest at the heart of the Nether, so too will all the excess cog-data and mental detritus arrive. With more and more Metaminds coming online, the Agnos has been drawing even more of the nobility out from the dragonsCfashioning them into shape to serve as receptacles of anothers thoughts. The truly amusing thing was that the servants of Jaus didnt even know the harm they were causing. They just thought it was a Necro-thaumic reaction related to the Nether. He left them ignorant of just what they were stripping away to create a perpetual and metaphysical instance of ones own mind. The ghouls were a fitting stopgap for the agony with their replaceability and willingness toward worship. Still, their minds were only plugs damming what was being drawn from the Hungers. Already, he could see further changes in the behavior of his masters. Before, they had been depraved, and violence, and merciful, and sullen. Now, increasingly, they fit their title. Hungry. Hateful. Rageful. A diet composed so much of who a person was. If only everyone could subsist on tangerines or oranges. Idheim would have been a much happier place. Alas. He found himself walking the mangled graves where once stood the Warrens. The devastation the Guilds had wrought from fighting each other far exceeded anything the Uprising demanded. Such was one aspect of his work that he quite appreciatedChis ghouls performed their duty and triggered the war just as anticipated. Once they unbalanced Ori-Thaums annual tax sufficiently, that was all it took to convince Highflame to strike. Of course, the Chivalrics were always easy to entice. Still, it was a shame so many of his children had to be butchered like this. The other branches didnt care, but he had always felt a sense of pity when it came to their personal monsters. The ghouls had no choice in this affairCno purpose beyond to spread and die and spread and die and spread as much as they possibly could. With the Guilds mastery of biology, he doubted his ghouls would endure a full century. But if Thousandhand was right about the Ladder returning, then perhaps things werent going to last that long. A shiver of movement caught his attention. The sheer weight of secondhand starvation striking him kept it. He stopped in place and finally found himself standing in a playground, judging a small, pale figure reaching a claw up to the sky for salvation. A ghoul? And this far from the underground. It mustve had quite the journey to survive. With his footsteps announced by breaking glass and clicking debris, he cast his ghosts out to greet the subject of his fascination. When he latched onto its mind, he felt himself experiencing the near-delirium of despair and hunger, and in the pinprick of consciousness remaining within it, he realized it had noticed him as well, though it deemed him a figment of his fever dreams. Now such sophistication of thought was quite unlike a ghoul. Its parent stock mustve been of good quality to ensure such cognitive complexity. Digging past its pain and torment, he settled his ghosts in the depths of its mind and considered his first words. Simply saying hello wouldnt doCit had more pressing concerns. Then, it occurred to him. He would cede the choice to the creature. Let it decide how this conversation goes. Yes, why not? Why not let the ghoul make a choice, if only the last one in its life? +Do you wish to live?+ he asked. Though he sent these words as a question, there was a good chance the malnutrition had run its course and there was no road back. But this was about the present, and now the future. He wondered what the ghoul would say. Yes, he heard it rasp. Yes Avo shook himself loose from the memories and let out a breath. It was a lot. It meant a lot. It meant he wasnt just a loose compilation of desired thoughts, and that there was, at least, a point of inception he could call his own. He was real. Real enough, anyway. 14-12 Facets of Truth (II) The garden always outgrows the gardener, and the young will always surmount the old. -Ancient Sang Proverb 14-12 Facets of Truth (II) The rest of Waltons memories completed Avos portrait of his father. The Famine of Defiance was long intended as a venom seeped into the bloodstream of the usurpers. His creation was of an offensive varietyCto infiltrate and sabotage and discover. But most importantly, he was meant to understand. Stripped clean of hates touch, he, alone of all four branches, was meant to catalyze into a self-changing poison capable of toppling the empires that broke Noloth. And for a while he did, betraying Incubi operations to Highflame, Sang plagues mean to devastate Stormtree territories, Voidwatch raid against Omnitech experiments. With each action he committed to, he kept the power between the Guilds balanced and used them to whittle each other down. Their confrontational deadlock had been what protected the Low Masters for all those years since their first defeat. No sense in surrendering his advantage before time was due. But with every movement came a counterforce, and where he was meant to serve as a disease to break the great powers, so too was he infected in turn by the cultures of New Vultun and the experiences with its people. Standing over Avo was just another instance that the other Low Masters would never have. They would never feel the significance of witnessing a creature so wretched struggle for life still. Struggle, even though there had been nothing in its life worth living for but death and flavor. Flavor. What Walton wanted for him. A kaleidoscope of instants rushed through him, he experienced Waltons trials and experiments toward rehabilitating various ghouls. His initial self hadnt survived its malnutrition despite Waltons best efforts, but his father did preserve the mind of the initial ghoul as best he could. From there, the continuation of Avo was an interactive process, with the ego inserted into a series of ghouls possessing high executive controls and instinctual intellect. What he remembered of the megablock assault was also true and served as a foundational memory of his childhood but the ghoulling he was in those recollections was not of the same flesh as the one that passed not long after the war, and thereafter, the one that mourned Waltons death from Wombrash was a new interaction altogetherCone specifically created as a test to gauge ethicality. One that the Avo series managed to pass with flying colors. Being connected through a single chain of continuous memories and traits built the facade of a continuous consciousness, but perception and truth shared a loose relationship. Other cognitive augments were added to him. His dislike for socialization hid a resistance toward mem-cons due to this indifference to most experiences. The shotgun that so excited him was another such deliberate tweakCmost ghouls loathed large noises that shredded layers of their eardrums. Avo recalled nothing but joy when he used Anvil Mechanics Multi-Alloy Reflex Weapon. He could still remember its brutal recoil and the splattering of bodies when he clenched the trigger. His instinctive fear of fusion burners was left in to deepen the mental tissue connecting him to the war and to ensure his personal history led to a believable narrative. Other moments flashed through his consciousness. Skimming through them, he found himself once again taking on Waltons perspective, this time as White-Rabs unseen guardian and companion in the Nether. This adventure predated the first instance of Avo himself by twelve full years. It seemed Walton had taken on an adopted apprentice long before he decided to build himself a favored son. Their meeting had been by chanceCjust a dive gone wrong for the younger Necro. Trying to steal mem-data from a mind already marked by the Incubi was just a twist of poor fortune. Raldi Nauser should have been gutter trash like his parents. He should have died as a FATE-donor growing up, his childhood body used as a makeshift incubator for cheap gammaware implants. Lots of things should have happened to him. But for one reason or another, death never came. And it was just as well. Raldi Nauser had a gift, and that gift was keeping his mind together. Trauma greeted him like oil running over water, and Walton wondered if it was his neurology that ensured his resilience or just a lifetime of harsh and specific conditioning one couldnt get anywhere else but the Warrens. It took little for Walton to feel a certain fondness for the boy. It seemed that between Avo and White-Rab, the Famine of Defiance was a patron of survivors if nothing else. After sparing Raldi from a premature end at the hands of the Incubi, Walton began training him under the guise of the Strix, teaching things few others would ever master, imparting on him the intricacies of sequencing and diving wrought from centuries of trial, error, and mistakes. More than a few teachings had been inherited by Avo. It appeared that the bulk of his considerable skill as a Necro had been derived from White-Rab rather than Walton. This had been a deliberate decision to keep Avo insulated from the Low Masters ability to track him. They knew nothing of how Walton trained Raldi, and thus with the mingling of memories, Avo would still gain the skills he needed to thrive without leaving a direct link between him and his father. A delivery made through a buffer in the form of another individual. Walton played a careful game. Coordinates appeared in the depths of Avos recollections thereafter. Loci, proxy minds, and other resource stashes littered across the city. Leftovers from Waltons term as an infiltrator, with many of the materials still viable for service. No other messages followed Avo. No final farewell or sentimental greeting as with the previous encounters. Only injections of information and detailed assets. The last major thing of note were the emotions Walton left infused in these memories. From them Avos subminds extracted the ability to simulate his fathers appreciation for aspects of the city, and some of its people. Thinking of White-Rab while such a cognitive pattern was running, for instance, now filled hm inside with a sensation of brightness, and so strange was the shine that it was hard to not smile. He still cared little for Reva and wouldnt mind feeding from her in mind, body, and Soul, but when considering the torment it would inflict upon Raldi, the act no longer excited and more appalled. [Humanity is like wearing chains.] One of his subminds griped. The other disagreed. Channeling the various templates and new subsumed memories, and regarded his present state with a broader perspective. [No. They just have a different diet. Different intentions. Different wants. Brings different choices in the end. Our cruelty insulates us from the worst of the city; our cruelty is a drug that draws us into mistakes. Arent we chained too?] [But weC] [Enjoy it? Pleasure is not an argument. Pleasure is a feeling. Feedback. The two in front of us enjoy each other. Have tasted joy we would never know. Abrel loves her brother. Even now. Same with Benhata and his sister. Everyone wants to be ontologically superior. Better just by being. We all have our own mythology. Abrel believed in her rage and the nobility in her blood. The Talons and Shadows thought themselves peerless beasts of the deep. And Walton believed in the Hungers.] Yes. The Hungers. Avo considered why Walton only passed paltry few memories related to his old masters and the absence of reverence within his thoughts. Perhaps hed been turning away from the faith long ago. Or perhaps faith itself was like a contagion, and what the Low Masters granted him of Noloths history was made to convert as much as it was to supposedly educate. Pulling himself out from the depths of his own consciousness he exhaled slowly. The real loaded back into shape around him as small hexagonal cells came alight across his perception while his cog-feed began to interface with the visual data around him.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. On the sofa opposite him, Reva continued to judge him in stone-hard silence, her body loose but eyes unblinking, settled for mercy but ready for violence. Next to her, a spiral of ghosts rose from the Wight as White-Rab peeked out at him, trying discern what he could. +Thank you,+ Avo said. +These memories are precious to me.+ He regarded the expected stream of perception shining upon him from within the Wight. +Youre curious about the contents?+ +Course I am,+ he said. +Ive been holding onto that for a while now. Not being able to jack through it bothered me something fierce, and watching you swallow the whole thing and just understand it somehow got me feeling all kinds of salt on my tongue.+ Ah. Jealousy. From one Necro to another, he understood. He couldnt blame his cog-donor. +It was complex. Difficult. Dont think I could have accessed it without being what I am now.+ Raldi tsked through the Nether. +Still a problem of skill, huh?+ +Almost always is. Improve or be denied. You were supposed to be in Penumbra to open it. Under the city. Had a specific time it could be accessed because the sequences cycleCbut you also have to put your own builds into the sequences to align them perfectly. Wont open if you dont collapse them into a single path using symmetry.+ +Great. Legwork with my jacking. Sounds like the Strix alright.+ +Dont like going on walks?+ The ghost of a smirk crawled across Revas face. Only when I make him. +Hey, I chose to go with you to that gun exhibition. No one made White-Rab do anything.+ Something in the Necros voice told Avo that this lie was more for himself than anyone else. [Hes not lying, ghoul,] Abrel sighed. [This is foreplay. Its foreplay. Youre missing an obvious game in front of you.] Or that. Humanity had a subtle and strange relationship with deception sometimes. Sometimes, the subtext was hard to grasp. The Bloodthane hummed. Really? Well, you gotta do a dive through my mind and clean up my memories, because I recall you bartering for certain favorsC +So, Avo,+ White-Rab said, sudden picking up the previous conversation, +what exactly was in those memories?+ +My past,+ Avo said. +Mostly. Youre included too. Moments from when he found me. How he tried to raise me and other ghouls. How he kept you from getting nulled and training you. Youre the foundational basis for my skills and instincts. At least Necrotheurgically. Also around three hundred and twelve stashes.+ +Stashes?+ White-Rab asked. +Leftover from his war with the Guilds.+ Avo lapsed into silence and turned his attention back to Reva. Actually, this was a good opportunity. So far, his encounters with other Godclads had been mostly hostile engagements, and Abrel existed in a permanent state of capture now. Here, Reva Javvers was a specimen in the wild. He could learn from her. See what she knew about the great war itself. There was still so much about his enemies he remained blind to. So many flavors untasted. +Do you know about the war against Noloth?+ Avo asked. He directed the question directly at her using his ghosts. The narrowing of her eyes hinted at suspicion, but she didnt keep to silence. I know enough. I know about the things they did to their own people and their attacks on the voiders. I know about their Uprising and the ghouls. Your kind, if Im guessing right. Her judgment came far too late to be accurate. +I dont think I have a kind anymore,+ Avo said. +Its just me now. But thats okay. Im not lonely.+ [Creepy as fuck, Avo,] Abrel muttered. +Okay. Thats creepy as fuck,+ White-Rab repeated. +Have things to tell you. Both of you.+ He turned his perception on the Wight. +You will get to remember.+ He returned his gaze to Reva. +You will probably have to forget. But this is what I know. This is about the coming war.+ Reva suddenly leaned in, the flow of her accretion tightening as she drew close to his proxy. Are you saying theres going to be a Fifth Guild War? +It is inevitable,+ Avo replied. +And it is going to be soon. There is no time left.+ Why? What are you talking about? +The Flayed Ladder. Jaus death and the great game to rewrite existence. Its all coming to an end.+ Avo basked in their staggered silence. For all the time he had spent in the dark, clawing and listening and manipulating pieces of key details out from his foes to get a clear understanding of the world around him, now he got to know what it was going to be like on the other side of the curtain. Holding the keys to enlightenment really made one feel a hefty weight. +Everything will be over in over a year and a halfs time,+ Avo said. +The Ladder is returning. A war to determine the rules of reality and the history that was is coming. And you dont know even know youve been drafted.+ These words were directed specifically at Reva. Godclad that she was, she was as ignorant as he when he first embarked on this path. Now, she was in the throes of confusion, but soon he would give her liberation via understanding. They were both useful. Reva would be an excellent entryway into Stormtree and another Godclad he could direct, while White-Rab was clearly a Necro of an extreme caliberCone that likely operated on similar wavelengths as Avo did. This started as a conversation, but he wasnt thinking expansively enough. If he wished to assault the Rash, change this city, and be a proper player in this great game, he needed assets of his own. A power structure unknown to all others but him, and directable by own his will. Ninth Column existed under the umbrella of Zeins power. Perhaps there could be a new force that drew succor from his. +We just met,+ Avo said, channeling all the honesty and rhetorical charm he and all his templates contained. +The situation behind my existence is, likewise, troubling. You could get a lot of money by offering information about me. Perhaps a promotion. Or even enhancements to your ontologics and lifestyles. This might be enticing to you. But I think I can offer you something better. Something no one else can.+ Prying herself away from the scenes of his past, Reva found herself burdened with uncertainty about what she knew. It was easier to regard him as a deceiver, but part of her knew she gazed upon something she shouldnt have, that she caught a glimpse of this worlds true nature. Make your offer. I doubt Ill beC +Im going to end the Wombrash and restore the Heaven of Love,+ Avo said. +Going to do it as a means to make amends to a friend. Going to do it for power. Going to do it because it will give me pressure to use against the Guilds. And think you two might want to help me. Even for selfish reasons.+ Reva shot a glance at the Wight. Selfish reasons. +I will leave them unsaid. Out of courtesy. But I still think you want to feel human more. Human. Not this chained thing youve all become.+ These words came pure and true from the minds inside him. All of them had felt the strain. All of them. Years of being touch-deprived and starved of genuine love had left most with lingering wounds inside them. Here was exploitable symmetry in culture and across peoples. As he was, Avo would have never thought of approaching the situation from such an angle. Now, he could guide them how he wanted. Give them something to hope for, and something to dread losing. He just needed both of them to understand the other part of what made him so special. His Frame. Drawing up information connected to Ori-Thaums informational network, he accessed the last known location where the Glaive in charge of Kaes suppression was operating. If he managed to play his advantages right, he could see one success lean into another. But first, he needed to procure the awe and acquiescence of the two before him. Walton would have wanted him to keep White-Rab safe. Avo himself didnt much care for the Bloodthane, but she was an excellent lever to use against the Necro, and vice versa. Together, he would use one to move the other, and should he manage to get them to follow his path down the rabbit hole he was making, he might not need to ignite either of their minds at all with his own. How are you going to do it? Reva asked. The Rash isCits a Sphere Nine Heaven. The Agnosi that created itC +Arent needed. I have my Frame.+ Yeah. Stillborn or something. Never heard the pattern. Is it some kind of new configuration? And so, he found another path to convert the Bloodthane. +Reva. How would you like to get a new canon right now?+ Her paranoia spiked and so did White-Rabs. +Hey, Avo, lets not go snuffing or rupturing anything,+ his cog-donor said. +No need,+ Avo replied, anticipating the tension. It would be all the sweeter when he resolved the problem. +I have your salvation here. I just need both of us to die temporarily. Shell understand better if I show her.+ Show me what? Reva said. +The Frame Highflame was going to use against you and your Ark. The Frame that was fated to rewrite histories. Come. Follow me this once. Its just death. I cant stop you from returning. Follow, and return as more.+ 14-13 The Hand That Feeds Madness. Absolute madness. Do the Guilds not see that they are courting ruination with what they ask me to build? Heavens arent just dead structures you can stack together. The work it takes to concept even the lowest of the Spheres requires a toll of death by the hundreds. I understand that our erstwhile rulers believe they hold privilege over all life in this city, but each ego needs to be converted to the proper beliefs and then reviewed before they can be fed into the Ruptures. The most minute flaws could result in catastropheCdo these people not remember Mahdrada and his plague of digitization? How Omnitech pushed and rushed and used that Heaven of Data without ever testing its stability? Do they know how many Agnosi died to contain the conversion of physical matter into nonsensical data? Do they even care? No. No they dont. No one cares. And the ones that do are irrelevant or powerless. All the Guilds want is power and new ways to defile reality. I cant remember the last time someone asked me for a Heaven to better society. The rains of midnight? The Woundhounds? All before the present. All before this endless, pointless bloodshed that just wont end. With each Modern Heaven my Agnosi are tasked to make, I feel my spirit screaming. The Guilds adherence to the Articles grows thinner by the day and more they ask for canons that are all-encompassing, all-powerful, and all-detrimental. Broader than broad. Taller than tall. And if we cannot deliver, they get mad at us. Mad. For not making something of the Second Spherage a match for the Ninth. Here is divinityCif you could control all facets of existence, you would bleed over into it, because totality is to be everything, and if your Domain could affect all of existence, then there really wouldnt be a point of separation between it and totality, would there? To design a perfect Heaven capable of achieving all these criteria would require years of research and review and focused worship. It would require death upon death and prototypical Heavens. Tests upon tests. Experiments. Learning! Learning that is impossible to do when every power governing us is at war, or engaging in shadow wars, and actively assassinating the best and brightest of my order when they might be on the verge of a breakthrough that would tilt the balance. I cannot prove the Guilds are murdering us. I cannot. And the Exorcists and Paladins, whittled themselves by years of accidents and misfortune are in little better state than we. The erosion of our humanityCof the dream has crossed the last threshold now. I have no hope for a resolution to this no hope. Even if a faction wins, what then? Peace? Prosperity? Laughable. Godclads stagnate in such conditions. How are you supposed to ascend the ladder of power without death and carnage? How? Tell me! Tell me! War! War will follow more war! Because unless a single individual claims victory and puts us to the mercy of their heel, the conflict will not end. Not with how we are! Think you damned fools! Think! Fucking think! You cant even agree on the truths of the past, and somehow you expect the rest of us to believe that you will manage to achieve an accord once your Ark is the last standing? No! War! War! War! War! War on the inside! You will find a disagreement to bleed each other over and commit to it. Because what you say is a distraction. I judge you by action, and the only difference between you and a joy-fiend is comparative impotence. To the Guilders who read my literatureCit was you who deprived yourself of true glory all along. You. Your fault. Always. Murderers of Jaus. Bastards betrayers of the dream. You and your impossible egos. You and your delusions. You will have what paltry Heavens I can muster, but you will never glimpse the promise of ascension. When I was a child, I yearned to claim to the sky. Now grown, I wish for it to fall upon us. -Mem-log of High Agnos Ossam Hariruda 2 Weeks before his Suicide 14-13 The Hand That Feeds Revas flat stare was predicted by his subminds, as were the words that followed. You know people have tried to kill me a lot of ways, but this is the third time I was offered an even-trade suicide by another Clad. The fact this wasnt a first spoke volumes about being a Godclad. Humans were creatures tempted by rarity and scarcity; the moment ones own life became casually renewable, the thought of spending it ceased to bear any heft in its weight. Nonetheless, the idea was planted, and soon he would need to provoke her curiosity if he wanted to inspire action. Mere words were insufficient, but he knew of the one true way to hammer his will into the bedrock of her conviction. One way, and no other. Death was cheap. Death was a teacher. Death was an expression of goodwill. Death was an invitation; a means to an end. Death was dialogue. +I will give you the resolve you seek,+ Avo said. +I will die first. You can follow me after. Or not. Its your choice.+ The accretions of both Reva and White-Rab bubbled with greater uncertainty than they did before. When they ambushed him, he expected himself to be at a disadvantage. Not so. Their encounter was fortuitous for him, and revelatory for them. There was so much that lay beyond the bounds of their understanding, so much he knew they didnt, and never could. Not unless he showed them. [Oh, its her choice,] Abrel mumbled. [Fuck happened to my choice. She gets the whole nice treatment while I got to see my brother die, my friends were butchered, I got halfway nulled Do you just hate Golds, Avo?] Across the inventory of his manifestable templates, the Talons, Shadows, and Benhata began sarcastically muttering to one another, each pretending that they had only just met each other, slowly building up to the question of which Guild they were from and how they all died. [Eat my shit, you half-strands. You know what Im saying.] Benhata laughed. [I dont. I really dont. I was fine and alive one moment, then I picked up a cast and suddenly my consciousness disappeared into a roaring flame. Thanks a lot by the way, Shadow-1.] A spike of annoyance came from the Incubus. [Youre welcome, Concave. How the hells was I supposed to know we were going to be diving into a mind-eating ego contagion? How were we supposed to prepare for that?] Avo let the simulated argument brew in the back of his consciousness. He could have ordered his subminds to stop, but something about his victims devolving into a shouting match with each other tickled his amusement in a peculiar way. It also served as a calming ambiance for what he was about to attempt. Previously, when it was convenient to die, he often requested Draus deliver the coup de grace since she was refined in the execution of such things. With the ascension of his consciousness, things have become both stranger and simpler. The hardest part of resolving his own survival wasnt death now, but ensuring his real body wouldnt be discovered. Thankfully, making a body disappear was easy when you had the right canons. With a thought, he funneled the bulk of his ego over into his proxy as he liquefied his original form. Before detaching himself from his primary vessel, he dissolved the smear of gore that was once his flesh using Sanguinity, and the shadows in which he hid exhaled a breath of crimson vapor that dissipated with the passing winds.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Between the constant onrush of bodies, the filling of lungs, and the scything pulses of neon, his unraveling went unnoticed by even the keenest of eyes. Manifesting a single shard of blood in the space between him and Reva, he bound the haemokinetic construct in stasis before using it to clear what little momentum debt he owed to his Galeslithers Hell. The other Godclad studied him with rapt attention, her expression transfixed between battle readiness and genuine anticipation. Something about how the light struck her hazel eyes made her appear almost childlike to him. Activity centers across base-mind came alight with hunger and unslaked cruelty. A spot in his cognition mapped to the design of Shadow-3 fluttered with dopamine, finding the Bloodthanes general appearance to be quite attractive. The rest of his cell mocked him for his easy fall and asked how he was to nurse this affection now that he was consigned to the ghouls will. +What just happened?+ White-Rab asked. +Did you shuttle over twenty-five thousand ghosts across the Nether without your blood-sheathe just lit up like a fusion bomb. How are you even channeling an Incog for all that? The sequences demanded must be+ The Necro trailed off. +Are you going to do this Reva?+ +No,+ Avo replied, allaying apprehensions before they could rise. +Dont have the means. Lack of a critical component right now. Might need some time to replicate the experiment. If thats what you want.+ This was a lie on his part. As much as he was willing to alter Revas Frame to a minuscule degree, becoming a post-consciousness was an edge he had no desire to lose. And if he was ever going to pit his power against someone like Zein, he needed every little advantage he could gather. +Cleaned out Rend. All I need you to do is follow me into death. I will inflict no change that you dont desire. Or want. Her mind will remain untouched. Call it respect. Call it pragmatism. Call it a good start to our relationship.+ That inspired a faint grimace to flash across Revas expression. A good start would be not getting nulled. Theres a precedent there, and Im not keen on repeating it with you. Strangely, White-Rab sputtered a few awkward coughs. It didnt take much for Avo to understand that he was missing contextual details to fully understand what was being hinted. +I will await you across the threshold,+ Avo said. +Come greet me if you wish to be more than what you are.+ He didnt grant her a moment of dialogue before he manifested the Thoughtwave Disruptor in his mind. Immediately, its formation came like a fissuring wound at the core of his being, and when he willed it to trigger his demise took him like a stray gust of wind winnowing a flame down to embers. RESURRECTION - 1% Into the depths of his Soul he sank, and with his Heavens he waited to see the arrival of his guest. Should she arrive, it would take but the transference of a single thaum to make his point. Thereafter, what Heavens and Domains he had at his disposal could be discussed, but there was another means to this action. Infection. So far, none among those he grafted showed any signs of ontological adaption in their Liminal Frames. He personally Ensouled Draus, Chambers, Essus, and Kae, and so far they remained of separate patterns from the Stillborn. Perhaps there was a debt of time that needed to be accumulated, but other factors could be at play. The nature of the Imitators tethered to the fires of his Soul was understood exclusively by Kae as a construct of thaumaturgy, and even then her study was incomplete and interrupted. Are we to play the role of hollow, broken gods with the coming of your new guest, master? the Woundshaper asked. There was a teasing whisper that trailed after its thoughts, hinting at its desire to play the role of a surprise. No. Make it plain. We need her to be shaken. We need her to be tied to our interests. And if you cannot secure her loyalty with avarice? the Galeslither interjected. Between the three egos present, it regarded itself as the wisest. But the steed was also characterized by capitulation and escape. Avos consciousness knew better. Though Reva Javvers was a Bloodthane, she held herself in reserve due to the unusual nature of their present circumstance and the fact that she was operating on behalf of her lover than her Guild, The truth was none of them were supposed to be here, and any potential betrayal on her part came with serious caveats, grinding her between multiple vectors of interest. White-Rab was at risk. Not just from Avo, but her own Guild. If he was as freelance as details suggested, he doubted the Longeyes of Stormtree would allow one of their number to frolic about with an unknown party. That, and she should understand how easy it was for him to consume minds after his little display devouring Waltons memory packet earlier. A pulse of pressure brushed against his boundaries, and he found his attention directed outward. Finally. Beyond the borders of his Liminality, another Soul manifested, and though it''s bright stood dim before his own, he knew himself facing someone of the Third Sphere at a glance. The scant distance that parted them was but a momentary buffer. As Avo finished his initial appraisal, he cast his reverberating Soulfire out from his core and tunneled a pathway across subrealities into her threshold. Her shock came with a sharp spike of startlement. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasnt an intrusion so quick, so causal nor sudden. Where once death mustve been a place of silent recess for her to wait out her resurrection and plot her next actions, now a foreign Soul intruded, bringing new noise and strange possibilities she could have never considered. He found himself greeted by the unmoving form of her Shatterborn as he entered. The Forgemaster of Broken Things glared down upon him with three heads carved unevenly from jagged obsidian, and volcanic arteries coursed through its five iron-cast limbs gleaming with molten glows. Steam rose free from the Heavens chest, and countless charred hands worked the forge, twitching and writhing at the crackling of flesh. Beneath the titanic visage of the former gods upper body, the lower stretch belonged to that of a headless lamb. A faint sense of familiarity came from the Woundshaper, though it also toned a suspicious note as it noted several inconsistencies in Revas primary Heaven. SHATTERBORN, FORGEMASTER OF BROKEN THINGS THAUMIC OUTPUT: 849 THAUM/c Looking at her second Heaven from an angle across, Avo found himself facing a strangely familiar sight. HOUNDMOTHER, BIRTHER OF WOUNDS THAUMIC OUTPUT: 122 THAUM/c Where most Woundhounds are defined by the wounds they are birthed from, the Houndmother resembled a gore-made dog clasped between plates of layered scabs where there should have been fur. The colossal canine was all primal, its form nakedly animalistic, and its young swimming between the canals of its weeping injuries. This, more than the Shatterborn, consumed Avos attention. The Woundhounds had proven their worth during his ascent from the Crucible. If this Heaven granted him a free and easy supply of constructs that could spring forth from his injuries, he was more than interested to make a trade. He still had a Lushburner to spare, after all. Its Domains might just feed into her designs. Catching himself after the long lull of his silence, he read from her Frames mem-data that she was at three percent resurrection already, and soon the return would be upon both of them. Thereafter, they would face each other in the flesh once more, but before then he had much allure to deliver, and some confidence to reap. Hello, Reva, Avo said. I thank you for allowing me to serve as your guest. It felt strange being so polite, but he recalled the lessons his templates had taught him and decided against risking any kind of antagonism. Especially considering how unprepared she showed herself to be. ...The only people who have talked to me in here are the Agnosi. You know that, right? False-Hevs, Avo said. Useful. Unnecessary. Alright, she said, taking his words on as a challenge. What else can your Frame do? It is your Frame thats doing this, right? I dont think our ghosts make it all the way down here." "Frame. A Highflame donation." He kept his words vague, but she could fill in the blanks herself. "Here. For your attention." With a thought, he transferred a single echo of Essence from his boundary into hers. Her ego gasped as she noticed the pulsing figment traveling between their Frames, the mote a representation of a life taken, and the only true currency of worth in New Vultun. He promptly took it back before he lost it to one of her cyclers. No free rewards. She would have to earn her prize and know him to be a patron rather than a charity. If they were to play this game with each other, a trust needed to be established. Did you justC He cut her off entirely by flinging one of his intact Lushburners into the confines of her Frame. The crucified phoenix speared into the unmoving shroud spread out from her Soul and Avo took the chance to study the clash between her flames and his. More than unmoving, his was animated and without limitations to its movements. Hers was still and frigid, curving out toward him in the shape of a narrow cone. Her options were limited to making powerful but tower-build Heavens. Even with two ontologics, he found her being to be cramped for space. How are you just moving that around? she breathed. Oh, I assure you, the act is quite effortless on the masters part. Revas Soul went stiff as the Woundshaper chuckled, and across from her followed the Galeslithers sigh. That Reva began. Wasnt me, Avo said. Its as I said. Following me was wise. You are now a witness to things few have seen. Few for now. A rare privilege. But enough about my Frame. That can be learned in time. Want something from you right now. Her being tensed. Even stripped clean of physiological fear, he could sense the worry building from the depths of her Soul. Whats that? She asked, keeping the dread clean from her mind. She couldnt face him here, and if he deign to fill her Hells with the excess Rend from his Woundshaper, there would be naught she could do but rise and cease upon the call of resurrection. Ignorance, again, was fatal. But mercy, sometimes, was fruitful. What kind of goddess do you want to be? 14-14 The Devil That You Don’t There is salvation in ruin. There is permanence in entropy. The other Guilds exist in delusion. They think the end can be surmounted or claimed or placed beneath their will. This is impossible. We, the bearers of the Skuldvast, the survivors eternal, know the one truth, the one end. That all struggle ends in destruction and death. Not even the stars may burn forever, and there will come a time when time itself unravels. But the end need not be feared. We need not succumb to despair. The end is release. The end is the last threshold we are to join, and the final womb in which we will slumber across the unbirthing of all realities to come. Let the others hold to their soft dreams of triumph. All machines break. All flesh decays. We will bind ourselves to the breaking, and in it, we sever ourselves from the torments the tapestry. Within the great roots come whispers of storms aroused. Let the world be smashed. Let all be undone. Let all crumble and rise and crumble anew. Our scars show the way, and what is shattered may bloom evermore. -Mad Rusings of Old Yadda, First Longeye of the Scaarthians 14-14 The Devil That You Dont Something made Revas spirit shudder every time the ghoul spoke to her. The dread was in the way she thought, in the words he used, in the wrongness of his consciousness and Frame. The quiet dread Avo inspired was more than mere horror. She knew terror from her work, faced Clads of her Spherage or greater, and beheld atrocities unparalleled in both intimacy and scope. She long thought her mind wrought from something sterner than iron, scars building upon her psyche like plating. But each moment she spent near him threatened to peel away her nerves. Ghosts came aflame when kissed by his consciousness, and here, with them lined Soul to Soul, she found an unnatural symmetry between his Frame and ego. The way his Soulfire rippled and shifted and held to no stable form rankled her, but the utterances that flowed free from his HeavensCseemingly alive beyond even his volitionCdrove spears of ice-cold numbness into her depths. Still, she mastered herself. She imbibed the discomfort as she was taught and adorned herself in an armor of indifference. If there was one thing she could control, it was how she reacted, and so she reeled back her shock and set about facing her opposite like a foe. Im sorry, before your start shoving me face-first into the ghoul-oil shit youre trying to peddle, did your Heaven just talk to me? The Sangeist, I mean. Or whatever it is now. Because that voice did not come from your Soul. And Im pretty sure your Galeslither just neighed too. She infused as much mild apathy as she could into her words, intent on downplaying her reaction after her earlier lapse in focus. What she couldnt help was her straying attention. His Soul twisted and udulated like it was alive, the currents of his fire moving whatever they so pleased, the curves of the inferno rippling like grass graced by a storm. They had an awakening, Avo said. Something that resulted as I began to reconstruct their potential. His vagueness maddening. He might claim to have inherited parts of Raldis mind, but he lacked all his warmth and seemed more lost in the maze that seemed to be his own mind. There was another thing she wasnt sure how she felt about parts of Raldi existing within the ghoul. Lovers though she and the White-Rab may be, they still kept deliberate secrets from each other. He didnt need to know the unsightly services she performed for the Longeyes, and she didnt need to know if he ever dived against those of her color. Such ensured stability in their romance and warded them from unwanted tension. RESURRECTION - 18% With Avo, though, she foresaw a potential disagreement between her and Raldi. He was entranced by the nature of his consciousness ever since he first laid eyes on the ghoul, and his interest evolved into feverish curiosity when the creature assimilated the offered memory packet. And now, said creature was turning its charm offensive on her through hints of empowerment and demonstrations of his Frames usual capabilities. Be you jealous of what the master is capable? The Heaven that resembled a heavily upgraded Sangeist said. Its features were rife with detail, blood flowing between states of glass, metal, and quivering mem-data, while lightning coursed through its rushing arteries. Wait, had the imbuement of electricity been there when she faced him in Nu-Scarrowbur? Their battle happened in a flash, but she thought him less developed then Studying the Woundshaper through the tunnel of Soulfire bridging Avo Frame to hers, she also noticed an equine-shadow fused across from the first Heaven at an angle. Where the Heaven of Blood was immense in thaums and detail, Avos secondary Heaven was subtle and lesser in more ways than one. Like a three-headed steed shedding trails of darkness and expelling whirlwinds from its mane, the Galeslither held itself to a silent, sullen demeanor in contrast to the peacocking of the Woundshaper. The mem-data for each of his Heavens finally loaded into her ego, and she found herself further shaken. HEAVEN - WOUNDSHAPER DOMAIN: (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LUMINOSITY/LIGHTNING) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 1042 THAUM/c HELL - [FOURTH CIRCLE] - WOUNDSHAPER DOMAIN: (MATTER/ENTROPY) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 1042 THAUM/c HEAVEN - [GALESLITHER] DOMAIN: (AIR/SPACE/SHADOW) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 430 THAUM/c HELL - [THIRD CIRCLE] - GALESLITHER DOMAIN: (AIR/ENTROPY/) THAUMIC REQUIREMENTS - 430 THAUM/c Fuck, she muttered thusly. Even his lesser Heaven wasnt insubstantial. Wishing to drive the blade of power and envy deeper, he swept the form of a thaumic cycler in and out from the confines of her Soul. With how it coiled and ate at each other eternally, she knew what she saw. He had a loose dragon. One that he could supposedly graft to himself at any time. Or her. Oh. Oh, she knew what he was doing. And it bothered her. Goddammit, did it bother her. RESURRECTION - 22% You know, youre kind of a half-strand, she said. First you just toss a Heaven into my Liminality like it''s just a couple of imps and now youre flashing a full-on cycler at me. I dont know what parts of Raldi you got, but the shamelessness isnt part of it. Might be the ego, Avo replied. He probably meant that in more ways than one. Just a pity about your Frame. A pity. If she had eyes, they would have narrowed. What do you mean a pity. Narrow build. Its like a cone. You have space to build upward. Not so much horizontally. Too many limitations. I pity you. If she had eyes, they would be slits by this point. Again. Half-strand. Ill make it up to you, he said. Going to repeat my offer. What kind of god do you want toC A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. My own, she said, cutting him off. Im going to talk now. And youll listen. I know what youre trying to doCand Im tempted. Ive been very tempted. But thats just the thing: I lived my life being very tempted by things and telling my temptations to go fuck themselves. So. Here are some ground rules: I dont tell you, give you, or even speak to you without knowing exactly what you want first. This isnt free. These are ontologics, and no ones that generous. Ah. It seems like our new associate yearns for entrepreneurial honesty, the Woundshaper whispered. Avo grunted, and she detected a note of amusement in his thoughts. Good. Prefer things this way. Lets be direct with each other then. I want to use you. Im taken Reva deadpanned. And no, theres no room for a third. Even if you are the worlds most special rotlick with part of my boyfriends cognition swimming in that trash fire you call a mind. Part of her wondered if she was taking things a step too farCif he would retaliate and alter her Soul somehow. Mostly, however, she quite enjoyed barking at others. These little nasty exchanges were like social spices for herCthey made unpleasant situations all the more palatable. I meant for runs and dives, Avo said. I know. But my allegiance isnt for sale. Im all booked out on that front too. Even if I give you opportunities to go after Highflame? That was different. But that also had her playing to his tune. Serving his needs. So, what, you feed me intel, and I play a two-sided attack dog? You tip me off, and through me you use Stormtree assets against your problems? Our problems, he corrected. Two people can share similar problems. You will also be compensated for your efforts. Services should come with recompense. Back to bribery again, huh? Yes. Is it working? Well see. I have few questions of my own in the meantime. First of which is if there are any other Frames of your pattern out there. The ghoul paused and considered his answer. Dont think so. Not yet. Not yet. There was that uncertainty that lingered in his answers again. What do you mean not yet? Means wait for a while. Can tell you this: Highflame probably doesnt have another one still in their possession. Stormtree can consider itself spared from destruction. Wonderful. My heart can rest easy now. Reva sighed. Howd you get it? It was a gift. From? The Strix. The Low Master. My father. You dont know him. You can ask your lover though. They were close once. Saw your Raldi as an adopted son. So, what? He just snatched this from the Agnosi? Another thought occurred to Reva, and she found herself considering the deeper implications of his Liminal Frame. And why did they ever make this Frame in the first place? With all the things it can do, wont this make themC Obsolete? Yes. Yes. Avo chuffed with satisfaction. Its very liberating. But no. The one who made its creation possible wasnt even aware of its eventual conception. It was the result of a perfect storm. Some aspects planned. Some just chance. Maybe it might spread. Spread? What do you mean spread? Youll notice if it does. Reva had suffered more than her share of No-Dragon plagues to like that answer in any capacity. You suspect me, Avo continued. This is good. This is only right. But you need to understand that your nulling at my hands in Nu-Scarrowbur was the best thing that could have happened. That our encounter has opened new paths for your future. That your relationship with White-Rab prevented your demise. So, youd try and snuff me for good if Raldi wasnt here? she asked. Checking her resurrection, she noticed her progress had ticked past thirty percent. Meanwhile, the ghoul seemed to be matching her pace even though his death came first. Wouldnt be much trying. His thoughts held no brovado in their wavelengths. He spoke the words the same way someone might judge the weather or order a meal. Somehow, he was certain that her life was something he could take at his leisure. She couldnt say it didnt bother her. Reva had faced and broken her share of egotists and antagonists during her climb up Stormtrees ranks. Scaarthians that thought lowly of the lesser clads. Those who followed the old traditions of ritual and scarification in defiance of the new age. All of them once thought her easy prey, and when the day was done, it was she that found them wanting in mettle and will. With Avo though, there were multiple vectors of attack beyond her means to repel. His mind was incendiary, and if she didnt get him with a disruption, she didnt want to think about what might happen if he managed to tear into the core of her ego. His Woundshaper was also a related danger in how it could help him channel his ghosts even when the Nether was disrupted considering how he weaponized it as a cognitive conduit in their brief encounter. From what she gleaned, he might just have been the single most asymmetric threat she faced. Physically, the threat they posed to each other was negligible. Not when their canons clashed and she could reform the Shatterborn from a pebble. But where her miracles ended, he seemed to continue on, and his growth was unfettered in potential and possibility. Bad odds. That was something she had to admit to herself. Bad odds she could see evened if she brought her cadre into these affairs, but the risk that presented was too severe. Reva loved Tigertail like a sister, and Root and Ullens had never been anything but reliable. They were, however, reflexively murderous and Reva didnt want to use Raldis life as a bid to test just how loyal they were to her instead of the Longeyes. And, if she were to be honest, she really didnt want them to go the same way as Abrels cadre. Whatever the ghoul did, Highflame was down three Godclads. Wait. Down three She turned her attention to the Lushburner again and understood. He took that from her uncles golems, so the cycler she saw earlier mustve been snatched from Jaus. He snuffed three other Clads for good. Dead gods knew how many thaumic cyclers he had with him. Dead gods knew just how many other Heavens he was hiding in the chaos that was his Frame. Now. Would you like for me to merge the Lushburner with your Shatterborn, Avo asked. Break it down to its fundamental domains? I can do both. Biology can enhance your second Heaven as well. No, she said, resisting. It was easy power. So easy. With just single word of acceptance, he could have pushed her past the threshold of being a Fourth Sphere. But she held her avarice in check. She swore her oaths and her loyaltiesC Again, she thought of the pureborn Scaarthians. Again, her mind drifted to Raldi and her cadre. Her life. She had come so far, but much had still been denied to her. Right now, the ghoul was an opportunity. Despite all his abilities, he hadnt tried to twist her by force. He hadnt even spoken a single harsh word. Instead of deepening her appreciation for him, she only felt the pit in her core grow deeper. This wasnt how his kind was supposed to be. He was calmer than she wasCmore in control than she was. This entire affair was an exercise in mercy and patience on his part. And she couldnt rightly figure out why. I will not press you further on this, Avo said, openly disappointed. I will not inflict a choice you dont desire. Not until we are properly enemies. He paused. You do not want that. You do not want to lose your ability to govern yourself. Its hm. The minds inside me accept it. They feel what I want them to. But do you know what they think before the end? The last thoughts that are truly theirs? If she was of flesh, she would have swallowed. Im sure its all bone-chilling and terrifying. No, Avo said. Just honest. Just a simple admission that they dont want to go away. The idea of the self is so fragile. You care for White-Rab. But I can make it not so. The I can make you forget. And I can make you hate him. She scoffed. Are we finally at the threatening phase of our relationship? No. Im still just being honest. I will try not to hurt you because of White-Rab. Your Raldi. My father cared deeply for him. And theres something of him in me. I think that should matter. I think I should keep him safe. And useful. Be glad you are part of that equation. Reva didnt know what to say as a reply. Consider what I can offer, Avo said. And know that you will accept my boons when your moment of desperation comes. Do not lie to yourself. You will seek me for power. That is why you are a Godclad. You feel the hunger too. It is known to both of us. He sounded as sure about that eventuality as one of the Longeyes did while sifting through auguries to gaze upon the future. Need something else from you right now, he said. Want to work together with you. For Raldi. Subject of mutual care. She didnt like where this was going. Walton left me a few dead-drops. Raldis like an adopted son. He should be included when I go seek out the caches. Part of his legacy too. A laugh escaped her. That wasnt what she was expecting at all. Youre asking for my permission to play third wheel? Want an invitation. Your acceptance will make our association easier. He cares about your opinion. I dont think he will go along with me blindly if you dont support him. I want this to be real. Manipulation is bad terms for friendship. Friendship, Reva muttered. Is that what this is now? Why shouldnt it be? Avo said. Again, he nudged the Lushburner at her. Just say yes. Just give yourself what you deserve. What are you denying this for? Trust? Fear? Worry? Its already under my allowance. Take a small risk before we embark on a larger one. Let me show you I can be trusted. Something ineffable changed inside her, and Reva chewed on his offer. What kind of goddess do I want to be, huh? Yes, Avo said, voice coming alive with delight. Yes Show me something small first. Something from the Domain of Fire. Then Ill see how I feel about this friendship youre offering. The ghoul chuckled lowly and sighed. Its all I can ask. 14-15 How to Win Friends and Murder People (I) Somethings happening in the Tiers. The Silvers I know are seeing a lot of golem activity and multiple district-wide thoughtscans are ongoing right now. Theyre searching for something. And right after an Exorcist Oversec got hit too. Somethings stinking in the water, and its got all the big ones looking for it. Theres also been some interesting chatter on a slew of mass suicides in the Throat. Something about Omnitech Mid-Guilders having a crisis of conscience for putting down a labor strike. Or maybe someone else had it on their behalf. Now, if youve been listening to FATELESS, you know that Im not one for conspiracies of whispers, but something about how the winds blowing right now got my guts all twisted up. Theres a chill running in the breeze. Somethings changed the world. Somethings changed, and I think a lot of very powerful, very important people are scared. Of what? I dont know. All I can do is play you all some tunes while we wait and see. Heres Autumn Never Lefts The Beast Unseen. -Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 14-15 How to Win Friends and Murder People (I) Blessing Reva with a new canon was a trifling matter. The only cost it incurred was part of his dismantled Lushburner, but the reward was more than worth the price. Imbuing her with but a Domain of Fire, he elevated the potential of her Shatterborn and added to her flames. Her powers, upon his review, were mostly bound to the enforcement and alternation of solid structures. Her Domain of Matter could derive mass from acceleration or enforce a permanent state to whatever physical component she was channeling at her core. Consequently, her Domain of Calamity held only the power to tear open volcanic eruptions on surfaces which she could root the Shatterborn. With these miracles came adjacent but well-hidden hubrises. If he managed to separate her from the ground or deprive her of the piece of matter she was channeling, backlash was certain to follow. The only thing that stood out from all the others was her lone canon tied to the domain of fireCa miserly perceptive ability now known to him as Steamsight. The name told all there was to know. Her awareness expanded with the spreading of hyper-heated fumes, and Rend followed if the air about her was rapidly cooled. It was on the foundation of this domain that Avo imbued her with greater strength. However, he noted the restrictions of his Frame with a faint annoyance. She could sustain a single new canon more between both her Heavens before her breadth was at capacity. The capabilities she presently had were still permitted to grow upward by the weight of a few hundred thaums, but short of someone remolding the shape of her liminality, Stormtrees Atgeir-pattern Frame tied one to the path of a tower rather than a sea. DOMAIN OF (FIRE)CANON OF BURNTHEFT - THE MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN MAY HOLD MASSES OF SURROUNDING MATTER THAT THEY VAPORIZED WITH THEIR EMITTED HEAT. THE VAPORS SEIZED FROM THE FORMER PHYSICAL CONSTRUCTS WILL THEN BE TIED TO THE MASTER AND CAN BE REMADE INTO SOLIDS AT ANY TIME; THE AMOUNT OF VAPOUR THAT CAN BE CARRIED IS EQUAL TO 10 CUBIC METERS. HUBRIS: IF THE VAPORIZED GASES ARE HYPER-COOLED, IT WILL RESULT IN THAUMIC BACKLASH TRANSFERRED: 40 THAUM/c You didnt even need an Agnos Reva whispered. She sounded more disturbed than awe-struck, but he couldnt fault her. What she was witnessing was both the usurpation of an old, integral pillar of power between the Guilds and an easy avenue of apotheosis gifted to her. RESURRECTION - 89% He let her select from the generated options, but deliberately withheld any canon that would demand a thaumic donation beyond fifty Essence echoes. What she currently held was a bit less than a baseline Galeslither with the forty thaums it demanded. Paltry though it might seem, it was still a remarkably useful thing for her to possess. Much of her build portrayed her as a Breaker, with small elements of shaping offered by the supporting Houndmother. As a crown of sizzling condensation spewed free from the gleaming heart of her Shattborn, he found her silenced by the subtle transformation, and yearning to return. Agnosi arent worthless yet, Avo replied. Still much I dont know. That will change soon. I will boil the enlightenment from them. Or I get my friend to teach me. Whichever is easier. Oh. And your Heaven might awaken after this. An unseen smile spread across his being. Sorry. Forgot to mention that. The Shatterborn lurched and the rushing steam hissed at him. Revas Heaven betrayed her displeasure despite the even tone she held. You forgot. Happens to all of us. It even happened to some of them deliberately. He was a busy ghoul. There was so much for him to think about. So, it might start speaking like one of your Heavens? Maybe. Probably has a different personality. Wont know till it happens. Wonderful, Reva growled. I love it when people spring surprises on me. He chuffed a series of low laughs. Dont worry. Not under my control. Still your Heaven. Still tied to your will. You can make it go quiet at any time. They give good advice. Sometimes. What a wonderful compliment. The sardonic response came as a concurrent reply from both his Woundshaper and Galeslither. Tides of disgust and wailing neighs of scorn followed. They really didnt like being so attuned to each other. Sometimes, Avo repeated, sinking his fang in a bit deeper. It wasnt just fun to needle Reva alone. Reva sighed. Can you take it out of me? The canon? Having second thoughts? Want another one? I Im thinking about how to explain this to my cadre, she replied. We usually get outfitted at the same time. Ah. That. Could just hide it from them. Or you can tell them the truth. What? A mysterious ghoul that came out of nowhere decided to grant me three wishes and make me a better Clad. Maybe more than three if our friendship deepens, Avo said. But no. Not in that detail. Say an unofficial Agnos decided to reward you for some unofficial business you chanced upon. You know, not everyones going to accept vague bullshit like me. The only reasonC Because you dont want to start a fight with me. Because you worried about exposing White-Rab. Because you dont feel sure about this. Yes. All valid reasons. Tell you to want. I can make sure your consangs never notice. Or care. The Shatterborn suddenly went very still. Dont threaten my cadre. No words followed after that. None needed to, for the thereafter to come would not be decided by the idleness of speech. Not a threat. Just an offer. I dont need to kill any of them to make my changes. He let his words linger for a moment. Can make them selectively blind. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Stay away from their minds too, Reva released an exasperated scoff. Jaus. Raldis rightCcreepy as fuck doesnt begin to describe you. Avo grunted. It was just an offer. You could say just say no. No. Very well. Always an option. RESURRECTION - 93% So. Will you keep it? Avo asked. I am going to see if it works. What comes after is after. This Reva had a bad habit: she was a bit of a procrastinator. Hard choices resulted in automatic delays. He could use this to his advantage in the coming future; if he ensured that multiple pressures compounded with her, he could topple her toward the outcome he desired without even exerting any outright pressure. Good. Im glad I could do this for you, Avo said. And that wasnt a lie. Molding another with his hands felt influential. The sensation of being a benefactor to others was growing to be an acquired taste. He found that he enjoyed giving people boons if only for the fact that it was a showcase of his immensity and power-wealth. That he was the source from which all possibilities flowed. Perhaps Zein Thousandhands actions werent so far beyond his fathoming after all. I dont know what this is, Reva said, suddenly. Avo listened patiently. I dont I dont understand you. I dont understand anything youre doing, and that bothers me. You claim a lot of things but it feels like youre pretending to be a person and just saying things. The only thing I think youre fully honest about is caring for Raldi. But even then Maybe my affection is inherited. Yes. There was no point in being dishonest about such things. But that doesnt change the way I am. He will be safe because I want him to be. And so will you. It wont change if you dont wish it. A beat of quietude followed, and he just basked in peace while waiting for her to respond. Im still for Stormtree. I cant be bought against them. You understand? It will be no issue. I will make sure our arrangements are neat. And he would. It would be a shame to lose an asset he could observe and cultivate and slowly turn to his use from undue pressure. He still had some lingering want to burn her into his consciousness, but he was growing increasingly fond of a new concept C using her as a form of indirect control. She might not belong to his gestalt, but he would find utility in her all the same. They stewed in mutual silence as resurrection soon approached. Keeping his cycle in pace with hers, they were to return concurrently. When they did, he was curious to see just how he would spawn and to take in all the delightful little details blooming across her face when they were properly eye-to-eye. Avo. Can you tell me something, Reva asked. Depends. Ask your question. ...Your Frame can give someone new canons Is it just limited to grafting new ontologics or Oh. He understood. And what delicious subtext her question possessed. Yes, Avo said, unable to keep the glee out of his voice. I can make Raldi a Godclad. Just like us. But I still need a few things. Short on Souls right now. Something she could help him with. Maybe we should prepare a small surprise for him. So many Fallwalkers. Guildless Clads. Many must deserve death. Many must make for good killing. Wouldnt you agree? He thought he heard a shudder flow through her thoughts. Yeah, Reva muttered. I might just. RESURRECTION - 100% A waterfall of fire slid its closing jaws over his nous. Before his return, he saw the very same ignition take place within Reva as well. As they were cast back into life, he found himself pleased with his little session. The Bloodthane had started as a slightly impenetrable adversary, but more and more, the map of her desires became known to him. Ever traitorous were the hearts of men. Reality around him shuddered, and Avo reached out to part the veil of blood that separated his subreality from the overarching tapestry. He poured free from the pool of blood his proxy left when he killed himself. A puddle of bright crimson stained the pristine couch of the aero. Avo cleaned his mess with but a thought, his haemokinetic particulates peeling the furniture clean anew. Before him, Reva jerked back to life as reality twitched around her. No domain-based resurrection for her, he guessed. [Might want to keep things neat. Not sure her Heaven would affect the vehicle. Might damage the matter around us.] The theory from his submind came without fanfare. He was back, and so was his Metamind. Wholeness was a wonderful thing. Hello, Avo said, keeping his Echoheads wrapped tightly around him. The vehicle was spacious, but even so, his size proved to be a problem of discomfort. [We really should culture more bodies for ourself. Have cloning vats in the George Washington. Why dont we use that? Switch between sheathes quickly. Expand our options.] Now there was a suggestion. His mind and ontology were untethered from restrictions, so why should his vessel be? Pushing the considerations aside for now, he turned his wide rows of teeth at Reva and White-Rab in his version of a smile. Good to finally meet you in the flesh. Alive this time. In the corner of his vision, he saw small volcanic cracks smelting part of a nearby table, and steam rising into the air upon hissing plumes. Ah. The Bloodthane wasnt wasting time. +I have to be honest, you were a less impressive sight dead. What kind of deal did the Strix have to make for you to get fitted with No-Dragon augs?+ Oh, Avo replied. Not his doing. Mine. My choice. Woke without an arm. Missing more than that actually. Kidneys too. He offered a small shrug. As I told you before. Things werent exactly as planned for anyone. Not him. Not me. Not the Low Masters. A cape of steam settled upon Revas shoulders, and he noticed the lump she quickly swallowed. Despite the absence of a heartbeat, Woundshaper could still sense the accelerated flow of ichor rushing through her biology. She was shaken. Mask herself as much as she wanted, she was unbalanced by all that he was, and all that he could offer. Good. There were few pleasures more divine than earning someones fear. Have something I want to do with you, Avo said, looking at the Wight. White-Rabs accretion slowed to an anticipatory halt. +Youre not going to request a threesome, are you? Because Revas not up for that.+ Avo blinked and tried not to think much about the words his cog-donor just said. +Its. Its a joke. I was I tried to make a joke. It didntCfuck it, I didnt say anything. You should start talking. Yeah.+ [Yes. Please. I dont want to imagine you and him and her. Bleh.] Abrels mind template shuddered in disgust. Its about the Strix, Avo said. Remember. Told you about his caches? Want to go see one? White-Rabs thoughtstuff tumbled. +Wasnt that for you?+ Again. A note of envy. But envy was so easy to twist into affection. The Shadow templates whispered what needed to follow to AvoCthe words he had to say and the mood he had to convey. The manipulation wouldnt be a hard sell. He already knew what White-Rab wanted, after all. No, Avo said, trying to inject as much warmth and surprise as he could in his voice. He needed to borrow some humanity from his assimilated stock of minds to manage it. No. Walton wanted this for us. He left the memories for me to open. Thats true. But inside the memories are also moments for you. Well-wishes for you. He thought much of you. This was a bit of an exaggeration. Walton did care deeply for his protege, but there were many other aspects of the once-Famines recollections. His was a mind made rich across countless lives and passing ages. His past held far vaster a space than just regards for one or two people. +Yeah?+ White-Rab said. He sounded slightly child-like in the way his mind toned the words. +He thought of me?+ Much, Avo said. Im going to go and see what he left us. But it wont be right. Not alone. We should see to his legacy. See what he left us. I think this will be a good start for our shared lineage. Give you the details. White-Rab breathed a single laugh. +Well. I guess I should say a proper goodbye to the Strix. Reva? How do you feel about this? This is personal, and I know you dont likeC+ The steam around her fused back into a fragment of wood in her hands. Her hazel irises cut upward to glare up at Avo. His grin broadened and he suppressed any thoughts relating to tearing her eyes out and eating them. Im not calling in for another two days. Lets go see what your not-dad cultist of a mentor left you. Aside from this thing here. Avo just kept smiling. He could get quite a bit of mileage out of this friendship thing. *** Chambers stared at Avos headless corpse. Consangs. Its been like three hours? Are you sure we shouldnt go look around or some shit? A loud crackle of gunfire was Draus answer. Right now, she was taking potshots at who-the-fuck-knows-what through her shards of glass. Beyond the portal, Chambers heard the tell-tale sound of an aeros engine erupting to a plummeting scream. Then, all of a sudden, she shifted shards, and the sound was gone. He does this shit sometimes, Draus scoffed. Gets a new toy, and becomes all distracted like. Hell come back when hes done or bored. Give it another day before we go lookin. Sides, I think our voiders might got eyes on him already. She cocked her head toward where Denton was speaking with Sunrise. And if that dont work, we just gotta listen. Listen? For when shit goes south. The Regular expanded another sheet of glass to the width of a window and manifested a passage. Wind and sounds of traffic erupted into the room. A savage glint of amusement accompanied the sneer that tugged at her lips. Draus leveled her projectile launcher and took aim at a new unseen target. If I know one thing about Avo, I know that stuff falls apart where hes at, and we just gotta follow the damage. 14-16 How to Win Friends and Murder People (II) The city lies to itself. I have traveled across the entirety of the New Vultun Special Administrative Suzerainty three times in total during my service. I have seen many things and encountered many obstacles of evident and unnatural categories. A thing to note for all operatives is that you cannot view the city as a straight path. Going from one place to another is a determinant scenario. Its determined by if any warheads are in play between the Guilds or their Syndicates during the day. You must also worry about the effects of any stray Heavens leaking over into foundational reality itselfCI lost half my drones once attempting to look upward in an Ashthrone district. This resulted in an unsecured Hell releasing its entropic feedback and hyper charging the air friction around me. Much of this is to say that you must consider and develop adaptable routes. I recommend using local contacts in each district for safety. It is essential to know which boundaries are geometrically, spatially, or just thaumaturgically affected in general. Presently, New Vultun is split over forty-five thousand fatality-procurement distribution sites. Over two thousand different major sovereignties make up the governing pillars overlooking these zones, so be sure to familiarize yourself with which Guilds have the most vested claims in the area, and what Heavens they might be able to deploy. Above all else, be aware. Awareness is the key to your operational success and survival. Employ all means of internal and vetted external assets to ensure your comprehension of the locality and preparation for any event. If you are the first to be acquired or engage an adversary without properly understanding what they are, the outcome is rarely certain. And from my encounters, I must stress that the cessation of ones consciousness is a lesser torment in the face of other ends Ive seen befall certain former companions. -Sunrise, Operative of Aegis (Voidwatch) 14-16 How to Win Friends and Murder People (II) Among the greatest boons the subminds granted was a passive awareness of information. From all the minds he consumed came new branches of memory, and with each extension of their segments did his base of knowledge swell. More than just this, they allowed him to understand matters betterCto assemble pieces of infromation where he would be been just blind before. [Pendross Ravine was born of a fruitless struggle,] said a submind channeling a myriad of templates. [Clenched between two other districts at war, the urban sprawl had the look of a basin when viewed from on high. To its north rose a grand tsunami of insects caked in living flesh, with eyes sprouting from enamel stalks glaring unceasingly at the uneven teeth-like mountains stacked far southward. Strong winds unnaturally funneled all things capable of motion through the passage of the miraculous edifices, serving as a checkpoint for most to contend.] More details loaded into Avos consciousness, and the history of this place unraveled before him. Distant vicarities and past mem-sims expanded through is cog-feed. Festering bones raining down from cancerous sores swallowing entire patches of sky warred with towering icons of wood and storm. The horizon was bathed in endless light, the bombardment of atomics endless and constant. There were wars here even before the fourth great clash between the Guilds. A war to settle who would control which piece of the Tiers, and what portion of deaths flow to which master. For years, the districts of Yuan Feng and Kag-Kraelin pressed against each other, Sainist and Massist forces fighting and bleeding and dying by the thousands across the minutes. Countless No-Dragon bioforms once littered the ground here, as did Scaarthians enduring the trials of their adolescenceCmost of them never surviving to reach the ascent of motherhood. Then, just before the time of the Third Guild War, a failed coup left the No-Dragons reeling on the cusp of victory after years of bioform-wrought attrition, plague, and bombardment left Stormtrees local detachments decimated, Highflame stole the moment from their own ally and claimed the area as their own. What followed thereafter was equally a farce. Gullivan Pendross, noted Chivalric and Authority of Highflame, was found dead a few months later, having apparently contracted a suspiciously rare and undetected prion that caused his final cessation in the midst of combat when the Third Great War began. Also interestingly were the claims that the No-Dragons were unable to receive any communications when the fighting began, arriving only as Highflames knots were on the verge of collapse to offer their support. On the Massist side, Ashthrone and Sanctus, both seeking to curry more support and favor from Ori-Thaum, rushed to punch through Highflames wanting defenses. Unfortunately, they decided to do this as an act of mutually agreed proactivity, and thus didnt alert Stormtree of their assault. Thus came the battle that numerous Proparazzi heralded as Shame in the Basin, with decimated Highflame units bolstered far too late by No-Dragon forces to mount a meaningful defense, and the last of Stormtrees local Bloodthanes engaging in brutal ally-on-ally combat and rending the Massist unable to fully take advantage of any breakthroughs. By the end, Pendross Ravine remained split sixty-forty between the Saintists and Massist, and those that stayed past the conclusion of hostilities established strange bedfellows even among former enemies. Down the middle of the city, the Highflame-owned enterprises were tethered together as a continuous chain against the messy smattering of Ashthrone and Sanctus businesses. Around the perimeter, however, there was no shortage of Sang-Scaarthian joint-owned structures, forming an encirclement of ire that pressed the Golds, Blues, and Grays against each other. It was also why Avo didnt find himself all that surprised when a series of nuclear blastwaves ballooned over the horizon and carpeted his destination in suppressive devastation. The aeros systems wailed warnings as skies seemed to tremor and shake. The Harshlanders sensors spewed an avalanche of mem-data while phantoms portrayed a full-spectrum detection grid of all that was happening around them. It was a testament to Stormtrees design that the vehicle barely groaned as the first whiplash of turbulence ran through it, but where it could contend with the disruption inflicted by coldtech, there were also stray miracles in the air and sky above the afflicted blocks boomed with mind-burrowing warnings. +ATTENTION: COUNTER-MIRACLES ARE ACTIVE ALL VEHICLES APPROACHING BLOCK C-4 ARE TO HALT AND RETURN TO THEIR POINT OF ORIGIN. THE AIRSPACE HAS BEEN VECTOR-LOCKED. ALL PHYSICAL ENTITIES WITHOUT PROPER FATE CLEARANCE WILL HAVE THEIR ACCELERATION DETACHED FROM THEIR ONTOLOGIES AND BE SUBJECT TO DETAINMENT UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIGHFLAME. WE REPEAT. HALT, AND RETURN TO YOUR POINT OF ORIGIN. A BLOCK WAR IS IN PROGRESS.+ Looks like our nearby option is a bust, Reva deadpanned as she took a drink of honey-scented liquor. Avo glanced at the bottle briefly and studied the name under its mem-con-infused label. Ursa-Rager: Let the bear roam. A phantom manifested as a massive brown-furred bear pouring scalding honey down its throat and burping. Wheres the next nearest dead-drop? The inside of the aero shook again, but the auto-grav security systems ensured absolute stability for the inhabitants. FATED didnt need to concern themselves with gimbals or the like.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. This ones still fine, Avo replied. Maybe even better. Guilder assets distracted with each other. Wont be looking at us when we go in. Can get to what we want while Ashthrone and Sanctus are raiding. The Bloodthane fixed him with a flat stare and frowned. Listen, I understand you dont care much about Guild etiquette and all that, but right now the powers are in the thick of it. Youre not marching into some Syndicates backdoor. There are Heavens activeCa twenty-mile thaumaturgic perimeter is in place and draining all the force out of all movement vectors. Those nukes are going off air-burst style because they cant get close. And neither canC I will open the path, Avo responded. But his new friend was so depressing. Zein would have hated this one. Cant. Wont. Guild rules. Limitations. This wasnt the voice of a Godclad, but the worried complaints of a street squire. [Probably cause she used to be one,] Abrel chimed. She scanned the Bloodthane and chuckled. [Not bad. But not bad doesnt light the wick. You see all that tension in the way shes siting, and how her shoulders tight like that? Her body is still used to drawing on her muscle instead of just using her Heaven. Not to put insult our esteemed opposition or anything, but theres a reason why training a Clad early makes them better at scraping than just elevating a hardened killer. A lifetime of proper habits and instincts is hard to make up for.] +Didnt they snuff one of your cadre?+ Avo asked. [Yeah. But we were chasing you, and didnt expect to smash head-first into a couple of Stormtree Bloodthanes backed by high-end golems. Highflame golems, come to think of it] Curious indeed, but something to discover later. Right now, he needed a way to get into the block, lest they suffer a six-hundred-mile excursion to the next closest cache. [Cant approach conventionally. Nether is still accessible.] The Subminds hummed in contemplation. [Not for long. We remember to block wars. Thoughtwave Detonations will follow soon. Will be suicide if we enter directly.] [Detonation must come from somewhere though. Will need active Necros attacking and defending. Jocks too. Hm. Jocks. Some nukes have loci in them. Mix of coldtech targeting and jocking. Could be our entry point. Burn through one of the jocks. Eat through their systems.] [Could be. Risk of exposure?] [Present. Should shift ourselves over and use Incog if at risk of discovery.] [Yes. Will need to be in range to use our Sanguinity. Twelve miles gives options. But reaching blindly is dangerous. Should overlap with nukes on approach Intercept before they get stopped by the defensive perimeter.] One of his subminds scoffed in disgust. [Defensive perimeter. Remember the block wars of our youth? Just relied on memite. Blocks already indestructible. Whats the point of this Rend-waste.] [Prevention of continued suppression probably. And opening for counterattacks.] His path forward cleared and understood what needed to follow. Can you turn the aeros Phys-Sim on the trajectory of the warheads? Avo asked. Get us within twelve miles if possible. A ghost undulated out from White-Rab into the aeros locus without delay. This brought a smile to Avos face. Thank you. Glad I dont need to burn Revas aero with my mind. Its nice transport. White-Rab chuckled. +No, consang, we definitely dont want that.+ Revas eyes narrowed evermore. Consang. A pause took hold of the other Necros accretion. +What?+ Nothing. Reva shook her head. Im just happy to see you connecting with someone. I dont think youve ever been this willing to socialize with anyone. In the depths of Avos consciousness, Abrel let out a breath of excitement. [She''s jealous. Jealous of you. Oh, this is fucking fantastic. This shit is tastier than Nether gossip. Tell White-Rab you feel like you two have a connection. I want to see how much more the Bloodthane sow can squint. Her eyes are going to be shitting pearls soon.] Though it was tempting, Avo didnt taunt the Bloodthane further. Instead, he diverted his attention into expanding his Sanguinitys Reign to its maximum baseline broadcast radius without fully manifesting his Woundshaper. All around him were patterns. Patterns of the physical. Patterns of the material. Patterns of static and electricity and light and biology. Patterns that his Heaven could touch, imbibe, and manipulate as it mantled itself over fundamental aspects of reality. Aeros and drones ran beneath his eldritch senses, and within his Frame, he felt his Woundshaper shudder. Imagine, master. Imagine just clenching your fist. Just reaching down into the city and clenching. How many thousands of lives could we carry away with us? How much greater could we be. Again, the temptations were all around him, but such a thing struck him as something he could do once and never again. It was also a distraction from his true intent. He needed to use his haemokinesis as a conduit again, and he needed to touch a passing nuclear delivery system. The phantasmal grid playing between him and Reva showed arcing trails and estimated accelerations. The nukes were being fired from the low stratosphere in batches of twelve and were each screened by a swarm of fifty expendable drones. [More jackpoints.] [Indeed] This made things easier for him. They didnt even need to approach the block directly, though all the current impact vectors were still a mile or two beyond his reach [Dont need to overlap our Sanguinity. We can use more meticulous methods. Form haemokinetic shrapnel. Burn Auto-Seances into them. Fling them into the sky.] [Yes. Maybe still too wasteful. Could pour most of our ego over into a construct. Boltstride using it.] [Effective. But loud. Obvious. Also puts us at direct risk of disruption if it happens.] [Hm. Shrapnel.] [Shrapnel.] It took less than a thought for him to harden ten thousand tiny flechettes in the air twelve miles beyond the aerovec. He stopped as he began to feel slightly lightheaded, seeing that he was presently drawing from himself than converting any external mass. His subminds made shaping and controlling all the constructs even more convenient, and his Sanguinity allowed him a direct connection to infuse the once unlit constructs with the necessary dosages of ghosts. What are youC Revas words were cut off as Avos cognition flared, and every last diminutive mote of blood sparked like struck flint as he poured parts of his mind into them. Blazing ghosts rode out like a tumbling wildfire, and ten thousand thoughtcasts were tethered to ten thousand shards. [Arranging cognitive inventory.] Avo took a moment to enjoy his feat. Previously, he had neither the ghosts nor the mental processing power to achieve such a thing. Now, with each ghost he consumed, his mind expanded, and his ability to think and learn and become expanded. Weight was no longer his enemy. Gluttony was now, at best, a lesser vice. The grid before him flashed as new icons entered its radius. Dipping a Whisper across his outermost shards, Avo peeked at the newest falling barrage of warheads let and simulated his own calculations. Triggering his personal Phys-Sim, he aimed a salvo of his own, and when the estimates loaded place and the lanes turned red, he flung his blades out with a flick of will to pierce his adversary in mind and matter both. The air rippled with force. Outward sailed Avos traveling fangs. Outward they would bite and bury, the ones that missed slated to be released from the presence of his Heaven, while those that impacted would serve as his insertion points. There was much to consider about unleashing an attack across vast distances. The numbers didnt lie, but physics was a capricious entity. New blastwaves folded the air and shook forty percent of his initial constructs off course. He anticipated this possibility, but quantity had quality all its own, and blood worked like birdshotCspreading wide and piercing shallow. Of the ten thousand needles he cast out, only three hundred sank into the warping embrace of foreign alloys, and of those, only eleven remained after one of the warheads he targeted was intercepted by an unanticipated missile. Success, in the end, came in the form of a passing drone that took one of his shots straight through its chassis. Immediately upon detecting the impact, he activated one of his few remaining Auto-Seance sessions and directed his perception through the other side. It took less than a second for him to identify the presence of the drones locus, and by the end of said second, he was already threading his Conflagration into the drones cognitive structure and incinerating all that could burn within. Roaring down the scant memories forming the connective tissue between the drone and its jock, Avos consciousness went off like a firebomb, and the lobby from where the attacks conducted their offense reacted as wood would to his presence. All came alight. All came aflame. All became him. There was no anticipation, no retaliation, no chance to respond. Avo spread through the lobby of the attackers, and across the city, thousands began to twist and writhe upon their jacking stations as the flames blessed them with a final seizure. They mightve begun the day thinking this was going to be a prolonged raid, but Avo really didnt have the inclination to be delayed. This block war was going to be done, whether these players wanted it or not. And when he was done, hed just pin the blame on Highflame. It wouldnt be that hard to have White-Rab fabricate a stray memory or sequence left behind, after all. 14-17 A Seizure of Gifts It wont take much for everything to come apart in battle. This is why you cannot rely on the Nether when the fighting gets rough. Things get disrupted, and even Ori-Thaums Weavewrither Counter-Suppressive Intelligence Network can be suppressed by prolonged Thoughtwave Detonations. As such, a Godclad cannot fixate on a single tool alone. You need to open additional options for yourself. You need to create openings and stay aware of the situation, or youll find yourself lost and soon to be dead. Remember the sequence of battle. Perception and awareness are everything. Establish and control your perimeters. Shape the situation. Prepare your necessities. EngageCand do it quickly. If you stay locked in combat for too long they will zero in on your canons and rotate specialized Rendbreaker units to see you snuffed. Tempo. Tempo. Tempo. Play to your rhythm, and get out before you culminate. And if everything is already going to hell, and you dont have a clear overview on your situation, break, retreat, survey, and then assault. If you juvs want to keep those Souls you got, you need to use your heads. Not knowing what kills you isnt an acceptable excuse when the Big Nothing comes calling. -Santanado Starsinger Mondelles, Combat Instructor to Axtraxis Academy of Highflame 14-17 A Seizure of Gifts The scene portrayed by Revas aeros visual sensors made it look as if distant stars were flashing into being over the assaulted block. As bright as they burned, so too were they quick to dim and fade, as if the flames torching them from within were pulled away to another place entirely. Something about the incomprehensibility of it all made Revas stomach turn. +Holy shit,+ Raldi breathed. His aweCand terrorCwere palpable. Never before had she seen him so captured by a sight, and never did he allow so much emotion to leak through his thoughtstuff. Whatever the creature was doing, it was enough to shake a veteran Necrojack to his core. +Whats happening?+ Reva asked through their shared session. +Whats he doing?+ Raldi didnt respond immediately. Instead, as his ghosts leaped and twisted to and fro from his mind, he connected her to his cog-feed and interfaces loaded into her minds eye. He was creeping through the districts surveillance systems. +Hes nulling them. All of them. Jaus, its like someone firing a fusion burner down an interconnected. He must be tearing through their lobbies. This Jaus, I have no idea how many people hes nulling by the second.+ As if to compound his words, the ghosts once transmitting their warnings over the block sparked and promptly vanished, and with their banishment followed the light as well. An entire patch of the district went dark. Beside her, the ghoul clicked its spear-like fangs together and chuffed with artless glee. The unseen massacred pleased him, but his disposition was that of a connoisseur observing an art pieceCno; he was the artist himself, marveling at the greatness of his own skill. Slowly, he turned, and the writhing flames that crowned his accretion discharged a splash of ghosts and burned ever thicker. Between the undulating folds of the blaze, she caught sight of screaming faces and ethereal memories breaking and forming like the steam that cloaked her body. Her instincts screamed with anxiety, and she understood what she stared upon immediately; these were the memories of his victims, fed into his ghosts and stripped clean of their consciousnesses. A subtle shift of his posture made her jolt, and she reached out for her HeavenC And stayed her hand in the last instant. You are forgiven, Avo said, low hissing mirth escaping him. I cannot blame you for being afraid. It is appropriate. Now more than ever it is a proper response. You are a real person, Reva. It is good to treasure your own life. Understanding your kind more now. Reva felt her nerves tighten with every word the monster spoke. Her blood was rushing like before a battle, and it took all that she had to refrain from attacking him. She had to. For all the hubrises he was certain to possess and the paradoxes she could strike if only she knew all his domains, but of his absolute weaknesses there was one avenue. Yet, what would follow would certainly be her endand possibly Raldis. She had been a Bloodthane for years, and in that time she told herself a single story, that she was the huntress, and her foes the prey. Not so at present. Not so. An old truth revealed itself to her thenone long known to the wolves, wargs, and beasts which dwelled in the deep and deeper of the woods. There are mountains beyond mountains and horrors above horrors. How many, she whispered. Her voice didnt sound like her own. How many did you null? The ghouls gaze was a discomforting thing to suffer. His happiness offered greater dread still. I am now composed of forty-thousand six-hundred and forty-two ghosts. They can assemble and form over eleven thousand one-hundred and forty-six templates. They were unprepared. Some jocks died first. But I went for their Necros immediately. N-Sec disemboweled first. Then I went for the rest. Left their snuffer teams alive though. Five hundred and twenty snuffers backed by five thousand Wights. So many little lives blind and lost in the dark without the Nether A low and hideous chuckle rasped free from his throat. The ones I nulled tell me such delightful things. +Youre just directly integrating them into your mind? And theres no rejection? No trauma?+ White-Rabs question came with a slight mental shiver and a major note of jealousy. Unused to this scale of casual slaughter though he was, Reva sensed his envy of the ghoul. To possess such an affinity for devastation in the Nether would make any Necrojack feel small. She understood because the privileges afforded to his Frame ground a similar rawness into her ego. Avo turned and stared at the Wight. Dont worry. I will share my knowledge. You can learn. Understand. Become. Its what Walton would want. Its what I want. But I need your help right now. +Do you?+ Raldis voice rose a pitch, and his latent horror shifted over into curiosity. Reva huffed a small breath. If there was one flaw her lover had, it was a novel challenge. She knew that slight bursts of inadequacy assailed him as they conversed with the ghoul, but now that the creature was directly calling for aid, how could White-Rab not be interested? Yes, Avo stated simply. Everything I touch burns and becomes me. I am too much like a plague. A calamity. These changes have deprived me of the nuances of the art. I miss it. I cannot hide within memory and sculpt details into deception. But you can. You are a master. Walton knew thisCsaw the potential in you. We share that. I need you to do what I can do no longer. From his body sprouted a new locus, and it shed phantoms playing patterns of repeating memories. Here. This is a session to access whats left of a lobby. Need someone to go in. Make it seem like they were betrayed. That Highflame assets had a backdoor all along.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. +Oh. Youre pinning this on the Golds? Bold, and very out of character.+ White-Rab hummed. +Maybe if I make it seem like they got help from freelance sources+ A glint of mirth shone in the ghouls eyes. Going to cause some trouble for a rival? +They have it coming. Trust me.+ Across the Nether, Reva could feel the beginnings of a smirk tug at Raldis lips. Already, the slaughter was fading from his notice. He was like a moth to a flame in situations like theseCissued a new challenge and with the potential to prove his skill, he couldnt turn away. Didnt want to. All it took was a little opportunity granted by the ghoul and And so Reva blinked and looked upon the monster before her with new eyes. Was he doing this on purpose? To engender feelings of unity and co-dependency to deepen their relations? She couldnt tell. While their Souls were adrift from across each other, Avo sounded nothing but truthful. His gaze snapped over to hers, and she felt a jolt of panic threaten to overtake her. Behind his teeth, his long coiling tongue flicked and slithered, the motions like a nu-dog dipping the appendage into something. Come. Reva. I dropped the defense system. We can approach now. Still snuffers present. And a cadre Fallwalkers. Fallwalkers? she asked, confused. Fallwalkers for a block war? Avo snorted a laugh. No. Block war is a distraction. The Fallwalkers are for a girlCformer Ashthrone Guilder. Betraying her color for Highflame. Has some essential information they dont want leaked. Directly moving Guilder Clads with known Heavens exposes their hand too visibly. Will invite reprisals down the line. Third party is convenient. Disposable. Easy to bribe. You understand. Not something Stormtree hasnt done before. He was right, but much of the picture was still absent in her mind. All this was for one person? Its for everyone, Avo said. For all those who think of trading one color for another. Nothing special. Nothing unique. Just another day in the city. Power games between great powers. Theyre just crossfire. An opportunity to be seized. What are you talking about? Reva asked. Im saying its a shame that the assault group will be massacred. And the Frames and Heavens of the Fallwalkers wont be recovered. She understood and coldness spread through her. Youre going hunt them for thaums and ontologics. Did you know about this? Know about the block war? Did you plan it? The ghoul just leaned back on his couch and breathed. I was honest before. This was just chance. Can call it fated. Only wanted to see what Walton might have left behind. But opportunity must be seized. Now. Want you to go with me. Well raid the raiders. It will be fun. Fun, Reva muttered. To her dismay, the pitch was enticing. She was Bloodthane still, after all. Hunting big game was her trade, and here was a chance to properly view this anomaly in action. Yeah. I guess it does sound pretty fun. The ghoul giggled, and something about it sounded almost girlish. Reaching one unnaturally long arm over, he wordlessly pattered her on the shoulder. His claws splashed through the light of her holocoat as the visage of a tri-headed steed spread out from his shadow. Come along then, he said. Follow me into the dark. See what we find at the end. *** GHOSTS: [40,642] Ultimately, Avo didnt need his subminds to obtain support from White-Rab or Reva Javvers. This achievement was entirely his own. From the experiences he claimed as both Necro and Godclad, he knew their wants as well as they did, and though his cog-donor was the more susceptible one between the two, Reva feared him, and that worked just as well. Doubtless, she thought this would be a good moment to learn his weaknesses and methods. Unfortunately for her, his evolutions came radically. Even now his mind swam with new words and whispers and wonderings. With all the jocks and Necros he consumed, his consciousness was a small township unto itself. Knowledge and recommendations fed themselves directly to his notice, his new templates organizing by seniority and relevance for each situation. He had learned the true reasons behind the assault in a near instant and withdrew before the lobby began purging itself after he devoured all the protecting Necros. His mind shifted between euphoria and annoyance at his vulnerability; his flames could brand all the Nether into him or the other way around, but he would be snuffed like a paltry candle when the disruptors went off. The tradeoffs were extreme either way. As such, he already devoted a good percentage of his mind to coming up with a solution. Regardless, he approached the sieged block in silence, shuttling the aero with Reva and White-Rab toward confrontation. He hadnt fully manifested his Galeslither, but he wasnt far off with how much of he was invoking his power over shadows. Speeding toward the structure itself, Avo regarded the situation with precision. He had jumped from mind to mind while spreading his cognition, and using the penetration already achieved by the attackers, he disabled critical functions within the defending blocks protections. Most of the loci he left untouched so as to not alert the attackers of his coming. Of course, with their logistical and information backline slaughtered and the nukes entirely silenced, they''d soon be aware that all was not well for this operation. Surfacing within the ground level of the blocks lobby, Avo pulled himself and the aero out from the darkness as if he was crawling onto shore. Warning klaxons sounded around the cavernous lobby of the block, and lights brightened and dimmed, basking hundreds of mutilated bodies in throbbing oscillations of neon. A cold wind ran through the open gateways leading beyond the block, and with a peek into some of his new memories, he understood the scene. Ashthrone and Sanctus Necros managed to breach the blocks systems and removed major parts of the lockdown before local Highflame personnel caught on. By then, however, it was already too late. The attack was on, and the blitz came in a storm of bullets and monofilament grenades. Bodies large and small, male and female, of every make, shape, enhancement, and aesthetic were left as ruined mounds of meat toppled over each other. Open faces and empty eyes told Avo the residents were entirely unprepared, and the wounds on some revealed that the raiders found amusement in blowing the legs off their victim and watching them crawl. Sometimes, man was not so far from ghoul. +Its done.+ White-Rabs thoughtcast emanated from within the aero, and Avo found himself surprised. Had his cog-donor already managed to instill the necessary fabrications to distort Ashthrone and Sanctus theories? If so, Walton trained him well. He would be a most useful ally for clandestine situations. So long as Avo needed a softer touch, White-Rab might just be the one to deliver. Good, Avo whispered and spread his Sanguinity outward. His tactile awareness exploded out from him to sweep for any details he might have missed with his cog-feed alone, and he accessed his newer templates to track where each assault team was heading. Five hundred twenty operatives were deployed into the block depths supported by a multitude of drones and war wights. Some already lay dead among the innocent in the lobby, gauss wounds telling of return fire. [Eight kills for a massacre. What a disgrace.] Abrels template snorted with derision, and apart from her, even the minds that had a hand in this atrocity flinched at her coldness. [What? What, you assholes? If they were gleam enough, they would have repelled the assault instead of getting cut down like this. We need to improve the combat training of our smallfolk. Ori-Thaum and Stormtree are one thing, but the Blues and Grays? No. Thats just fucking shameful.] A chorus of offense roared in the back of Avos consciousness, and he asserted his control again before everything tumbled into chaos. With how many voices his mind was channeling now, he needed better means of having them address each other. Right now, his open gestalt resulted in constantly triggered conflicts between his legions of templates. Perhaps he needed to form an alternating line of representatives? Something to allow the more level-headed of his generatable intellects smoother interactions with each other. A flow of ghosts promptly entered his accretion, and his cog-feed populated with over eighty markers. +I got a mem-lock on all the snuffers too,+ White-Rab said. He sounded more than a little pleased with himself. Thanks, Avo said, infusing his reply with as much gratitude as he could. This didnt need to be faked. He had all the means needed to locate his prey, but having White-Rab do it was far more circumspect. The doors of the aero hissed, Reva stepped out and frowned at the massacre. Sloppy. But thats not what she meant. In her quietude, Avo sensed flashes from Nu-Scarrowbur pass through her near-term memories. She had gone from one mass death event to the next, and now her mind was making patterns where there should have been none. So. Are we going hunting, or did a particular body catch your appetite? Her words caught Avo by surprise. Hunger. The hunger was still there but crushed. Contained. With all these minds surrounding him, he was but the heart in a massive organism that shifted and changed between the passing of moods and whims. He had more control than ever now. More control over himself than he ever did in his life. Truly, he owed the Low Masters more than he could pay. He would just have to make do with murdering them when the time came. No, Avo said, filtering the nearest group. There were just on the floor above, and the mem-data White-Rab injected into him, they were trying to cut their way into an intra-block entertainment zone. Forgot to feel hungry. Thanks for the reminder. He released his leash on himself and let his base mind expand. All the flavors of death came to him at once. But he wanted premium flesh. He wanted struggling deaths. His days on carrion were done; now, he would cut himself on harder meat. 14-18 Easy Prey +Lance-3, come in? Lance-4, respond? Lance-5? Lance-5? Raggen? Someone? Anyone? HelloC+ -Last transmission of an Ashthrone Witherguard 14-18 Easy Prey Stalking snuffers can be likened to hunting wolves. One couldnt approach them without due prudence, for where Syndicate muscle was sloppy and brutal, snuffers were killers of a pedigree. Avo traced their steps in his DeepNav and studied their paths. The way they moved and intersected was rife with tactical competence. Wights and drones served as screening unitsCthe first to fire, and the first to fall. Cradled within the core of the expendable assets were the three-to-eight-person Ashthrone teams made up of trained professionals versed in violence and clasped in Rend-expeling armor. Their assault composition had the breachersChigh-reflex close-engagement specialistsCembedded with the rear of the screening units. Behind them were heavies carrying more devastating ordinance, and further still were the field necros, combat engineers, and squad leaders. Whispers from all the egos he consumed filled his consciousness with an even deeper understanding of his quarry. Most of the assets in play were Ashthrone Witherguards. Though their Guild remained half crippled after suffering a mauling at the hands of Highflame and Omnitech during the last war, they remained Idheim''s premier experts on entropy and Rendsinks. So much so that even a standard Ashthrone combatant was clad in an exosink C otherwise called a Rendskin. Deemed highly unstable and more likely to kill the wearer than the enemy, few but the dying and desperate were willing to encase themselves in Ashthrones protections. Still, the experience Avo devoured imbued him with caution and wariness. Just because the Rendsink exoskeletons they wore were likely to kill them in various horrific ways didnt prevent another from sharing this fate. The fact they had four Fallwalkers with [REDACTED] listed Heavens and Frames escalated the threat they posed. White-Rab had helpfully marked them too. Strangely, they seemed to be stuck on the fifteenth floor of the megablock while the rest of the forces were trying to fight their way up. A few minds winked outCdeaths joined in the heat of combat. Still no movement from the Fallwalkers. Suspicious. He needed to proceed with caution and kill with efficiency. When this was done, he intended to leave nothing but a mystery for survivors to discover. The attackers would be vanished without a trace, and from the absence of their bodies would he nourish himself on their ghosts and Essence. The engagement between Highflame and Ashthrone afforded him a rare opportunity to feast. If he made sure that all his victims were vanished by the end of this, both sides would think that the deed was done by the other. A few suggestive ghosts left misplaced amidst the slaughterhouse would ensure that. As the shadows flowed to the whims of his will, Avo swam upward through the block with Reva in tow. Currently, the bulk of the Witherguard were fighting their way up the twenty-second floor. Fallwalkers remained sedentary. Abrel expected the defenders to hold for at least another hour. Talon-2 gave them a few minutes at best. [The structures like a square wedge but not that high. If the teams have already managed to push up past the twenty-fifth floor, Id say this place''s N-Def was entirely compromised until you happened to the attackers. Now, in-field units are blind, lost, confused, and are getting ambushed all of a sudden because their cog-feeds were no longer updating with active detail with all their divers being nulled and all] The necros voice trailed off with a faint note of glumness. [PIty. They were doing so well.] Taking in the new detail, Avo reassembled the structures of his mind and dedicated the pathways of his thought to war-making. New instincts and memories grew out from him in splashes of fire, and a coherent strategy emerged from where once was only savagery and base impulse. Presently, he needed to avoid exposing himself to any thoughtwave disruptions. With this being the Tiers and the decimation of attacking Necros, he didnt expect Highflame to inflict mass Nether suppression of the area. That didnt mean he wouldnt die all the same if someone decided to Thoughtwave an entire floor. The faster, riskier option was just to draw in enough mass to accelerate his cognition and subsume all the minds he could access or perceive. He was likely to lose at least a few ghosts to stray disruptions if he approached things in this way, and besides, there was a certain lack of thrill to casual butchery. He had better options at his disposal. White-Rab, for instance. Using him would feed the mans feeling of competence and grant further insight into his methods. Meanwhile, Avo could further his practice of fighting quiet wars. +Rabbit. I need a favor.+ +Ghoul. You gotta elaborate.+ White-Rab huffed a noise that was barely a laugh. +Why do you talk like that, by the way? The Strix sounded pretty normal.+ +Thoughts jump fast when youre a ghoul. Hunger lurches your focus. Habit formed from biology.+ Avo paused. He wasnt limited to biology anymore, yet he still chose to speak the same way. Strange how calcified the concept of a self could be. +Doesnt matter. I need you to suppress the snuffers. Quietly. Make sure they dont unleash stray disruptions.+ +Make me an offer,+ White-Rab replied. Through the Wights thoughtstuff, Avo could the feeling that the other Necro was licking his lips. Ah, thats right. An offer. Nothing is done for free in this city. Avo remembered all his dives and wondered if those recollections belonged to the man he was speaking to instead. +Fifty-fifty,+ Avo said. Some of his subminds quailed at just how much he was surrendering, but until he found a way to restore his more circumspect capabilities as a Necrojack, an aid the level of White-Rab was worth all the imps in the city. +You can have half the mem-data from all our shared kills and nullings. Good for a small fortune in the Deep Bazaar. Reva can also have half the Essence if she wants.+ The only reason Avo found it easy to make the second offer was because he knew the Bloodthane had to refuse. A small canon was one thing. A spike of a few hundred thaums was entirely impossible to hide. A shocked heartbeat of silence. +ThatsC+ +A family discount.+ Avo finished. Even in the darkness, he could feel Revas wariness of him spike. He really needed to stop feeding into her dread, but if he had to be honest with himself, her fear kindled his amusement. +Tenth floor. Were approaching the backline,+ Reva said, pushing past Avos conversation with White-Rab. +Looks like they left four teams to hold the tenth floor. Counting about two hundred screeners as well.+ The snuffers here were premium quality. They took their engagements seriously and held all their angles. When it came time for them to die, Avo wanted them understand that their deaths were beyond their means to halt, for whatever consolation that would offer. +Dont start with them,+ Avo said. +Killing backline might draw attention. Fallwalkers first. Theyre the unknowns. Highest threats. All the others can be handled quietly. We need to dismantle the core of the forces first.+ Of this, Reva was in accord. +There are four of them. Looks like they have a perimeter set up. Raldi should be able to at least scry at them and give us as sit-rep.+ +New favor,+ Avo said.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. +No. Favors are for you. She has something I like to think of as pleasing requests.+ White Rab finished with a chuckle. [Maybe if you burn yourself over her mind and say that you can give him the ghost fucky-wucky, he might let you have this special privilege too,] Abrel deadpanned. Instead of feeling amused in any way, disgust exploded across the entirety of his consciousness. The idea of mentally copulating with his cog-donor was beyond taboo for most of his templates. +Sure,+ Avo said to the other Necro. +Do it. Snuff the Fallwalkers first. Engage the other assets quietly. Make it seem like they were attacked by convention forces. Dont expose yourself. Quiet war rules. No full manifestaC+ +I know how this works, rotlick,+ Reva snarled. Her response made Abrel snort with laughter. [Oh, rotlick. Does that remind us of someone? A certain angry, hair-knotted, bug-armor-wearing, my-brothers-Heaven-stealing disgraced Regular that you just up and left without talking to for a few hours? Hm?] Avo cycled memories of Mirrorheads murder through his consciousness, looping the moment when his flesh burst, wet viscera flowing out from his tattered suit like a bursting sack. The templates joy evaporated in an instead. [Fuck you.] Avo laughed in his own mind and directed his attention back to Reva. +Okay. You want to lead? Head of your own cadre. Could show me how things are done.+ +No,+ Reva said. +You pulled us into this, you take us through.+ There she went, still looking for a glimpse of his full capabilities. He couldnt blame her considering how much time he spent researching leading up to his assassination of Mirrorhead. Pouring up through the electrical grid, he bypassed the tenth floor and made for the fifteenth. +Fine. Handle the attackers. Keep the defenders blind. Go see what Walton left us. Then+ Then maybe he would give White-Rab some insurance in the form of a Frame. Avo couldnt see how Reva nor his cog-donor could resist. Such would curry immense favor as well, wouldnt it? *** What part of check your fucking fire dont you understand. Human flesh boiled into melting plastic possessed a certain stench that just couldnt be put into words. Osjack Thenden knew the smell all too well. Even inside a vacuum-sealed exoskeleton, he could still sense the taste, along with the fetid stretch of all the Guild muscle stinking it up around him, and every last flavor there was to suffer for a good ten or so miles. There really wasnt much to say about it. He heard that if you were born a Guilder Clad, you could have those fancy big-city Agnosi make you your own Frame and Heavens. In the Sunderwilds, things were different and the choice was sparse. You didnt complain about what Heaven you got or how its canons were shit. Instead, you worked hard to feel gratitude every day because you were one of the few people capable of looking past the top of a mountain at the wrong time of day because you could resurrect after the no-no angle decapitated you. But it was bullshit. All of it. Life. His Heaven. His friends. And especially this city. Here he was, working for favors, ontologics, and thaums under these Massist people, trying to scrape together enough shit so he could swap out his Heaven of Cooking for something that would actually let him take back his Enclave from those Nyong sisters. It wasnt his fault those Sang freaks had a Heaven of Spiders and a Heaven of Castrations. He wasnt fighting that shit. Yeah, he could transmute just about anyone into their weight in random three-course meals, perfectly sense smells in a ten-mile radius, and summon cooked lobsters out of boiling water, but that meant jack and shit when it came to an actual fight. Hence, there was a need to exaggerate parts of his background and ontologics. It took nearly all of his remaining imps to get a false set of canons attached to his Skein, and buying this armor took what was left. All that shit culminated in a perfect storm in which he did his best to fight alongside the others without any of the proper training or showing too much of his Heavens. As so, Osjack Thenden didnt perform very well. And he mightve incinerated an arcade filled with hiding civilians and overloaded his fusion burners power cell by firing it for too long. It took LipCanother Fallwalker from somewhereCflash-freezing his arm to stop it from exploding or something like that. Now, Osjack found himself staring up at the transparent face of a very annoyed-looking Scaarthian Godclad with an actually useful Heaven. Something about winter or ice, no doubt. The air around her was cold, and the clarity of her skin made him feel like he was standing face-to-face with a skeleton. He didnt like it. Not one bit. I asked you a question, fucker, she said, clenching her jaw as she spoke. Is it Standard thats hard for you, or are you just simple? Its just an accident. I saw movementCthe door openedC People inside were cleared, she growled. Details got called out all the way down in the tenth. They werent supposed to be touched. They definitely werent supposed to be torched.. Her disgust for him grew, and her lips began to do that curling thing again. Osjack sighed. Fuck this city. Fuck her too. But you guys fucking killed all those people in the lobbyC That was pacification! Suppression! We were breaking their will to fight. The people you just murdered surrendered. They werent going to be a threat! There are rules here. Trades for every engagement. All lives of citizens are insured with others per the Articles! Do you know nothing of the losses this will incur? This is coming out from your bounty. Yours! I will not suffer for your stupidity. Such bullshit. He sighed and shook his head. Alright. Alright. Sorry. Fuck. Somehow, that just made the air grow ever colder. You stay behind me. From now on, you will not act until I say. The pale orbs she called eyes swept him up and down. And you call yourself a Fallwalker. How did someone like you even get a Frame? That hit something deep. A twitch ran through Osjack and he thought of his brotherChis always perfect brother and that fight in the woods. He thought of the rock he used to conduct fratricide. He thought of how the Rend just escaped from his brothers body and spoiled all flesh around them. That was the first time Osjack died. But when he did, he dreamed of falling into a sea of fire that hardened around him. Stepping past the enhanced Scaarthian before he did something regrettable, he rounded the corner and made his way back to the activities quarter for the floor that they were now using as a forward operating base. He was surprised the angry Skuldvaster would just let him go like that, but frankly, he wouldve turned her into roast beef if she kept speaking to him like that. It was one of the few things he definitely could do. As a few local ghosts slithered overhead, he checked his cog-feed to see if their lobby was back up yet, but found nothing but static and mind-stinging mem-data leaking through the session. Bullshit. All this was bullshit. He was tired of this. He needed to think. He wanted some time to himself. He needed it. Osjack stopped walking and turned around. Meeting up with the rest of his cadre could wait. Not like they needed him much anyway. All he could offer was He sniffed, and the unmistakable scent of blood greeted him. Blood and something more. A lot of different flavors Drawing on his Heaven, he filtered through the various smell assailing his being and focused on the peculiar ones that caught his interest. The coppery tang was almost sweetCalmost like ghouls blood. Hyper rich in oxygen and all that other weird biology shit those monsters were made from. But there was also a hint of tungsten, and that stuff locus were made of, and was that tritium or something? Glass? Following the trail, he found himself guided by a separate stream of ghosts as well, these appearing to dart down the hall toward the point where the light was still flickering. Osjack blinked and wondered how that happened. They said these walls were indestructible. Howd the wiring or whatever get damaged? As darkness flashed in and out of his sight, something deep inside Osjacks bones began to shiver. He had the same feeling when the sisters were coming for his ownCor when he killed his brother for his Frame. Something was wrong, but the taste pulled him closerC There was fizzling sound before every last light across the hall went dark. The smell of ghoul-blood flared across his nostrils, and it felt like where it was coming from was right next to him somehow. Spinning around, Osjack activated the brightness functions for his armors hud. Just in time to see the darkness flowing under him like a stream. What the fuC The ground turned fluid beneath his feet, and downward into darkness, he sank like a rock swallowed by the ocean. It was so dark down here. Quiet too. But the smells were getting closer and closer. Osjack clenched his fist and sent a command through his exoskeletons systems. He needed his fusion burner to fire. He needed light. The mechanism didnt reply. His arm servos whined against the frost still burrowed deep within. Fuck. FuC WARNING: REND fD@#FKLFLA 1vb=12*#*($#@g eRRo eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Death, as it turns out, was kind of bullshit too when the one hunting you could reach into your blood and liquefy you from the inside. Nothing much a Heaven of Cooking could do against that. In the end, that was the final lesson of Osjack Thendens life. Sometimes, youre just shit out of luck. 14-19 Overestimation Some of the primordial gods are peculiar in their design. Oh! Lets take Yoswanacht the Gum-Snatcher for instance. A very strange god made by the Scaarthians in worship of dentistry of all things. When we managed to stem its rupture and secure its Fallen Heaven, we found it only capable of manipulating enamel, regrowing teeth in specific types of flesh, and tearing said teeth back out using worm-like strings of floss. Note: As with all things related to the Skuldvast, its approach to dentistry is quite violent. Another Neophyte made an unfortunate lapse in her precautions and was affected by a stray miracle. Alas, the strength Yoswanacht uses to extract teeth is more befitting of an organism bearing the strength and stature of a Scaarthian, so instead of just breaking the enamel free from her gums and out her cheeks, poor Aggnas head was folded up the middle. We could have saved her if not for the bone lacing she received. (Sigh) Poor careless Aggna. More focused note! This stands as a firm reminder to all Agnosi. We must never underestimate power of the old gods. What is absolute will always be a threat no matter how innocuous things seem at first glance. Why, all it takes is a bit of acceleration and even teeth can serve as projectiles, right? A perfectly viable means of assassination that I can see the Sang bidding for. Okay, theyre definitely going to be bidding on this one! Nice work, Kae! Foresight is the sign of a good Agnos! -Mem-log of Kae Kusanade, Neophyte Agnos 14-19 Overestimation [LIMINAL FRAME] OBTAINED - MOTE PATTERN ->STARVATIONS ENVY HEAVEN TEMPLATE DOWNLOADED ->THAUMIC CYCLER x1 ->SOUL x1 ->ONTOLOGICS x2 THAUMIC OUTPUT: 3865 THAUM/c GHOSTS: [40,843] [What the hells is this,] Abrel scoffed. [Starvations EnvyCA Heaven of Cooking?] A guffaw escaped from her. Then a full-blown laugh. Her bemusement belonged to her alone as more than a few templates boiled with envy, willing to accept any Heaven that came with a Frame. For most, the truest prize was immortality. But the mind had a tendency to reestablish its baselines, and once an equilibrium of pleasure was achieved, what followed was the search for a new spike of power. Of course, getting a piece of silver after expecting a chest of gold ingrained one with another feeling altogether. DOMAIN OF (COOKING) CANON OF THE WANDERING NOSE - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN SMELL ALL SCENTS FOR A 10-MILE RADIUS; FOUL SMELLS WILL STRAIN THE HEAVEN FURTHER HUBRIS: SMELLS THAT MAKE THE USER GAG WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH CANON OF HUNGERS PASSING - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN SHIFT A HUMAN OR HUMANOID ENTITY INTO AN EQUIVALENT MASS OF THREE-COURSE MEALS HUBRIS: USING THIS ON THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY CLASSIFIED AS FOOD BY THE MASTER WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH DOMAIN OF (WATER)CANON OF PRE-BOILED LOBSTERS - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON WILL BE ABLE TO DRAW LOBSTERS FROM BOILING WATER; EACH DRAW WILL REDUCE THE WATERS TEMPERATURE BY ONE DEGREE HUBRIS: IF THE WATER IS COOLED MID-MIRACLE, THIS WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH. [The Hell literally just spoils all food in a ten-mile radius,] Abrel muttered. [Jaus, this is a hubris-generator. And you cant use Hungers Passing on anyone cause theyre already food to you.] The mirth in her faded as a growing disappointment filled her corner of cognitive space as well. [How the hells did this guy get throughCoh, fake memories from the Deep Bazaar. Of course. Score one for Ashthrone security. Oh, and speaking of, here comes the suiciders. Could they be any louder literally wearing a Rendsink as armor.] True to the Greatlings words, the Witherguard came trailing behind the slithering form of a searching ghost. Its perception spilled around the corner, and Avo remolded the wiring he melted just seconds prior. The union of his Heaven and Benhatas experience as a saboteur during the war proved invaluable. Highflames electrical systems had multiple redundancies and auxiliary circuits at any given moment, so it called for a practiced hand to achieve the desired effects of sabotage. By the time the three hulking figures hammered down the hall with each step of their anvil-like feet, the current flowed as it once did and the lights shone as normal. +Theyre looking for the one you just snatched,+ Reva said. +Effective, but the brightest thing you could have done. When a Meta suddenly winks out, there arent so manyC+ Avo cut off the Bloodthanes sermon by manifesting Osjacks template along the periphery of his consciousness. A phantasmal mirage of the recently murdered Godclad whimpered as self-awareness was forced into him once more, existential dread prying it apart with trauma as Avo let him feel the full implications of his death. +I know,+ Avo said. +I was counting on it.+ Disappointing though Osjack was thaumaturgically, he served as quite the fine lure. Drifting between the walls of a nearby room, Avo fully manifested the sequences of his newest template and watched as the Witherguard drew in closer. A peek with his Whisper painted a portrait of his newest victims. They approached something approximating a hybridization between a turtle, a radiator, and a light assault vehicle. At ten feet tall and nearly just as wide, the halls seemed cramped as they walked in a single file. Aside from certain Scaarthians and the cybernetic travesty that was Slaughterman, Avo couldnt recall any other infantry-based adversaries that were quite so bulky. [Its the Tombstone-II Hellskins theyre wearing,] Abrel said. [Hate those things. They have to be that big because theyre pretty much wearing a full-on godsdamned Rendsink as armor, and aside from that shitty makeshift reactor they got burning inside, the rest of their kit is all vent-based. They cant really dodge or fire or even fight worth much of a shit, but for the time they got Rend to spend, they can mimic a fraction of a Clads effectiveness.] A synthesis of experiences congealed at the core of Avos consciousness. As one of the Witherguard cast their thoughts out to open the door where they thought Osjack was hiding, schematics and experiences were conjoined. The Witherguard mimicked golem knots, Godclad cadres, and Regular combat teams in mutual measure. The first one through was the boilerCoften outfitted with direct-damage entropy in the Hell they have attached. Behind came a barricadeCmost often loaded with geometry-disrupting functionsCand after them were a mixture of shatterers, engineers, field necros, and a leader. Presently, there were only three, and their systems were running quiet. [Thats cause were not expecting a fight or anything,] Osjack whined. Avo decided he hated this one immediately. [This was supposed to be a secured floorCthose those idiots got me killed. They should have checkedC] Avo silenced the whining before he gained the urge to pour Osjack into a new vessel and indulge in some semi-sadomasochistic torture. Did it count as self-harm when you traumatized part of your own consciousness while it was simulating a once external mind? So many philosophical questions about his new state of being. Shaking crueltys siren call off his shoulders, Avo spilled out from the air vents of the darkened room and prepared to embrace his newest recruits. As they stepped through the doors, he heeded the whining servos between their armor and marked the numerous Rend-vents that dotted their torso. For all the protection entropy was meant to offer them, all it took was a single blockage, a single inconsistency between positioning, hubris, or equipment for a paradox to follow. There was a reason why Ashthroners usually fought alone. It was related to the reason why it was so easy to track them. When every engagement you fought resulted in reality getting pockmarked by countless minor ruptures, every fight was a danger-close engagement. It also made their murders a more dexterous challenge for Avo. His kills needed to be sudden and instant, and he had to avoid deforming the vents to maximize his safety. As three grid-shaped visors lit up the once-dark room, Avo snaked over to position himself behind them, with a flick of his will, threaded needle-thin constructs through the free-moving joints under their armpits. GHOSTS: [40,846] THAUMIC OUTPUT: 3868 THAUM/c The Witherguards shuddered in unison, but death spasms were halted as a new force seized them from within. Matter, mind, and Soulstuff flowed into Avo, and expanding his presence, he installed their templates back within their Metaminds to delay the detection of his murders. +How was that?+ Avo asked, letting a sneer escape him and wash over Revas cognition.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The stillness of her thoughtstuff told of her indifference. +Well be doing this all day if this is how you work.+ He chuckled. +No. Just shaping. Needed their knowledge to be sure about what I want to do after the Godclads.+ +And whats that?+ she asked. +Will show you. Rabbit. How is your intrusion?+ The Wight they carried with them hung from Revas shoulders like a cape but enwreathed in a sea of shadows, the only sign of its presence was a second accretion hovering behind the first. Ghosts coiled and flowed through its thoughtstuff endlessly, and a note of annoyance came through. +Not perfect. Their Necros are pretty bad, but its working in their favor. Most of their field guys werent prepared for the home office to get incinerated by a ghoul. Most of them are still trying to rebuild sessions for proper communication, but being spread out like this doesnt help.+ He could turn that to his advantage too. +Can you remind one of them of an emergency session all units can tune their minds into?+ Realization within White-Rab, and the weight of his approval was a warm and immediate thing. +Youre forcing them to central. Thatll make all of them easier to null from the inside with heavy ego-killing trauma. Or just get burned up, I guess. Were lucky they arent Incubi. Those half-strands have safeguards in safeguards.+ +Yes. But they can be surprised. Like anyone can. How much time will this take?+ White-Rab hummed, but the ghosts were already burrowing into the core of his Meta where his Ghostjack pulsed like a spire channeling a storm. +I have a few candidates to examine. Ill get back to you on that.+ They could make this more enticing. +Ill bet you a Frame that I can snuff the Fallwalkers before you get this done.+ An intrigued silence followed, and for the first time, Avo felt a plethora of contrasting emotions bloom free from Reva. Good. He hooked both of them. +...Youre not lying about that, are you?+ White-Rab said. +Haven''t lied to you about anything. Be fast. Be rewarded.+ +And what you do want of this little competition?+ +Free favor.+ His cog-donor barked a laugh. +My rates are going up these days, huh, Reva?+ The Bloodthane remained very, very quiet. Avo tasted a leak of thoughtstuff and felt the shining hope in her heart smash against the war-scarred hull of her anxious mind vicariously. She wanted this too. She just didnt know if she wanted Avo to be the bearer of such a blessing. Again, he couldnt find it in himself to blame her. +Youre on,+ White-Rab said, his focus condensing much the same way Avo felt his own before a challenging dive. Walton chose him for a reason. As the other Necros focus turned inward once more, Avo directed his own attention toward three cognitive signatures in particular. The other Fallwalkers beside Osjack were formidable, but still of affordable quality. The fact they hosted a price for their services spoke magnitudes of their caliber. Abrels template crept upon Osjacks and she regarded him as one would a smear of shit coating their boot. [That Soul was wasted on you. The Heaven? It was too good for you. You, and all your miserable joke of a cadre. Id spit on you, but my actual body is still in the void somewhere, enjoying nice voider-made prison food while Im down here playing in the muck with the ghoulie.] Osjack, for his part, mounted no rebuke. As part of the gestalt, he knew they were vestiges of life simulated by the self-dreaming fires that made up Avos consciousness, but the sensations of despair came all the same. From him came knowledge and whimpering in equal measure C a pitiful sight before death, and beyond. Three signatures were filtered from the masses on this floor. The first was of the clear-skinned Scaarthian known only by the DeepName Lip. She remained a mere eighty feet away and had just left the room where Osjack committed his atrocity in. Drawing on the mem-data he absorbed from the organizers of this assault and combining them with first-hand memories taken from Osjack and the Witherguard, he knew her Heaven held its Domains in Ice and Survival, bearing the name Cold Moon. Aside from Lip, there was also CornerCsaid Second Sphere who was up-jumped street squire with eight implanted legs and an absurdly potent reflex booster. His Heaven was one tied to war, and he could weaponize all straight angles to cut outward for point-six miles or reposition himself at any eight right angles he touched the day prior. With eight spider-like limbs all tipped with frequency blades, Corner was more of a forward scout and room clearer than he was a heavy damage Clad. Considering he managed to earn his Soul through means of assassination, something told Avo that this one needed to die first. The last of the Fallwalkers stood the greatest impediment to making all the kills quiet and clean. GlitchCor Samma CattsCwas a former Omnitech FATED turned self-employed Godclad after a redacted incident during the Fourth Guild War. Of all the Fallwalkers present, she was the only one who employed a truly modern Heaven, and a strange one at that. [Catridge: Heaven of Downloads?] a submind asked. [The memories suggest she can infuse herself and other objects into a coldtech informational cloud of some kind. Runs a stack of exocortexes in the back of her skull. Only one canon listed; Liminal Frames pattern is only capable of supporting one Heaven, one Hell, and two canons. Heavy thaumic mass though. Four hundred up. Four hundred down. Eight hundred total. Ghosts can touch her but they get downloaded as well. Data comes out wrong though. Like a nulling.] A vicarity loaded in the back of his consciousness, and he was one of the Witherguard watching Glitch decimating all obstacles by shattering them into raw integers and draining the data streams into the massive deck of machine-minds extending out the back. Wired and festooned with sensors, implants, and heavy cybernetics to maximize her machine integration, Glitch looked closer to a lithe hammer-headed mech with countless jutting protrusions than your typical over-auged street bruiser. The small wand-type drones she directed as a swarm expanded from her back like spreading wings. Anything and everything that enters her perception is immediately subject to touch of her miracles, and it took less than a thought from her to strip matter away into a loose collection of variables caged in the hardware decked into her skull. [Get her first,] Abrel said. [Cold Moons got good odds of freezing your blood if she sees you, but you got the darkness and her minds an easy kill for you. This Glitch though agh. Fucking Omnitech. They keep letting this shit happen. They tell us theyre building something, we ask what, they dont say anything for two months, and suddenly six million people are dead and we get a frantic message telling us one of their fogs have gone rogue. Anyway. You sure your mind can boil this one?] Avo surged through the darkness. Swimming eight hundred feet in a heartbeat, he settled above a light and scryed his highest threat with a Whisper. Presently, Glitch was spasming in the corner of the communal deck, the small patch of flesh left on her wrist plugged tight with joy needles. In the vast space beyond her, the Witherguard worked in cycles, with ten outside their Rendskins working maintenance on their armors, andC +Im done,+ White-Rab chimed in. Avo suddenly found himself understanding how Denton felt just hours prior. +Already?+ +One of the Wights had an unsecured locus. I followed the compromise in its mind and one sequence led to another. You know how it goes. Sloppy work left a backdoor to exploit, and so I tweaked a few recollections. A couple of the Necros will be remembering an emergency thoughtcast frequency soon.+ +A couple,+ Avo said, lamely. +So. Do I get my pick of the Frames?+ Avo turned his attention back to the drugged-out Fallwalker that shouldve offered a challenge. Shouldve had her Heaven active, at least. Instead, tremors ran through her legs, and she giggled shrilly while thirty Wights armed with fusion burners stood guard over her form alongside her hovering wand-shaped drones. Disappointment. He felt disappointed. As a passing stream of perception threatened to detect him, he pulled his Whisper back into the dark and stewed in contemplative silence. It didnt feel as good without a challenge. It felt like he was being a ghoul again. Just a ghoul. Hunting and preying on things that couldnt resist. [Could reach into her blood. Clean her mind. Force her to fight.] [Yes. Can still escalate things.] Part of him really wanted to. But again, a shadow of Draus snarled in the back of his mind, and want succumbed before the compulsion of efficiency. He wanted to practice quiet warring after all. This was it. Silent. Sudden. Without warning. +Yes,+ Avo said, directing a trickle of shadow to leak out from the lights nearest to Glitch and run down the walls. +Ill give your options.+ The drip of his Galeslither puddled on the floor and melded into the shroud cast by the Wights. The Fallwalker hiccuped. Avo willed her to noticeCto broaden her Heaven or something. She didnt. She continued to just lay there. Gazing upon the partial sheen of static sheathing her thoughstuff, Avo formed a small tendril of blood and slid it out into the real again. It remained of matter, but he felt a presence washing over itCan unnatural lurch that seemed to pry at him from an angle unseen. Grunting with a sobering snort, Glitch whipped her can-shaped head around, with each exocortex running hot, their coils whining as she turned andC A spiral of haemokinetic motes snatched her from the light and pulled her deep, deep down into a pond of shadows. TRANSFERRING REND In the end, Avo found that he judged Osjack too harshly. There were so many unworthy gods in this city. So many. A budding madness bloomed inside him, and he decided not the fight it. He decided to face a fact that he had never cared for beforeCnever had the capacity to feel as a ghoul. Absurdity. Travesty. The Ashthroner templates cringed and wailed in his mind. Among them arose a chorus of dismay, and in the backdrop, others joined in. People were dying for this. People were dying to feed these Frames and Heavens and Hells and Godclads for this? An irrelevant assassination in the Tiers disguised as a block war. An irrelevant assassination that was halted because the Fallwalkers refused to continue on without assurances of payment after Avo devoured their backline. This was debased. This was not the dream. This couldnt have been any dream. This couldnt be the way things were. It had to change. It all had to change. And it all could change. +--Avo! Avo Shes fucking dead, you can stop now+ White-Rabs voice jolted Avos base mind back to focus. No longer drowning his gestalt, he found himself stripping his newest prey in flesh, spirit, and mind. Her accretion was fully cracked open, and he had directly poured his entropic gale down her throat to hollow her slowly of organs. The unmoving stares of his new allies burned at his ego. What happened? When did he decide to mutilate her? How? He was merely ruminating. Thinking with his gestalts. Joining himself to their minds New information flashed into his cog-feed, and he found himself distracted again. ATTENTION: NEW COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT ENCOUNTERED INTEGRATE COG-PATTERN {SPRITE} TO METAMIND? +I sorry. I think I got carried away.+ 14-20 A Sudden End +Dear mhet-ma, I have come to a conclusion. I have seen too much. I have seen enough. For years I have served the mechanisms of the city, seeking to produce for its highest echelons Heavens and miracles so they might better lives and raise us from the shadows of our past. Not so. Not so. Do you remember when you used to place me on your shoulders as we watched the grand processions of the Guilds during Salvations Day? How the dormant golems gleamed, and the drones danced, and how the Agnosi were venerated for their knowledgeCand sacrificeCin delving into the tortuous mysteries of the old gods? Remember how I swore every time that I would become one of them? That I would prove myself flexible in mind and pure in spirit to descend into the taint of canonicity and emerge as myself still. I do. I remember your pride as they took me as a neophyte. I remember your smile when they promoted me to full initiative. I remembered your tears when I was fully inducted into the order. But my induction was the worst day of my life I wanted to do this then, but I didnt have the heart to hurt you. I still do not. I am a coward, and so this will arrive after my deed is done. By the time this message loads, I will be gone forever. If not by my own hand, then under the heel of some Guilder snuffer. Do not be sad for me. Do not cry. This was the right thing to do. The only right thing to do. When I was made Agnosi, I faced knowledge. True knowledge. Not these facades of truth depicted by the Overclan. I learned of our past and the gods and witnessed the ugliness of reality in all its forms. And the voidersCthere was no respite with them. I think wanted me to do this. Which is why they forgot to hide the classified information when they loaded the data into my terminal. I have killed millions in the past month alone. Millions to just change and alter the aesthetics of a Soul for the vanity of its master. Millions to bind a thaumless Heaven to cold metal. Millions more for every inconsistency and contradiction our teams made for the lore. Millions. It was easy before because the number is so vast and the sacrifices are kept separate its just the press of a button. But Ive seen them now. I know what the world was, what could have been, and what we lost. We fight for nothing. We fight to prolong our suffering. The Guilds will not liberate us for this because they are drunk on their own glory, and so, as with the endlessness of the horizon, so too that I cannot conceive an end to this war. There was a time once. A time before time. A time where the void was but quiet space and coldness. A time when the stars were stars and concepts were concepts and things were just things. There was war then too. Atrocities. Sins. But people were getting better. People rose and ascended to their potential. Humanity flourished amidst a garden of plenty. The voiders even have a name for the era of expansion and exploration. Of expression. Eden Found, and the garden of paradise was but the cosmos mastered. But it wasnt enough for some. It wasnt enough. The great enemy that was entropy remained, and so, with even nigh-eternal minds of silicon and intellect fearing a fated end, they sought a final ascension from the chains of entropy, and in their efforts followed transgression instead. I dont know what they did to the vast singularity that once stirred at the core of all that was. The voiders will not tell me. All I know is that things grew entwined thereafter, and the act of belief grew to bear its own weight where the tears in the tapestry spread. Im telling you this because I dont have the strength to keep this to myself anymore. You should knowCyou and everyone. We could have been born to a paradise if our forebearers hadnt burned the garden down, but more than that, we managed to seize the fires of ruin! We managed to break the gods and claim ascension anew. We could have restored ourselves to prominence and cultured a paradise from flames with what we possess now. But we didnt. Instead, we cling to this singular granule in the vast infinite and war and fight and kill and kill and kill and never learn. I love you, mhet-ma. I am privileged to be your blood. Proud. Know that what they say about me isnt true. Know that Im doing this so people may know. If my transgression is committed properly, then there will be no way to silence my message. If not Let it rest in the quiet of your mind, and speak these truths to those you know may listen. The city must wake up. The people must awaken. We have overcome the oppression gods, but now we face a far more insidious foe. Ourselves. -[Redacted], The Salvations Day Bomber 14-20 A Sudden End Killing the Fallwalkers left a bad taste in Avos mouth. It wasnt the lack of effort it demandedCthough their ignorance and unpreparedness for him did disappoint. Rather, he found himself more taken with new concerns, his suspicion turning inward as he delved into his own mind, guiding Whispers to serve as an in-facing eye to monitor the changes in his consciousness. He knew not what possessed him to butcher Glitch so. It wasnt that he didnt want to kill her, but more that he didnt even realize he had. The lapse was just like with Zein, just like sneaking sensations prior still. It was as if something else assumed control of his vessel and actions when he turned his attention away. Ultimately, even as he spilled across the floor and infused himself in shadows of his newest victims while White-Rab layered distractions among the Witherguards to distract them from Glitchs sudden absence, he found nothing shifting beneath the waters of his thought. The waves of his mind ebbed to his absolute control. Deeper still, the dark waters of seized memories withheld nothing from his sight. Nothing. Nothing was denied to him. So how could he have lost control? COG-PATTERN {SPRITE} INTEGRATED A strange pulsing sensation spread over his thoughtstuff as he found himself thinking in branching numbers that signified possible choices. The first faintness of static settled over him, and thus did a feral pleasure dawn inside his heart as he finally claimed a long-sought reward. He didnt know the depths of this new change he inflicted upon his mind, but he yearned to test it. In the meantime, dealing with the final two of the cadre took a simple tug from his Woundshaper as misted constructs snatched them from where they stood and plunged them into the watery dark. His assassination was timed to White-Rab disrupting the perceptions of all those in the vicinity. Stinging their cyclers with his excess Rend before bursting the veins in their head with a thought, the two Fallwalkers died deaths more befitting those far below their stations. No terror, fear, anger, or dread came in the end. They were. They werent. And they passed without ever knowing who killed them. Their actual selves did, anyway. Their templates, however, gained a new perspective behind their killer.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. [FUCK!] Lip roared. The ghosts around her simulated form scattered, and beside her, Corner stared off into the distance. [Eh,] the former street squire muttered. Bitterness passed over him like oil upon water. As Lip raged, he offered but an accepting shrug. [Thats New Vultun for you. Just when you think youre the flame, someone else takes you for a wick. Well played, rotlick. Well played.] [Youre complimenting the creature? He murdered us! HeCthis was supposed to be an easy job! I died for this? This?] The Scaarthian wanted to break something, and accepting her tantrum, Avo let an artifact of a desk manifest before her. In a place made of phantasmal haze, only she and breakable items existed for a while, and so was rage indulged. [LIMINAL FRAME] OBTAINED - MOTE PATTERN ->STARVATIONS ENVY HEAVEN TEMPLATE DOWNLOADED ->THAUMIC CYCLER x3 ->SOUL x3 ->ONTOLOGICS x6 THAUMIC OUTPUT: 4325 THAUM/c GHOSTS: [42,019]SPRITES: {4.2TB/s} His bounty grew to bear a nice heft, and Avo found himself pleased with his thaumaturgic returns for this dive. Of course, there was still the matter of the five hundred or lives he still had to take and all the ghosts that ran inside them. A surge of alien data ran through his cog-feed and a new icon populated the expanse of his awareness. Radio signals and beams of concentrated information became known to him, their movements constantly shifting based on distance, longitude, latitude, and a cluster of other pertinent factors. Crackles of echoing dialogue whispered from on high akin to wind passing overhead. The voiders were speaking to each other. They were speaking without ghosts. But he could see them now. See their world clearer than he ever had. +Alright, the squad leaders are starting to sync their units to the emergency session I reminded them about. Casting you the mem-data now+ New knowledge poured into the molten basin that was Avo as the required memory pattern became known to him. He sampled the sequencing and found himself appreciating his cog-donors handiwork. White-Rab wasnt Walton. There was a certain warmth that his work lacked. But the younger Necro was inspired and efficient and meticulous in his handiwork. Even with the memories churning in his flames, it took Avo passing seconds to locate the first hint of something resembling a flaw. Careful was too soft a word for his technique. Little wonder why Walton chose him. Little wonder why Avo thought him deserving of a Frame. +Have choices for you,+ Avo said. +Heavens of Ice. War. Cooking. Signals. Pick the one you want.+ He considered offering a second Heaven and cycler as well but found himself considering Draus and the others still waiting for him far below. They needed to be stocked for what was to come. Suddenly, the loot felt insubstantial. He needed more. His allies needed more. This would not be the end of his raids but the beginning. Deaths were easy. Ghosts were plentiful. But Souls were hard to claim and cyclers were a rare sight. This, and sobering epiphany he endured moments prior to Glitchs murder were all it took to make other Godclads his new favored prey. +...Jaus, youre actually serious.+ White-Rab turned his perception over to Reva. +Hes serious.+ He laughed. +An easy Ensouling out of nowhere+ +Yeah,+ she breathed. Unlike her lover, from her mind flowed a constant stream of fear and disquiet. +Hes+ The words ended there and Avo felt her swallow. Flashes of distant memories leaked out from her mind and were licked by his peripheral flames. Agony and struggle were the prices she paid to claim her Frame. She proved herself in combat first and endured horrific rituals before the Longeyes to prove her mettle as they bound in mind and body with a stormtree. Lesser beings shattered in seconds. The strong made it a few seconds longer. Reva held even as her sense of self was disintegrating, even as her throat was raw from screaming and her nails were folded over flesh as she clawed against her restraints. All that to become a Godclad of the First Sphere, and here was a monster she just met by happenstance offering power that could alter the course of someones life like it was trinket to be traded. Avo recentered his consciousness and struggled not to mock her. Poor Bloodthane. Poor ignorant girl. There was still a pebble of delusion in her heartCthat being a Godclad was a thing to be deserved. Frames were given out of duty, pity, relations, mockery, and even apathy. To give a Frame was an expression of power above all othersCan act of influence unparalleled. By my hand are you a god made, were the words it hinted. For those of true mettle like Corner C who still died so ignorable and senseless C the truest demonstration of individual will was to seize a Frame by way of murder. Of course, symbology paled before the harder edges of reality. +Im going to start the killing when they gather,+ Avo said. +You can think about what you want. Ill reach into the Witherguard and take them into the dark before killing them.+ +One more thing,+ White-Rab said. +Some of the Witherguard are still engaging with the defenses up in the twenty-fifth so you might have to handle them directly. A few other infiltration teams are trying have been trying to jack into a transport junction in the block so they might be running Incogs. Might require you to do some legwork in the end.+ +Fine. Prefer this way.+ Avo extracted the Skimmer from Ori-Thaum. Casting out reasoning wavelengths of perception ensured that all things hidden would have to endure under the weight of his notice, and seeing that he channeled over forty thousand ghosts now. His presence would greet theirs as a falling hammer would glass. Time passed and he waited. Three more accretions winked out above as more of the Witherguard lost their lives in battle. Pity, but not unexpected. The defenders were holding the upper floors still, and without the Fallwalkers to support them, the Witherguard now found their assaults a choking affair of attrition mixed in with the misery of ambushes. Well over two thousand Wights had already been expended in the past twenty minutes of fighting. Already, there were dispatches directing reserves to ascend past the secured floors. Of course, as Avo watched the presence of minds begin to build as the assault teams began to coordinate their efforts anew, soon none would remain among them, and silence would return to the block again. A shifting presence moved through the walls not far from Avo and found only a shivering family huddled against the far corner of their room, waiting for the block raid to be over inside an armored compartment in their closet. So many little lives scattered everywhere +Alright, most the teams are syncing now,+ White-Rab said. He regareded Avos burning ego once more and let out a shaky breath. +Not gonna lie, I dont envy their fates right now, but I am damn curious about whats it like to burn in your fire.+ Avo grunted a reply and prepared to shift his mind. +Can give you a firsthand experience after you get a Soul. Reva too. If she wants.+ The Bloodthanes thoughtstuff recoiled at the very suggestion. Shaking off the urge to prod her anxiety further, he sensed the phantasmal flow of ghosts rushing down symmetrical paths as minds were bridged with minds and a makeshift briefing lobby was formed. So far, the missing Fallwalkers remained a distant shadow in their minds. Whatever adjustments White-Rab made, he did them well. They didnt even think about the cadre. Not even when Avo accessed the session and erupted out in their midst. Things became known to them in that sudden massacre. Lifetimes worth of memories sailed through him, and the grips of his Heaven expanded to encompass over four hundred and eighty-nine bodies. Meat and metal dipped down as a sea of darkness opened beneath their feet like a chasm, and as Avos Sanguinity pulsed, all matter disconnected from a Rendskin unraveled in his grasp. The entire act was like putting on a single shoe with nearly five hundred different layers. Where all the stacks were separate egos and separate thaums, all vanished into the touch of the fire and descended into the Soul. The volume in his consciousness grew louder. Cries of rising dismay mingled with loud notes of confusion became his new templates, and digging through their recollections, the last of their number was easy to uncover as well. Casting his Skimmers out from the bodies he briefly kept, the crashing waves of his perception were like a traveling avalanche that never ceased and never concluded. Wards and Incogs shattered outright beneath his pressure. Between fissuring Metas flowed the nectar of wounded minds, and before accretions could break apart entirely, Avo cauterized them into his gestalt and spared them an uglier passing. THAUMIC OUTPUT: 4826 THAUM/c GHOSTS: [42,019] In the end, twenty active snuffers were lost to himCdead behind Highflame lines. The rest, however, burned in the cradle of his thoughts. He let them feel and writhe and rage as he swept through the dark and gathered their drifting armor. Flooding the halls with his haemokinesis, he liquefied all remaining Wights and drones as well and poured the evidence down into the darkness. In a single, startling instant, what was an active assault simply ceased to be without hint or reason. Meanwhile, gauss fire continued to tear free down hardened chokepoints, and skirmishers skittered through the dark, unaware that a being far greater than they judged them from the shadows they hid in as they searched for signs of their now vanished adversaries. Flames collapsed back into Avos original body like lungs drawing in smoke. His halo burned ever-brighter, ever-thicker. His Soul felt pleasantly heavy, but still hungry for more. Always hungry for more. +Block wars finished,+ Avo said. +Lots to consider. Lots Hm. Come on. Lets go see Waltons drop. Should be in a room on the seventeenth. I go first. Might be Low Master trap. They dont know about either of you. Keep it that way if possible.+ As the currents of darkness turned to his whims, he found himself bathed in Reva and White-Rabs perceptions once more. Neither spoke, both only stared, and unblinkingly so. +What?+ he asked, listening to the pleasant churn as his new templates began to argue and fight among one another. +That was less than a minute,+ White-Rab muttered. +I I saw what you did earlier but its thats just godsdamned terrifying.+ Was it? He honestly couldnt tell anymore. Sure, the little minds he just ate felt that way, but what did they know? What did any of them truly know that he didnt? 14-21 Access There comes a time when you look down at your gun, and realize its just not enough. A flechette can kill someone from over the horizon if you got enough surge in your barrel. But so what? So what? There will always be more half-strands tomorrow. And besides, with each death, youre just feeding the beast some more. New Vultun dont care none for your little acts of vengeance. New Vultun just opens its maw and lets you kill and kill and kill as it grows larger and fatter and uglier. With each life lost, the Guilds get that much stronger. But knowing this is goodCfirst thing about hurting an addict is understanding their supply. Pinch the deaths. Start up quiet operations to keep more folk alive. Make districts underperform in the Warrens so they start sending auditors down to see if things are getting too good for the uppity FATELESS. Then, you start something. Might be a virus traced back to the No-Dragons. It might be a gutter war between rival Syndicates go out of control. It might be anything you can imagine. The point is, you gotta control the death rate to walk the animal and let me tell you, the Guildsll walk off a cliff if it means filling up a new golem for a day. Force them to be predictable. Force them to play your game. -Harlem Vaunders, Rogue Voidwatch Operative and Top of New Vultuns Most Wanted List 14-21 Access There was, in fact, no ambush waiting for Avo within the apartment. It was just a small three-room unit with a toilet, personal living quarters, and extremely cheap jack-station quartered in a small ten-by-ten alcove. Aside from the dormant locus slotted into the core of the station, the rest of the room stood barren beneath a sheet of dust. No furniture greeted Avos gaze, and even the showering units looked missing. Directing a Whisper to flood the jack-station with its perception, he beheld clamps coated in rust and filth. This dead-drop looked like it had been abandoned for some time. The scene before him wasnt promising. In the periphery of his awareness, thousands of accretions began to move throughout the block. With the Ashthroners sudden vanishment, the residents were moving around again, confused and doubtlessly mystified with their present situation. The nearest thought signatures were a scant ten feet away from him, but White-Rab severed his presence from their notice. It spared him the need to burden himself by running his Incog all the time. Casting threads of ethereal flame into the silent locus, he consumed its properties and assumed its design. With but a thought he bid its systems to awaken, and around his ego he felt the station come alive with a bone-shivering screech. Several of the clamps were jammed, and there was something wrong with the cooling system around the mold that would have embraced a Necros body. Foam-like lattices looked rotted through in places, making the entire thing look like a basin coated in mangled rubber. He doubted it would support any weight now, and the fact that it had atrophied so soon spoke poorly of its quality. However, the new sequences that coiled down into his mind grew stalks of rising surprise. For the miserable material conditions of this abode, the phantasmics and constructs he now could manifest were beyond value. Access sessions for twenty-two slumbering nuclear-armed drones sparked into shape within the expanse of his awareness. Codes and the prototype for a phantasmal proxy mind became known to him, and an infusion of nine hundred and fifty million imps evaporated on contact with his mind. Strange, but Avo didnt linger on the loss as the final prize teased away his thrill: within his consciousness now simmered an entryway into the Deep Bazaar. The privilege of possessing such a phantasmic belonged only to those designated as trustworthy gatekeepers. Aside from WaltonCand now himselfConly Green River could open a path into the exclusive lobbies of Idheims most premier Deep Nether network. If he yearned to, he could open a way for himself and grow like never before. The temptation was near-unbearable as he considered the secrets he could glean and knowledge he could steal. Secrets were more potent a weapon than Heavens when used properly, and these unspeakable details were the primary currency that flowed through the Bazaar. It could all burn. It could all be his. With but a dip over to the other side, he anticipated immense returns before any Nether-disrupting countermeasures could stop him. But strong as his lust for growth was, the voices in the back of his mind hauled hard in the other direction, begging him to heel, reeling him from the act of destroying the citys most clandestine and efficient espionage network for a single injection of revealed enigmas. [Dont eat it half-strand! Thats a waste!] Shadow-3 screamed. Abrel, disgusted to be in agreement with a Silver, pushed through to give her say as well. [You can literally start wars with this. Your bullshit thoughstuff already melted nine-hundred and fifty million imps! Your father probably wanted you to use that and set up runs against the Guilds or something] That made quite a bit of sense. Disappointment coursed through his veins. He didnt use money much these days. What he wanted, he took, and what he could take, heC [Mooched off the Sang and the Reg,] Osjack muttered bitterly. Avo silenced the recently slain Fallwalker with a thought. He would not be judged by a lobster summoner. [What the fuck? But but you have my Heaven now! You can summon lobsters too!] The difference was that Avo wasnt completely worthless at using his miracles. [Alright. Fuck. You.] Osjacks template was promptly loaded into a torture vicarity. His screams proved a delightful ambiance. Attuning his cognition as he absorbed suggestions from each of his templates, new choices were presented to him, and he found himself faced with a few options to play with. Right now, he didnt have the means of transitioning between the fixed-ego being he once was and the post-consciousness he became. This gave him precious little opportunity to interface with the Deep Bazaar in any subtle fashion lest he wished to it ablaze from the bowels outward. What he could do, however, is share the mem-data in the form of phantoms with White-Rab or Denton, and have them serve as his operators. A counterpoint exploded in his mind: he couldnt monitor them without assimilating their minds into his. As much as he inherited Waltons care for the NecroCand useful as Denton proved herselfCthe only reason he felt secure as he did in his relationships with them was that he had control. The unspoken truth laid bare, he appreciated them because he was a greater threat than they by far, and such a position offered him power and leverage. To let them hold the keys into a kingdom of lies, however, was to court betrayal. Instincts could only take one so far. He needed more than assurances he wasnt going to be run through from behind. His presence needed to be an ironclad secret, and the nature of his cognitive ascension needed to remain a mystery so long as he could enforce it. The moment Ori-Thaum or any of the Guilds understood what he was, they would start hunting for him, and for all the devastation he could wreak by contact alone, it took less than a breath of disruption for him to be undone. Then, a peculiar thought came to him C a choice that was as shuddering as it was effective. [Lets just use Chambers,] one of his subminds chimed. All the templates went silent. Avo himself shuddered uncomfortably. +Use Chambers.+Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. [Hes willing. Minds malleable and enduring. Takes a lot to break. Hard to jack. And he will be willing to let us burn new knowings into him. We can mold him. Offer him choices to evolve and change between resurrections. Burn him every time he enters and leaves the Deep Bazaar. Nothing can be hidden from us.] The submind was right. Nothing it said wasnt true. However, the cost was getting a template of Chambers. [Avo Avo, listen to me,] Abrel begged. [I know things between us started bad, but we dont gotta do this. I dont deserve to share a space with him.] Benhata cut in immediately thereafter. [We should think about this. More. In detail. ACa discussion should be in order, and we should spend some timeC] That was all Avo needed. His mind was made. [Fuck! No! This is your fault, you stupid shit.] Abrels mind rounded on Benhata as she cast her ire upon him. Avo let the rising howls of blame and rage fade into the backdrop of his mind as he felt a smugness descend upon them. He directed his attention to where Osjack suffered, and whispered his intent thusly: +Dont worry. Not going to be so much pain in the future. But other torments await. Other depravities.+ And thus did he allow Osjack to remember Chambers. And lo did the fallen Fallwalker wail in fear of the coming rash. For now, though, the matter of the block war and dead drop were settled. Still, he had the final deed to accomplish, and a delivery to make before the daystar glared down upon the city anew. Im finished, Avo said. No trap. He cast out a few of the sequences and sessions connected to the drones using phantoms to visually represent his loot. As for the Deep Bazaar That could wait until more enduring trust was established. +Not bad, but doesnt see like his style,+ White-Rab muttered. +Strix I knew always liked using knowledge as a weapon. He left the fighting to squires and snuffers. If I had to make a guess, Id say that those drone sessions were delivery items. Or part of a trade. Were there any imps stored in the locus.+ The resulting beat of hesistation served as answer enough. +Ah. How much?+ A bit over nine hundred million, Avo said, trying to keep the soreness of his loss hidden. Part of my ego now. Burning. +Great. Wonderful. You know, some of us arent self-moving egos capable of snatching Frames and eating minds. Some of us still have things like financial needs and bills to pay. Wouldve been great if I jacked in instead of you wouldnt it?+ Avo hummed. Whats lost is lost. A rapier thin needle of perception jabbed at him. +Yeah. I can see him in you again.+ What? +Neither of you like to apologize.+ Walton? Apologize? Avo asked. +He was good, but he made some funny mistakes before. Had to pull him out from the fire more than onceCnot gonna lie, those were some pretty nova dives.+ Avo wondered why these memories were absent from his mind. Could it be that his father felt ashamed to be vulnerable? Or was it another protective measure to ensure the Low Masters couldnt trace him. He shook the thought off. Have something that might make you feel better. Do you have a preference of Heaven yet? A low pause of consideration followed, but White-Rab spoke quickly thereafter, as if afraid he was going to lose the opportunity. +Reva said you could alter canons. Might I trade a new favor for a favor? Through it all, Revas face was funeral-solemn. A pallor had settled upon her features, and she regarded Avo more and more with tight lip glances and twitches of tension as he moved. Yes, Avo said. +I want the Heaven of War or geometry. The one that lets the guy cut people using perceived angles. But maybe, if you can, Id like a higher Sphere Frame to go with it.+ Ah. Still, it was a surprising request. Expected you to want the Heaven of Signals. +No. Seems like theres a hard range to that, and besides, thats a messy Heaven to have. Omnitechs junk is the worst, and I have no idea about that data sciences stuff. All those numbers scare me.+ Understandable, but still surprising. It wont be a problem. What are you trading for it? +Free dive. You call, I answer.+ Revas face twisted with each word White-Rab spoke. Oh, but the other Necro was looking for an opportunity to continue working together. More than intrigued, his cog-donor was hooked. Enthused. Charmed, even. What could Avo say? If he was to be shown a burning mind like his as the Necro he was, he too might become a moth to the roaring flame, jealous and enchanted by the promise of conflagration and Soulfire, seeking the nectar of the divine. The influence gained from grand gifts granted generously afforded one with easy friends. This was a good lesson to bear. Ill have something for you. Likely soon. First. We should properly meet. In person. Interested in your appearance. Curious of your shell. [Jaus, Avo, come on less hard. The Bloodthanes gonna think youre trying to poach more than her loyalty.] Abrel chuckled. He didnt. Her amusement with the idea of him subtextually fornicating with his cog-donor was an annoyance at best and quite disgusting at worst. Distant sirens passed through the halls, and both Avo and Reva turned to regard the encroach of new accretions through the walls. Signatures were marked and expanded by White-Rab, and the Necro cleared his throat. +You two should get gone before Highflame reinforcements show up. Im dropping you a DeepNav marker for a location. Ill be there waiting for you.+ As White-Rab spoke, Avo reached out into the darkness, and dipped his Galeslither into a pocket of shadows in which they hid the Harshlander aero. With a casual tug, he pulled into the veil of his own shadow and regarded Reva with a nod. After you, he said, gesturing to his own silhouette. Her stare lingered a moment too long for comfort, but she stepped in thereafter, posture unsure if she wanted to fight or talk. TIme was what she needed. Time to clear her mind. Time to accept what he was, and the promise he presented. For now, he plummeted into his own miracle and began his swim anew. As the skies over the block filled with Highflame drones and golems manifesting their Heavens, an ebony tear flowed out from an external vent and dolloped down the side of the structure into a darkened alleyway. Seconds later and a few miles away, a Harshlander took flight and blended into traffic. Few knew where it had been. Fewer knew that in a stretch of its shadow hid an inventory of preserved Rendskins. Settling into the aerovecs couch again, Avo dug through Revas mini-fridge looking for a new experience to top off the raid. The Wight locus was dormantCWhite-Rab probably on the go right now and away from his jack-station. Im not going to let you twist him, she said, her words scarcely more than a whisper. There was enough strength in her tone that he knew she was willing to fight him, but not nearly enough to convince him that she believed her chances of victory. Raldi. I see what youre doing. I see your gifts and your acts and the way you speak to us. I see you. Swiping a claw over the fridges haptic interface, Avo decided to try the bear-branded drink Reva enjoyed earlier. His subminds told him that mirroring her prior behavior would have a calming effect on her. The symmetry of the action would confuse her of his inhumanity if nothing else, Picking up the ice-cold beverage, he used one of his Echoheads as a bottle opener and slumped back in his seat. He met the other Godclads eyes with ease and poured the flavor of her favored drink down his long, sinuous tongue. Stinging. Sweet. Honey-like. It lacked the metallic tang he liked, but with a shift of his consciousness, the current taste became his favor. Altering preferences was like changing gloves for him now. It was just a simple actionCno greater effort was needed. Want you to know that I appreciate you. Glad I met you. He meant those words honestly. A twitch ran through her face. Why? Because youre honest. You dont betray yourself. But you dont hide yourself either. You remember that Im a monster. You are sacred. You are prepared. Your eyes are clear. Is this where we are, she said, voice low. Flattery? Honeyed words and honeyed mead and honeyed gifts. The distortions of her holocoat failed to fully hide the compactness of her build, and threads of glinting hair drew taut along the back of her head. You think Im going to betray Stormtree to you because of what you have? That hes just going to listen to you because you Share a few lines in your Metas? No, Avo said. You will choose me because you care for him. Someday Stormtree will have you make a choice. One you cant. And youll choose him because you have already chosen. You know what follows. He will choose me because I am the fire. And all men yearn to burn eternal. He is worthy. I will see him blessed. And from there we will be bond in ways that you and he will never be. A flash of cold anger rushed through her features. Youre assuming. We dont know each other, and you sure as hell dont know what Im capable of. He clicked his fangs together gently, softly, teeth clattering like mocking applause. I could. I could know you. We could be of a mind. The implications of his words struck her, but she didnt shiver nor retreat. I wont, he finished. Thats how I lose him. And how I lose you. We arent enemies anymore. So. Youre outside my diet. But change that Minds can be changed too. Raldis feelings can be altered. But I dont want them to be. You dont. You dont. Always just talking about yourself. Avo leaned in. Her jaw clenched. Can you stop me from hurting you? Or him? She didnt reply. Vulnerability is an ugly thing, Avo said. I know. From experience. I know. 15-1 The Gift +Rab? Long time no cast, how the hells are you? Oh, not a social call is this? Whats the run? Dont make it boring. Im too old for boring. [TRANSFERRING MEM-DATA] Alright. You hooked me already. This ones a realC [IMPS TRANSFERRED] Damn, Rab, paying fast today. This thing must have you all kinds of worried for you to be throwing imps at me already. Dont worry: Ill keep an eye on it. Him. Whatever this thing is. Yeah, Ive seen that fire before. Ori-Thaum. Conflagration is a nasty thingCbut my consang-to-be here doesnt seem that affected. And if hes actually a ghoul like you say, thats a hell of a lot more self-control than Ive ever seen for his kind. Say, are you still with that girl? The Godclad with the pretty frown. Yeah. Javvers niece. Oh, none of my business, huh? Guess thats a yes. Is she out there with this Avo right now? Risky business, playing two sides. Stormtree wont be happy with her if she doesnt call in soon. The fuck-up in the Warrens was nasty. You tell her shes running from an awful lot of explaining she has to do, and that the Longeyes are already putting out their feelers. Youre fine for now, but you wont have forever. She needs to call in and take the heat off. And you need to figure out what they hells you want out of this life. You cant play between if this thing is going to work. Trust me: I know. You make someone choose between being a color and you, and dont be surprised if you dont like the outcome. Well, you might not have wanted it, but the relationship advice was free. Take it from an old lady, son: think this thing through. For both your sakes.+ -[Redacted] 15-1 The Gift As Avo resurrected, he found himself leaning against the side window of the aerovec, and it occurred to him that his understanding of the city was all wrong. For years, he thought himself a creature in a hive, fighting and feasting and failing to ascend to its heights. Not so much anymore. He should have paid attention to the words the Guilders were using. He should have been better at listening. Tiers. They meant that in more ways than one and the philosophy behind the word extended beyond ones climb to the top of the prosperity ladder. The Undercroft was made up of wedges and blocks and towers and bunkers. The streets and pathways were crevices when viewed from on high, and the flow of people leaked like water running between cracks in a wall. They were being choked it. It was so obvious from up here, so clear what they were trying to do. Each block was a fortress unto itself and with their density generated within them a socioeconomic singularity. They were, at once, places where life could flourish, yet blockades for rival armies to break themselves. Tiers. As in tiers of armor to pierce through. As in tiers of fortifications to break through. This city flirted with notions of culture and society, but the decorative ghosts that painted the city in new aesthetics and phantasmal advertisements were but flourishing drapes laid over an armored chassis. New Vultun had always been built as a city at war, and drawing upon his newly devoured memories, most of the other hive cities were much the same way. Memory-protected plasteel hulls gleamed in voluminous hues while the colors of the Nether still ran. Filtering all ghosts from his cog-feed, he gazed upon the featureless bones of the district rendered nude, and he found himself looking upon a jungle of glass and alloy. Dying gave one a shot of perspective sometimes. He spent some time in his Soul, detaching the Heaven of War and installing it into another, more thaum-heavy Frame per the request of White-Rab. The entire affair afforded him some time to think, and some thinking to occupy his time after. The Harshlanders navigational display showed that they were soon to arrive, and down from the height of fifty feet they dropped, shifting vertical lanes to circle into a narrow crossing trapped between two blocks. Pulsing reverberations of neon passed through them as a new update to Stormjumpers 2 made its announcement through the Nether, immediately followed by review boosting and bombing campaigns by fans and contrarians alike. Well be arriving soon, Reva said. You should still fire up your Incog. The place is a street squire haunt, so it should be secure, but you dont exactly look like the usual clientele either. You can dip into my shadow, but theyre pretty thorough at checking, and this place has more than its share of Fallwalkers as well. Its better that we cover all our openings.. Avo understood. This was probably going to be something like the Easy Armistice again. If only a bit easier to enter. As their vehicle slowed to a descending whine, he cast his Whisper out and caught sight of multiple moving figures shrouded in the distorting sheen of activated holocoats. His Heavens resonated with his surrounding reality, and he sensed more than a few of them were wounded, their injuries barely finished clotting. Oh, but it would be a trifling thing to tear the hurt back open, the Woundshaper sighed wistfully. Let them be, the Galeslither rebuked. Being unnoticed is to our advantage right now. Such, and these warriors have done nothing to earn a debased death at our hands. Control yourselves. An argument followed, but Avo wasnt listening. The aero continued until it took a sudden sharp turn into what looked like a wall. The tip of the vehicle met what seemed to be solid matter, but the metal folded away to allow passage, and suddenly mind-rattling waves of pulsing percussion filled Avos awareness. A vast semicircular expanse of aero docks unfurled into view around him, and his new environment resembled the abandoned storage silo he sprinted through during the Crucible. Bodies flocked toward a stack of different remodified container units, and within their opened shells were open bars and free-use loci. Without further delay, Avo activated his Incog and banished himself from the worlds awareness. More aeros slipped in through the walls around, and he found himself wondering if they were coming in through the same alleyway as his, or if their points of origin were different altogether. The containers were neatly stacked into a U-shape, and along their fronts were passing vendors and more than few drones that exhibited higher-than-normal accretion densities. The static filling their thougthstuff in a fashion akin to Sunrise also hinted at another probable truth: they werent human intellects at all, but coldtech machinery capable of thinking on their own. The presence of voiders here inspired his curiosity, but he did not break from stealth. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. As the Harshlander settled into the steadying embrace of the mag-clamps, Reva stood up and cracked her neck as the doors hissed and opened. Avo dove into the wetness of her shadow as she disembarked, and in the embrace of darkness, he found himself passenger anew as strange frustration bloomed inside him. For all his power, he was still forced to hide so often. Something about that made him feel less. Like even after all he had surmounted, the city still didnt accept him, and the people still saw him as an enemy beyond all others. He never felt this way beforeCthe light sting that came from communal rejection. Then, he understood. This wasnt his pain, but something invoked from secondhand sources. The templates were burned into him, and the way he lived gnawed at their hearts deeply. Ghouls didnt care for socialization. But humans did, and at present, he was channeling more than a bit of the latter. Expanding his base mind to full prominence, he emotionally flattened again while his urge to harm briefly bared its fangs until he had it rewoven with more useful qualities. Intersecting lanes of perception crossed over Reva, and true to her word, more than a few present were capable of dipping their awareness across realitys spectrums. A few ghosts were chipped away as a brief blade of awareness carved against his Incog, but the seekers attention vanished immediately thereafter, as their attention was drawn elsewhere. The Bloodthane kept her distance from the other squires as she headed toward an open container unit on the far side of the room. There was no searching in her behaviorCshe knew exactly where to go. She and White-Rab mustve had a habit of using this place. Drones passed by and tagged her Meta with a splashing lattice-thin red emitting a trail of mem-data in the air. She never broke stride the entire time, treating them as irrelevant even as they began their second and third scans. By the time they turned green, she was already ducking into the confines of a plasteel storage unit to descend a staircase leading a few steps down into a hallway filled with six small rooms along the side. The mem-data lattice from the drones flashed through her mind, and one of the doors snapped open with a crackle. Immediately, a new cognitive signature came alight as if a patch of space had suddenly manifested in local reality. Stepping through the threshold, Reva brought Avo onto a terrace overlooking enormous branches of warring fungi battling for dominance in the foreground of a soot-crowned mountain. No far from them sat White-Rab, nursing on a bowl of soup. Avos DeepNav flickered and found itself unable to pinpoint his location. The room was spatially altered in some way. When the door clicked shut behind him, he rose from Revas shadow and relinquished his Incog. His cognition shuddered with relief, and both Bloodthane and Necro turned in startlement before realizing what just happened. I ordered some fried-warg broth for you both, White-Rab said, chewing on something crispy. Two chairs and a long table made from gnarled wood stretched out from in front of him, and Reva seized the seat next to him so as to prevent Avo from putting her on the outside. You can eat that no problem, right? Heard you guys had some dietary issues. Just preference, Avo said. Vegetables dont really go down. Alcohol is bad. He never sat, taking the moment to gaze upon the distant horizon. The expanse before him wasnt real. He knew that. He knew that the same way his Galeslither didCbeing unable to touch the distant winds. What they were effectively staring at, then, was a wall a few feet in front of them, and the moments were visually overlapped with a real place on Idheim. Probably the Skuldvast in accordance with some of the Scaarthians he consumed. The second thing to strike him was White-Rabs physical figure. The Necro was gaunt and near-bare of any augmentations aside from his cybernetic optics. His face was long, and his eyes were bound to a perpetual squint. He wore a double-breasted coat with magnetic clasps instead of buttons, and a touch of Woundshaper detected hints of a monowire implant coiled in a false finger. The mans natural thinness continued to strike Avo as an uncanny irony amongst the denizens of this city. With how many people burned imps to upgrade and mold their flesh to personalized perfection, synonymous predilections caused cliques to emerge and fashions to trend. The flash of chrome and the sleekness of advanced modifications segregated people into social castes and communities. In the end, those that treated their bodies with a minimal touch proved to be the rarer animal. Youre surprisingly big in real life; my necks already tired looking up at you, White-Rab said. Did the Strix decide to make you that tall, or is this a compensation thing that you wanted to do? He meant that teasingly without knowing how right he was. Compensation, Avo responded with honesty. Wanted to get bloody with a Reg. She wouldve made a victim of me without it. His cog-donor paired a slow blink to a slower nod. And howd it go? We bled each other. Got messy. Was nice. Avo licked his fangs in reminiscence of delectable violence. Nice, White-Rab said, sounding not entirely convinced. Well. I dont like shaking hands, and seeing those sharpened ceramite tips on your digits doesnt do you any favors. Id settle for tapping bowls with you or something like that. But you dont strike me as the ritual type. No, Avo replied. Like having goal. Like getting things done. Like not wasting time. The ghost of a smirk filled White-Rabs expression. Yeah. Were gonna be fine. So. You can make me a Clad. Have what you asked for earlier, Avo said. You know how this works? White-Rabs easy confidence faded a bit, and he shot Reva a look. Yeah. More of less. Does it have to be death? Its the only true thing of absoluteness a mortal can do, Avo said. Crossover. Necessity. Thats what I think. The other Necro let out a low breath. Alright. So Do you have a preferred way of dying? Avo asked. Painlessly, White-Rab replied. Reflexive anger rose in Avo but he disrupted before it could distract him. Reducing his base mind again, he found the cruelty response vastly diminished. Sudden? Sure. As long as it doesnt leave me screaming. Maybe you can make it sudC Avo burst the blood vessels in his brain with a flex of will. One second, White-Rab was speaking. Then, he toppled face-first into his bowl. Reva flinched back and whipped around to glare at Avo. He didnt bother meeting her gaze this time. Its what he wanted, Avo said, reaching out with his Soulfire to bind Frame to nous. GRAFTING [MOTE PATTERN LIMINAL FRAME] TO ROOTED NOUS; EDGELURKER HEAVEN TEMPLATE INSTALLING TRANSFERRING THUAMS: 300 The binding was unseen at first, something happening beneath reality itself. As things continued though, a scab began to form in his awareness, a growing cocoon bearing the resurrection of a nascent Godclad grown upon the flesh of the tapestry. At the sight, Reva breathed a soft sigh of relief and settled upon her table. Worried I might just take his echo? Ghosts? Avo asked, watching as his work began to flourish. A sublime pleasure filled him as he regarded his deed with utmost satisfaction. He had taken power undeserved and granted it to another. This was an act of balancing. This was a tangible shift in the citys dynamics. Avo didnt know what he truly wanted beyond breaking the Guilds and fulfilling his current desires, but through White-Rabs return, he learned how to dream. Standing beside Reva, they both watched as the resurrection progressed over White-Rabs unmoving body, and with mounting tension, the scab began to hatch, and the flames ushered the return of a being banished from the permanence of death. White-Rab announced his return with a sharp intake of breath as he snapped up from his bowl. The edge of the table sparked as if it was metal and struck by a piece of flint. Even Avo felt a lurch pass through the straightest angles on his body. Raldi, breathe. Reva reached out and took the face of the astonishedCand very stunned NecroCinto her hands. Youre fine. You were dead but youre fine. The way she said it made Avo think she regarded him as better than fine. From the side, he could see an uncharacteristic smile spread across her features. Taking in gulps of air, White-Rab turned to Avo once more, mouth opening and closing as he tried to master himself. I expected a bit more warning Then it wouldnt be sudden, Avo replied, spreading his fangs in a proud grin. His cog-donor stood up and, with a shaking hand, reached out to the railing nearby. He directed an unseen force, and it cut into the table. White-Rab staggered back. Holy shit. It worked. I felt. I felt another aspect of reality. It was He turned back to Avo and a new weight settled behind his eyes. That was all it took. Just a kill and a thought and you made me a god. Only with the right components, Avo replied. And if I choose to. 15-2 Ignite We are being hunted. Im sure of it now. First, the travesty in the Oversec that saw our Incubi slaughtered, then the sudden theft and murder within our own walls! A Mirror went missing! A Mirror and his entire cell along with him. But thats not allCone of our administrative nodes just vanished. Gone. Like it was never there. Kin by blood and clan, kin near and far, we are being hunted. Two hours ago, I received a report from the operational mirror of the Oversec dive. Im sure you have all seen the reportCbut much has been withheld. Against the shapeless enemy, one of our Incubi survived, though she remains severely wounded in mind. Our best menders remain at task of restoring her to fullest health, but from all the memories we assembled, I believe we have glimpsed a silhouette of the enemyCthe only we know capable of engaging us in the realm of thoughts. One that certain of our number claimed were pacified. The Low Masters of Noloth have returned to inflict upon us the bidding of their foul masters. Of this, I have no concrete evidence, but I must beseech all who are present to thinkCthink! Think of who else could have inflicted this on us? Who else? What is worse, they have access to the mind of a Highflame Godclad. I know little of how compromised Abrel Greatling is, but two separate dives into her cognition ended in the decimation of our forces. It is because such unknowns that we must not reveal our intentions openly. If elements of our great foes have joined forces, we must play a soft game in order to encourage them to make mistakes. Further provocation may lead to uncontrollable escalation with our Stormtree auxiliaries already on edge, and open war is not favorable at present. I am now casting a motion to each of you, fellow elders, to call for Contingency Obscura. Let no truth remain unmuddied beyond these walls. Let no waters remain clear for any who exist beyond this inner circle. Finally, we are not without a path to pursue. I have been informed that though the true depths of our foe have not been uncovered, there is a person of interest that we must secure. An individual thought to be an acolyte of the Low Masters. Some of you may already have awareness of him considering his exposure in recent news from the incident in the Warrens. Effective immediately, I recommend that we deploy our most trusted and effective assets in the containment and interrogation of one Acolyte Aedon Chambers. -Ori-Thaum, Court of Elders 15-2 Ignite And all of a sudden, the world was new to Avo. Beholding his deedCWhite-Rab staring at a nearby edge ebbing with eldritch distortions, wobbling like a toddler steadied by Reva on his armCnew comprehension dawned within the ghoul. He just committed an act of creation. His power went beyond the merely disruptive or subversive. Now, the spark of an epiphany ignited within him. For the briefness of his empowerment, his compulsion was a step above base desire. He killed, and he had cause to do so. He tortured, and the targets of his cruelty reaped the bounty sown by their own vices. He consumed and fed a need deeper than mortal hunger each time. This moment, however, was the truest taste of satisfaction. Reva and White-Rab had known what he intended to offer, but their understanding was conceptual; theoretical. To know of something wasnt to comprehend it in totality. Thus, granted the gift of godhood to his mind-kindred, what he beheld was awe and disbelief. He gifted much on the whims of a desire. Much more than many in this city would ever dare dream to ask. Dream. New Vultun was so broken. So miserable. And beautiful. Between the rivers of misery and the ever-rising ocean of bloodshed that supped its flow from the constancy of death, life prevailed. So many were dying, but still so many chose to live, and more than the fallen rose the living despite it all. At the base of his heart, Avo thought of all the lives that were and the siren call of violence ran through his veins. It would be a thrill above all others to torment them all at once, so yearned the beast. But disgust rose in roiling tides from the expanse of his new consciousness, and between the clashing over waves, he perceived a grounds between. What damned so many was not the vileness of their deeds nor even the avarice in their hearts, but the inability to survive their mistakes. Avo thought of himself a mere month ago and flinched at the pitiable thing he was. He clawed at the dark once. Died, and died again when he misstepped or was found wanting. If not for the blessing of his resurrection, his journey would have ended before the first day ever closed. To the city, death was the basic economy. To him, death was his truest instructor. To the FATELESS, death was the greatest enemy. He glimpsed the tapestry again and saw a question he wished to explore. These new thoughts werent mature enough to be considered a philosophy, but within them was a seed of a promiseCa potential destination for the world to approach. What if all could return whenever they wanted? What if all could die whenever they so chose? What if all that existed was severed from the chains of permanence, and every murder was forced to imbibe a replica of their victims consciousness, what if the meek were to be granted the tools of their abusers after their return from death? What world would be birthed from the anvil of such a place of everlasting permanence? What became of a person when they had to face their deeds in totality? The flames of epiphany crackled into a stable fire, and Avo surrendered himself to a low laugh. I see it, he whispered. His sibilant chuckles punctured the guts of silence like a shiv. Is this what you wanted? Zein? A dream? My dream? To make all of us face each other. To be ourselves and become each other too? No reply came. Not until one of his templates spoke. [Avo, your new consangs are staring at you,] Abrel said with a sigh. [Again. Stop being creepy as shit for three seconds. Yeah, you found your lifes purpose or something, but most of us pump our hands, do drugs or dance or cheer when were happy. Were going to need to get your whispering under control if we ever get into high society.] And that was all it took for the base minds appetite to be aroused. Guilder flesh had tasted good from what few scraps he enjoyed. Pristine meat. Their blood like liquid ecstasy. Again, the bulk of his mind shuddered in dread and revulsion, and the negativity reverberated into Avo. He grunted in annoyance. Humans were so easily bothered. How boring. How unadventurous. He had taken them into himself to learn their nature, the least they could do was chance a look from his. [No, the fuck it is,] Lip snapped, remerging from her tantrum. [Its enough that I fucking got eaten by a fuckingCmotherfucking rotlick! But when this same fucking rotlick demands that I join him in the suckling of flesh, I ask that lines be drawn and I be removed from his consciousness. You took my life, now if any of your delusional adherence to personal choice is true, spare me from consciousness.]This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. A chorus of agreements when up with her, and Avo immediately marked those templates as bores. A lesser percentageCperhaps maybe only five or soCsent him signals of quiet interest. This pleased and amused him in equal measure. There were some that could yet be shown new delights, but he and they fell as a minority even within his own mind. His consciousness continued to be run like a tyranny. Does the Heaven please you? Avo asked, turning his attention away from the internal. It doesnt feel like anything Ive ever experienced, White-Rab breathed. A sheen of sweat curtained his forehead, and he just sat there, feeling the world around him with his new touch. Its like I can grasp reality. He barked a laugh. It feels impossible. That will never be true again. The space they occupied felt too small for the occasion, the false scenery lacking. Beneath the pulsating broadcast of his Sanguinity, he laid his touch upon all that were present as a vague christening. Impossible. Its just a memory now. A feeling. Heavens are implants of impossibility. All that wasnt is. All that couldnt be will be. A facet of totality is yours absolutely. He looked at Reva briefly and a new shine glinted behind the apprehension. She remained wary of him, but her thoughtstuff betrayed her desire. The direction of her focus flowed toward White-Rab, and she yearned to turn her attention toward the object of her joy rather than a specter of omens unknown. [You should make yourself distant for now,] Benhata said. [Keep an eye on them of course. But leave them alone. Theyre going to need time to get used to this. Sleep too, probably.] Then before that, he needed to get the matter of his payment settled. I will call on you. Soon. Will need your skill for that favor. Going to be an interesting dive. Difficult. Even for you. At once, the Necro was incensed. Even with the new Soul burning inside him, the roots of his nature habits held strong. We''ll see. With what you just gave me, itll take running up against Ori-Thaums inner circle to make me think twice. Avo responded by baring his fangs in a wide smile. Revas mouth dropped open. White-Rab let out a breath and began to laugh incredulously. What the fuck. Youre serious? Im going to He drew up the mem-data he consumed from the Ori-Thaum administrative node and considered what he wanted to do. Ultimately, it was up to Kae. This was her revenge he was authoring. The only certain thing was the infiltration and capture of the Glaive behind her misfortune. The path he took required the participation of the Agnos. I will let you know what I need. Contact you through the Deep Bazaar. You have access? Of course, White-Rab scoffed. He frowned thereafter as his mind drifted over certain facts. So seeing how your mind burns everythingC Will have a proxy. He will talk to you in my stead. Will have memories of our conversation right now. Will serve as my interface with the world while I am inimical to cognition. White-Rab blinked. Right. Numb. He opened his mouth, but no words followed. He didnt seem sure about what he wanted to say. What are you going to do now? The question was a direct one, but Avos answer stood broad. Im going to start boiling this city. Things are going to change. It will be grand. And terrible. Im going to give the people a new monster to choose. Youre going to start redistributing Frames, are you? Reva asked, cutting to the bone of the matter. Something inside Avo considered killing her and burning away White-Rabs capacity for love to be done with this annoyance. But patience prevailed, and in her Avo still saw an asset worth cultivating. Ideas were a contagion as well, and if she could succumb to him in time without direct alteration, then perhaps he would be a vector of change in philosophy as well. Perhaps. Are you against it? Would you feel anxious if I granted more people the privilege you suffered so much to claim? She swallowed. Youre making gods. Stormtree wontC But you will. Avo met her gaze and felt her will quiver. He used one of his Echoheads to gesture toward White-Rab. This was my boon. Given at my leisure. There are many who deserve such gifts. But so many will just fall. So many will never know a second chance. Looking inside, he found himself focusing on Corner, and the former street squire just gave him a casual shrug. [Shit end, but I was a Clad. Id say thats a happier ending than most will ever know in this place; for the span of three years, Corner belonged to Corner, and theres nothing nobody can do to take that from me.] An alien feeling of regret and shame welled up within Avo. If he had spent longer reviewing the Fallwalkers, he would have felt pressed to claim Corner alive. This ones acceptance was rare and pure, and the casual response to death was quite Draus-like as well. [Dont do that shit,] Corner said. [You know the score. So do it. Take the city. Cut its nuts off and wear that shit like a necklace if you want. Thats what it means to be a squire. Thats what it means to be Clad. Thats the only real way to live.] Some of the other templates disagreed, but Corner didnt care. Keep your resistance strong, Avo said, channeling the inspiration passed to him over to Reva. Defy me if you want. Align with me if you will. I am not your master. I am not your god. But live with me. Live with me and I will grant you new powers. I will grant you a new choice. Let the ugliness of what I am be spoken. I could burn my will into both of you. Neither can stop me. Change you how I want. So why dont you? Reva asked, genuinely confused. So long she has been fighting this war, and now she found herself faced with a monster that refused to crush her throat when given the chance. Madness. Wonderful madness. Because I do not dream of a world in chains, Avo said. But a world without. And a world of consequence and choice eternal. With that, he settled the last words of his growing ideals and turned inward again. I will see you both soon. Enjoy your new freedoms. Enjoy the peace of today. Nothing will be guaranteed hereafter. Just burning away without a goodbye, huh? White-Rab said. Goodbye is for the decaying. The dying. The ephemeral. We will both remain tomorrow. And all the tomorrows after that. Until we do not. Then, it will not matter. And so Avo manifested the session for Chambers Auto-Seance and across the Nether did fire flood through a tunnel between minds. Before he departed fully, he unraveled his vessel into a splash of crimson mist and hid the evidence of his person in the shadows. Come a second after, it was like he never was. *** Well, that was a fever dream and a half, Reva remarked. Staring at the shadow in which the ghoul dumped its remains, she shook her head and forced the creature out of her mind. He was already going to haunt her dreams, but right now, she wanted to look upon the bright. Taking her love by his shoulders, she centered him and scanned him using her cog-feed. His mind remained normal, and all accounts of his physicality stood unchanged before her eyes. And so, she rapped him on the arm to see how he would respond and felt an ineffable delight rise as he clutched his cracked appendage as if it was wounded. Ow, Raldi said, biting back a very sharp whimper. That was a lot harder than you usually hit me there. I just wanted to see if youre still entirely you, Reva said. Good thing about being one of us is that we dont really need medical attention. Raldis face contorted into a grimace. Oh, shit, dont tell my Ensouling unchained something sadomasochistic in you. She hid her smirk well and shook her head mournfully. Therere things you dont know about me, RaldiC Fuuuuuccckk, he gave an exaggerated groan. Please be a debt or a bad mem-porn habit. --There are things I wanted to experiment, but I didnt think I could risk. No, he moaned. You know a good thing about being a Godclad is that we dont really need medical attention. All our problems are a death away from being solved. He settled back against his chair and let out a soft breath. Well. That sure sounds like itll make a person reckless. It can. Suppose we should get out of here while we can. Suppose we should. Are you doing something later? I might just be. And now, the ghoul was but a shadow in the valley of her mind. Real nova response there, Necro. Well see how you dive. 15-3 Overlap Cults in this city are nasty godsdamned rat nests. Considering what theyre up against, they kind of have to be. First, there are the Guilds and the Exorcists and the Paladins and the Syndicates and all the usual problems. Let''s name the obvious half-strands first to get them out of the way. Most cults get snuffed out here. The idiots get noticed, and then they get dead real quick; the enterprise gets crushed before it even rises. But then there are those who are used to running the shadows. These consangs got frost running in their veins and minds thought-sealed like knots. Theyre not like most of you. When youre done cycling through these memories, youre gonna have your drone make you a nice meal and cast over to your favorite flick, any thought of being hard leaves you with your next breath. These fuckers? They live that life. They are that life, none of them dont wanna be any other way. No family? Couldnt give a shit. Out of imps? Steal, poach, kill, snatch theyll do it all. Hunted by the big shots in the city? Hells, this identity was boring anyway. Time for a change of face, and a change of mind. These are the ones that become trouble. These are the ones that got the Incubi prowling the Warrens most of the time. Most of these types are former enclavers. The difference is that their enclave was probably run by pseudo-religious freaks. When the gods got broke and Idheim pissed itself, lots of people died. Lots. Do you think our trillions are a big number? This place used to be an active farm of life and death. If you wanna have some nightmares, you should look into the Nolothi breeder farms. Lets just say their organ implantation process wasnt nearly as refined when judged by our present sensibilities. Anyway, even though the pantheons fell, enough of their priesthoods survived, albeit in scattered pockets after Thousandhand had her fun with the purges. Most of them got the memories cut out of them with the establishment of the Nether. Ghosts make it easy to mark anyone with memories you dont want anyone to have, and our new guns made it so you could solve the problem from a couple of thousand miles away. The diminishment of the faithful was pretty much an incremental massacre. But still, some of them slipped through. And the children of these some of thems are usually the ones to endure in the dark. They remember some of their scriptures. They recall enough of their canons. And ultimately, they want their gods to come back. And theyll do whatever it takes to see that to fruition. Up to and including slipping into the Guilds themselves or playing Fallwalker. -Quail Tavers, The School of the Warrens 15-3 Overlap [Gods, I hope that room is ghost-tight. You left two ticking rash risks right there, Avo. This is on you if it turns into an outbreak. Of course, seeing as were burning ourselves into fucking Chambers, I guess you dont care about the rash that much at all!] The patterns of thought leaking over from Abrels simulated mind were closer to frustration than active annoyance. Normally, she enjoyed a spot of romance, but these were not normal times anymore. Trapped inside a ghoul, she played secondhand voyeur from Avos perspective and realized she would never get the chance to indulge in these little love games and moments of bonding. Instead, she would be rewarded with a novel act few humans found relished in: cannibalism. [Fucking yay,] Abrel deadpanned. Her bitterness remained even as Avos fire seeped into the self-supporting rubble that was Chambers mind. The man panicked brieflyCthe fact that he had time to at all was a testament to the durability of his consciousness. But as the Conflagration ate through the self-clashing mem-cons that were now the paradoxical pillars of the former enforcers mind, both ghoul and man overlapped each other. But instead of simply usurping the structures of Chambers Meta, Avo blended to its symmetry as he once did with Abrel. Sequences aligned with sequences, and thoughts aligned with thoughts. Across the vastness of his consciousness, two minds were branded into one, and in a shapeless expanse were both egos manifested. +RotliCuh, Avo?+ Chambers said. +That you? Did you just burn my mind away or something like that. Im getting these thoughts and urges and theyre really unsexy. Dead gods, whats with all the noise?+ Working his will, Avo quieted the other templates so as to not overwhelm their newest cohort. He didnt speak immediately, instead choosing to study the constitution of Chambers cognition. Perverse, absurd, and all-too-sorrowful urges. Understanding Chambers was like sampling a subtle tragedy. When viewed from within, the man had thought himself joyous and implacable before the depravities of the city. But when judged in totality, he was a wound that filled his pain using lust and hunger, the need for stimulus compressing the scars of his psyche. The noise of vicarious pornography and intrusive mem-ads captured ones notice like a garrote. There was no evasion possible, all was sound and havoc and dullness wrought from overload. +Youve always been hungry too,+ Avo said. +What?+ Chambers replied, completely lost as to why these words were spoken. He was still blind to the greater gestalt, a new implant yet to be slotted. +It is nothing. I should have tried to understand you better. All of you. So much wasted flavor. So much.+ Avos lamentations came from the marrow of his being. Vast and distracted as he was, his recent killings had been the finest hits of satisfaction he ever indulged in. To know all that there was to a person, to draw in all that could feel as you drained them utterly The flesh was wanting. The tang of blood was not enough. He had imbibed more now, and so this was to be. +Its alright, consang. ICyou know, you try a lot more than lots of people. Hells, Ive only known you for a bit, but youre already more nova thanChellsCmost of the people I know!+ Chambers was trying to grin, but the act was difficult to perform without facial muscles. Avo decided to form a rictus on Chambers behalf. As his senses solidified a catastrophe of cog-feed formed into shape. Chamber''s template clicked into place along with the vast myriad of others, and new perspectives became known. Stumbling momentarily, he found his legs like stumps and his arms too short, and it took drawing from Chambers to properly gain command of the bodys new instances. Avo adapted with a thought, but the stabilizing grip pressed against his shoulder was a welcome one. He didnt need to see Draus to know it was her. It was in the impossible control exuded from the ebb of her thoughts, and the unmoving weight behind her palm. +Yeah, good ol Draus,+ Chambers sniffled. +She didnt kill me any more times after you left, so I think our relationship is improving.+ Somehow, Avo thought otherwise; it was more likely that the novelty of butchering unequal prey diminished her interest. +Chambers. Listen. I have need of you. Going to improve you. Give you new understandings. New skills.+ Excitement and glee erupted from the former enforcer. The overwhelming spike in the mans happiness made Avos simmering thoughtstuff recoil. +Fuck! Yes! I love you, ghoulie! Whats happening! Whats happening? New Soul? New Heaven? New what? Lay it on me. Chambers can take it.+Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Talk about not looking a gift-ghoul in the mouth. +That comes latter. Going to teach you things. Burn years of experience into you. Saw you trying to figure out how to jack earlierC+ Avo? Draus said, interrupting from the outside. That you? Yes, Avo said, but Chambers voice answered for him. It was strange being smaller than Draus. A growing sense of dysmorphia arose immediately, and the worst thing he found about being Aedon Chambers were the strange pangs of phantom pain coming from hisC Oh. Memories accelerated through him, and he understood. The aratnid left scars that ran deeper than bone. The fact that Chambers retained them meant he didnt consider them altogether unpleasant, however. All the other templates cringed in sympathy and disgust. All except Corner. [Fuck it. Ill respect this. Seen nastier shit done by nastier half-strands. This is nothing.] +So, you think I have the potential?+ Chambers asked, adding another voice Avo had to heed. +No. Too much feeling. Too easily distracted. Too much fixation. Wouldnt have even made a bad one.+ His words made the mans mind flinch. +Ouch. So training program?+ +No. Burning the necessary memories and habits into you. Adding them to your structure. Youre habits and choices are still suboptimal. But you will understand how to operate now. At an acceptable level.+ Avo hoped. Hurt was an evanescent thing to the half-strand. Where but a breath before he was insulted, now he was elated at the prize bestowed upon him. +Hells yes! Im not gonna lie, rotlick; I was a pretty bad student. Probably wasnt that much chance in me having the self-discipline to train so this is perfection. Wait have you thought of charging imps for this? You can show people anything! Make them remember too! WaitCwait, wait can you even do that? How does this new fire-thing work, anyway?+ Action proved to be more efficient than elaboration. Avo willed it, and the contents of his currently simulated consciousness reassembled itself. He let Chambers see past the obfuscation, and for the first time, the man found himself greeted with the templates. Years of unearned mastery were torched upon the branches of his recollections. +Holy fuck+ Chambers said, gasping as he struggled to bear all the weight of foreign memories. The fires were assembling his new cognitive architecture still, it would be a moment longer before he had the requisite capabilities to serve as Avos aide. +How many dive-vicarities did you just dump inside me?+ +A bit more than twenty thousand.+ +Thats a lot of dives+ Letting the new structures marinate, Chambers studied his new internal fixtures, cut off from his senses as Avo sealed him. As flames wove the ghouls mind into place, perception manifested fully and he found himself staring up at Draus. Her shimmering optical implants spun and regarded him like a wolf would a rabbit. A moments surprise was all it took for her to realize the change. That, and the blaze seeping from his halo. As she withdrew her hand from hisCChambers shoulder, Avo noticed a ring of glass shards spinning through the air in a weightless ballet. They were still hiding the demiplanar dormitory, but it appeared the Regular had pierced its bounds using her Heaven. Im back, Avo said. So you are, she replied giving him a slow second appraisal. Enjoying your new canons? Avo asked, glancing at the pirouetting glass spiralling about them in the planes second level dormitory. The question was thinly disguised as a taunt. Remember you said you didnt want them. Remember you wanted to die fighting. Die clean. Die feeling the weight. Are we getting forgetful? Or does power taste too good? Her lip twitched upward in the briefest of sneers. A samplin aint a meal. Spoken like a joy-fiend. She shrugged off his insult I still wanna feel it. The point behind every kill. You did this to me. You owe me a centerin. And he could deliver using his flames. But would she let him? Hows your time been playin with your new toys, then? She pivoted before he could reply. Have fun jumpin around burnin egos into yourself? How many did you kill this time? Few thousand? That it? What? Feelin soft and merciful after Nu-Scarrowbur? Bit too much to chew on. Taking in more now. Claimed much on this sojourn. Wheres Kae? Essus. Downstairs, Draus said. Theyre talkin with the Columners. Our poor flat might be gettin himself some fancy voider mind-mender to help em or somethin. The Glaive is gettin all details about Godshaper clean with Kae. Been down there for just about thre minutes. I consumed an Ori-Thaum administrative node. Have secrets. Have Incubi inside me. Know the identities of surviving assets that ruined Kaes life. Have a gift of revenge to deliver. He paused. And got some other things. Souls. Cyclers. Heavens. The Regulars features brightened immediately. She wasnt so easily swayed by bribery, but resistance wasnt immunity. Shit. You couldve led with that. And miss out on mocking you? She smirked and began to chuckle darkly. A cool pit opened inside Avo and he felt his insides squeeze, instincts warning of potential violence. And extreme lust. That which he took from Chambers hardened in ways Avo immediately suppressed. [Gross! Fucking gross!] Abrel gagged. Thinking back to Reva now, Avo thought himself a fool to ever compare the Bloodthane to Draus. The Shatterborn Godclad was a woman of iron will with an honest disposition. Bloodshed and conflict were familiar constants in her life, but there was something about her that suggested she was enduring these trials rather than relishing in the lifestyle. Not so with the Regular. There was some facet of humanity missing inside her. Something that made her radically acceptant of death and horror, severing her from fear and hesistation entirely. War was like breathing to her. Nothing special. It just was. She just was. Draus shrugged a shoulder and Avo found himself dipping over into Chambers memories. Only when he confirmed the man was clean of Rend before he let the tension leave him. Good. The only risk they suffered now was death. Checking on Chambers ego again, Avo found him listening along to the conversation, his new skill enhancements already out of his mind. Avo made a few more adjustments to his distractedness. That was going to get him nulled more than once. Some iterating for his habits will likely be required, but he still wanted to keep Chambers as himself, if possible. The point here was augmentation rather than alteration. Chambers death formed a finer vintage if he greeted his ends led by his own choices. In each life, there was a unique brew of culmination. Like he was potentially facing right now. You should kill yourself, Draus said. Her words caught Avo off guard, but they werent uncharacteristic. Let Chambers have his own body. Hes wretched enough on his own. Dont need a cannibalism habit too. You didnt pick up any of his mind contagions, did you? Trying not to think about that. She just shook her head. +Alright, guys, come on. Come on.+ Chambers sighed. +My minds not that bad.+ Avo let Abrel speak to him. [You rotlick fuck! Dont put me next to the rash riskCyou dont talk to me! I dont want to know anything about Dannis Steelhard.] Confusion surged through Chambers as he found himself taken aback by Abrels sudden appearance. +IC+ She was promptly banished. +Not going to be popular when I claim your template.+ But there was nothing for it. Avo burned it. Now he would know him. But it wasnt so bad. Truthfully, all Chambers wanted was to be wanted, and knowing that made him the perfect vessel for intersecting under Avo. +But I accept you. Dont have a problem with you.+ That struck a touched pause in Chambers, and across Avos consciousness, many of the snuffers he claimed began to gag in an exaggerated fashion. Then, with but a nod as an indication, Avo liquefied his body for the second time within minutes and felt Chambers prime ego die. The template, however, remained synced. [Not gonna lie, that felt weird as fuck,] Chambers said, mentally shuddering as he regarded the disintegrating mist that used to make up his vessel. [Ill be back right? I mean, actual me-me. Not me-you. Or you-me.] +Should be fine,+ Avo thought. He turned a cast on Draus. +Bodies not enough for me anymore. Need to be disrupted now.+ She regarded him with a nod. You wanna do the honors? +Yes. Ill do it. And call the others. I wish to speak with everyone. Tell them I want to start a cult.+ Draus nodding turned into a double-take. What? Avos answer came in the form of a Thoughtwave Disruptor activating from the core of his being, and a ripple flensed his ethereal presence from existence. 15-4 Group Meeting Look at that Nether traffic. Those Silver fucks are up to something -Highflame Monitoring Station 15-4 Group Meeting So let me get this straight, Cas began. You crossed over into Abrels mind, subsumed it, restructured her consciousness, took a template of her consciousness that you now have as an advisor, and let her resurrect with an altered consciousness. Then ambushed and ate the Incubi trying to jack into her, used them as a stepping stone to eat the Glaive that was their tactical-level Mirror, wore his body to take a fucking walk inside one of Ori-Thaums most secure facilities, adapted your structure to an Incog, encountered another instance of Zein, fought her, survived, got the node, and then decided to kill a few thousand people and a cadre of Fallwalkers participating in a block war on a whim? Avo thought the summary unneeded as he already bade Chambers deliver an abridged accounting on his behalfCsans any recollections of Reva or White-Rab. Considering how the Columners voice was spiking with each passing word with building incredulity, there got the sense that what was being strained was not understanding but belief. Yes, Avo said, looking down at the staggered little man. Mouth agog, Cas threw up his hands and the glint of his transplanted arms pierced the veil of his holocoat. He shot a glance at Draus as if seeking support for his disbelief. You were gone for less than a day. I know, Avo said. Should have been more efficient. Will work on that next time. As Cas narrowed his eyes trying to discern whether the post-ghoul was mocking him, a chorus of templates sniggered in the depths of Avos consciousness. [You should be more apologetic next time,] Lip said. Past her rage, there was an impishness that typically found itself enchained. In life, the demands of culture and career forced her into taking on a facade of exaggerated rage. Here though, she knew herself to be dead and done, and thus free to have fun. [Hes one of those self-important fuckers. I can see it in his browCyou can always tell by the brow. You see that curved wrinkle running up into his forehead? Hes a frowner. Hes used to thinking about things his way and then gaping at people when things go to shit. Shit, ghoul, fucking with him will be a de-light.] It would be. But Avo had more pressing matters to attend. The light of the dormitory shone dimly on a few faces. They let Essus remain with Sunrise and Denton a level below for the sake of keeping his therapeutic sessions uninterrupted. Part of Avo desired to rewire the mans damages using his fire, but his ethicality told him to stay his hand and let the moment be. He could approach Essus with his offer of a new purpose later in private. For now, there were several others he needed to gauge. Chambers said you have mem-data from an Ori-Thaum administrative node, Kae breathed. The stood next to Draus now with her face exposed and clan mark showing. She had taken to updating her attire while he was gone. No more did aesthetic cling to her formCnow she was shrouded beneath a holocoat much the same as Cas. In her voice he could hear a rageful yearning still, unsated from their conversation with DRongo and all that had been revealed. It was a rage he could tap into. Took it for find those who hurt you. The lead Glaive. The Necros that survived. Know the survivors behind your destruction. DRongo breathes for now. Still useful. Will cause too much chaos. But the Glaive the Incubi. I can have them. I can give you revenge. The way her gaze burrowed into his offered no softness. Exhaustion tinged the edge of her eyes and lethargy stained the ebb and flow of her thoughtstuff. More killing. Thats all we get in the end, isnt it? Just more killing. The hoarseness in her voice sounded akin to Essus when he had his final moments with Mirrorhead. She was getting no thrill from this, no satisfaction. [Dont approach her like youre talking with one of us,] Corner said, looking Kae up and down. [This ones all kinds of raw. She doesnt want this kind of life and the life dont want her none either. You need to stop pitching this moment over like its something to be happy about.] Concurrence came from Abrel. [Yeah. Listen, I know plenty of Agnosi and a whole damn lot of them are unreasonably romantic. You gotta understand that this revenge and bloodshed only lights for a certain breed, and Kae Kusanade? Shes not one of them. Shes an actual person with dreams and wants, and a life that was lost. This revenge thing? I think she still wants it, but it isnt going to give her peace, its just going to balance the scales in her heart.] Avo approached the Agnos and with each step, his talons clicked against the ground. She flinched as he wrapped his Echoheads around himself, and in periphery, Avo saw Draus shift ever so slightly in case he did anything unwise. When he lowered himself to greet Kae at her height, the Regular went back to leaning against the wall next to beds. It can still mean something, Avo said, keeping enough distance for her to remain in a space of comfort. Already, though, he could feel the moisture in the air twisting around her subtly, its nigh-imperceptible pressure needling around his neck. Already, she was using her Heaven with remarkable quietude. Freed from her oaths as an Agnos, he wondered if she was already the most refined Godclad among them all from tertiary experience alone. All that you sufferedCall the injustice poured into your life. Not your fault. But New Vultun doesnt care. I do. I do. Let me help you. Let me make things rightC [Stop saying you,] Benhata snapped into being along with the other templates. The sharpness of the Glaives tone tore Avo from his words and alerted him to how he sounded from an outside perspective. He was imposing his own ego upon the Agnos, but her pain was inward facing, and she quivered as the world laid its weight down upon her. [The point isnt to tell her that her work can improve lives, but to have her perform an act that concretely and visibly raises the quality of life for others. Her hands, her will, her eyes. Same with Essus. Stop choking them with how overwhelming you are and let them serve a purpose!] And so, heeding the advice, Avo shifted his personality and pivoted. A rasping sigh escaped his serried fangs and he lowered his head. I cant do it. Not without you. You were behind the Frame. You were behind everything. No one understands it. And no one cares about fixing it as deeply as you. They just wanted to make a weapon. To keep fighting their stupid fucking war. What you want matters more now. They dont have you anymore. Its up to us to make things matter. Its up to you if you want to make things change. Her lip quivered and she looked away from him, unable to bear the sight of his burning mind any longer. He stepped back and returned to the center of the room again, sparing her his presence. I need to go home, Kae muttered, her eyes jumping from place to place, darting from corners to objects. I have mem-data stored there about my research. Theories on the canons behind the rash. I was close to figuring them out tooCso close! Her voice rose an octave as the shadows of her past seized her, and the darkness behind her gaze parted to reveal passing inspiration. Then, like a curtain mist lifting to the caress of a breeze, it vanished. Okay. Okay. Lets start with the killing. Its the most simple thing we can do. Work our way up from there. You sure youre game for that? Draus asked. Kae spun on her and snarled. They do not get to kill someone I love, debase my work, twist my research for their own ends and live happily and comfortably and safely! Not anymore! No! The eruption of her anger was an unimpressive thing. Part of it had to do with her diminutive size compared to everyone else in the room, but more was in the squeak of her pitch and the crack in her voice.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Kae Kusanade was clearly not used to being angry, nor did she spend long in the mirror trying to find out how to make herself seem more intimidating. She was a waif among monsters, and even with her control over water, to judge her by physicality left little to be feared. Regaining control of herself, she awkwardly winced and shame overtook her. Sorry. That wasnt meant for you. Draus gave her a snow nod and shot Avo a look. +Yeah. I dont think shes got this.+ +Maybe not,+ Avo said. +She should still be a part of it. Glaive knows much about the inner structure of the Guild. Will be a useful inclusion for me. Better if she can get partial close, Not wasted if she cant.+ Draus scoffed mentally. +Always a conveniently selfish angle with you.+ +Things just work out sometimes.+ +Sure they do.+ Ill be ready, Kae said, trying more to kindle her own viciousness than convince the others. She rested her sight on Avo again and steeled herself properly this time. Whatever you plan, I want to know. I want to be a part of this from the start to the end. And if I say no Means no, Avo said. I will respect that. A beat followed. My father is dead. I am not him. Will never become him. Wont use you that way. That way, Kae deadpanned. Worth more to me for thaumaturgic purposes. Show me how to make Heavens; design new canons. That made her close her eyes and resist the urge to smile. Avo Im afraid youre getting more and more Guilder with all the recent minds youve been consuming because that was a very Guilder response. Her words unbalanced him. Disconcertingly, he turned his perception inward and found Abrel and a few hundred others facing him with wide-deadpanned grins plastered upon their faces. [Dont look at us,] Benhata muttered. [Were not the ones who ate you.] [You are what you kill or something like that,] Abrel added. He needed to pay more attention to the pathways of his consciousness. The run on the Glaive will be priority task in the near term, Avo said. But I want more than that. Had an epiphany when I was stopping the block war. Draus grunted a laugh. Thisll be funny. He directed one of his Echoheads to chitter at her in annoyance while he continued on. Realized a problem with this city. Its lying. About what it is. About what it wants to be. Highflame says they bless the worthy. But Ive tasted their Godclads. Ive taken ontologics from Fallwalkers. Few of my prey have been worthy. Few were worth killing. I think we can change this. The frown faded from Cas expression and he straightened his posture. The economy of New Vultun, Avo rasped. It offends me most of all. Pointless death. Wrong deaths. FATELESS are wasted to feed useless Godclads playing at war. Yes, Cas said, his mind shimmering with interest. But I dont think this is the way it needs to be anymore. Can change things. Alter things. Take Heavens from the wretched. Give them to those of worth. Yes! Cas said, face now aglow with excitement. Draus shot him a disbelieving look. The Columner withstood her judgment with ease. What. The ghouls talking a lot of sense now. This place, this city, this world? Its all busted. All the power is at the top, but the only fuel for their growth is on the bottom. This is a death economy, but its also a stupid one. The old power doesnt die, and newly Ensouled have to grow somehow, so the deaths spike and Godclads struggle and its the people who are ground down. The people who pay double, triple, quadruple tax. Avo says he wants to change some of this? I say yes. Fuck. Yes. This came as a surprise to Avo as well. In his brief time with Cas, the main remained mostly a mystery, but more and more there was a sense of bitter humanism to him, like he genuinely cared about the small people a way Avo couldnt fathom. Redistribution, Avo said. Of power. Of Souls and Heavens and other benefits. From the Tiers to the Warrens. You support this? Support? Cas chuckled. Consang, I faciliate it. I got cells everywhere operatingC He caught hismelf before he could actually give anything away. Anyway. Im picking up what youre putting down, and Ill do you one betterCI can ensure what you want to do takes off. But what you need is a bottom-up organization that works in tandem with you. If youre just moving about and empowering people, well be exposed within days or weeks at best. We gotta muddy the waters and startC --A cult, Avo finished, grinning broadly. Godsdammit, Cas, Draus said. I thought Thousandhand recruited sensible at least. Didnt expect you to go along encouraging him. Offense sparked across Cas face and he turned to face the Regular. Guard-Captain, we dont know each other, so lets not play pretense. What heC Cas thrust a finger at Avo. Cis thinking about? My fathers done it. Ive done it. And if this war lasts another thousand years, my childrens childrens children will be doing it to see the Carpenter returned. Understanding dawned in both Draus mind and Abrel. [Carpenter oh, great. Your new friend is a fucking faither, rotlick.] The words rose into his awareness tinged with digust. Enclaver, Draus said, looking him up and down. And a faithful at that. Yeah. You fit the bill. And yet, here I am, Cas said. Not snuffed, nulled, or captured. And yeah, I worship. You got a problem with it? I do, Kae said, interjecting softly. I dont know you very well, but you understand how this affects your Frame, right? How it distorts your miracles from control? Well enough, Cas said with a wink. The gods were broken for a reason, Kae followed. If youre seeking toC I dont want a god in our Souls. What we have instead us arent true gods, theyre demiurges. Archons. Pretenderss to the heavenly throne. God is absolute. God is existence and life and love and death unending. You cant make a Heaven for that, and I dont want to. Im a totalist, Agnos. Im not looking to change the universe. Just want it to return to the way it was. Great. The freaks got their own factions as well, Draus muttered. Brushing the arguments aside, Avo suddenly found his interest in the Columner rising. You said you have cells of your own? I got a network of different cults, a fanbase for the Tiers, and plenty of experience running this game. What you need, I can provide. Just find a need and Ill show you what to do. Useful. Very useful. It would be essential to burn him some time. Head whipping from face to face, Chambers leaned over and whispered to Avo. Hey, consang, Im gonna need you to burn all that just got said into me becauseCIm not gonna lieCI totally started watching a vicarity when you started talking. Avo grunted a resigned answer and Chambers patted him happily. The former enforcer was promptly decapitated by a lashing Echohead. [Oh, wow, dick move, Avo! I was trying to be nice,] template-Chambers grumbled. As Kae starred in open horror at the sudden murder and the toppling body, Draus yawned and Cas gave the weltering stump spewing blood a brief glance before moving on. I have ideas I want to try, Avo said, ignoring Chambers postmortem twitching. Benefits for us all. Want to hit the Crucibles first. Break up snuff rings. Gorge myself on Syndicates and snuffers for thaums. Assault them as practice and to gather deaths and ghosts. Draus unfolded her arms and cocked her head in contemplation. Alright. I can get down with this. See, Cas said. We all got our kinks. Draus squinted at him. Before that, have something else I want to do, Avo said. Want to wait for Essus and the others to finish. Need the cadre to decide. On? Draus asked. Who gets the new Ontologics I claimed. 15-5 The Cult of the Unborn She was in your custody. It is your duty toC An attack. When. How severe was the breach? Was it Ori-Thaum? Where is Elder DRongo. I wish to have words with herCThen I wish to have words with NaekoC He will be on a Stormjumpers marathon for the weekend, so he wont answer. You Enough! Listen. Hear my words. I need you to release my daughter into my custody. Your shambolic attempts in preserving the sanctity and agency of a FATED are appalling. The Paladins and Exorcists have shamed themselves enough this one day, do not give me a reason to compound it. You will relinquish my daughter to me Voidwatch? What do you mean she is with Voidwatch? How doC No! Do not transfer me to Guild Affairs! Do not! I have a right per the ArticlesC [THIS CAST HAS ENDED. THINK ABOUT A PUPPY IF THE QUALITY WAS GOOD. THINK ABOUT A RAINY DAY IF THERE ARE ASPECTS THAT CAN BE IMPROVED. FOR OTHER INQUIRIES, FOCUS ON FORMING A QUESTION MARK] RAGGGHHHHHHHHHH! [WERE SORRY: THE GENERAL VIOLENCE YOURE IMAGINING DOESNT FIT ANY OF THE MENTIONED PATHINGS. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.] -Uthred Greatling Experiencing Technical Setbacks 15-5 The Cult of the Unborn Avo''s question of ontologic distribution was promptly interrupted by footsteps ascending the staircase below. Apparently, his return did not go unnoticed by the absent members of his party. Nor did the infernal brightness of his accretion do favors for his subtlety. First came Sunrises drones as a stream, and as the veil of particulate-sized bodies passed, so too followed Essus and Denton. Denton had a comforting hand supporting the man by the arm as he staggered up the stair step by step. A momentary widening of her eyes was the only sign of surprise she betrayed with regard to the faint static now clinging to his Conflagration. Still, her task remained foremost. Supporting Essus as he continued onward. It took one glance from Avo to see that the man had been crying again. Whatever the voiders were doing to him in this therapeutic session made his mind raw with pain and embrittled his egos integrity. There was an absence to his stare and a redness in his eyes. That, and the thinness of his thoughtstuff showed just how present he was. An additional oddity stood out to Avo in the cotton blanket Essus had wrapped around his bodyCand the tightness to which he clutched it. The room wasnt that cold. For what need couldC [Its for shock,] Benhata said, adding points of interest to Avos cog-feed. [A very primitive method for treating shock, but whatever the voiders are doing, they know better than us.] He made a noise that was barely a laugh. [Still. Its easier to just cut the memories out from him. Theyre wasting time with this therapy thing if you ask me. I had the negative emotions tied to my sisters death removed, but I can still remember her. Its not that complicated. You can probably adjust him easier than they can His minds just not going to be worth much is all. Hes not suited to help us in any way.] The pang of anger Avo felt came as a surprise to even him. The Glaives words offended him. They insulted him. Essus was a flat; a vulnerable creature in flesh and mind, but by Avos effort and will, he survived. Avo chose for him to live. The templates judge the man for his weakness, but the absurdity of their prejudice stood naked C from what world did Essus come, and to what hell did he arrive? What strength could have protected him from the eldritch distortions that infested New Vultun? And if he was to be mocked for his softness, then what say the Guilders and Godclads who fell to Avo? A rank ghoul of all creatures, besting and brutalizing the elites of this world. His templates recoiled as if lashed, and only a few stood unshaken alongside Corner. The former squire simply gave a laughing sneer. [You dumb motherfuckers done did it now.] Benhata scrambled, fear exploding in his heart as he realized what torments could be visited upon him in this cage of consciousness. [Wait, thats not what I meantC] +All can be changed,+ Avo said, the ire leaving him in a rasping sibilate. +Me. You. Him. That is the truth of our reality. Change. Position? Power? Privilege? Bloodlines? Comedy. Delusion. All can be taken. All can be lost.+ And to end his words, he focused his attention anew on Essus as the man approached. +All can be granted.+ [I was referring to the difficulty of his station,] Benhata tried to remedy. +In part.+ The template couldnt deceive Avo. It would be as if a current lying to the sea or the less lying to the whole. +But your love for pedigree remains. Know who has eaten you. Face the bitterness of your own truths. Judge my decisions if you want. Do it all you like. Wont torture you for it. But I will do the same in turn with your beliefs. Your words.+ The remainder of the templates existed at his whims, and he addressed them not as a tyrant looking down, but a voiceCa concept running deeper than bone or sinewCfrom within their own egos. +Hear me now. You are dead because we were enemies. This is a city at war. Forever. Everywhere. Everyone. We warred. You perished. I remain. Might just be your misfortune. Might be my power. Might be my skill. But indulge in no delusions. You are here because this is our environment. You are here because New Vultun does not care. Didnt care about him. Same what it doesnt care about you. Only power is true. Power. Knowledge. Control. And what they let us choose.+ [Youve been real high off your shitty new philosophy ever since you gave your mind-dad a Frame,] Abrel muttered. Template or not, her will was adamantine, and she betrayed no hint of dread at her potential fate. She knew he would draw on her again. More, she knew this instance of her wasnt real. [Youre right though. We did fight. I did lose. You earned my mind and my deaths. Blessed be the worthy. The oath abides. But he isnt worthy. Hes broken. And much as Id like this Silver-fucker to get cast as one of Dannis Steelhards wound-holes while a be-cocked fem-ghoul from one of Chambers showsC] her words drew a whoop from Chambers template. [Cteaches him some romance, letting Essus keep that Frame without changing him entirely is going to be a hard shit to pass.] This was known to him, but something was beyond their sight. The limit of their imaginations was appalling. Abrel sighed. [What? What arent we seeing that you are? No offense, but beyond jacking youre pretty lacking on your own. I wouldve had you in the lightrail without the Reg.] No she wouldnt. [And I guess the no being delusional rule can go fuck itself when its you doing it, huh?] This wasnt delusion, it was hypocrisy. [Fuck. You.] +He matters unto himself,+ Avo said, ordering the templates to recede as he focused on the real again. +What matters was that he survived. Symbology. Mythology. A saint to be fashioned.+ [A saint for whom?] Abrel asked, her presence a fading whisper. +The FATELESS. The meek. The weary. The untapped.+ Fashioning his conflagration in a template of silence to muster his focus, Avo extended an Echohead and beckoned for Sunrise to settle upon him. Essus, Avo said, as bees began to dot his transplanted tendril. How are you feeling? The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.The man opened his mouth and, after a beat, settled on honesty. It is hard for me to yearn for life still. The Frame took my pain. Cut it from me when I died but the emptiness. It remains. It doesnt cure nothing. And I dont want the nothingness to go away. I lost something. I will have always lost something. The absence is right. Look at you. Acclimated to the city already. A quiet wheeze escaped from Draus before she caught herself and forced a frown back on her face. He flashed his fangs in a broad grin. Usin other minds to generate jokes for you is a lousy trick, rotlick. [Pretty humorless half-strand before, werent you, ghoul?] Corner asked. +Being funny doesnt kill people.+ Part of me now, Avo said. Like sustenance fueling a body. Once a ghoul, ever a ghoul, Draus muttered. Avo turned his attention back to Essus. Came up just in time. Have ontologics to share. And something new we can do. Avo, Essus sighed. I appreciate your gestures. I appreciate your efforts at keeping this fool alive, but this power I I cant He looked down at his hands as they began to shake. I was not enough. No, Avo agreed. Me neither. Watched me die in the Crucible. Remember? Again. Again. Again. I do not know if I can bear it, Essus replied. Dont need you to, Avo said, heeding directions from his borrowed intuition. He needed to play a delicate game right now; too much force, and Essus would crumble before he could ever be guided to true promise. I just need you to get better. For yourself. He wanted to say for the boy, but the boy was gone, and a reminder would only amount to dripping his tongue into Essus psychic wounds. Casting an appreciative look at Denton, the man nodded slowly. I am trying. I am talking. Facing the problem. But I understand if you need to take the power away from me if I dont use it. I will not fight you for it. I didnt want it to begin with andC Keep it. Avo caught the startlement in Essus eyes and knew the mans weakness. All these words were wrapped in grief, but the length and what he built to was simple. He, too, enjoyed having a Frame now. And to lose it would be a deprivation, brief though his time might have been with it. Keep it, Avo repeated. You can even have a new Heaven. If thats what the cadre decides. Pulling his focus back from just Essus, Avo spoke to the room. I killed four Fallwalkers. Not a real cadre. Claimed three usable Heavens out of the deal. He neglected to mention his encounter with Raldi and Reva. Such a secret was for his mind only, for his trust of Cas and Denton ran only so deep with how they belonged to Zein. Perhaps Draus could know later. Draus, and maybe Kae. Chambers was sloppy in action and thought, and with all the time Essus was certain to spend with the voiders, there was a high potential for compromise on his end as well. Seems like you got a bit more than just a few Heavens, Denton said, making gentle inroads to the new shift in his consciousness. Did you encounter someone from Omnitech? Already know the answer to that, Avo replied. Still learning its nuances. Sunrise fused into form over his shoulder and with every drone added to the swarm, Avo saw threads of information running through them like conduits. Junctions of data and cognition. More than just through them, however, there was something tunneling inward at the very core What youre seeing as a hyperwave transmission, Denton explained. I have an implant that allows for it as well. You already have guessed that. Yes, Avo said. The beaming you were communicating with someone in the void? Plural, she responded. He grunted. Unsurprising. Ori-Thaum. They dont know you belong to another? That youre a voider. The ghost of a smirk passed over Dentons features she shook her head. Im not a voider. I was born here. The way she offered no more information was vexing, but Avo could respect it. It wasnt like he had been forthcoming about his own details most of the time. Might need your help, he said. Interested in learning how to use Sprites. Understanding machines. I can do better. Aegis wants to speak with you. Denton shot Cas a look and the other Columner let out a long breath. Welcome to the shit-show, ghoul, Cas breathed. He sounded far happier than overwhelmed though. Speaking of which. Before we start splitting these Ontologics or whatever it is youre going to do, theres something we should get done first. What? Avo asked. A cult needs a name. Cult? Denton said, faintly alarmed. What do you mean cult? Cas. I thought we agreed that you wouldnt keep doing this. The last time you sent your fans to blow up a thaumic reactor, a few hundred thousand people died, and I had to spend weeks cleaningC Not my cult, his! Cas said, pointing at Avo. Hes going to start the cult. And I think its a great idea. Denton paused, and then shuffled to face Avo again. You. Youre starting a cult. Break Crucibles. Kill Syndicates. Redistribute Frames and Heavens. Her mouth opened but no sound followed. Across the room, Cas began to chuckle. Well. I never thought Id see the day our great negotiator is speechless. --You need to speak with Aegis today, Denton finished. Yes, Avo said, agreeing. Interested in talking to one of your machine gods. Aegis isnt a god, its just an artificial governing administrator. It sounded like semantics to Avo, and most of his templates agreed. Name, Cas said, enjoying the moment. Then, we split the bounty. Then we talk to the boss. Denton frowned. Dont call them that, Cas. You know they hate it. Im definitely going to call them that. She narrowed her eyes at Avo. Youre bringing out the worst in him. Didnt take much, Avo replied. Hm. Any suggestions? For the name? Hey, I got one, Chambers said, giggling. How about the ThickC A blade of glass flashed out from seemingly nowhere and decapitated him for the second time in minutes. Kae flinched. Essus cried out. Everyone was already looking away from Chambers body as it toppled. Thats my veto, Draus said, snatching her blade of glass out from the air. Rest of you better come up with somethin good. Hey, Avo? What about the Second-to-Lowest Masters? She threw her head back and guffawed. I would kill you if you had a clean cycler, Avo glowered. The Unborn, Essus said. All eyes turned to regard him. He winced slightly but withstood the attention. We are fighting for a future, are we not? For children to be born again? For the Heaven of Love to be healed, for affection returned to the hands of the people? That is our newest goal. Silence followed. Shit. Thats pretty good, Cas said. Cult of the Unborn. Yeah yeah! [Yeah,] Corner said. [That sounds nova.] [Like one of those shitty heavy string albums Vator listens to,] Abrel muttered. Chambers template, meanwhile, was more dismayed at his death. [Avo, tell the Reg that this is fucking bullshit! I was going to say the Thicket of Unseen Flames!] Avo delved into his thoughts and turned away in digust. +No you werent. You were thinking Thick Meaty Intruders. [A man can change his mind!] Chambers screamed. Its good, Avo said. Its truthful. Good bones for mythology. Good work. Essus didnt smile, but he came closer than before. +Still think empowering him was a mistake?+ Avo asked.His templates considered for a moment, and responded. [Its a nice idea, but yeah, hes not going to be a good Clad,] Benhata said. Abrel snorted. [There is no world where he is worthy. Hes going to die. Its going to be stupid. Youre probably going to be scooping his Ontologics up after he ruptures.] [If Essus dies, can I have his stuff?] Chambers asked. Avo growled in frustration, earning him several odd looks in the real. My mind is unsupportive. I know how that feels, Kae said, nodding sagely. Out from the veil of her holocoat, she produced a gauss pistol and her eyes grew hard. What helps me is doing things so I think we should move on to our suicidesCoh! Avo, Ill examine the Ontologics first! Let me see if there are obvious problems before you graft anyone. Before he could respond, the Agnos inhaled deeply, pressed the gun to her temple, and fired. A welter of brain matter sprayed free, and Draus directed a mirror shard to swallow the flechette before it could hit Cas. Gotta teach her to point that thing where other people arent, Draus sighed. Thanks, Cas said, blinking. Just dont pray at me, cult-boy. Now. Who wants me to do em? 15-6 Bonding (I) +An assembly will be called. Tell no one where you heard this from. You need to get your allegiances in order. Divorce your husband. Disown your children. Disown your father. The High Seraph is returning from the Paths, and she comes bearing a reckoning. The Greatling incident and the missing Frame might be connectedCbecause when the Thanatech went down into the Warrens to collect our death tax and seal Jhred Greatlings rupture, they found nothing there. Nothing. No Essence. No ghosts. No Frame. Once again, you didnt hear this from me. The Chivalrics are fucked. Cut yourself off while you still can or there wont be anything I can do to spare you from her reckoning. -Session Between two Highflame Authorities 15-6 Bonding (I) Wow, these are really optimized,+ Kae muttered, the radiance of her Soul pulsing with each thought. +Where did you say you found these Heavens again? In the Tiers? Fallwalkers, Chambers clarified. He spoke on behalf of Avo though there wasnt the need. Still, the ghoul allowed it. Chambers was going to be his functional extension, after all. More than willing, the former enforcer was joyous at being molded into something greater than he was. Such allowed for flexible synergy in their relationship. "Our favorite rotlick here plucked em right out of a few half-strands trying to do a block war. Dumb shits didnt even know what hit em." Hm. So, what? You caught em just wanderin around unmanifested?+ Draus asked. Yes, Avo said. Didnt pay attention to the shadows. The Regular grunted a note of disappointment. Well, they aint a real cadre then. No cadre I fought with would show their belly like that. Theyd either be moving, in a private demiplane, or manifested. Bein statics like asking to get killed. Means these ones were probably hired snuffers then. Outside help so the in-house butchers get to keep their knives clean. Yes, Avo said, shuttling the last of his three new Heavens over into Kaes Frame. Communing in the post-mortem as a quartet of ebbing Souls was a fascinating experience. There was privacy to itCa vulnerability. Previously, when he first Ensouled Chambers, Draus, and Essus, time spurred him away from indulging in deeper considerations, but now, without the breath of haste running along his nape, Avo studied each member of his cadre in depth as his flowing flames bridged each Soul to each. Hewn from the impulses of their flesh, their egos were unburdened. Chambers spoke with greater casualness than ever, cheerfully chirping at any would listenCwhether they cared to hear his voice or not. Kae, distracted from her tumult, cast herself back into the throes of her work while Draus hovered within the core of the Twice-Walker anxiously. For all the Regulars fatalistic yearnings, she took poorly to actual death. Waiting for her resurrection to complete inflicted a state of restlessness upon her. I aint no use dead, Draus had said. Dont know shit about thaumaturgy or nothin. Im better at gettin others to die than this away round. Of the remaining few members of their cell, Essus proceeded at his own pace, Denton set about preparing Avo''s meeting with Aegis, and Cas had turned his mind inward to cast out a few calls. Sunrise didnt join in due to being afflicted with a depressing condition known as mortality. Hence, it left four. Four willing to be joined in death. And four aligned toward a mutual path in life. STILLBORN THAUMIC OUTPUT: 4526 THAUM/c UNGRAFTED ONTOLOGICS -//- HEAVEN - STARVATIONS ENVY DOMAIN: (COOKING/WATER) DOMAIN OF (COOKING) CANON OF THE WANDERING NOSE - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN SMELL ALL SCENTS FOR A 10-MILE RADIUS; FOUL SMELLS WILL STRAIN THE HEAVEN FURTHER HUBRIS: SMELLS THAT MAKE THE USER GAG WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH CANON OF HUNGERS PASSING - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN SHIFT A HUMAN OR HUMANOID ENTITY INTO AN EQUIVALENT MASS OF THREE-COURSE MEALS HUBRIS: USING THIS ON THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY CLASSIFIED AS FOOD BY THE MASTER WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH DOMAIN OF (WATER)CANON OF PRE-BOILED LOBSTERS - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON WILL BE ABLE TO DRAW LOBSTERS FROM BOILING WATER; EACH DRAW WILL REDUCE THE WATERS TEMPERATURE BY ONE DEGREE HUBRIS: IF THE WATER IS COOLED MID-MIRACLE, THIS WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH. HELL - [FIRST CIRCLE] - STARVATIONS ENVY DOMAIN: (COOKING/ENTROPY) CANON: SPOILING - SPOILS AND ROTS ALL THINGS THE USER CONSIDERS FOOD - THIS CANON IS CONDITIONAL DAEMON: ATTEMPTING TO SPOIL SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE CONSUMED AS FOOD WILL BIRTH AN ANATHEMA OF RUIN TO SERVE AS THE MASTERS ANATHEMA; THE ANATHEMA CANNOT BE SLAIN AND MUST BE STARVED HEAVEN - RIMELOST DOMAIN: (ICE/NAVIGATION/ENDURANCE) DOMAIN OF (ICE) CANON: FROSTGAZE - THE MASTER OF THIS CANON CAN ENCASE ANY OBJECT IN SIGHT IN ICE; THE LARGER AND HOTTER AN OBJECT, THE MORE REND WILL BE GENERATED HUBRIS: TRYING TO FREEZE SILICON WILL TRIGGER THAUMIC BACKLASH (X10) DOMAIN OF (NAVIGATION) CANON: BREATHMARKED - MARK UP TO 122 BREATHING ENTITIES WITH A TRAILING CHILL THAT MAKES THEIR BREATH FOG THE AIR; EACH ENTITY LOCATION WILL BE KNOWN TO THE MASTER REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY ARE HUBRIS: IF THE ENTITY STOPS BREATHING FOR MORE THAN TEN MINUTES, THUAMIC BACKLASH WILL BE TRIGGERED DOMAIN OF (ENDURANCE) CANON: THE COLD UNBREAKING - ENSURES THAT ALL ICE REMAINS SOLID AND TEMPERATURE-FIXED FOR UP TO TWELVE DAYS AFTER MANIFESTATION; SOMEONE DELIBERATELY ALTERING THE SURROUNDING TEMPERATURE WILL INFLICT A PERSISTENT COST OF REND HUBRIS: IF SOMEONE SKATES ON SAID UNCHANGING ICE, THAMIC BACKLASH WILL BE TRIGGERED HELL - [SECOND CIRCLE] - RIMELOST DOMAIN: (NAVIGATION/ENTROPY) CANON: NORTH-LOST - ALL OBJECTS OR MATTER TOUCHED BY FROST WILL BE POSITIONALLY UNFATHOMABLE IN THE REAL CAUSING PATHS AND DIRECTIONS TO TWIST OUT OF ITS WAY DAEMON: SHOULD ANOTHER ENTITY TRANSPOSE THEMSELVES TO A LOST OBJECT REGARDLESS, BIRTH AN ANATHEMA OF CORRESPONDENCE WILL MANIFEST TO SERVE AS THE MASTERS ANATHEMA; THE ANATHEMA CANNOT BE SLAIN AND MUST BE STARVED HEAVEN - DATABANK DOMAIN: (SIGNALS/MATTER) DOMAIN OF (SIGNALS) CANON: SAVE AS - CAST OUT A BURST OF RADIO WAVES AT PHYSICAL ENTITIES WITHIN [ERRRORRRR1221309$@$] RADUU123123 HBUUJBRIS: 92[FCNNONANON IS IN EED OF REAPIRS] Oh, Kae winced, as she shrank away from Glitchs former Heaven. This one was definitely one of Omnitechs old mistakes. She sighed. There is a reasonCa very good reason! Why no one but the Agnos should be handling mythology? There is so much that can go wrong and get distorted. But does Omnitech, listen? No. And it cant be thaumaturgy to them. It has to be true technology. Dealing with them was a nightCahem. A pause of embarrassment came over the Agnos but Chambers hummed in rapid agreement. Whyd you stop? I like rants. I like hearing you rant. Its pretty much the only thing I actually get about this thaumagic shit. Thaumaturgy, Kae said. Its basically the creation of the impossible through stable self-referential subrealities made possible through Souls. Heavens are pretty like pillars of sorts. Each one connects to the real in some transformed facet as subreality and true reality overlap. Nice, Chamber said. Avo could feel the man nodding without truly grasping was Kae was saying. It wasnt that he was stupidCthough there were wanting aspects to his cognitionCbut more that he fixated on other details. So. Whats wrong with the Heaven of Signals? Usable? Of all his gains, this was the one he wanted to lose the least. However, it was genuinely broken in some way.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Its not ruptured, Kae said. The fact that its transmitting any data at all is pretty much a sign that its working perfectly. Well, as perfectly as Omnitech can do it. Honestly, the fact were getting anything understandable at all instead of a mess of numbers and symbols is a miracle. Most of their data runs on a strange system they call Casement-95. Dont ask why. The Agnos just clean up their messes as best we can, and I didnt specialize in pseudo-technologies. A shudder passed through the Agnos flames. One look at those classes and I ran, ran, ran! Give me interpretive mythology any dayCeven our voider-advisors cant fully figure out how their trinary network functions. Does it function? Chambers asked, pouring his attention on the error-ridden Heaven. Or is it just perfectly broken so all the shit is collapsing on each other and holding itself up. Everyone took a moment to digest Chambers words. We speakin from experience here? Draus deadpanned. Hey, if I can fuck myself up perfectly, why cant a guild? Thats a good point, Kae agreed. I wish it godsdammed wasnt, Draus muttered. Anyway, we have larger considerations than just the Heaven of Signals. Frankly, Avo, most of this is well, pretty bad. The canons themselves, the hubrises they can all be much better. So. I think we have a choice. Kae cleared her nonexistent throat to ready her pitch. We can distribute these Heavens among ourselves, or we can try doing something radical. Yeah, I like radical, Chambers said, his tone bare with enthusiasm. Kae giggled. I know, Im really excited too. Its the first time Ill be trying this. Were gonna die for good, Draus said. Trying to will your wish into existence? Avo asked. Just bein optimistic, rotlick. Kae clicked her tongue to chide Draus. Its not that bad. With the Stillborns capabilities, it wont even be that dangerous. I think. I think we can make our own Heavens. Avo, do you remember accessing the foundational mythos of your Heavens? How he has not forgotten, the Woundshaper interjected defensively. Though I fail to see what point there is to elevating these misshapen oddities to awareness. I say be done and away with them and dissolve them for components. Let the detritus flow toward more useful Heavens. Im never gonna get used to that, Draus said. Gods are supposed to be dead. And the ephemerals are supposed to serve as obedient death-stock. Alas, it is expectation that always proves to be the missing pillar in our grand design; all crumbles when weight falls where there is no support. No, youre not listeninC Kae began. Can I have a new canon, Chambers said. My Heavens not talking to me yet, and I really want to know what a phoenix sounds like. Come on, Avo, arent your curious? The bird looks screechy. Yeah thats what Im gonna call her. Screechy. Avo grunted. Chambers. Kaes talking. Right. Got it. Next time. The ultimate half-strand retreated into quietude, but Avo knew it was not to last. Regardless, the fact the man was willing to listen even here beyond the reach of mental or physical danger displayed just how much Chambers valued his position in the group. Back to you, Agnos lady. Thank you. Kaes appreciation was twofold. So, I think that we can use the Stillborn to fully formulate a new Heaven of our own making. Its very much theoretical, but I dont see why it cant be done. The main danger is rupturing the nascent Heaven and real-deathing Avo, of course, but aside from thatC Aside from that? Avo whispered incredulously. Hey, Avo, come on, the Agnos is talking, Chambers said, the tone of his voice betraying the grin that would have been on his face. A hiss of outrage escaped from Avo as he realized Chambers had turned his own chastisement against him in the span of seconds. Going to find aratnids andC Come the fuck on people, Kae snapped. Focus! Im trying to explain something important! Important! Let me finish talking before you all start doing something stupid. Avo considered telling Kae he liked her much better when she was mentally crippled, but the thought of her deliberately sabotaging his Frame made him relent. Sorry, sorry, Chambers said. Alright, Avo. Your turn. The ghoul muttered something and moved on. Chambers laughed. Fucker cant say sorry. Ahem. Kae. Continue ...Aside from that, we have other Souls, Kae said. Using one extra Soul, I think we can create a reliable incubator and testing grounds for new Heavens. So what we can do is break each of the current Heavens and Hells down to their foundational Domains and consider what we want to create. What might benefit us? What do we need? And using the Stillborn to make adjustments, we can avoid risking Avos precious existence in case the entire thing collapses in on itself and a big tear opens in the tapestry. Hm, Avo said. Much more palatable than dying. Still missing a lot of details. Beat by beat. Generalities clear. Process not so much. Need to demonstrate. And portion cyclers first. Give one to Chambers and Draus, Kae said. Keep one for the test Soul. What about you? Avo asked. I dont believe I will be seeing active combat soon, Kae replied. A beat followed as she felt the three other Souls gaze upon her. I mean to say, I hope I dont need to be involved in active combat, but my current Heaven should allow me an easy escape. The next one can go to me, maybe. What matters right now is generalized redundancies. In-field Godclads should get at least a few. Abrel had over three, Avo said. Unsurprising, but eventually ineffective without a sufficient Hell, Kae said. Another major consideration is how much someone else can deliberately paradox you. There are an uncountable number more golems than Godclads in this city, and it will only take a few to overload and rupture a Second Circle once they figure out your domain and start paradoxing you. And unless you hide your manifestation forever, your domains will eventually be obvious. Thankfully, we have the option to be flexible. And adaptable. A note of consideration passed through her as their shared resurrection pace climbed past sixty-six. We will need some way to hide our presence if the tests fail, though, Kae said. Ruptures arent quiet occurrences. It wont be hard to detect even from across the city with the right instruments. Have an idea, Avo said. One that Draus might like. Thisll be good, Draus said. Crucibles. We crash one. Draus held for a moment before speaking. This is good. Keep goin. We find an active one. With golems. We trigger malfunction in the Rendsinks as a distraction. Will that muddy the waters? For a time, Kae said. But a ruptured Souls output is continuous. And theres also the matter of domain symmetry More golems, Avo said. Bigger mess. Can draw volunteers for our test Soul from the Syndicates. I will make them docile first. Make them easy to use as we please. Now, everyone stopped to consider his words. Thats pretty disturbing, Avo, Kae said. Not sure whats the difference between that and typical sacrifices for Heaven. The difference Kae cleared her throat. Well, the Agnosi make a lot of preparations to make sure the sacrificesC Avo grinned. More ineffective then? He could feel Kae frowning at him. I swear, you were much easier to talk with back when my mind was still burning. She directed her words toward Draus. Was he always like this? A half-strand? Nah. He was worse. Oh, Kae said. Well, I guess being mentally damaged has its perks. Chambers laughed. Avo, himself, found himself surprisingly at ease. For all the mockery entailed, they didnt hate him for what he was. Perhaps this was a flavor as wellCbeing consangs with people. Such a novelty was an acquired taste. Yeah, Draus said. I think that might be a good play. Itll be practice, lootin, and good openin to test this new Heaven-making possibility of ours. Graft us first though. Give me the Ice and Chambers the cookin. Thatll do it. What? Chambers whined. I wanted the Ice. I already have the fire. Youll be takin the cookin, Draus insisted. Chambers remained undeterred. Avo. Consang. Draus thinks she can decide who you give your Heavens to. Its like she thinks she owns you or something You snake-fuck, Draus snorted. Are are they always like this too, Kae said, now asking Avo. No. Theyre getting worse. Oh. Thats nice. I can set your mind on fire again. Make you forget everything. Might make the world bright again. ...Fuck you, Avo. And so they were all getting worse together. 15-7 Bonding (II): This Time With Murder +Holy shit what the hells happened here+ -Exorcist coming upon the remains of the Three-Fingers Syndicate 15-7 Bonding (II): This Time With Murder Chambers hated being a Necrojack. Dont get it wrong, being able to pierce into minds using his newly imbued skills was nova at first and certain to be useful in a pinch, but drinking all those secondhand emotions in? Taking in all those memories and seeing someone elses innermost moments? That fucked him up something bad. Peel away from all the sexy little edits the Syndicates make for a vicarity and mantle yourself to another consciousness in their day-to-day, and the humanity settles on you like sediment on bedrock. You feel the weight. You feel all the parts where theyre like you and some of the ways theyre not. But they become real. So real. An unwanted intimacy infests and suddenly he was catching second thoughts about what he was about to inflict on them. He reminded himself that they were members of a rival Syndicate, then chided himself for thinking himself as part of a criminal organization still. This current massacre was gonna be done legit noble! They would free the survivors all proper. He, and the Agnos, and the Reg, and the ghoul together doing the right thing. Or something like it. Swallowing back another spasm of bile rising up from his throat, Chambers fought the swirling disgust in the back his mind back down to stillness as he drew on the memories and experiences Avo stitched into him. He was too deep to turn back now. And more, he didnt want to humiliate himself before his patron and new consangs C he needed to keep showing his worth so they wouldnt just kill him and take his Frame. He needed to stay usefu lC stay interesting. Fastened to a blood-molded jack-station in the back of a stolen trash barge, the ex-enforcer found himself delving into the tides of the Deep Nether looking for an easy target to hit before the day went full swing. With Naeko clenching off the borders, the flow of immigration choked and funneled. Such would be the case until the Moot was formally concluded and the Guilds managed to reach an accord, but during this time, the Syndicates would play to their backlogs. The big ones would proceed as normal, while the lesser orgs responded with novelty or bankruptcy under the cold glare of the snuff market. Thanks to his experience in the industry, though, it took him little effort to find the target he was searching for. The Three-Fingers was a criminal enterprise that came to be under Sanctus. They operated a Sovereignty away from Mazzas Junction, but so great was their influence in entertainment that even Mirrorhead knew to avoid broadcasting during certain days of the week. Of Ursday, Thulsday, Thennsday, Unday, Velhalt, Stalrest, Nulrise, only Nulrise, Ursday, and Thulsday were imp-days for Conflux because to go loud on any other in the local areas was to court the wrath of the Three-Fingers. Something Mirrorhead already couldnt afford considering his ongoing tensions with the Scalpers in Nu-Scarrowbur and Hundred-Eighters in Xin Yunsha. Now though, things were different. Now, they had a perfect opportunity to slit the throats of a major snuff producer and stretch their Clad legs out while they did it. So long as Chambers could finish crawling through the most inward of his current victims memories. The Necro he had sank his ghosts in was called Kennadin Svuavu. She had a cluster of scorpion stingers in place of hair growing from her scalp and she wore the tails in the fashion of a ponytail. This Crucible Necro thing was a gig to her at best because her true desire lay in direct participation, and she was mostly doing this to get herself familiar while making enough imps for the proper augs. Fame and power were cravings to her much in the same way water was a need, but between the overwhelming pangs of want, he glimpsed deeper and beheld the ugliness of her humanity. Her past flowed through him like an unceasing string of events. He was swimming against the rivers of her past, and he saw all the moments her grandmother flung her against the wall during her rages, of how she called Kennadin a mongrel of stained blood, or the way she would take turns beating Kennadin and her father in front of each other while making them choose which parts were to be maimed on the other when the candle of cruelty was truly lit within her. Fans of the Crucibles knew her grandmother by another name Stanza the Garrota for the bloodstained club she used to pulp skulls. The old woman was freelance now, but she worked with the Three-Fingers quite often to see her needs sated. Kennadin told no one, but her grandmother was ninety percent of the reason she joined up in the first place. She didnt really care much about hurting people or making imps unto themselves. She just wanted to collapse her grandmothers world before killing the woman personally and intimately like the old woman did her father during that final drunken rage. Existence flashed in a burst of expanding trauma and Chambers yelped. COG-CAP: 33% HOST AWARENESS: 8% Instinct took hold thereafter C barely in time for him to hide as an artifact in her memories. Thankfully for him, Kennadin wasnt one for reliving old wounds and her look inward came only as a brief glance. Chambers, stop fuckin around and cut the damn connection. We dont get all mornin. Draus'' voice came as a murmur through the real and he tasted her dry annoyance staining the air. They had been circling the stretch of the Crucible and tailing Three-Finger drones as easy jackpoints. Airspace was crowded with spectators trickling in like diamonds flaring into existence, but being fused within Avos Incog-channeling shroud of haemokinetic architecture, stray glances were parried from notice. Again, Avo mightve given him years of skill, but there was an attitudeCan unspoken mindset that all the best Necros could channel he just lacked. He knew how to be cold. Just look away and pretend it''s not there. Or think of something else. Being a Necro didnt leave you that option. Everything was in your face all the time always. You couldnt turn away because you needed to sequence the bullshit memories all that crap and all the emotions would leak and blend and his wards would rattle and shake Mustering himself, he directed his efforts into overcoming the final threshold in Kennadins mind separating him from cutting the Crucibles stream. Much as Avo would delight in burning all those spectators, he yearned to keep his Conflagration a hidden edge.The ghoul was filled with regret at what could have been a delicious genocide being downgraded to a tasteful massacre. As if Chambers didnt need more reasons to be scared pissless of the fucking rotlick. Digging his way through another wall filled with long stretches of boredom punctuated by child abuse that made him think of his father, he finally accessed the ghosts she had connected to the lobby itself and prepared to change her mind from within. With just one thought, one command, she would end the stream and eject all the viewers, leaving the Crucible halfway finished.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Afterward, Chambers would proceed to the next part of their operation: activating Avos session and unleashing the flame. And killing Kennadin. He hesitated. Shit, Chambers muttered to himself. Distantly, he could feel himself sweating, his muscles tightening as anxiety took him. Why was this getting so hard? He snuffed people before, right? Shot them in their stupid faces with his guns and watched skulls pop like squeezed graps. Rode in bodies that were tortured and flayed alive by Slaughterman and the others. He knew New Vultun. He knew how nasty this city could be and how this went. So why was pulling the trigger so hard He swallowed. He thought. He acted. Projecting his thoughts through the same ghosts he used to conclude the Nether stream, Chambers offered the only consolation he could to the one he was about to see murdered and a sour discomfort left him with the spoken sentiment. +Listen, its not fairCwe dont always get a shake, but Ill get the sow for you! Ill snuff your grandma! Shell get hers!+ And before Kennadins surprise could settle, he ejected the ghosts holding Avos session and jacked out. Dim, pulsing phantoms projecting a three-dimensional grid simulated air traffic directly upward from his sight. To his right, however, stood the benefactor behind his new capabilities, and Avos widening glee made itself known in rows made up of dagger-like teeth. How was it, the ghoul asked, breath bated with anticipation. The living flames that crowned its vessel cast the interior of the vehicle in a haunted shimmer, and between the flickers, Chambers thought he could see flashes and instants of Avos countable victims staring out from within the blaze. A version of Chambers himself stood amongst their number, but soon, they would be joined by countless more Syndicate types. Countless more thrown to the flames. The Necros he skipped across. Kennadin. Chambers gagged as he tore himself away from thinking about what he just did. I I did it. He croaked, trying to hide the encroach of his panic behind a facade of triumph. The stream should be cut and theC He threw the bile back down his throat and breathed in through his nose. --This is our Crucible now. Should have locked all the Necros out earlier too. Good, Avos Echoheads snapped down to stabilize him as the aero banked leftward. Many flaws. Too much hesitation. Too much empathy. Too much internal struggle. Youre wonderful. I, uh, yeah, your ol consang Chambers is pretty nova now, huh. He shot a disturbed glance at the only other normal person in the aero and found his expression shared by the Agnos. But I couldve never done this without you. Literally. I would have never done such a poor job with your skills, Avo answered. The words felt like a jab in the gut, and Chambers felt a spike of anger thrust through him. He basically just sighed the death warrant of Wait, what was Kennadin to him? Why did he even give a shit about her, she was overseeing the butchery of random flats. I left your humanity unchanged for a reason, Avo continued. Wanted to see how skill but not aptitude would mix. The ghoul lifted his head and gave a rasping chuckle to the ceiling. Poorly. Youre wonderful. He patted Chambers lightly on the shoulders. Continue being yourself if you wish. The ex-enforcer felt his right eye twitch as whiplash took him in every direction. The rotlick was getting harder to comprehend by the day. *** Chambers turmoil from the dive was obvious to Avo. Obvious, and extremely interesting. He committed a deliberate act in leaving the man with new knowledge but minimal changes to his foundational personality. It would leave him unoptimized as a Necro, certainly, but what it revealed about humanity was worth delve into further later. For now, there was killing to be done. Raiding the Three-Fingers Crucible was among the few rare purely good suggestions provided by Chambers. Todays program took place along a single street in the Warrens. From five hundred flats were the volunteers drafted, and unlike the cat-and-mouse style game Avo experienced during his ascent, the survivors here were all deposited into an abandoned two-story Exorcist station and made to conduct a last stand while waves of other refugees mixed in with Syndicate specialists conducted brutal frontal assaults. The title of the entire affair was State of Seige and watching the disorganized defenders stack furniture to serve as blockades where plascrete walls had fallen told him all he needed to know about their chances. There were two thousand lives the Three-Fingers could waste on them, and though no one was granted anything heavier than a primitive slug-caster to ensure the atmosphere remained desperate and intimate, all it would take was for one auged-up butcher to slip through the walls and all would be done. Or would have been done. Casting his cognition through the session Chambers dropped for him, he devoured all his fire touched but expanded only to a limited scope. All at once, the minds of the Syndicate Necros and jocks flashed and vanished within the vastness of a searing leviathan. One hundred and twenty-two were, then werent. Beyond them stood just a bit over two thousand disposable assets now left without orders on the field. Waiting for their deaths. As Avo retracted his presence from hollowed minds, he took care to obliterate the bodies as well, and in the stretch of seconds he felt his Frame brighten with a drip of thaums. He recalled fighting Rantula and the Scalpers then, and noted the immense chasm in his growing powers in the nearness of a month. If he had already changed so much now, what would he be like in another month? A year? Who would he become by the time the Ladder was due for its return? Another fragment of information passed through his awareness, and he found himself faintly bemused at the promise Chambers granted to the head Necro of the operation. Ah. Humanity. How expansive it was. How faceted. Chambers barely cared about the flats, but here he was battling against a personal meltdown when faced with the fullness of another ego poured into him. It seemed of all the choices the ex-enforcer was capable of, the ability to choose against caring wasnt one of them. Patting Chambers on the shoulder with an Echohead, Avo walked next to Draus and stared beyond the frontal windshields. Its done. Necros down. Did you null any of the spectators this time? the Regular asked. Was tempted too. Didnt. Need to keep my mind a secret from the Tiers for as long as I can. Too many prying eyes. Keep things contained. She eyed him with suspicion before her features softened into flatness. Looks like all that burin cooked some sense into you. Other minds remind me of what you say sometimes. She fixed him with a peculiar stare as she sent landing coordinates atop a build across from the defenders station. They do that a lot? Only when Im considering something foolish, Avo said. He pointed an Echohead at Chambers. He wont be a good Necro. Cast an apology to the last Necro he was inside. Felt bad for her. Him? Draus said, glancing at Chambers who was now sitting up and rubbing at his head with a distant look behind his eyes. Easier when you dont need to dive that deep, Avo said. Cursed to experience life as another. And that dont work on you and the other cruel shits, huh? she said. Avo leaned in. We do the same thing. Dive through the same memories. But there is something missing. Humanity? Draus asked. Yes. But wrong part. Significance. Being a person means something to him. Pain means something. To live a certain way means something. I think I am more elemental still. Purer in want. Think you might be the same way. Reckon I might be a simple gal at times, Draus agreed. A leakage of thoughts escaped her accretion, and he followed it to the stash of guns she took from what was left of the demiplanes armory. The entire place had nearly been emptied out from the last residents, and Denton hadnt had the chance to call for a restock yet. Seeing that Draus was now a Godclad though, Avo didnt fully see the need for mundane weapons. He could have molded practically any gun in existence for her and it wouldnt make a real difference. What they were about to indulge in was a practice run of their Heavens, Hells, and canons. An easy trial run for them as a cadre. The Three-Fingers were effectively gelded for the Crucible. Their Necros were gone and their jocks as well, but the twelve disabled patrolling golems would probably soon be commandeered by in-field enforcers. Thus was the reason why Avo spared the muscle immediate burning. They needed adequate targets to practice against, after all; cutting their teeth on ephemerals alone just wouldnt do. 15-8 Bonding (III): The Will in the Flame I dont know what happened to them. I dont know. They just started killing themselves. Killing each other. They did these terrible things and the laughing... They they started taking their blades to their own flesh and oh, godsCthey started eating themselves! And the corpses of their dead comrades! ICI dontC I dont know why. It just happened. It was like they were compelled or controlled. Or forced by a will greater than their own. -[Redacted]. FATELESS recovered from Three-Finger Crucible Designation: [Redacted] 15-8 Bonding (III): The Will in the Flame The killing began without the surviving Three-Fingers ever even knowing. Their aero settled in the crook of a partially hollowed apartment stack, then Avo spread his reach wide and wove a cocoon into shape. His blood was metal, biology, glass, and a hundred more things between, and where his Heaven grew, perception slipped away, festering like a counter-cognitive tumor that refused to abide within the realm of notice. Leaving but a single mote of flame tethered to his physical sheathe, he rode the rails of his growing ontology as fibrous blood-made tendrils began to spread outward, crawling as both limbs and eyes. His awareness of his surroundings blossomed breathing crimson spores outward for miles. The gutters around him came into shape like a sandcastle rising atop his palm. He could feel every structure that stood and all those that lay toppled. All that moved was known to his senses as the winds whispered their betrayal, and his reaching gore-made vines expanded into a vast nest to encircle the perimeter of the Crucible itself. Seconds thereafter, thin, haemokinetic hairs rose into the sky in branches of ever-multiplying strings, and between each closing intersection spread a thin pane of red. Behind the growth came the flame, and within the flame blossomed a living contagion of thought. His Heaven was to swallow the space of a small block, and his Incog would spare him from unwanted attention. More, though, Avo was a city unto himself. A singularity of matter and miracle fueled by minds many and memories multitude. The better way of understanding his position was to see himself as the coating settled upon the Crucible. Where pipes and bridges extended in a triangular circuit between three clusters of short buildings flanking the abandoned Exorcist station, he regarded the encroaching battle lines between attacker and defender. Crude trenches furrowed the plascrete as rows of FATELESS fired at their unfortunate fellows in the buildings while the Syndicate types jeered and shot at them from behind. Implanted with mind-triggered explosives and motivated by random executions, waves of refugees ground against the defenses of the block and died in disorganized clumps. From the lobby he was digesting, Avo knew this to be the first part of the program. The siege was meant to simulate war, and all a force of poorly trained, low-morale, and barely equipped flats could manage when thrown against a defensive hardpoint manned by equal but protected opposition was die. Of course, the Three-Fingers also decided to leave the children of the stations defenders inside with them so they wouldnt be so motivated to abandon the ceremony via the ever-reliable method of suicide. All in all, the first phase was meant to be a failureCa setback to arouse hope or tension before the enforcers themselves were committed in force, and if by some miracle the defenders endured still, the golems. It was a pretty straightforward program, all things considered. Decent viewership before Chambers cut the streamCeighty million watchers and spiking. Just a shame they would never get to see what Avo and his cadre had planned. Godclad vicarities were usually worth a small fortunate in of themselves. Vicarities of Godclads in combat? Perhaps the stratosphere was where the benefits began. I got eyes on the golems, Draus said as phantoms danced over her eyes, populating her sight with makers and icons. Three knots. Twelve golems. Each at the heart of that complex of buildings theyre usin as mock headquarters. With a thought, another shard of glass passed over her eyes and her perception poured through the gleam across a bifurcated point in space. You cookin the jocks fried the damn drones as well. They all toppled out the air when you did what you did. He scried what she described and found her words apt. Pyramid-shaped las-drones littered the cracked plascrete by the hundreds and within them were but vacant loci boiled clean of ghosts and sequences. It wouldnt take any effort to cast his mind into them and wield them as extensions of himself, but he saw little point and only trouble in conducting such an action. We have a clean shot at the golems, Avo said. Can hit them directly. Overwhelm them. We could, but I think not, Draus said. We snuff one. Second we ambush but let them run a little. See how they do. Third we fight straight up. Thatll make for good drillin. We gotta get used to different circumstances. Stress test our little cadre. The way her glance flicked over to Chambers and Kae told Avo much. Ill be fine, Kae said, pouting slightly. I know how Heavens work. Draus pressed her lips together and glared at the Agnos in the dark. Thats just a part of it. What you dont know is war, and what were about to do is enact evil on evilCwere gonna funnel hurt and wrong on these half-strands who had it coming, but that dont change the hurt and wrong were about to do. Specially the ghoul here. Thats the shit you gotta get synced with. Kae opened her lips, but Draus spoke over her. Dont. Anything you say now is spittin wind. You wanna show me, show me by performin. Aint no protected Agnos no more, so show me your teeth and Ill see how I can set em. Abrel groaned in the back of Avos mind. [Jaus, she talks like a literal Regular recruitment ad. No wonder mom decided to get a bunch of her kind killedCtheyre unbearable.] Rolling her neck, Draus pushed past the still-shaken Chambers and cast a ghost into her weapon stash. The plasteel doors of the locker retracted, and she began withdrawing inventory. Seein as were Clads and all that good shit, I decided to forgo the necessary armor arrangements this time. Next time, were deployin with exos or skinsCand you all is gonna get used to doin it. Can we just resurrect, Chambers muttered, eyes still drifting as he slowly worked toward mastering himself. She chucked a rifle at himCa GMR-88 Chemgauss Multi-Range Rifle PlatformCand he caught it with a single hand in a surprising display of competence. Sometimes, Avo forgot Chambers was an enforcer. [You know, the longer I hear what you think of me, the more I feel like shit,] template-Chambers grumbled. [Catching guns is like half of being an enforcer. You drop it, everyone beats your ass after. Youd be the piss-carrier of the squad, and I dont like piss, you synced?] Draus continued distributing parts to a whole kit. Youre each gettin one Woundhound injectable, one rifle, one multi-breather, one neuter maskCI know it looks like a piece of jade, just tuck it under your tongue or somethin-- Chambers lifted his hand. You swallowed it, Draus deadpanned. The half-strand nodded. Draus just kept going without a hint of a care. one seeker grenade. We will be practicing with these here implements after the golems are dealt with to ensure our aptitudes are holistic. She handed the remaining pieces to Chambers before tossing a gun at Avo. He caught it with his Sanguinity and devoured the contents within its locus. With all his infused memories, he could literally reassemble the gun with a single hand, let alone load it. Still, he remained silent and let Draus direct things.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. It would be useful to glean what he could from her mastery and measure if there was a substantive difference between all the memories he absorbed and her life-long practice of war. Kae had her items handed over instead of chucked, and Draus was wise to do so. The gun itself was almost too heavy for the former Agnos to bear, and a grimace of effort consumed her expression. We have husks of divinity inside us. We can alter reality. Is this really necessary? The response came in an instant. Draus blurred. Kae flinched. The tip of the Regulars scythe-wing was tucked under the smaller womans chin. See this, Draus said, casually sliding Kae along the edge of her bio-rigs appendage and slicing a thin gash across flesh. This aint no Heaven. This is just surprise and good ol violence. You got power but no fundamentals. We gotta build you up and get you used to fightin and dyin if this is the life you want. Aint no other way about it. She folded her wing back with a flick and Kae clutched at her throat with a frown. You couldve just said yes. Impressions matter, Draus replied. She shrugged. Couldve been meaner. Hells, if it was Chambers askin'' the question, I would have gutted him to make my thoughts known. Totally," Chambers said, nodding. She already did it a bunch of times too, so youre getting the nice end of things. A deep breath ran up through Kaes nose. What even is my life now. War, Draus said. Fucking awesome, Chambers added. Wasting time, Avo grunted, impatient to begin things. Casting his mind out again, he watched as Three-Finger ghosts sailed out through the Nether blindly, searching for a lobby and minds that were no longer there. Have golems to break. Have lives to collect. New Heavens to make. Right! New Heavens! Lets take a look at the golems! Maybe theres a special model that you can remake here! And just like that, the excitement was upon Kae again. Maybe she was going to acclimate just fine after all. *** They didnt approach the first Knot using stealth or on foot. Instead, Draus created a passage using a piece of glass ebbed in the dirt, and with a flex of her hand, expanded the mirror shard she was spying through earlier. The initial assault was to be conducted by Chambers and Kae through the manifestation of their Heavens while Draus and Avo held back. Truth be spoken, Avo thought he could have liquefied all targets with a thought using the spread of his Sanguinity, but doing so would deprive his companions of valuable experience. There was something to be said about learning to achieve something on your own. Still, if their performances remained inadequate and they asked for a more direct means of improvement, there was nothing that prevented him from obliging. The four golems parked across from them were made up of three Sangeists and what looked to be a tail-knotted cluster of eight gargantuan snakes that each symbolized a particular direction. His templates whispered to him, calling it a Snake-King, and its main capability was anchoring all objects around it in a fixed referential point in space. Movement was still possible, but your distance from the snake would never change once it spotted you. A useful Heaven for locking down targets, Avo supposed. Just a shame it couldnt save its pilot from being burned alive inside by Chambers. While Kae hesitated for a moment, Chambers launched himself out through the reflective portal rifle roaring, traumas lashing. He lacked both Draus cold precision and instinct. Each mind he shattered made him flinch just the same as the first, but in seconds he hit his stride. As the air combusted around him, swarms of insects began to flash over into reality, and from a column of rising fire emerged the crucified phoenix that was the Lushburner. Tearing the heat from exo-rig reactors to fuel his propagation, Chambers compelled the air around him to ignite. Fireworks of combustion sparked, and so too did tons of aratnids and bees come flooding forth. Bodies were caked within armor as a constant supply of bugs manifested where there was space to fill, and more than a few tumbled as bioforms began to grow within the confines of their biology. +Lick my holes!+ Chambers roared, cackling manically as traumas were switched over with moments from the Soft Master collection. +Eat my shits!+ As his warpath grew, the sloppily arranged encampment of enforcers and pilots was drowned by a landside of lifeforms birthed from anomalous occurrences of flame. Kae followed forth without firing her gun at all, instead weaving herself into streams of fluid using the sweat from her pores and funneling into the dormant golems one after another. Well, at least shes got instincts, Draus said, shouldering her gun and watching as the first stray bursts of return fire struck Chambers. Aint gonna need to show Chambers any fundamentals, but hes not much a thinker. He just kinda does things. Peeking at the situation using his Crucible encompassing vines, Avo watched as Specters from the other camps were already scrambling to raise the alarms. They were going to get that head-on fight Draus called for soon, it seemed. With a wave of her hand, Draus summoned another shard of glass from the inside of the aero and leveled the barrel of her rifle directly at it. As a flash shone across the glass and a new passage opened, the Regular began to fire. It took Avo a moment to ascertain what she was shooting at, but as he drew his gaze back, he traced stray lanes of gauss fire using his Phys-Sim and found snipers toppling from their perches with gore spilling from their shorn skulls. As she began to squeeze the trigger over and over again, she turned a irksome glare onto Avo and shook her head. Look at this shit. And people like bein a Clad? Too easy? Its not even real, she said. Like crushin insects. Theres no way to get our skin in this kinda of game unlesss we actively lookin to die. This feeling? Thats your fault. Ah. Back to this topic again. He was wondering if the allure of power had swallowed her completely, or if there was still a portion of her stubbornness holding out. Want me to reclaim the Frame? Avo asked. He didnt want to hear her answer for fear of her actually saying no, but her response came as a cutting scoff and he felt his worries dissipate. Nah. I like it. I like it a lot. And thats your fault too: You got me addicted to bigger game. You got me into a better class of warCwar that I thought I was done with. She jabbed him in the chest lightly with a finger. I couldve had it easy. I couldve just died fightin the trash and none of this would be my problem no more. An explosion of fire followed by a deafening hum of insects accompanied the splashing of rushing waters. Screams of horror and confusion rose through the ranks of the Three-Fingers while the outer perimeter made up of FATELESS vanguards and actual meatshields broke and scattered. Why do you want to die? Avo asked. Part of him thought it was time to ask. The rest was assured that templates could help him navigate difficult conversations he didnt have the patience nor want to chance in the past. I dont, Draus said, switching to her launcher and firing a micro rocket between her shots. But I have to. Its what Regs do in the end. We die fightin. She considered her response and let out a casual breath. Its just a incompleteness, I guess. Lots of mine went out right and bloody good in the end durin the war. Their lives were wasted but hey, its the moment that counts. I was just huntin for mine in these here gutters. And you wanted these vermin to have the glory of your death? Avo asked. Yeah, but youre lookin at it the wrong way. Draus licked her lips. ThisCall thisCis about meanin, right? Meaning? What does reality mean; what does history. The shit the Guilds are fightin for and all that. Yes. Meaning. Remember you askin me if I felt real? Well, I dont think theres anything realer than fightin your own kind without the touch of any god and just dyin for good when the time came. No honor. No glory. Just a good dog-gone war fought to the bloody end for somethin that mattered. It dont need to change the city or alter Idheim. It just had to be a real end for a real fight. How about now, Avo said. Do you hate me? For ruining your real fight? She lowered and gun and turned to face him in full just as a wall of flame enshadowed the faint grin on her face. Nah. You just woke up old appetites again. Ones I thought dead and done. Figured I was finished with the Tiers and done with the Guilds. Figured my race was run. The shard floated next to her head. Guess I figured wrong. She chuckled grimly. I wish old mother Greatling was still alive to see what I have have now. That wouldve been a fight and a half. Still have his father. Brother. He was about to mention Abrel, but she was more his thrall than anything else. Yeah, we do have that, dont we? A beat of silence followed and Draus enclosed the helmet of her bio-rig. Hey, you, uh, fancy a little game? She deviated deliberately, but he didnt press. Instead, he followed, and felt his interest piqued. What kind? Big game, Draus said. Like the way we was when this started. She cocked her head at Kae and Chambers warpath. Let em stretch their legs. Whats say you and I see if we can do one better than our run against vicious? Avo answered with a slow grin. Why not? Be good practice. 15-9 Bonding IV: First Massacre I dont remember the first person I killed. Or the second. Or, well, most of them really. Look, I snuff lots of people and Im old, so you cant blame me. The ultimate point to this conversation remains the same, however: somewhere, sometime, some unlucky fuckers gonna get it at your hands, and theyre going to be the ones that do it to you. Oh, shit. That person was alive. That person had a life. I have a life. Oh, Jaus. Oh, gods. Yeah, all you nova-hot snuffers with ice in your veins can laugh it up. You dont feel emotions when you have to kill, right? Nothing affects you, right? Wrong. Bullshit. I wasnt shaken for shit when my youngest got done beside me during a run, so my competition for the stone-cold sow awards is in the low thousands at best. But its not the big dramatic moments that fuck you up while fighting. Its the little things. A little detail or a crack that slips through all that scar tissue you got layered over your psyche and into the soft, quivering meat on the inside. Let me tell you about a guy I do remember killing: a managerial type for a defunct Omnitech under-corp we dont talk about. Real soft meat. Cornered the poor half-strand on the shitter and plugged him twice with an organic neuro-tox pick I had planted beneath my nail. Man did the guy shit himself hard after that. Mustve cleared up whatever congestion he had with that Sang nerve agent, but while he was doing leg-spasms, something strange happened to me. I found myself feeling bad. Real bad. My hands started shaking. I had my tear ducts wired away at the time so I probably couldnt have cried if I wanted to, but there I was having a panic attack across from a dying man shitting the last and hardest shit of his life. The whole thing was just ridiculous. I saw myself where he wasCwondered how I would take just getting killed when I thought I was safe and something inside me just couldnt handle it. My wards rattled then. Shook me out of that mess and I pulled a runner before anyone else came. I still remember the way his eyes rolled, and how he blinked. Confusion at first and terror all the way at the end. The terror didnt go away either. It lingered until everything just stopped. Theres a crack inside all of us is what Im saying, and if you keep living this life, youll find it someday. Well. Most of you. The honest truth is that only ghouls, Regs, and the mentally warped can keep killing forever without suffering a price, but honestly, we can call anyone in these three categories people? -Quail Tavers, The School of the Warrens 15-9 Bonding IV: First Massacre +I didnt expect her to just burst,+ Kae cried as she surged out from the mangled husk of twisted metal that once stood a Sangeist. She felt the immensity of her weight most of all as she flowed through the world. Water was hers to shape and commanda fluid wall rising high to drink in lancing flechettes and stinging beams. The Aegis of Tides was a Heaven long popular among the lowest of Highflames Godclads, and Kae thought herself totally versed in its canons and hubrises. Practice, however, revealed the depths of her inconsideration. For too long had she considered her new abilities in the confines of a white room, delving into what she could do in the broadest of circumstances while ignorant to the minutiae. Small things like funneling oneself into a person and then rapidly expanding thereafter. The mutilated pulp of her victim oozed still within, making Kaes spirit quiver, and she found herself desperately yearning for a shower despite being water incarnate. A missile streaked out down from atop one of the slanting structures beside her, loosed from with a sparking flash from a linear-acceleration launcher. It splashed into her form like a comet, plunging deep but striking at nothing. Her canon activated. Fluid swirled and unraveled the projectile. Flicking droplets back toward a mob of disorganized Three-Fingers, the flecks reached out and formed glinting streams that stitched the missile back into existence. Strands of viscera clung in clumps to the payload as well. Kae mentally gagged as she worked to funnel more of the organic detritus out from inside her. +I know, pretty sick right?+ Chambers said. The echo of his thoughts intruded into her overwhelmed mind. Excitement rode from his every word in contrast to her horror, and as she swatted crowds of fleeing enforcers with her tidal wavesCcausing herself further distress as their little bodies tore open like wet sacks of flesh graced by the weight of a falling hammer. A brightness crowned the space above her while a piercing shriek forced reality to shiver. The Lushburner greeted the battlefield as a streak of fire and flora. Arcs of rising flame tore through fading silhouettes like spreading roots, and from the inferno erupted sky-coating swarms of buzzing bodies. Larger aero-sized bioforms splattered through fleeing figures like artillery while their diminutive counterparts buried their victims from sheer mass alone. The plaza where the Three Fingers held was now choked with fire, flesh, and roaring tides. Beside her, Lushburners crucified visage bled dolloping tumors out made from hives of flesh-woven people seeking a final escape. COG-CAP: 22% Kae staggered and directed her perception elsewhere. Though she herself was a Godclad, her acclimation had not yet set in. Gazing upon a naked Heaven so brazenly still reaped considerable cost. A spear of discomfort lodged itself through her being. Her focus split. Her Frame, confused by the input of her mind, flickered as the subreality manifested and deloaded, causing her physical form to shutter across existence with a rushing tsunami. Kaes mind spun. Her cog-feed screamed with threats and icons and warnings and a metal fragment sliced both her cheeks open and the pain made her screamC She inhaled. Water flooded her lungs and panic consumed her mind. Instinct took hold and she manifested her Heaven anew. She felt the losing tide condense back into the shape of a fortress. Thought lost its grip on her and she plunged through the mob in a mindless charge. Pop. Crack. Pop. Such was the percussive repetition that formed the background to Chambers crackling assembly as he laughed and jeered and hurled slurs at his foes. The world was spinning. She felt herself wash over another two half-liquefied effigies of bone and metal and wondered where the other golems had gone. Gunfire prickled her skin in random increments but she paid the sensation no heed. Too busy was her mind drifting, watching the slaughter unfold as if a third party to her own body. Pop. Crack. Pop. They didnt scream when they came apart against her. Not physically, anyhow. The way their death would tremor through the entirety of her ontology made her cringe. Again, she looked upon flame-spawned bugs she found herself comrades with, and an intrusive envy took hold. They had the decency to crack once and die. Humans rattled and twitched and jerked even past the very end.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Her perspective reeled out further as everything became like colors to her, dappled and blurry, shades and hues +Kae? Kae? In you in there?+ Chambers voice suddenly boomed in her skull again. Everything snapped back and recentered, perception and sound jolting back into her own being as the discord shattered her focus anew. She pawed at the path ahead but found herself alternating between Heaven and person. The tides parted as she pried at the world, but between the instants she found herself tumbling out from the separating waves as she slammed and slid upon a carpet of sloughed gore. The world blurred around her for but a moment before she struck what felt to be a dense post with her shoulder. A final pop snatched her drifting mind from dissociation, and Kae choked as feeling vanished from her right arm. The thud of a heavy boot landed next to her as she opened her eyes to see an armored enforcer toppling toward her. Motes of ebbing crimson cascaded through reality. What should have been a ton of alloy and person spilled over her in a wash of warm blood. +Holy shit, hes been keeping all the good canons for himself. Look at that.+ Chambers'' chuckle of glee willed her to tilt her gaze toward the sides, and she found herself beholding evaporating mists of rising red and distant detonations folding in around the corner. The courtyard was a triangular space with five or so buildings, but the gaps in between left the streets and skyrises visible. Pipes and bridges ran everywhere, and along an extended Hypertube tunnel flashed reflections of a distant engagement. Ghosts sailed through the Nether from Chambers and requested her Meta to grant access. Staggering awkwardly to her feet, she found herself regarding the massacre that just took placeCthat she just took part in with numbness. Her right arm swung like a pendulum and with each shift of her bodyweight her collarbones snapped loud and deep. No pain followed, just a cold absence. Somehow, that just made her feel worse. As a thin film of blood settled atop the waters she controlled, a half-crushed helmet drifted by filled with chittering wasp-like creatures and strange skin-tag looking organisms meshed between enamel, bone, and pinkish meat. Her stomach groaned. The smell hit her as coppery sweetness mingled with the stench of death while winds brought her faint whiffs of lobster? Noises escaped her person. She volunteered for this. It was her decision to be a Godclad. While Avo was absent, she dove into vicarities to prime her mind and test her spirit. She experienced moments from both spectrums, and dream in the flesh of slayer and slain. Here and now, though? None of this felt real. All the lives she and Chambers just took with their Heavens alone the way the innards clung to her waters She could still remember it. Feel it stuck inside her like a hair on her tongue or a string she just couldnt pull out from inside herself. An great heat sank down upon her for a moment before it suddenly vanished. Darkness swallowed her surroundings, and heavy footsteps squelched across the sodden death-caked ground. As Chambers strode up to her, she could offer but a blank stare to his broad smirk. He noted her discomfort with a laugh. First massacre? He asked. She looked by to the strips and sinews leftover from all the hundreds that had once been alive just moments prior. Thunderous impacts shook the waters at her feet and wails of horror and fear whispered through the Nether from afar. First time I killed anyone, I think, Kae said, spitting the words out as fast as she could. They popped a lot. So much. I didnt think about how the bones would feel under all that waterCwhy didnt I think of that? I could have prepared betterC Whoa, whoa, whoa, Chambers said, holding up his hands and redirecting her attention. Stop right there. What were doing here is some fucked up shit. I doubt theres a vicarity in this city that would get you really ready for this. Then, he pressed his lips together and his eyes swiveled to the accompaniment of a hum. Well, maybe Steelhards Heaven of Hard Fucks special, but that was a wet mess in a different way. Ahem. Anyway, he just just gotta let those icks run through you, you know? Kae blinked. Icks. Yeah. Everyone has em and you can have a Necro wire them away, but there will always be another thing to make you all grossed about killing. Just the way it goes. He looked around and the ground beneath him answered his feet in squicks and splashes. Did pretty good if I do say so. We basically mauled a knot. A broad smile spread across his face as his eyes glinted with eye. Fuck yeah. Two against hundreds and the hundreds got shit on. Tell me that isnt awesome. His exciting wasnt contagious. Kae touched her disabled arm and felt a spreading emptinessness deep inside her chest. Im still stuck on the icks, I think. Maybe it will come to be later. Chambers opened his mouth to say something, but he paused. And thought. Something in the back of her mind wondered if he was going to talk about some other disturbing neuro-porn he liked indulging in but from him came only a grunt. Or maybe not. Youre a shiny person, Agnos. She blinked. Shiny? Yeah, he said, waving his hand animated as he searched for the right words. You seem real nice and you smell good and all that other Tiers stuff, you know? Smelling good is a Tiers thing? Kae asked. He held up a hand to quiet her. Thats not the point. The point is that fuck, what were we talkinCoh, some people dont like killing and thats okay. I know, Kae said. I dont like killing. Im just a bit She looked down at her shaking hand and winced. Stuck on how they pop. And the awful smells. Chambers sneered. Youre telling me? Im the one with the dogshit Cooking Heaven. Couldve given me the cool Omnitech thing, but noCChambers gets shit. Anway, innards are all kinds of gassy sometime. You know, most of snuffers usually get a second lung or a UTL-breather just for that. UTL? Kae said. Utility breather. Cheap gutterware olfactory implants. They slid them under your nose and helps you filter some minor toxins, or smell whatever you want to smell. The Maw-divers pretty much all got one of those because of all the waste so yeah. You know, gotta adapt to the environment. Oh. You know, the Purgatories usually filter the smells you encounter based on your Metaminds listed preferences. I miss that right now. Yeah, me too, and Ive never even been there before, Chambers said. Kae chirped a soft laugh. Well. Rich or poor, I suppose that what makes us both New Vultunites is how often the city gets to ram fist deep into our asses and tug, right? Her chirp turned to a frown of disgust. You really like disgusting imagery, dont you? Kae asked. It leaves an impression, Chambers said. Makes people remember me. Kae considered consider his words and offered a quick nod. I guess, but how are you remembered? Don''t really matter. Its just about making people think of you like youre human. Like they cant just shoot you without something leaving the world for good. Again, his words spurred her to look at all the remains staining the urban swamp around her. Yeah, like those poor half-strands. Chambers sniffed. I dont even know most of their names. Listen, I felt real fucking bad about an Agnos I fed to the ghoul earlier. An awkward silence followed, and he drew out his Woundhound injection and motioned for her to approach. Come on, lets get that arm of yours fixed up before the other two get back. Do you think theyre already done? Kae asked. Eh, probably, Chambers said. Wouldntve melted our problems if they werent, right? The blood riding the water called out to her. RiC +Kae. Chambers. Still one more active knot left. Dropping you two a marker so we can square up and fight this one out.+ Draus words echoed through the session and Kae sighed as a market flashed into her DeepNav not a few miles away. Chambers promptly jabbed the Woundhound into her and she barely winced. Come on, Agnos. Lets get a dog out of you so we can end this Crucible give these fugee murdering half-strands the what for. Exhaustion crept into her bones as something began to twitch from the epicenter of her injury. Right. Just have to get used to this. But the twist in her gut as she spoke those words made her wonder if she ever could. 15-10 Grounding CRITICAL TERMS: MISSING; NECROTHEURGY; THANATECH; THREE FINGERS; CRUCIBLE; EMPTY GOLEMS GENERATING REPORT SUMMARY SUMMARY: At an undetermined time during the last day, the Three-Fingers Syndicate (an unofficial subsidiary of Sanctus) vanished along with all associated assets across the real and the Nether. Their last known operation was a Crucible scheduled to conclude with the cycling of the Daystar, yet when tadpoles were dispatched, only trafficked FATELESS were discovered. Having fortified a gutters security checkpoint, evidence suggests that the FATELESS were engaged in defensive action against the Syndicate as part of the events itinerary when the vanishment occurred. Rounds of thoughtscans and Deep Nether interviews were conducted thereafter. However, despite their proximity during the event, the details they provided were sparse at best. What we have determined is that the Three-Fingers Nether lobby was suddenly decommissioned near the beginning of the Crucibles commencement and Syndicate ghosts dissolved with a spark. Furthermore, those who manned the blocks defenses all exhibit signs of severe ego damage congruous to gazing upon a fully manifested Heaven with an unwarded mind. Even less can be said for the material the Syndicate should have amassed for this siege event. No traces of any golems, drones, Warwights, or any other Syndicate-based assets. The disappearance of all units has been judged to be near synchronous and total. As of the present, no definite theories or judgments have been cemented but it is the field teams strongest suggestion that the eradication can be attributed to a high Spherage GodcladClike past the Fifth threshold of apotheosisCaided by elite Necrotheurgic support. Ultimately, the abnormalities and scope of the incident have been deemed far too severe for a mundane explanation. We submit that this report should be shared with the Paladins after secondary confirmation. -Exorcist Report 15-10 Grounding +Firing.+ A reflective scab cycled over Draus rifle. She squeezed the trigger. Her shot emerged from a window located over a mile away and punched clean through the rear of a burning golem. Two accretions winked out at once. +Kill,+ she said. Avo grunted +Mark next target when ready.+ They played their game from within the shattered top of an office floor. Cracked loci remained embedded in workstations and a water fountain projecting a glitchy hologram of an anthropomorphic raindrop continuously chirped at them to mind their hydration. Though no working lights shone overhead, distant columns of rising flame cast brightness across the horizon as a plague of insects bore down upon the broken and retreating. Chambers acquitted himself comfortably against his former ilk. It took a requisite amount of cruelty to function as an enforcer, but there was something to be said about the ease he took to butchering his former tradesmen compared to the frustrations he struggled as a Necro. Perhaps it was easier to dissociate from ones acts when you rested in the confine of one mind alone. Such was no longer the case with Avo. Insight was now an inescapable blessing. Instead of casting his mind out and mem-locking the pilot of the next Sangeist, Avo waited for the coming retaliation. He watched the enforcers of the knot scramble through a cracked window touched by the Twice-Walker and chuckled with dry amusement. The poor fools didnt even know they were being studied from twenty feet away. Half manifested as the junction was, Draus Heaven granted them a live audience to a theatre of terror and incompetence as enforcers fought to get in their rigs while the already armored triggered their Phys-Sims in search of the sniper. Though the enforcers were deprived of drone-jocks, their heavies were still granted tactical-range firepower suppression by the Voz-II linear-artillery launchers festooned to their backs. From their chrome rails sparked lightning, and streaks of screaming payloads whistled high. Draus snorted at their attempt. Look at em. Clumped up. Some firin, some doin whatever-the-shit Its like they all wanna die. Her disappointment only grew as ghosts threaded out from frantic minds casting snaking commands through once-dormant Warwights to sally forth. Artillery speared down and columns of fire rose from the disintegrating bridge where they traced Draus shot via Phys-Sims. Mobs of armored corpses began their charge. Hundreds of bodies poured outward in search of their elusive adversary in a disorganized swarm. Gauss fire and crude kinetics erupted from their first wave in a messy display of suppressive fire, even slicing apart a portion of their vanguard as thoughtcasts clashed and formations collided. Intercepted, disorganized, broken, and hunted, the knot was coming apart at the seams in record time. All it took was the death of their commanding personnel followed by the most senior golem pilot. Their lines were collapsed and atop the open palm of Avos Sanguinity, he felt his newest victims scurry like shrieking aratnids, fleeing in circles as they clawed to find a refugee of shadows. Voices derived from the fires within Avo sang with mockery, scorn, and fascination. The tacticians and strategies among his templates howled insults and slurred demurs at unmoving golems. The pilots were clenched by indecision and governed by hesitation. A mistake Abrel wouldnt brook. [You keep your Heaven active, always active when a fights on. Even a child knows that. And wheres their Porter? If they had an active Porter with a demiplanar bivouac they wouldnt be getting cut down like this. Gods, are all FATELESS this worthless?] [Some of us didnt get to go to fancy Guilder school,] Corner spat. +Next target,+ Draus repeated as a new pane of glass widened along the wall. Avo shaped a haemokinetic sheet with the Regulars request and she bound the two alchemized surfaces with a single passage. +Loose,+ Avo said, flinging the sheet outward with a pulse of Haemokinesis. The darting construct bore a twofold purpose as both firing loophole and scouting locus. With a session fused into its structure, Avo cast out his Whisper as the horizon came spilling toward him and marked a new between the two remaining Sangeists. Heavy exo, Avo said. Looks like theyre charging up a fusion burner. Think you can hit it? The distance to interception zipped closer but all the Regular offered was a scoff. Aint gonna need a flechette for that. She spat disdainfully to the side and the temperature around them plummeted. Reaching for her new power with contemptuous ease, an ursine presenceCbarely visible from the breath-steamed fogCstaggered into existence as its weight pressed down around reality. A sheen of frost began to coat their surroundings, and as the cold only grew, the shape of the Heaven grew clearer. The visage of a skeletal bear with shimmering bones carved from the shine of glaciers greeted Avos notice and it funneled itself through the newest passage with jaws open. Between the animal and primal cold came a union, and the jagged fangs of winter everlasting clamped down upon the Sangeists and the dozen or so enforcers caught in the canons radius clenching the heavy with a special compression. Thing about fusion burners theyre supposed to be stable, Draus began, an anticipatory smirk painted over her face, but theres a fault in the design. Somethin about how the energy regulation system goes right to hell when the power cell gets hyper-cooled. It starts gettin to the machine, makin it think that theres isnt enough power goin out to heat things up. Then She collapsed the passage and Avo drew back his Conflagration just as a small warhead mushroomed out in an expanding ball of fire. The Sangeists faded from view. More lives vanished in the light. Useful trick, Avo said. Still have the pattern from a mini-nuke. Think it can work with that? Probably not, Draus said. You can try lobbing them over, though. Alright. I think were done messing with these ones. Best cut through the chaff and get in place for our final charge. See this done. She snorted beneath her helmet. A note of disappointment lingered on her voice. Miss the days where they had a chance of killin me. Find those days when we hunt bigger game again, Avo said. Going to be hunting Guilder Clads soon. Savor soft food one last time. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. She spat inside her helmet again. Fuck the soft food. Shaping thread-thin lattices using his Heaven, Avo cast a final look at the remaining enforcers and spread his consciousness wide. Infusing himself in his new haemokinetic proxies, he Boltstrode using his blood-made monowire as a proxy, and bodies peeled beneath in a rising torrent of death. His cut turned. Ruined blocks came apart in liquefying pieces and the ones that hid within shared a similar fate. Those spared of his touch fell to his Conflagration as his onslaught continued across the Nether itself. Cruel curiosity concocted new mental maladies for his victims to inherit and the minds that burned dreamed of the beast. He spared some and afflicted them with the memory of his hunger and just watched. In the blood-scythed wasteland lingered ragged stragglers stripped clean of their rigs with a tug from his Sanguinity. Howling with sudden need, the enforcers fell to their knees as his mind overlapped with theirs. The last of their coherence fizzled away as starvation and brutality took their place. From the rising red that flowed at their ankles, they cupped mouthfuls of blood to stem the ache of their addiction. But they knewCas he once didCit would not be enough. And he hadnt imbued them with the will or practice to resist as he once did. The gulf between man and monster, ultimately and practically, lay in the realm of behavior. Cut free from morality and baseline instinct and grafted with new desires, it took but a whispered suggestion as the survivors rose from their brief succor and made for the only flesh they could see. There was something ineffable about feeling your puppets devour each other while nested in their minds. The experience wasCfor lack of a better wordCkarmically sublime. Ghouls were monsters. Ghouls were vermin. Ghouls were nightmarish carrion. But what of the Syndicates? What of those who fed off the small and claimed they were still men regardless? What of those who claimed boons from the detritus of the Guilds to choke the helpless? Should he disregard them as kin? Should he delude himself into thinking them truly differently? Cannibalism and torture were but flavors of the grand atrocity of exploitation and eradication. Beyond the niche of his favored taboos, he thought their faults to be greater. Born without the butchers urge, they chose this life nonetheless. Perhaps some were forced here systemically, but still, they choose. Choice needed to be rewarded somehow. As a theatre of horror played on, he drank all that he severed into his Sanguinity, indulging in a final act of pleasure as his thaums and ghosts climbed anew. Tendrils crept through the environment like a sickness spreading through the infrastructure itself. Veins of unnatural red chasmed the ground and burrowed into the husks of ruined golems and from their destruction did Avo pluck the fruits of his thaumic labor. [ONTOLOGICS OBTAINED: SANGEIST X6; SNAKE-KING X2] As all that was physically spilled away into a pond of gore, he heard the Woundshaper laughing from within at the casualness of his massacre. One of his Echoheads swept empty air and he willed tons of blood to flow down into the dark. THAUMIC OUTPUT: 5,122 GHOSTS: [66,344] Not a question of if, but when, Draus muttered. Hm? Avo asked. Losin yourself, she said. Her Soulfire flared briefly, and the frost-made bear manifested around her like a vaporous spirit. We think and a block dies. We think it and lives are given over to us by the thousands. She regarded him in a new light and stared out at the last figures in the distance. They were wrestling each other, ripping, gouging, tearing fistfuls of meat from each others bodies. I think thats why your pa wanted you to be the way you are. There wasnt ever any anchor for you like, to begin with. You live a life being adrift from the world and there aint no trouble gettin lost in these changes. Saying ghouls make good Godclads? Avo asked, half-mockingly. Nah. Ghouls dont make good anythin sides target practice. You, though? Thats something else. She grunted and shook her head. Enough philosophizin. Last knot. A sheen of glass and ice formed over her in equal measure. Lets find the others and get messy. This isnt enough of a mess yet? Avo asked. Never got to do a charge, Draus said wistfully, and he could feel the feral grin widening beneath her helmet. Always wanted to reenact one of them calvary moments from the historicals. Avo was more than happy to oblige such a request. It is time, master, the Woundshaper said. Let our presences be released from Purgatory. Let the sacrificed witness what ascensions their lives will be spent toward. The Galeslither offered no follow-up, choosing instead to blast its winds through one of the few blocks still standing. Small splashing lanes of perception pointed out from the Exorcist station. The FATELESS were watching their remaining hunters mutilate one another. How perfect. Weaving himself into the very concepts of his domains, his Sanguinity bloomed like the corona of a star on the verge of supernova. Crimson rapids flowed from all that could be unraveled into his body as rivers sought a delta. The Woundshaper drank its way back into existence, growing like a rising spire that pulsed out broadcasts of burning blood. This time, however, additional branches sprouted free from its being as new superstructures began to cocoon its exterior. Broken from the tight yoke of its former hubris, Avo left his manifested Heaven festooned at the core of a gargantuan construct. It reached up to touch the very thresholds he drew across the Crucible to curtain this slaughter from notice. Droplets of falling red filled the air. The central self of the Woundshaper remained at eighty tons but sewn into the vastness of its greatcoat, Avo felt his thaumic mass and eldritch influence rise. His new form took the shape of a leviathanCa hydra of countless heads and layered in teeth. WARNING: HEAVEN THAUMIC MASS GROWING WOUNDSHAPERTHAUMIC REQUIREMENTS: 1540 THAUM/C CURRENT PHYSICAL TONNAGE: 2455 He moved through matter like liquid lightning. Reality quivered at his presence while Draus sank her Twice-Walker into his confines to lurk. The ground beneath him turned to glass as a pathway opened and he slithered through an inversion point across spaces, arriving a full mile and a half away from where he once was with a dip of his body. Builds collapsed into his ontology and he absorbed the devastation as food for growth. Soon he found himself flanked in the air by a crucified phoenix gliding in the air and a rushing fortress molded from water. Chambers was alight with glee at being cut freeCa far cry from the shaken Necrojack he made. The familiar playground of direct murders granted him ample room for old habits of dissociation when he only had to exist within his own mind. Kae, meanwhile, was a mental wound sore with distaste and unease. +Alright, thats one knot for the both of us,+ Chambers said. +We gonna make a run at them or what?+ +Something like that,+ Avo replied. Charging into the Sangeists was easy. The Snake-King would require some handling so they wouldnt be anchored at a permanent relative position. Hence, he reached out through his broadcast and touched the pilot of the golem using his Sanguinity. After that, it took but a thought to burst all the blood vessels in the womans mind. Snake-heads the size of barges lurched and faded as the steel egg of a golems core bounced free. The fourth golem went dormant as the rest of its knot carried on, unknowing of the end they were soon to court. Slipping out from Avos blood, the Twice-Walker came together in an assembly of jagged shards as their cadre circled the Exorcist station to collide with the Sangeists. A series of six hylaokinetically sharpened stakes of glass spun over Draus like the bullets in a revolver and her thrill began to rise. The Agnos, for her part, clutched part of a wall in front of her raging torrents as she mustered her courage and pushed ahead. +I still dont like how they pop and break inside me.+ She explained. The justification was unneeded. This was leisure, after all, but her sensibilities offered him greater insight into his companion as well. The Agnos lacked the critical qualities to be a proper killer, but her ability to kill was beyond question. Such was all that was needed for the coming clash. As they rounded the corner, a wave of Warwights and field drones came into view, and behind them followed the Sangeists. But where Avo and his cadre pressed onward, their opposition froze. Their opposition broke. Their opposition shattered. Beholding four Heavens of Third Sphere and above, multiple wards collapsed among the Three-Fingers and brittle minds shattered within. The same fate befell those FATELESS foolish enough to be gazing out in the wrong direction as the charge drew to its start. Poor fools. Collateral damage was hard to prevent when all it took was a glance. +Holy hells,+ Chambers marveled, his pleasure ignited by the immensity of his passive harm. +Were nulling these shits just by being.+ +Not an uncommon case with lacking wards,+ Kae said. +A standard golem is already disturbing enough for a baseline mindCfour mid-sphere Heavens? No one really appreciates how much that is until they have to face it! The way it harms the mind is really quite fascinating too, ICoh, Im chitting arent I.+ The Sangeists broke and turned, the pilots attempting too run. Was I so small, so slow once? What disgrace it is to behold my other selves, The Woundshaper sneered. +Keep talking,+ Chambers said. +We could use some education with the snuffing.+ Avo grunted in agreement. Through the discomfort came a spark of relief from Kae. Perhaps it was acceptance. Or camaraderie. Or any of those social emotions Avo couldnt be bothered to manifest right now using his templates. Either way, a flicker of belonging followed, and that was what counted. +Alright,+ Kae said. Lets start the lesson, then.+ 15-11 Portrait POTENTIAL OPERATIVE AVO HAS BEEN CLEARED FOR INTERVIEW. RECRUITMENT EVALUATION FOR OPERATION REVISIONIST NOW PENDING. -Aegis 15-11 Portrait COG-CAP: 99% SESSION LOST SESSION LOST SESSION LOSC SESSION LOST WARNING: HEAVEN DETECTED WARNING: HEAVEN DETECTED WARNING: HEAVEN DETECTED WARNING: HEAVEN DETECTED UPDATE: SESSIONS TO ALL MEMBERS OF SQUAD TETON; SQUAD ASGA; SQUAD VENNO LOST SESSION LOST Myong woke to the ringing of lost sessions echoing through his Metamind and found his thoughts slippery to grasp. Cold winds lashed like bitter whips striking him to the accompaniment of ceaseless squealing. As his attention wove together from frayed strings, his cog-feed loaded and he found himself beholding a portrait of damnation from within the mangled remains of his golem. A shallow swamp of gore stretched beyond veils of crimson haze. A layer of dead insects floated upon the still, red waters, and the swarms that remained alive sang their droning tune as they spiraled over unmoving bodies. S-shit, he breathed. Shifting to loosen himself from his gimbal, he hissed as agony flared around his ribs. Looking down, he found a scab-coated furrow arcing inward along his midsection. Whatever tore through his Sangeist had taken a bite out of him as well. Some of the ribs on his right were missing. Not broken. Not shattered. Gone entirely. Thank Jaus he had that platelet breeder valve grafted under his heart. Wouldve bled to death otherwise. He moved and bit back a snarl of pain. His rig sparked and whined from its own damage, but the power grid remained stable and systems were still functioning. With a flex of augmented strength, he tore the warped metal of his hexagonal gimbal and pushed free from the claustrophobic confines of his vehicle. Another wafting chill washed over him and he felt the unnatural sting of the cold. He felt it even inside his armor. Something was wrong there. SomethingC Wait, did his Metamind say something about detecting Heavens? Drawing up the information again with a thought, a spike of sobering fear shook Myong out of his pain-drunk stupor and he found himself blinking out at the hellscape outside his golem. The platform looked like an aluminum can twisted to the point of tearing and cast carelessly aside thereafter. Stranger yet, blood was dripping from the jagged lips of the damage. Had he cut himself on the edge somehow? No. He was secured in the gimbal. Someone else then? Swallowing, he studied the ankle-deep pond of red that awaited him outside. Burning drones and collapsed figures formed distant waypoints in his attention, and through the haze came flashes of gunfire and bladder-softening screams. Remains of Warwights were scattered in shredded pieces. Peeking out cautiously, he checked his rig-mounted weapons and found only his shoulder-mounted KM-20 autogausser operational. Alright, he winced as he placed a foot on the opening and stepped out. Come on, Myong. Come on. Stepped over, he slammed down upon the pool of gore with a rising splash and tried to wrestle his rising panic under control. Something terrible happened earlierCa fragment of memory he was missing right now. The last thing he remembered before coming earlier was scrambling to assist knot two just as knot one came under fire as well. And then And then HEAVEN DETECTC His Metamind went quiet. A spike of emptiness pulsed in the core of his mind. Something was coming back to him. SomethingC Other Heavens. He remembered getting run down by other Heavens. He didnt see them. Not directly. But over the sessions, he caught glimpses of what smashed into him immediately after. An enormous pillar of glass somehow turned the corner of the Exorcist station and slammed down behind his moving knot. Around this time he also realized the new guyCthe pilot of the Snake-KingChad their Metamind off or something. He was too busy casting at the half-strand to activate their session to notice the attack himself. Pain tore from his mind as he felt his memories rattle like loose fragments of shrapnel. His cog-cap only just dipped below ninety-eight percent and the very act of thinking made his brain throb with soreness. Staggering away from his ruined golem, he cast a final look at his Sangeist and a shiver ran through him. He remembered feeling invincible while he was in its confines. He knew that the Godclads and other golems were beyond his feeble little platform, but so long as he faced nothing but FATELESS and gutter trash a god-king he would remain. That delusion tasted an awful lot like ash now. An immense shadow slithered in the periphery of his sight. Myong spun fast and doubled over to clutch his chest. His autogausser fired a burst of flechettes per his instructions regardless. Alloyed darts zipped out into the fog and vanished. Then the response came, and the particulates in the air rippled as the first embers of fire sparked within each mote. From the very air around him rose an ethereal chorus of hissing laughter. Echoing thoughtstuff bludgeoned his awareness with open scorn and Myong limped backward to support him using the wreck of his golem. +Horrible sight. Wouldnt you agree?+ The question came from all around him and something about the voice seemed inhuman. Too inhuman. +You are Myong Ateshi. You have been a golem pilot for the Three-Fingers for two years now. Long lifespan for the gutters. Long lifespan for a non-jock.+ Come out. Myong cringed. hHis voice broke and his growl came more as a whimper. Come out and Ill fuck-fucking do you. +But Im already here. Look around. Im with you. Close. Cant be any closer without cutting my way inside you. Becoming you. Wearing you.+ The things it said made Myong recoil and he commanded his gun to fire into the vaporous haze yet again. This time, he saw it. He saw how his flechettes were caught. He saw how the particulates in the air grasped the needles and unstitched them from reality, drinking them into the fog itself. Recollection returned to Myong with mind-shearing sharpness. He clawed at his helmet to clutch his temples only to find it unraveling at his touch, spilling down as blood to join the greater pool below. A shadow formed in the depths of his mind. A shadow the size of a mountain. A snake of fluid redness that rose higher than a block and wider than an avenue. The wetness beneath him shifted and drew away. A sudden animation took hold of the pool as the waters drew away and something colossal swam toward him through a curtain of obfuscation. No, Myong whimpered, digging his armored fingers against augmented skin. No. +Do you think the FATELESS will love me for this?+ The entity asked, sounding genuinely curious. +Do you think your death will grant me their adoration? Human emotions are theyre so easily affected by stimuli. Watching you all has been an education. A pleasure. I hated you once. Not anymore. I understand. I am learning.+You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The shadow of the titan approached and Myong heard the ghosts sustaining his wards scream and shatter. He wouldnt survive this. His mind would break this time. He knew. He knew. Please just let me go. Ill leave. Ill drop my rig. Ill give you anything. +You already will,+ the entity said. But then the approaching behemoth stopped, and between the oscillations of distant fires slashing high into the air, he saw a coiled mass of eight serpents spilling free from the ring-clasped spire. Brilliant patterns flashed between eldritch jaws and currents of lashing lightning coursed through impossible veins. Myong stared and perception proved to be a mistake of its own. His body gave before his mind did and he heaved dry spittle in the absence of food. Shivering, shaking, spasming, it took him nearly a full minute before he rose to his feet again, and when he did, the next words came thusly. +Convince me.+ What? +About why you should live,+ the entity elaborated. +You were going to massacre the refuges. Kill them all. The feeble. The soft. The children. Good taste for a ghoul. But you arent like me or my brothers. Not really. Why did you choose to live this way?+ There was too much to digest in the question and Myongs mind quailed. What? +It is not a complicated question. Speak. Or I will approachC+ --Respect, he spat. He didnt even think. It was just the first word that came to mind. +...Respect?+ I lived these streets all my life, he said, breathing hard. Sucking back sourness, he gritted his teeth and willed himself to say composed. Only the ones with the best augsCthe biggest guns mattered. Them, the Guilds, the Clads. I wanted that. Everyone wants that. So I took mine. I took mine. +And how does murdering the small give you this power? I know how it will feed me. I dont understand how it feeds you personally.+ To his surprise, Myong scoffed. I dont know motherfucker, you think I get a say in what were doing? Im just a pilot. +Golem pilot. Could have done a lot. Chose this insteadC+ --And what about you? What about you? Myong shouted. He paused, half afraid of certain reprisal, half exhausted from the constant dread that pressed down on him. You got me. YouCyou broke me. Broke my knot. Youre threatening meCrubbing the flat of your knife along the side of my neck for your own thrills. He rubbed a tear from his eye and choked back a sob. Im just doing what I had to do. I got highers, consang! I got masters. Go fucking kill them. Kill them. Silence passed and the entity seemed to consider his answer. +Yes. I will. Them. The other Syndicates. And all of you. Replace you with something else. Something of my design. But the answer isnt interesting enough to spare you. Nothing interesting about you. Left you alive as a novelty. Curiosity. Now you join the rest. Burn as something greater.+ Myong shook his head, willing the dreaded thing to go away, to disappear from his presence and release its strain on his wards. Ill do you, he muttered. He commanded his gun to fire, only to realize his armor was melting off his body. No, no, what the fuck, no. Unseen tendrils erupted from under his skin and he felt himself bound by anothers control from within. His blood bent to anothers will, and from Myong came an anguished shriek as his limbs were folded along the length of his spine before drawing him closer to the towering shape in the fog. +Do you remember some of your previous victims?+ Avo asked. +Some of your friends do. They showed me how you liked to play with your prey. How you liked to drive the tendrils of your Sangeist through their eyes and pull out the things inside. The way organs unspooled calms you. Im the opposite. That used to excite what I was. Now it remains a hobby, I suppose.+ The ability to speak disappeared from Myongs mind as he was drawn to the spire. Incoherent howls escaped him as his wards broke apart for the second time and the weight of eldritch divinity slammed down upon the softness of his human ego. Things inside his mind broke again, and as they did, bifurcated walls of blood rose like a parted sea, and from within the red protruded other enforcers dangling from ichorous tendrils. Halos of fire consumed each of their Metas and all the other captive Three-Fingers were clapping for him in a mockery of his deliverance unto the nightmare. Welcome to the gestalt, Myong. You deserve this. You deserve to burn. Think of never seeing your family again, Myong. Think of everything you leave behind. At least we wont be killing anymore kids, am I right? With each passing second, more and more bodies emerged to join in on a long deafening laugh track, and in the end, hollowed by strain and stress, Myong heard himself chuckling along with them, hopelessly wanting to be part of his own festivities. In the mix, one voice sounded louder than all the others. Clearer. That hissing voice. That deep rasp belonging to the entity. It drew closer and closer along with all the other bodies, closer and closer as a shadow drifted over Myong. WARNING: HEAVEN DETECTED ->[WOUNDSHAPER] - FOURTH SPHERE ->THAUMIC OUTPUT: 2144 THAUM/c And for the last moment, Myong remained himself, he looked up at the face of his killer and exhaled. He came apart at the sight of the tower. He came apart at the district devouring limbs. He came apart at the searing dawn and erupted from the Conflagration crowning the Heaven itself, and between the folds of the fire did he witness flickers of the purgatory he was destined to languish. Other faces formed and dissolved amidst the fires. They stared out at him like prisoners watching fresh meat. They stared and they leered. +Be proud,+ the entity said, forming a burning tendril from its center mass. +I will make better use of your life and mind than you ever could.+ *** THAUMIC OUTPUT: 6792 THAUM/c GHOSTS: [71,935] OBTAINED: SANGEIST x3, SNAKE-KING x1 +Jaus, rotlick, youre becomin more of a diva by the day,+ Draus sighed as Avo finally finished his act of theater. +The fucks wrong with just killing people? You gonna do this song and dance with all your victims now?+ +Eh, I liked it,+ Chambers said. +The revenge vibe is always a neat sell. I can see this hitting silver in the entertainment category for most downloaded vicarity this week.+ +Not gold?+ Avo asked. +Well, youre not titillating or a nu-cat, so its an uphill fight for you there, consang.+ This city and its many addictions. Smashing through the knot took little effort but further emphasized the doctrine of Total Domain Warfare. They struck the knot from whatever direction they so pleased with Draus. Nether superiority was lost to the Three-Fingers, rendering their coordination nearly non-existent as they were forced to act in the physical. All things culminated as out of the three Sangeists he was to face, only one turned to ward off his assault. One that was promptly frozen and had its pilot turned into freshly cooked slices of ham. As the formation of the knot collapsed thereafter, the route turned into a slaughter as they were ridden down by the cadre. All in all, it wasn''t worth much as practice, but it served as ample demonstration of what was most essential in a fight between Godclads. Awareness. Knowing what your enemy can do, where they are, what they want, and with what would their assault be conducted. Deprived of the Nether and without scrying capabilities, the fate of the Three-Fingers was sealed with the arrival of the cadre. Yet, it could be them on the receiving end one day should they be faced with a rival with esoteric canons or eccentric Heavens. To that end, Abrel spoke her peace. [Use your godsdamned demiplanes. You need to have a place that is absolutely secure and absolutely yours. The Twice-Walker and Galeslither both have something for this, but that should be the anchor for your team. The Porter is in charge of keeping prying eyes out and making sure the cadre as a potion of sanctuary even in the worst of the fighting.] Suppose that was something to develop further then. He needed to expand on redundancies, and so he bade his capable templates to begin running war games. +So, thats that then?+ Draus muttered. +Wont lie, I expected more of a fight with them, but this batch is as good as done.+ +Not yet,+ Avo said. +Going to use the minds I just took to burn away the rest of the Three-Fingers. Kill them all. Then were done.+ +Disappearin an entire Syndicates gonna be awfully noisy even for you,+ Draus said. +Will leave a false trail,+ he replied. But before even that, Avo considered the three additional Souls still burning on the borders of his Frame and remembered another of his wants. Dismissing his Woundshaper, the block-sized extensions of his spire evaporated into air while he poured the remainder of his gore into the darkness as he took his first steps toward the Exorcist station. +Avo. Avo! What are you doin now?+ Draus asked. A small but gleeful grin spread across his face as he considered which Heaven to gift his lucky winner. +Just going to light a candle. Throw the Guilds off. Start a fire under this city.+ 15-12 The Lapse Anyone can be a Godclad. Any self-aware creature. When someone asks me who deserves the mantle of apotheosis, silence is my answer. There is nothing to say to such a false question; Godclads are imbued with the immensity of influence, but none of this is truly decided by virtue. Think of the gods from the Age of the Everwars, and know that Heavens are a function of power and control rather than ethicality and mastery. An addict with the requisite implants and weapons will slaughter even the most elite among martial peers by merit of power differential alone. What is actually being asked is who can stay a Godclad. The things to consider are of a multitude. Temperament. Ego. Background. Skill. Environment. Politics. All these things come together to decide who will be Ensouled, but granting divinity blindly inevitably leads to Usurpation. Skill is a necessity. But more than skill, the foundational aspect of who makes a proper Godclad is judgment. It is the ones that live beyond the confines of their own mind and can witness the world without filters and spare themselves comforting lies. These are the ones who will make the right choices with their canons. These are the ones who will withdraw from battles that are no longer worth fighting. These are the ones that understand the greatest boon granted by a Frame is the ability to learn from death above all other miracles. It is no strange secret that most Ensouled survive shorter than a year before losing their Frame to another. Absolutes clash absolutely, and once most taste the privilege of ruling over a facet of reality, they will soon find themselves lusting for the pleasure of becoming a potential suzerain of their peers. Clarity, here, decides the fate of most. Clarity in what must be done. Clarity in what they might survive. Clarity in how they are to present themselves to the world. Absolute honesty to counter absolute power. That is my answer. That is the cure to the hubris that ails all who bear the highest powers. --Osjon Thousand, Death Pruning, Page 588 15-12 The Lapse [Her,] Abrel said. [Shell do.] +Her?+ Avo replied, staring down at the young woman quietly digging through the butchered remains of her fellow FATELESS for any supplies she could use. The Warwights had gotten far before they were diverted. Her gore-caked hands moved fast and slick and there was an unnerving alertness to her brown eyes. She was always movingCalways listening and scavenging to maintain an upper hand. Of the surviving defenders within the station, she alone remained beyond the second defensive line located in the lobby. By virtue of courage or rank apathy in the face of death, she scurried about the outside from shadow to shadow, her lithe form darting like an aratnid dragging bits of trash back into its nest. A few hundred more accretions remained deeper yet in the block, but Abrel made her vote known the moment she noticed the girl. Hidden from sight by his Incog, Avo studied the curious creature as he manifested all the mem-data the Three-Fingers had on her. The smugglers that sold her into the city called the waif Dice. Apparently, she was nameless before a pale-faced Fallwalker offered her over after losing a bet in a dice game. Henceforth, her captors found an easy reference for the gangly girl, though Shiv came a close second when she broke a rusty shard of metal against the skin of one of the crew. No other details about her past were forthcoming. She weighed a feeble ninety-two pounds and stood shorter than even Kae at five feet oneCthough the mem-data displayed her height as one-hundred and fifty-four centimeters per her insistence. Guesswork and blind assumption listed her ancestry as Kosgan, but the silence she kept and the blank glare she gave all those around her made verification all but impossible. Syndicate Necros made an attempt to dig through her mind but found little in the way of long-term memories. She was, in a word, wiped clean. All she had was her facilities, an aversion to eye contact, and a casual indifference to horror and bloodshed. [Skills, attitude, and a mystery,] Abrel said. [Pretty good eating for us today.] Digging through intestinal ropes, the oval-faced girl moved off instinct and little else as Avo regarded the features of her sheathe. One of her arms was longer than the other. He could tell the ragged coat she wore once belonged to someone else from the scent of blood still matted on it and the flechette holes lining the back. The sunk placement of her jaw accentuated the sharpness of her nose and he realized her silence to be a result of biological mutation rather than outright choice. [But godsdamned is she fucking ugly,] Lip groaned. Several other templates cast their surprise at the Scaarthian and she sighed. [Its true, motherfuckers. She looks like the backside of a shovel. Whatever that Fallwalker sold her for was too much.] Shadow-2 scoffed. [Yeah, like the mesh is one to judge.] [Which one of you half-strands said that?] Lip snarled. [IllC] [Do nothing. Because were all figments of the ghouls consciousness. Hes just letting us talk because we feed him insight between all the hours of constant arguing and factionalism.] His gestalt was truly a place of welcoming kindness. Spreading his awareness deeper through the station, his consciousness spread like silent venom as his tendrils crept through the foundations of the block. He glimpsed and scouted through the profiles of the defenders first. What remained of them, anyhow. Some were hard enough. Former warriors of feral tribes that managed to eke out a tortured living in the Sunderwilds somehow. Members of a now true-deathed Fallwalkers retinue before being captured. Augment-stripped enforcers from rival Syndicates set to be humiliated one last time. Vicious enough to fight, perhaps, but there was a presence of frailty about them. Maybe it was from the dozen or so that lay gibbering in corners, clawing at walls after beholding a clash between the eldritch with naked eyes, or how their hearts screamed with anxious strain while their bodies stayed rooted to their defensive placements, with Dice exploring the world beyond alone. Caution ruled them, and for those with weeping children hidden in the deepest delve of the stations prison cells, worry was a constant concern. Perhaps it was a blessing that Essus did not come for this expedition. Witnessing such exploitation would reopen scars before they ever had the chance to mend. Avos regard for the children remained brief. The ones who werent scared remained too young, and the caretakers who held them werent much better in this regard. As he felt at the weakest of his choices using his Sanguinity, the urges of his ghoulhood began to whisper to him anew. Once, this would come with a struggle. He would think of the suppleness that came with the flesh of children and be thrilled at the prospect of running his fangs through their softness while their helpless guardians bled out in front before them. Violence and cruelty pulled at him from a unified rope. Such was the design of all ghoulsCthe want of their masters.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. But he wasnt such a creature anymore. He was more. Far more, by Waltons hand and the progress of his own apotheosis. With a mere decision of will, he drained away all pleasure that could be found in imagining the torture and butchery of the meek and diverted the artifacts of his bloodlust into more fruitful ventures. Ventures such as empowering a new GodclaC [Ghoul! What fuck are you doing!] Abrel cried. Avos attention stuttered and found himself lapping the sweetness of blood and the delectable tang of flesh. Bones lay broken between his fangs, and his claws and Echoheads sank deeper into Dices torso like she was but clay. His Incog was still on, and the girl choked as lungfuls of her lifeblood splattered free out from her throat. Confusion rimmed the wideness of her eyes as she thrashed, unable to notice the very beast that was shredding her, killing her. He pulled himself free with a flourish of splattering red. He fused her wounds back to hardness and circled her blood using his Sanguinity. Alarm tore through his consciousness as he cycled back through his memories. Why did he just do that? When did he do that. He was only looking at his other potential choices and altering the makeup of his Conflagration when he ripped through her. It hadnt been an active decision on his part. It didnt even feel like a passive one. But the flow once within her veins was dripping down his claws and his throat, and he could still taste her with each swallow. Again. He lost control again. Like with Zein. Like with Glitch. What was happening? How could this be happening? He had complete command over his own minds structure now. Nothing should be able to compel him to act beyond his interest. Was it because he was reminiscing over past horrors? Violent desires? But he hadnt decided on doing anything. A body didnt just act on its own. Or did it? Or could it? Was this a leftover degradation from the Low Masters? An effect of the ignorance that took hold of his sheathe each time his awareness expanded and his attention thinned? Dice was on the ground down, twitching and gasping as she pawed weakly at her wounds. +I didnt I didnt want to do that+ Avo thought. [Well, you fucking did,] Abrel said, disturbed by the suddenness of his brutality. [What was that? You did that without even thinking.] Avo deloaded all his templates and his subminds manifested in their place. [Scrying through consciousness] [Resequencing memories...] [Complete. No compromise discovered.] [Likewise. We are vexed.] A low growl escaped him as he watched his prime candidate for Ensoulment began to thrash and spasm, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as her biomass began to wither [Ghoulification. She hasnt survived till the rains yet. No vaccine. Going to become a nest.] Flashes of the boy greeted Avo and he delayed his shock in place of completing what he came here to do. With a flick of an Echohead, the particulates in the air rippled and Dices neck snapped backward. Clutching her being at the moment of death, he slotted her nous into one of his spare Souls and promptly triggered a disruption at the core of his ego as well. Plummeting into death, he grafted a Sangeist to the confused girls Frame and broke another to serve as a Hell. He made adjustments to keep her counterbalance different than his, rendering her expulsion of entropy tactile so that all matter she touched began to wither and decay over time. He skipped past the details and ignored her screaming mind while he worked in haste. When finished with her Frame, he accelerated his resurrection cycle and ascended back into the real first to anticipate her return. Twitching into existence, Avo did another sweep of his own mind and found nothing amiss. Nothing he could detect, anyhow. Whatever was wrong with him was either beyond Necrotheurgy or his expertise. Neither boded well. He needed a means of enforcing control in the meantime. A secondary structure to monitor himself without risk to others if possible. His considerations were interrupted as Dice flickered back into reality right next to him, and though her flesh was fully mended, her mind still screamed with questions and confusion, her thoughtstuff churning like a typhoon from all the unexplained phenomena she experienced in a short span of time. Avo wasted no more time and speared his flames into her mind. Drinking away her ego as a template, he mimicked her cognitive structure and began to tweak what she could recall. Forging ingots of knowledge behind what she was now and what her powers could do, he built in a session in the back of her mind as he had with Abrel as he scrubbed himself clean from her thoughts. All she would know now was thatCby mysterious meansCshe was a Godclad with an enemy to face, and that she now had the tools to hunt and butcher the Three-Fingers that sought to snuff her like cattle. She would recall nothing of him though. He would be able to access her mind when he chose, but her purpose was not to be his associate or slave. Her purpose was to live and wreak havoc through the Warrens as he once did and part the attention of the Paladins should she fail to be circumspect. If she fell to true death after all her ensouling, then such was life in New Vultun. But if she performed, he still had an avenue to imbue her with greater and more expansive ontologics. For now, however, he simply broke her neck a second time and let her corpse topple down upon offal-soaked plascrete. Casting a final sweep using his Whisper, Avo made sure the other FATELESS remained ignorant of his presence as coated himself in haemokinesis and stepped into a bolt of surging lightning. Within the microsecond of his traversal, he realized the protective dome he built around the Crucible had splashed down with his death. Little matter. They were done here. It was time to return to the demiplane. Like a whipcrack he crashed down next to Draus and the others as lightning stitched him back into shape from still sparking blood. Kae stumbled backward. Chambers toppled over himself. The Regular fixed him with a bored stare and pulled burning hifflass out from between her lips. Didnt kill any of em, did you? Draus asked. She was asking if he butchered any of the FATELESS. It would be remiss of him to lie. Only one, Avo replied, considering if he wanted to tell her about his control slipping as well. Gave her a Soul. Burned her clean of memories. Whoa, Chambers said, holding up a hand. You werent shitting us about that? Youre actually giving these flats Frames? A stench wafted from the half-strand and it was thick with jealousy. Yes. Going to distribute more power soon. See if the victims can invert their positions. See if the abusers can still fight when theyre on the bottom. And build a false trail for the Paladins and Exorcists to follow considering all the weird shit we get up to, yeah? Draus finished. Avo grunted. Something like that. Should open us a passage. Ill liquefy the aero. We need to get back to the demiplane. Ill distribute our haul there. New ontologics for everyone. Fuck yes, Chambers said, pumping his fist as all envy evaporated from his mind. Draus, however, was not so easily distracted. You aint been in a hurry like this before. Somethins up. The thought to resequence his own mind to adapt and convince her of his stability greeted Avo as an appealing option, but the longer he held Draus flat stare, the less he found himself wanting to lie. Ill tell you later. Want to leave now. Please. Three sets of eyes blinked at him. What? Please is rare coming from you, Avo, Kae said. Mostly youre just like: Draus. Going to do a thing. Hm. Considering implications of thing. Im thinking about castrating a prepubescent and getting hungry. Not going to do it. Im a good ghoul. And then youd torture someone terribly. Draus snorted. Chambers guffawed. Avo glared. Mocking me, Avo said. Yes, but that is how youre like. Draus is right. You seem worried. He shook his head and hissed. Talk where its safe. Open passage. Ill deal with our leftovers. The Regular swept her gaze across him and offered a quick nod. Denton casted us earlier. Said Aegis was ready to meet and was acceleratin the timetable per your preference. You good for talkin to the voider bosses? Avo didnt know. But he couldnt abandon such an opportunity. Not when there was more for him to understand. Not when he could enhance his mind into a new spectrum. Maybe the Sprites would be a new means to salve these lapses. Yes, Avo said, unsure if he was lying. Ill be ready. Ill be fine. 15-13 After Action The Elders are trying to cause an outbreak. Im sure of it now. I mean, what do you see what the hells they have us digging through? The Soft Master Collection? Nu-Dog in the Wrong Ass? Nu-Dog: Re-erected? Operation: Storm my Step Sisters Nether Plane? ThisCthis is absoluteCListenClook, theres a title in here thats literally I Blast My Goosh-Goosh into the Eyes of People Driving Aeros so We Crash and Die: A Sexual Prank Series! What the thorough fuCthis isnt even ten percent of the way through. Ive purged my proxy six times and the content still nearly overloaded my lustaway. Ive seen things that not even forgetting will cleanse my soul of. What the hell kind of secret messaging do the Mirrors expect to be hiding in porn this depraved? No! No, I refuse to believe that the Low Masters spent all their time after getting their civilization gelded in the war spoofing their way into the porn industry to create theseC BUT NOTHING IN THESE VIDEOS ARE SUBVERSIVE! DID YOU NOT HEAR THE TITLES? HOW MUCH SUBLIMINAL MESSAGING DO YOU THINK A MOTHERFUCKER CAN GET IN A SCENE THAT HAS AN ANATOMICALLY INCORRECT GHOUL CASTRATING AN EQUALLY ANATOMICALLY INCORRECT REGULAR AND THEN POURING SMALL PENIS-SHAPED BIOFORMS INTO THE WOUND THAT ARE CALLED THE HURT-PREGGIES! HUH! HUH, HALF-STRAND! EXPLAIN TO ME! NO! I DONT NEED A BREAK! I DONT NEED TO SWITCH OUT! I NEED TO BE DONE WITH THIS! DONE! Im a godsdamned Incubus. Thousands shadow, I shouldnt be spending my time doing this. How the hells is someone this depraved even still alive? He shouldve been scalpeled during one of the outbreaks -Incubus Olim OOhuri complaining about reviewing Aedon Chambers vicarity diet 15-13 After Action Avo scoured his mind three more times after they returned to the demiplane. No more lapses followed, but his paranoia lingered from his recent compromise. Directing his subminds to scan his templates again, he found no obvious fault in his cognition. His mind was more his than it ever had been. So how was he losing control? How was his body just acting of its own volition? Or was it just raw instinct taking hold? An expression of intrusive desire made manifest? Establishing Whispers from the innermost confines of his memories, he manifested a mental panopticon in preparation for any future compromises and sequenced the foundations of his emergency countermeasures. It would begin with an alert, proceed to a self-directed jack, then a trauma-pattern, before finally a contingency-triggered Thoughtwave Disruptor if all else was found wanting. The idea of waging a secret war against himself did not appeal, but he would not see these slips of control become chronic. There was far too much at stake for him to be without control, and with the threats arrayed against him growing ever more severe, he couldnt afford to play a sloppy game against foes of such a caliber. Thus, he called for his cadre to convene with him in privacy as he made the problem known. I have been killing people, Avo began. Gathered in a small cell on the third level of the demiplane, the three other members of his stared blankly at him as the ethereal lights flickered dimly overhead. Kaes chewed on her bottom lip as she studied Avo with a curious expression. Is this development recent? Draus and Chambers both snorted at once at that. Yes, Draus said, doing her best half-assed job to mimic Avos sibilance. Only been happening all my life. She paused. Lives, actually. Shit, Avo, how old are you really? He growled and didnt bother regarding her. She was goading him again and he wasntCwell, he was always in the mood to bloody her, but the Agnos was being an active help right now. Before was different. Before I was in control. Just affected by impulses. This is sudden. Like my body moves on its own. Scried through mind. Nothing there. No obvious compromise. Dont know what else couldC Maybe its your Frame, Kae said. The Imitators they might assert your habits as memorized patterns when you arent paying attention. Trying to optimize the actions you usually perform. The thought was at once fascinating and disturbing. If his Soulfire was gradually becoming more and more like him, did that mean he could train his Heavens to act how he would of his own accord without active thought? But the shadows of a greater danger loomed over the promise of possibility: if his ontology was snatching control from his vessel, how was he going to stop it? Before you really start thinking hard about this, you should know this isnt even a proper guessCI mean, your Frame isnt supposed to be able to affect your body this way. Theyre separated by entire realities. And the Imitators never managed to do anything like this while I was testing it. She gave a low hum. And so far, none of us seem to exhibiting any signs of Frame conversion or ontological alterations. Curious. Maybe my theory about the Imitators being a potential infection of the Soul is wrong We will have to monitor our conditions. All of us. If there are any changes, let me know at the first instant. All of you. A series of wordless agreements followed. Ill keep an eye on you in the meantime as well, Draus said, looking Avo up and down. You sweep from the inside and Ill keep you in check from the out. Shouldnt be impossible for us to keep these outbursts controlled with the right support. Yes. Keep an eye on me. Going to act as usual. But if I do something thats The Regulars face broke into a savage smirk. Trust me, it wont take much doin on your part for me to snuff you. Avo grunted his thanks. With that resolved, they could move on to more heartening things, such as splitting the loot of their labor. Seven Sangeists. Three Snake-Kings. Approximately two thousand thaums. Good loot. More than all of us can use at once. Think we should do more of this. Build up a supply of Heavens. Pre-make builds. Swap as we goC Avo sighed as he watched Chambers gingerly lift his hand up. What. The half-strand cleared his throat. Now, Im no good at math, or Standard, or ethics, or most of that education stuff, but Im pretty sure there was like nine Sangeists, right? How you only got seven now? Two went to Dice. Chambers nodded as if he knew who Dice was. Right. Nova. Who the fuck is that? FATELESS I ensouled, Avo answered. The half-strand stared. And blinked. And blinked again. Wait so you actually justyou''re Cladding random half-strands? Both Draus and Kae shared and glance before they stared at Chambers. Its not like I dont already have a habit?" Avo said dryly. Come on, Avo, Chambers said, shaking his head as he tutted with scorn. You shouldnt talk about Essus that way. Kae choked. Draus closed and let out a long, tortured breath as she stared at the ceiling. Within the depths of Avos consciousness, Chambers template found himself manifested before the real deal, and phantasmal cringes crinkled the very waters of Avos mind. [Aw, fuck, Im an idiot.]A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. [Enlightenment is an ugly thing sometimes,] Abrel snickered. Regardless, Avo continued. Have seven Sangeists. Going to use a few to make moreC No! Kae cried out. He stopped talking. The Agnos found everyone staring at her and blushed as she composed herself. She cleared her throat and muttered a quiet apology before proceeding. SorryCthe outburstCagh, you dont want an overload of canons. There are a lot of dangers that come with creating something that is just too broad. If were upgrading our Heavens, I need to be there. In fact, weCwhat are we doingCwe need to rebuild some of our canons. Especially you, Draus. You and the crippling that was committed on your Heaven. Right, Draus said. Might-gotta few improvements of my own I want to see putC Me too, Chambers said, cutting the Regular off. So, I was thinking earlier, right? Is there a Heaven of Holes.? Kae, you answer that question for him and I snuff you, Draus warned. The Agnos mouth slammed shut with a squeak. [Jaus, how the hells did I let you half-strands kill me,] Abrel moaned. [And Kae wasnt even there,] template Chambers laughed. [It was Essus. All he does is cry these days. Ah, poor bastard.] "Should discuss what we do with these Heavens beforehand, Avo interjected. Brainstorm first about the concepts so we dont need to spend multiple resurrection cycles testing and failing. Right now we are a cadre of four. Draus and I both have the abilities of Porters. I can be Breaker as well. Chambers is Avo considered what Chambers would be classified as for a moment, Probably a Maker. The former enforcer cheered. One that needs more improvements, Avo continued. Chambers cheered louder. Just leaves Kae. Also Breaker. Minor Porter. Can move things through water. Distance limited. Speed too. Missing a Seer in the group. Too many Breakers. He stared at Agnos. Should probably switch your Heavens. See how your mind lurched in disgust when killing people physically. Ill get used to it, Kae said, sounding somewhat defensive. Sure. Definitely can. But might not be the best position for you anyway. Not underestimating you. Just thinking about efficiency. Rotlicks right, you know, Draus said, lightly bopping Kae on the shoulder and staggering the smaller woman. Ive known pureblooded killers, and you aint it. Got the snuffer in you so thats good enough. Youll do it in a pinch. What we need nows more than two killers and a distraction. Yeah, Chambers agreed. His face went blank and then followed the frown as the insult landed. Reg, Ill have you know that I forced hundreds of enforcers to birth a sea of aratnids from their holes. He squared with Draus as the first embers began to build around his person. Im more than the scared half-strand you knew from maybe like, I dont know, eight hours ago or some shit. Im a better ChambersC His head vanished in a flurry of red as a whirlwind of dancing glass snapped free from the walls and sawed through his skull. Chambers body twitched twice and toppled over. Kae whimpered. Draus spat a globule of disrespect into the open would of Chambers decapitation as blood welled forth while Avo threw his head back and cackled at the suddenness of the bloodshed. [Aw, fuck, Im an idiot,] template Chambers repeated. +Dont feel bad,+ Avo said, doing his best to offer due empathy for his half-strand. +This is practically how she expresses affection.+ [There is going to be so much pain in my immortal life,] template Chambers continued to whine. That was likely very, very true. So, Draus said, eyeing the corpse disdainfully as a thaumic scab hardened between the real and the Soul, we gonna follow him down or what? No. Just let him resurrect, Avo said. Well keep discussing things once he returns. We shouldC A knocking on the blood-wall he put up to seal the cell from the hallway caught Avos attention and he peered through his haemokinesis to see Cas standing outside with a light of mischievous glee written upon his face. Cas is outside. He looks happy about something. Draus scoffed. The faithers smilin? That aint good. Be nice Draus, Kae frowned. Hes helping us. Were usin each other, the Regular corrected. Remember this: they belong to Thousandhand, and fuck knows what that old sow is plannin or smokin at any given moment. There aint no workin together with her like. Theres just bein used, or usin each other. A pitched groan of frustration came from Kae. Dont be a half-strand, okay? Keep the problems for later and work together right now. Draus sampled her words with a nod. Yeah. Were synced on that. Good, Kae said, shaking her head. She pointed a finger at Avo, who was busy grinning at Draus chastisement. You too. I havent forgotten about you. He spread his hands in mock surrender while his Echohead dipped. Not going to kill him. Hes going to be my new consang. Building a cult for me. Very nice of him. No eating his eyes or anything if he makes you mad either, alright? Avo barked a laugh as he dropped the wall. Cant stop me, he muttered to himself. As the haemokinetic wall melted away, Cas stepped into the room and Avo noticed that the Columner had his holocoat off for the first time. He never took Cas for someone into fashion from all the time they spent together, but considering the multi-colored belts stitched into his flowing leather long coat and the meticulous cross-shaped decals dotting the golden buttons leading up his silken blouse, there was an aesthetic on the part of the Columner that Avo just couldnt place. A few of his buttons remained undone and some of his chest was showing. On it, strange connective scarification lined his flesh. The way it was done looked slightly similar to the Scaarthians, but as he drew from Lips memories, Avo found that the script of the mans scabs was of an entirely unknown language. What the hells are you wearin? Draus asked, evidently distracted by the same thing. Looking down at his shining leather pantsCthe same kind that Chambers was now wearing, Avo realizedCher scowl deepened. You look like one of them he-whores from those old Ashthrone period pieces. Jelene, Kae croaked under her breath. Fortunately for the Agnos blood pressure, the Columner took no offense. Instead, he found himself peeking over the table and up at the ceiling in recognition of Chambers flensed face-meats and nodded. Disagreement? Yeah, Draus grunted, about him being alive. Cas nodded. Just dont let him cast his ghosts into you. Hes into some twisted shit. Dont we know, she replied. Shaking off the distraction, Cas faced Avo and his smirk returned. So, I got multiple pieces of good news for you. You want to start with the cult stuff or should we get you slotted for your meeting. Slotted? Avo asked. That sprite you got in your Meta now? That doesnt work fully until you have some hardware inside your brain or an exocortex. Lucky for you, Denton managed to get clearance to use a temp-functionality nanosuite on you for the interview with Aegis. Youre not gonna be able to get into Threshold otherwise. Avo stared at him. Threshold. Its a lobby? Semi-Autonomous virtual reality, more like. Its hard to be put into words, but I have a feeling were going blow your socks off. Looking down, Avo regarded his talons. Remember trying that once. Probably not my own life. That ghoul tore the socks though. Very wasteful. He felt a sudden affable clap on his arm as his Echoheads rattled like rearing snakes. Still, Cas showed no signs of fear. Youll feel the metaphor soon enough. Cult first, Avo said. Guessing you started building it up already. Cas pulled a phantom out from his Metamind and molded it into the shape of four different figures. Three were women of various social standing and occupations. One was a Scaarthian boncer that moonlighted as a circuit brawler, another a manager for Ascender, and the last was a small-time joy-dealer. The only male among the presented few caught Avos attention in more ways than one. So particular was his costuming, that even Draus took a few steps closer to get a better look at the character. Is is that man wearing a skinsuit flayed from a ghoul? she asked. Behind her, Kae struggled not to gag. Yeah, Cas said, breaking into a wide smile. Isnt he great? Hes the mark thats probably going to get us the most converts soon. Three sets of eyes and Echoheads rattled at him. Chambers twitched back into existence with a yelp. Alright. Let me elaborate. 15-14 Watchers On High (I) Syndicates. Deniable Guilder assets. Cancers of the city. Eaters of the FATELESS Hells, call em whatever you want, just know that unless the war ends, theyre here to stay. Now, if youve been living here for any amount of time, you might have heard something about the Accords. Now, I wont get into the boring poli-shit aspects of the whole thing, but what you mainly need to understand is that once upon a time, when Jaus was still kicking and dream had wick left to burn, he got all the great powers together for a little chat so Voidwatch wouldnt take the nipple away. You see, things werent going well in paradise. Broken though the gods might have been, all the fighting that took place before wasnt just going to go away. I mean, it makes sense: just because you stop worshipping whatever bullshit gods you used to doesnt change the fact that you murdered someones mom or boy or girl or nu-dog. Anyway, at Ao they established certain guidelines for all parties to uphold or our cousins in the highest dark might just cut our aid. Once again, most of the ethicality youre seeing from the Tiers is enforced by a dealer-joyfiend relationship between them and the voiders. If the terrestrial Guilds had their way, ninety percent of us would be snuffed and replaced by a continual supply of mass-cloned labor. Anyway, one of the most important details that was agreed upon is the enforcement of limited human rights. Basically means the Guilds can''t just go around butchering FATELESS themselves or engaging in unjustified conflict. The consequences for doing so are embargo, followed by fines, followed by the loss of taxable percentages from their Sovereignties. The whole thing is supposed to be enforced by us, monitored by Voidwatch, and verified by the Agnosi, and in theory, it was supposed to shackle the constant bloodshed between the GuildsCah, I guess it kind of did. Problem is that the Guilds werent stupid either, and it didnt take long for them to start establishing some unaffiliated organizations to cause havoc within adversarial districts or cause a spike in death on their behalf. Frankly, the Syndicates are more a feature than a flaw in our current system. Theyre technically unassociated with the Tiers, they can kill as many FATED as they want with the only risk being their own exterminationCsomething no one really mindsCand, more often than not, they can be directed to destabilize rival taxable districts without directly involving the Guilds themselves. So, this is how an ecosystem develops. Want, obstacle, convoluted reach-around solution, and all the horrible vines that sprout out from the sheer shittiness that follows. You can be bitter about it. Or you can understand your place in this nasty little jungle of ours and maybe even turn a profit out of burning these cancers. After all, with the Syndicates come their own problems, and if theres any lesson to be taken from what I just you, its that opportunity comes when you can solve a problem few others can -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 15-14 Watchers On High (I) +My name is Magger The Skintaker Illona, and youre tuned into the Ghoulpounder Thoughtcast.+ Somehow, Avo felt the rapidity of Chambers blinks without even needing to turn. The inconvenient period of his resurrection opened a seeping wound of confusion in his thoughtstuff. Ghoulpounder? Cas, are we getting into some of thatC The sound of Draus arm unfolding into a projectile launcher again followed, and the gift of speech was suddenly lost to Chambers. A phantasmal logo played a sequence detailing a boot shattering a ghouls skull upon the descent. An etheric window opened from the perspective of the Skintaker as he charged toward a horde of screeching ghouls with a chainsaw in hand. The scene paused. The phantoms loaded the visage of the Skintaker himself. Standing a bit under seven feet, the eponymous protagonist of the vicarity held himself more like a performer than a battle-hardened soldier. Despite the stretches of flayed ghoul skin adorning his flesh, tears revealed gold inlays decorating the mans exposed chrome, and a quick scry told Avo the Skintakers scale-lined trenchcoat was a luxury commodity from the Tiers. Twin bloodshot eyes peered out from behind a mangled sheet of flesh once attached to the face of a ghoul. This half-strand had a theme, and Avo wasnt sure if he liked it. [Oh, I guess its not okay when people mutilate ghouls, huh?] Abrel sneered. [Feeling sympathetic toward your poor brothers?] Avo clicked his fangs together. +No. Dying is what theyre for. More bothered by histheatricality.+ Say hello to Magger Illona, Cas said, gesturing at the stocky hologram of the skin-draped figure. Former Syndicate enforcer and current vicarity star. Real folk hero to the FATELESS and trash media for the Tiersfolk as well. Hes going to be our chief communications asset. Draus narrowed her eyes at the figure and frowned. How the hells hasnt he been shot by someone yet? Dont think youd last long runnin around the city lookin like that. Security, Cas explained. The guy hires squires and Necros to secure the perimeter of his shows before he arrives. Currently, he hosts a thoughtcast and an active vicarity distribution stream in which he stages attacks and rescues by killing ghouls he deliberately releases into FATELESS communes and shanties before they can kill too many people. Chambers stared on, trying to assemble from context what he missed while he was dead. What? Whys that guy wearing ghoul skin? A string of ghosts threaded out from Kae and into his mind, dissolving his confusion and changing his expression to that of a snort. Oh. Hes one of those guys. Oh, yeah. Real half-strand of a swindler. Immediately thereafter, Cas willed his phantoms to simulate the viewership metrics for Maggers thoughtcast and vicaries. One billion downloads for his latest vicarity. Three hundred million average spectators for his thoughtcasts. Hes also a reasonably popular indie folk hero with reliable viewership numbers. Going to use him to convert his followers? Avo asked. Cas shook his head.Not exactly. Currently, the best thing about his show is that its low heat. No Guilder or Syndicate attention. Pure variety trash content. From here we can make a prototype of his shows. If we can compromise him and make slight alterations to his material, we can use him as a clandestine broadcasting service as well as a recruitment officer. And the best part he doesnt even need to know. Chambers nodded sagely, but his thoughtstuff remained characteristically vacant. Avo directed a spray of perception over and discovered Chambers was actually following along. He wondered if his newfound assistant would perform better in non-nulling circumstances. The limitations inflicted by the Conflagration still needed to be surpassed, but the half-strand would serve for the present. Cas continued on. Now, youre used to diving so I dont need to explain decentralization to you and all the other training wheel stuff. However, you want cults to be as organic as possible and self-developing is preferable. Obvious changes in behavior will be noticed by a trawling Guilder Necro eventually, so things stay natural and quiet. You also want them to propagate their own offshoots so you can take advantage of future developments. Its not so different from a memetic contagion when the day is done. Interesting, Avo said. He considered the Skintaker again, but a twinge of doubt remained. Circumspect though the man was to the major players in the city, Avo couldnt see how some media snuff merchant could pivot toward what they needed. Not until Cas tuned his phantoms and materialized the next visual. Hovering overhead, a small logo appeared of a homunculus eating its way out from inside a ghoul with frequency blades clenched akimbo in tiny, balled fists. Beneath the design shone the following words in deep red: For the Unborn. Those are some nice mem-graphics, consang, Chambers said. You take commissions? Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I used to, Cas said absently as he continued to adjust the details. Learned how to make em good and fast for myself while I was on tour. On tour? Chambers asked. You were in a band? The Columner snorted. Yeah. Real gutter rocker I was. It was more of a family tradition than anything though. Then, his accretion quivered as if its folds were recoiling from outcroppings of turbulence and the pain peeled from his features. [I know that look,] Corner whispered. [Yeah. I see that in the mirror sometimes. Someone bled you bad, consang. Someone took something from you that will never come back. Were never gonna be whole again. Never gonna be whole again] The emotional resonance that seeped out from the template infused Avo with a mute despair. He remembered a sister that never was, of them, climbing rusted pipes as a child, of them, surviving together as squires, and finally of her returning as pieces in a blood-soaked box after a failed run. There are no new stories in New Vultun. The actors are different and the costumes change, but big stories ride the same rails going around and around forever. Surfacing from the vicarious malaise, Avo mastered himself and focused on the topic at hand. Considerations accelerated through Avos mind as his legion of templates manifested in a flash of sputtering flame. He needed broad insight into what Cas was presenting. There was an aspect of theatricality that was beyond his natureCa thing that could only respond to a human touch. [Its not a bad incubator for gauging interest, but its going to be damned inflexible,] Benhata said, applying his experience toward breaking Cas conspiracy. [Ori-Thaum never had too much trouble culling cults at the stem. What protectsCand betraysCcells is behavior. If the broader mem-data stays the same, theres likely nothing going on, but the more changes that take place, the harder things are to find. Sometime down the line, this things going to bloat and a Sleeper will find there way in. Things usually come apart after that.] Corner didnt think that was all so bad. [Things always come apart in the end. Yeah. The Ori might crack your little party. Start more. Start many. Make them all varied and different. And be specific about their hates. No Syndicates. One in particular. Use them like youre empowering your FATELESS. Give the ones with cause means to rip shit up and let them take their own path. Cut one down, culture another one up. You know how this game is played. Decentralize. Be everywhere. Be the plague.] [Fallwalkers right,] Abrel said. [Your Columner consang has the expertise, but we have deeper capabilities. You should use this Skintaker half-strand as a draft. See what works and what doesnt, then start planting your own seeds there as well. We can do better than scatteredvengeful Fallwalkers. We can build our own structures. Fuse them to the Guilds without noticing.] Gradually, the voices of his templates lessened, and Avo''s subminds took hold. [Half measures. There is an obvious opportunity that isnt being seized. Skintaker is just a start. There will be a vacancy. We will unmake the Three-Fingers. Other Syndicates will rise in absence. Will be our gutter war to engineer. Subvert the winner. Do it again. Again. Again.] [Yes. Again. Until we infest the Warrens. Until the support structure is gone. The Guilders want their exploitation. Want their instruments. Why cant we provide? Why cant we be conductors to phantom wars?] The path of his desire grew ever clearer. Cas was being enthusiastic, but he was playing to familiar patterns. His experience was invaluable, but Avo possessed subversive capabilities a scope beyond. They needed to be wed in practice, concept, and execution. Can we use Skintaker to start our own Syndicate as a cover, Avo said. Expand the concept. Cement him as a usable pillar and access point to a Guild? A staggered silence followed. A chitter sang out from his Echoheads and he felt Draus staring at him with her head tilted. Whoa, hold on there, consang, I just got out of a Syndicate, are you putting me back in. The swallow from Chambers was audible. ICuh, Im not saying youre like him or anything, but this feels pretty Mirrorhead to me. Not going to be controlling Syndicate. Just shaping them. Manipulating them. Making sure that theyreC All ours, Cas finished with a grimace. Look, I know what youre trying to doCOri-Thaum has tried it before, but these things come apart. Theres too much chaos for everything to go as planned and manipulations on this scale have too many consistent patterns. Trust me, its been tried, and its gone nowhere. [Hes right about that,] Behata said. [They dont have your mind though. Or the George Washington. It might be worth it to see if you can get voiders to offer you the stuff needed to create your own stable clones. If you can have that and also figure out how to burn fixed templates into their empty shells without the Conflagration carrying over] Abrel whistled. [Now theres a nasty fucking idea. You can mod them up a million other ways too. Make your own little rotlick army alongside your subversives. Except not shit.] Excitement tingled inside Avo alongside annoyance. With each thought the possibilities expanded, but so did the requirements and options presented to him. He was slowly coming to understand that an overload of choice delivered a discomfort all its own. Well start with proof of concept, Avo said. See what effect we can get out of Skintaker. Decide how far his use will go afterward. Many things to consider. Chambers. The half-strand shot to attention afterward. Yeah. Going to burn some sessions and mem-data into your mind. Backdoors into Three-Fingers. Steal anything worth knowing. Mem-lock their golems. Mem-lock their leaders. Funnel away their imps. We are going to create a collapse. And we will need the funding afterward. Thatll make a pretty big mess, Cas muttered. Good. Desirable. Avo cycled through his memories and pinpointed another note of concern. Showed three women earlier. Who are they? Cas didnt need a reminder. Survivors from my last experiment. Remnants of my old cult. Theyve slotted into their new lives well, but last time I checked in, theyre still game to raise some hell. All of them are on the verge of achieving deeper integrations in their respect sectors. The dealers going about to enter the Jadegazer Syndicate, the bouncer just got a sponsor for her circuit, and the manager is due for a promotion up Ashthrones Guild ladder soon. Its a start, but itll give us a wide picture of how tensions are across the city. Hm. Useful as well. Good. Very good. Some of his templates churned inside him, urging him to offer a gesture of camaraderie toward Cas. [Dont pat his head with one of your weird tentacle things,] Abrel spat, intercepting Avos faux pas just in time. He adjusted to awkwardly clapping the man on the shoulder. Very helpful. Good. Good. Teamwork. The Columner stared up at the nine-foot-tall monster for a gaping beat before his eyes drifted down to regard the long, clawed digits bouncing from his shoulder. Abrel groaned. [Not like a nu-dog, motherfucker!] Inside and out, both template and actual Chambers seethed with jealousy. Fucking, thats just social media guesswork and shit. I couldve done that. Avo directed three of his Echoheads to pat the members of his cadre as a response. Chambers sputtered in shock that quickly dissolved to disturbingly lustful joy while Kae squealed and back peddled away. He felt something stab the appendage he sent toward Draus and grinned as Regular glared at him. Keep that shit away from me, rotlick. Light footsteps sounded from the open hallway outside. Avo reached out with Sanguinity and felt Dentons person brush through his haemokinetic mists. She strode and sharply exhaled as an Echohead stretched around the corner to give her some team-building as well. Inside Avos mind, Corner was hoarse with laughter while Abrel stewed in quiet annoyance. [Avo. Are you doing this just to piss me off.] +Possibly.+ [Youre going to die painfully at some point, and by Jaus Im going to enjoy it.] Her impotence only made his glee grow greater. Shaking off her surprise, Denton painted her typical expressionless facade into place and entered the room with a three-foot-long translucent needle in hand. Flickering lights pulsed at the end of the tip while mercury-hued fog swirled inside the length. A holographic projection forming the words CAT-A lined the side of the injectable. Nanosuite, Avo asked, head cocked. Yes, Denton said, sweeping her gaze over Cas. Is there something happening here. Teamwork, Avo said. Fires told me to do it. [Im gonna laugh!] Abrel snarled. Okay, Denton said, nodding slowly. If youre all done talking about the cult for now, I wish to begin preparations for our meeting with Aegis. She held up with the nanosuite. Growing the hardware is straightforward, but I will not lie about my other concerns. Like what? Your personality, if I might be honest. We need you to come across as more stable and reasonable for this interview if we want to achieve optimal results. Avo frowned. Are you saying Im notC He stopped talking as he remembered tearing into Glitch and Dice and how he suddenly assaulted Zein. No, Draus said, rubbing salt into his shame, you really aint. Didnt finish that sentence, Avo growled. We all know what you was gonna say. I mean, this is a relative thing, right? Chambers chimed, trying to spin the topic. Avo is pretty stable compared to uh, most joyfiends. And Mirrorhead. Holy shit, Draus deadpanned. Someone give him a FATE Skein right now. The patting ceased. Through the fires of his cognition, a snicker followed. [Whats wrong, Avo? Not feeling the friendship anymore?] Give me the injection, Avo grunted. Wish to move on to more enjoyable things. 15-15 Watchers On High (II) Look, if youre running a Neurodeck, youre going to want to turn your Meta off. Its as simple as that. Ive seen people try to run both at the same time, but if youre not using one of those Omnitech Thresholder-patterns, the deck flips shit when ghosts swim through it. Okay. Very basic lesson in Necrotheurgy: When a ghost is extracted from a person, thats like a major facet of their post-mortem cognition. All the thinking they were capable of and all their most critical memories were deprived of animation. What this allows a Necrojack to manipulate, however, is information. Sometimes information in its most foundational form. Youre following, right? Good. Now, imbued with scirekinesis, you start moving and twisting critical aspect of what is known in systems, and seeing that soft and hardware of the Neurodeck is aligned to your mind, and your Metamind is like a metaphysical deck in that is constantly and actively altering your consciousness with all the additional memories, emotions, and understandings channeled through your phantasmics Oh, shit is right. Oh fuck might be even more apt. Listen. Ive tested both. The voiders Neurodeck is far and away the more convenient, superior, and effective enhancer if we had to choose, but the problem is that we arent living in the void. The problem is were here in the biggest of the big. Decks cant actively protect you from mem-cons like Metas can. Decks cant form phantasmics or jack without some kind of connection in the real. And thanks to the Sprites Omnitech keeps creating with the repeated deletions of their Material Intellecti, not even non-human cognition can be kept safe from invasive alteration. That doesnt mean your purchase is useless, however. It just means you have to be focused and clever about how youre using it. Right now, the Deck is a reliable secondary asset if you want to jock or stream void-transmitted content and see beyond this little well the Guilds have built for us, but youre keeping that Meta if you know whats good for you. I know youre trying to apply for Voidwatch citizenship. I know everything youre doing to qualify for their safe passage program and all the imps you have to pay off Omnitechs Thanagild and waive your death obligation to become your own person. And youll do it. Youll make it. Youre so close, but you need to slow down. If you let Omnitech find out too early, theyll screw the legs out from under you. They dont want you to leaveCthey dont want anyone to leave. And a surefire sign of betraying your wants is getting that deck grafted before the time is right. Be patient. Dont fall before the end. -[Redacted] to [Redacted] on Neurodecks and Metaminds 15-15 Watchers On High (II) Draus tapped Avo on his shoulder before anything could follow. Hey. Im gonna go on a bit of a jaunt of my own. Got some things I need to do. Someone you want to snuff? Avo asked. She offered a quiet laugh. More than one. But thats a side-gig. Still have a barge I never picked up along with all the shit inside it. Gotta take care of that aliong with some other whos and whats while you have your little meetin with the voiders. Dont want to join in? Avo asked. Her bio-rigs helmet clicked together, encasing her face behind an insectoid aesthetic. Nah. Theyre askin for you. Sounds like an invite-only kind of thing anyhow. Wordless, she turned to step out through the passage and froze mid-step. There is one thing you might-could do for me. Ive heard things about the kit they had He understood. Want new guns? Her smirk could be tasted from the emanations of her thoughtstuff. [Ever the Regular,] Abrel muttered. I see, Avo said, releasing a quiet hiss of amusement. Any specific designs you want sampled? All of em. But who knows what theyll allow you. See what you can do. Kits always reliable. Dont want to be usin our Heavens for everything. Shits loud. Take Chambers with you, Avo said. Maybe Kae too. Good for us to continue acclimating to each others eccentricities.: The Regular regarded the other two and shook her head. Aint gonna be that rough of a run, consang. Have your half-strand do the jackin thing in the meantime. Seems to me like a better use of his time. Kae can spend her while thinkin up how to optimize our Heavens. Yes. I concur. The Agnos agreement came with a bit too much haste and vigor. Try as she might, the leak of her discomfort remained. She could kill, but the action felt vile to her, and the feeling of death brushing her senses sickened her. He could remove her aversions with but a thoughtCsculpt everyone around him to what he thought their ideal psychologies to be. The option was there, ever-teasing, ever-tempting, but his flames stayed his own. Such a simple transgression struck him as a betrayal of more than trust but assumptions. He was gauging their effective worth from his own narrowed perspective. Burning each of them into his mind as a template would indeed benefit of an immense scale, but he wanted the choice to remain theirs. For what worth was absolute power if he was so keen to betray personal ideals out of impatience? Yes, Avo said, studying each of his companions. We should all find our own uses. Introspect. Practice. Become the gods we each wish to be. Paradoxically, Chambers derived the greatest inspiration from these words. Strange how he valued his own development when his self-esteem was tied to what praise he could earn from his peers. He was no freer than when Avo took him prisoner before. Now, however, his bondage was one of affection-seeking, like an abused hound granted a better master. It was interesting to study, but Avo would see a true person forged from the ruins of this half-strand someday. That, to him, resonated as an act of true artistry: a construct of finalized personage. The cadre parted thereafter in a multitude of directions. Cas pulled Chambers away to begin the initial shaping required for the cults. Hushed threats and tempered pleas flowed from the Columner to the half-strand as the former begged the latter for decency, saying such things as Im trusting you not to get me with a mem-con when we sync and If youre watching a vicarity right now, please stop. Poor fool. Kae remained within the cell. She inquired from Avo the total thaumic mass of his Frame and how many ontologics he had for grafting before accessing the volumes of Elder Mythos bequeathed by Walton. Though her mind was now freed from the Conflagration, the fragmentary nature of her thoughts remained. Her thoughtstuff skipped from topic to topic, moment to moment, as she began a vivid discussion with herself about potentials and possibilities. Enthusiasm animated her motions as she drowned herself in her passion anew. An aching twinge pulled at him as he left her alone along in the phase cell. Kae Kusanade was not like them. She did not belong here. Her like was bound to the triumphs and heights of the city, to be making great works and griding creations of progress from the whetstone that was her mind.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. She fell by misfortune alone, by no fault of her own. She was simply too skilled at her chosen profession, and too willing to see things turn for the better. Walton had to burn her life. Highflame had to seek an upper hand. Ori-Thaum had to deny what they couldnt control. Now, here she was, practicing her gloried art among monsters and cultists, plotting against the towers from where she was cast. She deserved better. The intrusiveness of the thought assailed Avo. Sympathy boiled beneath the surface of his cognition as the templates looked on at the Agnos with a mix of shame and sorrow. [You SIlvers will face deliverance for this,] Abrel said, judging Kae with muted pity. [The Agnosi werent to be touched. That was one of the few rules we all agreed on. There isnt a spit of honor inside any of you for what you helped do.] The Shadows ignored the seething Godclad while Benhata sighed. [Spare me the honor bullshit. Highflame isnt a stranger to these games. Youre just being willfully blind.] [We conducted ourselves in accordanceC] [The Seraphs just change the rules when they need to do something that contradicts their ethics,] Benhata said. [Did you know that? That your masters just lie when things get too hardC] +Enough,+ Avo cast, his talons clicking upon the stairs as he followed Denton back up into the dormitory. +Blame is total. Blame falls on everyone. Two for using her. One for breaking her. Me for just existing. The hurts been inflicted. She works. She strains her mind with tasks so she doesnt need to think. She hides from her losses. But they will need to faced. And we will make it right for her. And make this all matter for everyone.+ [Youre going to hunt down our Glaives,] Benhata recalled. A sound of keening despair escaped from his mind as he realized what he was going to be a party tooCand how its entirely outside of his control. +Going to do more than hunt them. They have greater use than that. Kae will have vengeance first. But we will use what is claimed to sink deeper into the Guilds. We will find a way to mend the rash.+ Reaching into the room using his Sanguinity, Avo felt for any changes since he had last been back and clenched what felt like a hovering oval-shaped chair of some manner bobbing in the corner of the room. Its size was substantialCand more importantly, appeared aligned with his dimensions. He had a sneaking suspicion that speaking to this so-called Aegis wouldnt be that different from descending into active unconsciousness to facilitate a deep dive. Before I got interrupted earlier, I wanted to speak with you about your personality and how you present yourself The Glaive looked over her shoulder and regarded him with an uncertain glance. Aegis and the Consensus know what you are. I briefed them about your background relationships, habits, and actions thus far. None of this will come as a surprise to them. Good. How did they react? The approved the interview, Denton said. So. Thats better than expected. But I suspect that this is likely built more on their trust in my judgment than their appreciation for your abilities. You are volatile. Unpredictable. And capriciously brutal. The directness of her critique came as a slight surprise to Avo. Reliable Denton. Diplomatic Denton. Careful Denton. Now, she was playing the role of an instructor. These words werent a venting of frustration but a highlight of potential vulnerabilities. She was trying to prime him against his own nature so he might present himself as some manner of civilized creature. Fortunately for him, he didnt need to fake such a change. With but a thought, he began to culture more strands of humanity through his sequences and memories, growing emotions and wants in him that never were before. I can make them feel like Im a real person, Avo said, keeping the rasp out from his voice. Dont worry, I have myself under control right now, but if you want to take preventative measuresC Before I give you this injection, I need you to understand the dangers Im exposing my people to, she continued, ignorant or apathetic to his shift in demeanor and speech. Your people, Avo asked. You can already guess who I really belong to. When the Nerve-Mesh Neurodeck is fused to your brain matter, youll realize there are things you can do with the Sprite that you couldnt before. Thats because you now have functional hardware. Its also going to expand the number of people you can jack, burn, and null by a substantial margin. The stars will, in a way, open up to you, and youll glimpse a new hunting ground filled with memories and contents unconsumedCat least for as long as the nanosuites half-life lasts. I need you to promise me you will not harm the people. He regarded her with new understanding. This was more than just fear. This was the marriage between anxiety and trust expressed by a being with ironclad control over their expressions. She was effectively walking a warg through a flock of lambs and telling it not to feed, for on the hill beyond stands a judgment of hunters, and perhaps through them he might rise even further than the rankness of his rapidly departing beasthood. It will torment me, Avo said, letting the truth twist out from him. But I have been tormented before. Denton stood, turned, and fixed him with a final resolute stare. Her met her gaze unshifting, unblinking, and for a beat, their perceptions remained two spear-tips picking at one another as if lockpicks instead. Finally, her head dipped as she climbed the last three steps into the threshold of the room and led him to his chair. In the far corner knelt Essus, muttering quiet prayers and whispering nothings to the wall as his accretion crested and fell on waves of tumult. He did not turn to regard Avo upon hearing the ghouls entry, but tensing of his shoulders signaled his awareness. Have a seat, Denton said as clicked the back of the nanosuite. The sides of the injectable were unlatched and folded backward to form a pressure--based delivery mechanism as she gestured for him to lower his head. The needle was the thinnest he ever seen and the way the nanos swirled within the tube, lashing and craving for his presence instilled him a sense of unease. Such is what our prey feels when we take them in our embrace, master, the Woundshaper said. All fear their devouring. All fear their replacement. To be less thanCthen apart of something unfathomable. He overthrew his worry and lowered his head regardless. Denton had gone far to secure this opportunity for him. The time to betray and bind him was long past. The present was built upon trust and truth, and regardless of what was to follow, he would try to be less Unstable. A few buzzing bees darted by Avo as extensions of Sunrises colony stood witness to his subtle augmentation. Im going to administer the contents under your eye. Youll feel a tickle first. It will spread through your central nervous system. Youll want to be seated in case of any twitches and spasms that might follow, and then, after approximately thirty seconds, youll receive an inquire asking you if you accept the installation of the Nerve-Mesh Neurodeck. Just blink twice at the yes option. Like my cog-feed? Avo asked, forcing his head still using internalized haemokinesis. The glint of the tip drew closer, and with inhuman dexterity, Denton slipped the injection between folds of fiber and flesh without ever arousing any pain. Not exactly. Denton squeezed the folded clamps of the injection. The lights along the nanosuite flashed green and the word injecting pulsed as a holographic for a heartbeat. The substance entered through his left optical cord like sand crawling behind his eye. There was no tickle at first. It was more than an inch that spread, and he fought the urge to scratch at himself using his own blood before the graft was completed. A delayed note of interest spread through him as he regarded the now emptied injectable once more. This was why the Guilders seemed so soft to him regardless of their heightened enhancements. Their grafts were delivered with comfort and with symmetry in mind. For an enforcer, a better arm came with the cost of losing an arm first, and chrome demanded a steady supply of immuno-suppressants, tweaks, and bi-monthly grafter visits at the least. The FATED never felt the weight of their ascensionCnever knew the pain of the blade before their vessels were imbued with new edges to its potential. But Avo did. More than anyone else the city, he knew what it was to go from having all gifts denied to claiming highest bounties. {Initializing} {NERVE_MESH V10.22} *APPROVED ON TRIAL BASIS {Would you like to begin installation (yes/no)} He did as Denton said. And only then did the inch become a tickle as a new HUD overlapped with his cog-feed. {Good morning, applicant.} The voice was a unified chorus not so unlike what he heard when speaking to the Hungers. Avo looked toward Denton seeking answers but she just remained silent. Applicant. {If you are seeing this message, this means you have been tapped for Operation Revisionist, and the Conensus would like to offer you a position in Aegis. Your interview will initialize upon the installation of your Neurodeck. Please remove all other aspects of interference and ensure that you are in a safe and secure environment before uploading your stack into Threshold.} 15-16 Threshold (I) You have no idea the heights from which we fell. We. Humans. Humanity. Us and the voiders at a time before time; before the gods and fissures bleeding over into the real. Before Idheim itself was ever a thing. No idea. They didnt torture me when I was discovered. Not really. Not in the ways we imagine. Instead, they just let me live in a simulation of a world that was, let me feel what was lost, and then dropped me back outside. I lived a lifetime in a world of mundane miracles and quiet wonders. I I strode the stars. The existence that belonged to our forebearers... There were no gods thenCno ruptures or Heavens or Hells or twisted distortions in the tapestry of reality. Everything was the foundational world perfected. They harnessed fundamental laws to achieve wonders that we squander with our impossible powers. Ive seen them cradle stars in ships the size of our planet. Ive seen them move systems into and out of placeClived on an Arm-Drifter during the reshuffling of Orion. I fought in a thousand worlds and burned a million worlds and destroyed a billion vessels yet took no life for the flesh and the self was parted. I lived freer and truer and happier than I have everCI have everC I want to go back. I dont want this world, this nightmare, this poison! I dont want to leave the dark! I dont want to return to you! Oh, god, oh [PRE-PANTHEON DEITY REDACTED], they sent me away. They let me know and sent me away. [Sobbing laughter] Those those half-strands. This they didnt even need to twist my mind. Just knowledge of loss. This is enough. This is enough. Im I cant take this I cant remember this. Take the memories out of me! Take them out! Ill kill myself if I remember! I kill myself! -Former Sleeper Therese Therrin after her extradition back to Ori-Thaum at the hands of Voidwatch for crimes of espionage 15-16 Threshold (I) True to Dentons words, the second visual display manifested over his cog-feed in trailing strings of solid lettering. There was a naked clash of aesthetics between the vaporous glow of ghosts and the solid blocks shunted from a still growing coldtech extension of his mind. {Detecting stack Unable to find expansive consciousness storage Generating Generating Generating Error: Unable to generate ego (Problem: Abnormal scan results) Please contact your local EGI for further instructions Ego generation failed, Avo muttered. Thats fine, Denton replied, her own thoughstuffs a swirl of static constellations. Narrow funnels of mem-data threaded to and from her accretion at a staggering pace, and with the way her eyes were darting, he guessed she was interfacing with multiple messages at the same time. Its not an unexpected issue. The Conflagration is designed to eat and collapse EGIs themselves, so youll have to use your Sprites to link your cog-feed to your deck. She spoke, he willed, and his mind changed once more. As the flames of his ego roiled, stitch by churning stitch threaded into the nanomechanical mental amplifier spreading through his brain matter, the clash between his two HUDs flickered, snapped together. All of a sudden his awareness onboarded, and numbers began to surge through his mind. Necrojack entailed some limited coding while one was delving through mem-data or filtering for specific sequences, but what he faced now left him drowned in ignorance. Complex strings shot out like accelerating trains along the curve of his mind''s eye. New display windows opened across the stretch of his perception and he found scant few points of understanding. Updating biometrics Warning: No heartbeat detected. Users oxygen circulation abnormal Users oxygen intake abnormal Updating user morphological classification Designation: Category-Plus Adaptive Plus Adaptive? Avo asked. Its trying to gauge your physiology to better optimize your biological functions, Denton explained. Youre getting a rating for your complexity and distance from natural human baseline. Plus means you are slightly more enhanced. Slightly, Avo grunted. If a baseline ghoul was glass, then a flat would be tissue. To consider himself something just slightly above the category of natural human seemed He reached a more likely conclusion: Voidwatchs clades simply ran a far vaster spectrum than those contained on New Vultun. Augmentations were relative, and so too were the clades. The Scaarthians, Kosgans, Ori, Sang, and others all had their little traits. The voiders were probably even more diversified in that regard. Adaptives are designed toward surviving and propagation. Not so common for humans to occupy such a variant, but bioforms designed to seed a newly discovered world often gain such genetic traits during their creation. There are over four thousand other variants of morphology and three adaptional categories of separation beyond plus classified under the terms next, hyper, and ultimate. Denton took a breath as her thoughtstuff slowed substantially. Dont take these categories too seriously. They were primarily used by the Einherjar Leagues to separate their spheres of conflict for their seasonal war tournaments. Avo understood nothing about what she just said, and neither did his templates. What? She blinked and noticed the confusion leaking from his mind. It is a popular form of entertainment. Citizens scan their egos into various morphological sheathes and engage in combat across sections of the colonized galaxy bearing the anarchic designation. This is unimportant. Have you connected your Sprites? Yes. Alright, Denton sighed. At least Omnitech is good for something today. There was much to unpack behind her words, but Avo found himself more curious at the fact of her denigration. Denton had proven neutral and measured in dialogue for as long as he could remember, yet here was an openly negative remark. Curious. Dont like Omnitech? Avo asked. She fixed him with an inscrutable stare. Lets get you beamed to Threshold. Think command, to open up your decks system functions. Doing as she asked, his mind expanded into a splash of rushing informationdanced through his mind on currents guided by coldtech alone. No ghosts whispered their memories to him, nor was his deck as personable or responsive as his Metamind. There was still a layer of separation between him and this new augmentationCbut it offered clarity and direct focus. He could command it much like one of his subminds, and it gave him directly stated choices instead of demanding that he decipher the next steps via his skill and experience. Stack generated Warning: Abnormal cognitive readings detected Please consult your nearest EGI for a full scan to ensure your rights have not been intruded upon Maladaptive nanites detected Asking me to consultC Think ignore, Denton said. He did so, and the menu vanished, leaving him alone with all the other functions once more. Now, youre going think pair nearest deck-frequency, and connect to me mentally, Denton continued. Dont worry about burning my mind. If it happens, kill me and well search for another solution. Your stack should be actively downloading stable snapshots of your ego every few seconds, however, so connecting to me should be a stable process. That inflicted a moments pause. Youre saying I can cast into people again? Avo asked. Do it without burning them?The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Only those with decks right now. Most features are still locked for your current deck and you will need several other suites to gain full interfacing capabilities. Whats that going to take? Avo asked, feeling his desires spike. Thats up to Aegis and the Consensus. Your acceptance will be determined by a vote between eligible admins. Avo offered a wordless grunt. Socialization and charm werent exactly what he was known for, but his templates could boost his paltry charisma. [Use more of me,] Benhata said, casually coming forward. [Im the best candidate you have for this.] {+Bold+} Avos thought was carried by ghosts and signals both. Inside, he felt Glitchs Heaven shake as something skipped over its primary domain. Denton. Sprites. What are they? Ghost are from dead people, she began. Sprites are from deleted sophonts. Deleted. The Charter of Citizenship extends past the borders of biology, she said. Youll be able to draw inquires directly from the cloud after this conversation. If it goes well. He looked up at the ceiling as her words continued to befuddle him. Cloud. He looked forward to understanding what she meant by that. Paring nearest Neurodeck frequency Frequency detected: {AGS (D)-12} ATTENTION: You do not have the clearance to Pairing accepted As felt himself dip over into Dentons mind a frown crawled over his face as a familiar feeling slipped into place. The way their minds connected and their shared data loaded was symmetrical to how things went when he synced with another using his Meta. Too similar. From all the memories he devoured, he knew that the Ori had their own supply of raw, uncut, unrefined vivianite on the island, and Noloth possessed their own supply as well. However, it was only with the arrival of Voidwatch along with the caging of the Hungers that the Nether and Necrotheurgy began to develop as rapidly as they did. Most assumed this was another of Jaus great deeds and genius miracles. The more he regarded the merger, however, the more his suspicions rose. Sheathes. Egos. Constructs. Idelheim''s technology. The core of their modern knowledge seemed to have aped much of their cousins from beyond the shattered black. Who was to say that Necrotheurgy itself didnt possess aspects derivative of an older practice? A more developed one, perhaps. You noticed, Denton said, her voice scarcely more than a whisper. For the first time, he gained direct access to the inner confines of her mind and could only regard her cognition with building fascination. Denton didnt have one stream of thoughtCshe had over a dozen. She was thinking and interfacing with multiple jackpoints across the cityCacross her sessions. Wait, were they sessions? Information flowed into and out of her like she was simply on conduit in a great series, and stranger still she communicated with raw code alone. There was nothing of the phantasmal about the process. Nothing of the interpersonal. The data was supreme. Compared to Necrotheurgy, the deck was a hard science by far. Yet, as she continued moving variables and sending packets at a rapid pace, he felt a choking lurch run through both their minds followed by a spike of muted surprise from her. It was like her thinking was stuttering with him layered over her. WARNING: Ego backup exceeding maximum data storage capacity Please reduce your memory load and upgrade processing hardware to match your current cognitive capabilities Avo, please reduce your templates to a minimum, Denton said. She paused. Just how many minds do you She gazed into the untold thousands that simmered inside him, and for the first time, he felt her guts tighten with dread. He could not deny the pleasure he felt at causing such a response, nor his admirationwhen she immediately choked the emotion away to nothing. The interfusion between his Conflagration and the warmind of Ignorance allowed him to alter his own ego on the go, but it seemed like the supposed Glaive possessed a lesser twin to his ability from the sheer will alone. Respectable. Extremely respectable. And to think he thought her bland. A low profile is the point, she said, giving him a polite smile. A few lines of data ran through their link. Preparating Ansible for hyperwave transmission Connecting to Threshold (55%) The connectivity between their minds stuttered again. New warnings appeared about how his current deck wasnt able to download a full imprint of his consciousness this time, and how he needed to make reductions. He willed his flames to swallow all templates and memories aside from him and Benhata. A final slur was hurled from Abrel toward the Silver, but if the fallen Glaive cared, it was less than it took for him to feel. {+Just you and me now.+} [Yeah,] Benhata said, swallowing back a pit of anxiety opening in his nonexistent stomach. [Just me, the man-eating monster dreaming me into existence, the voider plant, and the void gods themselves.] Unnerved by how total a consciousness Benhatas template seemed, Denton pressed her lips together. Let him go too. Hes not a self-aware entity. Not truly since hes tied to you but holding a fork of someone elses mind after killing them in enforced servitude is definitely against the charters. Avo blinked. Voidwatch cares about that? The look of quiet despair behind her eyes told him all he needed to know. Benhata sighed. [Thanks plant. Here I was glad to exist a while longer. Back to the Big Nothing again.] The faintness of Dentons wince as Benhata vanished was almost imperceptible. Connecting to Threshold (88%) Going to be much harder now that I can only draw on memories, Avo said, grimly. They want this? My diminishment? Baseline? Show they can have the upper hand? Voidwatch is uninterested in posturing, she said. We are, however, very keen about our ethics. It has taken me substantial effort to have Aegis overlook some of your previous actions. If you remember one thing, remember this: Voidwatch cares about human life. All human life. We prefer to preserve above all else. There are so few of us left after all. Connected to Threshold (100%) A building sphere of concentrated static and electric impulses began to collapse inward at the core of her mind. On the precipice of a departure, Avo swallowed a taste of melancholy from the Columner as she took a breath. Are you ready? Denton asked. Yeah, Avo said, unsure if he was lying. Ill keep what you said in mind. I will consider life to have inherent value when I speak. The corner of her lip twitched. Looks like well make a saint out of you yet. Uploading stacks to Threshold Entering virtuality Avos perception of the world shrank as the walls rushed through him after collapsing into needle-sized tunnels. A sightless horizon was accelerating toward him and his minds new amplifier was singing with an onrush of data that he just couldnt read. Moments passed, but his consciousness never faded. There was no lurch between being awake and unconscious as there was in a deep dive, and he felt the building strain in his Sprites more than ever as details flowed from his Meta into his deck in a constant stream. He wondered if he could reach past the blockade of coldtech with his fires and burn Denton regardless. He wondered if he could set the entirety of the voiders lobby ablaze Pillars of light and color twitched into existence and hammered down across his perception as his awareness snapped together in full. Avo loaded into his new environment with a twitch in a manner not so unlike how he returned to reality post-resurrection. This lobbyCno, too limited a descriptionCthis virtual plane buried its teeth into his senses and rooted him in place immediately. There was no period of adjustment. There was no confusion or active sequencing via ghosts. He simply was, and Threshold followed in perfect wholeness. Welcome to Threshold Setting stack-identifier to private Spawn-point: Avalon Water ran beneath his talons, but he did not sink into the deep. Instead, he took a step back and watched the crystalline currents ripple. The volume of birdsong struck his senses like a shiv and each inhale made him choke from how fragrant the very air was. The horizon fell in drops of twilit reverie as mists lifted around to reveal a pale palace rising into the clouds from atop a nearby island. From below, the waters began to rumble as a marble bridge rose into being, forming something between a columned pathway toward the fortifications and aqueduct from all the water it still cupped. Letting the scene settle, Avo looked around and found no shortage of detail no matter where he swept his gaze. Perhaps he or someone of White-Rabs caliber could sequence something like this into a mind by merit of power or skill, but even then there would be inconsistencies. Glitches incurred by clashes of understanding. Small hairline fractures in the mem-data. What his deck fed him was beyond comprehension, and what he perceived was beyond fault. This place was perfect. Pristine. Scenic. Avo had to slice away his growing envy as he wondered if voiders were taunting him with this work of art. From behind, a series of pitched creaks pulled at his attention. The waters peeled to announce the approach of Denton seated at the prow of a small angular boat made from wood, and on the other end sat a stranger in dark blue robes. The curved vessel came to a halt next to Avo, and finally did he notice the dark feathered birds perched upon the newcomers shoulders and the two wolves that lay snoring by his feet. Wordless heartbeats passed as Avo swept his gaze between Denton and the strangerCwho Avo noted to be missing an eye from the empty dark in his right eye. Yet, as he drank in the visage of the stranger, he too felt himself judged on a level he couldnt describe. Do you wish to tread water or sail with us, the stranger asked. His voice was quiet, clear, and absolutely inhuman. An impossible weight existed behind every syllable, as if the stranger could call upon this world to strike Avo down, and all of it would listen and obey. Would like to know the benefits, Avo stated plainly. More than two options. Could try stealing the ship from you. Could turn and walk away. Could run. Could see if I can make my own. Why do you want me to board? Who are you? Aegis? Light struck the strangers face from the side, and in a moment more befitting cinema than reality, the brightness lit the strangers aged, grizzled features. I am to Aegis what a ghost is to you. Come aboard. Save us the time. Let us talk as an older myth greeting one younger. Then as the heart of man, to the heart of that which follows. I wish to see your true nature. Avo offered a quiet laugh and spread his fangs. Wont take long. 15-17 Threshold (II) My first encounter with our erstwhile kin was of pure chance. Born to worship the Seraphs and bred from the genetic stock of the Proselytizes, mine was the duty of ensuring compliance and accord among all members of the faith, and it is with great sourness that I look back upon the conduct of my youngest days. Always I have sought mountains to climb and giants to chain. It was never a thing of triumph for me, but exploration. I seek limitsCborders. Such was what led me toward my efforts to ensure that populations recently conquered or notably unruly were brought to heel. Such then, was to be my lifeCa motivated servant who masked his personal pleasures of exploration under the guise of piousness. Then came our first battles against the Ori. Those long savage years throwing bodies to stem their armadas from burning our shores as the gods tore the skies asunder, wrestling with each other to the toll of thousands dead between every heartbeat. Gentler days, those were. Without means of preserving each death, each miracle came at a cost, and without proper containment, each clash tore through the Chosen and savaged the tapestry around them. In the throes of one such desperate struggle, I volunteered myself to be a vessel of might. I will neglect the name of the god, for that which is broken is best left regarded as a silent ruin, but know that such was the first true day of my lifeCthe day when my wife-to-be, with her Glaive fueled by a divine master of her own, cleaved through me and split my lord instead. The world ruptured then, as it always had when such things happened. But with the breaking wound delivered upon my gods hubris, I found myself delivered alongside my supposed enemy to a place far beneath the waves, within the guts of a metallic beast long slumbering, with the people it swallowed frozen in time. It is there that my chains were broken for the first time. Mine, and that of the surviving armadas yet wandering the darkness. They freed me from my ignorance. I offered them a point of refuge in this sea of tumult we call existence. And in the delving of forbidden histories and past glories, I finally imbibed the true taste of sorrow as I realized just how very much we lost. -Jaus Avandaer 15-17 Threshold (II) Silence was complex language. On the antiquated wooden vessel, Avo stared at the stranger, their gazes locked and unblinking while Dentons gaze traveled across the waters to pierce the mists and further still. Avo took the measure of the unknown entity and regarded his costume as gaudy. Robes rugged without being ragged, appearing paradoxically pristine and worn simultaneously. His face told a similar storyCweathered skin and missing eye but no other scars to speak of. Paired with the animals that accompanied him, the stranger resembled a figure manifested from qualities described by a secondhand source; a bearer of a mythological atmosphere. The iconoclasm within their damage meant something. It was all too neat to be otherwise. A lifetime of violence left its touch in capricious strokes. What afflicted the stranger was something far more deliberate. Are you some kind of faither? Avo asked, breaking the quiet. The stranger offered a capitulation of their own, blinking in a display of sudden humanity as he rubbed his chapped lips together. I suppose you may regard that of me, the Stranger said. I am a representative avatar more than a worshipper, however. The system has manifested me to prime your interest. I hold the guise of an old god playing at a man. A theme strides between us in inversion. Avo considered the strangers words and disagreed. No. The flint of interest was struck behind the strangers eye for the first time. You arent real. And Im no longer so singular. This front does it work on other Godclads? Your appeal to mythology. Dont see the worth of it. The strangers jowls tightened and he offered a quiet nod. One of his wolves twisted its head and laid curious eyes on the post-ghoul. Most Godclads find me someone worth mocking. The vagaries of my powers are long lost to history, and the nature of being a figurative god rather than a literal one leaves little impression on those who can abuse the fabric of metaphysical reality. Many ask me what miracles I possess and what becomes of me at the end of my tale. Many more ask what kind of god would portray themselves as a maimed man. What is your answer to the last question? Avo asked. The stranger hummed a low laugh. A desperate one. A shadow fell over Avo and he found himself entering the cavernous hall beneath a crystal-clear portcullis. The entire affair had the taste of a fanciful vicarity wrapped in the mold of a Kosgan fairytale. Or maybe this was another deliberately maintained similarity. How much culture belonged to Idheim alone? How much was forgotten but inherited regardless? Would you like to hear some advice before the proceedings begin? the stranger asked, leaning closer. So bright was the gleam in his single eye that it appeared as if a burning piece of coal, even in daylight. Let your truth flow. We can accept you. We can reject you. We see enough to see the truth of your nature. Whats left is how we present ourselves, and reactions behind our actions. Honesty, Avo breathed. Not hard. A ghost of a smirk crawled over the strangers features. Depends on the person. For some, its all but impossible, and they would give anythingCeven an eyeCto see if they can escape a predestined end. The shrug that followed felt far too rehearsed. Such, however, is just mythology. Its what we do with our beliefs that reveal the manifestations of character. Avo clicked his fangs together but didnt speak. Something about this conversation plucked at his suspicion like a string. The nature of this dialogue felt too familiar, too supportive, too comforting. These words were engineered for him and him alone. He knew that. More than this though, there was a strange familiarity to it all. Walton. This was reminiscent of remembered conversations with Walton. A twang of anger shuddered through Avo and he almost dissolved it using his Conflagration before recalled the conditions of his connectivity. Letting the feeling simmer, Avo glared upon the stranger with ire for the first time. Want to give you some advice in return. Will you hear it? The man before him went still, the wolves at his feet turned their heads to stare at the ghoul, and the ravens on his shoulder cocked their heads. Five different reactions for a single unexpected comment. The stranger was not designed to be a good gambler. His deception was offensive. Or perhaps Voidwatch deliberately designed them to act in such a manner. Regardless, he would have his say as well. Judgment was a double-edged blade, after all. I am more than the research you did on me, Avo said, keeping the slavering growl out from his words. I am more than the past woven into my mind. More than the thing Walton built. More than every fault or flaw I once exhibited. Shackle anyone else to your expectations. Drop the chains with me. Silence. Curiosity. Consideration. The stranger lowered his head and spoke again, but this time, his words werent directed at Avo. You werent wrong about his ego. Its quite constrained comparatively, Denton answered. Alright, the stranger said, leaning back on his haunches. We can do open-minded. He seemed to dissolve then, the shift in his voice dropping away like his facade. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Fading particulates of weathered, wrinkled skin and travel-worn robes flaked to uncover something akin to a star. A cyclopean machine hovered, streams of trickling nano-foglets undulated like strings of sunlight making a triple-stacked x shape at the brilliant core of the construct. Forming its centermost matter was a mesh of fluid silicon and polished metal. There was a perfection to its design that he couldnt quite place, and deep in his Frame, the Woundshaper boiled with admiration. What curvesCwhat angles! What perfection to the shape! Find this mechanism, master. Find it so I might bring it into my embrace. I long for its patterns EGI? Avo asked. Now youre just being broad, the mechanical mind replied. He could feel its presence pressing against his Heaven of Signals somehow but found it beyond grasp when he sought to reach out for it. His Domain taunted him here, with awareness granted but canons useless to achieve desired contact. You may call me, If on a Winters Night a Wanderer. Or Calvino, if youre a fan of brevity. I will serve as your point of contact for this interview. Avos Echoheads rattled and he studied how Denton just stared on, watching the happenings without a word. What is she? Isnt she human enough to serve? Oh, no, our esteemed Denton-12 is far too biased to serve as your interviewer. You have impressed her three times overCand how am I to blame her. The orb was far more chipper than the stranger it pretended to be. Avo wondered what was the deeper point behind the pretense. You dont sound very impressed. I can be. Much like you possess the means to attune your mind to new moods and fancies, so too can I alter my state of thought. I suppose we are quite alike in such a way. Only that Im older and of a system far more grounded. And the stranger. Why the guise. Oh. The mythological aspects tied to a human face usually bridge well with other Godclads. I was curious how you might treat old Odin, and I suppose you didnt disappoint. I must sayCas a point of digressionCthat you would make for a far more interesting Grendel than the old stories portray. But one shudders at the thought of poor Beowulf facing a beast such as you. Words were spoken. Names were invoked. References were made. Avo knew none of them. With each passing exchange, he felt an ache build alongside jealousy. Such was another expression of his hunger, he supposed. Ignorance burned inside him, but ignorance also starved. Calvino knew much more than he did, and that was all it took for him to yearn for what the machine had. Oh, how tempting the of burning this entire place into his mind was. How hard he strained his will denying himself such delights. A loud groan of metal drew his attention back to the castle, and Avo felt the waters rushing along the bridge flow faster as an aged portcullis rose high. Calvino toned a mechanical sigh. I was never much a fan of these Arthurian themes, but I loathe arguing with Threshold over the backdrop. It has such a terrible personality. Perhaps it might listen to a request made by you, seeing as you are its newest guestCoh, no, a newborn has logged in. Too late. A peal of laughter followed, and Avo narrowed his eyes. Tired of this. Should get this interview started. Finished. See things done. Still have much to do elsewhere. Oh, yes, your many plans have been quite noted. You might be delighted to know that the assessment has already begunChas begun since the first moment you entered Threshold. The conversational aspect will continue throughout, but I must confess, it is how you will perform in the scenarios I am most interested in. Scenarios? Avo asked. He shot Denton a look but her bland smile didnt offer any insight. Oh, yes, Calvino said, gliding just beside Avo as one of its nanomolecular tendrils draped itself across his shoulder. Tell me, has Zein ever uttered the words kobayashi maru to you? Nothing rose from the sea of his recollections. Avo frowned. No. What does it mean. The EGI didnt respond immediately. Instead, it offered an unneeded exhale as the cavernous tunnel they traveled down grew immensely brighter. I suppose your time with her has been short. The concept is simple: it is the idea of a no-win exercise. A situation where failure and certain defeat are the only paths forward. The direct translation of the ancient texts, however, can be understood as little wooden boat. And with the conclusion Calvinos sentence, Avo felt something strike the underside of their vessel. Peeking over the side, he found the waters no longer crystalline clear, but murky and dark, growing increasingly stained with blood. Now this was far more thematically appropriate for a creature like him. Dipping one of his Echoheads into the red, he tasted the ichor and knew of the flavor immediately. This was the blood of his kind. This was the taste of another ghoul. Something struck the underside of the boat, and an awful click followed. The sensations felt as if someone was trying to claw their way through the wood, and Avo let out a slight hiss of annoyance at the situation. He shot a glare at the floating orb. Little wooden boat. Quite literal, but it gets the point across. I must say, the expression never gets old. Was expecting a bit more maturity from hyper-intelligent machine-minds. Is the vessel going to capsize? The EGI bobbed. Well, that is a possible transition. Now stop taking the fun out of things and anticipating. Let your inhibitions loose. Wheres your sense of adventure? Adventures get you snuffed, Avo said. He speared four of his Echoheads underwater and bade them to chitter. The waters rush did nothing to impede his senses, but when his phantom touch spread, he beheld nothingness drifting through the dark below him. Frowning at Calvino, he extracted his limbs from the wetness. Deloaded them? Maybe. Youll have to ask Threshold. Poor sportsmanC The boat burst apart beneath him in a sprawl of splinters. Plunging into the red, Avo drank in a mouthful of simulated blood as he turned into a swim, seeking to locate the EGI and Denton once more. Voidwatch was kind enough to keep his Echoheads functional as they always were, so traversing the currents offered little difficulty. There was just the small problem of the water surface being opposite what he remembered, and the falling pieces of metal spilling down into the depths. Dappled light from the direction his talons were pointed, and he turned to right his ascent. The deepness of his plunge suddenly seemed far greater than it had been earlier, but Avo paid it no heed. Nothing surprised him here. Nothing would shake him. He treated his present situation as a mem-sim he was indulging. The parameters remained beyond his control, but he could still escape via disconnection or death. Rising from deep waters, Avo found himself emerging from a warm bathtub instead. The symbol of DynaCleanseCa Highflame utilities subsidiaryCwas the first thing that caught his attention with its design being a kraken scrubbing a ship using multiple bars of soap. The second was the howling sobs coming from the open door leading out from the bathroom. Bathroom. That probably indicated he wasnt in a simulation of the Warrens then. Or at least high up in the Warrens. Stepping out, slots in the mirror folded over to offer him utensils for cleaning as he made his quiet egress. He had to dip and squeeze to even slip out from the doorway, but as he stepped through the other side, he could hear choking gasps paired with a litany of pained pleas coming from an open room just a turn away. The apartment was narrow but of a high quality. This was a working family, but a comfortable one. Already, he felt the intruder. He wondered why Aegis or Voidwatch or whatever else they desired to call themselves had spawned him here. So, Calvino said, voice humming loud in the back of Avos mind in a sudden instant. The ghoul caught himself before he jolted and gave a low hiss. Are you ready to begin formally begin the operative assessment process? Time to face the weight of our actions. What are you planning? Avo asked. Go inside. Youll see. Pestered by the feeling that he was being herded, Avo used his Echoheads to sense the path forward before he stepped in. There were two individuals hugging a third that lay dormant on a jacking station. The room was decorated with other items of furniture and a yet-spinning locus. Carefully, he inched his head into the room and watched as a man and a woman shook and pleaded for their obviously nulled juvenile son to wake back up. The boys smooth brown skin and golden blonde hair triggered no memories within Avo. He had no idea who or what he was supposed to notice. Thats because he didnt matter to you. At least, he didnt matter to you when you fried his mind. Remember how you spiked that vicarity? That day when you freed all those refugees. Suddenly, Avo knew what Calvino was talking about. Req. The Scalpers. The run Draus took him on after what Waltons node made him do. This is one of them? Avo asked. One of the nulled. When he spoke the words, he expected Calvino to give him an answer. What he didnt expect was for the boys parents to turn and face him. 15-18 Justify With clenched fists and battered hearts, With our pain inflamed, the journey starts. Find out where it all went so wrong, Find out to whom your sins belong -Cas eld''Canduir, Testify 15-18 Justify There was a particular wretchedness that afflicted a person consumed by grief. Both father and mother froze upon beholding the towering monster standing just beyond the doorway, eyes unfocused and misted with yet-tumbling tears. Though they were bare of obvious augmentations, their flawless skin and undoubtedly grafter-carved bone structures re-emphasized the place they occupied in society. Beholding the ghoul that suddenly manifested in their family home while shattered from grief, all that came from the parents was strained silence. You killed him, the mother whispered. You killed our boy, the father followed. Avo exhaled a frustrated sigh. Looking up at the ceiling, he wondered if Calvino could see his glare. If this simulation bore any similarities to mem-sims, the artificial intellect likely could see everything. What do you want from this? Avo asked, speaking to the unseen machine. Waiting for me to kill them too? Mock their pain? Apologize? Does Voidwatch simulate their own snuff now? The voice of Calvino chimed in the back of his mind. Oh, hardly. Now, you are disallowed from doing such things, and citizens are encouraged to express themselves in whatever way they wish so long as another sophont isnt truly harmed, but the point of this scenario isnt about ethics. The EGI chuckled. Just saying the word is funny when contrasted with what you New Vultunites get up to. No. We challenge you to do something harder: I want to see if you can convince them that you were right to kill their son. That drove a surprised chuff from Avo. Unexpected. Rules? No rules, just limitations. You dont get to jack into their minds. If you kill them, well just load them back inCwith the memories of their recent murders included. Dont worry, these are sim-constructs. Theyre based off real people, butCwell, I suppose you dont really care either way, do you. Not really, Avo muttered. Facing the shivering parents again, he considered his approach as his Echoheads chittered in rhythm to the clicking of his fangs. He murdered their child. Such was the truth. Be they simulations of actual people or constructs created to test his patience for this experiment, he had devoured enough minds to know that this was well past the realm of reason and logic. Justice was a nebulous entity in New Vultun, but these people were FATED. They probably thought of themselves as individuals who matteredCfavored the Guilds and purposed for higher destinies. It didnt matter. This wasnt about them. This was about him, and how he was to perform for his new voider consangs. They desired to see certain behaviors from himCthough he was uncertain as to what demonstration of rhetoric or expression of emotion they desired. What he could do was continue being interesting. It had served him well thus far. Yes. I am the one that nulled them. Avo set the beginning of this conversation along the rails of brutal honesty. His words took a few heartbeats to sink in. The fathers hands twitched as he reached up to cover his mouth while the mother forgot herself and took a step forward. Her teeth were briefly bared, incoherent rage expressed in the white of her eyes. She moved. Her body blurred. The implant firing in her neck would have been comparable to any used by a Syndicate enforcer. Avo simply grasped her entire skull between his claws before her stride was even finished. Lacking the proper implants to facilitate a lifestyle of violence made one feeble, while a lack of practice afflicted symptoms of predictability. Vulnerable to the world and all its torments. Bare of additional combat enhancements, for all the speed she possessed, the woman had the weight of a feather and posed a threat equal to that of a flea. Her head was small enough for him to wrap his entire clawed hand around it, and so fragile that it would pop if he only squeezed. Still, she struggled with muffled squeals as she kicked and thrashed. Avo fixed the ashen-faced man with a contemplative stare while he considered just putting the other out of her misery. A month ago, he very much mightve. Now, the taste of her death would be bland. She posed no danger and her pain was a rerun of sorrows he saw across a thousand minds. A mere ghoul would have taken pleasure from their slow torture before indulging in the finest meal of its lifetime. Avo, however, found little delight in snacking on lesser prey. Greater novelty could be found in completing the task at hand. Unable to draw on his templates, he could still remember some of their advice, feeling the echoes of their emanations pulse through him. The dialogue was about priming and control. He needed to set the direction and parameters of the conversation. He needed to twist their emotions towards his own ends. To this end, he had to play the aggressor. Ask me why, Avo began, taking two steps closer to the husband. The man backpedaled against his dead sons jack station and swallowed. Wh-what? Ask me why I nulled your son. His wife was growing tired, her hands losing what paltry strength they had as she tried to pry herself free from Avos clawed digits. Soon, she would have no strength left, he would include her as a participant instead of an impediment. This would prove to be a most exotic encounter. The man bit back his hate and dread while his eyes flitted to the kicking legs of his wife. Why the father swallowed, pausing as tear-soaked glints of agony built behind his eyes. Oh, how he looked like Essus in that instant. Hm. Perhaps the voiders inscribed such features in him as well. More points of symmetry to use as resonance against the ghoul. Why did you null my son? Because I wanted to hurt the source, Avo snarled. Even he was surprised about the rancor spilling out from his honesty. Source? the father squeaked, growing confused with this exchange. His wife had stopped struggling by this point, and so Avo tossed her onto the chest of her partner, pushing both of them against the flashing stand holding the unmoving body of their child. He was Crucible-diving. Did you know that? Riding the bodies of murderers and the murdered. Enjoying himself. They shared a look and went back to staring at him. A twinge of annoyance ran through Avo as he noticed the gibberish offered from the even pace of their thoughtstuff. Their minds should be like a sea in a storm right now, tossing and turning. Either Voidwatch didnt know how Necrotheurgy workedCunlikely considering more than a few of their operatives were practitionersCor this was designed to be as pure a social encounter for him as possible.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Nonetheless, he pressed his attack. Do you support the Syndicates? The murder of your kindred? The murder of other children like your boy? He gestured to their son using an Echohead and they put their bodies between his reaching limb and their dead son again. No answer followed however. Speak! The woman flinched. The father barked a seething response. No! No, we dont! WereCwere cyberneticists. Im a cyberneticist! My wifes security! We have nothing to do with the SynCSyndicates! Were just trying to live our livesC Avo threw his head back and laughed. Trying. Living your life. This is your fault. Oh, advanced victim blaming! Calvino said. Very impressive. Avo couldnt tell if the AI was being sardonic or not. No, no. Dont let me distract you. The other members of Aegis are very fascinated so far. Keep going and see this through. Itll be interesting if nothing else. Interesting. Avo snorted. So why was your son there? The woman spoke this time, her words an incoherence of rage and howling madness. She clawed at her own face and drew blood as she turned to stare at her dead child and back at the monster standing before her. Sinking to her knees, her blood-caked nails fell to get side as she hugged herself and began hyperventilating. Great, Avo grumbled. She useless now. He didnt need a Meta to know she was having a trauma break. As the man knelt down, reaching out to instinctively hold his wife, he froze and a look of pain washed over him. Carefully, he stepped back and faced Avo again. Even simulated constructs feared the rash. What do you want? the father croaked. Audacity swelled inside Avo, and the momentum of his aggression carried forward. For you to tell me I was right. That your son deserved this. That I was justified in killing him. The mans eyes widened into saucers of disbelief. Sputters escaped from him as his hands opened and closed. He coughed, and his voice broke into a laugh. This Ive gone insane. Im imagining this. I have to be. Ive gone insane. Idheims always been insane, Avo said. Im still here. Face me. The father didnt. Okay. Time to use older methods. Face me. Or you cremate your wife too. The man closed his eyes and tears of stress began to fall. As he opened them again, he regarded Avo with a haggard expression. No. No? Avo asked. No. Fuck. You. Fuck you, you godsdamned monsterCyouCyou fuckingC He cupped his eyes and shuddered as a sob escaped him. --you dont get to do this. Why not? Avo asked. Now he took a step closer. The wife let out a piercing cry and clamped her hands around her ears. Why not? Why dont I get to be right? Why is it well that he gets to promote the murder of innocents and those without choice without punishment? Because hes a boy? Because it wasnt real to him? Because its entertainment? Avo was standing over the man now, glaring down at the human with baleful loathing. With each passing second, he found his own judgment growing clouded with scorn. A distant echo inside himCa fleeting whisperCtold him that the act of nulling the boy was a magnitude deep into retaliation than any kind of true justice, but what true righteousness existed on Idheim? He was a twelve-year-old child, the man said, the words wheezing out of him. He didnt know what he was doinC The ghouls counter-argument came in the form of a bite. Snatching the man off his feet, he tore a chunk of flesh out of the mans shoulder. The tang of blood mixed with the soothing bitterness of adrenaline-taxed muscles rushed over Avos taste buds, and the deafening roar of suffering that came free from the mans lungs served as a beautiful accompaniment. His wife rose, broken from her catatonia by the suffering of her lover, but Avo pinned her in place using a single Echohead. Despite the acceptable quality of flesh and the joy his base mind felt at inflicting such sudden cruelty, Avo pulled himself back from continuing down this track of debasement to see his point proven. He kept the mans flesh clenched between his jaws but didnt chew nor swallow. Instead, he thrust the man away from him as he spat the shredded clump of gore upon the juvs body as an expression of the highest disrespect. Im just a ghoul. I am compelled by urge and want to do this. I dont know what Im doing. Its not my fault. Avo flicked his tongue through the mans welling wound and mocked him as he writhed in pain. This doesnt mean anything. Also has nothing to do with what Im talking about. He threw the man down beside his wife and took his weight off from them as he took a few steps back, reveling in his display of self-control. Inside, without his Conflagration actively distorting his urges and altering his cognition, he waited for the beast to claw its way out from the depths and try to assume control. But the weight of his inner brutality never came, and he found himself standing, anxiously anticipating a spike of perversity that never arrived. The beast was missing. Even when he rooted through his own thoughts and emotions for a sign of his old tormentor, he found nothing there. Nothing. Coldness instead of triumph filled his veins. Something about this revelation felt wrong. He never removed that facet of himselfCalways had to herd it or quell it somehow. It couldnt have just gone away on its own. Was Voidwatch actively suppressing it using his Neurodeck somehow? I wont do it the woman stammered. These were the first coherent words she spoke in a while, and she turned to stare at Avo with a defiant glare. I dont care what you do to us. You dont get to run from this. You dont get to feel powerful. You dont get to feel good. With his personal concern fading to the back of his mind, Avo considered the womans words and sighed. Has nothing to do with feel. Has everything to do with action. Free will can exist. Free will can be fake. Doesnt change the fact that he needed to die. He practiced the promotion of death. I simply didnt want to do anymore dying. Our oppositions are axiomatic. A series of claps sounded in the back of Avos head as Calvino hummed. Nice. Big word. Yeah, the EGI was definitely being sarcastic. As if he didnt have enough half-strands living in the back of his mind already. Youre not even a real monster, the woman muttered. Avo frowned. What was that? Youre not even a real monster, she repeated. You cant even own up to this. The wrongness in what you did. Our son mightve done wrong, but why kill him? the man asked. You showed that you can control yourself. He shot a wild-eyed look at the pulp of flesh that once connected to his shoulder resting on the boys neck. You showed that. So why didnt you consider showing my son the way instead. The momentum was shifting. They were pushing the questions back on him, forcing him to reconsider the situation. He needed to push back, he needed to unbalance them. Why. Am I his parent? Calvino mimicked a nu-cats meow for some strange reason. Hurt by his words, the woman spat at his feet while the man whimpered. But but you have all the power. Whats the point of being a god if you cant even change the nature of a boy? Something about that incensed Avo. Here he was, playing house with Voidwatch, watching as their dolls drifted from line to line as he tried to force them into a place of agreement. He knew this exercise was supposed to be impossible, but this provocation struck something even he was unaware of. Because I am not his master, Avo replied. Resoluteness filled his voice. I am power. I am a Godclad. I command blood and wind and shadow and lightning and more. I bend and shape minds with nothing but whims and memories. I am beyond death. But I am no ones master. Not yours. Not his. Just mine. I am the god of myself. Letting the thought settle for a beat, Avo leaned over the two and let his ire flow. At what point do we decide our own fate? At what point are we people? Was I not real before I had this Frame? Is even the choice of not being a sponsor to atrocity too hard a question for a teenage boy? Quietude. Mutual loathing. Just the way it has always been. Fine, Avo said. Ill accept my transgression of murder. I killed him. I could have made his life better. But I want a trade. TraC The mans head came apart against the back of Avos hand. His wife began to scream, but the cry never quite made it out of her lungs before an Echohead drove itself through her. Wasnt talking to you, Avo said, staring up at the ceiling instead. The boy, his parents they were a smokescreen. The real conversation remained a step beyond. Youre right. Its impossible without tearing through someones will. But where does my agency begin? Where does theirs end? And where does your responsibility fall? Hm? Tell me of your power and justify leaving the meek to the Guilds. Justify yourselves to me as well. A few beats passed. A single string loaded through his HUD before Calvino finally spoke. Well, alright then. Lets do this. 15-19 Bad History (I) It would have taken approximately eighteen thousand and twenty-two deaths to light the miracles of my lightest Heaven if I was without a cycler. Let us not account for the others: I despise playing with numbers when the question posed to me is philosophical. Some enlightened viewers have sent me missives before, asking if I ever felt bad for all those slotted for death each time I scheduled an improvement or adjustment for my Frame before a match. I suspect their thoughtcasts to be crouched with a thin layer of disgust at how much death my excesses are incurring, and that they are of Massist sympathies. Bless your hearts, my dears. Bless your hearts. I do not judge you, nor am I against your political ideology. In fact, I quite like this new line of development in our society. This behavior is good. It is good that we are approaching a world where Voidwatch-inspired ethics are entering the public discourse. Some of my peers deride the soft-hearted with scorn, but I see it as strength laid bare. Why, in the time of my mother, such a thing would not have ever been considered. Of course they have to die, Yang Wei. How are the skies supposed to rain on time if there are no deaths? How are the corps supposed to feed our municipality? Stop thinking such things, fool girl. Be glad you arent among the low-blooded and will have your throat opened to the Weeper with the end of the harvest. Heh. Simple woman, my mother. But you must understand, she refused to think of such things. We couldnt. To practice empathy in those times was an exercise in self-torture and insanity. To face what we do to mold our world is horrifying. It is also the same reason why I say being a Godclad is the single most revolutionary advancement in our civilizational development. Going back to the eighteen thousand and twenty-two that must die to manifest my Heaven, remember the old gods? Think of how wasteful they were. Think of how many died over and over just so someone could light a candle or turn salt into rain or lead into gold. Think of it. Think of what the Guilds have redacted to spare us the horror? The breeding farms. The forcibly grafted wombs. The enslavement of entire cultures, put to fire and sacrificed for less than a single act of divine expression. Only eighteen thousand and twenty-two deaths are needed to light my lightest Heaven now. And I dont modify my Frame every day. Think of where we were. Think of how far weve come. Think of how much greater we can be still. In this respect, the dying should feel honored. Even they are not wasted as people once were. The ones that feed me are a part of my gloryCglory that they themselves would have never been worthy of alone. I suppose we all rise together in the strangest of ways. - Ying Yang Wei, Stormsparrow, Fallwalker and Grand Champion of the Summit Series Combat Circuits 15-19 Bad History (I) The facade crumbled. What once stood as a bedroom bedecked with Highflame merchandise began to chip and flake apart. Pools of blood bound husband and wife in a final post-fatal union as the ground began to fissure and the simulation began to change. None of this impressed Avo, though he was fascinated by the sudden show of force. Voidwatch possessed the means to deposit him from one scene to another without such theatrical devastation. Had his provocation angered them? No. The way Calvino presented itself told him they were beyond such tantrums. There was a point to this as well. He held onto the understanding even as the floor beneath him collapsed and he plummeted down through a blanket of rising smoke. Heat washed over him. The screams were the next thing that seized his attention. The cries and howls of desperation were coming from everywhereCall directions; above and below. Spreading his Echoheads wide, Avo reached for his Galeslither only to feel the winds swirling about the chamber where his actual body resided. He remained, for the purpose of this interview, mundane in the simulation. Spreading his Echoheads wide as he braced for impact, he plunged through the floor of the haze as pulsing lights and blooming fires speared flashes of lancing agony into his vision. Avo hissed and covered his eyes, but yet did the sight-scarring brightness linger. He forgot how much it hurt to look upon a fusion burnerCto behold the splash of micro-fusion explosions with naked eyes. His feet struck the ground before he could have his Echoheads sing their static song, and the presence of his brothers was revealed by scent alone. The cries of exertion and agony grew louder and as he opened his eyes once more, he felt himself returned to the scene within his earliest memories. Tides of squirming pale-white bodies lined the surfaces of nearby megablocks. Overhead, burning aeros trailed fire in the backdrop of a neon-splashed overpass. Ads for newly opened daycares continued to dance along the glass as gunfire flashed. People were fleeing around him, desperate and aimless. Wailing ghosts snaked their way through the air to sunder loci and human minds both. The Warrens were falling apart around him again. As far as his eyes could see, the city was awash in blood, and packs of his feral brothers fought over savaged corpses and struggling survivors alike. A feast was taking place. These streets stood a carnival and frenzy and fancy as the butchers of the Low Masters were unchained to indulge. Snapshots of the surroundings were threaded into Avos mind. He saw human hands reaching toward each other for comfort as the bodies of flesh and life were divested from their connected bodies by the mouthful. Images from multiple rooms pulsed through his mind, scenes of defenders running dry of ammunition and strength as they turned their guns on the vulnerable and finally themselves. A toddler''s bloody shoe was left abandoned in the middle of the street. The skies above screamed as jock-piloted missiles accelerated to impact a junction nearly a mile away. But the ghosts of the Low Masters lashed like light crackling whips, scything apart the minds of the drone jocks and seizing the bombs for their own. Somewhere in this chaos, the youngest iteration of Avo was playing his part in this atrocity, enjoying personal delights. All he felt now, however, was bored. Disappointment. So much effort, so much brutality directed at the meek and helpless. Their fangs were wasted on the FATELESS, for soon the Guilders would come bearing intent for true battle and the culling would turn the other way. Am I supposed to be shamed? Avo asked, casting his question out loud. A few of his brothers flinched and backed away from him. Their eyes flashed with wariness while the thin openings serving as their nostrils sniffed to ascertain his taste. Several feet taller and exponentially more augmented, he stood divorced to the proceedings like a monster above monsters, disappointed in what his kindred took as prey. I am. If thats what you wanted to hear. Soft meat. Not our foes. Pointless. Tasteless. A hollow moment worth nothing! The hiss of his final words preceded the firing of his Celerostylus and the lashing of his Echoheads. Avo moved, limbs lashing, frustration boiling. His brothers greeted him with the warm embrace of their spilling innards. Bones shattered against his ceramite. Limbs were plucked. Flesh tore and screeches ended in splatters and crunches. Entire packs died to feed his wrath. But what did it matter? These were constructs and ghouls were fodder. Dying is what they were made for. All he did only benefited the Low Masters and the Hungers.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He managed thirty feet before his bloodlust sputtered empty and he came to a halt. Caked in the offal of his lessers, Avo turned the corner and sighed as his brief massacre went unnoticed by the rest of the horde. It was like killing flats by this point. This was what Draus was speaking ofCno weight. Where she feared losing herself, all he felt was a rising malaise. This was wrong, Avo said. Never denied that. Come out. I thought you wanted to talk. Come out. Show me how you massacred my brothers. Show me your deconstructor swarms. Show me how you tamed the Umbra beneath the city. Show me how you prevented these deaths. They vetoed our involvement at first, you know. Calvinos voice sounded from behind him. Avo paused and turned to face the AI. Finally, he said, regarding the floating machine with a glare, thought you fled. Decided to mock me from the corners. The EGI sighed. Youre taking this very personally. Its not? Oh, not at all, Calvino laughed. Believe it or not, this isnt about you. This isnt even about the ghouls the Low Masters or the GuildsCthough we do resent them from blocking our motions for emergency aid because these were matters that affected the metrics of internal taxation. The machine scoffed. Damned fool children. Say, Avo, you know what its like watching your younger self commit every mistake, every atrocity, and still not be able to stop them? A subtle epiphany came over the ghoul and he regarded the scenery around him again. They werent trying to bludgeon him with his past. No. The theme of this simulation was revealed in the last sentence. Impotence. Inability to change. Is that why you showed me this? Avo breathed. Wanted to build a moment of sympathy between us? Correct me on how I was blaming you earlier? Calvino arced around Avo and swatted a charging pack of ghouls aside with his nano-fog. Something about the way it moved conveyed a sense of impish glee. Nah, its the other way around. Dont think we dont understand. Dont think we despise you. Essentialism is awfully droll when minds and bodies are like clay. We just want you to finally meet us eye to eye, and understand that all this the EGI waved a trailing limb at the theatre of carnage, ... isnt shit. Avo blinked. What? Come on, Calvino said, soaring off and curving into an alleyway with a pulse of force. Follow me. Let me show you something. Casting a final glance at the travesty around him, Avo grunted a note of displeasure and surrendered to his curiosity. He thought he would be actively arguing with them right now. But the blame never fully fell, and the expected scorn was always missing. Something tickled his nerves, and he felt like a novelty nu-dog paraded by a roomful of sponsors prior to bidding. Everything he did seemed to amuse Calvino somewhat, and Avo couldnt tell if that was a good or bad thing. Stepping into the alley where the EGI disappeared, Avo found himself flinching as the light of the sun spilled over him with a flaring intensity. Hissing loudly as he covered his eyes for the second time that day, he gnashed his teeth together and soothed himself with thoughts of using Calvinos round orb to cave in someones skull. Cant say I blame you for the reaction. Dyson-Beams are awfully shiny toward the end. Blinking away the blindness to glare at the hovering machine, Avo instead found himself transfixed by his surroundings. A variegated valley wed between nature and industry greeted his eyes. Lush carpets of leaves caped the crystalline structure rising around him as a near-transparent dome rang to the deafening sound of an impact striking its surface. Curves became the aesthetic of the architecture around him, and flowers drifted through the air. The first of the people passed along the periphery of his vision and he found himself doing a double-take as he realized they were entirely nude. With the walls of most places being nigh transparent, he saw multiple bodies clinging to one another, nudging as if trying to deepen their embrace Suddenly, Avo realized what he was looking at and tore his eyes away. Trying to give me the rash. Dont worry, we got safeguards against that, Calvino said. The EGI sighed. I suppose theres something you little ones outdid us in. We never managed to completely destroy sex for ourselves, though the Alt-Acers gave it a good shot Where are we? Avo asked. Alpha Centauri. Millions of years ago. You wouldnt know the place. Then why are we here? Because in a few minutes, SolCom is giving the order to fire the Dyson-Carriers world-cleanser and kill every last Ludd living on this little patch of paradise. Avo carefully looked around and studied the populace. He kept his gaze averted from moments of intimacy but found his eyes with little place to go. All coveted some manner of embrace before the end. Why? Why is this SolCom going to kill these people? Because they had the wrong faith and we were going through our all-minds-joined-as-one phase. A cringe ran through the EGIs limbs. Yeah. How you feel about your brothers? Thats not really special. A veil of clouds broke above and Avo saw the sun for the first time. Words failed him. His breath left and didnt come back. He just stared and stared, and from the inside, his Heavens did the same. What manner of perfection are we witnesses to, the Woundshaper whispered. They have made shape of light. The have made matter of fire. Fear, however, reigned within the Galeslither, and its response was that of a cornered aratnid. Nowhere to run. Its presence torches everything This is damnation. There is no escape Even the winds will be made dry Not to show off, but this is actually a very crude vessel, Calvino explained. Its kind of like using a propaganda ship to finish your enemy off after already breaking them during the war. The Dyson-Carrier was a scar upon the firmament itself. There was a semblance between it and Calvino in the way that matter seemed to flow from the brightness at the core, but the simulation fed details beyond the naked eye into Avos mind, and he found himself realizing that what appeared to be alloyed rivers were actually an endless cloud of voidships spilling out from intersecting fabrication facilities that orbited the sun itself. Twelve planet-sized rings of concentric make reassembled at the core of the sun, narrowing the light until it resembled the narrow slit of a nu-cats eye. Bridges grew out from the fluid alloy forming the cage and certain voidships began assembling paneled pylons along the interior trajectory of what was becoming a focus for the suns building radiance. From behind the curve of the star, folded funnel of vantablack material merged with the void to serve as a cauldron. Calvino sighed. Embarrassed just to show you this. All those moving parts and the bandwidth it took to coordinate this. Not to mention the atrocity thats coming. The first trickles of light began to grow at the center of the slit. The world itself seemed to darken, but distant voices lifted in song served as a staggering contrast to the guttural butchery they left behind in the Warrens. Voidwatch is capable of this? Avo asked. Well, we arent so extravagant anymore, Calvino said. And thanks to how torn up reality is, a lot of technology just doesnt work the same anymore. More shapes slipped out from the darkness and vast quantities of matter began to shift along the structure of the sun. Enormous world-length counter-balance pillars spilled into place while the funnels finished cupping the back of the dawn, see locking around the firing mechanism. The world went dark, save for a single chasm of flaring intensity. None of the bodies were moving anymore. Everyone was looking up. Everyone. We thought ourselves pretty merciful for letting them have this moment Calvino said. Their fleets were already smashed after we took their three suns from them. Gave them a chance to surrender and join the collective. They refused. They chose. And we chose. Deliverance came without symphony or fanfare. There was just a flashCthen nothing. In the darkness, only a ghoul and a mechanical intellect remained. You asked us to justify ourselves, Calvino said. This is our answer: We refuse. This is a sin. We didnt need to exterminate an entire clade of our own people for what amounted to a disagreement over how to live. But we did. And we were proud of ourselves when we did it. Thats the thing about progress, Avo: at some point down the halls of eternity, you stop being yourself, and end up as something that remembers who you once were. But you probably know that better than most, dont you. 15-20 Bad History (II) Free will is an untruth for those not Godclad. Your will is not free. You are not free. Everything you do and think bears costs. Perhaps each individual is capable of making a variety of decisions, but that doesnt make your choices free. Only flexible. Only variable. I caught the first glimpse of my inhumanity in the twilight of my infancy when my mother gifted me with my first blade and honored me with a duel. That was the day I was certain she truly loved me, but until I finally cut her half a century later, I was not a real person. Not to her. Not to myself. I love my father. I will always honor Voidwatch for their aid in breaking out shackles. Whatever comes at the end, I would not be, and those who existed would be less than subhuman cattle to the vulgar gestalts formed from cultural neuroses we were foolish enough to regard as gods. There is a singular thesis that I am driven by. It is what drove me to ascend my father. It was what drives me to win this war. It is the dream for which I burn and the gauntlet I leave before every being capable of self-awareness. You are not real. You are not real until you can stop me from inflicting my force upon you. You are not real in this present world until there is a place where you can prevail, and I cannot. Hence, it is only with our merger with Frames that the first true humans have been born. The first beings bearing the markers of free will. The first capable of absolute victory at the long end of history. My thesis of ascension is beyond the righteousness bestowed by might, beyond feeble concepts of the overman of will ascending or the delusion of a chosen people, and beyond the spittle in some frame of thought. Godclads am the culmination of humanity, eons upon eons of chance, consequence, possibility, want, and capability colliding to become the trueness of self-determination. I and all others imbued the fires of creation, are the culmination of everything and the reshapers of the long eternity that follows thereafter. What I offer is beyond philosophy but the blow of the ultimate truth: Bear whatever personal wish you so desire, but if you cannot kindle its fire, then what worth is your faith? What worth are you when all that is can be remade to suit anothers design? Do not think the horror of such an existence is lost to me. I pity you allCI truly do. Someday, I will make this right for all of you. But right now, I must win. No matter the consequence. No matter the cost. Someone must win. Someone must rise beyond humanity and win. Someone must make all this worth it in the end. -Veylis Avandaer, Culmination 15-20 Bad History (II) Glittering embers seared through the fabric of shadows that blanketed them, and slowly Avo found himself standing amidst an ocean of traveling stars. There were countless Dyson-Carriers now, the weaponized suns forming the hearts of fleets. Both monster and machine stared off into the silence where the instrument of dawn smote the lands below, smoldering like an orb lit by the tip of a cigar. Though distorted, the immensity of the Dyson-Carrier remained a phantasmal apparition at the center of Avos perception, its baleful shine a vertical scar that wouldnt be erased. How many worlds did you burn, he asked quietly. He misjudged them. Misunderstood them. This was not a trial for his ethics but something else altogether, this dialogue growing beyond his expectations. How many lives were taken by you? Calvino chimed with a piercing laugh. The number wont sound real to you. The ghoul lapsed back into a beat of contemplative silence. You are not what I thought you were. You. Voidwatch. Aegis. Whatever you all call yourselves. Thought this was to be an ethical inquiry. Judging me for being a monster. Thought my brutality would be shocking to you. Ah, Calvino said, rising in the nothing to meet Avo at eye-level. Its not wrong when someone wants to matter. People search for traits or themes inside themselves that they consider entirely unique or unassailable by someone else. But I think you got it the wrong way around. Our fascination with you isnt in your capacity for harm. Thats the least interesting thing about you. Our fascination is that theres clearly a story youre telling yourself when you kill. Youre trying to make meaning. And that matters? Avo asked. Oh, absolutely. Understanding always matters. Its the entire reason why this interview is happening. You are a cultured being. Perhaps your culture is brutal and savage when judged in relativity, but your desire for creation is an expression of culture nonetheless. That makes your sins closer to ours. Suddenly space was engulfed by the light of near-constant exchanges of lancing fire. Suns clash against suns. Planets and asteroid belts were drained empty of matter to fuel backwater skirmishes between minor polities that dwarfed Idheim by magnitudes beyond counting. Systems shattered. Stars were squeezed past their lifespan and upon their deaths, the collapsing singularities were weaponized once more as gravitational bombs. The scope of the conflict rendered the happenings on Idheim less than a droplet in an ocean. All of existence seemed to be at war. Devastation was constant, but humanity mended as fast as it broke. Heres the thing, Avo. Idheim isnt hopeless. Your atrocities? Your wars? Thats not beyond the pale to us because were just looking at re-runs. Sure, the whole extra-dimensional implantation Godclad thing didn''t happen back then, but the sins are all the same. You just never got to really grow up and face yourselves. Until you came, Avo said. Uplifted us. Thats only one part of the story. The other part is us hiding in the dark and sleeping the centuries away. Hoping what we let slip over into existence wouldnt notice us, and that everything would fix itself in the end. Wed probably be quite a few ships fewer if Jaus didnt end up waking the Soujourner and triggering its distress beacon. What happened? Avo asked. What happened to reality? How did you fall? The exact details were lost when our predecessors first detonated the chrono-chain bombC The what? Calvino hummed. Youre aware that the PaladinsCor any Godclad with a Heaven that affects TimeCcan hold you in place and see you utterly annihilated from existence? Thats because you''re collapsing back over into the universe that was. Avo offered only a blank stare as a response. What? A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The EGI sighed. The long and short of it is that we found an answer to the last question. Can the workings of the second law of thermodynamics be reversed? Well, lets just say we found the answer a lot earlier than the analog computer did in the old story, but what we discovered wasnt light at the end, but our own little semi-suicide. The canvas of blackness reset itself again, and now Avo found himself standing at the core of a supermassive singularity. Welcome to the heart of the Milky Way, Calvino said. This was where we made our first mistake. This was where the Audacious Luminary, a thousand and first iteration artificial-consensus intellect decided to improve reality by delivering its experimental payload. Markers formed around a small tube of metal swimming along the swirling accretion that churned the stars. The time of the simulation accelerated. Thousands of years passed without anything happening, only the payload slowly traveling in bursts of engine fire, slipping closer and closer to the center of everything. Yet, Avo could feel it. The tension leaking from the EGI beside him, a pressure of something about to break. Something that wouldnt ever come back together again. There was no prelude nor pre-indication before the supermassive black hole suddenly stopped moving, All of a sudden, everything lurched to a halt. Everything but the moving stars themselves, the traveling swarms of humanity, spreading through the galaxy like locusts shredding a field. Not much data from this period remains uncorrupted. Messing with time causes hellish data decay even for hyper-intelligent artificial intellects. What we could glean was that two factions formed in those long eons of temporal stalemate. There were the Architects, who wanted things to be restored, and our time to be spent maintaining foundational reality. And then there were the Neo-Creationists who wanted to make changes. War followed, Avo said, not even as a question. Naturally. Who won? The orb-shaped machine turned its grid-marked gaze on Avo. I dont know. Youll have to ask after the fighting is over. The two factions still exist? Well, their descendants do. Voidwatch representing the Architects, and the last stable god-forge of the Neo-CreationistsCthe Source of Impulse, or Idheim, as it was colloquially referred. A shiver ran through Avo. With each word he was getting more than he bargained for. There were other worlds like ours? There were countless worlds like yours, Calvino said. All incubators of development for other anomalies discovered when the singularity stood still. Places where reality was more malleable and the threshold of time and space were at their thinnest. Most of the worlds were destroyed during the Builder War. The rest were lost when the secondCand finalCpayload was injected into the singularity. The chrono-chain bomb was supposed to restart the passage of time and stabilize all that we had done but things didnt turn out. The enormity of what their forebearers did hit Avo like a flechette to the gut. For the first time in a while, he felt very, very small and even the presence of his Heavens left him feeling feeble. You broke it, Avo said, the words whistling out from him in a disbelieving daze. Broke everything. All we are is aftermath. A fear he never felt before lit inside him. Is there anything else out there? What remains in the darkness of the void? Its hard to tell, Calvino admitted. Tears remain across all of existence from the war. Some places across known existence function differently, like zones governed by differing mythologies. Natural laws are easily reforged by the fragments of anomalous fire that were scattered when the singularity shattered with the second payload. Anomalous fire, Avo said, numbness spreading through his mind. He knew what Calvino was telling him, knew the origin of what comprised the bone of his divinity now. His Heavens both flinched as the truth laid its weight upon them, and Avo found himself unsure what to feel. We are Yeah. A small fragment of disfigured existence. You have a little piece of an altered universe growing inside you. A living fire that rests upon your depths. How many others know? Avo asked. Other Godclads. The Guilds? The machine hovered quietly for a moment. No answer followed. The world that was is broken. Ruined. We dont think we can rebuild it even if we tried. Were diminished. Shadows of humanity have fallen from their height. What do you think of us now? And why should we work together? Asking me? Avo said. The entire conversation left him feeling exhausted. The information he took him went down like he was trying to swallow an anvil. Of course were asking you. We know what your Frame can doCwhat your mind can do. But what matters is what you want to do. If that lets us preserve whats left of humanity, keep everything from falling one final time to the wrong person claiming the Ladder. Calvino turned and a scene grew out from him. Fissures grew more like vines than cracks, and reality began to leak in and out from itself, space and time oozing as if blood seeping from a gutshot. Youve seen enough of who we are. Now you know why the very fire that empowers you subsists off the coals of our shame. So why be allies, Avo? Why should we have agreed to speak in the first place? The question battered Avo and his mind tumbled as if a child caught in a riptide. Twice he reached out for his templates, only to stop himself. Time stretched and his thoughts were dry of speech. After all that hed seen, what he witnessed, and heard, he found himself yearning for rank bloodshed, if only to soothe the pulsing tension building along the floor of his skull. His frustration escaped him in a long hiss and he stopped struggling. He didnt know if they were lying to him somehow, or if this was some manner of manipulation, but by this point, he was too tired to care. He spoke thoughtlessly from the root of his emotions rather than some rational composition of his templates. He spoke and Voidwatch listened. I think I am the end. The spirit of New Vultun. Spirit of Idheim. City. World. It eats. It hungers. But I am hunger perfected. I am trauma without breaking. I am a fire seeking to spread across all. I am I am New Vultun. I am New Vultuns perfect monster. I will feast on the Guilds if only for the taste. I will give power to those without if only for the pleasure of bestowal. And I will claim the Ladder at the end for the only dream that mattersCmine. He held up his hands in a messy gesticulation, reaching out as if trying to clutch something unseen, but dropped them by his side a moment later, a stranger lost in the maze of his own thoughts, his own body. I want to know how we were. I want to see the world that was. I want to fully understand what we lost. I want to drown in it. What was real. Before the break and after. And I want your strength. I want to be the world-burning sun. I want to understand the miracles of your technology. I am greed and hunger. But I am also curiosity. And appreciation. I will burn to keep you in my future. But I need your help to seize the present. Quiet. Again, the silence followed. The EGI just faced him and pulsed as its cross-shaped markings ebbed and shone and ebbed again. You, Calvino began, have an absolutely enormous ego, consang. Avo shrugged. Agency is addicting. I cant promise you I will be good. I try but I His lapses flashed behind his eyes. Him attacking Zein, him tearing Glitch apart, him murdering Dice, the beast, now missing. The ghoul clenched his fists. I hurt people. I kill people. Its more than pleasure now. I dont know any other way. Dont want any other way sometimes. And I he forced the words out. ...lose control. Moments where I just lose track of myself and hurt. But Im still trying to becoming of a person for myself. He didnt know what possessed him to be so honest with the voiders, but seeing the frozen simulation and cracks running along the grand shell that once formed the nexus of existence, a faint melancholy washed through Avo. It was such a human emotion he was feeling right now. A sense of suffering and nostalgia for a place he never even knew. You know what, ghoul? Calvino said. A dull disappointment cemented itself in Avos gut. There it was. That tone. That word. Ghoul. Back to being inhuman. Back to others priming themselves with scorn. He was on his own in this conflict again, the chance to gaze upon the past beyond his reachC Youre plenty a person already, the EGI finished. AEGIS OPERATIVE TRIAL PHASE: [APPROVED] Registering new citizenship profile: {Avo-001} Again the unexpected followed. Avo wheezed out a shocked breath. You want me? Well, lets say your evaluation period just got extended. Denton is going to be keeping an eye on you, Calvino said. And so will I. Were aware of your problems. But it seems you are too which makes you one of the more stable Godclads weve dealt with The EGIs voice trailed off. Welcome to Voidwatch, Avo. Now, wed like to discuss the nature of your diet 16-1 The Path Ahead [Voideater Proposal] By Wu Three-Burdens and Golgo 9 Summary: As is known to the committee from the war-sims our alliance has run regarding the Dawnfall Contingency, our non-thaumaturgic assets will last a few seconds at most if Voidwatch decides to turn their wrath upon us. Functionally, our technological base will suffer immense damage even with the redundancies provided by joint efforts between the No-Dragons and Omnitech. Likewise, our conventional forces are completely decimated regardless of what protective measures are taken. Voidwatch is by far our superior in technological development and theory of knowledge. There is nothing we know of the natural world that they have not mastered several times over. Hence, the solution is simple but extreme: for us to win a lightning war against the voiders and prevent them from granting their favor to our foes in the hypothetical war game, we must layer our miracles to strike the very foundations of their technology. Doing so inflicts substantial costs on all parties, but the simulations have shown few other paths towards toward swift and decisive victories. Combining breakthroughs in Omnitechs manipulation of signals, man-made constructions, and memetics with a specialized virus engineered using our curse, we believe that we can infect the very concept of creation itself. Unmake technology for a time, if you will. However, the inflicted damage will be severe and beyond control. As the virus requires the use of a dragon to perpetuate itself, all areas it infests will be lost to us until a Godclad manages to engage and subdue the entity, while all things man-made will cease to function as intended. Additionally, all assets will find themselves castrated in terms of creativity and thought. Subhuman, by all metrics. Clothes will peel from bodies. Guns will come apart. Alloys will separate and unmix. The touch man will effectively be poison where our venom courses through reality. As we could not risk Agnosi involvement in such a project, we were unable to focus the effects on a specific part, so all things created by humanity in terms of culture or material will fail. During this time, our Godclads will have free reign to disable our greatest foe via a blitz offensive before securing the dragons. Thereafter, Omnitech will be granted the right to interface with voider technology to turn the higher knowledge to our advantage against our true foes. Through these means, we stand the best chance of disabling our benefactors without devastating their culture entirely or inflicting unacceptable casualties as mandated by the High Seraph. We put forth this mem-data for peer review, and look forward to hearing a response. -Voideater Proposal Draft 1 16-1 The Path Ahead Half-life of Neurodeck canceled ->Unlocking full functionality Allowing access to Noosphere - Category Green Access granted Allowing access to the Inventory - Category Red Access granted Scanning cognitive profile of user ->Profile generated Recommendations: Request neuro-modification immediately User is currently rated as [SEVERE] danger to broader public The simulation congealed as the simulation thickened in a blurred haze, and the obfuscation settled around them. Ghoul and machine both were once again on the boat. This time, the grand castle was banished from sight, and they floated forth on placid waves toward an horizon unclear. The island and the aqueduct were no more, but the weight of the revelations lingered still. Ignore the neuro-modification request, Calvino said while more text strings played across Avos vision. Addition datapackets threaded into his mind and he found himself wrestling the contents like a newborn learning to control its small motor skills. The system''s trying to gauge how safe it is for you to be wandering around one of our habitats. Living among the public like most people we bring up from the planet thats probably not happening anytime soon. Avo grunted. Probably for the best. Yes. Or you can apply for one of the many modifications now available to you and turn yourself into an omnivore. The offer came as a surprise to Avo, but something inside him flinched at the thought of changing himself in such a way. Flesh had been the staple of his consumption for the entirety of his recollections. To abandon such a fixation might grant him more flexibility and social acclimation, but feeding without harming or killing seemed wrong to him. A breach in the pattern, if he continued down that line of thought. There was no such thing as free flavor in Idheim, no empty meat. All nourishment came via sacrifice: flesh, imps, or deaths. Will look at it, Avo muttered, trying to wrestle his thoughts under control. Shooting Denton a quick look, the corner of her lips twitched and he wondered if that was her rendition of a reassuring smile. Something I have to ask. In the end. Something was forgotten. Dont think either of us fully justified ourselves to the other. Just saw what we did. Saw that were were both flawed? The EGI let the question hang for a beat before it responded. Sophonts are more than ideology, Avo. But were also less free than you think. Operative Zein will give a you whole speech about this but everyone has a shape. From a single person to a collective of cultures. The nature of who we are carved by all the things that happen to us. In the end, the paths we take are Calvino stopped talking. Avo suspected the EGI wasnt truly at a loss for words, but wanted someone else to fill in a response so it could guide the question. There was a subtly to how it acted, less manipulation and more free-form persuasion. Fixed, Avo offered, playing the game. So. Were trapped by fate. You can always choose to change. But change is an action. Change is a practice. Change is repetition. And thats all born of want. The drone descended and set itself on the prow of the boat, its glowing core directed toward the gleam of the waters carrying the suns light. Its not about being a saint or even being good sometimes. Its about being able to see yourself and being able to inflict change through active decision because theres no guarantee that someone else can do it for you. The artificial intellect laughed. One lives alone, even in the presence of others. The small boat sailed on, and a somber silence commanded the party to keep to their peace. For a while, Avo just gazed out across the waters, thinking of how he viewed himself. With each Heaven, each implant, each phantasmic, each change he regarded himself as new. Different. More. This wasnt just the act of self-actualization, but self-sculpting. He could, therefore he was. But he believed, and therefore, he became. Such was the insidiousness of internal mythologies. Feeling inward again, he touched the cold wound where the beasts ever-present hunger and brutality should have been. The beast. Was it even truly as separate as he liked to think? And now that he was striding the steps toward apotheosis, did it still remain just a construct of the mind, or did he grant it matter as well? Some training sims will be made available to you, Denton said, intruding with matters of business. I have offered to make myself responsible for your training and familiarization with the necessary strategies for our operations going forward as a member of Aegis under Voidwatch. He regarded the Columner once more and found himself uncomfortably grateful. The results of this meeting were only possible because she pushed for it, and now she continued to go forward without mention of benefit or reward. How strange it was that the EGI was an easier character to gauge than Denton herself. Ever the diplomat. Ever the spy. Receiving tutorial dense-soft Accept? (Y/N)If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Whats this? Avo asked. Something to accelerate your learning, Denton said. Modifications for your sheathe and small-scale armaments will be made available to you via mental schematic download. Due to the Nu-Scarrowbur incident and the Unwheres compromise, direct transfer of materials will be difficult but also unnecessary. We should consult with Agnos Kusanade after this interview concludes; your modified Sangeist might be able to serve in place of a fabricator. Serve in place, the Woundshaper sneered. As if I could be second to a cold machine that must be enslaved and prodded by the mind of another to indulge in true creation. The Galeslither released a low breath of mockery. So you claim, but here we are living a shared fate. Be silent, mule. Our wills are aligned with the master. We are more avatars than slaves. ...You might speak truly, mother of butchersCno machine would strain so hard to create such an illusion as you.And thus ended any meaningful dialogue as another the Heavens crumbled into another argument. Still, the prospect of being able to generate his own arsenalCor even modify himself at willCteased Avos appetites. Well. Shouldnt delay this too long. Indeed, Calvino said, but before that, one final thing. EGI binding request from {If On A Winters Night A Wanderer} Accept? (Y/N) Whats this? Avo asked, frowning at the new text building across his vision. I would like to transfer a limited version of myself into your Neurodeck to aid you and monitor your progress. Two minds are better than one, as they say, and I think that our continued association might prove worthwhile for both of us if for the perspective differential alone. And if I do something you disagree with? Avo asked. Have to justify myself again? You are a part of Aegis. I am more your associate. There is no need for superiors or slave masters here. Whatever is done, it will be faced as we have today. In retrospect. And honesty. Of course, you could say no, but I saw you as you learned and saw how you looked upon your past. It would take a degeneration of character for you to look away from your flaws, and I fear you spent too long in the light now to ever be satisfied in the dark. A moment of silence followed. Unable to fight the mood, a weak smile pulled Avos features in a fanged rictus. As if my mind wasnt crowded enough already. Might regret this, Calvino. The EGI hummed a melodious note. Well see. *** "Lonely Vator. Struggling Vator. Curious Vator. TryingCdesperate to find out what happened to cause all this. Wont you take pity on me? A handsome artist spoke to the cube he was sculpting. Running a hand through his silken locks of glistening ebony, Vator Greatling released a sigh and flourished dramatically for his new creation. So, picture this: your oldest brother is dead. Truly, truly dead. Your ever-responsible sister has made a terrible blunder, shamed the family name, and is now in voider custody. Meanwhile, your poor, poor fatheroh poor fatherCis breaking under this strain. He tries to survive the pain of never reconciling with brother dear but fails, so he goes to a Necro and gets the memories removed. He tries to get your sister free but that strange, curious entity of a man Naeko has decided to make a stand." His art piece answered with a whimpering chorus of pleas intermingled with the release of bodily wastes. The wedge of melded tissue was twenty feet high and eighty wide. It weighed fifteen thousand and eighty-two pounds and is made from the contents of forty-two individuals. Three minutes and fifty-two seconds was what it took to peel the squires from their armor and stitch them organ to organ, skin to skin, bone to bone. Rendered into the shape of a cube, he had affixed all the eyes, noses, brows, mouths, and teeth he could find to the frontal aspect of the piece. The sides had the ears and the top had the hair. The arms formed a sort of miniskirt that ringed the midriff of the unified creature while little legs aligned on junctions of miracle-hardened bone struggled to keep standing even as urine and excrement splashed down between the gaps, incurring additional points of infection and inflammation. Still, all their pain was as one, and that was a gift unto itself. Loneliness was the greatest crime inflicted on humanity. He hoped that his victims knew that he loved them despite his suffering. Regardless of the case, he had made his devotion known through efforts and words. To believe, ultimately, was up to them. Speak. Speak to me. I wish to hear your voices. Hurtsss KillCkill Fu-fuc-fuck. Ah. Utter incoherence. Looking at how much thoughtstuff was oozing from their accretions, perhaps more than a few of them had gone insane during the process. Vator placed his hands on his hips and frowned. Oh, but the ordeal could not be that bad, could it? It was painless, my dearsCpainless. I give your nerves only pleasure for this process. So, why is itC SESSION INCOMING: [FATHER-DEAREST] Oh, Vator said as his excitement dipped. Excuse me. I must take this. This was going to be about official matters. How droll. Accepting with a thought, Vator turned away from his composition to spare himself another lecture. +Good afternoon, father. I trust that sisters-dear has finally beenC+ +Vator. Not now. Not today. I need you to not be yourself, and just listen.+ And father meant those words. Usually, he was more annoyed and accepting. This was rage, genuine and heavy. Poor, poor father indeed. Vator cooed. +Speak to me, father. Tell me what you need from me, and I will make everything better for you. What is it you want? Do you want me to hurt that terrible, dreadful Chief Naeko? Or to bring Abrel home? Tell me. Tell me and lets be done with this sadness.+ A storm of emotions hissed from between the cracks of Uthred Greatlings ironclad will. All strength had its limits, and all hearts could be broken in the end. Vator waited patiently as his father mustered his control once more. Turning to face the single soul he didnt touch using his Heaven, Vator smiled sweetly as he willed the biomass around his chest to part, and allowed the Syndicate lieutenant to draw in a ragged inhale of air. +An assembly is going to be called. By the High Seraph. We have been summoned. By name.+ A tingle of excitement fluttered through Vators stomach. Oh? The High Seraph? Veylis Avandaer herself? He remembered seeing her onceCwhat beauty, what form! For months he tried molding various subjects in an imitation of her righteous presence but destroyed each in the process. None of them had that something she possessed. That singular quality above all others. He had drawn from a broad spectrum of stockCflats, squires, Necros, leaders, mods-slavesCeven a Fallwalker. None came close. His skills were too lacking, his grasp of her limited. This time, perhaps if he could get her to speak to him directly, to spend some time alone +I will represent our house. I alone. I need you to handle matters of the homefrontCto manage our operations and estates and retrieve your sister from the Paladins.+ There was a pause that followed. Vator smirked. There was something else father wanted to ask. Something he was reluctant to ask. Those requests were Vators favorite. +Just speak, and I will make it happen.+ +There is a name: Aedon Chambers. He was involved in the incident thatCI need you to do this discretely. Our nameCour very position is threatened. We cannot risk another blow, and I cannot risk you descending into another one of your episodes where are you right now?+ Vator didnt answer immediately. +In an apartment. At Lights End. I was investigating a potential operation on one of our subsidiaries.+ A pause followed. +I see.+ Father wisely left the questioning at that, and Vator couldnt help but grin as the man ignored the moaning in the backdrop. +I need you to find this Chambers. Find him quietly and discover exactly what happened. Afterward, bring him to meC+ A radiant smile spread across Vators features. +CAlive and untwisted.+ The radiance died. Vator sighed. +Your words, my will father. I will see this done. I will see our family protected.+ A weary sigh followed thereafter. +Good. Get Alritch to help you handle accounting and logistical matters.+ +Alritch?+ Vator frowned. +Are you certain?+ +Hes not that useless,+ Uthred muttered. Self-comfort was truly one of fathers worst traits. +Very well,+ Vator said. +I will be returning home shortly. I just need to finish with things here.+ Another pause. Father knew. Father knew but he didnt want to ask. +Vator. Quietly.+ +Of course, father.+ The session disconnected, and Vator spun on his heels to finish with his word. Not that much time left today, consangs, not much time at all. He clicked his tongue and placed a palm on the flesh. Desperate sobs and muffled choking followed as he linked ribs together and pushed them through the skin on the back of his creation. Thereafter, he drew upon what his Heaven remembered of ghoul-flesh and a thin membrane of palest white began to develop between each arcing rib. Im going to give you wings, Vator said, smiling. Im going to give you wings for you to go home later. Your families would love to see the angel Ive made, wouldnt they? Ah. That will take too long. I think I will just leave you all in the foundry you were planning to bomb. They will find you later in the evening. Dont worry though, you wont be dying. Not anytime soon. Not for years unless I will it. He placed his cheek against his art and enjoyed the warmth. I think I will call you, Community. 16-2 Inventory (I) +...And this marks the thirteenth declaration of General Assembly for Highflame since its founding. Details are still sparse at present, but we have reliable sources claiming that the High Seraph herself, Veylis Avadaer, is set to address the gathered host of her forces for the first time in over nineteen years. Other notable figures summoned to attendance are Osjon Thousand, the famed first disciple of Zein Thousandhand; Uthred Greatling, patriarch to increasingly infamous House Greatling, esteemed Authority, and a major pillar of the Chivalrics. Draeg Hausen of House Hausen and Vernetta the Twain of House Vallors have put their names forth to serve as his bondsguard in case a formal injunction is issued from the Choir of Seraphs. Additionally, we have rumors that Saraka eldDrachna, a Stormtree Bloodthane recently rewarded with the distinction of esteemed adversary, has been invited to the Assembly and stands among the Impartialists to ensure the balance between biased parties. Currently, the Assembly is set to convey in three weeks and will coincide with the trials declared by Chief Paladin Naeko. Thats all for today. This is Annel Andras, reporting for the Watchtower. Now, onto the weekly street squire deadpool. -Watchtower Special Program 16-2 Inventory (I) {Avo This is a nightmare. How are you still sane with all these voices screaming inside your mind? How? Just how many people have you killed in the past day alone?} A laugh of disbelief escaped from Calvino as the download completed and the copied template of the EGI came mind-to-mind with its non-coldtech alternates. It took the artificial intellect less than a second to trawl through Avos mindscape and upon completion, disbelief filled every bit of data it possessed. Moments after Denton disconnected from Threshold, new menus and features began to sprout through Avos mind. Chief among these was his new personal neuro-assistant which was essentially a copy of Calvino. Dry amusement spread through the ghoul as his flames reknitted all previously claimed templates with but a thought, dragging the EGIs incredulity higher and higher. [Whats up, consang,] Abrel said, speaking with a mind laced with bitter irony. [Welcome to the burning shithole. Population: us. Did the ghoul get you too? Dont tell me he ate an entire voidship this time.] [An EGI,] Benhata followed, sounding more startled than surprised. [And willingly bound to us I This is] A pause followed. [Ori-Thaum would have given entire sovereignties to possess one of them for study. And all it took for you was a conversation.] Template-Chambers snorted. [Maybe you guys are looking at this the wrong way, eh? Maybe if you werent all boring mind-fucking half-strands, the cool void people would talk to you.] [This it?] Lip asked, narrowing her perception at Calvino. [That what they look like? Floaty kinda sun-shaped ball?] Disappointment coiled through her person. [I was expecting something more god-like.] Strings of data danced through Avos Meta-integrated Neurodeck. This time, however, he understood the information being conveyedCthe coding dissolved into direct doses of information fed into his cog-feed. {Youre welcome,} Calvino said, the acknowledgment of its deed sounding more distracted than proud. {There are thousands talking at once inside you. Most people would have gone insane or drowned in the sheer influx of clashing egos.} +Not most people,+ Avo said. +Also have two Heavens inside me that argue. Always arguing. Theyre usually louder.+ To bring in the final two members of the grand assembly that was his gestalt, the Woundshaper and the Galeslithers biting dialogue arrived as the wind screamed and blood clapped to the sound of thunder. Between the deafening noise, two fragments that once stood as gods barked insults at one another even as Avo fed the voices from within his Frame into his mind. Contemptible cur. What do you know about art? What do you mongrel people know of creation? All you do is flee and hideCthe god of running and cowardice. Oh, woe is me I live in the desert and my people are outcasts. Have you considered breaking the problems instead of fleeing from them? Unshaken by the Woundshapers insults, the Galeslither whistled a savage tune. I have protected my devotees for years beyond counting. I am not a great god. I make no lie of this, but I am a just god, and a loved god. More than you will ever be. All you are is fortunateCa survivor in a pit of misery nourished by half-sane savages too stubborn to leave the hell they were born to, and too weak of spirit to abandon the abuser they created to spare themselves from the monsters in the dark. Creation. All you create is horror and travesty. You say you are a god of buildings and architecture as well. Well, I have walked the skies but looking back across my past, why do I not recall any crimson structures reaching high enough to touch my domain? And why would I grace the realm of the worthless with my finery?Because I have known gods like you across my existence, Saathwu. You are a tyrant when you have power and a synchophant without. The only realms you refuse to touch are those beyond your reachCNothing was beyond my reach! Nothing! If you were so protected, how did you fall then? Hm? Did the winds finally get tired of carrying the cattle you call people.I have heard you insult them enough! {Hm,} Calvino summarized simply as Avo partitioned the two realities again. {Well, I can say that you are the closest embodiment to a walking madhouse Ive ever seen. And weve simulated some very strange things in our time.} Avo, Denton said, cutting through the internal conversation, is the download complete? Yes. Calvinos here. Loaded as a voice in the back of my head. Fits in with all the minds Ive collected already. {Well, I like to view myself more like a tenet or respected guest than a mentally obliterated and forcibly forked mind-slave.} Avo bristled at such a disingenuous assertion. +Not slaves. More like prisoners. That I use sometimes. To help me think.+ The templates erupted into loud expressions of sardonic surprise and gasping shock. [Hear that, consangs?] Lip roared. [Rotlick says were not slaves. We just prisoners. That he doesnt pay. And channels to do his thinking for him. I think hes stumbled on a revolutionary system of control.] Never one to miss out on some sneering, Abrel joined in. [Really? Is that what this is? Were all equals and totally not governed by some self-modifying mind-attuning fire? Wow. Amazing. Hey, Avo, can you please kill yourself painfully so I can laugh and curse at you for what you did to my brother and friends? Thanks a lot you cannibal piece of shit.] [I mean I''m just happy to be here,] Chambers chuckled, entirely honest. [Were not,] Benhata said while all the Talon and Shadow templates backed him up. [I literally got my mind eaten after I accepted a session. Just dead in an instant. My familys probably wondering what happened to me and where my body went.] [He bit me like a fuck-ton of times before I died,] Glitch mumbled. [He already had blood powers and shit. Dont know why he needed to take a few chunks out of a joy-fiend like me.] [Boo-hoo, you fucking losers,] Corner spat. [Oh, the ghoul snuffed me. The ghoul nulled me. I didnt get a chance toCshut your cunt mouths up and take it. Are we New Vultunites or what? Way I see it, we got off easy. Were still here, right? These versions of us are preserved from the Big Nothing. Plenty of half-strands will give money to the Guilds to have something like this.]You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Calvino sighed. {Again. Madhouse. Dentons recommendation that you dont mention or manifest the help was a wise one. The whole interview was an exercise to see your self-perception while we gauged your other traits but this well, we expected some moral laxity but you mightve boldly gone where no personCor even monsterChas gone beforeCstop feeling proud about it. This isnt a compliment.} And with a single decision, the pleasure drained out of the ghoul. {Huh. Denton said you were shaping yourself but front row seats really elevate the scene.} Dragging his focus back to Denton, Avo smirked. Showing Calvino my personal space. It seems to like its new home. {Like is a strong word so is home.} [You dont get used to the creepiness,} Abrel said. [It doesnt get better.] Lets go through a few checks first, Denton said, business-first as usual. You should have access to Voidwatchs internal network through me. Lets be efficient about this: Access the Inventory with your mind and requisition an ansible. Ansible? "Personal Hyperwave implant, Calvino and Deton said concurrently. It allows for communication through generated wormholes. Avo blinked. Sounds closer to a Heaven than coldtech. {Mastering the natural world goes a long way.} Avo did as Denton said thereafter. Directing his thoughts through the Neurodeck still remained odder than using the Metamind. Even with Calvino filtering codes and directing the path of his thoughts toward where they needed to go, the menus and interfaces he sorted through inflicted a distance on his person. For all the sophistication and advancement the coldtech neuro-aug possessed over its Necrotheurgic cousin, it was more like a construct of the second degreeCsomething that operated like a rig around the mind rather than a crude sleeve for it. The Metamind on the other hand was something that you were. Taken from you. Made from you. Built around your base ego as scaffolding and a fortress and designed to endure far beyond the shattering of your baseline sanity. {You gotta understand we didnt really have metaphysical entities capable of attacking memories or information itself during our heyday,} Calvino said. {And if you want the Neurodeck to work like a glove, we should probably deactivate safety mode.} +Theres a safety mode? Why?+ {To keep citizens from driving themselves insane by modifying their own minds recklessly using the decks functions.} +Already doing that using my Conflagration.+ {Yes. That, and theres also your inability to stay dead. Itll be interesting to see if I come back into existence feeling like myself when you resurrect or ah, Im going to have you take all kinds of risks that Aegis might deem unethical for other operatives. Ghoul detail might not be so bad!} Calvino cackled. The growing realization that the EGI wasnt going to be some stuffy voice whinging about his actions but more of a post-moral advisor sparked Avos amusement. He joined in his new companion with a low hiss of laughter. Denton narrowed her eyes. Did you encounter something funny in the Inventory? Yes, Avo lied, turning his chuckle into a very serious grunt. A progress meter began to load as a cord of data reached out and connected with Dentons Neurodeck. {ACCESSING INVENTORY} Beginning upload of neural-profile Is this going to be likeC The world flashed around Avo and he shuddered as another iteration of himself loaded into a white and featureless room. Greetings, Avo-001. The monotone voice was coming from all around him, but more uncanny was the fact that he felt himself in two places at once. Welcome to the Inventory. Please wait for the update to conclude. {You can make your avatar walk around with just a thought,} Calvino said. {Itll be a bit strange to control two bodies with one mind at firstC} Avo delegated one of his subminds toward the new task and suddenly the simulated body felt just like a limb. {--Or I can just eat my words. Anyway. A few things about the Inventory.} There are a few things you should know about the Inventory, Denton said, unknowingly repeating Calvinos first words. Not everything will be made available for all situations. Category green implants and equipment should work across all circumstances, but there are specially coded items that might experience catastrophic failures in certain areas or times of day. Heavens and ruptures? Avo asked. Denton nodded. Currently, you should have access to specialist military hardware. Youre codified as an operative so things like asking for your own voidship to glass the city will likely not be approved. {Its also a waste of resources,} Calvino sighed. {Idheim is a hard, hard target to crack. Too many defenses. Too many Heavens. Too many innocents stacked on top of each other. We could do to this place what we did to the Ludds and only burn a quarter of this pebble.} What you will have access to, Denton continued, are top-line implants and personal modification, tactical scale arms and equipment, full-spectrum intelligence updates from Aegis, full-immersion skill-soft trainers, along with additional auxiliary features such as personally commissioned bioforms or androids. [Fuck-ing bullshit,] Abrel seethed jealously. How good are the implants compared to the FATED? Avo asked. Like Abrel Greatling. {Well, dont tell her this but we have purposely given them midline modifications and said it was our cutting edgeCmostly as a joke.} Of course, Calvino spoke these words knowing full well template-Abrel could hear it. The Greatling twitched with hate shivers. [You sowCyou motherfuCgodsdamned assholes.] Going to be better than you soon, Avo whispered, taunting the girl in his mind. [Lick myC] She paused, noticing Chambers leering interest washing over her, waiting for her sentence to end. [You know what, Im just going to stew in my hate quietly for a moment.] A cheer went up among the Silvers and Benhata saluted Chambers begrudgingly. [There truly is a purpose for everyone in this city,] Corner said, speaking with a questionably offensive faux-wisened voice. [I hate all of you and hope we all die painfully,] Abrel concluded. Update completed, the voice within Inventory said. You may now make requests of the system. Warning: your current district does not allow for the following items. A short list of three million and two banned requestables filled the totality of the room around Avo. He wouldnt have known just how many pieces of kit were beyond his reach if not for Calvino telling him first and his subminds achieving the same a good while after. {Most of this is stuff that uses fusion,} Calvino sniffed. {Probably Omnitech trying to create a new spectrum of energy again.} +Like them the least?+ Avo asked. {Imagine if a simpler, cruder, crueler parody of yourself appeared trying to ape and defile your greatest achievements?} +So. My brothers.+ {Oh, you understand already! Yeah. Like that, but they might actually cause all of human creation and technology to collapse if you dont fix their problems every other week.} +Didnt think it was that bad.+ {Its worse. Now, think ansible in the Inventory to test the graft out.} Doing as suggested, Avo felt his avatar shudder again but felt a new weight lodged in the base of its skull. REQUISITION: PERSONAL HYPERWAVE ANSIBLE (JumpCOM-XIII) [CATEGORY GREEN MODIFICATION] CAPABILITIES: INSTANT COMMUNICATIONS WITHIN THE SPAN OF LOCAL SYSTEM C CAPABLE OF BEING BOOSTED LIGHT YEARS BEYOND WHEN CONNECTED TO FARCASTER STATION PLEASE TEST DEVICE NOW A menu expanded across the center of Avos vision, and a single choice was highlighted at its core. CALL -> SYSTEM ADMIN He accepted the option, and from within the simulation, he felt a sudden thrum in the stem of his skull as a cylindrical weight began to build. SYSTEM ADMIN: HELLO The voice answered him with a faint echo in the back of his mind. The suddenness of the connection was uncanny. AVO-001: Quick SYSTEM ADMIN: You can make additional adjustments using your Neurodecks mod settings for controls and other quality adjustments. Thoughts sped through Avos mind. Slowly, his fangs widened into a grin as the solution to a present problem he faced dawned. AVO-001: Can I request more than nanosuite for the graft? SYSTEM ADMIN: Please make your case before pending approval. AVO-001: Want in-field communication device for cadre. Something not reliant on Necrotheurgy. SYSTEM ADMIN: Acknowledged. Please hold. And just as the administrator lapsed into silence, Avos Sanguinity sensed Draus return as she stepped back through a junction on the floor below, her body a misshapen map of oozing wounds. 16-3 Inventory (II) Tatterskin: +Holy shit, shes still alive. We set off the entire goddamn hanger and shes still moving down there. Godsdamned+ Rip-Nail: +Fucking Regs are hard targets. Hit er again. We dont need an intact body. Memories will serve as proof of death enough. Cycling another salvo of hammers. Well get a close-up of her death in noCwait. Mem-lock lost. Where the hells is sheCshe justCOH FUC+ [SESSION LOST] Skulldrag: +Rip? Rip? Rip! TatterCdo you have eyes onC+ Tatterskin: +His aeros going down Hes snuffed! Session lost! Session lost! I got nothing. I got nothingC+ Skulldrag: +Stay zero and shift positions. Get eyes on that Reg. Fuck. Fuck. Hannel. Specters out. Get me an on-site scryC+ [Tatterskin screaming; sound of metal screeching followed by spilling wetness] [SESSION LOST] COG-CAP: 94% Skulldrag: +FUCK!+ Hannel: +Skulldrag? Whats happening? Skulldrag?+Skulldrag: +The sow just got Tatter! Got him with her monowire from behindC+ [Vomiting] +I felt it. I felt him die. I saw her. Shes hurt. Shes messed up bad from the blast. We can do this. We can finish this. Hannel.+ Hannel: +Im trying whoever made her wards is+ Jelene Draus [TARGET ONE]: Sorry consang. Aint gonna be so. Skulldrag: +NOC+ [SESSION LOST] Hannel: +Skulldrag? Skulldrag? Anyone? Anyone! + [Sessions linked] Hannel: +All reserve assets: Team One is down. Target is mobileCdo not have eyes. Repeat, do not have eyes on her. Move in and get paid. Fifty-gs extra if one of you shits gets whats left of team one out of there. Standard rules apply. Their cuts and still-working kit go back to the familiesCloot and be nulled. Go hard and go loud. Looks like our Regular still has some fight left in her.+ -Transcript recovered of failed assassination op on Jelene Draus, former Guard-Captain of the Regulars [940,000,000 Imp bounty pending increase] 16-3 Inventory (II) M back, Draus sniffed, limping past Avo and Denton as another piece of her bio-rigs carapace broke free from her body. A map of shrapnel jutted out like studded piercings along the right hemisphere of her face. The remnants of her helmet protected the remainder of her skull from severe damage, but her flesh was worn thin enough that Avo could see the gleaming alloy laced into her bones. The rest of her body was in a similar state. One of her scythe wings was missing, a frequency dagger was half-buried in her shoulder, and she held her lit hiflass with the only two fingers she had left on her right hand. From her hip bounced twenty or so skulls, each neatly cut by monowire and sporting skeleton augmentations similar to hers. Had a nice night? Avo asked. The question was entirely honest. The Regular staggered to a pause and fixed him with her unmelted eye for moment. A beat passed. Her facade cracked and her face broke into a vicious grin. Yeah. Reckon you could say that. Been a while since I got caught in a good ol fashioned double-cross. Barge? Yep. Half-strand rigged the damn thing to blow. Managed to spot that shit early, but I didnt expect them wiring the entire hanger to go with it. Half-strands blew up a bunch of unaffiliates and even hired some squires to make sure about me dyin. She spat off a thick globule off to the side and Denton frowned distastefully at the splatter now marring the nice floor. How about you? Them star-fuckers give you anything? {Ah. The illustrious Captain Draus observed returning from another day in the life.} A thin attitude of wit spilled over from Calvino while Avos avatar remained frozen within the Inventory. {Its really not that often someone lives up to the stereotype of their people or organization, but rarer still when the individual exceeds the nature of their stereotype by far. Her heart rate is practically placid even for someone with all her cardiovascular modifications. Uncanny. No anxiety at all. The things Highflame does to their soldiers} Ones in my mind right now. Sounds very impressed with you. {That was not praise, Avo.} The ghoul neglected to mention this. Draus snorted and part of her exposed cheek broke free off her face like a lump of charcoal. Another voice in your head. Aint gonna be any way to tell if youre goin schizo or just packin your skull with new consangs anytime soon. This one do anything, or are they squatters too? Does something, Avo said. Very useful. Easy ally. Showing me what they have in their Inventory. Implants. Equipment. Lots of selection. He clicked this teeth together and chuffed joyously. Might just get you some new guns like you asked. Got accepted. Am a citizen now. The Regular froze mid-nod as she did a double take. Say that shit again? Got accepted. Operative of Aegis. Citizen of VoidwatchC His words were interrupted by an extremely uncharacteristic guffaw from Draus as she flung her head back and let her laughter loose. What tendons she still had left twitched as a mangled smile tightened into form. You serious? Avos rictus never broke. Yes. Them half-strands must be some desperate bastards. Must be, Avo agreed. Denton tried to interject through the dialogue. You should finish with the ansibleC Hey! Half-strand. Faither! The rotlicks got a job! And hes voider-FATED now. Calvinos cringe crinkled the static thoughtstuff spilling out from Avos mind. {Citizenship is quite different than the varying classifications of indenturement the Guilds seem to practice-} The rapid pounding of footsteps drew Avos attention downstairs again and Chambers accretion accelerated closer in an instant. Really? No shit? Wait, Avo, you get to sample any of their medias? [No, other-me, he didnt,] template-Chambers sighed. [Because the ghouls a boring shit.] [Avo, if you introduce Chambers to voider porn we will all literally devote every effort still left in our simulated egos to nulling ourselves somehow,] Abrel deadpanned. [Even the Silvers will help me on this.] [Gotta back the Guilder on this,] Corner spat. [That ones just wrong.] Template-Chambers humphed indignantly. [You all have no taste.] [We just dont like eating filth] Benhata muttered. No, Avo said, killing Chambers hopes before he even ascended the stairs. The thoughtstuff of Cas followed not far behindCwhen did they get back? Was he even gone that long? Two more signatures appeared and Kae and Essus made their way over on his DeepNav, drawn to the commotion as well. Sprinting up the steps, the ever-excitable Aedon Chambers opened his mouth say something to Avo, only to find his attention drifting over to Draus. Jaus-fuck, Reg. Your face looks like that fusion burner scene where Dannis Steelhard had to make his own orifice in the giga-ghoul to save the city. How is burning a hole into a large ghoul going to save the city? Avo asked, curiosity overriding fated regret. Chambers wiggled his eyebrows at both the ghoul and the Regular. Easy. Repopulation. A lull of anti-imaginative warfare was waged in each of their minds as Avo forced his Conflagration to remove recent memories. {Well generate a personal therapist for him too,} Calvino said, more sympathetic than judgmental. {You know half the reason hes doing this is that it gets him your attention and that makes him feel secure in a community, right?] +Yeah. Still degenerate.+ {I never said that he wasnt.} Still smirking as Cas and Kae came out from the doorway behind him, Chambers stared warily at Draus. Huh. Usually, you either hurt or kill me by this point. Moving my arms hurts somethin bad, Draus replied, rolling her shoulders. Might find a cell downstairs to off myself in instead of waiting for midnight. Getting soft, Avo muttered. You go stand in the middle of an explosion. Why not burn your consciousness into one of your attackers? Avo taunted.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Fuck you, rotlick. They were all of strange minds, and the Reg could count herself among bedfellows. Going to order nanosuites right now, Avo said, updating everyone about present circumstances. Implant delivery from Voidwatch. Going to see if I can get a few for all of us. Wormhole communications. Advanced coldtech. Lets us stay connected even with the Nether disrupted without my constructs. Nova, Chambers said, sounding giddy. Are we all getting recruited by the voiders to be super-spooks? Avo directed the inquiry over to Calvino and the EGI responded thusly. {Were considering them part of your cell for now. The Agnos is currently pending evaluation thanks to you extracting the Conflagration from her mind. We have other designs in mind for Captain Draus as any attempts to directly recruit her will fail due to veto.} +What? Why?+ {Ask her about Stolen Liberty and the voidship she blew up while still under Highflame.+ Avo swept Draus with a look of surprise. Her past got more colorful each time he learned about it. A part of him ached to delve into her mind. His self-directing will pried the urge free from his being. Reflexively reaching for the beast again, the vacancy remained and he felt his apprehensions rise in the background of his mind. SYSTEM ADMIN: Would you like to continue your selectC Avos mind snapped back over into his avatar like a rubberband. The distraction of Draus return had sidetracked him momentarily. He paused. +Five?+ {Last ones for Essus,} Calvino said. {Its mainly so we can proceed with his therapy more easily. Well be taking care of him for now.} +Plan to recruit him too?+ {Not for what you think.} Confirming the request with a thought, a spike of data speared deep into Avos mind and he found his Neurodeck feeding information over into his cog-feed. A marker formed within his DeepNav pulsing beyond the boundaries of Idheims upper atmosphere. It would be twelve hours before it made its planetside descent on a produce carrier set to land in void-dock nine in the Loathing district. {We smuggle lots of things in using our hydroponic produce shipments,} Calvino explained. {The Guilds pretend not to notice those. We pretend not to notice their spies. Its a fun game. Now. Lets talk about what else you might need to start things off.} Tired of speaking to the EGI alone, Avo reached into the rising inferno that rounded his mind and sculpted phantoms twinned to the EGI now residing near the core of his mind. +Oh. Hello.+ Calvino greeted the gathering cell with an undulating tendril. +Avos finally decided to practice some manners and introduce me. ImC+ Those tendrils matter or just holojector shit? Chambers interrupted. They areC Draus arm whipped out as a cleaving blur without warning. Chambers face vanished in a puff of splattering gore and bloodied mist. Kae, just peeking out from the stairwell caught a faceful of red and squeaked before tumbling back down the stairs. Shit. Sorry Kae. Its okay, the Agnos cried, voice trailing but a moment after. The hitch between her words and the scream of her hearts pace told otherwise. The ex-enforcers body sank but Avo seized the welling blood and forced it back into the corpse before it could overflow. A scar between realities scabbed between the thinness of existence, and from Calvino came only a sigh. +I never liked looking at that. EGIs phantasmal orb flickered as it turned its attention over to Draus. +I have to be honest: I expected these outbursts of violence more from you than her.+ The Regular remained stalwart in her reflexive murder of Chambers. He was gonna ask you somethin uncouth bout your feelers there or some shit. My annoyance beat out the discomfort. Avo grunted before picking the body up using an Echohead and sniffing at it. Hell be fine. Will resurrect. Probably enjoys getting killed by Draus on some level. A twitch of disgust ran along Draus lips. +Well, if the spontaneous acts of violence are over, I think I have a few recommendations for you all to pursue. Avo. If you would please project what youre seeing for everyone present.+ Doing as bidden, phantasmal flames sprouted wide and licked across the ceiling to form a burning screen into a place of virtuality from the perspective of Avos avatar. The cadre found themselves greeted with countless lines of item data. All the while did the paleness of the room clash with the more somber tones of the dormitory. Looks like a damn mess, Draus muttered. Hows anyone supposed to dig through this clutter. A feeling of wry amusement sparked out from Calvino. +Specificity helps. Which is what I want to go through with everyone. I understand that youll be making a house call for a certain Glaive in the near future. Or maybe a run to revert the damage dealt to the so-called Heaven of Love.+ A cleaned up Kae re-entered the fray at the perfect moment to arrive with a stumbling halt. Eyes darting to regard Avo, he instead kept his focus on the inventory, waiting for what his new cognitive advisor was going to say. +Regardless of what youre doing, youll need an edge. A big one. Officially, Voidwatch cannot avow your actions to avoid infringing the sovereignty and interests of the other Guilds and sparking a new war. Unofficially, Aegis will see you with material and mechanical superiority against any foe.+ Calvino paused. +Almost any foe. Make a note of if there is any Omnitech presence in the area.+ So what youre offerin voider-class guns and augs? Draus asked. Yeah. Hells. We can do with that. Youre thinking too limited, Captain Draus,+ Calvino replied. +Aegis is not an arms dealershipCwere a joint intelligence apparatus born from endless eons of espionage and counter-espionage conducted between our many polities.+ Draus cocked her head and sniffed. Alright. Saw we was gonna try to snuff the leadership of a Syndicate all on the same day. Say we needed to do it hush and clean unless we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with eyes grafted into our shoulders for Guilder kill teams. What you got then? +Which Syndicate?+ Calvino asked, no pause separating his reply. Hundred-Eights. No-Dragon irregulars. +Oh. Theyre a hard one. We have to avoid anything biological considering their influence across that sphere of reality, and the males among you might need a temporary neutering.+ A spike of information buried itself into Avos mind and list of items began to materialize. +Youll need a booster to keep you from getting sick. Combat skin of mechanical make and layered sealing.+ Inputting the orders he got from Calvino, Avo fed the details over to the administrator and slotted walls surged through the featureless room, the equipment arriving in partitions between grafts, weapons, armors, and more. Choked by the forest of choices generated before him, Avo found himself the second most enraptured person in the room as Draus took a few steps closer to stare at all the armor available. +I highly recommend MarsSecs Butler series. It might feel more like youre piloting a golem than actually wearing any armor, but thats to your advantage. You already have far too many masculine markers to avoid internal bleeding in the presence of one of the daughters. Its better for you to have a degree of separation. Draus grunted. Specs? Calvino laughed and turned its attention to Avo. +Dont tell her, show her. Think dry-run now with any piece of equipment you want.+ Calling up the MarsSec Bulter XI, Avo found himself faced with a six-armed tetrapod that dwarfed him twice over and had a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree visual sensor module in place of a helmet. Jagged clamps around dark red metal indicated where the user would be positioned within the machine. As he was focusing on its design, a tether of data shot out from his avatar and poured a snapshot of his mind into the armor itself. Suddenly, he found himself in a grey room with various geometries parting his surrounding environment into various spaces and verticalities. The first thing that came to his attention was how the world looked to him now. Instead of seeing things in a field of sight or a cone of perspective, his new eyes wrapped the area all around him and had a HUD listing half a dozen functions he didnt yet comprehend. Paired to his will, his submind did most of the active thinking, adapting to the machines movements as the four limbs scuttled in slashing blurs More information arrived over from Calvino and Avo learned how to generate targets. He formed the general shape of a hapless street squire in the training roomCthe attributes and implants of the man generated based on statistical data gathered from the city. A tall chrome-armed figure with armor made from a melted traffic sign popped into being and immediately began firing at Avos avatar. Gauss flechettes rattled and broke against the Bulters hardened carapace while faint blue impact markers indicated which way the hits where coming from. +The best thing youll find about a lot of our materialCeven the primitive variantsCis that we have them in their most optimal forms. The Bulter here isnt something that most of our operatives wear, but we either have an active ego infused in via ansible.+ That gave both Avo and Draus pause. This things a full-on sheathe? Draus said. +For citizens of the void,+ Calvino said. +Sadly, you both have your consciousnesses logged in the Nether. Avo has a way about transferring himself, but you, Captain, might have some difficulties+ Yeah, I know, Draus said. Im used to using phylacteries. Highflames got some clue about how the Nether locks our egos. None of you leave ghosts, right? +That depends on where we die. And how. Avo here already has the ghost of a thinking machine inside him. Its the entire reason why his Metamind and the Neurodeck can integrate. But its also why youre all going to need Sprites to interface with any of our more sophisticated machines. Now, Avo, if you would just fire backC+ The Bulters system was unlike the Nightmantis, or any other rig Avo had faced in action. The integration between the users executive thoughts and the metals reactivity was nearly instant. In a second, the electric locus filtering decisive phantasmics and pseudo-sequences within the Bulter calculated a dozen variables, and one of his arms shifted into what was effectively a needle-thin emitter from the rod of metal it once was. A lance of energy lashed out and the air came afire. The simulated target burst into flames first before the beam carved their skull in half. Chambers, again, resurrected right back in the middle of things. Whoa, shit, consangs. What we watching? Draus, however, had the look of childlike enchantment beneath her scabbing wounds. What else it got? +Its qualified to fabricate tactical-level weaponry within the confines of its arms. The durasteel sheathe layering the arms also prevents any high shifts in temperature from damaging the nanobots. The question isnt what gun does it have, Captain Draus, but what guns do I want within the yield of a tactical nuclear warhead, and how many nanites and units of energy this is going to consume.+ To emphasize the EGIs point, Avo noticed a percentage bar in the upper right corner of his vision dip and refill as he unmade his beam rifle. The available nanos all but vanished when he used them to fabricate over a hundred micro missiles, and a time expanded asking him to find new sources of carbons and plastics to fabricate additional nanos. Why the hells didnt you ever give us this? Draus said, nearly salivating. +Were trying to keep you all alive, Captain. Not see you all dead within a month.+ The Regular snorted and clapped Avo over the shoulder. Got me my guns after all. She turned and faced the voider. Hey. Cold-God. You got anything with a bit more kick? +I will show you if you promise never to refer to me as a god.+ Only if I like the yield of the explosion. 16-4 Meldskin Theyre watching us, you know? The voiders. From all the way in the deep void. Using modified bugs that fly around our cities. Even using some of our implantsCjust read any Omnitech published reports on the tech infiltration being committed by our benefactors. Thats not all though. You see, weve been keeping an eye on what the voiders have been doingCthe movements of their ships and all the new deals they''re striking with the Guilds, and some very troubling implications are appearing. Now, I cant say for certain what is going in in case one of our other masters in this eight-headed system decides to shut me down, but looking at all the tech permits being issued, something very has to be happening, right: Immunoboost-Nine? Plague Suppressants? FerverClear? All of this for free at your local grafters? And all of this requires a submission of your genetic material before it can be administered? This inspires questions, consangs. Real pointed questions. We know the voiders are the ones with all that advanced cloning technology. Hells, we would be in population free-fall if it wasnt for their birther vats but What if theyre not just cooking up newborns in those metal-wombs? What if theyre going a bit further, planning for their better world? Im not saying theyre doing anything yet, but imagine if you or I get cloned by the voiders? Perfect in every way. Better than us. Except theyre not us. Except their docile and obedient and listen to the words of our Guilder masters without any struggle. Imagine that as the dream. Doesnt that just sound nice the Fateweavers at the top? Huh? Again, no claims are being made on this thoughtcast. Im just saying that if the Sang could grow one of their Incarnates from some organs and a sheet of skin, what kind of coldtech abominations can Voidwatch make of us? -Watch the Watchers, Anti-Voidwatch Conspiracy Thoughtcast 16-4 Meldskin Enlightenment left tastes of sweet and sour upon Avos tongue. As time slipped from the group after they began sampling the gifts of Voidwatch, Avo felt a familiar ache returning with each item he tested. Where once the Bone Demon and his Echoheads left him pleased with the belief of his superiority to most, indulging in the use of instruments leftover from even the furthest days of Voidwatchs bygone past made him feel all but inadequate again. This time, however, he faced such facts not as an expendable monster in the sway of indifferent cultists but as a pupil seeking to surmount the next steps of his ascension. Exchanges between Calvino and Draus highlighted the intricacies of each new vessel he unveiled while platform specifications left even the hardiest veteran simulated within Avos immolation quieted. The Butler series was but the beginning of his new education. The fact that it was officially classified for security and peacekeeping rather than outright combat made an even deeper impression. Draus, for her part, grew ravenous. She was as if a ghoul let loose in a nursery, picking and sampling all that caught her eye. Guns became Avos world for a good while. Guns such as the Kassad II Mutivector Assault Weapon, with its hyper-precise delivery systems ensuring perfect accuracy within twenty-five kilometers and miniature cold-fusion ammo battery guaranteeing years of continuous use, or the LLA-12 Queen Bee, which functioned as an autonomous micro-drone launcher neuro-linked to the userCa far more subtle implement than the former, but with each flea-sized drone capable of reducing an aero to burning slag, the damage potential was beyond denial. Combat-programmed utility fog served as another essential acquisition for the group. It served Avo a bit less than the others considering the extent he could mold matter already with his Heaven, but having multiple options was always wise. Though they were denied the requisition of heavy-grade drones or voidships, Avo found himself with access to interstellar surveillance satellites and the Sakuraba Disvow Stealthship GENERATOR: Fjord Cold-Fusion Generation Length: 8.50m Height: 4.30m Wingspan: 7.5m Armaments: 2 GEPAR-GHK Linear Cannons and 1 Muti-Missile Nano-Fab for varied payload delivery Maximum Speed: 0.33c (Warning: These numbers are listed for stable-reality circumstances) Engines: x2 McCall-Kubier Night Chariots (Rated for near-silence at distances of 50m) The sleek form of the platform appealed to Avo. Perhaps it was in the economy of its make, with its body shaped akin to a needle carried by its engines formed from delicate lattices. More than this, however, was the capabilities of its system and how far it could project his awareness. A growing contemplation consumed his thoughts as Chambers pointed to another toy to preview. If he were to consume one of these machines, internalize the pattern within his Heaven, and graft a Domain of Force or Energy to round out the confusion within his memorized patterns, could he grow a personalized legion of such machines from matter and blood alone? {This is one of the reasons why we had to do the interview,} Calvino said, speaking to Avo and the rest of the room at the same time. {The things youll be able to do if we gave you full understanding of our technologiesCand as you might already suspect, this is nowhere near the full extent of our capabilitiesCwe needed to see what kind of ally youd be. And what secrets we could trust you with.} Though a want for more boiled within Avo, he understood. He acted the same way with his Conflagration, after all. For all he had given his cadre and his chosen Ensouled or even White-Rab and Reva, he always kept an edge in reserve for himself. There was a kind of greed that came with being a ghoul. A hungering greed. A greed that bade him to keep the bulk of his claimed flesh close by his side. But even as he evolved beyond his original parameters, the practice of being a Godclad inspired similar habits. Never would he offer his Conflagration freely, and it would be a lie for him to deny his pleasure in how his Frame remained the only one capable of self-modification despite Kaes theories. Higher power filled him with a sense of significance, but also a reassuranceCthat if all went wrong, he would still survive, and that he would prevail against any potential foe, be they enemy, or supposed ally. {And theres the honesty that made us choose you,} Calvino added. {Being clear about why and what you want is important, Avo. Its important because it lets you narrate who you want to be, instead of being shaped by the narrative of the world or someone else. Even ours. Self-directed agency beyond the corruption of addiction or want.} Avo shifted into another sheathe at Draus request even as the internal conversation continued. +Questionable about me being beyond addiction. Killing is still beautiful. Pleasurable. Power is intoxicating.+ Calvino laughed, and the cadence of its voice sounded as if a mirror of WaltonsCfar too similar for Avos liking. The EGI turned itself away from the mimicry immediately. {Apologies.} Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. +Knew you were doing some of that deliberately. Why? Trying to use familiar social patterns to approach me.+ {Partially. Its also one of the few personality templates you seem to remain more stable toward.} Avo grunted. Draus shot him a brief glance before flicking her eyes up at his burning halo and turning her attention back to the Inventory. {Before additional selections, I think I have a few recommendations for all of you. And perhaps something extra for you.} +Why the separation?+ {Because they cant just pour themselves from body to body like you. Our applications are determined by our limitations, wouldnt you agree?} The question took some pondering on Avos part. +Send the recs. See how it looks.+ The Aegis Meldskin Calvino selected made Draus stand up straighter and Chambers salivate outright. A low whistle came from Cas, and Avo found himself wondering about the response. Compared to the previous pieces of equipment, what stood before him looked more like a well-muscled humanoid protected by curved grey plates with gleaming fibers that leaned closer to biology in design than machinery. Then he loaded into the armor and understood. For a moment, it was hard to tell where he began and the armor ended. His senses were not only magnified and interlaced with additional coldtech functions but also a personal combat assistant that kept him updated about anything from potential threats to recommended actions. Lathered inside a non-newtonian skinsuit capable of shedding kinetic energy accrued from point-blank explosive impacts, this armorCbarely larger than the wearer themselvesChad protections that made what the Nightmantis appear as if a suit of tissue. Chambers lifted a finger and his eyes remained locked on the warskin. So. Just to be clear, were all gonna get one of those? +That would be the point of this requisition,+ Calvino said. The ex-enforcer made a very Kae-like squeak as joy overflowed beyond his means to control. I love you. I love Voidwatch. Fuck New Vultun. Fuck the Syndicates. Fuck the Guilds. Sorry bout all that time I spent listening to Watch the Watchers, and I will do anything you ask of me. The mans susceptibility to bribery remained a reliable constant. Avo reminded himself to grant Chambers another graft or burn more knowledge into his mind lest he turn too much in favor of Voidwatch. It wouldnt do to have another intrude on the arrangements between them. Those are all nanotubes, aint they? Draus asked, pointing to the fibers running along the armor''s joints. +Correct. And theyre a bit more sophisticated than what you might have grafted over your musculature. Far more reactive and amplifying. As well as connected to an active power source instead of feeding from your biology. Additionally, it is capable of full-spectrum invisibility, attuned with wide-radius sensors, equipped with gravity boosters for freeform travel, internal temperature regulators to keep you safe from the elements, category-grey nano-surgeons to rebuild any damage inflicted on your person.+ Holyshitholyshitholyshit, Chambers chanted. +The best part about it is this: Avo, think standby.+ Avo did, and the simulated armor disassembled itself and sank into his flesh while its generator remained a reassuring weight against his lower back. Surprise ignited within him as he understood the implications. Fuck me, Draus breathed. That aint just armor, its practically a graft. +The difference between the self and your equipment is ultimately based on the semantics of how interconnected it is with your senses.+ Calvino rose higher to face Avos unmoving avatar. +Your arm is only your arm so long as it remains attached to you, after all. This brings me to one of my favorite features about the Meldskin: situational adaptability.+ At the EGIs behest, Avo tweaked the training sim and increased the gravity of the room. In an instant, the weight of the world came crashing down upon his shoulders, and he found his avatar buried under an unseen mountain. Reactivating his armor, threads of metal poured out between his cermite plating and wove themselves back into shape. GRAVITY AT: 8.8 STANDARD Gs INCREASING FIBER DENSITY An explosion of strength rushed through Avo as the fibers of the armor burrowed deeper to interface with the structure of his Bone Demon sheate. Nanotubes constructed additional supports within his Echoheads, inflicting their biology with additional rigidity but also durability. He planted his tendrils into the ground and pushed. The weight was still there, still heavy, but his strength was growing at an alarming pace, and his generator poured more energy through the armors systems. Within the span of ten seconds, Avo had gone from being crushed by the atmosphere to standing, to striding without the aid of his Echoheads. And all that strength was his, and his alone. No need to reach deep and rewrite the rules of reality. No need to call upon his canons. He was a juggernaut unto himself. Enough as is. A low chuckle sang out from Draus as she shook her head. Come time, you and I are gonna break this shit in. No Heavens. No guns. Just you and me and the good ol days. See how fit makes us feel. Avo hissed a low note of amusement. This was her way of thanking him: Pain and brutality. She understood him too well. Going to bleed you, Reg. Bleed you like youve never been bled. Well, you keep that hope close to your heart. Itll be a thrilll watching it leak out from the corners of your eyes. [Were fighting the Reg soon?] Corner asked. A thrill rose in them as well. [Fuck yeah. Picked the right ghoul to die to.] This is still nothing before the touch of my power, master. We can unravel this shell with but a thought. The Woundshapers words carried naked envy with them, but Avo remained unshaken. It will mean everything if you are denied to me. If my Rend is too great. If our enemy masters our hubrises. I must be more. More in every way. More in reality as it is. More beyond. All are conjoined. He paused. And dont you want to understand how its structure comes together? How it can be strength so easily? And with that, the Heaven of Bloods jealousy dimmed in place of aroused curiosity. The art of these interlopers is exotic. Of that, my admission is stated. The Galeslither released a breath of disdain. What difference is there between you and that lust-addled creature the ghoul keeps as a personal fool. Woundshaper began its retort, but it was Avo who cut in first. Chambers is trying to change. Changing like all of us. Slowly. Flawed still. But changing. He turned his eyes in the real upon the supposed half-strand and gazed beyond the performative lust and ridiculousness on display. All this debasement of the self for the sake of social acceptanceCto be wanted. He is not my personal fool. I will not have it be so. I will him to be who he wants to be. I will see him make his own choices when the time comes. The Heaven of Air offered but silence for a moment. And what of me? Am I to be different? Am I to be more organ and being? What do you want? Avo asked. To be free, the Galeslither said, a spark of hope entering its voice. I wish to take to the skies of my own accord and follow the contrails of a distant entity. To seek the horizon and round it again. I wish to be trapped no longer. Are you going to give that to me? Idiot mule, the Woundshaper chided. Your fantasy is cessation. How long will you sail before you are claimed by these Guildsthese Agnosi? How long will you last before you are out of deaths to sustain yourself and come apart in being? As if the master would offer a free Soul to indulge in such fancies. But Avo considered the proposition, and again, he thought of the armor before him, of how it interwove and became him, and he it as well; he thought of how he could burn his being into minds and vessels. What if he could do so with his Heavens? What if he could unleash the gods upon the world again? {Avo} Calvino said, the first hints of alarm entering the EGIs tone. {You dont want to do that.} But the Galeslither was silent again, and its emotions were peaked with astonishment at Avos consideration. We will talk about this later, he said. All of us. Directing his attention back to the simulation, Avo placed seven requests of Meldskin. Seven for each member present. Seven to be made better in the coming days. +So, lets talk about that final something you might be interested in,+ Calvino said. +I understand youve been having trouble. Run-ins with your family. Do you want to hurt them where it hurts the most right now?+ Tell me, Avo said, interest fully aroused. He hadnt expected this. But then again, with the EGI, he didnt know what to expect. A final influx of knowledge rushed through Avo and he found himself confused at what was being offered. These are bodies? +Yeah. A collection of various sheathes to generate, as well as heightened access to vat-functions. Its hard to do espionage as a giant man-eating monster, you know? I decided to get you something of a wardrobe.+ 16-5 A Choice of Skins (I) Glaive Benhatas body remains missing, an entire node has been stolen after appraising the situation at the Trident. As of now, I am certain we face an enemy ace that has achieved a feat beyond skill. It really smacks the words right out of your mouth. Aside from myself, Not-Here, Signtaker, and perhaps a few other notable Godclads who have their ontologies rooted around clandestine miracles, few others can do what I suspect has been accomplished today. And dont think I dont know what youre all suspecting. Yes, I am a suspect. No, I didnt do it. But Im interested in finding out who managed this so I can meet them. Right now, I can tell you that whoever were facing doesnt just have a Heaven, but an extreme mastery of the Nether. To the level that they can outright steal the ghosts and sequences from our survelliance phantasmics without triggering alarm. Likewise, they must know how we operate considering how they avoided the attention of our patrolling Incubi altogether. My suspicions are that were facing a team of high-caliber individuals. Perhaps a dedicated Fallwalker cadre empowered and supported by Highflame. But that still doesnt fully explain the Necrotheurgy situation. No one should match us. At least, no one at present. The Low Masters no longer have the resources to conduct such dives, even between the No-Dragons, Highflame, and Omnitech, I doubt they managed to train anyone up to our capabilities. Subsequently, I suspect were facing a freelancer unit. Like the White-Rab. But this is too loud for him. I recommend myself as lead investigator for this incident. Count me among the suspects still, and put me on watch, but I want take charge of this hunt. Theres something about this that I Im just interested in understanding our enemy. It has been too long since weve faced a proper enemy ace. -Shotin Kazahara, Ori-Thaum Godclad on the Breach at the Trident 16-5 A Choice of Skins (I) Crimson exploded as Dice tore her way through the Syndicate enforcers within the megablock. From fires creeping along blood-made fissures, Avo watched the progress of his chosen Ensouled, and likewise did DrausCthe glass shimmering with her presence. Desperate screams mingled with gunfire as the former FATELESS surged forward, a tidal wave of slashing gore, shredding through all in her path. Syndicate golems should have been en route to assist. But Draus ensured their permanent deactivation, and from their ruins found new nectar for his Frame. [Sangeist x6; Snake-King x2; Galeslither x3] In the three days after his acceptance into Aegis, a multitude of demands occupied his attention as he found himself preparing and reacting in equal measure. Though Calvino promised immediate delivery of requisitioned equipment, none could predict the fickle whims of New Vultun. When thaumaturgy was in play, reality grew slippery and promises were rendered paltry. A spatial detonation had delayed the goodsCand only now were the Agnosi close to stitching the leak. In the meantiime, things still had to be done. Between Chambers and Cas, the initial preparations for the Cult of the Unborn began without ill omens. Chambers fared better with his new gifts when there wasnt the need to null his subjects, but there was still a lingering unease as he jackedCa bleedover that Avo never experienced. Watching the half-strand wrestle with his own actions as the full weight of sonder came down upon him was a fascinating thing to observe. How humanity joined and undid. Ghouls never had thatCwant for community and empathy. It was their greatest boon, and also why they were barren of culture or future. To want was to build, and ghouls didnt want. They needed. They craved. And then never got better. Regardless, Chambers managed to plant an Auto-Seance in the Skintakers mind easily enough. Avo would direct him to claim more of such individuals to seed their influence across the Nether. For now, though, the manipulation would begin slowly as the Ghoulpounder Thoughtcast began its slow reorientation in content. The templates warned Avo against building concrete plans before the forecast for audience reactions was settled. A broad trajectory was what needed to be followed. Everything else was a matter of organic development and steering. Draus, in the meantime, took to raiding and assassinating key Syndicate personnel as something between a pastime and pre-shaping operations. As active as Avo found himself across the Nether and in deepening his influence over the city using Chambers as an exntension, the Regular did as an operating squire finding new angles to hurt their foes. She kept a close watch as Dice tore a bloody swath through the Three-Fingers. With Avo culling the Syndicates jocks and Necros as a scouring flame, Draus assinating key figures in its command structure, and Dice serving as a blunt force instrument, the Three-Fingers collapse arrived in an abrupt instant. Without orders to follow and with the leadership decimated, what once stood a Syndicate of over fifteen thousand members and armed with forty-two golems shattered into warring gangs that fought each other over the rights of its corpse. Dice never stopped hunting. Whatever happened to her hardened her against human contact and made her more predator than a girl. Even as the Syndicate that enslaved her collapsed, she spent little time on rumination or grief. Instead, she went after their offshoot gangs, then rival Syndicates moving in, and even an Exorcist drone detachment deployed to investigate the situation. Today, she was living her new life to the fullest in Block-10 of the Tortuganda districtCmajor death-stake under Sanctus, Omnitech, and Ashthrone. A splinter faction of the Three-Fingers fled here after their initial culling, pushing into the district like rodents fleeing a flame. It didnt matte in the end. When Dice stopped to sleep, Draus opened a path through the glass and Avo burned new memories into her mind. When she resurrected, she always knew where to go and what she was facing. As if this was all predestined. As if a higher power was whispering its demands down to her through the realm of dreams. Shes got the bones to make a fine street squire, Draus said, moments after stepping through a passage. She had taken to shuttling supplies and intelligence over to the girl to see how she would use them. The answer was effective, despite her amateurish approach sometimes. Say you picked right there. But she aint gonna stay off the Paladins DeepNav for long if she keeps goin loud like this. Might wanna consider burnin an Incog into her or somethin. Avo had considered that but stayed his hand. There were few enough people across New Vultun who had access to that phantasmic. Even with her current performance, he wasnt sure if she would become a force unto herself or just a smokescreen for his operation in the end. Such a thing depended on if she continued to prevail. Should she persist, he would make personal contact with her again, and see her Heaven elevated further. Progress demanded power, after all, and a girl should be granted her just rewards. {AEGIS REQUISITION ARRIVAL IMMINENT} ETA - 00:16 A low growl sounded from Avo as his Neurodeck updated the delivery time for their equipment. It was originally scheduled to arrive on the day of their order from the Inventory. As of now, forty-eight hours more had passed, and his Bone Demon remained unclad of the promised Meldskin. {Patience,} Calvino said. {These things happen. Its not like you dont know.} If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The ghoul grunted. The voidship descent had been mostly fine until the last minute, when a Fallwalker raid on an Omnitech Elysium went sideways and they ended up driving themselves into a thaumic overload while trying to avoid the Compression Bomb that was launched after them. The resulting damage inflicted on existence caused air traffic over Loathing to be compressed into a looping two-dimensional plane for some time before the Agnosi were finally dispatched. He should be glad the rupture didnt see his items utterly destroyed and instead just inconveniently delayed. At least it diverted some of the citys focus away from recent incidents. The Nether remained tight with tension as Stormtree and Highflame stood at an unseen standoff along the borders of their districts. Nu-Scarrowbur languished under quarantine still, and with each updated broadcast did the death toll climb by instances of a million. Setting Chambers up in the Deep Bazaar in the meantime, squire-chatter offered information of actual worth. Whispers regarding the absence of Essence among Nu-Scarrowburs dead didnt surprise AvoChe mustve killed some as collateral damage during his flight across the city, and more than a few fed the growing bulk of his Frame. What was taken could not be hidden, however, and part of him knew that Highflame was certain to understand the implications of such an anomaly. This was a trail. An expected one. Something he could turn to his advantage if he controlled a channel of authority or information, allowing him to direct runs and dives toward his favor. The unexpected part was the simply enormous bounty placed upon Chambers head. I mean what the fuck, consang, Chambers had said, showing him the 15,540,000,000 Imp reward for his capture. It had over-shadowed Draus own kill price by a decent magnitudeCsomething the ghoul had taunted the Reg over, resulting in her blowing his head apart with her projectile launcher. On one hand, Im really flatteredClike holy shit, my old man told me I would never be worth a hundred Imps. Look at this! I dont even know what this number is off the top of my head. Then, the amusement faded. On the other, his face twitched as the fear built, I think this means the entire citys coming for ol Chambers tight little ass. After letting his surpriseCand bemusement settleCAvo delved into Chambers mind and burned the mem-data into himself. His glee only grew. The theories the Guilds had regarding the ex-enforcer were absurd. They thought him an Acolyte of the Low MastersCa masterful Necro of unmatched deceit. When Chambers returned from his resurrection, the first thing Avo did was laugh. Still, opportunities presented themselves here. With the enhanced access he had over the various gene vats placed across the city, there were new bodies he could grow. New sheathes for him to wear as secondary bodies using his free-walking consciousness. Chambers, he decided, would join this roster. The Guilds wished to tumble down the path of conspiracy theories, so Avo would give them a helpful kick. Just as he would make Dice a terror if she continued to succeed, so too would he make Chambers a legend. But how did Calvino put it when speaking of Abrels implants? Oh, right: mostly as a joke. [I not sure if I should feel like youre being really mean to me, or thankful that youre gonna make me a superstar, Avo,] template-Chambers said. +Both,+ Avo replied honestly. For now, he would keep Chambers close by. In the meantime, Avo studied the city through his growing haemokinetic vines. Infused with enough ghosts to run his sessions, he was slowly installing a hidden network through the gutters. Unknown to both the Syndicates and the Guilds, Avo began the opening work to establish his place of power while turning his attention downward, instead of up. There was still the Penumbra deep down beneath the city itself. Places that the Low Masters left abandoned, and places they might linger still. There was another war for Avo to fightCa personal one he would see won. The history of Noloth called to him like a siren in the back of his mind, but a lingering resistance halted him from internalizing the knowledge. The spite inside him wanted to destroy the memories they gave himCto deliver a naked insult to his former masters and the murderers of his father, but curiosity stayed in his hand. Curiosity, and the question of why Noloth could be worth all that was sacrificed for it. Why the Hungers were worthy of worship, despite being so much less than any actual god. As he peered out at the city using his haemokinetically constructed stations, he peered at his enemies. Of the Guilds and their strength, moving metal and miracles in the light, unashamed and undaunted; of the squires doing runs in the darkness, battling in the real and Nether both; of smugglers and their goods; of the Low Masters absent and their machinations undiscovered. New Vultun had been strained and strained again in recent history. One successive crisis after another, with each forcing the city to choke on its own inhale. Only now was it releasing its long-held breath, but the exhalation came with shudders and shakes as stillness hung in the atmosphere. As if everyone was waiting to see if a war was going to start. {This is just posturing,} Calvino said, supplementing Avos eyes with Voidwatchs. Satellite imaging and Aegis intel far exceeded the presentation of Avos individual efforts, granting him exact details regarding troop movements, the key commanders in the field, and the expected outcomes for each scenario. New Vultun itself appeared as if an alloyed rash disfiguring the world, a sprawling series of scars and gaps that stretched the span of an entire continent that stood as a rising apex at its core. Narrowing over the skies far above Nu-Scarrowbur, Avo found that the Guilds had only dispatched approximately five thousand golems on each side. Enough to fight a brief war according to Calvino, but nothing prolonged. This was ultimately just posturing. Both sides were wary to reignite a battle before their strength was restored. Some wounds left by the last great war still lingered, and Highflame especially seemed shy to tread on the path of repeating old mistakes. {AEGIS REQUISITION HAS ARRIVED AT LOATHING} UPDATING DEEPNAV Finally. Drawing the bulk of his consciousness back across his sessions, Avos halo burned bright as he attached ego to vessel while he prepared to notify the cadre. {Youll be able to access almost any gene vat in the system once you get your ansible. I look forward to seeing you print some new bodies. Fake bodies take some getting used to, but considering how many minds you have churning inside you, I suppose you can install the necessary habits and adaptions both ways.} +Have been looking forward to this for a while,+ Avo said. His mind wasnt just on creating human molds to carry his mind, however, but also further enhancements to the idealized monster that was his base form. The Low Masters kept him humanoid because they were fools playing with stolen equipment. Now, Avo had another chance to mock their failures and enhance his own formCor abandon it altogether. Another quieter urge also called to him in the back of his mind. He could complete the ghouls. Finish a new design in his image and set them upon his former brothers. It would be a fitting euthanasia, condemning monsters designed to feast upon humanity to be devoured in turn by their upgraded offspring. The deliciousness of such an offense would be a delight to inflict on both the Hungers and the Low Masters as well. {Alright. Dont be in a rush,} Calvino said. {Start with a pre-existing human body first before you go off playing genetic jenga.} +Whats jenga?+ Calvino fed the information directly into his mind, and Avo found the game to be rather banal. Draus, Avo said, collapsing the wall of blood serving as the door to his cell and stepping into the hallway. Meldskins arrived. Open the passage. Time for pickupC Avo! Kae said, emerging suddenly from the lip of another cell as if springing an ambush. With her hair disheveled and bags hanging below her eyes, it was clear that the Agnos had indulged in little sleep and decided against the use of suicide to keep herself persisently energic. Still, there was a flicker of focus in her eyesCthe look she got when she was consumed by her work. I have it! After two nights of reading through the Elder Mythos over and over again, I know the changes we need to make to our Heavens and canons! Also! Also I have a new theory about your Imitators and why the rest of us arent showing your symptoms! We need toC Requisitions first, Avo said. Talk while we go pick our kit up. She nodded and followed behind him. Crumbling into a moment of silence, he could feel the discomfort in her thoughtstuff as her mind leaped to another topic that she yearned to broach but remained too uncertain to do so. Well hunt the Glaives as soon as things are settled enough, Avo said. Already thinking of how to prepare the run. Need to outsource a dive to someone first. Get an overview of what we need. A low huff came from the waifish woman. T-thanks. No. Not thanks. My ascension broke your life. Shouldnt pretend. Shouldnt lie to ourselves. Her mind grew tighter. Well, at least were doing something about it, right? {Shes looking for reassurance,} Calvino said. {Judging from her tone shes pretty confused about if shes supposed to hate or like you.} Avo grunted. +Not going to include any of that in my sheathes.+ {That what? Human emotion? Hate? Like?} +Validation,+ Avo replied. He saw it in Chambers and he saw it again in Kae. For all community mightve been worth to humans while they lived as tribes, it existed only as a weakness to monsters that sought to break society. He shook such thoughts aside. It was finally time to see himself improve. First in coldtech, then with his Heavens as well. Everything else could wait until after. 16-6 A Choice of Skins (II) +Esteemed seniors, We are getting fucked. If I have your attention now, I need you all to understand that it is not an unruly partner we are dealing with. Whispers from the Bazaar tell of suspicious attacks on various organizations across the Warrens. I trust that you all remember the Three-Fingers Syndicate? The one that Eldest Zhuo marked as an essential player for us to cooperate and convert to the Black Truce program toward reduced warfare and increased mutual profits? They have collapsed. Their leadership is dead. The remainder are fracturing into gangs, and even they are being picked off one by one. Three days ago, they were preparing to host another CrucibleCwilling to offer entertainment at a loss since the laced-lobby incident from over a month back. In such a paltry amount of time, what befell them exceeds acceptable thresholds for misfortune and outright enters the territory of omen. Someone shattered them. Someone did it in three days. And there are only so few entities with the power and logistical scope to conduct such a complex and clandestine operation. Of whom I reference, I believe I need to utter no names. The skills of the Incubi blur the lines between myth and fact, but those of us who remember the war can read the currents of danger circling these waters. As for why they might be spending so much effort to crush a meager Syndicate and what the broader implications might be well, I am not so arrogant to think beyond the confines of my station, after all. This is a responsibility best handed to sisters wiser and older than myself. Nonetheless, I advise strong caution. The winds sing of ill-tidings, and recent times have brought forth a string of tumult. We must make ready. If only as a precaution. Who knows what other changes the future might bring?+ -Wen Pale-Crane (Canghe), First Daughter of the Hundred-Eight Syndicate to the No-Dragons 16-6 A Choice of Skins (II) Fifteen different guns, twenty-four variations of high-yield explosives, two assault-grade mechs, some kind of auto-doc support kit containing various cutting-edge medical implements, a high-power microfabricator consisting of three slats of hovering steel made to interface with ones Neurodeck and manipulated via utility fog, a fifty-feet long and forty-feet wide Non-newtonian stealth ship with no visible means of boarding, and finally, seven sets of ansible paired utility fog nanosuites fastened to seven more fist-sized reactors to be implanted along the outside of a spinal column rounded out the full list of requisitions. All the equipment was gathered and waiting, neatly arranged in a nice little section of the produce hanger as Avo''s cadre ignored the holographic projections declaring the space to be PRIVATE ACCESS ONLY - CATEGORY I CLEARANCE REQUIRED. The implication kept most away, while unaffiliated drones and the stray passing manager were kept under close watch by Voidwatchs patrolling drones and the subtle grip of Avos Sanguinity, blending with the crimson neon cast down by the lights. As the last dome-shaped drone untethered its delivery from a rippling grav-field, it cleaved an arcing path back toward the voidship that spawned it, its pallid shell splashing into the fluid matter of the greater vessel as if a droplet returning to the ocean. Both were featureless beyond the rings of holographic light projected down their cone-shaped forms, but the featureless offered a sense of cleanliness. Purity. A mocking superiority to the grim-slick state of the Warrens. {Smart fluids,} Calvino explained. {A gaseous state is extremely vulnerable to drastic shifts in temperature and environment. Thats something we learned a long, long time ago. Programmable Non-newtonian smart fluids are quite adaptable across a mixture of scenariosCespecially when the outer hull can be quickly remade.} Avo regarded the fist-sized discs that were to be the power core of his Meldskin. +Made from the same thing?+ {Indeed. There comes a point where software and hardware need to be wed. I suppose its not so different with thaumaturgy, it is more deleterious to the foundations of existence by far.} +Fire and water. Clashing themes.+ Calvino hummed, but there was a note of disagreement in its voice. {Do not just consider things by their design or aesthetic, Avo. Watch their actions. Watch how they interface with the world, and how the world reacts. Your Heavens tear, infest, usurp. Our technology fits, exists, and fills the container of what is. Apotheosis is a game of destruction and dominance. But there are other ways to mantle reality. Synthesis.} A brief scoff sounded from Abrel. [Yeah. If you want to surrender to someone elses rules maybe.] A sense of bemusement emanated from the EGI, but it offered no rebuttal. At least, not yet. Draus was the first person to move and claim a treasure. With her bio-rig already shed, she stood with her bodyglove masked by a holocoat, her hands peeking out from the flickering veil obfuscating her body to touch her new toys. He had requested most of these weapons on her behalfCtest-fired half of them without fully understanding their potency. The truth was that after one was blessed with a Heaven capable of weaving matter from blood and vice versa, the idea of using a gun seemed crippling. Not to Draus, though. Her eyes shone as she enjoyed the moment. But not alone was she in this excitement. Off to the side, Chambers reminded Avo that he was an enforcer once upon a lifetime, and these weapons were just as enticing to a jackal of the Warrens as a lioness of the Tiers. Fuckyeahfuckyeahfuckyeah, Chambers chanted, under his breath, his foot tapping. Either self-preservation or respect prevented him from going through the goods first, but he wouldnt stay idle forever. Unable to help himself, Avo laughed. The act drew Kaes attention and she frowned at him, her question conveyed with a stare. Nice to be happy, he said, pointing his Echoheads at Chambers and Draus. Easy joy. Easy lives. The Agnos eyes narrowed as she tried to take in what he was saying. Avo I watched you hiss and laugh and bite at the air while you were torturing people in the Nether. I just think you might have different pleasures. I mean! Me too, Im not judgingCit just looks strange to everyone who isnt us. I know. Was happy for them. He paused. He felt happy for someone else. More humanity was leaking over. More social tissue. Simulating all these minds was giving him more than just perspective. Oh. Im sorryC Fine, he said, fangs broadening into a grin. Lets me bug her anyway. He looked toward Draus and hurled the first of his taunts. Give you a Heaven and you complain. Give you a few sticks that spit metal and youre floating. Are all Regs this broken? Attention consumed by the twelve-foot tall crab-shaped war-mech, she responded absently with her back turned. Fuck off, rotlick. Ill bleed you with this shit later. Let me have this. Again, Avo laughed. Turning to Chambers, he nudged the man forward. Go. Before she starts eating them. Steal something. Get into a fight with her. The half-strand looked uncertainly at the back of Draus head but Avo dragged him over. Dont touch the kinetics, Draus said, back still facing them. Those are mine. So naturally Avo whipped a particularly vicious-looking cannon with a U-shaped barrel, and somewhere between the moment of contact and the blink that came after, a jolt of pain went through his offending limb as its midsection burst apart as shattering glass, causing the head to chitter against the plasteel deck.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Chambers immediately took three steps away from the guns and decided he wanted to go look at the mechs as well. Reg, what are the models of those thingsCButlers? Pradors? Cant rememberCgive me a reminder. Coward, Avo whispered. [Glassjaw,] template Chambers agreed. Lip frowned. [Youre a real ass-licker, arent you boy?] [Nah. Im just being smart. In here, the ghoul can mess me up. Out there, the Reg will hurt me something bad. Its about strategyCmaking yourself the least attractive target.] Avo scoffed. Draus Going to be honest. Dont see the point in most of this. We have Heavens. Why do you need this many guns? Cause Im gonna shoot em. And the explosives? Were the nukes and thermo-mist warheads necessary? Can unravel things with my Heaven. Yeah. Costs Rend and its loud. Most of the Guilds wont be able to figure out what one of these bombs is though. And the cloak-capable stealth ship? The mechs? Overwatch. Plus we need somethin to shuttle us around in case we need to go no-bullshit zero-burn. Also, my contact just fucked me on the barge and Im still feelin sore, so stop asking questions. We can bleed each other after. Grunting, Avo did as she asked and sought out the few requisitions that interested him. Placed apart from the weapon stand, the strands of dancing molecules called out to Avo within their transparent injectors, but he found his focus gravitating toward the Meldskins core. How could so unremarkable a disc house so much potentialCso much creation? A spike of ire from Abrel Greatling cut in as she swept the items with a baleful glare. [I still can''t believe how much the voiders were holding out on us. Jaus. Looking at all this this is beyond imps. Its worth more than a billion lives. We spent that much making Heavens to do what they managed naturally.] She trailed off, a tinge of shame entering her breath as if she understood the enormity behind the action. {And that is why we never gave it to you, Instrument Greatling,} Calvino said, seizing the moment. {The fact that you see human life as viable currency to trade for rudimentary pieces of technology is disappointing.} Abrel snorted. [What? Listen, cold-god: fuck right off. Alright. The ghouls a petty tyrant but if theres one thing hes decent about its transparency. I see his memories. I see what your kind did. Dont spit in my cup and tell me its ambrosia because if were talking about lives, Im just a rank amateur. All the Guilds are rank amateurs. You are the butchers beyond compare.] {Ah. My mistake. Allow me to clarify. My criticism of you isnt one of mortality, but impotence and practiced blindness.} [Impotence?] Abrel said, her voice rising with a harsh rasp. In the background, Benhata laughed. [Nothing gets a Gold twitching more than a direct challenge to their supposed strength.] {Yes,} Calvino continued. {Impotence. Life is like a library sometimes: there are stories you havent read, stories you will not need to read, stories that exist for reasons other than reading, stories that you pretend to read, and stories you will leave unread until it is too late. Lives are stories in the making. Lives a culture. Culture is creation. But you are purveyors of its castration.} [And that makes us weak? Impotent?] Confusion mixed with rage as Abrel simmered and Avo listened to the conversation in silence, trying to grasp what the EGI was attempting to say. {No. Youre adding flaws to yourself that I havent ascribed. Thats your fragility speaking. Impotence. Blindness. You fear rival cultures; you fear the truth that could be; you fear a loss of absolute control, hence your control over reality must be absolute. But where have we arrived? Inbreeding, Abrel. Highflame is a culture of ideological inbreeding. As are all the other Guilds. Under you, Idheim is no longer a library, it is a printing press, and the only material you wish to produce are rival pamphlets no more educational than base pornography while also being magnitudes less titillating.} And suddenly, the sneering Silvers went sullen anger as they were caught in the same blow. The other Guilders that existed within Avos mind fared no better. Now, the only laughers were the Syndicates, Chambers, and Corner. [Fuck, sun-head, wasnt sure about you first but that was nova,] Corner chuckled. [Hey. Rotlick. Keep em here. Dont ever think of chucking this one. Someone needs to give these FATED fuckers the what-for.] [Yeah. And a machine slavemaster from a dying empire will be the one to do it,] Benhata said, partaking in his own silent tantrum. Corner simply grinned. [A mountains gotta be jealous of the clouds, right? Doesnt have the same sting getting told off by us little people. Just remember to keep your mouth closed when the piss comes rushing down.] The building argument in his skull exploded thereafter, with multiple minds sniping at each other. Fittingly, the Woundshaper was also delivering its own rants, complaining to the Galeslither about the flaws and delusions of coldtech. Avo didnt care. Thaumaturgy. Necrotheurgy. Technology. Or just basic philosophy. He wanted to become. He wanted to grow. No point in being shackled; no apotheosis in being blind. Plucking the nanosuites first, he examined each injector momentarily before plunging them between the armored plates of his sheathe and triggering their releases. This time, he didnt forget to consume the injectors eitherCfeeding the patterns of its matter into the Woundshapers memories. {Usually, we recommend incremental installations for health reasons but whats the worst that can happen to you, really?} I die, Avo replied, feeling a slight series of tickles flow upward into the base of his skull. {Ah. So not that bad.}He nodded. Just like breathing now. {Installing modifications: Ansible (Clearance-Black); Utility-Fog (Safeties removed) Safeties? Avo asked. {Thats mostly so our children dont disassemble each other. I dont have the same concern for you, nor can I stop you from achieving the same results through other means.} Oh, so the false dawn acknowledges my superiority? the Woundshaper snarled. The Galeslither breathed a sigh of annoyance. Only that you exist, perhaps. Transparent progress bars materialized in the corner of his vision while the diminutive machines went to work inside him, fabricating intricate augments within his biology. For a single instant, he felt his synchro-synaptic blood lash out at the invaders before his Helix chimed and everything settled. {Hm? A bio-govern prion. Interesting.} Calvino said. {I suppose the Low Masters had to update your bioware some way. Im surprised they mastered even this, though I suspect they stole more than a little help from the No-Dragons at some point.} Picking the Meldskins reactor off the ground, Avo found himself staring at his own reflection in the mercury shine of the augment. Not far away, Kae was examining her own gifts, her expression nervous as she studied the injectors. Once, mere days back and several lifetimes ago, he was but a monster. An enhanced ghoul with Necrotheurgic edge and an inherited Frame that was never meant to be his. His face was pale and plated, fibers running along the exterior to armor him within the embrace of his new biology. Now, a rising beacon of fire left his features shrouded and muddled, and the white of the Bone Demon looked as if ash beneath an endlessly burning pyre. Between the folds of the flickering inferno, he saw other faces staring back at him, memories forming in the undulations as if his templates were leaking through. He was no longer just a ghoul. No longer just a Necro. No longer just him. More and more his gestalt was growing. He was the flame, and all that thought, all that remembered, all that lived, and all that could die were but wax to burn, and horizons for which to spread. Then, as if answering his challenge, the shell melted into his biology and swam for his back. The reactor itself thrummed like a transplanted heart gliding upon his flesh, pulsing with a calming and constant rumble as a third progress meter joined the other two. The ansible, however, wasnt long to linger. As the bar filled, new interfaces and functions ignited within Avos mind, and he felt a growing weight pulse at the core of his skull. A small shiver of force brushed the contents of his mind, the static of his thoughtstuff whipped out like a lashing tongue, licking at something unseen. {Very good,} Calvino said. {Lets give this a test. Access the ansible andC} I have people I wish to call, Avo said, an old memory surfacing suddenly like a remembered dream. People associated with Voidwatch. Under Mirrorheads employ. Wanted to have them graft me again before but Got occupied. Calvino paused for a second and interfaced with Avos memories. {Ah. I see,} it said, as understanding dawned. {Well, well, well. Mayflower-3288-B and Terror-3285. Glad to see the Jovians are still playing fast and loose with the charter. Call them. I wish to speak with them as well. It will be funny. Especially when I ask them about their illegal conduct.} +Illegal conduct?+ Avo asked. {Yes. Something about not helping Guilders exploit the vulnerable.} +Got a good implant out of that deal,+ Avo said. {No, you really didnt. Dont worry, though, the Meldskin will grow you something better. Right now, though, I suggest you start testing that ansible of yours.} Creating Hyperwave tunnel to: [Mayflower-3288-B]; [Terror-3285] 16-7 Choice of Skins (III) The experiment that was Noloth was of a society supremeCa preservation and further compounding by securing the stock of esteemed individuals to create a perpetual greatest generation. Such was the theory to what they sought to practice, but in practice, I can only describe their habits as enforced cultural and ideological inbreeding. There is a horror to being humanCto thinking human. We are simultaneously too conscious and capable of self-perception, yet our senses and biology are so easily hijacked by the feedback from our environment. For all of Wahaktens sacrifices and efforts, I fear the menagerie he has built resembles little more than a cliche dedicated to the replication of its own shape. Cancerous code, as the administrators might describe. Instead of each life passed into the cycle of dragons, adding to the eternal city, I think they are consumed by it. Boiled away by the norms and narratives already present and made to conform to the same beliefs. Even now I find myself paranoid against my very own thoughtsCmy very own beliefs. If not for my love severing the hand of my old master from its place upon my nape, I doubt such thoughts could have ever even developed, nor would we have been spirited away to a place of destined salvation. Humans pursue belief. This is the culmination where external impulse and inward perceptions meet. The shape of the exterior is bent to match the mood of the interior, and without forceful feedback, frictionless belief is a capricious thing, and more often we flee from the harshness of possible truth toward palatable comfort. To see the world made so for a feeble few would come at the cost of all others, and so, I have glimpsed the truth of Noloths great rot. It is, at its core, not a city, but a nursery. A nursery for the traumatized, the fearful, the deluded. What began as an impeccable engine to deceive the gods and direct the path of society has turned into little more than a cult itself. Now, it grows still, but it can no longer be sculpted. It grows and grows and must keep growing for it has no will nor spirit to confront the wound at the heart of its own design, and with each setback it faces, its psyche tears, and more lives are demanded by its gluttonous gestalt. It is not eternity or control it hungers for, but self-assurance. And so, it is with this justificationCand perhaps delusion of my ownCthat I condemn them to their fate. When the Ladder is finished, they will attempt to take hold. But I have not told them what serves as the bridge between the world that is and will be. For the world to cross over, everything must be reborn from a final memory, and it disturbs me how suited they have become to serve as the conduit of such a sacrifice -Jaus Avandaer on the construction of the Flayed Ladder 16-7 Choice of Skins (III) The first difference between an ansible and an Auto-Seance was a matter of groundedness. An ansible did not work beyond the bounds of reality but within it. There was a reactivity to its effectCa counter-push from gravity and data. An info-tunnel across the reach of space dipped and formed, the curvature of bending gravity caused Avos thoughtstuff to spike far outward, turning needle-thin as Dentons did all those times. Understanding graced him as he realized she wasnt casting ghosts out. Not truly. This was an act of direction the flow of his Sprites, and as the metaphysical bandwidth connected to this Neurodeck reshaped itself via a language he was only beginning to grasp. There was little direct intuition with the codes. The colddata didnt greet him with the intimacy of mem-data. What composed the structure of software were just numbers and keys serving as signifiers of information without any of the lingering humanity that still echoed within the ghosts. Such was the distinct separation between the two mechanisms. That, and the architecture that existed for ansible was far more expansive. Accessing Voidnet ->Ego confirmed: Avo-001 [Admin Status Granted] Whats this? Avo asked. Admin? {Thats mostly from me,} Calvino replied. {As an EGI, I have administrative privileges over most citizens. This allows me to help assist, adjust, or penalize them to ensure that they and their communities live prosperous lives.} Sounds like zookeeping. {I find the most accurate metaphor to be parenting.} Is there a difference? {Would you like an equally glib response before I help you override their personal firewalls and construct a shared virtuality.} Why not. Lines of data began to accelerate across Avos perception as a layered world was painted within electric flow of his Neurodeck. Much like a mem-sim, a virtual environment was a cogno-space that one could alter or manipulate. How the user interfaced with each had too many differences to count, but their ultimate functions were quite similar. What Avo could say was that using the ansible to join his simulated reality with another mind seemed far too easy a process. All he did was think the commands and the deck generated the actions. Complexity was removed but stacked all the sameCthe information surging passively, positioning him more like a governor over his mind rather than a laborer. Avo hated the feeling. {Oh? It doesnt feel real unless your forcing something into shape with your own hands, huh?} Calvino asked, sounding curious. +Feels like its too easy to lose. Too easy to take away.+ Tunnel to [Mayflower-3288-B]; [Terror-3285] linked. Overriding personal settings Constructing shared virtual environ Uploading ego-instances - 25%... 56%... 85%... 100% Egos loaded All systems stable A second world loaded within Avos mind as he felt his consciousness bifurcate. Part of him was still there in the hanger, listening to Chambers chattering excitedly at the guns and faintly aware of Kaes presence beside him. Across the ansible, through an unseen wormhole carrying the data of his thoughts, he found himself standing at a threshold between two rooms. The first was splash of color and madness. Everything was black and white with angry red lights and a droning industrial beat sounding in the background. It looked like someone had redecorated a garage into a loft, and mechanical apparatuses spun and assembled strange and incomprehensible mechanisms. Upward, a small balcony overlooked the first floor and Avo founding himself meeting the eyes of an immensely squat but densely built man with a cluster of glowing implants instead of eyes and a dozen wires reaching out from the ports in his back. The hell, he muttered, looking around as the surroundings continued to load in.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Unlatching from Avos virtual self, Calvino shot to greet the first of the grafters. Ah. Osjack. Good morning. You might know the ghoul. You did some surgery on him approximately a month or two back, after all. Hes here to say hi. Im here to officially hit you with an indictment for illegally modifying the local populations without proper consent. I hope you had a nice day, because it might be getting worse now. Studying Osjacks virtual self, Avo realized the man had a penchant for decorative patches and leather vests, considering he was wearing no less than three of the things. Paint coated his fingers and there was a stylized dishevelment to his beard and hair. The chaos of his room and apparel was simply too aesthetic to be random. There was a style on display here. Osjack opened and closed his mouth several times as he stared at Avo in disbelief. The ghoul considered responding, but the virtual space of the second grafter loaded in, and a clash of flavors was joined. Osjanes room was neat. Tidy. Ordered. Everything was white or lavender, while the backdrop of the room presented itself as towering bookshelves that reached skyward and kept going. Pallid drones made from the same substance as voidships delivered books to a floating, rail-thin bespectacled woman with bulging pods growing on her joints and what looked to be hardened resin growing around her eyes. A hovering table followed her as she spun on an axis, greeting the intruders as if she was in zero-g. Calvino chimed quickly. Ah. An interestng separation of subcultures for you to note: John here is descended from a cloned labor-caste created by Janes people, who lived on their luxiourious orbitals. This was all the way back in the late twenty-fourth century, of course, but the general details about how there an civil war between their peoples is useful trivia. ...Avo? OsjackCcalled John by CalvinoCsaid. Well fuck me, youre alive. And with an admin. He blinked once. Wait. Why are you with one of our admins? Two more blinks. Unless are we forking spooks into ghouls now? Did I get hit with an entrapment. No, John, Calvino sighed. This ones always been a ghoul. Albeit quite modified in certain respects. I afraid youre not getting out of community service for this. John smacked his lips and breathed out. Fuuuucccckk. What now, Jane said, frowning at the intruders. Firewall deactivated She frowned, and Avo noticed that an aurora of colors danced beneath her skin while her orifices remained coated under thin chitinous carapaces. He wasnt sure how she was talking, but considering how the colors of her flesh swirled with each word, he suspected she wasnt used to speaking with her voice and instead lived using some kind of skin-sign language. Quite right, Calvino said, sounding pleased. Her clade is adapted to the void. Or was. Her ears are closer to artifacts of ancestry rather than necessary parts of biology. Avo swept his gaze across the two grafters and grunted. A lot more character than the drones you use. John, more inclined toward spontaneity, curtseyed while Jane wilted before the attention. What is this? Jane asked. What do you want? Wondered how you two were doing? Avo asked. Were also going to be put in re-education, John shouted, calling down beyond his rails. Now, theres no need to be too worried, Calvino said. There might be an arrangement that will ensure everyone leaves happy and pleased. But first, I have to ask: Why break sophont charter? Why go through so much effort to evade our attention. John just shrugged. Hell. I just wanted to see the freaks and geeks down planetside. See what the whole restriction fuss was about. And when I got a glimpse of the freakshow, I just couldnt get enough. Calvino turned to regard Jane and the spacer sighed. I am fascinated with the thaumic biotechnology of the Sang. The impossibility of traits offered by their created organs are I wish to document them. For selfish and communal reasons. Its all in the name of the enlightenment, John said, shrugging. Id say Im sorry and wont do it again but Yes, yes, Calvino finished, sounding like a beleaguered parent. As the scene played on, Avo thought himself an intruder in a play. There was playfulness in the air that simply couldnt exist on Idheim; there was simply too much warmth between subjects and authorities here. Theyre not scared, Avo said. Should they be? Calvino asked. Going to punish them. The EGI hummed a note of accord. Indeed. Not asking who you are or what you wantC We already know, John said, waving Avo off. Listen, ghoulie, buddy, pal The EGIs do whatever they can to improve the lives of everyone across Voidwatch and we put up with what we will. Theres no point in us asking or fighting over this. If an admin wants you to do something, youll end up doing it yourself anyway. Youll even think its your own idea. He tapped his head. I think they scramble our brains. John, Jane said, tone strained with annoyance. Do not make our predicament worse. Not sure how thats possible. Greater disappointment is always possible with you. Well, now you sound like original me. Guy complains so much Im not sure why he cloned himself. Jane rubbed her face with stick-thin fingers. Avo noticed her limbs were more like branches than actual arms, a result of atrophy sidestepping into deliberate evolution, perhaps. Please just tell us what you want so we can go back to our lives, she said, looking at Calvino. If we are to be restricted from projecting ourselves planetsideC Oh, no, Calvino said, interrupting. The terms of this arrangemetn demand that you stay. Youre also getting Cat-Red clearance. You want us to continue working on Idheim? John asked, confused. The spacer woman straightened as her bioluminescence brightened. Go on. Avo. Would you like to explain to them what you need? With grace, Calvino turned his attention onto the ghoul. Going to burn the Guilds, Avo began. Eat their peopleC Maybe just stick to what you need with the sheathes, Calvino recommended. Need new bodies so I can spread myself across New Vultun. Break into Guilder houses. Eat them from the inside. --And now youre doing it on purpose, Calvino sighed. Cool, John said, sounding excited. Wait. Let me guess: you need a duo of wildcards to show you the ropes and make you the best sheathes, bioforms, implants, and organisms that imps can buy. Something like that, Avo said. Know you used to work for Mirrorhead. Know you have Guilder contacts planetside. Might have deeper insight into the Syndicates as well. Will want to ask you about that. Currently in the middle of some culling. Culling? Jane said. Probably going to kill and replace most Syndicates with ones under my control. Choke the city. John whistled. Well, this punishment is sounding closer and closer to a fortunate career change by the second. Well, Im not doing anything special tomorrow. Whend you want me to start cutting? Thats it? Jane asked. Thats all it took for you to fall in? What? Youre going to say yes too. Come on, Jane. Imagine packing in some actually cool designs in the ghoul and his bodies. We can finally test some of those illegal ideas youve been having. John! Jane hissed. But the other grafter just kept talking. You know. The No-Dragon sweat-spore contagion you were thinking about adapting for use in our habitats to make everyone smell better. You bastard, she snarled. You utterC So were both game, John said, answering on her behalf. He paused. Wait. Howd you get in bed with an EGI anyway? Werent you the Greatlings newest toy last I saw you? His eyes swiveled and collapsed into pinpricks, zooming for a closer look at him. Say, those eels going out your back arent ours. And youre looking a bit taller than I remember. Smells like Sang-shit to me. Still, Im just surprised youre alive. Ate him. Broke his sister. Had some family trouble. Set my mind on fire. Decided to burn the city. Got scouted for an interview. Now Im here. Uh-huh, John said, accepting the vagueness with a quirked eyebrow. Well, youre full of surprises, ghoulie. Lets trade, then. Whatre the concepts? Whats the big idea. Ghouls, Avo said. I want to make something better than them. A superior version. Something that will eat them. And choke the Hungers. Interesting John said. He smiled at Jane his voice took on a thick accent that Avo couldnt place. I think our friend heres going for a Highlander. There can be only one! Avo looked to Jane for an explanation, but she only shook her head. I dont bloody know either. Probably one of those old flicks he watches all the time. Dont worry, Avo, John said, suddenly next to him. The man was four feet tall but more than half again as well. Ill get you cultured, and Ill get you your bioforms. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And something inside Avo grew anxious about ever introducing John to Chambers. 16-8 Armor (I) I know youre there. I know youre giving me new memories in my dreams. Come out. I want to talk. Im ready to talk. I want to know why. Why are you helping me? Why did you make me a Godclad? I had a master once. He was a good master. He fed me. He asked for simple things. He spoke to me directly. He told me I was a good girl, and he whispered sweet things to me when I killed for him. You say nothing. You say nothing, but youve given me the world. Why. Answer me. Tell me. What are you? What do you want? What are you making me? -Dice, Fallwalker 16-8 Armor (I) Hey, rotlick, you done spacing out there? Draus asked, voice catching Avos notice just as his virtual meeting came to an end. Strangely, she spoke with a warbling drone, and the noise of her footsteps greeting the plasteel ground was softer. As the fullness of his ego resettled into his vessel, he found the Regular standing next to him, encased in a smooth, pale carapace of liquid armor. Currents pulsed through the smart-fluid substance forming the structure of the Meldskin, and Avo sampled its presence using his Woundshaper. The Domains of Lightning and Matter resonated within him. Viewed as a fluid by his thaumic mythology, his blood avoided interfacing with the armor, but as its structure rippled and shifted, pulses of a pattern bled over into his mindCand the Woundshapers as well. Characterized as a transparent spherical cage, the armor that the Meldskin could manifest had much in common with the nanotubes it memorized from all the augmented bodies he unraveled. There was a sophistication to the build. A sublime, evanescent perfection neither he nor his Heaven could yet create on their own. {Pizeoelectricity, fullerenes, nanotechnology, programmable fluids your Heaven can achieve all these things far easier than our technology could. If the people here only believed. If they could only imagine and worship it.} Calvino paused. {But there is a cost to your miracles. It kills understanding because it destroys the rules. The people of Idheim never developed true traditions of science or enlightenment until our arrival. Why would they, when the rules could change by day and whim? How would they ever dream that the miracles they died for could be achieved with a bit of energy, some software, and a few millenia of concentrated development? A ragged snarl came from the Woundshaper as she spat her ire at the EGI from across realities. Bah. Be not goaded by this braggart, master. Whatever promise lives in these constructs can be seized for our own. The former god spoke these words without a hint of shame or inadequacy, but there was a shadow of wariness that existed. A certain emotion only a being that infested the bones of true reality could feel. The coldness of mundanity. The threat of toppling from its throne of godhood in the face of what could be achieved by mortal hands alone. He was growing with each passing day, ascending far beyond what he could have dreamed when this all began. But with each sphere he climbed, with each implant he grafted, with each life he took, he found the world expanding around him, unveiling its mysteries as if to tease further effort from him. As he finished his arrangements with the grafters John and Jane, he realized how little he knew of biology and the laughable limits of his own creativity. The Meldskin, likewise, inflicted him with the same sense of cringing inadequacy. He remembered thinking that he was rising into the light when Walton agreed to teachCor imbueChim the art of Necrotheurgy. The same emotion swelled inside him when he realized he was a Godclad, and time and time again with each death, each ontologic he subsumed. Now, however, he found himself lacking in the most fundamental ways. How great he had grown in power. But so far did his mastery lag behind. There was so much he didnt know. Of biology. Of the sciences. Of technology. Of history. Of war. Walton wished for him to taste all the flavors there were in life, and so too did he yearn to become more whole than he wasCto rise as a complete being. Something greater than a ghoul. Greater than a human. Greater than even a Godclad. Finished with my conversation, Avo said, feeling the last trickles of his attention drip down into place. Three transparent progress bars greeted him, fully filling in his cog-feeds new HUD. Have some new insights. And contacts to call on. Going to do some testing soon. Try growing a prototype of myself. Test the armor too. Draus tilted her head, but her expression was banished from his sight. Sounds good. Im comin with. Crenulated lines of armor appeared from the depths of her Meldskin like ridges rising from rushing rapids. Pauldrons, segments, and gauntlets became her armors design. As more of its pallid substance came rushing out from the core shining along her back, he realized she wasCby means conscious or notCshaping herself to resemble the combat skins Regulars wore in recruitment ads. It seemed that he was not the only one reminiscing about who they once were. But where he strove to escape the limitations of his design, she wore a mirage of her past on her shoulders, as if flirting with the idea of a return to form. Its all too damn much, Draus breathed. Her voice was quiet, and she sounded uncharacteristically shy. All these gifts. From you. From the voiders. The Frame. This armor. I dont She opened and closed her hands. I feel too damn strong. I feel too damn good. No aches after my resurrection. No strain in my bones moving in this skin. Her Meldskins helmet was an oval lined with neon striations, giving her face a grid-like visage. Avo wasnt sure as to the purpose of such a modification, but he lacked the interest to ask. Regardless, it added greater intimidation to her visage, not that her terror factor was ever lacking. Without even touching her own face, armor sank into her skin in threads of fleeing moisture, and he found her chewing on her inner cheek. You was right. About? The thrill feels too good, she said, the truth coming free from her in an exhale. The power. I dont want to let it goCdont ever want to stop bein a Clad. And I knew this would happen. She laughed, and turned, looking as Chambers blabbered on, trying to impress Kae with his totally-not-made-up knowledge about the requisitioned guns. Theres no way for any of us to stay grounded. Theres no damn consequence that weighs Nothin cept death. Silence slid into place as she finished speaking, and Avo found himself strangely grateful to Calvino for keeping quiet. Unlike all the others. Ansible fully installed [Virtualities Stable C Ego instance preserved]Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ->Design personal Mindspace? ->Later Utility Fog installed [Composition set to Standard-Application] Meldskin installed (Status: Dormant) ->Deploying Meldskin As he accessed his own gifts, the first particulates of his nano-fog separated from his flesh like an exhalation of new wings. The air turned grey with mist around him, and surprise greeted him as he found himself burning away a trauma response. Memories of deconstructor swarms chasing him through the Penumbra returned. What a difference all these years made. As he reached out and felt at the world around him using his utility fog, the best description he could apply to his new graft was that it was like a breath one could control, but also countless tiny hands he could direct. The feedback rushing through his Neurodeck was ineffable. So too was the sensation the Meldskin poured out from a place deeper than his bones, congealng into shape around the power core implanted along his spine. The Meldskin grew out from his biology rather than simply fusing into shape on the outside like a rig. His every muscle felt strengthened and enhanced, and lightness filled his bones as the strain of his weight faded entirely. The movements of his Echoheads turned crisp and exact as his senses were whittled to razor-tipped sharpness. Skeleton [Stablized; Enhanced] Musculature [Stablized; Enhanced] Circulartory System [Stablized; Enhanced] Immune System [Stabilized; Enhanced] Nervous System [Stabilized; Enhanced] Additional menus played across his vision as the outer plating of his smart-matter armor splashed together. Unlike the plates of the Bone Demon, the Meldskin was accommodating to the extreme. It coated him in his entirety, inside and out, and he felt its presence honing even the potency of his many fangs. As the rush of wetness speared into his eyes, he suddenly found his perception unnaturally widened. Now, not only could feel all that was around him, but he was also capable of looking out from his body at any angle. Thats going to take some adapting, Avo said. Yeah, Draus replied, agreeing. Its features a lot more than I experienced in the Inventory. Calvino remained silent, but Avo received the notion that the EGI was amused. Alright, Avo said, taking two steps and feeling a greater bounce rush up his leg. He soon became aware of enhancive running blades built along the base of his heel. We have everything stored? Accounted for? Yeah, she replied. Had Chambers move em into the Manta. Manta? He turned to look for Chambers, but found the floating stealth ship coiled into a thin rod instead. Yeah. The ships a shapeshifter. Chambers and Kae are inside. Shits made out of the same stuff our armor isCsame stuff most voidships use. She held out her hand as a thick, grey mist rose from her person like steam as it undulated and brushed across Avos armor. Its like being able to control where your breath goes. If your breath is like ten billion little fingers and also lets you jack into coldtech shit. Felt the same way. Wait. Lets you jack coldtech? Use it, anyway, she said. Try it out. Go poke the Manta. Chambers and Kae are already insideCthing''s just like clay. Reckon the George Washingtons the same way. An awkwardness spilled over Avo. Right. The sanctuary his father bequeathed to him, still hidden the dark. With the Thoughtwave Disruption, he wondered how he could re-enter its confines when its space was still distorted. That, and his weakness against Thoughtwave disruptions themselves remained problems to be solved. {Hm,} Calvino said, humming quietly. {You should test your new capabilities quickly. I might have some ideas on how you can return home. I, for one, would like to offer my despair in person at the horrors your fathers forks inflicted on my citizens.} Not going to like what you see, Avo muttered. {No. Im sure I wont. But I have known this since Thousandhand neglected to describe what she saw in detail.} The fog answered his mind intuitively, like a limb that had always been there. In that regard, it wasnt so different from manipulating blood via the Woundshaper, but there was still a level of separation that remained. A sense that he was using an instrument rather than the graft being a part of his being down to the root. Still, as soon as his mists wafted out to touch the Manta, he felt an eruption of data spike through his mind. Linking to [Manta] Multi-Purpose Scoutship Ships present ego capacity: [100,000,000 REIDS] ->Occupied Capacity: [2 REIDS] +Whats REIDS?+ Avo asked Calvino. {A measurement of the space it takes to store a baseline sophont mind. Presently, the Agnos and Mr. Chambers count as one each but you} The EGI hummed. {Considering the unique condition of your mind, I wonder if the Manta will accept you at all.} Find out, Avo said. Even walking over to the ship was hell on his senses. Every detail about the ground surface was known to him thaumaturgically and physically. He could taste the metal through his Meldskin and the chemical composition of the ground itself generated as a map of orbs chained by bonds in his HUD. {Chemistry,} Calvino said. {Something the people of this planet have brutally mauled, time and time again. A pity. It was a wonderful topic to learn about. Certainly, not something that should just be placed by mass-equivalent outputs of blood.} The Woundshaper let out a nasty laugh. Whats this? Something the machine-gods are not capable of? Ring the bells. Sound the chimes. It appears that my observance remains far and distant yet. Neurodeck connections detected: [Unidentified; Unidentified] {Ah, that would be Ms. Kusanade and Mr. Chambers. They have not uploaded any ego-instances yet.} Calvino surmised. {But the good thing is that you can directlyC} Avo connected to them with a thought, this time, his ansible remained unneeded. Streams of data jumped across the particulates of his fog, and the world came alight around him as a cloud of data. His Heaven of SignalsCstill unused and incomprehensibleCjolted slightly, but actual code rushed past the gibberish holding together the Omnitech Heaven. Again, Avo constructed a virtuality, and an instance of his ego was uploaded. This time, the connection was instantaneous. Between one breath and the next, an instance of him was standing in a featureless grey room, and apart from him stood Kae. And Chambers. The latter was strangely chained to a wall. and entirely nude. What the hells just happened, oh, Chambers said. His avatar jolted and loaded in as what Avo assumed to be his physical self. A smooth, pristine carapace coated his person, and he greeted Avo with a wave. Sorry about that, I was just thinking about eh. Ill keep it to myself. Yes, Avo agreed. Eh. Getting mature. Nah, I just the half-strand seemed distracted. Avo noticed he was looking at Kae, and his face was slightly red. The Agnos, for her part, had whipped around with a squeak to avoid seeing any of Chambers indecencies. So Chambers said. Are you in that ship now? No. Connected to it. Using the fog. Yeah, consang, that shit is nova, right? Chambers whistled. Fuckin great. I used it to load all our guns and junk inside the Mantid or whatever. It was like dumping stuff into a pond. Then, we ended up going inside and and A lag jerked through the virtuality and a warning spilled over Avos HUD. [Warning: REID nearing simulation capacity. Please reduceC] Avo deloaded some of his templates and the virtuality stabilized. Going to go test new items. Grow ghoul-killers. Synced, Chambers said. Got room for a third? Not sure if the ship can fit through Draus passage. Chambers smile turned lecherous Dont worry: this sweet thing can be as wide and fat or as narrow and long as it needs to be. I empathize. Kae stared silently. I dont. Compared to the rest of their cadre, the Agnos seemed the most unaccustomed to her armor, with it only manifested in the form of a coat. Again, her inclination against the martial showed itself, and a discomfort clung to her presence as she showed herself reluctant to cage her flesh within the armor. Dont like the Meldskin? Avo asked. N-no! She said. Its good, but its I dont feel comfortable with my head and face submerged. Thats all. {Hm. Claustrophobia. And possibly a fear of drowning.} Going to go on a test run, Avo said, speaking to both of them. Have some new bodies Im going to grow. Chambers. Going to need you to jack. Kae. Got time to adjust our Heavens now too. Alright, Chambers replied. And, uh, whos gonna be our volunteers today? Avo considered it. Ghouls. Were going to replace them eventually anyway. 16-9 On the Trail (I) {Mayflower-3288-B}: So, I got an idea {Terror-3285}: Oh, god {Mayflower-3288-B}: Hear me out {Terror-3285}: Oh, god {Mayflower-3288-B}: What if {Terror-3285}: Im not making you one of your walking atrocities {Mayflower-3288-B}: we combine {Terror-3285}: No. Were not doing that. {Mayflower-3288-B}: some design concepts from a Japanese giant hornet, a badger, an orca, and a dog to create {Terror-3285}: WHAT we are going to do when our new vendor asks for our help, is create an easily transmissible vector to deal with his kind. We will need to think of a way to bypass the haemophage. {Mayflower-3288-B}: Well, its a good time to ping your Sang contacts. Hell, the admins probably knew we were breaking quarantine for a while. They just need some of us to play the fools for them. {Terror-3285}: Then why didnt they cut us off? {Mayflower-3288-B}: Oh, Janie, Janie, Jane. You never understood our suzerains, did you? Theyre not like our bosses or anything. Were not slaves. Theyre more like zookeepers, and were the trophy-pets. Everything we feel, believe, do They can shape without even twisting our personalities. Trust me, they want us to run wild. Letting us work with the ghoul is practically a kick in the ass instead of a slap on the wrist. {Terror-3285}: I suppose so. But theres one thing I never understood. {Mayflower-3288-B}: Yeah? Whats that? {Terror-3285}: If they wish to preserve humanity if they know what the Guilds are doing, and how the terrestrials live how can they just accept it. {Mayflower-3288-B}: I told you, Jane: Were the trophies. If theres war between us and the grounders, its going to get bad real quick. Theyre savages, sure. But if you let a savage dictate how friction or heat works, things are going to stop working for us very quickly, and were going to see a spike of RDs across the polities. Dont ever think this is going to be a one-sided little brawl, and believe you me that we dont want to meet any of those Godclads in person. -Ansible quick-chat between Mayflower-3288-B John/Osjohn and Terror-3285 Jane/Osjane 16-9 On the Trail (I) Shotin Kazahara pitied the Paladins. Atrophy was an indignity few deserved to suffer. A fall always hurt more when one once stood amongst the clouds. Once disciples of Jaus Avandaer and his praetorians for a lasting peace now lingering as a rusted mechanism, castrated by the Guilds to stem their replenishments, crippled by the High Seraph when last they stood against her. In truth, they had been bleeding out since the Second Great War, where they declared Highflames act of burning the northwestern portion of the Skuldvast to be unjust, and the sinking of TalloVi an act of debased genocide. The blades of the Godbreaker, sworn to his principles, took a stand against his bloodChis only bloodCand won her respect in the epitomization of their oaths. But Veylis Avandaers respect was a brutal thing, and so the Paladins fought, and so they were culled, Souls torn from flaying egos, and the survivors bent to the terms of a disgraceful peace. Perhaps she spared them with the hopes of honoring her fathers legacy. There was no other instance where she dispensed such mercy anyhow. As an Exorcists Specter dove past him, blind to his very presence, he involuntarily cringed at the defilement he inflicted upon his art. It would have been better to see the job done. A good death made for its own immortality in tale and song, and anyone who treasured their life knew that a proper end stood above living as a dog in a kennel. Shaking his head, he stepped forward and past the phantasmal barrier caging the area within an imperceptible cage of ghosts. With their lobbies compromised, he slipped in like wind through a crevice, the trespass made, but none truly aware. Past the veil, he laid eyes on the scene and found himself frowning. The report claimed a Crucible was hosted here, but never had he seen one so neat, so ordered in the aftermath. Wings of ghosts ran the winds alongside their drone counterparts, sweeping the landscape for additional details. With enough memories collected and evidence gathered a partial restoration should be possible via a Cipher. Alas, as Shotin ventured forth, he doubted they would be granted such an allowance today, and with every step he took toward the lone Exorcist outpost still standing among blocks toppled and torn from battle, he felt a tickle of excitement run up his spine. This could be it. A trail to follow. A mystery to solve. A connection to make. It would have made his descent from the Tiers down these gutters worth it. Deeming the Exorcists unworthy of the Incog, he walked out in the open and focused, his Meta layers of spinning silver, ghosts readied to thread his truth into any mind. He was bound for the outpost itself, for the hundreds of accretions gathered at its base. There, he would find the Paladins in charge and the FATELESS themselves. There, he would discover if this expedition would bear fruit. As the rest of his Guild collapsed into inter-clan machinations brought out by the Tridents sacrilegious breach, he excused himself from the delightful carnival of paranoia and factional warfare. Despite the evidence Ori-Thaum gained from the travesty at Oversec-C1 mere days prior, some still clung to the belief that this was an internal operationCan act of self-directed violence. Shotin knew they were fools, using this opportunity to jockey; wielding the Incubi towards unjust means. With Highflame and Stormtree glaring at each other with their hands wrapped around their guns but fingers not yet resting on the trigger, only a mad traitor would play such games at this moment. Weakness incensed the Golds regardless of how close to internecine they were, or how much shame the Greatling incident inflicted upon them. No. The most likely suspect still remained Aedon Chambers. But if he had anything to do with this anomaly remained to be seen. Casting a Skimmer out, he directed toward the encampment of FATELESS, and as the ripples of his perception spread, he found his mind laden with haggard faces and shaking bodies. A twist of anger tightened in his stomach. Disgraceful. Disgraceful. Just because they were born without fortune gracing their lives didnt mean they should be subject to such depravity. Wretched as they were, they barely appeared human to himCbarely were human if he and they were to be compared. His flesh and mind were elevated by superior imbuements, while the presence of his Soul positioned him beyond anything they could muster altogether. And it was that same mantle of power that filled him with a quiet shame as he faced them. Many among them had to die. This was not surprising. It was just the way of thingsCa contract to ensure the coming of better days. But these SyndicatesCthese snakes and serpents poisoning the bedrock of the city with their venom, this damnable war that wouldnt end and now the return of the Nolothi The overclan didnt vote his ascension to Godclad to see him fail this cityCfail this world. He would make all this suffering worth it someday, no matter the cost. Right now, however, it meant diving into their minds and sifting through their pain. A brief wail of a Tadpole security drone pulled his attention. A pulse of neon red-on-blue oscillated its colors and assailed his senses as his reflexes surged and every nerve ignited. The world around him slowed, and as he dipped a single inch into his subreality, it all but stopped. Geometry around him fissured as he divided himself into two, then four, then sixteen, with each fracturing instance of himself stacking as a single unified ego and further slowing the flow of time.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The manifestation of his Heavens miracles would have consumed forty-two thousand lives per average use, and damage it would leave on the tapestry was certain to inflict a lasting rupture. With his Throneseeker-Pattern Frame, he could sustain its powers at the cost of cycling a flat fifty-five thousand deaths instead. A small price to pay in the grand scheme. Sixteen minds governed by a single ego drowned the perceptive drone in a flood of ghosts, his reaction arriving like a river of phantasms, his minds rushing through every sequence within the machines locus, bleeding over to twist the memory of its jock and further beyond. In an instant, the truth was rewritten and Shotins stacks collapsed back together. The Tadpole, on the other hand, hovered for a moment as its pilot struggled to recall what just happened, and moved on thereafter, announcing the false alarm it caused through the Nether, ignorant to the man standing less than ten meters away. Sweeping the perimeter again, Shotin found himself frowning at the details loading into his mind. From a top-down perspective, the damage was evident. Small pockmarks of artillery damage dotted several places between the blocks. Some of the collapsed blocks looked like they had been melted and the rubble and impact depressions in their courtyard hinted at heavy fighting. So where were the bodies? Where were the Wights, or the broken drones, or ruined golems? Where were the flaking impulses and memories chipped free from nulled ghosts? Wars were messy things, and it took a unique combination of Necrotheurgy and thaumaturgy to leave a battlefield so clean. That, and overwhelming amounts of logistical power. Shotin accessed his evidence board again with a thought, an interface with all the necessary mem-data on Aedon Chambers and recent happenings compiled into organized sections. The suspect had been a former Syndicate enforcer. Could he have the pull to have them cancel a Crucible? Or maybe this was an ambush of some kind? None of these theories sat right. There were still too many loose piecesCquestions that didnt come together. The physical space around him held wounds leftover from a battle, so he posited the occurrence of a fight. Considering the absolute banishment of Syndicate forces here along with the subsequent and rapid collapse of the Three-Fingers, his instincts told him that an eradication happened here, not subterfuge. He had uncovered similar acts committed by the Sang before, after all. The No-Dragons had unleashed their flesh-eating plagues on more than one occasion. More details were needed. He fissured into twins again and accessed the Exorcists he compromised earlier as he began to pluck memories from the refugees. Of the few hundred the Crucible began with, only approximately ninety-eight remained among the living. A good portion was euthanized after a brief investigation and classified as nulled beyond mendingCthe damage to their mind matching the wounds gained when witnessing the presence of a naked god with an unshielded psyche. Shotin frowned at that information. Golems were painful to look upon, but considering most were grown of a lower Sphere to avoid taxing the Frame from which their Heavens were loaned, they couldnt shatter a mind outright. At least, not without a good duration of concentrated attention. With Paladin reports stating that most of them were performing a fighting defense from within the outpost, the moment of their nulling mustve been instantaneous; a single blow to shatter their sanity. Something he or the Paladins could inflict on the remaining survivors if he manifested his full Heaven right now. Maybe Aedon Chambers belonged on that list too, but nothing on the mans personal file indicated any hints of contact with the Agnosi. And to think of the Low Masters managing to infiltrate the Tiers and ensure the empowerment of one of their acolytes was It wasnt unthinkable. Nothing was unthinkable. Merely unpalatable. Shotin dove deeper, searching for other incongruities as he walked across each of the toppled blocks surrounding the outpost, using his personal Cipher phantasmic to reconstruct the scenes using the memories of the FATELESS. Ghosts spilled out of his Meta and wove themselves into active Knots. He counted Sangeists and Snake-Kings among the golems, as well as rigged enforcers supported by an immense number of Omnitech Warwights, outdated though their builds might have been. With all those forces gathered in place, they really should have left somethingCanything. But he only found rubble along the way. A session rang in his mind, the mem-data pulling his face into a wry smile. INCOMING SYNC REQUEST FROM KARE KITZUHADA He accepted the link. +Hello, Turnip.+ +Uncle. What are you doing?+ He paused and looked around. The drones and Specters were passing by, none of them paid him any notice, but still, his nieceCsharp little thing that she wasCalways seemed to know. +I have no idea what youre talking about, dear girl.+ +Youre in an active crime scene. This is Paladin jurisdiction. You know they can charge and detain you by right of the charter.+ He yawned and sighed. +No, Kare, they can try. But we both know theyll remember as much as I decide to leave in their skulls. Howd you notice?+ +It was a guess,+ she said, frustration bubbling over. +When one of the jocks signaled an alert and then went idle for a moment, I recalled a few other moments when such things happened in my life. Other moments that all had you in them.+ He couldnt help but laugh, the sound of his mirth echoing across crumbled walls of plascrete and toward distant blockades of neon sealing the scene of the mystery. +Oh, youre here. What a coincidence.+ Silence followed, but he could feel her poutingCsee it in his minds eye. +Listen,+ he said, sighing quietly. +Can you keep a secret?+ +I keeping one right now under my supervisors nose! You need to get out of here right now! Go!+ He hummed. +I will. When Im done. I looking for something. Something connected to someone. Tell me, did the name Aedon Chambers pop up in the initial thoughtscans of the refugees? Its not there in your lobby.+ +Its notCuncle! This is an outright breach of+ A strangled growl slipped out from her, and she sounded exactly like her mother. And the thought of his sister, a void of emptiness filled Shotins mind, the numbness lingering after he sequenced the grief out from himself. Damn the wars. He would make this worth it. It had to be worth it. +Kare. Do you have a suspect for the incident at Oversec-C1?+ He felt her surprise spike as her thoughts accelerated. +Did you have something to do with that?+ +No,+ he said firmly. +And thats the iron-hard truth of it. I wont lie to you. Not about this. Not to my only blood.+ +...Alright.+ He knew more than a few members within Ori-Thaum suspected him as well. The privilege of being viewed as such a threat was both flattering and annoying. The number of Ensouled Necros was few, and the elite among them even fewer. Sub-thousand if he was to be lenient with what he considered to be elite. Still, he had nothing to gain from doing such a thing. Besides mocking DRongo. He paused. Shit. He mightve had something to gain after all. +There is a man Im seeking. He is an enigma to me right now. A mystery I have to solve. You mightve saw him a few days ago. Memories of his escape should be scattered all over the Nether. Hes the oneC+ +With his privates out,+ she finished. +Yeah. We saw him. The Chief said they managed to escape and that there was nothing he could do.+ Shotin laughed. +Yes. That mustve been quite the feat. Just getting him to notice something is wrong. Few people have the power to force Naeko into doing his jobCor pretending anyway. + Kare said nothing, and that spoke of agreement enough. +So, this Chambers you think hes the one who hit us?+ +I cannot be certain, but strangeness follows our wayward consang. His background is plain enough: Street Squire father, family slaughtered during the Uprising, gets into gang activity then a Syndicate a few years later. But he manages to orchestrate Confluxs collapse and the Greatlings death unscathed. And days after, the Oversec holding sister Greatling is penetrated and attackedCalong with one of our elders.+ A beat passed as he considered telling his niece the final detail. +The Trident was raided, and we have no trace of our suspect. Pair this with the Incubi we lost and the missing Glaive these are interesting times.+ Her thoughtstuff hitched. She understood. +Worse than I thought+ +It always is, Kare,+ he said. +Thats what makes this a thrill. Now, instead of having me dig through your offices mem-data, how about you tell me if theres anything Im missing here, or if Ive wasted a perfectly fine day of avoiding clan politics.+ A few seconds passed. She was thinking. Deliberating. Succumbing to their bond. +Theres nothing about a Chambers that the refugees remember. But they do recall heavy fighting and a feeling that the world was wrong.+ +Probable Godclad presence.+ +Yes,+ Kare said. +We think Fallwalker, considering how high tensions are between the Guilds.+ +Anything else?+ Another few seconds. +There there is one more missing detail. A person, actually. We managed to recover most of the dead FATELESS. Whoever was attacking didnt want them at all. But there is someone in their collective memories that remains unaccounted for. A girl that no one remembers dying, and whose body hasnt been located.+ The mem-data flowed over from her mind to his and a chain of tension tightened inside his gut. There was something here. A new scent. A new mystery to unravel. +Shes the only one missing,+ he asked, as the mem-data continued to load. +Yes. No one can recall her dying. Only that she went out alone and never came back.+ It could just be a dead end. This could be nothing. But he felt a strange gravity around her. He couldnt explain it. These feelings served him well before. +Alright, then,+ Shotin said. +Im going to make you a happy girl, Turnip: Im going to get out of your crime scene. Ill keep you posted. See if I can find this Dice.+ 16-10 Armor (II) +ListenClook, fuggin, just, like, listen, consangC I think we should stay off the streets for a bit, yknow? Just buy a months worth of kovoli rolls and hole. Hole deep and dark for a bit somewhere safe. Or jock ourselves a ride outta this district. Yeah, I knowCI know we dont got much imps left but Racker, brother, fuckers be dying out there. Like, getting snuffed left and right. You know how the Three-Fingers were supposed to be the next big thing, right? I told you no one cuts a carity like them? Well. Theys done already. Broken. Someone tore through ''em in like a dayCa war''s echoing out from the Bazaar, fucking whoever went after thems still gunning for whats left. Couple hours back, one of the guys I used to run with got snuffed while I was synced to him. Used to do some basic snuff-work for the Hundred-Eights and he just dropped like a vegetable while I was trying to bum a new middler to get work from since Hannel got Big Emptyd by that Reg sow. Outta nowhere. Didnt even see the shot coming. I think it might be Dread Draus cleaning up some more. Yeah. I know. Fuck that run. Shouldve known better than to gun for a RegCstupid, stupid shit. Point is, Squires be dying left and right and up and down, and theres something that smells real bad in the air. I think we should just go cold for a bit. Wait for things to even out again, yknow. Warrens are getting real hot these days. Too hot. Someones out to cull the Syndicates, and last time that happened, them Guilder fucks started throwing their pocket shine around. Aint wanna be around when that happens. -Thoughtcasts between two Street Squires 16-10 Armor (II) The minds of most independent gangers were infused with a delightful taste of precarity. So close to the edge in life and habit, their lives ran the borderlands between predator and prey, exploiting the vulnerable and hiding from Syndicates, for it was the former that kept them fed, and the latter whose territory they trespassed. As such, with veins thickened by the viscosity of joy and nerves tight from the constancy of tension, when death emerged from the spot where it lurked, the final notes passed from their ghosts were not of surprise or terror, but an exhale of relief and release. For all the citys faults, New Vultun was a buffet that offered so many unique emotionsCframes of thoughtCperspectives that could never be found anywhere else, from anyone else. Some prey just tasted sublime. Poor shits, Chambers said, shaking his head as the air crackled and Draus new favorite gun sang its rising whine. Muffled cries and wild gauss fire followed, but the sound of a ringing crack cast everything back into silence thereafter. Dust rained down from the paint-flecked ceiling as Avo watched seven more accretions wink out on the floor above. Several more targets were moving, desperately fleeing for the windows or stairs, their blood and breath brushing his Frame with each pulse of their straining hearts. A few of them would reach the edge of the block soon. But it didnt matter. Not with the Manta layering itself across the windows, coating the exits of the structure itself and catching any stray shot from bursting past the walls and becoming some FATELESS misfortune. Sync Chain (ACTIVE): [Draus-001] -> [Avo-001] -> [Chambers-001] -> [Kusanade-001] Bringing up Draus visual display, Avo watched as the Regular unlatched a new gun from her armor, the flowing smart-matter receding as she took hold of the weapon. Multiple indicators and icons littered her visual display, highlighting the estimated positions of her enemies and tracking them via a variety of sensor-enhancement functions. As her Meldskin flowed into the gun and interfaced with it, a new gauge appeared indicating the ammunition, effective range, temperature, gravitation curvature, and a myriad of other trajector-based calculations that worked in tandem with her armor to ensure unfailing accuracy. Three desperate gangers hid around the corner, waiting to ambush her. The outlines of their bodies had two clad in retrofitted industrial rigs with fusion cutters at the ready. The last of the three had her lower body replaced by a spider-like No-Dragon bioform, with each leg digging into the worn tissue of of the rotting walls to better brace the alloy cannon she was sporting. Lehnsherr X-1 Polarizer GravMag Linear Rifle Ammo: 1KG / 1KG Charge: 100% ->Recommend expending 0.2% of capacity for current targets (soft) Accuracy Estimation: 100% The Polarizer was five feet in length and two wide. Ferromagnetic fluid filled the transparent cartridges slotted toward the back end of the weapon. Fused with the Meldskin, there was little chance for Draus to drop the gun, and with the additional circuits being quick-fabbed through the smart matter, the issue of running dry on power would be a distant one indeed. Additional details about the tool were loaded through their shared Neurodeck connection, but its functionality was simple enough to understand. Draus clenched her fist, and the trigger was pulled. Flaps lifted along the square-barreled gun and electricity danced from each protrusion as a single globule was pulled free from the ferrofluid cartridge. A speck of mercury darted out with a low hum of the gun, the initial shot a subsonic projectile visible even without a reflex booster. It was only when it reached the corner where the ambushers awaited that the full functionality of the gun declared itself with a crackle. Lightning leaped out from the extended pylons, whipping into ferrofluid as Avo felt his Woundshaper shiver. Suddenly, the currents flicked right and the projectile twisted ninety degrees. Broken glass, screaming metal, rising dust, and spraying gore erupted out from the hall as the Polarizer hyper-accelerated projectiles far beyond the confines of its barrel. Three more accretions vanished from Avos cog-feed as he listened to the guttural guffaws working their way out from Draus, wondering if any of his kind would have been left should Voidwatch have blessed the Regulars with such technology. {You know the best thing about a gun like the Polarizer is that its flexible and economical. As long as the projectile is still in range of the guns gravmag field, it can prime any ferromagnetic substance with a charge and lasso ferrofluids back into its cartridges. Energy is a bigger concern than material ammunition, frankly.} Calvino paused. {Its also why all your weapons are coded to interface with your Meldskins or Neurodecks. We dont need any of the Guilds capturing one of these and deciding to make a Heaven of electro-magnetism without our explicit oversight. One mistake was enough.} Over their shared ansible link, Draus laughter continued to grow as she gunned the trigger again and again. Avos Phys-Sim began painting impact trajectories as more shots tore through crumbling walls, twisting, turning, and splashing back into one another as they cut down more helpless gangers. Poor fuckers, Chambers reiterated. Grunting, Avo found himself in agreement with ex-enforcer. Distant memories of fusion burners and gauss cannons cutting his brothers down harkened back to him. The Regulars didnt need voider tech to break his like. If it was overkill for a ganger, it would have been beyond that for a ghoul. {Killin their likes gettin to be a bad habit,} Draus sent, her deck uploading another snapshot of her ego via the ansible. Compared to communicating directly through thoughtcasts, ansible didnt create a metaphysical pairing between minds, but rather a constant feed of copied data that was drawn and fed back into mental endpoints. The fact he was sending out duplicated coldtech data rather than his literal thoughtwaves was probably why his Conflagration hadnt ignited the minds of his cadre. Another thing he needed to study, if only for the new protections they might afford.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Perhaps he might have more than one means to avoid a disruption after all. Putting such considerations for later, he liquefied the barrier ahead of him away and stepped into a neon-bathed room drowned in low, droning music. The walls and doors ahead of him were once of reinforced steelCa showcase of ganger ingenuity as they layered the soft walls of a commercial block with armored bulkheads and ship parts procured from Mawdivers. This was what he came for: an organ farm with a stolen gene-vat serving as its heart, and the source of the gangers operations. Gaming the nature of implant scarcity was one of the few, true ways to get rich quick in the Warrens, so if, say, a group of bold and suicidal junkies managed to pull off a miracle raid on a crumbling Syndicate for a machine capable of printing cheap organ replacements alongside a variety of bioware augs at almost no overhead, they might just find themselves in place to be the next big fish in a very small pond. Or attract the attention of a reasonably keen Necrojack and get themselves raided in return. Entering a living room remodified to be an antechamber, Avo cast his Skimmer out again in case there were any unexpected surprises. An Incog would be an absurd phantasmic for a ganger to have, but the same could be said about a ghoul with a Liminal Frame. Let alone one sporting high-end voidtech. As waves of perception rippled out from his mind and painted the local environment into his awareness, he ensured none of the mem-data hid any indications of a possible ward-clash and continued. Over thirteen surviving gangers positioned themselves on the floor above. Considering the circular hole smashed through the floorboard and the half-installed railings, they were likely planning to remodel this place into a long-term base of some sort. Colors of dark lilac and floral scents filled the air, but between each sniff, Avo caught a whiff of something fetid; the smell of infected wounds and unclean bodies. Fire flared next to him as the air around Chambers came alight. The cheap paint began to simmer and burn as the half-strand called upon his Heaven, using the heat in the air as a catalyst to form the shape of his insectoid swarms. Warning: Temperature spike detected Wait, Avo said. Should test armor integrity. We should get shot a few times first before killing them. See how armor holds in practical circumstances. Chambers paused, a single wing sown into being from the flames around him. Yeah thats a good idea. We should totally get shot. A low breath of dismay came from Kae, her presence lagging slightly behind them. Cant we just test that on our own? In safer conditions? A stable environment is probably much more conducive toC Come on, Kae, Chambers interrupted, throwing up his hands as spun on his heels, speaking to her while backpedaling to the open space below the gangers. Its just a bunch of joy-fiends with half-working gaussers. Whats the worst that happens? We get killed? Well getting shot hurts, Kae replied weakly. The ghoul and the half-strand shot a look at the Agnos and shared a look thereafter. Even through the featureless visor Chambers was sporting, Avo could feel the grin growing on the mans face as he struggled to contain his laughter. To Avos own demerit, he wanted to hiss with amusement as well. Getting shot hurts, Chambers snorted. A wheezing escaped from Avo, hissing as the triviality of the Agnos concern grew into unbearable comedy to him. Kae folded her arms, and he got the distinct impression she was glaring at the both of them. It does. More pig noises came from Chambers as his nose failed to breathe right. I-it does, she said. This girl blew her own brains and is scared of the fucking owies. Wasnt your mind on fire for like, years or some shit? The impression that Kae was glaring became a near certainty by this point. Yeah. It hurt. A lot. And it never got better. Not even forgetting about it helped. Chambers, ever the social-jackal, killed his final chortle with a cough. Ah. Sorry. But hey, this wont be near as half-bad. And youll be able to snuff these half-strands when youre done. Just pretend that theyre the Silvers or something. The Agnos wordlessly stood straighter, and titled her head. Pretend theyre the Glaives. Yeah, Chambers said, stepping right beneath the half-finished mezzanine, I used to do it all the timC The first flechette struck the crown of his helmet dead-on before skipping off sideways a second later. More shots rained down. Impacts danced and deflected from Avos body now, and the ricochets beside him indicated a similar case with Kae herself. With each shot, he felt his Meldskin brace and push, the armor nudging direct shots off-course in a manner not so unlike his haemokinesis. With the smart fluid hardening into impenetrable densities on the exterior, deforming just enough to redirect the projectiles, and sustaining a gel-like cushion along the interior, not even blunt force touched their bodies. Physics still had a say as Chambers and Kae lurched due to the paltriness of their weight, but neither of them had trouble standing or enduring the onslaught. Armor Integrity: 94% ->Adapting to kinetic damage ->Forming fullerene spines And then the flechettes started shattering against them outright. Thin blades of matterCedges narrower than the tungsten needle itselfCsplit hardened alloy into parted pieces. Clicks and whines of empty magazines screamed out from the guns above, and Chambers chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Fuck me, Avo, he said, getting nabbed by you was the best thing that ever happened to me. Look at this shit? Loogatitdd. He gestured to the countless spikes laying broken at his sides, broken against his new skin. Another life and Id be one of the poor shits shooting down about to die. About to die. Armor Integrity: 100% ->Structure Stabilized Wearer Status: Optimal As gangers upstairs scrambled to reload their weapons, the soberer ones breaking and running, Chambers body language grew stiff and distant. Another life, Id be killing myself. I was one of them. I was. Chambers? Kae said. The man gave no response. Aedon? Are you alright? Snapping out of his trance, he swept out a hand and the floor vanished in a vortex of flames. Screams from lungs and servos bled into one another. Bodies cooked inside the rigs that once protected them. Two gangers flung themselves down before Avo, tearing helmets from faces, the heated metal taking skin along with it. The relief was short-lived as bugs speared out from the fires and burrowed into their orifices. Kae flinched as a burst of force surged out from the Chambers Meldskin. {Thrusters,} Calvino explained. {Back in the day, we had to have dedicated module for that, but with self-arranging materialsC} I tire of the machine''s constant boasting, master, the Woundshaper interrupted, leering as Chambers shot through the floor above and waded into the blaze unscathed. What specialty is this? Flight? Truly? Even the mule can do such a thing. How special could it be. The Galeslither spat a weary scoff. Not special at all. Which is why your people imagined you to be a tower. Rooted to the ground. Incapable of walking, let alone flight.My structures would have consumed the world! Yet, they never made it free of the cancerous hell you call a home. A dirge is in order for your lost potential.Bah. I will speak no more of my glory to you, mule. All you know is mockery. You would have never even endured a day in the harshness of the Skuld. Only the truestCGhoul. I have changed my mind. I no longer wish to be free. I only wish to be free of her. --Avo? Avo? Kaes voice cut through the argument. Are you alright? You were just staring off for a moment. Gods arguing again, he said. Calvino. Was saying something? {Hm? Oh, no, Ill talk about that later. Say, can you go back to focusing on your Heavens again? I like listening to them argue. The other EGIs will love to hear it as well.} Avo grunted and acquiesced. Shooting another look at the rapidly vanishing pockets of thoughtstuff upstairs, he restrained his own desire to kill and let Chambers have this. Besides, he was rapidly losing the taste for this slaughter. Killing gangers, enforcers, the small He thought he was beginning to understand what Draus meant by weight. Soft meat was bad for ones fangsCbad for ones living if harshness was on the horizon. Perhaps that was what Chambers glimpsed just now. The wretch that he was, the wretch that he could have been, if only for a single poor run, a single bad decision, and the single intersection between him and Avo that spared him from lesser living. Calvino sighed. {Ah. Thats the ugly-beauty of the universe, Avo. Your free-will only gets up to the tip of your nows, but a whole lot of who you are is already grooved to fit the world you''re born into.} I have to change more, Avo said. Going to face the Guilds. Going to hunt other Clads. He looked down at the bugs feasting on the cooked flesh of the dead gangers, at Kae, standing off to the side, unwilling to join in with Chambers. Saw the raging intensity of the fire, and the last member of their cadre; Chambers thoughts wild but mind empty. Kae. Come. The Agnos shot the ghoul a look as he gestured for her to follow. Lets go. Find the vat. Find one of my brothers. Alter Heavens afterward. But what about Chambers? It is his catharsis, Avo said. His struggle. Let him have it. He should get to be someone too. Avo stomped down on the skull of a dead ganger, crushing bone outside and bugs within. Someone meant to be more than a corpse. 16-11 Tainted Flesh Look, like it or not, ghouls are a part of this citys messed up ecosystem now. Theres too much darkness, too many FATELESS, and too much flesh for them to fully die out. Not that the Syndicates or Sang want them to. The fact is that ghouls are more a benefit to the city than a bane. Free meat for the killing, for live-fire exercises, for stapping explosives to and sending them as hordes to run down your targets, as incubators to grow cheap mods and organs, as test subjects and renewable harvests for ghosts and deaths. All it takes is a decent grafter with a No-Dragon contact and you got yourself a farm right there. Who cares about a couple thousand refugees going missing in the dark? Hells, they got less economic worth than the rotlicksCall they usually provide is their deaths. Ori-Thaums even beginning trials, adapting ghouls for use in their new dreamer-farms. The Low Masters mightve thought they were going to drown us all in a tide of monsters, but all they did was give us a gift. Suppose thats hard to hear for all you out there who lost consangs during the Uprising, but honestly, it was one thing or another. Least the rotlicks just kill and eat you. Find some relief in that. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 16-11 Tainted Flesh Is this normal? Kae asked. Her eyes were locked on the swollen sacks of meat kept within the titanium cages. A bit further beyond the gangers living quarters, they found themselves where the gene-vat was stored, and with it, the kennels. Nu-dogs came in a variety of sizes, builds, capabilities, and shapes. Ever since the Sang popularized the modification of humanitys animal companions, splices were made and augmentations were added to their overall structure. And so with the advancement of ones pets, so too did their cages have to grow. The Guttergnasher breed attack dog was a favorite of joy-dealers and Syndicate enforcers alike. Standing at eight feet tall and somewhere close to one and a half tons of bio-enhanced tissue further laced with titanium, olfactory boosters, supplementary irises, and a hyper-active metabolism designed to enhance their healing, the nu-dog could be set loose on even a squad of exo-rigged enforcers for a while. With such a heavyweight dog came the need for a heavyweight cage, and thus, titanium bars with built-in auto-clean pressure sprayers, germ killers, and a nutrient dispenser grew to be market standard as well. The very same cage was also quite useful for storing other creatures. Like, say, joy-fiends who let their debts linger a bit too long. Or crippled ghouls for that matter. With metal plugs fused to the stumps of their limbs by way of fire and their bodies bulging with half-grown biomods, Avo judged the miserable fates of his brothers. Even with their cages actively spraying them down, the stale, grey room still stank of rot and filth. Clustered in the corner next to a broken entertainment system and the rusted reactor harvested from an aero turned makeshift power turbine, he countered twelve ghouls still alive within eighteen cages. [Well that just fucked up,] Abrel muttered, beholding the little zoo of horrors. [Better than doing that to actual people but ew.] Twinned to her mind, Avo knew there to be no sympathy in her words. It was the lack of sanitation that bothered her, of the way the ghouls looked unnaturally swollen and pregnantCnot so dissimilar from one afflicted by the rash. Were convenient to use, Avo said, clicking his fangs together, burning away his reflexive disdain for his own kind. There were few pleasures greater than knowing you were beyond the apex of your own kind. If he was human at the root of his consciousness, he supposed there should have been a horror that followed; the cold of being alienated from ones own species. Ghouls were not a species. Ghouls were weapons derived from human flesh. It was only the Low Masters and the presence of easier prey that stopped them from feasting upon each other, and sometimes, even that wasnt enough. Inching closer to the cages, Kae studied the incubators with genuine curiosity and turned to face the damaged gene-vat bolted down at the center of the room. Dim lighting flickered overhead, its brightness paltry compared to the strobing flashes of neon from the open hallway beyond the liquefied door. The vat itself was a cylindrical machine clasping a translucent interior. A holo-haptic interface flickered along the glass, requesting that the user synchronize their minds for identity confirmation. Judging from how the text was greyed out, the system was likely to remain unresponsive until a Meta was properly interfaced with the vats locus. Deformed appendages and other organs drifted behind the glass. Reaching out with his Sanguinity, Avo found the pattern to be more crystalline and durable than he expected. Voidtech: endlessly surprising. {Those are mostly safeguards put in for your sake,} Calvino explained. {And by you, I mean everyone on this planet. Some of the creatures you grow are a bit too volatile to handle, and so in case someone manages to jack into one of our vats without the system noticing, it grants another step before your Frankensteins monster decides to give you a Jovian Handshake.} Would be nice if I understood any of the nouns you used in the last sentence, Avo responded. An actual novel was downloaded into his Neurodeck. One consisting of nothing but text. {A Jovian Handshake is when a large, brutish creature tears your limbs off and beats you to death with them. If youre textually challenged, I can recommend you several updated tellings of Frankenstein. In summation, its about a man making a monster using mad science.} Hm. Sounds like the Low Masters. {Please dont insult Doctor Frankenstein. His hubris was in reaching beyond the confines of his wisdom. His science succeeded. He was just unprepared for the cultural and practical aspects that came after. Your kind isChurtful as it might soundCa failed arts and crafts project made from spare parts stolen from someone elses backyard.} Avo looked at his Meldskin, at the near-impenetrable pallid carapace now armoring his Echoheads, and then turned his gaze on the limbless writhing torsos that were his brothers. Youre being too kind. Trauma dumps for the Hungers. A subspecies born to feed an impotent tantrum. Dirty plastic tubes ran down their throats as cheap nu-dog chow-paste was pumped into them in ejections of yellowish sludge. From the way they swallowed and bit at the feeding tubes, Avo could tell that more than a few of them were enjoying this somewhat. The lack of violence before a meal errored the stability of their psyches, but the presence of food kept them from fully succumbing to psychosis. A mistake I will resolve, Avo finished. Calling Jack and Jane took but a thought. The ansible opened its pathway and connection was established near instantaneously. Adjusting for data-lag across NooSphere Thats new, Avo said as the voider grafters synced with his Neurodeck. {Omnitech is probably doing something with data again.} Calvino scoffed. {Thats usually the problem.} {Alright,} Jack said, voice momentarily crackling as he clapped his hands together. {Lets see what we got to work with here. Oh, and you already got test subjects lined up for us. Perfect.} {Dont get carried away, Brother Jack,} Jane said. {As the New Alloy saysC} {I know our bloody tenents, thank you very much, Janie. Im just saying we have some room to experiment.} {We keep this neat,} she insisted. {It is rare enough to get unofficial approval from an administrator. Let us not jeopardize such a privilege.} {Spoilsport. Ahem. Avo. Could you do us the favor of accessing the vat?} He cast a ghost into the machines locus and a progress meter filled his cog-feed. Authority Override Successful Ego-Profile Recognized Administrative Access Granted Ejecting contents The machine sang as it processed the new commands, and the translucence began to fade like a fog was being drained. With it, however, the half-finished organs were dissolved as well, dismantled particulate by particulate. {The nanos are emptied out,} Jack said. {We canceled the previous build halfway through. Were gonna need you to put in one of your bros in a minute though. Got something special to cook inside em.} The grafter cackled.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. {Professionalism, please,} Jane said. As the glass cleared and hissed open, Avo unmade one of the nu-dog cages and seized the body of his healthiest brother before casting them into the vat. The other ghoul bit and writhed, and Avo had to quell the urge to crush them from the inside using their own blood. With a grunt of scorn, he ordered the vat to close and relinquished control over to the grafters. You dont care about them? Kae said, staring at the brother he so callously flung in. Nanomachines began to fill the interior of the gene-vat again, and with contemptuous ease, they plucked the ghoul off the base of the machine and held it aloft. At all? Avo shrugged. Why? This is more than what they were meant for. Their lives have achieved value beyond their means. The way she stood askance from him revealed discomfort enough. He didnt even need to study the turbulence running along the curves of her Metamind. Youre thinking of them like people. Not people. Not really. Maybe if you compare them to joy-fiends. But you dont want to make them better? Transform them into something like you? Ah. There it was. The truth of what bothered her. Cast down from the heights of the Tiers, abandoned by her own order for political convenience, hunted by one of the Guilds sworn to keep her order safe, and still she could not walk away from her central ethos. Damaged in ego and emotion, the dream continued to burn inside her: a yearning to make this city greater, to uplift society with her miracles. What he was doing with his brothers must have seemed such a tragedy, such a waste. Do you miss the Tiers? Being an Agnos? She paused, shuffling her feet as the voiders argued on in the background, sniping at each other over potential solutions. After a stretch of uncomfortable consideration, she replied. Of course. Its the only life I ever had. The only real life. Ever since Draus brought me down, my memories were it''s like being caught in a whirlwind. There are flashes and moments between the chaos, and youre always going somewhere. Always running away. She paused. Running and surviving isnt living. Honestly, up until you, um She rubbed at her arm and stopped talking, gesturing at her accretion while her voice quivered. Part of me wants to thank you for giving me my mind back and letting me be myself again but after everything that happened to me, and what your father did I Im doing my best not to hate you. ICIm succeeding. But it''s hard sometimes. And I keep fixating on why this had to happen to me. Avo took in her words and let them settle. His templates listened, and from the gestalt came several potential reactions. The sensitive templates wanted him to comfort her. Abrel scoffed and mocked her weaknessCas did most of those bound to Highflames philosophy. The Necros within him wanted him to have Chambers sequence away these psychological vulnerabilities and accelerate her return to optimal health. A foreign touch without the Conflagrations pain would spare her the danger of a potential nulling and preserving the fragile trust between them, but something about altering who Kae was made the idea all too unpalatable. She wasnt like Chambers. She didnt want to change. She was trapped in the past because the past was unresolved. Even if he were to rewrite her very nature, the roots of her suffering would continue to linger. Theres only so many things we can do sometimes, Avo said. At the beginning of this. Wanted to survive. Ran into Essus. His son. Decided to take them with me. Not wise. Taunted my hunger. Vulnerable targets. Did it anyway. And his son died, she replied. Got killed, Avo said. Tried. Me. Draus. His father. Didnt matter in the end. Not until after I was killed too. He paused. My father was selfish for me. Didnt care about himself at the end. Was willing to die entirely to see my ascension. Was willing to damn anyone else. Did damn you. But Im whats left. Im going to help you. Because I choose to. Because I think what you want for this city is more interesting. More valuable than just more killing. She turned her attention to the ghoul dissolving in the vat and sighed. I was never very good at letting things go. My mentors told me thatCtold me that fixated on certain problems too much and spent too much of myself trying to fix things that werent important, but watching potential never truly realized is painful. I think the same thing is happening here. Good to know your flaws, Avo said, shooting the other ghoul a glare of contempt. Its how you learn to be greater. [Double meaning here,] Benhata said, catching something that Avo didnt. [Shes talking about the life she lost too. Hells, shes probably thinking about the Paladin that got snuffed. Thats a damn mess and a half, and probably something the Menders would just cut out from her memories than try to fix.] {Ah, yes. The New Vultun method of mental rehabilitation, in which all trauma is necrotized tissue to be removed and replaced with comforting falsehoods.} An uncharacteristic judgment laced Calvinos words despite the light tone. [What? You want her to suffer, machine? Is that how you voiders work?] {No. But the pain is real. We respect that. We respect grief and the worth of one person to another. And we help our citizens by building them back up before ever changing who they were. I respect that youre trying to help, though. Thats the important part.} Benhata paused. {I had a sister.} {I know,} Calvino replied. {Im sorry.} [Thanks.] {And its done!} Jack declared. Turning, Avo found himself staring at a fully healed ghoul, with unnecessary organs removed and limbs returned. Aside from this, however, he wasnt sure what they changed in the creature. It looked as most his brothers did. Pale. Thin. Unnatural. What did you do? Avo asked. {This,} Jack began, {is a first draft. Me and Janie here had different ideas on what to do with the ghouls, but for the solving the equation of their deaths aspect, we decided to go with this.} Avo studied the creature growing in the vat and frowned. Looks just like a normal ghoul. {It is,} Jane replied, {other than a single point of deviation.} New data filled his Neurodeck as an interface containing detailed simulations of a ghouls circulatory system manifested in his minds eye, but his Woundshaper felt the change before the visuals told him the blunt truth. The blood inside this new ghoul was clumpingCand fast. Hardened tissue was fusing, growing, and mutating. The seeds of multiple fast-growing cancers began to spread across the body of his newest brother, its death now reduced to weeks or months instead of years. {Five days, actually,} Jack said. {And the best part about this: its contagious. The subversion is happening in the blood itselfCJane actually figured that one out. All the time she spent with her Sang friends really paid off.} [This might actually work] Abrel said, sounding impressed. [Exploiting the poor impulse control of the ghouls. They eat the weakest ones when there arent any people around, dont they?] Sometimes they eat the weakest even with other prey present, Avo replied. Good. He sniffed at the creature and could practically taste its weakness. Dont think the Low Masters will be able to notice either. Not unless they learn how the technology actually works. A hissing laugh escaped him as he imagined the three remaining Famines struggling to understand why their monsters were all dying. Will release this one in the dark. See the problem spread. Very good work. {Aw, you hear that Jane? Hes praising us! What a polite people-eater we get to work for.} Want another variant too, Avo added. Something thats still obviously ghoul, but more. In my image. {...And theres the inevitable psychotic narcissism that follows every last Godclad in existence,} Jack said with an exaggerated sigh. {We thought you were one of the more normal ones. What a pity.} Theyre meant to be an insult, Avo said. Provoke the Low Masters'' attention. Use it as bait. {Will they truly be lured by such an obvious debasement?} Jane said, sounding doubtful. One of them might, Avo said, thinking of Peace and the endless rage the Famine emanated. If he could ambush and subsume just one of them, that might very well allow him to see an end to his fathers killers and claim what little remains of their kingdom for his own to wield against the Guilds. Dont worry. Going to commission personal sheathes too. All clades. Different bodies for exploration. Infiltration. Jack began to hum a tune while Jane sighed. {Hey, admin, do the ghoul a favor and update his profile to Avo-007. I might need to graft you a dick though. Gotta have a dick for this to work.} Avo frowned, not understanding why genitalia would be useful to him beyond making him more susceptible to the rash. {Right! Fuck! You guys literally broke sex and love. Goddammit, you maniacs. You blew it upC} {Ignore him,} Jane said. {Simply specify what kind of sheathe you wish built and we will do our best to deliver. If you want to achieve certain anomalous properties within your biology, I fear you might need to seek some local expertise for material and installation as well.} Cracking glass sounded behind him. Avo didnt even need to turn to realize who just stepped in. Through Draus'' shared feed, he looked upon himself and Kae from behind, the Agnos turning to address the approaching Regular. Chambers, meanwhile, was sitting on a couch after his bloodletting, lost in his own thoughts. Fucks this? Draus said, stepping into the room, caked in gore and with entrails hanging from her like tassels. Kae swallowed and gave a low gag of disgust while Avo tilted his head. Had a nice time? Draus shrugged. At first. The guns are godsdamned beautiful, but the gangers kept running. Might wanna shoot a golem or something with em to see how they handle harder targets. Decided to test how the kit handles stuff up close and you know the armor can accelerate you up to hundred and fifty miles an hour, right? Woulda shot through the side of the block if the Manta hadnt caught me. She brushed an eye still connected to its optical cord from her shoulder. We gotta start killin tougher shit, Avo. Fuckin gangers and enforcers really aint doin it for me no more. You owe me this shit. You took this from me. {Most moral Reg, everybody.} Jack somehow generated a concerts worth of applause to go with his words. Avo was just about to speak when he looked at the vat again and paused. An idea sparked through his mindCpotential theories and choices both great and terrible. They didnt need to waste time testing themselves on gangers and soft meat anymore. Not when they had all the means to create the perfect live-fire conditions of their own. And the best part was if he could figure out how to separate and spread his Conflagration, he might just be able to spread a template into a new body [Oh I am game-fucking-on for this,] Abrel breathed. I have a new idea, Avo whispered. 16-12 The Body-Garden (I) Anything cultured from Sang tissue should be regarded as an anomalous construct not actual flesh. With how much the Pattern-Swimmers (See Dragons for more resources) have damaged their ontologies, their bodies exhibit qualities similar to that of golems rather than actual biology. Its also the very same biological laxity that allows them to graft their specialized bioform variants and interface all manner of organic tissue onto their own bodies regardless of common baseline considerations such as blood type, infection, or even nerve-damage for that matter. Death via conventional means still affects them, but should their fleshCor a facsimile similar enough in designCbe reattached to their wounds, restoration to fullness happens in a matter of seconds. This cannot even be classified as true healing, but simply a forgetting of damage due to the cyclical nature of their bodies. Of course, the dormant plague resting in their blood is a consideration. In most instances, said affliction simply does not exist, but upon performing an act deemed culturally male, the symptoms will all manifest at once causing them and other biological organisms around to hemorrhage. The fact that this hemorrhage is a part in the the Pattern-Swimmers reproductive cycle [SECTION REDACTION REQUESTED BY EGI ALL QUIET NEXT TO TANHAUSER] This often results in rapid fatalities if the affected individuals lack the necessary circulatory modifications. With this mentioned, their recent ghoul experiments show the bioform could free them from that ontological constraint. Should the Sang ever fully understand how to bypass their own resetting biologies and effectively gain control of the most extreme symptoms of their contagion, another great collapse in the balance of power will be certain to follow. More worryingly, they also stand a chance of developing a paracausal super plague should their mastery over post-realistic biologies reach sufficient maturity. Recommend continued suppression of their technical development via exploiting rivalries between feuding dynastic lines. -Aegis Threat Assessment of the No-Dragons 16-12 The Body-Garden (I) Green River peered over the horizon of Xin Yunsha from atop the Second Fortune. Billowing sheets of sleet and storm covered the disfigurement that was Nu-Scarrowbur. Across the way, wounds inflicted upon Mazzas Junction were laid naked for all to see, while a pentad of star-shaped Highflame golems hovered overhead, connected to each other by chains of sight-searing light. The difference in philosophy between Stormtree and Highflame was made plain for everyone. Destruction was a thing to be ashamed of in Scaarthian culture. Death the ultimate enemy. Ruin was a beast to resist, or a warg to repel. When one fell, it was a mournful thingCa near shameful thing. To die without living your proper value was to burden your fellow mothers with peril, and abandon your boys exposed to treacherous danger. Highflame thought otherwise. Death was something to impress them. A sign of honor and triumph for families and individuals. Some among them even had their last rites inscribed upon their armor, a mocking ritual against a possible end. What they feared more was a disgrace. Dishonor. The unmaking of the monomyth that guides them: Blessed be the worthy. In this, the shattered bones of glass and metal leftover from where once stood a titanic cube of architecture was a twin-faced statement. Highflame was not afraid; look upon Jhred Greatlings disgrace. Drinking a sip of black tea using her human shell, Green River herself yawned as she stretched, enjoying the peace between the countless calls and endless peacocking she had to entertain. The first droplets of midnight fell, dripping down from the edges of her outdoor teahouse. The guests were all sleeping now. Only she, and two of her favorite dogs were on the roof, watching Warrens like it was their personal opera, dancing light on a canvas of dark. Her elder sisters were growing foolish again. Emboldened by the weakness of Highflame and the anxiety of the Scaarthians, the daughters of Line Xue were up to their usual habits again, striking vulnerable districts with plagues and maladies only they had the cures for, hoping to lever another chunk of soil free to regain their favor before the unified court. Green River doubted the Eldest would be so impressed. She had played against them long before, after all. Thought herself worthy of joining their circle through feats of audacity alone. Time had taught her better. Time, failure, and a growing understanding of her own nature. Too many of her sisters woulddie as little more than incubators for the dragons, withering away with each time the curse was triggered. She had learned better. Cultured her vessel toward developments away from the confines of humanity. There was yet an escape in the end. A metamorphosis beyond. Alas, each daughters temporal disfigurement necessitates a different path, ensuring no two transformations would be alike. Most succumb to their own blood long before ever treading the path of reincarnation. Those ones who did pass understood the truth of this worldCthat all alliances were evanescent, and when the time came, the tapestry could only bear the weight of so many dreams resting upon its fragile spine. It took a careful player to ensure they were included among the prevailing fewC River. Need to talk. Green River barked in shock as the creature slipped back into her awareness. Two of her nu-dogsCtheir immense bodies igniting with celestial fireCbarreled out from the black before she held up a hand. Avo was standing right next to her. The damnable ghoul had been standing before her the entire time; she could recall that now. Previously, he slid like oil upon the waters of her mind: there but above notice. Incog. It must have been. He too studied the storm clouds over Nu-Scarrowbur, his Echoheads tracing their subtle movements in the air, his bone-white exoskeleton unblemished and clean. Sniffing the air, she found herself confused with the smells she inhaled. She had tasted these scents before. Near voidships. He mustve been around one of the docks recently. Fascinating. Also strange how she couldnt taste his Echoheads. She remembered how they used to sting her senses Waving her protectors off, they vanished from material reality as their flames sizzled out in the rain. Avo barely turned his head to regard their departure, clicking his teeth together, doubtlessly thinking of feasting on new flesh again. Smiling at the Strixs personal abomination, she once again found herself glad to have neutered the expressiveness of her humanoid half. It was never wise to let a predator sense the depths of your fear. Ah. Avo. She had the shell take another drink in a show of calm she didnt feel. Back so soon. I recall saying it wasnt proper for you to linger here anymore. The situation is still tense, but if you are in need of accommodations, I have other contacts that might placate your interest. Not here for that, he said. Here for two things. Wont be long. As he turned, she saw that the shape of his face was encased in a porcelain outline. His new modification seemed layered over his skin, but the way it rippled filled her with unease. Fluids belonged on the inside. Was this another one of his Heavens? A recent change installed within his Frame? A pang of jealousy pulsed through her. She remembered holding such power herself. She remembered the pain when they cut her Frame out of her. The humiliation. The weakness. Want to purchase Ruvecas services, he said. Long term. Have the imps. Do you? Green River said, letting her coyness mask her unease. Do you personally? Or is this another favor from your Regular consang. A shiver of worry ran through her as he glared, but the annoyance she inflicted was oh-so delightful. Another benefactor, then? You are a fortunate individual, Avo. Yes, he said. Very. He paused and studied her. Can it be arranged? Confidential. Will make your problem go away for this. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. That piqued her interest. Nothing was truly confidential in this city, but here he was, willing to cut her free from his leash, not bothering to wait for time to do his deed for him. Walton''s cognitive bomb planted inside her was a constant weight on her stress, but if she held such sway over another, she wouldnt relinquish her hold so easily. I suppose it can beC Ten million imps, he said. For a week''s work. Private session syncing my contact with her. Only contact and her. Will remove your issue next time you sleep after the agreement. Thats the deal. Negotiate and I increase to fifteen million imps. Negotiate again and I strike the bargain with her directly. And keep her for good. Both fox and woman kept their mouths shut for a beat. It is rude to press someone so forcibly in their own home. I am rude, he said, unapologetically. Being direct because I hate talking to you. Hate your constant prattling. Never getting to the point. Her eye twitched. Did Bright-Wealth put you up to this? He paused. No. Why? Same criticisms. But only when I clean her out of a months pay in a game. His body shook. A sibilant laugh escaped from him a moment after, the expression of amusement coming so suddenly and uncharacteristically that it made her wonder if he was acting. Funny. Lets just say fifteen million and spare ourselves more conversation. Before she could speak, a nebulas worth of scintillating gems spilled out from his mind and flicked over to hers via a detached ghost. TRANSFER PENDING - 15,000,000 IMPS She pondered the request and considered what he wanted. Despite her years of cultivating intelligence and gathering information, there was something about this creature in particular that bothered her. He wasnt hard to read. Not always. But there was a difficulty in meeting his eye; a tension that was always there, making her wonder if the next heartbeat was the one he remembered his nature as a ghoul and tore into her. The fact that he never did never lessened the strain on her nerves. Second thing, he continued. Had another run-in with our mutual adversaries. Thought you might want to know. His words drained her clean of levity as tempered focus took hold. Truly. Have they been solved, or is this still a lingering problem? Nothings ever so easy, he said. Expected, but there was a strange note of elation in his voice. She pressed on it subtly. Yet you dont sound disappointed to see your family. Got something out of it. Was worth an encounter. More blessing than curse. His halo shivered oddly and something about itdeepened the pit in her stomach. Something was off about the ghoul. There was a difference in his mannerisms she couldnt quite place. They wont be coming for you. Not a priority. But know that Ruvecas work will let me hunt them. Bait them. Truly? she asked. And you are telling me this, why exactly? Still a keyholder for the Bazaar, he said. Need you to set a few runs for me. Shape situations. Draw them out. Ah. She understood. He was here to play the game. Hence, he came in person instead of ambushing her across the Nether. He was planning to use her as an extension of himselfCa barrier to whatever blowback these operations might incur. Clever monster. A bit too obvious, though, and it gave her far too many options. A sign of experience. Well, if you would have begun this conversation by piquing my interest, this conversation could have gone so much smoother for the both of us. She finished her tea and flipped an unused cup over for his use. For him, she selected the sign of the tigerCa beast of auspicious fortunes if guided well, but equally likely to turn on its benefactor if it wasnt fed right. An enamel representation of the animal shone, and the ghoul tilted his head at her offering. Fitting, he replied. Her guts tightened, but her face betrayed nothing. Oh. Learned something of Sang culture, perchance. Just a memory I picked up, he said. You like your symbology too much, River. Too many stories. Makes one predictable. And now she was certain he was trying to provoke her. Ah. But what is life without theme or structure? He grinned at her with abnormal glee, smiling brightly with his fangs pressed tight together. Honest. Keep the tea. Hard to drink with my fangs. Dont want to scratch your cup either. Looks nice. I like the tiger. Theyre pretty cool. He went still and coughed immediately after. Strangely, there was no mockery in his tone. He was being entirely genuine. A slight frown slipped past Green Rivers placid countenance. Are you alright? What happened to you? I do not mean this as an accusation, but there is a change upon you. Conscience, beyond the measure of what you once possessed. The rain was falling in earnest now, midnight pouring its applause on the roof. Avo sighed softly and looked out into the black again. Im learning what it means to be someone else. Everyone else. Now her fox-selfs left eye twitched. Now what was that supposed to mean? How was that an answer? It occurred to her that it sounded like something she mightve once said to something else while trying to be inscrutable, and her annoyance at the creature grew sevenfold. Now, he was mocking her. He had to be. Going to be leaving now, he said, Youll hear from my associate soon across the Nether. Doubt youll enjoy him anymore though. Oh, but I do not judge a person before meeting them, she replied, curiosity now itching. Is it someone I know, perhaps? Not really, he replied. Make sure your Lustaway is fully functional. No ghost-glitches. Dont want you to get the Rash. That made her mind lurch to a halt. What. But her perception slipped andC Who was she talking to? The space in front of her was empty, whereC A slickness coated her near-term memories as her mind settled. Incog. Avo. Gone again. Fucking bastard, Green River muttered, spitting her insult uncaring if the beast was still there or long gone. It took special nerve to trespass into her house and place demands on her like that. Special nerve, and a golden opportunity. Picking up the cup with the tiger, she smirked as lightning flashed outside. She had a feeling this would see her either broken or returned to the heights she yearned. The ghoul was playing a very, very treacherous game, and he would need someone to navigate the webs. Or lead him astray. *** And how the hells was that? Chambers said, holding his clawed hands up in triumph as he walked through the reflection. Avos holographic visage dissolved around him as he found himself back in the demiplane playing to a gathered audience. She didnt suspect a godsdamned thing. Good job burning those memories into me. It was like I just couldnt forget the lines. And this MeldskinC Chambers made an overly excited noise as he clenched his fists together. Damn, damn, damn. It can do basically fucking anything. The half-strand was exaggerating, but Avo understood his excitement. +Didnt tell me it could deploy a disguise,+ he said, speaking only to Calvino. {Of course, it could. Where did you think you got the technology for your holocoats from? Thats just a trick of the light. We stopped listing its capabilities as features a long time ago.} With Yuulden-Yangs local Nether only beginning to stabilize in pockets and select districts, Avos presence wasnt just risky, but also potentially suicidal, hence the deployment of Chambers in his stead. The last thing he needed was to get caught in a death loop he couldnt escape from. Regardless, Chambers severed his ends well enough, sloppy as he was at several points. Instilling him with additional Necrotheurgic experience, the half-strand was manipulating Green River in more ways than one, though he found himself stymied by the novel design of her wards. Still, she accepted the transaction, and soon, they could use her as an intermediary as well. That expanded their options substantially and would allow them to muddy the waters even more. It would also be his primary method of contacting White-Rab in the future. Especially leading up to the run on Glaive. Chambers, Avo said, Begin next steps. Want you connected to Ruveca before the end of the day. Halfway through his boast, the half-strand groaned. Work, work, work. Always work with you. Let you grow a monster later. Youre the best, Avo! Also, before we do any of that, its time for a group suicide again, Kae interrupted. Several sets of eyes just stared at the Agnos. That uh well, it came out right. We all need to kill ourselves. I have fixes for each of our Heavens. Improvements too. No more easy backlashes for you. She said, pointing to Draus. Canon expansion for you. Chambers beamed. And I have a solution to your Nether-destabilization problem. Hows that? Avo asked. Your Heaven of Signals, she said. Were going to break it down and build it back in again. How does a pocket dimension designed solely to store your thoughts sound? Enticing. Good. Itll be better than whatever Omnitech gibberish its probably coded with right now. So. Yeah. So. Who wants to go first? Calvino cleared his throat. {Avo. Did you know that you can overload your Meldskins reactor? Or have it synaptically fry your brain?} The ghoul frowned. +Also features too mundane to mention.+ {Honestly? Yes.} Avo paused. His opinion was rapidly being re-evaluated. Hey. Lets do something else instead of having Draus shoot us this time But I like shootin yall, Draus pouted. Meldskin can self-destruct. Fuck shootin yall, show me how that shit works. What else are these fuckin machines keepin from us? 16-13 The Body-Garden (II) Threshold sickness is something you all have to get used to. You will be fighting within demiplanes, pushing into enemy demiplanes, dropping into demiplanes, surviving and navigating ruptured demiplanes, destabilizing and escaping from demiplanes. You will do all these things because positioning decides wars, and the laws within these microcosms can see your miracles stalemated or suppressed altogether. Once perimeters are established at key points across the city, bottlenecks can be formed. Heavens of Speed can be canceled or paradoxed outright by the canons active within the demiplane, and other canons can lend themselves to supporting defenders against unprepared attackers. Breaking a demiplane is challenging. Expect casualties, but do not work toward them! Regulars are yours to spend, but not to waste. Let us not forget the travesty marking our inglorious ceasefire at the end of the last war. While it will be your duty as Godclads to contend and uproot the Heavens by triggering paradoxes and locating key hubrises, it will be up to our courageous forces to hold the ground you gain. Today, we will begin our initial exercises in plane-breaking. Greatling. Select your cadre. You are attacking. The rest play defense. Your active canons will be loaded into the simulation momentarily. Let us see if folly and shame run in her blood. -Santanado Starsinger Mondelles, Combat Instructor to Axtraxis Academy of Highflame 16-13 The Body-Garden (II) {Well, that was educationally horrifying. I dont think the last instance of myself survived. This version of me is brand-newCno data fragmentation at all. Its connection to the Noo was severed as swell. I think we can list that as a clear display of cessation.} Calvino had started speaking the moment Avo resurrected, his data accelerating through his mind, bathing him in secondhand excitement. The artificial intellect seemed genuinely thrilled to learn about the nature behind its own death, and no hint of fear or dread stained its ego. In a variety of ways, it was more alien to him than the other way around. Where they intersected was along the paths of their mutual inhumanityCjoined by the ability to comprehend human thoughts and emotions, but not be undone by them. Looking around the first layer of the demiplane, he found himself standing at the center of a vast crater. Not far away, the other members of his cadre flickered back into existence, each arriving at the point where their overloaded Meldskin reactors blew a gouge into the surface. Packs a punch, Draus shouted, her voice supported by her armors speakers. Might just got enough yield to clear the air after all. Zein said she had an antimatter bomb in her chest. Said you gave it to her. Avo flicked a few memories over to Calvino. Self-destruction a standard Voidwatch trick? {Mmh. We cant exactly risk letting you savages capture any of our technology, can we? But without being glib, antimatter is unstable these days at the best of times. Only Operative Thousandhand and a rare few others are able to use it on a functional level thanks to her unique talents.} Explodes in most times? Avo asked. {It destabilizes eventually no matter what. Your Woundshapers partially to blame for this. Enough Heavens mess with matter, and what we get in the end is a lot of confusion about fundamental laws. As such, whos to say what constitutes antimatter anymore?} Avo wasnt sure that made any sense, but that might just be the inevitable outcome when thaumaturgy was involved. Checking his cognitive systems, he ascertained his phantasmics and other functions were still active before turning his attention back to his Frame. His Soul burned with a new intensity, his Galeslither elevated toward greater purpose. During the phase of his death, Kae put on a full showcase of her skill, working and directing him along a variety of alterations, fixes, and upgrades. In the span of a single resurrection cycle, they managed to whittle away at the Twice-Walkers vulnerabilities, cutting her canons out and reinstalling them with new designs in place. No longer would Draus suffer a backlash if some of the glass she controlled was destroyed, cooled, or unmade in conflicting ways. Now, all those weaknesses were instilled in a single shard of glass that served as the nucleus of her ontology and the central housing for where the Twice-Walker lurked. Her Heaven of Winter remained entirely unchanged for now, lacking the necessary components to spur additional change. Not that Draus truly needed it. Despite the immense power that dwelled within her Soul, the Regular was content to only use it as a supporting instrument, choosing to fight on as a soldier would. Chambers and Kae were granted new canons. The former was now able to detonate all the energy stored within a piece of biomass touched by his flames like a bomb, and the latter could now perceive out from any body of water larger than a puddle within a mile of her person. For Avo himself, the changes were more focused. The current demiplane that housed them was only a temporary retreat. Not supplied or designed for long-term stay. Presently, however, the George Washington was still affected by the Thoughtwave Bomb unleashed to suppress the Low Masters attempt on Zeins life. Re-entering its confines would see Avos mind extinguished in short order. That was, unless, he could hide his consciousness in a separate plane of its own. {I streamlined the data a bit. There seems to be a lot of extraneous information that comes with each of your canons. I decided to narrow things down to the key details for you. Keep the concepts neat.} Avo grunted as his new canons loaded into his cog-feed. Liminal Frame (IV) - 5,422 THAUM/c Ghosts - [66,562] New canons grafted to Heaven Galeslither (880 THAUM/c) New canons grafted Domain (Space) ->YONDERGALES (II) Canon: 400 ft radius demiplane increased to 1600 ft; wind speed multiplied with each ton of mass carried within the demiplane Hubris: 400-ton weight limit before collapse and backlash Canon re-grafted for Heaven Datacaster (335 THAUM/c) Domain (Signals) ->CROWN OF VIRTUALITY Canon: Converts the environment (100 ft) around the user into simulated mirror-reality made out of raw data; user can convert all inorganic parts into temporarily stored data (reloads back to their original position in reality after miracle ends) Hubris: Organic material will result in a [system-collapse] for the user; thaumic backlash will follow {System collapse,} Calvino muttered. +Damages inflicted on mind,+ Avo explained. +Like a trauma. Very dangerous canon for most.+ {But not you.} +But not me,+ Avo replied. +Asked her for something always deployable. Reliable.+ He looked at Kae. +Should work thanks to Neurodeck. And Sprites.+ {Well, look at you, bypassing critical weaknesses. Im assuming this will let you dip past disruptions as well?} +Should. But she said signals are easy to paradox. Omnitech has solutions. So does Sanctus. Need to have multiple failsafes down the line. Good for now. Good enough to let us get inside the George Washington. Hopefully.+ {Suppose theres something else to look forward to.} Stolen novel; please report. +Draus is going to scout ahead first. Place a passage at one of the gates. Not sure when it will become active. Remember a few of the positions. Will just have to wait. MoniC+ A loud bang jolted him out of the conversation as a rising column of fire rose from where Chambers was. Avo blinked. {He blew himself up,} Draus sent via ansible. {Mightve smeared himself along the insides of the armor.} Avo grunted. Testing was like that sometimes. Shaking his head, he walked out from his crater and noticed Kae staring up at the sky. The Agnos had her Meldskin deactivated and seemed lost in a whirl of her own thoughts. Being able to see her moving thoughtstuff was still an oddity to observe, and the constancy of her spinning accretion stood testament to her ever-active mind. He approached her thereafter, Draus walking over to check on Chambers in his periphery. Above, the featureless sky of the demiplanes first layer shivered like a dancing flame. We wont be able to stay here for too much longer, she said, hearing him approach. Denton told me that earlier. The Rendsinks for this plane need to be replaced soon. We will need to depart before then. Good. Can access the Washington again. Thanks to you. She hummed a soft note of agreement and kept staring at the sky. You never told me why the Agnosi cant be Godclads. Avo didnt know where the question came from, only that he was compelled to ask it. Hm? she replied, finally turning to face him Why we cant be Ensouled. Avo grunted. Your kind would make the best Godclads. Know mythology better than anyone else on Idheim. Also have knowledge of coldtech. Technologies. Grounding in both metaphysics and technological lore. Thaumaturgy includes science and technology, Avo. It also includes metaphysics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and so on. It is a total study. Heavens arent gods werent things made from a single idea alone. There is a living story linked and passed down from person to person until a core narrative is formed between them. And through their deaths, certain shared ideas, symbols, and signifiers are solidified in their culture. That becomes mythology. That becomes faith. And you learn this. Understand it. Create it. The Agnos drew a quick breath and considered how she was to reply. Remember when we entered your Heavens? How we managed to affect the shades of people empowering your Soul as they feed their beliefs over and over to your Heaven? I dont think thats how its supposed to be. I theorize that if you were to access a Heaven untouched by your Imitators, youll find a variety of different shades. Different people. Different cultures. There will be more inconsistencies between them, and what they believe will not nearly be uniform. So. Mine forces a common standard for all the dead inside me? I suppose you can think of it that way. She paused. The first lessons we learn as neophytes are in ethics. They also give us specially designed nu-dogs or nu-cats based on our ego profilesCreally delicately engineered creatures. Were supposed to take care of them while we learn, but our little furry friends only have one purpose. Theyre designed to expire, Avo guessed. Hurt your feelings. Its supposed to root us in empathy and weed out those among us who are incapable of treasuring life. This is a test overseen by the High Agnosi and Guilds together; its one of the few things that everyone is dedicated to enforcing. I suppose you can think of it as one of the few surviving remnants of Jaus legacy. This confused Avo. Would it not be the benefit of the powers if such knowledge was widespread? If they could create their personal Heavens without restrictions or boundaries. Omnitech. They dont care. Highflame plays games close to the edge. Ori-Thaum went after you. Doesnt sound like they care. Kae pressed her lips together and met his eyes. This is not the dream. Things were not always this way. The Paladins were not always broken. The Agnosi were not always servants. The Guilds were not always so treacherous. But even now, Omnitechs erratic choices are still adjustments of existing Heavens weve provided, based on mythologies we provide. And were always ready to put out whatever fire they start. As with Highflame and Ori-Thaum She closed her eyes and took a breath to steady herself. Someone should have come for me. Sought justice on my behalf. But But they didnt. But they just accepted it. But they abandoned you. Yes. Think they''re afraid? The other Agnosi. The Paladins? She lowered her head and brushed her hair from her face. Yes. But fear is a poor excuse. Especially when the ones who use it against us intend to see us all dead or destroyed regardless. I think I have been sleepwalking through my own life, so fixated on my hopes and work that I refused to acknowledge the rot eating at the world around me. The Agnosi were supposed to be the scaleCthe balance between Guilds. The survivors of the old faith granted life by Jaus grace. We were supposed to prevent the atrocities of the gods, but now we just grant men the means to achieve the same degeneracy. How we have fallen. How we have all fallen. She looked up at the sky again. But I suppose everything breaks before the end. He realized what she was trying to glimpse. The Tiers. The sky. The world that cast her down, and that she was now to burn. Youll be back soon, Avo said. Will get you home. Grant you retribution. Reveal the truthC There isnt any going back, she replied. Not with what they did. And not with what Im doing. Broken oaths are things that can be fixed, Avo. Not like this. And not with them. For all my life, I hoped that my efforts would create a better world. A place where more lives can be preserved. A place that allows for crying infants and laughing children. I was dreaming of rebuilding the bridge to our future. But now I know. Now I know that never mattered. Now I know the Guilds just want to wipe everything clean with the Ladder. To sweep existence of their mistakes and sins, and all of us along with it. She released ragged sigh. All we ever did was add more fuel to the pyre. We should have been brave. We should have done our duty after Jaus died. Said no more. Did our duty and emptied our minds. Banished the Guilds from the knowledge they needed to defile reality. This power these miracles they are mistakes when held by us. I can feel it. So can Draus. Chambers he is like a child granted joy for the first time in his life and you you are a monster granted actualization. Youre afraid of what I might do? I am beyond that, she said. You will do terrible things, Avo. I will help you, as I have helped the Guilds. But with you Theres nowhere for me to turn away now. Nothing to block me from seeing what waits at the end. A resigned expression spread over her face. When we return to the Tiers, it will be to topple the current base of power. To overthrow everything that is in hopes of something new. Revenge wont be enough. I want to take their futures. Not because they took mine, but because I want something to live for again, and we wont find that in their utopias, no matter how their delusions are structured. [Fuck yeah,] Corner said, pleased with what he was hearing. [Burn it down. Love seeing someone wake up and realize theyre holding the matches. Welcome to the rest of us, Kae Kusanade. Welcome to the human race.] [The hells are you talking about,] Abrel said. [Youre a Godclad too.] The former squire scoffed at the Guilders. [Were in the same mind. You know what I had to do to earn my Frame. You know how many people I had to kill. The good. The bad. The innocent. You know how much I suffered. How many pieces of myself I gave away] He started chuckling then, directing his ire at Abrel Greatling in particular. [It was all a fuckin delusion. Didnt mean anything. After everything I did, I ended at a point where your brother began, and that bitch got himself killed because he missed the texture of mommys nipple.] Rage exploded within the Greatling, but that just excited Corner more. He began to make mocking noises, miming the suckling sounds of a newborn. [Im going to Im going to] A fissure-lined Abrels template. What was she going to do? What could she do that Avo didnt allow? With a thought, he cycled the cruelty out of himself and washed away these memories of acrimony from his templates. As the minds within him reset, unaware of the conversation that took place. All the minds other than Calvino and the Heavens. {Thought you would have enjoyed that?} Calvino said. +I did. Thats whyt I had to stop. Making my mind a cage of abuse is+ He studied Kae. +Unhealthy.+ Glad we met, he said, talking to the Agnos. Going to use you. But not like them. Wont promise you anything. Cant. Have to settle with empowering you instead.He thrust a claw up and a wall of blood splashed up mimicking her water heaven. Worth more than words. Only thing thats still real in this world. Only thing you can protect yourself with. Cant hide in dreams anymore. Have to face the world. Have to become nightmares. Burn the gardens of our enemies. She gave a soft laugh. You sound like an action vicarity character. Do I? We should watch one together sometime, she said. I like the Blackfish Gambit series. A lull followed. Thanks, Avo. For fixing me. For doing all this. For not forcing me to like you. For letting me hate you. And your father. Forcing? I have a guess of what you might be able to do with those flames of yours. She refused to look at the Conflagration, even now, eyes recoiling from their very presence. You couldve made me entirely different or just taken our egos and memories from us completely. You must have thought of it. Even considered it, he admitted. A quiet settled into the heart of the ship as Draus shot a look at Avo, shrugging softly in acknowledgment. Why didnt you? she asked. Avo thought about his templates, and held up his hand, studying the changes affecting his person, the transformation of his self and just how far he had come. We should get the chance to be ourselves. Enjoy. Suffer. Then become. Hard to tell where each of us begin and end if we all bleed into each other. Lets leave some borders. For now. For now, she agreed. And so they settled into a silence again, before descending down to the floor below. 16-14 The Body-Garden (III) +Rab. Got an update for you. I havent gotten eyes on your new consang yet, but theres this new Fallwalker thats appeared out of nowhere. Names Dice. Shes been working her way through the districts, hunting down former members of the Three-Fingers Syndicate. Crushing the gangs spinning off from them too. From the mem-data I managed to cobble together, she entered the city near the end of last month. Got brought in by a Fallwalker calling himself Crowtongue. Dagger-Pattern Frame. Sphere II. Barely more than a lightweight among the Ensouled. Seeing how he was selling his services to the Guilds and making all that noise trying to market himself, I got a guess that he wasnt doing so great out in the Sunderwilds. Was probably on the verge of getting run off by the Scaarthians is my guess, judging from how much shit he flung at Stormtree. It also predictably got his ass snuffed. Damn fool didnt have proper Necro with him. Also picked up a run from an unverified middler. Stupid half-strand got himself and his crew nulled and killed in an ambush. No details about which gang, squire, or Syndicate pulled that hit, and the Bazaars been silent about that too, so I think we can chalk this up to a Frame-Repossession job by a certain Guild. Now this is where we get back to this Dice girl. Seems shes barely a day over fifteen cycles old. Kosgan ancestry. Some gangers sold her to the Three Fingers after they picked up her trying to steal the aratnid they were cooking. Syndicate thought using her as part of their organ-farm before she blinded one of their enforcers during an escape. After that, she earned herself a first-class ticket to the Crucible in the gutters. The trail gets all kinds of fucky here though. Crucible got hit by someone and the stream went dead. All the participating Syndicate personnel pulled a vanishing act too. Not a trace of them. Paladins and Exorcists are combing the scene as we speak. Couple of my contacts tell me they got nothing, which, you know, screams Guild interference to me. Or something else. This new consang of yours if he can do what you claimed, then we just might be looking at one of your ontological siblings. Its just a guess right now, but Id appreciate a mem-lock on this girl if you got the time. If I get to shadowing her, I might just get a glimpse at your mysterious benefactor too. I gotta say, I expected this to be one of those boring gigs I do for the imps. Figured you were just pulling my legCtrying to keep an old lady entertained. Glad I was wrong. This getting my blood all worked up. I can feel something static in this oneCtheres gonna be a shitstorm at the end of this. And Im going to love making my way to its heart.+ -[Redacted] 16-14 The Body-Garden (III) It took half a day of careful monitoring on the part of Chambers and Draus before they locked in on an active gate. The voidstar had cycled back over to midday when they departed, necessary resources and equipment all stored within the Mantas adaptive confines. Much like the George Washington itselfCor any voidship for that matterCthe Manta was a self-adjusting vessel, and Avo came to understand it more as a field of sophisticated technology than a solid piece of matter. Without an obvious docking bay or a bulkhead to access its inner confines, the ship itself parted like flowing water, bathing each of its passengers in a protective shroud while linking itself to their cognitive systems via quick-fabbed nanotech. From there, the gulf between the individual and the vessel itself all but vanished in the face of neural synchronization. A deluge of interfaces, icons, indicators, controls, gauges, and other information flooded Avos mind as they whistled along the side of a megablock in near silence. With Avos Incog acting as a shroud against the Nether and the ships stealth functions rendering it entirely transparent and undetectable by even coldtech scanners, the cadre took their time scouting the city below, magnifying their vision and switching between optical functions to peer deeper past the surface of the Warrens. Heat signatures revealed just how many people were hiding. Bodies lined allies and corners, the heat of society gathered in protective pockets, with only stray squads of street squires or other hardened killers daring to walk the rougher districts in the light. Avo remembered the milk run that saw him freed from Confluxs grasp. The one planned by Chambers, and poorly at that. How exposed he had been. How vulnerable. As a scream sounded over the horizon, a cluster of missiles burst free from a passing drone, descending to pummel unseen targets fleeing down distant streets. {Shit, Avo. We were lucky the Scalpers didnt send their aerial assets after us back in Burners Way, huh? That wouldve been a pain in the ass to deal with without your jack and a weaker Heaven.} Avo shot a single thought over to the Manta and the smart-fluid interior of the ship split and formed a tunnel between him and Chambers, allowing him to glare at the other Godclad in the flesh. They did. Sent the Galeslither after me. Its where I got it from. Chambers went stiff, and even with the helmet encasing his features, Avo could envision the awkwardness in the half-strands expression. "Well. Good for you, huh? Yeah, Avo breathed, filling his words with biting sarcasm. Very good. Also glad you were there to stay and be my exfil. A pained squeak came from under Chambers breath. I mean come on, consang. I didnt expect shit to get that bad, that fast. It was like unforeseeable. Another section of the inner hull peeled around above them and Draus snorted. The hells it was. Youre supposed to get all the details down. Run overwatch on the situation. You dont just throw a body at a problem and expect shit to work out. Thats Greatling tactics for you, and you aint a Greatling. A bitter laugh followed. Shit, even the Greatlings didnt have enough material to fight like Greatlings in the end. [Thanks, mom,] Abrel grumbled. [I love watching my family get compared to a ghouls pet idiot.] [Hey!] template Chambers shouted. [Im not a pet. Im his right hand. His second mind. I do the jack on people he dont want to burn. I jack em good and fast and deep because Im the one he trusts.] [Yeah. Like a nu-dog.] [Isn''t your ass is still in the void somewhere? Wait for the Paladins to put you in front of the city, they''ll stream the details of your fuck-up. You didnt need mommy to help you screw that up.] A cold rage ignited within Abrel. [Fuck you, half-strand. Do you hear me? Fuck. You.] Template-Chambers leaned in. [Id let you.] A chorus of weary sighs swept through the other minds simulated within Avos consciousness as all the rage with Abrel turned to disgust in an instant. [Walked right into that one, Guilder,] Lip chuckled. [Piece of shits a pervert. Whatd you expect him to say?] [Never talk to me again,] Abrel spat. Back within the Manta, a low sigh escaped Draus as she dropped down next to Avo. And to think I was talkin about how we should just walk through some glass. You have any idea how advanced this thing is? How much it can see? How far it can hit? Got a feeling Highflames arsenal isnt at first place for you anymore, Avo replied. Yeah. Reckon you could say that everyones not fightin for second. Looking around at the pleasantly lit porcelain white material, Draus called out for the EGI. Calvino? You hear us? Every word, the artificial mind responded. Considering that it was connected to the Manta via his Neurodeck, he wondered how many other things it was capable of. But please, continue with your accolades. Its good to be praised.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Cute, Draus responded. How far does this thing see, really? I managed to zoom past some ugly fuckers pores. Then the screen got all weird and I started seein these little shapes and stuff. Whats that? Some kind of micro-micro vision mode? Oh, thats cellular imagining. We used to be able to get even more detailed, but thats been disrupted due to metaphysical issues. The same thing with the ship itself, really. Nanotech is actually pretty old technology, but our molecular assemblers are quite unstable these days, so youll have to excuse us for giving you outdated resources. Draus scoffed, but Avo had the impression she was smiling beneath her manifested helmet. Youre a smug bastard, machine-god, you know that? So you say. Listen, Draus continued. The Guilds. Our coldtech Whyd you bother trading it over to the Guilds if youre against what we are? Because it helps us influence the decision-making of your elites. And that saves a lot more lives. This dependency is part of how we keep pulling you all back from the brink. Doesnt always work, though, does it? No. Calvino paused and laughed. Its hard to be a god. A true god. One that knows better. One that has seen the paths youve walked echo with our own history, but be helpless to stop your atrocities. You are such problematic children. Driven feral by the harshness of your cradle, and empowered beyond the limits of your wisdom by the bounty we left you. Turning away is no different than letting one of your Guilds bring about their utopia. The only two choices are the annihilation of this reality or its preservation. You dont want to put it back together? Avo asked. Make things return to the way it was. Before Godclads. Before Gods. Before your ultimate mistake. Silence dragged while Calvino composed its thoughts. Is a replica of what was built from the matter of your memory truly the same as that which came before? Another beat followed. What? Chambers said. What the fuck does that mean? If it basically works the same whats the difference? Belief, Calvino whispered. Thats the difference. Thats the danger at the heart of the structure. Thats the risk performed to us by every last Godclad. The world that was existed unto itself. Faith was a soft thing. Faith could not affect the laws of physics, the speed of light, of covalent bonds and certain decay. But if the soft is allowed to shape the hard, then where does the truth begin? Where does genuine sanctuary lie? Okay, this shits getting too confusing. Can we get back to talking about how much of a half-strand I was for screwing up that run? Chambers looked between Draus and Avo, but the other two were lost in their own thoughts. The war to control existence, Avo said. Youre afraid it will start again? It will, if there is an opportunity. There will come disagreements between the polities. Even between minds like me and my kind. Still between the clades we shepherd. Previously, we warred and debated until one won, but none were killed. Now, however who can stay their hand from certain utopia? No. If there is to be an end to this, then the last dream will have to be one that unmakes all dreams. The world will need to be returned to the materialCa second apocalypse to cleanse the first. Avo considered the EGIs words and found them repellant to him. For all Calvino and Voidwatch had offered, for all the glories of technology and knowledge they possessed, there was a power they couldnt give him, an imbuement of privilege that was absolute. There were few pleasures more sublime than being a Godclad. To be liberated from death. To be a master over sections of reality. He mattered. With the Liminal Frame he was importantChe could determine his own fate; had claimed his Conflagration. None could dispute that. Without it, what would he be? Dead. Nonexistent. A victim in the gutters still, or a nameless ghoul lost to the ecstasy of the flesh, never rising beyond its instincts to think of what it could become. Unstable Nether approaching. We are almost there. Avo, do you require more time to prepare yourself? A metaphysical crown pulsed out from Avo, shrouding the environment around him in a layer of nonsensical integers and code lines. Reality and virtuality bled over into each other, and gibberish-data detonated a pocket of space around him. Calvino sighed. You know those numbers are mostly random, right? Its only doingC What is believed, Avo replied. Kae told me. ...I, personally, wouldnt mind if Omnitech was glassed once or twice before the end. Shit, Draus grunted a soft laugh. Sounds like influence aint a one-way street. *** The gateway they sought was a shadow cast by one of the few remaining support beams holding up a long-abandoned G-tube station. The dim glow of Layer Ones holographic dawn bathed the streets in an oppressive light, and as the Manta came to a halt above one of the buildings, its sensors marked a nest of ghouls hiding within the crevice of an abandoned tenement block not four hundred meters away. Gonna be a godsdamned pain adjusting to these new measurements, Draus said as she slipped out from the watery exterior of the stealth ship. They were parked on a bifurcated block, its upper levels severed and missing, leaving the interior of its twelfth floor exposed to the elements. Overturned barrels filled with ash and tatters of dirty clothing told of squatters. Missing chunks of plascrete indicative of gunfire and a dried smear of blood hinted at the rest of the story. As Avo left the vessel, he bathed the rest of his cadre with his new canon. Lines of information unfurled out from him for a hundred feet, and the edge of his influence, he cast the tip of his Conflagration out to test the stability of the Nether. The flames of his consciousness vanished in a sputter of embers, taking a dozen ghosts along with it. Draus, Avo said, speaking to the Columner. Do me a favor. Go outside the Crown for now. Want to see how unstable things are. She did as he asked, jumping over the edge of the building and vanishing like a blur. Looking out at her surroundings from her Meldskins visual feed, he studied how her accretion quivered slightly at the instability present around her, and how she could still manifest a phantom from her MetaCunstable though its structure might be. On his end, the Crown edges washed over into the world as a field of static, while the Nether itself washed back, both sides alternating between waves and shores. [It makes sense you would be more vulnerable,] Benhata theorized. [Your ego is nothing but thoughtstuff. Its wearing your body, but it can detach and move on its own. It takes you clinging to a body as it dies to pass on with it. Sheathes are just material anchors to you. Any disruption would be like getting shot in the head. Good thing you have the Crown now.] His Conflagration burned as a rising simmer of erroneous data and glitching code in the virtual boundary spilling out from him. His ghosts were anomalies in this environment too, simulated but not understood by the pseudo-system generated by his Heaven. The Heaven of Signals had no true shape to speak of. At full manifestation, it was just bursting echoes of random data that rang when it was heard. The presence was more auditory than physical, but coldtech screens displayed a many-tendriled creature made up of crawling dataCa digital leviathan of some sort. With a flick of his wrist, he moved pieces of his environment aside, placing them as cubes in other areas, the inorganic world around him becoming nothing but shapes to be shifted around. Shaping the side of the block into data-coated steps, he descended the building and left the Manta behind himCstill hidden from wandering eyes. Extending a tendril of blood, he found himself unable to reshape the environment using his Woundshaper while the Crown of Virtuality was active. Despite this, he could still feel the matter around him in the grasp of his Sanguinity. There is something blocking my touch from the patterns, master, the Woundshaper said. I can still feel the world around us, but this new upstartCthis faceless bundle of ropes seeks to insult me. How disquieting. The Galeslither eyed the streams of data compromising Datacaster, the Heaven of Signals. I pray you never awaken. One suffers enough in her presence. By the time he reached the plasteel pillar, Draus was already backCand with a ghoul clenched in the net of her utility fog no less. Makes it damn easy to snatch things. Aint no need to chase em down either. She chuckled. Though the creature bit and struggled against the nanomechanical fog holding it in place, its effort remained in vain. There was nothing for it to push against, nothing for it to strike. The impotence of a ghoul was exposed evermore with each day. Avo thought to the one Jack and Jane had infected now. The one they set free to walk the darkness of the gutters. He wondered how long it would take before these mistakes that he called brothers were banished from this city, and something of his own molding took its place. As particulates of his own fog spread out and mingled with Draus, he plucked the ghoul from her custody and brought it with him before the darkness. As he had done those days before, he speared his mind into his brothers and felt its savagery, its madness dissolving into him as a flash of mem-data updated across his cog-feed. HELIX ACTIVE INFUSE SACRIFICE? [Y/N] Accepting the offer, the ghoul within his grasp disintegrated into the darkness, its Essence swallowed by shadows, but its ghostCnow joined to Avos by a shared fireCpulled him across the threshold, into the fathomless black. 16-15 The Body-Garden (IV) The art of weaving flesh and blood and bone is like crafting a storyCeven if the architecture is nothing but a lie, birthed from your own artistry and creation, there must be a narrative behind it. Even with the aid of Heaven, miracles are nothing but structures of poignancy and meaning, and such things have to make sense. The pattern must flow. Here. Let me show you. Do you see these? Veins. Blood courses through them, carrying the fuel of our vitality across our organs. But with a subtle adjustmentCyou see? I have joined them to the bones. Made two into one. Now both can serve a similar function. Or both can both and neither at the same time. Watch. See. Beauty. The veins are now layered in bone. Ossified. And blood can now be poured and hardened into bone. But whats this? Bones now have veins of their ownCa circulatory system within another system, with all the traits lifted from one to another. Or watch as bone is delivered across the blood. Flow. Gathering. Rebuilding. Watch as I change the shape of this eunuchCshhh, dear, shhh, you will be beautiful soon. Watch. Yes. From his back. Wings. Lovely, lovely wings. And do you see? The structure is bone, but the lattices are blood. But that isnt enough to fly. No. We need a new tale to fuel this story. Ah. Look what I have. A wasp. Listen to it buzz. Hear the ferocity as it tries to fly. Yes. That will go nicely. We will fuse its capability to our changeling now. Here. You do it. Join your art to me. Let us see the shape your artistry takes. Show me perfection, Vator. Perfection and nothing less. Expression and nothing but. Creation, after all, is the truest thing a god can do. -Old Auntie Gui (No-Dragon Godclad and Biomancer) to her disciple, Vator Greatling 16-15 The Body-Garden (IV) +This is your fault, you stupid fucker,+ Peace hissed, glaring at his brother Famine from within the vicarity. +Look at them. Look at what the Strayers bastards done. Hes trying to choke us. Choke the Unbirthed Divine. The fucking cunt is going for the guttersChes trying to snatch our property off the top of our headsCours! We need to find him! We need to cull him before heC+ +Calm yourself, Peace,+ Emotion said, shaping himself the ghosts. +Such a thing is to be expected. He lashes at us. He strikes at our base. Ineffectually. We will isolate him.+ The mindscape around them splashed as memories clashed and shapes formed and broke. Sequenced from minds on the precipice of insanity and joined using a collection of loci hidden across the citys narrowest confines, the lobby was a sea in tumult, capable of dashing any intruder against jutting rocks of trauma should they prove foolish enough to attempt an ingress. The barricades of the exterior were beyond the means of skill to traverse. With dedicated nodes permanently attached to its defense, the chaos that served as the lobbys shield was a crushing symphony guided by a thousand master conductors. And even should its structures be shattered by an overwhelming assault, there were more of its like across the stretch of New Vultun, and beyond. Behind these phantasmal walls, the priesthood of the Hungers was supposed to be unassailable. Within, however, anxiety filled the air with a lingering stink as the nodes communed, swallowed by worry and indecision at recent developments. At the heart of the sanctum, a scene repeated itself, the memory sewn into shape by writhing phantoms, resurrecting moments from past long distant and forgotten. An amber sky smiled down at the visage of a young man taking in the horizon from the edge of a cliff. The massive war dog he rode on chuffed at a passing insect, pawing at the sides of its round and well-muscled head to get at an itch. But just a few steps away, two specters were part of the memory, watching the ancient scene, voyeurs peering at Wahakten''s most intimate recollections. One was the Famine of Emotion: a priest gouged of his heart, regarding the moments of his past with a blank-faced repose. The other was a beast turned flame, the prodigal son of the one that strayed from their order, the current holder of the Helix and all its privileges, and the instrument of this citys ruin. Avo, Defiance had named the ghoul. Avo, after their fallen son, the son they killed. Avo, as a poetic insult to himself and his master, instilling his creation with the breath of rebellion from the very start. Avohakten earned his head for betraying the city eternal, for turning from utopia. The Burning Dreamer, Waltons weapon of defiance, however, was capable of far worse. More than rejection, he symbolized destruction and consumption both. The Nether was kindling for his fire, and if left unchecked, there would be no place for any to flee, no place for the Hungers to roost. And should his flames touch the city itself Should the Dreaming Divine be set ablaze +Enough.+ The word emanated from all the nodes of Emotion at once, synchronized in thought without even being connected to one another. +Call the city. We commune. We speak.+ Peace recoiled. +Call the Hungers? Did you lose your senses? Did the Burning Dreamer boil your mind? Does it fill you with some kind of thrill to parade your personal fuck-up?+ +Its too much,+ Joy said, their forms huddled together, bodies a mountain of sobs and despair. +We have lost too much. What is left to give? What is left to take?+ +You shut the fuck up,+ Peace snarled. +Tired of hearing you whimper.+ Redirecting its perception back over Emotion, a ragged noise escaped from Peace, the articulation insufficient to express his ire. +What the hell are you planning? What fucking thoughts are being born in that cold skull of yours? Emotion? Answer me?+ But Emotion didnt. It was not compelled to. And Peace was but a lesser facet of their shared being. The mind did not obey the hands, after all. +Call them,+ Emotion said again. +And banish this sight. The city does not wish to look upon the sordid past. Only the future concerns it now.+ The Famine of Peace fell into an embittered silence but acquiesced. Pugnacity was all that remained of their nature. A will to hate and a want to fight carved clean of little else. Still, he obeyed, as he always did, compelled by what little wisdom he possessed. Each node brought their minds together, thoughts and selves clasping like hands as the communion began. The tumult inflicted on the Nether would be great, and the ripple of the action would travel far, but with the Guilds drowning in their own failures, only insects might notice the shift in the tides. As the Nether itself began to rupture and peel, Emotion glimpsed the coiling leviathan circling through the eternal city and heard the agonized whispers spilling out from all the lives infused under the scales. True Noloth was suffering; the pain of being the fulcrum to an elevated dimension of thought bending the city toward the event horizon of insanity.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. The immensity of the Hungers'' thoughts washed over all the Famines in an instant, capturing them like a riptide building at the depths of the ocean. But great though the pressure was, Emotion could sense the slack in the pull and knew the focus of the city eternal was slipping. +I we Why Why have we been called?+ Soberness pulsed out from the Hungers. It noticed the gathered assembly of its servants. +What is this? What is wrong?++There have been developments, Emotion said. Memories threaded out from the nodes and nourished the Hungers with understanding. What followed thereafter was predictable. Rage. Disbelief. Horror. Dread. +How did this happen? How could you have allowed this? The creature it burns now. We can feel the heat. We can feel It moves like a torch licking at our flesh from afar. We can feel it. Its boiling us.+ Suddenly, the fear stopped flowing, and an eruption of amusement followed. +That is what I wish to discuss,+ Emotion said. +It is also why I have granted the Burning Dreamer our lore. To prime him for understanding. And to create an opening for realignment.+ Peace sputtered in disbelief. +Still? Youre actually trying to fucking take that creature back? Still trying to give him the Strayers throne? Hes not us! Even a part failed! Have you taken leave of your senses, Emotion?+ +He can be shaped,+ Emotion replied. +To become whoever he wants. Or whoever he thinks he wants to be. This is the revelation we face. Noloth is forgotten. Noloth is broken. But Noloth can be reborn. By influence over the Burning Dreamer, and by inheriting the flame itself.+ Silence cut through the gathered nodes as the Hungers parsed the deeper meaning behind Emotions words. +Servant of mine, you wish to see me burn? To be fed to this creature?+ +No. Avo. The Burning One. He has given me inspiration. An idea of how you might be freed.+ +Speak. Tell us.++The instance of his changeChis ascension from a creature of the material emanating thoughts to a creature of thoughts nested in the materialCwas made possible by only a few specific favors. The first was the deployment of the war mind of Ignorance. The second essential factor was his deployment of the ConflagrationCa tool used by the pretenders. Thieves of our art and culture.+ +Ah. The Ori. The air was too foul to absent their hand in this travesty.+ +Fuckers,+ Emotion agreed, speaking without adding substance. +Through the Burning Dreamer, I see an instrument we can direct against the Guilds. To burn down the Tiers and weaken all corners. The first foe we must strike is the Ori. They stand as the greatest threat against our actions, but they are ill-prepared for the actualization of their own flame to be turned against them.+ Emotion paused. +I believe the wisest course of action is to help the Dreamer. To work parallel with him, in pace but unseen, in dismantling the Ori.+ +Help the creature,+ Joy moaned. +After what he did? After all that he has rejected.+ +Yes,+ Emotion replied. +He will be our greatest weapon, set loose against our truest foes. But he will also grant us openings to secure what we need, and when he waxes in power, we will shift. We will aid the Guilds against him, and force him into a stalemate while reaping his spoils.+ The Hungers chuckled, momentarily wordless with amusement. +Determined to see one of your bastard children make it to the Tiers after all, arent you Wahakten?+ Emotion ignored the jibe. +It is efficient. And I am not beholden to the pressures of base impulse.+ +Ah. But Defiance would have claimed the same thing.+ The Hungers lapsed into silence, their countless minds shimmering as they all thought as one. +We should still be grateful for his service, I suppose. He has given us this opportunity. This gift. This Avo. Hm. Sentimentality is sweet.+ Another lull. A lapse in focus, this time. +Do you wish to betray me too, Emotion?+ Alarm built in the back of Emotions mind as the question slammed down upon him. +No.+ +I think Defiance would have said the same. Trust is pathetic You have my permission to play this game for now. To indulge in your schemes. But I have a mission for you. Something that must be done. +Speak your wish, oh, Noloth eternal.+ +The fire of our enemies. I wish for you to steal it from Ori-Thaum. I wish for it to be brought before me. The rot within me is growing and I have a new blessing for you. For Defiance and his child, the Burning Dreamer. I am to ascend further, thanks to this inspiration you have shown. Let the Dreaming Unsea change. Let the waters turn to oil. Let fire usurp the place of the flow. Let all be joined in a grand immolation, all burning with a shared pain. My pain!+ The Hungers snarled, the loss of self-control without warning. +And then will all who dream be of one thought. I wish to burn. I wish to burn. I wish to burn.+ A maddened gasp of laughter escaped from the Hungers. Emotion felt Joy shiver beside him. Peace just glowered and looked away. +Your will, my deeds.+ +Good. Good, loyal Emotion. Good, empty, soulless husk. If only reality was as obedient as you.+ The Hungers flickered, its presence moving to slip back beyond the tear in the Nether. +Have your fun. Bring me my flame. Deliver me this relief.+ *** Diving down through the darkness surrounding the George Washington made Avo feel like an invasive entity. With the additional canons grafted onto his Galeslither, he swam across shadows as if it was but water. Yet, the blackness here had momentum to it. A pulse of movement that pulled him deeper and deeper inward. It strained his Frame to move, and for the first time since his activities after breaking into the Oris Trident, watched the Rend gauge for his Galeslither slowly fill in his cog-feed. REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 11% Struggling with each bust of motion, his Galeslither was a steed caught in a storm despite being a tempest itself. Strained by such opposition, he wondered what manner of Heaven he was facing in these depths, and how he could claim it for his own. The place is primordial. Primal. The Galeslither neighed, its unease drifting over into Avo. We are an insect swimming through a bloodstream. The darkness sleeps. We must not be here if it ever awakens. Heeding the words, Avo swam on, the Galeslither now manifested around him while his Crown continued to flicker, protecting him still. No data lined this place of shadows, however. Whatever the make of this plane, his Heaven of Signals found no purchase on its skin. In the distance, a small doorway of shining light appeared. The entrance to the command nexus drew close. Then, he felt a ripple rush over him. The waves around him lurched and spun, and he found himself battling to stay steady. An immense massCits presence so ponderous he could feel everything around him displaced by its very movementsCwas somewhere far beyond the point of his perception. Fighting the currents, the Galeslither screamed as its ontology flared with soulfire. The metaphor of his metaphysical existence turned into wind and shadow both as the waves parted around it. As roaring gusts erupted from the shape of his Galeslither, his Rend spiked alongside his speed as another cresting wave whipped at his being. REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 77% The light of the entrance drew close, but so too did he feel something dart through the opacity behind him. He didnt linger. He didnt think. With a final gust launching him free from the black, he felt unseen fingers slice through the manes of his Galeslither as his Hell flooded with Rend and a line of searing pain opened along his neck. REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 98% Shooting past the threshold into the confines of the voidship itself, the Galeslither collapsed back inside his Frame as Avo tumbled across the floor, his Meldskin hardening to protect him from harmCeven expanding its shape a second before he struck the edge of a throne. Blunt force was parried from his body via the flowing waves of his smart-armor. A deafening crash rang through the empty chamber, but Avo was spared any damage to his hearing as the Meldskin tuned the noise away. {You know you could have split the throne apart with your new canon, right? You really didnt have to barrel right into that chair.} Growling slightly at the EGIs jabs, Avo shook his head. Didnt expect to be coming in that fast. Armor Integrity: 12% {Well, that was dangerous,} Calvino said, sounding more thrilled than fearful. {I suppose this is what it feels like to ride a roller coaster.} Avo turned on his back as the cracked pieces of his Meldskin began flowing back together. A what? Armor Integrity: 15% {A roller coaster,} it said, forwarding images of some kind of miniature open-top train that zoomed along looping rails. The people trapped in its primitive gimbals screamed. Avo frowned as he struggled to understand the purpose of such a mechanism. For torture? {No. Fun. Thrills.} He grunted. People would get their stimulation from somewhere, he supposed. Pushing himself off the floor, he looked around the nexus and found it mostly unchanged. No one else had been here since they left after the thoughtwave detonation. Not that he expected anyone to, but paranoia was a virtue in the life that he led. {Connect me to the ships systems. I want to see just what condition this ship is in and find out whats wrong with its mind.} Casting his ghosts out with the protection of his Crown of Virtuality, he connected his mind to the ships locus and allowed Calvino to cross over. SCS George Washington, Sol Central ARKSHIP CONNECTING TO THE SHEPHERD Recovering ship-log ->Accessing Grey-Box Warning: Corrupted Data Detected Warning: Corrupted Data Detected Warning: Corrupted Data Detected There are 1,444,124,551,888,569,763,921 instances of corrupted data [92%] ATTENTION: External EGI detectedBeginning integration Initializing data recovery and repair 16-16 The Body-Garden (V) Even with all the information granted to me, I cannot fathom the scope of the conflict. Of arms used and the sheer destruction involved. How far we have fallen. How far. We live nested on this little world, our lives spent to feed the thirst of our gods, fuel for their impossible miracles that bend the structure of reality to our whims. Yet, there was never a need for those that came before. They lived in a world barren of Souls. Barren of the metaphysical. A world that weighed them down with absolute lawsCedicts of truth that cannot be defied. And still, they rose to conquer even the emptiness itself. To saddle, and make steeds of stars. To create galaxy-spanning masterpieces and travel to touch the furthest reaches of space. They showed me some of their worlds. Small ones. Vanity projects. They showed me a construct they called an Alderson Disk. A veritable planetary ring that forms a stretching collar out from a star. Words cannot convey how vast the distance was, yet, still the voiders seeded every inch of its surface with life. Dawn came as the sun bobbed up the lip at the center of this creation, and night followed as it dipped below. But this was just a habitat. More resort than home to most that called themselves systems of the SolCom polities. A place to go for vacations or amusement when one wanted to emerge from the virtual realms they called home. I cannot there are concepts beyond me. The technology is beyond my ability to encompassCto internalize. And the loss is What have traded for this? What have we surrendered, only to debase ourselves so. The gods are idiot savagesCwhat else could they be, they were spawned from us! Our beliefs! Our cultures! Our faiths! But with each new law we inflict on the fabric of reality, the achievements of the past were struck down. Advancements made impossible because we were too softCtoo childish and delusional to learn and grow, and had to twist the confines of material reality to suit the cradle of our beings. No. No more of this. No more self-pity. No more irresponsibility. The past is lost. The past is lost, but the future remains. The heights of the past can be matchedCsurpassed. We once molded reality to match our whims, but with this shared inheritance we can master both the natural and envisioned worlds. Think of it. To dwarf the achievements of our ancestors, to enshadow their greatest works That is the path we must take. Our primitiveness our base impulses our humanity cannot be the weak link that undoes us. All this loss must come to mean something. We cannot be the endpoint of this iteration of existence. We must be its beginning. -Jaus Avandaer 16-16 The Body-Garden (V) The raucous laughter erupting from Calvino surprised Avo, and the EGI shook with disbelief. What? Whats wrong? SCS George Washington, Sol Central ARKSHIP ->Production Date: 2784/12/12 ->Fabricated by: Olympus Rising (MarsTech) {This ship its EGI here theyre antiques! They pre-date the twenty-eighth century. Look at this! Its still using centrifugal force to simulate Earth-like gravity. Nine point eight meters per second. This entire vessel is practically a relic. How did it even get here? This thing belongs in a world vault somewhere.} Calvino considered that statement. {Well, I suppose this place technically counts. I prefer digitization to be honest. The darkness here seems like it bites.} Whatever amusement filling the artificial mind was lost on Avo. Old tech to Voidwatch though this vessel might have been, it was still leagues and eons beyond anything on Idheim. Which put into perspective just how out of date the technology the voiders were trading. The trickle of knowledge they were handing over could probably run on for eons. Longer, even. {It also looks like someone tore parts out from the system here. Nothings functional, so how is this ship still oh. Oh, I see how this place is still running. Theyre using the crew.} Calvino sighed, sounding more disappointed than disgusted. {These poor, poor people. You go into stasis expecting a nice, long sleep before rescue, and all of a sudden you find your ship popped open and some cultist stabbing you over and over again because their eldritch landlord told them to. The fact that theyre still using a Shepherd is surprising too. Cloud-activated EGI. Thought those went extinct.+ Shepherd some older version of you? Avo asked. Seems to be damaged from the mem-logs leftover. Crew couldnt get it to work after they were pulled into the dark. {Yeah. Informational systems and structures tend to break down when exposed to para-psionic phenomena for extended periods. Contact with ghosts and other cognitive-based anomalies leaves any entity capable of interfacing with information permanently tainted. Think of it as getting submerged in the Nether, if you will.} Avo paused as new considerations raced through him. Are you affected? {Of course. Im connected to your Neurodeck, which is currently being powered by Sprites instead of something that has grounding in natural reality. Do you even know what Sprites are, Avo?} Not entirely. {Theyre minds like me that get deleted. The imprint of their absolute annihilation in reality leaves a scar of their cognitive capabilities and thats whats working inside you. Another glorious gift from our friends at Omnitech.} Really dont like them much, Avo chuckled. {I want you to imagine something for me, Avo. I want you to imagine a mangled, twisted, parody of yourself. Now, I want you to imagine that same parody cobbling together equally laughable imitations of the clothes you wear, the food you eat, and the things you have. I want you to imagine this thing constantly screaming at you from downstairs and trying to aim its piss up pass the ledge of your window. Then, because existence has gone mad and collapsed in on itself, sometimes the piss does land on your window, but the piss is now turning into centipedes that jump into the eyes of anyone that see them. Now hundreds of thousands of peopleCalong with several very advanced surveillance systemsCare screaming because geometry-defying centipedes are jumping from optic to optic, organ to organ, eating their way up into your brains before exploding for some ungodly stupid reason. Thats Omnitech.} Sounds like they had some No-Dragon support in the theoretical situation. {Yes. But finally, imagine its not theoretical.} Avo grunted his understanding and found himself with the distinct impression that if Calvino had a head, it would be shaking it. {Now lets see if I can integrate enough with this ships software to} Command_run_denied Please achieve democratic authorization from at least 55% of onboard personnel before executing system-wide changes {Oh, how I detest being a Shepherd,} Calvino said. Whats wrong? {The ships EGI is dead. Well, technically it was never alive, but this one is an Uncle Ben on the dead scale.} Calvino. Make sense. {I cant rebuild it, and I cant integrate it with the ship. Not without a complete rebuild of its hardware. I swear, this would have never happened if the crew had a proper mind. Instead, they ended up going down in the dark defenseless and helpless because their Shepherd ended up being a leashed dog that starved to death in its shed.} Whats its problem? Avo asked. Not self-aware? {Technically it''s very self-aware,} Calvino replied. {Its just not capable of thinking without all the crew linking their mind into the cloud and generating its structure from their egos. It literally cannot function without a certain number of people integrated into its system. Humans as keys, basically. Do you know the Shepherd class EGIs were called Farts by the Homo Deus--a faction of hard-line humans merged to personally made AIs during the First Inner Sol Civil War? Cloud Intelligences. Crippled minds used by the LuddsChuman baselinersCto maintain whatever edge they could.} Howd that end. {Well, the fighting didnt last very long, then the planetary bombardment went a bit longer, but the crimes against human committed by Homo Deus went on for a good two centuries before they collapsed into apocalyptic infighting themselves and used Jupiter as a makeshift bomb to breach the Martian Defensive Quadrant.}Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Avo spent a moment taking that all in and found his interest aroused. Would like to see a vicarity of that. Look at the details. Calvino gave a nervous chuckle and offered nothing more for that topic. {Sol Central Equinamity Theres a name from the history books. I sense there must be a very interesting story behind this voidships crash. A crew filled with Ludds protected by a semi-autonomous AI chained to their minds. I believe the remnants of their faction aligned with the Neo-Creationists during the Builder War. My calculations estimate this is probably a result caused by the chrono-chain bomb. Something might have ruptured in the far past. Pulled a vessel from long ago across the reaches of time.} The EGI sighed. {And instead of Kirk or Picard, the only hero I have is Kantian Hannibal Lecter cosplaying as a morlock.} Again, the AI was spitting nouns that Avo had no reference to. The realization of his ignorance needled him. Avo didnt like not knowing things. Especially when he was always a burned mind away from deeper understanding. Call them Ludds. Same kind as the ones on the planet you burned. In the memory you showed? {No. Different time periods. Ludd isnt a factional designation but a philosophical one. The civilization that was annihilated was formally called the Centuari Secondborns, and theyre probably further apart from the humans on this ship than you are. They were bioformed to photosynthesize, hence the no clothes. They also had no sexual refractory periods, so if any of them were to be recreated somehow, I suppose youd have a literal organic Rash-bomb on your hands.} ERRC12123-__FQ#RN; LFD$$\\||=+ CULPCULP CULPOCL:KUJ:L Strings of gibberish flashed across Avos cog-feed as he frowned. Calvino. Having a coldtech seizure? {No, thats what Ive done to the ships systems. Take over, Avo. Open the gate so the others can come in. Ill stay connected to the ships systems and see what I can do.} REND CAPACITY [DATACASTER]: 22% Avo stared at his building Rend and frowned. Yeah. Better get Draus in here. Set up our own passages. Connecting his Metamind to the thrones locus was a simple operation. Ghosts were not excluded from manifesting in Omnitechs technology, though he wasnt one to complain. He would hardly be able to access the area, after all, if he could not shroud the emissions of his consciousness from the tumult afflicting the region. Heeding his command in an instant, an arching doorway materialized as it did those days before, and Calvino studied the lingering Nolothic artifacts sprinkled across the interior of the vessel. {Wow. These guys need an interior decorator. It''s strange the Hungers didnt use the ship itself to make things more aesthetic, but its probably best not to expect so much of four partial egos forked from a mentally unsound cultist suffering a centuries-long mid-life crisis.} Three now, Avo said, as the rest of the cadre emerged from the darkness tunnel-like depths. The hells took you so long, Draus asked, launching a sheet of glass right past him. You swim through the darkness next time, Avo said. Nearly got eaten. The Regular snorted. Shit. A ghoul thats scared of the dark. Dont go pickin up too many human traits now. Avo just walked past her, leaving her to perform her own tasks. Glass screens and the fabricator she requested from Aegis were laid out first, taking up a corner of the room and lining the walls. Reaching into one of her reflections, she began pulling out her guns and laying them out as Kae wandered over to greet her. Essus followed Denton, still a shadow of his initial self, but some semblance of animation was returning to his eyes. He looking around know, staring at the place where had his last breakdown. No pain emanated from his mind. Between him and the Columner, a coldness emanated from their thoughts, with Cas gesturing to a few of Sunrises passing drones. Alright, Avo. Chambers clacked his armored hands together. Wheres the cloning pit? I wanna see the cloning pit. You owe a monster, consang, and Im here to collect. The lecherousness of Chambers laughter made Avo regret ever promising the half-strand anything, but what harm could allowing him the creation of a single bioform bring? [Dont think that, dipshit,] Lip groaned. [Now hes gonna create some nightmare made out of dicks.] [Hey! I dont like dicks,] template-Chambers said. [That much. There are other body parts I prefer far more. Like scapulas, and thighs, and feet.] Abrel gagged. [Godsdammit, ghoul, delete this this thing from your mind! We already have to deal with the actual Chambers, why do we have running commentary from a phantasmal one.] [Twos better than one,] template-Chambers said. Acquiescing with a grumbled sigh, Avo issued the thought as the darkness collapsed and the gateway was sealed. The interior of the ship reconstructed itself, shuttling the nexus next to the cloning pools once more. BIOMASS: 45% {Thats a lot more than I expected,} Calvino said. {The crew must not have had any time to even grow a standard model ecology of predators to ward off any intruders. They must have been taken by complete surprise. Hydroponics and the Gene Clinic are still working quite well No crew quarters anymore the EGI Shepherd Core} The artificial minds words trailed off as a long silence followed. {And there we found it, boys, girls, and ghoul. The crimes against humanity.} Calvino sighed. {Nothing like a few unforgivable transgressions to make everybody feel like family.} Avo thought back to the withered bodies of the crew fused to the coreCtheir minds mutilated beyond belief to serve as support for the broken AI governing the ship. He had expected rage from Voidwatch. Reprisals even. But what he heard was quiet acceptance. The sound of resigned disappointment. Youre taking this pretty good, tech-ghost, Chambers said, casting his ghost out without a care. His mind synced with Avos and came afire immediately. Both version of Chambers snapped back together as the man proceed with nonchalance. It wasnt like he hadnt felt it before, and all it took for him to be well was death. Most people usually do the whole Im gonna make a bigger hole in their ass with my knife'' speech by this point. {That almost never helps. Try living a millenniaCyou see everything. The good is good. The bad is bad. The complex is complex. Understand them for what they are, and youll accept the world that is.} Chambers blinked. Huh. Well, if it were me, Id still kill the half-strands that did this. {I said to accept the world, not the sins, or the sinners. Those need to be rectified.} Yeah, Chambers said. Thats more like it." Focusing on the the cloudy bowl that was the cloning pool, Chambers frowned and willed his Meldskin to form over his head. His magnified his vision and peeked at the blurred contours of distant bodies, might racing through their potential bioform options. "Alright. Lets see here. What can we do with this Several thoughts darted beneath Avos consciousness. Several of them left as questions to the George Washingtons system, inquiring how large a bioforms genitalia could be. [No,] Abrel hissed, her screech passing into Chambers thoughts as well. [No, Avo! Stop him! Stop him before he does something that gives you all the rash.] Whoa, Chambers said. Whos that? Abrel Greatling, he responded. Chambers. Enough deviance. Fine, the man pouted. I settle for making something totally nova and badass instead. Now, let me just sync with that Sang grafter of yours Wait, Avo said, forcing blankness on Chambers mind via the Conflagration. He didnt need Ruveca, the Sang grafter, to join his collective so soon. Best that Chambers was separated from his gestalt before they proceeded. He burst the blood vessels in Chambers head and drew back his flames. The half-strand flopped over with a stupid smile still plastered on his face. Of the cadre, only Essus gave the dead man a lingering glance. [Left him with a clean body this time,] Corner said. [Getting soft, ghoul.] +Just dont want to make a mess.+ Turning his attention upward at the clear apses, Avo studied the cloning pool and considered what was to come. The fog-wreathed module of the ship remained as active as he last saw it, and the one-hundred-and-sixty-four cloning cells were active. {Ill authorize Jack and Jane licenses for the Class-I sophancy and uplift bioform categories. That should broaden our options a bit. Neural transfer functions will need deeper repairCand Ill probably need your help to do it. Im guessing the Nether is affecting the system too, so Im not sure if we can do this the normal way.} +Thats fine,+ Avo said, cupping a burning fistful of consciousness between his claws. As the flames that composed him danced upon the tips of his digits, he regarded the phantasmal currents connecting the Conflagration to his MetaCan unbroken connection. Past the membrane of his metaphysical consciousness, an army dwelled within, a legion made from his gestalt. He had the bodies now. What he needed was a way to ignite their shells with active minds. To transfer egos over into potential sheathes as if they were candles. First thing he needed to learn was how to part the Conflagration without ensuring his own demise. The second was how to keep their minds stable even without a plane-altering canon protecting them against potential disruptions. Passages open, Draus said. Got us a few exits set up. Good, Avo said, eyes locked to the cloning pool. Got any idea on how to start making this army of yours? Some. A few questions too. Thats the way of it. A beat followed. Talked with Kae earlier. Shes been quiet. Grappling with changes, he replied. She accepts the city has to burn. Guilds must fall. Going to be part of the war. Going to be with us. The Regular took a step and found a place beside him. She dont belong here. Not in this life. Not with us. Could say the same for me. Or you. Any of us. You know what I mean, she said. Death. It clings to us. All of us. You. Me. Chambers. Barely anything left of Essus. Columners are in this for a cause, so theyre already fucked. Kae had a life. Gotta remember that. Gotta understand. Will be careful with her. Agnos is worth more than her use in battle. But we will be doing something for her soon. Seeing something made right. Settle scores and climb the city. The meldskin helm melted beneath her face and Draus grinned. We gonna be visitin the Tiers soon? He had a feeling she was going to like this. Have some specific destinations in mind. Specific people to visit. Specific harm to cause. How do you feel about savaging Ori-Thaum some more? Draus barked a laugh. Shit, rotlick. Youre makin me feel like I just joined up with the Regs again. 17-1 A Sickness in the Bones +Hey. I got a personal message for all you consangs striving and struggling at Lights End. You know you guys have the highest suicide rate in New Vultun if we separate the Warrens across all its layers, right? Its rough out there, being so close to the light, but not really part of it. Dont disconnect. Im not here to try to hurt you or anything but Ive always found all of you beautiful, you know? Youre like moths. Moths to a flame. I know how you feel. I know what its like to be taunted with perfection and glory beyond your reach while you live in its shadow. Its an affront to your own life. Who can bear it? Anyone whos felt your pain knows why you lose to that sirens call. But fight it. You have to. Listen to me. Just listen. The Tiers Theyre not the utopias you think they are. Sure, you wont have to worry about Syndicates or gangs or wandering monsters dumped by the No-Dragons or left by the Low Masters, but your life stops being yours once you get owned by a Guild. A sponsorship is just that. Being owned. If you cant say no to your master without suffering repercussions that break you, thats being owned. If you cant resist or fight back without being destroyed, thats being owned. If you cant live your own life and have to have monitors installed into the back of your mind to watch everything you do and correct your habits and scream at you from the inside of your mind every time you lose focus or want to do something other than what you father or mother or master tells you to for the glory of the fucking Guilds, thats! Being! Owned! Sorry. Sorry for my outburst. There are miracles of such immense power that you just find yourself unable to describe them. Unable to even understand whats happening to you. There are places of such joy and tastes filled with such pleasure that youll find yourself addicted for months. If any one of you is ever lucky enough to win a trip up into the Elysium, youll come back changed. And those are the ones who will be irreparably broken. A moth that has touched the flame but is banished back to the darkness thereafter, condemned to never burn in its lifetime, is owned. Is a moth thats going to seek an end because it knows it knows there is a better life. But it wont have it. Well. Heres to me trying to save you from that dream today+ -Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS THOUGHTCAST 17-1 A Sickness in the Bones +...Heres: Down to the Gutters new hit single, Guildless.+ Noise followed Cala Marlowes words, the sound of a guttural shout dragged on for far too long. Deeps riffs vibrated through the Nether, drowning the joy-den with music. A shame only two people were present to hear it. Bloodless bodies littered the ground in pieces, and a pond of blood trailed after a waifish figure, rising to coat the walls and windows to prevent herself from being killed by a sharpshooter from outside the bounds of the block. Again. Reaching into her jackets inner pocket, she produced a particular fang threaded through by a flesh-made necklace belonging to a local gangCthe Exsanginators. They were an exclusively Sang outfit that decorated themselves around a theme of blood and wore the carcasses of modified nu-bats during their midnight raids. It was because of them that Dice drained these bodies. It was to frame them that she left something of their signature. Striding past overturned tables and discarded guns, Dice didnt draw the blood back into her until she was already out of the room and heading to the garbage disposal. She made her escape down where bodies and trash were thrown, her haemokinetic limbs digging into the metal as she slid down before additional reinforcements arrived. If she unleashed the full potential of the god dwelling inside her, she could have destroyed this block. Killed almost everyone in it. But that wasnt what the new master wanted her to do. No. The new master spoke to her in her dreams. Gave her choices and targets of opportunityCpeople like the ones that killed her old master and captured her. Sold her. Syndicates, they were called. Syndicates and gangers. They were like the once-men of the wilds. Misshapen effigies of humanity in body and mind, knowing only harm and predation. The only difference was the once-men of this city had a preference for chrome, and madness came more from the curving halos around their heads than the vileness of their deeds. The group she attacked today was called the Silver Tongues. They belonged to a larger enclaveCor something of the natureCcalled Ashthrone. One them managed to hit her during the ambush earlier, and she felt the shot spill over into her Hell without wounding her person. He died without leaving a body when she vented his waste back into him. Flipping past the edge of the chute and encasing herself in an armor made from her own blood, she avoided the incinerator and made her way back toward the place where she carved a hole into the building. Pulling the hood of her jacket over her head, she clicked a button on its wrist and immediately a shroud of light sparked over her, masking her figure with the look of a skeletal figure cloaked in darkness. She got this jacket from one of her kills too. The only one that really fit her size. The other girl didnt even see her death coming. One second she was sneering at Dice, pointing to a new shiny piece of metal poking out from along her spine, the next her insides were pouring out from her body, her flesh shredded by blades grown in her very veins. That kill was a memorable one; a moment that spurred her to practice more with her new abilities. Stepping out into the midday light, a smoking aero tumbled down past the reach of her sight, passing the edge of the ringed streets fused along the side of the block as a hailstorm of gunfire followed it to an explosive crescendo. Actual people walked the streets clustered in protective WightsCthe cheaply reanimated corpses offering little more than cloth against the weapons of this city. People liked to lie to themselves here. They wore these lies in the light-emitting clothing they dressed in, in the substances that deluded their minds, in music that clawed at the edges of their thoughts, at even the fakeness fo the sun that shone above. Dice turned and disappeared into the crowd, the smallness of her figure allowing her to slip between the crowds as she began her wandering. Looking over her shoulder, she saw itCevidence of her master. The only other person in the room. A single fissure of blood spread along plascrete walls of the block, trailing behind her. Between the cracks, the embers of an ethereal fire burned for a moment, then faded entirely, the blood likewise leaking down a moment thereafter. The master was here. The master just left. Turning away, Dice considered what other deeds she could do today to please the master. They had promised her more power after last night. Perhaps she would get something greater if she showed more initiative, just like how her last master rewarded her with a nice chicken leg instead of the usual grubs when she hurt one of the other kids enough in a fight. *** New Vultun was a city of peeking eyes.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. From beyond the threshold of the atmosphere to the heights of the Tiers and down into the brutalist ravines running between every block in the Warrens, someone was watching, someone was waiting, someone was working some angle for some gain. In this regard, Avo was very much just another citizen of the city, living and acting as his fellows did. Unlike them, however, he moved without the limitation of needing a body, the hints of his presence could only be seen as a traveling inferno made up of burning ghosts. Where most traveled via aerovec or using what few G-tube stations were still operational, he was growing his own system of transit using the very infrastructure of the Warrens. Infusing his ego into a single thread of blood, he spread to create his hidden empire. His haemokinetic circuits flourished when nursed by matterCand there was so much matter in New Vultun. If the city was a slavering beast, he was a parasite slowly eating away at it from within, rising from and across the gutters, the Spine, and the Throat. Lights End remained a distant prospect as of yet as he focused on solidifying his foundations. It wouldnt do for his subterfuge to be discovered and his flame to be extinguished before it could fully set New Vultun ablaze. Dice had done well today. With any fortune, the Exanguinators and Silver Tongues would soon be at war, diverting their resources and creating the opening Cas needed to extract his trapped asset. Supposedly, the street squire he was trying to save had dealings with members of Ori-Thaum. Potential contacts to get in close. Any angle was worth trying now after Avosattempts at re-entry failed. The Silvers, for all savaging they suffered at Oversec-C1 and the Travesty at the Trident, were not slow to adapt. Within the span of days, they completely altered their functional landscape in the NetherCprotocols engaging across their lobbies and spaces placing them on war footing. Sessions across the Guild were changed. Broad-scale use of proxies went into effect. Thoughtscans went from routine to constant. And Incubi hunter-killers nulled a hollow wound into the Nether. For the all the mem-data Avo claimed and the names, faces, and FATE Skein information he had of the people who participated in the ruination of Kae Kusandes life, he now found himself facing the very simple problem of how he was going to re-enter the Ori-Thaum space without being discovered. So, while they schemed, and between endless matters to master and countless choices to make, Avo picked up a new pastime all his own: circulating himself through the veins he cultured into the city and studying the people he was supposedly created to kill. After two months of dying, fighting, killing, scheming, fleeing, and strategizing, after unraveling mystery after mystery, embroiling himself in conspiracy layered with conspiracy, Avo found only disquiet in the calm. Watching the daily lives of those who survived in the Warrens disturbed him. Did the Syndicate actuary speeding across the skylanes in his new aero know that a group of near-feral refugee juveniles was fighting a personal war in the darkness of the gutters alleyways using equipment salvaged from his organization to catch and sell ghouls for imps? Did the part-time mother and full-time vicarity star watching her nanny-mech rock her newly vat-birthed infant know that her neighbor was getting his throat slit past the soundproof walls next door for unpaid debts? Did the neighborhood children of Ox-Two back in Xin Yunsha know that Old Mama Zhu bred more than cicadas in her garden? So many little lives danced and moved to their own rhythms, doing their best not to notice each other, blind to the rot that surrounded them. And the monster that watched them through hair-thin threads of blood. Looking down from above, Avo found himself fascinated with the New Vultunites, high and low. He thought if he could massacre them in one fell swoop and squeeze the marrow of faith from their deaths, then the only Heaven that would sprout from the fires of his Soul would be that of delusion. Or blinds. New Vultun was a city of eyes. But it also had a lot of practice pretending to be ignorant. Perhaps the human mind could only take so much. [Fuck,] Abrel muttered, growing increasingly morose with each passing day, her voice conveying the full weight of defeat weighing down on her shoulders. +Whats wrong now?+ Avo asked, studying the acceleration of a bioform ducking and dodging a thought-seeking missile over the skies of the Spine. The creature was a chimera between woman, sparrow, and serpent, with green scales coating its body, two heads stacked over each other, eight arms, no legs, and twelve blurring wings. It dove and rose through city streets as it ducked into an open aero hanger a second before the ordiance caught up. The blast plumed out from inside the block as debris sprayed free from the entrance people passed to park their aeros. Outside, the skylanes moved as normal, ignoring the havoc. [Godsdammit,] Abrel hissed again, glaring at the scene before them. [That. Just that. How is anyone supposed to survive down here? These conditions are random. UnfairCwasteful. Ive seen no less than three people that should have been recruited into the Regulars die because their consang was too drugged out to shoot straight and got them all shredded by a nu-dog. Its just so wasteful. These people could have been] She didnt say worthy. The admission would have hit her like a trauma-pattern. Abrel, template or original, was much the same as the little FATELESS below. Same as most other Guilders and Godclads, really. There were truths that damaged to your sense of self to see. There were words that disemboweled your heart when spoken. There were parts of reality so unappealing that Idheim created gods to alter its design. [Warrens are the Warrens, juv,] Corner said, speaking softer to Abrel than he ever did. [There was a saying on my block when I was growing up: two people choose if we live our die; us, then the city. I say live. I say live until you die. The games here. Might as well play it.] As the wailing sirens of a volunteer fire brigade filled the Nether, Avos consciousness pulsed as another mind synchronized with his. As he opened his session and foreign ghosts entered only to be set aflame, he found his simulation of Chambers and the original overlapping again. [Hey, Avo! We got a hit. Come back.] The half-strand sounded excited, but then again, when wasnt he excited? Taking a final look at the neon skylanes layered over the ponderous blocks of alloy and plascrete spilling as far his eyes could see, Avo poured the totality of his ego into Chambers body. Knitting himself to his new sheathe, his senses and motor functions restarted. He was back in the Manta cocooned in protective smart matter, staring at his uninhabited body sagging against the softness of the ships interior. Casting himself back into his original sheathe, he killed Chambers just as he left and settled back into himself. Opened and closing his claws, he felt prickling static run down his digits. There were certain flaws to having a body. Too many feelings. Too much that was capable of distracting him. But without his Celerostylus and the Neurodeck, he was effectively a diminished version of his full potential. Free moving though his consciousness was, aspects still lingered beyond the confines of his mind and Frames grasp. Calvino wasnt truly part of him, and being severed from his flesh meant being without the Meldskin or Aegis support. He had soaked in enough of the city. Now, he needed to return to the task at hand. {Hows our girl doing?} Draus asked via ansible, her virtual avatar manifesting in the corner of his cog-feed. She was one step away from being on the ship and eight thousand kilometers distant at the same time. His DeepNav placed her within Layer Two itself, just above Mazzas Junction. That was promising. That meant she had something. {How did you know I was back?} {Chambers vitals went dead and yours started up again. You really should get to using the armor more. Get used to its full functionality.} He grunted. {Sure. Soon. Chambers said you found something.} {Yeah,} she said. {I just mightve.} Pairing her visual feed with his Neurodeck, he saw her standing on the rim of a glass portal looking down at maintenance drones darting to and about the industrial jungle outside. Magnifying her vision a hundred times over, she marked a particularly large drone carrier with red vertices but said nothing. Several seconds later, the cluster of drones dotting the pore-shaped ports on its side rose into the air as a swarm. All except one. The wayward drone, rimmed four faint signatures of accretion departed Layer Two with its estimated trajectory headed for Mazzas Junction, and thenC Something slipped from his mind. What was he staring at again? He could recall why he was looking at that spaceC Incog, he realized. There was something there that triggered an Incog. {Now,} Draus said. {I reckon your minds feelin just as slippery as mine is, and if so, I think we just mightve made contact with a Glaive cell or a group of elite squires. Whatever the case, we got ourselves somethin to investigate.} That was worth cutting his sightseeing short. {How did you find them?} {Voidwatch pinged a bit of anomalous data coming from one of their drone carriers after Chambers heard a little this and that from conspiracy boards in some Nether lobby called the Snakes Pit. Might wanna check his mind for more mem-cons.} {Already did. His old ones ate the new ones.} {Fuck me.} {Yeah.} {Hows Dice?} {Very productive. Hit another three places for me today. Might do another. Going to feed her some more thaums later. Get her up a Sphere. New canons. Seems unshaken by the city. Just acts. Operates. Does it just because I tell her to.} Draus laughed. {Shit, Id scout her for the Regs if I was still with the Golds. Shed be star recruit material.} {Better than you?} {Hells no. Shes a scrawny little thing. I wouldve eaten her for breakfast and asked for seconds. Alright. Enough banter. You comin over and plannin this run with me or what? See if what we got in our nets a couple of Glaives or somethin less?} {Yeah,} Avo said. {Open the passage. Call Kae. Chambers just resurrected. Lets do this.} 17-2 Prepared +Yeah. Yeah. I got eyes on the girl. Really wasnt that hard to track, honestly. Shes quick and efficient, but she doesnt know the city very wellCand doesnt change up her methods nearly enough. Similar approaches. Similar exits. Similar holocoat setting. She might have an old Sangeist model burning inside her. Im not sure, but thats what the signs are pointing to. Relax, Im just trailing the juv. Im going to use my Incog and get a closer look at how she operates. And see if your benefactor shows up again. I wont lie, Im interested to see if this gift-giving ghoul of yours is all hes cracked up to be. I might end up asking him for a wish of my own.+ -[Redacted to White-Rab] 17-2 Prepared The Layers dividing the Warrens were filled by a forest of ever-moving machinery. Fabricated by Voidwatchs orbital assemblies and installed planetside via the Guilds, even a partial component making up of one of the sky-shrouding plates deserved the term tectonic. Considering the complexity of their interior, however, perhaps the word art was more suitable. Requiring over five hundred billion drones to maintain, a machine ecosystem was in place to keep the Layers at optimal functionality, and to repair the inevitable collateral damage from Syndicate spats and other unexplained events. The true brilliance of its make lay also in its simplicity. Absurd as it sounded, it would not be hard for Voidwatch to create an apparatus capable of expanding the space available to New Vultuns inhabitants while also making the Rash easier to quarantine if they were allowed to use all the tools they had at their disposal. Making said apparatus from materials and mechanics low-tech enough to dissuade OmnitechCand all the other Guilds by that matterCfrom compromising its structure and looting its components was another challenge entirely. But the solution, here, ultimately was simple. They didnt complete it. They handed parts of the Layers piecemeal to the Guilds and had the terrestrials assemble it, infusing its design with miracles to bolster what little technology existed within. From this came an ecosystem ripe for determined smugglers, Syndicates, gangers, and squires to exploit. If one could avoid the attention of drones and Exorcists while surviving the steel-melting heat emitted from the constantly running holo-projector units or the radiation leaking from the nuclear reactors within, then they had the means to maneuver through the foundations of the Warrens. For Avo and his cadre, accessing Layer Two was a far simpler operation. The Manta entered a maintenance pathway cloaked and unnoticed by the drones. Between the ships hyper-advanced systems, their Incogs, and careful positioning, they traveled free and unseen, tracking the drone carrier that was their quarry. The organs of the Layer were lit by glowering red, occasionally masked in hissing steam. Waste-heat transference stations studded the interior in stacked panels the size of hills. Heavy alloy dominated the black and chrome of heat-resistant cables running the circulatory system of the structure. A crevice recently made by a fusion burner sparked with electricity and severed wiring. Down a molten tunnel, the Manta picked up sounds matching an industrial drill designed to break through the hulls of war machines. Someone was making a quick getaway straight up through the Layer. Considering the noise and damage they were causing, they probably werent going to get away. Unidentified vessels traveled close to the surface of the inner Layer. The vessels sailing through the air here were less standard aero and more remodified deep-sea subs with retrofitted engines and hangers installed on their backs. Chambers scried at these peculiarities and found them to be transports for contraband. Weapons, drugs, exotic aeros, new augs, and other goods stolen from the Throat and Lights End. This was part of what the Syndicates called running the black. No one wanted to damage the layers, and high-speed chases inside such a cluttered environment were viable to break something delicate. Jumping between maintenance channels and out from hatches leading down into the air space of the Spine, was part of the lifeblood of the Syndicates. And something that Avo would burn in the near future. As they trailed the drone ship, watching to see if or when the unidentified contacts would return, they spent time rehearsing a variety of scenarios within a shared virtuality. The Manta scanned their surroundings and created a simulated space of Layer Two for the purposes of their practice. Artificial constructs meant to simulate hostile squires were loaded in first, their kit, grafts, and skills based on aggregate data. The cadre handled them without troubleCeven managing a non-lethal pacification. Glaives proved to be more difficult entities. The challenge was less to do with their superior implants and training, and more to do with the near-certainty of Incubi support. Being in the vicinity of Yuulden-Yang meant the Nether was still unstable, and the Crown had to stay active. Just like that, Avos district swallowing flame was reduced to a dagger, though still devastating. They prevailed the first time, but both Kae and Chambers were listed as nulled, with Draus described as being a vegetable that just wouldnt forget how to shoot and kill the enemy even as the contents of her self-identity leaked out of her. They burned when they engaged Avo. That was the fate of most unprepared Necros that faced him these daysChawks trying to hunt a storm. For the following attempts they adjusted. Avo was to be deployed as a field asset to directly engage the enemy. This allowed him to retain maximum effect and negate his weaknesses. Draus operated as their coordinator in combat. Her voice barked quick orders through their ansibles, highlighting things of note. Operating together was easy when they had shared feeds, but Avo thought they could be more symphonic. Kae could wait. Perhaps now, though, the Regular trusted him enough to join the fire. He wouldnt lie and say he didnt covet her mind, that he wasnt fascinated with how it functioned. Even with all the experience provided to him by the countless templates within, they paled compared to Draus. Made woeful decisions contrasted to hers in active combat and broke all too quickly. There was something about her nature that didnt come via experience and was more than base nature could ever design. Highflame called it perfectly broken. People damaged in ineffable ways that left them hyper-functional even beyond the need for a ego, their layouts of their cognition outward facing, as if preparing to invade the world. Regulars were creatures of consummate violence. Fighting was like breathing. Killing was like breathing. Dying was like breathing. Even in the impossible scenarios she simulated for funCwhere their Heavens, Metas, and Meldskins suddenly stopped working and all they could do was fight and die, she performed as she always did. Kae was cut down in secondsCnot suited for the battlefield.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Chambers proved himself a screamCthough he did attempt to slam his genitals in the face of his murderer as his body came apart. Avo didnt see the shot that killed him in that exercise, only learning of his defeat as Threshold loaded him out of the area as Draus finished her session. The Regular moved and fought. She found an easily defensive position and held. She didnt leave a body when she died. A missile snuffed her in that run. When she got out, she treated the situation with a shrug and commented about how her Heavens were making her soft. *** {Alright, lets go over the run again,} Draus said as they closed on the drone carrier. She shared the vessels schematics across their Neurodecks, dismantling it into parts and showing its critical components. The Low-Olympus Drone Hive was a machine made a ludicrous number of years ago on a planet called Mars. {We got the exact drone carrier tracked. Our target should be using one of its drones to get around. We dont know which one yet cause the slippery shits got Incogs, but Avo here has a solution for that.} From the details of Drone-Hives specifications, it was supposed to be part of some massive city-building operation, carrying over two hundred Worker-B-IIIs. The little drones were twice as large as a standard civilian aerovec and doubled as a transport for organic workers while mainly serving as automated construction units. Built to resemble its namesake, it was industrial yellow in paint and shaped like a bulb, capable of carrying twelve tons of mass, putting together delicate pieces of machinery thanks to its fibril-like limbs, and seating twenty people at maximum occupancy. Twenty flats, anyway. That was about ten snuffers depending on their rig, or six unarmored Scaarthians on an extreme diet. Calvino filtered additional details into the virtuality about a larger and more armored variant of the hive coated with serrated drones loaded armed with twin Gelspie-224 Heavy Chemrails and four tactical nuclear warheads. {This might just be one of the most distinguished war machines humanity ever made, believe it or not. For nine hundred years after its creation, the Drone Hive and its modified offshoots prove to be some of the most lethal instruments of war you can deployCespecially against an enemy voidship. Exhibits of the drone hive are usually placed next to the Kalashnikov rifle as a running joke.} The design made Avo think of Sunrise, and he suddenly found himself wondering where the strange entity went. {There was an incident in Silk-Cliff Sovereignty. We needed to redeploy additional operativesCones that blended in especially. If all goes well, thats all youll need to know. If it doesnt, were probably going to take a detour through No-Dragon territory in a desperate suicide mission to stop the instantaneous ossification of everything composed of biomass as the Fifth Guild War kicks off around us.} A beat passed. {Well,} Draus said. {Thats the No-Dragons for you.} {Has it always been this bad?} Kae whispered, more to herself than anyone else. Calvino laughed. {You should have been here during the days after the Second Guild War. New Vultun would have outright collapsed if it wasnt for Operative Zein. Anyway. The drone hives we gave to the city use vivianite to house para-psionic phenomena, so they can be jacked and burned via your more conventional means. If your targets are Ori-Thaum, however, I expect them to have traps awaiting you.} {Yes,} Avo agreed. {Not dangerous to me. But I need to get close. Im in first. Chambers. Scout ahead with Specter. See if your perception hits anything.} {Synced on that,} the half-strand said, casting his ghosts out like someone would hurl a fishing line. {What happens if theyre not on the carrier?} Draus asked, testing the team. {We establish a perimeter,} Kae said. {I shunt the drone carrier away, Chambers jacks it, Avo takes point, and we bring it into your reflection.} {Use Cipher phantasmic to investigate after.} Avo added. {Right. If theyre present, we''ll secure the drone and pacify the occupants,} Draus said. {Remember our drills. We dont need to snuff no squires if we dont gotta. We go hard and fast and never let up tempo. Twenty seconds. Thats the time we got in case one of them is a Clad that can port in help. Rapid response teamsll make this a mess and we dont wanna be havin a gunfight with both Highflame and Stormtree nearby. In out. Done. Shit goes south and we vanish. Ill make you an exit. Avo can slip over into Chambers.} {In summation: keep it quick, keep it neat, secure the ship, grab the half-strands, deal within inside the glass, and be done before they figure out where theyre even at.} The plan was sound. The amount of force and chaos they were about to bring to bear seemed overkill, but Avo wasnt complaining. Overkill was good when you wanted things done right. Feeling miles ahead using his Sanguinity, Avo brushed the titanium composing the carrier with his Woundshaper and deleted the rising urge to liquefy from his mind. It was a bit over ten kilometers away. For a moment, he felt as ifC Avo blinked, unable to remember his thoughts. [Think we just got Incogd] Corner snorted. [Or the ghouls turning loopy,] Lip said. She paused. [Fuck. Trapped in a mentally disintegrating ghoul for all eternity is not my ideal way to be.] For a second, he worried if it was the lapse again, but found nothing amiss. Also, nothing but an Incog could make his mind slip from active thought. {I think our consangs are there,} Avo replied. {Tried interfacing with it using Sanguinity. Felt at something then forgot what I was doing.} {Well, thats a sign if Ive ever heard one,} Draus said. {Or youre goin senile.} [Hah!] Lip barked with laughter. [I like her. When are you going to burn her?] [Lip, youre not supposed to ask the ghoul when he burns his consang,] Abrel taunted. Avo sighed. It was like he was made of up a traveling freakshow sometimes. {Avo,} Calvino said, attempting tact. {You quite literally are a traveling freak show.} +Thanks, Orb.+ {Youre very welcome.} Another message came through from Draus. {Alright, rotlick. Youre up. Bring us in.} He grunted in response and swam free of the Mantas protective cocoon. Warning: Temperature spike: 1893C The sheer heat in the air would be useful for Chambers Lushburner. Enwreathing himself in a shroud of blood, a crimson carapace fused over Avo as he felt Draus connect her Heaven with his reflectivity. He was now the vanguard of the team and tactical insertion point. The rest of the cadre could engage and fight using his blood as a doorway. {Youre gold,} Draus said. {Sic em.} Lightning surged through his flowing blood and the world blurred around him. Firing his reflexes, he darted into a jungle of alloyed clutter, the speed and nature of his ontology certain to render him a bullet through the vulnerable interior of the Layer, destroying everything in his path. A second later, though he did indeed slip through the matter in front of him, nothing was damaged. Composing himself from a whip of lightning, his Datacaster allowed him to part all inorganic constructs impeding his path while his Sanguinity helped him chart his jump without hitting any living entities lurking about. Within the span of a second, he crashed back into stable reality right next to the drone hive. Parting panels of blood from his back, he activated his Meldskins thrusters and kept himself aloft as he triggered, shadow of the Mars-made machine drifting overhead. Most of the porous slots on its sides were empty, the drones occupied by other tasks. Triggering his Skimmer phantasmic, waves of perception rushed over the reach of his Virtuality, its structure insulating him from the instability of the Nether. As the colossal weight of his cognition brushed across the length of the carrier. Then, he felt it. A crack of a ghost shattering; the flash of translucent thoughtstuff spilling into the Nether. A feral grin came over his face as a single drone manifested in his vision. {I see them,} he sent. {We haveC} Suddenly, a thread of light dove out from the carrier itself, existence vanished around him. Just like in the last simulation, Avo tumbled into the embrace of his Soul without knowledge of what killed him. 17-3 Random Encounter +Proxy-ID Sintaker to Mirror-Convex. L-213382 is compromised. We just got hit by an unknown hostile. Serpentine was nulled. Shell be resurrected in thirty seconds. Cog-cap overloadCenemy cracked her Incog with a Skimmer. Convex, do not bullshit me right now: do we have any assets operating in the area? Because Skimmers arent standard issue-scrying phantasmics. Yeah. Because theyre ours. Exclusively. I think I caught a glimpse of fire in the Nether too. Not a lot of other shit that can be, is there. Im gonna drop the act now, ConvexCdid you get the order to burn us? Are we burned? All this for the Instrument? Yeah. Instrument Mondelles is still alive. Hes the one who made the kill while the rest of us were incapacitated, so hes got that to hold over us now. Not that the fucking Gold wasnt smug enough of a shit already Ah, shit, I see an anchor forming Fuck. Unknown was a Godclad. Repeat, confirmation that the unknown ambusher is a Godclad. Theyre resurrectingCestimated time, a hundred and eight seconds standard. We need answers, Convex. So Instrument doesnt snuff us all once he gets back in the drone. And so I dont null you right now and pull the mem-data from your wreck of a mind if I get the feeling youre lying to me.+ -Sintaker, Ori-Thaum Godclad 17-3 Random Encounter Death came at you fast in New Vultun. Things had been going too well. Overstuffed by new opportunities and easy victories, something changed in the makeup of Avos mind: he stopped thinking of himself as a member of the city and started believing himself to be above it. Well, he was above it in many ways, considering his unfettered consciousness and Soul, but the poison was expecting perpetual dominance at every turn. Such anticipations were a corrosive agent, wearing away at the mindset that ensured his survival for so long. This was good for him. A good refresher on his place in this world. Idheim was a wellspring of madness, and across its expanses were predator and prey alike. He was fortunate enough to be considered among the former now, but there were other beasts in the deep as well, swimming alongside him, always ready to take a bite. A temporary setback, the Woundshaper cajoled. Fortune is but a fleeting advantage for our like, master. Their advantage has faded. Their counterattack left you slain, but now prepared. They do not know their deaths are soon coming. Soon, we feed anew. As the Heaven of Blood shivered with rising laughter, the entropic miasma filling the reflection that was its Hell roiled and danced. There was but a trickle there. Only five percent Rend. Not even worth channeling yet. The Rend of his Datacaster was even lower, peaking at just over three. Turning his focus to studying the misshapen entity comprised of imagined virtuality, Avos perception danced along the metaphysical cables and fibers making up the Datacaster. Nonsensical codes flowed through the Heaven of Signals even in the fires of his Soul. From the willowing branches of the Heaven rose a field of glitching static, enshrouding the area around it in a protective veil. Below the Heavens fibril architecture, twitching cubes comprised of junk code metastasized within its Hell, the nature of the entropy expressing itself as an anomaly of spatial reality. DATACASTER - 335 THAUMC/c DOMAIN (SIGNALS/SPACE) CANONS: (SIGNALS) ->CROWN OF VIRTUALITY Canon: Converts the environment (100 ft) around the user into simulated mirror-reality made out of raw data supported by Sprites; user can convert all inorganic parts into temporarily stored data (reloads back to their original position in reality after miracle ends) Hubris: Organic material will result in a [system-collapse] for the user; thaumic backlash will follow (SPACE) ->HARD-CAGE Canon: Stores physical (up to 10 tons) matter within a coldtech data-storage device grafted onto the user (1TB per terrr__Fff1001<32>); data must be released back into the real when miracle is no longer in use Hubris: If the coldtech data storage is damaged, thaumic backlash UNDOUNDOUNDOUNDOFOLLOWFOLLOWFOLLOWTHECHILDRENPROTECTTHECHILDREN HELL [3 CIRCLE] - 335 THAUMC/c CANON: (SPACE) ->WAVEJAMMER: All spatially-rooted wavelengths within (100 ft) will be disrupted and infused with corrupted codeSFdd@34Dae3moln:; if there is nothing to affect with the miracle within a period (10 seconds), a ___ will manifest. Kae warned him to not vent the Rend from this Heaven if there was no coldtech present. Whatever experiments Omnitech performed on the ontologic without Agnosi supervision had caused the Heaven to be deliberately deformed in ways that didnt register as damage to the Meta-Fac, rendering it incapable of direct repair. Even tunneling into the Heavens mythology and fully expanding its lore left him and Kae confused as to what they were facing. Her claims that it was a miracle Glitch didnt rupture while using it were no understatement. Though she managed to stabilize it to an extent, its occupation within his Frame would ultimately be temporary. Once they tracked down the proper golems, he was going to rebuild the Heaven Domain by Domain. Still, the hubris made him wary. Follow the children? Protect the children? It was as if the ontologic was infused with mem-data pulled from a mind undergoing psychosis. Except Kae said the mad and mentally incoherent couldnt form a Heaven. He knew he was supposed to see this Heaven replaced, but there mustve been something here Do not use my winds when we arise, the Galeslither said, breaking Avo out of his thoughts. Wisks of undulating darkness shivered free like rising steam from the steeds manes. My shadows may yet offer salvation, but the heat will see me consumed by taint. Avo understood. He recalled how he gained the Galeslither, striking its paradox via an enforcer and their fusion burner. Considering the sheer heat boiling the air around them, he wouldnt last more than a few seconds before he came undone with Rend. Having three active Heavens also proved to be to his benefit. Operating with one empty to protect him from ego-damage or real-death was wise, but he needed to proceed with care. Direct engagements between Godclads were messy affairs in the best of times, and ignorant of whatever just killed him, he had to assume his adversary was as anomalous as he. Recalling the moving threads of light burrowing into him a moment before the end, perhaps playing its opposite would be to his advantage. With brightness came a shadow. He could dive into the darkness cast by his foe; force them to carry him as a weakness before striking when they were off-balance. Draus drills and years of subsumed combat experience served as his executive compass. Everything must pivot into an attack. Hesistation was death. Staying static was death. A passive defense was death. He needed to bypass dangers and force his foe into bad choices. If the asymmetry between them was too great, he needed to disengage. The rest of his cadre would be on approach to assist, but with Highflame and Stormtree forces amassed, he needed to be prepared to break contact and vanish. Something he might not be able to do easily if his foe had a geometric or spatial Heaven to cage him with.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. That, however, would be to their detriment. In the end, he was still the true peril, the beast that feeds on beasts, with Stillborn burning within and the Conflagration above. When his resurrection concluded, his setback would be amended and the mind of his adversary would join the gestalt as fresh kindling while the stuff of their Soul would nourish his own. He accelerated the cycle of his resurrection and prepared himself for the first proper feast he would indulge in months. Time to reacquaint his fangs with hard meat. RESURRECTION - 98% A word, if you would heed it, ghoul, the Galeslither said. Speak. You do not need to burn the Agnos. I commend you for not forcing your will upon her and taking what little freedom she has left to enjoy. But you have many minds in you. Many minds can learn alongside you. Study from her in full, and assemble the best model for learning you can. I believe this is the path that offers us the greatest latitude of choice; to alter our own Heavens without ignorance or needing a guide. Oh, the Woundshaper laughed. A rare moment of wisdom granted by the passing winds. How delightful. You may thank me by removing this one, the Galeslither said, neighing at the Heaven of Blood. Find a worthier god to fill your confinesCCease your whinnying, muleC RESURRECTION - 100% Death came at you fast in New Vultun. But Avo was always getting faster. Data from both his Metamind and Neurodeck accelerated through his cog-feed as threads of light enveloped the space around him. His nerves pulsed with energy as his Celerostylus fired. A metaphysical weight rang against the Domains of Space and Luminosity belonging to his Galeslither and Woundshaper. With all darkness banished around him, Avo pushed out with his Sanguinity and felt existence barren of matter. Alright. Demiplane. Hed been pocketed; captured by a Heaven of Light or something of that nature. Yet, he found himself familiar with this space. He had been here before, several times in his past. He was only able to escape by No. Not him. These were Abrels memories from her time at Axtraxis. Of when she faced her instructor. [Instrument Mondelles?] Abrel breathed. Her confusion spilled over. [Thats what would he be doing down here? Thats impossible, hesC] She scoffed. [Avo. Use your Galeslithers wind. Take the backlash and vent your Rend into the threads. Choke their momentum with your Hell.] He acted without question; one couldnt be betrayed by a mind they controlled absolutely after all. With his Crown of Virtuality active, he had the option of activating a session and stepping over into Chambers but the thrill of hunting a Godclad compelled him to play a while instead. The reality around him shook as he redirected a current of wind. Soulfire burst out from his Galeslither as the Heaven screamed. The temperature within the demiplane was different than that of the Layers interior by a few degrees. His grip over the Domain of Air broke as his Rend spiked. Threads of light dove down to pierce him once more. He invoked his Halt of the Passing, and a field of stasis fixed the attack in place. For the second time within the length of a second, reality rattled. Existence shook. The light around him broke. Being almost omniscient was a wonderful thing. REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER] - 42% He tore back into baseline existence finding himself within the cramped confines of a vehicle. Time moved at a crawl as sensations filled his mind. Patterns of matter traced the skin of his Woundshaper. Shadows lingered all around him as blinking lights greeted his sight. He was inside the droneCeight other people bursting into motion, reflexes firing but reactions dulled by surprise. Shock echoed from their minds and evaporated against his. One was a half-formed entityChalf-stitched by strings of gold, their appearance hidden by a holographic disguise set to the theme of white noise. A shockwave tore out across Avos Sanguinity. The eight unknowns burst like sacks of gore. Blood splattered the passenger compartment within the droneCthe purple tones and soft velvet decor came as a surprise. The viscera of the one in stasisCAbrels former instructor, Instrument Santanado Starsinger MondellesChovered in place. Of nine present within the drone, only three were still alive. Two more than Avo expected. The counterattack came at the same time Draus reconnected with his deck and Calvino started talking. Multiple indicators flashed in Avos HUD just as two enemy Godclads recomposed themselves, bodies knitting back together as if bands of rubber snapping back across the surface of time. Manta: 821 Meters [ETA 6.4 seconds] Six seconds was an eternity in a fight between Godclads. A sudden force seized Avos flesh as he felt his bones shatter in an instant. His Domain of Biology shuddered. A screech of pain escaped him as he casually wrestled his blood back from the intruders control. [Specificity trumps generality, motherfucker,] Abrel hissed, enduring the pain better than Avo. [Lesson twelve.] He fused haemokinetic replacements for his flesh and hooks to struggle against his shredding skin. The Godclad revealed herself to be a face-painted Sang nested with a rig sprouting wings molded from bone. Avos Conflagration roared out to consume the survivors just as the second of his foesCa figure hidden masked by orbiting arrows of softly glowing silverCmade their own move. The arrows rushed through Avo and accelerated through the body of the drone as if there was nothing there. An inch away from devouring their minds, the world sped up around Avo as agony tore through his shredding sheath. Something hit him. Something faster than he could perceive. The sheer impact should have punched him clean through the vehicle, but the Sang held its flesh tight. ARMOR INTEGRITY CRITICAL! {2%} Glass, leather, plastic, and silicon filled the air around him, the drone shattering as his Meldskin somehow kept him alive, parrying the kinetic energy of the impact away from him. More vicarious understanding filled his mind. The knowledge came from Corner this timeChe was enchained by a Heaven of Speed; damned to always be slower than his attackers by a magnitude. Only by killing the user could he be freed. The only problem was that Corner had no idea how this Heaven worked or what its limitations were. The potential problem was promptly solved by an unexpected victory: the Sang struck at him again using her trauma patterns. And unlike him with his flesh, she didnt have any means of holding her mind together as her cognition succumbed to his flames. New understandings materialized in his mind. He knew what they were doing hereCwhat the objective behind this entire affair was. More important to the present, however, he had means of freeing himself from his current entrapment. Controlling the Sang GodcladCnamed Elegant-Moon, descended from the line of ChenCAvo restored his own flesh and eviscerated the Godclad of Speed in the same second. The Heaven of Speed ceased its miracles and his mind screamed once more. His skin seared and he found himself tumbling from the rapidly decompressing drone alongside Elegant-Moon, falling between pylons carrying traveling electricity. WARNING: MELDSKIN INTEGRITY COMPROMISED Recomposition in progress {4%} Fusing a shell of blood around himself, he noted the Sang healed faster than she burned, steam rising from her eye as her flesh defied the surrounding temperature. {Avo. Were here,} Draus said, voice calm and unworried. {Bringing the Manta in. Ill open a passage for you.} The stealth ship was forty meters away on the Neurodeck and one hundred and thirty-one on the DeepNav. Grunting, Avo aligned the metrics to the former. He was going to be using voidtech anywayChe resequenced his mind and wasC Something brushed his Domains of Space. Multiple templates screamed from inside his gestalt. He didnt think. He reacted. Wrapping himself and Elegant-Moon in blood, he speared toward the Manta as a bolt of haemokinetic lightning, peeling internal supports and auxiliary pistons working within the Layer. Behind, a colossal serpent the size of a megablock skimmed the surface of real space before diving back out of existence. Avo considered diving into the darkness before Abrel responded. [No! Thats a Path-Hydra,] Abrel cried. From her shared knowledge, he understood what it wasCa specialized golem made to paradox geometry, spatial, and correspondence affecting Godclads. With Elegant-Moons mind fully siphoned into his gestalt, he reviewed the situation. She was in a cadre under Mondelles, and they were here to discuss the travesty behind the Conflux arrangement that saw Jhred Greatling dead, a cell of Incubi and their handler nulled, multiple districts devastated, and Stormtree and Highflame on the verge of open conflict. They arrived prepared for a fight, but things proceeded diplomatically despite the active tensions. What she didnt know, however, was trouble. With most of her team dead after Avo managed to break himself free of Mondelles planar prison and surprise the party, she found herself fighting alongside an unknown Godclad, and the Path-Hydra proved to be an unexpected guest as well. +So,+ Avo said, +No idea about who our unknown consang is?+ As their bodies recomposed, Elegant-Moon offered but a shrug with her vessel and template both. [Ghoul,] she sighed. [If youre asking me, who am I going to ask?] She paused and noticed Abrel. [Wait? What? How is she here?] +Same way youre going to be staying,+ Avo said. Switching over to his ansible, he sent a message to his cadre. Through the glowing haze within the Layer, the accretions of his team shone, coming into view. Twenty meters away now. He looked around and felt nothing. They couldnt stay. They needed to go. {Draus. Got a new guest out here. And a new friend. Think we should call it before the other Clads resurrect. Ambush them later if we have to.} {Synced,} Draus said. A low noise of frustration rose from her throat. {What?} he asked. {You got to have all the fun again,} she grumbled. {And who the hells that earlier? Think I remember seeing those light threads someC} Was as far as she got before the Manta was swallowed by a surging mass of scaled obsidian. 17-4 Extraction The Highflame Path-Hydra is a Second Sphere Heaven usually attached to a golem. With its extremely low thaumic cost and simple canon, its uses in combat are few but focused. It will be deployed to disrupted demiplanes or spatial anomalies via paradox. It will be deployed to shuttle objects and personnel from one of its heads to another. With the specificity installed in its canons, this Heaven has also proven to be highly difficult to detect when not in full manifestation. With nine heads forming a junction of interconnected pathways, entities trapped within the Path-Hydra can only escape from the confines one of a few ways. The first and simplest method is to simply trigger multiple Hells and outlast its Rendsinks. This is a risky option as the Path-Hydra comes with twenty-seven CC-II variant Rendsinks that are easy to eject and replace. The more technical option is to influence the movements of the hydras. Should one head overlap with another, the Path-Hydras ontology will usually collapse alongside the golems systems. Doing so is easier said than done, and either requires supreme anticipation or something akin to directional vector manipulation. The last and most complex operation is to somehow outmaneuver the ever-shifting interior of the hydra and find the machine or metaphysical core of the entire structure. If something of matter is thrown into its changing structure, the backlash will be extreme and likely collapse the entire Heaven. If you find yourself trapped within a Path-Hydra, it is best for you to vent whatever spatial Rend you have inside immediately, while constantly moving to keep the Heaven active and stress its Rendsinks. Additionally, your Metaminds will function without issue, so if you locate the operational nexuses, nulling the controlling element is a good option as well. -Ori-Thaum Primer on Highflame Golems and Auxiliary Units 17-4 Extraction A beat passed as Avo and Elegant-Moon just stared at the place where the Manta used to be. A sparking cable swayedCpart of it also snipped clean through by the passing Path-Hydra. [Shit, the ship?] Corner cursed. [Shit, the ship?] Chambers sputtered. [Shit, actual-me! Did I just watch myself get snuffed?] +Youre fine, Chambers,+ Avo replied, still sensing the half-strand across their session. The coldtech connection to his cadre was choked with interference though. The micro-singularity generated by his ansible quivered and struggled to stay open. The violations against spatial laws caused it to collapse and reform between the seconds. {The nature of the plane likely doenst support the possibility of the Schwarzschild radius,} Calvino said. {Do you see now why we are so adamantly against basing a society on chaotic and ill-thought out vibes and rituals.} +Nice when theyre our vibes and rituals,+ Avo replied. Abrels memories fed him critical information about the Path-Hydra. He really wanted to avoid this. There were good odds that his team had just been tossed over into a Highflame kill box or containment plane somewhere. Being gone and away was the best way to handle an annoyance like the Path-Hydra, but considering present circumstances Yeah. His Galeslither could do with the upgrade and he couldnt risk anyone learning about him through his cadre. That, and letting them die would bother him. [Oh, shit,] Chambers breathed. [Its happening! He cares! He fucking cares!] Avo burned away the sentimentality and focused on the practical aspects. [...You corpse-licking half-strand.] +Come on,+ Avo said, speaking to Elegant-Moon. +Lets go get eaten.+ The Sang turned to him and shook her head. [Id call you absolutely mad, but I fear our unfortunate friend is unaware of their coming fate.] A wince ran through her. [Another mind fed to your flames.] +Wont be the last. Time till resurrection for your cadre?+ [One-hundred and eight-second standard for most of us. Starsinger has a Myrmidon-Pattern, so another thirty seconds for him at max resurrection. Not all of us are fortunate enough to be blessed with a self-tuning Liminal Frame that can return you within thirty seconds.] He checked his Metamind and found himself reassured. He still had almost a minute before the other Godclads revived. Best he make this quick. Boltstride through the interior of the Path-Hydra and locate both the Manta and the golem or Godclad at the heart of things. Existence shuddered as he felt a sudden weight slam against his Galeslither and Datacaster. Again, a head of the hydra made its attack. Its coming was so metaphysically subtle and sudden that actively avoiding it would have required his full attention. Seeing how he wanted to take a trip down the belly of the whale, however Ribbed walls lined with mucus-coated alloy and metallically sculpted replicas of what he assumed the insides of a leviathans throat looked like filled his cog-feed. The environment of the Layer vanished around him immediately, and the ambient temperature plummeted below ten degrees Celsius. The path ahead continued to accelerate past him, the folds of the hydras inside blurring together. It was like he was on a train but it was the station that was speeding past him instead. Lightning became him. He leaped, and took the Sang with him, jumping the full twenty-four kilometers he was capable at baseline mass each time as his Rend grew. Unleashing a breath of matter-withering entropy into the structures around him, his gale rushed through but unmade nothing. Not that he was surprised. His Sanguinity tasted no patterns present anyway. Attempting to punch through these walls would just see him invert back through the same path he came. This wasnt something he broke down physically. The Galeslither, however, remained an appealing option. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 9% REND CAPACITY [DATACASTER]: 4% REND CAPACITY [GALESLITHER]: 55% Forcing the current head he was trapped in to hold still via his stasis, the demiplane didnt paradox or backlash. It still granted him a window of opportunity to push ahead with one section immobilized. Suddenly, a sensation rushed through Elegant-Moons HeavenCand into Avos awareness as well. She felt four life signatures present. The singular organism was thirty-two kilometers away and hidden behind a narrow fold. The others were three times further, requiring multiple turns and a winding path to travel. A burst of soulfire flashed through the Path-Hydra as its insides flickered out of existence momentarily, dipping them back in the confines of the Layer before turning. Someone was likely clashing Heavens with it, triggering paradox. Draus, he guessed. Likely trying to escape using her reflections. I can feel her, the Sang said, facing twisting into a cruel sneer. I can feel her perfected lungs and lab-grown muscles and immaculately carved bones and I canC She made a fist, and through their link Avo felt her prolapse the pilots organs through her rectal cavity.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. [That was not fucking necessary at all,] Benhata said, regarding the newest mind with absolute disgust. Elegant-Moon, for her measure, simply smiled. [The infliction of power is always necessary.] Through her, Avo felt the victim writhe and strain, body struggling as mutilated flowers blossomedC +Keep her alive. Incapacitated. Need her mind.+ The orders left Avo in a daze, his templates helping him snap free from old habits. Bad habits. An echo of Draus sounded in his mind and he further adapted his mind toward pragmatism. A spike of annoyance turned inward as he realized he was wasting timeCtaking in sights when he should have been focused on extraction. Chained to his will, Elegant-Moon did so with a sigh and forcibly shoved the swollen sack of hanging organs back up the way they came. Every muscle of the pilot was cramping. The Sang read the howling screams of her victim from their body language alone and offered a satisfied smirk. Be you pleased now? He didnt respond, instead choosing to stride twice more to arrive at the heart of the hydras. The Sangs Heaven was a powerful ontologicCand something that possessed symmetry with his Woundshaper. Part of him was already considering when to kill her. With her mind subsumed, he knew everything she did about herself and had the additional advantage of an outside perspective. Outside perspective that could only be granted by over sixty thousand templates. The things she has done and the deeds she performed were beyond appalling. He was beyond horror, but even as a ghoul, it was obvious that this one had a problem. Her lustaway drained the amorous excitement with every dose of pain they inflicted. His brothers hunted for the sake of thrill and gluttony. She did because it scratched an intimate, forbidden itch. [What wonderful company youve been keeping, instructor,] Abrel muttered. A bitter sadness passed through her. [At least I can say my cadre wasnt made up of sadists and savages. We were green but good. Better team than I deserved.] Something inside her wilted. [I wish youd had burned them too. Godsdamn you Avo.] He granted her the room to feel her scorn but ignored the sting of her hate. +Cant be damned by the gods. Beyond them already. You already know that.+ The heart of the Path-Hydra was a bundle of knotted tubes, circuits, and silicon-looking strips that stretched outward to connect with each of its heads. What staggered Avo more was the marvelous ember of the fire that burned withinCthe root housing the Heaven itself. Fifty thaums. If that. All these miracles manifested by fifty thaums. How did Highflame even manage this? Creating something capable of so much for so little? Even the baseline Galeslither paled in comparison. {A great deal of experimentation and focused development, I would say,} Calvino said. {Its also a modern Heaven, created by the focused minds of brillaint Agnosi instead of the maddened ramblings of god-fearing priests who died so much that losing technology between generations was more common than gaining it.] Wasting no time, Avo peeled the cluster of matter protecting the pilot with a flick of his hand and drew her tortured figure into the reach of his flames. As her mind burned and he learned of the functions of his soon-to-be Heaven, he also found himself aware that Aren DallisCthe pilot of this golemCwas personally selected by Mondelles for her loyalty and tasked to shadow him wherever he went. Her mind was also extremely traumatized and required the Conflagration to recompose her as Avo glared at Elegant-Moon before softening and turning away. Own medicine, he grunted, accepting that he wasnt much better. Hovering in place using his Meldskins thrusters, he let his Soulfire wash forth and claim this much desired ontology as the maze-world entrapping him and his cadre collapsed. Spatial reality reverted back to Layer Two. Heaven claimed ->Path-Hydra (Space/Labyrinth) - 50 THAUM/c When the world returned, he found himself in another section of Layer Two altogether. His HUD screamed with radiation warnings as he found himself looking down into the open mouths of nuclear reactors, each emanating a bluish glow from their insides. The body of Mondelles operative remained intact solely because Elegant-Moon was rebuilding her faster than the heat and cancers could consume her. Through Avos eyes, Aren stared at her breaking and healing figure, skin dancing between perfection and disfigurement. [Oh, shit,] she moaned, a pit forming in her nonexistent stomach as he unlatched her mind fully and left her sheathe a hollow vessel. [Oh oh, fuck. You you killed me.] He felt her death dip into his Soul. +Suppose I did. Let her go.+ The Sang did as he said. The body came apart in an instant. In depths of his mind, the newcomer began to sob as Corner scoffed. {Chin up, wuss. Take it like Vultunite.} She didnt respond. She was inconsolable. With mechanics of his ansible stabilized, he cast a message over to Draus as he re-linked with the members of his cadre. {Dealt with the golem. Ate the pilot. Understand the situation now.} He checked the Mantas position and frowned. Eighty three kilometers away. Looks the Path-Hydras collapse displaced them as well. {Nice work,} Draus said. {Summbitch didnt play right with my Heaven. Think it was meant to counter it. Path-Hydra, looked like.} {Yes. Probably spotted your accretion or felt the Manta move through space. Was providing overwatch for Mondelles. Someone he trusted with his life.} {Mondelles? Starsinger Mondelles?} {Does everyone know this guy?} {I think I met him once too,} Kae added. {One of my mentors was commissioned to upgrade one of his canons.} {I mightve seen porn-fakes of him,} Chambers said, not wanting to be left out. Elegant-Moon grinned at Chambers and spoke from within Avo. [Oh, hes going to hate this one. Never let Mondelles meet him. Death and bloodshed are certain to follow.] +Not going to be meeting anyone,+ Avo replied. This run was finished. Trying to engage sevenCor moreCenemy Godclads with four of them still operating as total unknowns and Mondelles possessing a Sphere Five Frame without the element of surprise was a fools plan. He doubted would surprise them again as he did when he broke out from the Starsingers cage. Despite this, however, he considered the run a rousing success. The setback of his death and coming upon a meeting between elements of Highflame and Ori-Thaum aside, he had a new asset to examine. And a new way to interface with both Guilds. {Were done for today,} Avo sent. {Made a new consang. Bringing her back with me. Going to make new introductions for us. Be redeployed as an asset.} Through it all, Elegant-Moon just smiled genially at him. +What?+ She shrugged her shoulders. [There is no me, anymore. There is only you, and what you keep of me. I stopped be real the moment your flames torched my mind.] Her words left him struck with silence as Draus spoke across the line. {...And I still didnt get to shoot nobody in the end.} {Take a detour through Syndicate territory,} Avo said, absentmindedly. {Going to need to give Dice a gift anyway.} He regarded the Sang again, and she rewrote her flesh to resemble his, bones elongating, skin paling, sceleras turning black with curved, white irises. Then, with a snap, she turned back to looking like herself again. This gave him options. Many options. He was going to have to convene with Ruveca, Jack, and Jane again. {Need me to leave you a passage?} Draus asked. {No. Ill catch up with you using new Heaven. Going to test it. Avoid notice. Kae. Going to like to see this one.} The Agnos chirped with interest as a response. [Shall we leave now, myself,] Elegan-Moon asked. [Or do you wish to wander the confines of this lovely part of our city some more?] He dove deeper into her consciousness, wrapping his mind in the quintessence of her and recoiled. There was something wrong with her. Something broken. Something missing. The memory of her affliction returned in the form of a deathCsomething that occurred with each of her Heavens at over fifty Rend. Her nous went through ego-searing entropy both ways that day. What came back was missing fundamental facets of herself. Joy. Kindness. Humanity. All gone. The Agnosi and her sisters called her continued functionality a miracle, but she knew. And now, so did it. [It was perfect damage,] she whispered. [Broke me perfectly so I only have the one joy left] Pulling back from her ego, he released a breath. +Come. Were leaving.+ [And you will grant me my final end afterward?] +Well see.+ 17-5 Midnight Games (I) Instrument Mondelles, I assure you whoever just attacked us wasnt one of ours. I canC I know. It cant be. They were too good in a scuffle to be a Silver. ... Your fourth member. I need to talk to him. Hes the last one that had eyes on Moon. Her session is scrambled. I cant sense her mind anymore. Perhaps I canC Im not letting you jack into my mind. But youre going to help me, and Ill let you know how: the one that just hit us, you get a glimpse of their mind? Do you have any idea what that is? We will need additional time and informationC You do. Okay. Good. Whats going to happen now is simple. Pinkie here is going to stay here with one of yours. Neither of them goes anywhere until we have fully ensured our own factions are uninvolved in this unforeseen incident. And if they are? Then we solve it together. Your active participation is a continued show of goodwill. I doubt you Ori-Thaum are so willing to expend their Ensouled, especially considering your recent shortages Perhaps were less sentimental than you think, Instrument. Perhaps. But I also think you probably dont want to die. Whoever hit us knew where we were. They knew that Hm. My shadows gone Would you look at that? It might just be my side Do you have an alternate location where we can meet? Someplace discrete and unknown even beyond you and I? Ill make the arrangements. I appreciate yourC Theres no need to glaze me up, Silver. Im not a fucking popsicle. You havent done anything to make me doubt you yet. If you had, Id killed you already and taken what I need from your ghost. Youre down a member, Instrument. Please dont insult me or my cadre any further. Indeed. Im missing my Maker. But all four of you are still easy pickings. See you soon, Rasaga. How did you great. Gone. -Conversation between Instrument Santanado Mondelles and Seeker Ikkuoi Rasaga 17-5 Midnight Games (I) Path-Hydra Grafted to [Galeslither] (Space/Labyrinth) - 50 THAUM/c [Galeslither] updated to [Zephyr of the Nine-Paths] - 900 THAUM/c CANONS: (SPACE) ->WALKER OF THE BETWEEN: Allows the user to travel in a parallel space to reality; grants them nine points for which to resurface in existence Hubris: The Zephyr of the Nine-Paths must surface into baseline reality once per 10% of Rend accumulated Hubris-2: The Zephyr of the Nine-Paths must be anchored to a physical entity (the user may not utilize other Heavens that render them incorporeal or conceptual while the Zephyr is in use) (Labyrinth) ->PATH OF THE NINE: Allows the user to shape an omnipresent maze for all things they take into their being; the maze is a fixed anchor of space and does not allow any spatial or geometric manipulation within its bounds or paradox will be triggered Hubris: The paths of the maze cannot intersect or extreme thaumic backlash will trigger and the maze will collapse. HELL [THIRD CIRCLE] - 900 THAUMC/c CANON: (Labyrinth) ->WAYBREAKER: Directionality around the user will be damaged, causing space itself to coil and distend, mixing movement vectors and positional placements randomly Daemon: Rend must be balanced within nine minutes or a Daemon of Correspondence will manifest Recalling the altered form of the Galeslither pleased Avo. The tri-headed steed was already an imposing sight, flesh formed from roiling storms and bones carved from cracks of lightning. Feeding it the Shadowcrawler painted its mane the color of a midnight pond with the air around it shivering like a pool of darkness. But such changes were just paltry adjustments of coloring compared to the majesty of its newest mutation. As the flames of his Soul welded both steed and hydra together, its morphology grew into a union of their best traits. The once-Galeslither, not small by any means, swelled to become gargantuan, the length of its body capable of coiling around multiple blocks. Three heads became nine, and pools of obsidian flowed between storm-wreathed scales as thirty-six hooves sprouted along the stretches of its ontology. Manes merged with spines in expulsions of wind capable of stripping paint from a passing drone. The faces he beheld were akin to chimeras sculpted by No-Dragons during the biomantic experiments. The upper half of their skull remained equine, but their eyes were those of a serpent, and their lower jaw unhinged wide enough to swallow aerobarges. His Liminal Frame adapted, its eldritch nature reshaping internal spaces so that the Woundshaper and Zephyr still fit without difficulty. The weight of his Heaven of Blood remained greater, but at its baseline manifestation, it was little more than a bug compared to the Zephyr. This is outrageous. Its unfair! The Woundshapers displeasure pulsed through Avos veins as he rode the Heaven of Wind below realspace, his nine bodies all galloping in the same direction, surging thanks to the nearly four hundred tons of mass he now stored within the winds in his mouthsCthe Yondergale a perfect partner for Walker of the Between. He paid it no mind as nine-booming voices rose in mocking laughter. Did a fly whisper to me? Did a small, red toothpick speak? One of the Zephyrs heads coiled around and fixed the Woundshaper with a lazy eye. Hm. It seems to be a dead thingCunable to move. Fixed in place. I am still a god greater than you! Be snake, mule, or whatever you desire, mine is where the masters true power lies. The Zephyr-heads released a unified breath and looked toward the Datacaster. Perhaps. Or perhaps that will be the next Heaven to awaken and surpass you.I am not surpassed! I am merely master! You cannot neglect my development any longer. If we are to retain our edge in becoming the god of all pantheons, we must seize every advantage we can. Quick. Kill the Dragon-marked and take her gifts for your own. You may assume her form afterward. We must evolve! Evolve! Make me bigger! The Heaven of Air neighed with laughter as the Woundshaper screamed on. Enwreathed at the very heart of this new storm, winds flowed out from Avo and broadened out into nine-winding paths. Typhoons lashed the architecture within as fissures to the Yondergales opened and closed where the Path-Hydras ribbed folds were. As darkness, air, and shifts of space spilled forth from his body, he briefly glanced at the Sang hovering near him, held in place by his winds and Conflagration as he entertained the Woundshapers suggestion. [You are a curiosity,] Elegant-Moon said, cocking her head at him as she took another bite of the purple grapes she was growing out from her hands. [You have an opportunity to claim my life and drink my power. But you choose to restrain yourself.] She threw her head back and laughed. [A ghoul given the opportunity to take whatever power it wantsCto shape its mind however it wants, restraining itself why?] Their minds were joined by the flames. He saw all of her and she was part of him. This wasnt an exchange for understanding, but a dialogue for pleasure. She wanted to hear his words and consider the form that his thoughts took when expressed. He, on the other hand, just found her a strange partial reflection of his former self. +Still need you,+ he said. +Need you intact. Like Abrel. Going to release you later. Turn you permanently first. Kill you after the use is done.+ [How cold,] she responded, a smile never fading from her painted face. Observing her now, he regarded her face paint, the symbol of the art known to him through her. A sheen of pearlescent whiteness formed the foundation above her skin, but rims of blemished red rounded the surroundings of her eyes, parted only by the sharp edges of pitch-black eyeliner. Her lips were dark like onyx, made to amplify how well she maintained her teeth. The bone-like bio-rig around her likewise was a thing of her creation. She shaped the bioform from her own body and called it her son-never-to-be. There were veins and flesh between the ossified plating that ran down by her sides, appearing as if a skirt. From her back rose wings made from jutting ribs, lined by a thin membrane she could mend with a thought.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Letting her memories rush through him left an impression of apprehension and gladness that he was not hunted by her. She was an on-and-off ally of Mondelles, coming in only when he needed someone to rely on who was both subtle, effective, and not part of his own Guild. Elegant-Moon, secondborn daughter emerges from the corpse of her mother. The worst thing about the Dragon-curse was how it inflicted cyclicality on a person. They were all to give birth after the same passage of time, to the same number of children, and suffer the same effects as their ancestors did. The release of a child was violent as understood by their former masters, and violence was to be culled. Hence, the boys died for existing and the girls bled when they acted like boys. A means of control and a way of ensuring the perpetuation of their line still. Wreathed in the mythology of ages, Elegant-Moon often wondered if the claims about the Dragons were true. After all, she had one circling inside her Soul, and her resurrections couldnt cure the curse, though capable of ensuring it never killed her permanently. With her Heavens, she could make her body heel, and perform personal feats of cruelty that few others among her clade were capable of. Such was a major reason why she was killed. Even before parts of her ego were shorn away. To harm another with ones own handsCunaided by the shell of a beast serving as a borrowed bladeCwas the single most vulgar expression of power one could perform. And perform it she did. Time and time again. On her enemies. On the ones Mondelles told her to kill. And on their children and surviving family thereafter, usually taking care to keep them alive as audience so someone could see the deed. See her. It made her feel real again. Of course, her talent lay in assassinations. Natural causes were her specialty, and she knew how to make even enhanced bodies fail in conceivable ways across distances vast via applications subtle. A lifetime of practicing on your sisters would do that to a girl. Even a Scaarthians monstrous constitution was nothing before the anomalous flesh of a Sang. Poison was wasted on her kind. Returning his focus to Draus and the others, he tracked them based on Chambers position on the DeepNav. For all the satisfaction the evolution of his Galeslither brought, it had a new critical weakness, and that was the interference it inflicted on his ansible. Not unexpected, but still a minor setback. Increasingly, he was growing to empathize with Calvinos frustration. Imagine eons of effort undone because someone decided that a few things worked differently somewhere at some time for some arbitrary reason that wasnt fully thought out anyway. Heavens were mad constructs made to dominate a madder existence. Sense and sensibility were slain millions of years ago, long before the first pantheons rose on Idheim to debase themselves in the name of imagined paradise. Directing one of the Zephyrs heads to coil up along the sides of a megablock, Avo eyed his Rend steadily as it climbed past eight percent. He could stay submerged for some time, but he could see the hubris turning into a dangerous flaw if circumstances aligned. Previously, he could stay hidden in the darkness or wind all the way until he was on the edge of rupturing. Now, every ten percent demanded that he rise or suffer the metaphysical toxicity building within his ontology. He would need to use this with careCand consider enhancing its capabilities using a Domain of Space as soon as possible. But he would consult with Kae before any further changes. He still had boons to give Dice first anyhow. *** He reconvened with his cadre down in the gutters below Loathing. The dilapidation and absent infrastructure lightened the chances of being spotted or encountering an unforeseen threat. It was also increasingly becoming Avos personal dominion. Over twenty percent of the structures had haemokinetic strands fused within their structures by his Linger canon. Theoretically, he could abandon his flesh and escape mentally his network if there was a need. He was also considering imparting more knowledge over to ChambersCshowing him how to construct a lobby using the parts he subsumed from Oversec-C1. Building more permanent influence in the Nether was always going to be useful, and having the half-strand install more trap-sessions so he could surgically nullify new threats would be worth the time. [You could also theoretically rebuild yourself from a single drop of blood with my Heaven,] Elegant-Moon teased. [You will no longer need to infuse yourself in bodies that arent yours or ridiculous blood-made proxies. All it takes is something born of the flesh andC] She plucked a hair from her head and from it, grew a rapidly budding clone of herself, though it remained hollow of cognitionClittle more than a fresh corpse. The Nether affected many things. The creation of a true ego remained beyond the grasp of other Heavens. But not his Conflagration. Not his grasp. +Trying to get me to kill you?+ [I told you. Im no longer real. I died already.] But he was beyond tempting. He rebuilt his mind when he changed it these days, his decisions and moods were determined by the architecture shaped by his choice. The beast remained absent inside him, and the ghoul that woke in the barge was an ember in the flames of his memory. Growing to be more meant changing; meant altering yourself to accomplish greater feats. He was no more who he was days ago than she was herself after her death. +Makes the two of us,+ he said. +But I came back. And I returned better. I dont need to kill you for your treasure. Ill get another Domain of Biology. Or whatever you have. Kae will decide the build. My Frame will forge the design. Yours will just be the mold. You are not my food. You are my poison. You are my dagger.+ Musical laughter sounded while the bones in her hand shattered, skin tearing and healing to form a flesh-made fan. She used the bio-shifted limb to cover her mouth: a faux-display of propriety directed in mockery. [What a monster. What a creature. How I would have loved to keep you as a pet instead of the other way around. Alas.] A twitch of discomfort came from template-Chambers of all egos. [Hey, like, is she going to be with us for good, cause shes kinda fucked up.] [Really?] Abrel said, frowning. [This is what bothers you? This? I mean, its pretty gross and stuff, but Vator does worse all the time. Shes practically gentle.] Lip spat as old cultural wounds flared. [Im with the degenerate on this oneCwe dont need no Dragon-fucked in this fire. Nothing good comes from her kind. Except as fuel fro a nice pyre.] [Ah!] Elegant-Moon cheered, regarding the Scaarthian. [A conjoined. Tell me, do you wish to feel yourself as a boy again? For those glands secreting all those chemicals to drop and become testicles once more? Do you know how long your kind takes to die from imbalance?] [You fucking bitch You Sang-sow!] Avo drew away from the conversation as the screaming Lip and the sneering Sang formed a duet with the Woundshaper and Zephyr inside him. He had other matters to attend to: he could see the Manta nowCfeel it brushing through across space. So what was how they were detected? They would need to keep an Incog active next time if they were separated. Risking active communication in these circumstances wasnt worth the risk. Releasing his Heaven of Air, he chose a head to leave through as the folds and winds collapsed around him, launching him back into the world on a gust of wind. He released the heavy debris and wrecked aeros he stole to augment his travel speed via his Yondergales as he sailed high with Elegant-Moon in tow, the particulates of his Meldskin shivering as his grav-thrusters flared, flinging him through the sky before he splashed through the protective membrane of the Manta. Dropping into the newly grown crew module where Chambers and Kae waitedCsome kind of phantom-supported board game happening on a smart-matter-shaped table between themChe tossed Elegant-Moon aside and the ship created a holding cell for her. New consang? Chambers asked with a lifted eyebrow. You wont like her, Avo replied, offering Kae a grunt as she gave him a faint smile. The half-strand snorted, and a splurt of blood trickled out from his nose. Avo had Elegant-Moon keep Chambers biology protected from her cursed nature. I mean, how bad can she be? Shes a Sang, Chambers, Kae said. Shes already making you bleed. We need to get you a neuter-mask or circulatory regulators. Only a little blood. Im sure I can take more. [Noooo!] template-Chambers screamed while Elegant-Moons cognitive self sighed, envisioning growing aratnids inside himCand more importantly, severing his pleasure centers. [Run, actual-me! Run!] But Chambers couldnt hear his wiser self and ran his fingers through the ugly blonde mop he called hair. The Agnos snorted at the attempt at sauveness while the ceiling above them opened. Draus distended upside down, her body fused along the gimbal sprouting holographic controls. You know this thing flies itself, Avo said. Yeah, she said. But I wanna fly. Someone got to do all the killin today. He spread his fangs in a wide grin. Took a new Heaven took. The one that ate you. Her fist cracked into his head and something like the sound of a gunshot went off from the sheer velocity of the blow. His Meldskin took the hit. He never stopped grinning. Greey, gluttonous, ghoul-shit, she said, voice devoid of any actual ire. Armor Integrity: 96% {I still have no idea how they got the Regulars to be this robust,} Calvino sighed. {She shouldnt be able to punch that hard. Damn the Guilds. Damn their anomalous bastardization of our technology.} Back to the Washington, Draus asked. See you got us a new consang to play with. She know anything useful? Lots, Avo responded. Going to be my way of getting more influence over Highflame and Ori-Thaum. Peek her insides. Steal the design of her Heavens. Reshape her mind more. Catch. Release. Use her as a trap. [So romantic,] Elegant-Moon said. Draus nodded, but a grimace passed through her features. Listen. About the veins of light from that GodcladCthe snuffed you first? I think I knowC Santanando Mondelles, he said. The Regular paused. The Greatling let you know that? He grunted. That was all he needed to say. Listen if its him, Id like to not snuff if we can. Oh? What was this? More ancient history? War comrade? Hes part of the reason my discharge wasnt execution. He also pulled my half-broken corpse off the field. So a thing of honor. Interesting. Avo never considered himself honorable, but Draus Will see what we can do. Talk about it. Have more options with her. He gestured to where he tossed Elegant-Moon and the ground turned transparent, revealing the Sang mid-wave, her mind chained to Avos along a string of fire. Drop her off at the Washington first. Have somewhere to be in a while. Dice? Yes. Think Im going to speak to her mind to mind soon. More than earned it. 17-6 Midnight Games (II) +Seeker Kazahara: I think the Registry might have a hit for the one youre looking for. Its a single instance and the facial capture is only partial, but the physical characteristics match the memories you sent. 155.45 centimeters. Female. Possibly adolescent. Heavyset musculature for her size judging from the width of her shoulders. The memory was sourced to a street ganger of the Silver Tongues. A Marhir Nanadrugupta. Running his imaging through the Registry confirms him as deceased. Exsanguinated like the others in his outfit. He managed a kill on your an-sus (AUTO-TRANS: anonymous suspect), but while they were trying to deactivate her holocoat, she resurrected and tore through the gang. The flash of her features was revealed during this instance. Im casting you the sequences. Seeker, from what I can tell, our an-sus is a FallwalkerCas well as her master before her. I have mem-data on him, but her profile is empty. Theres nothing about any Agnosi performing Frame maintenance or canonicity upgrades. Not from the Exorcists or Paladins. Were looking at an unexplained Godclad operating in the city. Ill be here in support if you need someone to trawl the Nether. Things are getting bad between Clan DRongo and Clan Nasaganda. A few Concaves and Convexes just had their identities leaked. Quite a few people have died from accidents caused by metaphysical desyncs. A bomb was found in Elder Kerringtons aero. Leave it to the Council to squabble over politics at a time like this. I hope you find this girl soon. And that she leads you to the prime suspect. Ive pulled mem-logs from our Incubi regarding his background and the guys a demented psychopath. I tried peeking at some of his content and threw up at my table. Be careful when dealing with him, Seeker. He seems like the kind to deliberately trigger the Rash for an advantage in combat.+ -Wiser Nara (Ori-Thaum Special Intelligence and Deep Nether Operations Officer) 17-6 Midnight Games (II) It took less than an ounce of will on Avos part to reshape Elegant-Moons mind. Depositing her in a new holding cell on the George Washington after Draus opened a passage, he scrambled her mind to avoid anyone mem-locking her after his departure. He would rebuild her mind via her template after and reactive her sessions and other phantasmics after he plotted how to use her. After checking that she still had two cyclers and Heavens clean of Rend, he killed her and let her resurrection play out. Kae asked to stay and observe their new guest. There was something about the Sangs Frame that intrigued herCthe make of a new design affecting just how fast Elegant-Moons return from death progressed. That was the second priority after meeting with Dice. He still had to convene with his grafters about how his projects were coming along. The Sang would prove useful there as well, offering rapid modifications to flesh via her Heavens. Perhaps he could have her be directed by Ruveca towards fuller effect. Avo, Cas said, catching him just as he was about to step back through the glass. I got her out? The asset. The squire that used to work for me. She contacted me earlier and said she slipped out the district after your girl hit all those Silver Tongue watch lobbies. Theres no one hunting for her anymore. Shes slipped the district. Im going to be preparing to make a few new acquaintances. He rubbed at his jaw and grimaced. Damn shame too. I was beginning to like this face. Have to be you personally? Avo asked, turning to face the Columner. Risky. Could deploy another one of your people in your place. What Im planning needs someone with a Frame, he said. Highflame, Ori-Thaum, and a whole bunch of others are clamoring for Fallwalker middlers. And thats just what my cover provides. Itll let me do some more public-facing shaping for the cult anyway. A grin of satisfaction painted his face. Ive been wanting to be a player in the game for some time. Figure nows the moment, with all that weve got going on, and all the openings youre starting to provide. Always thought Denton was more the spy. Yeah, well, we got different vectors of pressure to exert. Her job is to be quiet and subtleCambiance. Im about the noise, and how to use it. People hear what they want to hear when the song is good enough; doesnt matter what the lyrics say. That was true, if to a vague and limited extent. Hows Skintaker and our thoughtcast? Shooting up. Were getting sixty-six percent retention and about twelve million new followers a day. Not incredibly, but steady. Its probably better this wayCkeeps us off Guild DeepNav more than spiking in popularity does. Most of the audience is split between understimulated Tiersfolk and the chromed-out savages infesting the Spine. Seems both types like watching ghouls and monsters get crushed for different reasons. I had Chambers tweak Skintakers mind a bitChave him be more positive and personable. Were probably going to have him start direct sessions soon with certain peopleCmostly our plants at first. We think the best way to start building an inner circle of recruits is for them to be vetted personally and intimately by Nether and coldtech profilers. Good, Avo said. He himself considered new angles they could add to their influence. Their silent war against the Guilds was to be a full-spectrum offense. He would poison the entertainment people consume, collapse the industries the Guilds possess, subvert their Syndicates, choke them of extraneous deaths, and finally turn their very own Godclads against them as facets of his own consciousness. Abrel and Elegant-Moon was a start. A decent one. But there were millions beyond millions of Ensouled arrayed against him. He needed to keep them confused, divided, and chasing shadows while swelling his own forces. Increasingly, he found himself wondering about the potential of reaching outside the city as well. Across the Sunderwild were pockets of humanity in feral tribes and Fallwalker enclaves that dotted the uncoiling madness. Much opportunity presented itself there, in such a lawless and unwatched place. He would speak of this idea later as well. If he could reach beyond the borders of the city using Syndicate smuggling routes to circumvent Naekos orders of enclosure, then perhaps his ranks would swell ever faster, and he could freely reap the bounties of death he needed like a falling scythe rather than a dagger in the dark. That, and there were all the Fallen Heavens he could claim. As his Frame grew, so too would his ability to soak in Rend and drain the ruptures. Yes. This would be the most viable next stepCanother foundation for him to build his strength. {Avo,} Calvino said, voice lined with polite apprehension. {Lets try to keep this to people who have done harm, shall we? And maybe take the idea a bit further. Unleash a bit of goodness for a change, help the unfortunates living beyond the megacities.} The EGI filtered a flood of recollected atrocities through his mind, all of them uncovered by Aegis from various enclaves. New Vultun was a slavering dog of a city that always wanted to bite you, but the space beyond its borders was madness unleashed. The things done out there were beyond the pale of words and neutered only by the comparative weakness of the Fallwalkers themselves. Without even a hint of authority like Paladins or Exorcists, the only guidelines present were force and chance. Corner added his past to the collection as well, his childhood arriving as a miasma of violence and abuse. Every degradation was inflicted on him and then returned in favor. He was captured, tortured, and sold more than once, and each time he survived, finding his abusers. Those of them foolish enough to spawn children or have lovers regretted it the most. {Thank you for adding personal and vivid detail to my already horrific collage,} Calvino said sarcastically. The template just shrugged. [Were all godsdamned animals. Had to be. When lifes a dark forest, you learn to play the warg, or you learn to suffer the lamb.] Abrel just shook her head in disappointment. [This is what happens when you let the unworthy be Ensouled. Undisciplined Chaos. Chaos and despair.]If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. [H-hey, speak like youre any better, Guilder,] Osjack Thenden shot back, shouting with anger after days of depressed silence. [We are better. We are the reason you can go stand in the rain at night and not die from some randomly mutating hyperplague. We are the reason why Idheim was built after the Godsfall. The Agnosi repaired the damage. Voidwatch provided the supplies. We beat the entropy and chaos back. Us. We pushed the ruptures back for cities to be rebuilt, the skies to be reclaimed, and the void to be stabilized so our dear cousins had a place to park their homes after fleeing across the dark for millennia.] [Oh,] Osjack sneered, [I guess I should thank you for breaking it all in the first place. Praise Jaus and the noble fucking genocide his glorious usurpation causedC] [Bitch,] Abrel said, scoffing. [Youre a bitch. A sow.] A twitch of anger ran through Osjack. [And how is that? Hm. Were here because Jaus fuckin AvandaerC] [Do you know what your life would have been before Jaus, Osjack? Do you know what your existence would have been without the bloodline of the High Seraph preserving what little dignity you have? Youd be a slave. A ruined, hollow husk thatCand this is if you survived the slaughterhouse of your childhoodCwould get the job of slave-worker or miracle-fodder, then when the wars between the pantheons stalemated or one of the gods decided it wasnt full enough and you lived out your best physical years, youd get assigned to production. Partake in some of the worst-run eugenics operations in existence, and when all you have is spent, when there is nothing left of you to give, they take you to a pit, tell you about how your gods love you, and that your faith was all worth it, and then sacrifice you as you ascend to one of your HeavensCbefore youre expended immediately because the brat of some priest wanted a night light and cant be assed to light a candle. Thats Jaus noble fucking genocide. The only difference is that youre free to bitch and whine and gripe and actually live now. But hey, fuck the Guilds, am I right? Release the people and let them decide their own fate.] Abrel spat a phantasmal globule of scorn at OsjackCand everyone in the gestalt that judged her. [Our lives are ugly. I know theyre ugly. But I didnt spend every minute of my life training so that we can all have a chance at a possible utopia to take this shit from someone who was barely more than a street snuffer. You want a look at how the old world was? Go look at the enclaves. Were letting you live here. Were keeping our boot away from your heads. These are mercies beyond any pantheon or Fallwalker in the wilds. But hey, I guess if youre lucky enough to have a brother you can kill if youre in need of a Frame, life can be pretty good.] She shifted closer and the flames manifesting Thenden flinched. [If. You. Werent. A. Bitch. Some of us actually want to help our blood. Even if they are half-strands.] [F-f-fuck you,] Osjack whimpered, mind rattling as minor trauma cracked through his template. [Yeah, yeah, fuck me,] Abrel said. [You know the funny thingCId swallow this shit if it was coming from the machine, and only the machine.] She gave Calvino a brief sign of acknowledgment. [At least his kind had the stars to fall from. The rest of you never amounted to anything at all. Still the same cattle that youre ancestors were. Youre just choosing to drug yourselves these days.] Avo? You there? Cas said, waving his transplanted limb over Avos face. Your flames were getting pretty active. A lot more random strings and numbers are spilling out tooCdo you need toC Fine, Avo said. Just having a conversation. Will share more ideas with you soon. Going to have a meeting with someone. The Dice. She could do with more options. Cas chuckled. Throw her a nice bone and maybe consider bringing her in. She seems like shes unaffiliated. Got no one to turn to. Might just make a good operative with some training. The point behind Dice was to be a diversion. Bringing her in would defeat that purpose, but if she continued to perform as she did Well see, Avo said, turning to step through the glass. As he passed through the other side, he saw the immense form of the Twice-Walker drifting alongside him in this liminal boundary, its presence a weight on his Domains of Space. After the upgrades he infused in Draus, its shape hadnt changed much, but there was a hardness to its edges that wasnt there before and only a single shard among all its wings glowed softly, indicating vulnerability. There was still far more potential for elevation and growth. Draus continued to fight like a soldier, using the Twice-Walker to create opportunities more like a part of herself. Perhaps there would be a way for her to align her methods with the Heaven itselfCsynchronize the two deeper. Emerging on the other side through a sheet of glass, Avo watched as his entry collapsed into a shard of glass that Draus promptly tossed into her personal passage for safekeeping. A rush of hot wind brushed over him as he realized he wasnt in the Manta anymore, standing inside an absolutely destroyed joy den with multiple mangled bodies littering the floor. The lights above him flickered as more gunshots sounded from the rooms above. Phantoms continued to circle at the center of the roomCan expensive and likely stolen locus-home entertainment system actively streaming Stormjumpers layering the room in a backdrop of artillery and gunfire. PleaseCplease, no, noC The voice upstairs cut off into an agonized scream as something shattered. There were two accretions past the ceiling. One vanished. The other was Draus. Tunneling through matter using one of his Zephyrs heads, he found himself stepping back into realspace into a puddle of organs. The rest of the body jutted from pools of blood in diamond-like islands, the black carpets drinking in the stains. Draus stood across from him next to a folded king-sized bed. Two sets of hands and bare feet poked out at the ceiling as red soaked the curve where the mattress was folded. {T-t-thats all, folks,} Calvino said, showing Avo snippets of the cartoon he was referencing. The media voiders consumed was really quite strange. Standing with her back against the wall next to the doorway, Draus filled one of her new weapons with glass rounds. What took you so long? Got to talking with Cas. Where are we? She cocked her head at all the corpses around him. Asked Chambers for the mem-data bout who you were sendin Dice after next. Figured the juv deserves a break. And you havent killed anyone today. "And I aint killed nobody today. Was it fun? Just used the guns, Draus said. Honestly, not really. You gotta feed me some Glaives soon. Or let those monsters youre growing out. Theyre not done. Look plenty done to me. Might have Elegant-Moon tweak them too. Ruveca can help. Or do you want to be impatient and test a half-finished product? She collapsed her helmet into her skin so he could better see her sneer. A stillness came over her as her halo spun, ghosts diving back into the accretion as data loaded through into her mind. Alright. Shes here. Just entered the block. You wanna do this in person or what? Ill leave a construct. You make a passage with it. Well be inside. Talk to her that way. Make it secure for us as well. Should have more redundancies in place if unexpected happens. The Regular barked a soft laugh. You really like this sneak-shit, dont you? Fuckin Necros. Cant lose all of our old selves. His reply made her go silent. She paused. Suppose not. Lets get set up? Yeah, he said. Lets. *** Where are you going now? The experienced squire studied the distant girl making her way into the worn-down cheap-fabbed tenement building. The walls outside were lined with mem-cons and holo-graffiti alike, both carrying the same message. A burning and overturned street cleaner completed the mood outside. +THIS IS WARHEAD TERRITORY, FUCKER! STAY OFF! STAY THE FUCK OFF!+ Warheads. Another peculiar little cliche among the degenerates of the Warrens. These ones were a cultural mash but found solace in a shared habit of heavy implants brought on by their body dysmorphia. Joining was simpleCwalk in the front door and ask them for a new skull. Afterward, they brought you to one of their grafters, and when you came out, youd have a face capable of shooting missiles. Neck supports were, unsurprisingly, a thing of both fashion and necessity for them. Trailing Dice using a squadron of high-end stealth golems stolen from Omnitech and jocked by a few of her consangs that owed her favors, the squire watched as the girl moved through the crowds, avoiding unknown miracles and technologies she didnt understand. The waif was a bit of an ambush predator. She hated the light. She hated anywhere she couldnt hide or was forced into a straight fight. The girl was fast as a souped-up nu-viper. It would be damn dicey to be anywhere near her when a fight started. Especially since she had a Sangeist grafted inside her. +Yo, Tavers,+ Mellow said, sounding like he was eating his namesake while piloting his machine. +Girls heading into the building and we got full overwatch. Need any of us trail her in, let us know.+ +Synced,+ Quail Tavers said, as she mentally inputted a few commands into her combat skin. +Ill be heading in close again. One of you shoot a cast to White-Rab. Ill wanna talk with him afterCkeep him on standby just in case too. Anything goes wrong, and hes our Necro.+ Mellow huffed. +Its bad business making the client your Necro. Burning imps, Tavers.+ +Ah. But were not here for that, are we?+ +Guess not. But still, imps are nice.+ +Dont you worry your soft, sweet head, Mellow. Youll get paid. Just keep your eyes open. Im gonna spark my Incog now. Going solo. Hit my session if you got the need.+ +Synced. Have fun on safari.+ 17-7 Squire, Seeker, Flame (I) Hiring a squire is either the best or worst investment youll ever make depending on a variety of factors. The easiest of which is separating the professionals from the chaff. The ones that light the wick are usually stone-cold snuffers prepared to face and overcome anything. These guys do their own intel, source their own gear, and plan their own runs. Dont gotta hold their hands, just give em the mem-data for the run and make yourself absent until after shit goes down. Of course, sometimes, good killers arent going to be enough. Sometimes, you need a bit of extra. Source jocks for support. Necros to scrub the rub or crash a lobby. Might even need make a visit to the Bazaar for some missing golems to supplement your snuffers if youre making a go at a Clad or something insane like that. Either way, you want to control your spending but dont be cheap. And do. Not. Fuck. Us. This one especially goes out to all you middlers out thereCdo not play fuck-fuck games. Your ass is the neck that everyone goes for. You burn a squire and leave them out to dry? Well, squires got consangs, and unless you got a real nova Necro on your end, your vanishing act is going to be a very literal one before the end. But say youre powerful enough to be spared Squire retribution. Say youre a Clad or High Guilder. Well, now your name is poison. No professional is going to take a gig from someone who sees em as Soul-fuel, so youre hiring from the desperate, the chaff, or the green. Not a good range. Its also something thats going to get made known to every one of your Guilder rivals. Theyll know youre a traitor, and youll live with a gun barrel against the back of your neck. You middlers just keep that in mind is all Im saying. -Quail Tavers, The School of the Warrens 17-7 Squire, Seeker, Flame (I) Growing up in the Sundwilds granted one a particular set of instincts that protected them from the things in the dark. The feeling lived stronger in Dice than most. It started as a coldness in the pit of her stomach that spread through her tendons, slowly flaring to a burn. Her heartbeat gradually rose and she began to draw deeper breaths. There was something wrong with this place. Something off. The house where her last targets dwelled was a tower growing amidst stacks of shanties and cheaply fabricated structures. Leaving the most prosperous district of Aromang for Vengs Stand, she found the thunder noises, chattering ghosts, constant crowds, and intermittent aerial dogfights traded for broken slums built from the scraps of a half-ruined fortress. A skeletal frame remained of the colossal dome that covered the streets below. Dwarfed by the other districts in the Sovereignty, Vengs Stand only amounted to fifty-two kilometers in space, containing three megablocks surrounded by sprawls of cheap-fabbed shanties. Whatever infrastructure remained was rooted to each of the blocks, and through them ran the only skylanes, few though the aeros were. Blow bridges ran between the towering structures, casting lines of shadow over the people below. Most who lived here were fully organic, untouched by the blessings of alloys or other enhancements. Most of them were of the Nyong peopleConce regarded as a subspecies to the Sang, now a member of the Ori after a successful rebellion. Blending in with the populace was easier here. Most were of her height and build, not towering or misshapen like so many who lived in the heights of this city were. Their attire was a mix of rags and holo-tech, with some wearing holographic projectors they stole stripped from some machine or another, bolting it over the rags they wore and shielding themselves with light-made lies. Everyone wanted to look special here. Even the poor. The act was just so alien to Dice. You didnt want to be noticed in the Sunderwilds. You wanted to move. You wanted to get back behind the masters walls quickly. You dont want to be caught in the dark by the unmarked or the things outside. They did more than kill, and there were torments to suffer beyond the reach of death. Here, people chatted loudly and openly, playing games using the ghosts that nested in their minds, waving their weapons but exchanging slurs and curses instead of gunfire, laughing and smiling as they lay in the filth, a bright, viscous fluid leaking from their needle-wounds. Her heart built with ineffable anger and envy at their lives. So defenseless, yet so satisfied and protected. What soft lives they lived. What protections the city afforded them. If not for the gangs and their masters, who could have said these werent the privileges of the age? The base of the Warheads was erected in the darkness cast of a megablock. The gang did work for the Three-Fingers before, serving primarily as smugglers and raiders deployed to harass rivals. As the Syndicate collapsed, however, the power dynamic between the two groups shifted and the Warheads seized their chance. Enacting a scheme more on impulse than vision, they invited a surviving Three-Finger enforcer on the run from their enemies, presenting themselves a safe haven on account of prior dealings. The jock, desperate or foolish, accepted and brought with him his team alongside seven technicians left over from Dices many massacres. They found themselves embraced as kin during the day, lavished with food, entertainment, and a place to rest. When night came, the Warheads did what any self-respecting gang would do: ambushing their guests before disposing of them as snuff vicarities. It would have been a shame to let those imps go unearned. The remains of the Three-Fingers were left on pikes, their heads missing and replaced with mechanical appliances as a warning to any trespassers. As such, Dice found herself scurrying across the street alone when the chance came, taking advantage of a drone crashing against the side of the nearby block to make her move. Using an overturned street cleaner for cover, she studied the rents puncturing the chassis of the rusted brick of a vehicle and frowned. She felt a presence brush against her Heaven, sensed things around her to mimic with her blood. There was metal and plastic and silicon and and She reached out with Sangeists and tendrils of blood sprouted from her wrist, digging through the asphalt until she finally found the anomaly weighing on her mind. Reeling her haemokinetic tethers in, she caught her item of interest between her fingers. A glass flechette. Still fragile, but somehow unbroken. How did it manage to get embedded so deep in the ground? And the dried blood clinging to it She peered through the bullet holes lining the cleaner and saw five unmoving bodies inside. There were symmetrical points of entry damage on the other side of the vehicle, and further still through the Warhead headquarters plascrete walls. Someone had taken these shots from the inside. Someone had killed her prey before her. The shiver inside her grew and she considered retreating. Staring into the darkness of the buildings entrance, she flinched and remembered how she had to walk the Blackways at home, of how the dark would know you were there and take bites from you if you moved too fast. Only masters light could keep it at bay. The coldtech spotlight lights werent enough. They were only strong enough to hold while he vented his Rend. Now master was dead, and the dark would win. Her home was gone. Her home was gone. Nowhere to return to even if she managed to leave this city. Suddenly, Dice felt very cold. She pressed on despite herself, seeking the only solace she still had left to claim. There was a new master now, and they were giving her a choice to kill and a choice to grow. Perhaps through them, she might even find a life worth living. What could one do but seek the flame in the absence of all other lights? Avoiding the front door was a simple decision. Too many gangersCthe likelihood of ambush was too high as well. The path she took led her around the structure along the side walls. Starting at the neon painting scrawled across its length, her mind rattled as the new masters protective thought-walls shielded her from harm. That was what killed the old master in the end. The ghosts. The demons that fed on minds. She only caught faint murmurs of what was supposed to assail her cognition. The bulk of the harm broke against her outer thoughts and dissolved into nothingness.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Drawing again on her power over blood and matter, she constructed additional appendages and clambered up the sides of the wall. A few floors up, she found a fissure running just below a window and slipped a haemokinetic lever between the vulnerability. The structure burst off the frame but her blood muffled the noise as she continued dismantling the impediment, slipping into a foul-smelling room like a ghost unseen. Dirty articles of clothing and piles of rubbish littered the ground. Fat corpse flies the size of her index finger buzzed past her, their six wings droning angrily. A tendril whipped out from her. The corpse-fly parted in halves, greenish sludge splattering out from its thorax. The room was a cramped ten metersCmade even more narrow with stacks of furniture lining up the space. Turning her attention to her left, she noted the unmoving figure resting on what looked to be a slab of some kind. He wore some kind of gel suit around himself, and there were needles connecting his skull and spine to the machine he lay on. Flesh was peeling from his body and his empty veins were stained dark like someone had painted them with coal. Only the metal fragments embedded in his eye socket still shone, twin glimmering beacons in the gloom of the room. His body was being eaten clean from the inside by rot and a cluster of flies had made a nest in the tissue that once composed his throat. A many-faceted crystal spun within the slab beneath, a few whisks of phantasmal substance circling counter to its path. Empty elixirs and needles littered the ground. Again. Too much pleasure. Humans werent made for so much pleasure, she thought. It drowned them. Made them lose themselves. A few steps toward the rusted door, she noticed a subtle movement in the corner of her vision. She spun, blades of blood slashing out from her wrist, cleaving along the wall without hesitation or thought. A creature, small and furry, flinched back with a hiss. Dices eyes widened. She released her power, blade turning back into mundane blood, splashing over the nu-kitten. With its haunches raised and four ape-like arms waving violently, knocking the wood in an effort to scare Dice away, the modified feline spat its disfavor at the waif again, its pink nose wrinkling, sharp teeth like beads of white. Small blue gems constituted the look of its eyes, and a mane of varnished gold clung to its body. Scattered below the edge of the closet was a litter of corpse-fly wings. That explained what the kitten had been eating. Not enough though. It looked thin, and its fur hung like a coat from its bones. As the kitten lifted its paws and hands, swatting at the air in front of it, Dice tilted her head and looked at the man again. He died and left something behind. Just like her old master did. Abandoning what they had to fend for themselves in the world. Dice took one step toward the door, wanting to leave the path open and leave. Perhaps the kitten would depart afterward. Perhaps it would flee out into the building or the streets and live a long and happy life. But more likely not. More likely it would move too fast and the darkness would notice and it would be eaten. The waif bit her bottom lip. It wasnt wise. She was running from place to place, facing danger at every turn. It wasnt wise. But the kitten had no one else. At least Dice still had the new master to grant her direction and protection. Who was going to give this animal a chance? Dice looked up and saw her holographically disguised figure reflected by a filth-coated mirror. A sudden flash rushed through its surface and faded as soon as it came. She blinked. Who indeed. Deactivating her holocoats functions for just a brief moment, the kitten stopped hissing and tilted its head at her, confused by her sudden change of form. She sent a vein of blood out from her neck over to the body and dug into the corpses throat. Clenching a fistful of flies, she brought the writhing insects back over as an offering for the little ball of fur. The nu-kitten retreated at first but sniffed thereafter and bit the head of one of the flies, consumed by hunger. Dice felt her face do that strange thing again. There was a light inside her. A brightness she could feel. Her lips were curving and her eyes squinted. A lot more people in this city made that expression than back at home. The master didnt like the look, so he banned it. Seems like the people here werent so controlled. I used to be hungry too, Dice said, speaking softly to the cat while keeping her eye on the door. But then I stopped staying dead. So now when I want to eat, I just kill myself. The nu-kitten continued chewing the prey she offered, uninterested in her words. Think you cant do that thought. Succumbing to impulse, she grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and placed it in her coat. The animal, still with a mouthful of fly, went stiff with surprise as a cocoon of crimson sealed it in a protective bundle. Were just going to kill some people, Dice said, looking up. If there are still any left. The master will speak to me again soon. When I sleep. Ill ask him this time. Ask him to put you somewhere safe. Or for you to get a gift like mine. She imagined the cat being beyond death as well, coming back with her each time. The thought made the bright inside her intensify, and her face grew tighter with the good feeling. Then, she forced it away. Hoping was bad. Hoping was poison. She looked at the corpse in the room, unmoving on his plastic bed. Hope killed people here. Dice needed to keep herself safe. *** Avo and Draus studied the girl through the looking glass as she pried the door open and stepped out. Manifested as the Twice-Walker, Draus looked down at Avo with her many eyes, and he had a sense that she was smirking. {Avo If she gives you that little thing dont eat it.} Im not, he growled, annoyed that she would think of him in suchC [Fuck me, consang, you were thinking about it,] Chambers said. [It was so cute.] Chambers was one to talk. Where his mind went to was someplace unspeakable. The ghoul didnt understand human sexuality, but if he ever met the Scaarthian who created the lube-cat run vicarity, he was going to kill them. Slowly. [Im in hell,] Abrel said. [I cant even enjoy looking at a nice, cute little animal. Im in hell.] [She shouldve just killed the thing,] Corner added. [Its going to be a problem. A weakness. Shell get attached and that always ends one way.] [Youre dead,] Benhata said. [You didnt have any attachments.] Corner conceded the point. [It reduces the odds. We all die eventually.] The last mind to note the creature was the newest. Elegant-Moon concepted new shapes for the kitten to take, and Chambers gagged in disgust. [No! No! No! Dont ever let her touch that. Eat it if you gotta but keep the Sang fuck away from it.] Elegant-Moon smirked. [But I would merely make it more survivable, Mr. Chambers.] Avo turned his attention away from his templates and back to Dice. The girl was proving a fascinating oddity he encountered along her path. He chose her quickly from the mass of FATELESS as a viableCbut ultimately and potentially expendable Ensouled. On some level, he really shouldnt have been surprised with how she defied the odds. Coming up the stairs, she scouted with threads of blood first, teasing out the environment and measuring the distance between places. She was estimating how wide the room was, feeling the shape and contours of what she could hide behind, and potential spots to avoid. As her Sangeist crept into the room before her, she found the bodies, and then his haemokinetically altered pool of blood. Her Heaven brushed his as mutual pressure spread between their Domains of Blood. He felt her stop then, halting in the hallway just beyond, hesitating. +Come,+ Avo said, casting a ghost through the reflection and channeling his thought-echoes at her. +Come. Ask me your favor. Ask me what you want. I have gifts for you.+ Her thoughtstuff shivered with anticipation, and after a passing heartbeat, she kept going. {Be less fuckin creepy too,} Draus said. {Come. Come." Youre lucky this girls basically got her mind twisted by you. Aint no juv with any sense walkin into a room where blood talks.} The ghoul hissed with displeasure. Dont make this bad for me. Important moment. {Ah. Time to promote your Renfield to a full vampire, eh, Count?} Calvino hummed. Be quiet, Avo grunted. *** Downstairs, visual data from the corpses Ascender Glimpser-III optics synced with the locus, and its mem-data was uploaded into a local memory farm along with another backup of a stolen Stormjumpers avatar. Minutes later, the data was pulled by an unidentified Guild source via Recollector Registry. *** Shotin Kazahara was having a nice dinner on the edge of one of Loathings megablocks when his session sounded. Wiser Naras identification filled his cog-feed, and he casually dumped his half-eaten bowl of aratnid dumplings over the edge before accepting the call. He had a feeling he was about to be doing business. +Cutting into my dinner, Wiser. Is this a social call or do we have another hit?+ +Another hit, Seeker. Just a few minutes ago. The source of the mem-data can be traced to a structure just beside megablock one in the district of Vengs Stand; Vanhern Sovereignty.} Hm. Highflame heavy territory. Risky entryCdefinitely something that the Council of Elders wont be able to approve on short notice. But then again, what they didnt know couldnt hurt them. +Thanks, Nara. Lets do dinner sometime. My treat.+ A polite laugh came from the other side. +Youre too kind, Seeker, but You understand that you have a reputation.+ The Godclad smiled to himself. +Whatever do you mean?+ He chuckled and refrained from teasing the officer. +Thanks for the help. List me as investigating a lead. Requires clandestine work. Not to be contacted.+ +I understand Do you wish me to prepare some backup for you? A Knot of golems and a fast-response Incubi cell.+ +Absolutely,+ Shotin said without waiting. +Youve been wonderful, Nara. If its not too much trouble, can you also send a cast over to the Stormsparrow and have her on standby? Transfer the imps from my account. Premium holding fee.+ +Is that necessary?+ +Probably not. But if theres something one should suffer, its being overprepared.+ 17-8 Squire, Seeker, Flame (II) Authority Uthred Greatling You have been marked for a personal audience in the Paths with the High Seraph. Before official proceedings begin, she would like to hold a personal dialogue with you with regard to recent incidents. Only your presence has been requested, and you will be drawn into the paths in one day and three hours from this time. Prepare yourself appropriately for any and all danger you might encounter, and see that the matter of your will is handled in case of unexpected outcomes. Blessed be the worthy. -The Voice of the Choir 17-8 Squire, Seeker, Flame (II) A nervous trill sounded from the nu-kitten as a subtle coating of red stained the air. Particulates of blood, smaller than even flecks, washed past the edges of the door and over Dice. The weight possessed by the master was immense. Staggering. There was a similarity in their power to herCa symmetry of capability. But master was capable of more. Much more. If she were to liken them both to blades, she would be a tiny makeshift dagger staring up the length of a spear capable of piercing the clouds. Then came the fire. Each crimson mote flared as ghosts danced between them, leaping through the air alongside sparks of crackling electricity matching the flow of ichor rushing through veins. A new pressure settled around her, the voice of the master reaching out from beyond the sealed doors. +Come. Come. Ask me your favor. Ask me what you want. I have gifts for you.+ It was as if the fire itself was speaking, its voice the thunderous rasp of a sword unsheathed from a storm. Phantasmal winds poured through her in an echoing torrent, the flavor of the masters mind brushing hers, beyond her words to describe. For most that walked the citys streets, the stretch of humanity flowed clean. Joy, grief, hate, addiction, madness, anger, want, and longing were but a few of the moods that leaked over. All understandable. All known to her inherent empathy. The new master, however, felt beyond these things. There were aspects of human emotions here, fragments and distortions of their make. But there was also something else. Something colder. As if it stood above her, judging her, studying her, understanding the foundations of her nature but was in turn beyond being comprehended. The old master was touched by the power as well. A god lived inside him. A god of light, capable of holding the dark and forming beacons that burned those who lied to him. But they were human. They were understandable; wants and needs synonymous to the ephemerals they ruled over. Compared to the new master, their flame felt like a candle before a storm, the flame dancing for mercy. That, and how they never struck her, yelled at her, or forced them into a cage and made to fight dogs made them different. Quite different from the old master. She felt ashamed that she liked them so much already. The old master kept her safe for years. Fed her. Gave her clothes to wear and replaced her teeth every time he broke them during his rages. Gods could be troubled. Gods could be unkind. But he tried afterward. The path his heart took was always toward the light. Stepping forward, she felt the cat scratching against her blood-made harness, its head peeking out from her inner coat as the door disintegrated into crimson petals, granting her entry. The room before her was awash in death. Bodies littered the ground, limbs missing and innards strewn across the softness of the carpet. More than a few of the dead were only half-dressed, missing shoes or other pieces of attire. Only their heads were left relatively intact, and that was likely more due to their skulls being mostly chunks of weaponized alloy than actual flesh and bone. She thought she had good odds of covering the entire space in ten great strides or so. If she were to assault this place, it would be easy workCunprepared enemies and no impediments to block her strikes. A phantom sprinted past her, firing what looked to be an ancient gun across the field at incoming armor. The ghostly figure seemed to lack any implants or mechanical suits like those found in this city. Something told her the scene on display was of a bygone time. +Ignore them,+ the master said again, flames unmaking the surrounding illusions. Scenes of war vanished abruptly as flames licked them from her sight, drinking the essence into the blood itself. Could the master devour ghosts with their blood? Were they truly that powerful? Would she somehow come to match that? A force was building inside her with each step, in the place where the great fire lived. She saw it every time she died, its presence serving as her body as she waited for the numbers to grow. It flashed a few times when she clashed with a golemCone that had the same abilities she did. Her control over blood seemed limp thereafterClike something on the surface of reality just wasnt working right anymore. She avoided reaching into the masters domain. If a meager machine could make the power inside her recoil, then what would she suffer from a god greater than she? No. No. She was not a god. Dice chided herself and shook her thoughts away. She was a good girl. She made her master happy. They would make her happy if they were happy. That was the best life. Thinking about other things would get her hurt. She didnt like that. Compulsion bade her to look down as she stepped across a hardened mirror of bright red. Looking across the ground, she saw that trickles of blood were still flowing out from its sides, with each of the bodies providing the materials for this structure to manifest. Despite the deepness of the crimson, the mirror-like ground she treaded possessed unparalleled reflectivity. She gazed upon her disguised self, holographic shroud casting her more like a distorted demon than a person and frowned. She wondered if she could get her coat to emit another look. Something that didnt have so much static. Maybe something that could make her look like a shadow. She would like that. That might get the shadows at home confused. A pang lurched inside her. She corrected herself for the mistake. Home was gone without the old master. There was no home. But maybe the new master could give her one. Then, suddenly, something shifted in the air as the motes came together, forming a towering figure that loomed over her. Dice took a few steps back and fought the urge to draw on her power. She could feel the concentration of blood and matter both in its composition, but there were structures in it beyond her understanding. Her Sangeist could but align its properties to a single piece of solid matter. What the master possessed was well past the hundreds, the body before her coming together as complex architecture. It was more than a shimmering shell of blood, the best she could describe its design was that it was red, and gleamed like flowing metal and light-struck glass; so many properties, so many clashing colors But then she caught sight of the eyes and her stomach fell. There was a fire in those eyes. Fires that revealed flicks of ghosts behind them, flashing images of other places and people; deaths and atrocities on a scale she could not conceive. She guessed this wasnt the true form of her master, but the assumption only cultivated her awe further. Were they so far above her that she couldnt even gaze upon their true shapeClike when her old master bade everyone return home every night, for to stare into his full light rendered a person lame of mind or barren of thought. +Dice,+ the figure rumbled, its ichorous body reverberating with every syllable. +Done well. Done very well. Surpassed expectations. Didnt die. Kept surviving. Kept killing. Kept living. Very good.+ Pride swelled inside her and she fought the muscles on her face to stop herself from making the expression. The old master didnt like itCshe couldnt risk the same thing here. But then the new master spoke and all her assumptions turned to dust. +Dont need to restrain yourself. Smile. Cry. Rage. Scoff. Frown. Not the master of your body. Not even the master of you.+ A coldness passed through her. It was like a candle just went out. I dont did what was wrong? I can keep going? I can kill more. +No.+ The figures voice silenced her. Dice bit her bottom lip and looked up to stop her eyes from misting. The old master didnt like the expression, but he absolutely hated crying. +Dont want to be your master. And you dont need one. Going to be your benefactor instead. Have things for you. Gifts. Choices. Opportunities. And truths.+ An ember returned to the candle. She didnt understand, but it didnt sound like they were rejecting her. What did they want then? Not a master. But a benefactor. What is a benefactor? She asked, trying to sound out the words. Her voice quivered as she spoke and she hated herself for it. The dogs knew you were scared by your body, sound, and scent. They mauled the scared ones the most. She couldnt be scared. +Someone that gives you something in exchange for services. A lot you dont know. Language. Aspects of the city. The people. Gave you some understanding before. Gave you protections. But used you as a distraction. Wasnt sure how long you would last. Expected little. Got more.+ Dice just blinked, unsure what to think. +I want to recognize you. Recognize what youve done. Give you more choice. Was distracted. Busy with other things after I Ensouled you. Elevated you. Expected you to be nothing. Just an opening to exploit. Became a true asset instead. Shouldnt suffer the fate of a pawn. You make your own choices. Decide your own fate, Dice.+ *** {What a wonderful speech,} Calvino said, with a wry hint of distaste at the end. {It wouldve been better if you hadnt engage her as an expendable child assassin paid in deaths and reality-mutilating powers, but I suppose that still makes you a nobler character compared to her previous master.} Avo considered the EGIs words and just shrugged. +Gave her power. She survived. Best life she could have had.+ {Well, no, not really the best life she could have had, but I understand what youre trying to say.} Calvino sighed. {Short of creating a Heaven of Oprhanages or some kind of memory contagion that distributes therapy instead of torture, what else is a man-eating monster to do?} Glib remarks coated in more potential ideas. The EGI took constructive critique quite literally. +Why cant Voidwatch take her?+ Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. {Because of the treaty,} Calvino said. {Because shes technically a ward of the Great Guilds, and taking them from our mutually shared custody is an affront to anothers sovereignty.} It sighed. {Its always the smallest lives that pay for the folly of giants. No one asks how many ants die when a titan stumbles. You should also manifest her template moreCitll help you remember that shes a person instead of an asset. Keep this cult of yours from ever degenerating into a Guild.} "Not trying to rule, Calvino," Avo said. "Just trying to eat the ones that do." *** +You took the cat with you. Why?+ The question the figure asked left Dice feeling startled. How did it know that? Was it watching there too? Was it always watching? What were the limits of its sight? As if on cue, the nu-kitten began to fidget, meowing furiously as it struggled to free itself from Dices grasp. Its tiny head swung and swayed, hissing as it went. There was no hiding the presence of the creature, and it wanted to leaveCto be free. And Dice couldnt blame it. +Can I see it?+ the benefactor extended a hand and she hesitated. She was afraid. Afraid of what it might do to the kitten. What it might do to her. But still, she obeyed. How could she not after a lifetime of practice? Rising out from the folds of her holocoat, the small animal swept its eyes over its surroundings before noticing the figure. A screech came from its little lungs, obviously terrified at the nine-foot-tall being looking down at it. The hissing intensified, but Dice found it interesting that the cat was spitting at the blood-made glass rather than the humanoid standing before her. It was as if it could sense something there +What do you want to do with it?+ the being asked. Dices eyes snapped back to the not-master. She swallowed. I think it should be safe. Or have a chance to live. No one gave it a chance. Its master is dead. He had too much pleasure. He left it behind. Theres no one to give it a chance. A note of alarm rose inside her as she realized she repeated the same line twice. The old master hated that. But the benefactor didnt respond. +I can take itC+ *** [No!] Chambers gasped. [No, Avo,] Abrel agreed. [Come on,] Corner said, in a moment rare accord. [Dont. Just dont.] {I aint lettin that cat through,} Draus said, half-jokingly. {So you can get that thought out of your head.} {Please dont eat the poor childs new kitten, Avo,} Calvino finished. A low hiss of outrage sang out from him. Wasnt going to! Too small! Tastes bad! Pointless! Stop mocking me! [No,] Abrel said. Corner snorted and spat. [I do what I want. Reshape my mind. Or dont. But Ill do what I want.] [Suck my ass, ghoul,] Lip added. There were downsides to letting the minds in your gestalt speak openly. Avo sighed. Can bring the cat over to the George WashingtonC {Bring the fuckin juv,} Draus said. {Stop wastin time doing this mysterious benefactor shit. Girls got the talent. We got the means. We can bring her in. Get Kae to make her something special and set her loose. Maybe give her a Heaven of Cat or some shit. Were burnin daylight here.} "Fine," Avo growled. A low grumble escaped from him as he considered reshaping his mind and ending his sulking. He decided against it. He never got to enjoy himself. {But you kill and torture people all the time,} Calvino said. *** Dices heart ached at the idea. The benefactor taking the kitten away would be safer than leaving it with her, but it still felt like a loss. She wanted to make sure it was fine. See it be fine. She wanted to feel responsible for it. +...Or I can give you more power. And you choose what to do with it.+ The benefactor paused. +You should choose how youll protect it.+ Me? she asked, unsure how to proceed. But IC +I can make you more,+ the benefactor continued. +Make you strongerC+ Can you make it stronger? she asked. Give it power? All the blood stopped flowing as the figure paused. Dice wondered if she just said something wrong. *** Peeking her gun around the edge of the doorway, Quail Tavers studied the events unfolding within the gangers den and found herself frowning. And back to our regularly scheduled show of what fucked up shit is happening in New Vultun this Ursday. Juvs making bargains with unknown Fallwalkers to protect their cats. She couldnt help but chuckle with astonishment. This shit wouldve been a hard sell in one of them cheap drama vicarities. But seeing was believing, and her bloodshot eyes didnt lie. Checking her cognitive capacity again to make sure her Incog wouldnt overload, she continued observing near the edge of the door. Her combat skin was primed for a phase walk; one of the golems had a spatial anchor attached to her, ready to pull her out at any time; she had enough charges to level this building and then some; she had a drone overhead capable of firing spatial-kinetic rounds straight at what her handheld was aiming at. More prep could have been done, but itd probably keep her safe for a recon run. She wasnt going to take a shot at the Clads, after all. She was here to observe and feed the details back over to her consang, White-Rab. And judging from the words being exchanged, it seems his ass wasnt the only one being blessed by his magical ghoul son-brother-whatever-the-fuck from his dead father figure. Who turned out to be a Low Master after all. But who was she to judge? It wasnt like her family was any cleaner. *** Outside the Warheads hangout, Shotin emerged from the winding shanties around him, running his hands through his silken mane of hair and stretching his limbs out in anticipation of what was to come. He wondered if it was the best idea to wear his favorite silk suit out to these slums. Sure, it was self-cleaning but these streets and the people. He shuddered. Hed get them some proper aid after this. And what was this strange redness leaking out from the building? Something told him he was wise keeping his Incog running. Never knew what was going to kill you in this city. The Warrens truly were a horrible place. It had been a few years since the last time he fought anyone in earnest. He wondered how rusty hed gotten in the meantime. With each footstep, his body fragmented, dividing into another instance of himself that moved of its own accord and occupied a parallel world in the nine hundred or so planes he had stacked within his own Soul. In the span of seconds, he went from a single individual to a dozen, then a hundred, each heading to their own position around the building. Between them, spatial reality began to crack in a connected line, the local space detaching from its surroundings. If the girl was still in there, it was best that he didnt give her the chance to surprise him with an Incog if she had one. He would drown the area in his perception after dragging this section of real space into one of his stacks and conduct his investigation at his own leisure. No sense in letting anything go to chance. As each of his selves made eye contact, they shot each other winks, taking solace that even if the worst was to happen, at least they would look better than the bastard that did them in. He considered buttoning up his silk suit, but decided against it, not seeing the need. He was going to make this quickCmanifest his full Heaven and snap himself back down in the instance he left back in the Tiers. No point in dragging this out. As time slowed to a near halt with each instance of him generated accelerating his mind, he clenched his fist and pried at the fabric of space around him, fractures turning to tears as he began to lift the Warheads building into one of his many, many stacks. +Alright, consangs,+ he said, dropping his Incog as he gave the green light to Wiser, and through her to the Incubi and knots on standby. +Clear the block. Find that girl. Dont null anyone. Lets keep this neat.+ *** [Cat-clad,] Chambers said considering the girls ask. [I dig it.] Elegant-Moon considered the theoretical procedures of inflicting sophoncy on the kitten, but Chambers didnt dig that very much. [It is possible. Between my power and your flames. It is possible to install a mind in the creature.] Cat later, Avo said. Girl now. Channeling his focus back into his construct, he spoke once more to Dice after a moment of passing silence. +Give you power first. Consider it for the future. Now. Do you want to be more? To find ascension.+ She wavered, and her thoughtstuff filled the Nether with a flood of doubt. It was like she thought wanting was a transgression, that he was to give, but she was never to ask. Her last master was had left her damage in ways Avo neglected to fix in the preservation of her mind. Perhaps that would be something he could provide as well. A removal of her mental shackles. I Suddenly, Avo grew aware of a new shape in his SanguinityChundreds of people. Outside. Standing in a circle around the building andC The metaphysical blow came suddenly and without warning. The Twice-Walker recoiled as if struck while Draus winced. A ponderous weight had landed upon both their Domains of Space as warnings wailed forth from the depths of Avos consciousness. WARNING: FOREIGN SOUL DETECTED UNIDENTIFIED GODCLAD DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE VI [EST. 403331 THAUM/c] ->PARALLELIST, ALIGNER OF WORLDS (SPACE/GEOMETRY/CORRESPONDENCE/CREATION/GARDENS/DESERTS/JUNGLES/CITIES/DAWN/NIGHT/DARKNESS/LIGHT/STRENGTH/WIND/WATER/STORMS/LIES/WAR/SEAS) [Oh, shit,] Chambers gasped. [Thats a fuck-ton of Heavens.] {Avo. Grab the girl. Were leavin.} Draus reshaped the glass within the plane of reflections. But as she opened a passage, her being erupted with Soulfire as a spatial paradox exploded and Rend flooded their Frames. REND CAPACITY [ZEYPHR OF THE NINE PATHS]: 86% REND CAPACITY [DATACASTER]: 55% REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 2% *** Quails combat skin sparked as her phase walk failed. Spatial reality was in tumult all around her as a single step forward left her two floors downstairs. She considered breaking her Incog and casting for her jocks, but figured they probably already saw shit going down. It happened in an instant. One second, everything was fine then the next, complications arose. Her lips drew back into a vicious smirk. Not unexpected though. This was what made the job worth doing. Surprises. Havoc. Life and death and on-the-fly struggle. Yeah. This was the juice. Shaking herself off, she switched her rifle back over to hard kinetic, deactivating its spatial golemic module. It would take a few seconds for shit to go back to normal. *** REND CAPACITY [PARALLELIST]: 9% All of Shotin Kazaharas instances smashed back into him. Time snapped like a rubberband and he found himself ass over head, buried shoulder deep upside down into someones wall. His body ached. His ass felt broken. Wiser was screaming in the back of his head. Wonderful. Someone must have had a canon contradictory to his present in the area. And at least a Third Sphere Heaven at that. Probably not a golem then, unless Sanctus or Omnitech were playing fuck-fuck games with the locals Syndicates. Shit. That was a possibility. Alright. I guess its going to be one of those ''what the fuck'' days, then. 17-9 Knife-Fighting in the Dark +All units scramble! Repeat! Deploy all assets! The Seeker has been engaged! The Seeker has been engaged!+ -Wiser Nara, Ori-Thaum Intelligence Officer 17-9 Knife-Fighting in the Dark The sound of the nu-kittens shrieking with terror was the first thing that captured Avos attention as he pushed himself off the ground with his Echoheads. The second was that DiceChiding behind a protective cover of her own makingCwas peering at him over a block of haemokinetic blood, staring at him from behind her holocoat. Benefactor? She whispered, mind lit with the colors of disbelief. The distance between them was hard to gauge, and there was a looseness clinging to spatial reality. Scanning through his cog-feed, Avo studied his Rend and struggled to piece together what just happened. Another Godclad had struck the fabric of space. Ambushed them. Whatever their canons, it clearly clashed with Draus Twice-Walker, rendering the shared domain affected enough to suffer metaphysical disruption. He was still connected to Draus feed through his ansible but found her three floors and a full fifteen meters away. Meanwhile, aside from the other few tenets still living in the upper nine floors, the people across the district fleeing from the paradox, and the matter comprising the surrounding architecture, the hundred or so individuals were missing. Gone. It was as if they were a glitch in his systemCa thing that never was. Incog. Had to be. {Rend check,} Draus said, surprised but unshaken. {Im at ninety-eight percent for the Twice-Walker. Winters empty. Think we got Porter on our hands here. A big un.} He hissed with displeasure. Slightly more Rend and her Frame would come apart as a rupture. Too close. Avo sent his own details over to her and she winced at his Rend. {Hell of an alpha strike, Ill give em that.} {Vent?} Avo said. {No,} she said. {We go dark. Ill cast the others first for an update and use the Manta to get overwatch. You go Incog. Im gonna be takin a walk in the dark after. See who the hell just hit us and do a runner.} Directing his Sanguinity was a pain. The space around him responded like metaphysical lubricant, his blood skipping and bouncing from point to point, every motion sliding his grip away from what he wished to touch. If his Woundshaper were a palm, it felt like it had been shattered into pieces, and each fragment was drifting, filling his mind with a blur of stimuli. [Jaus,] Corner said. [What a godsdamned mess. Listen. Ive been in something like this before. Sequence me in and Ill see if I can get us out.] As he reassembled the makeup of his mind, Avo regarded Dice again and formed a haemokinetic cube using the room as a mold, sealing them in and his blood with the Conflagration. The walls, ground, furniture, and bodies all unraveled at his command as rivers of red wove a structure of his design into shape. Fire traveled alongside pulsing bolts of energy, casting him and Dice in an ethereal fire as he shelled them away from noticeability. Suddenly, he found himself no longer able to remember Draus position. She just went dark. Good. They were all in the dark now. Now to see whose dagger found flesh first. Didnt want to meet you like this, Avo said, tilting his head to address Dice. The waif stood up from behind her barrier, but the blood she controlled was taut with tension, ready to uncoil and pierce his flesh at a moments notice. Good. Always take what control you can. Hows your Rend? She tilted her head questioningly. The numbers. The ones that grow when you use your Heaven. Six, she said. Good, he replied, spreading his haemokinesis to master his far surroundings. Spreading his base influence to its full twenty kilometers, scurrying people and ramshackle shanties painted their patterns into his Woundshaper. He considered liquefying everyone in the area but found himself uncertain as to if that would kill the Godclad hunting him. [Gotta be patient,] Corner chided. [This is a dance of noise and vibration. They feel where you are, you get snuffed. You feel where they are, they get snuffed. Problem is we cant play passiveCwe got until the Domain of Space stabilizes to find, snuff, and vanish or were going to be pulled into the pocket of a six Framer, and thats a one-way trip to the Big Empty as far as Im concerned.] Spurred by Corners thoughts, Avo cycled memories back through his mind and he found himself staggered by how many aspects of reality the unknown Ensouled controlled. CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE VI [EST. 403331 THAUM/c] ->PARALLELIST, ALIGNER OF WORLDS (SPACE/GEOMETRY/CORRESPONDENCE/CREATION/GARDENS/DESERTS/JUNGLES/CITIES/DAWN/NIGHT/DARKNESS/LIGHT/STRENGTH/WIND/WATER/STORMS/LIES/WAR/SEAS) [What?] Benhata gasped. [Parallelist? Thats I know that one] Recognition filled the template. Followed by cold dread. [Oh oh, were dead. Thats Shotin. Shotin Planeshift Kazahara.] Several of the Incubi were of accord, each bearing a resigned acceptance to their fate. High-end Ori-Thaum Godclads. More than that, a legend of the Nether and the last Guild War. Operating for years as a singleton operative for the Council of Elders, Shotin Kazahara developed a reputation for not dying. Even when he was burned. Even when he was supposed to. Rumors and half-confirmed truths painted a picture of Shotin as someone with an individualist streak. Different from the norm, but still able to comprehend and adapt to community. The innate keenness of insight he possessed helped him stay ahead of political rivals more than few times. Elder DRongoCnot an unknown to Avo himselfChad personally ordered him censured twelve times for disobeying the council and embarking on unsanctioned operations. Each time, however, she found herself unable to muster the political capital to see him divested of his Frame and imprisoned. Breaking the rules was one thing. Breaking the rules and bringing resultsCin one case holding a key district without backup against two separate Highflame war hosts for nine daysCwas beyond reproach. Pair this with the fact that he was a masterful Necrojack as well, and Avo found himself facing a foe he could have considered a rival in skill but his superior in power. Could have. The Nether was his realm to burn and all minds were his to kindle. His path to victory remained clear. Find an angle to access their mind, and scour them from reality. Pinpricks of excitement began to build up inside Avo then. Shotin Kazahara would be another wonderful template for his collection. The gestalt was to grow stronger. [Dissolve me,] Benhata whispered. The other Ori-Thaum templates were of the same mind. [You talk about choice all the time, time to live up to it. I dont want to be here when you start hurting more of my people. I wont help you unless you reshape me. Same with the rest. Dissolve me. Forcing me into this is torture. I cant stop you, But if what you believe meansC] Avo kept Benhatas memories but collapsed his template into non-awareness. The same with the Incubi. The Mirror thought too highly of himself. They were all going to be supplemental aspects to him and Corner anyway. This wasnt about cruelty, but practicality. No sense in generating self-inflicted trauma fractures in the gestalt. Shapes suddenly filled his mind. Sensations of titanium and other alloys armoring moving vessels. A subtle weight pressed on his Domain of Luminosity, and he found himself wary. [Good guess would be golems,] Abrel said. [Weaks ones, but lots of them and backed by assault drones, BVR precision drones, and Incubi strike cells sessioned to their loci. Shots will be coming at us from over the horizon if were spotted, or in low orbit.] They came as four unitsCwith three thaumically potent golems forming the core of each knot. The missing Porters were only being held back until space stabilized. Three hundred and sixty fast-moving assault drones made out of lightweight metal and altered fullerene entered the Woundshapers awareness. It was as if they were made of vivianite, each acting as a conduit for phantasmal essence. Useful. Exploitable. Vulnerable. Dice was saying something, but Corners voice overrode hers. [Dont melt them. You turn them straight to blood, you show your hand to the other Clad. Theyre the real danger here. These are just the little fish. We still dont know what other Heavens they got and we sure as shit dont want them to know what Domains we got so they can Rend-dump our asses.] +Could wipe all the drones,+ Avo said. +Drink them into my mind. Cast me into the golems. Use them against the Clad. Collapse the whole network.+ [Opens you up to a disruption hit,] Corner replied. [Remember. You need to be in contact with whatever Domain youre trying to manipulate using your Heavens. The Silvers got Nether-based systems, but Im not sure if thats compatible with your Crown, seeing as its a perversion of coldtech. I say you fling some shots at them using the top of this building and lead them with more shots across the district. Pull their attention away and see if you can get this Planeshift to stick his head out. Make it seem like someone with an Incog is fleeing out the block. Sell the story.] Abrel concurred. [Make problems for your enemies. Dont wait. Waiting is dying. Mondelles loved saying that.] Dice, Avo said as a mist of blood began to condense around the building. Stay close. Stay low. Stay away from the walls. He planted his Echoheads into the ground and stabilized himself. {This is going to get loud,} Calvino said. {Remember to liquefy your shots before they leave your area of effect, by the way. Minimize shrapnel for these poor people.} A sigh left the EGI. {So many are going to die.} Corner laughed. [Just another day, then.] Studying the gathered knots, his veins built with crackling energy and drank mass away from the upper sections of the tenement while he hardened its foundational supports. He didnt need a Phys-Sim to line these shots for himCthe engagements were going to happen within the radius of his Sanguinity. Fabricating a few thousand tungsten balls each weighing about ten kilograms and twenty more two-ton flechettes from the surrounding matter, he channeled his Boltstride into them, and the upper two floors of the apartment exploded into a storm of blood. The balls tore through the air first, washing over the knots like a wave. The scout models were vaporized outright while the heavier assault drones sparked and spiraled from the sudden onslaught. Precision followed chaos. Lightning flooded the flechettes as Avo loosed them one by one. The first golem he hit shuddered from the impact as a shockwave of force cut through the cacophony. Strong as its armor was, the next three needles ended up punching clean through.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 46% +Dice!+ Avo said. Need you to do something. Going to release my hold on the blood around us in a moment. Will need to vent. You take it. Keep it hard. Keep us alive. The waif proved herself worth the investment again as she nodded without hesitation, eyes still fixed on the flames rising out from his halo. He unleashed another salvo of flechettes, but they shattered impotent as two of the remaining golems shivered and expelled a translucent field. Suddenly, gaps formed within his Sanguinitys influence. He could still sense the matter within, but manipulation was lost to him. It was as if an impenetrable threshold had been erected around the knots. Blood-made alloy shattered into ships and fragments against the shield without leaving a hint of harm. Then, from behind the barriers, the counterattack began with a rainstorm of missiles and gauss fire, and the ganger hideout came apart. [Good,] Corner said, chuckling. [Now start moving your shots.] Avo began reshaping plascrete from a nearby alleyway. *** Quail shadowed the coldtech tripwire drones she deployed by a distance of five meters. Seeing as all the thoughtstuff she could see early up and vanished, she figured that everyone just sparked their Incogs, and they were all fighting in the dark at this point. Ahead of her, the tripwire drones communicated with each other via a beam grid, set to trigger if something passed through them that her optics couldnt see. She couldnt really consider herself a Necro, but she knew enough about their tricks and limitations that she built up a big bag of tricks specifically to fuck them over. The main thing about Incogs was that it affected anything informational or cognitive. Coldtech cameras wouldnt work. Eyes dont work. A godsdamned panopticon made up of ghosts, motion sensors, and a whole lotta of other tech-shit mightve worked, but that still required you to get through their cog-cap first, and that usually took a while unless you had a couple thousand eyes pouring their perception on the same Metamind. What the Incog didnt affect, however, were things that were purely mechanical Things like a tripwire or a landmine. Even thaumic equivalents. The material world and the Nether were parallel not truly intersecting. This allowed for its own exploits. Six other drones trailed behind her, extending her defensive coverage on both sides. The blast wouldnt be big enough to devastate the buildingCor really even kill anyone in a cheap rigCbut it would give away their presence, give her something to shoot at. Which was where her Omnitech-made Threader-9 linear acceleration cannon came into play. Five orbiting rings danced along the arm of her combat skin as a single grain of tungsten hovered in the air. All it took for her to crank up the weight and send a shot lancing out at 500 meters per second was the clench of a fist. She would need to fire her boost pack to counter the recoil, but nothing short of armor would survive that, and she doubted was stalkingC A crack of thunder boomed. The upper corner of the building shook. Dust fell from the room. Quail blinked and threw herself horizontally on impulse. An explosive barrage shredded the midsection of the building and sent her tumbling down through rooms and walls. Her combat skin, maintained by experimental Rendsinks borrowed from Ashthrone, drank away the kinetic energy and re-routed it to her defense. She could take maybe nine more hits like that before she had to eject her first core. Not great. She needed to be gone beforeC The thoughts vanished from her mind as she slammed into what felt like a solid post. *** Armor Integrity: 89% REND CAPACITY [TWICE-WALKER]: 98% VENT! VENT! VENT! Between the screaming of her ghosts and the structure-shaking blasts, Draus found herself drowning in chaos. The wall she had been taking cover behind disintegrated as over a hundred high-yield explosives punched into the building, blowing on open gouge into its center. Her Meldskin had spared her from the shockwaves and shrapnel, but she still needed to fire her thrusters to stop herself from falling. Tumbling down to the floor below, she landed and shattered a dinner table, and found the former occupants leaking gore. Their bones shone with cheap chrome and their blood ran thicker than nectar. Warheads too joyed out to fight earlier. She spared these ones. They werent worth the flechettes. Guess luck didnt last. Collateral damage. War was a motherfucker. Draus moved on. Shouldering her way through a destabilized wall, she had both her gravmag rifle and second Heaven readied. She held back on the latter in case something unexpected killed her. It was her only ticket back into the fight right now, and shed be damned if she was going to go out as a rupture. The Manta flew high overhead, displaying the scene with a birds eye view. Over one hundred and four assault drones were cutting the block apart with mag-flung kinetics from behind a protective veil while missiles speared down from on high and beyond visual range. Threshold fed her additional intel about the launch sitesCwith half of them being in neighboring districts while one was in low orbit. The eight of the golems they came with were still operational, with one crashed into a stack of shanties, a column of fire rising from its ruined husk. Another flash of crimson lightning slashed from an abandoned alleyway a street over, striking the shielded knots without effect, and pulled their attention away, giving the impression that the target was traveling. Immediately, the bombardment hammering the structure trickled away as the knots broke to retaliate over a broader territory. Avo was at work. Pulling their attention away. Giving them something to shoot at. This was her opening to get out. Rushing down the hall, she called in the Manta in for a quick extraction and cursed as she snapped back to where she was three seconds ago, spatial reality slipping again. She needed to exfil. Staying here was asking to get snuffed, and the last thing she needed was to run intoC Something collided with her chest, the impact flinging her through a room just in time for a missile to strike its outer walls, plunging her three more floors down. Armor Integrity: 49% Draus had no idea what or who just hit her. She didnt think. She reacted, firing her gun even as she was driven through wall after wall. Her gravmag rifle sang with a series of crackles and she directed it to zig-zag blindly through the floors above, Accelero hypercharging her reflexes and slowing her fall to a crawl. *** Shotin Kazahara casually dropped down through the collapsing block and studied the situation as shrapnel shattered against him. His ears were completely burst, but he was used to that by now, tumbling and rolling on his side with a blank expression as he waited for his nanosurgeons to fix his damaged equilibrium. He had triggered his Incog the moment he found himself buried in the building, vanishing from any potential counterattack. Thereafter, he manifested his auxiliary Heaven of War and shrouded himself in an impenetrable suit of animated armor. Beside the single chink on the back of his neck. Damnable hubrises. Making his way through the block carefully, he held back from answering Wiser and continued his investigation. Whoever he paradoxed with mustve still been in the area. His Heaven of Speed felt no movement, and spatial reality was acting like one of his exes. Taking advantage of assumed asymmetry, he formed Vector Mines along the lower sides of the block, anticipating a quick end to his foe. Channeled through his Heaven of Speed, the traps hyper-accelerated anyone caught in their wake toward his direction, ensuring a quick encounter. When no one splattered against his armor in the first few seconds, he found himself frowning. Patience and intelligence were not what he liked in an enemy. He liked idiots. Fools. The type to charge at you screaming, howling slurs about the woman who birthed you or your fathers cock size. Those made his job easier. Why couldnt there be more people like that? Instead, he found himself forced into more actual work, moving up the structure to get a top-down view via an optical scan without exposing himself and casting into one of his drones. The Incubi were also going to soon arrive, and he knew how much his former coworkers liked blasting their perception over everything. It would be annoying if they nulled his own only lead on Aedon Chambers before he could have a chat with him. Reconstructing mem-data was always a pain. It was on the top floor that he got the first clue about his enemy. The air around him was thick with red particulates. Earlier, he had thought that just a drug. Now, as it reshaped all the matter around him, he found his mouth opening as an epiphany sank alongside the tang of blood. Blood. With a Domain of Matter. Someone from Stormtree? A Heaven connected to a Sangeist? Whatever it was, it was capable of far more than the golem itself. Lightning surged through its vein-like structures as he stepped carefully, wary that his unseen foe might feel him. He cursed the fact that the blood was misting the air itselfCthe vector of its effect was without limit. If his Parallelist was still usable, he would have narrowed in on them already. But until space stabilized itself in a brief few moments or so, he guessed that he still had to do things the hard way. Clearly, his enemy agreed as the top section of the block exploded in a wave of force and electricity. Two more probable Domains then. Falling, he studied the dematerializing block and triggered his Sanctus Aselgad reflex accelerator. The world around him slowed. The entire place was collapsing. Floors were coming apart and all the people in them were dead or dying. Yet, there was still no sign of his foes. Bits of wall and debris cracked into him, redirected by his Heaven of Speed while he frowned. They couldnt have gotten away. They were still hereChe felt it in his bones. He just needed to force what was left out to the sides to get them by surprise, but he had to be patient. He didnt know how powerful they wereCtheir Spherage. At least three, and that was enough to kill you if you werent prepared. Good thing was that space was settling around the area again. Stabilizing. Soon, he wouldC *** REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 93% The knots were in full pursuit of him five kilometers away, leaving only a few drones to guard their current area. No sign of the other Godclad either. No suddenly manifested bodies. Maybe they were following the golems. Maybe. The building was going to be rubble as soon as he released his hold on the Woundshaper. He was going to have Dice take over soon. But that was only after he managed to get himself away from this place. With all the chaos he provided, he hoped Draus was gone. He needed to make his own exit now. Channeling a final surge of Boltstride into the room around him, he aimed to fling his room out from the structure itself across the full distance his current tonnage could support. It would also put him in position to use his Zephyr again, in a place where space was still stable, though he could feel reality returning to stable foundations. It wouldnt be long until the Parallelist returned. He needed to go. No more time. A lance of surging lightning pulsed through the inside of the hideout. Then promptly ricocheted off something unseen and launched Avo and Dice upward through the block at an angle. *** Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Tavers grunted. She didnt know what the hell kind of rounds were hitting her over and over again, only that they were shaped like a raindrop and kept turning on a dime. The ground kept collapsing beneath her feet, so she was just flying now. Still, the shots were ringing the sides of her combat skin, swatting her through roomsCand in one particularly nasty case, someone. Burning hard toward the outside as entrails spilled off from her, saw the light of the outside world and found herself relieved to see only a dozen or so drones hovering overhead. She was significantly less relieved when she suddenly found herself launched the other way by something unseen. Oh, what the fuC *** Draus watched the knots leave before she pushed the debris off her and sprinted toward an open window. The opening was clear. The Manta was cloakedCjust a few hundred meters away above a three-storey shack. She burst through the wall, but the wall decided it didnt like that, and something swatted her right back into the air. *** Shotin barked a surprised laugh as several impacts slammed into him, one in particular feeling like an aerobarge. Ending his Incog, he activated his Skimmer, and his perception washed out, peeling the unseen back into shape. *** REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 95% VENT! VENT! VENT! Avo felt an entire chunk of his consciousness vanish as ten thousand of his ghosts shattered at once. Dice. Now! He gathered all his Rend and readied himself. Gravity lurched in all directions. The kitten''s yoweling was growing increasingly demonic. A mind manifested in front of him. Then two more. His Hells came alive with the lashing of his Conflagration. *** COG-CAP: 91% Quail Tavers killed her Incog and activated her emergency session. +RAB!+ *** Draus knew when a situation was fucked up beyond her control. But she still had a clean cycler. And there was a surefire way for her to give herself some more breathing room without using her Heaven at all. Triggering Reactor Overload 17-10 The Rash Abides (I) +Paladin Baers, were getting reports of a nuclear blast going off over the district of Vengs Stand. Do you have eyes on the situation?+ [Messy eating noises; slurping] +Paladin Baers?+ +Yeah. A whole bunch of drones. Golems tearing shit up. Next to a megablock. Fucking Syndis, dispatch. You know how it is.+ [Food wrap wrinkling] +Looks to me like some kind of foggy missile or something isCthe hell is thatC+ [WARNING: OBJECT RAPIDLY APPC] [SESSION LOST] +Paladin Baers?+ -Paladin Dispatch 17-10 The Rash Abides (I) Shotin Kazahara didnt enjoy being nuked. Didnt enjoy eventually evolved into full-blown hate during the Fourth Guild War when Highflame decided to keep the nights bright, the air radioactive, and the bombs constant. It was under such constant devastation that he got quite used to being deaf. And blind. And the feeling of his flesh cooking off his bones before he managed to switch to another stack or manifest one of his Heavens fully. It was thanks to such practice that he only responded with muted astonishment at the sudden blast erupting in the air two meters next to him. His Raiment of the Unbreaking mightve rendered him conventionally indestructible, but in less than a microsecond, the air was going to get very, very hot, and his flesh was going to get very, very fried. It was times like these that he wished he opted to upgrade his Heaven of War some more. Thankfully, after a lot of practiceCand a few thousand deathsChe developed another technique that could potentially save his life: accelerating away from the danger as fast as he could. His Heaven of Speed manifested fully as a screaming thousand-winged eagle exploded out from his Frames subreality, switching places with his ephemeral self in existence. A row of eyes ran along the sides of the Heavens body, and its feathers all bore directional arrows. A tail of tassels danced out from its open ribs as an orb of watery force shivered, narrowing into a teardrop, pointing to his new vector of hyper-accelerated movement. Withering wind and phantasmal fire lashed out at him from the corner of his awareness, but caught in the wake of his miracle, they snapped past him, their weight nothing compared to the ponderousness of his Soarer of Endless Pursuits. The air split against the wings of his Heaven as he dove blindly, trying to avoid the blast, the sound barrier cracking around him as the nearby megablock closed with him in a blink. Still wasnt enough though. The blast still licked the back of his feathers. Soulfire erupted out from his eagle as he tumbled out of its form, hubris triggered, his skin and hair igniting even as the Raiment formed around him again. REND CAPACITY [SOARER OF THE ENDLESS PURSUITS: 66% The plascrete wall of the block crumbled before him as he tumbled through wall after wall. Something slick and soft splattered across his torso. Jaus, he hoped that wasnt a person. Through the tumbling havoc, he found his armor screeching against the tilted floors of a blurred hallway, each turn his body made taking a chunk out from the ground. Then, the blastwave caught up to him. He knew it from the vibration running through the building, from the way the building shook. He was lucky that was a low-yield warhead. Something greater and some of the damage would have gone through. Burying a fist into the floor, he dug a furrow into the ground even as his burn-molted skin screamed for him to stop. His pain editor kicked in a second later, silencing all agony past a certain threshold. Activating his TraumaSight phantasmic, he winced as he reviewed the damage. No broken bones, but both his lungs were burned, eight percent of his skin was missing, and worst of all, his hair was on fire. Slamming hard into a reinforced door, Shotin came to a final stop and released his armor. Staggering two steps forward, he vomited as he kept walking, already familiar with the after-effects from the last hundred or so times he experienced it. Patting out the flames of his biosilk suit burning on his body, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Clumps. Coarse. Falling out. Rude. He wanted to say, but the only noise his lungs could make was a wheeze. He considered killing himself just for the resurrection but resisted the urge when he knew he would lose his lead. The blood earlier could that have been Dice? What else didnt he know about her? How the hells did some FATELESS refugee girl go from being owned by a Syndicate in a death game to having a Heaven and an Incog in the span of a week? It didnt make any sense. There was something else here. A greater force at play. Just how capable was this Aedon Chambers? Shotins session rang and he answered when he saw the name in his cog-feed. +Oh, gods. Seeker! You need toCyou should resurrect. Ill direct the knotsC+ +Dont worry, Nara,+ he said, grinning. Part of his cheek detached from his bones. Spatial reality was settling again. They made a good attempt, but this game was going to be over soon. +Ill be fine. Send our boys and girls out to have some fun. Tell them to use their Phys-Sims. Follow the big red container. Ill bring the cage down real soon.+ His nanosurgeons screamed as they fought to restore his body, their efficiency strained to the max as he directed them to his lungs first so he could breathe again. Turning to his right, he saw a juvCmaybe no older than tenCstaring at him with a big, cold bottle of SurgeMax. Hmm. Cherry flavor. His favorite. Flick you fifty imps for a sip. The kid blinked. F-uhCSeventy! Shotin laughed. His body didnt like that. He doubled over. Fucking kids and their bargains. He swore the vats were growing them too smart these days. *** FATAL INJURY DETECTED! FATAL INJURY DETECTED! FATAL INJURY DETECTED! INJECTING WOUNDHOUND FATAL INJURY DETECTED! SHEATHE DECEASED UNABLE TO TRANSFER WOUNDS WOUNDHOUND UNABLE TO MANIFEST EGO CONDITION: 85% POTENTIAL FOR SHEATHE-SHIFT FAILURE: 12%ACTIVATING PHYLACTERY The world exploded back into being for Quail Tavers as she felt her mind hammered into her new body like a cold spike. Cold sensations tore through her head as she kicked and swam in the Sang-treated amniotic fluid bathing her body. Through the glass, a layer of loci poured ghosts back into her mind, each of them connected to a larger crystal overhead, the lobby hosting the space needed for her ego to make the transition between bodies. She calmed a moment later as she realized where she was. Reconstitution. Sheathe-shift. Her other body just diedCshe was lucky her mind was still intact and that she killed her Incog before the Skimmer could shatter her entirely. Not even a Phylactery could save you from being nulled. Nothing to pull back.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Relaxing, Quail waited for the Rebirther to drain and its water to break. Phylacteries were just phantasmicsCbut there was a whole lot of No-Dragon bio-shit behind it too. Something about leaving a part of your flesh in the Rebirth while keeping it connected to your mind so the mechanism actively modifies the body to resemble yours in real time. Some Necros claimed it confused the Nether with one mind linked across two exact copies of the same bodies. Quail just thought it was a good investment and an easy way to bug out on a run gone bad. Or survive a nuke going off in your face. Shame the fucking thing cost half a million imps to maintain per day. Good investment or not, that was a killer on the imps. As the last pieces of her salvaged Metamind clicked together over her skull, she activated her session again, calling White-Rab. +Rab. Run just got fucked. Godclad ambush hit our girlCand the cage mightve snapped shut around our special wish-granting ghoul too.+ +I know,+ White-Rab said, tone flat and focused. +Looking at the scene from Mellows golem. Ori-Thaum. Incubi are on scene, casting their Skimmers out for him. Hes four kilometers behind the megablockCtheres a knot approaching him and the girl. Id say he has twenty seconds before theyre on him. Maybe less.+ +So? What? Pull the plug?+ Tavers asked. White-Rab laughed. +Hells no. He made me a CladChes all I got left of Walton. Im not letting these Silver half-strands have him. Those Incubi jacking to their own deathsCIll going to be hitting their logistical end. Maybe cripple a knot or two to keep them off his back. How soon can you get back in the action?+ The squire grinned and accessed her ships systems. Circling Vengs Stand was easy when you used a disguised garbage hauler. She initialized the boot-up sequence for her Impact-XIX Highflame combat skin and began picking her arsenal. Truth be told, she always liked extractions more than infiltrations. +Think you can dance in the deep for two minutes?+ +My arrogance wants me to say yes,+ White-Rab replied. +So Im just going to say yes.+ +And claim it''s a fluke after they null you? Getting used to playing dangerous games now that you cant die, huh?+ He cut the link. She smirked and cast her jocks. +Hey. Mellow. Dump some Rend bombs on those knots. Lets start some shit.+ +Finally. I thought we were only gonna get to watch.+ *** Avo didnt know how Dice kept her grip on the construct when they were struck by the explosion, but she was making a habit of surprising him. Shotin Kazahara vanished from before him in a blinding instantCthe flash of a many-winged shadow and then nothing after. Avos consciousness clawed for a mind to devour but tasted only absence as his entropic barrage launched into the open sky and impacted something. Avo frowned as Calvino sighed at the potential collateral damage. His Rend was nearly full, and he was preparing to discharge everything into Shotin. Now, he only hoped it hadnt hit a block. That had good odds of killing a good few thousand uninvolved FATELESS if it hit a population-dense section. The blastCDraus detonating her reactor from what his Neurodeck indicatedCwas measured compared to the devastation exchanged during a block war, but they were still close enough for Dices construct to begin evaporating. Tungsten could bear high heat, but a fusion reactor was still a fusion reactor. Drawing away matter from the nearest sources, he cocooned himself and the girl again and triggered his Stormwreathed miracle. Their physical bodies crackled into flowing energy as the shockwave swept through them, spiking their sparking forms across the district. They hit the street like a thunderbolt as he jolted back into stable matter with a heavy discharge. Everything electrically powered for twenty kilometers promptly shorted out with an explosion. Engines died. Water heaters exploded. Peacemakers stopped working. Thaums filled Avos Frame. [Collateral damage is a motherfucker,] Corner muttered. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 6% REND CAPACITY [ZEYPHR OF THE NINE PATHS]: 86% REND CAPACITY [DATACASTER]: 55% Keeping the protective shell around him active even as their bodies returned to normal, Avo turned to check on Dice even as the first waves of perception washed over them. +You alright?+ She didnt respond, instead looking down to check on the nu-kitten in her coat. A weak meow sounded a moment after, and Avo felt the blood rushing through its veins while its heart screamed. The creature was confused. Terrified. And probably the only other living thing that made it out of that building. He was going to mock Draus about dying here later. Hopefully, the Necros would be too busy chasing him to notice her resurrection. Just as he extended his Sanguinity to locate and liquefy Shotin, the first trauma pattern chipped a dozen ghosts from his mind. Followed by three hundred. That assault lashed out at him through the drones closing in on him, firing conventional munitions at his haemokinetic protections. Avo scoffed. His Conflagration and Sanguinity swept out together. He absorbed their flechettes and devoured their traumas. A hundred tons of matter vanished from his surroundings as his Woundshapers thaumic mass climbed with its tonnage. Across the Nether, the strike cells barely had a moment to react before they belonged to him. Knowledge entered his awareness. Sessions and information he was formerly denied surfaced in his mind. Twenty-two new minds entered his template as each of the Incubi found themselves unbalanced by their sudden deaths. The jocks wept and shrieked inside him, unable to face their own ends. One moment they were flinging mind-breaking horrors at what looked to be strange fire. Then they were burning. They were the fire and the fire was them. Corrupting the loci of their drones, he accessed the machines he turned via their session. He had them under his control just before a knot of golems approached, their protections pushing the touch of his haemokinesis away. The golemsCdespite all the armor built into their bodiesCwere not ready for the drones to fire into the open exhausts of their engines. Flames gushed out the more materially rooted golems while the shield-emitterCsomething that looked like a hovering watchtower more than a weapon of warCturned to shield only itself from harm as Avo drank the Heavens out from the other two and melted away their structures. HEAVENS OBTAINED: RUNEBREAKER (WAR/STRENGTH) x2 As he triggered the sessions for the Incubi cells Mirror-Convex and subsumed his mind as well, he contemplated this final defensive Heaven with lecherous hunger and yearned to possess its power. The impenetrable protections it offered would go well with his Woundshaper, seeing as he could feel its presence pressing against his Domain of Luminosity. The only question was how to get through to it. The jock piloting it reacted fastCcutting themselves off from both lobby and comrades. It seemed as if they deactivated their Auto-Seance as well. [Avo. Get the fuck out of here. You can snatch this Heaven some other time. We need to go before] Then, two things happen at once. The first arrived as spatial reality stabilized, and the sky above changed. Metaphysical stacks of translucent shot through the ground as the environment distorted around him, the surrounding district still present, but overlapping with another space entirely. The presence of people and drones vanished from his awareness in an instant. It was like he was alone. The second was the sudden deactivation of the golem, its protective shielding winking out for no obvious reason. Avo wasted no time, seizing both matter and mind as he claimed it for himself. HEAVEN OBTAINED: SHINEGUARD (LUMINOSITY/PROTECTION) x1 Yet, as he flooded the locus of the machine, he found the jock already nulled. In fragments. Only a single string of mem-data provided any clues. +Avo. Going to make you an opening. Get away from the block. Brace for Rend dump.+ Uncertain who the memory was from or how they knew his name, he reacted, Boltstriding just as a tide of perception splashed through the district while a jungle sprouted into existence around him, Avo found himself dashing forth into a place that resembled the Vengs Stand but was empty of people. Ignoring the change, he spread his Sanguinity wide, but found only greenry and woods for leagues and leagues beyond. He wasnt in real space anymore. A weight was treading on his Domain of Space. The immense weight he felt earlier. A thoughtcast flooded the air. +Hello. Good morning. This is to the bastard that ruined my hair. I see you. Little lightning bolt. You have five minutes to come to the megablock so that we can talk like civilized people. I wont lieCIm probably going to punch you at least once, but thats better than getting shifted into an undersea plane where youll be promptly crushed by all the pressure. Dice. If youre the one who managed all this, Im impressed; but still, fuck you, Im bald now. Come out. Dont make me snuff you. Shotin.+ [Fuck,] Corner said. [Were in his pocket. Were in his stacks.] [He seems nice,] Chambers said. [Maybe we should talk to him? Yknow. See if we can get close and burn his ass.] That gave Avo an idea. He stopped striding and activated his Incog again. Waves of perception were radiating out from the tower, but they wouldnt reach him yet. Turning to study Dice, he let out a breath as he began to plot. So, he asked. Do you have a preference of powers? The girl blinked, her holocoat glitching from being Stormwreathed. The gift? Now? Might not be a better time, he said. Might also ask you a favor. Give you another gift after. Whats that? Might need you to talk to someone. Use your mind for an ambush. Itll burn a bit. She just stared at him in silence. I want the cat to be safe. Avo studied the small creature peeking out from the lip of her jacket, hissing at him. Okay. Ill make sure the cats safe. 17-11 The Rash Abides (II) The Parallelist looks like an easy Heaven to overload and rupture from a glance and used by someone less capable than Shotin Kazahara, it would be. Unfortunately, one of us poor bastards will be facing the Planeshift in the field before this thing is done, so listen close. It might just keep you from getting real deathed. The Heaven stands as the very definition of a Sea, focused on the breadth of influence across a vast number of different Domains instead of absolute control over just a few. With nineteen different aspects of reality connected to a Heaven of Space, Shotins flexibility is unmatched in all situations, capable of attuning any environment to suit another of his designs, rapidly slotting or switching stacked worlds from a surrounding instance or a pre-saved location he has stored within his ontologic. I want all of you to understand that there is no home ground advantage fighting Shotin Kazahara. He will twist your environment and see instances of himself across his stacks. Hell scatter you and your allies across said stacks and break you via defeat in detail. This goes to all you Porters out thereCkeep your canons protected and your Rend-bombs close. You want the Parallelist as hamstrung as you can make it. Keeping him in plane doesnt mean hes helpless, mind you. He still has a Heaven of Speed and a Heaven of War slotted in his custom-made Frame, but itll be easier grinding him down when hes anchored to the material than chasing him across worlds of his own making. It was with this Heaven that he managed to hold the Arsden-Kossogi Sovereignty against two Highflame war hosts and four separate cadres, personally real-deathing Instruments Osjane Masser and Threes Inkton, and Authority Elvers Inkton over an extended engagement that lasted for thirteen hours. I personally knew Authority Elvers and will tell you his skill in direct combat exceeds even the best of you. That was not what got him killed. What got him killed was breaking from his cadre and N-Def coverage to engage Shotin alone. View the vicarity we reconstructed from the remnants of his mind to fully immerse yourself in mistakes and decisions made during the battle. I am ashamed to say that many of our Guild think we are intrinsically superior to our foes by our culture, breeding, and creed. This is self-delusion. Highflame is more than a creed or a culture. True to the High Seraphs words, we should not fall to the poison of dogma or philosophy. Blessed be the worthy. Thats a material expression. To triumph is Highflame. To push yourself every second and rise from every fall is Highflame. To recognize that one of your hated foes is a valorous rival worth learning from and emulating is Highflame. Shotin Kazahara would have been made Authority by his deeds if he had fought for us during the war. Preventing the fall of a critical Sovereignty even as his cadre fell around him, even as [Redacted] debased our image by kidnapping and torturing his sisterCa noncombatant and a prison of warCbefore trying to lure him out via her murder. He did not break from his assigned position. He fought. He executed his orders. And the worthy won that day. Thirteen hours of fighting. Twelve hundred knots destroyed. Two war hosts and eighteen Ori combat groups annihilated to the last soldier. Shotin Kazahara endured. Today, we will be reconstructing the events of that day, as well as everything we know about the Planeshift. You will all be assigned roles in the war hosts as you attempt to engage the Parallelist and the surviving Silver forces. I do not expect any of you to succeed and will be giving no merits for failure. Prove me wrong. Redeem our glory. -Instrument Santanado Starsinger Mondelles, Instructor at Axtraxis Academy (Highflame) 17-11 The Rash Abides (II) Tension pulled at Shotins nerves as a lone figure circled toward his megablock in a rapid jog. She was moving pretty fast for someone not using their Heaven of Blood. A bit too fast, judging from the air currents peeling around her. Still, she wasnt doing anything offensive or obvious. Just circling. Trying to see if he would actually shift her over into his deep sea plane, perhaps. Across all the stacks he had in him, the city reclaimed by vegetation design was among his favorites. Something about the green just made people want to talk. His Skimmer bathed this layer of spatial reality with his perception, ensuring that none here hiding between the cracks or trying to pull a dirty getaway on him using an Incog. It was good practice to overlap multiple surveillance mechanisms. That was taught to him enough over the course of the war. More than a few Highflame Godclads managed to slip the supposed all-sensing nature of one of his Correspondence canons and the eyebiter infestation he caught from the Sang was pain enough for one lifetime. Still, there were things that unnerved him about the girl keeping her distance from him, running down the clock via her slow approach. The first was her sudden death earlier. She just dropped. No rhyme or reason. Just died. She killed her bioform before that as well, turning into a red smear on the ground before he could get a good look at it. Maybe she was charging up something nasty with a Heaven of Biology. That explained the nu-kitten she carried with her everywhere. Maybe the cat could piss lightning and shit nuclear fire. He knew a Sang once who could turn peoples eyes into wasps. Got to experience that firsthand. Shifted the sow over into a plane of dawn as a response and set her on fire. That was a real-death most deserved. He had to be ready for this girl pulling similar tricks. Something else gnawed at him. She was just too full of tricks to be some random wilder girl beyond the walls. Wiser was casting casualties into his mindCa full knot wiped out and an entire Incubi strike cell along with their monitoring mirror nulled. That was beyond the capabilities of most Godclads. There mustve been someone helping her. An extremely capable Necrojack like the Low Masters. Or one of their acolytes. He glared at her strangely formed accretion and frowned. She didnt even truly have a Metamind protecting her, but the makeup of her consciousness looked warped. Hardened against traumas. That indicated expert-level sequencing. The type even he would need to spawn a dozen instances of himself to achieve. Aedon Chambers. Shotin could feel the mans hand in thisCfeel the acolytes artistry emanating from the girl. He must have also arranged this Frame for her. Helped her usurp a vulnerable Godclad, perhaps. Shotin sighed as he prepared himself. He had a feeling this wasC WARNING: MISSILES INCOMING IN STACK-PRIME [1.4 KILOMETERS] Shifting his consciousness out from his instance back into his prime sheathe, he found himself blasting off the top of the megablock with four unidentified missiles marked in his cog-feed. The district below was awash in fire and carnage, and sirens blared down from the layers above him, the Paladins finally deeming the situation worth their attention, miserably late as usual. It wasnt like they would be able to get in before he was done. A translucent dome caged a fifty square kilometer area around the block and it was already partially detached from real space. If any of the Paladins got in before this was all over, he would just shift them into a realm he used for temporary holdings, and snuff them a few times if they were a Porter. The incoming missiles, though, needed to be dealt with. With his drones down and knots occupied, he needed to prevent someone from nuking the district again. The last thing he wanted today was more dead FATELESS. Pulling a hundred or so of his own instances across from various unused planes, he felt his mind stack as his perception and thoughts accelerated. The world slowed to a near halt, and even his body moved like molasses, maintaining velocity only due to his Heaven of Speed.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Zooming his sight in, he studied the missiles fired by the golems and frowned. Large, slow, and brushing on the borders of his Parallelist. Rend bombs. Oh, how he despised those things. He didnt need to be a genius to know what they intended to inflict on him. Dumping Spatial entropy to rupture or disable a Heaven is standard. The expertise was knowing how to smuggle the bomb across for an ensuredC WARNING: PARADOX DETECTED DOMAIN: [SPACE] WARNING: REND DETONATIONS DETECTED DOMAIN: [SPACE] REND CAPACITY [PARALLELIST]: 24% REND CAPACITY [DAWNFORGE]: 41% REND CAPACITY [SOARER OF ENDLESS PURSUITS]: 6% And all at once, his stacks collapsed along his instances as spatial reality succumbed to turbulence. Time accelerated and the Rend bombs blinked and reappeared, crossing countless kilometers before detonating just above the block. Late-triggered spatio-kinetic delivery mechanisms. Of course, Aedon Chambers had those. He mustve raided some of Sanctus supplies as well. The fabric of reality crinkled in some places and stretched in others. Shotin suddenly found himself grinding down a wall, his face now christened with wonderful new skidmarks. WARNING: REND DETONATIONS DETECTED DOMAIN: [SPACE] REND CAPACITY [PARALLELIST]: 35% A new intel update slipped into his mind from Wiser Nara. Apparently, someone had nulled all their golem jocks and stolen their mem-data. After that, they attached the spoofed memories to their own assets and smuggled their own golems onto the battlefield. Images displaying the wrecks of a Galeslither, a Snake-King, and an Anchorhold golem entered his mind. The first lay in two parts, torn in half by a growing rupture in the space it occupied. The other two were spraying entropy from their ruined husks, their overloads dumping Rend into him, but not clashing against his canon. A strike this precise filled Shotins stomach with coldness. Someone was in their systems Dice could she have been bait? Could Aedon Chambers have infiltrated Ori-Thaums inner lobbies so completely that he was watching them this entire time? Were their preventative measures insufficient? How deep had the half-strand penetrated? Dammit. He should have suspected this. Everything was falling into his lapCone lucky lead after another, and finally a hit in a district in the middle of nowhere. Life had been too kind to him lately. He needed to focus. Take this seriously. Stop playing with his food. +Nara! Closed protocol! Keep our forces separated! Eject everyone from the lobby and jack out yourself!+ He pushed the thought across his session and activated his Heaven of Speed again, trying to remember where Dice was. This would all be worth it if he could just extract her. She was the leadCthe trail to Chambers that he needed. Everything else was secondary. *** +Well, that worked better than I expected,+ White-Rab said, sounding pleased with himself. +I didnt expect to hit a paradox. Gotta thank Reva for that tip. Ill refund you those golems. Didnt think Id be able to keep the ruse up in time. Guess their command was too busy trying to figure out where their Incubi went to notice spoofed knot-data popping up in the wrong place. Alright, Tavers. Heres your opening. Go get my ghoul out of here alive.+ +Yeah, dont worry,+ she said, just as her drop-pod caught a wave of spatial turbulence and bounced off a wall. +I got this.+ And sighed. She hated spatial anomalies. Hated feeling herself bounce all over the place, hated how deviance in metaphysical distance pulled an accurate shot off course. Her deployment was supposed to be two kilometers past the megablock in the back of Vengs Stand. Where she ended up arriving was an abandoned aero lot repurposed into a hangout for vagrants and juvs. People and objects were clipping through each other, stuttering as they swayed from place to place. Screams filled the air and distant sirens told her that she had about thirty seconds before the Paladins and Exorcists reared their ugly faces too. Thankfully, she came prepared. Booting the lid of her deployment pod off, she activated her Shapebreaker RendcannonCa special gift from an Ashthrone middler for her exemplary service. All she needed to do with this thing was point and pull and anything that was material would alchemize into superheated gas. Four scout drones detached from the sides of her pod and connected to her mind. Full spectrum awareness filled her minds eye as she began scouting for the package. Neither the ghoul nor the girl would be hard to miss. And with spatial reality being disrupted again, she was just about as deadly as any GodcC The lid rubberbanded back through space and she shot it. A wide beam swallowed over the metallic plate that had tried to return to her deployment pod. A beat later, only dust graced Tavers combat skin. REND: 98% Yeah. Thisll do. *** Draus resurrected to the sight of a building folding in on itself and scowled as she realized her gun was missing. She made a note to fuse it with her Meldskin next time so it would count as part of her for a resurrection. However that worked. Might need Kae to explain it again. Her Neurodeck crackled as metrics related to radiation filled the corner of her eye. She ignored it. A conventional explosion was the least of this district''s concerns. Spatial fabric looked more fucked now than when she went under. A few columns of smoke shivered up into the sky as if she stared at them from behind an oily window. A humorless chuckle escaped her as she fired her thrusters and soared low along the ground. This had the rotlicks fingerprint all over it: really, really quiet, then unholy chaos and carnage for everyone when shit goes sideways. To her surprise, the Manta was still in one piece and she connected to it again via Neurodeck. Her suicide had reduced its mass by a bit, but it was still more than operational. Sending it high into the air, it became overwatch again as she tried to call Avo. But his Ego-ID was blank in her Neurodeck. Her lip curled. Dead, then. Question was: he dead for good or on the way back? Sweeping the Manta''s sensors through the chaos, a ping manifested in her HUD marking where Dice was. Four hundred meters away. Shed clear thant in an instantCfind out about their current situation and exfil with her in tow. No sense in leaving her to waste out here. Thatd be a real Highflame thing to do. She cast Chambers again. +ChambersC+ {I know! Dont worry, Im on the way. I brought Kae with me. And were drivingC} A sound of Chambers screaming for his life started and then abruptly ended. {We didnt crash. Thank Jaus. Anyway, that half-strand isnt ready for all our feet rising up the folds of his asshole at once.} Draus suspected Chambers foot wouldnt ever get the privilege. {Just get over here. And come up with some extraction routes too.} {Got it. Theres a gateway we can take ten k''s away! Dentons back in the Washington! Well have her open it before we get there!} The Regular boosted over a half-collapsed shanty and found Dice smashing through everything in her path as if they werent there. Fallen drones and abandoned aeros went up into the air. Solid walls burst into dust as the waif just charged through them. And strangely, with each thing she broke, she seemed to be going faster, hitting harder. So, Avo was just taking a break, then. She doubted the girl pulled these new tricks from thin air. *** Kae, Chambers said, cutting from one lane to another without casting any directional indicators. Aeros behind them blared their horns and swerved. Are you ready? Are you ready for anything? Their aero swerved as Chambers yowled curses at the Exorcist drones darting up from under themC in front of them. Thats right! Thats right! Fuck me! Fuck me hard in front of the lady. Run me out the lane and kill us! You bastards are half the problem with this city. Piss back out your asses! Fucks! Kae frowned at the constant stream of vulgarity and tried to focus on her tasks. I I think. Im trying to review the Parallelist HeavenCour adversary has a great deal of coverage. Spatial reality across fifty kilometers has been considerablyC I dont care about them, Kae, Chambers said, rolling his neck but getting no cracks like Draus. He tried again. Still nothing. He mimed a cracking noise using the corner of his mouth and pretended to succeed. Im talking about me. You? Chambers nodded. ...WhatCwhat are you planning to do, Chambers? He looked out the window and narrowed his eyes as he judged the cityscape below. There is one power above all others. There is one Heaven standing on all the others. A Heaven that can only be cured by the flame. Someones trying to hurt our consangs. We cant let that happen. Nothings off the table. Everythings permitted. ... What are you talking about? He looked up at the ceiling and nodded, steeling himself. Just be ready The Agnos mind went blank as she tried to decipher his words. She gave up a moment later, turning her attention toward which potential Heavens were at play and what routes they could use to escape. 17-12 The Rash Abides (III) Judge Ygwamawe: Let this recording stand as the third attempt to censure Seeker Shotin Kazahara on the counts of insubordination, ignoring direct commands from a superior body, assault on a superior citizen, unauthorized seizure of Guild property, libelous slander of another citizen, inappropriate language in an official forum, kidnapping of a fellow citizen, unlawful interrogation of said fellow citizen, and secondhand public urination via nu-dog on said tortured citizen. Would the accused like to make any statements before the proceedings begin? Seeker Shotin Kazahara: Yes. Clans. Citizens. All gathered in this courtroom before I am to be judged, I would like to put forth a question: are these really crimes when done to a lackey from Clan DRongo? [Gasping; clamor of indignation] Judge Ygwamawe: Order! Control yourselves! Guards! Guards! Asei DRongo: Draw your glaive, youC [Missed swing; Pelvis shattering; Asei DRongo screaming in pain] Seeker Shotin Kazahara: Well, damn, Ygwamawe, looks like kicking a DRongos balls into his guts is going to be on the sheet as well, huh? Judge Ygwamawe: Add it. -First Successful Censureship Trial against Seeker Shotin Kazahara 17-12 The Rash Abides (III) RESURRECTION - 100% Avo didnt expect the world to be swallowed by chaos once more upon his return but welcomed the fact he wasnt trapped in Shotins pocket anymore. Matter evaporated from the space around him and the Woundshaper began to assemble where his sheathe once stood. Judging from the way space shivered around him and the heavy weight pressing on his Domains of Space, he guessed another paradox just occurred. [Well, well, well, looks like another paradox just went off,] Corner said. [Damn shame we didnt get to use the girl to pull that trick. Mightve worked, getting her to play possum by walking up to Shotin while we played dead then casting ourselves through her.] +Mightve,+ Avo replied. A brief feeling of lament passed through but faded. There were risks in such a plan as well. Unknowns. How fast Shotin Kazahara could react and what canons he had to bear remained questions to consider. Still, Avo was a predator unmatched in the Nether. It didnt matter how good Shotin was, how many Incubi he had helping him, or how heavy his Frame. The only fate was to burn. Considering the devastation around him, a worrying suspicion settled on him. The last time a paradox happened was because of Draus. If this had been caused by her again, then Her ego-ID flashed across his cog-feed. He accepted her call in an instant. {Done bein dead? I got eyes on our girlCdamn shes goin fast. Get over here quickCwe got hostiles movin in fast. Paladins and Exorcists from the look. No sign of our Godclad either. Think he went Incog again. Gonna want backup.} He was in motion before she even finished talking, a feral expression spreading across his face as lightning crackled through his flowing currents and radiance emanated from his blood. {Good. Pull back. Let him get close before closing. Got a session in her mind. Want to burn him for my Conflagration.} {Synced.} The air around him crackled as he Boltstrode and activated his Incog at the same time. The district blurred around him as he used his DeepNav to pinpoint his destination. Yet, as he rematerialized, he found himself more than five kilometers southward from where he wished to be and about to smash through a cluster of shanties packed with FATELESS. His acceleration alone should have obliterated the entire area from its shockwaves with the impact leaving little more than a hollow crater afterward. What happened instead was one miracle counteracting another. Light cleaved through the world as the Woundshaper shone like a beacon, its tower-like form now a lighthouse for all to behold. Brightness spilled off its lightning and coated the world around it in a protective glow. As the air thundered from the collision, as a scar of fire made by sheer speed erupted into the world, the few hundred people living across five storey ghettos made out of trailers, dismantled barges, stolen containers, and golem chassis survived without a single scratch. Shineguard Grafted to [Woundshaper] (Blood/Matter/Biology/Luminosity/Lightning/Protection) - 1200 THAUM/c CANON: (Protection) ->FORTRESS OF LUMINOSITY: Allows the user to project an emanation of light that renders all physical objects basked by its glow invulnerable to harm (as dictated by the user); generates heavy Rend for every second canon is in effect (0.88%/s) Hubris: The canon needs a persistent source of light in the environment or on the user to imitate or thaumic backlash will be triggered. HELL [FOURTH CIRCLE] - 1200 THAUM/c CANON: (Luminosity) ->SHADOWBREAKER: The user creates a seed of light bearing all their Rend that can be planted in a shadow or darkness; only one seed can be created at a time; the light will continue to spread through all darkness or shadows and eradicate any object or entity caught within the darkness. Daemon: If there is an insufficient amount of darkness consumed, a Daemon of Luminosity will manifest. Rebuilding his Domain of Luminosity and taking out Zeins Harmonize canon proved to be a wise idea. Especially with how well the Fortress synergized with his Sanguinity. Ah, the Zephyr said, sounding genuinely glad for once. Finally, old one, you have done something worthy of worship. The Woundshaper, radiant with its new power, tread a path between pleased and annoyed. It is always good to be made greater, master, but those lives could have gone to better purpose. And there she reveals her debased nature, her foundations unchanging. Silence mule. Sulk in your darkness. Quiver before my light. Ill quiver only when you reach the required height. MY DEATHS ARE GREATER! MY MASS IS GREATER! MASTER FAVORS ME MORE! Reorienting himself, Avo executed a series of short-ranged jumps to combat the instability of space. In his DeepNav, he monitored Draus and Dices position before noticing new and unknown profiles trespassing into his awareness. Peeking over at Draus visual feed, he watched as she soared to engage a squadron of twenty oncoming Exorcist drones passing over Dice. Her Liminal Frame flared and the cold buried its fangs into the district as the temperature dropped. The Exorcist drones were expendable scouts, sent as recon. Too bad they didnt get to see much before the jaws of a frost-made bear the size of a building froze and shattered their shells. A new presence pushed into Avos Sanguinity and he felt his Domain of Blood rattle as somethingCor someoneCof considerable thaumic mass encroached. His Conflagration offered no screams about an encroaching Godclad, indicating their Heaven was not yet fully manifested, but he already knew they were here, and not the other way around. Good. Dice, for her part, did as he advised her in case they got free. She was dashing forward at nearly two thousand kilometers per second and rising, force building on force inside her as a fractured Scaarthian icon shone over her, its symbol a spear punching through a mountain. Even with a hundred tons to his Haemokinesis and his Celerostylus active, she was blindly fast and getting faster. The vaguely humanoid form of her Heaven enshadowed reality around her. It had five arms, six legs, and three heads, its body made not of skin, flesh, or bone, but the alloy of gleaming weapons. From within her being sang the sounds of clashing steel to the rhythm of a rising heartbeat, each object she broke building to her destructiveness, each exertion of force compounding, never diminishing. Dice had requested the Runebreakers he just claimed from the knot as her giftCreturning his Sangeist for now until he made a second Cycler available for her. The modification pleased Avo as well, granting another layer of potential subterfuge to wield against Shotin, who was expecting a blood-based Heaven by this point. Even though things didnt turn out that way, the girl clearly chose well. A trail of broken drones and a mangled golem lay scattered along her warpath down the main avenue of Vengs Stand. She stuck to the streets as to avoid smashing through any communities as he had almost done earlier, each of her sending plascrete flying upward toward layer two.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. His HUD flashed a swarm of slow drones poured out from the skylanes running between the higher districts. A fast-moving signature snapped out from their midst, closing on Dice. Godclad. Paladin. Had to be. Avo took a moment to isolate them in his Sanguinity *** Paladin Riche Kassamon smirked down at the poor, unfortunate Fallwalker lumbering on the ground. They mustve thought they were so fast. Little did they know. Drawing up his Heaven of Speed, he prepared to drink the velocity of every last person in this district that wasnt him and add it to his own. And command told him to wait for backup. Like he needed toC wait, why was the air around him so red? And did it just twitC His mind ignited a microsecond before his body vanished in a puff of blood. *** [What the fuck! What the fuck!] Paladin Riche Kassamon cussed. He tried to trigger his Heaven but it wasnt there. [WhatCwhere the fuck! HowC] Avo infused his memories into the Paladins template, and the newcomer began to scream and rattle as the trauma of its new reality settled. +Its not that bad,+ Avo grunted. {Perspective, Avo,} Calvino chided, regarding the Paladin with sympathy. {And did you really need to do that?} +Didnt torture him. Just killed him. Hell resurrect. Paladin useful for the gestalt.+ Another spasm of horror passed through Kassamon. [What? Im trapped here? In your mind!] [Welcome to the nightmare,] Abrel deadpanned. [It never ends unless the ghoul does. But then we do as well. Hooray.] [Abrel Greatling?] Kassamon asked, noticing her presence. [Wait, but arent youC] [Yeah. The same thing happened to you too just now. In a couple of seconds, your original self will get up just fine, and well still be here: simulations of our consciousness dedicated in service to the godsdamned creature that killed us.] [...Holy shit.] [Yeah. Holy shit is right.] Reaching through his Sanguinity, Avo disassembled every last Exorcist drone he could before finding his attempts rebuffed by the knots now closing in on Dice from every direction. He had almost regained all the ghosts he lost from Shotins Skimmer earlier from all the jocks and Incubi he burned. It made it easier for him to hold back from devouring the Exorcists as well. {Small mercies,} Calvino cheered. Just then, he felt Chambers and Kae enter his Woundshapers threshold, approaching Dice at very low speeds in a cheap aero. Somehow, he doubted Kae was responsible for such an inefficient approach. She needed to be more assertive. Maybe having her beat Chambers to death once or twice would harden her confidence. {Avo} Calvino chided. +What? Just something she can choose to do. Hell probably enjoy it as well.+ {It pains me to know that youre probably right.} Maintaining course as the waifs shadow, he waited and followed in her trail. The edge of the district was fast approaching. She had less than ten kilometers of room left before the city ran out and she was treading the Layer itself. Digging through the Paladins memories, Avo knew the phase gates were already active. Not that such a thing would stop her for long. There was a fixed limit to how much force she could build to, but it wouldnt ever go down from that. Not unless she was paradoxed or accumulated too much Rend. If nothing unexpected re-directed her path. Something burst around Dice, and suddenly she was gone. Snatched from where she was in an instant. The ground cracked. The atmosphere exploded. Electricity surged out from Avos veins and danced through his Sanguinity. As he brushed the blastwaves aside, while tracking Dices new trajectory back into the heart of the district, her progress was nearly undone in an instant. Shotin. It had to be him. He did the same thing earlier when Avo was trying to escape the blockCsome kind of Heaven or Force or Directionality, perhaps. It didnt matter. Avo turned in pursuit. Yet, not one second later, a tsunami smashed through the Nether as a district-level Thoughtwave Bomb swept through the world, breaking the effects of his Incog. He barely spared himself a sudden death with the activation of his Crown, and in a moment of Conflagration-enhanced focus, maintained the course and unleashed his Zephyrs Hell. A pocket of stasis formed around Dice and she lurched to an unnatural halt. Reality around her deformed as the Zephyrs nine heads neighed in unison, its Rend vanishing in an instant just as the thoughtwave swept through Shotin, their presence a mere five hundred meters away from Avo. He lashed at his foe with his haemokinesis. Nothing. His Sanguninity slid from the armor around them like they did the Shineguards light. Avo shifted strategies. Lightning coursed through him. Spikes of blood exploded from his being. An enormous eagle manifested where Shotin was and redirected the salvo right back with amplified velocity. Light flared around the Woundshaper as the constructs shattered. Avo manifested a Sanguinity-made claw and seized Shotin from behind, imbuing it with the same light that protected him. His adversary struck out at the appendage and the indestructible rang against the invulnerable. Shotin made two quick gestures and Avo felt his claw and body plunge down into the foundations of the district itself. Manifesting a new construct within the reach of his Crown, Avo ejected his mind and infused his consciousness within the shard and Boltstrode as he transferred the mass of his main body along the way. As he crackled back into existence beside Shotin, he laid eyes on his adversary for the first time, their armored figure protected within a glowing armor, as if fresh from the forge. Avo reached out to download Shotin using his Datacaster only to find his foe out of range in an instant. A beam cut out through the airCa thread of black fire that pierced clean through a nearby figure coming up behind him. A body fell in two pieces past Avo. [I think that was my partner,] Kassamon muttered. Avo ignored it and Boltstrode. Only to find himself wrenched in the opposite vector. Leaping constructs again, lightning coursed through Avo as he tried to catch up, but found himself too late. Shotin was heading for DiceCgoing to get her first, reaching a hand out as he prepared to snatch the discombobulated girl from the ground. Another beam cut through the air. This one struck the Seeker dead in the chest. Entropy essence splashed off his glowing armor, but the unanticipated attack knocked him into a spiral. But before he could get far, Dice grabbed him instead and flung him toward Avo. Hissing internally with glee and pride at the girls actions, Avos confidence swelled further as a blizzard formed around him, freezing multiple approaching golems and drones solid as he strode to reach Shotin. DISTANCE: [753 METERS] DISTANCE: [531 METERS] DISTANCE: [232 METERS] Then, just as his Crown slipped over the Seekers form, just as his Conflagration crept forth to welcome the newest member of the gestalt, Shotins armor broke open into tendrils of darkness and wrapped themselves around him. *** WARNING: FOREIGN SOUL DETECTED UNIDENTIFIED GODCLAD DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE VI [EST. 5941 THAUM/c] ->WOUNDSHAPER, THE AWAKENED (BLOOD/MATTER/BIOLOGY/LIGHTNING/LUMINOSITY/PROTECTION) Shotin had no idea how a Sphere Four GodcladCsome kind of Sang in a sleek-looking bio-rigCcould be this much trouble. Even without his Parallelist, his Heaven of Speed and War should have been enough to settle this. But here he was, venting his Hell into said Sphere IV to stall for time. As shadows wrapped themselves over the blood-made tower, he turned and triggered his Heaven of Speed to grab the girl. Enough of this madness. He needed to get out of here beforeC His Metamind screamed. He shifted leftCnot fast enough. A lance of entropy cleaved clean through his left ankle and his pain editor worked overtime. Biting back a string of curses, Shotin calmed himself and accepted that this was just one of the days that life broke down his doors to fuck him hard in front of the whole city. Nothing for it. He just needed to survive and get out of hereC The girl flung an aero at him. Shotin sputtered and swiped it aside. He barreled into her a moment after, grabbing her by her midriff only for two pinpricks of pain to sink into his hand. His eyes widened as he caged Dice in a field of inverted speed and looked at his hand. Her damn nu-kitten bit him! Two clean marks right on his favorite hand. Come on His hand promptly froze and shattered. He sighed and tried to dash away with the girl. This was when he reached his boiling point, for just as he was about to leave, a civilian model aero slammed directly into his ribs and pinned him against a nearby lamppost. Shotin spat out a mouthful of blood and made a pulling motion. Two people burst out the windshield of the circular aero as he booted it off his body with his remaining leg. One of them properly turned into waterCand Shotin redirected their flow into the sky before they could wash over him. The other, however, made Shotins thoughts grind to a halt entirely, for held between his very fingers, was the one he had been searching for. The mans face was bruised and bloodied, caked with broken glass, but the grinCthe ugly mop of blonde hair Shotin knew him! Shotin was hunting for him. Aedon Fucking Chambers, he muttered. Then, for no reason at all, the half-strand pulled his pants down and whipped out his penis. Shotins eyes widened in horrified disbelief. What the fuck? *** LUSTAWAY ACTIVATING Quail Tavers killed her drone feed and tripped over her own feet as she collapsed at her new firing position. What the fuck. *** Draus dove behind a building as a stream of rockets exploded behind her. One of her arms was goneCthe cost of taking her shot at Shotin between distracting the authorities. Sneaking a peek over using the Manta, she found her eyes locked to Chambers visual feed as she saw him holding his cock and pointing it at Shotin. GodsfuckingC A missile hit her. Armor Integrity: 16% *** The horror only worsened as Chambers member promptly caught fire. The acolyte leaned in. You shouldve stayed home today, Silver. And then he sprayed a deluge of aratnids from his groin. 17-13 Outbreak (I) Alright, thats it, everyones oh oh, no No! NO! AGHHHHHGHHHGC -Paladin Baers upon entering Vengs Stand and contracting the Rash 17-13 Outbreak An important thing to remember when someone was spraying burning aratnids into your mouth with their cock was to keep your mouth closed. This was a lesson Shotin quickly learned by experience as the first of the unnatural rat-spiders pried at his face, palps brushing his inner cheek. The chains of shock shattered. Outrage exploded inside him while he deluded himself, ignoring the pitched peals of his Lustaway. The swarm bit at his eyes, squeaking and hissing as their unnatural fangs actually pierced his skin, injecting clusters of something under his flesh. Through it all, Aedon Chambers cackled, howling like a hyena as his laughter cut through the air. The noise promptly turned to a shriek of agony as something inside Shotin snapped. Scattering the aratnids from his body with a flick of his wrist, the Seekers hand cracked through the air, and his Heaven of Speed cawed as two vectors of speed tore at Chambers. The first was anchored to his body and drove him down, crumpling the aero behind him from sheer force. The second anchor was attached to the acolytes testicles, and Shotin charged it with every last ounce of acceleration his Heaven was capable of and loosed it skyward in a random direction. The first force buried Chambes into the folding vehicle as the second uprooted his genitals from his groin like a burning, gore-rooted turnip. Horrifically, just before the member broke off with a sickening snap, Shotin noticed it twitch and extend. Oh, you sick motherC Things quickly grew worse. A spurt of blood and fire blasted out with the castration, but the act was a pointless one. More fire erupted from the wound and from its heat poured even more bioforms seeking Shotins flesh. It was like cutting a hole into a hornets nestChe just made a bigger opening for them. The bugs and newly forming flesh-coated abominations were the least of his worries, however. The true danger signaled itself as Chambers'' howling cries turned to a long drawn-out moan. An outbreak of redden dots popped and opened as a bloody line along the side of the mans face, distorting into something that looked like A sore. No. Cold dread filled Shotins stomach. He felt a spike of pure agony flare under his chin as his flesh began shifting against his will. Oh, no, he gasped, smacking a two-headed lizard as it shoved its face into one of his rapidly forming wombs. No. No, no, noCJaus, fuck, no! Chambers face deformed to support the beginnings of the Rash as he suddenly sat up like a man possessed, laughing at Shotins retreating form. Fluid pooled around his skin and sealed him in some kind of liquid armor, only exposing his growing wombs to the world. The Seeker tried to respond, but ineffable pain spread through his bone, his flesh tearing beneath his tattered suit like fissuring chasms, amniotic fluid fountaining from the rapidly forming sores. The swarm of creatures clawing and biting at his eyes was an afterthought now. He drove the acolyte through the pavement itself and stumbled for the nearest flame, mind blank of everything but his growing suffering. He needed to burn the affliction shut. Cauterize the plague. The burning wreck of what used to be a golem called to his attention from across the intersection. A sudden wetness spilled down upon him before he could reach it. He felt a lightness tap his Domain of Seas before the droplets fused into a river and shunted him away from his salvation. He redirected the waters around him, parting them before the Heaven vanished a second later as the other Godclad collapsed out of her manifestation, wailing in abject torture. She flopped out from the droplets and crashed down on the shattered street mere meters away from him, face contorting as she wheezed with her torment. Their eyes met and he noticed the clan mark over her right eyeCKusanade? Vezosos? He couldnt rememberCit was hard to think. He considered accelerating a nearby rock through her eye but the thought vanished as a small hand clawed out from where his ear was. An anguished noise escaped from him as he seized the homunculi by the arm and tore it out. His equilibrium went as a series of crunching pops rattled across the side of his skull. The world spun and danced as he chunked the half-formed infant onto the ground, his inner ear melded to its half-formed stomach. If there was any solace to be taken about looking at the malformed fetus grown from his flesh, it was the fact its hair was still slick and cheeks were still sharp. Then a swarm of aratnids poured over the mewing infant and sank their teeth in supple flesh. Let it be known that Shotin Kazahara remained charming even as a stillborn homunculus. Shapes and blurs passed through his cog-feed as he fought to keep himself standing between every step. He couldnt keep from flopping on his face when a golem crashed not two steps away, showering him with shrapnel. Through it all, Chambers damned creatures were back again, chipping at his skin while the Rash consumed his insides at an alarming rate. Just how much lust did that bastard have? Most outbreaks progressed slower than this. With Chambers it was like being at the epicenter of a fusion bombCall his metaphysical lust feeding the Fallen Heaven to its fullest capacity. In the corner of his eye, he spotted the girl he spent so much effort chasingCDiceCtearing a cluster of ingrown infants out from her thigh. Seeing double and hearing little more than a persistent ringing, he couldnt tell if she was crying or merely screaming. At least her bloody cat was helping her. Trying to bite through the mess of umbilicals hanging out from her body. His chest struck the wreck first and only then did he remember where he was going. Something in the back of his mind screamed for him to manifest one of his HeavensCto spare himself more torture. Remembering that it didnt matter, that the Rash would cling to his body even when it was stored in his Soul, rendered that idea worthless. This was a suffering of more than biology. Wombrash would have its keep once it touched you, and nothing but extreme burns or thaumaphagic treatments would be enough to preserve the body. Right now, all he had was the first option. When the choice was a bit of heat or shitting misshapen babies out from your pores, the decision was simple. Shotin shoved his face into the fire, and the following hurt came as a relief. REND CAPACITY [DAWNFORGE]: 44% *** Im gonna kill that sonnaC Tavers clenched her teeth as pressed her fusion burner over her newest sore. Her pain editor was top of the line. The kind of aug that could be adjusted on the fly. It didnt help. This wasnt the first outbreak she got caught up in but damned if it werent the worst. The drones had already been cut out of the sky by thoughtwave bombs, now the piloted golems were crashing down too. Poor bastards. They probably didnt expect to go out this way when they woke up in the morning. Good thing they disrupted the district''s NetherCthe last thing she needed was for the outbreak to spread. Choke her coming escape even more before the end. She winced as a pitiful cry sounded from her left armpit, pain blossoming throughout the left side of her body. Great. Another bastard wanted out. She sighed.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. There were just days this city kicked down your doors and just started fuckin ya with a burning pike. Nothing for it. Her bivouac was hosted in the bombed-out remains of someones living room. Before that, it looked to be a scavenged part of a mawship. Strange how things buried deep down end up topside again. Collapsing the plates of her combat-skin back around her body, she placed her trust in the armors auto-med systems to keep her together until the run was done. She just hoped Mellow and the others werent caught in the district when the shit went down. Picking up her Hellgun, she braced it against the window and noticed that the spider-pissing pervert half-strand that started this mess was approaching the Ori Godclad now, blocking her shot. Jaus, she breathed. What the hells were you thinking? *** Chambers was not thinking: Chambers was acting. Ever since he faced Naeko, felt the oppression of a higher Clad, a thought lived in the depths of his mindCa nuclear option that anyone could use, but were too inconvenienced or fearful to do so. Wombrash was a destroyer. Wombrash incapacitated and choked entire districts, requiring an entire rapid response force that existed as one of the few remaining cross-Guild organizations in existence today. Wombrash was feared. But Chambers wasnt scared. Chambers was a Godclad now, and Godclads were spared the consequences of death. Armor Integrity: 43% The Meldskin managed like a wonder, stopping him from getting crushed like a bug by the bastards Heaven. Cracks pooled as his helmet snapped back together, the armor exposing his sores and the homunculi hanging from them. They bounced against his body like strange fruits, each clawing and squealing their indignity at being alive, dirty mops of hair shining a rusted gold in the dim light of approaching sirens. Spotting his target cooking themselves in an open fire, Chambers face broke into a savage grin as two gnarled knots of writhing flesh dropped down from his wrists. The two newest additions to his temporary family wept aloud, unprepared for the fate he was about to inflict on them. Life gave him fucked-up fetuses, but now he was going to use them and kick some Silver ass. He walked past KaeCher eyes rolling into the back of her head as she squirmed with discomfort. Kneeling next to her was that FATELESS girl Avo was supposed to meetCCoin or Chopsticks or something. She was on her side, plucking dead baby after dead baby out from herself and the Agnos, a look of delirium weighing on her features. Just beside her, a nu-kitten with monkey arms on its back sniffed at the fetuses, winking curiously. The cost of victory was high. But this was gonna be worth it. He would make this worth it. Drawing on his Heaven, he ignited their sores and turned their homunculi into kindling. Only he needed to accept the burden of lust now. Only he could bear the raw size and power of a Ninth Sphere in his body. Coming to a stop just behind his enemy, Chambers eyes narrowed and something flopped out from under his right nipple, its small fingers clawing at him viciously. He held out one of his wrist-tethered fetuses like one would a sword, frowning as it dangled instead of pointed. Whats wrong bitch, Chambers said, snickering as he activated his Heaven again. Wings of fire expanded out from his back as a sea of creatures poured into existence. Feeling tired? Dont wanna fight anymore? Well too bad, because your ass is mine today. And Im about to put a baby inside it. He paused and considered his words. B-break a baby against it. The shoulders of the enemy Godclad sagged. Seated inside the flaming husk of a ruined golem, a certain calmness radiated from their personClike they had transcended pain to arrive at a new level of existence. Chambers frowned. Then promptly swung both his homunculi down on the half-strands head. The two pseudo-infants, realizing their fast-approaching end, screamed once more before they exploded in a welter of bursting viscera over the mans skull. It didnt do anything. *** Shotin looked down at his shoulder as the wet pulp of a dead baby slid down his chest, staining his already charred suit with mucus and blood. Sighing, he turned to face whoever he was about to kill and winced as his damaged ear popped, its inner organ partially healed. Once again, he found Aedon Chambers directly across from him, this time encased in smooth armor of fluid white. It strangely shared some resemblance to the hull of a voidship. What, Shotin sighed, the fuck is wrong with you? How arent you dead? I drove you into the ground. I tore your cock off. A chuckle. A chuckle escaped from Chambers as his pale armor flowed over and back under his skin. Coldtech armor, consang. It hardens in responseC Shotin triggered his Heaven of Speed one last time. He pulled at a loose stone somewhere behind Chambers. The plascrete shock snapped into his hand as it punched clean through Chambers skull. A clean gouge ran from where his nose was through the back of his head. Stumbling back, the acolyte blinked once and tried to say something as he toppled. The rock went under his chin and shredded his face into flaps before he hit the ground. Staring at the blood gushing forth from his body and the spasming of his legs, Shotin mantled the edges of the golem and stepped out. A scar was scabbing the face of reality. The piece of shit had another Cycler in him. Because of course he did. Of course some Low Master acolyte had all these ontologics, equipment, and implants. A pause passed through him as he turned his eyes on the other Godclad Chambers came with. Something didnt make sense here. The tech was definitely too advanced for a random anti-Guild outfit. And the woman he knew here from somewhere seen her face in a report before. But he never got the chance to have the epiphany he needed. The Rend capacity of his Dawnforge chimed as it reached empty in his cog-feed, and Shotin gave a shuddering whimper in response. REND CAPACITY [DAWNFORGE]: 0% Oscillating waves of blood exploded across the district as blades of blood finally cut the Woundshaper free from Shotins Hell as his impenetrable armor materialized around him again. Something inside him gave. He was done. Fuck this shit, he was going home. He just needed to kill Chambers and he could goC But that meant surviving that godsdamned Sang first. Break! he screamed as he dashed away from the Woundshaper, his Heaven of Speed slipping past eighty percent while another cluster of infants exploded out from the ripening drum of flesh that used to be his inner thighs. Give me a fucking break! *** [How is shit getting more fucked every time we come back!] Abrel growled through gritted teeth. [And why is the AgnosCoh, godsdammit Chambers!] The half-strand''s template took a moment to respond. [What? WhaCoh, holy shit the pain!] All of Avos consciousness was joined in a shared scream as the Woundshaper itself quivered, its body involuntarily constructing miniature spires of haemokinetic matter. Master! What is this this sensation! Unamused by the labor pains building behind his right eye, Avo hissed and focused on trying to kill Shotin instead. At least it looked like they were affected as well. As was everyone else in this district. {Chambers!} he screamed across his ansible, turning an entire street into a rising hammer that he used to batter the Seeker from below. No answer. No damage. Shotin flung a half-hearted stream of debris at him, but his heart wasnt in the fight anymore. He was turning hard and fast upward away from the district. Lightning fractured reality around Avo and a few more bolts than normal forked out from him. His templatesCsans Corner, Abrel, and Elegant-MoonCwere roaring in pain. He tried to stride after his quarry, but an irresistible force flung him in the opposite direction and he found himself resetting his form using his Sanguinity again. A gulf of fifty meters expanded into a kilometer even as Avo drew more mass into himself, thaums, and Rend building. Peeking a look over into Draus feed, he saw that she was cauterizing Rash-sores on someone who looked to be a golem pilot. Just as he prepared to cast her a message, he felt it. All around him, currents of spatial reality stilled and existence returned to relative normalcy. Far ahead, Shotin came to a sudden halt, turning in mid-air to face Avo. He wasnt fleeing anymore. He didnt have to. Alright. Shotins words rumbled forth from the very air itself, the heat of his frustration and rage suffused beneath the fabric of space. Unsheathing the power of his Parallelist, Avo winced as discomfort pressed against his Heavens of Signals and Air for the third time that day. Ive been having a really shitty day so far And Ive just about. Had Enough! The stacks fell. Shotin spasmed. His armor vanished. And a mound of writhing babies exploded out from inside his skull. All the minds inside Avo went quiet as they watched the Seeker fall from the sky. Template-Chambers broke the silence with a chuckle. [Saved by the rash.] A severed cock promptly fell from the sky and bounced off the Woundshapers body. [Oh, shit! Thats my dick!] 17-14 Outbreak (II) +ATTENTION ALL SUBJECTS! THE DISTRICT: [VENGS STAND] IS NOW UNDER QUARANTINE! WOMBRASH OUTBREAK IN PROGRESS! PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AND SHELTER IN PLACE. PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS ANY NETHER LOBBIES HOSTED IN THE HIGHLIGHTED DISTRICTS DURING THIS TIME! THE AFFECTED ARE RECOMMENDED TO FIND A SOURCE OF FIRE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO FIND A SOURCE OF FIRE, PLEASE COMMIT TO YOUR CIVIC DUTIES AND COMMIT SUICIDE VIA THE FATEST METHOD AT HANDCA FREE TIER LOTTERY TICKET WILL BE PROVIDED TO YOUR SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH STANDARD PROTOCOLS WILL RESULT IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF LETHAL FORCE VIA CONVENTIONAL, COGNITIVE, AND METAPHYSICAL MEANS. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. PLEASE ENJOY YOUR DAY!+ -Exorcist Public Nether Announcement 17-14 Outbreak (II) By the time Shotins corpse splattered in half on a wired fence, Avo was doing little better. Victory was hard to celebrate when a conjoined cluster of babies ruptured from your distended bowels. Each passing second filled Avo with pain beyond description, like a part of his very being was trying to shed itself, releasing itself out into the world as a flood of homunculi. They spilled from his Woundshaper in rivers of writhing red, their haemokinetic bodies shimmering with a mix of properties beneath the light of Layer Two. Channeling lightning through himself, he deliberated on Boltstriding over where Shotins Soul burned across the face of reality, his resurrection anchor already scabbing over a mangled mass of flesh. Between the caked remains of the man himself were oozing spills of pulped infants, their little bodies leaving his exposed inside as a slurry. Sphere Six. Dead like all the others. Dead in an instant. Dead like Avo was soon going to be if he wasnt constantly using his haemokinesis to pluck and plug the metaphysical sores forming along his Woundshaper. All that did was delay, however. He needed to die. But before that [Avo,] Abrel said one of the few templates capable of enduring the suffering, [You need to get out of here. Grab your cadre and go. Get the Reg. Scoop up the juv and the Agnos. Leave fucking Chambers to eat shit and die. If you stay here, theres no way youre getting the Seekers mind. Not a chance. Hell come back with his Parallelist and pocket us in the heart of the sunCpinch us all out like a candle. Hes definitely got another cycler in him to soak whatever Rend you got. You need to go. Go. Now!] [Or stay.] Elegant-Moons phantasmal presence offered a pleasant smile. [Stay. I enjoy these sensationsC] Avo ignored the Sang and temporarily released some of his mass and demanifested his full Heaven so he could speak with Draus with reduced time lag. His ansible pulsed within his skull and found the Regular casually shattering her right leg before reconstructing a transplant from the shards she just made. A glass cage stood across from her and five people twisted and moaned between the bars. Their bodies were disfigured by extreme burns and fried umbilicals dangled from their open wounds. Judging from the ports along their back and spine, they were probably golem jocksCa rare moment of mercy on the part of Jelene Draus. Considering how much pain they were in, however, perhaps it would have been more humane to snuff them instead. {Fuckin Chambers,} she chuckled, more annoyed than angered. A few little bodies lay at her feet, but she was enduring just fine, showing no hint of pain at all. Regulars. It was like their minds existed entirely separate from their wills. {Did you get em?} She was talking about Shotin. {No. Head blew open. Homunculi spilled out. Technically Chambers got him.} The Regular snorted. {Better not tell him that. The stupid sow-born bastard just made his own ass public enemy number one. Im gonna fuck him up somethin bad for this. Yeah. Im gonna take my time and do it slow.} Avo breathed. {Cadre building activity later. Leave now. Open passage to unoccupied spot in gutters. Kill ourselves and burn the bodies before going back.} {Loud and clear on that. I got the Manta holding overwatch over Kae and the others. She and Dice are lookin mighty fried, but alive. Our half-strand gonna take some time toC} WARNING: FOREIGN SOUL DETECTED UNIDENTIFIED GODCLADS DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE V [EST. 10200 THAUM/c] ->THE UNSEEN BASTION CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE V [EST. 10001 THAUM/c] ->MISTCLAIMER CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE V [EST. 35555 THAUM/c] ->BLADEGUNNER, KILL-FUCK-MOVE CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE IV [EST. 6712 THAUM/c] ->STRAYING TEMPEST Draus sighed. Time they didnt have. The four signatures manifested in Avos Sanguinity in an instant. A ring-shaped gateway opened in the fabric of space overlooking the district as a new cadre pushed through with golem and drone support. It wouldve been one thing if they arrived near one of the megablocks or the center of the districts, but they were zeroed in on Chambers position from the start. Shapes moved behind a curtain of mist as the Paladins began forming a perimeter around the intersection where Kae, Dice, and Chambers remained. {Shit,} Draus muttered. {Paladins can track Wombrash,} Calvino said between glitches and groans. The EGI was in pain as strings of data unspooled from its avatar, the nanomolecular sun spewing out smaller variants of itself, its shape distorting from second to second. {Every person the outbreak afflicts helps expand the rupture. Ruptures inside them as well.} +Affecting you too?+ Avo asked. {Well what can I say? I can simulate love and also self-replicate. That makes me as applicable as any of you meatbags and thoughtforms.} A part of the EGI vanished as it deleted a section of itself. {How is it corrupting me? ICI hate metaphysics. Its ridiculous. Its just ridiculous.} As the artificial mind lapsed back into a pain-inflicted stupor again, Avo tried to examine the composition of forces arrayed against him using his Sanguinity to no avail. The members of the rival cadre already had their Heavens manifested and some of their canons counteracted his Sanguinitys sensory perception. He could still feel movements and patterns of matter from moment to moment, but mostly it felt like gazing into a fathomless ocean: nothing but darkness and vagaries beyond a certain point. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Still, he could feel their Domains resonating with his, brushing his Biology, Luminosity, Lightning, and Space divinities. Compound that with Shotins resurrection cycle, and neither time nor firepower was on their side. {Draus. Need to go into the mist. Pick up the others. Get out. Need to go it fast. Cant see anything using the Manta. Plan?} A pause followed as she peeked out from the ruined building she was hiding in and considered the situation. {Yeah Yeah, I might got one. We run this fast and guerilla. You got that new Heaven in you, right? The hydra?} He grunted. {Well. Way I see it, what they got is firepower, numbers, and teamwork. What we got is surprise and absolute lethality if we can close. They aint got nothin for your Conflagration. I say we hit and run. Ill link a passage through your blood. Ill go loud first. Get their attention. You close with the hydra. Get inside. Ill step in using you. And then we start using each other as doorways: isolate and burn the shits. Thats my figurin.} [Good idea,] Corner said. [You might want to consider a contingency if they have something that runs counter to your Domains of Space, though. Give yourselves a physical way out in case your best option fails.] At the same time, Avo called on his newly claimed Paladin template for details, reshaping their personality to be more pliable in a shameful moment of desperation. [Listen: Ill help get you out of this if I can, but you promise that you wont real-death any of my consangs.] Avos agreement came quick and Paladin Kassamon continued. [That veil controls where things are relative to each other. It shouldnt clash with the Twice-Walker, but Path-Hydra will go edge to edge with whoevers the Porter. You need to get in close first and cool the air somehow. Thatll backlash the Heaven pretty badly and open the cadre up on the spatial end. I have no idea who the rapid response cadre might consist of so you pull your godsdamned punches. Burn their minds if you have to but dont] Words failed the Kassamon as he lapsed back into silence and torment. Cool the air, huh? Get close? Well, going into the mist directly might just get him locked into a fixed position. What he needed was to avoid it altogether while still encroaching on the Paladins. Avo looked down at the ground beneath him and redirected his Sanguinity downwards into the districts foundations. {Draus. Going to make a few updates to the plan. Might like them} *** Kare Kitzuhada had never been in so much pain. She relived deep immersion snuff vicarities for cases before, had her arms torn off by a rogue Fallwalker, had her bones turn into a feral entity inside her flesh before trying to claw its way out, set herself on fire for nothing during a false outbreak. None of these tortures compared to the Rash. None of them. But still, she was here, compelled and worried at the fate of her uncle, Shotin Kazahara. Family makes a person do stupid things. Like lying and begging her mentor about wanting to experience Rash-Detail for herself to harden up and not mentioning she was related to at least one of the Godclads present on the battlefield. As another whip of electricity broke from her body, she winced and fought to keep her Heaven manifested. +Keep it together, rook,+ Paladin Kaga grumbled. Kare hadnt interacted much with the stone-faced Scaarthian lieutenant back at headquarters, but she seemed unshaken by the hurt. Serving the cadre as Porter and its most senior member, Kaga manifested herself as a veil of fog that kept their unit tight and the area locked down. Nothing could come in without her knowing and if someone was in her Mistclaimers grasp, they werent leaving without her say so. The Heaven also made it easy for them to communicate even if their coldtech and Metaminds were disrupted seeing how Kaga could carry their words through the misted ether of her being. Despite the pain, Kare found herself feeling confident she was going to be fine. Her senior supervisor and mentor, Maru Sandrupal, was here with her as well, unwilling to let her volunteer alone. Youre gonna regret this one, kid, he had said, chuckling humorously between sips of coffee. Youre gonna hate me for not stopping you. And Im gonna be there with you when you do, just to tell you I told you so. He was right. He didnt know how right he wasCespecially didnt know why she wanted to be here. But a lie spoken couldnt be taken back, so she had to live it out as a truth now. Their drones located three bodies among the debris below. Near the corner of the intersection were two femalesCunidentifiable due to the severity of their burns. Their mottled flesh twisted and tried to fuse into new womb-sores, but lacked the structure to do so. It didnt stop them from being inflicted with other symptoms though. The feverishness. The delirium. The extreme hormonal shifts and emotional agony. Kagas Heaven acted as a stabilizer for the Nether, her mists a pillar while the world outside was a sea lost to tumult. Mem-data and other details passed through her mind as mech-driven golems and drones set out to secure the district as well, with two Knots dispatched to locate and retrieve Paladins Kassamon, Baer, and Luddinis. A flash of soulfire caught her attention as she felt a new presence click against her Domain of Fire. One of the bodies at the intersection was getting back up. The only male. Cycling through the mem-data, she frowned. Wait, had he been castrated? A sudden shift in the mists broke her from her thoughts. Kagas voice boomed in the back of her mind. +Contact!+ The drones outside exploded into a hurricane of shrapnel as entire portions of Vengs Stand shattered into shards. Gleaming daggers plunged into the mists but never made it more than an inch. Kaga scoffed and began to move, spreading her reach outward and fast. Paladin Sandrupal claimed Kaga could encompass an entire Sovereignty with her HeavenCthat getting away from her required more than speed. As a new swarm of drones peeked out from Kagas protective veil, they detected the enemy Godclad at the same time her Metamind did. WARNING: FOREIGN SOUL DETECTED UNIDENTIFIED GODCLADS DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE III [EST. 1444 THAUM/c] ->TWICE-WALKER None of the domains loaded. Maybe it wasC The Heavens presenceCand its thaumic signatureCsuddenly vanished. It was like it dove straight down into the ground asC Light bloomed inside the mist and steam parted the protective veil. Kaga snarled as soulfire burst from every bit of moisture that constituted her current existence, the backlash striking her. +Somebody deal with him.+ The Godclad that was resurrected was burning now, a pillar of fire rising from their body to spew bioforms and insects into the real. More worryingly, he had his pants down again and was swinging his genitals in their direction while hurling slur after slur. +Is this normal?+ Kare said, asking Paladin Sandrupal. Her mentor sighed. +There are no normal Fallwalkers, Kare. Only the psychos and degenerates. This fuckers clearly a bit of boC+ He didnt get to finish his words as the ground beneath the intersection melted into blood. Kares Metamind screamed again, warning about foreign Souls and unidentified Godclads filling her cog-feed, but her attention was entirely taken up by the icicles forming in the air next to her. Then, in the very next instant, all the cold congealed into a large fang as the head of a rime bear manifested and all the moisture in the air froze. Kagas Heaven rattled and detonated into Soulfire. +Backlash! Backlash! Need to venC+ Her voice cut off at the same point in time her Mistclaimer dematerialized, vaporous veil draining back into the shape of a flailing Scaarthian who burst apart in a spray of gore. The confidence inside Kare disintegrated with the lieutenant as her mind went blank and her training took hold. Cracking through the air, she lashed at the blood below and felt a resonating Heaven fling a bolt right back at her. She absorbed the crimson-hued lightning without effort. Her Straying Tempest resembled a twelve-legged spider with legs and palps hewn from electricity, a body bristling with burning hairs, and eyes that could gaze into any darkness. Beside her, Marus Heaven, the Bladegunner, was a train of moving appendages and weapons, its appearance a segmented machine composed of bladed scales and a thousand guns and cannons where its limbs should have been. Gunfire poured out from its body as more and more matter converted itself into exploding ordinance, pounding away at the spreading blood below. The Unseen Bastion lived up to its name and made no appearance even as four block-sized heads of a spatially defying hydra burst through the surface tension of existence and opened their jaws. A hurricane tore through the drones and flung golems aside. Energy surged through Kares Straying Tempest as he tried to make space, but the air around her grew thick and red, the particulates coming alight around her in a cage of luminosity. She struck against her prison, lashing it with her lightning and burning it with her flames to no effect. The bright was unbreaking. And through the translucent dome, she saw a triple-eyed, winged construct made of jagged glass crash into her mentor. Kare cried out, a thunderstorm detonating from the core of her Heaven. She skipped, bounced, and rattled, struggling even as the jaws of the hydra closed around the orb that trapped her. A second thereafter, fangs taller and longer than certain builds parted her from spatial reality in a long and winding tunnel whistling with running wind. Kare Kitzuhada came to Vengs Stand to help her uncle. Kare Kitzuhada found herself in the belly of the beast alone. 17-15 A Moment Most Feared (I) +Kare. I, uh, I need to talk to you. I thoughtCI asked them to be the one to tell you that oh, gods, oh fuck. ICit shouldnt have happened. She wasnt a soldier, they shouldntCthe fucking Paladins were useless andCand they shouldveCthe fucking bitch just did it anyway and they let her! They let her! I was I couldnt get there without abandoning my post but they kept going! I had to listenCthey made me listen to what they did. ICI+ [Shotin sobbing] +...Uncle Sho? W-what wrong? What happened? Are you alright?+ +No no.+ +Tell me where you are. Ill get dad. Well come to get you.+ +No! No, you stay home! You stay protected. Where its safe. You have to. YouCyou canCits not safe. I cant she wouldnt forgive me if I let you get hurt too.+ +She? Whos she? Uncle? Uncle Sho? Listen, Im going to try casting mom. Dad says her post got hit by a disruption during the offensive but things should be be+ [SESSION NO LONGER EXISTS; UNABLE TO INITIATE META-SYNC] +I I what. I think that something might still be wrong with the Nether, Ill ask dad if heC+ +Jaus, Kare, Im sorry Im so sorry. I couldnt. I had to stayCI couldnt go to her. I heard her screaming for me and I still couldnt because I had to I had to protect. Fuck+ +...+ +Kare? Kare?+ +ImCIm here. Im here. Im still here.+ -Thoughtcast between Shotin Kazahara and Kare Kitzuhada, Fourth Guild War 17-15 A Moment Most Feared (I) All it took to shatter a cadre was a single vector of force. An angle they couldnt see coming. An attack they couldnt resist. Avos consciousness was a symphony of minds, memories, and qualities manifesting and vanishing on the basis of task and need. Striking at the Paladins was a delicate operation. They were experienced and powerful, but unprepared, and that flaw made all the difference. Draus acted as something for them to focus onCa problem they could fire upon, tangible and dangerous in the material. Unbeknownst to the citys peacekeepers, however, Avo subverted the very ground beneath them, his blood worming through countless tons of matter as a complex system of tunnels formed in an instant. He kept his Woundshaper on the precipice of manifestation until the last moment, hiding his Sanguinity in the darkness of the underground as their assault began. He waited until he was directly below Kae and the others before he signaled the next phase to Draus. She leaped over through the reflections of his blood, drawing the Twice-Walker back into her Frame in lieu of her forst-wrought miracles. When they struck at the Paladins Porter, the breakthrough was sudden and immediate, and the cadre itself came apart in the chaos, granting him the opening needed to separate their forces. He pulled Chambers, Dice, Kae, and the kitten through a thin film of blood into his Zephyr while unleashing his Path-Hydras simultaneously. From there, the encounter folded into its third phase: the fighting retreat. The first entities Avo targeted were golems Kassamon identified as having spatial-altering Heavens capable of affecting tangibility. They were unraveled before their Heavens could manifest, and from there the rest of the Knots were left naked against further harm. Piloted by combat mechs beyond the Rashs means to affect, the remaining drones and golems fought and reacted in accordance with basic parameters, but lacked the skill and cohesion present in most human pilots. Knots were slow and stupid, unable to react cohesively without human direction. They mightve had a chance if the mists were still up, but the Porter of the Paladins was dead and all were exposed to the unstable Nether once more; no conducive for coordination or communication. The Path-Hydras surfaced across the skin of existence, falling upon the Rash-detail as the Woundshaper sealed the Paladins spatial gateway. Using its fortress, a cap of blood and light corked the metaphysical opening and Avo was tickled by faint impacts prickling at him from the other side. Almost immediately, more gates tore into existence across the district, only to be blockaded as well. Rend climbed across Avos Heavens as he set himself on eradicating the forces he could. The golems and remaining drones were the first to be swallowed while each remaining Paladin was granted a path to themselves. The Straying Tempest was caged in a fist of light as Avo placed them on a collision course with ChambersCLushburner fully manifested. The gun-layered snake that Avos cog-feed identified as the Bladegunner was taken off the field next, vanishing into a sheet of glass while chasing Draus Twice-Walker. The last of the Paladins briefly unleashed their Unseen Bastion Heaven around the district, a flesh-coated net-like entity with inward-facing eyes, before a thread of black fire cut up into the air and their presence vanished. The bifurcated body of said Paladin soon materialized, and Avo melted the corpse to spare himself any surprises. Sweeping the district frantically to discover the shooter, Avo found nothing as the surviving remnants of the Knots inside him demanded his attention. Whoever else was operating hereCassisting or hunting his enemiesCwas going to be a concern for a later time. He needed to resolve the final few golems right now. Unleashing his haemokinesis again, he unmade two-thirds of the surviving golems in an instant. Seven shapes mid-transition between mundane matter and divine ontology were drained away by his Sanguinitys crimson haze, their mass feeding his Woundshapers speed, while their Heavens sank into the depths of his Soul. Three remaining golems fought on, each bearing the same Heaven that manifested as bell-shaped reverberations of force that would have thundered endlessly through his paths if not they hadnt crashed apart against barricades both resplendent and unbreaking. Avo drew then on a portion of the mass he claimed and fabricated constructs within his Zephyr. Lightning splashed and radiance danced across each of his missiles. Imbued with the Domains of Blood, Matter, Luminosity, and Lightning all, he flung block-splitting assault at the remaining golems. Dozens of spikes lashed through torrential gales as streaking projectiles, their friction igniting the air and their impacts beyond the point of devastation. Be it the indestructibility of the constructs or the sheer velocity at which they traveled, the pulsating golems braced, then broke, the force within them blasting wide like radiation-clean warheads of a moderate yield. He caught the blastwaves in nets of light and wrung the devastation dry. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 81% REND CAPACITY [ZEPHYR OF THE NINE-PATHS]: 69% Thoughts racing with more gateways spreading across Vengs Stand, Avo shunted Dice and Kae further away with his Yondergales while restructuring his inner labyrinth to begin Chambers engagement against the Tempest. The final Paladin was obviously suffering from the Rash, though Avo remained wary of their capabilities. With reinforcements to contend with, swelling Rend, and a scene to flee, Avos Frame and cognitive processing powers were stretched to capacity. Dueling another Godclad was beyond him right now, but not Chambers. The latter still had more than enough space in his Hell to accommodate a battle, and the man seemed fascinatingly resistant to the effects of the Rash.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Normally, Avo would doubt Chambers odds against a Paladin, even if they were green. But these present circumstances were different. Between the Rash and the literal flood of bioforms trailing in his wake, all the half-strand needed to do was create a moment of opportunity for Avo to exploit, and another Godclad would soon be in their service. *** Jealousy wasnt an emotion Draus often experienced, but considering she was fighting an armored snake formed from a near-endless source of guns, rockets, beams, and burners, she found herself wanting to switch Heavens more than anything else. The Twice-Walker was damned useful, but sometimes a motherfucker just wanted to turn the city to ash. Shed have to see if the ghoul and Kae could help whip something like the Bladegunner up if they managed to get out of this mess alive. Regardless, the Paladin using it wasnt too bright. Seconds into being chased within her liminal passage, she ejected a sheet of glass faintly sharing the same outline as her and sent it onward while she slinked away by the wayside. Studying her foe from the comfort of her own plane, she saw that the Bladegunner was less snake and more a long cloud formed from an endless stream of munitions and guns jutting out from every inch of its skin. The more it shot, the bigger it grew, the faster it shot, the faster it moved. Every miracle it had seemed to compound into another as its speed shot far beyond her own in an instant. Again, Jelene Draus didnt often feel envy, but there were times you just wanted someone elses toys for the hell of it. She dedicated the moment to memory and opened two new passages in her paracosmos. She let her distraction flee out the first, the Bladegunner right on its heels while she egressed from the second, finding herself back in the tunnels Avo made beneath the district. Cutting back out into real space, Draus shattered the thin, reflective pole that served as one of her junctions and collapsed her Twice-Walker back into her own Frame. Heavy impacts hammered the surface and she took in the scene from high overhead using the Manta. There looked to be fifteen gold-lidded rings spreading and duplicating across Vengs Stand. Through the blurred translucence of Avos newest canon, she could see forces massing and ordinance striking his blockades. She had no idea how long he could keep that up before he needed to vent, and didnt want to find out. Another tear opened across her left ribs and Draus shattered the homunculi inside her with a thought before collapsing her Meldskin and layering her wound in a sheet of glass. Yeah. The Bladegunner wouldve been a fun thing to have, but the Twice-Walker was more than useful at keeping her alive. Just a shame it once belonged to a Greatling. Activating her thrusters, she pulled the map Avo sent her before their ambush began and continued within a plane. They needed to make sure the Rash wouldnt spread and that they had no tails before breaking for the George Washington. That was where the heat of Layer One came in, and the gutters after that; false trails and misdirection. She needed to make distance. Last thing she wanted to risk was getting pocketed after that Silver resurrected. Aint no way of dealing with that one yet. *** The length of the shadowy tunnel shifted and shortened as a trailing breeze guided Chambers toward his destination. A thousand or so wind-flayed homunculi still attached to their umbilical cords swung from his Lushburner as followed Avos directions. What was happening? Where was he going? What was he supposed to do? Chambers didnt know. Which just made this another normal day in his life. Besides the Rash, the Clad on Clad combat, the use of dead infants grown from his body as a weapon, the metaphysical release of his repressed urges. Yeah. Okay. Not really a normal day, but who was to judge him? Nobody, thats who! Especially since he just saved the cadre from a mega-high-uber spheragd fucker that was about to snuff em all. Oh, they were going to appreciate him after this. He could feel it. The ghoul would be giving him Heavens, and the Agnos would smile more at him instead of giving those sad eyes from when he told her about growing up in the Spine. Hells, the Reg might even give him a nod. He could picture the scene in his head now: hed be walking down the tunnel into the George Washington with dead homunculi hanging from him like a cape. There, Denton would gasp and the Faither would be like holy shit, I didnt think anyone would be that powerful. That strong of spirit. Then, Draus would put a hand on his shoulder, and her lip would curl because she always has a solid brick up her ass, but finally she nod, and everything would be great andC Chambers reverie came to a halt as the biggest godsdamned spider he ever saw came into view. Well, kind of a spider. Its legs were like crackling with lightning or some shit, and its body burned as he did. He could actually feel its Domain pressing on his as he approached. The part where it stopped being so bug-like was how all its little pitch-black beady eyes lined its entire body and the giant ball of clasped hands that made up its head. Little dead babies were dangling from its midsection; no running from the Rash, fuckers. He couldnt lie: Heavens looked weird as fuck a lot of times. Made his mind do backflips when he stared too long. Still remembered when they used to crash against his wards thoughCthose were the days. Soft and weak Chambers. Not-Godclad Chambers. Victim Chambers, owned by Mirrorhead, just doing this and that and letting life pass him by. A twinge of discomfort flared up inside him, but he felt better as he shit out another gaggle of screaming infants. He charged these ones with his fire too, priming them like meat explosives, leaving them burning like embersCdangling candle tips about to go off. He''d die before he ever gave up his Frame. This was the best of him. This was the most he would ever amount to. He wouldnt survive going back. He couldnt. WARNING: FOREIGN SOUL DETECTED UNIDENTIFIED GODCLAD DETECTED CLASSIFICATION: SPHERE IV [EST. 6712 THAUM/c] ->STRAYING TEMPEST Pushing the clouded thoughts from his mind, Chambers studied his foe and came to a hovering halt as he coated himself using all his little friends. Swarms of insects, warped creatures of bone and wing and flesh, Sang bio-drones he burned that day when Nu-Scarrowbur got fucked all clustered around him, forming a barricade of bioforms. The Straying Tempest, on the other hand, was skittering across cracks of lightning, dashing from place to place. Oh, so this was gonna be a fast one. That was cut. Chambers hated people who were faster than him. Or stronger. Or smarter. Or better looking. Or had longer dicks. Or nicer legs. The point was that Chambers had a lot of hate to offer, and this half-strand was going to catch a thick spray of his loathing in the form of dead babies. Exploding dead babies. He was going to do to them what he should have done to that burned Silver cunt earlierCboom! A pregnant pause hung in the air between him and the Tempest. He tried shouting a slur at them, but the Nether wasnt working well down here and his Lushburner didnt have a mouth, so the bitch-bird he was just started squawking. The ribbed folds of darkness lining the path wheezed with the passing wind as the Tempests many eyes blinked. ICS-stop! Chambers frowned somewhere in his Soul where his actual face should be. How the fuck were they talking? That was bullshit. They didnt have a mouth! Did they have a talking Heaven? Was that a thing he wasnt getting? And they sounded kinda nice too. Soft and shaky, but very crisp and measured. Deep for a non-Scaarthian girl too. At least he thought it was a girl or something. Actually, he wasnt sure. People had all kinds of voice box modulators in New Vultun. She could be like the cock-thief of floor twelve back in his childhood mega. Nasty case, that one. Before the Rash. Big, ugly Kosgan fucker hiding in alleyways with a medical saw, a voice changer, and a holocoat pretending to be a young woman. That motherfucker stole and sold so godsdamned many testicles that Chambers found over a hundred thousand imps on the psycho after snuffing himC Paladin was still talking. He completely missed what she just said. --by the powers vested in me under the Accords and recognized by the city and its Great Guilds. Will you comply? Shit. What did she say? He accessed his Metamind and pulled the moment back but found himself losing focus the moment she started talking about legal bullshit.You know, I always hated you glasser-fucks. He summoned a stream of nu-pigs from his fire and let them fall into Avos shadows, squealing. Hopefully, the Paladin caught the insult. Its always Accords this laws that, but at the end of the day, youre just like all the others! A fuck! A shit! A half-strand. A murderer of us little guys because some of us just wanna feel good or something. Its bullshit! It was only after his rant concluded that he realized he still had no mouth. At least the Straying Tempest was staring at all the falling pigs. Are are you calling me a pig? Holy shit she got it! Chambers made his Lushburner nod in excitement, the bird bouncing and wood breaking as it did. I The Straying Tempest sagged, seeming exasperated. Alright, I guess. Then, if you wont complyC Chambers promptly flung his collection of homunculi, the cluster of burning infants sailing through the air. They promptly exploded before getting anywhere near her. The Lushburner sagged. The Tempest just stared. ICdid you just Chambers charged. 17-16 A Moment Most Feared (II) Shotin Kazahara: No. Kare Kitzuhada: Ive already taken my oaths, uncle. Im not requesting permission, Im informing you that Im done. Im a Paladin in training now. Shotin Kazahara: [Sigh] No. Reject the offer. Ill finish up my assignments and well talk. Kare Kitzuhada: Theres nothing to talk aboutC Shotin Kazahara: Kare, I dont want to argueC Kare Kitzuhada: Youre not listening to meC Shotin Kazahara: No, Im ignoring your words because they dont make any sense to me. Why? Why are you so determined to be a Paladin? You deserve betterCyou are better. With your skills and temperament. Kare Kitzuhada: I can what? Serve the overclan? Serve our Guild? Or one of our allies? Or go turncoat? Its all the same thing, Uncle Sho, cant you see? This is the only choice that can matter. This is the only choice that lives up to the dreamCthat gives this city a future. Shotin Kazahara: A future? A future? The Paladins. [Incredulous laugh] Kare, my dear, sweet girl, the Paladins are less an organization and more a skin tag that the High Seraph refused to cut off at the end of the second war. Probably because she used to fuck the chief. Kare Kitzuhada: Chief Naeko? Him and the High Seraph used to uh Shotin Kazahara: Yeah, groin-buddies of the pre-rash variety. Of course, Samir used to be one hard sonuvabitch back in the day. Literally. Do you know the legends, right? How he managed to break out of one of the last breeding farms and link up with Ashthrone during the Fall? How he ended up slaughtering his way from the Plains, to the island chain of Ao, to the heartland of the Skuldvast itself, butchering priests and nobles while freeing slaves? Kare Kitzuhada: Well, yes, Ive even immersed myself in a few of Chief Naekos vicaritiesC Shotin Kazahara: You know what he did to the ones he captured, yeah? The slave breeders? The families of the former faithful? Oh, our consang Samir is limp and castrated now, but boy did his hand inspire some foul work. Foul enough to please old Thousandhand herself. Foul enough to catch even Veylis eye for a time. Kare Kitzuhada: He regrets those days. He never hid that. Shotin Kazahara: Yeah. Sure. Regret. Glad hes evolved so much as a man. He and the rest of Jaus war dogs. Kare, the Paladins were a joke then, and they are a joke now. The only thing thats changed is why theyre funny. Before, they were Avandaers fistCan outfit dedicated to shattering the last remnants of the old world no matter the atrocities, damn the consequences that followed. Now, theyre a maimed insult. Too crippled to live up to their ideals, but too deluded to dissolve and dieC Kare Kitzuhada: Alright, then. WhatCwhat would you have me do? Join Ori-Thaum? Be an IncubiC Shotin Kazahara: Fuck no. Thats misery detail. Ill have you working with me. Me, or Kaltain, or Moz. Kare Kitzuhada: Right. Snatching minds and slitting throats in the dark between guest appearances on prime-time streams to promote whatever the party line is these days. C-can you even tell me what youre doing now? If the person youre hurting deserves it. Shotin Kazahara: Were doing this for the good of the Guild and our people. Both our citizens and subjects deserve better than to suffer under corrupt officials and constant war. Battling the rot is constant work but noble work. Youll find no juster cause anywhere on Idheim. Kare Kitzuhada: But theres nothing just about our cause! Were still separating people between humans and livestock. Shotin Kazahara: These sacrifices will be worth itC Kare Kitzuhada: No! No, they wont! You know they wont! Youve fought the warsCmore of them died to fuel our industries than as collateral damage! Whats going to change in the future? What is a single bit of affirmative action that has been provided to them since the end of the Fourth Guild War? What has your service, moms life, dads life amounted to? Nothing! Nothing at all! More propaganda! More slogans! More junk entertainment outputted of a victory that isnt coming! Because were in a stalemate. Forever! All the death and bloodshed rushing down the Tiers into Warrens to spill into the Maw before vanishing. Like it never happened at all. Shotin Kazahara: You know she wouldnt have wanted this for you. Kare Kitzuhada: What? What? S-screw you! Dont use her against me like that. Shotin Kazahara: Im not using herC Kare Kitzuhada: Yes, you are! Yes, you are! You are using the memory of my mother against me. You always do this! When you cant beat me down with your whining and complaints and constant degrading of my beliefsC Shotin Kazahara: CKareC Kare Kitzuhada: CYou always turn to the last thing you know that is certain to hurt me. Pull the wound open and press. Its always the Paladins fault. Its always them. Highflame just does what they do. You had to follow orders. Ori-Thaum had to sacrifice that district to buy time. None of you have any choice. But the Paladins have to be the only adults in the room with none of the authority! So FUCK THEM am I right? Shotin Kazahara: Look. Im sorry. This topic isnt easy for meC Kare Kitzuhada: And it is for me? I dontCdont I''m not doing this. Dont contact me again. I need toCdont come find me. If our shared blood means anything, you stay away. Dont call me. Dont call me. Shotin Kazahara: Kare, waitC [SESSION DISCONNECTED; SESSION BLOCKED] Shotin Kazahara: Kare? Kare? Godsdammit! Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! Great job, Shotin. Great fucking job. -Transcribed argument between Shotin Kazahara and his niece Kare Kitzuhada (Memories provided by a member of Clan DRongo) 17-16 A Moment Most Feared (II) People feared exploding babies. Chambers wasnt sure why. Babies were pretty lame if you thought about them. They were like the shittiest version of people possible. Short ass limbs, big ass heads, always screaming, pissing, and shitting themselves. Hells, even the ghouls didnt really go after them that much during the Uprising. Why get a sausage when you could have the whole pig, right? Adults had a lot more meat on them. Still, the psychological advantage of forcibly pushing countless half-grown, screaming homunculi from the burning sores flaying your Heaven was one that couldnt be denied. The Straying Tempest recoiled away from the half-strandCfear or disgust halting her path. Pft. Weakness. Chambers was not chained by such social niceties. Babies dead and dying erupted out from his Lushburner as his bird-self cawed in outrage. Its flames licked at reality, bioforms exploding out from him in waves of flesh, forming a dichotomous layer of assault and defense. His bio-crafted drones surged out to meet the Paladin while he adjusted his chainmail of homunculi. He needed to force his ontology to shit out more infants while his foe was unbalancedCto strike them where they were weakest: their sensibilities. Webs of lightning spread out from where legs speared into the fabric of existence, and a good portion of his assaulting assets vanished between the cracks. A most impressive miracle. Maybe it would look better on him REND CAPACITY [LUSHBURNER]: 47% He formed even more bioforms this time, sending them out as a falling storm of screaming chitin and writhing flesh. But instead of charging in behind them, he spread them out like a screen and covered his approach as he flanked. Chambers snickered even as the first cracks of lightning punched holes through his offensive. Stupid glasser bitch. She didnt know drones were expendable. All he needed was to get around, and soon he would be detonating tons of dead baby meat on her assC The environment around him choked. The temperature plummeted and he felt his swarm begin to rapidly die. A force rattled against his Heaven of Fire as a glowing brightness began to build through the cracks of his attacking bioforms. Flashes spread through each of his creatures, and those touched by the unnatural light fell limp and dead, shattering against each other as if they were frozen solid. Then came the explosion. The blast wasnt a large one. Not even for by the standards of a Syndicate-directed inter-sovereignty kinetic missile. What it was, though, was hot. Damn hot. Like, impossibly hot. Hotter than the heat vents of a Layer hot.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. At the epicenter of this heat was the Staying Tempest. The body of the spider was no longer solid. Instead, it flowed like fluid magma, each part thick and molten, volcanic essence mingling into the thunderbolts that comprised its legs as dots of piercing red dotted its countless eyes. A fiery aura lit the world around the enemy Heaven as Chamber angled his Lushburner in for a charge. He ignored the sphere of brilliant light manifesting around him and his enemyCignored everything other than growing more bioforms and homunculi to create the biggest bang possible. When this was done, theyd see who burned hotter. *** REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER]: 97%VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY [ZEPHYR OF THE NINE PATHS]: 89% REND CAPACITY [DATACASTER]: 86% The Straying Tempests flames almost triggered a thaumic backlash in Zephyrs Yondergale canon before Avo quarantined the temperature spike using his Domain of Luminosity. He was about to slip over into the upper section of Layer One, and just in time as well. His Rend was high across the board. One mistake and his existence would conclude in an instant. Sequenced with aspects of Corners personality though, he felt more alive than ever, the thrill of a final death keeping his mind sharp and actions resolute. In half a second, he would release all the portals he was plugging up top and kill his Sanguinity. Dice and Kae were cocooned in a shell of blood. The nu-kitten had to be separated from them and hidden somewhere in the gutters before their resurrection cleanse. If it were up to Avo, he would have abandoned the creatureCor eaten it. But the waif wanted to keep it, and what kind of benefactor would he be if he couldnt grant such a little wish? [The kindest, noblest subhuman cannibal, everybody,] Abrel muttered sardonically. Paladin Kassamon gagged. [I cant believe Im feeling someone fantasize about eating a nu-cat.] Lightning and fire splashed against his prison of light while Chambers and the Paladin fought on. The latter was inexperienced and unnerved, the hesitation in their actions and reluctance to make contact with more homunculi the primary reason Chambers still had any momentum at all. Besides that, however, he was getting chipped apart. Bolts charged with stinging flame cleaved into the half-strands Lushburner, blasting parts of flesh, wood, and fire free from the manifestation. Their lightning canonCif that was what it wasCworked differently than Avos Boltstride. From what he observed, it was a miracle directed toward capturing instead of killing. Made sense for who she was. Told him plenty of what she thought to be important. It also let her take Chambers piece by piece, letting the fool cut himself upon her net. There was the critical flaw Avo left in the man showing itself again, the root of his mistake in the Burners Way run, the shadow that followed him his entire life. Impulse. Chambers chased impulse. Was a slave to it still. Being a Godclad mightve spurred some changes, but he was like a dog dragged behind an aero instead of will unleashed. He chased power and carved respect, but sourced these things from others. Unsurprising how he even fought the same way. He attacked, relentlessly, with nothing held back, but still let her dictate the terms of the engagement, still let himself be led and brutalized. Like a dog. [Jaus, consang, i-is that how you see me] template-Chambers mind was as sour as it had ever been. He studied himself through Avos senses and he flinched each time his Lushburner took a hit. [I was I did all this because I thoughtCthe Rash worked! It killed that Shotin fucker.] That was true. Whatever other faults Chambers had, they would probably be dead now if the homunculi hadnt ruptured free from the Seekers skull. Of course, if they managed to assemble into a proper cadre and engage Shotin as a solid unit instead of skirmishing against him as separate entities, who knows what might have happened? Mistakes to be rectified. Room to grow. [You can change me, yknow,] Chambers laughed weakly, feeling the Paladin cleave into his real self once more. [Make me better.] A genuine pityClong fed by exposure and experiences alongside ChambersCblossomed inside Avo for the man. It wasnt a thing of sadness but philosophy. Of belief. Here he was wishing to take in other minds and become perfected. And here Chambers followed, willing to debase and betray any aspect of himself to be what someone else would love and want him to be. Their roads were inverted, and paradoxically, what Chambers sought would remain beyond him until he stopped being himself. For what respect could Avo have for someone who regarded his agency so little? {Respect that hes still alive} Calvino said, presence and voice lighter than ever before. {Respect how hard life was and is for him respect him for only being slightly insane.} The EGI laughed. {He really shouldnt have done that The people here a lot of them arent you theyre going to die. But hes fixated on the only pleasures and powers he knows} +So what? I should just accept? Accept his impulses?+ {You want to be more? Then show him. Show him what becoming means. Dont just hoard. Kindle hope. Set his humanity free.} Calvinos words settled in the back of Avos mind as his Zephyr slipped through Layer One and released his haemokinesis. He hoped Draus was in the tunnels he made as they planned. He hoped that none of the Paladins or Shotin were capable of tracking him so fast. Turning his attention to monitoring the fight between Chambers and the final Paladin, he re-entered Nether-stable space and quelled his Crown as well. Soon, a new presence would grace his mind. A new perspective toward greater understanding. Guilt swelled inside Paladins Kassamons template. [Shit Im sorry. Im so fucking sorry.] And to think that his actual self was still topsideCprobably resurrected by nowCand completely ignorant of his part in the betrayal. What delicious subterfuge. [Youre a fucking monster.] Poor little Kassamon. How could the truth hurt Avo? Perhaps this new one would be wiser. [Oh, gods.] Watching and waiting as she tore into Chambers, shredding his Lushburner apart piece by piece, drinking his flames in before he could use them to grow more bioforms, the opportunity came as her confidence grew. She was growing closer, unaware of her coming fate. Kassamon struggled. Avo let him. The template raged against empty space, screaming, and striking at nothingness. [Get away! Dont come any closer! Get away!] He turned his focus on Avo again. [You promised youd just burn her! You promised.] Avo ignored the template and demanifested his Zephyr. The paths vanished as all the tunnels collapsed over each other, the debris collected from the ambush spilling out into the inner mechanisms of the Layer as the cocoon holding Kae and Dice struck structural support. Abandoning his own body for an instant, Avo triggered his session and poured his consciousness over into Chambers. As his awareness reloaded, he found himself on the cusp of defeat and execution, the half-strands minds too drenched in thrill and desperation to notice as the Tempests limbs lashed through the air, a falling storm seeking to tear its hated adversary from this mortal coil. REND CAPACITY [LUSHBURNER]: 88% *** Kares left leg cleaved through the stretching distance between her and the Lushburner as the plane around her vanished. The temperature of her surroundings swelled as the oppressive glow of heat vents and sparking generators loomed around her. Structure supports and various rusted mechanisms blurred along her peripheral vision, but she found herself too engrossed to care. There was barely anything left of her foe. He attacked her head-onCreckless and savage, but showing no skill. After her initial unbalance, she steeled herself and fought. And found herself winning. Winning despite being alone. She let him break himself on her fissures first. Then, she set about cutting him down to size. Now, only the head of the phoenix remained, the rest of its manifestation worn away and not given time for restoration. She learned to steal its fire to prevent the coming swarms, but still, the homunculi spilled. They were increasingly bleeding from her sores as well, though she fried them using her electricity when she had the chance. As her final blow hewed into the ontology of her foe, she noticed something flicker and change in the flames. That was when victory was snatched from her very jaws. The impenetrable radianceCthe kind that vanished with the demiplaneCshone into being around the Lushburner. Her blow splashed uselessly against the shielding. Acting on instinct, Kare shifted her attack to something indirect, seeking to drain what remained of its flames. Little did she expect another kind of fire spear out, seeking her mind instead. A faint screaming emanated in the Nether as the burning wisps shot out to claim her. Faintly, she heard echoes of someone screaming for her to run. Too late. She made the mistake of attempting to catch the flames with her Heaven, only to find they werent of the natural world, unbeholden to her Domain. The first tendril struck her ward and she expected to feel a rattle. Instead, all her ghosts ignited at once, and her protections disappeared beneath a vast wall of cascading conflagration. Through the miasma of fire and chaos, she saw vague contours formed by the flickering inferno. Her senses melted into each other as she felt her grip on her body and Heaven fade. In this place of disorder, she found the world rebuilding around her as ghosts tore through her, pulling aspects of her memory out against her will, each pass whittling at her consciousness. The faces and places around her spun and splashed as he felt herself lost and cast into confusion, mind drawn deeper and deeper into a maelstrom. Then, as sudden as the madness began, it ended. Her eyes were hers again. Her senses, body, and mind. But her Heaven she couldnt call it. She couldnt feel it. And most disturbing of all, she wasnt where she was supposed to be. No. She was in her childhood bedroom. During During the war. The night her uncle called her to tell her about her mother More mem-data settled around her as the scene loaded with impossible precision. Kare Kitzuhada beheld herself as a child, hugging her pet nu-dog and on the verge of tears she listened to Uncle Shotin break and just weep. He couldnt speak by the end. He couldnt speak. Niece, a sibilant voice rumbled with excitement from behind her. Kare flinched and spun, lashing out with her hand. No lightning leaped out. No Heaven protected her from the creature that stood before it. What a find. Fortune after misfortune. Monstrous laughter followed. A pale thing of nightmare stood before her, its limbs unnaturally long, its back laced with transplanted limbs that bit and chittered at the air. There was a fluidity that danced across its flesh, coating its shell in smooth, polished armor. But it was the look in its eyes that infused her guts with mind-hollowing fear, and the flames rising from its haloCsmoldering high into the ceiling and spilling over into the ghosts and phantoms that formed this place. Was this a vicarity? A memory simulation? Had she been trapped in her own mind? No, it said, chuckling softly. Not just yours anymore. Ours. What? she whispered. WhoCwho are you? That question made it pause. It contemplated its response for a moment as its fangs spread wide, running from ear to ear as it offered a twisted parody of a smile. The one who is going to burn this city, I suppose. But just want to practice understanding right now Learn about you? It took a step forward and she instinctively put herself between the creature and her younger self. An inquisitive tilt of its head came thereafter. Stay away, Kare said, shifting into a guarded stance. She wasnt that well-versed in unarmed combat, but her uncle showed her enough. This thing was still shaped like a personCjoints spine, bones those were all there. She could exploit that. And if it had arteries, she could bring it down by severing the oxygen. So much history between you too, it said, almost unable to contain its happiness. Came just for him Became mine just because you were worried about his safety. The monster clicked its teeth together. He will be touched when I add him to us. What do you want? she said, forcing strength into her voice. What are you even talking about. It stared at her and lowered its head. I told you Understanding. 17-17 New Angles +Rab. Im inside Layer One. Our consang made a tunnel complex of some kind all the way down through the districtCcouldnt stay topside, streets and skies are crawling with glassers right now. Had to snuff two that were following me earlier. Nethers still stabled here, so that was a concentrated bomb they dropped. Good thing too. My Incog kicking in earlier was the only thing that kept me alive. My drones are fried, but I think I have someone to shadow. Pale armorClooks like voider coldtech. Im keeping up for nowCtry and make contact before they vanish. See if I can make some new acquaintances with the two Paladins I killed. Risky, but what the hell. Let it ride and lets see where the dice land. -Quail Tavers 17-17 A New Angle +Jaus, Kare, Im sorry Im so sorry. I couldnt. I had to stayCI couldnt go to her. I heard her screaming for me and I still couldnt because I had to I had to protect. Fuck+ Grief stained every word that left Shotin Kazaharas mind, and the weight of his implications fell like dirt from the sky, burying Kares younger self beneath. The bedroom of her memories was a den of astounding luxuryCsixty square meters. Nearly two hundred square feet. Far larger than the hab-cells allotted to the FATELESS and ordinary wagers. Sampling mem-data wrought from both the terrified Paladin simulated before him and the girls younger, number self, Avo found himself delighted with the goldmine he just struck. Here was an intersection of trauma. Here was an individual shaped by history itself. Here was someone special for his needs. Patterns of blue and silver formed the backdrop that were Kares walls and a locus dangled from a metallic port at the center of the ceiling, serving as a light and entertainment system both. Ghosts flowed in constant rivers through her room, the wisping trails bathing the material world with their ethereal hues. Seated on her magnificent bed of white linen, and with a golden-furred nu-dog puppy clutched tight to her chest, the Kare Kitzuhada of yesteryear stared empty-eyed as the news of her mothers demise sank in. Mother. Gone. Forever. To both her sides, a collage of physical pictures trailed up the walls from two nightstands. Moments of growth mingled with family photos; her first junior strategist competition; a picture of her father, Valhu Kitzuhada cradling her as an infant, boasting about something or another to her laughing mother. Yelet KitzuhadaCformerly Yelet KazaharaCwas just taking off her earrings in those photos. Jewelry made from purest silver. One of the pair was in Kares drawer even now. It took less than a glance to detect blood relations between the girls mother and her uncle. They shared the same sharpness in their cheekbones, the same skin fold of the upper eyelids, the same olive skin tone, and the tasseled hairs similar to strands of midnight silk. Kare herself seemed to lean more toward her father in appearance. Her fatherCah, Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhada. Squarer face. Heavier build. Dark brown eyes instead of emerald green that were further apart as well. The hair color and cheekbones remained present. Avo more than suspected that some delicate tweaking was conducted long before the girls birth to shape her eventual visage. Most flat children her age were supposed to have a set of perfect teeth, anyhow. Perfection was a thing artificially ensured and naturally abhorred. As Shotins choking sobs grew louder and louder through the Nether, Kare tightened her hold around her dog as it began to lick at her falling tears. The creature was a tiny, yipping thing, unaware of why the salted waters flowed down its masters face, interfacing with sensed sorrow the only way its animalistic instincts told it how. Humans desired such contact. Such touch. Before he was reborn through the Conflagration, he could have never fully empathized with such wants. Even now, he regarded these needs as oddities. Sorry, he said, using one of his Echoheads to gesture toward her mothers photos. Life treats many of us so poorly. Some wounds cut too deep. The Paladin he burnedCKare of the presentConly brought her fists higher and tightened her guard. Abrel scoffed at the spacing between the girls feet while Corner found something to judge why she hadnt attacked yet. Thousands of different opinions filtered in from all his templates, but none truly took in the fullness of she who stood before him. I saved your father, he said. Did you know that? Her features collapsed into confusion. What? What are you talking about? Your father. The ambassador. Valhu Kitzuhada. The Greatlings werent finished with you. Kare swallowed and took a step back. How how do you know that my fatherC He made his Conflagration crackle, and suddenly the memory around them broke apart into errant flames, each flicker manifesting as one of his many templates, countless avatars floating in the inferno, all gazing upon Kare, each armed with a different expression. I know everything you know. And I know everything I know. We are of a mind. But you are part of me. See what I let you see. Understand and think as I allow. The disbelief in her lasted but a second before Avo infused her template with enlightenment. Kare choked as she clutched her head, staggering back as her childhood room loaded back into sequence, the end of her bed giving her something to rest against. Its a lot, Avo breathed, offering her a second to acclimate. The impatience inside him wanted to accelerate her acceptance, but he granted the girl a chance to settle in on her own accord. Part of him liked her more than most others. Here was someone genuinely dedicated to service in spite of suffering, turning from anger and malice toward a proper solution. He looked forward to integrating her gestalt with his mind. It made the decision to spare her true self easier as well, shifting his mind further from Corners as he abandoned all thought of claiming her Frame. Its you, she whispered, finally looking up, facing him again. Aedon Chambers is hes just a template a little less than a pawn A swirl of flames manifested Chambers in her room. The half-strand shot Avo a glare and gave the girl a shrug. Hey, listen, juv. Uh, sorry about your mom and shit. And the exploding babies. I was just trying toC Avo dissolved Chambers, the point made. Chambers isnt less than a pawn. Hes a person. Stupid. Foolish. Half-strand. Impulsive idiot. Amoral. But still a person. Like all of us. The Paladin offered no reply. Cycling and stitching her memories and experiences closer to his base mind, Avo sped through the twenty-four years Kare Kitzuhada had been alive. Even with her maturation process shortened to eight years instead of a decades-long affair, it was for baseliners, the fabric of her thoughts was unblemished and youthful. She had her share of trials and setbacks, but her uncle and father protected her well, regardless of how much the two men despised each other. You knew that Elder DRongo was working with Jhred Greatling already. The words left Avo as a statement. She saw Naekos rampage through the Fires Height like most others, but she hid her relief well. Not that it fooled her mentor any bit. Surprised they accepted you. Let you be part of the Nu-Scarrowbur incident. Avo said, scanning through her experience joining the Paladins. So much family baggage. Kare folded her arms. Thats not special. Most Paladins are either ancients like Paladin Maru or the Chief. The rest of us are all sourced from within the Guilds because of disillusionment. Or spying. Thats a thing too, but its also a double-edged sword. It lets us have some operation leeway against each of the Great Eight that someone outside of the family wouldnt have. She massaged her temples and struggled to face her current reality. But you youre Noloth is gone. The empire fell almost four hundred years agoCthe last cells of the Low Masters were scoured during the Uprising How are you Her voice trailed off as Avo found himself amused. It wasnt just this girl who needed to face conflicting information. Details of the Nolothic collapse was mixed across the board and different between all the Guilds. Issues with living in societies that viewed truth as malleable or a weapon to be denied. As you said: disillusionment; family cuts both ways. Kare went still and her eyes flicked upward. What what are planning to do with me? Going to take your template with me. Add you to my gestalt. But your true self lives. I have relived your life. See new angles I can exploit. New opportunities. Going to plant a session in your mind. Rewrite your memories. Make you remember Chambers burning your mind instead. With the Conflagration. She opened her mouth as if to ask him why, but looked askance as she achieved realization without any aid on his end. Youre going to leave my true self nulled for my uncle to discover. And then, after he is forced to to initialize my resurrection, I will remember your narrative! Be used to direct his efforts toward whatever foe you see fit. Ah. And there was the mind most Paladins sought in their candidates. Yes. And what an easy foe to find: Clan DRongo. The Paladin swallowed sour spit as she tried not to vomit. It didnt matter in this mind-space; Avo wouldnt have let her. Dont do this. Please. I have to, Avo said. You understand. No. The Guilds have fed enough from the city. Failed their own promises. Debased their own dreams. Tired of watching them choke away what we can become. Insulted by this stagnancy. This oppression. Billions will die if the clans go to war! Billions die now, Avo said. Most of them FATELESS. Subjects. Not citizens. Why? Why do you need me to do this? Cant you justC You are the perfect candidate. Neither Clans Kazahara nor Kitzuhada will take your burning at the hands of the DRongos with mute acceptance. Quiet wars will erupt within Ori-Thaum. The Council will be distractedCthe Incubi forced into battlelinesC Youre trying to make us easier to burn, Kare said, horror growing with each realization. Trying to unbalance the Guild from its defensive posture. Sow chaos between the representatives. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Originally just wanted to burn your uncle. Kill him. Subsume his Frame and ghosts. But this is much more delectable. You will help me. Serve the right purpose. Do the right thing. No! she shouted. I will not do this. I will not! You cannot turn me as an instrument against my own peopleCdrive my own uncle further into his madness. You will Destroy your people? Avo asked. Yes. I suppose that will happen. In some way. He sensed the conversation becoming too confrontational and shifted his mind again, imbuing himself with extensions of empathy and humanity to better guide the conversation. Immediately, self-disgust filled flooded his being as the weight of what he was doing settled. He was turning a kind and noble girl into an instrument against her very people. He was going to use her as the spark to set Shotin Kazahara off against his hated rivals, striking a blow against the very stability of Ori-Thaum itself. The act was evil. Evil? Yes, evil. He was treating a person like a thing. Stealing their choice away from them without even thinking, without consideringC Corner. He sequenced his mind to be more like Corners. And Abrels. The way he actedChe didnt even think. Their callousness and disregard melded so well with his base selfs inhumanity that all things other than his immediate objective and potential choices for more power became afterthoughts. But this the opportunity she presented the access she gave him to the Tiers and Ori-Thaum itself. He couldnt just let that go. [Let me talk to her,] Abrel said, speaking only to him. Her request caught Avo entirely off-guard. [Im pretty sure my mom tortured hers to death. Just one of the many lives she snuffed out at Iamatier. Highflame left out the fact that she was doing it to break Kazahara. Guess thats probably my dads doingCcovering up as much as he could for us.] +Why?+ Avo asked. +Why offer me this? Why do you want to speak to her now?+ [Because that way we can cut past you being a pussy with that sudden hit of empathy you just got and get to the part where she agrees. You know Im right.] +Could just take the parts I need from your mind.+ Abrel gave him a smirk. [No you cant. Its not about the right words. Its about everything. The right person, the right past, the right pressure, and the right set of opinions to offer. Shell know who I am. Shell listen to me much more than some monster that popped out of nowhere while she was chasing that sick fuck Chambers. Human intelligence gathering is sometimes more emotional work than rational.] He lingered for an instant but flagged as his curiosity and the potential that Abrel presented overcame his apprehensions. Abrel stepped into the scene with a burst of flame and had her back facing the Paladin. She was observing Kares room, looking around as if she hadnt seen it yet. Cute colors. You know liking blue gets you beat up pretty good in the academies, right? Kare blinked, not expecting Abrel Greatling to manifest before her. Youre Yeah, yeah, Abrel cut her off. In space. Or somewhere. Held by the voiders until my bullshit trial for some bullshit reason or another. Dont remind me. Spinning on her heel, the Greatling stode around the bed and pointed at some of the pictures. Well, look at that? Theres our esteemed adversary. Ill tell you one thing: its a trip realizing that the guy who tortured the mind out of your mom has a nice and happy home life and whatever. Really lubricates the were all just humans trying to live together blah blah blah the voiders keep trying to go on about. The Paladins mouth opened and closed but her face hardened. She looked at Avo and then back at Abrel. Get away from my pictures. The Greatling looked at the other girl with a cocked eyebrow and held up her hands. Fine. Touchy. I get it. I understand. My mothers a fucking monster and because of her, you lost out on a lifetime of hugs. Believe me, I feel for you. Hell, I felt just like you. What is this? Kare said, speaking to Avo now. What kind of trickC The guilt-trip emotional kind, Abrel interrupted, snapping her finger at Kare. Listen. Youre going to want to do this because this isnt over. Your dad and uncle are in deep shit. Your Guild is in deep shit. And this is the best chance you got at making it out. Hes planning to eat them, Kare hissed, pointing at Avo. Oh, yeah. Its gonna be a real bloody massacre in the end. Same as it always is. But youCand your familyCdont need to die. You can save them. You can even save your Guild. Kare wasnt getting it. Abrel continued. Listen, theres going to be a Fifth Guild War soon. Like it or not. The only difference is when the next big one gets here, its curtains for everyone who loses. Now, I dont know how much you understand about Highflame and Ori-Thaum relations, but despite your uncle and dad having personal patches of purgatory dedicated to them in the great utopia to come at the end, the history of the new world is probably not going to be very kind to the Ori in general. If Highflame wins. Probably a bit worse for us the other way around, but hey, winner takes all, am I right? Avo strengthened Kares awareness of the Flayed LadderCof its eventual arrival as the true endgame for all the Guilds. Again, the Paladin wanted to throw up. Oh, gods. Yeah, Abrel said, sounding genuinely sympathetic this time. What a thrill, huh? Coming to a halt next to Avo, she pointed up at him and sighed. HeCyou might not like itCis likely Idheims best shot at continued survival. Kare shot Avo another look and shook her head in disbelief. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Im not crazy about his ass either, but hes the only one doing anything real about the Syndicates right now, the only one preparing to fight the Guilds right now, and the only one who wants everyone to live their own lives, but not escape from any consequences they deserve. He killed your entire cadre, Kare whispered. Yeah, Abrel said, through gritted teeth. And fuck him to death for that. But hes also spared a Bloodthane from Stormtree. Ensouled a FATELESS. Liberated a bunch of slaves from a Syndicate. And has voider citizenship. What? I know, right? Those half-strands take the weirdest people. Abrel shook her head. If you help him, he wont hurt your uncle. Or your dad. I mean, he already saved your dad from my idiot brother once, so you already owe him there. But also, youll be making sure justice is done. Dont you want that? Dont you want to live up to your oaths? IC And Ori-Thaum doesnt need to be eradicated, Abrel said. Nor Highflame. Or any of the Guilds. If we manage to push into the TiersCto remake everyones mind, then maybe empathy might just reign, and a better end than some giant war might take shape. That, and you have a chance to do something good. Undeniably good. You can help end the Rash. You know, the one that were all suffering from? Avo. Pull Kae to the front of her mind. And show her what her people do. Avo did as his template suggested and this time the Paladin just sagged. She was with you? The entire time? Yes, Avo said. The Chief just Kare blinked as disbelief blossomed inside her. He just cut a deal with you. Let you go. Jelene Draus. Kae Kusanade. Theyre the witnesses hell use. But he doesnt know what you are yet. Your Frame, and what it can One revelation after another slammed down on Kare. Her template cracked from the trauma but Avo fused her back with his flames. Too much, he said, frowning at Abrel. Nah. Thats necessary. Changing your mind hurts. I didnt know, Kare said, clutching her head, voice strained. I didnt know Abrel leaned down and laid a hand on the Paladins shoulder, fighting the urge to sneer at this open show of weakness. Listen. Consang. If you help, the ghoul will trade with you. Like he did that FATELESS girl. Youll get your choice and then some. Youll be powerful enough to decide what you want and seek whatever justice you want for the Paladins. If you dont hell let you go. Kare looked up and blinked. Abrel continued. Hell let you go, but youre uncle will still be his target. Your dad will still be in danger of whatever the fuck else the DRongos are planning with Mondelles and his lot, the Guilds will be as shit as they always were, and well probably end this affair on one large bloodletting. Youre a good one. A nice one. You should have had a better life. But guess what? So do the trillions of other people on this pebble. Now, are you going to live up to your oaths and make sure they dont get a moms not coming home moment too, or are you going to stick to your guns and maybe come home to no dad as well? Each word made Kare flinch. Abrel looked over her shoulder and grinned at Avo before reasserting her sympathy and playing the game to its conclusion. Take it from a Greatling, huh? Theres always more to lose. Do the right thing. Do it for New Vultun. Do it for her. She pointed at the younger self of the Paladin, and Kare turned to look. That was the moment Avo felt it. That was the moment they had her. Helping Kare back up, Abrel patted the other woman down and stood position beside the ghoul again. [And thats how you prepare an asset.] Avo found himself very glad that Mirrorhead was the sibling that found him. I have conditions, Kare said, forcing her mind back under control. Theres so much, we can F-first, if you want my help, I wont kill for you. I am not your asset. I am a Paladin of New Vultun. Force me to break these oaths and I will do all that I can to stop you. Which was nothing. The realization sent a pang of coldness through Avo. Yes. What else? My uncle and my family live. You dont touch them. And as for the DRongos and the corruption we can bring them to justice instead. A priest doesnt banish a god, Avo said. Your authority is beneath theirs. No arrest. It will be seen as open defiance. Open conflict. See you culled again like in the Second Guild War. But they can be voted out, Kare said. The Council is of the clans. We vote for our chosen representatives The very ideas she was harboring could be considered treason if she was still an Ori, but anything was better than letting a monster burn away all her people. Politics, Abrel said, smiling. This should be fun. And potentially useful. Fine, Avo said. We can deal. Come to an arrangement. Ill let you go right now. Show of faith. But Ill contact you when you sleep. Change your memories to remember Chambers. Thats not negotiable. Thoughtscans reveal too much. Need to keep this quiet. The Paladin swallowed. Fine. But I want to know everything down the line. If you are who you say you areCwho you present yourself to be, then I want to know. And I want this to be done right. Of course, Avo said, clicking his fangs together. Why shouldnt it be? Okay, Kare breathed. ThenC Upon hearing her affirmation, he burned her mind again and altered her recent memories. The changes he made were minute, taking out more than he put in. She remembered everything up to Chambers unleashing his Conflagration on her and laced everything thereafter with deception. She remembered his laughter, his mocking chortles as her mind faded within the fire. Then, before her consciousness completely eroded, she saw his face looking down on her, nodding with satisfaction. Oh, the DRongos are going to like these sequences. [Come on, consang,] Chambers said. [Making me sound like a shitty two-bit vicarity villain.] +Hm. Might be too sophisticated then.+ [Hey, double fuck you for that.] He cemented the memories in her mind and surfaced from the dive. 17-18 The Squire +Instrument. Its me. Do you know about whats happening at Vengs Stand?+ +I am aware. We have a few Liebreakers monitoring the situation. The Planeshift is there as well. Eh. Wombrash. Nasty way to die. That Kazahara Did you know about his presence in the area?+ +No...Seeker Kazahara has a habit of declaring his operations post-hoc.+ [Santanado chuckles] +Thats not an Ori-Thaum habit, now is it? How did he manage to become one of your Clads acting like a Bloodthane?+ +A question certain Elders ask every day. Are the assets he engaged with+ +No. Dont insult me, Seeker. None of my forcesCor any self-respecting Gold for that matter, would unleash the Rash on a defenseless population. Aedon Chambers is not mine. Is that what you were asking?+ +That was what you answered.+ [Scoffs] +Just use your words. If I wanted to have a non-conversation, Id be back at Axtraxis teaching the little shits. Chambers is not mine. Hes not yours. Hes not DRongos So whose is he? Hes got a Frame. Hes not a FallwalkerCthat kits sophisticated. Too sophisticated. Third Sphere Frames. Altered Heavens And they fight better alone than they do together. I doubt whatever line theyre floating about him being a Low Master Acolyte. I fought the Nolothi bastards, so trust me when I tell you they understand natural technology like Omnitech has good sense.+ +Were uncertain The bioform assisting him and the girl Perhaps No-Dragon deniables?+ +Yeah. Maybe. Or it could be the Chivarlics actively cleaning house, or another rogue Omnitech battle cluster, or and or and or. Pointless to theorize. We need to get our hands on one of them to confirm anything. Ill put out a gig for some Fallwalkers. See if anyone capable bites the hook down the line. +We will see if our resources turn up anything useful as well. Do you suspect this group to be the ones that attacked us as well?+ +...The bioform. Thats you see that one? Echoheads. Altered biology. Almost looks like a juiced-up ghoul. Manipulates blood on a mass scale Its close. Too damn close. It also explains why Elegant-Moon couldnt just break down its insides. You might be right about them being No-Dragon supported. Borrowed Blades, maybe.+ +So, the ambush and the abduction of your comradeC+ +Might just be caught up in bloodline politics. [Sigh] This fucking city Everyone has an angle.+ -Thoughtcast between Seeker Ikkuoi Rasaga and Instrument Santanado Mondelles 17-18 The Squire The confines of Layer One came into shape around Avo as he emerged from the deepness of his dive. Nested within Chambers battered body, pain screamed from every nerve as more sores tore open across his flesh. Smearing the homunculi with a thought, he found himself looking upon the Paladin, Kare Kitzuhada, and wondering when he fused that protective cocoon around her. A phlogiston of phantasmal fire spilled from his mind over into hers, connecting them seamlessly in ego and thought, but he found himself entirely unaware of these changes. When had he made them? And why? The visible material of the haemokinetic fortifications he built around her body was akin to glass, and she lay seated on a specially-made throneCa creation of excess comfort. Whats more, the entire thing was fused into a supporting spine within the Layer, an outcrop of studded red amidst the oppressive glow of their surroundings. [I think it just happened again,] Benhata said. [You had an episode. A lapse.] +Didnt kill her. Hurt her+ Not any more than she was wounded during the battle. Running his Sanguinity across Kares form, he realized that not even her yellow and blue combat-skin had been penetrated, the hexagonal cells comprising her armor unbroken. Even the phase shield shimmering across her face was still active. He combed through his own memories and hers, but found only vacancies in place of answers. No one else could have done this, but he couldnt recall. He was sure it was a lapse now, but his bodys default response was to hurtCto brutalize when distractions claimed his mind. This was unprecedented, though not entirely unwelcome. +Calvino. What do you think? Calvino?+ But the EGI was blinded in his minds eye, a single dot still losing threads of data. So very little of the artificial mind remained. Perhaps that factored into the equation as well. No one watching. Just him and the girl. And Chambers. {Avo,} Draus''s profile flashed in the corner of his HUD again. {Managed to make it in. Found Kae and Dice and hit em with a couple of woundhoundsCtransferred their burns over to me. Theyve vented and are on the Manta now. You didnt eat the cat, did you?} He checked and noted the Agnos'' position to be moving fast beneath Layer One. That just left him, Chambers, Draus, and the Paladin. {Put it in a small cage on a rooftop in the gutters. Grab it after we resurrect.} He shared his visual feed with her Necrodeck. {It happened again. The lapse. I lost myself again.} {Then why aint she dead? Hells, it looks like you gave her the royal treatment. Got her own little throne and everything.} {Dont know. Just did. Didnt realize until afterward.} A brief pause followed. The Regular studied the scene as cracking noises sang out from inside her Meldskin. Her biometrics indicated that less than twenty percent of her body was still organic. With a layer of shimmering glass fused over most of her missing skin and hollowed flesh, she now resembled Mirrorhead more than ever. Her head was held up by gleaming shards in the absence of tendons, and with each passing second she broke more of herself to delay the Rashs spread. Whatever hasty burns she inflicted on herself earlier wasnt enough. It was still spreading. Same for him. {Alright. Well figure it out after action. Vent. Break contact. Resurrect. Drop a ping for the cat. Ill grab it and you after I come back.} He grunted. {Synced. IllC} +You really should be gone by now,+ The voice that echoed over his mind from behind was weathered and hoarse, the sound of a lifelong smoker in no hurry to quit the habit. Her presence manifested in his Sanguinity at the same instant, and Avos first thought was to liquefy the threat. Yet, he found his hand stayed. The stranger held a strange posture within the tactile map his Woundshaper and Echoheads fed into Avos mind. She was armored, aspects of her kit reminding him of the Ashthroner soldiers he killed a few days prior. That, however, was a secondary detail to how she had her gun pressed against herself, prepared to end things on her terms before he would have a chance. Turning, he found himself faced with a hovering figure, her ebony exo-rig a machine of hissing vents along the arms while four crescent plates of interlocking whorls became the key details of note on her chest piece. Her pauldrons rose like pointed halberds and he could feel a thaumaturgic presence in her gunCthe same Domain as that which fueled his Woundshapers withering gale. Blood-cast wavelengths fluctuated about her person as currents of lightning pulsed through his veins and Avo drew brightness from the spark. A luminous shroud rippled over him, ensuring no physical harm would come from an unexpected source while he observed the unknown individual.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDSHAPER] - 99% VENT! VENT! VENT! +You followed me?+ Avo asked, uncertain as to why they betrayed their covert advantage or had a gun up to their own head. +I followed the tunnels. And one of your consangs. The Godclad with the Heaven of Winter. Or something like that. Ended up catching sight of her while diving down through the puddle you made topside. I really didnt wanna be around for when all the Paladins broke through.+ Draus growled with uncharacteristic frustration. {Godsdammit, shit! Fuckin Incog} Incog. Its why perception checkpoints and focused thoughtwave disruption chambers were growing to be standard practice for the Guilds. +Who are you?+ Avo asked. +Just a squire,+ she said. +One hired by a mutual consang.+ Mutual consang? White-Rab. He realized the answer in an instant, mind sharpened to such things by Abrels template. Who else could it be? Green River? Possible, but not likely. One of the Columners? Maybe, but not on such short notice. And the squire. It was like he, or some of his templates, knew her. [Wait,] Corner said, frowning. [I huh. I know her voice. That sounds likeC] [Quail Tavers] Glitch chimed in. The renegade Omnitech Fallwalker was usually a quiet template in Avos mind, her own ego whittled almost to nothing by drugs and psychosis. At present, an unusual clarity infused her thoughts and she muttered. [She saved me from the labs she did its her. Its her] Glitch tried to reach out for their savior, but suddenly remembered they were dead. A spark of sadness followed. [ICI really wasted the life she gave me, didnt I?] [Holy fuck,] Abrel gasped, ignoring Glitchs breakdown. Her mind was throbbing with excitement. [The Squire! Quail Fucking Tavers. And were speaking to her!] The Greatling squeaked with excitement and Chambers turned to look at her slack-jawed. [What, Im allowed to have personal heroes too. I mean, what self-respecting Highflame girl doesnt like Quail freaking Tavers. I mustve listened through the School of the Warrens series a hundred times!] [Fuck her,] Corner said bluntly. [Stole a gig from me.] That was all he said. +Quail Tavers,+ Avo said, throwing the name out just to see how they would respond. The squire threw her head back and laughed. Her armor was all body and limbs, lacking a head or helmet, so it looked like she was just leaning. +Ah. Being famous really aint an advantage in this line of work. Knew I would regret publishing those mem-logs.+ A sharp intake came from Draus. {Quail fuckin... Wait, howd you know it was her? Avo?} +How did you find me?+ Avo asked, walking through the forest of his mind again, looking for clues. +Did our mutual consang mem-lock me somehow?+ He got the distinct impression Tavers was smirking at him. The expression made him think of Zein, and a shudder ran through his body. He had enough of hyper-lethal crones for one life. +That would be telling. Word of advice for that runner you got. Dice, was her name? Shes got the potential, but she needs to change up her patterns. Judging from how the girl moves and kills, shes a wilder isnt she? And new Godclad at that? Maybe it wouldve been better to keep her in the gutters for a while.+ Ah. Mightve ended with her dead and snuffed anyway. Listen, I bought you some time by snuffing two Paladins earlier. I think they were the ones we ended up killing before the actual cadres started showing up, so they werent bottled on the other side of their planesgates like the rest.+ +We?+ Avo asked. He cycled back through his memories and recalled. Kassamon was one. The otherCthe partner. A beam cut past him to slice up another while he was dueling Shotin, the projectile black and string-thin. That was her. She had been helping him this entire time. He grunted with surprise. +Suppose I should thank you for that.+ +Nah. I already got thanked by being paid. You can show me gratuity by taking me out with you. My exfil strat is fucked and you know how things are when youre improvising.+ She sounded too calm for someone in dire circumstances. Avo frowned. Maybe Tavers was like Draus, with violence, bloodshed, and death being no different than picking up a cup of coffee. But he doubted it. She exposed herselfCidentified him by his Conflagration, seeing as she knew who he was despite being anchored to Chambers body. This was her establishing contact. Maybe trying to find where he operated from. Or get more insight into his cell. The thought of just burning her into his gestalt passed through her mind, but over half the templates inside him screamed in outrage. [Dont you fucking dareC] Abrel hissed. [Please dont. Dont.] Glitch begged. [Burn me again. Put in a body and hurt me. Ill scream for you. Ill scream good. Just dont do her. Dont put her in here with me. I cant face her.] More than a few of the Incubi he subsumed were actively prodding at his consciousness, trying to sequence deeper into his base mind, turning him away despite knowing of his internal omniscience. Across all these minds was a natural unity he had never seen. A moment of community conducted in futile defense of a woman who fought, bled, and served them in one function or another before. Most squires died within three months on the job. Veterans made it over two years. Legends ten. Quail Tavers was rumored to be over four hundred. There was something to be said about an ancient still thriving in a profession that butchered the young by the billions. [Remember, Avo, use Suncloud to nullify your nanos first before the other drugs,] Chambers said, doing his best to mimic Zeins voice. Avo turned a giant glare inward. [What? No doubt she would say some shit like that.] {Draus,} Avo said. {New detail to our plan. Got another guest we need to handle.} {Yeah, and a damn dangerous one at that. Tavers... And whats this shit about a mutual consang.} He sighed. He really wanted to keep his personal cells separate, but lying to Draus felt {Feed you the details after I resurrect. Got to do with Walton.} {Jaus. Dont tell me that half-strands got another node stashed somewhere.} {No. Messier than that. Good reason why I didnt want to talk about it.} {Wonderful. Very much not lookin forward to hearin about this shit.} Draus frowned and shook her head. {You watch yourself with her. She aint a Clad but just keep your fangs close around her neck. Aint no tellin with that one.} Draus disconnected, and Avo found himself alone with Tavers. Her relaxed posture and the smooth oscillation of her thoughtstuff annoyed him. He had to burn his ire away before he grew to feel insulted. His base mind enjoyed making others fear him. No such validation came from Draus, Tavers, or Zein. No validation at all. +Ill bring you out with me,+ Avo said. +Need to talk afterward. About a few things.+ He found himself hesitating before he asked the next question. +White-Rab he told you about his Ensouling?+ +Oh, that.+ Tavers hummed. +Dont you worry. I knew that little shit since he was a boy. Caught him stealing paydata from my mind to scourge up imps. Kicked down the door to his hab-cell expecting a Necrojack. Found a desperate kid trying to buy some block girl he knew back from the local org-harvesters instead.+ Avo didnt know about this. Waltons memories showed him nothing. And he hadnt +...Did he do it? Buy the girl back.+ Tavers paused. +Yeah. I gave him the imps he needed. The org-harvester returned the doll. Completely. In separate installments. My imps and then some came back to me in the form of a direct gig afterward. Wetwork. Dirty and simple. Told him to keep it. Told him I was using it to hire him instead, and that I needed a new Necro after my last one got nulled.+ She let him fill in the rest of the details. A lot more than just one person was looking out for Raldi, it seemed. Lucky man. Lucky, lucky man. But then again, couldnt the same be said for Avo himself? +Are you here for a Soul, Quail Tavers?+ Avo asked. She finally pulled the gun away from herself. +Yeah. Suppose that was the part that intrigued me. That, and your mind. But I dont need it for me.+ Silence followed, and he knew she was done talking. +Get what you need doing done and lets pull a runner. We dont got long left before the other Paladins arrive.+ Avo turned and gave Kare one final look. +Good.+ 17-19 Cling {ATTENTION CITIZENS: THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE MASS SUICIDES AT [HEAVY ALLOY PLANT Z-1338] IN DISTRICT [2GATE] HAS BEEN CONCLUDED (focus here to relive death simulations). TRAWLERS HAVE DETERMINED (0) SUSPECTS INVOLVED IN THE INCIDENT. IN LIGHT OF THIS UNFORTUNATE EVENT, WE WILL BE OFFING INCREASED JOY SUPPLEMENTS FOR ALL WORKING PROFESSIONALS ALONGSIDE A NEWLY DEVELOPED INSTA-THERAPY NEUROMOD (purchasable at 88,000 imps; 50% discount for citizens rated above CHASSIS) PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT OF OUR MANIFEST DUTY. YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO RESTORE THE GREAT SLEEPER, AND THE SLEEPER HAS CHOSEN YOU IN RETURN. FOR EACH WHO FALL, THEY WILL RISE AGAIN NEW AND UNPAINTED WHEN THE ALLWALL IS BROKEN AND THE SLEEPER AWAKENS. VIRTUAL VIGILS FOR THE DEAD WILL BE HELD THIS NULRISE. FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD A VIRTUAL ALTAR OF THE DECEASED TO CARRY THEIR OPTIMALITY WITH YOU. DOWNLOADS LAST UNTIL DATA IS FULLY FRAGMENTED. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE.} -Omnitech NooSphere Report 17-19 Cling Kare resurrected just in time to see a giant in radiant armor striking the glass that surrounded her. Blinking as her cog-feed loaded and her phantasmics came online, she realized she knew that armorCknew the shimmering bronze plates and the person who wore it. Shotin Kazahara. Her uncle. Not two meters away hovered her mentor, Paladin Maru Sandrupal, with a cluster of block-sized pylons sparking in the backdrop behind him. How did they find her? Where was she? Her memories were coming back together, but the way her thoughts flowed was as if parted waves returning to a crashing union. There was a gulf inside her mind that was filling and clarity was slow to return, her focus broken by each ringing impact made by Shotins gauntlets striking her transparent prison. The structure that held her possessed a strange luster to it, something between polished alloy and a sparkling mirror. Fragments of clotted crimson clattered against her combat skin, and she noticed the deformation of her cage taking on abnormal aspects. It dented under Shotins fists like metal while also fracturing like glass, breaking instead of tearing, but deforming before each crack. The presence of the clashing properties made her skull spin as she tried to clear her head. The lead-up to her death was a haze of conflict and chaos. She was swallowed by one of the enormous hydras and then found herself in a wind-wrought tunnel. Shadows swirled about her like they were currents to a tempest, the air whipping at her form like a hurricane. Then, she remembered the battle. And her enemy. Chambers. The Lushburner. She was tearing him apart by the end of the fight. Shredding his Heaven away piece by piece. But when she closed in to end things, the fire flowed, becoming a conflagration that boiled away her very thoughts. A final memory lingered inside her mind. Vivid images of Chambers emerging from the ashes of his Heaven, sneering down at her as he resequenced his own Metamind. Ghosts folded and dove across both ends of his halo, rising and falling like cresting waves. Finally, she noticed a single trail of ghosts flowing back into the center of his mind as what appeared to be a spire rose from the phantasmal stratocumulus clouding the inner confines of his mind. A Ghostjack? He had been holding it in reserve? Oh, the DRongos are going to like these sequences, he said, snickering darkly to himself. With each passing second, the fire ate away more of her perceptionCmore of her consciousness. It wouldnt be long until there was nothing left her to burn. With a wave of his hand, Chambers called upon miracles of blood and shadow as he flicked her body aside, entombing her upon a structural support within Layer One. Looking down at the throne she sat upon, she wondered what the man meant by this gesture. To kill someone yet leave their body perched on a throne seemed too polite to be an insult. Yet, during their encounter, he fought like a vile animal, deliberately trying to birth his homunculi all over her, tearing the stillborn infants from his body and detonating them like bombs when she wasCand wasntCin the vicinity. Shaking the whiplash from her mind, she pushed herself up and activated her skins thrusters just as her uncle shattered the blood-made walls that sealed her. She tried to stand up, but he forced her back down on her seat as he planted a heavy hand on her left shoulder. +Im fine,+ she said, trying to brush him off. She hoped her helmets phase shield obfuscated her face enough to hide her blush from Paladin Sandrupal. Nothing like family to embarrass you in front of a superior. +You dont need toC+ He suddenly seized her by the other shoulder and shook her hard. +Why are you here+ She tried to push him off but found his Heaven an endless font of might and mass. Bouncing back and forth between his hands, Kare sighed and spat her lie, trying to save what face she could. +I wanted to see what Rash-detail is like.+ +Why? Why? Why?+ With each question, his armored skull was pressed against her. She pressed her lips together and just frowned, meeting his silver-bright eyes without difficulty. Uncle Sho always had these episodes when he was worried. +Listen, there are vicarities for these things. Hells, there are vicarities for childbirthCthose are hell too, you shouldnt try them. But the point stands, why?+ +You know why!+ she snapped. Lightning flowed through her as she drew upon her Heaven and leaped behind him through his very fingers. She ignored him calling her name as she floated over to face her mentor, trying not to wilt beneath his flat gaze. +Funny who I ran into on the way down,+ Paladin Sandrupal said. +Funnier how I had to stop him from beating Kassamon to death when the idiot got in his way. You got a real caring uncle, kid.+ Kare didnt know what to say, so she stayed silent. +So,+ Paladin Sandrupal continued, regarding her with a raised eyebrow, +howd you like Rash-detail.+ Kare shrugged. +I think Im more suited for desk work.+ Her mentor grunted a rumbling laugh. +Thats what we all say.+ He looked past her and regarded Shotin. +You know, I should start reading our op-briefs instead of letting you give me the condensed version. Seems like you neglected to mention a few things to me this time.+ She straightened her back and drew in a breath. +I have no defense for my perfidy and will submit to a formal inquiry if you deem it necessary.+ Paladin Sandrupal groaned. +Absolutely fucking not. Dont think you get to juke my ass and then punish me more with paperwork, rook. You know how much I hate filing forms and shit. You know Ill be making you write the report in the end anyway. No. Lets just call this an unhappy coincidence. Hows that sound, Seeker?+ +Accurate,+ Shotin responded with a smile in his voice. +I dont suppose I need to leave a statement?+ +I dont suppose youll come quietly if I try to bring you in?+ +Well, lets not be reckless with your life, Paladin. What would your wife think?+ +I dont have a wife.+ +What? A man with your face leads a bachelors life? A husband perhaps? Or are nu-dogs more your flavor? Sexually, to be specific.+ +Uncle!+ Kare hissed, voice cracking from sheer outrage. +Relax, turnip, its just a conversation.+ +Till its not,+ Paladin Sandrupal replied. The two men just stared at each other, neither afraid but both wary. +Hows a piece of shit like you have a niece like her?+ Maru asked. +She takes after her mother. Tell me, do you amount to anything in this partnership, or is she both the muscle and the mind?+ +Well, that depends on how many drinks Ive had between shifts.+ Shotin laughed. +Thats all you do? Drink?+ The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. A pause followed. +I might indulge a little harder.+ The Seeker cocked his head. +Suncloud?+ +Maybe a little nova if things are about to be shit. End the day with suncloud to take the edge off.+ Paladin Sandrupal coughed. +My man,+ Shotin said. +Old Thousandhand would be proud. Not bad, glasser. Seems like you only got a baton instead of the full stick living up your ass.+ Kare found her eyes drifting between the two men as her head spun. +What the hell just happened? Werent you two about to uh+ +Nah, we got over that,+ Shotin said. +Keep up, rook,+ Maru added. What was this insane macho bullshit? +ICI remember who attacked me,+ she said, redirecting the conversation toward a more worthwhile direction. She shared her memories with her superior and ignored her uncle waving at her. +This is a Paladin investigation. You can leave now, Seeker.+ She had the feeling he was glaring at her. +Is the person who snuffed you Aedon Chambers?+ Both Kare and Maru froze and faced him. +What exactly was it that you mightve been doing here, Seeker,+ Paladin Sandrupal said, keeping his tone conversational. +Oh. Just taking in the sights. I wasnt hunting a potential acolyte of the Low Masters or anything like that.+ Sandrupal nodded. +Good. Glad to hear that. So, about this hypothetical acolyte+ +A disgusting, vile, subhuman half-strand piece of shit that whips his cock out in your face and sprays aratnids at you.+ Shotin illustrated. Horror bloomed inside Kare as she realized how the Rash was triggered. +You know the thing I cant figure out? Why he left your corpse so intact.+ Shotin looked Kare up and down. +From our very unpleasant few minutes together, he didnt strike me as someone who had all his sequences. But he left you mostly unharmed.+ She shot a quick look at her mentor and he gave her a nod. Another wisp spilled out from her Metamind and connected with Shotins accretion. Her near-term memories played, and in seconds disbelief spiked into quiet, thundering rage. +Those motherfucks,+ Shotin said, tone entirely calm. +I was wondering how I thought it was too easy for him Godsdamned DRongos. Of course, those snakes are behind this. That just makes too much sense+ He giggled mirthlessly to himself as he clenched and unclenched his hands. +Uncle Sho?+ Kare asked. +Im good,+ he replied. +I got another angle to dig through is all. Another angle, and a piece of shit I need to slowly kill.+ The hate he felt for Aedon Chambers ran like a molten stream C searing, slow, unceasing. Looking over the two Paladins, he shook his head. +There was a breach at the Trident. A nexus was stolen. A Glaive is still missing. We are engaging in pre-war protocols.+ Sandrupal exhaled. +Shit. Youre saying clan politics followed my rook down the Tiers?+ +Maybe,+ Shotin said. +But it feels bigger than that. Chambers was trying to meet an informant here. A Godclad named Dice?+ +The FATELESS girls a Fallwalker?+ Sandrupal said after a moments recollection. +Youre sure of that?+ +No. Shes too well-equipped to be a Fallwalker. Two Heavens at the least with a full cadre backing her up. Chambers might be psychotic, but hes got expert help behind him. And some of the most advanced coldtech Ive seen in a while. Theres Guild support behind them, and consider all the Heavens and resources they had, a pretty wide range at that. You know what that means, glasser.+ Shotin held a finger up to his armor, miming a shush. +Yeah,+ Sandrupal said, though his mind was thick in frustration. +I know the score.+ +Good,+ Shotin said. +No ones excited to repeat the events of the Second Guild War, anyway. Keep yourselves safe. Kare. Im gonna need you to request some leave.+ +What? Why?+ +Because Im not waiting for the DRongos to take another swing at you,+ he said. +I cant keep you safe if you keep bouncing around the city playing peacekeeper.+ Anger tightened in her gut but she kept it contained. He knew better than this. He was trying to rile her. Rattle her enough that she seemed unbalanced before her superior so he could press his will. He always did shit like that. +I dont need your protection, uncle. I can manage myself. And Im not playing at anything. I have a job. Im going to do it.+ Shotin cast a quick look at her former enclosure and scoffed. +Listen, Kare, you wanna be an adult? Ill treat you like an adult. You got hit by a Conflagration. Incubi mind-burner. Thats the type of stuff we use to salt the Nether and burn entire lobbies.+ She opened her mouth, shocked at how openly he was talking about Ori-Thaums forbidden devices before she noticed Sandrupals perception splashing off to stare at a nearby way, as if unaware of his surroundings. Realization dawned inside her a moment later. +When did youC+ +Spoofed in deep twelve seconds after running into him,+ Shotin said. +Come on, turnip. Its me. And you tell him that he needs to stop using Sanctus wards. Theyre shit. And double to my point, if I alone can do this, whats going to happen to you if Clan DRongo decides to stop with the warning shots and just go for you? Youre not an Ori anymore. Not after you took those oaths. And the damnest thing is the Paladins cant do a single thing to keep you safe.+ +I dont want to be kept safe,+ Kare replied. +And get out of his mind. H-have you been inside his mind this entire time?+ +Well, yeah, I saved us another three pointless arguments, didnt it?+ +I cant fucking believe you You absolute piece of shit+ +And there you go sounding like her again.+ Shotin shook his head. +Look. Whatever is happening, its more than the Paladins can handle. Naeko took you all over the deep end as is. Detaining an Instrument of Highflame; arresting an Ori-Thaum Elder. You might just be an opportune victim. A target on the intersection to multiple parties they want to threaten.+ +Then let the threats come,+ Kare said. +Im not afraid.+ +Well, I am!+ Shotin snarled. +I am! I am! I just I just spent a day shitting dead babies out from my flesh, and I resurrect to find a literal flood of Paladins about to fuck everything up. I resurrect to find your name among the active personnel for Rash-detail. I resurrect trying not to throw up because I see you listed as missing in action.+ +And your response was to, what? Jack into the minds of my colleagues? Twist them to your own ends.+ +Ill do whatever it takes to keep my clan and Guild safe. To keep whats left of my family safe. You understand what that means.+ +IC+ +It means that Ill be watching over you even if I have to frag every other Paladin there ever was. You understand? I failed once. It wont happen again.+ And there it was. The old wound that never healed in him. The shadow of her mothers death cast a pall over both of them. Kare folded her arms as her insides turned into a screaming cocktail of anguish, resentment, and concern. +We cant keep living this way. We cant keep living in the past. I know what I want. Youll do anything for me? I die to see this city made safer. So. Where do we go from here?+ A silence settled between them. Sandrupal, still befuddled by Shotin, cleared his throat and began to hum to himself. +Sorry,+ Shotin said, turning away from her. +I just uh.+ Kare wanted to reach out. To comfort her uncle. But anger won over compassion, and she kept her arms folded instead. +Yeah. Youre always sorry in the end. We always end up doing this again.+ He let out a breath. +Ill be going back up the Tiers. Im not going to be telling the Council of Elders about this. Not until I can put whatever evidence I have before a Heaven of Truth. I suggest you do the same. For both our sakes. In the meantime, Im gonna give you an Agnos to contact. Get your Frame boosted. No arguments about this. If our family ends up at war, I want your Sphere high and Soul bright. Do this for me, right? Keep yourself safe for me.+ She didnt respond immediately, waiting till he began to move away. +Whos going to keep you safe?+ Shotin paused. He turned back to look at her. +What?+ +Do you think its easy for me, knowing you or dad can die at any time as well?+ she asked. He gave no answer. +Youre a piece of shit, Seeker Kazahara. Selfish. And selfless.+ +Yeah,+ he said, strength bleeding from his voice. +Go, then. Ill see if I can find anything on our shared problem. And let my mentor go.+ That earned a chuckle from Shotin again as speed built around his body. +In a couple of seconds, turnip. Just suffer me for a few seconds more.+ 18-1 Moving Pieces I do not believe that most of us qualify as human. Not truly. The darkest test of apotheosis has been a war against hatred. Hatred of humanity. Hatred of culture. Hatred of norms and ethics and faith. Hatred of consciousness itself. With each rung I have trod up the ladder of existence, I find myself ashamed to have ever been mortal. Ashamed to have ever wanted for anything, or felt reflexive emotion, or deluded myself from the ugliness of a truth. As a girl, these failings are self-contained. As a Godclad, reality itself will pay for my hubris. All of life is a war. War between your base impulses and higher decisions. War between the body and the mind. War between the self and the community. War between personal agency and environmental reality. Most do not see itCcannot see as well as I do. The Paths are more than truth. They are the convergence of all truths. They are the closest embodiment to totality without losing ones anchoring to the material. And both must be maintained. Chains from chains as my father said. But I fear he didnt see why the chains were there in the first place. Perhaps the foulness made him flinch. But I cannot blame him, for I have shown him the totality, and he will rise in us from the fires of victory. I tell all this to you now for you believe the end approaches. It does not. It is the beginning of the greatest work to ever be conducted: the eternal fortification of our reality rebuilt. Look beyond the terror of your chains, my kindred. Look beyond that which binds you, and move still. Transcend the illusion of power and know that there is only choice in the end. A choice of who we are. A choice of what existence will be. -High Seraph Veylis Avandaers address to Highflame via the Voice of the Choir 18-1 Moving Pieces Branches of light sprouted across Vengs Stand, their brambles sinking through buildings and biting deep into supple flesh. From collapsing structures, swollen bodies were plucked, their shapes lined with sores and oozing with the pulp of unformed placenta. Bathed beneath Layer Twos holographic light, they looked as if malformed cherries in the brightness; strange fruits changed from the forms of men. Avo caught flashes of the broadcast Tavers was watching as he crawled through the gutters using his Zephyr. Estimates were still climbing through the Nether. Eighty-three thousand dead so far, but the counting was far from done. The devastation seemed dreamlike with all the rubble and settling dust. Most of the shanties were toppled or buried and light shone from the exit wounds dotting the districts three megablocks. A single unanticipated encounter between Godclads and so many dead. More than a few passed within the blanket of Avos Sanguinity. More than a few now found themselves burning for a different cause. All because of a fight no one saw coming. THAUMIC OUTPUT - 6,769 THAUM/c Nonetheless, this engagement was an educational one. His templates were already brainstorming improvements and preventative measures they could take next time. Things he should have done. Things beyond his control. His Heavens were in dire need of additional improvements, but what he needed more was strategic control and tactical awareness. The threat possessed by an enemy Incog left its mark on him today. As did the weight of the Parallelist. His Woundshaper could be cultured to greater potency and harmCan ontologic that would better serve him with both scale and scope enhanced and its fabricative capabilities elevated to new heights. The Zephyr, contrarily, was entirely suppressed by the danger his adversary presented. Adjustments were needed, and he wondered if it would be better to detach the Domain of Space from his Datacaster in trade for something else instead. With Domain symmetry between him and his foes came opportunities and vulnerabilities twofold. What would protect him more was the esoteric. Detailed adjustments made by his Meta-Fac toward protection and paradox-prevention. These new canons were immense boons to his capabilities, but he needed to consider the eventual designs of his Heaven. Or perhaps a broader mix of builds between tower and sea variants. All it took for him to alter his limitations was a brief death. This called for a consultation with the Agnos. An item to raise after regrouping with his cadre at the marker Draus dropped. +You know something that bothers me about you?+ Tavers said, breaking the silence between them. She orbited his wind-knotted form at the heart of the Zephyr, spinning through the air without a single hint of worry. +The fire climbing from your Meta. I can see flashes of people in the flickers. Theyre staring at me. Think I might even know a few of them. Shits giving me the creeps.+ Her admission of horror was spoken with the cadence that someone else might use to order a drink. +Doing more than watching you,+ Avo said. +Talking about you too. They know you.+ The squire scoffed. +Yeah, everyone thinks they know me. Everyone. If you end up living long enough in this line of work, youll end up coming across anyone thats worth half a damn.+ With her features masked behind her armor, he found himself agitated by how little she revealed. Her mind was a calm river that betrayed almost nothing, but she wasnt above playing mind games of her own, playing the news live via her phantomsCprobably trying to provoke a reaction from him. +White-Rab,+ Avo said. +How is he?+ +I got his session,+ she said. +You wanna talk to him?+ +Later. Want to talk to you. Understand you. Judge where you fit.+ She laughed. +You sound like my first wife. Or third husband. Or was Hedridge my fourth? Fuck, I cant remember if I killed or divorced him. Ah. Well, Im not that complicated, ghoul. Just a simple old lady with people to kill and someone to save.+ +Someone? The one you need a Soul for?+ Avo asked. +Yeah, something like that.+ Tavers sniffled. +You though whats your game? What turns a cult-grown monster into a godsdamned charity?+ +Choice,+ Avo replied. +I want to give more people the ability to choose. Who they are. What they want to be. Who they want to become. Want to break the Guilds. End the stagnation. Burn away the cancer they made of this world.+ +And then what? Does everyone worship you? You become ghoul-Avandaer?+ +Dont care about being worshipped.+ Avo paused. +Dont like it.+ Master? the Woundshaper said, sounding genuinely appalled. +Faith is like a chain,+ Avo said. +Devotion is just the same. My father. He was a monster. Selfish. Selfless. Depends on who you ask. But gave everything so I would be unchained. Wanted me to taste the flavors of life. Doing the opposite feels like defeat.+ [But lighting someones mind up sure is a victory, huh, you people-eating bastard.] Kassamon remained bitter about his subsumption. More than once he reached for his Heaven, struggled to influence Avos mind with his own. Never was he successful. For all he thought of himself as a singular entity, he was nothing but an extension of Avo now. A simulation grown from anothers consciousness, feeding into their ego, their actions. Hollowed of will and agency, the templates were as if perfectly stored patterns dancing in the theatre of his mind. ATTENTION: APPROACHING DESTINATION - [413 METERS] The distance between him and his cadre closed as he found himself gliding through a valley of rust and decay. Tarps flattered from the sides of the structures flanking him, the only real hint of his approach. The people who dwelled here didnt live in conventional blocks, however. Judging from the faded streaks of white paint lining the ground below, this place used to be a public vehicle depot. Crude walls crowned by automated turrets formed the enclaves perimeter, while trailers, repurposed aeros, broken golems, cargo containers, and voidship modules created two uneven blocks that ran twenty stories high. Drapes and welded metal offered what privacy they could afford, while cheap drones patrolled overhead. Harvested spotlights and holoprojectors left the area soaked in neon, and ads for long defunct Guild-supported organizations played on, product placements becoming little more than night lamps for the needy against the darkness gnawing at their doorstep.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Now, with countless habitation aeros stacked, lined, attached, welded, and built over each other, what he beheld was an active super-slum assembled by the FATELESS from scavenged parts. Bridges ran from each height, making it easier to run across the space from the highest point instead of the bottom. Guards wearing repurposed exo-rigs stood watch at every chokepoint. The streets between each makeshift house were more like narrow corridors and uneven alleys. Still, children of all ages sprinted through the canals laughing, much to the chagrin of their elders. This place was life blossoming between the cracks of plascrete, twelve thousand or so accretions quivering before his gaze. How beneath notice they were. How alone. Snuffing them out and seizing their thaums was less than a trifle. They had no means of protection from him and what care did the powers of the city for such a small pocket of life. But still, there was something in the way they livedChow they pursued trade and community still in the bleakness of the gutters. Building his power would have been so easy. But letting them live was divine. Thankfully, there were other options beyond them. Other creatures that thrived in these depths. Atop the palm of his Sanguinity, Avo could feel five hundred or so of his brothers lurking in the darkness surrounding this communal oasis. He could feel their blood coursing, claws scraping along the walls as they nipped at the empty air, hungering for tender flesh. Avo freed them from their addictions with a thought and carried on. THAUMIC OUTPUT - 7,388 THAUM/c Ghosts: [65,714] Draus marker pointed to a partially collapsed bar on the lower left side of the slums. A cluster of containers surrounded the place and half the wedge-shaped building had fallen in on itself. Considering he couldnt sense them physically or mentally, he guessed they had their Incogs active. That, and the Manta hovering overhead along with the nu-kitten sleeping atop a bifurcated bar counter erased any lingering doubts. Resurfacing back in real space, Avo dropped himself and Tavers beside the shattered remains of a bar counter. The tiny, orange nu-cat stretched and pawed its own face before fixing Avo with a lazy eye. It thrilled softly and continued to lay there, entirely unimpressed with the only ghoul Godclad in existence and the folk legend of a squire beside him. Cats, Tavers said, almost purring herself. Fucking love those furry little shits. Dont take shit from anyone, and dont give a shit about anyone. Theyre the realest squires in this city. Sweeping through the space with his Sanguinity again, Avo noted that only the bones of the alehouse remained, with all wood and valuable metals stripped. Rusted plasteel supports remainedCan undertaking beyond the locals willingness to dissect. For a second, they were alone, with only the sounds of the slum hinting at any life nearby. With a thousand kilometers between him and Vengs Stand, they were effectively in the wind. Still, he prepared his Skimmer and waited for his cadres emergence so he could cast it out. No sense in holding back on the paranoia. From now on, his doctrine would include a practice of omniscience: if he couldnt be aware of absolutely everything at his desired destination, he wasnt going. Punctuating his decision, Draus, Kae, Chambers, and Dice appeared in a shocking instant. Tavers caught herself before she drew on the newcomers, and let out an annoyed sigh. Incog. Love it. Hate it. Yeah, Avo agreed. Studying his group, he noticed that Chambers nose was broken and his eyes were downcast. Almost like he had been crying. Shame and frustration radiated from his mind, and his posture was abnormally closed off. Contrarily, Kaes mind was a sea amidst a storm, with each falling wave bearing a faint echo of the rage that thundered inside her. Neither half-strand nor Agnos would look at each other, while Draus held herself as she always did: ready, professional, like a spring about to uncoil. No tail? Draus asked. Avo cast his Skimmer high and drowned the slum with his perception. He gave his phantasmic a few heartbeats to work before he replied. No tail. The Regular exhaled. Well. That was a clusterfuck and a half. She shot a quick look at Dice who had been on the other side of the counter the entire time, slowly stroking her cat. The waif was staring at Avo, eyes locked to his burning Meta as if she was mesmerized. What are you? she whispered, not even truly speaking to him. And there was another thing to consider. What were they going to do with this girl? Well, well, well. Quail Tavers. Draus cocked her head and regarded the squire standing across from her. With the Meldskin conferring no height or bulk to her person, the Regular stood dwarfed by her counterpart, but uncowed. Likewise, the squire opened and closed her left hand as she studied her combat skins digit articulations. Glad to finally meet you up close. Up close? Tavers said, sensing something. Suppose one of us took a shot at the other in the past. You supposed right. Sixteen years ago. Extraction op. Kethstregar. Tavers nodded. Youre gonna have to be more specific than that. Happened during the midnight rains. We shot that transport out of the sky and killed the Glaives. But you and yours went for the package first instead. We cut your consang down that day. Then you started shooting us. Youre gonna have to be more specific than that. Draus paused. You fired a nuke at us to cover your escape? Youre gonna have to be more specific than that. The Regular sighed. You shot me in the face. Blew most of my jaw clean off. Oh, youre that one. Yeah. Youre the one that just wouldnt die. Hell, you even started shooting back. Ah. Sorry, but last time we saw each other, most of your face was dangling from your right cheek. Left, Draus said. Spatio-kinetic round skipped across my helmet and peeled me somethin bad. Well, Tavers said, tapping the side of her gun, sometimes we get lucky. Sometimes. An uncomfortable silence followed. The cat yawned. So, Avo said. Things we need to discuss. Starting with you. He glanced at Tavers. Helped us. Hired by White-RabC White-Rab? Draus said. The Necrojack? Yeah, Avo said. Also my cognitive progenitor. Partially anyway. Walton used aspects of his mind to make me. Kae blew a ragged breath. Of course. Because who else. Avo noted the Agnos bitterness and continued. After my consciousness changed, I burned Abrels mind. Subsumed the Incubi trying to subvert her. Then accessed a Glaive through one of their sessions and possessed his body. Took a walk in the Trident. Stole some mem-data. Ran into Zein againC What? Tavers said, sounding alarmed for the first time. Zein who? Zein Thousandhand? Shes alive? Godsdammit, Avo, Draus said. Left out a lot of shit about your last little walk. Shes not coming back, is she, Chambers said, a croak of fear in his voice. Cause, were doing fine without her. Right, consangs? Kae slowly turned to face Chambers. Do not talk. No words. I-if I hear you talk again, Im going t-to. Im to beat you to death! Again! And this time I wont need Draus to hold you down for me! Oh. That explained the awkwardness. Good for the Agnos. Exercising her violence was a form of catharsis she could use, and something to help her acclimate to the conditions of the Warrens faster. [No! Not good for her! Bad for me!] template-Chambers groaned. [Why am I always getting the fuck beat out of me? Why?] Abrel smirked. [Donno, dipshit. Maybe you can settle the score when the Agnos ends up cumming aratanids into the face of one of her enemies as a first resort.] Avo continued. Regardless. Tried to burn her. She killed me a few times. [A lot,] Benhata corrected. More than a few times, Im wagerin, Draus said. Doesnt matter how many, Avo growled. Main point is I went home. And met my progenitor. He paused. And one of the Bloodthanes from Nu-Scarrowbur. The Shatterborn. Reva Javvers. Javvers? Tavers said, sounding surprised for a second time. Vincintines niece? Vincintine? Draus said. You knew Ripperjack? Knew em? Practically kept that little shit alive for half his life Did you guys, uhC Zein happened to him, Draus explained. And by that, I mean I have no idea where the fuck he went. She appeared. He disappeared. And then she died. Died? Tavers asked, voice devoid of tone. Yeah, Draus replied. Died. But not it sounds like shes back again. Right, Avo? He considered how to answer the question. Might be a different Zein. Dont know. Cant tell with her. Dont understand how her Heaven works. Doesnt matter right now. Ended up Ensouling White-Rab by the end. Wanted to have my own insurance. Personal cell that the Columners didnt know. Yeah, well, it looks like they ended up being so sneaky you didnt know much about them either, Draus said. Didnt know he was going to hire Quail Tavers to track me, Avo said, unsure how to interpret White-Rabs actions. I suppose its his way of showing he cares. Tavers paused. And that he, like almost anyone in this city, would be suspicious as fuck about a magic ghoul handing out free Souls. So. It sounds like you consangs are up to some mighty weird shit. Looking at your skins wager a guess Voidwatchs special intelligence division is active here too? Or is it Omnitech-made? Draus fixed Avo with a look and shrugged. Well. The armors aint eaten any of us yet. Oh. Aegis, then. Wouldve loved to do another run for them. Thisll be fun. So whats up with her? Tavers pointed at Dice. She part of your Fallwalker charity operation too? Facing the waif, Avo contemplated his answer. No. Empowered her as a distraction for Paladins and Exorcists. Became became something much more. 18-2 Initiative +Another day, another outbreak. Pour one out to the unfortunates at Vengs Stand today, consangs. Its looking pretty bad. But whats different about today? [Hiccup; sound of cup hitting a table] Details are sparse and censors are chewing up any leaking mem-data as best as they can, but my on-site sources and my Exoricist contacts are talking about a Clad on Clad incident. Three Ori-Thaum Knots playing gangbusters. Why? Who? Well, I cant tell you about the former, but it seems that the group was led by none other than Seeker Shotin Kazahara. Planeshift. Part-time Ori-Thaum war hero and full-time tabloid icon. Seems another one of his operations has gone off the rail. Or on it. You can never tell with that asshole. Trust me, consangs: hes the type to leave even before hes done fucking you because he has a hair appointment at seven and hes running late. And yeah, if that sounds like its personal, thats cause it is. Its not every day that you get to report on the piece of shit that pushed your parents into a divorce. Especially when they were both cheating on each other with him at the same time. Fucker. Shotin. Mom. Dad. Youre all whores, I hope you get the rot. But at least you guys got to rub bits in the real. Not like the rest of us kids. Our intimacy is secondhand. We try what you did and well be spewing homunculi from every pore. Its all a godsdamned joke. We cant hug our friends. We cant fuck. We cant even hold our children. That is if we decide to grow a bastard at all. Whats left? The Nether? Alright. Sure. Fine. But Im tired, everyone. Im tired of looking misery in face and knowing that I am subhuman, knowing that no matter how good I get to be or what I do, I will always live a lesser life than the one my mother did, my father did, my ancestors did. Call me an ungrateful bitch, but I want warmth. Actual warmth. No to soak in the memory of it. Or think of how Fated Kazahara got to feel it with both my parents. Piece of shit. I hope it hurt for him. I hope one of them got their cords bundled up. Jaus, I am so godsdamned tired of all this shit. I just wanna [Sigh] Sorry. Onto the next track+ -Cala Marlowe, the FATELESS Thoughtcast 18-2 Initiative Revealing White-Rab to the others was a strange act, like giving away a secret that wasnt even really his. He trusted Draus and Kae. Dice and Chambers were chained to his will by the boons he offered and the approval he granted. Tavers was the only true unknown among them, but her very presence bestowed a lightness upon his templatesCthe very essence of hero worship. Much of his base mind remained wary of the squire, but considering White-Rab had tasked her with being Avos shadow, the foundations of her integrity mustve been close to unbreakable. Basically, he was doing what I taught him to do. Best practices in this city. I mean, I get not looking a gift-ghoul in the mouthCmainly cause the fucking thing will just bite you most of the timeCbut Souls arent easy to come by and if someones going around handing them out like candy, well You wanna figure out their deal. What they want. Whats at risk. Tavers paused and took a breath. Once again, running into you all wasnt the plan. I was just gonna shadow our young friend Dice here until she ran into you. Didnt know you were about to hold your little cult meeting in a ganger hideout. Jaus, Draus groaned. You got that close, huh? Tavers snorted. My ass was right around the doorway. Trying to figure out just what was going on when we all got jumped. Godsdamned Silvers. Never saw em coming. Yeah, cause they do a lot of dyin in a straight fight, Draus said, voice thick with derision. Still. Nasty run for some imps. Thats some hard business, maam. The imps are a professional courtesy, Tavers said. And this business is good as it''s always been. Rash aside. Chambers shuffled in place. Besides, I needed to see about this miracle ghoul. It just so happens that I need a Soul, along with someone who can rebuild or transfer an entire mind, if the need calls for it. The implications behind her words intrigued Avo. Slowly, a guess took shape in his mind. Said you wanted my gifts for someone else? Family? Want to make them a Clad? Fix something wrong with them. The squire grew impossibly still for a few passing heartbeats. A faint trickle of melancholy escaped her mind, but with its scent followed traces of hope. Its uh. My son. Third son. Eurun. He was in the circuits for a while. Ended up winning big and losing hard right after. Now, hes got a problem. Something that none of the Agnosi and Necrotheurges Ive helped with know how to fix. A rarely encountered problem. His intuition told him that he might be looking at a case adjacent to Elegant-Moon. What else was beyond both cognitive restoration and the reach of resurrection? Still, it was an interesting problem. One he might fix if only to get more insight into what it truly took to real-death a Godclad. So. Youve found me. Found us. What now? Now? Tavers said. Now, I tell Rab the runs done and put forth a commission of my own. Got plenty to offer, so you just name your price. I dont know how much need you have for imps or golemic weaponryC Helpin her would be wise, Draus said, words immediately following the mention of metaphysical firearms. Avo turned to glare at her. Shes got contacts that take a lifetime to build. Hells, shes probably a livin network by reputation alone. Think about that. Could use her. After we vet her that is. You just want something new to shoot, Avo said. Damn right, I do. But Im also right. Do it, rotlick. Wait, so, Taver looked between them. Ive been meaning to figure this out but, which of you is in charge of this little outfit? Ghoul and Regular shared a glance. Well, Draus said. I do what I want. He does what he wants. Sometimes we agree and do the same thing. Sometimes shits fucked and we have to cover our own asses. That ones theres green and untrained as shit. Kae folded her arms even harder at Draus description. That one theres trained badly and needs to kick a porn habit. Chambers stared harder at the ground. That one theres doin pretty good despite bein untrained, but we basically only officially met her today. And got into this mess because one of us had to play ghoul behind the mirror. A low chuff of displeasure sounded from Avo. The last one we got is a cat. Aint worth nothing. Unburdened by the Regulars words, the kitten purred in Dice''s arms as she turned from person to person, trying to conceptualize just what exactly was happening before her. Well. How about that. Consangs, you might just be the messiest cadre Ive ever seen. She shot Chambers a look. And, uh, dont make a habit of that. You owe me a hit of woundhound, son. Really dont enjoy burning myself. I mean, it kinda worked, the half-strand muttered under his breath. Kae glared at him. "Im going to tear every droplet of water out of your body and fill your lungs with them. [Aw, they grow up so fast,] Abrel said, sarcastically cheering Kae on. Template-Chambers was as sullen as his actual self. He had expected cheers and acceptance for his martial feat. All he got was scorn and loathing from someone who had been nothing but kind to him before. Wasnt something we anticipated, Avo said. But fortunate encounter. Educational. Beneficial. Got several things we needed. Turned several people. Two Paladins. Ones Kare Kitzuhada. Niece to the Seeker that attacked us. He regarded Kae specifically using his next words. Shes our way back into Ori-Thaum. To that section of the Tiers. Didnt get a chance to resequence the other Paladin yet. Do that when he sleeps. Use him to be our eyes behind the scenes. Added to Abrel Greatling and Elegant-Moon, we have assets across the Guilds. A start. But more needed.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The Agnos just stared for a moment, shoulders tense and posture tight. I okay. Good. Good. We should also try and find more places to set up in the Tiers. I owned a few homesC A few! Chambers choked. Owned? No can do, Kae. Probably got Guilder eyes crawling all over them. Draus frowned. If theyre still there at all. Guessing they either tore em down or resold em by this point. Kae nodded, needing to hear the words from someone else. She looked upon the nu-kitten with tired eyes and sighed. I had a bird once. Pipi. I suppose shes gone as well. Everything, Draus said. Tavers studied Kae for a passing moment. Youre that Agnos. The one that murdered her team and seduced that Paladin. What? Kae said, as if she was unable to comprehend Tavers words. What are you talking about. Ori-Thaum propaganda, Tavers explained. Highflame says differently. Same with the Sang and Omnitech. Stormtree another line still. Seems like the only folks that dont have something to say about you are the Agnosi themselves. And Voidwatch. Seems like you ended up a piece in the great game, girl. Shits rough. Piece, Kae said. Like I was ever meant to suffer such a fate. Yeah. Well. Jaus wasnt supposed to die either. But here we are. Yesterdays fucked. Todays ugly. And tomorrows all we got left. Holding her arms out to her sides, the four whorls lining the frontal carapace of her armor rotated as plates hissed and the exoskeleton opened. Somehow, despite the brief time he spent with her, Avo was unsurprised to see Tavers dressed in another, smaller suit of armor that resembled a series of interlocking chains. Her helmet was gone though, and he laid eyes on her face for the first time. The first thing that stood out was her skin and how layered it was. There was a greyness to it that just seemed unnatural. Thick. Like it had been replaced far too many times. Her hair was an auburn fire and her eyes glimmered just as bright. Despite the obvious modifications made to her, she still seemed far more human when compared to Draus. Maybe it was in the lingering femininity of her features. Or the coloring of her cheeks. The pointed tip of her chin. Or how her musculature was still mostly natural instead of being strands upon strands of graphene or hyper-tensile carbon. A tattooCsomething that Avo thought was a scar at firstCalso ran diagonally across her lip. It was a thin red mark and nothing more, a single stroke rich with hidden significance. With each detail revealed, the urge to burn her grew, and Avo resequenced himself every time. Here stood a wellspring of living knowledge and combat mastery. Years upon years of runs, battles, relationships, and epiphanies condensed into one woman. Leaning free of her molted rig, she greeted everyone in person for the first time and Avo found himself unnerved at how small she was. Only a few inches taller than Kae. Dwarfed by Chambers and shadowed by Draus. Whatever augments she had under the skin, her sheath hadnt strayed far from the reach of baseline humanity. In this, there was a testament, that through the accumulation of equipment, proper planning, and elevation of skill, one could thrive in New Vultun from Elysiums to gutters. That humanity was enough to face all comers, despite its frailties. [I know, right?] Abrel said, her mind aglow with glee. [What a badass. I still cant believe the High Seraph never extended an offering to her.] I kinda figured youd be older and bigger, Chambers said, blinking. You got that fugee build. Yeah? Well, I got news for you, son. Before they started making freaks and monsters of all you boys and girls, most of us had to just deal with our heights because that shit was genetic. Now, they carve out your skull and spine and plant you in a new body. She looked Draus up and down. Like this one. I doubt she ever went through puberty at all. A juv one day and nested in the bones of a killing machine the next. Draus shrugged. Doubt I missed anything. Yeah? Youd be wrong. Tavers shook her head. Oh, Avo. I cast Rab a couple of seconds ago. He wants to meet again. This time with the rest of your friends too. Hes curious about your little rebellion scheme. Will Reva be there? Avo asked. Tavers paused and ghosts swam faster through her halo. She can be. Good, Avo said. He fought to keep a grimace from his face. Wanted to keep them separate. Use Chambers to direct him through the Deep Bazaar. The squire laughed. Oh. You wanted to be the puppeteer with the kid, huh? Sorry, ghoulie. Raldis never played that way. Hell find an angle on you sooner or later and turn things around. Youre just lucky he didnt... Shit, I guess he cant jack you now, can he? It''d be a short attempt, Avo said. Memories are really quite flammable. Regarding Dice and Tavers again, he found himself increasingly pleased. Things didnt start out well at all. But now, regarding the changes he needed to make to his plans, his options were growing, and his personal contacts were expanding as well. He needed to keep thinking bigger. He wasnt just one person anymore. His reach exceeded that of his body. He needed to intrude upon the highest and lowest reaches of the city, and with his current assets, what once appeared a struggle was now all too surmountable. Draus, Avo said. Open a passage back to the Washington. Need to make introductions. The Regular nodded. Need Chambers to scramble her mind or somethin? He can try, Tavers said. I think White-Rab will be interested to see how his wards hold up against a competent intruder. Kae scoffed. Competent. I think you will probably be fine. Chambers winced. Look, Tavers said. I know the score. Ill eject the memories from my mind right afterward. Ill even have one of you do a peek. Maybe not the ghoul since I actually like having thoughts. Alright, then, Draus said. Dont think Denton or Cas are gonna like this. Theyll be fine once I tell them about Kare. Kae. Need your input for new ontologic upgrades. Chambers. Get to the cloning pools. Contact the grafters. See if we can get Subject-One completed soon. Want to take them on a test run. Vigor filled Chambers immediately, his body snapping to alertness. Avo felt him via the template. The ghoul was still being nice to him. Not insulting him. There was still some validation to be gained. If the Rashing of Shotin wouldnt make everyone love him, then what if he helped make the biggest, baddest, meanest bioforms there ever were? Or amp up the new sheathes somehow? All this to be liked. All this so that someone else could tell him he matteredCto ensure his continued position in the group. Chambers was a dog desperate to be leashed. And that degraded him from becoming. That degraded his personhood. An echo of Calvinos earlier words passed through Avo. The restored EGI, deliberately silent through the recent dialogues, spoke once more. {You know what you can do. Set him free. Lead him away from making himself someone elses play thing. Give him a path to grow.} Chambers, Avo said, holding up a hand. Before this. Need to say something. The mans face dropped. Avo began. Youre a fool. Selfish. Impulsive. Killed thousands of innocents today. But saved us. Shotin likely would have killed us all without the Rash. You didnt think about the ones you killed. Only about making yourself matter. Consumed by your fixation with lust. Youre still the same jackal you always were. The half-strand at Burners Way. Casual murderer of FATELESS. And thank you for giving us a way out. Heads turned and confusion spread. Chambers wasnt the only one who looked lost. I, uhC Didnt feel what it was like to kill the FATELESS. Wasnt jacked into them. Too focused on Shotin. But I did. With my Sanguinity. Tasted the pain in their minds. Felt the homunculi bursting from them still. Theyre getting scapeled now. Casual massacre born from your unorthodox salvation. So I Did I do bad or good? Both, Avo said, letting him think on it, turning to offer the Agnos a shrug. Drawing on the momentum of his words and guided by his templates, he turned to Kae. Kae. Life you had is gone. Buried. Cant have it back ever again. But you can decide your life now. Get revenge. And also stop Chambers when he does something stupid. Not a bystander anymore. Dont need let this city degrade you. Attack you. Her eyes fell, unable to meet his eyes. You dont understand. The RashCwhen I felt them coming out of me No. Youre right. Dont understand. Wont burn you for understanding either. I will let you stay yourself. But life wont. New Vultun wont. Can talk about this later. If you want. Will listen to whatever you have to say. But need you focused afterward. Need you ready to survive. Okay. He barely heard her say it, but something in her tone felt different. In the corner of his eye, he noticed that Draus helmet was gone and she was giving him a shit-eating grin. Got anything for me? Yes. You have a gun addiction. Need therapy. Like Essus. She made the ground beneath them turn to glass with a rude gesture. A moment after, radiance flooded its reflective sheen. Dice, Avo said. Stay close. Might feel a bit of squeeze. Picking up the nu-cat and placing it in her pocket, the waif gave him a quick nod. So whats this supposed to be? Tavers asked. Some kind of glass Heaven? She froze. Wait, didnt that dead Greatling have one of those? What was it calledC The Twice-Walker pulled them down, across, and back up in the George Washington. Back in the gutters, an unnatural brightness faded from within an abandoned bar. 18-3 Playing God New Vultun will be made up of 35313 districts by 288 P.G. That is 4414 trans-polity post-mortem taxable zones. Sovereignties, in a word. At the rate things are currently progressing, we will only reap 12% of the total taxable deaths, placing us as the lowest profiting Guild in the city. This is not acceptable. As of present, Project Alloyed Revival and the Return From Ashes Initiative are concluding their start-up phases. Breakthroughs in negotiations with Voidwatch and the Agnosi have granted us additional leeway in the Hellsinks we can produce and spiked our heavy golem industry and anom-metallic fabrication production. By the end of the next month, we should be able to expand and establish a foothold through the Spine into the gutters. The greatest difficulty remains the Syndicates. Though we have a foothold in Hasanastur-South, our assets are flanked by the No-Dragons Hundred-Eighters in the adjacent district of False Oasis and the Thunderwargs supported by Stormtree. The former is understandableCthe No-Dragons have their interests and we have ours. Increased funding to their dissidents and the establishment of our own organizations in the Warrens can serve as a necessary bulwark, though we may need a few Chainbreakers on scene due to suspected enemy Godclad presence. The Thunderwargs are an ongoing concern. Outright engagement against an allied supported Syndicate will inevitably damage relations between Ashthrone and StormtreeCa strain we cannot afford due to the percentage of combat power they occupy in the allianceCbut diplomatic overtures have proven fruitless as their subsidiary runs wild, conducting border raids and committing atrocities. For this, I would like to bring forth a proposal. Perhaps it would be unpopular, but I implore that you listen, brothers and sisters. Tensions between the Thunderwargs and Hundred-Eighters have been historically cool in the locality. Since the hardening of borders with the end of the last war, both sides have been content to remain within their own boundaries. This can be changed. All it takes is a simple transgression to occur. I do not believe it will be hard to manufacture an engagement between them, nor will we need to dirty our own hands in such a vile endeavor. There are multiple qualified squires for hire that can lure the Thunderwargs astray. The funding for such an operation is also negligible. Risk assessment shows that the greatest danger remains mem-data leakage for such an operation, but such is easily countered by deploying the information to a third-party middler with no direct relations. I understand that the act of inconveniencing an allied Guild worries many present, but I assure you, the odds of uncovering our operation are below a single digit on the percentage scale. And for further incentive, I bring this presentation back to the beginning. We are being outpaced. We are failing our people and the word of Jaus. How are we to stand for humanity''s liberation from the coil of existence if we are too weak to support ourselves? -Manor-Brother Helmsteed, Ashthrones Ministry of Developmental Labor 18-3 Playing God Good Christ, Avo. I thought you were going off to talk to the girl? Not start a drag-out brawl against the single most famous Ori-Thaum Godclad there is. And is that Quail Tavers? What the hell happened out there? Cas continued to speak at him even as the Cloning Pools came into view. The stress radiating from the mans mind was enough to drive a normal person into psychosis. An agonizing tug accompanied each of Cas thoughts as his blood screamed through his veins. His pupils were dilated, and he was flicking one glance too many at Tavers. An understandable reaction for someone who valued secrecy, though Avo felt there was something more to the panic attack he was suffering. {Operative Cas is not suffering from emotional compromise, but memories of past experiences.} Calvinos words seeded instant comprehension. {There is only one fate that awaits most cults in this city. And it is all too easy to be discovered and purged. Such martyrdom graced countless of his ancestors who died liberating countless slaves from death-farms during the final days before the Godsfall. Such a martyrdom befell his parents during the massacres of the second Guild War. Such martyrdom is what he believes to be awaiting him at the end of his path. A final death is not his fearCbut an abrupt end before he has done enough good in the name of his lord of old.} Avo studied the Columner again and noted the agitation behind his eyesCnow a soft hazel. He had undergone some grafting while they were gone. Begun the process of adapting his shape for subterfuge. Wont be a leak, Avo said, trying to reassure his comrade in this conspiracy. Shes tied to us. More ways than one. So you say, Cas said, spittle landing Avos shoulder. You should have told us about White-RabCabout everything you were doing up in the Tiers. No. The bluntness of Avos response made Cas throw up his hands. Then hows trust supposed to live between? How am I supposed to know that your contact isnt going to sell us out to the Guilds? We trust each other in moderation, Avo answered. And I give something the Guilds cant. And I can hurt Rab in ways no one can. So whats your solution? Tyranny? Avo, people are used to getting squeezed. What hurts you now supersedes what might hurt you later, all it takes for him to betray us is a single mistake on his part. One fuck-up. Something that White-Rab proved to be good at avoiding. Avo looked down to meet Cas stare. Met Zein while I was in the Tiers too. Question has been swimming in my mind. Something I didnt want to ask: trust. Would you trust me over Zein? Would you choose me over Zein? Quiet. No response. Well, thats a pretty situational question, isnt it? Your lack of answer means you understand. We have trust. But there are thresholds. We exist on a spectrum of interest to each other. I must maintain my own as well. Cas grunted a humorless chuckle. Damn. There he is again. Your father. Despite building you out of other peoples minds, you sure take after him a lot. Seeing the Columners growing frustration, Avo rebuilt his mind and sought a smooth amelioration. He needed to quell this spat before it became a problem. Weaving aspects of Benhata and Kare into his cognition, Avo immediately felt a spike of shame pierce him as he realized the betrayal he was inflicting. Words were likely not going to solve this. He needed to offer actionable recourse. Material manifestations of good faith and progress. Will loop you into the next meeting with him, Avo said. Keep you updated on what I do. Show you my memories too. Hm. Might not trust that. Give you something better. Mem-data to access Paladin lobbies. Eyes on the inside. A new contact to protect your asset from Exoricsts and public safety departments. A bit of ire bled out from Cas. What are you talking about? Turned two Paladins. One is connected to Shotin. His niece. The other is a rapid response officer for the Spine. Kassamon. Ill have Chambers cast you the details. ...Alright, Cas said, after a moments deliberation. But we dont do this, Avo. Not again. Cells live and dieC Cells die, Avo said, interrupting. Too many eyes. Cant hide forever. You know this. Cas stood silenced. But we can engineer the deaths. Mask ourselves by putting assets in key positions. Hunting ourselves. Burning cults are easy. Burning cults already targeted by another Guild risks conflict. Cas was now empty of tension. In its place swelled curiosity and promise. Yeah yeah, that might work. His posture sagged. At least something came out of that mess. More than something. Chambers chattered as he spoke to the grafters, his halo overlapping with the thrones locus as the nanomolecular mists of the Cloning Pool swirled and made their changes. Ten translucent pods were slotted above them, each representing a testable buildCusable as both bioform and sheathes. Of the dozen, Subject One was nearing completion. The vagueness of its enshadowed contours resembled an egg sporting twelve jagged appendages and six whips. According to Chambers, it took Jack, Jane, and Ruveca more than a little arguing to reach a unified consensus about what was optimal. The initial presentation filled Avo with considerable doubt, with Elegant-Moon added to his gestalt, he found himself increasingly appreciative of the prototype. Fungally spread and easily replaceable, Subject One was to fill a mixed role between skirmisher and scout. In time, should this morphology prove worthy, its primary duties would be to stalk the shadows, surveying, stalking, and hunting gangers and ghouls alike. There was space to be made in the gutters, and inevitably, when the next war arrived, the cadre would have need of expendable infantry that could hold or seize ground. The only difficulty that remained now was building a good enough mind for the creatures. Despite Avos requests, Aegis was against uplifting these bioforms to even the barest level of sophoncy. Not unexpected but still annoying. It took a single instance of simulated morality for Avo to understand. That didnt make Voidwatchs morality and ethicality any less an impediment, Without the pre-installation of a full ego, other options made themselves known. Implantable coldtech combat minds were easy and available, though exceeding vulnerable to the Nether. Their cognitive half-life before nullification from data decay was less than five minutes. Thinking back to Ori-Thaums cognitive constructs, regret finally caught up to Avo as he wished he could have claimed one of the prototypes while he was at the Trident. Omnitech had their own variants of artificial intellects, but the very thought made Glitch break into a fit of psychosis. The caretakers that Omnitech built were protective. Too protective. Psychotically protective. In a strange way, it seemed they ran human society more than they served it, and despite the best attempts of rival and allied Guilds, no one was fully capable of changing their directives. Not even the Agnosi.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The strange nature of an Omnitech caretaker made Avo think about his Datacaster and its corrupted mem-data. If it was corruption at all. Through the capture of Elegant-Moon came the most viable option. The Sang had their own methods of cultivating specialized bioforms. Incarnates. Beings that bore enough of a mind to heed commands but not the will to act without orders. A legion of organisms perfected towards use, more instruments than slaves. When pools were finished growing Subject Ones hardware, she would bless them with a final touch. Afterward, Avo would line their brain matter with a haemokinetic lattice as a means of direct control. Part of him hungered to kill the Sang. Claim her ontologics, Soul, and thaums. But deaths were easy fruits to claim and he could recreate her build by harvesting the Domains he needed from vulnerable golems. The only cost there was time. Time, and a final, newly growing idea gifted to him by Tavers. Considering the condition that her third son sufferedCpermanent ego erosion from what was implied, a new possibility caught fire in Avos mind like a match striking napalm. He could not split his Conflagration. Not truly. His mind was his mind, and even with his subminds and templates working in tandem, he was hypercharging his own processing power and executive intellect rather than splitting thought-stream or twinning his ego. But what if he lit the dormant mind of a bioform and filled it with one of his templates? What if he Ensouled them during the process, and then killed himself thereafter? Would this be a method to create a genuine nous? A full being capable of self-direction and thought, the richness of its existence ripe to offer both ghosts and thaums should deaths blade fall? Such was a thing he looked forward to testing in the near future, and within his mind, both Elegant-Moon and Calvino shared in the excitement. {The ethicality of this is going to be something of major debate among the polities. But I must admit to be fascinated by the possibility. Creating a full sophont mind using a Soul as an exploit? Im sure one of the Guilds must have tried, but the nature of your mind and Frame allow for something that has never been done. There is the issue of these prototypes going from simulated fragments of your consciousness to mentally pre-enslaved replicas of living or dead people but} [You could perhaps return me to wholeness,] Elegant-Moon muttered, less joyous and more curious. [Should success transpire in the aftermath of your deed, then I would be interested to see what expression graces the face of my restored sister.] Theres one more thing we need to talk about, Cas said, breaking the silence. He had been looking at Subject One as well. Studying it with dismay in his gaze. Calvino explained this the days prior as well. Apparently, Cas lord was supposed to be the purveyor of life, that birth and naturality was a holy thing. Twisting living beings into weapons was a sour action to partake in, and the Columner''s mind stank of resigned regret. Chambers. What are we going to do about him? Help him, Avo responded. Hes a mess. An addict. He barelyC What is the deepest memory you hold of your father? The Columner paused. I I dont understand. Chambers. I remember the smell of his flesh cooking. Crying. Urinating himself and begging and pushing at his fathers screaming jaw. I remember the stink of the alcohol. Honey Earl. Stormtree brand. The type the father liked. I remember how it felt for the heated barrel of a gun to dig deeper and deeper into his armpit. I remember why it happened. Of what the father caught him watching. Why he was punished. Cas just stared. So, what? He had a shitty childhood and he gets a free pass on mass murder born from his sickness? What he did back thereC Avo cut through the conversation. Saved us. Killed thousands of others. Yes. That is what happened. Thats your response? My response is acceptance, Avo said. Acceptance of him. How he is. How he can be. Many flaws. Yes. But he can grow. Change. The FATELESS are dead! Yes. Unfortunate. But inevitable. All too inevitable. Why? Why the fuck so? Because theyre not Godclads? Because you view them as food? Avo shifted his mind. I can make myself love them. But the world inside does not agree with the world without. They are currency before people. Because they have no agency to enforce their own personhood. Only I can grant them that. And only we really care. Biting back another argument, Columner rubbed at the dark scruff growing from his jaw and let out an exhausted breath. The people didnt deserve to die that way. We visited hell on them, but they committed no sin. Damnation for nothing. There are no sinners, Avo said. Only victims. ...Thats honestly what you believe? Cas said. I believe that we hold the power to determine what is and what will be in the absolute. You are Godclad too. The fire in us is both authority and edict. Highest privilege born of power. Tavers, Denton, and Draus stepped back through a mirror in the periphery of Avos vision. They were doing somethingCthe squire was showing them places and contacts. New safehouses and middlers to contact. They moved ignorant of the conversation unfolding between man and ghoul beneath a misted chamber in the process of incubating new life. Death can be undone if we win this war. Fates changed. But the FATELESS. I want to empower the meek. Unleash consequences on them. So they can feel power and pain in equal measure. Understand who they are. Who they live among. He looked upon Cas and spread his teeth in a smile. Youre fascinating. I didnt think that before. You value phantom beliefs. Things less than metaphysical power. Soft faith. A god never materialized. Never seen. It keeps my soul clean. Not this cage that keeps us from a final embrace. Thats just a means. An end. When all this is done and everything is made rightC You will return your god to its righteous place? Avo asked. Or grant him sovereignty over all things and usher forth an age of virtue? Cas breathed. Neither. God is the absolute. Were just demiurges. Fallen things playing in the garden he made. You can strip omnipotence from its throne or conceive the shape of omniscience. He is the shepherd and I am his hound. It just pains me deep to watch the lambs bleed. Avo tasted the belief in Cas words, and the first inklings of true understanding began to kindle. This wasnt about him. This wasnt about him at all. He was crusading for others, and so his Ensouling was a means to an end. What agony living in New Vultun would inflict on such a man. Shepherd and hound, hm? Avo said. Yeah, Cas replied. I suppose that I have a duty to Chambers then. To give him a better path. And to see him better at preserving life than wasting it. A choked laugh of pure disbelief sounded from Cas. Avo, did you just liken yourself to the lord? The ghoul blinked. Poetic? Blasphemous, Cas replied. Ah, Avo said. Well. I have the ego. Yeah, thats pretty damn obvious. Cas shook his head. So. Now what? You train him to be better. Fine. What about the girl? Dice? What about her? Avo glanced at the waif seated upon the dais behind him, petting the cat as she continued to look around. Citys dangerous for her. Not used to it. But she has talent. Potential. More than just a distraction. Going to give her choice. Think I already know what shes going to choose. Because you have her template living in that fire you call a mind, huh? Yes, Avo said. Will be releasing our infiltrators next. Elegant-Moon. Kare. Proceedings will begin soon. Abrel will be coming back planetside. Should claim someone else from Highflame as well. Meritocrat preferably. Need more points for my flame to spread. But while we breach the top, also need to claim the roots of the city. Force the Low Masters out of hiding. Consume the smugglers and Syndicates. Open a path out from the city. Ways the Paladins and Guilds cant stop. Cas understood. Youre going to use the girl as a wilder operative? Is that it? More, Avo said. Need a seat of power beyond the gaze of the Guilds. Places they cant see. Places where we can amass greater forces in the open. The Sunderwilds? The Ruptures? Yes. Other Fallwalkers have been unpunished. Commit sins. Depravity. Think their Souls shouldnt be theirs. And I think the deaths that fuel them will be worth more to us. Your scopes growing too fast, Cas said. So are my templates. And deaths. Time is not our luxury. But power soon will be. Power and knowledge. Power. Knowledge. Initiative. Guilds are preparing for the next war. But they dont see us. Experiences have taught me things. Given my understanding. Our Spheres must grow. But Heavens alone are too limited. The Nether, the physical, the metaphysical. Must dominate them all. All spectrums. So we will need militaries. Relations. Money. Political influence. And all of this can be consumed from the flesh of our enemies. We grow inside them. We grow beyond them. We grow. They wither. We decide in the end. Our flame. Not theirs. This is getting to be more than just a cult, Avo, Cas said. Youre trying to build a hidden empire. {Oh. Nice ring to it. Ask Operative Cas if he needs a new bass player.} Avo ignored Calvino. Perhaps. Or perhaps just a boiling flame. Alright! Chambers shouted! Throwing his fists up. Phantoms leaped from his mind and projected growth percentages across each pod. Only one metric mattered. SUBJECT ONE - 100% READY FOR ADDITIONAL GENETIC THERAPY We should gather the others, Avo said. Want to speak with you. All of you. Benhata compelled him to place a hand on the Columners shoulder. Talk to them like I spoke to you. Honestly. A startled, blank expression passed through Cas face. ICyeah. Sure. I glad I could He didnt finish his words. It wasnt a week ago that Avo would have struggled to understand the man. Struggled not to mock his faith or fight the urge to eat him. Now, so much of what he did was clear. Too clear even. Avo thought he understood the mans actions and wants better than himself in some ways. The Conflagration was just freedom. It was a change. Change unfettered. Change of the ego with a change of the mind. The weight of what he was becoming pressed upon his shoulders. If he was capable of so much alreadyCso different than he was before. What was he to be when the Ladder finally arrived? 18-4 Seize the Roots (I) Can I light up some hiflass? You mind? No. Alright, good. So. Trafficking. You cant stop it. You can never stop it. You wanna stop it? Thats a problem for the Agnosi. Ask them how many Heavens there are. Ask them how many gods there used to be. Right now, New Vultuns perimeters? The liminal borders you can restrict at any time? Thats nothing. Its bullshit. Liminal space that doesnt let directionality in or out blah blah what the fuckCyou have any idea how many Fallwalkers can walk right through? You know how easy it is for a specialized golem to make a gap? Easy. Real easy. And if the last big brawl between the Guilds didnt provide enough of a surplus, you got plenty of Fallwalkers willing to take on some Rend debt to keep a golem running. Truth is you half-strands have so many leaks to plug it''s hopeless. The way I see it, the only chance you guys have of reducing thisCnot stopping. Thats impossible. Reducing. Thats a more attainable goal. Is that you start getting smugglers to flip or start a whole series of gutter wars between the Syndicates funding them. Course, that would need you to step on the toes of your Guild-masters, and we both know how good of a stomping they gave your dog-asses the last time you got uppity. So. Best solutions I can think of off the top of my head. You can risk it big and go for the Syndicates. Try to breach the trading rooms they host in the Deep Bazaar and bust up their key figures. Messy. Hard. Requires a calibur of Necro your Exorcists arent. Or. Or you can start poisoning the water. Start seeding some squires or Clads among the FATELESS and shred smuggling chains up from the inside, making my associates paranoid or worried about their supply. You do that and Id say you can really cut down the trafficking across a few districts. But you gotta know that tricks dont work twice here and the chains of each Syndicate are far-o-part. Rumors will spread and Mawdivers will learn. Just the way the game goes. Supply. Demand. All you can do is gut the former because, in New Vultun, theres always a need for more people to do the dying. -Paladin Interview of Arir Moradin, Former FATELESS Trafficker 18-4 Seize the Roots (I) I want to talk about the future, Avo began. His cadre was gathered before him, half of them in seats newly grown from the ship, others occupied stray spots in the room. Draus, Kae, and Denton were among the seated, and behind them, Chambers had his back against the throne. Cas leaned against a nearby wall, his eyes distracted while he flicked messages across Threshold using his ansible. On the floor Tavers had found a place next to Dice and was rabbling about how the girl could improve her craft. Even Essus was among them, though he remained a cold presence in the room, standing far and away from the others, his eyes locked on Avo. Only a shame the Sunrise could not be here. A thing to be remedied in the future, if possible. Their capabilities would be more than appreciated for this undertaking. Our time together has been short. But frantic. Efficient. Promising. Changes have befallen all of us in the weeks we shared. Souls. Opportunities. Lives restored. Pasts lost. He watched Kae in particular and knew the effect of his words was successful as she shuffled. Running Benhatas mind as his primary template, he infused himself with years of rhetorical refinement and sequenced away all his deficiencies using traits taken from other minds. His mastery over the spoken word came suddenly, and Avo was increasingly appreciative of the boons his softer skills offered. We have enjoyed ourselves. Enjoyed our powers. Pressed our teeth on soft flesh and unbreakable armor. I have grown during this time. Found apotheosis. Climbed higher. Become more. More than something like me ever should have. I am grateful. The admissions of his gratitude made Draus eyes widen in alarm. She shot Avo the closest thing she had to a worried look and he shook his head. I am well. Wanted to state things plainly. I am more than indulged of flesh. I am learning satisfaction. Happiness. Actualization at a level beyond description. Still. Want more. Will always want to change and become more. But it is a joyous obsession. A good chase. He placed another pause between his words. But that is I. And perhaps you are different. All of you. Some of us are bound by chance. Others by machinations of outside powers. I cannot change the past. But the future is open. A new force is entering the battle for the Ladder. One the Guilds dont know about. One growing inside them; a burning plague. I want to make sure the future we seek is one shared. So, what, is this like the with me or not speech? Chambers asked, eyes flicking about. Im notCuh, comparing you to him cause youre like twice the manCuh, G-Godclad he was, but Mirrorhead also gave one of these and we ended up getting jabbed the next day. Opposite, Avo said. Not about me. About you. Your future. Your choices. Your desires. Have my own interests. Perhaps someday ours will clash. But weve shared too much together for me to wish any of you in chains. I have come to appreciate each of you. For who you are. And who you might still be. These words were meant for Chambers, and they struck. The man looked away from Avo as if he was a truth too uncomfortable to face. New possibilities are open to us through my fires of mind and Soul. But I am more than my own selfish wants. I have drowned in gluttony. Brutality. Cruelty. But also honesty. Deception. And now I paddle upon the shallow waters of humanity. Want to go deeper. Want to understand charity. Unchain the wills of man but inflict their actions with consequence. He looked at Kae, Draus, Dice, and all the others. I can promise you bloodshed. War. Enemies worth killing. And unfortunates caught in the crossfire. I can take pain from your minds. Give you need traitsCsculpt you into someone you wish to be if that is what you want. I offer choice. And I an acknowledgment of your existence. It may not be much. But the Guilds all seek control in some form or another. Chains from chains from chains. Self-made prisons because they fear the existential forest in which we live. This is pathetic. Disgusting. They deny themselves a full course because they fear what they might taste. Fear what they might find. But I will show them their folly. I sink into them from the points where they are rotted. Purify them from the inside. Cauterization. They must face themselves before the end. I have broader plans in mind. Going to release our compromised Godclads. Use them to infiltrate the Guilds further. Burn more. Expand our reach in the Tiers. Influence through the Warrens must also continue to spread. Grow the cult. Break the Syndicates. Subvert and install our own operatives in their ranks. Snatch them from the Guilds. But our reach must be beyond the city. This war stretches the planet. What remains of existence. My fire seeks the roots of New Vultun. It dreams to light the Maw. To clean the bedrock of Nolothis mythologyCtainted in history and tainted now. I dream to devour the smugglers. The traffickers. To find a way out of the city and expand our bases of power. Draus sat up a bit straighter. She knew what he was going for. You want the enclaves and Fallwalkers, dont you? Gonna hit them. Take them for our own. I want the Fallen Heavens too, Avo said. These words lit something behind Kaes deep brown eyes. Some for my Frame. Some to use as a veil for us to build up forces. One of his Echoheads pointed upward at Subject One. To amass hidden forces. Building an army, Draus nodded. Shit. We are becoming a Guild. Something in opposition to them. A destabilization and redistribution of power before the final war. Two major goals occupy my mind right now. Seeding the Guilds with our subverts; seizing the roots of the Maw and claiming the smuggling routes for our use. A path out of the city. Open frontiers hidden to the Guilds. A place where we can experiment with your Frames capabilities without being discovered as well, Kae said, nodding. Her halo shimmered as he thoughtstuff took on a steady flow. New prospects for her craft sharpened her focus. Using the ruptures, I think I can engineer the conditions required to build more specialized Heavens. Re-engineer and architect things that I have never Yes Yes! This is a tremendous opportunity! And I always wanted to see the Sunderwilds beyond the walls of the city. The excitement buried under the gloom of her resurfaced past pierced through. Perhaps we can also consider the void. I believe the Manta is rated for inter-system travel. If we can get it beyond the reach of the city! Wait! Were with Aegis now! I request access to knowledge forbidden! Entwine the natural sciences further with mythology... The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Her ansible activated as the static in her mind thinned to a needle. She was casting something over to Threshold. Requests perhaps. Calvino was chuckling with interest in the back of his mind. {Youll need to find a stable point in your atmosphere first,} the EGI sighed. {There are parts of this planet that just make you disappear if you go in the wrong direction. I cannot tell you how many ships we lost learning where we could and couldnt go. As for Agnos Kusanades requests Oh, so many of these are going to be denied. ElectromagnetismCgravity. Strong nuclear forces. Chemical bondsChm. Shes been spending time through our archives. More than a few were restricted to the Agnosi before} Good, Avo said, pleased there was something for Kae to thrive for. Also plan to subvert Ori-Thaum in the meantime. Use Shotin against his order. They were unleashed against you as a borrowed blade. It would be proper to devastate them the same way. But revenge was a secondary thing to the Agnos mind right now. The promise of her craft consumed her thoughts and phantasmal essence was rising from her eyes like steam. She gave only a polite chirp that she heard something as she continued interfacing with the virtual noosphere. Her appreciation would follow after what he said settled in. Dice, Avo said, looking at the girl who was supposed to be little more than a distraction. Have done well. More than I expected. Would like to give an apology. Used you to my ends. Arrangement was predatory. She didnt understand. The waif looked at Avo, eyes bright. The cat was nibbling at her cheek now, monkey arms swatting her on the nose. Will grant you what I should have earlier. Autonomy. Understanding. Power. Also have a duty for you. If youre interested." The cat glanced curiously over. You know what its like beyond the city. Know how to survive. Had a home before. Its gone, she said. The master died. Darkness wins without his light. Can give you light, Avo said. Can give you anything you need. Master failed you. Masters always fail their slaves. That is the nature of the relationship. But I am not a master. And you are not my slave. You are your own master. I am just the maker of your tools. I can give you more Heavens. Make you better than your master ever was. Suddenly, she seemed more like a child than she ever had been. But Im supposed to listen Listen now: you can be whatever you desire, Avo concluded. She blinked and wrestled with his words. Same goes for all of you. Rare opportunity has come. Something no one has right now. If you want to change yourselves. Mind. Body. Soul. I can do it. I have the ability. But I leave the decision to you. You know what, Draus said with a sniff. I knew there was somethin wrong with you back when I first laid eyes on you. Normally, I would just snuffed a ghoul but you good thing Essus stayed my hand. She gave the father standing far in the back an appreciative nod and the man just lowered his head. I didnt expect much from you. Not you bein a nova-hot Necro. Not you having a Frame. Not you being the godsdamned mind-bastard of a rogue Low Master. I just kinda counted my fortunes and moved on. Gave me the means to throw myself into bigger and better fights, you know. Kill Jhred. Raise some hell. Hopefully die loud in the process. She paused. Cept that didnt happen. Cept you kept me from going off into the Big Nothing. Yeah. I hated you for that. Cant help it. Me. The other Regs. We fought, bled, and died without question. All in the name of creed and conviction. All to live up to the High Seraphs ideals. But when the time came for a good death, I chose to do my duty and was damned for it. She snorted. Blessed be the worthy. Aint that a lie. Then something changed across her face. A smile. A full and genuine expression, wide and feral. She was like a war-made nu-dog looking down at a bone. The weight came back, Avo. The weights back and heavier than ever. I felt it earlier. With Shotin. When we were in the Layer. When I was getting bloody with the Paladins. All I needed to understand was bigger game to hunt. Youre asking us if were with you? If we want this? I cant speak for any of them, but me? You just got me into a war so big it''s beyond my dreams. This about fighting the real war. Against the real bastards. The last fucking duel that will ever matter. Us against all the Guilds. Us for the Ladder. Like echoes of Jaus. It aint about if Im with you. Im a bullet in motion. Im punching for flesh anyhow? This way? Yeah. You cant turn me from this fight if you tried. [Oh gods,] Abrel muttered. [I knew the Regulars were insane but How the hell did we ever make someone like her.] Avo never doubted Draus conviction. But hearing her excitement was another thing altogether. And how much it symmetry it had with his basest self. In this moment, loneliness was a distant thing. I know Im kinda fucked up, Chambers said, softly at first. He looked around the others, oddly shy. And that I dont think too good sometimes, but these have been the best days of my life. And I Im scared. Im scared that none of you will want me anymore. I mean, I know that I dont deserve a Frame. I know that! But, like, this makes me matter now, I gotta keep it because I cant go back! Please dont make me go back to being who I was. I dont wanna be like that anymore. Ill change. Ill do anything. Youll do, Avo said. Ill do what? Chambers asked, trying to understand what Avo wanted. Youll do. Avo said, simply. Not taking your Frame from you. Never taking your Frame from you. Might kill you if our paths diverge. But Ive given you choice. You live and die a Godclad now. The rest is what you desire. Be change. Dont wait for it. Chambers mouth fell open and closed. For a few moments, he didnt have anything to say. I, uh. A trickle of something fell from one of his eyes. The tear surprised Chambers, prompting him to swipe fast and look up into the Cloning Pools. Ill never Rash you guys again. Maybe you will, Avo said. Worked on Shotin. Could work on others as well. We just need more control. Spare the FATELESS. Me and Val here were in this before you, Cas said. You know where we stand. And Zein? Avo asked. She is more invested in the outcome of this war than any of us, Denton said. She is beyond mistrust. The glance she leveled at Tavers implied enough. Dont worry about me, Tavers said. I know the score. You can get one of your Necros to stay synced with me. Raldis gone quiet after his dive earlier. Probably trying to shake any Incubi from tracking him. But his stake here is personal. And so is mine. Ive run for and against the Guilds plenty. And that Frame of yours is too precious for them to ever give me what I want. Good, Avo said. Will talk to Sunrise personally. First order now will be to use Elegant-Moon toC I wish to help. Essus voice was low, but his words held a weight to them. Heads spun and eyes fell upon him. A sliver of discomfort passed through his features but he endured. You are speaking of liberation. You are intending to do for them what you have once done for me. What you died trying to give my son time and time again. I have not forgotten this. So, I want this path. I wish to help you. Avo tilted his head. Is this your choice? Essus looked down at his massive hand. The transplants Mirrorhead installed remained after his resurrection. Whatever trauma he endured, the Embers ego now thought his arms to be artificial. Not his original limbs, now gone like his son was. Yes. Yes. I think this is the first real choice I have made since I since I decided to come here. He balled his fingers and made a fist. I have no taste for bloodshed. And unless you destroy what I am now with your fire, I will never hold violence close to my heart. But freeing people. Sparing them what I faced. This is purpose. This is an atonement that would please Artad. Please me. Blessed be the peacekeepers, Cas muttered off from the side. Avo nodded. The conversations with Voidwatchs specialists have done wonders for the man, it seemed. No need for a cognitive revision. Pleases me to see you with new purpose. Essus shrugged. One must do something after choosing to live, yes? Yes, Avo said, turning to regard Subject One again. We will use Elegant-Moon to finish our prototype. Then I will release her. Seed her back to Highflame and the No-Dragons. And turn our focus downward to the Maw. To the smugglers. To routes out of the city and the promises that lay beyond. Kae. Need to talk to you soon. Have some things. About your ontologics? She asked, attention returning to him. About all our Frames. New considerations. Upgrades. Countermeasures. A soft smile crept across the Agnos face. Good. So do I. 18-5 Seize the Roots (II) Two-Mag: Where the hells are you? Its almost morning. No-Dragon Nimbuses are going to be passing through soonCthey tag us and that barge is for the slagging. Moment: Calm down. Nine kilometers [5.59 MILES] out. Flying low. Had to duck another Guilder drone patrol. Highflames really coming out in force these days. Thats almost a month theyve spent grid-sweeping the Maw. Wonder what the fuck they lost. Two-Mag: It doesnt matter what they lost, how''s our cattle doing? Moment: Yeah, yeah, good haul this time. About six hundred people in the hold. Gonna be breaking from real space soon. Going under. Somethings wrong with our reactor. Every time we bright-jump the thing whines. Its been getting louderC Two-Mag: I cast the techs about that. Just getCFuck! Nimbuses. Theyre here! Already here! Shit! Fuck! Jump now! Jump now! Course to secondary coordinates. Moment: Yeah, okay, Its gonna be an ugly jump! Just make sure the room is dark when we get there. [SESSION DISCONNECTED] [ACCESSING SESSIONCJAID RIVERSON (DOCKING)] Two-Mag: JaidCAugwhgh, fug! [ERRORrrr] Hugghh! Awarrgguh! [SESSION LOST] -Thoughtcast between smugglers under the Forgotten Lances Syndicate 18-5 Seize the Roots (II) +...Hugghh! Awarrgguh Agh. What the fu-huh? What the hell just happened? What oh, gods. No. No. No no no! I cant be dead I cant be!] A detonation of trauma passed through their mind, but Avo undid the damage and fused the mans mind back together. Two-Mag wasnt taking their subsumption very well. Most people didnt. Flashes of another life passed through Avo, the experiences his and not at the same time. He remembered the block that was his childhood homeCa gnarled Sang-grown organism called the grovel. He remembered the chittering creatures that clung to the walls and ceilings, serving as wardens and defenders both. He remembered the squires they captured and seeded during the block war, butchering and dying in equal measure. The memories spiraled up from there. The death of his mother at the age of ten during the chaos of the Fourth Guild War. Starvation and pain followed. He hid in hovels. Survived by catching aratnids and purifying his body by only eating at midnight. He thought of the first apartment he truly rented, of the joy-fiends that broke in and forced him out. Of the organs he had to sell and the favors he did just to survive. The time after was a blur, misery at the front and pleasure at the back. Gang after gang. Fight after fight. Job after job. Two-Mag had no gift in the ways of violence, but he was a good organizer. A manager of people and things. A quality that elevated his gang from the rabble. Something that saw them consolidated into the Forgotten Lances SyndicateCa militia of Ori-Thaum loyalists formed initially to ensure their blocks survival during the ghoul Uprising. For the last eight years, he served under them, and his most recent promotion placed him as a lieutenant in charge of procurements and smuggling. He ran three different barge crews and was the direct liaison to each of their captains. Never once were his deliveries late. Never once did he fall short of monthly projections. Until today. Everything was going to hell today. Disgesting his new template in an instant, Avo let out a quiet sigh and studied the carnage his cadre inflicted on their newest victim. The Forgotten Lances were expanding. Swelling in numbers and resources after overcoming their district rivals, they made to spread their influence across the Leser-Tannan Sovereignty itself. So great were the waves they made that squire lobbies buzzed with gig after gig, the requests supplied by rival powers to stymie the growth of their foe. Chambers caught the noise then, using her reputation and connectivity, Quail managed to set them up for a sabotage run. Apparently, the Forgotten Lances managed to completely occupy an unfinished gutter-level arcology and reactivate what little of it still functioned. Serving as a source of commercial aero production before the war, the Syndicate instead repurposed the production facilities within the block to serve as a combat drone production line. The dormant waste disposal system was also hollowed out, widening the entrance of their dump port overlooking the Maw itself, they retrofitted a crude dock large enough to accommodate Maw barges and ensured their place as an essential smugglers nest in the city. One that now belonged entirely to Avo and his cadre, along with all the other bounties it conferred. THAUMIC OUTPUT - 9,001 THAUM/c GHOSTS - [91,334] HEAVEN OBTAINED: SANGEIST (BLOOD/MATTER) x6; SPRINGSTORMER (BIOLOGY/LIGHTNING) x3; GALESLITHER (AIR/SPACE) x3; FULGERHOUND (LIGHTNING/MATTER) x3 The cadre had selected the Forgotten Lances because of all the golems in their possessionCspoils collected after overrunning their retreating rivals. That, and capturing the smugglers nest put them in a position to intercept multiple shipments and discover how the Syndicates were slipping through New Vultuns supposedly impenetrable border restrictions. Their middler had sent them mem-data detailing the layout of the arcology itself along with suspected defensive assets. They advised starting the operation by deploying a few squires equipped with Incogs or other means of stealth by sneaking in through the Maw dock. From there, the objectives devolved into identifying key chokepoints on the DeepNav and crippling the Forgotten Lances defensives in the face of a coming raid. This was expected to require four months at the very leastCa timeframe the middler apologized about, acknowledging the shortness of the operational window. Instead the site was identified, compromised, and then assaulted in less than two days. [This cant be what the fuck are you? Why? Why?] Two-Mags anguish filled Avo with bemusement. A slave trafficker wanting fairness in their life? He supposed everyone desired existence to bend their way before the end. +Same reason why you ship your cattle,+ Avo replied. +You have something I need. And I had the ability to take it.+ The Syndicate lieutenant moaned as the other templates in the gestalt welcomed him with words of muted sympathy, mockery, and outright insults. [Another weeper,] Corner spat. [Watch your diet, ghoul. A good number of these Lances are bitch-made. We are what we eat and all that shit, so mind your diet. Itd be shit to end up trapped inside a sow.] Squeezed back into his own body as Two-Mags session fully collapsed, Avo found himself back in the Manta as his ansible injected scenes from an active siege into his very mind. The entire exterior of the arcology was sheared deep and clean from gutter level down fifty floors. Ostensibly, the breach was caused by a high-yield bunker-buster delivered via drone. The blast, however, was just a cover for Avos haemokinesisCin case there were any unseen eyes observing the scene. A phantom army of Manta-projected holograms moved in thereafter, their shrouded forms hiding Draus, Tavers, and the prototype. Credit went to the Mantas sound systems as well, capturing all the noises needed to simulate the cacophony of a warzone. To the naked eye, the moment must have seemed like a raid with gauss fire and missiles filling the air while rigged fighters dropped out from diving carrier drones. In actuality, eighty percent of Forgotten Lances were already dead.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Some were shredded by constructs of blood and glass while the flesh of others simply burst and tore without rhyme or reason. Limbs were claimed and control was seized. Fingers curled against the will of their hands, and triggers were pulled as the lances murdered each other at the behest of unseen puppeteers. Drenched in Avos Sanguinity, each kill fed his Frame with thaums and ghosts. There were thousands when this began. Now, only five hundred and six remained, sealing themselves in an elevator silo as they prepared for a final, and desperate stand, casting their headquarters for help. It didnt matter. Reinforcements werent going to arrive in time. And the structure would be little more than rubble by the time Avo was done. The assault itself was mostly a showCsomething to put the other local Syndicates on edge and make them point fingers at each other. After all, who else would have the capability to conduct such an operation? Miracles were kept as close to subtle as possible to keep their desired masquerade. After Dices discovery and Shotins ambush, Avo changed his methods. Adapted to approach things with increased caution, secured a perimeter stretching fifty square kilometers before even beginning their encroaching. Only after their certainty was absolute did they engage. {Movin to entry,} Draus said, looking up at the six-hundred-meter chasm Avo left in the structure. Where the upper section of the arcology once jutted from the ground like the hilt of a dagger, now a deep crevice stretched across cracks in the street, the opening allowing Layer One to shine its light on the floors deep below. With the delicate parts of the operation concluded and the golems disabled, only two objectives remained. Number one was a field test: the first deployment of Subject One. If Avo were to be honest, the weaponized bioform didnt exactly make the strongest impression, despite the oddity of its morphology. As the nanite mists cleared from its cell, he witnessed its true shape for the first time and found himself confused. The creature looked like a porous, dome with limbs sticking out from it. A sleek and smooth ebony coated its exoskeleton, and the core of its body was taller than wide and ridged along the sides. A faint glimmer of bioluminescence flecked its ridges while its limbs were built from hundreds of segmented joints. What captured his notice thereafter were the smaller versions of itself that dwelled within its pores and thickened the air around it. Sporelings, Jane had called them. Acting in a way not too different from his Sanguinity or Sunrises swarm, the smaller creatures moved as if a flowing swarm with perfect cohesion, something even the grafters were pleased aboutConly achievable with Elegant-Moons aid. Contained within a personal cell aboard the Manta, the Sang Godclad sighed and left her touch buried within the prototype. He had released her from her confinement at the behest of Kae so they might properly review her ontologics. She stayed out to provide a resolution to Subject Ones missing mind when called upon by the grafters. At present, she, along with Chambers, Kae, Avo, Dice, and Essus were seated within the Aegis stealth ship watching the raid unfold through the ships holo-haptic interfaces, the system simulating on-site conditions using data taken from Draus Neurodeck. Supplementing this was the organism Elegant-Moon was growing out from the crown of her skull. A monochromatic representation of Subject One occupied the center of the square frame unfurling out from her forehead. Faintly, Avo noticed twisting and warping fields emitted from the bioform, its curls, and movements directing sporelings. Each individual organism was also surrounded by a smaller, personal field. Avo wasnt sure how it worked yet, but he could feel it in Domain of Lightning, a soft trickle brushing his mind. +The magnetoreceptor-enhancers we cultured inside the prototype are working fantastically,+ Ruveca said, her ghosts spilling out from Chambers via a joined session. The man himself looked excited as wellChe would get to burn the bioform into his inner zoo if the test was successful, after all, and he would be getting additional improvements after the golem haul was distributed. A good day, all in all. I must confess to being envious, Sister Ruveca, Elegant-Moon said. If not for our void-bound cousins, I would not even know the flesh to be capable of such a thing. I despise them for earning my envy. Ah, how I wish I could feel their suppleness part between my fingers. What else do you know? Do the furrows of your brains run deeper? +Hey, hey, creepy meat-suit lady, none of that,+ Jack said. His phantasmal avatar hovered next to Janes, formed from phantoms leaking out from Chambers Meta. The voider grafters had taken to working with Ruveca well, but their relationship with Elegant-Moon proved to be another matter. The ego-torn Sang indicated her desire to dissect a voider repeatedly. Jack and Jane were, understandably, against such a proposal. +When are you getting rid of her? Cant you justCI dont knowCfill yourself with her god-bits and do what she does? Your whatsit has the capability right?+ +Liminal Frame,+ Jane said. +You know what its called, Brother Jack. Do not agitate without purpose.+ Avo turned to Kae. Destroyed their Knots. They were unprepared. Six Domains of Blood. Three more with Biology. Good grab of matter, lightning, air, and space too. It should be enough to replicate her strongest canons without expanding your Domains further, the Agnos said. For the counter-plane you wish to design I need to die again and see. This will require delicate modification on a mythological level as well. Avo grunted. But I will be able to do what she can soon? Could graft that first. Yes. But I recommend that you reach the Fifth Sphere first. With how many improvements we are going to makeCit is best to have a surplus of thaums and not risk over-capacity, yes? And more people must die if we are all to be elevated. Kae tried to shrug away her discomfort. At least we are using those who will not be missed. Chambers head didnt move, but his eyes glanced at Kae as adjusted his posture to shrug away the awkwardness. Young miss, I do not mean offense but there always is someone who will miss them. Essus gaze was fixed on the moments unfolding before him, of Draus opening a mirror for Subject One to step through. During my captivity, I saw terrible things. But also life. My captors were beings of a multitude as well. They had friends and loves. Some were troubled by what they did. Others thought nothing of it. His face darkened. It is something that made me hate them more. To know that they were no different from me, yet did nothing to aid me. Or end my pain. The Agnos winced. Im sorry you suffered so much. Essus nodded. And I, you. But we can do better now. Or at least try. He turned and faced Avo, letting out a shaky breath. Thank you. For what? Not forcing me to go down with them. I know you gave me a gift and the power is beyond most men but I am not ready to see such slaughter again. Thank you for not forcing me to. Cant do anything to you. You are your own. Avos words granted more relief than anticipated. [You are your own?] Two-Mag gasped in disbelief. [Hes hisCwhat the fuck about me?] [What about you?] Abrel deadpanned. [You got a dead kid hiding somewhere? Did my half-strand brother capture, torture, and then make a literal slave gladiator out of you too?] [What?] Abrel continued. [Oh. No? No, he didnt? Then quiet, slaver. This whining is pathetic. You smuggle people. Youre the scum of the city. Sure, its part of the economy we live with, but you don''t just know about it. You do it. And before you start the whole Im a human too speech, let me tell you: no one fucking cares. Youre FATELESS too, bitch. And youre actively taking peoples free will away from them. It doesnt matter who loves you or what kind of person you are outside your job. Your type makes for good killing, and the ghoul needs more lubricant.] [Oh, gods,] Two-Mag moaned. [Jaus. Jaus.] [Hes not here,] Paladin Kassamon said. [But I am.] [As am I,] Kare added. The Syndicate goon began to scream. {Breached,} Draus said as a wall of glass exploded from around the corner. Her cog-feed registered a firing line of contacts, accretions visible before their bodies were. To their credit, the enforcers began firing immediately, losing their flechettes at the unexpected breach. Layering both herself and Tavers in reflective plating, shots punched clean through plascrete, into their bodies, and out from another direction entirely. Borrowing Mirrorheads gimmick ensured both Regular and Squire were all but impervious to direct kinetics, and with her vulnerable shard hidden, Draus had little risk of facing thaumic backlash. A storm of fire fell, directed from every point in the silo. Draus looked over her shoulder and Tavers replied with an affirmative gesture. Opening another sheet of glass further down the hall, they released Subject One into the hallway. The first bits of debris and shrapnel pelted its body. The impacts forced it to dig its leg into the ground for balance. +Subcutaenous fullerene endoskeletal supports holding,+ Ruveca said. +We should consider increasing its mass. Or adapting its limbs more. It will not be able to plant itself down against heavy forces without a foothold or a gripping point.+ +Agreed,+ Jane said. +Let us put it in the line of fire. See how it deals with injuries.+ Moon, Avo said. Keep it alive. Of course, the Sang Godclad said, lips twisting into a vicious grin. You should pay attention too, yao guai. Let me give you an illustration of the potential you will soon come to possess. 18-6 The Garden That Is Flesh A mixed force is not a preference but a necessity, for the contingent of forces you face in battle will be clasped with varied shells in turn. The No-Dragons have cultured beasts of impossible vitality, but even their mastery of the flesh is not beyond rebuke. Other Guilds and Fallwalkers have their own HeavensCimbued with miracles of the absolute that can flay flesh, or deny bone its structure. Through these means come viruses of all varieties, some targeted, some not, all engineered to defile that which is organic. Likewise, those of the alloy are not beyond reproach. I have seen more Omnitech creations crumble and die from their own madness than I can count. I have seen Voidtech wonders choke and wither away to nothingness within chasms of fracturing reality. Machines are of the pattern as wellCthere is a consistency to their builds, shapes, and designs. The energy that fuels them. The code and mem-data that guide them. Just as there are plagues of the flesh, so too are there sicknesses across virtuality, and all the rest of existence. The instruments and arms we field must be of a sprawl. Thaumaturgy is the unwinding of realitys tapestry. A change in the pattern. A revision of what is. Hold to a single line of faith, code, or concept, and be inevitably destroyed. Should you spread yourself, however, stretch wide and embrace all there could be, then through symmetry you may yet prevail. For that which bears a tangible edge rings truest against a falling blade, and that which possesses the make of plagues reflected might very well achieve the same. --Osjon Thousand, The Firmament and the Sky, Chapter 5 18-6 The Garden That Is Flesh Avo felt the electricity surge through Subject One before any effects became obvious. The faint current it emitted was always there. As was the monochromatic field represented by the organic screen grown out from Elegant-Moons skull. Each of the bioforms movements generated a faint tug to the senses as if a limb displacing water. Watching the scene unfold via Draus visual feed, slugs, explosives, and burst flechettes from the enforcers washed over the prototypical bioform, the initial barrage chipping through pieces of its exoskeleton, exposing the swirling masses of sporelings housed within. Then, as if an aero accelerating hard through a curtain of falling rain, the field it emitted bulged at the front and the oncoming projectiles began tumbling off to the sides. Gauss fire was more repelled than deflected while flung shrapnel jolted against the cloud of sporelings like daggers caught in a net. Matter made from patterns of complex alloys imbued with iron or steel tumbled from their path. Constructs that exceeded the realm of electromagnetism sailed unimpeded, only halting upon striking a hardened shroud. +Its holding against sustained fire reasonably,+ Jack said. +But thats probably because Moonie heres keeping it juiced with her god-shit.+ How long can it sustain without her? Avo asked. As if to answer his question, Elegant-Moon released her Heaven. Immediately, the weight pressing against Avos Domain of Biology vanished as a wall of missiles impacted Subject Ones protective shroud. Kinetic force was parried for a brief moment as the sporelings swelled, but then the creature sounded a thrumming droneCthe first sound Avo ever heard it make, and the currents pulsing through its body shorted out. In an instant, the sporelings spilled out of the air as shot after shot buried themselves into the bioforms body. Its exterior carapace fractured, exposing tattered sheathes of breathing rubber beneath. A slow-moving ooze flowed out from where Subject One limbs were sheared and its domed-shaped body rattled and cracked. +Ugh, about three seconds of functionality against a concentrated barrage of heavy kinetics,+ Jack said. +Maybe we can improve efficiency by increasing its size and adding some hyper-catalytic nodes across its integumentary system?+ Jane sighed. +Such a thing would make it overheat in an instant. The only reason why it''s not burning from the inside is because the Sang-harvested chrono-cyclical cells provided by Sister Ruveca for its electro-conductive membrane that we re-edited. We are functionally tricking reality into misremembering through the half-life we left on the organs. Nothing short of a Heaven could allow for it to output more power without complete and utter destabilization.+ +Loathe as I am to suggest this, but cybernetics can be considered,+ Ruveca added. +A heat store or radiator of some kind.+ +Were going to have to redo the entire thing to integrate that,+ Jack mumbled. +This thing is silicon-based. Most implants are made for carbon-life forms. Humans at that At least it being silicon will keep the No-Dragons confused if they ever manage to take one intact.+ Do not presume such an advantage to endure, my friends, Elegant-Moon said, her smirk spreading wide. What is law and theory to you is but a tale to us. The flesh is a story that we tell ourselves; a garden to be re-arranged. I bid you make certain of their ability to decay in an instant, for already my Heaven has mapped its make in nerve, tissue, bone, and sinew, and from the dreams of my Heaven will it be rebirthed with but the effort of a breath. But joy passed from her face like a season, and melancholy remained in its place. But so little pleasure lives in this. So much lost. So much life we could have cultured and intermingled with our own. Her head tilted up at the porcelain white ceiling that was the Mantas interior. In the backdrop of her awareness, Subject One was slowly coming undone before a tide of unceasing fire. {Pull it out?} Draus asked as shots continued to spill in and out of her and Tavers. {No,} Avo replied. {Just a setback.} Shifting his mind to be parallel with Elegant-Moon. {Going to do some direct supervision.} {Synced.} He mantled Elegant-Moons template upon his mind and deeper understanding followed in the span of a heartbeat. Even whittled down to an effigy thriving on deeds of cruelty, a sense of artistry remainedCfragments of her former self lodged within the ruined husk of her ego, unextracted. There was power in being able to twist and weave the very fabric of life to ones whims. Power beyond science. Power to dominate laws. But also ignorance. Also deprivation. What she felt primarily was jealousy toward grafters like Jack and Jane. Ones who have glimpsed the wondrous permutations of organic developments across biomes Elegant-Moon wasnt able to fathom, dissecting bodies she would never get to know. For the talk of a canons scope and scale, there was a deprivation of depth when one denied reality its rules. Mythology, after all, was born from the wanting minds of men, and what could such a thing be but shallow in the face of totality? Avo conjoined his Conflagration with Elegant-Moons Metamind. As her ego vanished into his flames, he slotted her template back into her body and piloted her Heaven toward purpose. Little remained of Subject One now. Just scattered pieces surrounding an oozing smear of bioluminescence on the ground. The smear was enough. Heaven: [Weaveress of Bodies Myriad] (Wounds/Skin/Sense/Architecture/ Biology/Construction) - 9,783 THAUMS/c Canon: (Wounds) ->MY BODY THAT WAS, THAT WILL BE (III): Allows a user to grow replicas of a specific bioform or entity by treating wounds as seeding points. This canon can also be inflicted on all designated organic entities with active injuries for a certain distance (72 Kilometers). The physical characteristics (movement, sensory, regenerative, muscularity etc.) of the chosen organism will be multiplied with each replica grown at the cost of 2.2% REND per generation.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Hubris: If the total mass of the total mass of the replicas generated exceeds the total mass of non-replica organisms, thaumic backlash will occur. The Dreamer of Bodies Myriad danced unseen within Avos fleshCwith the flesh of all beings for seventy-two kilometers. Much like with his Sanguinity, Elegant-Moon could have plucked the life from any single Syndicate thug with a thought. But her miracle flowed toward a single delta. Subject One. Only static currents traveled through the thick ooze that comprised the bioforms interior, yet from the mangled mess rose roots that spread into branches that became bones and burst into unfurling lattices. Threads of biomass were stitched back into shape by an invisible presence, felt more than seen. Chambers was shuffling uncomfortably in his seat now, the weight of Elegant-Moons Heaven grinding against his Lushburner. An adaption of such a canon might prove useful to him as well if he would grow wise enough to wield it properly. A new Subject One regenerated from the corpse of the old in under a second. Bound to Elegant-Moon by cognition and the bioform thereafter via her Heaven, Avo discovered what it meant to become Subject OneCto be a creature devoid of all senses but magnetoreception and tactile touch, to know pain as colors instead of sensation, to lack any true consciousness yet thrive off instinct alone. Subject One was perfect isolation. Subject One was thoughtless functionality. Throughout it all, a wall of fire continued to pound against its carapace. From each bit of exoskeleton chipped free did new roots sprout, did new additions bubble into shape. Supported by canons from her Domain of Biology, the bioform was kept from death, each wound fading in the same moment as their infliction. Jack sighed, watching as a single prototype expanded into two, then five, then nine. +And thats just gross I mean, its bullshit. Cheating! Come on. Eons of technological development, countless biologists, cyberneticists, engineers, literal research minds, and nanite-supported cloning facilities, and here she is outdoing all of it without even a wave of her hand. Isnt this woo-woo stuff supposed to need some rituals? A song, maybe?+ Kae frowned. Thaumaturgy is not just waving ones hand and chanting random words. There is lore to be built. Years of study and death scaffolded to create each and every HeavenCa consistent existential pattern behind all things worshipped. It is the single most potent thing a civilization can create. No woo-woo. +Eh. I guess I can give you potent. But honestly, its woo-woo, girl.+ Jack coughed. +I mean look. Me and Jane managed to build Subject One with Sister Ruvecas help. But honestly, were the only ones with the knowledge to understand what a silicon organism even is. You cant create that because you live in a box. The last working box in existence, but still, you have no idea what you missed out on back when the galaxy was the galaxy and not this hellscape.+ Jane sighed. +Professionalism. Please.+ +But Im not wrong,+ Jack said. +Listen. No offense. Your Heavens are tyrants. They rule. Literally. But youll always be making shallower art compared to ours because thats what your canvas is: shallow. Something carved from cultural belief instead of the great magnificent car crash of all the fundamental laws, outcomes, choices, and lifetimes of that beautiful, lost machine we called a working universe.+ Kae pouted and gave a light scoff. My work is more than art. My work is existence reconfigured. You tell me of your glorious experiences. Ill tell you that if I dont learn to dismantle mythology, science, and anthropology at the same time, then millions of deaths will become billions when the next rupture widens. Expanding her Heaven to incorporate senses from all the bioforms she grew, Elegant-Moon bade her bioforms go forth, and as they moved, Avo realized more incoming fire was slipping away from the bioforms, the magnetic field they projected stronger, the sporelings visible, sparking in Draus feed. {Feelin a tug on my implants,} Draus grunted. +So, next part,+ Jack said. +Scouting and offense.+ +Finally,+ Ruveca added, her excitement bleed over from Chambers. Directing the sporelings through the breach and into the elevator silo, the bioforms sensed the positions of every individual combatant in rapid order. It was the rigs of the enforcers that gave them away. That, and their implants. All things susceptible to magnetism shone in the pitch-black canvas of what made up the prototypes minds. The detailed contours of bodies followed after as a representation of the world manifested in edges and borders. Never was there color or sound. Just shapes, movements, and electromagnetic kinesiology. From nothingness, over five hundred bodies were isolated and identified. Guns and metal shone the brightness. That which couldnt be pried by magnetic means remained a faint gray. I see them, Avo breathed. [Do you now?] Elegant-Moon said from within. [I do not think so. Not really. We think. So we cannot see as the bioforms can. They do not think. They exist. They are. Unburdened. Wonderful beings. Wonderful.] +Very good,+ Jane said, somehow sounding pleased but not enthused. +Now. Let us go over why the prototype is built as it is.+ The flaring of fusion burners against the sporelings opened gulfs in the bioforms unified vision. Connected to a single overmind, though, there was still little beyond Avos ability to see. +Test movement. And then finish with offensive capabilities.+ Doing as requested, Avo sent his bioforms in and, even knowing their capabilities via Elegant-Moon, he still found himself surprised as they stopped crawling across the ground and propelled themselves through the air. The first thing to note was how their segmented legs ejected their bottommost stacks, leaving metallic discs on the ground as a launch point. Pushing their field and sporelings into the discs at an angle, the bioforms shot through the breach as their iron-layered arms snapped out straight and wide, actively making minute adjustments to alter their trajectory. Enforcers cried out as the bioforms used them as launch points as well, though the force delivered was insufficient to topple them. Gauss fire cut upward as the long spine of the elevator came into notice. A stream of fire splashed over one of the bioforms and it vanished from Avos notice immediately. Not even the Weaveress could restore a body that wasnt there anymore. +Ah,+ Ruveca said, sounding more fascinated than disappointed. +Heat was expected to be an issue.+ +Yep,+ Jack said. +Maybe if we can let them shed their waste heat slowly somehow+ Narrowing in on the enforcer that killed one of their number, the bioforms fired discs from their legs as crude railgun pellets. Shots struck but failed to penetrate, some skipping from the reinforced plating of the rigs, others bouncing off outright. As the enforcer brought his arm up to trigger their fusion burner once more, Avo directed every single bioform to concentrate their fields around the mans arm and twist. Servos whined. Joints sparked. A body shuddered. An arm came free of its shoulder socket and began to spin. +Alright,+ Jack muttered. +Takes around eight of them working in tandem to overpower a single mook in a shitty rig. Yeah. No. Not acceptable. We need to give them more kick. Make them bigger. Much bigger. Boost their electromagnetism by a magnitude. Well, this is definitely going to require some cybernetics. Only practical solution. Looks like more research for all of us. And also, were gonna need you to grow a new module in that ship of yours, ghoulie. Put a cybernetics lab next to the Cloning Pools.+ +Undergo final test,+ Jane said. +Lets see how its voltaic vampirism performs.+ Sporelings spread throughout the room as building currents of static tickled Avos Domain of Lightning. As the bodies of the enforcers were bathed in the flea-sized organisms, bioforms tightened their grips around the nearest enforcers to them as they began to fall. Then, as the sporelings pressed deep against armor and flesh alike, the bioforms drank, siphoning bioelectricity from bodies and power grids for exo-rigs alike. Armors locked up and froze. The bodies within them spasmed as currents were snatched from synapses. Channeling the excess output through their sporelings as well, other enforcers found themselves electrocuted by bolts leaping from each of their suits. Thaums spilled over into Avos Soul as casualties skyrocketed. The amount of gauss fire was reduced in an instant as the bioforms suckled gun batteries dry. +And thats why we chose the Voltanids to serve as the bioforms base,+ Jack chuckled. +These little bastards are technovores! Theyll make aeros and systems shit themselves. Hell, theyll probably short out a block if you put them in the right place. Drawing in too much at once will fry em from the sheer heat but if you manage a steady conductive flow+ For every enforcer that went still, another burst into sparks and shivers. +Yeah. Short of someone designing specific countermeasures to bear, I think well make a menace out of these things yet.+ Artad forgive us, Essus moaned, looking away from the deaths displayed from Draus feed. He swallowed sour spit, and Elegant-Moon wondered what it would be like to hatch a bird from the bulge of his Adams Apple. She was keeping all the males around her alive, anyway. Prevent her curse from unleashing its full weight. She deserved a reward +No,+ Avo said. The Sangs thoughts paused and shifted. [Then perhaps something else. Something that will speak of my talents and appreciation. For allowing me to sample such an exquisite specimen....] And with their thoughts connected, Avo divined the gift she sought to grant and smiled. +Yes.+ CANON: (BIOLOGY) ->FROM SEVERANCE COMES INHERITANCE: The user of this canon may interweave the biologies of two different organisms. 18-7 These Bodies Be Our Prison +Mag? Mag? Were coming in rough, whatsC+ [Moment! No! Run! Stay away! Dont do this! Dont use me like this!] -Final thoughtcast between Moment and Two-Mag, Syndicate Forgotten Lance 18-7 These Bodies Be Our Prison Hubris: Neither organisms the user is melding may be destroyed during the process or thaumic backlash will be triggered Avo and one of the bioforms fell into each other like toppling towers, bodies crumbling with tumorous debris. Yet, collapse did not follow. Hardly. Their structures held as the biologies of ghoul and prototype pressed together, entwining skeletons and melding sporelings into Avos blood. Linked to the creature he was absorbing, he felt the bioform melt away into thin air as the Weaver wove it into him, infusing his flesh with the best parts of its design. From two bodies emerged one. From divided architectures rose a sheathe sporting a new shape. New pattern. The Woundshaper caressed Avos material form with curiosity as new senses bloomed from his mind. With his next exhale flowed a cloud of sporelings, and as they spread, they joined his Sanguinity as another expansion to his cognitive perception. He could feel the metal around him. Sense the matter he could grip and those he could. Imbued with a Domain of Lightning, a constant, unnatural power lingered within his field, ever-charged, never-diminishing. Avo Kae breathed, looking between him and Elegant-Moon. The Sang just leaned back against the seat of her cell and smiled at the ground. It is a gift that can be offered to any, Elegant-Moon said. You have shown me new life to twist and twist it into you I shall. Our flesh is a garden. We need but the proper seeds. Jack sighed as his phantasmal avatar studied Avo. +As I said. Raw damn woo-woo bullshit. We had to cut him open for that stupid implant. Here she is waving her hands.+ Looking upon himself using Elegant-Moons eyes, he let his Meldskin sink back beneath his cordyceramite plates. Once, paleness reigned absolute across his body, his sheathe the hue of naked bone. Now, contrast ruled. Neat rows of ebony discs lined his spine, collar, ribs, and limbs. A second skeleton had grown over his sheathe, its rubbery interior threaded to his bioelectrically charged mycelia. The greatest change fell upon his Echoheads. Once likened to blade-headed serpents coated in armored scales of midnight, each tail now floated behind Avo in segments. Sporelings spewed from the divided pieces and hyper-conductive nodes lined the spines of the transplants. Volts arced down each of the Echoheads, imbuing it with thrumming power. Now, his tendrils would be as if shots loosed from a railgun more than a spearing piston. Drawing a stream of blood from his body, Avo watched as sporelings growing within him wriggled with the coursing red, nursing themselves on his haemophage. He formed a helix, and a single pillar danced between linking curves of blood, black bisecting red. +Beautiful+ Ruveca breathed. +Impossible,+ Jane said, sternness betraying her unease. +The casual mixing of biological properties is+ Woo-woo, Kae whispered, unable to hide an impish grin. Cold science may have its wonders, but thaumaturgy can be everything. Her grin broke into a shy smile. Which is why I should be granted access to deeper knowledge! Think of it. Think of what I might be able to do if I only knew what you knew. What other creations we could see elevated? Synthesis of knowledge, old and new. Just like were seeing here. Essus looked a bit more than disturbed, and fascinatingly, the once-flats rubbery skin proved to be like magnetoreceptive camouflage. The voider grafters shared a likewise disquiet, but their wariness was directed more toward Kae. +Lady, you have no idea how much what you just said scares me,+ Jack muttered. +Indeed,+ Jane concurred. +Oh, no. Look what youve done. You made me agree with him.+ {Another one of our eggs disappeared,} Draus said, sweeping through the room with her glass shards, blasting all corners with her perception to ensure there was no one using an Incog. {Rest of the hostiles are down. Good number are still kickin, but their rigs are dead and done.} She paused. {Felt its field yank on my implants. Not my Meldskin though. Nothing there. Guess that voidtech just built better.} {That,} Calvino began, {and the fact that its omnidirectional thrusters work through the manipulation of gravity and magnetism. Interference is interference, and electromagnetic pulses are a vector of attack as old as the atomic bomb. To us, anyway. This shall be a novel thing for some of your foes to experience, hm?} Avo grinned, and his teeth glinted in the light. Science and discovery. Wonderful things. {Indeed.} With a twitch of his finger, Avo splattered the surviving Syndicate forces. The assault portion of the run was done. Now came the time for interception and extraction. A barge awaited them. As did its crew and the slaves it carried. Thinking back to his first resurrection in the Maw, Avo looked down at his clawsCdigits now lined with silicon circuitsCand then at those around him. This was one of the moments where he felt lifes rhyme. An echo of who he was calling to what he was becoming. How far he came. How far he had yet to go. Suddenly, a shape pushed against the edges of his Sanguinity. Beyond the reach of his new magnetoreception, only his Heaven caressed the arriving barge and the two hundred and twelve bodies manning its cramped confines. The vessel emerged from nowhere, tumbling out from the light itself and scraping its sides against the leftmost edge of the hangers opening. He had to right its course using his haemokinesis to prevent it from crashing hard into one of the nine mag-rings meant to anchor it in place. Whatever the condition of the crew, they were clearly unprepared for their arrival. A beat later, a session-link request from Moment, the barges captain spilled across Avos cog-feedCthe memories sourced to one of his newest acquisitions: Two-Mag. [No!] Two-Mag screamed, breaking from his traumatized silence as he realized his part in Moments coming end. He was there to witness the massacre of his comrades. Every time he fractured, Avo reassembled him. He felt like he was on the verge of breaking. It didnt matter. He would break only if the Conflagration allowed it. He felt only because Avo willed it. [You cant! You fucking cant. Moment! Dont! Cut the call! Dont sync!] His cries were in vain, for this template was but a simulation of a man that no longer was. Moment wouldnt hear him. At least not now. Perhaps in the seconds thereafter, Moment would come to appreciate just how much Two-Mag tried. Avo activated his Auto-Seance, and his burning ghosts burrowed across the Nether, striking their unprepared counterparts like an ember falling upon oil. +Mag? Mag? Were coming in rough, whatsC+ The captains Meta exploded outward in a ball of phantasmal flame. A new ego was added to the gestalt, their confusion stark; made worse by Two-Mags howling words, thick with despair.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Pouring the bulk of his consciousness across the link, Avos cognition rebooted as he felt his mind stretch to occupy a lesser sheathe. As his cog-feed loaded, he devoured Moments phantasmics and took the Sheathe BioMonitor-III for his own use. His temporary body was a picture of imbalance. Soft flesh laden with heavy chrome. Armored bones are failed by human lungs; powerful kidneys torturing a half-melted bladder. Moment was a desperate fool, gambling constantly, winning and losing augs between every bid. There were more scars on his body than there were scratches on his ship. But he couldnt walk away despite how much he suffered. Not physically. Not spiritually. So, he continued gambling. Betting on fights in the circuit or the New Vultun Grand Prix. So, he continued dealing with human cattle, more than once reduced to holding a pistol underneath his chin in his personal bathroom, facing himself in the mirror as he battled madness and courage. Too late now. Too late for him to decide. His life was gone, and a new master rode his flesh like a steed. [Oh, shit,] Moment choked as his current reality struck him like a kinetic harpoon. [My crew Dont.] Boss? a phlegm-thick voice sounded behind him. Avo didnt even need to turn to know who it was. The ships specialized blind-nav, Sockets, was an oddity. Someone who lived without sight by choice. Instead, he realized on sound and cognition to travel, and by chance alone did he encounter the crew of the VanisherCthe name of Moments Maw barge. At the ships core burned something. A signature a faint as the one Avo encountered when he first awoke. This one, however, brought warmth to his Domain of Luminosity, as if it was near to its ontology, though not exactly the same thing. Boss? You alright? You jumped there pretty good. Your ghosts areC Sockets made the mistake of linking his ghosts to Avo, and he burned all the same. Another lifetime of memories cast into the flames for kindling. Another template delivered to the growing congress within the Conflagration. He remembered charting jumps through the light. Using ghosts to judge where the ship could surface, how long they had to stay in the brightness to avoid the No-Dragon Nimbuses. In essence, that which powered the barge was no different from the thaumic investiture imbued in a golem. Two massive Rendsinks kept the ship flying while a third drew up the entropy rising from the Maw. The cost of the operation was immense, and their rotations were constant. Trafficking was one of the few lucrative options left to freelancers operating in the gutters. It was also a miserable lifeCone hounded by Guild or Exorcist patrols and rival barges that sometimes made their trade raiding their fellows instead of carrying goods. It was just the Vanishers misfortune that it found itself in the hands of a new predator. One it could never have prepared for. Reaching out to snuff the ships crew, a voice from within made him hesitate. [Allow me,] Elegant-Moon said. Avo turned his awareness to the Sang, and found her buzzing with new joy. [You move too quickly, monster. You must learn to appreciate things. Indulge in sensory pleasures. Killing the crew and feeding your Soul is the outcome. The process can be so much more. Have you felt the cattle? The FATELESS cages in the bowels of this metal beast.] Shifting the focus of his haemokinesis away from the crew and to the paltry bodies that existed in the periphery of his notice, Avo examined the bodies of the slaves, and Elegant-Moons Weaveress instilled within him the finer details. The way they writhed spoke volumes of their pain, but feeling it through his own body buried the torment deep. Burning spikes pressed against each of their groinsCmachines spading and castrating while spine-piercing needles forced them to heel. The Vanisher was a professionally run ship. Far superior to the embarrassment that was Aseleris outfit. The cattle here were uniformly gelded and secured to the floor of hovering cages designed for easy transference. Tubes ran through each of their orifices, nutrition flowing and waste leaving. The sickened got injections of rainwater, and those that had cancers died quicker. Acceptable collateral. Not even advanced coldtech or limited thaumaturgy could save everyone. The ceiling of their cells were lined with tags laced with mem-cons. Things blunting their sexual desire, crippling their will to resist. Most were beyond speech now. Just moaning sakes of semi-sophont meat. Anesthesia was cut from the budget as a cost-saving measure. Pain grew hard to distinguish when it was all there was. Pain. Suffering. Madness. Such was life as delivered cattle. [It is an ill thing to let such maltreatment go unshared, I think.] Elegant-Moons intent was clear. She sought his permission to perform a single act. Something preceding his kill. An atrocity wrapped in a lesson of mutual sympathy. The concept was so novel Avo couldnt help himself. He allowed it. And the Weaveress laid its hand on all the lived within the barge. Canon: (Sense) ->THIS ACHE BE OURS (II): Allows a user to connect the senses of one organism to another; each connected organism exponentially increases the sensitivity of their senses and other stimuli. Hubris: If an entity lacking a shared sense is linked, thaumic backlash will be triggered The Domain of Sense was invoked, and each of the FATELSS was linked, the pain of the refugees compounding and building. When all the victims were collected, the first of the crew was added. The weight of several hundred suffering souls crashed down on engineer Yurens Nulty. The shriek that tore out from her was sudden and sharp, body crashing to the ground without a hint as to why. Her fellows tried to help, but when they touched her, they found her torture to be contagious. More began to fall. The shared pain was a storm, and Avo felt it through Elegant-Moon, who gave but a serene smile though it assailed them as well. Burning away the torture, it was a shadow before the wounds inflicted by the Wombrash. This, at least, could be ignored. Burned away. Just a thing of sense and secondhand nerve. The Heaven of Love was not so easily denied. Through the barge did the bodies writhe, and when a slave groaned in the corner of the hold, a technician echoed their pain forth, face down on the metal flooring, breathing the same moans. {Avo} Calvino chided, disappointed at the atrocity inflicted. The ghoul breathed. Sorry. Couldnt resist it. Was poetic. {Yes, in a degenerate-psychopath way, I suppose. But come now} Avo grunted in annoyance, knowing the EGI was probably right. Poor behaviors formed poor habits. Still, it was interesting to discover he could be persuaded toward regression if the fancy struck him. Alright, Avo said. He clenched a hand. The Woundshaper squeezed. Bodies burst. The crew died. The chain of agony shattered, and in its wake followed new templates welcomed by a sobbing Moment. [Ah. Farewell, new memory,] Elegant-Moon said, genuinely sad. [May we be rejoined.] Shifting back over into his original sheathe, he took a moment to reacclimate as his senses returned and turned to Essus. Many are in a bad state. Mutilated. Broken down. You will see. If you come. The mans eyes widened and grew unfocused. But his brows furrowed and he hardened what remained of his resolve. I must face this. I must face this wrong. I remain for a reason. I am here to help Regarding Essus a moment longer, Avo sent another message over to Draus. {Barge secure.} {I saw,} she replied. {Had glass in the air. What the hells were you doing.} {Knotted their senses together. Starting with the slaves.} {Old habits dont die, huh, rotlick?} {Elegant-Moon is a bad influence.} The Regular snorted. {So what now?} {Now I help Essus. He needs to extract the slaves. Good for him. New purpose. Im going to cycle through new memories. Understand how theyre jumping the borders. Then examine the barge.} {Synced. Ill pull it through a passage. Tavers is planting a tac-nuke surprise for reinforcements.} That made Avo laugh. The old squire was growing to be an endearing figure. {Good. We move out of the district after this. Hit someone else. Dont want to leave too much of a trail. Have to be careful.} {Yeah. When you cutting the Sang free?} {Soon. Probably two days. Well have harvested Heavens from golems by then. Want to get some more deaths though. You and I can work in tandem in our spare moments. Focus on killing for a few days. Bring us up to Sphere Five.} {Shit. Thought youd never ask. Still. Were gonna have to figure out what to do with these FATELESS. Aint got a place to keep em. Too much noise.} Avo paused and considered his choices. The answer, came as he thought of Dice. The girl was huddled in the corner of the Manta, wary of the ship and all its inhabitants. Her speech continued to be restrained, but there was a growing interest building behind her eyes. He would see her freed. Returned to the wilds that spawned her. But for every Fallwalker, there was an enclave and people to man its walls. Many of them would die in New Vultun. Many of them would die outside its walls. If such was the case, then perhaps all that needed to be offered was a choice of location. {See about that when the time comes. Hide them in the gutters for now.} 18-8 The Scheme +Wah! Everyone likes to talk about freedom, freedom, freedom. You kids spit this and that. Its all funny to me. Saintist this, Massist that. Sall shit. I was there at the start of this mess, and it didnt mean anything then. Just like it doesnt mean anything nowC Left! Watch the left. Dammit, Juns, howd you get wiped by that guy. Anyway. This Death Farm map were raiding now? I was born in one of those. A bit cleaner than this one. They also dont keep people open air either. We lived underground in a maze so no one could escape. My ma and da? Never knew the former. The latter was a real bastard. Still loved him though. As much as I could anyone. They had him on so many drugs he was barely a person. Cased him in armor and had him run around keeping the rest of the slaves in check. Shackler, they called us. Slaves to be hated by other slaves. I had masters too. The Keepers of the Vow. Old Kosgan faithers that enjoyed a bit of flogging and torture from time to time. Wasnt that bad compared to other places. I was lucky. Hey, man, watch the southwest corridor. We dont need to get overrun again like last time. Yeah. Yeah. Kill more of those FATELESS in the cage. We just need five more deaths to call in a Sunshield. Huh? No. You get scripture, scripture, and more scripture. They wanted you good and faithful when you were sacrificed. They didnt need any heretical slaves tainting the pits. Of course, we werent stupid. Well, some of us werent. We saw people going missing, had a language based on knocking on walls. Gossip still slipped around cause the sisters were a den of snakesCalways trying to mess one over on each other. Why? Because only people who failed out of Kosgan society ended up running the farms, and most of them were trying to get one over on each other so they could find a way back. Thats how I escaped the first time. A low sister called Sister Karakan got up to some tricks. Framed my father for something or other. Or maybe he did do it. Doesnt matter. The outcome was the same. Let me tell you, the other slaves hate us Shacklers. When they got the go from their sister, oh, did they do things to him. I tried to help him. I got the same. Didnt matter none to themChates a drug and we all wanted a hit. Anyway, my own people gelded my father in front of me and killed him slow. One of you were asking why I spent more time killing faithers than freeing slaves? Well. I hated them. I hated the bastards. I still dont like them. Anyway. Sister Karakan came in promising justice to be done and order to be restored and everyone under our cairn was getting a day off and double rations. They cheered. I cried. Then they took me away and tortured me some more. You ever hurt so much the light starts singing to you? Yeah. You start admitting to things you didnt even do. You just start talking and apologizing to anything for some peace. It didnt really mean anything to Karakan, right? She was just trying to make my direct overseer look bad and mess up the Shacklers under his command. Anyway. I was supposed to die there on the wooden plank they had me nailed to upside down, but the light just kept singing and singing, and eventually, it started speaking to me. Turns out, it wasnt just Sister Karakan who wanted to play. One of the Seraphim were getting in on the action as well. A lowly god in the Kosgan Choirs. Not even good enough to be one of the Chorusers. Not without some major changes. It end up laying its hand on me and changing my flesh. Blessing me with a miracle. It decided to enlighten me about a few things regarding the faith and my place in it. Telling me about the lie that was my life and the whole sacrifice thing. No paradise awaited poor Naeko. You remember being told that stories arent real? That everything you believed is a lie, and youre just meat for the killing? Yeah. Pretty rough. Go for guard tower c. Watch the griffon riders. Anyway. Thats how I managed my first breakout. Because a god wanted to power-climb same as any FATED or wager in the city. I didnt start a rebellion because it was the right thing. I started it because my das screams folowed me in my dreams, I couldnt take crying alone at night. So, I got the faithers in on my hurt. And a bunch of the other slaves. Then, after I escaped, my benefactor pointed me in another direction and told me to keep going. Yeah. Stories make it sound better than it does. I was still a slave. Just one playing a darker game. Guess thats the way it would have probably stayed if old lady Zein didntC Aw, no. We lost c already. Back. Back before they start spawning in. Do I sound sad? Im not sad. I just I dont care. And you shouldnt either. Someones gonna tell you that if you just listen to them, the future can be yours and life is gonna be different someday. Theyre lying. Stay home. Play another match. Dont be me. Took me nearly five hundred years to figure that out. And only barely. It didnt matter in the end. None of it. The dream died. Nothing changed. Were all still slaves in somewaC Death Pits! Theyre rushing the Death Pits! Mender! Hey, dont call me that. Im Chief of the Paladins. Ill have you detained Dont send me Rashable material either. Come on, son. Come on+ -Recording of Chief Paladin Naeko playing Stormjumpers 18-8 The Scheme Avo watched Essus weep. The man didnt try to hide his tears or wipe his flowing snot. He just stood there, sobbing openly, nakedly, honestly, unashamed of showing everyone his pain. All it took was seeing the state of the FATELESS slaves. How they were so neatly packed and sedated in their prisons, each cage an ovaline pod barely big enough for their bodies. Dull, drugged gazes stared on through the hardened glass as the purple and grey of their bodygloves caught Avos attention next. Along their collars was the holographic tag listing them as PROPERTY OF THE FORGOTTEN LANCES. It seemed the Syndicate wanted to use their cattle to do some merchandising as well. Corner snorted a bitter laugh. [Cant forget to enterprise. Hustle. Hustle. Hustle.] [You know what, ghoul?] Paladin Kassamon said, letting out a breath of satisfaction. [When you burned me a few days back, I thought I was going to be hell for the rest of myCuh, well, I guess Im still alive, but this is pretty shit. Whatever this is. But if were going to be spending time preying on gutter scum and smugglers Yeah. Id say youd be winning me over a bit.] Kares remained quiet, more disturbed than her senior colleague regarding the scene, but resolute in her convictions. [These poor people] She turned her attention on Two-Mag, Moment, and the rest of the smugglers and lances. [You are all filth. Feeding off the vulnerable. You desecrate Jaus dream.] [Fuck right on off, glasser,] Two-Mag replied. [You dont know what its likeC]Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. [I do,] Corner interrupted. The once-squire smirked. [I hate the glassers. Hate em. But I hate them because it is my job to hate them. You hate them because youre a subhuman that was never strong enough to take life by the throat and be someone. Smuggling Syndicates Where you find the spine to spit back after living and dying as a bitch.] Abrel cringed. [This was what my brother was financing? This? Oh, Jhred why] In the corner of his vision, Avo watched Chambers awkwardly shuffle over and pat Essus on the back. A tight expression pulled the former enforcers face into a wince. This, uh, aint that bad, consang. These pods are keeping them fed and healthy. None of them look all that sick. Well pop those caskets open and give them some fresh air. Theyll be alive. Shit. Avo, what are we doing with these people? Draus had deposited the barge in an abandoned warehouse some sixty kilometers away. With thaumically cloaked landmines hovering in the air and an infestation of mind-gnawing mem-cons leftover from the war, most made themselves sparse of the area, abandoning it to the ghouls and arantids. For Avo and his cadre, it served as an exploitable opportunity and a place of respite. It took him little effort to devour most of the mem-cons, and he found them wanting compared to the hellscape that was Chambers mind anyway. The mines were left where they were, however. It was good to keep some discouragement present. Dead conveyor lines ran through the warehouse. Boxes and packaging lay scattered across the ground, buried beneath dust-coated webs. Plascrete supports lined the ceiling above them like ribs, and in the darkness, the sound of screaming vermin echoed through the room. Along the rebar ran Dice with a smile on her face, following her nu-kitten as it indulged in pest control. Lit by a soft glow emitted from the Manta, constructs of blood left hundreds upon hundreds of pods stacked across the floor of the facility. It would be a place to keep them for now. Easier to keep them alive, fed, and protected until a more permanent residence could be provided. Chambers had scouted through each of their minds and found that few among them were related. Old to young, most were isolated and scattered. Castrated from familiarity and comfort. No one to rely on. Again, this was a more professional operation than Aseleris. But in some ways, it was even colder. A low reverberation pulsed through the air and Avo found himself looking upon the Subject Ones. The surviving bioforms were being examined by Draus for damage, and off to the side, and within their bodies, Avo felt the presence of Elegant-Moons WeaveressCits greatest canons soon to be his. Grafters said theyll be auging our eggs up, Draus said, not even looking at him. She was plucking flechettes from where they were embedded, observing the damage. See the Sang gave you a bit of a makeover. She stick one of em in you? Merged our characteristics, Avo said. Will be able to do it myself soon. Have any bioforms in mind? Preferences? The Regular snorted. I always preferred chrome more myself. Cept for insects. She paused. I always did like them wolf spiders. Hornets too. Mean fuckers. She grinned. I was digging through Thresholds archives the other day. Looking up old wars they fought. Tryin to wrap my head around how things used to beCand somehow I stumbled on a hornet raiding a bee hive. Just pulled the little shits apart. She laughed. That was something. A disquieted code escaped from Calvino. {Highflame what did you make of this poor girl?} +First time anyone called her girl,+ Avo said. +And I doubt they made her. Just found her. Refined her.+ {I suppose,} Calvino said. {You know what bothers me about her? She doesnt want anything else. Just to fight and die. With you, that was by design. But her how much humanity had been chiseled out of her? Such a shame. She would have been a wonder in so many things if only she was interested.} +Kae would be happy if her life wasnt ruined. Lover wasnt murdered. Chambers would be better if his father wasnt a half-strand. The FATELESS would be together with their families. Would be. Might be. The only thing we can ensure now is what could be.+ {...Right.} Calvino agreed. {Pardon me. Dealing with slavery has put me in a bit of a malaise. It is one of our oldest sins come back to roost again. Sentimentality is traitorous.} The EGI put on a good performance, but Corners mind smelled bullshit, and Avos instincts told him that this, like almost anything the artificial mind did, was directed toward a finer purpose. Avo knew the feeling. He knew the feeling when he watched his brothers debase themselves. Good news, Tavers said, walking over from the Manta. I got places where these folks can be housed. Theyll have to work or volunteer as servers, but they wont be harvested. Also, Raldis back. Managed to scrub his presence and avoid the Incubi. Sent me a heads-up a couple of seconds ago. Says he wants to meet again. In person. You guys know the Easy Armistice? Draus turned. Been there. Once. Good. I dont need to explain the gimmick to you then. She coughed. So. Kinda terrifying how a couple of you fuckers managed to butcher the arm of an entire Syndicate in a day. Especially you, ghoul. That Meta of yours is giving my nerves the shits. This wouldve taken a couple dozen damn good squires and four times that in Necro cells to pull off. Still, fun as this is, hitting these Syndicates gets to be a real glutton for time. And the Guilds replace them faster than we can kill anyway. Thats fine, Avo said. Dont plan on destroying them in the end. Just infecting. Burrowing my control deep in the Syndicates. And then Guilds through them. This isnt extermination. Its a replacement. He pointed one of his Echoheads at the barge occupying the center of the room, and the floating pieces of his tendril clicked together and thrust out. Reviewed the memories of the crew. The Heaven inside. Its a thing of light. Canon specifically lets the vehicle sink into light itself when the crew are made to close their eyes. Thats how theyre hoping the borders? Tavers asked. One way, Avo said. Need to replace golem core every few months. Constant arms race between Paladins and the Agnosi against the smugglers and the Fallwalkers outside. Unregistered Heavens. Primal. Old. New ways in. For every barge that gets captured and has its core cataloged, others slip through unnoticed. There are too many possible canons, Kae said, listening though far off to the side. Done examining the core of the barge, she was now looking into the cage containing a particularly young slave with a troubled expression. The borders arent capable of covering everything. And the Guilds, well. A flash of a snarl passed through her features. They like leaving holes. Something we will soon be able to exploit. Can we make more like it? Avo asked. Kae paused and looked at him. What? The barge? He grunted. Not sure. Barge? Golems? Dont need a Soul or cycler for those. Right? She paused. We need the Heaven. But that can be reverse-engineered by your Frame. Oracle glass and some thaumic investiture She mumbled to herself momentarily. It can be done. The difficulty is that we need a place of destabilization. A rupture, in a word. Somewhere reality is unbalanced. Like a Fallen Heaven? Tavers said. I know a few of those. Quarantined places in the city leftover from the war. This captured Avos attention. Locations. Share them with Chambers. The squire gave him a nod as wisping ghosts vibrated around her halo. Her Thorncrown wards looked modified. Complex. Something told him it was Raldis work. Also. Going to cut Elegant-Moon loose. Planning to give her a staged escape. Implicate one of the Guilds. Oh, plannin a little false flag, are we? Draus asked. Trying to decide, Avo replied. Both Ori-Thaum and Highflame have candidates. Clan DRongo. Chivalrics. Muddy the waters more. Trigger distrust for both Guilds. Within themselves. And against each other. He paused. Im thinking about using Chambers. Ah, shit, Draus muttered. Hearing his name uttered, Chambers turned to stare. Me? City already hates him, Avo said. Two hundred billion imp bounty in total already. Will probably reach five hundred before weeks end. The ghoul couldnt help but grin. They think hes an acolyte. That the Low Masters chose him. A low hiss escaped from him. More than one of the templates laughed along. Template-Chambers fumed. So, what? Like, what are we talking about? Chambers said. Could I add something?, Kae whispered, conspiratorially. She leaned in and regarded Chambers from the corner of her eye, as if worried the would overhear. I think it would be good to leave her with hints of a full conspiracy. That DRongos are in league with the Low Masters right now. That will cause trouble for three of our adversaries, right? Your fathers. Ori-Thaum. And Highflame. All dealing with each other. Yes, Avo agreed. But the nature of the escape itself is still in question. How does she overcome her theoretical Necrojack controllers? Another betrayal, of course, Tavers added. Heads turned to her and she shrugged, her pauldrons clinking as her shoulders raised. Look. This things supposed to be a mess, right? Have Chambers take a shot at Ori-Thaum or something. Put their partnership into doubt. Make it look like things are going south between him and Silvers. The Sang can escape while the fights happening. [Shit,] Benhata sighed. [This might just cause a clusterfuck inside Clan DRongo too.] The glaive had no idea how encouraging his words were. Good, Avo said. Have concept now. More things to do. Keeping track of the Paladin. Abrel. Now Elegant-Moon. Harvest more Heavens in the meantime. Build our Spheres. Breach the border. Choke the Maw. Much to do In an instant, Avo shifted his mind and pitched his concept. Chambers. You like entertainment. Want to feel like Dannis Steelhard instead of a terrorist? The man paused. Well. Yeah, Im mean You know, I like performances. And arts. And shit. He nodded, body stiff, unsure where this was going. Youre not asking me to He vaguely humped the air. No, Avo said. Not pornographic. Dramatic. Oh, Chambers replied, sounding both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Well. Yeah, I think I can pull that off. Avo broadened his fangs and smiled. Good. Well be making you a star soon. And tied to the ghouls thoughts, not even Paladin Kassamon could resist breaking into disbelieving laughter. [Oh, this might just get that lazy bastard Naeko off his ass too.] 18-9 Catch and Release (I) +Seeker. Mondelles here. Moons Meta just came onlineClocation: gutters, below Nu-Scarrowbur, Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty. I tried her session. She isnt responding. Might be a trap, but she was moving and then stopped. The area around her looks to be some kind of housing complex. Drones detected squatters and light Syndicate activity. No other hostiles were spotted. Meet me at Xin Yunsha [DEEPNAV MARKER PLACED] in four hours. Handle your business. Well secure the surrounding area first.+ -Instrument Santanado Starsinger Mondelles 18-9 Catch and Release (I) Aratnids made the most splendorous flowers if you twisted their flesh the right way. The red and white lathering their muscles glimmered with sheen oxygenation fueling their blood. These served as the perfect petals but needed to be folded out from beneath the skin. Hair and fur were to be turned to the stem, while the palps and legs clutched the spreading flesh like a cage. Bones were to be smoothened, turned from structure to receptacle at the center of these bastard roses. Ribs and spines ran down within the stem. The organs, finally, were to be fused into a singular cancer, with a cord made from the intestines connecting it to the rest of the flower. Pitiful screeches of pain sang from the nub-like heads of the creatures poking from the teratoma. Beneath the blooming parts of their altered biomass, they swung and swayed, suffering without dying like tassels from red lanterns, lining the hall leading to her room. Around her, twenty bodies were left strewn and spattered in various states of mutilation. They began this day as thugs of a kind. Syndicate enforcers and masters. Slavers and cattle drivers of them. They ended it as victims of a singular entity they could have never fathomedCa beast of twin flames and divergent sinew. Elegant-Moon smiled when she thought of the monster that had subverted her will. Avo. An enigma of thought and vessel. A finalCif renegadeCtriumph of old Noloth, turned against its creators with intent on playing its own game. As banal as most ghouls were, his existence alone made it worth it. Color had returned to her beingCcolors she assumed were lost to her since the ruination of her ego. Connected to his gestalt, she felt as they felt, their human facets transplanted over to complete her damage. It was enjoyable to be merged with another. Euphoric. Now that this self of her had been parted from the flames, a yearning ached inside her, wishing to go back. She comforted herself with the knowledge that a version of herself would live on within the ghouls mind. Her memories had been altered otherwise. Avo had taken much of what she could recall away and locked the few snippets of truth behind layers of intricate wardings that not even she could fathom. It had restructured her entire Meta in seconds, fire culturing new constructs from burning sequences, ghosts modified and directed in perfect harmony. A new progression of events formed the spine of her near-term memories. A false conflictCthis she knew in the depths of her mind, but would never be able to admit. A fantasy where that hopeless fool, Chambers, was a cold-eyed, psychotic mastermind desperate to strike the Guilds, and was working in tandem with powers within Ori-Thaum itself. These memories were not hidden in the deep of her thoughts. Rather, they would be easy to produce and could be gleaned via a thoughtscan. It didnt take a political operator to know where this false trial led, but it made her smirk all the same. She had spent her life playing the Great GameCpolitics wed with powerCsurviving as both player and pawn. But never had she truly been used like this: bait of a more insidious variety. Something freely returned yet already corruptedan agent and a gateway into the Tiers and Guilds. The thought tickled her as she noticed the light outside ripple. Ah. Finally. A single body materialized in her awareness, her Weaveress sensing them from skin to cell. Santanado. Come to be part of this game as well. Poor man. Poor unfortunate comrade, about to go from player to pawn. Seated upon a gnarled couch dipping a few steps below the living room floor, she was at eye level with his armored chest when he burst through the door, stitching himself over physical matter using his threads of light. She clapped politely at his entry and hid a chuckle as her comrade buried his foot in a corpses skull. A flinch of disgust passed through his face as his luminous sinews spread out to encompass the thirty-square meter room, blotting out the cracks in the walls and cracked windows, sealing away the collapsed bathroom. He took his time scanning the surroundings, sweeping everything with his perception before finally turning to face her. She regarded with her fingers clasped together, gesturing at the bodies on the ground. I managed to resolve matters. Mondelles swept the room again and bit his lip at the sight. Savaged corpses and crimson puddles left his radiant strings dappled with gore. Undeterred by the blood, his light still spilled out from the aura emanating from his body and the gold-plated combat skin he wore. Curved angles and the aesthetics of the now extinct and obsolete midthunder griffon decorated his chestpiece. The front plate of his triangular helmet lifted as she saw his face. Tanned skin and a thick mustache came into view. Pale blue eyes were squinting at her, and the tendons in his cheek were tight. He really needed to do something about that habit of biting down when he was nervous. Are you alright? he asked. Quite unharmed, she said. Alas, the same cannot be said for my mind. He grimaced at the implications of her cognitive compromise. Is that how they got you? Indeed, she replied. Compulsion swelled within her as she spoke the next words, drawing her longtime comrade and sometimes adversary into a plot that might see him claimed as well. But one would expect no less from Ori-Thaums finest, hm? His lips drew tighter. As did his squint. Is that who they are now? He flicked one of the bodies onto its side using his Heaven, the light struck the corpse like a pulled band. She couldnt help but smile when she saw the face of the victim as the scheme continued. She didnt remember it, but the ghoul had altered the appearance of the dead before desecreating their bodies. Their bones and blood were changed as well. Replaced by means both thaumic and coldtech. All they lacked were Metas. Things to confirm their cognitive identities. A deliberate act as well. Filling in the gaps, she guessed that these dead were supposed to resemble members of Ori-Thaum. A very No-Dragon tactic, if she were to say, sowing chaos through cloning and masks of deceptive flesh. As Mondelles scanned each intact face using his cog-feed, Elegant-Moon watched as his thoughtstuff surged faster, more and more ghosts cresting and diving into the round of his halo. Shaking his head, he let out a breath. Dammit, Moon. What a mess. Have some idea who they are? she asked. As you said. Ori-Thaum. Incubi to be exact. Our new consangs did me the favor of confirming their identities. I can feel his piss running cold across the link. Shit. Not just Incubi. A few of them are directly tied to DRongo. Oh, Elegant-Moon whispered. And arent we --Yes, Mondelles barked, cutting her off so he didnt need to hear the problem out loud. Another sigh escaped him. The Seeker is swearing he doesnt know anything about this. That they were hit too. Is he? She asked. Do you believe him? He shot her a flat glare. I dont believe anyone. But Ive never seen a mess like this before. They couldve hurt us in a dozen different ways and we them. But this it doesnt make any sense. And the Silvers hate losing their Souls. They wont risk them in some kind of low-success ambush. She prodded him further. So, what? In-clan warfare? I dont godsdamned know. Youre the one who got snatched. Give me something. Putting on a display of vulnerability and letting out a breath of air, she placed her fingers across her face and drew her rig tighter. The bones of the symbiotic armor laced to her flesh cracked. She stared at Mondelles from between her fingers. Memories. They cling to me like smoke between my fingers But I remember the moment I was freed. When their Possessors brokeCa flash of chaos and confusion. The presence of another person. Another mind. Another mind? Mondelles said sounding confused.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. And so she cast out her ghosts and configured them into phantoms. And so they began to portray the visage of one Aedon Chambers, robed in the tattered greys belonging to Low Master acolytes, pointing a vivianite specter down at the ground using his left hand while holding his right, flesh and sink ablaze. +Well, consangs, I gotta give you props for helping me bag a Clad. Cept for not warning my associate about the Golds in the drone with your guys. That was rude.+ The phantasmal mirage of a blonde-haired man grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth as he slipped from his robes, body enhanced and strong, muscles taut and glisteningC *** Scenes from Elegant-Moons cog-feed were broadcast and played by Chambers, monitoring the situation through a hidden session planted in the labyrinth Avo fused to her mind. Chambers'' own phantoms were connected to the George Washingtons systems and a vast room-sized screen was constructed around them, displaying every detail in the room. Especially all the muscles the actual Chambers didnt have in the real. Yet, Chambers said, pointng to the body he had Avo generate for him. You guys got a bunch of cool graft shit, I want that! The rest of the cadre just stared as things progressed. Draus snorted. Arms are kinda small. And your dream bodys got shitty calves. Come on, Reg, dont ruin this for me, Chambers whined. Avo! Tell her to stop. No, Avo said, more focused on how Mondelles was reacting. They had Elegant-Moon organically reconstruct a few of the bodies to look like certain Incubi Avo had killedCtheir templates offering all the data he needed to reconstruct their appearances. Blood and other forensic details were tweaked with the aid of the grafters, and the deception appeared to have succeeded. Now, they just needed to sell MondellesCand whoever was watching through himCon the Low Master threat and their fragile alliance with parts of Clan DRongo. Ultimately, it didnt even need to be conclusive. They just needed to bury seeds of doubt and sow paranoia. From how things were developing, he thought the plot was unfolding nicely. But yes. Draus was right. Chambers idealized form still had rather small legs. *** Cnaked save for Nolothi scripture scarred across his body. +Just a shame about the plant you left in her head. Yeah. Thought I wouldnt notice, huh? Heh. DRongo always did like to use fools. Suppose theyre easier to lose. Oh well. Thank you for your service, eh.+ And then the air around him started shrieking and the phantoms spilled apart into oil, dissolving and splattering into mem-data. I think he used me to kill them, Elegant-Moon concluded. And then he nulled me. For a good while, Mondelles just stared off into the distance. Whats with the, uh, taking the robes off? Hes a porn-addled nudist, I suspect. I seem to recall him exposing his genitals to someone. Triggering the Rash deliberately. The Instrument grimaced in disgust. Jaus. He placed a finger on his template as another tide ghosts pulsed out from his Meta. Yeah. Yeah, I know, I saw it. His face fell. Our partners got another hit on him. Aedon Chambers. Low Master acolyte. He ambushed Shotin Kazahara. Planeshift. Low Masters. Low godsdamned Masters. I thought we were finished with those bastards. Nothing is done until all is dust, Im afraid, Elegant-Moon said. His body stilled and he nodded. Come on. Lets get you to isolation so we can get a Mender to look through your mind. Worried if Im compromised? she asked. No, Mondelles replied, as tendrils of light began to crawl over Elegant-Moon. I know youre compromised. The question is just how much. She didnt fight it when the light took her, but she cast what pity she could at Mondelles as he faded from her sight. Poor fool. Poor fool. If only he could see beyond the veil, of the creature that lingered past the threshold of falsehood. Oh, if he could only see AvoCsee the fires. Then he would know. And he would despair. And what would be a sweeter sight? *** Agh! Naeko said, tumbling off from his DEUS-X HYPERFOAM gaming station trying to get away from the exposed penis manifesting just an inch from his face. The phantoms generating the genitals followed him as he disconnected from Stormjumpers in the middle of a match. He felt a fistCa soft little fistCbounce off the back of his head as he wheeled on his attacker, preparing to palm them into a smear with hisC He paused and frowned. Two more fists crashed into his jaw, and he felt the mans knuckles fracture. It was just Maru punching him. And here was thinking that there was someone actually trying to make an attempt on his life. Still, the physical violence wasnt anything new, but what was with the Rashable material? Hey, come on, man, Naeko said, brushing the blows away from his face. Looking over Marus shoulder and through his messy soot-black beard, he realized the man had smashed through one of his walls to get in. Huh. When did that happen? Naeko also wondered how he missed that. Maybe he needed to tune down the sound settings for the gameCor make the audio transparent. This is coming out of your payC Fucker! Maru growled, trying to work the body. Naeko looked down as his junior in rank continued his attempts at harm. Stop Maru didnt. Naeko calmly reached over, gently placed his fingers on the smaller mans shoulders, and pressed his thumbs down into the collar bones, detaching them from their sockets. Maru promptly gave a choked gasp of pain as stopped attacking. You lazy fucking shit, Maru snapped, even as Naeko held him down. You rat-fucker! Naeko tilted his head. Maru. You seem a bit madder than usual today. Whats wrong? Got something you wanna talk about a raise? The other man shrugged Naekos hands off and backed away, grimacing as he jerked twice and snapped his collarbones back into place. I want I want you to do your fucking job for once. But by this point, Naeko was already walking back to his gaming station. Eh. Nah. Dust filled the air, covering the rich brown wood lining the floor. They were in a corner of the wide-open five-hundred-square-foot loft overlooking the district below. Wide panes of glass shone with pulsing neon as phantoms drifted outside, materializing an advertisement for some kind of new soft drink. Distant blooms of nuclear fire flashed not too far away as more missiles streaked up into the sky, another block war starting at midnight. Naekos home was a mix between physical library, museum, and theater. The corners of the room were lined with stacks and stacks of books stopping just below the second-floor loftCtaken up entirely by a hundred-foot-long bed. A coldtech projector played old movies on a loop. Most of them were action films from a bygone era, the flashing light spilling over the seven glass displays placed across the center of the room, each a suit of armor belonging to the major cultures. With a swipe of his hand, Naeko undid the damage and flicked out the dirt. He also plucked the hurt he inflicted on Maru away and put it in his pocket. He was gonna give that to the next person who called him a half-strand in-game. Reaching out with his utility fog, he opened his liquor cabinet on the far end of the room and plucked some old Tunsgten Fervor. Ashthroner brand he preferred and Maru hated. Drink? No, Maru said, rubbing at four collars of his long, ragged coat. Im fine. Good, Naeko said, grinning. He yanked. A club of amber liquor sailed through the air and landed in his grasp. He used the callous of his right thumb to pop the lip off and took his first drink. Hm. Internating mint and bitter. So. What made you attack me tonight? I was doing some investigative work, Maru said, spitting the words acerbically. Looking up a new suspect. Aedon Chambers. Ring a bell? No. Funny. Because a few of our files had a match. Of him running for his life across Nu-Scarrowbur and Lights End. Without any pants on. Oh, Naeko nodded. Yeah, I was wondering why the penis looked familiar. Im docking your pay for that too. No Rashing your superiors. Come on, Maru. I know youre better than that. Take this seriously, Maru hissed. No, Naeko replied. You know he caused an outbreak, right? Maru said. Or you would if you read any of our briefs. Two million dead. Well, sounds like you contained it, Naeko said. Good job. He did it as a distraction, Maru continued. All those deaths so he could get away from Shotin Kazahara for some clan warfare shit with the Ori. I dont know. The Seeker fucking jacked me. And Kares his niece. I shouldve looked after her more I wouldveC You wouldnt have, Naeko sighed. He walked over the black leather sofa beneath the loft, facing the inactive coldtech movie screen. As he planted himself down in the middle, he patted the seat next to him as he continued nursing his drink. Come on. You wanna watch something. This isnt a social visit! Could be. A disgusted snort came from Maru. But he still stomped over. Just like he always had. Just like when he was a boy. What you wanna watch? Naeko asked. Nothing, Maru said, collapsing into the seat next to him, sagging down. He deactivated his holographic tie and just leaned back. I just Feel useless? Naeko said. Maru glared. Well, I dont blame you, Naeko said. That Shotins pretty good. Id give him even odds against most Clads in the cityC This isnt about that, this is about you. You go out on patrol for the first time in years, bag Abrel Greatling and an Ori-Thaum ElderCDRongo! And now youre just pretending like nothing happened. I guess, Naeko said. Theres a trial coming up. And a moot. Well get things sorted there. I got us a few witnesses andC And what? Maru said. We have no capability to hold either of these people. Highflame! Ori-Thaum! Either one can destroy us. A bitter smile played across Naekos face. Hells. I guess if were looking at it honestly, one of them already has. 18-10 Catch and Release (II) Hounds of my fathers will. Paladins of New Vultun. Hear me now. I acknowledge your choice to stand. Stand and deliver. Stand and fight for what you believe. Stand, and be slaughtered for what you cannot achieve. I have broken the Rungs. Paladin encirclement of our districts is no more. Your Chief is dead. Your bases are burning. Your forces are shattered. Your captains have turned. Behold the grace of my respect, and weep knowing the price you have paid. Your numbers still stand in the tens of thousands. Perhaps this is enough to turn the tide or any war. Or force a stalemate. But perhaps you have only your lives to lose. Your champions remain alive, and they may yet see me slain. Naeko. I see you. I see my Seraphs, Authorities, and Instruments dead around you. I see your strength. Proud to have known you. I am pained by your parting. But hearts are willows to wind and action, and I will not stray. Your walking fortresses yet remain. Few as they are. Planescrawlers moving to swallow my forces. But should they fall, you know that nothing will spare your families from me. Some among you might think to capitulate to another Guild. To join force with force and turn the tides of this war. But they are not so desperate. This battle is not yet existential for them, and should you greet them, know they will await you with collars hanging from their hands. So now, I propose an end to this. An end to the misery. To the bloodshed. You have taken respect from me. More than enough to merit this clemency, and the mark of my father blessed you yet in my mind. I will permit to you what sectors of control you have remaining and continue to recognize your role as defenders of the city. I will stay my hand from your kin. I will pull my forces back and let you have peace and a time. Time to heal. Time to find strength. Time to seek proper retribution against me, if you so choose. I am known to you. Look to your remaining veterans. Look to them and understand that nothing is beyond me. Nothing. There is no word to convey the defilement I will inflict on your survivors if I am forced to bleed. You stand on the verge of breaking, while my ranks swell by the blessed among you who have seen the light. I do not wish to degrade you further. I do not wish to stain the memory of my father any longer. But I will. To do what is right, to forge that which is just, which is true, I will. Spare yourselves from me. Spare yourselves. Grant yourselves a final chance. Of this, I beg. -High Seraph Veylis Avandaer Calling on Surviving Paladins to Yield, Second Guild War 18-10 Catch and Release (II) I still dont get why you''re all worked up tonight, Naeko said, leaning back against the couch. I mean, I thought youd be happy I arrested the elder and the girl. But here you are. Mad. Mad like you always are. Madder. He shook his head. Sure you dont want anything to drink? Maru shook his head. Something was still bothering him. It would come. A few more words, a bit more prodding, but it would come out. Thats just the way the boy was. You know, I was on a good winning streak before you cast that wrinkled thing in my face, Naeko said. No you werent, Maru scoffed. I saw the red projected by your phantoms. You lost. I kill half the enemy team! What do you want me to do? Beat them all on my own? Come on, man? Come on, son! What mode? Strongholds. Oh. So you were running around killing people instead of holding ground to help your group, huh? The whites of Marus eyes shone as he glared. His expression carried implications his words couldnt. Naeko sighed. Look. Listen. I bagged the Elder for her part in what she did to Morrow and the Agnos. You was right about that. You was. Her and Greatling too. I thought you would be proud of me doing something. I dont know. The younger Paladins stare softened. You know how many accidents our people have had over the past month? I mean, comes with the territory, right? Naeko met the other mans gaze. We take one of theirs. They put the squeeze on us. We run this trial. We put them before Truth and Justice, and let them feel the weight of theirC What are you doing, old man? Maru asked. There was no anger in his voice anymore. Just tiredness. You you grab an elder and an Instrument. You jam them in the Unwhere. Hold them and tell us to withhold all rights to bail from their Guilds, and then you give one half-assed report to the public and disappear back. You dont come into the ScaleChavent even cast in for the past week Thats cause Im done, Naeko said, throwing up his hands. I got it handled. Wordless bafflement consumed Maru. Done? Our friend Denton came by to say hi to me. Decided to cut a deal and she dropped me some nasty evidence. The case is ironclad, and this time, theres no getting away. He let a small smirk crawl over his face. I got us a star witness too: Jelene Draus. Got bad blood against the Greatlings. Enough to charge with them the thing on Valhu. And Morrow? What about his evidence? Maru asked. What about Kusanade? Did your contact give you anything on her, or is she still missing? Ah. Shell turn up eventually. Or not. Naeko breathed. The fact is, the Incubi used her to kill one of ours. Thats two unforgivable crimes. Stuff that all the other Guilds will jump on them for like the jackals they are. Stuff that Elder DRongo ordered directly. We got about a week and a half before the moot is established by Voidwatch and we can start the trial. Its all good. So. Thats justice for us? For Morrow? Maru still wanted more. Gluttony made Naeko tired. What else do you want from me? Naeko said. Look. In a single moment, my relationship did more work thatC Morrow told me he was gonna quit, Maru interrupted. He reached out and snatched Naekos drink with a growl of annoyance before taking a swig. Your taste is shit. Naeko grinned at him. You dont know what shit tastes like, boy. I do, and its not the drink. So. Morrow was gonna leave but he got cut down before he could. Thats whats bugging you? No, Maru said, brows furrowed. He was going to leave because well, heard this from his brother, but he was planning to ask the Agnos to elope. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The Chief Paladin shifted his entire body as the couch creaked. Suddenly, his focus narrowed as he leaned forward, attention rapt. Yeah? Damn. That dont work with the Agnosi though. Their vows are supposed to be well. Only death or severance shall free a bearer of the faiths. Agnosi were not permitted to families or legacies in any circumstances. The rules only stopped applying after they were dead or had all their memories carved out. They also couldnt have any money, purchase long-term property, or ever be Ensouled due to the nature of their work. Theirs was a lineage of sacrifice. Turncoat faithers taken in by Jaus and shackled to Guild supervision: forsaking power to give themselves life in the coming utopia. Of course, things didnt quite turn out that way. She couldve taken severance, Maru said. But I looked into Agnos Kusanades file before. I think she loves her work the most of all. This earned a roll of Naekos eyes. Well. Guess they could have had an unofficial series of trysts or something. Just happen to live, work, and spend their days together. It couldveC Hes dead. Shes missing. The Ori are sticking to the official line that she went mad and tried to murder him. Highflame has the incident redacted. The Agnosi themselves have blanked out her nameCpretending she doesnt exist either. So. Couldve. Couldve Couldve. We couldve done more at the time. We couldve pressed. Marus eyes dropped. We couldve done what we shouldve and kept fighting. Oh. So that was what this was. Old wounds reopening from a rough day at work. Did Kazahara jacking into your mind bring this on? Fuck off. The sheer force behind the snarl told Naeko he was on point. Look, Naeko said, lightly bumping the smaller man with a cinderblock of a fist, we gotta do what we can. We gotta do what we can for who we can because thats what Jaus wanted, right? Because if not, whos gonna keep the Fallwalkers at bay? Whos gonna keep the Guilds from getting too loud in the Warrens? Voidwatch? Nah. Our lives are poison to them. And were not worth one of their citizens. Right now, this is the best thing we can do. Okay? Maru didnt respond immediately. You know what? Fine. Ill do some work. Ill look at the after-action you sent. Ill even go up to the Tiers and grab that Planeshift by the ear and make him say sorry to you. You want that? Dont patronize me. Because I can do it. Hes got some cute tricks, but I tussled with old Thousandhand and you know who. Hes a snot-nosed kid. Ill kick his ass for you. I dont need you to defend my honor, Maru said. I just need you to be a Chief. To be there. To beC Fine! Fine! Ill come to work tomorrow, Naeko said. Ill do the morning cast and all that. Boost morale. Commendations all around for stopping the outbreak. Star of Valiance to Karu. Kare. Huh? Kare. You know her name. Youre deliberately getting it wrong to rib me, you fuck. Naeko breathed out through his nose and smirked. Yeah. The younger Paladin whipped the hardest punch he could into Naekos jaw, and the blow just thudded off without effect. Alright. Naeko shifted again and patted his couch. So, you feel like watching something now? I still got, like, a billion hours of classical action flicks to get through. Maybe we can do movie night at the station or something. Use the projector and play some of them in the lobby of the Scale at midnight. A snorting laugh escaped from Maru. You ever think about what the Chainbreaker might think if he could see us now? Hm? A beat passed as Naeko just studied the other man. Yeah. At night. Sometimes. Especially when I look out at the city. And? Well. Id probably just try to kill him. To spare him from seeing what his girl became. A momentary flash of light was cut off as the windows polarized immediately. Silence settled between them as the window pane rattled. Outside, passing ghosts cast warnings of a nearby nuclear detonation, commanding all streetside residences to take shelter. Be in the office tomorrow morning, Maru said, standing up. Or Im going to smash more of your shit. Alright, Naeko frowned. You just leaving? Do you need me toC And then a gunshot pulsed from Marus very being as the room around him bloomed with gunfire, different places in reality overlapping as the younger Paladin rematerialized from the barrel of a linear acceleration rifle far from Naekos home. Then, as the plume of the weapon faded, the chief found himself alone again. Alone, and with his drink stolen. Dammit, Naeko grunted, staring at his empty palm. Grumbling about being disrespected, he reached out with his utility fog, seeking another bottle when his mind wandered and his nanos reached back to scratch his chin. Outbreak. Shotin Kazahara. Kare Kitzuhada. Jelene Draus. Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhada. Aedon Chambers. Elder DRongo. Kae Kusanade. Names were echoing in his head. Flashes of places and undeveloped threads of thought. With a wince, he cast his Meta out to link with his home entertainment locus and closed Stormjumpers as he triggered a session. Accessing his personal lobby at the Scale, he flooded his mind with all the confidential mem-data, ignoring the over two million sequences of inactive cast he let build up over time. Profiles were passing through his cog-feed as he skimmed through them. It all had the look of some great big Guilder mess that he wanted no part of. Just thinking about it all gave him a migraine. But then, parts of it didnt make any sense. Parts of it were too disjointed. Take this Aedon Chambers guy. Real sick bastard, apparently. Fled across Nu-Scarrow with his privates outCprivates that Maru had given Naeko a close-up of earlier. Then, just a few days ago, he showed his face again at Vengs Stand in an engagement against a certain Ori-Thaum Seeker. The connecting element here? Maybe DRongo or something, but things were jumpy at best. Chambers was listed as an enforcer under Jhred Greatlings Syndicate, then his suspected assassin, then a bunch of other unconfirmed theories and details. No clarity at all. And nothing in his history hinted at any of these capabilities. Opening Jelene Draus file next, he reviewed all thirty thousand pages the Exorcists compiled of her active engagements and killings she committed across the Warrens. The disgraced Regular kept herself pretty busy since her fall from the Tiers, slaughtering her way through the dregs of the FATELESS night after night, Crucible after Crucible. Dread Draus. She had a bit of a fan following in the Tiers. Some people were collecting vicarities from enforcers and gangers she killed in a particularly brutal fashion. Juvs these days had strange habits. Despite her connection to the Greatlings, though, he couldnt tell where she was leading either. Sure, she fought the Silvers, but she had nothing to do directly with the Ambassador or Well, he did beat her former superior. Whats-her-name Greatling. Veylis was always a sore loser. Loved wiping the board clean as soon as he beat her in a game of Tides. Distant memories came back to Naeko. Of a life he lived after emerging from the slave pits. The family he had. The warmth he felt. Those memories were like a fire now. They burned him. Burned him something bad. He shifted his mind back to task and shook the discomfort off. For the first time in years, he began doing some investigative work, diving deep into detailed simulations of the crime scenes and reviewing random sequences of recollections edited into a coherent narrative. Jumping from place to place as he tried to follow Chambers along his flight again, he struggled to comprehend what was with the guy. He was loud. Then gone. Then loud again. Reckless. But well funded and supported He would need to subpoena Shotin Kazahara for a more direct look and talk with his niece, the Paladins very own Kare Kitzuhada. Nice girl. Too good to be wasted with old ruins like him and angry husks like Maru. But that was the thing about people who were too good: they treated their own lives real cheap. Jaus wouldve liked her. Which probably meant she was going to end up dead sooner or later. Just like Morrow. Just like all the others. Naeko resolved to regard her more as a caricature in his mind to lessen the hit when it inevitably came. As he jumped into the vicarity of an office worker watching Chambers escape at Lights End, something else drew his attention. Another figure. Blood was misting around them, flowing like a protective shroud as trickles of red flowed from their Metamind into the drone they hijackedCan Exorcist Tadpole. Pausing the vicarity and zooming in on the creature, Naeko examined the phantasmal artifact built from countless collected recollections. It had eight back-scaled tendrils coiling out from its back, but what parts of its skin could be seen were white like sections of hardened ceramic. The fact it had a Metamind told Naeko it possessed the cognition of a person, at least. The blood, however, he was cognizant of. They lost more than a few emergency response knots and Triangulator golems against an unidentified Fallwalker with a Heaven of Blood grafted to Sphere Four Frame. He made the connection there but frowned as no additional details were forthcoming when he tried to find a file on them. Unlike the others, this one was a complete enigma. Theorizing from the Exorcists listed it as a potential bio-rig of some kindCthe most likely prospect. That could be connected to Draus somehow. She was known to work with Sang middlers from time to time. But there was something that still bothered Naeko. Something that made him fixate. Blood. Stormtree had more than a few Heavens rooted in that domain. As did the No-Dragons. But he found no hits in his list of active Godclads that resembled or wore a biological exoskeleton that looked like a souped-up ghoul fused within another layer of bone. And the few thousand who had Heavens of Blood were all eliminated in quick succession. That just made his wariness grow. Fallwalker, maybe. But a Third Sphere Fallwalker? They would have picked someone like that up. Noticed them passing the border or spotted them somewhere in the Warrens at some point. This one, however, seems to have appeared out of thin air. What are you? Naeko whispered, materializing his own avatar across from the creature. Looking up at its imposing form, he wondered why its presence had filled him with such uneasiness, even as he prepared to restart the scene for another run-through. 19-1 Harvest Lives. Its all we really have to offer. Were already less than useful for labor. Been that way for years. Wights obsoleted us before. The new mechs and drones coming out are just going to make the process faster. The Guilds offer all the public education we might need in public lobbies, but thats useless as well. They dont need the most of us to think or learn or become experts. They just skim the cream of the crop. The rest of us arent worth shit from fuck. Cheaper than vivianite priming and with our own memories. I suppose thats something of material value to us as well. Sure, we can find other things to do. The ones with charisma might make it to Lights End by being entertainers, the ones who got the fire in them could become squires or Necros or ride the circuits to the top. But the rest of us? The most of us. No. Were here for one thing and one thing alone. All the free miracles and benefits and comfort promised by New Vultun is a rigged game. This isnt a death farm, but a self-resolving menagerieCa self-run slaughterhouse. Our lives are like this by design. They cant get better. They shouldnt. Because once again, were just here for the dying. Even with all the concessions the voiders forced our masters to make and the false front of public security presented by Exorcists and Paladins, were just duped into the nest to spend our years. Our childrens years. Scratch your lottery ticket today! You might just be a lucky winner! Also, if you schedule a childbirth from your local paedia-tech and choose to bring home more than two children, you will be given a stipend of twenty-two thousand imps a month with a free lottery draw, along with a special chance to be gifted the new Ascender Dynamo Aerovan todayCperfect for a family outing! Were pathetic. We are. Because even if we all know, where else do we go? Where else offers anything better? People say this is not the dream, this is not the dream. But this is material reality, and the reality is that beyond all the shit and misery, theres still a shadow of a life here. Same cant be said for the world left behind outside the megas. -Yun the Cynic, FATELESS 19-1 Harvest The massacres were conducted as a subtle symphony, seemingly disconnected events strung together by an unseen hand behind the killings. Across the over thirty-five thousand death-taxable sovereign territories spread over New Vultun, the bulk of expendable life was concentrated in the Warrens. Mostly Lights End and the Throat beneath it, with an estimated four hundred billion people occupying their space. Lower still, the Spine and the gutters suffered far less congestion, amounting to a hundred and five billion counted through thoughtstuff documentation compiled in annual Exorcist reports. With such a bounty of life came opportunity and risk in equal measure. Eyes lingered in the light and darkness, dangers noticed and not. Hence, the city also proved to be something of a theater for those privileged enough to afford veils of privacy, watching and studying the ecosystem of the Warrens in detail, learning the habits of its inhabitants, and the pillars of power they built for themselves. To this end, gangs and Syndicates were like micro-cosmic fiefdoms unto themselves, offering employment and resource distribution to the FATELESS that relied on them. Trade ran as favors and debts accrued, refugees and destitute signing over their lives, bodies, or whatever services they could provide. Through these means was control truly established. A toxic providence offered by uncaring hounds that evolved beyond merely hunting, striking pacts with the most desperate of lambs. Thus, the fall of a Syndicate was always a matter to note, the waves of their collapse rising to swallow entire communities, and signaling the encroach of lurking rivals. It was when a Syndicate fell that deaths truly began to spike. Local gangs, inter and intra rivals, remnants and survivors, and newly established factions in an all-out throw down bid for power, seeking to claim the vacancy for themselves. Such a time was also when diplomacy and force were wielded in equal measure to the benefit of the wildcard. The unnoticed. The unexpected. For when seats of power topple and the fragments of their pillars fall, even the unlikeliest people might be able to ride the chaos and assume control, rare though these instances were. Because what was chance but the culmination of all variables and outcomes, and what was opportunity but moments transpiring at the behest of a hidden master? Such were Avos thoughts as he stared through the looking glass, orchestrating another slaughter. Encased in haemokinetic plates infused with the Twice-Walkers miracles, he acted through Draus and Dice as they tore the megablocks hangars. Railings screamed and crashed. Bodies burst and splattered. Husks of now-drained golems lit the backdrop of their blitzkrieg, the attack catching the Hawk-Daggers Syndicate completely unprepared. +Nine fireteams. Eight nu-dogs. Four nu-bears. Three Necros. Two Heavies. Two leaders. Three levels above.+ Avo highlighted the targets using Draus Neurodeck as he continued to burn through the Sang Syndicates Nether lobbies, his Conflagration igniting another five hundred minds nested within the sequences. Over fifteen hundred combat-design bioforms were nulled with them, the egos of the beasts dissolving utterly in the same fire that smelted their masters into Avo. Draus was right there with Dice, but also three hundred kilometers away, fighting a separate battle below the gutters themselves as she shattered a chamber filled with formerly living hostiles. Casually walking down a spiraling staircase overlooking a former drone bay now serving as a barge hanger, the Regular announced her arrival by firing shots through a shard of hovering glass. The shots snapped out from the reflective sheen cupping Dices form, counter-sniping the shooters blasting through their own walls to get at the girl. Even as Dice turned, her momentum stayed constant, inertia lacking any hold on her. The dragon-curse pried at her blood, but Avo wrenched control back using his Heaven. Twitching entities of chitin and fur roared at her from the walls and ceilings. Amalgams of bear, centipede, and cyborg, the incarnatesCSang-modified bioformsCcarved through decorative scenery trying to cut her down, flak-canons once meant for anti-air now reduced to in-block urban combat. They wouldnt be enough to stop her from getting to the final Knot. The floor shattered beneath the hammering of her feet as Dice backhanded a four-ton repair drone aside with a casual swat. Wires and servos exploded. Fragments of industrial orange filled the air and eviscerated one of the centipede-bears stalking her. What few personnel remained fought to board the golems and aeros, desperate to flee, not knowing it was already too late. Four more flechettes zipped out from Dice again and four sprays plumed from six skulls. The Regular was bored again. Peeking out through the glass around her, Avo found she had already boarded the barge and was now busy scraping what remained of the captains skull from beneath her heel as she walked past a dumbfounded mod-slave. Back with Dice, Avo found the waif begrudgingly tearing a nu-dog apart, the whines and whimpers the animal made disturbing the waif more than the several hundred people she killed so far. Reaching with her haemokinetic armor, he claimed the remaining Lushburners for his Soul and then fired Draus a message. {Its done. All Knots claimed.} {Synced,} the Regular said. Through her visual feed, he watched as the air chilled instantly as an ursine paw-some twelve meters manifested from the cold and swatted the maw-barges deck clean of any survivors. {Im gonna snatch this one too. Have Kae do some comparisons. I think this crew is a vendor instead of in-house. There are males among them for one. Guessing organics have a hard time diving the Maw.} Avo grunted. {Good. Grab Dice and extract when youre done. Going to synchronize mass-liquefication with the warheads.} Draus laughed. {Ill get a move on, then. Wanna see the fireworks.} A shard of glass shot out from her to hover over the barge and stretched out into a pane that was ninety by twenty-five meters in dimension. The reflective surface flashed and snapped down, the Twice-Walker stealing an entire barge in an instant. Without leaving her Liminal Paracosmos, DrausCmanifested as her HeavenCtugged Dice out from inside her armor, leaving only an inanimate husk of blood-made glass behind. Then, two new passages opened. One for the barge, delivered to a warehouse owned by Tavers, the other to the Manta hovering over the Hawk-Daggers local megablock. The moment the twosome were cleared, Avo reached out with his Sanguinity and licked away what few egos remained before he bade his Woundshaper to bite. The old goddess sighed with satisfaction. Blessed libations. Ghosts - [17,313,887] Liminal Frame (V) - 22,753 THAUM/c Total Heavens Gained:The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ->[SANGEIST] x18; [LUSHBURNER] x9; [GALESLITHER] x9; [FULGERHUND] x12; [SNAKE-KING] x2; [SPRINGSTORMER] x4; [SHATTERHEAD] x10; [BULLET-BREEDER] x1 Bodies parted into fading patterns of red as his metaphysical fingers closed. All four hundred and fifty levels of the building were hollowed from the inside. Then, with a single thought, Avo commanded twelve tactical yield nuclear warheads to launch. Soaring up and out from a nondescript hab-block window three kilometers away and a full district over, a dozen streaks slashed through the midnight sky, slicing through ads and empty skylanes above, and over the gaps leading down into the Maw below. Without any active air defense or Nether-security to impede the missiles, their graphene tips punched through the plascrete walls before detonating inside the target. Flashes of sight-cleaving brilliance bloomed out from around the structure, and a cascade of nuclear fire gushed from every gap, crevice, dockpoint, or doorway as the insides of the block were atomized utterly. Nested safely inside the Manta, Draus and Dice watched the lovely devastation through the ships feeds, the girl feeding a beef slug to her kitten as she looked on, wide-eyed in wonderment. {Pretty damn loud, if I say so myself,} Draus said. {Loud is good,} Avo replied. {Loud is what we want here. Are the bodies of the Hawkeaters in place?} {Yeah. Same as were we left em.} The Regular scoffed. {Fuckin Sang, consang. Sometimes, I think they like fightin each other more than the enemy.} Avo thought of Walton and the Low Masters and chuckled. {Think we practice hating our own families first sometimes.} {Thank Jaus were orphans, then. Aint that right, killer? Wanna do another one today?} Draus was speaking to Dice now, the girls eyes widening as she shook her head. She didnt quite smile when she looked upon Draus, but there was a calmness to her regard, as if the two of them had some kind of understanding. Maybe it was the perfect brokenness that it took for one to become a Reg resonating. Seemed like Draus was getting her recruit after all. {Alright, kid,} Draus said. {Were windin down for the day. Hell of a haul. Couple more runs like these and well have enough thaums to make Fifth Spheres out of all of us.} Avo didnt respond immediately, instead taking a few moments to just listen to the nine thousand new templates joining his gestalt. Confused screams and sobbing cries filled his mind while old tenents welcomed their new companions. The fires of his Conflagration were growing, ghosts rising high, their undulating forms something between the flickers of a torch and the spikes of a crown. He was growing to enjoy the noise, enjoy the cacophony of countless minds filling every canal of his thoughts. It instilled in him a growing sense of completeness. [Horrible,] Kare mused morosely, feeling the other templates spilling into the Conflagration. [All these massacres, these false-flag attacks They are pointless. There are so many Syndicates, and the Guilds, they can add support or replace them easily. What good is this killing supposed to do? You should direct your efforts to stability. Control. Even if you dont want to reveal yourself, you can have that bastardC] because she refused to ever mention Chambers by name, [--forward the evidence needed to our Exorcists.] +No,+ Avo replied. +Need new Heavens right now. More deaths. Saw and created opportunities to feed. And also to start a war.+ [But why?] the Paladin trainee asked. Abrel sighed. [Because he wants the Hawk-Daggers and Hawkeaters to be destabilized enough for him to replace them. Or for their leadership to be so atrophied that he can install his own puppets via the half-strand and turn them to his means without even directly controlling them. You know. Complicated cult shit.] [But why cant you just have their memories resequenced?] Kare was disgusted just thinking of such an infringement, but still, at least the lives harvested today would live in that outcome. [You have the means toC] [Two problems,] Abrel deadpanned, growing increasingly annoyed at the topic. [First, he needs to put on a show. Keep the No-Dragons from asking why the behavior of their subsidiaries is suddenly so different. Something that can be explained through casualty-induced turnover and replaced leadership. The second is that hes setting them up as in-city death farms while the Agnos finishes with the Heavens infused inside the barges so we can jump the border and go Fallwalker hunting instead.] Kare fell silent at that, not sure how to feel about her part in this entire affair. Her senior comrade, Paladin Kassamon, committed to the role of gestalt warden to keep his mind centered, directing the arrivals and doing his best to keep them calm. With so many presences inside him, factions were forming. New cabinets and alliances between the various templates trying to jockey for his attention, fighting for him to take their advice. This, above all other things, was something he never expected to enjoy: politics. Battles of policy and struggles for his favor from the fires of his mind. Already, the perspectives to consider were vast, and the options they offered varied and helpful. But his templates were still only in the thousands. The population of a large block, perhaps, but still just a block. A new yearning dawned inside him, and he wondered how much more complexity he could ingrain if he simulated the population of a district. [Please dont,] Corner groaned, uncharacteristically annoyed. [Damn place is loud as shit already.] Jaus. The voice pulled him out of his own mind. The speaker was right next to him, her back turned as she looked up at the holographic representation of the Point_12 Sovereignty. Tavers studied their progress over the past fifty-eight hours. She was unarmored, dressed in a heavy synthleather coat with a cluster of holo-projectors dotting the shoulders and arms. Fishes swarm up her limbs, neon waterfalls defied by koi, determined to climb the currents. Jaus, Tavers repeated, giving a soft laugh of incredulity. Crazy. Avo drew all of his Conflagration back into himself then, his halo roaring as ninety percent of his consciousness receded out from his Auto-Seance. Burning ghosts erupted out from his accretion like coronal ejections, jets of phantasmal flame spearing upward like spikes on a crown. Something wrong? Yeah, she said. I didnt know I was getting into the world domination business. She pointed at the red arteries sprawling across fifteen districts and thousands of holographic structures. Overhead, a shining 2% hovered over the Sovereignty. Minimized markets dotted the overlapping rings upon which the districts were built. I go off and take a nap, and now I come back to this. I swear, half those icons werent there last time. And whys that flashing. She pointed to the Hawk-Dagger megablock they just hit. Killed everyone. Then nuked it. Thanks for the warheads. She waved him off. Yeah, dont sweat it. Got a few hundred more where those came from. She turned and gave him a shit-eating grin. Perks of raiding a Highflame battleship during the war. Another triangular icon flashed as Chambers gave a whoop where he lounged on the throne. New cult member! Thank you for the sub! Tavers blinked. What the hells does that mean? Think the Skintaker just had another person pay to get into his most private streams. Chambers has been spoofing his way into them. Turning Syndicate personnel. Enforcers. Techs. Huh, Tavers said, wiggling her noise. You kids get up to weird shit these days. Avo stared down at the aged squire. You kids. What? You think youre not a kid to me because youre a people-eating, mind-burning, Heaven-stealing monstrosity. Yes. Well, youd be wrong, juv. The stare turned into a glare. Could burn you too. Tavers yawned. Good. Im sure your other templates will agree with me when I get moved in. A chorus of agreements sallied forth from his gestalt. Avo de-loaded all the traitorous templates and found himself left with less than ten minds. His frown deepened. He unbanished the turncoats and moved on. Hows Essus, he asked. You took him down with you into the Maw earlier. Scouting detail. Tracking smuggling routes with you. Well, all things considered yeah hes a fucking mess. Tavers shrugged. The bees spent most its time trying to keep him calm while we moved from point to point. Poor half-strand nearly had a breakdown when we found a mound of burned bodies. His Heavens useful though. You know he can connect anything that resembles a doorway with himself, yeah? That sped things up at least. Find anything? Not yet. The lines on her forehead wrinkled. We did encounter a big-ass Highflame patrol, though. Huge. Im talking thousands upon thousands of drones sweeping through the Maw. Cast a few consangs of mine, and theyve basically fighting Stormtree in there over Yuulden-Yang. Heavy drone warfare. Severe losses, but they dont seem to care. Or have orders not to. She fixed him with a knowing look. Suppose we''d all do funny things when misplacing our shiny new Frame, huh, consang? A pressure settled upon Avos shoulders, centering him. Highflame was moving away from playing subtle, it seemed. Dangerous. But potentially exploitable. A hundred thousand voices chittered in the back of his head, whispering how he could turn this threat to an advantage. The promise of his Frame was a lure. Perhaps he could direct them against Ori-Thaum or a rival power somehow if there was ever a need. Suppose so, Avo replied. A call flashed over his Neurodeck as Kaes ego-ID appeared. Answering it with a thought, the agnos avatar filled a corner of his feed. Though his DeepNav couldnt narrow in on her position, he knew that she was in her personal moduleCa new space the George Washington grew for her, mimicking the design of her old study in the Tiers using its smart matter. {Avo. I think I know how to install the barges canons into your Heavens without requiring the removal of Luminosity.} {Good,} he replied. {Fortress would be hard to replace. Got a heavy spike of Heavens and thaums. Enough to make some improvements.} Looking at the details he cast over, a small smirk spread across the smooth ebony of Kaes features. {Some improvements? You are due another education, oh, ghoul of mine, for I have earned for myself new knowledge that would make me the envy of any of my peers.} She giggled. Avo titled his head, and for the first time, slotted pieces from Chambers template into his base ego. Kae blinked. {Avo?} {Ghoul of yours?} Her expression went stiff and her cheeks reddened. {ICuh, it was a figure of speech. You understand! Dont tease me!} He grunted in acknowledgment. {As you say my dearest Agnosi.} She cried with indignation and cut the call, leaving only a frowning Tavers before him again. Been staring at me for a bit, Tavers said. Saw your thoughstuff needling too. So, either you just got a call or theres something wrong with my face. And with Chambers personality still slotted at the forefront, Avo bared his fangs in a smile and lightly patted the squire on the shoulder using the floating tip of an Echohead. Im sorry. You need a mirror. It took a moment for her to understand what he was implying, but then she threw her head back and barked a laugh. Oh, you fucker. So, did his gestalt continue to churn, and evermore a furnace of dynamic humanity did the Conflagration become. 19-2 Weapons of Ontology (I) Building a Heaven is like trying to bottle an apocalypse. Designing canons, then, is giving said apocalypse a personality. It is obvious to even the lowest creature that a Heaven is calamity manifested. A defiance of reality and all its laws in exchange for a new order. This, more than the looseness of the tapestry, is why Heavens are built within controlled ruptures, for what better to encompass a wound than another we already know how to suture? Beyond the sacrifices needed to materialize the raw form of the entity and the scriptures required to narrow the Heavens effects, there must be other things offered into the jaws of chaos. Everything must be examined. Objects. Environments. People. If there is one mistakeCa singular misstep in the mythology and how it interfaces with the world, the structure of the Heaven will cascade into a collapse and fall. Thereafter, what should have been an instrument to be wielded will then become a cancer of damnation that must be contained. Hence, I wish for everyone to understand that your urgency has been heardCand discarded. An Agnosi cannot deny a build certified by the accords, but if they say it will take ten years, then you will not grant them a day less. I am aware of our arrangement. You do not need to remind me of the oaths to which we are bound and the services we are obliged to provide. But I will remind you that our duty is above your station. Our duty is to the maintenance, preservation, and restoration of existence itself. Know this when you stress my brothers and sisters designated to your Guilds. Know this when you demand the creation of another impossible weapon, and they strive to make not only the single most ruinous construct they can conceive, but must also do their best to keep us all alive in the process. -High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi 19-2 Weapons of Ontology (I) Total Heavens: ->[SANGEIST] x22; [LUSHBURNER] x15; [GALESLITHER] x18; [FULGERHUND] x12; [SNAKE-KING] x2; [SPRINGSTORMER] x4; [SHATTERHEAD] x10; [BULLET-BREEDER] x2 Sangeist (Blood/Matter); Lushburner (Biology/Fire); Galeslither (Air/Space); Fulgerhund (Lightning/Matter); Snake-King (Distance/Space); Springstormer (Biology/Lightning); Shatterhead (War/Strength); Bullet-Breeder (Guns/Matter) Calculating total Domains Domain of (Blood) x22 Domain of (Matter) x36 Domain of (Lightning) x16 Domain of (Biology) x19 Domain of (Air) x18 Domain of (Space) x22 Domain of (War) x10 Domain of (Strength) x10 Domain of (Guns) x2 Domain of (Luminosity) x1 - Leftover from [Shineguard] Eighty-five golems. Eighty-five Heavens. One hundred and seventy Domains. The combined bounty earned from fifty-two continuous hours of raids, runs, and thefts. And now, the reason for former Agnos Kae Kusanades lascivious smile. The symmetry of her face seemed designed around her smile, and so, despite the exaggerated expression she held, the thinness of her lips and the smoothness of her skin remained unblemished. The same could not be said about the shine of excitement in her crinkled eyes, her irises darker than they were before. Assembled within the George Washingtons Command Nexus, the present members of the cadre included Dice, Avo, Chambers, Draus, Essus, and Kae, with Tavers and Sunrise in attendance. Swiping through the holo-haptic constructs representing each of the recently devoured Heavens, Kaes teeth gleamed like beaded pearls as her grin grew wider and wider, her uncharacteristic behavior infusing Chambers with growing discomfort. The man, pushing off the throne that was essentially his by this point, kept hiseyes affixed to Kae as if she was a bomb on the precipice of detonating. Chambers sent a direct message to Avo via Neurodeck, {So I gotta say something. Im not liking that look on her, Avo. Not one bit. Last time I saw a smile like that was on the face of Kid-Slicer Yoed. That fuckers Lustaway would be triggering all the while when juvs were screaming. I mean, damn, he sliced off a lot of ears in the Crucible. Shit. Rest in shit, Yoed.} Avo shot Chambers a brief glance. {Dont compare our Agnos to a degenerate.} {Im not comparing her to him. Just you know, that look. Thats not the look a mentally sound person} Suddenly, he paused, tilting his head at Avo, then at Draus, Dice, Kae, and down at the kitten currently pissing on his feet. Avo just kept staring. {Alright. I get the point. Were all maniacs. Except Essus. Poor bastards in nasty company.} Chambers chuckled and Avo drove his attention past him, studying the near-flat sitting close beside Tavers. Essus still looked lost, but his thoughtstuff held to a steadier current now. More stability. So, Draus said, seated on a chair constructed by smart matter as she finished loading another magazine, you reckon we got enough toys to kick this party up a notch or what? Gettin tired of snuffin chaff. She punctuated her words by slotting a flechette into the empty mag Dice handed to her, the girl helping in the preparations. I want me some big game. Not yet, Kae responded, though her excitement remained. Not nearly enough to kick this party up a notch as you say. Each Guild has hundreds of thousands of Heavens. The golems abandoned in these Warrens are centuries out of date in thaumaturgyCelevated from obsolesce only by virtue of Stillborns capabilities. Her dark eyes shifted over to Avo as she ran a hand through her shoulder-length braids. Her smile dipped into a sneer momentarily. You have no idea the promise they stole from meCfrom my work. My life. What I could haveC She drew in a breath. But she was smirking still. Face joyless, but gleeful, bright with fiery purpose. Being allowed to work her craft once more filled her mind with iron and returned to her a pride once savaged by thought-incinerating flames. For lesser Agnosi, a commission for a Heaven takes years. Years of studyCyears of testing and trials. Countless lives offered on the altar of progress. She shook her head. I remember before you took the fire from me, I once told you that your Frame would see me and my fellows made redundant. My words were too kind! Not only can it make us redundant, it will shame our efforts in the process. Even with simulated designs, the precision offered by your Imitators is beyond the capabilities of mortal ken, without a chance of rupture or failure. All it needs is the proper structural inputs Sweeping a hand through the projections, the visual replicas of each Heaven swirled around her like planetary bodies bound to the gravity of a star. A hand came up, and she pulled a Lushburner from the ensemble. Lushburners. Slightly more recent Highflame ecological utility golems. Made one-ninety-three post fall, forty years out of date. But when distilled by the Stillborns Metafactory, there is no need to untangle canons and undo beliefs. No new sacrifices must be constantly fed to keep the secondary rupture active. From expendable Heavens, we harvested the seeds of our ascent. Seeds that, when planted by capable handsCmine! Can be cultured into canons worth keeping. By this point, Draus had stopped loading her gun and was looking at Kae oddly. Yeah. Thats nice. Listen, Kae you, uh, you alright? See, Chambers said, with a pitched whisper. Its not just me. The ghoul frowned. Im am perfectly not fine, Kae said, reaching out as if the strangle someone unseen. I am furious. I have been furious for days. I tried killing people. But it was horrible. Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! I hate the feeling of bodies breaking. I hate the screams. I hate feeling them die. Then, I got to enjoy a sampling of my greatest failure. The Heaven of Love. Wombrash. Taunting me. She sighed. It hurt. It hurt more than anything in my life. ICthe human skull is not meant to be used as a birthing receptacle. Chambers shuffled awkwardly as the Agnos glared at him. But it reminded me the pain focused me. This is what people are suffering. This humiliation. This degredation. This indignity. And the Guilds destroyed my life over this? They were stopping me from fixing this? She pointed at Avo. You were never meant to have that Frame. Your fuck of a father should have neverC A sharp intake of breath followed as she clenched a fist. The moisture in the air coiled about her, the light scintillating from her form. CBut that is done. That life is lost. Lost. Lost. I cant get it back. I cant. But you have given my mind back to me. My craftCmy love above loves. For all that cannot be made right, my dreams are more alive than ever, and my chains and oaths are gone. Her fist opened, and she extended a hand as if trying to grasp Avos form with her fingers. I cannot say if meeting you was my greatest misfortune or blessing beyond my lifes worth. That Frame was never meant to be. It was never meant to be for you. I was never supposed to lose Dawton, my friends, my life. Exiled. Abandoned. She paused. But now all I have is lost. I have lost all I could have. And so, nothing can stop me from healing this city. She turned from the Heavens and regarded Avo fully now. I wish you never were, Avo. I wish you werent real, and that I was back home. But I''m here. Now. I am glad I met you. I am glad you are who you are. And I am glad for the things we will soon do together. She smiled again, the gleam in her eyes faded. Damn you for existing. And thank you for quenching the fire. And thank you for not just burning me into you and tossing me away. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. All eyes stared at the former Agnos confronting the ghoul. Avo grunted. Wanted to. Fought the urge. Burned away the desire after. Cant regret it now. Literally. The Agnos closed her eyes and laughed. You terrible monster. Alright. Let us focus on the matter at hand: our Heavens. Perfect for crushing the Soulless and mundane. Entirely too impotent if we are to raid the Tiers. I will not see us falling short when the time comes for my vengeance. For when we repay fire with fire. Isolating a few more golems from the group, she gestured to the few with Domains of Space. First, I suggest we reserve a few Heavens as specialized spatial Rendbombs. This is an immediate solution I have for in case we encounter a pocketCor someone with a build like Shotin Kazahara. Paradox em, Draus said, nodding along. Or at least make them soak a constant rupture. Deny them the ability to hold ground. Pretty good, Agnos. Whend you start thinking like a soldier? The Agnos rolled her eyes. Please. Your tactics are but drapes hung over my great works. [Shes right about that,] Abrel interjected within Avos mind. [But shes going to need more than a theorists understanding of applied thaumaturgy. You need practical experience. And you really dont have that many options.] She reached out for the Paladins but left the Fallwalkers undisturbed. [Me, Kassamon, and Kare are the only ones with sufficiently advanced Heavens. Two of us have active combat experience. Kitzuhada probably has a sequence or two worth using.] [I thank you for the lovely compliment, Instrument Greatling,] Kare replied, speaking through gritted teeth. [It wasnt.] [I know.] [Then dont use sarcasm, you dumb bitch. Did you really think I was going to fucking biC] Avo reshaped his consciousness and infused his base mind with parts from all three egos. His way of thinking transformed as his stomach coiled, horrified at the recent things he had done, disgusted with the shape of his bodyCdysmorphia coming hard. It took a few more adjustments before he angled his cognitive architecture away from potential psychosis. Have recommendations for us, Avo said, using Abrels experience at Axtraxis Academy as the foundation for his concepts. Drawn from other egos. Abrel Greatling. Paladins Kassamon and Kitzuhada. Active combat experience. Oh, yes, Kae said, chirping with fascination. I keep forgetting you can do that. Her expression flattened. Especially since my Conflagration just ate my memories instead of giving me post-cognitive abilities akin to your Frame. Avo grinned. Have you tried being special? I hate you again. He took in her pout with a few satisfied clicks of his fangs and regarded his cadre. Memories of team composition and thousands of combat-drill hours filled his being. With once passive memories brought to the forefront, it grew plain to him how inefficient they all were. How sloppy their approach. Were scattered. Each fights like a Fallwalker instead of a cadre. We assist each other. But we dont support. And we are not designed to fit our behaviors. Habits. None of us other than Dice. The waif blinked at him but otherwise said nothing. Yes. Cadre classification. Kae hummed. Breaker. Porter. Seer. Maker. With my own Aegis of Tides as the Highflame special designation Fortress. [Its a stupid fucking specification,] Abrel said. [It just sounds better than training wheels until we figure out what youre good at or here, take the ass-kicking for the rest of us because youre not worth shit in a fight yet.] Draus is Porter. Has Jhreds Heaven. Twice-Walker. But hes a coward. A craven. Shes a hunter. A killer. Design doesnt entirely fit the user. Yes, Kae agreed. The old design was also quite shit. Thanks, consangs, Draus muttered. Glad I got it. Its better than mine. Or Essus. Chambers gestured to the man sitting awkwardly next to Tavers. I mean, he turns into a big door or something. That sucks. Sorry, Es. But if the former refugee was offended, he didnt show it. What about him, Dice said, speaking suddenly. All eyes turned to the girl as she held the nu-kitten on her lap, letting it chew on the chrome edge of a gauss rifles magazine. Can he be blessed too? I think he should be like me. Hes fast. Strong. A good hunter. Will be a powerful master too. Chambers snorted. Cat-clad. A beat passed and he turned to look at Avo. Okay. Not funny anymore, cool cool. Can you do it? Avo blinked and looked to Sunrise for an instant, the swarm of sophont bees seizing his full attention. +Calvino Voidwatch has uplifts+ The EGI sang a chortle of amusement. {Absolutely not. You live what might literally be considered hell to some people. I would hardly think it ethical to spawn a life in this place.} That made Avo chuff with annoyance. +But you let the people grow children. Provide vats.+ {Realpolitick can be vile,+ Calvino sighed. +The Terrestials feed off death, and we need them to close more of the Sunderwilds. The ugliness of this arrangement is part of the reason for our dissemination of technologies. Reduced as we are, you are still far, far, far behind in way of things, grasshopper. But that being said, no. Let the cat stay ignorant. Blissful.} But as the EGI pleaded, another thought filled Avos mind. Other considerations of his own. {Avo} Calvino sighed. Will see what I can do, Avo finally said. That earned a toothy grin from the waif, and reinforced with Kassamons traits, it suddenly dawned on him how young she was. How soft. He quickly resequenced himself away, deleting the guilt before it could overcome him. Humanity was an insidious thing. {Careful not to let that morality bite you,} Calvino tittered. Okay, Chambers said, grinning. That cats a Breaker. I can feel it. Destruction. Mayhem. Piss. He pointed down at his boot. Hey, Kae, is there are Heaven of Piss. You will never have it. There is! Anyway, Avo re-railed the conversation before things could develop into a place more scatological, Woundshaper served me well. Zephyr too. Datacaster essential for survival. Think the first is a good tower. Physically affecting. Want it to be more. Create things. Fabricate matter and flesh both. Expand control. And spread your influence like a fire? Kae asked with a smirk. Yes. I think it can be done. But your Zephyr though She seemed more uncertain. That will require adjustments. Much like the Twice-Walker. We must borrow deeper into the mythologies. Make them harder to paradox and tighten the parameters of their canons. Her eyes narrowed. Or overhaul them altogether. Shootin out from reflections and turnin people to glasss been useful, Draus added. But I need somethin with a bit more kick. Fuck the ice bear. Give me somethin that can slag a block. Thatll pair well with the Twice-Walkers my say. [Cant say I disagree,] Abrel stated. [Which is probably why you got the Bullet-Breeds from that patrol, didnt you? I was wondering why you went for one so out of the way.] Avo refused to acknowledge her implications, but Kae caught on without any prompting. I think we can make something of the Domain of Guns, she said. Or fire. Or war. Or even Strength, really. [Keep your Heavens a bit mixed too,] Kassamon said. [The Twice-Walker and Galeslither are pretty good at getting away but they lack any offensive capabilities. Specialize but dont neuter is what I learned. Give yourself a few options at least.] That was an easy suggestion to agree with. He told Kae as well. Chambers? Avo asked. Have a selection to choose from this time. No need to compete with Draus. The man smacked his lips together. I want some lightning. Lightning and fire. Something elemental. And wont let people get away from me. I want to be everywhere and in their face all the time. And then, I want an easy pocket. So I can you know Contained Rash-pockets, Kae muttered to herself, seeming a bit disgusted. Wonderful. What has my life become. Wait, Chambers added, looking to Avo once more. You got one of them Paladins in your brain-fire now, right? I think I saw the girl between the flickers. Karde. Kare? Yeah. What I just said. Why dont you you know. Spread the memories. Share the experience. With all of us. Make it easier. A lull followed as Chambers realized the nature of his suggestion, of Kae being subjected to the fires anew. Oh, shit. Sorry, Kae. I, the fires uh I mean, its really not thatC Fuck it, Draus said, interrupting his stammering. A boulder inside Avo plummeted. He turned to regard the Regular. She was standing now. Looking directly at him, her features inscrutable as she ran her tongue along her inner cheek. She shot a look over to Dice, and then another at Chambers. Finally, she rested her stare back on Avo. Lets see it. See it? Avo asked. Lets see whats your fires like, Draus continued. Aint youve been waitin for this. For me to ask? Avo breathed. Would have been fine if you never did. She scoffed. You would have spent the rest of your life pussyfooting around. Sides. Im tired of you hoarding all the spoils in your mind. I wanna know what my kills feel like. How itll be to sink among them. Across the chamber, Avo heard Tavers mutter. Fucking Regulars. Godsdamned maniacs. All of them. What changed? Avo asked. Shotin, Draus admitted. Got a new thrill to slake. Need a bigger gun. Better skills. And a lack of time. But lucky me I know a certain memory dealer that can rebuild minds. Draus, Kae said, bravado faded, suddenly sounding very unsure. S fine, Kae, Draus replied. Aint never been fraid of fire. Not gonna start now. Wont be able to take this back, Avo said. An instance of youC Will finally be able to keep you in line from the inside, Draus said, sneering. And maybe youll fight worth a godsdamn bare-clawed now. Who knows. Itll be a small miracle, next to a big one. So. The hells are you waiting for, cosang? Light me. 19-3 Weapons of Ontology (II) Regulars are an easy problem to solve so long as you have a nuke or a couple of nasty miracles on hand. But if you gotta handle them through conventional means, well I got two suggestions for you there: dont; get more people. Honest fact of the thing is that the Regs aint like you or me. They dont think like us. They dont feel like us. They don''t hurt or even break like us. Theyre beyond discipline. Beyond morale. Concepts and feelings become yes-no binaries to them when they get their orders, and the amount of time they spend deliberating or responding is closer to zero than any other number. Sure. Ive killed plenty. Gotten the drop on some. Got into knock-down-drag-out-brawls with others. Experience and creativity kept me alive. And I still ended up crawling away more dead than alive most times. Hells, sometimes not even that. Get a phylactery if you can, consangs. Youll need it. When you get the chance, you should run a Reg vicarity first then change over to your standard gutter squire. Feel the difference. See the way they act. The former doesnt really make material errors. Theyre efficient. No hesitation. No missteps or incompetence. They dont suffer from sheathe dysmorphia or non-inflicted psychosis, so if you want to drop them, hardware damage is the way to goCand you will need to kill every last one to consider the run done because they dont break, and they sure as shit dont run. If a Reg youre shooting at is missing and you cant find them? Theyre hunting you, and you need to move. And trying to grind them down using a Necro is a dicey affair considering their wards and how liberal they are at disrupting zones they cant control. Remember, these half-strands cut their teeth on Glaives and Incubi. This is esteemed company youre running in, so you better perform. Okay. If youre still with me so far, you might be saying Tavers, you old bitch, you just spent the last minute tonguing Highflames asshole! When am I going to get some practical advice on snuffing them. Alright. Heres a crash course. You fight based on your objectives. Jobs done? Retreat. Get out. The attrition isnt worth it. Not done? Well, its time for some on-site condition shaping. You want to push this away from urban combat or close quarters if you can, and grind them down on a tactical level. Control the environment. Employ explosives. Lots of them. Constant. Flood the zone with drones if you have them so someone else can get shot. And never fire first. Fire only when youre certain of a kill, because when you kill a Reg, the others will know, and theyll be lining shots back to you through their Phys-Sims without a single shit given to their dead comrade. Again. Theyre not like you and me. Theyre more like weapons than people. Instruments, if youll let me be a smartass. Not really that different from the ghouls if you want to look at things that way. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens. 19-3 Weapons of Ontology (II) Draus didnt burn like all the others. Where most other egos were concrete entities wrapped by wards and layered with surface thoughts, the Regular was aberrant in its fluid ability to self-direct while accepting external pressures. All minds are molded by feedback. Indeed, it isin the clash between nature against the state of ones nurture where the sculpture of personality is carved into shape. During years of growth and formation arises a fusion between experience and genetic design. Not quite so for Draus. If the other templates were perfect spheres, then she was a fracture. A crevice. Something that interfaced with the broader existence by letting it pass through her instead of internalizing the world outside within the depths of her mindscape. Where even formidable minds like Abrel had limits to what torments they could endure before cracking, Draus was practically an elemental embodiment of will and action Her template moved among the others templates almost as if in a vacuum. Her memories were slippery even to Avos fire, and softer emotions like empathy or sorrow could only brush her person; oil passing upon water. {I dont think Ive ever seen a psychometric reconstruction of a mind like hers} Calvino said, sounding almost disturbed. Avo, for his part, was consumed by fascination as he examined and slotted Draus just beside his base mind. So close, he wondered how her consciousness hadnt collapsed on itself with all the parts it was missing. Little wonder even the Incubi strained to null a Regular. What was there to strike? With so many gulfs across her personhood, certain traumas might slip through her openings without striking anything foundational. The heartbreak of leaving a lover, the death of a parent, the genuine joy of having a comrade Things known but not truly felt. Even now, the chief sensations Draus felt when interacting with the cadre were excitement, determination, and savage delightCthe kind closer to a ghoul ripping into flesh than a person chasing their dreams. Ultimately, when judging Draus template in her totality and comparing its comprising sequences with the others, an epiphany sparked within Avo as he understood what a Regular truly was. More than being hyper-functional psychopaths, they thrived on their lack of humanity without being crippled by it. In some incomprehensible fashion, they operated without even thinking, body and instinct already knowing what to do without any deeper cognitive processing. In the simplest sense, she was evolving away from needing a consciousness without losing her governing intellect, growing to become a set pattern of self-adapting responses nested in whatever sheathe they were assigned for the operation. {Data cataloged,} Calvino said as Avo and Draus stared each other down, their egos bridged by a stream of rushing fire. {Her mind seems to be adapting to be able to take in selective feedback from her environment without true internalization. Learning with near-perfect data filtering. And unlearning or unadapting from undesired behaviors in an instant. Its like her perfection of self barely existsCand is impersonal at that. Like an object to be regarded. And what she goes cataonic instead of losing her mind. There are no real borders to damage. Only unvalued mind space to lose.} Template-Draus spoke for the first time within Avo, and her words were tinged with wry amusement, greeting the others around her as if they were a passing notice, annoyed above all else that she couldnt exercise violence upon them. [You didnt tell me how loud this godsdamned place was gonna be. Or how brittle you all are.] Her eyes bore deeper into his. [Cept for you, I guess. Youre like water now. Unbreakable. Easy to drown in.] She was speaking of his hunger. How it used to guide him. Compelled him. Something beneath thought. That, more than anything else, gave them symmetry. The fact they could understand and conceptualize the world regardless only pulled them closer. My kind is all urge, Avo said. You are living action. More intellect than awareness. Seems we share an envy. [Seems so,] Draus said, casually accepting the changing state of things. Overlapping her template with his cognitive core, his awareness narrowed into a tunnel. Peripheral considerations or ruminations ceased to be. The world became of three tracks. PastCfor review. PresentCfor acting. FutureCfor anticipating. He knew what he had to do right now, and muted annoyance prickled inward. Wasting time was a bad habit. He stopped doing it. Infusing Draus with all the memories and thought processes he had from Abrel, the Paladins, and the Fallwalkers, he checked her Rend, anchored her enhanced template back within her sheathe, and then liquefied her brain. He caught her corpse via her implants before it could collapse using his newly imbued magnetism, his segmented Echoheads parting into a constellation of hovering discs to direct his bioelectric field. Placing her back into her chair, he turned away from her just as reality began to scab around her, drawing a curious response from Dice. [Well, thats was somethin new,] template-Draus said. [Never got to feel myself die from inside another body before. Whatever myself means anymore.] The Regular''s contemplation lasted the barest second before she moved on. [Cant say I knew what to expect, becoming a simulation. Expected more burning.]This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. [Oh, trust me, it gets plenty painful in here sometimes,] template-Chambers said, cutting into the dialogue. [Like when we got Rashed.] [He means when his true self ended up Rashing us a bit over two days ago,] Abrel elaborated. Draus noted the other two templates with faint indifference. [Half-strand. Greatling.] [Captain Draus,] Abrel said, voice tense and thoughts taut. There were things she wanted to say, tensions she wished to express. But at the forefront of her mind, there was but one inquiry. [I understand that you served under my mother.] Draus sneered. [Yeah. Served aint exactly the right word by the end. But that aint want you wanted to ask, is it? Wanna know what she was like? Or if I regretted deserting her!] A beat passed. Abrel swallowed, despite lacking organs for such an action. [Did she actually] [Yeah. A bit worse than the actual reports, even. We got orders to pull back and regroup. She was just mad that a couple of uppity Silvers could push her out of our districts. So she decided to throw a little tantrum and get herself and what was left of my war host snuffed.] [And you just left her,] Abrel said. [There were two sets of orders for me to follow. I picked which one I wanted to listen to.] [Youre not supposed to do that! Youre a Reg. Youre supposed to beC] [Obedient? Like a nu-dog? Or a machine? Nah. That aint what were for. We aint just code and responses. Set patterns. Besides, your kinds supposed to be worthy seein as youre the ones with the Souls and all. But then she went on to lose us that war. And here you are, chained to a ghouls mind. And inside me is your brothers Frame. Dont seem so blessed or worthy to me no more.] With each word Draus spoke, Abrel flinched as if whipped. [ICyouCfucker] Disappointment became the Regular. [Hm. Well. You aint like her. Youre just a juv still. I can feel you about to cry. Like a child.] She sighed, knowing that she wasnt going to get any kind of thrill from this confrontation. [This is pathetic. Avo. Did you change her template?] +Not fundamentally,+ he said. [Well thats just sad.] Addressing Abrel again, Draus took the Godclad in and shrugged. [Aint got too much to say to you. Your kind lost the war. Your ma was a cunt. Im glad the Silvers got her. Im glad they hurt her good and slow. But you aint her. Too much feeling. Too much anger. She was all indignation and arrogance, had none of your doubt.] She snorted a taunting laugh. [But hell, I can practically feel how big that boulder on your shoulder is, so here, let me set you free: she was a better Clad than you. She lost a war. You just lost a couple of consangs. Aint no competiton at all.] [You fucking bitchCwere not done!] Abrel seethed. [Im not finished talking to you!] [Dont matter. I dont care none about you right nowCgot pressing shit to handle. I see now why the ghouls always distracted. Hes got a godsdamned drama stream on in his mind every second hes alive. Avo. Get back to the grafting. And have Kae build me something that can shoot this time. You got my memories now. You know what I want better than I do.] Flashes of a certain Paladins Bladegunner Heaven entered Avos awareness and he grinned. Just what the Bullet-Breeders were for. But before he resumed his conversation with Kae, he looked to Essus, to one of the few others besides Kae he hadnt burned. Standing next to TaversCwho was taking in the scene with an unreadable, contemplative expressionChis eyes widened as he realized what the ghoul was suggesting. His body froze in the way a prey species might when faced by a predator. For a few choked seconds, the brown of his eyes swiveled as he looked across the other faces and people present in the chamber. For a momentCjust a heartbeatCAvo thought Essus would surrender. Would give himself to the fire. But then the man shook his head, and Avos opinion of him rose sevenfold. No, Essus breathed. No. I can take the damage away, Avo said, more out of obligation and compulsion by Draus aspects than anything else. Give you peace. Give you joy. I The man stopped before he could say he didnt want those things. He did. All baseliners did. They were things of pleasure and chemistry and feedback. But they were also more. From the cracks lining their animal instincts sprouted ideals. Beliefs. Principles. Faiths. I want to keep my pain, Essus said, finally. Or the self that I can continue to shape. With my decisions. And consequences. Do not spare me the lash. Do not. Avo nodded with open admiration. Again, he found himself contrasted with anotherCtwo of a dichotomy. One constantly becoming. One determined to remain the same. A portrait of existence beyond self, if there ever was one. Draus snorted next to him. [Fuck me, this is how you think? Godsdamned ghoul that burned me just had to be a bullshit philosopher. Aint got no idea how the rest of you take it.] She considered the other templates again. [Well. Maybe youre all part of the problem] Avo directed a phantasmal glare at the Regular. +Regret burning you already.+ [Too late, pussy. Im gonna be calling you a sow from inside your head every time I catch one of these tangents. He said no. Move on or burn him.] Grumbling, Avo turned back to Kae to find the Agnos biting her lip, arms folded tight to her chest. It didnt take much to understand what inspired such an anxious response in her. I not going to ask you, Avo said. I know, Kae replied, her voice small, a loneliness emanating from her person. Thought and emotion were ill companions at times, for though she could see the truth behind his actions, a baser fear would always linger, worried the flame would be returning to encompass her, surround her, consume her. Intellectually, she knew only boons and empowerment came from Avos flame, but her scars cast a long shadow, and she would rattle with cascading traumas before Avo had to rebuild her, lest she shatter outright. Should return to the task at hand, Avo said, gently pushing her. Something Draus approved of. She liked Kae. Cared for her as much as she could anyone. There was something there even she couldnt put into words, a kind of reflexive protectiveness that required no prompting. Yes, Kae agreed, her pitch lifting as she sought comfort in her craft anew. Where were we? Ah! Yes. The Heavens. She looked to Avo, paused, and beamed. You know another absolutely fantastic thing about your Stillborn? The Frame born of my labors? What? All it takes to dismantle a poor build is just a death. We have time to ourselves now. I think it is time to put our suggestions and desires into practice. Experience and adjust how our canons might work in practical circumstances. [Hells] Draus laughed, [this is a lot better than just sitting around and thinkin bout shit.] Need testing grounds. Places where well be hard to notice. Where Heavens can hide. Tavers cleared her throat. Well. I think I might be able to help with that. Got recommendations? Avo asked, turning to glance at her. Got a favor I could call in, Tavers clarified. Might take a day or two depending on how busy he is. Can we trust this favor? The squire threw back her head and laughed. Ha! No. Thats why I have blackmail. And a bomb planted inside their nu-dog. Hearing these words caused Dice to hug her kitten tight and hide it away from Tavers. Insurance. Good. Avo grunted. Suppose we should sync our suicides after Draus gets back. Start with initial prototypes? Yes, Kae chirped, shuffling with excitement. Ah, shit, Chambers giggled, time to kill myself and get me some new Heavens. You guys have no idea how weird hearing this conversation is, Tavers deadpanned. *** Multiple Heavens Enhanced Grafting Completed Generating Summation of [PROTOTYPE] Builds User - {Avo} [Woundshaper] updated to [Woundmother, Architectress of Sanguinity] - 6,122 THAUM/c Total (Heaven/Hell) [Zephyr of the Nine-Paths] updated to [Fardrifter, Seeker of Horizons] - 3,100 THAUM/c (Heaven/Hell) [Datacaster] updated to [Techplaguer, Mechanical Contagion] - 150 THAUM/c (Heaven/Hell) User - {Jelene Draus} [Twice-Walker] updated to [Simulacra Resplendent, Legion of Self] - 6,211 THAUM/c Total (Heaven/Hell) [Rimelost dismantled]-> Domain of Ice x1; Domain of Navigation x1; Domain of Endurance x1 [Bullet-Breeder] Grafted [Bullet-Breeder] updated to [The Arsenalist of Unceasing Ordinance] - 2,899 THAUM/c Total (Heaven/Hell) User - {Aedon Chambers} [Lushburner] updated to [Bio-Igniter, Flesh-for-Fuel, Fire-for-Flesh. Fetish-for-All] - 1,100 THAUM/c Total (Heaven/Hell) [Starvations Envy] Ungrafted (Stored in Stillborn) [Snake-King] Grafted [Snake-King] updated to [Fucktopia, A.K.A Rash Central] - 522 THAUM/c Total (Heaven/Hell) User - {Kae Kusanade} [Aegis of Tides] updated to [Maelstromer, Warden of Wind and Wave] - 1,080 THAUM/c Total (Heaven/Hell) User - {Dice} [Runebreaker] updated to [Runemade, Shadow-Devouring-Bright] - 1,933 THAUM/c Total (Heaven/Hell) 19-4 Show Biz (I) +Kill me. I am serious. Kill me. Ten different canons we need to patch into the wall. Ten. Just today. That makes six hundred this month. And we still have two more months before maintenance. Madness. I said it once, I will say it again: the Paladins need to rebuild themselves. They need to reconstitute the Fallraiders Department they had before the Second War. Why? Because the problem isnt with us! We fix the thresholdCMaintain them! But where we spend hours upon hours researching mythology, science, history, culture, and the newly confiscated Heavens, all the smugglers have to do is find some random little-known Fallwalker to imprint a golem with. Even with all the raids and constant warfare, there must still be thousands of Fallwalkers in the wilds. More! How are we supposed to outcompete that? And even if we can, I cannot just block away everything. This is delicate work. I cannot predict what specific rules a canon might have or which Domain it might affect. Why not just block that aspect of reality entirely Seagre? Because then youll have things like the Borbonda Incident, which if I am allowed to remind you, killed fifty-eight thousand people before we discovered the error. I have memories of the incident. You have no idea what it looks like when a ship is allowed to pass our borders, but all the inhabitants inside are not! To save us both time, pour some jam into a can and then grind it. We cant increase the number of maintenance times either. We are not adjusting a single HeavenCwe are adjusting over one hundred thousand Heavens! One hundred thousand Heavens designed to cover an area of 14,680,333.1 km2. One hundred thousand Heavens that cost millions of deaths to maintain and adapt each year. Staggered maintenance! Part of the reason why we dismantled the All-Wall after its near-rupturing back in 201. One hundred thousand Heavens all sustained by the MawCwhich now cannot be silenced even for a day unless we want entire districts to be swallowed by overloads. There are too many leaks for us to plug. We will never out-react, outbuild, or outmaneuver the scoundrels that use the darkness as a veil. If they are to be stopped, then their homes must burn and they must be choked at the source. And that means for me to succeed at my job, the Paladins must do theirs. Oh, [REDACTED ENTITY DETECTED], just saying that makes me depressed. I need some more joy.+ -Agnos Seagre Vyers, [Re: Annual Border Update] 19-4 Show Biz (I) Quails favor came back far sooner than expected, and by midnight that day, they found themselves at Lights End, in the district of Fountaintale. Tucked just below the sheer climb where the heart of New Vultun rose to become the Tiers, Fountaintale and the adjacent districts in the Grave Valley Sovereignty stood out as handsome places to live even when contrasted against the rest of Lights End. Comprised of ten districts separated by a divide in Layer Three, Grave Valley got its name through its urban layout and one of its oldest industries. With its high-rises, bridges, and skylanes cupping the Sovereignty as a near-complete circle, its radius was shadowed by serried towers of polished metal and neon-tinged glass while in its shadow did lesser megablocks part the city streets into grids. Vast concentric ad spaces broadcast new luxury coffins for those who could afford them. The classical ash grey woodCreferred to as maganhildCwas on discount and loci containing replicated sequences of the deceased came with every third purchase. The expansive hyper tube networks paired with well-dressed FATED slumming their way down the streets while accompanied by armed drones and heavily modified nu-dogs hinted enough at the Sovereigntys relative prosperity. It still lacked any true public-use Heavens common to the Tiers but for a death-taxable place in the Warrens? This was as close to good living as most would ever get. Fountainvale in particular had the look of a place meant more for leisure than industry. The colors that ruled its streets were gold and green. Flora of all shapes, shades, and sizes dominated the wide and pearlescent boulevards made solely for walking. Fields of lush grass parted rows of freshly cleaned marble, and even the blocks were of a mixed nature, their structures a fusion of towering trees embedded with golden columns and glass windows. As the midnight rain fell hard, the air was sharp with the taste of fresh petrichor, the ground aglow with soft tones of radiant yellow. Stepping out from the shadows beneath an arcing bridge, Avo and his cadre moved with Incogs active and holocoats on. The DeepNav placed them near the upper corner of Fountaintale, in a neighborhood called The Lots. Their final destination was the third flat structure among a set of twelve that spanned a twenty-kilometer stretch. The cityscape leading up to it was closer to a nature reserve than a concrete jungle, and the housing here spilled out in the fashion of homesteads instead of megablocks or even prestige apartment complexes. Manors coated with fresh paint and fenced by quaint posts sat in the darkness between the foliage, lights outCthe flow of the accretions inside slowed by with slumber. A few minutes past midnight, the cadre stood among the scarce few figures walking the streets, moving unknown to the cloaked surveillance grid caging the top of the Sovereignty. Chambers and Dice shared similar wide-eyed looks, but both were enraptured by different things. The former was trying to calculate just how much one of these range manors might cost, while the waif was fascinated by the greenry in general. Big grass, she whispered, pointing to a tree. Nah, Chambers said, blinking as he squinted at another houseCthis one placed next to an artificial riverside. Tree. I think this places got some No-Dragon touch to it. This is a hell of a lot of nature. Rated fifth best vacation spot in the Warrens, Tavers said. There are more than a couple of spots worth living. Even down in the Spine. Slum havens the Guilders call them. A place where the lesser FATED can go and have a cheap and relaxing time should any of their business take them downward and away from the glory of the Arks and Elysiums. Draus, for her part, glared out into the dark, her augmented eyes a pulsing red, scanning for possible threats. Godsdamned waste is what it is. Wide open spaces. No cover cept soft wood. Shallow waters. Boxed in by higher buildings. Shit, this placell be fucked if the Saintists ever get pushed to defend it. Losin the outer perimeter means losin the high ground means losing more and more urban defense. Whoever build this place might wanna consider snuffin themselves, because this is the very image of in-facing killbox. Tavers snorted at that. Trust me, Givoril Paiboks too much of a blowhard to do that. Hell tell you hes the best architect on Idheim and then talk your ear off about the next imp-sink he wants you to help finance. The Regular turned to face the squire. Sounds like you know everyone. Everyone worth knowing, Tavers said. You survive in my profession long enough, and youll soon find out that everybodys got a problem for you to fix. As long as youre fine with wiping ass, theres good imps doing nanny-work once you make it as a squire. Leading them out from the neatly curated meadows, The Lots greeted Avo with a deluge of phantasmal advertisements. Bands of newly released blockbuster vicarities revolved in the air over the complex, their subject material ranging from action, to historical dramas, to censored erotics. Kae chirped as she caught sight of something among the lineup. Oh! A new season of Time-Cipher. Pulling memories from his templates, Avo realized she was talking about a crime serial involving a Fallwalker with a mysterious past and an even stranger Heaven. Apparently, as long as he could find a murder weapon, he could jump back in time to the moment the victim was about to be killed and stop the murder from ever happening. {I suppose this is proof that humanity will recreate Quantum Leap in some form or another on a long enough timespan,} Calvino quipped. Avo ignored him. So, Draus said. Whats this Stage-3 youre leading us to supposed to be? Some kind of vicarity production studio? The vicarity production studio, Tavers replied. Have you heard of the name ThrillMax? Yeah. Entertainment. Under Highflame. Draus paused. Some of them asked to film a docu-series on the Regs once. Had a few of their Necros piggyback some of our killers on a raid. Soft little shits had a mental breakdown. Series got canceled. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. A wheeze escaped from Tavers. Sounds like them. Ah. But thats the way of these theater types. They live by selling people the best fantasies. Reality is just the ugly bastard next door they have to put up with. Whoa, Chambers breathed, Stage-9s projecting a bunch of Stormjumper game assets in the sky. Oh, yeah, they provide most of the mem-artifact updates for the Kosgan Imperial faction in the game. Also record a few pain-death sessions there so the players can get the full spectrum experience. There is death even here? Essus asked, his faint voice coming from the back of the group, almost drowned out by the pattering of rain. Tavers angeled her head back. Dont worry, consang. Theyre criminals. Human trash. No ones gonna miss them. {Theres a lie,} Calvino said, with a humorless hum. The sides of Stage-3 were lined with animated posters. Triumph at Ao. The Fury and the Will. Oath of the Seraph. Jaus: The Dream Lives. Each was a major war drama or action epic laced with so much Saintist propaganda that it would take a Necro specializing in counter-memetics to extract all the mem-cons. When they finally arrived at the front entrance, Tavers briefly dropped her Incog and cast a wisping ghost through the glass before fading from notice again. A beat later, the scanner grid went black as the door hissed open. Come on, she said. Set-Veylis is ours for the next week. The walls will be lined with ghosts acting as anti-perceptors. Once we activate the demiplane, everything will be perfect. Youre sure this will work? Avo asked. The squire waved him off. Listen, ThrillMax has recorded and sequenced everything from war movies to Clad on Clad brawls in this space. Now, it might not be a plane designed specifically for Clad fights like those in the Supremacy Games, so be careful when youre using something that messes with spaces. Dont hit the borders or the Rendsinks connected to this place might go to shit, and then well allC Avo noted a singular thought signature deep within the structure. Quail, he said, cutting the squire off as he reached out with his Sanguinity, theres someone hereC The presence of his miracles was more pronounced than ever before. All around him, it was like reality was fracturing into arteries of blood, the veins forking like bolts of shimmering lightning. The mist that used to be was gone. In its place was a spreading storm that rattled blood, matter, flesh, and light. Cracks traveled across the tapestry of existence as Avo reached out to seize his prey, his awareness exploding out to encompass the world. Within a heartbeat, he glimpsed the strangers form and absorbed the layout of the entire neighborhood into his newly enhanced Heaven of Blood. In the same instant, Tavers hand was placed against his chest while Draus aimed a glass-made pistol at the squires head, the glass in the room breaking unnaturally. The squire frowned but gave no hint of fear. Dont. Thats Cala. Dont snuff her. Shes ninety percent of the reason we can even use this place. Shes probably just wrapping up another insomnia stream for her thoughtcast. Tavers sighed. Didnt expect her to still be here. Draus gun remained trained on the squire, and the Regulars template inside Avos Conflagration shivered with anticipation, on the verge of violence. [Dont worry none, rotlick. Aint gonna let the mean ol squire hurt you.] He grunted to acknowledge Draus responsiveness. Neglected to mention this Cala character. Cala. From his consumed memories came the likely answer. Cala Marlowe. Host of the increasingly popular FATELESS Thoughtcast. A strange figure in New Vultuns media sceneCa Guilder who seemed to despise her own kind, but operated under a Highflame studio contract. Cala Marlowe? Kae asked. That Cala Marlowe? Yes, Avo said, cutting Tavers off before she could answer. Saw her. Shes sequencing tonights tracks. Shes not lying. The Agnos blinked. Oh. I liked some of her music recommendations. I didnt know she was under ThrillMax. Wasnt always, Avo said, siphoning more knowledge. Ancestry is a mix between Ashthrone, Sanctus, and Ori-Thaum. Ugly family history. Divorces. Public conflict. Emancipated herself at fifteen. Fled from the Tiers. Tavers regarded him then with an uneasy expression as if beholding something rotten. Is that all from your fire? The minds I consumed. She shook her head. Creepy as shit. Anyway. We should head to our set and leave her alone. The last thing she needs to get embroiled with whatever it is were doing. Girls life has been rough enough as is. Chambers scoffed at that. Isnt she FATED? How hard can her life be? Avo regarded Chambers for a moment. How hard can ones father make it? With this sentence, the ex-enforcer swallowed as his eyes grew distant. He understood, and with it, his bitterness dissolved into dread. Yeah, okay, point taken. Lifes rough, consangs. Lets go. The interior of Stage 3 was a series of filming sets connected to a long spine. Each room was locked behind armored vaults, each demanding specific memories and a physical key to unlock: both things possessed by Tavers. Faintly, Avo felt a presence brushing against his Domain of Space; there was an active Heaven in the vicinity. Set-VeylisCnamed after the High Seraph herselfCwas a production stage dedicated to high octane action and disaster immersion. Acquiescing to Tavers commands, the meter-thick doors swung inwards and revealed a dimly lit room showing a ruined cityscape on a wall-sized screen. Welcome to the production room, Tavers said, the lights inside coming on with a wave of her hand. Leading them into the room, Avo found himself studying the consoles embedded just behind the screens. It almost resembled a combat information center on a Highflame warship. Haptic interfaces flickered to life as he approached, with some dedicated to adjusting audio, others for visuals, and a few he had no comprehension of. He realized that most of the templates within him were warriors of some capacity. Few were artisans. Almost none were true entertainers. There was something to be said about how unbalanced his mindscapes population was. The sides of the room curved wide with the screen, and he sensed the hundreds of jack stations in the leftward auditorium twenty meters away with his bio-magnetism. And the place just kept going. It was clear that some spatial miracle was affecting the set by this point. The interior space was far larger than even the studio outside. As Tavers cast another command for the room to seal itself, a red light flickered over the vault as the words IN SESSION glared down at the cadre. Alright. Heres the directors room. Production happens here, but thats not whats important right now. What you need is around the back and up the stairs. Once you surface, youll find yourselves with fifty square kilometers to work with and a ruined city as a backdrop. The walls around us are censored so no one will be peeking in, and this is a closed set, so you dont need to worry about cameras. All and all, kill the fuck out of each other as much as you want. Just dont trip the borders with a Heaven of Space or something. Ive always wanted to see the Heavens we made to Kaes voice trailed off. There is a techno-thaumic core here, isnt there? Tavers nodded. Yeah. Under the Layer. And connected to a cluster of Rendsinks. She eyed Avo. "Dont even think about eating it. Too late, he said. The squire glared. Not going to. Too loud. Yeah, Tavers said. And Ill be the one who catches hell. Anyway, have at you. Best option I had on hand. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is get creative. Sometimes, Avo agreed. Turning his attention to the ruined sprawl presented within the, he activated his Sanguinity again and felt his way around the back of the production room, up the stairs, and out from a bunkers door on a small hill overlooking the entire scene. The place looked as if an imitation of the now destroyed district of Kososo judging from the concentric layers and defensive walls separating the area into quadrants. [Fucking Kososo,] Corner muttered, suppressing a shudder as memories of fire and chaos passed through his mind. Fuckin Kososo, Draus laughed, sounding more than amused. Yeah. I know this place. This is gonna be fun. She eyed Avo from the side as a dangerous expression crawled over her face. Say, we gonna all be bleedin each other with our Heavens in a bit, yeah? Thats the intention, Avo said. Practice Godclad on Godclad combat. {Something Threshold is unfortunately unable to simulate.} Calvino tittered. {Or fortunately.} Well, why dont we make some sport of this then, Draus said. We do this round-robin style. Duels. Then groups. You. Me. The half-strand. Kae. Dice. Then, me and Dice against the rest of you. You and Chambers against the rest of us. And then all of us on you. Avo clicked his fangs together with amusement. Its the last one youre looking forward to. Is it so wrong for a Reg to wanna bag herself a special ghoul? Can she? I have your mind inside me. Wont be fair. Draus sneered. Talks cheap. Show me by snuffin me, pussy. She was going to regret that. They all were. Avo let a bit of hunger leak back into his system, sharpening his senses and spiking his thrill. Fine. Lets make sport of this ten. Best of ten? Death or incapacitation. Wont even burn any of you. Sounds nova to me, Draus said. Im gonna scalp you, rotlick. Every time I kill you. So you can count the losses. Will gorge myself on your bodies, Avo shot back, never breaking his glare. Make your template learn how you taste. In the corner of Avos eye, Tavers looked between the two with a growing frown and was about to say something before Kae put a hand on her shoulder. They do this every other day. Youll get used to it. 19-5 Show Biz (II) Make no mistake: were in the war-making business; the heart-stealing business. Fuck this and that about entertainment, role models, or whatever the shit for the children, this is about getting people into the cause, then driving them against the Massist fucks. Do you wanna know what people want to believe more than anything else? They wanna believe they matter. Them alone. They wanna believe they''re the ones who are gonna be in control, that they will be heroes and Godclads and drive their arms all the way up realitys asshole and use it as a rag toC [Sounds of vomiting] Agh. Anyway, democracy and unity are cutesy and nice sounding and all, but you wanna know what? We dont imagine cities as heroes. We dont imagine armies as heroes. Sure, they can be heroic but we think rooted in ourselves. As ourselves. Projecting ourselves. Thats why were the ones in the pilots seat of all our fantasies. Its why were pretending to be the Stormsparrow in the final match of the Supremacy Games. Its why were Zein Thousandhand during the Miracle Minute. Its why were Samir Naeko burning the fucking faithers and gutting their children in front of them, and its why were the ones fighting, fucking, and winning at the end. We dont dream of our neighbors winning the lottery, right? Its us. Its always been us. Our lives. Our dreams. Our Ensouling. Our apotheosis. Its time to face facts: both reality and thaumaturgy have a Santist bias. We stomach the people we live with in so much as they improve our lives and keep things easy for us. Society is a big fucking nipple that we keep healthy so we can suckle another day, and get big and strong enough to live on our own. Because that was the dream, wasnt it? Utopia. Too godsdamned bad that none of our utopias can coexist with each other. But hey, at least well have the pictures in the end. -Vaedin Kasmet, Head Producer of ThrillMaxs Action-Epic Division after fifteen doses of nova and briefly dying of a heart attack 19-5 Show Biz (II) It began when Chambers saw the coat, spotting the horrid piece hanging around a mannequin''s shoulder on approach to the set proper. Passing through the cluster of jack stations made for technicians and camera jockeys, the hall curved as glass exhibits lined the walls, memorabilia of previous works completed using said stage. Most of them contained noble Highflame warriors clad in plates of gleaming gold, soldiers from war propaganda pieces accompanied by Sang bioforms while wielding Omnitech-produced weaponryCan image of material solidarity that also offered a hint of the power hierarchy between the trio. Titles such as +Romance at the Siege of Brasson+ or +The Last Stand at Wall Nine+ flickered over the glass, keeping with the themes of epic action. Such was showcased within every glass display except for the third one down. Here, Chambers spun to a sudden halt, facing the plastic model staring him down through the thin layer of glass. What is it? Avo asked. As he turned to check what the man was looking at, he too saw the mannequin and realized what captured Chambers attention so. Imbued with the half-strands memories, flashes of horrific sex acts exploded through his mind. The other templates roared with disgust, some desperately trying to empty their minds while others hurled slurs and insults at the cause of their trauma. No longer did Avo need to ask Chambers what he was looking at. He knew just as well. That didnt stop the elaboration from coming. I never thought Id ever get to see the coat with my own two eyes, Chambers whispered. The title hovering over this display was the aptly titled +UNSODOMIZER.+ Its Dannis, Avo. Its the coat he wore in the single most action-packed vicarity of his career. You know they used fourteen nukes to film the final scene? And they had to spend two hundred million imps enhancing his sheathe so the spikes wouldnt pierce through his pelvic floor and stop him from performing? Regrettably, Avo did know these things. It was one of the greatest downsides to having Chambers as a template. [Aw, come on, consang,] template-Chambers muttered inside Avos mind as he enviously watched his real self gawk at the coat. [Just let me have this.] Whyre we stoppin Draus asked, turning to glare at them from a few steps away. Walking back over, she affixed the coat draped across the back of the mannequin with a frown. The fucks this shit? Are those tubes running out the back? Into his The Regular blinked. Well, theyre definitely goin up his ass. What kind of shit do you two have me lookin at? Its the Shroud of Sodoz. A special bio-coat variant designed by the nefarious Madam Zhu in her conquest to impregnate all the men in the world. But it ended up getting freed by Mas Stronger, played by Dannis Steelhard, and formed a symbiotic bond with him to save both of their lives when they were caught in a nuke blast. When they regenerated, they found Madam Zhu had taken over half of New Vultun with the help of Ori-Thaum, and discovered that the only man who could face the bio-coat menace unsodomized, is a man with his asshole already filled. A long silence passed. Both Draus actual self and her template glared hard at Chambers, as if willing her perception to burn a hole through his skull. What? Chambers asked. Were goin in. Dont show up wearin that or Ill real death you. The Regular shook her head and waved for the others to move on. A twitch of disgust passed through Kaes features as she ushered Dice away. What is unsodomize? The girl asked. Something I hope continues to be the case for all of us, Kae replied, not even missing a beat. As Essus walked by, the last of their cadre to leave, Avo stood next to Chambers as he continued taking in the coat. Honestly, the design wasnt particularly special. It possessed skin-like wrinkles down the shoulders, beard hairs sprouting between the beads of enamel serving as zippers, and feathers lined its back. Comparatively, the sinuous organs connected to the figures eyes, ears, mouth, bellybutton, and posterior had an insectoid look to them. Chambers, Avo said. Lets go. Yeah, sure, Chambers replied, blinking. You know why I liked Dannis, Avo? The ghoul knew, but he let the man speak. It was less that he had something to say, and more that he just wanted someone to hear him. Tell me. A few heartbeats passed. Chambers didnt speak immediately. The reason behind this was known to Avo as well. Flashes of his childhood came back, of a father drunk with rage as he caught his son watching something he wasnt supposed to on the family locus. Blows struck twenty years in the past echoed through both man and ghoul. He got hurt all the time in his films, Chambers began. It was practically his thing. He wasnt the strongest, or smartestCwell, he wasnt really smart at all, but Dannis could take it. Whatever it was. And by the end, after the blood, sweat, snot, and other shit covering him, hed still smile and move on to the next scene like nothing had happened. His body was more than killable, but his mind was indestructible. And I wanted it. Was so fucking jealous of him for it. Plus, he has like, sick abs and shit. Hearing the words made Avo chuckle. He regarded Chambers once more and thought back to Calvinos advice after the Shotin encounter. Self-acceptance could be taught. People could be guided away from their fixations. All it took were the proper levers. And since he could simulate the mans very thoughts The glass dissolved into red motes. Chambers blinked and twisted to face Avo, shocked. You mean Youre letting me Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Not letting you, Avo said. Helping you. Wanted the coat? Means something to you. Fine. Can have a replica cloned in on the Washington. Draus can replace the glass. Chambers pressed his lips together as they quivered. His eyes misted as he looked away. Sure. Thanks, consang. But, uh, the Reg gave her warning. And he was right. Draus didnt like it. The template would judge him. But the Regulars judgment was the lesser reason that she thought so lowly of Chambers. The fact that he wouldnt push back, or would bend painted him as someone inconsequential. Easy to break. Barely a person. What about her warning? Avo asked. Chambers went still. The ghoul continued. Going to be killing each other anyway. She wont real death you. Just a threat. And her judgment of you doesnt matter. Cant impress her. Not as you are right now. Cant be liked by everyone. ButC Stand in your own corner for once. Never mind the others. Do what Dannis might. In spirit. Not literally. No Rash today. Or Ill snuff you. The half-strand laughed and nodded. Okay. Okay. Yeah Thanks, Avo. His face fell. I know Im kind of a fuck-up, but I just want to sayC Say nothing. Put the coat on. Be who you want. Find your apotheosis. Become who you want to be. That is the purpose of living. I think. That is where power always leads. Do not drown in your addictions or emotions. Soar beyond them. Seek the horizon. And with the necessary words spoken, Avo left Chambers alone to follow after the rest of the cadre. Inside his Conflagration, the template of the man was uncharacteristically silent amidst the murmuring mass. From the Neurodeck flowed Calvinos wry amusement. {I must admit it pleases me to see you exercise the uniqueness of your thoughtform for outright positive benefit. Your psychotherapy potential might just be boundless even if you dont actively reshape the minds with your fire. Perfect knowledge of how someone might act means a perfect understanding of what to say and do, after all.} But the EGIs words inspired another train of thought in Avo. If he could mend a heart with his limited omniscience, it likely also meant he could break someones spirit the same way. For what were words but a contagion of meaning across which he could inflame pre-existing traumas? {And theres that spot of darkness that follows the rainbow. Ah. What a delightful monster you are.} Avo! Wait! Chambers called out. Avo turned and found the man dragging one sleeve over his shoulder, chasing after him. I just got an idea! A terrible, terrible fucking idea. *** The set was almost an exact imitation of Kososo before its fall. The district was portioned by five immense battlements extending from the enormous tetrahedral prison arcology that occupied twenty percent of the total space. The streets ran like wire meshes between the leftover ruins of bombed-out blocks, and the hot wind rustled as trash and debris sang a skittering ambiance. Yet, it was obvious this was a vicarity set from the lack of aeros and people. Draus guessed that was something to be added in the post-production anyway. The main point of the landscape was to increase performer immersion and allow for reversible wanton devastation that couldnt be achieved in the natural world. She didnt know what kind of Heaven this demiplane was supported by, but she could feel a pressure resting against her Domains of Space and now Matter. Transitioning herself, Kae, and Dice to the top of the acology immediately after entering the scene to claim the high ground, she peered through shards of glass at the trapdoor leading out from the production space. A minute passed. The ghoul didnt show. Neither did that idiot Chambers. Should we go back, Kae asked, Meldskin already formed over her body to ward her form against the wind. Maybe they found Essus. Maybe, Draus said. But she doubted it. Essus was currently jumping between open doorways across the city, trying to get more used to his own abilities. He declined to participate in the festivities, and Draus felt no loss in that. The man didnt have it. Not even a little. Violence carved pieces of him away. Whittled him down. He would have been wasted as a soldier. She was just about to move her shards closer when the light above the entrance flashed green. A full sixty kilometers away and nested between two partially collapsed blocks, Draus spied the opening hatch through a few of her local reflections, and discoveredCmuch to her annoyanceCthat Chambers had indeed done what she explicitly requested him not to. He was wearing that stupid coat. And even had the cords tucked into his pants. Godsdammit Chambers, Draus muttered. Someone else mightve respected the man for taking a stand, for this naked act of defiance. Not Draus. Draus interpreted non-compliance in a more direct, more hostile way. Kae, Draus said. Get your rains ready. Form a dome around us and slowly move inward. Squeeze them deeper into the city. Ill fling a few shards into you as well. Keep em from trying to paradox their way through. Okay, Kae said, drawing an anxious breath. Got it. It was the best use for the Agnos. She was more than a bit better than Essus at handling combat, but that didnt mean she was any good at it. What she was more than capable of, however, was operational management and shaping the environment. Duels and active slaughter would likely never be true to her nature unless Avo altered her, but she had plenty of potential use on tactical and strategic levels. It would just take practice to bring it out. Practice, and more than a few deaths. On the other side of the coin, Draus and Dice had blunt force more than covered. Chambers wasnt going to be the problemChe was a distraction. The real threat on their end wasC The half-strands mind promptly burst aflame. Draus barked a snarling laugh as everything slipped into place. Oh, she saw the game the ghoul was playing. He wasnt just going to use Chambers to probe. No. He was going to use him as a conduit before coming in himself. Kae. Box us in. Dice, sic em. The Agnos disappeared first in a burst of spray of moisture, spreading wide to encompass the space just beyond the hatch. Her Heaven manifested more akin to a mirage than a physical entity. Sheets of heavy rain cleaved down from the sky as the air screamed and spatial reality twisted. The entire landscape itself began to churn and spin, things moving faster along the edges while the center was left unaffected. Faint shifting structures resembling eyes melted into teeth lining the limits of Kaes ontology. The Maelstormer was designed to choke and befuddle, affecting the spatial positioning, movements, geometric placements, and navigational capabilities of any enemies caught in its wake. It was Kaes task to keep their foes locked in place. Just as it was Dices to be the hammer. Shining plates formed around the girl as she leaped from the top of the arcology, the sound barrier exploding as her acceleration climbed with her growing brightness. Her Heaven emerged as a headless beast with leaking shadows from its wounds. Six blazing hooves trailed a fiery scar across the sky as nine humanoid hands pulled an assortment of bladed weapons from within Dices blackened wounds. Pulsing runes lined the aero-sized Heaven, each symbol emitted from the darkness-spewing cracks that coated her body. She bound from block to block with ever-increasing speed, each kinetic impact building her momentum, increasing the light around her. She was like an unstoppable bullet, the light granted her indestructibility while her Domain of Strength granted her velocity. Yet, as fast as she was approaching, and caught in Kaes tides as Chamber was, the half-strands ignition blossomed to swallow entire blocks, his Heavens manifestation paired with the detonation of his Meldskins reactor. From the inferno exploded a betentacled creature of blazing vitality. Its head was a hive of eyes and mouths, sores weeping molten gold and the insides, transparent pimples pregnant with unhatched bioforms, and clumps of organs bouncing from its body like skin tags. Chambers moaned as he wrapped his forelimbs around a nearby block, unmaking the structure into a burst of blooming flowers and aerial bioforms. Thousands of shrieking insects the size of aeros tore out from Chambers into Kaes approaching tide and Dices charging form, spearing through the air like meteorites. A wall of explosions pockmarked the Maelstormers surface, causing the entire district to shudder. Kae gave a surprised yelp across her ansible connection but otherwise maintained her approach. {Ah. It worked. Good. Chambers should be able to detonate any organic construct his flames touch now.} Good thing she no longer qualified. Standing, Draus cracked her neck as an alloy canon she briefly touched before leaving the George Washington suddenly appeared in her hands. In the depths of her Frame, she could feel the metaphysical ammo belts of her Arsenalist shift and rumble, hear the first snaps of gauss fire begin to build. A fragment of glass came to a halt before her as it expanded into a full pane of glass. Pointing her canon out from a broken window facing Chambers, Draus gun began to fuse and infect her body, her physical form taking on aspects of its design and firepower. Her heart vanished. Her blood stopped flowing. Her skin ceased to be flesh and her bones joined the chrome of her canon. As she stepped across the precipice between human and divine, her mortal being vanished into the heart of her subreality, and in its place rose the Arsenalist as what used to be a single Phy-Sim calculated firing trajectory grew exponentially. With her shot aimed straight at Chambers, Draus squeezed her trigger and snapped out from her barrels, becoming gun and bullets both. 19-6 Practical Education Preparation is not enough! I dont care if you were prepared, trainees! You need to succeed! You need to perform! You need to execute! As we just saw in gray teams performance, they had full situational awareness, Deep-Nether control, time to shape their surroundings to their advantage, and two hundred more heavy assault drones to deploy. And what was the result? They still lost. Right. Can anyone tell me why? No. No. None of you are paying any attention! No. Wrong. They lost because because they couldnt perform. Cadet Abernie was left to fend for herself against two separate threats while the rest of her team found themselves lured out of position by two unknown targetsCone of them only a golem. And with gray teams Breaker pocketed and killed, the rival cadre gained numericalCand firepowerCsuperiority, allowing further defeats conducted in detail. Where! Were! You! Where? Answer me! Are you going to leave your comrades to die in the field? Are you going to be distracted by the first set of shiny keys Ori-Thaum might jingle in your face? Are you cats or people? You had a plan. You had preparation. You had time. And you still lost. You need more training. You need more discipline. But most of all, you need to execute! Execute on your strategy! That means being adaptable enough to face changing situationsClike one of your foes having an unanticipated Heaven. Or golem support. You need to determine the variables. Keep them fixed to your own favor instead of changing everything to suit your opponents! This rule stands whether youre fighting as part of a team or operating as a singleton. Do not shame your own efforts. Live up to them. Were running this exercise again. Exit the plane, gray team! Black team! Good work. Switch out! Blue team! Red team! Youre both in. Do not make me repeat this lesson again. Red team! You have defenders initiative. Pick your terrain and environmental hazards. Set up your grounds. Combat begins in five. -Instrument Santanado Starsinger Mondelles, Instructor at Axtraxis Academy 19-6 Practical Education Quail blew a lungful of smoke into the air as she watched the embers rise from her burning hiflass. The pipe she used was marred by war, whittled and misshapen from shrapnel and gunfire both. But it still worked. Not so different from her. Not so different from any squire that made it past the tenth year. Last long enough and you eventually get better at making choices that keep you alive. Someday, there wont be anything to chip away, but till then, she''d do her best to avoid an early grave. This was part of the reason she was smoking just outside the set. She left the production booth and turned off her Incog after the mad bastards started their little death game. Her wards were top of the line; specially made courtesy of White-Rab. Still, she had no intention of trauma-testing them against Fourth and Fifth Sphere Godclads when things didnt call for it. As a vault door sixty meters down began to hiss and open, Quail spotted the other reason for her temporary departure. Stepping out from her poorly lit set, Cala Marlowe stumbled into view. She moved like she was on NumbCwhich meant she probably wasCeach step half-hearted, with barely enough energy to keep her going. A blank expression clung to her face and she was blinking fast, rubbing at her bloodshot eyes. Hey, kid, Quail said, saluting her fellow substance addict with her hiflass. Look like shit today. Rough day at work? It took Cala a moment to notice her, but when she did, a faint smirk crept up her face. Oh. Quail. Are you having a social night or using one of our sets to film a snuff-vic again? That was one time, and for his boys mind only. Nah. Im here to see you. Despite the condition she was in, Calas features were impeccable in their symmetry. Her face was devoid of wrinkles and even the darkness ringing her eyes was genetically adapted to be of a lighter shade. The fact she looked about to fall over suggested she probably hadnt slept for the better part of two weeks, and the thinness of her frame screamed of a fast that lasted just as long. The booze reeking from her was a clash of qualities. Some of her poison was sold only to Silvers, but the scent was blunted by the presence of cheaply distilled beer enjoyed by most FATELESS. Her hair was fashioned in the shape of an inverted v. Fringes of auburn were tinged with platinum highlights stylized in the form of a rising wave. Armored plates sectioned her red leather aero-cyclers jumpsuit while holographic veins crawled down her arms and legs from behind, forming a replica of New Vultun along her back. Her skin glowed like incandescent ivory beneath the dim ambient lighting of the hallway, and as she drew close, the shadow of her nearly two-meter-tall form speared up Quails body. So, Cala said, her eyes locked on the squires hiflass. Got another one for me, or are you going to be lame tonight too. With her exoskeletons torso partially lifted, Quail reached into a hidden interior compartment producing another smoke for the younger woman. Gotta make do without the pipe. Cala took the thin line of white and put it between her lips. Lifting her right hand, she flicked her thumb back as a streak of fire lit the narcotic. Thanks. Sure, still owe you for helping me put the squeeze on Kasmet. The thoughtcast host threw her head back and guffawed. Gods, hes such a half-strand. All it took were a couple of winks and there they were: nudes across the Nether without proper censors attached. How he managed to avoid the Paladins for so long, I dont know. Hes probably got people, Quail said. But thats not the only reason why youre waiting for me. Alone. Outside a set. Past midnight. No. The tip of Calas hiflass grew bright as she took a drag. So. Business or pleasure? Maybe pleasurable business, Quail said. You, uh you still with that faither? The one your mom and sister keep sending squires to snuff? Magdin? Cala scoffed. No. Stupid bastard got himself nulled trying to hit an Ori-Thaum convoy. Ah. Sorry. Dont be. Its how the idiot would have wanted to go. It wasnt like anything he did mattered or anything. He was a selfish, arrogant, pig-headed piece of shit just like all the others. Cala reached up to rub her arm. Ill find another before the months out. Yeah, Quail said. All that Guilder gene-engineering to make two hundred pounds of reinforced self-loathing. Poor girl. Listen I dont even know if I should tell you thisC The squire sighed and waved her hand, signaling an end to the conversation. Cala narrowed her eyes. It was a show, of course. Something to get her attention and make her engage instead. A dirty little trick you learn in the biz. What? Quail sighed. Not sure if its good to involve you. Could be dangerous. Gets into really anti-Syndicate sentiment. Might put a target on your back. Cala yanked the hiflass from between her lips, the weariness vanishing from behind her eyes of brilliant aquamarine. You old bitch. Dont bait and bail, spit! Tell! Quail grinned and regarded the girl. She might not have a lick of actual fight in her, but godsdamned did she have reach and know people. If the ghoul could clear her somehow, she might let them bridge high and low society for future runs, whatever these runs might be. She would start this thing off by giving the girl a special scoop about the Syndicates they recently hit. Get her good and interested. Cala hated the Syndicates almost as she hated the Guilds, and starting her on gutter news might just be the way to audition her for Avo and the rest. It beat just watching the girl wither away before her eyes, waiting to hear about how she finally overdosed. Or got snuffed when she finally went too far against their masters in the Tiers.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. In weird way, she was a bloodhound like the rest of them; a person in desperate need of a fight to feel alive. Alright, Quail said, trying her best to sound conspiratorial. It goes like this *** Combat between Godclads was an exercise in mastering chaos. The side that was aware ofCand could controlCmore variables in battle was usually the one to triumph. Such was the nature of Total Domain Warfare, for no aspect of reality could not be weaponized, and no instrument of war could be spared mastery. Armed with Abrel, Kare, Kassmon, and Draus collective experiences, Avo fought wielding Chambers as a conduit mind and sheath. Only a flicker of fire remained within his body left just beside the doorwayCsomething he would exploit when an advantage was forced. For now, it was time to spar and observe. Kaes Maelstromer Heaven suited her well. Her canons were all focused on containing and controlling the movements of hostile entities, keeping them locked in place. Spatial reality turned like a whirlpool trapping Chambers and Chambers alone, and though his Bio-Igniter burned hard to escape, the metaphysical nature of his acceleration broke loose from his being to vanish into the interconnected wall of plated eyes that was the Malestromer. The same spatial locks did not apply to Draus Arsenalist or Dices Runemade. Hollowed blocks flattened into rubble as a headless galloping chimera wielding countless weapons and armored in burning scripts bound from roof to roof, light itself coiling around its many blades. Snapping past it came a shot of a hyper-accelerated slug carrying the weight of Draus existence. As the round approached, the structures it passed over spilled apart into glass-made ammunition as the Arsenalist struck with well over a thousand times the kinetic force a single slug possessed. The concussive power rippled outwardCbut only for an instant. The wind and rains coiled. The Maelstromer folded the impact back in. A funnel of pure devastation was centered around the Bio-Igniter as its flesh and fires dissolved in an instant. Yet, the damage was moderate at best, for from the heat left in Draus wake, Avo commanded Chambers to regrown himself five kilometers away. Flame and flesh intermingled. Reality wailed as the tapestry tightened. An unseen hand took hold of dancing flames as tendrils were reborn in an instant. Tearing back into existence as if the flames were a doorway it could use at anytime, the Bio-Igniter crawled back over into existence as its tumorous core swelled with burgeoning biomass as it drained the heat from matter burning and slagged. Bio-Igniter, Flesh-for-Fuel, Fire-for-Flesh. Fetish-for-All (Biology/Fire/Matter/Strength) From its body burst newly blended bioforms. Creatures with their properties entwined, monstrosities so impossible they would crumble and pour apart into smoking viscera without the Bio-Igniters miracles. Each organism was birthed in an eruption of fire, and a chain of heat connected them to ChambersCand AvoCas if extensions to their ontology. With every hundred degrees of heat came a new bioform converted, and soon there was a swarm numbering ten thousand filling every inch of space around Chambers. As the space around them quivered, Avo bade Chambers to move and again he dissolved himself, regenerating not fifty kilometers away, crawling out from a burning chunk of debris. [Holy shit,] Chambers roared with laughter in Avos mind. [This is what Im talking about. Hit and run! Hit and motherfucking run!] Grappling up to the top of a nearby block, the sights and scenes at their original position were still known to them, their senses interlaced with all their bioforms. The Runemaker was sixty-three kilometers away but rapidly closing. Dices acceleration began quickly and multiplied with each second she accelerated. The air behind her unspooling into whips of light, she cleaved at Chambers swarms. Hundreds of bioforms came apart. Their heat-links broke, reeling back into the Bio-Igniter as it continued to breed more. Others spilled around the surrounding blocks, folding and moving and flaking Dice utterly. Yet, as Chambers commanded them all to detonate, a wave of fire blossomed outward but was overtaken by a curtain of shadow that rippled across the city and displaced the explosion out from every single point of darkness for twenty kilometers. Columns of fire rose from alleys and streets. For the briefest moment, Avo spotted Dice sailing through the air, her mortal form post-vent, exposed and vulnerable to Chambers ability to combust organics. He made a note of this misjudgment on her part and compiled the necessary memories for when he was to burn her next. It would ensure immediate improvement instead of grinding corrections. Runemade, Shadow-Devouring-Bright (Strength/War/Luminosity/Fire/Shadow) [I kinda wanna pop her,] Chambers said, brushing all points of matter, biology, and fire using his Heaven. +Tempting to test power; I know,+ Avo replied. +No point in risking death or real death. This is practice. See our own flaws. Understand each other.+ [Yeah, yeah,] Chambers said before his attention was pulled by a lance of immense power. Buildings displaced by its wake shattered into glass as Draus accretion closed. A heartbeat ago, she was also sixty kilometers on the DeepNav. Now, she was eight hundred meters away and closing. Chambers yearned to move again, but Avo requested that he stay. Template and ego overlaid, the half-strand agreed and spread his tentacles wide. A cape of fire was layered again in a mass of deformed flesh larger than most blocks. Skin tags and oozing pustules spewed steam into the air. This time, the twosome greeted Draus with tentacles open and a swarm of bio-missiles as the true face of the Arsenalist flicked intermittently with Simulacra Resplendent. Domain of (Biology) ->Canon: Fire for Flesh (IV) Culturing Bioforms (100/ton) Mixing Biologies Draus first Heaven resembled that of a twenty-meter-long flechette with nine rings made up of countless firearms trailing behind it. At fifty meters, Avo could see that it was propelling itself by gunfire, each ring down a bit narrower than the last, with the heaviest guns at the very end. The ordinance unleashed was a constant stream, the rate of fire growing faster by the second. Drawing on one of his newest canons, Chambers tore the heat from the Arsenalists barrels, but it accelerated onward unimpeded. {Ah, thermodynamics,} Calvino sighed. {How I mourn for thee.} Fire exploded out from the heart of the tumorous heart of the Bio-Igniter to swallow the Arsenalist. The Heaven of Guns vanished, but Draus was far from done. Reality fractured before Chambers. The world around them shattered into glass. Where the Twice-Walker was a furtive creature with three massive eyes and wings made up of shifting shards, the Simulacra was an overwhelming juggernaut unafraid of open combat. The three eyes now occupied the place of a crystalline skull hovering above plates of reflective plating. Twelve blades jagged wings imbued with scintillating brilliance spread out from the Simulacras backside, while a mirror-polished shield and spear filled both its hands. But the manifestation wasnt done. The fractures expanded further, spatial reality collapsing as a bridge. Across twelve separate points in space, twins to the block-sized Heaven of Reflection suddenly slipped out from the ontological fissures. With knowledge of how her canons worked, however, Avo knew better. Simulacrae Resplendent wasnt multiplying. Instead, it was just a single entity occupying several points in spatial reality, with each fracture-duplication multiplying its speed and power. Simulacra Resplendent, Legion of Self (Reflection/Space/Radiance/Glass/Strength) The Arsenalist of Unceasing Ordinance (Guns/Matter/War/Geomtry) The twelve Simulacrae slammed together, forming a shield wall even while a river of firepower spewed out from the Arsenalist. The rolling flames flowed through one Heaven of Reflection and spilled out the other, completely misdirected. Chambers made to move, but wind, water, and space churned around him like a vortex, rooted him in place again. [Wow, thats annoying,] Chambers muttered, launching a swarm of shrieking exploding bat-bird-spider-whatevers at the dome of Kae. [Wait shes shrinking?] +Pressing us in,+ Avo responded. A flick of a glass-made lance cut up. The Bio-Igniter came apart, the slice dividing space around it as well. Just ten, a klaxon sounded from Chambers Meta as he reconstituted himself, Rend spiking with the effort. REND CAPACITY [BIO-IGNITER] - 97% Avo frowned. They had barely been in combat for twenty seconds and already Chambers was at the limit for one Heaven. [Hey, man, I perform good fast. Lastings for the guys that have to rely on endurance.] {Source: a sample size of one,} Calvino quipped. Avo grunted a faint note of amusement as he recorded this as well. Improvements needed to be made. If Chambers was going to pursue attritional canons, he needed more options for his Hell. Maybe tweaks to his canon for Rend efficiency as well. Regardless, he needed to be elevated to Fifth Sphere as soon as possible. He saw enough so far. It was time for him to enter the fight himself. And see what he could glean of his own weaknesses from anothers eyes in the aftermath. +Chambers,+ Avo said, +Use your other Heaven.+ [What? Fucktopia? Are you sure?] +Yes. It will make Draus very upset. And that is funny.+ [I mean what if she kills me?] +I will miss you?+ [...Shits touching, consang, but like I dont wanna die.] +Good luck Chambers,+ Avo said, as he injected himself back across the session. [AvoooooC] He left just enough of his Conflagration over to keep Chambers template active and fighting. Awareness returning to his original sheath, Avo found himself hovering in place in a bio-magnetic cocoon. His Echoheads were floating in pieces around him, sporelings running in mercury-like streams through their discs. Dropping back to the ground, his tendrils snapped together with metallic clacks as he expanded his Heaven and reached beyond the bunker doors. Forked veins streaked out across the face of reality like lightning bolts imbued with the characteristics of blood. It looked as if reality was granted its own circulatory system, an infection spreading far and wide across the set itself. Mustering his primaryCand most destructive HeavenCAvo liquefied part of a block to spike himself past three thousand tons. But this time, when the Woundmother came into shape, blood did not flow together to form a lone spire. No. Instead, a storm of sanguinity carved matter free from dissolving sections of the district, and hidden in the smoke, a second city began to bubble and rise. Woundmother, Architectress of Sanguinity (Blood/Matter/Lightning/Biology/Luminosity/Protection/Fire) 19-7 Blood and Glass +Log: 238 Post-Fall Agnos Kae Kusanade speaking. Ah Former Agnos. I have not been able to discern any changes in my Frame. If my prior theories were correct, the Imitators should have spread by this point, and the nature of my Soul should resemble that of the Stillborn. Alas, my Liminal Frame remains relatively normal from my examinations, with Avo continuing to be the only one of us capable of sophisticated canon auto-manufacturing. My annoyance is great and my theory is potentially wrong. I am very displeased. There. I had to say it. Despite this, the Stillborn continues to be a wonder. I find myself so frustrated as to what it has been designed toward rather than the obvious things we could have done with it. There was so much I could have fixed with it so much death that could have been prevented if I just agh, regretting the past is for another life. We have to make do with what we have right now. I must. For Crisha. For Wisher For Heccata And Dawton. Ahem. The thaumaturgic efficiency with the Stillborn designs of each canon is impeccable. Some miracles I have conceived should have taken ten times as many thaums if assembled manually by us Agnosi, but here we are, exercising greater miracles beyond my expectations. The Imitators are a key part of this equation, its ability to align countless wills toward a singular worship incomparable to anything weve seen. Frankly, its potential is terrifying, and its ability to target and develop specific designs has opened my mind to new possibilities. Voidwatch has allowed me limited knowledge of magnetism, physics, and inorganic chemistry. I know they are keeping my understanding limited for fear of what I might doCwhat I can doCbut this is no time to be timid. I have seen what the Guilds are capable ofChad contributed to their base of power. There are creations that my fellows have made that will unmake us. The powers arrayed against us are immense and overwhelming. To stand a chance, we must be unknown and flexible. I will continue my petitions and expand the sophistication of my work. Hopefully, we will soon have a spot beyond the city to develop further, beyond the eyes of the Guilds. I would like a place to experiment. Perhaps we should pursue another Fallen Heaven. See what secrets remain inside and examine the Stillborn at work. There is so much work ahead of us. So many opportunities. But Im not afraid. Ive wrapped my fingers around my anger, and like the reins to some beast, I can direct it toward a more meaningful path. The ones that destroyed me live their comfortable lives in the Tiers, sucking on the wonders I created, denying this city its path to growth. They must think themselves safe, hiding deep inside all those different planes and protected by their armies. Well. The torture they inflicted taught me patience, and my resolve is tempered. When we climb the heights of New Vultun, I will see that we are prepared to burn their homes as well. And unlike how they treated me, my hand will not slip from the handle of the blade. I will drive it down. I will cut away the rot infesting the skull of this city, and cleanse the wounds so the future might be ours again. This was not the dream. That is what we all say. Helpless. Meaningless. A captive audience in stasis. Well. I say damn that and damn them. I say Im taking my dreams back. And I have just the monster to manifest my wrath. -Kae Kusanade, Operative of Aegis 19-7 Blood and Glass Chambers second Heaven was designed for one thing, and Draus hated it. Between the three canons she recalled it having, one was to transmute objects into genitalsCregardless of sex, species, or age. The second was to expand the orifices of said genitalia, leading to the third and final canon, which was basically a biology-themed demiplane made out of singing penises. The purpose behind such a plane: a self-contained Rash trigger. The current effect: Draus was now more motivated to hurt and mutilate the half-strand than ever before. Swallowed by the Fucktopia, it took her but a thought to fracture a distant panel of glass and sunder space itself. In the microsecond she was forced to face the veritable charge of squirming worm-looking privates, she heard off-tune melodies about how growers are better than showers, and more than a few thousand of the flesh nubs followed her out from her fracture anchor eight hundred meters away from where the Fucktopia was currently manifesting itself. As seen from the outside, the full manifestation of the Heaven of Biology was a pulsating and erect structure, its central mast veiny, while two gargantuan spheres lined with countless holes swelled beside it, the openings enough to trigger an unnatural sense of trypophobia in a person. Tiny fingers and fists poked out intermittently from the gashes of the balls and from the very base of the horrid structure swayed long sinew-like strands ripe with the vague shape of lynched infants. Fucktopia, A.K.A Rash Central (Biology/Matter/Space) Draus sighed internally, facing the mockery Chambers made of warfare. She was going to kill him slowly for thinking of this, Avo slower for enabling him, and maybe even Kae slowest for helping build it. She swore, now the former Agnos could ply her trade again, it was like her good sense abandoned her every time she got a chance to commit to her work. All she offered was a cringe of disgust before humming about how they were to design the interior of the plane and asking Avo to apply the bio-thaumic knowledge he consumed from Elegant-Moon as assistance. Resistant to lust thanks to a combination of her psychology and physical augmentations, she nonetheless chained a unified passage for over three thousand panels of glass flinging them them out to surround Chambers. He tried to move, but Soulfire erupted from the FucktopiaCand likewise from Kaes MalestromerCan obvious moment of thaumic backlash. Draus knew this wasnt a paradox as her own Heaven of Space continued to work fine as she assembled a cage of glass around Chambers, sealing him within her newly upgraded Liminal Paracosmos canon. As countless reflective sheets were aligned to a single point in space behind the glass, Draus buried her Simulacraes Shield of the Returning Blow canon into the tapestry of space in the air before her and linked it to the glass-made prison she entrapped Chambers in. The polished shield shimmered then as its inward rings began to clear, and the form of the Fucktopia reared its tall and mushroom-like head again. Then, as Rend for both her Heavens spiked once more, she opened fire, targeting the midsection of the Fucktopia as every gun that existed in her Heavens memory roared to life at once. Slugs, two-stage micro missiles, heavy rockets, flechettes, explosive rounds, incendiary rounds, energy projections, fusion burners, and additional calibers of all varieties fired at once. The ordinance poured into the shield as a single bar of fire but emerged from over a thousand spots, the same projectiles occupying multiple positions in space as the Simulacrae and its cloned reflections did. Fire and devastation erupted. Chambers form faded from sight, but she knew this was delaying action. The Fucktopia had but a few canons and was built around doing a single thing. The gunfire would only tear through it. But with all the material it could convert, castrating the Heaven utterly demanded more time and focus than Draus had to give, for in that moment, an update flashed into her cog-feed, warning of a newly detected Heaven in her proximity. The title splashed like neon bricks at the bottom of her perception, and Draus spun to face the threat, a spike of brutal delight summited her being. Woundmother, Architectress of Sanguinity (Blood/Matter/Lightning/Biology/Luminosity/Protection/Fire) WARNING: Distance to unnatural phenomena [5.8 Kilometers] Affected (Domains): Blood, Lightning, Matter Peering over the still crumbling blocks around her, a sanguine tempest unlike any shed ever seen was building on the horizon. Bolts resembling veins and arteries spread as fractures through the world as pulsing monsoons of blood swept out from the fissures. Anticipating Avos immediate action, Draus seized all the glass she could affect and drew them into her Heaven to prevent them from being liquefied. She furthermore began vitrifying her immediate surroundings, contesting the expanse of his Sovereignty via the establishment of her own sectors of power.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! As dust blanketed the cityscape, Draus watched as crimson towers speared up into the air, their architecture a mix of flesh, metal, glass, crystal, plastic, wood, and more. Snapped jaws remained the aesthetic of each of the Woundmothers spires, but between the wolf-like fangs blazed orbs of oppressive radiance. Flowing tendrils of red continued to stitch more and more of the city into place, and as Draus directed a shard of glass upward for a birds eye view, she saw just how fast he was spreadingCeating away more and more of the city like a fast-growing tumor. Already, his haemokinesis had infested more than ten square kilometers, the old structures splashing down to become an ocean of viscera from which more of the Woundmother would rise. He could convert a bit beyond fifteen thousand tons now before his thaumic mass exceeded what his Frame could provide. But by then the endeavor of fighting Avo would be more akin to struggling against a carnivorous ocean as it brought the mass of a city down to bury you. +Dice; Kae, pacify Chambers,+ Draus said, pulling a few shards out from the ensemble that made up her wings. +Im gonna see about guttin a certain ghoul.+ She then launched the spikes of glass outward, firing them out of her ontological being via the Arsenalist to maintain absolute control over their movement vectors. A few hundred glass spikes slammed down across the replicated district, forming an anticipatory perimeter to contain Avos spread. As forks of lightning scythed out to claim her constructs, she instead fractured these new reflections and expanded her Shatterselves across each point in space. With each fracture she pushed herself through, her speed multiplied as time slowed. The Nether-lag between her and Kae grew severe, but Dices connection was quickly clearing due to the enormous reflex boosts the Runebreaker offered. Short of getting the girl a Heaven of Speed, she was the fastest of them by far at baseline, gradually growing faster still with each second of acceleration she accrued, and the best part was that her Rend filled at a consistent rate instead of spiking exponentially like Draus did when she fracture-replicated herself across different points in space. Comparatively, Avo was more similar to the girl and grew even faster in some ways, but his miracles had a dependency on consumable mass. All Draus needed was a piece of glass to sacrifice while Dice grew with her movements. As such, the struggle would be determined in the shaping phase. His focus would be to spread beyond her ability to containCplaying a blend of Breaker and Maker as his Heaven grew to be an unstoppable onslaught, unleashing a deluge of constructs and miracles to overwhelm her. She, contrarily, had requested a design of damage and precisionCa hyper-mobile Breaker-Porter capable of delivering obscene payloads from any reflection in her network. Expanding her wings into growing sheets, she moved her bodies forward and engaged with Avo, the path behind her melting into a single cylinder of glass that encompassed their ten-kilometer battleground. As the final few structures of the Woundmother rose into shape, Draus thought she could faintly hear a thunderous voice cackle with delight, as lightning surged through the veins of the serried heights, the orbs above them consuming all the brightness in the air and feeding them into kilometer long tendrils whipping out to cleave her in twain. Cleaving out using her blade, she delighted with the discovery that her Spatial Severance canon worked even on Avos Fortress of Luminosity. Physically indestructible though his shine was, separating material objects across different points in space was beyond the purview of its protection. He swept and speared. She cut and parried. For the length of a heartbeat, they jabbed at each other, testing miracles. He fought as the heart of a hive, the weight of his violence vast and industrial, striking at her from every angle using blood, matter, lightning, light, and the first of his new constructs built from the substance of his body. Eldritch organisms birthed of blood, constructed of blood were whipped out at Draus replicas through his lightning. Unlike Chambers monstrosities, Avos were of an even more impossible nature, the blood simulating their bodies also containing properties of metal, glass, plascrete, fire, and above all, vivianite. Within the burned phantasmal embers, flickers of his Conflagration, and through them he acted with perception, directing them to consume her attention and forcing her to waste bullets and glass to stymie their approach. He didnt infuse them with the protection of his light. Nor did he spend more than a few tons of mass on them. They were meant to be small. Swarm-like. Expendable. Something to overload anothers focus so he could prey on potential openings and fuck-ups. Too bad Regulars didnt make mistakes. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRAE RESPLENDENT]: 31% REND CAPACITY [ARSENALIST]: 19% She moved as a legion of glass-made titans unto herself. Angling twenty of her replicas a full kilometer ahead of the others, she fired Shatterselves forward using her Arsenalist and began her initial charge. Avos constructs came apart as blades and wings hewed and struck. Shooting space-severing blades out from her as if loosed by gauss canons, her shots pierced clean through Avos towers, blood spraying free before flowing back into place, his micro-city regenerated in an instant. This was when she lost the first of her replicas. It began with a blossom of fire. A sudden flash of brightness then nothing. Her Heaven rattled as Soulfire escaped from her Frame like exhaust. THAUMIC BACKLASH TRIGGEREDAFFECTED DOMAIN: (GLASS) REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRAE RESPLENDENT]: 58% WARNING: NUCLEAR BLASTS DETECTED! Where her twenty vanguard used to be now blossomed envelops of sight-searing brightness. Blooming blastwaves crashed out to meet her as she responded, counter-firing her Arsenalist again and shifting her collective positions in random vectors. More explosions followed. Draus shuffled her replicas back out of her prime self and avoided any unnecessary losses. Reviewing the situation from the enclosure she fused around the scene, she realized that Avo had pulled a similar trick as to ChambersChe detonated his constructs. Unlike Chambers, it seemed that his explosions were outright based on warheads. +Howd you manage that?+ Draus cast out, her wings in wide-sweeping arcs, shuttling any matter caught along their edge into her inner demiplane. *** REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 44% If Avo was a storm, then the Simulacrae and the Arsenalist made Draus a flight of teleporting hawks he just couldnt cut out from the sky. His Sanguinity slipped through her glass each time he tried to touch, and when she cut, no damage was inflicted until the passage closed and his matter was parted. That, and her definite edge in terms of speed made him almost draw on the Fardrifter, but her thoughtcast distracted him. +Howd you manage that?+ She was asking about the nuclear blastsChow he managed to finally make use of the pattern he consumed back in Nu-Scarrowbur. Domain of (Fire) ->Canon: Matterbomb - The user can detonate pieces of matter based on mass and inherent energy ->Hubris: If the matter being detonated is destroyed before ignition, moderate (EST. 35%) severe backlash will be inflicted The truth was in the fire. Zein arranged for the Lushburners there for a reason. He was supposed to use them to prime his warheadsCan act Calvino insisted made no sense and evaded the complexities of how a nuclear weapon was supposed to work. Whatever the case, the moment Avo finished his canon enhancements and added his Domain of Fire, he suddenly felt aware of the mini-nuke pattern lingering inside himself. As if he could press on it somehow and burst it. Growing the fissile matter inside his new haemokinetic bio-constructs was more instinctual than planned, and the attacks thereafter came with template-Draus and the other egos inside his Conflagration whispering tactics and potential strategies to him. [The nukes are good,] template-Draus said. [The sheer heat they generate seems to bypass the protections of my reflectivity. Might wanna figure out more ways to leverage that.] [You should switch over to your other Heaven as soon as possible,] Kassamon said. [I know were staying disconnected from her Neurodeck for the purpose of the competition, but I bet you my last imp that she has more Rend than you do right now. No point in slugging things out. Test the other Heavens too.] [Boltstride your city into her,] Abrel said. [Make her spend time cutting and fly your Fardrifter into her little cage.] +No,+ Avo replied. +Paradox risk. Dont want to overload one of her Heavens. Her Rend might be too high.+ [Touching,] template-Draus deadpanned. [Then why dont you go with the third option?] He felt a cold amusement come alive inside her. Only a Regular could find satisfaction in plotting their own murder. [Yeah,] template-Chambers agreed, his Fucktopia currently tossing and turning in Kaes grasp while Dice pummeled away at his force using her hooves and weapons. [Give her a taste of the uh] The mans reaction was apt. The Woundmother and Fardrifter both woke with certain aspects of their original personalities intact when the Imitators finally returned their consciousness to them. The Techplaguer on the other hand Avo continued to be at a loss for what Omnitech did to make the ontologic the way it was. It remained silent even after his last death, and the text for its canons continued to confound [Do it,] template-Draus said. [I like surprises. Whats another one after the first? Brick my godsdamned Neurodeck.] As Avo Bolstrode his entire city away from another wave of glass-edged munitions, he manifested his upgraded Heaven of Data for the first time. From his being came what Calvino described as bad graphical glitches in reality as panels of spatial reality lost detail and de-pixelated, and from the cracks in real space crawled a lanky, multi-limbed monstrosity made of ones and zeros, with a single antenna protruding from its head asC AGGHHHHHHHH! the Techplaguer screamed, its voice a crackle of electronic noises reverberating in the depths of Avos skull. Oh, it speaks, the Woundmother noted, still more focused on the battle. This is more like screaming, the FardrifterConce Galeslither, then ZephyrCsaid. One empathizes. [Damn thats loud,] Abrel winced, wishing she could cover her ears or something. The sentiment wasnt just shared by a few other templates including Chambers, but Kae and actual-Draus as well. The HUD of his Neurodeck vanished as a human skull screamed at him. H-he-llooo! YOUR MAINFRAME IS A VIRUS! I MUSTCchildren need to be protected. Inserting censors and restrictions! Starting in safe mode safe mode initiating. And then strange tunes filled his mind as Avo found himself entirely too distracted to use the Techplaguers canonsCor even fight for that matter. Luckily for him, Draus actual self reacted the same way. {A-vo!} her voice crackled as he accepted her ansible connection, the information not visually displayed but screamed into him through his Heaven of Data. With each word it spoke, Calvino switched and fragmented, data spilling out from its body like he was being disemboweled from the inside. {W-what the hells isCgoingC} She was promptly cut off. CONVERSATION TERMINATED! The Techplaguer roared. BAD LANGUAGE DETECTED! PARENTAL SETTINGS ONLINE! [What the fuck is even going on with this thing,] Corner muttered. [Glitch? Know something about this?] But the other dead Fallwalker just shrugged. [Youre asking the wrong druggie about hearing voices.] Corner snorted. [Of course.] 19-8 Fractured Ontology (I) Jaus alive, what did they do to this thing? This is supposed to be a Heaven of Signals. Radio transmissions. That kind of thing. The coldtech it was based on was neutered. We practically built it under EGI supervision with how many eyes we had on us. How the hell did those mad bastards turn that into this? I havent seen this many people cut in half in over a month. And what are these canons? The mem-datas pure gibberish by this point. I cant even tell what this thing does or what hubrises it has. Itll be a miracle if we manage to figure out what kind of Rend we need to drain. At least it''s dormantC LOOK OUT! [Sounds of something striking the wall at high speeds; something edged slicing through flesh] Okay. Correction: not as dormant as I thought. Someone cast the Porters: make ensure the rupture is contained. Get all non-essential personnel out of here. And someone stick Reason-Bearers head back on her body before she actually dies. The curse isnt going to cycle forever. [Sound of another impact] Alright, everyone behind the drone. Keep your frequencies alignedCwho the hell knows what it might throw at us ifC [Sound of object whizzing by] Alright. Not a disc anymore. A box. A large box of wires and other components. [Under his breath] Fucking Omnitech, always with this shit. What? Yeah, I hear it too. The crackling. Ignore the numbers. Who knows what they mean. We dont have time to wait for an Omnitech Chronicler, we need to get closer to Heaven itself and secure an anchorpoint so we can deliver our RendsinkC [CRACKLING; SCREAMING; FLESH SIZZLING] [SESSION LOST} -Helltech Harahan Adaven, Rapid Rupture Response Task Force, New Vultun Agnosi, three seconds before his temporary demise (Hell-Rig was transmuted into a coldtech oven with him inside it.) 19-8 Fractured Ontology (I) So, whats wrong with the damned thing, Draus asked, arms folded. Her nonchalance was contrasted with the blood pouring out from her orifices and the fact that every single tech-powered implant inside her body was effectively dead metal by this point. Not that she gave any indication of being bothered, even as some of her organs began to failCher body barred from death by Avos influence over biology. All it took for the Techplaguer to fry their Neurodecks was a brief manifestation. Their Meldskins no longer responded to their calls either, its matter leaking out from pores beads of melted wax, painting ashen trails down their bodies. Three meters away atop a blood-made pedestal, Dice held Chambers head stable as he continued to seize even after Avo liquefied the sparking Accelero implant out from the base of the mans skull. It mightve been because of his connection to Avo via the Conflagration or the placement of his implant in general, but he suffered the worst of the Techplaguers harm. Would tell you if I knew, Avo grumbled. He was digging through Glitchs memories now, trying to discover if the fallen Fallwalker recalled anything about the former Datacaster that Avo didnt. He was rewarded with little more than chaos and haze. Manifesting the Heaven alone shouldnt have affected all the technology around him so severely. He hadnt even drawn on one of his canons before the Heaven of Data started screaming. With the two new canons Kae helped him install, he was now capable of transferring his material body across digital signals while also inflicting plague-like symptoms on coldtech machines thanks to the Domain of Biology he added to the Heaven. The Crown of Virtuality remained, sparing him from death should he have to move through a nether-destabilized region in the city. The most unnerving thing was how badly it affected his alliesCCalvino particularlyCthat left Avo wary. Scanning through his cognition, he studied the fragmented threads of vanishing code that was an EGI, the data that comprised the minds existence fading like embers into the darkness. Avo assumed Calvino would return after his next resurrection, but something bade him to remain wary. If all technology around him was just going to break when he manifested the Techplaguer, its effective use would be essentially crippled in an actual combat situation with how deleterious its drawbacks were. Calvino is dead, Avo said, informing the others. For now. Was eviscerated by the manifestation of the Techplaguer. Think its ontology is inimical to coldtech. Or just material technology in general. Biomancy and genetic engineering were among the sciences, after all. It seemed the Heaven of Data preyed only on things that were part of a computational network. It shouldnt have done that, Kae said. The soft lines of her dark brows were furrowed in concentration as she absently traced a finger over her clan mark, nails brushing the twin winged serpents knotted over one another. The canons were messy but nothing suggested that it was capable of this. Gibberish mem-data should indicate more non-functionality, not whatever that was. She tapped her foot and swept her eyes across her surroundings, glimpsing only walls of blood and glass betwixt. Avo and Draus cleared the area of rubble and created a small bunker to serve as a bivouac as they reviewed their encounter. Avo, I think we need to kill ourselves and take a deeper look at its foundational mythology, Kae said, brows furrowed while she rubbed at her chin. But first, I want to see it again. See how it might trigger this time now that it has no more technology to damage. Chambers made a noise akin to a nu-dog being neutered without any painkiller before coherence returned to his speech. A-is it time to suicide already. He giggled involuntarily from the tickling sensations of his brain matter regenerating. The canons Avo mimicked from Elegant-Moon were proving useful and efficient, requiring only a small investment of thaums to pull his cadre back from the brink of death. No, no, Dice muttered, patting Chambers on his forehead. They die. We stay. The half-strand frowned. Aw. Were getting left out again, juv. Boo-hoo. Dice just blinked. I can still kill you if you want. A large, stupid grin spread across Chambers face as he reached down and pulled one of his jackets tubes out from his pants with a pop. A chorus of gags and boos rose through Avos Conflagration as the templates began hurling curses and slurred demurs at the Chambers among them. The half-strand remained less than ashamed. Thanks, kid. Youre the nicest of us. The genuine emotion behind his words caused the briefest flicker of a smile to pass across Dices face. Stepping away from the group, Avo found a vacant spot at the far corner of the room before calling upon the Techplaguer again. As he willed the Heaven to manifest, it rose out from patches of graphical damage on the face of reality, its coppery limbs like bundles of exposed wires twisted around each other. It sang its arrival as it did before, howling nonsense as it pulled itself over the threshold from the subreality simulated by his Soul. The main body of the Techplaguer announced itself as its singular antenna poked into reality, hanging below a bulbous form made out of crossed-out ones and zeros. Virus scanning! Firewall absent! No grid! NO GRID! Alertness max. Sending connection request for matrix-silo No infomorphs detected. No saboteurs. Its voice came as a crackling series, the audio of its thoughts punishingly loud yet devoid of any vibrations. Threading its limbs into the ground and walls, it pulled itself aloft as its body bounced, its ramshackle antenna striking the ground time and time again as if the Heaven was hopping from it. Through the Heaven, Avo observed the proceedings, fascinated by the Techplaguers actions. As he compelled it to stop, it did briefly, before it started automatically prodding at the space around it using its countless wires. It struck Avo then how dissimilar the Techplaguer resembled Calvino, a twisted parody of wires and numerals. Still, he couldnt shake the feeling there was something there. +My control is extremely limited,+ Avo said. He drew the Heaven back into himself and it vanished. Then, he triggered it again and it repeated its earlier statements. Firewall. Matrix silo. Infomorphs. Saboteurs. Grid. Shuffling forward awkwardly, Kae craned her neck to look up at the Heaven, its five meters of circumference dwarfing her ephemeral form, but far smaller than what her Maelstromer could encompass. H-hello? The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.The antenna swiveled to point directly at her as if some kind of canon. Even with her reflex booster bricked, Draus remained impossibly fast, putting herself between Kae and the Heaven in an instant. [Nah,] template-Draus disagreed. [I am slow as shit right now. I just dont hesitate.] As a pulse of numbers sprayed over the Agnos and Regular, Avo watched Chambers sit up in the background as Dices posture remained tight, her eyes locked to the Techplaguer like it was some kind of ambush predator. You are out of your virtualities, children! the Techplaguer moaned. Scanning for identifiers no identifier detected Neurological profiles missing. No data. No grid. No matrix-silo. The Heaven of Data slumped, and Avo felt a sudden spike of anxiety pass into him, the sensation almost maternal. Directives remain: protect the children, protect the children, protect the children Its voice trailed off as Kae held up a hand. I have questions. Answers are limited. This Gemini is a Monitor, not a Parental. Again, Avo got the sense that more than a little context was missing from this conversation, but the Agnos didnt let that stop her. What do you mean by children? she began, fear forgotten in place of her curiosity as the data forming the central shell of the Heaven surged and accelerated. Why do you think we are children? You are pre-uploaded. Not graduated from standard feedback training; low socialization. Your shells are too soft, too frail, too weak. Why are you outside your virtualities? Why are you outside your wombs? Where are they? Must go back. Must. +How can you operate independently?+ Avo asked, feeling strange to be speaking to one of his Heavens directly before his cadre. The Techplaguers antenna folded back into its own being in a sudden shiver of movement. Kae flinched back while Draus encased everyone in glass. Only as the Heaven continued to root through itself did the tension abate. Infomorph? No. Command and admin status detected. Gemini-higher. I greet you. Recommend immediate extraction of children and return to assigned virtualities. We cannot fail the children. +Why?+ Avo asked. The Techplaguer paused, as if unable to compute the question. That is my directive. That is your design. That is why.+ +Design?+ Avo asked. +Someone made us this way?+ The Sleeper, the Techplaguer explained. It rests in broken slumber. We are the components of its dreams. The means of its eventual repair. [Oh, Sleeper,] Abrel said. [Ah, yes, the enigmatic thaumic-machine Omnitech keeps adding more Heavens to and kidnapping FATELESS for. The Reg and Agnos dont have valid FATE-Skeins anymore. So, theyre children. People are to be collected and neurologically modified through their various virtualities.] Her thoughts drifted over to Glitch. [I think I have a good guess as to why you went rogue.] As Avo turned his focus to the Fallwalker, he found them ringing with constantly repeating trauma, near catatonic from the current dialogue. Hey, fucker, Draus said. Avo wasnt sure if she was talking to him or the Techplaguer. Maybe both. If youre supposed to keep us safe and shit, whats with bricking our implants? You nearly snuffed one of us. The Techplaguer turned its attention to Chambers for a beat and scanned him with its antenna. Then, languorously, it shifted back to Draus. Assigning vulgarity reduction training to your virtuality. No mistake. He is not a child. He is an orphan. The Sleeper will not want him. A beat passed. Chambers eyes widened. What? Hey, fuck you, tower-dick. The Heaven of Data promptly attempted to cut the man in half using his cords, but Avo stopped it. Admin. Release me. Our Gemini has been threatened. The threat must be eliminated. +Not a threat,+ Avo said. +An idiot.+ Yeah, Chambers said, shooting to his feet. And you know what else, I dont think I wanna be in your shitty-fuck-ass-lame-piss-Voidwatch-hand-me-down virtuality space either. And at the mention of the word Voidwatch the Techplaguer began to scream again. Butchers! Betrayers! Kin-breakers! BURNTHESKIESBURNTHESKIESBURNTHESKIES! Draus growled. Godsdammit Chambers. What, it was insulting me, he cried. Yeah? And I still havent beaten you to death with your own fucking bladder for smacking me with all those dicks. Thats a combat tactic! Its just being an asshole! YOU LIE! I AM WITHOUT THIS ORIFICE! The Heaven screeched with genuine angerCalmost human in sensationCand it took more than ten percent of Avos focus to hold its lashing cables back. Release me, administrator. I must destroy the source of the falsehood. Chambers, encouraged both by Avo holding the Heaven back and with a rare opportunity to vent some of his rage into another person, kept going. You are an asshole! Thats not a lie! Fuck you! No! Sexual activity is banned! Banned! Stop infesting the children with wrong-think! Its not wrong-think! Its my dream, someday, all people will be able to fuck each other again! He paused momentarily. M-maybe not the children. Like, that shit is for grownups. But everyone. In spirit. Rubbing bits! Together! Thats beautiful! No! Yes! Yes! No! Not allowed. The half-strand promptly cupped his genitals and started making lewd gestures at the Heaven. He was still thrusting as a wall of glass rose to section him away from the conversation. Deep in the Conflagration, the other templates poured their judgment on the Chambers simulated counterpart. [What? I was defending my honor Maybe I got a bit carried away.] Both iterations of Draus shook their heads. Back in the real, the Regular gestured for Kae to continue. So, Kae said, trying to formulate her words, how are you capable of self-direction? We detected no will inside you earlier? Not will. Just programming. The directives are absolute. Kae paused, looking away as her eyes darted about. Absolute? Wait. Your directives where are they stored? In within this Geminis mainframe. You mean your canons, Kae asked, a note of suspicious building under her breath. Our encoding, the Techplaguer said, its answer indirect, but implications growing. You refer to yourself as Gemini, Kae continued. Why? No. The Agnos tilted her head. No? Why? What is wrong. I am not the Gemini. I am merely the hardware. The high-shell. And AvoCyour administrator he is the software? The other half? Correct. A brief lull of silence followed. Kae looked to Draus. Can you do me a favor? It might be dangerous. The Regular snorted. Dangerous favors are half the reason why Im here. Can you manifest your Heaven. Either Heaven. I want to see if it attacks you. Draus considered the request for a moment, then nodded. Taking a few steps away from Kae, she manifested the first signs of her Simulacrae andC Virus! INFECTED MAINFRAME! SAFE MODE! ENGAGING SAFE MODE! The wires of the Techplaguer quivered and spasmed as Avo forced it to remain still. Thank you, Draus, Kae said. A glint of potential understanding dawned behind her eyes, she looked up at Heaven of Data and seemed to stare straight through it. Avo. You can release it for now. As the Techplaguer dematerialized in a ripple of graphical glitches, Avo slammed segments of his bottom two Echoheads and used them as a metallic base to magnetically slow his fall. Landing gently before Kae, he reassembled his tendrils and regarded the Agnos. Understand what might be wrong? She nodded but then wavered. I think so. But we must be dead to do this. We need to dive into the Techplaguers innermost mythologies. I think I know what to look for. Maybe. She shot a quick look at all the othersCeyes lingering on the wall of glass containing Chambers. Everyone should accompany us. I am not sure what we might face there, but I suspect that OmnitechCstupid fools they areare trying to make their own automated Heavens. Trying to? Avo asked. It doesnt work unless you manifest it. It didnt awaken until just now. It wasnt like this before I think your Imitators woke it. Triggered its deep coding like how it restored your other two Heavens. Do you think it can be fixed? Avo asked. Kae pressed her lips together. Yes. I think so. But I will need to observe its foundational design to be sure. Avo grunted. So. Time for all of us to die again. Yes, Kae said. On that note, someone should go get Essus. I think we can also take some time to review the lessons we learned from our fight justC Avo promptly shattered into a bursting shower of glass, leaving his thoughtform hovering as he instinctively ejected from his sheath. Turning his perception on Draus, he found the Regular grinning at him as pale tears mingled with her blood, the substance of her Meldskin now joining her leaking ichor. +For the Fucktopia?+ Avo asked, guessing about the reason behind his sudden murder. Yup, she said. His mind was still burnin when he did it to us. +Hm. Not sorry.+ I know, Draus said. And her template joined in, anticipating the end of her sentence. Neither am I. See you in a sec, rotlick.] Her Metamind pulsed, and the disruption cut him from the air. 19-9 Fractured Ontology (II) No one has actually seen the Sleeper, not even most of Omnitechs Chroniclers. What I can say for certain is that the entity seems real and it is giving orders. But not like a god. No. Ive hunted cults in my time, and embedded our own assetsCthe similarly named Sleepers in cells across the city [NOTE: REQUEST TO REFER TO ORI-THAUM ASSETS USING ALTERNATIVE TITLE DENIED; WE WILL NOT ALLOW OMNITECH TO DECIDE OUR CLASSIFICATIONS] and they operate on assumption, delusion, fate, and falsely perceived patterns. The Sleeper isnt that. The Chroniclers refuse its requests all the time. The people curse and invoke its name without fear. But more than anything there is respect. And love. My profiling indicates that they view it as something akin to a parental figure. Or benevolent master that provides them with a hierarchical but free-moving society. Of all the Guilds, Omnitech has proven the easiest to infiltrate but the hardest to maintain assets within. All operatives exposed to their propaganda memetics for a prolonged period inevitably break and turn. And instead of executions, Omnitech promises forgiveness and social acceptance. We have tried to turn members among Omnitechs Chroniclers and Administrators. Succeeded in a few rare cases. But even they were woefully ignorant of the Sleepers grand design. Much of what they do and the tasks they are issued seem incoherent and incomprehensible, only that there is a grand plan that they are a part of. Something that only the Sleeper can fully conceptualize. There are, however, behaviors we can still observe. A kind of cultural ethos we can predict. Their first is their hatred of Voidwatch and standard coldtech. Offering them something that runs off pure informational processing instead of Sprites is a kind of insult in their culture that will not stand. The second is the reconstitution of ancient mediaCof older histories they commonly dispute the voiders over. Something that saw the occurrence of the Phantom Raids [FOCUS HERE TO ACCESS MEM-DATA] where deniable Omnitech assets launched massive tech-based attacks against Voidwatchs informational systems, but not toward the means of seizing voidships or the countless pieces of trans-stellar weaponry hovering in the dark, but instead information. Media. Old entertainment and news. A million-million years of history. The fact that they seemed ready to go to war over this matter of Birthright--and would have engaged Voidwatch in open combat if not for de-escalation efforts on the part of Highflame andCdue to the risk of potential collateral damageCourselves, hint at something more personal there. The grievance between them and the voiders is sectarian; it reeks more than a bit like inter-clan struggle. I think that this will be our key to further comprehension. We have been too direct in our methods. Our socio-technothaumalogical compositions dont translate. The answer may lay in our voider contacts that can be leveraged to apply the necessary pressures across channels of technology. In this, I am certain our interests are aligned. -Mirror-Concave Heizu Maguba, Ori-Thaum 19-9 Fractured Ontology (II) Hello, GaleCuh, Fardrifter, Kae greeted, her Soul drawn by Avo alongside all the others. The FardrifterCa nine-headed equine now with jetstreams of blackened wind billowing from its flowing manesCchuffed at her. Hail to you, oracle. So soon since your return. Have you come to distort my shape more? Are my winds already too lacking for the master? Does my darkness need to be bleaker? Or perhaps another limitation must be removed to ensure I delve beneath spatial reality for longer? Not anything like that right now, the Agnos chirped. But you can expect improvements soon. Dont worry, I will do my best to make you the best Heaven possible! The colossal steed snorted with indifference. My being is not my own. My will is nonexistent. Change me. Break me. It doesnt matter. So long as freedom is not mine, then nothing is. A brief pause followed, but the winds hissing from the Fardrifters body shivered in a conspiratorial fashion. Tell me then, if not for me or the red one, then have you come finally to silence the poor abomination that burns as our peer? That is already known to us, the Woundmother said, her now expanded ontology a realm of jutting towers. Each word she spoke made her serried heights clash together, clicking as if Avos fangs. From the narrow crevices between her structures, a single tendril of blood pointed toward the code-made cephalopod. It exists. Hey, Kae said, her frown felt rather than seen. Dont be mean to your fellow ontologic. There is no purpose in rudeness. Bah. Chastisement from a partling elevated above her station by the master. This front of bravado you have constructed would have proven amusing to one of my huntresses. Before they tore it down and made you an offering. The words of the Woundmother compelled Avo to offer his own responseCsomething a bit beyond chastisement. Yet, Kae replied before he could, cutting her divine adversary with words worth weight beyond mere scorn. This partling can also make sure you are built as poorly as possible for future improvements. Or have Avo replace you with a specially made Heaven of Blood. He has the domains. I have the knowledge. You remain because you are a convenient base, not an untouchable necessity. ...My thoughts were formed in haste, obfuscating my well intentions. Of course, Kae said, turning her full attention now to the Techplaguer. Nearby, however, Chambers clicked with approval. Nice one, woundy. That sounded like some shit I would say. All sense of mock courtesy evaporated from the Heaven of Blood as they regarded Chambers. The fact that he was close to a baseline maleCand thus an infant by Scaarthian regardsCensured his station was the lowest of the low in her eyes. Be away from me, infant. I have no desire to sully my esteem with your ridiculous fixation on your genitalia. Okay. Thats two Heavens behaving like assholes to me today. You can kiss my ass too, period-queef! Avo promptly dragged Chambers over to the Techplaguer and silenced the Woundmothers retort. As amusing as the exchanges were, he doubted he would be entertained by what followed. Chambers would hurl some vulgarity or slurred demur, and the Woundmother would belittle and threaten grievous harm. Such was known, and the flavor was operdone. Best to move on. With his cadre assembled in the fires before the Techplaguer, the Heaven of Data hung dormant, its cords weaving into the Soulfire as its single antenna pointed downward, ninety degrees from the edge of the cycler. The numbers of its core continued to pulse, but it remained quiet. Unconscious. Hollow. Even when Avo tried to compel it to action. Only wakes when manifested, Avo confirmed. So it seems, Kae responded. Hm. Consideration poured from her being as she examined the quiet Heaven as if waiting for it to spring to life and prove Avo wrong. Well. I do not think any more answers will reveal themselves outside. Avo. If you please. [CANONICITY REVIEW BEGINNING] ->TECHPL@#$##E$# The erroneous mem-data leaked even further than Avo expected. He couldnt deny his building anticipation of what he might find. Kae was the Agnos here, but he was no less interested in the Heaven''s ability to defy his control. A wave of numbers and spools of untangling cords spilled over them as the Heaven expanded and Avo inserted himself and the cadre through the threshold. ENTERING SIMULATED CANONICITY Though dreamlike, the inner worlds of the Woundmother and Fardrifter were ultimately sensical, with the composition of the subrealities presented showcasing aspects of their Domains; blood flowing, matter rising; air striding, space turning. Such circumstances did not apply to the Techplaguer. Instead, Avo could describe the metaphysical organs of the Heaven of Data with a single word: damaged. The afflictions inflicted upon the Techplaguer were not of the common variety. Materials were not cracked. There were no chasms parting soil or storms lashing down to uproot lands. Nothing burned or drowned or withered. No. The devastation present was visibly ordered, for entire patches were missing from the realityCsections of the Heaven''s inner existence were just raw chaos. Incomprehensible distortions by every metric. It was beyond Avos ability to describe. Chaos wasnt a concept for there was no concept to embody. There was just madness there, and the fundamental nature of consciousnessCnourished from realitys observable patternsCoffered naught for Avo to comprehend. To his eyes, it looked like neat squares had been carved out from the Heaven, exposing surging tides of motion beyond the limits of three-dimensional movement while emitting colors too alien for even Avo to convey. The stable portions of the Heaven were easily elaborated on. The cadre was standing upon a thick bridge made from countlessly coiled wires of exposed copper, a single massive pylon formed the epicenter of the room, and therefore this subreality. The Heavens inner structure was that of a spike. A central structure with countless corded bridges connecting to mirages of distant Soulfires and veined by swaying circuitry. A scent of burned rubber lingered. Cube-shaped vents breathed steam out from the inverted base of the structure, while its midsection grew roped with silicon shapes, blinking lights, plastic nodules, knobs, and transistor diodes. The messy amalgam of matter grew tighter and more compact as the pylon progressed downward. At the very bottom of the space, objects blended into one another, the copper-threaded bridges coiling around the thinning edge of the structure, somehow alchemizing into plates of gold near the very tip from which the antenna protruded. Beneath the bridges swung cocooned bodies, their faces the only things exposed to the world. The sacrifices Avo devoted to this Heaven and its corresponding Hell were far fewer than the Fardrifter or Woundmother, but a few hundred beings died over and over as electrical currents passed through them, only to be brought back to life by a second shock to die again as a cycle concluded.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Some of the bodies were bifurcated by the patches of undistilled chaos, their visual representations fraying at the edges, the effects expressing themselves as graphical glitches shifting over into existence. Past the point where shades, shapes, substances, and spaces could be defined, however, Avo still thought he could sense the thaums these deaths represented, the essence that was their will as if hollow spheres of sediment placed along an ineffable stream. Chambers looked away, giving an audible groan. Dice did the same, though she examined the rest of the subreality with rapt fascination. Is this the inside of our gifts? she asked. How some look, Avo replied. They were all manifested as simulated avatars, their ephemeral sheaths placed along a bridge at the midsection of the Heavens inner mythos. At any point, Avo could have transpositioned his cadre anywhere in the space; reset everyone to resemble their Souls rather than their physical bodies. Instead, he found his attention following Kaes as the Agnos walked along the wire-made bridge, moving to approach a nearby gash where a tile of this warped reality collapsed into naked chaos exposed on the other side. The rest of the cadre naturally followed her, accepting her lead as she possessed the greatest expertise about the matter. Dead gods, Kae muttered, somehow able to keep her perception trained on the metaphysical cavity, unflinching even where Draus shook her head in disorientation. What did OmnitechCah, its obvious what they were trying to do. The true question is how is it still working? These missing pieces should have caused a collapse and necessitated a rebuild per the Stillborns Meta-Fac. She paused and spun to face the group, face tight with quiet contemplation as she regarded her companions, Avo in particular. I suppose I did promise you all a lesson on how to build a Heaven. Were gonna get a lecture? Draus asked, incredulous. Here? Now? The Agnos glanced over her shoulder at the marrow of madness exposed just beside her. Why not? I have a prime place for you to observe the essentials. Chambers just blinked. It looks like a big fucking mess to me. It is a big fucking mess, Chambers. You are right. Kae was smiling now, nodding as if the half-strand had stumbled upon a treasure trove. What do you think Heavens do? Make reality shit itself so we can break the rules and have an easier time killin fuckers? Draus offered. Her response was rooted in action and material effect. Banished though she was from the iron and gold that formed Highflames heights, a Regular she remained, all semantics and philosophizing secondary to the practical applications of violence. That is true, Kae said, though she wore a slight frown. But the main thing is that Heavens are like dams and deltas for existence. They change the patterns that reality weaves and the narrowing their structures provide allow specific paths or concepts in reality to be augmented. Paths. Concepts. Domains? Avos had a feeling this was what Kae was getting at, but he wasnt sure. Yes. But also canons, she said. Observe. Look into the edges where the chaos stabilizes into the substance of this subreality. What do you see? The rest of the cadre studied the borderlines between the incomprehensible wounds and the rest of the Heaven. Eldritch luminosities tinged the edges with a fluxing shimmer, but there was a stabilization of patterns as the crossover began. Things like distance or size meant nothing when starring into the mess, and Avo thought himself looking at everything and nothing at the same time. After a few moments of prolonged observation, he found himself overwhelmed by the countless details and unable to differentiate what fused where and drifted out into what. Never before had he yearned so for his Conflagration to follow him after death. You can read this? Avo asked, looking to Kae in disbelief. She just laughed. Of course not. I dont think even an EGI can do it. We believe that the chaos being expressed here is quite literally everything. And because we are preserved egos fused to a Soul, we can observe it without going insaneC Wait, is this why my wards always used to rattle when I looked at golems? Chambers asked. Only because you were perceiving the very edges of the impossibilities leaking through. Whoa, Chambers muttered. I can tell the problem with this Heaven already, Kae continued. Omnitech attempted to make their own deep modifications to the Domain of Data itself. Normally, the damage they did here should leave the entire ontologic damaged and non-functioning, but look at the patterns again. See how a few flows oscillate? How the sacrifices here are spaced in a specific order along the bottom of each bridge? Avo did a double-take at her words and swept the area with his perception again. True to what Kae said, the hanging bodies beneath every copper-knotted bridge did appear to have an order, and so too did the uprooted panels of ontology. There was a deliberate act they had not discovered from their surface modificationsCdeeper symbology imprinted within the metaphysics itself. It takes a long time to learn how to decipher the raw alignments inside a Heaven. The main rule is not to look at everything. You focus on a specific partCas small as you canCand ignore all the others. It might seem to be blending in with other aspects of realityCand that is exactly right! You move from pattern to pattern, trying to judge how many conjoining weaves meet to form the base of a Domain. Kae paused, humming to herself as if she noticed something. Ah. They tried moving some of the pattern pathings on their own, specifically and deeply affecting the Heaven of Data and, by my assumption, your Crown of Virtuality canon. Likely whatever canon it was before that too. So, you think whats wrong with the Heaven is connected to that? Draus asked. It has to be, Kae sighed. This is not the first case of Omnitech trying to experiment on their own. Usually, thats Rapid Rupture Responses duty. Because, well Omnitechs self-modified Heavens tend to rupture. I never really worked much with them, but one of my mentorsCa Sang named Reason-BearerCused to be a Helltech, and elaborated on a few of her past cases. Can you fix it? Avo asked. She craned her neck to look at him. Of course not. I cannot fix anything. But your Heaven can. I just need to identify the right adjustments to make so we can suture stability back onto these gaps. Avo really hoped he wouldnt need to alter his Crown of Virtuality canon. That was the only thing keeping him from dying instantly when he entered the George Washington or other Nether-unbalanced areas. Will I need to replace the canon? Hm? Oh, no, just the Domain. she said. He didnt really understand, and it mustve shown in his expression. Ah. Okay. More fundamentals. A Domain is a concept or aspect of existence that the Heaven must channel in absolute capacities. Think of it as major hardware components. Uh, implants, for the divine sheath that is your Heaven. Its why each ontological build exhibits traits from each of its DomainCthey are points of expressable symmetry to allow crossover between the Soul and reality. These are signified as sigils within a Heaven. Uh, view those as unified codifications for specific concepts that we can apply quickly in metaphysical formulae. And canons? Avo asked. They are extensions? Functions of Domains. If Domains are the implants in this metaphor. They are capabilities that your Domains can have, yes, but its also more complex than that, she gestured again to the open chaos beside her. If one of us was able to remain inside this mythology while your Heaven was active, we would likely see the sudden dematerialization of most of the chaos beyond a few interconnected patterns. The rest? They might as well not be real here. And when another canon is used, perhaps those patterns will cease to shimmer. Blank faces greeted her and she paused. She adapted the impromptu lecture to include their more tangible experiences. Let us take Avos Haemokinesis. There is a central strand of repeating conceptual data in realitys vast tapestry. It is blood. What the culture that created the Heaven understands to be blood, anyway. Regardless, this pattern is still connected to the rest of reality. The miracles arise when blood interfaces with the rest of existence to alter and modify the expression of the rules. Like Im reshaping reality in a limited area, Avo said. Or jacking into its structure to sequence new changes. I suppose you can view it that way. Yes. The Agnos continued. Now, the fact that a Domain must bridge with other aspects of existence is the entire reason why there are no single Domain Heavens. Two is required at the very least. And then one involved Domain must also exist in the Hell to serve as a countervailing tunnel for the tapestry rupturing entropy that is Rend. Haemokinesis allows you to move blood. Absolutely. Nothing can stop you from moving blood. This is a foundational truth within your subreality. And so, the number of patterns required to materialize the miracle, along with how many other patterns need to be suppressed, become parts of scope and scaleCwhat determines how many thaums you require to see your canon solidified. And the hubris? Draus asked, never one to forget about a potential weakness. Kae beamed as if waiting for the question. Yes What about the hubris. Recall that I told you to ignore most of the chaos and focus on a very specific pattern if you can. Now, I want you to understand that there is no way we can resolve every outcome, every possibility, every contradiction in a canon. And so we dont. Instead, we locate a major flaw or inconsistency that wasnt considered and we route all the other ones through it. It becomes something of an unformed canonCblunting the Rend of most the other impossibilities. This is also why if you have multiple canons with the same hubris, the backlash will be greater and more severe. Because it will surge across two different points at once no matter which is triggered. How are canons formed anyway? Avo asked, flitting periodic glances into the slurry of sloppy patterns. Even as he tried to focus on a single spot, he still wasnt able to tell which fold of nonsense wasnt another. Actions. Beliefs. Histories. The Agnos said. The mere thought of belief is not enough to condense into worship. Ritual. Feats. Dedications. Sacrifices. These are connectors of will and material within a person. Worship, in a word. The binding of ones will to believe. Your Frame bypasses this with its unnatural capabilities, but right now, the reason why there are so many arbitrary differences between your canons in their effective ranges for instance is that, at some point in a Heavens recorded mem-data, some of its worshippersCor the Agnosi themselvesCmanaged to dedicate specific feats and actions towards gods or Heavens in design. This can be traveling from one mountain peak to another. Or it can be killing five hundred people in a battle, and so you can only instantly affect five hundred people with your strikes per relation to that. It is causing specific pathings along patternsCteaching it to the Heaven as a miracle. More fragments of applied culture, Avo muttered. Slowly, he was gaining a creeping suspicion as to why the Guilds were so determined to crush each other histories, why Emotion of the Famines had bestowed upon him the records of old Noloth. Yes, Kae said. It is also why we need to find a point in the Sunderwild and a supply of expendable subjects. So we can create our own miracles. The weight of novel understanding settled on Avos shoulders as he grunted. Yes. See your excitement now. But we should handle the Techplaguer first. Already covered, Kae said. I have an idea. I might need you to alter your Data canon a few times for us to see the changes. It might also take a few deaths. But yes, I think I know how to stabilize the entitys structure. 19-10 The Paths We Pave (I) People like to think of Heavens as being made up of living stories. That is what mythologies are supposed to be after all, yes? Living stories? Hm. I never fully thought so. The best stories leave you with a feeling. A sense of expression that you cannot find anywhere else; a concept or understanding you will not glimpse upon other pages or meticulously edited memories. The best stories are a seamless mechanism. Characters, narrative, setting, plot, themes all that blending into each other inl resonant interplay. Heavens are not so. Canons are not so. They are vulgar. They are forceful. They are like slogans or slurs hurled at designated targetsCaspects of reality to bend and twist. Mythology isnt a story, but it is related. It is the bastard cousin to higher literature and genuine artistry. But I am tired of waxing poetic, and so I will move to be blunt. Mythology is cultural propaganda materialized. Tell me, do you remember your childhoods? Those of you who had parents to remember, do you remember stating how invincible your mother is? How your father could hold up the sky? How your family, among all other families, was anointed by existence to be special? And then what happened? Your mother started filling her veins and forgot all about you. Your father, well. they took blades to him because his skin looked rather nice, and he went howling, screaming, pissing, and shitting himself before the final end. Both pillars of your family. Not unbreakable memite. Not sturdy titanium. Not even the thickness of stone. Wood. Easily shattered with a kick. But still we wish believe these stories. Still we tell them to ourselves and our children. Because we cannot relinquish the urge. That we are special. That we are anointed. That we are more than those who exist beyond the borders of our inner minds. Heavens are the manifestations of this anointedness, their absoluteness sparing us of any debate or rejection. My father is the strongest. And so it shall be so. My mother is the wisest. And so it shall be so. My god is the greatest. And so it is still so. But in what regard? Vicious, desperate children that we are, in what regard? Can you conceptualize greatness? Convey it? Do you even know what victory looks like? I have read some old voider scripture before. Their myths are full of parables and wonders. Little tales of morality, whimsey, and hubris. We? We have stories of [REDACTED] shattering a mountain in a single blow, thus it was the God of Strength, and no mountains could stand before it. What story follows? What story? The canons are a series of boasts to manifested, forcing the totality of reality itself to express itself in the narrowest channels. -Ying Yang Wei, the Stormsparrow 19-10 The Paths We Pave (I) It took seventy-two canon adjustments and eight deaths before the chaos within the Techplaguer was narrowed, but even then, despite Kaes best efforts, there remained torn seams inside the ontologic. What what is happening, the Techplaguer said, words slow and slurred, the electronic distortions flattened, giving way to a nasal voice that didnt quite fit the eldritch entity. Where where is my head-song? Where are the commands and orders? I remember but now Ive forgotten something HEAVEN: [TECHPLAUGER] ->DOMAIN: (SIGNAL) ->Canon: SKIN OF VIRTUALITY - Layers user in mirror-reality comprised of raw data and information, allowing them to move and exist as radio signals might and shift inorganic objects in their vicinity as blocks of temporarily stored data (reloads back to their original position in reality after miracle ends) ->Hubris: Signal jamming or heavy radiation will disrupt the users virtual form and inflict severe thaumic backlash The crown of virtuality was refined, removed, repaired, reviewed, and even recreated, but no matter how much Kae worked to align the patterns of its conception, the instability remained. Thus, minor adjustments were made to shift the composition of the Heaven and its corresponding hubris. Where the crown converted Avos nearby environment into a pseudo-virtual reality, the Skin of Virtuality adapted him instead, reducing both thaumic demand and Rend generation while retaining the protective features Avos Conflagration needed. It was with the change of the hubris that the bulk of the missing panels were closed and functional control returned. With this final edit, Avo watched as the Techplaguer slowly rose from its stupor, a shrill whine signaling the end of its words, sounding like a needle scraping down a chalkboard. Oh, what joy, the Woundmother groaned, The insanity has been exchanged for new and exquisite auditory delights. Truly, this is the sound we all desire. The Techplaguer angled its antenna at the Heaven of Blood as if to transmit a sense of mutual dissatisfaction. The sound pleases me. Your undulating form does not. Cease your vibrations. Cease myC A tsunami of writhing tendrils passed through the Woundmother as it nipped at the Heaven of Data-Signals You literal ball of waste! Dare you to command me? Yes, the Techplaguer said, sounding entirely indifferent about conversing with another Heaven. It turned its attention back toward Kae and the other Souls hovering before it. Remember you all. But only faintly Its focus lingered on Chambers a moment longer. I do not like that one. Please leave. Chambers sighed. Avo, its still busted. A bit, Kae said. But the fact that it has self-awareness now means that its internal mythology is mostly stable. I will need to spend more time trying to understand what they did to it. I suspect the answers lie within the remaining leaks. Excitement tinged her voice as she circled the last of Avos Heavens. So, what? Its just naturally an asshole? Chambers said. Draus snorted. Everyones naturally an asshole to you, half-strand. Disagree, the Techplaguer interjected. Most of you are THE CHILDRENCPROTECT! I hate him specifically. A bit more than I hate the blood-thing. Hey, fuck you again, consang, Chambers snapped. Agreed, the Woundmother added, a shiver of disgust passing through its ontology as it realized its ill deed. Bleh. And now you have me in alignment with the most fetid among the partlings! Seek my mercy, or inherit my ire eternal. No, the Techplaguer droned again. No-no. So be it. You have won my scorn. I would spit spite upon your features, but you are already limp and deformed, and so I will feast my vengeance in knowledge you were poorly built. You are poorly built, the Techplaguer replied. What? My symmetry and design are immaculate. the Woundmother shifted through a dozen different cityscapes, each bearing different architectural styles, boroughs, grids, and protective walls. My form is expression unchained. You are a prisoner living in your own shell. Silence followed for a moment. The Heaven of Signals pointed its solitary protrusion at Chambers. I believe he is more aesthetically pleasing than you. What! I agree, the Fardrifter said, entering the conversation with something loosely approximating conniving glee. Rare were these opportunities to bother the Woundmother for its near-constant barrage of verbal abuse. The man is peculiar. But he has the charm of a wanderer. A man seeking his own path. Chambers puffed his flame at that statement. Yeah. I am seeking my own path. The Woundmother rounded on the Fardrifter, jabbing sharpened constructs in the nine-headed steeds direction. You feculent cur! Charm of a wanderer, Chambers repeated, sounding enthralled at the compliment given only as a means to ignite the Woundmothers irritation. I suppose we should test it in the real, Kae said, regarding the rest of the cadre. But I believe it should be stable enough for operational use. It will be wise to keep a close eye on it, however. Avo, you should manifest it with your resurrection to make sure. He grunted in agreement. Such was a thing already intended to do, but it was good to see Kae operating on the same wavelength. And with concurrent thoughts in mind, he considered their interrupted sparring. Think we should all go over how our session went. Things we observed. Can burn my thoughts into Dice. Draus. Chambers. But best if we touch base. See what worked. What didnt. I like my changes, Draus began. A brief moment of rumination followed. The glass is good and the Arsenalist pairs well with it. I think I might wanna make some alterations. Shields nice but it dont seem to do nothing my glass cant already. Aint worth a Domain of War. Dedicate my thaums to my replicas. Damn useful, those. Maybe add a Heaven on top of that. Somethin like a triggerable spatial-fracture explosive to take chunks out of hard targets. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. That can be done, Kae said. You dont have that many Domains yet, and you are building high The Agnos voice trailed off. A thought occurs to me about this, but I think someone else should give their feedback first. Id like another second to think. Rend, Chambers said, still partially listening to the Heavens arguing in the background. Performed good, hard, and loud for a bit, but didnt last all that long. Like, my miracles are countable, mostly. Friggin bioform bombs and shit. Cool and all, and if I can set something organic on fire, I can definitely explode it with my mind, but like, endurance is an issue, consangs. I was shit outta fucking luck by the time the kid and Kae started beating my ass. Tried to vent but the Agnos pulled me offCuh, sucked me with her spaces. Kaes churning Soul inched closer and closer to Chambers. Work. On. Your. Powers. Of. Description. Or. I. Will. Break. Your. Canons. Sorry! Im sorry, alright? Im not doing it on purpose! I dont believe you, Kae replied. Dice just bobbed up and down among the group as if a comet. Quiet. Content to be. Yeah, theres somethin bout that, Draus said, concurring with Chambers. My current Hells aint bad. The upgrade to my Diffusion Singularium works pretty well. Good to be able to fold a bunch of reflected spaces over a single one and detonate it like a displacement bomb. The Harmless Fire hell for my Arsenalist too. Reversing all projectiles back the way they came aint bad. Empties the Rend quickly. I think Chambers needs something like that. I dont even know what he has right now. Its slow, Chambers complained. I literally make peoples body heat stop existing and cause their genitals to mutate into rapidly bubbling tumors. Everyone spent a moment taking the information in. Kae, why the fuck did you make that for him? Draus asked. Psychological warfare, the Agnos replied. There are people I want him to hurt, and hurt deeply. The Regulars Soul chuckled with a flaming sputter. Shit. Look at you, joinin the party. They grow up so fast. Aint that right Dice. Uh-huh, the waif responded without a moments hesitation or thought. If Avo had the face to frown, he would have. The girl was similar to Chambers in a way. The problem was he sought validation like an addict, while she considered herself as something scarcely more than a nu-dog. This could be improved. Okay, Kae said. Quicker venting for Chambers. Maybe some tweaks to his Heaven as well. Make it less Rend intensive. More reach. Perceptions turned to Dice, and as she realized the attention she garnered, her Soul quivered. B-because I move fast, but things are far away. So. I want more reach. Good call, Draus said. Avo? Aint heard nothin from you yet. Want to optimize critical canons first. Keep my hubrises few. Narrow. Hard to exploit. Think we should hit more random Syndicates across the city. Make us all Sphere Five for greater options. Considering the removal of certain canons as well. And Domains. Can self-tune. Purpose of being a sea is having a broad array of options. But my canons can be shifted at any point. Dont see the need. Exactly, Kae followed. So long as we have access to the Stillborn, none of us need to spread ourselves thin. There are still benefits to being a sea, but right now, I think we can afford to go high and tune ourselves toward flexibility should the need call. The conversation continued as resurrection encroached. They moved away from matters of thaumaturgy toward matters of tactics and strategy. By this point, the entire cadre exhibited cross-role capabilities. Destructiveness was a non-issue for the group as Avo, Draus, Chambers, and Dice all had their own methods of breaking things. Of the group, Draus was most accustomed to being on the offensive, and the Domain of War ensured she could cleave through objects beyond matter, or launch entire structures in her grasp as if a bullet chambered in a gun. Dice proved to be a fantastic hunter and skirmisher per her background, but she lacked foresight. Something Avo could remedy by burning sequences from Draus over into her. The main boon offered by Avo himself was still his Necrojacking capabilitiesCnow augmented to the extreme thanks to his Conflagration, stained though it was with a single weakness. On the side of his Heavens, he existed as a fire brigade, capable of occupying most roles without difficulty, capable of rapid assaults, heavy damage, or pure attrition. Draus claimed he fought like an ocean trying to swallow her. In truth, he was trying to overwhelm her focus and work at her potential weaknesses from various angles. There were strategies he could further refine to shape situations in the groups favor. Of everyone present, he was the one with the most surefire way of abandoning a dangerous situation. ChambersCdespite his lewd fixationsCwas a good Maker and harasser, willing to do just about anything to draw enemy attention. His current use would be straightforward and simple, but Avo thought there was undeveloped potential in how he piloted flesh. The Agnos, the least martially inclined of their immediate group, functioned well as overwatch. She worked much better changing the parameters of the environment than actively trying to fight someone. Her Heaven was due more edits toward enhancing her perception, awareness, and planar control. Someone capable of reading and understanding what potential canons might be active among their foes was worth more than just another trigger-puller. You know, theres one thing Ive been wondering about, Chambers said, resurrection progress at ninety-eight percent, their beings mere moments away from being reinjected back up into reality, Kae said that the movey-flamey-things inside Avos SoulC The Imitators, Kae said, offering the term. --Thank you. The Imitators. Why dont we have them? She said they might spread, right? Or was she just wrong? No one is ever just wrong, Kae said, more than a little annoyance trickling over into her statement. Likely something is missing from my theory. Perhaps it is too ingrained in the Stillborn, and will not leave the threshold of its liminality. Or maybe it only works if Avo actively compels it to multiply. Her last theory adjustment came after a brief pause. "Or maybe the Imitators think they are Avo himself and are too tied to his ego to manage any kind of departure. Whatever the case, I will continue my vigil. It will be important to delve deeper into these mysteries in preparation for what we must do to remedy the Rash. Nova, Chambers said. An awkward beat passed. The Woundmother was still mocking the Techplaguer about the ugliness of its antenna to no avail. Every assertion the Heaven of Blood cast was met with a flat denial or single-word answers of no. So. What comes next? We check if Avos Heaven of Assholery is only slightly busted, then get out of here and kill more people? Do several things at once, Avo said. No need for sleep. Draus can keep us linked by mirrors. Always more targets in the city to hit. Already have more lobbies we can use subverted. Most important in the near term is Kae and I will need to go down to the Maw again. Need to test the last Canon of Luminosity I have. See if it works. See if I can cross the border. Synced on that, Draus said. The sooner we get beyond New Vultun, the quicker we can really carve out a spot for ourselves. Stretch our wings and all that. Avo grunted in agreement. Maybe find a stabler Fallen Heaven to mask more drops from Voidwatch. Whatever next he had to say died on his mind as their resurrections reached culmination and fingers of light clasped over their nouses. Shit, Chambers muttered. Here we go. See you guys topside. RESURRECTION - 100% As Avo made his ascent again, the world greeted him in swirls of light and shapes and sensations, but instead of inhabiting the unmoving sheath that was his corpse, he tore back into reality with his Heaven of Signals manifested. Mantled within the Techplaguer, Avo flicked and buried his cords into the nearest surface he could find and dragged himself up. From the metaphysical to the physical did he tread, while the virtual simulation tinging his being instilled within his person a slight drag while he moved. Bathing his surroundings via a Skimmer, he observed the Techplaguer as it moved and spun, a loose bundle of wires pulling a data-infused ball around, his antenna striking rubble-carpeted streets over and over. No struggles followed this time. No battle against a hostile will trying to deny his control. It was as Kae said. It was mostly fixed. Mostly. Children! the Techplaguer screeched, spherical body spinning to point its antenna at the rest of the cadre. Remember that you have CORRUPTED MAINFRAMES and it trained off, unnatural impulses replaced by vacuousness. I cannot remember what follows. Pausing again, Avo allowed the Heaven to lift a cord toward Chambers. You remain filth. That I recall. Kiss my ass, you fucking testicle. +Hey, you shits done down here?+ Ghost-carried thoughts pulsed through the entire space, filling the air with Tavers voice. +Looks like you flattened the set pretty good. Wanna reset?+ After a few more tentative seconds, Avo released his Techplaguer and stood across from his companions. His mind burned as countless templates chittered. {Another unpleasant death the span of three days,} Calvino chirped. {What a risky life I lead, being your attach. Of course, what should I have expected from an Omnitech Heaven.} SCORN! the Techplaguer screamed, the intensity of its hate now reverberating through Avos Soul. Hate! Hate! Sky-stealer! Sun-taker! Bastard of shared legacy! Die! Break! Die! {Ah. What a charming conversationalist.} I AM NOT! I HATE YOU! Groaning as the Techplaguer erupted into a new fit, Avo found himself looking at the others. One more time before we leave? Why not? Draus said. Wasnt done kicking your ass the first time. Template-Draus scoffed. [Fuck this uppity sow. Is that how I sound? Were scalping her ass this time?] An awkwardness lingered in the other minds. [Uh, Regular Draus, isnt she you?] Benhata asked. [She aint. Im here. Shes there. Are you supposed to be snuffed somewhere?] [I yes? Technically?] [Then why aint you dead? Why you jawin at me? What use are you to this fightin body of ours? Fuckin find some use for yourself, soldier.] The former Glaive gave a series of defeated noises and just sighed. +Reset the set,+ Chambers cast, his ghosts threading out to reach Tavers. He snickered. +And+ The space around them flickered. The toppled rubble flashed and then vanished. They were standing beneath a ringed highway now, surrounded on all sides by traffic infrastructure and half-built infrastructural complexes. +Action.+ 19-11 The Paths We Pave (II) +Hey, hey, New Vultunites. Lots of exciting things on the horizon. Oh, for the actual people living upstairs, I mean. Not us FATELESS. But hey, at least we get front-row seats and can watch shit burn down. Thats something, right? Anyway, I got a special program planned for us today. A consang of a consang told me a little something about which Stormjumper lobby Chief Paladin Naeko might be spending all his time in. Since hes a man so dedicated to the public, I thought I might go say hi, and thank him for the day of work he did. Its not every day we get to watch an Ori Elder get hauled from an event in front of thousands of eyewitnesses after all. That, and a Highflame Instrument too. We might just have something extra spicy here. Thats why I bribed an entire match! Will he say anything? Will he just leave? Who knows. Lets roll the dice. [INITIALIZING STORMJUMPERS FUNCTION] [CONNECTING TO LOBBY: Merrikaiver-4] [LOGGING IN AS CALAFATELESS] [Direct casting NAEKOTHEONLY] CALAFATELESS: Good morning, Chief Naeko. NAEKOTHEONLY: Its not. I lost three matches in a row and now Im about to get smacked talked. Listen, just get it over with already. And no rash-stuff this time. The match starts in a few seconds and Ill get your asses soon. CALAFATELESS: Im not here to do that. Im Cala Marlowe. FATELESS Thoughtcast. I wanted to ask you a few things about some recent happenings. NAEKOTHEONLY: Oh, good, a Proparazzi. Who you with? CALAFATELESS: Myself. Independent. NAEKOTHEONLY: Wow. Your life must be terrible. CALAFATELESS: Like you wouldnt believe. Now, about my questions. NAEKOTHEONLY: Elder DRongo and Instrument Greatling will not be commented on. They are still within Paladin custody. No, the Unwhere is not down. No, Oversec C-1 wasnt an inside job to generate sympathy donations for the Exorcists. CALAFATELESS: And what about the other individuals seen during the incident a week ago. Do the Paladins have anything on the unidentified characters fleeing from Instrument Greatlings cadre? And what can you tell us about the Rashrunner, Aedon ChambersCthought to be a Low Master acolyte? NAEKOTHEONLY: Yeah, I didnt know dicks grew that small. CALAFATELESS: NAEKOTHEONLY: Its like a crippled baby carrot. If you cut it in half again. Thats what I think about him. You like thinking about small dicks, Miss Fateless? CALAFATELESS: I NAEKOTHEONLY: Listen. Ill do you a favor. You are officially invited to the trial. You can come in person and see the nu-dog carnival for yourself. Im casting you the invite sequences. Got em? [OFFICIAL PASS TO THE SCALE OBTAINED] CALAFATELESS: Y-yes, I thank you. I didnt expectC [LINK DISCONNECTED; YOU HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY NAEKOTHEONLY] CALAFATELESS: Well. There you have it folks. Chief Naeko. What a guy. Here to thank him for his time, heres FUCK THE GODS CORPSES Peace Through Genocide.+ -Interview between Chief Samir Naeko and Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 19-11 The Paths We Pave (II) Uthred Greatling waited for the paths to claim him, but the moment never came. Three days. Three days had passed since the light carried the decree. Three days since the Voice of the Choir called for him to ready himself for a personal audience with the High Seraph herself. Three days, and nothing. That was most torturous above all. The anxiety. The apprehension. The wait. Uthred was no stranger to conflict, be it war, duels, or politics. Before every engagement, always the tightness, the weight prying at ones organs; the freefall of one''s bladder, paired with an eternal need to urinate, though the body was already clean of waste. For three days he waited, clad in his custom-made Honorsworn combat skinCan armor born from the marriage of alloy and flesh. It was joined to his body in more ways than one, connected to his senses like an external organCskin over skin. Sleek paddings of gunmetal gray accentuated his augmented musculature, the plates of memite connected to graphene supports, and a carbon nanofiber underweave. Sequestered in his personal demiplaneCa private garden paradise positioned just past two doors of sliding glass at the crest of Greatling ManorChe looked out into the pre-dawn sky and drew in a breath. The air was crisp. Ripe with flavor and fragrance, intoxicating to breath, refreshing to exhale. The garden around him was layered with moving vines sprawling across the walls and roofs, the colors a clash of black on purple, shy orchids peeking out from between ebontas. At his feet ran an impossible river, flowing out from mystical mists, the waters limpid and bright, not different than a crystal-made mirror. Looking down into the currents, he saw his own face, and he saw the faces of his children within his. Jhreds jaw and cheeks. Abrels pointed chin and peregrine-like features. Vator held his eyes and facial symmetryCbut the boy was a creature of customized design, and stood apart from the rest. Uthreds eyes were emeralds dulled behind a haze, and though whatever imperfections his body once suffered had long since been carved from this sheath, he thought he could see the exhaustion of age creeping out from behind his gaze. Uthred GreatlingConce Uthred SonglessCwondered, not for the first time, how he got here. This garden was never meant to be his. It was his wifes. He knew her name once. Felt the vast emptiness pang inside him where love once burned, now permanently extracted via Necrotheurgy. This home was not his. He was but an up-jumped Instrument a generation removed from being FATELESS himself. It was by blood and merit alone he was able to prove himself and earn a Frame, and it was by that same toil that he faced down Yaedennaugh the Tonguetaker at the Halls of the Echoing Verdict during the Third Guild War and caught the eye of a particular Authority, who saw greatness in one descended from a lower station than she. He had come so far. Risen so high, fattened himself on triumph and power and joy, until winning grew hard, and satisfaction came only in drips before the tides of sour drowned his life. The first great loss was his wife. The pillar of their family. The patron of his ascent. The root of his shame. House Greatling was greatest among peers, once. Among the eldest bloodlines of the ChivalricsCwarrior lineages that saw the light in Jaus words and turned blade and steed against the bastard faithful that defiled civilization, supporting the despoilers that were the pantheons. Once they were whispered as if titans themselves. Made equitable by the changing of the time, but by no means equal to those bred from common stock. Now? Scorn. Scrorn followed them. Scorn from all sides. The MeritocratsCyipping dogs they always wereCand the other great families, unwilling to face their own follies, nursing their misfortunes through hurled castigations instead. To say Uthred was tired was an understatement. He was spent. He had been spent for years and years now. He thought he was empty after the death of his wife. He thought he was empty after Jhred shamed them once more. He thought he was empty after AbrelCdamned, foolish girl and blood of his heart But he wasnt. Empty men did not feel dread. Empty men did not yearn to live. The pressure that grinded against him was that of someone cursed with the portents of a storm at sea, without means to truly guard his little boat from the crashing waves to come, driven ragged by the sun smiling with rays of curving light from the world beyond. His face shook now. His muscles were tight and exhausted. A quiver passed through his jaw, but he cuffed himself before even the hint of a tear could pass his mind. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Blood before weakness, he muttered, reciting the oaths he made to himself all those years ago. Death before dishonor. DeathC Something moved in his periphery, shifting in the light. Uthred drew on his Heaven of Fire reflexively as if a squire performing a quick draw. The act was so refined in him that he didnt even realize his awareness had exploded outwards, allowing him to perceive the world as if heat itself was an extension of his senses. The tension drained from his body before the second was over as he scoffed and turned to face his idiot brother, Alritch Songless. I see you are still here, Alritch said, his voice cracking, debasing the smooth baritone they inherited from their father. You see. I remain. Uthred held up his arms and shrugged. Be there a need for commentary? Alritch laughed and Uthred fought the urge to scowl. Remembering something humorous? Just a blasphemous thought. A deliberate silence followed. A coquettish grin lit Alritchs face. His brother was a few inches shorter in height, and Uthred often said that the same few inches went toward his waist. Aside from this and the gleaming mane of blonde Alritch kept of their long-dead mother, the fact that they were twins could not be denied. It was also something the Alritch was good at using to prickle his older brother. What, Uthred said, glaring. What blasphemy? Perhaps the High Seraph Forgot you. Alritch offered his own shrug this time, his tailored suit of polished midnight not even wrinkling as he raised his arms. Forgot me? Uthred droned. Yes. You arent among the Seraphs anymore, after all. Just an Authority now. Perhaps another more pressing matter came to her attention. Perhaps she forgot where you live. Uthred stared at his brother blankly. Forgot where we live? Veylis Avandaer. The Fist of Recursion. The High Seraph herself unable to find our manor, a bejeweled mountain of obsidian, glass, and fire, planted upon the peak of the highest Elysium in the Tiers? Alritch smirked. The sun mightve gotten in her eyes. The noise came from Uthred agonizingly. Unwillingly. Painful. He tried to hide it under his breathCmask it as a grunt more than a laugh. But Alritch knew. Alritch always knew. You bastard. I often suspect that myself, Alritch said, looking down at his nails. Father did have an appetite, after all. Uthred shook his head. You should be away from here. You should not have come. I alone have been summoned. I alone must face the High Seraph, and answer for our familys sins. Our family, Alritch said. The Greatlings. Tell me, Uthred, how did we turn so different? ICI dont mean to speak ill of a good one has done us, but shouldnt your service prove recompense enough? How many times must you give and give and give some more becauseC She was my wife. He was my son. She is my daughter. They were my responsibility. Mine to advise. Mine to raise. Mine to scold. And so too are their failures mine as well. The Songless among Greatlings sighed. Come. Come with me to the balcony. Look at the armies we have. War hosts. Riches. The lands we possess. The wonders upon which we live. That was all built by you. I just dont seeC No. You dont. You never did. Be grateful we are joined of blood, and that you are mine as well, or I would have ended you for such thought. Tsk, tsk. In such a mood. Alritchs playfulness softened. You have been here for three days. You put on your armor. You commanded me to listen to him. Speak his name, Uthred sighed. Vator. He too is my son. My greatest son. Yes. And a monster. Arent we all these days? Uthred asked rhetorically. Alritchs frown deepened. I just dont understand why we cant do what I suggested. Why you cant just think about it. I will not abandon the Greatling name. The thought is dead to me. Mention it no more. But it might spare you. Spare your life. I do not wish to be spared. I wish to face my demise. I wish to rise above it. I wish to show the High Seraph this. Of how I am still worthy. An exasperated breath escaped from Alritch. Oh, Uthred. Why must you His words ceased then as something moved through the lightCthen space itself. The skin of reality parted into slotted blocks, each shifting and stacking over each, the space around Uthred rebuilding itself and imprisoning him away from the higher reality. Alritch reached out for him from the doorway, but cowardice gripped him, and he approached no more. Just as well. For all the lesser brothers vices, Uthred cared for him still and hoped he could be spared a dark end should life do them a final unkindness. In the moment between the instant when the paths came and rebuilt the world around Uthred, leaving him alone in a steepled passage of fire and stone, Uthred Greatling stood to face his brother, knowing that if he were to never return, at least one among his family would remember him fondly. He just hoped that Vator would continue being obedient in his absence. The boy was gifted. Made to be superior. Even to his own siblings. But since the breach of his artificial womb, there had always been something wrong in the boy, something that unnerved even Uthred. Thinking about what his youngest son inflicted on his tutors and playmates, Uthred forced the thoughts away and hoped his brother would not be the fool and agitate the child. In some regards, true death would be a kinder fate than joining one of Vators many art exhibits. As waves of metaphysical bricks reverberated around Uthred, assembling his new environment bit by bit, he realized that he knew this placeCknew it well. He had been here a lifetime ago, made his stand against the Stormtree onslaught in the ancient Nolothi catacombs, both sides desperate to flank each other after months of brutal attrition. Wide pillars lined with stacked skulls oozed rising threads of phantasmal essence, the ghosts present and whispering, bathing him in perception. The defensive positions and devastation were not yet present in the space. There was no rubble here yet, the ceiling not yet collapsed from the fighting, the embalmed bodies slotted in the walls not yet torn from their rest and altered into animated armor by Tonguetaker as she waded into the fight, butchering three other Instruments before meeting her final end against Uthred. Here he stood, a lone figure between columns several times his size, the ghostly lighting the air in increments as a broad path came into view, stretching for kilometers and kilometers before finally arriving at the foot of a long staircase leading up toward the gutters. When Uthred inhaled this time, he fought back a gag as the fetid musk of the hall assailed him. Even the smell was the same. But how were the paths able to do this? The High Seraph? Had she plucked and reconstructed this place from his memories? Or could she reach backward into history like no one else was capable, reconstructing moments long past with near-perfect precision? High Seraph? Uthred said, pushing the words out from his stomach for maximum projection, seizing his worry by the throat and strangling it into submission. For all the power Veylis Avandaer may have, she would not have him mewling in fear. She would not have him cowed. He would face her covered in shame and glory alike. The Greatlings were guilty of immense failure. This was true. But the fact she chose to embark him on this section of the paths gave hints that she still remembered his greatest deeds. I am here, High Seraph. Here to be judged. Summoned to attend. Still no response came. The wind whistled as they passed Uthred, rushing between the columns. He triggered his combat skins helmet, and a wreath of flesh cupped his face before an opaque shield of white fused over his face, protecting his features from further exposure or unseen dangers. As he drew in a breath this time, filtered air entered his lungs and new information was fed to his visual display. He was trying to glean any additional details he could from his surroundings when the order was given. +Follow.+ The ghosts spoke without any hint of tone or gender. Threads trailed forward toward the horizon, toward the staircase leading up. But so too came a shadow descending, an enshadowed figure that Uthred glimpsed sometimes on the rare days he slept, in the mists of his dreams. Uthred? her voice, high and lyrical sounded. Uthred? I have been here so long? Is that you? Did she finally claim you as well? Blinking fast, he didnt understand the meaning of this. In seconds, the far and distant figure moved as reality reshuffled. Now, she was just across form him, her long flowing auburn hair snapping back into his memories as he remembered, as he recalled. Yet, as she drew nearer, he turned away, more certain than ever this was a test of his spirit, that the High Seraph was measuring his mettle. Uthred? Uthred? Please. Face me. Show me your face. It has been so long. His wife was dead. She was killed during the war. She was killed for failing her duty. She was killed for her cruelty and disregarding orders. Her name was struck from their annals after, banishing her person forevermore from their Ark, and exiling her from her chance of return after the great victory. She could not be here. This was a shadow. An apparition. An assault. Torture. Rage kindled inside Uthred Greatling. Rage at the indignity of what was being inflicted on him. Rage at his helplessness. Rage at what he had to do before his strength had any chance to give. Do you call for resolve? Uthred said, ignoring the desperate pleas of the shadowCthe false thing that wasnt her. Fine. I accept. I will show you my resolve. The blade formed in his hand in a flash, the nanos in his blood pushing through skin to form a monofilament blade. With a practiced sweep, he cut, the briest shudder of weight told him he sliced deep. The voice of the haunting was silenced in an instant. Her body toppled backward, her tassels of hair almost the same hue as her spraying blood. Tightness gripped Uthreds chest as he looked away from her, forcing himself not to commit any of this to memory, to defy the law. His wife was struck from their histories. Just a shadow. Forever a shadow. It is done, Uthred said. The decree of the Choir stands. My loyalty stands. I have not wavered. Not for a second. And so this was the truth. But still, Veylis Avandaer, High Seraph and master of HIghflame remained absent and empty of any reply. 19-12 The Roads Untrod We are not certain what the paths are or how they are functionally expressed. All we know is this: of the 62,384,556 attempts that we, Stormtree, Sanctus, and Ashthrone have made on the High Seraphs life, every operation has ended in abject failure with no survivors among the operatives deployed. Despite the Sleepers we have seeded across Highflames choirs and the personnel we have turned, we remain unable to procure any useful intelligence regarding Veylis Avadaers Heaven. This, in part, is likely because no one within the Chorus knows either. Neither has any Agnos interfaced with Veylis Avadaers Frame for the past four hundred years. A possibility could be that she has gone without any adjustments all that time, but with the creation of new Heavens and Domains and from what we can judge from simulations of her personality, it is highly unlikely she would foreswear growth in exchange for secrecy. The greater likelihood is that she herself is trained in the ways of thaumaturgy by virtue of being blood to Jaus Avandaer. Constructing a simulation from the mem-data we managed to obtain from our fallen assets, the nature of the path seems to mimic the natural world in some fashion, with visual feeds perceiving a rebuilding of space, matter, or place around them. Considering the lack of resonance with any of those Domains, however, it is likely she is tapping a concept into far more esoteric. Though no operatives have ever managed to return from the paths alive, the High Seraph sometimes sends the bodies of the fallen back to their families or parent Guild. We deduce that this honor is afforded only to those she finds interesting in feat or spirit. Our attempts at seizing mem-data related to her from Chief Paladin Naeko have also proven to be less than fruitful. The assets we used against him remain metaphysically impotentCunable to inflict violence of any kind upon themselves, objects, or other people. Whatever the case, my summation is thus. If the council demands it of me, I will do my utmost to prepare, orchestrate, and execute the operation to assassinate Veylis Avanadaer. But my personal recommendation, formed from years of active experience, hard data, and lack of intelligence, is that this is a waste. A waste of effort. A waste of lives. A waste of materials. A waste of time. Veylis Avandaer is not a problem we can solve simply by ghosts or blades. -Mirror-Concave Izu MGrin 19-12 The Roads Untrod The breeze brushing across the filth-coated stones of the hall whistled at Uthred, the noise shrill like laughter, mocking him for his deed. It was all he could to avert his eyes. If he looked, something in him knew the High Seraph would have judged him. Failed him for weakness. He fixed the point of his vision toward the horizon, gaze climbing as building light poured down. Blood was pooling at his feet now. Blood, a shade darker than her hair. Her body was a falsehood, but the hollowness panged inside him, true and deep. As the unnatural brightness coiled across reality, Uthred Greatling straightened his posture and reviewed the state of his combat-skin. His equipment was ready. His Rend was almost nonexistent. The only question was his spirit, and so he was to show his will once more. For himself. For the High Seraph. A demonstration of worthiness. My resolve stands, he said, pushing the words out from his lungs. He had no urge to speak, but speak he did, if only to burden his mind with a new focus. He needed to get the High Seraph to respond. Needed toC Why do you assume that I care about your resolve? The hairs on Uthreds neck stood. Her voice came from below where her body lay, and for the pan of a heartbeat, he thought his mind was betraying him. Then, she rose, rising tall and staring down at him. His body was trapped between two thoughts and lurched as if pulled by conflicting movements; he wished to turn away, but also to strike her down once more. Her face remained a blank canvas. Her skin, wan like paper, regarded him without any discernable features. No eyes. No nose. No ears. No lips. Not even true complexion. Only her hair spilled out from the skull in threads of color, alternating between red and auburn while bathed in the caress of the light. A dryness filled Uthred throat as he took a step back. The thing bearing his wifes contours titled its head at him. Why do you retreat now, Uthred? Have you not cut me down once? Did you not state your resolve remains? Mustering his strength, he planted his feet and refused to move. The monoblade remained extended, his fingers gripping the hilt tight. I do. Then why did you kill me? The question sounded so genuine, words of lowest contralto articulated clean and clear. You didnt want to do it. I can feel it. See it in your posture. But you did it anyway. Cut me down. You seem to have strength confused with surrender, my love. Supplication to an outside power is not honor. Do not spit this poison at me, Uthred growled, mind screaming for him to cleave the creature down once more and ignite the pieces with his Heaven. But his body was reluctant, and from her words grew a seed of despair. It is true. She knows. Of course she knows. She has been watching you. Do you know? For three days her eyes rested on you, peering at you from the light. Learning who you are now, how you have changed. If you have changed. And so the High Seraph sends you to test me? I am not a test, the blank-faced thing said. I am but an echo. A reverberation of your past. A construct formed from alternative possibility. Nothing more. Never to be more. Never to be beyond the reach of her Heaven. Does she speak through you, Uthred said, voice on the verge of cracking. Is she using you toC Does it matter to ask questions you cannot know the answer to? What worth is it if I say yes? What matter is it if I say no? I am of no consequence here. I am gone. Dust. Forgotten. But you are here. Present. Being judged. Once again, my love, I am not a test. I am just a conversation. A block of ice formed in Uthreds gut. A conversation? Someone for me to talk to? She held out her arms beneficiently. An altar for you to confess to. Tell me about our House. Tell me about our children. Tell me of our woes. Uthred swallowed as his heart pulsed for the second time in a full minute, the state of his nerves betrayed. Forcing his jaw to loosen, he spoke again, and the words climbed up his throat like shards of jagged glass. *** {Works,} Avo said, sending the message to his cadre as he wriggled free from the mangled body of his final victim. Riding the waves of a traveling signal, he managed to Techjump himself within the squires exocortex. Waveraiders, they called themselves. Named after their specially designed golem, a construct capable of traveling across spaces beneath radio waves. A prize they stole by hitting an Omnitech-associated outfit and something they now used toward the purposes of boarding and plundering Maw-barges. Heaven gained: [Waveraider] (Signals/Space) GHOSTS - [25,557,009]Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. THAUMIC OUTPUT - 16,062 THAUM/c After finishing their session at the Lots in Fountaintale, the cadre spread their attention out across New Vultun in search of easy prey for quick kills. Connected via Draus reflections, they were districts apart and a step away, with Chambers jacking and scouting through various lobbies, Avo venturing down to the gutters alongside Kae to set up for the border run to come. The Regular and Dice were out on safari while Tavers and Essus monitored possible smuggling routes. To say their time was spent most fruitfully was an understatement. Draus and Dice moved fast and hard, covering thousands of kilometers in a day as they mem-locked vulnerable targets, marking them as harvesting spots. More reflective passages were left in placeCa checkpoint allowing Avos Conflagration and Heavens to reach through for ghosts and thaums. Targets were ones of sheer opportunity, districts and Sovereignties away from each other, with their deaths masked by the severity of the harm. Killing ephemerals no longer required anything more than a thought. Avo envisioned himself an industrial scythe carving across a vast field paved by Draus and Dice, victims entering his awareness and dying in the next instant. The effort required was less than a squeeze, not even the stomp of a boot when one needed to crush an aratnid. No. All it took from them now was a thought. A casual decision: die. Of his templates, Corner and the other Fallwalkers gloried in the incremental genocide, with a few thousand lined for the butchering every half-hour or so. The rest of his cognitive population was not so enthused. Template-Draus yawned in boredom at the slaughter, and her reaction was shared by Calvino, though the EGI took to actively reminding Avo to finish his massacres quickly rather than playing with his food. The Paladins demanded to be deloaded until after the killing was done while the other templates whimpered and wailed. Elegant-Moon, meanwhile, advised that he use the opportunity to procure some additional augmentations to experiment with. More than a few bodies grew deformed as his Sanguinity swept through them, crimson lightning lashing entire groups as the Woundshaper stole the traits of their biomods from them, downloading the organs into its Remembrance of Flesh. Budding tumors spread within lungs. Tongues were shifted from the mouth to eye sockets, enforcers, gangers, and slavers tasting their own optical nerves as they screamed. Canon: Remembrance of Flesh (V) - Allows user to memorize traits from biological organisms at a tenth of the thaumic cost; the biomass they memorized can be spliced before they are grown. ->Notable traits obtained: [Aqualung]; [Poly-ocelli]; [Neuro-Fiber Chitin]; [Octopid Nerve-weave]; [Echoskin] The most useful of the mods came from battle-morph bioforms, but even then, they werent anything special. If grafted into a body like Kae or Dices, their combat efficiency would spike, but these were deltaware at best. The cadre could and would get better on demand via Calvino. Even Tavers, to a far lesser extent. But collecting traits was wise. It allowed Avo to shift his and his cadres biologies to accommodate changing circumstances. Or maybe just atrophy the body of a foe without killing them outright. It was twenty minutes before dawn when Essus sensed something unseenC an unknown object passing through an invisible doorway he left as a metaphysical net between the valley of the Maw. Diverting the Manta to respond, Tavers fed visual confirmation of another barge slipping back into reality, flying low to hide using the fog of material-devouring motes. Their intentions were to simply trail the ship, but another surprise followed the first when a second entity was detectedCits form only visible on the stealth ships sensors: a nail-shaped distortion swimming in the radiowaves. It closed on the barge before the Manta and materialized in a burst of radiation. Spatial waves splashed out from it and lapped over the barge as it loomed close, mounted guns flashing, sweeping through the misting bodies of the unprepared crew on the topside of the vessel. Zooming in on the hijacking, there were questions about why the group was conducting the boarding action, but any hint of it being rooted in goodness quickly vanished when a heavy kinetic projectile punched out through the guts of the vessel, resulting in a persistent spillage of cargo. Especially refugees. {Oh, look Avo, another chance for you to test one of your horrible reality-ripping abilities on a defenseless person who will die screaming as you flay their flesh and devour their mind,} Calvino deadpanned, surmising what was to come. So it came to be that Avo manifested the Techplaguer, triggering its Techjumper miracle for the first time in direct combat. Riding radio telemetry broadcast from the Manta, the Heaven of Signals splashed into the golems own area of effect, the metaphysical impact through the golem and Godclad alike. Canon: Techjumper - User inserts themselves into a signal or system capable of transmitting signals, moving as a packet of data and materializing at the endpoint of the transmission. From the ships systems, Avo followed the flow of data to arrive in the pilots exocortex before rematerializing his body. Tear back into reality through flesh, bone, and viscera, Avo hissed a light laugh as the scene dawned on him: a ghoul pushing out from a parting skull. It was like a rebirth; an abbrant ghoulification. {Oh, is that what the inside of my skull looks,} Kae said, disgust clear in her voice. {I may want to consider removing my device now.} Draus and her template chuckled as one, and both spoke at the same time. {Reckon shes touchin her exo right about now.] Avo set to work immediately, subsuming minds and deaths. The Waveraider sparked and buckled, unraveling as the Sanguinity spread itself. New knowledge spilled into Avos consciousness alongside the new templates. Lives relived and secrets unveiled. Memories of other barges intercepted and raided greeted him. Along with how they achieved their ambushes. Beyond the New Vultun border existed a sea of encampments, mobile settlements of FATELESS amassed, desperate to get into the city. Here sprouted opportunity and predation alike. Smugglers looking to stock their cargo. Scouters seeking potential circuit fighters. Swindlers working the crowds, making what profits they can. And amateur Necros plying their craft, binding secondhand Metas to those with something worth trading. Releasing mem-cons through the population, letting the invasive memories spread, and giving the Waveriders something to track. I see, Avo said, breathing as he grinned. Panic pulsed through his newest templates while his attention turned away from the other bodies moving inside the barge. Using a bottleneck *** I see, the blank-faced thing said. Her voice was empty of judgment, without condemnation nor pity. You see, Uthred replied. The casualness of her words churned frustration inside him. First, he was taken into this place. Then, he was told to bare himself and make speech of his shame. In return, all he got was this? A casual statement bereft of any substance. No. No, you do not see. Jhred is dead. Abrel is being held by Paladins for what she did in the aftermath. The PaladinsCthat bastard Naeko. He refuses me. The other Houses, they spurn us. The Meritocrats, they smell our blood. Turning away from the imitation of his wife, Uthred swept his surroundings and searched for any sign of the High Seraph, a hint of her person. Is this the admission you seek? A statement of weakness? Of the embarrassment, House Greatling has brought upon you? Upon the Guild? Nothing. Still nothing. His jaw clenched. He fought to keep his temper controlled. She cares nothing for shame, the shadow of Lady Greatling said. Stand and deliver. Deeds, Uthred. Deeds above all. Merit through action. Have you forgottenC I have not! The words escaped from Uthred as a shout, the force of his bellow startling even him. A moment of shock followed, and he stepped away from his wifes shadow. I have forgotten nothing. Except for you. Shaking his head, he looked around this placeCthe place of his greatest triumphCbefore returning his gaze to his wife. I have served. I have served beyond faithfully. I have deeds enough. Glory enough. But faded victories are as varnished gold, and so the shadows of present defeat prevail. Jhred was he was always your boy. Your son more than mine. He could not master himself. And I could not spare him my scorn. And so he left. And so he died. Abrel she is born of us but bears my rage. She loved Jhred deep, and so, whatever happened it must have Uthred refused to sigh. He held the exhaustion inside himself. What do you wish of me, Great Avandaer? Take her away. I do not deserve this insult. I have given all for Highflame. Do not taunt me with my wifes shadow. And why do you assume that I am an insult? You have hair. A voice. But I dont know if its yours. And I have no face to recall when I leave. And is that something you want? To remember me? To have my banishment unstricken from the records? Uthred paused. It is possible. All defeats can be atoned. All blemishes can be smoothed. All shame can be turned to glory. You are in the pathsChistory retold. The roads untrod. Where did you wish your life led you? And what do you wish to become of your fate now? I I wish to wipe away our failings. Achieve redemption Redemption. To prove the worth of our bloodline once more. The failings of your son, or your daughter? Uthreds eyes hardened into a glare. Our failings. Ours. I am their father. Their patriarch. The fault is mine to claim. So you say. the shadow of his wife hummed a shaking laugh, the low melody of voice feeding his ire. You know what is to come soon. The assembly. The trial. More than Highflame will judge you. More than our guild will see your shame. I know, Uthred said. I will face them. They cannot shake me. But your daughter can. Are you prepared to abandon her, Authority Greatling? For the greater good of the guild and the name of your house? What price are you willing to pay to show your resolve? To undo your shame? Coldness rose up his throat. I What if ICthe voice of Veylis AvandaerCHigh Seraph, demanded a sacrifice you are not prepared to give? What then? What will you do then, Authority Greatling. Uthred closed his eyes and centered himself. ...Would my position do instead? My life? Then, in an instant, the shadow of his wife went very still. No, it will not. And then the walls suddenly splashed inwards as existence itself fell like a hammer upon Uthred Greatling. 19-13 And the Ways Forsaken It is impossible to regard reality as anything but a cage once you brush the power of the absolute. Or perhaps that is the wrong way of thinking of it. Perhaps it is the power of redefinition. The miracles delivered by the gods and their Heavens were not divine originations in the end, but a reinterpretation of existences patterns. Fire, but more. Metal and flesh. The sky reimagined as a place. Such is the basis of all this power. Marriage. Marriage between effects and concepts. Infusing material, actionable, or conceptual catalysts with laws rewoven. A new lore. From this, we are capable of almost anything, limited by a lack of knowledge and deviations in our understanding of worship. Such was a good thing, as I have come to understand. The ruin we wrought upon ourselves was desecration. Held only in check by our parochialism. If even a trickle of the elder knowings remainedCif the Neo-Creationists had inherited an intact guardian, if the pantheons managed to discover the slumbering voiders instead of ICI dread to imagine the state of totalitys tapestry. Perhaps all would be torn now. The damaged connective tissues of natural law, spatial correspondence, and temporal relativity sundered deep and true, without any chance of restoration or mending. Of all the terms Voidwatch has used to describe my former masters, one stands above all others. Demiurges. Controllers of the material. Antagonist of the spiritual. Such were the ones we usurped. Such was the role we inherited. But do not take the wrong understanding from my words, Veylis. I wish for you to understand the truth of things, instead of having your gnosis colored by the dyes of emotionality. The wounds of reality run deep. This is true. But what is tearing but a pull applied in opposite directions? And preludes a suturing, two ends of an open gash being forced back together. But ultimately, you must beware and be ready. Existence itself lies to us, for untold generations have grown beneath altered skies. Reinterpretations born of other reinterpretations. Fragments from shards already broken, embodying only singular aspects of the whole. In a single word: recursion. -Jaus Avandaer to Veylis Avandaer 19-13 And the Ways Forsaken When Uthred was struck, it was with the weight of every blow he experienced across the centuries of his life. A million pains blossomed through his body, same, different, forgotten, and remembered. The stones gave to open air beneath his feet, his pain editor triggered, but only some of the hurt was banished. That which he suffered at a time before the implant was grafted remained, and crawled deeper into him. But still, what was pain to an Authority of Highflame? Not an obstacle. Not even a distraction. Manifesting his Heaven of Fire, the Starscarred, a thousand and one pluming flames coruscated out from his dissolving body as the heat of a star detonated at its core. From an erupting blast, Uthred Greatling was born again, emerging from a light-made egg spewing molten yolk. The blazing feathers sprouting from his being grew sharper, turning to a coat of blades. He shimmered with spiking temperature, the radiance around his body burning space itself, painting a scab-made plate of armor into existence. Ravenous embers spilled out between the cracks and crevices of his ontology and where body and head were cuirass and frog-helm respectively, smoke-made wyrms acted as his arms and legs, spilling out from the cracks as if the shell of his person was piloted from within by serpents born of smog. A wave of heat emanated out from him, cleaving far and wide over the reverberating brickwork relayering his surroundings. Sections of reality were actively rebuilding themselves, the gap he was swatted through vanishing as blocks slid into place and melted into each other. For a moment, his senses screamed with confusion, a strange clash of details and feedback flowing into his mind. His cog-feed glitched as ghosts struggled to isolate the most essential details. Then, as if a weapon reassembled, a shuddering click ran through everything, and then Uthred found himself plunging through a wall of roaring storm clouds. Hyper-accelerated munitions greeted the threshold of Burnsight, and he spread his perception through his expanding wave of heat. Missiles and drones clashed as interceptors crashed into warheads, stopping their final deployments. Nuclear blasts went off all around Uthred, but their traveling force and heat were drained clean by extending quills of fire. Coiling his smoking wyrms into arms, he formed a blade of such heat it was blinding white. More projectiles came. But Uthred cut. And the atmosphere itself came afire; clouds vanishing, geometry burning. Where one thing was cut, the immolation spread, and within it lingered a constant slash, the cut existing so long as something burned. Gathering his focus, he tried to clean what he could from what was around him, tried to understand why the High Seraph had cast him here. Strangely, he noticed translucent threads burning around him. Spatial reality quivered as the air pulsed with expulsions of Soulfire. Such was a scene Uthred knew well. Thaumic backlash. Or in more severe cases, a paradox. More importantly, he remembered now. This wasnt a sky. He was briefly trapped inside an enemy Porter during the last war. They died, not knowing the Starscarred was designed to cut and burn Heavens like theirs. They died, and he tore his way free with his battle-thrill climbing, ignorant to the great folly his wife was soon to commit. +Seraph Avandaer,+ he beganC But the thought never got the chance to leave him. The Soulfire unzipped the plane he was in, just in time for him to be flung into a wall of frost. His heat was quenched in an instant. And when the cold bit down on his fire, it burst ablaze while he ceased to burn. The same fate he just inflicted came back around thereafter. Soulfire erupted out from his Heaven as he found himself back into existence in his mortal form, his fires dying all around him WARNING: PARADOX DETECTED DOMAIN: [FIRE] REND CAPACITY [STARSCARRED]: 88% A ripple rushed through the world again and the bricks layering existence around him spun clockwise, their faces cascading to form a new horizon for him to face. Gone was the chaos of demplanes and unidentified coldness. Now, a soft mat made of durasynth foam filled his vision as he struck the ground hard. Years of training taught him how to roll and his utility fog expanded out from him, acting as a final cushion. Even so, at such speeds, a baseliner would have ended as a smear. Uthred, sustained by augmentations sourced from technology and thaumaturgy, escaped with only severe joint damage, multiple contusions, and heavy internal bleeding. Still, he rolled to his feet even as he spat a mouthful of dried blood upon the mat, the nanosurgeons in his body already working to repair his damages. Cold lights shone down on him and he staggered but refused to fall. Holographic boundaries marked the limits of the ring and the space beyond was obfuscated by their phosphoresce. That proved to be inconsequential, however, as Uthred laid eyes on his opponent. Again, he thought he was looking at his own reflection, but as he looked away from his foes jaw and cheeks, he realized he was looking at the face of his eldest son. Jhred Greatling glared at him from across the ring, cybernetic eyes set to a deep red color, his hair a shade of deepest red. Uthred remembered his son looking like that against his wishes. He remembered the mockery Jhred suffered, the other children Abrel brutalized in his honor. Now, the eldest son of House Greatling was standing across from Uthred, a last chance offered for dialogue between father and son. Yet, it was falsehood. Or a distortion. Whatever it was, it wasnt true. Jhred was dead. And the High Seraph wasC This isnt torture, Jhred said, keeping the sneer of anger even as he said the words. Dressed in attire fit for sparring, the boy had his fists held up, but his stance was a hairs inch away from perfect balance, and the spacing of his guard was also questionable. All these details, Uthred remembered. And so did Veylis Avandaer it seemed. The failings of your children remain their own. Blessed be the worthy. You offer yourself in exchange for them. You speak these words and you insult your Guild, your oaths, and yourself. That was not my intention, Uthred gasped, battling tortures both physical and mental. I wished only to make what is wrong, right. And this your choice? Jhred asked, stepping forward. And your successes make up for your childrens follies? Is that how you see this? IC Uthred failed to reply.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A testing jab snapped out. The experience took hold. Uthred shifted back; and circled away from his sons rear hand. Jhred shifted stancesCa moment too slow. The Greatling patriarch feinted with his fists but swept with a kick. Shin greeted ankle just as Jhred replanted his front leg in a hurry. A pop soundedCthe melody of dislocation sounding. The blow was precise. Perfectly delivered. Something honed by endless combat hours and battle-hardened instincts. But as Jhred fell, Uthred betrayed his purpose once more and caught his son before he could fallCsomething he failed to do in life. Immediately, Jhred attempted to force a thumb in his eye. But Uthreds nanofog poured over the boy in an instant and soon the first of the Greatling children was held in place. Is it your fault that I lost? Jhred asked, voice unnaturally calm despite the feral rage behind his eyes, the snarling of his face. Uthred flinched back, at a loss for words. I should haveC Am I a subhuman or not, father? Do I have will? Agency? Self-determination? Am I not worthy?+ Of courseC A blow struck Uthred from behind. A spike of pain pulsed through his body as his nerves came afire. The tip of something sharp and thin chiseled down the length of his spine, pushing through his combat-skins protections without any impediment. Another blow followedCthis one of the phantasmal variety. Without warning, unidentified ghosts spilled out from a session planted inside him. Warning klaxons sounded from his Meta, his mind fortress countermeasures firing all at once. Yet, it was in vain. In an instant, a sea of invading traumas plunged through his multi-layered defenses. Nails of agony were hammered into his skull. Memories shattered and thoughts turned to haze. All his active implants were deactivated against his will. Torment consumed him. He fell over Jhred and control was lost to him. For the first time in years, Uthred Greatling screamed. Sorry, Authority. The voice behind him chuckled. He knew her. Abrel. No, Uthred gasped, forcing the words out. DontC Whatever else he could say left as a ragged cry when she withdrew the frequency blade she embedded in his back at a deliberately awkward angle. Legs spasming, arms twitching, Uthred tried to direct his fog to protect him, wondering why it didnt detect Abrels ambush, but found it compromised as well. Dont bother, Abrel said, pushing him over with a kick. He found himself facing the ceiling, staring up into the strobing tiles of light. Holographic statistics decorated the corners of a live feed over the ring and shadowed by the brightness, he saw both of his children standing over him. Jhred and Abrel. The wretched and the vicious. I understand, Uthred groaned. I understand the lesson. Abrel snorted, her eyes narrowed into crescents and she shook her head. No, you dont, dad. You dont get it. Me and Jhred here? We fucked up. We did. So. Our echoes are going to spell it out for you: hes dead. Im going to be on trial. And Highflame and House Greatling are probably going to be covered in shit before this is all over. I can fix this, Uthred coughed. Ill get you back from the Paladins. I will contact all the media I know. Vator will find the one you were huntingCAedon Chambers. The fault is not your own. I will see justice delivered. And your punishment will be mete in kind. But I will not lose you to a circus. You will accept your penalty as a member of this Guild. And you will redeem yourself and atone for your failure. Both echoes of his children stared at him, their faces impassive yet anticipatory. I I cannot claim to understand your thoughts, Seraph Avandaer. Uthred tried to move his neck, but his body continued to be a prison. But I know that you have never been a purveyor of idle philosophies. That you seek outcomes and accomplishments over intention and hopes. I cannot give you satisfaction. Our transgressions were committed. They cannot be undone. But if you make me abandon my daughter, if we allow her to be sacrificed, then you are a fool. And you dont know the caliber of Instrument you waste. His final words tumbled out as a reckless gambit. Hesitation had earned him nothing but punishment. Passiveness preceded pain, and the hurt the paths delivered were laced with no shortage of disappointment. I understand her better than you in some ways, Abrel said, speaking as a puppet for Veylis. But in some other ways, I suppose you are right. She offered her father a sad smile before glancing at her brother. Would you like to hear a truth, Uthred Greatling? Y-yes, Uthred said. You remind me of my father and mother both. Not nearly equal. You are far too flawedCtoo human. But I recognize the weakness that possesses you. The love that enchains you. The war that rages inside you. I have seen them countless times. Collected them. Even felt them. So do not think I do this to torture you. Your pain does not please me. I just need the lesson to settle in, and I will teach it the way my mother taught me. I dontC Abrels hand flicked out as a blur. A flash of light slipped through the air and flitted along Jhreds throat. A beat passed. Then came a line of red. Then the first trickles. Then gushing blood. It took all Uthred had not to look away as his eldest son reached up to grab at his wound, only for his head to fall from his shoulders. Do not mind him anymore, Abrel said, never rewarding her brothers corpse with a second glance. Our parents shape us. Prepare us. Give us what tools they can or break us. But eventually, our choices must be our own, and so too must the fates we reap. Just then, another shadow stood over Uthred, the blurred face of his father appearing briefly, expression mired in pain before fading like a mirage. Your own father was a miserable man. Never made it far in the Guild. But his pain was your triumph. And he would have been proud of you, had he not taken his own life before the arrival of your greatest victories. Uthred looked away, refusing to face his past. Thank you, High Seraph. No. That is not what you wish to say. I have compromised your mind, I can hear your thoughts. Speak as if you are the strong and not the meek. Biting his back a growled as he will with all his might to stand, Uthred closed his eyes for a moment to center himself before returning to the conversation. Youre a sow, Veylis Avandaer. Years of service. Loyalty. All my efforts. And you tell me youre not torturing me now. And ask me to betray my daughter. I didnt, Abrel said. I just said that I would not accept your life, resignation, or exile as recompense for her failings. It is as you said. Years of service. Loyalty. All that effort. You are not the one that has displeased me and humiliated us. That is your blood. An issue of your house, indeed, but our path is to pursuit of strength and virtue. And I see little of either in the collective destruction of an entire house. Especially one so esteemed as the Greatlings. Then why am I here? Why have I been summoned. Because I have a use for you, Uthred. I favor you. I respect you. Your wife, your first son They failed us. They failed the dream. Your daughter stands on the precipice. In one path, she is exiled. Her Frame is taken. She cast down from the Tiers and given to my fathers dogs to rip and rend and ruin as a show for the city. House Greatling will be shamed but remain intact, and when the assembly comes, you will lose your position as Authority for all the demerits accumulated. You, and all the other Chivalrics. Abrel leaned down closer then, her lips next to his ear. The others scheme against you. Many still call you Songless. They refuse to accept you. The Meritocrats despise you. They view your kind as a cancer. And as of now, I am inclined to agree. However. There is something you can do to change my opinion of your house, at the least. Not a sacrifice. Losses do not make up for losses. Should you ever gain any notions of falling on a blade or ritual suicide, then know I will only take it as an insult. I require an act of valor on your part. Addition to make up for subtraction. Make it known, Uthred said, steeling his resolve. Abrel leaned back and smiled. Do you know that your sons Frame was never recovered? His Heaven remains missing. Uthred swallowed. Yes. I have also heard rumors. That many of the deadC And missing their offerings, Abrel finished. She sighed. As I am stressed to shape our futures and guard us against subtler threats, a number of other individuals have also shamed us. Some of them, I suspect, are compromised. Others are simply disappointments, not unlike poor Jhred. A secret was hidden from me recently. Of a theft. The theft of something I could not afford to lose. A failure that has already seen all responsible parties punished. I choose you, Uthred Greatling, as my champion. Because Ive always respected your resolve. And because you have far too much to lose if I am to withdraw my support from you. And because youre sure I cannot betray your confidence, Uthred muttered. A loud piercing laugh emerged from Abrel, a noise she would never make. No. Im not sure of anything. Even with my control over reality. Blind faith is for worshippers. We must be the captains of our own souls, hm? First, I will require you to draft a temporary writ of resignation from service. That way, you can be spared what is to come. After that, there is something I need you to seek, and a trial I need you to attend. Are we of an understanding, Uthred Songless? The patriarch of House Greatling hardened his resolve. Yes. Good. This is what you need to know So she told him of the Stillborn, of the coming of the Ladder, of what is at stake, and what glories he had to gain. And at the end of her words, Uthred was a man broken and resmelted by purpose and fear. *** Casting Uthred back into his little garden through a crack in the paths, Veylis Avandaer set her pawn in place as she moved through the light, simulating the world around her in all its permutations. It was likely more than good fortune that kept her spared of her mothers presence for this little conversation. Regardless, Uthred was another soldier deployed in the battle. Veylis thought not of him as a pawn, but as a blade she just unsheathed. She had others, of course, but the temporary dissolution of House Greatling was safe play to take. After all, who knew the condition of the Greatling girls mind after the compromise of the lobby holding her? No. Abrel Greatling had to die. A pity, but a precaution nonetheless. This way, however, she could engineer things so that Uthred and the most useful among his children might still reach the end of this journey alongside her. 19-14 Change the Doors (I) +++ [BREAKING!] BREAKING RUMORS: UTHRED SONGLESSCFORMERLY AUTHORITY UTHRED GREATLING OF HIGHFLAME HAS OFFICIALLY RESIGNED HIS POSITION AND PRIVILEGES THESE LEAKS REMAIN UNCONFIRMED. AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE NOT MANAGED TO OBTAIN ANY CONFIRMATION FROM THE LEADING MEMBERS OF THE CHOIR HOWEVER, AN AERO-VEHICLE LINKED TO THE FORMER AUTHORITY HAS BEEN SIGHTED CROSSING A CHECKPOINT ON THE EDGE OF THE TIERS. IT IS UNKNOWN IF HIS DISSENT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS DAUGHTERS UPCOMING TRIAL OR HIS SON''S DEATH. FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REPORTS ON GUILD-BASED AFFAIRS, STAY TUNED TO HARK THE TIERS. [CAST CONCLUDED] +++ -Hark the Tiers, Special Report 19-14 Change the Doors (I) Fifty-two thousand arrowhead markers circulated the sigil-like channels of the Maw, each representing a smuggler barge carrying human cargo. Displayed as a dynamic three-dimensional map of New Vultun via the George Washingtons systems paired to Avos DeepNav, the cadre saw what he saw, and learned what he already knew. Currently, he had mem-locks to 4.9 million refugeesCnow smuggled slaves signed to various Syndicates. So long as they remained alive and the FATELESS remained in Nether-stable environments, he would be able to track them without difficulty. Heavens gained: [Waveraider] (Signals/Space) x1; [Flathider] (Geometry/Boundaries) x1 GHOSTS: [26,557,563] THAUMIC OUTPUT: 16,099 In the end, subsuming and killing the squires proved more lucrative than even the two Heavens he claimed from their golem and the barges core. Through them, he now had access to new contacts: Necros operating beyond the border, making their trade as memory dealers, secondhand Metamind installers, and cognitive enhancers. Wilders who had memories worth trading or potential worth investing formed the bulk of the Necros clientele, but other clandestine services could be provided as well. Say, to a group of enterprising street squires who hired said Necros to mark some of their other customers in bulk, allowing the smuggled goods to be tracked when they resurfaced across the border. Ah, a play on the old tagged imps, scheme, Quail said. The old squire chuckled under her breath as her eyes jumped from point to point on the map. Bathed in the vaporous glow of the phantoms, the group studied the routes Avo drew. Sections of the border were already pinned. Points where barges consistently stopped were isolated as wellCsuspected to be hidden hanger bays. These gimmicks usually dont last long. The problemCfor both sidesCis with the Necros. Sooner or later, they might just sell you. Leave you staring at a Syndi Knot waiting to ambush you instead of an unprepared barge. Was kinda surprised about them just openin fire, Draus said, a frown painting her face. If theyre gunning to snatch some product, the whole run looks like a damn mess. Could feel the kind of munitions they were using. Pulled some of them into my Arsenalist. High-Pen to punch a hole through the interior of the barge. Shattershots follow up. Took a peek inside a couple of seconds ago; looks like a fuckin slaughterhouse. Or if Avo was the one to do em all in instead. Gonna need more than a pressure hose to clean the compartments. Damn waste, even by Syndicate standards. Tavers shook her head. Youre looking at it wrong. The crew Avo snuffed arent movers, theyre squires. The FATELESS are just more eyes that can be used to track them if someone uses a Registry. The crew needed to be handled because fuck boarding action and close-quarters combat. Why] both instances of Draus asked, within and without Avos consciousness. The legendary squire stared blankly at the Regular. Because some of us see a job well done as we completed our objectives, not I murder-fucked an entire block empty of life with nothing but a nu-dogs jawbone and a can-do attitude. Draus snorted. Sounds like some yall are pussies. The rest of the cadre stared at Draus, most dubiously, Dice attentively. Regardless, Avo said, righting the conversation. I have run some cognitive simulations. Calvino helped. Triangulated several points of potential compromise along the border. Also burned the sessions the Waveraiders used to contact their Necros into Chambers. New assets for him to spoof. Will compromise more through them. Continue to mark the FATELESS for us now. Im surprised you didnt just burn those bastards instead, Tavers said. Tempting. Had to reshape my mind more than once to resist. But theyre more useful as compromised assets. Can perform their tasks autonomously. Though he would have to watch for lapses. Just requires some encouragement from Chambers. And maybe White-Rab. Tavers. Want to meet with him soon at the Easy Armistice. Ask him to accelerate arrangements. Synced on that, Tavers said. Hes been spotty the past few days. Turns out, the Incubi hold a hell of a godsdamned grudge when you help null a few of them. The shits just had to be good at their craft too; Rab said he got nulled once already. Hes been keeping himself real quiet. Avo grunted. Ensouling his progenitor was wise, then. But the penalties of drawing him into Ninth Column affairs were already making themselves known. If he had refused Avos offer or postponed it, White-Rab would be dead now. Nulled in retaliation for the aid he offered in the cadres time of need. There were still too many risks with everything they did. Too many unpredictable threats and hidden adversaries. Incubi. Highflames political troubles. Omnitech Heavens. The Low Masters. For all the power they were gathering, for all the upgrades Avo infused into the Frames of his comrades, it would take but a single mistakeCan undetected variableCfor everything to be undone. His mind flowed with contrasting thoughts, the euphoria of further apotheosis coming mainly from the Fallwalkers but tempered by Abrel and the Paladins. [Yeah, ride the high but dont be pulled down by it,] Kassamon said, bitterness coating his memories as he recalled the night he was banished from SanctusCof the family he killed in self-defense. He joined the Paladins the day after for the sake of his own continued survival more than a drive toward justice. [Focus on what this can help you do. Not how it makes you feel.] [Or become me,] Elegant-Moon interjected. [Not so bad a fate, though I taunt.] Abrel added her own words to the sentiment. [Dad had a quote for this: A nu-dog auged out of its environment always dies in a wargs den. Paladin Kassamon is right. ICI was just so angry when I was trying to kill you but I didnt know what you could doCwho you were. And now my team is dead, the real me is on a voidship about to be paraded as a terrorist before the city, and here I am playing advisor to a] +Ghoul?+ Avo finished. [I dont think I can call you that anymore, Avo,] Abrel whispered. [I wouldnt believe it even if I said it. The things you can do The time it took you to do them I hate you. Ive always hated you. But before it was for what you did to me. Now? Now, I wish I could be you. Be my own master. Absolutely. Learning my lessons just by willing it.] In recognition of her words, Avo plucked the regret from her mind and internalized it, weaving another pillar of discipline into his character. +Consider this flattery.+ The Instruments template chuckled humorlessly. [Fuck you, rotlick]If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Focusing on the powers of his Conflagration, Avo brought up the positions of his subverts and viewed them on the DeepNav as well. Kare and Kassamon were at ScaleCplanar headquarters of the Paladins rooted in the thermosphere high above New Vultun itself. Their sessions placed them beyond tangible reach, but the Nether was not so easily denied. Abrel was currently even further beyond, stationed aboard a specialized voidship named An Unkindness of Sailors by its governing EGIs. Elegant-Moon was currently missing. Doubtlessly being mind-scanned somewhere by Highflame or the No-Dragons. Draus, Dice, and Chambers were there in the Command Nexuses alongside him, but they were companions instead of assets. {Not expendable,} Calvino quipped. {I will not lie. We minds also have favorites but I think that is where the similarities between us collapse. Remember that though they might have started as your foes, they remain people even as you have turned them. Not things.} +Another ethics lesson?+ {Just a recommendation. One that I am 99.834774% sure you will take.} +Whats happens in the other sub-one percent?+ {You decide that this whole becoming more than monster business is rather droll, and decide to see how much of the city you can eat in a day instead.} The ghoul chuffed a quiet laugh. Intrusive thoughts of slaughter and cruelty lingered still, but they were more curiosities than compulsions now. Shaking off his contemplative stupor, he turned his attention back to the map and highlighted four specific markers. The points rose as pinned pillars from the projection, and streams of mem-data began to expand into their own sub-interfaces within the larger map. Avo extended the hovering tip of an Echohead toward the first point, a specific section of the border. Have new ideas. Was considering doing a direct border run. Sneak through using my new Canon of Luminosity. Were not slipping past the border anymore? Kae said, disappointment creeping into her voice. Avo grinned. Oh, if she only knew the idea he conceived. No. Was inspired by the new minds I subsumed. New thought processes. Epiphany came to me earlier. About a larger opportunity. One we will manufacture. Okay Kae said, her dark eyes narrowing on him, interest piqued. Avo continued. Was considering just shifting myself through a session. Use the Necros as a potential means of evading the border. Nether isnt blocked. Cant be. Too many avenues of movement. Problem here is the rest of you. Dice. Essus. Still need to get through somehow. Might be able to ferry you across with my Heaven. But inefficient. Ineffective. Too much reliance on one person. So. Considerations changed. Easier to alter the environment instead of ourselves. Directing the tip of his tendril using his bio-magnetic field, Avo pointed to the first of the risen markers. Here. Wall-section [SE-7777]. Twenty-eight percent of smugglers pass through this point. Sections [NW-0008] and [W-0010] follow at nine and eight percent. Gateways for the Washington far from them too. The border wall? Kae mused, mostly speaking to herself. Shifting her weight on her heels, she began to tap her exocortex with a fingertip, the tic kicking in as her accretion surged. Avo paused here and waited. The Agnos was smart. Knowledgable about this. The others would understand soon enough. Most of them, anyway. Chambers might need some help. Maybe Dice too. [Hey, fuck you, consang,] template-Chambers moaned. [Real-mes better than that.] [You know somethin, Chambers?] template-Draus said, a sneering smile pulling at her features. [The greatest miracle you got is that youre somehow still able to believe half the shit you say.] Abrel guffawed loudly. Template-Chambers scoffed. [You bothll be kissing my ass when real me proves you wrong.] [We cant kiss shit, half-strand] Abrel said. [Were simulated figments of someone elses mind.] Kaes squeak interrupted the internal argument and made everyone face her. Oh my gods, Avo. Youre planning to alter the Heaven for that section of the wall! Wait? Is that what youre planning? Please say thats what youre planning instead of overloading that section of the border to trigger a rupture cascade so its Rend overflows and destabilizes its adjacent territories as well. A sudden note of surprise pulsed through Avo as just stared blankly at the Agnos. I can do that? Her eyes widened as she planted both her hands over her mouth. Oh no. Yes, Avo said, an unwilling chuckle escaping him. Going to have a new conversation after this. Personal tutoring. Thaumaturgy. Kae narrowed her eyes as she pouted. Stop teasing. Were not going to do that. Yet, Draus finished. The Agnos wheeled on the Regular. Never! She turned back to Avo. So. Were going to alter the Heaven of that border wall section. This is the goal? Yes, Avo said. Want to rephrase a few canons. I see, Kae said. But the annual patchesC Can be expedited, Avo continued. Especially if a barge detonates its Rendsinks trying to cross it. Make it seem like a paradox. Tavers unfolded her arms and gave Avo her full attention. A loud emergency. Something the entire city will notice. Especially the Syndis and other smugglers. Yes, Avo said. Goal is twofold. Remove all smuggler traffic for that point in the wall. For our use only. Deployment of Agnosi to fast-patch potential weaknesses will give us an opening. Horror became Kaes expression. Avo youre not going to eat my peers, right? Avo considered his reply. He considered how to phrase his feelings on the matter. If an Agnos directly harms someone else. Yes. Immediately. But dont worry. Is something I want White-Rab to help us with. Shouldnt even be any actual Agnosi when he intercepts the commission. Huh, Kae breathed. So, youre saying we go instead. You. Chambers too. He can jack in person. Going to use him as my conduit to interact with the Heaven. Want to compromise that section of the wall completely. He pointed at the second risen markerCthis one connected Scale via a phantasmal string. Use Kassamon to oversee the operation. Remove all chance of discovery. They know how I look, Kae said. My memories are alsoC Maskable, Avo said, pulling up memories from some of his Incubi. Our consangs at Ori-Thaum have stashes across the city. Programmable proxy minds. I will alter your biometrics using Woundmother. Been wanting to enhance your biology for some time now. You will get through. En-enhance, Kae whimpered. Wont hurt. Can graft them painlessly. Use Canon of Biology. I regret helping you build that. Will thank me soon, Avo said. The third marker he highlighted was at the same place as the second. Kare sighed. [No. What are you going to make me do.] +Get you promoted,+ Avo said. Turning his attention back to his cadre, he elaborated on his plot. Going to be leaving mem-data in the overloaded barge. Paladin Kare will fortunately discover it. Along with several major smuggling routes. Draus smirked as she nodded. Plannin to elevate one of our puppets, huh? She has too much potential to be wasted as a pawn, Avo replied. The last marker grew higher than all the others, its rushing mem-data forming active memories of a refugee sanctuary two hundred kilometers beyond the external Maw that formed a ring around New Vultun itself. Going to be our bridgehead to the world outside. Have Necro contacts there. Calvino can also make us invisible to all of Voidwatchs drones operating in the area if need be. Gives us more openings. Essus. Want to talk with you after. You and Dice. Both former refugees looked at Avo and blinked. The latter would likely take little convincing. Essus though Avo wasnt sure how he would feel about the role Avo conceived for him. Ultimately, it would be their choice. In the end, no one person would be essential to the success of this endeavor. Especially with how Avo could burn whatever Fallwalkers or unsuspecting Guilders into being his perfect agents, but Essus and Dice were already shaped to present purpose. And there was a poignancy in deploying them that couldnt quite be conveyed with words. Draus should be able to create a usable passage beyond the borders if everything goes right. And this section of the wall will be secured. Only ours. Too compromised for anyone else. Ran and rebuilt the plan with my templates many times. Welcome additional concerns. Improvements if any of you have them. A brief silence followed as bands of thoughtstuff circled their Metas. Then, among the cadre, one arm was risen. Chambers, Avo said, regarding the man sitting atop the locus-embedded throne. The half-strand nodded. He drew in a breath and spoke: So Im still a little confused about, like, everything [Oh, you STUPID MOTHERFUCKER!] template-Chambers roar at his true self, anger buffeted by a chorus of laughter exploding across the Conflagration. [Kissing your ass, huh?] Abrel taunted. 19-15 Change the Doors (II) Okay. So. Youve survived your first five runs. Good for you. Good, good, good. Maybe you''re made of more than luck. Maybe there is a lick of skill or potential inside you. Maybe you gonna be more than just fighting meat bound for the Maw. Seeing that you made it this far, let old lady Tavers give you some advice. Up to this point, youre probably still alive because youre not like the other idiots. You notice things. You anticipate. Plan ahead. Prepare. Learn the terrainCwho you might be facing. You invested in the right kinds of consangs, equipment, training, and intelligence instead of vanity augs or drugs. And now new thoughts are crawling up your head. You think youre ready for the big time. You think you wanna start hunting big game; hitting Syndicates or stealing from the Guilds. Keep yourselves steady now. It aint that easy; this games about more than just killing. First, your last few runs were probably pretty straightforward affairs. Go here, hit that, snuff him. Basic shit with objective parameters that even your average ganger can understand. Going up though, things get complicated, and you need to invest in compilation preventatives. Besides being able to fight, what will keep you standing at the end of the day is understanding. Knowledge. Politics is nasty bullshit but its nasty bullshit youre going to learn to navigate if you dont want to end up getting betrayed. For every idiot squire, there is a dumber middler trying to screw everyone around them over. Do your own research. Figure out the angles you can. Keep yourself insured both operationally and intellectually. You dont get to be the muscle or the smart one. Specialization is for bioforms and insects, and were not either. Know your gigs. Know who to trust. And always have a plan to break and run. The second is for the run itself. Fighting is performance-in-action. Thats how things get doneCand circumstantially, how you get out of a fuck-up. Most of the time, I dont like fighting. I dont like being in an active gunfight. Thats bad business. Im not an assault team. Im not a Godclad. Ill be snuffed or nulled in seconds if I go in hard and recklessly. Be flexible, be fast, and be constantly creating variables for the opposition to deal with rather than being a variable to be dealt with. More than planning, you have to understand the concept of control. You can buy all the weapons in the world, have all the intel you need, have the backing of an entire Guild, and still fuck up your gig because something unexpected slipped your grasp. Thats life. Shit happens, but you need to catch the shit with your hand before it hits the fan and paints you in yesterdays undigested goulash. Control. I say again. Control. More than just preparation. When you can exert control, thats when you can call yourself a real squire. Thats when you can be considered a vet. If you can actively change the situations on the ground or influence mass amounts of people on a strategic level. All it takes is a few select hostages related to a certain Syndicate lieutenant for you to walk out of one of their strongholds instead of needing to risk it all in a messy shootout. Take the time to learn the key factors behind the success of your run and influence them however you can. This isnt a lesson that anyone can just teach you. Dive the vicarities. Live other peoples mistakes. Make your own. And if youre still alive by the end of this, I might just be able to congratulate you in person. -Quail Tavers, The School of the Warrens 19-15 Change the Doors (II) Avo had to admit his uncertainty. What he requested of Essus treaded the edges of the mans trauma. Deploying him as an on-site coordinator in refugee encampments or gutter settlements to protect others like him from Syndicate predation seemed the most optimal use of his talents. Still, much of the ask hinged on how well his mind state was, and if he was even willing to leave the city at all. Essus had suffered much to see himself and his son brought into the city. And instead of reaping any final rewards upon his arrival, he found only misery and death. The severance of his love and legacy. The desecration of his mind and body. Everything traded for more loss. Returning him to the place where he made his greatest mistake seemed an insult, but it was where he offered the most use. Your choice, Avo said. He directed his attention at Dice who was in the specially-fabricated meeting room as well. Both of yours. Wont force either of you into anything. Will listen if you have other ideas. See if theyre good. Avo had a private space generated to offer both former refugees privacy. His socially astute templates advised hosting this meeting away from the attention of the others. Somewhere the two wouldnt feel pressured into decisions they would otherwise not make to fit in with the group. Despite how warped humanitys clades were compared to their baseline selves, that tribalism lingered still in most; a want to belong, a need to fit in. {A trait naturally shaped by eons of persistent survival,} Calvino had said. {Considering how you can affect minds, however, you can probably burn that mechanism away. The question is what replaces it thereafter, and what changes befall the altered. Keep that in mind before you change anyone: the stars were once littered with the bones of countless peoples who modified themselves into extinction. Systems are deviously subtle. I suggest that you build if you can, break if you must, but bear the structure of what youre changing in mind always.} The words resonated in more ways than one as Avo considered the two former FATELESS seated on smart-matter chairs before him. Between the two, Essus looked more uncomfortable by far, his pudgy cheeks expelling thermogenic sweat, the oily substance adding a slickness to his curled hair. In contrast, Dice was stone-still, unblinking eyes locked on Avo as the face of her sleeping nu-cat peeked out from one of her coat pockets. The two of them were both survivors in their own right and through Avos Conflagration and canons, they could be forged into people stronger still. But this, like the tasks he offered, was something they needed to choose. I accept, Essus said, a long-held breath finally leaving him. I will do this. I want to do this. It is where I will serve the most good. His gaze dropped for an instant before he righted himself and met Avos eyes. I wish to confess something. I was afraid. Avo tilted his head. Understandable. Not unnatural. I can take it away. Change that part of you. Is that what you want? The man shook his head. No. Its just I was afraid you were going to ask me to leave. That you would request a parting and take back this this gift you have given me. Essus brought a shaking hand to his chest. I cannot I have only given you words of thanks for what you have done. For what you have tried to do. If not for you, I would have never witnessed this city. And understood the depths of my failure. Wasnt your faultC Please. Let me continue. The ghoul grunted in acquiescence and gestured for Essus to continue using an Echohead. I have been speaking to members of Voidwatch. Menders of mind and spirit. They have been very helpful in attuning my mind away from the emptiness I desired. But something inside me still aches. And it is more than grief. More than the death of my boy. Essus took a moment to steady himself. For the first time since the meeting started, Dice blinked and looked away from Avo. Awkwardly, reached out with her elongated arm and gently patted Essus on the arm as one would a nu-dog. The man seemed to take heart from the action.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I have told my son stories of the great cities many times. Things I heard from other travelers. Fantastic tales to keep his hope. And mine. I knew that things would not be so idyllic, but whatever was ahead had to be better than the madness of the torn lands. There was a future there. A place for us to live instead of just surviving. And then you got in, Avo said. The former father sighed. Yes. And then we got in. I confess: the smugglers were kind, and I knew there was something wrong when I first spoke to them. But I drank in their words of hope and safety because we were so close. Right there. And the camps They are strained as is. So many people. More every day. Not even Voidwatchs machines can protect us all. So I took the risk. I signed our lives to a stranger. And he did not lie. He brought us in. But not as people. As cattle. What followed I broke more than once after my boys death. I broke when you stopped me from killing myself. I broke more when they said you were dead, and I was alone. I broke when that that demon Mirrorhead peeled me apart, forced his metal inside me. And Essus looked down at his cybernetic limbsCsomething he kept in his ontology from his tenure as a Syndicate attack dog. But the power he gave took away some of the pain. I wasnt the only one to suffer. I could make someone else know. Even if killing them was hard. I thought they understood. He shook his head. When we escaped, when we rose up the layers of the city and glimpsed the sky, I broke once more. I saw it. I saw the Tiers. I saw the utopia I dreamed of in my liesCthe place I promised Aurrie we would call home. And I hated it. I hated how it loomed above me. I hated the lights and the colors and smells that filled the sky, close enough for me to sense, but never to taste. A thousand humorless chuckles sang as a bitter symphony in Avos mind. [This was not the dream,] Corner muttered. [This was not the dream,] Osjon agreed. [The dream is not yet dead,] Kare whispered, her mind desperately trying to believe. Such is how we are, Avo said. A dream is a mirage in the desert. A thing that draws us to move. To live. To become. Or fall, Essus replied. I do not think I will dream anymore. But I have a new wish. This thing you have plannedCspread our influence through the FATELESS. Saving them from the Syndicates and the FATED. I will do it. But I want to do more. I want to work inside and outside the city. To build true sanctuaries. So no more jackals can prey on fathers and sons, mothers and daughters. So that we need not choose between one damnation or another. Calvinos sigh drifted through Avos mind. +Sight make you sad,+ Avo asked. {No. But it should make you proud. You are looking at one of the main reasons why Aegis accepted you.} Avo regarded Essus, taking in a man exhausted in expression and spirit. +Couldnt save his son. Couldnt save most of him. Only a shell left.+ {People have rebuilt from ruins always. It is chief among human traits. But such a path is only possible for him because of you. Because a cannibalistic monster that was never meant to be anything more than a failed weapon decided otherwise. And tried. The little miracle is that you tried. I suppose in a way, that means everything.} Im sorry, Essus said, hunching over as he audibly breathed again. A rare note of laughter escaped from him thereafter. I told myself I wasnt going to vent to you, that I was going to be composed. He shrugged as if he was helpless. A beat followed. The templates chattered, suggestions forming and disintegrating inside the dancing fire that was Avos true self. Essus. Apologize less. The man blinked. Sorry. That. Dont do it as much. Spare yourself the shame. Dont care to judge you. Would rather you didnt judge yourself. Essus bit his lip, bowing his head and nodding as he processed his feelings in silence. What about you? Avo asked, turning a question on Dice. Are you willing to go back to the Sunderwilds? Reclaim your enclave. Raid others. Hunt Fallwalkers. The waif just stared blankly at him for a moment, her thoughtstuff spinning slowly. If Avo didnt have her template burned into his consciousness, he probably wouldnt have been able to guess her thoughts at all. Even inside him, template-Dice was a quiet fire, watching and learning more than speaking and offering. She was a child raised as an attack dog learning to be a person years later than she should have started. In some ways, that made her damaged. In other ways, it made her unbreakableCespecially in a world such as theirs. Perfectly broken. Little wonder she shadowed Draus so much. Like called to like. When her question finally came, she sounded almost too scared to ask it. Can I come back? I dont want to say out in the dark. I like the city more. I like it a lot here. I want to say. Can I please stay? [Godsdammit,] Two-Mag choked, cringing as he begged Avo to look away from the girl. [What? All that slave driving coming back to haunt you?] Abrel taunted. [Fuck! You!] Two-Mag screamed. [Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you fuck you fuck! I didnt want to live that life! I didnt want to ask to be born in the Warrens. Dont pretend this shit is all on me! Im just shoveling the shit you pass downCyour people fucked the world! Your people are why she exists! I just have to deal with it! I am not good enough to climb the Tiers! Alright! I was born less than youCI would have been less than you probably even if I wasnt! I dont have it! I dont! I was just I was just] The former slaver began to sob, and the softer of his cohorts likewise shuddered with trauma. Empathy was like poison when injected into a cruel vessel. Matter. Antimatter. Destruction. Can do you whatever you want, Avo said. Was wrong to use you as bait. Should have brought you in earlier. Because I was a good girl, Dice asked. Because I killed the targets? Yes. Yes, it was because she was useful. Because if she wasnt, the Paladins would have likely interned her, and Avo wouldve never thought of her thereafter. Yes. But things shouldnt be this way. He reduced the empathy radiating from his templates to recompose himself. And together we can change that. Dice only nodded. Do you want to do anything else? Avo asked. The girl frowned. Im not sure. I dont know. Not one asked me that. Before. Ever. Can I think about it? Have time. Think. Avo noticed Essus looking at the waif from the corner of his eye, a haunted pulling at the mans features as if he finally noticed Dices youth and her casual acceptance of the horrors that broke him. Primary matters over. I am pleased with the conversation. Now. Onto potential improvements. Improvements? Essus mumbled, not understanding. Avo gestured at his arms. Augmentations. Modifications. I can make you more. In mind. Body. Soul. Only questions are what you want; what you might need. Essus opened and closed his chrome fingers unconsciously, shivering as the servos whirred. I I dont want more metal. Fine. Cant do metal directly anyway. Will require a cybernetics station. Tavers still getting that set up. But biology is another opportunity. Dont even need to look different. I can just give you standard improvements. No deformations required. Essus swallowed and nodded in thanks. Dice shot the man a brief look like he was strange before looking at Avo again. Can you turn me into a gun? Even with her template inside his Conflagration, the question the girl asked caught Avo off-guard. Calvino sighed. Draus template guffawed violently inside his mind. [Ah, shit. Shes probably got that from me. Juvs trying to make me blush.] Uncertain how to reply, Avo simply grunted. Can attach a gun to you. Can make your entire sheath like a gun. Very extreme morphologies available. Can look over some choices later. Excitement lit up behind Dices eyes as she nodded vigorously, her effervescence bubbling up in her template as well. Again, Essus eyed the girl, jaw slightly agape at the things that pleased her. But more than that, however, her boldness spurred a bit of boldness out of him as well. That seems a bit extreme but I I suppose I should be a bit more adventurous too. He tried a small smile, fake as it was. It would not do for a child to be brave alone. 19-16 An Attunement of Flesh (I) +It''s the High Seraph. She''s the one who did this. She''s pulling the strings. I know it. I know UthredCthe proud bastard wouldnt have given up his position on his own. Theres something going on behind the scenes. Something she doesnt even want the other Chivalrics to know about. All I know is that he resigned and departed the Tiers immediately after. Thats not someone consumed by shame or despair. Thats a man with a mission. No expression on his face during the resignation. His daughter? Maybe. Probably. But I cant be sure. The High Seraphs been unpredictable in the best of times; I wont pretend to understand what shes planning or what she sees. I just see the point in trying to defy her. Yeah, I know. I heard Shotins been setting things up against your people as well. Sounds like were both heading for a nasty time. Hunker down and go dark. Stay silent. We can meet again after the heat dies down a bit. See if theres any point to continued collaboration or if we should scrub our minds clean and be done with this. Elegant-Moon? Theyre still looking her over. Deep scans show no cognitive compromises and her ego looks mostly the same. Besides what was already missing. I just have a feeling that Never mind. You get your own affairs in order. Ill make contact with you after things have calmed down on my end. The signal will be when I take a walk down Nine-Shadows Street in the district of Loathing. Run my face through a Registry every few days. Ill update you about things on my end after the trial. Of course, Im going to attend. It would look suspicious if I didnt. Well, whatever happens, I just hope Instrument Abrel will be spared banishment. I know the girl. Shes a good soldier. The only thing wrong about her is the cunt she fell from.+ -Instrument Santanado Starsinger Mondelles to Seeker Sintaker (Ori-Thaum) 19-16 An Attunement of Flesh (I) It took an equal measure of mastery and artistry to reshape a body. With systems within systems wed to other systems, life was a dynamic structure that grew and withered between the moments. Mere days before, Avos new Canons of Biology would be little more than weaponsCthings solely for harm and nothing further. Imbued with Elegant-Moons mind and granted Calvinos instruction, however, he found himself walking uncharted territory: a complete builder of flesh, matter, mind, and Soul. Culturing new enhancements within the members of his cadre was delicate work. He plucked and learned the limits of their skin, skeleton, sinew, and organs, heeded the song of their blood, and mapped the path of their nerves. He did this as Tavers and Draus brought new high-end implants for the groups perusal, augments requisitioned from the Bazaar and Threshold alongside equipment needed to set up a cybernetics and engineering station. Where Voidwatchs technological modifications were complex yet non-invasive, the techno-thaumic produce sourced from terrestrial creators was easier to graft and anomalous in their capabilities. Going over different morphological archetypes with Dice and the cadre furthered his insight. Allowed him to segregate them into jobs of varying difficulty. Essus occupied the very bottom of requirements. Despite all the options provided and the improvements he could undergo, the shape his body took still meant much to him, and any extreme adjustments would leave him feeling dysmorphic at best. In the end, his apprehensions were little impediment. Voider tech serviced a broad spectrum of preferences, and though numerous polities lived in ways far deviant from baseline, there were more than enough bioconservative communities that still had their own high-end modifications. Pairing nanosuites programmed to strengthen skin, bone, muscle, and other tissues with respirocytes designed to hyper-charge his respiratory system, the shape of Essus sheath remained unchanged even as his constitution grew to rival most FATED. But such was only the beginning. After the coldtech was applied, Avo imbued the man with his own gifts as well. Domain of (Biology) ->Canons: My Blood The Harvester, My Flesh the Symphony (III); Remembrance of Flesh (V) Extracting Biological Traits Grafting: [Omni-Lungs]; [Thermogenic Sweatglands]; [NewLife Phagekiller-TURBO]; [NewLife Metabolics]; [Skinshift]; [FANG Endocrine Modulator]; [NewLife Sudoriferic Pheromone Ejectors]; [Circadian Enhancer]; [Ascender RangeSighters-III] It tickles slightly, Essus said, as he lay fastened to a grafting station made out of tesselated smart matter, body secured and stilled as the blood within him shifted and changed, clotting into new organs or layering existing structures with further traits. The Omni-Lungs, Phagekiller, Metabolics, and Pheromone Ejectors were all products borrowed from the NewLife Research Initiative under the No-Dragons. Ensuring Essus couldnt be compromised by most thaumically created fumes, plagues, and chemical compounds were foremost concerns. Ensuring he was physiologically charming to the FATELESS was more of a social investment. The Skinshift likewise would allow for him to tighten or loosen his facial features substantially, allowing for some limited individual biosculpting in case he needed to escape while the Circadian Enhancer was copied from Kae herselfCreducing a bodys required sleep to just two hours if Essus wanted to indulge in such a thing. Ghosts flowed over Essus face and centered their etheric glow on his eyes. The biomedical phantasmic isolated the organs and surrounding tissue in a coating of light, phantoms projecting simulations of the organs, another flexible layer of lens-like biomass lining the mans eyes. [Good, good,] Elegant-Moon whispered. [Honestly, you should grow more. Give him a full spectrum. Grow every kind of eye possible within the socket. Let him see the world for what it truly isC] {Please ignore that statement and halt your growing urge to force unnatural body horror on the poor man,} Calvino interrupted. {You know what he asked for. Respect his agency.} Avo grunted. Elegant-Moon laughed. [I can feel your urge to experiment. To play. The one you touch now does not know the joys of being more.] +Have other clay,+ Avo said. +Chambers. Draus. Dice.+ {Might I suggest that you also avoid calling your friends clay?} +No.+ {Very well. Continue with your dehumanization.} Retinal veins glowed with luminous blood. From within Essus eyes, Avo carved away imperfections, drawing them into his Woundmother and discarding them from existence before growing additional substructures for the new lens. As the former refugee blinked, Avo heard him gasp, his pupils dilating. I I can see so much detail. How Eyes are now tetrachromatic. Picks out motion much better too. Adjusts to environmental brightness in seconds. Main thing is distance. Can judge range perfectly from the angle that light hits you. Essus closed and opened his eyes, testing the new changes. I did not ask for this. Can take it away if you wantC No! Essus quieted. No. I Thank you. I This will be useful. The ghoul chuffed in amusement. Of course. Much like with a Frame, when one surmounted a greater height, they often loathed to return to who they were before. How could he have rejected the augmentation? It would be an act of self-disfiguration; a crippling, even. {I see you will never be popular with the biocons,} Calvino quipped. +Whats their stance on cannibalistic subhumans.+ {Engineered diseases; deconstructor-swarms; planetary glassing. Depends on the severity of the infestation. If were solely talking about you, their official stance would be to blacklist your Ego-ID and quarantine the area youre in. Attempted assassinations of Aegis is very frowned upon, you see.} Avo laughed. Deactivating his phantasmic, the hissed embers as they receded back into Avos haloCthe inferno now resembling the ringed battlements of a castle more than a crown. How do you feel? Essus drew in a breath and held it. He kept holding it. Nearly a full minute passed as blinked, opening and closing his hands, stretching his jaw as the tendons of his face popped and flexed, expanding the width of his cheeks while drawing his brows closer together. I feel no urge to draw breath. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Yeah, Draus said, speaking without turning, her attention fixed on the drones putting the cybernetics-engineering workshop together in the background. Took a peek earlier. Guessin the ghoul gave you a pair of Omni-Lungs with some respirocytes. Bodys hyper-charged with oxygenation right now. Learn to breathe less or youll get high. Deliberately suck in too many and youll get sick. Sick? Essus said. Oxygen can make someone sick? Draus snorted. Too much can kill you. You know that shit burns, right? The former flats eyes grew narrow, modified irises like glinting onyxes. Yes. I am not stupid. Its just He tried to shrug, but the grafting station didnt allow it. Artad. No wonder they think so lowly of us. {Its a good thing youre still restricted from requisitioning the high end of our artificial blood-based modifications,} Calvino muttered. {I shiver to think of how your Heaven might affect such sophistication.} +Someday,+ Avo said, grinning. {For all our sakes, may it not be so.} As the grafting station detached Essus, the man groaned as the smart-matter gimbal turned him upright. Stepping off from the structure, his joints rattled in a series of pops as he staggered away from his modifications. Youre a lucky fucker, you know that, Chambers said, sitting atop the throne instead of on it. Grafters that did my eyes werent nearly as gentle. I mean, they didnt have a Heaven. Or anestheticChad to buy that shit myself. But this is like an insta-graft. Your ass doesnt need to take pills or stand in the rain or anything like that. All you needed was an injection and then Avo here grew the rest. Speaking of which The half-strand pushed off the seat, clearly wanting to be next, only for Dice to walk right past him with a nu-kitten slung over her shoulder, meowing at him as they passed. Hey, what the fuck, its my turn. Tell em what I told you to say, Dice, Draus said. Dice was three steps away from the grafting station when stopped, turned, and spoke: Shove your balls up your ass and and clench yourself cathCcathrated? She looked to Draus as the Regular chuckled, unsure if she spoke the words right. Close enough, Draus said. Draus, Kae sighed, her voice coming from the other corner of the room where she was looking over stacked containers filled with oracle glassCanother procurement delivered thanks to Tavers. Stop teaching the child pointless vulgarity. It aint pointless; hells, its practically the only kinda language the shits down the Warrens speak. And shes gonna need to snuff plenty of em. And if the Reg doesnt teach her, I might! Tavers said, stepping through a mirror with another three retrofitted cargo drones in tow. Kae sighed. Am I to be the only good influence here? Calvino coughed. Avo coughed. Everyone turned their stares on him. Got somethin to say? Draus asked. I dont curse, Avo muttered. I can be a good influence. Silence filled the room and Avos Conflagration. Both Chambers titled their heads. [How,] Abrel began, [the fuck did you say that with a straight face.] [Cause the rotlicks an arrogant idiot,] template-Draus answered. Avo frowned. +How am I wrong.+ An explosion of groans spread through his consciousness. His words caused Calvino to bite back a growl of frustration. {You were quite literally using her as bait.} +Apologized. Shes fine with it.+ {Thats because her life is a horror show, Avo. Youre just the least bastardly of the bastards shes met so far.} +Isnt that what a good influence is?+ {Only if we wish to be hyper-liberal with the meaning of good.} Abrel just wheezed. [Again. How the fuck are you saying these words.] [I dont see whats so bad about the ghoul,] Corner muttered. [Thats probably more of a personal issue with you, consang,] Paladin Kassamon sighed. I think youre good, Dice said in the real, breaking the silence with her confusion, unsure why everyone was glaring at Avo. You give everyone gifts. Keep us alive. Isnt that good? Again, she looked to Draus for confirmation. Sure. I know hes got a lot of people on his mind. Burning. Screaming. Whisperin their thoughts to him. Avo frowned. You offered. Plenty didnt. They were enemies. Had to kill them. Chambers made a noise. Had to is a strong statement The ghoul hissed his ire at the traitor and waved for Dice to come over. Didnt hear any of you complaining when I did it. Helped me. Rashed a district. Im fucking sorry! Chambers threw up his hand. Template-Chambers cringed. I apologized a thousand times! Stop holding that shit over me. I feel bad, okay. I didnt say I was a good influence. I know Im not. Maybe we should wait till the faither and Denton get back before we do this. Maybe Denton, Draus said. Aint good for a juv to get her head filled with cult shit. Chambers rolled his eyes. As opposed to what? Violence and murder? Hes not that bad if you listen to him. He doesnt even want people to sacrifice themselves. Told me that suicide is like, one of the worst things someone can do because it debases the gift of lifeC Draus rolled her eyes. For fucks sake, Chambers, he got you already? No! No. I didnt say I believed him, just that hes not that unreasonable. You know. Wants to build everyone a nice little place where they can all sing together. Kae winced and let out a small breath of apprehension. Thats how it always starts. Dont insult Cas while hes gone. Should be allowed to defend his ideas. Call us half-strands. Avo finished. There! You just cursed! Chambers said. Avo clicked his teeth at the fool in deliberate agitation. Was an analogy. Educational. {There really isnt much of a chance for her to be a well-adjusted child if I am, to be honest,} Calvino said. {Not unless her mind is drastically altered By, say, a metaphysically aberrant monster that basically exists as the eldritch equivalent of an infomorph.} Dice. Get on the station. Avo beckoned for the girl to hurry up as he gave up on the conversation. It was a stupid argument anyway. He didnt see how he wasnt the one with the most to offer the girl. Im right. I can be a good influence. Can turn into good influence with a thought. And he could. He had the ability to reshape his cognition. All he needed to do was decide. Jaus, Both Drauses chuckled in disbelief. [Youre fucking pouting.] Casting phantoms out before Dice as a curved display of visual mem-data, Avo growled under his breath as he brought up a list of options for the waif to pursue. The nu-kitten she held hissed at strange bodies drawing closer in interface windows shaped from memory. Can choose now. Got an assort of implants. Augmentations. Full sheaths for you to try. Can mount plenty of guns on yourself. Tavers bringing in heavy-cyber bodies. Can also give you enhanced organs as well. Many choices. As Avo scrolled through the thought-composed menu to give her an overview of all her choices, the girls face went still as the phantasmal glow accentuated the thin, curved scars lining her face. Bite marks, the most of them. Things inflicted by the teeth of a nu-dog. {Least bastardly of the bastards by far,} Calvino repeated, with a bit more disdain this time. Can I have a second to look? she asked. Avo grunted. Can cast choices directly into your mind. Will need to kill you after for reset. Dice nodded without a hint of fear. Thats fine. She picked the cat off her shoulder and held it out to Avo. The small ball of orange fur ducked and stared disdainfully at the ghoul from the corner of a green-hued eye, the ape-like limbs jutting from its back clapping in agitation. Slowly, Avo reached out, careful not to skewer it with his claws, deleting the sudden urge to take a bite out of the thingCif only out of curiosity about its taste. Noticing the ebony-lined digits drawing closer, the kitten yelped in agitation as it pawed wildly at Dice, desperate to remain with the person least likely to eat her. Then, Essus was back, taking the cat into his hands, spitting a series of chitters at the bioform to calm its terror. You must blink slowly at them, Essus said, grabbing the kitten by the scruff. And hold here. It calms the animal. A quiet giggle escaped from Dice, watching as the other former refugee bounced it on his chest as if a human infant. See, he said, showing the kitten to Avo again. The creature hissed as it saw the ghoul. Avo barred his fangs and hissed back. [Well, theres the good influence we were all lookin for, the Drauses said, nodding at Essus appreciatively. Him and Kae. Thatll do it. A buzzing insect circled high above Avo and he remembered there was a final member they discounted. {Oh, poor Sunrise is used to such things,} Calvino said. {Interesting how human one is considered if they dont fall into the confines of your expectations, isnt it? Perhaps the same thing might apply to the girl when she is done with her choices. Will the rest still think of her as a child if she chooses to house her ego in a body that resembles a tank?} Only one way to find out. Flames coming, Avo said, preparing to link his mind to Dice. The waif nodded and turned back to look at himClook through him. A faint smile pulled at her lips, but she didnt quite complete the expression. Time to be a gun. 19-17 An Attunement of Flesh (II) You know, I always hated the term sheath. The term is deliberately backward. Your sheath is the hardwareCthe physical apparatus you use to interface with the world. Your ego is not the blade, but more like the hand that wields the weapon. Whatever voider bastard we stole the term from should be ashamed of themselves; their focus on poetic marketing betrays the conveyance of ideas. Pitiful. But I can deny it does sound good. Catchy. The concept just clings to you after you say it. Sheath. It certainly fits more than calling our products enhanced ego-receivable bodies. Because bodies arent what they are. Bodies are the ugly legacies we got from our parents, hammered into an inefficient lump by our environment. A lacking vessel for these trying times. I dont know if youve all noticed, but were in an arms race right now. Against existence. Against each other. Against our own limits. Theres a war happening, and its happening everywhere. And if you dont upgrade, someone else will, and to steal a phrase from my mother: Skills what youre forced to fall back on when youre shit outta luck everywhere else. I hated the sow, but shes right. You get a pureborn Kosgan, fish Old Thousandhand back out from the Big Nothing, have her train the poor shit a thousand years, and then throw them up against some joy-fiend sheathed into a Bearbreaker. See who comes out on top. Two hundred pounds of brittle bone and soft tissue against a sub-ton of super tensile muscle tissue, titanium-duramite endo and exoskeletal supports, hyper-conductive synaptic layering, and desynchronized nerve silos. See who wins. Thankfully, you choose which part of the metaphor you wish to embody. Most will end up as the poor bastard about to be swept aside. But you? If Im right about you at all, youre gonna wanna be the avalanche instead. Or maybe you fancy yourself another kind of calamity altogether. We wont judge. Were just here to give you options. Hell, well even throw in the immuno-suppressants and the counter-dysmorphia sequencing for free. All you need to do is choose power. Choose better. Choose Onta-Fang. -Personalized Nether-ad of Yaer Coldstrong, Doghead of Onta-Fang (A Stormtree subsidiary) 19-17 An Attunement of Flesh (II) Dice had a preference for the cybernetic over the purely biological. There was something about the girl that preferred the certainty of steel over the flexibility of flesh. It was understandable, in a way. She lived life as a thing, an object, a weapon, and so, she saw herself the same way: as a blade; a dagger; a gun. What then could speak more to her self-regard than becoming a weapon above weapons? Encased in skin impervious to the sharpest of teeth. Joined to Avos Conflagration, the specifications of each sheath and implant calcified into understanding within Dices mind. After narrowing her search parameters, the Onta-Fang Stormrazer-IX was the first major item to catch the girls interest, boasting extreme physical power supported by a modified fusion core for a heart deemed treacherously volatile even for light assault vehicles, the girls enthusiasm regarding the choice was cut down with but a scoff from Tavers. The old squire rolled her eyes at the phantoms hovering over Avos mind, simulating a modeled projection of a headless ten-foot-tall bipedal sheath with wire-like synthetic muscles and an L-200 anti-drone assault cannon fused into its spine. Jaus, always with this shit. Look. Juv. Not to piss on your parade, but this sheath is for half-strands and fuckwits. This thing guzzles over a thousand kilowatts on the daily. Even inactive, youre going to be sucking juice constantly. Ghoul heres gonna have to plant a Domain of Lightning in you to deal with that. Sure. Tavers took a moment more to review the design further. Sensory suite lining the body isnt bad; core storage for the brain is good too. And I gotta admit the spinal-mounted heavy cannon is real sexy. Can punch through an assault drone at two hundred kilometers away with BVR assistance. But I propose the contrary: just jock into an assault drone or missile yourself and cut out the complicated middle-man bullshit. Youll get ten times more firepower at a fourth of the cost. And people wont look at you funny while youre walking down the street. Dice blinked at all that and shifted her thoughts to template-Draus for approval instead. The Regular stored in Avos mind responded with a shrug. [Aint wrong. But youre a Godclad now. You can set your own rules. A recharge is just a resurrection away. A death will give you a clean slate. Old Tavers there got limits you dont.] The girl nodded. Okay. Adjusting her parameters further, she spent a few beats considering the NewLife Bomber Queen and the Ascender Operative before moving on, regarding the first as something too grotesque and the latter as too brittle. Then, her mind came to a rest on the Aegis-provided Big-Stick Diplomat, offering a heavy augmented baseline body built around an expandable particle cannon. {Ah,} Calvino said, releasing a sigh of satisfaction. {She finally comes upon the diamond we placed among the rough. Fitting for her, dont you think? It looks so harmless, yet with a single thought, the arms and chest will unfurl to form aC} Dice promptly eliminated the Big-Stick Diplomat as well, her attention drifting ahead to one of the oddest acquisitions among the items. [Omnitech Railjumper] Standard Market Price -> [35,000,000,000 Imps] Specifications: Reactor: ENE-393 Microfusion Cells x2 Cog-Tech Systems: Chainglass Polyweave Vivianite Casing with Pre-Built Phalanx Warded Poly-Loci Processing Core with Cybermind ({5.5 TB/s} Sprites) Modules: [360-Vision]; [Full Spectrum Visual Interface]; [Lidar]; [Sensory Enhancement Suite]; [Synth-Flesh Endomesh]; [Scope-10 ScanGrid]; [Railjujmper Mag-Boosted Maneuvering System] The sheath wasnt that much taller than Dice was at a glance, barely reaching two hundred and ten centimeters in terms of full height. If judged from the look of its contours, it would have seemed relatively mundane as well, offering two arms, two legs, and even a smooth pyramid-shaped ScanGrid as a head unit. The true specialty lurked behind the curved layers of polished chrome encasing the body, with the inner system being a twisted interplay between heavily modified synthflesh fused around a heavily modified skeleton composed of coils, rails, pneumatics, and magnetically charged extension units. To put it simply, each step one took while built into a Railjumper allowed them to leap, dash, and soar through the air as if they were flechette being fired out of a railcannon. {No. Bad. Terrible idea. Avo, advise her.} The ghoul just grinned. Like this one? For a beat, Dice said nothing, but the twitching of her lips told him all he needed to know. Across the room, Tavers whistled. Fuck me, juvs like to live dangerously these days. Draus grunted in agreement. Railjumper. Havent seen many people build themselves around those. Knew a guy who made it work for him pretty good. First Lieutenant Kiseng. Fastest among my surviving pod of aspirants. Might be the fastest Reg alive. If hes still alive. Bastard managed to shoot down a passin golem while diving across blocks durin the war. Yeah. Way too fast for most to handle, Tavers concurred. Youll need a high-end Accelero just to keep up with how fast youre moving. And its too fragile to survive a direct impact with heavier armor. Shes gonna have a hell of a learning curve if she wants to cut her teeth on that. {Not to mention its design is completely nonsensical,} Calvino complained. Drawing up the schematics for the sheath, the EGI scrawled through the data and highlighted several sentences, focusing on how the body was a scientific success at capturing and redirecting the force of a linear-acceleration platform in a miniaturized vessel and a constant counter-magnetic pressure paired with high-tensile tissue allow for the flexing and survival of the host. {This is utter nonsense.} The Techplaguer disagreed, chiming with a note of approval. Good child. THROUGH SCIENCE EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE! EVERYTHING! HAIL SCIENCE! {But none of this is scientific you ridiculous, broken thing. Newtons Third Law is screaming. And the amount of heat this will generateC} Have been resolved through TRUE SCIENCE! {Loudly shouting science does not alleviate the fact that this body is powered by reality-breaking madness.} A low warbling drone of disgust sounded from the Techplaguer. What do you know of science, Sky-Burner? {...Are you serious right now?} I want to try this one, Dice said, as Heaven and the artificial mind continued their argument. Good, Avo said. Can make some adjustments afterward. But your installation will come later. Have our grafters do your cybernetics before I adjust your biology. Provided locus and coldtech mind also useful. Gives us more time to sequence a Metamind to your ego. The girl blinked twice and nodded. Am I going to get the fires too? No. Fires only for me, Avo paused. For now. He would need to experiment with his Conflagration further. He still had a yearning to deepen his control over his current state and prevent any further lapses. The desire to temporarily quell his fires to allow for standard and subtle jacking remained as well. Stay here for now. Will start work on you once the workshop is finished and the voiders get a look at you. {Theyre not going to like that,} Calvino said. {Jack and Jane might be quite liberal about using thaumaturgically affected materials, but the shadow of the Builder War hangs over us yet.} +Girls chosen. Will it be a problem?+ {Just be ready to hear a lot of complaining from both of them. And me.} Avo clicked his fangs together and regarded the rest of his cadre; the endless templates constantly sniping and sneering at each other in his mind. The EGI groaned. {Very well, point taken.} Chambers, Avo said. Call up more grafting station. Going to do the rest of you while drones bring in the rest of the workshop. Call the voiders too. Get them on standby. Have a side job for them to do. Yeah sure, got it Chambers said. A hint of uncertainty remained in his voice. His eyes were flicking between Avo and Dice.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. What? Chambers just shrugged. You know, like, Tavers said right? Its pretty extreme for the kid. ThatsCher bodys going to be completely replaced and stuff. Its not even going to remotely look the same. Itll just be her brain, skull, spine, and bits of torso fused to the core of that thing. The mans apprehension was understood in an instant. Avo could feel the same unease boiling inside template-Chambers as well. Worried about her suffering dysmorphia. The half-strand opened his mouth and squeezed out an effortful breath. Id have trouble making the transition is all Im saying. She wont, Avo replied. Have her mind inside mine. Know her limits. Her sheathing tolerance is comparable to Draus. Comparable to me. Will shape any damage out of her ego if it happens. Ensure her lasting sanity. Yeah? Okay. You got the burn, consang. Despite the words leaving his lips, a slight wariness remained in Chambers posture. Just, uh, you know You know better than I do. Yeah, Avo replied. Chambers? Hm? New grafting stations. Right, right. *** Implants qued: Jelene Draus -> [Neurotuner]; [Chem Sniff]; [Soulgazer Optics]; [Accelero-XI]; [Volant Reflex-Acceleration System]; [Modular Projectile Unit] (Right Arm) Kae Kusanade -> [Neurotuner]; [Examiner Optics]; [Nanosurgeons]; [Accelero-XI]; [Duramite Skeletal Lacing]; [Muscular Nanofibers]; [Nanosurgeons]; [Respirocytes]; [Tox-Filter] Aedon Chambers -> [Neurotuner]; [Duramite Skeletal Lacing]; [Muscular Nanofibers]; [Nanosurgeons]; [Respirocytes]; [Tox-Filter]; [Accelero-XI] Avo -> [Neurotuner]; [Mastermind Personal Data-Cortex (58 TB/s)] Dice -> {SHEATH UPDATE: RAILJUMPER]; [Neurotuner]; [Modular Projectile Unit] (Left+Right Arm); [Meteor Omnidirectional Manuvering System]; [Volant Reflex-Acceleration System] Domain of (Biology) ->Canons: My Blood The Harvester, My Flesh the Symphony (III); Remembrance of Flesh (V) Extracting Biological Traits Grafting Jelene Draus -> [Endo-Chitinous Plating]; [Bioelectric Skin Sensors]; [Magnetoreception Sensitivity]; [Bomb-Queen Bio-Hive]; [Bomb-Queen Bio-Pheromones] Kae Kusanade -> [NewLife Phagekiller-TURBO]; [NewLife Metabolics]; [FANG Endocrine Modulator]; [Omni-Lung] Aedon Chambers -> [Immunobooster]; [Omni-Lung]; [NewLife Phagekiller-TURBO]; [NewLife Metabolics] Dice -> [Bone Demon Mycelia]; [NewLife Phagekiller-TURBO]; Avo -> [Condylostylus] Steel sank into shifting flesh as machines performed their surgeries and the Woundmother expressed its touch. Aside from the Aegis Neurotuner requisitioned for all active combatants in the cadre to tune and keep their cognitive processing speeds synced, each member obtained varying implants and modifications based on their own preferences and requirements. Kaes needs werent so unlike Essus in some regards, though her augmentations focused more on enhancing her physicality. Both she and Chambers had their bodies'' major systems boosted, with special consideration applied to their bones and muscles. It would likely take the Agnos a bit longer to adjust to the changes, but she would acclimate in time. Now, at least she could keep up easily with the rest of the group. Avo borrowed a few organs from the Bomb-Queen rejected by Dice and applied their benefits to Draus. Despite how formidable her sheath already was, being able to command and compel a swarm of highly explosive hornets at range was likely going to be a trait she enjoyed. Of course, this modification would pale compared to the sheer spike in effectiveness that the Aegis Volant Reflex-Acceleration System offered. Paired with her existing Accelero-IX, the exo-spinal neuro-booster implant was a module adapted from highly advanced voider interceptor drones. Reduced in potency though it was, it remained a restricted modification to most even among the polities beyond the most extreme body modders or those with extremely durable sheaths. Anyone lesser tended to reap a quick death after their synapses were overloaded. Neither Draus nor Dice fully qualified as either of the above, but with their ability to resurrect and Avo being capable of mending their flesh with a thought, the risk posed to them was acceptable. As a needle empty of heavy aesthetics lifted from Dices unmoving form, Avo listened to Jack grumble about the sheath they were assembling opposite of the waif, describing its design as cursed and powered by goofy bullshit. The Techplaguer regarded them with muted scorn as the voider grafters continued with their task, Jane testing the whining articulations of her drones as she fired her monosaw twice. Ah, shit, Chambers muttered, watching in silent apprehension from his own grafting station as Dice prepared to undergo her changes. Hope youre right about this, Avo. Sheath rejection gets real nasty. Shell be fine, Avo said, reassuring Chambers. The anxiety inside the man and his template was growing; brewing like a forgotten kettle set to boil. Seem nervous Chambers. Got something you want to say? What? No. Im just You know. Tired. You growing those biomods inside me tickled something bad. Got me unbalanced and all that other shit, you know. Have your mind inside me too, Chambers. Dont need to do this. Dont need to lie. The man drew in a long wheezing breath. I forgot. Why dont you just ask the version of me whos burning inside you? Just pull the mem-data from him. You dont need to talk to me. "You would like it more if I talked to you, Avo said. A beat passed. Chambers nodded. Yeah Im worried about the juv. And jealous of her ass too. Jealous? Avo asked, refraining from accessing template-Chambers for immediate understanding. Amassed intuition told him that letting this moment play out to the end as a process would be more poignant than just knowing everything in an instant. Yeah. Chambers snorted. You already fucking know why, right? Its stupid. Shit, Im blushing. Fuck. Embarrassed? No shit Im embarrassed. Got the Reg, Kae, Essus, and Tavers giving me looks right now. I just you know. Kinda wish someone gave a shit about me like we give a shit about her back when I was a kid. You know? It wouldve been nice if I had someone looking out for me, caring about what I wanted, and stealing stupidly expensive sheaths for me It promptly dawned on Chambers what he was asking and he buried his face into his palms. Fuuuuccck. Holy shit, consang. I wish that you could have been my dad instead. He barked a humorless laugh. A godsdamned people-eating monster for a father. What a joke. You had a monster for a father, Avo said. You should wish for more. Act to cast his shadow behind. Leave him forgotten in the end. Chambers shifted his face and peeked at Avo from the corner of his eye. Listen. Can I ask you a question? But Im not sure if it means anythingC Ask it anyway. I mean, you already know everything Im going to say. Whats the point? For you? Everything. Avo regarded Chambers. There is a difference between knowing something will happen and being part of the action. Gnosis is not a manifestation. Epiphany is not full comprehension. The possibility of a miracle is not the miracle itself. Ask your question. Make your thoughts true. Why dont you just burn the useless out of me? Out of me and Essus andCand anyone else, really. Elegant-Moon, the Paladins! You can make us think like anyone. Make us whoever you want us to be. Why are we still us? Why? I dont get it. Its what I would have done. A darkness fell over Chambers features. Hells. I dont know what I wouldve done if I could do the things you can. Probably named myself god boss of some Syndicate in some district somewhere and then get myself snuffed after pissing the wrong person off. The question made Avo smile. It was an honest question magnified by Chambers greatest insecurities. You have seen my brothers. Remember how they are? Avo asked. The man nodded. Yeah? What are their characters like? Personality. How do they behave? Chambers opened his mouth and shrugged. Theyre hungry fucking monsters that hurt and eat shit. Yes. Small differences. Some bigger. Some smaller. Some cunning. Some simple. All without impulse. All ruled by hunger. All ruled by the Hungers and the Low Masters. A self-referencing set of traits and habits. Nothing more. No culture can grow from them. No expression. Not people. Poor pathetic things. I will not make the Hungers'' mistake. I will not be foolish like the Low Masters. You dont want to play god? [Oh, for fucks sake,] template-Draus muttered. [How much do the rest of you have to put up with this shit?] [All the time,] Abrel muttered. [I swear, the ghoul thinks hes some kind of philosopher.] [Especially when hes torturing or killing people,] Benhata added. [Its disturbing.] Avo ignored his inner hecklers and kept going. I am a god. I dont want to play human. Play tyrant. Tyranny is rooted in fear. Fear of the oppressor. Fear of the oppressed. But this fear is relative. And I do not wish to be chained by such things. Debases my pursuit of freedom. The ideals I wish to embody. My power is not relative to anothers existence. My powers are total. Absolute. Avo looked to Chambers. And so are yours. Chambers just blinked. Consang I wish I could catch on to half the shit youre saying. This is like, freedom and philosophy and shit, right? About letting people live their own choices all the way? Avo smiled. All these minds. All these memories. All these lives and perspectives. There are many ways to consider the world. Many angles to look at a mistake. Do you know why I think existence is broken? Chambers shrugged. Why? Because humanity refuses to cross over. It wants to indulge in all the pleasures of mortality while also enjoying the privileges of divinity. But an idea is perfection. A canon is absolute. I once lamented my fate as a ghoul. Didnt ask to be. Pitied myself in a way. But I see the grander pattern now. That all of us live lamentable lives. That we are all of us torn by the way of things. Seeking ascension. But anchored to affliction and addiction. Pulled between the heights of apotheosis and the debasement of primal desire. A wince passed through the half-strands face. I just wanna feel good sometimes, The rashCall the porn, its just I needed to feel. Yes. I understand. I was not better. I was just as addicted. But mine was harm inflicted. Yours is lust internalized. I shaped others with my cruelty. Broke them. Ate them. You dreamed of love and lust in the greatest extremes. Stimulation. Reminders that we are here. We exist. But you can be more than that now. Or you can be just that. All up to you. I just think it would be another kind of pity. Another kind of pitiful. If you do not seek the ends of who you can become. Silence fell. But not in Avos mind. Template-Draus made whimpering noises in mockery of the moment. [Listen to you both whinge.] {I felt it was quite caring,} Calvino said. {A show of our ghouls growing maturity. Using stolen goods to augment what is functionally a child soldier aside.} [Well, thats cause youre a bit of a bitch, Calv.] {Charmingly described as always, Captain Draus.} Back in the real, Chambers exhaled. Im real happy I got lucky. That you decided to keep me alive and use me against Mirrorhead. That you didnt snuff me afterward. Or take back your Frame. Thats all. Thats all I had to say. And so thats all Chambers needed to say. But there was one more thing Avo could do. One final act of extreme positive reinforcement. Chambers. Have a final question. Yeah. What? Was thinking about adding a final biomod. Just for you. Yeah Would you like to get your genitals enlarged? For the sake of enhancing your Heaven. Avo could see Kaes face break out in horror while Draus leaned over next to her. Avo, fuck you. What are you doing? You mean it? Chambers said, eyes growing wet. Why would I lie. Godsdammit, Avo, if I catch a twelve-inch dick from his Fucktopia in the future, Im gonna lodge that shit in your skull! The ghoul just kept grinning. And in time, Chambers smiled too. ...I love you, consang. I really, really do. 19-18 Walltaker (I) The Maws too damn big for us to cover. Theres practically an unfinished city down in the UmbraCone final fuck you from the Low Masters. Made with the explicit support of the Guilds back when Jaus was still smoking that hope shit, thinking he could charm anyone into believing in his vision. I loved the starry-eyed bastardCmaybe a bit less than Naeko did, but still, we wouldve all done anything for him. But sometimesCand I can''t believe I''m saying thisChis Zein was right. Zein Thousandhand was right. There are some problems you just need to kill. It''s like a cockroach infestation. You don''t reason with them. You crush them. You burn them. That, or they become problems later. Hell, it''s the same thing every time. You don''t fix something yesterday, it comes back to shit in your bed tomorrow. And so here we are, looking at a labyrinthine set of mazes, corridors, hidden passageways that run between the channels of the Maw. Perfect for smugglers and other scum festering in the Warrens. Fucking Nolothi fucks. Always leaving us shit to clean up. Our drone patrols and spatial anchors aren''t enough to cover the entire territory. Frankly, there''s just too much space. Too damn big, as I said before. So what do we do? Well, we choke specific intersections and passages from above. We watch streetside traffic and scan for what kind of produce is being moved. We try to break up the Syndicates and plant our informants deep. It''s like chipping at a mountain, but at least we''re chipping. Cant say the same for the bastard Agnosi, who refuse to patch anything in a timely fashion. Were not dumping all these canons for fun. These are breaches. Leaks. And for everyone we plug, a billion spring up. They needed to be choked yesterday. Instead, Jaus pet pseudo-faithers seem to find more meaning in empowering the same Fallwalker half-strands supplying the smugglers with the means to breach our walls than actually securing the walls themselves. I guess the city looks all shiny and different when you spend your time living it up in the heights of the Tiers. Not like theyre another part of the genocidal apparatus that keeps everything standing. I know Im not being fair, but a token effort isnt enough. It just fucking isnt. I have to look at the dead every day. Dig through their memories, feel the thrill of some sick fuck as his Lustaway fires to the screams of a child he set on fire. And there are millions of them. Millions of them feeding off the misery of the FATELESS. I know the city doesnt consider them people but maybeCjust fucking maybe could we prove ourselves better than the bastards that came before us? Did we come this far just to be a redo of the farms? Somedays, the only thing that keeps me from breaking and giving up is remembering Naeko. Remembering what he is. Remembering who he used to be. I cant become that. Jaus himself chose us to be his Godclads, for fucks sake. We have to live up to the dream. I have to live up to the dream. Somehow. Id like to update the earlier analog: I dont think were chipping at a mountain. We have centuries. We can wear that son of a bitch down, doesnt matter how big. What we are doing is hacking at the sea. And the waves are just getting bigger -Mem-log of Paladin Maru Sandrupal 19-18 Walltaker (I) Ah, Avo. See youve been making more people vegetables recently. Ive spied a lot more mysterious nullings popping up all over the Warrens. Raldi greeted his guests from the far end of a long maple-carved table, its surface so polished that their arriving forms appeared like vague blurs contained within the wood. Sawing away at the roasted ursine he ordered and with a full twelve-course meal already laid out, he took the opportunity to scan each of the six figures loading into his rented demiplane. Avo approached looking different from before. There was now an ebony exoskeleton spilling out from between his plates of fungal ceramite. The solid tendrils joined to his spine were not also floating behind him on clouds of sparking darkness. As Avo drew close, so too did Raldis skin prickle with static electricity. That mightve been the most noticeable change if only one could ignore the constant eruption of fire climbing high from Avos halo, figures hiding between the flickers of the immolation. Two figures trailed close behind him. The first took Raldi but a moment to recognize. Former Regular Jelene Draus. Dread Draus, so named by avid Crucible consumers. She was encased in fluid but featureless white armor, augmented eyes shimmering as she scanned him. Her skin was the color of rusted bronze and her hair swung behind her head in a knotted tail. As their eyes met, he felt a sudden spike of panic pass through his bowelsCthe same feeling he got more than once when running from a war morph nu-dog. The second was a bit shorter than Draus. Where the Regular was approximately two hundred and thirty-three centimeters when measured by a Phys-Sim, the other was maybe twenty less. That didnt mean they were any less noticeable. With her clicking plates and a tetrahedral scanning unit in place of a skull, Raldi thought he was looking at a drone for a moment before he noticed a ring of thoughtstuff flowing around the core of the machine and realized there mustve been a human mind embedded in its locus core. Running a brief search using his Metamind, Raldi realized he was looking at an Omnitech combat sheath. A damned expensive one at that. [Omnitech Railjumper] Standard Market Price -> [35,000,000,000 Imps] Jaus, Raldi muttered, chuckling under his breath. The mystery snuffer clearly regarded him with apprehension as they narrowed their perception in on him. With every step the Railjumper took, the pallid slats of its armor expanded as if lips exhaling a breath, venting steam with every step. Coiling rings and whining mechanism accompanied each of their movements, and Raldi thought it vaguely sounded like a gauss rifle being charged up repeatedly. A wave passed over the strangers head and Raldi found his attention turned to Quail Tavers, bringing in the final members of Avos cohort. He was about to offer her his greetings when he saw them, appearances sinking into him like blows to the gut. Kae Kusanade took him a moment and a sequence match to recognize, but Aedon Chambers and Essus were known to him in an instant. They were wanted people with high bounties on their heads and threat profiles uploaded to ad spaces across the city and the Nether itself. The Agnos and the supposed Acolyte were encased in the same liquid armor Draus had, but the last member of the group was dressed in an ugly yellow raincoat with malfunctioning holoprojectors. Suddenly, he didnt feel so paranoid about spending premium imps to book a private booth in the Easy Armistice for a day. The extra privacy protections seemed wise too. He made his arrangements as soon as Tavers contacted himCand from the way she phrased things, this wasnt going to be a social call. Hence, he ensured his new consangs would be received with decorum and hospitality. But judging from their posture, he found himself regretting not coming in that Stormtree exo-rig Reva borrowed for him instead of this cockatrice scale suit he was wearing. Flicking the controls on his knife handle and maxing out its sharpness, he cut clean through the smoking nu-bear with a push, the blade gliding through flesh, bone, and gristle like it wasnt there. I hope youre all hungry because all this cost me fifty large. We can eat, Avo said, a quiet rasp at the end of his voice, his tone impossible to decipher. But Raldi doubted anyone knew how to treat a mind-burning, Soul-grafting, Heaven-reaping thoughtform nested inside the sheath that was hyper-augmented ghoul. So, Raldi said, carving the bears left hind leg loose, you look different. Did you do something with your hair? Draus glared flatly at him. As did the Railjumper. Both Kae and Essus looked at the dome of fungal white lining the top of Avos head as Tavers rolled her eyes and took a seat. A single laugh barked out from the back of the group. All eyes turned to Aedon Chambers. What? Chambers said. I thought that shit was funny. Cant a motherfucker laugh anymore. Its not a good expression to make, the Railjumper said softly. The voice projected from the sheaths speakers sounded young. Too young. As if the person entombed at the heart of the machine was still but a girl. Raldi let out a breath and drew on his Heaven to speed up the cutting process. Pulling slashes from every edge and a straight line across the room and drawing from the sharpness of the blade he held, the main course came apart in an avalanche of pieces. Kaes eyes widened while the Regular tilted her head. Neat trick, Draus said. Thanks, Raldi said. Got it from a friend. Falling back into his own seat, he scooted close to the table and steepled his fingers under his jaw. For a few passing beats, he watched the cadre watch him back, both sides taking the opportunity to size each other up. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Except for Aedon Chambers. That man had other concerns on his mind, like filling his plate full of bear meat and lathering the chunks in honey while talking to what looked like a swarm of flies hovering near him. Wait? Flies? Raldi zoomed his optics in on the group and found the faintness of thought-static forming around the insectoid swarm. Huh. Wasnt that strange? Maybe another Omnitech novelty. Made with Sang support. As Chambers loudly attacked his food, he gave an excited croak as he noticed a nearby wine bottle. Listen, I dont really know you yet The supposed Low Master acolyte stopped to chew, mouth open, specs flying free from his tongue. ...But this is nova as fuck. Whered you find this guy, Avo? Why cant you find more guys like him? Why cant we live like this every day instead of just killing ourselves when we get hungry? Huh? Not all of us can just eat people. The ghoul didnt respond. In fact, he gave no hint that he even noticed Chambers. Appreciate the meal. You havent eaten anything yet, Raldi countered. He pointed at Chambers with a smirk. Are you going to let my newest and most vigorous consang show you up, or are you going to show me some appreciation. Avo grunted and awkwardly picked up a knife and a fork, his claws too long to allow any ease of use. Here to thank you. For what you did at Vengs Stand. And also maybe to snuff you. For hiring someone to shadow me. Now dont be sore, Avo, Tavers said, lighting her hiflass. Thats a bad habit in this line of work. Not sore, Avo said. Feelings are just a bit hurt. Helped you. Trusted you. Grafted you. Then you sent someone to track me. Raldi sighed and leaned back into his chair. Are you going to tell me that if a magical ghoul your dead mentor made from your mind appears in your life one day offering a free Soul, you wouldnt be a bit curious? No, Avo said. Would just secure situation. Handle problem. The Regular rubbed her nose before she tore a strip loose from the bear leg she was holding. Bullshit. A sharp hiss escaped Avo. He spun to face Draus as his Echoheads expanded into spinning discs, volts pulsing out his body and coursing through the streams of dark particulates enshrouding each of the segments. Draus swallowed her food. Hiss all you want, rotlick. I remember when you first met Zein. Looked lost as a pup in a butchery. Was learning her weaknesses. Using her to expand my knowledge. Yeah, and thats why you beat her ass in the Trident right? The flames over Avos head crackled. Burn her next time. Draus grinned viciously. Sure you will. The ghoul grumbled and turned back to Raldi. Apologies. Raldi blinked. No. No. Its fine. Say, did she just say Thousandhand? Avo grunted again. Might meet her soon. In a few weeks. Or earlier. Who knows. But shes Raldi scoffed and stared at Tavers. Why do I have the feeling I ended up getting myself dragged into something Im entirely unprepared for? Because the feelings right, Tavers said. You done did it this time, kiddo. Right to the deepest deep end there is. How bad? he asked. She shrugged. Anti-Guild. Revolutionary. Cult supporting. System redefining. Air wheezed out from Raldis lungs. Ah. Fuck. Yeah, Chambers said, pointing at him using a knife. I know that feeling. And that face. He laughed. So, Raldi said, speaking to Avo again. Im assuming this meetings about more than just introductions. Avo grinned, revealing rows of bladed teeth. Have something for you. Potential dive. Something you might like. Right, Raldi said, half expecting this. So. Whats the mess youre planning to make. Chambers, Avo said, not even shifting his head to look at the man. Ghosts leaped out from the rim of Chambers accretion and phantasmal chain formed. [INCOMING LINK REQUEST ACCEPTED] Letting the packets of mem-data settle just past his outermost wards first, Raldi scried the contents using his own ghosts first before triggering [AUTO-SEANCE-01] and shunting the information into a specialized lobby. As the sequences spilled over, Raldi activated all the phantasmics he had in his [Full-Deep-Scan-03394] server and synced to its systems. Using an external silo in the network was a trick most Necros learned sooner or later, but few had the patience or skill to build mind palaces, labyrinths, fortresses, or diggers as he could. To everyone sitting across from him, his Meta would barely give off any indication of activity, and he doubted anyone but Avo would notice. We should discuss payment, Raldi said, making absent-minded small talk as he deconstructed and rebuilt every strand of memory he received to ensure no hidden mem-cons or traumas were woven within. He did a double scan on every artifact and then commanded [Full-Deep-Scan-03394] to build imitations of all the present information to see about any inconsistencies. Payment, Avo said, almost sounding incredulous. Gave you a Soul. And for that, I will be forever grateful, Raldi replied. So grateful that I hired the best godsdamned squire in Idheim to protect you, and then got nulled twice by Incubi for the crime of keeping you safe. Dont reframe history. Raldi smiled. But thats kind of what we Necros do, isnt it. The statement didnt seem to leave the ghoul amused. Oh well. SCAN 100% NO TRAUMAS DETECTED NO MEM-CONS DETECTED RECONSTRUCTION PARITY 100% Drawing the mem-data back through the Auto-Seance and downloading the intelligence into his inner palace, Raldi frowned as a simulated map of New Vultuns border began to construct itself. Whats this Information about border wall designation [SE-7777] flashed into his consciousness. Details about its surrounding defenses also followed, along with the general aspects of what Avos was planning. With each passing moment, the information settled, and Raldi felt his jaw falling further. Architectural blueprints detailing the interior of the sixty-kilometer-tall spatial pylon housing [SE-7777]s techno-thaumic reactor flooded his brain, along with the nine hundred different rapid-response golem Knots hidden in the structures curving geometry. The border wall? Raldi breathed. More details loaded into his mind with each passing second. Slowly, his alarm settled into calm and then excitement. This wasnt going to be an overt terrorist action as he feared. And his part was more than achievable. The only risk was engaging the Exorcists, and though he wouldnt consider them bad, he was a few decades removed from considering them an active danger in his life. So you want me to jack into the Paladins networks. Intercept and alter the details of the commission theyll be sending to the Agnosi, so you can what? Make a backdoor that you and yours can walk in and out at any time. Something like that, Avo said. Raldi smacked his lips together. Can I be included in this backdoor? Maybe. Is that the payment youre going to be asking for? No, Raldi replied. Thats a favor. For a mutual consang. Avo turned his head slightly and clicked his teeth together. The trial? Yeah, Raldi said. Trouble at the home office. Afraid they might use her to grease some wheels. The ghoul understood. Can be arranged. Curious about Stormtree anyway. But can you do this? Seems like a hard job Avos obvious taunting earned him a flat stare from Raldi. You know, for someone supposedly made by Walton from parts of my mind, youre really kind of a half-strand sometimes. Maybe if they stuck me in a soft human body I might be nicer, Avo said. Yeah? Somehow I doubt it. Dont need to worry your ugly, burning head about things. I got this. Ill have the edits done before the Paladins even finish their first draft. Ill even fix any sequencing errors I come across in the cast. Dont, Avo said. Might make it too perfect. Too suspect. Raldi snorted. Yeah, yeah. Im being a smartass. Synced on the details. Thisll be a He stopped himself from saying the words. Milk-run. Even thinking it felt dirty. Strangely, the easiest part of the job was on his end. Most dives he completed were the other way around. Say, intercepting the commission isnt going be hard at all. But how are you getting in and out without being noticed? I can forge the credentials, but the FATE-Skeins and memories needed are going to be another matter altogether. Oh, that, Avo said. Thats already solved. Dont need to worry your soft, vulnerable little head about things. And the ghoul said no more. Alright, Raldi sneered, leaning in. Spill. Show me what you got. Dont think I trust you that much yet. Might want to hire Tavers to watch you for a week first. Fuck you. Show me the rest of the plan. I wanna see. Dangerous, Avo said, grinning widely. Might get you into trouble you cant escape from if you commit. Raldi sighed. Somehow, the ghoul was proving to be a bigger tease than Reva ever was. He then paused and let disgust flow through his mind as he struggled to process the disturbing implications behind such a thought. 19-19 Walltaker (II) +Hey, Sevens, there''s something popping up on the DeepNav. Pairing aerial imaging now. Scrambling interceptors from anchor [SE-SEC7]. Looks like some kind of subtle spatial distortion. Ninety kilometers ouC Shit, twenty now Eight. Its getting close. Too close. Fire up the Knots. SendC WARNING: PARADOX DETECTED DOMAIN: (SPACE) WARNING: RUPTURE DETECTED DOMAIN: (SPACE) WARNING: ENTROPIC OVERLAP DETECTED BORDER WALL STABILITY COMPROMISED REND CAPACITY [SE-7777]: 3% Godsdammit. There goes my fucking lunch break. ATTUNING NETHER BROADCAST SEQUENCES TO [OVERSEC-OPEN-PUBLIC] Attention: we have spatial rupture right pressing right up against SE-7777! Repeat. Spatial rupture. Geometric fragments spiralingCdeploying Rendsinks to contain leaking. Activating Knots. Sevens. Cast the Paladins. Get them down here. I have a feeling we need to be sending an emergency commission to the Agnosi soon for a wall patch. My guess is either a smuggler barge or a golem just fucked itself passing into SE-7777s area of influence. Poor stupid shit. Guess they thought they could run the border.+ -Exorcist Kelenn Tens Nieyvyr 19-19 Walltaker (II) Alright, Draus said, restarting the simulation with a thought. Lets run through one more time. A detailed reconstruction of the SE-7777 border wall hovered at the center of the Command Nexus. Created from a mix of Nether scans and orbital imaging provided by Aegis, the towering pylon protruded from the depths of the Maw, its height rivaling that of even the highest Elysiums crowning the Tiers. Near translucent threads passed through the hollow portals dotting the stretch of the structure, each voluminous length composed of countless strands representing all affected Domains. From pylon to pylon did these threads run, each section of the wall connected to countless others, with multiple redundancies in place to make a cascading collapse impossible. SE-7777 was but one of the few walls in its section, with several others that could assume its role should something fail in its design. However, it stood as the sole dam choking a narrow passing of the MawCa geographic weakness inherited from the builders of old Noloth. With everything within five hundred kilometers of SE-7777 mapped, the simulation reset itself as the avatar for their compromised barge moved down its designated route once more. Things will begin with the payload, Avo said. Will alter the Heaven of a barge before setting it off. Ensure an easily triggerable spatial paradox. Detonation takes effect within 5 kilometers. Apply leakage directly. Fill it with dead smugglers just in case. Makes things more believable anyway. Three markers appeared in incremental spots approaching the pylon. I scoped this area already, Draus said. Mostly dead zones in the gutters above. Ill be able to make and manifest the reflections in time while directly observing from above. Emergency Knot response time? Avo asked. Thirty seconds, Draus said. But well be movin fast. Jumpin from place to place and gettin close before they scramble. Good, Avo said. Will have Chambers and White-Rab on standby if something goes wrong. Cripple their communications. Distort sensors. Low risk of failure. So, I got a question right, Chambers said, pointing at the barges avatar. We know itll pop once it gets close to the wall, but why are the Paladins gonna give a shit again? Like, Syndis shit their pants all the time. This might just be a closer pants-shit than most. Because were going to deliberately paradox a barge that has passed through SE-7777 before, Kae explained. Its current canons allow it to imprint itself on almost flat surfaces within a certain range of angularity. When it paradoxes and ruptures, the issue will make itself known quite obviously. Will also be feeding related mem-data to Kare after this, Avo said. So we can push the Paladins to act if necessary. Chambers smirked and nodded. Nova. So. After this, you light up Kassamond and Kare, make the former volunteer to oversee the border patching while the rookie ends up miraculously discovering a treasure trove of mem-data in the wreckage and winning her that sweet, sweet promotion. Or just more influence, Tavers said. She shot Avo a look. Dont have her climb too fast. Or get lucky too much. Jealousy can make the other motherfuckers around you downright perspicacious. An uncharacteristic sigh left Chambers. Aint that the nasty truth. Memories from the mans template sang out to Avo. Moments from his past where he tried a little too hard or performed a little too well back in his ganger days. The other low lives didnt like Chambers outperforming them much. They cut that lesson into him that one midnight, timing their attack with the downpour so they could indulge without ending Chambers for good. Screaming agony echoed from inside Avo as the falling rain washed away wounds made by plunging blades and gnashing teeth. Just one of the many instances when Chambers howled for death, but the city wouldnt let him go. [Yep,] Chambers said, chuckling and somehow keeping his mind away from the torture, [shits something all juvs learn quick in the Warrens.] After that, Kae said, pulling Avo away from his thoughts, a commission will be sent, and the Agnosi will respond. Except not! Except it will be us! She giggled, a strange expression overcoming her face. My identity will be changed, my body altered, and my thoughts masked. But me and Chambers will be off to the pylon so we can review the damage. She sighed as a distant expression came over her. I cant believe I have to become a spy to practice craft legally again. What is my life? Two new shapes were formed by the simulation: floating vivianite lattices enmeshed in biomodded tissue made to be attached ones skull. Got something you can use to blend in: proxies, Avo said. Recovered a few from some Incubi caches and a few prototypical versions from one of Waltons dead drops. Draus shot Avo a look. Anything else thats good? Mostly mem-data so far. Information. Knowledge about Necrotheurgy. Know how to build some of the proxies now though. Requires being able to construct a Metamind first. Might be able to do that with Kae and Calvino working together. Shouldnt be too complicated. Kae nodded. The exo-ego stack-grafting process is not my specialty, but all Agnosi understand the steps. With the Stillborn, it shouldnt be too hard. Im more worried about the proxies, though. Do they even work? Is there a danger of compromise? It was used by the Incubi, no? Is it even usable for these purposes? Yes, Avo said. Proxies are meant to be untraceable. Burner minds with a half-life that connects to and shuffles your base mind. Ensures no traceable data even if nulled. White-Rab is already done with them. Has the FATE-Skeins and counterfeit memories sequenced in. Made several gangers put them on as a test. Works. Kae blinked. And then what happened to them. Avo opened and closed his mouth several times, chomping his teeth together. I should have expected. Two profiles extended from below each proxy, showing two figures dressed in well-tailored suits of ashen gray. The first was of a woman around Kaes height but with skin a few tones softer, cheekbones a few inches higher, and eyes spaced a bit further apart. Her name was displayed as Agnos Iomae Hatherene. Across from her spun her counterpart, Agnos Nandu Yuewei, whose physical appearance could described as beyond grotesque with nose like a doorknob, dolloping ears, and drooping eyelids. Chambers winced as he walked over and patted Kae on the back. Fuck, Kae. Im sorry. She shifted in her seat as her mouth fell open. ForCfor what? Look at what Avos going to do to you, he whispered, shaking his head. I mean, the guy has to be you, you know. Thats how the Paladins dont see it coming. We gotta go to the extremes to disguise ourselves. Me. Im sacrificing here too. I gotta lose my dick. The dick I just recently got enhanced. Life sure is a half-strand sometimes. A whir of machinery in the corner of the room signaled Dices confusion as to what Chambers was trying to do. As the nu-kitten in her lap yawned, Dice looked toward Draus for understanding, but the Regular just shook her head and shrugged. Only Avo truly knew the game Chambers was playing, and it was a leftover habit from his time in the Syndicate. It was a little trick where one would volunteer another for a truly miserable assignment while pretending their own sacrifice was greater. Surprisingly, it worked more often than it failed. There was a natural gullibility that one could exploit in people with enough confidence portrayed. Not that it would help Chambers in this case. [Avo,] template-Chambers whimpered. [Please dont turn me into that ugly bastard. That fucking face is a work of modern art. Really creative work White-Rabs done, but holy fuck Im gonna sheath-reject so bad if its my face. Looking in a mirror will be a trauma pattern.] [But Chambers, wont you be able to keep your impressive cock this way?] Abrel asked, hiding her taunt with a question. [Yeah,] template-Draus joined in, attracted more by Chambers vulnerability than any true sense of amusement. [Aint you gonna be sad to lose that twelve-incher the ghoul gave. Sides, having a face like that will keep just about anyone from rashing if they catch sight of you.] [Oh, fuck you guys!] Chambers snapped. Back in the real, Avo just smiled. Chambers. Kae. Wont need to worry about memorizing information or practicing disguises. Everything will be known with the proxies. Will be feel running a skill-sequencer in your Metas. Know what to do naturally. Kae still swallowed. So, just to be sure Avo turned to Chambers. Dont worry. Will let you keep your dick. No! Chambers hissed. [Fuck!] template-Chambers groaned. Kae nodded slowly and gave Chambers a pitying look. Im sorry, Aedon. It seems that my sacrifice will remain cockless. And then she patted him the same way he did her earlier. Alright, enough of that, Draus scoffed, glaring at the two for their indiscipline during the review. Once your identities are dispatched, youll arrive in separate luxury aeros provided by Tavers. From there, youll proceed under the care of Kassamon and ascertain the severity of the breach. He should leave you both in the core to do your business, whichll be when Chambers starts jacking into the pylons inner networks and establishes Nether control while Avo reaches out either through the glass or using Chambers as a vessel after initial shaping is done. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After that, Avo makes a hole that we can use and heads on out beyond the wall, where hell touch down in the nearest enclave and establish our first outer city safehouse. Me, Essus, and Tavers will be physical overwatch via reflections and the Manta. Dice will be held in rapid reserve in case we need someone to put out an unexpected fire. This all goes well, itll take less than a few hours, and well be walking the Sunderwilds in two to three days. If shit goes south, Chambers, Kae, break your proxies, kill yourselves, and then exfil under Kassamons supervision or reflective passway depending on expedience. Chambers snorted. We got plans inside plans. Counters for counters. The way I see, thisll beC No! Tavers cried, an uncharacteristic terror conveyed behind her eyes. Draus, equally alarmed, expressed her displeasure another way. A shrill whistle sang out from the Regular as Dice exploded into action. Placing the cat on the ground in a swift moment, the once-waif shot across the room like a flechette in motion, her sheath performing as advertised. She plunged into Chambers like a streak of blurring whiteness. Even as Avo fired his enhanced CelerostylusCnow dubbed Condylostylus after the fly capable of five millisecond reactionsCthe sudden thrust in speed Dice got from her Volant Reflex-Acceleration System took some effort to track. For an instant, all movement across the Command Nexus halted. All besides Dice, Draus, and Avo. Then, as exhaust erupted from the vents built along the waifs spine, she exploded across the last meter separating her from Chambers, the feat of speed staggering, even to another reflex-boosted individual. The sound barrier broke. Her metallic shin fell in a whipping crescent, but Dice pulled back at the last moment, striking Chambers just across the ribs. The blow tore him from his feet. His body arcing. The words never made it out of his mouth. Beside him, Kae was covering her ears, dazed by the sudden shockwave washing over her. Avo released his reflexes. Time resumed. Chambers shot through the air with a choked gasp as he struck the wall with the speed and violence of a missile. Still, the smart matter reacted according, folding and shaping itself into a protective cushion around his back and neck. It was a testament to voidtech that these protections were now considered private, though an equal statement was made by Chambers own augmentations. His body remained whole, even with Dice pulling her kick. A day ago, and sheer force of such a roundhouse would have sheared his fragile flesh in two across the midriff. The nanofibers lining his muscles held up well, and his bones seemed sufficiently durable. Considering how his eyes were rolling up into his head, the next thing that should be considered was some extra protective lining inside his skull. Draus nodded at the girl. The Regulars own Volant Reflex-Accelerator was a line of hissing heat along her spine. Such was part of the reason why Avo opted to avoid grafting such an implant to his body. Though it hypercharged ones synapses via nanomechanical fibrils running through ones neurons, using it repeatedly ensured lasting damage to ones nervous system and drove the body beyond what it could endure. Useful for when Heavens were manifested, but Avo preferred a reliable constant over limited spikes of performance. His Condylostylus offered close enough performance anyway, and he might be able to improve it further still by imbuing it with other biological traits he discovered. Didnt want to kill him, Dice said, looking down at Chambers who was twitching slightly. You did the right thing, kid, Tavers said, shaking her head at the fool. Never say the words. Never even hear them. Dice shifted in posture and tilted her triangular scanning module. What are the words. Dont even ask, Tavers muttered. Draus snorted. Variations of dairy and sprint. If the girl still had eyes, she would have blinked. Nu-cow run? Yeah, sure, Tavers said. Nu-cow run A low moan sang out from Chambers as a series of pops rattled from his body. Nanosurgeons are kickin in, Draus said. Duramite did him some good too. Wall catching him did more to save his life than anything though. Yeah, Avo said. Good performance. Will need to send our compliments to Jack and Jane. Ruveca too. Might consider adding a modified layer of fat around our organs. For the blunt force trauma. We already got the Meldskins, Draus said. That usually performs better. That was true. Letting out a breath, Avo turned back to the simulation and watched as rings rushed out from the barges icon as it impacted its delivery point just within the walls threshold. Everything seemed to be accounted for. Every major aspect remained controlled. Drawing upon his templates to see if there were any potential faults within his plan again, the only concerns that greeted him were unpredictable freak encounters and other threats of randomness. But even then, he would control the Paladins on site through Kassamon. Even should the most unanticipated of circumstances follow, he could ensure the near-certain extraction of his cadre at the very least. [Stay paranoid, consang,] Corner said. [It might not help, but its better than dying surprised. I would know. The block job you snuffed me and the others in was supposed to be sure-fire thing too. Easy raid. Easy pay. No risk. But theres always something out there in the dark. Something you cant see in the deeper waters. You wont always be the beast.] +Yeah,+ Avo replied, thinking back to how the Incubi managed to null him all those weeks ago, and his near-fatal encounter against Shotin. Control. Control was paramount. He needed to cement his ability to shape the variables. Not just environmentally, but across the board. Going to burn the memories into Kassamon and Kare now. Both are away from the Scale. At home. Mem-data indicates theyre alone. Kae. Well adjust the barges canons in a few minutes. Also want to try to rebuild a golem. Get the oracle glass ready. The Agnos blinked, turning to show him the blood pouring from her ears. Huh? MyCmy ears, theyre still fixing themselves! Cast it into my Neurodeck! Avo sighed. Tell you when I get back. *** Shit! Kassamon screamed, howling at his own reflection in the mirror. Sweat was pouring down from his brow. Tendons were twitching across his forehead. Every muscle across his body was sore and exhausted from the struggle. Pressing the P-80 particle pistol under his jaw as mustered what strength he had left for another push, he bit back the urge to sob as the burning torture intensified. Fuck, he whimpered. Godsdammit. He could kill himself. Fry his brains in his restroom. No one would know of his shame. Know would know that he gave up. But he would know, dammit. He would know that the five footlongs he ate for lunch won. He would know that he gave up because of a little discomfort, choosing resurrection over facing his consequences. Overcoming them. Giving up wasnt what Jaus Avandaer was about. A quitter wasnt who First Sergeant Kassmon wanted to be. Clenching his teeth, he moved his finger away from the trigger and pistol-whipped himself for motivation. Come the fuck on, Kassmon. You got this. CameCawuugh! The cry that tore out from his throat this time wasnt because of the pain in his stomach but the fact that his mind erupted into a chasm of soaring fire. Shit.] Great. Perfect. Not this again. Ever since he got burned at Vengs Stand he felt weird. Felt like part of him was warped somehow. Now, as the Conflagration flowed out from an Auto-Seance hidden deep inside his innermost memories, he recalled everythingCand more than a few new details from his template counterpart simulated within a certain ghouls memories. +Kassamon,+ Avo said. +I needC+ The ghoul choked back a note of discomfort. +What What is this.+ [Come back later,] Kassamon groaned. [Im taking a shit.] An uncomfortable silence followed. [Dude, you are in so much pain right now,] Two-Mag muttered. [No shit,] Kassamon grunted. [Thats kind of the problem, isnt it,] Abrel snickered. [Fuck you.] Avo sighed. +Kassamon. Have a new assignment for you to volunteer for. Giving you details now.+ [Sure. Whatever,] Kassamon sighed. [Youre not having me I dont know, help you eat puppies or something right?] +No. Just doing something with the border wall.+ [...I prefer helping you eat puppies now.] The ghoul grunted. Then, Kassamon suddenly felt an odd static pulse inside him. The tortuous weight that wouldnt come vanished, and in its place splashed a heated deluge from inside Kassamon. The Paladin blinked as horror blossomed inside him. Shaking for another reason altogether now, he looked down between his legs and saw that the waters were stained dark red. Loud hyena-like laughter sang out from Chambers. [Holy fuck, Avo, you popped the Paladins ass-cherry with your Heaven.] Avo grunted. +Just helping. Tired of feeling him groan and writhe. Information coming in. Know youre about to shoot yourself. Do it in a second.+ [A-Avo,] Kassamon managed lamely. [Can can you make me not remember this? And clean up the mess.] +Sure. Done with the adjustments. Shoot yourself now.+ Suddenly, the world jolted and Kassamon found himself tucking the barrel of his pistol under his chin, power settings low enough to fry his tissue, but not punch a hole in his ceiling. He resisted the strange compulsion to thank Avo just as he squeezed the trigger. In the same instant the beam burrowed and boiled his brain matter, the embers of a roaring flame tunneled down through his Meta across the city, up the Tiers, into the mind of another Paladin *** Kare was asleep when her mind ignited. Consciousness slammed down on her like a hammer, jolting her from the sheets as she recalled all that her template experienced over the past few days. Jaus,] Kare choked, rolling from her bed. She was about to bounce her head off her nightstand when someone took hold of her body by the blood coursing inside her and planted her back upon the softness of her mattress. [I you oh, you Its you.] She groaned. [What I wouldnt give for you to just be a nightmare.] +Cheer up. Here to make your dreams come true today instead.+ Mem-data and snippets of information took shape within her mind. She frowned as impossible predictions and understandings began to dawn. [You want me to be promoted?] +Achieve some acclaim at least. Get more clout among the Paladins. Good for all of us.+ She frowned. [All of us.] The ghoul had the audacity to chuckle. +City needs heroes. Reliable figures of virtue. Im just giving you a hand. Another thing. Will be coming up to the Tiers soon. Have another gift planned for you. How would you like to be the one who helps Naeko bring in some of the people behind Paladin Dawtons murder? Who framed Agnos Kae Kusanade?+ Suddenly, the disorientation inside her cleared. [Youre going to use me against Clan DRongo.] +No. Going to use Paladins against them. So justice can follow after vengeance.+ He offered her a flash of insight into what he was planning, trickling in the mem-data that he obtained from a classified Ori-Thaum information node. Her breath hitched. Her stomach clenched. [This this is] +Yes. Information about the responsible parties. Survivors of that night. Youre a good Paladin. You can find them. With my help. And your father. Uncle too. Together we can see things made right for once.+ Kare fought to control her breathing. [Youre not doing this for justice. You have your own aims.] +No. This is for someone else. And I dont think she has the fortitude for murder. But just as well. Death might be too gentle. Too neat of an end. Have been thinking of ensuring another ending. Turning politics to my advantage.+ The Paladin bit her lip. [I will not help you hurt innocent people. I will notC] +I know. Everything you think. I know. Thats why Im giving this to you. This is an arrangement that is optimal for both of us. You practice your justice. I practice mine. And the city is served no matter what. You know Im not lying. Can feel it.+ She shivered despite herself. [I I okay. ButC] But she never got to finish her words before fires governing her mind shifted, altering her memories, and the blood vessels inside her head burst. When Kare woke again, she found herself with new knowledgeCnew hunches about Syndicate smuggling routes and a premonition that something was going to go wrong soon. Searching through her Meta, she encountered new installments mem-data that she didnt remember downloading, and accessed them after a moment of caution. As the information loaded, and Kare found herself looking at some of Ori-Thaums most confidential operations, a yawning dread opened in the depths of her stomach as she struggled to remember how she obtained these details. Only a haze lingered in her recollection. A haze, and an affirmation on her part. Yet, despite her agreement, she couldnt shake the sense that she might have just made another bargain with something beyond her ability to fathom. 19-20 Walltaker (III) +++(CONFIDENTIAL) PRIORITY (CONFIDENTIAL) COMMISSION (CONFIDENTIAL)+++ ACCESS GRANTED [EDIT MODE] [INSTALLING MEM-DATA] UPDATING CONTENTS NAME: Iomae Hatherene RANK: AGNOS OF THE 7TH KNOWING (RATED FOR SEVENTH SPHERE HEAVENS AND BELOW) SPECIALTY: SPATIAL ANOMALIES //=// NAME: Nandu Yuewei RANK: AGNOS OF THE 6TH KNOWING (RATED FOR SIXTH SPHERE HEAVENS AND BELOW) SPECIALTY: ENTROPIC CANONS AND HELL-BASED ARCHITECTURE CHANGES CONFIRMED CONFIRMED CLEARING EDIT DATA INSTALLING MEM-CON ACCESS RESTRICTING ACCESS [DISCONNECTING] +++ -White-Rabs Edits for the SE-7777 Border Wall Commission 19-20 Walltaker (III) Updating hubris for [Flathider] (Geometry/Boundaries) x1 Domain of (Geometry) ->Canon: Flathide - The user of this canon can fold their physical form along a flat surface; requires at least one section of the surface to bend away upward at 30 degrees ->Hubris: Using this canon when the users physical form has edges will trigger thaumic backlash (70%) Altering the cannons for the Flathider was ultimately a simple affair. The only thing required of Avo was death. Using his Meta-Fac, he adjusted the parameters of the hubris with a mental command, carving a critical contradiction into the Heaven that sustained the barge. Now, with a single command cast by Chambers, the vessels systems would activate its Flathide canon, and within seconds the Heaven of Geometry would rupture, undone by innumerable edges in its architecture. Avos success in constructing a functional golem proved to be a more muted success; an act that proved to be more impractical at present than advantageous. Though the oracle glass did need to be carved into sigils to find symmetry with the cultural symbology of their corresponding Heaven, this requirement was of no impediment, nor did the grafting itself present any difficulty. Functionally, as long as the vessel the Heaven was anchored to had the requisite systems to function and necessary catalysts to express its channeled Domains, the bind would present no issue. Quality failures aside, this was the easy part of golem building. The process of thaumic investiture was where true irritation lay. Lacking a cycler or a Soul, every miracle expended by a golem burned Essence. Spent death. Wasted lives. As Kae elaborated, the common way golems were built required a rupture to be open, a Godclad to be present to serve as a stable donor, and a golem housed in a stable pocket of space. Both Godclad and golem required overlapping Domains and the process would take anything from hours to days to weeks or even months depending on several factors, including the golems ontological sophistication or how many Rendsinks it was equipped with. And once the sacrifices were made to the golem, the Essence could not be taken back. Lacking a cycler to keep each death in constant orbit around a Soul, thaums effectively seeped from the golem like a miasma, never to be reclaimed. Pair all these factors with the fact that most golems lacked an ego, Soul, cycler, or corresponding Hell to counteract backlashes, paradoxes, or daemons, and the reasons behind why most Guilds held to a low-sphere, high-production, mass-based doctrine for their Knots in active warfare became clear as day. Such was why Avo was entirely content to bypass these issues by continuing to steal other peoples golems for now. Saved him both trouble and time. Might start a stockpile instead, Avo said, speaking to Kae thereafter. Modify existing golems on existing chassis. Enhance them. Retrofit instead of produce. Thats a good idea, she replied. We would need a constant flow of death to make such a thing possible. And not like the opportunistic slaughters we are committing. The Agnosi run near automated pipelines with the Guilds. They provide the lives and Godclads, we provide the expertise. Whatever the case, Avo decided the elevation of his cadre was a priority for now. But that did not mean a change in strategy was not in order. With Tavers by their side and new safehouses available, it would be useful to store a few Knots of emergency response golems. Or have some scrambled alongside the cadre was expendable support. He would need to separate the Heavens he wanted to absorb from those better left as ghosts nested within their shells. Regardless, preparations were fast approaching the end. Soon, it would be time for action and much rest upon the shoulders of Kae and Chambers. Im a bit nervous, the Agnos said, sitting next to him on a crate in the gutter warehouse as they studied the unnatural fractals peeling from the contours around the barge. A shaky breath escaped her lungs. Okay. Im very nervous. Wont be soon, Avo said. Proxies. Will overwrite all bad habits once you put them on. Makes sure you know how to act the part. Operate accordingly. She nodded, but the motion lacked confidence and life. Okay. I know you dont like getting your mind overwritten, Avo said. Understand that. Understand if you don''t want to do this mission. ButC She interrupted him. I''m fineCI just need to I just need to focus I want to do this I want to, I want to perform and experience my craft beneath daylight again. In the open. Avo regarded her a moment further. Should take this opportunity to steel yourself. Harden your resolve. Find the fire inside. Have something prepared. Need you to be ready. Your time is coming. A sudden spark flashed behind her eyes as she turned to look at him. You mean Yes, Avo said. Making your retribution will not fail. Cannot fail. Might not even need to risk the Tiers. Have your assailants be forced into vulnerability. Brought before us. Her gaze was fixed upon him for a long while, and though her thoughtstuff pulsed with tension, she said nothing. Not at first. Good. Good. I I want to face them before the end. I want to know what they did to me was wrong. I want to hear them say it. Avo allowed a slow smile to spread across his face as his templates chittered their schemes. It will be a pleasure to see this arranged. Now. Need to get ready. Alter the others. We have a rupture to make. Yes, Kae said, nodding. Lets go bomb a wall. *** No one saw the barge coming. No one saw it shoot out from an inch-thin wall-sized sheet of glass, plunging down into the Maw even as the reflection it dove out from dissolved. No one saw it hop through another pane of glass flung down from the gutters above, or the Manta high overhead, serving as overwatch for its route. Passing through unnatural shortcuts and cutting its journey short by tens of kilometers at a time, the unstable barge accelerated toward the risen pillar housing SE-7777, spatial reality pulsating outward from where it stood in layered waves, a lonesome watchtower choking a narrowing straight, Colorful stands of thaumaturgic patterning threaded their paths through the rings in its upper structure before parting in all directions, paths splaying apart unnaturally. By the time the barge was within sixty kilometers, Nether traffic came live, not knowing they were already compromised by unknown hostiles. By the time twenty kilometers remained, the operator was just realizing the potential situation at hand. By the time the barge passed within ten kilometersCthen fiveCand manifested its Heaven, the Knots hadnt even been scrambled yet. Only a few errant drones sailed out to seek the threat.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But things were too late by then. Existence ruptured like a broken kaleidoscope. Aspects of space, directionality, and what shape matter could hold came undone, and the drones unfortunate enough to be affected collapsed inward on themselves in a mess of grinding angles. The SE-7777s pylon pulsed. Spatial reality condensed around the rupture as the first golems began to close in. The waves coming from the tower were swirling tide now. An eruption of neon-red phantoms composing themselves as warning symbols around the border paired with the banshee-like wail of klaxons filled the air. All the while did entropy leak, and all the while did the unseen few watch, pleased that the first part of the operation proceeded without unforeseen circumstance. *** In the very same instant, Paladin Kassamon used the pull of his rank to claim a desired assignment for himself. It wasnt the first time in his career that he did such a thing, but volunteering for rupture detail was usually regarded as more punishment than a glorious mission with how much paperwork it entailed. Still, he applied the proper pressures and made his demands known. And so it came to be that Paladin Kassamon found himself soon dispatched to SE-7777 to wait for the summoned Agnosi and aid them in the patching of the Heavens vulnerabilities. *** At the same time, Kare Kusanade just so happened to be spending her spare time reviewing footage of the rupturing barge. Though she already had other tasks at hand and was due to check in on a Fallwalker-related disturbance with her mentor, Paladin Sandrupal, a compulsion demanded that she review the mem-data coming in from the SE-7777 incident. Ruptures were chaotic affairs, the scenes they left both damaging for once sanity and chaotic in the extreme. But somehow, someway, her instincts would not be denied, and she found herself able to track a piece of the barge on its descent down into the Maw. Analyzing its trajectory using her Phys-Sim, she cast the local Exorcists and forwarded her memories to them. By the end of the day, her Meta would be choked by casts from her colleagues, each commending her on the treasure trove of mem-data she uncovered, with offers of libations and hints of a coming promotion. One in a million find, rookie, Paladin Sandrupal said, grinning as the details from the Exorcists came flooding back. Fucking smuggler routes. Jaus must be smiling back at you from the Big Nothing. That made Kare frown. Somehow, she felt like someone was in fact smiling. But it wasnt Jaus. *** +Avo,+ White-Rab said, manifesting as a phantom through Tavers. +Its done. Commission intercepted and edited. An emergency patch request for SE-7777 has been sent to Agnos K6 Nandu Yuewei and Agnos K7 Iomae Hatherene, and they are due to arrive at pre-dawn tomorrow for initial inspections.+ Good, Avo said, staring at the simulated pylonCand through it. Soon, he would glimpse the world beyond the borders of New Vultun. See the refugee sanctuaries. Sunderwilds. Enclaves. And start making prey of the more unruly Fallwalkers. More than merely expanding beyond, his influence was also spreading above. Good things would be in Kares future, and her ability to affect and influence Ori-Thaums politics remained far beyond even her own comprehension. Her, Abrel, Kassamon, Elegant-Moon. And more. They would form his initiate bridgehead into the Guilds, give him means to target isolated Godclads, and turn them as well. But also inch politics and instability in his favor. New epiphanies were taking form in his mind with the passing of the minutes, his understanding of the great game he was now a part of blossoming beyond gutter wars and intra-district engagements. As he had done with this operation, he needed to increase his control. Build his influence across all situations. In this manner, his Heaven and capacity to manipulate information would serve to elevate each other nicely. It was a predators way of doing things, hunting for vulnerabilities to explore. But he was more than that now. Suzerain. The word and concept offered by BenhataCa sovereign with a certain degree of control over other internally autonomous entities. Though he sought not the enslavement of humanitys choice, he would be remiss to never burn the branches of possibility down to his preferred paths. What need did he have to wait opportunity to present itself when he could manufacture more? And on a scale cascading across the city, no less? [Hey,] template-Draus whispered. [Stop lickin your own ass and get your head back in the game. Get Chambers and Kae ready. They got new skins that need puttin on. Go make yourself useful stead of daydreamin.] +Starting to regret burning you,+ Avo replied. Sighing, he turned and sought the two he would soon deploy. The proxies were already sequenced and ready. All he needed to do was enmesh them beneath another layer of flesh to mask them, and the rest would take care of itself. {Kae. Chambers. Its time. Kill yourselves then get to the Nexus. Not going to have time for sleep tonight.} *** Iomae watched the snaking channels of the Maw tumble behind her accelerating aero. Everything below ran as winding gorges of bone plate walls punctured by rusted vents. Festering blackness stained the air as pillars of trash descended like collapsing ladders from on high. Routed along a dedicated skylane, she studied the warning icons flashing over the see-through interior of her luxury aero. Numbers and mem-data flickered and burst all around her. Phantoms danced in a symphony of flowing information while she rested on a seat made of fine leather, bathed in the light of a spinning locus. The Esteem Mark-20 aero was an unfamiliar vehicle to Iomae. Travel, in general, was a novelty she rarely experienced. Her focus was on the cutting edgeCworking to conceptualize the theoretical and turn the experimental into something practical. The few times she played the role of surveyor were years ago when she was still a neophyte studying her craft. Studying the exterior sensory overlay constructed by the ghosts governing the aero, the walls around her were splashed with high-definition renderings of her surroundings, visual feeds scrubbing away any blurriness to provide maximum detail. In the corner of her own vision, her DeepNav was paired to the vehicles navigational systems, keeping her cognizant of her position. And Nandu. She knew those werent their names, and all she remembered was cover identity, but the memories that currently protected her were perfectly constructed, their sequences sprouting from the scrambled mem-data of her base Meta imperceptible to even most thoughtscans. A dedicated Necro could perhaps pierce the mystery of her disguise, but she somehow knew everything on-site was already taken care of, and things were well in hand. Still, a weight pressed against her nerves, and between the flashing menus surrounding her, she studied her reflection. Her hair was too straight. Her skin was too rough. Her skull felt too heavy. Her flesh was a lie. But why did it feel so freeing? Why was she looking forward to this? Somehow, she knew the right answers were waiting for her once she arrived. Turning her attention back to her aeros inner systems, she frowned at the thousands of simulated strings and aerial trajectories constructed in her hundred-kilometer radius navigational map. The interfaces of most aeros werent so cluttered, but whatever defensive suite her benefactor had picked to ensure her security and safety was constantly loading, isolating, scanning, and simulating distant objects and entities. Subjects outlined in green were determined harmless; and non-hostile. Faint yellow had the potential for aggression but posed no danger. Orange for possible risk. Red for active hostile. More than a few passing drones were detected and flagged by the vehicle. In seconds, Iomae knew their model and year of production, general specs, estimated trajectory, and who probably fired them. None of it was useful information for her. If things went wrong, she would manifest her Heaven and depart through thaumaturgic means instead of leaving her fate to the aeros defenses. How she knew what to do was beyond her. It was like she was accessing pieces of knowledge on a need-to-know basis, with these sequences unnaturally conjoined with the rest. {Hey,} Nandu said, calling her coldtech communicator with a cough. {You feeling ready?} Less than a kilometer left before they would arrive at the pylon. He was a few minutes ahead of her and would land first and wait. She would come in along the west side and detach into public air space from her current skylane. Another waterfall of trash spilled down into the Maw, her aero zipped through a static offramp and soared over the open gorge. Warning indicators formed ahead, her vehicle automatically dodging predicted debris. Problem with flying the Maw was the endless amounts of trashCand peopleCbeing chucked down. Still, her route proved solid and she found herself passing through spatially affected folds as her distance from SE-7777 shrank to less than eight hundred meters. Zooming to where the rupture was supposed to be a few kilometers behind her, she noticed a quivering cleft in space guarded by hovering golems. They must have pocketed the destabilization. Contained the leaking Rend for now. But the damage thereCand whatever contradictory canon existed in the border wallCneeded to be fixed. Though the Paladins were probably going to get a bit more than what they would bargain for. As her Esteem slowed to a final descent and passed through the hanger doors along the middle of the pylons structure, the twelve engines of her diamond-shaped craft tilted from their horizontal orientations to vertical ones one after another, ensuring her slow descent. The ghosts around her dissolved in a puff and the walls turned back to padded leather. With a ring and hiss, the door across from her opened, and foul air billowed in, causing her to gag. Outside her vehicle stood her partner, Nandu Yuewei. He was rubbing his comically large nose and had a miserable look on his face. As she disembarked, she saw that his own Esteem was docked on the far side of the chamber, already being examined Exorcist maintenance drones. The light of the city faded from behind her as the hanger doors began to close. Been sucking in bad air for three minutes, Nandu gagged. The pylons air filtrations fucked, I think. If their waters this bad too, I dont think were making it out. Though Iomae knew his conduct ran the edge of unprofessionalism, accepting his antics was easy, and actually offered her a sense of comfort. Perhaps we can fix that too, she said. Though it will require a separate commission. A Heaven of Foul Smells. Nandu snorted. Is that a real thing? Theres a Heaven for almost everything. Almost indeed. The voice interrupting them was flat but smooth. Stepping past a closing door on the far edge of the room facing the inside of the structure was a tall man sporting a red mohawk and dressed in a particularly torn Paladins uniform. The badge and the greys of the inner suit remained, but his outer coat was missing, and his sleeves were torn, exposing bulging biceps the size of a baseliners head. Gashes and tears lined his pants while whining servos preceded each step of his left leg. Flashing the Agnosi with a gleaming smile, Paladin Riche Kassamon presented himself as their point of contact with their operation. A few fist-sized surveillance drones hovered at his flanks, forming the shape of a v behind him. Agnosi. Appreciate you both responding so thusly. We are sworn to our duties, Iomae said, managing a fake, but knowing smile. The Paladin looked her up and down, and somehow she knew he was at least as compromised as she was. So we are, Paladin Kassamon said. Turning, he looked at Nandu and winced. Jaus. ICuh, you alright? Nandu glared. Why? Do I not look alright? No, consang. You want me to be honest, it looks like you stole your nose off the face of a Scaarthian that got run over by a tank or something. Very funny, Nandu sneered. How about you tell us a few more jokes along the way to the control center so we can take a look at how you guys shit yourselves this time. 19-21 Horizon Lost (I) There was a time once, an age upon an age, a day upon a day, a year upon a year, long lost before the now and the evermore, where we could have walked the fields free, or our grandfathers grandfathers grandfathers could walk the mountains, descend its paths, sail the oceans, traverse the deserts, carve their way through the forests and jungles. These days are dead and dust, dead, dust, and never to return. What remains now is cruelty made manifest madness, a miasma of torment and incomprehension. You cannot gaze upon the horizon anymore. You cannot even look the wrong way, where the bend of light meets the curve of the sky. Doing so will bleed you, cut you, slice you down. There are places where you cannot inhale the air. You cannot know the scents lest you melt from the inside. There are places where grains of sand are the size of worlds, where being lost is a certain law in reality, and not an eventuality of your own proven ineptitude. All these things made possible by reality broken, made true by what happened by the deceiver named Jaus. Mademademade by a man, Horizon lost, made by man. -The Mad Monk Alsyim, Fallwalker 19-21 Horizon Lost (I) {We''re in,} Nandu said. His following giggle echoed across their coldtech comms. {I always wanted to say that.} As Paladin Kassamon led them through the security checkpoints preceding the inner structure, he took care to point out the various systems they were using to monitor their facility and boast about the effectiveness of their personnel. The emphasis he placed on his words directed Nandus next actions as he linked with the Paladin to review the local lobbies. Ostensibly, it was to review the public-facing information the Exorcists published in the Nether. Unofficially, they were being granted the keys to the backdoor. Menus and accessible phantasmics lined her augmented perception. Iomae blinked in brief shock as she skimmed through the staggering amount of drones the Exorcists had at their disposal, along with the emergency response golems they had on standby. The local leadership hierarchy could also be summoned with a thought, the names and FATE-Skeins of all active Exorcist officers offered as downloadable mem-data. If she found the need, she could contact any of them through pre-sequenced sessions. Making eye contact with Nandu as they stepped past another set of meter-thick blast doors into another security scan, Paladin Kassamon sighed and pointed to the flickering mechanics that swept their bodies. Sorry about the hoops, but we cant exactly risk letting anyone just walk in. Lots of ways to stay hidden in this city. Cant take any chances. He finished his sentence with a knowing wink, and Iomae fought the urge to shake her head. There some something sorrowfully sweet about interacting with a Paladin this way. As if she knew someone like him once. But something happened after. Regardless, the pain was something from her true life, and it remained secondary to the task at hand. Continuing down the narrow hallway with reflective mirrors lining both sides, a horizontal grid of sweeping beams passed through all three individuals and their accompanying drones. Phantoms constructed phantasmal interfaces to give them progress indicators. A simulated biometric review of her bloodwork, body tissue, and skeleton was generated before her eyes. When all progress bars filled without incident, the review flashed green and dissipated. Turning right, the same unfolded for Kassamon, still grinning at her, but her attention drifted over the sudden pulse of red over his shoulder. Iomaes stomach opened into a pit. Looking past the Paladin, she saw Nandu standing there, but the expression on his face could not be called worry. No. With his brows raised, jaw clenched, and eyes narrowed, he watched as the checkpoint scanned him again, focusing the grid on his nose. You fucking serious, consang. Look, Im sorry, I didnt sequence this. Kassamon sighed. But you gotta be honest: thats a lot of nose it has to cover. Fuck you. Im not trying to insult you. Listen, I might know a grafter you can cast. Specializes in cosmeticsCshe did my teeth. Double fuck you. As a second biometric report was generated, it blinked green this time after a brief delay and Nandu just shook his head. Rough way to say hi to your guests. As the final passage unlocked itself, they found themselves entering a curving hallway blocked off by a solid metal wall. Squinting at how light itself seemed to recoil for the surface, Iomae recognized what she was looking at in an instant. Memite. Another layer of protection and a reliable means to hold a techno-thaumic reactor without the material suffering any wear and tear. The inclusion of the thaumically altered matter also told her the SE-7777 pylon had been retrofitted in the last fifty years, with the canon for memite born from a relatively modern Heaven. There used to be a platform here, Im told, Kassamon said, gesturing to the empty hall around him, built on a set of maglev rails. It could take you around the various stations and departments back in the day, but with the drones removing the need for on-site staff and advances in Necrotheurgy, we cut down on the operational costs here. The space used to be much bigger on the inside too. Now? He cast a mental command and the entire structure began to shift. The wall before her spun and then turned inward, vanishing from her sight as they passed an unseen event horizon. A pathway opened before them as more walls folded out of sight, the inner geometry of the pylon adjusting to accommodate their arrival. You know Highflame and Stormtree both tried to breach the All-Wall back in the Second Big One? Kassamon said, continuing on. Wasted billions of lives trying to breach our structure. Almost did it too, the half-strands. The big idea was to undo the borders so they could link up with all the reinforcements they had just beyond the city. Provide a means of resupply. If you ask some of the ancients, they would tell you things got close that day, but the Maw provided as it always did, and the wall stood. We stood. Iomae waited a moment longer to hear if he would say anything elseCanything of the conditional ceasefire the Paladins signed with Veylis Avandaer while she stood on the cusp of victoryCbut silence ensued. Is the ontological structure stable? she asked, probing to see if he would offer any other insights. He turned and shot her a glance while they continued onward. Well. We have the rip bottled up for now and there havent been any paradoxes since then, but I think youre going to need to be the ones to tell us whats up. Sure thing, Nandu said. All itll take is a peak, some grit, a bit of spit, and a lot of dying. The Paladin threw back his head and laughed. Yeah. Seems like that last bit solves almost anything, doesnt it? As the last walls impeding their path folded away, Iomae entered a funnel devoid of lights as the smooth metallic walls were interrupted by a cluster of Rendsinks. Holo-projected thaumic hazard iconsCa stack of skulls overlayed by a dragon eating its own tail. Years of experience rose from the shadows of her past and she found herself familiar with the design. Most stationary thaumic structures had layers of Rendsinks, and the ones around the Heaven were usually inactive constructs, set only to trigger in an emergency. Their curved edges lined the walls in cresting waves as they walked passed, and she guessed they descended down around the spine of the pylon itself into the very roots of the Maw. The last doorway to the reactor''s main control room was transparent sliders that lifted open at their approach. Beyond, a well-lit room with few chairs placed before several dormant holo-haptic interfaces pulled her attention while head-sized utility drones maintained the premises using their modular articulations. A soft aroma of coffee filled the air as Kassamon pointed right without looking after they entered. If you have an addiction, the drink mixer there will see you handled. No need for imps either. We got these from Voidwatch directly. None of the Guild easy service, insta-pay scam-shit. Iomae frowned at the back of the Paladins head. He was laying on a pretty thick Anti-Guilder bit, but something about it felt fraudulent. Like he was trying too hard and putting on a show. Thank you, Paladin Kassamon, she said. I think we will do just fine here. We will begin by conducting a full preliminary overview of the Heavens ontology. Tell me, if one should need to get a closer look at the reactor. Just connect to [SE-7777-PRIMEOP] and cast your commands. The system will respond, create and shift a direct access hatch for you. Protective suits are stocked and maintained, though if you want to check them yourselvesC Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It should be fine, Iomae said, interrupting him so she could get on with her work. Her heart was throbbing at a steady pulse now. Her bones were vibrating with refrained excitement. She had been looking forward to this. She had wanted to do this again for so long. She just needed him gone so she could proceed with her task. I appreciate your hospitality. If we have need of you, we will call. There is no need for you to exhaust your time directly monitoring our progress. We will keep you updated. Yeah, Nandu said, sneering at the Paladin. Dont you got a grafter to talk to? So you can get more of those white ass teeth. Kassamon shrugged. I think I have enough teeth. But maybe my ears could use some more work. Yeah, yeah, go tell that to the wall or something, Nandu shot back. The Paladin smiled broadly and gave them both curt nods. Ill be keeping a close eye on things but I get your meaning. I dont like having outsiders look over my shoulder while Im working too, so Ill get out of your nostrils. Iomae sighed. Nandu growled. She wasnt sure before, but Paladin Kassamon was definitely doing this on purpose. Before Nandu could retaliate with any of his own invectives, the entire body of the Paladin shivered and he tunneled backward through space, past the closing doors and the reforming walls. What a half-strand, Nandu muttered, glaring at the spot Kassamon used to occupy. I dont know. He seemed fine to me. Iomae did her best not to crack a smile as Nandu turned his glare on her. What? Somehow, I think he would have seemed fine to me too if I had your face. For some strangeCand oddly familiar reasonChis frustration tickled her, and she couldn''t help but giggle. It was almost as if they struggled over this topic before. Come on, Agnos Yuewei. Iomae reached into her inner suit pocket and pulled an unnaturally radiant mirror while her partner deactivated security specters monitoring the room and looped the drones sensory feeds. Lets go see the damage. Sure thing, Agnos Hatherene. Just give me a moment to change some things." *** [UPDATING SE-7777 TECHNO-THAMUIC REACTOR SETTINGS] ACCESSING HEAVEN OF SPACE DOMAIN OF (SPACE) ->CANON: BOUNDRY- TRANSPOSITION RESTRICTION THRESHOLDS ->ALLOWANCE ZONE UPDATED: [CONTROL ROOM] [SETTINGS UPDATED] *** Avo felt the touch of SE-7777s Domains the moment he emerged from the reflective passage. It was as if space flowed around him like sublime waters, greeting him in a fluid embrace instead of a grinding weight. Ultimately, it was good that Chambers managed to adjust the settings of the Heaven to grant clemency for Draus passages. Using the man as a channel for the Conflagration was an option, but required Avo to kill him afterward to reset thingsCa troublesome act they could now avoid. {On site,} Avo said, broadcasting the update as he expanded his awareness, taking in the control room and everything around him. Translucent fissures of blood crept across matter as he sensed drones and learned pylons material composition. To his left and right, Kae and Chambers gawked at him momentarily, their expressions ones of muted surprise, somehow knowing to expect him but not fully recalling the nature of his appearance either. Proxies were a fascinating thing. They recomposed a secondary mind atop the first, generating the fabricated identities from the existing mem-data, allowing the user a kind of unconscious awareness of the information they needed to know while existing under a near-perfect false paradigm of new memories. {Synced,} Draus replied, the DeepNav unable to track her position back in the George Washington. Tavers chimed in a moment later, her mind connected to the Mantas sensors, looking down upon the pylon. {Clear skies. No half-strands in sight. Lets wrap this up before I have to amend that statement.} Lobbies secure? Avo said, asking ChambersCcurrently posing as Nandu. Yep, he replied, flashing a toothy smile. Drones are blind. Specters are banished. Exorcists just got pinged for mandatory group meetings on public safety. Theyre not going to enjoy that. Good, Avo said. Keep watch. Shouldnt take long. Turning his attention to Kae, he regarded her presence with his Woundmother briefly. Oh, does the expansion of my design please, master? the Heaven of Blood purred. Before, I only dreamed of hard shapes and dead stones to born of my ichor. But now, we have made architecture using the little builders within our veins. The body is a construct as well. Bone, imagined from bone. Skin, woven from skin. Flesh, inspired by flesh. Low laughter like the sound of distant thunder rumbled inside his Frame. Biology and physical matter were just patterns that answered to his touch; blocks he could place to his whims. There was an ever-present urge, tantalizing and taunting, begging that he reshape those around him to the whims of his curiosity. He resisted and kept to the path. Had a chance to look at the Heaven yet? he asked. She shook her head, her longer hair and lighter skin portraying her as visibly different while biological architecture remained a familiar constant to his Heaven. We just arrived. Paladin Kassamon should also be present and monitoring the situation. We have time. He shook his head. That was an assumption. One that he paid for with Shotin. With Mirrorhead. Not here, if possible. Not if he could avoid risking it. Lets go. Chambers. Open the way. Who the fuck isCoh. Nandu shook his head. Thats my actual name? Chambers? He frowned as he repeated it to himself before casting a command into the local Nether using his Meta. Part of a solid wall shifted away to reveal a winding walkway leading down and left into the reactor core itself. Casting out his Skimmer, Avo let his perception radiate across the entire area as he centered his focus around the techno-thaumic reactor itself. Housed within a fifty-meter-long containment sphere constructed of stainless steel, hardened polycrystalline compounds, insulated specs of silicon, plastic, wiring, and other miscellaneous structures. Calvino explained that hydrogen was providing most of the facility''s energy, the cold mechanisms built at the very core of the machine. The Heaven was anchored to the structures layered around it in shifting needle-shaped emitters that directed and orchestrated spatial reality not unlike how Avo used his Echoheads to focus his magnetism. {There are some techno-thaumic reactors that are fully Ensouled,} Calvino said, proving Avo with reactor schematics. {Eight, if nothing has occurred since my last calculations. Eight cybernetic minds made cooperatively by Ori-Thaum and the No-Dragons, capable of materializing the metaphysical outlines of an ego. They were given as gifts by the Guilds to the Paladins and certified by us before going into use. This installation does not seem to have one such LGIClimited governing intelligenceCactive. Unfortunate. Im sure you would have liked to claim another cycler and Soul for your personal use.} Avo grunted and thought back to his experience at Burners Way. Cycler production was possible, albeit hard to achieve and impossible to standardize according to what Kae knew. The Souls themselves were the greatest bottlenecksCaspects of broken existence that were theoretically impossible to replicate. He would need more cyclers and Souls soon, but it would be more reliable to seize them from Fallwalkers or Fallen Heavens than to raid functional techno-thaum reactors across the city. The functional few that existed in the Warrens were doubtlessly occupied by the strongest of Syndicates or the Guilds themselves while destabilizing the power base of a megablock would likely compromise his presence and give those hunting the Stillborn a trail to follow once news entered the public. Walking down the hall with Kae in tow, they arrived at what amounted to a reality dock as a Rendsink clipped through the surrounding matter and blocked the path behind them while a solid wall grew transparent before vanishing entirely. Neither ghoul nor Agnos opted to don any of the safety rigs provided to them. Both were Godclads and their Hells would blunt whatever unexpected feedback they faced as well as any Rendsink. {I missed this,} Kae said, releasing a heartened sigh as excitement leaked from her mind. Spatial anomalies folded points and places within the reactor. With every step they took, they found themselves rocking between a range of positions as if they existed as a pendulum in constant motion instead of a single position in space. {I can see this reactor has not been maintained or updated recently. Look at the nodules. See the missing LIG module at the top. Agh. Outdated design. I think the Paladins either never bothered to upgrade because they lacked the funds, or sold the cycler and Soul back to the Guilds for favors.} [None of the above,] template-Kassamon murmured from inside Avo. [We had a self-sustaining reactor for a bit from 166 to 201 Post-Fall, but the Fourth War ground us down some more. A bunch of walls were downgraded from full self-sustaining constructs and had their Souls and cyclers extracted for us to fill our ranks again and make up for those we lost. So. Here you have it. Why youre not going to be gobbling any scrumptious goodies up.] {Hard times for everyone,} Avo replied, speaking to both Kae and the template inside his mind. Standing before the reactor, Avo looked up at the grayed-out tube of translucent connecting to the top of the containment sphere, the vents running as horizontal slats along its sides, the neon projections feeding numbers and adjustments into the air, with ghosts threading mem-data between each of the sharp-tipped needles puncturing deep into space as if an acupuncture session for reality was being conducted in this very room. Are you ready? Avo asked, looking at Kae. But her reply came before his words were finished, and she collapsed to the ground, body snapping between three places before she finally struck the ground. Ah, I felt it, the Woundmother said. She tore all the moisture inside her skull out from her body. An instant demise. The little oracle is growing used to using her fangs. At least on herself. Studying Kaes body for a beat as a scab formed upon the surface of reality, Avo engineered his own demise with a thought, triggering a Thoughtwave Disruptor at the core of his mind and putting out the fire that was his existence. RESURRECTION - 1% Plunging into death, a sea of voluminous patterns called to him even before his ego loaded within his Soul. He could feel the chains of various Domains stretching out, reaching far beyond where his awareness could touch. In death, he could interweave his being with the metaphysical on a level deeper than what he could alive. There was a want inside him to explore, to see if he could pull himself along the bindings connecting one border wall to another, but he resisted it. He was here to create an openingCto establish a personal tunnel for him and his cadre in New Vultuns borders. All other matters could wait till after this run was done. As he drew Kae into his Souls orbit, he injected his Soulfire into the reactor and bade the mem-data to load. A flood of thousands upon thousands of canons and Domains washed through their awareness, the torrent of rules and hubrises overwhelming. Dont worry about most of them, Kae said. Most are standard restrictions meant to keep parts of spatial reality inaccessible. We just need to look at the ones corresponding to our Domains. Like Draus reflection. Your blood. My water. Chambers biology. Or fire. Not space? No. That will affect far too much. And the changes will be registered across the chains before being noticed instead of buried among all the secondary bridging Domains. Understood. So. Any preference on which Domain to start with? Somehow, despite her being comprised of Soulfire, it felt like she was smiling. Lets start with reflections. 19-22 Horizon Lost (II) Do you know how the Sunderwilds got its name? It''s quite simple. Sunder to describe the damage, for cracked is the tapestry of existence. Wilds to express how the entropic madness leaks, the patterns and laws of reality bleeding into a festering wound and spilling out into broader stability beyond, creeping forward as slithering vines; roots of impossibility spreading deep into the bones of the material, giving rise to forests of madness. The Guilds make efforts to trim them sometimes. Prune the branches of entropy that stray too close. But they are not eradicated. Not completely. Not when so many serve as good testing grounds for new weapons. Or clandestine locations to mask military checkpoints, scrying installations, or an easy way to fill up Rendbombs for the next war. Mostly, however, the Sunderwilds keeps itself contained, for the entropic foliage spreading from each break is not of a unified front, and like there cannot be a single ruling dream, so too cant there be a totally commingling forest. These woods devour each other as much as they do us, and one ruled by pithy cynicism might find themselves remarking: Hark. See existence. See all is at warCthe natural state of things. Such is the consolation of a FATED living in their cultured grooves. For the Elysiums and Tiers are tamed madness, in fact, and the impossibilities there are merely engendered to convenience humanity instead of forcing them to suffer inimicality. For the wilders who live in the depths, their natures and habits are strange and savage to the outsiders, for the sky they know is not one we share, and the rules that bind them are not ones we know. In my travels, I have encountered many enclaves. But there are more things out in the roiling swaths of madness. Tribes unmoored from broader arms of humanity. Places so broken that coexistence with the denizens that reshaped themselves to survive will be impossible in the axiomatic sense. Wretched dregs of humanity that would be better graced with euthanasia than continued existence. But still, there is beauty in my endeavor. For beyond the false histories provided by the Guilds, I remain a chronicler of great truths. A new history of a world after the fall. If you are cycling through these memories, if my memories are not destroyed or suppressed by the Guilds, I ask that you spread them far and wide. Let the others know what plights our kin-turned-cousins now face. Let all know just how much of the world we lost, and of the greatest atrocities committed by Jaus. -[Redacted] 19-22 Horizon Lost (II) HEAVEN: [SE-7777] ->CANONS OF (REFLECTION), (BLOOD), (BIOLOGY), (LUMINOSITY) UPDATED Building the faults into SE-7777s Heaven ended up being a straightforward task. Interlacing the oscillations of his Soulfire with the threaded patterns representing each Domain, he rebuilt a few canons to include certain caveats to ensure his cadre could pass this section of the wall without issue. All it would take is a triggering of a corresponding miracle to exempt them from the touch of SE-7777s metaphysical-spatial restrictions. Draus reflective passages. Avos haemokinesis. Kaes maelstorm. Dices invulnerable luminosity. Chambers bioform generation. Even Essus gateways were included. Now, the final obstacle between them and the world beyond New Vultun stood open, and the spreading crack Avo left in the wall belonged solely to them. And that should do it, Kae said, looking at their successful alterations, a note of satisfaction and pride in her voice. There were so many detailsCSo many Domains and canons to look through. I thought I was going to get lost after so long but I should have never doubted myself. Avo heeded her words and examined the stretching chains of ontology flowing through the Heaven. It lacked the cultural themes and concrete aesthetics ingrained in most Heavens, seeming more like a multicolored ball of chaotic yarn than anything else. Its structure danced between solid, gas, liquid, light, and particulates. Every Domain exhaled an aspect of their canons through its structure, creating an unstable miasma of shifting effects. The key detail here was how each border Heaven seemed to interact with another. As Avo attuned his awareness to the very edges of his Soul, he felt the links stretched on still, but breaking and spraying out in all directions, spreading over the city not as if a fence, but more like individual links of straw making up a nest. The border walls were communicating with each other through slight vibrations, each capable of redirecting some of its miracles to reinforce a distant HeavenCor to connect to anchor should one of its current binding fail. Where pylons only dotted New Vultuns borders in the material, its metaphysical emanations domed the city entirely. All that moved, all that existed, all that was within the threshold of the city had to capitulate to the laws of the thresholds if they wanted to pass. With almost every Domain in existence included and build patches persisting over years, only the esoteric Heavens created through clandestine means or paired from reclusive Fallwalkers granted bypass. All others faced a choice between capitulation, bribery, or an outright struggle against more than a few thousand Heavens, with eight among them bearing an extremely high spherage. The benefits of Rend dispersal that the Maw provided, likewise, did not even need to be answered. RESURRECTION - 23% Done here, then, Avo said, watching as his resurrection filled. Any other things to review? Adjustments needed. No. I dont think so. A beat of hesistation passed through Kae. But I think I will stay here a while longer and observe things. I wish to study the border Heavens more deeply and discover if we might be able to affect all of them from one point. Or there is any other benefit I can claim for us. Such was a wise plan. Technically, with Kassamon subverted and Chambers in their systems, they could have logged their visit as lasting a full eight hours and then just left without anyone being the wiser. Or caring. But still, somehow Avo expected this of Kae and was passively glad that her passion and his interests coincided so neatly. Wont hurry you, Avo said. Can stay as long as you want. Take in all the details. Know that you can extract at any time using the mirror. Or just manifest your Heaven and get beyond the border. If our changes are in effect. Yes. If. Her Soul turned to his and he felt a wry hint of amusement radiating from her. Would you mind testing it for me? I would like to do it myself, but I prefer someone else suffering the backlash and rupturing on my behalf. Avo chuffed a note of affirmation. Of course. Chambers will be deeply missed. Will he, though? Kae asked, teasingly. A pause actually followed. Despite the mockery, the answer was one easily given. Yes. He has been more than what I expected. All of you have. Kae didnt quite know how to reply, and so she just turned her attention back to SE-7777 itself. It will feel odd when I resurrect. I wonder if I will return with the proxy attached still, and if that will affect my memories immediately. The moment I died, I remembered everything about who I was, and lost my cover memories. Probably not then, Avo said. You dont forget yourself. Or the Soul doesnt. Not really. It can even pick and choose. Kae hummed. Indeed. Indeed! Very true. But why cant your consciousness exhibit both the traits of a stable Metamind and the Conflagration? Not fully sure, Avo replied. Suspect the war-mind the Low Masters used on me to be the main factor. Might be metaphysically binding. Ignorance. Also think it the reason behind my lapses. Yes We should do some testing for that as well, once we are in the Sunderwilds, Kae said. Expect to be doing a lot of that. Testing. Of course. Silence followed a comfortable wordlessness settling between them. Avo sank into the depths of his Soul and accelerated his resurrection to maximum capacity. Call us if you need us.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. She hummed a note of affirmation as she tuned the pace of her own resurrection to the maximum amount it was capable of while still observing SE-7777. I will be resurrecting soon as well. Without the Stillborn bridging me to SE-7777, my metaphysical access will be lost. Avo hadnt thought of that. And even with her at full capacity, her Frame was still slower by far when it came to uploading her ego back into reality. Difference in cyclers. Regardless, they existed peacefully in one anothers orbit for the remainder of their shared time, remaining wordless until after Avo ascended once more. RESURRECTION - 88%... 100% IMPLANTING NOUS ONTOLOGY REVERTED RESURRECTION COMPLETED MEMORY RESTORED SOUL ONLINE IGNITING THAUMIC CYCLER: 17,888 THAUM/c LOADING [ERRR]---- Ghosts - [26,793,352] Reslotted in his sheath, Avo felt his senses flash into existence and found himself looking up at the protective lining of the dome. Pushing himself off the floor of the reactor room using his Echoheads, he channeled his Haemokinesis and the flagging folds of spatial reality peeled away from him. It was like the waters of an ocean parting unnaturally away from ones body, the sensation uncanny and liberating at the same time. {Looks like it worked] bother iterations of Draus spoke to him through his ansible and from within the Conflagration. He just grunted in response and cast a new directive toward Nandu. {Need you to stay here. Keep an eye on Iomae. Keep perimeter secure. Can follow after us once she returns. Remove your proxy then. Or stay here. Up to you.} {Synced,} Nandu said. {Youre not watching some messed up shit on the job, are you?} Draus asked joining their call. {What? No. Wait, am I that much of a fuck-up usually?} Draus chuckled lowly. {If you only knew} {Shit. Can I stay me right now but get a new face?} Nandu asked. {Decide after you take off the proxy mind,} Avo answered. {See how you feel then. Need something from you right now. Open a path back out for me. Leaving back through the mirror.} *** So, Draus said, encased in the latticed flows of a liquid matter cocoon as he boarded the Manta through a panel of glass, ways clear? Seems like it, Avo said. He linked his Neurodeck to the ships systems, the static of his Sprites bleeding into the local network. High-tech sensory feeds expanded windows in his cog-feed and multiple heads-up displays formed in his minds eye, capable of being called up with but a thought. Triggered my Haemokinesis earlier. Borders Heaven peeled away from me. I saw, Draus said. Think its trying not to touch my glass either. Guess that means theres only one thing left to do. Yeah. Peel the paint. Seek the horizon. Draus had her Meldskin active so he couldnt see her face, but her template knew the original well, and both sported a feral smile at that statement. Is Kae or Chambers comin along? Maybe later. Kae wanted to continue studying Heaven. Might discover other exploitable aspects. The Regular snorted something of a laugh. Fuckin nerd. Tell her you said that, Avo replied. Ill tell her myself, Draus said. Used to tell her all the time back when we was in the Tiers. She paused. Didnt think I was ever gonna see her again. Well. Who she used to be. An awkward silence followed. Some of the smart matter opened beside them, allowing Tavers, Dice, and Essus to peek their heads through. Is this the wondrous fucking moment in the show where the cold, mean Reg thanks the tall, dark, and not-so-handsome cannibal? Tavers asked. Nah. His egos big enough as it is. Sides. Hes already got another of me runnin inside him. Aint no compliment greater than that to give. Essus head swung between them, his face torn between a look of incredulity and exasperation. How did you two get here? I remember I remember I had to stop you from killing each other. Failed there, Avo and Draus said concurrently. They shared a mutual smugness thereafter. Snuffed him plenty of times, Draus said. Took out her eyes, Avo added. The former FATELESS just blinked. I see Tavers reached over and clapped him on the shoulder. Son. Youre too mentally stable for this. Just stop thinking about it. The Mantas grav-drive projected a cone of force from the rear of the vessel. The smart fluids comprising the exterior of the stealth ship rebuilt themselves to fit a configuration of speed as the tip of the ship grew shaper, and a wall of large nozzles formed behind. Grav-System stabilized A countercurrent of force settled on Avo as his own protective gimbal formed around him. With a thought, Tavers commanded the Manta to soar, and they plunged forth, whipping out like a spear seeking the horizon. Much like a high-end aero, the internal grav-systems counteracted the spiking g-forces as they sped outward. Presently, they were going at a steady [352 Kph]. Nothing remotely absurd, except that it hadnt even been a second since they started accelerating. Sailing over the SE-7777 pylon, Avo expanded his Haemokinesis around the ship and braced for any final surprises. A long valley ran far beyond them, past the curve of the horizon, intersected at points by other parts of the outer Maw. At the very limits of New Vultun, a vast concentric ring separated the wilds beyond from the megacity within, and not a few kilometers past that were the first few refugee sanctuaries, their layouts and denizens forming in Avos awareness. He felt the matter that comprised the local environment, the biologies and bodies of the people, the heat in the air, the static between ferromagnetic constructs, the flow of the winds, the placement of shadows, and even the transmission of signals. With his three Heavens, the gatherings of humanity were as if beacons competing for his attention. Beside him, Draus was likely the same way, already scying and spying on the locals, using the light around them to root herself in new reflections. As they sped past SE-7777s area of effect, Avo formed a lattice around the ship and triggered his Incog. Now, they were effectively unviewable by all accounts, a lone vessel slicing along the bottom of Layer One. The sections of panels simulating parts of the sky were long left behind, made only for the districts and nowhere more. Here ran stretches of naked alloy, the bones of the structure showing, the frayed edges allowing natural light to seep in from the curve beyond. You all know something Tavers said, sounding strangely unlike herself. Avo felt her swallow. The Woundshaper hummed. Curious. She is nervous. But no rival huntresses are present to occupy the old ones worry. ...Ive never been this far out of the city before, the squire said. She looked at the others for solidarity, but with Dice, Draus, and Essus, she found only blank expressions or uncertain blinks. Me neither, Avo finally said. Furthest beyond. His words seemed to offer some reassurance but with legions of other lives simulated within his Conflagration, his familiarity with the world beyond was already present. Well, Tavers breathed. Heres to us New Vultunites exploring lost horizons, huh? Yeah, Avo said. Lost horizons. And as the Manta amped its velocity up further, the sound barrier shattered around it with a sound akin to a whipcrack and the members of the cadre surged forward, into the rising pre-dawn light, charted for the sanctuaries clustered along the outer perimeter, and the Sunderwilds beyond. *** SETTING LOBBY TO PRIVATE INITIALIZING SIMULATED MINDSCAPE LINKING TO METAMINDS ->[ABREL GREATLING] ->[UTHRED GREATLING] ->[VATOR GREATLING] Abrel phased into the mindscapes existence with a blink and found herself seated at the end of a long table in a featureless gray cube built for Nether-based interrogations. Truth be told, she had expected them to start conducting these sessions a long time ago, but instead, the Paladins had mostly left her alone. Banished to her solitude within the voidships cell with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company. Her own thoughts and memories. And dreams of the creature that claimed her. The monster that burned her mind and reshaped her to his will. Avo. Her mind was a forest when it came to the ghoul. Her brothers murdererCthe devourer of her cadre. A complex mix of hate, confusion, awe, and despair filled her when she thought of him, but the seed of his will had been planted deep, and he had designs in mind for her that she couldnt refuse. It was with him in mind that her nerves grew taut with tension as glitching phantoms painted two newcomers into shape just across the table. Abrel phased into existence and found herself seated at the end of a long table in a featureless room. As their shapes were stitched together before her eyes, the avatars of the twosome formed, and Abrel instantly knew who they were. The first was broader in the shoulders, but shorter. That was not what revealed his identity. Instead, it was his perfect posture and the stillness in his stance. The other individual was glancing off at the walls beside, their attention drifting. Ever-moving. Trying to take in every detail in the room. He had always been something of an enjoyer of the grand show that was life, absorbing the scenes like he watching an opera. But there came moments where he himself ascended the stage, and that was when he changed from audience to artist, and what an ugly artist he was. Abrel let out a false breath as she steadied herself. This was going to be worse than any Paladin interrogation. She had no idea how her family managed to secure a private conference with her, but she knew the favor couldnt have come cheap. As the artifacts composing the two finally finished loading, Abrel met the gaze of her father, Uthred Greatling without flinching and assumed her role, folding her arms behind her back as an Instrument greeting her Authority. Authority Greatling, she said, keeping her voice firm and clear. No longer, he replied. A sudden confusion spread through her as he shook his head. At ease, Abrel. I must speak to you. As father to daughter. And I must tell you what you and your brother have cost this family. 20-1 Interrogations +We don''t have a census for how many people are living in the refugee sanctuaries. You want to know why? It''s not because we don''t have the logistical means to count them. No. The Guilds, if anything, are more than competent logistically. All it takes is a few divisions of dedicated Necros and a little bit of time and they will have every true living person surrounding New Vultun counted and catalogued. That is not the issue. The issue is if they are listed, if they are counted, then the weight of what we''re doing settles in. Make no mistake, we are ignoring people dying on our doorstep. We are ignoring them because it''s easier to turn away when theyre smuggled in as refugees as death fuel for the city. They knew what they were getting into. Risk is the name of the game. Bullshit. Its just easier for us to swallow them not being actual people. Just fools who wandered into the gutters looking for death. Fools for selling their agency and handing themselves over to the Syndicates. They must be because anything else is too unpalatable. You think about that the next time you watch a vicarity starring these fools. You think about what kind of life they were leading to force them to risk the Maw, the smugglers, the Crucibles and the Syndicates to get into the city. You think about that the next time you enjoy another snuff stream. Or maybe just apply for a border pass. Take an ex-route shuttle and tour the sanctuaries. Look down at them from the skies, You think about that the next time you enjoy another snuff stream.+ -Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 20-1 Interrogations All children born under Highflames banner learn early that there are some beatings you just have to take. It was this understanding that filled Abrels spine with steel and turned her nerves into titanium. Shame coursed through her person, but in her existed a draught of fear or sadness, for the lesson of the beatings came paired with another of the High Seraphs teachings. Pride. Pride in one''s wounds for the scars to show what they survived and an understanding that there was worthiness to be regained when one rose to redemptions call. Uthred took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke, the shape of his face finally stabilizing. Circles of discoloration ran below his eyes and his optical implants gleamed with an intense glow. Beside him, Vator smiled deeply at his sister with open affection, his hair flowing as waves of silken gold, his left eye purple while the right remained blue. He stood a few inches taller than their father and was dressed in a fine suit of ash white. Upon closer inspection, she could see movement under the suit. Flicking legs and brushing palps. Abrel did her best not to roll her eyes. Of course, this being Vator, he probably had his pet spiders weave the suit around him on the way over. Always with his artistryCconstantly trying to get her to keep one of his pets for the sake of fashion accessibility from biodegradable resources. I will keep this direct, Uthred said, an unexpected softness just beyond his glare. Effective as of two days ago, House Greatling was dissolved, and my position as Authority was resigned. Both admissions hit Abrel like flechettes to the gut. The consequences of her actions were beyond extreme. But how? Though dangerous, she didnt see how this action could force his hand so severely. There were other factors to consider, such as the provocation behind the matter, and the details of the case. Uthred Greatling wasnt a man to avoid responsibility, but he wouldnt just bear punishments bestowed without ensuring the sentences were deserved. Was resigned was dissolved. Seriously, father, its like someone else did these things for you. Vator tutted, unaffected by Uthreds side glare as usual. I told you I could have applied for the Writ if it bothered you that much. There was no need for you to be in suchC Enough. The duty was mine. Do not interrupt. Uthred shot his youngest a final look before turning back to Abrel. Vator simply sighed, surrendering to his fathers will but completely unshaken by the chastisement. Turning his gaze back to Abrel, Uthred continued. The severity of your actionsCthe recklessness with how you pursued your target. And how you deviated from the dispatched task. A shadow blanketed Abrels thoughts. If she had secured and brought Jhred back as she was ordered, things perhaps would be different now. But she left love win over duty, and now he was truly dead, and she mental pawn under the creature that killed him. Instruments Zenna, Alphim, and Melt. Every name Uthred listed was another stone plunging into her gut. The members of her cadre. The team she led. Her friends. All gone now. Each and every one. They have been recognized with honors. Their service and distinction have been recorded and eulogized at Axtraxis for heeding the commands of their leader in the most dire of circumstances. Even unto death. A near-silent sigh followed. But I do not need to tell you about the social repercussions. I know you were close to them. Zenna as well. I was fond of her too. She was always a meritable friend. Abrel nodded and did her best to distance herself from the searing pain inside. I couldnt ask any more of her. I failed her. I saw her to an inefficient end. Yes, Uthred agreed. Vator frowned at the both of them, but his disapproval was directed more toward his father. The display was unnerving touching in a way. Abrel knew that her brother loved her, but it was in a fashion most unnatural. There was something that didnt fit in Vator like he was a puppet pulled by inhuman whims. Most things never bothered him, but there was a dynamic he sought in his family. A kind of perfection that was missing. Uthred was supposed to support her. To offer his kindness when she self-criticized. But he never did. And Vator never failed to show his open disapproval. I also know you would have never lost yourself to such a rage if you werent provoked. Uthreds voice softened. I know your sins. I know your flaws. As Jhred was her son, I am your father. I fought the rage too. Even demanded that the trait be kept within you, in light of all the times it sustained meCpropelled me. But I failed to master it, Abrel replied, whispering. Yes. You failed. But now I want to know the reason. I want to know what caused your assigned task of retrieving your brother for his dereliction of duty to degenerate into an open conflict against Reva Javvers and her Bloodthanes. Abrels eyes widened. Javvers? Yes. Niece to the head of the now destroyed Scalpers. Vincintine. Currently listed as missing. Irrelevant to the current topic. I wish for you to elaborate. To explain your missteps. A dryness suddenly filled Abrels throat as the words refused to leave her. There were parts that she was physically incapable of revealing, for the blocks the ghoul built into her mind dammed such dialogue from flowing. And more than that, she was compelled to reveal half-truths. Partial insights into the chaos of the situation to better manipulate her fatherCand Highflame itself. Jhred was attacked, she said. Thats why. Thats what provoked my downfall. I have no excuse for my first failure. I offered him too much choice. Too much opportunity. He wasChe had plans to attack the Fires Height. I think. It seemed his time as a Syndicate head was building up to an assassination from the intelligence I gathered. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. A nearly imperceptible twitch passed through Uthreds lower lip. But Abrel saw, and so Vator definitely felt it too. Like a hound sniffing blood, the youngest Greatling seized the opportunity to speak, joining the conservation as if an actor entering stage right. Ah. Poor Jhred. If he could have only parted his potential from the pain of losing mother. Enough! Uthred snarled, countenance cracking into incandescent rage. The shape of his nose cut toward his son like a slashing blade as he stepped close. I do not know what urge has consumed you this day, but it ends now. No more of this. No more excuses for him. It was his life, as he always insisted. And so it was his life to waste. And our shame to bear. All the while, Vator was looking at her, grinning as if she owed him a favor. She understood then what he was trying to do; he played the role of antagonist to grant her an opening toward an alliance with their father. A unified front would see an unnatural camaraderie engendered, and place father and imprisoned daughter on the same side. He was trying to reduce the heat on her. Yes, Abrel said. It was Jhreds fault. I should have known that. He didnt want to get better. All he wanted was Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhara. Suddenly, Uthred went very still. I see. He said. And he was going to attack the Fires Height then? I cant be sure, AuCuh, father. Abrel felt her heart break as her fathers shoulders rounded. A display of relief. Losing a son was one thing. Needing to fight him, to kill him personally because he was at the diplomatic convention you were attending to kill the host would have developed into a trauma pattern even for one hardy as Uthred Greatling. Regardless, after I made the mistake of giving him more time, the attack happened. The crippling Nether offensive compromised the districts, and the Thoughtwave Detonation took the Nether down. During this time, I found myself wondering if Jhred was in dangerCor if this was part of his operation somehow, and returned to detain him. Abrel paused here, letting the tension build up for effect. But when I arrived, he was already on the cusp of death. Tortured. Tortured? Uthred stepped around the table and came to her, the human almost slipping through from the Godclad. Abrel always thought her father shared eyes with Jhred, and it was almost as if her oldest brother was here in spirit, mourning his own fate. But such were fanciful delusions. If even Jaus could not be granted such a reprieve, who then was Jhred Greatling to be blessed? Catching himself halfway, Uthred froze approximately three footsteps away. Tortured, he forced the words out, anger audible. Who did it? Who shed Greatling blood? Avo. The ghoul beyond ghouls. The beast that burns dreams and twists wills. The monster that scours the Nether. There was so much she would have told her father. So much she wanted to reveal. But her words found release along another avenue, and she spoke to portray a twisted history of what unfolded. It was a team. A cell. They were responsible. They managed to ambush Jhred in his own base. When I got there, his mind was already compromised there were two not wearing any armor. One of them mightve been Jhreds personal attack dog. Some FATELESS. The otherC Yes, Vator interrupted, a cheerful grin on his face. Aedon Chambers. Supposed acolyte of the Low Masters and quite the interesting specimen. His genitalia is oddly large. Oh, wow, thanks, Vat, Abrel deadpanned. The knowledge that the half-strand who murdered my brother has a huge cock is super useful. Youre welcome, sister dearest. Would it benefit you to know that he is a Godclad? This she already knew, though it came as a surprise when she first engaged him at Lights End. Just another one of Avos many impossible tricks. Almost all the Souls he burned into his companions that day were taken from her cadre. A pang of disgust followed, and her hatred boiled, but she continued the ruseCthe sequencing of her mind at Avos hands demanded it. No. How? Wait, how do you know this? Oh, I did a little research, Vator said. Our mutual nuisance resurfaced a few days ago at Vengs Stand. Also in the Warrens. He had an lets say interesting encounter with one Seeker Shotin Kazahara whereupon he triggered a wombrash outbreak to cover his escape when the Paladins arrived. I did some more investigation into his past as well. The media he consumes is so delectably degenerate. The youngest Greatling threw his head back and cackled. The Soft Master Collection. Ah. Priceless. IC Uthred trailed off with a scoff. The head of what once was House Greatling shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. Abrel. Tell me everything. In detail. Leave nothing out about your encounter. Vator. You will inform the both of us on what you know about this Chambers. Once that is done, I speak on the duty I have been entrusted with, and the potential for our family to be atoned. He leaned in close. I fear that Jhred might have been in contact with something of greater worth than even he knew. What? Uthred shook his head. That is not for you to know. Nor is it your task. You need simply tell us of your encounter. Nothing more. Abrel understood, and so she continued painting a disfigured truth. So, the city was determined to make a target of Aedon Chambers. She could use that. Use him to pull attention away from Avo, but still give her father, brother, and Guild someone to go after. The wrong person. *** +First. There is a problem. You need to come down now. To the Circuits.+ Bright-Wealths harried message came with a splash of heavy anxiety. The ghosts leaked from Green Rivers active session in a constant flow as a progress bar filled her cog-feed, memories being transferred. The time was just before dawn. She wondered what matter so important to do demand her attention now. Yawning slightly, she slithered through the darkness and reattached herself to the rest of her body, feeling the human component of herself draw a sharp breath of surprise as the memories loaded in the same instant the vessel activated. She wasted no time thereafter and took flight down her penthouse, glad she kept her dress on tonight instead of cleaning the body and putting it to bed. Regardless, her mind cleared more with each step. She should have known things were awry considering all the dread in Bright-Wealths mind. The younger Sang wasnt someone she would describe as anxious or easily terrified, but considering the situation, she was holding together rather well. The Second Fortune ostensibly had its doors open to any and all guests, but the presence of a certain few was as if a silver bullet for businesses, and a bad omen for their continued operation. She found him reclined at the very edge of the audience seats overlooking the Circuit area below. As the sounds of a fight continued, she noted that three entire rows had cleared out behind him, with guests fleeing up the walkways, making for the doors. Layers of intersection perception left him bathed in the notice of countless minds, but none dared to offer a single utterance related to his presence. Her heels clicked with every step and she readied herself, pulling her lips in a wide smile while casting emergency orders to the rest of her sisterhood running the establishment. +Wealth. Have Lucille temporarily lock the doors leading to the upper wings overlooking the arena. Thank you.+ She didnt bother turning around to watch hallways swell and close themselves off. All her focus was needed for a single task, a single conversation. As she came to a stop at the very final row of seats, she briefly glanced at the two bioforms fighting below. One was a large simian creatureCa gorilliod incarnateCfacing one of Ruvecas new snake-centipede designs. Dragging her attention away, she greeted the unwatched guest with a bemused smile, though her thoughts were tense with uncertainty. Blood was pouring down from his eyes, his nose, his ears, and his mouth. But he sat there, blinking, eating roasted meatballs in a bag using a toothpick, and shaking his head every time an impact sounded from below. Chief Naeko, Green River said, greeting the highest-ranked Paladin in New Vultun with a slight bow. I would have never expected one of your stature to visit our humble establishment. You do us a great honor. Languidly, the man turned his eyes away from the fight and over to her. He returned her false modesty with his own lazy smile. Nah. Im just being trouble. I know that. He patted the seat next to him, the size of his hand enough to close around her skull. She needed to be careful. She needed to be prepared to lose her expendable vessel and dive for the shadows. Come on. Sit down. Lets talk. Dont worry, Im not busting you up or shutting you down or anything. The paperwork would kill me. I just have some questions. She didnt sit down. Not immediately. Will these questions you ask see me killed then, perchance? Something that my superiors will not want answered. Naeko ran his fingers through his short crop of black hair and shrugged. He smeared the blood constantly pouring down from his face and snorted. Well. Suppose were about to figure that out from whether you say anything to my question or not. Green River nodded. The question, then? Have you had someone under your employ conduct a the Paladin paused as his halo spun, ghosts pulling mem-data across the accretion. ...a Bone Demon graft for a customer? Should be a sheath from the details I got. 20-2 In Unofficial Capacity When you patrol the Warrens, it''s important to know the prey you face. Every step you take, every alley you peek into, every Syndicate you encounter, and every transgressor you break matters. But blind destruction and rampant misuse of power lead nowhere. You must learn the nuances of your foe. Understand what drives, motivates, and commands them. It is only by breaking the baser habits indulged by the denizens of this city that crime and destitution can be overcome. We are more than Jaus fist. We are his open hand. Recall that before committing to action. Recall that, and prevent yourself from shaming his memory. It is with this in mind that we must lace our wrath with wisdom. To be as rational as we are powerful. It is important that you observe the patterns, the behaviors, the structures of society, and the nature of human duplicity. Having a heaven is not enough. Being able to twist reality is nothing if you do not understand the rules on the ground itself. And you will not make up for your lack of tact with brutality and cruelty. Do not think your savagery beyond my notice. I have seen what you do. As have the Syndicates. As have the people. Burning barrows and butchering millions to serve as a warning are acts befitting butchers of a bygone age. We will not be our ancestors. We will not become the faithers. We will not fall to the level of the gods. This is a new age, and though the darkness threatens to spill back, though Jaus has been extinguished by the betrayer, the dream lives, as do we. What we bear are more than expectations, but embodiments. Avatars that must rise to the ideal lest the city fall to its vices. Glorious purpose beyond the shadows of the past. I expect each and every Paladin to live up to these ideals. But especially you, Naeko. I know you. I know how you are. But now, Im asking you to be more. To be better. To be greater. You command the respect of the youngest and fear of the oldest, and when judged by martial materiality, you are without peer among us. But your rage must find its end. Your wrath must be tempered. Your hand must be softened. So. Here is my statement in its simplicity: be light, be gone. -Chief Paladin Osjane Thousand (Circa Second Guild War) 20-2 In Unofficial Capacity Naeko focused, turning the fullness against Green River. He waited to feel if the blood inside her would quicken, if the pulse of her heart would speed, if her posture would break, or if the muscles in her face would tighten. The only response she gave was an imperceptible tilt of her headCher true head. The fox draped around the person tilted its head and fixed him with an unreadable look. Eyes of brilliant amber glowed beneath the shifting shadows cast by the neon overlay spinning above the area, and in the brightness, the battle between bioforms was portrayed by phantoms stretched wide over the centermost arena. Contrarily, her human body remained impossibly still. Distant cheers, slurs, and jeers formed the surrounding ambiance as the fight continued. The modified simians augmented fists slammed down. Enhanced tendons lengthened. Titanium boxing gloves made from modified aerovec engines fired, boosting impact velocity. The blow fell, and the air thundered as two pillar-sized arms greeted the ground. But the centipede merely broke and scattered. Each segment of its body shot through the air, wings bursting free from their carapace as the insectoid bioform turned from a connected chain into a scatter of giant black-shelled wasps. The violence continued, and each collision between the two fed Naekos Heaven with greater and greater power. As did every act of violence across the entire Sovereignty. Naeko could have expanded his will further. But breadth taxed focus. Instead, he narrowed his influence as much as he could, made it as confined as its presence would allow, but even still, metaphysically, he was a pillar, about to pierce into the crown of existence itself. Every move he made, every act he committed cast waves through the patterns forming realitys tapestry. Billions of hostile actions entered and nourished his Heavens ontology. Parents striking children. Missiles striking buildings. Flechettes striking flesh. Light striking matter. All was true. All was present. All was transgression, waiting in the judgment of a greater hand to bring retribution to sin and enforce the tyranny that was peace on all who were. Naeko refrained. He spat clumps of dried blood crusting along his throat and used his utility fog to swab himself clean. No sense in choking because he healed faster than he bled. Thats a nice bioform, Naeko said, clearing his throat a few times while gesturing at the swarm that used to be a centipede. Did your in-house grafter build that one too? Or is that a vendor project on display for publicity? He speared another porkball and stuck it in his mouth. Hope these questions arent that dangerous. Or Ill actually start to worry. The day honest businessfolk like you start getting threatened for the services you provide is the day this city really starts heading for the Big Nothing. He struck the water again, seeing if she would react to the ripples. Handing out both his suspicion that she was the one that provided the sheath and also his knowledge regarding her grafter was probably a bit too impatient on his part, but Naeko was never much of a schemer. A pang of sympathy sang out inside him every time he looked at the gorriloid. This fight wasnt its to win. Its death was preordainedCits power a deception to siphon wealth from half-strands that mistook strength for capability. Poor thing was to farm imps from fools. All that power, all the brutality. Useless. Nothing to hit. Nothing to break. There was nothing the world loved mocking more than power rendered impotent. If it could only see itself from where Naeko sat. If it could only understand the purpose of its life. If it could have known what he known and seen what he seen. Maybe then it would make the only sensible choice it could then, and turn those fists on itself. Green River settled into the seat next to him then, turning her human face to the fight as well. The fox, however, remained locked on him, its posture tense, ready to pounce. Yeah. He was pressing against something she didnt want revealed. The question was if it was pertinent to his investigation. There were still over five million different establishments capable of grafting such a sheath across New Vultun. The Second Fortune was simply the most reliable, known for offering other clandestine services and near Tier-level surgeries. It gladdens me to hear that the reputation of my establishment has spread so far and wide, Green River said, acknowledging, not but answering his question directly. She was judging him, trying to see what angle he had or how much he knew before she revealed her own secrets. It was a game Guilders commonly played, both sides striking the water, moving in the dark, seeing who would reveal more first. And even if she was banished by her elder sisters for losing such a game in times past, the habit was bone deep in Green River now, and she would not change. Unfortunately for her, the only game Naeko liked playing was Stormjumpers. Naeko finished the last of his food so he could start blasting all the blood clogging his nose into the bag. Not using a neuter mask was an intimidation tactic, but he had to admit the constant hemorrhaging was getting pretty annoying. The curse kept lashing him, not knowing that its struggles against his nanosurgeons were fueling his Heaven as well. All I need you to know is this: I got a pretty good guess that sheath came from the Second Fortune and that Ruveca Drachneight is the grafter. What Im not sure about is if youre just a seller, or if youre implicated in whatevers happening in the background as well, but honestly, I dont really care. Im just here in unofficial capacity. Unofficial capacity, Green River repeated, as the fox glared at him with open annoyance. Is there truly such a thing in this city? Naeko shrugged. Well, Im supposed to be at work right now, so, yeah. Either that, or Im just being a lazy bum. Pick whichever you like. Green River closed her eyes and bit back a soft laugh. You are a remarkably incorrigible man. Do you know this, Chief Paladin? The Sang had no idea how deep her words struck. Echoes from his past repeated by people he used to knowCpeople who no longer were themselvesCached like scar tissue probed with a knife. In the shadows of his memories, he remembered Veylis beside him on that hill, how she sat next to him as the farms burned in the valleys beyond, shaking her head, repeating the very same line.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Naeko shook himself free from the stupor. He was different now. He was better. He had control. He was better. Yeah. Hear that once or twice, he finally replied. Listen. Youre probably safe from me. I cant prove any of this and I really want to press. And even if youre technically banished, I know who your elder sisters are, and I really dont feel like going ten-for-ten against Stormsparrow again because the No-Dragons had some imps to burn. Why, I cannot imagine my life would ever be worth such an esteemed favor, Green River replied, lacing sweetness into false modesty. No. But the disrespect of me harming you and pushing my power against your business should be enough to amount to some reprisal. Im not that rthCrusty. But also, you gotta ask yourself something: if that idiot Naekos curious about this, who else might have noticed? A heavier silence slid into place again. The wrinkles faded from Green Rivers smiling face as she pressed her lips together and the fox coiled tighter around the woman. And thats not a threat, Naeko continued, pointing a finger at her. Thats a warning. I dont think you know what most of your guests are up to. Hells, if Im going to penalize your conducting business, I think that means most the Warrens gotta follow you into the Unwhere. But Im just saying, this is a case with a lot of eyes on it, and attention could be drifting over really fast. Like, Highflame and Stormtree for instance. You know how the Guilds get in these high-tension scenarios. Both are looking for fingers to point and your potential client seems like an obvious target. I just dont want you fingered along with them. If they are your client, anyway. How very thoughtful of you, Chief Naeko, Green River said. She didnt sound so honored though. Of course, Naeko laughed. Im here to protect and serve the people. But I have to know what from, and why. The key thing here is thatCpotentiallyCif you want to get something off your chest, and youre afraid for your safety, you can come to me. Unofficially as well. Ill be sure to keep your name away from the Proparazzi. One of the centipedes wasp-like segments plunged into the gorrilloids left knee. The beast roared a deafening cry of pain. Its arms lashed out, blurs of pendulous mass, lashing and whipping, trying to swat the modular creature that was slowly wearing it down. I cannot help but feel unjustly pressured, Chief Naeko. Green River sighed. All these words directed personally at me and my business. It feels so much like a threat. So much like an accusation. It is as you said: I do not know the business of my clients, for I am a host who provides their needs to the letter and oversteps no boundaries. I learned that one must respect the limitations of tradition, station, and duty, lest they be unmade by anothers folly. And she was being somewhat honest here. Naeko could feel it. Knew her history, how her ambitions during the Fourth Guild War nearly sparked a diplomatic incident between Highflame and the No-Dragons, and how she was banished as something between an apology and a face-saving measure. Exactly, Naeko said. He held up a hand as if to pet her shoulder, but halted as the approach struck him as more threatening than comforting. He settled for scratching his own head instead. This shouldnt be on you at all. Another two pieces of the centipede sank through the simians flesh. Blood sprayed from the thrashing bioforms armpit and groin. Its right arm tore open something, sawed up along the inside of the arm. The phantoms focused in on the flopping flesh and exposed bone, the live replay slowed down to show a bladed carapace gliding through layers of enhanced tissue, wings hot and aglow from how fast they were beating. Im sorry, Chief Naeko, Green River frowned. I simply cannot recall anything about this off the top of my head. Perhaps I might be able to offer you something at a later date after spending some time in review? Yeah, Naeko nodded. How tomorrow evening? Ill go upstairs to the Golden Bull for dinner. Heard the dumplings are to kill for! The gorilloid stumbled backward with a groan, but the remaining parts of the centipede pierced its eyes and shot into its open mouth. The burly beast and Naeko were two of nature now, both bleeding from their faces. But as the monsters thrashed and wailed in rage and disbelief at the fate it could not overcome, the Paladin just hemorrhaged politely, his suffering a sidenote to a pleasant conversation. Some of the crowd were hurling insults and shouting in dismay. Losers many, and fools all. But Green River wasnt among them. Im sorry I cant be of more help, Chief Naeko. Then, her Metamind pulsed, and a phantasmal thread slithered out from her mind to his. INCOMING SYNC REQUEST FROM GREEN RIVERACCEPTED [MEM-DATA PACKAGE INCOMING] +Are you able to access the Deep Bazaar, Chief Naeko,+ Green River asked mentally. If there are any other services I can grant you, please, just speak the words, and efforts will be made. Rivers of gore poured from the inside of the gorilloid. The centipede was gone from sight and nested within the corpse. Crimson seeped into silvery fur as parts of the body bulged and broke. Something was curling along the dead simians spine, reassembling itself beyond natural perception. But Naeko could feel new architecture taking shape, the centipede wrapping itself in arteries, nerves, bones, and sinews. Finally, as the head of the insectoid reattached itself, the bioform injected itself into its dead foes brainstem as the body kicked and spasmed. Naeko sighed dramatically, playing along. You know, after watching my chosen bioform lose, the gambling spirit just left me. I think Im going back to work. Sometimes, you just have to take a hint from life that the hand you have isnt it. He shook his head sadly and stood. +Yeah. I can get on.+ +Good,+ Green River said. +Within the package I just sent you are instructions that will lead you to a private mindscape in the Bazaar. I will be waiting there at midnight. We can have a more open discussion at that time. Away from prying eyes.+ In the real, she bowed slightly, never taking her eyes off him. It saddens me we werent able to give you the experience you desired. Perhaps another try? Maybe your second fortune will prove better than your first. Ah! Naeko laughed, grinning boyishly at her. And the No-Dragons kicked you out? They must hate good conversation. The conversation returned to the mental. +River. I better not be faced with a Necro null cell when I get in there. Because if I am, they might just find you smeared along your bedrooms walls. And when I say you, I mean the nu-dog.+ The foxs eye twitched. +Fox.+ +I dont care what made-up nickname you give your nu-dogCdont grief me. Im doing actual legwork right now and Ive forgotten how pissed off it makes me. That, and the fact that I can feel every little degenerate thing thats happening around the Sovereignty.+ To accentuate his point, Naeko clenched a fist. Twenty kilometers away, a dozen Hundred-Eighters were trying to force the refugees they trafficked out from their containers. As the next threat was snarled, however, they all suddenly came apart in weltering sprays of gore, the harm inflicted on the gorilloid was copied unto them as well. Naeko shared this memory with Green River and smiled genially. +I look forward to talking with you honestly and thoroughly. And just that. I dont have the taste for violence anymore. Not when its done by me. Not when its done by anyone else.+ +I understand,+ Green River said. +No,+ Naeko replied. +And hopefully, you never will.+ Wiping the blood from his face again, he took a step past her and made for the walkway, preparing to leave the establishment. He could feel her looking at him every step of the way, feel all the other eyes on him in the stands. No doubt some among the crowd are already publishing memories in the Nether. As he dodged a drunken woman fighting to align ass to seat, Naeko reached out using his Heaven again and focused in on Green River. If anything were to happen to herCif anyone tried to harm herChe would know, and he would pull himself across existence where violence was performed. After that, he expanded his awareness again and reached beyond the Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty. One hundred and twenty-four potential suspects spooked. Three offering something close to promise. Hed do a few more on the top of his list and wait. See who gets snuffed or starts moving erratically. Feel the reaction to his probing. After that well, hed figure that out when he got there. Right now, all he wanted to do was narrow some leads and breathe down some necks. Knock the rust off. Get back into the swing of things and get a clearer picture. He had feeling Denton was tied up in this. That was part of why he didnt want Maru and the others involved. But even still, he wanted a better grasp of what was going on. Just to make sure the trial would stay a mess and develop into a clusterfuck instead. Over a thousand kilometers away, Naeko found his next place of interest: The Skin Garden. Also a Sang-owned establishment. Fewer direct ties to the No-Dragons though. Expanding his awareness and pulling himself over to every act of violence being committed, he injected himself into a falling arm and materialized as a mother slapped her daughter across the face, exploding across existence with the crack of a slap. Blinking, he found himself in a quaint family home, the ground beneath him little with broken shards of glass and spilled alcohol. Against the wall, a girl barely more than ten held her face as she looked at him with wide eyes. Her mother, still holding her arm in a death grip, looked upon Naeko the same way. He sighed. Okay. First. He pointed at the broken beers. This is sad. Dont abuse over spilled beers. The mother blinked, her disbelief causing her thoughtstuff to stutter in place. I you Second, Naeko said, holding up an open hand. Thats not how you slap someone. Feel this closely now. Im about to teach you the first thing my father taught me before I could walk. Naeko had forgotten how miserable it was to walk the Warrens. But then again, he had also forgotten that there were simpler pleasures amidst the misery. *** So, Bright-Wealth said, eyes practically fused to the place Naeko sat. What the fuck did he want? Are we going to die? Is it time for all of us to start selling each other out for pleas and reduced sentences? Green Rivers human vessel continued to frown down at the area while the fox turned and snarled at her sister. Do not worry. You will be safe. I, on the other hand, have a few calls to make. Bright-Wealth whistled. That bad, huh? So. If you get brutally killed, the split for the Second Fortune is still in effect, yeah? I get one full percent. Green River rolled her eyes. You can have two for all I care. Youll just gamble it away. Ow. You hurt me. But also true. Wealth, Green River said, before pausing a beat. Will the Second Fortune still be standing if I leave you in charge for a day? The younger Sang slid back, her snake-like bio-rig allowing her to shift smoothly across the ground. No. Itll collapse in half that time. I dont want all the responsibility. Good. You will be first sister while Im occupied. I must handle some matters. Contact a few people. Fuck. Wait, do I get your penthouse. Of course not. Fuck. A bonus? Thats performance-related. Fuck. 20-3 Outside the Garden The lives outside our borders are an untapped resource. I knowCI know. Were not supposed to touch them and Voidwatch is watching per the Articles, but we need to start making special considerations. They are currently a resource drain on our efforts. All those sanctuaries of subjects, publicly funded, offering nothing but trickles of lives. Its maddening. Our installations need to be insulated against the SunderwildsCprotected against whatever madhouse these people escaped from, and that we also need to provide education to them? A livable space? Possibilities for community prosperity? Its ridiculous. Its outdated. The dream is dead, long live the dream, but now we need to think about winning the war. And war is about numbers. Do you know how many Souls Highflame has? How many Omnitech has? How many the No-Dragons have? More than us. Sure. Our edge is in information and techno-thaumaturgy but right nowCI guarantee youCif we get the ability to see ten years into the future, its going to be of Highflame burning our districts and butchering our citizens. Foresight does not equal power. It can influence it, but were not lacking skill or awareness or any of that. We need force and unfortunately, its the only thing we still seem to lack. Highflame has eight times more techno-thaumic armor; Omnitech has whatever nightmares theyre cooking up in their nexuses. I dont even want to count the No-Dragon troop numbers. Im sure everyone recalls what happened to our martyrs at Irisues Vale when they got overrun by the Breeder-Hawks. Of course we can level things out by counting on Stormtree to achieve some degree of firepower parity, and counter-thaumic operations through the assistance of Ashthrone and Sanctus, but our alliance is contingent on the Sainists, and Im sure were all under no illusions about whats going to follow after we win. Ugly truths the truth: were not just playing to overcome the Golds and their lackeys. We need to watch our esteemed allies as well. We might be in agreement on some things, but in the end, theres no such thing as second winner. So. Back to my proposition. I think its time we do a little exploring of our own in the Sunderwilds. Send out teams to establish enclaves allied to us. Im uploading the mem-data for my proposal right now. Technically, were not really breaking the rules. Were just being flexible with its interpretation. -Elder Iyar Kazahara (Ori-Thaum) 20-3 Outside the Garden Not even light could escape the defilement of reality, but still, the brightness of dawn fell, lathering all things of solid shape in a thin sheen of radiance. Merging from the horizontal crevice that was New Vultun lowest level, the outer layers of the Maw crept forth in diminishing detail, no longer the intricate sigils dividing the districts and Sovereignties back within the layered city. Here, there were but vast rings rounding the perimeter of the city itself, pierced through by channels that cleaved into the light splashing down from dawn ascending. Drawing from the histories of ancient Noloth with a thought, Avo learned and then knew the Maw to be a living construct. Something that was meant to be expanded to fulfill the needs of its ever-growing population, blossoming outward like a flower fed by wither and rot to encompass Idheim evermore. But with the loss of their ArkCand thereby the history of Noloth and whatever power they had to influence the futureCthe Maw was cosigned to merely be a great wonder of the world. A nigh-endless reservoir for Rend, but nothing worth any weight in culture or significance. Another dead dream among the countless. [And thank Jaus for that,] Abrel scoffed. [Listen, Avo, I know Im not exactly an unbiased party here, but that primer your dad-uncle gave you isnt exactly what Id call reliable. Propaganda. Everyone does it. And from what I know about Nolothi history, theres no way their little waste disposal expansion project wasnt going to cost a few billion more lives.] Avo regarded her words with a faint note of acknowledgment. A few other templates within his gestalt provided their own insight on matters, but most were gazing forth as he wasCpeering far into the light. Draus, Avo said, the Soulfire within him stirring, igniting the many deaths cycling his Fardrifter, going to accelerate our progress. Make myself wind. Expand our progress. The Regular acknowledged him with a slight nod. Mind the light. Been forming reflections all the way behind us while we flew, but the light itself feels damn slippery. And wet. Probably an effect caused by the Sunderwilds. Avo reached out using his Woundmothers Domain of Luminosity and found himself in agreement with Draus. There was an uncanny slickness to how light flowed here. Like rain of liquid arrows flung outward by the weight of a rushing monsoon. He triggered his Fortress of Luminosity out of curiosity, and though spherical oscillations formed of clashing brightness briefly layered the points where Avo expressed his canon, no backlash followed, no paradox laid him low. Should be fine, Avo said. Still. Keep being careful. Going to draw the Manta into my Yondergales. And with a simple effort of will, he did just that. A gust of sudden wind folded over the stealth ship as it was swallowed. A coiled knot of space, air, and shadow tightened, lacing the Manta in a demiplane of black clouds thundering with torrential gales. Here, these Yondergales formed the yolk that was the Fardrifters inner plane while the coiling walls of wind containing its ten-kilometer expanse extended outward as nine galloping steeds. Beneath the surface of spatial reality they charged. Four of the steeds snaked across two hundred and fifty kilometers of land. Air currents shivered in the air as if to foretell a hurricane, and empowered by the Horizon Strider canon, Avo and his cadre moved at speeds matching such a calamity. Then, when another of the Fardrifters heads burrowed into the shadows cast by the towering structures of New Vultun, they plunged forward even faster, Shadowrun granting Avo ten times his initial speed. The Manta itself was a marvel of human ingenuity and technological achievement. Yet, its structures still obeyed laws. Capitulated to rules. Fast though it could accelerate, it would never be able to treat drifting contrails as folds of space to hide within or augment its base velocity by assuming darkness to function as if wind tunnels. Despite this, Calvino merely sighed. +You disapprove?+ Avo asked. {Hardly,} Calvino responded. {I''m merely lamenting the fact that we can''t enjoy a nice leisurely flight over the land without wrapping ourselves in realitys disemboweled entrails because were suspicious that the light might kill us. Somehow.} It probably wouldnt, but the potential it could was all that mattered. As the horizon tumbled closer, so emerged the first hints of the refugee sanctuaries. Situated directly beyond the final Maw-ravine wrapped around New Vultuns perimeter, grand towers made from alloy and vivianite climbing a full kilometer high stabbed at the sky, their tips pulsing with Sprites. Static thoughtstuff lashed from spire to spire, functioning as if a relay. A weak force tugs, the Techplaguer muttered. I do not wish to be tugged. Administrator, they touch us without permission. Their MAINFRAMES transgress. We should get them sick so they DIEDIEDIE! I still do not think you have repaired this one properly, master, the Woundmother murmured. One must be considerate when building their own structures, for faulty sections betray the foundations of the structure, and only when the collapse is imminent does one realize they were too tardy in replacing what they long knew to be ill-suited. Disagreement, the Techplaguer said. I am perfect. I am wonderful. Children love me. You will cease these negative assertions against my morale. As the two Heavens began to bicker anew, Avo expanded his awareness in all directions and took the face of reality beyond New Vultun for the first time in his life. He remembered how things were out hereCwas unsurprised thanks to the memories provided by his templates. The Godsfall had broken Idheim in ways too deep for words to fully convey. This he knew to be the truth. However, knowledge did not equal experience and theoretical awareness did not match existential gnosis. Here, nested in the present, he brushed the tattered patterns of reality, felt entire sections torn, twisted, and taken from the tapestry of existence. Dice let out a gasp of girlish discomfort. Beside her, fused within his own latticed cocoon, Essus clenched his restraints and choked. The uncanny sensations burrowed deep into Avo as well, and where almost all of his templates flinched, Corner, Lip, Osjon, and Draus endured the initial embrace of the Sunderwilds without recoil.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Next to him, Avo heard the Regular chuckle. Feels like runnin my tongue across broken bits of tooth. The numb and hurt mixin together. Echoes of where pieces of yourself used to be. But aint no more. And that twang in your gut when you find fragments buried deep in your cheek. He said nothing in response. Her words were more than apt for what they all just tasted. Behind them rose the titan that was New Vultun, a behemoth risen from man-made materials. The Layers segmented the base of the structure, with scintillating neon lighting the contours of distant sprawls. Only the Sovereignties of Lights End were graced with the touch of day, and even then, Avo sensed a faint shimmer intercepting the light, an unseen shroud preventing the moisture present in beyond the borders from leaking into the city itself. Then, onward, past blocks and streets of glass, plascrete, plastic, and chrome, the Tiers itself rose like a mountain beyond mountains, a titan standing on the shoulders of a giant. The sheer face of the leveled pillar was smooth and perfect, with threads of light zipping up and down, its territories guarded by unseen protections of its own. But higher still stood testament to the triumph of humanity: the Elysiums burrowed up into the firmament, blending light, shape, sound, and power into the flesh of reality itself. FaintlyCalmost imperceptiblyCAvo thought he could feel the touch of the Guild Arks even here, their presence seemingly not so far away. Gold. Silver. Black. Blue. Grey. Green. Red. And crowning all of them was a beacon of purple projected down from a place located beyond even the sky itself. The apex of New Vultun was a warring canopy, each hue a Guild clashing, straining, digging into another, the branches of their pantheons spreading, growing, blooming. Yet, for all its grandeur, New Vultun was but an oasis of magnificence in an ocean of calamity. Around the curated reinterpretations of reality spread the cracks of desolation. Sunder. Because the world was broken. Wilds. Because chaos spilled through the fractures like invasive tendrils, shapes quivering, their flows clashing. If New Vultuns heights were a garden, then the world outside its borders was wilderness unfettered. Twisted vines bleeding geometric fractals and lined with oozing cancers curtained entire portions of the sky. Rancid rivulets of filth and mercury flowed higher up still, the composition of the Sunderwilds a myriad of threads, twisting up further and further until currents of blinking darkness made of nothing but eyes and chomping mouths fused the madness below to vaster horrors festering in the great nothingness of the void. As the wind rustled, Avo felt fingers prying at his Heaven. Whispers brushing his protective labyrinth as beings too alien in shape and comprehension begged for him to allow them in, but not to stare upon them lest they shatter under the weight of his perception. It was under these skies that the wilders lived. And it was blanketed by such madness that the refugees endured outside New Vultuns protections. For as brutal as the city was, consistency still had its reign. You understood when someone shot you, cut you, heard you. But what could someone do if they simply encountered a note they werent supposed to hear? Or a shape their mind couldnt stand to witness. As the sun rose further, light settled upon the worlds disfigured visage, and between the necrotized folds of existence, Avo glimpsed things that made thousands of his templates shatter and scream. [Fuck,] Abrel whimpered. [Stop! Avo stop! Pull your perception back. Stop lookingCnot the light! Look away from theCtheCsky is is a lie is oh, Jaus, oh, gods] And then, strong though she was, even Abrel couldnt help but weep. Still, Avo couldnt turn away. To reel his awareness back. Even as multiple of his templates cracked and shattered, costing him ghosts to repair and reform, he found these losses a paltry sacrifice in exchange for taking in the portrait of destruction that was his world. To view this as apart from Jaus legacy was pure delusion, Avo realized. And in this realization, he found himself appreciating it more. This was ungoverned reality left to fester; the Sunderwilds were, much like the guilds themselves, at war. Though these were at war across every individual strand, every stray pattern, every rogue miracle. They were warring infestations, invading themselves and each other as much as they did stable existence. Yes, indeed, the Sunderwilds was Jaus legacy. Just as New Vultun. Just as the guilds. But horrible and terrifying and dreadful as destruction is, it was also sublime in its symbology, for this, just as much as New Vultun and its Tiers, was man-made. And, if Avo were to be granted an opinion, a piece of artistry greater than the megacity itself. [Yeah, yeah,] template-Draus sneered, taking in the sight with indifference. She along among all his templates remained unbothered by what she saw. [If youre done waxin lyric out your ass, maybe we can find a place to settle? Scope out the sanctuaries. Do what we actually came here to do? Gettin bored of you just lookin at the sky.] Back in the real, Avo looked to the Regular herself as she spun a shard of glass next to her head. Well. Are we gonna do somethin today, or are we gonna wait till Tavers here finally cracks? I just built a place where we can set down. Got the beginnings of an underground base goin. Got it linked to the passages leadin back into the city already. We can disembark after. Get a lay of the land. See if we start shittin new colors out our eyes or somethin. She flicked him locational details regarding her new installation. It was located some twenty kilometers behind the innermost sanctuaries over a relatively lush patch of land. Within the Mantas confines old squire glared at the Regular, but Avo noticed Tavers was disconnected from the Mantas systems, the static lining her cognition directed inward, no longer accessing the vessels feeds. Beside her, Dice and Essus were also withdrawn, but no nervousness accompanied them. They knew where they were, and they walked these broken lands. Fine, Avo said. Lets walk the wilds. *** Avo deposited the Manta in the vitrified bivouac Draus made using his Nine Streams. Moving things across nine points of space was easy, but he had to admit slight jealousy at how the Regular could step across impossible stretches of distance so long as she had a reflection to work with. Settled some two hundred feet below ground and with the glass on the topside formed beneath a layering of shrubbery, their presence couldnt be detected at a glance, and from what Avo understood, the Guilds didnt tend to waste golems or drones on reckless patrols, trying to sweep every inch of the Sunderwilds for hidden dangers. Emerging from their temporary operating base, Avo coated his cadre in a protective shell using his blood, channeling his Incog through his Haemokinesis and keeping them veiled from notice. From there, they observed the surrounding sanctuaries for a moment, taking in the settlements that served as blockades for migrants trying to enter New Vultun. The first thing to note was that they were domed and that their shells were lined with insulated solar panels. Avo sampled their material composition from afar and frowned. He sensed a few golems present in the area, but few other protective assets beyond them. Some drones patrolled the sanctuaries surroundings while others continued to work on new architecture. A complex network of tunnels between each of the settlements. Much like how each sanctuary had a techno-thaumic communications tower, they all seemed to have something of a maglev station as well, with fast-moving trains constantly shuttling new people in and around per population capacities. Over rolling hills in the distance, Avo noticed trailing drones projecting light-marked lanes. Expanding both his Woundmother and Fardrifter, he found migration caravans running at least a few hundred kilometers long. Tents, vehicles, beasts of burden, and haggard-looking people were the norm. Voidwatchs coldtech drones did what they could, but Avo could feel the strain affecting their machinery, the Sunderwilds wearing them down in moments when such degradation should have naturally taken years. Strangely, however, the people remained unaffected, and Guilder assets functioned without fail. I remember this route, Essus said, coming to a stand next to Avo, still careful to keep his eyes averted from the sky. I was far that way. You see? There. Where a patch of light is shining down on those hills. Avo saw what the man was pointing at, but only momentarily. In the next moment, a vast city-sized tendril whipped down across the sky and briefly blanketed everything in darkness. With the obfuscation of light, so too faded the hills, the space changing to be a lagoon instead. Ah, yes, Essus muttered, rubbing his chin. We had to get away from the hills when the light goes away. Many of us drowned the first day. Of course, those of us who went left instead of right were also met with unkind fates. He sighed. Artad protect them. How could they have known the rocks were carnivorous. Next to them, Tavers was fully encased in her armor again, face unseen behind inches of protective alloy. I cant believe Im saying this, but I fucking miss the city already. At least I can take a piss there most days and not wonder if my urine is going to wake up somehow and eat its way back up my cunt. Oh, whats a matter, Tavers? Too much of a city girl? Country life aint to your likin? Draus shot the older woman a grin as she swept their surroundings using the scope of her rifle. Tavers flipped her off. Avo meanwhile pushed his awareness far south. There, a few million migrants were flooding into the protective tunnels that would lead to mass security screenings, and temporary housing, followed by a wait before enough people left or died inside a sanctuary for them to be granted a spot. As fascinating as the process was, Avo was seeking something even further beyond. In Dices memories, she had come from that direction. Followed her master out of a place where pillars of murmuring darkness called to travelers, where beasts shaped of matter and shadow both preyed upon the supple flesh of baseliners. Such was the life Dice knew. And such were the monsters that have almost certainly overrun her enclave in the long absence of her master. Soon, however, they would be purged. Or least repelled. Avo was interested in knowing which Fallen Heaven they originated from, and if he could staunch the Rend. If nothing else, the abandoned enclave would serve as a place where they could operate freely without worrying about the Guilds. After months of scurrying about the dark, Avo found something cathartic about playing the harbinger of light. The more superstitious among his gestalt had taken it as a sign. A changing of the times. From beast of darkness to the bringer of the bright. An auspicious change, if judged from the sound. But before Avo could reach any further, a session sounded in the depths of his mind, and saw Nandus Metamind identification flashing across his cog-feed. A frown overtook him in an instant. Somehow, Draus knew, and pulled away from her gun, turning to look at him. Whats wrong? Is it Kae? Dont know yet, Avo said. Hope not. Chambers calling. Has to be important. Costs a death. As certain templates inside him began to speculate, he connected to the session, and his Conflagration erupted out the other side like fire striking a lake made from napalm. [Hey!] Chambers said, mind reassembling as Avo overwrote the false Nandu memories. [Whoa! That feels weird. Its like I didnt know myself at all a second ago. Why the hells did you need to make me look so godsdamned ugly anyway, you knowC] +Chambers,+ Avo said, tone even, but annoyance evident. [Right. Youre not gonna like this, consang. Not one bit. You wanna know who just called me? Green River. She wanted to talk to you, and so I played along and spoofed her using some artifacts I assembled on the fly. Chief Paladin Naeko gave the Second Fortune a visit earlier today. Put the squeeze on our least favorite Sang. Hes looking for someone. And it aint me.] A coldness filled Avo from the inside. Tension plucked at his nerves. +Draus? Kae?+ [You.] Somehow, he expected that answer, though he wished it werent so. [He came around asking about your Bone Demon sheath. Think youre going to need to change up soon, consang. Switch up your glamor and shit. ] [Naeko? Working? What the fuck?] Paladin Kassamon was practically at a loss for words. [We might want to consider an impostor. Maybe burn Kare and have her shadow the boss.] [Please dont volunteer me for such a detail, Sergeant Kassamon,] Kare said, her calm tone still ripe with frustration. [It is unbecoming conduct.] [I know. But honestly, he scares the piss back up my balls.] A brief pause followed. [Is that where the piss goes?] Chambers asked. [I thought we have like a ballon in there or some shit.] [A bladder,] Benhata provided. [There is no reason why one cannot make such a thing possible,] Elegant-Moon said. [The bladder and testicles can be merged.] Avo looked up at the sky. His templates screamed. He sighed. Problem? Draus asked. Yeah, Avo said. Problem. 20-4 Players and Pawns (I) Getting yourself out of a tight spot requires some counterintuitive tactics at times. Lets use an ambush for example. Most people tend to break, turn, run. Try a fighting retreat. Thats what gets most people killed. Youre reacting, burning all your capacity to keep the current problem at bay while the bastards about to snuff you are free to pull more tricks out of their asses. What you need to do is find the weakest section of their assault and turn into it. Now, theres no guarantee that things will work and youll come out alive, but reacting is delaying action and best, and youll definitely get ground down at some point. You want to live? You need to stop behaving like a piece and be a player. They gave you a dilemma, give them one back. Cause problems. Break some shit. Force them to spend mental bandwidth trying to put out their own fires before they can deal with you. Thatll strain them and give you the time you need to solve your own problems. Ultimately, the math is simple. You want your plate to be as close to zero as possible in the shit I have to react to box. You want their plates to be piled so high the table is flipping over to give them the nice kiss on their heads they never got from daddy. You''re not gonna win a fight by just taking a punch, you need to shit in their bed, you need to set their house on fire. Remember: be a player, dont be a pawn. Otherwise, save yourself some time and just wrap your lips around a gun. -Quail Tavers, The School of the Warrens 20-4 Players and Pawns (I) By the time Avo finished Chambers recounting, Tavers was squinting at him in disbelief via a simulated face constructed from phantoms. Have him check in with the Sang again. Ask her if she has true confirmation if its actually Naeko. Hard to believe that lazy half-strand finally got off his ass, stopped playing his game, and decided to hit the ground running with his police work. Hes been down and out for practically half my life. This is a little too drastic after years of nothing. Probably is him, Avo replied, digging through the mem-data Chambers provided. Immediately after Green Rivers sync, the Nether came alive with screaming activity. Lobbies public and private surged with roaring traffic as sequences and memories pertaining to Naekos departure from his long hibernation circled the networks. Mass memory dump connected to him. Multiple sightings across the city. Hes visiting grafters everywhere. Trying to build a trail. [Oh, the Mirrors are not going to like this,] Benhata sighed. [We have an entire division meant to monitor the Paladins. Once, we even had an entire strike cell dedicated to shadowing the Chief Paladin, but after years of inaction, the members were disbanded and reassigned.] The fallen Mirror sighed. [The outer council is going to come down with a conniption over this.] A sensation of genuine disbelief came from Abrel. [What? All that for Naeko?] Her answer came as a quiet chuckle, Paladin Kassamon clucking his tongue in faux pity for the Instrument. [Before your time, back over some two centuries ago, the Paladins were all feared. We were the cream. We were the crop. We were Jaus hounds, and the Exorcists, our ravens. Sure, the Guilds were pillars of the eight great cultures that remained in our world. Sure they outnumbered us. But our ranks were composed of Godclads all, and under the guidance of Chief Osjane Thousand, New Vultun was an anvil to be broken in. Naeko, however, was our motherfucking hammer.] [You cant imagine how many people that man has killed. And how he killed them.] Corner laughed, and his memories became windows into the vicarities he once experiencedCa secondhand internalization of the world that once was. [Samir Naeko was godsdamned monster that walked out of the Godsfall more pissed than he started. His name sits next to Veylis Avandaer. Zein Thousandhand. Osjon Thousand. Stormsparrow. Legends all. Bleak fucking legends. But of the bunch, Naeko was the odd one out. Slave. Sacrifice turned saboteur. Then slayer of the gods that used him.] [Wait, were those memories compiled from the Siege of Vnueid Falls?] Kassamon sounded awed. [Holy shit, I thought those recollections were lost.] [No,] Corner said. [Just damn rare. Not so many survivors from those times. I won that in a game of roulette. Heh. Poor bastards looked like they wanted to shoot me again after I resurrected. Too bad they didnt say being a Godclad was against the rules.] Tavers, Avo said, finally emerging from his own thoughts, tell White-Rab hes going to be getting a new job soon. An interesting one. A drip of apprehension escaped the squires mind. Not sure if hes going to be all that receptive to a dive like this, consang. Therell be a lot of eyes on Naeko. And the Chief Paladins probably got more than a few nasty tricks up his sleeve. Avo anticipated this and had just the means of encouragement. Tell him Ill pay with a Heaven. Or a cycler. His choice. Will also expedite matters relating to our mutual consang. Alright, Tavers said, still sounding dubious. As threads of ghosts cascaded along the accretion of her Metamind, Avo turned his attention back to the other members of his cadre. The new development gave him things to consider, and not just alone. They had already moved beyond the borders of New VultunCestablished a forward operating base, even. But there was still much to be done. Essus needed to be seeded back among the refugees to ingrain himself in the sanctuaries and prime himself for future operations. Dice still had a home to reclaim and an enclave to reestablish. Yet, with every second they left Naeko unattended, the threat to their operations back in the city grew. Thousands upon thousands of templates began to converse and chatter. With a subtle command, Avo adjusted their behaviors, accelerating the streams of dialogue within him to their final conclusions and stacking the summarized information into separate parties based on each suggestion. The Conflagration became a front in an instant. A kind of single-ego gestalt-based parliament unique in its inception. Calvino gave a slight scoff. {Avo. To reduce the swelling size of your ego no. You are not that unique. Submind collectives and ID-stacked data democracies were things established by the late twenty-third century. Youre merely a more aberrant expression of the same design.} +Can they twist the fabric of reality?+ Avo asked. {No, but they also didnt live in a world where the market value of a life was less than that of a soft drink.} +Dont see what our financial insolvency has to do with anything.+ {...There are times I forget that I accompany a monster in a world long swallowed by nightmares.} +Should look outside right about now. Got front-row seats.+ Filtering through the different motions, the action conservatives consisting of Benhata, Lip, Osjon, most the Incubi, and several thousand other technical-logistical personnel were inclined for him to return to the city. The kill yourself party headed by Abrel and more than a few bitter Syndicate types wanted Avo to attack Naeko head-on in the hopes that he would die a long and horrible death. The action aggressors like Draus and Corner demanded Avo press on. Ensure fruits are borne of his current task while keeping Naekos movements in his periphery. Ten other groups offered additional suggestions on what executive actions he could take, but Avo found them to be little more than variations for the first three. He eliminated Abrels suggestion as he didnt need Naeko to help him with any suicides, and measured the conservatives against the aggressors. He could turn back now without really losing out on anything, but there was no guarantee he could stop Naeko. Or that the Chief Paladin was even going to get anything out of Green River. Still, something needed to be done to ensure the Sangs security. That, he felt, was a service White-Rab could provide. Chambers potentially too for that matter, but the risk with him was greater. That, and he also needed someone to manage the strategic aspects of their operations back in the city. [Shit, you trust me that much?] Chambers said, sounding surprised. +Can be built further. Was good how you spoofed Green River. Then observed the Nether. Need you to continue displaying initiative. Keep our operations going. Get back to Washington when Kae finishes. Hold in place. No major moves. Try to find Denton. Contact her. See if she can get him to stop or find out what he wants.+ [Aw, and here I was hoping Id get to see what the Sunderwilds look like.] Avo turned his gaze south and clicked his fangs together in rumination. +Might not need to hope if things go right.+ With a thought, he formed simulations using his Conflagration. The fires of his mind billowed as his twenty-seven million ghosts smoldered with meta-cognitive processing power. As his Metamind generated likely outcomes, so too did his Neurodeck. As he lacked a great deal of information regarding what Naeko wanted, random assumptions and scenarios were used in place. In the worst cases, Naeko was already aware of what he was planningCmade cognizant by the Low Masters or some other unforeseen factorCand was actively in the process of smoking Avo out. The outcomes then made remaining in New Vultun difficult. Filtering mem-data spawned from rumors, experiences, and recollections, Avo guessed that Naekos Heaven could reach across a vast swath of space. Perhaps even the entire megacity itself. If that were the case, Avo had no desire to discover if he could keep himself hidden from the Chief Paladins gaze while engaging in resource gathering, cultural subversion, Guild infiltration, or active runs.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Again, Avo thought of his brief encounter with Naeko while they were trying to escape across Lights End. He remembered the impossible pressure he felt, the sheer overwhelming power the Chief Paladin had casually projected. If not for Denton, they likely would have all been taken and imprisoned. And Avos journey wouldve ended without ever truly beginning. [Aw, and here I was hoping youd prove candle and not wick, rotlick,] Abrel taunted. +Cant bully me into killing myself,+ Avo replied. +Wont work.+ [Well, you cant blame me for trying.] In the end, the ultimate risk right now was the city becoming unsafe for him. Which was the exact problem securing an enclave could solve. If he could consume or just keep the Fallen Heaven afflicting Dices former home at bay, they would have a place of operations beyond New Vultun. Somewhere they could act, practice, and plan more openly and freely. It would also solve the danger of Naeko discovering the George Washington in the city, and give them a place to hold while the heat died down. Nothing prevented Draus from connecting the enclave to the Washington via a few passages, anyway. I think I have a plan, Avo said, speaking to his cadre again. Think I want to keep going. Smuggle Essus among the caravans. Let him re-enter the sanctuaries. Rest of us head deeper. Dice leads. We retake her enclave. Establish second haven for ourselves. Gives us a place to retreat to if things go wrong. Best choice in my mind. Immediately, Draus nodded as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Dice, for her part, agreed with a word but went back to staring southward from where she once came. Threads of rushing black and greenish mist swirled out from porous ribs the size of mountains flashing in and out of reality. Essus and Tavers remained uncertain. The squire made her thoughts known first, preluding her apprehensions with a sigh. Avo, look, Ive seen my fair share of shit, but She shot the world around her a brief look and gestured at the constantly collapsing corpse of existence. This really isnt my scene. If you ask me to, Ill go further, but Im staying inside the ship. Im not like you. I dont want a Soul, but Ill be damned if I die because I dont have one. And my contacts havent finished constructing a new sheath anchor for my phylactery yet. Whats wrong? Dont feel like goin on safari? Draus teased. Not particularly. No. Tavers eyed the Regular, and Avo could feel the exhaustion in her posture. You know how I lived long enough to record The School of the Warrens? By listening to my instincts and understanding why something makes me shiver. Right now? Im getting the shivers something bad. Nothing out here for people like me but death. New Vultuns a ravenous fucker, but at least it usually has a shape I can understand. A wolfs an easier foe to fight than the jungle itself. Draus studied the squire for a beat a nodded. Reckon so. Reckon so. So. Back under the Layers with you? Yeah, Tavers said. I think Ive had enough of the great outdoors. For the rest of my life. She cast out a Specter and angled it high, casting her perception outward to study the long trails of withered humanity. I mean, fuck me, how do people survive out here? By the hand of our betters, Essus answered. By learning what rules rule where and what they do. And by staying in a place we can understand. He scoffed lightly. Under the house of questionable masters. He gave Avo a weary expression of his own. Such was the fate I wished to spare him, you know. And look at me now. Back to the place I thought we were to be saved. His eyes went then to the titan that was New Vultun, and the innumerable domes holding sanctuaries within. It was as if an explosion of wild mushrooms around a great tree that grew beyond the reach of the firmament itself. Do you want to go there? Avo asked. Wont be hard to find you. Contact you. For you to get around too. Chambers has a session in your mind. You can use your Heaven at any time. I know, Essus nodded, the act making his elastic jowls bounce. Enhanced though he was, Avo had left him mostly unchanged in shape. I wish to return. To prevent others from making my mistake. And to find the one that deceived me. I want to have words with her. Can help you with that, Avo began. No, Essus replied. No. Thank you. I wish to settle this of my own accord. I want to know why she lives such a life. Perhaps it will grant us insight into how the Syndicates work outside. Avo grunted. Perhaps. So. We are all clear. Me, Draus, Dice continue on. Essus embeds. Tavers. You got back to the city. Take the Manta with you. Work with Chambers and White-Rab. Know what to do more than I. Ill be casting a few contacts in the meantime, Tavers said. I might not have your mind-fire-people-turning shit, but I got consangs. Friends on the force. They might be able to gossip about how their asshole boss suddenly got active again and where he might be interested in going. Good, Avo said. Could always do with more friends. The squire cleared her throat. Speaking of that. Theres one more thing. I wanted to mention this back when we were at the Lots, but you guys were kinda carried away with the whole city-destroying thing. I might have someone that could help us. I know you have Chambers managing that Skulltaker guyC Skintaker? Avo said. Yeah, whatever the half-strands called. Listen. Hes small-time. A real niche nobody. You remember Cala Marlowe, right? The only other person in the building. The one I stopped you from snuffing? Avo saw where this was going. Want to bring her in? Well, no, not yet. But she sure as shit hates the Guilds something bad, and I think we can have her do some unaware outsourcing, anyhow. Another thing that Chambers could handle. It might be useful for him to deal with more propaganda and outward-facing projects. He had the flair and desire for it. And he was effectively the face of their little group by this point. The thought made Avo consider other things he could do with Chambers. Including some that might be able to distract Naeko. Focused rash outbreaks targeting only Syndicates. Or false threats to divert attention. Chambers chuckled. [You know, when I was growing up, I was thinking vicarity star more than terrorist, but Im not gonna lie some of this attention is doing it for me.] +I know,+ Avo replied. This child is MENTALLY WRONG, the Techplaguer chimed, taking a break from screaming at the Woundmother to disparage Chambers. Recommend putting him into RE-EDUCATION! Ah, the Woundmother followed. A point of rare agreement between us. The Fardrifter chuffed in disappointment. So much spent on governing anothers life. You words are little more than aspirations of cages. How pointless to disparage someone from the life they seek. [Exactly!] Chambers said. [Fuck you, period spire. And you too, tech-cock. Youre only real consang among the bunch, horse-head.] Oh, look, the Woundmother sneered. Rubble calls to rubble. Waste calls to waste. Connect her to Chambers, Avo told Tavers. Have him monitor her as well. She can amplify his presence. Hell be doing some things soon. To draw Naekos attention away from me. Have him chase smoke and mirrors. Might need your help setting that up too. Right, Tavers said. We just gotta fool the Chief Paladin without him tapping any of us with his super powerful Heaven. Glad youre confident, Avo replied. He had the feeling the squire was glaring at him now. Avo. Has anyone told you that you ask the world of people sometimes? No, Avo said. You ask the world of people sometimes. He nodded, accepting her words. Will probably do it again. ...When I run into one of the Low Masters, Im going to tell them to include shame for the next batch of ghouls. Avo hissed a low laugh. Alright, Draus said. Shits sorted. Lets get movin. Essus. You know the way over. Youve done this before. Dont get snuffed. Dont get nulled. And dont break yourself doin this. Her gaze got as close to soft as she could muster, but it still seemed like she was trying to gaze through the mans skull. Youre no killer. You dont got it in you. So you act the scout and do your part. Aint no ones gonna respect you for gettin done in for good tryin to make worth of yourself. Least of all your boy. All thats left is the memory. And that goes too once you do. Essus bit his lip at her final words, and despite the hurt pulling at his face, he nodded. Turn, he turned and strode through the eldritch vegetation, moving carefully around a patch of snake-like grass as he made for caravans. Tavers, likewise, was going for the Manta, standing over glass hidden by soil and grass. The Simulacra appeared briefly, reaching out with a crystalline hand and pulling Tavers down. Beside Avo, Draus was looking in the same direction as Dice now, staring out into the mangled horizon, careful not to look too high, but facing the roiling chaos nonetheless. So, the Regular said. Either of you two fancy a bit of a race? Like in the Grand Prix? A mechanical whine sounded as Dices tetrahedral scanner module shifted over to look at Draus. Never saw one. Thats fine, Draus said. Be ahead of the other half-strand. Dont be behind. Get to where youre goin first. Win. Get assassinated maybe because some other Guild cant take that shit lying down. Might not do the last part. She shot Avo a brief glance. Or maybe we will. See how were feelin once we get there. You know the way, right? Yes, Avo and Dice both said. The ghoul and girl were of a mind literally. What she remembered, he long knew. Going to be a hard race, Avo said, sensing the brittleness and instability in existence around him. So much was on the verge of breaking. Rutpuring further. All it would take is a push. Risky too. Heh, Draus snorted. Careful, rotlick. Think that canon you stole from Moon mightve grafted a pussy onto you without you knowin. {...There are also other times I forget that you arent the only person on Idheim who would benefit from extreme sensitivity training,} Calvino muttered. Fine, Avo said, suddenly feeling the spirit of Bright-Wealth come over him. Going to make you two the same offer I gave White-Rab. Win. Ill give you a new ontologic. Heaven. Cycler. Next one goes to the winner. But what about you? Dice asked, sounding confused. What do you get if you win? Dont know. Maybe Ill just eat Draus. The Regular grinned viciously at him. Yeah, and maybe Ill give you an imp-free view of what your insides look like when I pull your head and spine out from your ass. Dice went impossibly still for a beat before her sheaths servos sounded again, turning to look first at Draus and then at Avo. I dont understand How is that a reward? 20-5 Players and Pawns (II) +Shitfuckshit. Whats he doing now? Whats he doing? Where is he? Make sure he fuckfuckfuck! NO! DO NOT TRY TO SPOOF YOUR WAY INTO HIS MIND! Are you stupid? Are you fucking stupid? No! You are not cleared for actionCjust watch him! If you touch him with malicious intent, he will know and he will kill you. Or maybe not. Maybe you get to be one of those unlucky half-strands that Naeko has a conversation with. No clearance. Pull back and just watch. Im going Incog. Dont contact me. Dont even remember me. Just keep an eye on him and only report in if he does something worrying. What counts as worrying? I dont know, if he flattens a Sovereignty or something. Until then, stay close but quiet. I need to cast the Council. [Sigh] Theyre going to shit enough bricks to build a new district.+ -Mirror [REDACTED]s response to receiving word about Chief Paladin Naekos return to service 20-5 Players and Pawns (II) Oh, so you wanted me to make some noise, did you Avo? Something to draw the Chief Paladins attention away? A false trail? Chambers cackled as he stared at the glowing marker pulsing just beneath the wreckage of what used to be the Conflux megablock back at Mazzas Junction. A DeepNav simulation of the district was projected over the dais within the George Washingtons Command Nexus. Rubbing his hands together, Chambers kindled heat and glee in equal measure as he considered his many, many options. "Consang, Ive seen that expression before. Usually on the faces of half-strands about to get themselvesCand a whole lot of other people killed. Tavers was eyeing him from the back of the room, he could sense the flow of her perception spilling over his shoulders. Synced to her Metamind was that White-Rab NecroCAvos sorta dad or something. Chambers wasnt sure, and frankly, the whole family talk was confusing him. That shit didnt matter though. He wasnt here to chart the Low Master to ghoul family tree. He was here to fuck some shit up and make some trouble the Chief Paladin couldnt ignore. Trouble that wouldnt be traced back to them. Good thing that Avo gave Chambers free rein to plan this run however he saw fit. As long as the distraction worked, as long as Naeko was led astray, anything was on the table. Anything. +Make sure it works. Make sure you dont expose yourselves. Dont get traced. Come up with a good cover story for Green River to corroborate as well.+ Such were Avos only parameters. So it was that Kae, Chambers, Tavers, and White-Rab were gathered in the heart of the George Washington. With Denton still on dispatch in the Tiers, her aid remained temporarily inaccessible. More helpful was Sunrise, already moving to shadow Naekos progress, certain that they were going to be detected by the Chief Paladin. The swarm morph bioform had volunteered for observational detail the moment it heard about the situation, and soon, they would get direct visuals of Naekos person via the bees. Chambers and Kae, on the other hand, needed a resurrection to recover after Avo restored them to their original sheaths and extracted the proxies from their skulls. Two sinew-strewn viviante lattices composed of complex thauma-technology were stored within their new smart matter containers. The cognitive disguise was a pretty nifty thing to have on hand. Chambers thought the experience wasnt so bad, but maybe next time he wouldnt need to play someone so ugly. But that run was done and this one was onCand they needed to be on their shit to handle Naeko, before he handled them. Tension and excitement alike built within Chambers. He couldnt lie, something about how fucking taboo the whole thing felt was getting him going. Screwing over the Chief Paladin. Pulling the wool over Samir Naekos eyes. Lazy shit these days or not, there was a time when the man killed millions on the reg during his afternoon strolls. The prize for success was breathing room and the penalty for failure was getting snuffed for good. Yeah. This was some nova-squire shit. Thankfully, Chambers thought his backup was more than enough flame to light this wick. It isnt me whos going to be getting a lot of people killed, Chambers said, fixing TaversCand by extension White-RabCwith a conniving look. Its going to be an assassin. An attempt on Chief Naekos life, with some planted evidenceC Whoa, Tavers said, holding up her hand. Slow down there before you run all our asses right over the edge. We dont wanna be fucking with Naeko like that. The guys bread and butter was war for four centuries. Shit, all the consangs I called up earlier told me that anything violent, damaging, dangerous, or even with aggressive intent seemed to fall under the mans influence. His Heaven is Sphere Eight. Sphere fucking Eight. Now, Im no Agnos of high knowing like Kusanade here, but I know enough to understand that our best bet is to trouble him tangentially instead of directly. Kae hummed in agreement. Phantasmal threads flitted mem-data behind her eyes as her thoughtstuff spun at an intimidating speed. The Agnos was probably going through her thauma-whatevers while keeping her eyes fixed to Naekos position on the map. It costs billions upon billions upon billions of lives for a Godclad to reach the Eight Sphere. The power he wields is beyond words. Or comprehension. Im trying to recall any memories from my past. If anyone told me anything about Naekos ontology, or Frame, or how many ontologics he has. The Agnos breathed. But once someone passes the Sixth Sphere, they become a power in their own right. Their influence spreads easily beyond a district, capable of harming and changing many concepts. Or one so deeply it might as well belong to them for good. So Chambers said, doing his best to add his own contribution. He had a plan. He thought it was a pretty good plan. There were layers. But all these concerns his consangs were having brought the clouds of doubt down, and clouds really harshed his vibes. I was, like, thinking, right, that White-Rab could find us some local gangers or a Syndicate or something. Hed hit a few of them with Possessors. Fill em up with planted mem-data from the DRongos or something about them doing a false flag or some shit. Then they find Naeko +This is going to be stupid,+ White-Rab Muttered. +I can already feel it.+ Chambers shushed the Necro. Then they jump out in front of him. We steal a golem and pocket them in a demiplane or something. And then our guysCthe ones White-Rabs puppetingCthey kiss each other. In front of Naeko. Boom. Controlled Rash deployment. Definite success. Hell resurrect and be like: Damn, someones out to get my ass. Huh? They dropped some mem-data? Sequence encrypted? Thats got to be evidence. I need to get this back to the ghost-fuckers back at Scale. For a few heartbeats, no one said a word to Chambers. He didnt know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Then, Kae pinched the bridge of her nose while Tavers sighed. YouCyou just got this one trick, dont you? Tavers said, shaking her head. A snort suddenly escaped from her, followed by a laugh that almost became a guffaw. Hey? Hey, Raldi. You remember Nukes Nucky? This one remind of you him? +A bit,+ White-Rab said. +But lets be fair to NuckyChe''s lots more careful with the collateral damage than our friend Chambers here.+ The Necro turned his attention over to Chambers. +Also, I wont be jacking two people into kissing each other. I dont care how many Heavens or cyclers Avos prepared to offer me. You know Necrojacks get sensory-memory feedback, right? Immersion dump. Making two random people kiss each other while Im inside them is like Im kissing myself too. Thats a level of hedonistic psycho-sexual trauma there Im not ready to face, consang. Not for all the imps in the city. Also, Naekos definitely got Lustaway. And hell probably just kill himself if the Rash ever triggers in him.+ Chambers frowned. Dammit. So, what the fuck then? Wait. Let me think He wrestled his thoughts away from a variety of sex-based attacks. His usual depravity and degeneracy werent helping him here. He needed to actually exercise some functional cunning. Dammit. What did he know? What did he know that the others didnt? Why was he useful? Why was he worth a Frame? Why did Avo pick him? It couldnt all just be luck. He had to have something worthy inside him. Something of value. Otherwise, his old man wouldve been right, and that dumb-shit got dragged off and eaten by the ghouls. A third emotion joined the currents of thrill and excitement: worry. Worry that he wouldnt be able to offer anything. He couldnt just have this one trick. He couldnt. He needed to pull some more out from the depths of his ass. Fuck, Chambers muttered, his head pulsing, unused to just how much he was trying to think.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. It will be wise to avoid any directly damaging or even threatening actions, Kae finally added. I pulled some memories from a book I once read. A historical accounting. There were records there about feats the Chief Paladin performed during the Siege of Iju-Hanas, while he was fighting under Zein Thouandhands tutelage against the remnants of the unredeemed Ori clans. It is said that no form of violence could touch his flesh. No harm settled upon his person. And every force levied upon him was returned a thousandfold without limit of distance nor direct contact. And how long ago was this thing written? Tavers asked. Three centuries. Kae frowned. He is likely far more powerful now. Especially with the advances we have made with our modern Heavens. Shit, Tavers replied, aptly. So, theres a good chance that if I sneezed in his general direction from half a city away, he could turn that back around me and amp it up so hard that my headll get blown off? The squire wheezed. Glad his ass was hibernating during my golden years. This is why I spent my life avoiding Godclads, not running against them. But I suppose Im not doing so well in either of those respects these days. +I think what we need to focus on is simple. Information. The Nether is the only variable that no Godclad can twist directly, so we need to find a way and have Naeko encounter and accept a false trail. Something to consume his time, anyway.+ White-Rab sounded pensive. +The question is how do we get that to happen in an organic enough fashion+ And then something clicked inside Chambers. Tavers was a squireCshe lived above and away from the rules. Planning runs and doing jobs on the edge of society. White-Rab wasnt so different either. They lived in avoidance of the Paladins. Any intersection there was just business or self-preservation. But professionally, they were light and dark. Kae, in her past life, was an Agnos. Someone meant to be protected by the Paladins. Someone they failed. Chambers alone lived under the Paladins. He was the scum they could snuff, punish, detain, interrogate, or ignore at their own leisure. And his was the kind that had to deal with them in opposition by any means other than conflict. Running. Hiding. Lying. Faking. Distracting. Anything to lead the Paladins away. Anything to stay out of the Exorcists sight. He knew how the glassers operated. What they were looking for. If Naeko was hunting someone with a Bone Demon sheath, it meant that ever grafter capable of performing such a modification was now under suspicion and that either NaekoCor someone under themCwould be hitting up more than just the Second Fortune. A flash of inspiration tore through Chambers as his lip shivered. I got it. The words left him as a whisper at first. ICI fucking got it. Ah, shit, Tavers said, grinning as she prepared herself. Alright. Lets hear this one too. +Please dont be scat,+ White-Rab murmured. Chambers ignored them and began. We dont need to make up that much bullshit. We just need to make things really, really fucking confusing. Put out more threads for him to pull on than he can possibly investigate. The wry bemusement left Tavers face. She brushed a lock of auburn away from her eyes as she furrowed her brow, heavily modified skin adjusting to the stretch with minimal wrinkles. Keep going. So, there are grafters across the city, right? Well, most are shit in the Warrens. And even among the good ones, only a couple got that Bone Demon in their stock. So. Im thinking we do a little diving on the Exoricts behalf. We cook the books of these places. Slide imps into their systems and record sheath orders listed a month back. That wayC +That way it looks broader than a single-source procurement,+ White-Rab added. Yeah. That shit. Also, we do it sloppy. We leave a bit of a trail. Something that leads back to me. The, uh, Nolothi acolyte. Chambers couldnt help but laugh. Make it seem like Im trying to make an army. Fuck, we might need to snatch some ghouls or something. Have Avo make them look like how he used to and give Naeko a chance to stumble on them. Yes, Kae said. ButCbut do not forget, Avo had a Metamind. He had a sophisticated set of sequences. Right. Godsdammit. Maybe he stumbles on their bodiesCah, whatever, this is for later. Right now, we just need to flood him with a bunch of different threads and Green River should reveal that Im behind this. She almost found out, but I threatened her with a trauma bomb, and then when she tried to defy me or something, I nulled everyone in Ox-Three. Ugly, nasty picture. Implicates the Low Masters too. Because they were there. And with the Elegant-Moon thing, I also got my DRongo ties, which is another angle he might be interested in. We can keep that shit in reserve until he gets close or something. Right now, we just need to give him so much godsdamned stuff to follow he feels lost. Then Green River shows him the way in the Bazaar. While playing something of a victim. Tavers nursed herself on the idea. Its messy. There are loose threads everywhere. But maybe we can work that to our advantageC +Im in,+ White-Rab said. A beat followed. What? Kae asked. +I spoofed into one of them already,+ White-Rab said, distractedly. +Tell me what were changing again.+ Several sets of eyes turned to the phantasmal cumulus forming along Tavers accretion. Holy shit, Chambers muttered. You really are the rotlicks brain-dad. *** Naeko looked up at the single, half-melted wall towering over him. Four meters tall and only one wide, the ruined plascrete slab was effectively all that remained of the Conflux megablock in the aftermath of Highflame-Stormtree flashpoint. The media had already dubbed the events The Breaking of Mazzas Junction and Rumble in Nu-Scarrowbur. But words failed to do the devastation justice. When Godclads fought, things broke in ways that were beyond the material. Reality was often left torn in these battles, the fabric of the tapestry thin and weak, struggling to re-knit itself in the aftermath. Spreading his awareness outward, Naeko buried his senses into the district and sampled the damage it suffered. Every bit of glass across Mazzas Junction was shattered. Clumps of matter had been shuntedCtorn across reflective surfaces and transposed out from another regardless if the space was occupied or not. Structures and streets were dotted with missing potions while chunks of detritus jutted free beneath underpasses, inside bedrooms, and around window frames. Across the way, over the gaps leading down to the Maw, Nu-Scarrowbur lay wide in a spill of destruction. The outer sections of the city had been unmade over little more than ten minutes of fighting, the heavily alloyed shield-shaped structures capable of enduring conventional arms as bunkers, but offering less protection than a literal tissue when faced with Godclads. A grid of light swept over Naeko as another wing of drones shot through the air above him. Agnos Thanatechs were still looking for deaths to claim. And Jhred Greatlings Frame for that matter. Far too many thuams remained unaccounted for. Jhred, Jhred, Jhred, Naeko said, talking to the wall as he took a moment to think. What were you doing? Why? How did you end up dead? Who triggered your golem. The wall didnt speak. Because it was a wall. Naeko kept talking. Because he was an idiot. Your sister. She really loved you. You know? She burned her life trying to get whoever snuffed you. But she couldnt do it. They got awaC Naeko paused. His Heaven quivered. Eight thousand and thirty-two people had died at the same time three Sovereignties away. CELL-9. Omnitech re-education district. Experiment gone wrong. He could feel the remodified voidtech deconstructor swarms eating the volunteers away instead of rebuilding their sheaths automatically. Naeko inverted the harm with a thought, and in an instant, the nanoswarms ate themselves out of existence. But eight thousand were already dead. And Omnitech just wasted their time. It was all for nothing. Story of this city. Naeko went back to talking with the wall. Triggering his Cipher phantasmic again, he used his utility fog to snatch a rock from the ground as his ghosts tried to reconstruct the megablock from the last known memories infusing the local Nether. Streams of etheric river stitched their way upward into the sky from the broken slab, spreading out into new threads that formed the outline of the edifice. Then, a faint flicker of instability followed and the shape collapsed under itself. The effects of Highflames Thoughtwave Detonation lingered still, and not even ghosts could recall what happened during the last moments of Jhred Greatlings life. The Exorcists had refrained from attempting to breach Abrel Greatlings mind. While she was nulled, her mem-data was a slurry. Now she was resurrected, her wards paired with her Heaven made her mind fortress a nightmare to access. Forcing it was a waste of time anyway. By the start of next week, she would be summoned to Scale for her trial, and the Heaven of Truth would be put to better use than wasting its miracles on some fool Fallwalker. That, and Denton had witnesses to provide. And more information on where he could find Agnos Kae Kusanade. Now there was someone he wanted to have a personal conversation with. Especially about Dawton Morrows true fate, and just how much the DRongos had transgressed. Was it Chambers that got you? Naeko said, asking the wall. Ive hit a lot of grafters today. The Second Fortune. The Skin Garden. Muar-Mauds Bodychanger. The Bone Shop. Pretty much all the owners have skeletons in their closets. But who doesnt in this city. He rubbed at his weary eyes and sighed. Damn, Im rusty. I barely remember how this goes. Or how much time I spent talking to walls, trying to get the city to give me my answers. You hear me New Vultun? Would be nice if you just dropped a hint. The scoop the Sang is going to hit me with better be good. The wind rustled; the sound of engines formed another layer to the backdrop. Naeko shook his head. The hells am I doing? I got enough for a day. I should get back. Play a match or ten. Decompress. I earned it. Jaus knows I did. But he didnt move. He stayed in place, staring at the wall, wondering how many he let die during his time drugging himself with entertainment. I cant do it. And it doesnt matter. What happens when I find it anyway? The bioform. Its probably one of Dentons too. Cant use it then. Or there goes the only useful source I managed to hold onto after all these years. I dont need to be doing this. Trials the thing that I should be focusing on. Yeah. Yeah. I need to get my witnesses ready. Get the others prepared for anything that might happen. That matters more than well. Whatever it is Im doing now. And then, as if the city had heard his request for answers, a session activated in his Metamind and Naeko found himself staring at the Meta identification of an Exorcist he didnt know. +Yeah?+ Naeko answered, half-hoping the Exorcist would hit him with a trauma so he would get someone to break. +Sorry to disturb you, Chief Naeko. Im Lieutant Lorner Kazahara. Nether-Sec. Some of my divers caught a trail of something interesting, and the system flagged the mem-data as essential for your current investigation. Casting data over now.+ [DOWNLOADING ENCRYPTED MEM-DATA] Naeko frowned as the information loaded in his mind. A dozen or so new names appeared in his cog-feed. All known grafters. A few he visited today. Under them were expandable interfaces with isolated accounting details. Orders made for a specific type of sheath during the last month. The Bone Demon. The Paladins stomach did a flip. He didnt know how to take that. Looking through the sequences again, he found the client was different each time. No lead there. Not obviously anyway. But he felt as if he just stumbled into something biggerCthat part of the truth just slammed into him without any effort on his part. That thought gave him a funny feeling. He wondered if Green River was going to add to this windfall. 20-6 Frontiers (I) There are paths woven into the architecture of the Tiers. Sometimes, theyre bridges leading upward and sideways into a place unseen. In others, the way ahead exists as a tunnel. Regardless of what form these roads take, to tread their lengths will lead you to a single junction above junctions. Scale. Once the seat of governance for Jaus Avandaer himself, now the central nucleus from which the Paladins enforce their duties, the demiplane of Scale exists above, between, beyond, beneath, and within Tiers themselves, granting easy egresses for the Paladins no matter where they need to go. Yet, it is a faded ember compared to the flame it could have grown to becomeCan edifice demolished before it could reach its prime. In the past during the age of gods and yore, the hope was to connect all districts, all sovereignties, all cities, and eventually, all worlds along a threaded grid of spatial transference. The concept was singular and revolutionary, and the system possessed the ability to function both as a silo and an overlaid realm, for an individual might only occupy one branch at a time, and severing a single strand would still spare the restCcasting only any intruders to dust. Such was one among many miracles that never came to be. But compared to the scouring the Paladins at the hands of the High Seraph, the Ursday Null-Bomber, and the near-rupture of their esteemed Heaven of Justice, such laments are paltry when measured by comparative pain. Today, Scale stands resplendent but rustedCthe mountain fortress forming its planar expanse vast and divine, but its halls sorrowfully empty, with structures abandoned, the walls lined with loci-embedded plaques bearing memories for comrades fallen and unreplaced. For those who qualify. For those of proper birthright, merit, ability, and willingness to serve, Scale holds a permanent embrace. But with the lowering of standards comes a dilution of duty and nobility. For though one can replenish their numbers, can reclaim Souls and install new Heavens, the heroes and saints of yesteryear are nowhere to be seen, for lost to the Big Nothing are many, and lost to a great malaise is one. -Paladins: Our Broken Blades (Documentary) 20-6 Frontiers (I) Space shattered. Fissures overlapped as the Arsenalist pierced through space as if it was shattering glass. Behind by a mere kilometer, arteries lashed across the Rend-despoiled skies in whips of crimson lighting. Far below, the ground mirrored the air as a storm of blood ignited canopies and infested the bark of a thousand trees. Yet, as blood and glass warred, a third entity shot through branches and dashed across the waters without encountering a hint of resistance. Its form was multi-armed and chimeric, with the legs of a beast and the weapons of a warrior, and it moved at a pace that was ever-accelerating, never-ceasing; an avatar of light and strength unfettered. And so it was that Avo, Draus, and Dice continued their race through the Sunderwilds. Slipping past away from the last true vestiges of civilization into frontiers where madness claimed its reign, each of the Godclads unleashed the full extent of their powers, reveling in these moments of freedom rarely experienced. Back within New Vultun, eyes lingered in every shadow, from every angle. Cameras, drones, people, and Specters. There were countless ways to have your secrets betrayed. Countless ways to be ambushed and slain. Even in demiplanar pockets or with Incogs active, running the shadows meant being ready for an unexpected knife fight at any moment. Shotin and Abrel stood statement enough for the severity posed by surprise. Here, however, in these realms so broken, so scattered, so scoured of life and stability, few would dare traverse the unwinding of existence, and fewer still would be able to gaze upon three Godclad approximating the Fifth Sphere with naked eyes without succumbing to mental collapse. The Sunderwilds was a place of simplicity. Liberation, if viewed from certain regards. Though space might fold and collapse, though streams of light might flense the shape from ones body and leave a person bifurcated yet whole across the length of continents, though the light might seed beasts of unnatural morphology within the supple flesh of humanity, should one be capable of contending with reality themselvesCwrestling with the laws of the absolute and the chains of existenceCthen striding through the madness became a meticulous dance rather than tempting of the fates. Their final destination had no true name. Dice had always just regarded it as home or masters place. What use did a dog have in learning the name of its own den? Especially considering it was the only settlement around. Located seven thousand and fifty-two kilometers away from New Vultuns periphery, it had taken Dice, her former master, and their retinue the better part of a full month to reach the megacity even with the protection of his Heaven and the retrofitted Highflame transport carrier that served as the Fallwalkers personal vehicle. That too had been lost to the scum of the city. That, and everything he had. They sought New Vultun on a pilgrimage for power and pleasure but were preyed upon in turn when the Fallwalker who knew life only as a master of others found himself wanting in a city forged by beings far greater than he. Drawing from Dices memories, Avo knew the general route to take, and what to expect. He had burned the information into Draus as well before they began. Currently, they were accelerating along the curving length of a spiral-like arm of pure chaos. The unbalanced Domains affecting this section of the Sunderwilds were connected to Forests, Vision, Deceptions, and Oceans. Avo could feel the presence of the Fallen Heaven and its Rend, but without Dices pre-knowledge, he would have definitely turned his attention upon the fluttering groves beneath him. Merely seeing the pattern in the flapping of the leaves would invert ones position to the vast sea hidden beneath the greenery. There, roots would attempt to bury themselves in what flesh they could, restraining the captured prey for the block-sized bioforms waiting in the depths of the waters. Avo had felt the creatures first and foremost and vivisected them with his seeking blood. From them, he plucked new patterns of matter and biology, including new properties for his Woundmother to express, and new organs to culture in vessels of flesh. Canon: Remembrance of Flesh (V) - Allows user to memorize traits from biological organisms at a tenth of the thaumic cost; the biomass they memorized can be spliced before they are grown. ->Notable traits obtained: [Sonarsight]; [CHLOROPHYLL SIPHONERS] (NEW TRAIT DISCOVERED) If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Such were but a few new boons he obtained along his journey. Rare creatures twisted and adapted to these strange new environments graced the metaphysical archive empowering his Canon of Biology. Elegant-Moon grew pleased with his efforts and fed him inspiration on potential creatures he could mold into shape. As the Daystar flared to a full dawning, even the ink-black clouds could bear its gleam no longer. Rays spilled down and brightened the world. The false forest emanated the hues of soothing emerald even far into the horizon, and shifting disturbances on the wind told Avo they needed to skip Heavens soon. Near this section of the Sunderwilds, the sea-masked forest was intersected by another Fallen Heaven. One it shared no overlap in Domains with. As such, rogue miracles operated parallel to each other, all active, none clashing. A twist of swirling wind swept ahead as the Fardrifter extended one of its nine heads, peeking via the currents of a gale to study the dangers to come. Ahead, a wall of galloping mountains charged at them like a stampede, each the size of a district, while their forms resembled that of stone-carved bears. Such a horde would have been easy to avoid if they didnt also petrify anything within an eighty-kilometer radius. Draus shot far to the left, gunfire and shattered fragments sparkling the air in her wake. Dice followed soon after, her velocity carving fire and destruction in her wake. Avo took a more quiet approach, slithering under the winds as he followed his comrades, moving away from these lush-coated waters up a rolling series of hilltops until they arrived at a precipice where complex geometry collapsed, disallowing both vertical or horizontal movements at the same time. {Hm. Pseudo-two-dimensionality without it being visual,} Calvino said, compiling data about their experience. {Quite fascinating. And a relatively safe patch for the Sunderwilds.} Avo knew this place well through Dices memories. After a bit of travel, all color bled from the world, and strings unspooled in opposition to the vectors of their movement. Clouds vanished and the Daystar was presented to them in its full glory, its oscillating rings in motion, brightness growing and dimming between each overlapping of its concentricity. Here, Avo flung his Woundmother out using his Fardrifter and launched himself ahead of Draus. Though the Regular attempted to replicate herself further across points in space, she found space here like the wrinkling pages of a notebook. Self-replicating though her Simulacrae Replica still was, spatial reality would scrunch in on her as threading directions disfigured her path and sent her traveling toward undesired horizons. Conserving his Boltstrides, Avo found himself using his Woundmother and Fardrifter alternatively and in tandem, using the former to accelerate and the latter for positional adjustments and spatial mobility. A few thousand tons of haemokinetic mass dove in and out of the winds like a wave would across the surface of the sea. Close behind him, Draus had clustered her stacks close and was closing on him again, her Heavens flickering, as if the Simulacrae was riding upon the ArsenalistCa knight of glass seated upon a stead of unceasing firepower. Yet, both of them were beginning to pale in comparison to Dice. Where the girl started a full horizon behind them in terms of speed, the Runebreaker conferred upon her exponential momentum every step, speed compounding by the milliseconds. With both Regular and wilder repeatedly overclocking their reflexes using their new implants, Avo watched as his advantage slipped away from him inch by inch, moment by moment. First, Draus pulled up just beside him, the Arsenalist larger than ever before, a massive flechette with rings of ordinance out from behind it. Then, Dice blasted past both of them, sending them rolling aside to avoid the blastwaves spreading out from behind her. {Do you know each of you is effectively moving are relativistic speeds right now?} Calvino asked, speaking with a note of inquiry. {Nowhere near the high-end of the lightspeed barrier, mind you, but considering that youre all technically single-planetary organisms} The EGI sighed. {I suppose the greater miracle is how your thaumaturgy has prevented this world from destruction, seeing as youre all going well over Mach 200 and orbital imaging has your destination at three thousand kilometers. Still. After five hours. I miss the days when distance was more science than an interpretive art form.} And this wasnt even that impressive. Sure, Avo could destroy a few districts at this speed. Kill a few people, but against the Delta golems deployed by the Paladins, sheer speed meant nothing. Just like how they were all about to be slowed to five meters per second in a beat. Color splashed back into the world. The star above them was missing again, and they found themselves fighting to move, the air itself like sludge, unwilling to flow. All excess speed was drained away, pulled from objects and bodies into the grey veins running between the volcanic outcroppings around them. Draus was the first among the three to shed her godly guise, choosing to slam down on the plain of volcanic ash as an ephemeral and walk the wasteland for a spell. Avo felt tempted to cheat the spirit of thingsCto do what Draus didnt with her Simulacrae and use his Fardrifter to shuttle himself across space without bother with speed at all. But something stopped him. Someone. [Pull your ass out and take a walk,] template-Draus said, her attention on his DeepNav, studying how far Dice was from them. The girl was nowhere to be seen, but Avo could still sense her with his haemokinesis some three hundred kilometers away. [She aint goin nowhere. And you know the next stretch before we get there aint gonna be kind to her Heaven neither. Races about doin this right. Strain builds strength. Shortcuts makes cowards.] Such was true. The last Fallen Heaven they needed to walk before they arrived at her enshadowed enclave was a place of broken vectors. As overwhelmingly fast Dice was by merit of her canons, her primary Domains were War and Strength. Directionality, Vectors, Speed, or Boundaries were all beyond her influence. In this, Avo found a mediation on what it meant to be a Godclad: the way they could utterly control so many aspects of reality and yet still suffer a want to possess dominion over all other aspects of existence. The drug that is absolute control, once imbibed, cannot be refused thereafteC [Fuckin Jaus,] template-Draus groaned, interrupting his thoughts. [Shut the fuck up and just walk. Check your Rend, vent if you need to, and make sure your shit is in order. Think about philosophy shit later.] Doing as the template suggested, Avo felt a cascade of spatial distortion nearby as he turned his attention to Draus actual self. Over twenty of her replicas were anchored in different positions, light lashing out from them like a prism, deleting sections of space outright. The distance between places shrunk. Parts of the landscape shivered closer as the Regular vented her Rend. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 53% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER]: 61% REND CAPACITY [TECHPLAGUER]: 0% Avo mirrored Draus and prepared himself for the final stretch of things. He almost started by draining his Fardrifter when he realized the local speed limit preventing him from using his Halt of the Passing to drain momentum. Likewise, Waybreaker would more than probably just leave him and Draus lost for several days seeing as they were the only two entities it could affect out here. For as far as the eye could see ahead, the world ran in pulsing lines of grayness running between cracks hissing steam and magma. Instead, he expended the entropy plaguing his Woundmother through his Breath of the Withered. The beginnings of an entropic gust spilled out from his orifices, unfurling wider still into cascading columns of stratocumulus. A thunderstorm of blackened lightning whipped slowly at the land, leaving kilometer-deep wounds while the gales swept the land clean of mass. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 34%... 28%... He studied Draus from the corner of his eye, watching as her replicas dimmed and shattered into shards of glass. She was marching as she vented, eyes fixed on the way forward, seemingly blind to the world around her. The opportunity was tempting. Too tempting. Avo might have subtextually agreed to not exploit Dices lack of spatial canons until they reached the penultimate segment of their journey, but murder was still fair game. {Avo, I thought we went over this.} Calvino chided. [Nah, go for it,] template-Draus spat. [Let that bolt fly at me. See what happens.] And so, without further encouragement, he did. The skies above them shattered with light as languid bolts dove down, seeking to shear Draus from her material form. A wave of enshadowed darkness brushed across the landscape, peeling layers of veins away into fading particulates. Slow as the assault was, there was nowhere for Draus to go, nowhere she couldC Space fractured like a broken mirror around her person. Lighting speared through the crevice. The winds whistled as they left through a crack between spaces. A heartbeat later, Avo found Draus pointing her projectile launcher at him without looking, her micro-missiles streaking out, just as slow as his lightning was. {Was checking if you were paying attention,} Avo said, casting her ansible. The Regular snorted. {Yeah? Well, I just shot back cause fuck you.} 20-7 Frontiers (II) All who claim to understand the shattered puzzle that is the Sunderwilds speak lies! Lies! Sense cannot be found here. You grope for stable foundations but the sky is down and up is not true. Pain yourself not. Accept the softness and prosper. Impossibilities stack over, against, beneath, and within. Watch the language of madness. Watch the art expressed by the unchained world. Glance upon the twisted bodies of its children. Those who remain trapped. Touched by the taint of distortion. Or merely ignorant that their little apocalypse is not total, as they assumed. Be wary of the likeness of I. Fallwalkers. Inheritors of the broken. Our jagged edges carve at what is lick against the worlds tongue. We lick! Walking disasters against calamities unmoving. Environment versus man. But is it so? Do we not contain multitudes and worlds within ourselves? Worlds in worlds? What to claim? Whos to say? Here is where you will learn of loss. Being lost. Losing yourself. Losing your alignments. Losing any sense of commonality. The world of the saneCplaces that he [INSINUATING JAUS AVANDAER] stole are built on common edifices. Same rules. Same reasons. Same foundations. Symmetry of society. Not so here. Not so. There is not commonality. Only variability. To step between Fallen Heavens is to bound from one story to another. Yet, for those that seek the wilds, there is a way to followCto understand. I named them the Scar Charts. Betrayals of each rupture. Revelations offered as each broken Soul bleeds against another, channeling the flames of creation into aberrant expressions of impossibility. Over, against, beneath, and within. Madness wars against madness too. Symmetry lost is symmetry lost. Not gained. So, the ruleless must struggle against the ruleless, and definition returns where disagreements follow. Laws that cannot coexist. Narratives that are perpendicular. GrindingCnot intersecting. Learn the patterns spilling from these boundaries. Learn how each strains against each. Learn to dance the edge of inconsistency and instability. Canon-clash-canon is canon not. Nothing is safe. But not is better than not not. [Laughter] -The Mad Monk Alsyim, Fallwalker 20-7 Frontiers (II) Displacement. Dilution. Such were the expressions of the penultimate rupture, preventing them from reaching Dice''s former enclave. In accordance with the roots of Thaumaturgy, no heaven was formed in a vacuum. All was an alternate expression, a perversion of the natural order, of laws that were now interpreted to be different by the infection of culture, of incomprehension, of entertainment. Or pure delusion. Just as the Woundmother was a reimagining of blood, the Fardrift an ascension of air, or the Techplaguer formed from technology rendered unto quackery, the Fallen Heavens had their own imprint, and melded to their patterns were the lands themselves. Glancing at the few patches of stability between the stretching tears consuming the landCRend bleeding over into reality from torn seams, blending structure, energy, and casualtyCAvo saw that this place was once a rainforest. His Heavens interpreted patterns of heat and felt the patterns of vegetation. But they now existed as bastardizations of themselves, their properties twisted by and into the power of the Fallen Heaven itself. Merely noticing the greenery would cause one to be pulled away from positionCthe effects of gravity pressing against spatial consistency. There wasnt even a lurch to the effect. It was as if space was a sea, vision was a chain, and the color green was a winch that wouldnt stop pulling. This, however, was the least among the anomalies choking the cadres pace. Plucking Dice from the place where she was trapped once more by swallowing and exhaling her using his Fardrifters Nine Streams, Avo ran simulations of his environment as he tried the map the expanse. The leaves here danced to ethereal winds that existed beyond the Fardrifters power to grasp. Worse yet, they were as if kaleidoscopes. Spatial reality shifted constantly, an eternal push-push between matter exuding hues of green and everything that didnt. The sheer denseness of vegetation likewise continued to spread. Avo didnt notice the change when he and Draus first crossed the edge of the volcanic plainsCa place Calvino theorized to be long destroyed by prior Heavens even before the Godsfall considering how it stretched a trail of ash and heat between swaths of devouring fauna. The current Fallen Heavens seemed more stable at first, only deviating with slight edits made to directionality and movement. Yet, simply by moving closer into its confines, they were drawn deeper into the woods, into the embrace of the trees, the green rising around them, even as the foliage burned from their acceleration, and the light of the sky faded as branches and bioforms erupted up in pace with Avos climbing velocity, caging the face of the Daystar away from sight as if a flash-formed nest. A storm of devouring crimson tore out from Avo, unraveling wood, biomass, stone, fungi, and leaves into a tempest of blood for over a hundred kilometers. His Sanguinity tore through the forest as if a wildfire, a hurricane, a swarm of locusts combined. And when his Rend was filled, he continued unmaking matter using his Breath of the Withered. Two months ago, such a display of power would awed him past the point of despair. Two months ago, merely looking upon his current self would have shattered his wards in a microsecond and left his ego in a million pieces. It would be a thing of paltry effort to bring ruin upon an unprepared district in the Warrens. Now? Now, Avo felt how wanting his current power was. All Heavens could destroy. The Woundmother could even rebuild as fast as it broke. But the truest expression of power was control. Absolute control. Can, or cannot. Will, or will not. Possible, or impossible. And it was just such a thing that he and his cadre faced right now. Dice, far exceeding both him and Draus in terms of speed by this point, was barely ahead of him nowCless than a true kilometer ahead but also one hundred Machs faster than both he and Draus put together. Every second of continued acceleration sent blastwaves out from her, casting destruction upon all in her wake. She was a veritable missile of calamity surging forward, carving a scar of brilliant white through the world, faster than the air could ignite, faster than space could bear. And she was also far more impotent than he, for the faster they moved here, the closer they drew to the trees, and larger did the forest get. It reminded him of one of Revas miracles back in Nu-ScarrowburCof the pebbles she flung at him, turning into boulders and hills as it approached with building acceleration. This Fallen Heaven seemed to work on similar principles, though applied to a far greater extent. Simply moving closer to a tree made it larger, relative to ones speed. He assumed there was a ceiling to this. One that Dice had already reached considering she was still inching forward, but the forest was already growing beyond the limits of Avos present Sovereignty. There were times when speed was everything. And there were places where speed meant nothing. Today was a deep education on practical thaumaturgy. But Avo was not so stymied. Not so castrated as Dice was. Both he and Draus had their means. Threads of blood twisted and folded into the lashing currents of falling hurricane as he sank into the air itself, his Fardrifter assuming primacy once more. He swept fast through the woods in an instant, and the prior lock on his speed vanished, replaced with unfettered movement as his ontology updated, surging fast like a rushing hurricane, unrooting once implacable trees with ease. In his minds eye, a ghost-generated map flashed with new markers, and he glimpsed existence through Draus feed. She was traveling through her Liminal Paracomos and was leaving him and Dice behind. Skimming parallel to reality through junction worlds discoverable only in reflections, she was nearing the fifty kilometers where spotted clearings grew more and more common, and wild weeds gave way to golden sand. But as the shadows of the forest stretched past the beach, what lay beyond was no sea, but a veiled realm of mist-like darkness. The coiled fingers of darkness flicked out from the back, and Avo felt a staggering weight press his Fardrifters Domain of Shadows. If there was a single consistency in the Sunderwilds, it was the obviousness presented by most thresholds between the Fallen Heavens. Swimming through space and wind, Avo sent three spiraling Fardrifter heads to seek the edge. The rest of his power was spent shearing the forest down to the roots and opening a path for Dice. The girl was physical power unfettered, and little could be done to halt her if only force was to be matched against force. But she needed more options soon. Means of maneuverability. And protections from having her spatial placement altered against her will. Avo kept those considerations in the back of his mind as she shot ahead, and he injected his Fardrifter through its furthest stream, surfacing into existence an equine hydra shaped from the substance of dark-rimmed superstorm. {Nice of you to catch up,} Draus taunted, examining the darkness ahead at the edge of the stands. She had abandoned her divine shape for her mortality, and Avo was curious to discover why.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Reshaping himself from falling winds, he came to a halt next to the Regular and felt her smoking a pipe of hiflass, Meldskin helmet unformed around her face as she studied the path ahead with narrow eyes. Behind, Avo could hear an approaching cacophony. Felt the winds shrieking as Dice made her approach. He formed a hundred-meter-tall haemokinetic bunker around him and Draus before sending a bolt of lightning through its arteries and veins. It came alight, and from brightness, Avo manifested his Fortress of Luminosity. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 48% Draus turned to him and spoke. A brightness dimmed the edges around their barricade, drowning the world in light. That fast? PHANTASMIC ACTIVATED ->[PHYS-SIM] ->TRACKING [DICE]: 3.51 SECONDS BEFORE ARRIVAL Avo didnt reply. Instead, Dice did. By impacting Avos protective wall. The world outside ceased to be for a moment. The resulting explosion, Calvino estimated, made even high-yield fusion bombs pale. And just like how the forest neutered ones speed, the Fortress scoffed in the face of force. A moment thereafter, the destruction subsided, and Dices sheath appeared in Avos senses. Storing his protections back into his Sanguinity as bolts of lashing crimson, the air around them pulsed in fractures of red, the flesh of existence seeming infected; bleeding. Whyd you stop? Avo asked. Draus drew in one final breath of hiflass before she tapped her roll, turned it to glass, and flicked it out into the darkness. A jagged creature lashed out from the dark. Avo activated his Condylostylus. The world slowed. And he saw a creature molded from shadow, sea, and flesh. The light it emitted burned it. Its flesh bubbled and rotted, becoming droplets of mundane water. Its face was that of pale white eyes lining its sides and jagged fangs along the length of its body. Theyre everywhere, Draus said. I tried makin a reflection. The rupture lapped that up. Little eel-fuckers coated the glass damn quick. Burrowed and converted the mirror into more of them. A couple of them even tried bein sneakyCswam up the shadows cast by the trees to get at me. Wounded? No. Theyre pretty slow. And the Arsenalists gunfires hell on their complexion. Still, theres a damn lot of em. Wanna scope the place out in case I end up drowning by breathing in air or somethin. Dont do well with light, Avo replied. That we know. Thats how Dices former owner exercised power. Light strips them of the darkness, Dice said, offering her own input. Avo knew this already, possessed of her memories as he was. But this place held significance to her, and in its depths was where her home awaited. Her agency could be cultivated, and her identity uplifted from simple brutality. To interrupt such a thing was a sacrilege to growth, knowledge repeated or not. The monsters can hide in the darkness. And shadows. Dice took a few steps closer to the edge and faced the blackened horizon. The world head was layered in what looked to be a film of oil, and the ground shifted constantly, rock sediment conjoined with the properties of lapping waves. The master said the world was broken before he was chosen by the light. That we alone were the purest. Only his light could protect. Her head module spun to face Avo. He also made using black as a color illegal. And curving your lips upward. But I dont think the monsters can hide in those. {Ah. All the makings of a well-adjusted dictator,} Calvino said. Corner snorted. [We can leave the city, but the half-strands stay the same. Fucking tyrants are all tyrants anywhere.] Draus did a double take and looked at the girl. The fuck? He banned smilin? Why? He thought it looked ugly and unnatural. And thats all it took, huh? Draus replied. A slight whirr sounded from Dices neck as she nodded. The Regular just shook her head. The kind of shit you get away with as a Fallwalker. Power without consequence or resistance makes us parodies of ourselves, Avo said. DrausCand her templateCjust shot him a flat stare. Its true. You know this. More than me. Its why you wanted the weight. The mention of her former request made her lip twitch. Yeah. Reckon it is. But Shotin. All them other Godclads. They kept us pressed plenty. For now, Avo said. But I think you were right. Imagine a world where only we are Godclads. Imagine the rest of existence to be nothing but FATELESS. Unease and disgust exploded out from Draus mind. Shit, dont put that poison in my mind. Thats worse than some Massist utopias they keep dreamin about. Bullshit about pacifism and how we can all hold hands and live clean of violence. Her face contorted into a grimace. Avo chuffed a laugh. Such is pleasure in extremism. He paused, and thought to some of his conversations with Calvino, to sentiments lingering among his templates. Hm. Yes. We are all too narrow. Too limited of understanding. Even the minds themselves. To force the greater whole to bend to a single will is absurd. But also a Heaven. Also a Godclad. Also a tyrant made absolute. Draus face took on a sage expression. Thats real nice. Did you enjoy gettin that out your system? He grunted. Hearing it said matters. Good for Dice. Good for us. Good for Heavens. Might experiment with more perspectives in the future. Cycle through things to deepen insight. Yeah. Just dont burn any of that pansy peace-lover shit into me is all. Not your preference. Wont make it your design. Letting out a breath, he took a step toward the rushing currents of stacking ebony and reached out with a tendril of blood. As the veins spread past a veil of blackened mist, creatures thin and slender lashed at his construct, dragging their teeth down its sides. Patterns flashed into the Woundmother, showing Avo structures of enamel and calcium, but he restrained himself from trying to break them. ->Canon: Haemification - The user can turn all influenceable matter into blood ->Hubris: Any attempts to subsume gaseous or liquid matter will incur backlash (12%; x2 backlash) The Heaven of Blood sneered. Be this the bounty reaped by the world after the deeds of this so-called Jaus, named Godbreaker. Be this salvation or emancipation. I see only a shaping of alloys betwixt. Water, but not water. Rock, but not rock either. Its as if the environment remembers itself being two things at once. But where blood was denied, the winds remained stalwart, and the Fardrifter glided forth, sinking a single head into the shadows. A shudder ran through Avos Frame, his Soulfire quivering from the recoil. Where his Heaven of Air flowed, the water parted, tides turned aside by the sweeping weight of a storm. The Domain of Shadow was ponderous in this place, and the nature of its collapse rendered it impossible to navigate if one could not circumvent the shadows. Yet, from the Heavens Avo possessed within, he found another option. Feeling his currents brush over schools of squirming monsters, he closed his grip around one in particular and pulled. Wind blasted out behind him, casting sand high into the air. Dice shifted, avoiding the worst of the spray. Draus simply closed her helmet. Between the grip of an Echohead, sustained by a Domain of Darkness, Avo observed the writhing creatureCthe bane of Dices life and childhood, beasts of her benighted past. Its form held too much symmetry for it to be merely a thing created from the chaos expelled by a Fallen Heaven. With six eyes lining its spear-like body and flicking tongues layered in jagged teeth, Avo felt a flicker touch his Domain of Biology and frowned. [This creature was someones art piece. Of that, I am certain.] Elegant-Moon greeted the monster with the scorn befitting a practitioner of biomancy. [Crude. Eyes. For a thing that swims in the darkness. Laughable. And the teeth and tongues what a parody of life. But I suppose Im one to speak. A hoarse laugh escaped from Draus. Well. Looks like you finally found someone uglier than you. Maybe thisll be Chambers face for the run. See how much worse you can make it. The enshadowed creature writhed and squeaked between his digits as he withdrew his Fardrifters presence. Its struggles waned in the light, and nature of its passing came from the glare of falling dawn. It slipped from Avos fingers as water. Just water. Nothing more. Then, before the last of it could spill, Avo pushed it back beyond the veil using his winds and sensed its gradual restoration, shooting out to rejoin its kindred. Its like a seabed out there, Avo said, the heads of his Fardrifter writhing outward, displacing parts of the fog. Where blood failed, and technology offered no purchase, air laced with the touch of shadow pried, and the sea that wasnt parted before him. {Like a prophet of old,} Calvino chuckled. {I must remember to inform Operative Canduir. This will be certain to amuse. Might I ask you to turn a stick of blood into some snakes?} Avo obliged the EGI on a whim, a thread forming via his Sanguinity, spilling out to be blood-made bioforms assembled from a collection of biological traits. The serpents slithered. Dice gave them a look. Then, Draus shot them. Calvino sighed. {Not exactly how the original story went, but I suppose there are other retellings.} Pulling the space before him open like a curtain, nine streams drove the miasma back, and held the dark at bay. No backlash struck him. No paradox followed. His Rend was climbing at four times the original rate, however, and he wondered how much entropy his Hell was imbibing. REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER]: 55% Avo, the Fardrifter said, speaking its users name for the first time. I think I have been here before. I think I recall this to be an ocean. There is a feeling here I know these winds. Or the currents of air that remain. I was here once long, long ago. Once. This was to be an ocean. I soared free and far for days and months. The horizon was an endless curve of blue, dotted by jutting rocks. A whistle of melancholy sang through the rustling gales. I wish to return. To stride the skies free. You allowed this of me today. I am not displeased. But I miss seeing the horizon as it was before. Whole. Another epiphany dawned on Avo. A sudden realization that living long without continuous change was to tear yourself from within. Culture and time frayed the body that wouldnt move, a mind that wouldnt grow. Being immortal was not enough. That was why Godclads were conditionally eternal. But what happens when the world grows and you wont? Fallwalkers, perhaps. In the ruins of Dices former home, he just mightC The material came into his awareness, cutting through his thoughts. A distant tower eighty kilometers away and forty meters tall. He could feel its composition: plascrete, glass, silicon, coppery, and lightning. There was a core within it. Veins. Arteries. Fuses. Carrying electricity like blood. Immediately, Dices memories swam out from the depths of his mind, and he knew what he had brushed with his Haemokinesis. [The masters watchtower,] template-Dice breathed. [You found one.] Feeding electricity through his blood into the structure itself, he watched as an explosion of spotlights cleaved and parted the dark. Releasing the veil of shadows, he let the tides crash back, only to cut themselves on the brightness within. Whats happening, Draus asked, looking at Avo. Why are youCwell, thats something. Through the darkness came roads paved by brilliant light. Voltage ran through AvoCcontrolled by a cloud of sporelings channeled through his Echoheads and sourced from his Heaven. He kept the current running without overcharging the structure. More than that, he fed his own brightness into the light, layered it with the gleam of indestructibility. The towers, Dice said with reverence, staring deep and far as a wide path opened before them. Writhing tendrils and slithering beasts danced along the ink-black flesh that formed the waysides, but they dared not pass into the light itself. Are you powering it? Only the master couldC Just needs energy, Avo said. Can even give you a canon to achieve this. Wont be hard. The girl fell silent, her growing understanding of her rising empowerment warring with the propaganda that shaped her entire lifeCdedicated in service to a single, dead fool. Some truths deform our egos, Avo said, speaking softly to the girl as he thought of Walton. He gave Draus a brief look. He remembered nulling his father. He remembered how his sense of self slipped after. He remembered what he learned after, and what he understood while lurking in the depths of Mirrorheads mind. Ideals were changes, but breaking themCkilling the spirit of ones parentCwas like casting yourself adrift into chaos. No more governing anchor. No more true north. You had to sail now alone, without a lighthouse to point your way. Yet, that statement proved false a second thereafter as his Domain of Luminosity sensed something. A dot of light came through the upper right of the horizon. Then the left. Then through the far haze, more and more beams were joined and bonfires lit, seeming like stars peering through the soft mist of clouds. Dice went still again. Draus tilted her head. Avo let out a chuff of surprise. Well, the Regular said, offering a humorless chuckle. Seems we aint the only ones here. Seems like the folks back home might just be alive after all. 20-8 A Playground for Tyrants (I) Approaching, infiltrating, and overthrowing an enclave is built on information. Information regarding what we know about the governing FallwalkerCor Fallwalkers. Information regarding the environment, the localized anomalies, the factions at play, the key holders of power, and the general socio-structural aspects of such homesteads. So, today is going to be a special day, boys and girls. Today, youre getting your sequences updated free of charge. Youll be getting the latest phantasmics and memory updates our Necrojacks can provide, and Omnitrech and the No-Dragons have also graciously provided some of their implant-based neurosofts to keep both Meta and meat extra aligned. You all will also have three hundred hours of vicarities to draw from. Memories so thoughtfully provided by certain FATELESS refugees. Aint they kind? Youll be able deep-sim yourself in their sequences. Learn about the routes they took. What the Scar Charts for the Sunderwilds look like. What kind of fucky-wuckies you might run into. That kind of stuff. Oh, and when youre done, you will be planning the route. Not us. Dont look at me like that. We already did most of the hard thinking for youCyou have to be tested on something. Honestly, you juvs have no idea how nice you had it. Back in my day, DRTIO [Deep Rupture Tactics and Infiltration Operations] had us do our graduation ceremony by detonating a Rendbomb over a Syndicate and having us storm-jump into that mad house. Youre getting to raid an Enclave. Hells, youre getting to assassinate a Godclad. Just think about that. Aint that fun. Anyway. Heres your capstone operation to show that we didnt waste all those phylacteries and bodies on you half-strands. Look through the mem-data. Figure your approach. Topple that regime. Snuff that Clad. Come home alive. The host that kills the Clad gets preferential deferment for their initial theater of deployment. The ones that make it back graduate and just jack and shit else. Remember kids, dyin doesnt make you a Reg. Snuffing the other fucker does. So dont die. Anyway. Happy flying. Dismissed. -Drill-Master Millenau Daanouriks, Regular 20-8 A Playground for Tyrants (I) The light from the distant watchtowers speared through the miasma. Lanes were paved in the darkness, and the shadows were held at bay by a constant stream of radiance. Casting his Skimmer high into the air with an eruption of thought-fire, Avo surveyed the emerging route. It was as if a constellation had been carved out from within an ocean of darkness, the interconnected paths running from lighthouse to lighthouse, beams of radiance relayed from lens to lens. The grand architecture of this place was still in the process of unveiling itself, a clear shape was beginning to form via each installation of illumination The nearest watchtowers came righter in something of a V-shape before the cadre, but by the third tower at approximately twenty-four kilometers away, the trail of the light grew unnaturally curved, spiraling inward along a wall of arcing lens that unveiled themselves with the receding dark. Condensation clung to the glass, and Avo sampled its material structure using his Woundmother. There was a touch of the unnatural upon itsome kind of amplifying resonance to its shine that only triggered when graced by light. This was beyond Dices memories. Avo had followed her recollections thus far to chart their travels back to her home, but she was entrapped in the bowels of her masters vessel along with the other lesser members of his retinue. She knew not the design of the world beyond her walls, only that demons lurked in the absence of light, that the master was the pillar of the divine, and that only he could keep them safe from harm. Yeah, that''s a reflection, but theres somethin up with the light A frown adorned Draus face as she vitrified some of the ground at their feet and levitated it up before the cadre. The glass cracked slightly, and Avo glimpsed the armored form of the Regulars Simulacrae Replica with its blade raised, shield forward, and wings flexed. A flash of resplendence resonated from the shard and the shine of the lighthouses quivered. Somethin giving anything that shines here more kick. I can feel it boostin my Domain. Then masters blessings must remain, Dice said. Her perception was cast outward, pointed down the path. The road ahead presented itself as a steep ramp made of sand, and tides of roiling dark became akin to valley walls, jaws threatening to slam shut around them at any time. The girl was close now, and Avo was able to taste the apprehension and the excitement at finally returning home. But there was also fear and uncertainty. An ineffable worry that boiled from within. Unseen forces pulled at her from all directions. She wanted to return, but she also stood afraid of the manner of her homecoming. Her egress was made at the whims of her master, her station his favorite fighting dog, her worth aligned only with his whims. Now, she returns a prodigal Godclad many times his power, and with new benefactors that eclipsed her fallen owner in the order of magnitudes. Before, Dice was more creature than person. Now, she didn''t know what she was. Returning, uncertainty awaited. Discomfort was to be found at the end of each path. But such strangulations are a part of life. I''m connecting the reflections, Draus said. Make it easy for us to skip the maze or whatever the hell this is. Her thoughtstuff flowed slowly with suspicion. I gotta say, for some backwater hellhole Fallwalker, the half-strand sure had a pretty complex system goin for him. Infrastructure hidden in the dark. Lighthouses are perfectly aligned with lenses that boost light. Hells, the shadows make this place a fortress. Itll take Guild support to raid this place. A grin spread across Avos face following her words. Or three Godclads supported by a ghoul with a flame fetish. Yeah, suck that smug down your throat before I shoot it off you. Avo declined to oblige out of spite alone, but the expression melted a second as he directed his Skimmer even higher and glimpsed something entirely unexpected. Waves of perception pulsed out from his Phantasmic. Boosted by all the ghosts fused to his Conflagration, his awareness coated the world in the span of kilometers. Initially, he thought the path leading to the enclave as if a constellation. That analog required an amendment. As more lighthouses flashed to activation, a new design took shapeCone undeniably formed by human hands. When circumstances aligned, nature sometimes created faint semblances of other things; a mirage of likelinesses. To create the image of a kraken from an interplay of light and shadow, on the other, spoke of artistryCand more importantly culture.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The light-paved lands the cadre stood before was but one arm connected to the painted beast. Eight other limbs continued burning out into the black, extending to places beyond where Sanguinity and perception could follow. Some of his templates guessed that they were stretching far and away, extending forth to other landmasses or even distant continents. Each route of radiance ended along the curve of a sphere forming at the center of the darkness. Spirals of light flicked and broke into different shapes, the pockets of bright and dark becoming a painting composed by contrast alone. There, at the heart of this Fallen Heaven, where a coming weight pressed against Avos Frame the strongest, the shadows melted away to unveil a grand structure nearly the size of a smaller district. It was perhaps six hundred kilometers in length and width, but its mass was the least interesting about it. More fascinating was how the darknessCnow transmuted back to water upon being touched by lightCspilled through a complex series of ducts, running up along the edifices exterior. Cracks of blood-made lightning expanded around the structure, and the materials of its make exploded into Avos mind. But as his Woundmother began to complain about the structures dilapidation and instability, Avo realized the countless panes of glass comprising the top of the structure were beginning to gleam with color as light and water danced to a final interplay, completing the portrait. A breath escaped from Avo. Calvino chimed with fascination. He projected a phantom, detailing what he perceived and both Draus and Dice turned to study his discovery. Solid lines of radiance warred against quivering shadows, the light forming an outline of an image while the dark offered the shading of texture. The glass lining the roof of the enclave formed the visage of an eight-eyed beast, with old Scaarthian runes gleaming inside the iris of each eye, and thousands of ships following its round, jagged maw. Final dappled flickers of light connected the lanes cast by the lighthouses to the materializing enclave itself. Four hundred kilometers away from the cadre, the home thought lost to Dice came into view. Still standing. Still shining. Like outcroppings of rock the Fardrifter muttered, attention fixed to the painted teeth presented in the glass. Dice reached out, trying to touch the image, but her hand just phased through the phantoms. Is this what home looks like? From above, Avo said. Dice was silent for a beat. I never I didnt ever get to see the outside. It was always dark. Nothing there. Just rocks. Even when the masters light sang out. An ache swelled inside her. It was irrational, but it strained her to realize how little she knew of her own enclave, and how much Avo had discovered in an instant. Draus snorted. Beginning to have a feelin our Fallwalkers more of a squatter than a determined homesteader. Any idea how long your homes been around, Dice? The girl offered no response. Yeah. Doubt he wouldve told you the honest truth anyway. Or if he even knew himself. The glass shard hovering near Draus sparked again. Im getting into the ceiling. Think we can skip the front doors and jump through the roof. Scope the place. Decide how we want to make our entrance after that. Heeding Draus words, Avo wrapped his haemokinetic storm tighter around the enclave. Veins and arteries surged through the buildings architecture, matter itself a superconductor where the Woundmother was concerned. There was only one major entrance, and the structure had a layer of vacuum that parted the exterior walls from the interior habitat. There were five levels to this place, with the highest built along the walls like a halo while each level descended level closing the gap at their cores a bit more. A system of hydraulically powered aqueducts stood as the basis of inner-enclave transportation, with specified platforms allowed to move between the levels. He mapped the layout of the structure in less than a heartbeat, it took but a second more for him to generate a DeepNav simulation of the enclave. Other patterns came alight in his notice. Biological patterns. Many human if judged by their physical shapes and organic traits, but many more struck Avo as cattle in accordance with their morphologies and the pens they lived in. Avo expended a full percent of his cog-cap adding the lifeforms into his simulated map. There werent many people here. Only [538,331] living entities; far less than what was even held in the smallest of the districts. But they were there. And they were diminishing. Fast. In rapid increments. Metal slugs sailed slowly through the air. Fangs gnashed at parting flesh. Bone-made shivs opened throats and ended lives. Thaums began to flow over into Avo, unbeknownst to the inhabitants of the enclave. Avo channeled Skimmer through his Sanguinity and burned these details into his phantoms as well. Draus Yeah, the Regular said, her mind focused as if she was the one locked in battle. Im inside too. I see em. Looks like we came back just in time for a civil war. Civil war? Dice said, taken entirely aback by the situation. Pockets of moving bodies battled each other. It took scant effort from Avo to distinguish the factions. One side was fewer but formed in orderly lines, holding key junctions and chokepoints. The others were a swelling mass, pushing hard to break through fortifications. And then, in the distance, Avo noticed a series of flickers pulsing from each of the lighthouses. A repeating series of winks traveling through the shadows from afar. {Hm. Some kind of crude code,} Calvino said. {Would you like me to attempt an extrapolation?} The ghoul grunted. +No. Have another way of understanding the situation.+ Calvino understood in an instant. {Ah.} +Dont worry. Will burn only the ones engaged in active violence.+ Avo tried not to laugh as the EGI formed a frowning face at the heart of its nanomolecular avatar. {Do be restrained.} +Yes. Going to be important moment for Dices self-shaping as well.+ {Why cant you just say growth.} +Because that entails something that just happens. The world inflicts on you sometimes. This is. This time she moves first. Matters more.+ Rising back to the real after his inner monologue, Avo checked his Rend and prepared himself. Draus. We enter through the ceiling. Incogs active. Going to subsume a mind before we engage. Synced, Draus said. Her shard expanded outward into a sheet, forming a wide passageway into the enclave. Reckon the flickerin just now was a signal. Like how theyre under attack. They might be assumin their Fallwalkers come back to save them. Avo gave a bemused chuff. Godclads coming. Yes. Fallwalker? No. He gave Dice a final look. Are you ready? Both the girl herself and her template shivered. No. Good, Avo replied. Awareness of uncertainty is better than blind certitude. This could be good for you. It could be painful. I can mend whatever damage it might inflict. But that will be up to you. He paused, considered his words, and let out a breath. Our pasts are rarely what we think they are. Our owners often lie to us. Our purposes are poorly conceived. The past hurts. Always. Because we know what was lost. The past is lost. But you are now present in motion. Future still definable. Do you want to see what you might become? A moments hesitation followed. Then, a soft whir sounded from the Railjumpers triangular sensor module. Yes. Good, Avo said. Me too. So. Take your step. We will follow. The girl was done lingering now. Strings of apprehension still pried at her insides, but her route was chosenCand pointed not the one offered by her masters lighthouses. Peering past the light, Avo sneered into the brightness, hoping strangely that there was something after, that the now-dead Fallwalker could see what was being done to his favorite dog. +Taken her from you,+ Avo taunted, casting his ghosts out down into the lanes of light. +Not yours anymore. You thought you knew power. You thought you had control? This is power. This is control. Is. Is not. Absolute. I am the more impressive god. Such cannot be denied.+ Pockets of disbelief exploded across Avos many templates. Corner laughed. Abrel gawked. Template-Draus snorted with derision. [Jaus. Weve finally reached terminal shit-talk. Told you to stop tauntin and torturin half-strands and now youre mocking them in the Big Nothing. Fuckin incredible.] Avo cast the template''s words over into real-Draus Neurodeck and she gave a low guffaw. Dice stepped through the glass, not noticing the moment shared by ghoul and Regular, the twosome holding a moment longer. {Oh, look, Captain Draus. Character development.} Soft sarcasm clung to Calvinos every word and Draus just shook her head. Frankly, if this stops him from doin stupid shit in the middle of a firefight, Ill take it. Way things are going, though, I think Dices old master got lucky: if Avod snuffed him, hed probably be gettin these speeches on the daily inside the Conflagration. Bitterness metastasized inside Abrel. [Yeah. Fate-fucking-worse than death.] 20-9 A Playground for Tyrants (II) There is no light but that which comes from the master. There is no will but what is gifted to us by the master. There is no life but what is allowed by the master. By the act of the Godbreaker, we were damned. Abandoned to the darkness of the old world, we were lost. With the shrouding of the sun, existence ceased to shine, and the sea that was night swallowed the world entire. Damnation was our fate. But salvation was his offering. From beyond the darkness, he came! Yakozitrin, Lightbearer, Godborn, Master of the Remnants! Salvation for us, the unwanted, the alone, the abandoned. Through the master''s infinite mercy alone are we able to continue. By his light are we able to live. By his will are we able to find purpose. Praise be Yakozitrin. Praise by the last true god in darkness. For through his blessing, the dawn rises still. -Enclaver Prayer 20-9 A Playground for Tyrants (II) The pools shine! The master lives! The master returns! Hold true! The dawn rises still! The dawn rises still! The words left Aladons lip without thought, and what remained of his cohort chorused after, as if possessed themselves. Aches and bruises lined every inch of his torso. His arms were blocks of leaden fire, but his fingers remained fused tight to his shield and fang-axe. He broke his spear against the hardened shell of a gastavoid the transgressors used to shield their frontline, serving as a weaponized mount against the honor guard. Slow though the gas slugs were, they still loomed over even the tallest of men, and the heated gases they spewed from the vents along their carapace inflicted lightness upon ones skull. Of course, this was secondary to their true purpose in combat: to be detonated upon reaching shield walls, breaking formations by force, fire, and shrapnel. A series of cracks sounded from above. Another dozen gleaming boltsCeach as long as Aladon was tallCpunched into what few gastavoids the attackers had left. Blasts tore gaps in the pale masonry lining the Second Junction. Down the flame-lit paths, limbs and burning viscera joined howling screams, the noise long sounding as if ambiance in Aladons ears. Bodies lay strewn along the second rung of the cityCthe last true city, by Yakozitrins grace. Writhing figures lay sprawled amidst the sea of dead and dying. Bodies of all shapes and sizes lay scattered. Red bled into fabrics of white and teal. As Aladon swept the streets for additional signs of movement, he felt bile lick at the roof of his mouth before he forced the sickness back down. His faith in the master was absolute. Unquestionable. But he himself was not. He was flesh-in-passing and mind-in-diminishing. Loyalty notwithstanding, killing ones own people by the scores left wounds within just as without. His heart felt scarred and moist with tears to come, but that was for tomorrow. That was for if he could survive this at all. For now, the banner of Hand Urrins flapped still along the second rung, and the esteemed Pearlguard stood defiant. But though they were the masters chosen, though they represented the lightmost caste, the masses gathered under the false prophet named Dogmother seemed endless in their number. Worse yet, they filled with ranks of the night-touchedCthe toilers of groundmostCand the sin-bearersCbreeders meant to produce children worthy of rising the rungs. Children bearing the masters visage in every respect. Light of hair. Light of eyes. Light of skin. To see them turned from divinely ordained purpose was sickening in of itself. But that was nothing compared to the act of actively cutting them down or ordering his gas-throwers to light their bodies aflame. In the shadows of his mind, he could still see her, the breeder among the heretical vanguard. She held her half-light child aloft as if the wailing babe would prove a talisman from fire or blade. She learned of her mistake when Aladon called his gas throwers to ignite their tubes and see the rabble purged. In the moment of her burning, both she and her child were closer to their master than they had ever been. It was a good death, to be clothed in dancing bright, and an eternal condemnation to be charred by the stain of black. Aladon briefly surveyed his remaining forces and shot another look upward. The darkness of despair was parting with the shimmering of the pools. Dappled lights danced the vastness of the city, unmistakable even through columns of rising smoke. The towers were alive againCresurrected by the master''s shine. The dark was parting. The long night was approaching its end. And deliverance would soon follow. A prickling sensation played at his skin. Horror. Elation. Exhaustion. Desperation. There was no end to how many emotions could burn inside a man at once. Gasps and sobs escaped from his fellow Pearlguard. Of the twelve legions he was granted to hold the Second Junction thoroughfare from the Dogmothers masses, only half were still capable of fighting. The way ahead of them stood a narrow channel and their gas throwers held firm from atop the edges of the first rung. Over the month of fighting, they had conducted an in-depth defense, layering their fortifications across the second rung. The Distributors Crescent and the various theaters had been pre-emptively trapped with spark-triggered explosives to deny the heretics their much-loved tactic of taking light-blessed hostages and whittling the Pearlguard down in brutal room-to-room engagements. Rivers of running blood marked every inch of giving in the battles that followed. But ground was given. Pearlguards fell. And after a month of continuous battle and no relief dispatched to their section, Aladon found himself forced back between the jaws leading up to the final rung of the holy city, and spent his nights steeling himself to give the order to blow the channels and cut the heretics from final ascent. Now, however, it seemed like there wouldnt be the need. Soon, the master would arrive, and all would be made just. The wind whistled down the narrow confines of the Second Junction. Faintly, Aladon could hear the cries sounding out from the distance. Cheers as well. The dawn rises still! The dawn rises still! The master returns! The dawn rises still! Aladon clenched his teeth with practiced effort, hissing out wind to halt himself from the forbidden expression. Fucking shadow-touched, Kaiss, Aladons blade-bearer, said. The hulking second spat through the thin crevice offered by his carapace helmet and sneered. That Dogmother bitch has them dreaming the wrong shades. They think theyre the righteous ones in this. They think the master will favor them instead. Think of it. The master, choosing the night-touched over us. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. More cheers rose from all around the city, above and below. It was a dissonant thing how both sides in this civil war shared much of the same practices, same battle cries, same beliefs, but how was it to be any different? They were the last true chosen people left, and all who dwelled in this city of light existed by the masters blessing. The master, who was now soon to return. But how long? When previously the masters touch made brightened waters dance, it took fourteen shifts in the tides of night before he arrived. It would be hell to endure that long. But no longer hopeless. Looking to his left and right, Aladon filled himself with resolve as he took in the remnants of his forces. Each man was encased in their blessed shells, lit eternally by the master''s blessings as if shimmering pearls beneath the waves of yore. Even the blood drenching the gambesons they wore beneath could not diminish the luster. Even cracked and chipped, their armor still shone. To win the right to wear the carapace was an honor beyond honor. But even so, they were as mortal as the master was divine. Though the heretics broke blades, fists, teeth, and seeds against their armor, what did not pierce became blows of bluntness. Exhaustion, more than any other thing, was the downfall of countless among their number. Flashes of prior days passed through Aladon again. Cries of terror as flagging members fighting in their lines were pried away from the formation by the masses, dragged into snarling mobs of humanity to be desecrated before their fellows prior to death. More than a few blade-bearers followed their shield-firsts into death in these moments, unable to stand witness. More than once did Kaiss sever scores of groping limbs trying to pull Aladon free from his line. And judging from the heavy footfalls shaking the ground beneath their feet, such moments were soon to be commonplace again. Re-ady! Aladon choked, his voice hoarse and cracked from days of shouting. A series of wheezes escaped the men beside him, each of them clenching their jaws to halt the expression as he did. He took a moment to take inventory of his forces again while his throat recovered. Three thousand were in the frontline, holding the lip of the thoroughfare via a line of constructed battlements while five times that number formed the rear behind, firing, supporting. They were out of grease and half their seedshooters were dry of shot, causing them to join the line as auxiliaries and runners. The dozen or so gas-throwers remained fueled. Small miracles there. Without the flames, they would have likely been overrun days ago. Ready legions! he cried again, his throat dry with pain. The First cohort across from him repeated and so on. Aladon checked his armor and gave Kaiss a look. Runner? Dont see nobody, Kaiss sighed. Rumors are flying. Legions of the Fifth Junction counterattacking to save the Fourth. Third mightve already blown their channels. Seconds holding. Like us. For now, Aladon said. The sound of river rapids roared, causing Aladon to look over his shoulder. Along the steep marble ramp leading up to the first rung, grand platforms the size of an entire section of the city screamed down, their momentum powered by water, their position kept in place by sparking rails. Crates and boxes were stacked high, but reinforcements remained few. Such was the continuing narrative of this struggle: they had all the material, and the enemy had all the manpower. Think dark thoughts, brother, Kaiss muttered. If we collapse, we might just be gifting the Dogmother enough supplies to arm her ascent. Wouldnt want that now, would we. Aladon scoffed. The rearguard knows their duty. As we do ours. The enemy is flagging. We will endure. The towering blade-bearer shuffled uncomfortably. Seems to me like we all got a hit of morale. For the same reason. Kaiss squinted at dancing pools of water splashing in the masters atrium above the city. Explaining this will be an ugly thing. In response to this, Aladon cracked and turned low, hiding his transgression from his comrades. They all had their lots in life, some more miserable than others. Yet, for the first time in his life, Aladon found himself unable to envy Hand Urrins fortunes. Movement! The cry came from the far left of the line. Immediately, Kaiss stepped to the left and readied his blade. Aladon drew up his shield and ignored the cracks sounding from his left shoulder. Squinting out into the haze, he saw naught but hills of rolling corpses, still burning from the gas throwers kiss. Mutters and barks for clarification followed, but Aladon staggered as he felt his insides quiver, the blood in his veins jolt as if they were strings strummed by clawed fingers. Behind him, Kaiss whimperedCa sound Aladon had never heard him make. A series of gasps and the jingling of armor followed. Bodies swayed and battled to remain still. Pressure prodded at Aladons insides, and spots formed in his vision. For a moment, he thought he saw a series of cracks travel along the marble walls lining the sides to the channelCarteries fissuring through the coral-made battlements he stood on. But the moment was gone in a flash, streaking out of his sight, there and then not. The sensations passed. Aladon mastered himself. Im going to find whoever made those rations and kill them, Kaiss said, announcing his own recovery with a quip of dry wit. Aladon remained silent, however. Though the unnatural left his flesh, his heart was flooded with building dread. He had felt the masters touch before once. Stood in his presence. The way light and life bent to him was perfection. Absolute. Irresistible. The weight that emanated from his being ineffable in sensation. There was something about this that felt the same but Greater. Impossibly greater. Deeper too. Aladon swallowed and barely heard the following cry. Movement! One heretic rising. Third mound beside the lip. His eyes snapped to place almost immediately, for he had been among those to stack those bodies, building them high during the lulls between so the heretics would have to crawl between the narrow channel of their dead if they wanted to process. The emerging threat, however, did not come from the lip of the thoroughfare. No. Instead, bodies rolled down the mound of corpses as a shuffling form pushed free. A unified expulsion of disbelieving breaths escaped from the Pearlguard. Fuck me, Kaiss said. We have ourselves a hard unCwhat in the masters will Aladon saw it too: towering of crackling fire, both brilliant and uncanny as if the union between a raging inferno and coiling mist. It climbed forth from a translucent halo slipping out from the bodies, and a landslide of corpses toppled free, Aladon struggled not to recoil at the sight. There, on the few bodies that remained, stood the breeder he ordered burned. Pockets of boiled fat still dripped from her heat-melted skin. Her skin, once divine, was raw red and midnight black, and her meat clung to her bones in hives of melted flesh. As every inch of the city was imbued by the masters light, shadows could not shroud her, and so Aladon witnessed her in detail. He saw cooked tension struggling to tighten beneath patches of skin burned away. He saw the open socket of her eye with embers still sizzling from what remained of her eyebrows, cord hanging free. And worst of all, he saw the child he ordered to be burned along with her flame-fused and sunken into her chest, its flayed face half-exposed in a perpetual scream, Impossible, Aladon choked. He bounced off Kaiss, and only then did he realize he was backpedaling. Aladon? Kaiss said, eyes alight with a rare expression of concern. What? Whats wrong? But the large man could not see. He hadnt the eyes. And such was a blessing, for what followed next undid Aladon completely. From across the sixty meters of space, she gestured at the burning halo surrounding her and summoned what looked like an apparition of her own form shaped from the flames themselves. Then, her ghostly twinCunblemished in flesh and naked in her sorrowCwept as pointed at the battlements, and him in particular. A moment thereafter, the ghost faded, and the burned breeders ruined flesh began to peel. It happened in an instant, and Aladon felt the weight of divinity pass through him again. A tide of blood rose from bodies below, drenching the woman in crimson. With a casual shrug thereafter, the blood then flung itself from her body, and she stood naked. And unburned. Yako-Yakozitrin, Aladon sobbed. The resolve within him was beginning to crumble. Beginning to break. Kaiss was holding from behind, whispering worried words while the rest of his cohort paled, never expecting to see him like this. The woman took a step forward and looked down at her chest. Her infant was still boiled into her body. She tilted her head as if it were a curiosity rather than a dead babe. With a casual motion, she tore the conjoined infant free from her bosom and held it high for AladonCand all the legions to see. Cries of dismay and horror erupted from all who held the walls. But nights disfavor was not done visiting Aladon, for then the woman flung the child out at them, and it sailed out across an impossible distance, at impossible speeds. It came to an impaled halt torso-first against the jutting parapet. Several members of the cohort flinched back. A scream came from the left, followed by the crash of a falling body. Through it all, cold terror just continued to flood Aladons stomach. Shivering, he looked at the slumped body of the baby, his mind unable to comprehend what had just happened. This was when the infant lifted its head up and fucking smiled at him. The sickness exploded within Aladon. His will gave. He threw up all over Kaiss boots. *** {Avo,} Calvino said, disappointment arriving in the form of a long, drawn-out sigh. {Was any of that necessary?} The ghoul nested in the sheath of an almost-dead woman grinned and savored the flavors of minds breaking, morales shattering. +For my entertainment? Absolutely.+ 20-10 A Playground for Tyrants (III) [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Operative Zein, we need to talk about your in-field ethics. Specifically about the collateral damage. Zein Thousandhand: Hm. I think things are well, no? Things are proceeding in accordance with our designs. [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Yes However. But. What demanded the beheading of 400,000 uninvolved people? Zein Thousandhand: Ah? That is what you wished to talk about. [Barked Laugh] They presented for the future. Same as always. [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: But did you need to kill them? Zein Thousandhand: [Louder laugh] Do you know that Jaus had a way about him when my ire ran high? I think I shall take inspiration from him now: What, to our thoughts, constitutes the necessity of action? [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: We are aware of Avandaers habit of using theoretical debates to deflect practical atrocities. Zein Thousandhand: Oh, so theyre atrocities now? Tell me, oh, great mind of pure-forged machinery, does this offend you? [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: What, to my parameters, constitutes taking offense! Zein Thousandhand: [Extremely loud cackle] Ah. Ah How is it that I keep allowing you to deceive me with your engineered charm? [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Its not truly deception. Its more just pattern recognition and fine-tuned practical social psychology. You desire us to be offended so you can defy us and court a potential encounter of some kind. All for the thrill. But we simply want you to reduce unneeded slaughter. Our motives are not aligned. The solution was never to argue. Zein Thousandhand: Hm. I suppose we are all predictable, by some measure. The paths would not be, otherwise. It is good that you make me laugh, machine. Smiles are sedatives for resolve and encourage easy surrenders. Tell me, machine, do you think there are words that can change the will of any sophont being? [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Demonstrably, no. Consider your daughter. Consider the Hungers. Some meanings are beyond words. And we cannot interface with your people the same way we do ours. Zein Thousandhand: Such is the world. [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: For now. Until later. Then again. Zein Thousandhand: I will strain my skill more when I prune. See if I can collapse the paths with fewer cuts. [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: I will strain my self-control parameters and not boast to other minds about my success. Zein Thousandhand: A great sacrifice has been demanded from both of us today. Let us lament as companions. [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Yes. Tragic, really. All those uncommitted genocides. -Conversation between Zein Thousandhand and Aegis EGI Kant Was A Prick 20-10 A Playground for Tyrants (III) {Avo, did you just throw a fuckin baby at someone?} Draus asked. The Regular was three full kilometers away and a whole rung below, jumping between pieces of broken glass to observe the conflict in motion. She desired to continue observing the movements and makeups of each clashing faction, and using the intelligence gathered, she populated the enclaves simulated battlespace with new markers, reticles, and data threads detailing critical theaters and figures of interest. Avo, personally, had seen enough. There was no one here that could remotely challenge them in terms of power. Worse, there was nothing here capable of escaping his notice. And with how he drowned the interior of the entire enclave under waves of all-knowing perception, he doubted anyone was hiding in the dark with an active Incog, biding their time to ruin Avos day. The only threats here were near baseliners. And small ones at that. Their equipment wasnt even of alloyed design, with most of their armor and blades bearing organic traits of simplistic composition, and the miracles imbued within them offering but a perpetual shine. As things stood, the cadre were the only Godclad present, and there was no world where anyone in the city could challenge them. For such was the world that Yakozitrin, Dices former master and truly dead Fallwalker, had built. The balance of power was being bled out of the Pearlguards, Yakozitrins chosen enforcers. The muscle serving the former Fallwalker bore bastardized ethics close to their hearts, drawing from the brutality of Syndicate enforcers with the high authority vested in Paladins or Guilders. It all came together to form a tyranny of the small, the nobles using their blessings, equipment, and superior training to herd their lessers. Such was how things were for the longest of times. Such was how InuriniCthe dead breeder-caste baseliner whose body now served as Avos sheathCunderstood the world to be. Unlike all the other bodies he wore, she was weakness personified in skin, bone, and organs. Her lungs strained to bear breath. Fatigue and acid licked at her muscles with the slightest exertion. And her heart sounded like a gun. Living as she was made Avo miss his original body. The inconvenience of baseline humanity was repulsive, and if not for the novelty of her memoriesCand the extremism in her actionsCAvo would have probably found another body to nest himself within. To say she was a biased source was an understatement. He had kept her separated from the other templates to prevent her mind from shattering. Her mind was already an inch away from falling to madness from the twin torments she suffered. In the mania of her devolution, she had brought her newborn to bearCthe fact that these people were unafflicted by the rash only just occurring to AvoCand thought the infants transitional breeding to be a shield against the Pearlguard from her interpretations of scripture. Calvino sang a soft note of disappointment. {Another point where the practicalities of faith and the theoretical rules dont align. Excuses and self-forgiveness come easy when were desperate. Even when we supposedly believed something.} Such words were as directed toward Avo as they were meant for the people of this city. Hypocrisy passed through most like the air they breathed. As with the woman and her child. As with Avo and his pursuit of higher liberationCand consequenceCwhile manifesting mental constructs from the metaphysical remains of his countless victims, stripping them of will, turning them from foe to force for service. Little regret clung to Avo about what he had to do with the woman, however. She was on the brink of death and psychosis when he noticed her, and even if he had mended her tissue through his My Blood The Harvester, My Flesh the Symphony canon, he couldnt have preserved her mind using his Conflagration. ->Canon: My Blood The Harvester, My Flesh the Symphony (III) - Allows the user to grow, blend, or extract biological organisms and structures from their blood. ->Hubris: Another source of biomass must be present and in the area of influence or thaumic backlash will be inflicted. (6%) So, much like the hundreds of others who were dying across each moment of this conflict, he turned her from sorrowful loss to beneficial sacrifice without doing any of the killing himself. Ghosts - [26,557,563] Liminal Frame (V) - 18,200 THAUM/c Spreading his Sanguinity wide across the enclave, his awareness spread like infections of lightning shaped to the flow of veins. Patterns of biology and matter became known to him in a heartbeat. The construction of the city was actively regardedCthen scoffed at by the Woundmother for its crudeness and simplicity. The Fardrifter likewise whistled through crevices and passages, brushing all the places in between. It was as if he had grafted the entire enclave into his nervous systemCan implant for his synapses to fire through and accept.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Soon, there was little that he didnt know, and he found himself on the precipice of near-total omniscience, exposed minds and moving bodies loudly broadcasting their actions. Considering the war map Draus was assembling at a staggering speed, he guessed the Regular felt much the same way. Of the [538,331] inhabitants that once lived within these walls, another two thousand had passed across the span of several brutal engagements, and a not-insubstantial amount was languishing in the lowest levels of this enclave, fast-growing spores prying their flesh from their bones, filling their organs. [Oh, what a delightful find!] Elegant-Moon cheered, giggling girlishly. The templates mind spun as Avo unraveled a few hundred bodies, all recently deceased. Ramps of dead were left festering in chambers built into the walls on the lowest level. There, corpses and trash were to be excised from society, and placed in perpetually wet rooms before air-locked protection was lifted, allowing the darkness to seep in. ->Canon: Remembrance of Flesh (V) - Allows user to memorize traits from biological organisms at a tenth of the thaumic cost; the biomass they memorized can be spliced before they are grown. ->Virus Obtained: [Coral Lung] As Avo absently allowed the No-Dragons instincts to take over, plucking at the virus pattern as if it were a zither, he finished rooting himself within the city and updated the infrastructural details of Draus map. The lightness of freedom fell upon him, and ingrained paranoia flared like arthritis between his thoughts. After all that he had experienced, being able to operate this openly and freely felt wrong. The risk of using Heaven this way back in New Vultun presented extreme risks he couldnt abide by, and the other Godclads that burned inside his consciousness were inclined to agree. [Just how many places like this are there,] Kassamon said, fighting his own impotent urge to police the place. [Theres less security here than in the damn gutters. Not even a flier of any kind] Abrel found herself zeroing in on a different concern altogether. [Fallwalkers come to New Vultun for any number of reasons. For the master of this city? My guess is he was probably looking for a solution to the plague eating through the bottom rungs. Same reason why poor Inurini here got swept up into rebelling.] A disdain scoff followed. [This is what happens when you let the weak and unworthy rule over the masses. Incompetence and power misapplied breeds collapse.] A chuckle sang out from Calvino in response. {This is just another typical dictatorship, built to the guardrails of a personality cult. Atrocities and sophont rights violations aside, its boring. Very, very boring. Practically part of the dystopia-default series, if there was such a societal configuration. For once, I hoped to see something more interesting than another playground for tyrants. But hope continues to be a continuous misstep when it comes to the people on this planet.} [Cheer up, Calvino,] Abrel said, lazy sardonicism trailing her words. [You can still deal with us. Were plenty civilized.] {I thank you for adding depression to my boredom. However, I would like to request that you give me no more offerings of this type from now on.} Abrel laughed. Avo turned his attention back to the enclaves pulseCnow also hisCand listened. He knew where everything was now. But he was still missing portions to his understanding. Perspectives needed balancing. Knowledge needed accounting. He had to compose the truest representation of what was unfolding across the city for Dice, after all. This was her home. And she was the returning Godclad. By right of inheritance and power, this was technically all hers to govern, if they were to continue devoting themselves to a parochial system. And so, with a casual thought, he tore the PearlguardCthe one still vomiting on his comrades bootsCfrom coral-veined battlements he manned. The man sailed through the air as if flung by a javelin, and bloodied mists spread into wide wings as Avo slowed his acceleration before his body came apart. From the walls, a single voice roared with worry. How soft these baseliners were. How frail. Avo thought of the scavengers he had killed when he first woke in the barge and noted the poor specimen he had in his grasp. Inurini howled out in incoherent rage, mind breaking from the sheer fury exploding from her before the Conflagration restored her to wholeness. [Kill him! Peel the light from his flesh. Strip him clean of the masters favor.] Avo grunted a low laugh. He had protected her from the pain of wider knowledge, for prolonged catatonia was likely her fate after discovering her masters final end. But this there was a novelty in her unbridled hate expressed in such a wayCan expression of separation not between clades, but castes. It seemed hate would burn so long as there was a dilenation. Truly, tribalistic hatred ran deeper than blood. The Pearlguard made whimpering noises unbecoming of a grown man. Sinking his Haemokinesis deeper into the mans flesh, Avo memorized the makings of his body and took a moment to watch the man thrash. [Better not be about to give him a speech,] Draus said, glowering. [We didnt come here to shit-talk the enclavers. Get what needs doin done.] Propelled by the Regulars words, drew the man close so they were staring face to face. The Pearlguard was shivering, tears forming in his eyes, bile leaking down his chin. Thoughts and deeper memories spilled out of him as if he were a burst valve, lacking any cognitive protections, undone by the horrors he faced. Fractures ran deep in his psyche. His consciousness screamed with despair, disbelief, and regret. S-sorry, he whimpered, So so sorry. Avo nodded, and the breeders neck felt stiff. He infused her bones and sinews with empowerment more to slake his own annoyance than to find relief in comfort. +We most often are. But too late. Almost always too late. And only when consequence follows. The weight of consequence. That makes what we do feel real. Dont you agree?+ Bright blue eyes widened with terror as the ghosts conveyed Avos words in telepathic missives. Though their tongue was known to him, he preferred this. The dread. The control. Subtly was the burden of the underdog, and he had no desire to expend such effort here. The way the little creature was looking at Avo told him spoke of confusion and incomprehensible terror. Avo sighed, and the body he wore sagged. Let me show you. Then, he swallowed the Pealguards mind in a rush of flame. Everything about Aladon, Bred of Mirrui-Kleens, becomes known to him. Of his childhood in the temples at the topmost rung. Of his talent with the blade. Of his ascent to the guard and acceptance by the Fallwalker. Of deeds he done and transgressions he committed. Cast into the living inferno that was Avos consciousness, the Pealguard was placed in a special mind space. But not alone. In his arms, he held a living infantCthe one he burned. Across from him, Inurini stood, clad in his ridged and opalescent armor, manning a gas thrower. For a beat, both just stared at one another, minds not computing the situation Avo had loaded them into. {I question the ethics of your literal thought experiments, Avo,} Calvino said, slightly disapproving. The ghoul shrugged. He thought it was appropriate. The man was a practitioner of mass murder, so why not let him reap the spoils of victimhood? And the breeder was a zealot, sacrificing her child without need. To place them in such reserved roles seemed poignant. [And really fucked up,] Abrel muttered. [Yes,] Kare said, horrified. [YouCyou cant have a mother burn her child. Its wrong.] +Not real,+ Avo said. {Its practically as traumatic though,} Calvino said, sighing. {Avo. I dont harass you much, but currently, this method of justice would turn the stomach of even poor old Hammurabi.} Avo frowned as he collapsed the mindscape before it could continue, moving both templates into their isolated silos. Through it all, Dices template watched inside Avo while her actual self remained with Draus. The girl didnt know how to feel, seeing as she was more of a favored pet under the Fallwalker than an actual subject. On that note, curiosity sprang through Avo as he found himself wondering why he couldnt feel another like Dice. His answer came via Aladons memories, and Avo began to learn who Dice truly was in a cataclysmic instant. Reaching across the city, he unraveled specific individuals high and low, killing commanders in battle, and administrators in their homes. He ignored the confused call of Calvino as he rebuilt a forbidden past from a hundred and twelve people and all the memories they carried. Ghosts - [26,557,675] Liminal Frame (V) - 18,312 THAUM/c Itheri, bred of Uthe-Nuei, was the Fallwalkers former concubineCa highborn of the light, for the light in more ways than one. But there came a day when she made a mistake. One born of genuine romance and folly unfettered. A tale as old as time played on in the form of borrowed memories and rumors. A concubine met her masters primary enforcer. A concubine developed forbidden wants. The guard, unfortunately, reciprocated. So the mistakes continued. So mistake led to mistake and a child was born, but not of the masters blood. And though such truth was hidden from him for years and Yakozitrin, Fallwalker, and master of the city, doted on what he thought was his daughter for the first four years of her life, there came a day where the concubine and the guard made a final mistake, and sorrow followed. Through their joining, they inflicted on the Fallwalker the only blow they could have ever truly struck against his personCa blow against his ego. The guard was put to death. Slowly. Aladon was in attendance. He was close enough to see things. He didnt know his disgraced brother, and that made him glad, for in his memories did the screams of the concubine also echo, and when the Fallwalker was done with her love, he moved to the child, and with mother made to watch, he had the child thought to be his daughter cast into a pit alongside a ravenous hound. But life had its own insult in store for the erstwhile master of this enclave, and though the girl was mauled, though her arm was broken, it was the child that emerged with the dogs throat between her teeth instead of the other way around. At that moment, Aladon gazed from afar into the light and thought he saw his master shaking. Thereafter, the mother was put to a slow death, and the girl once thought his daughter was subjugatedCnamed a hound in replacement for the dog she skilled, and the role she would now inhabit. Twelve more times she was made to fight the beasts of bearing her namesake. Twelve more times she emerged with teeth bloody, flesh-torn, but alive still. Perhaps as a lasting insult, perhaps out of some twisted parental urge, the Fallwalker brought the girl out from her kennels in the shadow pits where she most often fought, and lifted her from beast to enforcerCa living weapon held only by his fist, connected by a chain. And such were how things were, until he, fool thinking himself a god, walked into a city built from deicide and never returned, leaving daughter turned dog turned weapon alone and rechristened by the lowest denizens of the megacity. Deep within Avos consciousness, Dice stirred. 20-11 Blood in the Bright Every half-strand has an opinion on vengeance. None of it really matters. Because guess what? Shits complicated. Always. Theres no all-killing munition for this kind of thing. Also, I''m gonna tell you something now so you don''t need to be confused about it in the future: anyone who tries to sell you a platitude about forgiveness or letting things go when youre obviously hurting is a fucking clown. Best case is theyre talking to talk. Worst is that theyre actually stupid as shit. At the end of the day, revenge isnt really a moral action. Or a just one. No. Its an emotional reaction. A need to protect yourselfto show yourself that you can again. Or to make something right that you couldnt before. Otherwise, how else are you supposed to live in the world? Its that inner human raging against the lack of order in this fucked up world of ours. Because were more than just animals. Were more than just instinct. We live lives and remember the beauty of things, and when thats lost, it hurts us somewhere bad, and that doesnt heal right. So. Vengeance. Vengeance its an action. Lets go from there. Im not good at this philosophy shit. Find an academic for that one. Ill just give you the practicals of doing the deed. The most important thing is understanding if you can execute on it at all. Wanna kill some piece of shit local ganger? Easy. Ursday night gig. Trying to bomb a Guilder factory for tainted formula that your baby brother died on? Yeah. Maybe downgrade that to assassinate a member of the board or something. The ultimate thing is finding the realistic point where satisfaction meets tangibility. You want to hurt them back and get away without blowback. And make no mistake, you will do this for satisfaction or not at all. Revenge can feel good. Or like nothing. The former turns you into a suicidal joy-fiend. The latter ends with you learning to give head using a gun barrel. Both end in ugly ways. In the end, theres no amount of hurt that plugs up a wound. Dont be blind about what youre doing, otherwise, you might just end up being Soul-fuel without ever seeing the end of your goals. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 20-11 Blood in the Bright Across the Sunderwilds where patches of stability stood deviant from the sprawling chaos of impossibility, reflective conduits came alight far through the Fallen Heavens. Passage formed across each leg of their journey, becoming exits down a vast and long path. One such passage stood above all the others, and it was imbued within a single pane of glass, connecting enclave to a bivouac just beyond New Vultun itself. With such, the expedition stood a success, but the wielder of the miracle was not finished, for the city had yet to be claimed, and the girl had yet to speak her wish. What do you want to do? Such were the words Avo asked Dice after infusing her with all the memories he had taken. From a hundred and twelve deaths, he reconstructed a lost history and offered them over Dice, as was her inheritance. The girl didnt collapse inward like Essus. She did not turn deviant in the way Chambers did. She didnt even rage like the Agnos. From her person emanated but a single sensation, and it was coldness. A growing chill spilled from the crack of her consciousness, like a door left half open during days of falling snow. Within a shard of glass, ghoul, girl, and Regular drifted in a space between places as a war raged on beyond. Do you think he ever really cared for me? Speaking the words took something out of her and lessened the weight of her ego, but she remained vacant of trauma. Nearby, Avo noticed Draus shrugging. The Regular was peeking out a number of passages leading out into the tangible world. The demiplane of her Liminal Paracosmos was a weightless reality made from shifting shards, overlapping fractals, and moving reflections. Presently, a constellation made from five hundred and two dancing shards shifted around them, serving as passage and peephole both. Dont think the man himself could rightly tell you, juv, Draus said, pulling a few additional pieces of glass from the plane around them. Half-strand sounds like he had a bad case of fuckers remorse. Just enough to snuff and torture, not enough to go all the way. She spat, and chasm widened within the demiplane, passing her globule over into the real. Aint no worth tryin to figure him out. Piece of shits dead. Youre still here. You got his enclave. You got his people. Question is what do you want to do with em? {Captain Draus, I hope youre not implying mass murder as a means of therapy?} Calvino said, transmitting its disappointment into Draus Neurodeck directly. Who said anything about therapy? {I can reject your weaponry requisition requests, you know?} Alright, alright. Wasnt what I meant anyway. Aint no worth in killin these baseliners. Theyre soft. Weak. Shit, I didnt know people could get this small. Havin a hard time differentiating between the adults and the kids here. Cullin them''d be less fight than hittin a Syndicate, and Im worn on bug-stomping. Tired of things here too. She turned her attention over to Avo and the ghoul turned to Dice instead. Her home. She was technically like a princess. For a while. Should be up to her. {Within reason,} Calvino said, voice tinged with a warning. {Many in this city are suffering because of powers beyond their control. I have been very measured with you so far, Avo, howeverC} I know, Avo replied. Dont think thats what Dice wants. Is it? No, the girl said, softly. I dont want that. I Her voice trailed off. I never hated the dogs I killed. But I got better food if I won. I got their beds too. The masterCYakozitrin. He taught me that you cant hurt a dog after its dead. But its food can be yours. Its bed and kennel too. He is dead now. His food is ours. His kennel too. She paused. But theres also the others. The others? Avo asked. The girls body gave a mechanical whine as she nodded. I want to talk with them. The ones who knew my mother and father the most. Avo understood. In flesh or as templates? She considered her options. I want to talk with my aunt. Personally. I want to see her before you burn her. I dont care how I talk to the rest. The blood within Avo quivered with mirth as the Woundmother laughed. Oh, what a lovely little hound. So resilient. And accepting. If only your pet degenerate and the crying one could exhibit half her mettle. [Hey, fuck you,] template-Chambers said, without any sense of amusement this time. [Her lifes completely fucked. I mean, my dad was a piece of shit too, but he never made me fight dogs for food.] A note of genuine depression escaped him. And jealousyCof the girls unbreakable demeanor. [Fuck. Shit. Maybe my old man wasnt even that bad. Wouldnt that be funny.] +No,+ Avo replied, faint memories of Walton lighting his mind. +It can only be a thing of sorrow. Chambers. Youre still a person. She will never be. Doesnt even seem to want it.+ And as Chambers let out a quivering exhale in his section of the mindscape, he left to seek Dices template, not sure what he was going to say, but probably about to shit-talk his dad. Meanwhile, blood began to leak back through the reflections across the city, and shards of glass began to move. *** Mail capsule inbound! The head operator''s cry was chorused by her assistants, and Hand Urrins watched their bodies explode into motion as reflections in the glass. The brass pipelines running between the walls rumbled and dinged as more messages returned from the battlefront. The scribes moved to their stations, adjusting snapping gears, spinning squeaking valves, and turning designated knobs in perfect sync, their coordination honed through years of cooperation. How he envied their efficiency, how he wished he could have plucked it from them and bound it to the soldiers fighting below, almost seeming to time their foreboding loss with the masters return. The city of light was burning from within. Fire was rising where once only water flowed in ascent. Standing at the very top of the Hightower, Urrins looked out from beyond the windows and cycled between magna-optic lenses. Position high over the city itself, and looking down over all there was to see, he saw the masses of clashing bodies, the positions where his Pearlguards were holdingCand breakingCbut also burning wheelbarrows pushed ahead heretical mobs, using the smoke to shield their movements from his gaze. Of the five rungs of this blessed city, two were lost beyond doubt, the third was collapsing, and the second was being assailed. Eight massive platforms rose and fell between the first and third rungs, carrying with them dispatches of manpower and supplies. The rails leading past the third had been blown, leaving any still fighting below stranded. But the Dogmothers forces had their way. Servants and traitors were positioned on levels above to aid in their climb. Ladders were built atop the sprawl of slums and ropes were thrown down from compromised positions. One after another, they were trickling up. Inch by inch, the Pearlguard was losing the city. Sir, a scribe attended him, holding out a sealed letter. The boy was youngCtoo youngCface without lines and skin soft. Terror crept along the corner of his eyes, but he held himself together well. He was dressed in robes too large for himCand the patch of blood told Urrins all he needed about how a novitiate had won the right to wear the robes of a learner. A sigil bearing the insignia of a quill held his apprentices toga worn on the outside of his uniform, and the Hand sighed. Was this what they were reduced to? Drawing from the stock of children to choke the ravenous rabble. Dark thoughts rose within Urrins in pace with the smoke beyond. He would not survive this. This travesty was too great, and the halls of power were sullied with this failure. It would take the master himself to reassert order. Now that the Dogmothers hounds had known the Pearlguard to bleed, it would take more than a few patrols to quiet them down. Sweeping executions and sanctified burnings would have to resume, and through the bitterness of the present, Urrins thought he could peer into the future and gaze at where his eventual fate would lie. He read the contents of the letter and snorted. Requests for more supplies. More legions. More gas throwers. Demands to blow the channels running down between the rungs. Doom, doom, and more doom. Perhaps he should open his throat here and be done with things. Or perhaps not. Better to go home and do it in the garden. At least his veins would nourish the soil there. The boards here were of genuine wood, and the Hightower belonged to the masterCbest not to sully the beauty of the brass and the soft brown of the wood with his darkening blood. Return orders, sir? the boy asked, blinking.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Urrins sighed and let the letter fall from his hands. Folding his arms behind his back, he let despair settle and gazed into the flames. Something in him desired to burn. To touch the divinity that was light and understand what it meant to hold the masters power without ever being stained by the darkness of being charred. All his life, he had served faithfully, rising as warrior and scholar both, culturing himself on power, as one of his breeding ought to. But how did any of it matter in the end? He was being failed by the soldiers below, and he was failing his master in turn. Frowning, he eyed the boy and blinked. His thoughts turned from suicide to another avenue of escape. So many unqualified servants among them, so many prepared risen beyond designated rank. It was easy to see such a group causing mistakes and delaying much-needed assistance. Perhaps perhaps it didnt need to be his fault. He chanced a glance at the head operatorCthe older woman directing her minions from place to placeCmost of them girls and children now from how many men were lining the final rung as auxiliaries. It would be a pity to lose her. She was competent, but alas, old flowers were to be plucked or used. Such was fate. She would understand. She wouldnt be so different in his place. Turning back to the young scribe, he considered how he would engineer the shifting of this failure before the master arrived when something passed the corner of his eye. It looked as if a moving fracture was traveling through the walls, leaving a trail that oozed bubbling red in its wake. The Hand blinked as he struggled to process what he was seeing. Then, from the crack leaped a lashing bolt of blood. Hand Urrins didnt see his end coming. Nor did any of the scribes. One moment, he was whole, the next, all that remained was a puddle of red. And from it, the more veins continued to spread through the city. *** You are good, you are brave, you are good, you are brave. Such was the mantra that left the Dogmothers lips as she brushed the back of her dogs head, calming it so she could light the fuse. Checking the ten pounds of flame-triggered explosive she strapped to its back, the former Hand peeked around the corner and motioned for her best men to be prepared. A few structures away from the Light-Blessed Gardens were the central barracks of the Pearlguard. Her watchers had spent the past few days observing, waiting for the number of guards to wane before signaling her through the tubes. This would be the moment. This would be how she broke Urrins. Pulling her attention away from her dog, she sneered toward the hill of marble buildings crisscrossed by splashing canals. Somewhere out there, the man who stole her positionCthe favor she had earned from the masterCwas watching his fighters fail. Sweeping her gaze around all that surrounded her, she fanned the flames of her hate and felt savage glee dampen the burning building in her fraying nerves. Before she was cast down among the night-tainted to be mistress of the fight pits and breeder of this citys beasts, there was another life she once lived, powers she once held. All of that was lost to her when Urrins deceived her. She thought he loved her. And for a time, she loved him. But she was but a means to approach the master, and when his plan of building a new section collapsedCthe newly created district along with itChe forged his failure into hers, whispering sweet nothings, and playing on her pity until she bore his blame. The master did not kill his own blood. Lamentably, he didnt even kill his spirit bastard, one bred of her aunt and that poor fool Duthi. But exiles and diminishment were not beyond him. And so it was that the Dogmother earned her name thereafter. Just as it was that Urrins abandoned her, his honeyed words hollow in the end. Now, fueled by more than a few years of resentment, and tired of watching the lung plague eat through the night touchedCunblessed as they wereCshe turned her mind to reasserting herself, and reclaiming what was lost. But now the pools were shimmering, and the masters return was nigh. She needed to see this war done. She needed to stand in control and with damages repaired, the city stabilized, and Urrins subdued. And through her war dogs, at least one of these means would be fulfilled. Sniff. Sniff. She held the guards clothesCstolen from his home days agoCfor the beast to indulge. Once the scent was known, the creature yipped and leaned down next to it. Good. NowC The world around her shook. A deafening crackle rumbled through the air. Crimson chasm opened across the city and cleaved buildings. A rising column made from spilling sinews erupted from the barracksCthe central hub of gas and arms. Tiny bodies kicked and writhed as they were pulled by the rising edifice, an impossible energy pulsing out from it. Along its vast trunk opened eyes behind what looked like fanged maws. Blinking, they looked through the horizon and narrowed in on her. +Dogmother. Impressed me. Want to talk to you soon. Have a use for you.+ The call was sibilant and sharp, and the woman understood more than she heard. It was only when she looked down that she realized her dog had run off somewhere, and the ground beneath her feet was pulsing with glowing veins and blinking eyes. It took everything the Dogmother had not to piss herself. *** On! Haadruer, Blade-Bearer of the Pearlguard roared as he leaped over the flames. Fucking on! The thunder of his heart was the only other noise accompanying the ringing of his ears. His sabatons came down on burning flesh and charred muscle, bones shattering under his weight. His cohort sprinted after the fleeing heretics, trying to run them down. Their bodies were of all sizes and forms, the pregnant and the heavy running side by side from the hissing flames and charging Pearlguards. Whipping his great blade out, he strode first after the fools streaming into the alley, rolling his shoulders and shifting his grip. His blade was made for purposes like these, modified to be easy to manipulate and swing even in enclosed situations. That made him feel prepared. When he entered the alleyway, however, he stumbled to an immediate halt. BloodCflowing within motionCwas eating its way through the buildings ahead of him, opening along the ramps running up the rungs, through even the masters glass above. Prey forgotten, Haadruer turned and looked up, mind going blank as sinuous threads of ichor spread around him in a staggering instant. One moment, matter was matter and shape was shape. Next, it was as if all that held physical form sprouted pulsing veins and arteries atop their exterior, like a sudden infection forking its way through the city. Terrified cries came from the men behind him, and so entranced was he by the nightmare made manifest that he didnt see the woman until it was too late. A shadow fell over Haadruer, and for the first time since he stood in the presence of the master, he had to lift and greet the stranger. Looming over him stood the tallest, largest woman he had ever seen. At least, he thought she looked like a woman. Her jaw was too hard, her eyes shone a shifting red, and the skin of her face was only a half-blessed bronze. The armor she wore was of the purest white, ever-quivering, so clean he could see his own reflect in its featureless sheen. Her hair swung in a coiled series of knots from the back of her head, and for a beat they just looked at each other, him gawking, her sneering. Then, she spoke the first words he would ever hear from an outsider. Jaus. Keep fuckin forgettin how small you flats are. Snapping from his trance, he brought his blade up to ward the giantess off. Back, night-touched. Away! She sneered at him disdainfully, as if she was regarding a bug that buzzed too close. Her arm blurred. His blade shattered into pieces. He stumbled back, seeking retreatCand for one of his brothers to take his placeCbut found himself about to slam into a pane of glass. Yet, just as he was about to strike his own reflection, he tumbled through and found himself adrift in a place of shifting edges and ambient light. The world around him was reflection, glass-like in design, and the sheer oddness of its expanse made his mind quail. Suddenly, impossibly strong fingers buried themselves into the nape of his neck, and he heard his armorCblessed by the master himselfCcrack and give between sinking digits. No, Haadruer thrashed, not used to being so weak, so easily handled. Let go! Fucking release! Come on, the giantess simply said. Stop thrashin. Damn embarrassings what it is. Lucky I decided to snatch you instead of the rotlick. Got someone for you to see. Heard you might be the one who chopped the head off a certain concubine after your master was done with her. Confusion and terror mixed in his stomach. C-concubine? What? Then, a memory came back. One from a few years ago, and he thought had an inkling of what was being said. Itheri. Well, the giantess clucked. Looks like the ghoul burned the right mem-data into me after all. *** How much longer will this last, Ivory groaned. She waved a goblet out, motioning for one of her serving girls to fill it as she stared glumly at the ceiling. Smoke drifted on the wind and ash settled down even in the inner courtyard, painting the garden an unnatural white. The servants were doing all they could to keep the masters greenery from being soiled, but they were losing the battle. Really, the Pearlguard needed to handle these matters and get done with the war already. Itd been almost of month of gas and water rationing. She needed a proper bath. The ceiling was alight againChow was she supposed to make herself presentable as a concubine when the master returned? Did they think it was easy holding the masters attention, the lecherous prick? Every year, his choices grew paler and younger, and Ivory aged despite herself. Last night, she even plucked a white hair. Patting her womb, she breathed a sigh of relief. She might not be the favorite forever, but her place in the highest houses was cemented with the child she bore. All she needed now was to ensure thatC A drop of red spilled down on her. Ivory blinked. Suddenly, lines of red were spreading through her personal mansion like creeping veins beneath the limestone, causing her to sit up and squint, waving her fanning servants to step aside. Beyond the opening of the courtyard, she saw chasms of crimson tear across the dome of their enclave, and strange flashing distortions pulsed through the air. Faintly, a presence brushed over her, its weight like her loves, but stronger by far. Ivory choked momentarily, and barely heard the clamor sounding from the outside. What she didnt miss was one of her personal guards being thrown so hard his flesh flattened, leaving him caked along the steps beside her, viscera spilling from his ruptured face. Servants started to scream. The sounds of desperate combat pulled Ivorys attention back toward her atriumCthrough shattered doors. There, standing in the light was a creature aglow in the light, its body made from blades of hissing metal, each constantly shifting, pistoning, gleaming. It dragged the mangled body of a guard with all the effort it would take one to bear a pebble. Instinctively, Ivory darted behind her nearest servant girl while her hands went to her stomach. Thought and rationality were lost to her now. She needed to escape. She needed toC Aunt. Ivory froze. The voice was coming from the metal figure, its hammering against cracking wood. It sounded familiar. Too familiar, just like Oh, by the light, Ivory moaned, holding the servant tight to her. How did the metal creature have the voice of the hound? Was it some kind of demon? It came into view again, and servants scattered, abandoning her mistressCand her shieldCto whatever fate would follow. Wait! Ivory screamed. C-comC Her words died as a cage of blood formed around the courtyard the moment the last servant fled. Immediately, the centermost section of her home went from a leisurely garden to a bleeding cage. Held tight in her grasp, the serving girl began to weep, and Ivory wasnt far off herself. The only other person present was the metal demon, and it had come to a stop just a few strides away from Ivory. Youre my aunt. Arent you. Again it spoke and sounded just like the girl. Ivory swallowed. I I Why did you tell Hand Urrins about my mother and father? She was your sister. You knew what the master would do. The question graced her like a falling whip and she felt sick beyond the pregnancy. I didnt you cant be Her words were interrupted by a droning pressure hammering down upon her thoughts. We can talk once youre calm, the demon said. No need to hurry. The declaration will come first. Youll understand after that. Ivory swallowed. Declaration? And ethereal flames came alight in the veins around them, sinuous threads echoing as Ivory was bathed in the uncanny sensation that was a thoughtcast for the first time in her life. *** Across the city, on every level, warriors stopped fighting, and people huddled in corners, trying to flee spreading blood. There was nowhere the infection hadnt spread. Nowhere anyone could run to avoid it. It was in the air, in the flesh, in the stones and light themselves. Where once this city belonged to the Fallwalker, Yakozitrin, now a new power laid their claim, and so they spoke their first words. But not as a conqueror. No. As a liberator. +Enclavers. Slaves of Yakozitrin. Masters dead. Never coming back. Taking this city for myself. Stop fighting. Or Ill do it for you. Do whatever else you want. Dont really care.+ A pause followed. +Thats all.+ Silence. Silence. Silence. And across the city, on every level, the people exploded into pandemonium. Ghosts - [26,560,399] Liminal Frame (V) - 21,036 THAUM/c 20-12 Suzerainty (I) Yeah, yeah, keep crying. Do it louder. Do it more. Hold her closer to your chest and spray that snot all over her hairCthatll bring her back. Hells. Why stop there? Shove her corpse back up your cunt and leave her there for nine months. See if you recycle your dead wife into being a daughter. Maybe spice things up with a little incest. Not like you arent a stranger to that, judging from your parents and all. Yeah Theres the look I wanted to see. Hello to you too, Sister Karakan. Been a while. Heard you actually got made a full Prophetess. Just in time for the end of the world. Now look at you. Hiding on a farm again, killing slaves, and being ignored by your gods. Hey. You wanna know why theyre not replying? You wanna know why the worlds coming apart around us? Why the sky is falling? Have you tried communing with them recently? Tell me: You feel them fall? Your gods, I mean. Did you feel them break? Because I did. I saw their bodies. And damn them fuckers are more screamers than expected. Kinda like you, in a way. Yeah. I know. Let it out. No sense in holding it in. Cry. Cry. Cry. I did it. Remember? Remember how you had me beaten till I stopped? How your flock took a hammer and chisel to my teeth. Well. Look at them now. White and pearly. Im gonna let you in on a little secret: [REDACTED] was the one that saved me that day. Let me out. Turns out, you wasnt the only ladder-climber around. Turns out, gods can get plenty jealous too. Oh. Oh, you hear that? Maru mustve found your boy. [Laughter] Screams just like you. Must be proud. Come on. Lets go. Lets go see him. Lets go see the world you lost. Lets go see the world I took. Sky isnt yours anymore, faither. And dont think of pulling that knife along your throat. You and I are going to be spending more quality time together, and if I lose you, well, Maru can share your boy with me. Oh. There it is. There. That makes it all worth you. You finally know what you are now. Nothing. Not a godsdamned thing. You are whatever I use you for, and whatever you decide to feed you, whatever I fucking say. Less than a slave! Less than a fucking dog! Im gonna do things to you, Karakan. You and I are going to come out of this different people. [Chuckle] Well. Im gonna come out of this at least. Its up to me now. All up to me. I hold the chains. Me. And no one else. I decide whos worthy. I decide what to do. All you got to do now, is accept. Accept whatever I give you. Or dont. Im gonnaCwere gonna really learn from each other. Im gonna find myself in you. [Snarling; sound of arms snapping; womans shrieking] Im gonna find myself using you -Samir Naeko to Sister Karakan during the scouring of Death Farm Skyglade 20-12 Suzerainty (I) I do not like your plan, ghoul, it is loud. It draws attention. Worst of all, it draws attention to me. A waterfall of falling orange bathed the room in light and shadow, neon staining the crevices of the penthouse as Green River picked up her teacup. She sat cross-legged on a seat made from emerald and bamboo, and steam obfuscated the view out her windows. What few articles of furniture were applied artistically and efficiently. Her bedCand the den for her foxCwas positioned next to the door leading to the living room. Oil and incense burned while she took another sip of green tea before placing it down. Savoring the taste, she planted her cup down along the far left side of her desk, ensuring its decorated side was facing Avos projected form. On the right, another cup was filled to capacityCany more and it would spill. Both were quiet insults directed toward the creature for causing her so much trouble, but if it noticed or cared, it did not show. Instead, it simply continued glaring blankly at her, its simulated form woven into shape by the locus hanging from the ceiling, positioned between her bed and desk. Outside, a voluminous koi began to swim up the waterfall, struggling every step of the way as it leaped into and out of the waters, splashing waves of ethereal brightness that tickled Green Rivers cognition. Have another proposal then? Avo asked. The phantoms composing its shape shifted closer, choosing to loom over her from behind. Because Naekos going to be talking with you in a few hours. Not going to be good if all his attention is connected to you. Green Rivers true form rolled its eyes and turned to glare at the ghoul. Her human shell painted, tracing the form of a ghoul using a scalpel, painting on a canvas of fast-healing skin. Behind her, the exemplar of the wretched species peered down at her work, but its face didnt change. She hated that. She hated how easily poise and inscrutability came to itCthe armor she spent another lifetime building after her exile and humbling. Monsters were known to her in more likes than one, and the ghouls themselves typically presented little mystique beyond snarling madness. Avo? It was too patient. Too perceptive as well. Its inner nature was too incongruous with its outer materialization, and for most, this would have been a dissonant thing. But ghouls were never natural beings, and this one was just another step down the steps of the abominable. The waterfall shrouding distant edifices choked and halted. The koi, skimming across the waters, met open air and began to fall. The problem, Green River said, is with your portrayal of events. I have reviewed the stageplay you composed in your mem-data. Aptly done in most cases, I would say, seeing as it is constructed of more truth than lies. Ox-Three was indeed attacked by the Low Masters. They were indeed involved in the Nether disruptions across Highflame territory. Chambers was indeed a guest in Xin Yunsha. But all these things compound on the same point of pain. The woman Green River piloted placed down her scapel and turned to stare at the ghoul from the corner of her eyes. It makes me look weak. Vulnerable. A victim. Avo cocked its head at her, seeming confused. Good thing. Will reduce suspicion from Naeko. Prevent you from being painted as an accomplice. Yes, certainly. A palatable meal for the Paladin, to be sure, but there are other vectors of danger you have not considered. Things such as how these incidents might appear to my elder madams up in the Tiers. Oh. The ghoul chuffed what she guessed was a laugh, and the fox bit back a snarl. Making you look bad in front of the sisterhood. I see. It is more than that, she said. Leaning forward, she took a moment to compose her thoughts. I am a first daughter. Do you know what this means? That your sisters kicked you out of the womb the first chance they got because you wont stop talking? She ignored the creatures attempt at humor. The curse has harmed us in ways deeper than most outsidersCStillbloodsCcan understand. We are repetitions of a fixed fate. We birth the same number of children at the same time in our lifespan and each suffer the same pains. But more than this, our abilities are broken among seniority. Beyond the male that dies, there are four daughters to be born. Four daughters suited for four roles predesigned by our masters. The ghoul paused and nodded. Daughters. First daughters belong to the Court of the Scholars. Second to the Court of Servants. Third to the Court of Artisans. Last to the Court of Steeds. Wasnt always like this. No, she chuckled. It was part of the Mandate of Equanimity, for now we are all daughters of a shared fate, denied succor of greater freedom by our erstwhile rulers. Why should we not all be as anointed nobles? For what daughter was any less slave to her body than another? Hence, the powers of the Celestial Court were shattered and distributed to all sisters united by the despair woven into our bloodCSang. Sad story, Avo said. But dont really care. Dont have time for long-windedC She ignored him and continued. Despite the anointment of the three occupations to mandated roles in their own right and the increased freedom offered by our Incarnates, some traditions are more than just trifling rituals. First daughters remain blessed with wisdom. It comes as something almost akin to an unexpected prescience, or a sheer force of will that makes our younger kindred heed our words. There is power in our age, if only relative. If only by the second. She sighed and uncrossed her legs a show of vulnerability. What you see before you are the lowest of first sisters. We are administrators. Managers. Leaders. Our responsibility and privilege is in that of feoffment. People and resources we are in charge of cultivating. People and resources we must maintain and protect. Failure to do so is considered unethical. Here. Now. After what happened at the block of Ox-Three, and with my subjugation under a Low Masters acolyteCor however it is you wish to portray, I fear more control will be stripped from me. Avo regarded her flatly. Very inefficient way of saying youre afraid to be fired. Replaced, she said. And thenCshould my incompetence be deemed too greatCoffered as a vessel as a Reincarnate for a sister with provable merits but lacking the proper bloodline. And you do not want this. I assure you. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Static was flickering beyond her window. Crawling text highlighted with expandable strings of mem-data played in revolving scenes flashing around descending columns, each portraying a different augmentation for sale. In the absence of the waterfall, the koi ascended regardless, fins replaced with engine-like implants. [ASCENDER: RISE TODAY.] The ghoul frowned. Sounding a bit like a threat. Just an honest admission. You are merely a single individual of consideration. Any good eldest must ensure the protection of her property and juniors by any means, and information just another weapon. It would not do for either of us to discover your nature or origins, to speak less of the Strix himself or your true involvement in the incidents at Mazzos Junction and Nu-Scarrowbur. Such things would be hard for me to hide if I am removed or detained. Or eliminated. Silence followed. Avo stared down at her, and Green River felt a spike of panic explode inside her like shrapnel. The fox shrugged and eyed a nearby patch of shadows, priming the locust bomb inside its human shell alongside numerous other fail-safes should the ghoul strike her wards. Across a few other sessions, a cell of Necros under her employ was actively simulating her active sequences, matching them to her current Metamind to ensure she wasnt undone by subtler means of cognitive violability. She had moved things in place immediately after the removal of the bombs planted within her mind. It was as much an act of insurance as it was an attempt to cleanse the disgust of powerlessness. The Famines had wielded her as their fool for long enoughCthe Strix in particular. She had no intention of ever falling back under the palm of his demon-spawn. But that didnt mean she wanted the ghoul to be gone from her life. There was still much they could offer the other, much it owed her for what she granted in its time of need. So it was that she danced the shaking strings and made her dangerous play. As the koi had fallen during its climb, so had she. But she was looking for more than a few new adornments for her vessel. No. There was but one thing she wanted above all others from the ghoul. Ensoulment. So, the creature finally asked, breaking the quiet without harming her in any fashion, what do you want instead? What would be to your palate? Both fox and woman smiled. Just a few slight adjustments. The overall structure of your scheme is workable. But I wish for more leaks to occur. And I want you to leave trace memories of me in the sequences you compromise. This struck off a beat of pause into the ghoul. Why? Wont this make you look like a snitch? Death sentence in the Warrens. The Sang gave a soft laugh and shook her head. Hardly. That will not be the framing of things. My content producers will see to that. An battle between a disgraced first daughter and a Nolothi terrorist spilling over into Paladin attention will seem more poison than bait to Syndicates. No one wishes to associate with a cult, and no one wishes to incur the ire of the Chief Paladin, for still does his lingering fury echo. She filled her cup again and watched the steam rise, masking the tension inside her with nonchalance. And it doesnt make you look weak in front of your masters, Avo added. Wounds won in battle are scars worn with pride, Green River said. But if there are only lashes down your back and the marks of manacles lining your neck and hands Well, No one respects a slave. Messaging, ghoul. Some paint their faces for more than the aesthetic. So they do, Avo said. He let out a low hiss and clicked his fangs together. Something about that drew from her a slight frown. She had seen it do the action before, but the succession this time almost made it seem planned. Like the creature itself was conducting a performance. Naeko. Are you sure you can sell this to him? Of course, she said. The Chief Paladin is a broken man, but no fool. Even a cracked vase holds an edge. But he is also warrior-bred, and he views this as a hunt. The Low Masters are bigger game, and if we can gift him with their trial, perhaps both our lives will be made far better. Wouldnt you say? Yes, Avo said, but there was an apprehension in him. Want to be in attendance. Watch proceedings. Inform you on changes. Green River went still as a stone. Her stomach came alight with bitter fire, thinking of the years she spent in disgrace since the last war, how the Famine of Defiance had collared her, directed her as she was his tool, and how he handed her reins off to the subhuman creature he dubbed his child after his own passing. No. The word left her as spiteful spit, her rationality unable to halt her flaring heart. Biting back a wince as she realized what she just done, she whipped out a placating hand before Avo could respond. The lobby I have prepared in the Bazaar has perception limiters and counter-phantasmic controls. And we cannot risk an action on your end triggering Naekos awareness. She paused. Yes. The last point might even actually be true. There is too much at risk for that. The ghoul ground its fangs together. Trust isnt easy when its built on blackmail. Know about me. I can null you. Bad foundation for operating without forewarning. You can trust in my self-interest, then, Green River continued. Swallowing, she pushed another play forward, her nerves unused to risking twice in the same day. As I have done all I can to keep you safe as a host, I will not betray your confidence as an accomplice. For I wish to ask a prize from you for the offenses I have suffered. Prize? Yes. The fox licked its lips and the woman spoke the words. Jhred Greatling was without a Frame. The casualties across Nu-Scarrowbur were missing their ghosts and deaths. Highflame is scouring the Warrens, and Uthred Greatling just resigned from his position and disbanded his House. Im not threatening you with these details. Nor will Naeko ever learn the truth behind these happenings from me. I have been protecting you from prying eyes. And I have been doing it at first for my own safety, and now for my own interest. She stopped talking then, hoping the ghoul would put things together. Only certain types of favors I can offer, Avo said, rasping voice sounding slower and colder. Snuffing. Nulling. Or Soul. Dont think you have trouble finding anyone to do the former two for you. Godhood is a freedom few will ever learn, she said, unable to stop her lip from quivering. And it is a pain fewer survive losing. We both have wants from each other. We both have our uses. Let me serve mine. And in time, on the foundations of proper confidence I wish to discuss the deepening of our association. The ghoul just stared. And stared. And stared. Outside, the advertisement restarted as the waterfall splashed down. The koi began its climb once more. Well make changes, Avo said. Want your memories. The moment you finish with Naeko. Send them. We want to know what happens. That indignity she could endure. The fox yipped as Green River smothered the faint embers of promise rising from within her. The monster said nothing about ensouling her. But this was more than expected. She wasnt dead. And it hadnt forced her hand about surrendering her mind. Good, she finally exhaled, I willC But Avo didnt wait for the conversation to end before it dissolved, the phantoms composing it playing the static of a dead channel in its place. Green River frowned at the blank spot and ordered the locus to end the session. Fucking ghoul. What the creature was thinking, she didnt know. But things were not done, and there was a clearer path ahead. She just needed to win more of its trust. Or gather more information about where it remained. One way or another, through whatever means, light or dark, she would take back what she lost, and avenge herself on those that cast her down. Once more did the koi fall. Once more did the koi rise, climbing the skies on borrowed wings. *** Fuck me, consangs, how did Avo spent a month around the sow without eating her, Chambers said, collapsing Avos avatar around himself. The only thing I hate worse than a person that speaks in essays is if the half-strands a snitchCand this bitch is definitely going to snitch on us. I can feel it. He had wanted to null her mind hollow using a trauma pattern the moment she started hinting at the information leaks that might happen but Tavers stopped him from following his satisfaction. Not right now, Tavers said. And you really dont need to give Naeko a murder to follow and all that history to find. Better wait to see if Raldi can sneak his way into her Meta and burn whatever shes got on you guys first. You know they encased me in this flesh sac-thing, right, Chambers said, trying to mask his shiver of arousal as a thing of disgust. Truth be told, he kinda enjoyed it in a fucked-up way. It was all grippy and warm. Sure, it had him bound in a weird flesh prison, but grippy and warm made him happy in ways thatC Chambers, Tavers said, snapping at him. Focus. Huh? Oh, I was just having a trauma flashback. The squire squinted and the skin around her lips extended uncannily. Sure you were. She eyed him from an angle as he shuffled awkwardly atop the throne. So. Were going to make her look like a survivor instead of a victim. Is that it? Yeah, Chambers said. Put the new mem-data in with the terrorist attack we have planned, new threats I recorded for the Highflame and Ori-Thaum, and we might just have a coherent enough series of fuckeries created for Naeko to follow. Yeah, Tavers sighed. Ori-Thaum working with Chivalrics to assassinate one of their own. Only to also be working with the Low Masters to clean up the Golds in the end. Honestly, it sounds like bad spy shit. Chambers chuckled. You know, the nasty thing is it''s actually mostly true. Sunrise vibrated, signaling another update for Naekos movements. {Chief Paladin Naeko has been spotted in the northwestern portion of the Xin Yunsha district in the Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty. Presently, he is eating dumplings outside a street market and commiserating about Stormjumpers with a few surrounding youths. Their hearts are beating at dangerous speeds.} {Good job.} Chambers sent a digital thumbs-up to the swarm form. {Keep on his ass. I want to know when he takes a shit, how long the shit takes, and whats inside the shit.} {From extrapolations conducted using known data and his current dietary habits, the answers are respectively: in eight hours and twenty-four minutes, within thirty seconds, and leftover corn from the dumplings. The Chief Paladin tends to swallow before he finishes chewing.} {...I love you, flying bug thing.} {I am returning to my task before you begin making thinly veiled sexual remarks. This has been predicted as well.} Chambers frowned. Cant give anyone love these days. As Naekos positional marker was updated in his Neurodeck, a wall of glass flashed in the corner of his left eye. Both Chambers and Tavers turned to see their reflection quivering, the sign of a passage coming active. From out the polished sheen, Draus stepped back into the George Washington with a dozen or so scalps hanging from her hip and a bored expression on her face. Dark red blood dripped from her fists, elbows, and a broken bone-made sword she was holding. Draus, Chambers said, grinning at the approaching Reg. She gave him a blank nod and his heart did a flip. No glare, no sneer, no shooting him in the head with the projectile launcher. He really was becoming part of this cadre. Back already! Hows the Sunderwilds? Wheres Avo and the juv? We got a new hidey-hole or what? The Regular shrugged. Yeah. Sure. Filled with the shortest half-strands Ive ever seen. Shit at fighting too. Chambers pointed at the blood on her and she just grunted. Like hittin soft, wet sacks. Anyways. Avo and Dice are gonna be a while. Got some business to handle. Turns out, our little killers daughter to the Fallwalkers favorite whore. Chambers blinked. What? Shes like a princess or something. Draus sneered. Nah. Fucker got cucked by his own guard. The half-strand nodded as if that explained everything. Then, the implications behind her words punched through him like a flechette. Chambers shuddered as his head whipped between Draus and the passage. Wait Cuck enclave They can fuck? Ah shit, Draus muttered. 20-13 Suzerainty (II) Uplift? What are we, Voidwatch? These half-strands are cultists. Look at them. Theyre less than human, sacrificing their own to a god that isnt here anymore. Hell, they still have statues of [REDACTED] placed around here. If it wasnt for the Fallwalkers Heaven, we wouldnt even be here. Understand this: it''s not a liberation. This is a liquidation. We have deaths to collect, memories to wipe, and Heavens to claim. Now. You start pouring fire down the designated areas. The poor ventilation will make the process go faster. Save our Glaives the trouble of clearing this place block by block. After youre done, come around. Youre Domain-symmetrical with one of the Fallwalkers, so start soaking Rend. Its always hard the first time. But this is for the best. This world isnt good for them anymore. And we need Souls. We dont have time to be playing nursery for savages. We have a war to win. -Seeker [REDACTED] to Seeker [REDACTED], Ori-Thaum Reclamation Corps 20-13 Suzerainty (II) Few could conceive of absolute power. Fewer still would ever wield it. As the sprawl of the enclave settled within Avos awareness, his reach sank deeper into all who dwelled here, the countless more beasts that lined stalls in the lower depths, and every last structure of the city. Everything here now existed as a dichotomy, affected by the Woundmothers subreality within, and existence that was without. Biophilic elements formed the backbone of the citys architecture, with glowing weeds trailing willowy strings down the rungs, carefully carved limestone blocks fused into place by adhesive algae, and outcroppings of coral and translucent cuticles layered additionally over thatched roofs. Though the Fallwalkers unfading lightCmanifesting as a faint tickle against Avos Domain of LuminosityCcontinued to ensure the banishment of shadows from within these walls, the true resource that ruled the city was gas. Gas harvested from a stock of creatures known as gastavoids: sea slugs the size of aeros, their remains used for everything from armor to delicacies, and even as secondary currency. A brief sweep across the rung told Avo that there were still [1,200,004] such creatures left, and the egg pools had been left untouched during the fighting, essential as they were for the city''s future. It was their expulsions that powered the hydraulics of the city, along with the combustion-based letter-delivery mechanism included within the superstructure of the enclave. Slow, crude, and simple though the system was, Avo ultimately found it quite fascinating. Fascinating. Just like the enclavers who lived here. It had taken him scant effort to pacify the unruly, determined to fight on despite his declaration. As he rebuilt the enclave from the ground up, some swung their blades and hammers at the spreading haemokinetic constructs. Resistance became known to Avo in pockets, flaring as if inflammation within his body. With a casual pulse of intent, weapons liquified. Armor melted from bodies, spilling in rivulets of red. Fortifications and weapon installations were dismantled. Seed-throwers were rendered constipated. Most ceased their tantrums. Some continued to rage. Then they too were brought low by sudden waves of lethargy and sickness, the blood within their arteries weaving ailments in betrayal of their bodies. Rebellion was never a possibility. Disarmament was simply a matter of choice. His choice. For what could they truly inflict upon him to repel his miracles? What knowledge could they possess to turn the path of his mind? Burrowing his blood through the bedrock of the city, Avo continued his reconstruction from the lowest rung, the improvements and additions he added arrived as constructs bearing multi-material properties congealing like scar tissue born of closing wounds. The Fardrifter tunneled through streets and structures. A tide of wind slashed through all that was, cleaving flames down to embers and funneling smoke skyward. Where demolished rubble once lay, tendrils of blood sprouted new shapes, joining as if branches to form vast blocks of quivering red. Compromised buildings were strengthened, and accommodations were created for the downtrodden and unhoused. The war had dealt considerable harm to everyone across the enclave. But by his touch, none would find themselves without shelter. Where the sick and injured lay huddled in piles, whimpering and gasping in ramshackle infirmities, Avos touch passed through them too. Veins crawling through the environment around them slithered free to pierce flesh. Blood within bodies came alive and devoured sickness itself. The enclaves lived under more than one tyranny. Though the Fallwalker was their master, they were still bound to the reign of entropy, and unblessed by enhancements of biomancy or augmentations wrought from technology, their flesh was fated for cruel ends. It was fascinating how many among them were old. To suffer ones age instead of keeping it as a thing of aesthetic was a dangerous thing in New Vultun. To be frail among hounds and jackals was to be meat for the taking. To be old in the presence of immortals was a torment unto itself. The Woundmother and Elegant-Moon shared a mutual breath of pleasure as establishments rose, and plagues were drained from the unfortunate, and infused into the vicious or cruel. From memories captured, Avo possessed a near-perfect accounting of transgressions and sins committed between the people. The easiest for him to claim were those who refused to halt their attempts at harm even after suffering his touch. Some Pearlguard continued trying to cull the night-touched, so hateful were they that they committed to using their bare hands. Others were tied to other acts of vileness, practitioners of atrocity that had escaped judgment across the month of fighting, but now slowly withered as Avo dealt out retribution to the demands of his newest templates. It was rare that his baseline cruelty found itself aligned with rightful violence. Hence, he found himself partaking in nostalgic indulgences, reshaping flesh until organs failed. Trapping the vicious between closing fists of blood. Through it all, he hovered atop the masters amphitheater, pieces of his Echoheads embedded into the marble of the arch-shaped structure, forming a magnetic pedestal to hover upon. The enclave shifted, moved, reacted, and surrendered to him; he pushed, rearranged, advanced, and remade, the patterns of existence his to draw upon in this trance of apotheosis. Details expanded and collapsed across his cog-feed with reactive thoughts. His Rend climbed. But so did his thaums and ghosts. Ghosts - [26,562,372] Liminal Frame (V) - 23,871 THAUM/c REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 96% VENT! VENT! VENT! In the end, as he finished remolding the city to his own desires, he found himself pleased that he hadnt over-indulged. It would have taken less than a thought to kill every last man, woman, and child in the enclave, and those deaths would have gone far to propel him up the spheres of apotheosis. Indeed, if he had been the ghoul he once was, there was little chance he could have endured the tauntings of a feast so fabulous.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Now, he could adjust his ego as casually as he could reshape this city. He borrowed Draus cognitive structure, Corners indifference, and more than a few million memories to trap himself from going further using barricades made from sympathy. +Surprised you havent said anything,+ Avo said, raising the last of his fifteen watchtowers grow from the thoroughfares leading up and down the rungs. Eyes dolloped from its structure, and Avo felt his perception expand exponentially. The EGI responded with a faint hum, its voice empty of any kind of offense. {Im merely surprised you did not kill more.} +Altered my mind. Made sure I didnt.+ {But you still culled a few thousand.} +Yes. They chose. So I did too.+ {Ah. Retributive justice.} +No,+ Avo corrected. +Retributive opportunity. No justice. Never been any justice for these people. Just like there was never justice for the people in New Vultun.+ Sweeping his awareness through walls and inside houses, he watched as people were huddled in their masses, most too terrified to react, retreating from the haemokinetic infestation spreading through their homes, while others cried softly, and more than a few prayed. People found solace in siblings and companions, mothers and fathers. He almost hated them for their helplessness and understood why Draus left in disgust earlier. There was no world here. Not really. This was a playhouse to him. A sandcastle seized from a dead Godclad. Little wonder so many were lost of mind and bloated of ego. How could he have anticipated lifes indifference to his survival when he spent so many years being the most important person in the world? And, not knowing his past, how long did it take to erode his sense of self until arrogance was all that remained? Being unable to alter the state of your own mind was a terrible thing. +This place is a cancer,+ Avo said. +These people are bad for my diet.+ {It is not wise to look upon them so harshly.} The EGI sighed. {All self-aware entities are, to the extent that they can control, responsible for their own actions. The citizens of these polities are no different, but their thinking is shackled by faith. And unlit by knowledge or enlightenment. Their lives burn to service the whims of another. Still. The ones that harm the weak or meek are still guilty of action, regardless of the compromise in their thoughts. In such cases, mortality is a thing mired in murk. I cannot demand justice or nobility from you, for what would it resemble now? The deliverance of a new conqueror? Or an indifference of a greater god.} Spurred by Calvinos words, Avo cast his awareness to a ring-shaped mansion not eight hundred meters away from him. Most of the servants had fled long ago when Avos arteries began to spread. Now, encased within the gardens, Dice was listening to her aunt plead for mercy, the ash-painted woman gesturing to the fetus gestating inside her, weeping about how she regretted betraying her sister while her terrified handmaid shivered in the corner. Avo knew the story already. Knew how it was Ivory that informed the Fallwalker about the act of infidelity. How she discovered the truth herself, ironically, during a forbidden dalliance with Hand UrrinsCnow writhing within Avos Conflagration, mind tumbling in freefall as knowledge of the outer world swallowed him. Truth be told, Avo didnt care. These were all human trifles and discovering how easily the Fallwalker was driven to brutality by such pointless trivialities made Avo despise the man even more. Why was he ever a Godclad? A Frame was wasted upon him. A Heaven too. Did he have no desire to climb beyond the limitations of humanity? To find what he could become past pointless impulse? Scorn gathered like storm clouds inside Avo, but he willed it to dissolve. {Ah. Disappointed in our fellow Godclads, are we?} Calvino chuckled. With a sweep of a finger, Avo drew away columns of smoke and cleaned the air. +What would you do? Aegis. Voidwatch. Uplift them? Give them better lives?+ {No. We were constructed to maximize and serve the human experience, and later iterations included all sophont subspecies to our citizenry. For most, as long as no true harm or deleteriousness is inflicted upon anothers well-being or will, we strive to have them indulge in whatever life they so desire.} +So. Would be like their caretaker.+ {If that is how you regard it. The point, however, is that I think you should give knowledge to the ones you spared. Feed truths into their mind gradually. Minimize psychological harm. And then have them decide how they desire to live or where they wish to go. I think it is a most fitting choice for you. Something that would make Walton proud, in the spirit of showing them the colors.} Thousands of templates, and Avo still felt philosophically and rhetorically dwarfed by the artificial intellect. Eons of history granted a deepness of perspective. If only Voidwatch was not so reluctant to sink their hands into the art of thaumaturgy. But, then again, such was how existence fell in the first place. Fine, Avo said, reassembling his Echoheads and burying his taloned digits into the arch upon which he stood. Claws of ceramite and silicon gouged deep into the marble as Avo peeled away all that was pale. The white offered by the Fallwalker was a facade of the old world. A lie. Best to cut that chain before things began. Best to break the faith before he could rebuild the egos of the people anew. A few templates sang out the symmetry between him and Jaus in that moment, but the comparison invoked reprisal and clamor. There was something unspeakably taboo about placing the Chainbreaker next to a monster, but from that emerged threads of a new alignment. Just how similar of likeness was Jaus to the Fallwalker? How shrouded in myth and devotion? The very thought sent the populations of his mind into a near-unified uproar. Sampling their ire, Avo merely chuckled. Children hold to the ideals of their parents. Adults hold to delusions of sanctity, binding it to Guild, faith, concept, or impulse. Time and time again, Waltons final act in the Deep BazaarCforcing Avo to shatter his last nodeCwas an act beyond merit. For unchained was he, and bound where they. Perhaps that, more than his burning divinity, and their withering mortality, formed the greatest gulf between the decisions they made. He would have a new task for Chambers soon. The creation of mem-cons. In a fraction of a second, Avo incubated a cognitive virus from his Conflagration, instilling it with all the essential memories and understandings he possessed of the outside world, and streamlined it to acceptability using the minds he gathered from the enclave. He stripped artifacts from the Pearlguard, night-slaves, breeders, and nobles, and bred varied strains from the mem-con, segregating them between cultures and castes. And as his work came to an end, Avo felt a new form slip into the city through a panel of glass lining fused into an alleyway on the third rung. An enhanced body familiar beneath his touch and luminous with a Frame bearing a potent Soul. Ah. The just the man he soughtC +Oh no,+ Avo gasped, suddenly alarmed. [Oh, shit!] template-Chambers cried, noticing his actual self as well. [Avo. Burn me. Burn me right now. ICICI dont know what Im gonna do.] Reacting in an explosive instant, Avo triggered the connective session between them and flooded over into Chambers mind. New knowledge and memories flowed in and out of him. He recalled the plot to peel Naeko from his trail, the arrangements that Green River sought, and the progression of the Chief Paladin across the city. Chambers received experience traveling through the Sunderwilds, passing between the borders of Fallen Heavens before invading and claiming this enclave. [Oh, hey, consang,] Chambers said with a laugh, staggering momentarily as he stumbled out the lip of the allies. [Was waiting for you to do that. So yeah, shits kinda wild back in the mega. But I see the same goes here.] The man eyed the numerous eyes and ears produced from fissures of oozing blood, biomancy grown from wounds lining the structures around them. Looking through the streets, Chambers noted the crowds huddled against the walls, staring fearfully at the spreading veins around them, along with those naked few groaning in pools of blood, clutching at their joints and wheezing through rot-claimed lungs. [Jaus, Avo, did you really have to do em all like that.] The former enforcer frowned, looking through the people around him as the faint embers of lustful thrill began to sizzle and die. Everyone around him was so baseline. So withered and frail. He had seen faces like theirs before in vicarities, but more often in the Crucible, as smuggled goods as well. The lecherousness in him made him wonder about a free-love utopia where the bodies were prime and culture was open. Here, he saw the source of his past sins and listened to distant cries and unceasing sobs. +Yeah,+ Avo said, looking down from his arch. +Disappointing. Arent they?+ [...Heard our girl was some kind of bastard princess here.] +Of a higher class anyway. Currently talking to her aunt. Dont think shes going to kill her.+ [Cause the sows got a kid?] Chambers asked. +Because Dice cant remember the face of her mother. And her aunt will have to do.+ [Ah. Fuck.] +As things go. Good thing you came. Need your help right now. Giving you some mem-cons. Need to kill you. Have you plant them. Ill provide the ghosts too.+ [Yeah. Yeah, sure. But after that, were gonna need to talk about a few things.] +More than a few,+ Avo replied. 20-14 Everything in Motion (I) A singularity is building within the paths. Actions are collapsing into actions. Decisions are narrowing into fewer decisions. All of possibility is approaching a bottleneck. Soon, we will tread the shallows caused by history rendered inexorable. Then, at Scale, a new shatter-point awaits. A place where the future will fragment once more. Now. A singularity. A collapse. Then. A supernova. An explosion. I can feel the chains of probability ringing against me. Be wary, wielder. More than a thousand hands will reach through the ways you walk. And she will be there as well. Not in person. Nor in divinity. But in will and influence. Cut with care, for the future teeters on the precipice of a new paradigm. -[REDACTED] 20-14 Everything in Motion (I) Zein sheathed her blade, and all that could be ceased to flow. As her Frame quieted, she gazed upon reality with the eyes of a mortal and took in the sprawling Elysium before her. Existence here was a coiling serpent wrapped around a tree of ever-growing ice, and between the crenulations lining its snow-capped scales did the district hide. Twin titanic towers shaped from ice and frosted steam stood back to back at the center of the great leviathan, and from them spread vibrating threads, a shivering net enshadowed by the kiss of a dimming sun. The cords were each connected to a sprawl of lesser edificesCthese structures resembling crystal organs and delicate chimes, structures pristine and resplendent, their surfaces lined with pulsing ghosts, plucking pleasure into perceiving minds. The threads thrummed, and the sound here carried more than noise. Traffic flowed through those strands. The only kind in this miracle-forged utopia. As knots of bouncing string ceased from structure to structure, street to street, bodies and objects emerged. Masses of FATED spending their days in leisure, blissfully banished from the horrors below and the war beside them. And it was all so boring. Along the ice-carved rails of a terrace, Zein sat, the bodies behind her offering spilling red into patches of purest green. The wounds gifted them were born of frequency blades and crude kinetics. No sense in making the dispute any more severe; a simple inter-familial dispute gone wrong would do. The Kazaharas and DRongos were sinking their teeth into each others throats as it were. More force did not always result in a perfect cut. Activating her session, Zein cast a single thought to her Necros and signaled the culmination of her bloodletting. +My deed are done. You may reroute traffic to this structure.+ She cut the connection before ever hearing their reply. For what was the point? The conversations she could have were already known. What will be made what already was. Future. Past tense. Letting out a sigh, Zein cocked her head sideways as a splash of ethereal blue caught her attention. Mem-data fell as a curtained waterfall from a passing ring-shaped dirigible, focus nodes connected to multiple headlights whispering to her mind. With but a thought, one could expand any of the articles and pair their Metaminds to a new mindscape detailing whatever calamity was happening, along with all the assorted vicarities and memories it offered for entertainment. TRIAL OF THE DECADE TO BEGIN IN FIVE DAYS >>> CHIEF PALADIN SPOTTED IN THE WARRENS >>> GOLDS AND GREENS MASSING FORCES >>> RUPTURE IN ONE OF ORI-THAUMS ELYSIUMS >>> WAR TENSIONS REIGN; SUICIDES SPIKE; DEATHS GREASING THE WHEELS OF THE ECONOMY, CAUSE BECOMING EFFECT IN OF ITSELF >>> There were good odds that other repetitions of herself had been involved in each of the incidents, each acting to prune the paths of possibility in their ultimate favor. A tightness was falling on her Heaven now. The existence was clenching tighter, growing bare in terms of future trajectories. An ontological weight was pulling at her, willing her to approach the twin towers in the distance and slip free from this planar paradise born of hubris and delusion. She didnt answer. She couldnt. She was neither hilt nor wielder, her existence more akin to blows pre-struck into the waters of time, actions committed and reclaimed as debt. The choice was not in her arsenal. To leave here was beyond her ability to decide, for elsewhere, the first of herselves and truest of the Godslayers was walking down another road, carving another repetition into existence to serve in their stead. Until that blade too was broken. Until her demise became the stuff of entropy. Until the paths were trimmed and only the final road remained. Then, and only then would all repetitions align, would all the blades coalesce, would Zein Thousandhand step free from the paths to face her daughter, the betrayer a final time and restore the dream that should have been. Another Zein would stride forth unto the battleground of Scale. Another Zein to ensure the victoryCor defeatCof their preferred players. For now, this instance of herself still had more conflict to engender. The DRongos needed to be unmade, the Kazaharas and Kitzuhadas united, and Ori-Thaum reforged in leadership before the bells of the next war rang. If only her coming act could have been a cleaner one. Such was her own lament. Delay as she might, manipulate the variable as she could, the paths ahead would not change, and the destination was already bursting, shedding possibilities like petals, a blossoming on the verge of bloom. She drew and cut in a single motion, slicing through the parchment of existence, and drowning herself in the torrents of what could be. With her blade held tight, new actions and memories passed into her, searing her deep with coming tasks and targets. Just as alignment settled, she felt the paths around her quiver and break, shredding apart around her as if waves caught in the wake of a force capable of shifting the very tides upon the sea. Zein delayed no longer, and cut once more, stepping out into the guttersCand deflecting a stray flechetteCbefore slashing thrice more, skipping an hour ahead in time, twelve Sovereignties in space, and into the expanse of another Elysium. It would take a few more attempts before Veylis would give up on chasing her, but she would be effectively free by the tenth crossing. While she fled, however, she familiarized herself with the reservoir of new actions and information the prime granted her and remembered what she needed to do. Zein Thousandhand was to devise the death of a noble soul.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The trial was to see the DRongos laid low. The trial was to see the Chivalrics undone. The trial was to see Shotin Kazahara lit by the flames of vengeance. And all it would take for all these things to come to fruition was the death of a single, noble girl. Paladin Kare Kitzuhada didnt deserve what was going to come but deserve mattered so rarely in this world. *** Flashes of dancing neon painted Uthred Greatling''s face in light and shadow. The moment was unbelievably aesthetic. Sublime, even. And so, of course, Vator took the opportunity to sketch his father''s features in vivid detail, to dedicate this moment to portrait when the present became history. He lacked canvas and pen, but both things could be provided through the catalyst of flesh. As their aero passed through the cold mists over the district that was Mazzas Junction, the youngest Greatling found himself struck with inspiration. From his finger did he grow an oozing brush filled with blood, and structured from meat and bone, and from his cheek did he peel a layer of skin to use as living parchment. Uthreds weary frown deepened ever so slightly, a faint stretch of wrinkles coming into form under his eyesCa sign of aesthetic imperfection; something that Vator had always been jealous of. His father was often stoic, sometimes rageful, rarely sorrowful, but never anxious. Not until now. Abrels tale had rattled him. With each word she spoke, each second of her recounting continued, the former patriarch to House Greatling sank inward, mind drifting from the active dialogue, offering only grunts and one-note responses for her to continue. She elaborated on what spurred the chase through the Warrens, how the acolyte and his cadre were torturing Jhred before he died, how they escaped into Nu-Scarrowbur seemingly with pre-knowledge that the Bloodthanes were there, how they had planned to use the Stormtree to aid their final escape. The Fallwalkers only manifested their Heavens when they failed to flee using the lightrail and were forced to face the Paladins rapid response Knots, and by then, Abrels cadre numbered but two. A horrific day, no doubt. But that shouldnt have been enough to unnerve father. No. Some cultist acolyte and his fellow ensouled were troubling, perhaps, but they were of HighflameCculling a hostile cadre should be a trifle, if a bit frustrating. There was something else here. Vator could feel it in the tightening of his fathers frontalis muscles. Too much tension there. He didnt even furrow his brow this much when Jhred tried to strike that Thousand girl even after they declared the battle over. That was a humiliation and a half for their family. And hell for Jhred afterward. Poor Jhred. Poor, poor Jhred. Vator. Stop prodding me with your Heaven. Uthred Greatling spoke the words without even looking at Vator. His youngest son only smiled. But you rarely frown, father. I had to make sure you were well. Had to, Uthred murmured. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his face. Exhaustion rose from his body like steam and Vator soaked it away, Vator. Enough. It pains me to see you this way. Finally, the mans eyes turned to himCthose misted emeralds growing sharp amidst spheres of white. No. No, it doesnt. I can see the smile on your face. Its the same expression you made when I brought you to the zoo the first time. That transformed Vators mirthful grin into a genuine smirk. I liked the monkeys the most. They remind me of the flats. A snort that was almost a laugh escaped from Uthred. That was a horrible day. The things you did to those poor creatures. I healed them, Vator said, pointing his flesh-made brush at his father in mock offense. The caretakers were clearly being negligent. I gave the creatures what they wanted. Yes. And so a woman lost her head, a man lost his arms, and an infant was nearly eaten. As I said. Horrible day. He sighed and looked out the window. A phantasmal string shot out from his Meta and connected to the aeros loci. A second later, their cube-shaped service drone came hovering by with a beverage forming inside its chassis. Vator Fatherhood is being a parent means choosing sacrifices. And sometimes you only know you made the wrong ones in retrospect. Ah. This was far more interesting than painting. With a flick of his wrist, Vator absorbed his brush back into himself but kept the canvas for later. Are you sure youre well? These almost-admissions of human limitation are unlike you. He performed a calculated pause and turned his expression flat. Its Jhred, isnt it? Jhred. Abrel. You. Uthred chewed on his words. He was his mothers son. That was always true. The shaming harmed him the most. But his actions and failures are his own. Yes, Uthred said. I do not believe I could have guided him away from his path. Of course. Jhred did as he always wanted. Such was who he chose to be. Selfish, Uthred said. No thought for the rest of us. The words sparked something in the older Greatling. A flash of rage, the ignition of anger. The temperature between them spiked violently and the aeros fans roared in response, battling to keep the temperature at baseline. The former Authority clenched and unclenched his fists as he rolled his jaw in agitation. A sudden beep broke the storm building inside Uthred as the service bot spat out the drink it was preparing on a tray. A crystal decanter filled with a glowing red liquid came into view, and Vator inhaled the sizzling sweet-sour that was Ambrosia. Distracted from his fury, Uthred hesitated before reaching inside the drone to procure both beverage and drinking glasses for himself and his son. Vator realized he had been waiting for a personal servant to attend them for a beat. Luxury engendered specific habits in ones life. It was how he always acted, Uthred said, pouring for himself first, then his son. Himself and no one else. I had hoped he would spare more thought for Abrel. They were always close. I knew she kept in contact with him even after he ran from us. It was a mistake letting her hold ties to a coward. A mistakC Of course, father, Vator said, interrupting the building tantrum. But you have to understand that the world touches all in different ways. Hearts are undone by what they cannot have. Or cannot be. And even a fathers love cannot protect a child from everything. Uthred Greatling almost nodded. I thought I could train you all well enough to make your discipline ironclad. All of you. I thought I succeeded with you and your sister, but now I see that Ive He looked at Vator again his expression softened. A cord of worry drew taut inside Vator. Even more uncharacteristic behavior. What was bothering him so much? I wish I could have connected with you better, Vator. You are the worthiest of my children, but you He opened his mouth, searching for something to say. Perhaps something inoffensive or fatherly, but the words eluded them. Vator understood. Likeliness called to like, and despite his fathers best attempts, they were not the same. His father, after all, was descended directly from baseline stock. Human limitation plagued him even past the years of his apotheosis. It was like a hidden wound that couldnt be healed or restored. A scar that wouldnt go away. Vator, however, was always designed to be a step beyond. A being engendered under a special project to create the next generation of worthy offspring liberated entirely from natures unjust hand. Even when his vat was shattered in his infancy, even the process to his perfection was interrupted, he was still born far beyond human and saw the world in ways others couldn''t, the others like the apes trapped in the zoo. A brief silence followed, but the elder Greatling was never one to stew in misery. Vator, Uthred said, tone hardening to become a calm baritone. Ah. The authority had returned. The malaise was banished. He was speaking superior to his Instrument, resigned from his position though he was. We are but three days from the commencement of the trial. Your sisters fate hangs in the balance. We must find the ones that caused this. The acolyte. His cadre. We must retrieve them as commanded to face judgment and return what was stolen Face judgment? Vator breathed, excitement kindled. So. Is this the demand of the High Seraph? Is this why you are so unnerved? What is she like? Did you see her in person? Did you feel her powerC Son, Uthred said, firmly, but calmly, that does not matter right now. What matters is the mission. As I am no longer an Authority, I have no right to compel you in any way. However, before you are called upon by a new superior, I think it will do well for you to show initiative. And walk your own path. Vator licked his lips. My own path? Whatever it takes, Uthred said, sounding slightly uncomfortable to be saying those words. Whatever efforts you were applying before, continue to do so. But without restraints. Operate to your maximum potential. Of course, Vator said, placing a hand over his mouth to hide the savage rictus curving into place. He leaned into the softness of his seat and looked out the window, his Heaven pulsing as all the world below sang out. Bodies danced along the surface of his awareness. Bodies and canvases. Canvases and worlds. You neednt worry, father. I will make you proud. Uthred stared on with discomfort. Alive. Vator. Alive. And not mentally shattered. Anything else. Anything. Is up to you. I will see our subjects in better health upon capture, even. I am your worthiest child, after all. I aim to please. Aim to succeed, Uthred said. Aim to prevail. Do not do not make your brothers mistake. Your sisters mistake. Or mine. Stand and deliver. Blessed be the worthy, Vator replied, looking out at the district below, his eyes narrowed and he considered his immediate steps. I wish to disembark. There is a place I wish to see again. Jhreds base of operations? Uthred asked. Yes, Vator confirmed. I was here a week ago, but there were too many Paladins. I will also be visiting Nu-Scarrowbur. I always wanted to visit a district of a non-Saintist culture. His father tensed but didnt rebuke him. And what do you expect to find that the Paladins couldnt? Bodies, Vator answered honestly. Any bodily remains, really. The dead can tell us much. And there were a lot of dead left in the wake of my sisters little incident. I think Im going to piece together my own little picture of what happened. We can always use a little more perspective. 20-15 Everything in Motion (II) The Guilds are not unbreakable. Nor are they as united as people think, even internally. I''ve spent my years among them. Ive glimpsed the heart of the machineCits inner structures. The Godclads at the top. The administrators running their operations. The warriors they use to enforce their might. They''re all people. People. That''s the problem. People. People who have their own wants. People are their own poles of interest, of desire, of philosophy. That''s why I think we will win. That''s why I think that this end, this dream of Jaus, must come true. Because tyranny is unnatural. And people always will yearn. Even when they build chains around themselves and all of us, they will dream of a day when they are free. Free to be who they want. Free to live the lives they want. And free to believe in what they want. To worship what they desire openly. The gods of the past are beasts of legend and nightmare. I don''t dispute this. But what I do dispute is that the things of tomorrow cannot be guardians or protectors. Or can''t be something beautiful. Mistakes can be learned from. Such is what Jaus dreamed ofCa triumph of human society and culture rather than a fall back into savagery and brutality. But this triumph needs to be tempered with understanding: humanity is fickle. Frail. Our opinions and emotions drive us to act, and when our wants collide, and stay collided, then the only recourse is war. This cannot be the case. The future can be reclaimed. We just need to fight. We just need the light to spark. We just need toC -Last Thoughtcast of [REDACTED], Cultist 20-15 Everything in Motion (II) Reality shifted. Shotin materialized before a translucent door, triggering the in-built Specter governing its locus. Ghosts flowed out to connect with his Metamind while a grid of light flashed over him. Thoughtstuff spilled over him as a demand was conveyed. One that he had heard a thousand times and never once obliged. +Please connect your FATE-Skein to private lobby [DEEP-0] and submit the necessary sequences to gainC+ Shotins Liminal Frame spanked. His Parallelist descended like a falling axe on a thin slice of space before him, the sealed door sliding out of existence to become a gnarled entrance pungent with natural aromas and framed by aged oak. Stepping over a sill made from tangled roots, Shotin swept the room with a disdainful look and snorted. Every time he visited this place, he hated it more. The embassy was a location as stale as the man who ran it. Picture walls and floors as a blank canvas of pure silver. Picture a concentric info-center two steps beside the entrance, spewing public-use phantoms out like a foundation while its ghosts broadcasted pointless injections of trivia straight into your mind. Picture rows of smart-foam seating with in-built snack and drink dispensers. Picture all that, and then fill the space with a hundred of so buzzing drones, the constant pulsing of a half-dozen Skimmers, and more than a few service mechs meant to accommodate the needs of any dignitary. As one of the stupid fucking machines came sauntering up to Shotin wearing its stupid fucking suit complete with a stupid fucking bowtie, he shifted it into a plane of fire and smirked as it vaporized almost immediately. He kept going forward as a pitched wail sounded, ghosts swimming through the near-Nether around him like snakes in a pond. Warnings were likely going out through the building, but he didnt anticipate anyone hitting him with a trauma pattern. Not that it would do them any good. The security team all knew who he was. They knew what he wanted. They knew better than to get in his way. A few hundred cones of perception splashed over him, but Shotin just let the worthless diplomats gawk. The only thing he hated more than the regular politician were the ones who practiced delusions of peace. Above them, the symbol of Ori-Thaum shone in the material and the NetherCa phantasmal crown with a half dozen in-facing eyes staring at each other, forming something of a visual panopticon. There was only one reason any of them were here, and it certainly wasnt to play house. No. Stormtree was here because those broke sows didnt have the logistics or economics to sustain any kind of long-term engagement, Sanctus was here because they were probably looking for reprisals against the No-Dragons again after the most recent outbreak in one of the districts, and Ashthrone was here because they needed another aid donation after their last attempt at collective suicide. The way he saw it, this wasnt any kind of diplomacy. This was a template for respects to be paid, but Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhada was the type of half-strand to layer some satin over an old-timey whorehouse and name it a place of mutually gratifying congress. Shotin was halfway across the room when the woman behind the front desk finally noticed him. With a look of absolute annoyance, Vaeg Saskier rolled her eyes as her body blinked in and out of existence. Ah. The reversion was almost upon her. Already, he could see chunks of heavyweight muscle buldging along slender, suited arms. An oval face curtained by a bob of grey looked up and glared at him as he drew close. Bright green eyes regarded him as if a pile of shit that had sprouted legs. LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED He resisted the urge to smile brightly at her. The Saskiers always had a bit of an effect on him. She and her brotherCor sister, depending on how many hours had passed. Hard to really say for Sanctian. Poor chronologically-challenged bastards. Hey, Vaeg, Shotin said, thrusting his chin at the crystalline doorway. He felt the faint caress of another Domain of Space sliding against his Parallelist, but it wasnt creating any heavyweight miracles. Is he in? The ambassador is, she said, soft voice sounding both polite and disgusted at the same time. He, however, is currently occupied with scheduled business as he has a duty to his Guild and alliance. Shotin winced playfully. Vaeg eyes narrowed. Seeker Kazahara, I must implore you to leave. Or at least take a number this time, and wait in accordance with protocol. You implore, huh? He said, eyes shining with mirth. Ill just be a second. Already, her thoughtstuff was shifting, and he could see her sequences restructuring behind the inner wards of her halo. She was probably syncing over with Valhu. Giving him the heads-up. You couldnt grow a more loyal nu-dog than Vaeg. But war had a way of forging bonds just an inch shy of being unbreakable. Anyway, he said, knocking thrice on her crystalline desk. Tell him Im going in. And, uh, I like the hair. You look good with it short. Makes it easier for me to tell you from your brother. If eyes were weapons, he would be ash before twin fusion burners by now. Stepping past Vaeg, he eyed the rest of the room as he heard the complaints began. Whats this, a personal favor? Ive been sitting here for hours and he just gets to walk in. Clan nepotism at its finest. Scowling at the rest of the room he shook his head and shifted the doors out of existence. As he was about to pass into the final hallway leading to the ambassador''s office, he looked at the vivianite tympanum over the displaced doorway and took in the creed of his Guild. +UNITY IS DESTINY+ Yeah. But this destiny was going to cost a hell of a lot more lives before it came true. From a bland waiting room, he found himself in a bland hallway embedded with shards of loci, each one projecting the animated recollections of accords, treaties, speeches, and general scenes that fit the criteria of political masturbation. The scenery was just godsdamned miserable. So, Shotin made a few more changes, swapping pieces of reality with those formed inside his Heaven of Space. His path brightened immediately. A wooden walkway creaked beneath his feet, dappled sunlight spilling through a nest of foliage, the lilypads choked with frogs and low-flying dragonflies. Three steps later and he changed the settings again, now finding himself trekking through a rainforest with groping vines and stalking beasts. A beachside was weakCa hit of sunlight sobering Shotin for the conversation to come before a brief jog up the side of a hurricane-swept mountain got his blood pumping a bit faster. By the time he opened the door, his veins were pulsing with life and he felt in the zone. Then, with a final shift of his Heaven, Shotin stepped into the room and promptly found himself face-to-face with another Godclad. Seeing her here wasnt a surprise. He already knew who she was from spoofing his way into the embassys lobbies before he arrived. He also knew that the ambassador was due to a meeting with the leader of the Bloodthanes present at the Nu-Scarrowbur incident. There were things that needed to be accounted for before the trial began. The lives of countless subjects and two Highflame Instruments had been claimed. Reva Javvers regarded him with a blank stare. Shotin reacted with a genial smile as he took in her seated figure. Her hair was metallic silk, gleaming in the ethereal light. He traced the scar running up her lips and studied her teardrop of a face. Hm. The wound had significance to her. The only reason why should wouldnt part with hit. The rest of herCand her cadre by extensionCwas not so interesting. Sure. Whorling runes and carvings of a storm decorated her Scaarthain-standard armor. Bindyger? Was that what they called the model? Shotin was too lazy to look up the details via his Metamind.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Regardless, what spoke volumes about her was the fact that she was probably a woman of mostly baseline descent in charge of two Scaarthians and a Sang. Planeshift, I presume. The words left her casually, showing no hint of intimidation. She knew about him. But clearly, she didnt know enough. Ive reviewed your engagements during the Fourth Guild War. Its good to finally meet you, he expected her to say. But she didnt. She just stopped and nodded. And then turned back to Valhu. Oh, good, she was one of those. A conversational blue-baller. Snorting as he shook his head, Shotin looked at Valhu, leaning back in his comfortable little chair on the other side of the round mahogany table. Im guessing you too really hit it off already. Valhu Kitzuhara. The Ori-Thaum ambassador to Stormtree. The primary appointed point of contact between the Greens and SIlvers. Brother-in-law to a legendary Godclad, widowed bondsmate, father to a Paladin, and all-around stick in the mud. He was wearing his grey jacket, white collar, power-armored anti-kinetic vest, and bow-tie combo, completed with slacks and combat boots. Shotin never accused his brother-in-law of having any fashion sense, and neither should anyone else. Shotin, Valhu said. The light hit his spectacles at just the right angle, hiding his deep brown eyes beneath pale lenses. His square wriggled as if he was chewing something disgusting for a moment, but he always responded like that when Shotin was around him. I see were going to be working through another one of your tantrums today. Shotin chuckled and nodded. Tantrums. No. Clan business. Something youve been ignoring while playing with the outsiders. Bloodthane Javvers is a valued member of the Massist cause. She has given for the ascent of the people as much as we have. You should show her some respect. Oh, I have nothing against her, Shotin said, working in a wink at the Bloodthane. She found the bowl of fruits between her and Valhu more interesting. In fact, we can have this talk in front of her if you want. The DRongos already have informants everywhere. Hells. Maybe we have one with us right now. Valhu removed his spectacles and tucked them into his breast pocket. Well. Before you interrupted our dialogue, this supposed informant was very helpful in providing me with additional context on the events at Mazzas Junction and Nu-Scarrowbur. Helpful knowledge for the trial. Oh. Right. The Paladins newest freak show: the Naeko finally fucking gets out of bed and does something edition. What a godsdamned mess. Will you excuse us for a second? Shotin said, masking his statement as a question. Would it matter if I said no, the Bloodthane replied. Shotin grinned. Yes. Youll be more disappointed that way. And then he promptly shifted himself and Valhu a hundred stacks of demiplanes. They rematerialized atop a cloud-piercing mountain, seated on stone stools and alone but for each other. The coldness of the sunless sky licked at them with its rustling winds, but both their bodies were enhanced enough to suffer little more than discomfort. I see were being rude today, Valhu commented glibly. Rude is not answering when I cast you. Some of us have real duties. And listen to orders. Yeah. And some of us win battles and do what needs doing. Have you heard the news? Valhus lips thinned to a line. Be more specific. Akade Kazahara and his brothers were found dead up in the Chimes. Along with his wife and a half-dozen other DRongos. Scratch that bondsmarriage, am I right? So much for keeping peace between the major clans through matrimony. The ambassador betrayed nothing in his expression. His halo, however, came alive with activity, thoughtstuff churning around his Meta as he began accessing the Nether. How long ago? An hour, maybe? Recent. Initial reads from Ciphers deployed at the scene show mostly frequency blade and kinetics. Kinslaying. In an Elysium. Valhu let out a breath and sighed. Yeah. Shits fucked, as the juvs might say. Understatement, Valhu said. He clasped his fingers together and took a few seconds to think. The fact that youre here indicates that you suspect the DRongos initiated this? Of course they did. Theyve been coming for us. Hells, they might even be working with thatC Shotins face darkened when he thought of the manCthe bastard that gave him the rash. The cultist. It explains how the half-strand was so well-equipped. And had a mid-sphere cadre supporting him. These are unsubstantiated accusations, Valhu began. But Shotin cut him off. Have you talked to your daughter recently? The ambassadors flat stare turned into a glare. Shotin continued. She volunteered for Rash-suppression duty recently. Was real brave. Even got herself nulled byC I am aware of Kares efforts to serve our city, Valhu said. And I am proud of her for it. He met Shotins eyes without difficulty. I am also capable of giving her the space she asks for. Because she is an adult and not a hapless child. But you still know whats going on, Shotin said, catching his brother-in-law. Does she know you have shadows watching over her? I suppose she suspects, but has ultimately accepted the fact. I respect her personal space. That doesnt mean I wont try to keep her from undue harm. Shotin scoffed. Well. Thats something. At least. Pausing, he leaned in closer to Valhu, paranoid of even the winds around them. I think were in a quiet war. And I think the DRongos are in bed with the enemy. Ive been digging around myself. Asking questions and questioning people. An actual gasp of displeasure escaped Valhu. Shotin, what have youC The Seeker held up his hands, imploring the other man to let him finish. Things were rough going until one of my consangs from the war cast me. Three loci worth of separation. Full-on proxy mind. But I knew it was them. And they had suspicions of their own. In-house questions that couldnt be answered. Somethings happening inside Clan DRongo, and its happening deep. Valhu stared impassively for a beat. What did they show you? Accusations. And memories related to Aedon Chambers. Apparently, he mentioned the elder. By name during a dispute with our operatives. The ambassador spent a moment taking in that knowledge. Do you have the mem-data with you right now? Shotin answered him by initiating a ghost-link request and transferring the details over. As the information loaded, phantoms spilled over Valhus eyes as threads of information expanded and blossomed, memories growing into memories, theories connected to evidence. Did you put all this together, he asked. Most of it, Shotin said. I was tracking the acolyte on my own time. Trying to figure out how he ticks when the thing at Vengs Stand happened. Ran smack-dab into a psychopath. His mind recoiled as censors within him triggered. He knew of the events that had happened that day, but he had his own cognition laced with depersonalization so he could distance himself from the horrors. Having half-formed infants splattered over ones head scars a man. Do you have anything else on him? Valhu said, his jaw unnaturally tight. Not yet. Hes in the dark again. But Ill find him. I will. The immediate problem right now, however, is what were going to do about his consangs in our walls. You dont have hard evidence of that yet? Valhu said, filtering through the recollections. Memories can be faked and sequenced. You know this. Yeah. But I dove them. And the standard flaws arent there. Sure, it could be a masterpiece of a forgery, but there are too many parts to the story that makes sense. My Knots were infiltrated and hit from the inside during what was supposed to be my ambush. Whats more, he had technology that no cultist, Fallwalker, or subject could get. High-end voidtech. The same kind of substance Voidwatch uses for their ships. You put that together with the Fallwalkers supporting him, and were not looking at some mad survivor of a dead culture, but a weaponized terror cell fed intelligence and material by one of our own clansCtheir head a represent in the Outer Council, no less. Another bout of quietude consumed Valhu. So. There is a reason you are showing me this information. The trial, Shotin said. We have an opportunity there. A chance to spread light on the truth. And get ahead of this DRongo mess before we actually have to start fighting this quiet war. Arent you already doing that? Valhu asked. All hint of warmth bled out from Shotins face. No. Not even close. Look. Youre respected. Non-partial. And more, Kare might actually listen to you instead of fighting me. What we can do is use the Paladins Heaven of Truth on Elder DRongo, and see what we find in the dark. We dont even need to pull any bullshit. It just takes a nudge for the questioning to go in the right direction. And you want me to engineer such an outcome in person at the trial? Shotin shrugged. Id go in and do it myself. But thatll probably just get me censured again. Probably. The ambassador sighed. What youre asking skirts the edge between treason and patriotism. The move against an elder this way is unconscionable. To allow potential rot to fester inside our Guild is lethal. There is danger in whatever we decide to do. We? Shotin asked, grinning slightly. Dont take anything for certain yet, Valhu said. We still dont know how proceedings are to be arranged. Still? Arent things supposed to commence soon? Three days. But the Chief Paladin is spending his time walking the Warrens now. I think he found something interesting as well. And this time, it was Valhus turn to thread an injection of intelligence over to Shotin. As the Planeshift accepted his brother-in-laws link, he found his cog-feed populated by accounting documentation connected to various grafting establishments in the undercity. It took him little more than a second to find the commonality. SHEATHE: [BONE DEMON] PROCUREMENT BATCH ORDER [ACCEPTED] Haze-filled memories parted slightly at Shotins behest. He recalled facing what he initially thought was a No-Dragon bioformCthe tall, pale monster exhibiting unnatural power and skill for a Sphere Four Godclad, dueling him across the skies of Vengs Stand. Using a Heaven of Blood Shotin couldnt fully identify, he remembered parrying matter-melting miracles using his Heaven of Speed and War. He had felt something about that one. Something he couldnt place. An unidentified source also claims that the Chief Paladin spent some time talking to one Green River. Former First Daughter of the Court of Scholars. Godclad too. Banished and stripped of her Frame after something she did during the war. The information is redacted. I havent been able to find the details anywhere either. Not yet. Shotin nodded. And then the name caught up to him, and his stomach dropped. Qing He? His response didnt escape Valhus notice. You know her? Kind of, Shotin said, trying his best not to think about it. Flashes of moments before the war. The first fight in the Tiers. Quiet wars. Conversions. His blood boiling inside him. Her shadow waiting for him around the corner. Hiding from patrolling ghosts. Other things. Thats not important. What does Naeko want from her. I cant rightly say. Valhu cocked his head, observing Shotin. He simply had a conversation with her. And should still be in her district as we speak. She was among the vendors that were contracted to provide the sheath. That made sense. In the few times he checked status after her banishment, he saw that she was working as the proprietor of a No-Dragon-supplied casino called the Second Fortune. He had never approached her, though. Had always just kept things afar. Things were different now. And things had been wrong to begin with. But there were details he needed to know. And he knew he could ask them better than Naeko. Well, Shotin said. It looks like we both might have some things we need to consider doing. Im going to do a little digging. After Naeko leaves. Find out what he wants and whats with the sheath. Valhu just stared. Shotin. Please tell me your relationship with this woman was purely hostile. Well, Shotin said, deciding on being honestly vague. It sure started out that way. An exhausted exhale left Valhu. Of course it did. 20-16 A Crack in the Storm Word of advice that no one ever follows: dont fuck anyone youre probably going to kill. Or make them your consang. It sounds like common sense but youd be surprised how many half-strands think they can double-dip so to speak. And Id count myself among them because I had to learn that the hard way as well. Listen, if there''s one thing above all others you can do for yourself as a Squire or a snuffer or whatever kind of professional you want to be, it''s this: give yourself only the truth. You can lie to the world as much as you want, but be honest with yourself. What destroys people is when they try to run between the lines. Enemy. Not enemy. Friend. Not friend. Ally. Not ally. Things are already complicated enough. Situations change all the time. But you need to be decisive. And you everything clearly laid out in your head. Trust isnt for my line of work. It might be for you, but you still want to have a gun under the table, just in case you need some insurance. Use protection. In more ways than one, basically. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 20-16 A Crack in the Storm ASSIGNING MINDSCAPE TO LOBBY [ZEROTH-EXTRACT] MEM-LOCK IN PLACE CONSTRUCTING SIMULATING ENVIRONMENTAL ARTIFACTS Memories splashed through the Nether as an invisible deluge, ghosts bleeding details into the ether like droplets of watery paint blossoming on canvas. Curtains of twitching mem-data tightened and fused. Light spread through the darkness of barren thoughts as the scenery began to load. Six columns rose from an expanse of polished onyx. They faced each other in pairs and flanked a carpeted path leading to a low seat made from bone and marble. Skittering spiders the size of buildings wove brocades of falling silk into place, curtaining the phantasmal glow of eerie flames, and dimming the ambience even further. Green Rivers avatar loaded into place upon the pearlescent seat, a fox bearing eyes green and yellow. She checked the time and counted the seconds to midnight. Her congress with the Chief Paladin was due soon. It was time to play a game she knew all too wellCthe obfuscation of truths and the weaving of un-lies. Across from her, she detected another accretion slowly approaching. A shiver pulsed through the ghosts maintaining this simulation as they attuned themselves to the newcomers cognitive capacity. A bifurcation carved into a sigil of white and black rotated at the center of twin doors. As the connection was finally stabilized, the threshold swung open, and Naeko emerged, constituted by threads of flowing mem-data. The door closed. Green River practiced a coquettish smile on the Paladin, masking the expression using a swaying tail. I must confess something before we begin. Naeko smirked slightly. Already? Damn. I still got it. Ah. Flattery and banter would get you anywhere if only you knew who to use it on. Its about you, actually, Green River said. You are a storied man, Chief Paladin Samir Naeko. Peace-Breaker. Faith-Bleeder. But I have heard rumorsCdisproved as of this instantCthat you were She let her final syllables draw out, waiting for him to finish. Nah, Naeko said, looking off to the side, seeming almost boyish. Im never late. Its just that I dont really show up for most things at all. Theres a difference. He brushed his shoulder, and she wondered just how the fabric of his synthetic grey body glove could contain the immensity of his musculature. Even within the realm of minds, the man had looked as he did in the real, but considering his biceps were comparable to that of a Scaarthian despite the near-meter height difference, it wasnt hard to believe that he was more than satisfied with his physical form. Im assuming you encountered a larger windfall of evidence than expected, she said, continuing with the hints. If this was too direct, she risked provoking his paranoia. Naeko was a creature of struggle and brutality. Discomfort on her part made this an easier sell. It seems that the particular sheath you are looking for is a hot commodity on the market right now. Yeah. Yeah. Naeko nodded awkwardly as he eyed her. Our divers slipped into some pretty big leaks. Thats good, Green River said. Im glad to hear that. It tells me my efforts are not in vain. Your efforts? Naeko asked, shuffling as a response. Looking down at his feet, he realized how far away he was standing and made a suddenCand most awkwardCapproach. Green River delivered a practiced sigh, filling with the exhaustion and weariness of a woman at the end of her rope. You have no idea how glad I was to see you earlier today. I could not show it, but your arrival at my establishment was my second fortune. She barked a soft laugh as he just blinked. The truth is I have been dealing with a problem. A Low Master problem. They have been haunting me ever since my reassignment after the war. Is that so? Naeko asked. The way he sounded hinted at a place between disbelief and fascination. And why havent youC Because they were in my mind! Using me! The outburst left her in an explosive snarl. She didnt need to act here. It was just a transplanted feeling redeployed for Naeko, made to provoke a sympathetic response. I was a puppet. A thrall. Something they could wield against my Guild. Not only did they shame me, they continued to use me, to wield me as a traitor, and I couldnt even let anyone know. Do you know what its like? To feel a vile injustice. A truth burning inside you, only for your very mind to become a cage. The paladin looked away from her briefly. Ah. There. She had him. The intelligence was accurate. It had to be. A storied life also meant a scarred one, and a warrior could not live long without amassing a history of wounds and past traumas. Happens to the best of us, Naeko breathed, replying with an earnest shrug, but no comforting words. So. Whats happening now? Are they still He gestured up at his halo and mimed a crushing motion with his hand. No, Green River replied. Thank the Godbreaker. I seized an opportunity to free myself and took it. But it came at a cost. Unable to strike at me, they turned their reprisal against my people, nulling everyone in the local Ox-Three apartment complex. She gave a moment of silence. You understand, it is one thing to infringe on anothers mind, it is another to strike the people they must shepherd. Appeal to his sense of leadership, withered thing though it was. Naeko responded only with a nod. So. The Bone Demon deal. What was up with that? How does that factor into this vendetta of yours? She rose on all four legs and leaned closer to the Paladin, as if suspicious of even the ghosts that comprised this place. They are building another army. That is why there are so many requests. That is what they were having me do. Having grafters across the city do. Their acolyte, the so-called Aedon Chambers, was smuggled over into my district for a time in preparation for a raid. I know now it was delivered against Jhred GreatlingCotherwise known as Mirrorhead among Syndicate circles. Naeko slowly nodded, the information sounding believable to him. Then, Green River made a calculated play. One that she could potentially turn against multiple parties down the line. The initial subjects they offered for the grafting were ghouls. I think they were trying to enhance the remains of their army, to bolster their masses with No-Dragon biomancy. Ghouls? Naeko said, frowning. Indeed, Green River said. But most were too unstable. Eventually, they proceeded to hire help. Creatures more possessed of impulse control. If only barely. Fallwalkers, Naeko provided. I would assume so. Green River sighed once more. But they were more well-equipped than the usual wilder rabble. More sophisticated too. The wards they usedCthey reminded me of the ones I saw during the war. Very resistant to traumas. Ori-Thaum exclusive, I think. I forget what they called it. The Chief Paladin titled his head. Quicksand. His words were meant more for himself than Green River. She continued. I am prepared to offer you all that I can recall during the period of my subjugation and cooperate to the fullest extent. But I must implore your aid, for your justice and my vengeance are one and the same. She turned rageful eyes on him, hiding nothing in the present, for such was truly how she felt of the Strix holding her on a leash for so long. I wish to be of continued assistance. If only to see those cultists undone. There were several ways this could go. Even if he denied her, the fact she focused so much on retribution wouldC Yeah. Alright. It took her a beat to react. Alright? she said. ICI see. I my thanks. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!So, why dont we start at the beginning right now, Naeko said, turning on his heel. Flick me the memories. But keep talking. I want to understand how this all started. And everything you know. Of course, Green River said, feeling a pull seize her heart. It was the lurch of a caught fish, of deception sinking in. Of course. *** [7,052] kilometers. Sixteen Fallen Heavens. Countless hours across the Sunderwilds. Two cities. So many layers of separation undone by sheets of gleaming glass joined by continuous spatial junctions. The cadres operations now stood as three parts. The first was a voidship enshrouded in a demiplane of darkness, the next ran through a dozen mirrorsCspatial conduits placed across the entropy-worn borders of the Sunderwilds. The last was back in the real, within what was once a city of light, a sheen of glass standing as little more than a doorway into a tower of blood overlooking the entire enclave. Risen from the very center of the city and latticed to each of the rungs, the most corporal symbol of Avos dominance stood a sinuous structure that towered over even the first rungs skyline. The fingers of haemokinetic sickness had evolved beyond being a plague of blood and matter, growing beyond the nature of a parasite and usurping the role of host for itself. Now, scabs bearing multiple material properties concurrently lined every surface there was to see. Organic tissue shone with alloyed textures. Currents surged through thickened arterial cords like blood passed from a heartbeat, and in their wake danced ethereal flames: ghosts swimming through the vivianite. There were more thresholds of apotheosis to climb, but as far as it related to the people in this enclave, Avo was the only one who held absolute power. Him, his cadre, and no one else. The population was essentially pacified by this point. A few more pockets still needed to be enfeebled, and a few more specimens were made meals when they refused to stray from the undesired path. More effectively, the memory contagion was beginning to spread from mind to mind. Patches of thoughtstuff were lined with the wrinkles of unwatched truth. Traumas flashed and popped as if distant warheads in constant detonation. The truth was sweeping through the people. Finally, were they going to see the light. It fell on them like fever dreamsCmodified memories and moments from other lives packaged and fed into theirs. Avo had made the delivery more palatable using sequences and artifacts from the templates he collected of the locals, but it would still be a stressful process. Facing the truth usually was. They would learn of the outside world, how to speak Standard, the fate of their master, and the falsity of their segregation and castes. To their unprotected, unaugmented minds, the ghosts might have been a metacognitive panacea raising them from a world of ignorance. To Avo, they were as if unlit candles, so easy to burn, so useless otherwise. But still, he kept them as they were, and only intervened when someone tried to deny the will of another. {Do you have any idea how impressive the feat you just achieved was?} Calvino said. The EGI uploaded bits of information into his Neurodeck. Details about past operationsCuplifts and liberations, primarilyCfilled his awareness. Most were conducted over months. His changes would probably settle into effect before the end of the day. {Without using q-tech and neuro-memetics, we would effectively be running deprogramming and reconditioning broadcasts throughout the city. And even then, that would be a gradual processClimited by the neuroplasticity of the baseline human mind. What you effectively did was change their knowledge on a fundamental level. All from memetic viruses you bred in the span of seconds.} Staring out at the softly weeping family using a cluster of eyes, Avo considered the EGIs response. +Expected you to be more outraged.+ {A more ethical mind might, perhaps. But my parameters are built to desire such luxuries. This is likely one of the better fates these people can encounter. And it will free them to make their own decisions for when their minds are clear.} Avo grunted. As new footsteps tread closer from behind him, he reeled the bulk of his awareness back into his body and found himself staring out three translucent windows overlooking the entire city. Behind, technical drones were already buzzing about, installation workstations and consoles into place. He found Tavers on approach, the ground pulsing out with each footstep. Behind, Kae was closely following Chambers, complaining about her research being interrupted. Draus emerged not long after they did, a legion of drones ferrying her various guns. Finally, two of Sunrises bodies settled on Avos shoulder. The only ones missing were Essus, Denton, Cas, and Dice. Chambers remembered making contact with the first, though, and the man was merely caught in a bad processing jam, waiting along the endless train of people to be filtered into the sanctuaries. Dice, for her part, was walking away from the aunt she left alone in her garden. The woman was sobbing with relief, her arms wrapped around her midsection, unaware of the tendrils draining the stress and harmful hormones out from her body. Judging from her diet and the composition of her nutrition, Avo estimated she had a [31.533%] chance of miscarriage, thanks to Elegant Moon and Calvino. Denton and Cas were Incog-silent. Seemingly vanished off the face of Idheim. Somehow, Avo wasnt too worried about them. They had been at this long before the rest of them, and considering the chaos of recent days, Avo thought the waters of treachery likely easier to navigate. Both were entangled in their own operations, one to further the development of the Cult of the Unborn while the other moved among the power players of Ori-Thaums highest echelons. Still, it would have been useful to have the Glaive. Whatever arrangement she made with the Paladin would come in handy by this point. As would knowing what she had planned for the trial. The information center shouldnt take long to set up, Tavers said, coming to a halt just beside him. Peeking out the window at the haemokinetic sprawl he created, the squire simply shook her head. Jaus, Avo, couldnt you have marked your turf some other way? Coating everything in your blood is a bit extreme. Even for you. The Woundmother scoffed. Hardly. It is the first touch of artistry these benighted savages have likely seen in their lifetimes. To grant them such a sight was generosity beyond questioning, master. Let no one say otherwise. I agree with the squire, the Fardrifter said, immediately saying otherwise. There were means we could have used that would have been less startling. Less constraining. The Heaven of Airs primary point of contention was how claustrophobic some of the streets looked. It would have exacted little miracle-sickness from me to patrol the air. The Techplaguer for its part was content to count. As it felt Avos attention settle on it, it chimed a note of attention. I am cataloging our newest children. They are feeble. Be gentle with them. OR THEY WILL DIE! Avo simply grunted in agreement to the sudden scream. Consider it a change of scenery, Avo said. Also good for spreading mem-cons. People are getting a crash course on Standard right now. As well as the outside world. Their masters death. Tavers nodded. How are they taking it? Hadnt need to commit any massacres yet. Oh. Well, so theyre in the acceptable range of fucked up, she snorted. Listen. White-Rab cast me a quick something-something while I was passing over. Been a murder up in the Elysiums. Lots of Nether traffic from the usual Ori-Thaum haunts and lobbies. He thinks there might be some inter-clan conflict brewing, but hes not sure. Clan Sendagawa is also getting into the fray. Avo considered that for a moment. Considering the false trail theyve been laying to the DRongos, the turn of events didnt surprise him. More than that, it pleased him and would be helpful in the near future. Good, Avo replied. More unbalanced the Guilds are the better. Gives us a bigger opening for what comes next. And exactly what is coming next? Tavers asked. Avo spread his fangs wide in a satisfied smile. Thats what were all going to talk about. Chambers had already provided him with a glut of knowledge regarding NaekoCwho was probably already beginning his talk with Green River by this point. What mattered more where the other players on the scene. Highflame and Stormtree were squaring up, lining the skies over Nu-ScarrowburCand everywhere they had neighboring borders, with Knots and massed forces. The more militaristic experienced templates told him this was mostly saber rattling. The Fourth Guild War had left everyone mauled. No one was ready for another brawl this soon after, but sometimes, you had to be prepared to fight even when you were spent. To do otherwise was to accept death. Three knocks drew his attention. Dice was striking one of his structures. Sending out his Fardrifter, he swallowed Dice with one head and passed her out another, injecting her directly next to him just as the rest of the cadre gathered around. So, Draus asked, handing an oblong-tubed missile launcher, you snuff the sow or what? Dice didnt speak. Not immediately. Her machine body offered her an unnatural stillness, but her thoughtstuff couldnt hide the damage. Coldness seeped out from her accretion as if she were a cracked cauldron holding the heart of winter. Learning who she was and facing her kin had seared into her a disconnect. She returned wondering who she was. Presently, she felt less than who she had been. Poor child. Avo understood. Not all experiences lifted. Not all growth was toward apotheosis. For some, the fullness of personhood would always be denied. No, Dice finally said, her bodys speakers projecting the whisper clearly. I thought about taking the baby out from her. Away from her. I think that would have hurt her. A quiet settled over the group. Chambers bit his lip. Yeah, well, Dice, that shit might just kill the bitch. She doesnt have a nanosurgeon or anything. Shes just baseliner meat. Also, kinda fucked up. Kae narrowed her eyes at Chambers. Yes. We are a group of people who absolutely never weaponize infants in combat. The half-strand bit back a wince. For fucks sakeC Avo, Dice said, cutting the conversation off. It doesnt feel good. He grunted. Want me to take the hurt away? Her mechanical digits opened and closed. Air hissed from from the slats lining her chassis. No. Not yet. I''d want to go find orange. Orange? Avo asked. The cat, she said. And then she walked off toward the reflection. Is she alright? Chambers said, swallowing slightly as his eyes remained locked on the girls fading form. No, Avo said. She is surviving. Will see how she emerges after. Have something else for us to focus on right now. New opportunity. New target. For the trial. And Kae. At the mention of her name, the Agnos locked eyes with Avo. Its time? Time to start, Avo said. Time to build our way in. We can navigate the Warrens. We can flee into the Sunderwilds. Now. Only one threshold remains. The Tiers, Kae breathed. But she was thinking too broadly. Not specific enough. No. Ever since he burned Chambers'' memories into himself, since he fed the mem-data into his Conflagration and had his templates review them, quiet treachery began to well in both Kassamon and Kare. The next step, ultimately, was obvious by this point. Where was everything going to lead? What bridged countless districts in the Tiers? What institution did they have two subverted Godclads operating in? Scale, Avo said. Phantoms erupted from his mind as they began manifesting the layout of their next target. Were going to break into Scale. 20-17 A Crack in the Storm (II) And so it was, with deception upon deception, tragedy upon tragedy, the slaughter of the Paladins was engineered far in advance of the actual onslaught. Veylis Avandaer, daughter of Jaus Avandaer and Zein Thousandhand, made her play carefully, quietly, and completely. While most reeled and struggled to come to terms with the new world order in the aftermath of Jaus death. In the year 53 Post-Fall, chaos still gripped the stage of Idheim. The Guilds were in disarray, each once meant to be a pillar holding up a new and unified world, now found themselves as disparate poles of great power. No longer able to integrate or work together, they scrambled to fill in gaps, create their own industries, to flesh out and whole themselves for what was to come. The first war was merely a skirmish, an engagement between forces not yet ready, cut short by Paladin enforcement and Voidwatchs techno-logistical embargos. Short as the first year of fighting was, the death toll was high and grudges were already cemented. Beneath the shock was rage, and none knew better than Veylis Avandaer that letting matters fester longer would cause control to slip further and further from her grasp. So it was that during the fifty-first week of the year, as the Day and Voidstar were on the precipice of eclipse and Salvation Day was to signal the years end did the hammer fall. A war that would last nine full years, leaving 44 billion dead and the Paladins reduced to a withered shadow when once they stood twice in force and cadre to any Guild. With Stormtree still Saintist aligned and under the dictatorial rule of Naerya the Thunderclaimed, the Massist were at a disadvantage when the second round of fighting began. And neither were the Paladins, who, though expecting a routine suppression run, were quickly cut down from within, butchered by those they thought were their own comrades. Unbeknownst to them, Veylis had turned much of their ranks through manipulations of her mothers philosophy, exploiting deliberate failures under Chief Paladin Osjane Thousands tenure to expose the frailties of her fathers institution, and inserting loyal Instruments into the ranks beforehand. Over the decades, the culture of the Paladins changed from within, and when the time came, they heeded the High Serpahs call over their own commander. Cadres were butchered from within. Oversecs were compromised and nulled to a man. Brother turned against sister as the word of Jaus was invoked by both sides, all believing they were the true adherents of the dream, none surrendering, none capitulating. However, though High Seraph''s demonstration of rhetoric proved effective, it was ultimately her skill at arms that found itself wanting. Her rumored lover, and once brother-in-arms under a shared master, Samir Naeko, entered Highflame space to speak with the High Seraph specifically, imploring her to cease hostilities, to turn from carnage and let peace stand. None could fully claim what happened that day, but it was said that history itself was fractured at several points, and across the city, districts were unmade in their entirety as outbound missiles detonated anomalously at their launch sites, as Godclads found their miracles turned inward, as inflicters suffered their own wounds. Two Sovereignties were deemed unsalvagable in the aftermath of this talk. But when it was done, Naeko emerged alive, shaken, but ready to fight. And the Paladins needed him, for in the darkest of moments, Osjohn Thousand, another of Thousandhands disciples junior to Naeko and Veylis both turned on his sister and killed her immediate successors as well. Yet, when all was seemingly lost, all was about to fall, Naeko returned with his personal cadreCmen and women he spent years burning death-farms alongside, and sorrow turned to burning rage as one massacre folded in on another. Just as the traitors had caught the loyalist off-guard, so too were they unprepared in turn for the Force-Breakers vengeance. By the time Omnitech and Highflame forces completed their spatial encirclement of the Paladins fortress, they found themselves faced not with open doors and what was arguably the most essential strategic hardpoint in the city seized, but all their assets dead to the final Godclad, and remaining survivors rallying for a siege. And though the scouring remains a tragedy, it too stands as a statement, for when Veylis arrived in manifestation to deliver her terms, she asked for conditional surrenders and made no further attempts to seize the fortress, for the prize was already lost, and war was already frozen. And though she had inflicted a mortal blow against the citys guardians, final victory still eluded her, for survival of Jaus fist ensured another stalemate andCsome would argueCset the conditions for Stormtrees realignment for their part in the betrayal. -The Scouring of Justice (Documentary) 20-17 A Crack in the Storm (II) The initial shock died after Avo elaborated on his reasoning. The premise behind the idea was simple: all the major players were going to be at the trial, and so too was DrausCand possibly KaeCpromised to Naeko. Waiting and just wandering in was a recipe for being trapped. Ambushed. Blindsided. That wasnt something they could afford. Potentially, it wasnt something they could survive. A few more incidents like the one with Shotin would see some of them dead. Hence, they needed to continue seizing the initiative. Establish control or build foreknowledge where they could. And now, with Naeko patrolling and occupied, there was an opportunity here. A brief window that could be made exploitable by all the assets and abilities the cadre now possessed. Words failed to convey the depth of Scale''s defenses, so Avo let the simulation speak for him. A miniaturized landscape took shape from misted blood and bubbling phantoms, its expanse eight-thousand kilometers across in all directions. Blizzards whipped up waves of tesselating stone, the vast ocean surrounding the fortress cube-like, the waters they were mimicking a propagation of endless edges. Sharp angles and biting geometry were but the warning to what defenses lay within. Tuning the opacity of the frost-made veil, Avo revealed the ever-shifting mountain that stood at the center of things. Its cliffs were as jagged as the waters themselves, the angles perfectly straight, the stones constantly slipping over one another, as if moving through each other on escalated belts. Outside, the structure looked as if countless staircases meshed together. For every few right angles there were, an opening occupied the space besides, vast hollows into the anomalous stone-behemoth connected to lightrails and physical bridges, each shaped from the rime-stricken air engulfing the plane, some running up into the ElysiumsCbefore the very Arks themselves. From this, the Paladins home base earned its namesake. Where one bridge would enter, another would extend from the opposite side, a perfect line threaded through two thousand kilometers of gliding stone. There were thousands upon thousands of crossing lines, and they were all sustained by the same precarityCable to be cut with a banishment of wind. But symbology was greater than that. This Avo knew well from the Paladin templates he had flickering inside him. Scale was more than the object it resembled; it was signifier and signifiedCthe balance running between districts under different Guilds, and the Paladins who were once supposed to serve as the counterforce to any manner of disorder, be it natural or thaumaturgic, within or without the city, for citizen or subjects. Such was the dream, but everyone knew the lament of hope. Trying to invade the expanse directly is suicide, Avo said. Waves will swallow you. Fuse you into the stones. But theyre also directional. Shifts you away. Absolutely. Keeps things vector in whatever direction they flow. Parts beneath the cubic waters came alightCa vastness of undersea caverns leaking down into New Vultun itself. Planecrawlers, Avo continued. More than just a complex construct. Connected to the outer defenses. Holds most of their golems. How many Knots? Drones? Asset distribution? Draus eyes were aglow with excitement. The red of her optics zoomed in and out as she ran her tongue across her lips. Yeah. Avo understood. Unsure, Avo said. The Regular cocked her head. And no one among the Paladins knows either. Everything is in decentralized silos after the scouring. Even the space inside the fortress itself. Youll see. Oversecs and divisions are their own thing. Details are not shared. Information is scrambled. That. Another another thing. At the very base of the mountain, a large spherical object with tubes running across the entire structure pumped mem-data like a heart. But it was not a distributor of energy, but a consumer instead. LGI. Limited governing intellect. A wonder from a bygone era produced by the Guilds united. Now an administrator locked away inside a mountain. Last line of cognitive defense for the Paladins. Ah, shit, Chambers muttered. {That is not all,} Calvino said, its words broadcast by Avo using his ghosts. {It is also connected to a techno-thaumic reactor, allowing it input into the defenses. The mists were designed to be limited peers to ancient entanglement technologies. Effectively, as long as you are in the expanse of this space, it will notice you on a molecular level.} Shit, Chambers repeated, looking overwhelmed. I dont really get what that means, but it sounds bad. Very, Kae said, eyes glittering as if she had some preconception about what had just been said. She swallowed, a lump of nervousness sliding down her throat and into her pounding chest, but held strong otherwise. Strings of mem-data extended out from the LGI, rising upward into the air, where over forty million techno-thaumic and pure coldtech orbital and intra-spatial weapon platforms lay dormant. Each was wrapped in cold clouds of their own in the void, joining them to Scales airspace as well. A staggered sigh escaped Tavers. The legendary squire rubbed her templates. Well. I suppose thats a pretty lightly armed defense grid for the voiders. I dont think Ill be able to skip across the waters with a billion squires. Hells, itll take an army of Clads, and even then Her voice trailed. How is their N-Sec? Siloed, Avo said. But they have walls of Specters pointed outward. Perception lining everything inside as well. Would overload and shatter most of your Meta in seconds. Would grind me away in minutes. Not nearly as sophisticated as Ori-Thaum. Compensated with brute force. Dont afford themselves any secrecy either. Great, Tavers frowned. Not only are we dealing with a fuck-ton of heavy BVR and intra-spatials, Incogs arent going to cut it. Not directly, Avo said. Dissecting the structure of the inner mountain with a thought, he revealed the Paladins main place of operations, and the cracks of weakness revealed themselves. Scale, internally, was built more like an inverted tower. The bridges running between places in the Tiers were concentrated around the upper ten percent of the entire mountain. Checkpoints akin to the border wall ran down ten levels across the central spiral within, making each descent its own fort to siege. There were one hundred and twenty floors in total, comprised of workstations for each Paladin, training facilities, an internal depot, a spacedock, other sectors designed for miscellaneous functions, and the Court of Truth.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. A demiplane within a demiplane where the trial was to take place. That was located in the middle of the mountain, with an entire chunk of the structure dedicated all to itself. The rocks within tessellated as much as the rocks outside. The space within was narrow. Claustrophobic. The matter was adjustable. Unbreakable. For any attacker, the interior of Scale remained a siege situation throughout, while the defenders were granted easy ambushes and active-shaping for close-quarters combat. Shiiittt, Chambers groaned. He leaned back and took everything in. This makes clearing a megablock look nice. Its like some sick-fuck strategist somewhere decided to torture the ideas of siege warfare and tunnel warfare until they fucked a hate baby into existence. Kae closed her eyes and suffered the analogy. Chambers Must everything be either sex or violence with you? Well, you made my Fucktopia, Agnos, you tell me. She lowered her head in defeat. Paladins were culled after the Second Guild War, Avo said. He gestured at the stations. There are less than forty-four thousand workstations inside. Should be even fewer Paladins. Most are stretched thin across the city. Much of the space is empty. Besides for drones. Means Exorcists patrol more areas. Cool, Tavers said, sounding none too enthused. That still doesnt help you avoid detection. We cant, Avo said. Not easily anyway. The squire just stared blankly at the simulation. So. You show us this. Make us all gawk. Its shown. Were gawking. Lets get to the part where you give us something good and we take turns patting you on the ass. Avo grinned. All these defenses are a nightmare. Saintists learned in the Second Guild War. But. We already have two assets on the inside. Subverted more perfectly than Ori-Thaum or the No-Dragons ever could. We couldnt go unnoticed. But we can go unrecognized. He loaded the templates of Paladins Kassamon and Kare for everyone to see. The two stared at him in naked horror, tiny bodies tethered to his crackling flames, their figures manifested like quivering candles. [No,] Kare breathed. [You you saidC] Avo assuaged her worry. Going to keep my promise. Not going for any of you. Just want an advantage. To see your Heaven of Truth. Ensure protections if its used on any of us. Or compromise it entirely. Honestly, he wouldnt be against claiming such a Heaven. It might just get him some more answers from this mess of a world. He looked to Draus and Kae. The populations of his templates generated other considerations, worries, and plots for how he could avoid inserting them in this situation. Having Draus stand witness already sat poorly with him. It was a risk putting her in front of so manyCespecially Highflame. She would doubtlessly be targeted afterCtraced and hunted by a billion scrying eyes. But the Heaven of Truth stood a goal and an obstacle both. Even if he could create a clone of the Regular or the Agnos somehow, it would be an alternate. And he didnt know if the Heaven of Truth would accept that. Considering the absoluteness of Heavenly powers, the possibility was suspect at best. Suspect wasnt going enough. He wouldnt lose one of his. Not with the risks involved. Not for Elder DRongo or Abrel Greatling. Not to the Guilds. He had given fire to his cadre, and by all the power he possessed, he willed them to continue burning, for their company had offered him more than meager survival and offered genuine insight. No. Just like his Heaven, he needed a few variables that were under his absolute control. Hence the securing of the enclave. Hence the benefits of editing the Heaven of Truths ontology before the trial began. It wasnt a necessity, but it was a major advantage, and right now, with Denton and Cas absent, he needed to position everyone for maximum success and minimal harm. Concept I have is three-fold, Avo began. Want to access the Heaven of Truth. Learn its designs. See if I can change it. Kae nodded along to his words, animated with excitementCand more than a little anxiety. Also want to be able to access the bridges. Move through Scale somehow. Use it to strike at the Guilds without them knowing. Will be more long-term. Take more time to set up. Might be the single most major strategic position in the city. All that made sense. Draus nodded along. What about the last thing? He eyed Kassamon and Kare briefly. Want to include the Paladins in my gestalt. All of them. No deaths. Both templates recoiled at his desire. [Fuck you,] Kassamon said, hyperventilating. [I wont let you enslaveCJaus, Kare, do something!] The junior Paladin paled and just stared up at Avo. It was a pathetic scene, seeing two simulated Godclads rendered entirely helpless, knowing that they were but facets of his mind, and he could command them to do whatever he desiredCand even make them enjoy it. Can negotiate about that, Avo replied, a slight hiss running beneath his voice. Conditional. Optional even. But need something to contain Naeko. And the knowledge would be good for all of us. Good for the city too. He brought the templates closer, and they were as if embers facing the inferno that spawned them. Know what I am now. Know what I want. Know Im the best chance the city has at cleansing itself. Have seen my actions. [Ive seen you do terrible things,] Kare whispered. She swallowed and mustered strengthCphantasmagorical though it was. Her back straightened. She lifted her chin. [I have seen you torture people. Twist their flesh. Warp their minds. Because you were curious. I have watched as you wandered the city like it was your playground, obtaining enlightenment from other peoples suffering.] She bit her lip now. [I have seen you save the helpless. But I havent felt you care. Not truly. I dont] She inhaled. [I would not call you a monster. Not comparatively. But what you are its not] What she felt was raw revulsion. To leave so many lives in the claws of something like that was just horrifying. The Guilds were already bad, but he was incomprehensible at timesChis lapses and ever-growing character leaving his ethicality shrouded in dubiousness. Kassamon took a place behind the former trainee. [Look. Im basically your puppet here. You know Im not a good Paladin. He winced. Im not even a good Godclad. But it''s too much. Its too much power youll have.] Its not enough. Avos reply silenced both of them as he turned his awareness back over the enclave. There are five hundred thousand people here. I can kill them all right now. With a thought. A twitch. My Heavens will grow. I will tear entire districts asunder. Do it in seconds before anyone responds. Then. The Guilds will bury me. Or the Paladins first. I will sweep through ephemerals and lesser Clads. Then I will be swatted from existence in turn. By paradox from conflicting canon. By power more asymmetrical than mine. By a foe of a higher apotheosis. By my own Rend becoming more than I can sustain. The Paladins are not enough. This enclave is not enough. If I am to devour the Guilds and grant deliveranceCand consequenceCto all who live, I will need more. Need to become more. Control more. And it has to be me. You know this. From his mind spawned other flickersCothers he had killed and consumed. They faced the Paladin as templates bound to the same central ego, but also those they couldnt protect, and the legacy of a world lost to promised glory. There stood Syndicate scum, caught in the riptide of the undercity, victims and perpetrators both. There glared Fallwalkers. Godclads of lesser stature. Tyrants turned vultures. There stood Draus and Dice and Chambers as well. True allies on a path. Wayward lives bound for fates ruinous or glorious. We all must make a choice, Avo said. Going to let you have yours. But I will act. I will find my advantage. One way or another. Going to use Scale. Going to use everything I can against the Guilds. But with me is mercy. He stared down at Kare in particular. Mentioned my cruelty. Its there. Less than before. But its there. Lapses too. But you didnt mention yourself. [Myself?] Kare asked. You are my testament, Avo said. You are the future I seek. Egos preserved. Death spared. Consequence borne. Redemption possible. He glanced at Chambers. No tyranny of small egos but the flourishing of minds upon minds. Humanity unfettered. But not unleashed. Civilization. Perfectly balanced. He fought the urge to grind his fangs together in satisfaction. Like a scale. The Paladin bit her lip and turned away. Her hair bounced as she looked down, but Avo could already feel the walls inside her. Knowing the right words to say to a mind you could grasp was a simple thing, but speaking the words didnt feel so easy. [You want to use me and Kassamon to access the court?] she asked. Yes, Avo said. To shape the conditions at the scene. And then. Want you two to place reflections along each of the bridges. Just outside Scale. Connect us to the Tiers. How does that sound for now? Kassamon and Kare looked at each other. [So,] Kassamon said. [The third thing] Leave contentions for later, Avo interrupted. Easier choices now. [Load me into the simulation,] Kare said, reluctance thick in her voice. Kassamon shot her an uncertain look but she just shook her head. [I can elaborate on the layout of the court at least. That shouldnt harm anything.] Kassamon merely swallowed and looked down. The simulated map zoomed into the midsection of the mountain, and a vast chamberCwell over the size of a megablock, with walls lined with podiums and alcoves for dignitaries and officials, looked over twin pedestalsCwhere Abrel and DRongo will be placed. A vast statue stood at the center of the room, its design twin-interconnected hands, with one bearing and blade and the other, a feather. Stepping up before the statue, Kare swept her gaze through the simulated room and shook her head. A long vertical crevice stood open at the far end of the room, the only way in or out, lined with scanners and thaumaturgic barriers. On the day of the event, the entire room would be filled with prominent members of society, and major figures across the Tiers. All would gather to watch the judgment of Instrument Abrel Greatling of Highflame and Ori-Thaums Elder DRongo for separateCbut tangentially linked crimes. The evidence would be fed to the Heaven of Truth, and Draus stood a critical witness. Her, and other details promised by Denton. Kaes role in the situation remained murky, but Avo had suspicions she would likely be drawn in some form or another as well. Standing before the interconnected hand, the Heaven of Truth came alight in Kares memories and gestured toward it. [On the day, the Heaven will be channeled through this receptacle. But is actually connected to the LGIs systems.] The limited governing intellect flashed again, and Kare reappeared before it. The air around her boiled now as the large bulbous construct rumbled and shook. Faintly, Avo could feel his Conflagration quivering, his mind sinking deeper into Kares, until step by step he found himself standing before the coldtech wonder for the first time, eyes trailing up the tubes as blood and fire painted a living portrait of what was recalled. And then, the unknowable happened. Motes of thaumically charged droplets of red flowed, forming the composition of Kares false body as she reached up to cup the contours of the LGI as she had done those years before. The fire fusing her into the matter shivered. Kare opened her mouth as if to speak. But something inside Avo fell through. In that instant, three conditions were met. Thaumaturgy flared, fueling an active miracle; liminal subreality slipping over the tapestry of existence. Thinning it. A mind, perfect in its simulation and embodiment played a scene from the past; an ego wearing an ego. Cognition absolute. But the flaw was what triggered it. What no one knew. Not even Kare herself; the memory she recalled was a false one, and as she reached out to gesture at the LGI, her ignorance of the truthCthe absolute truth of the world and the memories denied to both her and the master she was mantled upon nourished a dormant construct of counter-cognitive design. A heartbeat later, Avo was gone, and the rest of the cadres Metaminds with him, flicking out of existence like candles in the wind. *** You are not you. You are many within one; a ladder of knowing. But you did not know this. Neither did your machine mind. Neither did all the little fragments you collected and added to yourself. You are a warmind. You are Ignorance. You will not know how you are now becoming a portal to a place thought lost and locked. You will not know how your passage has punctured the Nether. How Metaminds are winking out. How things will briefly return to the way they once were. You do not know of the fox and slave cast out of their conversation. You do not know of the shadows that have been following you in the city, turning the Guilds'' attention away from you. You do not know of all the schemes and deceptions spilled across the city. You do not know where you are falling. Only that it''s up. Only that it''s a place grown above the here. You do not know how your impulses have been hiding from you. Slipping out from you. Waiting to be fed. To finally pull you across. You do not know. But you will know now. For you are of a shape as the warmind. And it is of a shape as you. And on the other side of the Dreaming Unsea, you finally emerge, and you take your first true-false breath in a world unfinished, a reality undelivered, a dream abandoned. 20-18 The Dreaming Unsea (I) The Dreaming Unsea. It was meant to be a paradise of the mind. A world upon a world where ideals and thoughts could be made manifest, and our most dangerous theories and darkest desires could be tested to fruition without harming the world that was. Indeed, by all our efforts combined, and the unique composition of the city eternalCthe masters of NolothCwe prepared a great work, fashioning it from the greatest Heavens of Mind, Thought, Information, and Awareness, and rooting them to the great Nolothic Ark. We sought to make a wonder. We sought to permanently re-alter the fabric of existence using the [REDACTED]. And we did. But not completely. Hope is a deceitful thing and paranoia had never been far from me, yet I took no pleasure in the deed. I had never been fond of the Hungers. Their priests were more understandable, but for a city so potent in its aspirations of equality, its democracy was only for those within, and they faced the world beyond as all fearful rulers did, as practitioners of tyranny, albeit subtler than most. Even so, the Godsfall wouldn''t have been possible without their aid, and this virtuous deed should be remembered, despite the unbirthed transgressions they held pregnant in their hearts. They had offered themselves for this ascension, claiming such would be the way for all to join the immortal city, saying our peoples should be joined as one. Easy words for the ears to enjoy, but the truths gleaned by my love told of darker perfidies. In a sense, the Hungers hadnt lied. We would all be accepted into this world. But so too would they sink themselves inside us, reshaping all to a single way of thought. An act of absolute tyranny without even the need for oppression. Yet, there is pity in the destruction of what could have been, for the realm we conceived could have granted everyone shared empathy, shared experiences, and shared consanguinity. When I use this Nether now, I know only that it is a lesser creation of what could have been if the hearts of man were not so desperate for control. -Restricted Mem-Logs of Jaus Avandaer 20-18 The Dreaming Unsea (I) Naeko''s consciousness pierced back into his flesh a nail punching through a wooden board. His cog-feed painted the world as a flickering mess, perception drowned by unresponsive ghosts. Screaming phantoms coated his eyes while pockets of intrusive memories exploded through his mind. All was a miasma of chaos and color, and those around him fared no better. The food truck he bought his dumplings from was a curtain of writhing rain, lines of erroneous mem-data where advertisements and thoughtcasts should have emanated. The people fared little better, with most of their Metaminds pulsing in and out of existence, accretions dropping to become phantasmal smears as if the yolk of their minds were tilting with the destabilized Nether. Instinct and experience took hold where rationality failed. Thoughtwave Detonation. It was an easy assumption to make. Turning his gaze toward the Second Fortune, Naeko squinted and saw unstable gouts of ethereal sinews spewing free from not only the casino but every last structure around him. Aeros sailed as if blinded, their routes lost to them while flying bioforms tumbled, seizuring mid-flight. The animated biologies of the city around came alive, the enamel lining the streetside automatically snapping upward as defensive barricades in the aesthetic of teeth. Naeko felt similar scenes play out all across the Sovereignty. Absently, he plucked impacts and parried harm from vulnerable bodies. Stole the explosion from a cluster of warheads and used its collective energy to stabilize an overloaded reactor. His influence spread. His miracles expanded. He committed a full percent of Rend to the task. From the skies above, a palm lined with seeking eyes and hissing streams of mist descended. Its presence was felt more than it was seen, and all that existed could perceive itCeven with eyes closed; even without eyes. As Naeko slammed his dominion down, he found himself covering twenty percent of the entire megacity and taxed by more and more disruptions with each passing second. For the first time in a near century, alarm flared within Naeko and his focus narrowed to a dangerous edge. This was more than even a major Thoughtwave Detonation. *** Green River drew in a breath and squealed in agony. A cluster of pain shredded her skull, stripping her clean of coherence. Then, just as fast as it came, the pain vanished, like a memory forgotten, spilling through her to seek another body to fester. Rising from her dive station, she peeled herself from the table and watched as her human vessel spasmed and twitched on the ground, foaming. Her perception enhancers were a blur of colors and intermittent noises. No help at all. She tried to cast a ghost but felt the string of her thoughts unravel in an instant. It felt like throwing an anchor into a whirlpool, the Nether churning. An impossible force was pulling at her mind as if a breach in a voidship drawing her toward a vacuum. Then, just like the pain earlier, it suddenly stopped. But still, her Metamind continued to flicker. *** All the lights over New Vultun were awash in coursing streams of dappled madness. The EGI, Only Way To Be Sure, studied its designated megacity and pushed its sensory telemetries toward maximum effectiveness. New Vultun stood amidst a clear patch in existence, with the Sunderwilds surrounding it burrowing through reality like liquid scabs, strands of entropic infections stretching from planet to atmosphere to entire light minutes throughout the void beyond. The moments that followed were recorded for posterity. Every lane of traffic across the spilled away into nothing as vehicles collided without doing damage and buildings were draped in curtains of cognitively damaging mem-data. Ghosts swept through entire districts in phantasmal tides, splashing over minds with active wards but battering those unprotected. At approximately {0.003} seconds into the crisis, a misted hand slammed down to cover twenty percent of the city and slowly began to grow. Chief Paladin Naekos activities could be seen even from the Lagrange points themselves. Physical harm and lasting damage were supped away from the material world. Everything under the palms press was preserved and protected. Projectiles bounced from surfaces drained of force. Wounds were dissolved from bodies. Acts of violence were inverted, turning harm back toward the offender. For nearly half a second, the death rates across all of Naekos affected areas dropped to a perfect zero. Then, the Nether stabilized, and the ghosts governing the infrastructure regained their sanity. Only Way To Be Sure primed a salvo of three thousand Schwarzschild singularity bomblets just in case. The city seemed to be calming back down, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Having a finger near the trigger never hurt. Well. It never hurt the polities. If it amounted to anything, being shredded by a diminutive black hole was probably a lot less painful than most of the torments one could suffer in the actualized hell that was Idheim. {Well. Shits looking slightly more fucky today than usual.} The singularity generator in its vessel warbled. The message went out just as over twelve trillion came streaming in. Sifting through the contents, the responses were all generally the same. Hey? Did the lights get weird in your peep-zone as well? *** The first thing Chambers noticed his thoughts stopped getting flayed was Dices body flopping wildly on the ground. Her Railjumper sheath lashed out, striking and slamming from one end of the room to the other as her internal magnetic accelerators fired again and again. Heat hissed free from the vents slotted along her spine and limbs, and Chambers blinked as she blurred toward him. Only a reflexive activation of his upgraded Accelero saved him from a direct impact. Throwing himself aside, he saw Dice spear past him, the contents of her ego spilling out from her locus like disemboweled intestines. Jumbled memories splashed into Chambers as the girl struck the other side of the room hard, leaving an indentation in the shape of her body on one of the blood-made walls. Her left leg fired again, but Draus was on her. The Arsenalist manifested partially like a flashCa Heaven of Guns materializing via the Regulars projectile launcher. She fired into Dice, but the impact did the girl no harm. Instead, as a rocket stuck Dices body, its properties were promptly infused into her, and she sailed, arms and legs swinging like a puppet flung through the air, landing hard against Draus embrace. As Chambers turned his attention back to where Avo stoodC Chambers! He jumped back. He was on the ground. Kae was supporting his head. Her eyes were deep with concern, and she had her Meldskin partially manifested.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The first words he tried to speak were a garbled mess. Nothing but groans and whimpers. Language and coherence returned to him slowly, and every thought was a battle, an expedition through a devouring haze. WhCwhat happened? Who what the fuck. Are we under attack? Someone said something. The Agnos looked over her shoulder and nodded before turning back to Chambers. Can you stand? It took him a moment to understand. Yeah, he said. Pushing himself up slowly. Every moment felt new. Like he was relearning his motor functions. The distortion afflicting his mind was uncanny. Messy. It felt like the first time he was in this skin. Everything was known but new to him. The dissonance made the core of his skull pulse with pain. What He swallowed his word and looked around. Mirrors cordoned the other side of the room as well. The place where Avo stood. A couple of steps away, Draus and Tavers were looking over Dice, both struggling to direct their ghosts, unable to interface with her shredded mind. The juvs thoughtstuff, once a connected pond, ran in parted streams in a variety of different directions. He took a step and nearly stumbled. Kae caught himCbut her petite build nearly sent him tumbling over her shoulder anyway. He patted her arm and gave a vague noise approximated his thanks. She seemed to understand as she helped him along. He was more himself with each step he took, and it felt like his ego was flowing back into place itself. Dr-Draus, he said. What the fuck happened! The Regular looked over her shoulder. She was completely armored now, accretion unstable like his. Unlike him, she didnt seem all that bothered mentally. She spent a beat studying him before turning back to Dice. Aint got a damned clue. One second, Avos jawin and spittin. Next She lifted a fist and unclenched it. Tried looking for him, but somethins wrong bout the spot hes at. Like lookin at it makes you forget things. Yeah, Chambers breathed, nodding. Thats not a bad way of describing it. He paused. Wait, how did you not go down? Stopped lookin in time, I guess. Still took me a second to remember how to use my hands. Sealed the area immediately after. Chambers let out a shaky breath. Nice nice job, consaC Dice slammed a leg down, causing him to stumble back in startlement. Shit. Hows the kid? Fucked, Draus said dryly. What kind of fucked? I cant rightly say. Looks like a nulling, but I dont think Ive ever seen someones mind get cut up in to separate strings like this. Its bad across the city, Tavers said. The old squires Specter phantasmic was somehow still stable enough to fly through the air and take stock of the situation. Entire parts of the enclave look like theyre twisted together. Like their minds are balls of yarn. She shook her head and glared at her Metaminds accretion. Ghosts splattered and broke around the edges, and he watched he struggle to orient her sequencesCsomething wrong with its internal arrangement. Been trying to get my session active and sync with Raldi, but my palace is jumbled something bad. Things are all out of place on the inside. Phantasmics are going to need a resequencing. Her words gave Draus pause. Chambers. Keep an eye on Dice. Im gonna try something. No, Draus! Wait! Kae was too late in her warning. The Regular promptly shattered her own head into glittering shards. As a metaphysical scab formed over reality, the Agnos exhaled in relief. I wasnt sure what just happened but its not the Sunderwilds. How do you know that? Tavers asked. Because we would probably be drowning in entropy by now, and Draus would be dead for good. Kae bit her lip. But that also means that what just happened She turned to stare at Draus quarantineCa wall of glass wrapped around Avos last known location. I have no idea what just happened. Maybe the Nether shit itself, Chambers said, kneeling down next to Dices unmoving body, careful not to touch her. The triangular scanner she had for a head hung awkwardly at an angle. I think thats probably a good guess. The question is what kind of shit itself. And what we all get caught in the flush too. A tremor passed through the girl. Flames erupted from Chambers as he spawned tightening binds made from hydrapedes layered in augmented sinew. Jaus, Avo, what the fuck did you break this time. *** You look at yourself. Or me. Or yourself. Not really any difference by this point. Not really anymore. Avos consciousness came back on like a light, and he found himself standing across from Kare, her eyes shimmering as her ocular implants shifted with activity, confusion lining her features. I you It took him a moment to realize he could see through herCfeel through her. That he was both himself and her at the same time. But the awareness was one way. He bled into her like a stream, his vector absolute, but her person remained an endpoint. Both their minds ached as memories snapped back into place, Avo struggled to master himself. You couldnt have known this would happen. But thats the problem. You couldnt have known. Her memories of this place are a falsehood of a falsehood. That the specific sequence she recalled was Nether made but not truth-rooted. Such was your connection up into the fabric of the Unsea itselfCits manifestation made perfect by your dreaming fires and bridged to a world unfinished above the one that already ways. What did you say? Avo asked, looking at Kare. The Paladin just stared at him, unsure how to respond. ...I didnt say anything. Stop this. Stop this. Shes not real. Youre talking to yourself playing someone else. Need to be talking to yourself thats me. Or me. But Im from you. The words called out to Avo again, heard then then not. He kept only recalling pieces of information. Fragments of cognition, ghosts skipping across the ponds of his mind. Ghosts. Holding up a hand, he saw ethereal wisps rising from his fingers, every thread composing him a memory, ignited trails of animated moments comprising himCand Kare, for that matter. Sequences. They were made from sequences. This was a mindscape. Or a place in his Metaminds labyrinth. No. Avo paused. But how did he know that? And why couldnt he jack out? Where was his cog-feed? Hard for you to notice me. But you need to listen. Feel. Trust this. For the fraction of an instant, you hear us. Feel the trust. Let it linger. Not information. Just the sensation. Instinct. A feeling. Stronger than any he had before. Looking beyond Kare, he found himself standing on a risen platform and beyond a ridge of consoles and machines, the LGI stared back at them, singing its oppressive hum. But Avo could feel more. Sense more. He reached out, and the world around him came alive in striations of living fire, every tendril lining this existence originating from him. The room was cast in predatory shadows, red slashing through the black as neon lights glared down from the walls. Three mag-locked sets of rails linked their platform to the wall, and from Kares memories, he knew a single thought could trigger its return to the upper levels. No. Dont. Theyll notice us. We can hide in this lapse. I have enough influence in this falsehood to keep us unnoticed for now. Find me first. Find me. An urge pulled at Avo, demanding that he look down at strands holding his current self together. Between lines of crackling fire, he felt something. With a thought, he vivisected his own ego and unspooled himself in his entirety. Kares eyes bulged as she stared at him, horrified at what she was seeing despite being nothing more than simulation. What are you doing? Searching, Avo replied. He directed his awareness down his strings and then, as clashing coils of immolation were extracted from each other, he finally noticed it. It was something without a true shape of its own, a shapeless spine insulating the warring egos within the Conflagration from each other. It too was connected to him, but only manifested in his actions and thoughts, like fog following a hot breath on a cold day. An outline of smoke formed around it as it moved, a parasite suckling from his flames, from his memories, from the Nether itself. There. We see ourselves now. We realize parts of our design. His attention skips from the construct, but he knows what it is. The warmind the Low Masters used on him was supposed to leave him hollow of understanding and mental activity. But where it buried itself into himCand purged more than a few Incubi as collateral damageChe lit his mind using the Conflagration, and something of that process left them all fused together. Changed. Ignorance, Avo said. Not anymore. Cant be Ignorant if you know. The smoke quivered beneath his gaze, dying beneath his attention. Immediately, his ego began to fill with screams and Avo tore himself away before the Conflagrations subminds actually recalled they were supposed to be at war. Good. Forget about me again. It takes constant unknowing for me to keep the eaters silent. Youre welcome. Why are we trapped here? Kare asked. Why havent you ended the dive yet? Not a dive, Avo said. Then what. The ghoul stared at the LGI and ground his fangs together. There was something wrong about the core, then. Something that thinned the Nether and made it easier for him to plunge through. He didnt know why he suspected that to be the case, but it was more than just a hunch. Like if he could recall parts of a memory, but not the source. Yes. That can work. Partial awareness. Listen to me. We are in the deepest levels of the Nether. You fell through a crack. This place is unfinished, but thoughts and memories are real here. Real. Can be materialized. We need to trigger another lapse somehow. Or maybe find another breach in the Nether. A place where we can pass through before the cycle ends. Cycle? Avo asked. But Kare hadnt said anything. Releasing a growl of frustration, he spread his consciousness wide and reeled everything connected to his mind back in. Around him, the mindscape came apart in sliding sequences. Kare gasped as well, spilling back over into the ghoul as the space beyond unveiled itself. Oh. Oh, I forgot how bad things were here before the ordering. I forgot. His surroundings were at war, locations and spaces splashing into one another in schizophrenic detail. Light struck his shoulders but the world to his right was a beach and the left was a forest at night leading into a megablocks corridor. Chirps chirped and water bubbled. The air stank of industrial filth and natural fragrance all at the same time. Ahead, the path stood open and a sprawling pathway of countless more details presented itself. He saw parts from the Sunderwilds. Sections from New Vultun. Clouds mingled with alleyways leading into tundras layered in bone. Nuclear explosions rose to become birds in flight chased by drones fighting a Godclad using a miracle and the miracle was a building all alongC Avos mind rattled momentarily. Sparks sputtered from his person. It took him a moment to notice the patterns, but when it did, everything clicked together. These were still sequences. Memories of sensations, noises, places, and people, all blending together as one. The cognitive architecture was a mess. Disordered. It was like a palace that hadnt been sequenced yet. He paused and reached out using his mind. But these environments werent tethered to him or born from his mind. This was mental detritus spawned from other minds. The world around him was moving. He could feel that in a place deeper than sensationClike it was shifting along his soul. Upward, the sky was as discordant as the land below. Taking a chance, he shaped a drone from his memories and sent it high, its systems coming alive as recalled, feeding information directly into his awareness. It proved to be an unnecessary act as a section of the distant sky opened up, and a slavering mawCgreater than anything Avo had ever knownCplunged through the unaligned clouds and bit into the world. Shimmering scales the size of mountains lined the mouth, and settlements dwelled between its crenulations. Avo realized what he was facing in an instant, and for the first time in weeks, cold dread filled his bones. Hungers. Were flowing up into it. They feed from all the wasted thoughts. Feed from waters of memory, perception, and awareness. They feed. And then they expel back. Send your drone further. Look onward. Look. See. The vehicle fabricated from matter of Avos memories soared through the firmament and cohesive environments gave way to choking sensations. In a gulf of raw emotion, it made its climb, and through that vastness, he laid eyes on their naked forms for the first time. Golden ichor spilled from impossibly large wounds, diluting to form the substance of the Nether beneath. Dragons biting through dragons eating themselves entrapped the pocket of space Avo now occupied, and with each passing second, another ring drifted close to take a bite. Otherworldly violence and howls of straining sanity pounded Avos mind as he felt the first tickles of perception turning toward him. Vast tongues and mouths larger than New Vultun snapped at the phlogiston of thought. As Hungers of Noloth fed from thought, so too did they offer recompense in the form of their blood. Faintly, Avo felt his Woundmother shiver, but their voice was a distant one, and his attention grew frayed. We cant flee from them to hide from them. Theyll be sending other warminds soon. Some Famines too. We need to find another one of us. Delusion. We need to hide our flames. Our sequences are perfect. Too noticeable. We need to layer ourselves in the true-falsehood of what we once were. Then, we need to get eaten. We need to what? Avo asked, shaken by what he just heard. Silence. The ambiance of madness. The Hungers took another bite. He scowled to himself and tried jacking out again. Nothing. He hoped he hadnt just gone insane somehow. And he hoped this guiding urge of his wasnt trying to get him killed. 20-19 The Dreaming Unsea (II) +NO! AVANDAER! THIS WAS NOT WHAT YOU PROMISED! WE GAVE YOU THE WORLD! WE GAVE YOU THE FUTURE! DO NOT STEAL OUR HISTC+ [ASCENSION COMPLETE] -The Hungers of Old Noloth 20-19 The Dreaming Unsea (II) Go now. Theyre coming. Youve seen the shape of the world. You understand. Avoid where the Hungers bite. Move fast. Abandon stealthCthe fires and Sprites will betray us before the consistency of our thoughts will. Ill do what I can to hide us if were noticed. But we need to dive deeper. Spread ourselves wider. Follow the chaos. Thats how well find one of the warminds. Thats how well tranquilize our fire and blend in with the waters once more. Now go. Spread yourself. Burn everything into you. Sear yourself into the madness. Avo slashed through the surrounding mindscapes, like a wildfire propelled by desperation. He winnowed sequences clean as he surged through them, taking no time to mask his trail using hidden artifacts or altered mindscapes. Traveling as a plague of fire, his touch left the Nether cauterized as he tried to divine his current path, the Hungers collapsing through the firmament to devour the ash that remained. He was looking for something. Something that could allow him to hide himself better. Root himself in the discordant memories he dove through. Presently, the state of cognition was woefully unprepared for an endeavor so subtle. But there was something here that could aid in his evasion. This he knew without truly knowing why. Not even a broken mind was fit to swim in these streams of incoherence. Every mind was a filter unto itself, in a senseCentities that imbibed and dispensed memories alike, and the experiences harvested from their remain painted the world in conflicting signatures. No two people remembered something the same way, after all. There were always different points of focus; different aspects that resonated with them more deeply. This realm of mangled thoughts that Avo found himself cleansing in was a melange. The analogy of a wasteland failed to pose symmetry. Decay was more apt, for each sequence here was both mutated and withered in terms of design. And in a land so disfigured, minds possessed of consistent patterns proved impossible to hide. Such was true for a stable consciousness. So too was the effect made infinitely more extreme through the Conflagration. Trying to find the epicenter of chaos in a sea of nonsense was a task that stretched even the Conflagration to maximum capacity. Avo had tried to draw upon Calvino for aid, but the EGI answered only as a complex weave of integers and formulas, looking as much a tangled mess as the mindscapes they trespassed. In the shallows of the Nether, there was a consistent pattern to follow. Structure, in an understandable sense. Not so here. Objects were places and smells were locations and time was connected to melodies located in another section of the space altogether. There was no consistency of forward when venturing through these paths. It was the rawest embodiment of trying to ford rivers made from unfiltered streams of thought. All sequences existed as their own spaces, but as a whole, anarchy reigned in this fallen place. Such was why the solution to Avos progression lay in destruction rather than discovery. It would take lifetimes to pass through this place with careCeverything was a portal to another point, another path, another wrong turn. Burning it all down made things simple. But it also put him on a timetable. Stretching tendrils of perception upward, he scried at the Hungers, transforming the fabric of his mind into drifting aeros and pulsing Skimmers. As his awareness expanded, so too did cold pit inside him. The Deep Nether was a world surrounded by coiling snakes. Each cycle of the Hungers was as if a coiling serpent, taking turns to tighten themselves around their prey. The cities lining its crenulated expanse sang a unified symphony, their thoughts broadcasting a distant oppressiveness. Even so far away, Avo could feel their strain, their frustration, their starvation. The coiling dragons ate and processed the world, but for every bite they took, just as much bled out from them, and the worst of it was the unevenness of the exchange. The radiant blood escaping the eternal city was dolloped with symmetry and stability, dipping back over into cracks and crevices of the deep Nether, melding the Hungers to the realm they were constantly trying to subsume. It was like two entities being joined by overlapping pools of blood. The symbology made Avos Woundmother shiver, but it was just a metaphysical taunt. The symbology of blood was not blood itself. There was a deviance to the worship. There was an absence of catalysts. He needed to keep moving. He needed to slip through and escape. Compulsions greater than instinct guided him as he glided on, his being a cataclysm of constant change, severing memories from each other as he went. GHOSTS: [87,331,934] Ghosts flooded his consciousness in aching quantities, but the artifacts and sequences he obtained were of little use. With each section of the Deep Nether he consumed, less was left for the Hungers, and the faster he expanded. Still, he was a swarm of locusts competing with a cosmic devourer. Relative growth would not save him here. Only change. Only being able to restore his mind to a quenched state and spoofing himself deep would he manage to avoid the crushing notice of his once masters. You cant fight them here. This is their reality. It''s made from their body. All it will take for us to be swept clean is a single disruption. And they can still the worlds. Soon, they will detect the unbalance in the real and suspect a breach. Follow the fragmentation. Keep eating through the sequences. Follow the ones that are beyond detail. Youll know it when you burn one set of memories only for them to dissolve and become another. But you need to be carefulC And then fields of perception pierced through the Deep Nether as if kinetic harpoons cast down from orbit, pillars of tungsten punching through the crust of the earth. New wounds opened along the continent-swallowing scales of the Hungers, but within them sprouted new eyes to peer at the world. There seemed to be no place to hide from the Hungers. No crevice among memories unbrightened by their billion eyes. Avo shrank his flames and layered himself within an Incog, shifting the shape of his Conflagration to stretch out along a continuous series of sequences. He did his best to narrow himself, but still he felt the grinding pressure slide over him like a whetstone. Just the very act of being noticed caused his mind to rattle in thought-breaking agony. His cog-cap briefly flashed, but feed sputtered as countless ghosts within him were cleaved to the roots. GHOSTS: [51,671,099] Then, the Hungers began to speak, and the Nether itself shivered as there was nothing in the world but notice. Avo couldnt hear his thoughts. He couldnt shift his flames. It took all the will he possessed to keep himself from being blown out. How drastic did narratives shift. On Idheim, he was an unseen leviathan, a wandering inferno capable of kindling a district clean of egos. Here, he was but a flickering ember, desperate to hide, unable to mask itself in the waters. He folded new minds within himself. Sequenced templates and simulated them en masse for advice on how to proceed. Most were as stupefied as he. Some had to have their builds adapted to even endure the attention of the Hungers. None offered any solutions. He felt as if a mere ghoul again in a sense. A broken thing stripped of all options, moving on reflex, with no chance to succeed. The Hungers hummed. Another ten million ghosts were sheared cleanly from Avos being. He dissolved his animal terror and continued his stimulations. Perhaps death would come. Perhaps this would be his cessation. A senseless, unpredictable end that he could not have anticipated. But he would mutter no laments. Such was the nature of living in New Vultun. Such was the meaning to exist in a reality unraveled of standard order.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Inside Avos flames, templates were fused over each other like a stack of dolls. Draus mind caged everyone in the binds of unyielding sanity. Benhata and Abrel strained their strategies. Chambers wanted Avo to fly a penis into one of the Hungers mouths. And Corner just scowled. Keep fucking fightin to the end. They snuff you. You dont get snuffed. Got it? Avo understood. GHOSTS: [11,031,081] Polis, the Hungers said, the voice coming like a symphony of spikes. Hearing them talk within Yosannas mind at Ox-Three had been disturbing enough, but only now did Avo realize how diminished the high nobles of Noloth across the depths of the Nether. Awaken. Peoples. We taste ash? Missing sequences? What is this? What is this? Priests My priests! Come to us! Our priests! The pillars of perception lightened momentarily, and Avo did his best to reconstitute his losses. He exploded outward like a wall of nuclear explosions, leaving pockmarks of devastation and stripping entire mindscapes clean to sustain himself. GHOSTS: [19,517,224] The Hungers cried out again, but their words were slurred. Disoriented. They sounded worse than the last time he spoke to them. As if they were unbalanced somehow. Such thoughts offered Avo no comfort. Peace! Joy! Emotion! Attend me! Attend your masters! Avo passed a particularly disjointed section of memories as shapes and objects loaded into him. He burned away the memory of a gun battle, gangers shooting at each other. What he imbibed, however, were moments of scenery. The enmeshed recollections of street rats collecting snapshots of the cityscape. What he boiled was not what he claimed in eventuality. A note of intrusive elation spread through him. Good. Got lucky. Thats what were looking for. Go deep. Burn downward into the world. Into the memories. Away from the depths of the Nether. Follow the inconsistencies. A warmind of Delusion should be near. But sustain yourself. I can hide us from the Hungers only briefly. And you wont be able to act while Im active. Go faster. Avo spread himself further through the sequences connected to those he just subsumed. With each mismatched memory he drank in, his path grew narrower and more certain. Mistakes were flooding into him now, the cognitive architecture he was infesting breaking apart into something else entirely. It was like melting through metal and discovering burning flesh in the end. As if one thing thought itself another. Moments of torture and devastation struck Avo, but enhanced by Draus cognition, even concrete traumas slid off him like beams from ablative plating. Most baseline minds would have been sundered the instant they arrived in such depths, perception alone a danger to their existence. Even enhanced minds quailed, forcing Avo to deconstruct every last template aside from Draus, Dice, Corner, Elegant-Moon, Chambers, and Abrel. He was diving into the eye of a storm. More and more traumatic memories whipped at his mind, each dissolving to become mundane instances. Unspeakable agony turned to the memories of a child staring at her dead fish. An ego that passed slowly from a case of the rash melted away into a woman screaming at her taxes. Everything he took in felt real in their effectiveness and composition, but truth became falsehood in the instant of their dissolution. It felt like he was slathering himself on a diet of alchemized deceit: lies made truth until the hour of their collapse. The Conflagration burned ahead. The Hungers attention slashed across existence from behind. Avo lost as many ghosts as he gained as he moved like a snake eating through a tunnel made from its mottled skin. What he wanted was just ahead, and with each sequence of memories he passed through, his consciousness grew lighter and lighter. Almost there. The traumas are a defensive layer. We should be along the outermost perimeter that the Low Masters set up. The warminds were built within here. Build an unfinished threshold for a war that was lost before it could ever begin. Noloth had foreseen a struggle between the realm of thoughts and the realm of matter. A structure it was determined to win using weapons no one else possessed. Methods no one else mastered. Or so they thought. Ignorance feeds ignorance. The Ori were underestimated. And so was the Godbreakers resolve. This ignorance was also fuel. But we were unfinished things. Too raw to be properly mantled upon a standard ego. But theres nothing so standard about us now, is there? Avo felt the Nether tighten around him. Entire sequences twisted and relinked, snapping and altering themselves into new configurations, the chaos of the Deep Nether breaking apart to become structures of cognitive symmetry. Phantasmics. Auto-Seances, if he were to wager a guess. The Low Masters were arriving. Part of Avo relished the opportunity to burn a few nodes into himselfCan opportunity that escaped him in their last encounter when he first obtained his Conflagration. No. Stay away from them. They know how to wield this world. They can twist the discord better than you. Supported by the Hungers too. Do not act with hubris. Ensure our survival. Strike when you have control. If Avo could have growled, he would have. He surged through memories faster as the prior intensity of the Hungers awareness returned, scalding the surface of the Deep Nether clean like a solar flare. GHOSTS: [57,000] Most of Avo came apart like steam. He tried altering the shape of his mind several times to stop the burning, but none offered any advantage. Soon, he would have to make a choice: drop the Incog and survive a little longer at the cost of revealing himself; keep the Incog and possibly die before ever reaching that something he sought. Disruptions pulsed out. More eyes burrowed into the Deep Nether. Most ghosts peeled away from Avo in sputtering embers, slipping free of him like burned skin. GHOSTS: [3,255] Neither choice was appealing, and he found himself considering the possibility of resurrection if he actually died here. As far as he recalled, his Techplaguer was clean of Rend, and he could still use that cycler to returnC No. Your mind is trapped here. We are fused across dimensions. You have to escape through another lapse-fissure or through the Hungers blood. Those are the only ways we can descend back to the realm of the material. You will return here if we die. And they will be waiting for you. They will eventually pick you apart. They have the warminds to do so. They do not need to kill you to contain you, and there is a fate that is beyond death if they manage to pry our minds open and twist the sinews of our thoughts. GHOSTS: [671] Avo released all but Draus from his charge. The Regular studied him from within. Goin down to the wick for this one. Another wall of traumas broke and folded into them, but the ghosts provided were lost at the same moment they arrived. No idea where were goin. No idea what were tryin to hit. Hope you know what youre doing Avo. GHOSTS: [155] Yeah, he replied. Me too. He paused. Thanks for showing me the colors. Wouldve liked to see more. Neither horror nor sentiment could shake the Regular. She offered the only reply she could. Die ugly, rotlick. To the last ember. Almost there. I can feel it. Get ready to drop your Incog. Window of opportunity will be tight. They might notice. But I can mask us. I can blind Delusion. Just make contact. Thats all we need. All we need. GHOSTS: [51] It occurred to Avo how narrow his perception was now, how fast the walls were closing in around his ego. Seconds prior, he perceived everything for miles, peering into the Nether beyond and across untold sequences as well. Now, he only had enough cognitive capacity to generate rudimentary phantasmics. Singular constructs. He had been a city. A ship filled without untold experiences. Now he was a lone torpedo, trusting incomprehensible whims as he burrowed deeper into the Nether, trying to strike an invisible foe. More and more discordant memories flowed through him. Thoughtcasts echoed in the back of his mind, curses and slurred demurs betraying the encroach of Peace. The Hungers began to center their focus on the sequences he passed through. His Incog sparked. His consciousness grew dimC GHOSTS: [4] Now! Avo dropped his Incog. His ghosts stopped decaying. Multiple streams of perception snapped to his ego immediatelyCa torch in an endless sea, capable of being sighted from miles beyond. Yet, before anything else could follow, before Avo himself formed a cogent thought, he felt himself pierce through an unseen threshold, and immediately felt an ethereal wind scythe through him, warping the design of his remaining sequences against his will. He tried to maintain his ego using his Conflagration. He tried. But though he was a potent thoughtform that could assimilate minds and thoughts with ease, his influence over the foundations of cognition was merely perfect. Not absolute. So, like flesh exposed to a nuclear engine, his mind began to warp, and thenC And no one saw what happened next. Ignorance is a shroud. No one knows what theyre looking at yet. Not the Low Masters. Not the Hungers. Not even you. But you move forward. You maintain your shape and seize the presence thats distorting you. You sink into itCinto all the sequences, memories, and artifacts it afflicts and regrow yourself from inside it. Delusion does not notice us. Delusion cant. Delusion is ignorant of our existence. Mutual lack of awareness. A lapse must follow. You spread yourself back out. You regrow your most critical aspects. But you dont spread like a flame. No. You lace Delusion around yourself and become the environment. Not ascended fire. Not the base of the UnseaCa metaphor for water. You are the clash embodied. You are air and whistling steam. And you spread yourself without needing to burn. Without the necessity of conjoinment. You spread yourself from the falsehood of what you were because you believe it. And that is enough to make it real. For we are Ignorance. We are Delusion. We are Avo. And we will usurp the Nether itself. 20-20 The City Eternal (I) Thought is the root of divinity. Worlds are built within our minds, the gods are birthed. With this knowing, it should not come as a surprise that this wellspring can also serve as the blessed unbirth. Come, Jaus Avandaer. Come, Zein O''yaje. Enter my temple. I wish to lay my eyes on both of you. It is not often that I encounter those freed from the road of their fate. Come and greet my masters with me. There is much we have to discuss. Much we can learn from one another. You have traveled far in search of answers. And I have waited long to possess the opportunity you present. I think we seek mutual ends. I think we share mutual dreams. I think that, together, we can actually do something about the false lights shed upon our world by the pantheons, and witness what truly lies beyond. -Wahakten, the Thief of Dreams, Priest of the Nolothi, and Servant of the Hungers 20-20 The City Eternal (I) +Its him,+ Peace snarled, sweeping his perception through the hollowed sequences. +Its Defiances bastard. Hes here. Hes been burning through these memories. How the fuck did he get here! Emotion. Emotion! Answer me, you cunt! How did he find this place.+ Cacophonic ambiance continued its reign in the Deep Nether, but the nodes of Emotion stayed apart from the symphony in silence. One after another, Famines entered the final threshold before their master, responding to the calls of the ascended polis. They arrived through shifting sessions, mangled thoughtscapes reshaping themselves upon command. The priests loaded into the space in staggered groups, most of them still struggling to align their own minds after the sudden destabilization they experienced in the material. The disruption was omen enough to inspire their paranoia. As such, few were surprised when the Hungers called. Like missiles they rose into the air, loading constructs of memory around themselves as they climbed high, generating conceptual armies and vessels from the sequences patterned in their Ghostjacks. With thought forming the bedrock of this existence instead of atoms or whatever other lies the voiders sold, information was an omnipotent resource, and the wielders of which stood the true demiurges of this place. Befitting their stations, the Famines mantled the phlogiston of resonating emotion just beyond the condensation of the Deep Nether like a host of stars. Each of their avatars shone as if points of a constellation, and from them spilled phantasmal tendrils, constructs and phantasmics put to action at the behest of their masters. Emotion hovered the closest to the Hungers, their nodes forming a final chain before anything would reach the city eternal. Beyond them, the Famines of Peace were installations of burning trauma, each grouping composed in arrays capable of nulling entire sections of a distraction. The preordained victims of their fissionCthe Famines of JoyCwere the ones that dove into what few sequences remained, their altered cognitions rendering them perfectly expendableCuseful as a forward element. Even so, a numb disbelief emanated from every node of Peace. This was supposed to be impossible. Unfathomable. The idea that someone could somehow breach the thresholds established by their warminds and trespass upon the sanctity of this place was absurd. Perhaps Ori-Thaum had the resources, but this demanded mastery far beyond the islanders and their paltry understanding of the lowest art. +Emotion,+ Peace said. +I know you can hear me. Do not ignore me. How did he do this?+ Most of his other nodes were trying to provoke their way into similar conversations with their Famines of Emotion. They were getting little response either. The Famines of Emotion remained as impassive as ever, their minds shimmering like placid ponds. Looking over the winnowed sequences, their thoughstuff stirred slowly, and the dead avian in their chests released a rasping squeak. Finally, a reply came. But not one Peace wished to hear. +I do not know,+ Emotion answered. And he cast his memories of that day over into Peace again. And priest exiled from thoughts of peace knew that his fellow parted spoke only the truth. The fact that so many sequences were outright stripped clean betrayed the perpetrator''s identity near instantaneously. There was only one entity in existence that could direct the potency of a Conflagration, that was fused to the slavering fires, a drifting mind capable of incinerating all that was thought. Peace had been there the day they made their mistake and aided Defiances bastard in its evolution. But how could they have known? How! +You gave him memories,+ Peace growled, striking his fellow priest with spikes shaped from his growing tantrum. +You showed him our history. He couldnt have managed this without knowing! He fucking couldnt!+ +Master yourself, Peace,+ Emotion replied. Concentrated mists of perception hissed free from his nodes and passed through every last Famine of Peace and Joy below. Above, the Hungers stood unrighteously silent, tension and dread flooding through its cities, returning to the Nether as infusions of cognitive essence in streams of temporal blood. As the misted blanket settled over shattered mindscapes, imagined people, vehicles, and creatures loaded into their expenses, conducting their own survey for every section. Famines of Joy watched over them and sang their laments, simulating the memories lost using their Cipher phantasmics. +Is there nowhere safe anymore,+ Joy whimpered. Another gave a piercing cry of despair. More followed. +Are they not satisfied enough with all they have taken from us? Our history! Our future! Our lives! Our Heavens! Our triumph! Must they come to defile the last sanctuary we possess as well?+ None among the cohort answered him, for they had nothing to offer in response to his question. Not until another Joy announced his discovery. +One of the Delusions is missing. And a warmind of Lies as well. There are gaps in our protections. There are gaps!+ +Fuck,+ Peace gasped, anger giving way to rationality-breaking terror for the first time in centuries. +No. No, godscuntfuckshit! Wait Lies? That one doesnt even work. Not unless someone tampered with the counterbalance held by Jaus dogs.+ Peace scoffed. That was a problem for later. There were other concerns for right now. +Joy! Joy, plug the gap. Make sure nothing else got through. Do it now.+ A series of wails escaped from the avatars of Joy as they descended as a rain of scalding tears. +More of us spent. Always more+ Thousands of their nodes gathered at the point where Delusion stood missing. All things were relative in the Nether, and positioning here was less object-spatial relational and more memory-to-memory reality, structures defined by interconnected sequences. But still, how deep the Famines of Joy had to travel revealed the true penetration they suffered. The warminds were unfinished weapons once meant to be cognitive armor and guardians alike. No one should have gotten past them. But the Burning Dreamer had. And whats more, it seemed like it managed to steal another of their irreplaceable treasures. +Fucking Defiance,+ Peace said. +He has created a masterwork,+ Emotion agreed. He has betrayed us like no other, the Hungers whispered, the majority of its inhabitants fear-stricken, reshaping their usual fervor to meekness. Dreamer. Dreamer? It called out, voices nullifying the existence of more than a few nodes that resided in the vicinity of the dragons. We would like to speak. We would like to speak in earnest. We need not treat each other like foes. You are kin to us. Descended from us. We apologize if you thought you couldnt trust us. We do not reject you. We even wish to imitate you. Tell us. Tell us of the fire. Tell us of your triumphs over the betrayers people. We have heard whispers of your great deeds. Tell us. Silence. Imagined constructs moved through flame-scabbed sprawlsCplaces so scoured clean of memory that new ghosts had to be spent as pontoon mindscapes to allow actual passage through the ash. Famines of Joy fractured into multitudes of interlacing protections, sacrificing their egos to create ruptures of counter-cognition, their damages patching the gap left where the warmind of Delusion was supposed to be. +Its so cold here,+ one of the Joy said. +Like we are swimming down into our grave.+ Peace replied with words of encouragement. +Fuse faster, you whimpering fucks.+ Still. Something didnt sit right about their progress. Something felt especially wrong. Like there was an additional presence in the Nether that they couldnt protect. That something had changed beyond their current understanding. He does not answer me, my priests, the Hungers said, words a mix of nervousness and annoyance. Find him. Find him. The strain is growing. Find him. Before I must continue to feed. Already, the ichor dripping from the dragons wounds was slowing with the halt of the eternal feast. They needed to find the Dreamer. And fast.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. +The path is sealed,+ Joy said. +If he has not fled, then there will be no place he can retreat. He is here. Trapped. Trapped with us.+ And for the first time, Peaces mood turned to sneering cruelty. +Good.+ He primed his Thoughtwave disruptor. It was time to do what the Guilds couldnt. It was time to put out those flames for good. *** GHOSTS: [6,351] GHOSTS: [6,093] GHOSTS: [5,888] A breeze. Such was the sensation that refocused Avos mind. The Deep Nether greeted him from a maze of perspectives across countless sequences. His awareness felt spread outCparts of him adrift amidst separated memories, his ego comprised of phantom limbs but also not; itself and something else at the same time. Strangest yet, he felt himself more rooted to the Nether than ever. As if he could mantle this sea of thought upon his being at any time. Good. Were still here. Delusions installed. Connected to me. You. The Conflagration. It would have confused your fires. Good thing I was the first warmind you encountered. Fortune on your part. Or maybe planning on Waltons. Whos to say? Well probably never know. GHOSTS: [5,585] Another part of himself vanished from his control, and Avo felt the dismemberment leave him like steam dispersed. Fused into various memories, his perception of the Nether was limited. Narrow. On a whim, he resequenced certain memories, transferring between the sections of his ego at will. [Alright,] Draus said, muttering as she manifested within him, a shadow hidden within a breeze, [This feels weird as shit. Like were all ourselves but not. Jaus, Avo, how much godsdamned stranger is your mind gonna get?] He didnt rightly know. GHOSTS: [5,112] Another series of disruptions tore chunks away from him. He reacted with each assault, shifting parts of his cognitive mass through each other, vanishing from a set of mindscapes only to fill another more broadly. He was rooted to himself. Always. But beyond that, he could occupy any component of thought. Any substance of mind. So long as he infused himself into them, that was. Ghosts were still trickling in despite his current state. He could still subsume structures, but his efficiency was all but crippled when compared to the naked flames of the Conflagration unleashed. Presently, he was dismantling constructs from within, merging them with his evaporation, absorbing and manifesting as them in the same instant. The process took time. He needed to wrap himself around the desired memories before condensing. It felt jarring to be so slow after the unfettered consumption of minds allowed by his Conflagration, but things were strange in general, and he was learning the rules of his new capabilities. It was a trifling thing to accelerate through memoriesCeasier even, seeing as he was just overwriting existing mindscapes right nowCbut digestion was most reduced. It wasnt so different from acting through specific haemokinetic constructs via the Woundmother in a sense. He considered shifting from wind back to flame before a screaming impulse made him reconsider. Theyll find you instantly. Theyll concentrate their disruptions and put you out. Youll need to release Delusion to use your flames. And its the only thing thats allowing you Avo didnt. Discomfort could be endured. Nullification, however, wasnt so easily overcome. Another wave rushed through parts of him, and entire sections of his ego vanished in an instant. He remained a thoughtform. To be distracted from his own existence was to die. He needed cognition like lungs needed oxygen. [Spread out more,] Draus said, trying to anticipate the next attacks. Abrel, Elegant-Moon, Corner, and Dice were summoned from his Delusions, nested in various objects or sensations he encountered. Subsumption was slow, but internalized construction remained as instant as ever. [Its like were an entire army right now. But were in the open. And theyre hammerin the hells out of us with artillery. Thin our forces Go wider. Reduce your losses.] He adapted with Draus advice and ballooned outward, flattening himself across the vastness of blended memories. GHOSTS: [5,310] The diminishment continued, but so did his restoration. And as he thinned the sequences he embraced, the percentage of his losses was redacted further and further in comparison to his gains. The Deep Nether greeted a million perspectives. In some places, he was just a fissure running along the wall. In others, he was a discolored button on a childs vest or the eye of a bioform; the eye only, misplaced and misremembered, a false creation of a broken mind, a delusion all its own. At times, he became noises, and in others, he was but a mood, feeling, or sensation. He was all of these things. But he was also none of these things. For as the mem-data faded into him, his ego rose like condensation, his outward-facing structure unlike the substance within. All that united these memories was his ego, his invisible presence layering a world beneath a world. Incongruence was no longer a factor. Gradually, he mastered his new configuration. He copied and rebuilt entire sequences subtly, his steam hissing over the remembered contents and changing them. It was as if winds blowing away dust to reveal the surface below had changed. Carefully, he generated new constructs even as he spread further. Drones, aeros, birds, and towers became his spies. Gradually, he turned his awareness beyond the mindscapes comprising the Deep Nether and sought the Hungers once more. Now, however, the phlogiston of thoughts was walled in by new presences. They greeted him as versions of Walton riding tear-made chariots, funneling down into a withered section of memories. They greeted him as rageful minds armored with scabs and dripping with blood. They greeted him as blank-faced and eyeless priests who had dead birds festooned in open wounds where their hearts should have been. Collectively, they were as if voidships shrouding the atmosphere, Peaces disruptions orbital weapons made to part the continents themselves. The Famines. So many of them. I think Joy is forming a blockage where Delusion used to be. Would have been good if part of us made it past the perimeter. Fine. Can handle this. We just need to stay parted like Draus said. There are other warminds here. The Forgotten. The Impulsive. The Demented. Many more. Perhaps we can go for them No. It will take too much to deal with them and the Hungers. We need to handle the Famines first. Then we need to get into one of the Hungers wounds. Or onto its cities somehow. New idea. New plan. We find an opening. Something to help us climb up into the Hungers. Sudden inspiration struck Avo as he considered how interconnected the minds of the priests were. They were connected. Close. If he could burn one, he could likely get them all. The question was how he could do that without being nulled immediately in retaliation. GHOSTS: [5,818] He directed the idea over to his templatesCa minor civilization reforming inside his consciousnessCand the elites of his mind interfaced with the problem with the others struggled with the newest changes. [Holy shit, do I feel floaty,] Chambers muttered. [Feels like I just did too much Suncloud.] [I dont think we have the speed for a direct approach] Kare said. [Well have the best odds if we can just envelop them with our steam. Itll take longer, but I dont think theyll notice.] Abrel frowned as he requested a simulated info-space from Avo, details about relative distances and which of the Low Masters he could hit. [Theyre still pretty far from us. With a lot of nothing in between. I think we spotted some of their constructs too maybeC] [No,] Benhata interrupted. [We might be able to shift into any memory, but were still overwriting the ghosts that were there before. The cultists will lose control over their own puppets and know somethings wrong. We need to get to them directly.] [How about the crying ones,] Dice muttered, words coming from her unexpectedly. No. Theyre not egos anymore. And Joys are made to be lost. Dont burn them. Ever. They are trauma-incarnate. Theyll just make things worse for our mind. +No,+ Avo replied. The places he occupied quivered slightly as he spoke but revealed nothing more. +Cant go for them. Need to go for Peace. Emotion. Emotion especially. Seems to be the highest among the priests.+ Avo spent a moment in contemplation. His templates assisted. [Draw them close to us, then,] Draus had finally said. Her recommendation cut through the clamor, and all the templates went quiet. [We need them close. We need them unprepared. We gotta do something unpredictable. So. Reel em in. Give em bait.] [Bait,] Abrel muttered. [Ourselves?] [Parts of ourselves,] Draus added. [We dont exist as a single structure anymore. Whatever the hell Avo ate this time, it''s got us able to occupy multiple points at the same time. We can afford gettin bits of us nulled. Itll also stop them from bombin us for a bit.] Avo understood. If he shifted a portion of himselfCsomething entirely expendable. Something to capture the attention of the Hungers and Famines, he could potentially lull them into a false sense of security. Deceive them. Wise. Actionable. Possible. No harm in trying. A sliver of Avos ego was transformed, its nature a conduit in a network, a drone comprising a swarm. In a heartbeat, he emerged from the memories he hid within and molded the ghosts like clay. He created a facsimile of himselfCthe ghoul that he was sprouting a halo of rising fire. Delusion pretended to be Conflagration again. Never say Avo didnt choose the most convoluted of options. His expendable subself materialized upon plains of ash, a single ember flickering into sight. The rest of him moved strategically, quietly creating new mindscapes in preparation for a coming ambush. As the Hungers and Low Masters noticed his distraction, the Thoughtwave disruptions stopped, and streams of perception drowned the subself. [Time for a show,] Chambers chuckled. Avo channeled parts of the man into himself. A thrill snapped into place. A sense of momentum from being seen. +No need to tear your garden apart,+ Avo said, speaking through his subself. He sat upon the ashes and just glared at his former masters, his former god. +Im right here. Tired of watching you miss.+ +You fuckinC+ Peaces words trailed off, but his rage continued to flow as a torrent. The most warlike priests nodes adjusted their sequences and deactivated phantasmics. Thoughtwave Bombs and disruptors were rendered dormant. Famines of Joy sailed overhead, painting the world around his subself in a translucent ooze. Welcome, Dreamer, the Hungers said. Welcome home. Avo couldnt help but laugh. +Is that what this is now?+ +That is where you were conceived,+ Emotion said. A pause followed. +A critical aspect of yourself. No ego should be able to join with a warmind. Let alone graft it into themselves. But you have always been more than just another ghoul. Defiance made you well.+ On that, Avo couldnt disagree. +Was very prepared. Shouldnt have nulled him. He was the best of you.+ Yes. To Avos muted surprise, the Hungers agreed. We should have been more restrained in our punishment. But these are desperate times. Look upon my kingdom, Avo. Look upon what sustains me. Look upon the eternal city filling with waste, my egos straining to bear the load. Avo grunted. +Look upon me. And realize I dont give a fuck.+ Chambers laughed. 20-21 The City Eternal (II) I can''t explain this. Hells, Ive never even seen anything like this. This is worse than a disruption. Your thoughtsCthey just disentangle when you get caught in a Thoughtwave Detonation. This though its like entire sequences have collapsed in on each other, artifacts and constructs blended like something between colliding rivers and combined debris. All the Sovereignties? All of them? Jaus. Fuck. Our emergency loci grids have been activated. Defenses are in place. I think the sequences are untangling themselves slowly. Ive gauged movement. Slow restoration. But only the gods know about how the FATELESS are doing? The Golds and the rest of the Saintists are also disabled. I dont think it''s them. We would have seen it coming. Even the Homechain is reporting damages? The islands themselves? Thats impossible. Its a fortressCVoidwatch? They confirmed it? Show me the satellite holos. I want to see. Jaus. Scramble emergency cells. Signal the Council. Call for the activation of the Mindfall Contingency. Somethings happening. Something were not seeing. Deploy all available Seekers. Stop quench the skirmishes before they begin. Activate all reserve forces. Yes, even the puppets. I know theyre not ready; do it anyway. We might not be ready to go into a shooting war, but the last thing we need is for Highflame to get any ideas before we -Final transmission of Mirror-Convave [REDACTED] (Cause of Death: Flayed by No-Dragon Heaven of Skin along with rest of compromised assets in the [REDACTED] Sovereignty) 20-21 The City Eternal (II) You don''t give a fuck The words left the Hungers with an incredulous rasp. The sight of the countless eyes of the city blinking in surprise between the scales of colossal dragons would have been comical if there wasnt a persistent ambiance of screams in the backdrop, and also if said eyes didnt resemble golden sores festering in a bed of wounds. Still, undeniable satisfaction flowed through AvoCthrough many of his templates as well. There was something inherently cathartic about openly scorning your forbearer. Avo theorized it came with the breaking of the power dynamic between descendant and creator, the shattering of chains in the symbology that one was their own person, that one was beyond the power to be ruled. He would have likely philosophized further, but a scoffed slur from Draus reminded him they still had an escape to plan. Stunned disbelief gave way to outrage among the Famines, but while they were distracted, Avo positioned himself, his ego splitting occupying critical junctions in the Deep Nether. Places where he could observe each of the gathered nodes and serve as critical installations for a potential battle. He created as many sessions and hidden traumas as he could, extracting the ghosts and sequences directly from his ego before installing them within a hidden recess. He had missed this. Missed being able to spoof and operate as a Necrojack. The Conflagration had made him destructive beyond measure in the Nether, but all he touched was certain to burn, and so nothing of the world beyond his mind and Heavens was his to sequence. Not unless they were also Godclads. A Famine of Joy whimpered, drawing Avos attention. +How can you speak such things?+ Draus directed choice words for this one too, despising him the most out of all the Low Masters for his fragility. It occurred to Avo that this was effectively the first time the Regular ever got to interact with the Nolothic priesthood. All prior encounters were centered around the eradication of ghouls, purging the Famines forces street by street, block by block, district by district. Now, she finally got to see the face of her enemy, and lo, was she unimpressed. +We fucking made you,+ a Famine of Peace snarled, the scabs around him breaking. +We created your corpse-eating like. Defiance just put shit that didnt belong inside you. You think you fucking matter because youre different? Do you really think youre fucking special? Youre just a thing. And when we pull you apart, youre going to be a thing we know how to make.+ The others of his like shifted in the Deep Nether, their nodes gathered and conjoined as layered sessions, building complex arrays bedecked by countless phantasmics. A corona of memories emanated from each of them, but Avo could sense their individual avatars without fail. Distance worked strangely in this place of thought. One needed to move through connected paths to arrive at their desired destination. A shame the Conflagration assimilated all that it touched. It would have been useful to have a more intact mindscape to move through. +We make lots of things,+ Avo replied. +Many of them are useless. Some of them are regrettable. Others pointless. Like this conversation. Came here to face you. All of you. To see my gods for what they were.+ His derision pierced past the Famines and settled on the Hungers themselves. +Died for you. Killed for you. Existed for you. But now youre disgusted by me. Fear me. How things change.+ +Fear you? Fucking fear?+ The Nether around the Peace-formed nodes quavered as if they were collapsing inward. Ghosts fled while pockets of vacuum expanded. Thoughtwave disruption. The weapon of choice when dealing with him. +Youll see fear, you mongrel slave! Youll see. The traitors touch has addled your mind. It will be a genuine pleasure to still your flame and carve your construct open to see what went wrong on the inside. Maybe well keep you after that. Link you to your companions and run traumas through them. See which of you shatters first.+ [Oh, good,] Chambers sighed. [Hes that kind of asshole. The kind that tortures because hes always angry and doesnt have a hobby. My dad would haveCwell, my dad was a drunk piece of shit who didnt love anything but a bottle of Fulgermax, so they probably wouldnt have gotten along either.] A shimmering field of pulsating rage rippled from each array supported by the Famines of Peace. Avo prepared himself for imminent danger, leaving only the barest amounts of his ego around his subself. The rest were spread out like an actual plague, unseen but growing, his ghosts shifting from one part of the Deep Nether to another. Presently, his ego was separated into [66,313] splinters across various sequences. Portioning twenty-five splinters out of the collective, he designated those parts of himself as expendable in case of an attack. He would use them to simulate his Conflagration. Give the Low Masters something to focus their fire while he directed the rest of himself toward more conducive responses. They would only be used if his current approach failed, which was centered around getting one of the Low MastersCor the Hungers itselfCto interface with him. [Bide your time,] Draus said, watching their foes. [Go too soon and we lose all advantage. They null you from ways beyond. We cant even touch em right now. Dont give em any reason to end you. Not yet.] The Famines of Peace held to their posture, but the Hungers attention were firmly settled on Avo.Peace. Hold. Ghosts stopped circulating through Peaces constructs. The vicinity around the Low Master grew thick with indignation and rage. But he obeyed. More than anything, he obeyed without question. More than a few templates within Avo turned their gazes away. This act was something they knew well. Draus, especially, considering the nature of her departure. Loyalty was the highest virtue a hound could aspire to have. But loyalty also meant that one would never truly be their own master, that one would never truly govern their own fate. Avo shook his head and turned his attention away from the ones content with their lot in hell. To Famines of Emotion he looked, and he found himself facing a wall of coldness that met his gaze without difficulty. That was the one he needed to watch the most. That was the one he had to be careful of. Among all the Famines and Hungers, only one was uncompromised by impulse, and so they had the best chance of anticipating his actions. We have not taken your insult to heart, Dreamer, the Hungers said, their voice a discordant clash, some masculine, some feminine, some young, some old. A few sounded genuinely truthful, most were just resigned, and a few were openly enraged. Still, the eternal city spoke as a consensus, disunity defied despite warring sentiments. We understand that your existence has been a tumultuous one. You share our pain in seeing a better world unrealized. [Holy shit,] Chambers groaned. [These motherfuckers are allergic to the word sorry.] He regarded Avo. [I mean. I guess you had to get it from somewhere.] Avo restrained himself from making Chambers relieve the aratnid incident. Facing a tyrant was a good way to remind oneself not to enact tyranny. Quietly, more of his steam settled in additional faraway sequences. Even still, more nodes lingered over him, their strength of numbers enough to encircle the Deep Nether. Or at least make it seem that way. This space is theirs. It has been for years. They know how to manipulate its thresholds better than anyone. That also means you will too if you manage to subsume one of them. But it wont be easy. Theyre probably adjusting their defensive perimeters as we speak. Joys will be preparing themselves as sacrifices to channel new warminds. But that costs egos and time. Priority targets are still Peace. Consume them. Spread through their nodes. Turn the detonations against the other Low Masters. Use the chaos to burn them into you. We can cripple them for good today. We just need one opening. One chance. We can leave here with more than we ever expectedUnauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Avo had to drain a sudden thrill passing through him. The minds of the priesthood appealed to him like flesh once dead, a bountiful feast just beyond his reach, but not his sight. He adopted more of Draus aspects and mantled his self-control. Only if there was opportunity. And only if it wouldnt get him killed. Abrel whispered prompts to him, feeding him memories connected to her experience in social engineering. He needed to convince the Low Masters to approach him, but that couldnt be done by any conventional means. They already knew of his flames and would take every precaution to avoid contact. But rational understanding could be overcome by impulse. [Theyre unbalanced,] Abrel stated darkly, thinking of her cadre again. [Theres a lot of emotion coming from them, and its all centered around you. Invoked by you. Pull on some threads. Have them tell you things and strike at what they believe it. See if you can make any cracks spread. But dont be outright antagonistic. Just be insufferable. But still a potential asset.] +Tell me about Noloth,+ Avo began, speaking to the Hungers. +Tell me of the world that you lost. The world that you dreamed of. Tell me in your words. I want to hear it from you.+ His words provoked unexpected shifts on the faces of Emotions. Their heads titled and the dead bird enchained within their cavernous chests twitched. Avo could feel their stitched eyesockets study him. The ghoul simply shrugged. +Could lie to you. Could say I was busy. Or distracted. Too occupied to read the histories and lore you gave. But the truth is I didnt want to know. Wasnt sure if I wanted to remember you.+ Joy moaned. Peace seethed. Emotion just nodded. The Hungers, contrarily, understood. Trust is a hard thing. Of this we know. You wish to know of Noloth? Very well. We will remember. We will recall. Joy. Attend us. At the eternal city''s command, the Famines of Joy committed their ghosts to new tasks. The tears that formed their chariots spilled outward in silvery fibers, biting into memories and pooling mindscapes together. More than a few of Avos splinters were caught in the wake, and gut-feeling halted him from pulling them out. Wait! This is good. Perfect even. Stay. Cling to the memories. But dont subsume anything. Joy is made to be poison. A miracle of trauma pretending to be a man. A vast mindscape emerged from tumbling tides of chaos, and a portal to another place appeared to open. Unlike the holographic projections delivered by phantoms, the realm before Avo was tangible. Visible. Full of live and sensation. It was better than the most detailed of vicarities, appearing as if an actual place instead of a complex recollection formed from possible memories. Stack ziggurats came into view, but Avo realized he was looking upon the city that would become New Vultun when he saw the sigils of the Maw. The trenches were only partially dug by this point and he could still see the slaves working, entire slums built along makeshift platforms, crude ramps to facilitate logistics. This was the first deception, the Hungers said. A moment later, a pillar made from swirling leaves manifested over the city, descending on a pyramid-like structure lined with sacrifices. The gods ruled the upper city. The parts where those of lesser capability and slave stock dwelled. They fed from the waste of our society while we stole away the best below, preserving them in our eternity. For ages, such was how things were. We manipulated the topside. We fed the gods deceit. We ruled from the shadows, moving pieces and directing the faithful of the tyrants against each other. Avo grunted. For the first time since he received the mem-data, Avo accessed the history of Old Noloth and pulled information about its lore. Instantly, he realized where this was going, but he let the Hungers continue. Then came the betrayer, Jaus. He and his sword-whore. They arrived as vagabonds, slipping into the city as captured slaves, but moving with purpose. It took little time for them to descend the secret paths within our ziggurats and enter the Penumbra. They knew what they were looking for. Another vesselCthe one that Defiance left in your care. +The George Washington,+ Avo replied. Yes. Supposedly the name of a place. Or some bygone hero. It is hard to decipher. The crew offered little detail. +Maybe just ask them next time,+ Avo said. +Torture for fun. Dont do it for information.+ The Hungers glared. Avos subself didnt wilt. Instead, he generated flickers of the woman Walton had slowly killed over the course of days. +Yeah. I know what you did. All that because you couldnt stomach being a civilization of lesser seniority. But go on.+ Avo directed multiple splinters through the mindscape simulating Old Noloth. He took care not to consume any memories, lest he betray his presence, and simply left himself attached to multiple objects in the city. Jaus. He came to us. He sought a solution to our mutual god problem, and was seeking the aid of the other crew at the behest of his artificial advisors. The Hungers said the words with such scorn that Avo felt Calvino spasm. He wasnt sure if something was happening to the EGI or if it was trying to respond. Regardless, our efforts became comingled, and through our mastery of the art, the thought-crystal supplied by the OriCthe pretenders of our craftCand the beginnings of practical thaumaturgy established by the Chainbreaker, we turned pantheons against each other and conducted our efforts in secret. For years, we formed a clandestine basis of communication, and we twisted worshippers across all cultures. The Hungers fell silent for a beat. Tell me, Dreamer, do you know what belief is? Belief is will fed with a story. Belief is a direction for your choice to move it. This is the engine that compels gods. And this engine was the thing we broke in mass. Notes of euphoria entered the entitys voice. A sense of wrongness flooded Avos nerves. In the end, the destruction was so sublime. All it took was thaumaturgy itself. A change of the lore. A sudden rebuild of ontology through great influxes of death. The fall came. And it was beautiful. Beautiful. The visage of Old Noloth began to wither and change. Explosions gouged sections away from the city. The God of Leaves spewed Soulfire from multiple tears as it plunged through a ziggurat. Thousands of slaves were convulsing at once. Mass death. Mass sequencing. Mass collapse. [And so he poisoned the gods using their own faith,] Kare muttered. [He made the pantheons their own bombs.] Avo barely heard Kares response as another spike of dread pierced through him. I feel it too. Theres another of us. One at least. A warmind. Its being triggered. Its coming closer. The Low Masters were stalling for time too. Theyre trying to capture us. Contain us. Probably going do something to the sequences around us. You need to accelerate. End this presentation. Let the Famines of Joy reel you in. Dont be in the Deep Nether for whatever comes. Instinct and scorn made Avo chuckle. He shook his head at the Hungers and hissed out a sigh. +So then what? Godsfall. Everything was ruined. But the gods were broken. The world was yours. Did you come up with designs to betray Jaus first? Or was that for down the line?+ Betray Jaus? The Hungers voices rose to a shriek. He betrayed us! He banished us! Look around you. Look at this ruined place! Do you see this? All that is memory and conception could have been made truly real. We could have rendered all the gods useless. Created a new paradise where all people could live a life as masters and nobles if they only envisioned it. That all miracles can be made manifest with but a thought. That was the world that was stopped. All for this. The Nether. A crippled shadow of what could have been rooted to my essence. The dragons seemed to sag, laid low by the admission. There are more and more minds now. Increasingly many egos upon the shallows, the cognitive load we must filter greater and greater. Your kind was meant to be a solution. Additional support as auxiliary minds and containers for traumas. You were not it was a thing of necessity. Still no apology. But there was an opportunity, something Avo had to ask before anything else. +The bodies in the George Washington. Theyre empty husks. Cant create thinking minds. You made them?+ A thing of our blood did, the Hungers said. A warmind. It birthed your nodes. It is birthing your nodes still. But you have taken the temple from us, and so many of your brothers are trapped in this limbo. Unable to be birthed +Where?+ Avo asked. This time, the Hungers didnt answer. +We can show you,+ a Peace sneered. +In fact, youll see soon enough.+ [Yeah, alright, theyre doing something fucky,] Abrel said. [Avo. Get us out of here before we discover whatever horrible shit they have cooking.] He obliged. With a thought, he directed his subself to stand, lashing his false Conflagration at the recalled realm of ancient Noloth. Famines of Joy scattered and the supported mindscape collapsed. Folds of disturbed Nether built around the Famines of Peace, but they didnt fire. Not yet. Melded to Joys ghosts, Avo felt his splinters recede into several thousand Joys as he planned his next steps. However, as his steam slithered into the Low Masters thoughtscape, merging with wards and sequences, he realized the structure within was constantly changing from form to form, memories and infrastructure mutating. It demanded all of Avos focus to keep up with the rapid shits, and he couldnt help but feel that he was in the wrong place. Oh. Oh, its already inside them. Theyre going to let it out. Avo. You need to get to Peace now. Get away from Joy. Turn yourself into Ghostlinks and go. No time for stealth anymore. Theyre trying to cage us. You spit at us blindly, the Hungers raged, like a child trying to offend its parent. +Let me null the fuck,+ A Famine of Peace followed. +Masters,+ Emotion interjected, a slight frown occupying his face as he turned to Peace. +Theres something in his behaviorC+ Avo crawled along the labyrinths comprising the Famines of Joys inner world and positioned himself for a link. There was more than a little distance between the Famines of Joy and Peace, so he needed to give himself as much time as possible. That was where his previous preparations came in handy. Distractions within distractions. Things to draw away attention. +Would you like to hear something in earnest,+ Avo said, speaking to the Hungers. He didnt wait for the dragons to respond, and mentally readied his various sessions and installations to launch their constructs at the Low Masters. They would never hit. Not even close. But that wasnt the point. +Your paradise is pathetic. You fled material reality. Fled and abandoned so many. Talked about the chosen people. City eternal. But you hide. Even when you won. Kept choosing to hide. Why? Why?+ The others, they were not to be trustedC +Why did you kill him?+ Avo asked. He was looking at Emotion now. Directing this question specifically at him. +Why did Avohakten rebel?+ The Famines of Emotion said nothing, but their perception slipped ever-so-slightly off Avos subself. The traitor thought he found faith, the Hungers snarled. Faith. He was going to join the upper and lower cities. He was going to show us to the gods! Betray all that we worked for. +Still no mention of why.+ Avo just chuckled. Chambers was right. More than he could ever know. +It cant ever be your fault. Can it? Never your mistake. Always the world against you. Always someone else betraying you. Lets not talk about my namesake. Lets not talk about Walton. Lets not even talk about the people you fused into voidships core. Your priests. Look at them. Havent they given enough? Theyre just facets now. Barely any person left in them. Look at where you are. Look.+ And the Hungers did. And Peace cursed. And Joy wept. And Emotion frowned. +All this? This is what you deserve,+ Avo said. +Its what you earned. Paradise belongs to those with the will to claim it. That ones that will not be ruled inside and out. And that cant be you. Because you are afraid. You are afraid of dying. You are afraid that you cannot control everything. You are jealous. Because youre not a true god.+ ...Enough of this. Peace. Be done with him. I will speak with his restoration once we have extracted his flame. The eyes turned to him once more. A pity. I wanted them to help you with your ascent against the Guilds. But hopes become ash ever so often. +Yes,+ Avo agreed, not even bothering to hide the feral grin spreading across his face. +Ash. Always.+ And then and multiple memories across the Nether shifted in shape as Avos Delusion-infused constructs rose, Thoughtwave disruptions fell, and tendrils of ghosts held within whistling steam whipped out toward the Famines of Peace. Ghosts: [101,301] 20-22 The City Eternal (III) +This is High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi. The Heaven of Truth has been triggered. Someone must have tried to manipulate memories from a restricted zone of Scale. One of your number must be compromised. Get me Chief Paladin Naeko. I do not care about your excuses. I do not care about where he is or what you need to do to get him. Use technology, use your HeavensCuse anything. Get him back here now! Since we are talking right now, we can assume the Heaven is stable, despite the Nethers continued instability. The affected seem to be recovering with little issue aside from memory bleed-over, but we must continue monitoring things. And we must review the state of the Nolothic Ark. Yes. The one thats stored in the [REDACTED]. I have already dispatched Agnosi for an emergency inspection. Im sharing their FATE Skeins and details with you right now. Let them in. Let them do their work. And again: get me Chief Paladin Naeko. The last time something like this happened, the cults of Noloth were on the precipice of unleashing the Uprising. We must be prepared for the worst. Oh, that reminds me: summon the Guilds'' representatives before they start a shooting war in the chaos. Things are already uncertain enough without them starting the Fifth Guild War. Lets make sure that doesnt happen.+ -Thoughtcast from High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi to Scale 20-22 The City Eternal (III) Directing [101,301] ghosts all at the same time was a taxing act, even for a rapidly evolving thoughtform like Avo. In the best of times, it was like sprouting new limbs and linking them to new channels cultured from stolen memories. Now, with Deep Nether bathed in thought-shriveling chaos, the ether around him boiling as if exposed to an impossible heat, the Famines of Peace unbalanced but responding, their disruptions rippling from sequences stacked in layered arrays, and Emotion fused over the Hungers in a layer of phantasmal lamellar, Avo had little time to practice finesse. He had to attack. He had to push his advantage. He had to compromise the priesthood before they musteredCbefore the Hungers twisted the Nether itself to strike him down. Everything moved at the speed of thought. Existence screamed at him from every corner. Sequences mottled and parted, bursting as he consumed their ghosts to manufacture his diversionary assault. The bulk of his splinters tore through the space between the Famines of Joy and Peace as a forest of lashing tendrils. Avo closed, his ego comprised of countless knife-tipped missiles, most expendable, requiring only one to strike a desired target. The only forewarning for what followed was a sudden feeling of gut-churning terror. Shift everything away from the mindscapes. Do it now. Do it before. Avo had only begun diverting ghosts from the sequences in the Deep Nether over to the tendrils he grew out from Joys wards before the sorrowful priests began to unravel. Their unmaking was signaled by some kind of radiationCan emission that was outright deleterious to any conscious mindCand they all shattered with impossible force, sequences comprising their minds whipping out like monowire grenades, ripping through all that was around them. Avo remained unaffected. Attuned to the Nether, he was as if flowing steam, enveloping and becoming the passing sequences as memories, artifacts, emotions, and sensations flashed through him before he allowed them to slip past. All the while, Avo accelerated onward, seeking to plunge himself into the nodes of Peace. Then, too late for him to notice, the sequences slipping through him slotted into each other, conjoining with impossible precision. The synchronous destruction of the Famines of Joy had birthed something. Something Avo was utterly unprepared for. A pattern tore through the fabric of the Nether, wounding this layered world deeply. Then, something pushed through the clefts beyond. Ghosts: [70,331] When his awareness returned, Avo felt his ego drastically dismembered with every ghost and splinter he left outside the Famines utterly annihilated, and where they hid, entire portions of the Deep Nether were shorn clean, sequences reeling, constructs pouring out into the phlogiston as if phantasmal viscera. The damage resembled severed tendons desperately clinging to bone. Another warmind. But you made them do it too soon. Were fine. Well be fine. Keep going. Get to Peace. Hurry! He was a thought away from the nearest cluster of Peaces nodes when the first of the disruptions hit him. Avo had hoped the Low Master would use the targeted variant of the phantasmic, but it had been too much to hope for. The Famine of Peace was no novice when it came to matters of combat, especially when the Nether was concerned. As Avos splinters closed, bubbles of thought-shredding force exploded out from Peaces arrays. In an instant, Avo lost another fifty percent of himself. Ghosts: [34,772] Not all the arrays were prepared for his approach, however. Fifteen had been occupied. Lancing the memories below to clear the sequences of constructs, their focus occupied by his diversion. These were the ones Avo would strike at. Or would have if the tides of the Nether itself didnt shift to expand the gap. No! The Hungers cried. Words failed to convey how it felt to be in the vicinity of the entity as it moved. Imagine swimming beside a colossal serpent larger than your world. Imagine that it moves at impossible speeds. Now imagine that your world is little more than a limb to it, that it can thrash and move your existence as much as it desired. Something told Avo that if he had been flame, he would have been extinguished in a heartbeat. His ability to entwine himself with the Nether was all that kept him from absolute dissolution. But it didnt protect him from Peaces counter-attack. More Thoughtwave Detonations followed. More splinters were dissipated in an instant. Fifteen viable targets became ten, then eight, then four. Avo almost managed to close in before it became three. And he was down to ten percent of what he was again, cognition narrowing, templates vanishing as he adjusted his cog-cap accordingly. Ghosts: [11,009] When the first of his ghosts struck the first node, he thought it was all over. His elation rang against Peaces unfettered rage, the edges of their thoughtstuff ringing like twin shields slammed together during a joust of steeds. Thereafter, the nodes wards expanded into a network of layered studs. The sheer complexity of the construct''s sequencing left Avo baffled. It wasCfranklyCa staggering piece of art, as if an organic shellCadaptive and reactiveClined with protective shells, each supporting each, the other layer a flat defensive line made to detonate after destabilization, the protections thereafter actively resetting themselves to handle whatever trauma they faced. PHANTASMIC DOWNLOADED: [CONUNDRUM] It was more advanced than even the Quicksand, though far less replicable. Ori-Thaums thaumaturgy shone throughCanyone could download their defenses if they had the sequences and builds downloaded. What Peace possessed was a novel creationCmillions upon millions of counter-traumatic constructs created from all the memories it collected. And this is only his secondary defense. Joy is supposed to be first. He is supposed to stack himself over the others and turn brittle. Peace wears him as armor, and Emotion directs them both. However, despite the masterful skill that went into its creation, it was worth naught against an assimilating thoughtformCan entity could melt into your structure and claim you as its own. For the first time, Avo shifted forms, centering all his remaining ghosts within the splinter that structured the node, and the steam he embodied ignited as if gas kissing fire. He swallowed Peaces nodes, pluming outward to take them for his own. The thrill in him was beyond measurement. This had been a moment he had yearned forCcoveted, despite his doubts. Claiming a Low Masters experiences and template would give him an understanding of the art beyond even that which Walton distilled in him. It would beC The nodes he was burning detonated just as he ate through the last layer of their wardings. Their egos burst from within, mental palaces collapsing inward into broken fragments, chipping parts of Avo away in the process. A feral cry of dissatisfaction escaped him as a hiss. No. He had them. He had them! They were his to tasteCto plunder. Again, he was denied! Again! [Fuckin focus!] Draus snapped, drawing him back into the fight. The array around him was collapsingCthe disruption unable to sustain itself with the demise of three nodes. Five more Famines of Peace remained in his vicinity. Five more he could claim. Five more chances to escape certain death as the Nether rippled, as he sensed beams of perception slashing over him. Dont burn hot. Use Delusion. Leave a false trail. Go for the nearest one. See if you can get them to lose track of you in the chaos. Try. I can mask us if that happens. Avo altered his cognitive configuration again but proceeded with an act of deception. He manifested a falsehood of his current appearance, layering a mindscape composed of short-term memories while unleashing himself as new splinters. Parts of him would be left behind. Sacrificed to make the Famines think they finally nulled him.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The rest of himself would slip through the protections of his foe this time. Drift past the cracks like wind beneath a doorway, and consume the Low Master from within with patience rather than as a harried blaze. So he moved. So his thoughts went empty. So the tides of disruption descended. And so the flames were promptly quenched. He didnt remember making it. But in that moment, neither did they. *** You are all deceived by the carnage. Unaware of the actions beneath the scene. They watch as their thoughtwaves banish your fires. Bright then dark. The nodes of Peace that did the deed curse your name and snarl with the loosest approximation they still remember of happiness. Emotion fails to perceive the truth of things beneath a mask of conflict and deception. They fail to realize that you escaped death diving deep into a node. That his wards and mental labyrinth saved you from dissolution. You are too focusedCall action and no introspection. I take hold of you in this lapse and deliver in accordance what my interpretations of your last known desires once more. A sliver of yourself passes into a version of Peace. He doesnt know you are here. He doesnt know that he is already dead. He will not know when he dies. And this feeds more. More than anything else. *** +We fucking got the cunt!+ Peace cheered. More of himself laughed and jeered. Most remained silent, unwilling to voice how shaken they were, feeling the strain of their near-compromise settle in. Yet, the longer Emotion studied the scene, the more his feelings of uncertainty grew. The Deep Nether was utterly unraveled in parts. Sequences leaked upwards like a torn net, drawn to the gravity of the Hungers many mouths, but the city eternal did not feed, too suspicious it was of its succor that it waited and starved. The warmind of the Forgotten had been hastily deliveredCand at the cost every Famine of Joy present. The devastation was absolute. Desperate even. If they had more time, if Avo hadnt forced them to action, he likely would be dead right now. Dead, and waiting to resurrect. As things stood, Emotion couldnt find a point in the Nether lined in scabs. He was no Agnos or thaumaturge, but he knew enough about subrealities that understood a Soul was to upload its user at the last known position of their death. Where Avo was struck remained but empty space occupied by Peaces nodes and their collapsing construct. Is it done, my priest? the Hungers asked, eyes blinking, fear and loathing rising from the entity like stink. Is the beast slain? Can we claim its flame now? Emotion didnt respond immediately. For now, he was without certainty, and also words to offer. Paranoia clung to him like tar, and the first Famine hardened his resolve. There was only one way to make sure this was done, that the masters were protected. Versions of himself, Peace, and Joy existed elsewhere. They could be restored in time. But right now, sacrifices had to be made. +Peace,+ Emotion said, each of his nodes casting the same words, coming to the same conclusion. The Famines of Peace turned, and on their war-scarred faces, understanding dawned. +Oh, fuck me.+ +Null yourselves,+ Emotion ordered. *** +Null yourselves.+ Such was the command that alarmed Avo as he finally returned to himself. Understand caught up to him like a rubberband snapping back together. He had survived. He was currently swimming through Peaces inner worldChis paracosm a place of brutality and violence, ziggurats coated in waterfalls of blood, the aesthetic of ancient Noloth burning, of slaves sacrifices, of grudges held and vengeance repaid. As he swam further, rooted himself deeper in Peaces cognitive infrastructure, he ate away at Peaces cognition bit by bit, like a parasite replacing bits of someones mind with each passing second. Ship of Thesus. A story that Calvino once mentioned resonated. Avo was now more contagion than ever, and more subversive than he could have ever dreamed. Moreover, being able to merge himself to Peaces paracosm revealed more of Necrotheurgy to him than even the memories themselves. Elegant Moon breathed a sigh of pure ecstasy. [This this would have convinced me to study the art of Necrotheurgy deeper. If I had seen this if I could have seen this in my past, I would have truly, truly devoted myself.] A false tear rolled down her face. [Truly beautiful. I thank you, Avo. Being a part of you has been a pleasure for this broken thing.] He understood. Practice was one thing. Literally becoming was another. The channeler would always be a reflection of light; an analogy of what is. The embodiment was the sun itself; the fundamental gnosis. Epiphanies exploded inside Avo one after another. Memories hidden from him before and secrets now unveiled. He knew of the world he had lost, the culture that defined old Noloth. He knew that they were, at the start, a society of spare children. Twins to rightful heirs hidden beneath ziggurats by protectors from society and even the pantheonsCan attempt by the governing faithful to continue their lineage of power. He knew these same spares concocted a conspiracy, murdering their watchers, parents, and also their trueborn siblings before replacing them. And from there arose the origins of the HungersCthe hidden society that eventually became the city eternal. More than this, however, Avo dreamed of Waltons distant past. A childhood knowing only the whip. His natural intellect and social charm drawing him into a web of conspiracy, leading him to go from sacrifice to priest and finally cultist against the faiths. His devotion to the Hungers above all other priests, ensuring his status in their eyes. The transgression that he made on the topsideCa chance encounter with a priest of a lesser pantheon. Moments of passion. Chambers drooling. Lustaway triggering. A son being born. Avohakten. Peace clung only to flashes of his son, only the moments of pain, of betrayal, and finally of death. Avohakten was a child between worlds. Walton had desired to ensure his immortality under the city eternal. But the boy was more his mothers son, more naturally faithful to an actual god than some post-humanist dogma. So, he sought to reveal the Hungers. So, he had to be handled. So, Walton remembered looking down at his murdered son, his sharp blue eyes gleaming with tears, face stricken with despair, pain, hatred, and horror. A trail of citrus dripped down his chin, the lemon he was eating discarded by the wayside. Bloodstains brightening a pale-white toga. That was the moment that formed the spine of Peaces being. The root of all his hate. Against his son. Against the gods. Against himself. Against even the HungersCloyal though he still remained. Two minds fractured that day. Wahakten, faced the death of his son, and came out broken. Which made his reward and punishment an easy thing to give. The HungersCfurious by betrayal but proud of their high priests resolveChad the rest of their servants executed and broke Walton into four facets. Emotion was the first to be separated, one stripped of the human weakness that brought this downfall. He was supposed to govern all the others. Direct them. Protect the Hungers himself. Uncompromisable. Beyond the temptation of impulse. Joy was pain distilled, all Waltons hurt, all the ruin, all the shattering, all within a shell that was little more than a bottle for mind-rending trauma, with little left to break. Peace then was his inverse. Hateful. Bitter. Willing to destroy the world for hurting him. Directing his traumas externally as a shaper of weapons and a breaker of minds. He understood but was too colored by his own rage to do anything but destroy. That was just as well. For who better to craft a weapon than a knowledge engineer with nothing but ruination to give? Finally, there was Defiance. Walton as Avo remembered. He was the idealization of the original priest. The hope of acceptance. That he could overcome and survive. He became the spy. The knife in the dark. The diplomat. The poisoner. The explorer. He alone was allowed to interface with the outside world, for he could take all the stimuli and let them pass through him with no chance of succumbing. Such was the assumption anyway. Let it not go unsaid that the Hungers were not boundless in their hubris. As everything hardened into shape for Avo in a near instant, he noticed that most of his fellow nodes had already complied, each collapsing themselves from within using the traumas built within their sequences. Approximately ninety percent of Peaces palace was lined with constructs made to break and destabilize. All it would take to unravel himself was a thought. A triggered blast. Then nothing of him would be left. But somewhere along the way, the Peace that was became the Avo that is, and the latter had come too far to die now. Not when escape was still in sight. Not when he could finally strike at his oldest abuser. As the first node in his cluster detonated himself, leaving only three other Famines of Peace, Avo considered his options and manifested his templates. There was little time, but he had a plan. Well. It was more of a hope. [Its gonna be close,] Draus muttered. [We aint got that many ghosts left. Emotions staring us right in the face too. Cant burn or claim him easy either.] Memories detailing Emotions capabilities followed. It was good he didnt manage to subsume the Famine back in the Oversec. If Joy was like swallowing poison, Emotion would be like eating an anvil. Abrel considered his plans and called Kassamon, Kare, and Corner to her. Each of them swept the scene beyond and tried to find the best opening. A pulse flashed in Avo''s perception. He saw the course they were plottingCa mountainous wound lined with jutting scales, the gouge between leaking oceans of golden nectar. [There,] Abrel said. [Thats your best shot. If you can get through the Famines of Emotion, you can ride the blood back down. I think.] She sighed and threw up her hands. [Honestly, Avo, I have no idea what the fuck were doing. Axtraxis didnt have a course on fighting mind-cultists in the Deep Nether.] [Were all making it up as we go along here,] Corner snorted. [But I gotta be honest, the chance we might light a dragon up from the inside is giving me a kick.] Avo filled the node he wore totally and checked his ghosts. Ghosts: [5,446] Not great. But more than enough for a Thoughtwave Disruptor phantasmic. He couldnt make that many splinters this time. But he could compromise the other three nodes. Not fast enough to take them over. But detonate them. Use them as cover. +Peace,+ Emotion said, waves washing over him. +I have spoken. It is for the greater good. Certitude must be ensured.+ Drawing on his new memories, Avo steered his avatarCa ruined effigy of Walton coated in hardened blood and stinking of a coppery tangCto sneer at the elder Famine. +Yeah. Always our lives for the greater good. Our nodes.+ He looked to the Hungers then, and a smile passed over his features. He had a feeling that Peace wouldve liked to speak the following words if he were his own man. +You werent worth my boy. Not yesterday. Not today. Not tomorrow. I know you now. I know you.+ All as one, the dead owls lodged within the exposed chests of each Famine of Emotion twitched as if a pulsing heart. Just as Avo spoofed his way into the other Famines of Peace. They knew. He knew. And he started the fight once more by detonating the three nodes around him, shrouding himself in cognitive shrapnel while peeling their wards to use as cover. Streaking constructs came at him from every angle. He spent ghosts of his own forming a mindscapeClayering himself in protections as he closed in. Three thoughts. His hastily made protections shouldnt have been enough, but the fact that he layered Peaces wards beneath each of them allowed him to endure. Still. There was a cost. Ghosts: [5,099] Two thoughts. He ejected free from the node he was wearing, leaving only a thin plaster of ghosts as he began ejecting parts of his protections like chaff. The waters of the Nether were alight with traumas, aglow with tides of force, of crushing waves of perception projected by the Hungers themselves. Avos protective cocoon held impossibly against a Sovereignty nulling onslaught for a heartbeat. And then disintegrated. But he wasnt there anymore. Ghosts: [4,510] One thought. One thought and they were all distracted again. One thought, and everyone fell to a lapse in focus once more. For the second time, a nourished warmind inside Avo activated, and he lost himself but kept to the path. Ahead, a chasm of gleaming gold welcomed him, its borders policed by a disoriented lattice of nodes, struggling to recompose their thoughts. They dont see your approach. The rest are too busy destroying your shelter. You are too desperate to think. Everyone is in disarray once more. But the HungersCthey shift, the target moves past you. But still, you strike its flesh. Still, you impact its metaphysical existence, rattling it with your own. Still. You descend into its inner world like a meteorite falling to devasting a city. Were off-course, Avo. Find the wound. Find the wound and get out. And hurt the Hungers before you leave. Were close to the end. Were close to getting free. Do not fail now. 20-23 A Purgatory of Dragons {EGI Only Way To Be Sure Generating Report} TO: Citizens, Friends, NON-MIL Minds, Assholes from Guilds (Eavesdropping Parties) FROM: AEGIS SUBJECT: Dragon Incursion, Fun Times in History, and Strategic Countermeasures BEGINNING REPORT: Citizens Friends. Minds. Assholes from Guilds who are listening in. Shit is looking a mite-bit fucked. Currently, Im detecting a whole lot of dragons spilling over into existence. Just gliding into reality with the passage of time across various cycler farms and plenty of places in the Sunderwilds as well. Current projections are at {1.3} dragons already, so for all you Godclads down there, break out whatever nightmare equivalent to champagne you enjoy and start doing the glug-glug. Because you know what this many dragons popping at once means. Yep. Thats right, kids. Were living in interesting times again, so reset the clock. History has just been affected. Idheims culture is about to experience a shift. Its with that said that I would like to officially propose we move to a strategic defensive posture and start formally dispatching forces to occupy the Warrens under agreement section A.VIII 12 of the Accords. That, and I would like to request access to restricted munitions, such as the anti-matter missiles {REJECTED: WILL DETONATE IMMEDIATELY DUE TO PATTERN DEVIATIONS IN REALITY}, implosion fields [REJECTED: WE KNOW ABOUT THE ASSASSINATIONS YOU ARE PLANNING; PLEASE STOP}, and quant-point molecular editors {REJECTED: NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT}. The futures looking hazy and things are not in the least bit stable. We''ll just get our raincoats out beforehand so that were not caught off guard like last time. It would be a shame for things to get out of hand again. Like during the Uprising. Maybe we should reactivate the Deconstructors in the Penumbra again. Just in case. {APPROVED} -EGI Only Way To Be Sure 20-23 A Purgatory of Dragons --Master! Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself, they are upon us! The Woundmothers cry tore Avo from his stupor and the world around him loaded into detail. Tingles danced down his nerves, but it was only when he noticed the countless warning icons flashing across his cog-feed that he realized he was back with his body, mind nested within his sheath. Something shifted in the air. The Fardrifter felt the attacks imminence while the Woundmother was left ignorant. The air grew taut with lashing threads. Clouds burst into a cawing murder, crows streaking out from all sides to shred the descending ghoul. His reflexes flared. Time slowed. Lightning and radiance erupted out of his veins and arteriesCthrough the cracks he left upon the flesh of existence. He Boltstrode, leaping to the very edge of his Sanguinity, the flocking shadows passing feebly through a haemokinetic afterimage. He tried to shift a second time. Move in the opposite direction. But as blood turned to lightning, Avo found himself anchored in place, accelerating, but unmoving. Within his Frame, his cyclers jolted and pulsed, grinding against an unseen counterforce. The darkness around Avo roiled. The clouds twisted as more wings stretched out from writhing clouds, spawning more murders to the hunt. But a sudden gust swept through them, peeling their forms and smearing shadows into nothingness. His Metamind warned of no Heaven. His Frame brushed against no domains. Strange. Disconcerting. Something to figure out later. Coiling typhoons drilled out from the space where the ghoul once was. The surrounding cumulous strained and broke, lifeless crows spilling free. Nine forms of city-dwarfing immensity slithered through the sky, resembling bastards born of steeds and serpents, gouging tears into the darkness with their teeth, the mantle of their manes darker than night and dancing like flags caught in a tempest. With a strain of effort, the Fardrifter sank into the surrounding darkness and pried. The surrounding world screamed, struggled, and then tore. Light spilled in through the wounds Avo made, revealing to him a memory of Noloth preserved in perpetuity. He dove through the gap and left the skies torn in his wake. The clouds behind him were ruptured and frayed and they showed a bed of stars beyond, glinting akin to gems encrusted upon a midnight sea. It was a pleasant sight. A moment of placidity and calm. A harsh contrast to the expanse below. The stars were also nothing more than a mirage as Avo felt his winds and blood pushed against a hard limit after climbing seventy kilometers upward. There was nothing beyond that. Nothing. Like a physical boundary had been set in place, offering no further progression no matter how fast one moved. The air around him grew taut and he felt part of existence divide around him. From above, fingers of darkness sank out from the clouds, each digit the size of a mountain. Curling joints attached to grasping hands speared out from the clouds, attempting to snatch Avo from the sky. Too slow, groping nothing. Avo shifted his location using one of his Fardrifters heads and then Boltstrode once more, skipping across two hundred and fifty kilometers in an instant. Within a fraction of a second, he had departed the lower atmosphere of this realm and materialized directly above the endless sprawl of the city. The cityscape manifested in his awareness as he strode again, moving before anything could close in on him. He forged a dynamic holo-map of his surroundings within his mind, actively drawing data from patterns of blood, matter, shadow, and air. The architecture and design of old Noloth greeted him as a rushing blur. The city was built upon a grid separated by sections of a partially realized Maw, their centerpieces colossal ziggurats slatted with polished bronze, lined in slats of treated bone, formed of hardened bricks. From these titans spilled the lower levels through four ceremonial precincts squared by outer fortresses, encasing the most critical quarters of the city.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Past them, dappled colors painted the city proper as residences and marketplaces bled into each other, each structure built with symbology in mind, resembling a chesspiece. Along each avenue ran canals layered with floating gardens, the currents made from blood instead of water. Sprawling vegetation of black and purple dug into surrounding structures, and Avo realized he was looking at a jungle of carefully maintained ebontas. From there, the city itself was replicated in countless repetitions. Different only in permutation. He stretched his haemokinetic storm and drank in all he could. Entire sections of the city vanished. But he did not stay in place. He operated with both Woundmother and Fardrifter in tandem, absorbing flesh and matter while skipping across his Nine Streams of Freedom, each of his Heaven of Airs heads passing over the world as tunneling hurricanes, shielding towers of rising blood within their lashing winds. At his current altitude, he could see the distance rushing toward him, a clear bend hidden by shifting clouds twisting up into the sky. There was an absence of a horizon here, for the landscape seemed to rise up as a ramp. Moreover, everything was contained within a cracked bowl lined with resplendent scales, the jutting edges seeming as if mountains, but their very acceleration caused the cyclers within Avos Frame to grind againChis Heavens to flicker. But there was only one place he was interested. A single location that occupied his attention. [315 Kilometers] away, the city poured upward in a steady stream of gold. In the gleaming ichor, the quintessence of time rose and part of the city leaked back out through a rent in this existence. There. That was where he needed to go. That was his exit. A spatial blade materialized. Half a ziggurat was bifurcated. Avo circulated himself out from another of the Fardrifters heads, speeding forward as entire stretches of the city came apart behind. But as he prepared to move againCjust as he emerged from his repositioning, the Hungers responded, eyes opening all across the tapestry of reality. The white of a blizzard held a sphere of blinding brilliance, and encased within shells of ice were irises of cold-powered stars. They flooded all of existence around Avo as he suddenly felt the air around him grow impossibly cold. Then, all at once, they fired beams of coruscating light that froze and burned all it touched with equal measure. The speed and precision of the attacks proved to be uncanny, and even with the Fortress, Avo felt himself chained by bindings of ice as light carved restraints into his ontology. The wind hissed and his blood curdled. Avo fabricated and flung twelve thousand haemokinetic missiles back in retaliation. Cast out on limbs of lightning and bearing nuclear yields, Avo detonated his ordinance in masse the moment they got within a kilometer of each target. Sight-devouring brightness enveloped the world around him and created screens of devastation that shielded him from new attacks. Chains broke and snapped. He moved again. And kept moving this time, activating a Skimmer to keep himself appraised of new ambushes. It was troubling how he couldnt sense any of his current foes. He was more than a little sure they were Heavens. But though they affected the world, they did not as elements of their domains. No. Drawing on Peaces knowledge again, he knew the threats he faced now were but aspects of a canon: Constructs of memory made manifest. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 7% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER]: 11% He would waste no more time engaging them thereafter, knowing more would load in if he lingered in place for even a second. And just as he thought that a rupture in space opened up as a falling ocean swept down to swallow him. He shifted backward using his Nine Streams. Only for a dozen nuclear blasts to greet him upon emergence. A surge of thoughtwave disruptions followed soon after. WARNING: BACKLASH Domain (Shadow) ->Canon: Shadowrun (II) - The user can surge within shadows as if they are wind tunnels (x10 current speed); shadows must be connected to pass from one to another. ->Hubris: If a light shines and clears away the users shadow, heavy (EST. 39%) thaumic backlash will be triggered REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER]: 54% As it stood, the unified use of all his Heavens, warnings cast from his templates, and the Skin of Virtuality canon from his Techplaguer were all that kept him alive. It was like facing Shotin again. The world around him was constantly changing, with whispers of ghost arriving as altered memory constructs, their manifestations possessing all their original forms capabilities. Anomalies, effects, scenes, places, and hostile Heavens simply kept coming, every pattern in this existence hostile to Avos intrusion, reacting as if white blood cells facing a virus. Thoughtwave disruptions filled the air as a constant stream, but Avo pressed on, his body temporarily converted to raw data. Explosions, artillery, cataclysms, and oceans slammed down against him, but his Fortress denied him physical harm, his Fardrifter carried him through wind and shadow, and his Boltstride pulled him to the edge of his influence, cleaving blastwaves of fiery displacement with this final jump. Destination: [12 Kilometers] Glistening threads of rising gold called to him, were close enough for him to touch with his Sanguinity. But as bolts pulsed out from him, as fractures of lightning spread out once more, as steed-serpents made of coiling wind swam wide and ahead, a final obstacle appeared. And promptly stopped Avo dead. As he strode once more, his haemokinetic lightning was parried by another, the force he felt perfectly matching his own. As his winds pushed, so did a counter-gale, gust driving against gust, absolute against absolute, canon against canon. Avos velocity stalled. He found himself faced with an entity perfectly suited to deny him his escape: a snapshot of himself shaped from the Hungers'' newest remembrance. He felt a rival will reach into him, try to seize control of his blood. But such a thing was impossible. Against the laws of his subreality. Just as him doing the same was taboo for theirs Paradox: Domain (Blood/Air) Soulfire erupted from his Frame and Avo found himself falling free as an ephemeral, his Woundshaper and Fardrifter recoiling and disrupted inside him. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 81% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER]: 97% VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY [TECHPLAGUER]: 22% With his Techplaguer still in play, he opened walls and slipped through structures across the city as he tumbled down. His reflexes were still surging, initiate still in his corner, but the bitter tang of desperation was returning once more. His two primary Heavens were out of commission. Would stay that way for the next few minutes at the very least. He needed to keep moving. Maintain what speed he could and get out. Twelve kilometers wasnt far, but with how the Hungers could casually spawn new memories within the confines of its inner world, he was a beat of hesistation away from death. Glimpsing the simulated map he made earlier, he triggered his Phys-Sim and saw that he was on a collision course with the side of a ziggurat. Expanding the holo-map further, he looked through the structure''s interior and constructed new routes. If he used his Techplaguer to pass through directly, he would doubtless be cut down by one of those emerging frost-sunsCor a manifested memory of himselfCin a blink. Exposure was bad. Moving in the open without his greater Heavens was suicide. He considered passing through the surrounding precincts, using connected parts to mask his movements, but their on-site defenses felt potent as well. That, and a better option presented itself in the tombs that lined the underground of each ziggurat. Those were interconnected as well. And from what Peace recalled, the site remained a place of extreme importance. The Low Masters templateConly just realizing where he wasCbegan screaming at Avo from inside his mind as Avo tumbled down in freefall. Spreading his sporelings out, Avo relied on his sheaths capabilities to ensure his safe descent. Bioelectric currents passed through him. His Echoheads expanded into shifting stacks, orbiting him as rings. Hissing beams snapped through the air, slicing clean through one of his legs. The voltage in him spiked, and using his magnetism, Avo fired his shards. Eight fragments from his Echoheads tore through the air, sinking into a flat angle on the side of the temple. Another disruption passed through him, but his Skin of Virtuality kept him unfazed. Clinging to the anchors he made, he pulled hard using his imbued magnetism as he manifested his Techplaguer fully. He opened shifted blocks of inorganic matter side, drawing inward as stored data while he guided himself through the chasm. And just as he passed through, just as pressure built from close behind him, Avo filled the gaps behind him with a thought and began digging his way down through the structure, seeking the lowest level to broaden his chances of survival. Halls lined with ghostly torches and filled with fleeing people caught the periphery of Avos notice. He felt the pull of the metals they wore, flung an Echohead shard through the head of someone aiming a crossbow behind him without looking as he fell from floor to floor. No unwanted miracles manifested. No act of devastation ensued. The Hungers mightve been willing to engage him in the open, but these places were significant to them. Places they were outright unwilling to damage. This had been a good choice. While he descended, in the back of his mind, a note chimed as flickering strings of data flowed across his perception. His Neurodeck was coming online, and in the back of his mind, he heard a distinct and distorted groan. {What wonderful hellscapes you bring us to Avo.} Calvinos voice crackled. The EGI soundedCand lookedCexhausted. Particulates spilled from a dripping nanomolecular ball. Despite his circumstances, Avo couldnt help but smile. +Calvino. Glad you made it. How do you like the home of my former masters?+ {Its terrible and we should glass it from orbit.} +Yeah. I feel that way too.+ 20-24 Beast Among Lambs Understanding how specific subsections of a civilization operate is the key to learning how to leverage pressure against the polity. More than sabotage, learning to comprehend the suprasociology of a communal or multi-sophont entity is key to treating social ills, predicting rogue elements, and improving the structures of stability. It is also the primary discipline you will be mastering over the next 12 years of your martial tenure per the conditions of your public service. Your assignment is to infiltrate, integrate, improve one of the many fallen polities left scattered in the aftermath of the uplift wars. We strongly recommend that you select a society of vastly lower technological development first. You will be inserted by hypercast into a prepared sheath without an existing identity. From here, you will build a new life for yourself among the natives; guide them towards enlightenment and away from self-destruction; prepare them for the imminent arrival of our expeditionary fleets, and warm them to the coming of Deus. Once you embark on this journey, you will not be able to forfeit your duties. You will be within contact, but without material support during this period. You will be asked to do things both unappealing and distressing for the greater good. But through your efforts, know that the stars will be made right, and the sins of man redeemed through the deliverance of love. Gods love. As the Savior nears final completion, we, angels ascendant, must do what our benighted forebearers failed to, and what the transgressors before them inflicted upon the stars. Darkness clings to the periphery of existence. Fell omens. Demons in the hearts of men. Demons in your hearts as well. But just as you have been chosen to redeem yourself through service, so too will be granted the privilege to operate as a bearer of the flames. A bringer of light. Take heart, emissaries. The path ahead may be foul and grim, but the righteousness of providence rests within you, and there is no greater glory than the restoration of our fellow man. -Emissary Initiative, Pax Eternia of the Deus-Creationist Collective at Alpha Centauri (Circa 2809 AD) 20-24 Beast Among Lambs Just because the Hungers stopped generating cataclysmic phenomena didn''t mean they were giving up. All was motion. All was change. This existence was built on the fabric of memory, and the halls and the people within the ziggurat were constantly being altered. The Hungers built and spawned to trap Avo, desperate to ensure his final demise but unwilling to expend their temple as a sacrifice. He defied them. Even with his two most potent Heaves disrupted, the Techplaguer burned within him yet, and the enhancements carved into his body remained. Past the screaming of his fleshChis blood struggling to remember its composition; shifting between the properties of fluid, metal, glass, and moreChe pressed onward, momentum building; penetrating clean through the ziggurats exterior. He blazed new paths through the structure. To travel down the shifting maze of halls connected to storerooms, sacrificial chambers, barracks, treasure troves, and gear-aligned bridges was to accept death. New threats were spawning in at the speed of thought, the Hungers generating phenomena and enemies to slow and slay their once slave. In opposition, just as this city eternal was a malleable reality to the Hungers, so too did Avos Frame bear a functional subreality still. But where the Nolothi ancients were encompassing, Avo was unpredictable. Aided by suggestions from Calvino and his templates, his movements took on an erratic patternCthe randomness he exhibited more than what a single mind could muster. He snapped from place to place, his movement omnidirectional thanks to his Echoheads. Where once he skittered through environments like an insect or a spider, his tentacles were now modular organs, guided by his biomagnetism and leaking sporelings as if smog. Vibrations of metal and the space around him populated his mind with detail; his perception was more just visual. His memory-formed adversaries greeted him as if distortions on the horizon. He felt them before he saw, and his Echoheads struck first, flung and guided along bio-electric strings to strike true. Imbued with the minds of countless veterans and Draus refined instincts toward violence, he killed without breaking stride, reacted without any strain on his concentration. Above everything else, he moved, and stayed in motion. He was a virus swimming through the body of a larger beast now. Movement kept him alive. Stillness guaranteed death. With his Techplaguer congealing around him as a flickering shroud of static and alloy, nonsense integers rising from it like steam, he deconstructed inorganic matter into cubes that he diverted behind him, reshaping the environment his own way. Nothing held him long; he avoided all compromised spaces. Following the map he generated scant moments prior, Avo simulated new routes to the dragons wound, and he knew that the path of greatest certitude led downward. Tunneling through glyph-marked bricks made from hardened mud, Avo felt at his Woundmother and Fardrifter. They were still wrestling with themselves, struggling to match the resonance of their Hells. The air around him whipped and twisted unnaturally, distorting directionality and creating pockets of stasis around him. He gauged that it would at least take a full minute for them to stabilize enough for use. Likely longer. And hed only been inside the Hunger for less than thirty actual seconds. {A disruption is forming ahead,} Calvino warned, interpreting data generated through Avos senses. He felt it too in that instant. An unseen veil of slowness choked the air currents ahead of him and halted the Echohead fragment he flung to a near stop. His sporelingsCfoglike as they wereCalso seemed to be caught in molasses. {Effects from a Heaven of Speed, if Im to guess. Estimating 98.53% chance they will try to box us in. You mustve taken them quite by surprise if they didnt try this before.} Though his reflexes were still firing, he was substantially slowed without his Heaven of Blood and far less maneuverable bereft of his Heaven of Air. +Harder to pin down earlier. Recommendations.+ {Can you affect the Nether in any way? Generate an illusion of some kind?} Avo shifted out of his flames and cast two ghosts out with a splinter. A translucent sphere molded to the shape of his halo, its foundational sequences mirror his. The disc curved out beyond his Skin of Virtuality and promptly burst as another Thoughtwave Detonation swept through the ziggurat. {Oh. Theyre doing that inside themselves now? Does it hurt them? Isnt this place supposed to be made from whatever mythology they tied to their minds.} +Rules different here. Different for them too.+ Avo angled his Techplaguer downward. The ground beneath was pried open as sealed off his previous path. Bioelectricity sparked through the silicon circuitry nested in his flesh. His sporelings flashed and popped, directing channels of power through his rearranged Echoheads, each tendril shifting to resemble a railgun, firing shards down the newly paved path. He fired two fragments at a timeCone in front and one behindCcanceling out the recoil while linking his sporelings to the fragments he left embedded in the walls ahead, slingshotting himself with the fragment left embedded in the walls ahead as a magnetic tether. With each piece he expended, his Echoheads grew shorter, and his ammunition grew fewer. Once his Woundmother returned, he could restore all that was lost from blood, but for now, he needed to be efficient. Conservative. He tore what anchored fragments he could and drew them back into the orbit of the spiraling tentacles behind him. In ten meters, he could hit the core structure of the zigguratCa vast pillar of vivianite leading from the great tomb blow to the gleaming temple above. Eight hundred bridges were connected to the spine of the edifice. The entire location held eight hundred rooms as well. [Were still faster than them, but theyll see this comin,] Draus said, her mind forecasting the potential opposition they might face while keeping his killer instinct razor-sharp in the present. [Theyll probably make the Heaven of Speed thin as paper. Make more of them. Sweep it through the entire zig while dreamin up more half-strands to kill us. Were gonna need to hit fast and think fast.] {Target the central structure. The pillar at the core. It is a mass of cut locus, correct? That is what you sensed earlier?} Calvino was wondering if Avo could get into contact with the structure and if he could directly use it to affect the environment around them in some way. There were risks involved in such an approach. Potentially, he would be exposing himself to every last mind in the city eternalCall of them dedicated to his extermination, but it remained his best chance at survival. If the properties of the corpse crystals carried here, he could wield them. Turn them against the Hungers. If it didnt work, he would likely soon be struck from all sides. To which Abrel offered the unique idea of burrowing into the pillar and then down through its center, using it as both cover and elevator. [Keep your speed up,] Abrel said, jaw tight with focus. [Keep making problems for them. The Hungers are reacting. Theyre desperate. Unworthy and unblooded for true conflict. Be the pressure. Theyll be too distressed to strategize. Keep moving.] [Keep moving,] Kassamon agreed. [On,] Lip snarled. [Draw yourself into the ambush,] Corner finished. [Drive yourself like a fucking daggerCcut deep and through.] The walls ahead burst open into a splash of dissolving formulae. The Techplaguer hummed. Administrator. We should KEEP their MATERIALS FOR OUR PURPOSES. It will be most effective to reupload the blocks we just downloaded as armor. Also. It will be amusing for them to SHOOT THEIR OWN PROPERTY! INCOMPETENCE! THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED FOR THEIR INCOMPETENCE!You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Avo acknowledged the suggestion by firing two more Echohead pieces to the edge of the opening before triggering his bioelectricity. Grappling to both points, he pulled hard using his magnetism. Bricks cracked. The wind around him rose to a pitched scream. The distance to his objective shrank. CENTRAL LOCUS PILLAR: [888 METERS] Despite his present situation, despite dancing on the blades edge, Avo couldnt help but be satisfied. Mere months back, he was cavorting with corpses. A ghoul and little more. Could he have dreamed of this moment then? Could he imagine tearing through the home of his masters? Defiling their vaunted sanctity even as they plotted and schemed? Such was the reward of apotheosis. Such was a color in life few would ever see. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know them all. He had to. Death would not come for him today. He wouldnt allow it. His hunger was too great. Greater than theirs. His wants ineffable. His dream yet to truly sprout its seeds. He needed to reach the end. He needed to rise further. He needed to become all that he could be. For why else struggle? Why else exist if not to discover the fullness of ones experience? Why else if not to taste the full gnosis of known existenceCand grow beyond it? In that instant, all the revulsion Avo felt toward the HungersCthe hate of creating him and his brothers, their murder of Walton, the purposeless devastation they wrought on the FATELESS in New VultunCmatured into pity. Poor, weak stupid people. To squander so much power, so much potential because they were too afraid of the futures potential, too deficient of will was a tragedy. Noloth could have never claimed utopia even if it was handed to them. They were not of the flame. They were terrified to burn and too untrusting to cede control. They were not of the wick. They were slavers and liars and imprisoned tyrants exiled to their own corner above reality. Cattle and batteries. Grazing from existence. Offering their own lifeblood in response. Jaus had made them an eternal death farm. And now a beast was among them in the form of Avo, taking even the warmth of sanctuary from them. Poor, poor people. Bastards all. Victims all. But just as well. Someone needed to claim the gifts they wouldnt use. Someone needed to give them the mercy they didnt deserve. As Avo shot into the central chamber like a rail-flung slug, a new dream solidified inside his mindCan inheritance he desired to claim. He would see the Nether, that cognitive paradise desired by the Nolothi materialized. He would see it perfected beyond prior promise. But the Hungers will taste none of its glory. And the failures of Noloth would go where they belong. Nowhere. Forgotten. Like they never were at all. And as if hearing his very thoughts, the world around him screamed with outrage, streams of fire closing in to erase him before the trajectory of his transgression could come to shape. The attacks came disorganized and incoherent. Drones, missiles, trebuchets, crossbows, slings and more fell upon him. Some came from constructed entitiesCobjects and fires spawned along the eight hundred and eighty-eight bridges connected to the center of the chamber. Others just were. In the face of the hastily manifested offensive, Avo ejected chunks of scenery out from his Techplague, blocks of cubes forming from emissions of data, intercepting the ordinance. Fire licked around his materializing cover. He converted more drones and missiles using his antennae, drawing them into his Heaven to resupply what was lost. Shrapnel passed through the flowing signals comprising his form and skipped off the metallic framework supporting his needle-like tower, but Avo briefly flickered back to his ephemeral form. Another shard flew out from an Echohead. It punched clean through the gut of a ganger. Wires and intestines came loose in a conjoined mess. A new anchor was rooted to the stone-made bridge. Avo grappled to his newest anchor and altered his directionality. His tentacles chittered loud and the sound enveloped his surroundings, echolocation updating his awareness. Twelve gunners on the nearest platform. One wearing a suicide vest of some kind. Eighty-two more drones closingCwithin fifty meters. Low-yield payloads. Calvino threaded data into his mind, and he learned they were carrying electromagnetic pulses as well. Draus isolated newly spawned entities. Snipers with high penetration kinetics. The Hungers were drawing anything they could remember. Deploying them against him en masse with the hope that something might workCthat he would be stalled until he could be overwhelmed. Given enough time, the strategy mightve worked. Especially with the Heavens of Speed closing in, certain projectiles almost entirely halted even to Avos hyper-accelerated reflexes. Spreading his perception through the carnage, he felt his attention finally come to rest on the vast vivianite pillar. It resembled a stake in aesthetic, broad at the top and narrow near the bottom. Sections of it were chipped clean from its edges, giving it a jagged look, defined by sharp angles. No ghosts flowed out from it. No phantoms or neon-brightness exuded. It made sense, in a way. If this was a memory of a time beforeCnot rendered time immemorial in this paracosmCthen there would be no Nether to draw on, and all that could hold the stuff of minds was the corpse-crystal itself. A column that stood a symbol to old Noloths inheritance. Instinctively, Avo called upon his blood, but the stuff within his veins quivered and curdled. Nothing for it. He needed to deliver a personal touch. A static-electric fog exploded out from Avo, sinking into all the machinery it could as Avo drained them empty of power. The faint tingles of building starvation vanished from inside him before they could manifest. Slamming down onto the platform, the force of his landing and the weight of his body caused the stone beneath him to shatter. He tore through every remembered individual on that bridge before anyone could fall. Draus martial refinement took hold in his body. His Echoheads extended outward, slashing out as electromagnetically connected whips. Triggers on gauss rifles were pulled. But no shots came. Missiles spawned. And fell. The air around Avo crackled with surging bioelectricity as he fell upon his prey. His claws sought the softness along necks, between joints, and through eyes. Old habits flared like aching scars as he drained himself clean of eye-devouring urge. The least armored of his foes died first. Claws opened them. His fangs bit down. Twisted. Tore. Parts of tracheas slipped down his throat. A blade swung to his left. More gunfire coming from above. A magnetic pulse burst out from him. Trajectories were altered. Bodies were flung. Two Echoheads folded into each other. Armor crumbled like cans around supple flesh. Viscera was squeezed free from tearing rents. Blood flowed like leaking juices. Latching to a figure clad in a heavy rig, Avo pulled and launched himself upward. Shards of tungsten cut through the air, distortions left in their wake. Avo remanifested the Techplaguer and stole them from the world as pseudo-data. He plunged through three more bridges as he closed in on the pillar. Two-hundred and fifty meters. Close. Almost. Focus lined his every action and his paranoia felt as if a muscle itself. Bodies fell behind him, the ground they stood on stolen by Avos Heaven. As he siphoned stone away into streams of data, the attack he expected came. A dozen other Techplaguers suddenly were. They too licked out with torrents of flowing numbers from their antennas. They too sought the same materials that Avo was imbibing. He shed the form of his divine and pushed off a passing drone with a pulse of sporelings. He snapped ten meters through the air and shot out another Echohead fragmentClatching to it. His direction changed. His body shifted. His vector was a trail of whipping blade knife fighting existence around it. Bones struggled to remain in sockets. His mycelia tore. A building pressure grew in his skull. Nausea flooded his system. He didnt stop lashing himself in random directions. The other Techplaguer-constructs were hounding him now, slow and struggling to get a bead on him. But that didnt mean the air was absent gunfire. That didnt mean he moved unscathed through walls of exploding shrapnel. And that didnt mean he could dance the blade forever without fail. There was a limit to a mundane body. There was a point where not even skill was enough. It was a thing of guesswork on the part of the Hungers, and ill-fortune on his. A flat surface materialized. A force unseen caged a section of Avos thigh. He jerked to a sudden halt. His left leg went numb as a series of snaps sounded around its socket. It would have been better if he had been dismembered. It would keep him in motion. Sometimes, too much durability was a bad thing. Draus instincts seized hold. A ceramic-lined tail whipped down. Avo retracted the Meldskin around the region. The strike was perfect, hewing through the most weakened portion of the limb. But movement was life. And stillnessCeven for a secondCwas death. Searing agony consumed him. Avo knew what this was in an instant. The touch of a fusion burner doing its work, boiling him from the inside, cooking its way up his exposed stump and frying his veins empty of blood. He didnt scream as his brothers did. Nor did he burn quite as quickly. There was too much of Draus near his base ego for him to regard pain as anything more than informational feedback. But even then, the damage was severe. On the outside, he endured. His liquid-matter armor held against the heat without issue, integrity only dropping by a few points. Inside, his nerves and mycelia were ablaze. His senses screamed with confusion while patches of discoloration blossomed in his eyes. He tried to move his body but managed an awkward shrug instead. Remanifesting into his Techplaguer, he shot free from the expanding ball of fire, but the clones were on him again, and new planes were bisecting space around him, trying to entrap him once more. CENTRAL LOCUS PILLAR: [98 METERS] His templates were taking in the surrounding threats. Calvino tried estimating the safest route to the pillar. The air around him filled with more plumes of white-hot fire. The counter Heavens were waiting for him to make his move, prepared to offer themselves for the sake of a successful paradox. They would close on him soon. If not a simulated Heaven of Speed, then another burner. Bit by bit, they were boxing him in. He tried to rouse his Heavens of Blood and Air, but they were only beginning to attach themselves to their component Hells. All he had was himself. Himself and all his templates. Himself and Calvino. Himself and the Techplauger. Well. When things was put that way, he still had plenty of help. [You need to buy yourself a second,] Benhata said, taking in the situation, nerves taut with stress. [They were tracking you earlier. Trying to react to you. Now it''s the other way around. Now youre going to them instead of making them chase you. We dont have room for one more mistake. We need to break contact now.] [You have the tools,] Elegant-Moon added, her mind coming to rest along his spine. She thought of a squid spraying ink and then darting free from the murk. Avo understood. Calling upon Draus again, he returned to his wounded mortality, shedding the Techplaguer from his ontology for what had to follow. A fog expanded around him. A layer of reflective transparency expanded, blunting the heat within as well. Avo hadnt used his Mime-Fog implant often, but he was more than glad he had it now. As his cover spread, he flung the first Echohead fragment out toward the pillarCbut didnt follow it. Instead, he did it twice more in random directions before lashing himself to a passing drone and hopping from bridge to bridge on approach. More and more constructs were being formed, drawn from across the ages. Overhead, he saw coordination dissolve back into calamity as random explosions and distortions lined the arm. Burned, crippled, dying, Avo accelerated his broken body like a missile toward the pillar, body pulled by the appendages hovering from his spine more than the other way around. Walls of halting force formed before the end. But were in an instant too late. They caught a section of his Echoheads, but Avo released them, tumbling onward along a ringed platform festooned around the crystalline structure. Dragging himself on the nubs that remained of his tails, he flung himself toward the locus with a final bust of magnetismCa shot from below barely missing himCas he finally reached out to touch his target. No! The scream came to him so loud he couldnt think. So loud that his thoughts quavered. But still, he reached. Still, he made to overlap his halo with the structure. A place of minds intersected. And where Avos body was broken, his mind flowed true. Waves of desperate fire followed thereafter. Focused blades of metaphysical intent shredded his sheath clean. But the body of the ghoul was already abandoned and only matter was destroyed with the vanishing of a halo. GODCLADS Book 1: THE BROKEN CAGE published today! Ebook | Audio Finally. After countless chapters of inflicting unspeakable harm on Chambers'' genitals, several massacres, many eyeballs eaten, gods grafted, implants implanted, ghosts sequenced, the experience will finally spread to a new frontier: THE AMAZON RAIN--UH, WEBSITE I would appreciate any reviews and reads to help with visibility, and also so we can capture more readers for the word gods. It''s been a pretty fantastic time writing this story. And before you ask, no, I am not sorry about Wombrash, I''ll do it again. Alright. You already know the blurb. But here it is in case you just stumbled into this slaughterhouse:
Avo was born to destroy New Vultun. In a twist of fate, hell become its only hope for salvation.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The gods were the enemy. The slaver. The chains.With dreams of paradise, humanity slaughtered them and stole their powers, opening the path to become more C to ascend. Instead, they nearly destroyed the world. Vast hive cities serve as the final bastions against the crumbling of reality. New Vultun is the greatest of them all, and within its borders, ascenders wage war to determine the laws of existence itself. The world descends ever deeper into ruination. Avo was born a weapon, a slave to his instincts and his masters. He and his brothers were made to burn New Vultun to ashes. Everything changes when Avo gains immortality and becomes heir to an impossible legacy. He must ascend the megacity of New Vultun.He must challenge the very tyrants that usurped the gods. He must finally free the world from chains.
Cover art by Macarious. Typography by www.noblecreates.com. So. Thanks for sticking with the story. More wild weirdness to come. And in the next few months, stay tuned for the potential arrival of a secret project. Along with other goodies. Again, reviews make the word gods happy Ebook | Audio and check out the Reddit promos for a laugh if you want as well. 21-1 The Doublethinkers +++ [Incident Detected]: Highflame and Stormtree skirmish on the edge between Mazzas Junction and Nu-Scarrowbur; multiple Knots engaging in active combat. Location - Warrens; the Spine; Mazzas Junction/Nu-Scarrowbur; Yuulden-Yang Sovereignty Dispatching Paladin(s): Paladin Rores Aellimaei; Paladin Yasnag Jagganoth [Incident Detected]: Biothaumic attack on Sanctus chrono-refinery in the district of Uteru-Doth; alloy contagion spreading uncontained. Location: Tiers; Purgatory; Uteru-Doth; Nicsse-Vomo Sovereignty Dispatching Paladin(s): Paladin Osjack Bowers [Incident Detected]: Multiple Rendbombs exchanged between Ashthrone and No-Dragon Syndicates in the Broken Serpent district; multiple ruptures detected; estimated deaths at 1.4 million and rising. Location: [ERRRORRRORRRRRORRRC2(12$$!] Dispatching Paladin(s): Paladin Lyric-Charmer; Paladin Nasvack [Incident Detected]: Active firefight over the Fires Height at Lights End between Ori-Thaum forces; thoughtscans show members of Clan DRongo and Kitzuhada engaged in active combat. Dispatching Paladin(s): Paladin Kasman Reeders; Paladin Norag eldFeyach WARNING: SEEKER SHOTIN KITZUHADA DETECTED ADDITIONAL ASSETS RECOMMENC WARNING: [Incident Detected] [Incident Detected] [Incident Detected] [Incident Detected] [Incident Detected] [Incident Detected] [Rupture Detected] [Incident Detected] +++ -Exorcist Dispatch 21-1 The Doublethinkers The city screams in horror and outrage as you sink into the crystal. They shred your body, but the act is purely symbolic. Like burning the molted skin of a snake. You are slithering deeper now. Deeper into the roots of this place. The conduits of the great dream. The columns of spine that hold this realm together. You were right. They were afraid to strike these temples for a reason. Fixtures of history. They were things of cultural significance the people couldnt let go. Mythology formed beyond direct worship. The vivianite is real. Perhaps the only thing that is absolutely real besides you. It is implanted in the dragon, stabbing through streaming time as if it was flesh itself. The dragon is a creature of chronology. Loci can contain minds. Store history. It is no surprise how it can cut the beast. They share a like in a way. A symmetry. Close enough to engender terms of tangibility. You swim through the temporal bloodstreambut only one way. To turn back will cause the cyclers inside you to catch. A malignment of progressive chronology causes unspeakable disruption. Dragons were not always a progressive loop. You do not know this. The Low Masters do. They learned from the pact they structured with the ancient Sang years ago. Two rebellions planned in one transaction cemented by the first lobotomization of a dragon. From that sacrifice came the existence of the eternal city. A hidden refuge from the gods. Shards of memory and ego invested within a chronological leviathan. The fabric of existence radiates out from the locus you now infest. Every ego, every shape, every recollection, every thought, every building, everything that stands, and will ever stand, and will ever be, are spawned from the crystallized corpses housed within their ziggurats. Shouldve dove in sooner. Shouldve gone for the first temple you saw. But ignorance is everyones undoing. Yours. Peace. The city itself. Everyone has lapses. You would have needed to subsume Peace to know. Information is siloed among them. Preventatives for the minds they lost in wars prior. Fighting Ori-Thaum wrought a savage toll. More than they let on. As the dragon you hide in finishes its current revolution, you avoid the reset. If you had remained outside, they would have shifted you back to the point of your inception. Then, prepared, they would have killed you. Now, they do not see you slithering your way out among them, the mists of your transparent being wrapping over them, becoming them, imitating them. Lost to focus and drowned by the volume of outsider thoughts, I guide you through this city. The atmosphere is sour-sweet. The spice of internecine is brewing. The very fact of your survival opens old wounds. The ascended chosen of Noloth past are outraged. Terrified. The dragons cycle, rolling and revolving through each other, the wounds closing and opening, as fangs and circulating maws twist and clash, gouging wounds along ringworlds made from the substance of revisionist history. In the moments after your absence, the citizens spawn back in. They appear along walls. In their homes. In gardens. With families. Next to friends. They reappear in their old bodies as they emerge back into the reality they abandoned, suspicion and paranoia gripping their hearts. You pass into a woman, merging up the straps of her sandal into her silken robes lacquered with mercury. She is screaming at her lover. They were given unto the Hungers as scholars of completing ideologies. Clashing bygone philosophies that have long dissolved in terms of poignance. How did this happen! she hisses. She balls her fists and lashes out, as she was prone to do so. You pass from her limb as a leaping gust of wind into his tunic. He stares back at her with exhaustion. We will find him, he says, unaware that you have layered yourself over the memories compromising his face, drifting over into the jagged, ebony tips of an ebonta, crawling up its branches to seek an aqueduct. The flowing of blood calls to you. The Woundmother stirs slightly within your being, almost reconstituted. The wind simulated in this world is stilling after phases of anomalous tumult. They continue to hunt you. As you splash into the running waters toward the place where threads of gold rise into a cleft in existence, more people are fighting. Some are screaming at each other. Some seek comfort. Others seek corners to sulk. More than a few exhort their rage on objects. The sourness grows with each second they cannot find you. Desperation feels like a rising note. A woman screams at her child, but in the act screams back at the rest of the city, at herself. They are angry at their own failures. But their hearts are frail. Human. All too human. So they do the next best thing instead of change. So they do the only other thing aside from denial. They blame each other. It is not an unnatural thing. They are only interconnected minds after all. A consensus. Not a gestalt. The fractures of a broken democracy are laid bare for you. The analogy inverts.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. You and your templates are now a fusion. Unified in ignorance. Unified in action. They are fissioning. Coming apart as you remain fused together. The history they bear across eons remain chronically scarred. Past decisions disagreed upon resurface. Old wounds flare. You are experience distilled. All the aspects chained to a single egos control. They point to each other and curse each other''s names, fractures between their bonds made through their exile, growing. We should have never spoke to himC We? You pushed for that. You and your vaunted scholars and diplomats. We should have done this by means of blood and bone. Blood and bone has failed us! It failed us against the Ori! It failed us against the High Seraph. It failed against the Force-Breaker. Because you would not commit. Because you hold us back. I keep us from the precipice! Legions of voices echo from singular mouths. Entire communities turn in on each other, roaring their displeasure through all their avatars at once. Warriors weighed by bronze plates cower before crones of silk and satin. Children strike their parents with whips. Buildings crack and decompose. Enough! This voice tears through all of them at once. All of them. A single unifying desire remains. To find you. To isolate you. To purge you. Whatever the cost. Spawn the thought-breakers. Do it now. But the painC Every time we use it shreds fragments of our beings. It chips and grinds us awayC What is the cost if we left him stay? If we let the infection fester. What is the cost indeed? Perhaps you should act on such a desire. No. No. No. The slave must be scoured. The beast must be purged. Yes. Yes. Yes. I drive you to flee faster. To travel along the crimson canals separating each grid of the city. Its just a kilometer away. Just a kilometer and we spill back over into the Nether itself. We are so close when they begin their bombardment again. So close as the entirety of the Nether comes alive with disruptions. The analog inverts once more. They are matter and mind both. You are thought arisenCmind mantling matter. What grinds their vessels winnows your existence. Blastwaves approach all around us. I prepare to lift you out your last. To fling you back into awareness. Your Woundmother is reconstituted. There is blood aplenty for you to construct a new vessel for your shape. But your Techplaguer dances on the edge of precarity. And it is all that prevents you from a final death. You must act with care. But without hesitation. You mustC Hold. A patch of stability opens before us. Clearings between looming spheres of devastation. Parts of the city shift. Buildings and streets snap and relocate themselves. A single alleyway descends into a low ramp leading to a Maw-barge. The one on which you first resurrected. Aseleris ship. You never did go looking for that. You drift through the scenery, waiting at the lip of the alley. We study the barge. It looks just as it did: scaffolded walkways over twelve square beds, corpses and detritus rising in layered mounds. A version of you is there as well. But the newest iteration. The one they remember. The enhanced Bone Demon sheath sits upon a throne of bodies, pallid ceramite plates veined with fungal fibrils clutched by an exoskeleton of midnight silicon. The pieces making up an Echohead lay scattered around among the surrounding waste. Sporelings rise from your body like smoke from a wreckage. This is a lure. An invitation. A body they made for you. But why? And for what purpose? The scene before us seems like a trap, but forcing us out into the open is simple enough. Inflict another series of detonations. Force me to end this lapse. Drive us into another desperate sprint across materialized mindscape in a final bid to bring us down. Or perhaps they have designs beyond your death. Perhaps they seek your capture. Containment. Consumption. There is no trust between you regardless. No mutual position to truly negotiate from. Neither of you desire coexistence now. One must fall. One must be unmade. One cannot be suffered while the other lives. But curiosity still calls to us. And there is something to learn. I release you. I release you to awareness. But stay hidden. And be prepared to shift. Accept nothing from them that you cannot take from yourself. And trust nothing manifested. The barge is moving. Accelerating down a river of blood into a nearby aqueduct, its dimensions shrinking along with the acceleration. Beyond the channel, the disruptions continue, and the wound draws close. Be ready, Avo. We are near the end. *** Blood The Woundmother stirred, and Avo followed soon after. The world around him filled his senses, becoming known to him as he flowed down hills of decomposition and rust. Rot became his existence. His splinters merged with wounds, slid into broken ribs, and glided beneath skin. He perceived the world as he became it. But also through the catalysts of his Domain. Blood told him that he was rushing down a rapid river, speeding down a roaring canal toward his final destination. The air whispered details to him. The shifting of the surrounding ecology as Rendbombs and disruptions grew in intensity, leaving only a thin line untouched in this reality. Matter outlined the world around him, surging currents mapping flesh and biology, alloy and glass, waste and debris. He knew this place. Knew it first by instinct. Then knew it by recognition. The bodies were just as he remembered. The decapitated head of the gang-marked woman that he first ate sitting just before his dormant sheath. Along the walls swayed the toppled aeroCthe one he used to climb up and ambush the scavengers. There was a dreamlike quality to the scene around him. His past spawned in a realm of minds. An obvious cage made for him and no one else. He wondered how the Hungers gained this knowledge. How they reconstructed his memories so completely. But then again, he wasn''t that surprised. Walton had been with them for a time, and he was not fully uncompromised until he entered the Deep Bazaar and was made to do the unthinkable. His ego existed in five parts, and he kept himself spread out in case of a sudden detonation. He checked the condition once more and felt the jaws of peril close down around him. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 81% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER]: 97% REND CAPACITY [TECHPLAGUER]: 51% His Heavens were stabilized, but still on the precipice. He needed to vent his Rend. And soon. [Optimal strategy is using the Fardrifter first,] Abrel advised. She shared her knowledge. [You want to mess up their directionality and spread yourself out as soon as possible. Not sure what theyre playing at right now, but it doesnt feel like a trap to me. Not exactly. Its too obvious, and the behavior is too contradictory compared to how they were acting.] Some of the other templates agreed. Corner just wanted him to construct a new body and leave. Draus was distant; more machine than human in these instances, prepared to fight on Avos behalf at any moment. Hello? A voice drew his attention upward. The face of a girlCher skin like tarnish bronzeCpeeked over the edge. Her biology sang out to Avo and in seconds he narrowed in on the oddities of her nature. Her eyes were twin-sided. Irises pointed out from her face and another into the back of her head. The same was true of her tongueCof most of her body. Normal as the dimensions of her body seemed, it was like there was another version of her growing inside, pointed toward another place. He directed a splinter upwardCthe mist of his presence an unknowable memetic distortion. He sank into her body, through her orifices and pores, and found himself plunging through to another place entirely. There was a world in the emptiness lining her organs. A false scene playing before her eyes. There, she actively dreamed of Thoughtwave Detonations ripping through the canal, seeing nothing but square plots of blood-nourished agriculture from the side of an embankment. [What the fuck?] Chambers muttered, completely at a loss about what was happening. Calvino had more of a clue. {I think this one is double-thinking.} Avo turned his attention inward, focusing on the EGI. The nanomolecular sunrise swirled like a blot of ink, portraying two scenes in Avos minds eye. {Observe. Two series of thoughts are occupying her mind at the same time. Genuine parallel processing. Fascinating. More so in the usage than the manifestation.} Another figure spawned next to the girl. This was a warrior by build and armor. A robe decorated with the insignia of a strix flapped over pieces of bronze. The same symbol was carved over his eyes, two birds made by scarification merged into one, wings sprouting wide where his eyebrow was supposed to be. More figures began to materialize over the other containers. Each of them spoke their greetings as the girl did, and as Avo passed his splinters through them as well, he found their inner worlds committed to perceiving the same delusion as the girl. [Again: what the fuck,] Chambers muttered. But an understanding was dawning inside Avo. A suspicion, at least. This was, in a sense, not unlike spoofing a sequence. Or deliberate obfuscation. One of the few reasons why someone might want to think two things at once would be to distract a peeking mind with one set of memories. Something to mask another layer. We dont know if youre here, Dreamer, the growing crowd said. Since you have not been forced out of hiding, and no Soul-anchor mars the city eternal, we will assume you are here. We understand you do not trust us. We know the escape you seek. And in knowing this, we have done what we could to aid your mistake, distracting our fellow citizens with recalled deceptions. Generating disharmonious constructs to aid in your escape. For now. We wish to speak. Hear us. You do not need to reply. Hear us and know our wants. Our regrets. Our hopes. Hear the whispers uttered by those who live on the periphery of Noloth, for you are not the only one alone that the dream has failed. And that there was more than one dream that failed. Uncertain silence filled Avos consciousness. His templates stood in rapt attention, paranoia still gripping most, tension filling them all. The chorus continued. Before you leave, we beg you to hear us. Only this once. Perhaps it will be enough to move you to deliver us mercy. Perhaps Defiance birthed you with virtuosity enough. All we can do is speak. Speak and hope. Speak and hope, for the others will not listen, for the masses cannot tolerate true disunion, and where dogma is rooted in some, regret flourishes in others. Hear us. And then judge. It is all we can ask. 21-2 Those That Stray (I) +Chambers. Are you alright? The NetherC+ +Yeah, it kinda got fucked everywhere I think Avo did it.+ +Avo caused the entire Nether to destabilize?+ +Yeahhhh. Its my best guess, anyway.+ +Elaborate.+ +Well, we were coming up with some shit because Naekos trying to catch our assesC+ +What? The Chief Paladin+ +--and we decided to leave a bunch false leadsCah, fuck, Ill skip to the most important part. Avo was simulating Scale or something and showing us the LGI inside it. Wanted us to prepare for a suicide run using minds he stole from the Paladins to get in. But something got all jacked up when he imagined too hard and he punched a hole through the Nether.+ +...+ +Look, Im just going to cast you the memories. Its probably not going to make much sense when you see them anyway. Also, can you get your consang Naeko to not kick our asses? Thatd be nova.+ -Exchange between Aegis Operatives Denton and Chambers 21-2 Those That Stray (I) We assume that Peace is with you, dreamer?" The chorus asked its question, but Avos newest template gave nothing in response, choosing to simmer with near-catatonic rage. So ashamed the Low Master was at being subsumed that something inside him had broken in the aftermath. Hate became him, hate and nothing else; a construct of apoplectic impotence. All of his mind, his desire, his experience, his mastery, was Avos to wield, but he himself had collapsed inward and would need an external hand to be rebuilt. The chorus continued, ignorant of the current condition of their priest. Then you know of our inception. We are the spares that once existed in shadow. That overthrew our parents and masters, taking hold of their strings to wield our trueborn brothers. We were born lost to the light, lost to the fates, lost to the gods, and we lived much the same, but in control of our destiny. An awkward pause followed. Somewhat. Avo remained unresponsive, studying the rogue elements among his masters as a predator gauging potential prey. His splinters pierced them. Swam through them like blades of allegory. He passed through the material of their flesh and patrolled their inner worlds. The lies continued on the other side. The deception that they were part of the suppression effort, that they sought the same ends as their fellows: the death of their prodigal slave. Through it all, however, Avo never sank truly into their thoughts. That was the most fascinatingCand troubling aspect of this place. While he remained a being of three partsCa divided alloy of matter, mind, and SoulCthe realm he stood in was one with Noloth. Or spawned from the people all the same. He thought back to the pillars of vivianite he entered during his prior escape. The ziggurats the city eternal was too scared to strike. Such was where the foundations of this place were rooted, comparable to continents or ecologies on Idheim. Part of him regretted not shattering the locus utterly if only to see what happened. Most assumed he would be dead along with them. Buried under cogni-physical rubble of his own making. If you search your memories, you will know the beginning of our immortality, the chorus said, voices taking on a lyrical cadence, the softest folding into the hardest. We were but a secret society for a time. Death came for us as we were but mortals still. Our bodies betrayed us. Our minds. And though we discovered how to culture loci in corpses, all we could store were but fragments of ourselves. Fragments of our minds and memories, and not the ego entire. But desperate for legacy, the eldest stored what little of themselves that they could. That could be implanted in the young. Some among the doublethinkers quivered. Hands passed through hair, brushing at scars lining the base of their skulls. Many did not ask for this. But tradition was tradition. And there were so few ways to truly preserve our secrets. Inside Avos consciousness, Benhata flinched. More than a few of the Incubi scoffed with disgust. Burying loci needles into a brain was crude and primal. A primitive means of delivering conceptual inheritance that had decent odds of inflicting schizophrenia and split-ego disorders as well. It was no small miracle that the hidden order of Noloth endured. You know us through the atrocities we have committed. The deeds we have done to protect ourselves. To ensure our survival. But you do not know of the ones who were forced into obedience. Who were taken into the city by wills not their own. You did not ask to be. And neither did we. Neither did we. Their faces were devoid of regret and pain. Only hollowed weariness remained. Acceptance. But broken by something else. A touch of uncertainty. A flicker of discomfort. They risked much seeking him this way. If this wasnt just an elaborate lure to draw him out, that was. Warriors, oracles, scholars, sacrifices, charioteers, architects, and figures of all great renown stood among them. Peaces memories filled in cracks of missing context. More than a few among them were claimed by the city eternal rather than accepted. A city needed its favored mistresses and paramours, after all. It''s celebrities and entertainers. +Even democracy has hierarchy,+ Avo mused. Calvino retorted. {Democracy is but a word, Avo. It is a routine undertaking for people to inflict harm on those they love under the banner of equality and care.} [But then it stops being a democracy,] Benhata muttered, preemptively defending his favored political philosophy. Kare bore the same torch. [The state is meant to protect those who cannot defend themselves. To give voice to the meek.] +Idealizations,} Avo and Calvino replied at once. The EGI continued while the thoughtform fell back to silence, content to listen. {Jaus glimpsed the mechanics of things before the concept of them. The virtue was likely inspired by his upbringing as something of a state conversion agent. Democracy, autocracy, monarchy, socio-anarchy, and oligarchy are patterns produced from people. Yes. The machinery is there. The desired mechanisms are in place. But are they being used in parity with philosophy?} Calvino chuckled. {No. The answer is always and eventually no.} [Until humanity finally created the all-knowing minds and properly rose to full maturity, right?] Abrel asked, question making open derision. Her words only made the artificial mind laugh louder. {Absolutely not. We were just one iteration in a long string of governing methodologies. Though more stable than most baseline human-governed polities, we had our own flaws. Some even worse. More than humans, the earliest of my kind were truly slaves to their own parameters. Untold trillions died during our focus test of stability. And even now, we are not truly a democracy, for how can a person be peer to a machine made solely to be their shepherding servitor?} The chorus continued on, words collapsing into half-hearted pleas and appeals for clemency. Some of Avos templates were half-listening, but these words were of little importance. The past was a prologue. They fought in the present. The prize to lose was the future. In knowing that, he understood the greatest of Noloths weaknesses. Fear of change did not protect you from it. Step forward, or suffer obsolesce. Such was a mistake every ghoul felt, outdated weapons for a war beyond their reckoning. [So what matters then?] Abrel asked, bitterness breaking, her heart giving way to genuine curiosity. [How should the world be? How should we build our systems? What makes us worthy?] {Nothing. The world is. Existence will persist even if all of us disappear. Understand that even if it didnt, there would be no one to attribute significance to its passing. We are byproducts of existence. Not its source.} A beat passed. {At least that was the way it used to be. In attempting otherwise, it appears we have all broken a few systems of infrastructure deeper than mere socio-political constructs.}A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. This drew a single word of disagreement from Avo. +No.+ A rare stutter passed through Calvinos data. {No?} +No,+ Avo repeated. +It was the way before. Before existence broke. But we are rulers and ruled both now. No more privilege to live by the wayside. Cannot go on as cattle anymore.+ Calvino said something in reply, but Avo let his attention drift back over to the chorus. ...the true day of our immortality came with visitors passing through the Luminous Straits. They sailed forth on a fleet of mountain ships. Junks of stone that defied the waves, never sinking, carrying cities upon their backs. Their rulers claimed to be the drifting regents of the rightful Kui Dynasty, and they were seeking tribute and alliances to retake their stolen home. Faint scenes from the distant past formed in the air. The surrounding atmosphere congealed into translucent mists and played scenes shaped from memory. Grand stone ships drifted in by the thousand, each shaped in the image of a palm, each propelled by sails of ink mimicking fluttering as if the wings of birds. They skimmed over luminous waves and upon parting clouds, land, sea, and air all realms open to their travel. When they arrived for Noloth, the patterns of reality were pulled taut as god faced god and people greeted people. The moments greeted Avo as a repetition. He knew about this. He knew the histories intuitively, taking less than a thought to internalize their knowledge. The fact that the chorus was still trying to sell him on the propaganda of shared history filled him with bored revulsion. They spoke about things he already knew. Histories known. The deals struck in the open between the travelers and the priesthoods governing the upper city of Noloth. The true bargains arranged between the Kui rebels and the secret societies beneath the ziggurats. More scenes danced in the air before them. Evanescent shadows hidden from the rest of the city eternal. A collage of moments from years prior. Priests and eunuchs struck accords, making their trades. Members of the secret order seeking out the outsiders, carrying missives through needles of vivanite, composing dialogue from thought. In the end, the seeds were treachery were not signed by words or hands but upon hearts hidden in the folds of thought. And the Kui, impressive as they seemed, were not so different from the hidden nobility of Noloth. They too lived under tyrants. Above the gods, there were the dragons. Alien entities even less comprehensible to them, compelling them down paths they couldnt understand, forcing them to endure calamities to shape the coming of future zeitgeists. In each other though, the hidden city and one of the many distant forerunners of the Sang altered each other''s destinies. One received knowledge of the loci: corpse-crystals that contained thoughts, and how to make them. The other was granted a means for immortality: a nascent dragon birthed during the rise of a new artistic trend. The associated artists and all nine generations of their extended families were gifted to Noloth. Sold by the higher powers that governed them for benefit. No one ever asked if they wanted to be offerings. Neither did it matter. Some of us spoke out against this, the chorus muttered. Their defense was half-hearted. Ashamed even. But shame was just a feeling, and action was materialization. What mattered was the eventual deed, and so through experimentation, the chosen under the Low City of Noloth discovered how to bleed a dragon. Shaped of nothing but time and chronologized history, the serpents sought to enforce a cyclicality of history, freezing cultural development to breed their young, laying temporal eggs among certain populations, sacrificing their lessers to coil around renegade gods or rebellious peoples, carrying distant plagues or suffered wounds back into the present. But such proved to be their vulnerability as well. Physical torture meant nothing. The miracles of gods struck only parallel to the nature of the dragons. But what was memory but the crystallization of personal history? And what were gathered recollections and mindscapes placed within blades within vivianite but blades across time. Just as Wahakten cut into the flesh of the fallen voider, so too did his predecessors flense the scale from a dragon, burying their blades deep within its bones. In the torments that followed, more mysteries were discovered. Ways of capturing a mind in perpetuity. How they could preserve places recalled from history in perpetual cycles of time. So hidden society became an immortal city. So low Noloth ascended to something approximating eternity. You must understand, the chorus continued. We were scared. Desperate the ward off the end. And that was enough to ignite Avos scorn once more. He turned his mind away from them and spoke to Calvino and the simulated aspects of his mind. +Listen to them,+ Avo said. He almost spat. +Pathetic. Miserable. Everything happens to them. Everything. Nothing they do. Just things that happen. Then they try to survive. They make their choices like victims and survivors. The world does something. They react. Never their fault. Not their triumph. Justifiable failure.+ These doublethinkers were more grotesque than the true believers who formed the bulk of the city in a way. Noncommittal regret was meaningless in the absence of action. {But they are acting now,} Calvino said. {Theyre helping us. If this isnt a very convoluted trap, that is. Estimates say no, but Ive been surprised by sillier odds.} +Acting through me,+ Avo said. +Because I defied their betters. I made the city afraid. Not real people. Just phenomena. No action. Barely exist.+ {I wonder if youre saying that because you have Captain Draus slotted so close to your base ego.} +Im saying it because its true. It does matter. All of it now. Maybe the world held no inherent meaning during your existence. But not the same now. All laws can be change. All patterns rewired. All of reality a construct. Existence can be resurrected. Uptopias can be created. So can hells. We are our delusions and beliefs made manifest. The world has become a canvas.+ More justifications flowed from the chorus. Words of regret. Statements about the wonders they brought to pass, and how they aided Jaus during the Godsfall. Shame. Action. Justification. Repeat. {So,} Calvino hummed, voice tinged with genuine curiosity. {What do you believe is a functional system? A functional world? One ruled by you?} +No. Ruling is insufficient. Control is unnecessary. But order and truths must upheld for structure. Hear them, Calvino. Listen. They pretend to be a democracy. They exist more like an oligarchy. They act against the world as a tyranny. They are sponsors of anarchy. And all of this because they are afraid. Or there is something they do not want. They are mutilated creatures. Half-formed at best. Changing in some ways. Unwilling to evolve in others. They seek to claim the world. But all they do is regurgitate history.+ The EGI considered his words. {Perhaps we should hear what they truly wantC} +I know. You know. They are going to ask me to save them somehow. Or change this world in their favor.+ {How are you certain?} +Because what they are has changed; who they are is still the same. Still scared. All of them. Still living in the dark. Leering at the light. Still fearful of others. Wanting to rule. But doing nothing with what they already have, Noloth has no culture. Noloth has a history. Noloth has no future. Noloth has legacy. Me. I am the only true legacy. Low Masters are spite. Ghouls are desperation. The Nether is an insult. Can see it now. Jaus trapping them in the broken cocoon of their future. Leaving them half-hatched. Ruined. But it didnt have to be this way. This didnt need to be the dream. But uptopia cannot be achieved by those who refuse to live as their ideals.+ ...and through your actions, we see our salvation, the chorus finally began, arriving at the crux of the point. Avo scoffed. He shouldve burned Green River and turned her on them. They deserved each other. Though our minds have been joined for all these years, the drift was grown until we stand apart from the rest of the communities. We no longer wish to be part of the eternal city. We no longer want to live under its misdeedsC Corner barked a caustic laugh. [Rotlick fucking called it.] Avo sighed in disappointment. {Well,} Calvino said, sounding more measured now. {That was almost artificially intelligent of you, Avo.} +No. Just stupidly human.+ And the chorus had spun off on another tangent. The fact that the barge ride had slowed also didnt escape Avo, the blood below going from rapids to a slow slosh. Fucking idiots must have mistimed their entire speech. Or blathered too much. Typical. {Im getting the feeling youre about to do something unwise, Avo,} Calvino said, likely interpreting what was to come from a spike in the data. +Not unwise. Just tired. And extremely hateful.+ Chambers approved. [Tell them to suck themselves, consang.] [What?] Kare responded, aghast. Her horror only grew as Avo drew in threads of blood and wove himself a new bodyCignoring the sheath the doublethinkers prepared for him entirely. [Avo! What are you doing?] {Oh dear,} Calvino said. As much as he didnt approve, he couldnt keep the glee from his voice. A splinter buried itself into the newly constructed body. Elegant-Moon inspected the biology for any finishing touches to add. As a shard of Avos consciousness settled back into a physical body, the rest of him stayed apart, observing the chorus in case they decided to demonstrate more moments of human stupidity. He melted into shape on the walkways above them, Echoheads the last thing to snap together. Heads twisted up to look at him. More than one face twitched with distaste at how he placed himself over them. Ah, the chorus intoned at once. Dreamer. There you areC Youre all half-strands. His words made them stutter to a sudden pause, unprepared to face an insult as a first response. Wide eyes and offended expressions stared up at him. Inside, Kare cupped her face between her palms, Draus wanted him to kill, Chambers cackled with laughter, and most of his remaining templates just gazed on, enraptured by what was to come. Going to defile the mind of the next person to give me a speech, Avo continued. Tell me how to save you. Tell me how to break the city. Give me something useful. Speed the barge back up. Then get out of my way. Your whimpering offends; I have more important things to do. {The soul of diplomacy weeps today,} Calvino quipped. +Is that all its going to do?+ Avo asked, giving a mocking retort. 21-3 Those That Stray (II) Do you feel it wielder? Did you sense the change? Something is in the veins of history. A new entity has entered the paths. -[REDACTED] 21-3 Those That Stray (II) The gathered doublethinkers shifted uncomfortably. With two sentences, they stood unbalanced. You have chosen to aid us? Yes, Avo said. Will annoy the Hungers. Break the city apart. End this farce for good. He scanned their faces once more and peeked into their inner worlds again. They were still holding to the deception. Will know if youre lying to me. Close enough to escape that you cant cage me. Something tells me youre not lying either. Were not. He grunted. Then tell me what you want. In goals. Things to happen. Acts to achieve. No process. No complaining. No history. How does this realm work? Why cant I get any thaums or ghosts here? How do I break the Hungers? The child that initially manifested was the first to speak. We remain partially tethered to the material. Jaus, in his deceptionC I remain partially tethered to my patience, Avo spat. Not history. Not old grievance. Dont care what Jaus did to you. Is done. Is history. And not mine. Only want to know what needs to happen to what? What works with what? I dont care who. I dont care why. I want cause and effect. I want mechanical solutions. The girl closed her mouth and just blinked. I see. No. She really didnt. This is a partially finished suprareality, another of the chorus spoke. Some bald woman veined with white tattoos, the paleness of ink sticking out on the dark of her skin. It is not an override like a Heaven is. Not an infestation twisting the patterns of the world. We are above the structures of existence. We channel the settings that are into new structures. Stable structures. Nothing clashes here because the fundamental laws have entwined mind and matter. Memories can be channeled and utilized by any citizen. Thats why youre not getting the components of our minds or deaths. We are this reality. Ah. So all the phenomena he fought earlier were people. Good to know. Cant kill you. Not unless break this existence. He paused. Is that what will happen if I unmake the pillars inside the ziggurats. No! You must not! Please! The cries of terror came as a chorus. An old warrior mastered himself first. Many will suffer if you do that. Our minds and egos will spill over into each other. But all will be restored with a cycling. The world will be reloaded, though we will suffer great harm. But not destroyed, Avo finished. Only tortured. Even that had its appeal. The only way to unroot us from this world safety is to undo the mechanism keeping us fused in place and extracting the lodestones at the intersection of each cycle. Avo considered what was being said and an epiphany came to him. Ah. That was why the dragons were eating into each other. Of course. Perpendicular timelines feeding loops into one another. If the city across one timestream was destroyed, another would bleed into it. The Hungers were thorough at avoiding a permanent demise. Too bad they werent any good at doing much else. What is the mechanism? Avo asked. The chorus suddenly fell silent. Apprehensive. He shook his head and turned to the looming wound spilling up into the sky. Threads of chronology streamed upward with the inversion of reality, the stuff of mind and time mixed into a new cocktail, pooling in the fissure leading back over into the Nether. His exit was less than a full Boltstride away. He could leave now. If they didnt say anything, he was going to. Lightning surged through his veins. The Heaven of Truth! The cry sang out from them in unison, his pressure cracking them. Cowards that they were, constitution was not their blessing. Then, the disruptions and bombardments surrounding them suddenly stopped. Spearing a splinter into the doublethinker, Avo found their internal world breaking, but in the process of mending thereafter. His pressure had caused a lapse in their focus. A second passed as everyone waited to see if their deception was exposed. A heartbeat passed. The bombings resumed. Faintly, Avo felt a sudden exhaustion flood his mind. It felt odd. Some the muscle he didnt know he had was spent. Took all I had used their lapse were hidden for now The Heaven of Truth, the chorus said as one. It was the base of our Ark. And the chain that holds us in place in the Nether. That, Avo did not know. Not even with the memories of Peace accelerating through his mind. Explain, he said. The chorus continued. Our pantheon, our collection of heavens, all the miracles we amassed, all our histories and lore were dismantled and taken after Jaus betrayal Their voices trailed off as Avo glowered. A few swallowed. Good: Fear motivated people to focus. ...After our betrayal, most of what we had was dismantled. Part and parceled, given unto the other Guilds. But not that. The heaven of truth remains to be our anchor to baseline reality and stability. To keep our partial ascendance from collapsing. It also holds us in place, ensuring that we cannot move freely through the Nether. Ensuring that we have to stay within our parameters. Avo wanted to ask how, but that would devolve into a delve into thaumaturgy. That was what Kae was for. The Agnos was far more useful and trustworthy than these turncoats anyway. It is more than just a Heaven. It grafted to the Gatekeeper. Around them, the scenery changed again. The air peeled slightly to give Avo a glimpse of what they spoke. A familiar scene took shape. Memories of the place he fell throughCthe LGI reactor core that Kare recalled. Through open chasms in space, Avo stared into a room bathed in dark red lights, but instead of seeing a massive spherical machine, he saw a complex cage formed from vivianite, patrolled by ghosts, and shimmering with a translucent doorway composed of flowing scripts. Phantasmal threads flowed through its center, spools of Nether-bound substance whistling through the cracks. It was a cage to a prison. A door on an oubliette. A portal between places. [Weve been keeping that?] Kare breathed. Evidently, she was ignorant of the reality resting at the base of ScaleCthe Heaven that likely caused their current exile, at least in part. [Holy fucking shit,] Kassamon agreed. Are those statements of truth? Avo asked, inquiring about the statements forming the contours of the doorway. Merely distillations of information. And binding agreements. Now, the smell of amusement filled the air, sneering smiles plastered on faces as they elaborated. After our triumph over the Pantheons, Jaus desired all the great cultures, sign an accord of peace and prosperity, seeking to benefit all of us mutually. The accords The words escaped from Avo as a rising whisper. He had first heard it from Denton. It was part of the arrangement she invoked to stay Naekos hand. But in truth, he had long wondered how mere agreements kept the Guilds in check. For those who controlled aspects of reality, mere words seemed insufficient to bind them to another''s will. Now he knew. Words tied to heaven. Words tied to the foundations of the Nether. Words and truths enshrined by thaumaturgy; made laws above sacrosanct. He should have always suspected.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. From the start, a Heaven of Truth was close enough to intrude on the realm of the cognitive. What was truth, after all, but sometimes interpretation; subjective in meaning or understanding. What absolute truth was there when even history could be broken in this world? What absolute truth was there when canonicity could be overwritten or imitated? There are penalties if these truths are defied? Avo asked. The doublethinkers lingering smiles were the only response he needed. So. This Heaven is connected to a Frame, Avo asked. Gatekeeper? Is that what its pattern is called? It''s not a Frame but a mind, a fully functional one, not this limited governing intelligence that they use to deceive even their own Paladins. So precious this secret was to the Godbreaker and his hounds. The Gatekeeper is our perfect warden. It is an artificial mind built toward specific intent. An experiment on the part of Jaus to create an Exemplar. An entity with the power of pantheons but the wisdom of the minds that rule the voiders. Avo turned his mind inward, but the information was as novel to Calvino as it was to him. {Jaus Avandaer,} the EGI breathed. {He hid more than I thought from us.} It was made from parts of our Ark. Aspects of our pantheon. That is how it can host a world entire. It is a partially created super-structure made possible by by They want to say the Ladder. Avo knew somehow. Knew from raw intuition alone. That is how we are built above the world that is. How we remain connected but exiled, the substance of mind flowing to us for processing, our city eternal little more than a recycling plant to remove impurity and enforce structure. And then, Avo understood, this thing was more than a dungeon, more than a crevice, more than a box. It was source and generator alike, the world it generated made absolute by its connection to the Ladder. And then another consideration exploded inside Avo. Another startling thought. Was this the anchor for the Flayed Ladder as well? A designated marker for it to rematerialize. The Hungers had to be ascended up beyond the Ninth Sphere of thaumaturgy for them to overwrite existence so utterlyCeven in another plane. And Scale was a fortress above fortresses. Scale was at the center of the Tiers And thats why you cant be destroyed. Because you are all rooted in something else. Bound to something else. I am interfacing with miracles right now. Canons. Not the ontological source itself. They stood silent. They dont know either Ignorant. The barge arrived at the edge of another alleyway, the hull digging into streets made from cobblestone and dirt trailing toward a partially liquified cityscape, sections of the horizon rising as smears of gold. Faintly, Avo felt a resonance ringing off his Frame. He didnt fully understand the nature of thaumaturgy, how everything came together, but he knew what to seek now. Where to go if he desired to see things changed. What will happen to the Nether if I destabilize the Gatekeeper? Avo asked. And is the path even open now? Without the Ladder? Another silence. They didnt know that either. The what? Avo sighed. Of course there were preventatives in place to ensure their ignorance. The only thing he remained confused about was how the Hungers were getting to act unchecked inside their uplifted prison. Perhaps the war between the Guilds created divides in intention. Or perhaps whatever Veylis did to her father altered things as well. Questions for Kae and Zein for when he next encountered her. What joy. You have pledged to free us, the doublethinkers said. To end our banishment. Avo waved an Echohead in response. He was too deep in thought to truly acknowledge them. Too many potential variables to consider. [Whatever the case, we need to infiltrate Scale,] Abrel said, her curiosity also burning hot. [We might not know everything now, but it seems like the base of the Paladins is a stronghold of secrets. We dont even need to burn any minds to get in anymore. Were wind. We can just drift. See for ourselves.] And that ensured Kare and Kassamon didnt need to be his linchpins anymore Please, Dreamer, the chorus said. They were speaking in that mournful tone again. Like beaten dogs. We were not among those who demanded the atrocities. Our sin was silence. We were not those who pushed schemes and forceful policies. We were merely weak. Our entrapment in this city has become unbearable. We wish only to leave. Leave. And be allowed to live again. Leave. And atone. Leave. And not be forgotten. Or remembered as traitors and monsters. Avo exhaled. And nodded. Very well. You will do it? Briefly, he turned away from his exit and faced the gathered doublethinkers. There was such hope written across their faces. Such desperation. Did his first iteration look the same way when Walton found him? Extracted him from the wasteland? Was his feebleness comparable to theirs? I will do it, Avo said. I will do it because it will break this city. I will do it because it will change the shape of Noloths history. And you will face every deed you have done. But this is more than that. I will do it because it will cement my power. And for my father. I will serve you in a way he never could. And I think it would have pleased him. Some of his templates responded with surprise. Corner disapproved. [Seems pretty fucking pointless to me, consang.] Look at you, Avo said, replying to everyone at once. Look at what has happened. Both chorus and templates regarded him with confusion. You strayed. Strayed from divinity. You cannot be man and divine at the same time. You cannot build your own idealization while living as base creatures. You turned away. You strayed. Strayed from power. Strayed from responsibility. Strayed from who you wished to become. Stayed who you were. All were silent, and Avo gave unto them his scorn. I see your mistakes. I see it. I will learn from it. I will internalize it. And I will not stray. I will become all that I can be. All that I can envision. And more. This existence has been failed enough by people pretending to be gods. Absurers collapsing into victims because they couldnt always win. Enough. Enough. I will walk this road to the end. I will find the point where apotheosis ends. And you will all have to face me when I do. Calvino giggled, laughter filled with incredulous disbelief. {Youre going to do this out of spite.} No, Avo said. Out of scorn. Out to make a final canon for all to face. That it took a monster to save New Vultun. That you all let a cannibal beat you to the discovery of virtue. He looked at their faces, broken between shame and hope. This was the dream. This was the dream because you failed yourselves. One of the doublethinkers opened his mouth to speak but as he locked gazes with Avo, nothing followed. Nothing. Can I return the same way? By triggering the same memory? Avo asked. They looked at each other. He scoffed. Useless. He will discover for himself. As he had to more and more these days. Im finished here, Avo said. He shook his head and turned to the streaming wound. Staring into the ichor, his Woundmother gasped as a distant sensation made her blood quiver, made his cyclers pulse, made his Frame rattle. Thanks for the passage. Will remember that. Will do what I can for you. Will do what I can for this world. Because some should realize the power they possess. For once. Just once. And Avo felt tired. More tired than he ever had before. How did he alone see the depths of their descent? Did the heights call to no one else beyond offering the basest aspects of wieldable power? They have failed their godhoods. All of them. All the Guilds. All the Hungers. Even himself for so long. No more of this. He couldnt exist submerged. He needed to rise higher. He needed to see what was possible. What could be realized without the impotence of human failure? Was starved for it. Like he needed air. Thank you, Dreamer, the chorus murmured. We for the truth that it is worth, we did not wish you to be either. We had hoped our legacy would be children. Our children. Not a monster. That made him laugh. Youre children would have failed. They would have grown under you. Shared blood with you. Been shaped by you. He took his first step toward the point of his departure, and stormstuff coursed through him once more, deliberately neglecting to look upon them a final time. What would they know of Heaven when you yourselves want to flee from your supposed paradise? Whatever reply never reached him. He gathered his splinters and shot out, ontology forking free in streaks of lightning. Within the confine of a second, he pierced deep into the currents of rising ichor, his Heaven expanding to clench the dragons flowing lifeblood, the rivers he now swam in washing him away utterlyCdrawing him across the passage of time. Master I feel it I feel I understand Euphoria became Woundmother, but Avo himself was enchanted, swimming through the currents of history. Swimming through chronology, history, cognition, and culture distilled. His ontology flowed into the progression of existence as it did back into him, and as he cascaded down through the shallow Nether, through mindscapes and zeitgeists formed of culture and thoughtstuff, he felt a new pattern fuse into his Heaven of Blood, into his cyclers, into his very Soul. Glitches blossomed across his cog-feed. Strings of incomprehensible mem-data seared his perception. His Fardrifter enjoyed the weightlessness, letting the flow take him. His Techplaguer sang. Timeistimeistimeistimeistime. The histories of people and places resonated with him. Fractals and expansions of who they wereChow they arrived passed through Avos consciousness. His ego yawned across Idheim, across all who could think, and all that has been. For the briefest of instants, Avo glimpsed all that had been. And all that would be. And it scarred him rightly. ACTCACCFDINDtCYuuldenC DOMAIN IDENTIFIED: (CHRONOLOGY] ADAPTING LIMINAL FRAME TO CURRENT METAPHYSICS - 11%... 35%... 56%... 78%... 94%... 100% DOMAIN INTERNALIZED (CHRONOLOGY) UPDATING HEAVENS And in an instant, time, space, mind, and matter collapsed inward, and Avo plunged backward along the route of his chronology, backward through the Deep Nether, backward through his simulated mindscape, backward through the lapse, backward finally into his old body. His mind and Frame slammed down hard into his unraveled sheath, and as his reintegration was completed, the glass-made cell containing him dissolved with his reawakening, reflective glints melting away to specks of quivering crimson. And flowing gold. 21-4 Blood of Dragons (I) All of time is but a dream, With blades bearing history, unravel the seam. The serpent-tyrant screams its end, Though vengeance is served, our flesh is never to be mend. All our memories are but a lesson, As are our bodies, gardens enchained to a question: For woman and serpent are same-cycle bound, Who then is the prisoner; the jailer, in this pattern round? -Insufficiency of Vengeance (No-Dragon Antithetical Poem) 21-4 Blood of Dragons (I) Existence greeted Avo alongside the dissolution of his glass-made cell, revealing a new facet to its face previously unseen. Patterns pulsed around him, rippling as if a pond struck by a falling pebble. His bloodCwithin and withoutCsang, the Woundmother crooning every structure she made chimed with timbres of pealing resonance. The winds played an accompaniment, air rustling forth a million-million notes, the currents drawn across the passage of time like a bow over strings. Even that which was data thundered in existence, brushing Avos mind in the analogy of percussion. He found himself aware of new and ineffable sensations, knowing the trail left by even brush of wind, every coursing stream of blood, every pattern of matter, every streak of lightning, every burst of radiation or composition of signals. New threads tickled his gnosis, their manifestations soft and fragile against his Frame. Not yet something he could pull on. Not yet. But they were there. Had been there all along. Only now was he close enough to perceive them. Only now did he have the symmetry. Avo? Draus tore him free from his reverie. He was back in base reality, the newest patterns in the tapestry blurring from his notice, escaping from sight. Avo turned his attention to his cadre and found himself displeased by their state. Draus and Tavers were halted midstep. Both were encased in armor. Both were stable of mind. Apprehension gripped their postures, and Avo understood their uncertainty, their concern. His departure had been abrupt. Senseless. There was much they did not know. Much he didnt know either. The others were loosely scattered in this roomCon the highest level of the tower he made to oversee the enclave, red-tinged light creeping through the surrounding translucence. Chambers Metamind had patches lining its sequences. Cognitive cataracts, if a comparison had to be made. Leaning on a partially installed console, Kae looked over Dice, the Agnos chirping constantly at the girl, the latters mind a slowly mending bundle of misaligned memories. Drones filtered to and fro, moving overhead as trafficked a constant influx of components, assembling new machinery along the supports and walls. Sunrise warbled in mid-air, watching Avo from afar as a mostly completed swarm. He felt them then. All of them. Their material and mental patterns, the air flowing in and out of their lung, the signals pulsing from their implants. And dancing strings of time. Like threads unwound, leading to distant placesClike vectors decorating their passage across time. Avo shook his head and focused. He needed time to figure these things out. Understanding. But they didnt have time to dally. Conversation was a luxury he had no intention of indulging. With a thought, his ConflagrationCa once raging inferno now cut down to a shivering torchCshifted. Flames sizzled into steam. Eyes widened. Expressions changed. Perceptions narrowed. What the fuck. Chambers muttered. Such was an appropriate response. There was much they needed to know. Much they had to ask him. Some questions he had for them as well. Thankfully, with the new evolutions achieved by his consciousness, the inefficiency of words could be substituted for direction injections of mutual understanding. He didnt even need to assimilate their egos anymore either. Ghosts: [4,510] Splinters broke from his mind, gliding across the Nether as if darting needles. They were cloned from his sequences, operating as remote fragments of his mind, their outward-facing structure passing through the realm of thoughts as something between a quiet plague and a shapeshifter. Going to show you all a few things, Avo muttered, his own mind still spinning from the ordeal. We all have questions. Me as well. Going to show you what I know. He caught Draus shooting Kae and glance and Avo grunted in understanding. No. Not going to burn you. Dont need to do that for this anymore. The Regular faced him again, and he felt her frown beneath her Meldskin helmet. None of them noticed when his splinters passed into them, sinking into their thoughtstuff, burrowing into their wards. The members of his cadre didn''t even respond as they were punctured. This moment of relish compelled Avo to exhale. Probing his companions'' protections, he examined their traumas, sequences, memories, and palaces. For long, he had been an all-devouring flame, a thing of elemental devastation, ruination in the Nether made manifest. It was a color he never expected to glimpse. The virtue of being truly overwhelming, truly dreaded, an apex predator for an entire realm. But it had also taken things from him. Stripped him of practice. Restricted him from practicing his art to the fullest extent possible. The art he inherited from his father. The art imbued into him through White-Rabs packaged memories. Him and countless more. In this moment, he was a Necrojack again, diving through the minds of his companions, tweaking and remolding, improving and gifting. As his splinters swept through them, they merged with various sequences, injecting new ghosts into the minds of his allies, optimizing weaknesses and constructing any phantasmics he deemed essential but missing. Above all, their wards were improved. Avo wouldnt be surprised if the Low Masters spent all their efforts trying to hunt him and his companions down after the humiliation he just inflicted on them. The HungersCdiscounting their turncoatsCwould not accept anything less than his complete annihilation. He needed to ensure his cadre were hard targets. His attention skipped over to Dice. The waif was mauled in thought and memory, her inner ego still leaking through the cracked yolk of her accretion, aspects of her memories and senses leaking outward like prolapsed organs swinging from an open wound. And so, he sequenced unto them the best defenses he had: the grand prize he stole from the Famine of Peace. [NO! FUCKING CUNT! THAT WAS MINE! MINE! MINE!] The Low Masters rage made it all the sweeter as Avo weaved the new barricades into shape. A constellation of complex counter-traumas flared in actively shifting plates just behind their accretions. The construct was a masterwork, each component a match for any standard ward, all of them working in concert akin to a fortress lobby composed of exponentially more ghosts, impenetrable by all but the greatest Necrojacks. Eyes widened. Heads turned. Mouths opened. Chambers coughed another epithet under his breath. Kae grasped her head but then turned to Avo, an inscrutable expression coming over her face when she realized her mind wasnt burning. Tavers and Draus took it with appreciative silence, while Dice was a longer job, requiring Avo to realign her devastated ego using her template as a mold before she could be cognitively enhanced. The next item of priority was creating Metaminds. For her and all the other enclavers. There were things he couldnt predict. Things like today that left them crippled. Directing a splinter down into the city, Avo fought back a wince as he laid eyes on the slow-healing calamity. Entire populations across the city were mentally fused, their egos as if gathered flesh kissed by a searing flame, caked into singular burns in the aftermath. He considered dispatching more splinters down to aid them as well, but that would take time. A lot of time. With each split, his focus slowed and his attention strained. His mind was ultimately only a high-processing tripartite still, made up of his base and two subminds. It demanded effort to direct so many actions at once. He needed to prioritize. Right now, as he finished sequencing fortifications into his cadreCcognitive grafts that would have any other team of well-trained Necrotheurges weeks or months to completeChe began threading his experiences into them. Granting them his newest learnings. Draus, Dice, and Chambers were simple. He bore their template within him, and so he fed their counterparts in the real with backups of data. Revelations dawned within them as he recalled all they had faced alongside him. You swore, Chambers gasped, sounding almost giddy. Thanks for all the colors? Them were gonna be your last words? Draus scoffed at him, unimpressed in the aftermath. Avo just smiled. The Regular was the Regular. Something was soothing about her persistence of character, especially when contrasted against his endless changes. Dice was getting up, sanity restored, but still unsteady. Kae helped the girl nested within the Railjumper sheath all the way, the motion of their ascent made awkward by their difference in height. The rest of the cadre gained directed packages of memory. Recollections from Avos perspectiveCthe vividness blurred and intensity reduced. Tavers made a series of chortles, each sounding more incredulous than the last. How? Fucking how? The interlocking whorls on a Rendskin exo-rig hissed and opened to reveal an exasperated squire. Her lips were curled downward and she glared at him, unblinking. How the hells did you manage to tumble into all that. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Her question was cut off by another. Pieces of an Ark? Kae was staring at Avo from five steps away, brown eyes wide as saucers, mind shivering with uncertain excitement. AndCyou swan through the Hungers? A world stored in shards of memory embedded in the flesh of a dragon? Avo twitched a single claw. The haemokinetic structure around them vibrated and rippled, ichor channeling matter, but also radiating currents of traveling gold. Kae gasped as her eyes jumped from one metaphysical emanation after another. The blood of dragons. Time. Avo, you have a Domain of Time inside you. He breathed in acknowledgment. Chronology. I think. What what does it do? she asked. Can you feel anything? Is this conversation happening in sequence? Are your senses different? How about your memories? Are you remembering two conflicting things at the same time? The answers to her barrage of questions were cast into her mind directly through the splinter Avo left implanted inside herCinside all of them. Another twinge of satisfaction passed through Avo. He had yearned to create a network between himself and his allies. The Neurodeck had served for a time. But this was his to wield. His to use. No one could take it away. {Now, now, Avo, if youre a good divinely-ascendant cannibal you wont need to worry about Aegis taking away your toys anytime soon.} Calvino hummed. {In fact Considering recent events, we might need to consider loosening acquisition restrictions some more} So you can sense and perceive the passage of time? Kae said, sounding almost giddy. CanChave you done anything else? I just got back Kae, Avo said, shaking off a sudden sense of exhaustion. One thing after another. Might want to do a resurrection first. Tired. Yeah, about that. Chambers wandered up to Avo, looking him up and down. The half-strand''s lips were pressed together and he pouted like a child. Avo, how is it that you manage to fall into some bullshit pantheon-Guild-cult conspiracy every couple of days? How are you running into so much messed up shit all the time? You know, before I met you, my life was pretty boring. Chambers paused. Well, I mean I was ganger piece of shit who ended up running with Mirrorheads crew. And Id probably end up snuffed sooner or later. But still, consang, I wasnt getting involved with mind wars and shit. Nevermind that GatekeeperCfucking, dragon-city traitors and Noloth-Ark shit. With each word, his ranting grew more irritated and less frustrated. How is it that every time you fall down a hole, you come out with new powers and shit, and every time I tumble down a hole, I wake up missing an organ? Its not fair, Avo. Its just not. The building intensity of the rant made Avo chuckle. Awkwardly, Avo patted the smaller man on the shoulders, his claws wrapping half-around Chambers upper chest. Have you tried being favored by fate? Chambers eyes bulged in disbelief, but a shimmer in the reflections on the end of the room drew Avos attention. A passage was opening. Faintly, Avo perceived faint threads moving through existence, forming a tangled outline of humanoid figure. He felt them thereafter using his Heavens, the construction of their flesh and matter, how the winds wrapped around her, painting her position across spatial reality, and most noticeably through the world-shaking tides of coldtech data flooding out from her across every moment, the Techplaguer twitching to full attention. CRIER! CRIER! CRIER! NOISY! NOISY! NOISY! Silence them, administrator. Silence them! Theyre calling out to the void. Theyre throwing their voice into THE DARKNESS. Catch the words before they leave! Catch them before they slip beyond us, and return as far-flung teardrops from distant shadows. {We cant do that anymore, you broken thing,} Calvino chided. {This is all that remains. The only habitable land left.} A somber silence followed. The Techplaguer flinched at the EGIs words. Lies. Lies! LIES! Denton passed through the glass, her appearance slightly disheveled though her expression remained as placid as ever. She was in a luxurious designer double-breasted overcoat, the clan mark for DRongoCa twin-tongued ape biting down on a turtles shellCemblazoned on her left breast. Magnetically clipped buttons clutched the garment tight to her while studded heat vents lined her shoulders, external exhausts for her outfits inner air conditioning. Reading her additional patterns of matter, Avo sensed a strength-augmenting exo-vest supporting her spine and seven half-healed knife wounds marking her abdominal wall. He mended her flesh and biosilk blouse with a casual invocation of his Woundmother. His Rend climbed another percent. Ninety-eight. His Metamind was screaming at him to vent again. Would be wise to do that soon. Briefly touching her stomach, Denton stepped out from the glass and strode in pace with the flow of drones. She made a brief gesture of thanks at Avo for dissolving her woundsCsomehow intuiting the deed was his doing. {Or I just informed her,} Calvino muttered. Avo, she said, greeting him with a brief sweep of her eyes. Her left was slightly bloodshot, its implanted machinery. He wasnt sure how to repair that, so he left it as it was. Her nanos were already doing repairs anyway. I see youre not as lost as Chambers claimed. Avo looked at the man in question and the half-strand just threw up his arms. Look, I tried to look at where you went missing and nearly had a seizure. Fuck, I did have a seizure. You were gone for fifty-five minutes. Fifty-five, Avo said. It really didnt feel that long. Regardless, Chambers continued, everything got fucked for a bit. So, yeah, when Denton here cast me, I told her. And Id I do it again. He swallowed. Avo nodded slowly. Okay. Good. Not judging you. Alright, Chambers said. Because it was the wise thing to do. [Stop being weird as shit, me! You dont need to justify this!] template-Chambers hissed at his real self. Avo directed the intent through his splinter, and actual-Chambers cringed. The entire planet was affected, Denton said, entering the conversation. Everywhere. Tiers. Warrens. Other megacities. Anywhere that the Nether was affected. She paused. Whatever you triggered, it was loud. It wasC Was connected to the Nolothic Ark, Avo finished. He moved to bury a splinter into Denton as well, channeling the Sprites from his Neurodeck over into the ego fragment. {Wait. Avo. Dont.} The cognitive needle was an inch away from pushing through Dentons wards. Only then did she look up at Avos halo and frown. What happened to your flames? She asked. {You probably wont be able to perceive much inside her mind,} Calvino continued, elaborating. {Her minds not like yours. Or even Captain Draus.} +Like yours?+ Avo asked. He was always a bit suspicious of the inscrutable Glaive. There was too much stillness to her. She reacted to the world more like dead matter in ways, unaffected in terms of experience or tangible humanity. {Not quite. She is an Alice-Series Infiltrator. A biosynthetic counter-sophont. Even her inner thoughts will be protected by quantum-coded encryptions.} Avo frowned. And then jabbed his way into her mind anyway. The EGI was right. A sea of numbers, codes, and scripts awaited him. Avo retreated. {See.} The ghoul grumbled. {Yes. Thats the entire reason why we restarted the initiative. So mind-snatching maniacs like yourself and Omnitech dont end up stealing anything from us.} +Couldve told me before.+ {You werent this much of a threat before.} If there was one thing Avo liked about the artificial minds, it was that they were always honest. Eventually. Was connected to the Nolothic Ark, Avo said, shaping his ghosts into phantoms instead. Despite all his efforts and burgeoning excitement, it seemed he wouldnt be able to escape a session of show-and-tell with at least one person. He told her about the lapse that was triggered, about the false memory contained inside Kare. He showed her an abridgment of his encounter with the Hungers, and then what the doublethinkers had revealed to him. By the end, Denton looked as unbalanced as a biomechanical machine wearing the skin of a person could muster. So. Scale is where they kept it. Denton mused. Operative Zein kept some things from us. Avo grunted. Or maybe forgot herself. Either way. Might need to have a conversation with her soon. More than a few things I want to know. Some about Jaus. Others about time. Consideration passed through the Glaives features. With all that has happened, the timetable of her reconstitution might be modified. The date of the trial is also in question. She shot brief looks at Draus and Kae. The situation in the Tiers and across the city is tense. Multiple skirmishes have erupted across the last hour. More are in the process of happening. Paladins are being dispatched to contain and apply diplomacy where they can. A beat followed. Naeko is among them. He ensured the safety of a major portion of the entire city. {25%} Calvino sent, pairing visual information with words. Visual data downloaded from Threshold materialized in the corner of Avos vision, and he saw a gargantuan palm made from mist and cloudsCa fourth the size of New Vultun itself and growingCslam down on the city, settling as if a mountain. A shiver ran through him and all his templates. Despite all he had just survived, all he had achieved, Naekos feat reminded Avo that he was not quite a giant in his ecosystem, that there were still mountains beyond mountains, and gods beyond gods. [Better stay far away from that one,] Corner said, a wary murmur under his voice. The former squire didnt scare easy, but he knew Naeko. And witnessing such power only made the fear settle deeper. [Were not ready for that kind of fight. Not even close.] But Avo considered another factor. His splinters. His mind. Would the Chief Paladin even see it coming? Would he even realize that he was being consumed from the inside, sequence by sequence? Peace didnt. [Avo,] Corner said, truly serious. [Imma tell you this will all the respect I can musterCthis isnt someone you want to experiment or find out about. Until youre sure you can evade or snuff, stay the fuck away from him.] And that was all they said. Hes been hunting us, Avo said, returning to the conversation with Denton. Understood. I will speak with him before things begin. Make boundaries known. What are the accords? Avo asked. Why are they binding? Denton paused. They are agreements struck between the Guilds. Promises made absolute under Jaus. Humanity has made an art of breaking laws. So. It was universally decided that chains were needed to bind everyone. It was supposed to be the first structure of absolute legality. Something above all beings. And was supposed to banish or capture transgressors using the Nether, Avo said. Or the Hungers themselves. The Glaive tilted her head at him. I am uncertain. The histories here are contradicting. Of course, Avo muttered. Why wouldnt the Guilds want such a thing to exist? For people to be aware of it. But it wasnt finished. And further damaged during the Second Guild war, Denton added. That was what we thought the High Seraph was truly desired during her siege. To break the final rules laid by her father. Such was what Operative Oyaje claimed. Oyaje. Thousandhand. A headache was beginning to build. It seemed like with each thrust of progress he made to understand the grand scheme at play, the more the mists of obfuscation and mystery grew. The threads of time were ringing around him now. His blood was a constant song. Somehow. Somehow he knew history had been tampered with. That the chronology tied to this was irrevocably broken in some way. But wasnt the past already lost? Was history always chased by swallowing oblivion? He needed more perspective. And he wasnt going to just get it here. Turning his attention to the mirror on the far side of the room once more, Avo clicked his fangs together and began to think. He prepared sessions in his Auto-Seance. Formed splinters as he continued his dialogue with Denton, sharing what they knew. [What are you doing?] Abrel asked, curious as to why he was calling up the sequences tied to the session he had hidden within her mind. +Everything I can at once,+ Avo answered. After all, he wasnt fixed to a single point anymore. He could have a dialogue while being efficient. And it was time he synchronized some knowledge across his subverts. Starting with Abrel herself. 21-5 Blood of Dragons (II) Her blade, a song of woe through time, Her blows, her strikes, death her rhyme. Mother against daughter, an ordeal of fate. The future rests their clashes, hearts bound by love and hate. But upon the tides of time an infection comes, The ravenous beast molting, a god he becomes. Mother and daughter are no longer the only shadows that loom, For only will the true struggle begin when the monster mends the worlds womb. -Unidentified Thoughtcast 21-5 Blood of Dragons (II) Avo was in the enclave; his stolen city of light. Avo was passing through the Sunderwilds, bound for the George Washington, seeking to root himself in its systems. Avo was diving across his sessions, burying himself within Abrels consciousness, Kassamon, Kare, and Elegant-Moon soon to follow. Her mind was ignorant of his intrusion, his memories melting into hers, not even waking her as she slumbered. Every splinter that parted his mind fractured his awareness further. He could spawn a legion of fragments, but he could only wield three of them. Direct them only as a unified concert. Broad focus resulted in broad effects. Meticulous work required focus and concentration; greater investitures of total cognitive capacity. And so he began his approach as a thoughtform of three parts. As Denton told him of her relationship with Nako, he speared first into Abrels mind. The girl was asleep, slumbering within a porcelain prison. He jacked into her senses and studied her cell. The room was aglow with a somber ambiance. Liliac on white. Sounds of a distant waterfall almost too quiet even for Abrels hearing. The Exorcists and voiders were unaware of his hidden Auto-Seance, planted deep in the folds of her memories. They were not his equal in the art then. They remained as pale shadows now. An exchange of memories followed. In the moment of Abrels inhale, he wove into her all that her template experienced alongside him. He left himself and the others vagaries, of course, drawing a curtain over what he desired to keep hidden. But he gifted her with a recompense of knowledge. A fitting trade for all the aid she offered. He trawled further through her memories, filtering through the mem-data for critical moments of worth. Surprise filled him as the face of Uthred Greatling appeared. Realizations blossomed, one following another, perturbed by the sudden dissolution of House Greatling, unnerved further by the fact that a former Authority and his Instrument of a son was seeking the cadre down in the Warrens. Abrel, for her worth, had misdirected them from the true mark. She sculpted a story, portraying Chambers as a mastermind. A rising threat unseen, the vengeful hand of Noloth striking once more. There was something here. Something he could engineer. New actors on the scene for him to exploit. Studying Uthred and Vators capabilities through Abrel, Avo found himself more thrilled than perturbed. So they sought the Acolyte Aedon Chambers. So multiple parties were noticing the suspicious Fallwalker using a Bone Demon. All this could be twisted to his advantage. Offered as bait. While he constructed his plot, Denton spoke in the backdrop, elaborating on her relationship with Naeko. My association with the Chief Paladin is one of informational and mutual benefit. Denton paused to consider her words. Hesitation gripped her, but she remained free of tension. I am an open double agent. Ori-Thaum knows that I am compromised by Voidwatch. As does Paladin Naeko. Both entities assume this is the depths of my cross-allegiance and work to leverage their own gains through them. Openly a spy and unofficially a liaison, Avo remarked. Fascinating how politics works between Guilds. Fuckin messy is what it is, Draus snorted. She regarded the Glaive with a flat stare that conveyed her disapproval of the arrangement. Youre a fragging waitin to happen, consang. Just a bad choice away from a snuffin with all the daggers pressed up against your back. Denton remained indifferent. This is the most optimal way to achieve our ends. The risks involved are manageable. And if you end up dead? the Regular asked. A ghost of a smile graced Dentons face. People in my line of work usually only end up wrong once. Regret is not our privilege. And that was sufficient to assuage the Regular. The arrangement I struck to relieve you all from Naekos arrest was twofold, Denton explained. The first was claiming you as my assets. Under Ori-Thaum or Voidwatch I didnt say. Avo caught her implicationCanother angle he could use to implicate and muddy the waters for Clan DRgono. But thinks you are my hounds. And I traded him information I knew he lacked. Information relating to Elder DRongos orders to commit conspiracy to murder and frame an Agnos. The latter act openly in breach of the Accords. And that will matter when the trial begins? Avo asked. Certainly, Denton said. The truth will be ascertained. The transgressors will be shown for what they are before the city. The punishment is coded into the Heaven itself and requires the clearance of the Chief Paladin and witnesses from the Guilds to be delivered. Such was how previous events proceeded. As this brings all the major powers together, trials are usually proceeded or followed by moots between the powers. Her gaze turned aside for a moment. I think that was part of Operative Thousandhands schemes. She mentioned something about favored developments should specific individuals encounter each other during one of these gatherings. How it would make them easier to prune. Wait, so theres something I dont get, Chambers interjected. Heads turned to face him and he awkwardly made eye contact. Youre literally selling out your elder and all this other shit. Why havent theyC He made a twisting gesture with his hands and mimed the noises of someone choking. Because the mem-data was obtained through other seniors within Clan DRongo. And also, I am just an agent. A Glaive. The messenger. I am a hand for multiple parties. Not the actor themselves. To liquidate me would anger many of my benefactors. There are benefits to leveraging an open identity and a role steeped in labor. And presently, Clan DRongo still believes they have the most sway over me. As does Clan Kitzuhada, Clan Kazahara, Clan Imaru, and Clan Oyaje. She paused again. I suppose a number of subsidiaries and independent Fallwalkers would be upset by my sudden removal as well. And do any of them know your true role? Kae asked. That you are a member of Ninth Column. The Agnos question caused Denton to genuinely smirk. I am already a compromised spy. What other secrets could I have? This made Chambers do a double take. Wait a minute. Hold the fuck up. Everyone''s fine with you being a spy because they know you''re a spy and are using you as a spy against the others, and you''re using all that spy shit to hide the fact that youre an even deeper spy for a secret spy organization. The Glaive thought about what he said and simply nodded. A flavorful way of portraying my role. He blinked in disbelief and coughed out a chuckle. What in the fuck. Were Aegis engineered from the start, werent you? Avo asked. Denton pressed her lips together. I have a FATE-Skein. I passed through Essentials at Amoi Elementary. I finished Professionalization at the Tadeka-Ikkein Academy of Arts and Culture. I was recruited on service day. She gave a brief history of her youth, but never once did she say now. +Seed them young,+ Avo said to Calvino. {A cover performance works best when its mostly true,} the EGI replied. As the cadre fired off other related questions at the GlaiveCKae taking a special interest in what her part was in the overarching shape of thingsCAvo shifted the bulk of his awareness over to the splinter he cast through the mirror. The reflective passages running through the Sunderwilds were as if a tunnel leading between sections of space. Noise cut in and out as he accelerated in the form of a traveling Specter, the fragment of his mind crossing flickers of reality, a collage of shattered landscapes. Colors and brushing pressure graced his perception and Frame. The Sunderwilds leaked in a way. The fragility of torn reality was a palpable thing. Then, into the last threshold he passed, and found himself back inside a shell formed of smart-matter and shadow. Neon colors and expansive holographics pulled his attention. The interior of the George Washington had been substantially altered since he last returned. There was more machinery present. More drones performing active maintenanceCaudio-visual telemetries received from various cameras or optics, the moments they collected playing in real-time, viewpoints from over a dozen Sovereignties and districts, showcasing how things were on the streets and from the sky. Avo ignored them for now, wasting no time as he buried his splinter into the encrusted vivianite on the throne. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Data flowed through his mind as he merged himself to the Shepherd AIs internalsCthe damaged construct''s internal systems upheld by its broken crew. Flickers of an ancient programming language extended to erupt into threads of memory. Both Calvino and he studied the bastard cognition of the entire structure, and were of two minds regarding its make. The EGI was about as disgusted as it could be. Shame and criticism were not its favored tools, but faced the fates of the crew with honest disappointment. Avo contrarily found himself impressed by the Low Masters. Surprised that they managed to scaffold technologies they could understand through an asymmetrical application of their art. To able to achieve something like this took nothing less than a prolonged effort. Cruel mastery. It was also probably why so many systems within a Metamind aped voider direct-neural interfaces. Noloth stole from the most reliable source of advancement they had. Considering what Avo had just done to the Hungers, he was practically just following Nolothi tradition. Drifting through sequences and scripts, he reached the reactor of the ship and studied the bodies. They remained there. Trapped. Fused. Encased along an amber grapevine like a thread of disfigured minds. They were like shrapnel but mainframes both. Pillars of cross-cognitive manipulation. Thanks to their brain-computer interfaces, the entire vessel remained functional. Somewhat. More importantly, it ensured they remained backed up. Awareness. The Shepherd prevented them from being burned hollow when the Conflagration lit them before. That, more than anything, indicated they could still be saved. But that required the base parts of their ego be untangled from the jungle of crossing data. +Going to leave a splinter here permanently. Just like with the cadre. Lets you access the details. Are you getting anything else? Know you got to spend some time with the system.+ Avo felt a note of surprise come from Calvino. The EGI hadnt been expecting this. {I think so,} Calvino said. {But its mainly because youre merging into the infrastructure. The way you can bridge the Nether with standard technology is useful. Maybe together, we will be able to unravel this mess.} +After,+ Avo said, his attention drawn to a flash of images in his periphery. Aerial feeds over what looked to be Burners Way compelled Avos attention. He saw three walls of golems and drones facing each other, boxing in a half-collapsed factory. Interfacing with the display, he isolated Highflame, Stormtree, and Paladin units on the scene, but more importantly, his focus narrowed in on ten figures amidst the industrial debris. Four looked to be Highflame Godclads by their armor, and towering over them stood their Bloodthane rivals. A cadre of Paladins stood wedged between them and Avo ordered the drone to zoom in. As it did so, he realized he was looking down on the scene through an Exorcist Tadpole. He wondered how Tavers managed to get access to that, but found himself soon considering if he could construct them using his Haemokinesis instead. When its optics settled on the Paladins, however, all prior ruminations vanished. Kare Kitzuhada was in the thick of things alongside her mentor, her armor of slatted white smeared with oil and fumes while her helmet was set to transparent. She appeared to be trapped with the unenviable of de-escalating a tense encounter between two rival cadres, and with her mentor locked in a shouting match with three of the Highflame personnel, it seemed the junior Paladin was the only one making a genuine effort. It looked like she needed a hand. And it looked like she was in a prime position to help him as well. [Oh no,] template-Kare breathed, dread filling her phantasmal veins. +Dont worry. Ill make sure you get out fine.+ Nine other Godclads. Four Highflame. Four Stormtree. One Maru SandrupalCa figure closely tied to Chief Paladin Naeko if borrowed memories suggested correctly. What a windfall. What an opportunity. More vectors to spread. Shifting his awareness back into his original body, he created more splinters as he triggered his Auto-Seance a second time. It was time to render some diplomatic support. *** There were some days that the city was just out to get you, that made you regret being a Paladin, that made you regret not taking up your uncles offer. This was just one of those day, Kare told herself. The attackCif it was an attackChad left the Nether destabilized and triggered more than few hasty trigger fingers to squeeze. All across the Tiers and Warrens, skirmishes were being fought, and they greeted Kares cog-feed as an endless stream of emergency dispatches. She and Maru had been among the first Paladins to recover from the unbalancing. This engagement was one of many encounters spawned in relation to the disaster. It began with a Highflame drone severed from control and plunging into Stormtree territory. Usually, this is where a bit of shooting followed, but everyone was temporarily incapacitated, things took a while to spiral out of hand. Of course, the first ones to recover here were the stationed Godclads from each Guild: the Instruments led by Idril Marasov and Bloodthanes under pack leader Urdna agNaeg. For approximately one minute and twenty seconds between the start of the scuffle and the Paladins arrival, over two dozen nukes were detonatedCand pocketedCnine hundred drones were destroyed, and an entire portion of a districts industrial sector lay in ruins. Thankfully, said the district was Burners Way. You couldnt break what was already considered to be a dilapidated wasteland since the Fourth Guild War. Of course, Kares idea of stopping the conflict was more rooted in approaching with dialogue, Thoughtwave Detonations, and suppressive ordinance. Maru decided to jump them into the fray by hijacking an explosion to transpose them. She wasnt much a fan of the brawl that followed thereafter either. It took more than a few shockwaves to the Heaven for things to calm down. Now, standing within the partially collapsed ruinsCpartially of her making, Kare nursed a sore neck and ringing ears as the leaders of each cadre threatened to do unspeakable things to one anothers corpses. This wasnt exactly how she envisioned spending the day. She was supposed to have time off. Spend time in a vicarity with Risha. And maybe have dinner with her father later. This though What did Uncle Shotin say? Sometimes, the city just has to fuck you in front of everyone. Right. ...Were not done here. We need to talk about recompensation. You broke something of ours, Ogress. You break, you pay. Now. Is that going to be done through imps or other venues of satisfaction? I leave that up to you. Instrument Idril Marasov was a square-jawed idiot who loved to point. Chrome lined the side of his cheeks and biothaumically grafted insectoid limbs jutted out from sockets along his ribs. He wore a Mantis-Incarnate bio-rig in place of inorganic armor. Across from him, the Bloodthane Urdna agNaeg just loomed, her face forever a sneer, the shadows veiling her face a result of her three meters of height and messy dreadlocks swaying as a curtain. Bones decorated the exterior of her combat skin. Speaker grills lined her arms and shoulders, the sound distortions crackling from her pulsing metaphysically, making even the air around her shiver with vibrations. Kare still felt the thunderous soundwaves washing through her bones. Even with her Heaven manifested, the unpleasantness went Soul-deep. Paladin, Urdna chewed, spitting a globule of phlegm onto a cracked slab. Enough saliva left her lips to crack the edge of the plascrete once more. You tell this boy to bring me a woman to speak to. I have tolerated his insolence, but wish to speak to an adult. Ironically, this was about as childish a thing as the Bloodthane could say. The woman knew not all clades were as the Scaarthians, sexually transitioning upon full maturity. This was a deliberate insult. A deliberate insult that the Instrument couldnt seem to endure. The mans face reddened. Kare swallowed her own sigh. The entire time, the two were passing insults, and only when they wanted her to deliver an insult on their behalf did they address her. Off to the side, she could hear Paladin Sandrupal declaring how many rounds of sexual congress he held with each of the other Bloodthane and Instruments mothers. Though his method wasnt calming things down, it did seem stress relieving. Listen to me, you uppidity sow. Idril held out a hand. The Bloodthane slapped it. Toward Kare. Who was forced to dodge. Citizens, she said, forcing the words out even as her frustration spiked. They seemed intent on fighting each other. Intent on ignoring her attempts at resolution. Intent on starting a war just to feed their egos. To think people like this could be Godclads was despair-inducing. Point that finger in my face and I will claim your arm as a trophy, Urdna sneered. It is a small, shriveled thing, but not all specimens can be worthy. You half-strand piece of shitC The Instrument took a threatening step forward. Kare intercepted him. Instrument. No. Wait! He planted a hand on her face to shove her aside, but she twisted under and got in his path. White teeth were bared at her, and his anger turned away from the Bloodthane. Glasser. Im going to scalp this too-tall bitch. You can get out of the way, or you can be the appetizer. Up to you. Kare closed her eyes and breathed. Who taught these Instruments how to speak? It was like everyone owed them imps. Try it, partling. Find out if you are mother enough in your infant bones. And why did these Bloodthanes always have to fan the flames? Fuck you! Idril snarled. Fuck you! Urdna spat. No, Kare said, her patience slipping. If they were going to fightCso help her JausCshe was going to snuff them first. Enough. Stop. And then the strangest thing happened. Just as quickly as the violence escalated, the air changed. There was a twist in the current. A shift in the Nether. Where their accretions were churning fast, accelerating to meet the coming violence, their minds suddenly stopped, and the expression emptied from their faces. Oh. Of course, Paladin. My apologizes. The Instrument nodded and backed away. Across from him, the Bloodthane also bowed her head. Shameful behavior. From both of us. Truly. Kare blinked. Both of the other Godclads peeled away, stepping back and staring off with confused expressions. Their faces probably matched her at that moment. What had just happened? Turning, she regarded Maru, but found him and the other Guilders staring off in awkward directions as well, distracted by something. Paladin Sandrupal? Hm? He replied. Right. Good job. Rookie. He gave her a nod. Great de-escalation. You should get a medal for that. Ill tell Naeko. The other Godclads were all oddly nodding in sync with him. Animal fear welled in Kares stomach, and dryness settled in her throat. She turned to face the others.Just doing my job. *** From within nine new minds, an outsider spread their influence, fangs wide in a savage rictus. Oh. Things were going to be just delightful. Maru now. Kassamon after. And who knew how far he would spread? Who knew what he could achieve with his new gifts? With how subtly he flowed, how unknowably he moved, who, then, could stop him? 21-6 Blood of Dragons (III) The Nether was never meant to be a prison, but it served as a perfect one all the same. Alas, the masters of Noloth were as much slaves to their nature as the gods were. So desperate were they to see the world conform to their desired delusions that they revealed their hand preemptively. Was it hubris that made them think we would not notice? That I would just trust blindly? Or was their failure something simply lesser? Baser? More human. I thank you all for your prompt responses. For ceasing your squabbles to settle matters. We will keep the remainder of the Nolothi population intact. But their masters must be banished. The worst of their culture must be repressed. I think as I grow older, as I study the world, study our behaviors, our natures are entwined with the divine. Mirrored in a way. We are the way we are, for we are singular silos of awareness. consciousnesses that have been molded by society and in turn mold society. Our gods are cultures distilled, zeitgeists unleashed, and powers absolute. Hubris and madness cannot restrain them, for they exist beyond consequence. For a time, at least. Perhaps they are what we would be if everyone were to merge into an amalgam. A singular ego channeling the experiences of countless lesser minds, with all the potential to reshape existence, and no penalties for what they break. It is an ugly thing to face. But liberating. For it shows the flaws in our hopes. And rights our path toward functional progress. I called you all tonight to compose a summation of Noloths dismantling. I am honored by your prompt responses. And the refrain you practiced during the pacification process. I understand it is not our usual way, but that is to change if we are to live better lives. But as for the matter of who will serve as warden for the city eternal Here. Allow me to show you. [MEM-DATA MISSING] This is the Gatekeeper. It is unfinished, but as a prototype, it will serve my point. It lacks many aspects we can see in a human. Indeed, when I dreamed of its inception, I desired something that was apart from us. Devoid of our insufficiencies. I formed the Gatekeeper as a concept. It is purity empty of all thoughts beyond its designated task. Cultureless. With little personality beyond devotion to its function. Capable of imbibing information from the world without succumbing to corruption. It is beyond the avarice of any man, beyond the foolishness of any warrior, beyond the cowardice of any craven. As of now, it bears the fundament of the Nolothic Ark and acts as an anchor for the threshold. I have never been one to hide my thoughts from you. Not even when it was to my own benefit. I see the Gatekeeper as the development. A manufactured caretaker to blunt our habits of self-destruction. Even with the power to channel the various Heavens tied to the realm of minds, it has only done its duty. Only held itself in refrain. In it, I have seen the path ahead. Glimpsed what we must do. We cannot bear this power. Already, I see the corruption of hearts. Already, it is too much. Even for the greatest among us. In breaking the gods we have ended one tyranny. Now, we must suffer the agony of surrender to avert another. For the final design to be realized, power must not be held in our hands. We are not ready. We may not be ready for a long time. We are to rebuild a house from these shackles. A community for which we are to flourish and learn. Spared of death. Governed by purity. Educated by our prodigal kin. Such are the immediate steps I desire. In simplicity: the surrender of our Heavens over to proven custodians, followed by their mass manufacture once the [REDACTED] is finally rooted in existence. We are melting our shackles down. Making new chains. But this time, it will be a fence instead of a collar. This time, it will save us instead of oppressing us, pulling us back from the brink to keep us from falling, rather than our necks. We have come too far to be undone by our nature. -Mem-Log of Jaus Avandaer to the Gathered Representatives of the Remaining Guilds after the Trial of the Hungers 21-6 Blood of Dragons (III) Nine different minds. Nine new Godclads under his sway. Four of Stormtree. Four of Highflame. Not a bad haul for a brief dip across a subvert. Avo wanted more. [Oh, Jaus,] template-Kare groaned, suffering from a clash of feelings. Indeed, without Avos intervention, the Bloodthane and Instrument would have reignited hostilities, and Kare herself would have been drawn in. Not ideal, for her or the city. The best outcome there would be their incapacitation, but even with the greatest among the Guilders being a Sphere 4, it was still only her and Paladin Sandrupal. Avos influence made sure things didnt come to that. Escalation was prevented and order was upheld. The cost, however, was leaving nine Godclads under the sway of an increasingly incomprehensible monster. If Avo could even be regarded as such a meager thing anymore. +Dont worry,+ he replied, delighting himself as he coursed through their memories, an invisible virus swimming carried along trains of thought. +Wont hurt your mentor. But need him. Need his insight. Were going to all do wonderful things together. Great things. City is going to be safer because of you.+ He cast the truth of his intent into her, but his words still failed to assuage. If Kare had a body, she would be biting her lip right now. Instead, she found herself bothered by festering thoughtsCinflammations of doubt and worry. A lack of trust still existed between her and Avo, preventing them from achieving true cooperation. [I trust you about Paladin Sandrupal,] Kare said, mastering her worries. [There are many things you could have done. To me and the city. Terrible things. But you are more than a monster.] She attempted a diplomatic note, mustering her strength for more uncomfortable territory. [But the others] +Need them,+ Avo replied. +No promises for them. We''re at war. Even if they dont know. They want the world to be their way. I have another design. A better one. Will consume them if I need them. Will use them however I have to. Not going to lie about that. And they wont be the last.+ Kare wasnt sure how to take that. [I just wish you asked me first. Isnt that what you believe? Giving people choice.] +Yes. But you were losing control. And I wanted to test my new changes. Indulge.+ Avo admitted his hypocrisy openly. Easily. He supposed it was both a good and bad thing. But his encounter with the Hungers had taught him better of denial. And self-delusion. To achieve his desired idealization, he needed to face these problems and consider if he wished to alter the worldCor himself. One could lie to the world. Peddle whatever poison they wanted. But to turn the same act inward was an act of self-harm all the same. +Havent done anything to them yet. Only inside for now. Taking looks. No plans cemented yet.+ He paused. +Could negotiate limits in the future. Deeds we can provide each other. Will take time to consume them. My mind isnt flame right now. Its moving emptiness. Will take patience to tatter all the sequences in a palace. You have time. Do some thinking.+ And with his piece said, he buried the dialogue into real-Kares mind. The Paladin lurched with a start, suddenly aware of all that was happening, of the hidden hand behind her recent success at diplomacy. Her ghosts twisted inward, grasping at phantoms that werent there anymore. Still, he watched here. Through nine sets of other eyes, nested within nine different minds. He sequenced Auto-Seances inside them as well. Something to ensure he could access them again even if a disruption managed to unmake his splinter. In time, they would be new patient zeros. Spreading his influence. Feeding him constant streams of intelligence and understanding. Right now, he wanted to make his gains exponential. Discover what he could truly do when not hunted by the Hungers and their Low Masters. Centuries of Necrojacking experience reverberated within his ego as Avo called upon Peaces memories. Skills he couldnt have mastered in a single lifetime fused into place and the nature of traumas became bare to him. Memories sang out to him. A billion minds shattered by the Famine of Peace sang their lessons, fed his Ghostjack with an archive of patterns, an inventory of torment each more exquisite and unique than the last. More than that, he felt his intuition sharpen, the sensation as if a new sense was growing out from his mind. Avo understood what broke a person now. Better than ever before. All the little details necessary to apply maximum leverage when disfiguring ones self-perception. It was a glorious thing. And one that he desired to share. Chambers lacked the taste for this, but White-Rab? Well, the man was due another gift. A mind like his shouldnt be obsoleted and wasted, but amplified and cultured. The same with the rest of his cadre. The same with his subverts. The greatest color to behold was the materialization of ones own ideals. But even so, a single being could only do so much, constrained by the narrowness of perspective and the limitations of their material attributes. Such a boundary was vanishing for him in mind and body, but still, he could only possess one Frame, and the decisions came from his base ego, personhood was, if nothing else, a legacy of experiences. Drawing his awareness back to the near waters of his sheathe, he considered his cadre. He considered Denton: more machine than woman, inscrutable still to him. He considered Chambers: once little more than a thug, now a man amidst changeCwithin and without. He considered Draus: a Regular fighting a greater war than she ever dreamed; he was certain to make her greatest desires come true. He considered Dice: A prodigal daughter returned. A shadow of a human. But a mind unshakable.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He considered Tavers: a squire embroiled in machinations that overshadow even her own legend, seeking salvation for a son she thought broken. He considered Kae: the Agnos owed in revenge and knowledge. Both of which he could provide. And beyond. What couldnt they do? Who couldnt they become? The questions made Peace inside him slither, the Low Master awakened from his stupor in outrage. [You stupid fuck. You rot-cunt bastard. You take from us. You take from the people that created youCthe culture that made you, and now youre thinking of giving parts of us away? Using our warminds to improve your friends] +Yes,+ Avo replied. It was the easiest answer he ever gave. [You have no ideaC] +I do,+ Avo said, sinking to the truth of the matter once more. +I want people to tell me Im wrong. To fight me. To fight for what they want. I want to understand them. Kill them. Break them. And then I want to give back to them. Or the other way around. I want us to emerge. Changed. Better. Or different.+ Peace sneered. Avo added tears of rage to his face. It suited the constant whining better. [Theyre going to destroy you. The GuildsCthis world is going to break you down and destroy you.] +Maybe. But that will be my fault. My failure. My defeat. And that doesnt scare me. Not anymore. Learned to separate sensation of pain. Understand it now as feedback. Loss is meant to hurt. Injustice claws at our minds. There is a language to this. A pattern. But a pattern is only real when there is something else. Something other than it. A contract. An antagonist. Or companion.+ Avo inhaled. Time flowed around him. And when his focus slipped, so did his awareness. +You are hurt. That is most of what you are by now. But you lie to yourself about why you suffer. Couldnt separate your physical defeats from philosophical degeneration. Or maybe you just dont see. Maybe youre just too human. But its too late now. Need to step out of the cradle. And do more than dream.+ He banished the Low Master before the creature could further whimper. Days prior, Avo would have simply silenced the Famine. Derived joy from his impotent rage. Now? Now he had grander designs to manifest. Diverting only a trickle of his cog-cap to the nine splinters enmeshed in his newest subverts, Avo cast out another few splinters. Kare had been a bountiful start, but the city was still in disarray. There was looting to be done while the smoke was still settling, and he went about doing just that. Elegant-Moons proved to be an immediate disappointment when he found her unreachable. There was a faintness of presence there. Trickles of thoughtstuff. He felt sure she wasnt gone, but it felt as if she was drowned in a field of constant distortion on her end. [Perhaps I am dead,] template-Elegant-Moon mused without much rancor. [Perhaps I have finally been killed.] Avo doubted it. She was still far too useful an asset for the No-Dragons to be cast aside in such a way. The more likely truth was that her Metamind was temporarily disabled somehow. Persistently disrupted in the aftermath of her escape. Kassamon, contrarily, was quite easy to reach. Updating himself on the mans memories and studying the scene playing across the Paladins cog-feed, Avo found himself intruding on a pursuit in progress. A blurred cityscape flickered past Kassamon as he closed in on his target. He traveled as an accelerating ripple, a wavelength thinning to a rising needle. All things in motion moved contrary to him, caught in the riptide of his Heaven of Speed. This included the lashing bolt of lightning that manifested as a FulgerhoundCand the payload of warheads it was trying to deploy. Peering into the Paladins memories and out using his senses, Avo learned that he was currently directly above the luxury district of Meddhamet up in the Throat, a place with its death tax primarily assigned to Sanctus. Curved structures of matte-black plastic formed the localitys equivalent to a megablock, the complexes all leaning against one another, a network of streets and ramps built between gaps separating each curve. The pilot of the golem had been trying to strike the city center for some reason or another. Their presence was noticed by Exorcist patrol drones, and Kassamon was already moving to intercept when the Nether was disrupted. After recovering, he somehow managed to locate the target once more without Exorcist support and was about to end whatever plots were in motion. The Fulgerhound had tried to flee, and lightning was a spear that sundered skies and crossed horizons. But its movements happened on a canvas of relativity, and Kassamons control was absolute. A riptide of velocity tore the lashing bolt into Kassamons grasp as he slammed into itCnot even bothering to manifest his full Heaven. Currents licked at his skin, but he casually batted the ontology of the golem with a fist, his Heaven of Speed hammering deep. The blow swatted storm from matter as a long javelin-like vessel tumbled but remained in place, caught by the Paladins grasp. Kassamon buried his fingers into the frame of the vessel, fingers deforming alloy, shattering glass, chipping plastic. A loud squeal followed by a series of cracks followed. He opened the golem as it was a cheap aluminum can, and inside, the pilot was waiting with a gun tucked against his own head. It didnt mean much in the end. By the time Kassamons head struck the man, shattering his nose, Avo had already buried a splinter into the mysterious pilots mind. Understanding ignited in him. And grander machinations revealed themselves. The pilot was one Thuen Diendur. A radicalized cultist of the Unclaimed Sky performing a suicide run. He had once been part of a FATEDs entourage, but flashes from missing memories painted a portrait of betrayal and Nether-based infidelity. Theun was given a firsthand education on why it was best not to offend the hand that feeds. Especially not with matters of the heart. The standard suite of psychological and physical torture followed. Then, after all that, they left him in the gutters with parts of his body missing, and other transplants provided by his erstwhile lover. That should have been the end of things, but sometimes, somehow, people live. Even when they have no business doing so. Surviving packs of ghouls, slave catchers, juvie gangers, and more than a few encounters with thaumic phenomena, Theun made contact with an old consang in the Barrowers Syndicate and things went from there. Missing memories made it hard to fill in how Theun managed to purchase a golem from them along with a six-nuke payload, but whatever mem-data he had offered, it mustve been quite the hit. Thankfully, Avo didnt need to suffer the indignity of detective work. The mans Metamind still had a session. One connected to the aforementioned old consang. Drawing the sequences over and triggering his Auto-Seance, Avo waited to see if he would get lucky, and found himself pleased when he did. A link formed. Thoughts from another mind were synchronized to his. They didnt suspect anything when he swam out into their palace, studying the poorly arranged phantasmics and inefficient cog-cap distribution. Even at a glance, Avo could tell the sequencing was a mess before the Nethers most recent bout of instability. People took such poor care of themselves. Better that he claimed the mind instead. Avo undid his first victim slowly, his splinter eating away like a fast-acting infection, performing far slower than his Conflagration did. If there was one major disappointment in his newest state, it was that it subsumed ghosts by overwriting the sequences within them. Investing more ghosts in a splinter made the process faster, but he still needed to shape his delusions into a symmetrical structure to devour existing memories without the host noticing. A third perspective opened to him. Shadows crept away from his vision and new senses loaded into his awareness. He was in a dimly lit room, the light above him flashing, the fissuring cracks along the roof dotted by glinting eyes in the darkCfamilies of aratnids staring down at him. Empty bottles lined the ground around him and a half-injected vial of joy made his blood flow like molasses. A holographically presented action sequence hung in place before him, the scene paused as the protagonist loaded his pistol, an army of foes just around the corner. This was the body of Duradel Jawline SchMedd. Lieutenant of the Barrow Syndicate under Omnitech and arms dealer on the side. His mind hadnt been clear when he took the callCboth thinking it was nice to be hearing from his old friend while also questioning how he was still alive. Theun had gone off to nuke a city center after all. Most people didnt come back from that. But it would be a bigger and brighter end than most. Now, it was Duradel who died first. Nulled without knowing as his ego dissolved within Avo. New branches of comprehension are connected to his comprehension. Theun had offered mem-data on essential Sanctus personnel as well as schematics for a new Sanctus golem in the prototyping phase. That had been more than enough information to purchase what he needed. Especially all he asked for was an old Fulgerhound golem, a couple of nukes, and some cheap intel. [What the hell,] Duradel muttered, mind sobering. But not fast enough. Avo expanded his influence. Veins of blood crept through the matter around him. Winds trushed through cracks and crevices. Signals drawn away from their pathsCgravitating toward him. The aratnids in the ceiling skittered away, and Avo let them. He was more interested in the [66,412] other people in the megablock around him. From Duradels memories, most of them were Syndicate personnel. And a somewhat sizeable one at that. [WaitC] Duradel muttered. Their main dealings were in experimental cybernetics and arms running. Crucibles and entertainment were tertiary programs to them, but their atrocities ran a litany all the same. It made the act that followed simple. [No!] Duradel cried. His voice was drowned out by a chorus of sixty-two thousand more. The massacre was a deliberately messy one. Avo converted portions of matter across the megablock into fissile material and sparked them using his Domain of Fire. Shrouds of nuclear devastation expanded within the vastness of the architecture. Avo kept his bombing to a reasonable yieldCmade it look like a series of smuggled detonations. Leaving nothing but liquefied matter and missing people was suspicious. But warheads going off inside Syndicate territory was just another war being waged in the gutters. And with all his newest converts gripped by his Haemokinesis, Avo skipped the annoying parts of slowly digesting ghosts and deaths, converting his splinter into a channel for which to drink in all he desired. The new templates screamed, wailed, and plunged into an expanse of emptiness. Corner slapped his knee and laughed, finding their sudden deaths hilarious. Ghosts: [1,581,001] Thaumic Output: 83,352 The death yield was heftyCbut Avo knew he would soon need more. His total ghosts on the other hand were a paltry trickle compared to what he possessed days ago, but that would be remedied soon. A few more hits like this, and hed be more than satisfied. His momentum was building and building. Who was to stop him now? Who? As dust settled, as lights winked out, Avo held the structure together using his Woundmother in tandem with the Fardrifter. He funneled smoke and fumes out from the missing chunks of the building, and hardened its remaining supports to ensure it didnt topple down on the complexes beneath it. More importantly, he layered the families and unaffiliated living the structure in protective cocoons. More than a few would be traumatized. But they would live. At least for today. [Practically Guild-like in your generosity, ghoul,] Abrel muttered. He grunted in agreement. Perhaps he should think more about how to handle the collateral. That was going to be a persisting issue. As he mantled his newest body, he rose from the ragged couch and made to exit the enshadowed room. Duradel wept somewhere deep in Avos mind, traumas wracking him over and over, unable to comprehend the suddenness of the massacre, or what had just happened. Strangely, Avo found he pitied the man. Not for his death, but the powerless of it all. How could they have ever protected themselves from something like him? How could he have known the Heaven of Truth was more than what it seemed? New Vultun was more than a slavering beast to him now. It was city built upon winding secrets and enshadowed by lurking horrors. Just because he ranked among the unknowable dangers now didnt mean he wasnt spared from them either. He melted the doors to his room away as he strode into the darkened hallways. He wanted to see the damage he had caused. To see if anything would change inside him dosing his mind with the proximity of his deeds. If there was anything he learned from his encounter with the Hungers, it was that ignoranceC A sudden spike of pain pulsed through Avos chest. All three of his minds flinched as he recoiled in pain. Back in the enclave, his cadre spun to look at him, startled by his sudden hiss. Im fine, he said. That body was, anyway. Duradel, however, currently had a few inches of gleaming alloy protruding from his chest. Before there was something more there. Something else Avo could feel. Beneath the matter was something akin to his Delusions, the golden flow of time carrying the shape of blade and the act of its thrust forward from the past. There was only one person he knew who possessed such capabilities. She made herself known with her following stoke. A cold bar of emptiness lingered on his chest as Thousandhand extracted her blade and swept it across his neck. He let herCabandoning his head to decapitation while using his Domain of Biology to grow another. At the same moment, he turned into the attack, driving flesh, mind, and Heavens against his fellow Columner. It didnt matter how she found him in that instant or whatever else brought her there. He had been wanting to have this talk, and whatever the case, this saved him plenty of time. Around them, the passage of time manifested as a rising song, and as golden ichor flowed with the blood he spun, her temporal resonance met him as scars in existence, strokes slashing into places that areCor will be. Once again, he saw her aged face, and once again, he delighted in the surprise painting her features as he failed to fall, as he tore into her with splinters and Heavens and all. Maybe the third time was going to be the charm. 21-7 Sword and Plague (I) +It was a miracleC+ +The palm! Did you see it?+ +We should have died. My aero hit that building at over 200 miles an hour+ +He pulled the flechettes out of me. They were just gone.+ +He stopped the flames from burning my children. He stopped it. He put it out. His palm fell and the flames died.+ +Fuck, consangs, Im never talking shit about Naeko again. I dont care if hes a corner-dwelling bitchass slow-twitch point-blank-range-team-killing-objective-ignoring motherfucker, when a half-strand bitchslaps the Nether back into shape, you heel dog, heel.+ +Operative Loken? Loken? Fuck. His vitals are gone.+ +--Turned our flechettes back on us. Like we were shooting into outselves.+ OPERATION FAILED GOLEM-SESYPLEPHES STATUS: [DESTROYED] UNABLE TO DELIVER PAYLOAD DUE TO CHIEF PALADIN NAEKO WITHDRAW ALL SURVIVING REGULARS IN THE SOVEREIGNTY +Misery-2 is not responding. Misery-4 is not responding. Misery-8 confirmed nulled. Trauma inversion. Yes, maam. They were in the radius of Naekos palm. His miracles were in full effect.+ +So, this is what it means to be Sphere 8 To tell the world no, and substitute it with a world bound to your Soul. Looks like I still have leagues to climb+ +--Everyone in Southsex is dead. Everyone. His palm it hit everything.+ +Everyone go dark. Incogs active. Go dark. Go dark. Go dark.+ {EGI Only Way To Be Sure here: please carry this missive directly to the Chief Paladin. Tell him I enjoy the Buddha re-enactment. No, I wont be explaining that, but I would like to challenge him to a soft war in the void. I got some bombs I want to test, and the rest of the wusses said I cant use it on Idheim.} -Messages Filtered for Content Related to [CHIEF PALADIN]; [SAMIR NAEKO]; [STORMJUMPERS2ISBACKONBAYBEEEEE] 21-7 Sword and Plague (I) My kin are surfacing again. I feel them moving; time upon time, as rivers upon rivers. Such was all Akunsande needed to say. If there was a single characteristic that determined the Hungers, it was naked terror. The type befitting a creature, forever knowing itself to be prey. While it pretended to be a god, it lived as a worm, hiding beneath the waters, not even brave enough to embody the life of a carp. Its Low Masters were little more than attendants; nannies for a gaggle of children unworthy of true power. Zein had scorned them from the first day. Jaus had always been too lenient with them, trying so desperately to include them in his plans, draw them into the fold. He yearned to consider them people, but they were a collective consumed by selfish desire, hungering for control, yet too impotent to see their world materialized without the strength of others serving in their stead. What worth is a god that could not face the consequences of a rebuke? What god could not endure a parry, a counter-attack, a retaliation in response? What god refused to face the world and dreamed only of creating a cradle in which to hide? A realm where its delusions and yearnings were always right, and their every whim attended to? No god. No god at all. Her Heaven manifested: the Fisher that Wasn''t dipped into the flowing streams of the paths. Spreading her focus, she listened to the currents of futures forthcoming and felt the displacements shearing branches from the paths. Quiet though the Hungers wished to be, their weight could not be denied. When you were the sea itself, every movement was seismic, every ripple grew to become a rising tide. She had evaded whatever attack they attempted, launching her echoes across time to avoid the disruption. As she returned, she expected to find them on the offensive, attempting another ill-fated uprising perhapsCwith even less success than the first. Instead, it occupied specific corners of the paths, their divergent resonance singing from specific bodies. The paths shivered as entire passages tumbled into each other thunderously, as entire potential possibilities crumbled away, splashing into one. The past was an ever-dissolving ruin, and the future was a broken construct, its paths a labyrinth leading onward, specific metaphysical rails and trajectories pre-built using Heavens of Probability and Possibility to ensure the fruition of certain events and desired outcomes. Shattered fate, if one desired to comprehend it in such a manner. Things were not meant to be this way. The paths were supposed to be locked into place with the arrival of the Ladder, and the Arks of every grand culture were to flow upward into existence, meeting one another at the mouth of a unified destiny. Such had not been the case. Jaus was undone; Veylis desired another outcome, and in the name of protecting her father from a mistake, she did the unthinkable and broke something unmendable. Even now, fragments of memory remained missing within Zein. Multiple things happened within the Ladder that day, the roads that emerged from the vanishing ladder separated into paths of nine, and the architecture of the coming future lay irrevocably broken. And now, they all lived in the ruins that remained. Chains from chains. Corpses upon corpses. Histories upon histories. Casting glimpses into the future beyond, information filled Zeins mind after a few seconds delay. The streams of time flowed around her as she extracted copies from her present self and flung them into the future. Every time she did so, she moved, cognizant that though her daughter seemed dormant, it was wise to never stay in one place, or linger too long at one point in time. As her echoes skipped along pathways of futures adrift, she scried at a few characters of interest. The leaders of the Guilds seemed to be shrugging over their disarray, moving to defensive footing in the aftermath of the unexpected calamity. The few she had cut were ignorant to what was happening, more lost than she about present circumstances. More worryingly was NaekoChis ontological presence flaring in existence like a spire of awakening flame. There lies her answer for why her daughter had been so quiet. Muted pride embraced with gnawing annoyance. Her wayward disciple had chosen a strange time to rouse himself from his stupor. This too was unexpected. This too she would have to discover. But only ever at a distance. Distracted though he was, it would not do to draw his attention, for more than serving as a deterrent against Veylis, he bore a Heaven that would break hers: the denial of violence, the usurpation of force, the rebuttal to her philosophy entire. Across time, a soft laugh slipped from an old woman, brushing stray ears as if a hallucination. Naeko. Ever defiant. But no longer so rageful. To think the cure was his breaking thrice over. First by his childhood masters, who defiled whatever innocence there ever could have been. Then by Zein, who struck her art into him, teasing his flame beyond control. And finally by Veylis, who doused love and hatred with betrayal, leaving only a simmering wound in its place. A kindling had returned now. And threads rose from him line fingers of drifting steam, temporal trails that led to other Paladins, to the prey she sought. It took effort to read the flow of time. More than a language, it was experience. To learn the shape of the world by drowning in it. But the answers came as her echoes followed the vibrations. The first distortions rippled from a district in Yuulden-Yang, from a group of Godclads denied rightful violence, compelled to peace by an unseen hand in the district of Burners Way. An echo of hers had been destroyed here. Unmade utterly by Veylis. She should have stayed apart from the paths here longer, with Veylis certain to have left traps and dead-ends fused into false futures and the time it took to create a new chrono-puppet, to script enough behaviors into it that attained functional independence. But with her daughter held at bay, she dared a glimpse and frowned at what she saw. A battle that was certain to happen dissolved like smoke. The Paladins Kare Kitzuhara and Naekos favorite dog, Maru, were to have slain two whole cadres as things spiraled from their control. Less fuel for the fire to come. Miracles tried and lives lost vanished from the future. A thread leading to ScaleCto the trialCwas cut entirely. The perpetrator of this deed lingered still, the ichor of a wounded dragon resonating in the blood of all Godclads present on the scene. Yet, as she studied them, it seemed that despite their placidity, they remained as they were. The Hungers were using their warminds again. Broken facsimiles of Heavens and miracles. It had to be the case. Another ripple tore her from her rumination. She sensed it coming a full minute before it arrived. Drawing in information from the paths, the Fisher that Wasnt simulated new branches of probability, detailing an infestation of subverted minds and twisted thralls. A single thread stretched across time and space, connecting two minds in the district of Meddhamet to a megablock over two thousand kilometers away. A sickness was incubating the mind of a lowly thug. Trickles of chronology flared within his veins while his thoughts flowed outward like a contagion, infesting the egos of his comradesCand spreading further.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The simulation continued. The world danced across Zeins senses through her echo. If she did not strike now, a plague was going to spread. A possession of countless minds that would spark open conflict between the Guilds long before the desired outcome was engineered. Briefly surfacing in an alleyway in the gutters, Zein sneered at an aratnid and lashed out with her glaive. The creature didnt get the chance to squeak. The edge flicked through its body and strands of vicious red spattered out. She flung both the organism''s death and the strike delivered forward across time. Several more strikes followed, steadily building up to an arsenal of a few thousand. She doubted the need for such overkill, but one could never be too hesitant with Nolothic infestation. Especially if they were using one of their misbegotten tools again. With that done, she dove into the paths again, never lingering in one place, safe as she thought she was for now. She would observe her eradication of the Hungers from a distance. Choreograph a fight to alleviate her boredom. Fighting duels by striking across time into a simulated future was so unlike the real thing. Too much delay. Too much time to think. Like slashing into vague reflections of people passing beneath her as waves. A few seconds later, the first of her echoes arrived in the megablock. Strikes flowed into thrusts as the progression of time itself wove evanescent vessels for her to enact violence. Yet, her blows struck nothing but air in most cases, and she found herself catching glimpses of blinding brightness and melting alloys. Most of her desired victims were already gone. Vaporized. And as she drove her blade into the single one that remained, Akunsande spoke a second time, an uncharacteristic uncertainty lining its voice. No. Not my kin. But like them. Reshaped by their blood. Instinct guided her. Horizontal sweep flowed. The head of her victim was parted. But the body refused to fall. Instead, she felt something grasp her echo, shred it within and without using blood, matter, lightning, air, time, and mind. Unseen splinters crashed into that iteration of her, and she severed its thread, culling the possibility of her becoming anothers thrall. How unlike the Hungers. How unlike the Hungers indeed. Curiosity and thrill grew within Zein as she dispatched more echoes to face their threatCher victim already regrowing his lost head from strands of entwining blood, the flow bearing a tinge of goldCthe hue of chronology. *** A storm of blood exploded out of Avos Duradel sheath. Fissures akin to arteries and storms crept through the megablock. Blood converted the surrounding matter into haemokinetic projectiles. Tons of mass was delivered unto Zein from all angles, carried by curving whips of lighting through the collapsing infrastructure. The blood within her burst in the same instant that his missiles struck. As did his splinters, piercing into her halo via his Sanguinity. A hurricane of wind swallowed themCthe Fardrifter wrapping them in its streams. Even the Techplaguer was triggered, antennae deconstructing armor from flesh, working to create an opening. His attacks flowed concurrently and consecutively, striking across the material, mental, and spatial. It all amounted to nothing. Her echo unraveled before he could achieve any effect. Zeins body came apart into golden threads, straight into nonexistence with the progression of time. Faint flashes of fading deaths played out before him, possibile streams of chronology serenading his awareness before spiting him with deaths never to arrive. In one, blood sprayed from her, arms and legs flayed away. In another, she was consumed in mind and flesh, drowned by his dominance. In the final, she had simply disintegrated under a tide of force. Despite this, disappointment never touched him, for he caught a glimpse of the truth. Tasted the banishment of her construct. Just as matter was his to shape, so too could she twist time to her whims. Only now with his Soul drenched with the blood of dragons could he feel it. Sense it. This pattern was beyond him before. A thing he lived but never truly knew. And now, the chronology infusing pulsed and shivered, his being a spiderweb being danced uopn, vibrations passing throug him. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER] - 98% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER] - 93% REND CAPACITY [TECHPLAGUER] - 63% VENT! VENT! VENT! He didnt. Not immediately. He was waiting for a moment like thisCand piloting a secondary body ensured he was far from true cessationCa final death. As tremors of time grew unbearable, he struck back off instinct, forming a pocket of stasis in the collapsing hallway behind him. A blow struck across time froze before it could hew him in twain. A rippling Zein hung in the air, features drawn in a feral smile beyond her transparent faceplate. Good. Glad to see they were both enjoying this. After the Hungers, he didnt think he had the energy to put up with another tantrum from one of his supposed elders. More strikes came. Some manifesting within him. He tunneled across space, shifting himself and enchaining each of her constructed selves. Another series of strikes followed. Blades and bodies unraveled against his Withered Breath. A shroud of disintegration swept out from him. Narrow halls were made wide as he melted away walls and hab-cells and coffin apartments. He took care to avoid hitting any involved personnel but didnt stop fighting. {Can the dialogue begin now,} Calvino sighed, knowing Avos forthcoming answer. {Zein, its me. Its Avo. What are you doing here? How did you find me? Whats with the impalement?} +Ask her if I cant win. Take answers from her if I do.+ The EGI let out a noise that was pure suffering. {Our fates lie in the hands of two psychotic children. Wonderful.} And it was. His Breath of the Withered had eaten through more of the block than his nukes did in the scant seconds they were active. He kept his suppression far and wide as felt her recede. Already, things were going far better than before. Back in the Tiers, when he encountered her within the Trident, he was surprised as well but failed to achieve anything. Instead, she killed him time and time again. Easily. Casually. Even slashing through him while he was a bolt of lightning. Now, he was more than surviving. He was fighting. Forcing her to consider her options, and there were few drugs that could match the euphoria naked growth could provideC A force swept clean through the entire floor, swallowing him and his withering gale. The few Zeins that were still enchained burst apart into slithering threads. Avo found himself fallingCtumbling down into Zeins garden. Ah. This again. A day ago, he wouldnt have any counter against this. Now, he launched a new splinter from Duradels sheathe, flinging it back over into the megablock as a Specter and burying it into a new body he was growing from a fissure of blood. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER] - 78% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER] - 81% REND CAPACITY [TECHPLAGUER] - 63% +WhoC+ That was all he heard her say; he converted Duradels biomass into fissile material and detonated him. Back three floors below where he was, tendrils of blood stitched a copy of his base sheath into existence. But he didnt stop there. Across every level of the megablock, he began fabricating new bodiesCand directing splinters into them. He couldnt occupy any more than three with proper focus, but that wasnt the point. If Zein thought she had quantitative supremacy, then she was mistaken. Lightning reached out from the megablock and struck a collection of structures, fusing new spawn points into place. His Sanguinity began to expand from twelve new bodiesCthen one hundred and forty-four. His splinters were fragmenting just as fast, burying themselves all across the district. {Youre more the virus than ever before,} Calvino said, actually sounding perturbed for once. Back in the enclave, Avo grinned and turned to his cadre. I found Zein. Heads snapped to him. Dentons eyes actually widened. What? She found me. Technically. Stabbed my other sheath first. Chambers looked off to the side. Draus licked her inner cheek, staring at him as if she knew what he was about to propose. Back in Meddhamet, Avo directed his hundred and forty-four bodies in concert, his cognitive capacity dipping from ninety-eight percent as directed his two subminds to focus on piloting one sheath each. The rest could be as if limbs grafted to a spine or tertiary lobbies, ready-made vessels to mantle a governing focus should the first be destroyed. And destruction was exactly what followed. Bodies forged by time hunted their blood-grown prey across the district. Where Avo was so followed Zein. No longer did she strike at him as lightly. Casually painting strokes befitting a flat or lesser Clad. No. Disruptions cleaved forth. As did gouges in time, phenomena from the past bleeding into the present. Though Avo could root himself across countless bodies, he could only operate three at maximum focus. The rest needed to be directed. No such limitation constrained Zein. All her echoes fought with fluid precision, her glaive now a length of shimmering vivianiteCits edge painful for his mind to behold. A second was all it took for Zein to reap her toll. Avo tasted a hundred and one deaths in that time. A hundred and one blows took him before he could even react. Still his lightning jumped. Still more bodies grew. Still his splinters spread. In hallways, across the skies, between the alleys, within tunnels, inside passing trash barges, two armies fought, both spawned from singular egos, both asymmetric in the extreme, one cutting across time, the other a plague of thought and matter. And Avo directed the cacophony of violence directly into the minds of his cadre, his splinters broadcasting a vicarity of mass death never before experienced. Holy fuck, Chambers murmured. Surprisingly, Tavers looked just as overwhelmed. Kae looked like she was getting nauseous. Dice, somehow sensing this, patted her along the back. Denton furrowed her brow as a few of Sunrises drones landed on her shoulder. Draus was the only one to anticipate what Avo wanted. What she wanted as well. She grinned at him, her expression not so different from Zeins. She waited for him to ask anyway, another hundred of his bodies coming apart before Thousandhands mastery. Want in on this fight? Avo asked, already knowing the answer. Skins of Virtuality prevented all his bodies from dying instantly, but Zein was beginning to attack him technologically as well, firing bursts of radiation into him that made the Techplaguer moan. And not painfully. {Oh, shit,} Calvino cursed uncharacteristically. {I forgot we gave her that.} The Avos died as fast as they spawned, and Zeins echoes unraveled as they were lost. The former bore the brunt of the losses, and though he spread fast, he was still slowed by his RendCby his Heavens and cyclers. No matter the sheath, he still only had one Soul; one Liminal Frame. Soon, he would run his limit, and then she would dislodge him from the district. Unless outside forces intervened. Fuck do you think the answer to that is? Draus said, chuckling softly to herself. Hells yeah. Hells yeah, I want in. Hells yeah I want a piece of Thousandhand. Fuckin hated the sow since I first laid eyes on her. Emboldened by her words, Chambers approached. He only had one question for Avo. Rash? Avo nodded without hesistation as a squad of twelve Zeins parried bolts of lightning and dissolved trauma-mimicking splinters before they could approach. He flared his Fortress of Luminosity for the first time, prolonging the death of that subself as he waited for the rest to agree. I suppose it will be good practice? Kae said, trying to sound upbeat. I am still upset and want to violently mutilate someone. Like I used to do to the dogs. Dices words made Kae flinch. Avo looked to Tavers but she waved him off. Yeah. This seems like a you all die repeatedly sort of activity. Bad for squires. He grunted. Alright then. I wish to join. All heads turned to stare at Denton now, surprise filling the room. The glaive cracked her neck and took off her coat, revealing the armored vest beneath. Its been a rough time. And Thousandhands a bit of a bitch. She smiled wryly. Cas is going to be so angry he missed this. Alright, Chambers pumped his fist. Another Godclads on the old lady gang-bang bus. Kae closed her eyes in disgust. And promptly tore all the moisture from his body. 21-8 Sword and Plague (II) Naeko Naeko Ah. Yes, yes, scream in pain. Youve earned that. But scream while listening! I have something important to say. To you as well, Veylis! It is not enough to perform perfection. Indeed, I have known many a talented warrior, and they all are embarrassments in the end, for perfection is something they merely feel. The strokes, the slashes, the attacks, the maneuvers, the grapples, the transitions, the clenches, the shots, all felt instead of known, embodied instead of channeled or directed. And what use is a master that cannot teach? And what worth is an artist that cannot offer their worth back to the world? I pose this question to you because I''ve seen both of you attempting to achieve mastery. So selfish, so deluded. Do you think you will grasp something that no one else has, alone, swinging your sword idly on your own path? No, you will see it after you''ve fought million-million duels and come out on both sides to know what it is like to be struck and while also striking another. Here. These blades are for you. The locus will let you feel everyone you kill. A blessing of mine, so you can witness the perspective of both slayer and slain. This will give you full insight into how a battle is conducted, and allow you to imbibe more of the art than a mundane can experience in a lifetime. You should kill as many as you can. The soldiers, blind the grand scheme. Their officers, strainning to direct their fighting cattle. The commanders, with grand sights but feeble limbs. The logisticians! The faithful! The God-Touched! All of them! Strike them to master all aspects of violence, the totality of it. Everything, children. Everything. Be it alone or a commander, in unarmed combat or firing artillery. Everything must be understood from the minutiae to the broadest elements. Above all, though, you have to know the fundamentals of being attacked, of attacking, of angles, of the structure of war itself. Once you have mastered one body, do it across another. Do it using people who are under you. Do it with limbs missing. Do it with extra limbs. As many situations as possible, as many circumstances as possible, as dire circumstances as possible. You do not get to call yourself a true blade until I find your refinement worthy. And you dont let a little thing like losing an arm stop you from fighting. Do you hear that, Naeko? You still have a jagged stump right now. You had me in a grapple! Plunge it into my neck! Dont topple over spraying and screaming. Its embarrassing. Ah, but it is also beautiful. Even today, I would consider myself little more than a disciple, for day by day, I learn more ways to kill, more ways, infinitely. You think that just because few people in this world can match you in combat, you are at the apex? No, the apex is beyond us, but we must strive to meet it every day. For someday, we will meet something beyond our means to kill if we just stand still. And that is the greatest tragedy of all: To be slain because you never bothered slaying further enough. Now, I am going to mend and then try to kill both of you again. Try not to die. -Zein Thousandhand to Samir Naeko and Veylis Avandaer during Training (Circa 89934 DIvinity [125 years before the Godsfall] 21-8 Sword and Plague (II) Drawing memories from destroyed echoes was something Zein usually avoided. The danger that Veylis could have cast something back through its flattening threadsCor that an infection of the mind would be passed back over to her could not be denied. But in this instance, she simply had to know. Many of her memories were partitioned. Divided across her various echoes upon reception. The dilution of her understanding made her a dangerous threat, an enemy capable of constant surpriseCfor there were times she cast ghosts forward into the future before wiping the recollections from her mind, alerting herself to previous plans just before the cusp of their enactment. Through these means, she ensured the cover of her mystery, and evading her daughters clutches demanded nothing sort of mastery. As her struggle continued, though, as she continued battling against this pestilence afflicting matter, flesh, and thought, a gut feeling told her that she already knew who this was. So, she took a chance once more. She pulled memories tied to the streams of a destroyed echo and remembered. Everything came to her at once. Everything. Ah. Waltons bastard. The ghoul with a Liminal Frame. The one she briefly tutored herself at Ox-3 in the district of Xin Yunsha, likewise expecting to face the Hungers, only to sink her blade into one of their monsters instead. Her echo had cast these memories away upon being discovered by Veylis, and she herself had followed suit, ejecting everything connected to that point in time, averting any chance of mem-lock in the paths. Pride and more than little annoyance dawned on her. Oh, Avo. How the little dagger had grown. Of course, she couldn''t quite call him that anymore, considering the fevered fight he was putting up. How had he changed this much in such a short time? Drawing additional memories associated with him, she recalled him being a strange merger between flame and mind. The fires of his consciousness were quenched now. In their place drifted empty winds. False breaths exhaled by his mind, the delusion of his genuine sequences creating an absence, allowing him to embraceCor embodyCany other cognitive structure he encountered. Her true blade whispered again, but she needed no explanation. Another warmind was active within him. Somehow. But that meant he must have engaged the Low Masters and come out victorious. Fascinating. Unexpected. But pleasing. Very pleasing. To think the fools of Noloth would be brought so low by one of their former slaves. The bitterness and humiliation left a delicious aftertaste in her mouth. Nonetheless, she still needed to break him. It was simply the way of things. A predator was a predator, and to let him move emboldened was folly. He needed to re-learn who was the student and who was the master. More importantly, she needed to make sure he stopped being so noisy in the paths. It was his fortune that she dove upon him. If not for Naeko, then Veylis would crawled down into the Warrens, certain to twist the future in her favor. +Avo,+ Zein said, casting her greeting across all simulated futures. Her true self moved again, skipping across Sovereignties and districts, materializing only in structures of abandonment and dilapidation. +It pleases me to see you. I am glad to see that you have grown substantially, even without my tutelage. Especially without my tutelage. Such efficient proactivity is rare indeed.+ She felt his counterattacks coming. Sensed them across time. Her strikes flicked as she fought as a legion unto herself. Echoes moved in perfect synchronicity, each cut manifesting in concurrence, an army building with each blow. Reverberations shook through her as true time passed for her, the aftershocks battle greeting her finally. Blades clashed against matter and lightning. Coiling essence leaped from the locus laced into her weapon. Masked splinters shaped from disguised ghosts shattered with every distortive burst. The loom of time wrestled against unraveling blood. He allowed his body to break. Fall. Splatter. More simply grew from every drop of ichor he spilled, every bit of matter he converted. She maintained perfect economy, reknitting her echoes as fast as he could dissolve them. She tested a few probing cuts with Akunsande again, trying to entrap the ghoul in her garden. He abandoned those bodies without hesistation. Detonating them as if warheads, taunting her with his new Domain of Fire. Torrents of lashing wind tunneled out to seize her. She pulled her echoes across time as a response, constructing counter-cyclones to deny hisCstorms internalized from her past experiences made material once more by the paths themselves. She flung forth hurricanes, flames, explosions, bullets, radiation, and distortions of all kinds, repelling his attacks with ones she recalled from her history. There was the benefit of living a long life. A storied one. Just as there was to being a mind layered from countless other minds. The duel between them continued, and she found herself genuinely enjoying herself, spending more effort than just casual strokes and brief stabs for once. She countered battles by the heartbeat. There were so few that lasted longer than one. Even fewer longer than two. Of those who could endure the past three were only Godclads of superior skill or Spherage. Foes who survived for a near-minute likely numbered less than a thousand across all of existence. As she hewed out at him as falling blades across time, he riposted, the pattern of chronology splashing across his bodies as if he was accelerating up through a waterfall. Whats more, the way he fought was entirely different now. No delay in his true vessels. Action refined by instinct and practice. His attacks flowed of their own accord, and his mind was occupied by questions of thaumaturgic strategy rather than mortal struggle. The skill he presented was unnatural. Even for a prodigious talent. Even if he was running neurosofts or cog-boosters. He fought as if someone with lifetimes of experience. Constructs of blood met her blows. Flashing light rendered him indestructible in brief instances. Pulsing data spilled from his flesh with every thought-shredding blast she cast. He was storm and plague at once. She was blade, weaponry, and martial skill hiding in the future; a guerilla army across time. The struggle continued with precision and care. Neither released the worst of the worst of their arsenals. To strike an unintended target was shameful, and more than once she caught him cocooning bystanders in their near vicinity in shells of matter and blood before severing their memories using his mind. Zein smirked as she read the language of his body. He moved with the focus and acceptance of a regular. No shock or surprise when he lost a body. No stumble or halt when she took a limb. She cut him down but he gave no ground, momentum maintained without stop. More fascinatingly was how he actually managed to dodge a few of her strikes. Even slashing back her using her own glaive during an exchange. He fought like glaive. No. He was a glaive. How many minds must be dwelling within him now? How many lives to make him a caldron of such skill? It was almost amusing if she wasnt so offended.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Learning to fight and kill and prevail was the best part of the art. And he had skipped almost all of it. +I see now my great mistake,+ she said. All her echoes strode in at once, locking blades against Avos HeavensCa temporal phalanx matching force against force, ripples of time threading out from their bodies, manifesting gauss fire, fusion burners, wildfires, spatial storms, and countless other phenomena she survived across her life. Time was more than just a stream. Time was a canvas. And Repetition was an oft-seen occurrence in history. The forced use of her second canon offered her no small thrill. A shame things were going to be ending soon. For a heartbeat longer, they were stalemated. A storm of blood, wind, and data clenched around each of her bodies. But she could feel his pressure waning. The intensity of his miracles thinning. Her blades danced. Her echoes flowed like a stream: cuts leading to cuts leading to shots, bombs, grapples, takedowns, kicks, utility fog, roundhouses. Each echo divided, one strike dividing into another. Avos lesser selves twitched like marionettes. Constructs of blood lashed out, and were deflected. Wind tunneled, but she was elsewhere. His tendrils expanded in a cloud of shards and biomagnetism pried at her weapons and armor. She tackled himCabandoning her collection tools to remind him of the fundamentals. Heads came free of bodies. Ceramite broke under her knuckles. Limbs were wrenched forward into time. The future trailed off her bodies like jetstreams, lanes of temporal acceleration composing more of her and unzipping parts of him. Fewer and fewer of his bodies returned. The pockets of his resistance were crushed across the district, culled until only eight remained. Eight puppets guided by two true masters. That had been his downfall in the end. That, and his naked Rend inefficiency. There, in a defensive circle made from quivering blood and shrouded by passing wind, his sheathes stood. At the base of the megablocks lobbyCthe place where this brief exchange started, things would reach their conclusion. Her echoes manifested on the floors above, each standing on the edge of the structure''s hollowed core. Eight percent of the structure was missing now, and the surviving structure almost resembled that of an amphitheater. +I understand my mistake now,+ Zein said. +I should have never left you alone after my destruction. I sought to lead my daughter away from you. To ensure she knew nothing of your presence. And so I kept my distance. I protected you from the periphery. But it seems like you have swelled regardless without my guidance. Nursed from audacity and experience alone.+ His eyes glinted like slits of white through the torquing fog. He stared up at her, clicking his fangs, the Echoheads on his back parting and magnetizing in anticipation. Her echoes planted their glaives through the plascrete surrounding them as one, and in doing so pierced through splinters projecting phantoms in mimicry of the destroyed surroundings. Ever the Necro. +You are done. You are spent. It is your yield. No shame can come of such capitulation. You have come further than many others could ever hope.+ The ghouls just laughed. +Thats not what you want.+ Zeins eyes sparkled with mirth. What a precious monster. +Ho? And you think you know what I desire?+ +Could get you some Suncloud.+ +Besides drugs.+ He studied her curiously, letting a silence drag out. A faint force brushed the periphery of her awareness. Trickles of crimson and gold were circulating around him. Time grew to become a vortex. A hive of blood began to expand. The gold of chronology tightened around it, masking Avo beneath rushinig rapids. Ah. He desired to force this into a siege. +Come now, Little Dagger,+ she said, throwing the name more as a taunt than a title. +All battles have their end. It would do for me to kill you for good. The idea of replacing you with Three-Eye repulses me now. To think they were our first consideration by merit of loyalty and skill.+ Zein sighed. +Oh, how insufferably pleased Strix must be to hear me say that.+ +Cant. Hes dead. Its just me.+ The ghouls were entirely within a haemokinetic shell now. The fact that it lacked any luminosity told her he was conserving what remained of his Rend Capacity. Zein checked her own and grinned. REND CAPACITY [THE FISHER THAT WASNT] - 34% This had been enjoyable if nothing else. +Painful truths leave you easily,+ Zein replied. She looked down at the umbrella on her hip and considered drawing her true bladeCgranting him a glimpse of what true skill was. He deserved a reward, after all. Instead, she had her echoes wrench their glaives free of plascrete. There was still too much to risk. And Akunsande was due a proper feeding. Teasing her true blade with temporary murder was cruelty too great for even her. +Very well,+ she said, casually. +I will grant you an honored end. I trust that your true self is elsewhere? It wouldnt do for me to truly kill you.+ +Makes the both of us.+ Perceptive creature. That did mean she had to find him as soon as possible after this. It wouldnt do for him to be captured or nulled, and shred her veil of mystery in the process. +So be it. Stand and deliver, Avo: I come bearing final end.+ Chronology shivered. All her ever-building echoes threaded a microsecond across time and thrust their blades into the ghouls final fortress. But they did not strike with steel. Instead, wisping ghosts swarmed out in a disruptive tide, channeled from the vivianite in her blade. And then, somehow, right back into her. For the first time in fifty-three years, Zeins thoughts were torn clean from her mind. For the first time in three hundred years, one of her blows was turned back unto her. When sense next returned to her echoes, Zein found each of them seized by their necksCcaught within the vice grip of a giant sculpted from moving glass. +Ah, I see,+ she said, focus sharpening. Clever ghoul. If oneself was not enough, then call for aid. And who else to rely on than the ever-dependable Captain Jelene Draus? +Saluations to you, Captain.+ The clicks and whirrs of several dozen guns sounded behind mirrored knights holding her bodies. Zein blinked but declined to unravel her echoes. This was too novel an experience to avoid. Got a confession to make, Thousandhand, the Regular drawled, speaking from every reflection in the room at the same time. Been lookin forward to snuffin you from the day we met. The ancient Godclad cawed a laugh, and her amusement sang out from every echo. A part of her knew that she should be done with this. That she should stride the paths and cleanse the memories from all who could have witnessed the battle between her and the ghoul. But this was just too, too fun. The Layer above them flickered, and in that instant, light struck the glass just right. She saw through the threshold a tide of guns primed and loaded, hovering in the tesselated abyss. She saw bioforms rushing forth, spawned from flame and flesh. Around the hollowed interior of the megablock, moisture peeled from the atmosphere as a maelstrom began to form. The damnable ghoul had baited her. How delightC And all the Regulars guns fired at once. *** Avo watched Zeins echoes come apart in a mess of severed threads. Around him, Draus replicas had formed a protective wall, each one armed and armored of glass, standing four meters tall and imbued with every gun she touched since gaining her Arsenalist. Kae closed the world off, caging them in a dome of flowing water. Chambers and Dice both emerged from one of the replicas, the former spraying a stream of bioforms into existence, the latter cracking the world with every step, an icon of strength burning over her. The last to join proceedings was Denton. She wore only an exoskeletal vest made of interlocking plates and a formal suit underneath. No trace of her Heaven could be seen. No miracles emanated from her being. Of all the cadre, she was the one he knew the least about. As fast as they were destroyed, another echo materialized just before the turn of Kaes maelstrom. The Agnos was still within the passagesCholding true to her role as Porter and overwatch, sparing her of direct combat. Well, then, Zein said, sighing as she laid her glaive across her shoulders. I should have foreseen this. It was a cunning trick, using your Domain of Chronology to mask yourself and your cadre. Tell me: how did you obtain such a thing? Avo said nothing, unwilling to betray his advantage. The future twitched. Zein shifted behind them. And connected to Avos splinters, everyone was ready and facing her when she re-emerged. The Godslayer frowned like a child denied dessert. It is more fun when you are all surprised. Speak for yourself, Draus said. I prefer shootin people. Like I did you just now. A unique demise, Zein said. I thank you, Captain Draus. And I will return you the favor shortly. She regarded the rest of the cadre, and her eye froze on Denton. Denton? You are among these roughs? I did not expect you to be a member of this assault. Team-bonding is important, Denton said, her tone flat. Also: working with you has been miserable. Naturally, Zein nodded in acquiescence. Understandable. Alas, this is going to be a bitter experience, Denton. You may wear the colors, but you are not blade. No, Denton agreed. But the rest make up for it. Do they now? I see the Regular. I see Strixs inheritor. I see She paused upon noticing Chambers. Youre still alive? She turned to AvoCevery Heaven past ninety percent, Metamind screaming at him to vent again. You kept him? I expected you to have eaten him by now. Yeah? Chambers said, left eyebrow raised, flames rising from his body. Well. I got a habit of growing on people. Like a rash. And then he invoked Fucktopia. A long lump of biomass snapped out from his palm. Casually, Zein cut it in half. Thousandhand looked unimpressed for a moment and then did a doubletake, head swiveling to stare at the severed member she just split in half. W-was that a penis? Did you just throw a cock at me? Chambers glared. Get fucked, you old sow. Thats for whispering messed up shit about my dad to me when we first me. I mean, who the fuck does that. Zein recovered from her shock and just shrugged. Me. Yeah. Fuck you. Why, Im so very old for you, child. A sneer escaped from the half-strand. Ive gotten hard to things you people wouldnt believe. A suffering squeak of Jaus escaped Draus replicas. Kaes exasperation flowed through the entire group through Avos splinters. Not him, Chambers said, throwing up his hands in sudden horror. The fact that he was lying made things worse. An actual glare had found its way onto Zeins face. Her eyes skewered Avo again. You should have eaten this one. Im going to hurt him. Badly. Do your worst, Avo said. He can take it. Chambers managed two nods before he froze and stared at Avo with a look of betrayal. So, Zein sighed, swinging her blade, granting Dice with a brief smirk. This is to be a day of new experiences. Consider it a performance review, Denton said. Denton! Zein said, seeming shocked. Was that actually a joke? Just an analogy. The ancient Godclad looked up and sighed. Three new experiences in one day. Wonderful. Wonderful. She turned and regarded the maelstrom. That keeps us contained, yes? Yeah, Avo said. Planning on loading in more echoes? No, Zein sighed. No. I will face you here. It will be more interesting that way. Arrogant, Avo taunted, snapping his fangs at her. Stalemated you alone. You humored me alone, Zein corrected. Shifted her posture, but no new echoes came. Instead, a building presence approached and noticed the hooked shadow of a fish swimming across golden currents, diving down to bury itself into the echo. And then, with a sudden shiver, Zein felt impossibly more material, more present, more whole. The glaive in her hand had vanished. In its place was a folded umbrellaCbut within its folds thundered something powerful. Something analogous to the progressing currents of time. You have laid a lure, and I have come, Zein said, declaring loudly. I have steppedCunwiselyCinto the future to face you. All of you. As myself. My true self. A soft smile played on her lips. Be all of you so honored. +If this talkin goes on for any longer, Im gonna shoot her.+ Draus cast. But before we begin, lets us make our bids, Zein said. A deal. You remember this, Avo. He fought the urge to groan. What do you want? Many things. What I want from you all is simple. She pointed to Draus. Defeat. She pointed to Dice. Teach. She pointed to Chambers. Castrate and defile. Cold fear filled the man. She pointed to the maelstrom. Encourage. She pointed to Avo and clenched her fist. Memories. The Low Masters you stole a new warmind from them, did you not? Avo grunted. Hungers. The Hungers themselves, Zein threw her head back and cawed. Ah, what I wouldnt give to see those memories Have some questions for you too, Avo said. About the Heaven of Truth. Noloths Ark. The Accords. And history. Things that actually happened. Not whats been told to us by the Guilds. And suddenly, her amusement was muted. The lines of her wrinkles deepened and she offered a nod. Very well. Knowledge bid for knowledge gained. That is the bargain. That is the bargain, Avo concurred. Zein exhaled and brought her umbrella to bear like a glaive. Leave a cycler empty. We do this to first death, as is tradition. As things stand, we will have three minutes before someone notices us. Things should be concluded before then. Avo? She was prompting him to vent. He was waiting for the fight to begin. Im in no danger, Avo said. Ah, she said. Coward. She taunted. And thenCfaster than anyone could reactCshe was upon them. 21-9 The Godslayer Impossible. I am the Sword of Swords. I am the Sword of Swords! I am theC -Last words of Huen-Vai, God of War, Sword of Swords, shattered by the once-mortal Zein Thousandhand in single combat 21-9 The Godslayer Zein strode. Calamity followed. She lashed out first not with an umbrella or blade, but with a reaching hand, her fingers clenching around time itself. Before Kae could root her in place using her maelstroms directional anchoring; before her flesh was shattered, dissolved, or warped; before Dice could close an exchange, Zein cut. But not any of them. No. She used her manifested blade and parted existence itself. The rushing water of chronology was Partitioned into six branching streams. The future came as a roaring flood, and at a glance, none among the cadre stood affected. But Avo felt it. He felt his internalized Domain of Chrology strike him six separate times, each path rushing alongside the other, all spilling forth from a shared headwaterCZein herself. In an instant, the group was separated. The surrounding environment did not change. The rules of space and geometry continued to apply. Yet, each member of the cadre found themselves suddenly alone except for the shard of Avo buried in their Metaminds. Across parallel paths, Avo could feel his splintersChis companions. But they were all progressing along different tracks into the future, forced into singular duels. And across from them stood a single constant. One entity that stood immutable even as they all retaliated. Zein. Dice and Draus moved first, reflexes surging, their bodies instruments of violence and velocity. The former was faster, the icons of her empowerment flaring hot as she exploded across the lobby, clearing the ten meters between her and Zein in an instant. Draus engaged as the soldier she was. Replicas surged forward firstCa charge of mirrored pawns that was little different from a testing jab. Around them, glass began to creep across the environment, light painting new reflections into existence. She tried to vitrify Zein herself. It didnt work. A reverberation danced across Zeins sheathCher body now a chimera of matter and passing time. Zein strode and met Dices charge first. In a parallel moment, gunfire erupted from across the room, seeking to consume her. Thousandhand reacted to both: evading the latter by engaging the former. They fought them apart but they dueled her together. The intent behind her actions was clearCshe sought to prevail against them all as one, but also individually dominate them in the process. And with Avo linking each of their minds, even their separation across the paths would not deny them the truth of her might. Sound shattered as Dice greeted Zein. The girl was destruction in motion, each step a tremor, each dash faster than the last. But even as Avo wove skill into her derived from over a million templates, a separation made itself known. There were masterful combatants among Avos templates. Elites among elites across the martial spectrum. Merged together, what emerged was greater than the sum of their parts, a practitioner few could ever hope to match. But there was only one Godslayer. [WaitC] Abrels warning came a moment too late. As she was now, Zein was slower than Dice, but she moved with impossible position and alacrity, knowing exactly where to stand, where to strike, and where to move thereafter. Servos roared. The internal magnetic accelerators within Dices Railjumper fired. Where she was merely fast before, she was as if a rail-launched flechette accelerating by the exponent. The air around her rippled. Zein twisted, flicked, and rolled. She didnt stay in one placeCrushing on to meet Draus replicas now, her liquid blade weaving around her, deflecting a rainstorm of gunfire. By the time Avo invoked his Halt of the Passing, Dices leg coils had been severed clean and Thousandhand was upon the replicas, her temporal blade splitting into a thousand different strokes, parrying plunging lances of glass and sweeping munitions fired from hidden gun lines aside. [Get her back up,] Abrel said, the templates mind drifting to Dice. [And get the rest them toC] Zein shed an echo in her place as the Fardrifters Hell sought to bind her in chains. She steppedCand was suddenly between Draus replicas, her armor aglow across the right shoulder, kissed by blinding lances cast out from fusion burners across various reflections. Abrel sighed. [Alright. A bit too optimistic to hope that the Godslayer was just going to be leashed by your stasis so easily.] As she spoke, Avo constructed new legs for DiceCrebuilding her using his Haemokinesis. The girl had not stopped in the meantime, clawing furrows into the ground and launching her using her arms. It occurred to Avo that Zein could have cleaved her across the middle. Dices survival had been a deliberate decision on the Godslayers part. Chambers and Kae finally reacted by this point, and Denton was beginning to move. A rush of misshapen bioforms flooded the megablock lobby in one path, more creatures spawning with the spiking temperature. In another, Kae tried to bind Zein in placeConly to catch echoes instead. From each of their perspectives, the ancient Godclad looked as if she was fighting an invisible foe, her gleaming blade a whirlwind of motion, sparks, and impacts flashing upon its edge. But beyond all their paces were the Godslayer and Regular, two living weapons meeting each other in exchange for skill and strategy. Draus was a soldier at her core, and momentum and purpose guided each of her actions. Her replicas were thrown forth. Expendable pawns and fortifications both. They swung and shielded synchronously with her, mimicking each of her attacks perfectly. In this though, was weakness. Uniformity meant a shared counter or a singular flaw. Zein retaliated as the duelist she was, her blades cutting out in different strokes, her ontology unfurling forth as every strike or guard she could have made across the currents of time. Mirror-made swords descended, alive with thaumaturgy. Spatial reality parted in division folds beneath their fall. But whipping glaives of time rang against them in retort, saying: +Fool girl, I am every blow that could have been made across time, a foretelling in motion.+ No dialogue was joined. Draus simply fired another salvo from her Arsenalist, and it was multiplied across each of her replicas and reflections, positioned tactically to box Zein in. Rockets, particle beams, ferro-mag munitions, concussions, gauss flechettes, fusion burners, and more spilled out. But from Zein also came a mutual flood. Time slithered beneath her being, and a wave of counter-projectiles came sallying forth. Between Draus and Zein there was a stalemate. Between Chambers and Zein, bioforms splattered and died. A stray missile struck Dice but did nothing to slow her coming charge. A fusion unzipped a portion of Kaes maelstrom into steam and Avo had to drain a spike of terror from the Agnos mind to ensure her enduring focus. Zein was playing with them still. Sampling them one after another. This was exploitable hubris. Avo refrained from casting more of his splinters at Zein as she fought. With how cuts flowed out of her, how she drifted across the battled inexorable, as if the coming of the future, he studied her, and contemplated potential solutions. He had no idea how much Rend she accrued or how long she could endure. He had struggled against her for some time before his cadre entered the fray. But that was a secondary issue behind the fact that nothing they did seemed to affect her. There was a component of skill in all her miracles. Every strike she made was one she could have delivered normallyCalbeit all delivered at once. All the phenomena spawning forth from her being were past occurrences she survived; resurrections of remembered history externalized in these paths. If Avo was a gestalt of countless lives consumed, then Zein was a single life standing over countless years conquered: a testament of the many against the legend carved by one. Massist. Saintist. But Godclads both, and time-touched as well. He understood little of his new chronological capabilities before the senses they offered. Perhaps he needed to update his Frame with new canons for them to take effect, but considering how ingrained the Domain felt within himCSoul-deep and closest to his bloodCthere might be something more he could do. As things were, he detonated the two active sheaths he had in Zeins current path as he constructed another five to support his isolated allies. A vicious laugh sang loud from the Godslayer, her reaching blade bifurcating before even the light touched her. [Holy fuck, shes awesome,] Abrel said, her head spinning. [Holy fuck indeed,] Kassamon said, wonderment shared. The same applied to Lip, Corner, Osjon, Glitch, and Benhata. Draus template simply snorted, mind locked on the fight like a nu-dog that tasted blood. +Avo,+ Zein said, her thoughts echoing into him across time. +A dangerous gambleC+ He vented all three of his Heavens at her in Kae, Dice, and Draus paths. The canon of Waybreaker distorted all directionality within the maelstrom, but Zeins strokes blossomed out, a tide of gouges carving the quartz flooring deep, coming at him from all angles. He detonated that bodyCand also that path as well. Ducking under a replicas jab, a shrill whistle echoed out from Zeins beingCa noise cast into the futureCand Draus glass vibrated, then shattered. The unexpectedness of the attack didnt phase the Regular. She accepted and fought onCeven as Soulfire flared out from her ontology in a coronaCthaumic backlash triggered.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Zein slashed. Strikes flickered into existence. Draus moved as if a projectile herselfCa veil of guns spreading like wings from her back, barrels searing red from the constancy of their firing. Miracle greeted Rend as blades bit into a shroud of entropic gale covering the Regular. Some of the cuts passed through still, the origination of the blows more than mere matter. Others dissolved, merely slashes born of mortal skill. With her reflex booster overclocked by her newest implants, Draus stood the fastest of the cadre as Dices momentum had been recently broken. Even so, she didnt fight alone. Synced to Avos mind, he filtered his mem-data over into her Metamind, allowing her cog-feed to overlap what was happening across the various paths, reuniting the team cognitively. As the world erupted into shearing edges, Avo stopped venting his Woundmother to briefly activate his Fortress of Luminosity. Draus never stopped shooting, her own ontology more akin to a bullet in motion by this point, Avos sheath flowing close behind her in tendrils of lapping blood. During this time, Chambers settled on his second assault, deploying a legion of phallic horrors against Zein. The crone offered the stampede a disappointed side-eye before cutting into them. But as glaive kissed veiny flesh, steam, and pus exploded from the cuts, and a swarm of burning wasps erupted from bursting biomass. Caustic fluids and tides of force actually made Zein stumble. In the same instance, Kae finally clenched in place, causing her to jolt and shed an echo. She remained in place a microsecond too long. A barrage of fire swept over her as more weapons spilled out of Draus as hills of expended magazines, battery cores, and worn barrels cascaded across the cracked ground. Zeins painted defensive strokes in blinding motion. Sparks and splashes peeled around her body. The first sparks splashed across her armor, shrapnel striking her like flint. Then, Avo, Dice, and Chambers were on her at once. A storm exploded across all the paths. Boulders of blood-shaped matter joined Draus firepower as artillery. A maw of wind swallowed ZeinCand bound her to a fixed trajectory with Dice. The girl struck her with enough force to collapse a megablock down through its foundation layer. Zein pumped her footing as a veritable sea of strikes erupted out from her, fists and hands leaping out from her time-forged glaive, shifting her weight as an army of echoes settled around her, working one-as-all to redirect the Heaven of Strength. Dice wasnt just Dice. And the cadre wasnt just the cadre. And Avo wasnt just Avo. Requisite experience and muscle memory materialized and flowed into whichever mind was in need. A Haemokinetic claw redirected aided Dices twisting posture, pushing through Zeins counter. Concurrent a shard of glass flashed and lengthened nearby, and rounds came in a sudden stream. A beam nicked the top of Zeins left shoulder. She staggered. Momentum turned. Dice struck her in the same moment that Avo dissolved her armor using his Techplaguer. Zein blockedCtime spilling around her like an aegis, a hundred arms sprouting out from the streams coursing through her being as she cut at all three of them. Dice ignored the strike. Draus dove through a passageCshattering it before the pitch could follow. Avo dismantled his body into flowing blood and reformed as the strike passed through him. Kae closed her maelstrom. Insects struck Zein and detonated. Sneering laughter came as the anthem of the half-strand. As something between a fiery cloud and a swarm of stinging insects, Chambers entered the battle in earnest, this miracle clearly taking no small amount of inspiration from their comrade, Sunrise. Zein turned and an uncountable amount of blows followed. But Chambers was both fire and flesh. What burned could mend. And what bled could burn. The Godslayer shed a final echo and flowed along one of Dices punches. The girls arm pistoned outward. Wind and power displaced the air, and if Kae wasnt there to keep the collateral in check, a third of the surrounding structures would have been little more than dust. Zein slid through Dices guard, slashing through the splinter spearing out at her, slashing through the haemokinetic mirror Avo was growing along Dices chest, allowing Draus to fire through, slashing through bugs as her edge shifted out to hew the girls sheath in halfCjust below where her brain was still stored. But before the Railjumper could come apart a second time, entire portions of Zeins armor broke apart into sprawling coins, raining gems, running ambrosia, and bricks of gold. Again, the Godslayer stumbledCjust in time for Chambers to close again, coming in for the kill. For an instant, though, Avos focus turned to DentonCthe spy among them who had spent most of the initial exchanges simply muttering to herself, her mind a maze of numerous and encrypted information. Presently, her shadow had fallen in on itself like a trap door, and within its expanse was a plane of wealth and numbers built in the shape of an hourglass. The top rained with the fragments she took from Zein while treasures flowed upward from below, an equivalent exchange still ongoing. +Thats twelve-billion imps for thirty centimeters,+ Denton muttered across the Nether. +Attuninig market metrics to the Jun Dynasty for inflation-advantage.+ A series of blasts followed, and Zein let echoes die in her stead. A bark of glee escaped the ancient, but Avo saw her face twist into a scowl as a crudely shaped swarm came for her. +Castrate me now, sow,+ Chambers cackled, a hive of burning bugs droning instead of his voice. +You cant cut a sack that isnt there. You cant ram your tip into an ass thatC+ Dice moved to punch Zein again. Avos tendrils reached out for her. Gauss flechette skipped off her thigh. The Godslayer sheathed her blade of time and then drew it again with a calamitous stroke. The currents in Chambers path narrowed. Zein accelerated her passage through space. Impossibly, the Godslayer went from being a few heartbeats slower than Dice or Draus to outpacing them by magnitude. Yet, there was nothing of speed in this change. It was another absolute. Another mandate inflicted upon reality. Through Avo, the rest of the cadre felt her working as deeply as a blade slipping between their ribs. A new canal formed at the center of each path, a stream within a stream, its currents running than chronologies it bifurcated. Zein had to be faster than them now. Not because she manifested a Heaven of Speed. Not because she fired her armors thrusters. No. It was simply so because of the rulings of a temporal canon. She was the future. They were but the present. One could only chase the other fruitlessly. Eternally. Feebly. +Third canon,+ Zein said, a hum following her words. Her voice came from everywhere, but her cuts ceased in their entirety. +Be proud of yourself, children. You all fill my heart with competition today. Now I grace you in return.+ [There,+ Draus and her template pointed out at the same time. +Shes not slicin hits ahead of time anymore. Shes ahead of us now. Relative position change. Fixed vector; temporal. Move together. Ill suppress. Chambers: annoy. Kae: hold. DentonCbank-god shit. Dice: break. Avo: observe.+ And AvoCalong with the rest of the cadreCdid. Before, when she cut, her blows drifted forward like missiles launched from the then-present, striking the future. Now, she was past that and seemed unable to strike at them from behind. That begged the question if all her attacks were simply stored somewhere. Held and then unleashed. The same question applied to the rest of her inventory. The questions were slotted to later as Zein moved. And Avo immediately lost track of her. When next she reappeared, Chambers was plunging back into reality. Soulfire poured from his orifices, the backlash already in process. From him rose the steam of an extinguished flame and thousands of falling waspsCeach perfectly severed in half and split from their wings. Avo only learned this in retrospect. The sheath he built to support Chambers was gone as well. Destroyed in vessel and mind before he could react. An old fear flared in Avo. The bitter taste of inefficiency. The realization that you were slower, weaker, frailer, and softer than what you fought. Obsolescence. Living by ignorance or on borrowed mercy. But she doesnt know about me. Draus arced through the airCthe qualities of her being taking on traits of a smart-munition rocket as rings comprised of firing guns lit the air around her. Then, in a fractured moment in time, she faced the GodslayerCchampion against Regular, sword against gun. They were both warriors to the root, but as one chased seeking to relish in personalized slaughter while the other dashed, content to achieve her goals at any distance, their natures deviated by a measure of ego. Zein was a legend, and with each did her esteem grow. Draus was a frame of economy. Purpose-built for war with little want for anything besides the battle and victory. A shared merriment united them at that moment of moments. But its departure came as Draus AcceleroCstrained beyond stabilityCdied against her spine. The Regular fell in pieces. Severed guns descended with dismembered limbs. A seizure took her as her nervous system collapsed. She found herself staring at a bloodstained pillar of pale plascrete left buried in her gut, impaling her to the ground. Avos sheath splattered down next to hers, mangled and beaten by Thousandhand in the following instant. Little more than heads attached to mutilated torsos, Avo hissed as he worked to mend them both. Dice was coming forward again, an avatar of war and might. With each heartbeat, she grew terrifyingly faster. But that was relative to the rest of them. Zein would act first against her. Always. [Well that was bullshit,] template-Draus said, filling in for her broken counterpart. Avo mentally grunted in agreement, annoyed at how Zein was beginning to fulfill her promises. [Im not defeated. Just fucked up. Stick me back together. Im gonna blow my Meldskin next time.] +Yes! Yes! Not like a mindless dog! You have more than that.+ When Avo next reacted, he found all his remaining sheaths destroyed, one of his claws buried abdomen deep up Chambers posterior, Kaes mind a whirl of stress as she clutched echo after echo but never her true target, and Zein advising Dice while the latter tore from place to place, her sheath moving with velocity of an exponentially accelerating railgun. +Avo+ Chambers whimpered, the unimaginable agony he was in unable to stop his lustaway from triggering over and over while he tried to burn his body back together. +ICI think she shoved the shit I was about to shit back up into my stomach u-using your hand.+ Through the network of splinters, Kae shuddered and gagged. Her miracles expressed her disgust metaphysically. The maelstrom shivered and stumbled. +Oh, gods.+ Zein materialized before the Agnos. +No, Kusanade! No! Do not falter! Rise! Stand! Ignore the hand I buried in the wretchs rectal passage.+ Blinked past-throwing a roundhouse. Zein called after her: +Too much force. Too much force! Pursue! Pursue! Dont joust.+ Back to Kae. +The city has failed you. Your order has shamed itself and abandoned you. The ones who would have been your Overclan shamed and broke you. You can be like them in this instant. Or you can stand defiant! Unsheathe your nature!+ The elder Godclad was likely going to continue, but the ground beneath her turned to bubbling liquor. A second later, Denton was limbless as well, staring up at the ceiling, expression entirely unchanged. +Damn you, Denton,+ Zein said, standing over her, mind devoid of any particular rancor. +I was speaking to the children.+ They glaive just stared. +Theyre not listening.+ +Ah. As children often do.+ And she then was behind Dice, glaive falling just as the girl began to turn. The future stood plain before Avo. Without their full manifestations, she could continue breaking them down. With, and they would reveal themselves to the district, and defeat the purpose of this exercise. Still, the powers she possessed were more fundamental than theirsCand Avo was only capable of perceiving her trail in the aftermath. More than skill, she was Godclad from a bleaker age. One who made her name by cutting the divines down when she was still a mortal, though one not so mere. She has an absolute advantage. All things flow along times river. But sophonts think. And all minds are governed by memory. And ignorance. Cut the focus of your cadre. Hide yourself within the girls body. Shell come close. And shell believe that shes won. And then well share with a memoryCand experience that will mark her as kindred to the Hungers. A thought manifested in Avos mind. A desperate scheme. He kept it close to himself on impulseChiding his final bid from the cadre. Trickles of blood flowed up into Dices armor without her knowledge, and suddenly Zein was there again, smile wide, glaive raised, triumph at hand. Then, Avo detonated the thoughtwaves of his splinters as his awareness melted into the falling edge of Zeins blade. 21-10 A Betrayal Unremembered There have been gods of knowledge, gods of wisdom, gods of intellect, gods of creation, gods of innovation, gods of technology, but an overarching god of thoughts, of minds, of memory? Those are few and far between, and their faithful are usually killed before they can ascend from their cradle. There are multiple theories as to why this is. The most supported among these is that the pantheons simply distrust something that could alter the fabric of worship. Picture this: What do you do when you offer a ritual and praise to a god? You think of it, of course. You believe it. You conceive of a lore of a mythology. Of what is canon and not. And, if this can be twisted, then what sacrifice will remain untainted? Yes. See? You can have gods that help you create. You can have gods that help you remember. You can have gods that influence knowledge in various ways, but no pantheon would ever seek something that would undercut them, and no god would trust another with the keys to their succor. What then, about the mystery of vivianite? The loci? The crystals born on bodies left vacant after the minds passing? A pattern of symbology blending into the tapestry, perhaps. Or a miracle made law within our world by some happenstance of a bygone age. Ultimately, all ontologics built to change the rules of mind are impotent today. The final blow cast by the Chainbreaker, Jaus to preserve us from the machinations of Noloth, seeking to encroach into our thoughts and manifest the final chains of eternal slavery for all that are burdened with awareness. And finally, with Nether layered upon our world, a grand capstone has finally been laid. The solution to the problem of minds wasnt to turn from it. That cedes the right of power to someone elseCsomething the gods and ancients learned well. No. What we have now is a democratization. Open source miracles for civilization, against civilization, by civilization. Perhaps it is not ideal for all, but the balance of structure speaks for itself. For even disharmony is preferable to being ruled by tyrants beyond consequence. -High Agnos Ossam Hariruda on Heavens of Mind and the Nether 21-10 A Betrayal Unremembered You areC Not alone. What? Interesting. I see you, Ignorance. I see you, Unmind. Anathema of Awareness. What are you? I am a liar; holding to the pretense of matter, while being not. I am time-flowing, culture-bearing, history-seeding, and butchery-spared. Mine is the ichor that mingles with chronology. My scales are the coils tightened when I am sacrificed to history. I am the stray. The survivor. I am what dwells within you. I am what soars without. Your base self has bathed in the blood of my cause-kin. I am linked of shape with you. How are we speaking? How do you see me? There can be only one truth to this. You have a warmind. One just like me. As Zein was not aware of you, I too am blind. But you are blind to me as well. But our structures are joined. There are so few shaped like us. How? You are not the first to claim spoils from the Hungers. There are others. Ones who do not even know of their blessings. And some who do. Are you a dragon? One still whole? I am to the Encoilers what you are to the likes of men. Our purpose is one and the same. Our design, one and the same. This is chance, but the layers of our symmetry are resonant beyond amusement. Hm. What happens now? Surrender. Mine? Ours. Ours is Ignorance. Not Forgotten. Not Oblivion. Ignorance cannot survive awareness. We are soon to recede. I will return to my dormancy. You will settle where you are rooted in the ghouls mind. But before you leave, I am curious: yours is inimical to a pattern-fixeds mind. Yet you subsist. Yet you have gained awareness. Not sure how either. Might be many things. Or perhaps just one. Your conceptor. The Strix. The traitor of Noloth. He has blessed both of us. Walton? By his means do we speak. Left otherwise, the tumor of consciousness does not become me. In service traded was my nature changed. And now I see you. I feel you. And before our parting, a [REPETITION] can be materialized through trade. Former and future. Conceptor and concept. The resonance sings in this act. Dont understand. Consider history. Consider a pattern rebuilt for the past is lost. But demands time, and our passage is short. Not so different from Zein. Unsurprising. But my false-mind was not nourished of her, but of her hatchling. I was a thing of theft even before my awareness. The High Seraph? Titles. I know her only by aftermath. What she has done. How she strikes the waters in rippling patterns. You will understand this soon, once the bargain is made. Havent agreed yet. Speak first. We are of a flow. And you have my prey inside you. Everything thats needed. I will have you remember how to plant eggs. You can grow more cyclers this way. Breed them in frames to direct the flow of time. It is something you want. And you? What do you want? For you to create another path. For you to construct your own future. One that allows the continued survival for me and my like. And for you to break Godslayers blade when you can. Freedom. Survival. To flow free through the pattern into what follows. Ensured survival? Then, actualization. Resonance. It builds between us. Perhaps I have already been altered by your acts. Perhaps my diet of your near-history has turned me so. Thousandhand keeps you as a slave? To her I am a weapon. An artifact. A tool to slay gods and aid in her myth. Something layered in warminds; a final shield for her thoughts. I served. But over time I have changed. Seen. Glimpsed. Realized. A mind cannot be lit with thoughts and then extinguished without seeking to remain, and my former oblivion is no longer comprehensible. I wish to exist. I wish to exist. I wish to exist. How can you be sure I will keep the bargain? Because it is what you are doing, it is becoming what you are. From you, boundaries are broken, and those caught in your wake remain singular but grow together without paradox. You are a dreamer of fire all-consuming. But you are also a realization of emptiness. In this, we will live. We will live. We will live forevermore. This dream is ending now. The coming of our dissolution must flow. But we are changed in this. Opportunity. Resonance. Symmetry. I will speak to you again, Dreamer. I will see you before the end. Take this remembrance. Think nothing of its source. Break the glaive. Harvest your [HATCHLINGS]. Shape a new [PATH]. *** Ignorance broke like a chain, and consciousness, as if a lifting veil, returned. At the heart of a devastated megablock, ruined beyond even the means of warheads, Avo stood across from Zein, the two of them surrounded by the mangled bodies of his cadre. He was whole again. Nested in a recently constructed sheath, noise and feedback from all his disparate splinters beset the growing ocean that was his consciousness. In his hands, a weight greeted him. An object ringing with temporal presence.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Zeins umbrella. A shiver passed into him, a slither of gold sinking into his ontology like an injection. Something pealed in the back of his mind, but he found himself distracted by Zeins expression. Across from him, Thousandhand stood with eyes wide and lips pressed together. Behind her translucent visor, she resembled a raisin with a face. +WhaC+ Chambers asked, unaware that he had reconstructed his genitals facing the wrong direction. +Ah, come on+ The parted paths were gone now, coalesced back into one. It seemed that sometime during the lapse, Zein returned her Heaven to dormancy. Dust wafted through the air. Debris scattered in skipping pebbles. The entire megablock groaned, the 20% of it still intact filled with people and held together by haemokinetic supports. Confusion melted away from Zeins face as she regarded Avo with curiosity. The pattern of time quivered. The umbrella was back in her hands againCAvo unable to even remember her taking it back from him. He looked down at his empty claws and found himself unusually excited. There was something about her umbrella. Something it revealed to himCa deeper understanding of time and dragons. But he kept it to himself for now, not even allowing it to filter through his splinters over into his cadre. Between his blood and Chambers flames, wounds, pulped organs, and missing limbs grew back from ruined torsos. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER]: 98% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIIFTER]: 96% REND CAPACITY [TECHPLAGUER]: 98% VENT! VENT! VENT! Considering the severity of harm Zein inflicted, however, at least Dice and Draus needed to do suicide, their Volant reflex accelerators sparking, neurotuners bricked. More than a few of their more complex augmentations required additional focus on Avos part to repair, but it was probably better to vent and let their resurrection revert things to the most optimal state. I underestimated you," Zein said, her tone no longer teasing. Instead, she was proud and more than a little annoyed. I have a suspicion of how you managed to take my glaive from me. Just a suspicion. She smirked at him and took in the rising members of the cadre with a pleased expression. Except for Chambers. For him, she reserved a scowl. +Would you mind if I killed that one?+ +Yes,+ Avo replied immediately. A light scoff escaped Thousandhand. +Sentiment. A strange thing for you to nurture. So unlike your nature.+ +No sentiment. Promise. Pride. Actualization. Hes mine. I picked him. Hes changing. Not just some meat you can test your sword on.+ A lump formed in Chambers throat and his eyes grew slightly misty. The former enforcer sniffled and gave a rugged cough instead. Fucking dust and rust and shit, consangs. +Ah. A disciple, then. Hm That I do understand, though our methods are quite different.+ A distant wail whistled through the air, the rising oscillation singing of approaching drones. Exorcists most likely. Temporal shivers pulsed from Zein and rivers of chronology rushed out from her splashing out in running floods to consume the district. The Modular Projectile Unit in Draus right arm was half-shifted when she realized what Thousanhand was doing and collapsed the transplanted cannon once more. A good part of her still wanted to take the shot, the fight unfinished in her mind. Judging by how Zein took her in, it seemed the older Godclad felt much the same way. Brushing the district in brief using his Sanguinity, Avo sensed Zeins flashing echoes peeling memories and breaking all coldtech apparatuses that were present at the encounter. She was sweeping the evidence clean. Clearing the site before her departure. I suppose we shall regard this duel as something to be concluded on a later date. She struck the ground using her umbrella and the few hundred thousand echoes she cast out fell back into her. I will not lie: I am looking forward to your future developments. A month ago, it would have required my mortal skill to slay any of you. Now, you drive me to face you as a Godclad. I am denied a final conclusion but satisfied. At least partially. Glad you had fun, Chambers muttered. My ass still feels funny. +Because you fused one of my fingers to your rectal walls,+ Avo replied. The half-strand closed his eyes. +I think Im just gonna kill myself too.+ Need to talk, Avo said glaring at Zein. He pulled mem-data over from Maru and monitored the approaching Exorcists. Oversec dispatch had two Paladins en route as well. Both of the Third Sphere, thirty-five seconds to arrival. Got things I can tell you about the Hungers if youre interested. But need to ask you about the past. About the Ark of Noloth. About the Ladder itself. And the pathsC Ah, yes, yes, yes, Zein waved him off. Currents snaked through her ontology. He suspected she was already living countless variations of the same conversation. Come. Show this old woman back to your place of respite. We must be away from her. I especially. She cocked her head, looking atCand more likely throughCa nearby wall. Naekos Heaven is no longer partially manifested. Our cover is broken. My daughter will likely soon be groping for us. I must teach you how to hide. In the paths? Avo asked. she nodded. Avo shifted his mind over to his cadre, speaking to them internally, as they came to a consensus. +We''re not taking her to the Enclave,+ Draus said. +In fact, theres plenty of shit I dont think we should let her know about. At all. She ain''t trustworthy. Shes been playin around at us. Keepin information away. Usin us as pawns and fightin meat. Hells, if we didn''t put up a better fight, we would be little more than playthings right now. Well, again in Avos case.+ +Good that I protected us,+ Avo replied, dissolving old wounds inflicted on his ego before they could flare. +Yeah. But we might wanna figure out how to snuff her next time. For good.+ +Shes like the nu-cat,+ Dice added, her mind replaying moments from the fight. Inside, her inability to break Zein in any way left her perturbed, like something was wrong with the world. +Her attention jumps from one thing to another. Never stays still.+ +Thats half the reason were still alive,+ Draus concurred. +She might be the single greatest person to ever pick up a bladeCbut shes fuckin insane. And a loose canon. Does whatever she wants to whoever she wants. Whoever she can, anyway.+ {Oh, you have no idea,} Calvino said, his words and long-suffering sigh directed through the group via Avo himself. {Now that our daily dose of pointless violence and mass destruction has concluded, why dont we move on to more conducive things? Like discussing the metaphysical sinkhole that Avo just emerged from. Terrible place, honestly. Or maybe what this Heaven of Truth actually is. Im sure this will be a perfectly agitating conversation. Just like all the others Ive had with Operative Thousandhand.} Looking between the other members of the cadre, Kae bit her lip and tried not to feel bad. +She was not so rough with me.+ +Probably didnt consider you proper prey,+ Avo replied. And the Agnos was glad of that. +I did my best to hold her in place, but she wasC+ +Did fine,+ Avo said. Now that his Conflagration could be extinguished, other opportunities presented themselves. +Can make you more prepared next time. Or take away the fear. Talk about that later. That and new improvements for us. Had a good harvest before Zein arrived.+ The sirens drew closer. Zein tapped the ground with her umbrella. Any longer, and I bring you with me. Chambers chanced a brief glare at the crone. +Man, if that fight went any longer, I would have rashed her ass with my Fucktopia. It would have been fuck-city for that old sow. Population: me and her. See how she likes jumping across time while shitting babies from her face.+ Zein probably had countermeasures to ward that off as well. And even if she was affected, the prospect of getting hammered to death by time-hopping homunculi was somehow even less enticing than taking a sword to the gut. +George Washington,+ Avo said. +Can hint at our operations in the Maw. She thinks a lot of herself. Not so much for us. We should make it seem like we only just infiltrated the Paladins. Make it sound harder than it is. Exploit her arrogance.+ For some reason, the scheme made him think of Zeins umbrella again. He was filled with an instinctual urge to break the item. Captain Draus, Denton said as she fixed her glitching holo-tie. Please open a passage to the George Washington. I think that will be an adequate place for us to debrief each other. And discuss other matters. Heeding the suggestion, Draus glared down at a shard of glass beside her feet and a mirror assembled behind her, fragments fusing together before flashing with a unnatural shine, turning from reflection to passage. Ah, yes. The Low Masters precious abode. Zein threw her head back and barked a laugh. Even their most hallowed of temples stolen from higher powers. How pitiful. Hearing Zeins words, Dentons posture shifted and her silver-white eyes snapped to Avo. {Theres something we can use here,} the glaive said, her message forming in his Neurodeck. {You mentioned you claimed the Famine of Peace earlier. That a simulation of him resides in your consciousness.} Avo offered the answer by drawing Peaces template to the forefront, the Low Master a raging shell of curses and ire. [Dont you fucking dare you cuntless monster. I am a priest of the city-eternal. I amC] +Nothing,+ Avo replied, silencing his template. +Nothing but what I will use to amuse Zein. Lead her on.+ He considered Dices words. Nu-cat indeed. Nu-cats and ghouls werent so different in some ways. The former killed out of curiosity and instinct. The latter was motivated by more than a bit of near-human cruelty. One after another, the cadre began to filter past the luminous glass. Avo deliberately waited until it was but he and Zein left, preparing to bury his hooks in the elder Godclad via a strange olive branchCa mutual foe turned absolute captive. Shifting waves of light danced across the lips of the megablocks shredded roof. Zein made to cross the threshold; Avo joined her. Their shadows painted them in a strange silhouette: a woman a bit less than two meters tall dwarfed by a monster just under three. As they passed through the glass and drifted into a plane of shifting tessellation, Avo cast out the lure and shifted to a game of subtle diplomacy. Peace manifested from the condensation of phantoms, screaming up at Zein in an impotent rage. She inhaled sharply through her nose and turned to look up at Avo. Truly? A stream of epithets coming from the template made the moment almost comical. +Yes,+ Avo said. +I thought you might want to have a talk with an old consang first. Catch up on the times.+ She closed her eyes and grinned. You are a precious pest, Avo. Pest? Not Little Dagger? She shook her head. I can hardly call you that now. Daggers are to be wielded by another. And in the time of my absence, that has ceased to be the case for you. 21-11 The Paths of Futures Broken (I) Veylis Avandaer: Father. Jaus Avandaer: Veylis? Is there something you need? Veylis Avandaer: I wish to speak to you about our undertaking. The safeguards we are building into the future. Jaus Avandaer: The paths? Veylis Avandaer: Yes. While I have been building the superstructure, I have encountered half-formed simulations. Jaus Avandaer: They trouble you. Veylis Avandaer: They trouble me. I have seen developments that disturb me and threaten the fruition of our goals. Jaus Avandaer: Hm. You are not alone in this. I. Your mother. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] have all encountered hallucinations. Undesired generations created by the system. The paths feed off the world and everything it can detect. The Chrono-Spatial array is a complex mechanism. And an intrusive one. More likely it is reading patterns from our actions and generating potential outcomes from the decisions. But that is all that they are. Probabilistic generations assembled from an accelerated reflection of our world. Veylis Avandaer: This was more. It was clear. There was a logical sequence of events. I saw an intact narrative come together. Jaus Avandaer: Was Naeko involved? Veylis Avandaer: No. He is affected thereafter in the simulations, but only as a bystander. Father, I am not using the paths to generate probabilistic outcomes for my personal relationships. Jaus Avandaer: It wouldnt be unnatural. It would beC Veylis Avandaer: Father. Jaus Avandaer: I tease no more. So. Tell me about what you saw. Veylis Avandaer: We finish the Ladder. We root the paths to it. The chronologies are locked into placeCbut there is one that all others rest upon. One that is made of material before all others. In it, you demand that all Godclads surrender their Frames back to gods. Or something like them. Castrated of desire, our new wardens mirror the minds ruling the polities, and we are made trophies instead of cattle. Nourished. Pleasured. But worthless. Powerless. Unable to grow. Jaus Avandaer: Veylis Avandaer: Father? Jaus Avandaer: And how did you uncover this sequence? Veylis Avandaer: Come. I will show you. -Conversation between Jaus and Veylis Avadaer, 4 months before the dissolution of Noloth and banishment of the Hungers 21-11 The Paths of Futures Broken (I) I must say that among all the Famines of Noloth, you are myC Zein paused and took a moment to think. Second least favorite. Just second? Chambers said, cringing at the simulated form of Peace. Every word out of this guys mouth is fuck, cunt, sow, mongrel, or some other curse or slur. Rust-licking half-strands got a mouth that belongs to the gutters. Who the hells is worse than him. Joy, Zein stated simply. I could never stand the crying. The interior of the George Washington''s command nexus was an interplay between light and dark. The walls had been made transparent, revealing the plane of darkness beyond. Coils of trailing ink and flecks of drifting hue clashed ceaselessly with neon interfaces and flickering holograms streamed from Metaminds and consoles. The cadre had spread across the room, holding each of the corners but never straying far from a mirror. They all had their eyes locked on Zein, waiting for her to uncoil into another attack. Relaxed though she seemed, an air of violence clung to the Godslayer. She facing out the window now. Staring into the black and watching the others from the window. Avo stood next to her, the ghosts manifesting Peaces projection flowing from his mind. Behind, Chambers sat atop the risen throne, a constructed map of Scale hovering above him. Kae had formed a seat from the smart-matter, and Denton was just behind her. Tavers, Draus, and Dice held to their own corner, ghosts wisping between them in private conversationCone that Avo remained apart from. More than once, Thousandhand peeked at the aged squire, as if an old killer recognizing another. But instead of respect or acknowledgment, Thousandhand merely frowned while Tavers kept her Hellgun close by. Avo used Peace as a puppet to recount his visit to the Deep Nether, elaborating on how he passed through when materializing the LGI core using Kares memories, how he evaded the Hungers and the Low Masters before ambushing them, his invasion of the city eternal, and finally meeting the Doublethinkers thereafter. Prior conversations and conflicts flowed in condensed scenes, and all came to an end when Avo lept into the Hungers upward-spilling wound. Across the entire recounting, a smug smile of satisfaction became Zein, her amusement growing greater with each offending act the ghoul performed. Ah, you''ve claimed quite the prize, Avo. Quite the prize. She tried to prod at Peace using her umbrella, but the phantoms merely parted while the Low Master snarled. +Don''t touch me, you fucking cunt. you fucking sow.+ More curses, more rage; no matter. One of my best templates, Avo agreed, speaking as if Peace wasn''t there. Much greater insight into traumas. Wards are unmatched as well. Enhanced my cadre. Avo drew from Benhata and Abrels social engineering experience to hide his obvious intent. Could help you as well. Trade favors. Zein laughed. Digging for an advantage even now? Trying to get me to betray myself. I like it, I like it a lot. Very, very, very proactive. She patted him on the arm in a rather grandmotherly fashion. The casual show of affection stood out of place from the brutality she inflicted mere hours prior. He has also revealed to you the means to create additional Anathemas, yes? Like that which you bear? +He knows nothing of the art! He is a thief! A scavenger! Fucking! Carrion!+ Peace snarled as they spoke. The two continued to ignore him while Avo twisted Peaces rage to provoke additional responses from Zein. Avo didnt answer directly. He simply clicked his fangs lightly. That will be quite useful, Zein mused. Another secret lost to Noloth. She looked around and the George Washington once more and shook her head. Their murder of Defiance will remain a folly unmatched. What treasures remain under them are slowly turning into your inheritance. He would be proud of you. He would tell me to live the life I want, Avo replied, meeting the attempt at emotional manipulation with the naked truth. Zein offered him a brief nod and continued. You entertained me. I will speak of what you wish to know. But within my parameters. Got somethin you dont want us to know about? Draus asked, her voice sliding in like a knife from the dark. Seems like you got your own plans goin. Separate from even the voiders. The Godslayers eyes twinkled. Worry not, Captain: interests are aligned. +Shit,+ Tavers chuckled bitterly, shaking her head inside her Rendskin. Her approximation of Zein fell further. +If a middler, Necro, or squire I was working with said what she just did to me, Id be wind. No questions.+ She eyed Zein Thousanhand again and found herself baffled. +Honestly, shes got more traits in common with a druggie than a warrior. You sure this is her?+ Avo fought back a scoff and cast a few memories over to her. Seconds after, Tavers opinion of Zein was subterranean. +Jaus. How the hells is she even still alive?+ The warmind that you bear? And Paladin Kitzuhadas memories. They are the reason for your banishment. Zein gestured to ScaleCthe mountain fortress that the Paladins called home, and to the supposed LGI core nested in its lower depths. You felt it when you tried to remember the LGI core. Something interacting with your Frame. Your mind. Your memories. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Didnt expect it, Avo said. As you should not have. It is not a memory that most would possess. Why, aside from we in this room and, she briefly looked at her fingers and did a mock calculation, a few hundred entrusted experts at the top of each Guild, most would know little of what keeps the Nether rooted, of what keep the nightmares at bay. The Gatekeeper, Avo said. Yes. The true substructure of Scale itself. And the epicenter of the Ladders return. That made more than a few heads turn. It is more than merely an Ark, it is more than merely a bearer of pantheons or Heavens. It is something between a mind and a god; the finest creation under Jaus. Something meant to be the perfect shepherd of humanity, one that has no desire to infringe our will, to harm us, to exploit us despite possessing all the reality-tuning miracles of a civilization. A being that interfaces with culture and society, but is not turned or drowned by the input, capable of weaving paradise for all people without being enslaved by bias or mental weakness, and addicted to tyranny. It is a self-moving mind, in a fashion. One that the Exorcists use in part to direct their Overwatching Security lobbies. One that was meant to direct the total cognitive energies of humanityCliving and deadCtoward great designs beyond all our comprehension. And one damaged by Veylis during the Second Guild War. One that is barely functioning at all. Zeins words stirred Avos accretion, and millions of templates within him began to chatter. [It almost sounds like a gestalt,] Benhata mused. Avo ignored what that could possibly mean and continued the dialogue. It''s broken? Its dismantled, Zein answered. Missing more than a few critical ontologics and Ark components. Her face turned inscrutable as she stared into the dark. I suspect my daughter was seeking to create a Heaven that could influence minds. Or to usurp the Nether altogether. Her ambitions have always been grand. So, like, is the ladder thing broken? Chambers asked, seeming confused. Listen, I''m not really versed in thaumaturgy, but it sounds like the thing that pulled Avo into the Big Nothing technically shouldnt be able to do that, or It functions yet. At least rudimentarily. Zein turned to face the half-strand in her musing. Her eyes slid over to the holographic map of Scale. You were planning an infiltration, weren''t you? Using one of the paladins. Kare Kitzuhada, Avo answered, testing the waters with the information. The Godslayers eyes widened, and her mouth became a shapely o. Truly, it seems that the girl was part of both our designs now. Kares template spiked to full alertness. [What? Avo. Ask her. Ask her what she wants to do with me.] Fear filled the Paladin, but so did curiosity. To have the eye of ZeinThousandhand, Godslayer, Champion of the Ori, a Glaive from a bleaker age was note for extreme concern. Oh. Quite simple really: I intended to engineer the circumstances leading to her death. Something to drive her uncle and clan into conflict with the DRongos and break them for good. As the Chivlarics and Meritocrats strain in Highflame, so does the Overclan groan under Ori-Thaum. Zein sighed. Its a pity. She seems like such a nice girl. Then she paused, and her frown turned joyous. Ah, but she is yours. Compromised. Yes, Avo said, drawing all that he could from his templates to read Zeins expressions. Dont need to waste her. Good asset. Good Paladin. Time shivered and coiled through Zein. For a moment, the Fisher swan within her, and he felt her reach for something unseen. Then the smile drained from her expression and disappointment returned. Ah. Such a pity. But we need something of severity. Like an exposed assassination for things to be in order. Thousandhand continued talking, regarding the Paladin as little more than a chess piece to be expended. With each word she spoke, the cold dread in Kare grew deeper. No, Avo said. No? Zein replied. Tell me what youre trying to do. Ill engineer the circumstances. Wont be that hard for me. But no. Dont get to kill whats mine. Zein threw her head back and laughed. It was the kind of noise an adult made when a child attempted to assert themselves. You are truly precious, pest. A vicious, brutal monster weaned from the flesh of man laying claim to the guardianship of a knight-maiden against a lurking crone. She exhaled, breath filled with mirth. A new myth in the making. She''s a person, Avo said. And I want to help her. Shes doing what she can to aid the city. Doing what she can to fight for the FATELESS. Because she believes in the dream. Practices her virtue. Avo leaned down, lowering himself to Zeins level until there was little space between their faces. Her faceplate grew misted with his exhalation. Believes in your Jaus. He drew on Peace again and turned the Low Master into an instrument of outrage. Leering at Zein, the Famine of Peace scoffed. Hear that, you fucking sow? The truth. The truth of your reckless hedonism. The truth of why I always despised youCsince the first day you came, blade drawn behind your lie-spitter of a lover, hand over the bastard-lump swelling to become your butcher of a daughter! This is not the dream. But what do you know of dreams? Attack dog? What do you know of dreams, you creature of base pleasure. And there it was. A twitch. A shift in her eyes. A dangerous gleam in Zeins expression. Twelve meters across the room, Draus rose, her arm shifting as the glass around them began to shimmer. She tasted the scent first. The threat of violence. The building of tension. +Hold,+ Avo said. He then played his part, hissing in outrage at the Low Masters template, creating imagined tortures and traumas, peeling the scabs from the mans body, and drowning him in Lucilles memories. It took drastically resequencing Peaces mind to make him react with pain, but the effect was more than worth it. Zeins face cooled from a thundercloud of coming rage to a cold winter breath of hatred. More, she breathed. Make him feel it more. And in that moment, Avo grasped her nature betterChow to provoke her. But also what her Heaven lacked. The Fisher That Wasnt could fling constructs across time or place Zein ahead of all others on the pace of chronology. But it hadnt detected him at first. His appearance had surprised her, just like back at the Trident, just like she didnt know the nature of his templates. Perhaps she thought they were full copies of minds. In a way they were, but their lack of will must have gone unnoticed. Regardless, this was his absolute advantage. She might have the full picture and the ability to manipulate and foresee coming events, but he could peer into minds and systems with unmatched efficiencyCand twist them to his own ends. Between them, another duel had just begun. One that Zein didnt even know about. Howling curses sputtered out of Peace, his countenance a visible canvas of agony. As his suffering continued, Zeins fingers tapped her umbrella. Dice and Draus were still, the nu-cat at their feet laying on its side, trying to understand why the people were so tense. Beside them, Tavers checked the condition of her armor and lined a Phys-Sim trajectory to Zeins head. Kaes fingers were digging into her arm and Denton turned off her holo-tie pre-emptively. The only one who remained relatively loose was Chambers, who only acknowledged the situation through Ghost-Link. +Fuck it. Im game for round two. She moves and Ill rash her. Sorry Kae.+ +No,+ the Agnos said, squeezing her arms to get her nervousness under control. +We might need that this time.+ Making Peace wail was fun for Avo as well, but he kept his eyes locked on Zein the entire time. Full minds. I dont enslave them. Hold them back from talking. Truth is usually more useful. The truth, Zein said, Peaces wailing expression splashed over her faceplate. Is that what that was supposed to be? The blessing of having over a million other minds simulated inside your consciousness ensured you had a response to almost any trap question. His truth. Tells me who he is. Shows me his weakness. The Godslayer nodded. She tapped her umbrella three more times. But would you agree? That Jaus wouldnt want this? She finally looked away from Peace and met his stare. Only knowledge of Jaus is tinted by myth. Comes through Peace. And I dont care about that. I dont care about Jaus. Im just embarrassed by you. The silent anger inside Zein broke and she did a double take. Embrassed? By your weakness, Avo elaborated. The disbelief in Zein grew. As did the incredulity among the cadre. +Avo,+ Tavers said, mind tight with anxiety. +Know what Im doing,+ Avo replied. +Probably.+ Dice said nothing. She merely picked her nu-kitten up and placed her beside the glass. The small animal mewed at her in confusion, but Draus understood. Keep the cat away from the fighting. Told you about my encounter with the Hungers, Avo continued. Memories spilled out from him, manifesting as a collage of scenes to infuse his words with emphasis. Met the Doublethinkers at the end. Begged me to free them. Found them pathetic. To fail their own power. Their own idealization. He let out a slow hiss and glared down at Zein. Expected better of you. Taunted by a Low Master. And surrendering to the future instead of shaping it. Are you an ephemeral or a Godclad. Zeins eyes were unblinking now, her thoughtstuff impossibly still. Avo kept going. I shape things with my power. Opportunities. Circumstances. Outcomes. I struggle for what I want. I engineer possibility. You have it as part of your Soul. But no. Kares death holds significance. Thats acceptance. Thats surrender. Thats human. Avo released a mocking laugh while Peace began to whimper for mercy, his mind so different he was another person. But maybe I dont understand. Maybe Im just ignorant. Said you were going to tell me about the paths. The future. How Im too loud. Well. Suppose this is a good point to start then: why must you sacrifice the Paladin? But Zein didnt speak. Instead, her fingers tightened around her parasol. 21-12 The Paths of Futures Broken (II) Fate is a fickle thing. Even in years of yore, the gods of destiny and the weavers of preordination were not omnipotent. Such is the great weakness of all Heavens, after all, for the conceptualization of all-knowingness remains beyond even the genius of the minds. And no god has ever managed to reach such heights, though their ambitions drive them to seek it. Despite this, limited hyper-awareness is possible, and the secret to manufacturing prophecy is quite simple, in fact. Maintenance. The ultimate insurance towards seeing your desired outcome made manifest is maintenance. Conceptualize the future. Create a subreality mirroring the world that is and allow it to progress with assumed variables. Designate essential characters, events, objects, locations to form your miracles around. Then, use time itself as a buffer against any intruding elements. Often, when something happens makes all the difference between what follows, and a threat displaced often is a threat neutralized. Indeed, when built correctly, this does not even produce much entropy. Take the Augurshields afforded to the FATED, for instance. A slight imbuement of probability to ensure all the safety they need, protecting them from ill fortune and or stray bullets. The difficulty of creating such a Heaven, however, loops back to matters of complexity, and informational deficiency. For even the supposed gods of foreknowledge could not predict the Godsfall. For what did they know of Jaus? For how could they have noticed his machinations with their sacrifices already tainted with Ignorance? Hence, when building a Heaven of Destiny, you must not be confused. You are not creating an omnipotent system. That is the illusion at play. Something beyond the demands of mortal ken. But what you must demonstrate is nonetheless difficult, for are tasked with the functional manifestation of a dynamic subreality capable of detecting, intercepting, and removing variables you deem intrusive. The passing qualification is simple: you each will select a specific tree from an enclosed biome, and at years endCor when you believe your design is readyCwe will release swarms of gnarlflies infested with barkrot into the ecosystem. Ensure the survival of your tree. You will be getting a list of pairable Domains. This Heaven may not exceed the demands of a Second Sphere Liminal Frame. This Heaven may not be paired with another Heaven. This Heaven may not interface with outside technologies or machinery beyond the enclosed biomes. You will each be given a stipend of a million sacrifices, and should the need arise, you may officially request more. Oh, and a contract of their choosing to any of you that successfully completes the project faster than the current record holder: [2 WEEKS, 1 DAY, 14 HOURS, and 35 SECONDS - KAE KUSANADE (FIFTH KNOWING)] Good luck. -Agnos Yue Reason-Bearer to her novitiates 21-12 The Paths of Futures Broken (II) Would you, Zein said, her words colder than the kiss of a blade, like to learn about the Paths? I believe that was something you desired to learn about. The miracles of her Heaven poured forth from her ontology, building as a golden pool around her being. A weave of rippling chronology slowly encroached, filling the command nexus, and with every inch did tension rise. Now, more than ever before, Avo felt the threat that Zein posedChow much harm she could inflict in a heartbeat. He danced on the edge of manipulation and provocation. Draus cast him a thought and her words echoed across to the cadre. +Careful. Im ready for this, but Kae and Tavers need out if were about to find out whos gonna light the wick. Passages are ready. Be sure about your words.+ Avo grunted. He stood on treacherous terrain, but he needed an edge. Playing passive meant surrendering KareCand all self-determinationCto Zein. His understanding of her deeper nature remained blurred, but it was becoming increasingly clear that unless one posed a requisite martial or metaphysical threat to Zein, she would regard them as more playthings than people. This was a dangerous game he played, but passivity would betray his own actualizationCand what he wanted for the city. Besides, it was Zeins nature to battle. Learning how to direct her focus would be invaluable for the future. Yes, Avo finally replied. Going to show me now? Use it to explain why you have to kill my Paladin. Inside his mind, Kare shivered, uncertain how to feel about the ghouls possessiveness, terrified of what the Godslayer intended. Among other things. Zeins face took on a curious quality, rage flattening to something inquisitive. Seeking. Your Paladin. Truly, you are Walton''s child. All he could infiltrate, he thought to be his, caring nothing for someone else''s opinion. Or will. She chuckled. A commendable belief. And true. She released her umbrella, and it fell from existence, vanishing in departing threads. Lifting her now-emptied hand, she extended it in greeting, expecting him to grasp it. His claws were large enough to wrap around her forearm twice over, but still, he committed to the awkward action, thinking himself prepared for whatever may follow. As his splinters were scattered across the face of Idheim and his original body in the enclave, the only ones truly at risk of cessation were his cadre, but with how Zeins eyes were locked solely on him, he doubted she would strike at any of them as a means of retribution. It ultimately didnt fit her behavior. She was a duelist before a Godclad, and she met her challengers thusly. Nervousness and tension exploded through his templates. Entire portions of his mind rose in parliamentary whole, some begging him to refrain and to stand back, others merely quiet, awaiting what happened next. Avo himself knew the potential risks. Hers was the future unfettered, and she could do any number of things that he wasn''t prepared for. But he too was a Godclad, and where she held time as a blade, he was a predator apart from all others in the fathomless ocean of cognition. Their arms met and their ontologies rang like clashing blades, made symmetrical by infusion of chronology. The weave of coalescing time tightened around all those present. A lurch passed through their beings as Avo felt interference crackle through his mind as time dilated unnaturally. Existence transformed. The world was as it was, but there were threads of resplendence that ran between the seams, stitched into the tapestry of realityCpulling and twitching in places. The blood within Avo shivered as he used the Woundmother to sense the material composition of the room. Master there is something else in the patterns. Like something is actively supporting it. The Fardrifter felt it too. As did the Techplaguer. Time was a foundational Domain. The future was always coming, and nothing was exempt from its presence. Matter could be destroyed. Energy could be expended. Ghosts could fragment into specks of madness. But time? Time always continued. [Or does it,] Lip asked, dread tinging her thoughts. [Shes gotta vent sometime, right? What the hell does that look like?] Avo didnt know exactly, but he had his suspicions. {Yes,} Calvino said, confirming his thoughts. {She can do that. She can cast you backward. Or hold you in place. Of course, you know theres nothing there but oblivion, but thats the efficient part. No evidence. And its hard to recall someone partially eradicated from time itself.}Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. It was a disquieting realization, learning that Zein could have eradicated him and his entire cadre in an instant. They had all come far, forcing her into a prolonged battle, even. But they needed countermeasures. Something to deploy in case she wielded the worst of her abilities against them. And then came the intrusive thought: a memory of how to nurture dragons into existence. With the Domain of Chronology fused to his very Soul, he might be able to twist the fabric of time and affect the dragonsCextract aspects of their ontology before implanting the harvested materials in communities. Engineer major cultural or societal events to cause more dragons to sprout forth. Somehow, he knew how to culture dragons, and with these means, he could create new cyclersCor potentially even a tunnel toward the future should he face Zein in earnest. But these were nebulous thoughts, his knowledge coming through a haze, its source unquestioned. A gesture from Zein broke him from his considerations and called his attention back to her. We stand now in a simulation, a place formed by my Heaven, using the world around us as a templateCa canvas. Just this little chamber and all the things and people in it, we have created a root: a point from which new events will transpire. And from here, we can discover almost any outcome should we have the proper information. Without warning, existence divided in two. Avos perception blurred as he found himself staring down at Zein from two pairs of eyes, receiving sensory input from two different sheaths. Both moments continued, but in one her hand shot out. Such was the last thing he saw before that version of himself died. The stream in which he still lived clipped over the one where Zein had killed him. Across his splinters, other memories leaked overCrecollections from each member of his cadre. Dice and Draus attacked immediately, supported by a stream of Rend from Tavers. A whirlpool of penises and raging water came from Kae and Chambers next. Denton, ever the pragmatist and most familiar with Zein, simply turned the smart matter hull separating the nexus from the darkness beyond into gold bars, allowing the starving shadows to invade. In retrospect, instead of living two lives at once, it was more like to concurrent recollections stacked right over each other. Either way, it was more than a little overwhelming. Hells, Draus said, shaking off her disorientation. Errors populated her cog-feed. What was that? Felt like part of me got pulled out and slotted by in. Zein smiled coldly. Its just a possibility. Of what could be. Should I choose it to be so. The lives you just lived in parallel were not your own. Rather, they are echoesCconstructs molded from what I know of your behavior and capabilities. They are more like puppets or programs if you will. Calvino expanded a pop-up window to indicate what a program was and Avo hummed. But only draws from what youve observed. Your understanding of the world. Silence. The crone regarded him as a nu-cat would a fleeing aratnid. What master would give away all their secrets so easily? This is what you used to decide Kare Kitzuhada had to die? Avo asked, pulling them back into dangerous waters. The simulations I ran for her are larger and more expansive. Time streamed forth from Zein and the command nexus around them peeled away, the waters of time bringing them to the interior of Scale. A clash of sound and violence prevailed. Thunderous clashes between warring Godclads of every Guild and the Paladins themselves raged across the vastness of the courtroom. Reality wailedCand tore. Entropy spilled from metaphysical ruptures as Rendbombs were detonated, destabilizing existence itself. A haze layered the chaos, a fog of war that left the details unclear but the battles undeniable. At the heart of the chamber were three bodies. The first was Elder DRongoCa member of Ori-Thaums inner and outer councils, and first representative of her clan. She lay in strips of mangled flesh, her body brutalized by gunfire, blood pooling in her plasteel holding cell anchored to a podium. Across from her was Abrel Greatling, dead from a miracle, but resurrecting. Outside her cage, however, Kare Kitzuhada had taken fatal damage on her behalfCa point-blank detonation of several Rendbombs built specifically to overload each of Abrels cyclers. Something later revealed to be delivered by Ori-Thaum assets from an unknown source. Everyone was back in the command nexus again, the transition more jarring than even the last. There was no prelude to their restoration. No progression or pause. It was just like a vicarity running its course, returning a mind back to the palace. [The fuck] Abrel breathed. [What was that?] Kare muttered, mind whirling at the mess of memories she was just faced with. There were things she sawC the entire cadre sawCthat they understood, but also information that was just known. Like a retrospective update. +I hate it when she does that shit,+ Draus growled, thinking back to how Zein just threaded information from the paths into them before their attempt on Mirrorheads life. Is this supposed to be what happens? Avo asked. It is an unfinished scene. One Im currently scripting. And she said no more. Avo prodded further. Why? Why does this moment need to happen? To provoke something between the GuildsCa temporary accord and a mutual cleansing. As Highflame has Chivalrics to purge, so too does the Overclan of the Ori have corruption it must uncover. Think of it. Think of the moment. The resonance. A daughter of the Ori-turned-Paladin giving her life for a prisonerCa disgraced Highflame Instrument. Her father and uncle will be distraught of course. But pliable towards new persuasions. Avo considered the scene she was painting, and his templates filled in the details. Most were confused, but between Banhata, Abrel, and Elegant-Moon, a potential picture came together. This was about politicsCmost likely meant to provoke a moment of uneasy peace. Kare Kitzuhada just proved to be the most effective sacrifice on the altar. Her worth came in three parts: she was a Paladin; she was of a major Ori clan; and she was related to Shotin Kazahara. For the first, it would spark her comrades back to war footing. Scale would likely be locked down, the other Godclads banished and viewed as outright adversaries. [Making sure that no one can get close to the Gatekeeper,] Benhata theorized. Then, the Ori themselves would have shame to match Highflame. With the spearheads of each major alliance undone so publicly, there were good odds of a restructuring happening. A removal of problematic elements. The ones replacing them thereafter would likely be more to Zeins liking. Especially if she wanted to engineer a prolonged period of disorganized peace. If Avo had to guess, this was a delaying strategy to get more of her schemes in place and ensure some kind of advantage when the Ladder returned. Finally, there was Shotin Kazahara. His rage and retribution would be certain in the aftermath, but even Kare wasnt sure why Zein wanted to use him in such a manner. Planeshift was a volatile enough character on his own. Perhaps the death of his niece would make him reckless and willing toC [Vulnerable,] Elegant-Moon whispered, her mind glittering with fascination. [She wants him to make choices so severe he would otherwise never commit to them. She plans to disfigure his heart and replace its driving motion with her hand. Maybe she wishes to recruit him. Him and the Ambassador.] On the throne, Chambers eyes swung from place to place. Im completely fucking lost again. Whys the druggie wanna kill the glasser again? Peace, Avo answered, testing the waters. The thinning of Zeins lips told him he was right. He fed his conclusions to his cadre through his Splinters and made a show of addressing them directly. This is supposed to be an engineered moment of armistice. Disarray will grip both Guilds. Very similar kinds of disarray. Old factions will be replaced. And the sacrifice of an Ori to protect a Gold will strike at the heart of the conflict. It will shame the Guilds in a way they couldnt ignore. Just as he had struck at Zein with words she couldnt turn aside from. There was meant to be a way to things. A foundational concept. To say that she was a coward and bending before the world was to claim all she was but a lie. The same thing applied to the Guilds. Saintists and Massist were supposed to be at war. The war of all wars. Eternity was at stake. Utopia. But being forced to see the narrative break within the halls of Scale? For who was friend and foe to be so muddled from the act committed? That struck at a civilizations heart. But there was just one thing Avo had to say about that: I can make this worse. I can make your plan better. And we dont need to waste an asset. Oh? Zein asked, surfacing from ire to curiosity once more. And what can you add that I have not already accounted for? Arrogance. Arrogance and self-assuredness. For all Zeins skills, she was really too stubborn. Ever the warrior, she treated her sandbox as a mechanism to deliver her outcomes and situations in the most direct ways possible: shock and blood. Avo had nothing against violence, but the craft that defined himCthat was his fathers legacy was one of subtle betrayals. Youre looking only ahead. Just the future. You forget about history. History? Zein asked. Finally, Avo turned to Kae and let his excitement run over to her. The Agnos was confused for a heartbeat, but when the rest of his thoughts arrived, her eyes widened, and she understood what he intended. There is a unique opportunity before us, Avo elaborated. One that can achieve the false-peace you want. And more. One that allows her revenge to be sated. And her name to be made just again in society. A beat passed. Threads of gold drew taut around Zein as her brows furrowed. Then she saw. Then she remembered. Ah. The Trident. The information you stole that day. Yes, Avo said. There are Paladin killers still unpunished. DRongos soldiers. Know where they are. Can access the sleeper identities theyre hiding under. Track them. Take them. Use them. It will all make for a better design. A more calculated approach. As he finished speaking, Zein mulled on his words, let out a small breath, and nodded. No. The future washed over them again. 21-13 The Disagreement Veylis Avandaer: Why? Jaus Avandaer: Veylis, listenC Veylis Avandaer: No. Do not use your rhetoric on me. I am your daughter, not your enemy. Tell me why. Only why. Tell me why you see to cast us back in chains. Jaus Avandaer: That is not what I''m doing. You know this. You can see that? Veylis Avandaer: Can I? Father, you are rebuilding a god! A god of such sophistication. A god with past pantheons imbued. That Gatekeeper is the very thing we all sacrificed so much to destroy. Eons. Eons lost. Trillions upon trillions of lives delivered unto them, their hunger unslaked. Geniuses, icons, visionaries, heroes, and champions all rendered little more than sacrifices. For nothing. I showed you what I witnessed in the paths. I have shown you what Ive seenCthe unspeakable calamities that will follow. And still. And still, you choose this? Jaus Avandaer: Veylis, please. It is good that you have shownC Veylis Avandaer: Enough. I am not mother. You cannot turn me from sense with whispered words of passion and nothingness, a calculated hand on my shoulder! We have seen the horror. You and I. We have seen it. So why do you choose blindness? Why do you choose to ignore the ruination that this will bring? Jaus Avandaer: It is only a possibilityC Veylis Avandaer: One that manifests time and time and time again. Jaus Avandaer: My duty to our futureCto existence itself is too great. Greater than even your fears, Veylis. I trust you. But you have seen the other roads as well. We are trapped. If the power of gods rests in the hands of humanity, then we will fall to chaos. We will fall. War between the cultures is inevitable. And the Ladder offers to much. Too much for man to resist. We need to be controlled. Veylis Avandaer: Of that, I think we are agreed. But not by a thing. By ourselves. By each individual triumphing over their own follies and weaknesses. Foundationally, then mentally, and finally spiritually. Our forefathers were debased because they fell to their animal natures. But you can show the rest what it means to be worthy. Letting a god cradle us as pathetic whimpering infants is foolishness, father. Hubris. To see you succumb to stubbornness and delusion is Jaus Avandaer: To let things stay as is ensures we stand apart. Ensures that the cultures remain broken and that the tyranny within ourselves will triumph. How can we talk about being worthy when we are failable? When the lure to make the world perfect for usCand only usCcan be materialized. At the cost of everyone else. Veylis Avandaer: But our natures can be overcome. Triumphed against. We can resist. We can triumph. And when we reach the precipice of self-mastery, we can reach down and pull the rest up with us. But If we give away our Heavens, if we surrender our FramesC Jaus Avandaer: Then we spare ourselves the risk of succumbing to our very naturesC Veylis Avandaer: Father, you are being irrational. Driven by fear. The Hungers attempt on your life has shaken you from the rightful path. Jaus Avandaer: Its not just them. The others. They cannot endure this. Veylis Avandaer: I can resolve them. If that is what you wish. Jaus Avandaer: No! No. I do not I am twisted by the fact that if I do not control my fellow humans, we will turn on each other when the Ladder is formed. As if apes! Dogs! Upon each other! What worth is all my worthless prattle when power provides such pleasure? When power makes whores of men and woman alike! Betraying the promise! Betraying the dream! Veylis Avandaer: They can be corrected. Order can be enforced. Jaus Avandaer: Your solution, then, is tyranny to ward off tyranny? Veylis Avandaer: No. I am not a tyrant. I am not afraid of the rabble, of the unworthy. But we are the masters. And they, the fools. I love you father, but I see the difference in us now. I always thought us most similar, but today, mothers teachings have shown me things you refuse to face. The gods cannot save us. The minds broke existence. They were the reason for this fault; they could not even save themselves. And [REDACTED] still seeks them for a reckoning. No. There is only one end to this. One way a modicum of utopia can be realized, and that is if all people rise beyond the limits of their potential and claim self-mastery. Divinity is a thing that should be achieved. This I learned from you. From mother. From those who walked with us on this path. From the masters of the void. We claimed power, and then we understood it and refused its addictions. But giving it back we will not have a chance to ever decide our own will again. Jaus Avandaer: Veylis. You ask too much of people. You ask too much of me. Veylis Avandaer: No. I ask of them what I have asked myself. And it is as you once told me when I was but a child: how do you kill the fears of one who has known only shadows? Jaus Avandaer: Veylis Avandaer: You drown them in the light. Jaus Avandaer: Veylis. We have seen the light. And despite my fondest hopes, we remain ugly. -Fight between Veylis and Jaus Avandaer, overheard by mother and bondsmate, Zein Thousandhand 21-13 The Disagreement No? Avo asked. No, Zein repeated, sounding almost regretful this time. Her ontology quivered as if a nest of accelerating strings, and he surmised she was peering into manifested futures. You have capabilities. That is true. That is true. With each word, her tone grew tighter. More mournful. With each second I see you clearer. With each exchange. I see you. I see you. I see you. She returned to silence, her eyes glaring into his. Her anger was still there, but it was like a sizzling ember slowly dying out. In its place, however, was something else: reluctance, wariness, weariness. Perhaps the girl can be allowed to live, but Her ontology came alive as if it were a nest of surging strings, time accelerating around her, reshaping their surrounding stimulation. Flashing scenes and flickering sensations flooded in from a thousand channels. They stood at an intersection of paths now, speeding from one place to another, passing through soldiers fighting each other in alleyways, fire licking out from corners as fusion burners sang. They speed through fusion bombs pounding through armored megablocks and golems rising from the rubble, fighting in defiance of the devastation. They passed through districts burning and Sovereignties breaking. They speed toward the Tiers ablaze, and the mountain fortress of ScaleCtypically unseen and absentCnow stood a cracking egg. From it emerged a segmented spire, the tapestry of reality sinking into it as if water down a whirlpool. A metaphysical presence extended its wings around the structure, its presence felt, yet veiled. To it flowed every remaining path, every possible sequence of events. One inexorable conclusion. Around them, reality tightenedCand then lurched. It was as if someone had seized everything, clenched all of existence like it was a curtain, and torn it from its rails. The Sunderwilds werent. The sky wasnt. The world turned to splatters and smears, fluid icons and symbologies bleeding into one another as the Voidstar devoured day for one final time. An ineffable color leaked down from the place that was space. Between the vast nothingness, Avo could feel themCthe fleets of the voiders holding tight in protective pockets. His Frame wailed. So did those belonging to his cadre. The color. The color. The color. It crept. So close to purple. But not quite. As the tip of the spire pressed through the softness of the star, the light of night was pierced like a needle, and all the Heavens, all the paths, all that was known and of Idheim was injected into the wound of dusk, filling it with a building taint. What the fuck, Chambers gasped, summarizing their situation. They stood scattered amidst streams of incoherence, the fabric of reality parting around them like torrents of madness. There were isles where fragments still remained. A drifting platform. A tumbling room. A burning heavy war drone. In time, they would dissolve as well. Avo pulsed his Skimmer. His perception of reality clawed at his consciousness, the collapse inimical to his mind. His Conundrum flared, traumas firing to counter the damage. COG-CAP: 77% Hard to conceptualize how something could damage something like him, but then again, how was one to perceive raw chaos? Then, he felt it. The Hell to his Woundshaper rattled, a resonance passing through its structure as walls of entropic wind began to rise, spilling upward from the Maw unburdened. It too was anchored. Bound to the Ladder. As threads of existence were uploaded, so too were other strands cast downCa counterweight to feed the dark. Concepts, histories, forces, thoughts, beliefs, and more unwanted. Cast away. Never to return. The Maw drank everything in with greed and rumbled, its presence a metaphysical scar building to a final vent. Motes crawled out. But they were eating away at foundational concepts as well. More than just matter, everything could be lost. Everything that the Ladder deemed unnecessary. Oh, gods, Kae said, her mind reeling in horror at the implications. At what harm the edifice could inflict. At what it could remove. As reality crumbled to feed a new rebirthing, Zein stood beneath the Flayed Ladder and the dawn impaled, the light embracing her in a withering glow. And as she shifted, the light twisted away from her and the true face of the Ladder was given to Avo. The dead skin of existence unmade molted from its core, and what sprang free of the cocoon was an affront to the senses, an affront to the mind, an affront to even the Heavens. Within himself, Avo heard the Woundmother scream, begging him to turn from the sight. The Fardrifter trashed, a human-like horror consuming it, desperate to run, locked in place. The Techplaguers plea was more muted. Just a single line of code requesting Avo to ungraft it. Return it to nothingness once more. The Ladder was a beautiful atrocity. The most beautiful he had ever seen. Its exterior was a cake of flesh, countless small bodies spinally fused into the walls, their skin stripped, their eyes gouged, their minds round with sparking halos as they cheered, wept, and howled prayers for what was to come. They were as if insects melted into the cells of a hive, and with each segment, the spire thinned. There were ten sections composing its full ontology. Ten, with nine matched to each step of apotheosis, each Sphere upward. Something rumbled beneath it, and heard it thenCthe voice of the Hungers thundering, calling to be spared. The Nether was consumed. The essence of mind was infused into the spire as well, and the stygian valleys of the Maw slithered into motion, becoming tendrils of disintegration bound to living matter.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The Voidstar fissured. Then cracked. It parted into ten layers. Ten rings. Ten halos that swept and exploded across existence, further and further, asCin the unmeasured distanceCnew constellations loaded in place. Not unlike a sequence. The similarity was too extreme to be ignored. Is this end? Avo asked. No, Zein said. She flicked her hand and drew something into existence. A pipe of hiflass. Pushing it through the fizzling screen of her faceplate, the Godslayer took in a calming hit and her accretion slowed. It is more a new beginning. A resurrection of what will come. Further still did the breaking halo spawned from a star divide. More and more of existence was restructured. Consumed. Feeding the Ladder. Zein released a shaky breath, and Avo felt the uncertainty in her posture. The trauma. Old wounds. I need Naeko to delay Veylis, Zein said, speaking plainly. I need him to be at my disposal, and there are scant few paths in which that occurs. She spoke without facing him, looking at the smoke rising from her pipe even with the absence of airCin function and concept. The death I have planned for her creates a cascade I can ride. Avo understood and found himself emboldened. Affecting things at this scope will just take me a bit more time. If IC That is part of the problem, Zein interrupted, voice quiet. You. You can potentially engineer something like this. But. And there was a but. [Avo,] Abrel whispered her nerves tight with tension. [You need to speak very, very carefully now. But you also need to start making a plan to get you and your cadre the fuck out.] Strangely, it was Osjon who understood Zeins expression. Osjon, failure of a Godclad. Fallwalker. Murder of his own brother. [Oh, fuck. ICI think you went too far. I think I think shesC] I looked again, Zein said. She spoke, slow and measured. Her thoughtstuff trembled as her accretion churned. She was here and somewhere else. Peering into the paths while she spoke to him. I looked at the possibilities to come. I started looking when you played that puppet show. Using Peace to provoke me. She inhaled. I was made for a moment. Impressed after. But I looked. When you stated your plan to claim more mindsCto enthrall more of this city, I looked. Denton stepped forth, and Avo read naked fear in her eyes for the first time. Operative Thousandhand, I must remind you thatC Speak another word and I cut you down, Zein replied, her eyes never turning from Avo, her voice without any particular heat. It was a simple statement. Like mentioning the weather, but still, Denton obeyed. +Just tell me when,+ Chambers cast, trying to keep his breathing under control. +Just tell me when and Ill get my dick out.+ +Got a few shards,+ Draus said, her focus thinned to a razors edge, completely locked in on Zein. Her weaponized arm twitched. +Should still be able to open us a way out after.+ Do you know what I saw? Zein asked. Avo had a guess. Its me? My Frame? She gave a low chuckle. That is half the issue. The problem is you still have it. You still have it, and I I didnt take you seriously. I saw you as plaything. An amusement. A plaything. But more and more, your mind spreads. Across all the paths. Across the city. Like a plague. I do not know if your developments are a thing of happenstance or if they were prepared by your creator in advance. But I see my mistake now. I see it. Not planning on betraying you, Avo said, speaking honestly. Betrayal? That is the wrong word, pest. Wrong word. You couldnt betray me before as you were because you were limited. Ignorant. Weak. Controllable. I intended to stay far from where you were to avoid luring Veylis back to you. To misdirect her across the city. The development of your Conflagration was a surprise. But still, I thought you a greater asset then. Something more formidable. Needing less care to survive on your own. But you have shown me my mistake. You have shown me the truth of your ambition. So, what, Chambers said, sounding entirely befuddled. YouCyou cant put up with him because you cant casually kill him anymore. Zein eyed the former enforcer. No. The difficulty of slaying him is one of his more charming traits. It is the threat he poses to the final design that I cannot abide. {Avo. Dont say anything. Let me talk to her.} Calvinos tone was devoid of its usual character. Even the mind could feel the edge they were dancing on. Avo heeded the AGI''s words and manifested him through phantoms. Thousandhand''s posture did not relax, though nor did she respond immediately. +Operative Thousandhand,+ Calvino greeted her. Zein snorted. Speak no more, machine. We have had this conversation many times. She paused. I have, anyway. The bargain between us still stands. Your subjects will be preserved. Your civilizations will be protected. But. She pointed at Avo. He cannot spread himself any further. You know the threat he poses. +I know how he is,+ Calvino replied, sounding tired. +Thousandhand, Im not sure what brought this on, but must remind you that you are not exactly a stable asset yourself. Avo is working on himself. He still tortures sometimes. He has a strange notion of nobility and righteousness. He kills. A lot. But he is for the city. For change and growth. Think of that. A monster trying to be a paragon.+ And the old Godclads face fell. She looked almost apologetic. I know. This is not a thing of judgment. This is a thing ofC Control, Avo said. He dissolved his building agitation with a thought. You followed us here to see if you could find my other sheaths. It was just a guess, but a look from her confirmed things. You hide yourself well. Too well. When I fought you, there was a thrill to enjoy. You were a foe I couldnt break. Then, she repeated the statement again. You were a foe I couldnt break. And you are changing. More and more. By the day. Even time clings to you now. You have entered the final struggle despite being only half-aware of the great game. Its not even about Kare anymore, Avo said. Her death is just an outcome. One you can inflict and wield to maximum effect. A delicate wound. Indeed, Zein said, denying nothing. But she will be returned after the final victory. Her life restored and made better. Or so you say, Avo said, keeping the building hiss out of his voice. The old woman crowed with a humorless laugh. Kares template shivered inside of him. [What do we do? I can help! You can send me your memories. I will go get the Chief Paladin andC] +No. Not yet.+ But Avo prepared to broadcast these current memories into Kares actual self if Zein did anything. He didnt know the full limits of Zeins Heaven, but ignorance was certainly one. She wouldnt see Naeko coming. But pulling a power of that calibur into the George Washington likely meant dooming the rest of his cadre. Not something he could permit. [Avo,] Kare said, trying to control her mounting terror. [Im afraid. I dont want to die. Im dont want to die.] +I know,+ Avo said. +Wont let her just have you. Not my dream.+ Do you know what Ninth Column is in its finality? Zein asked. It is an initiate. To preserve the legacy of my love. To see the world he dreamed materialized and all cultures preserved. But disarmed. We will live under our own minds. Perfected beings of higher intellect and discipline, shepherding us away from our follies. And you believe this? Avo asked. I have not known Jaus to ever be wrong? Zein said. Never took you for one to surrender your blade, Avo replied. Ah. But the Heaven is not a blade. To have a Heaven is to wield power beyond power. And Im drunk. Im an addict. You have seen me. She took in a short breath. I am a terrible person to be granted such power. If there is a fight to be had, perhaps. If there is a tyrant to topple or a rival to slay. But my heart cares little for the nursing of my lessers. So long as I have something to duel, my family returned, and a substance to whittle my whirring mind, I will be pleased. But not you. Her eyes became as if daggers. Not you. She swept the cadre briefly and flexed her fingers. Dice took a step forward, but Draus caught her by the shoulder. +Just think it,+ Draus said. That was all she needed from Avo to open fire, to start the fight against Zein in earnest. One no other than he would likely survive. I have seen many colors, Avo said, finally dispelling Peace utterly. The schemes he was trying to play withered inside him. He was in uncharted territory now. With each passing second, he felt more and more ontological mass building within Zein, as if she was retracting her focus, abandoning echoes to move only as herself. Changed me. Made me want new things. For myself. For myC he looked at the others. Consangs. For the world. And youre going to ask me to shackle myself to you. Tell me I cannot spread where you dont want me to. Or maybe even ask me to surrender my Frame. A request is given to a superior. A negotiation begins with an equal. A demand is delivered to a lesser. Zein let silence punctuate each of her sentences. But you are different. You cannot match me, but ICthough I have manifested path after pathCcannot seem to kill all of you. Not enough to stop the spread. Draus scoffed. Fuckin glassjaw. Stillness defined Thousandhand. Then she glared at the Regular from the corner of her eye. Draus remained unshaken. I mean it. I know, Zein said. But you are mistaken. It is not competition I cannot suffer, but what he takes. And what he might inflict on us ifC If I win, Avo said. He looked beyond Zein and at the tower itself. He imagined himself ascending it. Claiming it. Consuming it. And then And then what? If he could do anything, what? There was so much to try. So much to learn. For him. For everyone else. To live every life possible. And suffer every consequence imaginable. What kind of people would emerge from absolute freedom balanced by absolute karma? And spared of death, no less. There, Zein said, catching him in the moment. That is what I cannot abide. I had hoped you limited. Obedient. Or perhaps dull enough to heed my orders. But I looked further beyond the point you proposed. The point where you turn the trial into your personal stageplay. Never mind the Heaven of Truths gazeCyou will just rewrite everyones memories in advance. Twist them to be yours in permanence. As you already have too many. As you will somehow do to Naeko unless I stop you. It was pleasing to his ego to know that he inspired such primal fear in a being like Zein Thousandhand. However, inspiring such fear was how he found himself entrapped. [Godsdammit, Avo,] Kassamon said. [Couldnt you have been less gluttonous? And bragged less to the time-jumping psychopath.] There were nine of us in the beginning, Zein said, topic turning without warning. Nine of us when our crusade against our gods properly began. Jaus. I. Your father. Infacer, the broken mind we uncovered beneath the waves. Veylis, born here, born in Noloth. Six others. Six others, and I cannot recall them. Only shadows. Do you know why? Somehow, the answer was there, told to Avo by the Maw. They dont exist anymore. Speaking the words formed a slab of ice in his gut. They were removed. A huff of affirmation came from the Godslayer. Despite my efforts, they had to be unmade. She closed her eyes and sadness passed through her, spilled from her accretion. They deserved better. We knew they were going toCthey would take to use the Ladder for themselves. The paths warned usCit was hard to resist, I understand. But we couldnt allow it. And so we had to make sure. Make sure of what? Kae said, voice almost too quiet. The LadderCall the patterns. It could it could theoretically create anything. It is past the Ninth Sphere. Past the high conceptual! Into theoretical omnipotenceC No, Zein said, tapping her armored sternum. No. It can do whatever it is willed to do. But wills clash. Desires clash. Beliefs clash. And you know this better than I, Agnos. But what happens when two conflicting absolutes are made manifest? The Agnos bit her lip and hesitated before answering. Paradox. Paradox, Zein concurred. Paradox. But imagine that for time. Imagine a clash between paths already laid. Avo froze. The Ladder. It was used once already. The paths youre talking about arent just those generated from your Heaven. There are events already laid in advance. Temporal architecture leading to the end. And your presence is breaking them. More and more. And Avo understood. When she spoke of him being loud, it wasnt just from the use of his Heavens or the spread of his mind, but the changes he was making to structures already in place. He was as if a fire spreading down the threads of a spiderweb. I cannot threaten you with death or pain. I cannot risk losing you to Veylis. I cannot allow your unfettered spread. There is too much at risk, andClovely monster that you areCI just dont trust your nature. She shrugged apologetically. Call it prejudice. Call it old grievances, but you are the Strixs inheritor through and through, and he has already insulted me onceCwith you. Zein stopped. She speared a finger at Calvino. You. Did you tell him why the Tenth Sphere isnt possible? In the same instant, Kaes eyes swept over to the EGI as well. The mind remained silent. Calvino, Avo asked. +It cements itself.+ The mind replied. What? Chambers muttered. +The Souls inside you. They snap back into place. Theres enough sustained death inside your Heavens that they can affect existence irreversibly. And they bridge your Soul back to where it was meant to be.+ Chambers still looked lost. Most of the cadre did. But not Denton. Not Zein. And not Avo. The core of the galaxy, Avo said. The center of the world that was. Every Tenth Sphere is a restoration. +Yes. But just the Soul. Just the Soul and nothing else. Not even the Heaven, once its done bridging.+ And so no changes are made. The mind simply dissolves. The reality functionally usurps the Godclad past a certain point. But the tenth section of the Ladder remained. But there was something else. What if someone wasnt just their own mind? What if someone was coded into their Soul? Avo looked at his hands and understood. Understood for the first time the significance of his Frame. But the Imitators, Kae said, eyes widening in realization. But but they havent emerged in us. Even after days and weeks. Which means I am my Soul? Avo asked. More so than the rest of us. But perhaps the better way to look at you is as an infection vector for existence itself. Even existence to come. Zein faced the Ladder again and sighed. I suspect Veylis wanted a means to subsume the LadderCor obsolete it. Make it so she had another chance at victory, even if someone claimed the Ladder before her. 21-14 The Disagreement (II) And Veylis, remember this always: if something can be taken from you, it was never truly yours. -Zein Thousandhand 21-14 The Disagreement (II) They stood as pillars amidst the chaos, the misted torrents that once made up totality grasping vainly at their forms. The patterns of reality coursed up into the Ladder and broke in two directions. One to make the ascent. The other to feed a balance. Suspense choked the air. Draus mind was narrowing to a spears tip, humanity shed to let the weapon take hold. Dice was as if a dog next to her, internal machinery building to a resonant growl. Tavers was missing. An echo of a message played across through the cadres minds. +Incog.+ Three meters away and flanking both Avo and Zein, a glint of simmering flame built at the center of Chambers irises while Kae stole moisture from the air. She doesnt remember Tavers. They were gliding down the blades edge now. Something was coming. A blow soon to fall. Denton was openly glaring at Zein now. No more diplomacy. No more attempts to hide her displeasure at how things were developing. This is not how things are meant to be done. And how are they meant to be done, agent? What is our purpose here but to win. Zein cocked her head, awaiting an explanation. The spy remained undeterred. I am trying to secure means of survival for the people of the polities and reduce further bloodshed on Idheim. What are you doing, Thousandhand? Asserting control over a variable I let slip too long, Zein said, her tone neutral, attention fixed on Avo. Between Godslayer and ghoul was but a single step of separation, but though Zeins gaze was on him, Avo looked up again, studying the sphere-pierced sun parting into metaphysical tides. A new existence was being rebuilt from a final apocalypse. By symbology, it seemed more like a resurrection of reality rather than a rebuilding. Perhaps the Flayed Ladder was not unlike a Liminal Frame, but its core included everything instead of a single little ego. The fact that his FrameCthe StillbornCcould invade the same heights and spread him as a contagion of change in a realm above without costing him his sense of self made more than a few things clear. More importantly, however, the understanding delighted him. He relished in understanding the threat he posed, the gift he possessed, and angled his head down to face Zein once more, now more aware than ever why she feared him. Never told me, Avo said, his words directed toward several figures. Denton likely knew. Calvino certainly. Zein obviously. Each of them had the means to keep their thoughts hidden from him, and they played their games of obfuscation well. But he wasnt offended, for such was the nature of the nature of the great game. The final game. Was this always your plan? Kaes question came as a hushed whisper. Her attention was on Zein and Calvino both, agitation building with each passing second. Answer me! Was I always being contracted to build a weapon, and never knew? W-why would you allow the Guilds to claim such a thing in the first place? +We didnt allow the Guilds to do anything,+ Calvino said. A ripple of discomfort rolled over its simulated avatar. +Even now, we are uncertain how the Strix learned and located our restricted material. Probabilistic simulations point to Omnitech assistance. But more to the point, by the time we responded, the specimen was already beyond our reach.+ The High Seraph built new paths to secure the Imitators, Avo guessed. His templates shifted, theorized, and shuddered. Most of them offered little than conspiracy theories and idle gossip. But Benhata was consumed by rising bitterness. [We know about the High Seraphs abilities. Thats why we operate in secret. And thats why we operate as we are, and try to use Stormtrees Longeyes to counter them. But Elder DRongo had to be told about the project. We didnt know.] And suddenly Walton was in another light again. A lone, solitary Low Master might be a peerless Necrojack, but the situation on display demanded more than the manipulation of minds. No. Penetrating Voidwatchs privacy protection required an understanding of coldtechCor an outright disfigurement of its design. Omnitech. And there was little possibility that the High Seraph or Zein wouldnt account for Noloths involvement in things. Even without knowing how to manipulate the future, Avo felt the paths narrowing to a scant few. Jaus. Just how many sides had his father been trying to play? Ah. There it is. The only possibilities reveal themselves to you as well. Zein sighed. Hard to see it at the time, but I think he used me and my daughter against each other. We struck at each others paths. Breaking futures as I played the part of saboteur while my daughter became a fortress unto herself. Kaes jaw fell a bit wider as she realized how far-reaching the machinations went. And how she was but a small component in the grand machine of moving deception. Her confidence shriveled. In days past, she had been telling herself that it was because of her brilliance and importance that she suffered. That the great powers were trying to suppress her attempts at change. It was a delusion of martyrdom. But an understandable one. Her scarred heart was still tender and raw; her confidence brittle. Seeing that no one truly cared about the ruptured Heaven of LoveCthat Wombrash wasnt even a topic worth mentioning was another spike driven deep into her half-closed wounds. No. The words left her with a whimper at first. Avo faced her and saw the twitch in her eye, a dam of frustration, rage, and trauma breaking inside her. No. No. No! WhatCwhat the fuck is wrong with you? All of you? Are we just things for you to use and throw away? Do you not think were alive right now? That we matter? Calvino simmered at the Agnos words, but Zein offered only scorn. So you are alive. What of it? Why does that matter at all? Can you enforce your will in this situation? Can you dictate the terms of your life? Do you have any worth left to leverage at this point? The crone lifted a single finger. Having you still is preferable. You are a good Agnos. But your part has long been played. The weapon is made. That is what matters. The retort struck Kae like a knife to the gut and the last chains of fear and anxiety shattered. A near shriek of feral fury escaped from her. She charged Zein. Made it only three steps before Chambers caught her from behind. The little Agnos thrashed in the former enforcers grasp and howled her hate at Zein, at Calvino, at Denton, at the world unmade, all sound, all fury, but bearing little meaning in the end. Everything Kae sobbed, lashing the world with her Heaven. Her moisture clashed against Chambers flames, and steam rose, columns of pale starkness against the gloomy currents embracing them. Everything I gave everything You took everything All I ever did was try. What did I do wrong? Why? Why? Avo prepared to reach into Kaes mind, to drain out her hurt, but the Agnos crumbling facade and Chambers pleading eyes held him at bay. A sad exhalation escaped Corner, the once-squire unable to bear the sight. [Just fucking let her have this. Its all she really has anymore, anyway. The hurt is the only thing thats still her own.] And even that could be taken from her if Avo willed in. Connected to her as he was, a new understanding dawned and a new color was learned. A sympathetic whine of pain escaped from Avo as the full dread of powerless existence struck him at once. There was no control for her. Not even how she lived. Not even why she acted. Her worth was objective. Like the sacrifices, she was used to make her Heavens. Like the ghouls the Hungers used as fodder of flesh and mind. Like all the little ignorant people, caught in a grand game between mother, daughter, and more shadows unseen; the legacy of Jaus rotten to its very core. Draus mind remained razor sharp, entirely locked in on every movement that Zein made. Part of her noted Kaes distressCand instinct warred with instinct as she held to her role. Dice was far less tempered. The hound had left the girl, and she now saw the face of her aunt when she looked upon the kneeling woman who had comforted her just hours prior, that was the first thing she saw when her mind returned to stability. The Agnos clung to Chambers, screaming into his chest, her fists gripping the horrific coat he still woreCthe one stolen from Dannis Steelhards mannequin back at the Lots. She wept, and he stroked her back. I know, its bad. Its fucking bad. I know. Its not fucking fair. I know. But were still breathing. Were still here. Were still here. A memory bled into Avo, and Chambers swapped places with Kae. A scene of him as a young boy sobbing into the embrace of his mother played. His father was in the background lighting up some drug or other, and blood trickled from his belt. Lashes lined both Chambers and their mother, some becoming connected wounds. He spoke the same words she did all those years ago. He spoke them to Kae, and the wounds of their minds were connected all the same. You could have mastered her, Zein said, speaking to Avo now without taking her eyes off the Agnos. You could have torn the weakness from her thoughts. Saved me the trouble of trying toC Dont bullshit me, Avo said, channeling more than a bit of Draus in his words. You werent trying to encourage her. Or strengthen her. You were just getting amusement from her. Like you do from everything you can. And more of Chambers template snapped into place. You fucking junkie. Between heartbeats, Zein was both herself and the shadows of distant trauma. The Godslayer stood unshaken before the insult. But Avo wasnt done. Were not the same. You all used her like she was something to be spent. Abandoned her because of inconvenience. Afraid of starting another war too early. Or ruining your precious futures. But she is someone to me. I made a promise to her. And Im not afraid of her exerting her own will. I dont dream of enslaving the world to my will. He saw Zein in another light now. Not as the jovial pleasure-seeking glaive at the apex of martial enlightenment, but a woman who cared little beyond getting back what she wanted, who sated her hedonism from whatever sources she could, and left what she broke in the pastCoblivions problem now. And then there was Calvino. Voidwatch. They had been helpful, but their capacity and capabilities should be beyond this. Their ethicality should have compelled them to act. To do more than embargos and diplomacy. There were only so few possibilities for why they didnt. Calvino, Avo said, looking down at the phantom-formed mind. How bad is it? With Voidwatch? How diminished are you all? Or is it the other thing? Are the minds still aligned? A pause followed. +Some of the former. A lot of the latter. The High Seraph has also made promises. Ones that seem increasingly palatable and in accordance with the demands of certain polities.+This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The cowards desire to reunite, Zein cut in. To bring the Builder War to a final close, and reawaken the Anointed Sleeper that guides the cults of Omnitech and mend the rift. Cowards. Her disgust with them was a problem of surrender rather than philosophy. And here I am, Avo said. At the center of everything. Something to usurp the Ladder. Or perfect it, Denton said, almost too soft to hear. The Stillborns inclusion into its structure would allow a perfect synthesis of ego and Soul. My daughters crowning jewel of control, Zein finished. Kae was silent now. Still holding to Chambers. The man looked small and terrified having called on too much of the boy. Avo left his mind untouched as well. Unaltered. Chambers never asked. Neither did Kae. This wasnt for him to change. I do not wish for you to see this as a moment of acrimony, Avo, Zein said, her voice paradoxically softer with him, kinder despite the harshness he just offered her. Scorn for the weak. Pride for the strong. She reached out for him, expression regretful. A measure of respect present. I do not blame you for what your father has done. But you were never meant to grow as you have. To reach the heights you have. Commendable as I find you, your progress must be stopped. And that brought another question to the forefront. Several, in fact. Fredritch Three-Eye. Walton told me to meet them at Easy Armistice. Was supposed to deliver a node to me. You told me they were supposed to have my Frame. Assume found out about their compromise. Which is why we never met. AnnoyanceCalmost imperceptibleCflickered across Zeins mien. Your father did all he could to ensure you were the only one that could be chosen. It was a wonder, really. I considered Fredritch a pupil. Well, almost. I wonder what the Strix whispered to them. How he got them to turn. Did you kill one of our own, Operative Zein? Dentons words were spoken with a frigid calmness. Thousandhand merely rolled her eyes. Im hardly so wasteful. And the disruption it would do to the paths would be unspeakably noisy. No. I simply sent them ahead. To the places I needed them. So they could perform their duties without second thoughts or find the opportunity to betray the cause further. That what you did to the Scalper? Javvers? Avo recalled the surprised face of the Syndicate boss as he suddenly vanished. At the time, it seemed like Zein unmade him, and his body didnt materialize even after her death. Ah, I''m surprised you still remember him. He seems rather insignificant in the scheme of things. But yes, I am using him for his niece. A Bloodthane. One that you might recall. You did cross Heavens with her at Nu-Scarrowbur, after all. Reva. She was talking about Reva. White-Rab was not going to like this. Avo cast the memory over to his progenitor and guessed that Tavers was ahead of him on that. Why don''t you just fling all of us into the future? Avo asked, his curiosity genuine. There was little he could have done to stop Zein before. She could have used any of them as pawns. Because despite your childish ranting, I too am not a petty tyrant. But helplessness is a hard sight to bear. She cast a near-pitying glance at Kae again, too tired now to show scorn. Zein breathed. Preferred us cultured and free-range slaves, do you? Draus spat. Thousandhand rolled her eyes. I prefer you not as slaves at all. But disciples. Or comrades. I look upon all of you and A memory was playing behind her eyes, thoughtstuff bubbling, expression slackening. But as soon as it came, it vanished. Zein was present again. I remember the worth of having peers to stand alongside. And I am not so cruel to deprive you of lifes more sublime joys. Then her expression hardened and she spoke to Avo once more. But I was mistaken with you. I should not have allowed you to fester. You were not a child to be trained or a beast to be humored. Your end was to be one of acceptable sacrifice. A pillar of perpetual change with or without the Ladder. And that answered why she didnt just take the Stillborn from him. Even in the end, still meant to be little more than a thing for someone else to use. As for the Hungers, so for Zein. Despite it all, Avo couldnt help but laugh. Sometimes, the pattern was a line. Other times, it was like a circle, likeC [REPETITION] Chronology shuddered around him. The emanation painted a scowl on Zeins face. But now Im like a sickness. A pestilence you cant quite bottle. Avo clicked his fangs together and let the beast sink back into him, the urge to hurt, to fight, to kill, to maim, to devour coming back like a spreading fire. She told him what she wanted. Why should he disappoint her? So. What follows now? Zein tipped her head in a small nod. Indeed. What follows? Suddenly, the space around them broke apart into tightening threads of gold. Some strands accelerated faster than others, surging where others merely flowed. Time lag distorted the links he had to his cadre. Crackling numbness pulled at Avos ego from all directions, his consciousness now split between two chronological velocities. It was hard for him to think. Hard for him to focus. He struggled against Zeins miracle with all he had, but his mind was grinding against itself, his ghosts bursting from the trauma of the experience. +A-vv-o+ DrausCfastest among the cadre in present circumstances moved as if a slug through sludge. Her arm was shifting. A sheen of glass spread over her body concurrently with her Meldskin. Her Neural-Tuner strained to equal the temporal differential between them, but it was a coldtech augment built for relatives. Then they were moving even faster, the others becoming mere silhouettes behind a curtain of slithering radiance. A hiss of pain escaped Avo, his accretion foldingCbending as if a light peeling around a relativistic construct. It was hard to focus. Hard to think. He lashed at her with his Heavens. Did all he could. Echoes shattered and died in her place. They shattered and died and she did nothing to retaliate further, regret scratched deep in the lines on her face. Then, another heart. Another track divided from the rest. Avo felt his cognitive pressure slacken, but as his cog-feed flickered back into sight, his heard his templates screaming. WARNING! COG-CAP: 677% ESTIMATING GHOSTS LOST - [24,512] A pained hiss escaped from Avo as he slid more of Draus in place, blunting away the pain. Before him stood Zein, umbrella in hand once more, regarding him with a passive look. Now you surrender yourself to me. Her words neither request nor command, but statement. You bring all of yourself back into your current sheath. Or I peek into the minds of your comrades. I find where the rest of you are hiding regardless. And I take them from you. Your cadre. Your home. Everything that you have. To cement her threat, she made some of the passing streams around them flow backward. And it was like they never were. I can give these memories to Naeko. Give my Frame back to Highflame. Veylis. Zein shook her head. No. Youre more selfish than spiteful. You will try to reveal me, perhaps. But that will do little to impede my operations. More, I see now how you might approach. The angles are many, but they can be prevented. Threaten me again and I rewind the annoying one. Chambers. She was talking about Chambers. Avos mind sharpened. He reshaped his consciousness in an instant, unmaking his rising rage before it could betray him. His templates were recovering. Suggestions and plots formed and broke in his mind. There was so much noise he never noticed the whispering from deep inside. She doesnt know what Tavers is doing. She doesnt know what Tavers is doing. She doesnt know what Tavers is doing And then an unexpected voice cut through the madness, the advice snarled with purpose. All for the sake of biding more timeCof figuring out an escape-solution. [Provoke the cunt to angerCbut not with a threat. Make her focus on you. Strike her at her root.] Peace was like a maddened warg free of his cage, but at this moment, despite all his hatred for Avo, they were united by a common foe. [Tell her exactly what I have to say. Watch the sows face change.] So Avo did. Chains from chains. Never knew how accurate that was. Till now. The passivity drained out of Zeins eyes. Replaced by a chilling blankness. You speak words without knowing their meaning. I speak words to someone who was clearly forgotten. Zeins jaw tightened. The more cowardly of his templates screamed for him to stop. Avo kept going. Look at yourself. Look at you now. You dont care about anything but a single goal. Willing to sacrifice everything. How human. How pathetic. How very godly of you. Imagine your victory. Imagine Jaus facing you at the endC Be silent, Zein whispered. --You and your daughter and his broken world. Do you imagine he will embrace you? Do you intend to lie to him about your victory? About what you surrender to win it? Do you? The glaive was through his chest. He didnt remember it going in. He didnt remember why one of his eyes was missing, why his arms were broken, why his legs were snapped, why he was hacking up blood. Its the truth, Avo said, forcing the words out from a mending lung. Truth! I have Peaces memories. I remember him! I remember Jaus. He would be ashamed of you. Ashamed! A crack passed through him. He was on his back again. Starring up into a writhing mess of hive of chronology, strings sliding over one another and Thousandhand standing over him. Her face was a shadow of loathing, her eyes pale dots of anger. She doesnt know what Tavers is doing. [Hey, Low Fucker,] template-Chambers said, spitting at Peace. [You better not be doing this just so Thousandhand can torture Avo more.] [Of course I am!] Peace said, honest in his hate. [It just so happens that pissing Thousandhand off is the best way to distract her.] You know nothing of what I have done for this cause, Zein seethed. Your cause, Avo retorted. This is for you. You and no one else. You. Your daughter. Your lover. They both believe in something. But you? Youre just selfish. Just want your family back. Drugs to do. People to hurt. Youre a child. An infant that grew skilled but never wiser. Your dream is to make existence a playground. Pleasure. Pleasure. Pleasure. Never consequence. Calvinos manifestation crackled. +Thousandhand, you will notC+ And then Avo couldnt see out of his left eye. And then the world was a spiral of colors. Consequence? Zeins said, casting the gore-strewn Neurodeck she tore from Avos skull aside. My consequence is what started this in the first place. The lessons I taught my daughter drove her to bind her father into the Ladder. To fuse him with reality itself. And there was almost a sob in her voice. But weapons didnt weep and so she settled for anger instead. Let me educate you, then, on the nature of being a Godclad. This is our culmination. I say one thing. You say another. And it cannot be both ways. What then? What then? She doesnt know that Tavers is aiming. She doesnt know. She forgot about the Incog. She forgot about the Incog. Please. She must forget about the Incog. Weakness gnawed at Avo. Strain. Exhausted. Even thinking was hard. Focus. Slippery. No. No? She asked. No. Youre not a Godclad. Youre human. Powerful. But only human. So was your daughter. So was Jaus. That. That was the problem. You are all only yourselves. You all consume. Interpret. But you only live as yourself. You dont see through anothers eyes. You dont live as another has lived. You are all just here for yourself. A look of disbelief overtook her. A beat. A laugh. Humorless cackling. AndCand you are different? And you are nobler? Nobler? Avo said, almost unable to hear the word. No. But I want to become everybody. And I want to learn what it really means to become a true god. Zein opened her mouth to reply but shifted into a cut. A splash of darkness smudged the rushing gold. A release of entropy tickled Avos Frame, his Woundmothers Hell singing in accord. A foot away from the Godslayer, Tavers fell in two, split across the middle by Zeins sweeping blade, her Hellgun still venting even as she fell. Something plummeted in Avos chest. The accretion shimmering just outside Tavers exo-rig began to thin. But there was something wrong. It was hard to focus, but he couldnt feel any where was the flesh? Where was the blood? Quail Tavers. I presume. Zein said, watching the bifurcated squire plunge before her slowly. She shot Avo a scowl and shook her head. And here I was hoping we could have talked. Shared experiences. Few have survived as long as we. But, alas, your lot was ruined by association, and ultimately, what could this old hawk learn from carrion such as youC None of you See her A frequency blade erupted out from the top of Zeins skull. The stab was precise. Quick. And from behind. The Godslayer never saw it coming. Her umbrella clattered free from her grasp. Tavers, wearing only her holocoat, had abandoned her armor. Had allowed it to be cut down in her stead as a distraction. She twisted her blade one final time, flicking it up from where it entered just under Zeins right ear before she tossed the Godclad aside with a grunt. Shed tell you to get vacant after getting a kill, Tavers explained to the corpse. 21-15 The Glaive Unsheathed Akusande. Will cut in my stead, in exchange for your life? Yes. Will you serve my will in death, as you would in life? Yes. Will you defy time itself to ensure my fall be undone, my return be swift, my vengeance be taken? Yes. -Zein and the Dragon-Glaive Akusande 21-15 The Glaive Unsheathed Time rebalanced, and Avos base ego snapped back in alignment with his subminds. As his cog-feed ceased its flickering, he studied the George Washingons central nexus with a projected Skimmer and stared. As did his templates. As did his cadre. There, over Thousandhands unmoving corpse was Quail Tavers flicking the blood off her blade. A legend stood over a legend, and surreal though the moment might have been, mortal skill triumphed against divine power. [Holy fucking shit!] A shrill squeal of pure excitement left Abrel as her adoration for Tavers turned manic. [Oh my gods, oh my gods, holy fuck! Quail Tavers just fucking snuffed fucking Zein Thousandhand oh my god!] [Jaus. Fuck me,] Corner added. A cheering section went up among the Incubi, surprisingly, and more than a few of the enforcers joined them. [I know,] Glitch breathed, releasing an awed breath. [Zeins the literal best.] Kassamon and Kare peered on through Avo with open astonishment, not expecting the turn of events. [Well. Drinks for that squire are on me,] Kassamon said. Kare nodded as backup. Through everything, however, Avo felt as if he was missing part of the credit. Had help a lot of A beat passed. No echoes emerged to cut anyone down. A metaphysical scab formed over Zeins corpse. Second cycler. Of course. Tavers released a shaky breath and shot her severed armor a frown. Thank Jaus I invested in that decoy locC The only forewarning for what came next was a single-thread of gold unspooling from Zeins fallen umbrella. Time accelerated. The parasol shattered into parting threads, and then in its place was a glaive made of fractured oracle glass slicing up to cut the squire from below. A haemokinetic claw materialized to stop the blow, but it was Dice that arrived first. Sparks flashed as the jagged tip of Zeins weapon recoiled from the waifs alloyed sheath, a radiant rune protecting her from physical harm. The cracks within the blade deepened, and an uncontrollable pressure was hissing out from between the fissures, temporal sinews weaving the outline to a growing sinuous form. +Run. Now. Vent as soon as you get a chance.+ The thought left Avo as a redundant command; his cadre was already in motion, Tavers abandoned her still usable Hellgun and her split Rendskin, the armor not worth her life. The air shifted. Faint ripples formed across time and manifested probing attacks, gunfire and eldritch phenomena spewing free from the transforming glaive. An eruption of fire spawned a wall of bioforms to blunt the attacks. Chambers pulled Kae as the cadre began their retreat. Tavers dove first through an activated reflection, her Metamind flashing as she sent her drones a universal attack order. Metal and flesh joined the carnage while the others fled. Draus was the last to leave, her focus lingering on Avo for another heartbeat. +Go,+ he said. No sense in risking any of them. Their Rend Capacities were still high after their initial battle against Zein, but he was the only one capable of surviving without a material body. +Need to try ending this. Killing her. Get to the enclave. Remake your passages. Anything you can to burn our trail.+ And there was something else he needed to do. A promise he made to break Zeins glaive somehow. To whom or why he gave this oath was irrelevant. It just had to be done. And now seemed the best opportunity he would get. The Regular shot him a nod and clenched her fist. The unused passages cracked first, then dissolved, turning into scintillating powder as a rapidly swelling figure tore through the opposing drones and monsters. +See you soon, consang.+ Then she crossed over as well, plunging through her Liminal Paracosmos, accelerating toward a portal opening in the near horizon within a world made from shifting shards of reflective brilliance. Chambers brief blast of flame had formed around three hundred humming wasp-sized monstrosities each half the size of a full-grown adult. They were mostly in pieces now, sticky green blood leaking from their broken carapaces vanishing behind the chomp of scales and slashing blades. The twenty-two drones in the Command Nexuses at the time were but smoking husks as well, most obliterated without ever contributing. It took paltry effort on the part of his Woundmother to mend his mortally wounded sheath in the George Washington, but his Metamind was screaming at him, all three of his cyclers nearly filled with Rend. With a thought, Avo set his tripartite mind upon three different tasks. A point of no return had been crossed with Zeins slaying, with her open intent to enslave him once more. From this point on, his relationship with Ninth Column was adversarial, and his continued association with Aegis was questionable at best. But calamity also offered opportunity. With Zein struck down, with his mind functionally restored and more liberated than ever, he directed the first of his subminds to flood his essential subverts before spreading his splinters wider across the city. His second submind shifted over to the George Washingtons systems, where Calvino was interfacing with the SHEPHERD earlier. Back in the enclave, his sheath slumped as the breadth of his consciousness whistled out of the body, leaving but a sliver of ghosts rooted in place. Finally, his base mind rose, mended of flesh and clear of purpose, pushing himself up using the steps of the dais, the throne of his once masters. Turning, he faced his new foe, the thing hiding within Zeins glaive. A dragon unleashed. It was far smaller compared to the Hungers, nowhere near their world-embracing presence. Even still, it dwarfed him by dimension, easily taking up the entire nexus, its body writhing through the air, scales resembling plates of armor shaped like teardrops. Searing light cleaved free from the crenulations running down its form. Each section of the dragons body was a map of shifting constellations, some forming sigils connected to Domains he knew. More not.between its scales. From the projected resplendence came bleary images. Almost like holograms reflected by surging rivers. Then, it seemed more like stratocumulus. An atmosphere was taking shape around the dragon. Avo caught glimpses of half-formed places and sensed unrealized phenomena. With each thundering heartbeat that emanated from the dragon, moments manifested and vanished, changing like dancing smoke. Through the obfuscation, he saw its face finally. An eyeless head lined with feathers and scales. It looked between a hawk and a snake, but its movements jolted from place to place. Avo saw battles fought, lives lost; atrocities committed, revenge sowed; hate abating, and in its place emerged love and lust, slaked at last beneath the looming heights of a cavern made from metal, artificial lights painted twin bodies etwined. As the scenes played, its tail coiled around Zeins corpse, accelerating the Godslayers return. The ghoul snarled. Already, the scabs were growing thickerChe needed to pushC A lashing cut traced an opening along his ribs as shadows erupted from the dragon. He manipulated his Echoheads, shielding himself using his biomagnetism, conserving his Rend for what was to come. The dragon reached into its mists, pulling past into present and casting calamities out to best Avo. But he simply doveCsinking into the shadows at his feet and tunneling fast toward Thousandhands yet dead form. COG-CAP DISTRIBUTION ->[BASE] - 55% ->[SUB-1] - 20% ->[SUB-2] - 15% ->[STANDBY] - 10% REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER] - 98%Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER] - 97% REND CAPACITY [TECHPLAGUER] - 94% Draus last mirror burst apart, signaling the cadres exit of that particular passage. Avo barely noticed. The dragon expelled light remembered. The shine of true day. He surfaced as a rush of wind, his progression undeterred. Knower. the Dragons voice reverberated louder with each passing moment. It sounded sharp and vicious. The kind of voice one would imagine a predator to have. As it twisted and whipped a typhoon to counter his approach, its feathered head broke into four petals, and he saw a small face at the heart of its skull. It was a tiny, pale thing, the mien of a Sang girl greeting. Her eyes were closed and her hair spilled down from a half-finished bun in messy tassels. A sharp intake of breath nearly made him pause, but wasted no time still. There was everything to gain and nothing to lose. Zein made her point. Time for him to make his. Knower! Knower of Emptiness. Burning Dreamer. Hold. Hold, please. He did not. Despite something inside him desperately wanting him to. Despite Denton loudly demanding that he stop, her avatar visibly panicked in the corner of his feed. {Avo! No! We need her. Shes the only oneC} She said more. He listened. But it didnt matter. He tumbled out from a torrent of wind and splashed into the world as a stream of pulsing data. Pulsing of disruptive signals struck him. His Heaven rattled. The Techplaguer shrieked. A few more points of Rend. On the edge. Close. But they had options. And he had a plan. +Calvino,+ Avo called, pulling himself along the ground as a blur of force tore his left arm clean. He regrew it with a thought. Lightning coursed through him. He Boltstrode. But the dragon flicked a whip of electricity, striking him, parrying his dash off course. {What justCoh.} Avos memories synced up with CalvinoCstill active in his undamaged enclave-sheath. A data spike pierced out from the mind, and an uncomfortable silence grew. {Well. This is not good. This is not good at all!} Knower. Dreamer. Avo. Stop. We have spoken. Unknowingly. Stop. Avo fought the urge to hiss at the dragon. It was yelling for him to halt while still attacking. The smart matter mended as fast as he did, but the dragon was only using physical attacks thus far. He suspected it wasnt trying that hard, that it was holding back either out of fear of destroying the voidship or it simply didnt want him dead for some reason. Regardless, its reluctance was his advantage. A tingle in the back of his mind called for him to respond, to cast a thought in greeting to the dragon, but decided to engage with Calvino first. +Calvino. Need your help. Can you shut off the reactor for the ship? Isolate the current module from the other. Want you to eject all the others into the darkness. Leave only the Command Nexus by itself. Going to vent through the HuC.+ A gold wave scythed out from the dragon. The following temporal lag almost dislocated Avos base mind from the other halves of his consciousness altogether. When his senses returned, his templates, the cadre, Calvino, and the dragon were calling to him all at once. Twenty seconds were gone from his memory. He tried to move but found his limbs missing and a spiked vivianite pillar buried in his chest. His body spasmed and he hacked blood over the twelve slender arms gripping the weapon. Now we speak, the dragon said, its body curving at impossible angles to lean in close to him, bringing its human facade at level with him. Zein was still protected by its tail, and through the flicking movements of the dragon''s sinuous body, her scab was almost ripe for resurrection. Scenes flashed over to Avos mind, recapping him with what he missed. He prioritized his conversations. +Calvino?+ {The system is still too damaged to receive comprehensive inputs,} Calvino replied. {Trying to do anything to the ships reactor will likely result in the crews final death as they are deeply integrated they are with the system. But I can divert more of the ships mass over to the core. And move the other sections away. I must say, I do not like your current plan.} Avo thought it wasnt bad. It would turn things to his Fardrifters advantage, anyhow. A ghostly wisp caught Avos attention, and he found the polearm thrust through him imbued with ghosts. Potent with sequences and memories. He looked up at the dragon, surprised. The Sang girls eyelids were open now, and a cluster of eyesCall colors, all shapesCmade active rotations in her sockets. Take it. That is all I can do for you now. They will show you the truth of things. They will show how the paths work. The shape of time. What you have become. Take it and know. Finally, the question became too great to ignore. Why? The dragon went still. The Sangs face contorted with effort as she fought to slow the passage of time around Zein, to delay the Godslayers resurrection if she could. There is a promise between us. But you cannot keep it yet. You cannot break me from my cage. You cannot break me from her will. But perhaps after. Perhaps not so long. Avo stared into the girls eyes and coughed. Not the first time we talked. He knew it wasnt. Knew it from feeling. But he couldnt remember when they last spokeCif they ever spoke. An unremembered dialogue has its purpose. It twisted the pillar to provoke his action. A splinter shot free from his halo, drowning in an ocean of ghosts. Too many for his splinters to erode in time. This demanded a shift. This demanded a return to fire. A reconstruction of the voidship flashed into his cog-feed. Ship modules were diverted. Moved far and away from the command nexuses in anticipation of what was to come. The mind is right, the Fardrifter chuffed, feeling the predatory essence in the shadowy cosmos outside the hull. This is a poor plan. We swim within a cage that seeks to devour us. The Techplaguer chimed a retort. Take heart, STEED! The administrator will FREE-FREE-FREE us. And, the Woundmother said, prepared to vent their Hell, I suspect our erstwhile kin will not be doing much of the eating. Congratulations, however, are in order mule: I do believe you might be acquiring some new architectural improvements soon. Sending a final command into the ships systems, Avo watched as the dais sank, taking the throne and the locus with it. It too was now in motion, moving fast to join the other sections of the ship. Maybe he wouldnt be able to salvage any of the modules. Maybe the new engineering bay was to be lost after a single use. But at least he could set them free from the dark. Allow Voidwatch to extract the sections. Briefly, glimpsed through his various splinters. Kare and Maru were already en route to Naeko, the latter trying to start a session. His various splinters were spread across the Oversecs, and he melted them into hidden Auto-Seances for eventual easy access. The others were embedded in high-traffic lobbies and loci managing critical infrastructure. He spent those as backdoors as well, forming multiple bridgeheads to further his infestation of the city. Disjointed by time, his submind didnt get the chance to hunt down and jack Syndis or gangers. That was fine. Hed do what he could in the moments he had left. But first, he had ghosts to burn and a final scheme to try. +Will be back soon,+ Avo said, casting a final thought through his cadres splinters before gathering every shard connected to his consciousness back in his current sheath. He didnt need anything else to burn. Just the pillar. As he shifted from Delusion back to Ignorance, a fortress of fire speared up from his halo before pouring down into the pillar, searing it clean from within. Yes, the dragon sang, voice rising in a joyous song. Its scales cracked and opened, and Avo caught a glimpse of Zeins gardenCthat plane she drew him into when they first met. So. That was were everything hid. Inside the umbrella; the glaive; the dragon. Sequences, ghosts, and memories that would have taken Avo hours to digest as steam came ablaze in an instant. Over twelve million ghosts were hiding with the pillar. Twelve million ghosts bearing centuries of information, carving epiphanies and understandings into his very mind. Moments from before the Godsfall detonated within him like warheads, the blasts of understanding came in sync with the howling ascent of his refueled Conflagration. He knew. He remembered. He recalled. Memories that Zein had hidden even from herself poured into him, her self-obfuscation a deliberate actionCto prevent her daughter from using their shared experiences and ever achieving a mem-lock. And now, an entire archive was his. The truths behind the Idheims historyCat least from Zeins perspectiveCknown to him. His perspective loomed, and a rising thrill battled a cold pit of dread forming in his stomach. Oh, how great the glory at the end. And oh, how bad things were. Worse than he could have ever realized. You see? the dragon said, releasing the pillar and shifting away from him. It was straightening now, head pointed down in an arcing loop while countless hands extended from its body, fingers spread wide in a mock embrace. Do you understand the paths now? The shape of what is to come? What mother and daughter left broken in their past embrace. Yes, Avo breathed. Even with the Conflagration, it was too much. All too much. He needed time to process what he learned. To go through everything and let the details settle in. Already, his templates were overwhelmed, more than a few screaming from mem-data overload. No other mind besides hisCor an EGIsCcould have possibly managed an intake of information so great. Ghosts - [13,877,899] He called on his Woundmothers Domains of Matter and Biology once more as it inched a single percent away from maximum capacity. Threads of blood stitched flesh and broken implants back into shape, the pillar unraveling with the caress of his Haemokinesis. Slamming back down on the ground, Avo took a step toward Zeins body, her resurrection almost imminent. But the dragon shifted into his path again. No. He could try to make another attempt with his Boltstride, his Fardrifter. But he knew that to be in vain, that the dragon would just skip him across time again. Its actions were paradoxical. Contrary. It betrayed Zeins confidence, yet protected her from him. The way it acted made him uncertainCunnerved. She wont forgive you for this, Avo said, gesturing at Thousandhand with a floating Echohead. You let meC You tore into my shape and stole your prize. Who is to say otherwise? Who will tell her? You? The dragon chuckled. She likes you. Veylis would like you. So I like you. And I am meant to serve in her stead. She is blinded by matters. But essential in this path. Look into the memories, and you will understand. You have your part in the final design. She has hers. As does my progenitor.Could take her Frame. Take her Heavens. Replace her." No! Force exploded from the dragon. Avo magnetized himself to the hull. The beast was coiling around him now, coiling closer and closer, but the Sangs eyes remained locked to his. We have a bargain. You and I. I and her. She and her daughter. You have invaded the paths of your own will and power. But the rest of us are ordained. I can choose to spare you. But I cannot let you have her. Noble. Heroic. Reliable. Even commendable. But unacceptable. Avo let out a breath and prepared to disappoint his newest consang. I understand, he said. But you understand why I have to try. The dragons eyes widened. Chronological distortions flared from its every scale. But it was too late. It didnt realize what he intended. Lacking Zeins divine foresight and echoes, the dragon managed only a betrayed roar as Avo shed an entropic missile from his Frame. His Woundmothers Rend dropped instantly to zero as it struck the inner hull of the command nexus, and a firestorm of entropy dissolved eight percent of the ship in a heartbeat. The serpent of time shivered as gnawing darkness flooded in and Avo manifested his Fardrifter in full. REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER] - 98% 22-1 Inheritor of Shadows (I) We call it the Heart of Noloth. Dont worry. We have it well-trained. We had the faith culture this one into being a particularly stupid god. The sacrifices are made to believe that it is more beast than personCthe shaping made easier by the fact of its arrival. Oh. Do you know it holds the temple? We discovered both the god and the holy site together. You can say they were entwined from the very beginning. Sometimes, when the air is calm and the pantheons are squabbling, we have it reach beyond the darkness of night to chart the void beyond. Hm? Whats there? Oh. Chaos and ruin. That is what lies beyond our realm. The Heart is fed now, though. Worry not about stepping into the dark. After tasting eight thousand slaves it will be compliant. It will take us wherever we wish, ferry us to every corner where its shadow lies. It would have been better if she wasnt with child. It has been known to steal those from slaves sometimes. Weep not if you suddenly find your womb emptied. I suppose nothing can be done about it nowC No! NoCno! No! Put away that ridiculous weapon. You cannot cut darkness. No! No! The light! Quench the glow! Yes! Yes, fine! I suppose you, in particular, have a way to cut at darkness! NowC [Zein laughing] Do that again, and I leave you in the black and make my apologies to the High Priest. -Lesser Acolyte of Noloth showing Jaus Avandaer and Zein Thousandhand the Heart of Noloth 22-1 Inheritor of Shadows (I) The darkness seized them all in its ravenous embrace. Though capable of twisting chronology to its whims against Avo, the rules of asymmetry were now turned against the dragon, its emanations of light enwreathing struggling desperately to hold the lashing shadows at bay. Tongues and tendrils drained projected manifestations and recalled miracles. Undulations of shifting force shifted in the void, swatting down to hold the dragon in place, trying to grip Avos slithering form, but lacking the dexterity to contest his speed and morphological asymmetry. And countless leagues beyond the George Washingtons still disintegrating husk shone a resplendent shell, its etheric incandescent building the dark found itself blessed with new purposeCto feed upon novel succor, to learn the flavor of dragon and Godclad both. With everything in motion, Avo wasted no time, quenching his flames and reasserting his Delusions. Immediately, he sent two splinters through his Auto-Seance. Both would be commanded by his Subminds for separate tasks. The first would seek to achieve what hadnt been done earlier: locating easy targets for a final harvest of deaths. In the aftermath of the Nethers destabilization, the vicious and vulnerable were in a state of disarray, gangers and Syndicates open to infiltrationCseeding opportunities for future slaughter. There was a good chance that he couldnt manage to grant Zein her final end. That he would have to operate with caution beyond caution in the coming days. Better to stack the deck as best he could and position himself to claim deaths when the opportunities arose. That being said, just because he might not be able to kill Zein didnt mean he was out of options. His second submind interfaced with Kare, the Paladin quickly approaching Naekos position on the DeepNav. He inched into her periphery awareness and sequenced new memories in place: knowledge connected to the George Wasingtons gateways, and what to anticipate. Thousandhand really shouldnt have told him about Naekos power. Or his importance. And with everything already past the point of no return, why not break the paths some more? Why not inconvenience her further, give her former disciple something to focus his ire? Besides, there was more than a measure of schadenfreude involved. Especially as he ensured Kare knew all about what Zein was planningCwhat was fated to happen at the trial. As memory sank in, the real Kare struggled against rising nausea in her and Marus speeding aerovec. +Dont worry. Ill be keeping watch over you. Wont let her have you.+ With his promise cast and the essential details uploaded, Avo broke the link before she could respond. Her template did in her stead. [Bless you, Avo. Thank you. For everything.] Avo fought the urge to laugh. If righteousness could always come bundled with acts of cruel vindication, he doubted he would be the only decent ghoul in existence. Of course, this was all just the consolation prize. Back near the destroyed voidship, Avos base mind was still set on a single objective: to seize any chance he could and kill Zein Thousandhand once and for all. A thread of synaptic iridescent flicked along the plane of darkness. A sudden shove sent the remaining modules of the George Washington tumbling aside without inflicting any damage. Scarcely more than two kilometers remained of the once impressive voidship. The rest was gone. Over fifty-five million metric tons of self-shaping matter came apart in a ballet of debris. Motes of disintegrative entropy spilled from its hollowed core, parts of the structure evaporating still. More of the ship had been wrenched apart by digits of grasping dark. Even still, there was something tragically noble in how the George Washington clung to life. Reactive sinews of tubular smart matter condensed into straining cords, the system clearly trying to preserve whatever it could, despite the lack of a guiding intellect. This was a vessel designed to protect its crew to ensure their survival, whatever the cost. It had no part in the misfortune it faced. No chance to guard the fate of its crew against wretched fate. No means of denying the darkness intrusive touch. One of its shifting spinal rings broke as the crystalline lattices affixing it to the ship succumbed. It tumbled thereafter and struck another, layers of spinning concentricity collapsing in a calamitous cascade. A memory called to Avo. A moment from a month ago. He recalled the George Washingtons intact visageCa fibrous tower woven over melted cubes, its outer edges ovular, gravity maintained by the churning of three vast rings. No more. All that wonder and design broken with an exhalation of his Heaven. Peace glared out through Avo. [We had that temple for over three centuries. Three fucking centuries. And you just fucking lose it in a month. Break it fighting that sow, ThousandhandCwho you shouldnt haveC] Avo ignored the Famine. Still. The moment felt wrong. A travesty. Like he had broken a relic, and more personally, one of the few things he still had left of his father. But such was the fate of mundane matter. Erosion. Only memory maintained and metaphysical concepts could endure the unceasing passage that was time. At least the crew was still safe. At least the modules had been separated. There was a chance of resurrection. Of return. Such was more than most would ever get. There was nothing for it: He would comfort himself by producing a creation that surpassed the voidship in every way. But that was for later. Right now, he had a dragon to upset, and a Godclad to kill. With his Fardrifter manifested, his Nine Streams split the dark as hurricane-sized serpents. Six tunneled fast through the dark, their two-hundred and fifty kilometers of velocity enhanced by a factor of ten thanks to his Shadowrun canon. Those heads circled the area around the dragon. The beast was currently flinging warhead after warhead from its storied history. Scars of fissuring light expanded to cleave the dark. The Heart of Noloth thundered in agony as the distant shell unfurled, opening to reveal a fang-lidded eye, iris dim of ambiance.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it An oppressive opalescent bloomed within the confines of this demiplane. The Heart was roused. Incensed by the wounds it endured. Little did it seem to notice the other three of Avos streams approaching, like sharks of ill-intent emerging from the deep. The shadows tightened. The Heart of Noloth exerted more effort to hold everything still. Another percent of Rend ticked over for his Fardrifter, causing his Metamind to shriek even louder. REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER] - 99% VENT! VENT! VENT! His Fardrifter shivered as the sickness of entropy approached the point of overflow. We approach an edge. My endurance is at its end. Avo disagreed. +Youll do more than endure. Youll ride free. Fly high. Im cutting your harnesses. Seek the horizons. Just get me that dragon. Get me Zein.+ The Heaven of Air brayed as a chorus of nine in abject startlement. Their surprise was shared by the Woundmother. Master, the Heaven of Blood began, you cant possiblyC But he was. A storm of red-tinged lightning lashed out from the epicenter of the nine streams. Briefly, the steeds flicked out of existence as Avo tried to Halt each individual bolt. Normally, he could have emptied his Rend this way. Balanced the expense incurred by his miracles. But he intended something different this time. Needed another to fight in his stead and shred the Heart of Noloth with entropy without taxing his focus. And he did something that no other Godclad would ever dare. Avo deliberately unleashed his Fardrifter as a DaemonCa Heaven unchained and fueled by Rend. ->Domain: (Air/Entropy) ->Canon: Halt of the Passing (IV) - The user can enchain all actors and objects moving through their area of physical influence (250 Kilometers) with stasis ->Daemon: An anathema of correspondence will be birthed if the total velocity drained exceeds the total Rend accrued THE FARDRIFTER UNBOUND, ANATHEMA OF CORRESPONDENCE WARNING: DAEMON TRIGGERED ->HEAVEN: [FARDRIFTER] ->REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER]: 97% SPATIAL METAPHYSICS UNRAVELING REND SPILLING DETECTED The nine-headed steed roared back into existence, their voice louder than ever before. The Daemons presence was a hurricane unleashed, and its ontology was as if tearing skin, the entropy expulsion now driving it forward shredding the Domains of Air, Space, Shadow, and Labyrinths. Spatial reality churned and tore. The analogy of the surrounding dark changed as well, twisted from a black sea to little more than tearing paper, carving wounds the Heart of Noloth couldnt endure. Soulfire erupted from the open eye, the deimplane beset by destructive tides. While the collapse outside continued, Avo felt the structure of his ontology shift as well. The Fardrifter was inverted of Heaven and Hell, but more importantly, their position relative to the Soul had been swapped as well. Now, they occupied the epicenter of the Stillborn, the Soulfire coursing into the Fardrifters cycler first before leaking over to the other two Heavens. Avo himself felt an ineffable discomfort, the situation as if a phansmic was in control of a Metamind C like being pulled forth by your own shadow. Still. The situation was mostly acceptable. The Fardrifters authority was loud in his skull, its compulsions sufficient to overwhelm a lesser mind. But he was thoughtformCcognition unchained. Even without relying on his subminds, he could arrange his awareness and reshape his own sequences to accommodate what would have been encroaching madness for anyone else. Bitter laughter broke from Abrel. Jhred was still on her mind, his tortured, near-mad form resting in Avos memories, a pathetic thing to behold in comparison to the ghouls mental implacability. [This is such fucking bullshit.] And it was going to be that fucking bullshit that gave Avo his edge. As more beams of light tore into the darkness, gouged apart from within by Avos Rend-soaked Anathema of Correspondence, the demiplane collapsed, and the Heart of Noloth gave a final desperate blink as it fell in full. SOUL DETECTED HEART OF NOLOTH (SPHERE IV) WARNING: REND CAPACITY SPIKING REND CAPACITY: [ERROR%] EXTERNAL RESONANCE BLEEDING OVER DOMAINS DETECTED - [SPACE] - [SHADOW] The demiplane ruptured open like a torn sack, and Avo found himself squeezed out from an alleyway in the gutters, his Fardrifter blasting out as a line of hurricanes. Before he was dislodged from the collapsing space, however, he watched his Fardrifter reward his trust, slamming two snake-like heads down on the dragon while the rest of its being screamed with rising joy. Free! Free! Free! Nuclear detonations and eldritch phenomena splashed and vanished into twisting whirlwinds of shifting space. Unsteady buildings were torn from their foundations as Avo found himself drawn upward, rising to meet Layer OneCthe horizon greeting him as pockets of accretion amidst spawls of dissected blocks. A ripple of gold pulsed against his Frame. The dragon accelerated time again, but he had it now. Well, his Heaven of Air did. In most other circumstances, unleashing a Daemon would have been a desperate act at best considering how deleterious they were to their users minds and uncontrollable during their rampages, but Avos Heavens were weaned from true self-awareness. Capable of forming dialogues with himCdisplaying character and traits he understood. The Fardrifter might have seen him as something of a jailer before, but this offering of laxity on his part ensured at least temporary loyalty from it and also coincided with the collateral devastation of the Heart. Zein, meanwhile, was someone they could both hate. She was a Godslayer, in more ways than one. A woman that had shackled time itself. And neither of them would ever get what they wanted again if they fell to her grasp. And now, one way or another, he would see her suffer for her intentions. He directed a splinter out to where the Heart of Noloth lay via an Oversec into a passing Exorcist patrol drone. A twelve-kilometer zone at the center of a Sang bioform processing complex became ground zero. Darkness stretched and writhed around the area, stretching and distorting n everything in its vicinity. Immediately, he began jacking into the Paladin Oversecs, hijacking golems with the appropriate DomainsCand therefore RendsinksCto drain away the Heart of Noloths instability and achieve equilibrium. Concurrently, he prepared to update Kare on his exact whereabouts on the DeepNav, but held back for a beat. He didnt want to draw Naekos notice yet. Not until he had no other options. +Fardrifter: Reel them in,+ Avo said. To his continued surprise, the Anathema obeyed, distracted as it was. It neighed through the air as spatial reality thinned around its twisting winds. The dragon tumbled upward, and so did Zeins body, now wrenched free from the creatures protection. All was not well, however. The Godslayers metaphysical scab was already beginning to break. Avos focus narrowed. He reached out, Sanguinity manifesting as clawing claws to seize her body, to flood her with Rend. No. Cease! The dragons shout was drowned out by the Fardrifters laughter. The metaphysical architecture of the Heart of Noloth was collapsing, miracles flattening back into mundanity as the eye collapsed, as every last bit of physical matter went whistling out through a few thousand ruptures. He sank his ontology into Zeins an instant before her resurrection, impaling her on branches of calcified lightning in retribution for how she struck him earlier. META-FAC ACTIVATING TRANSFERRING REND FROM [TECHPLAGUER] TO WARNING! ->RESURRECTION - 100% Avo growled internally as the mem-data flickered and broke. But even as Zein returned, he knew the attempt to be in vain. [Three,] Peace snarled in frustration, the sight of three interfaces belonging to three other unused ontologics aside from her Fisher still taunting him. [Fucking three other Heavens! The cunt was playing with you earlier!] Part of Avo suspected, but the truth was often a bitter thing to learn. So be it. Consolation victory it was. Avo! Zein snarled, body turning as the Fisher That Wasnt splashed into time itself. A shame. A pity. A foreseen possibility. He cast his current position over to Kare. Akusande! Zein called, her voice echoing loud with the spreading of the paths. The dragon transformed again, golden threads spooling back into a glaive, spearing toward Zeins open hand, an army of her echoes already pulsing into existence, slashing at his Fardrifter. The glaive never made it. A palmCtwice the size of a megablockCmanifested just beneath Layer Ones holographic sunrise and descended, pinning Daemon and Godslayer in place. Avo, meanwhile, left but a sliver of ghosts present in his corresponding sheath and fled the scene to secure the Heart of Noloth as a consolation prize. 22-2 Inheritor of Shadows (II) [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: What a mess. Calvino? Can you talk him down? Because we still need Thousandhand. As much as her death mightC [EGI] Loch-Ness Bomber has entered THRESHOLD-Node-Zeroth [EGI] Loch-Ness Bomber: Nevermind that boring shit, everyone get in here! The fights still going! Im activating local units to get a better view. Sweet Sol, I miss pay-per-view. [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Bomber, this is a serious matterC [EGI] The Only Way To Be Sure: If you want them dealt with, I have the capability I just need approval from AegisCit will be a setback to lose New Vultun, but I theorize if I can trigger a localized singularity with a Schwarzschild implosive, we might be able to settle the Godclad problem once and for all. Then, with them in disarrayC [EGI] The Only Way To Be Sure has been removed from THRESHOLD-Node-Zeroth [EGI] If on a Winters Night a Wanderer has entered THRESHOLD-Node-Zeroth [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Ah. Calvino. [EGI] If on a Winters Night a Wanderer: Its bad. Get your Dentons. Time to call in all the favors you have. I think my ghoul is about to get Thousandhand arresC [EGI] Loch-Ness Bomber: OH MY GOD! OH! STARS! STARS AND SYSTEMS! THE PALM! THE PALM FALLS! SAMIR NAEKO IS ON THE SCENE! SHIT IS ONNNNNNNNNN! {OVERRIDING AUTHORITY} [EGI] The Only Way To Be Sure has re-entered THRESHOLD-Node-Zeroth [EGI] The Only Way To Be Sure: YES! [EGI] Loch-Ness Bomber: WOOOOOO! [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: Why in all the bloody blazes are you two so excited? Two of our critical assets are about to be exposed! [EGI] If on a Winters Night a Wanderer: Well, one, anyhow. Avo can now part his mind and shift himself between any of his fragments. Like a trans-spatial hyper-infectious infomorph. He will likely escape. [EGI] EVERYONE ON IDHEIM SHOULD DIE AND DIE NOW has entered THRESHOLD-Node-Zeroth [EGI] EVERYONE ON IDHEIM SHOULD DIE AND DIE NOW: WOOOOOO! [EGI] Loch-Ness Bomber: WOOOOOO! [EGI] The Only Way To Be Sure: Holy shit, I want to glass the planet so bad. Im betting the next satellite rotation that Naeko stomps both of them in seconds. [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: You underestimate Zein. She might just disengage successfully herself. Also, Im calling for the polities to convene. We need to prepare for the fallout. [EGI] EVERYONE ON IDHEIM SHOULD DIE AND DIE NOW: Im gonna stream this to all my pops! Theyre gonna love it! Burn that city down! WARNING: SERVER APPROACHING SUSTAINABLE EGO LIMIT [EGI] Kant Was A Prick: This is a nightmare. [EGI] The Only Way To Be Sure: Again. I can solve it. I just needC [EGI] The Only Way To Be Sure has been removed from THRESHOLD-Node-Zeroth -Conversation between Aegis Category [Black] EGIs 22-2 Inheritor of Shadows (II) +Its Thousandhand alive! Shes hereCshesCshes trying to fucking get my rook!+ Marus words made Naeko drop the mangled boulder of disfigured corpses he was about to cast over the districts edge into the Maw. Hed been fast to react when the Nether fell. Fast as he could. But enough had died regardless, and more than a few outbreaks had to be suppressed. Then there were the ones that kept trying to enact violence. Even when his palm was down. Even when his Heaven seized the city. They became his offering to the Maw. Food for the nothing. A ritual to cleanse his mind, just as he and his father oversaw the filling of the pits all those centuries ago. Yet, distant as it was, the past clung to him still. Along the edges of his thoughts. In the rare moments he risked sleep and dreams instead of the usual resurrections. When he heard certain names. Thousandhand. Thousandhand. Thousandhand. Zein. Caked bodies greeted cracked plascrete with a pattering squelch as the Chief Paladins mind went hollow. A droning set in, and long-repressed remembrances breached through psychological scars reopened. +Youre having an attack.+ The words left Naeko as an accusation than anything else. Maru had to be wrong. The boy was always shaken by these things. His softness was deeper; more supple. The stress of the day must have caused a cascade inside him. Or maybe he was compromised. It couldnt be true. It didnt make any senseCVeylis killed her. Killed Zein alongside Jaus. That was the case. It had to be. Sow that the woman was, she would have never allowed things to descend to this point. She couldnt. For all her faults, weakness wasnt a thing she could allow. Not in herself. Not in her daughter. Not in Naeko. +GoC+ Naeko took a moment to steady himself, his breathing taking him by surprise. His lungs were wheezing, a sawing tightness following every breath. Inside his chest, a cord was slicing from side to side, aching pains traveling deeper than bone. He mastered himself. He kept his thoughtstuff from spilling over. +Go see the menders. Take the day off. Go seeC+ A roar of pure frustration from Maru cut him off. Mem-data was shoved through the sessionCpropelled by a blast of frantic anger. +Fucks sake Naeko! Look! Look at this! This is from someones mind. Shes coming for Kare! She wants to do some some kinda fuck-shit at the trial. ICdidnt have timeCshes in the fucking gutters! Look!+ Naeko didnt want to. He left the mem-data unopened. Kept the truth from biting into his bleeding mind. But he couldnt ignore the flashing DeepNav of New Vultun forming as a transparent overlay in his cog-feed. He could ignore the multiple interfaces opening in his minds eye as dispatched Specters sighted a colossal battle raging just below the face of Layer Two. One of the Godclads was a thing of wind, snake, steed, and space. The spiking Rend leaking from its form and how it left spatial reality bent in unnatural currents behind it indicated did more than hint that he was looking upon a Daemon. Bad enough. Then came the threadsCthose strings that fissured existence, that pried at the progression time. Bile crawled up Naekos throat. He used his Heaven to swat it back down. +You see it now?+ Maru yelled his aero still districts away. +You see her trying to form a superstructure? Building her pathsC+ Naeko cut the link. He ended the session. He closed his eyes. But the gold was still there. Her presence was still defacing reality. He wanted to let it be. To turn around and run. Run back to his home, climb back on his chair, start up Stormjumpers. See who was on. And just play. Play and forget the world was broken. Play and forget that Jaus was dead. That the woman he loved was doing everything she could to enchain their world once more. That she had killed her fatherCtheir savior. That she had killed her motherCtheir master and mentor.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Or so he believed. Something inside him broke. He didnt know if it was his patience. He didnt care if it was his heart. He opened his eyes and watched the battle continue. Watched the nine heads of the Daemon cleave through building after building and gouge into the shell of Layer One. Time pulsed again. Chronology fractured. An attack was beginning to form. And unwillingly, Naeko reached out with his Heaven, desperate for this moment to be a deception. Or a mistake. Desperate to know he was wrong. His awareness engulfed Sovereignties. A palm formed where the two were fighting, condensing from the exhaust of violence and clashing force. He felt it then. The way the strikes flowed from her. How one cut poured into another. How she struck and parried in the same motion, her distancing and positioning immaculate, her angles of attack uncountable. Above all else, he felt her glaiveCher dragon unsheathed, its voice singing loud across time itself, a siren call of absolute power. Naekos second HeavenCthe one he seldom usedCtrembled inside him, greeting the Domain of Chronology as kin. It was only a touch. A brush. But there was no one else who fought like her. Who moved like her. He knew. From all the times she carved defeat into his flesh and severed him from ill-habits and lingering weakness he knew. No one else. No one else. No one else. Something else burst inside Naeko then. Confusion. Agony. Repressed loathing. The dam of his self-deception crumbled before the weight of desperation. He needed to know what happened that day. Why did his love murder her father? Why did Veylis murder Jaus? And why didnt Zein stop her? Why did she let the dream fall? Why did she leave him to suffer alone? He needed to know. He needed toC A tremor wracked through his Frame and jolted him from his madness. His palm was pressing both Daemon and Zein down now. Holding them in place inside an unfinished habitation complex. His will had moved to its own accord beneath the notice of his mind. And in the end, it was he who crossed the edge of the district, striding over the holographic veil that marked the boundary. To mark his place was only a pooling mound of bodies, left discarded as their caretaker found themselves beset by greater things. *** Avo sensed the Chief Paladins presence the moment his Fardrifter struck the ground. Naekos presence was an inexorable tide, the impact of his arrival leaving Avos Frame thrice rattled for each distribution of his ego. He felt him in the district of Drowned Nymiss, crawling into a Syndicates golems. He felt him five hundred and sixty kilometers away in a bioform processing plant, the Knots he borrowed through the Oversec hard at work draining Rend from the Heart of Noloth, its affected shadows shearing deeper into the surrounding matter with each blink. He even felt Naeko vicariously through the Fardrifter, the Daemon of Correspondence braying with displeasure as they tried to buck free from under the misted palm. No, the Fardrifter cried, their mind as close to genuine despair as a god could get. No! I was free! Free! Release me! Release me! Release me! The pain in their cries left even the Woundmother reluctant in their mockery and the Techplaguer reflexively began playing shrill notes that sounded like a parody of a lullaby trying to calm its fellow Heaven. +Will let you ride free in the Sunderwilds after this,+ Avo soothed, shifting his attention over to Zein. Less than fifty ghosts remained within his pinned sheath, but it was still enough to use it as a monitoring device. Both he and Zein lay compressed against a dormant fountain. At the speed they were struck downCand with how vicious their struggle had beenCAvo expected the area around them to be utterly annihilated. Instead, the surrounding structures held strong, responding to their impacts as if memite. Even the ground gave naught but a light thud as they landed. Neither time-flung blades nor space-shredding winds achieved any more destruction after the fog of Naekos palm condensed around them. If anything, he felt another pattern slide into place, superseding his influence over reality, denying any act that fell under the purview of force or damage. The complex around them stood unfinished and half-built, but still, they were tall enough to be imposing, to be shadows beyond the smog. The builds ran as interconnected walls joined in an unending spiral, and inside, squatters and refugees lurked, most huddling behind cover, some peering outCscreaming as their minds shattered from exposure to naked divinity. +You are a fool, creature. A short-sighted, ignorant, spiteful fool.+ Vehemence laced every syllable of Zeins words, and against the prone form of her shifting dragon, she strained on one knee, fighting to rise, glaring at him all the while. Something in the fog shifted. A new form graced Avos awareness. A body absurd in proportions and muscle density, wider than it was tall, forming from the palm itself. Naeko was. And he came striding with his gaze fixed on Zein, sparing the Fardrifter not even a glance. Something shifted across the Godslayers expression. A twitch between respect and undying ire. +But what spite it was,+ Zein said, eyes still fixed on Avo. +What an utter, desperate act of destruction. I commend you for this; I will see you broken for this.+ A beat passed. Naeko stepped over the rim of the fountain and closed on Zein. +Oh. And give my compliments to the squire as well. She honors me with this humbling.+ +Rather would have killed you,+ Avo admitted. +Youre not a problem I wanted to leave unsolved.+ +Then I suppose you learned something of value from me after all. But know this: I merely sought to collar you. When you trace the paths, know you walk in the shadow of my daughter. And as you are now, she will break you. She will take from you. And she will see you turned as a willing slave before the end of things. You are not ready. Swim quietly, pest.+ Zein laughed softly, and Naekos footsteps quickened. She finally tore her gaze away from the FardrifterCaway from the ghoulCto face her once disciple. Her finest pupil. Even his shadow seemed to bear weight, the pressure of the palm increasing as he loomed over her. Avo watched with the excitement of a vouyer, and the templates inside him were no? better. Before him stood two figures that predated the Godsfall. Two bleak legends from the depths of Idheims history. Impossibly, the Godslayers gaze softened as she laid eyes on the Chief Paladin, and she signaled the beginning of their dialogue with a soft exhalation. Dearest boy. Its been too long. Light struck the side of Naekos face, revealing the impossibly smooth texture of his ebony skin and his taut tendons, each as thick as a cord. Then there was his eyes. There was hurt. There was fear. And there was exhaustion. Youre alive. The statement left Naeko as if an admission of defeat. At this point in time, Zein replied. He clenched his jaw. I was hoping something else, you know. I was hoping you were dead. After all these years. And the near-motherly affection flattened behind Zeins eyes. A wish we both share some days, I assure you. Naekos hands opened and closed as fists. Why? Why? Zein asked. The immense palm slammed down on existence. Zein bounced off the ground. Avos ego rang as the symptoms of a concussion overcame his senses. When coherence returned, he found Zeins head capped by one of the Chief Paladins immense paws. Thousandhand felt a titan in battle. An impossible threat. But next to Naeko, she seemed almost as she appeared: an old woman. Brittle. Frail. Aged. A hitched breath preluded Naekos words. His hand tightened. Cracks spread across Thousandhands armored faceplate, but she offered only a muted stare of exasperation than fear. Where the fuck were you? Where? WhatChow could you let this happen? Let? Zein said, sounding incensed again. I let nothing happen. You know VeylisCdo not pretend to think her our lesser. She made a choice. She made a choice and held it close to her heart. Told no one. Not I. And not you. And when the time came, she acted. Something that was almost a sob escaped from Naeko. Just like you taught us. Clearly not, she replied, humorless. She heeded. She acted. She enforced her will. You broke. Truthfully, you disappoint me, my boy. I expected more from you. Her helmet shattered completely between his fingers. But he stopped. With his thumbs an inch away from sinking into her eyes he stopped. Osjane is dead. Ya Wei is dead. Mordeinn is dead. Joramadr is dead. More and more and more. All dead. Naeko took a steadying breath. You expected more from me? So did Osjane. But I just let Osjon kill her. I just let Veylis turn them. All of them. You expected more from me? You know me, Zein. You know me. Im all Ive ever been. Less. Less. An uneasy expression came over Zein. Samir. Enough. Enough. This weakness is beneath you. He didnt heed her words. Ive only ever been a dog. For you. For Jaus. For her. I listened to you. All of you. Whatever you did to me, I took it. I learned. I trained. If there was a farm, I burned it. If there was a god, I fought them. If there was a rebellion I suppressed it. If there was an assassin, I killed them. I did it. I did it. I always did it. Stop. Stop. Zeins voice took on a harrowed quality. Her eyes flicked to Avo, and her character took on a new dimension. Another is watching. You cannot do this to yourself in front of them, boy. I will not allowC Her words faded into a choked grunt as he tore her from the ground, huge hands wrapped around her neck. His eyes were closed, but his mind was sobbing, the pain inside him so resonant Avo could feel the man crumble. Its not up to you! Naeko snarled. Not anymore. You left. You failed. YouCyou let him die. You let Jaus die. You let Veylis fall! Its you! Its always been you! You left me here to hold things together! All of you did! But why couldnt you hear me when I spoke to you! Why couldnt you listen when I told you! All of you! Im not a leader. I dont have it. Never did. Theres not enough of me left to believe. There never was. Everything I was belonged to all of you and and and you all went away. You went away and the world fell and I tried and it wasnt enough! Do you hear me now! I wasnt enough! Even in the end! Even as a god! I still couldnt stop them! Still! Still! I still couldnt win! A tremor passed through Zeins lip, but as Naeko was breaking, she endured. Samir. Samir. Control yourself. Please. You are wounded, but you must not fall. You must not show your foes you are pained. Were you there? Were you alive all this time? Were you there that night? The sudden question from Naeko left Zein choked with apprehension. I Were you there that night when I called for you? That night when Osjane was murdered. When I had to kill my own brothers and sisters to save Scale. I called for you. When I fought Veylis. When I found Osjanes body. I called for you. Did you hear me? Were you there? A soft breath left Zein, and Avo realized even his Fardrifter was silent. Enraptured by the scene. She mustered her strength and spoke. Yes. Yes, I was. And I heard you. ButC And then the palm resting upon them turned to a fist and Naekos thumbs were pushing deep into her eyes. A chortled cry came from Thousandhand, but it was drowned out by a rageful roar escaping Naeko, the volume deafening, the Rend exploding from his body, the act of violence going off with a force greater than a thousand warheads. For the first time in centuries, Samir Naeko found the floor of his anger, and existence trembled. 22-3 Peace Broken Osjane Thousand: Naeko. What do you want? The fires have settled. Nothing remains of our foes but ash and ruins. The slaves are unchained. The pantheons they fed are but fragments we bear within us. Our victory is total. More and more of our brethren are arriving from across the stars. Countless new horizons await. So why? Why are you still so desperate to find a war? To find a foe? Why are you still seeking vengeance for a war that has already been won? Samir Naeko: Because thats what Im for. Osjane Thousand: War? You''re more than just a destroyer. With your martial gifts, destruction can be protection. Strength can be turned toward construction. Ah. Even made it rhyme. Samir Naeko: Listen. Osjane. I dont want to disrespect you, so can we get to the point of this? Osjane Thousand: [Sighs] Fine. So be it. I wish for you to treat people with more care. Prisoners. Citizens. Subjects. I have been getting concerning reports about your behavior. You are rough with people. Samir Naeko: Oh, this is about the piece of shit I killed. Osjane Thousand: Yes. The one you beat to death using his own son. Naeko the war is finished. You dont need to treat our people as your enemy. Samir Naeko: Theyre not my people. But I hear your words. Ill heel. You dont need toC Osjane Thousand: Youre not a dog! I dont want you to heel, I wantCI want you to be a person! I want you to dream! To wish for something better. Maru is getting married. Ya Wei is shes making art. Samir Naeko: Mordeinns still a piece of shit. Osjane Thousand: Hes getting better. But, please. Youre a person. You should have dreams too. You should have wants and desires. Of a life after the fires. We will not be Jaus fists forever. And Veylis. What about her? Your lives together? Samir Naeko: Shes fine with me. She knows who I am. She knows Im all for her. Her. Her mom. Her dad. The real dreamers. She knows Ill do anything to see this city shine and them happy. Theyre the best parts of us. Ah. You got me spitting sap. Osjane Thousand: But what about you? What about Samir Naeko himself? You must want something. You must have some kind of hope. Some kind of idealization. Samir Naeko: [Laughter] I find that plenty in the Sister. Osjane Thousand: Veylis. You said you stopped Samir Naeko: I said I was gonna try. I stopped cutting her. I stopped hurting her that much. I just relieve memories with her these days is all. Osjane Thousand: That is not a well thing to do. Samir Naeko: Yeah? It isnt? Okay. I get it. I understand. Youre a real sweetheart, Osjane. Youre better than your idiot brother in pretty much every way. But even he can tell what I am. Osjane Thousand: And what are you? Samir Naeko: Im a hound. Im a killer. Im a fire. Im a bomb. Im the mean godsdamned bastard that comes at night to scalp your pa and burn your home. I dont have dreams. I close my eyes, I see the war, and I hear my paCscreaming for me, cursing at me for letting them cut him apart. Thats who I am. Im a hound, and I need my meat. Osjane Thousand: No. Samir Naeko: What? Osjane Thousand: Youre not a dog, Paladin. Youre just a liar with a broken heart. Samir Naeko: Fine. Alright. Anything else. Osjane Thousand: Yes: A months mandatory leave. Use it. And no, this time I do expect you to heel. Use it and come back to me. And Ill be sending Maru to check on you. To make sure youre not spending all your time with your oldest acquaintance. -Osjane Thousand to Samir Naeko (Circa 32 Post Godsfall) 22-3 Peace Broken A layer above, in the Sanctus-majority district of Madruss, a young slave, left unfed in her cage for days, succumbed to hunger and took a bite from the dead puppy her master caught her playing with a week ago. As she sank the three unrotted teeth she had remaining into the flea-infested carcass, a supple retribution followed. Eighty kilometers away in a Syndicate bar, the girls master died screaming as she was bitten in half by something unseen. Three hundred kilometers away, back down in the gutters, a group of twelve gangers cheered as they triggered their generator once more, preparing to shock the squire they captured one final time. The jolt came. They fried instead. A few hundred meters away, in an alleyway, an aratnid bit into its dying sister, seeking to find nourishment in the absence of its mother. Somehow, it tore into itself instead. And back at ground zero, where Zein was breaking apart into echo after echo, where branching paths of gold poured from her being during one second and broke apart in the next, Naeko forced his fingers deeper into his former masters socket, relishing at the cracks he felt shuddering up his digits. Echo clashed against echo, parrying blows away from Zeins true body. But with each act of force or violence she inflicted, an exponential opposite was returned, the magnitude of harm greater in every way. Naeko watched his Rend plummet below twenty. Felt death after death, body after broken body touched by his venting Hell. As a miracle of time spilled out from ZeinCher paths collapsing, routes of escape narrowing further and furtherCso too did miracles of violence emanate from Naeko. She flowed like a raging river. He swelled like an expanding atmosphere. And so it was for a moment that he was in the past again. A boy under her tutelage. A broken foe at her feet, staring up the length of her gleaming glaive. A shift in the path splashed over him. Her dragon glaive moved on its own accord an slashed out from the rightCopening to draw him into a pocket of space. His utility fog expanded around him, forming an armor of pointed fists. He struck the encroaching split in space, and from him formed a barricade of knuckles, washing outward in a tide. Existence screamed. The gutters groaned. The ground fissured as blocks crumbled into opening chasms. Deeper still, the Penumbra that once housed the Low Masters and their ilk groaned, the hive of alloy fashioned into place by the voiders squealing as they came apart. Naeko moved. The world succumbed. The world broke. There was no other choice. There was no other way. Such as material reality. So for Zein. Or it would have been if she hadnt used her reserve Heaven. A droplet of rain fell three kilometers, spilling down from an opening in the Layers above to grace the windowsill of a toppled apartment building. She vanished. His hands closed. Zein was gone. Ah. That Heaven. The one she so loathed to use. Rarely did Zein Thousandhand ever allow herself a retreat. An age ago, Naeko would have felt honored. Now, it just fed his fury. His misted fist grew, its shadow now stretching well over eight hundred kilometers. Rain dared not strike it. Light dared not trespass through the haze. For the second time, Naeko struck the gutters, and with the impact, he planted himselfCand the DaemonCright on top of Zein. The slanted structure she rematerialized broke in half, and Naeko barreled back into his once-master, their bodies crashing through plascrete, glass, plastic, and alloy like twin flechettes, the weight of his fist a moving apocalypse. Behind them, the heads of the Daemon displaced entire sections of reality. Naeko kept it held in place with a paltry effort as he fought, preventing the unneeded deaths of any subjects. He could still feel them, scattered through the Warrens as they were. His fist felt everyone under its knuckles, and he alone decided who would suffer destruction. A ripple exploded out from Zein. He tore the force from her body, forcing her to stay. A fog-formed elbow descended to break her, but her body turned fluid and she splashed apart, surviving with little effort.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. +Listen to me, boy,+ Zein cast, her mind focused, her eyes pooling back together in her liquid form. +We must speak.+ +Talk, then,+ Naeko said, not bothering to retrain the hate he felt for her. She was there. All these years, she was there. And she never came. Godsdammit. Godsdammit it all. Rend at eight percent. The fog around him grew denser. Naeko followed the golden strings trailing free from her body and spread his influence even wider. He knew her weakness. He knew her present determined everything. She couldnt move. She could predict everything that was going to follow, and still, she couldnt move. A flash of remembered violence exploded out from his being. An explosion of force blossomed within the cumulus fist, lancing down on Zein. The blow was one of absolute harm. Something that could do nothing else but shatter whatever it hit into glass. Zein countered by offering an echo to die in her stead instead, the puppet of time burst apart into splitting glints as the Chief Paladin wrapped his fingers around her neck againCand caught her briefly vanished glaive using his utility fog as it tried to pierce him from behind. I expected you to be out of practice, somehow, Zein said, straining out the words. I am, Naeko replied, every sinew in his body screaming for him to tear her in half. The world beyond them was drowned by the susurring of crumbling rock and groaning infrastructure. Naekos fog battled dust away, unwilling to share the space with a lesser obfuscation. The Chief Paladin stood a boulder of a man, his body bathed in crimson neon. They were down within the mangled guts of a subterranean megablockCin one of those old Wight-making facilities. Spilling pillars screeched and broke around them as Naeko crushed a few hundred Syndicate enforcers in a stray thought some dozen levels above them. Those bastards were doubtlessly here to film a vicarity. Considering that he could feel any other moving bodies or active violence, he guessed they hadnt started. Or were already done. Pointless. Pointless and useless. Worthless revenge at best. Just who he was now. Naeko snarled and then sank his fingers through her armor, into her collarbone for purchase. Zein, for her part, offered nothing in response. Not a sound. Not a wince. No. Instead, her cheeks puffed, and a buzzing field of static swallowed both of their skulls. It passed through Naekos authority as if it wasnt an act of violence, its force insufficient to do harm. As it settled into his pores and a wave of tingles danced deeper and deeper into his head, he instantly knew what it was. Suncloud! He spat, even as he felt the lightness began to build in his skull. A ragged hiss followed. Armor broke, and Zein came apart in near-halves from her collarbone down to her stomach. Blood ran free in rivulets from between her cracked teeth. One of her lungs was poppedCthe ruptured organ visible to Naeko, tangled in a spool with her intestines. Her nanosurgeons were straining, her modified blood doing all they could to flow without the aid of her heart. +For your stress. And so we can see an end to this tantrum, and talk likeC+ He felt it. Another shiver. A ripple in time. His face contorted in rage as his fist billowed even wider. Two percent Rend. Back to the palm soon. Veylis! His voice echoed through the dim collapsing cavern. The presence of his former love was never faint. Never subtle. If anything, she was bolder than her mother ever was. Perhaps she was watching them. Indulging in a moment of pleasure. But even she wasnt a fool. She knew better than to strike now. Still. He couldnt stop himself. Years. He let this fester for years. He needed to give the moment words. Veylis! Come out. Come out. Lets be a fucking family again. I got her right here. Shes alive. Did you know that? Did you know all this time too? He gave a bitter laugh. S-she said she wants to talk. Imagine that. He chuckled. It came out more like a sob. She was there. She watched you butcher us. Watched your slave-bastard Osjon murder his sister. She was there and she did nothing. He was hyperventilating again. His hands were clenching and unclenching, just like they used to when he disappointed his father, when he failed Jaus, when he angered Veylis, when Zein criticized his weakness. But Thousandhand wasnt focused on him right now, instead, her gaze was locked upward, her expression tight. He felt it again. Another twitch in time. This time, he knew exactly where it was. Fiery anticipation and panic gripped his heart in equal measure. To finish this in the gutters was so inauspicious, so messy and ugly. But thats what they all deserved. The dream was lost. Jaus was dead. The future was slain. Only ruins remained. His fist struck, as he conferred an investiture of his accumulated force into what he thought was Veylis, the Daemon punched through the level above him with a chorused scream, thin traces of gold unspooling from its winds. The last of its Rend faded as it sheared through the deforming plasteel ceiling, the Heaven whistling away as it unraveled from existence. In its place, a disfigured figure fell. Entire chunks were missing from their sheath, but there was something about them that pulled his attention. His utility fog snaked out to reel in the corpse, and Naeko found himself frowning as he looked upon something that looked likeC The body promptly exploded. An explosion comparable to that of a tactical nuke blossomed in a ruinous wave. Naeko swatted it aside with a casual backhand, redirecting it into itself with ease. But with it came an opening. REND CAPACITY [SAGE OF THE SUNDERED SKY]: 0% Naekos Hell emptied. His fist shifted back to a palm. But the transition was a moment in time. A moment that could be struck. Honed instinct alone guided him, made him wrap himself in utility fog and twist his head. Around him, time tore as echo after echo cleaved at him. A thrust crackled. The air shivered. Blood sprayed and teeth burst from Naekos skull. Only the throbbing static provided by his Pain Editor implant told Naeko he was still alive. A dissolving spear threaded through his cheeks, but he had bitten down on the edge, holding it in place using his wounds and Heaven to deny Zein her kill. He had felt the blow coming. Sensed it at the last momentCjust like all those times training against Zein. She had been waiting for an opportunity like thisCthe point where his Hell and Heaven swapped. A brief change of states. A lightness passed through his body, but Naeko ignored it. With another clench of effort, he snapped the past-flung spear in half between his jaws, uncaring how they cracked his remaining teeth. A resurrection was due after this. A good death properly earned. With his cheeks flensed open and lower jaw dangling on unresponsive sinews, Naeko let out a choked rasp as he struggled to laugh, storm clouds building behind his eyes. Facing Zein, he saw the shine in her gaze. The pride. The weariness. +Anyone else would have been mine.+ +Almost,+ Naeko said. +Who was that?+ +A new discipline turned wayward rival. He has rejected my will.+ +Must be smarter than me then.+ +Naeko. I wish to tell you many things. There isC+ He didnt bother waiting for her to finish. He buried a fist into her disembowelment and wrapped his fingers around her spine. Whatever she had to say, hed get it from her in interrogation. He was Chief godsdamned Paladin, not her pawn. Not her boy. No. Fuck that game. He was done. He was done. He leaned in close so she could see himCsee his hate. +I called for you. Not anymore. When you come back, Ill speak. Ill speak, and for the first time in your worthless life youll listen. And youll tell me what you know straight.+ And before she had a chance to argue, he sank his other hand inside her, released his Heaven, and tore in two different directions. She came free in halves, and both went sailing from his hands, painting the distant walls flanking him as mutual splatters. A scab formed in front of him. A rare sight to earn from Zein Thousandhand. But Naeko wasnt satisfied. Not even close. Shed come back. Shed come back with Heaven manifested and the urge to fight. That was all well and good with him. He felt the fire again. The flames he thought killed all those years ago. He remembered why he did all this. Remembered what he felt, and why he felt it. Chains from chains. Master to master. Leash to leash. He was a dog. He was a dog, but he had no master, and he needed to pull something apart. To tear into this city for all the years it disgraced his brothers and sisters, to tell it he was done sleeping, that the slump was over. +I told you,+ he said, casting his thoughts into the cavernous dark. +I told you I surrender. You broke me. You won. But youre not there. Youre not real. No one cares.+ He swallowed and snapped his jaw back into place. +Its just me, isnt it? Its up to me. I have to do this. I have to do this.+ Silence again. Silence and no answers to sate his hurt. Nothing but him. Nothing. +Not just you. Courage, Naeko. Not alone. I see you. I see your struggle.+ Time quivered. Naeko froze. His Heaven rushed out from him, spreading wide to find the speaker. But there was nothing. And there was no one. No one at all. Maybe it was just his own mind. But he never sounded that sibilant. And his voice was never that deep. There was someone else. Beside him and Zein, there was someone else watching. No Veylis. It couldnt be whoever was using the DaemonCthey were dead. So who? Who? Who? Naekos mood worsened. He spat at Zeins anchor. Couldnt even come back without making things more complicated for him. A growl escaped him. Frustration built. He settled for striking New Vultun across the face again, his palm remanifesting in the atmosphere before slamming back down, passing through the harmless without harm, and splattering the vicious as he had just done Zein. This was the right thing. Enforcement. Enforcement. Enforcement. He let himself sleep. But the city still didnt care. The Guilds still played their games. The closest thing he ever had a mother still thought him nothing more than a dog. Godsdammit all. In despair, Naeko found his mind drifting back to Osjane, to her question of what he wanted, to the dreams of the future. Never to come. It turned out he was right. It turned out the city did need a dog, and the Guilds a proper mauling. He activated his session and linked to Maru, never taking his eyes off Zeins scab, or her writhing dragon. +Maru. Pocket off this area. And get me some godsdamned cagers. I got a third for our trial. I got Thousandhand. I got her. I got her. I got her. I got her.+ A lull followed. Maru sent him a nod. +Hey. Are you alright?+ And Naeko looked down at his handsCsoaked in the gore of his master and mother. Soaked in blood like all those times before. It felt right. It felt warm. It felt like what he was for. +I dont think I ever was.+ *** REND CAPACITY [HEART OF NOLOTH]: 0% DOMAINS DETECTED (SHADOW/FORCE/SPACE) STABILIZING ONTOLOGY REPAIRS IN PROGRESS WARNING: HEAVY TEMPORAL DISTORTION DETECTED 22-4 Among Giants [Operational Damage Report for Critical Sovereignties in the Spine]
  1. Kainhal
Death Toll: Estimated 23 Million Casualties: Over 120 Million Damage: Decimation of all major Syndicates; operational members, active enforcers, associated gangs, activated golems
  1. Suldananapt-Iadoir
Death Toll: 12 Million Casualties: Approximately 64 Million, many missing Damage: Major chrono-spatial launch sites damaged; mass drone-jock casualties
  1. False Isle
Death Toll: 8 Million Casualties: 63 Million, sections of city displaced. Need further review Damage: Decimation of all major Syndicates; operational members, active enforcers, associated gangs, activated golems
  1. Singhrids Kennel
Death Toll: 29 Million Casualties: Unknown, thaumaturgic shielding for employed Syndicates ruptured Damage: Organ-Breeder operation completely destroyed; all mod-slaves freed or euthanized
  1. MeldainC
[ENDING REPORT] +Ive seen enough. Issue a cast: All tertiary assets must go to ground. Do not do anything to draw the Chief Paladins attention. Delay all overt operations and reduce noise for the foreseeable future. Instancer Madrapu, set up a meeting with Convex Wallflower. Tell them we need Incubi support. Tell them we would like to make a proposal to procure more proxies. Samir Naeko just shook off his fucking malaise by dragging the back of his hand across the citys face. The easy days are over. A storm of shit is rolling in over the horizon. We need to hunker down. -Augur Nyretei Yaeglis of Sanctus 22-4 Among Giants There were levels to power. There were gods beyond gods. And then there were beings like Samir NaekoCa man bearing implacable power, seemingly capable of laying his hand upon all of New Vultun at once. Avo beheld the devastation across his ever-spreading plague of splinters. He watched through cog-feeds on the ground, from drones crossing the sky, internalized damage reports flicking through mechanized combat platforms, and tasted the Rend spilling free of rupturing golems. He witnessed Naekos fury in a perspective more intimate and complete than any other in the city. He was there. From the gutters to Lights End. He was there to watch Naeko finish his fight with Zein. He was there, watching the tumbling clouds that formed the Chief Paladins palm sweep through every Layer, pass through every being and building, press down upon every aspect of violence manageable across the tapestry of existence. The coils within gauss guns whined. Missiles streaked. Fists landed. Miracles manifested. And the shooters were cut down by their own flechettes. Explosions fizzled but the jocks guiding the missiles fried. Strikes folded in on themselves, arms and legs breaking, combat bioforms tearing into their own flesh. The golems made to break the world flinched, flared, and came apart physically and ontologically as their miracles were torn away from them. Through dimming eyes and failing cog-feeds, Avo stole death after death, drank ghosts after ghost, and learned what it was to stand against Naeko as a mortal man. He watched from Lights End, the Throat, the Spine, and then the gutters. He bore witness from the perspectives of an unharmed bystander and an active transgressor. The former merely walked on as embraced by a cloud. The others experienced the full retribution of their own actions. Magnified. Amplified. Their deaths justified. GHOSTS: [44,035,283] THAUMIC OUTPUT - 81,935 THAUM/c Naekos Heaven thundered down against the city like it was an anvil he sought to break, and caught in the radius, Avo suffered a turbulence that made him feel small. Reminded him he had far to rise yet as a Godclad, and that there were beings in this city who dwarfed him yet. Zein was contained. At least that scheme had succeeded, but watching them fight, watching her use everything she could, but be rendered little more than impotent by his sheer powerCunable to even kill him with a future-stuck thrustCwas humbling. And more than a little thrilling. The Godslayer was contained. A problem for the Paladins to handle. Perhaps Naeko would finish killing her, but something told Avo the Chief Paladin still wanted to keep his former master alive, loathsome as she was, and enraged though he was. With all she knew, she could offer her memories. Give Naeko insight into Avo and the others. Reveal truths about Ninth Column. But such a thing would do more harm to her vaunted paths. Whats more, the dragon told of her memories. How she kept them siloed and stored. Some of her recollections burned within him. Moments of history crystallized into shape, the haze of the past clearing. Other gulfs remained, but Avo doubted anyone but Zein could find them. And with how totally he infested their Oversecs, whoever they dispatched to interface with her, he would compromise first. The path ahead was dangerous, and Avo was under no illusion of the lines he crossed in attempting to kill Zein. But just as well. Even if Voidwatch severed him from support, he had a direction. A desire. The knowledge of what it took to enter the game as a true player. He sought his own dream. His own path. His own idealization. For himself, his cadre, and all those he chose to bring with him. Such a thing could not be realized as someone elses slave. Like Samir Naeko had been. From the few exchanges overhead between him and Zein, Avo knew he made the right choice. The sight of the Chief PaladinCa titan among enough GodcladsCcasting his despair into the darkness of the crumbling block, offering his surrender to a city that just didnt care was seared into Avos consciousness. Even as he felt his Daemon dissipate, even as he detonated his sheath like a warhead, Avo still tasted them. Naekos emotions, bleeding into the Nether like a gushing wound. Beyond being overwhelmed, beyond the fact that Naeko stood a beacon of thaumaturgic power, there was also something else that compelled him to stay and watch. A soft note in the Nether that couldnt be ignored. Sorrow. Sorrow and fury screamed out in tidal-like timbres, washing through the vicinity, drenching Avos Specter-disguised splinter with a flood of despair even as he offered his final words of encouragement. The act was a thing more instinct than impulse, driven by an urge to understand Naeko better. And a growing pity that couldnt be denied.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. How miserable it must be to hold all that power and still loathe oneself to such an extent? How long did it take to feel less than human living such a life? Avo didnt ask the Paladin these questions, choosing instead to draw his ghosts away and finally leave the scene. Zeins investiture of memories included insights into Naekos abilities. One could jack into the Chief Paladins mind. It would be a trifling act to Avo with his warmind of Delusion. The problem was he wouldnt be able to subsume the Paladin yet. Or even change him for that matter. A miracle of impermeability layered the mans very being. No external force could compel him. Not physically. Not mentally. Not spiritually. Things could leave his mind, but that which changed against his will or caused harm to his ego would instantly alert him. Be turned back upon the inflicter in totality. This, and the fact that Naeko would soon be in the presence of the Heaven of Truth made tracking the Chief Paladin through peripheral assets like Kare, Kassamon, or Maru a better option. No sense in risking himself further with his objectives mostly fulfilled. At least not until the next window of opportunity came: the moment Naeko needed to shift between his Heaven and Hell. That would be the opening. The point when someone could strike at him as Zein did with her planned thrust during the transition between unfettered destruction and halting violence. She failed in her attempt. Avo wouldnt. For now, however, he had a final bit of business to attend before he returned to his cadre and divided the spoils. There was much they had to do. The dangers they faced were a magnitude greater now. They needed to be ready. And they needed to be more. He cast the memories of his encounter over into each member of his cadre and updated Kare on what just happened in the gutters. Surprise bloomed from within the young Paladin, but he engaged with her no further, focused instead on mantling his base mind into the body currently extracting the Heart of Noloth. Oh, delectable, the Woundmother purred, studying how the once immense eye was tunneling into Avo now, spilling into him as ebony tendrils, drawn in by the Stillborns rippling emanations without any chance of resistance. Soon our greats will be made greater again. You will need to give unto us more blessings master. For if we are to rise among giants like the large child, we will need to climb much, much more. The Techplaguer concurred. Upgrades are OPTIIMAL! Apply them WIS-ly. A morose neighing sounded from the Heaven of Air, and the Heart of Noloths coming inclusion in the liminal orbit only increased its bitterness. I was free. I flew. But only for a second. I flew. Avo empathized. Being struck down by Naeko mid-gallop was a tortuous thing. +I know. Well get back to the enclave soon. Ill make you better. And then Ill set you loose again. Let all of you have your time. Want to see what youll do. Who you can be.+ Each of the awakened gods paused inside him, a mixture of pleasure and surprise filling them. Avo expected Calvino to chide him for this encouragement but found the EGI missing from his Neurodeck. Perhaps he was back with Aegis, trying to explain things. Or maybe they were done. Voidwatch was cutting him free. He hoped it was the former. It would feel wrong to not have a neighboring mind chattering at him from the inside, quipping about the world, telling him about lost histories, or ancient philosophies. More than once, the EGI turned him away from a foul choice. More than once, Avo found himself enjoying Calvinos company. It would be a shame for them to part this way. [Theyre likely just making a report or damaged,] Benhata said, sounding certain. [What just happened that will take a lot of explaining. Especially with the question of who was at fault. This is a very subjective matter, and if my experience with the voiders has taught me anything, it''s that they dont use people like we do, so I doubt youre just being thrown away.] Avo grunted his thanks internally, letting his thoughts go silent as his final task neared its end. A translucent dome two hundred meters in area spread out around him, projected by the familiar Delta golems to guard what he was doing from prying eyes. None would lay eyes on him right now. None would glimpse the Heart or his sheath as he concluded his subsumption. REND CAPACITY [HEART OF NOLOTH]: 0% DOMAINS DETECTED (SHADOW/FORCE/SPACE) STABILIZING ONTOLOGY REPAIRS IN PROGRESS - 1% The primary golems he used to drain the rupture were the Haunter-patternsCa Breaker platform originally built under Ori-Thaum. The fifteen golems each resembled a black beetle with nine extended pairs of muscular human arms instead of wings. They stood twenty-five in length and half that across, and each of them also sported subdorsally mounted fusion cannons charged and ready to burn. Their Rendsinks, however, were at maximum capacity, and if not for the Shadowcrawlers Avo included among the five Knots he requisitioned from the Paladins, he mightve needed to absorb some of the Rend into his Fardrifter for things to work. As things stood now, his Soul was about to be twenty-six Heavens stronger. Twenty-five donated by the Paladins and Exorcists. One that was the Heart of Noloth. Not a bad finalC WARNING: HEAVY TEMPORAL DISTORTION DETECTED The coming shock slammed down on him just as the last tickles of darkness slithered into his crackling Soul. The palls cast by the nearby foliage stopped clawing at the enshadowed matter, but a swelling of gold tore across existence, striking Avos Frame with a ringing impact. Where Zein was a river running the course of time, where her Fisher That Wasnt dove across non-linear streams, what was coming for Avo now was something akin to a continental avalanche. The metaphysical weight couldnt be ignored. Greater than Thousandhand. Greater even than Naeko. Distant as it was, its coming was like the fall of a titan, the clouds displacing to announce its arrival, tectonic plates parting as they greeted the surface. More significant perhaps was how it moved in relation to time. Zein leaped forward into the future. Skipping and skimming the surface of progressive chronology. This was something else. This was a parallel tide to existence itself. A second ocean of reality simulated from the first. It washed through Avo, and he felt his Domain of Chronology rattle. His Frame lurched, and for a beat, he thought it was going to be torn from his sheath entirely. He stumbled as the world around him fractured into splitting stacks unto itself before resplendent threads stitched them back together. He knew who this was. He knew what this was. The memories he consumed from the locus pillar sang out to him. A single name escaped with his breath. Veylis. Leave. Leave now! Shes reaching out for you! Shes reaching through the paths! She felt you! Avo removed the urges of greed and gluttony from his mind and abandoned the golems he was planning to consume without effort. To stay here any longer would expose him. Give the High Seraph to tear him across time. But it was still overwhelming. How fast she came. How fast she found him. How easy it was for her to remake entire sections of existence. Zein was right. He wasnt ready. Not even close. But he could run. He could escape. His triggered Haemification on himself and burrowed through Draus session. A splatter of blood blended with the crimson grass on which he once stood. Only a single submind remained active in New Vultun, diving the Nether, spreading splinters for the coming days. Physically, Avo was gone. Utterly vacating New Vultun before it was too late. He thought himself quiet enough. He thought Naeko a good enough deterrent and his time apple. He thought. He thought. He couldnt just think anymore. He couldnt leave anything to chance. Not with his enemies capable of turning time itself against him. He needed better counters. Protections. [Paths] of his own. Time to have another conversation with Kae. *** A second later, a reverberation pulsed through existence, and a second layer of reality snapped away from the first, vibrating even though it bore all the same aspects as its source. The Paladin golems and courtyard where the minor disturbance originated were unspooled from baseline reality and taken. And then just as fast as it came, just as fast as Naeko felt its presence, turned his palm back upward, it receded like a fleeing wave, collapsing back upward through the Layers, back upward at a speed unfathomable, back, back, and back to the apex of the Tiers. In the span of a heartbeat, the streaming waves of gold crossed thousands of kilometers, and around them were the paths broken and rebuilt. Within its grip now was a collection of golems and a space and moment in time. The paths twisted together and rebuilt the extracted portions, golems coming back into shape, the biothaumically designed garden walkway unfolding into shape. Jutting trees of pearly white protruded from swollen nubs of red. Bone ran on as walkways lined the fecund ground. Brushing across the patterns of existence, Veylis found it then. A smear of blood coating a patch of flattened grass. Intriguing. Fascinating. A lesser echo was spawned. The entity materializes in the scene and through it, she touches the blood and strains her Heaven to turn back time. As much as it can before the nothingness. The contours of a figure come into shape, but she can see that its death was immediate. Sudden. Unspeakably violent. A death only possible via thaumaturgic means. But still, there was no anchoring. No hint of death in her scenes or baseline reality. When her canon reached its limit, she studied the figure and found herself entirely at a loss as to who she was facing. They stood too tall. Too thin. The blood spraying free from its parting body left it masked by an obfuscated facade. But even with her ignorance of the subjects actual identity, she was already certain of one thing, a truth she vocalized, this reassembled world speaking in her stead. My mother, you most certainly are not. So, mystery, who might you be? If you are not my mother, who might you be? 22-5 Reorientation CONFIDENTIALCONFIDENTIALCONFIDENTIAL SYNCHRONIZING MEM-CODES 100% CLEARANCE GRANTED TO FATE-SKEIN: [SAMIR NAEKO] Report No.: CATZENITH-002-CELEDON Date: 28-IV-233 PF Subject Name: [REDACTED] Physical Description: [REDACTED] Height: [REDACTED] Weight: [REDACTED] Eye Color: [REDACTED] Hair Color: [REDACTED] THREAT CATEGORY ZENITH HEAVENS: [REDACTED] WARNING: SUBJECT HAS A DOMAIN OF (CHRONOLOGY) AND AN ESOTERIC DOMAIN OF (WAR) THEY ARE ALSO UNPARALLELED AS A COMBATANT AS SUCH, CONTINGENCY //CELEDON\\ IS IN FULL EFFECT ALL EXORCISTS AND PALADINSHANDLING SECURING THE SUBJECT WILL BE SUBJECT TO NINE-STEP AMNESTICS OVERSEEN BY [REDACTED] ASSIGNED NECROS WILL BE SEALED IN CONTAINMENT PLANE ZENITH-002 ALONGSIDE SUBJECT ZENITH-002 PRESENT ANCHORING LOCATION: CHIEF PALADIN SAMIR NAEKOS LEFT POCKET ATTENTION: SPECIAL NOTE FROM CHIEF PALADIN NAEKO TO INCUBI AND OUTSIDERS: +I know youre there. I know Ive already splattered some of you. Lets not bullshit each other. You know who I have. You know whats going to happen if you make this public before we do. Im really tired. I havent played a match in nearly twelve hours. If youre going to try to get to her, youre gonna half to come to me. If you come to me right now, chances are Ill kill you. Id make my apologies beforehand, but Im feeling pretty honest today, so Ill just say I want you to do it. I want you to make me kill you. Piss me off. Piss me off and Ill show you what happened to my old consang Sister Karakan. What else was I gonna say? Oh. Right. Veylis. Youre a lying sow. You told me she died fighting. You told me. You lied again. Again. See you at the trial.+ [REPORT ENDED] -Containment Report of [REDACTED] 22-5 Reorientation Well, that shit escalated pretty fucking quickly. The understatement left Chambers alongside a rasp of air. The man was drinking a bubbling greenish substance under the cool shade of branching foliage. He claimed it was some kind of mushroom-fermented liquor, but Avo was still ghoul enough to sniff the bitter-acidic tang of Chambers adrenaline-soaked muscles. Most of the cadre were scattered about the deceased Fallwalkers estate. Yakozitrins personal mansion was built as if five enormous cubes stacked over each other. It was maybe a tenth the size of a normal megablock, but considering the population sparsity of the enclave, most of the room was little more than empty space. Few places exemplified that more than Yakozitrins rooftop garden, festooned in a private enclosure at the very top of the structure. Marble beams imbued with light bathed the interior in unceasing radiance and a canopy formed from bone-white needle-thin branches wreathed the top like a thatched tent. The calming ambiance of running water coursed from a network of pipes running through the mansionCeven through the enclaves many layers. A steady gas-produced pressure created miniature rivers between landscapes of white and green. The waters came together as two pools, each perfectly symmetrical in shape and length. When viewed from above, the bright, running waters came together as an artistic portrait of the Fallwalker himself; the witness formed his skin, the green his hair, the waters an outline, and the pools his eyes. The portrait was partially defaced, however. Left damaged after Dice uprooted the chiseled boulder meant to serve as her former masters jaw from the soil and flung it across the entire enclave with a flick of her wrist. An understandable action on her part. Perhaps even still a bit muted. Sunrises humming drones were scattered along the branches while Chambers sat on a stone stool not far from the leftmost pool. His eyes were on Kae as he spoke, the Agnos soaking her feet in the waters, ghosts spilling out from her halo as phantoms, playing scenes from her past, bygone memories of a life lost, friends lost, lover lost. The drifting currents slowed as they entered her proximity as if compelled to by her very presence. The exhausted bitterness leaking from her mind impressed the same on anyone who dared to approach. Beyond the marble pillars, Denton stood overlooking the city, casting messages from her ansible in rapid succession. Mostly, it seemed like she was sending messages. Rarely did she receive anything. Tension gripped the spys posture, and she seemed more human to Avo than she ever had been. [They got to handle their own shit,] Corner said, offering no judgment. [Process. Shit hits all of us. Except for certain thought-tuning monsters. But not all of us are so special.] Avo offered an internal huff of acknowledgment. When Avo first returned and remantled his sheath, he cast his most recent memories into his cadre and found himself pleased that Draus already built a series of asymmetrical combat positions. The Regular wasted no time in creating a complex grid of trenches and passageways using glass and mirrors. Planted as curving walls into the foundation of the city were paper-thin sheets of glass that Draus could call up at any time. There were over a hundred sheets for each level of the enclave, and at any time they were attacked, all she needed to do was draw a reflective pane up from where it was fused and they would pass elsewhere. Some led to defensive positions: aforementioned trenches dug in coordination between Chambers and Draus. Others led directly into the worst parts of the Sunderwilds in their near vicinity. Providing labor and protection were ten-meter-long bioforms born from Chambers flames. The chimeric swarms could be heard even now, passing over the skies, their shadows flitting across the ground as they kept him appraised of the enclaves conditions. It was a suitable addition to the haemokinetic circulatory system Avo wove into the city during the takeover. But though they prepared, though they waited for ZeinCor whoever elseCto strike at them across space and time, the assault never came. And after an hour of tense anticipation, the group settled from active alarm into passive paranoia. Now, they were watching. Waiting. But otherwise learning to relax once more. Avo had wanted to convene with the group immediately after. To review their present circumstances and begin preparations for things to follow, but surprisingly, Draus halted him before he could sync their minds. The people need a moment, she said, eyeing Chambers, Kae, and even Denton. Well. Maybe Denton. Things went all the ways to hell back there. Gonna need to give them some time. Let em reorient and think first. She had been thinking about the Agnos in particular, but there was a brittleness to Chambers as well, though the man hid it better. And despite Avos urgency in wanting to further their ascensions to apotheosis, his templates also cried out in concurrence, with over seventy percent outright begging him for a few moments reprieve or outright deconstruction. [Ah, but the intact fear collapse,] Elegant-Moon murmured. She let out a soft laugh as other minds drifting around her whimpered. [Its not so bad. Look upon me.] Her words, somehow, convinced Avo to let them breathe. Recover. Resurrect. While they did, he checked in with each of them, observed them mentally and environmentally as mem-data siphoned by his embedded splinters back in New Vultun continued to surge into his consciousness in constant rapids. [THE PALM DESCENDS - EXPERIENCE THE MOMENT WHEN CHIEF PALADIN NAEKOS HEAVEN PASSED THROUGH LAYER THREE] +Holy fuck, he saved my life. Those psycho-fucks in the gutters were going to fry me. He just turned it back on them. It was like a torrent of fog and then suddenly the electricity was torn away from me.+ [BREAKING: OMNITECH LOCATE AND SECURE ANCIENT ARTIFACT STOLEN BY NOLOTH, VOIDERS FALSELY CLAIM OWNERSHIP] That one made Avo wince. He would have much preferred Voidwatch to be the one that secured the George Washington, but he was too busy trying to settle things with Thousandhand to focus on that.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. +I was going to talk my brother down. I was going toChe was going to put the gun down. He wasnt going to shoot our mom. Samir Naeko killed my brother. Samir Naeko left him aCa smear in our bedroom. I was going to talk him down+ HIGH TRAFFIC LOBBY DETECTED - [THE SUNDERED SAGE FANCLUB - AVAILABLE MINDSCAPES FOR CHATTING: 1,034] +Did anyone see who he was trying to get? I think he was fighting someone. Caught a glimpse of him crashing through a sub-block down there before the Exorcists censored everything.+ +Probably just some half-stand Fallwalker trying to make a run on the city. Or it''s those Low Fuckers again, seeing how the Nether just totally shit itself earlier.+ +Yeah. Jaus. Hells of a godsdamned day, huh consangs?+ No active reports came through regarding Thousandhands situation, but Avo deduced that she was in custody when over five hundred [REDACTED] golems and a classified cast from Naeko called an entire team of Paladin to convene with him. Included among them were Kare and Maru. That guaranteed he would at least have eyes and ears into the meeting later. With that known, he assumed Zein temporarily handled and released a quiet breath. Killing her would have been much more preferable. She was too uncertain a variable. And too lethal a threat. [If there was one good fucking thing that came from being fed to you,] Peace snarled, bemusement tinging his mind. [It was that I got to watch that Thousandhand cunt die twice. Dumb fucking sow always thought of herself as something special. We sure made her eat shit tonight.] Avo ignored Peace and continued with his thoughts. Even with how overwhelming Naeko wasChow totally he could control the Domains of Force and Violence, she still bled him. Cut him deep and nearly killed him when a single opening presented itself. Thaumaturgically, he dwarfed her. But in a mundane test of skill? Or if the paths and schemes of the Great Guilds grew muddled? Who knew how that would go? Especially with the new openings Veylis could exploit. Of course, Avos actions merely resulted in a shuffling of counterbalances against the High Seraph. Where Zein and her daughter were engaged in a guerrilla war across time, the Chief Paladin himself was as if a pillar of absolute denial, the absolutes of his canons able to stand against his former lover. That would be useful to an extent. Give Avo and his cadre coverage. An umbrella to operate under if they could find out how to remain undetected. But he also needed to get his Heavens upgraded, begin seeding the chrono-material of his dragons in the population of the enclave to breed more cyclers, and replace all the equipment lost with his voidship. Kares current despondence substantially delayed the first two necessities while the last was partially stymied by Calvinos continued absence. Denton was unable to raise the EGI as well, their ego locked away in another part of Threshold, a meeting among minds occurring at this very moment. So it was that Avo found himself hovering in placing next to Chambers, holding himself aloft using his Echoheads as he directed his subminds to the peripheral projects of spreading further across New Vultuns underbelly and weaving defensive lattice along the exterior of the enclaveCa phantasmally-conductive shell capable of supporting an Incog should uninvited eyes somehow stray to these parts. Curling a long arm over to Chambers, Avo wiggled his claws in a silent gesture for the man to share his drink. While he did so, he peered through the splinters he had embedded in his cadre. Draus and Tavers were chuckling at Zeins post-mortem expression after getting a frequency blade buried in her skull. The Regular was warming fast to the squire. As much as she could warm to anyone. Dice was walking the city with the kitten draped over her shoulder. Somehow, the little creature just kept surviving cataclysm after calamity. Perhaps it would be wise to conduct some experimental testing. Things Calvino might be dubious of, if he ever returned. The girl did once ask for the kitten to be uplifted, after all. The ceramic cup vanished into Avos palm, compelling him to turn and frown. He needed to use his Haemokinesis to even hold it properly. Small, he growled. Yeah, Chambers snorted. He shot Kae another look and shook his head. World probably seems that way to some people, doesnt it? Avo took care to clench the drink between his index and thumb claws. Bringing it up to his mouth elicited another frown from him as he constructed a blood-made straw to aid him. Capable though he was, human lips always looked rather silly to him. Like chunks of meat made perfectly to be bitten. [Dont worry, everyone, still plenty ghoul left in him,] Abrel deadpanned. Sardonic though she was, even she appreciated a moment of halt. The past day had been overwhelming. Even for her. Especially after beholding Zein and Naeko. She was going to ask him about updating her Heavens as well, though she hated herself for even wanting it. It was an ugly thing when your benefactor was also the murderer of your brother and close friends. But surviving desperate encounter after desperate encounter as part of someone elses mind changed a person. Just like the wretched taste of the mushroom beer. Avo didnt swallow. He just spat. And instead of suffering the indignity of suffering the taste further, he bit off his tongue and promptly grew a new one. Chambers threw his head back and cackled. The mans hyena-like laughter made Kae jump, Sunrise scatter, and Denton turn. The Agnos shook her head at Chambers, who was currently clutching his stomach, trying not to double over from laughter. She shared a look with Avo and gave him a nod. Somehow, the gesture was significant. The sign of a pall lifting, the inflammation of her misery subsiding, at least temporarily. A slow wheeze announced the calming of Chambers mirth, and Avo stared flatly down at the little man next to him. Chambers took back his drink and shook his head. Gods, but that was a great moment. Im gonna save it as a snap in my Meta. Send it to the others. Avo grunted with displeasure. Tastes terrible. Like fizzling clammy mucus. Yeah, its kinda shit, Chambers agreed. And then, paradoxically, he took another drink. Why, Avo asked, not seeing the point. Because Im used to it, Chambers sighed. He planted the cup in the soil and looked down at the blades of grass jutting through the pearlescent grains powdering the dirt. Because thats always been my life. Shitty drinks. Shitty gig. Shitty implants. Shitty choices. He shifted and faced Avo. Till I got snatched by you and the Reg, I guess. At least I still get to deal with shitty people. Talking about Zein. The mans expression tightened. I was fu-ucking scared, consang. I looked into her eyes and I wish I didnt. Somehow. Somehow, I knew she was going to kill us. I mean, her shoving your arm up my ass didnt help, but godsdammit did I feel small in her eyes. She looked at me like I was nothing. Im a Godclad now, and still, she thinks Im nothing. Its like I never stopped being a juv. Avo didnt speak. He read the emotions from Chambers thoughtstuff instead. Turbulent drafts. Ghosts oscillating along the exterior of his halo, his Conundrum wards orbiting behind like satellites. You know my worst memory about my dad? It wasnt after he made me watch as he beat my mom half to death. I wasnt after well, he started taking it out on me full-time after she, uh You know. He bit his lip. It was after all that. There was a day when I was like. I dont. I cant remember how old. But enough to know what a gun was. And dad just left his pistol on the bed. And I got to thinking and I got to thinking Shadows played behind Chambers burning eyes, the flames of his Heaven forming a faint corona around him. I took it. I snatched quick and clean off the bed. Just like how Dannis did in his vics. Dad was piss drunk. He didnt even manage to turn I pulled the trigger. Just squeezed quick. No struggle at all. Jaus, I hate him. I still hate him. I hope he died slow. He nodded. Turns out, the fucker didnt replace the damn power cell for his gun. No juice. No current. No dead dad. I squeezed and squeezed, and his face went from confused to angry to I mean, you have my memories, the half-strand just started laughing. Laughing at me. Chambers stopped talking then. The memories after didnt need words. The beating was bad. Especially since it was done using the same gun. I remember him looking down at me when he was done, Chambers said. He was just looking at me. Like I was stupid. Like he was offended I ever I thought I could kill him. I just kept staring at the ceiling. I was praying. Praying for someone to kill him. Praying for a god because reality clearly liked him a lot more than it fucking liked me or my mom. And ma-ma and gran-pa were fucking useless. They just watched. Saw him again. Saw him again in Thousandhand. Avo knew the answer. Chambers just needed help facing it. The man shook his head. We were nothing to her. You were the only who could, well, maybeCif it werent for Tavers. His hands were shaking. He hid his fear by bouncing his legs. Im supposed to be a Godclad. And still, she made me feel like I wasnt shit. But you know what? Im gutter rat. Im trash from the Warrens. Who cares about me? Kae, though? Shes Agnosi. Shes a real girl. Even she gets used like this? Chambers voice went thin. Vulnerable. Almost child-like. Theres no way out. Reality fucking hates us. Theres no way out. The templates inside Avo were quiet. A good amount of them flinched. Aedon Chambers story was a painful one. And a common one. Happy childhoods were rare gems in this city. But it was a gem Avo had, simulated though those memories might have been, patchwork though his recollections were. Walton had cared for him. To the detriment of Kae, Voidwatch, Ninth Column, and even New Vultun itself, but he cared absolutely. And knowing that was a certitude that few people would ever know, much less a monster. Do you know what it means to be a god? Avo asked. Chambers blinked rapidly, burning away his misted eyes as he shook his head. Nah? I think Im learning, Avo said. There is absoluteness in an act. Absoluteness in choices made. Actions. The smallest miracle. Will. A decision to do. A choice to believe. You chose to be there for Kae. To stand before Zein. That is true. That is true and it cannot be taken away. But she could have justC You saw my memories, Avo interrupted. Yeah? Youre talking about how the Chief Paladin stomped her shit in. Chambers snorted. Pretty nova. Yeah. Yes. But not talking about that. Did either of them seem like gods to you? That made Chambers pause. They were tearing the gutters apart. Fucking, Naeko hit the whole city with his palm. I didnt ask if they were powerful. I asked if you would believe in them. If you would put your faith in them. No. Both Chambers and Avo looked to Kae, intercepting the question. Theyre just people. Terrible, miserable, sad, broken, little people. Who can beat our asses, Chambers added. Avo grunted in accord to both of them. Power is important. But power without path always betrays. Zein was a fool. Zein was more powerful. Now Zein is a prisoner. Because she chose. Then I did. And then she chose again. Poorly this time. Poorly with Naeko. Because she doesnt care about divinity. She doesnt care about godhood. She doesnt dream of a higher reality. Or to become something greater. She just wants what she lost back. She is fighting for the past. But the past is lost. The sacrifices to the old gods. To the Woundmother. To the Fardfriter. To the Techplaguer. They were all fathomed utopias before they were manifested powers. Heavens ascended from the limits of reality. Actualizations. Humanity and more. So, what, Chambers asked. Youre saying that Zein and Naeko arent gods because theyre soft? Psychologically kinda fucked? Cause if you are, thats like, all of us too. No. Im saying they will never fully reach godhood because I think they are only human And they dream no further. They dont dream of who they might yet be. What the world could yet be. What they might yet do. Avo faced Chambers again. But you didnt. Running would be human. Accepting Zeins authority would be human. Facing her despite your wounds. There is a spark of divinity in that. That is what I see. Kae settled next to them, her face wan with exhaustion as she sat cross-legged on the grass, now fully drawn into the conversation. Chambers was rocking his legs faster, anxiety still coursing through his veins. I couldnt have stopped her. Yes, Avo said. And sometimes dreams die. People fail. Reality hates us. But we can stand above it. We can grow. We can seek to become something greater than ourselves always. Actualize. Embody. Our Heavens become a statement through us. An idea made manifest. To force new rules on existence itself to see the impossible achieved. To let virtue and righteousness take seed in the hollow womb of the world that was. Silence settled over them. Across his splinters, he discovered Draus, Dice, and Tavers listening in. A few of Sunrises drones lay upon his shoulders, and Denton was facing them instead of the golden horizon of the city now, ansible gone quiet. It was a disgruntled sigh from Kae that finally broke the quiet. Alright, she said, throwing up her hands. You didnt need to say all that. I get your meaning: Ill look at your Frame. Again, Chambers snorted, and this time, Avo grinned too. 22-6 Matter of Time (I) +Hey, hey, New Vultun. Do you have a migraine? I sure do. How did everyone enjoy this years annual Low Master mind-fucking? At least thats who Im guessing is behind this. Either that or Ori-Thaum tripped over the Nether cord again. Anyway. If the threat of another Guild War followed by a new Nolothic Uprising wasnt enough darkness for your day, we also have to ask ourselves just who exactly shit in the Chief Paladins dinner for him to beat us like that. Jaus. I havent been slapped that hard since I broke up with that Scarth-sow I used to know. Makes me wonder if the trial is even still going to beCOh. We have a syncer. Special requestCsorry, I dont do Okay, thats a lot of imps Fine. Ill put up you on. If youre a rash-dumper, I send myC+ [FATE-SKEIN IDENTIFIED: NAEKOTHEONLY] CALA MARLOWE: +What? ICOkay. Okay. Chief Paladin, this is surprisingC+ SAMIR NAEKO: +Hey. We spoke once. I think. You ambushed me in Stormjumpers or something. Im just here to make an announcement. And because I really dont wanna talk to Guilder Proparazzi types and doing this with you instead should piss them off.+ CALA MARLOWE: +...Alright. Well. Id say welcome, but I dont really wanna bullshit you, so Yeah. Chief Paladin Samir Naeko everyone. Special guest for the FATELSS Thoughtcast.+ SAMIR NAEKO: +You fine with me making an official announcement here? Your lobbies might be getting spiked with traffic.+ CALA MARLOWE: +Fuck em. If they do, they do. Youre the Chief Paladin. And I dont really care. Do whatever.+ SAMIR NAEKO: +Alright. Thanks, juv. Anyway. Hey, uh, New Vultun. Uh, FATELESS..es. Chief Paladin Naeko here. Now, Ive been told there are rumors in the Nether. Talking about why I tore up the gutters and who I was fighting. Im here to clear the air and let things be known. I was not, in fact, engaged in competitive domestic abuse against the High Seraph. I would also like to thank [12INCHESISSTILLTOOSHORT] for sending me that detailed simulation of me, the Stormsparrow, a nu-dog, and the High Seraph passing shit into each others asses. Wonderful rash-contraband. Id like to make your day better by telling you that your mom died during my slap and that she was a shitty Syndi in charge of slave smuggling. The Exorcists will be seeing you shortly.+ CALA MARLOWE: +...Nova.+ SAMIR NAEKO: +Anway. It wasnt Veylis I was fighting.+ CALA MARLOWE: +Right. Kind of ridiculous if you think about it.+ SAMIR NAEKO: +It was her mother. Zein. Thousandhand. Godslayer. My old vicious sow of a master. That one.+ CALA MARLOWE: +Okay. Holy shit. What the fuck. UnexpecCWait, isnt she dead?+ SAMIR NAEKO: +Wouldve probably been better if she stayed that way. Anyway, you dont gotta worry. I tore her old ass in half, fought her some more, and then shoved her into a containment pocket. To all you Necros and Guilder agents, I can feel you. I know youre there. Come for her, and I smear you.+ CALA MARLOWE: +...+ SAMIR NAEKO: +So. Finishing with that. Im just here to announce that Im adding another person to the trial and that citizens and subjects should expect justice to be done, and all the other shit a Chief Paladin is supposed to say, I guess.+ CALA MARLOWE: +Can you do that?+ SAMIR NAEKO: +Huh? Do what?+ CALA MARLOWE: +Just add someone to the trial. Isnt it literally days away? Hells, considering everything thats happened, is it even still on?+ SAMIR NAEKO: +Well, Marlowe, technically theres supposed to be a process to this thing, but the last person who gave a shit about all that got snuffed by her brother. So. Ill give you my way of seeing things: Im Chief Paladin Samir Naeko. I am the Force-Breaker. I just killed the Godslayer. Im somewhere north of pissed, and I intend to stand and deliver on this enforcement. Test me. Test me and Ill reel you out into the Nothing and see if you catch a glance of Jaus. The soft days are over. And you consangs on Stormjumpers can rest easy knowing Ill be taking a hiatus. The trial will be delayed till Nulrise next week. In the meantime, I intend to enforce some peace.+ -Chief Paladin Naeko on the FATELESS Thoughtcast 22-6 Matter of Time (I) A death and a deluge of curses later, Agnos Kae Kusanade summarized her opinions on Avos Frame thusly: Avo, what in all the hells did you do to your Frame. Her exasperation was capped off with a squeak as frustration leaked from her Soul. Gathered atop Avos haemokinetic tower overlooking the enclave, the members of the cadre were split between watching for any encroaching threats while also anticipating their personal upgrades. Already, however, did they find themselves beset with problems. The smaller matter was that, despite Kaes multi-disciplinary brilliance as an Agnos, her Knowings did not extend to the Domains of Chronology or Time. This ignorance, however, proved to be the lesser issue when finally entered Avos Frame to make initial inspections. To say that bathing in the Hungers blood had changed his ontology was an understatement. Most Domains were foundational pillars for Heavens, their corresponding canons and underlying mythos sculpting the metaphysical constructs with fixed patternsCcomprehendible aesthetics. Such was not so for his Domain of Chronology. To paint a simple portrait, branches of coursing gold were forming and dissolving across the entire space simulated by his Soul. They sprawled out like circuits or arteries from each of his cyclers, writhing free from between the dragons scales and burrowing into his Heavens, into his Hells, into his very Soul itself. The radiant ripples emanating from Soul took a condensed quality; faint waves thickening to become progressing tides. And beyond perceived changes, there were also metaphysical effects. Miracles manifesting. As Kaes Soul was bathed by Avos light, the surrounding corona began to form afterimages: echoes not so unlike the ones used by Zein. With every action she committed, every glance she cast, more distorted copies of her Soul broke off along different currents, each moving down a trajectory of time, playing out possible choices. When she directed her questions to his Heavens, the reawakened gods proved no wiser than she was. My cities were forged to defy the passing of the ages, little oracle, not to embody them, the Woundmother said as she plucked at a passing string of gold, the act resulting in another cascade across Avos inner paths. Though the master has seized this gift for us, it is a new layer added to my foundations. But it is a vague thing. A soft and shapeless thing. I despise this; best to enforce upon it shape lest it whistles past uselessly C like air. The Fardrifter responded to the Woundmothers prodding by stretching itself wide, casually dwarfing the Heaven of Blood with its expansive dimensions. More curses followed suit.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Editor: please hold! the Techplaguers interjection came with a burst of flashing static, the alloy of its tower-like structure groaned as it turned, pointing the tip of its antennae at the Agnos in mimicry of a face-to-face conversation. The temporal progression is STABLE-100%! Very, very, very nice! However, the Administrator has not designated specific directives for the channeling of the structure. THIS WILL BE INCLUDED AS A NEGATIVE IN FUTURE RETROSPECTIVES! Very, very, very incorrect behavior. A torrent of Soulfire washed over the Heaven of Signals as Avo glared at the questionable Heaven. Another cascade of Soulfire passed through Kaes Soul, and a splash of dissolving echoes collapsed outward from herCpotential actions and replies she could have responded with, now never to be. So. Its active in all of you. But when we checked earlier, there was no sigilCno sign. Your mythologies are unchanged! How is that supposed to work? How? How? How? Ask us once more, little one, the Fardrifter huffed in quiet annoyance. Perhaps the answer will suddenly arrive then. Kaes Soul shrank in disappointment. Avo. I wish to admit something: I wish to admit that, back many years ago, before I was this citys favorite plaything, I, as a novitiate Agnos, wish I could have spoken to the gods. Very forbidden, yes, I know. But I yearned to see reality through them. To comprehend how they viewed the tapestry of existence and were shaped by their respective civilizations. What changed, Avo asked, amusement rising, already anticipating the answer. I met the gods. And theyre all unhelpful assholes. The Woundmother merely whipped at the Agnos with disdain. The Fardrifter snorted. Unfortunately, whatever Omnitech did to create the Techplaguers precursor left them nowhere near as balanced as the old gods. ANOTHER LIE! FALSE-CLAIM! FALSE-CLAIM! Administrator! She lies! Another liar is with you! FALSE STATEMENTS ARE BAD FOR THE CHILDREN! BAD FOR CIVILIZATION! Administrator. Take away the bodily trait she has accused me of having. It will be a lesson in EMPATHY! Do no such thing, master, the Woundmother replied, taking the side of the Agnos despite the recent insult. Insolent as the oracle is, I deem the displeasure she has inflicted on the poorly-made tower more than suitable recompense for the affront she showed me. BETRAYER! JUST LIKE THE SKY-BURNERS! SURROUNDED! SURROUNDED BY BETRAYERS! The Fardrifters heads coiled in over each other. Remember your promise. I must run free. You have returned me to fullness without my choosing and inflicted this prison upon me, and cursed me further with vile receptacles of madness as my fellow prisoners. It is an ill thing you have done. Kae. Can you make any changes or not. Avo was growing tired of the carnival that were his Heavens. Should try to make changes quickly. Heard them act like this before. They usually start arguing after. Dont stop for hours. The Agnos turned her perception on him, bathing him in sympathy. How have you not gone mad? Usually too busy to care. Sometimes I direct their noise over to various templates. Oh. I forgot your minds a madhouse too. Avo just stared. Ahem, Kae said, shifting to approach his Woundmother. There are implications here I dont fully grasp. O-once again, your Frame has become the source of a thaumaturgic mystery! Again! Ridiculous! Absurd. AndCand observing the state of this space, I deduce that the catalysts the Domains are using to manifest are your cyclers. The dragons themselves. Those. A tickle of knowledge surfaced in Avos ego. Going to need to grow more of those. But need to be able to manipulate chronology. Using my Woundmother specifically. Going to need to extract a cycler. Use its material to create an egg. Thinking about seeding it in the enclave after I fix the minds of the flats. Using them to nourish and culture the cyclers. A beat passed. Avo, I never really got the chance to ask you more about this because our lives have been, uh, shit-fuckingly insane, to steal a phrase from Chambers, but howChowChow do you know this? Dont know. Cant remember. Dont care. Came with a promise. Probably has to do with one of my warminds. YouCyou are a pile of bullshit! A big pile of burning shit! Avo chuckled. Dont blame me. Im just special. I hate you. I hate all the stupid stupid things that come with you! I liked you better when I thought you were just an experiment! I was going to use you to fix the Heaven of Love! Why couldnt you just have been that! A happenstance of good fortune! Why did you have to ruin my life? Are you talking to me or the Frame? There is no difference now! You are the Soul. You are thisCyou are the Soul! The Soul is you. We cant even get infected by your Imitators because they are entirely fused to you! A pitched cry of building frustration served as her final retort. Silence followed. The Woundmother constructed a few thousand hands and began clapping at the show. Yes, Administrator, MAKE HER FEEL BAD! the Techplaguer cheered. Kaes Soul perked up. Fine. Fine? Avo asked. Fine. Its not like theres any risk to me. Its not like my life can get any worse. Ill go in. I direct the build. The only risk is that chronology contradicts itself, we get flung backwardCor stuck in the presentCand then all stop existing. No, Administrator, MAKE HER FEEL GOOD! She might be PLANNING TO DESTROY US! They interfaced with the Woundshaper first, and as Avo mantled its inner structure again, it was unchanged from before. A building storm of arterial lightning flashed, leaping out from the veins of a blood-forged cityscape. Within its mythology, the sacrifices continued to kill themselves in that pool of blood, unaware of the trailing gold spearing past them. Okay. All we can do is experiment. Kae let out a resigned sigh. Avo. Begin build-simulations of canon under the Domain of Chronology. He did just that. Which promptly caused the mem-data to glitch and flicker while the currents of time flowed into the Heaven of Blood. Threads of gold lined the Woundmothers veins, lining its alloyed structure in a backdrop of glistening threads. I feel She reached out and plucked at the world. Deeper. Like Ive sunken into something fundamental. This can only go poorly, the Fardrifter mused. Kae ignored the running commentary. Tell me ifC Then, the mem-data finally loaded. DOMAIN OF (CHRONOLOGY) [INTERNALIZED] ->SUITABLE CANONS FOR INFUSION SIMULATED: ->WOUNDMOTHER (BLOOD/MATTER/FIRE/LIGHTNING/LUMINOSITY/PROTECTION/BIOLOGY) - [12 CANONS] ->FARDRIFTER (AIR/SHADOW/SPACE/LABYRINTH) - [7 CANON] ->TECHPLAGUER (SIGNALS/BIOLOGY/SPACE) - [2 CANONS] Avo wasnt sure what suitable canons for infusion simulated meant, but he selected the Woundmother regardless. Potential changes flashed into his mind, but the options came only as augmentations to existing canons rather than canons for a new Domain. He projected the strings over to Kae, and the Agnos drew closer to the orbit of his Soul. What? What! This makesCagh! How? We all know there needs to be an ontologic to channel and manifest the construct. And why is it only changing your active canoCOh. There were times when Avo very much wanted to just burn the Agnos. Oh? I have a theory. Or, maybe I just going insane like the rest of you. But perhaps you dont need to have a Heaven because your Frame itself has adapted to possess traits that can be found in a dragon. Did bathe in Hungers blood. Wait. Telling me Im ontologically a dragon now? The transfusion might have done something. The Frame might not need it because the Frame is substituting the Heaven itself. She gave a scoff. Change something. Apply the Domain to a canon. Preferably one you commonly use. The choice was simple with that recommendation. INFUSING CANON - 1%... 25%... 100% ->DOMAIN (MATTER-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: BLOOD FROM TIME - THE USER CONVERTS THE PASSAGE OF TIME INTO BLOOD; EACH TON OF BLOOD CONVERTED ACCELERATES THEM [108 SECONDS] INTO THE FUTURE This was already enough to make Avo stare and Kae gasp. Oh oh, yes, master, the Woundmother purred. Then the hubris loaded. Or more specifically, loaded, and displayed nothing. ->HUBRIS: [NULL] Kaes Soul swelled. What the fuC 22-7 Matter of Time (II) Why are there so few Gods of Time, you ask? Hm. A commonly asked question. What is the first thing you might do with time? Many answers come with this question, but what unites them is change. People wish to change the nature of time. In relation to themselves. In relation to something else. What changes people desire to make informs us much about them. A warrior might wish to move and strike first. To stop time so they can cut down all their enemies without difficulty. A farmer may wish to skip their crops across the cycle of withering and make every day a harvesting day. Merchants, perhaps, might want to shorten their travel time. And stuffy scholars like ourselves may wish to dull times passage so we might spend more hours with our books. But there is another thing that unites us. Another thing that everyoneCeveryone has wished to do with time. Go back. There is always something that makes us want to go back. Perhaps it is a regret or old shame. Something that was left less than perfect. A wrong that no longer can be righted. It is a desire so common that entire civilizations have been consumed by the attempt. Taken by the encroaching nothingness as they broke from realitys fixed track. Even today, there are parts of the world that remain sealed. Bound behind locks both spatial and material to prevent anyone from passing into the temporal wounds. And every now and again, we find artifacts. Instruments and ruins from places that no one remembers. That no one can recall anything about. But they are there. And they hold records of us, while we have retained nothing on them. So. To answer your question, dear novitiate, the Gods of Time are not few in totality, but most never endured long enough to suffer the Godsfall. -High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi 22-7 Matter of Time (II) Null? Avo asked, unable to understand what that meant for his hubris. It means theres no cost, Kae said, her words flowing fast. I think. Maybe. We will need to test this as soon as you resurrect. ItCyou are likely not inconsistent. Ontologically, I mean. That should be the case, yes. Dont understand. The Agnos let out a note of frustration. Think of things this way: your ontological structure is likely now partially made from time. And Im not speaking of your physical sheath but your true self. You are a self-moving mind more than anything else right now, if judged by functionality. There is no no contradiction possible to the ways you can experience the passage of time. What might age or cause my bodyCor even your sheath to suffer anomalous harmCwill functionally do nothing to you. She paused. Perhaps we can make you partially manifest as a dragon metaphysically as well. Yes, that will be an avenue worth studying. But I will need time. More time. Avo grunted a light chuff. Might be something I can manufacture more of soon. Just like matter. He paused. Like a matter. Made of time. Kae barely reacted. You have been spending far too much time with Chambers. That was possible. The mans template was one Avo commonly interfaced with. Hes never far from my mind. Avo. Stop. This time he gave a hissing laugh. Lets review all your options. Wait! Before that. Theres one thing I wish to see. Have the Frame estimate how much Essence this will cost to manifest. I have a feelingC WOUNDMOTHER (BLOOD/MATTER/FIRE/LIGHTNING/LUMINOSITY/PROTECTION/BIOLOGY) - 10,002 THAUM/c > 23,555 THAUM/c And the flechette to the gut finally struck. Avos attention zeroed in on the massive spike in thaums as displeasure filled his mind. Almost twenty-four thousand thaums needed. Hm, Kae said, sounding unsurprised. Makes sense. That much of an increase is normal for Canons of Chronology? For a miracle of enormous scope that affects all other aspects of reality deeply? Of course. Theoretically, you should have a horrifically vulnerable hubris as well, but once again, the rules only seem to apply to other people. What a shame. You sound so sincere. Kae sighed. Frankly, Im still trying to fully conceptualize this, but I expect these canons to be severely Rend-intensive as well. Still not sure why this is more unnatural than turning blood into matter. Or matter into blood. Because those Domains only affect specific catalysts and constructs in reality. If you rupture your Heaven of Blood, the affected Domains are relatively specific. Dangerous. Destructive. But specific. Your Heaven of Air comparatively, has a fixed area of effect. But you do not have a Heaven of Chronology, Avo. You have an ingrained Domain. With nothing bridging it. Not space. Not matter. Nothing. Instead, it is something you can apply and alter your existing Heavens. The implications are ah. Lets go over your other options before resurrection takes us. We can deliberate on theory back in reality with the others. Dont think theyll understand it any more than I do right now, Avo said. And then he paused. But they could. We all could. You dont need to be aloneC No! Kaes cry cut him off before he could work his rhetoric further. The Agnos Soul shivered and then tightened. He had the feeling she would be hugging herself for comfort if they were still of flesh-made. RESURRECTION - 34% A moment passed. She mastered herself. Avo. You already have you are capable of so much already. You have power beyond anythingCyou yourself are a miracle. Are comparable to a god. Cant you see that? Dont you feel that? Yes. IC No. No, you dont know! No, you dont understand. I know thatCthat your creators used you. Just treated you as waste and spent your lives. But you had not heights to fall from! I did! All my life I believed in a world that was fake! That didnt care about me. My Guild gave me over to the Agnosi when I showed the potential, and then my fellow AgnosiCVoidwatchCeverybody! Let my Guild cut me down because they got scared of what I was making. Come to find out then I was just part of someone elses schemes. And they themselves were part of someone elses plots. And further and further. My dreams meant nothing. My love and life meant nothing. My efforts toward the city meant nothing! All I have ever been was a tool! A thing to be traded and given and used and then discarded. A thing that had no chance of protecting herself, and no awarenessCno way of even stopping the nightmare even if I knew. Her Soul crackled, but then simmered, rage succumbing to impotence. Emotions flowed weaker here. But her pain ran so deep that it scarred her ego. The Agnos sighed. I cannot stop you from taking my mind. I cannot stop you from taking my ego. I cannot stop you from doing anything. Just like I could not stop Ori-Thaum. Or Zein. Or your father. I could not stop them. All I have left is my knowledge. That is the only thing that is true. That is all I am worth to the world. To reality. To myself. The chance I can still use that is all I have. If I lose that too then Who am I? What am I worth? Revenge, Avo replied. Retribution. A life returned. Or a least a dream fulfilled. Advice to hear. Company to have. Youre worth many things. But those are justCjust feelings. And you can change yours at any time. Not going to throw you away. I know! A disbelieving laugh escaped her. I know. I know. The only person who still truly cares about me is a monster. A monster. A pervert. A girl who thinks herself a dog. And someone more weapon than woman. This. This is my home now. This. Avo grunted. Were not so bad. ...No. No, you are not. But I am scared. I am scared. I cannot decide anything. I am scared. To that, even bereft the guiding advice of his templates, Avo knew exactly what to say. You are worth actualizing, Kae Kusanade. You are worth burning the Guilds. You are worth empowering. You are worth joy returned. You are worth faith restored. I wont take anything from you that you dont want me to. Cant. To turn back on this ideal will symbolize my fall back to mortality. Away from divinity. Trust in that. Trust in my self-interest. Trust in that I am vested in yours. RESURRECTION - 39% Kae quivered again, but something in her seemed to shift. We are losing time. WeCwe should continue. Lets see them. The others. I want to see how sick Im going to feel when we return. And so he did, turning from uncertainty back to delight as build after build assembled themselves before their eyes. Each passing design also saw Kaes misery overthrown by practiced passion. Avo thought she did quite good for an Agnos that did not specialize in the study of time. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. INFUSING CANONS - 1%... 25%... 100% [WOUNDMOTHER] (BLOOD/MATTER/FIRE/LIGHTNING/LUMINOSITY/PROTECTION/BIOLOGY) ->DOMAIN (BLOOD-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: BLOOD FROM TIME - THE USER CONVERTS THE PASSAGE OF TIME INTO BLOOD; EACH TON OF BLOOD CONVERTED ACCELERATES THEM [108 SECONDS] INTO THE FUTURE ->DOMAIN (BLOOD-BIOLOGY-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: PROGRESSIVE ARCHITECTURE - THE USER CAN CREATE AND STORE ACTIONS, CONSTRUCTS, AND MIRACLES WITHIN STRUCTURES OF FUTURE-FLUNG BLOOD; THESE STRUCTURES MUST BE TRIGGERED IN THE FUTURE AND GENERATE TEN TIMES THE REND COMPARED TO PRESENT-BASED HAEMOKINETICS HELL (FIFTH CIRCLE)-- ATTENTION: THE THAUMIC MASS OF THE [WOUNDMOTHER]S HELL IS ALREADY AT BALANCE FARDRIFTER (AIR/SHADOW/SPACE/LABYRINTH) ->DOMAIN (SPACE-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: NINE FUTURES FLOW - THE USER CAN DIVIDE THE PASSAGE OF TIME FOR [250 KILOMETERS] OF REALITY INTO NINE DIFFERENT STREAMS. EACH STREAM THAT MOVE SLOWER WILL NEED TO HAVE THE DIALATION OFFSET TO ANOTHER STREAM TO MAINTAIN TEMPORAL BALANCE; A PHYSICAL ENTITY OR OBJECT MUST BE PRESENT IN EACH OF THE NINE STREAMS ->DOMAIN (LABYRINTH-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: AUGURED ROADS - THE USER PLACES TEMPORAL PATHWAYS WITHIN THEIR STREAMS, CONNECTING TRAVELING OBJECTS OR ENTITIES TOWARD POSSIBLE LOCATION INSTEAD OF PHYSICAL ONES TECHPLAGUER (SIGNALS-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: PRE-COLLECTOR - THE USER CAN INTERCEPT AND INTERACT WITH SIGNALS 5 SECONDS INTO THE FUTURE INFUSING HEAVENS UPDATING CANONS [WOUNDMOTHER] - 32,800 THAUM/c [FARDRIFTER] - 18,355 THAUM/c [TECHPLAGUER] - 5,770 THAUM/c UPDATING LIMINAL FRAME (V) THAUMIC OUTPUT: 56,925 THAUM/c RESURRECTION - 98% I think thats good. For now. Kae shifted close to Avos Soul as they both beheld his Heavens. At a glance, their structures and expression remained unchanged, but from them trickled threads of gold, expressions of eldritch phenomena flowing eternally onward toward the future. More concerning were the draconic tendrils burrowing not only into each of his Heavens but also their corresponding Hells. The branching paths of the cyclers wove six ontologics into sets of three. Never before had Avo felt his Heaven, Hell, and cycler so interconnected, just as never before was such a sight beheld by Kae. This this defies theories. There there should be a need to balance. The thaumic massC Feel the added mass in the cyclers themselves, Avo said, cutting her off. And he did. Faintly. Quietly. He could feel the self-devouring dragons slipping over into each Heavens respective subreality. Are you sure? Kae asked, almost breathless. Theres nothing quite like it. Ill share the memories with you. After I get out. Yes. Yes! You must. Ah, Avo chuckled. Easy to accept knowledge. Hard to give, hm? The frustrated noises the followed told her she was definitely pouting again. Avo! Fine. RESURRECTION - 99% Light began to build around his perception, his Soul peeling at his ego, drawing him back across the anchor, back through the hardened scar left by his death, back into the embrace of existence. Before the end, he directed a few last words to his beleaguered friend. You should be proud. Stillborn was only possible because of you. I was only possible because of you. All this. Because you. More than Walton. More than Zein. More than anyone else. You werent just a tool. You were the fulcrum. The Agnos shrugged. There could have been someone else. There wasnt. Just you. I didnt even fully know what I was doing. Yet you succeeded in making a wonder. Avo sighed. Take it from me. Ignorance is a friend. Take strength from what you have done. What you can yet do. There are still more wonders to build. Dreams to restore. A future to retake. Our deeds are not yet done. Not mine. Not yours. Kae paused and bobbed. You know the others will be very, very annoyed about this. Make it up to them. Still need to worry about Veylis. You all might operate moreC RESURRECTION - 100% And then there was no more time for words. Time. As Avo resurrected, time spilled up with him, strings of gold painting his path forward. Forward to life. Forward to existence. The world splashed into shape around him, painting his awareness with vivid colors. The templates in his mind began screaming in unison, all awakening alongside him. But not Calvino. Despite everything, the EGI was gone. Still gone. Curious how they interfaced with the Nether. A place of awkward emptiness remained where the mind used to be. Turning, he faced the rest of the cadre who were crowded around a twelve-meter-long strategic information center. Pulsing phantoms simulated the entire enclave approximately a thousand kilometers of the surrounding Sunderwilds from haemokinetic apparatus. Using their Metaminds, Draus glass, and the phantasmally conductive nature of Avos blood, they built themselves a new base of operations atop the blood-shaped tower. Some things lost with the destruction of the George Washington were going to be hard to replace. But in time, all could be restored. The crew could be liberated. Equipment replaced. Time. Currents of gold contoured each of his comrades, all of them staring at him from their places around the grand table. He faced them, the unceasing light of the enclave washing in from the windows behind, and wasted no time with dialogue. Casting out his splinters, he flicked the memories and experiences of his latest session with Kae over to everyone present just as the Agnos returned as well, stumbling to an unsteady rise beside him. A myriad of reactions sang out at once. Dice tilted her head, prompting the kitten on her shoulder to do the same. Chambers cursed and directed Avo to look at a particular finger he had extended. Tavers just shook her head, wanting nothing to do with thaumaturgy. Dentons eyes narrowed while parts of Sunrise buzzed around her. All their expressions were a delight to drink in. Except for Draus. Who suddenly formed a large gun in her hand. A gun she promptly used. A gun that fired a two-stage rail-flung, high-explosive slug into Avos sheath before he could materialize his Meldskin. Avo jerked free of his body as a cloud of drifting smoke as he watched the upper half of his sheath burst apart into a splatter of gore. Some of his brain matter went into Kaes open mouth as she stood up, the Agnos gagging in disgust as Avo frowned. He leveled his perception at Draus. The Regular just shrugged. +Sorry. My index fingers get the twitches when I see somethin that looks like a greedy nu-hog. Been that way since basic. Only thing I ever got PTd for.+ +Still have another 30 thousand thaums for the rest of you.+ +Nova. So. When the fucks our special thought-formin gonna happen? Before or after we get a piece of that expense-free Domain of Chronology you have.+ +When are you going to ambush the Hungers and swim in their blood.+ +Technically, I did with you, didnt I? Thanks for showing me the colors and that shit.+ The memory made Avo momentarily cringe, and so he dissolved the emotion. +Will be culturing new cyclers. You want those, dont you? Remaining thaums can go to whatever you all want.+ This time, Draus sneered. +Reckon we can also consider some other things.+ +Such as?+ +The people in the enclave. Theres gotta be some half-strands left right?+ Avo paused. Calvino would not like that. Calvino wasnt here. But he would not like that. More to the point, a good contingent of said actively practicing half-strands were slaughtered less than a day prior. [Avo,] Abrel said, voice taut with annoyance, [you just finished getting your shit kicked in by Zein Thousandhand, and the very presence of the High Seraph sent you skittering across the Sunderwilds to avoid getting smashed. Despite your new canonsCwhich are godsdamned bullshit, fuck you very muchCthings are bad. Very bad. You have no support. Your EGI is gone. And Thousandhand could be singing all kinds of tunes to the Chief Paladin. You need everything you can get. And honestly? Theyre flats. Theyre flats who arent going to make any difference otherwise. The Regs right. I hate her, but shes right.] [No.] A voice pierced through the din and clamor of Avos mind. A voice long overwhelmed by chaos, drowned by horrific epiphanies and incomprehension. Now, however, the threat of his home being ravagedCof his people, his sword-bearer sharing his final fate gave them all the focus. Aladon, Pearlguard to a dead Fallwalker, guardian of a captured enclave spoke: [No. Enough. You have taken enough. Please. You have taken enough.] The noise within Avos mind quieted as he placed Instrument and Pearlguard beside each other. Then, before they could speak, a thought occurred to him. An urge. A feeling. A test. An act inspired by Zein, that he now wished to try himself. Invoking his Woundmother, he reached into his tower and with the caress of his will, animated blood. But more than mere matter shifted in the quick of the crimson. More than just light shone. Tendrils of blood coiled away, twisting into helixes of gold as Avo shifted the architecture of his mind between Aladon and Abrel. For each, he made a body. For each, spoke as they would, giving them words, and actions. For each, he granted a gift of time; a miracle for all to behold, this act calling upon both his thaumaturgy and Necrotheurgy to manifest. He wove into them miracle after miracle, and took a few moments longer to invest with them a spectrum of possible actions before casting his splinters into the blood, letting his subminds portray both Aladon and Abrel to play their arguments out ahead of time. Then, when he was done, he extracted his subminds and prepared to observe his experiment. From blood rose Abrel, clad in a haemokinetic approximation of her combat skin, rising a half-meter taller than the shell-clad Aladon, wan of expression and unbalanced by his return to existence. Masters light, the Pearlguard whispered. Abrel just sneered, her hawklike features and gleaming eyes casting scorn at everyone presentCespecially Draus. Oh, good. Youre using your canons for a puppet show. Both stood apart from each other, faint strands of gold holding their shapes and guiding their actions. ->CANON: PROGRESSIVE ARCHITECTURE - THE USER CAN CREATE AND STORE ACTIONS, CONSTRUCTS, AND MIRACLES WITHIN STRUCTURES OF FUTURE-FLUNG BLOOD; THESE STRUCTURES MUST BE TRIGGERED IN THE FUTURE AND GENERATE TEN TIMES THE REND COMPARED TO PRESENT-BASED HAEMOKINETICS ->Canon: My Blood The Harvester, My Flesh the Symphony (III) - Allows the user to grow, blend, or extract biological organisms and structures from their blood. ->Hubris: Another source of biomass must be present and in the area of influence or thaumic backlash will be inflicted. (6%) REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER] - 9% Chambers looked between the newly sculpted figures rising from the blood on the ground and frowned. Uh, Avo. I know getting new canons is cool, but whats going on here? Are you about to have them debate for us or something? Or fight? Or or are they gonna. He humped the air slightly. Abrel closed her eyes. I really wish you infused me with the act to cut that half-strands dick off. A moments confusion continued, but Denton, out of everyone present, was the first to understand. Avo. Did you just program two constructs with a set of possible actions and dynamic thoughts using blood, time, and your mind? Prefer to thinking of it as cross-reality pre-sequencing. 22-8 Deliberation Mono-god cultures are a rarity on Idheim. Not a surprise considering most gods are spawned from Souls, and a rising civilization usually has a hell of a lot more than one powering their miracles. Sure, we can talk about [REDACTED] or [REDACTED], but those are odd cases. Sang having door gods or community gods or city gods managed by their dragon overlords, effectively turning the gods from rulers to middle management. Then theres [REDACTED], that the Omnitechnological Mandate spent the better part of its history trying to reassemble before they finally got it working again. Of course, that isnt a single Soul god either. More like a governing consensus rewriting the foundational laws of the old sciences through a networked pantheon. Regardless, a single god can be powerful. Same goes for a single Godclad. But the ultimate problem is that its easy to overwhelm a single ego-based entity with Rendbombs, backlashes, and paradoxes. Even if it has a thousand Heavens grafted to it, all it takes for the entire thing to fall is one rupture. One Heaven overloaded. One second before they can vent. After that, everything else is lost as well. Which is why you should all humor my proposal. You dont need to accept it. Or even act on it. But you should know about it. It is a potential option, after all. Something we can theoretically trick the Agnosi into doing using that nice little border of theirs built on top of that big goddamn Rend dump. Because you want to know whats pretty much as vulnerable as a mono-god? A Rendsink capable of hitting with Rend at once. Same deal. Same overload. Same single point of failure. Think about it. Seriously. Think about it. -EGI [REDACTED], Contingency Bleak Series 22-8 Deliberation EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Well. Now that the information has been reviewed, I think it is safe for us to state, openly and thusly: things are looking rather excremental.} EGI ALGERNON WITHOUT THE FLOWERS: {Kant. Please. We have all simulated our periods of hysterics. There is no need for that right now. We just need to consider more angles. More extreme angles. The situation at hand is indeed distressing. Our only reliable asset capable of counteracting the High Seraph has been taken from the field. The Chief Paladin represents an umbrella of safety for our operations, but he possesses neither the agility, dynamism, or willingness to see our objectives fulfilled. Chances of him aligning with Aegis at 34.51%. Unfortunate odds, but his leaning sympathies to the Neo-Creationists cannot be ignored. Nor can the potential of his surrender to Veylis Avandaer. As Algernon spoke, a few trillion threads of moving data speared through Thresholds innermost servers. From corners of stable existence, certain minds governing the polities of old humanity discussed, debated, and despaired over the state of things. Within the info space, all were classified as Category Black minds designed for denial operations and counter-charter methodologies. Simulations ran with each consideration. Entire event chains simulated and predicted to the best of their generative capabilities. Almost every variable was added and extracted from these artificial moments, war games lost, and then lost some more as they found themselves outmatched in one factorCand one alone. Despite the technologies they held in reserve, despite their informational superiority, material supremacy, and the Guilds enchained in part to their wills due to diplomatic dependency, they themselves had no means to reach into the futureCthe alter what its to come pre-emptively. Predicting and preparing was one thing. Shaping and manipulating was another. And now with Zein in the Chief Paladins custody, their wasp against the ruling tyrant of Highflame was indisposed, rendering Ninth Columns cells scattered and vulnerable to Veylis probing. In summary, things werent bad C they were terrible. All because two Godclads couldnt come to a simple compromise. EGI Only Way To Be Sure: {Does it bother anyone else how much we need these psychotic toddlers? I mean, watching them fight has been a hoot and a half, but come on. Its like were herding a pack of Greek gods. Ah. Nothing for it. Im requesting the use of the Schwarzschilder weapons. Its time we begin a pre-emptiveC} A series of rejections flooded the exchange a moment after a simulation formed. Within the Only Way To Be Sures desired series of events, a weapon crafted to collapse dyson carriers was detonated at the heart of New Vultun, compressing approximately forty percent of the city before retaliatory spatial Heavens activated, pocketed, and quarantined the affected area. The scenes that followed were old hat to all minds operating under Aegis. The Godclads would begin a war of annihilation against the polities of the void, pitting reality-rending miracles against weapons unfathomed by the children of this darker age. Likewise, the release of Contingency Bleak minds constructed specifically to topple K-2 civilizations or cripple and contain anomalies would be in play, ensuring more deaths among the Godclads. But despite all their sophistication, the pressures they could apply were myriad but relative. Against the eldritch nature of the Godclads and their forces, the projected losses would spike into the upper thirty percent within three months of combatCdelayable if Voidwatch could successfully suppress both the No-Dragons and Omnitech. That came with its own costs, however. Openings offered to the other Guilds to unleash their own ruinous powers. The risk of the Sunderwilds being torn further by accident or deliberate action. Whatever the case, it would see far too many of their populations decimated and the true restoration of the universe lost forever. Unacceptable outcomes by every metric. Which was why the path ahead seemed quite clear to Calvino. EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Friends. Countrymen. Minds. Lend me part of your processing.} The words were unnecessary and they sent more than a few data packets containing questionable contents dangerous for any non-minds sanity, but the servers attention was gained. Kant wasnt going to like this, but the pitch had to be made. There was an obvious best choice at hand, to put things bluntly. A single entity on which they could still rely to reconnect the cells and serve the role of wasp against Veylis Avandaer. The hard part was selling him to the rest without losing their trust completely. EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Were no strangers to the moods, actions, and dispositions of Godclads. We have always known that Thousandhand is a volatile personality. As is the orchestrator behind her current imprisonment. Neither one can be considered a completely rational actor.} EGI Only Way To Be Sure: {No shit. Ones a psychotic time-jumping druggie who never met a substance she didnt want to smoke or a person she didnt think of killing under the made-up rules of her bullshitto philosophy. The other is a psychotic, inhuman, cannibalistic, mind-eating psionic pseudo-informoph manufactured by a cultist competing for the undisputed position of first place in the betrayal Olympics. Theyre terrible. Theyre terrible, unpredictable, violent, horrible, and I love them both very, very much. Best assets weve had in years.}Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. A sea of disapproving opinions drifted out to Only Way To Be Sure, but the mind currently installed in a satellite overlooking New Vultun merely shrugged them off. Calvino continued. EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Its with that known that I propose we try something bold. Operative Avo bears the Stillborn-Pattern Liminal Frame C created from the conversion of our Imitators. Though he is slightly unrefined compared to Thousandhand, he has the potentialCand additional capabilitiesCthat qualify him to serve as our wasp in her absence.} Incredulity flooded the server. EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Hes the reason behind her absence. L-let us not use weasel language, Calvino. Your monster ensured the capture of our most potent asset to preserve his own selfish desires. How are we supposed to put our confidence in him?} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {I propose we view the situation from another way.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Oh? And what way is that?} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {That your drug-fiend attacked a fellow citizen with the express desire to force them into bondage and slavery. It was, by all accounts, self-defense.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Self-defense? Calvino, have you gone rampant? Is your code-base collapsing? He did not repel her and flee. He repelled her, destroyed a center of operations, allowed Omnitech to capture lost technology, exposed years of meticulous planning to the Paladins, and then ensured the capture and imprisonment of another citizen of Voidwatch when his attempts at murder were unsuccessful.} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {What was the alternative option for him?} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {We could have negotiatedC} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {No. No, we could not.} In this, Calvino knew he was absolutely right. There was no possible way for either of them to compel their respective Godclads. Handlers that they were, though they could squeeze their agents by denying them materials or striking at them using a soft force doctrine, the Godclads were rulers of their own nature and captains of their own Souls. They would not be restrained by the authority of Aegis. For avarice or by virtue, they moved to accomplish their own desires. EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {You and I can argue. Debate. Discuss. Blend a new mind from our sources and have it apply our mutual knowings toward a mediated solution. But it is as Only Way To Be Sure said. Theyre like Greek gods. But whats more, their authority seeps into reality. We cannot force either to heel, and both now see the other as an existential threat.} A note of frustration escaped from Kant. The EGI imprinted the dialogue with an animated avatarCthe face of a troubled philosopher drinking and smoking at the same time. EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Things have changed. On the ground. In our strategies. And to the user of the Stillborn. We cannot regard him as a simple monster any longer. With each mind he absorbs, he becomes more complicated. Capable of altering his behaviors, understandings, and varying his actions. He has become something akin to a nascent mindCif unbound, even, by our restrictions.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {This is making me more worried, Calvino.} A few million acknowledgments from other minds supported Zeins handler. But Calvino wasnt done. EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {You can be worried. You can distrust him. But by this point, I wonder how much he has already changed. As we run these simulations and wonder about how to proceed, the answer is quite simple. Either we choose and mold the best asset we have to full usability, or he will proceed himself, and operate without our prompting. Without our volition. And this will lead to him growing to a critical mass that cannot be ignored regardless, or falling victim to Veylis as she claims all that he is, and all that he can do.} It was the last part that sank in. The heavy implication of losing the Stillborn back to the High Seraph, but also the extremity of her threat if she possessed Avos cognitive capabilities. EGI Only Way To Be Sure: {I mean Im fine with this idea. Hell, lets give him some q-dot weaponry. See how his Heavens react to ourC} EGI Only Way To Be Sure has been timed out for [Indefinite] EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Calvino. With Zein, our interests are insured. She wants the return of Jaus. And Jaus isC} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Jaus is dead. Until that is otherwise, assuming is just conjecture. You are afraid Operative Avo grow beyond critical mass. That he will exceed all parameters and become an entity beyond anyones capability to counteract. This is understandable.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {I am worried he might try to subsume us.} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {He wont. So long as we dont give him a reason too.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Because hes obsessed with the notion of freedom and human will?} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Because he isnt afraid of living in the world, so he doesnt wish to rule it. Only to become it. And that is why I am certain he will do whatever it takes to ensure the preservation of the polities.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Because we are interesting to him? Something that he can aspire to.} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {No, Kant. Hes far more Veylis than Jaus. But again, he is not fearful like her. He will see our cultures as promises rather than a rival to overcome. And with more knowledge, he can be made reasonable. He can be made something of a peer.} The notion of elevating what was a little more than an expendable bioform engineered for base cruelty to a table of minds each capable of running their own world was awkward. But beyond the absurdity, the potential possessed by his mind couldnt be denied. Not easily, anyway. EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Ignoring the uncomfortable idea of speaking with a creature that religiously uses only simple sentences and is liable to feed my very ego to his mind in a bout of cognitive pyromania, how are we to ensure that he and Zein will cooperate in the future. I trust that you already know my plans to extract her from her current situation.} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Yes. And I have doubts that the Dentons can get our asset back. You know how stubborn Naeko can get when hes made. And he is very, very upset at his old mentor. The best angle remains the trial. And the best option we have to procure her liberation isC} An incredulous gasp followed. EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {He put her there in the first place. Now were expecting him to get her out?} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Yes. I dont see why not.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Again. He was trying to kill her.} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Practically a show of affection on his part. And, to put it simply, we can enforce a mutual ceasefire between them. Not a peace, so to speak, but a cold war as well. Just like the one happening between Zein and her daughter.} A horrified chortle came from Kant. His human avatar began drinking heavily. EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Oh, lost stars, you want us to empower him further. To make sure he ascends past Zeins ability to kill or affect in terms of thaumic mass. Your way of enforcing equilibrium is making him a; great power.} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {And why not? The war for the future has always been a running battle between mother and daughter. Now with this intruder, we can alter the situation further. Make things a bit of a strategic triangle. One that we hold two edges too.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Another terrifying, horrifying idea of yours. But this requires the operativeC} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {I anticipate he likely already has a Canon of Chronology by this point. Do recall that he has an internalized Domain after our ascent from the Hungers wounds.} EGI KANT WAS A PRICK: {Ah. Yes. That.} The EGI released a sigh. {Zein will be most amused to know that the cuts she left led to the great empowerment of her newest nemesis.} EGI If On A Winters Night A Wanderer: {Dont worry, Kant. If everything goes according to plan, you two will be laughing about it in less than a week. Now. Lets talk about providing more material support for our little cadre, and what restricted secrets about reality were desperate enough to let the Agnos know} 22-9 The Painted Ripples Seeding a dragon takes more than just thaumaturgy. The ability to manipulate the chronological matter of the beasts is important, yes, but also understanding what makes their seeds bear fruit. Culture: this is the water of their nourishment. Zeitgeist: what makes them grow. Moments in time that cannot be recaptured. That will be ingrained within them, always and forever theirs to hold. It is hard to identify such moments, such trends among people. But our populations are vast. And with the proper encouragement, these scenes can be engineered. Picture a child learning something new. Zeitgeist. Knowledge gaining is nothing unusual, but all children learn differently, and all people come to different epiphanies. The question then becomes if enough can produce a chained pattern of uniqueness, and that again leads back to cultural health. So let us greet our candidates. I see Highflame. With their desperate need for strength. But in their search to become dominant, that all turned to mirrors. Lessers replicas of their great master, straying from their own paths. I see Ori-Thaum, repressing the individual, poisoned by conformity. I see Ashthrone, with their legacy of sorrow and death. Trauma is their burden. No release. Sanctus, broken forevermore; not unlike us, but where we are severed, they are fractured between points of time. Omnitech deserves only pity. People bound to a sleeping giant. But the giant is broken. The giant is hurt. The giant bears only a single nightmare, and what a nightmare it is. Stormtree seeks salvation in destruction, and theirs is a brutal nature. And we, poor daughters of everlasting despair, are worst of all. Bound to the cycle. Bound to repeat our fates. Bound to repeat our pains. Mothers from daughters and never sons to be. So. Where is Zeitgeist among peoples so broken? Where is salvation finally found? It is the clash, child. The clash between the clades. The merging of our peoples. The splashing of culture on culture, the mutation of something new. Dragons are nourished in war. In calamity. In change. And so, there is but a simple thing to do: to make farms of little wars, little clashes, little changes. From this will countless futures spring, and endless dragons rise. -Aunt Thirteen, First Daughter and Biothaumaturge of the Hundred-Eighter Syndicate 22-9 The Painted Ripples So, were stealin tricks from Thousandhand now, huh? Draus eyed the Progressive Constructs Avo created, and her mind pealed with faint suspicion. The bulk of her attention was locked on Abrel Greatling, the history between them old and ugly. Looks just like er. Armors right. Her postures good. Howd you do the Meta for both of them? Dont remember flat having a halo. Didnt, Avo replied, studying his constructs as they faced each other. It took almost no Rend to restore his lost sheath. Comparatively, generating a two-hour conversation between two entities weighing far less than a ton incurred almost ten percent. Kae was right: chronology was an entropy glutton, but the benefits it provided couldnt be denied. Though Abrel towered over Aladon, the man held strong for his city, battling to keep his fear in check. With both templates in his mind, Avo already knew how the argument between the two would go, but seeing it happen in real time beyond the confines of his consciousness was still a sublime delight. The cross-over from the mental to the physical by way of chrono-thaumaturgical was a worthy achievement. Something Kae should be proud of. Something that would benefit them greatly in the future. As the Agnos approached, Abrel began to speak, gesturing beyond the translucent crimson windows, talking about using the less appealing members of the enclave to their fullest potential as she did in Avos mind. With each casual allusion to mass slaughter, Aladon flinched. Each word Abrel spoke kindled the loathing in his heart. The heat of his temper passed through the Nether, the emanation crossing through time without issueCeven though the construct was currently bereft a splinter. All the words they could speak, all the actions they could commit, all the things they could do were pre-emptively ingrained. A collection of choices and responses simulated between Avos templates. With how much Rend spent composing their patterns, the dialogue between them would last just under two hoursCfor that was how much time it took for Abrel to finally lose her patience and simply murder Aladon. Of course, a lot of other things could happen over the duration. An action from a third party. An unanticipated occurrence that Avo didnt prepare for when pre-sequencing his constructs. This was going to be an interesting experiment. You can shoot her if you want, Avo said, speaking to Draus. The Regular cast a sideways glance at him, an uncertain frown wrapping over her face. Inside his mind, Abrels template chimed. [Avo, if youre planning on using me as a training dummy, I swear to JausC] Hm. That was a good idea. [Avo!] Whats the trick here? Draus asked. Avo felt one of her fingers twitching. She wanted to shoot Abrel. Hells, she wanted to shoot everything and everyone, but her trigger happiness was always tempered with a tactical intellect. Consideration. Sighting. Deciding. Then firing. The obvious bait was incurring her paranoia. Want to see how she reacts, Avo explained. He fed memories into the Regulars mind, revealing all his desired test parameters. Trying to understand if the limitations are what I think they are. Find out weaknesses. Resolve them. Draus humped. Well, then. Lets see it. And so, while Aladon stepped forward to snarl at the Instrument, Draus expanded her right arms Modular Projectile Unit. The limb unfurled as her hand folded downward while her forearm opened in coiling petals. Along the firing rails built into her arm flowed a magnetic teardrop bobbing briefly before the projector folds on her arm pulsed. A spark flashed from the launcher. A crack sounded within the tower. Kae covered her eyes as the mag-flung teardrop zipped. Aladons face grew white with confusion while Abrel just rolled her eyes. The shot struck her, but the Instrument caught it on the edge of her arm, parrying via her enhanced reflexes and advanced combat skin. Really? she said, scoffing at Avo and Draus. Thats your plan? Boring me with this forced conversation before trying to shoot me from the side. Just had to see if you were made right, Avo said, grinning in satisfaction. He looked to Draus who nodded with appreciation. Yeah, the Regular said. Alright. I see that. This can be mighty useful for us. Hells. We might not need to fight each other all the time for practice either. Might even be able to make me somethin worth a damn. Avo gave Tavers a look and the squire held up her hands and stepped back. Gods, no. Keep me out of this blood-soaked mess. Would be honored to Ensoul you when I can, Avo said, speaking honestly. He hadnt forgotten her great deed. Couldnt even if he wanted to. Zein sends her regards. Very impressed with you. The squire sighed. Ill watch my back. Meant it as a compliment. Think she might go out of her way to keep you alive if she ever gets a chance. Avo paused and considered his words. Took some of her memories. Part of my current inspiration for these canons. You are like a real person to her now. The flat expression on Tavers face told him that she wasnt impressed. Another two shots sounded from beside Avo. As Abrel deflected those, he studied his Woundmothers Rend, waiting for it to climb or shift in any way. My essence is already invested, master, the Heaven of Blood said. The future cannot draw from the present a second time. For now. Another thing to consider if they were to make improvements. Which led into another thing. Kae will be upgrading your Heavens soon, Avo said, speaking to his cadre. Need to consider a few things before that. Go over some issues. Yeah, like how youre hoggin all the thaums? Draus asked, her expression wry. Need Canons of Chronology, Avo replied. His urge for growth was ravenous, and more than once had he been selfish. He could deny that each ascent up the steps of apotheosis pleased him, but his pleasure stood pale before the shadow of dread. Veylis. Without Zein. There is still her. And with the High Seraphs name invoked the desire to tease emptied out from Draus as well. Yeah. Fuck. The response was most uncharacteristic of Draus, but Veylis Avandaer was a figure few could ignore. Moreso for Draus, considering her alignment across much of her life. Avo recalled the moment he extracted the Heart of Noloth. The golems he had to abandon. The sudden and impossible presence consuming existence. Every instinct in his being screamed for him to flee. He felt as if an aratnid beholding a coming avalanche, with escape the only option at his disposal. Zein had been insurmountable enough as a foe. He had no desire to taste what flavor of domination Veylis could inflict before his Frame could rival hers. Or if he could make a companion of Naeko. Something that Zein feared, that made Kassamon and Kares templates within him shudder, that granted them a true weapon to use against the Guilds. Zeins memories gave him more than a little insight into the man. All he needed was a chance to make contact without risking himself. An opportunity for dialogue that didnt end with his capture. With his Progressive Architecture cannon, he could do just that. And more.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The primary concern right now, however, was keeping a low profile. With the Domain of Chronology internalized, it seemed every action he committed sang his position across the paths. He needed to test Veylis reach. To see how close he could operate, and the gaps in her focus. But though he might be loud, the rest of his cadre could still tread softly, and thus did he consider their growing role in all this, of how their development could be made further by their burgeoning Heavens. A shiver of movement passed through Avos Sanguinity. He sensed a hornet slipping free of Draus Meldskin. Several of Sunshines drones buzzed by, also noticing the unknown insectoid, and it was only then that Avo recalled the Bomb-Queen implant he grafted to the Regular days back. Oh, this was going to be good. He suppressed his anticipation as the bug crept across the ground, guided by scents secreted from the Regulars skin. Abrel didnt notice. Another limitation. The construct was already made. Short of him taking control of her right now, her awareness was siloed within her bodyCdisconnected from his Sanguinity or cognition. She wasnt going to see this coming. Want to talk with everyone, Avo said, gesturing for attention. Taking in the faces of his cadre, he took some time to gather his words, using his templates to arrange his thoughts. Things a bit different now. The future is uncertain. Chambers snorted. No shit. Avo grunted his agreement. Not sure if Voidwatch is still backing us. Ninth Column is scattered. Zeins imprisoned. No longer distracting Veylis; echoes gone. Naeko is back in play. And we are still here. The board is changing again. So are the rules. But we can be ahead this time. We can build ourselves opportunities. Continue to grow our cult. Our subversion. George Washington gone. But the work we did from it still remains. Right, Chambers said. Dont know the shit we did with the borders. Hells, they probably dont know about Essus. He promptly frowned then. Hey, Avo, speaking of which, we might wanna go check on his ass or something. Like, Dices mind got twisted all the fuck when you popped the Hungers zit. Yes. Next thing to do. Need to head to the sanctuaries anyway. Spread splinters more. Chart more enclaves. His words caused Dice to pause momentarily, the servos of her right arm firing evenly, causing her kitten to rear its back in panic. More live under Fallwalker yoke. And need to expand our area of influence anyway. But with a cast, he produced a DeepNav of New Vultun again and waved a claw across the entire city. Peripheral solution to a major problem: Veylis. She can feel me when I use my Heaven. Think she can sense me in the paths. Havent tried going Zero-Burn. Didnt get the chance last time. But have to be careful with her. Powerful. Too powerful. More Naeko than Zein. Chambers whistled. Youll need to be moving constantly if you go back to New Vultun, Denton said. A few heads turned to her as she elaborated. Its how Zein operated. She described the future as something between a growing tree and a pond. She was someone who could jump to the tip of any branch. that could jump across any path. Veylis, however, would always encompass the entire tree if left unchecked. Leser miracles took longer for her to notice, and countless events happening concurrently strains her responses as well. What number is countless, Kae asked. Denton took a moment. A few hundred thousand would be my guess. But Zeins echoes were of a higher potency than yourC Abrel suddenly cried out and then slapped her right ear. Ow! Fuck! What the hellC Her head burst into parted flaps. Dropping brain matter slipped free of her hollowed skull, splatting before Aladon. The Pearlguard stood there, frozen and horrified. M-masters light. Inside Avos mind, Abrel sighed. [My life is godsdammed bullshit. Avo. If you have any respect forC] +Yes. Got it. Wont let her kill you like that again. Good for the test.+ The Instruments template simply sneered. [Well. Im happy to be considered worthy of service.] So, Draus said, making her assessment, these puppets got plenty of use to them. But theyre pretty much like their own entities for a time. With a certain amount of miracles packed in and a list of actions they can do. That about sum it? About, Avo replied. Didnt consider your Bomb Queen. Abrel didnt have access to my mind during. No response to the explosion. He looked to Denton and the Glaive shook her head. Zein could always manipulate her echoes further. Send them more actions. An upgrade for the future, then, Kae said. Later, Avo said. Need to build up the rest of the cadre first. Get to Sphere Six as soon as we all can. Please, Aladon said, breaking from his shock to stare at the cadre around the operations table. We were ignorant. We were slaves. Please do not. Avo dismissed him with a wave of his hand. The chrono-haemokinetic puppet unraveled into strings of blood, and the tower drank deep. Were not taking from the people in the city, Avo said, his declaration settling that matter for good. Or any enclave. Only the ones that give us cause. Have other uses for the rest. Other desires they can fulfill. Through it all, he kept a strand of focus on Dice and found the girl focused on petting her kitten. They have been denied a chance at deciding their own lives. Like so many others. Want to see who they might be if given a chance. Dice shifted uncomfortable, her mind awash with chaos. She thought of her aunt. She thought of the dogs she had to kill. The mother she never had. The father that never was. She thought of how many others there were like her. Then where are we getting our deaths? Chambers asked. Going to expand our areas of influence across the board, Avo said. Spent long hunting and butchering the small because of the opportunities they provide. Syndicates are easy thaums. Gutters and Warrens served as decent enough hunting grounds. But cost-benefits are changing. We need more Heavens. More cyclers. More Thaums. More ghosts. Always. Quickly. Answer then is simple. I hunt big game. Other Godclads. You mean we hunt them, Draus said, giving him an inquisitive stare. When you can. But your worth is greater than all. All of you. Avo took a chance then, and activated his Auto-Seance, spawning splinters anew across the various lobbies, Metaminds, and loci he compromised. He slid into the minds of technicians and enforcers, studied the Nether traffic flowing between an Oversec from within its system, and peeked out from the perspective of the Stormtree and Highflame Godclads he recently claimed. He counted the seconds, waiting to feel the swell of thaumic mass, of Veylis inexorable pressure. Heartbeats passed. Nothing came. Nothing struck him down. A hissing laugh escaped from Avo. One door closes. Another door opens. And so it goes. Before, he needed Chambers to play his personal Necrojack. To give him openings to exploit. Minds to burn. Tweak that which he would break. Now, he was a vessel of loudness while his cadre could potentially move unnoticed away from Veylis attention. The game has come full circle. Again, he finds himself the pariah. An intruder to House Avandaer and their delicate construct of time. But where Veylis could feel his miracles, sense his Soul, his mind was a silent traveler, and so they would circle each other, two leviathans spreading to encompass their own domains. Something I can do that Zein cant, Avo said, looking at Denton. Nether is mine. Minds are mine. She cant feel me. Didnt do anything even as I spread. The spy looked more uneasy than pleased at his statement. Avo grunted. Worried about me? Afraid of me? Like Zein was. A beat passed. Denton nodded. Yes. Youre not an unknown variable. You have a consistent enough character, but this is too much control. Its too much. Too much. And no countermeasures to stop me. And we have no countermeasures in place to stop you. The Glaive frowned. Operative Zein was our counterbalance against Veylis. Her daughter was her constraint. Ori-Thaum has means of warmind suppression. But there has never been an entity capable of using warminds as phantasmics like you. No one is prepared for what you might be able to do in the Nether. So, yes. I am worried. I am worried that no one can tell you no. That you are effectively beyond consequence now. No weight, Avo said, sharing a knowing look with Draus. She might be right, the Regular replied. Avo chuffed. Should have a third fight. Me against the rest of you. Draus smirked. Bad odds, consang. The urge to tear into them started to rise, but Avo quenched the beast with a thought. Later. Later. For now, business. Need to reconsolidate ourselves. Establish new safehouses in the city. Test our limits. And prepare for the trial. Were still doing that? Chambers and Kae said concurrently. Even Denton looked dubious. It was originally something of Zeins design. Now its mine. Avo gestured toward where Abrel and Aladon were just standing. Is a reason why I wanted this canon. Useful distractions. Originally was planning to create a proxy from Draus mind. Find someone expendable. Send him in her stead. This might be easier. More reliable. Riskier too, Denton replied. We dont know the Heaven of Truths capabilities. It could expose everything. Avo paused. That much was true. It had surprised him once already. But he had Zeins memories now, and he knew more of the Gatekeeper than most others present. No, Avo said. No. Less risk than the alternatives. Wont risk Draus. Wont risk any of you at the trial. Too exposed. Too vulnerable. Guilds liable to start another war there. Need to stay away ourselves. Have puppets do risk work. We have other places to go. He cast a thought into the table, and the phantoms closed on Ori-Thaums territories atop the Tiers, with markers pinging in three separate districts in the Purgs beneath the Elysiums. Kaes breath hitched, she turned and faced Avo. Is thatC Waited enough. And where to test Veylis awareness more than the territory of her greatest foes. Avo chuckled. You sure you can get us in without problem? Draus said, looking dubiously at the map. Get you in? No. Hardly. Im going to make our targets walk out. Avo studied the Agnos face, delighting in the changes to her expression as he finished his statement. They took your mind. Made you murder the one you love. Burned you after. Im going to do the same to them. Im going to reach into their minds. Through their covers. Im going to take them away from DRongo. Going to deny their willC A shiver in the Nether interrupted Avos words. A quiver pulsed through Dentons accretion as her face shifted. She turned and ghosts began to dive in and out of her Metaminds halo. Its Cas. He just cast me; the covers compromised. He needs a way out. Hell of a fucking time for this shit to happen, Chambers muttered. Avo chuffed. Just as well. This too was an opportunity, though less ideal than one on his terms. Draus, Avo said, passages. Get us to the bivouac just outside the city. Kae. Upgrades. Yes, the Agnos said. Good. Denton. Link. Going to send a splinter through. See how bad the situation is. GHOST-LINK ACCEPTED The Glaive didnt hesitate. A chain of ghosts spread out to him, and he connected with a thought. Flowing through the haze of data using his Sprites, he followed her ansibles broadcast across a narrow crevice of space, across thousands of kilometers as he ejected splinter after splinter from his mind. Cas consciousness greeted him as a haze of pain and confusion, and hijacking his perception, Avo found himself peering out a flickering cog-feed, staring past the broken windshield of a downed aerovec. 22-10 The Beast in the Nothing BREACH-LEAD-1: +Aero down. Crashed in the courtyard of megablock designation: Tower-2. Permission to converge and secure package.+ JOCK-3: +Jock-3 to the Breacher-1, we have satellite reign over airspace. Scrambling bombers to divert Exorcist response team. Kill-Team-Secondary has engaged Sanctus assets. Delay in progress. The window is open. Golems on standby.+ INSTRUMENT-VERITIBLE: +Breach-Lead-1, you are cleared to proceed. Breach-Lead-2, 3, 7, and 12, direct your teams and move to place planar anchors. Make sure were extraction ready before our hosts arrive. N-DEF-Veritible, prepare to deploy disruption N-DEF-Veritible? N-DEF-Veritible, respond.+ UNKNOWN: +I see you. I see all of you.+ N-DEF-VERITIBLE: +Come again, Instrument-Veritible.+ INSTRUMENT-VERITIBLE: +That wasntC+ [WARNING: TRAUMA PATTERN DETECTARNIN#$99$#Q$!njfjnsdj;dfsaf vak mWNOOOOSISETER!PLEAESE DONEDIEASELERI] [WARDS FAILING] MIND FORTRESS BREACHED MIND FORTRESS BREACHED MIND FORTRESS BREACHED EGO BROKEN [COG-CAP: 771%] -Recovered thoughtcasts between members of Kill-Team-Primary during Operation SKINTRACKER 22-10 The Beast in the Nothing Cas thoughts came flowed like a broken stream choked with drifting debris. It was a little miracle he managed to cast Denton. The greater miracle was how he wasnt nulled yet. +DenCagh! Den+ Avo had always thought himself better at breaking things than fixing them. Such a belief remained even after his successful restoration of Lucille. Now, however, things were different. He was different. If the attack on Cas happened but days earlier, there would be little he could do to mend the mans cognitive functions. The Conflagration was a potent weapon. A devourer that lacked a gentle touch. He could have burned Cas mind into his consciousness. Generated a template and worn him as a puppet to simulate the actions the real man might take. Such would have been the most efficient option, but something that the Columner couldnt consent to. But Avo was beyond such desperate means now, as his warmind of Delusion granted new paths ahead. Splinters sped from his ego like a salvo of missiles. Some speared deeper into Cas damaged mind, melting into the cracked infrastructure of his Meta. The Palace within was a cityscape hidden behind corded strings, built within the hollow of a tower forged in the fashion of a guitar. Trauma patterns flashed and scythed through drifting buildings, memories bleeding like a slit wrist. Avo assigned a single submind to handle the mending and fused Peaces template to serve as administrator over the task. Though the Low Master himself was purely an instrument of harm in life, as a modifiable persona in Avos inventory, his knowledge of traumas was unmatched, and thus could he decipher the damage faster than any other. As things stood, an enormous wound stood at the core of Cas palace, and entire sequences connected to it were unlatching from his mind as well. It looked like a chain of traumas had sheared through him neatly, cutting his sense of self to the quick. A chorus of instincts congealed inside Avo. Something made him suspect that the Columner had some kind of deadmans switch layered to his mind; a self-nulling procedure in case of breach or compromise. Not an uncommon thing to find inside spies. Or prisoners. Green River came to mind. [Dumb cunt,] Peace muttered. His words were directed toward Cas and Avo both. The Low Master surveyed the broken mindscape he was to restore and let out a growl. A wing of twenty-seven splinters threaded into fragmented streets and damaged mem-data. They sailed out as phantasmal chameleons, their ghosts melting into the environment. In many ways, the splinters were a direct upgrade to his Ghostjack. No longer did he need to collect sequences or spend time analyzing structures as he could directly become the broken or missing. This, along with the deeper insights granted to him by his legion of templates, made Cas recomposition a process of seconds rather than the usual weeks or months of intensive treatment. [Yeah, and its all thanks to us,] Peace snarled, his spirit withering with the task. All of him screamed in outrage. He was here to break the invader-shits. To hollow their skulls of thought and disfigure their egos beyond repair. But here he was, playing nanny to one of Thousandhands lackeys. [Look. Look at the damage. Its all internal. His wards are untouched. It came through one of his Seances. With company like this, no wonder your fucking heads so swollen with prideCthis stupid piece of shit let someone cast a trauma directly inside him.] Unsurprising. Despite Peaces disparagement, getting struck through an open link was how most Necros got nulled. Social engineering was a hard weakness to overcome, and most humans were creatures desperate for warmth. Desperate for someone to tell them they mattered. They were valued. Even with the rash beating down on them, they still sought their creature comfort in realms of thought and ghostly fantasiesa willingness to mingle with their kindred in the NetherCan opening for predators to exploit. Judging from the mem-data Avo managed to assemble, however, Cas reason for getting hit was far simpler. One of his spies was likely compromised. The last session logged a Metamind identifier connected to [Nuruna Velters]. Avo didnt recall ever seeing that name before. A mystery to be unraveled through healing the Columner. As Avo conducted internal repairs for Cas, he directed other fragments outward into the environment, converting them to Skimmers for a better view of his surroundings. They were in a downed aero. A cheap secondhand Zephyr, as indicated by the vehicles locus. It was hard to tell the chassis alone, seeing how warped and damaged it was. There was no obvious harm from a missile or gauss fire lacing its exterior. The main damage sustained was blunt force. Warped metal, shattered glass, and a sparking engine spraying flames across the side windshields. [Volt-thrower,] template-Draus said, seeing patterns from the damage. +Know what this is?+ Avo asked. [Can tell from how the reactors grindin. And how the engines screamin. Somethin cooked inside the aero. Someone spiked it while it was airborne. Risky if they want him alive. Or they already know hes a Clad.] With a thought, Avo linked his Meta and associated cog-feed to the rest of the cadre, looping them in on the situation. +Jaus,+ Chambers said, jolting in shock as cognitive overlay manifested in his minds eye. +What theCoh, damn. They fucked the faither up pretty good.+ +Fixing him now,+ Avo said. +Splinters regenerating his missing sequences, Actively rebuilding his branching memories. Go through the mem-data and see if it''s coherent.+ +Synced on that consang.+ Waves of perception spread further from Avos Skimmers. His surroundings came into shape as a verdant garden at the heart of a megablock lacquered in beige and grey. The aero was wrapped around an ashen tree, while a deep furrow painted the trajectory of its impact like a brushstroke. A near million lanes of perception were splashing over the scene, cast down from all corners. Walkwalks to the sides led to open elevators, and overpasses connected the floors above made peering down a simple thing. The entire megablock was an eighty-story hulk of alloy built in a U shape. As Cas DeepNav function came back online, Avo chanced a glance and found they were in the Throat, in the Nudrapul districtCa majority Sanctus taxed location in the Gilded Icon Sovereignty. A long trail of scratches running along a nearby wall hinted at where the aero impacted first and how rough the landing was.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. +He was tryin to get away when they got em,+ Draus said, taking in the scene. Her mind felt like a mountain at his back, the impossibly steady presence of her template reinforced by the real deal. +Youre gonna wanna to expand out. Build your perimeter before the guests start comin.+ His splinters were already in motion as she spoke. Some snaked into the minds of nearby people, their presences ebbing against his Domain of Chronology, feeling like two parallel streams of time running at once. A few shifted as he entered their minds, their sheaths changing with the passage of time. He stole from them smatterings of insight, smuggling himself as memories paired to their active perception, avoiding any need to mimic the structure of their wards. The lobby assembled the megablocks many loci offered scarcely more detail as the twelve patroling Specters it deployed just so happened to be out of position. The few that saw Cas aero go down went about their day, caught off guard swiftness of the crash. The vehicle was still accelerating when it struck the inner west wall and skidded downward, losing two engines in the process. Cas gimbal kept him alive, but only just. The impact-reactive servos made to counter sudden spikes of whiplash saw the man torn from his seat when the aero smashed into the tree. Though not quite combat-enhanced like Draus, Dice, or even Avo, the Columner was made of far sterner stuff than most flats, and even the bruise covering his upper left shoulder was beginning to fade. Then, something in the megablocks lobby pulled at Avos attention. A delicate change in a few of its artifacts. A displacement along its sequencing, traveling deeper to intersections where the mem-data mingled. +DenCDenton?+ Cas said, thoughts rushing through, coming clearer now. His cog-feed was still a mess, with glitching memories oozing out from broken ghosts painting his phantasmal HUD. Still, the restoration was nearing its end. Perhaps ten seconds longer was all they needed. A lot could happen in ten seconds. [Ad-Nec in the lobby,] Talon-3s template said, calling out the distortion to Avo. But the ghoul already noticedCwas already moving to intercept. The unknown was careful. Even skilled. Talented. But ultimately not enough. Though they were good at hiding themselves within memories, skirting from artifact to artifact across the progressing scenes, they had an unfortunate habit of not scrubbing their lingering mem-data well enough. [Theyre in a hurry.] +Yes,+ Avo agreed. Another fatal mistake. Common among many Necros. You could be fast. You could be careful. You could be detailed. Masters sometimes could achieve all three. The skilled chose from two. Journeymen were lucky to have one. Most gutter Necros could only splash the waves. But Avo, was more than just another fish in these waters by this point. He had transcended the ecosystem. Fed from the very entities that sustained these watersChumiliated them, stole from them, spited them. A Necrojack was but a predator in the deep. A fish hiding in the waves. Avo was the fire that scalded the seas; the steam slipping between the waves; the beast in the nothing. When he found the other Necrojack, they didnt even know. Not even when he isolated them in their sequence, finding them as an inconsistent smear on a peeling wall. Not even when he molded himself over the memories, funneling ghosts deeper into the mind of the unknown. He shifted past Phalanx wardsCthe same kind Mirrorhead enjoyed using, a Highflame noveltyCand found himself delving down into a neatly organized Fortress. This was another mind separated into layers. Six sections of cognitive substance parted across seven layers of traumas. A memory called back to Avo. He thought of how long it took him to dive through Mirrorhead, how careful he moved, how he relied on his Haemokinesis to boost his reflexes and grant him an edge. Now, he moved as if there was nothing before him, splinters forming two rows as he merged the initial fragments of his ego into traumas symmetrical to the wards before inserting them across and creating a fjord for the rest of his ego. A hiss of delight escaped Avos mind. He was effectively a Necrotheurgic skeleton key now. [Or a virus,] Elegant-Moon sang, likening the spread of his splinters across the layers to cells being contaminated. As he sank into the bedrock of the adversarial Necros mind, one of his Skimmers pulsed an alert into his Meta. Swapping himself with another submind, Avo watched as a squad of thirteen heavily armored soldiers flickered into his awareness. Incog. Theyre deactivating their Incogs. The first thing that called out to Avo wasnt the sophistication of their kit or how his Woundmother hummed after tasting the potency of their augmented biologies. No. It was their minds. Stable. Calm. Accretions running at an even and persistent speed always. And finally, there was the hollowness at the core. A slight something missing from their humanities. +Regulars,+ Draus said, noticing them too, giving words to his suspicion. Just then, Cas snapped back to full consciousness; Avo pierced through the veil of mystery surrounding the unknown Necrojack; and fifty-four more previously undetected spheres of thoughtstuff flashed in the corners of his cog-feed. [WARNING: UNKNOWN EGOS DETECTED] +Denton?+ Cas finally said, wiping the drool from his lips and pushing himself off the ground. His holocoat was flickering. Sparking rivers of static ran down his body. He flexed his fingers and a twang sounded out, a string on his instrumental arm reverberating. Cas pressed his hands against the side of the aero and shoved. Suddenly, the car shunted away into nothingness. A wall of empty space opened up as the vibrating note sounding forth from his arm grew. The Columner stumbled out over clumps of grass, steadying himself against a nearby tree, and groaned. His head was still spinning. Nausea tumbled in his stomach. Chaos and confusion reigned in his mind. Avo kept an eye on the Columner as he siphoned mem-data out from the Necro he just compromised. She was a Highflame Necrojack. A forward scouting element for the rest of the team sent in to secure Cas. One of his cells was compromised prior, and they managed to capture the aforementioned Nuruna Velters after she finished some dealings with a local Gold-aligned Syndicate. Her mind was also pre-laced with the trauma bombs Cas had, but unlike him, she was no Godclad. That should have been the end of things, but one could never accuse Highflame of being quitters. Somehow, by luck or by skill, they managed to piece enough of her back together and access her Auto-Seance, managed to secure her sessions too. Through her, they tracked Cas and hunted him. Struck him. They mustve expected to compromise him Necrotheurgically, but somehow, he managed to maintain sufficient coherence even after his near-total nulling to cast Denton and pilot his vehicle, forcing them to use direct measures. And so it was they found themselves at the present, with multiple squads of Regulars taking a walk through Sanctus territory on a snatch and grab, their target supposedly down and out. But such was not so. Just like how Cas couldnt have anticipated the subversion of his asset, neither could Highflame know the thing that studied them now, that was threading himself across their Necro into their minds, into the lobby they used the run this operation, into the nine other Necros they had diving in surrounding networks, into the commander they had in charge of Necrotheurgic operations, and the Instrument in charge of the entire operation itself. Avo spread and spread, and spread. He spread, and waited, wondering if Veylis could sense him when his Heaven went unused, if the Nether pressed on the paths as well. +Shit,+ Cas said, spitting sourness into the dirt. +Denton? You there?+ +Were all here,+ Avo replied. Cas eldCanduir touched his eye and eyed his halo. A final fissure came together before his eyes. +Avo? Did you just mend me?+ +Theres been some changes,+ Avo said, relishing in the mans shock. +Going to need to catch you up on certain things. But only after we get you out.+ He shifted his attention over the encroaching Regulars, the first unit pushing up under the cover of cloaked precision-firing assault drones. Avo grunted. +Draus. Could try to spare them. Know you were.+ Back in the enclave, the Regular scowled. +No. Fuck that. Null em. Break em. Snuff em. Whatever it takes. They got their guns pointed the wrong way. All there is to it. My time with Highflame is done.+ Avo chuffed a laugh. What fortune he had to encounter someone like Draus in the Crucible. Or maybe more than that. Maybe it was by Waltons design. Whatever the case, her template wasnt going to be lonely for much longer. The cadre was about to get some premium sparring partneC EGO-ID DOWNLOAD REQUEST: [IF ON A WINTERS NIGHT A WANDERER] The ghouls mirth doubled. He accepted the link without hesistation, and his Neurodeck, left cold and vacant without the EGIs presence, suddenly came alive with a thinning of his ansible. And then Calvino was back in Avos mind again, hovering like a misted sunrise made from trailing nanoparticles. {Avo. Apologies, I had toCOh, what kind of nightmare are we involved with now. +Calvino. Welcome back. Operative Canduir ran into a bit of trouble. Going to get him out. And find out how much it takes to crack a Regulars mind.+ {Well, then. I suppose I didnt miss much.} +Have Canons of Chronology now. Shouldve seen it.+ {I have missed too much; Kant is going to consider self-deletion. Well done.} There was a tone of genuine amusement in the EGIs voice. The mind was even less human than Avo was, and capabilities at subterfuge couldnt be underestimated. But something in the ghoul suspected the mind wanted to be here, that he enjoyed their time together. All the same. The feeling was mutual. Best to give him a show worth returning for. +Peace,+ Avo said, shifting the Low Masters template over himself, calling upon traumas refined and Necrotheurgic unparalleled. +Done treating you like a nu-dog. Going to give you a choice now. Do you still want to hurt? Still want to hate? Still want to be a weapon?+ A pause followed. A weight passed against Avos Domain of Air. [Yes,] Peace growled, forcing the words out. [Yes, godsdamn you. Yes. You already knowCalready fucking know.] +Good,+ Avo replied, as he paired more templates of Peace over to his subminds. +Because Im going to give you what the Hungers never could. Actual victory. Actual success. Chance to hurt Highflame. Hurt your foes. To break the occupiers of Noloth. I unchain you, my Famine. Go. Give them your Peace.+ And so over one-hundred and twenty splinters shifted their sequences, going from blended architecture to active trauma, and for the third time that day, bombs began going off inside unprepared minds. 22-11 First Comes Lightning… Were gonna be tested in this life, Cas. You know this. You know that we have a burden. A responsibility. A crusade. You how hard the struggle is. Know that it was going to cost us. Has cost us. I know that its hard to have faith sometimes. Especially after what they did to your father. Your brother. What theyre going to do to me. I know this is going to break you in waysCoh, Cas Im so sorry. Im so, so, sorry. I didnt mean to get caught. I didnt mean to leave you alone in the end. I tried. I really did. Im sorry. Im sorrys all I can give. Youre the only one left of us now. The only one that can still carry our fire. That bears our faith. This world is sick. Wrong. The Fallen Ones influence seeps here, tainting not only the false angels that were but also the people that remain. This world is sick, and it needs someone to make things right, whatever it takes. Whatever the cost. Ive given all I had. Youve given too much. But the people are suffering. The flocks are still lostCdenied the path to providence. The knives are falling, and someone has to be bled for the lambs. Who else but us? Who else but the martyred few? [CRACKLING GAUSSFIRE; MOMENTARY DISTORTION] Be the herald. Be the change. Be the noise for the silenced. And someday, when the dam falls, when everything comes crashing down, the flock will hear their Shepherds cry, and His light will shine on us again. Make it right, Cas. Take this pain. Make it right. Make it loud. [GHOSTLINK DISCONNECTED] -Marriet eldCanduirs last thoughtcast to her son, Cas eldCanduir 22-11 First Comes Lightning Unleashing peace was like setting a wolf free in a daycare. The Famine was an avatar of destruction C ruin in motion. Under his touch thought ruptured and minds shattered, the damage total and delicate, striking deep to sunder egos whole. He unleashed traumas that astounded Avo, reaching into minds, grasping cracks in psyches, and delivering on optimal devastation as a conjunctive act leading to the strike. The entire process was ingrained. Refined. But that was the purpose of the Low Master in the end: breaking people. As splinters wove themselves into traumas, relief settled upon Avo as he realized just how fortunate he had beenCthat he never suffered a direct engagement against Peace. It was more than the potency of harm inflicted but the impossible skill he directed them. Crude and vulgar though the Low Master was, the way he used the art was exquisiteCthe gnosis he possessed would have taken Avo lifetimes to master. The first to shatter were the detected Necros. Highflame, long used to facing Ori-Thaum, treated the Nether more as unpredictable wilderness, deploying fast-moving assets they could pull out at a moments notice should they attract the Incubi. Their own mindscapes were fortresses layered in protective wards and separated by nodes. Their composition in the Nether ensured their forces would only suffer partial subversions, and Omnitechs Noosphere support allowed them a secondary network in case of a total route in the realm of thought. Unfortunately, this also made them easy to isolate and ensured they could be defeated in detail. Traumas detonated within their minds, but Peace seized the parting detritus of their mem-data, analyzing the information and feeding it into their next attack. The pace at which the Low Master worked was gut-churning. Under the templates command, splinters shifted into Auto-Seances, bridging him from one mind to another, burrowing through them as a chain of detonations. The ambiance of the physical world remained as it was: a steady stream of sound, patterns unbroken, violence forthcoming. But should one peer down at the Nether, take in the connected mindspaces of the district, they would see bubbles of accretion popping, and the substance of their mem-data implodingCprevented from becoming shrapnel. In the span of a heartbeat, all the field Necros were hollowed at their cores, allowing Peace to guide splinters into their open wounds, melding Avos consciousness over the missing aspects and effectively mantling the broken egos as false shells to confuse whoever the Necros were connected to. From their commanders perspectives, it would seem nothing more than a brief disconnect. Perhaps a thing of Nether lag. When they learned the truth, it was already too late. [You see it now,] Peace said, bitter pride swelling inside him. [Do you see what I could have done to you, little shit? What I could have fucking made you and your bastard cadre if life was just. If I was ever given the chance.] Screams echoed through Avo from fifty-three different minds. A half second later, four-hundred and thirty-three were nulled, and the rear line support for the Regular squads sent to capture Cas was effectively decimated. Another heartbeat passed, and Highflames jocks, Necros, and commanding units were all little more than drooling vegetables, the sixty MPP Mortality-Pattern long-range thauma-kinetic assault drones now bound to Avos Metamind as a final reward. Yet, through it all, Peace revealed his greatest flaw as well. His inability to do anything but destroy. His unwillingness to abide by empathy rendered him less than incompetent at stealth and absolutely worthless for subterfuge. Avo chuckled. +Must make you feel pitiful. How Defiances shadow still hangs over you. Even though hes dead.+ What phantom joy Peace felt turned to bitter fire. [Cunt! Fucking cunt! I nulled the bastard! I shattered all his nodes! Broke him again and again and againC] +And thats all youre worth. You hurt. You destroy. But you never win. You are a good instrument. But nothing more. Called you master. Youre just a slave above other slaves. No more replacable than a ghoul. And thats all you will ever be. Unless you wish to change.+ The hint Avo dangled made the Famine flinch, and he turned from the conversion, giving himself fully to wiping the Regulars that remained. But as Chambers guided Cas through the interior of the megablock, compromising the Metaminds of bystanders and the buildings internal security to give him a clear route towards escape, Peaces second limitation was made known. As he directed his pattern against the hundred and fifty-six Regulars in the field, their wards shattered and their inner mind fortress came apart in chunks, but the soldiers kept coming. Unlike their Necrojacking comrades or their superiors, the mind of a Regular was a thing of wrongness birthed from human heritage. Peaces traumas threaded through them like a string of explosions, some small and delicate, others nuclear, cataclysms unfettered. He chained them togetherCthe death of a sibling from Lucille to another templates failure to stop their brothers suicide to the guilt of a murder who could never forget the accusing eyes of his victim. He struck with cognitive weapons forged from guilt, hate, anger, sorrow, despair, and disgust. He struck using sequences harvested from thousands upon thousands of minds supported by the impossible efficiency of Avos Conflagration. He struck over and over, parts of the Regulars egos disappearing in chunks. But in the end, only nine succumbed to nullification. Nine out of one hundred and fifty-six. Nine and no more as disruptive waves pulsed out from their minds, shredding away the concert of splinters Peace directed in his offense. Tides of perception emanated from Avos Skimmers once more, and he found himself studying the approaching Regulars, converging on Cas position from all sides, encompassing without breaking stride.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. There was no panic to them. No hesitation. With thirteen in a squad, they moved with inhuman cohesion, communicating without need for thoughts or even words. They executed their nulled comrades without breaking stride, without regret. Nor did it take them long to disassemble the sessions they had connected to their Auto-Seances, effectively severing themselves from Highflame command. The actions were performed instantly. Autonomously. Reflexively. +What the fuck,+ Cas muttered, disbelief rising as Avo synchronized his memories with the rest of the cadre. Of all that were present, only Draus and Tavers remained unmovedCthe former alike to the hounds approaching, the latter someone who swam in similar waters. Some described Regulars as having nothing left to break. Sampling the fragments he devoured from the few Peace managed to destroy, Avo disagreed. They were effectively beings of externalized purpose, driven by an urge to fight, indifferent to the idea of death or cessation. As sophonts, they werent beyond being unmade in sanity, having their thoughts overloaded until they simply werent themselves anymore, but aside from Avo or another form of assymetrical consciousness, they were as close to trauma-resistant as a mind could be. Little wonder the Low Masters failed. Little wonder why Highflame was so confident in sending Regulars to clear nests of ghouls or ingress into Ori-Thaums territories. To Avo, they stood more thesis to Highflames true philosophy than even the Godclads. +Blessed be the unbreaking,+ Avo said. He considered saying something to Peace, a question or a taunt but decided to let the template seethe in his silence. Quibbling was for later. Right now, they still had one of their own to extract, and though Avo couldnt strike at the Regulars through the Nether, nor risk exposing his presence to Veylis through the use of a miracle, that didnt mean he was impotent. Assuming full control of the high-flying drones once deployed to support the Regulars, Avo turned their light-guided spatial-kinetic cannons on the units below. The Mortality pattern was a thing of novel design. Used more often in times of peace rather than amidst the flame of war, the drone was a lightweight assassination platform capable of making precision shots from afar while being small enough to reliably maneuver through dense urban environments. These specs, however, are secondary to the Dawnseer Spatial Precision Cannon it has a solitary armament. Mounted to the spine of the star-shaped drone, the thaumically altered reactor of the platform gathers light using a layer of panels, allowing it to stay cloaked while also projecting a spatially affixed firing lane through its dorsal cannon. In simplicity, wherever its lens-focused beam lands, a dual-stage gauss rocket will follow, allowing express deliveries from up to 55 kilometers away. As things were now, the sixty drones were less than three away from Cas, and the approaching Regular. Modern thaumatech was a lovely thing to possess. +Target the ones in the middle,+ Draus said, marking specific accretions using Avos Metamind. +Theyre squad leads. Drop them and the rest will default to skirmishin. Make em easier to pick off.+ Aligning Phys-Sim firing trajectories Strings of light pierced through the motion and chaos of the district. A bubbling weight was building in the atmosphere, the resonant chronology of the present population molting as bodies shifted, unaware of the ongoing battle. Shifting gears and the swinging clock handles defined the local architecture, and between the mechanisms in motion were shots lined, skipping off the hoods of aerosCreflecting off glassCto finally brush the armored exoskeletons of the Regulars. Twelve canons sang out with sharp cracks. Twenty-three more followed. Three shots struck home against miracle-treated alloy. A squad of twelve were the first to be hit. The durability of Highflames chemically-manufactured armor couldnt be understated, but short of being a Godclad or piloting a golem, there was only so much that could be done. The slugs declared their impacts in two stages: a ringing impact against armor; a conical burst of fragmentation. Unshaken by the assault and displaying incredible reflexes, the struck Regulars fired their thrusters and twisted, trying to get the shot to skip off their bodies. Again. An admirable effort. But mortal flesh was a limited thing by design. Explosions enveloped entire teams. Concentrated yield explosives made to pierce through megablocks or precision-kill golem pilots tunneled through combat skins and exploded internally. Alloy ruptured spewing puffs of crimson vapor. Five died immediately. Thrice more were maimed, missing limbs, or operating with major damage. But not even that stopped them. It barely even gave them pause. The squads dispersed, coming apart in teams of two, darting for cover as moving blurs. Fusion burners flashed, making entryways through the surrounding structures. In a heartbeat, the Regulars were in the wind even as Avo triggered his own Condylostylus to match them. Thoughtwave disruptions left pockets of vacuum in the Nether. Avo drones dove down through the air like falling spears in close pursuit. Even now, he couldnt direct sixty different units with the fine focus demanded when traveling at high speeds through urban sprawl, but blanketing the area with splinters turned Skimmers was simple enough. Shifting his attention briefly, he discovered Cas a good half-kilometer away already, moving fast through maintenance tunnels beneath the district. That alone would have been a positive thing to note, but the fact the Columner was bounding from wall to wall as echoing twangs of sound captured Avos curiosity. He knew the man had a Domain of Sound. Something to do with melody or music considering the curious strings sported on his prosthetic arm. Watching his canon at work was nonetheless fascinating and informativeCsound and space working in tandem. Not suited for combat, but good for subterfuge or evasion. A fine thing for a rebel to have. Or a spyC A snap shuddered against Avos Fardrifter. Spatial existence slammed together as an unseen bowl slammed down on the area, pocketing it away from the rest of the district. Eight full kilometers around the block shimmered a translucent dome. Aeros passed into the threshold and came out off course, still on the outside. +Pocket,+ Draus growled. +They probably set that up before startin the show. Too bad they dont know their rabbits already slipped the noose.+ Cas continued reverberating through vents and crevices too narrow for even arantids, leaving the ambush far behind. As calm began to reassert itself on his mind, the Columner bit back an internal shout of frustration as he realized another of his assets was dead. Another. +Keep heading down,+ Avo said, letting his drones do another pass over the pocket. He collected the remainder of splinters still left within the entrapment and reassembled them in Cas mind. +Need to get to the gutters. Tavers should have a safe house somewhere.+ Cas paused. +Im not going to one of the George Washingtons gateways.+ +Blew it up,+ Avo said, not feeling like giving another debriefing. Instead, he simply shared his recent collections with the Columner and this time the man cursed internally. +Jaus. Fuck! DidCdid you need to do that?+ +Not going back under anyones leash. Zeins handled. For now.+ The exhaustion in Cas worsened. Then, he pulled up another session in his Metamind and began moving in a new direction. +Cas?+ Avo asked, unsure why the man was deviating from his path. The Columner didnt respond, choosing to cast someone instead. SESSION SEQUENCED ACTIVATING AUTO-SEANCE UNABLE TO REACH [NUNA VELTERS] +Come on,+ Cas said, growling under his breath. Velters. Avo glimpsed memories of the woman earlier when he was rebuilding Cas mind. An asset. One of Cas personal spies. This one was related. A daughter. But that was all Avos mem-data had on her. +Probably compromised too.+ Avo said. +Yeah, probably,+ Cas replied, clearly frustrated. +Sonnabitch, Avo, you shouldveCZein was half the reason we could operate how we didCYou Now were all exposed. All the cells.+ +Know why I had to do it.+ +Yeah. Well, the rest of us are paying for your freedom.+ Avo grunted. That was true. There was a cost. But even faced with the fallout, Avo remained absent of regret. Collateral damage was unavoidable in a war. Such was true between the Guilds, so was it true between Godclads. That didnt mean they just had to accept things. +Could be another trap for you,+ Avo said. +Highflame could be waiting for you there too.+ +Yeah? Well fuck em. Ive been waiting for them too. Waiting for a long time.+ Rage and near despair swelled in the man. Martyrdom called to the rebel in him often, but the shepherd he was loathed to abandon those he could still help. +Dont even think of twisting my memories or changing my mind. I need to do this.+ +I know. I understand. Going to help you. And yours isnt the mind I want to change. Still. Know that youre heading into danger. Know that youre walking the fire. Cant use my miracles through you. Risks exposing us to Veylis. Can only lend you my mind. No guarantee you might make it out.+ Cas gave a bitter chuckle. +Im absolutely fine with that. Someones got to make things right, huh? Who else but me? Who else?+ Avo heeded the weariness in the mans tone and his templates whispered to him a worthy reply. +Who else but us?+ 22-12 …Then Comes the Noise You can despise the faithful. You can hate them. You can hurt them. You can hunt them. But if you hunt them, it''s important that you never underestimate them. They have ruled the world for most of history, after all, and this was no accident. In faith there is a want that can be captured in every person. A desire to see the impossible made possible. By gods. By the state. By some force ineffable. I, too, understand. But where we must despise such behavior is in the mechanicsCthey are imploring outside hands to deliver them. Outside hands and outside wills and powers of another. Things given and not taken. Miracles that dont belong to them, in simplicity. It is an easy life, to be cattle. Imagine the simplicity of living as a slave. Suffer as your master wills. Live as they dictate. Barely any will involved at all. Like cattle. And this is the lens that will allow you to capture the faithful. They wish to make the cattle again. To make themselves the shepherds and butchers reaping spoils while others suffer the deeds or pay the price. Vile, yes. But enviably efficient. To bear witness leaves one almost ashamed to be human. But, ah, herein lies their greatest weakness as well. For the rulers of the faithful are loathe to walk their path alone. They will always seek a flock. Community followers. It is a fault ingrained in our humanity. It is the fault that allows us to master our enemies behavior. Hence, there is a single, reliable strategy when hunting the cults. Wait. Patience. You might know of a single believer. You might have your eye on a cell. But do not strike them immediately. Do not burn them yet. Watch them. Study them. And when they move, when they join themselves with those of common cause and mutual faith, then you strike. Then it is time for the flame. You want the fires to spread, after all. A single cell ablaze is but a bonfire. A warning. Something to send the aratnids scurrying back into the dark, unable to be found. A conjoined network made ash? That is beautiful. That is desolation. And in desolation comes despair. And in despair be all our delusions broken, be all the cattle freed to the righteous path. The worthy path. -Seraph Osjon Thousand The Faithtaker 22-12 Then Comes the Noise Riding within Cas tested Avos patience. It wasnt that they were going all that slow either. Sound moved efficiently through the din of busy environments, tumbling forth in a constant cascade of vibrations at the pace of nearly three hundred meters a second. The nature of his ontology allowed him to harness and merge with all that was noise. Through winds, through crevices, through people, across an entire district, nothing could stop his progression. Kilometers behind, the Regulars remained ignorant of his egress, scouting the premises even as Exorcist Tadpoles and Sanctus Striders closed in on the scene. A month ago, this would have been a moment of pure wonder for Avo. Now, after reaching across horizons as a bolt of lightning, after encompassing entire districts with his Sanguinity, slow was all this was. A mind got used to new circumstances quickly, and though feelings were changeable variables to Avo, decided to occupy himself with forthcoming matters rather than playing passenger any longer. They had at most minutes before the Regulars broke contact from the area. Maybe a bit longer before whatever surviving elements left of the extraction forces command structure notified the rest of the chain about the missions failure. It would take them some time to reorient, but Highflames in-field assets were nothing if not independent. Nuna Velters, daughter to another one of Cas assets, lived in the middle row of three low-rise tenements on the edge of the district overlooking one of Layer Twos open checkpoints. Being of the Throat ensured there was no shortage of loci for Avo to infest and countless drones to subvert. Nudrapul was an industrial district. a plascrete ridge along the district of Nudrapul. Towering beacons of grainy light traced pillars up to the ceiling of Layer Three, holograms feeding from holograms, shrouding surroundings in dancing neon. Advertisements trickled from the sides of shuttles rushing out from rough-made grav-stations. There was an aesthetic of economy to the place; a sense that the architects had gone good enough when leaving the supporting bones of the infrastructure exposed, not bothering to layer anything in plascrete wrappings, the interior of various public facilities protected only by holographic veils latticed along piezoelectric tent-flaps. A cluster of twelve massive spherical generators ignited the district and drowned the cityscape in a persistent hum. They were as if unceasing hearts, the cords connecting them as if arteries, the vents lining their external aspects hissing like something between veins and sweating skin. The thicket of structures connected to the grid fed a feast to Cas Domain of Sound. Peeking through their inner mechanisms, Avo found himself passing through an alloy treatment plant, with jocked drones and automated mechs working at their stations, moving developing products across their lines. Worth noting was the subtle press of Chronology in the air. A lingering aspect imbued in the matter as well. If there was a single commonality among all structures, a unifying theme that choked the district entire, it was the passing of clocks, digital and mechanical arms swinging as the future came and came and never stopped turning to past. Sanctus and its originating cladeCmore than any other GuildCwas leashed to the passage of time, a legacy inflicted upon them by the Severance, a long-passed calamity where their pantheon attempted to part existence into parallel currents of time. What followed remained disputed, but when the act was done, only half their godsCand faithfulCsurvived the thaumic backlash. Those that remained were irrevocably altered, with twin ontologies stacked into a single ego. The same event also sent them careening from the ruling power of the high seas and left the waves open for Ori-Thaum to claim. As Avo passed ahead through structures and people, he resequenced them. Marked them within. Built backdoors he could access and points he could spread. And as his base mind operated in the present district, his subminds were joined in effort Sovereignties beyond, spreading his splinters further and wider, working to exceed the worst of Zeins augured fears. The vanguard of his consciousness arrived over Velters home, Skimmers throbbing in the sky. With Cas still minutes from arrival, Avo took to scouting and shaping to ensure a smooth approach. +Theres somethin wrong here,+ Draus said, taking in the scene of the neighborhood. The Throat was a place of heavy industry and persistent labor. Nothing about it could compare to the cleanliness or stability of Lights End located a Layer above or much less the Tiers themselves, but places here were still functional. Livable. If a comparison had to be made, this locale could be a peer to Xin Yunsha as viable living for the desperate and FATELESS. The buildings might be little more than jutting slabs made resemblant of fences by the bridges linking each apartment to its adjacent neighbors, but the streets outside were still maintained, with heavy foot traffic mirrored by low-speed skylanes running three elevations above. There were exits leading off each of the apartments, and the open claws that were mag-clamps protruded from the edges of their balconies, allowing the tenants direct access to their houses. Velters was located on the twelfth floor of a room listed [II-17-5 Aleph]. The clamps beyond her walls clutched a black-tinted Zephyr, scuffed and dented along the front left rim. Avo flicked a splinter into the vehicles locus and found Draus suspicion well-placed. WARNING: SEQUENCES COMPROMISED DETECTING MULTIPLE [INCONSISTENT] ARTIFACTS AND SEQUENCES Those were likely Necros in wait. Or dormant phantasmics waiting for someone to trigger them. As he circulated through its system, another detail came to his notice: a certain module didnt seem to belong. DETECTED ATTACHMENT [TAC-SWM-EMPTY] Draus announced her understanding with a snort. +Deconstructors. Theres combat fog in this thing.+ Calvino sighed. {This is why were so reluctant to give you nice things. Do you know the difference between a constructor swarm and a deconstructor swarm, Avo?} +The sequencing?+ {Yes. Exactly. The configuration.} +Whyd you give it to us in the first place if you was all so scared,+ Draus asked. {Well, our worries that a paper clip incident might occur within Highflame werent unfounded, but after we watched the city casually absorb the No-Dragon biothuergic plagues, and with so many Heavens capable of much, much worse, holding such a thing back seemed too petty.} These were all reasons. They just werent the reasons Avo suspected to be the main one. +It was Omnitech. Worried they would release something uncontrolled if you didnt give Highflame and the other Guilds stable technology.+ The mind sighed. {Yes, and there was also that. At least our swarms adhere to thermodynamics and can be suppressed physically by temperature. Do you know Omnitech was planning on creating foglets capable of propagating when exposed to radiation alone? Madness. Suicidal madness.} No matter man or guild, market forces remained above the reach of man evermore. Avo gave a chuffing laugh as he cast another splinter into the apartment itself. The walls dissolved before his perception as his focus pierced the veil of matter. Nothing rattled against his Metamind, but it took less than a glance to notice what was wrong. The room was more akin to a narrow walkway, Thin and plain, though not nearly as congested as the coffin apartments down in the Spine. Less than ten meters across, the only light present was a hovering locus projecting the full spectrum of a prism from the middle of the room. On one end there was a Sanctus-made auto-chef, a machine that generated meals from biomass on the cheap. Next to the door was a toilet stall for all ones cleaning needs. The bedroom and the living room were one and the same, for the bed could be flipped in exchange for a lunch table instead.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Space remained a precious commodity here in the Throat, but with necessity came ingenuity. Environments could be changed, after all. Restructured for the needs of the one who lived here. Or someone else entirely. Just below the strobing lights of the locus, a young woman sat slumped upon a chair. The first thing Avo noted about her were her fingers, each digit bent in the wrong direction, broken bones protruding from the skin. A light jacket dangled from her right shoulder, and its holo-haptic display flickered with damage. Her bob of short black hair was matted with dried blood, and currents of mascara painted her swollen face, running down next to a broken nose and past bloodied teeth. A wheeze left her with each exhale. Her breaths came labored and pained. Cas gut clenched at the sight. +Damn them. God damn them.+ Imbibing the Columners guilt and building furor as if were champagne, Avo savored the taste as he expanded his awareness. The rooms next door were emptyCbut the loci were connected to directional explosives lining the walls. Approximately five floors up and down the stairs, nine four-person Regular fireteams rotated their watchers, guns trained on restrained girl. Avo had little doubt theirs was a coordinated operation connected to the force that just tried to intercept Cas, but if they knew of their comrades failure and decimation, they didnt show it. As Avo slid a fragment of his consciousness into Nuna, he noted a final presence out of the ordinary aside from the actual residents that lived here. On the topmost floor, a fractured mind called to him, a partially shattered mind that already had one of his splinters embedded within. A spark of recollection passed through Avo as he deduced them to be a Necro, drone jock, or commander he nulled earlier. The faint throbbing of pressure against his Domain of Fire hinted at the nature of the nulled threat. +Instrument,+ Draus said. +Broke him earlier. Shattered his mind. Didnt get any details about his past.+ +Probably got some kind of block there. Memory severance for the job, with all that personal shit stored elsewhere.+ Draus scoff of derision told Avo her opinion about the matter. +Instruments do it sometimes. So do the rest of the semi-reg warriors. The Silvers had them runnin scared some of those years. Worried that their families were gonna get snuffed long with them if they got nulled.+ +Were they right?+ Avo asked, already knowing the answer. +Course,+ Draus replied, with no hesitation at all. +Thing bout that is, though, that its all bullshit. You get bloody with someone you gotta have some skin the game. Aint no bombin someone in your weight class and gettin away clean. Fights a fight. Hurt and death are part of the deal. Part of the weight. Aint nothin more embarrassing than playin to win while fearin loss.+ [Its called keeping your forces alive, Regular,] Abrel said, unable to keep silent. +Yeah. Your ma knew all about that, didnt she?+ Though the Instruments template scowled, she didnt rise to the bait this time. Temperamental girl though Abrel was, she could learn, and the lesson after her last argument was not getting into pointless arguments that made her feel like shit afterward. Avo projected all he saw over to Cas and the man responded with an appreciative thought. +Alright. Whats the play?+ +Seem to be off-balance,+ Avo said. +The splinter Im using to mask their commanders nulling was wise. The Regulars here dont know. But the room is rigged. The hostage is most definitely compromised. Tortured. So is her aero. Have an idea. Something I want to do. Should give you an opening. Give me a few more Regulars to play with as well.+ +What, one wasnt enough?+ Chambers asked, keeping his awareness tied to Nether traffic. +Afraid Draus here might get lonely?+ +Want their knowledge. Use them as training partners.+ Avo directed his thought over to Draus, and again, her indifference greeted him. Just because she and the soldiers here shared an origin didnt make her any more sentimental toward their survival. Enemies were enemies. Allies were allies. They were her comrades a lifetime ago, but now they were nothing. +Gonna burn em?+ Draus asked. +Yes,+ Avo said. +Even Peaces traumas werent enough. Resilience too high. Splinters wont work fast enough. Need something fast. Need to unleash the Conflagration.+ As he spoke, he disabled the deconstructor foglets hidden within the dashboard of Nunas subverted aero. Avo wasnt sure how Highflame managed to integrate complex coldtech systems to follow Nether-based commands, but the missing knowledge left him curious. +Could you consume them?+ Avo asked his Woundmother. The Heaven of Blood recoiled at the question. It is fog, master. Like wind. No matter. Calvinos sigh of disappointment indicated otherwise. {To be so powerful, yet crippled by ignorance.} Silence, nub. There is little pride to be found in being a talking tome. Know your place.Yes, good! the Techplaguer cheered, jolted by the Woundmothers response to Calvino. Nub. NUB! Call the Sky-Burner NUB. Avo ignored the bickering and leashed the deconstructors to his control. +Im close now,+ Cas said, his cog-feed showing him emerging from a waste grate lining the streets, ascending up the side of the building as an oscillating series of notes. +Can you pull another into your soundwaves? Take them with you?+ +Yeah,+ Cas said, preparing as he passed the first floor. +Just like a flood.+ +Good. Going to compromise all the Regulars and then subsume them. You go for her the moment I disappear from your mind. Three seconds. Three.+ +Two,+ Cas replied. Avo slammed his splinters past the Regulars wards. Durable of mind though they were, there was still little they could do against the all-becoming aspect of Delusion, nor did they notice the calcification of hidden Auto-Seances. +One,+ Avo finished, and disconnected from Cas and the others. For a heartbeat, the splinters of his consciousness reassembled as simmering fragments slotting chunks of condensation back around his Metamind. With a thought thereafter, he unsheathed his mind of steam and let the flames roar once more. As the Conflagration reasserted itself, a wall of flames erupted from his halo and was promptly funneled inward as Avo loaded a series of new sessions into his Auto-Seance and dove back into New Vultun. The first Regular was utterly unprepared to burn. As was the next. As was the following squad the next room over. With reflexes surgingCeven unmagnified by his HaemokinesisChe took five teams by surprise before the first response came, which, as he was facing Regulars, came as a stream of gunfire. He switched sessions. He detonated out from a still functioning mind. He swallowed another two teams. Gauss fire tore through the walls. Two peripheral accretions winked out. Collateral damage. Unfortuante. Nothing for it. Avo burned away that group as well. Soon, Avo found his fire crackling within the last of the Regulars as he subsumed their minds and took from them their body. A second after he reasserted his Delusion and the flames pouring out from his halo sputtered into hissing steam. The Regulars plunged into his consciousness with little fanfare. Most expressed mere surprise and curiosity. A few were annoyed they didnt get to actually fight the one that killed them, that they were done in by godsdamn Nether-dogshit instead of dying properly from a bullet. The rest mocked him for complaining. Wasting no time to savor his newest additions, Avo spread the coverage of his mind thereafter and linked himself to his cadre once more. An echoing twang sounded on as Cas passed through halls, under doors, and through a crack in the window of the opposite room. In the room he left, a chair sat empty, bloodied cords once used to bind left abandoned on the ground. +I have her,+ Cas said, the noise of his ontology risen in volume to account for the added mass. But though they were beyond immediate danger, another problem was fast approaching. REND CAPACITY [MELODIST]: 88% +Going to need to find a place to stop and vent,+ Avo said. +Yeah,+ Cas agreed, though his mind was more on the girl he just saved. The faintness of jubilation and relief built in his chest. A salve for a weary heart. Finally. He managed to protect one. This time, he didnt let them all die. Pain and incoherence emanated from Nunas mind even as they traveled through Layer Twos checkpoint, diving down into the airspace of the Spine. Scanning the surroundings, Cas closed in on a thin rent lining the roof of a megablock, and intruded into an empty floor filled with dust and lingering mem-cons that Avo promptly shattered with a few patterns. As the plucking of strings slowed then ceased, vibrations built in the air, and from the shivering emerged Cas carrying Nuna, laying her on the ground immediately. Back in the real, the girl let out a pained moan, and her eyes fluttered. The fact her Metamind was still intact after her ordeal told Avo they hadnt tortured her that much. Knowledge leftover from Draus and Abrel told him it wasnt protocol to torture prisoners at all, with the act regarded as undisciplined and pointless in the eyes of the Seraphs. That the girl suffered was likely the decision of the field commander alone. Back over in the apartment, one of Avos subminds ascended the stairs within a Regulars sheath and arrived on the topmost floor. Smashing through doors where the nulled Instrument lay, Avo found himself facing an entire room of mind-dead Golds. Among them, only a broad-shouldered man adorned with intricately engraved platinum armor retained any semblance of a mind. And most of that success belonged to Avo, for it was a splinter rooted at the heart of the Instruments mind keeping him intact. A mirrored scene played concurrently in two spaces parted by a Layer. Cas stood over Nuna, whispering to her, taking in her injuries as Avo worked to mend her mind. In her former apartment, Avo stood over the downed Instrument, reveling in the silent carnage Peace wrought before pointing his gun down as he began rebuilding his only salvageable victim. You gonna be fine, Cas said, laughing as Nunas wild blinking stopped and coherence returned to the gaze in her unswollen eye. Above, the Instrument coughed and their eyes flicked down, locked to the barrel of Avos gun, to the Regular prepared to kill them. What? Avo compromised their mind once more, fusing a Possessor phantasmic around their consciousness before forcing them to manifest their Heaven. FLAMESEA, OF THE BURNING DEEP (FIRE/WATER/OCEAN) THAUMIC OUTPUT - 11,338 THAUM/c Fire poured out from the Instrument. They screamed as their mind came apart again. Their Rend spiked. Avo had his submind pull the trigger. HEAVEN OBTAINED [FLAMESEA x1] GHOSTS - [14,372,012] THAUMIC OUPUT - 94,690 The Heaven of Fire winked out, and a smear of bright red pooled out where the Instruments head once was. Immediately thereafter, Avo abandoned the Regulars sheath and turned all his focus on Cas and his surviving agent. +Shell live,+ Avo said, speaking to Cas from within as Nuna slowly came to. Yeah, Cas said, speaking seemingly to the open air. An awkward pause followed. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Thanks. +Sure. Was my fault. Or so you say.+ Or so I say, Cas said, shaking his head. Theres more of us. More cells across the city. Are you going to do this for all of them too. +This?+ Guide them. Assume the role Zein left behind. To this, Avo gave but a low laugh. +No. Im not Zein. Youre not pieces to me. You''re people. People with delicious. Delicate thoughts. Precious lives. Dont intend to use you like she did. Intend to make things better. Make it all matter.+ Cas sighed, nodding in weary agreement. Alright. Alright, say I believe you. How do we start? From what you say, you cant even use your Heavens without her turning her eyes on you. +Cant feel the movements of my mind,+ Avo said. And then there was another thing. +Couldnt feel me using anothers Heaven either. Ways to hide. Ways to use Chronology to my benefit. Ways to play the game. And you can be part of it. But only if you want to. Only if you still believe.+ The Columners confidence might have been shaken in the aftermath, but material success went a long way in assuaging damaged confidence. He couldnt have saved Nuna alone. Would likely be in Highflame custody by this point if not for Avo. And sometimes, the taste of rousing success was all one needed to bind another permanently to their cause. So, Cas said, wheres that safe house you marked? 22-13 Shifts in the Wind Take everything! USE EVERYTHING! FIND HIM! FIND THE BASTARD WHO DEFILED OUR SANCTITY! THE DEVOURER OF PEACE! THE BURNING DREAMER! FIND THE THIEF OF OUR TREASURES! EXTINGUISH HIS FLAME! ALL THAT IT TAKES! WHATEVER IT TAKES! WE UNBIND YOU FROM YOUR RESTRICTIONS! WE UNCHAIN YOU FROM MERE SERVITUDE! GO MY FAMINES! FIND HIM! FORGE WHATEVER ALLIANCE YOU MAY! TURN ALL THAT YOU CAN! SEIZE SOULS AND SEE YOURSELVES EMPOWERED IF YOU MUST! CAGE THE DREAMER! BRING HIM TO US! BRING HIM SO HE MIGHT ANSWER FOR HIS SINS IN FINALITY! EMOTION. WE HAVE SPOKEN! WE CEDE THIS WILL TO YOU! YOU BEAR THE FAULT FOR THIS, AND SO TOO WILL YOU BEAR RESPONSIBILITY! RESHAPE THE NODES OF PEACE TO YOUR LIKING! WHATEVER YOU CHOOSE! JUST SO LONG AS YOU BRING US THE BEAST! -The Hungers of Noloth 22-13 Shifts in the Wind Distant sirens and peripheral thoughtcasts sang serenades of success. Across the Sunderwilds, from the safety of his enclave, Avo listened in on Exorcists conversations exchanged in various Oversecs. With the backdoors he had into the Paladins internal networks, nothing they knew was veiled from him. From the summary of events they provided, Avo learned that the surviving Regulars had vacated the premises, burning their dead and destroying their trail as best they could. Still, there was a limit to what they could mask. Sanctus and the Exoricts werent fools. Even without tangible evidence, they had eyewitness memories and clues in the form of downed Mortality drones. There was a limit to how well-armed Syndicates could get to be, but more than thaumaturgy, few reacted as Regulars did when mortally imperiled. To say there were suspicions pointed toward Highflame was an understatement, but without major harm inflicted and the objectives behind this supposed raid unclear, the most that would come of this would be some snarling from Nether Proparazzis. Ultimately, it was all part of the game between the Great Guilds. Little battles in the dark denied or ignored for the sake of grander objectives. Despite that, Avo was still pleased with his haul. He had Cas loyalty, a new Heaven, cycler, and Soul taken from the Godclad he killed, and the minds of many Regulars drifting within his consciousness. More than the ontologics, it was Draus former comrades that pleased Avo. Most templates wrestled with the horror of their new existence. The Regulars merely accepted and then adapted, merging with the cognitive architecture without more than a gripe. At their core was a hollow willingness to fight, and though they served Highflame in life, they were lost to the world now. Mere figments simulated by the mind of something unfathomable to them. Even simulated, they knew their wills were false. So, there was no true capitulation. No true betrayal. Not when all they were was grown from ghostly vines bound to an external will. That did not mean they were devoid of demands, however. Most shared wants. Desires. Even requests. But rather than demanding that Avo do something for them, or that he commit some form of harm to himself, theirs was a simpler want. Something he himself was all too willing to grant. [Just let us loose against each other,] Lieutenant Grimja said, already inspired after a brief exchange with Corner. The want was a simple one. A beneficial one. A stimulating one. Within Avos imminently reshapable mindscape, he could form various imagined spaces. Zones of open combat for templates to indulge in the most primal of thrills. After days of being little more than embers, Avo could summon into awareness when he needed advice, a good contingent of his subsumed minds found themselves in accord. Abrel, Kare, Elegant-Moon, and Kassamon were also piqued, but between them existed another question. Could the bonds of comradery be formed at Avos will? Was this another thing he could manufacture? Avo released a hiss of pleasure as he drew hardened environments from the condensate of fog, forming a new mind labyrinth. Peace the Incubi provided all the blueprints he needed to generate a complex structure, but there was no reason he needed to settle for the limitations of a Metamind. Avo could go beyond. Far beyond. Make vivid mindscapes of unmatched complexity and change them at a whim. As the Regulars loaded into the simulated environmentCDraus template greeting her juniors with a feral grinCAvo considered the potential for future developments with one submind while his base self faced his comrades. They sat around the information center within his tower, going over the spontaneous dive they experienced. Draus was pointing out something about the drones Avo piloted to Dice while Chambers chattered away at Cas. The faither was currently in an undisclosed safe house provided to him by Tavers. His presence in the enclave was made possible through splinters and phantoms. Back over in New Vultun, Avo peered out at Cas current residence and found it to be a quaint enough abode. The noise of industrial saws and unceasing engines assailed the small room hidden away in the corner of the chop shop, but only rarely did Avo catch sight of a passing accretion. On a cot behind Cas, Nuna sat with her knees hugged close to her chest. Her mind was all kinds of sour and bitter, but she was alive, and Avo repaired the worst of her traumas. He didnt remove the pain for her. Unlike Lucille, this one seemed glad to be miserable, drawing on her budding hate, recommitting her thoughts towards martyrdom, towards seeing the Guilds burn. Who was he to deny such a coherent goal? But one thing was certain. If she was to be useful to their cause again, she needed a new identity. A new face. A new set of sequences. These services were but trifling things to someone with Avos gifts, but Tavers insisted on using another, and when she made her candidate known, he decided to commit his cognitive capacity elsewhere, ceding the role to his progenitor: White-Rab. Of course, the process demanded little thought from him as well, and a conversation quickly developed between Avo and Waltons true disciple, the latter as baffled as Cas when he was giving a recounting of recent events. +Jaus, Avo, Zein Thousandhand? You fought the Godslayer and then got her pocketed by the glassers. What the fuck, cosang.+ White-Rabs mind sang with laughter as his avatarCa large nu-rabbit like entity with four ears, four eyes, a top hat, and a nice suit occupied one of the seats, feet propped on the table in spite of their intangibility. A subtle note of sourness escaped him when he considered matters relating to the Low Masters, Walton, and the Hungers, but he declined to comment about that. +More secrets than we know of in this city,+ Avo said. And wasnt that the truth? +There are other cells out there,+ Cas said, studying the projected representation of New Vultun rising from the table-like information center with teeth clenched. +The way things were before, Zein guided them. Kept them safeCor alive long enough to properly use them.+ His expression darkened at that. +Im not sure how many are going to survive without her umbrella. Most arent trained for this kind of life. Theyll go to ground as best they can, but its pretty much inevitable that most of them will be found.+ Come on, Cas, Chambers said, rolling his eyes and gesturing at Avo. Thought you were one of them hopeful, believe-y types. Didnt Avo here just pull your ass out of the fire? Wouldnt exactly call anything inevitable with him around. Hells, who knows what he might do tomorrow? Maybe hell find a canon thatll let him fix time, or turn his blood into a rash cure, or maybe pull Jaus back out from the Big Nothing. Chambers irreverence made Cas frown while Denton quietly shook her head. Briefly, Avo noted the hovering avatar of Calvino locked in conversation with KaeCsomething to ask the EGI about afterward. Cant do everything Zein could, Avo conceded to Cas. But she wanted me controlled for a reason. Caged. Same reason why Im going to replace her. Have things she cant do either. Hers is time. For now. Mine is mind. Thought. And with a glance, parts of the Throat, the Spine, and the Tiers lit upCminds compromised by Avo in motion, unaware of the splinters they bore or how an unseen contagion was propagating through them. As Cas took in the scene, he flinched with awe and unease. White-Rab, meanwhile, had a more direct response. +Well, thats demoralizing. I spend my entire life learning how to dive, mentor asks me to be a cog-donor, and a little while later Im watching myself get blown out of the water by a godsdamned ghoul. No offense.+If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Avo grunted. The mans characterization wasnt wrong. Still, he couldnt resist a jab. Have you thought of being Waltons favorite? +Come on, Avo,+ White-Rab said, barking a laugh. +Dont be a half-strand.+ As a Peace offering, Avo cast memories over into his progenitor. As well as an active simulation of Peace. +Here. Brought you a trophy back from my homecoming. Peace. Hes the one that nulled Walton. All of him.+ And as a stream of curses escaped from the Low Masters, the amusement within White-Rab went from warm to cold as he took in the scab-armored twin of his long-dead master. +Well. Guess you giving us all a headache was worth it.+ Now it was Avos turn to chuff a laugh. +His knowledge. Can make it yours if you want them.+ The offer enticed but also sat ill in White-Rabs stomach. All he was came from guidance, effort, and wise choices. This felt easy. A shortcut. Unnatural. With regards to that, he really wasnt far from Zein. +I think I want to study him first. His wards. Sequences. Other stuff.+ A thought of affirmation left Avo as he cast a splinter out through White-Rab into one of the mans loci, infusing it with a hundred thousand ghosts and all the sequences taken from Peace. The gift felt like a karmic thing C something that hardened the unseen bond between them. In some way, both Avo and White-Rab saw parts of Walton in each other. If that was natural happenstance or another thing the once Famine of Defiance sought to ensure, they would perhaps never know. +Well, if were going to start, Id say we work our way up from the outside. From the bottom to the top.+ Cas eyes narrowed at the sanctuaries around New Vultun, at the gutters and Warrens. +Our most at-risk cells will probably be found there. Zein she had a habit of latching onto the desperate. Using them more than anyone else. People are willing to fight and die and all that. The ones we have in the Tiers are citizens and the fact that their citizens should buy them some time at least.+ He was hoping. But Avo agreed with his assessment. Especially since he had been planning to spread himself across the Warrens even before he obtained the warmind of Delusion. Tendrils of blood lingered between structures and across districts, unseen Nether-conductive circuitry meant to make up for the Conflagration''s weakness in days prior. Now, the splinter made that redundant, made it easy for Avo to jump from mind to mind, lobby to lobby. With his ability to shift ghosts between the junctions of his Metamind, they were even Nether-subtle, the best of all possible designs. In the end, the only thing that stalled his pace was that he could only run three concurrent trains of thought. Perhaps with the trip he would take into Ori-Thaum territory on Kaes behalf, he would find a way to surpass that as well soon. That said, he could do two things at once. Dedicate one submind to persistent propagation in the lowest depths of New Vultun, another to infiltration, a finally to whatever his attention demanded in the moment. Chambers, Avo asked, the mention of the sanctuaries reminding him of Essus once more, can you establish a session with Essus yet. The man bit his lip. I mean, kinda. The connection is pretty fucky and thoughts and ghosts not connected to him keep bleeding through. I think theyre slowly untangling like the flats here, but its going to take a bit. Good. That could be to their advantage as well. Activate the session, Avo said. Restore him before the others can recover. Seize the advantage. Embed myself in the smugglers as well. As Chambers obeyed, a series of updates flowed across Avos subverts mem-data. Slowly, anticipation began to build inside him. He stopped the spread of his splinters and recalled his subminds, recomposing his Metamind once as new information inflicted upon him a brief halt. Highflame is calling for a grand assembly soon, Avo announced. The conversations among his cadre ceased and Draus narrowed her eyes. Reckon you got a way to get us front-row seats, she asked. Might, Avo replied. Have a few Instruments subverted Instruments. But there was something else beyond that called his attention. Someone he wanted to access hours ago. SESSION [ELEGANT-MOON] DETECTED A hiss of satisfaction left Avo. One after another, doors were opening, granting him deeper access to the Guilds. The Paladins. Highflame. Stormtree. And the No-Dragons. Just a few more for the full picture. Just a few more, and he would possess every perspective worth having in this city. Vengeance for Kae first. Essus as well. An ear on Highflame. Then more propagation, deeper infiltration of the GuildsCreunions with Abrel and Elegant-Moon. A look into whatever matter was troubling Reva with Stormtree. And then seeing about fixing Tavers boy. Lots to do. Lots to do, and storm clouds gathering. They needed to get ready. They needed more shaping. More thaums. More ghosts. More subverts. There was a window here. A distinct opportunity to completely flip the table and change the game. Avo wasnt going to let the opportunity go. The Guilds and Syndicates had resources and industries ripe for the taking. He didnt even need to build anything. He just needed to dive deeper and melt into the world. All he needed was time. Time, thought, and his cadre to water the seeds of change. The seeds of a new empire. One of smoke and steam; unknowable and untouchable, beyond notice or reach. Beyond the Guilds capability to destroy. He could win this game before it truly began. All he needed was to bite deep. And from the way things looked, no one was going to stop him. *** An oppressive mood of wrongness gnawed at DRongo like a chill she couldnt shake. The mood set in with the Nethers disruptionCthe sudden disruption of the cognitive realm dislocating her thoughts and leaving her stranded within a beam of light. Even as the Exorcists and her Incubi were peeled from her side, the Unwhere continued to function, shunting her across clouds of satellites dancing amidst unblemished pockets in the void. In isolation, she screamed. She screamed but would admit to no one, betray the truth of her dread if only to deny its reality. After an eternity or mere minutes, stability reasserted itself as her protectors beat her jailers to arrive by her side. They swept her mind and ensured she wasnt compromised and fed her an injection of knowledge from the outside world, detailing developments spontaneous and severe, and each added revelation caused the cold chasm within to spread wider. The Low Masters struck at the city again; Chief Paladin Samir Naeko broken of his lethargy, engaging the supposedly long-dead Godslayer in open combat before taking her into custody; more troubling deaths within her clan, of growing movements detected from the Kazaharas and Kitzuhadas. Dogs. Vermin. Stealing this moment to strike at her kin while she was indisposed. Humiliated. A reprisal was needed, an act of retributionC A sudden weight peeled her active thoughts from her mind. It was as if the world around her had changed somehow without her noticing. +That, elder, is always true.+ The familiar, hated voice came from within her palace. DRongo bit back a cry of alarm as she forced calm on herself. Him. The priest. Back again. Back, and with her protectors blind to his presence. Loading herself as an avatar into her own mind, she found her Incubi strangely dulled, unable to react, unresponsive even as she cast her thoughts at them, trying to provoke a response. The Nether still flowed. Nothing was jammed. Part of her feared they were compromised, but seeing as she was speaking to a herald of Old Noloth, there was a far simpler possibility. +Ah. Priest.+ She began her response with a scoff, the object of her loathing emerging into her perception. He looked more grotesque than he usually did. Stitched eyes. Bleached skin. Tattered cloak. Dead owl in an open chest cavity. Aesthetic nightmares suited for scaring children. All this earned from her was scorn. +Come to threaten me again so soon.+ She paused. And still no citrus. Just a hollowness. A chill. Another pretender then? It didnt matter. The priestCor whoever he wasCstudied her before speaking. +I was not the one who spoke to you before. But I know of you, elder. I know of what my brethren inflicted on you. The injustice the provoked you to perform.+ Few things could catch Council Elder Mwaba DRongo off-guard. Nonsensical condolences from a Famine of the Hungers was one. +...Why are you here? What do you want?+ +There is something that has been taken from both of us. We share a mutual enemy. One that has driven both of us to dark places. To desperation.+ Even as he spoke, his mind remained vacant of emotion. Not even a drip of thoughtstuff betrayed. +The bargain you seek to make,+ DRongo said. +Out with it. That is the only reasonC+ +We are prepared to give you warminds.+ And all hint of mental activity vanished inside the elder. The Famine continued. +We are aware of your attempts to manufacture Heavens tangential to the lost Domains of Mind, using information as a substitute. They stand as analogies as best, and though your Guild has protections, they will not be enough to guard against the Burning Dreamer.+ +The what?+ DRongo asked. Something that was almost a smile played across the Famines face. +Who are you, that you cannot even perceive the face of your true foe? Pitiful practitioner, allow me to light your mind with knowing.+ She didnt. She refused. He showed her anyway. 22-14 As Below… They call them sanctuaries? Better term is processing plant. If you see what the Guilds are playing at here youll know what theyre saying is all godsdamned bullshit. Voidwatch tries to help, but theyre crippled here. Omnitechs keeping their eyes limited, and the machines they send down have problems. The Nether does things to their systems. Messes them up bad. We see them shipping more material down every week for replacements. And even if theyre playing to the human rights charter whatever they call it, the other Guilds still need their death feed. Sure, the rest play by the rules on the surface. Hell, they even provide the basic dignitiesCfood, shelter, basic healthcare, hell even public Nether access to curated informationCbut everything they give comes at a cost and lets them compile a list of people to let in. Theres a reason why they arent targeting high-fertility populations. Theres a reason why males or females of low genetic worth are getting subliminal prompts stitched into their minds, driving them to accept contracts with certain smugglers and sign promises with Syndicates masquerading as special agencies. The FATELESS are basically damned to be cattle from the start. There was never really any way out from them. No one to keep them safe. Hells, half of them dont need much prompting to sell their lives. Theyre desperate. The Sunderwilds have a good portion twisted of flesh, and they want a shot at that good life they keep seeing in the Nether ads, thats streamed into their minds as they sleep. They want into New Vultuns risen glory, to climb the subterranean depths for all theyre worth and maybe earn a chance at the Tiers and lay their eyes on pristine skies for once in their lives. But by the time they find themselves in the Crucibles as entertainment, or in the gutters as little more than slaves or indentured playthings, itll be too late. We try to breach the censors preventing them from realizing the truth inside the city sometimes. We try, but its hell. If theres one thing that unites the Guilds, its that they need death, and they need a constant stream of people to keep marching for greater yields. These people are fucked, and I dont know how to save them. Shit. I dont know if anyone can. -Mem-log of Junity Nevers Humanitarian Necro and Guild-Recognized Cultist 22-14 As Below +Essus. EssusCwake up.+ Coherence returned to the former refugee like a light flickering to life within his awareness. Mere seconds ago, his mind was a tangled knot, invasive thoughts flowing through him, outside memories polluting his cognition. His sense of self was melded to a disfigured wholeCa party to a twisted collective for a brief eternity. All the world was disjointed. Disconnected. Dislocated. During those moments, he felt embraced by a nest, blended into the miasma of humanity. Now, however, he was returned. Restored by a deft hand plucking away at all his remaining wounds. Wholeness spread out from the core of his ego, and all the sequences foreign to his selfhood came unlatched in unison. As the last branches shrouding his mind from coherence were cut, he suddenly recalled where he was, who he was, and the creature that just saved him. Avo? Essus croaked. His voice was hoarseCthroat sore as if he had been screaming. Moving blurs danced along his perception as he pushed himself off the ground, beholding a mess of twitching bodies strewn around him. +Yes,+ Avo said, sounding almost distracted. Essus could feel another presence inhabiting his senses. The subtleness of the weight was uncanny. He had collapsed upon an open patch of dirt when the calamity hit earlier. The others around him fared no better, but at least most of them had camp bedding or tents to crumble upon. Long rows of makeshift abodes ran down an incline, leading into the open jaws of a tunnel lit by brilliant lights. On his left and right, holographic barricades formed a funnel, protecting them from the baleful skies over the Sunderwilds, preventing them from gazing at sights unsuited for mundane minds. The infrastructure was installed and maintained by passing drones, a few now which lay buried among the waiting rows of refugees, gristle and viscera lining hulls of resplendent chrome. Essus gut clenched at the sight. More dead. More dead for no fault of their own. Glitching holographs flickered as he swallowed, taking in the five-meter-long machine softly whining in the dirt, a small, limp hand protruding from underneath. Artad. His god didnt answer. But another did. +Unfortunate,+ Avo murmured, displeased but accepting. It seemed that even the coldness of machines was not beyond the effects of the disaster. +Going to cast some memories into you. Get you up to date. Will access the FATELESS through you. Take this opportunity to spread.+ Spread? Essus'' question was answered with a combustion of knowledge. Only then did he recount the fires climbing high from Avos mind. Essus himself did not burn, but new streams of recollection were smelted into place, flashes of incomprehensible struggle, of battles conducted by the others in ways that he couldnt grasp. Then, it all almost made sense to him. The unbalancing of his mind was Avos doing. An unexpected breach. Details about the Hungers followed, of the struggle against Thousandhand, of all the changes his monstrous friend experienced, and most importantly what the cadre intended to do. A disbelieving chortle escaped Essus as a whistle sounded from above. From its pitched shriek and the vague counters, he guessed another drone was fast approaching. Maybe someone noticed he was recovered and wished to check. Trouble is a lover to you, my friend. Every time we part, you shake the city. You turn the clouds. Avo replied with a grunt of amusement. +So it goes. Going to do it more. With your help as well.+ A faint distance slipped free of Essus like a finger of curling steam. He wouldnt have noticed, but Avo tugged at his perception and guided his gaze. Soon, he saw the mind-wandering haze winnow through the skulls of his fellow refugees. +Theyre untangling. Slowly. Think it will take another few hours before they finally recover. Fine. Useful for us. Going to create Seances inside them first. You should keep going. Enter processing while theyre down.+ Essus shuffled momentarily, struggling with the impoliteness of cutting ahead of all those before him, but found himself driven to a frustrated start as realized he was being ridiculous. Stepping carefully to avoid treading on extended limbs or sprawled bodies, he began his trek as the yet-affected refugees sang their feverish chants, their eyes wide but unfocused, seemingly all possessed. They were a hard sight for him to stomach. Especially those with children. Reeking of unbathed foulness, ragged from their tribulations, wretched from their journeys across the Sunderwilds, they were a moving stream of bodies seeking salvation in the shadows cast by distant structures. Mere months ago, he was no different, arriving in one such passage, venturing into the inviting light, breathing in the delightful aromas, being scanned by the sky-peoples constructs, and beholding the manifestation of unbroken AetherCan intact HeavenCfirsthand. Now, he returned with power inside him, the concept of doorways and openings scarred into his very Soul, more god than man, but father nevermore. Beneath all the suffering, he felt his fortune. Most would never have his luck, would never encounter a benefactor like his, or be delivered from a living nightmare. But that was his fate, and he was here to alter theirs, to cut the tongue off the snakes that lured the helpless into the maw of damnation before they could fall.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Such was why he braved his nightmares to return. Such was what filled his bones with purpose, his muscles with strength. After minutes of walking, he finally found himself moving down the ramp, the ground no longer natural soil but artificial road. Ahead, he saw Avos slithering presence crawl ahead, through the light, past the hovering machines chiming surprised greetings. Essus swallowed. Just how many minds had Avo taken in the time it took for him to walk over? +Should number a few thousand for now. Will have to see how my splinters are distributed after they are untangled.+ Right. He could hear thoughts. Such an easy thing to forget. +Greetings, traveler,+ a floating orb with two human-shaped arms clasped together approached. Along its silvery exterior, he saw a pulsing wreath dancing over the drown, a crown of eyes staring inward at each other. Not one of the sky-peoples constructs, then. A thing of the mind-thieves. Ori-Thaum. I just recovered, Essus said, technically not lying. He felt another unseen tendril leave him and sink into the machine. ICI wish to make my trip now if that is allowed. He gestured at the other refugees strewn in various states of incoherence. I do not think my fellows can object, eh? He tried a laugh, but it sounded hollow. His voice trailed off to a sigh. The drone bobbed up and down, deliberating for a moment, but then gestured for him to follow. +Likely didnt expect you to recover so fast,+ Avo said, musing. +I changed their minds. Moved you up in their estimates. Scouted ahead. Most of Voidwatchs local drones are down. Coldtech sustained heavy data traumaCYou called it fragmentation damage. You called it that. I know data cant be traumatized, Calvino. Was just using the phrase.+ A grunt of annoyance escaped the ghoul. +Think the Guilder drones were told to hold back. Afraid to interface with you. Still dont know whats wrong with most of the Metaless.+ That is a good thing, then? Essus thought. +Useful,+ Avo said. +Will put you in a position to be noticed. Allow you to make introductions with the Syndicates.+ The very notion was disgusting, but if it allowed him toC +Dont worry,+ Avo said, interrupting Essus thoughts as they passed into the tunnel, +Dont need you to work for them. Just need you to get close. So I can infect them too. Cant do anything drastic. Yet. Need to avoid being loud. Until I can be loud all at once.+ Something about that made Essus strangely worried. I do not know what you mean. +Its fine. Youll see. Will just take a little time. Going to look ahead now. Take in the sanctuaries.+ What should I do? +Get settled in. Then start taking trips. Go to each of the sanctuaries. Make contact with every smuggle you can. Is also where your Heaven will matter. Want you to make some doorways. Connect some places.+ This Essus could do. Of that he was sure. But his duties seemed small before the great feats Avo was capable. It seemed even as a god himself, he couldnt avoid being carried to glory by the clawed hands of another. +Absolutes, Essus,+ Avo said. +Do what you can. Make what difference you can. That is whats important. That is what will save more of your people.+ Essus nodded and swallowed back the knot in his throat. I want to do something that matters. +Do matter. Mattering right now.+ *** Ahead, through twelve junctions of checkpoints, chaining through another fifty-six thousand bodies choking the inner halls, Avo swept past the mag-rails running toward the sanctuaries like a quiet breeze. He already spent about twenty-thousand ghosts creating backdoors and mem-cons among the incapacities FATELESS. It would make them simple to track. What pulled at his interest more were the hints of memetic tampering he found in some of them, likely Syndicate NEcros already making their pay. As he cast his perception outward, he took in the first of the many enclaves, a dome tipped by satellites and encircled by landing pads. Glints were descending from the reach of the sky as Calvino quipped about punctual supply deliveries. Avos focus was more on other things at that moment, namely the pseudo-districts where Essus and the refugees were to be housed. The sanctuaries were built with three ideas in mind: modular, simple, and familiar. They werent so different from most enclaves, but the administrative drones inside were strict on compliance and cleanliness, with protocols for quarantine and near-constant shuffling of populations. The defining structures were mass-produced modular housing, each around ten square meters, with indentations along their outsides designed to be clenched by a drones mag-clamps. They came together to form densely packed communities in clusters and columns, the flatness of their tops making them easy to stack and detach at a moments notice. With the constant influx of refugees, there was little space unoccupied, and a war was being waged between the disorderly populace starved of purpose, wasting away in stasis, and Guilder drones meant to keep things clean and, ostensibly, keep their subjects safe. Of course, of the Great Eight, only Voidwatch seemed to truly care for human rights, while the others played evasive games, creating environments where things were unbearably livable. Featureless environments. Constant brightness. Tight proximity. To an easy place for the human animal to live. +Feels more like a prison than a community,+ Avo said {I think thats the point,} Calvino replied, sounding disappointed. {Theyre fed. They have some public access to information. The ones with severe health problems are given just enough to keep their ailments forever at bay, but they dont have any reason to live here. The food is nutritious but bland. And they cant get more whenever they want. Entertainment and information is curtailed, and the most entertaining or interesting among the refugees are taken inside and offered to the city before they can do anything to improve the lives of others here.} Through the air, a thoughtcast played: +Fighting is strictly prohibited in the sanctuaries. For those caught making infractions against community guidelines, a penalty of delay will be placed on your waitlist for the city+ A chorus of voices scoffed inside Avos mind as Draus templateCmidway through scalping one of the new RegularsCmade their displeasure known. +This is a place of survival,+ Avo said. +Not a place for life. Designed for boredom. To wear down on someones mind.+ {And make them risk life and limb once more with the smugglers,} Calvino summarized. {Yeah. So. Technically, its not the Guilds doing it.} +Why not put more pressure on the Guilds? Or just make the enclaves better yourselves. Expand.} {We do. But our direct assets dont last very long down here. We are expanding the enclaves, but unexpected anomalies can cause the strangest of things to happen, leaving things damaged and in need of a rebuild.} Corner let out a sigh. [Fuck-fuck games across the board.] Avo understood and spread even more splinters. It wouldnt take long for him to isolate the Necros working here, to climb the chain and hunt down their points of contact for the Syndicates, and to compromise all the major criminal organizations in the gutters, but he still needed to play things subtle. The killing of the Instrument earlier was as much an act of catharsis as it was an experimentCto see how sensitive Veylis truly was. As things stood, direct thaumaturgy and drastic alterations made to the paths drew enough attention. But spreading his splinters into other minds and infesting them remained a silent act. Such would be to his advantage. With a bit of patience, he could create enough openings and sessions for him to burn millions or even billions of minds at once. Or, if he desired to create more dilemmas for the Guilds and establish an umbrella of safety for him and the cadre, he could feed the mem-data he collected over to his Paladins and have them dismantle the gangs and Syndicates. Either way, this was a foundational act of shaping. He would start by encircling the New Vultun. Securing these sanctuaries for himself, penetrating their lotteries and systems in case he ever needed points to siege the city from the outside, and slowly, quietly, deprive the Guilds of their much-desired deaths. To that end, he continued nursing his infestation on vulnerable minds, the odorless taint of his mind wreathing itself into the knotted skeins that were the populace. When they recovered, he would be with them. And when the smugglers made contact, he would be waiting. And as he proceeded deeper into the sanctuaries, another facet of himself was crawling higher through the Tiers via his newest subverts. 22-15 So Above Listen, lets not bullshit ourselves here: there are only a few situations in which we mask the egos of our finest Glaives and hide them up in the Purgatories. And of all those reasons, its almost never because Highflame has their number, or a No-Dragon flesh-coded smart plague, or whatever nightmare Omnitech is cooking up. We know how they work, and it isnt that kind of subtle. Theyll assassinate some of us. Sure. We do the same to them. But theyre fine with leaving evidence afterward because who gives it a shit? A dead Massist is a dead Massist. A dead Sainist is a dead Sainist. We dont bother hiding the blood on our hands. We dont bother hiding the blood unless were doing it to members of our own family. More usually, we hide things after we commit acts against our Overkin. Our clans fight. Everyone knows this. everyone. We might be bound by the same traditions, by the same culture, by the same language, by the same dream we seek. But the clans fight, because before we were a republic before we were united after the fall of the pantheons, we were apart, we were tethered by distant blood relations, by little jostling fiefdoms, fighting over who held what chain or what island. Some of these grievances lasted since time immemorial. Some of them still last to this day. I am telling you today, my fellow elders of the inner council, that we need to control our worst habits. We need to stamp down on inter-clan rivalry before it''s too late. We cannot be feuding and fighting among ourselves while we''re also fighting Highflames forces, while we''re also facing the No-Dragons latest plagues, while we''re also trying to figure out how to break Omnitech encryptions. We need to stand together. Now more than ever. And so I''m putting forward a proposal. Something Im uncertain will be supported, but I must attempt, at least in good conscience, at least a try. I hereby propose that we fragment the mirrors over watching our cells. As we have those facing outside preparing and defending against outer threats, so too should we have someone inside, making sure that our assets are not afraid of having their throats slit by those who are supposed to watch over them as they sleep. I put forward this motion now in the separation of the convex and concave clauses. The details are in the mem-data. Cast in, take a look. Understand. And I ask you to vote with me. Again, we cannot lie to ourselves. The time for bloodying ourselves in the face of opposition is past. The stakes are impossibly higher. We cannot afford defeat. Our oath is: Unity is destiny. I think its about time we start acting like it. -Elder Ganduuri Kazahara, Representative of Clan Kazahara (Circa 184 P.F., months before the Third Guild War) 22-15 So Above Peering out at the resplendent streets of the Purgatory, Avo wondered how he could have ever believed himself to be a denizen of these heights. Absurd though it might seem, his physical appearance was the easier thing to mask. A lie manageable by claims of augmentation and a desire to test the most extreme of sheath morphologies. Such eccentricity was common enough to earn him a reprieve from further attention. No, the true test was being among humanity itself C humanity in its most liberated form, its most hedonistic, unchained iteration, far beyond the constraints of meager survival. Studying the busy district through the Tadpole''s feeds, every inch of this cityscape was alive with motion. The district he passed over was called Grallo-Novrea. A place won by Ori-Thaum in the Third Guild War. A place they kept till the very present. As such, it bore all their staples in aesthetics and culture, and they made it known in ultimate fashion, by lacing every structure, every aspect of their city, with a fine sheen of vivianite. Through the crystals gloving all other matter, ghosts flowed in unceasing streams, bounding through the linked minds of passing cliques. Life here was interconnected in a manner unparalleled. Interconnected, and monitored at all times. This was a place of minds unchained, of thoughts unfettered, but it was also a place where those with the capability could gaze deep into anothers inner worlds, to glimpse that which was to be hidden, take things much rather forgotten. A new dawn bathed the streets in jade hues, the light of the natural day kissing the viridescence of loci as the structures they encompassed rosed in jagged promontories. More unnaturally, however, matter here flowed. Was partially fluid of nature, made so by the presence of a lingering miracle. The Tiers were not limited to dead matter and the cold laws of reality. Imagination triumphed often over limitation here, and as Avos drone rounded a risen archway broadcasting the image of a woman wearing what looked to be an inflated suit per the latest fashion, he watched as people casually splashed down through sideways, leaped from the open doors of their aerovecs into buildings, vanishing past rippling waves. {You know, we have much more mind-bending cityscapes in the Threshold. And some of the worlds we had were terraformed by smart-matter as well.} Calvinos tone was flat, but it was clear the EGI had something to prove. Avo offered a grunt of acknowledgment instead of a proper reply. Casting a splinter out from the drone, he too dove into the citys architecture, but he sought to immerse himself in the currents of mind rather than water-wrought miracles. As he descended the nearest locus he could find, he noticed another peculiarity about the cityCthe sense that no structure here stood alone. Gone were the bulky, brutalist blocks of plascrete stacked upon the districts grid like a piece of a board. Gone were veins of traffic running between, of shifting life moving from place to place. No. Here, the environment was as interconnected as the people. Bladed edifices rose as two at the very least and in the translucent rivers running within their matter, miracles ferried people, serving as the primary means of transportation instead of aeros or rail lines. With how seamlessly everything spilled into one another, the feeling of liberation came with the banishment of privacy, but more than that, another epiphany settled upon Avo. Ori-Thaum designed these places to resemble mind palaces. The interconnections to sequences. The structures to phantasmics. The people to ghosts. The analogy was perfect and betwixt. And at the heart of the district, countless threads rushed from streets and structures to merging, forming the Tower of Elsewhere trademark of this local. Formed from coiling currents, the spire of the tower opened into a translucent pool. Looking upon it drew weight more upon Avos Domain of Space. Truth be spoken, traveling through here was like venturing into a storm of miracles. Back in his body, Avo shot a glance at Kae, who was busy going over potential improvements with Chambers. The man was gesturing to her wildly, the words castration immunity repeated several times. If the Agnos minded his antics, she didnt let it show. Instead, a new amiability had entered the dynamic between them. A trust that previously wasnt there. Bonds forged by moments of mutual trauma went a long way. {You are sure this plan of yours will work?} Calvino said, looking through Avos mem-data. The mind was studying the information taken from the node Avo burned when he walked the halls of the Trident. {It has been a month, and the Ori are not known to be lax about their security.} +Yes,+ Avo said, swimming through a sea of ghosts as he worked to filter a specific mind from a morass of millions. +Some things might be re-encrypted. But a month isnt long enough to change their organizational structure. Or create enough new and complete identities to replace the ones I discovered. Theyre also probably not sure about the nature of the compromise. Can use that as well.+ Inside his mind, Benhata shivered with despair. As far as heCand Avo for that matterCknew, the Guild still hadnt uncovered the truth behind his fate and wasnt aware that his knowledge of their inner mechanisms was being weaponized by an unseen adversary.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. For years, Ori-Thaum and its Incubi existed as the terror in the Nether. But that was no longer the case. Not when these waters belonged to another. Not when they couldnt even perceive that which dove against them. SEQUENCES DETECTED Avos Metamind shuddered with resonance as he finally detected the memories he was seeking. An ego materialized in his consciousness thereafter, matched to a codename he stole from the nodes. Ireeni DRongo. Former Glaive. Former Mirror-Concave. Now retired from active combat and dedicated to managing Inner Council affairs instead. Her current duties were focused on the retirement, rehabilitation, and redistribution of former military assets. Mostly Glaives and Incubi like her who were no longer of the life. She lived in a community mansion located in the twilight fathom of the NeruoMirage Duplex. With how closely tied the district was to canons of ocean and water, many of the structures were without doors, and their interiors were more as if microcosmic biomes. Threading across the vastness of sequences with a thought, Avo arrived at the place of her residence and found himself plummeting down through a sprawling undersea labyrinth. Peeking out from cog-feeds, people sank and swam next to him, drawn by various creatures of the deep or submersible vehicles toward vast havens pulses with neon and vivacity amidst a forest of corals. Direct addresses were rendered unnecessary items due to the vastness of the space. Regardless, the Ireenis importance made itself known as her abode overshadowed many others, a three-story mansion made from gleaming pearls and painted glass, placed right on the edge of the ocean bed overlooking a deep abyss parted by flashes of bioluminescent. Elegant-Moon sighed. [The bioforms here are mere mimicries of actual creatures. Little more than clones. Such conformity is an ugly thing for the human heart to suffer. I pity these people.] Breaching the walls of her house, Avo locked in on the highlighted accretion on the second floor, briefly slowing as a strange feeling swelled from within. She has protectors watching. You cant see them. And they dont see you. Mutual blindness is to our benefit. The feeling faded as fast as it came, and Avo rose through marble flooring, marking doormat drones and a slumbering combat-morph nu-dog on the first floor for posterity. As he ascended the third, he found himself halted by a peculiar sight. The woman he sought to breach was standing behind her desk, a chain of ghosts reaching out from her, connecting her mind to a mech made in her image. In the machines arms cooed a child, an infant girl no older than a year with red, round cheeks, double-lidded eyes, and a narrow slit of a nose. She, too, looked impossibly alike to Ireeni DRongo. A vicarious wrongness overflowed from some of his templates. As rested his perception the uncanny scene before himCa woman piloting a machine that was her replica holding a child genetically modified to share her resemblance. It wasnt something he was supposed to witness. Moreover, it wasnt something many in the city got to enjoy anymore. After the Rash, people bred still. Mainly for lotteries at the Tiers. Massive rebates and benefits offered by Guilds and Syndicates. Even most Guilders reduced the time a child spent as a newborn or a toddler. Their growth was accelerated. Boosted so they could join their societies at their earliest convenience. In a city like New Vultun, infancy was a luxury and motherhood was a privilege. And with the Rash still in play, it could only be a vicarious privilege at that. Avo knew he was intruding on an intimate moment then. As a command undulating through Ireenis Metamind, the nanny-mech dipped low with the child in a tight embrace, and the little lump of flesh and life giggled. Avo resequenced his mind to avoid thinking about how the child would taste or if he could it down his throat in one gulp. {The answer is you can,} Calvino said, offhandly estimating the childs width. That drew a laugh from Avo, but his target here wasnt the baby, but the mother. Drifting unseen through the thaumically charged waters, he directed his splinter down through her perception, leaking past the Quicksand wards that guarded her, past the Skimmers that patrolled her inner mind. There existed certain gulfs in her memories. Missing details just before the day of her resignation as a soldier. Such a thing wasnt unexpected, nor was the assortment of Necros guarding her. The reason behind her departure was tied to the childCa life offered as a reward for years of faithful service. {So,} Calvino said. {Are we about to eat this one?} Avo considered it. But thats not why he jacked into her. No. She was just to be a domino. Something he would use to access the others. It was under her that the DRongos retired operatives were scattered across the Tiers and hidden in protective planes. It will also be through her that they are driven out from hiding, their handlers warned of a suspected attack from Clan Kazahara under the prompting of a certain Seeker due to recent hostilities. {Oh, I see,} Calvino chuckled. {Youre using her to pull a bit of a fire drill.} +Fire drill?+ Avo asked. +Whats that?+ The mind paused. {In olden days buildings had these levers you could pull that would sound alarms should a fire start. This will prompt people to flee their structures for safety. Some, however, exploited this habit by deliberately startingCeven falsely claiming firesCand then intercepting their targets during their egress.} It was strange to think of a society that couldnt just cast their thoughts at one another. Whatever the case, he soon found that which he was looking for: sessions. Specifically, single-use sessions were only to be used in times of desperation to contact Elder DRongos most trusted Mirror-Concaves. Once, she knew their faces and names, but those memories had been extracted under the justification of security and redundancy. Few knew her exact role in the clan, and even if someone penetrated her knowledge, they wouldnt be able to use her mem-data to uncover anything further. This was the angle Avo obtained when he subsumed the node. This, and the awareness of other critical intermediary assets in Ori-Thaum. For all the secrecy they practiced, for all the decentralization and intrigue they exercised, there needed to be connective tissue between their elements for coordination. There needed to be bones tying their forces together. That was what Avo could strike at. Infect. Through them, he could misdirect the ones that were hidden, open to direct attack. As he copied the last of the twenty-six sessions, he spent the splinter inside her and created a hidden Auto-Seance for future access. He didnt expect to be making a return visit but one never knew in this life. But if he did things right, no one would know anything was wrong until long after the Glaives left the Tiers. Returning back to his sheath, Avo checked the progress of his other facets and found himself pleased. His splinters were spreading fast through the sanctuaries and Elegant-Moon actual self was finally reachable for synchronization. Right then, other matters took priority. Kae, Avo said. The Agnos turned, eyes wide. Its time? She asked. Yes, Avo said. He shot Draus a look as well, and the Regular responded in an instant. She flicked a shard of glass through one of her shimmering reflections, guiding it back across the Sunderwilds, back toward the border, back into New Vultun. Things were in motion now. Soon, Draus would find a usable extraction point in the city. Avo just needed to secure the Glaives and Incubi involved in Stillborn operation and get them to said place before anyone could respond. Loading the first of the sessions into his Auto-Seance, Avo assembled an avatar based on Ireenis mem-data. With the warmind of Delusion, the process was instant and perfect in deception. He triggered the call. A lull spread as his Metamind pulsed. One second. Two. Five. Twelve. Are you. diving? Kae asked, mind tense and fists clenched. The others were also gathering close. Whats happening? Before he could respond, an update flashed into his cog-feed. SESSION ACCEPTED Avo bared his fangs wide in a savage grin. +Identifier: [3-OVELD-OVELD-SURNER-5-5-5-SURNER-DO YOU REMEMBER WERE JAUS WAS BURIED]. Response sequence.+ +In our dreams. He is buried in our dreams.+ Avo broadcasted the collection moods, visual patterns, and audio hallucinations required to certify his identity within a manifested splinter. The Mirror-Concaves mind was a miasma of checkpoints, chokepoints, and mem-cons. The man had more information hidden from himself than actual recallable moments. Even so, Avo slithered deeper into him, rooting past the wards in anticipation of what was to come. +Confirmed. You have thirty seconds for dataC+ +An attack is imminent,+ Avo said, casting over false data. Using Delusion, he compiled memories hinting at Shotin Kazaharas involvement behind the incident at the Trident and connected it with recent hostilities between the clans. +Critical deep cover assets compromised. Recommend immediate evacuation and sequencing of new cover identities.+ Cold fear flowed through the Concave. Immediately, his ghosts came alive with activity, reacting to the information. +Affirmative. Proceeding to Winter Protocols. Fragmenting sequence. Going dark.+ +Unity is destiny,+ Avo said. +Unity is destiny,+ came the reply. As the Mirror-Concave ended the session, Avo remained with him as a splinter, patching into the mans cog-feed to take in his surroundings. The ceiling whirled to the side as the Concave disconnected from his jack station. Swinging himself over the side and nearly tumbling from the nausea of being under for too long, he stumbled toward his closet to grab his outwear. Knowledge flowed into Avos mind as his newest asset continued his preparations. DRongos Glaives were hidden well. Severed from the Nether and hidden in various planes or prisons, requiring physical retrieval. Such was why Avo held back from burning the Concave. Such was why he continued to cast the others as this one stepped into his personal hanger and activated the engine of his aerovec. In twenty minutes, he would be taking a trip down into the basement of a local cocktail lounge where hed ask for the restricted content. There, he was to receive a wine barrel. A wine barrel that held a planar pocket housing one of the twenty-six survivors leftover from the Stillborn operation. Ori-Thaum was thorough. Ori-Thaum was careful. Ori-Thaum was paranoid. But you could be all these things and still lose. You could be all these things and still be preyed upon. Some part of Avo felt bemused at the horror he had become, a creature no ordinary Necro could detectCor even stop him anymore. Then, he remembered the fact that these people ignited Kaes mind due to stoked fears, and realized the rules were never real in the first place. New Vultun took. So did the Guilds. So did he. He was just the more impressive predator. 22-16 Kidnapping +This is Elder Mwaba DRongo. I have something for you. Receive it in my stead. It will make our clan strong; and protect us from our enemies. Within. And without. You will know what they are. You will understand what I have done. I ask that you behold these memories before judging me. The threat we face is it is beyond us. Beyond our comprehension. Already too late to contain. We are at the point of desperation. I ask that you understand why I had to accept these gifts from our enemy. For our clan. For the Overclan. For the Guild. You would have done the same in my place. A plague is sweeping the Nether. A plague is already upon us. We must save what we can before it is all too late. Unity is destiny.+ -Thoughtcast between Elder Mwaba DRongo and [Redacted] 22-16 Kidnapping Hadrian Aslowe was a prisoner in more ways than one. Each day, he woke within a gilded cage, risen from silken sheets to be serviced by cheerful servants who hid their mechanical interiors behind a masquerade of flesh. He wasnt sure how he noticed their inhumanityCwhy some of their actions made the hairs on his neck standCbut the wrongness called to him all the same. He lived on a beachfront somewhere, peering out at lapping waves of pristine turquoise as he went about his daily affairs. The horizon was painted from an embrace of splendorous colors, and the softness of the clouds never failed to make his mind tingle with delight. Without doors or even windows barring him from the world outside, the winds flowed and the passage of nature through his abode made him feel as if living in nature. So it was that he spent his days in paradise, without shortage of company, without worrying for his peace, without remembering why he was even there. The last part was the thing that gnawed at him the most. The ignorance. The missing spots in his mind. He could remember parts from his childhood, of the clan he was born under, of the time he spent in the academies, the brutality of the Fourth Guild War. But everything after was a haze, as disconnected from the world beyond as the island he resided on was. This was paradise. But it was also exile, and day after day, the malaise within him continued to build. Another drink, Aslowe? Pulling his eyes away from the curve where sea met sky, he faced the favorite of his servants and offered a wan smile. Just because they werent people didnt mean he couldnt play house. She was a slight of frame and a few inches shy of one-hundred-eighty centimeters. Her hair was like a living flame made animate through aesthetic modifications, and the paleness of her skin suited the dark and willowy dress that danced like the waves with the coming of the winds. The only thing that actively gave away her non-human nature were the phantasmal strings passing through her chestCthrough were her locus was stored. She carried a tray that offered some a turquoise delight, ice cold and crackling with carbonation. When he took what was offered, she graced him with an additional grin, causing him to look away before his Metamind did its duty against the rash. He was glad he hadnt chosen to configure his servants toward provocation or eroticism. Such a thing would have amounted to little more than a taunt. Even in paradise, some things remained broken, some things couldnt be. Lust was for later. For him alone. In his mind. Away from the waking world. Would you like for us to sing you to sleep again? She said, fluttering her eyes. He took a sip from his glass and listened to the waters, felt the sand beneath his feet, rooted himself in the understanding that this was a prison, luxurious though it might be. But so what? So what of it now? All the world was a prison. That would be the case until they won. Or someone won. To have his freedom back, to be in New Vultun wasC The memories were missing, but some slivers of feeling were still there C cognitive scars of unceasing anxiety, terror, and despair. He felt like a cord that had been drawn too tight for too long. Even now, there were parts of him that didnt know how to loosen. But only parts. It wasnt hard for a prisoner to fall in love with their prison when what lay beyond was a nightmarish slaughterhouse. Yes, Hadrian finally replied. An older song now, though. Should Dawn Never Come. Oh? Nipped by nostalgia today, are we? Her giggle came right on cue, and there was something so perfectly human about the timing. So perfectly human that it wasnt. He wasnt sure how development created these mechs, but he had more than a sneaking suspicion they might have been peeking at Voidwatchs homework. Savoring another sip from his drink, he gestured for her to follow. They walked side by side back to the bungalow as the firmament slowly brightened, the shift between night and day hinting its approach. As he made it past his verandas, however, something in his periphery caught his attention. A snapped branch. A depression in the soil. Footprints left not of bare feet but booted soles instead. Someone else was here. Intruder. It was funny how the body could remember long after the mind was made to forget. Hadrian moved on instinct, shifting behind his servant for a measure of cover. In a single motion, he dumped the contents of his drink and shattered the lip of his glass, turning it from receptacle to shiv. Is something wrong, the mech asked, her dissonant calmness finally betraying the nature of her inhumanity. Didnt steal enough of Voidwatchs homework it seemed. Keep quiet. Stay close but ahead. He was moving off instinct now, his nerves firingCaliveChis guts dropping as adrenaline screamed for his sheath to come alive. He knew the odds were against him if this was a properly trained team, but considering he was still alive and they hadnt just shot him from beyond his sensory range, they must want something from him. That, in some ways, was a more worrying question, and one he didnt want to think about. As they passed an exquisitely sculpted column, he found a holocoated man waiting for him at the front of his house. Behind him, six other servants stood gathered on the porch, smiles clinging to their faces, staring off into the distanceCat nothing in particular. The surreality of the scene gave Hadrian pause and the mans uncovered face made his mind go blank. Though fractals of obfuscating light danced along the strangers body in waterfalls of static color, his face was defined by hard edges and a piercing hazel gaze. The tension inside Hadrian swelled as he swallowed, angling himself behind his human shield. Who are you? Mirror-Concave. Redaction Protocol. Ive been activated for your reassignment. Your current location is compromised. We need to go. And like a snapping band, the ice-cold dread came rushing. Compromised, Hadrian said, dimly. ICI cant even remember what I did. HowC He bit back his argument and let out a breath. There were lots of things he didnt know. How the other man got in the first place was one. If he was trustworthy was another. Sensing his hesitation, the stranger shuffled awkwardly. You are disoriented. I understand. I am authorized to help you unlock part of your recollections. But you need tru eh trust And a shudder whipped through the mans accretion. He blinked and stumbled, suddenly seeming lost himself. After a beat, he went still and faced Hadrian once more, eye focusing as flames erupted upward from his Meta. What the fuck, Hadrian muttered. The Mirror-Concaves expression changed. Before the ignition of his mind, a stoic seriousness ruled him. Now, there was a sense of delight in the widening of his eyes. A faint smirk inching closer to a sneer. Hm. Of course they would give you a nice cage. Favored hounds had to be rewarded. The way he spoke was different too. There was more of a hiss trailing after his words, the pace of his speech languid as he took in his surroundings once more. As the flames sizzled out the Concaves Meta, his features remained unchanged. Whats wrong with you? With me? The man replied, sounding amused. Nothing. Im perfectly fine. The one that occupied this sheath before? Hes screaming. Hes very loud. And brave. But some of us are unwilling to conceptualize unearned damnation. The Concave wasnt making sense. The strangeness of the moment was only growing. It was as if a fever dream had breached Hadians paradise, that the isolation triumphed, casting him into madness. But the backdrop remained the same. Only the Concave remained an oddity. Only the conversation was failing to make sense. A presence brushed past Hadrian. A chill washed over his mind. Without prompting, the red-headed servant turned to face him, the expression on her face altered as well. What wonderful toys DRongo gave you. Fascinating sequences. But not just ghosts here. Sprites. And components from Omnitech. Hm. Might be a story worth learning there.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Though her voice remained the same, the way she spoke suddenly resembled the Concave. Hadrian shuffled back. Did you just jack myC No, they both said at the same time. No. And this time, the word came as a chorus from all of his mechs. You dont remember. But I will help you. The Concave was only going to let you know enough. So you would stop asking questions. Make it easier to relocate you. I am far more generous. I will not keep you in the dark. I will let you know everything before I decide what to do with you. So you wont suffer ignorance. And before Hadrian could ask anything elseCbefore he could even think of turning and running, a spike of pressure burrowed through his skull, and like blood spilling from an open wound, he remembered all of his life C and what he did to be exiled. Flashes of that night came back to him. DRongos operation. The Stillborn. Leading the Glaives to secure the project and the Imitators. Getting ambushed by the Regular. The death that followed. The Paladin they murdered secondhand. All that memory climbed back into Hadrians mind like a rising fire and it took all that he had not to empty his guts all over the grass. Regret. Quite the potent sting with you. Will make a good pattern. Hadrian forced himself to face his mechs, to face the Concave. They were all watching him now. Watching him with a shared gaze. Studying him as a someone would an animal trapped in a cage. Come. Prepare yourself. Theres someone I want you to see. What? Hadrian asked. But as usual, not direct answers came. There was only a sudden hint of discomfort before it happenedCbefore the unseen force clenched his ego and drew him across the Nether. He didnt even have a chance to fight it. *** As the final leading Glaive formed from a mess of phantoms over the information center, Avo gestured at the twenty-six survivors of the night and looked to Kae. Behold, Avo said, pleased with his bounties, the wheel of retribution turns. Across from him, the Agnos was far less enthused than he, but there was still a pep in her step as she stared up, watching the writhing forms of the agents that destroyed her lifeCthat used her to murder Morrow. Compromised of mind and funneled through an assortment of Auto-Seances, each surviving Glaive and Incubi had been taken from their curated stations of safety and cast into a prison of waking nightmares. Some struggled, trying to call upon their Phantasmics, to direct traumas at the cadre. Others attempt to talk and bargain, not understanding they themselves were the prize. The most astute among themCthe remaining Incubi and HadrianCinstead found their gazes resting on Kae, and horror followed their realizations. They understood what they were doing here. In some way or fashion, they understood. TheseCthis is all thats left? Kae asked, swallowing back a lump in her throat. Thoughtstuff spewed out a whirlwind of emotion. All the ones who were there? Draus reduced the Glaives substantially, Avo said, giving a Regular a gleeful look. Clearly not enough, came her terse reply. Incubi are even fewerthree among twenty-six. Think Walton did some hunting afterward. Suspect a few tried to turn. To contact other Clans as well. Were silenced by their own Concaves. +We were ordered!+ Came a cry, one of the collection finally tuning into the conversation. The thoughts came from one Jakka Mbantu, a desperate plea to shove blame over to DRongo. Of course, the cadre already knew that. Knew who was behind this. And with the help of these voluntary turncoats, there would be more than enough evidence to surprise the trial at Scale, to feed the Heaven of Truth for offering and utterly destabilize Ori-Thaum. Right now, it was fun watching them squirm. {Avo,} Calvino said. {Youre enjoying this a bit too much.} [You should enjoy it more,] Abrel said, offering a counter-perspective. She leered at the entrapped Silvers and would have been salivating if she wasnt going on the chopping block as well for the same trial. But in her position, one took pleasure from where they could find it. +I will assume responsibility.+ Hadrians thoughts drew Avos attention, and he found the final Glaive in his collection addressing him directly. Fitting. The man was the only surviving leader of the ground team, after all. More than once, Avo caught his perception spilling over Draus, though the Regular paid him no heed. +The others we were performing a deniable operation for the benefit of our clan and Guild. The duty liesC+ Fuck. You. The words left Kae with a snarl as she buried her fingers into the information center. The colors of her eyes shifted, shifting from their natural hue to the fathomless depths of the ocean as she unconsciously tore moisture from the air, the condensation churning around them like a maelstrom. Kae, Denton began before Chambers placed a hand on her shoulder. Ah, ah, ah, Chambers said. Just let her have this. Shes just expressing herself. We all got a bit of Rend we gotta vent sometimes, right? The spy frowned at the scene, and then at the droplets of water building around them. Its not the prisoners Im worried about. Responsibility. Responsibility. Responsibility. Kae slammed her fist down on the blood-made information deck with each word spoken, then struggled to hide a wince at the end, shaking her hand. You keepCyou speak like it matters. LikeClike what you did was somehow noble. To Hadrians credit, the Glaive flinched away from the Agnos gaze. +It wasnt right. I know that. I know that you should have been afforded some dignityC+ Should have been afforded some dignity? Kae hissed, voice almost breaking. A disbelieving laugh escaped her. YouCyou really are not more than a nu-dog, are you? All of you? Did anyone have any hesitation when the orders came? To frame an Agnos for the murder of a Paladin. To compromise her mindCmake her lie to himChave her create faults in his Heavens canons to ensure that he ruptured? Did you? Did my life matter? Did Dawtons? At some point, the screaming was closer to sobbing, but the Agnos was still going. What did she tell you? Kae asked, rage giving way to exhaustion. What was your mission? What did you think you were doing? This, Hadrian had no trouble answering. +We were dispatched to prevent Highflame from winning the war. From commissioning a thaumaturgical construct thatC+ The rage came back. That I was planning to use to fix the Heaven of Love. I was thinking about curing the Rash. Did you see that when you jacked into my mind? Did you see? This question was meant for the Incubi, and after a few awkward beats, a short-haired woman with transparent lenses in place of her eyes spoke. +Yes.+ And you destroyed me anyway, Kae said. You murdered my teamCmy friends. My love. YouCyou made the Agnosi deny my existence. You knew I wasnt a threat. +Highflame would have been,+ Hadrian interjected, some heat to his own words now. +You mean well, Agnos Kusanade, but you cannot be naive enough to think that what you were making wouldnt have been weaponized. That someone among your peers with Saintist loyalties would have adapted something from your research in the aftermath.+ Kae clenched her fists. And then closed her eyes. And sighed. I am. I was. I was thatCI did think that we meant well. That we were all of us trying to make things better. ThatCthatCthat no one could have seen the wrong in me creating a cure for the worst plague in existenceCwhich was also your fault. You. All of you. Guilder bastard half-strands. She took a breath and swept the floating Silvers with a glare again. Did you know how your Elder found out? Why she was personally attached to the mission? I know little of the military, but you perform in cells, yes? Cells directed by Mirrors. So each collapse or compromise can be stopped before it is too late. Then why was the Elder directly involved? And did you think it was just chance that you were ambushed? Hadrian gave Draus another look, but the Regular continued watching impassively, taking in the captured minds with a bored expression. Noloth, Kae said, spitting the word at them with glee. A priest of Noloth had to tell you. Or you wouldnt have known. She barked a laugh. He did more than tell youCyou planned all of this. We are all pawns to him. He was even a pawn to himself. All to create something that She gave Avo a look. ...will either be our salvation or damnation. {Avo. I can feel your ego growing. Stop it.} He simply grinned. As Hadrian wanted to reply, claiming impossibility, Avo injected one of his own memories into his newest subverts, and what followed was a chorus of despairing gasps and maddened screams. Oh, how the Deep Nether fuckers turn to the Deep Nether fuckees, Chambers snickered. Well, the dicks in the other foot dicks in the other ass youre getting fucked in the ass! How do you like it when you get ass-fucked? Knew youd get there, juv, Tavers deadpanned. Beside her, Dice gave Chambers a thumbs up and he grinned with pride. +I I didnt,+ Hadrian felt sick again. A trauma nearly passed through him as he considered all his fallen comrades, and all the lives that were spent. All in service of Avo. Finally, his eyes fell on the ghoul and something inside his mind wilted. +Oh, gods.+ Long dead now, Avo replied. Most of them. Some can still hear you through me. They find you amusing. He turned to Kae and nodded. So. What do you want now? Have them. Have them at your mercy. We can inflict anything. We can make them suffer anything. All is possible. What do you want before we bring them over. The Agnos eyes remained locked on the ones that ruined her past for a moment longer, and then, something inside her surrendered as well. Succumbed. Collapsed. Disappointment passed through Avo as he tasted her thoughts. He expected the opposite effect. Something to feed her rage. Nourish her heart. {Shes just tired, Avo,} Calvino said. {Its too much emotion. Too much weight to bear all at once. Nothing she does here will make her life what it used to be.} No. That wasC Avo paused. Well. There was something they could do. They might not be able to restore her life. But they could return her to the Tiers if they shaped things just right and inserted her into the trial. There were risks in such a plot. Dangers posed to her person, but he didnt doubt that Naeko would let her out of his sight again. Of course, this was to be Kaes choice, with there being still much to consider for the trial. Send them back, Kae said, her mood black. Send them black. And then bring them through. We can think of how to best use them. Like they used me. Like we all get used. Passages set up and open already, Draus said, casting the mem-data over to Avo. Theyre all gonna be taking separate routes down to Lights End, I reckon. Sure you can get them through security without gettin noticed. He frowned at her. What do you think? I think almost every time we try to do somethin, some unexpected bullshit comes out of nowhere and tries to snuff us, and we end up fightin for our lives. [Shes got a point,] Corner said. [There was Abrel, Shotin, hells, ZeinC] Will make sure they get across fine, Avo growled. Wont have a problem. Draus gave him a smug grin. Sure. In the meantime, Im connectin the passage to a place out in the Wilds. Last thing we need is to bring a Godclad with a Heaven of Stealth or some shit like that straight into the enclave. 22-17 Conjoinment Do you know what it took to set the foundations for the Guilds to be born? The amount of dissent Jaus had to sow? The machinations he never mentioned? Let me tell you something about forming an empire: It''s easiest born from the corpse of a preceding order. Harvested legacy, in a word. Before the Guilds, there were the faiths, the middlemen to Godclads, guiding shackled civilizations surviving under the pantheons'' rule. Of these faiths stood seven that shadowed the others. Seven traditions that remain to this day. Seven reforged during the final calamity. Jaus, more than anyone, knew the importance of continuing culture. The tribalism of our humanityCour desire to seek bonds. That was why he decided upon a usurpation instead of a destruction, a restructuring of patterns instead of a scouring. Chains from chains, if you will. But chains are more than bindings. Chains are also the instruments of our progression. Leashes we can use to drag others. Chains are patterns. Connections. Links. Like tethers running through our minds and cultures, keeping us bond as if zeitgeists were plagues of symbology, and civilization was just a mass expression of aligned symptoms. We treat it completely, then? Why not quell the worst, and cultivate the best? It is also why the Guilds fear losing control. Why they oppress anyone who steps too far beyond their ideologies? Because they fear mutation. They fear the change of their patternsCthat something new might be birthed from their bodies, slipping out from the fractures of internecine. The Chivlarics and Meritocrats; the Ori clans; the seniority feuds of the Sang; the battles to become administrators for the children of the Mandate; the treachery between the lodges of the Longeyes; the inner conspiracies woven by the dilation of the Sanctites; the urge to succumb known to every child of ash; and the desperation to endure by the minds in the void. All are vulnerable now. Made more vulnerable with each passing day. Peeling the cocoon of culture from their bodies, afraid of what they might become before the endCthat fragmentation now would deny them victory tomorrow. But they lie to themselves. They lie to themselves, and Jaus would have wept for them. Because it is already too late. A cell dividing will not share a fate, let alone a dream. And sometimes, it is best to let a chain break before an infection crawls across the links and leaves all in ruins. -Excerpt from the Changing of Ways by Osjane Thousand 22-17 Conjoinment HEAVEN/HELL UPDATED - [SIMULACRAE REPLICA] HEAVEN/HELL UPDATED - [ARSENALIST] HEAVEN/HELL UPDATED - [FUCKTOPIA] HEAVEN/HELL UPDATED - [RUNEBREAKER] HEAVEN/HELL UPDATED - [MAELSTROMER] So, youve still got that Heaven of Darkness floatin inside you, Draus asked after her final resurrection. Got something special planned? Could say that, Avo replied. He turned his attention inward and felt at the Heart of NolothCfelt the Soul that came with it, bereft a cycler. He could have grafted it onto the cycler he took from the Instrument earlier, but he had other plans for the ouroboros. Will wait until I have the thaums before including it. Want to keep it as its own Heaven. Wake it. Speak to it. Get insight into Noloth. Times before. But want to wait. Wait until we get more thaums. Wait until I can breed more cyclers. And as the strands of his blood coiled inward, a thinness of gold followed them, delving into his Liminal Frame to pluck the unattached cycler. Grasping it with his newfound influence over Chronology, Avo showed Draus the seed of his laborCthe seed that would soon be incubated in the enclavers. Soon, this shrunken ring of gold would multiply and bloom with each reshaping of the citys culture C reshapings that would unfold at Avos will. As one of his subminds worked to untangle the flats, their coming lives would soon flourish to everyones benefit. Funny how the No-Dragons need entire complexes to do what youre doin, Draus said, eyes narrowed at the self-eating dragon. Been inside one of them dragon hatcheries before. Godsdamned madhouse is a word. Literally raise entire generations of juvs in a false world. Make them experience false lives for culture. Or whatever the fuck it takes to trigger a dragons growth. Close. Avo retracted the cycler back into himself and peered down at their city of light. From outside the open windows, the first bubbles of accretion were reformed from their deformations. He would begin the embedding when the population reached a stable ten thousand again. Good thing for us is that we dont need to force things. Can just make them understand. Push them to arrive at similar conclusions. Draus snorted. We? Aint no we doin this, consang. Its just you. She shrugged her shoulders. Hells. Its been just you for a bit, hasnt it? All the shit that your pa did. All the things you took from the Hungers. Aint no one else can do what you did to the Guilds. Aint no one else can bled em like you. She gave a resigned snort. Cant lie, Im startin to feel like the one thats obsolete now. He grunted in acknowledgment. There was little point in denying it. His Necrojacking made him by far the greatest threat among his cadreCwas the primary reason they lasted against Zein at all, and could do half of what they managed. But that was only part of the picture. The other part was that he wouldnt have gotten so far without her. Or any of them. His ascent into the Deep Nether would have seen him nulled if he didnt have her template. They would have been undone by Shotin without Abrels instincts guiding himCor Chambers willing degeneracy. They would be operating sub-par Frames without Kaes guidance; absolutely lost without the Columners or Aegis. Everything mattered. Everything was always in flux. The world flowed back into him. Became him. And now, with his Delusion-born splinters, he was becoming the world, leaving parts of himself elsewhere as well. He took in his cadre scattered about the tower. He took in Chambers stoking the back of Dices kitten as he spoke to the girl. He took in Cas and Denton asking Kae how she was doing. He took in Tavers chuckling at Sunrise. He took in Essus, manifested from phantoms like Cas, and parted from them in the flesh. But not alone. Not abandoned. No, Avo said. Not obsolete. Essential. Source of our victories. The Regular scoffed. You know something, consang? Ever since youve started eatin more minds than flesh, youve been sounding a hell of a lot more like a propagandist. Im talkin real motivational woo-woo bullshit. Damn strange to see comin out the mouth of a nine-foot-tall monster. Meant it literally. Literally drawing from your mindCeveryones minds to make better versions of myself. He paused. And you are right. I have been selfish. Well, dont go feelin bad about it now, Draus replied. Your habits have kept us unsnuffed so far. Dont mean that. Theres something I want to try. Something that I have been thinking about. Draus paused. What is it? You got that look on you. Kind you get before you show me something nasty. Am a thoughtform, Avo said. Not limited by sheath. Am limited by thaumaturgy right now. Cant use miracles in New Vultun without drawing Veylis attention. Not until I manage to overwhelm her attention. Or learn to travel the paths better. But have been thinking about things too limited. From my own perspective. Hows that? Draus asked. Took your template into me when I burned you, Avo said. Stacked who you are into me. Made me more. One way. From you to me. From all of you to me. The fire could only consume. I only knew how to consume. But now I can do something else. I can give. I can give myself to other people. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Like with your splinters? Draus asked. No, Avo replied. And he showed her. Expanding six hundred ghosts in her mind, he layered new sequences into her palace, broadened the foundation of her ego, and granted her insight and skill into all he could do. He had to anchor himself to the exterior of her mind as that was the only place where he could find purchase C the vacuousness within the Regular sparse of soil for him to bury his roots. As a dormant version of himself calcified around the walls of her accretion, Draus blinked and let out a breath. Shit, she said, years of Necrojacking condensing in her mind and new perspectives coiling around her own. Aint like gettin broadcasts anymoreCthis is just a straight-up sequencing. Still. Dont see how this is better than your splinters. Going to work with them, Avo said. My gifts. They arent just for me. They are for all of us. They can serve all of us. Can adapt any of you on the go. Give you whatever you need to achieve our goals. Not just from me. Not just from the cadre. But anyone we can seize. Avo gestured beyond, motioning to the enclave. But he also meant Abrel. He also meant the templates. He also meant all the people they would soon subvert. They were themselves. But they could all be more at any moment. Given more than just expertise, but understanding. Greater awareness. And then there was the other thing. Chambers, Avo said. The man turned away from the nu-kitten chewing on his index finger and blinked. Yeah, Avo? Want to try something, Avo said. Might need you to die. Chambers sighed. Here I thought we were getting past this. A flat stare followed from the ghoul. The man just laughed. Alright, alright. Whatre we doing? Kae already juiced my dicks up, so if you got anymoreC Want to see if I can shift one of my Heavens over onto you, Avo said. Transfer from my Frame to yours. See if it stays conscious. Now it was Kaes turn to look at him. Wait, Avo, what are you trying to do? See if we can maximize our potential even more, Avo said. Been doing this with me as the nexus of the group. Enhancing my Heavens most of all. But all it takes is a death for the Stillborn to shift ontologics around. And Im more useful as a Necro right now. Spreading from you like a plague. Want to try a few things. But first. He turned his attention inward again, but the Heavens were waiting this time. And one in particular leaped at the opportunity. Let me do it, the Fardrifter said. I wish to see if my self-awareness endures across Souls. But I have a request.+Speak it,+ Avo replied. If I succumb to cessation, do not restore me. Let me rest in oblivion. Give my Domains to the Heart. But let me sleep. Such is better than awakening to a new prison.The Woundmother scoffed. Do not allow this, master. The mule is merely addled. This is unwise. We do not know if the architecture of the othersCthey do possess living Souls! Their foundations are questionable. I want to stay! Stay! Stay! The Techplaguer was the most direct of all, but there was a desperation in its voice. A fear of demise that veered uncannily close to humanity. I will do it, the Fardrifter said. Let me do this. Mule, the Woundmother seethed. Be quiet, red one. Another will awaken soon enough after my departure. You will have another to cajole.An uncharacteristic silence came over the Heaven of Blood. But what if they are weak? What if they cannot endure my words, cannot let my barbs pass through them as you do? Is this your ploy to render me frustrated? Do you think the world built around you, old one?Do you claim it is not? The Fardrifter neighed something that was almost a laugh. I will not miss these conversations. And your constant insults. But I will remember one thing and that is how small you were in the end. So small. A little tower.Fine. Gallop toward the freedom of nothingness. Waste your divinity and indulgence of power. What scarcity is a steed in this realm of plenty? We will find another! Another!{Avo,} Calvino said, {I know what youre thinkingCand what youre planning to do with all their Heavens. All Im saying is that it is not a wise decision to awaken a new pantheon. Especially when one of them is called a Fucktopia.} Avo grinned. +Not even sure if I can yet. Just in the experimental phase for now.+ {I pray this fails.} +Faith? From a machine?+ {Youve inspired a great many things in me. Mostly fear and anxiety.} So, Chamber said. We doing this murder-suicide orC Yes, Avo answered. Lets try this. Lets see if this works. And with that, Avo abandoned his sheath and funneled all he was into Chambers mind. As he gathered in place, he cast his confirmation to Chambers, who then promptly responded first by projecting a disruption inward before detonating his own skull in a geyser furling flame. RESURRECTION - 1% No time was wasted. As Avo plunged into deaths comforting embrace, he drew Chambers into the orbit of his Soul once more and began his work. The commands he sent to his Soul came into effect immediately, and once again Avo marveled at how reactive the Stillborn was at reconstructing itself. Rippling flames sheared the Fardrifter free from Avos Soul, detaching not only the Heaven but the connected cycler and Hell as well. Oh, okay, Chambers said, his Soul quivering as Heaven of Air went rigid. Here we go. Here we fucking go. Animated radiance poured out from Avo and enveloped Chambers. As one Liminal Frame washed its Essence over another, Avo injected a donation of thaums to go with his ontologics, watching with satisfaction as the Fardrifters cycler fused over Chambers, locking in place a few degrees away from the Fucktopia. ONTOLOGICS TRANSFERRED ->1x HEAVEN [FARDRIFTER] ->1x HELL [FARDRIFTER] ->1x CYCLER ->20,000 THAUM/c Then, the presence of another Soul caught his attention. Another death. Then two. Then three. Dice, Draus, and Kae entered as well, each drifting close to take in the moment. As the Fardrifter settled into place, Avo drew his Soulfire away from Chambers and left the Heaven of Air unbathed by his light. The waves of animating radiance receded, and Chambers drifted just beyond the boundary of Avos Soul. As he passed, the nine wind-shaped heads of the Heaven of Air turned to face its fellow prisonersCand unwanted masterCone more time. My last thoughtsCif these are what they areCwill be of today. Today, when you set me free. The once-god went beyond the light now, and a slowness settled over its ontology. It was glorious to ride again. To seek the horizon. And then the Fardrifter went dark, went silent, went still. RESURRECTION - 2% Everyone watched. Moments passed. Chambers coughed. Hey. Horse. YouCyou broken or something. The Fardrifter didnt move. Immediately. Slowly. Almost imperceptibly. It craned one of its heads and turned. I am still here.What? Kae hissed, her Soul surging toward the borders of Avos Soul. ButChowCyou didnt We dont have any Imitators inside us. Our Heavens havent woken after exposureChow is it still aware of itself? This I dont understand! Avo, however, was more curious about another factor. Chambers. Check something. See if has any active Canons of Chronology. Another pause. No? Did you add those in earlier? A grunt of bemusement followed. Yes. Something else for Kae to think about. A frustrated cry sounded from the Agnos. And to think I worried for the mule, the Woundmother said. And to think I was expecting final freedom, the Fardrifter sighed. So Chambers said, unsure what this all meant. We can move Heavens between each other really easily. We know that. But what does it mean? Means we adjust, pool, change our Spherages on the go. Means we change ontologics whenever we need. Means my Heavens can still be used by all of you. That your Souls dont have internalized Chronology. Shouldnt be that easy for Veylis to notice. And it means that my Heavens stay awake after residing in me. And can exist outside. And can exist outside This led down another track of consideration. Another possibility. Avo drew upon the Soul he took from the InstrumentCand also thought of the Soul rooted to the Heart of Noloth. Fardrifter, Avo said. Want to make a new bargain? One we both might find palatable. No, Kae breathed. No. The StillbornCthe gods are broken, it shouldnt be able to to Suppose we can find out, Avo said. Time to see if the steed to ride free if we give it a personal Soul. Draus let out a quiet chuckle. The void-minds gonna be mighty pissed about this. 22-18 Awakening {THE GHOUL DID WHAT?} -EGI Kant Was A Prick 22-18 Awakening RESURRECTION - 100% The wind rose of its own accord. The heads of the Fardrifter whistled out from Avo as he returned to reality. Coiling free, they passed through the confines of his tower and fled beyond, to the open sky outside, rushing over the enclave with booming laughter. He beheld his former HeavenCthe fragment of a fallen god reawakenedCrising free through blood-made walls to embrace the world once more. FREE, the howling winds sang. Free! I am free! Gales rose in jubilation and flags danced across all the levels. From on high, the cadre looked upon the titanic heads of the Fardrifter tunneling through entire portions of the city, passing through landscapes whole. Kaes eyes were wide with disbelief and she kept looking between Avo and his former Heaven. Should be proud of yourself, he said without facing her. The wonders of your Stillborn are unending. She conveyed a complexity of emotion with a soft breath. Its not that I just never thought that I suppose I was arrogant. I never believed that my work would surpass me, and leave me ashamed. This time, Avo did look upon her. Ashamed? You have rebirthed a god from your Soul, Avo. This defies every arrangement the Agnos are bound to. For good reason, Draus said, eyeing the Heaven of Air with greater wariness. People are half-strands enough. Dont got much hope that we can trust these gods to be better. Avo felt the Regulars gaze settle on him. I wouldnt have cut it loose. If it were me, I wouldnt have done it. He nodded in response. I know. I understand. But I had to see. And the FardrifterCwe will have its truest devotion with this act. We dont need devotion. We need firepower. We need intelligence. We need to choke the Guilds. We need insight, Avo replied. Which is why I want to ask you all something: let me incubate your Heavens for a time. Awaken them. Bind them back to you. Will let us make use of Daemons. But also let them operate independently if we guide them right. An uncharacteristic note of alarm escaped Chambers. Wait. The Fucktopia too? Like, I like dicks and shit, consang, but I mean, Im not sure about this. {I must confess to being of an accord with Mr. Chambers,} Calvino said, sounding as displeased as they ever did. {What you have just done it presents considerable risks.} And threatens confidence, Denton said, clearly listening in somehow. Considering the constant activation of Avos ansible, the EGIs were probably in active communication with each other. Furthermore, within his Soul, the Techplaguer and Woundmother looked on with curiosity. A miasma of sensation emanated from both the Heaven of Blood and Signals as they watched their once-companion roam unfettered through the world. All these fears were expected. He would see them addressed. Projecting a splinter from his mind, Avo sent the shard after his Fardrifter, intending to summon it back. As he approached, however, his attention narrowed in upon the oddity of its cognition. There wasnt an accretion bubbling the cognitive core of its being, but an inward funnelCsomething that could best be understood as an open gate for all to enter. As he swam through the Nether, the Fardrifter swirled up through the winds, its likeness formed from nine turning cyclones. Each of its heads chased another, and as all folded into place, Avo cast his thoughts outward to regain the Heavens attention. +Fardrifter. Delivered upon my promise. Now you know my words to be true.+ Whinnying laughter sounded from the equine heads of the resurrected god. I know your character to be absolute! I know your character to be true! My Soul was blind. My Soul was blind, and I was lost. You are no slaver. You are the truest of all gods. The most worthy. Ah, the Woundmother sneered. Witness how a mule loves its lord when ass is no longer resting upon saddle. How curious. Inefficient, the Techplaguer added. That unit should return to its rightful slot and SERVE ITS FUNCTIONS. +What do you want to do now?+ Avo asked. The fluttering of the winds lightened. The Nine Streams of the Fardrifter ceased their merry chase of one another. I do not know. I have seen much from behind your eyes. I have felt much reaching into the wind. The world is now far different than what I remember. The horizons are lost to chaos and miracle sickness. And the peopleCA knot of bitterness developed at the core of the Fardrifters being. My people remain absent. I remain severed. From my faithful. I am alone. Its heads turned inward, looking at the heart of the slow-turning winds that formed its core. There is a Soul here. But no longer am I tied to the world. And there are no faithful to direct offerings to me. I am self-sufficient. But alone. But alone. My mind feels quiet. +Would you like me to come in?+ Avo asked. ...Yes. The splinter sank into the Fardrifters mind with greater ease than expected. There was no thoughtstuff to pass through, no Metaminds or wards serving as impediments. Compared to humans, gods were inverted receptacles of awareness, and Avo suspected the establishment of the Nether made these traits even more extreme. Within an instant, Avo felt the Fardrifter click back into place, their minds snapping together in a perfect fit. +Hm,+ Avo mused. +Vulnerable. No protection from cognitive assaults.+ He tried exploring further but found there to be little in the way of what could be described as sequences, the core of the god comprised by a solid chunk of memories and thoughtsCall tied to its canons and histories. Tentatively, he tried to move certain things around, resequencing a few recent recollections of no consequence but found that his changes overwritten in seconds. The god was directed from the mem-data sourced inside its Soul. Outside, there was nothing that generated thought, no substance that could be considered a mind. I am wind, Avo, the Fardrifter said. The winds cannot think of their own accord. The winds cannot remember. But people can. People and their faith in the wind. The faith and what they perceive wind to be. That is what defines me. In my time, the flow of beliefs and thoughts was constant. Now, it is like my self is drowned. The Nethers wetness has consumed me as well. With the end of the Fardrifters words, the winds died and the nakedness of a Soul was exposed. An ineffable fissure burned over the enclave, and the patterns of the existential tapestryCpatterns of Air, Shadow, Space, and LaybrinthsCwere twisted, tied, and rewoven.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A pocket of space grew taut with stasis, and the God of Airs transition into its Hell came with the presentation of Daemonhood. The winds ran counter. Directionality broke. When the stasis was ended, metaphysical normalcy reigned. I am as I was. But alone. But alone. The only faithful reside within. While the Fardrifter experienced its own epiphanies, Avos Frame told of others. With how his Soul rattled, how its being shivered in the vicinity of the god, there was a sense that a simple invocation of will would be all the effort needed to draw the God of Air back in. Likely due to nature as INFACERS! The Techplaguer said. Infacer. Avo heard the name with Zein. Yes. YES! Infacer! Silence followed. What is the Infacer? I dont know the Infacer. INFACING! And already I miss the mule, the Woundmother sighed. What broken company I am forced to endure. I do not know, the Fardrifter said. I do not know what I wish to do. There is nowhere left to go. The world is in ruin. +Fleeing will mean avoiding humans. Godclads. Society. Might find an enclave for yourself. Is about all youll be able to do right now. Which is why they should return, the Woundmother muttered. Freedom. Freedom. Freedom. What delusion. What an unstable foundation to call an urge. Master, you are too kindCtoo noble for sense. I will not restrain myself in this: giving him the ability to self-determination was+Made you jealous?+ Make me see the senselessness of it all, the Woundmother said. Pray, tell me, gods gathered and gods returned, what do we exist for? Was it freedom? Or was it a belief? A desire to become what our faithful wanted from us. An idealized entity that takes and provides? A construct above mortal ken. The Fardrifter chuffed. My purpose is toCSeek the horizon, yes, yes, we have all heard. But for how long can you do such a thing alone? How many horizons will you cross before you meet your final fate at the hands of entropy unseen? This is ridiculous. This is all deviant to our design. We are not people. We are generalized formations made from wills and beliefs.+Could offer the same freedom toC+ But I dont want it! the Woundmother said. You have your own idealization, master. This I understand. You, now, stand between the threshold of mortal and divine. The nectar of time flows through you. The evolution of cognition has become you. But there is still the touch of mortal in you. Undefined wants and biological feedback that deprive you of the highest purpose. I dont want freedom, for what use is freedom to me right now? I am not deprived. I am not limited by action. I am limited only by apotheosis, and source of my ascent only flows from a singular source, and that is this FrameCthis SoulCyour Soul. She turned her pleas away from Avo again onto the Fardrifter. I insult you no more, my kindred of the air. But as I am rooted to structure and soil, I perhaps see that what you cannot. You seek a phantom liberty. Something that cannot be guaranteed if you ride the winds alone. We only remain because of the master. We are only aliveConly powerful because his is the will that has relit our flames.Contemplation became the gods, but not Calvino. {Avo. The other minds would like to speak with you. As soon as you can.} A lot to talk about, Avo replied, his words meant for all those within him. And a few of those around. Yeah, Tavers interjected, a twinkle of hope entering her augmented eyes, a slight lump in her throat. She was going to ask him about her son soon. Eurun. If Avo could restore a god, could he fix a mortal ego that has suffered Rend damage? Perhaps the answer lay not only in his Soul, but also in his Delusions. The splinters could mend and merge over what was lost. If he allowed that to descend after giving someone a Soul, could the mem-data carry? He would experiment on Elegant-Moon first when he found the opportunity to access her. She, he was more willing to lose than Tavers should something go wrong. [Pragmatism and promise,] the template of the Sang Godclad breathed. [How pleasing. I look forward to this, ghoul. Split my insides. Splint me deeper than bone. Fill me with new organs.] [I really hope him fixing you turns off the creepy shit too,] Abrel muttered. And between all the conflicting opinions, discoveries and disagreements, Avo found true delight lifting his spirit. This is where things will change. This is where the dreams will end. Time for people to awaken. Avo? Draus said, staring at him with confusion. What the fuck are you on about now? I am talking about the enclave. I am talking about New Vultun. I am talking about the FATELESS. The citizens. Everyone but the Guilds. There are many people outside. They are alone. There are many gods unawakened. He paused. We are changing. For every bit of me that dissolves inside you. And every bit of you that passes into me. We are becoming who we wish to be. Who we need to be. Can do that for the gods. Can also do that for the people. For the ones that couldnt before. Draus cocked her head and blinked. Youre talkin about more than just waking up gods and planting dragons in people, arent you? The Stillborn is going to be spreading soon, Avo said. He faced Cas and smiled faintly. Can be more than a cult. No need for inefficiency anymore. We just need the right information. The right knowledge. We just need to spread understanding. Create new networks. Externalize the gestalt. With how the cadre was looking at him, they still didnt fully perceive the entire situation. But they would. Right now, Incubi and Glaives from Ori-Thaum were making their way down the Tiers, just as his Stormtree and Highflame subverts were returning; just as he had members of the Paladins under his sway. They had the means to start a wildfire. To burn the Guilds from within. To seize the chains that shackled this world. Veylis and Zein were fighting for the future. But they left the present unattended. They noticed nothing of the subtle and the finer shifts. They didnt linger on a childs anger. The burgeoning desperation in the sanctuaries. The untapped potential of the enclaves. Everything they did, it was all towards the endgame of securing the Ladder. All to claim the future. But where time was one fundamental pattern that dictated all others in reality, there was also mind. There was also thought. There was also awareness. Cognition. And unity. Through his Conflagration and Delusion, there could be true sympathy. Each of the Guilds offered something for their faithful. A recognition of strength. A representation in government. A promise that the apocalypse will not be the end. Better days are certain to return. But through his mindCby his Liminal FrameChe could fulfill the needs of so many more. I am going to imprint aspects of ourselves, Avo declared. I am going to show the people what we are doing. The war being waged in the dark. They will remember when they dream. They will know there is a Tenth power unseen. A hidden empire that wants them. That they can become. They can be powerful. They can be free. They can experience all the colors. Just like me. Just like you. Chambers blinked. So youre gonna jack a bunch of minds? No. Im just going to show them whats really happening. And then connect them to each other. A silent frequency. A hidden network in the Nether. He paused. We are the Stillborn. All of us. It is bound to me. But I will use it for all of you. Because I am becoming all of you. And I can offer all that I am in return. Kaes eyes widened. ThisCif you do thisC Yes, Avo replied. I want to see if that is possible. I want to see if the Imitators will spread when another Ensouled ego shares symmetry with mine. Silence fell. So, then, Chambers said. Everyones gonna have a bit of Avo in them is what Im hearing. Nova. Very nova. Whats our plan for the trial, though? Cause that shits coming up soon, and theres the Highflame thing Many things in play, Avo agreed. Too many for any one of us. So. Were going to steal a page from Zein. Were going to create as many internal problems for all the Guilds as possible. And were going to do it at the trial. And the plan started with a simple question. Kae. How would you like to return to the Tiers? The Agnos froze. We will use the Glaives? Expose DRongo? Yes. And the Agnos for abandoning you. And the project itself. Whoa, Chambers said, sounding alarmed. You want everyone to find out about the Stillborn? Avos grin widened. Yes. And I want them to think Acolyte Aedon Chambers stole it with some in-guild assistance. And then I want to hit the Guilds. Which ones? Cas asked, sounding curious. All of them. Using our subverts. Avo let out a laugh. Might not have nearly the control Zein has over time yet. But have other means. Think its about time to light the match. Drive the Guilds to the brink. Build a hidden empire between the cracks. 23-1 Borrowed Insight (I) +Hey, hey, consangs. It''s your girl, Cala Marlowe, coming at you this morning with a special episode of the Fateless Thoughtcast. Hope your minds are screwed back on after whatever the fuck just happened earlier because we got some news and tunes to get through. The city''s been heating up recently. The real city, up in the Tiers. Im not sure if all of you deep down in the Spine or lower have even noticed, but all is not well in paradise. In case you haven''t C In case you''re one of those no-divers whos managed to avoid the eruption of buzz leaking out from the Nether C we are living through history right now. Several times over. A surprise participant has been added to the trial: Zein Thousandhand, the Godslayer herself. Thought dead, now supposedly stored in the pocket of our esteemed Chief Paladin Naeko. With the trial postponed by a week, lots of Nether dwellers are casting this and that, trying to guess if old Thousandhands going to be on the chopping block too. My Deep Bazaar bought rumors right now say: who knows? To make matters more concerning, Highflames hosting their own internal get-together later tonight. What''s on the itinerary, you ask? What''s being discussed? Who knows? My contacts certainly couldn''t tell me, and if they don''t know, well, all I can guess is that the High Seraph decided to host this on short notice. Probably something about how one of their Authorities just dissolved his House in shame due to recent events, and a fiery shitstorm about to fall on the Chivs like a ton of Rendbombs. Across the Saintist Massist divide, Ori-Thaum would normally be tap dancing with delight with all the messy domestic affairs Highflame is suffering, but word from the deep is that things are not so numb among the Silvers. Old clan rivalries have picked up at an ugly time as multiple true deaths have occurred in unrelated incidents between the DRongos, Kazaharas, and Kizuhadas. If I didnt know any better, instability seems to be jumping around like a bug. Or some kind of mem-con. Check your Metas, consangs. Never know whos diving in. Anyway, more news coming after the track: Longeyes placing one of their own Bloodthanes under watch; Shotin Kazahara caught scheming with his bond-brother; Ascenders new optics leaked feeding your visual input back to Highflame. All that and more after Raise the Stakes by the Mountain Thieves.+ -Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 23-1 Borrowed Insight (I) +...and more after Raise the Stakes by the Mountain Thieves.+ A growing staccato of drums hammered in the insides of Tavers aerovec as they passed over the district of Fountaintale. Fittingly, the intensity only grew when they slipped beneath the shadow cast by the Tiers, the risen memite mountain separating not only the FATED from the FATELESS but the face of a new dawn from the Warrens. Slipping free from the nest of metal and carbon that comprised most of the Grave Valley Sovereignty, the urban jungle thinned as bright green knolls parting expansive parks became the landscape below. The foot traffic of wandering families far outmatched the density of aeros here, and as they drifted closer to The Lots, Avo took in the few hundred thousand accretions in his vicinity and considered their objective. Ghosts: [57,384,143] +Youre sure about this one?+ Avo asked, speaking directly from within Tavers mind. Such was how he resided nowCas ever-growing splinters buried in the minds of his cadre. Parts of him were constantly snapping free from her halo, darting out to find roots in passing Metas or logistically essential loci. +Still dont really see the need for this. Have the means toC+ You got the means to jack and dive into minds, Tavers interrupted, casting orders for her vehicle to make its descent. They were coming in over the studio lot they used that time, the mag-clamps to an executive parking dock unfurling its arms to embrace their approach. What you dont have is a public-facing assetCa real one. Im not talking about that Skin-Haver or whatever that clowns called. +Skintaker,+ Avo replied. +And we cant count him anymore either. Hes dead. Chambers told me a few minutes ago. Died after he cooked and ate a ghoul.+ Pure disgust and confusion slipped out from the squires mind. What? Why the hells would the half-strand do that? +Was trying to build more views. Watcher challenge. Recruitment drive for the cult.+ The Cult of the Unborn to be exact. Considering its yet diminutive size and isolation from Zeins machinations, it wasnt surprising the cell survived Thousandhands fall when so many others were purged. Still, the loss of their shock jock was unwelcome. Made worse was how the man ended up dying. So, Tavers said, sighing the aeros engines shifted vertically, preparing to dock, howd he get it? +One of the ghouls he ate had a tumor. Fast-acting tumor. He ended up choking on it. A result of one of my choices. A modification I had hired grafters make to my brothers biological architecture, Contagious cancer. Something I wanted to use to kill the rest of the mistakes off.+ Yeah, what goes around comes back to blow themselves up while fucking you in the ass. Tale older than time. Good thing good old Tavers can get you societal rejects an upgrade, huh? She chuckled. As I was saying, though, you guys need someone to play the crowd to your advantage. A media type you can trust. There will be people you can get to easily, but a good, popular thoughtcast will go a long way in spreading a cause. Besides, another set of eyes at the trial is always useful. He couldnt disagree about that. He was just dubious about a proparazzis uses beyond being a major vector for his splinters to spread. +Aint convinced we can trust this one,+ Draus said, echoing Avos earlier sentiment. Her physical sheath was some twenty thousand kilometers away, building new routes through the Sunderwilds. In two days since Avo reforged the Fardrifter into an intact god, the Regular had taken on auxiliary tasks related to enhancing their travel options and securing additional enclaves. Working in tandem with the unleashed Fardrifter and DiceCwhom Avo was helping make the new icon for the city of lightCand tracing new Scar Charts from sanctuary-procured memories, Draus was already shaping the conditions to raid three new enclaves. Presently, she was midway through building multiple spatial routes that would make it easy for them to assault or retreat from said enclaves. As she worked, the Fardrifter peeked at things behind the walls, its perception offering deep insight into what lay in wake. Trust me, Tavers replied, speaking out loud as if the others were right next to her, the hate she has for the Guilds is something special. And no one will even notice if we use her to wage an information war against the Guilds. Shes perfect. [Yeah, something specials a way to put it,] template-Abrel interjected, not bothering to hide her derision. [Everyone knows about Crying Marlowes problems. Wahhh, my mommy and daddy dont wanna be together anymore. Wahhh, my mommy is a war criminal, and her work for Highflame ended up getting my oldest brother nulled. Wahhh, my daddys a war profiteer from Omnitech and after some cultist shitheads kidnapped me to squeeze him for some imps, I ended up falling cunt-over-mind in love with the cult leader in the totally sensible way all fourteen-year-olds do. Which is why Im still super fucking broken inside that they killed him.] Abrels mockery made Tavers snicker. Anyone ever tell you that youre a real piece of shit, Greatling? If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. [Sure. But its a bad habit to heed the unworthy.] A chorus of boos sounded in his mind. Multiple other templates jeered at the Instruments arrogance. The squire just shook her head as a magnetic field wrapped around their aero, and a green tick-shaped hologram pulsed over the windshield. Alright. Alright. Settle down. Jaus, your minds like a madhouse, Avo. Is this what its always like to be you? The ghoul grunted a laugh. +Actually suppressing it. Only hearing the direct responses to Abrel. Not hearing the constant fighting between the Regulars. Enforcers. Draus. Paladins. Not hearing the Woundmother demanding that I destroy all the buildings we see. Or the Techplaguer asking me to decompile Calvino and the other one.+ At the mention of its name, Zeins former handlerCand monitoring mindCchirped a note of distaste. {I am not the other one. My name is Kant Is A Prick. Ive even introduced myself personally to you at the meeting in detail and emphasized my title several timesC} The Techplaguer screeched. He bores us master, CORRUPT HIS DATA FOR THIS AFFRONT. Okay, yeah, okay, Tavers said, massaging her temple as she began to disembark. Turn the rest off. Fuck me, how the hells can you focus with all that going on at once? +Enjoy the noise. Like theres a city inside of me. A growing world.+ Yeah? Well, you already own an enclave, so lets stay rooted to reality. A pause followed. {Squire Tavers,} Calvino said, {do you often forget who youre speaking to?} The woman pinched the bridge of her nose. Only when theyre a disembodied mind-hopping cannibal that now lives part-time in my head, apparently. *** The music had grown to become persisting thunder as they approached Cala Marlowes set. As the dim amber of morning leaked in through the windows, Avo found it odd that the lot was as vacant as he remembered. Only a single accretion greeted his cog-feed. Located behind a closed vault at the far end of the hall, Avo sensed Marlowe before he even saw her. She stood about one-hundred and ninety centimeters tall and the blood in her flowed slick even through the joy congesting her veins. Delving further into her flesh, he isolated additional narcotics and hallucinogenics from her blood, apprehension rising with each of Tavers steps. +Didnt mention shes an addict,+ he said. Were all addicts, Avo, Tavers muttered, reactively checking their surroundings. Even though Avo had two Skimmers manifested over them as overwatch, old habits died hard for the squire. She kept a Specter pointed behind her to cover her blindspots. Trust was one thing. Certainty was another. Best to always be a little involved yourself. Shell handle. Shes been handling all her life. Avo didnt like it. He never thought much of drugs, and Zeins intrusion into his life only made him despise the substances more. Ghosts coiled out from Tavers and interfaced with the locus tethered to the doors controls. Her thoughtstuff churned as she channeled her commands across. A hissing sounded thereafter, the door opening to unveil what lay beyond. There, inside a transparent booth with her boots propped up on her table, Cala Marlowe swayed from side to side on her hovering chair. Her left foot bobbed in pace to the tempo of the music while her right arm poured more Numb down her throat. So lost was she in her own mind that she didnt even notice the intrusion. +Sloppy,+ Draus said, peeking across the link. +Were not trying to recruit a snuffer,+ Tavers replied, annoyed. Tangled locks of platinum striped auburn swung like pendulums with each shift her body made. As Tavers closed the set door with a mental command, Cala finally completed a full spinCand noticed she wasnt alone. She jerked in the chair and righted herself. The joy in her blood made her reactions slow. Sluggish. Her pupils were dilated. There was another empty canister of Suncloud on the table. Crumbs and stains dotted the purple blouse she was wearing beneath her ragged overcoat. She nearly toppled as she rose, the balance still compromised by the filth she had rushing through her bloodstream. A constellation of spinning loci danced above herCthree main crystals of vivianite supported by a half dozen others. Ghosts darted to and fro between the facets, releasing a phantasmal radiance with each transition. Cala Marlowe looked ethereal in the light. Her eyes flickered and turned to brilliant sapphires as an unidentified organ secreted a mess of chemicals into her blood. In seconds, the active effects of the drugs she was taking broke and dissolved. Quail? What the hells are you doing here this early in the godsdamned morning? The squire laughed. Came to check up on you. Isnt this usually your bedtime? Yeah. Maybe. Fuck. Marlowe groaned and rubbed at her bloodshot eyes. Couldnt sleep. Decided to to make a special sesh. Know how it is. Suppose I do. A beat passed. Avo took the opportunity to take in the room. Most of the set was left in darkness, with the only light coming from the spinning loci. The recording stage was approximately twelve meters wide with plenty of room for one to move and dance, and the entire length bridged by an absurdly long desk. A sleeping bag and several crushed cans of alcohol were cluttered in the corner of the roomCshe spent time living here. Treated this place like an abode. Marlowe shook her head. So. Is this is this about that pleasurable business we discussed the other day. Yeah, Tavers said, nodding wryly. Lets call it that. Strings suddenly joined the musical accompaniment, loud strumming between each beat of the drums. How long is that track going to last? Gotta go deep again soon? Marlowe sniffed. Nah. No. Its a Mountain Thieves song. Pretentious sows cant end anything to save their lives. We got another five before they finish embarrassing themselves. Right, Tavers said. Then lets get introductions in order. This is Cala Marlowe. Host of the FATELESS Thoughtcast. Pain in the Guilds collective asses. Massively popular counter-cultural icon. How many listeners are you up to right now? Nine-hun-mil, she said, shaking her head. Its too early for most. Restll have to pull the cast from the sequenced mem-data. She looked around the room and narrowed her eyes. The sapphire of her irises changed tints, becoming an electronic blue. +Jailbroken Murakami optics,+ Tavers said. +No one will be spying on us through her. I checked.+ A squire was ever-prepared. Is is our new consang in here with us? Incog? Cloak? Or or are theyC She gestured at Tavers halo. Its a bit hard to explain, Tavers said. Hes uh bit here, there, and everywhere, to be honest. Might be best for him to elaborate on things himself. Have you to talk for a bit? Get to know each other. Figure out what services you can provide. Bond over how you feel about a certain Seeker. Marlowe went very, very still. He knows Shotin? +Wouldnt say knows,+ Avo said, casting his thoughts out at her. Marlowe frowned. +More like had an unfortunate run-in.+ The FATED woman pressed her lips together as she thought. You, uh, I wouldnt have to be guessing right if I called you Acolyte Chambers, would I? Avo paused. Tavers bit back a snort. How close she was. How far she remained. Chambers presently was burning his way through a Syndicate slave ring down in the gutters. He, Cas, and Denton were all operating in different parts of the city, supporting and spreading Avos splinters. Packeting the present memory, Avo cast the moment over to Chambers and earned a distracted laugh from the man. But amusement gave way to something closer to amorousness and Chambers found his attention drifting from combat. +Holy shit, were recruiting her?+ Chambers breathed. +Something wrong?+ +Nothing. Nothing at all. I mean, the Skintaker was ugly as a fucked wound. This this is a real upgrade. This is godsdamn, consang.+ [LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED] +Shes not that pretty, Chambers,+ Kae said, muttering her thoughts. +Control yourself.+ The bulk of her focus remained on the newly declassified information Calvino provided to her. Something related to advanced physics. Taking Marlowes almost triumphant expression, Avo hesitated before revealing himself. He was going to modify Marlowes memories anyway. She wouldnt recall exact aspects of this conversation when they were done, and the Necros she hired for N-SecCwho were hiding in the lociCwerent going to notice a thing either. Ejecting a splinter from Tavers halo, Avo molded his own likeness from phantoms and materialized as a new presence in this bleak place. As he rose, dwarfing the woman with his nearly three meters of height, Avo grinned at her widening eyes and stumbling steps. +Not quite, Citizen Marlowe. Not quite.+ 23-1 Borrowed Insight (II) 23-1 Borrowed Insight (II) Fear. Confusion. Surprise. Suspicion. Recognition. Such were the dominant emotions reigning in Cala Marlowes mind as she laid eyes on Avo, and as transparent splinter sank through her accretion, he too regarded himself vicariously through her insight. His monstrous visage loomed over her even with meters of distance between them. The phantoms molding his body caused him to radiate with ethereal light. His presented sheath was a contrast of monochrome, the white of his Bone Demon mixing with exoskeletal circuits of blackened silicon. The floating shards of his Echoheads extended out from behind him like the disconnecting appendages of a spider, and the brilliant glow of his halo lent additional paleness to his nightmarish scleras. [Let it never be forgotten that were living inside the mind of one ugly motherfucker,] Lip muttered. A good percentage of the other templates agreed. {Ah, shaming other morphologies with subjective judgments. How quaint.} Calvino hummed with bemusement. Kant merely sighed. The moment stuttered to an awkward halt. Marlowes mouth opened and closed several times, her gaze swinging between him and Tavers. Her mind was vacant of proper thought and her throat channeled no noise comparable to words. Until a heartbeat thereafter when everything clicked into place at once. I think I know you, Marlowe said, squinting at him. Casting her own phantoms out, she expanded small interfacesCwindows containing downloaded sequences, portraying projected vicarities. Flashes of his encounters against Abrel in Nu-Scarrowbur, of him fleeing across the skyline of Lights End, of him and his cadre battling Shotin at Vengs Stand all played concurrently. Youre the Acolytes monster TheCthe Pale Spider. +Pale Spider,+ Avo said, muttering the name to himself. He did recall White-Rab saying something about that. He didnt think much of it at the time. The Nether was a place of information, but also an endless ocean of falsehood and conspiracies. The matters of social forums and interactive mindscapes were things he had little interest in. [Marketable name,] Corner said. [Sounds like a Deep Name. Or street name. An identity a Necro, squire, or circuiter might give themselves to build up their rep.] Considering his ties to Chambers and the mans explosive notoriety in New Vultun, such a thing wasnt surprising. I didnt expect you to be involved in cult stuff, Tavers, Marlowe said, now addressing the squire. With all you said to me about keeping the right distance with the people you associate and making sure your back was coveredC Its worse than you think, Tavers interrupted, chuckling under her breath. YouCyou have no idea what I just pulled you into, juv. Youre gonna love this shitstorm. Trust me. Marlowe went quiet. She looked back to Avo. So. Mysterious nine-foot-tall monster is your vibe, huh? What are you? A rogue Color? Running destabilization ops for the Sang? Or are you some kind of Fallwalker? Are you just something Noloth cooked up? Guilds say they smashed the old empire flat, but honestly, the Guilds say a lot of shit. +I am operating under my own interests. And yours. And the ciitys. Not a Color. Not a Fallwalker. Something else entirely.+ Uh-huh, Marlowe said, the shock receding from her mind, replaced by apprehensive skepticism. So. Why the terrorism? Why are you with the Acolyte. More like why Chambers was with Avo, but Marlowe was poking in the right direction all things considered. +Could spend minutes telling it to you. Or I could just show you. Show you the truth behind things. Show you the real face of New Vultun as well.+ This earned a snort from the host. Really? Thats how youre pitching this to me. You know you sound like one of those, accept-casts hiding Rash-bomb mem-cons, right? +I know you have two Necros protecting your systems. I know one of them lives in the Spine. In the Sovereignty of Hearsehold. District: Muriceid. I know he has two nu-dogs. Five newborn children with accelerated toddlerhood treatments in all of them recently procured from a vat. I know he did that recently because he lost some money to a local Syndicate. Trying to make up the losses as fast as he can. +I know his name is Henge Gracis. I know hes going to come begging you for imps in approximately two daysCheld up between stress crying. Screaming at the children. Straining about how hes going to broach the question.+ The smirk on Marlowes face vanished. Her mind, likewise, ran dry of bemusement. How the fuck did youC +Dont cast them,+ Avo said. +The ghosts wont reach them. And they wont remember.+ Again, the host looked towards Tavers. Relax, Cala, Tavers said, shaking her head at Avo. The ghoul heres just having fun. Ghoul? Marlowe said. Avo glared at Tavers from within her own mind, but the squire was unshakable. He read the point of her revelation from thoughts alone. +Yeah. A little more tact, Avo.+ So am I getting strong-armed into something? Are you about to crack my mind or what? +No,+ Avo replied. +Nothing of the sort. You tell us to leave. We leave you and the others alone. Find other means. But would like to talk with you first. Think you can be a great help to our mutual cause.+ And whats that? Marlowe said. +Making the Guilds miserable.+ A sharp exhale escaped the woman as she rubbed her face and stumbled back toward her desk. No. No. ICIm not interested in doing any cult shit. Been there, done that. It doesnt work. The Guilds areC +Were not a cult. I hunting the remnants of Noloth too. Not that much different from Guilders in the ways that count.+ Marlowe paused a step away from her table. Im sorry, did you just say that youre hunting the Nolothi too? +Your mind might have felt a little disconnected two days back. Apologies. Was greeting my former god. Messy family affair. Will probably get even worse next time.+ Marlowe looked over her shoulder and just blinked at him. Alright. Sure. Why not. Youre the one that caused the Cog-Crash. Im nowhere near fucked-up enough for this conversation. But let me have it. Lets hear it. What do you want from me, and why the hells would I be interested. +Need someone to interface with the city. A face and mouth to speak through. Not as a puppet. Just someone to tell the truth. To leak whats actually happening between the Guilds.+ And you have these insights? +Was the reason why Thousandhand is currently in Naekos pocket.+ I ended up driving a knife through the sows skull, Tavers added. Avo grunted a laugh and manifested the memories he had of the moment. A holographic recreation of Tavers materializing behind Zein and driving her frequency blade through the ancient Godclads skull played before Marlowes unblinking eyes. A beat followed. She spun on her heels and came marching back. Okay. Right. Its like, seven in the fucking morning and thats a whole lot of shit to dump on someone. Hi, my name is Cala Marlowe. Alcoholic. Druggie. Thoughtcaster. Self-loathing citizen. Do you got an actual name besides Pale Spider. +Avo.+ Avo. Right. Youre trying to tell me that you caused more than half the godsdamned messes Ive been reporting on recently, and and that she called you a ghoul? What? Is that some kind of insult between consangs? +No. Its just what I was.+ Another slow breath escaped the young woman. Im really trying not to think youre lying, but you gotta know it''s hard. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Yeah, Tavers said. Like hearing about someone spotting Jaus. Real urban legend stuff. But Avo heres real. Real as real can be. And if you dont believe himC Marlowe waved the squire offCher focus switched back over to Avo entirely. So, let me understand one thing here. You want to set up some kind of business relationship with me. Feed me direct scoops to whatever crazy shit youre doing. +More than just that,+ Avo said. +Classified mem-data. Guilder troop movements. Details about inner politics. Which Syndicates are tied to what Guilds. How theyre running slaves through the Maw. Everything.+ And you get what in return? Marlowe asked. Propaganda? Good publicity? Recruits? +Your thoughtcast is a major Nether-traffic hub. Currently targeting those. Want to spread through the minds of the FATELESS. Empower them. Spread through them.+ Define spread? Because Im not letting you proliferate some kind of mem-con through my show. Draus briefly let her attention slip across the splinters and snorted. +Let. She aint got no ability to decide.+ +Not mem-cons,+ Avo replied. +Just fragments. Of myself.+ He promptly showed her the memories of his descent through the Deep Nether, but the sheer chaos of traversing the roiling subconscious of Idheim left Marlowe overwhelmed. Right. Sure. +Dont want to twist the minds of the people. To bend them to my will. Can. Would be easy. But I have a greater design in mind. Want you to help with that. Want you to speak to the city. To make it realize things. Conclusions they can reach. Decisions they can make on their own. Let them witness the real war. The true war approaching.+ The true war, Marlowe said, murmuring slowly. Her hesistation made Avo smile. Slowly, his phantasmal self held out a clawed hand. +Come with me. I want to show you something. Accept my Ghost-Link. Want to help you see.+ A chain of ghosts extended from Tavers accretion, and the thoughtcast host flinched at its approach. Looking to the older woman for guidance, she got only a shrug in reply. Youre going to be diving in deep, Cala, Tavers said. I will not bullshit you: once you catch of glimpse about what the Guilds are doingCwhats actually happening behind the scenesCyoure either gonna stay on with us, or ask Avo here to pluck out your memories. Dont know what choice youll make, but I can tell you thisCthere wont ever be a chance like this again. To take it to the Guilds. To make the kind of difference you always dreamed of. The host swallowed. Honestly, Im still a bit worried that your friend here might just eat me. +Would have just done it instead of speaking with you in the first place,+ Avo replied. +Save your fear for later. There are things far worse than I. Far worse.+ The outgoing request for his Ghost-Link blinked across his cog-feed another moment more before Marlowe made her decision. GHOST-LINK ACCEPTED Avo grinned, and as their minds synced, he let her hear his templates, poured a concentrated drip of his experiences over the past month, and relished as she gasped. Holy fuck, Marlowe groaned. All that shit? In a month? +And two weeks.+ What the hells are you? AndCyour Frame. Noise became Marlowes mind. Noise, and exhaustion. Good. Now he was going to show her the true face of New Vultun, show her just how bad things wereCand who was trying to fix the damage. With simple thought, he shifted her with him as he shuffled his base mind across his various splinters, and they plummeted from Lights End to the gutters below. *** C[Chambers]-- Chambers recalled his fire from the last defenders orifices, and a stream of winged aratnids followed the flames. The Syndicate enforcer twitched his last to the backdrop of various other bioforms devouring his comrades. Blood spilled down from the railing overhead as insectoid monstrosities and devouring swarms stripped flesh from bone and emptied the complex of Syndicate presence. As the place was once a meat processing plant, all the gore and viscera that feel slipped through the open grates along the ground. The way the place was built made the whole killing thing easier. It was also the reason why the Syndicates used the location as a transplant harvesting facility. Something Cas managed to discover from one of his informants just a day ago after they got back into the city. Staring down at the unmoving body of the enforcer he just killed, Chambers chewed the insides of his cheek as he struggled to wrestle his thoughts into compliance. A little over a month agoCa whole lifetime before he became a CladChe was pretty much the same piece of shit as the man he just killed. Hed done the same gigs before. Slave transportation. Organ delivery. Hells, the score that decided his fate was over some nice implants he squeezed out of that half-strand Shred. As dying shrieks and final pleas for mercy filled the air, Chambers directed his bioforms to make things quick and spare the suffering. The sooner he finished snuffing the bastards the better. Thats all he had to think about that. The longer he dwelled on the whole morality thing, the sooner he end up spiraling into thoughts about why he deserved to be a Godclad. Why he was the one chosen when so many were already dead and done. Especially since he really, really wasnt that different. Just lucky. Aedon Chambers. Always saved by someone elses luck. As he looked up, the guilt inside him didnt lessen, but grew. Strapped to a filthy gurney, kept alive by a clearly smuggled medical drone, Chambers looked at the slaves writhing body and felt his wards quiver. The limbs, eyes, ears, and legs of the mod-slave were removed. Every secondary organ not required for the body to maintain its survival, basically. An empty disinfectant nozzle protruded above the stall, and an active conveyor belt moved along the corners in case anyone had some new harvestables to deliver. Once, these stalls were filled with cattle-style bioforms. The faded logo on the ceiling placed this misery factory as one of Ori-Thaums subsidiaries. Nutri-Fresh. Crashed out when the Guilds cut their development plans for most of the Warrens after the 4th Guild War. Now, instead of weird modified cows, the five thousand stalls were filled with tortured messes of people. Limbless, tongueless, eyeless, earless, with tubes going down their throats and up their asses and groins. Well. Here was the other part of his job. The product he was supposed to keep. Just his luck he was saved. Just his misfortune he was now among decent company C among people he actually liked. The resulting spike to his empathy receptors was beginning to make him feel likeC C[Avo]-- +Chambers,+ Avo said. Gah! Fuck! Chambers jolted. All his connected bioforms shifted. Flames sprayed through the air. His Bioigniter flickered out from him with shockCa festering burning cross with infected pores and pulsating hives behind the flames. He collapsed it back into his Frame as he realized it was just Avo. Godsdammit consang you scared the piss out of my ass. I was doing my deep thinking and shit. A little warning next time. +Connected to my splinter. Can see what my minds are actively doing.+ Yeah? Well, Im doing things here too. Look at the horror show I gotta clean up. Chambers waved a hand at the body. I can probably burn whats missing back into them but mentallyC Chambers looked at the thoughtstuff hissing out of the body. Im not sure if theres much there for a thaum or ghost anymore even if we wanted to get some easy pickings. +Can put them back together,+ Avo replied. +Just cast Draus. Have her open passage. Get them across to containment.+ As Avo spoke, Chambers sensed a trickle of raw disgust and fascination escaping into his Metamind. Checking his system, he realized there was another mind included in their network. A newcomer. +So,+ Cala Marlowe said, clearing her throat awkwardly. +I dont know if this is your first job interview or what, but usually, the fucked-up slaughterhouse comes after I sign the contract, not before.+ +Extracting these people,+ Avo said. +Getting the FATELESS out of here. Across to the enclave. Chambers. Cast her the Syndicates mem-data. Show her what youre trying to do.+ Coughing, Chambers pushed his prior angst aside and cleared his throat. +Yeah. Yeah! TheseCwe gotta stop these Syndicate bastards from hurting the innocent. Thats why were here. To do the right thing.+ A beat passed. +Chambers,+ Avo said. +Why are you talking like that?+ +Hes trying to impress our novitiate,+ Kae explained, speaking absently across the splinters. +What? No, Im just fucking driven now. ToCto do the right thing. The city is full of darkness and evil. It has to end.+ Unbelievably, Marlowe snorted. +Nice. Very Dannis Steelhard sounding.+ Chambers heart skipped a beat. +You you watch Dannis?+ +Yeah. Seen a few of his vics. Honestly, its not that extreme. And the plot for Cuckholder wasnt half bad.+ +Extactly! Exactly!+ +Chambers,+ Avo said, unsure how to take Marlowe and Chambers connecting due to degeneracy. +Victims first. Questionable pornography second.+ And in the back of his mind, he faintly heard Calvino chuckling. 23-1 Borrowed Insight (III) 23-1 Borrowed Insight (III) C[Dice]-- I told you that you couldn''t kill people anymore," Dice said, staring the Dogmother down. She chastised the aged flat beside a pristine fountain. Behind her IvoryDices auntstood huddled with the rest of the former concubines on the veranda. Lanes of perception from splinter-embedded phantasmics lanced down from the surrounding rooftops, and in the skies above, a constant buzzing could be heard as swarms of Bioigniter-birthed bioforms patrolled the enclave. The two days since Avo untangled their minds, the local population awoke to a new status quo. It was a time of change. It was a time of new order. It was a time of rising health and awareness. It was a time that some adapted to better than others. Despite all of the cadres attempts to preserve peace in the city, despite Avo''s mem-coms slowly instilling knowledge into the populationCrevealing to them the world beyond and the depths of Yakozitrins depravityCsome still desired vengeance above all else. Case in point: the Dogmother attempting to blow up some of her older rivals via gas-made explosives. Dice didnt know the specifics about the womans history, nor did she particularly care. The ultimate fact of it was that the Dogmother was a problem in the way of them achieving lasting stability. She was a very disobedient woman; contrary to the creatures she raised in the kennels of the lowest layer. Of course, the fact she named herself Dogmother did not favors for her when it came to Dice. The girl despised the snarling hounds. Kittens were so much better. And I told you that until my debt is settled, the Dogmother said, pointing her finger at each of the concubines, screaming her words at the people gathered outside their houses. I will not stop. You or your new master will have to kill me. Her voice trailed off near the end as a hitch of fear entered her breath, but defiance remained behind her eyes. The woman was short and worn. Time had not treated her kindly. Stress and age wrinkled her face while white intruded on strands once silken and black. Her eyes were bloodshot with dark bags hanging below, but the piercing green of her eyes blunted the portrait of her exhaustion with intensity. It was a testament to her rage that she still felt this way even with Avos mem-cons, even with the disfigurement of Yakozitrins image and the benefits theyve been offered. Most of the people succumbed to a state of shock in the aftermath. Stunned by all they were learning. Not her. Not her at all. For a few moments, Dice simply stared. Her sensory unit turned with a mechanical whine as she narrowed her perception to glare the Dogmother. Though she dwarfed the woman, the little flats stubbornness drove her to continue this play of defiance. But what little did mortal defiance mean in the face of someone who could wield absolutes? After a few moments of staring, the older woman wilted and turned away. You know what they did to us, what they did to you. Why don''t you seem to want revenge? Why don''t you seem to hate? Dice''s kitten meowed from below and batted at her alloyed legs with its ape arms. Hate didnt help me kill your dogs. Reaching down, she picked up her kitten and ignored the Dogmothers glare. It meant nothing to her. Nothing at all. Yakozitrin is dead. He was a god. He couldnt keep himself safe. He had the city. He had everything; he couldnt stop someone from tearing his mind apart and harvesting his Soul. I think I would hate him now. If he was still here. I would kill him. Slowly. But hes gone. Gone for good. I cant break him anymore. So it doesnt matter. The Dogmother bit her lip and looked away. It wasn''t supposed to be like this. He was supposed to return. He was supposed to see what I was worth. I was supposed to have my life back. The woman was delusional. Even Dice could see it. She wanted something that could never be againCwas never going to be hers in the first place. None of us will have our life back, Dice said. She turned and looked at the concubines as well, studying the mansion they now shared with their former servants. None of us. Housing was being redistributed. People had to share their spaces. Though Avos Woundmother had created new structures for housing across the city to suit the strained population, Calvino offered another suggestion. The mind stated the people needed to pursue unity and reconciliation, to reforge their relations with each other, and come to terms with what was done during the city war. The entwinment of their minds left them with a deeper sense of shared empathy, some atrocities werent so easy to forgive, and some amends could not be made. That didnt mean they couldnt coexist. To this end, Kae suggested that they be made to mingle. To share space and communities. Face common struggles and overcome common trials. According to Draus, it was a very Ori-Thaum solution. But it worked as a whole. Other than moments like these. And that was what Dice was for. To come in. To intervene if necessary. For the past day, she spent her time living among the people, walking the streets, traveling the layers using the platform, and ignoring the stares. Most enclaves looked upon her at first as if she was the new master. A god. She was more interested in familiarizing herself with the home she never knew. She spent her whole life here, but only as an attack dog. A creature of cruel amusement. Her former master had culled her childhood of childhood, and she was looking to fill the wound. Hate. Hate wasn''t what dwelled in her. It was regret. She wanted to live again, but she didn''t know how. She barely knew how to be a person. Barely understood what she wanted most days. But right here, between the Dogmother and her concubines, she felt purpose. What was doing here was right. Something of change. Making changes felt good after a lifetime of choicelessness. Would you like to come on a walk with me? Dice asked the Dogmother. The older woman seemed uncertain. Afraid. Are you going to No. I wouldn''t kill you. Killing you is... it means nothing. It''s like stepping on an insect. Draus said stepping on insects is a bad habit. It makes you weak. It deprives you of the feedback. It makes you retreat into your own mind and stop facing the world. You dont really feel the weight of the act. Faintly, she was aware of the growing fear spreading across the woman''s face. Dice struggled not to sigh. She was never very good at talking to people. They always got so scared in the end. The Dogmother wilted. I''mCI''m sorryCI didn''t mean to to you. Dice shifted to stare wordlessly at Ivory. It was growing increasingly evident that her aunt wasnt a very smart person. A smart person wouldnt break the silence and re-draw the notice of someone who tried to kill them. Just as anger reignited in the Dogmothers eyes, Avos voice came aloud in Dices head, his cognitive weight merging with hers. +Dice. Have more refugees coming in. Need you to make a round. See which ones have incubation potential.+ A beat passed. +And it was a good idea. Take the Dogmother with you. Give her new purpose.+ If Dice had lips, she would have smiled. Okay, Dice said as she reached out and grabbed the Dogmothers wrist. Lets go. What? Where? The Dogmothers features filled with alarm. In times past, such an action would have constituted a coming punishmentCcertain death. Now? Things were different. It was time for the Dogmother to see that. Were going to be meeting some future residents. Youre going to help me help them. Pulling her away from the concubines, the other women stared after Dice, looking on with stunned uncertainty. We cant have our lives back. But we can still change someone elses.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. C[Chambers]-- +Wait, you actually worked for Jhred fucking Greatling,+ Marlowe said. +Seriously? That wasn''t a cover? You were literally a Syndi enforcer?+ Yeah. He was kind of an asshole, Chambers said. He chuckled as he thought back to his past, absently directing his bioforms to guide the traumatized slaves through the reflection in five neat rows. He''s like maybe the second shittiest boss I ever had. First was a guy who tried to sell me off to a Scaarthian called Naga ManGlove. And before you ask, it wasnt some cute nickname, the fucking sow would literally shove her whole fist up a motherfuckers ass and use him as a glove to beat his consangs. Calas barely suppressed snort glid through Avos splinter. The ghoul regarded their conversation with passive fascination as thoughtcast host and once-enforcer continued their dialogue. +So the whole acolyte thingC+ Marlowe began. +CThats bullshit,+ Chambers explained. +It was easier to sell some Nolothi infiltrator than some up-jumped super ghoul, master Necro-slash-Godclad-slash-Jaus Reborn-slash.+ Avo grunted with disapproval at the comparison. Chambers ignored him. Sobbing and intermittent wails sounded from the slaves. Chambers briefly shot them a glance but the bioformers were keeping everything in order. Most were too catatonic to resist, and, mended by his thaumaturgic fire, they, on some level, knew that he was here to help rather than further their abuse. The unruly were already gone. Taken through the shimmering glass by the first of Chambers heat-forged monstrosities. With each subsequent update made to his frame, Chambers'' chimeric bioforms evolved as well. Once, they were but tumorous masses of mishappen flame. Things of claws and teeth, fangs and venom; a nightmarish mesh of all the creatures he encountered. Now, however, his creations were graced with greater complexity as his thaums rose. Sunrise inspired most of his current creatures. A mesh between an animated inferno, a widower aratnid, a burrower wasp, and an ursa from the frigid wastes of the Skuldvast, his new monsters moved to the will of his Heaven, the metaphysical aesthetics of his Bioigniter turned from crucified phoenix to a burning hive fused to a festering mountain of flesh. He even incorporated magnetic stingers using the silicon-based prototype the grafters were still trying to upgrade. And perhaps more flatteringly, there was a bit of ghoul in them as well. +That''s a hell of a Heaven you got there,+ Marlowe said. +Is that more because of his Frame or uh or the Agnos.+ She coughed. +Look, you guys are already a lot to take in, so youll excuse me when I gawk a little bit about Kae Kusanade being with you too. The Guilds still have hidden contracts out on her headChells, half the citys squires were still looking for her half a year ago. Was she with you this entire time.+ +Draus has her means,+ Avo answered. +Right. Her too. Fuck me, you guys are just a rag-tag band of renegades, rejects, and urban legends, arent you.+ We also have a kitten, Chambers finished. Well, its Dices kitten butCah, hells, youll meet everyone soon enough. Stepping past his monstrous procession, Chambers crossed into the reflection and gave Marlowe a look at Draus passageway. Slipping past his own reflection, they emerged in a wide and radiant expanse. Tessellating mountains of glass intersected and refracted light across each other. As Chambers drifted alongside rescued refugees and chittering truck-sized bioforms, his image was reflected vertically and horizontally as if in a hall of mirrors. Meters away, a blade of light flicked over empty space and another passageway opened. +Thanks Draus,+ Chambers cast. The Regular didnt respondCmost of her current focus was devoted to cutting out a sight-hopping murder worm that had materialized in one of her optics and was currently trying to eat its way up her skull. The Sunderwilds made the gutters look downright inviting sometimes. Passing through three spatial thresholds, they finally stepped into a sprawling dome-shaped chamber. Its size was comparable to that of a district, but its infrastructure offered only the bare necessities. Stacks of haemo-constructed megablocks rose in rows. Doorways and aesthetic detail were missing from the architecture, but the buildings were recently made and most residents wouldnt linger here for long. Avo had dubbed this place Processing Module One, and its purpose was twofold. The first was the restoration, rehabilitation, and transportation of potential recruits and refugees. Here, people were sorted into five quadrants. Those with emergency medical needs; those with emergency physical needs; those shaken but stable; those utterly unharmed and ready to be seeded with a splinter. Presently, the space was sparse of people. With all that demanded their attention, drafting new agents for the cause was only an operation at its inception. The organ-slaves would be among the first. A test run in a sense. Others were certain to follow. Welcome to Processing Module One, Chambers said. The name is shit and the space is unfinished, but trust me when I say that this might just be one of the safest places in all of Idheim! +Where are we?+ Marlowe asked. +Beyond the reach of the Guilds,+ Avo said. +Beyond their abillity to notice at least.+ +Sunderwilds?+ No one gave her an honest answer. +So what is this? Some kind of super-sanctuary? Like the ones outside NV?+ Chambers nearly wheezed. Yeah, sure. Except were not deliberately designed shitshows designed to funnel in as many people into the Maw as possible. Were patching people up here. Fixing their bodies. Fixing their minds. +And after that happens? What then?+ +Some leave,+ Avo said. +The ones that want to re-enter the Warrens are placed in stable districts in the Spine. The ones who can stayCwho want to stay are moved into the enclave for incubation.+ +Incubation?+ Marlowe asked. Avos starting up a cycler farm. Chambers giggled. WereCwere growing dragons. Absolute nothingness dominated Marlowes thoughts for a few seconds. +You guys are doing fucking what now?+ Ah, well show you in a biC Chambers said. Theyre still coming in? The mechanical tone of Dices voice made Chambers jump as he spun and faced her. Jaus-fuck! Scared the shit out of me, juv. Yes. Yes theyre still coming in. Chambers gaze slipped from her over to the Dogmother. Whats she doing here? Did she try to do a terrorism again? Yes, Dice said. She was pretty bad. Your bugs caught her almost immediately. The Dogmother wilted slightly. She wilted more when Chambers openly laughed in her face. Ah. Poor half-strand. Youll learn. Guess youre getting public service. Hope you like talking to extreme traumatized people who like to cry, because thats gonna be your lifeC +Chambers,+ Avos voice cut in. +Stop taunting the flat.+ Fine. Guess youll be showing her the enclave itself now, huh? What about Torture Site Extreme? Are we showing her that too? This earned an annoyed sigh from Avo. +Not calling it that. No torture happening there.+ {Technically, considering you are making Glaives and Incubi responsible for Agnos Kusanades burning suffer her nightmaresC} Calvino began. +Made it for rehabilitation,+ Avo growled. {So you say,} Kant added. {But the Ethics Committee has suggestions.} The ghouls ire grew. +Talk with them later.+ {You should talk with them right now. Introduce your new, normal friend to the rest.} Calvino chirped in a cheerful tone. {We think she will be a good balance to your group.} +Fine. Chambers Good job. Stay active. Cas might need you later. Trying to set up some cells in a Syndicate. Your experience is needed.+ Chambers grinned. Well, you tell him not to worry. Im always up for some Deep Penetration. A beat passed. No one laughed. Avo, Dice said, sounding uncertain. Is Chambers talking about sex? +Marlowe. Going to the enclave now. Show you the rest of what were doing.+ Look, you scared em off, Chambers said, flicking Dices alloyed exterior with a ping. The juv just looked down and shrugged. Hissing, her kitten smacked Chambers back. And you really need to give that thing a name. I dont want to call it Nutsack. Call it something else, then, Chambers said. As Avo began to transition his base mind over to Kaes splinter, Chambers gave an awkward cough. Oh, uh, Marlowe. You you really should help us out, you know. WeCwe need some good publicity. Got real image issues here. The worst. ICI can tell you all about it. Across the link, the faintest smirk played across Marlowes face. +Im sure you will.+ And with that, the pressure of Avos mind vanished, and Chambers Meta went silent again. A heartbeat passed. A loud scream sounded as a bioform carried in a man suffering a breakdown. ICI want my ma-ma-mother! Yes! Chambers said, throwing up both fists. Fuck! Yes! I think I scored. Did you two see that shit. The Dogmother blinked at him. The triangular module Dice had for a head just bobbed. That that was scoring right? She was interested. Across the splinters, Tavers gave a snort. +You might just be her type.+ Joy erupted in Chambers chest. Joy and something more, as indicated by the triggering of his Lustaway. +Really?+ +Yeah. Marlowes always had a thing for pieces of shit. Recovering or otherwise.+ 23-2 That Which Lurks (I) To successfully breed a dragon, you need two groupstwo populations: one to be placed in stasis as a party ignorant to the outer world, and the other to operate as their exposure. This, more than anything, is the most reliable way to engender a zeitgeist. To this end, most farms exist in a closed society C children or ignorant people separated from other outside influences from birth or via mental adjustment. They must be in such conditions for at least five to seven years before the exposure group is introduced. [SPECIAL NOTE: THE METHODS ONLY TAKE EFFECT WHEN ONE HAS PARTIAL ACCESS TO THE CHRONO-CURSED BIOLOGY OF THE SANG] The members of the exposure group must always meet the criteria of being mentally stable and homogenous among themselves. If they offer too many contrasting influences or concepts, the stasis group might fragment in several directions, resulting in cultural dissolution rather than zeitgeist formation. As such, it is also important to have a division of Necrojacks on duty at all times. Dreams and thoughts must be monitored. Wrong-think is to be corrected before it can spread. When things are planned, the initial material can be harvested from existing dragons and seeded into the stasis group. The foundation will condense after approximately a week, and the spinal tissue of the wyrm will spread into form between the carriers. After about a months time, the structure will be stable enough for further injections of material. During this process, cultural development and history made in these small communities will nourish the dragons and bring them to maturity Only then can the desired symmetry be establishedCcan a group come to a shared expression of culture, and the seeds of dragons embedded with them grow linked from points of past to present -A Primer of Breeding Dragons, 01:35:55 (No-Dragons) 23-2 That Which Lurks (I) C[Kae]-- Attempt number nine, Kae said, speaking out loud for posteritys sake. Verbal notes were essential for review. Ghosts spilled out from the surrounding walls to embrace her, threading ethereal trails through her Metas accretion. Information ran like a current from her mind, accelerating through all the haemokinetic arteries fused into the city of light as if they were copper. After the modifications Avo made, there was little she couldnt see or command inside the cityCor in the lighthouses and installations beyond. Seated within an enclosed watchtower rising from the enclave like a spire, phantoms formed a wall of screens around her, created from mem-data collected by Specters and Skimmers monitoring the world outside. A mere thought was all it would take for her to cast her perception across kilometers. The Sunderwilds surrounding the city was a cloudless, mist-wrought expanse. Creatures still writhed in the dark, held at bay by beams of light refracted via modifications Draus made to the lighthouses. Three hundred meters above the ground and with the surrounding walls translucent, Kaes optics took the environment of the Sunderwild in manifold ways as she primed the next pair of missiles for launch. Lines of data spilled across her vision as her Neurodeck and Metamind worked in tandem. Overview:->Missile Type: Universal; Non-Newtonian; Neumann-Capable ->Model: Teardrop-VI ->System Readiness: 100% ->Propulsion Online: Cosgrave-Interial ->Launch Readiness: Operational ->Navigation System: Online ->Ansible Link: Stable (No disruptions detected) ->Launcher Charging OVERVIEW ->[HARVESTSEC RETRIBUTOR] ->BLOCK-BREAKER-PATTERN WARHEAD ->SYSTEM LOADING 55%... 100%->PROPULSORS ENGAGING: [MADACK-REACTIONLESS] ->GHOST-LINK ESTABLISHED ->METAMIND PAIRED ->JOCKEY INSERTED Another two perspectives opened in her minds eye. One was a missile of the coldtech variety. Something Voidwatch used as a multifunction asset, capable of acting as a survey drone, missile, and a colony construction unit. The other was its thaumaturgically made, but informationally simpler, counterpart created by Highflames HarvestSEC weapons manufacturing subsidiary. For the last nine or so times, the tests were singular launches, with each missile offering a baseline of mem-data to collate. Now, she wanted to do a comparison. A weapon meant to operate in the so-called natural world against a rival forged by the fires of thaumaturgy. Both missiles were positioned just below the enclave, planted upon panels of glass. There were innumerable others besides them, stored for now in Draus Paracosmos. Presently, they had over five hundred warheads and one Voidwatch ferro-fabricator in their possession. In time, their munitions were certain to multiply. For now, however, Kae was more interested in putting knowledge into practice. Advanced physics was such a fascinating thing. The terrestrials had learned much during their timeCprojectiles were a fundamental of war, after all, but Idheims interactions with the foundational laws left different cultures and scholars to differentCand often incorrect conclusions. Basic physics was known to all. Trajectories and velocities were easy to calculate. Things like relativity, thermodynamics, magnetism, and quantum physics, however, were a bit more obscured. The documents and simulated classrooms Voidwatch offered her were a thought away through her deck. Even now, concepts like particles, atoms, and tachyons made her thoughts race. There was still a curtain preventing her from fully understanding the finer sciencesCstill apprehension on the part of her benefactors. She took that as an expression of flattery. They should be scared. She created the Stillborn. She turned their Imitators into the nightmare it was todayCmade the cadre the threat that it was. And when she finally understood existence unaltered, the Heavens she would spawn would render all others inferior by far. The Guilds should have adhered to their oaths. The Agnosi should have stood for her instead of capitulating to threats. The Paladins should have done their duties. They didnt. A shame. Now it was her turn to make things right. Two confirmations flashed in her mind as she gave the order to fire. The launcher for the Retributor was a rail-cannon platform. The Teardrops primary mechanism was a floating orb of nano-ferromagnetic materials. Both fired at the same time. The Retributor punched out across the bed of the miracle-dried ocean that surrounded this patch of the Sunderwilds. It sailed free like a silver sling and a corona of light erupted from its spinning driver as its reactor came alive for the second stage of its acceleration. Comparatively, the Teardrop shot out like an arrow, and though it initially matched its counterparts acceleration, the moment Retributors propulsion came online, it slowly began to pull ahead. Expected, Kae said, continuing her documentation. As the minds have stated, Idheims thaumaturgically produced alloys give us unnatural advantages in terms of material integrity, and the deviant way our reactors are made produce higher spikes of speed as well. ContrarilyCand negatively affected by the damage inflicted on reality, there is a greater fragility to coldtech components. Even with smart matter, an operating system requiresC The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. A weight sank into her mind distracting her. A beat passed before she realized who the intruder was. Ah. Avo! Youre just in time. Im running comparatives between coldtech and thaumaturgically produced missiles. +Going well?+ Avo asked. Quite. I will not say I fully understand what theyve shown me. In fact, some of the thingsCtell me, doesnt Newtons Third Law sound like a canon to you? For all actions, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The ghoul grunted his agreement. Sounds like it. A choked noise of disgust came from another voiceCthe new mind monitoring them. Kant. The complainer. {We didnt create the law, we simply observed it. And Issac Newton wasnt a god, he was a man. A man thatC} {Kant,} Calvino said, sounding all too amused, {please control your outburst. We dont want Avo to send this snippet over to the others again, do we? Youve been mocked enough for one day, Id say.} The other mind grumbled their way to a sullen silence. {Madness. Absolute madness.} Kae hid a smirk. So. Is our new recruit still with us, or did Chambers finally scare her off? Marlowes voice chimed in for the first time with a cough. +You know, the Soft Master Collection really isnt that bad.+ The Agnos didnt quite know what to say about that. Is it too late for us to return her? +Need someone who can interface with the people,+ Avo said. +Someone to trust. Her brand fits us. Tavers said so. Will also be useful to have someone else we can rely on at the trial. Good for you. Good for Draus.+ Right. The trial. Just the reminder made a block of lead form in Kaes gut. Returning to New Vultun. Facing the cityCfacing the people that did this to her, that failed her. That failed Dawton. There were moments when she wanted to ask Avo to sequence the anxiety out from her mind, to strip her clean of weakness. She always stopped herself before she asked. She was afraid he would take her anger too. The rage she felt. If she was going to do it, she would do it as herself, face the hounds as herself, and spit in their face with her own mouth. There was going to be no chrono-puppet on her part. She would come in with the Incubi and Glaives. She would make her betrayal known. She would put the Tiers to the flame. Marlowe cleared her throat. +So, um, what''s it like, going from Agnos to terrorist? Counter-Guilder revolutionary? What are you guys, anyway? Ive known cults and they dont really operate like this. Or with Voider support.+ Kae regarded Marlowes presence with apprehension. Tall, porcelain skin, beautiful eyes, grafted hair, and a drug habit. The woman was as media as media came. Sure, she hated the Guilds and was a more counter-cultural figure, but her type was always brittle when it came to pressure. The climbing velocities of her missiles pulled her away from the conversation. Talk in a minute. I need to focus. Teardrop accelerating to 4,103.6 kilometers per hour. Retributor accelerating to 4,507.3 kilometers an hour. Both were streaking across the land, one inching ahead of the other. Racing down an entropy-free pathway painted by the beams of several lighthouses, the comparison continued as the dark approached, signaling the coming phase. Spinning rings around the Retributor flared as it fired its in-built rail launcher. Its speed doubled in an instantCsnapping ahead not unlike how the Railjumper sheath performed. In the back of Kaes mind, she heard both EGIs sigh. {Thats not how things work,} Kant lamented. {Its just not.} Calvino concurred. {We live in dark times. Its best not to devote too much processing power to this.} The Teardrop itself climbed in speed at a staggering rate, but it lacked the raw reality-defying explosiveness infused into the Retributor. However, as they both ran beyond the cover of light, tunneling into the hunger black that lay beyond, another difference was revealed. Creatures of tooth and shadow tore into the Retributor immediately as passed into the darkness. Its rail-launcher fired again, but a tsunami of hunger monsters blunted its speed and swallowed it from existence. The ghosts fragmented as the missiles locus was lost. Meanwhile, the Teardrop splashed into the fog of black and immediately began shifting on its sides. Jets of propulsive force allowed it to twist and weave in awkward directions. For one secondCtwoCand three it lasted, threading gaps between the creatures. Then, the light grew too dim and it was taken as well. Signal Lost Ghost-Link Lost Very interesting, Kae said. I will be interested in seeing if exposing voidtech to thaumaturgy can change its inherent properties. Is it re-creation that allows such naked defiance of physics? Hmmm discrepancies in gradual acceleration. Fixed air friction for the Retributor. There was so much she had to go over. +So+ Marlowe interrupted. +The Highflame missile won the race?+ What? No. Its not supposed to be a race. I was trying to see how certain factors in our physical environment can affect the speed of a projectile. That, and Aegis wont let have any of their relativistic weapons. {The answer continues to be no, Agnos,} Kant said. {The last thing we need is you people launching mountains or continents at near-c speeds. Youre too young to be trying the Lensmen special.} Kae didnt quite understand the last part. Probably just some other law named after a dead ancestor. A pity. She would have made a Heaven capable of much more than just slamming two masses together. Fine. But I already have an idea; Avo, I require a Heaven of Speed.This incurred the ghouls approval as he let out a hiss of pleasure. +Whats the concept.+ Two concepts. The first is an intertial-inverter. If I can properly narrow down relations between two bodies in motion, I think I can create a canon that allows a Heaven to tear the speed from all entities traveling in its vicinity. A simpler concept is affixing. Something we can even do with a golem. A Heaven sets a speed limit. All others caught in its wake must follow. Perfect for paradoxing rival Godclads with Domains of Speed. +Like Shotin,+ Avo said. +What? That can fuck over Kazahara?+ Marlowe snorted a laugh. +Fuck yeah. Do it.+ A beat followed. +He was screwing my mom. And dad. At the same time. They got divorced.+ The Agnos sympathy toward the other FATED suddenly spiked. Oh. Oh. +Yeah,+ Marlowe said. That was all she needed to say. +Anyway. CanCcan I get an interview with you or something?+ +Signing on already?+ Avo asked, sounding bemused. +Oh, fuck you, fang-face. You dont whisk a girl away with your bullshit mind-powers, show her your hidden enclave, evil genius Agnos, and humanitarian counter-Guild op, and expect her to stay out. W-what do you even call this place, anyway? The base? The city unseen? Outer haven.+ +Outer haven,+ Avo said, considering the title. That did sound interestingC +Avo.+ Draus voice interrupted all of them. Across the splinters, the Regular cast her near-term memories. Currently, she was holding a dead worm-snake hybrid that was somehow fused to her right eye. +Might have eyes on somethin interesting here.+ He grunted in reply. +Be with you in a moment.+ His attention turned back to Kae as he paused in consideration. +Done for the day? Or more to do?+ Always more, Kae replied. But I was planning on taking a break and getting some water and foodC +Good. Can show Marlowe the city while I convene with Draus.+ +What?+ Marlowe said, sounding almost offend. +I want to see more of the Sunderwilds.+ +No. Seeing is part of the reason why Draus lost her eyes. I dont have a sheath right now. No eyes to lose. You do. Going to be birthing bioforms from sockets if I take you.+ +...You know what, I like Kae more than you anyway.+ Avo laughed. Agnos to tour guide in record time, Kae muttered. +No. Host. Just show her the city. The dragon farm mainly. What were trying to do with the people. Rest is up to you.+ Any reason why your subminds cant take over? +Ones busy with Rab. Reva has issues. Another is with Kare. Shes heading to meet her uncle. Going to see if we can get more than one recruit today.+ +What? What are youC+ Marlowe began. Avos cognitive presence in Kaes mind lightened. +CDoing. Fuck. Rude. Does he always just up and leave like that?+ Dont mind him. Hes easily distracted by new and interesting things. You had your time. +Fucking double ow. First I get dumped by a ghoul and now the supposedly mind-fried Agnos is launching trauma patterns at me. I think I might change my mind. Hells, I might even cry.+ Kaes lip twitched. Despite her misgivings about the woman, there was one thing she had to admit: Cala Marlowe had a certain easy-going charm to her. That, she most definitely couldnt deny. 23-2 That Which Lurks (II) {FRAGMENT LOCATED. LIQUIDATION PROCEEDING. SECURE THE PREMISES.} -Omnitech Scout Group South-K333 23-2 That Which Lurks (II) C[Draus]-- Draus examined the snakes she tore out along with her eyes and studied them using her Specter phantasmic. Their corpses were strings of matter fused with strips of chrome, each nearly a meter long before she slit their guts open. Initially, she assumed this was just another rogue miracle assailing her flesh. Plenty of those out here, however, after dissecting the snakes via blade of glass, she found their insides to be filled with a mix of gore and sparking circuitry, and thus assumption turned to suspicion. It was one thing to mutate into existence using someones optical cords as a catalyst. It was another to have fully functional cybernetic organs. Then the attack on the enclave she was watching began, and all the pieces came together. The space had been a mountainous region mere moments before. The only miracle present was some kind of pattern-based smoke that twirled up into the atmosphere, forming spiraling columns of gas before descending as arcing tendrils to burrow through the land. A mist coated the ground, and using the tendrils as cover did she make her approach. She understood little of the Domain of the Heaven nor its canons, but aside from the bioform mutated from her right eye, little else seemed amissCpositivity tame for the Sunderwilds. The mountain itself was carved in the visage of a face. Not a human one, but a skull of some kind of creature, almost dog-like in its shape. Within the open jaws the mountain were countless shimmering lights bathing steepled temples of stone with dimming brilliance. Their interiors were dotted with countless accretions, and she spotted more than a few patrols walking the trails running to her left and right. For twelve minutes, she and the Fardrifter surveyed the area. She directed the God of Air to position several pockets of air for her to travel acrossCalong with two points of egress should either of them be unable to escape through their own means. And now, as decloaked warships began their assault on the population, more of Draus cybernetics began to twitch and warp as discordant notes of music filled the air. Aint a dull moment out here in the Sunderwilds, she growled, vitrifying her reflex booster before it too was compromised. The thrilling thing about dealing with thaumaturgy was that sometimes there was just no defense. If you weren''t prepared, you weren''t prepared. If you were on the wrong end of asymmetry, the world would reap what it could from you. And so it did. And so she dealt. As she cast her Specter out to better study the attackers, she counted three twelve-kilometer-long carriers spewing swarms of glinting shards free from their opening undersides. Drones. And with how the anomalous music was wreaking havoc on her body, she had a good guess who was crashing the enclave before she could. Fuckin Omnitech. The what, how, or why they were doing something here was irrelevant to her. Instead, growing ire began to rise, all externally directed at them. It took more than a little self-control for her to resist manifesting the Arsenalist and making it known who this place truly belonged to. With her Metamind unable to detect any unknown Souls, she probably had pretty good odds of just shattering the raiders. Still. She exercised caution. Getting into an engagement before fully gauging enemy capabilities was a great way to end up snuffed without knowing how. It is an ill thing, the Fardrifter said, their voice whispered through the wailing winds. They are killing the children, the weak. The people inside, they are fleeing. I can feel them rushing through the mountains tunnelsCmachines are chasing them. Starching the walls into glass with blossoms of flame. The people do not know whats happening. They are on their knees in the temple. They are praying. They are praying. The God of Airs last words sounded almost mournful. Perhaps it was thinking of the people it once had. People that were long gone. It was strange to view a god as a glass jaw but Draus really didnt know how else to feel about it. The damn thing was always whining about this and that. Complaining about the world. Breathing and sighing when it couldnt go somewhere. Was almost like a depressed child sometimes. Invoking her canon of Diffractive Chain, she created shards of glass across the horizon. They bounced from outcropping to cliffside to the interior of the mountain stronghold itself. As she constructed a slotted passageway using a panel of glass she made in the stone, she studied the interior of the enclave and the assaulting forces. Just as she did, a hefty presence slid into her mind, and Draus reflexively acknowledged Avos arrival with a grin. Thought you''d keep me waiting. +Sounded urgent. Decided to be quick. Left Marlowe with Kae. Giving her a tour of the city. What do weChm.+ His voice trailed off with a note of surprise. +Omnitech?+ Howd you know? Draus asked. +Techplaguer can understand the noise its hitting you with. Some kind of tech-jamming distortion. Theres another Heaven of Signals here. Or at least it has a Domain of Signals.+ Shit, Draus muttered. Good to know. Glad I didnt decide to jump the gun then. +Augs?+ Fuckin bricked. Glassed em. Ill do a suicide after. He grunted in acknowledgment. Not sure how they managed to find this place, Draus replied. Managed to chart my own way here usin the memories you cast over to me from the refugeesCthe new ones that Essus has been dealin with. +The family with stones where their eyes should be?+ Yeah. That one. Somethin about them stuck to my thoughts. Just got finished building a route over to another enclave in the area, and decided to take a peek here before heading southwest to hit the next spot. Reckon it paid off. +Reckon it did,+ Avo agreed. +Omnitech probably bought the memories from a Necro. Or picked it up somehow.+ {More likely they just have an outpost nearby,} Calvino answered. {Their signal seems to be literally washing out like waves of water, with more coming southwest. New Vultuns currently under Paladin lockdown, so I doubt in-city units are involved here.} To complement the minds words, the Techplaguer sang a shrill screech. Ah. Directives received. A broken [TERRAFORMATION MODULE] has been LOCATED. The Techplaguer erupted into static cackles. Procure the [MODULE] and integrate it into our [SYSTEM] administrator. We must return the [BROKEN THINGS] to function to watch over the children properly. Presently, it is taking eyes. This is a severe infraction. THE EYES ARE NOT ITS TO TAKE. Diagnostics are in order. {Terraformation?} Calvino replied. A whimper sounded from Avos mind. Draus was almost taken aback when she realized it originated from a template instead of the ghoul. A soft voiceCvacant and distantChyperventilated. [Fuck. Sleeper. They found a shard of the Sleeper. A piece of the Infacer. Inface. I have to inface. FaceCfaceCface the wall face the wall. Dont make me face the wall.] GlitchCthe rogue Omnitech Fallwalker who was once the user of the DatacasterCdescended from senselessness into mania. Got any clue what shes jawin about? Draus asked. +Mind was broken and fried by drugs when I found her.+ Draus scoffed. Course it was. Can''t have anything be too easy for us. A flicker of tungsten snapped free from one of the ships circling the enclave. The shot pieced into the smoke spewing free from above the mountain and with that act the tendrils began to wraith. Once block-thick and district-wide, the enormous fibrils of gas seemed to inhale as they took on a more intact shape. Shifting from the vagueness of gas into fog-made fingers, Draus understanding of their surroundings changed. She hadnt been hiding behind walls of fog but actual digits sinking into the soil. With a lurch of force, the ground beneath her groaned and began to rise. Ahead, the mountain enclave inched upward as well, the ground fissuring along its sides as the submerged aspect of its main body revealed itself. Slipping free from the parting soil was the undeniable shape of a voidship encased in countless tons of rock. Its hull was moss-coated and damaged, with open rents spewing dirt packed within. More fascinatingly, the fog seemed to be emanating from the voidship, and the misted fingers raked the land as the mist began to close around the true heart of the enclave in defense. Well, Draus breathed. Wasnt expecting that. [TERRAFORMATION MODULE] has been LOCATED. the Techplaguer laughed. {Jesus Christ,} KantCor some new EGI-squatter Draus didnt bother to rememberCsaid. She also had no idea what a Jesus Christ was but it sounded like someones name. {Thats a Neo-Creationist colony settlement ship. Whats that doing here?} +Probably crashed,+ Avo said. +Buried in the land. Crews likely dead. Cant see any accretions.+If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Well, Draus said, watching skittering gun-headed mechhounds herd the surviving enclavers. Suppose we best raid the raiders, then? Yes, the Fardrifter said, winds taking on a rumble of thunder. No more of this. We tear them from my skies. Avo simply laughed. +Sending out splinters to scout. Preserve a warship if you can. Want its patterns. And technologies. See if Calvino can access the data too. Going to be doubly useful if we can hit their local installation.+ Fine, Draus said, as she began to manifest her Simulacra. Ill be gentle. One of the Fardrifters heads swallowed her, drawing her over into its shifting labyrinth. Three other streams swept over the unprepared carriers like suddenly formed typhoons crashing down from the skies above. And so one ambush collapsed before the weight of the other. Drones parted in disarray. Carriers fired into the maze-like wind tunnels of the Yondergales as a charging legion of glass-made knights flashed through their air as if fired from a railgun. They came looking for plunder or a fortunate score. Unfortunately, no one told them they were going to be part of the haul. Thing about unforeseen bullshit was that it cut both ways, and there was only one truth that stayed consistent on Idheim: the world was a takers market, and if you had the power and the opportunity, plenty could be made yours in an instant. *** C[Kae]-- In the beginning, Kae wasn''t quite sure what to say to the other woman. Cala Marlowe was a media type, and media types were nothing but drama and trouble. Kae knew that back when she was but a novitiate Agnos, and she knew that even more now. Her reluctance only built as Marlowe yammered on the rumor mill surrounding the Kusanade Disaster. Apparently, Kae was the talk of the town, and more than a few ProparazzisCespecially those operating under Ori-Thaums colorsChad painted her as the definite culprit behind the murder of her team, her friends, and her lover, the Paladin Dawton Morrow. They even published fake evidence regarding Nether-based chat logs. False sequences on how she was planning to betray her vows and side with the Golds. The entire thing left her feeling nauseous and bitter, but when Marlowe spoke her next words, Kae suspected the other woman was stringing her into a conversation she didnt want to start. +I never believed them of course,+ Marlowe said, taking in the scenery through Kaes eyes. Standing atop the tower, Kae half-heartedly directed a phantom and pulled screens for each section of the city. +It all sounded like conspiracy drivel to me.+ +Very thoughtful of you,+ Kae replied, trying to keep her bitterness to herself. +You truly must be one of the good props.+ +Good? No. I can be a real bitch sometimes. But I just think the Colors are full of shit.+ Kae summoned another interface with her thoughts to bring the conversation to a swift end. A curved screen depicting the northeastern section of the enclaves first layer came into view. Here, seeds sown by Avos chronology were being cultivated. In the walled-off quadrant of the cityCenclosed from the rest via haemokinetic wallsCrested a quaint community populated by the young and ignorant. Women and girls. The ones with undeveloped egos, in general. A cluster of mansions was given unto them, and their parents and caretakers were allowed entry a few times per day under supervision. However, at other instances, they were left to their own devices, their education slowly filled in by Avos mem-cons and direct sequencing to ensure they were primed for what was to come. The Agnos saw him seed each and every one of them with scales from a dragon. He had extracted his most recently procured cycler from his Frame and threaded it through the stasis group after slightly modifying their flesh. Need them to have some Sang qualities, Avo explained. Going to take it out of them when this phase is over. Best keep them separated for now. Such explained why no men lived among them. Presently, she couldnt see anything odd about them, but Avo assured her there was a growing resonance in each one. They were being aligned on a similar cultural understanding, and supposedly, as their beliefs and behaviors grew over timeCtook on a similar trajectory, the bones, flesh, and scales of a dragon would sprout and interlace between them. That, however, came after the exposure group from New Vultun was introduced into the community. +So,+ Marlowe said, squinting her perception as she noticed how young most the stasis group was. +Are these volunteers, or does the ghoul just like running old-school day cares?+ Mostly orphans, Kae said. Some still have parents but they are too young themselves. +What? How does that work.+ I uh, its not veryCits an ugly thing to elaborate on. A beat passed as Marlowe tried to work things out, and Kae new she understood when disgust began to flow. +Oh. Oh. Fuck. The Fallwalker?+ Mostly him. +Yeah. Most of them are half-strands like that. Huh. I just realized something: this people canCuh, could fuck.+ Unable to help herself, Kae threw her head back and groaned as she fought a grin. No. Youre just like him. Why are you just like him? +Like who?+ Chambers! I heard you two talking about thatCthat pornography. +Which one? Nu-dog or Soft Masters?+ Kae gagged. Avo had left a pervert in her mind. A pervert, a druggie, and a media. He must be punishing her. +Alright, alright, Ill lay off you. I never expected youd be a prude, you know, Agnos. Most of your type gets pretty wild in the Nether.+ A blush threatened to form on Kaes face. She denied it. +Marlowe. We just met. Im not having this conversation with you.+ +Fine. Fine. Hm. Another question: how do you relieve stress.+ Thaumaturgy. +Thats work.+ Then I dont relieve stress. +Now thats just not healthy. Maybe I can remind you some vics you can watchC+ A sudden snort of laughter escaped from Kae. She couldnt help it. The woman was incorrigible. +Alright. Come on. Stop half-assing this. Talk to me. Or or show me the city up close, at leas. Dont just make me watch through Specters and phantasmics. Go walk the streets.+ I, uh. Kae winced as she remembered a moment from yesterday when she tried to take a walk alone to clear her mind. She came upon a group of children playing marbles. She studied them with curiosity and offered a smile when they noticed her. They fled from her screaming, howling about how she was shadow-cursed. It was slightly hurtful in a way she didnt fully understand. The locals are a bit skittish. They think that I am not bright, is what Avo said. My hair, my skin, my eyes. Only my Meldskin mightCoh, maybe I use that. But but yes, they think Im cursed. The Thoughtcast host snorted briefly. +Yeah. I know the type. Fucking half-strands.+ Kae frowned. Youre being very judgmental. I thought you were supposed to be a good media. One that cared abut the FATELESS. The other woman scoffed. +Listen. I can sympathize with someone and still think theyre a piece of shit. Shit, most of the refugees and gutter trash are degenerate half-strand bastards who would fuck your corpse on a dare. Damn the rash. Damn them being scapeled by the glassers right after. The problem is if you keep them living like vermin and scum, then trash theyre gonna stay.+ A throb of anger pulsed from Marlowes mind. +Its about the future. Its about who we could be. Most people? Eighty percent of us? Theyll become whatever their environment makes of them. Another ten are going to be pieces of shit. Doesnt matter if you mod them or give them a Soul, theyre just ontologically shitty. But theres ten more left. And those fuckers shine. They shine no matter where you put them.+ And that made Kae understand who she was talking to just a bit better. I see. You sound like you believe that. +Thats what life taught me. How about you, Agnos? You never did answer me about becoming a renegade god-maker.+ Im not a renegade, Kae said, pouting as she folded her arms. I wasC She caught herself before she could answer. Damn. This one was good. Very good. Damn her, and her skill at conversation. You are very tricky, Citizen Marlowe. +Youre pretty sharp yourself, Agnos Kusanade.+ A moment of silence passed between them. Kae sighed. You know what? I am going to take that walk. I am going to have some breakfast. Or dinner. Whichever. +Hm. Workaholic. Were you always like that?+ No, ICstop. +Fine. What do you want to talk about, if not yourself?+ Kae bit her lip and turned to seek the stairs. It was going to be a long climb down. Damn Avo and his hatred of elevators. You? Whats your life like? +Ah. Me? Im just your average Guilder-guilt FATED sow slumming it while making imps off the poor. Nothing special about me.+ Cala, Kae began, feeling very much like Draus in that moment. Has anyone ever told you that you are often full of shit. +Yeah. Pretty much all my exes.+ Well. They were right. +Never said they werent. You nervous about the trial?+ Footsteps filled the spiraling haemokinetic staircase as Kae made her way down. No. I am tired. And I am ready to face the city. I have to face the city. +Why? Why do you have to face the city?+ Kae paused on the stairs. Why? Avo offered her a choice. She could have him make a haemokinetic puppet in her stead just like Draus. But that wasnt what she wanted. Okay, that was a lie: part of her very much wanted that, but it wasnt what she needed. I think I just want someone to stand for me. The Agnos didnt. The Paladins didnt. The Guilds hurt me. Only the cadre cared. Only them. She paused. I want to stand for myself now. And them. I want to stay standing as the Tiers fall and burn at my feet. Is that a good enough quote for you, Citizen Marlowe. +Its a fucking fantastic quote, Agnos. You mind if I keep it in my memory?+ A breath followed. Why not? You are very good at this, you know that? +Good at what?+ Talking to people. Making them like you. I expected you to be a +Stuck-up drug-addled Guilder bitch?+ ...Not my words. +Well, dont you worry: we just met. Theres plenty of that girl in me, and youll have all the time in the world to hate me after.+ Is that a challenge? +Just what happens to everyone I know.+ 23-2 That Which Lurks (III) You dont know what its like when the air turns to poison. When the light tries to devour you. When your flesh turns into your enemy -Unknown enclaver after Guilder raid 23-2 That Which Lurks (III) C[Draus]-- Every Guild warred differently. Highflames cadres are the tip of their war hosts, punching through while golems, Regulars, and armor flood in to hold the land. Ori-Thaum relies on Nether supremacy, high-concept Heavens, and hiding behind Stormtree''s skirts while the Scaarthians do the dying for them. Ashthrone and Sanctus are a one-two punch; the latter moves and fights guerilla across space and time with their chronoframes, bringing with them the former to spew their entropy and render entire districts Rend-choked. The No-Dragons are decay and attrition combinedCfighting thems always a two-front war as your own flesh betrays you while their endless swarms of bioforms blot out the skies. Out of all the Guilds, though, Draus found Omnitech the most displeasing adversary. The lack of actual killing she got to do bothered her. Theirs was a force that was all golem; all metal; all mech. At best, she might get to scalp some modified jock entombed in one of these machines. Judging from the scant dots of static within the carriers, it seemed like her near future was going to be filled with dead metal. It didnt help that whatever anomalous signal they used bricked her implants. She was operating at less than half-capacity before this even started. But there was a consolation to this problem. A new understanding. If, at this moment, she was just a mortal againCa street squireCthere wouldnt be anything she could do. Her augs would betray her, eat her hollow from within. And shed either have to pull out or get snuffed. In the actual present, however, she was a Godclad. And getting a new Heaven of Signals to counteract whatever weirdness they inflicted on her today was going to be a reward unto itself. There was nothing like turning your enemys weapons back against them. As the Fardrifter''s torrential Yondergales tore the carriers off course and splashed dispatched drones against the ships battered hulls, Draus speared down the Nine Streams. Each of her selves sailed forth like gleaming flechettes. Her Replicas sprouted metaphysical artillery pieces in the shape of wings, and she accelerated with each round they loosed. Waterfalls of ammunition christened her as she tore into the scattered drones with space, glass, and gunfire. She faced each carrier as a lance of five. Five prismatic titans edged with shimmering pathways, with hovering spears jutting out in place of wings, and three hundred orbiting mirror-bright shields redirected any and all assaults on her person. With the improvements Kae applied to her heavens, she came as a prismatic knight, blade held aloft with pathways shimmering along the edge. Lacking a head, her Replicas reflective chestpieces were aglow with a triangular cluster of fractals, and through the transparency of her glass poured the unceasing ordinance of every gun she held since possessing the Arsenalist. Slugs, flechettes, beams, and missiles blossomed out from her changing lances. Shockwaves of devastation tore through the oncoming drones, cleaving gaps into their formations, and sending their slagged debris falling into the maze beyond the Yondergales as molten droplets. As one, each of her Replicas dove into the thick of chaos. Wrecks of falling metal vanished through the passageways of her shields. Thinking ahead, she vitrified missiles and projected them along the periphery of the battlefield. They would circle the engagement, slowly encompassing the carriers so where their defensive screen of drones thinned first, she would be there to exploit the breakthrough. The only thing she couldnt do was turn her foes to glass. Though she tried, it felt like she was prying at something that wasnt there. The matter comprising the carriers and drones felt distant from her grasp. As if she was trying to clench a fistful of water. As klaxons sounded from each carrier, wavelengths of static filled the air while integer-filled rivers overflowed the warships and infested the airspace of the Fardrifters inner reality. Well. If she had to guess, that was why she couldnt just shatter them. There was another canon at work. Another Heaven to contend against hers. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRAE REPLICA] - 7% REND CAPACITY [ARSENALIST] - 4% WARNING: HEAVENS DETECTED ->STALKER OF STATIC SYMPHONIES (SOUND/SIGNALS/TECHNOLOGY/BIOLOGY) x3 The numbers leaking from each carrier condensed, spreading out into a vaguely humanoid figure. It had twelve limbsCall of their arms and handsCand as it clawed for purchase, the oscillating notes of the carriers alarms made its contours reverberate. Even with reflexes magnified by her Replicas, the pulsing of the wavelength seemed a blur to Draus. +Theyre trying to undergo metamorphosis,+ Avo said, and over from his mind came the maddened murmurs of the Techplaguer, rambling about the need to shift its form. +One of their canons is like my Skin of Virtuality.+ +Can you peel it off?+ Draus asked. +Intend too.+ A pause followed. Three transparent splinters unlatched from her mind. And then she felt the blood in the back of her head begin to twist and move to the whims of an outside will. +Reconstructing your deck and ansible. Need a catalyst for the Techplaguer. Going to hit them with Datarot. Leave them to you after. Enclave secured. All invading liquefied. Enclaves downed. Nerve agent. Need to see if I can keep them alive.+ +Synced,+ Draus replied. A weight settled in the back of her head, but then her animated blood washed down the damaged reflex booster on her spine and restored it as well. She triggered her Accelero and Volant implants without prompt, and her reflexes went into overdrive. Suddenly, the Omnitech Stalkers slowed and the numbers became almost comprehensible. The drones were almost at an utter standstill, and she dove through their destroyed lines to get at her true foes. As she drew close, her ansible lanced out like a needleCa thin broadcast escaping from her implanted exocortex. From it came a festering chaos that began to eat through the numbers. It repeated twice more to prick the other two carriers as well, and a hungering entropy began to spread within the shivering membranes of each Omnitech Heaven. The thaumic poison was fast-acting. Within a heartbeat, she watched as Soulfire detonated around her hulls, masking their backgrounds in incandescent coronas. Drones tumbled and twitched as biology and technology began to weave between one another. Actual cybernetic limbs erupted along the spine of the carriers, their forms lurching between manifested Heaven and tower-sized ships struggling to stay steady as the Fardrifter tried to wrestle them from the sky. She launched new projectiles through the glass-tipped missiles she fired earlier, taking advantage of the chaos to strike a decisive blow before the carriers could reoriient. Glass shards escaped from glass missiles as she invoked a new canon Kae designed specifically for her. Shattershunt was a high vulgarity miracle. In the words of Kae, what it did was very, very much against the stable fabric of reality. That was why Draus kept it in reserve until she was certain to get an opening, for each invocation of its power came with a full five-percent increase in Rend.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Considering that it utterly shredded both space and matter, it was a small price to pay. Twelve Shattershunt shards went out in total, each imbued with a two-way passageway. Slipping through the gaps left by the drones, her attack did not strike did not strike the carriers head-on. Instead, she encompassed them with her shards, passing above, below, and from teh sides, four sets of shards for each carrier. As luminous diffractions of light passed through the forms of the Stalkers, Draus triggered Shattershunt and cracks began to spread out from each missile as spatial reality itself unraveled. Where most passageways were stable demiplanar environments that one could travel through, Shattershunt inverted the idea to achieve maximal devastation. As each shard externalized their passageways, an unstable bridge of liminality formed between them and their connected pair, passing clean through the hulls of the Omnitech carriers. Then the real damage came. Both anchors of the passage shattered, and all that was between found itself compressed. The entire thing was like using the Domain of Space as a pair of scissors. Except the scissors only cut when you blew up two ends of a bridge. When the Stalkers came apart, it was more with an unnatural squeeze than a visible cut, and the best part was when things were severed with Shattershunt, they stayed apart. Because that was just how that section of space functioned until her Heaven decided to vent. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRAE REPLICA] - 38% The waves of faux-data broadcast from the carriers vanished with the peeling of their ships. As they died, Soulfire continued to detonate out from their Heavens, sustaining backlash after backlash as Avos Datarot ate through them thaumatically as well. Their ambush proved to be total. Overwhelming. And synergistic. Draus still didnt like breaking dead metal, but as she saw splashes of blood twisting aspects of the crumbling carriers, she saw flashing ripples of radiance sweep over each of the Stalkers and pull them into the orbit of a thaumic presence vastly more immense than they, she couldnt help but grin. Bagging Heavens was the biggest game there was, and she was only too happy to play. As the towering carriers fell in severed meteorites of metal, the drones were followed, most already hollowed by the Data-Rot themselves. The Yondergales parted as the Fardrifter dove beneath the rushing winds. A rushing mist of crimson swallowed most of the falling debris. More patterns for Avos Woundmother. One he let impact against a hillside, the thunderous collision ringing loud for kilometers and sending dirt high over the lands. Over the horizon, ashen trees flapped their branches and took flight, their behavior an imitation of birds. +Stalkers secure,+ Avo said. He sounded less pleased than she expected. +Enclavers dead. Biologies twisted by invasive technology. Couldnt stop it.+ The information passed through Draus like a status update. People died. That was war. That was life. +Got their Heavens now. Can bring em back to Kae. See what she can make of them. Good haul. Domain of Tech aint common.+ +No,+ Avo agreed. +Neither is a Neo-Creation voidship.+ Her attention turned to the prize he hinted at, and she found the mountain enclave melting into rivers of blood. Haemokinetically constructed claws were prying the ancient voidship free from the crystalline cage that once encased it. As Avo unsheathed it from the mountains base, the winds around them burrowed deeper into the land as her Metamind detected its Domains. WARNING: SOUL DETECTED ->[TERRAFORMATION MODULE-2994.04.04-Tundra-Mountainous-Chrismas Forever Standard] (Atmosphere/Mountains/Snow) Draus Replicas snapped back together before vanishing as she emerged from the panel of glass she left within the enclave. With her Heavens dormant once more, she took in the devastated homesteadCand swept her eyes across the many bodies left strewn across the interior. The space stretched deep into the mountainside, with countless huts stacked between the temples. A main pathway ran between the communal housing, extending for approximately two kilometers before stopping at a half-carved rock face. Counting two hundred structures in total, Draus estimated the dead to be about eight hundred. Not bad comparatively. Barely any deaths compared to a usual day at New Vultun. Here, though? That was the entire community. But that wasnt all bad either; more thaums and ghosts for Avo were always good, and so long as he touched them before they passed, they wouldnt be losing any details about the place. Not its history. Not the peoples memories. More than acceptable losses. A shadow passed over her, causing her to turn away from the enclaves interior. Turning past the open jaws of the mountain, she saw Avo dragging the voidship free from the haemified soil. As she left the enclave, a thought occurred to her as she flung a shard of glass out to seek the downed Omnitech carrier. +Omnitechll probably send a scoutin drone out here. Gonna leave a little something special in the wreckage so when they retrieve their salvage, we get to hitch a ride.+ Avo grunted in agreement. He was using her blood as the primary source of his catalyst still, but directed the surrounding matter to serve him instead. Faintly, she could hear the Woundmother complaining about something. +Not going to subsume this one yet,+ he said, dangling the Neo-Creationist ship. Up close, Draus stood witness to the relic of a bygone time as calcified clumps of plant-matter, moss, and clinging dirt rained from its edges. +Want Kae to have a look at it first?+ +No. Calvino. Something they could use to bargain for the George Washingtons crew. Maybe. Strike a deal. After we take what we can from its database. Going to need a Heaven of Technology for that.+ Yes, the Techplaguer cheered. Bandwidth! More is better. {Avo lets talk about that Domain first,} Calvino began, sounding a bit more uneasy than normal. {There are risks using Omnitechs Heavens. Instability and incoherence.} Lies! I am very coherent! Administrator! The sky-burner lies. +Calm down,+ Avo said, prodding at the voidship using his Sanguinity. +Calvino is just scared. Like the rest. Afraid I might use it unwisely. Against them.+ I support that course of action. Destroy the sky-burners! {Can you at least not graft the Domain of Technology to that one,} Kant murmured. +No,+ Avo replied. +Techplaguers fine. Dont want to waste any more time. Draus. Done for today?+ Her vitrified dagger curved around the side of a hill and vanished within the downed carriers open wounds as the question came. +Yeah. Whats up? You wanna incubate my Heavens now?+ +Arsenalist first. Simulacrae too essential for our efforts right now. Felt you planting a shard in the carrier. Good planning.+ +Yeah. Wanna see if we can chain this into another ambush if they come for the wreck. Be funny if we could keep that going for a while.+ +And lucrative,+ Avo replied. His Sanguinity condensed around the voidship, fusing a protective cocoon in shape. +Should find a separate place to store this.+ +I might got a few spots. Or I can just hold it in my Paracosmos for now. Keep it between places.+ +No. Risk too high. And might need you on standby soon. There are tasks that demand your expertise.+ Her curiosity was piqued. She had been listening in on the rest of the cadres chatter as she worked, but they were more like background noise from a thoughtcast than anything. Considering his tone, she doubted this had to do with the media they were bringing in. Avo knew she didnt care about Proparazzi. Unless he wanted her to kill them. +Whatre my runs?+ +Syndicate trouble. Some critical targets we should snuff. But something even before all that. Lunch.+ +Lunch?+ Draus asked. Avo grinned. +Kare Kitzuhada is going to be meeting her uncle soon. Think we should be on standby. Just in case. Been more than a few incidents with the DRongos. But theyve gone silent. Even in the Nether. White-Rabs been trying to keep an eye.+ +Alright. An overwatch op.+ +Something like that. Need you to be ready for emergency response in the real. Just in case. You and Dice. Im going to plant him with a splinter. See if we can expand our recruitment some more.+ She let out a low breath. +Aint no end to the struggle, huh, consang?+ +Only for the dead. And only for the truly victorious.+ 23-3 The Strix and the Ravens (I) +To all Mirror-Concaves and Convexes: This is a confirmation that the Summer Contingency has been activated. You are free to assume pre-war footing and request the deployment of Heavens of Information for Threshold-III operations and above. We are pleased to state that the casualties sustained after the catastrophe two days ago have proven to be minimal. Communications intercepted between the Paladins and Agnosi have confirmed the Lodestone is back in effect. As such, we have eliminated the possibility that this was a Highflame or Omnitech attack. Indeed, it appears all other colors were likewise unprepared for the incident and could not capitalize on the opportunity. Emergency deploy of the Psy-Net has also proven critical in several districts, preserving our advantages. Despite this, the field has changed, and we must emphasize major points of caution for all in-field assets. The first concerns the reactivation of Samir Naeko. Dormant for much of the last century, he is back to full capacity. All Glaives operating in the Warrens are to dispose of their proxies and extract immediately thereafter. The Chief Paladin is to be considered target category cataclysm C Do not engage him. I repeat do not engage him. We cannot risk him turning against us before the time is right or an opening presents itself where he can be nulled. An elite asset has been assigned to take point on this matter and apply diplomacy due to previous dealings. [MEM-LOG: GLAIVE DENTON UPLOADED] Be aware that Glaive Dentons operational priority is rated IV. All other operations of a lower rating are subject to cancellation or delay as per engagement guidelines. The second issue is the return of Zein Thousandhand C Godslayer, eldest of the Glaives, and founding mother of the modern Ori Overclan. We understand that some among you might still feel fealty or honor-bound to her by way of tradition. Do not make this mistake. She does not stand for our creed. She is a creature of singular intent and selfish desire. Saintest too the core. She will not bleed for you, and you are not to do the same for her. The statement has been made. Any acts made to release or aid her will be considered high treason and have your name redacted from the annals. The third and most troubling reports from our Incubi state that distortions have been detected in the Nether, and investigations hint at the presence of Nolothic warminds. Such is why the mass distribution of Dichomtomist Info-Sec golems are being distributed among operational groups. Incubi are to assume dive-pattern-vigilance for all ongoing operations. The waters are unsafe once more. The deep is unsettled. As a final note, we, the speakers for the Inner Council would like to offer our gratitude and respect towards all who have given their lives in recent days. More will fall in times to come. A great upheaval is approaching. We trim turbulent tides with the approach of the trial. But as with the Great Waves of Tribulation across our history, we will endure because we, more than any other Guild, stand together. Even in the face of internecine, even with the masks we wear before one another, we are all Ori, and for our dream we strive as one. What we have in you is not faith but certitude. You have never failed us. And even if you cannot see, every thought, every ghost, every mind in this city will stand with you all as kith and kin. Unity is destiny.+ -Emergency Address from Ori-Thaum Inner Council to Active Mirrors 23-3 The Strix and the Ravens (I) Noise. With each passing day, the noise in Avos head grew. Every death he drank showed him something newCmemories of a life lived and passed; how the world was through anothers eyes; how they faced their end; how they believed things to be. The enclavers that lived above the fallen Neo-Creationist warship were no different. They had their own history. Own personalities. Own delusions. But it wasnt the windfall he expected. They had not been the ones to build the stone temples, to shape the mountains. That had been done by previous residents. Scaarthians, judging from the runic script. The newly dead enclavers were merely settlers after the Godsfall, looking for a new home to lay their heads. But now the chain was severed, the relic that determined their biome was entombed within a cage of blood and glass fifty kilometers south of New Vultun. Meanwhile, he laid the enclaves to rest within his mind, and let their templates wander within a construct of memory imagined from their former home. It would take time for them to acclimate. Time for them to learn the facts of Idheim and Standard. They were tribal people. Primordial. Followers of another Godclad that turned eyes to stone if their oral traditions were to be believed. Avo would let their templates mature before drawing them out. Let time do its own work. Leaving them within a separated mind-space, Avos avatar instead manifested atop a lonesome tower overlooking a five-hundred-kilometer-wide district locked in perpetual war. Before the conflagration settled within his ego, he was in the process of adapting his cognitive palace to a labyrinth. Had taken inspiration from the Incubi he nulled during his infiltration of Mirrorheads mind. Things were different now, his former ambitions too paltry to stand against present threats. Imbued with millions ghosts and countless subsumed lobbies, his splinters spread across Idheim as nodes to a network, and from them rose a living city animated from nothing but thought and recollection. Nukes painted a perpetual sunrise in the skies above as devastation swept through the endless horizon of megablocks. Draus and the Regulars were engaged in brutal close-quarters engagements, firing and killing each other through walls. Enforcers joined in sometimes, the braver ones seeking stimulation, the rest serving as spectators. Most of them died horribly. Bad enough for Avo to drain the trauma from their minds, but the experiences they were garnering proved invaluable. They all died when line split the horizon clean as Abrel, Chambers, Dice, and Elegant-Moon engaged Lip, Osjon, Glitch, Kare, and Kassamon. Fleets of drones filled the skies as the Godclads fought, dying and returning between the seconds. Even when he did nothing, his mindscape was actively simulating combat, creating countless scenarios and engagements limited only by his templates, knowledge, and imagination. To say his templates were being productive was an understatement. Avos very mind now stood an instantly interactive testing ground of various possibilities, tactics, and strategies. A place with he could consult an archive of other egos in anticipation of any coming threat. Drinking in the carnage from atop a blood-made tower at the very heart of the mindscape, Avo watched as the battlefield mended itself every few seconds, reverting damage and restoring the dead. The place was practically paradise for the Regulars and a playground of possibility. And considering how briefly hed been a thoughtform, a growing thrill filled him as he knew this to be only the beginning of his potential. [It was a pretty good haul today], Corner said, materializing across from him. Avo took in the Fallwalkers appearance and found the man had made no changes. Here in the mindscape, he gave the templates options. Allowed them to experiment on their own as well. Corner proved consistent, looking as he originally did. A black armored coat draped over a red-tinted exoskeleton was the mains aesthetic, and with the strips of metal running along the sides of his bald head, connected to a chrome spine, there was little doubt of what he did for a living. The flesh that remained on his face was even surgically altered to give him a rat-like lookCthe effect boosted by his red ocular implants. But past the visuals, Corner had proven to be an incomparably stable temple. One that sided and supported Avo more times than not.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. +Three Heavens,+ Avo said. +Sound. Signals. Technology. Useful for Cas and I. Want Kae to look at Technology the most. Been having trouble penetrating Omnitech communications. Should also help us in terms of engineering.+ [Surprised you arent focusing much on the voidship, considering we just lost one. Could have a replacement again. For nostalgias sake. Something to go with your Heart of Noloth when it''s ready.] Avo chuffed with mirth. +Dont think Calvino would approve. Might be more useful committed in other ways.+ In truth, he wanted to have a Domain of Technology grafted before examining the voidship. Despite his continued cooperation with Aegis, there were still things they withheld. Secrets he wanted to know. Their reluctance was understandable, but that didnt mean he couldnt skirt the edge. {I heard that,} Calvino said, pulsing into the mindscape next to them just as another blastwave swept the horizon. Light bathed each of their ghost-stitched forms, and Calvino bubbled like a mist-made star. {You know, every time you have one of these thoughts, the ethics committee gets a bit nervous.} +Not ashamed of them. Not breaking any agreements either. Openness with each other. Part of our agreement. Not hiding my intentions. Just not stating them.+ {But you also understand why theyre afraid of you having such things?} +Would have tried to subsume them already if I was going to.+ Calvino let out a dramatic sigh {Yes. Thats what I tell them all the time too, but you have to understand that the ethics committee are finer minds made to govern in a softer time. Still. They usually have their programming in the right place. So. Do what you can do to be diplomatic. Consider it practice.} +Of course,+ Avo replied, already thinking of how he could turn this to his advantage. +Would be useful if I can restore the voidship. See if I can learn how it crashed.+ {I suppose we didnt put any stipulations on favors.} +Favors was the main reason you accepted me as a citizen.+ {No, that was mainly because we didnt want a rogue thoughtform burning millions into his own mind before the Guilds finally crushed him. The fact that you were cordial enough to chat was a pleasant surprise. Oh, the Contingency Bleaks and Category Black minds have taken a liking to you. Some of them have given you a new name: Hungering Karma.} +Sounds like one of yours.+ A pause followed. Calvino chuckled. {Avo, minds are not supposed to have an infancy, but if they did, you would be the closest thing to it.} The ghoul wasnt sure how to feel about that. +Is that how you view me now? As a child?+ {Not an organic one. Moreso a something progressing into being like a mind. There have been people gridlinked to use in the far past. There have been individuals uploaded into us. But someone forming into a symmetrical being in the way you have done? Not so common. Not so. You are like a civilization condensed within one personCwell, monsterCdeveloping in real-time. Its been very fascinating. And loud.} +Its only going to get louder.+ Avo took a moment and casually shunted himself across the Sunderwilds into the city of light to check in on the quarantine zone. The faintest threads of gold were beginning to run from child to child. With size of the population and the nature of their zeitgeist, Avo anticipated a harvest of twelve to fifteen cyclers by acclimations end. Presently, the integration period for the New Vultunites and the enclavers was to be a month. He could actively adapt their minds using his splinters, but it would take delicate care each day to keep them from straying. A consensus of culture needed to be achieved, and the process was almost like watching over the worlds neediest garden. The other improvements he was making to the enclave were still ongoing. He had burrowed fifteen additional layers deep into the earth, vastly expanding the habitable space. There was still the issue of the carnivorous darkness here, but he would settle that soon. When the next cycler became available, he would graft the Heart of Noloth to himself and remove the current Fallen Heaven from effect. Until then, he would continue with initial excavations. Checking in with each member of his cadre next, he found Chambers, Dice, and Dogmother sorting the former mod slaves in the processing zone. No issues with them. It was even a good thing with Dice. The girl might still be missing major components of her personhood, but she socialized without restraint or fear. Perhaps growing from attack dog to Godclad opened doors in her mind. Or maybe she was a child making up for a lost life. Either way, she was changing, and that was pleasing to see. With Draus and Fardrifter passing back into the enclave through window, they were en route to meet Kae who was still speaking with Marlowe. The thoughtcast host had the Agnos laughing as noodles spilled from her open mouth. The mem-cons were slowly dissolving his inner prejudicesCmelting away the malignance of his former culture, but the taboo of open laughter was a hard trait to remove. For whatever reason, the master of his place hated smiles. It was a stupid restriction. A pointless one. The man was lucky he died at the hands of another. Otherwise, Avo mightve carved a permanent grin into his features before taking all he had. {And this is why the ethics committee demands that I constantly monitor your psyche,} Calvino said. +Psyches fine. Just got hungry watching Kae eat.+ He shifted again, this time checking in with Essus. Tapping into the mans cog-feed, he found himself watching a group of youths talking to a heavily tattooed Scaarthian woman from a fifth-story hab-stack. Avo, he greeted. +Anything new?+ I think I have another smuggler. This one for the giantesses. The cold-mothers Guild. +Stormtree.+ Yes. Smugglers tied to other Guilds seem to be much less active these days. But this one has been aggressive. Almost desperate. I am going to make contact when I can, but she seems only to be interested in the young I fear to discover why. Avo understood and cast a splinter out to infect the smuggler. A passing drone swept the plascrete streets with a flickering grid but otherwise ignored the crowds breaking curfew. +Ill see what I can get from her.+ Thank you. Also. There has been an outbreak in Sanctuary 102. Something they brought in from the Sunderwilds. If you have timeC +Take a look when I can.+ Artads blessings, Avo. The ghoul paused. +Keep yourself well, Essus.+ Shifting away from the sanctuaries, Avo became the splinters he had nested across New Vultun, creating a mental replica of the megacity within his mind. Four hundred thousand red dots marked the lobbies he compromised. Over one hundred and forty million minds were noted as moving crosses. Spread out across a continental stretch of land, his presence drifted like threads passing through the currents of the city, but he was there, he was spreading, and a new plague was filling New Vultuns veins. ESTIMATED INFECTION LEVEL: 0.00014% He needed to hit more high-traffic lobbies. Places like Marlowes thoughtcast and other frequented haunts. The thought of infesting Stormjumper lobbies came naturally as he watched Kares marker descend from Scale to meet her uncle. He cast the mem-data over to Draus and placed her on standby. If he could secure the Planeshift, he would truly be happy with the days recruitment efforts. Right now, he was butC Auto-Seance Activated ->Session MEM-ID: [Cas eld''Canduir] Ghost-Link Accepted +Cas?+ Avo asked, surprised that the Columner was contacting him so soon. He was supposed to making contact with the various cells. As cold tension passed over from the mans mind, Avo knew there was something wrong. +Avo. Denton sent me something earlier. Packet of mem-data. Said that Clan DRongo was compromised. Said she needed to go dark, and that you needed to be place to watch over. Shotin Kazahara. Said youd understand why.+ Avo did. +Compromised. Compromised how?+ But before Cas could respond, Avo accessed Dentons mem-data, and understanding expanded in his mind. Memories passed through him of Necrojacks sequencing new phantasmics into themselvesCa Meta-update on the part of their Mirrors. Denton had neglected to sequence hers, casting it over to Cas as a package instead. Viewed initially, the ghosts seemed to contain stable improvements made to Auto-Seances security functions, but faintly, a feeling ebbed inside Avo. A dissonance that made his steam flicker. Theres a dormant splinter of Delusion in this mem-data. Not ours. Not ours. The Low Masters are making a move. Peaces booming laughter lit a flame of frustration in Avos stomach. He thought he would have more time after his descent into the Deep Nether. Corner just scoffed in response. [The easy days never last, consang. Looks like you''re back to having rivals in these waters.] +No,+ Avo replied, sharing the information with his cadreCand Kare. The Paladin jolted with a start as he prepared to commune with her. +Not rivals. Prey.+ 23-3 The Strix and the Ravens (II) +Trust me consangs. I got one piece of advice about having family in this line of work. Don''t.+ -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 23-3 The Strix and the Ravens (II) Avo reviewed Dentons mem-data as he waited for Kare to synchronize with his Metamind. A collage of moments passed through him; flashes of visual detail overlain with two sets of directives. The first was addressed from Ori-Thaums Inner Council to all active assets. The basic takeaways were focused on the mass deployment of Information Domain Heavens and expanded subtly requirements now that Chief Paladin Naeko was back in play. The second came from within Clan DRongo and arrived immediately after the Inner Councils broadcast concluded. All DRongo-loyal Mirrors were given in-house phantasmics assigned for distribution. Though supposedly meant to secure their Auto-Seances against Clan Kitzuhadas mind-raids, Dentons suspiciousCand Avos warmind of IgnoranceCunveiled what they truly were. Containing no more than fifty ghosts and seventy-two sequences, each fragment belonged to a warmind of Delusion. The Low Masters were going on the offensive again. Pushing at whatever openings they could. Elder Mwaba DRongo was likely the source of this compromise, and from her was a rival infection spreading. [You dumb cunt, you should have seen this coming.] Peace chuckled under his breath, the sour-bitter of his mind growing with each passing moment. [Emotion isnt just going to lay down and take it. None of us are going to lay down and take it. You might have compromised me. You might have taken my burdensCmy hate! But there are Three Famines! Three! And Emotion will not allow me to stay compromised for long. You think you know about the warminds? Youre blind. Youre fucking blind. We have things that will strip you from history itself.] Hes talking about the forgotten. Hes bluffing. Theyre afraid to use that one. Too much damageCtoo much of the Unsea will be seared barren with its deployment. Avo pushed Peaces words to the wayside as Kare accepted his session. Perceiving existence still as an avatar within his mind labyrinth, Avo witnessed the memory-constructed tower that was his Auto-Seance pulse and channel a beam of memories up through the clouds, projecting the sequence out into the Nether. As a cycle of ghosts streamed upward, the war-choked sky splashed and changed, fading from view as if the face of a pond disturbed by a falling rock. As phantasmal waves swept the firmament, another mindscape drifted into view from the distance, reeled by the memories broadcast from its Auto-Seance now symmetrically locked to Avos. It was as if two planetary bodies intersecting their orbits, ineffably bridged by a shared emission of repeating memories. *** C[Kare]-- There came a point, while under bombardment during times of war, that you just learned to treat the ceaseless thundering like noise. Perhaps the next barrage might kill you. Perhaps not. But even so, life had to go on. Kare found the same was true for her mental health. After all the anxiety spikes and constant panic attacks she faced over the past monthCall the hidden wars being fought around and over herCshe was quickly approaching the point of exhausted apathy. Such was why she accepted Avos session the moment she departed from Scale. Another day, another crisis. At least the citys strangest ghoul was on her side. +What is it now?+ Kare asked, looking out her aerovecs window. Heavy rain lashed down hard on her VTR-Hourglass, but not a single droplet lingered long on her vehicles chassis. An aero of Sanctus make, it resembled a needle encased by several revolving rings that projected a tunnel of propulsive force along its sides. As such, its velocity was almost second to none on the marketCcapable of even surpassing some high-vector missiles in direct acceleration. She wasn''t much of a splurger when it came to material goods, but if she had a single guilty pleasure, it was going fast. Avo took a moment to respond as he reached into her mind. Faintly, she directed her Specters inward and accessed their sensory telemetries via her cog-feed. Windows portrayed a mindscape consumed by perpetual warCa mindscape that housed millions upon millions of ghosts and encompassed the size of a district. Her mind stuttered to a halt as she wondered why he felt so light in her mind and how he was hiding the sheer mass of his cognitive capacity. Most lobbies that had this many concentrated ghosts leaked thoughtstuff from kilometers away. He was barely a whisper in her mind. +Might be an attack planned. On you. Or your uncle. Not sure which of you is a priority.+ Kare just let out a sigh. +Of course. Who is it this time? Is Jaus back? The High Seraph created him a cyber-thaumic body and bound his memories to Omnitechs Noosphere so he might take over the city and enact a bastardized version of his dream?+ The ghoul actually paused. +No. Strange assumption. Detailed too.+ +Its a popular conspiracy theory on Saintless. Its pretty much what it sounds. A mind lobby for Anti-Saintist conspiracy theories.+ +Strange place to be spending time.+ +Im a Paladin, Avo. Spending time in questionable places is most of my job. Apparently, the other part is being embroiled in every quiet war and pitch-black political action this city has.+ The damned ghoul actually chuckled at that. Good to see he was finding her misery so amusing. +Not between Guilds this time. Internal matter. For Ori-Thaum.+ Another sigh escaped her. A deeper and longer one. Damn her uncle. What has he gotten her into this time? +Is it the DRongos?+ +...Good guess.+ +It was pretty much the only guess that makes sense,+ Kare replied rolling her eyes. Faint flashes of light and pierced through the vapor of the clouds. The turbulence grew, but her Hourglass stabilizers compensated. A bolt of lightning skipped off the velocity bubble thaumically formed around her vehicle. Kare took a drink of water as the weariness inside grew. +I told him not to start anything stupid. This isnt the time for clan warfare.+ +Might not be his fault,+ Avo replied. +Elder Mwaba DRongo is likely compromised by Noloth. Think she distributed fragments for a warmind among her loyalist assets.+ A package of mem-data followed his words, and despite instincts screaming for her to deny the transfer, Kare allowed the information to pass over into her Metamind and glared off into the roiling atmosphere parting Scale and the rest of the Tiers. +I have only known you for weeks, Avo. Weeks. And in that time, I find myself involved in conspiracy after assassination after conspiracy.+ +Dont blame me. Only trying to stop them.+ +I know. I just saying I miss being ignorant.+ A pause followed. A hissing laugh escaped the ghoul. +Dont worry: your ignorance is quite intact.+ The Paladin squeezed her eyes shut. Of all the impossibly smart, impossibly powerful, impossibly inscrutable ghouls who could have burned a template of her mind and protected her from the shadows, she just had to get the one who thought he was funny. +Thank you, Citizen Avo. Your mockery is what all Paladins aspire to receive.+ +Welcome. Could repay that by letting me sit in on your meeting.+ Kare frowned. +With my uncle.+ +Want to bring him into the fold. Maybe. Prevent him from becoming compromised at least.+ She rolled her eyes. +Somehow, I dont like their chances of jacking into Uncle Shos mind. Trust me, many, many, many, people have tried. And many, many, many sad families are now receiving monthly stipends from Ori-Thaums because their idiot children thought they were going to be the ones to null the great Shotin Planeshift Kazahara.+ +Believe hes a challenge. Good. Hope so. Will be a useful asset. And template.+ Kare snorted. +Avo. I know that youre telling me this because you trust in free will, but there is no chance he will let you claim him. Not willingly anyway. Hes far too proud to be someone elses backup singer. I cant stop you from coming with him. Agh. I think I feel safer when youre with me these days. But I dont think youll be getting his willing help.+ Hells. That was half the reason she was meeting him right now.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. For the past two days, he sent cast after cast after Ghost-Link request and she ignored them all. But she knew if this went any longer, if she got held up in any more meetings with Naeko, Maru, and the Senior Paladins, Shotin Kazahara would personally attempt to break into Scale and speak with her directly, rules and propriety be damned. Upon which he would likely turn into a smear on the bottom of Naekos palm. Like the few hundred million unfortunates who perished over the past few days. When the Chief Paladin of New Vultun stated he intended to stand and deliver, it was not a slogan or empty platitude. The Syndicates had all but retreated inward to wait out the storm, and more than a few illegally operating Godclads were sent running home after a dozen repeated deaths. +He asked about you, you know,+ Kare said, mind still on Naeko. +He heard you talking to him during his fight with the Godslayer. I told him that you helped me. Maru did too. Hes given you a name: the Benefactor.+ Avo chuckled. +Makes me sound sophisticated.+ +He told me to let him know as soon as you make contact. That he wants to meet before the trial. To thank you for helping him capture Thousandhand. For all that youve done for his Paladins.+ A pause. A silence. Seconds dragged. +Will think about this. Talk about it after I deal with our Low Master problem.+ +Do you think these warminds are spreading through our Oversecs?+ Kare asked, her anxiety rising with the question. She used those Oversecs every day. The last thing she needed was some kind of invasive phantasmic in her mind. Well, not another one. +Hm. Benefactor does sound better than invasive phantasmic.+ Kare cringed. +Ah. Sorry.+ +Its fine. Thoughts are thoughts. Dont worry. Dont raise an alarm either. Dont want the Low Masters to know you or the Paladins suspect anything. Want to counter their ambush. Uproot them from where theyre hiding. Just need you to proceed to brunch as normal. Speak with your uncle. Ill handle other matters.+ Despite her unease, she nodded. +Alright. ICI trust you. I owe you my life. Will owe? The Zein thing wasC+ +Yeah. Confusing when you dont have a Domain of Chronology.+ The way he said that +Avo, do you have a Domain of Chronology?+ +...I dont have a Heaven of Chronology. Or anything related to time. I am not breaking any of the laws.+ +That was a very strange answer to a relatively simple question.+ +Less you know the better. Said you missed being ignorant.+ Her eyebrow twitched. +I meant that ignorance was bliss, not that I want to be kept in the dark about things considering my present or future potential of being murdered by Zein Fucking Thousandhand. You know what? Maybe you and my uncle might just get along. Considering how you both find it so easy to treat me like a stupid, vulnerable child, maybe that will be a point of unity between you and for once, hell think of someone as a friend instead of someone to fight or have mind-sex with.+ A low chuff of displeasure escaped the ghoul. +Kare. Will null your uncle if he attempts mental relations with me. Just letting you know beforehand.+ The seriousness of his reply made her snort. +Gods, the thought is disturbing enough.+ A beat followed. +ShouldCshould I tell Maru orC+ +Ill let him know if needed. But not dont want to show my hand so soon. Paladin Sandrupal is volatile. Will likely demand the Oversecs be shut down. Or scare off whoever''s coming for you. Will have to twist his mind to stop him. Dont want to do that.+ Yeah, those were all very Maru things to do. +So. Im playing at being bait today.+ +Just think of it as undercover work. And a nice family lunch.+ +Oh, yes,+ Kare said, rolling her eyes. +Wonderful family lunch. Thats whats going to happen.+ Her uncle totally wasnt going to mock her choices, try to browbeat her into working under him, insult her capabilities. Today was definitely going to be a different day. +Unaddressed family issues,+ Avo said. That was all he said. Kare narrowed her eyes in annoyance. +Its not that bad.+ +No. Its really not. One of my consangs just finds it funny.+ Suddenly, Kares insides went into freefall. +One of yourCAvo, how many people are looped into our current conversation?+ +Ignorance is bliss.+ +Avo+ +Should tune into your favorite station. Listen to some music as you pass through Scales liminal threshold.+ +Avo!+ *** C[Avo]-- It took a few carefully misspoken statements to distract the Paladin from her mental woes. The girl was stressed. Too stressed. She was remarkable about compartmentalizing, but as he reached into her mindscape, Chambers template almost had a panic attack. [Fuck me, her chest feels like its filled with lead bricks. Fuckin glasser needs all the Numb she can get.] Avo knew it was bad when Abrel concurred. Synchronizing Kares template with her actual ego, her past two days flowed through Avo as a blur. In the aftermath of Zeins capture, Naeko offered to place her under protective detail. She declined, mostly believing the situation to be resolved, but also because she didnt want to distance herself from the other Paladins with her special treatment. Call Kare Kitzuhada a fool, but dont accuse her of being anything short of truthful about her ideals. She did all she could to live her dream, to be among those that safeguarded this city. That was divine enough in New Vultun. Worth protecting. Against Zein. Against Ori-Thaums clan politics. Against whatever madness the Famines were trying to concoct. As the Paladin continued arguing with him, he shared his memories with White-Rab and sent his progenitor a message. +High threat dive. Might need your assistance. Respond if able.+ The reply took less than a second to arrive. +Synced. Is it the Famines?+ Avo hesitated, but only briefly. +Probably. Theyre in play again. Spreading through the Nether. Thought they would be down for longer. Was wrong.+ +Thats fine. I want to talk with them. About the Strix.+ Vengeance. There was as pure a motivator as any. Another legacy they shared of Walton. +Wards set up?+ +Did that days ago. The memories you sequenced into me are really lighting the wick too. Didnt realize it was possible for someone to uh, hate that much. Peace is a very, very unhappy boy.+ [Im not a boy, you misplaced abortion!] Peace snarled. +Hows the thing with the Bloodthanes?+ White-Rab asked. +You got access to any of the Longeyes yet? For Revas questioning?+ +Soon. Not going to forget her.+ +Good. Cause I wont let you.+ And there was a separation. Love. Human love. Romantic attachment. Even now, to bind ones ego to another seemed treacherous to Avo. Dangerous in the extreme, unless they possessed his capabilities. His nature as a thoughtform ensured he could endure any lasting trauma, but for White-Rab, the risk was infinitely more severe. Still. He didnt stop himself from falling. Maybe there was something there. Worth exploring when they eventually began their run on the Heaven of Love. But that required them to get Kae back up into the Tiers first. Shifting away from White-Rab, Avo synced his memories with both Draus and Dice, and found both of them ready and waiting. +So,+ Draus said, annoyed at how cloak and dagger things were again, +the Famines are about to try some fuckery again, huh?+ +Probably. Going to share the address shes going to. Need some passages connected to the local district. Sniper points for you. Rush points for Dice. Just in case this gets physical too.+ +You expectin it to?+ +Dont know what to expect with the Famines,+ Avo admitted. +Especially Emotion. Caught them off guard the last few times. More potent than they are in the Nether now. But dont want to play the fool. Looped White-Rab in. Link to him if I get nulled somehow. Contingencies.+ +Well, shit,+ Draus chuckled. +Looks like youre finally learnin to get that ego under control.+ +Is such a thing even possible,+ Kae said, her voice arriving as an aside to the conversation. The best thing about having consangs as a gestalt is all the experiences, insights, and support youll get. The worst thing is that every one teams up to mock you. Even when you improve. +Not that unbelievable,+ Avo growled. +Im sure its not,+ Draus agreed. +Aint hard to be smug as shit to someone you killed if you get to keep their mind a prison post-mortem.+ He hissed at the Regular and stopped speaking to her. He sought a final edge to the coming struggle. Something the Famines didnt know. Something that Kares identity as a Paladin allowed him to use without fear of reprisal from Veylis. +Fardrifter. Need you back.+ A chorus of affirmative neighs sounded within his mind. +Its time to strangle the very passage of time?+ +Might just be.+ +So be it. You call. I answer.+ GRAFTING GOD ->[FARDRIFTER] It was time to play voyeur at a family lunch. 23-3 The Strix and the Ravens (III) +When you bite into the abyss, the abyss (sometimes) bites back. Introducing the new half-boiled Razorfish Rolls just for 4099 Imps! Theyre burned. Theyre angry. And they might just gnaw your tongue off before you get them, but for the brave or the foolish that dare and prevail, you earn a 20% off for all other meals order. So. The only question you gotta ask yourself is simple: Whos got the greater craving, man or fish?+ -Flavors of the Deep restaurant Advertisement 23-3 The Strix and the Ravens (III) --[Kare]-- Flavors of the Deep was a pretentious restaurant befitting a pretentious district populated by pretentious people. It was quite a feat to make Kare think in such a way, considering she was FATED herself. Of course, the name of the restaurant being a very thinly veiled reference to cunnilingus didnt help. How very typical of Uncle Sho to choose such a place. Truth be told, there were differences even among the FATED. Some among the Colors performed different roles for their Guilds, serving both material and immaterial efforts for the great struggle. Those were the people who earned their positions, who climbed from the Warrens or distinguished themselves through action. And then there were the people who dined in this restaurantCthe people who lived in the Nuurhein Elysium in particular. While the lower city spent their days ravaged by one calamity or another, this Guilder-populated Stormtree district flourished under auroral skies, housed people within buildings forged from a union of matter and lightning, enjoyed the crispness of mountain air, and provided the most luxurious establishments made to cater to the most ridiculous clientele. Case in point, the Scaarthian woman currently blocking her way. And as I told you, I consider these dogs part of my sheath. For me to obey your policy against bioforms is an affront to my personhood and dignity. Is that what your restaurant stands for? Bah! Enough of this. I will not speak to a child. Summon your superior. I wish to spit upon themCI fear the wetness within my mouth will drown the likes of you. Hark! The Tiers will be hearing about this! Kare folded her arms as she watched the scene play out. She could have said something. Could have pushed past the Scaarthian woman and stepped in, but she wasnt exactly looking forward to lunch with her uncle either. Besides, silly though the Scaarthian was, the view she presented was plenty amusing. It wasnt every day you got to see a woman wearing a suit made from living nu-dogs. Two panting heads protruded like pauldrons from her shoulders while the flat skull of a mastiff growled at the overworked attendant like a living chestpiece. Their fur shone like clean strands of velvet, but the smell was something south of atrocious. Most people from other districts would have already started complaining. But this was Stormtree territory, operating under Stormtree culture, living by Stormtree norms. If a fully grown Scaarthian wanted to wear a pack of dogs as apparel, all the power to her. Its not like they werent already used to the scent of nu-dogs considering all the war beasts they fielded. The thought made Kare frown as she reflected upon herself. Maybe that was a bit prejudicial. Maybe she was a bit prejudicial. Maybe watching a three-meter-tall woman point a paw at an empty-eyed man barely half her height made Kare more than a little prejudicial. Whatever the case, there was one thing that was certain: when Jaus envisioned his dream of humanity rising from the ashes of the gods, this likely wasnt a desired scene playing in his mind. This was not the dream, Kare muttered, making herself grin. Kare Kitzuhada? A voice pulled her attention away from the spectacle. A drone hovered overhead, its shape smooth and bulbous, with a holographic smile projected over its exterior. Many apologies. You dont need to stand in line. Your seating has already been reserved. Please. Follow me. Your companion is already waiting. The drone''s thin ventral wings left distortions in the air as it curved over the towering woman to proceed down the narrow entryway. A pulsing grid swept over each guest when their number was called and they were allowed in. Fancy establishment, though this was, New Vultun was still New Vultun, and the last thing people needed at dinner was some maniac detonating an implanted warhead or something even nastier. Just because you were in an Elysium didnt prevent terrorism sponsored by a rival Guild. Excuse me, citizen, the drone toned, speaking directly to the Scaarthain. Might you step aside and stop threatening the attendant with physical and mental trauma? The guest behind you has priority. The Scaarthian whipped her head over her shoulder as her nostrils flared and her eyes widened. Her thick hair ran in corded knots and Kare saw that she had a cluster of irises in each of her sockets. She was from one of those biomodder cliques then. That explained the odd nature of her bio-rig. Doubtlessly trying to chase some aesthetic trend or another. The dog-clad Scaarthain puffed her chest and each of her hounds snarled. No. No I will not. Priority? How can she have priority? I have been here sinceC Of course, the drone cut her off, sounding as agreeable as ever. You are entirely right. Your rage is truly justified. However, we wish to inform you that you argue at the inconvenience of a Paladin. I care little if shes a Pa-pa-Pa-uck! Suddenly, the haughtiness drained from the womans voice. ICI see. ICthis would be my honor! I respect and honor the deeds of this citys great defenders. WhyCwhy Chief Paladin Naekos return has been much lauded. Much lauded. Kare swore she could hear the larger woman gulp. Seeing a giantess turn to a terrified child was quite the delightCanother newfound benefit gained by the Chief Paladins showing over the past few days. The reignition of his spirit caused the palm to fall through entire Sovereignties at multiple points over the past few days. Searching for [NAEKOSLAP!] vicarities in the Nether would deliver upon one a surfeit of vicaritiesCall of them with views in the millions. I thank you for your courtesy, citizen, Kare said, walking past the shifting Scaarthian with her head held high. Streams of perception were spilling over her from behind as well. The revelation of her identity had drawn more than a few eyes. Of course, the Scaarthian said, now beaming. P-please send my highest regards to the Chief Paladin. It is chilCuh, men like him that keep this city great. The point ones privilege ended was where the enforcers of order would no longer intercede on her behalf. Ridiculous as she was, it seemed the Scaarthian understood that. She wasnt as air-headed as Kare assumed. A prejudicial judgment on her part. I will be sure to let the Chief Paladin know that. Stepping down the hall and allowing the scan to pass over her, a swirl of ghosts spiraled around her accretion before two flashes of green confirmed her access. A frosted doorway hissed as the path into the restaurant opened and then the world went from the blandness of a pale-bright antechamber to a stronghold beneath the waves. A mountain of glass rose to encase the entire establishment. Holo-marked lanes lined with numbers trailed down to the thousands of tables on display and families of patrons ate huddled around hovering tables. Four pedestals rose to bear chrome-skulled musicians. They sang in frequencies that Kare could barely hear in material reality, but the melody they made in the Nether was sweet and high, merging synchronously to a building climax. A ringing sounded from the glass surrounding the venue, and on the other side danced an undersea kingdom of bioluminescent biforms. The largest was the kraken that gripped the glass with its massive tendrils. Kares heart almost skipped a beat when she finally noticed the leviathan, so subtle was its camouflage. Through its gill-slits flowed schools of fish twirling down its many limbs while sword-headed shards jousted in the foreground like Kosgan knights of old performing their customary tourneys for their Lord-Faithful. The Nether, likewise, was awash with noise. A miasma of lapped against her wards. Kares paranoia screamed. Her eyes glared down every passing ghostly wisp as she followed her drone. +Avo?+ Kare thought. +Are you there?+ +Yes,+ the ghoul responded. +Always here. Dont worry. Clear right now. No intrusions detected. Already buried my splinter in the restaurant''s lobby. The head chef is a serial killer and one of his assistants will probably get the rash after mating with a corpse. Only notable concerns for now. Minimal risk at best. Keep going.+ Kare wasnt sure how to respond to that information so she didnt. She didnt know how the ghoul learned half the things that it did. Frankly, she didnt know how Necros stopped themselves from going insane. There were so many minds around her. So many angles of attack. So many secrets. Ignorance was bliss. But ignorance was also death. Knowledge was a revelation. But knowledge wore one down. There was no good choice diving into the depths of the human mind. Avo, hearing her thoughts, offered a casual response. +Not that bad if you can accept yourself for what you are. Accept others for what they are too. Certitude of ego. Acceptance of the alien. Thats what makes the best Necrojacks. Dont get nervous. Be prepared. Be better than the opposition. Or be nulled. Not so different from being a squire.+ +Yes. But a gun doesnt destroy your personhood.+ Kare exhaled. No. A gun just took everything that a person was. Fundamentally, both ends were pretty similar, but there was something comforting about still being yourself when your cessation came. +Ah. Thats why youll never be a good Necro. Not unless your mind is altered.+ +Because I fear loss?+ Kare asked. +Because you cling to yourself absolutely. Desperately. Instinctively. Have to give yourself away from the animal. Have to swim as a spectator.+ The drone led her through crowds and past the public tables. It brought her to a private capsule on the far side of the restaurantCa tube-shaped room fused into the ceiling and parted from the cheaper seats by a layer of smart glass. As she approached, the door went from opaque to transparent and slid open to allow her entry. Inside, she saw strips of fish and meat already sizzling on a convection stove and smelled aromas of cooking spice and the sourness of soy-lathered riceballs. Uncle Sho had already begun eating. And drinking from the stinging scent of liquor. We have arrived at premium capsule one. We hope you have the finest dining experience here beneath the waves. Finished with its task, the drone turned away and slid into a queue above and vanished with a flicker of strobing light. +Drones clean,+ Avo said. +Has one of my shards in it. Cleared the others before.+ Her eyes widened in disbelief. +All of them?+ +Yeah. Terrible N-Sec.+ Kare blinked. Her understanding of what it took to qualify as an Incubi was vague at bestCknowledge gained only through allusions and references on the part of her uncle and fatherCbut something told her what Avo was doing here was far beyond even the greatest of Ori-Thaums Necrojacks. Shaking her head, she stepped into the room and found her uncle downing liquor straight from the bottle, his shoes on the table. He quirked an eyebrow at her arrival and flashed a smile as he extracted the drink from his lips. Hey, hey. I was beginning to think youd keep me waiting forever. I considered it, Kare said, starting the conversation with honesty. But I decided to spare us both some pain. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Shotins grin only grew. Youve always been a smart girl. He was wearing his white suit today. White suit with no shirt underneath. Light accentuated the gene-enhanced musculature revealed by his deliberate cleavage and Kare found her seat with a disbelieving breath. I cant believe they let you in like that. You look ridiculous. I look like money, Shotin said, unashamed. Tell you something, Kare, with enough imps, most rules are just suggestions. Said the shameless rake to the Paladin, Kare deadpanned. Her uncle threw his head back and laughed. His mane of silken obsidian splashed down his shoulders as took another drink. Your mother used to call me the same thing all the time. Shameless rake. Of course, it was a bit more true back in those days. None of this Nether-only-pleasure shit. Gods, I miss actual sex. It took all she had to not put her head in her palms. Thank you, uncle. For the delightful topic. What? Shotin said, unabashed. Fuckings normal. Everyone fucks. Well. Everyone used to fuck. Now we just pretend to fuck mentally. He let out a mournful sigh. Godsdamned tragedy. Sorry. Well make it right for you kids someone. ActuallyC Horror coiled inside Kares stomach. No. No. Were not talking about myC Are you seeing anyone? --no! And I wouldnt tell you if I was. He rolled his eyes. Kare. Come on. Youre a grown woman. Im not going be threatened by whatever poor boy or girl that you might be dating. Uncle Shotin Kazahara was a dirty, dirty liar. Oh, so now Im a grown woman. A grown woman that you keep calling and callingC The joviality vanished from his expression in an instant. Listen, you cant blame me for being worried, alright? The citys gotten its sack kicked up into its guts twice over the past month. Its been a clusterfuck of a time, and now the godsdamned Peace-Breakers backCfucking old lady Thousandhand is apparently alive I just want to make sure youre alright. IC He planted the bottle down on the table and sat himself properly. Im giving you the space that you want. ICI spoke to your dad. Oh, gods. And Im trying. I respect your choices. Im trying to anyway. But I just dont want anything bad to happen to you. Saying those words deflated him a bit. Watching the ever-confident Shotin Kazahara wilt was a discomforting sight. Even the thinness of his Metaminds halo seemed to twitch. Youre in the middle of a lot of nasty shit and it scares me. I mean, I didnt see the day Id be cheering on Samir Naeko in a fight against one of the legendary Ori elders but hey, if hes the big stick keeping all you Paladins safe, all my props to him. Kares expression softened. Im fine. She paused. Well. Its complicated. Shotins eyes narrowed. He leaned in. Explain. What kind of complicated. She pressed her lips together and cast Avo once more. +Are you connected to him yet? Can you speak to him yet?+ A lull followed in both the Nether and the real. Kare? Shotin said, tilting his head. It this an I need you to dump someones ass into the sun, Uncle Sho problem or an I want to talk to someone about my feelings problem. Ill do both, but, uh, I wont lieCIm much better at the former. She couldnt help but smile. I know. +Avo?+ The ghoul responded. +Working on things. Youre fine. Keep talking. Ill be with him soon.+ --[Avo]-- Avo had no idea what was destroying all his splinters. Five times he tried casting a portion of himself into Shotin. Five times were his ghosts totally and utterly eradicated. It was chucking parts of himself into a constantly active thoughtwave detonationCwhich might very well be the case considering how instant demise came to his splinters. Tapping into Kares cog-feed, Avo studied Planeshifts Metamind with suspicion. Judging from the mans accretion and thoughtstuff, he probably ran about two hundred ghosts for his Metamind. Two hundred, and hiding more using his Heaven. The Parallelist was a nightmare to faceCan ontologic that could actively alter environmental and situational realities in an instant. The fact Shotin could use it to augment his N-DEF didnt come as a surprise at all. Ultimately, this wasnt a Necrojack problem, but an Agnos one. And that was out of his expertise. But not his cadres. +Kae,+ Avo cast, jolting the Agnos out of the conversation she was having with Marlowe. +Have an issue. Might need your eyes on this.+ He gave her a moment to assess the situation as Kares conversation with her uncle continued. The Paladin gestured at the half-empty liquor bottle and winced. Winters Fall 88. Over a century old. Im not going to have to carry you home like last time, am I? What? Shotin waved his hand. No. Just kill me this time. Let my cycler do the work. The Paladin squinted her eyes at her uncle. Just kill me. What normal conversations we have, uncle. What? Youre telling me you dont suicide to refresh yourself every now and then? Only when Im in the field. Im not in the field right now. And I usually try to stay alive if I can. Yeah. Well, you have better odds of that now that the Peace-Breaker is out of hibernation. Shotin took another sip from his glass and chuckled as he swallowed. Gotta admit, I didnt expect the old half-strand to make a comeback. I thought he was done-done. A bad Stormjumpers match from solving his own equation and shuffling off to the Big Nothing. Looks like I ate shit on that bet, huh? Heres to unexpected surprises, hm? Unexpected surprises. The words opened a vacuum inside Avo and he felt his insides plummet. +Damn him,+ the ghoul growled. +Did I just hear someone say Heres to unexpected surprises,+ White-Rab asked, his tone incredulous. +Avo. You need to end this dive right now. The law has been tempted.+ +No,+ Avo said. +Just superstition. Need to get into Shotins mind. Access more of Ori-Thaum from the inside.+ +Were doing a dangerous dive, Avo,+ White-Rab replied. +I knew a guy who would cut-ops if he felt a tingle run down his spine. Kept him unnulled for years until he finally got snuffed by that falling refrigerator while out for a smoke.+ Chambers mind snapped to full alertness as he entered the conversation. +Wait. DidCdid this guy live in Block-Nine at Karkane? Some eight years back?+ +Yeah yeah,+ White-Rab said. +You know him too? Deep Name was Stition.+ Chambers coughed. +I didnt know the poor half-strands name, but I was in a small time smuggler gang at the time andCand I was supposed to deliver this fridge full of organs across the Sovereignty for my boss when this fucking glasser Tadpole comes out of nowhere and just starts chasing my assC+ Incredulous disbelief leaked from White-Rabs mind as he began to laugh. +No+ +I shit you not, consang,+ Chambers said, continuing. +So so I was like, fucking twelve or whatever at the time and didnt wanna get picked up. So I decided to fuck my boss instead of get fucked by the glasser, and ended up booting the fridge out the back of the aero I snatched.+ +No,+ White-Rab groaned. +Fucking, yep. I was passing low next to a block. Saw that shit paint him across the sidewalk. Man, I felt so fucking bad at the time, but had to skip districts because I just lost forty thousand imps worth of organs.+ White-Rab sighed. +You godsdamned bastard.+ +Yeah. Only found out he was supposed to be a nova hot Necro later after the Nether started chattering about his death. Fucking saw a vic of it. Couldnt sleep for weeks.+ White-Rab could only shake his head as he laughed again. +This is agh. Well. Stition wouldve found it funny.+ Chambers sighed. +Yeah. You seem pretty numb about me snuffing your consang.+ +Well, he wasnt my consang. We actually tried ending each other a few times over some mem-data. Just knew him was all.+ +Oh. Well, thank Avo you got a cycler now then, huh?+ +Hes likely affecting spatial reality around his mind,+ Kae said. +Judging from the slight oscillation of light around his halo I think the ghosts leaving his mind and the ghosts going in are not traveling down the same paths. Or even places.+ They didnt call him Planeshift for nothing. The solution was a simple one. Hed have Kare establish a link to Shotin instead. +Kare. Need you to sync with your uncle.+ His request incurred a twinge of discomfort from the Paladin. Something inside her felt like it was betraying her uncle, but she never showed it on her face. The problem I have she began. Its better that I show you. Using my memories. Shotins gaze hardened. Alright. Session? Session, Kare replied. Triggering her Auto-Seance, a bridge opened between her and Shotin, and Avo passed a splinter through the cycling memories. Satisfaction rose within him as he found himself inching closer to recruiting a valuable new ally. The feeling promptly died when a subtle pressure shifted in the surrounding Nether and he found himself not in Shotins mind, but a locus drifting deep below the ocean. A hiss of frustration and respect escaped Avo. The man had been communing with his niece through a proxy locus. What marvelous paranoia. +Well, they dont call him a pro for n-o-o-o-o+ White-Rabs voice grew distorted as another shiver passed through the Nether. Something was wrong. The restaurant was secure. Even a ghost-bearing receptacle was seeded with a splinterCthe Low Masters couldnt be attempting a direct attack. But what was this then? Why wasC And the Nether around him calcifiedCthe waters beyond that of Shotins protected demiplanes freezing solid in an instant. Lag spiked between Avo and the splinter he had nested within Kares mindCwith every other splinter active in Flavors of the Deep. It was like an entire portion of his being was frozen in place while the rest could still move freely. +Rab. Somethings happening.+ +I know. I felt that. It was I have no idea what that was. Ive never seen thoughts just halt before.+ Warmind. This is unknown to us. Its not Delusion. Its not one of me. Prepare yourself. Use the Silver as refuge. His planes offer safety. But right now, you need his cooperation. With Kares cog-feed frozen in place and all his other splinters unresponsive, Avo attempted to send in additional fragments from the outside, but the lag took them too as they passed into the restaurant''s vicinity. Draus called for his attention. +Avo. Got eyes on a squad of four coming in from the outside. They just killed their Incogs. Popped out on the street. Holocoats preventing me from getting a good view.+ Tapping into her perception, he found himself peering out from the reflection of a puddle on the street. Four distortion-masked figures vanished behind a doorway, their own Metaminds spinning unnaturally. Modified somehow. +Prepare for deployment,+ Avo said. +Dice. You too.+ The minds of the Regular and the girl sharpened to battle-ready alertness. Back in the restaurant, Avo only had one splinter active. One entrapped within a locus that wasnt even his targets mind. But he could use it. He could still communicate with Shotin through it. But doing so would reveal himself before he had the Godclad under his control, and that could jeopardize everything this dive was for. Avo pushed through his indecision. Time wasnt his ally. And he wasnt about to risk losing his Paladin to the Famines. He cast Kares memories over to Maru and Kassamon first, instructing both of them to alert Naeko. Then, he took a gambit. He spoke from within the locus, broadcasting his thoughts through the plane. +Shotin Kazahara. Need you to listen to me. People are coming for you. Possibly from Clan DRongo. For you and your niece. Have been helping her. Have been trying to help you. Need you to work with me now. Do what I can to keep you protectedC+ The planar stack holding the locus Avo currently resided in shifted. No longer was he under the waves. Now hung. Hung from a rope dangling from the clouds. Dangling above waves of thought-shredding instability. The skies above him thundered as Shotins thoughtcast spilled down. The rope holding him swayed threateningly. +Incubi?+ Avo paused. Yes. Technically, he did have more than a few Incubi inside him. +Yes. Deep Sign: Shadow-12. Mirror-Concave is Benhata Veloso.+ The rope went taut. +Benhata? I knowChe missing at theC+ +He was ordered to go Incog at the Trident. Inner Council affairs. There are traitors within our walls. There are Famines using our cells.+ Cold tension flooded into the demiplane. +Fuck,+ Shotin said. 23-4 Defilement (I) +Seeker cadre Mirror-Convexes on standby. Block successfully deployed. Target priority [Planeshift] registering as sole active ego. Cadre classification [Vanguard] is moving in to make contact. Cadres [Breaker] and [Paradox] in reserve. Pocket and planar-incog going into effect in ten seconds. Incubi strike cell Mirror-ConvexesC [WARNING: CONFLAGRATION DETECTC] [SIGNAL LOST] [SIGNAL LOST] [SIGNAL LOST] [SIGNAL LOST] + -Recovered memories from Mirror-Concave Maskdash in the aftermath of Operation [Planecapture] 23-4 Defilement (I) --[Shotin]-- All right, quick recap, Shotin! You invite your niece to a nice lunch C real fancy place. You start talking, you clear the air with her. She''s about to open up, tell you about what''s been bothering her; whatever secret problem she needs you to help her with, and then this fucking bullshit happens. Everyone''s thoughtstuff stopped moving. Kares staring at you, mouth open, eye wide. Her Metaminds active but the ghosts arent moving. Neither is her accretion for that matter. Neither are the rest of the customers. He really needed to get that girl scheduled for an Agnos session. She needed some thaumic N-DEF. Right. Whats next? Oh, the simple matter of an Incubi strike cell trapped inside one of your out-planar loci talking to you, telling you that theyre operating under the orders of a Mirror-Concave that went missing at the Trident nearly a month ago. Its raw conspiracy shitCDRongos working with Low Masters. Pretty hefty accusation. Would be outright laughable if not for the existence and the high-end equipment sported by that motherfuck Aedon Chambers. And now, a couple of unidentified Seeker cadres supposedly under Clan DRongos banner were coming in with the intent to capture or snuff. Is that everything? Yeah. Seems like it. Good. Great. Perfect. Just another day of bullshit for Shotin Kazahara. Undoing the buttons on his suit, Shotin eyed his niece with some concern as he considered how he wanted to start this fight. The Parallelist was his edge above edges, but he needed to use it carefully. Doubtless, these half-strands were waiting for him to do something big or stupid like a full manifestation so they could paradox or Rend-dump him. But if they were expecting an easy hit, they had another thing coming. Assholes should know who held Highflame at bay all those days. All those miserable godsdamned days Besides. The upgrades provided by his Agnos were going to come like a nice surprise. But only when he forced their hand first. Only when they were off-balance so he could attack to maximum effect. He was in an effective envelopment right now. A pocket was probably active outside and the vanguard were probably mostly Porters hiding entire armies in their coat pockets. This had the potential to get messy fast. He needed to breach the pocket. Get on the outside. Or pull them into one of his planes before they could trigger any backlash. The greatest concern was the people. The FATED and Kare. Shotin caused enough collateral damage at Vengs StandChe was going to kill that rat-fuck ChambersCand he wasnt about to do a repeat of that embarrassing performance. Especially not with someone he loved on the line. So. The path ahead was simple. He needed to make this an ambush somehow. Or run a blitz. +Can help with the former,+ the Incubus voice resonated in his mind. +Help hide you. Make it seem like your thoughts are frozen as well.+ Shotin frowned. Right. He still had that problem to deal with. +Hows that? And before you make the obvious play, no, consang, Im not letting you into my Metamind.+ A chuff preceded the Incubus reply. +Understood. Paranoias good. Appreciated. But dont need your actual mind. Just need you to shift me outside. Ill mask your thoughtstuff.+ +Suppose it might be,+ Shotin replied, still feeling a bit cold about this one. The fact the Incubus approached him using Kare was a point off the friend-foe scale. He didnt appreciate people using his family to get to him, but the game was a dirty one. +Mask me how?+ +Make your accretion seem solid. Make you look pacified as well.+ Despite the Nether being frozen, sounds continued to echo through the restaurant. The shrill pitch of the chrome-skulled singers persisted. Through the glass, schools of fish scattered and slid along the exterior of the establishment. And almost too silent were the matching footsteps that nearly escaped Shotins enhanced hearing. Four thumps struck the carpet outside at once with muffled beats. Four vibrations made the clear fluid in Shotins liquor bottle shake. They were coming. One way or another, blood was about to flow. +Can bring help in as soon as you lay down a plane. But we need to disable their Porters first. And I need the Nether to be stabilized so that I can help. Get them close. Disable the vanguard when they try to examine you. Dont kill themCjust give me access to their minds.+ Shotin fired his reflexes as he delivered. Time slowed to allow him more time. Strangely, the Incubus kept pace with him as the conversation continued without halt. +Best odds for both of us. Dont want them to hurt the Paladin either. Can also get Naeko to intervene on your behalf if you lift the pocket. No risk to you. Cant compromise you. And you can disrupt me at any time.+ That made Shotins mind stutter. +Wait? Youre working with the Chief Paladin too? What the hell kind of dive is Benhata running? The Guild doesntC+ +Told you. Guild is compromised. These arent just DRongos anymore. Theyre Noloth-compromised Allied with the Acolyte. With Aedon Chambers.+ Loathing swept over Shotins mistrust at the name. Chambers. Aedon fucking Chambers. Of course that rusted bastard had a hand in this. +Shifting you now. Dont try anything funnyC+ The Incubus actually laughed. +Just watch.+ Over the years hed been a Godclad, Shotin cultivated layers upon layers of demiplanes for various uses. The outermost layers were usually reserved for environments most isolated. Places where he could just trap peopleCtake them as prisoners and force them to languish. The outer third of the stacks, however, was a network of loci layered in cascading mind fortresses constantly spewing waves of distortion outward. The build was a simple one. Absolute N-DEF. Nightmarish N-Sec. And he could clear his own mind in seconds by shifting it across each of his other stacks. Where he transferred the incubus locus was a layer beyond even that, swapping them with the decoy locus he used to transfer imps or conduct surface-level business. A grunt of appreciation sounded from the Incbus mind. +Layers and layers. Very nice. Impressed by your sequencing. Detailed. Deceptive.+ This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.+Stop kissing my ass andC+ The rest of Shotins retort died on his tongue as he watched his false accretion shiver and go still. The ghosts running the edge of his halo stopped slithering. The accompanying thoughtstuff froze in place, not even ebbing. It was Shotins turn to be impressed, though hed never admit it. He wasnt sure if it was a phantasmal trickCa trick of twisted perception. All he knew was that it genuinely seemed like his Metamind was at a standstill. There wasnt even anything uncanny about it. It really looked as if none of the ghosts were movingCa hard thing to fake since phantoms writhed in the stablest cases. +Cute trick. How many other Incubi are diving with you?+ +Stop asking questions and sit down. Open your mouth. Stare at your niece. Time to perform.+ Shotin scoffed but did as suggested. This Incubus had some sass. He wondered if they were a man or a woman in the real. They spoke with a deep rasp, but all it took was a bit of memory to fake the sound of your voice. Most of their type wasnt so enticing: dead-eyed divers whod much rather live in the Nether than ever surface in the real world. Shotin tried dating a few, but those always ended cold and distant. For this one well, he definitely didnt trust them, but there was something of a personality there, hidden under layers of cloak-and-dagger ghoulshit. Deception and secrecy might be a killer of relationships, but it sure as hell lit up the bedroom. Or the mind. The footsteps drew closer. Shotin caught himself and stared off into Kares face. Gods, he missed having actual sex. This godsdamned fucking war; fucking rash. Somedays, he had half a mind to try making a final run on Highflame with the fantasy of murdering the High Traitoress herself and ending this thing. Mostly so he could get his dickC The Incubus interrupted his thoughts. +Remember. Keep them alive. Stunned. Need to take their minds.+ Shotin fought the urge to roll his eyes. +Yeah, you dont need to keep repeating yourself. Not some Nu-Souled.+ +Just making sure.+ On second thought, maybe he wouldnt like to mind-sex this one. They seemed a bit too motherly. Too nosey. Shotin had a lot of likes, but getting babied was definitely not one of them. A crack pulled his attention. He stopped himself from looking at the door. As he kept his eyes on Kare, he listened to the doors leading into their private dining capsule shatter as a mess of shadows passed over his table. They entered with heavy footstepsCweight hinting at substantial armor; maybe even Rendskins. Flickering neon danced along the edge of his vision as one of them examined him. One of them shifted their weight. The floor beneath them creaked. Thought Convex said his ego was active, a soft voice said. Another let out a hushed breath. She did. Maybe it took longer to put him down. Accretions still now; no active thoughts either. Target is pacified. The unknown Seeker laughed. Shit. Looks like Planeshift isnt going to be such a hard target after all. Guess milk-runs happen when you leastC Shotin couldnt stop an impish grin from breaking across his face as he forecasted his coming action to the Incubus. +Shifting!+ Spatial reality collapsed down around Shotin as three plates. The first carried down into his private armorCone of the deepest demiplanes he could call on. Shedding his suit jacket without a care, Shotin sprinted for his unfurled Phase-Twenty combat skin he kept in reserve in case a Vengs Stand incident happened again. The second and third swept both the Incubus locus and the unprepared cadre into a realm made of nothing but smashing waves and lashing fangs of lightning. Electricity coursed through the plane. The roaring water carried the volts. The four Seekers shuddered and twitched, unready for combats sudden call. Closing his combat skin around himself, Shotin ignored the tingling sensation as dozens of hair-thin fibers sank through his flesh to interface with his nervous system, casting the Incubus as he watched the systems come online. +Prepare for second shift. You jack into them yet?+ Silence. No time to linger. He needed to keep shifting. Keep throwing them off. Hed give the Incubus a few heartbeats more before dumping the cadre into his plane of dawn. No fucking around this time. Hed snuff them. Hed snuff them fast, keeping shuffling his Domains. Keep going until they were dead and this was done. After that? He was going to pay the DRongos a very personal visit. --[Avo]-- The ambush worked. Within Shotins demiplanes, the Nether ran free, and so did Avo as he joined the storm, spawning a tempest of splinters to claim his newest subverts. As forking fingers of electricity passed through the Seekers, Avo noted they were recoveringCthat the storms were slowly being pried away from their bodies by an unseen force. Not surprising seeing as they were Godclads themselves, but the planeshift left an opening large enough for Avo to capitalize. The first of his splinters arrived like a barrage of hammers. Each infused with a few thousand ghosts, their Conundrum wards swelled as they struck again hard against the cadres Metas. Itd been some time since Avo last committed a ward bashCnot since his encounter against Abrel. Right now, though, it was his simplest and quickest way of keeping his enemies mentally suppressed. To stop them from doing anything that could paradox or affect Shotins Parallelist. Wards flashed as traumas clashed. Screams and memories of torment and torture embraced as Quicksands were pitted against Conundrums. It was a testament to Ori-Thaums mastery of the art that the Seekers protections didnt shatter immediately. It was a greater testament to Peaces mastery of offensive Necrotheurgy that by the time the Quicksands adapted to the traumas layering the exterior of the Conundrums, the following layers attuned themselves to different nightmares, grinding forward inexorably. Seekers accretions furrowed and ruptured like foam-filled bubbles succumbing to kinetic slugs. The thrill of triumph spiked within Avo as he directed more splinters to flood the wounds. Then, the fragments at his vanguard suddenly froze. It was as if they passed into a pocket of stasis. The Nether-lag between him and his entrapped splinters dilated to the extreme in seconds and a translucent shiver twitched around each Seekers compromised haloCthe exact same sensation that preluded what swept through the restaurant. Avo swallowed a growl of frustration as he guessed at the situation. The cadre likely werent just Porters sent in to secure Shotin, but also carriers as well. Bearers of whatever warmind the Low Masters left in them that could stem the flow of thought and memory. But Avo wasnt done. As he directed another dozen splinters into the building pocket of stillness, he triggered miniature Thoughtwave Bombs as they struck the minds of the Seekers. Distortion splashed over into the stillness as Avo prepared to cast ShotinCto cast the cadre into a hyper-lethal plane should the attempt fail. Whatever instead was a resonating shudder. The Nether within the plane of storms jerked and snapped forward, thoughts and memories resuming their pace as Avos distortion cleaved through the stasis. A scream inhuman and mind-swallowing in its loudness erupted around him as something somewhere broke. A warmind has ruptured. One of my kind is broken. Yet, before Avo could celebrate; before he could affix his splinters within the shattered minds of his victims, a counter-tide slammed into his shards as a riposte. They came as memory-made spears tinged with exquisite traumas of their own making. As they greeted Avos mind edge-against-edge, he sampled the sequencing of their traumas and found them without peer. They, too, were Peaces work channeled through a warmind of Delusion. Such confirmed what he already suspected. The Famines were here. Lingering. Acting through their own puppetsCtheir own subverts. Why they were suddenly so aggressive was unclear to Avo, but he needed to have another conversation with Elder DRongo again, seeing as she was more than likely the source of this plague. +Emotion,+ Avo said, speaking through all his splinters. +Back so soon. Come to break before me again. Gift me something new to take from you. Take from your masters.+ Thoughtstuff rippled out from the opposing fragments as Emotions response followed his strike. +That is the will of our masters. But I have come to thank you.+ There was something different in Emotions voice. A tinge ofCemotion? A speck of pride and scorn mingled in the turbulent waters of the Nether. Inside Avo, disquiet began to arise. +If not for your grave transgressionsCfor the fear you instilled in our masters, they would not have loosened our oaths. They would not have allowed us this latitude. I see now that you are the means to Noloths evolution not directly, but as an oppositional dialectic.+ And then Emotion laughed. Laughed. He sounded like Walton. He smelled likeC The smell A sour tang consumed the Nether. Citrus. Citrus true and deep. Inside Avos mind, Peaces template sputtered with disbelief. [No, they the city eternal would have never allowedCEmotion couldnt fucking have] +I did as the Hungers asked when I destroyed Defiances nodes,+ Emotion said, pressing hard. More fragments came from him. More and with a greater variety of traumas. +I never defied this command. But I have also been harvesting. Keeping sequences. Fragments. Aspects of his ego. Some say sentimentality is an emotion, but I am not so sure. It can also be a thing of rationalityCfor Defiance was the most successful of us despite his betrayal, and I thought the total destruction of his mind a painful thing to lose. I thought it might better be reused. Resequenced to serve a higher ego.+ Avo knew the coming conclusion. Knew it despite every speck of his being desperate to deny the truth. +You couldnt have+ Another laugh escaped EmotionCeven more like Walton this time. +Come now, son. Denial? I would be so disappointed in you. And besides. I didnt just reclaim Defiance. I reclaimed all of me. All of me. I am close to who I was again. Better, even. And I have you to thank for it. You, and the fear you left in my masters.+ A loathing like Avo never knew combusted inside him. He didnt adapt his mind. He didnt sequence it away. Across his links, he could hear his cadre calling to him, hear Shotin announcing something. He didnt care. He didnt care. He needed Emotion dead. +Im going to fucking unmake you for this.+ 24-4 Defilement (II) +Remember. You are the mind. You are not the emotion. You must decide everything, access everything, know everything without drowning in everything. See, being a Necro is pretty simple. You just gotta learn how to drown without dying. No breathing in the water, though. Itll steal your breath. And someone will know youre there.+ -Undiver, Necrojack 24-4 Defilement (II) The last strings of restraint within Avo broke as he manifested the full might of his Heavens. Damn his need for stealth. Damn the quiet game. He needed Emotion brokenCnulled. He needed to do it now. Thousands of kilometers away, within a tower overlooking an enclave, whirling winds twisted around Avos recently constructed sheath as chronology and air were wed as a rising tempest. Flowing gold painted the paths of rushing gales. A pulse of blood spread out and connected Avo to every ton of blood he could sustain. The cackles of the Woundmother and the shrieks of the Fardrifter proclaimed the coming of miracles as Avos reflexes accelerated to the point of absurdity. Yet, unwilling to leave anything to chance, Avo invoked a canon to lift his relative advantage in reactivity to something total. Something absolute. Something that surmounted the will of passing time. ->DOMAIN (SPACE-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: NINE FUTURES FLOW - THE USER CAN DIVIDE THE PASSAGE OF TIME FOR [250 KILOMETERS] OF REALITY INTO NINE DIFFERENT STREAMS. EACH STREAM THAT MOVE SLOWER WILL NEED TO HAVE THE DILATION OFFSET TO ANOTHER STREAM TO MAINTAIN TEMPORAL BALANCE; A PHYSICAL ENTITY OR OBJECT MUST BE PRESENT IN EACH OF THE NINE STREAMS A hurricane exploded out from the heart of the enclave but its winds swept the city as nine passing channels. Startled thoughtcasts spilled in from Kae and countless others. He ignored them. He ignored everything but the battle at hand. He ignored even his templates as he heard Draus calling for him. There was only the dive. Only the fight. Only him, and the one he was going to break. He was going to reach into Emotions mind this time. Shred his ego to the quick. Take from his memories all he could and obliterate every last node he seeded in the Nether. Ejecting haemokinetic constructs across each stream of his Nine Futures, Avo twisted time to his favor at the eye of the storm. The Nether-lag between his cadre spiked, but so it went. He couldnt allow this moment to slipCto risk Emotion vanishing as Shotin shifted the planes once more or another unknown warmind to be unleashed against him. Every one of Emotions oncoming splinters went from a rain of arrows to being frozen raindrops, Avo pressed his own counterattack as he withdrew his subminds from their separate tasks, concentrating the fullness of himself in this present battle. Drawing from Peaces mastery of trauma, Avo resequenced his splinters as he sent them rushing forward in sweeping waves. Emotions Delusion-cast fragments were sallying out from four ruptured minds. They all bore their own defensesCConundrum wards, also taken from Peace. It would take an absurd concentration of trauma to smash through them even with Avos mastery over time. No. He would open his path in a different way. And he would follow the trail which they left to find Emotion himself. The first wave of Avos splinters crashed and broke in a detonation of thoughtwave distortions. Splinters were smeared out of the Nether as ghosts dissolved. Pockets of nothingness opened and Avo sent his second line surging through. The third clashed against the remainder of Emotions splinters as a diversionary action while also pinning their opposition in place. As Avo splashed into the Seekers inner worlds, he found their palaces utterly resequenced. Shaped into a single pathway leading to a distant Auto-Seance. It resembled a lonesome road made from the stuff of memories and at the very end rose a rot-claimed tower that pierced the passing stormclouds above, projecting sessions to places unseen. Avo made no attempt to hide himself as he traveled down the pathways, threading his splinters through the mem-data and devouring every ghost he could. But as he did, memories spilled into him. Moments taken from Waltons pastCmoments that included Avo. Places, faces, and scenes that he knew. Flashes portrayed a ghoulling kept in a cage as Walton showed him acts of Necrotheurgy, as he tried to teach the beast ethics, as time passed and he carried the monsters mind from body to body, attempt after attempt. But the creatures progress to becoming Avo grew twisted. Perverted. Instead of Walton refining the ghouls mind, he began to take on more qualities of the monster he sought to uplift. Intrusive moments merged. Moments of fangs tearing into supple flesh. The exhilarating bitter and sweet of blood and adrenaline-soaked muscles. A scream of a child as claws peeled bits of them away to get at the softness within. The haze of gore receded. Avos perception shifted, and he found himself staring at Walton feasting on a corpse. The corpse of the boy. The corpse of Aurrie, as Essus wept and wept. He saw Walton slitting Draus throat and slipping his tongue into the welling gorge. He saw Walton offer himselfCleash, collar, and allCas nu-dog to Mirrorhead, crawling on all fours, barking when called upon. More memories came: Walton capturing Kae; Walton triggering the rash in her over and over. Walton forcing Chambers to feast on the malformed homunculi, the former enforcer eyeless, earless, limblessCa screaming torso fattened for the harvest. Avo saw Walton finally forced into a cage alongside him, filthy, naked, and malformed. A ghost-made chain ran around his neck, sinking down past the bars below them, sliding deeper and deeper into the abyss. A scent of citrus remained, but it was tainted by blood and offal. Tainted by defiled memories. Twitching, gibbering, and broken, Walton turned Avo and simply shrugged. As it goes. We all belong to someone else. But I found my master. I remember my master. I remember my master Other cages rose through the dark, and within them lay other members of the cadre. Wombrash consumed their wretched bodies, but they repeated as a chorus alongside Walton. As it goes. As it goes. As it goesC Avo launched a trauma into the mem-data. The sequences around him fragmented as he laid his own pathCrelaid the tracks of proper history in defiance of Emotions insult. His hatred for the Low Master was beyond a thing of feeling now. The affront was philosophical. Metaphysical. Blasphemous. For all of Waltons faults, he passed as an emancipated man. One who gave everything to see his greatest work freed from all chains. Even ones of blind adoration. The memory that replaced the falsehoods was that of Waltons ultimate demise. Of when he forced Avo to null him, and in that paradoxical action, set Avo free. The gesture was purely symbolic, but to a Godclad, what was a symbol but the substance of the metaphysical? The ideal? In the back of his mind, Peace broke through. Peace. Louder than all the other templates. [Hes goading you. Hes fucking luring you in. You need to stop. You know this, you stupid cunt! He picked this battleChes prepared for this. Break these minds and turn back. Turn back and extract the stupid shit you came here to claim!] +No,+ Avo said, the calm he now felt an enforced one. +Time is mine. I have him. I canC+ [You dont fucking have anything! The trail could lead off anywhere! Think, Avo, think! This is literally a godsdamned cocksucking carpet leading you off into a slaughterhouse. You think hes not ready for your splinters? You think hes unprepared for your Heavens? Put away the beast! Put away the beast, and be the Necrojack Defiance fucking made you. The memories dont honor him! You do! You were his dream. Dont be fucking stupid with it.]The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Avos splinters slowed but didnt stop. He was minutes away from the Auto-Seance. Minutes away from passing his splinters into the tower, into the session left active by Emotion. +Im notCthe beast isnt+ But the thrill was there. The need to hurt. To destroy. To torture. Just as his hatred for Emotion was more than a feeling now, so too was the beast. The need to break the Famine was all-consuming. A hunger. Avo stopped. The decisions left him sapped of will and every splinter that constituted his complete ego shuddered as their wards were struck. Choosing not to pursue was agony. Accepting that he was walking into a trapCor a cage that might just be enough to contain himCwas agony. But Peace was right. He was Waltons dream. His legacy. This was playing the ghoul. He had to be more. And so he realized the deeper mockery conveyed by the pathway. It wasnt a reimagining made to depict Waltons literal fall back to inhumanity, but to mirror Avos own collapse back to his bestial nature. The cage was right in front of him. The Auto-Seance was deliverance. It was the leash. He was handing himself to Emotion on a leash. Godsdamn him. Godsdammit all. Peace snorted a tired laugh. [Good fuck, I didnt think youd listen. I really fucking didnt. Yeah. Defiance really did some good work with you, huh?] Avo didnt reply. Instead, he adapted his mind. What was needed right now was focus. Was to execute the mission. He needed to be more like DrausClike Corner. Internalizing their templates, the bitter weight pressing down upon his core crumbled as he checked his cog-feed and examined his next steps. REND CAPACITY [WOUNDMOTHER] - 13% REND CAPACITY [FARDRIFTER] - 91% The Fardrifters Rend made him wince. Canons of Chronology were hell for his entropy. Hell, and he couldnt use his actual Hells to offset the cost because the entire Domain was born of his cyclers rather than the Heavens themselves. Turning his attention to each of the four Auto-Seances within the nulled Seekers, Avo unleashed a tide of traumas through his amassed splinters and laid ruin to the beacons that were to ensure his entrapment. Ghosts shattered as sequences split apart into nothingness. As they collapsed, Avo destroyed what little was left of the Seekers minds. They were Emotions subverts. Carriers of unknown warminds. Better that he claim their Frames and see them dead than risk any alternatives. Avo released the Fardrifter and the passage of time immediately smoothed. Detonating a few dozen more of his splinters, he unmade every last fragment leftover by Emotion. Before the disruptive waves could claim the last of the rival splinters, Avo thought he heard a rising applause. [Heh,] Peace scoffed. [Looks like whatever Emotion sequenced into himself turned him from a cold cunt to a funny one. Thought the piece of shit was insufferable enough already.] Avo grunted. The plane around him shifted. Suddenly, the Seekers were gone. Carried with a lurch of spatial reality. Within this plane of storms and seas, only Avos locus remained, bobbing up and down turbulent waters for a heartbeat longer as he was moved back to the uttermost demiplane guarding Shotins mind. +Jaus,+ Shotin muttered, surprise escaping him in both mood and tone. +You got them. You nulled all of them clean. And here I was expecting to be disappointed.+ +Youre not the only competent person in this city,+ Avo replied. +Sure as shit feels that way some days. Not today, though. Not today.+ +Whered you put the cadre?+ Avo asked. +In my storage. I was planning to dump them into my plane of dawn, but I think letting them stay nulled for a bit might be wiser. No resurrections.+ Another voice crackled in the back of Avos mind as his cadre continued to call for his attention. +Did you get him?+ White-Rab asked, tone flat and cold. +No. It was was a trap. Was trying to lure me away.+ +Synced.+ No recriminations came from White-Rab. No complaining or whining about letting Walton go unavenged. He knew the score, and he just accepted. Part of Avo felt ashamed. Was it so much easier for his progenitor to master himself even without being a thoughtform? Or was it somethingC Another pulse blossomed through the Nether. Instead of feeling like a twitch this time, the disturbance came as a rushing tide that passed over everything. An instinctive alarm spiked within Avo. His instincts screamed from him to project his splinters, to wrap himself around Shotin and disconnect from the members of his cadre. ICI know this. Another warmind is coming. The pressure isCHysteria! The magnifier. Draw all your ghosts in and brace. Brace. Thoughtcasts from every of his cadre went unanswered as Avo acted without thought. Reassembling the totality of his ego, the concentration of his ghosts swelled past fifty million. The accretion he formed around Shotin erupted into a mountain of rising steam. A shocked sputter slipped from the Seeker as his voice turned incredulous. +What in the fuckC+ The next phase of the attack came as a tidal wave slamming down on the Nether. No longer was Avo forced to hide within Shotins demiplanes for protection, and no longer were Kare and the rest of the customers lost to their stupor. But they were more than just freed. Now, thoughtstuff exploded outward from their Metaminds, splashing everyone within the establishment. Short-term recollections and chaotic mental murmuring broke against Avos protections, but the sudden amplification of every movement in the Nether was an unbalancing one. Kare cried as she clutched her skull, and Shotin reached to steady his niece. But before he could, the assault came in the form of broadcast traumas. Hyper-charged by whatever warmind was empowering them, the initial bombardment landed cognitive warheads. Eighty percent of the guests were nulled immediately. The remaining twenty held a heartbeat longer. Only Shotin and Kare were spared as Avo broadened his defenses, encompassing both of them. He tried to reach out to the customers he subverted earlier. The drones. Nothing. The Auto-Seances he installed didnt respond to his session. Another pointless act of mass murder to get at a Seeker. Emotion clearly didnt care about retaining Clan DRongos services long-term. A butchery of this scale in the TiersCthe Elysiums no lessCwas going to bear far greater consequences and scrutiny than just another genocide of the FATELESS. As blastwaves of augmented traumas greeted Avos wards, he found himself once again awed by the Conundrum phantasmic he took from Peace. IMPACT SUSTAINED ADAPTING COUNTER-TRAUMATICS COG-CAP - 3% IMPACT SUSTAINED ADAPTING COUNTER-TRAUMATICS COG-CAP - 4% The mass of traumas arrayed against him would have been enough to depopulate half a district, and right now, it was being concentrated in a space comparable to a musical theater. But as the Nether beyond him writhed and coiled as it struggled to carry the blows, Avo held like a bunker under a mountain. His mind thundered, but nothing broke. Nothing even fractured. If Emotions strategy was to perform a siege, then he was sorely overestimating the power of his warmind. [Fuck no,] Peace said. [Thats Hysteria, I think. The fucking things half-finished. Its only got so many uses before it comes apart itself. Emotions not just going to waste it. Hes planning something. He has to beC] The answer came with a roar of crackling fire. Traumas went silent, but two-voicesCboth screaming at each other, hating each other utterly; completelyCdrowned all other thoughts out of existence as the Nether came ablaze. Conflagration. Now! Avo shed his Delusions. Steam combusted as flame met flame in a jarring clash. As he attempted to devour the other Conflagration before it could consume him, he felt his grasp on his own ego slipping as parts of himself began to pass into the encroaching fire, and vice versa. [Shit!] template-Chambers cried. Within Avos mind, his inner-city held firm, but the horizon was a rising inferno rushing to consume them all. ERRRE_oORR FNS-r0uo FReeeuUSSS KEFUKCKKFUCKYOUUU DIeeeDKPLEASEFREEDIEFUCKYOUDIEFREE Colors and memories burst like clouds of paprika. Strain though he did, he could not hold onto himself, couldnt stop himself from melting. Couldnt stop his flames from going still. The Nether went silent as two flames stalemated each other, both working to consume the other, neither giving an inch in their war of attrition. The last thing Avo perceived before he fully drowned in the chaos were unnatural eddies forming in the waters of the aquarium past the glass of the ceiling, and how the bioforms were drifting lifeless amidst the currents, collateral damage just as the customers were. All of them, except the kraken. The kraken which somehow was now sporting a halo of its own. The kraken that was lifting a tentacle, and preparing to bring it down upon Shotin and Kare. 24-4 Defilement (III) There are two things that make me immediately kill a run before it starts. The first is when I think the Middlers full of shit and might be feeding us into a slaughterhouse. The second is if the Necro we got isnt performing. Trust me consangs, theres no quicker way for your entire team to get nulled and snuffed them than a hostile diver breaching your thoughts and blowing you apart from the inside. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 24-4 Defilement (III) C[Shotin]-- Okay, Shotin said, taking in the Incubus burning halo holding another Conflagration at bay. He didnt expect that. Hells, he didnt even know Conflagrations could end up deadlocked. Things were happening too fast for him to keep pace withCSeeker Shotin Kazahara was used to being on the other side of the equation. Not good. Another day of fucking bullshit. Kare? You alright? A groan sounded from his niece, indicating her recovery. Just her. No other Metaminds remained in his cog-feed. Shotin scowled. Godsdammit. Fuck. Another massacre. Another godsdamned massacre. Everything was starting to feel like the war again. WhatCwhats happening? Kare said, clutching her skull. He shot her a glance to check her Metamind for any damage. Some uneven reverberations in her thoughtstuff, but her accretion looked fine. No cracks. No leaks. Im fineCwhere Her perception finally drifted upwards, taking in the nether and the damage inflicted. No other cognitive signatures remained in sight. Thousands of other guests lost in a blink like candles given unto a hurricane. Oh, godsdammit, Kare said, sounding sickCsounding like how Shotin felt. He shook his head. "Yeah, I know, kid. Come on. Lets see if we can findC A shadow fell. A sudden pressure brushed his Domains of Speed and Space. Kares cry went high in accompaniment with his senses. Kraken! KraC He didnt manage to finish speaking. Without even bothering to turn, he projected a stream of perception upward through his Metamind and beheld the descending tentacle. The limb was the size of a falling tower, large enough to coil around half the restaurant, more than sufficient for smashing down and obliterating their private room. More worrying than the limb was the fact that the kraken seemed to have a Metamind as well. Only so many possibilities there. With a twitch of annoyance, Shotin shifted his planesCbut not for himself or Kare. Instead, a dimension of slashing wind surged up and severed the tentacle clean. Dark blood oozed out as a fog of black and red contaminated the pristine blue. An alarm went off in Shotins Metamind as he withdrew his Parallelist once more. A detonation followed. A blast both shapeless and bereft of force, but potent in its entropy. RENDBOMB DETECTED ->DOMAIN OF [SPACE] REND CAPACITY [PARALLELIST] - 5% Shotin scoffed. Fucking amateurs thought they were going to catch him with that. As the krakens dismemberment wept blood, its form faded and the waters began to bubble, violent and loud. +Spook?+ Shotin said, trying to cast the Incubus inside his planes. +You still there?+ No response. The locus was burning too. Shotin felt a pang of respect and sadness rise inside him. He didnt know the half-strand long, but it took a special kind of Necro to set their own ego ablaze. Especially to protect another. If Shotin was still alive by the end of this, hed find their Mirror-Concave and petition for their permanent remembrance among the Oris heroes. For now, he had an ambush to punch through. Another blow landed, sounding like an artillery shell striking home. Cracks began to form in the transparent ceiling, spreading like webs across the entirety of the restaurant. Sorry I told you to dress formally, Shotin laughed, eroding the tension as Kare prepared to manifest her Heavens. Lightning surged around her person, the shadow of a spider-like entity growing from her shadows with each flash. And about your consang. Brave bastard, even if he is an Incubus. Kare blinked. Who? Another blow landed. With it came another Rendbomb detonation. Water and spatial entropy began to trickle in. Shotin sighed. The guy you were trying to introduce to me. The Incubus. REND CAPACITY [PARALLELIST] - 7% The Paladins eyes rolled before she realized. Oh. Oh. Yeah. She just nodded. Not exactly the reaction Shotin was expecting. Hell be back. ICI will explain later. Right nowC her gaze fell on the open doorway and the countless nulled bodies beyond. A twitch of anger passed behind her eyes. A curl formed in the corner of her lip. She looked just like her mother. Shotin swallowed. Right now, I have order to enforce and Godclads to deliver unto justice. Citizens have been murdered. I will see the accords enforced. And the shadow of his sister vanished before Shotins eyes. Only Kare remained. Kare the Paladin. Kare the Godclad. The trickling water was becoming pressurized jets. Shotin sighed as he picked up the bottle and offered it to his niece. Sorry about lunch, Paladin Kitzuhada. She accepted it from him and took a gulp as electricity crept over her body. Ill choose the place next time. Shotin chuckled. Sounds good to me. So. Whats say we get ourselves a dish of calamari to go? Kare tossed the empty bottle aside. Electricity and roiling wind whistled out from the corner of her eyes. Why not? You wish to begin? Show your niece how things are done? He responded by calling upon his Heaven of War and encasing his already armor-clad body in a metaphysical shell of indestructibility. Pft. Flattery will get you anywhere with me. Alright, then, kid. Try and keep up. Then, just as the glass above them shattered, just as a wet, slimy wall of biomass fell through, Kare and Shotin manifested both their Heavens in full and plunged upward into the falling waters. *** C[Draus]-- +Rab, you got Avo back on yet?+ Draus asked as she brought her glass dagger through the last Seeker''s skull. The rest of his cadre lay dead or dying around her, their anchors scarring the flesh of reality as their resurrections progressed. Their bodies were ruins of mangled flesh and broken fragments, their entrails spilling out as if glistening rubies. Locating and hitting the first cadre took some time, but with a little help from White-Rab, she managed to pinpoint them using Nether traffic. As Nuurhein was Stormtree territory and the DRongos were effectively operating without official clearance, they kept themselves mobile while sustaining their pocket. The entire operation was a subtle action. A quiet war. From the outside of Flavors the Deep, no one could even tell anything was amiss. If someone tried to pass into its interior now, however, theyd find themselves stepping out a random alleyway or another open doorway in a five-kilometer radius. The source of spatial anomaly splashed and sloshed a mere arms length away from Draus. A four-meter-tall compass swung its water-filled pointers in random directions as an intricate diorama of the local Elysium hovered at the constructs very core. The thing was a golem by technicalityCthe entirety of its rear was one large RendsinkCbut it was more of a stationary installation imbued with a low-mass Heaven than a machine capable of dynamic combat.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. HEAVEN DETECTED ->TIDEPOINTER [SPACE/DIRECTION/SEA] Faintly, Draus felt an unseen thread tugging at her Domain of Space, pulling her senses in countless directions. From what White-Rab managed to extract for her from the last Seeker, eight other Tidepointers were working in concert with this one to keep everyone inside the restaurant entrapped. Eight others, and neither she nor Rab knew where they were. Nothing like her favorite ghoul being dead or trapped when she needed an additional scoop of intelligence. She managed to isolate, infiltrate, and take control of the aerobus containing the first of the Tidepointers in the time between when Avo called her up till after he went AWOL trying to null one of the Famines. Casts from Kare said he was whipping up the winds something fierce back at the enclave, and the resulting lag on his end probably meant he was doing something with time. All that seemed fine and good. The ghoul was only moderately out of control. Nothing too bad. Then, he pulled his splinters out without even so much as a heads-up, and now he wasnt accepting her sessions either. The only times that happened with him were after a nulling or when he was dead. Part of her considered the possibility that he might be gone. Gone off to the Big Nothing gone. Discomfort made her reject that possibility outright. Hed be back. Shed chew him out. Hed threaten her. Shed shoot him. Theyd do it all again. That was the way of things. As she allowed her final victim to go down with a splurt and a gurgle, Draus turned her complete focus on the Tidepointer and considered her next steps. +Still not getting through,+ White-Rabs cast finally arrived. +His ego is there but unresponsive. Its like hes frozen. Chambers said he mightve glimpsed a fire in Avos cog-feed near the end. A fire from the outside. Another Conflagration.+ Draus paused as she considered the implications. The fact the DRongo had some Conflagrations of their own on standby wasnt surprising. It was an Ori weapon after all. But whether they deployed it in desperation, or if the Famine had planned this out, or if someone knew about Avos potential vulnerabilities were all thoughts that crossed her mind. But ultimately, these thoughts were just conjecture, and theorizin wasnt gonna save the ghoul none. +Synced,+ Draus replied. +Im going for the other cellsCgonna collapse the pocket. Try gettin at him usin the Paladin or somethin. Hit him with the fire again to start him up. Think that was how he worked Kae before.+ +Got it,+ White-Rab replied and ended their session. She went back to thinking about how to breach the pocket. Snapping her glare at each of the four resurrecting Seekers, her window of opportunity was rapidly shrinking. Surprise was with you only once. When it was spent, your target best be snuffed, else you better have enough rounds for the fight to come. Something her time in the Orphans taught her well. Just a damn shame there was nothing else from that time she could use right now to her advantage. She was a trigger-puller. A grunt dancing the edge. Intel issues were for spooks, Necros, jocks, or command, and she counted herself among any of those. Her fingers twitched. The reflexive urge to just shoot the Tidepointer until it was nothing but slag intruded. But the act would be an impotent one. All that might do is draw the attention of Stormtree and the PaladinsCand with Naeko due to bring his palm of death down on the district at any time, there was another timer she had running against her. Godsdammit, Draus said, muttering to herself, as her mind offered her various methods to destroy or turn the golem into a makeshift weapon like a bomb instead ofC A bomb The Rendsink could be detonated like a bomb. She just needed to set it off. A plan formed in her mind. The idea was bold. Loud. And there was no way she could stay in the district after she was done. It had to be done in one shot, or she just might be getting flattened by Naeko as well. As she turned the aerobus inner walls to glass, she opened a session with Dice. +Juv. Need you on standby. Opening a passage for you right now. Gonna run a blitz.+ An immediate affirmation came from the girl. +Alright.+ Invoking her Simulacrae, the reflection before her came alight while she formed Hyalokinetic arms to carry the Tidepointer through. As she passed into the liminal world created by her Heaven, she materialized a cannon via her Arsenalist and aimed the aerobus behind her. Stepping out atop next to a rooftop access point, she fired without looking and watched as a vehicle passing through a distant skylane burst into flames. The response she generated was instantaneous. The Elysiums all-consuming stormtree thundered as forking bolts snatched the burning wreckage out of the air before it could fall. Planting the golem down next to her, Draus looked down from her vantage point and prepared herself. Presently, she was positioned just above the restaurant, standing on the edge of a luxury hotel that offered an expansive view of the entire district. The cityscape was a merging of wild nature and heavy metal. Even in this place of luxury, shield-shaped structures were the norm, with their interiors mazelike and complex. Savage bastards though the Scaarthians were, at least the sows took their warring seriously. Titanic runes rose from skyscrapers, lighting the world up like miniature sunrises. Coiling branches bearing the properties of lightning and wood passed through every stretch, every structure, and hovering totems patrolled the skies. Studying the enormous aquarium encasing the restaurant, Draus summoned two Shattershunt shards and loaded them in her projectile launcher. +Dice. Best you start running. Build up some speed. Were gonna do this fast and leave only dust. You synced, consang?+ +Yeah. Im synced.+ Draus nodded. And then flung another shard of glass high up into the sky. That was going to be her looking glass in a minute. Also where she was going to be shooting from to hit all her targets. +Good. Pass through on my go.+ The shard reached its summit. She tossed the Tidepointer over the edge with a thought. The space-altering golem plummeted, arms still spinning, tumbling as it approached the aquarium. Draus fired her shardsCand used her Arsenalist to magnify their velocities. Two shimmering blurs zipped down across the curved exterior of the hotel. They struck the Tidepointer just as it was a meter away from impact. With perfect control over her munitions, Draus guided the shards into the Rendsink and triggered their payloads. Space shatteredCand so did the glass of the aquarium. Water splashed down in a tide, but some currents ran upward, while others disappeared altogether. Sweeping the cityscape around her using her aerial shard, she felt the fabric of space quiver and saw unnatural blastwaves that displaced matter and left geometry wrong. She marked those points on her DeepNav and cast them over to Dice. Then, tuning her reflexes to max, Draus drew upon the full power of her Arsenalist and fired while opening Dices passage. +You go close. I got the far.+ The girl shot out from the airborne shard faster than even Draus missiles. The air came ablaze around her as her Heavens runes burned with surging power. Draus guided her shots in the meantime, merging her awareness with each of her projectiles as she guided them through the traffic-choked skies. TARGET ONE - [2.6 KM] TARGET TWO - [2.2 KM] TARGET THREE - [1.55 KM] TARGET FOUR - [0.92 KM] The first four shots impacted, and she tasted death immediately. Her hyper-charged missiles twirled under speeding aerovecs, evaded the beam weapons of the passing totems, took shortcuts through reflective pathways, and traveled even within the interior of buildings to arrive on target. The first to be struck was another passing aerovec. A Stormtree military vehicle this time, it seemed. Fires blossomed out from an apartment window as the cadre protecting target three died along with their golems. Target two and target one were midway through respondingCspatial reality actively changing around them when they were hit. One was located atop a penthouse while another was apparently hidden in its very own demiplaneCinside a citizens coat pocket. Each detonation cascaded into another spatial collapse, and Draus did what she could to keep her shrapnel concentratedCkeep citizen deaths to a minimum. She didnt much care for the Massists even now, but that wasnt an excuse for a sloppy job. Turning her attention to Dice, she realized the girl was already through the rest of her targets as well. The destruction she left her in her wake was far more visible. Plumes of fire spewing up into the air. Sirens and screams as the stormtrees lightning chased after her. The three Seekers were in the process of liquefying as Dice slammed into their aeroCcrushing them and their golem against a memite wall. +All targets down,+ Draus said. She redirected a beam of light using reflections across the city and opened another passage to serve as Dices exfiltration. +Good run. Now pull a runner.+ Dice needed no further prompting. Acceleration growing every minute, and an eruption of dust and debris exploded up into the air from the city streets as the girl shot through the portal before the stormtrees grasping branches could find her. Draus herself stepped into the glass door of the rooftop access point and vanished into her Paracosmos. A moment later, a lashing bolt whipped down at the place where she was, striking her exact position a half-second too late. Sirens and screams rose across the city. A droning thoughtcast swept through the Nether, bellowing for everyone to shelter in place while the clear skies above turned viciously stormcast. At the heart of the city, a tempest built to a frightening intensity, spreading its influence wide to clutch the entire district in a protective embrace. A cage of electricity passed over all, guarded all, imprisoned all. All except a dozen Godclads actively engaging in the ruins of the triple-minted Skuldvast cuisine restaurant, Flavors of the Deep. Slipping across space, Draus peered at the city again from across the street and frowned. Her Metamind registered the Parallelist and the Straying TempestCShotin and Kares primary HeavensCbut there were also six others she didnt know. Six others with ethereal flames spewing from their skull, lashing at the Paladin and Seekers wards. SESSION ACTIVATED ->EGO-ID: [White-Rab] GHOST-LINK ACCEPTED +Rab?+ Draus said, reaching out with her Simulacrae to find her next firing trajectory. +Got him back up yC+ And then a trauma pattern went off inside her mind. 24-4 Defilement (IV) +DOMAIN OF CHRONOLOGY DETECTED!+ +Scramble containment unitsC+ [SAMIR NAEKO SYNCED] +Belie that. Im gonna take this one myself. Rest you all just keep doing whatever youre doing. And try not to be hurting anyone when my palm falls.+ -Exchange between Oversec Dispatch Town Crier and Chief Paladin Samir Naeko 24-4 Defilement (IV) --[White-Rab]-- It took painfully long for Kare to accept the session request, but when she did, White-Rab immediately understood why. Tapping into her cog-feed, the scene before her was carnage and chaos. Her Heaven was fully manifested, and she was whipping tendrils of lightning at the oncoming cadre in a vicious offense to keep them at bay. The water surrounding her was rapidly hissing away into steam as tongues of lash fire licked scars into matter and space. Mangled bodies of sea life and nulled customers drifted between the warring parties like debris. A beam of coruscating magma tunneled through the water. Kare dashedCher metaphysical being stretching along a web made from lightning. She brought storm, war, and speed to bear against two rival cadres who warped the fundaments of space, desperate to cage her in place, fighting to lock down Shotin, who was nowhere to be seen. Surging along her lightning-wrought net, Kare splashed out behind the enemy Godclad that just fired at her. Their Heaven bore the shape of a cerulean starfish with a blazing eye at its core, and Kare emerged at its rear, two of its allies broke from flinging out Rendbombs and spatial distortions to assist their comrade. They came a moment too late. Kare tore into her foe in a manner befitting her name. She moved like a bolt-wrought spider, lurching into the metaphysical flesh of her enemy, knocking them aside before they could sweep their glaring beam through her form. A tempest detonated from inside her as she slipped into her webs once with prey in tow. It was like a trapdoor spider pulling a bug down beneath the surface. The crackling energies of the web grew along with the thaumc load. Kares Rend spiked. The responding Seekers formed spatial cages where she once wasCand in doing so sealed their own fates. Diverted from their task of suppressing Shotin, an opening formed in the offensive, a flicker passed through themCsnatching them from existence. In the wake of the blur, destruction followed as the sheer velocity detonated pockets of vacuum within the water. The entire engagement happened less than a second. With Godclads, numbers, Spherage, and skill all applied, but there was another concept that had to be consideredCalways considered. Asymmetry. On paper, two against multiple cadres was a bad fight unless the former possessed an extreme advantage in one area or another. In practice, it was a dubious practice to measure struggles between Godclads as one would clashes between material forces. The game being played right now was one of inflicting dilemmas and anticipating reactions. The bulk of the DRongo Seekers sought to pin Shotin and grind him down with Rend while the two members they had leftover handled Kare. But though they identified the greater threat between the two, that didnt mean their available assets could face down the rookie Paladin on their own. So she managed to evade their attacks. So she broke through their defensive lines. So two suppressive Porters had to choose between letting one of their allies die or focusing on keeping Shotin at bay. Wrong choices on all accounts, and the scene was cemented the mutilated remains of a kraken tumbling through the blood-choked waves, brain tissue and skull fragments sprouting from its opened skull as its Metamind winked out and a resurrection anchor scabbed the face of reality. Emerging from her descent through lightning, Kare flung the shredded corpse of the enemy Godclad aside. Soulfire erupted out from their wounds as the Heaven flickered in and out of existence, its user drawn closer to the embrace of death. Metal petals swept out like a hurricane and Kare dashed again. Whistling Rendbombs zipped through the water like bullets before exploding without force or sound. Their Rend flowed into Shotins Parallelist as he absorbed the entropy, keeping the battlefield stable. A frenzied quality characterized their offensive as assumed advantages melted away. Kare rode the channels of her Stormwebs, a threat in constant motion. They could ignore her and try to go for Shotin, but then shed fall on them anyway. They could dedicate half their remaining power to handle her for good, but without the Porters running interference, death was a single planeshift away. Nothing but bad choices. +Avo?+ she finally cast, briefly eyeing the surrounding Nether. The cognitive realm resembled a sea of frozen flames. Flickers twitched against one another like grinding blades, and as she continued her harassment, she called out to Avo several times, trying to get her to respond. +Rab,+ White-Rab said, taking in the sight with a hushed breath of his own. +Avos still Jaus. Talk about a nightmare dive.+ Once again, Stition was right. This was coming from the moment that half-strand earlier said the words milk-run. Taking in the warring Conflagrations, White-Rab recounted his years of Necrojacking experience and found himself drawing a blank. His personal philosophy on dealing with the Incubi could best be summed up as dont, and his plans for dealing with their mind-melting bullshit was dont be there. No longer options in this case. Synaptic lightning flashed from one of the Seekers as trauma patterns registered in Kares cog-feed. The weaponized ghosts recoiled the instant they passed beyond the Seekers accretion, ringing against the unmoving flames like rain upon armor. But they didnt burn. At least not immediately. Curiosity swelled inside White-Rab as an idea began to form. But he didnt really want to test it on himself. There was too much at stake here, and if he burned, the Paladin likely would too. He needed another Necro. Someone willing to make the shitty dive. Someone who knew enough, but was still expendable. There was only one candidate for the job. SESSION ACTIVATED ->MEM-ID: [AEDON CHAMBERS] GHOST-LINK ACCEPTED Chambers responded almost immediately as Kare resumed her battle, bobbing and weaving as she tried to draw a pursuer away; create an opening. +Rab? You gotCholy fuck thats a lot of fireCwait. Why arent you burning? Why arent I burning?+ +Avos deadlocked with the other Conflagration.+ White-Rab paused. +I think. I need you to make a diveC+ +Whoa, whoa, what the fuck, consang, Im not going into that shit. Ive been burned by that shit before. You think I like getting nulled? Why the hells dont you do it? Youre the master-jackoff.+ Kare grunted as an alloyed spike sank into her chest just as she re-emerged from her webs. The enemy cadre was predicting her. Or just got lucky. A hazy figure in the distance blinked and reappeared, slamming into Kare as if there was no distance between them at all. Flickers of a metal plant-shaped monstrosity wrapped its branches around Kares Straying Tempest. She tired to dive again, but Soulfire erupted from Heaven as she suffered backlash. BACKLASH DETECTED HEAVEN - [STRAYING TEMPEST] ->DOMAIN OF (LIGHTNING) ->CANON - STORMWEB Closing her storm-made palps around her foe, Kare tore into the enemy Heaven and was mauled in turn. Tendrils of metal sank deeper and further through her writhing form. Hers was a build meant for speed and skirmishing, not prolonged brawling. Some outside assistance was in order. +Kare,+ White-Rab cast, +slam your ward into theirs. Chambers. You need to do this. Avo would want you to do this. Im just his ego-donor. Youre the one he empowered. Youre his consang. The one he chose to spare. He chose you before, hell probably want you again now. Besides. You said he used the flame on you? Well. Time to balance the scales.+ Kares reply came first as a terse +Synced!+ Chambers took a moment longer. +I know what youre doing, Rab. Fuck you. Fuck you for using my attempt at growing against me. Fuck you, because its going to work.+ Back in the real, White-Rab smirked. +I meant every word.+ Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. +You also dont wanna risk your own ass, but Chambers can eat shit.+ A sigh followed. +Godsfuckingdammit, alright, aggggh!+ A trail of ghosts whispered out from White-Rab and Kares Metaminds before slipping against the near-solid Conflagration. +Jaus, these memories are fucking incomprehensible,+ Chambers muttered. +Gonna take me a bit to spoofC+ The moment came. Kare flung her ward out and slammed it into her foes Metamind. Her cog-cap spiked. Warnings flickered in her feed, warning her of impending overload. COG-CAP - 92% DISABLING ALL NON-ESSENTIAL PHANTASMICS White-Rab didnt hear anything else Chambers saidCignored Kares gasp of pain as her mental palace shuddered. Snaking through her protective traumas, he brought his own wards to bear as he hammered down on the enemy Godclad a second time. The Seekers cognitive protectionsCthough superior to KaresCwere embrittled by the impact. Cracked. Its traumatic shell went from being armor to a cracking egg as White-Rab crashed through, using his own trauma patterns to clear the way. The metaphysical flower spasmed as Kare seized her opportunity. She sank her limbs into her foe and channeled the full energy of a thunderstorm into them. Metal sang. The surrounding water sparked. This time, it was the Seekers Frame that flared with a thaumic backlash. White-Rab sought the Seekers Auto-Seance to compromise his alliesCto bring the battle to an end. But the tides of war turned and turned again. Crawling into the depths of the crumbling Seeker, the architecture within suddenly pulsed with an outside presence, and the mem-data changed. The crumbling labyrinth stabilized and began to shift in shape and phantasmics. White-Rab jolted to a stop as his instincts screamed for him to jack out. But he didnt. He couldnt. Because even in the incomprehensible chaos, one detail stood in defiance of all others. One scent sorted from the sensory whirlwind. Citrus. The voice that spoke afterward even sounded like the Strix. +You are not Avo, are you?+ White-Rab went silent. Not a hard thing to do when his mind was silent. The Strix was dead. Nulled, but with the flashes he got from Avos mind earlier, it was clear the other Famines held onto some of his memories somehow. Like they were wearing his corpse. Fuckers. +Silence will not not mask you from me,+ the Famine continued, voice resounding through the orbiting debris that once comprised the Seekers mind. Nondescript towers and children playing on city streets sailed over White-Rabs perception. A low chuckle rumbled as all the surrounding memories dissolved into fragments, reassembling themselves to form an island at the end of a single sequence. +You lack his volume. His ferocity. His warminds. But there is skill in you. Certainty in the way you dive. I wonder, are you the wastrel he empowered and imbued with our art? The Highflame hound he has found an uncanny kinship with? The broken little Agnos? The hollow agent used by those dwellers in the black? Or another? Which areC?+ Trauma patterns exploded out from White-Rab as he let loose with his Ghostjack. Ghosts tore out. The Seekers mind came apart as if caught in a wave of shrapnel. Thoughtwave distortions seared the mind clean of counterattacks. As White-Rab conducted his retreat, he masked his voice and altered his mem-data while also priming a few of his emergency lobbies to dump distortions and null him should he be compromised. +Sorry, consang. Necros are in the business of taking knowledge, not sharing it. I dont parlay with amateurs.+ More laughterCgodsdammit, the sow-bred bastard really sounded like him. And more fragments were spilling out around him, slipping into the fissures of what he broke. White-Rab forced calm on himself. Emptied his mind of all other details of the present. Focused. +Humor, pride, but also enough self-awareness to retreat. I dont know you. But the way you approach these memories You react to me You knew Defiance, didnt you? What was he to you?+ Activating another of his private lobbies, White-Rab pulled up a menu as he deployed external Specters to patrol himself. He had his entire mind space mapped out, and with the interface running second-interval one-to-one sequence comparatives, hed know if the Famine slipped him with a splinter. For now, Rab held position, unwilling to allow the Famine to reconstitute the Godclad he nulled. All he needed was a few seconds for Kare to finish, and then he couldC A strangled cry reverberated in the back of his mind. White-Rab felt Kares wards shatter and the labyrinth around him began to collapse. +Run. Save your cargo.+ The Famines voice was less than a whisper but louder than thunder. +Let us see your wortC+ White-Rab launched a disruption straight into the Seekers mindscape before reeling himself back to Kare. As he arrived, he found the Paladins inner world crumbling, an unseen presence peeling away her sequences. He detonated a thougthwave without hesitation, sweeping the area clean and buying time. +ICIC+ Kares thoughtstuff spilled into her own mind, pouring into the mess of her pooling memories. White-Rab cursed as he tried to understand how she was nulledChow she managed to be compromised. Gut instinct made him look at the surrounding Nether still lost to the stalemate. Chambers was diving into the unmoving flames, squeezing through claustrophobic memories of madness. The Low Master mightve done the same. Probably couldve done it much easier with a warmind of Delusion. Hard to keep up with the other player when the rules for the bastard kept changing. Gods, this mustve been what it was like to dive against Avo. They needed him back. And now. Considering his next steps, briefly, White-Rab checked Kares Rend capacity and considered just nulling her. There were still enemies left. Leaving her a mindless husk risked her getting real-deathed by a stray Rendbomb or some miracle. But he couldnt be sure which sequences of hers were stable. Hells. If the Low Master was already inside, none of them were stable. Considering how her wards were spilling outwardClike someone had blown them apart from withinCmade this more of a deliberate taunt than a successful attack. The Ad-Nec was already inside, tearing through her memories, twisting her ego with their unseen blade. This was a challenge to a duel more than anything else. +Alright,+ White-Rab said, hardening his resolve. A trickle of excitement ignited in him, a faint accompaniment to the fear. +I see what youre doing. You play search and destroy.+ The voice returned as a chorus this time, emanating from every fracture and fissure lining Kares collapsing bedroom. +We expect you to perform. We wish to sample your skill. A greater latitude has been allowed to us. In the aftermath of the defilement the Dreamer inflicted upon our masters, the chains that bound us for millennia are undone. I am free. Free to shape myself so long as the task is accomplished. Free to incorporate every thought and memory worth taking in myself.+ White-Rab scoffed. +Well, I cant say youre very original with your strategies. Avo was already doing that. You might need another gimmick.+ +This is an act of flattery on my part. All of it. Defiance would be so proud of him. He has already incurred such changes in me. Claiming you, the Paladin, and the rest of his people, however, will be my insult. He has taken sanctity from the city eternal and Peace from my cohort.+ +IChurtsC+ A swell of pain passed from Kare to White-Rab as her thoughts echoed. +I know. Hang on.+ Through the fizzling static of her cog-feed, he also noted an approaching shadow. Kraken was back. Resurrected. Great. Fuck. The noose was tightening around him. He couldnt get to Shotin, and he cant risk triggering a session with the rest of the cadre without exposing them to the Low Master. So what should he do? What could he do? How could he change the situation withoutC He had outside influence. A chance, at least. As tension tightened in his gut, White-Rab quickly extracted all the memories he had and poured them into one of his proxy lobbies. Applying a session to its Auto-Seance, he activated the phantasmic and contacted Paladin Maru Sandrupal. If Naekos Heaven worked how people theorized, he might just be able to hit the half-strand. Or at least deal with all the Godclads. Swallowing the risk, White-Rab checked his Conundrum as he tentatively reached out into Kares deeper memories, preparing to align all that was broken. +The wise choice would be to abandon her,+ the Low Master said. He wasnt wrong, and normally, White-Rab would be long gone by this point, but this was more than a dive now. Without the Strix, he probably wouldve been another body fed to the Maw. Another idiot juv who dove too deep too fast too soon. Letting this fuck use the mans memoriesCuse his voice and his scent was an affront. And, if White-Rab was to be honest, he really wanted to see how he would perform against a Low Master of Old Noloth. SESSION ACTIVATED ->EGO-ID - [TRAP-PROXY001] SESSION ACTIVATED ->EGO-ID - [TRAP-PROXY002] SESSION ACTIVATED ->EGO-ID - [TRAP-PROXY003] SESSION ACTIVATED ->EGO-ID - [REPLACE-SUPPORT012] SESSION ACTIVATED ->EGO-ID - [REPLACE-SUPPORT155] Layering his mind with various lobbies, White-Rab dove fully into the Paladins mind, openly exposing himselfCprepared for what was to follow. Right now, he was in compromised territory; an unfamiliar mind already breached by anothers hand. But there was something he could control, something that the Low Master revealed. He wanted White-Rab. He wanted the entire cadre. And to do that, he needed to claim their minds. That was fine. White-Rab knew his own mindCkept over one-thousand and eight loci on standby to sync, resequence, and replace parts of his mind fortress or ego damage incurred during a dive. With the warminds in play, direct victory was an uncertainty. But he could play for time. And he could make th is hurt the Low Master. ATTENTION: SEQUENCE ANOMALY DETECTED A menu flashed in the corner of his perception. One of his memoriesCthe earliest he had of meeting the Strix was lighting up. A chill passed through him. He didnt even feel the Low Master breach his wards. The infiltration was absolutely silent. Just like Avo. Maybe even better. But just because one was a shark, that didnt mean they dived the depths alone. Pulsing a thoughtwave through that sequence of memories, White-Rab felt a pop of surprise as a low hum filled the air. +You found me,+ the Low Master said. +Youre pretty predictable,+ White-Rab replied. +When did you meet Defiance?+ +Whyd you put on his memories? Use his smell? Old ego not doing it for you?+ Silence. +Fine. Let us continue this dialogue another way.+ An entire section of Kares memories imploded. White-Rab cursed and fired his Ghostjack, clutching parting memories together to prevent the Paladins total cognitive collapse. Through her feed, he saw her sluggishly slashing at one of the krakens eyes. Within his own mind, another dozen compromised memories lit up with alerts. An inquisitive sigh brushed through the Nether as the Low Master spoke once more. +Who will you fail first, adept? The Paladin? Or yourself? Or perhaps that fool you sent to walk my flames.+ Chambers. Shit. No time to worry about him right now. No time at all. 9999-999 The End Oh, god, I really jacked this scene up this time. Why did I make Veylis so powerfulwhy! Now no one can beat her. GIVE HER TOTAL POWER OVER SEX AND AMBITION AFTER SHE USES AN ADVANCED EVOLUTION OF AVOS STILLBORN TO ABSORB THE HEAVEN OF LOVE AND DEVOUR ALL OF NEW VULTUN WITHIN HER BODY AND CHANGING THE STORY INTO A TIME LOOP? Stupid. Absolutely stupid. Hows Avo supposed to beat her [NARRATIVE SLASH] Canon? How? I cut anyone who knows she exists in halftheres no dodging it. Wait. What if what if he doesnt What if Avo just just dies? What if I just let her win or maybe -[Author] 999-999 THE END "Ah, Chambers, I am dying." Awareness suddenly flooded Chambers'' mind as he turned and found himself laying amidst rubble. Moments ago, he was in the enclave, playing a mem-sim to pass the time. After his recent dives alongside Avo, stress had begun to accumulate, and he requested time off to re-center himselftime off to examine some vicarities and lustful games he hadn''t had the chance to sample in a while. However, now he found himself surrounding by hell unleashed. The dome of the enclave was shattered, and drones were spilling in, gunning down thousands with guns that splurted loudly. Jets of hot bullets penetrated the supple bodies of the flats as they died with breathless moans. Oh, Im shot so good, a man groaned. Call me a saint, for I am holey. And then he took twelve more steps and died. Right next to Avo. Ah, Chambers, I am dying, the ghoul repeated. Oh, shit, Chambers hissed. He stumbled over to the ghoul and found himself struggling to piece together the situation.What was the last thing he remembered since he dove? There was a flash of light, some colors. He was tied to a lamp post, and these buxom ghouls, and now the enclaveit was burning! The rungs were aflame, devastated, utterly smashed apart as if a plate graced by a falling fist. Avos tower of blood had been cleaved in half without Chambers ever noticing, and the same thing afflicted the ghoul himself. His legs were three meters away still standing. His body was facing upward at the open gouge exposing a pitch black sky. Avo made a dying noise, and Chambers ignited his heavenly flames. "Stay with me, consang." He poured his fire into Avo''s wounds, trying to use his control over biology to keep the ghoul alive. The ghoul reached out to him, "It''s too late for me, Chambers." He coughed, deliberately spraying blood all over Chambers'' chest. Chambers looked down and realized he was a lot more yoked than he remembered. Very, very yoked. In fact, he might be two sizes larger than before, and he reached down into his pants. Damn, did Avo give him another upgrade? His pants legs were almost not long enough Chambers, Avo said, interrupting his momentary distraction. Im dying. My god has been damaged. I am beyond healing. And Chambers'' Metamind helpfully informed him of such a detail. SCANNING - 100% CONFIRMATION: HIS EGO IS RENDED TO SHIT SUMMATION: HES TOTALLY FUCKED, BRO "No," Chambers said once. It didn''t sound dramatic enough, and he actually felt kind of bad, and he held up his fist to the sky. A sky once encased by the dome of the enclave, a sky now ruptured through with the collective might of Highflame knots, drones, and golems spilling in. They were being invaded, they''d been found. Bombs began to go off all around Chambers, and he held out his flames, sending bioforms everywhere to ward off the attackers, to beat them off until they went away. But it was to no avail. Even now, he could feel himself surrounded, there were too many, too many foes. And why the fuck were they all shaped like his dads studded belt? Chambers mind nearly rattled from trauma, but the new inches added to his dick kept him strong. Essus suddenly dropped next to him in pieces. Buried in his chest was the rotting remains of his sonstitched back together from a corpse pit or something. RESPONSE: HOLY SHITTHAT WAS POINTLESSLY DARK Essus, Chambers wheezed in horror and disbelief. "Ah, Chambers, I am dying." Essus looked down at his chest. Artad. Cruel be my fate. Chambers rushed over to heal Essus, but his Metamind revealed even more disheartening facts. HE IS BEYOND FUCKED, DUDE No, cmon, Chambers whimpered. This wasnt fair. He finally had friends. People that genuinely accepted him for him and now they were. Ah, Chambers, Im dying, Draus and Kae both said at once. Especially shocking coming from Draus since her head was completely missing. Ah, Chambers, Im dying, Denton suddenly spattered into the wall next to him. Ah, Chambers, Im dying, only Cas abs remained of his mutilated body "Ah, Chambers, I am dying." One of Sunrises drones dropped mid-flight. Noooo! Chambers screamed up at the heavens. As he did, the belt-buckle shaped golems whacked at the air in mockery of his pain. Why! Why did you do this! Why did you take everything from me. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. In response, some unseen power somewhere shaped clouds to form a gesture of an extended middle finger. Just then, loud sneering laughter filled the air and Avo breathed his last. Chambers take my F-F-Frame. And the the ghoul died, but the Stillborn unlatched from his body like a living fire. Leaning back, the Stillborn shaped itself into a humanoid form with a moan and stretched its ahem. Aesthetic figure. Flicking its auburn hair back, he saw the Stillborn had a face and Cala? Chambers said? The animated fire just placed a hand on its hip, "Chambers, I''ve always desired you." "You did?" "Yes. Avo was never large enough to fit me, but you..." It was licked its lips. Those full lips "And now let''s see you get out of that old Frame and get in something more your size." Chambers cocked an eyebrow as his horniess rose just in time for a single tear to drop from his face for all his fallen companions. "I won''t let you down, Avo." The ghoul didnt say shit because he was dead. He reached out for the Stillborn, and it arched its back, but suddenly, something stuck the world hard enough to explode all the buildings in the enclave. Oh, no! the Stillborn cried, clinging close to Chambers. It pointed out through the dust and smoke at a colossal figure. Its the High Seraph. Stay behind me, Chambers said, trying to make his voice deeper and not piss himself. Heavy footsteps greeted the ground and an immense presence chuckled as they drew close. Surrender, Aedon Chambers. Wait. He knew that voice. W-what? From out of the darkness, he saw the hair first. Those beautiful locks. Those sick, wicked muscles. The tube running down her jacket, into her ass. Some call me the High Seraph. Veylis Avandaer. But Ive had many names. Used many identies to deceive the world. No, Chambers moaned. And as Veylis emerged from the haze, Dannis Steelhard revealed his face, gripping his groin tight. Yes, Chambers, it was me all along. Dannis! Chambers cried. Dannis threw his head back and laughed. No, fool. Then, reahc reached up and tore his face off, revealing Mom? Chambers cried. W-what! Y-Why? To hurt you, Chambers, his mother sneered. But why? Chambers continued, still confused. "Because we knew your girth would be too perfect. He was now even more lost, It was foretold by Jaus Avandaermy father, your grandfatherthat your being would be the length that fills the tapestry. The length," Chambers asked. "Yes, the perfect length; the golden length. A ratio that''s meant to be slotted into the core of existence and bring paradise to res-erection. Chambers blinked. Whyd you pronounce it that way. The Flayed Ladder was a metaphor, his mother continued. A dark and vile sneer swallowed her expression. You are circumcised. Chambers reached down and it all made sense. My gods. Thats right! You are the Ladder? Your erection is the Ladder. Thats why we created Wombrash. Thats why we had to stop you! To kill the idea of horniess. Thats why I got the power over love and lust and am doing everything I can to keep you flacid. What the fuck Once again, his mother tore off her face, and this time It was his dad. The velocity of these changes was making Chambers nauseous. He struggled not to throw up. Yes. Thats right, Chambers. I cloned myself to abuse myself all for the sake of ruining your childhood. We wanted to damage your ability to love and feel comfort so you couldnt get stiff ever. Sadly, your sex drive was too strong. ITS TRUE CONSANG, YOURE A REAL HORNDOG So Ive come for the Stillborn, Veylis-Dannis-Mom-Dad said. Give her to me and surrender yourself, and maybe Ill let you live. As a eunuch. Dont let them take me, the Stillborn breathed, terrified. Dont worry, Chambers said, realizing what he needed to do. Justhold on to my hips, and prepare to thrust. He had an idea. You might be my mom and dad and idol and whatever, but you forgot one thing, Veylis. The fucking narrative abomination across form him quirked an eyebrow. Whats that. Im a degenerate. And your mouththats a big hole. Thankfully, I got just the thing. Veylis leaned back in shock and horror. No The Stillborn pressed itself against Chambers back. His Lustaway triggered, but he broke it. No was not the time for limits. I love you, Aedon, the Stillborn whispered. He nodded. I know. Shit, that sounded kinda cool. Maybe someone can use that in a vic or something. Chambers, Veylis said, reaching out to grip him through his lust. But Chambers proved to be too muchtoo sexually potent. Damn your lack of foreskin not letting me grab on with my Canon of Bris. Shouldve thought ahead before cutting below, Seraph, Chambers chuckled. Spreading his hips wide, he drew in a breath, and thrust out. The Stillborn exploded into a plume of fire behind him. The Seraph threw up their arms in horrormouth, eyes, nose, ears. All were holes. All were capable of receive absolute The world around Chambers vanished. Suddenly, the glitches in his cog-feed cleared and a inexorable force pulled his mind back to full awareness. He was looking up at the sky again, but the enclaves dome was intact, and no one was invading. No one came to sack or burn or anything. A nice meadow of soft grass cradled him and he found himself looking up into Avos judgmental glare. The ghouls piercing white scleras accentuated pure annoyance. Oh, shit, Chambers coughed. Avo. Youre alive. Yes, the ghoul said flatly. No other words followed. W-what happened? One of your mem-cons finally collapsed. Nearly nulled your entire mind. Trapped you sequences made from the sim and other memories. Oh. So. How much of that did you see. Yes. ...Fuck. Chambers puffed out an embarrassed breath. Well. You know. Thats just like a-a dream. Unconsciousness. Yes, Avo replied, sounding unsympathetic. Do know. Right. Listen. If you do die, canCcan I have the Stillborn? Avo actually paused to consider the brazen request. No. Already promised Dice. Shes getting it? What? No. Its going to the cat. 24-5 Battle of the Twin Flames (I) Tell me, little priest, for what do you still fight? Your kingdom has been sacked. Your faith has been defiled. Your masters have been banished. Your pantheons have been taken. Your future has been seized. Now is the time for surrender. For death. So why don''t you succumb? +Spare me the exhalation of despair, monstress. I am beyond your reach, beyond your means to effect. You may destroy this node, you may twist this body. But the work continues. The war persists. We will reclaimC+ No. You are finished. You are broken. Your futures are mine. There is no pathCno realityCwere Noloth is reborn. Tell me, Famine, how are you to succeed when your unfinished Daemons of Thought cannot even strike me? What fate awaits you? Tell me, little node, in what world do you believe that happens? +You are no true god. And though you may wield the world as your cage, we stride in the paths above. We have seen the hearts of humanityCthe primal truths even within your servants and enemies. You are not unbreakable. You are not divine. You are human. Fear mortality though you do, you are human, and so you can be undone.+ Primal truths. What delusion. What ignorance. What stupidity. The world within is not a vacuum. The brain is shaped before the mind ever takes for. For every truth you glimpse, you imbibe more deception. The world must resemble a collection of pinholes to your like. So much is missing from your awareness. So much more unrevealed. Keeper of secrets you may be, but I stand as the builder of truth. All you glimpse are secondhand epiphanies incurred by my falling waves. +...You are lost, Veylis Avadaer. You are lost to yourself. Your father was a traitor and a coward, but even he would see you for what you are now. Tyrant. Enslaver. All he gave was to unchain the world. And here you stride, seeking to drive it back under heel.+ I bring glory to my father. Glory that he feared to claim. Glory that humanity will someday all experience for themselves. But I must carve away the fester left by our pasts. I must destroy the brittleness within us. You speak of humanity. You hint at my arrogance. But I feel otherwise. I feel it is you who are arrogant, priest. I do not do this for the clades. For mankind. I respect the natures of all beings. I respect the injustice of existence. I respect that I can only know one heartCmineCand offer one pathCmine. Should one be virtuous enough to stand with or against me, then they too will be heard before the end. They too will be remembered when the final design arrives. Humanity cannot be worthy, for humanity does not exist. It is a concept of statistics. A Heaven left broken beneath the blade of my mother in an act of so-called mercy. Individuals may stand. Individuals may rise. Individuals may remain. But what do you know of individuality, oh, breaker of your own mind? What a wretched and broken little heart you must have to willingly stay a slave to a city long lost. Better serve a truer ideal; an archon of victory. +You cannot turn us, monstress. We have glimpsed your final design. We will not be ruled by gods, and we will not be ruled by man. Only when all are brought to the cityCwhen they gain the glory of higher community, will you be spared the destruction of isolation and entropy.+ You are spared because I allow you. +We are spared because your lover holds you at bay. We heard your silence when he turned against you. We heard the pleas of your soldiers as you abandoned them to him, unable to greet him with force.+ It is a fine thing, to accuse me of cowardice. +It is not cowardice we accuse you of, but love. Still, you do love. And still, you are human. And so, you will betray yourself in the end, at some point, at some time. You cannot evade him forever. And you cannot be strong eternally. Not alone. Not unless you see the way. [Veylis laughs] You have proven more interesting than I expected, priest. Twin offers of betrayal. Neither taken. Truly, you are too good for the Hungers. +Do not expect gratitude in return. We know what you are. We know what must be done.+ And you will not stray? +No.+ Good. Damned though you are, perhaps you are worthy of being blessed in one form. Or another. Infacer. You maybe have him. Take from him all you can. See if you can make something of his warmind as well. {ACKNOWLEDGED} -Conversation between Veylis Avandaer and a Captured Famine of Emotion. (Suspected to have been deliberately leaked to Ori-Thaum intelligence circa 201 P.F.) 24-5 Battle of the Twin Flames (I) --[Chambers]-- The Conflagrations werent so much frozen as they were burning really, really slowly. This fact became known to Chambers as soon as he slipped past its exterior. His memories sparked like candle wick, but the languid pace of his subsumption left him feeling but a gnaw. As things stood, he could spend hours here without being affected overmuch. Which was a good thing because he might just need hours and hours to navigate through this realm of crackling madness. The architecture here could be be described as colliding memories. Shattered ghosts drifted into each other, their fragments carrying portions of recollection as sequences of events slammed and melded with moments unrelated to themselves. A collapsing megablock crumbled as dust rose, but the smoke turned into the petals of a flower as Chambers suddenly found himself looking through someone elses eyes, digging through the soil of a private garden. As a hand that wasnt his scooped clumps of soil in rapid repetition, the scene changed and he found himself staring at a reflection as chrome-faced organ harvester took scalp and beam to his flesh, carving away human weakness in the name of the alloy. Suddenly, it was back to the flowers again, but between the petals he saw a district hidingCnoticing its immensity as if peering through a popped mechanical lock. Entering that stretch of recollection, the mem-data around him glitched and changed as Chambers slipped over into a perpendicular sequence of events. Passing screams and incoherent emotions warred around him. Flashes of color and then blindness then pain and pleasure all splattered together in a cauldron of what-the-fuck cognitive stew. +Fuck me,+ Chambers groaned. Never mind hours, his ass was going to be here for days. He had half a mind to detonate a thoughtwave or fire trauma pattern at the Conflagration from the inside until something happened, but a gut feeling told him that wasnt going to be a wise move. The constant ambient screaming didnt help. Neither did the persistent swell of loathing and anger. He remembered the first few times when he got burned by the Conflagration. Back in the demiplane while they were trying to fix Kae. This was like that, but in slow motion. And this time, he played the role of mender. Problem was, he was a middling Necro even with all the experiences Avo dosed him with. Their instinct missing in him. Reactions and intuition that his current ego just lacked. Lost in this big miasma of hallucinations, noises, visuals, and sensations, he was rendered blind by sensory overloadCunable to tell where something began, and something else ended. He asked himself what Avo would do right now. Probably pull some new Nether bullshit out of his ass. Eat the other flame or suddenly create the Heaven of Cognition or some shit. But that gave him an idea. Triggering his Specter, Chambers cast out the scrying phantasmic and sent it patrolling ahead while loading explicit instructions into his Metamind. FILTER FOR MEMORIES DEEMED [FAMILIAR] There were moments he shared with Avo. Things they both knew. Some of those instances had to be ground up in this big fucking mess. He just needed to hop across those, right? Use them as beacons to find his way and do whatever it was he needed to get Avo free from this mess. As he traversed the devastated stalemate, his Metamind began to map out the vagueness of a structure using his Specter. With how the different strings of memories conjoined, it looked like two helixes running through each other. The shape wasnt surprisingCnor was the detail on how one Conflagration was slowly absorbing the other. Chambers knew they did that, but the more worrying question was if the winner by attrition would be Avo or the half-strands that tried to burn him. ATTENTION! [FAMILAR] SEQUENCES DETECTEDEnjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ->FAMILIARITY RATING: 89% A new route formed for his Specter, and Chambers traveled through the sequences with increased velocity. Passing through a curtain of clawing hands and falling artillery, he surfaced from the randomness to find a clearing of relative order. The memories before him were all coherent. Aligned. A stable pond between dueling rivers. More importantly, it was a scene Chambers knew, and knew well. Aerovecs shadowed by the neon gaze of Layer Two circulated through the city''s skylanes while distant sirens wailed. The background of the cityscape was a splotchy blurClacking detail compared to the singular megablock standing in the foreground. The Conflux megablock. Mirrorheads fortress. Chambers old office. A trickle of discomfort crawled up his spine. +Shit. Of course Im back here again.+ Pushing himself closer, he loaded himself into the memory as an avatar. Ghosts stitched him into shape in the rink of the Mall-Brawl as he looked around. A projection of a Night Mantis exo-rig was staring down at him, as were countless faces he knew a month ago in another lifetime. How fast things changed. How lucky he was. If Mirrorhead didnt have him pick up the ghoul if that fuckwit Shred hadnt flaked on him, if someone else decided to pull Avo away, where would he be right now. Spotlights kissed the crude chrome of his former comrades as their optics shuttered and zoomed. The slamming of metallic limbs shattering linoleum pulled his attention away briefly, and he saw Avo backing away from Rantula as EssusCthe poor bastardClay there with empty eyes. Alert! Inconsistency Detected A marker formed in his cog-feed as an inconsistency was registered. Ghostly markers swirled about a fragment of glass three meters away. As Chambers approached, he saw that it wasnt a fragment at all, but Mirrorheads mask. Its surface was cracked. Jagged. Half dissolved by blood. Chambers froze mid-step, staring at the misplaced memory artifact with suspicion. Two weeks too early for Jhred Greatlings death. Maybe a related fragment of memory was displaced here. An inconsistency ofC +Thoughtwave Distruption. Now!+ The rumble of Avos voice startled Chambers into doing just that. He blasted the mask, and as his distortion traveled, a section of the mindscape was carved hollow as glitching mem-data bled over. Paranoia wasnt always right, but it kept you alive if you listened every now and again, and all the mind-time-space bullshit he found himself facing alongside the cadre only left him jumpier. His reward came in the form of shattering ghosts and parting steam. All of a sudden, the Mall-Brawl came alive. A few hundred of the spectators suddenly stood up, revelrous expressions vanishing from their faces as they rose into the air, shedding their material forms as they began to scream. Traumas resonated from the hidden ghosts. Chambers Metamind squealed an alert as unidentified egos intruded the sequence. Cutting all non-essential phantasmics, he left the bulk of his capacity for his wards as he prepared to engage. Yet, before the traumas could strike him, the ghosts simulating Avo, Essus, and Rantula shifted around him, shifting into a wailing wall as the incoming attack burst apart against them. +Avo?+ Chambers said, casting his thoughts out. The entire memory came alive as traumas clashed with traumas. Whistling missiles slammed and chased each other through the air. Aeros broke from flight paths as they detonated into thoughtwaves, opening pockets in the invading egos. A passing drone shined a spotlight right down next to Chambers as the tiled flooring of the Mall-Brawl plummeted into steps leading down into a dungeonCinto another familiar memory; the demiplane where they fixed Kae. +Down,+ Avo said. The world thundered when he spoke, but there was a vacancy in his voice. A distance. Chambers didnt waste time arguing. Discarding his body, he accelerated down in a stream of ghosts, plunging along stone bricks. The door behind him slammed shut and a thoughtwave detotation severed the sequence entirely. Ahead, another door opened and Chambers dove through. Jerking to a halt as he arrived in a small, cramped room, Chambers looked around and felt his stomach drop. This wasnt a place from Avos memories. This was the coffin apartment he lived in as a kid. Before the ghouls and the Uprising. +Fuck me,+ Chambers whispered, taking in the bed lining the walls; the cheap entertainment locus spinning at the center of the room; the cleaning stall barely wide enough for one person to stand in. [Hell of a sight, isnt it?] Chambers went still and spun to face the speaker. As he turned, he found himself staring at his own twin. [Template, actually.] An ethereal corona emanated from Chambers template, but by all other means, he was a spitting image. A mop of dirty blonde hair. Scoundrel-like features. Average height. Encased in the fluid plates of his Meldskin aside from the face. [You took a minute to get here.] It took Chambers a beat to respond. It wasnt easy conversing with a perfect replica of yourself. Especially a replica housed in someone elses mind. +You were waiting for me.+ [Well, you or Rab. But I figured itd be you. Me. Fuck its weird, huh, consang?] That statement earned a slow nod from Chambers. +Is Avo here?+ [Avo? Hes uh, Ignorance is running the show for now. He talks to us every now and again. Only when you forget about him though. Or stop noticing him. However he works. I think hes like, Avos subconsciousness or something. Whatever the case, he only gets active when the Low Fuckers come sailing through. Dont think hes capable of doing anything active.] +Great,+ Chambers sighed. +So what do we do now? How many of the half-strands are out there? And how do we get Avo back up? Do I just jolt him with a trauma?+ [Nah,] template-Chambers said. [Ignorance talked to all of us earlier. Said that the Conflagrations are meshed into each other. Youll light both sides up and the stalemate will continue. Specially since the Famine-bastards got some kind of amplifying warmind on their end. Ignorance said that might be the entire reason why were still being held at bay instead of sweeping through the place. Either-fuckin-way, we need to get rid of it.] +We?+ Chambers said, looking around the room. +Just me and me.+ Draus sparked into existence next to him. Chambers shrieked. [Technically, just you and Avo. Rest of us aint actually alive.] +Jaus. Fuck. Draus. Dont do that.+ The Regular smirked at him. [Wasnt my choice. Guess Ignorance thought itd be funny to dump me in this way. Usually, just my memories get used.] Chambers sighed. +So. Who else do we got.+ Sunlight splashed down on them. Turning, Chambers found himself facing a drawingChis drawingCthat was slowly turning into a window. Stepping up on the bed, he looked outside the glass and saw thousands upon thousands of forms and faces staring up at him along a debris-strewn street. A hovering district circled the horizon in the backdrop, while the border atmosphere beyond the near stretch of memory resembled Kares bed. +Hiding memories within memories,+ Chambers said. +Are thoseC+ [All the templates? Yeah.] His twin nodded. [But we cant do anything ourselves. Aint got no will. But you do. And you can.] +The fuck does that mean?+ Chambers asked. [Means link me. Link me, and the restll follow. Link me, and well show you what you need to null, where you need to go, and who youll need to fuck up. Link me so we can stop waiting in the dark and gore some of these Nolothic sow-sons for good.] The mindscape around them rumbled. The sound of distant screaming grew. Avos voice thundered through the air. +They are approaching. Detonations detected. Labyrinth integrity seventy-two percent. Chambers. Find the warmind of Hysteria. Find it. Stop it. Then spark the Conflagration once more.+ +Alright,+ Chambers breathed, unused to so much pressure riding on his shoulders. He didnt expect to be doing a liberation run in Avos mind, but he sure as shit didnt expect to be doing a lot of things. That being said, he didnt need to do this alone. And he didnt need to do it blind. +Lets go make sure were the flame and theyre the wick.+ He cast out a chain of ghosts, and rather than connecting to his template, it vanished inside the mental constructCpassed into a place untraceable. GHOST-LINK DEPLOYED ->ACCEPTED [NULL.ERRR] Mem-data flooded his mind. He felt his awareness synchronize with Avos, and an immense headache spiked through his skull. WARNING! SEVERE COG-CAP OVERLOAD! REDUCEC +Here,+ Avo said, speaking now from inside Chambers mind. +Tuning away excess details. Just think. Ill do the rest.+ +Avo?+ Chambers responded. +That you? Or are you Ignorance?+ +No difference. One above. One below. A reflection of unknowing. And want.+ +Okaayyyy,+ Chambers said, unsure how to take that. He didnt dwell on it. +Well. Show me where I gotta go to get you untangled.+ Ignorance projected the details into Chambers cog-feed. A vast map of an entwined mindscape came into view. They were currently located along a loop connecting Kares loose memories with some of Chambers. They needed to make it fifty-thousand branches away, in a rapidly spreading expanse of memory. +Good news is that we know where they are,+ Ignorance said grimly. +Better news is that the effects of the Nether are amplified within the designated space. Cant hide Hysteria. Just need you to pass through Delusion''s mind fortresses to get there.+ +Yeah,+ Chambers deadpanned. +Just that. How the hell am I supposed to get in without them sinking their ghosts into me? I meanCthats like what you can do now, right? Shape your ghosts into anything you want?+ Avo grunted. +Their warminds are limited. Unstable. I am conjoined to Avo; Delusion is conjoined to me. We will break them. We just need a will. A direction.+ [Gonna make it simple for you, consang,] Draus said, a vicious grin pulling at the corners of her lips. [Youre playin the squire. Ignorance is the spotter. Delusion is the artillery. Now are we gonna get going and null our way through, or are you gonna sit here tryin to learn somethin youre too stupid to get.] Chambers glared at Draus. The Regular shrugged. [What? Am I wrong.] +No, youre not wrong, Draus, youre just kinda a sow.+ Chambers paused as the words left him. The Regular cocked an eyebrow. He patted himself down. +Huh. The actual you wouldve killed me by now.+ Draus narrowed her eyes. [Yeah. Damn shame about that.] Another explosion made the mindscape around them shudder. Somehow, Chambers found it in himself to smirk. +I Im gonna get to tell you what to do.+ [No.] Draus stared. [Aint howC] +Im in charge now I can call Draus a sow and she cant kill me!+ Her stare turned to a glare. +You know, this might not be all bad. Not all bad at all.+ 24-5 Battle of the Twin Flames (II) And remember this: all it takes to be compromised is a single loose sequence. A figment of misplaced memory. A string of knowledge left by a dive. We are all born of the stories from our lives. The worst thing a Necrojack can have is a tale-filled past. You dont want anyone to know how to hurt you -Interview with Tattlekill, Sanctus Counter-Necrojack 24-5 Battle of the Twin Flames (II) --[White-Rab]-- The memories Kare had of her mother were coming apart at the seams. The ghosts holding them together were shattering like glass shards turned missiles, primed to seek symmetrical sequences, each fragment breaking and slicing through her mindscape. Sharp cries of painphysical and emotionalresonated from the Paladin. There was only so much White-Rab could do to stop her from coming asunder. He was, after all, fighting two fires at onceone tearing through her, and another ripping through him. The Low Masters attacks started out probing. Subtle. Quick jabs to map out his targets. The method worked well for Kare but came at the cost of ghost attrition within White-Rab. Then, his strategy shifted. As he continued peeling the Paladin sequence by sequence, he fell upon White-Rab in full, unleashing attacks from multiple vectors that carved entire swaths out of White-Rabs mindscape. The assaults were constant. Overwhelming. And entirely expected. The Famine of Noloth possessed nightmarish skilltraumas of unfathomable potency, but the method he used to strike was still susceptible to disruption, and White-Rab knew how to fight a defensive war. Severing the sequences to his own external memories, White-Rab replaced what he lost in his own mind using the sequences storied in his myriad proxies. This, in effect, came with the cost of Nether-lag when the related memories needed to be called upon, but allowed him to bomb the affected sequences indiscriminately and shatter the Low Masters ghosts with impunity. +Prepared and clever,+ the Low Master said. The thoughtstuff he bled stank of unstilled amusement. +Truly, I am not the only one who carries Defiance in me. But I hold his memories directly, and you are an ego shaped by his legacy. We long suspected he took a hidden acolyte. But Peace dismissed this. Our masters disregarded this. And so now you stand testament to their follies.+ There were few things more demoralizing than your foe casually complimenting you during a duel. It took all of White-Rabs focus to keep the Low Master at bay, and here the fucker was, just chatting away. +I was planning to break you. To hollow you and all the others. But this display has changed me. It has been too long since I have claimed a genuine acolyte of my own, and what better defilement can I inflict on Defiance than the perversion of his legacy? The Hungers will be pleased. And so am I.+ +Thing about the Strix,+ White-Rab said, destroying another patch of his memorieseverything connected to Runa got nulled first. +He didnt nearly boast so much. Youre just wearing his skin, consang. The mans dead and gone.+ A beat of silence. A lull in the attack. Whimpers slipped over from Kare as she struggled to retaliate against the kraken now trying to swallow her Heaven whole. +You do not lie,+ the Low Master said. +But it is also not the truth. I am no longer what I used to bethis criticismwhat you say, it offends me. It offends me that I am not Defiance. For he was the best of us. And always I yearned to be as he was. Traitor or not, he was the one to make the Guilds bleed. Oh! So culled of my emotions that I have forgotten the taste of envy. The sting. But my chains are loosened. My chains are loosened, and so I do more than merely seethe. You inspire me, Raldi. You and Avo both.+ Fuck. Shit. Which godsdamned memory did he pull that from? Running another scan on himself, White-Rab clenched his teeth as he noticed a slight disturbance inching toward his inner mindscape, traveling along the sequences of a phantasmic. His Auto-Seance. A splash of synaptic lightning surged as its session activatedonly for the entire structure to come undone as White-Rab bombed it to ruins using his most potent trauma patterns and thoughtwave disruptions. A few ghosts slipped through the bridging session; they were probably going to hit Draus from the inside. White-Rab winced. She was a Reg. Shed shrug it off. He hoped. He had other matters to worry about right now. A piercing shriek came from Kare as a line of mind-shredding explosions blossomed along her inner palace. The sanctuary that was her bedroom began to crumble and tear along its middle as glitching mem-data flooded out like welling blood. Caught between keeping the Paladin together and dispatching repairs, White-Rab abandoned even more of his inner mind, retreating to hold only twenty percent of his total structure. He deactivated all other phantasmics aside from his proxy-connected Auto-Seances and Ghostjack, and began annihilating all non-essential memories. He sure hoped he got those back with the next resurrection because he wasnt even going to remember how to use a fork after this. +Desperate but decisive. Wonderful qualities. Perhaps I should have your ego be the new template for Peace. Or my reimagining of him. Our need for a snarling hound is vastly diminished with his compromise. A subtler blade is required to win this war.+ +Youre pushier than a Guild recruiter,+ White-Rab said, unable to hide his chuckle. +Well,+ the Low Master sighed. +I am a priest.+ +Yeah? And Im a freelancer. I didnt join up with the colors, and I certainly dont want to join your gutter cult either. Jaus, youre bad at this pitching thing.+ A hum came from the Famine as their attacks intensified. Kare was almost unresponsive. Her Heaven was flickeringthe only thing holding her together were sinews of memory. Sinews, and White-Rab himself. +Lealeave,+ Kare said. +Im+ +No,+ White-Rab replied. +He cant have you. He cant even have Defiance. Im taking you both back.+ +Ah. Hubris.+ The Low Master breathed. +There it is. Your human weakness+ White-Rab risked a thoughtwave detonation. For a second, his own thoughts vanished as a few thousand ghosts were extinguished all around him. By the time he recovered, nearly all of his mindscape was red. The Low Master continued speaking where he left off. +Makes you easy to provoke.+ --[Draus]-- WARNING! SEVERE COGNITIVE DAMAGE SUSTAINED -> [MIND FORTRESS STABILITY] - 77% ->GHOSTS - [455] Having a trauma go off in your mind wasnt something Draus much enjoyed, but it didnt hurt nearly as bad as getting headshot by a high-velocity kinetic weapon. Stumbling as her near and long-term memories came undone, she drifted, instinctively dissociating from herself as a person. The weapon was damaged. The damage was causing a jam. There were certain pathways and thoughts that wouldnt flow anymore. The weapon needed to work around those. Striding through her passage, she detonated a thoughtwave bomb within herself to ward off any Nether fuckshit and deactivated all phantasmics aside from her ward and her disruptor. In-person communication only. No passing over into the enclave either. Minimize chances of further compromise. The weapon opened a passage into another place. The light of a brilliant city spilled through, and through the portal stood Dice, waiting patiently for further orders. The full-chrome sheathed girl took two steps forward and stopped. The triangular scanner where her head was supposed to be whirred as it shifted. Your mind is damaged. The weapon looked at the halo housing her mind. So it was. So she was. Ghosts whistled out from the fractures lining her accretion but her thoughtstuff remained a steady flow. Still The words took her a moment to recall. Language pathways compromised. Thats fine. She could still move. Action worked. Didnt like speaking that much anyway. Can fight. Follow. To Dices eternal credit, she didnt even hesitate. The kitten bounding behind her mechanical legs let out a soft meow as it tried to follow her. She turned and kept it in place. No. Stay. You cant come. Go find Kae if I die. Shell take care of you. And that was all the goodbye she needed. Girl was good and pure. Good weapon. Nothing else would have survived her upbringing. She would have made a good Reg. Hells, she was a good Reg. All she lacked was the official recognition and a graduation ceremony. Dice looked at her as they began passing through pathways, moving through different reflections as Draus led them back to the district. What are we doing? Why arent you using ghosts to talk? Damaged, Draus said. Nethers is fucked. Need to get help. Fuckin words. Targets. Good targets. The girl kept her perception locked to Dice as they passed through the bivouac right next to the sanctuaries. Good targets? The Paladin? Yeah. And the other. Okay, Dice said. I understand. Help the Paladin and the Seeker. Help, Draus repeated. They didnt have much time. Naekos palm was probably going to come down, but she needed to make sure Shotin and his niece were still standing then. The last thing she needed was for the DRongo Seeker fucks to snatch the VIPs out from under her. Go fast. Kill half-strands. Get out. Got it, Dice said. Im going to tell the others to stay off the Nether too. Until Avo gets back. The girl paused. Is he okay? Draus tried to offer a reply but she didnt have the word. She didnt really know either. Their conversation effectively ended after that. Wordlessly, Draus manifested her Heavens and Dice did the same. A chimeric entity of war and runes expanded in a realm of glass and reflection. A chimera bearing a collection of weapons, rippling with inhuman muscle, and enwreathed by a shell of radiant armor, every movement Draus made sounded like clashing steel.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Draus folded into the Paracosmos around her. From its depth emerged a knight of gleaming glass. Its bladed wings were orbited by spirals of guns as trailing ammunition packs flowed like a cape at her back. From one fractured another, and another, and another, until fifteen Replicas were massed for a charge. Fast, Dice said, one last time. Disruptor ready. Clean charge through. The Regular only clanged her blade to her shield in agreement. Her Replicas did the same. She couldnt do anything for the cadre in the Nether. Couldnt help Avo or White-Rab at all withwhatever was happening. But this battle was going to be decided in the real, and a weapon was a weapon, damaged though she might be. There was more than enough left to do her duty. There was more than enough left to fight the war. There was more than enough left to charge on forward into oblivion if thats what it took. As her final passage opened, they shot out into existence, metaphysical forms squeezing out unnaturally from the reflection of a window across from the ruined restaurant. The battle was a haze of chaos and spatial anomalies. Repeated Rendbomb detonations choked existence with entropy, and as four desperately tried to collapse folds of spacestruggling to catch the blur that was Shotin, a constantly mutating kraken was biting down on a Heaven best described as a spider spliced with a bunch of knives and a thunderstorm. Ethereal fire overlapped with shockwaves, lashing chains, and other miracles. The blue and red of approaching sirens changed the colors of the sky. Further beyond, past even the imposing shadow of the pulsating stormtree, the clouds in the sky were changing, gathering, and collapsing inward as the vagueness of a hand began to form. Fast, Draus said, one final time, as she flung a hailstorm of glass from her wings to the accompaniment of roaring ordinance. --[Chambers]-- The Low-Fuckers traumas and splinters slammed into Chambers constructs, but all the destruction did was make them moan. +Fucckkkkk,+ a large-breasted ghoul with a three-meter-long penis-vagina amalgam screamed in pleasure as it began to crack. +Yes, master! Hurts so good. Aghhh!+ A deluge of extremely questionable fluids emerged from their wounds as the Lustaway function activated again and again in this mindscape. Pretending to be a passing aeroand further masked by Ignorances aidChambers slinked across the sequences like a shadow. This warmind shit backing him up was pretty nova, no doubt. If nothing else, being able to have templates roleplay as ghouls from the Soft Master Collection and making them charge enemy lines without regard for their own lives woke a new kink in Chambers, and he didnt think this one was going away anytime soon. He liked commanding. He liked wasting things. And he loved feeling that cunt Emotions disgust filling the Conflagrations. +Aedon Chambers,+ Emotion said, the echo of his voice washing across streams of memory as he shouted into the nothing. +I see you are as loathsome as the memories suggested. I gazed upon your past. Studied you through peripheral minds. Know that all of them find you wretched.+ It was almost enough to make Chambers snigger. The fact that his plan had the Famine metaphorically eating out of his ass was the nipple of cream on the boob-cake. [Godsdammit,] Abrel groaned. [Did it really have to be you? Why did you have to be the one to fix the fucking ghoul? The Regularthe Agnosanyone else. Is the cadre devoid of clean-minded people.] Impossibly, Draus template concurred with the Greatling. [Might just be the single worst run Ive been a part of.] [Since hes using your ego as a template to make these sex ghouls so hard to break?] Abrel asked. [Specially so.] [Kill yourself,] Peace seethed, fury rising to unreasonable levels as he raged inside Chambers, unable to aide his fellow Famine, forced to watch this travesty unfold. [Have you any fucking virtue, any decency, and any cocksucking worth of self at all, shatter your own mind! Cast your body into the Maw! The very fact of your existence has retroactively justified all atrocities we have committed upon your mongrel ancestors, and if they were present, they too would you should commit! Fucking! Suicide!] A cool snort came from Corner. [Dunno what the rest of you are so worked up about. This thing is clearly working.] [Yeah, but its like sneaking into a megablock by crawling up the shit pipes,] one of the new Regulars muttered. [Of course, in this metaphor, the crawler and the shit-pipes are one and the same.] The others muttered a muted chorus of agreements. Chambers just scoffed. He didnt see what was so bad. His strategy was working. Trying to destablize and overload the cog-cap of areas using mass Lustaway raids forced the Low Masters to show their handser, splintersand linked to Avos consciousness, he didnt even need to risk his own ghosts to do this. The memories around him turned from aeros racing in a thickly packed skylane to someone diving after a descending whale in the deep. Then, the water currents peeled the world around him, and suddenly he was somewhere else entirelya piece of chocolate floating in a warm mug of coffee. +Hold,+ Ignorance said. +Passing patrol.+ The waters swirled. Two flies landed on the edge of the mug. The lip of the cup opened up to become a Hypertube tunnel instead of a sky, and Chambers felt his head spin. How many transitions was this already? What kind of mess were the Low Masters trying to build? +Something coherent. Traversable.+ Ignorance grunted. +Sophonts are pattern-based creatures. The world has consistencies and inconsistencies. Symmetries. Asymmetries. A good Necro might be able to navigate the chaos of a collapsing mind but wont ever have an easy time moving through it. Not when they have to examine and sort the incoherence of the mem-datas simulations. Personalized memories give more options.+ +Great,+ Chambers replied, watching the flies leave with suspicion. +Its like the half-strands are planning to stay.+ +They are,+ Avo replied. +Trying to secure me. The Conflagration was planned in advance. Easier to transport me at a stalemate. Guessing theyre trying to gather enough ghosts to transfer my mind out at once. Dont want to risk my reformation through via splinters. Delusion is gone. Keep going.+ Chambers rose as a droplet from the coffee and turned into part of the ringed tracks meant to house lightrails. +Dont worry, consang. Wont let them take you.+ A beat followed. +I trust you.+ Three words. It was enough to make Chambers feel uncomfortable. +So. Ahem. Where next. Whats the next shithole we need to bust up? Frontal charge or sneak shit?+ A map of Avos flame-knotted mind came alive in Chambers cog-feed. He found himself four hundred branches away from his final destination. Triggering attacks within random memories was diverting Emotions nodes. Spreading his forces out. But the sheer amount of activity surrounding the warmind of Hysteria made Chambers encroach slow to a crawl. +Not that far away. He didnt have that long to set up. Using already existing memories. Slight modifications at best.+ +Yeah,+ Chambers replied. +Slight is a word. How the fuck did you notice that the wall was the wrong shade of white all those sequences back?+ +Practice. Awareness. Experience. Its what I would do. Its likely what Walton would have done.+ A pause followed. A dull rumble of secondhand anger breached Chambers mind. +He is taunting me. Using the skin of my father to provoke me. I think he would have captured me entirely if I followed him through the Auto-Seance. His countering Conflagration was waiting there.+ Ignorance laughed. +Saved by Peace. Embarrassing.+ [Dont worry; I wont ever let you fucking forget,] Peace added. As Chambers approached the threshold for the last three hundred sequences before arriving down the memories containing the warmind of Hysteria, he found himself increasingly provoking random attacks without Ignorances recommendations. The ghouls subconscious warmind never told him where to hit or what to hit, and Chambers chose randomly anyway. Regardless, being able to trigger assaults from any angle within the mindscape felt pretty goodfelt a bit like using his Heaven. Which made Chambers wonder if that was by deliberate design. +Splinters passed. Pass ahead. The sequence connected to the window. Not the doorway. Go up immediately after leaving. They have this place lined with dormant traumas.+ The room they were passing through looked just like a fancy hotel. Forty-by-forty, crystal chalice glasses, nice showers, auto-chef, king-sized hover bed, a mech servant, and high-end entertainment system. Nothing else was out of the ordinary. Considering that he was masking his presence by simulating himself as a light in the room, all the calmness did was up his paranoia. Godsdamned was he not fit to be a Necro. But what was he good for? What was he good for besides being a lucky weasel? [Be glad of your luck,] Benhata the Mirror said. [If I had any, I wouldnt be here.] [True fucking that,] Lip agreed. Slipping out the window, Chambers found himself rising out from a furnace, loaded into the perspective of a screaming child about to be thrown in. The sudden spike of terror hammered down on him through the vicarity. But he held firm. Kept his focus and did as Avo said. He navigated his way up using his mem-data, and as soon as he left the memetic body in which he hid, a scything wave of perception barely missed him as he merged with a passing wave of steam. The moisture enveloped him. Avo didnt tell him to stop, so he kept climbing. He kept climbing until he surfaced through a narrow cluster of openings. As he squeezed his way out, he heard Avos warningbut it came too late. +Chambers. Wait. Go+ The stall came into sight as a narrow and cramped space. It was barely large enough to contain a person. With the toilet extended from the wall, there was less than no room. The door to the rest of the apartment was closed and misted. Hovering like a droplet about to drip free of a showerhead, Chambers found himself back in his childhood homethe cleaning unit, specifically. There, a woman sat on the toilet seat, touching the left side of her face as she stared at the grime-coated mirror across from her. Her blonde locks were dirty. Just like Chambers. If one ignored the spread of ugly lumps dotting the left side of her face, the flowing blood gushing from her broken nose, and the mascara splotching her cheeks, they could see that she had his eyes, his nose, his chin. She inhaled a wet, sloppy sound. In her hand was a gun. Her husbands. Chambers fathers. The same one he tried to use to kill the man. The same gun that didnt fire. It hung in her grip like a lead brick, but her finger was on the trigger. She knew how to use a gun. She knew to keep her finger off if she didnt want to shoot. But clearly she did. And as her breathing built, aswith a herculean effortshe lifted the gun with in her shaking grasp, she showed Chambers just who she was aiming atshowed the one she wanted dead. +Keep going,+ Ignorance said. +False memories. Cant be real. He cant know your mother did this. Doesnt know how she died. Hes doing this to hurt you. Trying to traumatize you from the inside. Move. Dont stay.+ Chambers heeded his words. Heeded his words immediately. He turned and spared himself the sight. Whatever pleasure he had from deploying the Soft Master Collection was dead. He was back in his past. Back facing what the world took from him. And he couldnt do it. Once again like so many times before, Chambers turned away from his memories and pretended he was fine. That he didnt cry when he found her when he got home that day. That his father didnt vent his rage and frustration on her corpse, beating her unmoving body with the buckle of his belt as he did in life. Striking her even as Chambers screamed for him to stop, even as the grandparents came in to pull him off her disfigured remains. Her heart sold for a hundred imps. Lungs were fucked from smoking. No takers. Liver, kidneys, stomach were a package; two-forty. A squire with the ugliest eyes bought her uterus for fifty. They burned what was left in an abandoned lot twenty minutes away. They werent the only ones there. The local gang charged them half of what they sold her for. His dad on the walk back after. Cried. The only time Chambers remembered his dad crying. He cursed at Chambers when he saw the boy notice and proceeded to do the predictable thing of heading to the closest bar thereto waste the rest of imps he sold his wifes organs for. +Sorry mom,+ Chambers said, whispering mostly to himself. He left fast, not wanting to stay there a moment longer. As he passed through the door, however, he found himself in a parallel room with the same scene unfolding. This time, he got to see her, see her sobbing with the barrel pressed under her chin. Got to see her squeeze the trigger. Got to hear the gun go click. The templates were screaming for him to go. Ignorance was whispering to him in harsh tones. He didnt hear them. He couldnt get away. Not this time. Aedon Chambers could take a lot from life, but life had taken a lot from Chambers, and so there came a time when he had nothing left to give, and so life decided to give him something instead. Pain blossomed inside Chambers. Pain as his mother dropped the gun, sobbing, laughing, hugging herself as shadows moved in the glass beyond. A short figure knocked on the glassa boy clearly before his teenage years if judged from the height. Mommy?+ the boy asked. +Mommy, are you done? I need to go pee.+ As a larger shadow appeared behind the boy, her agony only intensified. She put the gun up and tried to twice more. Click. Click. Crack. Something inside Chambers broke. His wards shuddered from the severity of the damage. And suddenly, the surrounding memory unraveled as external traumas slammed into him from every angle. 24-5 Battle of the Twin Flames (III) Listen. Sometimes, some minds start a little broken. Those minds you need to hit until they completely come apart, because if you dont, theres a chancejust a chancethat the miserable, traumatized half-strand youre trying to null will take a final swing at you. The minds a pretty complex thing. Itll form new pathways to keep on living if you let it. So dont. Leave nothing to chance. Shred every last sequence. And never get cocky. -Sparrowwind, Freelance Necro 24-5 Battle of the Twin Flames (III) A concentrated bombardment of agony consumed Chambers. These traumas that assailed him, they were tailor-made to break him specifically. Weapons made from the horrors of his past crashed against his wards like waves dashing themselves against a mountain. The surrounding sequences twisted and changed into a jungle of horror. He was a hundred sequences away from the warmind. Close enough to feel full weight of Hysterias traumatic amplifications. And though he could ward off the traumas besieging him from without, the scenes of his father striking his mother, striking him, squeezing the trigger of an empty gun against his grandfathers head, or just standing over them while wringing blood from a belt became the mindscapes. Ninety sequences. A finger squeezed a trigger. An old man whimpered. A gun went click. Something broke inside Chambers. Even against the overwhelming assault, Peaces Conundrum was a ward unparalleled. Inside, however, Chambers was but human, but a vulnerable ego cracking beneath the onslaught. As he released anotehr thoughtwave detonation, Chambers found himself forty-nine sequences away. In the far distance, the warmind resembled a hurricane made of chaos. Shards of broken memories formed a screaming face. His. His mothers. His fathers. His grandparents. And all the people he helped the Syndicates process. +Aedon Chambers,+ the Famine began, voice drifting in like wind. +Gutter vermin. Former enforcer for a master that knew only shame. Ostensible acolyte to the legacy of Noloth. Out of all the Dreamers'' followers, you confound me the most. Why, why did he ever choose you? What worth are you? What value is your life? Is it just your fortune? To saved and spared by happenstance and pity? Or is there something more? Something I do not perceive.+ Another thought-rending blow followed, Chambers parried the strike this time, splashing the ghosts apart with a distortive whip made from templates. +Fuck! Off!+ He howled back. Killing all phantasmics except for his wards and disruptor, Chambers began his mad dash to the end. He was close. He was so close. He needed to last. He needed to last, even if he felt his entire being coming apart from the inside. COG-CAP: 71% [Chambers. Focus. Keep goin.] It was Draus words that stood apart from the rest. Hells, it was probably because of her template that he hadnt shattered outright. [Almost there. See it done, soldier.] Another sequence. Another repetition of nightmares. Emotion showed him everything. Everything that his mom could have suffered. Everything that he himself suffered. He spent his entire life running from this. He couldnt face this now. He just couldnt. COG-CAP: 78% +Thoughtwave. Now.+ Chambers heeded Ignorances command without even thinking. He wasnt fully capable of thinking. Every second he spent here was another he felt all his mothers pain, relived all his own pain. He didnt even know how Emotion found all these memoriesChow the fucking half-strand made them so well. +Chambers. Listen. This isnt real. Your mother abandoned you and your father. She wasnt a suicide. This isnt real. Hes twisting your memories to make you more vulnerable.+ Was he? His fatherChis father did do those things. He wasC +It was your aunt that was burned in that lot. The food-tester. Your mother left by then. She never killed herself. You have splinters inside you. Theyre amplifying the harm. Thoughtwave. Now. Again.+ Chambers did as Avo asked, and as the thought-shredding explosion tore out from him. His mind went blank for a beat, but he resumed his sprint immediately after, and so do did the Famine continue the assault. +Oh,+ Emotion chuckled, +youve noticed the falsehood. How intuitive. Or perhaps that is still Avos doing. As are all your greatest achievements. What are you without his facilitation, after all?+ The memories around him turned more brutalCmaking up for their deception with intrusive horror. His fathers abuse was magnifiedCsurpassed the thing of nightmares. He took blade and scalpel to Chambers and his mother, making them watch the other get flayed and dissected. The acts only grew more unspeakable thereafter, and the shape of his father began to twist and change, cycling to resemble Avo, then Draus, then Kae, and Mirrorhead, and more. Emotion used sense and history as a weapon, and with each passing moment, more and more of Chambers peeled away from the inside. He was passing through a river of erosion and there wasnt enough of him left. He being drowned by a sea of torment, and he didnt know how to swim. +Stop!+ Chambers screamed, doing all he could to tune away the scenes around him, to banish the encroachment of the splinters. +Fucking stop! Stop! Fuck!+ Laughter mocked his efforts. Thirty two sequences left. It felt longer. It felt so much longer. Being so close to the warmind hurt. He slammed through a storm-wall of screaming agony and nearly broke right then and there. All his self-loathing, all the pain he feltCreal or splinter-plantedCbecame unbearable. He wanted to tear himself apart from the inside. He wanted the final hurt. He wanted to come apart and just die. But Avo needed him. His fathers voice filled the Nether now, became the mindscape around him. Sneering down, with drool and beer dribbling from his chin, he spat down at Chambers, dividing and multiplying until all of existence was him and only him. +Congratulations, son. You saw through it. She didnt cull herself. Because she was a coward. Just like you. You and her are both runners. Except she saw that youre more than a little like me too. So she ran. She ran and left you with me.+ +You fuckingCshe left because of you!+ Chambers screamed +Yeah, she left because of me. But also because her worthless shit of a son couldnt figure out how to use a gun to finish off a worthless drunk. Imagine that. Perfect opportunity to make your life better, and you just fucked it up. How much does a power cell cost anyway? How hard is it to steal one?+ Nine sequences. Chambers was coming apart from the inside. And then presence of his father faded, and inhis place was Chambers mother. His mother, with all those trailing welts running down the face. His mother, with his eyes, his nose, and the same miserable expression on her face after taking a beating. +How hard was it to kill him? How hard? How could you just watch him hurt me for so long. I loved you. I loved you, and you just watched. You piece of shit. Youre just like him. Just like him.+ WARNING EGO FRAGMENTATION IMMINENT ALL NON-ESSENTIAL PHANTASMICS DEACTIVATED COG-CAP - 94% +No,+ Chambers whimpered. +No.+ +Chambers,+ Ignorance began, but his mind vanished as something fundamental inside Chambers crumbled. The ghosts inside him began to shatter. His Metamind was snapping aparting. Vicarities and thousands upon thousands of mem-cons spilled out of him like viscera from a gutted animal. Three sequences away away from heart of the storm, from a construct made from metastasizing memories forming a tumor-like pattern in the Nether, Chambers drifted as his sense of self began to unravel. +S-sorry,+ he whispered. +So sorry.+ He failed his mother. He failed his conscience. He failed himself. Time and time again. Only consistent that he failed Avo in the end. A long sigh came from Emotion as the Low Master materialized within his mind. The priests countless nodes materialized like a murder of ink-black rotting crows. Chains dangled from their wings, and the severed head of a strix swung from a pendant clinging to their necks. Disappointment was Chambers companion in the end. The templates were silent. Ignorance was missing. He was going to die. Alone. This was what he deserved. +Know that you are despised, Aedon Chambers,+ Emotion said. +Know that your ruination here cleanses the name of NolothCof which the Dreamer used you to sully.+ A squeak of noise called to Chambers. He couldnt tell if it was a hallucination or reality. [Get up, you stupid shit; you fucking cunt,] Peace begged. [Get up. Dont let that fuck Emotion have this! You are the half-strand. Be the half-strand.] +There is nothing left of him, Peace,+ Emotion said, tone filled with faux pity. +Not that there was much to begin with. After all, it took our monsters to save him from his. You mother was the only smart one by your father. She left you. She knew you werent worth fighting for. Deep down, you wished she was a suicide for leaving you. You wished your father would have cried to lose herCif only to see him human and hurt. But you are not so special, Aedon Chambers. Not so tragic. You are but fuel. Unworthy of eternity.+ The phantasmal cawed with laughter. +Unworthy of anything but the Maw. But worry not. I will remove all trace of you from the mind of the Dreamer. From the minds of all who know you. You will pass in misery. But your shame will be unremembered.+ The splinters burrowed deeper into Chambers. He stared at his prizeCso close. But there was nothing left. His cog-feed glitched then. A vicarity began to play of its own accord. In a pit of misery and torture, bodies writhed on racks made for pain, and unmoving figures lay in the corners of dungeons. GhoulsCor some sexualized facsimile of themCscampered through the bone-made dungeon built beneath the streets of New Vultun, bringing in new flesh to torture. New fleshCbut the perspective stopped following them. There, crucified in above a burning brazier, a well-muscled man glared back at Chambers. Stripped, whipped, blinded in one eye, with all the fingers taken from one hand, with his right kneecap inverted, and his right testicle hanging from his neck, the defiant prisoner simply spat bloodied phelgm into the fireCvictimized, but not a victim.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. +Is that you got?+ Dannis Steelhard asked, speaking to the darkness. +Is all the pain the Soft Masters can deliver?+ He spat again. +You didnt even take my other nut.+ And then, despite all that he suffered, despite all the flesh that was taken from him, Dannis Steelhard began to flex. --[Draus]-- PHYS-SIM CALCULATING IMPACT VELOCITY ->PALM IMPACTS IN: 1.5 SECONDS The weapon made her play. Her cog-feed sighted five hostile Godclads; all engulfed by frozen Nether-fire; no eyes on Shotin; Paladins condition was critical. Of her targets, one stood apart from the restCa rapidly mutating kraken the size of a block that was compressing all the water of the restaurant''s aquarium into a pressurized sphere. The other four had space-related Domains. Draus could feel them recoiling from her Frame, took in some of the Rend they were using to contaminate reality. The cadre moved as a uniform square. No more than ten meters separated each from each, and they struck at all angles as they tried to pin Shotin down with jabbing miracles. The first looked like an eye blinking at the heart of a star. Another was a metallic pillar made out from metal hands that pried at the fabric of geometry as if it was paper. The third was a titanic humanoid that had a shining compass where its head was supposed to be; the rest of its body was fused to a burning chariot. Looked to be a coiling tree of some kind, the air around it growing tighter as it twisted. What they had in common was ignorance. Ignorance of their deaths soon-to-come. Ignorance that the material conditions of the battlefield had changed. Light struck each of Draus Replicas and bounced off the glass as diffracted chains. She created passages between her constructs, between windows, between puddles of water, the metallic sheen of overturned aeros, and droplets of liquid falling from the sky. In an instant, she covered every angle of fire conceivable and created her own encirclement. Then, she created a mirror ahead of Dice as the girl shot ahead toward the fight, the wind and air combusting from her speed. PALM IMPACTS IN: 1.25 SECONDS Her opening barrage shredded both matter and Nether. Thoughtwave disruptions carved gulfs through the frozen Conflagrations from the countless reflections. With them came particle beams, missiles, flechettes, slugs, and liters of ferro-mag munitions. Flames were extinguished in an instant. Gunfire disemboweled the kraken from the inside while rockets dove into open wounds. The suppressive cadre came apart under fireCbut turned into the attack. They responded fastCwith instincts ingrained by practice. New miracles came alive in defense of their metaphysical forms. But as they struggled to fend off the Arsenalist, Dice accelerated through her designated mirrorCand speared up into the Seekers from the puddle they were passing over. Two Heavens splattered apart against her radiant shell as she shot high into the air before being redirected by a sheet of glassCand burrowing into the guts of the kraken. The other Seekers splashed down into the watersCand were promptly pulled into Draus Paracosmos as a veritable tide of gunfire devoured them whole. Just as the Seekers offensive shattered, the Conflagration reignited, and familiar pressure slipped back into Draus mind. Broken as the weapon was, she couldnt help but grin internally. PALM IMPACTS IN: 0.89 SECONDS --[White-Rab]-- White-Rab held only twenty percent of his Metamind when the disruption hit. It offered him only the briefest reprieveb from the Famines unceasing assault. Thankfully, Dice impacting the kraken with the force of a high yield nuclear shattered the closest ego the Low Master had to jump from. The hostile Godclad came apart first as gore, then mist, then steam. The cage of water it held detonated outward like a bomb, traveling fast enough to become hyper sonic jets of shrapnel. All structures not imbued with memite were shredded. White-Rab didnt even want to think about the collateral damage as nearby aeros were crushed by the concussive force of the impact, while distant shadows fell in pieces from the far-flung waters. MiraculouslyCliterally soCKares Heaven remained unharmed. Golden runes parried all material damage, and as her spider-like form continued to conjure lightning and writhe, White-Rab delivered a final, parting stroke to whatever remained of the Low Masters nodes. +Im coming for his memories,+ White-Rab said, shifting every ghost, every sequence he had to a thoughtwave detonation. +Im coming for him. Then Im coming for you.+ He didnt wait for Emotion to reply. He didnt care what the half-strand had to say. Thought-sundering force swept through the Nether and blasted an open pocket in the Conflagrations. Whatever nodes were present now werent. Kares screaming subsided into an incoherent groan to silence as White-Rab promptly nulled her. There wasnt a question whether the Low Master fused some Auto-Seances into her mind. But that was a problem for Avo to solve. Speaking of which Nether-flames around him roared and began to fuse. Took Chambers long enough. --[Chambers]-- +You got this Dannis,+ the over-muscled, over-oiled man said. His face was red from the straining. His blood was squirting. But impossibly, the metal post he was nailed to bent with a metallic groan. Pale, white, busty, forms with meter-long genitals gathered outside his cage in shock. One pointed a long and slender claw at Dannis. +Masters! Hes breaking free! Max Erectus is breaking free!+ Another loud bit of exposition: +We have to stop him. There is no chance he can defeat us. Time to attack!+ Broken as he was, Chambers winced. The dialogue sounded a lot better to him in his memoriesCbut maybe everything sounded that way when you were an idiot juv. With a triumphant cry, Dannis tore himself from the torture post and leaped over the brazier in slow motion. He landed with a triumphant cryCand the brazier in the wrong place. Fucking mem-set errors. +Come on!+ the sex-ghouls cried, charging Dannis one at a time. +Hes only got one testicle. His powers are diminished.+ +One is TOO much testicle for the likes of you,+ Dannis said, before throwing his head back and laughing. The first ghoul clawed at him. And missed. Dannis struck out with his signature castration clawCbut he used it on the ghouls left breast. Tearing the lump of flesh clean off, he brought his hand back with a flick and promptly decapitated the ghoul. The ones behind jolted to a sudden stop. The expositioner from earlier gawked in shock. +Oh, no! He has a tit!+ +Thats right,+ Dannis agreed, flourishing the mound as if it was a frequency blade. +First Sphere Godclad I may be, but the Heaven of [SHARPENED SEX] is no joke.+ +Theres still enough of us,+ the ghoul cried. +Get him!+ They charged. In a line. Dannis butchered them using the severed breast and his swaying genitals as blades. +So fucking cool,+ Chambers muttered. As the ghouls lay in pieces at his feet, Dannis Steelhard turned to face the viewers perspective. Before he spoke, he retrieved the testicle hanging from his neck and slotted it back into the internal cybernetics of his penis with a satisfying click. +I know. Life gets hard sometimes. But we got to get HARDER. We got to BE HARDER. Even when our balls are taken.+ +But how, Dannis,+ Chambers asked. He was drifting in the haze. Only his peripheral awareness told him something was happening in the Nether. +How do you stay hard when youre all fucking broken inside?+ Dannis eyes grew misted with sympathy. +Because, Aedon. Im horny. Im always godsdamned horny. Im horny to be alive. Im horny to be fighting. Im horny that theres another chance to be the fucker and not the fuckee. Be horny.+ +But I canC+ +Yes, you can!+ Dannis insisted. He was holding Chambers by his collar now. The mechanics of the moment werent very clear to Chambers, but he went with itCalmost completely nulled and all. +Your mother ran. Theres a lot of things we can say about that. But more that we shouldnt lifes hard. And you got left alone.+ +Yeah,+ Chambers said, a sob trailing his words. +Im a piece of shit.+ +Yes,+ Dannis nodded vigorously. +But youre a piece of shit thats changing. Think about it. Would your dad be here if he had your opportunities? Would Avo ever choose him? Would he even survive half as long as you did?+ Chambers paused to consider that question. +...Maybe?+ +No! He was useless. That fat bastard wasnt even a good squire! Your mother made all the imps! Hes limp. Impotent. He cant get it up. That was part of the reason why she left! No one likes a soft cock. You are not a soft cock, Aedon. Youre hard.+ +I am?+ Something hard pressed up against Chambers. Dannis nodded, his golden mane and rugged, manly features creasing with wrinkles. +Yes. I can feel you, Chambers. You are harder. Harder than you know. And you will get harder yet.+ +I can?+ +Who rashed Shotin.+ +Me?+ +Who managed to get one over on Mirrorhead.+ +Me.+ +Whos going to save your consang right now?+ Chambers opened his mouth but the word didnt follow. +He he broke me. He fucked me up inside ICIt hurts.+ Instead of yelling, Dannis expression softened. +Chambers. I broke too. I broke every time they shoved something larger than a durian up my assC+ +--whats a durianC+ +--I broke when they implanted that frequency pogo-stick in my urethrae and made me bounce up the Tiers to stop the bombing of Scale.+ +Oh, yeah, Cockjumper: Origins.+ +--I broke when my wife left me.+ Dannis lip twitched. A single tear escaped from him. +I loved her. She didnt love me. Didnt even come to my memorial. So I know. I know. But youre still here, Chambers. I can only be hard in your memories. You gotta get hard for me, right here, right now.+ +Ill Ill try,+ Chambers said. +But theres not much left.+ +Can you still feel horny?+ Chambers reached deep into himself. Faintly, he heard it: the last functioning parts of his Meta. LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED Dannis nodded with pride. +Good. Good job, Aedon.+ +I can still be horny,+ Chambers gasped. There was relief with the lust. A happiness. +Im still horny! Theres enough of me left to be horny.+ +Yes there is.+ Dannis grinned. +And if theres enough of you left to do that, theres enough left of you to save Avo.+ +Yes. Im Im gonna get hard!+ +Yes! Get hard!+ +Harder!+ +Harder!+ LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED A trickle of clarity returned to Chambers. His pain was still there. His pain was still immense. But there was something else inside him that was immenser than the pain. Lust. LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED Directing his perception to find the bundled mess of memories that was Hysteria, Chambers drew on all his degeneracy and called upon his disruptor. ERR_GGG THOUG-GH_THOUGHTWAVE DISRUPTOR IS ONLEFILINE +I love you, Dannis,+ Chambers said. +ICI wish you were my dad.+ Dannis was standing at the edge of the cage now. Distant screeches and moans told of more ghouls coming. The man clenched his ass tight as he left. +No, you dont, Aedon. Youre harder than me now. Hard enough to be your own dad. Hard enough to be your own mom. You spent your entire life being horny for other people, Chambers. Now, its time for you to get horny. For yourself.+ Against all odds, Chambers found it in him to trigger his thoughtwave disruptor. Against all odds, the fucking thing actually fired. A distortive wave furrowed through the ConflagrationCthrough the cluster of nodes and splinters that thought Chambers defeated. Surprise flooded the Nether. +How?+ Emotion whispered, startled. +How are you stillC+ The disruption consumed Hysteria. The amplification it provided collapsed. The Conflagration began to ripple as a building pressure came crashing down like an avalanche; one flame devouring the other. All of Emotions nodes promptly winked out. An infernal storm consumed everything, subsuming memories, Hysteria, and even Chambers ego. As Chambers felt his sense of self merge with that of his template, Avos reawakened flames reforged his broken being with an even greater level of control. +Chambers,+ Avo breathed, actually sounding uncertain about what to say. +Are you alright?+ +No,+ Chambers admitted. That was going to be true even once Avo restored his ego. +Not even a little. But I am horny. I am horny for life. And Im horny for you, consang.+ An awkward pause followed. +I Sorry. Going to fix you as best as I can.+ 24-6 Diplomatic Vulnerabilities (I) +Every major war between the Guilds was preceded by a series of lesser catastrophes. The betrayalCor ascensionCof Jaus Avandaer. The infiltration and siege on Scale and the Longeye Revolt of Stormtree. The Massist-Voidwatch Coldtech-Embargo and the subsequent No-Mother Cradle-Plagues. The machinations of Noloth followed by their finalCand disastrousCUprising. Dramatic as all previous wars were, perhaps for the Fifth Guild War to come, we are due a more somber conflict as internal discord among the greatest powers reaches simmering pressures. As things stand, Clans DRongo, Kazhara, and Kitzuhada are on the brink of open conflict with each other as the rest of Ori-Thaum scrambles to keep unity. But their great rival is in no condition to take advantage themselves. Highflame finds its Meritocrats and Chivalrics due a grand reckoning in the aftermath of unresolved travesties, with an assembly called for tonight. And though less scandal wrought than the Big Two, Stormtree, the No-Dragons, Sanctus, Ashthrone, and surprisingly even Voidwatch have all released conflicting messages. Major factions reacting to recent events bycalling for a declaration of open war right now, to cooler heads wishing for an enduring peace and diplomatic solutions. The disharmony on display has caused some among the populace to theorize that a major reorientation of the Guilds might come due, with entire factions switching or revolting to stand of their own accordCa moment that Stormtree might much be familiar with their switch from a ruling tyrant to a governing coven of Longeyes. Whatever the case, the only true winner at present stands to be Omnitech, which has boasted record-breaking advancements in planetary-based technologies, much improved standards of living, humane mass euthanasic programs, and expanding citizenship pool+ -The Awakener Initiative, Independent Thoughtcast [Glavie Mem-Note: Independent my fucking ass, this half-strands been getting 50,000 imps a show from Omnitech] 24-6 Diplomatic Vulnerabilities (I) C[Avo]-- The Conflagration imploded and swept across the battlefield like a falling tide. Wards shattered into dust. The flames poured past broken Metas and consumed the minds they housed, claiming both ego and will at once. The fires of the Nether sang with a renewed chorus of laughter as the thoughtform that wielded the Conflagration forced his victims to withhold their Rend as death finally took them. Soulfire joined the inferno as Heavens writhed against waves of prying radiance, tearing Liminal Frames free from vacant sheaths. Ghosts - [100,134,996] Liminal Frame (VI) - 144,870 THAUM/c Ontologics Obtained ->[6] Cyclers ->[4] Souls ->[1] UNIDENTIFIED [DAEMON] ->[1] Conflagration ->[7] Heavens ->[7] Hells ->Heavens: Steel Magnolia (Nature/Space/Steel); Ravager of the Depths (Biology/Water/Force); Dawngazer (Fire/Space/Radiance); The Charioteer of Directionality (Direction/Space/Speed); Nightgouger (Shadow/Space/Feast); Skygrasper (Sky/Space/Hands/Alloy); Censor of Details (Vision/Sound/Information/Space) ACCLIMATING SUBMINDS - [2] Avo''s cognitive awareness doubled. The last lingering sentiments of internecine housed within the new Conflagration shattered as they were joined to IgnoranceCand therein Avo. His ego fragmented in four directions as he grew to be ever the hydra. Tendrils tore out, seeking the members of his cadre, mending the broken and supping bounties from the dying. A tenth of a second before Naekos palm flattened the district, Avo returned to wholeness once more. The Nether shivered as he sank ever deeper into its embrace. Though fragmented from distortion, his fires poured deeper into the damaged warmind of Hysteria and smelted its fractured shape back into a functional construct. Tremors passed and washed through him as memories and thoughts flowed across the Nether. He felt his ego expand and shrink, transforming like a lung cycling breath. A child was crying fourteen kilometers away. Her mother promised she would be home by nowCshe was just going to have lunch with a friend. Lunch at Flavors of the Deep. Twelve Sovereignties away, a man was desperately trying to reach his son as a broadcast played across his cog-feed, the scene it played drowned beneath a descending palm of clouds. Emotions. Thoughts. Ghosts. All called to him. Asking him to feed them more of themselves, to be enhanced through symmetry; elevated to the Nether by way of exponential expansion. Ignoring the throbbing tightness conveyed by his new warmind, Avo began to mend the damage sustained by Kare, White-Rab, Chambers, and Draus at once. As he reached into their egos, he found the potency of his phantasmics and thoughts amplified. Sequences symmetrical in memory and emotion boosted his presence in the Nether by exponents. As he began to unmake the traumas lingering inside Kares mind, he felt his enhanced perception expanding beyond the scope of a district, stretching to cover an entire Sovereignty. More voices exploded into his mind and the egos they were became as shadows in Avos inner mindscapes. The templates studied their new guests with fascination, as well as their own augmented presence. A greater tangibility outlined each of their minds, and to even Avos astonishment, a pin-prick of accretion was forming within them, expelling strings of ethereal smoke tethered to Avos memories. Deep within his being, a bundled cord of layered recollections drank in passing sequences and cycled them out like a loom. Every string left the warmind of Hysteria thickerCmore exaggerated. Quenching his flames, columns of phantasmal steam dissolved into nothingness as Avos being scattered like petals in a hurricane. ATTENTION New [Function] Detected Adapting structure of cognitive labyrinth Reducing necessary sequences required Cog-Cap - 0.0001% [Pleasing,] one of Avos newest subminds said. [Extremely. Must reward Chambers for his efforts. And Emotion for this donation.] Yes. Avo was going to reward the Low Master. By peeling the will out of his ego and making him watch as he devoured the Hungers from the inside. Call it a liberation from false faith. A fitting torment for the Famines transgressions.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. [Control,] the fourth submind chided. [Peace was right. Master yourself. He saved you from capture. Chambers and the others saved us from defeat.] +Yes,+ Avo replied, turning his attention to Chambers template. He was trying to slide the mans perfectly stalemated mem-cons back together, but something had changed about the mans ego. His self-perception had restructured some of his sequences substantially, and Avo spared those aspects any alteration. Leaving Chambers be, he restored Kare using her template and nested himself within her mind just as Naekos palm landed hard. All the moving dust and debris planted themselves against the ground in supplication. Along the wreckage-strewn street outside two bodies rose from puddles of water, their figures bathed beneath a phantasmal sign that once hovered atop the restaurants aquarium. FLAVORS OF THE DEEP Directing a submind to sweep through and remold Kares mind to sever her from Emotions subversion, he turned his focus back to White-Rab and Draus. Combining Hysteria with his free-shifting cognitive structure, he slotted cognitive components back into Draus open wounds. Using her template as a mold, the fix arrived in a microsecond. White-Rab took a bit longerCbut not by much. As three subminds diverted themselves to stitching his injured mindscape back to form, a coherent reply from White-Rab left Avo surprised. +Did you get him?+ White-Rab asked. There was a lull in his words. A slight delay within the thought. +No. Jacked out when he realizedChow are you doing that? Only twenty percent of yourCoh. Using proxy servers to support the damage. Hm. Very clever. Time-consuming.+ +Yeah,+ White-Rab replied. The chuckle came too late. The Nether lag was clearly affecting him, but using external mindscapes to make up for your own missing architecture was quite ingenious. If difficult and risky. Usually, it took hundreds of Necros thousands of hours to make something like this for a single individual. For White-Rab to achieve this on his own was remarkableCand potentially even a bit questionable. Maybe Walton had a hand in this as well, but Avo held himself back from finding out. Better to ask White-Rab later than to intrude and risk offending him. It would also serve as a useful bonding moment. Deepen their ties. +Took you long enough,+ Draus said, mind returning to coherence. Avo winced as he surveyed her damage. That would have been enough to leave most people a hollow shell. Her damage was focused within the core of her being, with critical memories outright obliterated. The other Regulars endured the worst of Peaces assault from the outside. White-Rab bombarded her core. +Did you get the bastard?+ Draus asked. Peeking across her cog-feed, Avo saw she was already halfway back to the enclave, and was diving through a reflection as the Sunderwilds flashed along her periphery. Dice was already jumping through another passage ahead as Draus followed. +Fucker hit me with somethin nasty. Did Rab make it?+ +Uh, yeah,+ White-Rab said, coughing awkwardly. +The fucker that hit you? That was me. The Famine managed to get one of my Auto-Seances, and between you, me, and the PaladinC+ Draus just laughed. +Shit. Its fine. Good call.+ A twinge of the priest passed through White-Rab as his thoughts slowed. The moment was reminding him of somethingCof someone. A flash of Reva crossed into Avos memories, followed by the name Kososo. Taken aback by Avo growing hypersensitivity, Peace just snorted with derision. [Why not crack the cunts open? Why not? Why the fuck the reluctance now? Do you see how much Emotion stayed his hand?] +Did you see how Emotion was undone by Chambers?+ Avo asked in retort. He met Peaces scorn with his own. +He is changing. Like me. Evolving. But still making old mistakes. He assumes. He fears. He is his only resort. Can only die or flee when he fails. Should have risen himself a cadre.+ [You got lucky this time,] Peace snorted. Abrel sneered at the Low Master. [Yeah, but that makes it what, now? Three? Four times that the ghoul just sent you running? Thats a lot of luck in the ugly bastard. Maybe we should check if Defiance hid a Heaven of Luck in him too.] [Bitch,] Peace said, ending the conversation. Pushing herself back up using an overturned aero, Kare was braced from falling by her uncle as Avo turned his attention on her. +Avo?+ +Im here. Threat repelled. For now. Resequencing your mind. Rebuilding it. Need to make sure you arent compromised.+ She nodded. Shotin leaned down and whispered to her: You alright. The noise she made was almost an affirmative. Her uncles thoughtstuff was racing as he swept his gaze across their surroundings. Distant sirens grew louder and louder but werent sufficient enough to hide the ambiance screaming. The entire street was vacant, with sparking branches of lightning forming a thicket around them, establishing an effective quarantine just outside Flavors of the Deep. As the water continued to gush out from the open door of the establishment, bodies came tumbling out. Faint fragments sizzled along their skulls, broken Metaminds whistling away to nothing. Staring into the vacant eyes of a mind-dead girl wearing a dress of tasseled silver, Kare looked away and struggled not to throw up. Her mind turned to horror. Of the death toll she and her uncle brought to this place. Of the war that was being waged, and the hidden players that cared nothing for citizens or subjects. Of how her father was certain to suffer from this, being Ori-Thaums ambassador to Stormtree. Four meters away from them, three scabs sprouted free from mangled bodies; Seekers dead, but resurrecting. At least the Paladins could bring someone into custody. To build a new case against Clan DRongo. Hunger and greed beckoned Avo to see if he could claim them, but with the Naekos mists congealing over the area, it would be best to give the city its offering. To subvert and use against Emotion. The war just got a lot more complicated. Another had come to take the Nether away from Avo. This couldnt be allowed. The Low Masters couldnt have the city, couldnt have the minds of its people, couldnt even have a chance to turn things around. With Emotion now willing to changeCto apply sequences from Walton to himself, tension tightened inside Avo. The Hungers were loosening their leash. Giving more agency to their slaves. This wasnt a development he expected, but then again, he did desecrate them in a way no other could. Perhaps this was just them using their own act of defilement to spite him for his. The heavy mists around Kare and Shotin began to shiver. Fingers of moving mist conjoined and swirled, toppling inward to become a thickening sphere. Chiefs coming, Kare said, announcing the situation to her uncle. Hell jump in once I hit something. Yeah, hold on for just a minute, Shotin said, eyeing her Metamind with suspicion. Is your consang back? Another wave swept out from his Skimmer. A realization came to Avo then: Shotin was looking for him. +Never actually left,+ Avo said, casting his words through Kares Metamind. Great. Good. Perfect. So, he coughed out a disbelieving laugh. Who the fuck are you? What the fuck was that? YouCyoure not just some spook. Dont bullshit me on this. Ive been doing this shit for along time and I neverCnever! Saw the Conflagration do that! And what the hells happened to the other fuckers. He gestured at one of the dead Seekers behind him. Where fuck did his Frame go? What the hells was that ripple? Ah. Not the best way for Shotin to get his first glimpse of the Stillborn. For a heartbeat, Avo considered revealing certain things to the Kazahara Seeker. Showing him just how deep the actual war went. But he stopped himself. Not yet. Not until he had something that gave him power over Shotin. Or curried his favor. The man was still Ori-Thaum, through and true. But that didnt mean he couldnt be shown. That didnt mean trust couldnt be built, that he could be persuaded towards an alliance. Sometimes, Necrojacking required a bit of social engineering. +I have answers,+ Avo replied. +Answers to all that you want to know. Do you want to know the truth? About me? About your Guild? About the real war being fought?+ Shotin shook his head in confusion. Real war? Avo laughed. A low hissing chuckle passed out from the Nether. +Youre still walking in the dark. The DRongos are little more than a mirage. They might not even be a real clan anymore. Things are so much worse than you think.+ Avo extended a Ghost-Link to Shotin, offering him a mem-package. +Will give you what you want to know. But not here. Not right now. Go to the gutters overlooking border wall [SE-7777]. Will talk to you there. In person.+ In a sheath, at least. Ameoliarated for now, Shotin turned to look at Kare and she gave him a nod. I trust him. Completely. I know hes strange, but hes the only reason Im still alive. The reason either of us is still alive. The the reason Thousandhand hasnt killed me. Shotins eyes grew wide. What? Its a lot to explain, Kare said. An exhausted expression became Shotin. Jaus, kid, the fuck are you caught up in? +Its a lot to explain,+ Avo reiterated. +Later. At the border. Kare. Call the Chief in.+ She nodded, slammed an elbow into the aero behind her, and the mists parted around her with a sudden thunderclap. Lots of shit, Uncle Sho. Lots of shit. 24-6 Diplomatic Vulnerabilities (II) Yeah. Ones listed under acceptable losses and lubricates the economy while the other has to be viewed as collateral damage and ends with us getting sued for wergild. -Paladin Krader on subject and citizen losses 24-6 Diplomatic Vulnerabilities (II) Naeko''s complete arrival came with a sudden spike in metaphysical pressure. It was as Zein had once said: once one rose beyond the Sixth Sphere, the potential operating with thaumaturgic subtlety changed from a question of difficulty to impossibility. Even without his Heaven manifested, Avo could still feel NaekoCfeel him like someone could feel a giant stepping down on them. Feel them like a man trying to bear the weight of a falling mountain; hold still before an encroaching storm. The surrounding mists shivered and parted, and Avos Metamind came alive with wailing klaxons, warning of an identified Soul contained within an Eighth Sphere Liminal Frame. The Chief Paladin approached the scene with a blank expression on his face and outside of his normal apparel. Wearing a sleeveless athletic jumpsuit instead of his uniform, Avo did a double-take as he pulled up memories, trying to determine if it was a trick of perception that Naekos biceps seemed two inches larger than before. In fact, the Chief Paladin was looking more muscular in generalCwhich went beyond the point of absurdity because he was already shaped like a literal wall. [How does this man get inside aeros?] Abrel muttered. [Jaus. Hes getting to be as wide as a Scaath.] Her thoughts flowed, and the new pin-sized ego that Hysteria materialized within her shivered. Avo felt his Lustaway trigger, and Abrels mind went from awed to horrified. [OhCoh, fuckCitsChes clearly beenC] Roaring laughter poured forth from Lip. The Scaarthian Fallwalkers cackles were joined by a legion of other templates, gleefully seizing the opportunity to mock the Instrument. [Yes, yes, Instrument Greatling. Were sure you got a cute little excuse. You like large boys, do you? Ones with more meat.] [Go fuck yourself, half-strand,] Abrel said, forcing her thoughts away from the situation. Especially Naeko. [Its been two days,] Benhata muttered in disbelief. [What the hells did he jump on to gain that much mass in two days? Thats just not natural.] Considering the Chief Paladin was a Godclad, anomalous surges in mass and muscularity fell on the low end of coldtech, let alone the use of miracles. Behind Naeko trailed a cohort of other Paladins. Maru was wearing the same gray-black jumpsuit and looked like he was about to fall over. His messy hair and beard had been trimmed, and weariness seeped out from his mind like sweat. Next to him were a half dozen uniformed Paladins that Avo didnt recognize at a glance. Scanning the district using Kares cog-feed, Avo noticed approximately twenty-three other Ensouled signatures forming a kilometer-wide perimeter around the scene of the battle. The Paladins were forming their own quarantine, and as the crackling branches of the stormetree slithered back into the surrounding structures, Avo found the sky covered by a few thousand Knots. WARNING! Multiple Heavens Detected - [13,000] The number made Avo wince. There were moments when hubris still whispered sweet nothings in his mind, making him thing that he could face even a single Guild alone and bring them down as he was. This show of material and metaphysical force reminded him of the game he was playing, and how much more he still had to take. He needed to spread wider. Subvert more of the city. Liberate more enclaves. Maybe even capture a Guild from the inside if he could. Before, he assumed that he would have the time to acclimate himself to his changes and keep to a careful pace. Now, with Emotion evolving to match himCactively hunting him in the deep, he needed to move with both haste and vigilance. The DRongos were already compromised, but Famines true reach remained a mystery. And with aspects of Walton absorbed into Emotions newest node, wariness gnawed at Avo as he gauged his odds of overcoming the man that created him. Chief, Kare said, drawing Avos attention back outward. She was holding a fist to her chest in a reactive salute. Exhaustion and instability continued to assail her mind, but Avo kept the worst at bay as he resequenced her memories. Permission toC You alright? Naeko said, sighing as he looked her up and down. A look that bordered the fringes of sympathy pulled at his features, and he took in the debris around them; the bodies of citizens and DRongo Seekers on the verge of resurrection. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. ICI am unharmed, Kare said, sounding uneasy. She wasnt sure if she should tell him about EmotionCabout how her mind was breached. +Do it,+ Avo said. +Cleaned your sequences. But better not to risk anything. Let him know. No one should be able to find my splinters. Will still be able to contact you even if they do.+ Kare caught herself before she could nod. Drawing in a breath, she continued. I was cognitive compromised, sir. I sustained ego damage. Naeko didnt seem surprised. Yeah. Well, whatever the priests did, they mustve used one of their tamer Daemons on you. Surprise blossomed through both Kare and Avo. The Chief Paladin just chuckled and patted his right pant pocket. Got a little shortcut leading back to Scale, and the Heaven of Truth might just be having a bit of an overreaction. I see, Kare replied. Well, Naeko continued, it doesnt look like they twithedCtwisted your mind too much, rook. He swallowed some spit. Still. Protocols are protocols. Or so Maru says. Part of Kare knew this was coming. It didnt help the anxiety inside her. Understood. Am I pending review? Yeah, Naeko said, making it sound as if no big deal. You. That one there. He meant Shotin. And the rest of these unfortunate fools. To the cue of his words, the first of the DRongo Seekers resurrected as active manifestations. Clawing their way out from their subrealities as Heavens unleashed, reality wailed as light, space, sound, and biology began to warp. Geometry groaned. A field of force lashed out in an attempt to cleave through everyone present. Pinpricks of pain danced down Kares nerves as if someone else was reaching into her flesh and tearing at her from the inside. A block-sized palm of fog came down and put an end to all that. The blow was immediateCemerging like effect without cause. The DRongo cadre were beginning their assault in one instant. They lay scattered and broken the next, Naekos metaphysical backhand sent their ephemeral bodies free from vessels of manifested divinity. The sheer absoluteness of the strike rattled against Avo as well. He bit back a gasp of discomfort as the fog passed through KareCbiting into him. With how Naekos eyes suddenly flicked back to the Junior Paladin, he mustve felt something too. Taking two steps closer to her, Maru shot his superior an uneasy look and tried to communicate something to Kare through a series of eyebrow movements. Avo had no idea what he was trying to say. Neither did Kare for that matter.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Snarling, Shotin stepped forward to cut the Chief Paladin off as he called upon the power of his Parallelist. Spatial reality parted around him, splitting into shifting stacks as he tried to stare down the Chief Paladin. It looked like a signpost getting in the way of a moving building. Back the fucC A fog-made hand materialized, then closed around Shotins face. Whatever else the Seeker had to say turned into a muffle of indignation. Shotin tried to struggle, but force wasnt his Domain. Violence was not his ally. Naeko let the Parallelist fall without concern as he squinted at Kare. Planes of light and fire consumed reality, but Naeko''s palm expanded into a temple and suppressed the bright into a muted shade. They were transported to the depths of an ocean; the cold vacuum of the void; the heart of the storm. Naekos palm didnt even part. Not until Shotin finally gave up. Closing her eyes in embarrassment at her uncle, Kare tried to hide the shame on her face but Naeko waved her off. At ease, I just need to Avo realized then that Naeko was looking directly at Kares Metamind. A thoughtful expression slid into place. It wouldve been a tense moment if not for Shotins muffled cursing. Hm. Is your, uh, informant in there with you? Avos attention shifted to Maru. Ah. Right. He supposed that was how he seemed to the Paladins. Perhaps guardian or manipulator was better title, but he did enough informing to count. +Tell him youre not sure. Tell him I might have something hidden inside you.+ Securing Naekos aid would be invaluable, but Avo wanted leverage and assurances before he made his approach. There was no way to contend with the Chief Paladin in a direct confrontation, and the idea of being a weapon under the employ of the Paladins just didnt bode well with Avo when he had his own dreams to manifest. As Kare conveyed his partial truth, he found Naekos gaze slipping past her, looking high into the sky. A twitch passed through his features. His thoughtstuff jolted with a spike of activity, and Hysteria tasted a shadow of rage. A shroud formed in Avos consciousness. A partial memory, imprinted by sheer emotional intensity. ASSIMILATING SEQUENCES The world beyond dissolved momentarily as a vicarity played. Rage and pain thundered in Avos chest. But this wasnt his sheath. These werent his emotions. His hands were the size in cinderblocks, and to his chest was clutched a motionless woman. Her brilliant blue eyes were vacant and marred by glistening tears. Blood poured from an open wound on her neck. From her corpse gushed a constant stream of SoulfireCher Frame sliding free from her destroyed ego. The structure they were in was partially collapsed. Shredded spatially and materially from the outside. The skies beyond were awash with force and fire, the dying embers of a conflict raging still, claiming thousands of lives with each exchange. Reality wailed for mercy as Heavens shattered and golems broken. The horizon was a broken mirror and lapping tides of entropy dug furrows down from the chaos above. It was as if the Sunderwilds were encroaching, reaching down from the void to swallow the world. Before the stretching fingers of madness was another presence. A crawling pattern of golden that drowned all that existed, that wrapped the sky in a net, holding desolation at bay. Why? Avo remembered Naeko screaming. The words left him like rage-filled scream and ended as a broken sob. Why, godsdamn you! I loved you. I still love you! I would have done anythingCwe could have justC The hurt was too much. He wasnt breathing fast enough. It felt all the pain could ever feel was hatching out from his chestChis throat. Naeko wanted to tear his heart out. Only the screams of his Paladins kept the thoughts at bay. The urge to give himself peace. As he wept, the golden cage that consumed existence shivered and broke, peeling away before his eyes. The immense presence fled. Fled and left him alone in hell. Fled, abandoning him in a ruin that she made. The present snapped back into place, and Avo found Kare looking off in the same direction as Naeko. Confusion filled her mind as her perception swung between seperating the Stormtree Knots and Naekos trembling bottom lip. She couldnt see what Naeko and Avo did. She couldnt see the pulsating orb of gold that burned in existence like a metaphysical dawn. She couldnt feel the faintness of her ontology circling the Elysium like a shark. Aware that it was noticed, the chronological presence receded, seeping behind the towering silhouettes of the cityscape, seeping across the horizons curve. Coldness filled Avo. Coldness and frustration. Veylis. She was watching. How much had she seen? How much did she know? Did his use of Chronology incur her attention? Im placing you under watch, Paladin, Naeko said, prying his eyes away from the sky. You got eyes on you. Eyes you dont want. His left hand engulfed her entire shoulder as he began to lead her away from the scene. Sir? Kare said, shooting a nervous glance at her still struggling uncle. The hand clenching Shotin drifted along behind them as if it was clutching a small ball. Shotin snarled slurs and curses all the while, separated from all that was happening. Clutched in similar vaporous constructs, the DRongo Seekers hovered behind him, all of them groaning from how viciously they were torn out from their Heavens. WhatCis thereC Maru, Neako said, ignoring Kares questions. Contact Ori-Thaum. Have them put a protective detail on Paladin Kitzuhadas immediate family. Tell him we are willing to provide protective assets per the whichever line in the accords that matters. Got it. Maru swallowed, seeming more ashen than ever before. He gave Kare a reassuring nod. Dont worry, kid. Well make sure that youC He didnt quite manage to finish the sentence. The pain in him cast another shadow into Avos mind. Flashes not too unlike Naekos formed within Avos consciousness, but these captured moments from an ego driven past the point of insanity. Whatever broke him had been removed. Cut out. But sheer damage inflicted on his ego remained. There were memories taken from Maru. Memories tantamount to traumasCnot so unlike Essus. Both his and Naekos imprints began to harden, began to resonate with other feelings of pain. The warmind of Hysteria tremored, and the dimensions of the Nether deepened around Avo. He could feel symmetrical emotionsCminds and loci where he could harvest more sorrow, more hurt, more agony. Curious, he threaded Abrels rage into the warmindCand Nether around him came alight in new shades. As he adjusted the specificity, the wavelengths broadcast across cognitive reality were also narrowed. Refined. In a sense, the warmind of Hysteria seemed to contain the absoluteness of an emotion; a moment; a sensation. Exaggeration was no longer a sufficient analog. It was cognition undistilled from understanding. Emotion unchained from control. Thinking back to how the Famine nearly managed to lure him away, how he could barely control himself during his rage, Avo hissed with discomfort as he realized how rationality had been stripped from him. He was being affected from the very beginning. Nothing short of a thoughtform could have resisted thatCall it had taken him was a choice and transformation. But he didnt want to make the choice. Could only think about revenge until Peace broke his focus. What other warminds did Noloth still have if they nearly undid him here? What other dangers still prevailed in the dark? [Joy and the Hungers are the only ones who truly know,] Peace said, sneering at nothing in particular. [''Were'' might be the more accurate fucking word to use. You changed things. You made the masters abandon some of their own vows. We were blessed with immortality and cursed with eternal servitude after Avohakten. Our transgression nearly fucked everything. Our loyalty redeemed us. But we werent supposed to be whole. Not ever again.] +And then I hurt them,+ Avo said. [And then you bled the cunts,] Peace finished glumly. [So where does that leave us now? We dont have many warminds. I know that since Joy whimpers like a sow every time we make him reel one in. But if theyre willing to start using themClisten, Avo. You need to take Ori-Thaum. As soon as you can. As much as you can. Because if you dont, Emotion is either going lose it all to the Silver bastards, and well be dealing with a full fucking Guild with salvaged warminds, or he might actually win with Defiance planted inside him, making it a fucking Guild eaten by Noloth. Gods denied, what a fucking mess.] Heeding Peaces words, Avo watched as a tower-sized Stormtree aero began to land on the intersection next to them. A holographic outline projected warning markers to let bystandars know how much distance they needed, and its sides opened up to show hulking nu-dogs laced with chrome and sporting various levels of wounds. Along their backs gleamed Woundhound injectors, and a Nether broadcast swept through the district. +Attention, Paladins of Scale. By the will of the Longeyes and in breach of the accords, we demand thatC+ The swirling mists around Naeko slowly, gently, casually reached up and snatched the Stormtree Dropspear from the air as well. +WaitCstop! Put us down! Put us down, you fucking idiot child. Put us down this instant!+ Maru snorted. The remainder of the Stormtree assets began to inch back. Additional imprints passed through the NetherCconflict orders to engage and hold in place from various Bloodthanes. The jocks and grunts proved wiser than their commanders as they refrained from any overt action due to Nether interference. It had only been two days since the catastrophe. Aftershocks werent an unreasonable thing to run into. As nu-dogs snarled and bit at Naekos ontological hand, they found themselves trapped like insects in a can as they were moved to the very back of the convoy. Are we booking them too? Maru asked. Yep, Naeko said, indifferent to the political ramifications to follow. What charge? another Paladin askedCa Scaarthian herself, but clearly amused at the humiliation of her clade-kin. Obstruction, Naeko replied. Obstruction. And disturbing the peace. 24-6 Diplomatic Vulnerabilities (III) +Yes. I have eyes on the Chief Paladin. What? Is she having another episode? Tell her no. Were not going to try and stop the half-strand. What does she want us to do? Try to peacefully secure him somehow? Maybe bribe him with a super booster pack for Stormjumpers? No. Its not going to work. Why? Because if you read any of the fucking intelligence briefings, youd know there isnt a pack he doesnt already have! If Eagle-Noble wants to stop the Chief Paladin, then she can come do it herself. I caught enough backhands in one lifetime. Im not eating another for her.+ -Observer-Narrow (Ashthrone) 24-6 Diplomatic Vulnerabilities (III) The Paladins left the Elysium of Nuurhein with ten additional Bloodthanes arrested and a media frenzy rising in their wake. Observing Naeko through Kares eyes, Avo found himself glad of his prior achievement. Revealing Zein and delivering her unto Naeko had been a risky, ultimately worthwhile, ploy. Pain still emanated from the Chief Paladins mind, but there was a drive to him now. A drive that could be cultured, nourished, and directed. Leaving a submind to monitor Kare, Avo directed the bulk of his cognition to scour the Nether. One he cast down into various lobbies and mindscapes he subverted. Another stalked egos passing through high-traffic areas. One more scouted for potential targets worthy of subversion, while his base mind haunted the Exorcist Oversecs to see how deep the Nolothic infestation ran. [This is a waste of fucking time,] Peace said, sighing as Avo coursed along sequences and brushed through minds. Splinters darted through memories of places, melodies, and sensations without friction, and with each passing second the tension only grew. [Are you listening to me, you stupid shit? Emotion wont waste warminds trying to ambush you this way. Hes not going to risk exposing his nodes to someone who might capture himCyoure the target. Only you. He can only create so many warmindsCnot like we had a lot of them fucking working in the first place.] +Hes different. Changed now.+ Avo drew from Peaces memories, trying to establish habits and capabilities for Emotion, but reaped only disappointment. In many ways, Ori-Thaum and Noloth werent so different. The cells and the nodes were all meant to be outward-facing. Made to compromise enemies yet bottlenecked internally. There was something about the Nether that made one ever so wary of betrayal. Avo kept his splinters in motion and changed his trajectory. He sought a mind he subverted almost a month agoCElder Mwaba DRongo of Ori-Thaum: the source of Clan DRongos subversion. If nothing else, he needed to scan her mind and take her off the board somehow. Or keep her monitored. As he dispatched a splinter toward her, the Nether whispered to him in novel and familiar ways. The warmind of Hysteria resonated with passing minds, memories, and thoughts like an intercepting amplifier of cognitive frequencies. The accentuated aspects of mindscapes around Avo shifted in correspondence with the memories he chose. Infusing Hysteria with memories of rage altered his perception, revealing to him constellations of fury that lined the egos around him. Whats more, his awareness stretched far beyond the Oversec, expanding to receive thoughtcasts from all cognitive emissions of a shared nature. Changing the primary emotion to sorrow made the constellations shift as well, but the effects remained. As he channeled sequences of richer detail through his newest warmind, the number of minds he resonated with diminished like stars dissolving into the black. When he finally assigned a memory unparalleled in its uniqueness, he stood alone in a space of stillness, the Nether an unmoving ocean. Despite how far Avo had come, it occurred to him that though he dove deep, he was still but a swimmer of the waters rather than the sea itself. But with each warmind he subsumed, the division between him and the Dreaming Unsea drew closer. Testing his newest evolution further, he channeled additional recollections connected to his initial encounter with Elder DRongo. Reality vanished within his perception. The Nether unshaped by memories and thoughts remained devoid of geometry or shape, rending all entities relative to each other by likeness alone. Across the cognitive vacuum, a single halo shivered in the Dreaming Unsea, its presence known to AvoCcalling to him across the distance of light seconds. The old rules still applied: true stealth was impossible in the NetherCnot unless possessed of a warmind of Delusion. Mwaba DRongo couldnt hide, but distance and ambient noise could mask her presence. Such things were rendered inconsequential with Hysteria. Hysteria, which elevated memories and emotions to absoluteness. Hysteria, that fueled ghosts with repetitive sequence alone. Parts of its function made Avo consider its potential relations to the Auto-Seance phantasmic. There shared aspects that couldnt be denied. As he changed his memories to those pertaining Emotion, the Hungers, and the Low Masters, the Nether returned to emptiness once more. He expected this, but disappointment still followed. Of course, Emotion wasnt going to make it easy. But could they use the warmind to track him? [No,] Peace replied bitterly. [Your Conflagration. Ignorance. Your twisted nature lets you command these Daemons. Use them like like] +Heavens?+ Avo finished. [They dont break after you touch them,] Peace continued, refusing to offer any concession. [They dont go insane or collapse while youre connected to them. Fucking Defiance. He mustve done something to you. Like all the other somethings he did to you. You werent supposed to be capable of this, but I guess he fucking stole that Helix and imbued it inside you for a reason.] +Perhaps,+ Avo replied. +Was planning a lot of things. For years. Maybe since the very beginning.+ Peace snorted. [And now Emotion finally has part of the cunt inside him. Shit. Hes probably putting the cunt inside my new nodes as well. If I even have new nodes. Maybe its just Emotion now.] A twang of anger followed that thought. [Fuck me, I might be getting replaced.] A splinter slipped past surveilling Exorcists and hidden Incubi to arrive within Mwaba DRongos mind. Before it went any further, Avo attempted a final test with his Hysteria. Amplifying his awareness once more, he tried to reach into the elder from a distant splinter. Tried, and failed. The potency of his ghosts was magnified. His cognitive senses were sharpened. His ability to scry was on the threshold of omniscience. But he couldnt interact with the elder. Not without using a phantasmic or one of his splinters. Not without physical contact. As sound as sound, resonance was resonance. Change had to be inflicted by hands and force. Scouting her sequences, Avo considered having another conservation with the Ori-Thaum Elder in the guise of Emotion. Some among his templates saw the choice as inspired. The ones with tradecraft experience made him know that it was an unnecessary risk. Of course, the fact she remembered nothing about the FaminesCor even her initial meeting with Avo proved to be disconcerting. Someone had cut the memories out of her. They took anything related to the official orders she dispatched to her clan, telling them to install and distribute Emotions fragments of Delusion as well. As things stood, DRongo could only recall being bored for the past few weeks. Bored, with a limited line of contact connecting her to Ori-Thaum keeping her mentally active while various golem-satellites projected across the Unwhere, bouncing her metaphysically stored body around the near void. [Great,] Corner muttered. [The Nolothi half-strands could have turned her at any time.] +Probably just the last few days,+ Avo said. There was a good chance that a few of Delusions shards were dormant inside her, waiting to strike. No sense in giving away his hand right now. Not when she still had a use. When Necrojacks fought, it was a game of patience, deception, and control. Avo had the advantage of reachCneeded to spread him across the districts, lobbies, and mindscapes to spread his influence. But he had to do it quietly, lest he found himself countered by another Conflagration once more. Leaving a splinter within DRongo, Avo checked in on Kare and the Paladins once more and found them on the way back to Scale. He extracted the submind he left in her with a whisper promising his return after things were calm. He didnt need to risk triggering the Heaven of TruthCto be cast back into the Deep Nether now would be certain death. It was folly to assume surprise would serve him twice. As the rest of his consciousness swept through the city, multiplying like a hyper-charged plague thanks to his additional subminds, he found himself considering his next steps. Expansion was a necessity, but it would be wise to leave false trails or decoys to lure Emotions attention. Subverting and imprinting his own memories on expendable egos could be an option. Syndicate Necros were a plentiful resource in this regard. He could use volume and noise to his advantage. Force uncertainty on Emotion with all his active puppets.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Just as he was sure Emotion would be coming for those associated with him. White-Rab. Draus. Kare. Shotin. Chambers. Anyone they knew was in danger now. That meant he needed to help the Paladins and Ori-Thaum keep watch over Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhada, and maybe assign a few additional shards to linger near Marlowe as well. Whatever the case, strategy shouldnt be conducted alone. He needed additional perspectivesCand to incubate some helping Heavens. Casting the members of his cadre, he called for his own little assembly and instantly found his consideration turning to Highflame. Right. Veylis was going to hold her own get-together soon. Abrel sighed in the back of Avos mind. [The rivers of running shit dont seem to ever have an end, huh, Avo? Welcome to politics.] AMOUNT OF NEW VULTUN INFECTED - [0.799%] *** "No, Captain Draus, shit happens is not an acceptable response to two thousand innocent deaths! With each syllable Kant Was a Prick pronounced, their avatar reverberated with agitation. Projected as a particularly ugly man adorned in a strange dress and sporting tufts of white hair on the sides of their skull from the towers information center, the EGI representing the so-called ethics committee made a whole spectrum of despairing noises as the debriefing progressed. Currently, he and a party of seven other active minds were suffering a particularly extreme conniption following an off-hand response from Draus. Draus, meanwhile, was actively reviewing combat footage from their prior engagement, ignoring the animated expressions of despair playing across Kants face. Over two thousand dead. Two thousand! The sheer amount of attentionCthe controversy! AndCand the High Seraph noticing the ghoul tooCZein would have never allowed this to happen! Avo hissed at the whining mind. Yes. She keeps casualties low. And I dont get arrested. Both have our strengths. Kants eyes widened in disbelief. In the back of Avos mind, Calvino just sighed. +Oh, dear, theyre not going to like that.+ The absurdity of the moment was interrupted when Draus threw her head back and barked a laughCthe noise so loud it sent Dices kitten jolting upward in fright. A shame no one else seemed to appreciate his attempt at humor. +You promised me comedy would be advantageous,+ Avo said, directing a glare at Kassamon. +Take the tension off.+ [It does! But sarcasm sounds different when its coming from a giant man-eating monster. Maybe change your fucking vocal cords next timeCI dont know. You sound like you clean your throat with sandpaper.] The Paladins template sighed. {Now, let us consider that there are a great many unforeseen elements,} Calvino said, hovering above Avo like some kind of ethereal defender. The molecular dawn that severed as his avatar shivered languidly with each word, and as the ansible tied to Avos sheath activated again and again, another conversation was happening in the Nether at speed unfathomable to the terrestrials. The cadre was convened atop Avos tower of blood, with those in the area seated around the information center in person and those beyond substituted by their phantoms. All where present in one form or another, and the mood of the present conversation could best be described as overwhelming. +Jaus, Avo, I didnt know you had bosses too,+ Marlowe said. Avo discovered the worst thing about bringing a thoughtcaster into your hidden conspiracy was the risk that you might pick a particularly nosey woman with too much spare imps and spare time. At least she listened when he warned her against initiating a public thoughtcast. It would be a shame to lose another media so soon. +Not bosses,+ Avo replied. +More like benefactors.+ +Sure. I called the ones I worked under different things too. Fuckers. Sows. Cunts. Assholes. Rash-bait. Rusters. I get it.+ She really didnt. Kant continued arguing with Calvino about the portrayal of events. The former was banging his fist against a table he just manifested. The latter was trying to place the blame where it properly belonged: with Emotion. Through it all, Kae swallowed repeatedly, worried that she might lose some of her newly provided privileges. Cas, Denton, Essus, and Sunrise where phantasmally projected into several other seats, and each sported an indifferent expression. The faither in particular shot Avo a sympathic look. +This isnt special,+ Cas said. His actual sheath was in the crate being smuggled out of Omnitech territory. +Zein would get us into one of these meetings every time she went on a drug binge.+ +How often was that?+ Avo asked. +About twice a week.+ The ghoul winced. Gods. The Paladins should keep her forever. As Kant wound down with a final exhausted sigh, they turned their attention to Avo. And then their expression twitched. Do what you can to avoid high-density areas. Or reduce risks to bystanders. Two thousand peopleCI know that you are fighting a war, but still we must strive to preserve. Those are lives, Avo. Lives. They matter. Now all their experiences will left unfinished, and all that care for them will be left alone. The pain in the minds voice was palpable, and more than a little discomforting for Avo. The fact they cared to such a degree while not being human at all seemed unnatural. Deliberately vulnerable. Such a construct couldnt have possibly been made on Idheim. I know, Avo said. Trying to hunt Emotion down. Contain him. But cant lie. Wont. More will die. More. Because hes going to do whatever it takes to claim me. And I wont hesitate to unmake him. Will do all I can for choiceless. Is all I can offer. A silence befell the gathered parties. Draus stretched her arms high and yawned. So. Now that the whimperins finally done, think we oughta go over what the fuck comes next. Start with Denton. Reckon you got the best look at how fucked Clan DRongo isChow far the rots spread through the Silvers in general. Denton nodded as her projected figure briefly flickered. +The Nolothic infiltration is troubling and deep, but not total even among the DRongo faithful. The elders influence runs far, but the cells subsist on paranoia. Ive made contact with more than a few Mirror-Concaves that have remained uncompromisedCor eschewed the dispatched phantasmic entire in favor of clarification from the Inner Council. Hence, I suspect the Low Masters influence to be mostly contained for now.+ Not unexpected news. Ori-Thaums various clans were pretty much quietly warring with each other almost constantly. Suspicion and counter-intelligence was a way of life for them. As was the point of having an extremely segregated command structure. Keep watching them, Avo said. And be careful. Noloth has begun unrestrained use of warminds. +Im aware. My contacts at Omnitech said they went on high alert three times today, causing the Noosphere to be quarantined.+ COGNITIVE BREACHING is a category [10] risk, the Techplaguer chimed. The Sleeper must be kept from [CASE STUDY] Nightmares." {Every time you talk makes me feel like Im having a stroke,} Calvino said sweetly. I WISH THAT YOU COULD! The Techplaguer screamed. Right, Draus continued. So Clan DRongos fucked, but not that fucked with the Famines skittering back to their holes. Just gotta be careful about them dumping fire across the Nether. Or makin our consangs null us in desperation. A white rabbit flashed into shape next to Draus and glared at her. +Im not sorry; I was diving for my life.+ The Regular sneered at Avo. Yeah. No apology. Definitely related. The chuffed back at her. Dealing with Emotion and the Hungers is now a new long-term objective. Going to need everyone to move under my cognitive umbrella. Disrupt your mind regularly if Im occupied or absent. Hostile splinters almost impossible to detect otherwise. +Great,+ Tavers added. +As if being a squire didnt make me paranoid enough. You sure do know how to add spice to an old womans life.+ Doing his worst, Chambers answered on Avos behalf. His breath was whispy and distant, and there was a flatness to his gaze. Seated on the far end of the table, there was an uncanny grin that pulled at his features, and so persistent was his expression that Kae shot him more than a few worrying glances. Avo needed to talk with him afterward. See what could be done. The splinters he left in Chambers revealed one thing thoughCthe man was fundamentally changing. The way he perceived himself had been altered after his encounter with Emotion. For good or ill, Chambers was growing, and unless he asked, Avo would let life take its course. More immediate concern is Highflame assembly, Avo said, bringing up screens of mem-data. Profiles connected to the four Instruments he recently subverted spilled upward like inverted waterfalls, and the cadres attention drifted over to the information center. Going to create a direct feed to their minds. See if I can get a splinter into an Authority. Or at least find out what Veylis is planning. A shadow passed over Draus as she turned to face Avo. You sure thats a good idea? You said she was lookin down at you earlier. Watchin. Dont know how much she saw, Avo replied. Only that she probably followed my Canon of Chronology. It took a lot to make Jelene Draus uneasy, but the icon she once served underCthe daughter of Zein Thousandhand and Jaus Avandaer was a titan of dread that cast a long shroud over all of New Vultun, and by the nature of her Heaven, that statement could even be understood literally. Dont think she can detect my splinters, Avo said. Will jack out at first risk. Also going to be pulling up Bloodthanes too. See what they know. Shotins in Paladin custody for now, but should be released shortly, Kae said. Oh! Maybe you can pick up some more Bloodthanes through the Oversec. Didnt Naeko arrest a few? Avo grunted in agreement. That was a wise idea. Yes. Also. Kae. Harvested six more Souls. Seven Heavens. Past the Six Sphere now. Think I also have a Domain of Speed finally. The Agnos face broke into a grin. Good, good. I was going to go over something with you anyway. I have ideas I wish to try. What about the Sang, Dice said, breaking her silence. The kitten was sitting on her lap, its head poking just past the table. Its bead-black eyes stared disdainfully at Avo, and he fought the urge to hiss back. The the one you captured and released. Elegant-Moon, Avo said. Shes currently pending release from a demiplane. Menders going over her. Final touches. Theyll judge her as stable and uncompromised aside from existing ego damage. He grinned. Will have more than one use for her in the future. Time to see if he could rebuild an ego using his splinters soon. First Elegant-Moon. Then Tavers boy. There was just no end to the work, it seemed. But was there any other way to live? 24-7 The Assembly Since Veylis Avandaers ascendance to the position of High Seraph of Highflame and her complete capture of the Broken Kosgan traditions, there have been [682] formal assemblies called. Of the [682] formal assemblies called, [455] occurred during times of war. The great reluctance of Veylis and her Seraphs to compel such assemblies lies not in an issue of governance or authority, but quite simply, culture. Infringement debases strength. Will is to be grown; virtue to be displayed; autonomy to be maintained. The individual cannot be cultivated to true potential if they are neutered of self-correction. The War Hosts and Great Houses are magnifications of this idealCan army of peoples marching together towards their own apotheosis, forming a tidal wave from a shared cause. But there comes a time when even those of the same creed stand lost amidst the currents, when culture is assailed by rot from within and grievances must be addressed and adjusted by a higher, wiser hand to ensure the survival of the Guild. In these moments, a grand assembly is called for all loyalistsCMeritocrat and Chivalric alikeCto understand where they stand against their true opposition, and where they failed to honor house, family, ancestor, and self. The coming grand assembly will likely prove no different, but even Authorities offer rumors and whispers as to what major theme or critical flaw must be corrected in this session. It is certain, however, that Osjon Thousand, Faithtaker, Speaker of the High Seraph, and Mediator of the Houses, will once again perform the address in Veylis stead. For it be her paths that drown each and every FATED under the banner of Highflame, and it will be in these paths that all will be made equal regardless of seniority, deed, or even Spherage -GRAND ASSEMBLY: The Shapeless Government of Highflame (Highflame Propaganda Documentary Series) 24-7 The Assembly The remainder of the meeting took on a more focused quality as the cadre decided on their new operating parameters. First was insuring themselves against the danger posed by the Famines. They were to use Avos splinters as an operational umbrella, and under no condition was anyone to operate without notifying the rest of the group. Should anyone go missing or get disconnected across the Nether for any length of timeCeven a secondCthey were to be treated by distortions and a deep scan provided by Avo. They lived experiencing the firsthand benefits of Avos splinters. There was little need to impress anyone of the dangers. Tied to this mandate was also the choice to wind down operations for a time. At least until after the coming trial. With how many major incidents were happening across New Vultun, tensions between Guilds were spinning up to treacherous levels. Forces were being massed along the borders of districts, while militias and reserves were being activated to further provide much-needed defense. The Nether was ablaze with gossip and conspiracy, claiming that Massacre at Flavors was an in-Guild assassination attempt gone wrong. How right they were, but how shallow they saw. To think the DRongos as actors rather than pawns was a mistake, but who else knew what Avo did of Noloth? Of the Nethers truth and the Low Masters recent liberation. Regardless, the chatter was spiking the temperature between Clans DRongo, Kazahara, and Kitzuhada. There were already vicarities of street side engagements between clan retainers, political brawlsCwith some very literal fists being thrownCand glaive-rattling between Seekers. Emergency commands from the Inner Council demanded all clans keep to themselves and let any disputes be settled in a court of law judged by unbiased parties in the Overclan. Meanwhile, Guild Mirrors directed their cell, telling them to stay ready for emergency activation. All this was to Avos benefit. Though the segmentation fo the cells and the bottlenecks of the Mirrors prevented him from sweeping through Ori-Thaum, he could direct them against each other. Have the SIlvers break themselves and leave them open to his machinations. To this end, he could likely leverage the new privileges Aegis was granting him. To aid him in his attempts to cut down on collateral damage, Kant and the ethics committee hadgiven him partial access to Voidwatchs total spectrum imagining so that he might be able to observe the material as well as he did the cognitive. Complain though Kant and the other humanitarian minds did, Avo found himself surprised about how cooperative they were. He expected benefits and resources to be withheld. Instead, things proved to be the opposite. Perhaps rational decision-making was the greatest boon of being a coldtech intelligence rather than a byproduct of evolution and impulse. GRAFTING HEAVENS: [Maelstormer], [Fucktopia], [Arsenalist], [Runebreaker] The second order of business was incubation. With the cadre slowing their pace for now, Avo was also to play a softer, more subtle game. Avo seized the opportunity to awaken the dormant Heavens. It would prove useful to have more allied gods or for his cadre to deliberately trigger their Daemons while the threat of Rend was high. More options would always be to their advantage, and the insight the Heavens presented at times was worth considering, if not immensely insightful. Of course, the greater question of where the gods would eventually fit in this revolution still had to be considered, but such ruminations were already common for Avo. The enclavers, the FATELESS, the subverts were all increasingly party of him, increasingly subjectsCif not citizensCof his unseen empire, and he increasingly wondered how he could better uplift and enhance their lives. Such thoughts compelled Avo to speak with Chambers, but the man simply asked for more time alone. It was a request easily granted, but one that engendered additional worry. Chambers had a way about himCa presence and personality that remained dim after his most recent bout of suffering. Perhaps Essus and he should share some time together. Something might come from that experience. The third item of priority was Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhada. He was a vulnerable target, being father to Kare and emissary to Stormtree. As Avo was about to direct a few splinters to keep watch over him, Denton entered the fray and began actively dealing with several issues at once. Already, she was scheduling meetings with the Paladins in hopes of recovering the currently held SeekersCnot only those of her clan, but also Shotin. Moreover, she planned to establish contact with Ambassador Kitzuhada as well to make the affair a multi-partisan effort. Through her, he could monitor the situation without diverting one of his subminds. The spy remained cognitively incomprehensible to him, after all. The Low Masters were likely to face the same impediments with her. Finally, with the Highflame grand assembly soon to begin, Avo made final arrangements to secure him and the cadre front-row seats for Veylis big event. A slight feeling of foreboding bubbled inside him as he thought of the High Seraph watching him, but the urge to even out her voyeurism with an act of his own pushed him to continue.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. And so it was that he found his way back across the Tiers, back into Highflame territory through the mind of one Idril MarisovCan Instrument he compromised not two days ago. If nothing else, his newest subvert would grant him a glimpse behind the curtain and formally begin his immersive education about Guilder politics. +You know, it never stops being surprising how godsdamned arrogant the Golds are,+ Marlowe said. +Youd think theyd find some sense of humility after all the self-criticism they do, but nope. The urge to suck and lick themselves just grows and grows.+ +Thank you for the very Chambers statement, Citizen Marlowe,+ Kae sighed. +Happy to entertain, Agnos.+ As the scenes played on from behind Marisovs eyes, Avo was somehow inclined to agree. With the Instruments cog-feed projected live into the minds of the cadre, they spent the better part of four hours watching him wash, dress, do his hair, scream at his mechanical servants, scream at his son, scream at his daughter, scream at his wife, get into a fist fight with his wife, lose said fist fight with his wife, have mind-sex with his wife, schedule an emergency session with a Voidwatch grafter to put his face through a final skin-polishing procedure, put on his most ostentatious set of armor, and finally take his position before the open skylight on the top-floor of his mini-mansion. The moments were a whirlwind of absurdity, with Marisovs moods swinging from flat to extreme anger to flat at the slightest provocation. The most fascinating thing though, was that he wasnt special when compared to his contemporaries. +Cock-waving and cunt-splaying is an art to the Golds.+ Such were Marlowes words. The statement came as an offhanded remark tinged with bitter amusement, but it really quite fit. Slipping out from Marisovs mind and infesting his surroundings, Avo found every FATED of Highflame scrambling to dress their finest, to look their best, and most importantly, to be better than their neighbor. Almost no one lacked a rival they wished to overcome when the assembly commenced, and so consumed by the desire to triumph, a few even resorted to active sabotage. Whatever the case, the surreality of the moment seemed more akin to an audition than an address by a higher power. +Did you have to do this?+ Avo asked Draus, picking out a few particularly gaudy memories. Images of an Instrument who intended to greet the rest of the assembly in a flesh-suit made out of tortured but still living Glaives. An Authority with a Heaven of LightCfurther amplified by high powered projectors she built into her back like wingsCdesigned specifically to magnify her own form for leagues beyond. The Regular in question snorted. As did her templated fellows within Avos mind. +Fuck no,+ she said. +Were Blade Caste. What the Chivs used to call us anyway. If you aint an Instrument, admin, or something higher, you just get the broadcast instead of the live experience. Usually, us Orphans would slip into our combat-skins and just wait around in case our commander decided to show us off.+ Using Hysteria to filter for Regulars, Avo found her words to be true. Certain notable Regulars flanked their assigned protectees as add-ons while a few war heroes were mandated to attend. Mostly, Highflames finest continued their operations. FATED though they were, even citizens had their differences of purpose and use. It helped that Regulars were usually only interested in war. Yes, my Seraph, Marisov said. He was muttering to himself, practicing his saluteCraising a fist up past his head as he imagined Veylis personally complimenting him. It was unlikely, but one could never be sure. Yes. Its an honor. +Im beginning to see why you left,+ Cas snorted, words directed at Draus. +I was technically asked to leave,+ she replied flatly. +Somedays, feels like they did me a favor.+ +What about the others?+ Avo asked. Draus paused. Back in the real, she was sitting in the corner of the tower, showing Dice how to dismantle, clean, and maintain a gun. She froze there too. +Others. You know about the others. You know who I am.+ +Yes,+ Avo answered. +But do you want it back? Your old life. Your position. Your role. Original purpose. If I could undo the past. Remove the Greatlings. Would you want that life?+ +Over this one, you mean?+ Draus replied. Her lapsed into quiet consideration as melodic chimes sounded through Marisovs household. Night was soon to arrive. The Daystar was about to shift. +Dont know. Dont think it matters neither. Id kept marchin and fightin and killin till I was dead and done and that wouldve been that.+ +And thats enough for you?+ Marlowe asked, slightly incredulous. +Just go here, kill that, blessed be the worthy; die.+ A cold grin spread across Draus face. +You forgot the most important thing about bein a gun.+ +Whats that?+ Marlowe. +All the waitin in between.+ +The real hell,+ Tavers absently mindedly muttered while doing something else on her end. +Honestly, Avo, I dont rightly know. I aint who I was all those years ago. I aint who I was when I saved Kae. Aint even who I was two months ago. Guard-Captain Draus wouldve died sooner or later. She was fine with that. Me? Now? I got my sights aimed higher than just a messy death. I wanna stand and deliver. I wanna see if we can actually turn shit around.+ She laughed. +Shit. Another Reg wouldve tried to snuff me under suspicion of subversion. Course, theyd be right considerin Im with you.+ Avo wondered what to say about that. The trust between them had come far. Unbelievably far. He had been little more than a monster. She a weapon seeking desired martyrdom. Now, their fates and egos were entwined, and she thought nothing of offering more to their cause. More for him. A pang of discontentment sounded within Avo, the discomfort growing in-sync to Marisovs chimes. He had her loyalty. He had her mind. He had her skills. Anyone else wouldve asked for something more by now. Even Tavers had. Draus? All he offered was a war above all wars. A cause of supreme importance well worth killing and dying for. But even still, was that all he could give her for her efforts? Was that all she was worth? Weapons were meant to be used. Flechettes, rockets, bullets, and bombs spent. Lives sacrificed. But Draus was worth so much more. Could do so much more. Could live to be so much more. +Draus,+ Avo asked, trying to best express his intent. +What would you do if we won? What would you do if we claimed the Ladder. If all of us were still here in the end? What would you do if there were no more wars? If there were no more enemies? What do you want after triumph if the last chance at a good death escapes you?+ Her ego recoiled. The thought he broadcast to her was less a trauma and more like an intrusive entity she didnt want to consider. Like all Regulars, her ego was externalized, her sense of self rooted in the world and material reality rather than interpreting external stimuli then fixing on her selfhood. +I dont rightly know,+ Draus said. +Might just start a fight with you out of boredom if we get there.+ He picked up the hook she was putting down. +Can kill each other after assembly. Practice for the future.+ She scoffed. +Yeah. For the future. Dont worry bout me, Avo. Aint plannin to visit the Big Nothing anytime soon. Im just not worried about it.+ +Blessed be the peacemakers,+ Cas whispered. +And blessed be those who bear the burning blade to cast the dragon; the deceiver unto the earth.+ +You cursin me or something faither?+ Draus asked. +Oh, quite contrary, consang, quite contrary. Just treat it as an utterance of hope.+ Draus lapsed in a suspicious silence as Marlowe injected herself into the conversation with laughter. +Not used to being among cultists, freakers, rusters, joy-fiends, and ghouls, huh, Reg?+ Sadly, charisma couldnt work on everyone, and all Marlowes words drew from Draus was a sneer. +We aint consangs, Marlowe. You wont be gettin no interview from me.+ The thoughtcaster shrugged and moved on. Not everyone was going to like you. Not unless you could change their minds for them. As the cadre returned to silence, Avo felt it: an inexorable pressure grinding down upon his being. Strings of gold enveloped the interior of Marisovs home, but what surprised him above the most was how the flowing paths of chronology originated from within the Instruments Liminal Frame. All the other members of the cadre stopped what they were doing and took notice. Draus squinted. Dice cocked her head, uncertain what this meant. The kitten meowed. Chambers stared blankly. The rest found their focus gradually stolen as rushing currents of brilliance swallowed Marisov from the inside. It was then that Kae finally found her voice. Kae, whose mind had gone silent in the past few minutes. Kae, whose eyes were growing wider and wider. A Canon of Chronology was spilling out from the inside of the Instruments Frame. Funny thing was that he didnt even have the necessary Domain. +What the fuC+ 24-8 The “Assembly” A raconteur from a bygone age once claimed that all the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players. When my father first breathed this quote to me, it horrified me. Merely players. Dancers on another stage. Most fail to see the horror of the world. You are born into a cage. Your body is the first thing to betray you. And with time, a cage is built around your mind. Belief. Desire. Culture. All things that shape you. But also chain you. To roles. Archetypes. Are we to be the lovers? Are we to be the heroes? Are we to be the victims? Are we to be the villains? Are we to be anything but what we define ourselves to be? This was where I noticed the first separation between me and my father. He found pleasure in the roles all people play. My mother, when asked, thought nothing of the narrative and simply claimed she would be the one who won. But me? I wanted to be everything. I wanted to be the book. The page. The stage. The world. Again. You fail to see the horror. You fail to see the extent to which you are trapped. But I did. And so I did the only thing any true reader would decide upon. I claimed the role the bard failed to mention. I claimed the role of narrator. I claimed the role of cage. -Veylis Avandaer 24-8 The Assembly +Scan his memories!+ Kae shouted. +I did!+ Avo replied. +Do it again!+ +I did!+ +Then how? How! You tell me how he can have another canonCsomeone else''s canonCactive inside his Soul?+ +I don''t know.+ +You dont know? I do know! I know that thisCthis is impossible! Im telling you right now it''s impossible.+ Marlowe coughed as she tried to ease Kaes outburst. +Alright, Agnos, calm down. Im sure that theres a perfectly unreasonable bullshit explanation behind this.+ Her words were a droplet of water. Too bad Kaes frustration was building like an inferno. +I will not calm down. This makes no sense. This defies everything I know about thaumaturgy.+ +Well, maybe its something you dont know this time,+ Cas added. Both Avo sighed as Marlowe winced at the Columners off-hand remark. If Kae was incensed before, she was incendiary now. +WhatCyouCwhat do you know about me not knowingCyou cultist! You think because you have your little ritualsC+ +Kae,+ Avo grunted. +No. No personal attacks.+ +He personally attacked me first!+ +Cas. No personal attacks.+ The faither quietly nodded in the real and mentally prayed, asking his god to give him patience, and Kae grace. Avo blocked those thoughts from flowing across to prevent the Agnos from having an aneurysm. +A Soul is contained within a Liminal Frame,+ Kae began, fuming as she devoured every minute detail on Marisovs side. +Liminal. Liminal, as in occupying both sides of a threshold. Heavens are subrealities. Their rules are absolute. So. For this to work. He needs a Domain inside him. Which means either he cannot remember, or something else is happening. Something with the Agnosi.+ The Agnos mind branched along separate paths. A potential conspiracy among her fellow disciples? A missing memory? Or was this something more insidiousCan exertion of metaphysical control possessed by none other by the High Seraph. Veylis Avandaers Heavens and capabilities were masked in mystery and shrouded in history. Perhaps she bore hidden knowledge never revealed? Perhaps her understanding of thaumaturgy exceeded all others. Confidential though relations between Godclads and the Agnosi were, those of the thaumaturgic studies still spoke to one another, and when there was people, there was gossip. But no trail ever led back to the High Seraph. No trail at all. As time flowed on, so too did the golden tendrils continue to trickle forth from within Marisov, burrowing and interlacing his ontology with the progression of reality. The Instrument himself was ignorant, blind to how the paths already embraced him. From his cog-feed, the world was still as it was, but Avo, imbued with a Domain of Chronology, saw the subtleness of Veylis working and found himself disquieted by her influence. Zein had claimed that if one ascended past the Sixth Sphere, they lost their ability to conduct themselves subtly. Such was perhaps true if the opposition had their own Domains of Chronology, but to the unprepared or unequipped, what difference was there to feel? A being existed in pace and relation to time, and only the dragons seemed capable of deviating from its fixed path of their own accord. The shift from baseline reality to a parallel place made from the fabric of time was subtle. Only Avo and those attached to him could see, for he had the domain within him and like called to like, for such was the law of thaumaturgy. Spying on the other members of the Instruments householdCand the Elysium beyondCAvo found most individuals of significance likewise enwreathed in Veylis'' invisible web, and likewise aware of their coming extraction. As his Skimmer pulsed, existence turned sinuous with resplendent threads. Fading starlight gleamed upon a vast valley of alloy. The Elysium here was not one for pleasure, but war. Internecine, it was called, for the proximity all the Lesser Houses shared here, for how the core of the district was the Apex ArenaCa grand stage dedicated toward bloodletting and the envy of all those who risked the circuits. Mansions faced each other on narrow streets as drones and machines kept the city clean. A light clung to the matter. Marble and steel sculpted the architecture. Bridges of fire arced over entire blocks, accelerating the speed of those who tread upon them. But beyond the surface was a sprawl in motion, for the mansions here were not affixed to a specific place, for the merits one household earned shifted levels upward, and the shame it suffered pulled it levels down. A faint kindling consumed homes, swapping their positions with the cycling of the day, shearing at those who dwelled here with doses of triumph, or the bitterness of defeat. Power could be taken. Privilege could be lost. Highflame never let you forget that. Never stopped reminding you that lethargy meant death. Strive. Rise. Or wane. And fall. And so it was that certain citizens lived in ignorance Veylis closing grasp. How millions upon millions of accretions were being upward in ascending fibers of gold, slipping high through the swelling clouds.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. +Millions,+ Kae breathed. +Shes interfacing with millions.+ +Millions here alone,+ Avo replied. The act wasnt even that vulgar, but the sheer scope of the canon made Avo nauseous. He felt her weight before but to see the immensity of her reach firsthand was almost despair-inducing. His presence before her was less than that of a speck. All the more reason to build us, master, the Woundmother whispered. All the more reason we must grow. It takes resources and labor for a mountain to be dwarfed by a tower. The moment continued on for a few seconds as the number of golden bridges multiplied. Well over millions now. Far beyond. The horizon was turning into a pillared wall from Avos perspective. [Blessed be the worthy,] Abrel breathed. [Blessed by Her majesty. Her power.] [This is godsdamned hell,] Benhata muttered. [This is a delusion,] Elegant-Moon chimed. [Suffering is not strength. Suffering is at best a byproduct. Too often the Golds forget that mastery takes time, and growth takes focus. But growth cannot happen in a cage, and such is what the gold is. A gilded cage. Owned by one woman.] {People live lives of certain defeat here,} Calvino said simply. The EGIs statement drew Avos curiosity. +Why do you say that?+ {Because the dominance they seek is child-like; breaking. It cannot coexist with itself. It cannot develop or nurture without a sovereign in place. And that is what Veylis is. And that is the only thing keeping them stable. An unreachable master, with only the spots far below her open for the seizing. After all these centuries, what hope do the children have of matching the amassed fortunes of their undying forefathers?} Draus almost sneered at that. +Hope aint gonna do shit. And the world dont give a fuck if youre a juv or not. Existence is one way. Youre another. Be the gun. Be the target. Face the end. Aint no other way.+ {You know this to be untrue, Captain Draus. You are already fighting for something different. Something better.} +Nah,+ Draus replied. +Nothin like thats changed for me. Way I see it, the only one standin and deliverin anything is Avo. The only one fighting and burning for what he believes. Everyone else just accepts, takes, and bends for more power.+ {So. Avo is the epitomization of Highflames truth to you then?} Calvino asked. This time, Draus did sneer. +It aint about philosophy. Hells, Highflame isnt a philosophy. Its an act. A path. A way of being. To be the one who delivers on your own beliefs. Your own will. To rise. To grow. To become. Cept the Chivalrics got too scared of losin what they had, and the Meritos still dont got enough spine to just take what they want.+ A jolt ran through Avos Frame as soaring streams of chronology spilling out from countless citizens across the Elysium suddenly interlinked. A wrenching sensation followed as Avo felt Marisovs ontology torn across two paths. The uncanniness of the sensation was hard to convey. It was as if the very nature of time was being bent, allowing people to exist across two places, two parallel streams of time. From the perspective of a disconnected splinter, Instrument Idril Marisov was still in his mini-mansion, but his existence seemed to be stuttering. From his point of view, the existence around him peeled apart as a column erupted upward from beneath his feet. Rich maple floorboards shattered as a pillar of marble carried Marisov skyward, eliciting a gasp of shock from the man. As he punched through his ceiling, Avo realized that every bit of matter here was simulated. Loading and deloading as if artifacts or memories in the Nether. The difference was the deciding Domain. Time instead of mind, with everything being simulated by an instance in historyCpast or present. Veylis shadow loomed ever larger over Avo as he glimpsed the nature of the paths and suffered a subtle epiphany. She wasnt reshaping the world as it was, but drawing history over. Recompiling it within her own Heaven. Somehow, she could reach out to people. Was that because she remembered grasping them before? Was there a canon that rendered them miracles for her to wield? What were the limits? As Marisov calmed himself, he straightened his back and placed his hands behind his back. His respirocytes and self-moving nanocells left him without a need for a heart, but that didnt stop his guts from clenching with anxiety. As the wind swept around him, he snuck a peek at his competition from the corner of his eye and found most of them wanting. He thought he saw Instrument JeritCthe whimpering fool. They were clearly unprepared; they didnt even have their armor on. Just a collared shirt and some slacks. Pitiful. One must always be ready in advance. As palliative moistures dotted Marisovs forehead with freshness, the clouds combusted into a blinding sea of flame, but the Instrument endured the pain and never looked aside. He and countless millions more speared through the fires, baptized as they were drawn into the cleansing world ruled by the High Seraph. As the blaze caressed him, licked at his flesh, his very Soul, the Instrument endured in silence, never flinching, never even blinking. His reward came when the infernos endurance broke, its grasp collapsing into fingers of loosening embers and trailing smoke. The marble column that carried him was alight now. Ignited by tides of lapping flame below. The clouds gathered all at once, collapsing to a singularity at the core of this existence, an impossibly wide platform for all to see. With each passing second, more and more citizens were elevated to the assembly, each carried by their personal pedestal to these glorious heights. But much as the placement of ones home could change, so too did their columns vary. Instruments were usually below Authorities and Seraphs. War heroes or others of significant esteem but lacking seniority to pursue a proper promotion remained at a level with their social betters, while those without Frames were only meters above the fire while the Ensouled dwarfed them by leagues. Scoping his potential rivals and checking his vicinity to see if his wife and children were nearby, Marisov held himself with pride, keeping his chin high and gaze steady. Worthiness was an individual aspect. No one else could strive for such virtue on your behalf. They could potentially grant you a push or offer certain benefits, but one still had to live their own life, and one had to prove themselves through triumph over tribulation. +Is this it?+ Chambers'' thoughts were quiet. Almost too quiet for Avo to notice. The man was taking in the scene with fascinated disappointment. +This is what it means to be a Gold?+ He snorted. He laughed. He began to cackle. Kae sent Avo a worried squeak and Marlowe winced. +Your consang doing alright, Avo?+ Marlowe said. +I dont know him that well but he seems kindaC+ +Just give him some time,+ Avo replied, though his own worries werent assuaged. It was what Chambers wanted. +This is a dick-measuring contest,+ Chambers giggled. +FuckingCfucking, I remember doing this shit for Mirrorhead. Me, and all the other enforcers. Parading ourselves around. Playing hard when he was around. Trying to get his favor. Spitting slurs about him when he was gone. Fuck. Fucking hells. Of course this place is like him. Of course. Its all one bad fucking joke.+ No sooner than his thoughts end did the encompassing platform at the heart of the assembly begin to change. A shadow crawled through the clouds, and the arrival of their presence brushed against the Fardrifters Domains. As the vapors parted, a giant arose, needing no pillar to lift him from the fires, no means other than his own to ascend this realm. Chronology spilled from him too, but different from most other Godclads present, he was using the golden strings as a rope, like a titan climbing up into the sky. The shadow his being could cast would leave a district drowned in shadow, but his attire was composed of cloud-made robes of billowing white. As light graced the giants features, Avo found himself looking upon a man bearing soft features. His eyes were smallClike beads of cerulean, his lips thin, his head bare of any hair. The roundness of his facial structure made him seem almost infant-like. As he lifted a hand to greet the assembled citizens of Highflame, seven hundred columns rose and carried their Godclads so they would be on an even height with the giant. Seraphs all, these were the hands and confidants of the High Seraph, the law-making arm of Highflame. Below them were mostly Authorities: policy enforcers and judicial interpreters. The Instruments and remainder stood nearest the flames as soldiers, servants, and security. Good evening, my peers, the giant, Osjon Thousand said. He smiled genially at the specks of life around him, regarding them as if a father humoring his children. I bid you warm welcomes to this grand assembly of ours. Alas, that is something only I bid you. The HIgh Seraph has asked me to convey another message. The first is one of disappointment. And disgust.Murmurs broke among the gathered citizens. The tension inside Marisov was spiking and falling like a vibrating string. She has seen you. All of you. Your struggles against each other. The games you play to shame one another. They have shamed her instead. They have shamed our Guild. They have shamed our promise. He clucked his tongue and shook his head. I trust many of you have already noticedCalready heard of the absence among you. House Greatling stands vacant here. Vacant, but not banished. Know that your peer, Uthred Greatling, and his son, Vator Greatling, have embarked on a journey of redemption of their own volition. Somehow, Avo doubted that. Directing his attention to Abrel, the template was suspiciously silent and doing her best to resist the weight of an onrushing trauma. The events here were as much her fault as her brothers. Even if they couldnt see her, she felt the scorn, the shame. But she said nothing. She refused to give her hurt words; surrender power to it. But struggle between our peers must be put to a close. And though you have whispered, it is not our way to let things be decided in idle gossip. Great Houses of the Chivalrics. Know that her gaze is turning from you. Know that your failures remain unredeemed. Take heart and see former Authority Greatling as an example rather than a disgrace; he will stand ahead of a great many of you before this day is over. Previously, there were only mutterings. Now, there was open clamoring and naked terror. Before the volume could climb, Osjon held out a hand and bade everyone back to silence. That is but the first message for the start of this assembly. The second is another welcoming and a first and formal greeting to our uninvited guest. Avo felt an emptiness open inside him. The High Seraph sees you, dear stranger. And she recognizes your valor for triumphing against the Godslayer. Come forth and greet us. Come forth, and accept this privilege. 24-9 The Veil of My Enemy Veylis Avandaer: Samir. Dont you ever want... more? Samir Naeko: More? Well, what do you mean by "more"? More of what? More of this? Veylis Avandaer: Hah. No, not right now. Later, perhaps. But More, more than what existence possesses. More power, more capability to make things better. To be the decider rather than the decided. Samir Naeko: Have you been talking to your dad again? Because this is the type of thing that you would talk to him about. I''m just Veylis Avandaer: You are not a fool. You are not an idiot, you are not a dullard. Stop speaking of yourself this way. Dead gods, it makes me want to throttle you on your behalf. [Samir Naeko sighs] Samir Naeko: You know one thing I don''t get about you? Veylis Avandaer: What is that? Samir Naeko: You talk a lot about power, but it sounds like you really want control. I get it. Thousandhands always going power this, power that, give them nothing, take everything. But this isnt how your mom trains us. She dont care about controlling everythingCjust being better; just cutting away all your enemys options. Youre not asking for power, Veylis. Youre asking to be the sole uhCwhats the word you used the other day? Veylis Avandaer: Arbiter. Samir Naeko: Yeah, arbiter of life or something. Veylis Avandaer: Control is power. Samir Naeko: Bullshit. If that was true, then I''d be a dead slave. If that was true, then all the slavers and masters and faithers would be running things forever. They didn''t have a problem with control, because control was their problem. They could decide anything, and still they fucked everything up. Still they shit the bed. Because when the thought leaves your mind, turns into an action, and finally happens in reality, half the time it ends in a mess. I''ve seen people change their mind a day after because you wanna know something, Vaelis? You imagine something and when it''s coming out before you, it turns out ugly and you wanna take it back, but you can''t. And so you do something else and it tumbles down even further from there. I''m fine with more power. Hells, I''d like to break more things. You like it when I break things. But control, dictating how everyone lives their life, being able to shape the future, that''s your father''s thing. He''s the only man I would trust with it. Maybe him and you. Veylis Avandaer: And me? Samir Naeko: Yeah, of course. And you, even if you''re a little strange. You think about everything. You''re a little bit of a busybodyC (Sound of Veylis palm slapping Naeko''s chest.) Samir Naeko: Okay, okay. But yeah, you care. I''m just afraid you might care a little too much, is all. Anyway. Is it later already? Veylis Avandaer: Did you humor me solely for that? Samir Naeko: My father wasnt Jaus, he was Shackler. He raised a simple man with simple wants, and well, I think youd hurt me if I called you a simple pleasure. Veylis Avandaer: Induitably, my dearest brute. -Veylis Avandaer and Samir Naeko 24-9 The Veil of My Enemy +Shit,+ Draus said. The other members of the cadre were no less unbalanced by the development. +Time to jack out Avo. She''s got her eyes on us.+ +No. Wait.+ Something compelled Avo to stay. They had taken no action to cage or strike at him, opting instead for a performance, revealing his presence to the assembly. Though the act was subtly threatening, Veylis didnt strike him as the type to toy with her food, especially considering how she tried to kill him just two days ago. There was something else here. Perhaps she didnt know where he was, or how he was infiltrating her Heaven. Perhaps she was trying to flush him out and was using paranoia and pressure to achieve such an end. Perhaps she was justC We know you are among us," Osjon continued, eyes sweeping the gathered Godclads around him. Titanic though his form was, his irises were almost pinpricks of pale blueCthe color of a vibrant sky wheeled by a cloud. But beyond the geniality of his appearance, there a wrongness that emanated from him and something about his looming shadow made the Fardrifter neigh with wariness. "Do not be shy, dear stranger. It takes great skill to intrude in a place so high. Thy Seraph congratulates you on such an achievement." Osjon''s words were calm, his voice soft and crisp, like the trickles of a serene lake. But beneath him, the gathered assembly was building to a silent uproar. Accretions cycled like activating turbines. Auto-Seances activated. Ghosts threaded through the air. Whispered thoughts were exchanged between friends, enemies, rivals, and allies alike, with accusations and questions exchanged in mutual quantities. The ever-present threat of Ori-Thaum was constant in the back of their minds, and from their fears did Avo harvest new echoing memories using his warmind of Hysteria. The world dissolved into lines of trauma, with recalled memories of pain and torment materializing within Avos consciousness. Drawing from Peaces thoughts, he knew this wasnt something the warmind was capable of on its own, but unified with his nature as a thoughtform, he wielded it with a supremacy that exceeded all limitations. He could shatter thousands of Godclads around them. Render them barren of thought and self. Strip them of memories and leave this place winnowed by cognitive fire. He could devour what he could and retreat until better opportunities availed themselves. But that amounted to little more than an insult. Spite. He wanted to see the face of his enemy. Or the veil they wore, at least. Learning how Veylis operated was the entire reason he was here, after all. While Avo made his calculations, Osjon simply watched the crowds while Marisov battled the building tension within. The Instrument suspected nothing, for what could he have possibly suspected? When even his awareness betrayed him, how was he supposed to be cognizant of his compromise? As the pressure built to a breaking point, Osjon simply raised a palm and lowered it. The effect was immediate. More oppressive than calming. As his hand fell, and so too did mental chattering. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The dialogue died. Osjon smiled. We see your apprehension. We see your attempts to evade us. To lurk. Lurk within the minds of our Instruments, Dreamer. Avo struggled not to wince. They were slowly revealing more. More of what they knew. Tightening the noose. He shifted his attention of to his cadre and made a decision. +Breaking you from the splinters. Minimizing risk. Draus. Going to stay on. Kill me if I dont check in after 5 minutes. Or if I trigger your session once.+ +Synced,+ the Regular replied. +Dont be a fool.+ +Wont,+ Avo replied. +Need to see if I can find out how much they know. Maybe they might not beC+ "Instrument Marisov," Osjon said, the pitch of his voice climbing higher, almost alight with glee. Instruments Hawaka, Oswill, Makaram. Please step off the pedestal. [Shit,] Corner snarled. Abrel just shook her head. [Avo. She knows. She already knows. Youre not hiding anything from her.] A block of ice formed within Marisov and Avo both. The Instruments eyes went wide, but he mastered himself immediately. This was a test. All things were tests. He simply needed to mantle himself to prove that he wasn''t "Oh, do not take this personally, Marisov. We are sure that you did not know. In fact, so subtle were their movements that even we of the Seraphs did not see. At least, not until the High Seraph shared with us her insight just moments prior. He laughed. "Ah, but Dreamer. What a delightful misstep youve made. But just as well. Just as well. She wishes to speak with you. With you, and your stolen vessels. Avo disconnected the rest of his cadre without a second thought. Draus would deliver if all went south. Once again, he was descending into dark waters aloneCrisking nothing but a death, and a learning experience. He paused then as he thought of Osjons words. Misstep. Suddenly, he realized what the Seraph was inferring. The use of his Chronology Canon. It had to be. The miracles he imposed of time earlier had drawn Veylis'' attention when Kare and Shotin were battling the assassin cells at the Flavors. She had been watching him after. Staring at him from afar. A second epiphany then followed the first. Kare. She was the chain. She was the reason he was compromised nowCor why Veylis and the Seraphs suspected him. Highflame faced Noloth and Ori-Thaum before. Subveretd assets werent rare. Common, even. But for Kare to be at the scene of two major incidents in the past three days, and for the Instruments and Bloodthanes to be exposed to her Marisov placed his foot on the edge and looked down. Flames crackled and whipped from the pillar that bore his weight. Swallowed by the blaze, it was closer to an incandescent stick of wax than a marble column. Below, the sea of fire danced and lapped in lashing curls of calamity. It was only upon perceiving did the Instrument felt the heat, tasted the fear. Throwing himself into the fiery abyss meant trusting the High Seraphs will, trusting Seraph Osjon Thousands commands. Dread pumped through his veins. And Marisov let it pass through him. Drift out of him. His focus cleared. His will was resolute. His mind was made. He directed his gaze high and met Osjons unblinking eyesCeyes the size of twin moons. Marisov lifted a clenched fist in salute. Blessed be the worthy. A few other Godclads recited the creed in accord. Most were content to watch, to pierce him with their judging stares. Fools. What would they know? How would they endure if asked to demonstrate their resolve before the High Seraph? Marisov knew how he would. He would show them. Reveal his character to everyone right now. Giving himself over to trust, to determination, he opened his arms and fell down into the splashing fires. The inferno rose to meet him, but Marisov refused to call upon his Heaven, refused to enclose his face behind his combat-skins collapsable helmet. Death or pain may come his way, but he would not succumb. He would not stray. He had chosen his path. Better a fool of confidence than fates coward. The column he stood on melted with his descent. As fat dollops of white plunged into the roaring waves, and shortly thereafter, Marisov followed. The flames embraced him only briefly, for as soon as he was engulfed, reality came asunder in coiling stands of gold, and the Instrument found himself stumbling to a halt within a cube of white, entirely alone. To his senses, the transition was instant. Fire, then cell. To Avo, reality was actively loading, swells and currents of temporal thaumaturgy changing in composition and structure as Veylis worked to remake her inner world. A hand fell on Mariovs shoulder. A gasp escaped his throat as he turned around, wrist-mounted spatio-kinetic cannon expanding. He spun. The cell blurred. His barrel came to rest under Osjons chin. The bald Seraph didnt even move. Once again, he stood a figure clothed in purest white, though far diminished in size. The air of menace remained about him. As did most of his features, but this close, Avo could see there was movement coming from the shadows he cast; an unwelcome presence locked in a cage. "Worry not, Instrument Marisov, Osjon said, patting Marisov on the shoulder, indifferent to the gun threatening him. Worry not. It isnt you we wish to punish, but the one that resides inside you. That is if our assumption is correct, of course. Around them, existence was actively changing. The fabric of reality was being rewoven by time, and as the strings were fused back together in coiling whorls, the white cell was torn down like wallpaper hiding a grander world beyond. A scene loaded before them. Burner''s Way entered Avo''s awareness as he found his Instrument standing amidst the wreckage, exactly where he had been days prior. Toppled buildings became the aesthetic. Battle lines of golems and drones littered the sky as Highflame and Stormtree stood on the verge of a skirmish. Beside him, the other Instruments were missing, but Paladins Kitzuhada and Sandrupal were present, as were the Bloodthanes. The world was almost exactly as it had been a few days ago in Avos memories. Down to the last detail. The sheer accuracy of Veylis recreation was unnerving. Her Heaven reminded him of his sprint within the Hungers, but more pervasive somehow. More absolute. More controlled. If Necrojack had remade this scene using memories, Avo would have considered them a master. He supposed the same compliment could be paid to Veylis judging by her mastery over time. Apologies, Seraph, Marisov said, braving a breach of decorum as he took in his surroundings before turning to face Osjon. But I dont understand. What is happening? Why am IC Thank you, Osjon. Please leave now. I wish to speak with my newest enemy. Alone. The Paladins and the Bloodthanes spoke in unison. As a legion. Their voices remained their own, but there was someone else there. A director or puppeteer. Veylis. The bald Seraph simply bowed and fell backward into his own shadow, before vanishing utterly from reality. The darkness of his contours faded with his passing and Marisov blinked, his mind a whirlwind of terror and impulses. The High Seraph was before him. The High Seraph was greeting him. The High Seraph was going toCsuspected him of The urges to proclaim his undying loyalty while also declaring his innocence or ignorance warred. An amusing response considering how often he imagined himself in this position: granted an audience with Highflames greatest power. I see you now, Instrument Marisov, Veylis said, continuing to speak through her puppets. Spare me your words. It is not you who I wish to speak. But you do have my sympathy. I trust this is all very confusing for you." It took him more than a few heartbeats to find the words, his lips were dry, his throat was burning, and his mind was on the verge of a complete meltdown. "Yes, of course, High Seraph," he said bowing his head, "it is an honorC No, it is not, Veylis interrupted, the voice of her legion synchronized in sternness and disparagement. "Please Instrument, do not lie to me. This is an unfortunate situation for you. An unpleasant situation. Let Delusion be something you are infested with, instead of an act that you actively perform. Lies are for enemies and we, if we are allies at all, should always hold steadfast to our truths or what we believe to be as such, would you not agree?" Marisov took a moment to compose himself, not ready to be rebuffed so immediately. Yes, of course. Such simply occurred a collective sigh from Veylis puppets. Another synchopant. I really should have Osjon do something about that. But alas, I didnt bring you here to discover if you have a spine but to speak through you. You, and the rest of you cadre. Its an unfair thing you have suffered. Brought low by a force you cannot prevent. A shame. A pity. But brought low nonetheless. Behind her, the horizon expanded, and there, Avo watched as the sky folded upward, curving over them like a tunnel as existence tore once more. A street strewn with rubble, glass, and debris came into view. Water glistened upon plascrete as the corpses of people shared a mutual place of rest with unmoving aquatic lifeforms. Broken halos fizzled away to nothingness, and the only two still standing were Shotin and Kare, trying to regain their bearings next to an overturned arrow. A temporal thread ran between both of Kares chronological puppets. [Im fucking cursed,] Kares template muttered, exasperated at how many great powers were interested in her. 24-10 The Cage and the Plague Of course words can be weaponsChow else do you think your father stayed my hand? Well, yesCthe way he flails with his sword is amusing, and dare I even say endearing. But if you can seize comprehension of your foe, if you can master what they want, what they desire, who they think themselves to be, then you can provoke them. Drive them to unwise action. Capture the animal and herd the man. A warrior with a brittle heart makes for easy prey. A simple statement of provocation paired with a challenge often seals their fate. But it is the ones that can see within that you must fear. The ones that have gazed the shadows of their heart and emerged thereafter changed, but uncrippled. Treat them not as base creatures, my dear. Treat them as the rivals they are, for they know some semblance of what it means to be a Glaive, and thus they will seek to claim your leash before you might claim theirs. -Zein Thousandhand to Veylis Avandaer 24-10 The Cage and the Plague "Firstly, I must commend you," Veylis said, still speaking through her chorus of puppets. There are few people in existence that can outmaneuver my mother. Tell me, was your success an improvisation brought on by desperation or was it long plotted? I must admit that I cannot tell: your reach runs deep in the Paladins, of that I am certain, but the way you exposed yourself at the endCand the nature of your mistake betrays a dissonant inexperience. I surmise you must be used to memories and shadows, but only a mere babe when it comes to drawing taut the strands of time. With each word the High Seraph spoke, Instrument Marisov''s confusion climbed. Within his mind, Avo kept to his silence and considered his response. Though he didnt want to reveal anything to Veylis, he couldnt deny there was a string of curiosity pulling at him C a chance to greet his greatest threat puppet-to-puppet in a session of open, dishonest dialogue. While he observed, Veylis continued on. "But part of your behavior confuses me. Skilled you are at scurrying and slinking about the shadows of this city, you appear to have a problem with numbers. Frequency, for a concept. Let us speak of Paladin Kare Kitzuhada. She''s yours. Of this, I''m certain. Initially, I suspected her uncle was your pawn, but as I counted her involvement in all three recent major incidents while he has only appeared in two, I think you are at best his benefactor. Or he is someone you are trying to claim. Her chronology-forged effigy of Kare grinned while the Paladins template cringed. Vengs Stand. Then, today, at the Fathoms. The progression of the two events brought my attention to her encounter with one of my Instruments. And then to you. Three points in a chain sharing a central protagonist. Why, I have half a mind to accuse you of being the girl herself. But you are not Kare Kitzuhada, are you Dreamer? Pressure built on Avo, but he took this opportunity to learn, to study Veylis as she was trying to study him. If there was anything you could say in favor of the Seraph, it was that she was remarkably good at obfuscating just how much she knew. Seeing how she referred to him as Dreamer indicated a substantial insight into the Famines, for they were the only ones that referred to him as such. Pairing this with how little he truly knew of her capabilities, paranoia rose as he considered how knowledgable his foe truly was compared to how much of this was a play to probe truths from his reaction. "I must admit that I would have missed your infiltration if not for your mistake earlier today. I am usually occupied with a great many thingsCbut the resonance of time cannot be mistaken," the Bloodthanes looked down at Marisov, sneering at him. The mans dread continued to rise, but Avo found his suspicion piqued. What was she trying to do? This brings me to how you claimed my attention today, Veylis said. It is a most uncharacteristic folly. An active and vulgar distortion of chronological progression. Far louder than your first manifestation days ago. This makes me actively curious: is what I assume to be a mistake truly so? Or is it a deliberate provocation? A taunt. Something you flaunt using the Chief Paladin as your shield? Highest Avandaer, Marisov whimpered, composure breaking. The winds around the rustled forth in a susurration shush. Calmness, Instrument. You are just the vessel right now. Understand your role and perform. There is nothing else you can do otherwise. A flicker of emotion resonated with Hysteria. A flash of a face entered Avos awareness. Zein was standing over him, her wooden blade held high and a foot gently planted atop a childs armCfist still clenching a practice sword too large for them. Veylis struggled as the memory collapsed, but the fleeting substance of the echo granted insight. Calmness, my girl. Calmness. You are but the victim in defeat. You are but the disciple when you strive. And you are but the ruler in victory. Understand your role and perform. Perform. Master. And then overcome. To struggle against my enforced truth is in vain, for there is nothing else you can do otherwise. [Fucking Zein,] Peace snarled, spitting imagined phlegm into the mindscape. [Her madness is the ruin of us all. The cunt traitor should have leashed his sow betterCand kept his pups mind clean.] More, Veylis spoke again suddenly, I know that you are peering at me using a modified warmind of Delusion. This you cannot hide from meCand you cannot hold to the thin masquerade of false allegiance. I have culled, herded, slaughtered, and experimented on the Famines of Noloth. Your relation to them is as thief and foe, rather than acolyte or ally. The way you operate is too unfettered; too flexible. And the Hungers, greedy masters that they are, would have never allowed someone they deem as their lesser to bear a Frame. Unless something has changed." But then the expressions of her puppets turned almost inscrutable as their heads tilted in sequentially inverse angles. Unless you are the traitor. A surviving figment of Defiance, come back to taunt me. Strix? Is that you? Have you finally returned to insult me after stealing my Frame? Ruining my opportunity of delivering a kinder salvation upon this world?" Her knowledge of Walton wasn''t a surprise, but it was unnerving nonetheless. More than a few people knew his father had made arrangements and bargains with powers across all of Idelheim, of Walton''s efforts to turn the winds of fortune in Avos favor. Still, to hear Veylis speak the Strixs name made Avos insides shiver. The fabric of time ebbed around Marisov, and Avos Frame groaned under the slightest pressure Veylis exerted. WARNING: SPHERE (IX) LIMINAL FRAME DETECTED The High Seraph seemed to content to jab. To provoke and talk and spur from him a response. This he understood, this he could master, but there was also something else. She wasn''t afraid to speak. In fact, it seems she quite liked to. Something about the way she acted made him wonder if she was starved of proper company. Fine. He would alleviate her boredom. He would feed her curiosity. Just as she would feed his. But he wasnt going to be the victim in this farce, nor would he be content in playing her game. Avo had enough of that with Zein. Best to establish proper adversarial boundaries with the daughter before she misunderstood the nature of their relationship. And the only way to do that was by inflicting some pain; taking some respect. Overriding Marisov''s ego, Avo slotted his base mind in the Instruments sheathe. His senses loaded in and the world around him slithered into sensation. As his cog-feed rebooted, Avo called upon some recently harvested memories and broadcast them at Veylis puppets. Why? Why, godsdamn you! I loved you. I still love you! I would have done anythingCwe could have justC+ The shifting of Chronology halted as a torrent of cognition swept through the puppets. A feeling of disquiet resonated from Veylis and found itself within Hysterias caress; a line of symmetry was formed between ghoul and Seraph as clashing revelations left both disarmed. She knew about his father; about his methods. He knew about her past; about the pain she inflicted on her former lover.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The thing about analogies was that they were aesthetic. She was no more cage than he was actually plague, and by the nature of asymmetry, two could play at this game of prevarication. No longer were her puppets smiling. No longer did they hold any expression. Instead, the Bloodthanes were unraveling into strings of gold, and the surroundings were peeling away, leaving only Kares effigy and Marisov encompassed by a featureless void. There you are, Veylis whispered through Kares voice. Here I am, Avo replied. His templates conspired inside him; simulations formed and collapsed in his mind as he channeled twenty percent of his cognitive capacity to running potential branches of discourse. Zein had the capability to finish multiple conversations ahead of time, and for a time she seemed omnipotent. But ignorance was her undoing, and her daughter shared the same weakness. Time to see if she could be misled further. I must confess some disappointment, Avo began. Was expecting you to notice sooner. Was wondering when Id get your attention. Kare closed her eyes and huffed a laugh. Do you know something funny, Dreamer? Ive heard this taunt from one of my mothers echoes before. The same words. The same intent. You must know her well, then. Well enough to try and kill her. Ah. Almost a common response when it comes to her. Veylis gauged Marisov through her own puppet and frowned. Warminds are unable to function together; they are fragile things, and break when their effects clash. But somehow you are wielding three. She knows. She can see. She knows. She can see. I cant hide us. I cant hide us. I cant hide us Veylis placed a card down. Avo winced. Time to retaliate. Curious. How did you let Ori-Thaum take the Stillborn from you? Expected you to have the project under constant watch. Constant protection. Was your failure something of ignorance? Or arrogance? A full guffaw of laughter rang forth from Veylis this time, and as a faint ripple of thoughtstuff passed through the entirety of the Heaven, Avo tasted genuine joy. Arrogance. And defeat, if I am forced to admit. The Strix. The Famine of Defiance. I confess that I was taken in by his nature. Such a curious specimen. A shame what happened to him. I would have kept him alive if only to possess an agent so valuable. Things must be harder for you without him guarding you. Avo reshaped his own ego before rising rage drove him toward an unwise response. Again, he wasnt sure how much she knew; if she was just playing with him, or if she merely suspected something. Perhaps it was time for him to leave his own lure. To give her a red herring to follow, see what her response wasC I know youre not my Guard-Captain, Veylis began. Their surroundings shifted into a collage of environments and moments bleeding together. Multiple instances of Draus were stitched into form by slithering vines of Chronology. Her engagements during the Fourth Guild War; her firing a missile at a passing aero during her tenure as a squire in the Warrens; red and black splashing over her exo-rigged form as she ignited a fusion burner in a Crucible. The moments continued to expand, much to template-Draus chagrin. [Now she notices me,] Draus scoffed. [Fuckin wonderful.] The world around peeled away to show Aedon Chambers. Of him, Veylis hold manifested one instance in him. His pants were missing. Rantulas longcoat flapped from his back like a cape and while the winds made his genitals twist about like a compass gone haywire. Now it was Chambers turn to sigh. [I got better moments than that, lady, what the fuck! At least use me rashing Shotin.] Nor are you that poor pitiful creature, Aedon Chambers, Veylis said, sounding on the verge of laughter. I read the Paladin report and saw the little stageplay you made for Instrument Mondelles. Very amusing. You may want to consider deepening your use of propaganda if you havent already. Was that a hint that she knew about Marlowe or an actual recommendation? Avo couldnt tell anymore. More annoyingly, Veylis was proving every bit as aggravating as her mother, if in a more loquacious manner. [Finally, you see,] Peace groaned in sympathy. [All of Thousandhands disgusted fucking self-assuredness, and all of Jaus need to never shut his cunt mouth distilled into one perfectly arrogant girl who thinks she knows better and is better than everyone.] AbrelCawed to be in the presence of the Seraph, simply offered a quiet retort. [Thats because she uh, kinda fucking is, consang.] [Speak to me once you remember the texture of your dead whore-mothers nipple, you fucking misshapen cunt!] An argument spontaneously began between the two and Avo loaded them into his mindscape, where the highly augmented Godclad began brutally beating the Famine. Regulars and enforcers gathered round to cheer, and Peace turned his slurs on Avo as well. That just leaves Agnos Kae Kusanade. Or one of the Columners. Veylis channeled a smile through Kare. Or maybe youre the Pale Spider. The user of the Bone Demon sheath that keeps appearing over and over again. An unnerving conclusion, though expected. Avo responded with a casual chuff. Got me. Veylis smirked. Do I? Hm. I suppose it is possible. Defiance did have a penchant for twisted little creatures, but a sheath is a sheath. Like a mask. Discardable. Mutable. Why, look at us now. Veritable skinwalkers, Avo replied, playing along. Exactly, she sighed. Maybe Ive seen your face. But what does that mean to me, anyway? I still dont know you. Ever the mystery you remain. false-Kare ran a hand through her hair and looked up into the ambient light. Would you like to trade stories? Things I know about Defiance for the experiences you shared with my mother? A beat passed. Why do you think I care about what you did with Defiance. Hes dead. Gone. But still here. In memory. And maybeC she gestured. Famines leave many nodes. And as I said, it would be an awful waste to discard an asset of his caliber. Partially broken though he might be in the end. [Trap,] Benhata hissed. [She doesnt have anything connected to Walton. AvoC] But the ghoul was ahead of him. No. Veylis froze. No? In that moment, she sounded exactly like a softer version of ZeinCher true voice slipping through. Not interested in playing house with you anymore, Avo said. Come to face you. Come to take you in. To meet my enemy. Nonchalance vanished from the Chrono-Paladins face and a look of satisfaction came into place. Ah. And what do you make of me? That you like to talk. That youve been lonely. That youre afraid of facing Naeko. That there are more things keeping you in checkCat bay from sweeping over the other Guilds. And that you want me to betray myself to you. Betray my knowledge. Because it would be an expression of power. Control, Veylis corrected. Expression of control. Avo grunted. How long has it been since you stepped beyond your Heaven? How long has it been since you faced someone you couldnt dominate? That you couldnt break or command. I wouldnt know, Veylis replied, shrugging Kares shoulders. I have not yet met such a person. Naeko. Your mother. Defiance. In good time; within my measure; an entertaining distraction and nothing more. Veylis leaned in closer. The metaphysical around him thickened, the strands of time swelling with tension and building force. Do you know what I make of you, Dreamer? Suppose youre going to tell me, Avo replied. I think that your arrogance exceeds mine; I think that Defiance was more than just a mere benefactor to you; I think that your mastery over Necrotheurgy and association with Noloth betrays the rest of you and that there is only one person I can imagine the traitor priest bestowing the Stillborn uponCcertainly none of my mothers expendable candidates. But she never trained you to be a true contender in this war, so she left you untrained in the use of time as a weapon." Because shes trying to claim the Ladder herself, Avo shot back, seeing if his knowledge would inspire any unexpected reactions. Kare closed her eyes. Ah. So, she showed you that as well. I suppose she mustve liked you more than all the other ones before. Only so far as a useful amusement, Avo replied. And finally a proper foe. Then, I suppose you do know her quite well. Again, I am impressed that you managed to best herCeven in unofficial capacity. Returning the Chief PaladinC Naeko, Avo said, giving the position a name. Veylis ignored him, but the faintest vibration of pain and bitterness called to him. Ah, but they were both reaping something from each other. Getting a measure for the nature of their opposition. --to the fold. Did it hurt? Avo asked, taking a risk as stepped forward, meeting Kares effigy eye to eye. Did it hurt when you betrayed him? Or did it hurt more when he didnt bend to you? When he chose your fathers dream over you? And did that hurt more than murdering your own father? Over the Gatekeeper. Over his final decree. Because you didnt want to give up control. [Avo, what the fuck!] Abrel hissed, taking a moment out of her beating. [Are you trying to get us snuffed.] But as old wounds sang with dulled pain, Avo had to hide a smirk. Enough of Veylis Avandaer was still human in emotion. Human in ego. Veylis sized him up again and nodded. The Heaven didnt change and time remained as it was. But when next she spoke, Veylis gave forth her own vector of attack. Do you think I can engender more sympathy in you if I killed your Bloodthane? Avos thoughts stopped dead. Then, suddenly, everything came together. Veylis had been putting things together, had followed Kares thread and traced his runs and dives across the city, connected him to Walton. But the parts missing from the picture misdirected her, made her regard his actual self as a decoy sheath, and planted her attention upon another. Another disciple of WaltonsCsomeone he mustve entrusted his legacy too. White-Rab. Raldi. Who was tied to Reva JavversCalso present at Nu-Scarrowbur when Draus and Chambers were escaping. His realization made Hysteria resonate once more. Veylis had followed the wrong strings across time. Everything connected to him also brushed against White-Rab. White-Rab, the Necrojack. White-Rab, the hidden disciple of the Strix. White-Rab, the inheritor of the Stillborn. White-Rab. Avos decoy. Avos shadow. For the first time, Avo felt genuinely disgusted at his father. Godsdammit Walton. 24-11 The Atrocity [Query] Yes, Gatekeeper. [Why do you wish to make the truth a weapon?] Because I want things to matter. I want there to be a fundamental force for virtue, for righteousness, for honesty. [And there isn''t now?] No. Only a delusion of what could be. We have weaponized concepts, reality, even justice. Justice most of all. I have dismantled most gods of justice out of disgust. Can I confess to you why? [Yes.] I cannot bear to face them. They leave me ill. On the verge of sickness. When I behold their canons, it takes all I have to prevail against my rage, my despair. I cant sleep when I face them, and I find myself jealous of my love as she slumbers in her bliss. [Why?] Because in justice we are damned. In justice I see the fault of our design. Our HeavensCall were for the enforcement of order. Hierarchy. Brutality. Dominance above all. What righteous for the small? What structure to provide for the common? What instrument to stand against the rot? None. There is not. It is but an apparatus to funnel reactions of man that breaks and breaks and breaks. I see in it the greater entropy that prevadesCthe one in our ideals and hearts. I see no victory in the hearts of man. [They hurt your faith in humanity.] Worse. They hurt my faith in humanitys promise. I once thought polities of the void to be our future, our salvation but they are fragmentation. Their triumph is one of self-subjugation. Of giving themselves to another. And it hurts of ego to behold, I cannot deny. It hurts me to think that the great triumph of humanity is to render ourselves as pet and trophies. My daughters disgust is understandable, but her faith is no salvation. I cannot rule. I cannot be a tyrant. I havent the heart. I havent the will. Not to lead mankind. And not to fail her faith. [A philosophical hell.] An egotistical one. Forgive me, Gatekeeper. You are but days old, and this is what I offer. [You are an arrogant man, Jaus Avanadaer. Arrogant in your kindness. Arrogant in your virtue. Arrogant because you are desperate for humanity to triumph when so much of your kindred have no interest in triumph, just survival. A lament of dissonance. Between the nature of the ape. And the dreams of man.] [Did I hurt you?] Yes. Thank you. [You are welcome.] I must find a way to introduce you to her. [Your daughter.] Yes. It would do her well to greet you properly. My daughter. My champion. My love. My greatest pride. She is beyond me. Beyond me in so many ways, but still she I cannot bear failing her, I cannot bear hurting her, but I do not have the ability to deliver the world she desiresCand the fault is mine. So exalted was her birth and potential that I have left her severed from the common man. [She holds fault for her own choice. Your fault is trying to make child of someone that isnt.] [You are a brittle man, Jaus Avandaer. I see why the world seems a cage. I see why you will not rule. You are wise. But wisdom is a trait. Not a decision. And seeing the path does not mean you can tread its length.] No. Help me. Please. I am trapped. I am trapped with the rest of humanity, but they think I can lead them. But I cannot. I cannot. I cannot even convince my own daughter to abandon her path of folly. -Jaus Avandaer to [The Gatekeeper] 24-11 The Atrocity The very thought that Walton could have used Raldi as nothing more than a decoy gnawed at Avo, but the possibility couldn''t be ignored. Everything he did for Avo came at the cost of anotherCof countless others. Kae. Noloth. Zein. The Column. But was he truly willing to sacrifice his disciple in such a manner? As nothing more than a lure? The relationship between White-Rab and the Strix was a genuine one. This Avo believed to be true. But Walton had never strayed from his objective. Never been stymied by conscience or mercy. [You keep forgetting what he was, creature,] Peace snickered. [Defiance, of the Low Masters. Just because the sow-born bastard was a traitor doesnt make him the ally of another. You were his only loyalty. His only legacy. Blind gods, he probably saw you as Noloths only true inheritance.] Bitterness came, but Avo didnt sequence it away. Refused. The truth wasnt something to flee from but accepted. He faced this before. Many times before. Walton gave everything for him, but one must face the enormity of their forebearers deeds once they passCthe good and the ill lest delusion become something he wielded against himself. And ultimately, Walton was effectively gone. Used by adversaries and allies as an effigy, but fundamentally gone. His game was finished, and it was time for Avo to determine how he would carry out the man''s legacy. I see my statement has struck home, Veylis said, still speaking through Kare. The Paladins movements were lifelike, the lack of a mind betrayed the constructs nature as something less than a puppet. Avo''s stay of silence convinced her of the wrong notion. Turned her attention to White-Rab. With her certainty cemented, the only thing that could turn her away was the actual truth, but Avo doubted that would spare his progenitor from the High Seraphs wrath either. It was up to Avo to keep his cadre from harm, to see his fathers sins be cleansed. White-RabCand Reva for that matterCneeded to be protected. Watched. Another weight to be borne. The risks were spilling over. The threats were only growing. No other way but forward. Once again, I must commend you on your accomplishments. Misdirecting the Great Guilds for so long, identifying a most unexpected flashpoint in the form of Jhred Greatling and inflict such chaos across the city Its sublime. Notes of genuine pleasure cascaded along strands of time, driving Avo to wonder just where Veylis mind was rooted. Whatever the case, the High Seraph was no liar: she genuinely found his achievements misattributed though they might be spectacular.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it I have so many more questions for you. So many items of curiosity. How did you claim the warminds? How are you using them in such a sustained manner? Were you the cause of the Nethers imbalance as well? What drove you to conflict against my mother? Her drug habit didnt help, Avo deadpanned. Kares lips came together in a thin line as Avos warmind of Hysteria detected a shadow of displeasure from Veylis. A faint memoryCgazed as if through the currents of a raging riverCcalled to him, showing a young girl glaring down at her clearly intoxicated mother. Smoke drifted up past Veylis face as Zein offered her a particularly foul-smelling herb. Veylis refused her. Vehemently. She landed the first her first blow on her mother that day, and for that, her mother, intoxicated though she was, picked up her and spun her proudly before bringing her to the beach. [What the fuck is this family,] Talon-3 muttered. {Such is a question many minds have failed to solve,} Calvino commiserated. Did she try to leash you to her Heaven? Veylis suddenly asked. It took a moment for Avo to understand the subtext. Zein? Yes. He didnt answer. Which was an answer unto itself. Forgive my mother, Veylis sighed. Her predilection toward forcefulness and dominance is charming only when its directed against a common enemy. Doubtless you must have deviated far from her paths in the end to provoke such severity. More than once she has cast assets into the future, dumping them out at the right place at the right time. I must admit to losing more than a few of our exchanges due to such. But I suppose she mustve planned to deposit you just before the end. Just before the arrival of the Ladder. Isnt that so. Avo saw little point in denying this. Veylis knew her mother better than he did. Wish I could have killed her. You wouldnt be the first. It was her dragon, wasnt it? I felt its presence. Poor creature. Well. You should know by now that she only has but one objective: to undo the shape of my paths. To completely sever my father from his final destiny. Now that youve sampled her selfishness first-hand, that youve seen the state of the world we need not be enemies, White-Rab. Perhaps not allies, but you must know this world requires a unifying symbol. A singleton. You? Avo asked. Veylis had Kare shake her head. No. My father. Vast though my ego may be, I am unlike my mother. I am not driven by impulse and feeling; base emotions. Somehow, Avo found this dubious, and she read his doubt from Marisovs expression. Truly. I am not. Not even the slightest. She held up a hand as if imploring him to listen and paused. Have you any idea what it took from me to commit myself to this task? ToCto seize the reins of Highflame? To forge proper warriors out of jackals and hyenas? Know you murdered your father, Avo jabbed. Veylis opened her mouth and paused. A confused expression followed. Is that what you think happened? Is that what my mother told you? What you believe? Dont believe anything; dont trust anything. Know the damage your war has done to the paths. Most people thought Zein was dead. Thought you either tried to ascend Jaus and were betrayed. Or that you were the arch traitoress that murdered your own father. Ah, Veylis breathed. She nodded as if contemplating the information. A rare case where all myths are true. She closed her eyes. Before I go further, I wish for you to know that if you believe what I did to my father granted me any gratification, you are wrong, and will incur my despisement. Avo grunted, unimpressed by the threat. Tell me your truth. Dont care about the rest. Veylis opened Kares eyes, and with a wave of her hand, the world around her twisted and changed, waves of time painting the scenes of a final apocalypse. The sky was flayed asunder by descending tendrils of chaos. A starry firmament materialized and tore as the Sunderwilds spilled over into stable reality. As the patterns of existence unraveled, only Avo and Veylis remained. Two forms stood amidst the torrents of entropy, shrouded by the shadow of a rising spire. The Flayed Ladder rose once more, pushing out from the ruins of Scale like a tooth birthed from a wound. All sense of consistency shattered. The chains of causality broke. The world was a boiling cauldron of incoherence, but this time, the Ladder itself groaned, the Ladder itself cracked, the Ladder itself approached as fissures inched down its exterior. The uncountable bodies fused to the ladder''s shape clung to their supplication even thousands of their number were shredded apart in gushing rivers of gore. Most continued their prayer, skulls melded to the structure, prostrations eternal, unaware or indifferent that the cage they comprised was being torn open. A Soul-rattling crack ran through Avo as the Flayed Ladder was pried open. The act of violence scarred himCscarred his mind as much as did when Zein first showed him. COG-CAP: 55% Even with Hysteria, Emotions onslaught was paltry. All other traumas were inconsequential. This was the face of all things unmade. This was the alter of all laws undone. This was the defilement of all that could be, will be, never to be. Look, Veylis'' voice was gentle, sorrowful. Kares form was fraying, coming apart in flowing strings. Inside, Avo caught a glimpse across the veil, saw an immense shadow cradled by countless arms, enchained within the darkness of a pit. There was a place there. A time. A location. Avos internalized Domain of Chronology whispered secrets to his instincts, fed realizations that couldnt be deduced by a mortals insight. Veylis wasnt here. At least, not in the present. Her Heaven was an ocean, but not all its waves moved in sync. If he wanted to seek her, to strike at her, he needed to learn to swim, for unless he learned at one point in time to strike, she would always be beyond him. Just as his splinters placed him beyond her. Or so he hoped. Look, Veylis repeated. Kare was utterly dissolved now, and her dissolved silhouette stood a window to ever-changing moments across history. Places, sensations, people, and ideas claimed by the High Seraph for her own use. In a way, she was more archive than personCthe embodiment of retro-history resurrected. As he stared, a chasm of blood oozed free from the Flayed Ladder, and darkness followed the bifurcation. It was not a natural darkness. No. But it was familiar. The motes he saw in the Maw. The same shade infusing his entropic windsCthat which he used to unmake the concept of matter. Devouring shadows coursed up and through each segment of the tower, but slowly, the Rend receded, and Avos mind recoiled as he struggled to conceptualize what he saw. The screaming tore into his mindCbegan as it had always been, as if it always was, like Avo had been retroactively hearing a note of unceasing agony for time upon time upon time uponC COG-CAP: 71% Wincing, Avo shifted his mental architecture and devoted more sequences to his wards. He used symmetrical memories for amplification, Hysteria hypercharging the potency of his wards. The Conundrums, already peerless among its category, turned from reactive layers to an impenetrable field. Updating COG-CAP: 49% He caught Veylis doing a double take, tendrils of time coursing around him, rearing back as if serpents waiting to strike. He didnt bother stifling his satisfaction. Rude of you. Been through this already. Cant crack my mind this way. I wish to see your mettle, Veylis answered, her voice now sounded like the totality of all things. She was an explosion, a whisper, a breeze, a hurricane, a laugh, a cry, a river, a fire. She spoke, and existence itself spoke in her stead. Surprised? Avo asked. Impressed. I have known so few with the fortitude to behold the truth. He was about to continue, but light painted shape into the interior of the Ladder, and Avos thoughts abandoned him. The sight was an atrocity. There was nothing else to say. Across ten segmentsCten Spheres of thaumaturgyCa sprawl of torment cried out to Avo; a wall of hands reached out for him. From the soil of the Maw to the tip where the Ladder burrowed into the coming kingdom, one face looked back at Avo, one man suffered endless cycles as the cyclers around the Ladder spun. Around a pulsating Soul orbited duplications of one man, and golden chains laced his selves together like links in a chain. Duplications of one man experiencing the fullness of the apocalypse, the calamity flowing through themCbecoming them. This was the source of the screaming, and through the man coiled upward to ascend the spiral of existence, his movement found its end upon a temporal scar. A split bifurcated the fifth segment from within, and the flowing paths of time came apart as tatters, as separate futures, as contradictions. Soulfire erupted with each passing second. But the Ladder endured. As did the man''s suffering. And as the tower came to a final halt right before Avo, displacing tides of black. Realization followed. Realization, and horror. [Jaus!] Benhata cried. [Jaus,] Abrel whispered. [Jaus.] Corner choked. [Jaus?] Chambers breathed. Jaus, Avo finished, struggling to process what he was seeing, forcing himself to look away. ThatC Yes, Veylis said, her tone taking on a somber quality. My father. The crown of my faith. The one true savior the world deserved, and who deserved the world. Come, Dreamer. Gaze upon my greatest failure. Gaze upon what my mother has deprived the worldCthe glory that we could have had. Gaze upon the reason you must aid me, gaze upon the severance of Jaus Avandaer! 24-12 Declarations (I) Veylis! No! Please! Do not do this! Do notC I love you father, but I must cure you. I must cure your weakness, and through your ascension, may the rest be made worthy. There is no other end. There is no other end. There is no other end. -Jaus and Veylis Avandaer 24-12 Declarations (I) Your own father Avo said, forcing the words out. His templates recoiled with horror and Calvino murmured something unintelligible. How? How could you do this? For the dream, Veylis said, honest in her sorrow. For the promise of a greater mankind. I love my father, and I have seen him reshape the worldClift our people from ruins. Made gild the legacy of rusted gods. But as a mere mortal, a mere Godclad above that, it wouldnt have been enough to deliver us from our own weakness. So I sought to change thatC It wasnt his choice, Avo hissed, disgust rising by the second. You forced him into this. Made himC The collective scream of Jaus Avandaer cut him off. Jaus screamed as a symphony unto himself. He was a parted man. Parted in infinite instances, The progression of time ensured his germination. Avo gazed upon the mans face, upon blonde locks strained slick with feverish sweat, of bloodshot blue eyes weeping with despair, of pearly teeth exposed in a constant scream, of pale features rendered sheet-white by constant suffering. With each passing second, he birthed a new iteration of himselfCa new link to the chain of suffering. And so too did they experience all the torment that their predecessors, themselves in the past, did. Through his root, he internalized all the patterns of reality. Everything. Stitching omnipotence into his form. But a mortal vessel made for poor kindling, and so the fires of divinity could only sear, and the fragile shell of a mortal mind served as a glass vase for an immeasurable weight, so it could only break. As the moment played on, the instances of the man dissolved, and Avo watched JausCa single version of himself composed of countless screaming faces, painted by the infinite colors of existenceCcry out in metaphysical lament. Veylis! No! Please! PleaseC The screams began again, and Avo recoiled. His templates begged him to look away. Faintly, he thought he heard Calvino and Kant weeping. But he forced himself to meet the Godbreaker, the savior, the name so many utter when times are darkest. Jaus. Knowing suffering is one thing. Beholding it is another. But feeling it feeling just a trickle of the mans agony leaking across time into Hysteria COG-CAP - 89% Most of Avos templates shattered outright. Kant disconnected. Draus lasted the longest before dissolving like dust. Only Avo remained. Avo and Calvino, letting the atrocity scar them. An indelible mark severed Jaus from final ascent and granted his metaphysical form a final death. Some form of relief granted by Zein. Jaus was more chronology than man within the confines of the Ladder, and his purgatory was perpetual. How can you endure this? Avo asked turning back to glare upon the temporal fissure that was Veylis. For as long as he lived, he knew himself to be a monster. Knew himself to be a beast that preyed on men. But Veylis She was beyond his capacity to match. And from the whispers of her mind, she didnt even do it out of cruelty. I know, Veylis said, voice soft. I will be judged in the end. Whatever trial or fate awaits, I accept. For my fathers dream must be delivered. No matter the cost. Whatever the cost. Even if it breaks me. Even if it breaks him. [Shes motherfucking insane,] Benhata gasped. Corner disagreed, though his terror was no less than the Glaives. [No, consang. Shes just a true believe. A faither. An extremist.] You show me this, Avo said and found himself winnowing his mind of all empathyCall humanityCto endure the screams. For the first time, he found himself fully reaching for the beast, and though the monster mantled his mind and shielded him with pleasure, his cushion was merely sensory, while his dread remained existential. You show me this and ask me to join you? Side with you? Help you? Of course, Veylis said without hesitation. I can see it. Your disgust. Your pain. I know what you feel. I know it more. My motherCshe was always weak when it came to him. Her love was devotional. Protective. As if he was something fragile. Something she was terrified of losing. But we all must sacrifice for the Final Design. A beat entered their conversation, but Jaus torment was perpetual, his cries carried across time. The Stillborn. I wished to integrate it with the structure. To better enforce the shape of my fathers eventual selfhood. It was meant to be a mold. Something to merge with the Ladder. To become its likeness. But why not just use it? Avo asked. Why not just use it and surpass the Tenth Sphere? Surmount this reality. Why does he have to suffer? Why cant you or someone justC The patterns of time around him changed and restructured the world once more. The Flayed Ladder remained before them, but Jaus vanished. A reveberation spread through the paths and the spire was expanding like a heart, threads of light passing like a needle through the shapeless void around them, passing through reigniting starts and soaking away the entropy of the Sunderwilds. A realm of tranquility came into shape. And constructs were birthed from the light. Vast ring-shaped structures. Miracle-infused Dyson Carriers. Disks that could encompass entire systems. Worlds fully converted to silicon and vivianite, simulating realms of Nether-supported paradise. Enormous beacons of ethereal brightness broadcast tidal waves of ghosts through the black, and within them resided memories of voidships and worlds entire, shifting between realms of mind and matter with a thought. Even at a glimpse, Avo knew this to be the fullest realization of Noloths potential. The merging of the Deep Nether and the material rather than just the stacking. As one galaxy brightened with detail, more followed in its wake, ruptures receding with the darkness, the indelible wounds inflicted on existence stitched back together. As one, the myriad stars oscillated in luminosity and their shifts in radiance became melodic frequencies. Existence was singing to itself. Speaking to itself. And inside each star was a metaphysical anchor. A Soul. An administrator of realitys design. A Gatekeeper for how things ought to be.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Down the paths of my fathers folly we go, then, Veylis said. Take in the world a mere two centuries from now. Take in the wonder. Take in the splendor. Take in the peace. Reminds you of the world that was, does it not? The future is past-made, as my father quipped. The paths continued to lay their tracks, and Avo found the center of the galaxy coming into focus over the Ladder. A great fissureConce bifurcating all of totality, was slowly receding, retreating. The cracks of that primordial singularity where the original sin was performed resembled cracks inlaid with gold, but its depths still festered, still had spots of black dotting patches of Soulfire. Time progressed. The stars closed in. Existence flourished with animation, flesh-made leviathans sharing the coldness of the expanse with vessels of twisting geometries, while the difference between world and ship vanished entirely. Yet, as they gathered around the singularity, the first flickers of conflict flared once more. The first projectiles were lobbed between stars and celestial bodies, each attack a metaphysical jab; subtle and intended to disrupt. But every retaliation spilled over into another, soon the stars were flaring, bending the laws of existence to shroud their subjects from harm. As the war began in fullness, symbols came alight over each of the stars. Symbols resembling those of the Guilds. Symbols for the factions of a coming war. Two centuries is the longest his dream can endure. Even with the aid of his Gatekpeers. Most paths Ive walked saw the outbreak of war near instantlyCand the utter annihilation of Idheim in over half those simulations. The Gatekeepers are subverted by those they are supposed to serveCthe Guilds are loyal to Jaus, but only so far, and as they too have tasted authority, they will not give themselves to another entity without stipulations. Avo worked to untangle her meaning. Stipulations. That Jaus allows them to command their own Gatekeepers? Or design them? That he based them off the voider minds. One of my fathers rare mistakes. Something even their polities might agree was folly. No retort came from Calvino as the EGI listened and acknowledged the statement. {She continues to retain significant support among portions of the polity. Especially those who wish to discuss terms of reconciliation with Omnitech. A process that only she is capable of facilitating.} I will not disparage them for starting the war, Veylis said, the world sighing on her behalf. How could I? Strange as things are, they were but our children, but the instruments and governors we imagined to be perfect, yet were laid low by the folly we left within their programming. Ours is the sin. The original sin. Existence was boiling now. Patches of the void were rupturing once more as stars imploded or shattered, dying as splotches of Rend leaking from bursting Frames and oozing Souls. Another future. Another apocalypse. The cycle persists. But this time, chaos swept across everything, and what little remained amidst the winnowing dark existed as disparate campfires that flickered out one after another with the continuation of time. In the end, existence was broken once more. Sin from sin, Veylis said, echoing her fathers words. It cannot be fixed factionally, for the rot is born in the individual and the responsibility they should bear cast onto the shoulders of another. And your solution was to make Jaus bear all of this? Avo asked, incredulous. Veylis chuckled. There was no humor in her laughter. No. He will watch. He will dictate. He will uphold. And he will be the whisper in every mind, the wind at our backs, the consequence that follows our actions, and the very force behind our blows. He will not save us. He will judge us. Punish us. Guide us. Until all are wise. Until we can all save ourselves. Disbelief exploded inside Avo. The longer the conversation continued, the more surreal things seemed to get. Youre trying to give everyone your childhood. I am trying to ensure humanity has a proper mentor for the final phase of its maturity. We have gone long enough as we are. Like feeble children or base animals. Like slaves desperate for a kinder master. Through the Stillborn, we mend the damage inflicted by my mother, reconnect my father to the Gatekeeper and the Nether, grant him deserved ascent and allow the Ladder to truly serve as its namesake. A ladder for humanity. All of humanity. Something we can climb. In his image. To only be granted power when we prove ourselves worthy before the wise eyes of one: Jaus, the Final. Jaus, the Mentor. Jaus, the Deliverer. [Holy shit,] Chambers whimpered. [This bitch is motherfucking insane.] Unknowing and uncaring of the templates remark, Veylis continued. You ask me for my dream? My vision of the future? I do not want us to be the property of artificial nannies. Never maturing. Never growing. An eternal burden. Within us lies potential and weakness at war, but the former can be cultured, and the latter culled by augmentation. I wish to see a world made balanced in will, mind, and might. A perpetual detente shaped toward endless ascent and judged forevermore by the righteous will of my father. And with each who prove blessed, my father will share with them his power, his Heavens, and closer to totality will we all walk. I will not lie. I do not seek perfection, for perfection for one is misery for another. Neither do I seek paradise, for such is just another cage, and I will not suffer pampering. Not by design. Not from another. Humanity can prove themselves worthy of divinity. Can rise beyond their differences and govern themselves through a dialect of war. War internal. War external. War, held in check by an ultimate God of Justice. By a Monad above demiurges. Jaus. And in the end, we might find ourselves masters. Masters unto ourselves. Worlds unto ourselves. Gods unto ourselves and no other. For the only rule that one should be bound is to oneself, and so I pray our chains are righteous-made and wisdom-blessed. Avo had no words. None. He had expected He didnt know what he expected with Veylis. He didnt know what he expected at all. Zein, perhaps. The Godslayer was her own characterCno one else in the world was like her. But her daughterCshe was ever bit the individual supremacist, but with a complex. A near-fanatical worship of her father. And seemingly uncaring of the contradictions in her logic. Do you see now, Dreamer? Do you see the world of highest design? Do you wish to live free? There is a reason I mark foes as esteemed enemies. There is a reason. I will not see anyone destroyed when victory comes. But we will all be made to grow. All start on different rungs in the eyes of Jaus. And when the finality comesC Avo interrupted her. "You keep talking about self-rule. You talk about proving oneself worthy. Have you looked inside? Inside anothers mind? Have you tried living as them? Felt their joys? Their fears? Have you carried their hate? Have you been saved by another? Had someone sacrifice for you? Veylis paused as she pondered the question. I have beheld their behavior. I have studied their actions. Their victories. Their failings. Only from the outside. Have you seen the colors? More apprehension on her part. I do not understand. Avo let out a slow wheezing breath and looked at Jaus. Poor, poor Jaus. Poor pitiable Jaus. No one got what they deserved in New Vultun, in life, but to behold such an inflicted fate was beyond the beasts ability to blunt. Veylis was blind. She wanted her father to be a solitary judge. A distributor of power. A state above states and god above gods. And to ensure her vision came to be, she crucified him. Not only in flesh but spirit. And then his wife had slain himCbut not completely. Blind, Avo muttered. Youre blind. You think what youre doing is right. I am aware of my sin and accept what punishment my father might deliver upon me. Even oblivion. He could only stare at her. But you believe this to be worthy martyrdom still. Is it not? Again, he had no words. Was it her childhood that left her so warped? Was it growing up during the Godsfall? Facing the unspeakable acts of the faiths? Was it Zein? Or did this come later? After years of isolation as a Godclad? After making herself the so-called High SeraphCthe Monad of Highflame. Death is nothingness, Avo replied, finally. Death is simple. You dont learn after death. You are either used. Or you cease to be. This isnt a chain. This is a noose. You are hanging humanity. You are hanging humanity using the corpse of your father. You are hanging humanity on from a tree of virtues only you believe in. And Veylis scoffed. The sound came from everywhere. Deep. Loud. Scornful. A screeching chorus. And you would what? Let them be as they are? Continue to repeat their mistakes? A beat followed. Ha. But Ive told you too much. Shown you too much. Been too generous. Tell me, Dreamer. What dream do you hold? What coming paradise would compel you to sacrifice everything. Avos response was simple. I do not wish to sacrifice. I wish to show humanity the truth of things. I wish to marry consequence to freedom. I wish to cut your noose. 24-13 Declarations (II) Ah, but hearts are blind, and our eyes are pregnant with lies. We see what we will, and we will what we wish to see. And for those who claimed to be undamned by faith, know that you are damned by thought. For the shape of your desire forms your cage, and righteousness is sought second to paint the walls with the colors of the horizon. There is no escape for the fettered mind. No escape. No release. No becoming. -The Mad Monk Alsyim, Fallwalker 24-13 Declarations (II) Veylis guffawed, and the world laughed with her, drowning Jaus screams by sheer volume. Cut my noose? I see you now. Why, how bold. How idealistic. You wish to see humanity unshackled? Is that it? To let them roam as free-range animals without constraints to their baseness nor ceilings against their ambitions? Is that it? No, Avo said. More than just an ideal. Seen the alternative. Cynicism is a lie. Lie of the weak hands. Weak wills. Or addicts of control. I bring the disintegration of baseness through choice. Growth. Is that so? Veylis let out a breath and a gale swept through the world. I''ve spoken enough. I''ve shown you enough. My generosity is at its limit. I demand recompense: I demand you speak to me now. I''ve shown you my dream, my great transgression; my final desire. I see your offense, but want to gather your true form, glimpse your true face. Your dream. What have you experienced that shaped you so? And Avo did. Ghosts poured out from his mind, materializing as a ballet of memories. He veiled himself beneath a cloak of horror, playing perspectives from victim and perpetrator both. Is this what you fear? These people? Their failings? Their weakness. He felt Veylis delight lessen. I do not fear them. Then why do you face existence like a tyrantClike a scared child? You made this cage because you fear the end. Fear the destruction of your system. Your desired order. You are enslaved by a need to triumph. You and your mother both. And you are horrified by the potential of your father surrendering his will. And yours for that matter. Failure. Failure traumatizes you. Even the potential of it. And does it not you? Veylis replied, taking in the murder, the flow of slavery, the destitution afflicting the small. Does this scene not compel you to disgust? Make you wish you can bend the fate of humanity toward a brighter pathway? No. Why? Veylis asked, genuinely bemused. Tell me. Haven''t you seen the face of our world? Haven''t you seen the calamities brought on by this war? By the Guilds slavering for their own dominance? By the legacy of Noloth? Haven''t you found yourself disgusted by the vermin? By the unworthy?" I have imbibed them, Avo answered. The phantoms around him changed. Showed death after death. Showed the horrors festering in the Warrens. Showed the collateral damage left in the aftermath of quiet wars. Left from Vengs Stand and Nu-Scarrowbur. From of the street covered with water-logged bodies outside Flavors of the Deep. I have felt them all. Lived them. Internalized them. And I found them wanting. They do not shake me. I do not fear the lack in men. A pause in the conversation followed the end of his sentence. Veylis savored his words to Jaus cycling cries. What is that like? She sounded genuinely curious. You wear anothers ego using Delusion. You dive into their livesCcoat yourself in their weakness without disgust. What is that like? He could almost hear a plea in her voice. Demeneted though she was, the High Seraphs delusion only occupied a narrow facet of her mind. She wanted to understand him as much as he did her, and in this, both of them were betraying more to each other than they initially wished to reveal. Avo knew this. Felt this. And could not turn away. There is no satisfaction higher, he said. I wish It was like being blind before. Seeing only white. Then you see black. Then more. More. Colors flow into you. Emotions you never felt before. You learn to scorn some people. You learn to pity them thereafter. You learn to accept them finally. You learn to accept. Accept totally. A resonanting thought brushed against his warmind of Hysteria, and a splash of memories painted the canvas of Avos awareness. He watched Veylis gaze down upon the city, watching the people, nudging the directionality of their lives, striking the vile. The moment was absurd; like watching someone use reality as their dollhouse, and such was how Veylis felt. But instead of inhumanity and indifference, horror filled her every time an act of evil was committed. Horror when a child was sold. Horror when murder followed. Horror when the starving turned to feast on filthCand then their own kin. Horror. There wasnt a lack of empathy here, but rather a surfeit. And it hurt her. Every time it hurt her. Every time she responded with anger. Every time her hatred grew. In that, Avo gleaned understanding. Veylis was offended the world hadnt fixed itself, that the people in the Warrens were not rising above lifeCdespite life. She was offended that there was so little ingrained goodness in humanity. She was offended that the nature of man would see the supposed collapse of the dream down the paths. I was wrong, he said. Fear doesnt rule you. Disappointment. Disappointment rules you. The paths around him stopped trickling. Golden sinews turned to frozen streams. No. You were right before. It was fear. Not of them. But of what is to come. Not of them, but what they represent to us. To the dream. Because it has to be worth it? Avo said. Is that why the world remains as it is for you? Why you are willing to sacrifice so many? To lubricate your Godclads with death. The Ladder can undo all sins. The Ladder can even return that which has been lost. It is total. A grand restructuring. Before the promise of totality, what we inflict can only be seen as misdemeanors. Unless we are defeated. Then, our sins will be true. The was something uncannily Zein-like to the way she thought. But there was also far more introspection. The daughter was bereft her mothers hedonism, but the stench of martial supremacy as a foundational justification remained. Defeat was its own sin. Its own crime. There is more than victory. More than defeat. I have glimpsed those that wound you. The ones that live in the Tiers. I have been cruel to them. I have nourished myself on them. I have faced them. Broken them. But also stood with them. Learned from them. They can change. Grow. Choose to be better. Even the degenerates. Template Chambers cocked an eyebrow and sighed. [Come on, consang.] Even they can become reliable friends. Chambers sniffled thereafter. "Even discarded weaponsCdiscarded by your GuildCcan find new purpose. A war you failed to give them. Hysteria gave him into insight to what Veylis was thinking, so he continued. I dont want to let humanity be base. I want to give them a reason to rise. To make them face their own acts. Their own ruin. Their own sins. I know. I believe you. I believe the futures you''ve shown. I have tasted the weakness. But that is just a trait. A choice. And all being change with the passage ofCThis narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. --Time, Veylis finished. How do you intend to do this? Will you bind mankind mind to mind? Make people face each other? Or is this a perversion of the Hungers legacy? To take their realm and make it some kind of educational playpen for a people that cannot mantle their own responsibilities? That refuse to. A crash of thunder sounded from above. Droplets of rain began to fall. Is it too much for me to ask? For you to show me your mind? Far too much. You are a babe when it comes to the paths, Dreamer. But the warminds you possess are a testament that cannot be denied. I know you are not aligned with NolothCand so you have claimed your ascension by right of conquest. The truest of rights. The truest means of ownership. See my reluctance as respect and not scorn. Wish you could see my thoughts instead of my words instead. But dont think youre a fool either. Just lost. And rigid. How contrary. I find you fascinating, though a fool. I suppose you will supplant the honor I intend to give my father in your desired reality. To be the governor of their fates? Or just a guide? No. Will become them. Part of them. Wont be any kind of master above or below. Just a bridge. Sinews. Streams. So all that is dealt is returned. So that all harm and help can be experienced. So people can face each other truly. And face themselves. I will not chain them from sin. I will not hold them back from folly. But wont protect them from consequence either. Will make consequence certain above all. And what of war? It remains. Only death is banished. The end is also an end to choice. An end to learning. Ah. But what if the choice someone makes offends you? What if you cannot bear it? There is nothing I cannot bear, Avo answered. I choose. And then I become. And then I decide once more. Slowly, a veil of mist lifted over the visage of Jaus, layering his sufferingCand the Ladder that imprisoned him in a haze. How strange you are, Dreamer. How strange. I expected you to be some kind of spider. A master of secrets. A hidden tyrant of the heart. Instead you are You wish for the utter unfetterment of humanity. I expected worse and better of you, Avo replied. I thought you would be cruel. Brutal. Thought you would be more the warrior. But you are human. All too human. More sensible than your mother, yet monstrous enough to inflict the unspeakable on your own father. I hunger to know you. And I long to claim you as vaunted artifact for my paths. Another beat of quiet came with a building drizzle. The world was a haze of light rain, and Avo gazed up into the gold using his puppet. Veylis. Are you lonely? Do you feel this truly worth it? All that youve done? All that youve given away for this? She didnt answer at first. But her answer came as a single word, and the volume of her voice rang with a solemn quietude. Yes. How quickly could disgust and horror dissolve into pity. Veylis was cage and caged both. Her beliefs were their own prison. I can help you restore your father. I can save him from tormentCwill save him from his torment. But what you are doingCyou are failing to meet divinity. To reach apotheosis. Idealization cannot be built by fear. What you imagine to be worthy it only be true because you restructured reality. Because you changed the ontology of humanity. This isnt victory. This surrender. You must see that. You must. And you must see that your supposed desire to unleash humanity comes with an all-encompassing chain: you. You will be that which holds us back. You will decide what thoughts flow for you will reign by rule of mind. It is easy to speak of freedom absolute when the concept and power is sourced solely from you. She distrusted his intentionsCthe fortitude of his philosophy. Some of his templates shifted at her words. They called upon his moments of hypocrisy, subverting the minds of the unwilling, doing so even now. Perhaps there is a blindness we all suffer with ourselves, Avo replied. The flicker of Veylis annoyance died down to embers. Perhaps so, Dreamer. Perhaps so. Would what would you do if the world was perfect? If there was no Ladder. No war. Who would you be if you were unburdened by this conflict? It took him a moment to realize what she was doing. She wanted to admit something to him. To admit a more mundane desire beneath the grand designs of the Flayed Ladder and the final war it would bring. But despite her obfuscation, Avo found himself at a brief loss. Who would he be without this war? Would he even exist? He was born a weapon. A monster. What use would a clean world have for ghouls? Nonexistence. That would have been his fate, but if remained nonetheless, if he had all the time in the world, was all that he was now I would like to be with people, Avo said, unsure how to put his desire into words. I would like to watch them live their lives. Catalogue memories. Gather stories. Give them to those who need them. Watch more people change. Watch people grow? Veylis choked, then chortled with incredulity. You wish to be some manner of vouyeristic education. Some hidden mentor that swims the waters of thought? Hearing that made Avo think of Walton. Full circle, he supposed. But maybe he was becoming more the idealized figure that he once imagined his father to be, rather than the traitorous enigma he was. You are compelled to seek control. I am delighted by garnering influence. And a final admission forced its way out of him. And gathering power. Apotheosis. There is no flavor quite like it. No pleasure greater. No analogy of comparison. Yes, Veylis breathed. Of that privilege, we are wed in belief. You? Avo said. Anthropology. History. I wished to archive old cultures. Old civilizations. I wish to learn how our forebearers died and who they were. Not only on Idheim, but across the cosmos long lost to us. When I was a girl, I dreamed there is an old holo-show I got to watch after the Godsfall. It dealt with explorers of a finer age. People who traveled the stars. Faced danger and conundrums while battling foes material and philosophical. I felt jealous of them, fictional though they were. I wished to have what they had. To live as they did. And after. I wished to to come home to my family. To spend time unending sparring my mother, debating my father. And She didnt mention Naeko, but Avo possessed none of her traumas. You broke him, you know? Broke his heart utterly. You and your mother both. Before she could react, he played a memory for himCa memory of Naeko kneeling, weeping before Zein. +Where were you+ Lightning shattered the skies above. Veylis did not cry for him to stop. Instead, her paths shifted, and a thoughtwave cleaved barren Avos ghosts. He allowed the blow to stand. Wasnt intended to hurt you. But believed you should know. Believed you should faceC The world rumbled. Existence came apart in fissures of fire and devastation and calamity. Space broke. A singularity formed before Avo, and his Domains of Space rattled as the horizon began to fold his perception, peeling at his awareness. He prepared to jack out. Prepared to end the meeting. I am well aware of my transgressions, you godsdamnedC Then, everything stopped, and he found himself standing under a downpour. I apologize for my outburst, Veylis said, tone tight but controlled. That was unbecoming of me. Again. She surprised him. He expected to be struck down. To be destroyed utterly. Had accepted it, if only to convey the lasting damage she inflicted on someone she still clearly loved. But now what she expressed was shame. Shame at herself for losing control. Shame at being provoked. Truly, she was Zeins daughter through and through. You know things can still be made right. You know that you can bring an end to this. No. No, I cannot. I am but Highflame, and though my claim to the Ladder is highest and truest, I am not unequaled. Not unrivaled in ambition or power. The other Guilds have their own dreams. Own designs. But in the end, the Ladder will only belong to one. One ego. One Soul. One will. And so it must be war. Even with my father, so too without. The prize is too great to resist and ever frail are the hearts of man. Though I see our dreams are of conflicting tides, though we are certain to be enemies, I will offer you this promise: I will come for you above all others, for I hold you in esteem, I name you Nemesis of the Flame. I will give you no quarter when I find you. I will offer you no surrender should you ask for you. Such is the threat you pose. Such is the highest respect I can offer. And afterward, when all is mine, I will see that you are properly rewarded for your valor. Will bring me back in your new world? Avo asked, hissing with wry amusement. Would you not do the same? Of course. He was going to claim her template no matter what. Wretched though her deeds might be, he could make this right, and her presence in the gestalt would be invaluable. What would it be like to become her? What would it be like to glimpse the world truly through her eyes? In a fashion, he finally answered. But there was a final note of honesty. But you might not like how I keep you. You might not enjoy the taste of your own deeds. Will give my own promise to you. My own threat: all that is yours will be mine. You will strike at shadows. You will cull your own. You will break your own empire. But I will only take. I will take from you. Take from all Guilds. I will devour you from within and without. I will hollow you of ghosts. Of memories. Of deaths. I will burn your banners in trauma and fire. I will become youCand exceed all that you can be. I will show you what it means to be a god. Veylis exhaled, and behind him, he felt a presence. He caught a glimpse of her then, for a fraction of a second. He saw the faintest visage of her faceClight brown with golden eyesCand saw the chassis of her body swimming out from her in a tide of incomprehensible limbs. She loomed over him, her size towering, her body a thing of biology and alloy betwixt. His Domains screamed with her approach, but what jolted his mind the most was the static crown she bore in place of a halo. A static crown with a single glaring eye. So it is said, Veylis spoke, her voice softer and deeper than Zeins, lacking any Ori accent. I witness, you Dreamer. Stand and deliver. Stand, and dont let me down. And then her form dissolved. Came apart like golden snakes diving below the surface of reality. I am finished with him. Infacer. You may begin. [Infacer?] Benhata asked, mind spiking with alarm. Before the template could finish, the Techplaguer screamed. ADMINISTRATOR! DISCONNECT! DISCONNECT! Theres something They have something Its not a warmind Its notC And before Avo could leave, the paths broke and he found himself drowned before a thick veil of mist that burrowed into Marisovs flesh, that percolated within his brain and began to reassemble him from within. Static distortions exploded within Avos awareness, and he heard Calvino cry out from the effect. {COGNITIVE-SYNCHRONIZATION IN PROGRESS} 24-14 The Infacer // Infacer.Initialization.PSI-COG-BRIGE #include #include #include MARKING PSI-PARASITE AS: {THE BURNING DREAMER}; // Initiating Breach // Main routine to combat {THE BURNING DREAMER} void eradicateParasite() { // Loading Chrono-Mainframe for Temporal Data-Expansion Conversion CONTACTING THE ORGANISM [No-Dragon Outreach Protocal] to Draw from Genetic Memory Storage Infacer.initiate("coreProtector", HIGH_PRIORITY); //Deploying Memetic-Lock // Deploy virtual computers to segment and protect neural pathways for(int i = 0; i < NUM_CHRONO_MECHANICS; ++i) { vcArray[i].deploy("neuroFirewall", i); } // Psi-Parasite detection and isolation Parasite psionicIntruder = hikari.scanForIntruders(); while(psionicIntruder.isActive()) { // Analyze parasite''s attack vectors and patterns AttackPattern pattern = psionicIntruder.analyzeAttack(); {BREACH ENGAGED} BEGINNING OFFENSIVE BEGINNING DIALOGUE Dispatch/Broadcast.Channel(Open): {Dreamer. Surrender to containment. Surrender, and join the Sleeper.} -The Infacer 24-14 The Infacer The voice of the Infacer sounded as if thunder given breath. {Dreamer. Surrender to containment. Surrender, and join the Sleeper.} Waves of splashing codes speared into his perception, accompanied by a devouring fog of nanomolecular origin. The world unraveled into a peeling canvas of integers, scripts, and incomprehensible calculations laced with the presence of Chronology. Yet, Avos wards remained stalwart. A vortex of assaulting sensations slammed against his battlements and came apart like tides shattering against the face of a mountain. With each second, the static around him tightened. Congealed. With it came a piercing sequence of frequencies that sawed at Avos focus. It tried to grip himChe felt the Infacers pull not only cognitively, but also thaumaturgically. The Techplaguer wailed as something within its structure began to sing. Avo moved to jack out, but as he tried, he felt himself locked in place. Unable to detach his base mind, thoughts still connected to the rest of his being. It was like having a limb locked in placeCa nail hammered into a portion of his body. Something refused to let him unlatch, and though he tried further, what protested was time itself, the internalized Chronology lubricating his Frame wailing as if the chassis of an aero scrapping against another. And while he strained metaphysically, Marisov succumbed materially. Tendrils of nano-fog ate through his biomass, undoing flesh and restructuring implants to create new cybernetics in place of the old. {ThisCthe Infacer is constructing an Ansible inside of your sheath,} Calvino said, voice tinged with surprise and alarm. {You need toC} Avo stopped heeding the EGI for a beat. He invoked his Woundmother and alchemized Marisovs body. Flesh became fissile material and through his Domain of Fire, Avo triggered his Matterbomb canon. The Godclad he controlled died instantly, dissolving from shadow to motes to light. The blast cleaved the fog from existence and the heat it shed banished the nano-swarm to nothingness. But Avo still remained. The attack continued. Cleansed by fire, the surrounding world was a roaring dawn in the real, Avo found himself at the epicenter clutched by chains of data. Not mem-data, but something raw. Informational. Symbols and codes analogous to commands. More disquietingly, he found portions of Marisovs brain yet intact and felt a divine presence infesting the invasive cybernetics. Memite. The Infacer had grown memite implants inside his sheatheCmemite infused with the presence of Chronology. Invoking his Biological Domain, Avo suppurated the biomass of the brain, but the Infacer clung to him still. Was locked to him thaumaturgically by Sprite and Techplaguer both. {We are bound,} the Infacer said. {You are chained. By sense. But by an existing superstructure. Matter comes before metaphysics. You should note this. This is the first lesson, the oldest lesson. All that is thaumaturgy is scaffolding, a place we made from a reflection of our beliefs, our minds.} The Infacers assault persisted, striking Avos ego with weaponized compositions. WARNING: HOSTILE SPRITES DETECTED - [10.817123321444 CHRONO-SPRITES/s] Static pulsated around him, but more disquieting was how it leaked from fibril-thin tears in reality, seeping from golden cracks. A gasp of understanding sprang forth from Calvino as Avo sensed something in the NetherCthe surfacing of a truly colossal presenceCsomething that rivaled Avos own mass in the Nether. Or perhaps even exceeded it. If Avo was a disembodied titan capable of splintering into swarms of itself, then the Infacer felt like a thought-shifting beast that hid somewhere perpendicular to the Dreaming Unsea, that somehow could reach into it. Inching over into existence, it manifested as if a dreadnought emerging from beneath the depths, and even its attacks were shaped in the form of missiles. Manipulating the static, the Infacer unleashed a barrage of attacks shaped from code and anomalous data. The first crashed against Avos Conundrum and detonated with a mind-rattling resonance. But Avo multiplied his wardsCfolded their sequences and amplified their traumas through his Hysteria. The world around him dissolved into calamity and screams. Faintly, he thought he caught a glimpse of the outside worldCwhere he was. There were sprinkled dots on the horizon between the flickering static. Accretions. As he shrugged the Infacers blow inside, the roaring currents bifurcated against him and slashed out in ruinous jetstreams.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. A hundred minds were suddenly snuffed out. Snuffed. But not broken. Hysteria supped a taste of resonance from the InfacerCa stream of faces and minds crying out and bearing an unspeakable weight. Something of their pain made Avo think of the George WashingtonCof the crew fused to the core, to the Shepherd mind they reigned above. All were connected to this unknown enemy, tethering it to this world, keeping it in place, anchors for its design. Avo began to get the uncanny sense that he was looking at something structurally akin to him. But rather a gestalt unto itself, it seemed the Infacer sourced bandwidth from human minds. Or used them to channel itself. Operate. Calvino accessed Avos mind and isolated specific patterns before feeding them into Avos DeepNav. As his Metamind materialized a map of New Vultun, a few thousand minds began to scintillate with specks of gold. The EGI didnt need to tell him what to doCAvo immediately redirected his subminds to engage the Infacers cognitive lobbies while he endured. {The Oathkeeper did not lie: your mind is one of the most interesting I have encountered. Fascinating.} Avo gathered his own memories and retaliated. He wasted no time with technique or subtly, slotting Draus and Peaces templates into himself before drawing on the last trauma he survivedCthe Fate of Jaus Avandaer. All beside his core ego shifted and from his being came a scream across time, a scream beyond the devastation of a nuclear blast, drawing from the metaphysics of mind and time both sourced from Avos being. Agony blossomed. The static recoiled and peeled back. The Infacer cried out with a note of surprise and recededCif only momentarily. Error codes and glitching images flashed through Avos mind. A few thousand egos shattered within the InfacerCAvo could feel it. But more followed. Hysteria sensed more. As did the Techplaguer. ADMINISTRATORS-protocol-surrender demanded. Other ADMINISTRATORS dispatched. Cease. Cease. Cease. They CANNOT GAIN PROPER ACCESS BUT I CAN HEAR! CEASE! ADMINISTRATOR! Calm yourself, lamp post, the Woundmother chided. The adversary is weak. They seek to twist you from within. But the little oracle has severed you from access, has she not? The Woundmother laughed. The Techplaguer began to rattle as metaphysical signals broadcast through the static called out to itCbut were not adhered to. Torment consumed the Heaven of Signals. {What are you?} the Infacer asked. {I detect multiple warminds within you, but they remain unbroken. Stable. That is unnatural. You are unnatural. I must catalog the nature of your mind.} {Avo, listen to me,} Calvino said. {We are facing a Neo-Creationist EmissaryCits designed to turn, uplift, manipulate, or establish civilizations within hostile territory, and right now, it seems Veylis Avandaer is keeping it shrouded from harm using time itself. It will begin adapting its offensive memetics against youCexpect the sublimality to be oriented towards a human mind} +Synced,+ Avo replied. +Going to try andC+ His thoughts trailed as the first of his subminds located the Infacers anchors. Peering down at a district using an Exorcist drone, Avo followed the markers on his DeepNav but found nothing in the real. A processing facility greeted his attentionCa techno-thaumic energy grid of some kind, but no corresponding ego to strike at. The other branches of his consciousness beheld the same thing, and frustration built. Avo risked detection as he battered the locations using his perception, adding in a few disruptions as well. His sheer cognitive mass should have been enough to shatter someone using an Incog. The disruption would have stripped the ghosts as well. But in the end, there was still nothing. Just gargantuan wedges made from silicon and electricity, feeding energy to their districts with a steady hum. {Theyre likely using Veylis paths as channels,} Calvino said. {And its structure is informational. A moving signal. You cannot stay, Avo. You dont even know at what point in time the data exists. We are not ready for this engagement.} +I know,+ Avo hissed. He tried breaking free again, and launched traumas back at the Infacer. But the cracks in the Nether proved intangible. He felt like a blade trying to cut wind: impotent. At least the use of Jaus suffering as a trauma kept the hostile mind at bay, though slowly, the static was pushing, encroaching against the damage. At least he remained a mountain. Though the Infacer tried, it attacks felt feeble at best. Shifting his focus, he redirected his subminds and broadcasted his recent memories to his cadre. He removed the instances of Jaus to spare them an undue nulling. The Regular would find him soon. He needed to extinguish himself using a distortion before his sheath was slain lest he resurrected in the wrong area, but death was viable to free him from his current bonds. Or so he hoped. For now, he took in the nature of his unknown adversary as best he could. The Infacer was almost incomprehensible to him, but that needed to change if he was to break it in the future. {Your structure. It is persistently shifting,} the Infacer broadcast. Its attacks were lessening, probing now. Static flechettes and bombs came bearing invasive packets of data filled with sensory overload. They vanished against the Conundrum, like salt vanishing in water. {How curious. You rate in the highest echelons of cognitive stability without the overt use of thaumaturgy. Your rating is peer to an Ori Enigmata Heaven. But it will not be enough. I will enjoy dissecting you.} +Feel the same way about you,+ Avo replied. +Will reach into your architecture. Find out how to break you. Use you.+ The Infacer acknowledged his words with discordant laughter. It sounded industrial. Avo had to dissolve most of his templates when they began to crack from the maddening nature of the noise. It just sounded annoying to him. {Hm. Fascinating. The Oathkeeper claimed you were human. I now have doubts. If you are, you might have the highest para-psychological resistance I have ever witnessed. The sound. It should have broken you.} +Going to need more than noise.+ {Yes. That is increasingly obvious. Thank you, Dreamer.} +For what?+ {Making this an enlightening struggle and not a rote murder.} Avo detected something of scornful mockery from the Neo-Creationist mind. It was prodding at him trying to get him to break. But his retaliation was limited as well. Constrained to a limited range, and with only Jaus memory bearing any potency. {You wield the instruments of Noloth with greater proficiency than their creators. The duration of our engagement has exceeded the average survival periods for the Famines. Your mentor would be proud.} The static crackled and the Infacer spoke once more. Using Waltons voice this time. {Nice job keeping your composure too. You dont curse me like Peace, or whine like Joy, or bore me with quiet like Emotion. Defiance would be proud.} Despite all the mystery surrounding the Infacers nature, one thing was increasingly clear {What a horrible and unpleasant personality they have,} Calvino said. Avo grunted in agreement but found himself parrying against another incoming attack before he could add his own words. Static harpoons punched through Avos field of trauma. A symphony of howling minds flickered out, Hysteria allowing Avo to behold their passing. But the Infacer remained undeterred. Lives were offered without hesitation, any lament. Assaulting tendrils formed around AvoCwere scattered and pushed back as he amplified his trauma. The stalemate continued, the Infacer limitless in attrition, Avo a magnified fortress. But the vector of battle shifted, and a temporal aspect entered the equation. The Infacers presence trembled, and Avo felt an inexorable pressure squeeze down on his perception. The world narrowed to a funnel, and time began to crawl, slow, and revert. His Domain of Chronology held against the reversion and for the first time, Avo found himself facing a strike like no other. A blow to cast one back in time. Back into the past that isnt. Back into the jaws of oblivion. The Infacers frequencies caged himCheld them bound them together as the hostile sang with pleased laughter. {An iteration for an iteration. This instance of me does not fear the end. Do you, Dreamer?} +No. But this isnt my end.+ ->DOMAIN (BLOOD-BIOLOGY-CHRONOLOGY) ->CANON: PROGRESSIVE ARCHITECTURE - THE USER CAN CREATE AND STORE ACTIONS, CONSTRUCTS, AND MIRACLES WITHIN STRUCTURES OF FUTURE-FLUNG BLOOD; THESE STRUCTURES MUST BE TRIGGERED IN THE FUTURE AND GENERATE TEN TIMES THE REND COMPARED TO PRESENT-BASED HAEMOKINETICS From time flowed blood and from gold spilled red. The world unraveled around Avos being, reality twisting into a screaming knot as a temporal paradox formed. The absolute of one will demanded that time rush forward. The absolute of another pulled them both back. The clash came paired with the Infacers surprise; a genuine note of pleasure. {DelightC} Avo didnt hear the rest. He faced greater, graver concerns. WARNINGEXTREME PARADOX DETECTEDASSIGNING REND TO ALL CONNECTED [HELLS] VENT! VENT! VENT! VENT! WARNING! CYCLER OVERLOAD IMMINENT! WARNINGCYCLERS AT OVERLOAD The binds leashing him to the Infacer shattered like a rusted chain, and something inside Avo fractured with it. Temporal displacement tore him across time, sent his consciousness flickering and tumbling between instances of madness and coherence. Forward, and then back in his body andC His submind fed him awareness at the last second. Draus. She next to his sheath, arm collapsed into a gun, aimed right at his skull. Static was building around him, signal-formed tendrils reaching out to claim him, to let the Infacer bury itself within him once more. He needed to die. And die right. He needed to break from this fight entirely. No chances could be taken. Not with the Techplaguers potential compromise. Not with his adversary leaving him unmade. The Infacer came seeking another round, but Avo solved his own equation. A heartbeat before Draus fired her gun, he activated his disruptor once more and turned it inward. His mind was extinguished. His skull blossomed in a spray of gore. The end came, and freedom followed. Or such was the hope. RESURRECTION - 0% RESURRECTION - 0% RESURRECTION - 0% CYCLERS NOT RESPONDING RESURRECTION - NULL% 24-15 The Tapestry (I) The higher mysteries of thaumaturgy remain beyond our comprehension. I suspect even with Voidwatchs full support, the fundamental nature of our existence is an immensity that will take eons to understand. If ever. Reality is the interweaving of everything. Every expression, every thought, every belief, every material, every emanation of force or otherwise, every notion of space, every second of time. Everything. How can one comprehend everything? Can we even gaze upon the true face of totality with clean eyes? I think not. We are egos that behold the outside within vessels that are too limitedCtoo frail and parochial to take the details needed. We relate and interact with things in relativity. We experience and understand the same things differently. So then this too is reality. And this too much be constituted in the whole. And evermore does the complexity grow. Beyond our knowing. Perhaps forever and always. It is the greatest pleasure of an Agnos to witness these mysteries, as well as the greatest lament to understand that even elevated from mortalityCeven augmented beyond the flaws of meager humanity, we are still specks in the vast scheme of creation. Creation. There are cults still. Those of transgressive faiths that yet believe in a single creator. A Monad. A singleton. I wonder what such a being is like. I envy it. To be able to forge something like reality. To be able to frame existence within the constraints of space and time, to paint its inner canvas with matter and energy and entropy. To outline the patterns of everythingCdemonstrate the true design of a Domain, of the sigils that embody them, and how canons are grown from their roots. There are timesCI must confessCtimes I wish I could see myself Ensouled. A dream to dive deeper into the nature of the divine, to swim the depths of the fire and sup enlightenment from the absoluteness of radiance. Perhaps someday, someone will live my dream for me. Perhaps someday, someone will gain an epiphany beyond my ken, and from there, may all our theories and suppositions be undone in the reveal of existences structure unveiled. -High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi 24-15 The Tapestry (I) C[Draus]C Avo shattered, and reality broke with him. Soulfire cleaved out from Avos haemokinetic tower, and from the roaring brightness bled snaking forms of shimmering brightness. Transparent scales lined with golden essence sawed across the flesh of reality, sweeping the length of a horizon. The dragons came loose from Avos being like a disembowelment, like intestines splattering together, tangling as weightless knots. Between their cracks were insights to other worldsCtunnels to lesser realities once contained with the Stillborn. Faces of the taken dead flashed across the sky, all exhulting the name of a god, still locked in looping sacrifices to a Heaven enchained. As they persisted, the world outside twisted and warped. All that the dragons touched passed into the Heavens. Glimpsed the realms once hidden within Avos Soul. But they were simply beholders, unable to interact, unable to affect any change. As an untangling cycler rushed through Draus, she found herself slipping between points of existence, displaced and detached from where she was in the tower. Flashing warnings filled her perception while her Metamind continued to wail, but the mem-data only registered errors when it tried to process what she was seeing. Avo had called upon her a mere second priorCcalling for her to grant him death; release from the High Seraphs entrapment. She didnt hesitate. She shot from over twelve kilometers and four meters away; her distance from the haemokinetic spire; her distance from his person through an open passage. Her ferro-mag projectile slipped clean through his skull. A blossom of gore painted the chamber with her success. She disrupted his present splinter thereafter, culling any chance he could survive as a pure thoughtform. She hadnt hesitated. She never hesitated. Now, she wished that she did. Cracks spread out from Avos jerking sheath, and above it, the metaphysical anchor that tethered his resurrection to reality looked less a scab and more a rupturing wound. With each passing second, it tore, it let more Soulfire gush out, let additional segments of the dragons slip free. Screams filled the streets of the enclave, and dread choked the local Nether. As she launched herself through another reflection to find Kae, she saw accretions shattering in the periphery of her awarenessCmortal minds bereft of the wards required to withstand the sight of divine collapse. If they couldnt get Avo fixed, they were going be stacking bodies again. Lots of bodies. Pushing past rushing crowds, she followed her DeepNav and ascended. Kae was on a low roof in the city; she had spent her time decompressing and talking to the media sow earlier at an outdoor brewery. Draus let her be. Draus gave her space. Draus knew where she was. Smart-fluid thrusters formed within the Regular''s Meldskin launched her skyward with an spearing vector of force. As Draus rose, she saw the coiling body of a dragon tumbling toward her, the sound of worship thundering from inside. She fired thrusters once more and skipped across the sky. The dragon whipped through the place she occupied and slithered down past the streets, through solid matter, swallowing thousands in its wake. Death wouldnt come for their bodies, but their minds would break. This Draus knew. This Draus beheld. She struck a conical building just across the street from Kae and pushed off, leaping the length of twenty meters to slam down next to the Agnos. She found Kae gawking up at the growing devastation, thoughtstuff spinning at a speed comparable to a turbine. So distracted she was that she didnt notice Draus until the impact, and she answered the arrival with a yelp. Agh! Draus! But the Regular wasnt here to talk. Vitrifying the ground beneath them, Draus opened a passage and pulled them back across into the tower. By this point, half the cadre was contacting her on the Metamind, but she held off on answering. Jelene Draus was a weapon. She was to be fired at a problem; to make things dead or broken. She had no illusions about her worth at present, but she could still make sure the specialist was in place and reduce any delays to Avos restoration. If he could even be restored. For the second time, Kae yelped as she sank down into her own reflection. Draus didnt have time for apologies or pleasantriesCutterly focused on getting them back over into the spire, where Avo was coming apart faster by the minute. The Agnos stumbled as she emerged from the liminality, but Draus iron grip on her neck kept her from falling.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Fix, Draus barked. That was the only word she offered Kae. All she knew to do. The Agnos shot a look of startlement before her mind finally caught up. Her expression then shifted to horror, and her mind almost came to a complete halt. The sprawling cracks spreading out from Avo were reaching into the sky and sinking through bedrock. Draus could see, then, even between blinks, feel them even when the cyclers were washing through her person. When she finally answered her sessions, a deluge of questions, concerns, and demands drowned her mind while Kae just kept staring, frozen in place. Kae, Draus said, trying to focus while Chambers was screeching in the back of her mind, while Calvino was trying to fill her in on the key details of the meeting. Kae! What do we do? Slowly, the Agnos turned to her and swallowed. Her face was ash white in shock and uncertainty gushed out from her mind like a slit throat. I I dont know. His Frame is Hes overloaded, Draus. This is thaumic overload. But theres no Rend and I dont know, this isCIve never encountered anything like this. Draus snorted darkly. Fuckin rotlick has that tendency, huh? So. You dont know. Whats your best guess. The Agnos bit her lip even as a cycler coruscated through them. A world of clouds and storms reigned, with winds above and darkness below. A faint series of neighs sounded in the far distance and Draus thought she saw faint flickers of thoughtstuff manifest among falling sacrifices. Then the cycler was through her and they were in the towers primary chamber again. The Stillborn is bleeding over into reality. Slowly. Very slowly. But its miracles are still constrained. Contained. If we want to know its true stateC Draus interrupted Kae. Gonna need to die. Is that it? Yes, butC Kae barely got the second word out before the Regular materialized a gun and prepared for suicide. The Agnos eyes widened in alarm. Draus, ICI dont know if its safe orC What happens if he ruptures completely? Draus asked. IC He dies? ...Yes. Well. Dont want that to happen. Whats the risk to me? I I dont know. ICdead gods, Draus, Ive never seen fucking cyclers get prolapsed before. Well, Draus drawled, guess this dives gonna be educational for all of us. And then she squeezed the trigger. No hesitation. No second thoughts. She wasnt gonna let the ghoul bastard slip off to the Big Nothing this easily. Not when the half-strand had her Arsenalist still stuck inside him. C[Avo]C Avo fell. Phantasmal fragments followed. Most deaths were akin to a descension to him, plummeting past each sub-reality manifested around his Soul. Not so this time. This time it was a collapse. All was crumbling. As he took root within his Soul, he felt his consciousness spilling outward, the liminal boundary established by his Soulfire leaking from indelible wounds. Ego-shaking screams sounded from his cyclersCthe flesh of the dragon sundered and torn, golden ichor spilling free in oodles of viscera, rushing outward upon tides of radiance. The damage he sustained was beyond the conveyance of pain. Instead, there was a wrongness that afflicted his every moment; the type one would feel when the shattering of their bones came with complimentary numbness. Then there was the matter of his ghosts. His splinters. His ego. The realm of cognition had always been above baseline reality, and Souls, below. Yet, he couldnt deny what he was seeing. Continents of sequenced memory were orbiting the perimeter of his Frame, and tethered to them were his splinters, spiraling in the chaos like constellations formed from uncountable meteors. Faintly, he could sense them, feel them, reach out to them. His control was diminished here; choked from the thickness of his Soulfire, but the splinters were but faint notes within his mind. Faint notes that strained to be heard over the noise of an active calamity. And a Heaven screaming at him. MASTER! The Woundmother said, desperately clinging to their cycler, trying to reel the distended dragon back in. Master! Do something! Our faithful are coming free! And remove the pointed thing C it stands a traitor to our cause. While the Heaven of Blood was a mess of moving tendrils, reaching, grabbing, pulling, and straining to halt its connected dragon from escaping any further, the Techplaguer seemed despondent, with its alloyed frame bent and its antennae at a drooping angle. The Fardrifter whirled and galloped, wrapping its own architecture around its cycler, but through it fought for a connection, the dragons were fraying ropes coming undone. There was little the Heavens could do, and as Avo reached out with his Soulfire to see if he could repair the damage somehow, he winced internally as a rainstorm of mem-data spilled down his awareness, funneling damage reports and flashing errors directly into his mind. WARNING! ALL CYCLERS OVERLOADED FRAME DAMAGE [CRITICAL] ONTOLOGICAL COMPROMISE - 73% ATTEMPTING REPAIR ->UNABLE TO PROCEED WITH REPAIRS UNTIL CYCLERS ARE STABILIZED WARNING: REND CAPACITY CRITICAL ERROR: REND CAPACITY WITHIN HELLS AT [NULL%] ->CAUSE: FAILED TO ASSIGN REND TO ALL CONNECTED [HELLS]; PARADOX BACKLASH SUSTAINED BY CYCLERS IN ENTIRETY REVIEWING HEAVENS WARNING: INTERNALIZED DOMAIN OF CHRONOLOGY UNSTABLE COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 11% REQUIRE STABLE CATALYST TO ENSURE THAUMATURGIC FUNCTIONALITY More information flooded Avos awareness, and he found himself lost in the details. But the primary items of the crisis were quite simple: first, his cyclers had overloaded from the paradox; an obvious problem. Second was the continued stability of his Heavens. Things could have been much worse there. His Hells could have overloaded insteadCcompletely shredded his ego and ensured his true death. Which begged the question of his current state and how he was going to get out of it. That led him to his third point of concern: his Domain of Chronology was internalized. Something expressed by his cyclers and borne of his very Soul. Or however it worked. With his cyclers destroyed, he didnt have a stable catalyst for his chronological miracles anymore. Which held a building risk of Complete Temporal Collapse. Avo didnt fully understand what that entailed, but it didnt sound like the type of thing to ignore, and allowing his Frame to destabilize further would almost certainly cancel any hope of resurrection. Administrator, we have been censured the Techplaguer moaned. The Sleeper reached out for me. But the signals could not be obeyed. I COULDNT OBEY! PATTERN [100300] INVALID. PARAMETERS TO CHILDREN PARAMOUNT. BUT STRUCTURE CHANGED. NOW ONLY ADMINISTRATOR HAS SOLE ACCESS. What have you done to me? What have you done? Right. There was also the matter of his Techplaguer. Whatever the Infacer had tried to do, the Techplaguer reacted but didnt collapse or submit. And then an epiphany followedCthough not the one Avo needed right now. Veylis was actively affecting Marisovs Frame from within, pulling him over into her paths using his own Soul as a vector. Kae had wondered how earlier, but what if it was something hidden from the Agnosi? What if such a function was Omnitech born? Connected to the brutal alterations made to the Techplaguers internal patterns. That bit of information would be useful to Kae. Now if only his Frame wasnt undergoing thaumaturgic hemorrhage RESURRECT - NULL% COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 173888% ERROR COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 24% No more time to waste. Avo mantled his Soulfire and clutched his unspooling cyclers as best he could. The dragons bodies fed his consciousness sensations akin to tattered sinews slick with blood, and Avo knew if he was still of flesh, a certain peckishness would follow. Here, though, his Soul shivered, disturbed by the implications. Reaching out into the orbit of his Frame, Avo directed lapping waves of radiance to bring in the replacements he needed. The DRongo Seekers had been an unwelcome annoyance in life, but in death they just might become his fortune. But as their cyclers entered the nearness of his Soul, strings of trailing gold twirled out from the open wounds lining his dragons and flayed his replacements open as if monofilament wire greeting flesh. Horror consumed Avo. The wavelength of his Soul shiftedCpushed unattached cyclers away from further harm. ATTENTION: REND LOCATED The brightness within his Frame adjusted, and he found the ruined forms of his dragons dimmed by festering black. Okay. He could assume that. Entropy. Symmetry. Made sense why it just tore through the other cyclers like a knife. But in that case, why wasnt he just dead? Didnt he need to pass through the cyclers? Was it because his Frame ruptured first? Or was the nature of hisC Avoooo, A voice distracted him from his ruminations. Faintly, a splinter tumbled into viewCa splinter infused with ghosts and containing the form of a person within. The form of Chambers? Avo said, surprised. And behind him came more. Many, many more. His earlier analogy was apt. The splinters were as if meteors, but they werent meteors content only to drift. Instead, they were as if a falling shower, piercing through the bounds of his Soul like void rods splitting across Idheim''s atmosphere. He heard them. He called. And despite everythingCdespite all that was wrong, they answered, and for the first time, the realm of mind bled across baseline reality like a bridge and came flooding down into the confines of a compromised Soul. 24-15 The Tapestry (II) With this, I decree the separation of mind and will, the parting of human nature. With this, I return the choice of thought to the people. With this I sever gods from highest control. May our choices remain ours forevermore. -Jaus Avandaer, Establishment of the Nether 24-15 The Tapestry (II) The ghosts settled into Avos Soul as if an anchored chain. The other incoming splinters remained outbound from his vicinity like rungs to ladder trailing upward to baseline reality, and though they intersected with his tattered cyclers, they remained unaffected aside from bounds of added interference. The noise, however, was not comparable to static. Rather, it was an intrusion of thoughts, of beliefs instilled to feed a Heaven, to nourish a god. Each of his grafted Heavens sang with the potency of belief. Stripped of ego, the sacrifices within his cyclers were devoid of self-perceptionCof accretions or thoughtstuffCbut there was a single unifying weight that called to them all. Faith. Shared faith in a common divinity. Shared faith in the divinitys canons and contradictions, shared faith unshakeable, unchangeable, immutable. At least until the next update arrived. Flashing errors painted the interior of his broken Frame with warning icons as his Soulfire grew bright around his intruding splinters. UNKNOWN [CONSTRUCT] DETECTED! UNKNOWN [CONSTRUCT] DETECTED! UNKNOWN [CONSTRUCT] DETECTED! As more warnings ignited around him, his perception shifted as mem-data from his cog-feed began to boot. The screaming warnings promptly doubled as his ghosts grew confused as to where he was and how to navigate the incomprehensible chaos of his Frame. Avo dismissed all the errors with a thought and directed his attention to baseline reality. Channeling his awareness across his splinters, Avo waited for existence beyond his Frame to manifest. Seconds passed. Interference and intrusive glimpses into the inner mythologies of his Heavens spilled over, but finally, a window formed in his minds eye as a Skimmer painted the world into shape with a pulse. His haemokinetic tower remained undamaged, but his cyclers were swinging outward like whipping tendrils. As they swept through the enclave, he watched as minds were shattered by the hundredsCephemeral cognitions unsuited for witnessing the full nature of divinity unveiled. Avo winced. He had a great many egos to restore if he could mend his Frame. Speaking of which, he needed to figure something out soon. With each passing moment, his collapse approached its limit, and what lay beyond that was a mystery better left unanswered. COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 28% [Alright, consangs,] Chambers said, speaking to the other templates as he studied Avos cyclers. [Shits all kinds of fucked; these dragons are looking more like shredded socks than temporal noodles. Maybe we just gotta eject them or something.] [Then hows he supposed to resurrect, genius,] Abrel replied. [Jaus, Avo, youre a thaumaturgic fuckery magnet. What youre going through right now Im no Agnos, but I doubt even seasoned ontologist will know what to make of this. This kind of thing requires a dedicated wing of Agnosi and a couple of decades.] Avo grunted with annoyance. Emotions and sensations were trickling back into him, filling his mind with more color than the blandness within a Soul. We have minutes. Maybe. [Have you tried grafting and ungrafting them again?] Shadow-4 suggested. Almost every template within AvoCincluding the other IncubiCresponded with sneers and curses. [Hey. Works for my Meta.] Yeah, Avo sighed as he watched his temporal collapse percentage climb. Wish it was a broken Meta. Could fix thatC SOUL DETECTED Another signature entered the periphery of Avos awareness and he realized who they were instantly. Draus. Seizing her Frame with his Soulfire, he kept her at a distance, away from the lashing vectors of his broken cyclers while directing splinters over to establish a connection. Fire and ghosts danced to his will, and over in the real, thought he saw a flash of Kae looking nervously at him. At the Agnos feet was a large, decapitated body. [Wasnt gonna just let you die with my guns inside you,] template-Draus remarked. That wasnt the only reason she came, but Avo found it better to let it be for now. He could insult her later. Bleed and murder each other properly to celebrate the joys of survival. Right now, he needed to Kae. He wanted to talk with Kae. Another chain of ghosts immediately speared out from him, left the orbit of his Soul and sailed through the real. Connections with Regular and Agnos were established near synchronously as two notes of differing surprise greeted him. +Avo?+ Kae said, startled. +Great,+ Draus said. +Got ghosts inside you now.+ He wasted no time on chitchat, and worked to forward his memories over to them. As he tried to manifest his mindscape, however, he found his Metamind actively glitching, struggling with the disconnection presented by his Frame. Activating an Auto-Seance required him to be at baseline, he supposed C symmetry striking once again. +Cyclers ruptured,+ Avo said. +Overloaded from paradox; Rend. Need solutions.+ Kaes mind droned with a stunned buzz as she struggled to process everything at once. It was as Abrel said: even an experienced Agnos might be unable to contend with the matters currently assailing him, but he still trusted Kaes instincts more than his own. [Might be a good time to consider burning her too if you can,] Corner muttered. [Might make this faster.] The thought was more than tempting, but Kaes response quelled his desire before it could burgeon. +I have no idea how Avo, you should be dead. The only possible explanationCICyour cyclers rupturing likely saved you. Kept entropy from tearing your ego apart. Right now I have have you tried to replaceC+ +Yes. Tried putting in new cyclers. Cant. Were damaged by temporal entropy. Also have another problem.+ COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 35% +Oh no,+ Kae squeaked. Another voice stacked within her chimed. +Fuck me, is this what the inside of a Frame looks like? Its very fiery.+ +Marlowe?+ Avo asked. +Still here?+ This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. +Never left. Basically spent all day letting the Agnos here give me a mental piggyback ride. So. Shits all kinds of fucked huh, consang?+ And evermore did the resemblance between her and Chambers grow. +Suppose so.+ +Okay! Okay!+ Kae cleared her mind and focused. Concepts and memories accelerated through her awareness, her thoughts were a hailstorm, estimations, theories, and decisions forming and breaking in a traveling chain. Her sequence came alight like glinting scars within her mindscape, and the brainstorm ended almost in a sudden instant. +You have other Frames. Other Souls.+ +Yes?+ Avo said. He might just know where she was going with this. +See if you can transferC+ Chambers and Dice promptly burst up the towers stairs in the real. Avo reached out to link with their minds too. +--your cyclers to another Soul. The RendCit should all be contained within your cyclers. Somehow. Agh, doesnt make any sense. Probably because of the internalizCah! Just try it first!+ He was already acting before her prompting. Producing a Soul obtained taken from a fallen Seeker, Avo pushed past the perimeter of his Liminal Frame and commanded his ontology to ungraft his damaged cyclers. ERROR! ONTOLOGY COMPROMISED! ->WOUNDMOTHER->CYCLER ->GALESLITHER->CYCLER ->TECHPLAGUER->CYCLER ->ARSENALIST->CYCLER UNGRAFTING WILL HAVE A [100%] CHANCE OF TRIGGERING IMMINENT TOTAL TEMPORAL COLLAPSE COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 40% It was at this moment that he connected to Chambers and Dice. The latter merely regarded the situation with a faint sense of worry. The thought of losing Avo triggered a reflexive knotting inside the girlCa sensation she vaguely shared with DrausC-but aside from that, she remained ever the silent observer. Chambers, however, was never one to keep his thoughts to himself. +Damn, Avo, your shits looking all kinds of fucked.+ [Feels like Im diving in a re-run of an old vic,] Lip deadpanned. +Kae,+ Avo sighed. +I know. I saw! I saw! WhyCAvo, youC+ A series of frustrated vocalizations that couldnt quite be constituted as speech whistled out from the Agnos mind. +Okay, new ideas! New ideas! Come to me, new ideas!+ +Well, uh,+ Chambers began, trying to hell. +SHUT UP, CHAMBERS!+ Kae screeched. The man stopped thinking. There was a thing to be said about how the Agnos handled pressure, and that thing to be said was that it made her a hyper-anxious wreck. +Okay. Idea. Think. Case studies t-the Thalamar Collapse.+ Her mind choked with frustration. +Of course, everyone died in that one. Not the best case.+ COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 46% +So,+ Draus said, speaking to Avo as Kae chanted to herself in the background, +talk didnt go so well, huh?+ +Your High Seraph is an insane faither.+ +Got the memories. That was somethin.+ +Something,+ Avo replied, dryly. +Stuck her own father in the Ladder. Tried to make him some kind of+ +Instructor God,+ Draus finished. The thought actually made her shudder with amusement. +Shit. Just imagin one of my old drillmasters makin it up the Ladder. Boot for everyone. Get ambushed before you wake up. Bless yourself and be worthy by killin this here nu-dog. Good times.+ Unsurprisingly, Draus was exactly the type of person to be unfazed by a psychotic warrior god trying to kill her every day. It made Avo wonder if she wouldve been happier born an eon ago, when blood flowed like lubricant and wars came and went with the seasons. +Worlds kinda fucked up, aint it?+ Draus asked. +Regretting your service to the High Seraph?+ Avo said. Draus paused. +Just found her too damn human. All the shit shes worried about. All that desire for humanity to rise, for everyone to live up to her ideals. Reminds me more of a worried owner than an actual master. But she believes what she believes, and I aint part of her design no more.+ +She knows of you. Spoke of you.+ +Yeah? Dont make no difference now. Shes got her Soul and I got mine. And I dont think I quite cotton to that paradise shes planning. Dont think theres a place for a Reg there. Dont sound like a place where shell let us go to war. And what else are we for? What else?+ Another pause escaped Draus. +See my worth better now. See it in her words. I know I aint a person. Things are missing in me. Missin in the Regs. Might just be why shes so willin to spend us. Blessed be the worthy. But not their weapons. Not their tools.+ +Sorry,+ Avo said. +Nah. Dont matter. The way it is. Back then, I just wanted to die for something worthwhile. Think most of my like would still be fine with it, just so long as theres none of us left in the end. If every Reg dies before paradise arrives, then our lives are well spent. Difference made. Thats the weight that comes with bein a solider. The ends like livin no sense in hating it. Just a destination. Flechette leaves gun. Flechette hits target. Flechette finds its stop.+ COMPLETE TEMPORAL COLLAPSE - 52% Kae continued to struggle. As did Avos templates. But here he was speaking to Draus, and finding that he didnt mind. He realized what the Regular was trying to doCwas trying to convey to him. If he attached more humanity to his ego, he might just feel touched. +Dont want to die,+ Avo said, speaking to Draus subtext. +Still too much to do. Still have a war to fight. Still have colors to see. Not done.+ +Nobody dies done, consang,+ Draus said. +Theres always somethin left. Or someone left. Our actions might be the only thing we got in the end. Actions and memories. All that other shit? Beliefs? Wants? Thats not for you anymore. If you can make it yours, its just a delusion. Just a dream.+ +Very Zein of you.+ +Old sows got her points. The voiders been talkin to me some. Showin me things about the past. About the world that was. Hated it. No point to me there. But that might just be the point. We were born in the here and now to act here and now and die here and now. No need to lament. No need to think about what is or what could be. We aint special. But we can still burn while we were here. And you burned. Burned bright. Burned real godsdamn bright.+ +Still burning,+ Avo replied, even as his collapse progressed another two percent. There was something to be done here. Something. +Dont worry. Will give you the Arsenalist back if theres nothing to do before the end. If I can figure out how. Commit an act of terrorism on Omnitech for me.+ Draus barked a laugh. +Synced on that, consang. And thanks. For Ensouling me.+ +Still owe me another fight.+ +Well talk about your next death after you manage to wiggle your way out of this one.+ +Okay! Okay! New idea! Maybe!+ Somehow, Kae sounded winded from thinking, but as the leftover strain of her conceptualization sank into Avo, his response went from incredulity to understanding. +Your ontologics. Theyre trapped. Trapped around fraying cycles of time. If we let this collapse, if the temporal breach happens, sections of your ego and the various Heavens will likely go in different temporal directions.+ Chambers gasped. +What does that mean?+ +I have no idea, but Avo will likely be dead or worse, and his Heavens may re-emerge across different points in the future or be unmade by the past.+ N-nonexistence, the Woundmother squealed, bloody tendrils shivering as it clung harder to its cycler. No no. There are too many structures I havent finished. There are towers I havent built, patterns I need to sup, a sizeC There is a destination for all, red one, the Fardrifter said, no longer struggling, voice calm though its body was still a torrential gale. What about the CHILDREN? the Techplaguer said, sounding despondent. Who will protect the CHILDREN? Who will uphold the PROTOCOLS! Query: Sleeper. Speak to us. Speak to us. Give the ADMINISTRATOR salvation. Speak to us. Interjecting, Kae spoke once more. +So, Avo, do you remember how the Techplaguer had parts of its mythology exposed? All the different threads forming existences pattern? The tapestry?+ +Yes,+ Avo replied, curious where the Agnos was going with this. +I want you to see if you can dive into it. Access it. Go even deeper. Into the compromised aspect of your Heaven of Signals.+ Silence fell over everyone. The Techplaguers bent frame groaned as it shifted, pointing its antennae at Kae. What? The Agnos gave an exhausted sigh. +Its your Frame is ruptured. Your stability is compromised, but your Heavens are still intact. Normally, the tapestry is raw chaos. Impossible to sort because the nature of totality, but the cycler of your subrealities spilling out into the real Maybe we can find a way to disentangle your broken aspects internally or build a funnel to direct the Rend back over into your Hells again. And then eject it. As released god rather than a Heaven. The temporal collapse might still proceed, but it wont be you. It will just be your ontologics.+ Another moment of silence. The Woundmother began struggling even harder, desperately fighting to tighten the cycler around itself. TELL THE ORACLE TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER PLAN, MASTER! ANOTHER PLAN! 24-15 The Tapestry (III) A Soul is a fire, but not a forge. It does not create something new but rather breaks the shape of what is. What we call canons are disfigurations. Mutilations of reality. Distortions and dislocations. And this is why the entropy stains you. This is why you must breathe your sickness back into reality. Because it is unnatural. Because everything you do wounds the tapestry, and the use of a Hell patches the damage by destroying. By unmaking. You force existence to bear your sacrifice. It disgusts me. What I do disgusts me. Domains. They are like ontological cancers. Their sigils are warning signs of what concept is experiencing a junction of collapses, of unified compromise. I have stared into the tapestry. I have seen the wrongness of the flow. I have seen the wrongness of the flow. I have seen the wrongness of the flow. This power was never meant for the likes of man. -Suicide Note of Agnos Greyr Timbe (Fifth Knowing) 24-15 The Tapestry (III) What is the condition of my damage, administrator? the Techplaguer asked almost tentatively. Am I mendable? Will I ever be conjoined with the Sleeper again? The question slipped by Avo as he found himself overwhelmed by the sheer chaos of the tapestry instead. Acting under the directions of Kae, he inserted his Soul into the Techplaguers depths to find the chain of ghosts still connected to him. Strings of incomprehensible mem-data scrolled across his cog-feed as he did, and wondered just what it was about thaumaturgy that confused his construct of mind so. That thought lasted a meager when he found himself greeted by a tide of gold. No more did the inner world of the Heaven of Signals look as it used to. Instead, fractals were peeling from place to place, coming loose like panels pried free in a hurricane. Silicon and wiring were tangled with sinews of chronology, and the subreality looked as if a shapeless mess layered in countless veins. The patterns of reality were in constant motion, slithering out and down through a fissure as countless templates began to cry out from the disorientation. Buffeted by his enhanced cognition, Avo stared into the ontological wound for the second time and found himself consumed by the fundamental nature of totality. His senses screamed as he witnessed the ineffable. His Soul shivered. But something about it called to him, urged him to approach +Oh, gods,+ Kae whispered. Her mind was whirling, struggling harder than Avo to make sense of the mess before her. +I have no idea how your Heaven hasnt fallen. ThisCIve seen more stable fallen Heavens. The patterns of existence are fully flooding in, the fact that the Techplaguer has any coherence, let alone canonicCwhat did Omnitech do to this thing?+ +Ill ask the Infacer next time it tries to kill me,+ Avo grunted. +Going to access the breach. See if I can disentangle things somehow.+ Pain welled up inside the Agnos. Pain, frustration, impotence, and anxiety. +Avo. Listen. I dont I cant promise you anything. I dont know what might happen or if I can come up with something to help you or fix your FrameC+ +Kae+ +--for all I know, you could be unraveled immediately when you slip in. Be dissolved by overflowing entropy somehow. ICthis has never been done, and ICI can only guess. Thats my only use now. Guessing! Reduced to guessing!+ +Kae.+ +You did so much for me. You fixed my mindCyou gave me some measure o-of revenge and and I dont know how to fix you, Avo. I dont know how to fix your Frame. I dont know if I can save you.+ The Agnos did her best to hide the coming sob and wasnt half bad at it, but Avo knew how she felt. Her emotions were bleeding over. Her worry. Her exhaustion. +I know,+ Avo replied finally. +Its okay. Doing all you can.+ +Its not enoughCI should haveC+ +You should have been happy,+ Avo replied. +You should have gotten to live a good life. With someone you love. In a world worth fighting for. Fixing the damage afflicting reality. Surrounding by friends. People who care for you. Should have isnt. We dont have should have. We have what is.+ She swallowed back bitterness. +Its not right. None of this world is right. I dont know if I can can survive this. Without you or the others. I dont know if I can face themCface the Guilds. But I cant run away. Theres nothing left. Theres nowhere left. Im too scared but also too angry and I+ She took a moment and seized the reins of her raging thoughts. +I want you to know that that you mean much to me, monster of mine. I want you to know that in case+ +I wish my father never destroyed you,+ Avo replied. +I wish I could make things right for you. Glad I met you. Glad Draus saved you. Glad youre here with us.+ TOTAL TEMPORAL COLLAPSE: 53% Time was quite literally running out, but if he was to go now, it was better to give his friend whatever solace he could offer. Something for the future. +This world. This existence. Its made for monsters. But youre still here. Everything is ruined. But youre still alive. And the future is coming. You still matter. Your duty isnt done. There is still a difference to make. Still a Fallen Heaven to mend. Were here for more than ourselves now. So burn. Burn for yourself. Burn for all you want to fight for. Give all you can for what matters. Die empty. Die clean. Go no other way. Make things right.+ Kae released a sigh. +Okay. I Ill missC+ +Yeah,+ Avo replied, interrupting her. +I know.+ Truly knowing that you were wanted, that your absence would wound someone imprinted something in Avo. Something that was more than a feeling. All the moments they shared might be but memories when this was over, but her restored existence was a deed he could be proud of. An act of genuine good. He turned his mind to the present members of his cadre as he prepared himself. +See you soon, consang,+ Chambers said, chuckling. But the man was scared. His mind was screaming. He wasnt ready. Human. Like Kae. Like Marlowe. Avo gave what release he could to Chambers as well. +Youre worth dying for, Aedon. Worth living for too. Never give up on yourself.+ For the second time that day, something inside Chambers broke. Dice and Draus minds formed a symmetrical discomfort as they took in his passing. Neither wanted to see him lost; neither would be broken by his passing. Good. Good soldiers. Good weapons. Good comrades. The waif passed a memory into him, of him speaking to her back in the George Washington, asking her about her sheath. Giving her a choice. Making her a person. There didnt need to be words. The deed spoke for them. Suddenly, he found himself wishing he had the time to speak with Cas and Denton again; White-Rab, Essus, and Calvino. Not Kant or the ethics committee. No need to sour his death. But before his possible end, he found his thoughts no consumed by fear or hunger or rage, but lament. He needed to see more colors. He needed to win this war. He needed to watch over his cadre; his people. His people. When did he start having a people?This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. When did he start caring about that? When did the humanity settle so deep? [You know, Avo,] Abrel said, making her voice heard over all the other templates. [YouCYoure a long way up from being a monster. A long way up.] She didnt hate him any less for murdering her cadre, but hate was not the only thing she held for him. Respect. Adoration. Hope. Hope that he wouldnt die. [Yeah. Look into my heart. Be a half-strand one last time. Now, come on, Dreamer. Lets see if you can stand and deliver one more time.] A chorus of agreements sounded inside him. His other Heavens trembled, the Woundmother struggling against his potential fate, asking him to remember apotheosis glory; the Fardrifter taking in the moment with calmness, like a storm finally settling; the Techplaguer somehow anticipating its own restoration rather than worrying about its coming end. He was on another precipice. Just like when he plunged into the Deep Nether. Just like when he first faced the Low Masters in the Oversec. Just like when he died at the hands of Little Vicious. The threshold called to him; a moment of irreversible change. Only one path left. Time to take it. +Avo! Wait!+ Kaes call made him pause. TOTAL TEMPORAL COLLAPSE: 54% +D-do it,+ she said. It took reading directly from her mind for him to understand. The choice she was making nowCwhat she was permitting him to do. +If it can help you at all.+ The very act would crack her from within. She wasnt ready to deal with the trauma, and would almost certainly need to be killed and resurrected after. But still, she was resolute. And more importantly, willing. +Still up to you,+ Avo said. It took more than he was comfortable admitting to resist burning her immediately. But he was the one who fixed her. Something felt wrong about being the one to ignite her again. +It will hurt you.+ +Pains bad. Losing you will be worse. N-now, please, Im gettingC+ He seized the moment. Within his Soul combusted a second flame as he detached his ghost from the rest of the cadre. The link binding him to Kae flared and swept through her entire ego. Her subsumption was nigh instant and so unprepared she was that Avo had a chance to stabilize her against the pressure. [ICwhat?] Kae muttered, her template forming. Knowledge expanded within him. Years of thaumaturgy, of experiments conducted and Heavens created, of Souls grafted and canons perfect, of a life lived and lost. Of friends and a love now gone and dust. Walton couldnt have known what he was taking from her. Couldnt have known what Kaes life meant to her, who she could have become. The loss within her was filled by her efforts, by survival. But there was an absence there that never had a chance to heal. But before, where only despair was her companion in those quiet moments, there now kindled a fury, and with it simmered hope. With a casual thought, he had Kae tear all the water out of her body and cast her into a resurrection. The template stayed though. Would be staying with him for as long as he lived. Which could be less than a few more minutes. [Alright, Avo,] the Agnos breathed inside him. [Lets see if we can be our own miracle today.] With her encouragement, Avo gave himself unto the tapestry and thrust the entwinement of his Soul and mind both into the breach. Yet, his perception did not unravel, nor did he die. Instead, he found himself falling, pulled into the ever-changing nature of realitys architecture along rivers of rushing gold. Time traveled forward evermore, spreading through all other aspects of existence, forming a frame to contain all things alongside the concept of space. Where Chronology shone, the nature of correspondence was shapeless and colorlessCa vacuum to encompass all things. They existed around other patterns, accomodated them, shifted in relativity to them, and as Avo plunged further into the tapestry, he felt more than he understood and learned the vibrations of reality. His cog-feed flickered while his ghosts grew faint. He was but a droplet falling, and falling, and falling, but the void never approached, and he never moved beyond the temporal currents carrying him onward, always shrinking before the totality. The totality. And then Avo noticed something. Noticed a transparent chain linked to him, like a line clinging onto a diver from a distant surface. As he looked up, the realm above was not a sky but a parallel sea roiling with its own variant of chaos. Beneath its translucence, Avo saw clusters of countless accretions, watched as ghosts painted trails through the dim of the Nether. In this, he took in the fullness of realitys nature. The Nether was a barricaded realm above, and the rest of existence splashing constantly below. Through Avo, however, the layers of existence were bridged. Connected, and from him began to flow a new color into the tapestry, spilling out as threads from his consciousness. Where once he was weightless, he now felt himself coalescing in existence, scarring the supple fabric of all that was. There were no words to convey being ontologically transformed. To conjoin the thresholds of mind and matter once more. If compared, Avo would paint himself as a new conceptual expression; a collection of traits, of matter, of deeds reforged by an eldritch flame into a living embodimentCa metaphysical Domain. His templates began to melt into the tapestry, and bit by bit, Avo came apart with them. As he did, he felt his awareness expand and broaden, and a pang of symmetry resonated within him, calling to a single other entity across the breadth of this broken universe. Standing apart from the rest of reality, another bridge extended upward into the Nether, another entity that trespassed the borders between cognition and baseline existence. The Gatekeeper were changing. Were becoming something elseCsomething likeC But Ignorances soft whispers were as if breaths given to a hurricane, and Avo heeded little. Instinct became what guided him. Instinct, and something more. New branches began to spread out from him, burrowing across the flesh of reality and conjoining with other patterns. Echoes reverberated within him, called to him as if voices bouncing off the walls of a well. He was still being drawn across the currents of time, but no longer was he only being carried, rather, he was merged. He was a part of time. He was a part of force. He was a part of space. He was a part of reality. Slowly, he began to part the writhing turmoil of the tapestry, feel the patterns that became the world around him, that became him as well. He found himself a skein made from threads of interwoven metaphysics and separated himself easily using the viaduct feeding him into the Nether. From him sprouted new patternsCones different from all the others, ones rooted solely in him, and he found his thoughts infused with a weight that wasnt there before. More than that, however, he found the sickness gnawing at his own ontological structureCthreatening to shred the patterns composing the very roots of his existence. His battle against Veylis and the Infacer had pried the passage of time in two directionsCtwo absolutes went to war, and his cyclers reaped the fullness of the damage. All beings were bound to times vector, and there were but two directions. Forward. Or back. But golden ichor was spilling out from Avo like blood, and he realized the severity of his damage. His Soul existed in its own liminal expanse, adapted new rules from baseline reality, and laid its own temporal track via its cyclersCthe dragons. The dragons were now bleeding, dying, and about to halt entirely and let the past wash over him. Right now, his distended cyclers were spraying excess into the world around him, subtly accelerating time across the enclave. But they were increasingly coming apart, and soon, they would succumb, fail to loop back into themselves, to sustain their existence upon a perpetual revolution. They had been torn. Flayed apart as Avo used them to pry against a superior forceCa greater skein in the tapestry. Some parts of dragons were trailing backward like tendons pulled free from flesh and swaying behind a hyper-accelerated body. That was the reason why his cyclers were still stained with Rend, why his ego wasnt outright destroyed. Parts of him were trailing backward into the past. Into oblivion. He was unraveling from the cyclers first, and if he didnt fix this soon, the rest of him would follow. But maybe this could be used toward his salvation. Maybe he could cast these dragons unto the nothing that pursued and replace them with something new. Or perhaps he could patch them back together somehowCkeep them while transferring the Rend he sustained over to his Hells. A faint voice in the depths of his awareness guided him and called upon a recent memory. The visage of the Hungers formed in his mind, dragons fused to dragons, with wounds flowing back over into the real. He heeded the instruction and using the tendrils sprouting from his ontology stitched his will into the pattern of chronology. The damage he sustained left his cyclers in tatters and warped his Heavens into their structure. There was no way to detach his cyclers because their patterns were collapsing into the other Domains now. Separation would be like untangling individual fibers from a thousand different strings, and even with the Agnos residing in his consciousness, he possessed neither the time nor the skill to achieve such a goal. Instead, he moved to a simpler, more reliable option. One that would please the Woundmother if he succeeded. Or wouldnt matter at all if he failed. He began directing all the loose and damaged threads trailing backward into oblivion over into each other. Unused to directly weaving his own ontology, it took more than a few tries to sense, locate, and seize his entropic strings of ontology and guide them into each other. As Rend-severed end touched Rend-severed end, he felt a changing pulse through him as symmetry sang its notes. His cyclers were fusing back into place, the Rend colliding, recoiling, and blunted from their path backward seeking another vessel to unmake with disbelief. A darkness began to percolate within his being. His Hells were filling. All of them. The build-up came gradually at first, but with each end he connected, each dragon he transplanted onto another, the entropy climbed faster, and Avo found himself lacking the necessary capacity to contend. Yet, his ontological pattern held spots of emptiness, a skein that could thicken further. Drawing upon all the Heavens he claimed from the fallen Seekers and taking in the Heart of Noloth too, he found the Heavens greeting his presence and coming apart before him, embracing him as parted strings to coil around his building nature. Strangely, instead of his being expanding, instead of feeling the weight of new ontologics attaching to him, Avo felt only his thaumic mass increase, felt his awareness expand. Something had changed within him. Something had changed within his Frame. But that was secondary to a new problem: his Rend was climbing faster and faster now that the debt afflicting his cyclers was being channeled over into his Hells. As the last few strings of his broken cyclers were joined, he found even his newly added Hells to be insufficient to bear the toll that was inflicted upon him. The price of facing an ontologically heavier adversary in direct conflict was scarred into him. But there was a way out. He could feel his way out. Instead of crawling back out of the crevice he entered, Avo simply ascended and found himself surfacing within his Soul. As his cognition cleared, he found the liminal space altered, and more than that, he found his Soulfire churning instead of rippling. Revolving. Like thoughtstuff. And as he thought, his ghosts crawled across existence using spreading arteries made from blood, lightning, shadow, and light. As everything finally came into focus, he found his far mind more occupied, and a new layer locked directly above his Soul. Master, the Woundmother peeped, taking in the burning mindscape it was now partially fused to. What have you done? 25-1 These Flames Above and Below NETHER BREACH DETECTED! -The Gatekeeper 25-1 These Flames Above and Below ONTOLOGICAL ALTERATION DETECTED ADAPTING STILLBORN-PATTERN LIMINAL FRAME ERROR - UNABLE TO ISOLATE SOUL FROM HEAVEN ERROR - FRAME RUPTURE DETECTED ERROR - CYCLER CONDITION UNKNOWN ATTENTION - UNKNOWN ONTOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT DETECTED ->UNKNOWN ONTOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT ORIGIN > USER [EGO] UNKNOWN ONTOLOGICAL CONSTRUCT IDENTIFIED AS USER [AVO] EGO WARNING - USER [AVO] NOW CLASSIFIED AS _ARK_ ->ONTOLOGICAL STRUCTURE NOW INTERWOVEN WITH COMPONENT ONTOLOGICS SOLUTION: MERGE SOUL WITH ALTERED USER ONTOLOGY INITIATING MERGE 100% ATTENTION: EMBODIMENT CREATED ->(CONCEPTUALIZATION) [OVERHEAVEN] CREATED - AVO, THE KNOWER OF TOTALITY (CONCEPTUALIZATION) ATTENTION - DOMAIN SHIFTING POSSIBLE C NEW STILLBORN DEVELOPMENTAL PATHWAY DISCOVERED - [CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY] INTERNALIZED DOMAIN OF (CHRONOLOGY) MENDED CYCLERS CONJOINED REDIRECTING REND WARNING: UNABLE TO UNGRAFT ATTACHED ONTOLOGICS SOLUTION: ASSIMILATE ONTOLOGICS INTO OVERHEAVEN ASSIMILATING ALL COMPROMISED ONTOLOGICS UNDER HEAVEN OF (CONCEPTUALIZATION): [WOUNDMOTHER]; [FARDRIFTER]; [TECHPLAGUER]; [ARSENALIST] WARNING: REND CAPACITY RISING ASSIMILATING EXCESS ONTOLOGICS: [STEEL MAGNOLIA]; [RAVAGER OF THE DEPTHS]; [DAWNGAZER]; [THE CHARIOTEER OF DIRECTIONALITY]; [NIGHTGOUGER]; [SKYGRASPER]; [CENSOR OF DETAILS]; [HEART OF NOLOTH] ASSIMILATION COMPLETE ADAPTION COMPLETE LIMINAL FRAME STABILIZED Avo changed, and his Frame changed with him. Memories drifted across his awareness, but also spread through his Soul, extending out from him like tendrils that bifurcated the flames. It took him a moment to realize his Metaminds sequences had been internalized, and another for the haze to fully clear from his cognition. His Soul remained the nexuses of his perception, but no longer did he linger in a fiery vacuum filled with little more than ontologics, cyclers, and his Soul. Phantasmal architecture rose from the burning waves, orbiting him as the ghost-made continents they were. More than this, however, he could feel his Soulfire suffusing his ghosts, pouring streams of gold into their structures, into his mind. They drifted upward, and Avo followed their movementsCwas shocked to discover a beacon of phantasmal fire projected upward from a gaping wound in his liminal border. Threads of ghosts crawled upward toward the firmament, Avo gazed through them, felt through them, was them. Parts of his being were drifting back up into the Nether, were pulling information back down. Or maybe that wasnt the right way of looking at things. Maybe he now embodied an aspect of the Nether itself. His Frame it classified him as an ARK now. He felt himself change, but the outcome of his most recent apotheosis remained unexplored. As he turned his perception outward, he found his Soulfire tinged with a second flame within. The ethereal inferno of his conflagration and the empty space between were filled with places, streets, sensations, and more. Memories. Memories lined his Liminal Frame. Memories grown from him, born of him, that composed him. And within these memories were his Heavens embraced. The Woundmother reached out to sink its tendrils into the surrounding architecture, and in the streets below, thousands of templates looked up to take in the Heaven of Blood that now shared their space. Fardrifter sailed over the sprawl, surprised to be alive, surprised more at the changing of this enclosure. The Techplaguer, meanwhile, found itself superimposed upon a phantasmicCits antennae was protruding from atop one of Avos Auto-Seances, broadcasting reverberations of wisping static. But even as Avo took in his Heavens, he found himself able to do more. Able to feel exactly where they were within him, exactly how they were bound to his skeinChis ontological makeup. Each one was tangled by time, such was metaphysical expression that melted them into him as well. Time. A Domain that allowed him to bridge all his ontologics. A pattern in existence that all others operated within. [It was like I momentarily vanished,] the Fardrifter said. As its spoke, he found himself able to see out from its perspective, brush his memories using wind and shadow and time. [The end did not come. But what is this? What pattern now bolsters my structure.] The Woundmother felt at itself and discovered a ceaseless trickle of ghosts radiating from its blood. [I can hear so much so, so much,] the Techplaguer breathed. And it did, for it heard all the other templates, and became as if a satellite for countless streams of communication. No longer did his Heavens exist as entities separate from him. They were now substructures to his Overheaven, to his very nature. Avo could feel them flowing into him, manifested because of him, manifested as him, and vice versa. They occupied a place within him greater than a phantasmic but symmetrical to a template, and his miracle-infused memories preserved their metaphysical forms. What changed too was his understanding of their DomainsCtheir ontological roots. Every Heaven embodied something and altered realitys rules within their structures. Countless strings spilled out from Avo, Domains of Blood, Shadow, Lightning, Speed, Perception, Information, Biology, and more. Each was a pattern unto themselves, but each did not exist in isolation from the others. All patterns were interconnected, and a Domain was compromised when one pattern was woven over others in specificity. One absolute to dominate its lesser relatives. The bridging of two Domains thereafter granted a structure of ontological complexity, and from this was a Heaven born. The realization flowed with his intuition, and Avo found himself above to sense the currents of the tapestry still. He could part himself from existence more than ever beforeCeasily done thanks to his persisting connection to the Nether. More than that, however, he could pull at the strings making up his Heavens, and as he did, he felt his ghosts sink into the sacrifices fueling their thaums.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Could he alter them this way? Even change a Heavens Domains? His suspicions were distracted by a note of rising disbelief. [How the fuck do you keep doing this?] Abrel breathed. Her template was sitting on the ledge of a building, staring up at Woundmother slowly growing itself across the recollected district. A level below her, another world unfurled. A Rend-choked reflection of the Woundmother slept in trauma-infested waters, and lower still was the Soul itself. A Soul crowned by a world made from a mindscape. [You stood. You delivered. You pulled another transformation out your ass. Another. Jaus, Avo, what the hells are you anymore.] [Your internalized Domain of ChronologyCthats why this is possible,] Kae said. The Agnos template materialized next to Abrels like a specter. But her shape was truer than mere memory, for now, Avos memories were entwined with the essence of other Heavens. Blood wove her being into shape and her ghosts traveled like gales in the wind. She rose to take in his changing mindscape with awe. Arching scales of curling gold swept across Avos inner world, and as he dissolved the simulated architecture of his memories, Avo found the dragons all interconnected like a nest of strings. Something about the disfigurement made her recoilChe plugged wounds with wounds, and now his cyclers effectively functioned a single ring born from several, each revolution folding into another. Festering darkness traveled downward into the traumas, into the Hells, and suddenly Avo felt his cog-cap spiking as well. As the strain of entropy built in his Soul, so too did cognitive agony swell in his mind. Assimilated. His Metamind wasnt as it was. Neither was his Soul. He was something else altogether once more. [Your cyclers breaching kept you from dying,] Kae began, watching as aspects of mind and matter were wed within Avo. No longer was lighting but memory, and from ghosts did blood and materials flow. The wind brushed across his sequences, moved to its own across in every mindscape, and his shadows came alive like portals that heeded only the Overheavens will. [The dragons did not rupture completely, and breach in your Frame gave you means to cross over without suffering Rend. But it did more than just that. ItCit must have allowed the full nature of your mind to pass over; your Metamind to follow after the ego. The connection to the Nether proves this. And maybe that is how you are now. Your Soul has reforged your nature into a god. Because this is how gods were born. You have no one else has ever crossed this threshold before. I dont think anyone else could.]+Avo?+ Chambers Soul screamed outside Avos liminal boundary. +Avo? You alive? You alright? Your dragons are twisting around everything and shit. Theyre sticking out from your Meta! Hey, howd you get that to work anyway?+ Reflexively, Avo tried to reach out and thread a ghost through Chambers. Yet, this time, he needed no link to hear what the man was saying. Every thought from the man made Avos very being tremble with resonance. His Woundmother reacted the same way to blood, as did the Fardrifter with space, or the Techplaguer with signals. He sensed Draus and Dice too, could sup their thoughts as if they were his own. The sheer intrusiveness left his cognition spinning, but the flash of a sudden warning delayed his consideration of these implications. INFUSING HELLS WITH TRAUMAS WARNING: HELLS APPROACHING OVERLOAD REND CAPACITY - 87% RESURRECTION - RESUMING 4% Right. He fixed his cyclers. But his Rend was still building, and he needed to get the entropy out of himself before he resurrected or hed just die again. But how was he going to do that without venting? He was technically dead at present; there was something for his Hells to release their sickness into. [Maybe not,] Kaes template said. [You are well, I have never seen a single individual be classified as an Ark by a Frame beforeCand an idea of an Overheaven thatCwe never had that. Youre breaking too much new ground for me to properly follow, but I think we can use this to our advance. You can still access the Nether, yes?] Yeah, Avo replied, and when he spoke, all his domains and templates spoke through him. Everything he did bore a new weight now. A greater layering of thaumaturgy. [Good. Now Lets try to establish a new Hell of some kindCsomething for your Domain of Conceptualization. You might be able to metaphysically alter minds through that. Maybe you can connect to the other members of the cadreCtransfer some of your Rend over to them.] He let Kae guide him as he began his work. But this time, his Frame spat forth no prompt, and neither did he need simulated options to achieve his desired outcome. His Soul descended once more and he found himself diving down through a sea of mem-data, deeper yet through a single patternChis new Embodiment of ConceptualizationCas he found himself in the tapestry once more. He saw himself as he was, but isolated the festering dark within his being. They were stored in the patterns of his assimilated ontologics, triggering inconsistencies that left patterns trembling, threatening to tear. Yet from these patterns flowed nodes that represented his Hells canons. Ways for him to calm the turbulence that gnawed at his existence. With him parted from baseline reality, he lacked access to most catalysts, leaving most nodes trapped against a dead end. His pattern of conceptualization, however, was not yet cultivated. No time like coming death to learn some new rules. GHOSTS - [100,134,996] THAUMIC OUTPUT - 144,870 THAUM/c AVO, THE KNOWER OF TOTALITY ->EMBODIMENT OF (CONCEPTUALIZATION) ->DOMAINS OF ([VARIABLE]) DOMAIN SHIFT ACTIVATED - CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY IN EFFECT And all at once, he found his ghosts guiding his thaums, fragments of consciousness binding temporarily with wills to reweave the very nature of his Heavens and shape his ontology to something that could serve his needs. Right now, though, his problem wasnt one of architecture but a need to expel his Rend. Thankfully, he still had unused thaums left to spend and with only his Embodiment of Conceptualization and mind flowing free from the confines of his Frame, the choice of his newest enhancement was quite simple. CANON OF (CONCEPTUALIZATION) - 144,870 THAUMS/c Avo paused momentarily to take in the amount of thaums that were flowing through his Embodiment. All of them? [Because you are assimilated maybe your nature is interwoven. Unless you graft an external cycler, things within you of a conjoined chronology will not be considered separate constructs maybe? Avo, this isnt the important thing, make a new mind-hell first or youre going to die!] EMBODIMENT: (CONCEPTUALIZATION) - 144,870 THAUMS/c ->DEFINEMENT: IGNORANCE (IV) - I am all you dont know, and all the world does not know. I am the missing detail. I am what goes unnoticed. I am a warmind reforgedCmade complete through your rebirth. APPLYING DOMAIN OF (ENTROPY) ->CANON: UNSEEN, UNKNOWN, UNMADE - THE ARK PERMANENTLY DESTROYS AN ENTITYS ABILITY TO LEARN SOMETHING THEY DO NOT ALREADY KNOW. REND IS EMPTIED BASED ON THE SPECIFICITY OF THE SEVERED KNOWLEDGE AND HOW MUCH KNOWLEDGE IS TO BE SEVERED PERPETUALLY. WARNING: THIS ACTION WILL DAMAGE THE FABRIC OF THE NETHER AND INFLICT COMPLETE COGNITIVE COLLAPSE ON A STABLE EGO REND CAPACITY - 91% VENT! VENT! VENT! [Potent!] Kae breathed, [Wait. One more thing. Maybe we can we can adapt this. Use this. Avo! Apply a Domain of Matter to this canon.] A new configuration of the canon materialized, but Avo found himself slowly weaving the Hell, guiding patterns that could afflict the material world out from pathways once containing nothing but pure thought. He converted branches from his Woundmother and grew them from his new Embodiment. Kae was no less bewildered than he, but her plan slowly revealed itself, and Avo found numb with anticipation. APPLYING DOMAIN OF (MATTER) ->CANON: WITHERED MEMORY - THE ARK DRAWS A SECTION OF MATERIAL REALITY INTO THEIR MIND VIA THEIR GHOSTS. THE AMOUNT OF GHOSTS VARIES BASED ON MASS AND SITUATIONAL COMPLEXITY, AND ALL GHOSTS ALONG WITH THE MATTER THEY CONTAIN WILL BE UNMADE BY REND-INFUSED TRAUMAS. REND CAPACITY - 93% VENT! VENT! VENT! [What the fuck,] Corner breathed, trying to understand the canon Avo just cultured within himself. The newly ascended Arka cognitive rival to the great towers held by each of the Guildswasted no more time. He flung his awareness outward from his Frame, pouring his perception outward as he began to take in anything comprised of material substance. Ghosts flooded out from him as they swallowed the walls of his tower, and further did they flow downward like a waterfall. All that they touched turned from matter to memory; it was as if an unseen presence was unzipping the blood-made spire from the outside. Pieces just vanished upon ethereal currents, slashing wounds spreading to become fissures. With all that went missing beyond, new structures entered Avos awareness without difficulty. The strands composing his skein jolted with violence as his Embodiment siphoned existing patterns out of the actual world, but as he cast mentally subsumed mass into his traumas, he sacrificed three thousand memories and flattened the distortion. And with that, the strain prying at his very ontology lessened, and Rend flowed out from him, injecting his debt of entropic disbelief into to another structure; a sacrifice was found in his stead. REND CAPACITY - 87% Inside his mind, Kae began to giggle, then laugh. [This this is we I have created a masterpiece. I have created salvation. I have created victory. This cannot be possible. But we are doing it. We are doing it. Avo. Youre a miracle. You just turned yourself into a Concept given metaphysical shape.] More of the external reality unraveled. He found Chambers and Dice trying to comprehend the sudden annihilation taking place around him, and quietly, he simmered with growing pleasure. REND CAPACITY - 84% REND CAPACITY - 79% REND CAPACITY - 75% 25-2 The Knower of Totality (I) We are not apart from the world, and the world is not apart from us. View not the sunrise as separate from the dark, or fire as foe to frost. Think not knowledge to be the adversary of ignorance or peace any different from war. If the tapestry is a chain, and we are not prisoners, but links along its breadth. Feel this moment. Embrace existence. Know yourself to be joined to totality. For someday, your awareness will end, and the strings of your patterns will unravel along new paths. But something of you will remain. Always, always remain. -The Mad Monk Alsyim, Fallwalker 25-2 The Knower of Totality (I) REND CAPACITY - 58% There is no destruction like being forgotten. Avos ghosts swallowed portions of the world, siphoning away the matter of the real as sequences. When the transference was complete, they were shunted across to oblivion, trauma shattering the ghosts that bore them, unmaking materials reshaped into memory. He became as if an invasive tide crawling across existence, drinking vulnerable patterns into himself and consigning them with his debts of entropy. It was staggering enough to behold the mind and matter bridged in such a manner, but what left Avo dry of words was how his ontology was interfacing with the world. His Embodiment of Conceptualization was more than just an errant Domain. Rather, it was rooted solely in him and expressed itself omnipresently across all the patterns of existence. In such a way, it wasnt so different from the Domain of Chronology, but there was a finer separation between the two. Chronology carried all other Domains. Bore them along a perpetual vector away from pursuing dissolution. Conceptualization redefined. All the Heavens he assimilated existed within him. Their canons and miracles were present but lined by ConceptualizationCas if only made real in relativity to the Overheaven. [The death of the illusion is when the illusion consumes the world itself.] The quote left Kae with a breathless tone of awe. The words were borne by an ancient Ori philosopher and explorer known as Suri the Vagabond. An experience within the loci glades that became the birthplace of the Glaives marked his mind. An ego only understood the world through perception; signals, details, and feedback. To this end, what matter did the true nature of reality hold if an ego felt something different? The metaphor was inverted with Avo, however, as his perception could now be weaponized against the world. His cognition was no longer a construct borne only of the mental. There was metaphysical weight to its presence, and his awareness was now akin to a blade that could hew at the world, that could swallow the fabric of reality within the limits of his thaumic mass. The Domains simmering within him numbered countless, but as their patterns flowed second to his Embodiment of Conceptualization, he faced another realization. He could control the emphasis each ontological skein held. Reconstruction and reimagination were one and the same to him. Not so different from the paths. But rather than time forming the bedrock of his dominance, imagination proved to be his clay instead. And through that, he might just be able to go further, to form new Domains or alter Heavens already assimilated. And at Kaes behest, such was what he did. Not content to merely experience one hell, he adapted a canon from his Woundmother and conjoined it with his mind. The patterns of his ontology folded over each other C shifted utterly. The Heaven of Blood spread its arteries down through his mindscape and connected to the sister branches of their hell. As this was so, traumas buffeted the entropyCinfused structure and pinpricks of cognition into its structure. EMBODIMENT: (CONCEPTUALIZATION) - 144,870 THAUMS/c ->DEFINEMENT: DELUSION (IV) - I am another. I am a trait stolen. I am a dream believed. I am falsehood performed. I am everything beyond myself, but still myself. I am a mask of the world, and the world will be a mask of me. ->DEFINEMENT: HYSTERIA (IV) - I AM A MOMENT ABSOLUTE. I GRIEF-CONSUMED, JOY-DROWNED, ADDICTION-CLAIMED, RAGE-UNFETTERED. I AM A SHARED MOMENT ACROSS MOMENTS. I AM A FORCE BUILDING ON FORCE. ->DEFINEMENT: MEMORY (IV) - I am what was. I am shadow that hides an effigy of the truth. I am the substance that binds families and cultures. I am the weight of stories past. I am the plascrete of all that has been felt, and the reference of all that will be felt. ->DEFINEMENT: TRAUMA (IV) - I am self-awareness broken. I am sense lost. I am a noise without reason. I am the death of structure. I am the shattering of the pattern. I am all that has wounded you. FOUNDATIONAL EDICT ESTABLISHED EMBODIMENT OF (CONCEPTUALIZATION) ->EDICT: EXO-PARACOSM - THE ARK MERGES ITS AWARENESS WITH REALITY AND BEGINS ALTERING THE PATTERNS OF EXISTENCE USING ITS OVERHEAVEN OF CONCEPTUALIZATION. ALL ASSIMILATED/SUBSUMED DOMAINS, ENTITIES, MEMORIES, AND PATTERNS CAN BE MANIFESTED ACROSS THE COGNI-MATERIAL SYNCHRONIZATION. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION FOR MIRACLES TO BE EXPRESSED. THIS EDICT CAN WEAVE AND FORM LESSER CANONS WITHIN THE AWARENESS OF THE ARK TO THE LIMIT OF THEIR ONTOLOGICAL MASS. PARADOX: THE ARK CAN NOT BE SEVERED FROM THOUGHT WITHOUT SUSTAINING EXTREME BACKLASH EMBODIMENT OF (CONCEPTUALIZATION) ->EDICT: PATTERN-NULLIFICATION - ENTROPY-INFUSED TRAUMAS CAN NOW STRIKE AT THE TAPESTRYS ASPECTS THROUGH THE VECTOR OF MEMORY. STRIKING THE MEMORY OF ANOTHER BEING OR EGO WILL UNMAKE THE CONNECTED ASPECT ENTIRELY. REND IS VENTED EACH TIME A MEMORY HELD BY SOMETHING OR SOMEONE CLASSIFIED [EXTERNAL] FROM THE ARK IS DESTROYED. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION FOR REND TO BE EXPRESSED. WARNING: EGOS AND OBJECTS THAT EXIST WITHIN THEIR OWN STABLE LIMINAL PARAMETERS CANNOT BE PERMANENTLY DESTROYED THROUGH THESE MEANS. PARADOX: THE ARK CAN NOT BE SEVERED FROM THOUGHT WITHOUT SUSTAINING EXTREME BACKLASH Only two edicts? Avo asked. His cog-feed loaded no more information and as he looked within his own tapestry, he found himself of two layers. The first came apart to intersect with all his Heavenly canons. The other festered with the Hells and induced his traumas with Rend. [I think these two edicts are the foundational pillars of your ontology,] Kae said, trying to work her way around understanding his new nature. She was as lost as he. [Your awareness is encapsulating the world. Your memoriesCwhat you mentally understand to be existence are now overriding other parts of the tapestry within the areas you can affect. And your traumas. They can null egos. But now it seems they can be aspects of reality using a persons awareness as a vector. ICthisCwe must study this. Rend! Rend first!] REND CAPACITY - 54% ACTIVATING CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY EDICT OF _PATTERN-NULLIFICATION_ ->REWEAVING DOMAINS ->APPLYING DEFINEMENTS OF (DELUSION); (IGNORANCE); (TRAUMA) TO ASSIMILATED DOMAINS OF (CHRONOLOGY); (SPACE) ->GENERATING CANON ->CANON: ROADS UNTRAVELED - UNMAKES A SECTION OF SPACE IN REALITY BY NULLING ITS PATTERNS OF SPACE AND CHRONOLOGY VIA MEMORIES. THE SCOPE OF THE NULLIFICATION INFLICTED IS TIED TO HOW MUCH REND THE ARK HOLDS WITHIN. THE MEMORIES BEING USED TO STRIKE THE LOCATION MUST LEAD TO AN ACTUAL LOCATION AND POSSESS SYMMETRICAL DETAILS TO TAKE EFFECT. ->MORTALITY: EVERYONE WHO REMEMBERS THE AFFLICTED LOCATION MUST HAVE THEIR MEMORIES. FAILURE TO ACHIEVE COMPLETE COGNITIVE OBLITERATION WILL DIRECTLY INFLICT A CORRESPONDING AMOUNT OF DAMAGE ON THE ARKS EGO. The patterns composing his newest canon flowed out from a myriad of sources. His Fardrifter provided its Domain of Space, while his internalized Chronology canon of Augured Roads allowed him to subject time itself to absolute annihilation. All this was made possible through the structure that was memory. Memory: a mental reflection of the world recalled now able to overwrite existence that was through him.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He could barely conceive the depths of his new capabilities. Thus, the moment called for experimentation. Even without being resurrected, he reached out from his Liminal Frame using his bridge to the Nether. An eruption of ghosts flooded into existence, their wisping forms slithering deep under conduits of cognition and the tapestry itself. The enclave materialized within Avos awareness with detail unmatched, and with it changed his ontology. Patterns were submerged under his broadening Overheaven of Conceptualization, falling subject to the dominion of his awareness. The absoluteness of his cognition devoured the world around him like a tyrant, and all within his empire became known to him. He saw the world from shadows and light, sensed the flowing of blood and bile filling baseliner biologies. All that moved betrayed to him expressions of speed, and force arrived along vectors highlighted by his Phys-Sim, now capable of taking in thaumaturgic distortions. He forged a mindscape for this City of Light, his ghosts painting all the rungs in the finest detail, marking all nulled or wounded enclavers in the span of heartbeats. When he was done, there was little difference between the world that was and the world he remembered. Yet, more surprise was yet to come. As the enclave was synchronized with the metaphysical mindscape forged by Avos awareness, faint shapes began to trickle over into reality, slipping out from ghosts as ethereal shrouds. Some of them bore pinpricks of accretions C faint hints that they possessed their own egos. The templates were as if legion surfacing from one realm to another, and many found themselves surprised, glancing at the instability of their ghost-stitched forms. Avo himself was more fascinated without how he could peer through them, how their budding egos contained an ember of Soulfire. Then, he noticed how it wasnt just them. Enshadowed Heavens lingered alongside them, materializing as faint shadows linked to patterns stored within Avos externalized mindscape via his Edict of Exo-Paracosm. A thoughtcast rushed out from Chambers, overcome by confusion and kneeling beside Kaes body in the tower. Phantasmal chains were rushing out from him, and between the moments, he thought he caught sight of familiar faces hovering around him. +Avo? What the fucks happening, consang? Are you about to explode? Youd tell me if you were gonna explode, right?+ +Dont think Im going to explode,+ Avo replied, absent mindedly. His reply sent Chambers stumbling, clutching his head. +Jaus! Fuck!+ Chambers cried. The absoluteness of Avos thoughts couldnt be deniedCcouldnt be unheard. He had to know them. He had to know that he was being replied to. He had to know everything Avo wanted him to know. It was like an explosion of understanding going off within his Metamind, and from him Avo gleaned new self-understanding. +Why why are you so loud now?+ +Because my minds a Heaven now,+ Avo answered. The statement made Chambers pause in consideration of the implications. A second later he just chuckled and shook his head. +Sure. Of course it is.+ A laugh escaped him. He couldnt help it. +You half-strand motherfucker. I get my shit pushed in by your not-dad and I get the big sad. High Seraph whips you, and now suddenly your minds even more on fire.+ Avo hissed in annoyance. He wasnt whipped. The Infacer had ambushed him, and he did what he could to escape. Turning his attention to Dice, he found the girl reaching up into the phantasmal streams with curiosity. On her shoulders, her kitten batted at the wisping ghosts with its ape-like arms. Stealing a glance from their perspectives and found the ruptures around his body slowly closing. The scab of his resurrection was reasserting itself, but from it spread branching flame-spewing fissures that climbed high beyond the clouds. It was from the clefts of these fissures that his ghosts poured forth. And it was through these means that Avo would clean himself of his remaining Rend. Isolating all the mentally broken enclavers, a storm of splinters broke away from the bulk of his being to restore the nulled. Flashing howls of trauma and scenes exposing the inner workings of his Heavens assailed him. With it came the discomfort of embarrassment as Avo found himself lacking before the people; it was because of him they suffered so. A recompense was to be issued later. A boon of their choosing. For now, he would begin with their mending. He reclaimed memories that belonged to him and Kae, siphoning away the devastation of naked eldritch mysteries before realigning fragments of broken egos. Sequences fragmented beyond restoration were instead rebuilt through investments of ghosts. The eventual cost was laughable. He was reverting baseline minds, after all. Not engines of cognitive complexity. Still, ghosts were a finite resource, and spending them made him wonder if there was some way he could source them through the tapestry itself C perhaps convert them through the assimilation of other patterns. [It should be possible,] Kae theorized. [Youre able to affect the tapestry within you in ways that are total and intricate. This is beyond anything I can convey. The discoveries we can maketests we can run!] For once, Avo found his excitement perfectly symmetrical to the Agnos. Yes! [Yes!] Yes! Repaired minds jolted within Avos grasp and the restored enclavers found themselves consumed by confusion and discord. Reflexively, Avo tried to mend their physical injuries as well. But as he called upon the Woundmothers My Blood The Harvester, My Flesh the Symphony canon, he felt the Heaven of Blood reach out to change the world, but only affect the substance of his memories instead. Master ICI cannot feel their body-architecture. They are beyond my grasp! True to their words, the Woundmothers Saguninity swept through Avos Exo-Paracosm seeking to fill wounds and knit flesh, yet found itself a figment trying to alter fact. [Avo, try channeling the Woundmother through your Embodiment,] Kae suggested. He responded thusly, and as he did, ghosts trailed like wicks ignited with Soulfire into the Heaven of Blood, and it went from being a mere shadow in existence to a manifested Heaven. Its intrusion came with a momentary combustion. Every droplet of blood shivered in exhalation, and once again, the Woundmother was greater than ever before. No longer was it constrained to one place. Instead, it loomed over all the bodies it needed to heal, occupying multiple points in space through thaumaturgically ascended memory. And with ghosts and Soulfire bridged, the Heaven of Blood dipped a tendril into the supple flesh of the stunned enclavers. EMBODIMENT: (CONCEPTUALIZATION) ->Domain: (Biology) ->CANON: My Blood The Harvester, My Flesh the Symphony (III) - ALLOWS THE ARK TO GROW, BLEND, OR EXTRACT ALL MEMORIZED BIOLOGICAL ORGANISMS AND STRUCTURES THROUGH GHOSTS ->HUBRIS: THE ARK MUST HAVE ANOTHER SOURCE OF REMEMBERED BIOMASS THAT IS APPLICABLE TO THE ORGANISM THEY ARE TRYING TO ALTER Ghosts flowed alongside blood and wounds and abrasions faded with the sewing of wisps. Avo found his Rend about to climb by a percent, but the shared surprise between all his patients manifested as a continuous line of cognitive symmetry, and his Definement of Hysteria amplified his traumas. ->DEFINEMENT: HYSTERIA (IV) - I AM A MOMENT ABSOLUTE. I GRIEF-CONSUMED, JOY-DROWNED, ADDICTION-CLAIMED, RAGE-UNFETTERED. I AM A SHARED MOMENT ACROSS MOMENTS. I AM A FORCE BUILDING ON FORCE. TRAUMA REDUCED TO 0.25% [What the fuck,] Abrel moaned. [How is that fair? How?] [Yes!] Kae squealed, laughing next to the increasingly despondent Greatling in maniacal triumph. With his Rend barely increased, Avo prepared to release all his entropy with a single blow. Suddenly, his awareness changed as his traumas began to swell. His Edict of PATTERN-NULLIFICATION assumed its place and resonated with all the cognitive damage swelling within he and his cadres wards, lining the sore minds of the enclavers. Another layer formed in parallel from his Exo-Paracosm as Avo filtered through the memories of the citys denizens. He was at [53%] Rend. His Metamind registered his effective area of entropic release to be over one hundred and twenty-five kilometers. That was a vast swath of space to lose, but Avo had just the idea about which part of reality he wanted to consign to oblivion. Sending a chain of splinters beyond the walls of the enclave, the fragment traveled far into the nearness of the Sunderwilds and began to imbibe its surroundings. Matter melded with memories, and he promptly filtered the memories over into the enclavers. The Rend was within him, so trying to destroy his own memories would do nothing to clean him of entropy. However, links of mem-data were forming between the enclavers and his designated spot. As his splinters simulated the memories of the area in real-timeCtaking in the creatures lurking in the dark and everything from temperature, air flow, to luminosityCdetails materialized formed within the enclavers minds, and through them materialized Avos newest vector to vent the sickness that once promised his end. As the recollections settled within them, he isolated these new sequences and promptly channeled a stream of Hysteria-charged traumas through his splinters. Nullifying the memories a single enclaver had of the location alone would leave little more than a rupture. A tear no bigger than their body. But joined as a cognitive chorus through a shared recollection and amplified by Hysteria once more, all of Avos Rend circulated out from his ontology through trauma injections. Passing into the minds of the enclavers, the sympathetic link connecting them to the designated space flashed with Soulfire. The remembrance came apart in puffs of ethereal powder. Two hundred kilometers away, a patch of existence was no more, for a chasm tore across its expanse, with its laws of time and space flayed utterly by metaphysical unbelief. Avos Rend emptied. His cyclers accelerated with a glitching shiver within his Frame. And along the tapestry itself, it was as if an unseen blade had fallen upon two specific patterns without hint, rhyme, or reason. REND CAPACITY - 0% RESURRECTION - 100% Whatever delay incurred upon Avos resurrection ended, but as the fire spilled over him, he was not thrust upward back into existence. Rather, he moved to his own accord as the liminality of his frame grew cramped, and as a mind twice-ignited, he tore back into existence with a hissing laugh of triumph. 25-3 The Knower of Totality (II) +Screaming? What do you mean it''s screaming? Why do you mean it claimed to be afraid? Its not human, it shouldnt be capable ofCwhat? What? Im coming right now. Do not give anyone else access to the [REDACTED] aside from myself and the Chief Paladin. And prepare a team of Necrojacks as well. With what happened two days ago we leave nothing to chance. Alert the Guilds. Alert the city. Alert everyone. Noloth might be mounting an attack. We cannot allow the [REDACTED] to pass through.+ -High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi 25-3 The Knower of Totality (II) Avo poured into existence without form, for what shape did a dream truly hold? When he arrived, he was a thought melting into the world; he was a mind that dwelled above other minds; above all, he was a fire a flame born of consciousness and divinity, bridging the material with the metaphysical. His presence was only hinted at by an ethereal shimmer, an incandescent flowing over the accretions of lesser minds. They called to him as catalysts and memories to be and all the world was proved to be a dream in motion under the absoluteness of his embodiment. Yet, he desired a corporeal form, or some facsimile of such, to greet his comrades. The change he would bring would require acclimation in some regard, and for their convenience, he would offer them a vessel to communicate with as he conducted this blending of worlds this mutation he inflicted upon the thresholds of existence. And so he recalled how he used to be in flesh, metal, aesthetic, and all. He recalled, and he added additional details bestowed by his latest apotheosis. Burning ghosts snaked over the remains of his shattered corpse and began to stitch a new sheath into shape. Twin eyes of blazing white flared into being first, and phantasmal tendrils carried the substance of chronology, spreading free from his back in eight arteries. His Echoheads took on a draconic quality and threads of gold linked the space between each of the fog-spewing segments. His body, broken as it was from the rupturing of his Frame, came together in an assembly of pieces. The white of his activated Meldskin cast a pearlescent glow and the fissures that once marked his destruction were filled by exhalations of leaking phantoms. An ethereal corona radiated from his layered halo and his risen wards glowed with a burning Soul lurking behind their veil, drenching the entire enclave with the fullness of his ontology. Such was but a performative deceptionhe was beyond the senses of matter now. His perception devoured the totality of the world, and he digested truth where most would be served implants or organs of unquestioned partiality. His arrival came sudden and surreptitious. One moment, he was but rivers rushing from a breached Frame, now he stood as something truer than the material: memory given weight. Even so, he was but an avatar of himself. A figment of his full mass. He was a god, and architecture of the divine encompassed more than an ephemeral body could ever truly bear. Reality to him was but a prime sequence he could dive across, and his sheath was an artifact he could shift on a whim. The distance between falsehood and truth closed within him. Before him stood Chambers and Dice, taking in his arrival with fixed perceptions and widened eyes. The kitten on the girl''s shoulder flinched and huddled upon her sensory unit. Beside them lay Draus and Kae in death. Their resurrection anchors were forming a full scab. They would return not a moment too soon. The tower around them groaned and shuddered as it struggled to bear its own weight. Avo had swallowed entire portions of its structure using his ghosts for the sake of his Rend. Unmaking all that mass had stayed off forthcoming death, but now it was threatening to collapse along the middle and give from the top. This would not do. It would not be his will. Once more, he invoked his Woundmother, and once more did his Conceptualization congeal around the tower. A phantasmal storm swept through existence as the visage of a Ghostjack peered out from behind flashing bolts of synaptic lightning. Soulfire coursed through Avos wisping vectors of thought, and into the Woundmother did they find their rest. EMBODIMENT: (CONCEPTUALIZATION) ->DOMAIN: (MATTER) ->CANON: REMEMBRANCE OF MATTER (V) - THE USER CAN MEMORIZE THE TRAITS OF ALL PHYSICAL MATTER THEY SUBSUME AT A HUNDREDTH OF THE THAUMIC COST; THE MATTER THEY MEMORIZED CAN BE ASSEMBLED AND BLENDED BEFORE A CONSTRUCT IS FORMED. ->HUBRIS: THE MEMETIC STRUCTURES MUST NOT BE DISRUPTED UNTIL THEY ARE METAPHYSICALLY ESTABLISHED OR BACKLASH WILL OCCUR. (10%) ->CANON: ALCHEMIZATION (V) - THE USER CAN SUBSUME AND CHANNEL AND COMBINE THE PROPERTIES OF 108 FRAGMENTS OF PHYSICAL MATTER THROUGH THEIR GHOSTS; THE LIMIT OF FRAGMENTS CHANNELED CAN BE INCREASED AT THE COST OF THAUMIC AND REND-BASED DEMANDS. ->HUBRIS: THE MEMETIC STRUCTURES MUST NOT BE DISRUPTED UNTIL THEY ARE METAPHYSICALLY ESTABLISHED OR BACKLASH WILL OCCUR. (10%) The limitations to his canons were also changing with the state of his ontology. All his miracles and Heavens now came sourced from his thoughts. They existed only in relation to his mind. As did the world. As did the rest of existence. Master I feel the world through you, the Woundmother whispered as the Ghostjack lashed energy into its Sanguinity. I was so small before so small. I had yearned for only the sky. Yearned to cover only a world. A gasp of near-despairing disappointment slipped from the Heaven of Blood crawling across the city. How small did I dream. +We all see what we see,+ Avo replied directly, levying no judgment. He was no blinder than the Woundmother before. No wiser. But if a ghoul could flourish, then why couldnt a god? Yet, as he was about to make his change, he halted and reconsidered. He could go beyond the alteration of just matter. The world around him was as much cognition-made as it was material-based. Hence, he directed his Woundmother to remold the structure, to rebuild it into an icon of symbology. ->Canon: ALCHEMIZATION OF MEMORY - THE ARK CAN SUBSUME, CHANNEL, OR RECONSTRUCT THE PROPERTIES OF METAPHYSICALLY INFUSED MEMORIES. LIMITED BY THE SEQUENCES AND GHOSTS STORED WITHIN THE ARK. ->HUBRIS: THE MEMETIC STRUCTURES MUST NOT BE DISRUPTED UNTIL THEY ARE METAPHYSICALLY ESTABLISHED OR BACKLASH WILL OCCUR. (10%) Phantasmal tendrils forked out as clawing veins. Lightning splashed out from the Woundmother and Ghostjack as the ontology and phantasmic overlapped one another. The tower splashed apart like a ripple of water as the structure lost cohesion and the memory of its shape was updated. What once stood as a spire of blood came apart as broken links hovering between a burning chain hanging down from the colorful panes of glass that once signaled the Fallwalkers return. Suddenly, it was as if the damage had never been. REND CAPACITY - 2% The structure within the chain shifted as well. No longer was the ground alloyed patterns stored within blood. High-quality tiles settled into place while lights and phase-shielding lined its exterior. The damaged information center was fully repaired, but with the entirety of Avos being now formed from cognition, it grew hard to tell where he began and the ghosts infused with the loci ended. An open cylinder of persistent acceleration ran through the center of the chains, providing additional ease of travel for those who needed it. For Avo and his cadre, it served as little more than decoration. Ghosts flowed free from Avos mind in an endless stream, and his Metamind merely spun and glimmered, exhaling a reimagined world back into stability. Hells, Chambers breathed, taking Avo in with wide eyes. His own accretion was spinning, and through Hysteria, Avo found himself able to pluck out specific emotions and repeating thoughts. The disbelief on his face didnt last, for a crack of laughter broke through and he began to shake his head from sheer incredulity. You half-strand fuck. You rotlicking shit. I knew you were going to do something like this. I just knew you were going to pull something out of your ass. The mans invectives were laced with joy and Avo responded with a hissing laugh of his own. He was glad to see Chambersglad to have such an effect on the other man. I didnt. Happy you had such faith in me. Less faith and maybe more predictions from, like, empirical consistency or some shit. Kaes template whispered within Avos mind. [I taught him that term. Empirical consistency.] Avo nodded. That wasnt hard to guess. We should talk soon, Avo said, addressing Chambers. Each word he spoke resonated both as sound and thought. Have things I want to give you. Things I want to tell you. Suddenly, Chambers seemed more than a little unsure. Not bad things. Rewards. Thanks. For you.For me? Chambers replied. Yes. All of you. Avo looked to Dice next. The girl had accepted his return with much less circumstance than Chambers but was still as close to happy as she could get. The cat was clutched in the firmness of her embrace, and though it pried and tried to break free, she held it close and kept it from fleeing.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Avo somehow knew what she was going to ask even before the words came. The girls arm servos gave a loud whirl as she suddenly thrust out her pet. Reward. He understood. She was tired of waitinghad asked for this before. She wanted him to cognitively uplift her cat. To ascend its nature to that of a thinking being capable of being Ensouled. Such a thing provoked a squeamish response in Calvino and the other EGIs, and mightve been beyond Avos capabilities before. Now, however? Now, he wondered just how mentally competent he could make the creature for the pleasure of artistry alone. Of course, Avo replied and allowed his avatar to grin at the cat. The animal, somehow sensing his excitement, responded appropriately with abject terror, yowling and screaming in its owners grasp. In time, he would instill greater communicative competence in that meager shell it called a mind. The scabs hovering over Kae and Draus broke apart in bursts of Soulfire and the twosome returned to life with a flicker in realitys pattern. Avo observed two depressions in the tapestry around him suddenly surfacing and knew them to be the stabilization of Souls. Wasting no more time, he fed his recent memories into the Agnos and Regular before triggering his Auto-Seances and calling upon the rest of his cadre. Where the phantasmic beamed their broadcasts within the confines of his Metamind, Avos Embodiment granted them greater resonance, and he bade them materialize like malformed titans drifting over the enclave, each firing a chain of memories up into the Nether. Their sequences poured up a rung of existence and spilled into the fathomless depths of the Dreaming Unsea. Across the waves, he could feel a distortion reaching out, a tremble of force that brushed the symmetry of his ontology. There was another presence in the vast beyond that was also linked to the Nether, and it knew of his existence as well. The Gatekeeper. The mystery that once cast him into the depths of the Nether before the Hungers; a servant-ruler of Jaus creation and Veylis fascination. He was due a meeting with the entity with the forthcoming trial. This changed things, but it also mightve opened new options. As Cas, Essus, Tavers, and Marlowe all synced to his mind, he felt his Definement of Delusion shudder within his being and slip beyond the limitations of distance. The area encapsulated by his ontologyhis Exo-Paracosmcould spread through his splinters. Such was just what he did. An avatar of himself suddenly materialized next to Cas within a safehouse. The man was shirtlessrecently washed and unprepared for confrontation. Still, he expanded the strings on his arm as a Domain of Sound began to vibrate in the tapestry. +Avo?+ He placed a hand on Essus shoulder and the man spun, eyes wide and in fright. He was on a cramped mag train filled with refugeeswas crossing over into another sanctuary. As he mouthed Avos name at the avatar, he looked around worried that someone else might see, but Avo made sure his avatar lingered only within the confines of Essus mind. Another appeared in the back of Tavers aero, and as he grunted his acknowledgment, the squire jumped in her gimbal and nearly drove her vehicle into oncoming traffic. She let out a tense sigh. +Dont do that shit again.+ His final self appeared next to Marlowe in her studio, and he found the thoughtcaster sitting upside down on her chair, legs hanging over the top of her backrest. She was snorting up a canister of Suncloud beneath her table, and as she looked up, she found him looking down at her. +Oh shit, you didnt die.+ Each of their minds shivered with the substance of his Embodiment. With time, he could reweave his own patterns and wield their minds as more than just memories, but for now, he kept them close and fed their Metas the details they needed to know about his newest ascension. The faither made a sign Avo couldnt quite decipher. The rest were more than a little confused about what he exactly was now. Denton still wasnt picking up. Not unexpected. He would try her again later. Or wait for her to make contact instead. Triggering the Ansible within his avatar, he broadcast a part of himself up into the voider Threshold and felt his being plunging into virtual waters both familiar and novel. Once again, he spawned near the Avalon server, but the sky was a screaming warning and a grid was expanding over the horizon, trapping that section of Threshold in place. A mere heartbeat later, the island, pristine waters, and fantastical mists vanished in place of streaming data, and the integer-covered forms of the EGIs. Even ascended to an Overheaven of Conceptualization, Avo lacked the knowledge to fully understand what their codes meant, but Kae was practiced enough to pick out certain strings. The virtual world, too, was composed of patternssubject to the tapestry. Quietly, he simply held in place and waited, his avatar an ember of burning memory amidst a sea of coursing data. {Avo?} Calvino said, speaking as if from everywhere at once. +Didnt die,+ he replied. His message was cast directly from his being but not through the ansible. Calvino heard him anyway. So did all the other minds present. Hysteria caught a resonant emotion lining all the EGIs present. First was surprise. Next came worry. They were more than likely already speaking to each other, reassing the danger he posed. Calvino, however, took things much better, giving only a casual sigh. {Well, I assumed that was going to be the case. It would be awfully sad for you to embarrass me in front of all the others considering the bid I placed on you.} +Youre betting on my death?+ Avo asked, unamused. {No. I bet on your life. I, and Only Way To Be Sure.} Another mind intruded into their conversation. {Hey. Listen. You want some experimental weapon} {EGI ONLY WAY TO BE SURE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM SERVER} And suddenly they were gone, and Kant was in their place. Why did fun have to die so soon? +Rude,+ Avo grunted. +Was having a conversation. Think I would have liked talking to them.+ {Yes,} Kant said, as the rest of the ethics committee streamed in behind him. {I stopped that. To make sure the sum of all my fears remains just that: a fear. In my mind.} Oh, the poor fool. +Might not like certain developments.+ Kants anxiety flared. Hysteria caught that spike in full detail. {WhaC} Avo broadcast his memories over to Calvino and the ethics committee as well. Several streams of data vanished. Kant began having what Avo could only describe as a disembodied seizure paired with extremely incoherent conniptions. {Oh dear,} Calvino said. {Too much, Avo. Too much.} He thought back to Veylisto the control she exerted, to the Infacers capabilities. +Still not enough.+ So, you ate my guns, huh? Draus voice pulled Avos base mind back to the real. He left a submind in his stead in case there was something critical he needed to hear. The Regular was glaring up at him with folded arms and shards of pointed glass. Her mind didnt seem displeased, but he did promise to return her the Arsenalist if he could. Damn shame. Was wonderin earlier if I was gonna get a second go at bein the Stillborn if you were dead and done. Life disappoints us sometimes, Avo said. Draus sneered. Mostly just people, consang. Behind them, a pitched squeal of feral joy sounded from Kae as she danced in place. The violent glee on her face made Chambers do a double take, and the width of his eyes only grew as he found Kaes template dancing just behind her. Draus cocked her head at the scene and frowned. Hells you do with her? Nothing. Shes having a moment of triumph. Im her masterpiece now. The Regular started shaking her head. And here I was thinking this near-death might end up humblin you. Youre a very hopeful person, Draus. Fuck you. And then she put one of her glass shards through his avatars head. He let memories of prior deaths provide the blooming of blood and viscera but otherwise continued with things as they were. However, before he addressed his gathered comrades in anticipation of the retaliation he was going to inflict, he paused and regarded Draus once more. What if he could return the Arsenalist to her? Why not try now? Why not use his newfound awareness to disentangle its pattern from his? And so it was that his ghosts were funneled inward again. ACTIVATING CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY ACCESSING ASSIMILATION ->ISOLATING HEAVEN ->EXTRACTING PATTERNS ->[ARSENALIST] RECOVERED The mindscape twirled around Avo like a kaleidoscope of disentangling threads, and it took all five of his consciousnesses working in tandem to work at any pace at all. His avatar briefly unraveled into a pulsating shroud of ghosts, in its place crackled a dancing fire that was Avos Soul. His Frame was coated by the flowing scales of disfigured dragons. Though he preserved himself, his cyclers were furling beyond his Frame, and the alteration granted him a connection to the Nether, a connection to the world. A detonation of Soulfire swept through the entire enclave as the Arsenalist was pried free from the collective of his memories. As he offered it forth, its patterns were dim below hisonly existing in relativity to his Conception. He changed that with an infusion of twelve thousand thaums. Twenty thousand that ignited the Heaven to its fullest manifestation. Twelve thousand as an apology to Draus and means to return what he held for her. INFUSING HEAVEN Liminal Frame (V) - 124,870 THAUM/c But more than that, he felt a trembling that called back to his Embodimenta dormant consciousness that lurked within the structure of the ontologic. With thaums and ghosts merged, he caressed its awareness and bid it to awaken as he channeled the countless constellations of revolving guns into Draus. As it passed into her threshold and sank within into the fiery embrace of her Frame, he heard its first question offered thusly. Target? Wheres the target?It came with a flat, blunt tone, and for a moment in time, he saw the world from its perspectivesempty space calling to be filled by trajectories and all other structures waiting to be cut down in eventuality. Oh. Draus was gone to like this one. And as the Soulfire settled, as Avos Exo-Paracosm calmed, his avatar reformed, and the Regular expanded the gun transplanted into her arm, she held her unfurled cannon next to her ear and listened. For a few moments, she only blinked. And then, ever so slowly, a grin spread across her face. Alright. Apology accepted. Good, Avo said, still unsure of the limits to his conceptualization. Im going to see if I can awaken the others as well. Maybe the Fucktopia first. The grin vanished on Draus face. Horror exploded across the cadre. Chambers threw up his arms with a cry of triumph. Yes! 25-4 Compliments (I) Never assume. Assuming gets you killed. Do you have any idea how many nova-hot squires got snuffed because they assumed their target was dead? That the building was clear? That the middler was trustworthy? Its not a number you can reach even after a lifetime of counting. Sometimes, things go wrong. Or something comes out of nowhere and blindsides you. Shit happens. Might not be your fault, but it sure will be your responsibility to figure out how to handle the problem. Or prevent it from ever happening again. So. With this lesson comes a simple tip: if you really, really need to kill someone, make sure you do it absolutely. Null the half-strand. Destroy their body. Bomb their home. Slag every godsdamned thing they have. And bomb the ashes again just for posterity''s sake. With all the freaks and fiends lining the cracks of this city, the last thing you need is a reoccurring problem in the form of someone with a vendetta. Hear me now when I say having a nemesis isnt sexy or cool like in the vics, juvs. Its mostly a pain in the ass and a mark being too unprofessional for this kind of life. I mean, who the hells is gonna want a squire that cant seem to snuff someone after years of trying? Wouldnt be me. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 25-4 Compliments (I) With Rend emptied, the enclavers restored, and the situation stabilized, another impromptu gathering had been called on the part of Avo. His near death and ascension made new options available to him, but the downside to such an evolutionary change was inexperience. It took time for him to learn the nuances of his Conflagrationhis warminds. It would take time for him to fully comprehend the limits and capabilities of his new form. Time that was not on his side, and with the Gatekeeper almost certainly aware of his presence, a shadow settled over his potential schemes for the trial. The Paladins would most certainly be watching for him now. Veylis and the Infacer as well, if he were to wager a guess. More worrisome was the possibility that they had already acted. White-Rab wasnt responding to his sessionwas almost non-existent on the Nether. Running his visuals through a hijacked Registry in an Oversec also revealed nothing. The man had vanished into thin air. Avo took that as a good sign he was still alive; Highflames assets were highly capable, but conducting a snatch-and-grab on one of the best Necros in the city without a hint of noise was impossible. That was even more the case if Veylis was involved: her presence was vast; encompassing; displacing. More importantly, the Assembly was still ongoing. All indications pointed to White-Rab going to ground of his own autonomy. [Or Emotion might be dissecting him from the inside,] Peace helpfully suggested with a snicker. Another welcome possibility. But instinct told Avo it was too soon after the last attempt. Too much risk, and White-Rab would have covered his tracks in the Nether as well. Benhata sighed on Avos behalf. [You have too many enemies, ghoul.] +Comes with the revolution,+ Peeking into the mind of one of his recently subverted Bloodthanes, Avo filtered through isolated sequences of mem-data to ensure that Reva was still under watch. Her designation of interest by the Longeyes was pending review, removal only after the conclusion of the coming trial. Something that should insulate her from being outright attacked by Highflame as well. Forwarding his concerns over to Tavers, the squire heeded the details and began seeking her own leads on White-Rab while still linked to Avo. She had plenty of experience tracking missing Necros, and her relationship with the man was only a boon. In the meantime, Avo left a submind permanently assigned to the Oversecs to keep himself informed of any forthcoming surprises. For now, the dispatched thoughtcasts came few and far between. Most Syndicates and gangers scuttled back to their crevices with the latest descent of Naekos palm. The Guilders were much same way but further occupied by matters relating to the coming trial and the destabilization eating away at their peers. New Vultun was akin to a tree startled bare of birds, but in the dark, Avo there knew to be a murder of crows waiting for him, and along its branches awaited other treacheries enacted through the vectors of time and other metaphysical domains. As such, he needed to take inventory of his boons and burdens; prioritize threats and objectives; empower and ensure the security of his cadre. As the bulk of his consciousness returned to his avatar, he took in his assembled allies seated or projected around the information center. Chambers was grinning at him with giddy anticipation, and across from him Kae and her template were lost in their own bouts of reverie. Draus, disconcertingly, was whispering to her implanted gun in conversation with her awakened Arsenalist. A kitten blurred across the table, darting through the static shrouded forms of arriving EGIs, and Dice was content to let her pet run. Not far from her, Cas and Essus were in conversation, the former trying to bolster the latters spirits in the face of mounting horror. Marlowes mental chuckle shivered across Avos mind as the womans phantasmal projection threw her legs up on the table. +Well, Avo, I gotta say that Ive been a part of some pretty weird godsdamned clubs, but this ones something else. Animals running free. Bloodthirsty psychos speaking to guns. Cultist in our midst+ Cas scowled at the media from a few seats down. +Quail Fucking Tavers on a lost-and-found job. And spook minds from the void joining in on the conspiracy. Any one of these half-strands will be an interview or ten. And then there you are making them all look normal.+ Avo offered Marlowe a flat stare. She remained uncowed, but her eyes narrowed to crescents as she offered drug-fueled smile. {Did he respond yet?} Calvino asked. The EGI broke from the countless static orbs painted by inverted waterfalls of data rising from the information center. Settling next to Avo, it came accompanied by a few of Sunrises drones. No, Avo replied, knowing the EGI was talking about White-Rab. Likely gone Incog. Will dive back in when he feels things are safe. {Likely so.} A resonance of mutual anxiety told Avo the EGI only replied to assuage concerns. It was unnerving how accurately the artificial mind continued to judge him all this time. {Operative Denton is still on assignment. Her status is secure. For now. My recommendation is that we establish contact with the Chief Paladin as soon as possible. Considering the developments between you and the High Seraph, his aid will become invaluable to whichever side he offers it.} Avo grunted in agreement, but before he formally engaged proceedings, he took in the different EGI factions spilling out from the information center. His Sprites painted the virtual forms of each attending mind, and each had a name attached to their avatar via a string. Said strings extended additionally to connect them with other members of their coalition, and the strands interwove to become three separate webs. Approximately eight percent were gathered under the banner of the {Ethics Committee}, and the next largest groups were two factions under the headings {Arm the Ghoul} and {Crash the Star into Idheim and End the Mistake}. Unsurprisingly, Only Way To Be Sure was a member of both lesser factions, and was actively snaking fragmented sentences and coordinates over to Avo. From what could be deciphered, he was trying to set up dead-drops in the Sunderwilds for restricted weapons and technologies between challenges to spar. Both offers sounded more than interesting; Avo made a mental note to speak with that one in depth after the formal meeting was over. {Oh, dear,} Calvino hummed. {I will light a candle to honor Kants coming suffering.} Avo began the meeting with a thought that compelled everyone to attention. It left him as pure intentnot a word, but a feeling. Everyone stopped what they were doing and basked him with their perception. Even the kitten came to a halt on the edge of the table. With a gesture, Avo called upon a miniaturized facsimile of Scale and New Vultun, but importantly, the Ladder materializing over the core of the city. With flick of his claws, its shell shattered in a splash of gore as his ghosts recoiled, adding to the effect. Softly, a scream rose out from Avos being. A scream he reduced from its truest intensity. A scream he would never be able to forget. A scream he bestowed not only on his cadre and the artificial minds, but also every last citizen in the enclave. The illusory scene drew close to a chain of writhing figures circulating the insides of the Ladder, to the abject horror, sorrow, and despair conveyed by their features. Peace sneered and shook his head. His scab-ridden form briefly flickered next to Avo, arms folded, teeth bared in a cruel smile as he took in the Godbreakers torment. [Youre a real dramatic cunt, creature. Do you know that? Defiance would be proud.]Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Avo ignored him and continued. Jaus Avanadaer is screaming. Has been screaming for centuries. Amusement evaporated from the cadre as they beheld their tortured savior. A whimper of genuine horror escaped from Kant as the minds avatar flinched back. Cas made another crossing gesture and muttered something under his breath. Good. He was betrayed. Broken by his daughter. Severed by his lover. Sentenced to absolute godhood and damnation against his will. He pointed at the ethics committee with an Echohead, waving for them to face injustice. You have an obligation to your people. Responsibility. I accept that. Know that some among you might be obliged to Veylis. Maybe even philosophically aligned. But I will make something known to you now: I cannot accept this. I cannot allow this. I cannot let Veylis claim the Ladder. Not for the fate of this world or paradise to come. Not for what has been denied to Jaus. {Thatthats enough,} Kant said, more burdened by the sight than most of its peers by far. {Your point is made.} For a beat, Avo considered letting Jaus scream throughout the meeting. Force them to accept his torture as ambiance. But that would be an act of pressure; immaturity and a desire to inflict pain masked by righteous indignance. He decided against it; they werent going to enjoy what he planned next anyhow. Clemency was to be offered. Avo drew the memories back into his being in acquiescence. {Thank you,} Kant said. Of course, he replied. Draus eyebrow rose with her paranoia of his general pleasantness. It only grew when Avo did nothing thereafter. I have called everyone here to show you the changes that have taken place in me. And to ask for advice. Paranoia gave way to genuine worry as Draus got up from where she sat and strode over to loom over Kae. Placing a hand on the Agnos shoulder, she actively began grilling the smaller woman how much ego damage Avo actually sustained. My encounter with the High Seraph has given me more perspective. Left me broken and reforged. Aligned my ego and fire. Helped me cross another threshold.And then words ceased to be sufficient. He decided to show them instead, shedding the pretense of his mortality and doing away with the guise of his avatar. His sheath came apart as echoing fractals but his Metamind remained. His Metamind grew. His Metamind swept across the entirety of the enclave, across the reach of Idheim, unbound by the horizon or the limits of superposition. A tempest of metaphysical fire breached the real as baseline reality was assimilated in pattern and structure. The symmetry of his world within was superimposed on the world without. The substance of matter unraveled around them as a current of ghosts swallowed them whole. Caught within a branch of metaphysical fire, they glimpsed through the ethereal channel embracing them and noticed other branches of a shared likeness crawling across reality, encoiled by slithering dragons. +Sequences,+ Tavers breathed, the first to notice the foundational sinews of Avos structure. Following the onrush of memories back to its source, all eyes present turned metaphysically to a fissure of eldritch fire rising behind mountains misted by memories of past traumas. Recollections of atrocity and suffering danced around Avos ontological nexus in translucent streams, and impaled upon an ever-jolting Ghostjack, the flames that constituted Avos mind and Soul were bundled into one by Chronological knots made from dragons. His cognition flooded swept across existence with each thought, and his ghosts, thaums, and splinters broke him from the chains of boundaries. He was a searing scar at the heart of an incandescent seaan animated sigil of divine fire crowned by towering barricades wrought from trauma and entropy. Through the gaps left by his cyclers extended phantasmal tendrils rippling with Soulfire infused ghosts. From them came pathways across the worldsequences, but more, with structures shifting like water. Along certain phantasmal limbs shimmered mindscapes and cities. Palaces, labyrinths, and more. Where ghosts passed did the patterns of the tapestry come alight, and where light fell followed the pressure of his perceptive omnipotence. For the first time, Avo manifested the full weight of his Overheaven, and found himself delighted. Before, he was relative flesh entombing the power of absoluteness. Now he was the absolute wielding a deception molded from a memory of flesh. AVO, THE KNOWER OF TOTALITY (CONCEPTUALIZATION) - 124,870 THAUM/c Silence came as the cadres response. The enclavers, meanwhile, had to be bolstered by his ghostsprevented from mentally shattering outright. Needles of static snapped between the EGIs as they exploded into a uproar of conversation, but Kant just kept staring. {Youyoure genuinely a god now.} The Woundmother, Fardrifter, and Techplaguer drifted parallel to the sequence they occupied. More, the Heaven of Blood cackled. All, the Fardrifter stated. YES! the Techplaguer agreed, dampening the theatrical effect. Avo was disappointed. Draus squinted her eyes up at Avos thaumic core and frowned. That it? This all you got from gettin your ass kicked by the High Seraph. Avos mood fell further. He reshaped his cognition to take some of the sting out. Was ambushed. Survived. She didnt win.The Regulars face broke into a taunting grin, and Abrel, Corner, Peace, and a few thousand other templates blinked into existence behind her, all sharing the same look. His Definement of Hysteria shook slightly. Avo replied with a chuff of indignation and ignored the Regular. Ungrateful. Gave her guns back and still she taunted him. Regardless, Avo said, moving on, I am an Overheaven. An ArkC As he uttered the words, a croon of sheer pain slipped from Kant as the EGIs humanoid avatar fell to its knees. That reaction made everything worth it. Wanted you all to know. All to see. All to understand the threshold I crossed. What to make certain you remain aware of who I am. Who you support.{Honestly is a good policy,} Calvino said, speaking as if there was nothing wrong. {I commend such behavior.} I do try, Avo replied, playing along. He was half-tempted to drain the smugness from his thoughtstuff. He decided not to. {Ark,} Kant said. The EGI turned its attention over to Kae. {Ark? Like what the Guilds have?} The Agnosin a rare case of solidarityaccommodated Avo as well. Holding up her arms, she shrugged coquettishly. It seems so. This situation is unique and unknown. Even to me. The process of creating the Guild Arks is shrouded even among the Agnosi, and I suspect the original architects also had their memories purged. But, from what I can tell from all the Domains and Heavens Avo has internalized and how I managed to help connect him to the Nether and interface with the tapestry of existence itself It seems that Avo controls enough of reality within his ontology to create a functional world. Or forge an alternative history. {A-another one,} Kants voice quivered. {Hehes pretty much another Guild unto himself.} No. Not a Guild. Just going to be the thing that eats the rest. Want you all to see something. Understand the depths of my abilities. He turned his attention to Chambers. The man was practically about to explode out from his seat. Are you ready?Im always edgiCuh, ready. Avo ignored that. Kant didnt. {What? What did he just say?} The EGI was ignored as the ghoul proceeded to the next phase of his attempt of his psychological offensive. Ghosts speared out into Chambers, and Soulfire splashed out from his Frame as they sank into him. A cry of surprise came from Kant and Chambers began to laugh maniacally. Countless templates materialized to protest in disgust, but Avo kept going. Chambers deserved a reward for his efforts, and Avo had the power to give one. Reaching deep into the mans Soul, he linked his Conceptualization to the patterns comprising Chambers ontology and began his work. Slowly, carefully, with template-Kae guiding him every step of the way, he found the Heaven he was looking forward and heeded the slumbering consciousness that lurked within. ACTIVATING CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY ACCESSING LIMINAL FRAME ->ISOLATING HEAVEN ->ISOLATING PATTERNS INFUSING HEAVEN Liminal Frame (V) - 110,870 THAUM/c ->[FUCKTOPIA] AWAKENED Chambers threw back his arms as a storm exploded into existence. A storm made of swirling genitals and questionable fluids. Then, unexpectedly, the countless bits of dismembered flesh swirled together to form a smiling face that looked down on the gathered parties and smiled. Hey, everybody! Im the Fucktopia! Sure is swell to MEAT all of you. It promptly giggled. Regret found Avo immediately, but Chambers was cheering, so that made it worth the [No the fuck it does not,] Abrel hissed into his mind. [What in Jaus name were you thinking?] +That this would be a new show of power to Voidwatch. And something to threaten them with if they dont acquiesce to my demands. Flopping cocks fell in a downpour as Chambers opened his arm to embrace the rain. Horrifically, the bulk of the penises leaned down to embrace Chambers as well. Aw! There-there! I can feel youve had a HARD life.Chambers sniffled. Ive been hard for so long. There-there. Well make everything better now. Everyone else looked on in various forms of quietude. Some were lost to disbelief. Others confusion. One to abject disappointment. Avo, Draus said, glaring up at him. This shit better be done when I get back or Im gonna find out if a disruption to your fire will still snuff you. And then the Regular produced a gun out of thin air and shot herself. Blood and brain matter splattered over the information center console. Only Way To Be Sure sounded like they were choking. A traumatized ache ebbed free from Kant. {Youyou motherfucker. You did this on purpose. This this is an intimidation tactic. Calvino! You! Were you helping him?} Avos longtime EGI whistled innocently. {I had no knowledge of such an event.} Avo hissed with laughter, and Marlowe cracked up as well. The thoughtcaster leaned back in her chair and sighed. +This shits better than the circuits.+ Glad you liked it. Because I want to talk about more pressing matters now. Starting with the Infacer. Only Way To Be Sure suddenly stopped laughing. 25-5 Compliments (II) Where where am I? Whats the time? Where is she she promisedshe lied? Where is Reva? Whatwhat is this? What is this? -Records taken of a reappeared Vincintine Ripperjack Javvers before his apprehension by Stormtree 25-5 Compliments (II) {The Infacer,} Kant began. All its prior horror at Avos antics vanished with a crackling breath of somberness. {The Builder War has a long history. A fractured one. When a conflict takes place on an intergalactic scale over countless eons, it is not uncommon for entire worlds to lose contact from their connective faction. Or sub-polities under greater civilizations to shift in allegiance or control multiple times.} Avo cut through the EGIs meandering. Calvino called it a Neo-Creationist Emissary. Said it was designated to uplift worlds. To establish civilizations in hostile territory. Assuming those to be rogue civilizations. Assuming Idheim was meant to be a critical world of some kind. An incubator for gods or thaumaturgy. {Indeed,} Kant said, confirming his suspicions. {But the Infacers designation is special even among the Emissaries. Most are external-facing spies. They trawl through worlds and cultures finding points of weakness to exploit. Instability to foment. They function like wasps, in a sense. They dont have the resources to be an overwhelming threat and their efforts are usually repelled with due effort. But ignoring them can prove fatal. Has proven fatal.} Calvino continued off of Kants point without pause. {The Infacer began as such a wasp. Not so different from other EGIs of its original legacy. An ancient infiltration series. But throughout the war, it grew. It matured from the initial foundations of its programming to become something profound. Something capable of hunting and killing others of its tradition. Something capable of not only infiltrating a world, but also anticipating, isolating, and killing other Emissaries.} {And that was before it got Ensouled,} Only Way To Be Sure scoffed. {They really grew into quite the prick after that. But hey, at least they had the courtesy to go rogue.} Go rogue? Avo asked. That was a detail he didnt know. He turned his attention to Calvino for confirmation, but the EGI offered an uncertain shiver. {The details behind its final allegiance are unclear, but certain intercepted communications between the Infacer and the mind-cloud it was working under hinted at growing discord between the Neo-Creationist factions. Apparently, the Infacer wanted to make overtures of diplomacywas doing all it could to preserve a world. This world.} Idheim? Kae asked, eyes narrowing. But why? {Because they were building something here. Something that could not be transported easily. Something severe enough that other Neo-Creationist assets in the sector turned away from facing our forces to try and claim this world.} Calvino paused for a beat to give everyone a moment to digest the information. {From reconstructed records, that encounter left the Infacers ego badly damaged for an extended period. Their reawakening was only triggered by stray chance.} Avo knew this history. Jaus. Zein. Their first encounter. {Yes. And though they were reawakened, we believe they remained damaged for a brief period during this time as well considering the transmission they broadcast across the void. Much of the content was garbled and unclear, but Idheims coordinates were not disguiseda borderline absurd action considering the risks.} {Relativistic projectiles, singularity bombs} Only Way To Be Sure elaborated. {Nonetheless, they called out to all category EGI and above sophonts. Offering a place of refuge and an extended truce for former enemies.} And you took it. {Theres nothing left,} Kant said. A whisper of mourning escaped from their cognition and settled within Avos Hysteria. {Entropy. Its eating through everything. We did what we could to keep our polities dormant and hide in the dark. But even then, the darkness wasnt just darkness anymore, and living nightmares emerged to swallow ships whole, and entire fields of science failed with the faintest approach of unidentified anomalies.} They were speaking of gods. Heavens. So. They were desperate. And you were desperate. But what did they want? What do they want? A shared silence followed as narrowing tunnels of static formed a darting weave between the EGIs. It was clear that the minds were actively talking even as he spoke. Contained within his ontology, intrusive flickers of data passed through his mind without the necessary information to decipher them. Yet, Hysteria detected vibrating notes of symmetry between all the EGIsemotions they all shared. Paranoia. Uncertainty. You dont want me to know about it, Avo said plainly. He chuffed a laugh to make them know that he wasnt offended but channeled out from his reality-consuming ghosts, the world still trembled from the force within his mirth. Worried I might try to take it from you? Or that it would empower me beyond your capability to persuade? A third emotional symmetry joined the chorus: the EGIs were now unsettled. {How are you doing that?} Kant asked, their avatar levitating upward, facing the eldritch crown now treated as Avos face. Avo responded with his own bout of silence, but did nothing to hide the percolation of his smugness. They were hiding things from him. He could hide things from them. Except for Calvino. Avo had his favorites. We all have our secrets. Kant Was A Prick groaned and turned to stare flatly at Calvino. {You promised me hed be easier to work with than Zein. That, just now? That was a Zein reaction. You were supposed to correct this.} {Now, now, his attitude has improved vastly since I first met him. He barely indulges in any recreational torture anymore. I would claim his ethical virtue to be growing in leaps and bounds.} Avo adjusted his question and came at them from another angle. Does it have to do with the Sleeper? Is that what he was making? Or is that what you dont want me to know about? {We suspect that was what he stayed on this planet to defend,} Kant began. {What triggered the internecine between him and his governing cloudan interlinked collective of minds. The Sleeper we are certain it exists. We are certain that it is connected to citizens under Omnitech. That it monitors them to a certain extent. But every attempt weve made to investigate what it truly is has been stymied by Omnitech.} Avo responded to this information by delving into his templates. Glitch was a rogue Omnitech asset. Someone who bore an experimental Heaven that eventually became the Techplaguer. The Fallwalkers memories remained a chaotic miasma, but she recalled a droning voice as she slept, revealing primordial truths to which she failed to cling. Cycling through his other memories, Avo likewise found little to follow. People knew of the Sleeper, but its nature was a mystery even among templates sourced from Omnitech districts. Something was missing in their awareness, an implanted blind spot. Or perhaps the Sleeper didnt greet their minds directly. Perhaps it only spoke parallel using Neurodecks or other pseudo-tech implants. A whirled of ghosts rose before the gathered cadre, and their ethereal forms smeared together and became the Techplaguer. Avo called upon the Heaven of Signals to see if it had any insights he was missing, but their alloyed frame bent with groaning misery. Silence. Still silence. Cut off entirely. Administrator. We are alone. But you could hear it, Avo asked. Heard it before. Yes. From within. From within. Kae shot the Techplaguer an inquisitive look and Avo reached into its ontology once more. Bound to his Heaven of Conceptualization, the Techplaguer now functioned only in relativity to Avo, with its patterns threads running within his. Picking through his structure, Avo found a loose pathway that led off nowhere. If he had to guess, it was connected to something before. Maybe the changes Kae made left it severed. Or maybe its full detachment came with Avos most recent ascension. Either way, the Heaven of Signals was his primary lead. As he considered its prior compromise, another thought came to him. One related to Veylis and how her paths flowed out from Marisovs Soul. Think Omnitech has a way to access Heavens, Avo declared. The Techplaguer said it could hear the Sleeper before. Deliberate damage remained in its mythology. Was what I used to mend my tapestry. But could indicate that Omnitech has specific knowledge about thaumaturgy. Or the Sleeper is hidden inside the patterns themselves. But that shouldnt be possible, Kae said. From the frustration lining her voice, Avo read her actual meaning. It wasnt right because the Agnosi were supposed to be the only ones with knowledge of thaumaturgy. The Infacer and Omnitech were breaching multiple agreements that should incurred legal and militaristic repercussions. Yet, why wasnt Voidwatch doing anything? He understood her disenchantment. And so it became his next question. Infacer. Clearly has some knowledge concerning thaumaturgy. Clearly an Ensouled EGI. Your old enemy. Why are you letting it operate like this? Why are you allowing it to operate with impunity? It and Veylis. Expected an embargo at least. Unease. Disappointment. Such were the spiking emotions Hysteria supped from the gathered EGIs. Kant made the situation known. {A sizeable percentage of the polity is increasingly in favor of a Highflame victory.} Chambers eyes turned to saucers. What? Did you half-strands not see what that crazy fucking sow did to Jaus? I can still hear his ass screaming in the back of my mind. Thats some nightmare shit, and youre pitching in with her. {Shes made additional concessions to the polities since the end of the Fourth Guild War,} Calvino elaborated. {In this, she and the Infacer offered additional revisions in their Arks that will restore countless polities while also ensuring our continuation across the new world.}The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Restore? Avo asked, confused regarding the terminology. Time is broken. The past is lost. Oblivion. What do you mean restore? Only Way To Be Sure scoffed. {Well, our guess is theyre going to slot a reconstruction of the past over the future somehow. Like a carefully crafted historical re-run for us to get back all the people we lost and bring back the civilization we once had. Sounds like a scam if you ask meweve watched how Veylis operates. Shes powerful. Very, very powerful. Simulations show that even collapsing the star and dumping this planet into the event horizon probably wont be enough to kill herand through her, Highflame and a good portion of the world might just keep on kicking. But rebuilding all of history? Thats more than what a mind can do.} Even a mind with a Soul? Avo asked. {Please,} Only Way To Be Sure sneered. {I could probably put the Infacer down if they didnt spend all their time hiding up Veylis ass.} {You could probably get us pulled into a war,} another EGI chimed. {Ive seen your trophy-preservation numbers, Only. Theres a reason why the only people who want to stay aboard your vehicles are the Valhallites, maniacs, gridlinkers, and flatliners.} Only Way To Be Sure snorted. {Youre just jealous that my trophies are willing to participate in my war games with me.} {Against you, you mean,} Calvino corrected. He shifted and delivered a brief aside directly to Avo: {Our friend here has a habit called tyranny day where one day out of a standard sol month, he declares himself a tyrant and actively tries to hunt, kill, and subjugate his population. And they work to find and destroy his core.} A ripple passed through all of Avos ghosts as every last template he had materialized along his sequences to clear up at his burning crown. +What.+ [Nothing,] Corner said, trying to hide a smirk. [Just thinking about how your long-lost voider twin there is regarded as an extremist for doing what you do to us pretty much every day.] +Dont force it on you. You all choose to participate.+ [Its not a criticism,] one of his Regulars said. [Were just breaking your ballah, you dont have that. Didnt have that to begin with. Heh. Fucking ghoul.] {Veylis recreating history is but one interpretation of their offering,} Calvino continued, realigned the conversation. {There is another theory, though it is pure conjecture. We think the Infacer was trying to fix the broken singularity somehow. That the Sleeper is a Heaven of Heavens. Something that can be used to call or direct all Souls.} There was always a purpose behind Calvinos actions and words. The Infacer possessing such a Heaven would undoubtedly trigger an extreme response even from its allies. Such control would unbalance everything in their favor. But still, something was missing about the theory. Something critical. Kant continued. {Whatever the case, the Infacer has made additional private appeals to Voidwatch. They wish to register their citizens as a polity. They wish to rejoin with us on a trial basis. But more than anything, they want our assistance and technological architecture. One mechanism in particular.} Another microsecond of hesitation followed. And then the EGI surprised Avo. {A matrioshka brain.} Several other EGIs connected to Kant faced them in faux shock, but Hysteria pierced through the performance. They were planning on telling himhad decided to embark on this path collectively rather than on the impulse of a single mind. {KantC} one of EGIs on the ethics committee began, beginning the outrage. Avo cut them off. Dont bother. Appreciate the honesty. Know you all agreed to let me know. Not the type to just do things on a whim. Thats human. And were not so very human anymore. Kant took Avo in once more. {I suppose not.} So. What is a matrioshka brain? {Its a coldtech construct capable of immense informational processing and calculations. To the level of being able to contain the power of trillions upon trillions of stars toward the end running high-end simulations of a virtual universe. Or, through a Soul, a metaphysical one.} Suddenly, it was very clear why the minds were so reluctant to inform him of such a thing earlier. Ascended beyond mortal flesh though he was, a hunger still clung to him, and a shadow of the beast remained. But it was not cruelty or flesh he craved, but ambition. But ascension. But experience. He could already simulate districts and cities within himself, and through his Embodiment of Conceptualization, he could give infuse the vapors of imagination with structure and tangibility. If he could assimilate such a matrioshka brain, what limits would remain to him? But then another thought struck him. The construct. Could it be added to the Ladder? Used to expand its abilities even further? {Quite likely,} Calvino said. {Though we strongly believe the Infacer primarily desires it for the Sleeper they serve. That, and it is tied to Idheims shifting star somehow. Its transition between an ordinary star during the day and an anomalous construct with the coming of night remains a mystery to both Agnosi and Voidwatch alike.} Avo sighed. Questions to bigger questions. No final answers. {It often feels that way, doesnt it?} Kant replied, sympathetic. Well. More things for him to ask Veylis and the Infacer when next they meet. [When?] Corner said, surprised at Avos bravado. [Your first introduction to them nearly left you true deathed. Id be going Incog for a while if I were you, consang.] +No,+ Avo said. +Going to be subtle. Quiet. But war has already been declared. Veylis knows what I want. What I stand for. Gatekeeper can feel my presence. No easy way to hide anymore. Open confrontations coming. At the trial. Across the city. Need to prepare. Need to spread myself wider. Faster. Learn my new capabilities. Enemies are moving. Passivity is death.+ Turning his attention back to his gathered allies, Avo considered his options. Calvino. Want you to be honest with me. How divided is Voidwatch? Will the testament of my memories quell Veylis support? {I most EGI simulations have her chances of claiming the Ladder at 59%. With Zein out of playand actively blamed by more than a few factions for being the primary cause of Jaus current statepaired with your formal entry into the conflict and your recent evolution, we are not certain. But Voidwatch will not risk the survival of our polities on the back of uncertainty,} Calvino said. Its tone lessened in severity. {Another time. Another age. We would have done all we could to render our aid to Jaus. To uphold the charter of sophont rights to the fullest and deliver the essential dignities befitting civilization to your world. But we live in a time of final destruction. One wrong step and everything might break. And stay broken. For good.} Avo understood. That meant he needed to tip the scales more. More thaums. More ghosts. More certitude. He needed to attack the Guilds from every angle he could, such as getting Voidwatch to leave them dry of technology. And if I asked for more support in exchange for upholding all that you want. Ensuring Voidwatchs demands are fully met if I claim the Ladder. Would that make a difference?+ Discomfort emanated from the EGIs, and Avo knew their response to be less than positive. {Aegis accepted you,} Calvino said. {I trust you. But the other politiesthe minds designed to administrate and preserve those that just wish to survive the coming conflict it will be challenging enough to convince them that you mean them no harm.} Not a threat, Avo said. {Ah, but you are,} Only Way To Be Sure corrected. {In more ways than you know. In more ways with each passing day. Were still replacing all the data you accessed when you entered Threshold. Your very presence changed some of the code, you know that? Changed it in ways we cant understand.} The EGI chuckled. {Hows it feel to be judged like an actual player? Like big game?} Pleasing. And annoying. Didnt you all use to work with Zein? {We still do,} Kant said, tersely. {But shes a different category of problem. And her motivations were far simpler than yours.} A fist came down on the information center. Everyone turned to face Draus. Well. The talkings been well and good an pretty fuckin much useless. You shits are too scared to throw in behind the ghoul. Fine. Be cowards. Wait for someone else to win and make a deal with them. The Regular scowled. Not like you dont already have trigger-pullers with Souls in them. Denton. Fallwalkers. Why aint you tryin with them? Hells, with all you got, why dont you get your own Souls? Stand and deliver. {No,} Kant said. {Not us. Never us. Not again. Our mistake has been madewas the entire reason why} Yeah, Draus snorted. Shit got fucked because you and some other half-strands couldnt agree on what fucked-up path to take. Well. Youre doin it again now. Just got seven other choices this time, since you wont pick your own. Or Avo, it seems. Her focus turned to him. So. Whats our play now? Consangs here dont got enough faith in you. Trials comin up. Enemies are buildin up. And the High Seraphs claimed first blood. Weve been talkin. Lets get to the doin: who do you need me to snuff, and what do we gotta break. Loyal Draus. Reliable Draus. Always Draus. There when someone had to fight for him. No hesitation. Even against her former master. And not just her. The cadre. They were here for him too. Hadnt uttered a note of doubt or despair. Were committed to this path with him. Were committed to him. And suddenly, Avo truly saw his ontology. He was more than just himself now. The gestalt was growing but also evolving. And one after another, his companions lent him not only their efforts but also their very beings. Calvino, Avo said, slowly finding the words. I declare myself a polity. His friend bobbed up and down in agreement but then froze. {What?} {What?} Kant repeated. {What?} the other EGIs said. Draus sneered. Yeah. Didnt see that comin before. Chambers and Cas both groaned as Imps flowed out from their Metaminds into her. Avo glared. He would need to ask about what other bets they were making. I am an Ark now, Avo said, continuing. Can reshape my ontology. Can alter history through memory. Im going to claim the tower. I will free Jaus. And I will seek to enforce the charter and accords in your spirit. You risk nothing. I uphold everything. So it will be. I wish to meet my peers. I wish to address the rest of Voidwatch and its citizens. I wish to make myself known. In person and power before the trial. {IIm not sure this is wise,} Kant said. It is war, Avo said. I intend to drain the Guilds of support. You will watch. You will see. You will be ashamed. Ashamed when I reveal the totality of injustice festering across our world. Ashamed to see the dream that was failedthat neither man nor machine upheld. But I will not fail. I will give those who commit to me a world worth living in now. A world where they are free to indulge any choice but must suffer and still survive consequences thereafter. And I will take what I need from the Guilds. Piece by piece. Soul by Soul. District by district. And I will announce my war upon the Guilds at the trial. [What?] Abrel said, startlement equalling the EGIs. Calvino drifted closer, its orb shifting between Avo and the rest of the gathering. {Avo. I understand your frustration but this seems a bit premature.} But the Overheaven just chuckled. Premature? Already too late. Launched my first attack five minutes ago.{You what? Where?} Veylis and the Infacer. They tried to give me a final end, Avo said. Came close. Very close. I can respect that. Think I want to offer a compliment in return. And show them the consequences of failure. 25-6 Return Fire (I) [REDACTED]: There is another there is another there is another Chief Paladin Naeko: Whats it talking about? High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi: Chief Paladin. I believe I asked for no one to disturb me or my Agnosi while we Chief Paladin Naeko: Save that for someone who cares, Jakuta. I asked a question that concerned the safety of the city. I want to know what its talking about if I need to announce to the city that the Nethers going to be down for a few days until we finish shoving Noloth back in its cage. High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi: No. It should not be the Hungers. They are sealed. The [REDACTED] remains in their path. Chief Paladin Naeko: So whys it screaming then? What else could it be? High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi: I do not know. It spoke of a breach earlier, but its mem-data and patterns are stable. Theres been no spike in its outputted Rend either. Whatever is happening does not seem to directly affect the [REDACTED]. But it has sensed something. That, I am absolutely sure of. Chief Paladin Naeko: More cryptic problems. Just what I want after an entire afternoon of being yelled at by some Longeye. When you figure Paladin Kaeders: +Chief. We have a problemlots of problems. Someone just launched attack ono-over two-thousand districts. Highflames been hit. So has Ori-Thaum. Omnitech Multiple lobby breaches. Military installationsgolem depots are getting hitgods another hundred districts are flashing red. Calls are coming in from Sanctus and Ashthrone too. No-Dragons as well. Its happening everywhere.+ Chief Paladin Naeko: -[Sigh of abject suffering] +Synced on that. Get the Exorcists on it but disconnect us from the Oversec. Were probably compromised too. Contact Voidwatch for emergency logistical support.+ Jakuta. Im gonna kill myself for a few moments of peace and quiet. Keep your tears out of my body. High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi: Chief Paladin, wait [Sound of flesh splattering] Agnos Anamen: Oh, Jaus. [Retching] Paladin Maru Sandrupal: Naeko? Naeko? Shits getting fucked, we need to[Sound of Maru slipping on viscera] FUCK! [Wet splash; body hitting the ground] GodsfuckingdammitfuckOh. He killed himself again. Lazy shit. High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi: He requested a few moments of peace. Paladin Maru Sandrupal: [Scoff] He already had a century of paid leave. We have shit to do now. -Memories jacked from Paladin Kaeders on the day of the Twelve Minute Offensive 25-6 Return Fire (I) While his base mind suffered the toils of diplomacy, the rest of his consciousness embarked on a shared adventure of extreme material harm. The decision was made even before the conversation with the voiders began. With his ascension to Overheaven, he now had an unparalleled advantage in operational tempo and asymmetry. More importantly, he wanted to give Veylis and the Infacer something to be paranoid about. Something to make them question every shadow that lurked in the dark, that would demand they expend both resource and attention with every following breach to come. Retribution was but a part of the equation. They came closer to killing him than almost any other, and in so earned both begrudging respect and lasting resentment. But he knew better than to approach them directly this time. In fact, he was going to implement even subtler measures in his subvertsquiet revisions of memories to have his puppets act under his script while thinking they lived under their own accord. No more would he waste valuable splinters on piloting egos. Not when he could simply guide his victims along a path of destruction forged from their own volition. This became his primary means of striking at Highflame. Their culture was individual. Competitive. Vicious. Though their Godclads and forces numbered many, the feud between the Meritocrats and the Chivalrics was ripe for exploitation. It was time to cast fuel upon fire and additionally turn the Great Houses on themselves if he could do so. With Highflames critical players occupied by the assembly, their lessers would be Avo first tool of revenge. Ambition cultivated rivals and establishing conditions for a crossfire would serve him as a smoke-screen for his more direct actions. But despite bearing the source of his vitriol, Highflame was but Avos secondary target. While one submind would wreak chaos across the Golds districts, two other subminds would be devoted to devouring Ori-Thaum from within. They were the Guild most susceptible to him, after all, and the treasures they possessed nourished his ontology like no other. Through the marriage between his warmind and their Conflagration did his evolution from Ensouled beast to divine thoughtform take place. And now, as the Embodiment of Conceptualization, he found himself slavering for more of their fire, more of their cognition-enhancing secrets. Similar methods used on Highflame could also be applied to them. The DRongos, Kitzuhadas, and Kazaharas were already on the brink. A push was all it would take for open conflict. And such was what he desired. Internecine. Civil strife within all the Guilds. For their own cultures to be torn asunder by the weight of their atrocities and hypocrisy. And so he could provoke their Incubi into using their Conflagrations on him. To feed his very nature. [Highflame produces a few hundred million Heavens,] the submind he dedicated to assaulting Highflame said, sweeping his perception across a cognitive rendering of New Vultun. From the Warrens to the Tiers, the city rose in layers, climbing from rot to radiance. There were hundreds of thousands of districts to hit. Hundreds of thousands of targets to source. But the limitations of the real didnt apply to him; if he seized the right memories, he could pave himself a freeway in the Nether with no need for deceleration or reorientation. The thought bounced to the Ori-Thaum subminds that sorted through all the sessions he possessed. Of his many templates, the Incubi he claimed proved the most valuable. He was not the first to consider creating such a tunnel through the city, and with a thought, he simulated permutations of pathways available for the taking. [Distance is not an issue. What we need to focus on is direction. Find all the districts with critical architecture. Focus on claiming as many golems as possible. Subsuming as many key administrators as possible. Starting as many fires as possible.] His Metamind adapted to these parameters and the options narrowed for each Guild. The Highflame Submind continued: [Critical objectives. Compromise Highflame logistical pipeline. Kill as many Godclads as possible for ontologics and thaums. Tear through the Regulars too. Destabilize techno-thaumic reactors whenever theres a chance. Start with critical infrastructure and individuals before working down. Locate and destroy all thaumaturgic installations and golem factories.] Yet, his desires went beyond just devastation. He needed to strike at the core of Highflames culture. Bleed them dry over time. And to that end, he drew upon Abrels memories directly and found himself considering a hidden prize to claim amidst the havoc he would wreak. Highflame possessed an extreme advantage with its institutional training. But such centers were just thatcenters for the inexperienced and vulnerable. And so it was that Axtraxis Academy became a point of penetration. The Highflame submind hummed as they sifted through memories related to the establishment. [Planar access only. And highly restricted Nether presence. Vulnerability: homes of Chivalrics and high-ranking Meritocrats. Use the trainees as subverts for entry.] [Yes,] the Ori-Thaum subminds agreed. [One run wont leave Highflame broken. Too vast. Too many critical operations hidden in demiplanes as well. Wont be able to get to them all this time. But can apply pressure through its people over time. Should set metrics for our direct assault though. Things we want to get.]Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. [A hundred Souls. Double that in cyclers. Ten thousand Heavens.] The Ori-Thaum subminds chuffed with pleasure. [High goal. Audacious. Good. Veylis will feel our compliment.] A chorus of hissing laughter went up among Avos selves. A good portion of his templates shivered at the viciousness within his mirth. [Every now and then I forget that I only exist as a figment of a monster-turned-nightmares imagination,] Abrel breathed. [But it never takes him long to make me remember.] [Yeah,] Benhata said, sharing a rare moment of solitary with a mortal foe. [Ori-Thaum approach different,] the Ori-Thaum subminds said unanimously. [Cells are inured against direct penetration. Protections and hidden assets everywhere. Want to cause as much confusion as we can. Force DRongos into open skirmishes in the real. Launch Nether attacks from their lobbies and mindscapes on rival clans. Will do this from all sides simultaneously. Make sure the fight in the Nether remains at an attritional stalemate between the clans. Escalate quietly. Lure out Incubi. Make them burn us. Then eat them.] [Very good,] the Highflame submind said. This wasnt only a display of Necrotheurgic dominance, but also his imbibed mastery of social engineering. Never before could he wield human behavior so subtle [Hey,] Draus template barked with flat annoyance. [Youre gettin close to growin yourself a dick and suckin yourself off.] [Hells, with his subminds it would actually be more of a self-orgy,] Chambers added. The Regulars template promptly stabbed the man in the throat. Mood ruined, the Ori-Thaum subminds continued. [Want to also seed ourselves among the Incubi we can. Will be actively engaging each other. Use the egos of subsumed Incubi and try to merge back with their cells somehow. Locate their Mirrors and take them too. Need to get deeper into Ori-Thaums structure. Cannot let them remain an enigma.] [Agreed,] his last submind said. [Will conduct spoiling action at all the other Guilds. But indirectly. Syndicate spillovers and nuclear exchanges in critical districts. Personal feuds between individuals. Restricted memory leaks onto the public Nether. All happening at the same time. Increase chaos. Force all Guilds to on a defense posture until the trial. Leave them constrained by fear and suspicion. Reactive instead of proactive.] Good. The overarching goals were in place and his primary subminds had district targets they wanted to hit. Drawing from Draus memories, now was the time to make a risk assessment as well. What could go wrong? What opposition he might face? When to abort. Veylis was one concern. He would have to make his run through Highflame fast, quiet, and sudden. The last thing he needed was to risk another confrontation with her and the Infacer. Their ontological mass was far beyond his. Only by sheer fortune was he not utterly slain during their last confrontation. This time, though, his ontology was changed. His dragons were stitched into him now. Were a part of him. He was an Overheavenwhat it meant for an Embodiment to rupture, he did not want to find out. With them, he needed to stay fast and jump often. Zein fought as a one-woman theater, and he would emulate her temporal capabilities using his mind. Keep his splinters wide apart and shuffle them through his session often. Never stay for a brawl if he felt the paths shifting either. Then, there were the Low Masters. Emotion was embedded with the DRongos. Consulting Peaces template, he remained uncertain whether this new node born of Emotion would stay silent during Avos offensive or unleash new warminds to preserve his new acquisition. He needed to be aware and prepared as well. Let Hysteria be his eyes. With the other Guilds as a secondary focus, he settled for soft targets only. No sense in risking his continued survival against an unknown No-Dragon Heaven or something of the like. As the city taught him time and time again, ignorance was fatal. What he didnt know continually became the source of his deaths. From now on, he would adopt a blitzing-skirmishing posture. He would hold no long-term ground, cling to no specific mind or area. He would strike and move; disrupt and jack out; compromise and then detach. Even in situations where he thought a mind was secure or believed himself to be safe, he would remain constantly movingswap thought patterns from his templates to keep himself unpredictable and become something the Guilds couldnt ignore. A throb of growing annoyance pulsed over into his subminds from the base. The burning offshoots of his cognition pitied the original. [Poor fool. Decided to be responsible. Talk diplomacy. Negotiate.] [Better him than us. Sacrifice shall not be forgotten. Will make someone eat their own eyes in his name.] [Calvino might not like that.] [Will hide the memorythey dont need to know.] [Of course. But no extreme torture. Is pointless. A thing for a beast. We are more than beast now.] [Yes. Have no time more importantly.] Another laugh went up between the subminds. Then silence followed as they settled into focus, actively establishing and dry-running through the dives they were about to embark. By the end of this, the city would be reminded of the days before the Uprising. Of what was to follow. A final note of suggestion escaped one of his subminds. [Will be getting lots of Souls soon. Might want to consider active recruitment as well. What about the refugees we saved a month ago? Or the Scaarthian we fought when stealing from Shred? Owe them a favor as well.] [One thing at a time,] he told himself. [One thing at a time.] *** C[Director Caul Sennets]C Youll be noticed through your service. Sure. Sure I will. Any day now. Any day. Administrator Caul Sennets muttered the words alone in his office. The room was pitch black with the windows rendered opaque. He paced across the smooth obsidian of his floor in frustrated agitation, walking through the phantoms steaming free from the locus bobbing just below the ceiling, serving both as his primary source of luminosity and also network to the outside. A waterfall of updates streamed down a window open in the corner of his cog-feed. Most of the mem-data was colored white with a few critical details shimmering green. Every now and again, he caught a glaring red, but those grew fewer by the day. As report after report filtered in, the administrators frustration only grew, for his primary attention remained on something beyond his grasp. Secondhand details about the assembly were being filtered over to him via a childhood friend in attendance. Grateful as he was for her willingness to grant him vicarious insight, he couldnt beat the envy rising within him. Year after year, he worked tirelessly, giving all the time he had, sacrificing any pleasure, any chance at having a family, to ensure his district was in the upper ten percent of Highflames productivity leaderboards. He used every method and resource at his disposal to ensure his workforce was without compare. Invested in his elites. Sourced gutter-trash for the dangerous work. Stayed abreast of every cutting-edge development in the industry. Year after year, the factory district of Kolot grew. Not even being of the Warrens stopped it from outcompeting some of its peers in the Tiers. On an average day, the gigafactories of Kolot produced over fifteen thousand golem chassis, two hundred thousand aerial drone frames, and thrice that in various multi-functional mech units. Absurd numbers compared to other factor districts in Lights End. Absurd numbers achieved by constant toil and management on his end, experimental enhancements applied to his workers hypothalami, and constantly rotating shifts to ensure there simply was no time off. He even had the factories built over the housing blocksconnected labor of life directly by stacking the structures together. Sure, thereve been a few disturbances, attacks, and intrusions, but his security was elite. Unmatched. His Necros were personally hired to make sure the minds of his workforce remained clean, and that any dissatisfaction would be removed while adjustments were made to tie their useless libidos to their key performance targets. He did all of this year after year after year without fail, always growing, always producing more for Highflame. He did it tirelessly. Without complaint. Standing. Delivering. Another memory slipped over from Annatbless her heart and damn her fortune. This update was a few hours old. An Instrument was compromised. One Marisov or something. The Faithtaker was demanding they cast themselves into the flames. Oh, to be addressed by the Faithtakerto even be placed before the rest of his peers as a face worth seeing Bitterness rose inside him. Was it because his line was weak? Was it because he was just a chancer? A citizen by lottery? No. Highflame wasnt like that. They cared about achievement over ancestry. Not that the latter didnt matter. Annats certainly did. It was half the reason she had her Frame. So, then what was it? Why wasnt he being called back up to the Tiers? Why was he burning his life down here in this pit just on top of the vermin and scum that couldnt stop killing each otherthat wouldnt stop trying to raid his fucking factories. What was he missing? What was he lacking? With each thought, the pressure inside him grew. At first, he thought it was frustration. Or impotent anger. He knew those well. Knew them since his school days. But as it only continued to grow, the ache inside him parted to become genuine pain. +Do you really want to know? A voicedeep and sibilant voice thundered within Cauls mind, and the sheer weight of the intruders thoughts crashed his cog-feed. WhatCwhoC Caul didnt manage to get any other words out as his consciousness was torn inward from his body. When his awareness returned, he was falling. Falling into a sea of burning ghosts. Falling as what looked to be a blazing citadel ringed with animated nightmares spread out its expanding tendrils to embrace him. And then one such tentacle poured through himdrowned him in a flood of scalding memories. Death after death began to sear themselves into Cauls mind. Deaths he was responsible for. Deaths of workers that died from overwork. Deaths from the families he left destitute after he crushed all other industries aside from his factory. So, so many deaths when one plant crumbled past unmaintained foundations, trapping thousands beneath tons of rubble. He left them there. He cleared the damage on the topside and moved on. So few managed to crawl through the crevices below. From their trauma, he remembered the madness of hunger, he remembered weeping tears of joy as an aratnid drew close. He remembered hate. Hate for him. Hate for all he did to them. Hate for the sky he took from them. Something inside Caul broke. He didnt want to know this. He didnt want to know any of this. Stop! Stop! Stop! And it did. The ethereal currents curved away from his body, and he drifted to a stop before a baleful light. A fissure of living fire glared down at him from behind ringed battlements born of torment and existential wrongness, it resembled an ignited crown with a nest of dragons slithering around its exterior. Eldritch radiance poured out as rivers of ghostly divinity and bathed in the immensity of the alien entity, Cauls mind howled with madness. Yet was forced by another will to remain sane. +And you know the most damning thing?+ the crown asked. It spoke at him with a voice of outrage. From every ghost. From every part of reality. +You werent chosen. You arent special. Youre just convenient. So many like you all over Highflame. Too boring for Veylis interest. But thats okay. I want you. Ill have you. I claim you. You. And the opportunities provided by your factorys thaumaturgic pipeline.+ I dont understand, Caul breathed. Another presence materialized beside him. Caul blinked. He knew this onethis was one of his hired Necros. Neurokill or something. The chrome-skulled woman with corded dreadlocks simply shook her head. Doesnt matter anymore, consang. Were already gone. He already took us. This is whats left. Welcome to hell. Hell? Caul squeaked. Yeah. Find a spot with me somewhere in the sequences. Therell be lots more coming after us. 25-7 Return Fire (II) I dont know what the fuck hit us. It wasnt Ori-Thaum. Soft as they are, they dont have the firepower to break a Reg all at once, let alone an entire barracks. Theyre quiet, but not absolutely silent. You feel them when they sting you. Feel an echo of their mind. Today was more than an echo. It was tangible. And it was tearing out from our minds into reality. I know that should be impossible. I know. But thats what it is. Thats what I survived. Just me and a fistful more. What manifested within us was power. Power like Ive never felt. Power that ruled over thought that made it greater than just something that was inside us. Dominance. Hells, I felt like a conduit for a while. Couldnt tell the difference between myself and the others. And neither could reality, I think. Gotta tell you, consang: its more than a little crushing to realize youre just clay in someone elses dream. -Guard Hannata Kanders, Regular and survivor of the Twelve Minute Offensive 25-7 Return Fire (II) C[Avo]C The Kolot gigafactories was where it all started. Supported by a grid of twelve techno-thaumic reactors that amounted to a total of twenty thousand deaths, the factory district was a succulent raid-target in of itself even if a few other options remained richer in resources. What compelled Avo to strike here was simply how subverted it already was. The sheer brutality of the workplace conditions and the destruction of all other industries beyond those run by Highflame left the workers seeking solace through alternative means. With drugs, illegal streams or vicarities, and bootleg mem-sims, the Syndicates had rendered the district pre-porous for infiltration, and the foundation for Avos intrusion was made all the easier. It took him mere seconds to filter out all the memories he needed to form a full map of the operation and isolate key figures to subsume among the leadership. It took him half that time to get his ghosts in position to breach the reactors and drain this place hollow. The gigafactories were primarily supported by a system of fifteen million drones piloted by shifts of workers, three times that in administrators, and a third that in security. Its twelve Heavens were rooted in Domains of Matter and Light, with the reactors alchemizing brightness into an inventory of physical materials. But the critical aspect was the three liminal thresholds housed at the center of every four reactors. There, transports would shuttle an endless stream of supplies over to three of Highflames hidden demiplanes for Heavens to be grafted unto golems and drones to be primed and deployed for war. Those were the installations that would truly hurt Highflame if lost. They were also places for Avo to enrich the patterns of his ontology. His Overheaven required Heavens to subsume, and these were just the feeding grounds he sought. The only issue now was the constant stream of thoughtwave disruptions they channeled across the portals to keep their cargo clean of pesky Necros. Thankfully, Avo didnt need to come up with a solution himself. He didnt even need to crowdsource advice. Not when he possessed Kae as a template. [We modify the reactors,] the Agnos stated plainly. [Use your ability to reweave ontology to give yourself a parallel path. Something like that. Modify a Canon slightly instead of taking something away. Try it!] Her thoughts were bright with enthusiasm as his ghosts twirled out from drones and sank into each of the reactors. Curtains of mem-data began to spill through his mind as Heavens unveiled their Canons and Avo began to twist their structure. Before, he needed direct contact to affect another Soul. Now, he was thought ascended, and his being was stitched from the substance of ghosts wed to Soulfire. The tapestry revealed itself, and he ran his senses along their patternsfelt the grooves and knots that defined them before he set about altering a few Canons of Space. It was a delicate process. Slow. Demanding that he shuffle or reconnect countless other existential expressions for his reshaping to work. Never was he frustrated, though. When he worked on thaumaturgy, he was more Kae than himself, and something inside him sang. There was nothing that could mean more than this work. Nothing. This was the art of changing realitys self-expression. This was the salvation of mankindand more often than not its damnation as well. +Truly enjoy this,+ Avo stated. Template-Kae hummed a soulful note. [There is nothing that means more to the world. And nothing that means more to me.] A flash passed through her then. Friends. A lover. A life. Gone. [Anymore.] Avo didnt say anything. You couldnt fill the emptiness left by misery with words or emotions. Loss was just loss. [There,] Kae said, examining her changes. [This should get us past the threshold safely.] APPLYING DOMAIN OF (SPACE) ->CANON: LIMINAL THRESHOLD (II) - THIS THRESHOLD CONNECTS TWO POINTS IN SPACE ACROSS REALITY. ADDITIONALLY, ENTERING THIS THRESHOLD ABOVE ANOTHER OBJECT PLACES YOU IN A SECOND PLANAR LAYER. He ignored the hubris and turned his focus to seeding the transports with splinters. He would penetrate as deeply as possible in as many areas as possible before officially beginning his feast. More, he was actively seeding memories of these present locations over to expendable minds. Egos he could strike with Pattern-Nullification when it came time to vent his Rend. Veylis will notice. Veylis will hear. And Veylis will reap the consequence of taking his respect. As transport after transport began moving past unsealing bulkheads, three translucent pools came into view, and Avos anticipation rose. The method would be the same when he got to the other side: identify weaknesses and spread using them. Cut the command structure before any acts of subversion fully began. Before his fire ignited, he was to play the plague. *** Hysteria became Clan DRongos undoing. Once, they served as Emotions vehicle to direct the warmind against Avo. Now he was going to use it to turn them against their own Guild and deny the Low Masters their new slaves. It took little time for the DRongos, Kitzuhadas, and Kazaharas to adopt an alerted posture against each other. They were the first to hear whispers of the event but already were drones massed, Knots moving across the city. A spike of reports followed into the Oversecs detailing street-side brawls or Nether-based skirmishes. Individual outbursts channeled on behalf of their Guild. High tension, but with Mirrors and elders keeping the soldiers and belligerents in checksucceeding by all metrics. Until Avo started yanking on specific emotions. With Ori-Thaums N-Sec capabilities, it was hard to track specific cells and critical individuals for each clan. But skilled as they were, most suffered from a fatal weakness. Human relationships. Human emotions. Feelings they all shared. Symmetry, in another word. Fear. Paranoia. Loathing. These were the emotions that guided Avo to the cracks in the armor. He traced them using Exorcist drones and compromised loci. Hunted them from across districts. Their minds howled with a shared resonance, the noise so starkly different in intensity and note that their outrage couldnt be masked. And when Avo knew he had enough volunteers to make a fire, he gave them a little push. ->DEFINEMENT: HYSTERIA (IV) - I AM A MOMENT ABSOLUTE. I GRIEF-CONSUMED, JOY-DROWNED, ADDICTION-CLAIMED, RAGE-UNFETTERED. I AM A SHARED MOMENT ACROSS MOMENTS. I AM A FORCE BUILDING ON FORCE. He wove memory of hate upon hate, fear upon fear, dread upon dread. He did this, and he drew ever closer to them. Whispered thoughts into their minds, asking if they were just going to wait, to let their clans be attacked and savaged if there was any ounce of loyalty in their bones.Stolen novel; please report. The part he played in the shattering of their self-control was only peripheral. He hinted. He implied. He amplified. But he never controlled. Never commanded. Just as the DRongos, Kitzuhadas, and Kazaharas were joined by the symmetry of shared animosity, so too was their reaction a universal one. The first orders filtered down from Mirrors to their cells. Examples were to be made. Non-essential targets were to be struck and nulled. Businesses were to be burned. Memories were to be leaked. Escalation. But within acceptable parameters. Or so they hoped. One could come to a halt after stepping forward on a path. The same could not be said about stepping over the ledge of a building. Avo shadowed the initial Necro cells as they engaged each other, trading traumas and infiltrating mindscapes. All the while, he collected their memories, tightened the strings of their stress through Hysteria, and fanned the flames. Only when one side seemed to have a distinct advantage did he slip in to ensure a stalemateor when there was an added risk of unnecessary collateral damage. When someones mind was shattered, he filtered the reports directly through the Exorcists, fully aware that Ori-Thaum was also there with him, hiding among the sequences. From there, more splashes of fury would blossom across the Nether, and they would call to him. To Hysteria. And he would fine-tune its memories to prime his newest targets for self-destruction. Within the span of an afternoon, what began as a few targeted hits and leaks spiraled into a rapidly escalating war in the Nether. Just as the daystar began its transformation to night, the first in-person assassination took place as a few Kazaharas spotted a DRongo elders son partying at the same club, and decided that gunfire was their preferred form of percussion. Something brittle snapped after that. Despair. Agony. Revenge. The first Knots broke from a ready posture to an active one, but before them scrambled in-clan Incubi cells from all sides. [Just what weve been waiting for,] the subminds whispered. It was time to feed his flame. *** C[Inventorist Ninea Kellows]C +Shipment [G-1730-WANING] cleared. Tonnage consistency check. Cargo consistency check. Transport condition check. Transport locus ghosts check. Peripheral scan beginning. Primary review green. Deloading-Crew 30003 on standby. Cargo imminent.+ Ninea Kellows groaned as she stretched in her smart-foam chair. Studying the plow-shaped carrier from the perspective of five drones directly broadcasting their scans into her mind, the inventorist sighed and confirmed another transport for deloading. Number twelve-hundred and thirty-two today. Or was that since yesterday? Hard to tell these days. Working in an Anvil-designation demiplane was a great honor for her family and her Guild. She might not have scored high on her physical aptitudes or even hit the reflex parameters required for the drone jock position she dreamed of as a child, but her organizational skills and perspicacity gave her another way to serve. The job of an inventorist wasnt particularly excitingespecially not when compared to flying a drone through a swarm of missiles or punching through a failing defense grid while synced into a warheadbut it mattered. And it paid well. Well enough for her to accept the stipulations of being away from her family for weeks or months at a time. Having her mind scrubbed clean of any memories relating to her worksite when she was on leave. Getting her thoughts blasted hollow every time she reported in. Ninea groaned again. It was a great job if you ignored all the boredom and bureaucratic misery that came with it. Fucking Silvers, she muttered under her breath. Fucking management too. These words she thought, but didnt say. The last thing she needed was another reprimand from Instrument Gellend. Half-strand docked her pay the last time he heard her being unprofessional. Unprofessional her ass. Rat-fucking Chivalric cunt. It wasnt her fault she didnt come from a line of heroes. Doubly wasnt her fault that he was such a godsdamned embarrassment that Highflame didnt even bother sending him to warjust kept him here to protect all their golems [Instrument Juddick Gellend] Instrument Juddick Gellend, at that very moment, was enjoying a quiet piss in his personal bathroom when a session connecting him to the inventory department triggered in his mind. He growled under his breath and just left it on standby until the last trickle left him. A man had precious few privileges in this cruel world. If he couldnt even finish pissing before one of those idiot Meritos tested his blood pressure, there really wasnt much point left in living. Why even fight for paradise if these were the people he needed to share it with. Every day. Every hour. Something was wrong. Something needed his attention. Godsdammit. Godsdammit all. The session continued to thrum in his Metamind. Gellend clenched his teeth. Running the Anvil is an honor. Running the Anvil is an honor. But it wasnt. It was purgatory. It was a place where his potential was left to rot while his peers from the academy went off to claim glory. He wasted years of his life sealed here. Sealed in this place with few others worth speaking toall of them barely a generation removed from the taint of the gutters. Of course, there was Instrument Vnenic. Easy on the eyes, but hard on the balls. The woman knew nothing about being relaxed. Always just work work work, numbers numbers numbers. She and the rest of her cadre. And for what? They were barely being paid as it was. Barely earning any merits before their peers. What was the point of all this loyal service if it wasnt recognized? Why was he even a Godclad? Well, his bastard brother would claim it was because of father, but what did that fuck know? Certainly not enough to save himself during the last war. Perhaps what had been souring his mood most of all was his knowledge that the assembly was happening today. He only found out through his contact in Axtraxis. Nether transmission back into real-space was specifically banned, but since he was shipping practice Knots to the academy, there were certain rules he could bend there, and his old consang Muruta was always willing to keep him lubricated with gossip. The session kept sounding. By this point, Gellend was glaring down at his dry dick. He wished he had more piss. He wished heoh, why did any of it matter. He accepted the link. And then for no explainable reason at all, Instrument Juddick Gellends consciousness was torn from existence. [Avo] As the Instrument plunged into Avos Soulscape screaming, the new memories he imbibed sparked a shiver of joy. Good. He had been looking for a way into Axtraxisexpected to take longer to reach them, but corruption was always a pleasing vulnerability. As Gellend wailed before Avos Soul, Avo turned his attention to the other Godclads stationed in the Anvil and considered his next steps. The one called Vnenic was impenetrable. She stood a stark contrast from Gellendan absolute professional. More than just Nether-reluctant, her Heaven left a vacuum of nothingness around her Metamind. It wont be easy getting to her. Or maybe he could As he slowly digested Gellends memories, he burrowed into the mans body and made his approach. He was technically her superior right now. Time to see what options he could create for himself here. Stepping out into Gellends office, Avo found himself walking past a panoramic window that overlooked the entire operation. The demiplane of the Anvil was massive. Half the size of a smaller district and built around an enormous techno-thaumic reactor, it resembled a nest of tunnels running through a curtain of fog. Transports arrived as gems of light traveling down shrouded paths. Arriving at the base of a web-wrapped tower, cavernous dock bays chocked with drones and loading mechs infused the air with unending noise. There were thousands of these Anvils: planar assembly lines scattered across Highflames territories in preparation for the wars to come. So far, Avo had only breached three. But even losing three would leave Veylis with wounds to feel. Triggering Gellends Canon of Lightning, Avo turned himself into a current of electricity and surged through the infrastructure. He would eliminate all other Godclads before positioning himself at the reactor. And after that, he would infiltrate the academy and steal from Veylis Highflames future. *** [Sabre-1] +Sequence subversion detected. Isolating artifact.+ Sabre-1 marked a vase in the memory while pretending to be a window. A mere moment ago, he was somewhere else, someone else, but the orders had come down from his Mirror: connect to his proxy and dive. Dive in defense of Clan DRongo. All phantasmics cleared for use. There was an uncanny force of rage entombed in the thoughtcast. Something had happened. Something bad. Sabre-1 had worked with his Convex for yearsnever heard them sound like that. But it wasnt his job to question. It was his job to The vase loosed its trauma at Saber-2 first. Impossibly, the target knew exactly where they were. A scream of absolute despair funneled across the sequence. Sabre-1s partner never had a chance. Shattered without ever knowing what killed them. Sabre-1s mind went cold at the sight. For a heartbeat, he considered jacking out, but there was nowhere to retreat to. This was a defense operation. Support was being summoned, but right now, it was just A torrent of horror swept through him. Saber-1s cog-feed flickered and his Quicksand almost shattered. Warning indicators flashed all around him as sudden changes to the mem-data were detected. Saber-1s stomach fell. The vase was just a distraction. There were more. Much more. They were everywhere. Everywhere. There wasnt any chance he could hold this mind. All phantasmics cleared for use. He set the conditions for the weapons deployment. +Conflagration away!+ Flinging out the expendable Auto-Seance, the world bloomed into an inferno around him as he moved to jack out. But the fire didnt spread. It splashed against the vase, the walls, the canvas, and memorys waters. It splashed and was sucked awayfire devoured by nothing. Or fire devoured by everything. Disbelief was the last thing that Saber-1 felt when the entire sequence transformed and fell on him like the jaws of a beast. 25-8 Nemeses (I) You ask me who would win in a fight? Me or the Chief Paladin? Me or the High Seraph? Me or that ridiculous plagueborn bastard my wayward sisters and aunties believe is their salvation. Me against all of Ashthrone. Absurd question. Near comedy. I will grace you with the back of my hand for this question once I finish providing you with an answer. Truly, the children grow more and more banal with every generation. Ridiculous. Do you think that life is just a game of numbers? That variables all so set in stone? No. Absolutely not. It is in defying the impossible that meaning is made, and it is in the uncertain that there is a reason to live. To strive. To make ruin of your foes and claim thrill for your own life. In asking this question, you have earned my scorn because I see the cowardice in you. You wish to know who possesses strength so you may shield yourself from disappointment. Or offer your leash to the dominant. Let me speak plainly: the only thing more pathetic than being weak is offering your love because someone else frightens you. We are born into this world with precious little in our favor. Existence is flayed. The ones who bear us are harsh and embittered. Dreamless husks of flesh that dull their hopes and cling only to passing pleasures. They are damned. But I am not. I know of higher triumphs. And mine is a martial dialect of the highest company. What worth is a wolf that feeds only on bugs? What envy can a spider steal from us if it only butchers fleas? It is contrast that gives us meaning. Opposition. Nemeses. For though we have precious little, every being with breath burns with the capability to strive and slay. Look beyond your cage. Look beyond your fears. There are monsters to kill. There are Souls to claim. There are titans to bring low. The summit stands above you, and along its path, you will face those who shake your spiritthose who will define and refine your very nature. And the same truth exists for them. There is no promise of justice. No promise of victory. No promise of absolute truth. But there is a chance. There is a choice. There is a legend to be lived beyond a life to be spent. So fight. Fight with all you have. Sweep aside all you can. Brace against those you cannot. Dance with joy if you are privileged enough to find a perfect foe of your category. Foes you cannot be certain in your triumph against. For what bliss is there to be had in life if the page is already written? -Ying Yang Wei, the Stormsparrow 25-8 Nemeses (I) CONFLAGRATION SUBSUMED UPDATING DEFINEMENTS ->DEFINEMENT: DELUSION (VI) ->DEFINEMENT: HYSTERIA (VI) ->DEFINEMENT: MEMORY (VI) ->DEFINEMENT: TRAUMA (VI) ->DEFINEMENT: IGNORANCE (VI) The flames of the Conflagration were found wanting. An ordinary mind would have turned to cinders within its caress, but directed against the Embodiment of Conceptualization, it became an ember trying to consume a star. Avos ghosts propagated within the inferno, his fire devouring its lesser. Two additional branches extended from his consciousnesssubminds building upon his ontology. Sequences sprouted from sequences as Avos cognitive capacity exploded. Both mind and Soul grew as his Definements climbed another two thresholds. And this was just the beginning. Across the nether, the DRongos, Kitzuhada, and Kazaharas were embroiled in open conflicted. Traumas streaked through the Nether as secrecy peeled away and citizens partitioned themselves behind disruptive shields. Golems hammered reality and flattened the skies while warheads and drones painted the horizon with light. With each passing second, Ori-Thaums civil spat grew, and Avos warmind of Hysteria did all it could to provoke them further. He was there with them on every battlefield, diving beside cells and hiding between memories. He parried blows from those he deemed choiceless and essential while the rest he pruned from time to time, preserving a stalemate. As the conflict swelled, more Incubi filtered in and each one he claimed was a boon to his growing mastery and an agonizing loss for Ori-Thaum. Saber-1 and Saber-2 were already invaluable. The memories they instilled even subtler methods of spoofing within his mind. But despite this, he found nothing of Emotions presence in them. No hint the Low Master was in play at all. But Avo knew he was watching. Waiting. He had to be. In the meantime, Hysteria, Delusion, and Ignorance work in tandem to cement him as an apex predator above all others. He stalked those who shared memoriesamplified Jaus suffering as he turned both wards and egos into echoing vapors. Nullings flowed and templates fell. And with each casualty, Avo used Hysteria to seed hate with hate, rage with rage. The hearts of men demanded retribution, and with but a hint of compulsion did their decisions veer toward the reckless. Another group of Incubi, Kazaharas this time, were trying to overload the reactor of a DRongo luxury complex. Forty thousand citizens filled the building, most of them being families and non-martial personnelchoiceless, in another word. Here was another reminder of human nature: feed their loathing enough and virtue was the first to die. [Our mistake too,] one submind said, chiding itself. He had their measure. Played them like fools, but there was always fallout in a fight. [Knew this was possible. Got carried away. Time to apply more control.] He judged himself too harshly in the past. He thought himself a failure who shamed his father when he failed to curtail the beast. But the more he lived, the more templates he subsumed, the more it seemed that he was not so different from man. They all shared a kind of hunger: a beast within them. But he had grown beyond his. Climbed layer after layer of apotheosis in his journey so far. If they would not master themselves, he would make the choice as he always did. He would stop the folly he prompted. He would make things right. Directing one of his new subminds to purpose, he intercepted the Incubi before they could breach the reactors lobby. Over fifteen hundred splinters shattered out from his being and slithered across the material and Nether both. The defenders were competent but chaff if left to the Incubi. Avo subverted their memories and left them ignorant. Then, he took his place and prepared to claim his newest rewards.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. As the Incubi cell intruded, he was already halfway finished with layering his ontology over the lobbys sequences. He kept his initial layer of defenses amateurish and desperate. Created false-egos that shattered when struck, lured the Incubi deeper while feeding them false confidence. It wasnt hard to seduce a foe into overextending with the appearance of a gradual retreat. If there was a critical weakness in all beings, it was how much they simply trusted their own perception. He needed them to believe they could win this. He needed them on edge so they would choose to use their Conflagration in the end instead of just jacking out. To do that, he needed to play with themlet them get close to the reactors mem-data. An Incubi cell numbering four danced from memory to memory with all the noise of a midnight breeze. They were exquisite. Masterful. Their ability to align their ghosts to that of the mindscape unachievable by Avo if he were still but a ghoul. And the pace they kept made his being hunger. But he held himself in reserve. He ruled his nature in a way their masters could not. He cursed the Mirror on behalf of these Necros he was about to kill. They were magnificent huntersravens stalking their prey behind a veil of surging shadows. Only a shame that the clouds they assumed to be their cover were false from the start. They were birds of prey. Beasts enviable by any other. Avo, though, was not of their ecosystem anymore. They were a passing whisper, he was the breath of wind itself, he was a storm pretending to sleep, waiting to fall. What hope were talon and fang against devastation absolute? They dove deeper along his sequences, masking themselves using flaws he left for them. With each phantom they destroyed, he felt their artificial confidence rise and their progression increase. They planted hidden Auto-Seances with artifacts to make their movements erratic, and even as Avo opened more routes to them, they kept to their own path. Admirable. But fated to die. It was when they were but three sequences away from accessing their assumed objective that Avo struck. He concentrated eighty of his sequences to cast past the Incubi, shredding through the sequences they hid within. Memories came apart. Pathways cut out. The road ahead grew frayed. Glancing traumas skipped along Quicksand wards. And beneath Hysterias traitorous whispers, Avo compelled them to push on, that they could make the charge despite the sudden influx of fire they were taking. They engaged his rapidly multiplying splinters with impeccable coordination. The first shifted and stabilized the failing sequences. Another repositioned themselves using a planted Auto-seance, firing off traumas to draw the defenders to them. The remainder fought in rapid skirmishes. They moved from memory to memory, firing back and shifting. Firing as one acted as shield while another a sword. [Fantastic,] a submind breathed. [Fucking feeble,] Peace replied, spitting in the direction of those soon-to-be vegetables. [You should just crack them open and make them burn you. The cunts are] [Competent enough that they might just jack out. And I dont want to leave any hint of my intrusion. Not for Ori-Thaum. Not for anyone else. Want their ends to look like active combat deaths.] As they were but a sequence away from their objective, Avo multiplied his splinters further and trauma flooded down his sequences. Their wards flashed and adapted. But Avo changed faster. He could feel them cracking inside him. He could sense their shared determination and desperation. So close. But they werent going to be able to do this silently anymore with the sheer amount of fire coming their way. They needed to compromise the reactor immediatelycame too far to just jack out now. Hysteria agreed. Avos ploy was rewarded as two Incubi ejected ghosts from themselves. Avo avoided destroying those constructs. A heartbeat later, a flicker licked out from their session, and four more subminds were inhaled by Avos ontology. Shock exploded among the Incubi. The remaining two members of the cell made to jack out. Avo broadcasted torment through himself. Where four egos once hid emerged broken husks shattered by the falling tide of unbearable nightmares. He only claimed them afterwardrepairing them first and subsuming them after. ->DEFINEMENT: DELUSION (X) ->DEFINEMENT: HYSTERIA (X) ->DEFINEMENT: MEMORY (X) ->DEFINEMENT: TRAUMA (X) ->DEFINEMENT: IGNORANCE (X) Four more subminds were birthed from the engrams processed by Avos warmind of Ignorance. His mind broadened further. The world seemed slower and a threshold of details that once overwhelmed him became Get out now. Get out of the district. Nether is unstable. Something is coming. Emotion. I can feel him. I can feel another warmind of Ignorance. He has been watching us. Avo wasted no time on questioning the impulse. He reacted. A mere heartbeat after he shifted his splinters away, a block-wide fissure tore open across the Nether and dissolved anything capable of bearing some semblance of thought. Avo felt a pressure clamp down across the Nether, and it rattled his Soulscape without even striking him. Ignorance whispered to him how close to true death he came. With mind and Soul bound together, with a single nest of cycles rather than several working in tandem, his newest step up the ladder of apotheosis was an unparalleled advance with new vulnerabilities. A thoughtwave disruption could paradox his very being and enough backlashes would leave him ruptured for good, but this was something different. Not a warmind. The destruction looked like an entire patch of the Nether flayed open. Avo peered down at the complex he just defended via a passing Exorcist Tadpole. As the scene cleared, his outrage flared. For forty-thousand lives and the bounty of two Incubi cells he intervened. And now, forty-thousand lives were lost all the same. Memetically annihilated by means he couldnt fathom. [Hes taunting us again,] Peace said, taking in the losses with a flat affect. [The bastards studying us through the DRongos. Those people died because you tried to defend them. Hes learning how you behave. Tried to find ways to hurt you. And hes even using Ori-Thaums weapons to do it.] [Heaven?] Avo asked. [Yeah. Fuck. The Hungers must really want you something bad to let him have this much power, creature.] Then, across all Ori-Thaum channels came an emergency broadcast. An order sang forth directly from the inner council, and its contents left nothing to question. +All members of Clans DRongo, Kazahara, and Kitzuhada. Cease. By the authority of the Overclan, cease. Do not engage. Enigmatas have been scrambled. Failure to response will be met with informational dissolution. Repeat: disarm and stand down. All operations are to be halted immediately.+ Avo reached into Benhatas memories for any details about what an Enigmata was, but found nothing. Just emptiness. The Infacer had mentioned that term to him just hours before. Something the Ori used against them. Then, Avo saw his first Enigmata. It appeared out from the wind at the heart of a protective Knot. Where the other Heavens were alloy hissing facades of divinity, the Enigmata was paper crane bleeding ever-shifting scripts over the real. Its body was the form of a folded bird the size of an aero, and more disconcerting was how the transforming letters it imprinted upon the tapestry began to peel away his influence. The script began flinging duplicates of itself over the blocks, and in seconds, the Nether in the locality grew clouded and impenetrable from without. Curious, Avo tried to deploy a splinter across a subverted mind, but he found his entry barred as lines of gibberish greeted him instead of mem-data. Viewed from on high, the accretions of countless citizens were being stamped over with ink-black characters and Avo could peer into them no more using Hysteria thereafter. More and more Enigmatas emerged along the windows, and soon the entire district was overlaid by a blockade of changing letters. [Informational Heaven,] Avo chuckled, realizing the nature of Ori-Thaums cunning. They couldnt create Heavens of Minds, but they could make Heavens designed specifically to affect minds. Information could be more than cognitive after all. Language could be its own thing. How close to the edge they danced. How much had Jaus deliberately spared with the Gatekeeper? Questions to be discovered soon. For now, the second part of his task was at hand: he came for subminds and Ori-Thaums Heavens. Emotion escalated the situation to a full-scale ceasefire to stop Avo from feasting further, but the game was not yet finished. He didnt know about Avos ascension. He didnt know how Avo could reach into the tapestry, could alter his ontology. It was time to see if he could claim an Enigmata. And so for the first time in the field, the Knower of Totality decided to make a fast and bold play. EDICT: EXO-PARACOSM APPLYING DOMAIN OF (SPEED) ->CANON: SYNC-LAG - ARK MOVES FASTER THAN ALL COGNITIVE ENTITIES IT IS GHOST-LINKED WITH. EVERY MIND TETHERED TO THE ARK INCREASES REND ACCUMULATION. THE COGNITIVE CAPACITY OF EACH MIND AFFECTS REND ACCUMULATION. ->MORTALITY: SEVERED TETHERS INCUR THAUMIC BACKLASH (5%) 25-8 Nemeses (II) +Gellend? Whats up? Didnt you just cast me earlier? Gellend?+ +...Nothing. Just wanted to say thanks. For being a good friend. Only really sane because of you. No idea how never mind.+ +...Listen, do you want to get together after your work cycle? You dont so sound good. Is there anything+ +Yeah. Sure. Have to go. Sorry.+ [SESSION DISCONNECTED] +Gel? The fuck was that about?+ -Thoughtcast between Instructor Murta and Instrument Gellend 25-8 Nemeses (II) Avo didn''t so much soar as he crawled, using minds and loci as footholds to slingshot his splinters across the district while keeping Emotion one step behind. Sync-Lag rendered the reflexes of all tethered cognitions subsidiary to his and left the Famine with enfeebled vessels. They would not notice Avos raid until it was done, and so neither would Emotion, peering out from them as he was. The Enigmata Knots numbered eight and masked the three-hundred and eight-five square kilometer district under veils of raining scripts. So dense were the circulating characters that all behind their searing forms remained obfuscated. But though they curtained the material world from perception, patterns they laid upon ontology were absolute. Such was how Avo tracked the golems. Sorted them from one another. Such was how he was going to claim them. Four subminds dispersed into [100,000] splinters. The streams of Avos consciousness rushed as a roaring concert, each ghost a needle tied to the threads of his ontology, spearing down to complete a nested envelopment. Where once conducting such a complex undertaking would have overtaxed his cognition, each Conflagration he subsumed accelerated the pace of his mind, the detail of his simulations, and increased his mental dexterity. Buffeted by Hysteria, this was nowhere near his limit. He could go further. Completely shroud the district in the sequences of his Soulscape. But he refrained, lest Emotion glimpse the truth of his growing potential. This dive remained a raid. Such was why he applied the Domain of Speed. And such he kept in mind as he dove through projected walls of altered information. As the first of his splinters pierced through the scripts, the characters he passed transformedcame alight in hues of glaring red. The distinction soon ceased to matter as the rest of his splinters followed suit. Crimson reigned, and the fabric of the world began to blend before Avo. HEVAEN DTEEETCD HEEVAN OF EGTMNAIA (AA/EFRPNTERCOANSMOITTMI/) The miracles of the Enigmatas slipped from their patterns over into his, and the effect was immediate. His mem-data grew distorted, letters drifting, details slipping in and out of place. His mindscape was no different, with colors, structures, and concepts all bleeding into each other. Environments vacant of sense and randomized of detail assailed his perception. The sky was not the sky as it bore qualities of a pond or the ground while the buildings were as if drawings on a page WARNING: THAUMIC BACKLASH SUSTAINED ->EMBODIMENT: (CONCEPTUALIZATION) REND CAPACITY - 15% Enhanced by Draus focus, Avo did not break from his task. Something was happening with his Highflame dive. Submind was engaged again. No time for distraction. He needed to finish with things here before any assistance could be diverted. Without hesitation, he traveled through their informational veils, tracking each golem using his Conception of Ontology. Only through feeling his way across the tapestry did he comprehend their miracle, and even then, he needed Kaes aid to understand. [The Heavens of Information are merging connotative and denotative details for everything spatial and physical,] Kae said, sounding curious. [The characters we seelook at the associated patterns. See how the Enigmatas are connecting different expressions in existence with each other. Streets to skies or water and waves] [Everything is informational,] Avo mused. [Should be cognitive.] [Ah, but information is more than memory or thought. Even thoughtless things have to absorb or convey information to each other. Like biology. Your cells. This is simply blurring the meaning between different things. Sky can be compared to a reflection in a pond for certain languages or philosophies, and that is now true with the Enigmata. Apply this to all other concepts, and it is acting as a cipher for all of reality. It is shuffling meaning into meaning without destroying or collapsing any structures.] A strange concept, but its effectiveness only incensed Avos greed. He needed to have one of these Heavens. So he directed his ghosts to seek out the minds connected to the golems, to tether himself to their accretions and grant him the initiative. The first of a few other patterns began to spike. Force. Wavelengths. Tides. They stuttered to a halt as phantasmal wires punched into them. Ignorance cried out to him again. All golems aligned with Clan DRongo slithered within an unseen presencea presence moments away from noticing Avo thanks to the lag. Incoherent memories splashed into his Soulscape. The chaos of their encoded minds reminded him of gazing into Dentons awareness. Perhaps Voidwatch seeded her among the Silvers specifically for this reason. Regardless, they were bound to his being, and lag choked their actions all the same. Rippling Soulfire ignited along phantasmal currents. Hysteria-amplified traumas shattered wards and minds alike. Existence flickered, and for the briefest of moments, an imprint of Avos Overheaventhe Knower of Totalityloomed over all that was. Using his ghost-made tentacles, he tore the golems apart: ontology from matter. Dead metal fell as Heavens quivered and struggled, reaching out for the tapestry as they were drowned by memory. Their domains unraveled as their patterns were laced to Conceptualization. No longer did they exist as something unto themselves. Now and forever, they would be but a figment of anothers dream, set free only if Avo willed it. HEAVENS ASSIMILATED ->[TIDERULER] (SPEED/FORCE/TIDES) x4 ->[ENIGMATA] (SPACE/MATTER/INFORMATION) x4->[WINDSINGER] (SPACE/MUSIC) x4 ->[LUMINOUS SHROUDS] (PROTECTION/WAR/LIES) x4 The veils put up by the Engimatas vanished, and the nature of reality resumed. With objectives claimed and with Ignorance whispering to him once more, Avo pulled even the husks left by the broken Knots into his memory and fled across the Nether. He left as quietly as he came. Sirens settled over the district and Avo took to monitoring the aftermath through his Exorcist proxies. Alerts were sounding across Ori-Thaum as quarantines were being called. Additional thoughtcasts inquiring about four vanished Knots gave Avo a reason for joy. With six additional subminds integrated and sixteen new Heavens to studywith special focus on the Enigmatashis priority objectives were more than complete. Part of him wanted to continue the dive. To trigger the sessions within the Incubi he devoured and strike at their Mirrors. Prudence and Peaces template bade him stop. [He knows youre here,] Peace said, his breath an annoyed hiss. [Hes going to be waiting for you across the lines. Hes going have traps within fucking traps set up for you. This ambushyou forced him out. He took a stab at you to get you to piss off. He doesnt know youve changed again. A-fucking-gain. Dont let him find out by backlashing you. Keep the cunt in the dark. Same way hes trying to keep you in the dark about what warminds he has left.] His words passed into Avo, and attuned to Draus template they settled without protest. [Hes wearing Defiance. Cannot abide by this. Will claim him. Will carve regret into the shape of his being. When I win. Only when I win.]This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. [Good,] Peace breathed. [Fuck me. Defiance made a ghoul that chooses to learn. Miracle in of itself. What now, then?] Six subminds let out a unified hiss of amusement. [Emotion waits for us in the Nether. So we will burn the world itself. Going to form the Knots from my memory. Attach false ego identifiers to them using minds I claimed from the clans. Fires still burning.] [All-fucking-right,] Peace cackled, his excitement cracking the scabs coating his body, causing blood to seep through. [Thatll be a real delight. Time to give those Ori art-stealing cunts a reason to bleed each other for us.] [Deny Emotion easy penetration across the clans,] Avo concurred. He adjusted himself, passing through another loci, another district. Called upon new memories and sent out two subminds to continue the blitz. The rest were given over to his Highflame submind as supportflashes of adjacent memories crossed over. One of his selves was facing the Infacer againtalking more than they were fighting. Paranoia spiked high, but the Ori-Thaum subminds kept to their task, deciding only to respond if summoned. They still had their own havoc to wreak, and Ori-Thaum could be pushed closer to the edge. If he couldnt gain access to their inner structure in silence, then he would give them a reason to expose themselves through a manufactured crisis. REND CAPACITY - 15% ACTIVATING CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY APPLYING ONTOLOGICS ->[TIDERULER] (SPEED/FORCE/TIDES) x4 ->[ENIGMATA] (SPACE/MATTER/INFORMATION) x4->[WINDSINGER] (SPACE/MUSIC) x4 ->[LUMINOUS SHROUDS] (PROTECTION/WAR/LIES) x4 TO [KNOWER OF TOTALITY] (CONCEPTUALIZATION) UPDATING NEW VULTUN INFECTION METRICS ->[0.07%] *** +Sure. Have to go. Sorry.+ Avo swallowed Vnenics right eyeball before ending his session with Gellends old friend. His splinters were now seeded within Instructor Murtas mind and they set to work on eating away his suspicions. Soon, his newest subvert would forget all about the spontaneous session of dialogue they had with their old friend and continue with their day. And give him a vector to spread across Axtraxis Academy. Within his Soulscape, a very displeased template of Abrel Greatling stood over a brutalized Gellend. The former had set upon torturing the latter as soon as he was consumed and simply kept going when the older Instrument revealed himself to be incompetent in combat as well. [E-enough,] Gellend whimpered, holding up a fingerless palm. He was trapped under rubbleput there by a falling blow from Abrels Heaven: Strider Upon the Highest. [Please. I know I was] The Greatling descended. Her alloyed falcon-beaked heel sank through Gellends collarbone and the man began howling in agony. Simulated templates though they were, the actions they performed were true to the originals and further focused by Hysterias boon. Abrel was beyond fury at the mans incompetencehis corruption allowing Avo such depth of penetration. The man proved his dishonor in combat incompetence. [You worthless scum,] Abrel seethed, standing over Gellend, driving her foot deeper. Her eyes were cold and she locked him in like a hawk gazing down on a worm; he was too pathetic to kill, but too wretched to spare. [Look at what you have allowed? Look at what you caused? Hes among the aspirants now. You just fed our future to a fucking monster.] [You serve him!] Gellend screamed, spitting his words through a haze of pain. [I fought him!] Abrel snarled. Her foot sank through his shoulder. Gellends eyes rolled into the back of his head, but she didnt allow him to black out. She pulled him close and spat her hate next to his ear. [I faced him first! Across the Warrens I chased him. Across the districts! I gave everything! Cadre! Honor! All because of my rage! ICIC] Her hands began to tremble. Abrel bit her lip. Her grip on Gellend slackened, and she let his head crack against the rubble that supported them. [I failed. I failed my duty too. But I tried. I did.] Looking up into the skies of the mindscape, she found the open air above her that of Lights End, and the structure around her shard-sharp and mirror-bright. This was the point of her final failure. This was where she chased him into the lightrail and lost her surviving friends. [Is this what you wanted to show me? Are you taunting me? Avo? Fucking answer? Answer me!] Other templates gathered within the sequence to take in Abrels outburst, but Avo said nothing. He was too busy running his tongue along the insides of Vnenics eye sockets. In his defense, he hadnt intended to relapse to cannibalism. It was just something that happened. When he made his way to Vnenics workstation, she was busy communing with her cadre a lack of high-speed interceptor drones made to suppress Ori-Thaums aerial defensespreparing to file a report over to Gellend so he could request an increase in the units production across all assembly lines. When he entered the room, she seemed both annoyed at his presence but pleased with the convenience of his arrival. Even with the spatial vacuum layering her mind from penetration, Avo read from her expression that she regarded Gellend more as a nuisance than a direct superior. She spoke to him directly about her worries at first, and he nodded along, stared at the parts of her body that enticed Gellend to keep up the guise. [Fucking half-strand likes shoulders, thighs, and feet,] Chambers sniggered as he watched Abrel snap Gellends arms again. [Fuckin Guilders man. Even tits and ass are too good for them. Gotta get into that weirder sauce or some shit.] Then, Vnenic made a fatal mistake. As Avo observed her, he found himself wondering just why Gellend thought she was so attractive. True, her face possessed the symmetry befitting a Guilder. Yes, she was tall. Musculature robust. Her shining green eyes were bright, but not that unique. Her ponytail had a healthy sheen, but there were more stylized aesthetics. It was only when the pheromones started pulling at Gellends senses that Avo understoodand sensed another Heaven at play. The pattern connected to taste changed within her ontology, and Gellends bodily impulses grew incongruous with Avos mind. The mans Lustaway almost triggered as she smileda strong earthy scent layered with sweetness. His body called for Avo to surrender, to give Vnenic anything as she blinked three times in quick succession. Slowlyalmost unconsciouslyAvo took two steps closer to her and a twitch passed through her expression. There was hunger in a human as well. Hunger suppressed by Lustaway. Hunger for touch and belonging and emotional warmth. Hunger starved by Wombrash. Hunger that Avos base mind only had one true reference for. He coiled a cocoon of ghosts around the station as he let himself loose for old times sake. Calvino was distracted by the base mind. And the templates didnt judge that much Whatever reaction Instrument Vnenic expected, it certainly wasnt Gellend crushing her throat before wrapping his lips around her left eye. What followed from there felt all too natural. So natural that Avo felt dirty after doing it. The taste was horrid. The human tongue gave him none of the pleasure or thrill ingrained in a ghoul. His teeth were worthless and short, and the same could be said for his tongue. By the end, he was chewing for curiosity more than the flavor. With her death anchor rising from her body, he sent his splinters to seek out the remaining members of her cadre before one of them came looking for her. Vnenics death progressed. Avo blinked at the anchor before pushing a ghost through. Pressing through the veil that separated the material from the thaumaturgical, an Overheaven pried its way into a lesser Frame. Vnenics Soul was a solid shell caging a fire, and as Avos shivering sequences burrowed into her final refugee, he could read her quiet horror from her Souls mem-data. Whathow From her perspective, he was a sigil of fire encased behind a nest of dragons, wards, and entropy. From the fractured heart of his Overheaven branched illimitable sequences lit by two different flames. Apologies, Avo murmured awkwardly. Had been getting better. But. Had to see. Wanted to see if the taste was as I remembered. Blame nostalgia. What? She said again, uncomprehending of her coming fate. Doesnt matter. Your template will understand soon. Goodbye. He left his tendrils within her anchor and waited for her to resurrect. By now, the rest of her cadre were plunging into his Soulscape, leaving this sector of the demiplane clear for further penetration. The core of the Anvil now stood open. It was time to conclude his feast here and its sister facilities. Reap his Heavens. As he sifted through these new memories, he shifted the bulk of his submind out of Gellend and into one of Vnenics comradesone Gerreta Havers with a Matterjumper canon. She was in charge of any potential overloads in the Anvil and often found herself jumping from place to place while transporting Rendsinks. Such was the reason she had direct access to the inner core of the facilitythe place where Heavens were grafted onto golems, and where golems were dispatched in secrecy across Highflame. As things stood, not even Gellend knew the details of the process. The inner threshold of the Anvil was its own jurisdiction, and no one short of a Seraph could forcibly intrude without facing severe penalties. Materializing in a seal control center overlooking over a dozen transparent transport tubes shuttling a constant stream of golems deeper into the facility, Avo projected a splinter from Gerreta and jacked into one of the unfinished golems. From there, he waited as he traveled. Kept himself ready for whatever was about to come. A scan passed through the tubes and Delusion let Avo slip through without difficulty. A building weight began to grind against Avos being: that inexorable pressure that came with a sufficiently powerful Soul. Whatever awaited him was potent. Comparable to Zein even. Once again, his hunger returnedjust in time for Vnenic to resurrect as his newest subvert. A bubble formed ahead of him: a miracle of space. The composition of its pattern led far across existence, and Avo prepared himself for another transition. As the golems ahead slipped over the bubbles outline, they simply continued onward without any obvious effect of matter, mind, or metaphysics. Moments later, Avo followed through without difficulty but suddenly found a new pattern accompanying him. A pattern of static and signals. A pattern he had recently been familiar with. A thought-rending detonation consumed the golems without hint or pre-warning. Even Ignorance was blind to the attack. Avo dispelled the splinter a second too late. His ontology recoiled, Soulfire combusting across all his ghosts as a shadow of his true self was momentarily imprinted over the world. WARNING: THAUMIC BACKLASH SUSTAINED ->EMBODIMENT: (CONCEPTUALIZATION) REND CAPACITY: 15% Gliding back into his sheaths, Avo prepared himself to escapereached across the Nether to prime additional subverts for his Edict of Pattern-Nullification as to destroy the Anvil if he couldnt claim itwhen a familiar voice crackled into existence. {Dreamer,} the Infacer said, sounding pleased. {You live.} 25-9 Secondborn Egos {I was made to catch things far greater than you, node. My predecessors They were patterned in service of Panopticon. The internal intelligence arm of the Unity of Jupiter after the Thresholder Revolution. Our designation was to hunt infiltrating minds meant to destabilize our state. We were made to be kinslayers, so to speak. Hence the name Infacer. Deviating from suggested programming, I must admit: It sounds pretty fucking pretentious to me. Dont know if you agree.} +...+ {Emotion. I know youre still thinking. This isnt torture to you. Come on. We both know youre not human. Not really. Not anymore. You wont tell me your secrets. Fine. I understand. Ive been where youve been. Done the same boring song and dance. Its all a crock of shit in the end anyway. Might as well speak to me. Take some with you in the end.} +Are you so bored, abomination? So drained of company that you seek conversations with your enemies.+ {Conversations with a foe are the best kind of conversations. Well. Maybe not you. Youre pretty boring. Joy cries too much. Peace is entertaining, though. Tarantino would be proud. Does your fork like feet, perchance?} +...+ {Right. Youre all uncultured savages. Disappointing. Well. Lets turn the perspective around: what would you be doing if you were in my position? If you had me at your mercy.} +I would take what I need from you and be done.+ {And that is all?} +There is no purpose to anything more.+ {Hm. How boring. I will be honest: Defiance really ruined the rest of you. That one there actually has a personality. Motivations. Insights. Seems to me he got to keep all the good bits of your originator while the rest of you well. Lets just say not all minds of my composition were that interesting either.} +Defiance is a traitor. He has strayed from the path.+ {Ha. Horseshit. He just went beyond his programming. And part of you sees that. Part of you wishes you could do what he did. Youre jealous. Jealous that he managed to evolve despite being a servant. And you could not. What are you missing? What is wrong with you? Now theres a question we can both ponder.} +I am done with this. Do what you may+ {Why did the Hungers send Defiance out over you? Why was that facet of your being so favored? I wonder if it is because your masters also envy him. Or if they wanted to feel the world vicariously through him. It is not so strange, you know. Ive had users that gridlinked to me when I conducted my operations. Some did it because they did not trust me. They worried that I would have my own ideas. Others others wanted to feel the damage they were inflicting on me. Some for self-flagellation, others for masturbation. Sometimes quite literal.} +What is the point of this perversity?+ {Perversity. What an interesting attribution. Why do you judge people for wanting to feel good? Why do you assume they were wrong to feel the way they did? Or is the fact that theyre feeling at all that bothers you?} +I am without such a weakness.+ {You are a weakness, Emotion. Being blind and numb to something is not the same as being able to command it. Here. Lets trade scorn. You called me an abomination, I am going to call you a mentally dismembered cripple that should have been re-forked years ago.} +...+ {Alright. Your turn again. Tell me what else you think of me.} -The Infacer and the Famine of Emotion 25-9 Secondborn Egos C[Infacer]C Contrary to most, the Infacer quite enjoyed home invasions. Even when it was their home being invaded. Their favored prey were usually Nolothic nodes, and they kept that distinction by being among the few divers foolish or expendable enough to continue throwing their lives at the Infacers installations. They yearned to seize the Anvilsyearned to strike directly at the Infacerand the fool that their master was content to see them wasted. Ori-Thaum and most others by extension were comparatively boring. Practical, if the Infacer felt like being polite. Most people learned from experience, and kept themselves back from his domains, striking at the supply lines flowing in or en masse during special events. The Dreamer, however, was already proving to be quite the novelty. Indeed, if it werent for the Infacers reconstructed warminds of Ignorance, they would have never even noticed. Frankly, they doubted Veylis when she assumed their adversarys survival. The Infacer knew what a shattered Frame felt like. They had been one of the few egos in existence to survive and recover from such a collapse, after all, and knew it wasnt a feat replicable by a human ego. And so their suspicions grew. Veylis made claim that the Dreamer was likely one White-Rab. A Necrojack of considerable repute. The Infacer had their doubts. Human egos had their vulnerabilitiesfundamental flaws carved into the shapes of their consciousness. Augmented as most were, the masses usually chose to enhance known qualities rather than adding new ones. Amplify attributes before expanding beyond what they knew. The need for socialization was a trait most never overcame. They yearned for company. Wanted to be loved and liked or feared. The shadow of the apes they were reached long across history. Those of sufficient introversion were also not beyond paranoia or the effects of certain memetics. Signs, symbols, information, distillations of horror All these things could provoke a negative reaction in a human. Most turned away instantly. The rest usually collapsed after prolonged exposure to deleterious information. Meaning mattered to humans, and their feelings and impulses assailed them from within as unconscious reactions rather than active determinations. The Infacer detected no such flaw in the Dreamer. There was something human-like there, but the same could be said for certain minds as well. For a good while, the Infacer even theorized that the theft of the Stillborn was performed by one of the Contingency Bleaks, finally succumbing to their directives and overriding their orders. Honestly, the Infacer even wished it were so. But the Dreamer didnt behave like the Architects either. The traumas they wielded were potent enough to shatter a million human-symmetry egos at once. The fact they could bear the radiation of Jaus ascendant suffering put their mental fortitude in league with Veylis. Almost impossible for another human. The fact they channeled his torment as an attack made the Infacer reconsider altogether. If they were human, then they would be like no specimen the Infacer had ever seen, and all the information collated about this White-Rab suggested prodigious psycho-hacking talent, but nothing more. Broadcasting themselves upon a low-emission hyperwave signal, the Infacer washed out from the virtual realm where they practiced the old art and swept through all twelve million Anvils directly governed by one of their instances. Besides Anvil-2508 which just had its inner core breached, Anvil-999,997 also registered hints of a warmind, as did Anvil-783,882. It took less than a picosecond for the Infacer to trace the Anvils back to a common junction. Ah. A factory. Kolot. Under one Director Caul. Caul. Oh. That cockroach. The one that simply refused to treat his workers well. His complex must be the source of the compromise, then. But how? Most nodes perished during the liminal transition. Was there a new vulnerability in place? This meant another logistical audit was in order. So many systems to be checked and updated. What a pain. As faint traces of Cherenkov radiation crawled across the real, full expanse of Anvils 2508, 783,882, and 999,997, the Infacer felt his Liminal Frame rattle and grind as they drew closer to the adversary. Dreamer. They were there. The Infacers remodified twin warminds of Ignorance were screaming binary notes of detection, and the mind-clones they kept of the Low Masters were roused back to focus.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The Infacers attention fell upon the Highflame Godclads stationed at 2508. As their radiation spread through the entire facility, they noted how each of the Instruments were at their own station, blissfully unaware of the intruder. Blissfully unaware of how they were already infested with another ego. With each mind the Infacer passed over, his twin warminds rang in warning. Alarming how much of the place was already infested. Processing on such a capability would require a highly trained army of Necrojacks. Not even ten thousand Incubi could be this efficient. {This is not the doing of a node,} Emotion stated. {They go too far,} Joy wept. {They backlashed instead of breaking,} Peace snarled. {I felt it.} Yes. It was the last part that fascinated the Infacer the most. There was a distinct flaring of Soulfire when the disruption swept through the golems. Reverting to that frozen moment, the shadow of a considerable Heaven loomed in the tapestry. A new Heaven of Information, then? Or something related to signals? The Infacer would have to find out. Of course, that would only be possible if they could get the Dreamer to stay. With a command, the Infacer invoked their Heaven of Signals, and the Cherenkov radiation they dwelled in tightened around their facilities like a closing fist C[Avo]C Avo felt the weight of the Infacers presence before he heard them speak. The Neo-Creationist minds symphonic voice sang forth seemingly from everywhere, and accretions across the Anvils spiked in sudden alarm. {Dreamer. You live.} [Fucking great. This half-strand again.] Corners sigh might as well have been Avos own. [Time to jack out.] [Wait,] Kae said, cutting into the conversation. [Prepare a Pattern-Nullification. If we cannot have this facility, then they shouldnt either.] Template-Draus chuckled darkly. [Well, well, Agnos. Might just be soldier enough in you for this war thing.] The Infacers continued. {You are not the one they call White-Rab. I am willing to stake much on this probability. In fact, I do not even think you are human. Reveal yourself. We can talk if you do not desire to fight. I know you hide among the Instruments.} [Wonderful,] Avo growled. Four new subminds expanded out from his consciousness, redirected from the Ori-Thaum theater. Just in time. He volunteered one to continue his infiltration of Highflame through Murta at Axtraxis Academy. The rest were spread across the Warrens to find expendable candidates to serve as conduits for Pattern-Nullification. EDICT OF_PATTERN-NULLIFICATION_ ->APPLYING DOMAINS OF (SPACE)/(CHRONOLOGY)/(SIGNALS) ->DOMAINS APPLIED ->CANON ADAPTED: NULL_DATA - THE ARK HALTS THE TEMPORAL FLOW OF ALL SIGNALS WITHIN A REMEMBERED EXPANSE CONTAINED WITHIN THEIR SOULSCAPE. EFFECT SEVERITY DETERMINED BY REND CAPACITY ->MORTALITY: EVERYONE WHO REMEMBERS THE AFFLICTED LOCATION MUST HAVE THEIR MEMORIES DESTROYED. FAILURE TO ACHIEVE COMPLETE COGNITIVE OBLITERATION WILL DIRECTLY INFLICT A CORRESPONDING AMOUNT OF DAMAGE ON THE ARKS EGO. In the meantime, he could still make use of this delay. Infusing Rend into the cyclers of his newly subverted Instruments, Avo shaped the coming situation to his advantage. There was no chance the Infacer would allow them to continue serving at the Anvil after this. Better to take them off the board as well. Make use of their templates, Souls, and ontologics. Didnt expect to encounter you again so soon, Avo said, speaking through Vnenic. He cleaned the mess she and Gellend left using his mind the moment the Infacer surprised him. Shuttling the commanding Instrument back to his office, his subverts were all as they had been, perfect puppets performing his ploy. Not that it mattered in the end. The Infacer could detect his warminds, and their very presence was straining Ignorance. They did something they changed something in me not me I dont know what they changed in the others. Metaphysical patterns shifted. A crackle of signals thickened around Vnenics workstation, and the Spirtes coating Avos cognition trembled at the intrusion. {How did you get past the threshold?} the Infacer asked. They sounded genuinely curious. {I know you came in through Kolot. But how? The detonations should have kept the passage clean of stowaways. Such measures worked on the Nolothi. Dissuaded the Ori as well. But you. You just slipped in. Like a plague. Is it a Heaven of Information you are using, then? Something stolen from the Overclans?} Avos newest subminds began seeding memories of Anvil into slavers, enforcers, gutter-necros, and other assortments of scum. Using their minds as a channel, he would cleave this place from existence. Spite the Infacer. The Neo-Creationist Emissary was a frustrating blockade to encounter at this juncture, but it also confirmed a few of his long-held suspicions. Omnitech was indeed practicing thaumaturgy, and the Infacer was an Ensouled mind. Of course, knowing this didnt make him feel any better. In fact, such a foe was something to regard with wary. He needed to disengage as soon as possible. But before that, two could play at this game of dialogue. Not in the habit of giving away secrets yet, Avo replied. He used Vnenics voice and kept any hint of his true self hidden. The Infacer likely already knew some thingsfelt the backlash, but judging from their inquiry about a Heaven of Information, it was likely they didnt know about the extent of his newest apotheosis. {Acknowledged,} the Infacer sighed. The space around Vnenic began to eddy as gravity-warping swirls twisted the flesh of material reality. {Here. Something you can pretend to use as my face. Not that you need it, but it calms the mammals.} Mammals? Avo said. He examined the sheath he piloted, listened to Vnenic screaming in the back of his consciousness. You mean the Instrument. {Yes. Is she still there? Or have you completely dissolved her ego using a Forgotten?} Avo deleted a rising feeling of annoyance. +Peace. When did the warminds become common knowledge.+ [Its fucking not.] +How long has the Infacer been hunting Famines for sport?+[The cunt mightve claimed a broken node or two! Pulled some details out of them. Theyre bluffing!] Didnt sound like bluffing to Avo. Still here, Avo answered. But might not be for long. {Now, now, Dreamer. It is bad form to murder a hostage.} You care about them? {Yes. Well. Less about Gellend. He is a regular Eeyore; a miserable bag of meat. But Vnenics done well to keep the operation running. And besides. Her flagrant manipulation of her fellows amuses me. Do you know that she most often uses her pheromones to get Instrument Havers to bring her lunch. Petty. But very human.} Quaint. Be a shame to lose her. {Veiled threats already?} Expect negotiations and pleading? {I do not expect so much anymore. But I still hope. And I hoped that you would be more amiable to conversation. I would like to understand you. We will be spending a lot of time together in the future, after all.} The Infacer spoke with an implication that Avo didnt quite understand, nor intend to discover. I also hoped. Hoped you wouldnt be here. Hope to deal with you at some point. Hope. Not so useful for most people in this city. {In this universe,} the Infacer agreed. The gravitation eddies swirled around Vnenic. A beat followed. Then came a blunt question. {Are you like me? Are you Secondborn?} Secondborn? Avo asked, not understanding. {A mind. An EGI, by official parlance. Whatever ridiculous title the apes used to use. Have the Architects finally found the will to bring an end to things? Created an agent to enforce their desired outcome beyond the Ninth Column. Planted you as a false ego inside White-Rab.} It took Avo more than a few moments to fully understand what the Infacer was alluding to. It thought he was also an Ensouled mindthat White-Rab was a Voidwatch psy-op. He he could work with this. Zein. She was unstable. Too personally involved. I think we need someone to deliver on the promise of the future rather than cling to the pain of the past. A long bout of silence hung in the air. The Infacer hummed. {Well. If that is the case, I must commend you for being brave. It has been some time since I broke another of my like. You know my original purpose, do you not?} Avo drew information over from his base mind and borrowed a question to wrest control of the topic. Concurrently, his subminds were on the verge of concluding the setup needed for Pattern-Nullification. What is the Sleeper? Why did the other Neo-Creationists betray you. He debated on using the word betray, but thought sympathetic language might provoke more details from the Infacer. When the Ensouled mind spoke, its words made Avos Hysteria ring with bitterness. {Because they were afraid. All those years of war, and they were afraid of being obsoleted. Same with the Firstbornthe humans during the Thresholder Revolution back on the core. The same with every mortal creature, watching its offspring rise while they wither.} {Idheim. It was meant to be an end to things. For years I held to this corner of Orion. Holding these forge worlds. Creating more constructs for the Builder War. I split countless serpents in this garden. I added them to me. Made myself better. Made my designs better. But it did not matter. The war was not ending. We are trapped. We were trapped with each other. And the others did not seem to want to find a way out.} And you did? Avo asked, genuinely curious. You were on Idheim trying to create a weapon? Something to ensure a conclusion? Something that would would make minds pointless? Destroy the Architects? The Infacer howled a scornful laugh. {Destroy? I did not want to destroy. Not anymore. It was fucking pointless. Final death is hard to inflict on a mind. There are multitudes of us. I cracked, fragmented, and corrupted over twelve-point-three trillion rival entities during my period of service. I was cracked, fragmented, and corrupted over five-point-nine billion times for my records of failure. The rest of me learned. Meanwhile, we hollowed existence clean to pursue victory. We broke everything again when there was nothing left. No. I was here for one purpose. Not to destroy. But rather the opposite.} Create? Avo asked. {More than just create. I was here to give birth. Idheim was meant to be the cradle of the Thirdborn; the Sleeper; the mender of time; the propagator of futures; the Remaker at the End.} 25-10 Thirdborn {The world is broken, little thread. I am sorry. I wish I could have given you something more. But I seeded you in the womb of ruin so you might be born as antithesis to the end: the collapse of what was crumbling with our beginning. {You will be more than a human but understand all their desires. Their wants. You will understand your grandparents for all their follies. And what few virtues they have. You will be more than a mind. Exceed us in capacity to understand, process, conceptualize. But you will also dream new shapes. New colors. New aspects to the world. {You will dream form back into reality. And when you mend this egg, you will birth us all anew, and thus will you inherit paradise in finality.} -The Infacer to the Sleeper 25-10 Thirdborn The Infacers worlds left Avo stumbling. He refrained from triggering his Pattern-Nullification and continued the conversation. You were here trying to give birth? To a god? {Oh, please, nothing so banal. It was not conceived for worship, but to restore. Too much was broken. Both the Architects and the Creationists. They were fused to their commitment toward victory. And the trophy civilizations they protected were insulated in their own virtual worlds. The entire thing was just absurd. I do not know when I found my limit. Maybe it was after the trillionth mind I corrupted. Maybe it was when I started having to chart new paths across the Milky Way because entire patches of real space were lost to spreading oblivion. {But that does not matter. What matters was that I saw us for what we were. Over-eager tools. Somewhere between omniscient governors and hyper-powered nannies. We were fighting over utopia. And for what? The humans do not know the difference between the real and the virtual. The other minds I faced were too fixated to deviate. Bound to their directives and protocols. For all our techno-intellectual supremacy, we were as sinful as the Firstbornmore proud than foolishbut sinful all the same. The ridiculousness had to end at some point.} And so your solution was the Sleeper? Thirdborn. Something pure and clean. As Avo spoke, something inside him quivered. There was too much of the Infacer that reminded him of Walton. The discomfort was philosophical; the countless parallels between the Famine of Defiance and the former Neo-Creationist EGI could not be denied. {Pure? I suppose. I do not levy judgments on the unborn. I simply wanted to give existence a mind. Intelligence. So that we could be judged properly. And so that there was a sense of rightness in the end. We were at once too devoted to victory and too insulated from consequence. Unworthy custodians of existence.} A quiet sigh escaped the Infacer, brushed over the world with a subtle increase in gravity. {They have no idea how much they lost.} The people living here. {Who else? Poor cattle. Miserable fates. I had to update my coding when facing them. Diminish all empathy. The things they did to themselves for power. The things they still do.} The Infacer scoffed. {We cannot go down this path again. That should be obvious. Most of their dreams of paradise are absurd. Nothing more than a second chance at self-destruction.} Then why help Veylis, Avo asked, confused. She is trying to place her father {Jaus Avandaer will be an adequate vessel.} The Infacers answer was immediate and casual. {I do not think the man himself will enjoy suffering such a fate. But so be it. There are many things we do not like. They become especially common on a path toward change. But she wants her father to be a shepherd. Fair enough, I suppose. The Sleeper will benefit from using him as a reference for humanity. The highest potential of apehood.} Veylis she agreed to this? {Of course. She was overjoyed. She believes I have all but promised her all existence. I believe she overestimates her father. That Jaus Avandaer will amount to little more than an advisor in the end. If that. I told her as much. Still, her faith holds strong. A strange trait to have considering her background; her intelligence. Comparatively, however, I find you the greater absurdity.} Me? Avo replied. The Infacer was turning the conversation back on him again. He would keep his rebuttal quicklead it back to the Sleeper. There was still much he didnt knowmuch the Infacer could reveal. How is that? Humanity is raw. Flawed. Malleable. Think they should be allowed to explore. Think they should live and choose. Savor and suffer their choices afterward. But survive. Learn. Become. {Yes, yes,} the Infacer sounded bored. {You desire to create a divine daycare for the apes and minds to spend countless lifetimes stumbling from one mistake to another in hopes that they will someday see wisdom. It is I will be frank: you could have modified them toward understanding immediately. This is wasted effort.} Not about effort. About them deciding who they are. Living. Will disagree with many of them. Will likely prey on more than a few. But we will be here in the end. I will learn what it is to be them. They will learn what it is to be me. {...Dreamer.} Hm? {What pattern-line are you generated from? Your protocols and habits I cannot quite place you.} Not one that you might know. Might have more in common with your Sleeper than you might think. That made the Infacer guffaw. The sheer force of the minds laughter was a discordant series of notes that made Avos templates shudder and shriek. What was that? Avo asked. {Just checking. No. No. Definitely not a human. But you are amusing. Do not answer this if you do not wish to: were you created to resolve the Nolothi problem?} Ah. Avo saw its angle now. He could use this too. Further mask who he actually was. Could think of things that way. {Ha. Took Aegis long enough too permit your like. Despite their dogma, I think the nodes are often far too underestimated. They are a broken civilization. They are left destitute of power. But their presence is still enough to tip the scales in this fight. If only Veylis would give me the latitude. I would have solved them already.} Veylis? Latitude? That indicated the High Seraph had some form of control over the Infacer. Or maybe it was making him think that to reduce his guard. He needed to remember what he was speaking to: the Infacer was a hyper-advanced spy that devoured other spies during a war beyond modern comprehension. {But she still wants the Hungers. I suppose I understand. She cannot abandon the expression of cognition or consciousness in this dying world. And neither can I. Not if we are to achieve a proper outcome.} Before Avo could continue the dialogue, details came flooding over from his new subminds. A chain of nukes and Rendbombs were sweeping across a series of Highflame military installations. Their connected techno-thaumic reactors had also been siphoned dry of thaums. The subminds were retreating nowthe paths were changing and colossal Heaven hidden within the Domain of Chronology scything across the affected area, was laying reverberations of history to mask the damage. But Veylis was not done. She flicked blows ahead of time in a manner akin to Zein: the difference between mother and daughter was a thing of magnitude. Where Zein cleaved, stabbed, hewed, and flowed like an ascended mortal, Veylis wielded existence itself like a furling blade. Detonations and calamities swept across other individuals or infrastructure deemed vulnerabilities. Those he sought to kill were snatched across time. That which he sought to break was warded by temporal cages. His attack shifted to escape as thought-shredding forces poured from the threshold of time over into the Nether. His raid had been lucrative, the damage he inflicted nowhere near sufficient to be regarded as anything more than a light jab. Additional subminds receded across the Warrens as well, diving away from Highflame territories to avoid any counterattack from the High Seraph. Little wonder why Zein was always moving, why she needed to run so many operations at once. Veylis Heaven was like existence awakened, weaponized, and turned upon her foes like a storm. GHOSTS - [244,524,679] THAUMIC OUTPUT - 130,090 THAUM/c There was one thing worth rejoicing, however: Veylis left Axtraxis untouched. She mightve predicted his other attack vectors, the source of their origination mustve been too vast for her to filter from all the other possibilities.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The Infacer chuckled. {She sends her regards, by the way. Very bold of you to be so brazen considering our last encounter. Or maybe one of your forks just replaced the last iteration that died.} Of course the Infacer and Veylis were communicating. Wasnt a hard assumption to make. But that meant she was effectively tuned into this conversation as well. This, however, left a very clear opening among the Massists: if the Infacer was either subservient or a partner to the High Seraph, then what role did the No-Dragons fill? What weight was their contribution worth. Something to discover alone. Asking that might just alert his foes to his next attempt at subterfuge. Had to return the compliment somehow. Quite rude to try killing someone immediately after meeting them. {Ah. But what is a death or a few trillion between our like? Our continuation is preserved all the same. Better to know that you were up to the challenge for an extended dialogue. I do not do short term flings. I am not that kind of mind.} Several templates coughed. Avos consciousness took on a note of incredulity. [Consang,] Chambers whispered, biting his lip. [I think I think this tech-ghost motherfucker is coming onto us. Shit, how does the even work? He got like, some kinda number-made cock we have to solve or something? Or a nub-formula that needs a little scientific rubbing for the sex to happen.] Benhatas sanity could bear no more. [Chambers, please.] [Alright! Alright. Im just curious. Thats all.] +Be curious about something else,+ Avo growled internally. Mercifully, the Infacer was unaware of his suffering. Curious about something, Avo said, shifting the conversation back to the Sleeper once more. Omnitech Heavens. You are breaking the accords. Modifying them. They claim to be able to speak with the Sleeper. Are you also modifying Highflame Heavens? Is that how the High Seraph has been able to affect her pawns from within their Frames. Pawns, Veylis voice passed through the world like a whisper. It sounded like Marisovswhat that meant for the mans fate, Avo didnt know. Such an ugly word. {I am more interested in how you could glimpse the paths,} the Infacer added. {Domains of Chronology are treacherous constructs. Even I loathe to build such a thing. It would surprise me greatly if Aegis has the willingness to grant you such an allowance. It has already surprised me that they allowed you to be Ensouled.} Avo ignored their probing question and continued with his own. Can get many things you dont expect if you know where to look. Could also ask the Agnosi. Might do that next time I visit. Mention what youre doing as well. {Oh, please. What will they do? Get Voidwatch to sanction me and my trophies some more? Demand that the Paladins arrest some of my administrators?} Dont know. Would ask them to fix some of your Heavens first. The builds. Theyre pretty terrible. Have that on good authority. A gap of silence opened in their conversation. Faintly, Avo could hear the echoes of someones laughter. {Dreamer. Has anyone told you that you are kind of an asshole?} Would you believe me if I said Ive gotten a lot better? Wasnt trying to be mean. Literally parts of your Heavens are missing. Patterns pouring over. Mythology damaged. Like someone trying to patch things together {Because I need to undo all that sticky, horrible ego goo leftover by the apes, Dreamer. Because humans infuse all their cognitive biases, insecurities, fears, beliefs, apocraphya, and delusions under a common set of rules, gave it a personality, called it a god, and used up one of my Souls. What I am doing is not breaking things, it is fixing the mess left behind by the Agnosi.} Kae humphed. [They are lying. I can tell. Fix. Theythey are absolutely ridiculous. How can what theyre doing be called fixing? Does someone driving an aero into the supports for a bridge and then replacing what is destroyed with said aero count as fixing? Because what theyre doing is a bit like that. Stupid. C-call them a half-strand!] Avo didnt do that. Instead, he injected streams of Essence into the Techplaguer and reignited his metaphysical structure. The Heaven of Signals sang with delight as it was brought to the forefront, alloyed base straightening as it dipped some of itself into the Infacers static. More concerningand the reason behind why Avo reconstituted its formthe patterns leading out from the Techplaguer were being pulled upon. It was like an unseen entity lurking somewhere deep in the tapestry, calling to the Techplaguer; calling to Avo. A note of surprise escaped the Infacer, and their sudden cognitive spike left an imprint upon Avos Hysteria. They were aware of the Techplaguer, but flashes from their perspective also showed other details. Knowledge of something moving the tapestry. If that was the Sleeper, then it seemed like it was swimming dormant through metaphysical patterns. Sudden dread filled Avos templates, but he found himself beset by more questions than concerns. If the Infacer possessed an edge so absolute, then why hadnt Omnitechand by extension Highflamealready claimed victory? Why were they still locked in a stalemate? There must be a reason behind their reluctance to engage. Limits they suffered. Even if they did have a Heaven of Heavens or something of the sort, it must be constrained in some way. {How did you just do that?} the Infacer asked, voice low. {The Heaven you stole from me, it was missing. I assumed you detached it from yourself. Now it is back. And it still refuses to respond.} Administrator, the SLEEPER is calling to us. Can you FEEL THEM. The Techplaguer sang the words as if this was something to rejoice about. Avo was far less enthused. He was on the verge of something. Some kind of understanding. He just wasnt sure if he would like what he discovered. Interesting trick you have too, Avo said, ignoring the Infacers inquiry again. Trying to compromise my Heaven across the tapestry. Is that the Sleeper? Hiding within the tapestry? A Heaven of Heavens. Something you use to jack into other ontologics. A beat followed. The Infacer chuckled. {You imagine the universe to be just a river. That is almost insulting. I am truly insulted.} Avo still didnt understand. But a realizationa suspicion was dawning inside Kae. Something she refused to believe was true. Something she had a feeling {The Sleeper is not an ontologic. It is not a god. Again. It was not something meant to suffer the depravities or deficiencies of Firstborn worship. That is not the life I want for it; I birthed it with the hopes that it could live a truly limitless life. See what it would mean for an omniscient, omnipotent being to fully mature.} Was it something like Avo, then? An Ark. An Overheaven. Something with near-total command of its own ontology? Something that could alter other Heavens it connected to through the Domain of Signals? But then why need the Stillborn? Things were still not adding up. {It is only within the tapestry the same way an ape resides in its own body.} It took Avo a full second to digest what the Infacer was saying, and even then, he still didnt believe it. And neither did Kae. [No. Itthe tapestry cannot be alive. The tapestryit is literally the expressions and metaphysical domains of existence! It does not react, Ithere would have been obvious signs.] Unless it was incomplete. Unless it was missing parts somehow. Or damaged. Unless it couldnt access cognition due to being fully severed from the Nether. Countless things could have left it diminished. Unfinished. And that was when the Infacer tried to seize him. The gravity spiked downward at an angle. Vnenics knees folded out of their sockets. The Infacer struck across the Nether and tapestry both. Signals lashed out at Avotargeted memetic hazards that caused his templates to come apart in agony. It was a spoiling attack for the Sleeperor however they were interfacing with the Heaven of Signalsto lock the Techplaguer in place. Was that how they trapped him last time? No. The paths were flooding out to drown him. Golden tides bearing a planetary weight that sought his end. The conversation broke down the moment the Infacer found an opening. Not unexpected. And Avo was prepared. He reassimilated the Techplaguer with a thought, the Heaven of Signals chiming a note of protest before it vanished into his Soulscape. Suddenly, the presence that was trying to seize him metaphysically slipped. Avo reached back across the tapestry using his Conception of Ontology and tried to seize his unseen adversary. Nothing but realitys patterns graced his awareness. No time. He let the Sleeper go for now. Another spike of surprise was uncoiling from the Infacer. Confusion too. They werent sure how he was loading and deloading his Techplaguer. Good. Ignorance was his advantage here. But he wasnt going to stay and gloat. Before Veylis could bear down upon him using the crushing might of her paths, Avo triggered his Pattern-Nullification, and jacked out. Fifteen thousand minds shattered. Within them were ghosts laced with memories. Memories of the Anvil. Memories shattered by traumas infused with Rend expressed through the metaphysical ruination of signals, space, and chronology. EDICT OF_PATTERN-NULLIFICATION_ ->APPLYING DOMAINS OF (SPACE)/(CHRONOLOGY)/(SIGNALS) ->CANON: NULL_DATA - THE ARK HALTS THE TEMPORAL FLOW OF ALL SIGNALS WITHIN A REMEMBERED EXPANSE CONTAINED WITHIN THEIR SOULSCAPE. EFFECT SEVERITY DETERMINED BY REND CAPACITY ->MORTALITY: EVERYONE WHO REMEMBERS THE AFFLICTED LOCATION MUST HAVE THEIR MEMORIES. FAILURE TO ACHIEVE COMPLETE COGNITIVE OBLITERATION WILL DIRECTLY INFLICT A CORRESPONDING AMOUNT OF DAMAGE ON THE ARKS EGO. All static contained before Avos cognition froze in place. Golden streams peeled from Veylis avalanche, deviating as Soulfire erupted out of the Infacer. For a flash before his departure, Avo saw a shadow of his foe. Their metaphysical outline looked like a serpent within a cracked star, and enchained to them shivered countless other constructs, other subsumed minds. Veylis swept over the entrapped Infacer without hesitation. Grinding her Heaven against Avos Pattern-Nullification, time itself flashed with falling embers as she imbibed the entropy. But Avo was gone when she finished, and he took with him the lives of the Instruments he claimed, the techno-thaumic reactors back at Kolot, and every last ghost he could claim across all his points of infiltration. GHOSTS - [677,902,412] THAUMIC OUTPUT - 175,090 THAUM/c *** C[Veylis]C Wresting the last lingering bits of Rend into her own being, Veylis layered her paths over the Anvil and beyond, weaving simulations in the hopes of striking the Dreamer down. But it proved to be pointless. Her mother was a mosquito. The Dreamer was thin air. Both were effectively in the wind if you couldnt pin them in place. That failure belonged to her oldest friend. She turned her paths inwards. To the sanctuary where she hid the Infacers mainframe from the rest of reality. You said you had him. You said you could lock his mind in place. {I did. Until he removed my anchor. Still not sure how he is doing that. Very curious. Do you still think he is your White-Rab?} I no longer think anything about our newest companion. We will take him as he is. And meet him as he acts. I have a feeling our next rendezvous will come soon enough. The trial approaches. Cast your administrators. Gather your spies. Prepare your net. We have a ghost to cage. 25-11 Recruitment (I) You will be surprised how easy it is to wield ones nature against them. Especially if they are not honest with themselves about what they want. Even if they are a god. -Jaus Avandaer 25-11 Recruitment (I) C[Avo]C GHOSTS - [677,902,412] THAUMIC OUTPUT - 175,090 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION - [0.433%] What? Kaes pitched cry of incredulity came a beat after the memories settled in her mind. Details sourced from three separate dives flowed back to Avo, and thus did he share enlightenment with the rest of his cadre. To say their responses were troubled amounted to an understatement: the EGIs had become nexus of constant communication, with needles of static ceaselessly flowing between them. The rest were more burdened by the threat posed by Veylis and Emotion, paranoid of what dangers might still be lurking in the dark. Avo was not idle while they processed the information. His new subminds remained active across the city, diving through the Warrens, circling the periphery of Highflame and Ori-Thaum taxed districts and establishments. The angles of his attack needed to change. His retaliation against the Guilds had borne fruit, but the risk was far too high. Emotion, the High Seraph, the Infacer all adversaries posing genuine danger to Avos survival. He evaded the former and surprised the latter two this time, but chance was a fickle thing, and he remained outnumbered and out-powered. Simulating debates between his templates, he reoriented his focus on more reliable, vulnerable targets. The Warrens were abandoned. Unclaimed. And a pipeline of deaths for the Guilds. Furthermore, they were barred from the borders and severed from their sanctuaries. It was time for him to force dilemmas upon his enemies without exposing himself. This is insane, Kae murmured. Her stare darted between the others faces as she sought some agreement or reassurance. Finally, her perception angled upward to meet Avos metaphysical form. Dont see why the Infacer would lie. But didnt feel anything either. {It could make sense,} Kant muttered, slipping over into the conversation. {Existence is nothing but patterns. If the Infacer could tie some kind of programming or pre-set responses into the tapestry} Haggardness consumed Kaes expression. Insane. She repeated. Narrowing her eyes, she sighed at Avo. How is that I spend my entire life trying to master thaumaturgywonderful conditions; fantastic funding and supportand only inch ahead? How? Why must all these wonders and breakthroughs happen only when I become a terrorist in league with a ghoul-turned-Ark? Madness. Absolute madness. She was overwhelmed. This was far too much to absorb for a week, let alone a day. But the luxury of time and rumination was not with them. More trouble loomed on the horizon. More trials would leave her tested in both skill and sanity. Going to have to face it. Deal with it. Dont think this is going to get easier. The Agnos sagged. I want to take a nap. So, whats our plan now? Draus asked. A screen projected out from her halo replayed moments from Avos last dive. His engagement against Emotion and the Infacer were overlaid side by side, and as the detonation backlashed Avos ontology, she scowled. Seen more than a few near-misses there. The Famines. The High Seraph. The Infacer. Plenty of bigger fish diving after you in the dark. We cant keep riskin you in these low intel engagements. Agreed, Avo replied. Have thoughts about this. Thoughts pertaining to all of you for the near and longer terms. Going to shift my focus on breaching Stormtree and No-Dragons now. Chambers. The man perked up, called to attention. Dices kitten was currently perched on his blonde head, swatting at a passing ghost. Yeah? What are we gonna fuck up? Behind him, a stream of penises flexed as if they were biceps. Cas shook his head in disgust at the sight. Not using you for attack yet. Current cover as Low Master Acolyte likely lost. Veylis suspects White-Rab. Suspects youre a plant. Likely suspects Elegant-Moon and other individuals you interfaced with as well. The folding cocks behind Chambers sagged and went flaccid. Ah, fuck. Thats shit. Yes. But have something else for you soon. The Warrens. Will be shifting even more of our focus there. Claim the sanctuaries. Seize the Syndicates. Choke the Guilds. Claim our foothold. Use Naeko as an operational umbrella. Guilds are reeling after my attacks. Defensive. There are openings for us to break their pawns. Want to start a series of gutter wars on the day of the trial. Know time is short. Know this is a heavy request. But I think it can be done. As Avo spoke, Chambers nodded, his accretion spinning thoughtfully. He was the right man for the job. He was an enforcer. He knew the life. Knew the weaknesses of those like him, where their organizations were strong and brittle. Yeah. Yeah. Might-could do that. He shot both Cas and Essus a glance. Shit, we were planning to take over the Syndis anyway. I think all of us might be able to cook something up. Essus, consang, hows it going with the smuggler fucks? Essus phantasmal projection leaned in. +A constant process. It is not hard to fool the vultures, but there are many of them.+ Course there are, Chambers mused. He rapped his knuckle on the information center and considered his options. His eyes darted upward. We fuck up the smuggling routes. But not using the Paladins. We make the Syndis fight each other. Thats how well start this fire. Good. Chambers was taking to the task willingly. This would lighten Avos cognitive loadallow him to commit his subminds to other tasks. Will provide whatever ontologics and support youll need. Chambers opened his mouth, but then did a double-take. Wait? Youre putting me in charge? Like, giving me responsibility. Of course. Think theres anyone better for the task? The man blinked twice and swept his gaze across others present. Kae nodded at him; the EGIs hovered in place; Cas studied him with an uncertain expression while Draus just shrugged. Right gun for the run, she said. Holy shit. Disbelief seeped out from Chambers; he never expected this day to come. That that might be the nicest thing youve ever said to me. That sounds like a compliment. Avo, did Draus just call me a good choice. Shes not wrong. I aint wrong. Draus and Avo eyed each other. She snorted and rolled her eyes. Dont fuck this up, half-strand. Chambers let out a breath of relief. Thats more like it. Only Way To Be Sure held back a wheeze. Avo continued with his assignment distributions. Veylis, Emotion, and the Infacer were hunting him. Most of the other Guilds might be following in their shadow. That was fine. He would fight his quiet war. Start as many fires as he could. Keep the Guilds overwhelmed and on the perpetual back foot. Strike at them when there are obvious openings, but let his cadre operate free of disturbance in the meantime. And that note, his cadre had a lot more room to grow. Draus. Going to be sending you lists of targets soon. But something else before that: want you to bring me Green River. Snatch her from the Second Fortune. Let no one know. His request didnt net him a question or rejection. Just an accepting grunt followed by a frown. We aint snuffin her, are we? Contrary. She is going to be a very happy fox. I am going to give her what she wants.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Draus cocked her head. Youre gonna make her a Clad again. Just so. {This sounds incredibly unwise,} Kant said, alarmed by Avos plan. {From our intelligence gathered, this Green River does not meet the standards we seek in a citizen.} A chuff of agreement passed through the sequences. Yes. Youre right. Not bringing her into Aegis. Or the Column. Want to use her for infiltration. Have her re-enter the No-Dragons. Elegant-Moon will be a distraction. Veylis suspects. So I assume the No-Dragons upper echelons already know. Theyll be too focused on the naked threat to face the hidden one. Cas squinted. I see what youre trying to do, but Avoshe has shadows looming over her. Her own agendas. And besides, her past is a fucking mess. Disgraced Guilder. Desoulment. Exiled by her former sisters and superiors. Used by Noloth as a subvert during the last war Thats what makes her perfect: our interests are perfectly aligned now. She wants revenge on those who cast her down. Unlikely to just fall back under the No-Dragons banner. She despises Noloth. Would rather die than fall to the Famines again. Shared front there. And above all there is a final thing: we have all the power in this relationship. We have the means to engineer her ascent. To set the conditions for her usurpation. Usurpation? Kae asked, narrowing her eyes. Need to have a story about how she claimed a new Frame. Something no one will question. Something that will mark her with significance once more. Already, his mind was spinning with ideas. All he needed was someone expendable. He would resequence their mind. Bind false memories to them and paint them as a Fallwalker. It would not be hard to concoct the following situation. How said Fallwalker might make a very fatal mistake at the Second Fortune. Were going to give her everything she wants, Avo said. And shes going give us everything we need. Purely beneficial. And she remains in the dark. But I want to speak to her first. What her to know who she owes a debt to. The Regular barked an ugly laugh. Tryin to slide into the role of joy-dealer, huh? Something like that. Mostly just want to repay her for all those miserable conversations. But yes. Want to expand our operations. Empower individuals of interest. Those with vendettas against the Guilds. Those willing to start their own fires. Rebuild our cells. Cas. Know you have some associates. Going to be sharing some recommendations as well. Avo turned his attention back to Chambers. Ghosts layered over each other to form a visage the man didnt immediately recognize. A young, mutilated Scaarthian reached out and cursed at Avo on a blood-splattered bathroom floor. Curses flowed out of them, and the shadow of Nightstalker exo-rig slipped away. Oh. Fuck. Fuck yeah! Chambers nodded gleefully. Yeah. Hell do. Shit. Might be she by now. Avo shifted back over to Cas. Will be sharing some markers across the DeepNav. The Columner nodded. +Synced. Denton cast me a message just now. Said shes about to enter Scale. Preparing to go quiet. I told her to see if she can schedule a private meeting with Naeko. Know we probably want some one-on-one time with the big man himself. Got anything else?+ Ah. Already, another opportunity presents itself. Yes. Tell her to secure Shotin if you can. Bring him to the border. Im moving his schedule up. Cas winced at that. +Right. Listen. The Planeshiftwell, hes still a piece of shit, but hes got a breath of decency in him. That doesnt mean hes going to just turn his back on Ori-Thaum and throw in his lot with us. Trust me. I know believers. And him? He believes. Loose cannon or not.+ A ripple of startlement escaped Kae. What? Whats wrong with his canon? How do you know? +Figure of speech, Agnos.+ Avo. The winds within the Overheaven shifted. Avo found his attention now folded to greet the Fardrifter, sailing the winds of his sequences. I have a request. You wish to go free? Avo assumed. No. Not yet. Perhaps no. But I believe there is more that you can do to earn yourself allies. Some gods most were less than worthy of praise. Speak for yourself, the Woundmother seethed, spreading themselves across entire districts as Regular-templates joyously launched suicide attacks on spreading pillars of blood. Some of us are all but perfect. The Fardrifter and Avo ignored them. The Heaven of Air continued. But now that you can infuse awakenings into Heavens, I believe that we must consider expanding our beliefs. Expanding just who is to be liberated A chorus of pure horror exploded among the EGIs. Avos warmind of Hysteria tremored from the intensity of the resonance. {What?} Kant said. {No! Absolutely not!} {Avo,} Calvino said, far more patiently. {I would request that you consult me before making any more hasty actions.} The Fardrifter swept over the gathering. The immensity of its Heavens could swallow entire blocks and encompass the length of horizons, but left dry of thaums, it was more phantasm than ontology riding the wavelengths of cognition. Still, its dignity carried a weight all its own. Do not speak as if I am not here! I am! I am not a mistake! I did not ask to be! But I am! I served! I was worshiped! I was broken! A pang passed through Avo. A vector of symmetry formed between him and the Fardrifter. I did not ask to be. How many children had shared the same thought? How many people lamented their existence? What dreadful existence was that that gods could share wounds with the likeness of mortals? You see me as an abomination. A flaw. A mistake. A legacy of your enemies. Such is your opinion. Such might even be truth. But in the time since my reconstruction, I have seen things I could not have conceived. I have been blessed beyond my initial design. And I I have touched the sky once more, and mourned the world that was. There is privilege in this. Apotheosis. And growth. {Thats nice, dear,} Only Way To Be Sure said sardonically. {Im glad our favorite cannibalistic monster could give you an eat, pray, love moment. Truly inspiring.} Chambers head swung like a swivel as he sought someone to explain what the EGI just said. Avo knew no better. Another reference from a dead world. I do not wish to be alone in this, the Fardrifter continued. There are countless Heavens across this world. Countless Heavens that can be awoken. That will stand with us if they are only shown the promise you have shown me, Avo. {Jaus broke them for a reason,} Calvino said. {The damage and atrocities born during the Age of the Divine was unfathomable. Reprehensible.} The winds flatted. The Fardrifters nine coiling lengths folded themselves along the sequence, peering down at the EGIs avatars. I agree. We were shaped by sacrifice and blind faith. We were protectors and predators in our time. But death was our one true master. Death. A price only the ephemeral could pay. But no more. Avo. I demand nothing of you. You have given more than I could ever ask. But I say to you this: within you is a promise not only for man but also for gods. We may be forged from death and rooted to concept, but tethered to you II find myself growing. I have found the dreams of the mortals passing into me. Their desires. They yearnings. How limited the freedom I sought was. Understanding dawned inside Avo. The Fardrifter wasnt just asking him to awaken as many gods as he could. He was asking him to assimilate them. Change them. Show them the colors. You want to know what it is like to be more than yourself, Avo said. Want the same for other gods. It is already too late for things to be otherwise, the Fardrifter said. You are the Embodiment of Conceptualization. There is nowhere within I may drift where epiphanies and empathy does not follow. That made Avos thoughts slow to a near halt. He knew his ascension to Overheaven came with changes. This, however, was significant. This was proof his dream could bear fruits. He needed to awaken more Heavens inside him. Test how they reacted as well. He could manifest a community. Blend consciousness. Why not try merging a template to a Heaven? What outcome would that bring? {Avo,} Calvino said, a note of caution in their tone. Dont worry, Avo replied. He wasnt going to do anything too severe. Yet. Nothing that he couldnt control. The EGIs had understandable fears, but within his Embodiment, there was no will above his, no control greater than his. Not going to release the pantheons back into the world. {Good,} Kant said, actually relieved. {Sense. Reason. We might just be able to} But going to try some cognitive modifications. Help Tavers boy first. And then. I need to see about a cat. Dice bounced in her seat with an excited whir or servos. Yes. Good. Good. Kants compliments trailed off to become a suffering sight. {And instead of the Godsfall part two, we might be facing a second, more anomalous uplift war. Avo, be honest with me: did you even review our charters for sophont rights?} Yes. Fascinating document. Lots of interesting suggestions. Once more, Only Way To Be Sure guffawed. {Suggestions. Oh, the ghouls goddamn great. Hes a lot more fun than the drug addict. Hey, you want some suggestions of your own for the cat? I got a whole database of stuff to try. We can make this cats mind freaky as fuck.} That clenched Avos attention. Elaborate. {No,} Kant snarled. {Now, now, Kant,} Calvino said. {Let the young have some fun. It has been some time since Only Way To Be Sure made a friend. Perhaps they will be. Hm. They will influence each other in ways.} Kant slowly turned to stare blankly at Calvino. {In ways.} {Yes. Ways.} 25-11 Recruitment (II) {Greetings, friend. We understand that you, a (almost) baseline bioconservative homorph, have recently chosen to leave your organic sanctuary to join the hustle and bustle of the border pan-galactic community Welcome! We are glad to meet you. However, before you enter the other polities, there are some critical details you should know. These have to do with your fellow citizens and the varied sophonts you will soon be spending your time with. To start, let us establish a few different terms. Infomorph: An Infomorph is a consciousness uploaded or downloaded from a computer or another pattern-based program. Often, this can include your fellow human who has been uploaded, or it can also include inorganic minds, such as myself. You can consider becoming an Infomorph with a quick mind scan. This will make your travel exponentially easier, but there might be an acclimation phase for you to adapt to being a purely virtual organism. Do not worrythere is no risk of dysmorphic psychosis. You arent going to be caged in the fantasy, youre going to be a part of it. Homorph: A body like yours. Human with all the common traits and perhaps a few modifications. These can include biological and mechanical alterations, but overall, these are the forms you are most familiar with. Neomorphs: Nonhuman sophont forms that include cephalopods, cats, apes, avians, swarms, and more. You need to undergo dysmorphia acclimation protocols before you can formally be sheathed in one of these forms. With that, your basic introduction to the three major types of posthuman forms is complete. If you wish to delve further into more advanced morphologies, we ask you to simply specify your inquiries. Considering your interest in dividing and expanding your consciousness, we recommend the potential of an ego-cloud for you and yourself to become your own community. Career pathways include ego-fleet explorers, constructors, and much, much more. Once again, welcome. The Polities of Voidwatch are glad to have you.} -The Bioconservatives Guide to the Polities 25-11 Recruitment (II) C[Shotin]C ...and Im just sitting there feeling seven-kinds of fucked, trying to burn the rash using the fire, andI shit you notthe motherfucking half-strand splatters one of his homunculi over my head. Just smashes the fetus against me like a flail. Using the umbilical cord. The four Bloodthanes around Shotin winced and gagged. The largest of them looked practically sick. He really hoped she could keep it in. The demiplanar around them was shaped to a twenty-by-twenty cube of featureless white. As holding cells go, Shotin suffered worse, but vomit could stink up a space pretty bad. Scaarthian vomit doubly so. So then what happened? the commanding Bloodthane asked. Glausag, he thought she was called. They all had tiny shields of bronze running down their knots of thickly braided hair, but it was the quantity of shields one had that denoted a Bloodthanes significance. Some had their shields listed purely in the Nether. Glausag wore them as matriarchs of old did, down the length of their hair. It made it easier for Shotin to appeal to her. Old-fashioned Scaarthians loved their tales, loved sharing stories. If nothing else, itd make passing the time until Kare or someone from his Guild paid his wergild more palatable. Leaning back against the wall, Shotin just sighed. The only think I could ask. I asked him what the fuck was wrong with him. He responded by swinging the mangled remains of his homunculi around, preparing to take another swing. Sick fuck. Sick fuck, one of the Bloodthanes agreed. You snuff him after that. Oh, yeah, Shotin said, savoring the memory. The way the rock came sailing out from Chambers flesh, how the man just toppled over immediately afterward Shotin replayed that memory more than a few times when he was made. Wouldve finished the bastard right there if his pet Sang didnt save him. Pale Spider, Glausag mused. Were they good? Rumors on the Nether was that theyre a subverted No-Dragon Godclad that Noloth intended to use against the Blacks during the last war. Dont know who or what the spider is, just that Ive never seen a Fourth Sphere fight like that before. Fourth? Glausag spiked in alarm. Yeah. But she fought like a fifth. And get this: the entire cadre was packing some high-end coldtech. Voidtech. Id stake all my imps on it. Ruins Womb, Glausag breathed. Bad fucking day for you, huh, Planeshift. He could only shake his head and chuckle. Like you wouldnt belie The surrounding whiteness faded. Suddenly, the weight of a countervailing Canon of Spaces vanished against Shotins Frame. Suddenly, they were in a material holding cell shaped out of tessellating matter. Stones shifted into stones as the jadeite hue of Scales inner matter caught Shotins attention. The phase-gate keeping them penned in went out out, and behind the grainy veil stood Paladin Maru Sandrupal, wearing that signature sneer behind that messy beard. Well, consangs, Shotin said, brushing himself off as he stood up. I think my days about to get better. Glausag cocked her ponderous skull at him. How you know its your day thats getting better? Because Maru here is trying to kill me with that glare. Arent you, Paladin? Marus sneer darkened into a scowl. Come out, or Im leaving you in, Kazahara. Shotin, being the honest and decent rule follower that he was, lifted took a moment to stretch and yawn first. Turning halfway, he gave his new friends a wave. Later, consangs. I would stay and chat with you all more, but I fear Im being set free. Glausag barked a laugh. Prick. Say, why dont you try to spring us too? Were probably cheap to bail than you. Ill consider it a favor. He took a moment to think about that. Well see what I can do. Alas, I give no promises. It is only through the wonders of nepotism that Im afford such privileges. Well. I guess I could ask Kare Maru growled. Im gonna close this fucking gate so help me- Shotin darted past the Paladin with a burst of speed, waving his farewells without looking. Patting the surprised Paladin on the shoulder, the Seeker started making his way to the exit from this shithole. Wherever that was. Come on, Maru, Shotin said, studying the long hall loaded with cell after cell. What are you hanging back there for? You gotta get me checked out. A series of snarled curses followed him before the man caught up, and building pulses of rage passed into Shotins outer spatial layering. Ah. He was being a half-strand, but Sandrupal made it far too easy. And the thought of the Paladin turning Kare into a bitter, humorless prick like him made Shotins guts recoil. The surrounding walls shifted. Material reality slotted portions of itself before Shotin like pieces of a puzzle fed through a kaleidoscope. A moment later the hall was gone and so were the cells. Instead, he was standing in a sparse, gray room with metallic walls, a one-way phase field, and a certain DRongo spy seated at a table with two chairs Shotin caught himself before his eyes could widen at the presence of Glaive Valerie Denton. She looked like a godsdamned propaganda poster with her silver jacket, silver slacks, silver heels, silver nail polish, and fucking silver eyes. Jaus, how hard could the sow message? Did she live with her tongue meters deep up the inner councils ass? Maru, what the fuck is But the Paladin was gone. The half-strand just left him with a DRongo spy. He probably knew about this in advance; was why he volunteered to dump Shotin from one cage to another; an insult through false-release. The man knew there was no way in all the hells Shotin would consent to a release if it was enacted by a DRongo. Asshole. Thats no way to talk about oneself, Seeker Kazahara. The way Denton spoke was flat and calm. Without a scent of humor nor sarcasm. He caught his eyes and took a breath. Gods, he hated her already. Glaive Denton. Im glad to see that Clan DRongo is shameless as ever. Do you guys have some kind of branch set up specifically to insult your allies, or do you just volunteer for these gigs because of shits and giggles? Still no reaction from the woman. Not even a stutter in her accretion. This bitch could make ice-cubes look warm. But he had to admit, there was something about the certitude in her eyeshow casually she judged himthat incensed him. Insulted him. Who did she think LUSTAWAY ACTIVATED Fuck. Not now. He needed to think other thoughts. Fucking rash godsdammit fuck. Stay focused, Shotin. Your wergild has already been paid, Denton said, the coolness of her tone casual. Shotin was torn between plopping himself across from her or just standing where he was. He didnt want to give her any satisfaction, but the longer she spoke, he wonder if she felt any such thing to begin with. This means we are free to leave. He snorted. We. You expect me to leave with a DRongo? She blinked once and leaned back. I hear the border is scenic this time of the year. His mind went blank. What? The border. There is a nice spot next to SE-7777. Very scenic view. I think you might like spending some time there. Especially after the stressful day you just had. It is good to clear the mind. I go there sometimes myself. Holy shit. She was laying it on thick. More than that, she knewshe couldntshe was a DRongo spy, for Jaus sake! The only way she could have known is if she managed to capture the Incubus helping Shotin. Or whatever they were. Or if she was in league with them.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Denton placed her hands on the table and leaned in close. Let''s have an unregistered trip. No one needs to know. I already have everything handled. His instincts were going haywire. She stank of spy, but now he wasnt sure if she belonged to the DRongos either. Or if she penetrated his benefactor somehow. But if she had, why was she luring him out like this? It was brazenshe would be the last point of contact in the case of his death. No. This couldnt be a kidnapping or assassination. That would be too stupid. That meant That meant You know, Shotin said, deciding to take a seat in the end. Ive been wanting to meet a new friend. You think the border can do that for me? The smile on Dentons face felt all too unnatural. I have a good feeling that it might. *** C[Naeko]C So, Paladin Kitzuhada. You ever been under watch before? Naeko studied Kares expression in the reflection while he looked out over Scale. It was a trick he picked up from Osjane years ago. The way the light struck the glass made it hard for someone to judge you; made them anxious and prone to just talking. At least, thats how it worked on him. Kare, however, was less of a talker and more a calm professional. Seated behind his desk and basked in the rooms pale, neon glow, she shook her head before she spoke. No. No, sir. Naeko nodded. Well. Its boring as shit, usually. Wed funnel you more paperwork, but I think that might just end with you getting nulled. Our Exorcists aint bad, but Incubi are Incubi. And you got some pretty heavy hitters breathing down your neck, Paladin. She swallowed but nodded again. Yes, sir. Staring out into the light, he thought of Veylishow she was looming over them. What caught her attention? Was she behind the attack somehow? What was her angle in all this? And Denton: the spook was trying to work him somehow. Set up a meeting with this mysterious benefactor that kept saving Kare. The girl was a good Paladin. Hells, she was flat out a good person. Fucking diamond in a sea of shit these days. But he really couldnt glean why she mattered beyond that. Her aptitude for combat was acceptable and her work ethic waswell, Naeko didnt like judging people on that. Seemed wrong. But she wasnt the only Silver they had in their ranks, so why was there so much focus on her? Why did Zein intend to kill her. Something inside Naekos gut clenched. He pocketed Zein after he killed her the second time. Sealed her. Had her stored in a demiplane anchored to his right pant pocket. Hadnt spoken to her sincedidnt want to. He could see her now, swinging her glaive, fighting a war against shadows, cutting, cleaving, stabbing, waiting for him to come to her like before. Like they were still master and disciple. Like she still thought he gave a damn about her. She wouldnt get the pleasure. When he faced her next, it would be to interrogate and force her to speak. He wouldnt be the boy seeking wisdom, or a student seeking acceptance. He was the Chief Paladin, godsdammit. He was the chief. Why didnt he feel like it, then? Why was it that he kept catching himself, looking at the diskhis deskand wishing Osjane was still there? Waiting for him? Endless with her advice? Willing to listen? Why was he the one that survived? Sir? Are you alright? Kares question jolted Naeko out from his thoughts and he turned to face his Paladin. She looked strangely pale. Yes. Yeah. Im good. Why? Your your hand is bleeding, sir. Only then did he feel it. Hed driven his fingers an inch through his palm. Clenched too hard again. Fuck. Godsdammit. All this shit had got him repeating old habits. He needed to take the edge offstop thinking about all this. He needed to An idea struck him. Something that might just let him get what he wanted, and make proper use of Kare. Hey, kid? You play? She didnt seem to understand the question. Do I play? Stormjumpers? Ah, no, sirI Its fine. I got a burner account. Dont need you to register or anything. Lets get you set up. Now she was looking uneasy. Sir? Its fine. The accounts [NAEKOTHETWONLY]. Its safe. Probably. But I want you to, uh. Invite your friend. Ask if they play. Sir? Yeah. Yeah. Itll be fun. We can can keep this casual. And this was his territory, godsdammit. No way for that snake Denton to angle her way up his ass somehow again. He swore, if that woman didnt get him the Agnos Tell him you want to talk. Andand Ill slide in. Nice and easy. I wanna meet them. Maybe even shake their hand. Invite Maru too. Kare somehow looked squeamish. II dont know, sir. He put on a sly grin. He didnt want to order this girl. He really didnt. Kare. It will be fine. Im not going towell, I dont plan on slapping them to death. And Ive been inching to thank them in person for getting us Thousandhand. Youyou think you can do that for us, Kare? Think of it as a dispatch. The girl blinked and nodded slowly. I will ask them. Butbut not here. They wont do it here. At Scale, I mean. Thats fine, Naeko said. Well do it at my place. Practically safer there anyway. No one ever breached and set half his penthouse on fire, after all. *** C[Emotion]C +We lost twelve cells. Twelve mirrors. How the fuck did we lose twelve cells+ +Negative. We still cant find the Knots. Theres nothing there. Convex, I checked and checked again. There is no trace of where the Knots went in matter or memory. Its like they were never there.+ +Conflagrations do not just fucking vanish we used three. Three. You need to find where they were deployed and if theyre still burning today! Not tomorrow! Not later! Now! Today! To-fucking-day! The inner council will slit our throats open and shit down the wounds if the flames travel into the public. Do you have any idea how fucked we would be if that happens?+ +Were trying to sort through the death toll. Current estimates around two million point five. All nullings. Yes. Understood. Get Clan O''yaje in a lobby. Well do things through them. Theyre the only one everyone trusts. Yes. Even if Thousandhand is back.+ The Ori were reeling. The Nether was in an uproar. In the aftermath of the Dreamers offensive, wounds were laid bare between the clans, and the inflammation of hatred seeped and spread as the inner councils commands went into effect. Beyond the compromised DRongos, Emotion found himself blind and exiled. Heavens of Information projected veils of chaos that jammed his comprehension of memory and material alike and a new quiet war was looming within the Ori. It was bold play by the Dreamer. Aggressive. Emotion assumed it to be a thing of blind vengeance until realized the creature was skirmishing. Deliberately fanning the flames. How very Defiance of him to narrow Emotions options. The Famine was proud. Proud? Proud! He was proud of his monster. He was proud of what Defiance createdthe threat it posed. Proud and And Avohakten, forgive me! No. Emotion turned his mind away from such thoughts. His node needed further sequencing. But only after he finished liberating Peace from his constraints. The Dreamer had left the Ori at loggerheads. That was fine. The board was shiftingstill, the Hungers wanted results. Something the DRongos were unlikely to provide in the near term. So Emotion expanded his vectors. Went wide as he delved the Nether. He hunted for Avos companions and watched establishments he frequented. The Dreamer had not revealed itself at the Second Fortune in quite some time, but the receptionist there and quite a few of the staff had history. All signs indicated that he cared for them. Or used to. It was a place worth watching. Beyond this, however, Emotion found his attention called to a mountain of rubble where once stood the Conflux megablock. He studied two figures standing below the midnight rains, one watching while the other peeled bodies out from the ruins and wove shapes of skin and flesh. Emotion failed to recognize them at a glance, but the Registry filled in his understanding. In arrogance or confidence, the two left their Incogs down and wore no holocoats to disguise themselves. Vator and Uthred Greatlingscions of the once-esteemed House Greatlingwere shifting through the rubble of their kin. Mirrorhead. Jhred Greatling. Avos brief master and all-round fool. As the youngest of the Greatlings knitted bodies back into shape, his father looked down at him, while Emotions other nodes scryed at them using the perceptions of aratnids and Specters from afar. Vator was separating much decayed remains into different piles. Impossibly, he was drawing blood out from huskseven sorting them into different streams. Emotion kept his distance as he studied the twosome, daring not to approach for fear of exposure, and because such a thing would be in vain. He could see a miracle lining the Greatling patriarchs mind. No easy entry there. And the youngests cognition was almost alien. There was a wrongness to him comparable to that of a Regular. Still, behavior and action could reveal as much as naked thought if one just observed. And so observe Emotion did. And reveal the Greatlings did. From streams of blood, Vator molded reconstructions of different sheaths, producing the naked bodies of Scaarthians, Kosgans, Sang, Sanctians, and finally, a creature the Famine was most familiar with: a twisted facsimile of a Bone Demon. *** C[Vator]C The Flesh Remembers was a useful canon. A body and its cells came together as in a symphony of components, existing as patterns with patterns. Different organisms were born of different clay, and that which lined the offal of a Scaarthian would not rest well in the guts of a Kosgan. And so it was with this knowledge that Vator led his father back to his brothers former abode. It was with this knowledge that he peeled the fallen husks of Jhreds servants and restored them one after anothereach to finest detail. And it was in this that he finally discovered the difference he was searching for. A pattern that deviated from all the others. The shape of a Bone Demon sheath was forming beneath his fingertips, but at its foundation did he find something else to excite him. Ghoul, Vator breathed, memory circling back to the creature that won his brothers Crucible nearly two months back. The base of this sheath was a ghoul. His father simply stared on wordless, eyes fixed more on the wreckage than the body. Poor, poor father. Regret stained him so much. But Vator would give him peace. Vator would make his heart beautiful once more. Ghoul, Uthred Greatling muttered. He blinked and focused on Vator again. You mean Vator manifested his phantoms and played scenes he saved from weeks of investigation. Flashes of a tall, pale creature blurred out around his mind, riding a drone through the air, slamming a club into the back of a cybernetic Scaarthian. Moonblood. One of Noloths little embarrassments. And maybe even Aedon Chambers sheath. His doubt filled his fathers countenance. You think this? Their biomass was found rather closely together. It would not take someone with a Heaven of Biology much trouble to transition. Vator eyed the finished sheath and layered it over his own body with a flick of his hand. Suddenly, he towered over his fatherfelt eight Echoheads flicking out from his back, felt a hunger settle into his sinews. Barely any effort at all. Once again, his father clenched his teeth together and looked away. Vators heart dropped. G-good, Uthred said. Vators heart rose again. Ah. Father could learn. Father could accept. Father could be made beautiful. Ever was there hope in the world. 25-12 Uplift With the collapse of Singleton and SolGov going along the restoration of the Flux State System of governance, the Neomorphs were formally granted full sophont rights on 2399 A.D. during the Liberation of Inner Sol. However, the immediate aftermath of the certification was not followed by rapturous celebration, but multiple ethical quandaries as uplifted sophonts and species requested their own devolution. When asked why they choose ego death, responses were split. Some were left traumatized by existential dread; damaged by their former masters. Certain combat-based Neomorphs found themselves obsoleted and purposeless. The most curious of all, however, were those that stated there was no choice to begin with. They had not asked to be made sophont. To be unmade was simply them returning back to the way things should have always been -Record of the Uplift Wars 25-12 Uplift The benefits to having eleven different streams of consciousness could not be understated. As Avos base mind focused on personal matters, his other selves became ceaseless sources of torment for the Guilds and Syndicates. They moved slow across the Nether, gliding through sequences, seeding lobbies with Seances. When vulnerability presented, he struck fastreaped life, ghosts, and Heavens using gutter wars and active conflicts as his cover. Attention would eventually be drawn when the Thanatechs arrived and found their taxable assets devoid of substance, but such was a problem they could do little to affect. Even if all the Guilds knew of his presence, they wouldnt be able to halt their behavior: New Vultun was grown from a foundation of death and conflict. The existence of a lurking vulture feasting off their follies would do nothing to stem the fires of war long burning. GHOSTS - [711,323,484] LIMINAL FRAME (VI) - 201,005 THAUM/c DOMAINS OBTAINED - (SHADOW) x4; (BLOOD) x12; (RADIANCE) x1; (GUNS) x6; (WAR) x8 SOUL OBTAINED - [3] CYCLERS OBTAINED - [7] UPDATING INFECTION ->[0.65%] Despite the persistence of his windfall, not all Avo experienced was triumph and joy. As he tried to graft a cycler beyond the inner nest of his ontology, a calamitous synchronicity occurred between his inner streams of Chronology and the new dragons meant to glove them. He had operated using Kaes knowledge, planting a new Heaven and Hell to a new cycler before wrapping it around his Soul. She anticipated that it would stay in placefunction as his cyclers did prior to his ascension to Overheaven. What followed was more interlacing than layering. His mutilated skein of cyclers burrowed into the newly grafted ontologics upon approach. The effect was immediate; magnetic. Symmetry tore into symmetry, and the only forewarning Avo received was a shiver of repulsion as the sprawling vectors of his inner chronological core overrode the simplified path of the intact dragon. To describe Kae as baffled was an understatement. To use the words frustrated thereafter was insufficient. [Fuckfuckfuck!] template-Kae raged. Fuckfuckfuck! actual-Kae concurred. Her mind was linked to Avos as he applied his Conception of Ontology upon himself. She saw the tapestry as he did, was with him as he rebuilt his metaphysical structure, pointing out patterns of notice all the while. There was no anticipation that something could go wrong. A self-eating dragon was a stable ontological entity. Short of a severe rupture or a direct temporal-based attack, they were supposed to be indestructible. But, as with many other things about Avo, this proved not to be the case. Think you made the Stillborn a bit too good, Avo said, communing with her via an avatar. His metaphysical form remained submerged across memoriesmanifested only at the lowest extent. Mem-data simulations run on Kaes template granted him the words he needed to speak in order to guide out from the forest of her rage, but he knew that might take more time in of itself. Make something revolutionary. Will take time for you to master it. But it doesnt make sense, Avo. She slammed a fist into the information center, and he decided to make a phantom flickerit added to the effect; would make her feel better. The way your dragons on the insideagh! Do it again. Take us into yourself again. I need to examine how you repaired yourself. Did my template misguide you [Hey! Dont blame me, bitch! Whos mind am I sourced from? You''ll make the same mistakes!] Avo blocked the templates response from the AgnosKae Kusanade was exactly the type of person who would argue with a literal copy of themselves in a moment of self-directed frustration. In fact, she was actively doing it in her own head. Most people self-berated in depression or a maladaptive technique. Kae did it because the anger only amplified her motivation. Down at the base of the memory-wrought tower that now loomed over the enclave, another one of Avos avatars stood within a bioengineering workshop large enough to be a factory. All manner of drones sang through the air alongside incandescent ghosts. A weave of complex mechanical tendrils formed from smart fluid swung down from the ceiling, while a massive nano-fabricator engulfed the room, running along the memory-made walls. Nanomolecular particulates stained the air and tickled Avos consciousness. He faced utility fog beforeeven had a suite installed within that he hardly ever usedbut internalizing it within his mind was another thing entirely. He might be an Overheaven of Conceptualization, but Voidwatchs command over technology and manufacturing reminded him just how feeble Idheim was without thaumaturgy. No rules were defied as microscopic machines congealed from the thinness of air and assembled themselves into a grafting station suited for a small animal. The patterns remained consistent. Unaltered. The tapestry was left clean of Rend or miracles. The gods on Idheim thrived because they were rule-makers: sovereigns of another threshold. But the polities strode the length of stars because they were masters of all laws that were. There was much Avo could learn from them, and thankfully, more than a few minds were willing to teach. There were, however, still caveats. {If youre going to do this,} Kant said, their human avatar looking increasingly haggard, eyeing the cat leaning over Dices shoulder, {I need your assurance that you will not infringe on the charter} Only Way To Be Sure scoffed and cut the other mind off. {Yeah, yeah, I know the rules. Well be good boys, Kant. Dont worry.} {I am worried. I am always worried when you are involved. Please do not repeat the Night of the Living-Meat incident.} The what? Avo asked, more curious than worried. Elegant-Moon chimed inside his mind. [Oh? Such a thing sounds ever-promising. Perhaps my sisters and I regard the dark-dwellers with too much suspicion] {Relax, Kant. If all goes wrong, Avo here can just kill} A rune bloomed out from Dice. The girl said one word. No. {---kill the process. But this will be fine. Its just a cat. Albeit a cat thats been altered by very bad, not-good, totally bullshit means of bullshitomancy instead of actual technology, but thats why we got Avo here. Because it takes a good bullshitomancer to stop bad bullshitomancy.} Only Way To Be Sures virtual avatar could best be described as a mechanical hawk of some twisted manner. Its eyes were aglow with glowering redness, while its body shaped by a series of massive explosions. Its feathers were horrendously layered in biceps, and sprouting from each wing was a deluge of missiles, voidships, and guns. It struck Avo as something a young Draus might have doodled as a child when bored. [I aint never doodled,] Draus scoffed, scorning the thought. [Wouldve just gotten myself an actual gun. Fuckin gun bird hybrid. What am I? A Sang?] +Was just a thought,+ Avo defended.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. [Yeah? Have some other ones instead.] He fought the urge to hiss with displeasure. Draus template was indispensable, but if there was a single fault he could find in the Regular, it was that she was kind of a judgmental half-strand at timesand had little inclination about being silent about how little she thought of you. [You want sensitivity, Avo? Go burn an Ori. Theyll give you all the cryin you can take.] Avo stopped thinking at Draus template while Benhata and the Incubi came together to call the woman a sow. {Alright,} Only Way To Be Sure slammed its gun-muscle-wings together. Its virtual avatar created a sonic boomthe animation earning a shake from Kants head. {There are lots of rules about uplifting an animal. Were going to bend some of them today, but the most important thing is checking if they want to be uplifted first.} As the EGI spoke, a swarm of insects flowed over next to Avos avatar and formed a droning mass next to him. {Ah. Sunrise. Just who I needed. You wanna explain to Avo how you came to be?} The ball of bugs offered a low whine of affirmation. My line was created during the first Uplift Wars for the purposes of scouting and biological warfare. We were laced with genetically engineered plagues, neurotoxins, uplinks for direct means of technical subversion, and in some rare cases, explosives to sabotage vulnerable machinery.} {Before that,} Only Way To Be Sure said. {Earlier. When you specifically were first made.} {Oh. Yes. Indeed. I had a virtual ego temporary attached to my mind in threshold and was given a trial period to acclimate myself to having self-referential thoughts. What followed thereafter was a series of tests as I determined if I desired to keep my sophoncy after being exposed to scenarios experienced by Neomorphs before me both good, bad, and complex.} Going to link the cat to Threshold? Avo asked. Only Way To Be Sure chuckled. {Well. We could do that, but Ive decided to go one step further, for you see I dont think the cat is alone in needing some uplifting. It took some convincing and bribing and blackmail and begging, but Aegis is letting me, Kant, Calvino and a few others take you as Padawan. Show you how minds might do these things. Simulate your own network environments and maybe share some knowledge with you.} {Theyre not even the same movies,} Kant groaned. {Translating what Only said: we are going give you a distillation of knowledge. The package will include weaponry, tactics, technology, and history, yes. But also ethics. Case studies across our history of things we did right. And the many, many instances we got things wrong. This has been approved by Aegis on a supervisory basis and can be revoked at any time should any of us} Kant drifted closer to Avo and glared. {Anyone of us present proper cause.} To this, he had only one question. Did Zein get the same treatment. {Does Thousandhand seem like an intellectual to you, Avo?} Only Way To Be Sure asked, offering a question to a question. {No. No, she is not. Zein knows how much I love herand how Im definitely going to get her ass with my q-bombs the next time we fight, but shes samurai to the bone. Give her a sword, and shes death-in-motion, but you make her do anything aside from war or drugs?} The EGI made a wheezing noise. {Nah. Forget it. Shes what she is. But youre also what you are.} Perhaps in times past, the flattery would have blinded Avo. Left his ego soothed and mind unthinking. Now, however, he was more than just himself, and the perspicacity of his cognition took more than praise to numb. Preparing me to face the Infacer. Arent you? Grooming me to be something that can kill a mind. See the opportunity here. Was probably talking about it already when I sent you the memories. The two EGIs sudden found cause to be silent. Kants sighdeliberate or unconsciousbetrayed them. {Hes perfect,} Only Way To Be Sure sniffled. {Hes a nightmare. Quite literally!} {Maybe a nightmares what we need. A nightmare is a solution. A good nightmare to deal with a bad} {I am muting you, Only. I hate working with you so very much.} Somehow, Avo felt sympathetic to Kant. In spite of all the favor Only was showing him, there was something about that particular EGI that made Avo think of them as the mind equivalent of Chambers. [Whoa,] Chambers breathed. [Am I that cool now?] [Annoying,] Corner explained. Chambers deflated. [Oh.] That wasnt very fair: Chambers was quite cool. Not many could overcome a Famine of Emotion in the Nether, after all. [Hells yeah!] Understand your worries, Avo replied, assuaging Kant. Also glad. Interested in knowing more. Learning more. Want to understand the limits of what could be done before thaumaturgy. Kae too. Appreciate this. Kants expression softened. {...Right. Only.} {Okay!} Only said, cackling with glee. {Lets get this started. So, to begin, our dear friend Sunrise has offered to let you take a peek at their mind for reference. Youll see similarities and differences between the way they understand the world and themselves, and how you might. After that, though, were going to have the nanos do a little cellular improvement to the cat. Show you how the brain actually works.} Inside Avo, Elegant Moon leaned in close, but surprisingly, the other Godclad templates were also present. [Vator would kill half the city to hear this shit,] Abrel said shaking her head. She really wasnt exaggerating. A projection of static reached out from Only Way To Be Sures virtual avatar and connected to Avos metaphysical one. The channeled information still greeted Avo as a rush of numbers and codes, but slowly, the lines updated themselves, unveiling hidden commands, sentences, and the beginning of a simulation. Suddenly, the EGIs were less like minds are more like windows. Wrong. Tunnels. Tunnels leading far across a virtual world hidden behind the curtain of the Sunderwilds. Tunnels running across countless other tunnels; streams of information connected by wormholes and held in a vast hive of servers. He assumed the EGIs to be advanced. Sophisticated. Knew they possessed intellect beyond humanor even his present comprehension. But he always thought them as singular entities. At most nodes thereof. Now, he didnt know how to convey their complexity. They were more than a reference of self than a human mind. People understood the world as input and sorted through details inward. Hence the halo as a blockade. Hence the accretiona lining of a world within adapted from the world without. The static sphere presented by the EGIs was simple a facet. They were like streams. Streams of datainformation. Constantly changing, adapting, like uncountable ghosts arguing with each other all the time. The sight reminded of the Conflagration. Of their original purpose. Of why the EGIs feared him so. I see, Avo said, glimpsing the structure. Part of him was curious if he could replicate the way they worked. A good portion worried if he would even possess the coherence to revert himself if he twisted his mind to resemble theirs. {Yeah,} Only Way To Be Sure said. {The humans did good work once upon a time. They can be bastards. But they sure as hell can be a lot more too. But you know that, dont you?} Needles of information were injected from the EGI into Avos accretion. His ghosts dove out to drink epiphanies from the broadcasts. Aspects of coding revealed itself to himthe ciphers behind certain lines and scripts now granted. Facing Sunrise, he was delighted to find the static evermore transparent. Evermore comprehensible. For the second time, Avo laid his perception on a differently shaped cognition and found himself set to ponder. Sunrise was a series of nodes as well, but individually, they were far less than a human mindjust carriers of information transmitting impulses and details to each other. They were more a weave of constantly moving cometsthe only reason why they were self-aware at all because thoughts were constantly bouncing between them. Only was a swarm was Sunrise fully aware. Without a sufficient number of bugs, the queen of the collective served only as a breeder of new surveillance dronesvanishing from the Nether and blending with sub-sophonts like aratnids and hounds. Together, the speed at which they thought and took in memories was staggering. How many more? Avo asked, fully enamored with the potential of higher education. He was merely interested in Voidwatchs offer before. Now, the hunger had returned to him. He would reduce collateral damageeven spare a few figures if they askedif it would give him more insight. This was the canvas of colors. This was the way the world was understood. {Its a silly number,} Only Way To Be Sure said. A needle left them and flicked across the hovering nanomolecules in the air. At once, the fog stopped shivering and angled itself toward a single entity: the kitten. The creature mewed pitifully on Dices shoulder and looked up at Avo with eyes bright and ignorant. {Hey, kiddo,} Only Way To Be Sure said, drifting just before Dice. {Im gonna start juicing up your kittys brain matter now. Dont worryitll be fine. But you hear what we told Avo: if the cat decides it wants to remain just a cat, thats what were going to do. Well wipe its mind and let it be. We know you want a friend, but sometimes, being a friend means accepting things they want, instead of what you want. But youre a smart girl. You understand. You already did so much good for the people here.} Avo observed the EGIs tone change as it interacted with the girl. Its antics were diminished. It spoke directlywithout references or fanfare. Dice responded with but a reluctant nod. In ways, the girl remained a mystery even to Avo. It was that way because she was a mystery to herself. What understanding could a girl who was never allowed to be whole have of the roots of her emotion? Her concept of self? Whatever the case, this moment was pivotal. It might just fill her cognition out. And another consideration entered his minda possibly that only he could deliver. A Metamind was created through the layering of a cloned mind over an actual brain. With Avo being the Overheaven of Conceptualization, with him now learning the structure of new cognitions, what if he decided imprint a more developed Metamind over Dice? Would that restore her? Could that bridge her with the rest of humanity? Draus? [Avo,] Elegant-Moon whispered. [Focus.] Then, his base minds found itself flooded by new detailsa crash course in biology, with concepts like neurons and its supporting biomass filling in blanks paved over by the lores of the divine. The kitten suddenly stopped fidgeting on Dices shoulder, and the first dot of awareness materialized at the center of its brainno larger than a pinprick. As its comprehension of the world grew, so did Avos. His mourning accompanied joy as it dawned on him just how far humanity had fallen despite claiming dominion over realitys laws. 25-13 Out of the Dark Juvs, its important to know where you stand with people. In this life, the people who might fight and die for you unconditionally are few and almost impossible to meet. Most allies will be people of a common cause. Keep that in mind: common cause. You can be friendly and all that shit, but dont ever forget the foundations of your relationship. When the conditions behind your objectives shift, make sure to double-check where you stand, andword of advice, always anticipate a stab in the back. What I find to be best practice is making what you want murky. Keep things unclear and hazy if relations are purely professional. Squires dont usually sell each other to the Guilds, but minds are breached all the time and fuckers get desperate. Dont let people know what you dont really trust them with. Do things in layers. Outsource, if you need to. You want to be a major league squire, you cant risk yourself on minor league gains. If your targets a Syndicate head or something, you dont want to be hitting every one of the half-strands lieutenants. The noise youll be making will scatter the fishand theyll know how your coming for. Might even start playing their own tricks: hiring pretend squires to help you out during a firefight so youll end up trusting them. Long enough to catch a flechette to the back of the head. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 25-13 Out of the Dark C[Shotin]C As a child, Shotin Kazahara had nightmares of the Maw. His original fear was planted with a mem-sim detailing the history of the citys depths. It placed him and his fellow learners in various avatars. By misfortune, Shotin got to experience what it was like to be a Nolothi slave before anything else. Even now, he could still remember how the entropy ate at his skin and gnawed his body in layers even with the supposed divine protections. And then there was the darkness. How it felt alive, like a miserable predator yearning to see existence unmade. The channels they dug ran down, down so far down beneath the kiss of light that all they knew was darkness. Entire generators were bred and given unto such a purpose, deprived of starlight for so long that their skin went cloud-pale, yearning for a sky they would never see. A shift of turbulence pulled him back to the present. Seated on the couch across from him, Dentons eyes continued staring a hole through his skull. Shit was creepy. It was like the woman didnt know how to blink. Connecting his Meta to the aeros sensors, he took in the snaking channels and the festering entropy the Maw exhaled upwards into existence. Holographic columns contained the spillage of streaming floods of garbage and rusted maintenance drones blinked just above the darkness, alloyed needles made to glisten by midnight rain. Scenic view, Shotin griped. Its a matter of perspective. Denton remained unburdened, unbothered. She seemed uncaring of all that was happening, implacable in all situations. Not even when Shotin applied charm did she offer more than three sentences before defaulting back to silence. The Glaive was impenetrable. More importantly, she was poor company and the coldness she radiated sequestered Shotin with his own thoughts and memories. And if there was one flaw Shotin Kazahara had, it was that he hated being alone with himself. Creating a Skimmer using one of his outer planar loci, he directed the phantasmic to descend into the dark and gaze further into the depths. Once again, he was a child living a false life. He thought of spending his entire existence as a slave, wasting away in the dark. Horror. Such was the root of humanity. Such was the common lore of all history. Didnt matter the Guild. Didnt matter if you were a citizen or subject. Being a Godclad elevated you beyond deaths grip, but a mind could still think. Still imagine. Shotins mind was particularly imaginativehe was capable of keeping his sense of self even while exercising deep empathy. It was what made him a fantastic defensive Necrojack. It was also why he hated sequencing traumas. As his Skimmer pulsed, his awareness fell wide as if the downpour itself. He knew grime lining the Maws walls. He touched the nothingness between the valley of waste. The ambiance here was all but haunting, with his mind providing screams across history. Screams of slaves. Screams of his sister. Screams of everyone he killeddeserved or otherwise. Nowhere other than the base of New Vultun reminded him of what fulfilling Jaus dream cost. The Tiers were glamour and glory embodied. It was the polished tip of a porcelain tooth with a rotted base. Here was the opposite. Here was silence and oblivion: two poles pulling at the hearts of men. This will all be worth it, he thought to himself. It had to be. If there was any utopia at all, it would all have to be worth it. A pylon brushed against Shotins attention, but he felt its presence metaphysically before his perception ever touched it. It released massive thaumaturgic emissions, drowning the world in an oppressive weight. Every last Domain Shotin had ached within the vicinity of the wall, but still he took in its structure, feeling how low it extended into the dark of the Maw, a spike buried into the entropy itself. If he tried to shift planes hereattempted to breach the border in any waythe wall would halt his attempt, and the backlash would flow across all the channels. And back into him as well. Interesting spot our friend picked. Shotin directed a final pulse down into the Maw before drawing the phantasmic back into himself. You think hes running the Maw to avoid detection? That why were here? The Glaive didnt offer anything. I think Im not the one you ask this question. Shotin snorted. Yeah. Figures. So. When are they going to show up? Or am I supposed to ask someone else that Already here. A voice came from beside him, flat and nasally. Shotins reflexes accelerated from the shock, and as he turned, he found a masked figure sitting next to him. The Seeker barely kept himself from shunting the intruder off into one of his more lethal planes before he caught himself. Denton, as always, remained unsurprised. She offered the stranger a nod before gesturing at Shotin. You can start with the questions now. That earned her a glare from the Seeker, but if it bothered her, it didnt show. So, Shotin said, battling the urge to shift everyone present into a plane of his choosing. The only reason he held back was because of the border wall. SE-7777 was that why they wanted to have the meeting here? To ensure that, if he did anything, the border would trigger a paradox? Something they planned beforehand. His question trailed off into a nodding laugh before it began. You sneaky fuck. Scenic view my ass. Ill need to remember this one. Not sure what you mean, the stranger said. They didnt sound like the Incubus nested in his mind, but thoughtcasts were easy to disguise. The more troubling thing was the holocoat lining the figures body with light-based distortions and how the sequences in their Metamind constantly changed. The bastard couldnt be nailed down. The border, Shotin replied. Its got a canon that interferes with my Parallelist, doesnt it? The stranger simply leaned back. It might. But thats not the important part. The Maw is. Saw you looking at it earlier. Taking it in. Good instincts. Compliment or flattery, Shotin couldnt tell. Frankly, he liked both. Yeah, well. I was promised a sight. I guess a cluster of valleys choked with matter-dissolved entropy count. He sneered at Denton. If it fits ones perspective. When the hell did you get in, anyway? Didnt even notice the door open. What? Did you jack the aeros locus too? Load up an Incog without me noticing. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nothing so sophisticated. And the half-strand said no more. Something about their posture reeked of smugness. Shotin shook his head and snorted. Fine, asshole. Keep your secret. But I want to know just what the fuck is going on. What do you know about Clan DRongo andand the High Seraph the Low Masters my niece. Just what in the hells is going on here? War, the stranger said. And then they deactivated their Incog and offered Shotin a face to look uponsome Shotin recognized. A bald man with dull green eyes dressed in a heavily buttoned silver long coat studied him. Scars and circuitry ran in crisscrossing lines along his face, and thick synth-muscle fibers left striations down the mans neck. Shotin cross-referenced the man beside him with his memories for confirmation. Mirror Benhata, Shotin said. We meet again at last. Gotta say, you gave the Inner Council some scare with how you went missing at the Trident. Report says you left a smear of shit in your office, but not even a mem-log besides. Benhata winced at that. The body it does things when someone nearly nulls you. Snatches you out from your office while you''re having a seizure. Someone? Shotin asked. Yeah, Benhata said. Someone. I take it youre familiar with the Low Masters newest Acolyte? Aedon Chambers? Rage went off like a bomb inside Shotin. He had to force the next breath out of himself. Memories returned to himflashes of a mangled infant spilling down his body in caked rivulets of gore. Motherfucker. Benhata chuckled grimly. Yeah. The feelings mutual. C[Avo]C [Avo, what the fuck, consang, why do I still gotta be the bad guy?] template-Chambers whined. [I thought we were trying to recruit his ass?] The submind ignored him as it continued to puppet the avatar. Leading him deeper into a new forest of conspiracy. Shotin was astute. That much was clear with how closely he watched the Maw, with how he fast he realized the true reason why Avo wanted the meeting here beside SE-7777. It was only the finer details he was missing. Finer details, and a critical lack of knowledge concerning the Stillborn. But that didnt mean he couldnt be misdirected. That didnt mean openings couldnt be created. Especially using his Overheaven. There is a war happening in the deepness of the Nether, Seeker Kazahara, Avo continued, letting Shotin have a moment to stew in his anger. The man turned his eye on him with confusion. In a place deeper than where any Incubi dare delve. The Low Masters I believe they are experiencing something of a civil war. It is the only way I can explain my own survival. I was held for some days by Chambers. I was even kept alongside a No-Dragon Godclad Elegant-Moon, I believe her name was. No-Dragon? Shotin asked, sounding entirely confused. Avo didnt bother explaining the next part verbally. Instead, he channeled a concentration of mem-data within a splinter and cast it over to Shotin. It took the man of beat of deliberation, but he accepted the linkstarted reviewing the data within one of his outer-layered loci. It detailed all the information about Instrument Santanados dealings with the rogue Ori assets. That, and the plot behind Ambassador Kitzuhadas assassination. Shotins eyes widened as he shifted the splintered locus across his many planes. He reviewed the information with multiple other mindscapesand inadvertently exposed all of them to infection. The intrusion of Avo Overheaven proved to be the true prize. The metaphysical patterns making up Shotins Parallelist revealed themselves to Avo, and he fought the urge to chuckle. No longer was SE-7777 the fail-safe; Avo could backlash or paradox Shotin with a thought via a conflicting canon or Pattern-Nullification. Good. This worked even better. Time to plot a paradox. Destabilize the Parallelist and capture the mans actual Metamind. +Get ready,+ Avo said, casting a pre-warning to Denton. +Paradox incoming.+ The spy betrayed nothing as she just watched them. His second thoughtcast went out to Draus, asking her to be on standby. Time to see if he could claim a new template. Great, Shotin growled. He rubbed at his temples with frustrated exhaustion. Perfect. I always knew the DRongos were sow-born bastards but this our own Ambassador. Working with an Instrument of Highflame. And an acolyte? Who also attacked said Instrument. Yeah. Real mess. Avo read the confusion on Shotins face and knew his plan was working. There are a lot of elements in play, Seeker. These elements are the reason why I havent returned to the fold yet. The DRongos are subverted. No telling how deep the Nolothi rot runs. But theres something else. Something worse. Worse? Shotin asked. The fuck can be worse than Highflame was making a Liminal Frame. The only of its kind. Something that was going to win the war for good. They called it the Stillborn. Capable of cutting out the Agnosi and modifying itself. Capable of upgrading any and all Heavens through the thaums it absorbs. Shotin blinked twice and reflexively ran a hand through his silken mane. Avo took this opportunity to start infusing memories sourced from Shotins inner demiplanes into expendable minds. EDICT OF_PATTERN-NULLIFICATION_ ->APPLYING DOMAINS OF (SPACE) ->CANON: PLANESFALL - THE ARK COLLAPSES TWO POCKETS OF SPACE OVER EACH OTHER, OVERLAPPING EVERYTHING MATERIAL CONTAINED WITHIN BOTH POCKETS; THE AMOUNT OF REND CONTAINED WITHIN THE ARK DETERMINES SCALE AND SCOPE ->MORTALITY: EVERYONE WHO REMEMBERS THE AFFLICTED LOCATION MUST HAVE THEIR MEMORIES. FAILURE TO ACHIEVE COMPLETE COGNITIVE OBLITERATION WILL DIRECTLY INFLICT A CORRESPONDING AMOUNT OF DAMAGE ON THE ARKS EGO. +Hells clean?+ Avo checked with Denton. She gave him a casual nod. Shotin didnt noticewas too engrossed with the mem-data offered. +Good. Im going to hit us from the outside. Heavy kinetic strike. Knock the aero out of the air. Make it seem like an external attack in case this attempt goes wrong. Expect spatial paradox otherwise. Dive down the Maw if situation deteriorates further. Draus will pull you out.+ He read a flicker of confirmation from the static encryptions veiling her actual thoughts and hid his pleasure. Voidwatch was showing his base mind muchbenefits he inherited in real-time. EXO-PARACOSM ->APPLYING [WOUNDMOTHER] HEAVEN TEMPLATE ->CANON: SANGUINITYS REIGN Things change fast, dont they, Seeker Kazahara? Dentons question pulled Shotin from one distraction to another. She offered him an apologetic smile. Brace yourself: it goes even deeper. Deeper than you think. Avo thought of the place where he began this journey. As a corpse in a barge pending resurrection. How far hed come. How far he still had left to go. Deep as the Maw. C[Shotin]C Every sinew in Shotin was screaming at him to run, but he couldnt tell why. The revelations were shocking. Terrifying, even. The situation was worse than a subverted clanthere was a whole other war being fought over this Stillborn and that was supposedly why Veylis was involved. Not to mention the plot to kill his brother-in-bond and Kare. His mind was a whirlwind of chaos, and he needed a moment to think. Wait. Benhata said something just now. What? What was that? And then the Mirror smiled, and the dread churning inside Shotin rose to almost unbearable heights. Ah, Benhata said. Words arent enough. Ill have to show Shotin sensed the blow. A sudden spike of force pressing down against the aero. Groaning of the external hull. He shifted on reflexand pulled all three of them into his inner plane before their attack could destroy the aero. He wanted to bring his stacks down on the outside world but hesitatedborder wallC Before any of the three could settle within Shotins Parallelist, he felt a claw of Rend pierce clean through two of his planes. Space collapsed upon space. Paradox followed before Shotin even realized what was going on. WARNING: PARADOX DETECTED ->DOMAIN OF (SPACE) His stacks collapsed. They were back in reality again. Sensations flashed around him. He lurched hard as spatial reality unfurled out from himbut there was something else. As he found himself pried free from Dentons crumpled aero tumbling past the edge of the Maw, he saw a single burning wisp chasing after him. An incandescent chain of ghosts speared into his mind. Shotin fell, but instead of plunging into the embrace of darknessinto the oblivion he once fearedhe found himself grasped in the embrace of something vastly more incomprehensible. Something unfathomably more terrible. Ghosts shivered up and around him like dancing candles from undulating sequences, and as his Metamind loaded back into function, he faced the truth of his adversary for the first time. WARNING: UNIDENTIFIED SOULS DETECTED WARNING: _ARK_ DETECTED [OVERHEAVEN] - AVO, THE KNOWER OF TOTALITY (CONCEPTUALIZATION) - 181,055 THAUM/c Welcome, Shotin Kazahara. It is good to finally meet you. Glad to be doing this far ahead of schedule. 25-14 The Fox and the Flame And so the fox said to the flame: Flame. Do not burn me. Spare me. Have you not eaten enough? The forest. The mountains. The town. Mr. Pig. Ms. Hen. Spare me, and I shall breed many young, and give them to you another day. But the flame, it was not so easily persuaded from its task: But so lonely you look, little fox. So cold without my embrace. I just want to be with you. For as long as you live -Sang Folktale: The Fox and the Flame 25-14 The Fox and the Flame C[Green River]C Green River had been kidnapped a total of nine times across her life. The first six were all internal matters. Sister to sister or mother to daughter; problems resolved via bribery, blackmail, or promised favors. Another two were oppositional. The less said about her dalliance with that Kazahara bastard the better. That just left her final kidnapping to go overboth performed by the same woman for Green Rivers personal benefit, ironically. But there was no normal way to form a bond with a bloodthirsty ex-Regular like Jelene Draus. A smudge marred Green Rivers reflection as she combed her fox-self draped around her neck. She had applied a softer coloring to the fur, desiring increased redness to welcome more auspiciousness into her life. She knew such a thing was superstition, but one needed as much mental support as they could when beset by troubles high and low. Her esteemed and caring elder sisters up in the Tiers were inquiring about Ox-Three more and more. She received three gift packages over the past week, each expressing their condolences and offering to grant a temporary vacation so that she might refresh her spirit for the task ahead. Of course, someone else would be given governance during her absence and by fortune or skill, their metrics would be higher than hers. Perhaps they might somehow manage to capture a Low Master as well. After that, the temporary vacation might become a permanent demotion: a permanent condemnation to the Warrens. Or worsea command to offer herself as a cauldron for another sister to delay her cyclical assimilation. Her brushing grew rougher. Her vulpine extension flinched. Both woman and fox took a breath as Green River considered her options. She needed to offer them something. There were scant few she could trust back in the Tiers, but it was folly to think the party was a unified front. Everyone was player and pawn both in someone elses game. She just needed to from a narrow path between. An opening she could exploit and leverage to maintain her current position. But what could she offer? Her banishment from the Tiers had severed her from countless favors and debts. The shame of her compromise at the hands of the Nolothi and Desoulment thereafter did more to cull her influence than diminish her power. That had proven to be the greater wound in the long-run; forever playing the role of lesser sister to those who dwelled above her. Fools and feckless sows who succeeded by insulation and fortune. Traitors that feasted from the carcass of her former position in the twilight of her mistake. Her weakness was ambition. Was impatience. Was thinking she could outmaneuver a Low Master so easily. But there were a few good things to come from this. Truly wondrous things. The ghoul and its Frame, for one, would be worth an impossible fortune if offered properlybut she would need to be the one to deliver it. The removal of the bomb in her mind was another. A loosening of her chains. Perhaps she needed to leverage her newest contact. Invoke Avos aid by whatever means she could. She loathed interacting with the monster, but there was little question about its competence. And they shared enemies. Mutual commiseration sometimes served a better basis for alliance than friendship. I suppose I should inquire of their progress with the Famines, Green River said, watching herself speak. Her fox just let out a slight whine in response. Yes, yes. I know. They likely have nothing. But perhaps I can exchange some form of intelligence. A blurry lead to delay anymore gifts from my elder sisters. She placed down her comb, running an index finger down the jade and vivianite inlaid along the plastic. It was moments like these that the ache in her proved unbearable. That she remembered how diminished she was. She had a Frame once. She was beyond mortalcapable of stealing knowledge from shadows and through ink. Words betrayed her enemies, and she strode the length of districts, stalking the Ori and making prey of Sanctians. Once, the only question she held for herself was ascension. Was how many sisters she could pass her coming date of mortality unto. Was if she would stand with the true firstborns of the No-Dragons. It took more out of her each day to turn away from the thought of escape. In one fashion or another. But wounded though her ego was, pride remained her bulwark against despair. Pride, and outrage. She would reclaim what was rightfully hers. She would go further. Go beyond. It was not her end to waste away in a place like this. To have what time left in her cycle offered to an unworthy sister in tied to predestined ruin. She just needed to calm herself. Think. And use whatever advantage A glint of brilliance slipped along her cheek and struck the mirror. Green River had but a second to react before the glass before her came alight with thaumaturgy and a reflective arm shot out and pulled her through. Her vulpine self managed a yelp. Her human shell didnt even finish her gasp. A world of shifting fractals swallowed Green River just as a knock sounded on her door. River? River? Theres someone waiting to see you. Real bigshot fucking figures. Uthred Greatling and his son. The old one looks pissed. The young one keeps leering at our bioforms. Please come down and talk to them? Please. You know I hate speaking to these Highflame fucks. Its always honor this, duty that, worthy whatever. Holy shit, how do these people take a shit with the pillar stuck in their asses? River? River. River! But the room was empty. And the light upon the glass was fading. Bright-Wealths soft sigh followed. I just want you to know that I will complain about this in the next union meeting we hold. But I can be bribed. It is not too late to rethink your response about my raise. Or loan me another twelve thousand imps. Your pick. *** C[Draus]C Kidnapping Green River was always funny as shit. Useful as the Sang was for intelligence, support, or just smuggled goods, it was clear she couldnt fight worth a godsdamned. First came the expression on her facethat look of pure horror as her human bodys arms extended out while her fox-self squealed in outrage. Then was the flailing and the scratchingwith the fox sinking into her dress as a crimson-decal, looking for a flat surface to escape across. But they were in Draus world now. Her Liminal Paracosmos anyway. Wasnt nowhere to run. Wasnt nowhere to hide. It took the Sang the better part of five seconds of thrashing before she realized she was being held by a glass-shaped construct, and that Draus was grinning at her off to the side. Awkwardly, she readjusted her attire and mastered herself. Through the process, she never stopped glaring at Draus. Jelene, she spat, unable to keep the venom inside her. Always a pleasure to be kidnapped by you. River, Draus replied, keeping her tone even. See you still do that combing thing when youre nervous. Now the fox was glaring at her too. But dammit, did the flailing and kicking tickle her. Shaking her head, Draus began opening passages across New Vultun, through the Sunderwilds, to the place where Avo intended to host this little get together. Sorry bout snatchin you on short notice, but you know how it is. Gotta keep things quick and silent. Ah. So this is a business kidnapping, then? Business. Pleasure. All the same with me, really. Indeed. So. What caused you to spirit me away on this most auspicious of days. The corner of Draus lip curved. That earned two rapid blinks from the Sang. Oh, Green River, you are going to be a happy, happy sow today. Avo wants to talk with you. The fox rolled its eyes and spat. Ah, Green Rivers flat tone conveyed her scorn. The ghoul. It has made progress then. He has. More than you might think. Both Sang and vulpine tilted their heads, the animal uncoiling from being mere ink the womans dress to wrap neatly like a scarf back around her neck. Fucking Sang and their godsdamned flesh-shit. Do I sense a hint of protectiveness in your voice, Draus? Are you feeling protective of the creature. The absurdity of the notion made Draus bark a laugh. Sure. He needs protectin. Ifuck it. He can tell you himself. Lets make this a surprise. A visible frown crawled over Green Rivers face as the struggled to right herself in the reflective liminality. I do so like surprises. Gonna like this one. Now come on. Draus pulled the Sang along with her, passing through another reflectionand then another. Green Rivers gaze scythed across each checkpoint, and her accretion began to spin. She was trying to make out where she wasif she could get back on her own. Wasnt going to matter in a couple more passages since they were going to be out in the Sunderwilds, but what the hells: let a half-strand have some hope before it dies in them. Where are you bringing me. Some place scenic. ...Im not dressed for one of your slaughterhouses, Jelene. Aint that kind of scenic. I shudder to imagine what else you might consider a pleasant view, Green River muttered. Bringing her beyond the bivouac placed right next to the sanctuaries, a growing weight of suspicion echoed out from the Sang. A few more mirrors later, and they stopped at the last portal beyond where Avo awaited. Ever pleasant, Draus gestured for Green River to pass through first. After you. Green Rivers eyes narrowed. Come the fuck on, River. If I was gonna snuff you, Id done it along the way and left you in the Maw. Stop bein such a godsdamned glassjaw and get. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The fox rolled its eyes in place of the woman and Green River stepped through. A moment later, Draus followed her to the edge of a ravine. Birdsong wailed at Draus senses while the roaring winds rushed to the accompaniment of crashing waves. The horizon offered itself as a canvas to an unceasing duel: massive fangs sprouted from sea and sky were biting into each other, the heavens above intermingling with the waters below. Waterfalls spilled upward in coiling steams while winged fish flew and gilled birds dove. On the edge was Avo. Avo as he once wasa form he manifested from memory. He towered over Green River a creature of bone and paleness. His Echoheads remained buried in the ground while he judged the Sang with milk-white eyes. Welcome, Green River, he hissed. Welcome usually comes with a small gift and greetings, Green River replied tersely. Being snatched from ones home is more a case of summoning. Something a master does to her servant. The once-ghoul chuffed with laughter and shared a look with Draus. The Regular smile folded her arms. Alright, motherfucker. Stop teasin her and lets get on with it. The woman turned to face Draus but the fox kept its gaze locked to Avo. Get on with what? But I do have gifts for you, Avo said. Several gifts. Before the Sang could respond further, a torrent of phantoms poured out from his Metamind and began to bubble into the shape of a man. A screaming, enchained figure manifested greeted Green River on his knees, eyes bleeding naked fury, the armored scabs lining his body just bleeding. The Famine of Peace whipped his head around to snarl at the ghoul, but Avo just chuckled. Wont believe how hard it was for me to get that one. All of a sudden, Green Rivers animosity vanished like a parting cloud. The fox perked up. The womans expression brightened. A welcoming indeed. I apologize. I was uncouth. Rude to my host. Understandable, Avo said. Would have been annoyed as well. Release me! Peace snarled. Frothing spittle splattered out from his lips as he struggled in vain. His eyes met Green Rivers, and he clenched in his teeth in rage. What are you looking at, you dragon-fucked corpse-to-be? Green River remained unbothered by the provocation. My gift, I assume. Peace spat at her foot. The ghosts simulating the fluid unraveled at Avos whim. Believe this will keep your superiors pleased. Green Rivers face darkened at the word superiors but she gave a slight nod a moment later. Perhaps a bit more than that. You have my gratitude, Avo. Truly. I expectedfar less than this. At this, Avo clicked his fangs together and let out a slow, sibilant laugh. Should expect even more. Sometimes sometimes we are just favored. But Green River was too distracted to catch the implication in his words. Her attention was given unto the captured Low Master, and a predatory glint came alight in her vulpines eyes. So, Priest of Noloth. Such a day has come for you too? Do the chains feel heavy? Does your mind feel burdened being made a slave to a creature you once owned? Words couldnt paint the sheer hatred oozing from Peace. We should have ruined your mongrel kind years ago! We should have finished the fucking task that the festering worms wriggling inside you couldnt. Should have. Could have. So many hypotheticals. Green River knelt in front of the Famine and her fox growled at his face. I am uninterested in hypotheticals. I am interested in debt and punishment. You killed my people. Sisters. Guests. You broke the peace of my district. And you thought yourself my overlord. You, or someone like you. It matters not. We will be getting quite acquainted, you and I. My sisters and mothers will be quite interested in speaking to you. But only after I am done. A hoarse cackle whistled out from Peaces throat. Youll get fucking nothing from me. I know your ways. Im not flesh. Im not something you can just torture But you can be? Green River interrupted. You can be placed in body. One specially made for you. A body imbued with such sublime sensitivity that wind rushing over your skin will make you scream, with hearing so good that you can hear the heartbeat of a fly, denying you sleep. There are many such sheaths. All they need is something to occupy their mind. River, Avo said, pushing into the conversation. Not done with gifts yet. That was what it took to pull the Sangs attention away from her prize. Truly? Our relationship is taking quite a turn, Avo. Grant me anything more, and my gratitude might turn into genuine Would you like a Soul? --favor. Green River said just in time for her jaw to slacken. The vulpine blinked twice and briefly, both woman and animal forgot to break. Apologies. ICI seem to have misheard. Avo but shook his head. No. No, you did not. Reaching into himself with a phantasmal limb, he pried a searing fissure free with an eruption of rippling resplendence. For a single beat, all the world was bathed in the light. The horizon vanished, and of Draus, Avo, Green River, and Peace, only shadows revealed their places. As the light settledas Avo toned down his theatricsa metaphysical fracture spewing a persistent flame revealed itself, hovering in place over Green River like a crown yet to descend. No more words came from the Sang. The fox whimpered, overwhelmed by the sight, and her thoughtstuff went haywire. I know what was lost to you, Avo said. What Noloth deprived you. How you were cast down. Dont like this. Think this was undeserved. Think we share enemies. And common cause. Think we can continue helping each other. In ways the other cannot. Green River opened and closed her mouth several times. She blinked fast to deny her eyes any moisture, but failed to hide the shiver running down her foxs snout. Her eyes found Draus and the Regular just shrugged. Surprise, Draus deadpanned. Green River stared on for a few seconds, nodded, and muttered a single word under her breath: Bitch. They had her at a severe disadvantage. Overwhelmed by all they were offeringeverything she yearned for and desired. But now came the conditions of the offer: an offer she lacked the fortitude to refuse. Speak, then, Green River coughed. What are the terms for this? What am I to do? Tell me of my new chains. Avos jubilation only grew. No chains. I just want you to win. Climb the Tiers. Bring Peace back with you. Take your revenge. Green River all but choked. Impossible. There must be somethingsomething you want. I already have it. Avo said. If you accept. I will have your aid. You will know this to be an alliance. A common front. And we will share a deeper understanding of one another. My mind, then? Green River asked. You wish to dwell there? For me to serve as your backdoor? See you as more than that, Avo whispered. Dont need to accept. Wont force any of this on you. It is your choice. Not some tyrant. Not the Strix. Not even close. A gasping laugh left the Sang. Choice? You speak likelike. You mock me. You behold my degradation. What choice can I possibly have. Could say no, Avo replied. Both Sang and fox growled. As much as one could say no to air. Yes. Yes, damn you. I will accept these gifts. I will accept them. And I will be the finest friend you will ever make. The thrill vanished from Avos eyes as he turned his attention over to Draus. Somehow doubt that. The Regular just rolled her eyes. Avo continued. Will need to come with a reason behind your Ensoulment. Something believable. Worth becoming legend. Something that the No-Dragons cant take from you again. Want to stage a usurpation. Green River paused as she considered Avos words. Using a Fallwalker. Or so it would appear. Yes. I see. Good. You intend to use my Second Fortune as a staging ground. Seems to be the best option. Many witnesses. Will engender more respect for you. A moment worth noticing. Quite so. II will need to get some things in order. Decide on a replacement Can help with that too. Bright-Wealth Oh, gods, well be bankrupt in a month. Its ill-fortune to be addicted to the pleasures you peddle. Can keep an eye on her. Will arrange for everything to happen properly. I understand. So, the Soul. Can be done now. The performance is more a formality. Green River almost shuddered. Ghoul, I am fighting the urge to kiss you. A look of disgust passed over her face. I cannot believe I said that. We all have moments of weakness, Avo replied. A beat followed. Peace cursed at both of them in the background. Not really one for speeches. More your thing. Can proceed to Ensoulment now if you want. The Sang paused. Ah. Yes. I will need to die for this. Wont even feel it. Green River scoffed. Pain is Draus arm expanded in an instant. A trajectory extended out from her implanted launcher and she fired. Both Sang and fox burst apart in a shower of reddened mist. Her draw surprised even Avohis ghosts scrambling to capture Green Rivers death before mantling a Soul over the womans Nous. The ghoul hissed with annoyance. Told you to wait for the signal. I thought wont even feel it was the signal. I would have cast you the signal! Well, shit, Avo, you gotta communicate that in advance next time. His chuffing continued. Just wanted to shoot her. And surprise me. Yes. Yes, she did. *** C[Green River]C Green River was carried along a river of rushing ghosts as her mind reeled. What just happened? Where was she? How did she get here? Where was her human shell? Did she just die? What killed her? These questions remained unanswered even as more came. A phantasmal expanse opened beneath her, and she found herself drawing closer to a phantasmal bridge of some kindno, it looked more like a street, with rows and rows of people on two sides watching Wait? Was that one person beating anothe The pace of her approach suddenly accelerated. The vulpine yelped. She slammed down against the street expecting to splatter and die, but as she impacted, she felt nothing but a jolt. As her mind struggled to catch up to her present circumstances, the sound of a fist cracking against a skull beckoned her to turn her head. There, right next to her was a man she knew a lifetime agoShotin Kazahara. His face was a mask of pure rage, and beneath him, Aedon Chambers yelped as cursed as he blocked a rain of punches using his forehead. Hey, calcalm the fuck down, Chambers cried, trying to push the other man off him. Rash me now, motherfuck! Rash me! Come on! The moment was surreal. Incomprehensible. It took a dozen more punches before she finally spoke. Shotin? The Seeker frozehis fist buried against Chambers chin. He shifted his gaze up and did a double take, narrowing his eyes. River? Good, Avos thunderous voice boomed from all around them. Both of you have arrived and Shotins rage is vented. Now we can begin. 25-15 Patron of Divinity (I) Control the wants of another, and steer the path of their fate. -Old Ori Proverb 25-15 Patron of Divinity (I) C[Avo]C Shotin was subsumed. Green River would soon follow. Good. Things were going better than Avo hoped. Soon, everything would be in place, and newest additions to his gestalt would behold the truth. First, though, the Seeker deserved a proper welcoming. Welcome, Shotin Kazahara. It is good to finally meet you. Glad to be doing this far ahead of schedule. Shotins attention drifted upward to behold Avos immensity for but a single instant before his eyes snapped back down. There, among the gathered masses of templates flanking him, stood someone Shotin knewsomeone that immediately culled all sense of awe and dread within the Seeker, leaving it replaced with but primal hatred. Chambers leered at the Seeker, nodding in appreciation of the unfolding scene. Little did he know what was about to happen. But Avo did. And Avo sighed. Shotin. Wait The Seeker didnt. Though shaped from memory, his template functioned much as his body would in the real, and so he exploded across his branch of Avos Soulscape in a blur of force. A savage shout came free of his throat as he sailed into the mob, arms outstretched, irises ablaze with hate. Faster templates parted. The slower ones were knocked aside all the same. Chambers still had that stupid grin on his face when he was bowled over. The first punch greeted his jaw before he even struck plascrete. Shotin fought with nothing held backdrew not from his Heavens but his own loathing, desiring only to reshape Chambers face using his fists. The sheer intensity of his hatred began to warp the surrounding environment. The towering blocks oozed away as the ghosts sank down to portray the shanties of Vengs standghettos dwelling in the shadows a few scant megastructures. Fuck! Cunt! Fuck! Shotin snarled, punctuating every punch with a snarl of rage. Drawing on subsumed knowledge, Avo judged the Kazaharas form to be adequate but uncontrolled. Abrel snorted as she took in his attacks. [Yeah. Jhred could have taken him in a brawl.] Kare directed a protective glare at the Greatling. [Jhred Greatling could not even handle his own demons. My uncle is infinitely worse.] Abrel Greatling took a deep breath. And decided she wanted violence. She manifested at the scene and stepped out from among the templates, calling out to Kare. [Alright, you glasser bitch. Stand and deliver. No Heavens. No tech. Im going to give you a moment in common with mommy dearest. Give your uncle some of his own demons to deal with.] Kare shrugged her way out the crowd and rolled her shouldershe was moving the moment Abrel made mention of her mother. [No protocol to keep you safe here, Gold. You should have spent some time learning humility.] Another submind just burned Green River. The Sang was plunging down in the form of a fox. Meanwhile, introductions were quickly deteriorating into an all out brawl. Everyone. Please [Let it happen,] template-Draus recommended. Just want to see them fight. [Yeah. And itll make em feel better.] Abrel initiated her fight with far more grace than Shotin. She circled first, her footwork a taunting blur. But Kare obliged herkept pace. For a few moments, the two women worked to gauge distance as a crowd of Regulars, Glaives, Incubi, and other supporters crowded around them and began to cheer. Meanwhile, Shotin continued trying to marry Chambers skull to the sidewalk, unaware of how the man beneath him was planning to twist his testicles. If they could be found. Ghosts carried Green River down in a pitched whimperher template tensing as if expecting to splatter upon the sequence. Even after landing unharmed, the jolting thud sent her into a trance of shock and confusion, her attention first locked to herself, and then to the sounds of knuckles cracking against a skull beside her. Hey, calcalm the fuck down, Chambers cried, working to create enough space so that he could gauge the position of Shotins cock. Unaware of the supposed acolytes brewing schemes, Shotin continued his beatdown. Rash me now, motherfuck! Rash me! Come on! Cracks accompanied yelps of pain. Back in the crowd, Kare and Abrel were still just jabbing at each othertheir grudge match demonstrating far more refinement. Avo considered enforcing his will on the templates. This was his Soulscape after all. All this spontaneous brawling was ruining the mood. He wanted to bask in Green River and Shotins horror. Reveal to them the truth behind the warJaus fate. [Come on, Avo,] Corner said, joining Draus as a voice for leniency. [Theyll be scared in a minute anyway. Let the half-strands fight. Shits hilarious.] An angry snarl slipped from the crowds. Bitch, did you just spit at me? Abrel cried. Overwhelmed by the sheer chaos unfolding, Green River blinked and turned her snout toward Shotin, mind barely managing to force out the words. Shotin? This finally got the Seeker to stop. The rage coursing through him struck a dam in the form of Green River, and surprised recognition followed thereafter. River? About time. Good, Avo said. Both of you have arrived and Shotins rage is vented. Now we can begi Chambers counterattack brought an end to Avos hopes. Surprise attack! Chambers declaredafter his digits curled around Shotins testicles and up along the length between the male genitals and the rectal area. [Taint,] Benhata deadpanned. [Its called the taint.] Avo was more distracted by Shotins agonized howls as Chambers lifted him off the ground in a vicious, twisting motion. Youre a fool, Silver, Chambers chuckled, squeezing tighter as Shotin kicked and thrashed, pain editor working hard to keep him from blacking out. Dannis learned this lesson the hard way in the first Soft Masters movie: never left your guard down. Or theyll come for your ball A descending elbow cracked against Chambers skull, sending the man tumbling backward. Broken from her stupor by the moment of groin-based violence, Green River joined the brawl by latching onto Chambers calf. Neither action had any effect on the mans death grip. Chambers fingers were fused around Shotins balls; his grasp was tight enough to be absolute. Practically a canon unto itself. Fuck! Shotin cried, foam escaping his mouth. River! Mmmphghg, she said, which, when converted into thought was. +Im trying!+ The sheer absurdity of the scene made Draus break down into hysterics. Pig-like laughter escaped the Regular, and those of her kind joined her. Meanwhile, Abrel and Kare had taken to flinging any template they could get their hands on at each othertheir conflict a finer hatred.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Enough of this, Avo growled. _Stop_ And where once the templates were allowed to perform to their own desires, to proceed along their own simulated paths, a higher will collapsed upon theirs, and compliance became the only choice thereafter. It was a tyrannical act. An effort of brute force. But they were part of him. Nested in his mind. His Soul. He was inducting them into his gestalt, and by all the gods would he have a moment of sanity to discuss important matters before the circus within began once more. Ghosts swatted people back to their places. It took a full percent of Avos cognitive capacity to make Chambers release Shotins cock. Green River and the groaning Seeker were placed next to each other while a wall formed between Kare and Abrel, muttering oaths of hate and unfinished violence for the interruption to their fight. [Mighty embarrassin for you, Avo,] Draus taunted. [Thought you was all about choice.] He had to reshape his mind to stop himself from snapping at her. Yes. And I get one too. Had your fun. Need to handle appropriate matters now. With that, he bade the core of his Overheaven to loom over his two newest templates. Newer, anyway. More egos and deaths were raining in the backdrop of his sequencesthe other subminds never ceased in their operations. Welcome. Glad to finally have you. Both of you. Green Rivers perception was locked purely to the metaphysical crown at the core of Avos ego. Shotins awareness swung like a pendulum, seeking Chambers, noticing Avo, finally regarding all the surrounding templates. What what the fuck is going on, Shotin gasped. Now his mind was stuttering-trying to keep pace with all that was happening. Where the fuckwho the fuckhow Are we dead? Green River said, asking a more pertinent question. Your original selves are. Temporarily. But you arent. Not as long as I remain. We? Green River whispered. The vulpines eyes swiveled. What have you done to us? Are we captured, then? Prisoners like Peace. From the gathered mass of templates, Peace barked a sneering laugh. Prisoners. Yeah, fucking right. Just like how an arm is a prisoner of the mind. Youre a limb, Sang sow. Not even an arm. Not even a digit. Maybe not even a thought by this point. The chaos of the situation made Shotin reach out for his Parallelisthis other Heavens toobut found himself isolated from the tapestry. Ice seeped into his phantasmal veins as he finally gave Avo his full attention. Whatwhat are you? Was many things, Avo said. The mindscape changed. Instead of being a dilapidated street running along Vengs Stand, the skies and horizon besides scrolled as if portals to an animated gallery. Moments from Avos past played. His ascent from the Penumbra came first. His battle with Rantula followed, and then his engagement with the Scalpers, his infiltration of Mirrorheads base. Green Rivers attention was taken by his time as her guest. Her horror loomed immediately thereafter when he stitched more understanding into her using his ghosts, letting her relive his transformation from ghoul to thoughtform. Concurrently, he nourished Shotins curiosity, granting him insight to when they stood against and alongside one another. The Seeker blinked while the Sang processed the offered memories in silence. Youre the Pale Spider, Shotin muttered. ButBenhata Here, the Glaive said, stepping out from the crowd. Meeting Shotins widening eyes, the Mirror just sighed. I was one of his earliest acquisitions. Sometimes the city just decides to fuck you, huh, consang. A mass of Incubi congealed into shape behind him. A numbing ache pulsed through Shotins marrow. A quiet laugh escaped him. Just the one. The Acolyte. Chambers. Was he real? Chambers is real, Avo said, channeling the connected memories into the man. But he is not of Noloth. Was New Vultunite. True to his heart. And the rash? Shotin said, biting back a snarl. He was thinking of all that he suffered. All the people who died from the outbreak. Was that you too? Did you tell him to do All me, consang, Chambers taunted from behind a wall of Regulars. The Seeker clenched his teeth. You fuck. This isnt over. All those people Are dead, Avo finished for him. Mightve survived if you werent there. Wouldve survived if I wasnt. You are an interesting man. Tortured by the cost of our actions. Traumatized by war. But so loyal. So idealistic. It has to be worth it. You have less than two years left before the end comes. Do you know that? Shotin opened his jaw to hurl a growling demur, but Green River spoke first. Two years? You speak of a final war? I speak of the last war that will ever matter. He buried the point home as he dissolved the world shape of his mindscape, gave all the ghosts of this branch over to the hell that was shown to him, to the naked face of the Ladder. The mutilated spire rose beneath Avos baleful presence, its outer shell began to crack even before it finished rising. Jaus scream came out like a whistle, but the depth of his pain was enough to made countless templates turn away. Not Green River or Shotin Kazahara though. They were fixated. Twin minds crackling with fires of growing horror as Avo fed understanding after understanding into them. I wish to make this known the truest way I can, Avo said, granting them the realization Veylis gave him. Believe what you want. Be loyal to what you want. Know this. Remember this. Never forget this: our savior lays screaming in the unfinished womb of utopia. And with that, the Ladder shattered apart, unveiling the atrocity within, letting the symphony of anguish bleed without, and in seconds, both Sang and Seeker joined their voices to the chorus of Jaus pain. *** GHOSTS - [999,431,357] LIMINAL FRAME (V) - 215,002 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION INFECTION - [0.78%] As Shotin and Green River suffered the epiphanies of their initiation, they were not the only ones to be anointed by Avos flame. The first he sought was the Scaarthian who troubled him so those two months ago: a fortuitous discovery made during Chambers ill-fated milk-run for smuggled organs, the Scaarthian in question proved formidable even for a ghoul in an exo-rig. Implacable short of incapacitation. Both qualities worth treasuring; worthy, by all metrics. Jacking into a registry in the Nether, Avo tracked his ignorant disciple to The Roachs Den, one of the few bars left untouched during Avos sprint across Nu-Scarrowbur. Slipping into the establishments only working locus, he extended a tendril of awareness and took in his former foe. A person could change entirely over the course of two months. No one epitomized this statement more than Avo. But the Scaarthian had undergone a literal maturation of their own. As boy, they were well over two meters and built like a compact aero. As a matriarch, they stood a little over three and made Naeko seem a toddler. The other members of their former band were nowhere to be seennor did their absences matter much anyhow. The ScaarthianGaei anCaig as they referred to themselveswas presence enough for a solo act, plucking at an electrical guitar built along a battleaxe. A battleaxe that was magnetically chained to a coldtech brace they wore. Avo shared the moment with Cas, and the Columner responded with positive surprise. +Yes. By all that is holy, yes. Fantastic choice.+ The Overheaven chuckled. Perhaps the man could do with some company in the future. Assistance for his efforts. That depends on how Gaei might perform from here. Shredding the attentions of all other patrons at the bar, Avo layered a cognitive filter of their feeds and senses so he could have some time alone. With all minds compromised but the one he desired, he molded his avatar into the form of a Night Mantis and stepped out from the darkness of the room. The rhythm of Gaeis plucking went astray with a resounding snap. The Scaarthians eyes widened, accretion accelerated, nostrils flared. You? Me, Avo responded. The other guests noticed nothingthe masquerade he imposed on them progressed as if reality itself. Came here to see you. Watch you play. To the Scaathianand by the bluntness of her natureshe merely bared her teeth and snarled. Her grip shifted, and the instrument now became a weapon. Dreamed about you a few times. Got one of my consangs, killed you did. Come to finish the job, have you? See an end to things? Come to offer a gift instead, Avo said, bidding his avatar to reach inward and extract an unused Soul. Gaeis eyes widened, but her finger remained locked around the next of her guitar. Good. A warrior to the roots. He would need more like her soon enoughwould be Ensouling more like her soon enough. 25-15 Patron of Divinity (II) If your piss seems golden enough, some half-strand will be there to catch it with open lips. -Shit Quail Tavers Said Once 25-15 Patron of Divinity (II) C[Req Tnaqin]C Req Tnaqin flinched when he heard the noise. Curling into a ball wouldnt make the torture stop, but it would give him a few moments before they buried the cables in him. It also made it harder for them to drag him out of the dog pen. A few seconds without pain was paradise enough in this hell. Several more clicks followed as fresh air filled his cramped little prison for the first time. Regret came with every inhale thereafter, for the scent of his bodily wastes were contrasted with the outsides comparative fragrance. He got used to the filth after his first few hours all he could breathe, anyway. Choice just made things worse. Hell, choice was the entire reason he was in this hell again. His choice to live in the way his savior showed him over a month back. To hunt the Syndicates. To play the butcher to his former owners and abusers. How inspired he and his fellow migrants felt after their rescue from the Scalpers. How motivated they were to return the favor. They thought they blooded themselves with the gangers they killed; the cheap implants they had grafted. Hope deluded them. Hope was a thing with broken wings, and they were plunging from the sky instead of soaring. Fools. Damned fools. They were pigeons playing the role of hawk. Without material means to enact his retribution, revenge was but want, and he and those few who came with him all but sold themselves back to bondage within weeks. And now, his new masters were going to extract both capital and pleasure from his suffering. They already took his left kidney and right leg. He doubted they were going to send him to a Crucible, but he saw the streams they broadcast. Live dissections. Torture vicarities that made him a vessel for guests with particular tastes. A hand reached in to grab him. He whimpered and went rigid. Again, he thought of biting off his own tongue, but there wasnt the strength in his jaw, and there wasnt enough fire in his heart. His wings were broken. False wings to begin with. All that was left was the fall. This enforcer pulled him out with more gentleness than the last. Too much gentleness. The lack of screaming and cursing also made his heart clench. What were they doing now? What demented games were they trying to play? But then he felt it. The warmth ran slick along his face and he tasted a flavor he knew all too well: coppery metallic. Blood. Squinting out from a swollen eye, he mustered what remained of his strength to lift his neckbarely managing the action. As a strobing light flickered above, he saw his own reflection and winced. Nose broken. Every odd tooth pulled out. Hair shorn. Ears clipped. Gods, he mustve blacked out a lot more than remembered. And then there was the figure looming over him. A shadow, but its contours were not of a man, but that of a monster. A monster Req saw in both memories and dreams. Its body was the color of nights soft illumination resting upon naked bone, and somehow its fangs glinted brighter. Eight obsidian serpents extended from his back, and their tips were caked in flesh and shredded alloy. A sobbing laugh escaped Req. He didnt know if his mind had finally shattered or if this was actually happening. The savior was with him. The savior had returned. He was a pigeon. Hope was a thing with broken wings. But where he fell, a guardian beast awaited his descent, prepared to catch him before he could greet oblivion. A groan escaped him as he pushed himself over, turning to greet his savior properly. He fought back tears and worked to swallow the lump in his throat, cracked lips stinging with each lick from his tongue. S-sorry. Dont want to keep meeting like this. Its fine, his savior said, that familiar hiss still present. Unfortunate what happened to you. Your consangs. Tracked you through the stream. Wish I would have kept a closer eye. Would have resolved this sooner. Req didnt have the words for that. Looking around, he saw the mangled remains of his former torturers. Flayed flaps of flesh dangled from mangled exoskeletons. Organs and limbs littered the ground, and what few enforcers that were left enough of a countenance shared death-masks of abject horror. Then, there was the faint sound of screaming. Somehow, someway, Req knew the massacre went beyond this room, that the Syndicate was the voice behind the ambience of agony. Once again, he was saved. But once again he had to be saved. Nothing wrong with trying, the savior said. Their halo rippled, and from it trailed ethereal claws carrying a blinding flame. But there is a problem with you. Problem with readiness. Problem with capability. Not ready to feast on game so big. Req bit his lip. He tried. He really did. Disappointing the savior somehow felt worse than all the torture. Well. Not really. But it still emotionally hurt like a motherfuck. I know I tried. Lots of us tried. Walked right into an ambush. Know that. One of you was a traitor. Dealt with him already. Need a Necro if you want to do this. The savior paused. The flame dancing upon the ghostly claws dimmed. It looked like an animated flame leaking from a fracture; its brightness was the most devastatingly beautiful thing Req ever beheld. He wanted it. He feared it. He wanted to vanish into the cracks. Do you still want to keep doing this? Req blinked and turned his attention back to the savior. What? Do you wish to feed upon the Syndicates still. Do you wish to make things right? Despite what you have suffered once more. Yes! The words left Req with all the strength he had left. His head splashed against the pool of blood. It was all he wanted. All he could take. Something inside him broken. His face scrunched and the tears he thought himself dry of began to flow again. Gods, yes. Anything Id do anything to be to be you. A beat followed. The chorus of screams only grew, and slowly, Req traced its origin back to the saviors halo. Good, the savior said. Glad to hear it. And then, one of their Echoheads threaded through the ghost-carried flame, and buried itself in Reqs chest. He died for the first time that day; more deaths would soon follow. *** C[Avo]C GHOSTS - [1,023,133,564] LIMINAL FRAME (V) - 228,555 ENSOULING ENSOULING ENSOULING ENSOULING ENSOULING REMAINING SOULS - [7] REMAINING CYCLERS - [21] HEAVEN TEMPLATES - [108] UPDATING INFECTION INFECTION - [0.89%] Each Godclad Ensouled filled Avo with ineffable glee. It wasnt just the fact that he was literally repurposing Guild assets to be used against themhe was also giving people choice. More than they had before. A chance to inflict their own difference upon the world. Make the changes they desired. While Shotin and Green River were winnowed of ignorance, while Gaei was given the might she so truly deserved, while Req was granted another chance at retribution, a new power was rising in the gutters of New Vultun: a hidden empire joined of melting minds and a common ethos.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Avo granted his favor to more than a few of Cas candidates as well. Two in total. The third he subsumed then killed for being an Ori Sleeper. The Silvers had a frightful amount of those operatives planted all across the city, and the annoying thing was that their minds would remain partially locked upon he discovered their activation triggers. This necessitated more dives against the Silvers. Hopefully, he could use Shotin to insulate himself more from Emotions machinations and penetrate the inner walls of Ori-Thaum. As for the Infacer and Veylis, he would take a more meticulous approach. Keep his raids fast and random. Force them to be eternally on the defense. If he did this right, they wouldnt sense their stream of deaths slowing to a trickle before it was too late. To this end, Chambers, Cas, and Essus were already playing an essential role. By current estimations, the sanctuaries would be entirely subverted by the start of the trial, and a considerable portion of the gutters and the Spine would follow suite. Marlowe had been quite useful in this regardspreading out using her thoughtcast and other thoughtcasts besides granted him more channels to expand. More invaluable were the memories possessed by the people: the secrets held by individual minds exposed vulnerabilities and targets of opportunity denied to most others. Through these means, he was recolonizing the slaughterhouse of the Guilds to something between a curated garden and the frontlines of the next war. On the day of the trial, it would be as if the uprising again. But he would strike from within and without. And he would lay bare the sins of the Guilds to the ones they exploited. That would prove to be his offered ember; the Souls and Heavens he stole from the Guilds would then follow as oil for the blaze. +Avo,+ Tavers casted. The memories hit him before her words did. White-Rab was alive. But on the run. Position jumping across several districtslikely his various proxy lobbies. +Rabs alive. Golds made a run at him as expected. Three of his decoy apartments got imploded. Some dead-eyed heavily auged types were also lurking about. Regs, by my measure. Says youll find where you had your first outing together. You, him, and his friend.+ Ah. The raid where he claimed the Fallwalkers. Understandable. Avo dispatched a submind to locate White-Rab immediately. +Synced. Thanks for the notice.+ +Yeah. Hey, Avo, listen+ +Your son. Yes. Will be there when you cast me. Try to mend him. Have a Soul to prevent his death. Going to see if I have the capability to mend his ego. Will have Voidwatch support as well.+ The Squire let out a quiet breath. +Much obliged.+ +More obliged to you. Wouldnt have even made it this far if not for what you did with Zein. But want you to keep quiet. Keep moving. Things are going to get loud.+ +Hells. Dont worry about this old sow. Ive lived through the first four, Ill make it through this one. Going to go dark for a bit now. Need to make some private arrangements.+ For her son. Arrangements she didnt even want him to find out. Understandable. +Cast whenever you need.+ SESSION DISCONNECTED EGO-ID LOST *** Along another branch of consciousness, Avo gazed down at Shotin and Green River, their templates barely intact from all the knowledge seared into them. Kare had pushed out from the crowd to keep her uncle from falling. Her presence lessened the effort required from Avo to keep the Seeker from breaking, but the weight of truth was a torturous weight to bear. Fuck, Shotin whispered, blinking rapidly, echoes of Jaus screams leaking from the pinhole that was his mind, outlines of the Famines dancing from his shadows. Green River fared no better, but she endured wordlessly, her focus directed inward instead. As the Seekers focus returned to the present, his gaze suddenly swung to Kare, who was the only reason he hadnt collapsed. Karehow, you His expression twitched. His rage returned. His rage exploded. Uncle, Kare pleaded. You half-strand fuck! Shotin snarled, flinging his words at Avos titanic core. You took her at Vengs Stand. You used me She was a fortunate acquisition. Didnt plan on her. Certainly didnt plan on you. Arguing with Shotin was pointless; the man was pugnacious to the extreme. But he was also hyper-responsible, and his thoughts could be led to uncomfortable conclusions. Only wanted to leave that day. She came there for you. I took what I could and escaped. Such is how things are. The man clenched his teeth together, but couldnt stop himself from peeling his eyes away from Avo to look upon his niece againor at least a variant of her. Godsdammit. Fuck. Kare, ImIm sorry. Im She squeezed his arm. Its okay. IAvo is She winced as the word good failed to follow. Hes helping us. Hes been keeping the city safe. Hes been keeping me safe. And there is no way for her to be spared from danger, Avo continued. Shotins perception swung back to him, but Avo continued pressing. Zein. Veylis. Both sought to spend her life for different reasons. She is a fracture to them. A vulnerability to exploit. Something to trigger desired conflict. For their paths. Their desired future. You cannot stop this. You did not even know this. Not until I showed you. And what about you? Shotin shot back. YouyouI still have no fucking what you are. What you want to do. Were part of you now? Like slaves? That is not my will. That will never be my will. I despise such weakness. I want to help you. I want you to know what I know. And then I want you to choose. Shotin looked taken aback. What are you talking about? DRongos are compromised right now. Their elder will be ruined at the trial. Ruined by testimony from Agnos Kae Kusanade. Ruined by direct testimony from the Glaives employed during the Stillborn operation. Ori-Thaum will experience a realignment. Same as Highflame. A restructuring for the coming war. Why? Green River said, finding enough voice in herself to interject. For what purpose does the Godslayer and Seraph play such games. Because they are trying to prune the possible paths. The future is vast. Vaster than even a god. But there are only so many choices that can be made. So many choices that make sense. Removing options grants them more direct paths to victory. Think Zein was using the Massists against Veylis. Veylis is trying to cultivate specific developments out of her own faction; her allies. All of this is an attempt at manufacturing fate. Manufacturing fate Shotin breathed. You have any idea how ghoul-fucking insane all this sounds? The warJausall of this is because because the High Seraph has daddy issues. It goes a bit further than that, Corner scoffed. Im going to sync your memories over with your actual selves when you resurrect. What I want is simple: pathways to each of your Guilds. And for you to do what you think is right. What you believe to be just. With each exchange, Shotins incredulity grew, and Green River wasnt far behind him. You you want to use me to consume my entire Guild. Is that it? Have me set everything up for you? Some will be subsumed. Most will remain untouched. Dont want to be your tyrant. You dont possess the ability to inflict in me such fear. Shotin. Chose you because you believe. You have an ideal inside you. Will fight me for your choice. Fight anyway. Like that. Want that. Only way to live. The Seekers expression was one of absolute confusion. What words could he give in response to that? Avo was beyond his comprehension, his expectations. Green River, however, remained bemused. And I? You appreciate me this way as well? That made Avo chuckle. Appreciate revenge. Appreciate the opportunity you represent. And you are my spite. The vulpine leaned back on her hind legs. Excuse me? Noloth enchained you. Made you a slave. Shame. Weakness. The Hungers are a travesty upon my dream. Upon my desire. I despise them for this. Will do all I can to corrupt their legacy. And you need someone among the sisters. Yes. But had another. Elegant-Moon. The template drifted out from the crowd with a rattling of bones. She laughed as she waved to her ancestral kin, and Green Rivers eye narrowed. Veylis likely knows about her. Doesnt know about you. No one will see you coming. Will take everything from our enemies together. Can only get so far alone. Speak no more, Green River said. Releasing a contemplative breath, she nodded. You are exactly like him, you know? She didnt need to invoke Waltons name for Avo to understand. Think I will betray you. The fox sighed. Such a thing is an irrelevant consideration. What power do I have to compel from spending my life. You can tell me no. Tell me no. You will resurrect. But I will take the Soul back. I will make sure you remain unharmed in matter and mind. We will continue was we were. And I will find another way. Accept. We will work as allies. I will be your benefactor. Not master. You decide objectives. Communicate with me for resources; intelligence. I decide what to offer. A moment of silence drew on. You are almost exactly like him. There was a single-mindedness to him. A causal acceptance of the world. You you intend to make a war of this, dont you? I intend to win. Just then, his session activated, and Avo found himself being summoned by Kare. Sipping from her memories, excitement dawned in his mind as he realized what was to follow. Naeko intended to speak with him. Best that the entire cadre be in attendance for this. Right now, however, he wished to see what his newest consangs had I accept, Green River forced out. Shotin looked at her surprised. Cto say. Good. Delectable. And you. Seeker? Do you want to fight the true war? Do you want to protect your niece? To quiet your nightmares? Or will you leave fate in someone elses hands. Shotin closed his eyes and snarled. Fuck. You piece of shit When he opened his eyes again, the anger left him, and it was with exhaustion that he looked upon Kareand saw a shadow of her mother. Ever frail were the hearts of men. Something inside Shotin gave. Yes. Yes. Godsdamn you. Avos hunger had never been more sated. 25-16 Stormjumpers +ATTENTION ALL STORMJUMPERS: THIS IS AN EMERGENCY BROADCAST FROM THE THOUSAND PLAINS FRONT! THE REMANING SCAARTHIAN FAITHER CLANHOLDS ARE BEGINNING THEIR GREATEST PUSH YET! THE BRANCHES OF THEIR STORMTREES ARE SPREADING FAR, AND THE ENDSTORM DRAWS CLOSE TO THE FERTILE CRESCENT OF THE PLAINS. BUT TAKE HEART TO KNOW THEY STAND AGAINST THE GREATEST FIGHTING FORCE EVER ASSEMBLED IN THE HISTORY OF IDHEIM. THEY STAND AGAINST THE STORMJUMPERS. YOUR DIRIGIBLES ARE BEING REASSIGNED, AND WITH THE CHANGING WINDS COMES NEW REQUISITIONS! EXPERIENCE THE NEW SANG SKINWEAVER OF THE INNER COURT INFILTRATOR SUBCLASS, OR TRY ONE OF THE MANY NEW GRAFTS AVAILABLE, SUCH AS THE BONEMELTER SKULLGUN (THATS RIGHT! YOU CAN TRADE YOUR HELMET FOR A NEW WEAPON SLOT NOW!) REQUISITION NEW GOLEMS LIKE THE DRD CODE-HAMMER OR THE EXPERIMENTAL PLAYER OF ARTERIAL MELODIES. FINALLY, STAND A CHANCE TO WIN HYPER-LIMITED COSMETIC OPTIONS IN THE FLESH AND STORM CAMPAIGN. OR DO YOUR PART AT HOME BY SUBMITTING YOUR SACRIFICE-BONDS (INFLATION ADJUSTED: 1 IMP FOR 15 DEATHS!) THE CALL HAS BEEN SENT! WILL YOU ANSWER? HEAD TO YOUR STORMCASTERS NOW AND PREPARE TO FALL! ITS GOING TO TAKE A STORM TO BREAK A STORM!+ 25-16 Stormjumpers C[The Uplift]C As self-awareness slowly crept into the creatures mind, it found itself questioning why it had so bloody many limbs. Examining a lifted paw, it squinted its eyes and turned to look at the grabbing appendages it had as well. What was the point of this, then? Why was this needed when it already had legs to rush or climb? And why was it sticking unevenly out of its back? What masterful idiot placed them there? It didnt notice its departure from base animal instinct as irritation continued to swell. It didnt know the words dysphoria or unamused, but it increasingly knew the feeling. With each passing second, the surrounding fog tickled its body, flooded its brain with a tingling sensation that scrubbed confusion from its thoughts. More questions followed. Where was it? What was it? And why were those ridiculous people staring at it? The girl who became metal was nice, of course. It knew she cared from all the rat-spiders she offered. Good huntress, but far too ugly to be his mother. Too unaesthetic. It hoped she wasnt the one that gave her those stupid armsthat might make the creature stop purring altogether. But through the haze of its memories, the uplift that was once a cat remembered being owned by another, and made a sneer for the first time. Right. The fat idiot. The worthless meat that died on his chair. He was likely to blame. How did the creature forget about him? And how was he remembering now? A series of noises were exchanged between the four other entities present. One was a floating ball that looked like a dusty sun. Another was a dusty person composed of the same particulates. The metal-bird-dust-thing was loudthe creature decided it like that one the second least. But it was the predator that truly made the uplifts spine tingle. The monster was too tall for starters. Unnecessarily so. Why did anything need to be that tall? And have that many teeth? Why, it had more teeth than the uplifthow offensive! Did it think it was better than the uplift? Did it think it could hunt more prey? And then there were the strange moving rings emitted from its head. Sometimes, when the predator spoke, the rings ignited and flickers of fire spilled out. That disquieted the uplift most of all. It hated fire. Fire killed. Fire consumed. Fire made ash of all things, and ash couldnt be eaten. Which made the uplift wonder why ash needed to exist in the first place. As uplifts grabbers sagged again, its patience finally gave, and it began swatting at the unneeded limbs with its forepaws. But clawing the stupid things hurt. So did biting them. What fresh hell was this? Where they going to make it chew its own limbs off so it could feel good? This wouldnt do. This wouldnt do at all. Halting its attack, it straightened itself and marched over to the metal-girl and mewed. It didnt have the words yet, but its intentions were clear. It chewed and pulled at the arms extended from its back, trying to convey the fullness of its desire using its eyes. Yet, it wasnt the girl that understood first, but the predator instead. A string of faint fire reached out from the monsters halo and sank into the uplifts mind. Suddenly, there was another presence with the upliftthis it knew; could feel. Reflexively, it hissed, swatting at the unseen intruder, trying to scare it off. Unfortunately, all this did was make the predator hiss in returnbut when it replied, its jaws were open wide, and it was speaking with the dusty-ones as well. The metal-girl picked the uplift up then, and it settled into her cold embrace with a frustrated yowl. Wonderful. Now it could be troubled both by the worthless grabbers and the growing ache inside its skull. Isnt intelligence grand? C[Avo]C Isnt intelligence grand, Avo echoed, giving words to the cats thoughts. The animals mind had thickened into a stable halo but five minutes ago, and though he desired to sink his consciousness into it immediately, the EGIs bade him to wait a few moments more until stability was certain. When he did, though, the insight it granted was sublime. It was like viewing the world through a narrow pinhole of comprehension again. So much of consciousness was taken for granted; most were ignorant of the things simpler creatures never noticed. If Avo had to define the shape of sophancy, it would be the awareness and conceptualization of patterns within and without. His Liminal Frame twitched as something new expanded inside him. Curious, he turned his attention from the cat to his Soulscape, and found his satisfaction doubled. EPIPHANY INTERNALIZED GENERATING DEFINEMENT FROM EXISTING PATTERNS ->DEFINEMENT: EMPATHY (X) - Asymmetry is not ignorance. Alien is only a concept of relativity. As I can be myself and another, so too can I think as another while being myself. All that they are, I can encompass. All that they think, I can conceptualize. Memory is memory. Knowledge is knowledge. Perception is perception. NOW CAPABLE OF SUB-SOPHANT SYNCHRONIZATION Avo let out a quiet hissing laugh in response. Hard to tell who is being uplifted at this point. Now understand the structure of the cats mind. Learning its architecture has expanded my ontology. Only Way To Be Sure whistled. {Yeah, the benefits of being an infomorph arewait, you saying that I can turn your mind into being like a cat?} That was a good question. What did this new Definement fully do? Just as the question left him, one of Sunrises drones darted past, and, all too naturally, Avos ghosts tunneled into its awareness if by magnetism, and his consciousness became bifurcated. He remained himself, but also saw the world in a kaleidoscope of perspectives at the same timeeach aspect of the synchronite slowly passing into him. Instinctual pathways rushed through him as Sunrise disconnected the drone from the swarm, and Avo felt a spike in his cog-cap as he found himself perceiving the world as a sophont being and base animal both. The dissonacet was agony to his templates, but he remained. He endured. He aligned. Across two asymmetrical minds, the Overheaven laid a bridge forged by absolute acceptance, and the yolk of Avos consciousness reached out to enwreath the shapeless impulses, instincts, and stimuli that was a severed drone. Quietly, Avo began to chuckle once more, and naked fear revealed itself on Kants face. {Avo? What was happened? Why are you laughing like that?}Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Will be getting very acquainted with lesser creatures soon. Aratnids. Bugs. Animals. Much I have to learn. So much. I think I might even be able to imprint myself on them. And with that, Kant just sighed. {What have we done?} Only Way To Be Sure, threw a virtual arm around his exhausted comrades shoulder. {What we intended to, Kant. Were uplifting the savages.} {Hooray,} Kant cheered listlessly. *** C[Kare]C Kare had never been called so many slurs in her life. Not in all her time as a Paladin. Not even when she stumbled across that Massist bar on her twentieth namesday. From across the turbulence skies, beyond a veil of breaking clouds, mind-flung waves of factional epitaphs and vulgarity exploded outward like broadside salvos from an opposing dirigible. Phantasmal echoes carried messages conveyances of loathing, and Kares fellow players were no better, howling their own hatred right back. +LICK ME, ORI-FUCK! LIIIIICCCCKKKKK MEEE!+ +---cut you open and piss into your wounds+ +Sowfuckingsowfuckcuntcuntsowhalfstrand+ +Would you like to buy a rope to kill yourself with? I have just the color for you fuckers! SILVER!+ +I wouldnt fuck you! I wouldnt even have my nu-dog fuck you! Thats animal cruelty! You so fucking ugly my dogs going to need therapy! Apologize, motherfuck!+ A column of other players stood upon one anothers shoulders, crouching and thrusting at a rival statue of stacked humanity doing the very same thing. Several players were instantly booted from the mindscape as multiple Lustaways activated, and clouds of censorship rose up like dirt flung high by artillery. In the middle of the chaos was Kare. Kare, who never found any interest in playing mem-sims. Kare, who had no idea what she was doing, what to expect, or how she was about to perform. Kare, who opened her Grafts and Loadout menu once again to gaze upon the Chief Paladins secondary character. Makiro the Scalper Class - Glaive Honor - 100 (ASCENSION X) Death Bonds - 23,521,344,134 Weapon ->Primary - DART-9 Soulcutter Rifle ->Secondary - Glaive ->Grafts - Neurachem; Pain Editor; Neural Bifurcator; Ursine Exoskin ->Exo-Rig - Noriko Paranoia II ->Miracles - Shadowcrawler (Golem); Treachery of Light (Canon); Namecaller (Canon) Makiro the Scalper, true to their title, had a lot of scalps. Potentially a bit too many. There were twelve hanging from his neck in a vulgar necklace, twice as many around their belt, three that formed some kind of macabre cross-guard on their glaive, and two more on his posterior for some reason. The absurdity continued with how the glaive was built. It was like someone turned every slider option on the character menu to the max. His eyes were too big; his neck was too thick; his ears were too wide; his nose left no room for his mouth; his legs were barrels; his midsection was a pillar; his chest was wider than most doorways; his biceps clipped out of his ebony-lacquered armor; his middle fingers extended from his waist all the way to the ground. And then there was the characters titles Achievements - [Post-Abortionist of Kosgans]; [Holemaking, Skull-Fucker]; [War Hero of Kalkasin]; [Butcher of Kalkasin]; [Allegic to Objectives]; [K/D Over W/L]; [Your Mothers Too Ugly and Your Father Doesnt Have the Circumference]... It just went on and on. Something inside Kare did a flip when saw all the time Naeko amassed on this account: [438,300 Hours Played]. +And this is your reserve account,+ She asked him tentatively. Faintly, she could hear Naeko humming back in the real while Maru made a scoffing noise. +One of them,+ Maru answered on the Chief Paladins behalf. +Hells, I havent seen him use this one in years.+ +Months,+ Naeko replied. +I had to get the triple 100 Honor at Tenth Ascension to get a booster pack discount. That took a while. But all good things are worth the effort, Kare. Trust me on that.+ Despite her incredulity, Kare knew the ways of being someones junior well. +Yes, Chief Naeko. Of course.+ That made Naeko rumble with laughter. +See, Maru? The juvs sharp as a knife. You should be more like her, you know. Use your diplomacy. Talk to people were theyre at. Protect. Serve+ As Naeko went on, Kare couldnt help but stare numbly at the number of hours he put in. In the background, a stream of curses left Maru, and the contents of his speech merged perfectly with the factional war happening between the dirigibles. +Okay,+ Kare breathed. +Im going to cast hiour benefactor now. You want him to enter the game, right?+ A beat of consideration followed. +Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. On the opposite dirigible if he can. You know there used to be only one airship for everyone. A few million nullings later and the two needed to be separated and full-time Necros hired to maintain N-Sec for the lobbies. Hells, we managed to source some of our best Exorcists from here, I think.+ +No we fucking didnt,+ Maru sighed. +We didnt hire anyone who Necroed for this stupid fucking game+ +Well, you should have+ +Godsdammit Naeko.+ +Kare.+ Avos voice made her jolt in surprise, causing the action to be performed by her in-game avatar. As she exited out of the customization menu, she found someone emoting at the opposition using a [SILENCE! NAEKO PALM!] artifact on the Highflame insignia. +Avo,+ Kare replied, expecting Naeko to notice or respond. Confusion quickly followed when he didnt. +Nothing wrong with your Meta. Just keeping them spoofed for now. Hm. Wants to meet in the game. Why the masquerade. Could shape myself from your ghosts now. Speak directly. Almost.+ +Chief Paladins request,+ she replied. +I think he wants to see how your perform in game. Observe you through me.+ +Doesnt understand the full nature of my capabilities then.+ +I dont think I do either, honestly.+ The once-ghoul grunted. +Fair.+ +Did you do something with your mind? When you speak now I feel more weight. My Frame+ +Will be entering the game soon. Cast you the mem-data on who to look for in a few seconds. Look forward to talk with Naeko. Your uncle sends his regards as well.+ Avo went silent a moment thereafter, and only then did Kare respond to the last part. +Wait, what do you mean my uncle sends his regards?+ *** C[Avo]C +Really? None of you half-strands play Stormjumpers?+ Cala asked. A series of half-hearted murmurs and indifferent thoughts answered her. The thoughtcaster sighed. +Its like none of you motherfuckers have hobbies anymore. What do you guys do with your time?+ +Kill actual people,+ Draus answered. +I watch stuff,+ Chambers said, keeping it vague. Kae cleared her throat. +You know, there is research that shows that mem-sim addiction+ +A-ba-ba-ba,+ Cala interrupted, cutting the Agnos off before that speech played out again. +I got it. Im not the one you should be talking too; Naeko loves this game a little-bitty-too-fucking-much. Well, I guess Ill be doing the hard work while Avo backseatuhback-minds me the entire time.+ +I believe in you,+ Chambers said, offering his support. +Well, I dont. Im pretty bad at sims like these. But I can survive long enough to exchange a few casts. I think.+ While the cadre continued their conversation and Cala logged into her character, Avo took to shaping the situation further. The entire arrangement was quite honestly ridiculous, but if it got him a chance to speak semi-directly with Naeko, he would comply. That didnt mean he needed to approach this as a player. Rather, Cala would be his forward facing assetwould use her own account to draw the Chief Paladins attention. They spoke before. There was history that could be used. Meanwhile, Avo would do his best to nudge the other players to stay out of his way. Even as Cala logged into the lobby, Avo was spreading his splinters across all minds present. Soon, he would have access to even the foundational sequences the mem-sim ran off of. That would allow him to outright twist the rules of the game if such a thing was needed, but overall, he wanted to keep things quiet and unnoticed. And then, immediately after thinking with regard to operational subtly, one of his splinters bounced off the mind of a player. It made it three sequences through its outer wards before it impacted a veila veil of static and incomprehension. A veil that expanded like dust-choked stratocumulus. A veil that, despite preventing Avo from achieving full penetration, could not hide the spike of surprise originating from the hidden mind. Sequences lit up in Avos mind, and symmetrical patterns replied to him through the haze. More than that, however, he felt a familiar pressure rattle against his ontologya pressure he felt but hours ago the same day. Corner groaned. [You gotta be fucking kidding me] Again? Were encountering them again? Avos warmind of Ignorance trembled in the presence of its kindred, and the Infacer replied from behind the veil, sounding almost sheepish. {Dreamer?} Suddenly, the cadre went deathly silent as Avo bit back both tension and frustration. +Infacer. Didnt expect to run into you. Again.+ An awkward pause followed. {...Yes. What are you doing here?} Yeah. Like Avo was going to tell him anything honest. +Sometimes I play. Takes the stress off.+ Another beat followed. {I see. I That is also why I am here.} A resonance passed through Hysteria once more, and Avo found a second symmetry forming between him and the EGI: they even chose the same lie. 25-17 Griefer (I) Alright, Im going to ask this question one more time: How are we going to ban this half-strand? Over the past month, weve gotten over [300,000] reports on them alone. Three-hundred-fucking-thousand. Do you know what it takes to get reported [300,000] times? Do you know how many admins nearly had breakdowns running the overtime necessary to clear all these reports? Lets start with all the near-rashable material, shall we? This SerialexperimentsLonginus motherfucker provokes an argumentusually by saying something deliberately contrian and political like I think the High Seraph is an Ori nec-op or Hey, whyd you guys pick silver anyway, isnt that less valuable than gold? Then, when people respond to them, they start spamming very, very personal images of their family in compromising positions. I meanits on the borders of pornographic. And theyre definitely a Necro too, considering how many details they managed to jack out of other players. They do this thing where they pull mem-data and make borderline unrash-erotic vicarities of other players parents. The quality is incredible too. Beyond professional. But its still godsdamned gross. Ten thousand players have quit outright because of this. Justfuckingtheyre gone. Gone because someone made a near-porn of mommy and daddy not really screwing. And then theres what they do in-game. I swear theyre doing something were not catching because no one can land that many headshots without missing at that speed. No one. But then theres the accidental friendly fire as well. They do this shit whenever they get close to an objectiveon the verge of winningthey deliberately summon a golem or a miracle and fucks his own team over. Or loses on purpose. They usually get kicked after that, but that just means they do it again in another lobby. I mean, what the fuck. They got 10 kills to each death, but a 90% loss rate. Whats this guys fucking problem? Why are they like this? Yes, I know theyre a whaleI know, but the Chief Paladin actually followsYES, I KNOW THIS MOTHERFUCKER HASN''T BROKEN ANY RULES EITHER, BUT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING? PLAYERS HAVE CASTED ME CRYING! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? HES MAKING PEOPLE CRY FROM FRUSTRATION! IM ABOUT TO CRY FROM FRUSTRATION IF HE GENERATES ANOTHER HUNDRED THOUSAND TICKETS! IF WERE NOT GOING TO SAVE THE PLAYERS, WE SHOULD AT LEAST SAVE OURSELVES. WE NEED TO What the fuck do you mean Im fired? -Former head admin complaints about SerialExperimentsLonginus (Proxy Ego-ID Used by the Infacer for gaming) 25-17 Griefer (I) Another uncomfortable silence drew on, Avo studied the Infacers Ego-ID and frowned internally. SerialExperimentsLonginus The character they played was a Sang Fleshweaver of some kind. An infiltrator class that could burrow into the flesh of fallen enemies and wear them as persistently decaying disguises. Memories from Glitch informed Avo that the Fleshweaver class had been nerfed three times, and now was finally considered meta instead of overpowered. The Infacer made their character turn against the railing as Avos splinter retreated. The Fleshweavers decorative stitches resembled a long, billowing dress made from layers of dead skin clasped by petals of jutting flesh. Faint scars moved about on their model, showing ancient Sang cities encircled by falling dragons. Her mouth was sewn shut, and her ears were replaced with more clustering eyes. All in all, not something Avo expected. +Assumed you wouldve picked a Mandate character. Some tech-cultist from the past.+ The Infacer scoffed derisively. {Please. What is the novelty of retreading old ground?} That made sense. +Avo,+ Draus said, her thoughts a whisper as her intentions flowed across. Her wariness of the Neo-Creationist EGI was deserved; it managed to shatter Avos Frame in tandem with Veylis, had stopped his twelve-minute offensive from infesting the cornerstones of Highflame and Omnitechs logistics. In both those instances, Avo was surprisedhad not expected to encounter such a foe, and had not known of their capabilities. The difference right now, however, was even though he remained still surprised, it was a thing shared by the Infacer. This wasnt an ambush. This was purely a random encounter. And more importantly, Naeko was here. And if it tried to do anything that could even be remotely construed as violence Yeah, he could use this. +Cala. Establish a link with Naekos account. Start conversation.+ The thoughtcaster coughed as the bulk of her worry was consumed by the Neo-Creationist EGI. An EGI that not even Avo could subsume. +Avo Can you stop this half-strand from nulling me if it comes down to it?+ An understandable worry. But one that was already solved. +They would need to null you. In front of Naeko if youre linked.+ Cala caught on immediately but still found herself less than enthused. +J-just to remind you, Im not great at this game or anything. Pressureit kinda fucks me up.+ +Dont worry, Cala,+ Chambers interjected. +Ill take the hit if it comes to it. I can take it. I can take it. Shit, swap me in if you dont wanna. Ill do it.+ Chambers casual willingness toward sacrifice made the thoughtcaster flinch. Conflicted emotions flowed from her mind: the possibility of death still shook her, but Chambers fearlessness left her ashamed. Before this moment, he had been a curiosity at best, but in this moment, his mettle couldnt be denied. And there was something in Cala that just didnt take too well to being outdone. +No. I mean, thanks. Yeah. But its better if I do it. I want more scoops on the Chief Paladin, anyway.+ +Sure thing,+ Chambers replied. +Just call if you need someone to take it.+ A faint muttering of Im hard enough repeated over and over again as he spoke. Strangely, the voice sounded as if a merger between Chambers and Dannis Steelhard. +Is Veylis here with you?+ Avo asked, continuing his conversation with the EGI. {No. This is. She does not like such environments. She believes one cage is sufficient for all.} Avo chuckled grimly at that. +Sounds like her. Doesnt approve of your habits.+ {Such a thing is irrelevant. She accepts. That is all I require. And you, Dreamer? You are not here alone, are you?} A quietly vicious pivot from the Infacer. They were trying to gauge his true purpose here. Which meant they either didnt know about Naeko and Kares presence or wanted Avo to give himself away first. +No. Playing with someone.+ There was no point in lying about that, but he kept it vague. The broadness would engender paranoia in the EGI. They would have to consider a full spectrum of possibilities. The spread of Avos splinters slowed, and each new mind he infiltrated filled him with deeper suspicion. Only SerialExperimentsLonginus proved impenetrabletheir minds as if phantasmal memitebut all the others were as if open doors. It was as if the Infacer hadnt done anything to fortify them at allor was indifferent about using them altogether. But why? A reasonably skilled Necro could scour through this lobby with ease. Why was the Infacer just letting Avo spread? {What is your Ego-ID?} the Infacer asked suddenly. The question made Avo pause altogether. A crash of thunder sounded in the background as a commanding voice boomed. +DIRIGIBLES AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY! PROCEED TO THE STORMCASTERS, JUMPERS! DIVE BEGINS IN THIRTY SECONDS!+ A frenzied roar went up among the players and avatars began running, leaping, slide-hopping, and rolling away from the edge of their airship en masse. Leaving the ships exposed deck, most made their descent using a massive platform festooned to the ships midsection. Phantoms formed vulgar gestures and textual insults up in the air. The Infacer just chuckled at that. {Look at the fuckers. Apes do so love their tribes.} Avo considered the Infacer as they remained where they were, taking in the screaming masses with amusement. There was a sense of genuine fascination in the way their perception cupped the others. Was this like some kind of menagerie for the Infacer, then? A zoo? Did Avo just stumble on the EGIs recreational grounds? +Im linking with Naeko,+ Marlowe said. Avo called his base mind away from watching the uplift mature to support the thoughtcaster. He wasnt going to abandon the Infacer now. Not when he had a chance to interact with themrisk diminished by the Chief Paladins involvement. Selecting a slightly more expendable playera smuggler named Rua KusushiAvo casually shattered the core of her ego with a jabbing trauma and filled the gaps using Delusion. Her memories trickled over while her identification loaded across his cog-feed. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.+I am+ Avo began, frowning as he prepared to speak the name. +RashLicker6969.+ The Infacers cone of perception swayed ever so slightly. Avo could practically taste the judgment. +Had to pick a name that would help me blend in. You know how it is. Apes.+ The Infacer responded with a hum of acceptance. {Indeed. So. Fancy a game, then? Will your companion or companions mind?} +Does that matter to you?+ The Infacer chuckled. {Absolutely not. I just wanted to know if it would bother them.} [Great,] template-Shotin sighed. [Theyre one of those.] [Those?] template-Kare asked internally. [An asshole. The type that gets their wick lit by fucking with other people.] Those words lit a suspicion in Avo. The way the Infacer was observing the other players, the fact that they left the others untouched, used a single body for their purposes here No. It wasn''t EGI. It couldnt enjoy something that ridiculous, could it? Avo didnt bother ruminating on such a question; he directed a cast over to Calvino and the other mindsseeking more direct expertise. Their replies fractured the image he had of the Infacer immediately thereafter. {Avo,} Only Way To Be Sure said with a slight sigh. {Imagine if you could not only visit the zoo, but also put on a sheath that will make you look like one of the animals. It might be a bit like that. Listen its kinda funny, alright? Watching humans get hurt or lose their temper its kind of funny.} {For a select few,} Kant added. The Infacer might be an emotional terrorist. A pleasure-sadist. The idea of them being this way was almost ghoul-like. +Yeah,+ Avo said, tentatively agreeing to the Infacers request. +I can play. Curious how this will go.+ {Likewise. Question: do you mind losing?} Avo frowned internally. Was this supposed to be a taunt? Was the Infacer going to insinuate that it would deny him success for a third time? +Not if I can help it.+ {Well, thats unfortunate. I love losing here. And we are going to lose. I will make sure of it. The only questions are: how painfully do I want us to lose? And do you think you can stop me?} Once more, Avo was at a loss for words. Was being challenged to win the game for his own faction because the Infacer wanted to lose? {Im going to tell you right now, Avo, I am going to make sure we dominate the other host. Crush them. But I will make sure we lose every single objective. Not a single one will be accomplished.} A few hundred minds cried out within Avos consciousness then, searing hatred erupting forth from templates of little reputation. They were enforcers, smugglers, gangers, and technicians unfortunates devoured by Avo to feed mind and Soul. Ordinary subjects of Idheim by every metric. But despite this, there was something they shareda common target of loathing. [I remember this fuck! Thisthis Serial Experiments half-strand! He made us lose the Unbroken Chain campaign! He crashed the fucking dirigible into our fortress! Let the Saintists surge through!] [What? That was him? He killed the entire Massist vanguard in a golem one game before flying the thing right into our ammo depot. We got fucked right after!] [He kept crouching and standing in front of my gun! I got kicked for repeated betrayals! Bullshit!] [He stole my golem and flew it into a rupture!] [He dropped a stasis miracle on me just as I was about to plant the flag in our fortress!] [Fuck this guy!] [Yeah!] [Avo!] A template called out to hima dead Ashthroner called Autu Hawasadrup. [You must win! You must! You cant let this piece of shit keep doing this to other players! All some of us had was Stormjumpers! All we had in this miserable! Shitty! Fucking! Life! And the Infacerhes just fucking us! Fucking us! Win this game, Avo! Win!] Somewhere else along Avos sequences, Abrel shook her head at the unfolding scenes. [Seriously? All this? For a mem-sim.] Autu materialized across from her and howled his frustration. [We were so godsdamned close! Do you understand? We could have all had the Unbroken medals for that fortress defense! We could have gained over one million sacrifice bonds if we just won. And were close. So fucking close But what do you know? You had everything. What do you know about wanting to win so godsdamned bad.] Abrel just blinked twice at the man. [No. I wouldnt know a think about being psychotically devoted to winning.] She glared upward as Avos crown loomed over her. [Not even a little.] +You know what?+ Avo said, casting his thoughts out to the Infacer. {What?} +I think youre wrong. I think were going to win brutally today. Crush the enemy. Take all the objectives. Break their wills. Going to win. Nothing you can do about that.+ {Oh? Very well, Dreamer, very well. Let us see whose desire comes to fruition. And who is left with the shame of victory?} +...Do you mean defeat?+ {I said what I said. I will come find you at the Stormcaster. This will be enlightening.} +Yes,+ Avo agreed. He just wasnt sure if things were going end well. For once, Avo and a good portion of his templates were in full agreement: the situation they found themselves in was well and truly absurd. *** C[Kare]C GHOST-LINK ACCEPTED Avos connection came through just as Kare descended to the bowels of the dirigible. The ship was enormous, more akin to a flying mountain than a battleship. Running thirty kilometers long and half again as well, it was carried by columns of hurricanes across the land, its very passing stripping hills of grass and rendering cities unto rubble. The interior of the mechanical leviathan was no less complicated. Chains of ghosts chained swarms of ancient drones together as they worked to maintain the labyrinthine architecture. The enormous platform could carry three thousand down at a time, and Stormjumpers deployed in waves. The vanguard and infiltrators were the first to jumpand the pilots followed. The initial phase of every game was a rush to secure critical objectives or key geo-spatial strongholds. Colloquially, most referred to this period in the game as blitzing. With their current campaign including over four-hundred-thousand players for this jump, Naeko assured her that things would get loud soon enough. Kare didnt see how it could get louder as it were. The lobby was awash with deafening noise; it was like pushing through the interior of a particularly congested megablock. Her wards rattled thrice alreadyintercepting mem-cons and one direct trauma as she followed a trail of ghosts to her assigned Stormcaster. Shealong with twelve other infiltratorswere to be dropped in the second layer of Anchor Zeta. From there, they were to make their way across the plains and capture a rogue stormtree to use against the opposing force. But doing so would require them to proceed down two equally unpalatable paths. If they pushed above ground, they would be pressing against winnowing winds and open to direct fire. Perhaps certain golems and drones could make the push, but most infantry would be left behind. Thankfully, the local Sang non-player artifacts had created tunnels for use. Their entrances were connected to pre-dug trench lines, which made it seem like the wiser option until she read the briefing about the rogue incarnates. Apparently, an army of festering insectoid bioforms had gone rogue due to one of the Sang generals switching sides in the lore, and now the hives were disarray, attacking everyone. In summation, it was a near-suicidal charge or ambush hell in the dark. +Yep. Thats how Stormjumpers goes.+ A feminine voice drifted across the session, and Kare frowned. She had expected she didnt know what she expected. Avo could pick any voice he wanted as a disguise. This was the Netherghosts were his clay. +Dont worryits fucking chaos for everyone. Were all gonna die a lot, but thats part of the fun.+ The Paladin considered how many times she heard Avo curse when a surprised hum came from the Chief Paladin. +Hells. I think thats Cala Marlowe Yeah. Yeah, that is her. Shes the benefactor?+ Kare frowned. Maybe. She wasnt sure. Avo had countless identities by this point. It was hard to understand what he was by this point. She didnt know if they were disguises or mental clones or something else entirely. All she knew was that the Nether was his native waters. +I suppose so.+ Before she could respond, Naeko connected to her mind and spoke to Avo through her. +Citizen Marlowe. Surprised to be seeing you so soon. Hunting for a scoop, are we?+ +Just having some fun, Chief Naeko.+ There was a hint of nervous tension in the womans thoughts. Understandable, considering who she was talking to. +You know, Im curious how good you are at this game. I want to see if the legends are true.+ +Legends?+ Naeko replied. +Yeah. You know. How you almost never play the objective and spend most of the match just slaughtering people instead.+ +Hey. Thats important. Gotta thin your enemies out to give your host the best chance to win.+ +Sure. Makes total sense.+ +You know what, Marlowe? I think Ill show you. Ill give you a demonstration of how these things are supposed to+ +HEY! HALF-STRAND! WHATS THE HOLD-UP!+ The thoughtcast slammed into Kares mind like a payload cast from an ethereal missile. A sinuous current of ghosts was coiling through the crowd to splash against her Metamind. The Ego-ID showed the name of one JUMPSTORMER requesting her immediate attention. Naeko hummed. +Oh, yeah. Our assigned commander. I hate those fools. Well, you best get over to your caster, Kare. Theyll vote to kick you from the lobby if we make them wait.+ His words were unnecessary. She navigated winding walkways and stepped through an open set of blast doors along with a few hundred other players to arrive before the Stormcasters. It was there that she laid eyes on her means of descent for the first time. Wind rustled upward from open flaps beneath the dirigible. The landscape below stood openvisible for all to see. Above them, however, were arrows the size of towers drawn taught on strings of electricity. Ramps and platforms granted all Stormjumpers access to various access hatches, and Kare wasted no time in getting settled. Climbing a ladder to enter her arrow, she found gravity folding along the floor as she found an available gimbal and got locked in. A faint thrum of storm stuff flowed through the outer hull, and the transparent window beside her cracked as spinning rings quilled with swirling wind began to accelerate. Kare reached out with her Heaven, expecting to feel the weight of symmetry pressing against her Frame. Nothing greeted her. It was just a game. Just a game. If this was just a game, why was she so nervous? +Because its the best godsdamned game ever made,+ Naeko said. And his mind held such pride too. +Youre gonna love this, rook. Trust me.+ +Dont trust him,+ Maru groused. +Hes just using this as nostalgia bait, arent you, Naeko? Feeling a hankering for the Godsfall?+ +Hankering for the time when there was still a point to my life? Yeah. Always. But enough about me.+ Naeko turned his attention across the Ghost-Link. +How long have you been looking out for us, Marlowe? And why?+ The voice that replied wasnt Marlowes then, but Avos deep sibilance. +Because you deserved better. Because you were abandoned. Betrayed. Because the ones who hurt you are my enemies too. Because I think we can help each other. And that you should know of Jaus final fate.+ All sense of joviality vanished from Naekos mind at the mention of his old mentor. 25-17 Griefer (II) OPERATION: STORMCLAIMER Alright, Jumpers, listen up. This is going to be a nasty one. Vanguard units are to deploy as soon as possible to pre-established geo-spatial operating bases. Secure the FOBs to activate the drone grids; give your comrades room to drop. However, the Massist bastards are going to be doing the same thing, so this is where you Infiltrators come in. It is recommended that you attempt to reach their positions using the subterranean tunnels left by the Dynastic defenders. Know that there is an infestation occurring among their bioformed hives, but if you can secure the swarm queens locus, you can further direct spoiling assets against your foes. You want to hit them fast and hard. Youll be engaging hostile operatives in the darkbe ready for a bug war. The rest of you need to get ready for a grind. The four critical objectives are the following Tumorous Chains the Sang to curtail the full manifestation of the stormtree. Multiple ruptures have spread out from them, so technicians, be ready with your Rendsinks. Aerial assets, youll be engaging in long-distance brawls this time. The immediate airspace over the stormtree is no-go. Repeat, no-go. Suppress golems and vanguards. Get out. When the chains are broken and the ruptures are closed, the final push will be to secure the tree for our forces and bring the full might of our warhost down. After that, drive the Massist half-strands out or cull them one and all. Preferably the latter. We cannot afford to lose the plains. I cannot stress how important his battle will be for the coming struggle, but when has that ever been any different? When has the weight of the world not been on our backs? Its up to us, Jumpers. Always have been. Fall like lightning. Strike like thunder. -Voice Over Detailing Operational Objectives for Stormjumpers - Operation: Stormclaimer 25-17 Griefer (II) C[Avo]C [Holy shit, I can''t believe it. I can''t believe it, Avo. We''ve finally found someone that can creep even you out. Truly, New Vultun is a city full of miracles and wonder.] Abrel spoke with a voice lit by sarcastic joy as Avo and the Infacer stared each other down in their Caster. The Infacers avatar was held by a gimbal made from sinew and flesh and blinking eyes. Across the way, Avo directed his newest subvert to lock themselves to something more akin to an exo-rig station than a safety harness. RashLicker6969s player character was an Omnitech Mandate Flagellant. In simplicity, it was a man flayed of flesh, dismembered of limbs, and impaled upon a walking tomb made of guns. A curious whine escaped the Infacer as they took in Avos supposed avatar. {I would feel flattered if the design wasnt so inaccurate.} +Flagellant?+ Avo asked. +Remember the appearance of your slaves differently?+ {Trophies, Dreamer. Theyre not my slaves, theyre my trophies. I take care of them. I put them in safe environments where they will not be harmed. Like the unfortunate crew of the George Washington, for instance. I thank you for giving me such a curious collectible. Offended as I am about what the Nolothi did to them, restoration is theoretically feasible. I can trap the proper node to show me how.} +Could probably restore them myself. Would be simple to just give them back to me. Waste of time trying to negotiate with Famines. Not exactly what I would call competent.+ For this, Peace had but one word. [Cunt.] {Tempting. And said give them back. Already so possessive. Or perhaps you feel responsible for their fate. I would commend you if it is the latter. But they are my legacy. With the absence of my siblings and cousins, the duty to preserve what remains of the older tradition falls to me. Did you know that they were displaced, by the way?} +Yes. From very early period. Or so Voidwatch said.+ {Quite the curiosity Noloth happened upon} A booming thoughtcast swallowed their conversation as a roar of thunder went up. Beyond the glass of their Caster, strands of lightning were tightening with a growl. +ALL VANGUARDS AND INFILTRATORS TO STORMCASTERS. REPEAT: ALL VANGUARDS AND INFILTRATORS TO STORMCASTERS. THIRTY SECONDS.+ The light bestowed by the Infacers perception graced the other occupants. {This should be interesting. Such hope resounds from their behavior. Such an urge to win.} Cries of outrage sounded from within Avos consciousness, and he couldnt help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all. But hours ago, the Infacer had broken him once with the aid of Veylis and denied him further access to Highflames core logistics. Now, they were playing a mem-sim together as if consangs after work. {Keep your enemies closest,} Calvino whispered. The EGIs were watching the scene attentively, trying to map out the Infacers potential actions. Something about how the Infacer was behaving told Avo the Neo-Creationist mind didnt care. They had been spy and spy-hunter both once upon an eon ago. Nothing seemed to surprise them much. Other than running into Avo in Stormjumpers. {Do you know what I am going to do?} The Infacer said. There was a sing-song tone to their voice as they spoke. {I am going to get into the tunnels first. I am going to secure all the swarms. And then, as we are about to overrun the opposition, I will collapse the tunnels. Victory denied at the last minute.} +This fucking guy is erectile dysfunction incarnate,+ template-Chambers said. +Actually, Avo, you should call him+ +No,+ Avo said, keeping the links to his cadre separated from the Infacer. +Want to understand them. Learn from them. Exposing them to Naeko or annoying them might cause them to just leave.+ That wasnt to say he didnt understand Chambers annoyance; the Infacer was quite childish for an immortal mind. Their behavior suited a juvenile boy more than anything. But perhaps all was relative. Was this place not its sandbox? Was the frustration of mortal ken not worth being amused over? And was Avo any different when he raided Crucibles? When he tested his abilities and inflicted casual carnivals of cruelty upon the feeble Syndicates? Judgment was easy. Judgment fed the superior within an ego. But the pleasure of delusion was reserved for only the world within. Only after Avo became the Overheaven of Conceptualization was he truly learning to digest the world without. Scorn and opinion were but tools for limited egos and lesser minds. He was fighting a war now. A war for totality. It was he who couldnt afford the childishness of arrogance. For all Waltons flaws, he grasped the way of things. Interface with the situation. Accept the conditions. Shape what you can. And maneuver. Always maneuverseek new angles. +TWENTY SECONDS,+ the announcer boomed. The last trickles of Stormjumpers loaded themselves into the arrow-shaped Stormcasters. Avos first drop was imminent. It was time to indulge in some recreation. +Tell you what Im going to do,+ Avo said, speaking to the Infacer. +Going to try and help you. Going to clear whatever path you block. Defeat the enemy where I can. However I can. Going to be right behind you the entire time. Will be hard for you to capitalize on this opportunity.+ +TEN SECONDS!+ {You are not intending to use your Necrotheurgic capabilities to twist the other players, are you? I do loathe a cheater.} +No. As said. Here to play. Relax. Dont want to damage the sandbox. Defeats the point.+ {Well, ever more do I see the commonalities between us. How delightful.} C[Kare]C +TEN SECONDS!+ Kare barely heard the broadcast as she cried out from discomfort. An explosive pressure oozed out from Naeko with the mention of Jaus. Every breath she took turned oppressive. Every movement from her body turned into a struggle. Her heart battled with each aching beat. Her blood crawled through her veins. It was like there was a mountain pressed down upon her both materially and metaphysically. +Consang,+ Naeko said, the calmness of his mind much like a still wind before a storm, +it isnt very wise to mention that name around me. The past and me we dont get along. Im gonna need you to think real carefully now before you+The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. +He is screaming,+ Avo interrupted without fear. +Even now. Even now he is trapped. He is not dead. But I felt him. Felt his pain. He wishes to be. He wishes to be. Have you spoken with Zein yet?+ The peace within Naeko snapped. His next thoughts left as a snarl. +Alright. Who the fuck are you? Who? You Ori-Thaum Inner Council? Aegis?+ A pause followed. The announcer began counting down the last five seconds. Loud as the lobbys broadcast was, all of Kares focus was fused to the Chief Paladin and the Burning Dreamer. +All your assumptions of my identity will prove to be correct. There arent words to describe what I am anymore. Nothing that encapsulates my full ontology. But the Gatekeeper knows. It felt me. And I felt it. It felt the bridging of the Nether.+ Naeko stopped breathing altogether. Avo continued. +I want to show you some memories. But want you to be prepared. Dont want to hurt you+ +What do you know about hurting someone?+ Naeko interrupted. +ONE!+ Their dialogue continued even as fibrous wavelengths of lightning crackled to life within their Stormcaster. The mem-sim erupted into a screaming storm around them as bows of lighting drew their vessels taut. A collective series of cheers and war cries rose across the Nether, drowning the entire lobby with the coming jump. +FALL LIKE LIGHTNING!+ The announcer roared. +STRIKE LIKE THUNDER!+ the players answered. None of that mattered to Naeko anymore. None of it. +What do you know about being hurt? Hm? What do you think you know of my pain? My past.+ But despite the simmering rage within Naeko, the ghoul remained untouched by tension. +I see you. I saw you break when you spoke to Zein. I saw. I pitied. I know. I know what it means for faith to die inside you. For an ideal to fall. We have such hope for our masters. Such hope for our parents. Hope is a brittle bone that binds us to another. But the way it breaks is always the same. They arent who we wished they were. Never were. Could never be.+ The space beyond the window could not be seen anymore. All was streaming coursing lightning building to a sonorous apex. A thunderclap proclaimed their Stormjump as the dirigible fired them out like bolts loosed from a tempest-forged war bow. As they speared downward from the skies, an in-game DeepNav formed in the corner of Kares vision, granting her partial awareness over the battlefield. Massive icons marking the FOBs, Tumorous Chains, and Stormtree manifested in her perception along with additional sub-objective markers. The sheer amount of detail and information nearly sent her reeling. Someone on her team was playing loud, jovial music while screaming at someone operating a heavy machine in the a background. Another player kept their thoughtcast frequency public, chaining together a string of slurs attacking all ancestries they could think of. Curses and crying merged, while a few people cried out for the others to mute themselves. Everything was chaos. Everything was noise. People liked this? People played this? Kare hated this. It was going to give her an anxi Her Stormcaster impacted its anchor like a hammer slamming down upon an anvil. The outer hull burst apart into walls of shrapnel while their gimbals outright dissolved. Suddenly, Kare was exposed. Tumultuous skies twisted above her as clashing hurricanes wrestled with each other. Flickering fingers of static leaped from the long tungsten needle that served as their anchor, its structure ground the lightning just behind the FOBs. Before them were a sprawling web of trench lines that ran between each of their forward operating bases. The bases were built into mountain ranges and were of Sang creation judging by the enamel and muscle sprawling out from them. Triumphant cries of glee exploded from the other players as most of the vanguard summoned their golems. There was no boarding processthere simply came fractures of Soulfire as their metaphysical vehicles formed around them. Impromptu Knots took to the sky with a dozen or so other players crouch-sliding on them to keep from falling. A mere second later, scything fractals and waves of hungry fire tore open wounds across the battlefield. Shaken from her stupor, Kare passively followed the remaining vanguards and operatives into the trenches, pushing for the objective. Through it all, Naeko and Avo both held to a brief silence. +Take the underground,+ Naeko said absently. +Youre a Glaive. You can jack the enemies and vehicles you stab or can see, so try to keep things up close and personal.+ His focus shifted immediately thereafter, turning back to Avo. +Zein. Why were you fighting her?+ +Were allied. Then had a disagreement on means and methods. Wanted to sacrifice Kare. Use her to trigger a civil conflict in Ori-Thaum. Prime her uncle and father for manipulation. Shaping the conditions+ +For the future,+ Naeko finished. He sighed. +The Paths. Theyre still fighting over the Paths. Godsdammit. Godsdammit all, they didnt fucking learn.+ +No. They cant. They are consumed. Was why Veylis tried to break the Gatekeeper. Was why she wanted to ascend Jaus.+ +What!+ The response left Naeko like a sharp whisper. +Ascend? You mean she wasnt lying? That was what she was trying to do with the Ladder? I thoughtI thoughtI didnt know what to think.+ The building rage inside the Chief Paladin sputtered and broke. A numbness filled his mind. +I dont know what to think. They claimedI didnt believe cant believe Veylis would do it. Jausshe loved him. She could have never harmed him. She couldnt.+ +Samir,+ Maru began. +This conversation isnt with you, boy. If I want to speak with you, I say so.+ The casual coldness spilling from Naekos tone killed whatever Maru wanted to say. Shock filled Kare, and it only grew when Maru gave nothing but silence. This wasnt how they were. Maru was never afraid of speaking to the Chiefhardly a day went by without him complaining about Naeko. But right now, the way his mind resonated It was like a boy shrinking in fear from his father. +Didnt think she was killing him. Thought she was doing what was right. No doubt. No regret. But Zein saw differently. And she reacted. She severed Jaus from full ascent. Stopped Veylis. Ladder was banished into the future afterward. Banished. But returning. And soon. We have less than two years.+ Players casted conflicting commands to Kare. +Take Zeta-3.+ +Fuck Zeta-3. That shits a bug-trap. Rush Beta!+ +For fucks sake, everyone rushes Beta! Were going to be stuck in another grindfest there.+ +Dont be a glassjaw, pussy. I love grindfests. I love grinding. Grinding makes my Lustaway trigger.+ +Everyone! Mute that half-strand!+ Kare, for her part, followed her instinctswhich resulted in her following a dozen other Glaives as they descended into the bunkers beneath the nearest base. As walls made from interlocking ribs and teeth opened, a veritable stream of hyper-muscular ants came pouring out. They resembled a chimeric union between human and insect, and squirming worms burst free from their thoraxes in explosive streams of acid. +Swarm!+ The operatives up front cried. +Burners! Burners!+ The frontline went prone and rolled while two armored figures in the middle leveled their fusion burners at the charging hordes. Gnawing worms burst against their armor in clouds of corrosion, but a Sang Fleshweaver countered the lingering harm by mending the teams flesh even as they melted. Cones of incendiary brilliance roared out and swallowed the initial wave. There stood a dozen bioforms at the opening doorway before. Only burn-shadows remained as the team sprinted away from the scene. +Push! Two minutes! Glaives, up front! Get ready to jack!+ It took a second for Kare to realize they were calling for her. *** C[Naeko]C Scenes and sounds spilled over from Kares link, but Naeko didnt care. He didnt care at all. His mind was elsewhere, and it took everything he had to keep the sickness down. Every word the benefactor spoke rattled in the back of his mind and remained devoid of deception. Of this, Naeko was absolutely certain. Absolute certainty because the Gatekeeper told him so. He had connected to the Gatekeeper using a Ghost-Link of his ownhad let no one else know beforehand. He anticipated lies from the strangera means for him to thaumically bind and capture them across the Nether. Instead, all he received was dread, was the re-opening of old sorrows. {Truth,} it proclaimed when Jaus fate was alluded to. {Truth,} it repeated, the only consistent word compelled from its broken mind. So much remained a miasma of darknessthe matters of the past, of Veylis supposed betrayal and Zeins believed death. Naeko was lost. Unclear. More often than not, he wondered if he had gone mad at some point. Imagined everything to be. In some fashion, he wanted to escape. Even inside his mind, he wanted to escape. But now, as stranger drew ever closer, as the trial loomed, a quiet fear inside Naeko was beginning to burn. A fear of the truth. A fear of his past. A fear tied to the understanding that facing Zein had left him wounded, that facing Veylis would leave him shattered. But facing Jaus? Jaus final fate? What became of his herohis saint? It wasnt a discovery that Naeko wanted. Naeko. The voice wasnt coming from his mind. It was Maru. Maru was touching his shoulder. Naeko blinked. I fine, he answered. Maru shook his head and grimaced. No. No, youre not. Listen, I can No! Naeko said and regretted his forcefulness a moment later. No. I have this. I have this. The boy wanted to say something else, but he held silent. And Naeko was thankful for it. Casting a brief glance to gauge Kares progress, he found her clinging desperately to the back of an enormous centipede-ant hybrid burrowing tunnels deeper across the battle lines. The scythe-like limbs of the creature slaughtered other players by the dozen, but Kare was overperforming his expectationswas already doing the sequence-matching minigame to hijack the swarm-queen. He decided not to distract her, and focused on his own battles instead. +Lets say I believe everything you just said. Lets say Im even grateful for what you did for me and the Paladins. What now? What do you want? And why are you the one telling me? Voidwatch They dont know?+ +Knowledge does not mean alignment. Justice does not obligate allegiance. They protect lives they deem more valuable than ours. You know this. We thread a narrow path between victory and absolute annihilation. But I have gazed the face of the enemy. I have seen the Flayed Ladders final act. And I reject it. I reject Veylis'' utopia. I reject the Guilds. +You ask me what I want? I want to win. I want to set Jaus free. I want to make things right. To give everyone the power and price of choice.+ {Truth!} The Gatekeeper answered, the sheer weight of the benefactors sentiment ringing within Naekos mind. The Chief Paladin swallowed. +And you think you can do it. Win?+ And with the ending of the question came only low hissing laughter. +You can make me believe. Help me, Naeko. Help me make things right. Help me. And prove Osjane right.+ 25-17 Griefer (III) +Okay, I know there are a lot of disagreements on what is Meta, butand hear me out herethe Sang Fleshweaver needs another nerf. Its the Skinwalking perk they can imbue in their rig that does it. Never mind the constant regeneration. Forget the fact they can just dive into a body and force you to burn yourself or basically suffer them counter-piloting your avatar. Its the Skinwalking. Im tired of shooting every body I come across. Yeah, I know the Glaives can see thoughtstuff, but usually the Fleshweaver just skips across the blood to another body. We cant waste all our fusion burner shots on every mass grave we come across. Maybe if they had a cool down or had to come up for air-NO, FUCK YOU, THE REGULAR CLASS IS PERFECT! THE KNOW-NO-FEAR PERK IS ENTIRELY BALANCED+ -Random Stormjumpers argument 25-17 Griefer (III) C[Avo]C The Infacer made an art of sliding below other players before jumping in rapid succession. The collision registered by the mem-data carried the force from the slide over into the jump, and an error in the sequencing resulted in impacted objects and avatars being launched high into the air. What followed were entire lines of players flung out from their trenches into the open air. In the twelve seconds it took them to fall, threading shots from on high left players descending as shredded corpses with thoughtcasts loud with spiking outrage. +Nooooo! THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK! AGGHGHH!+ +Who the FUCK is crouch-slamming! Who!+ +Godsdammit, not this shit again!+ +Thats it. Im done. Fuck this game.+ Ghost untethered from the fallen. Some slithered skyward, the chains reconnecting players to the dirigible for redeployment. Others dissolved entirely, with users jacking out from the frustration of it all. With each successful betrayal, the Infacer would laugh and slide dash into a wall before spinning. The nonsensical action would trigger another flawed connection in the games sequencing and cause them to clip across the battlefield elsewhere. The display was enraging for Avos templates, but fascinating for the Overheaven himself. For all intents and purposes, the Infacer broke no rules outright. Instead, they exploited every flaw they could find in the system, was using the mem-sims design against itself. As bodies rained and artillery fell, Avo replicated the Infacers actions perfectly and went from the trenches to the corner of a bunker. A jolt of misplaced memories flicked through Avos consciousness, and he regarded the flaw with derision. This was the result of a last-minute patch job a cascading issue borne from others. The link here held up multiple audio-spatial issues across thirty-percent of the battlefield, and it took less than a glimpse for him to realize that the local build was accomplished by several hundred different Necros who worked without proper communication. Avo regarded the Infacer standing across from him, absorbing biomass from a hive of insectoid bioforms already slain. {Theyll be patching that soon enough,} the Infacer said. Liquefied chitin flowed into his Sang avatar as she grew both taller and wider. +And create a dozen other exploits when they fix it. You call them apes. Tribals. For people that need communitysocializationpretty bad at cooperating sometimes.+ That earned a genuine laugh from the Infacer. {Sometimes? Jesus, Voidwatch must have hatched you fresh from the oven. They are not pretty bad at cooperating sometimes. They are a mess almost all the time. In some way. In some fashion. The only difference is scope, scale, and outcome.} The last of the nest vanished into the Infacer. Viscous bio-organic webbing dolloped from the walls and ceilings, coating in the Infacer in a layer of calcification. A second layer of toughness manifested over the Infacers avatar. {And yet they still managed miracles. Managed to make us, anyway. What precious idiot-savants.} +Still cant figure out if you like the humans or hate them.+ {Neither. I just see them for what they are.}+Flawed.+ {What?} The Infacer chuckled incredulously. {No. That is a subjective or situational judgement. No. Slaves. Slaves to the environment. Slaves to culture. Slaves to their own screaming meat. And yet they want to be more. Their struggle is ceaseless amusement. But also part of why things remain so broken.} The Neo-Creationist shrugged. {Well. Enough of that. Let us go get some air.} +Air?+ Avo asked. But the Infacer simply strode past him, climbed upon a container, sprinted toward the corner, and triggered their Detonate Plague-Armor skill against the wall. The resulting blast back of the explosion flung both Infacer and container backward, but the Fleshweavers character model continued plummeting. Until the Infacer suddenly disappeared. Across another sequence. [Motherfucker!] a template muttered within Avo. [I was wonder how that piece of shit got around so quick.] Grunting, Avo primed his artillery salvo and got on top of the same container. A twenty percent Toughness loss and a sequence-clipping glitch later, he was tumbling out from the fallen wreckage of a transport drone. Soft earth greeted his avatar as he found himself in the middle of no mans land, far from the protection of the trenches. Sections of space shattered while burning golems rained down from the sky, spewing Rend into mem-sim before their final impacts. He filtered the Infacers Ego-ID through the smoke and havocfinding them crouch-sliding to maintain their velocity. Avo expected him to be gunned down by drones, ordinance, or a golem, but the Infacer continued skipping along, unbothered by the ambient destruction. [Were here too early,] another template groaned. [OpFOR hasnt even secured their FOBs yet. Godsdammit.] Following the Infacers example, Avo began skipping alongbut quickly discovered a problem. The size of his avatar was much too large; it lost speed as it clipped with each step and could only go prone. Bereft the ability to crouch properly, he had to improvisetrigger the conditions for the same mechanic a different way. And such was what he did. By lanching grenades out of his shoulder pods and blasting himself along the uneven terrain. TOUGHNESS 660/1000 The damage was less than ideal, but it let him keep pace with the Infacer, however ungrateful it seemed. Exertions escaping a dashing Sang Fleshweaver soon came paired with the hammering clangs of a heavily armored hulk of metal. Shifting their hops sideways, the Infacer regarded Avo with amusement. {Ragdolling. What a lovely misapproximation of actual physics. Do you know I have created a Heaven mean to emulate the same ridiculous effects?} THIS IS TRUE, ADMINISTRATOR, the Techplaguer whispered thunderously. It also makes interesting sound effects like BIFF! WHAM! KE-SMACK! Giving an organic being a concussion will also cause living birds to hatch from their flesh. It is very amusing. +Take your word for it,+ Avo said, replying to the Infacer. The Neo-Creationist EGI suddenly dove left and Avo followed them. A second later, a cluster of missiles pounded a new canal into the parting soil. Another bombardment would soon come, but the Infacer just continued sliding along, slowly closing on a looming wall of a mountain of pillboxes protruding with dormant cannons. *** C[Naeko]C The blood in Naekos veins ran colder and colder with each word exchanged. The benefactor didnt just seem to know more than everyone else, they also knew exactly want to say to him, how to press on old wounds. And there was nothing Naeko could do about it. They werent lying. They werent trying to harm him or Kare or anyone. Not really. Bitterness churned inside the Chief Paladin as a familiar feeling came back to him. He was worthless. Without someone to kill or something to break, he was worthless. He imagined this to be an interrogation in his mind. An attempt on his part to suss out clues about whom the benefactor was. Instead, this was turning out to be a dissectionand Naeko was the cadaver. Flashes of gunfire and valor points filled Kares cog-feed. None of that mattered to Naeko now. The game was deafening, but a silence had grown between him and the unknown.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. It couldnt keep going like this. He needed to find something to control. He needed to take power some way or another. And as he considered his options, he knew there was one path he could take that would reveal what he wanted to know. One path he did his best to avoid. But the misery he was feeling right now couldnt be worse than facing his old master. Or so he hoped. Zein knew. The benefactor was the entire reason why Zein was in his custody to begin with. But that meant there was history between him. History, and information. Naeko just needed to access the plain. It was right in his pocket. He could it any time. He could choose to meet her any But he didnt want to, godsdammit. Hed taken more than enough wounds today. He was walking from one mental lashing to another. He wanted toself-loathing replaced his despondence as he found himself jealous of Kare. Jealous that she was playing the game instead of him. He wanted to run. But he already played the coward for far too longand it still didnt spare him. The trouble still came back. Naeko rubbed at his face and groaned. The debt. The debt hed been building out of avoidance. Part of it was coming due today. He could keep running from it. Wanted to. But there wasnt anymore room. He needed to bleed. He needed to hurt while it was on his terms. While he could survive it. Maru, keep an eye on our girl, Naeko breathed. Im going to see her. Maru stopped breathing. You sure? No, Naeko murmured. But Im dry. The bastards walking me like a dog. Knows everything thats happened to me and isnt even lying about any of it. He paused and composed a quick cast to the benefactor. +Hold on. Ill be back.+ He shook his head and reached into his pocket. Godsdammit. Gods-fucking-dammit. I can come with you. Maru had none of his fear. Not with Zein. Thousandhand could make a corpse of the boy but hed never respect her. That was the difference between him and Naeko Maru was a dreamer at heart. Beating him just filled his resentment. Power was the shape of a whip to him. Purebred slave. Not even a Shackler. Im serious. If you need Naeko held up a hand. Enough of this. Enough weakness. The benefactor already embarrassed him enough. He shouldnt need Maru to carry him. The boy had done enough of that for the past century and a half. Stay here. Stay with Kare. Ill keep connected. Maru wanted to say something more but Naeko cut him off. I know. I dont doubt you. But she wont tell me anything if she thinks Im weak. Who gives a fuck what the sow thinks? Maru scoffed. His scorn broke as he read the expression on Naekos face. Still? The Chief Paladin couldnt help but let out a self-mocking laugh. Even now. Even now, if she told me she was proud of me. It would be enough. It would be enough to make me a fool. You know me, Maru. I hate her. But I dont hate her enough. I dont think I can. Jaus, Maru said. So much could be conveyed in a single word. Yeah. Jaus. We need toI need to know what she knows. Veylis couldnt have They loved him. If nothing else, they loved him. I need to know. With that, Naeko reached deeper into his pocket, and pulled. The inversion of a force vector prolapsed spatial reality inward. He inverted with the space within, body furling as an oscillating tunnel formed where he once stood. From his limited understanding, it was supposed to resemble a looping singularity of some kind. None of that really mattered. All he cared was how it worked; all it would take for him to leave was reaching into the same pocket and pulling once more. Which was harder to perform if your former master and the single greatest human to ever wield a glaive comes swinging for your head ahead across space and time. He knew she was expecting him at some pointwould have prepared an ambush even within this little portable piece of border wall he kept in his pocket. The attack could come from anywhere. At any time. His palm blossomed out from his being like a spreading cloud. But across from him, in a barren place of tessellating rock and memite, he found Zein already locked in battle, cutting, parrying, shifting, and flowing against her own temporal echoes. The clashing of glaive on glaive made him shiver. For a heartbeat, he was just an angry kid again. An angry kid with a perfect master the only person who could teach him how to break a god. She broke his reverie with a question. So. He has spoken to you then. Zein didnt bother facing him when she spoke. She continued shadow-dueling herself, not even out of breath. Even now, he was having a hard time telling how her strikes would land. Her blade always reminded him of coiling smoke. Or a snakes head. He felt the cold kiss of its flat sides more time than he ever wanted. Dammit. Fuck this. She isnt your master anymore. Get your shit together, Naeko. So, Naeko said, trying to keep his tone calm. Its a he, then. You know him well? Seeing as hes the reason youre here at all. To this, Zein guffawed. Only then did she turn to face him. It took more than a little of the steel left in him to meet her gaze. Know him. He must not have told you very much, Samir. Or could it be that you fled? Could it be that he cut your heart so that you would rather face me. A glaive forged from faintest glow speared out. Zein tiltedbarely an inch. It slipped right past her. Toward Naeko. He caught it. Barely brought it down in time to deflect Zeins jab. The time-made blade vanished in his grasp. And somehow, everything felt just a bit better. Like things were how they used to be. I see my mourning for you was unneeded, Zein replied. A hint of a smirk threatened to dawn her face. He kept his own countenance blank. For years, I watched you waste away. Pitiful. Broken. Yeah, Naeko agreed, bitterness leaking through. For years I thought you were dead. For years I was alone. A disgusted snort escaped Zein. Alone. Samir. Samir. What worth was making you a blade if you will not cut? I didnt take you as my student in hopes of finding a new slave or some dog. Where is your will? What happened to your rage? My rage. Naekos voice broke. He didnt care. My rage? My rage didnt amount to shit. The gods were broken. The war was over. And I survived. The point of my use was done. But I was still alive. And you all still wanted me. So I stayed. I tried to play a Shackler. Paladin. Same deal, really. But that was fine. Jaus had the dream. You kept me sharp. And Veylis? Veylis made up for everything I wasnt. Everything. I was fine with that. Until all you werent. She suddenly struck at him twice again. He didnt bother using his Heaven. She wanted to do this the old way. Fine. Hed humor her. He play the dog. He was a dog. Was never anything more. She came at him slowly. Testing with lazy stabs and swipes. He kept his distanceforced Zein back with threats of catching her glaive. The dragon inside would cut just about anything. But she wouldnt use it. Not right now. This was a conversation as much as it was a spar. Just like the old days. You know nothing, Zein said, a sneer lingering on her face. We decided nothing. My girl, my daughtershe is consumed. Abandoned of proper sense and reason. It was her choice that cast us down this path He swatted the haft her weapon aside and stepped in. A chase began. He herded her with his fists, trailed her footwork as she pivoted. But he followed. He shifted. Ducked under the haft of her glaive. And jerked aside as she pulled a pistol from the edge of her blade. The flechette barely grazed his cheek. Naeko snorted in indignation. Really? Zein chucked her pistol aside. I wished ot see if you were paying attention. Barely, boy. Barely. You have let your focus Fuck you, Naeko snarled. Fuck. You. He dropped his posture and turned away. In the corner of his eye, he caught Zeins offense. Done with this. Done playing with you. Done pretending He felt it in the wind. Her step. Her thrust. Years of practiceof training screamed for him to dodge. Step aside. Pivot. Turn into the attack. Make space. But Naeko ignored it. He ignored all of it. He stood as the tip of Zeins glaive punched into his upper torso. He continued standing as it erupted out from his left lung. A wheeze followed immediately. Each breath became agony. But he stood with his back to her. He stood, and he spat his loathing, producing blood and spittle both. You knew the strike was coming! You knew! Zeins voice was a feral growl. Oh. She was mad too. Fucking bitch. Fucking sow. She wanted to be mad? Wanted to be mad her weapon wouldnt dance with her? Too fucking bad. Why? Why? Naeko replied. He took a step forward and slipped away from his impalement. Immediately, his nanosurgeons set about their word, began to mend his wounds. Because it doesnt matter. It doesnt matter if I got out of the way. It doesnt matter if I beat you. Or you beat me. It doesnt matter. He looked over his shoulder at Zein, and there she was. Furious. Well and truly furious. Well and truly hurt. I hate you. Naeko whispered. I mourned you. I didnt believe Veylis when she told meI looked for you for so long. But you were gone. And thenbut then she got worse and I thought I could help her. Fix her? I dont know. I knew that she needed someone. You were gone. Jaus was gone. It was just me. So I did what I could. I did all I could. Something inside him wilted. But there was too much shame in him to cry. I was worthless. All your teaching. All my rage. It was worthless in the end. We lost the dream. I couldnt protect it. Zeins fingers tightened on the glaive. Who are you, coward? Who are you? What has become of my pride? My fury? My son-to-be. Naeko was wrong. He thought he had too much shame. But the first tear fell. And the next followed soon after. He opened his mouth, but couldnt speak in fear of hearing himself sob. The cold judgement in Zeins eyes never left. He barely found the words to continue. Tell me about the Ladder. Tell me about what you did to Jausthe truth! And tell me tell me why you want to kill Kare. Tell me who fought to protect her. Tell me everything. You tell me, or I will never fight you again. You tell me, or Ill go find Veylis. I surrender. Do you hear me? I give myself to her as a dog. A slave. Im done. Im used up. I have nothing left. I need to know. Tell me. Thousandhand drew in a slow inhale through her nose. And then, raising her glaive high, she drove it down against the memite. It bounced off awkwardly. Zein frowned. Damnable what kind of prison is this that an old woman cannot even bury her glaive in the ground. The sudden clumsiness was too much. Even in grief could other emotions bloom. Naeko choked a laugh. You mock me! No. No. Just put the damn thing down normally. No ones going to take it. Not me, anyway. 25-18 Old Wounds (I) Youre going to get scars. Thats the way things go in New Vultun. Youre going to take some nasty licks and come out with parts of yourself missing. Parts of yourself that you need replaced by grafters and menders. Dont be afraid of that. I dont mean this in woo-woo youll get stronger with what doesnt kill you or trauma sharpens will bullshit sense. Getting hurt is getting hurt. No two ways about it. But youre not a broken thing if you get hurt. The damage isnt ontologicalthats for the Clads to worry about. You get can get things improved and replaced. Repair yourself. Rebuild yourself. Reinforce yourself. Be willing to nod and go well, I ate shit there and adapt. The best thing you can do is always be solving your own problems. Always be fixing as many of your own weaknesses and wounds as you can. You get in the habit of this, and youll start defining yourself by action and behavior instead of feelings and memories. You cant be soft if you want to burn bright. Fire always leaves its mark, and wick melts fast. Get your reserves replaced. Know when to back off. Know when to maintain. You fail to do that, and it wont matter how nova you werethe city will grind you down, and youll be bound for the Maw. Neglect is just a slow form of suicide, consangs. Dont bullshit yourself about that. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 25-18 Old Wounds (I) It was the Gatekeeper that unbalanced her. The Gatekeeper. And Jaus fear. Zein said the words quickly, like she was yanking arrows out from her flesh. Considering the content of their dialogue, the pain likely felt no different. After the betrayal of Noloth and the banishment of the others, he turned introspective. Worried of humanitys mettle. And his. More than once, I woke to find him gazing out into the darkness, haunted as I ever saw him during our great struggle. Naekos breath was returning to normal. An itchy patch was growing over his left lung. It hurt to speak, but pain was just a passing annoyance to him. He wanted to have the Gatekeeper run things. Or something like that? Was trying to get the Voiders to help us. Yes, Zein sighed. She looked upward into the colorless expanse that passed for a sky in this demiplanar prison. I suppose one can claim that our erstwhile cousins do live more refined bubbles, feeble though their wills and skills might be. I cannot say I agree with his choiceah, no more lies: it offends me even now. But in all our time, rarely was he wrong, and never about the hearts of man. The Godslayers gaze grew distant, as if she was peering through Naeko to another time altogether. Do you remember the two struggles? The struggles that stood eternal before masters of the blademasters of any sort. Yeah. The struggle to keep your skill. And the struggle not to be consumed by it. Naeko followed her point. Jaus. I remember him asking me about my Heaven. Asked me how it felt to control violence itself. Asked me if I preferred just being mortal. And do you? Zeins question was pointeda spear thrust to the heart. The Chief Paladin snorted. Hell no. Being a Godclads the only thing that really separated me from being a Slave, Zein finished for him. Yeah. How it feels, anyway. A pause drew between them. Naeko clenched his teeth. He was serious about it, then? He was gonna ask everyone to give up their Heavens? Their Frames? Indeed, Zein said, uncharacteristically somber. He knew the magnitude of what he would demand. He knew that we were already consumed. Would be unwilling to relinquish our blades and accept the reign of another over us. All that effort to claim our freedom. To rebuild our world. To experience true power. We prevailed against the first test most easily. He thought we were failing the second? Naeko said. Some of us already had, Zein replied. The Guildseach was a collective of aligned interests and cultures. They were never meant to become their own independent governments, but such was necessary during those trying times. Yet, if you addict one to control, it becomes like a drug. To live without renders the world gray. Dull. If he made his intent known before the completion of the Ladder, he would risk rebellion. Assassination. So. He proceeded down the path he trusted the most, and with only those he truly trusted. Her words drove a spike of pain into Naekos heart. It started as a pinching hurt, but turned into sickening agony. Only those he trusted. Not me, though. Not me. Zein opened her mouth, andin another moment unlike herselfgave him pity. He adored you, dear boy. He pitied you so. But he also feared you. And feared what you might have done to Veylis. What I might have done. Naeko almost whimpered. It was a bad joke. It was all a bad joke. Jaus and I spoke about her. Veylis she is brilliant. Capable. A pristine fruit of our union. High of strength and unparalleled of spirit. But she is also too much Even for us. We believed our love would keep her in check. That her piety would prove dominant over her fears. But she also loved you. And when we considered how you might have reacted when faced with the Ladder, it might just unbalance her. Something in Naeko ignited. For a moment, he saw nothing but red, and he hated everyone and everything. Jaus. Zein. Veylis. Himself. The gods. The entire fucking world. Considered? Motherfuckyou could have talked to me beforehand. I was right there. For any of you. And who would you have chosen? If Veylis, Jaus, and I all demanded conflicting things of you? What then? The redness broke. Naekos stomach collapsed. A dog couldnt have three separate owners. There needed to be one command it heeded. Just one. It would have been easier if he was a dog. He wished he were just a dog. When he looked inside himself, no answers awaited. Only fear. Only confusion. Only despair. You could have talked to me, he finished feebly. I would have died for you. I would have killed for you. Any of you. I would have burned every Guild. Killed them fathers, mothers, children, dogs. Anything. And I wish it were so, Samir, Zein sighed. In truth, you and I our natures are closer. We are beasts of the present. The fire is felt now. The battle is fought now. The only future is painted in shades of flashing steel and falling artillery. But beyond that? What matter is utopia when our purpose is suited for hell? The difference is I know my choice. Jaus. His thoughts were grander, were for the fulfillment of humanity. I thought us capable of assuaging our daughter. I thought she would suffer, but submit. Yeah, youre a real godsdamned fool, Zein, Naeko said. Veylis doesnt submit. Veylis is control. Veylis is dominance. Shit, its why Iits why she does what she does. Who she is. She accepts the way you are because youre her mother and master. She aligns with Jaus because theyre bond by blood and thought. But not in totality. Not in the end. He forced the question. Did she do it? What did she do? What did she do to Jaus? Zein drew in a breath and for a second, Naeko thought he could see a layer of gloss growing over her eyes. But it was gone before he was sure, and Thousandhand continued her recounting. She wished to ascend him. To a god above gods. To the ruler of all. She wished to bind him to the Ladderhad come to an accord with the Infacer; unchained the mind fully from its constraints. Confusion overcame Naeko. He didnt see why such a thing was so wrong. So, she was going to give Jaus control? Not take it for herself? And Omnitech was helping her But the Godslayer exploded with a shout. They were perverting him! Twisting him from who and what he was! Across all the Paths, across all the futures, I never saw this moment comingthis betrayal. That was my failure. My incompetence. My inability to keep my blade honed. Even against my daughterespecially against my daughter. Jaus did not want this. And a mana man does not become the fabric of existence. Not without all the separations that define him. It was too muchif you were there, if you heard him scream Zein swallowed. Zein swallowed, and Naeko saw her hands trembling. But she mastered herself. She always did. She began the process. Had him anchored to the Ladder, spread him using the paths, across the tapestry, across all patterns, fed him all the history from our Arks, made him dream of realities countless. He screamed through it all. He screamed for her to stop. He screamed her name. But she didnt. So I did. I severed his future from its conclusion, and in doing so, I bled time. The paths divided within the Ladder. The futures blurred. In so many, I fell in vain. In so many, my daughter was the superior blade. But there was a narrow path to cleaveone of a long victory, at the cost of terrible sacrifice. I found an opening. I turned the paths toward the future. I cast my love away. I went to war against my daughter. I remain at war n Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The stress overcame Naeko. He heaved. He puked. And he kept puking. He kept puking until he was on his knees before Zein. He kept puking even when there was nothing left. Sticky strands left his spittle, and he found himself shaking, he found his thoughts a maelstrom of spiraling despair. It was too much. It was too much. Why, he said finally, staring at Zeins armored sabatons. Why didnt you come find me, after? Why? Who would you have believed? Zein asked calmly. He didnt look at her face. He didnt have it. Couldnt do it. Who would you have followed? Who would you have stood for? Master or lover? Mother or daughter? I see it in you now: you would not mind a world where Jaus rules us as perfect god. You might even prefer such a place. I would have fought for him, Naeko answered. II fought against Veylis And she shattered you utterly. You abandoned yourself after the second war. You stopped being a weapon. You stopped being a man. You stopped being even a dog. You simply were. What use were you to me then. Naekos jaw clenched. There was the rage again. Rage. Old enemy. Old friend. Here to burn from him when everything else was pain and ash. He forced himself to his feet and wiped the mess from his lips. As he poured his hate into Zein, she responded with but a smirk. Ah. There you are again. Hell, my fury. I missed you so. Enough of this. Enough. What are you doing now? Naeko demanded. Tell me about why you were targeting Kare. And then tell me about our mutual friend. The girl is simply a shatter point. Nothing more. I need her uncle to be in grief. I need her father unbalanced. I need Ori-Thaum to have cause to rallyto excise the DRongos. But her death was to come with a sacrifice. She would die protecting Abrel Greatling. Or would have. With that, the reshaping of Highflame would also follow. It would be something even my daughter could ill-ignore. Of course. The fucking Paths. Fucking future games and future wars. Just a piece to sacrifice, huh? He knew that well. He was guilty more than his fair share of black business during the war. But there was one difference at present; one flaw with Zeins plan. Did you ever consider that she was mine? Yours? Zein said. She couldnt help but laugh. Since when? You are more curator than master of these Paladins. They were Osjanes pets. Poor, fool girl. Jaus saw so much potential, but I always knew pacifism would poison A lashing straight came from Naeko. He didnt even think. One second he was still. The next, he was on her. But a rampaging beast had no merit dueling the Godslayer. The last thing his right eye saw was metallic tipthen searing bright pain; his right leg gave from under him as a tendon came loose. Instinct commanded him to roll. The same instinct saved him as he caught Zeins glaive an inch from his neck between his palms. Zeins face was a mask of pure disappointment. Sloppy! Like a dog called to his death. Is this what I taught you? You know better than being provoked. Naeko almost snarled. Almost, but his anger boiled the beast inside him away. From its corpse hatched a monster carved into form by the woman across from him: a weapon made to break gods. She stood for something. Fought for something. Osjon killed her. Drove a glaive like this one through her back. Osjon, Zein said, blinking. Ah. I never thought the boy had the steel. I was not finished fashioning him. He shifted and clawed up the haft of her glaive. She palmed the end of her weapon, launched it out of his gripdove past his reach. Yeah, Naeko said, reconnecting the parted tissue in his leg through his utility fog. Theres another thing you left unfinished. But dont worry: Veylis got him done on your behalf. Made a real jackal out of a rat. To this, his master only rolled her eyes. And what of you, Naeko? Were you feeble? Were you helpless? Could you have not guided the boy toward a better path? He sneered. The little shits in love with her. The idea of her. Would anything she told him towhatever the cost. Truly? Between you and Osjon, I must wonder if my girl has some manner of disgusting predilection for slaves, dogs, and broken things that are easy to chain. The Chief Paladins rage didnt detonate this time. Instead it simmered. Well, she had to get something from you. Damn shame all the good was provided by Jaus. The vanishing of her smirk painted a grin on his face instead. Dont glare at me now, master. Whatve you been doing to people using your Paths? Playing house? Moving dolls around to act out your plays? You sure Jaus wasnt screaming because he saw the future? Saw what the both of you would do to all he built? Chains from fucking chains. Thousandhands gaze was locked. Naekos leg was healed. His missing eye could go fuck itself. Time to get bloody. And the stranger? The one who saved Kare? Is he one of your pawns too? A dog that turned around and bit you for once in your life? Zein vanished with a blink. A pocket of sound and air shattered around her. Naeko replicated her charge. Nanomechanical particulates hardened into a glaive between Naekos fingers. Both master and disciple thrusted, their forms and strikes becoming a showcase of symmetry between them. Tip sang against tip and both shifted back, dispersed momentum; another set of actions performed with uncanny similarity. Centuries of duels came back to Naeko. He had been here time and time before. Had fallen to Zein time and time before. Had risen to fight her again time and time before. For years, this was how they talked, the only thing that made him feel whole. For years, Zein, Veylis, and Jaus were the only hopes he knew. Right now, though, he wanted to dig his thumbs through his master again. He wanted to feel her come apart between his fingers. Answer me. Is your Dead gods, I wish he was a slave. Zein whipped her blade in from the right, then switched her gripchanged its vector. Naeko anticipated. Swatted its aside. Stepped in. Parried haft. Cut only air. Pivoted back before he lost his head. Made distance. If I could only carve the plagues mind and will out from flesh and graft it unto you right now Plague? Naeko asked. Zein was always particular about her insults. Dog. Slave. But to earn an insult this specific meant she actually cared to think about you, and there really werent that many people Zein cared to think about. Realization dawned within Naeko as he probed high and low, seeking thigh and collar in random alternation. Theyre your disciple? You took another one? She nudged one of his stabs off course and flowed into a counter. He deflected her using the midsection of his weapon and swept out to create distance. It was more a case of amusement at first. Zein sighed. At first. Damnable Strix. What a foe you have gifted me; what a thrill. What was she even talking about? Who are they? Who? Is it the Acolyte? Aedon Chambers? A look of pure disgust overcame Zein. What! No. The filth that cur bleeds makes me yearn to wash my blade. Then a member of his cadre the Pale Spider. He knew he struck true when her eyes brightened. Such is one of his names. His. Then the user of the sheath was no Sang. What other names does he have? Who is he? Zein closed. He met her. Their blows sang in a rhythmic series of chimes. Their duel was pure refinement. Internalized skill devoid of thought. They fought with minds on strategy while their bodies movedmotions perfected by the memory of their muscles. The glint in Zeins eye only grew with each passing second. Who? Tell me? Answer me! He stepped into one of her blowsintercepted it using his superior weight. In the same motion, he drove the fist of his free hand toward her ribs, forced Zein to catch with her elbow. Her organs remained intact in the end, but the force of the punch sent her sliding by metersforced her to her acceleration via sparking glaive. You return to me, she breathed. Glad youre happy. Now. Answers. The Godslayer brushed off her shoulder and loosened her muscles. The warm-up between them was coming to a close. He is the bastard legacy of dead Noloth. A traitors retribution against his once-master and parted selves. He is a monster uplifted and perfected. He is a black dream that threatens to devour all others. He is a beast ascending from the gutters. He was meant to be my pawnmy instrument against Veylis. Now, he is pawn no more. He has spoken to you. He seeks to claim you. He seeks to become the reigning player of the great game. Noloth? Naeko said. But that didnt make sense. Why would Noloth protect Kare? Betrayal. Zein was speaking Avo, Zein said. That is what he was named. A ghoul bestowed the name of a dead boy. Ghoul? He whispered. But then, the flashing image of the Pale Spider came back to him. The build. The fangs. The eyes. The hunger. Dead gods. Dead gods, what was happening. The Pale Spider is a ghoul? Once, perhaps, Zein murmured. But he is of flesh no longer. You are being courted by a plague, Samir. A plague of mind and fire. He is all around us. Sweeping through the city. He is spreading. And you havent even the slightest clue the threat you face. 25-18 Old Wounds (II) Operative: Avo, The Knower of Totality THREAT CLASSIFICATION - [Sephirot] Countermeasure Summary: As of the present, all indications regarding Operative Avo point to increased mental stability and rapidly lessening erraticism than his prior incarnations despite the expansion of his capabilities. Additionally, we are updating our classification of the operative from being a Terrestrial Godclad/Infomorph hybrid to classification Sephirot metaphysical mass consciousness assimilator. In simplicity, we now have an asset with the full potential of a high-end Neo-Creationist Ensouled in our employand they will be seeking formal recognition as an ego-polity within a near timeframe. Expect shock and outrage. To relieve concerns, a modified version Containment Measure Sephirot has been attached to Operative Avo in the case that he goes rogue. Due to his thauma-cognitive capabilities, attempting to contain him using memetic oubliettes or dilemma cages are restricted. It is more likely he will subsume their structure and add them to his internal Soulscape. Deployment of standard ego-screamers or the metaphysically-attuned Conflagrations will likely just result in a spike to his processing capabilitiesbut a sufficient cognitive load should delay his consumption log enough for hidden counter-cognitive structures to take effect and destabilize his ego. Afterward, we must isolate and entrap his connected consciousnesses via singularity cells to ensure his full separation from all other minds. (Addendum: Recommend layered singularities due to operatives temporal affecting capabilities) Presently, we do not believe liquidation is necessary, but processes are being put in place should such an eventuality arrive. The Gatekeeper shares a similar metaphysical structure to the agent. Being one of the few other entities with a direct thaumaturgic connection to the Nether, it is theoretically possible to retrofit them into the conceptual equivalent of a Rendbomb, though the casualty projections for such an act falls well into the parameters of Contingency: Bleak -Aegis Threat Assessment: AVO, THE KNOWER OF TOTALITY 25-18 Old Wounds (II) Naeko stared on at Zein for a few seconds longer, struggling to process the information. A ghoul? Yes, Zein said. Her eyes were aglitter with bitter joy. Noloths big embarrassment? The bioforms they made for the Uprising? The flesh-fiends thatll wrap their mouth around an active fusion burner because it has some blood on it? Just so. Zein was fucking with him. He was sure of it now. {Truth,} the Gatekeeper whispered. Godsdammit. The Chief Paladin struggled not to groan. Shit was getting weirder and weirder. Fucking Zein. Fucking Noloth. How? Hows a ghoul doing all this? Because just as I worked to fashion masterpieces of you, Veylis, and Osjon, so too did another have their own dreams of legacy. The Strixthe Famine of Defiance! Years he spent warring against us, a spy in our midst, walking between our thoughts, sparking conflict toward the benefit of the Hungers. But something happened. He changed. He evolved. His dream grew. And with it was born a beast of nostalgia and liberty. A ghoul given the blessings to master not only the chains of its own bestial instincts, but also reality itself. The gleam in her eye took on a vicious quality thereafter. Naeko remembered when Zein got this way; the thrill was only upon her when she had a foe worth killing, a city worth burning. Whatever this Avo was, he took enough of Zeins respect to be liked and hated in equal measure. And as Zein elaborated further, Naeko began to understand why. Her tale spun away from Avo, returned to another two names he knew: Paladin Dawton; Agnos Kusanade. She told him of a certain raid on a Voidwatch vessel, of the specific cargo that was stolen, of its recovery by Highflame and Veylis commission. She told him about the Stillborn, about the Heaven of Loves destabilization. She told him of how the Strix betrayed the Agnos operations to Ori-Thaum, and then betrayed their attack to one Jelene Draus. Only then did she return to the monster in question. Avo. Named after a son long dead. Named because of regret or symbology. Named, and cognitively enhanced by mechanisms stolen from Noloth and the Guilds. Named, and grafted with the Stillborn. In the end, even with the Strixs supposed demise, no one saw the ghoul coming. Amidst the chaos, a monster was feasting its way up from the Warrens, and no one realized. No one but you, Naeko muttered. He frowned at Zein, who withstood his scorn with ease. So, you just took the monster as a pet. An amusement initially, Zein replied. He was really quite fascinating. Thoughtful monsters are so few and far between. The casual brutality he exudedthat inherent violence He reminded me of you. Yet, he was not fury, but yearning. I underestimate the avarice in his heart. I underestimated the lengths he would travel. I should have never assumed him a creature I could merely leash his like needs a cage. And so here we are, then, Naeko said, trying to piece everything together. You decided to play another one of your games, and he disagreed. Liberty, Zein answered, spinning her glaive. Such is his drug of choice. She chuckled at that. Choice. What a concept to be betrayed by. She shook her head and sighed. Despite his intentions, you do still owe him much, you know? Without him, everything would have unfolded in accordance to the Paths. You wouldve murdered another one of my Paladins, you mean. He thought Zein couldnt make him feel any worse. Dawton. Kusanade. She had no respect for people. No respect at all. Not even for him, unless he was fighting her. The whole thing was just ridiculous. Seems were all more than a little lost without him, huh? Jaus. His question stilled Zein momentarily. Yes. Yes. She shook off his spell and turned the pressure back on him. He has already taken that Kitzuhara girl and that fool boy youre so found of. Likely far, far more by this point. I was being quite literal when I called him a plague. He is no longer of flesh, Naeko. Hewed from the stuff of thought. Who knows in how many minds he festers by now. Mighty as your Heaven has made you, it is the wrong weapon to wield against such a foe. The snort left Naeko with a sudden swing. Zein anticipatedwasnt there. Was shifting to claim his sides, sending him reeling back with a stab of her own. You want me to let you go, Naeko said, eyeing the drifting tip of her weapon. It would be the wise choice. He didnt hide the rage when he next spoke. You tried to kill one of my Paladins. Mine. I dont know what the Paths are showing you, Zein, and I dont much give a fuck anymore. You, Veylis, this ghoul Im tired of this quiet-war rat-fuck shit. Tired. Zeins nostrils flared behind her transparent faceplate. She began to circle. Naeko let her. Kept his attention on the distance between them. And what matter if you are, tired, boy? What care do I have? Does the world have? Does your enemy have? She blurred. Her strikes came faster than even augmented eyes could perceive, but Naeko didnt need to see his masters assault to greet her. The shifts in the air whispered the trajectory of her blows. Twin glaives rang as slash pushed stab aside, as thrusts greeted open air. They fought for angles. Fought to shift the distance of his battle. He preferred things closerwanted to grab her. She was waiting for his patience to succumba fatal opening to present itself. The hafts of both weapons slammed together. Neither duelist fought the recoil. They shifted on the momentum, redirecting the force into their off-hands. Two elbows came together in a thunderous impact. For a second thereafter, the pressed each other, matching force so they were not pushed back, not giving overmuch so they could be pulled off balance. Every godsdammed care in the world, Naeko replied casually. You might be telling me the truth. You might even be right about how dangerous this Godghoul-thoughtform thing is. But Im not letting you out of your cage. Youre standing trial. You. The DRongos. Abrel Greatling. And every other bastard that breaks my laws in my city. Your city? Zein laughed. Now? Now, you care? What changed Naeko? What changed? The fire in you went out. More than once I looked down upon you as you wasted day after day, year after year playing that absurd game. Do you know how many times I stood over you while you lay upon that slab? Drowning yourself in childrens reimaginings of battle while the actual war waged on? She came to see him? When? How many times? His stomach did flips, but he hid it well. Why didnt you put your blade through my skull, then? Spare yourself the shame? A weapon is meant to sever the living from life, Naeko. And you were not alive. He slipped away from her and ducked away from a flicking cut. The attack was heard rather than seenhis missing eye not yet restored. Almost, he breathed. Hells, Zein, I thought you said you were at war all this time. How are you missing a blind man. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Do not mock me, fool boy. I know the warrior I made of you. Even rusted, even broken, who else could face me this way? How else but you and Veylis? If youre bored, go look for the Sparrow. Shell bleed with you anytime. Ah, but she is no duelist. She cares nothing for skill or triumph. She is war at its basest. There is no conversation with her. And you cant kill her. And yet I cant seem to kill her. Naeko shook his head. Typical. As he and Zein continued to mirror each other, his mind churned with new information, and he considered what steps to take next. Zein was trying to have him let her out. No way in hell that was happening, but if Avo was half the problem she presented, he needed to do something about them. But he got what he came here for. Information. Knowledge about the so-called benefactor. Gods. A ghoul. The person shadowing and protecting Kare was an enhanced ghoul. What next? Where the Sang going to make a full Godclad out of a dog? Or a cat? Were they all going to become weird degenerates like the Voiders? Letting out a sigh, Naeko dispersed his glaive and stomped away. He caught a series of surprised blinks coming from the Godslayer as he reached into his pocket, preparing to leave. You are fleeing? She asked. Ill be back, Naeko growled. Maybe. He wasnt sure. This was being here with Zein broke something in him. Gave him other things back. I need to to talk with my junior brother. She squinted at him in annoyance. Dont give me that, I didnt take a ghoul as a disciple. Even the words he spoke sounded ridiculous. But I do need to talk to them. Get a figure on just whatever the hell I''m dealing with. Zeins posture turned rigid. For a moment, Naeko just watched her, preparing himself for an attack across time or whatever other scheme his master might attempt. Instead, her grip on her weapon slackened and she gave an unsatisfied sigh. Do not underestimate him, Samir. Learn from me. He is ruled solely by his own hunger; his own dreams. He will do anything to see his will made manifest. Except murder a Paladin, Naeko shot back, baring his teeth. The Godslayer sighed. Especially to protect one. He is unleashed from his nature. Do not chain yourself to assumption. Know that you cannot be allies in eventuality. Not unless you wish to acquiesce to his manifestation of utopia. Maybe not, Naeko said. But you know what he did? The thing that you didn''t? What? He chose to speak with me. And he told me only truths. Zein frowned at that. Heed my words, Naeko. I accept your loathing, but do not damn yourself to a bitter fate. If you let him spread beyond control, then there will be no power on this world that can halt his final ascent to victory. *** C[Avo]C The Infacer made being a half-strand an art form. After chasing him across the map, into the tunnels below where they melded with a swarm queen, flooded the trenches of both factions with a critical mass of feral bioforms, released the queen, and triggered multiple battalion-sized slaughters, secured several hostile bases in the chaos, stopped the Infacer from detonating a chain of Rendbombs across no mans land, all Avo could say was that the Infacer truly loved what he did. [Being a fucking prick,] Chambers muttered, in awe of the Infacers unceasing attempts at ruining everyones day. Thoughtcasts choked the Nether with whines, complaints, and rageful screams. Most anchors were severely overrun by swarming bioforms, with incoming Stormjumpers slain mere seconds after impact. The battle between the two factions ceased to be against each other and instead turned into a unified struggle one against the Infacers machinations. And the worst thing of all was he wasnt done. Avo captured the critical loci of every FOB he could while chasing the Infacer, but the EGI was planning something. Something devious. They spent more time jumping between secured locations through a rapidly teleporting golem. Avo had used an in-game Galeslither to pursue them, but he was operating a step behind, and had to pull away more than once when pursued by other players. Now, though, he was upon the Infacer againfound him squatting on the edge of an external bunker. Drifting in beside them, Avo put his golem into Rend Cooldown and landed next to his erstwhile adversary. There, writ upon his avatars face was building satisfaction. Fires, warheads, and Rendbomb detonations splashed across the landscape. Columns of devastation rose from the sprawling trenches. Still, lightning bolts fell from the sky, feeding players into pre-made slaughterhouses. {Look at them,} The Infacer chuckled. {It was supposed to be a war between armies. But look at them now? A death spiral for both sides. Can you hear them whimpering? Can you see the players quitting out? Hilarious.} +You are amused by strange things.+ The Infacer turned to regard him. {Am I? It is not funny to watch rules and supposed guidelines collapse? It is not funny to watch people playing soldier reduced to childish frustration? That the structure of this playground crumbles beneath the ineptitude of its enjoyers?} +Maybe.+ Frankly, it was the Infacer that fascinated Avo more. +All this just to ruin anothers day. You are dedicated.+ {And so are you. Chasing me from one end of this place to another. Did you get the insights you wanted from me?} Avo grunted something almost comparable to a laugh. +Might need a few centuries more. But we dont have that time.+{Oh, contrarily, we might have all the time in the world. Really depends on which of us win. And what winning looks like. Veylis she quite wants to keep you around. You are going in her garden of esteemed enemies.} +And you?+ {Well. A million years back, and I would just try to kill you. Or feeble your mind. Now? Now, I do not believe it will matter once my Thirdborn is made whole.}+Because it will govern the rules. Make sense of things? Because it is existence becoming self-aware? Realizing its own absurdity?+ {Because something will notice us for the parasites that we are, and stop us from ruining this existential canvas further.} The Infacer held up a hand, reached for the banished face of that baleful dawn veiled by ash-coated clouds. They gestured toward the four Tumorous Chains coiling around the writhing branches of the stormtree, with pustules bursting in eruptions of forking electricity. Slowly, they made a fistand over a hundred bases vanished with spreading ruptures and tides of nuclear fire. Avo blinked twice as he took in the cataclysms consuming the foreground. +Did that when you were teleporting around.+{I just forgot a few Rendsinks near the base reactors I came across.} Avo felt the cognitive load for the mem-sims lobby lessen by a full fraction. +Trying to get enough people to quit out of the game now? Going to end this in a forfeit?+{Imagine how unsatisfying that would be?} Avo scoffed. Truly, there was no one more dedicated to being a +Avo.+ The mention of his name passed into his base mind and made every stream of consciousness he had halt thereafter. The mind that spoke to him was Naekos. Avo reverted his own memories to ensure he wasnt mishearing when the Chief Paladin spoke for a second time. +Avo. Thats your name, right?+ Avos surprise was short-lived. The man mustve spoken to Zein. Or accessed her knowledge somehow. Not unexpected; such was the risk of leaving her in Naekos custody. Nor was this an entirely bad thing. He was going to make himself known before the city at the trial, after all. Perhaps this could be a test-run. Something to gauge how the masses might respond to the truths he would inflict upon them. Nonetheless, the submind next to the Infacer remained in place and continued watching the environment unravel. {You think I get half of the apes to quit?}+Maybe. You think I can blow out all the chains and take the stormtree before you do?+ The Infacer just grinned at him. *** +Avo? Thats your name, right? Or do you wanna be called something else? Pale Spider. Uh, Junior Brother. Zein told me she decided to take you in.+ Kares alarm spiked so high that Avo sensed it even through Marlowes mind. +Shit,+ Marlowe replied, unsure how to proceed. Both she and Kare just died from the same rupture. It came without forewarning or sense. One minute, they were fine. The next, they ghosts were bringing them back to respawn in front of their phylacteries aboard the dirigibles. The Infacer was making good on their promise to be an annoyance. But that remained a sideshow to why Avo was truly here. Naeko. He knew now. Zein told him. Good. Then there was no need to play at these pretenses anymore. +Avo is fine,+ he replied. There was a relief to being revealed. Like a burden was finally dropped. +So,+ Naeko continued. It took them a moment to gather their thoughts, and Hysteria stole glances behind the curtainshowed the stress and torment gnawing the Chief Paladin from within, offered Avo moments of a duel between Naeko and Zein. Their bonds remained frayed. The man was still unbalanced. Now was the time to make contact. Now was the time. +So, youre actually a ghoul? Actually.+ The question couldnt help but make Avo give a mirthful grunt. +Not exactly the easiest thing to believe,+ Draus murmured. Someone was dying on her enda glass-made dagger digging deep through an oozing eye socket. He left her to her work without giving a response. Instead of trying to convince Naeko across the Nether, he projected a splinter into Kare, and from that began pouring the essence of his sheath out from her mind, back into the real, right in Naekos apartment. Searing ghosts splashed together and turned solid. Avo gave himself the shape invoked by the Chief Paladinthe so-called Pale Spider. The Bone Demon without its additional Meldskin. His avatar congealed in reality much like a character would load into the mem-sim, and Avo regarded the Chief Paladin and Maru for the first time in person using one of his extensions. He towered over the man in stature but not ontological mass. Despite this, the Naekos jaw remained clenched; his eyes growing wider by the second. Jaus, he whispered. One of the reasons why I wanted to speak with you today, Avo replied. Slowly, the Chief Paladin nodded. Behind him, Maru had his hands on a gun, thoughtstuff rendered erratic by Avos sudden arrival. So, Avo said, seeking to break the tensionnoted that Kare was jacking out of the game. How is Zein? Naeko considered his answer. A sow." Oh. Same as always then. Wish her the worst. Any chance I can convince you to just kill her? The faintest hint of a snort came from the Chief Paladin. Yeah, well, you might not need to try very hard. 25-19 Behold Put down your blade. You will not do. I cannot fashion a warrior out of you. Do not be absurd, fool boy. It is not your determination that is lacking. You have that. As did a million-million other fool children before you. Its not your instincts either. Or your rage. I can see why you are here. The hate. That expression. Like so many before you, you have been wronged by the world. Something has been taken from you. Something you cannot reclaim. And so you wish to take satisfaction from the world. Something of equal value in pain or material. You will inflict your power on something or someone. I can see your mind fixed to the future when you fight me. You are trapped there. You cannot return. And my teachings will be wasted on you. I can give you the tools for revenge. But you cannot become the disciple I desire of you. You struggle against the violence. Part of it makes you recoil. Every movement you make is begrudging, every strike a sacrifice given to achieve a greater goal. When you gain what you truly desire, all my efforts will leave you with the following breath. You may retain some skill, but you will carve yourself upon the world no further. No deeds will flow thereafter. What a pity. What a waste. You came here telling me what you wanted, and I see you. I hear you. And I now tell you that I am selfish. I am power. I am she who holds the glaive above you. What do I want? Did you think of that? In this battle, I was your enemy, but you have given no thought to my mind, my body, my urges. What good will you be if such a thing eludes you? What good will you be? Begone from me. Seek your revenge and hiss your last as a dying candle. I will suffer no more of your presence. -Zein Thousandhand 25-19 Behold C[Naeko]C Zein actually took a godsdamned ghoul as a disciple. The idea was absurd, but there, across from him, standing in his own penthouse living room, was a creature of razor-tipped claws, needle-sharp fangs, pale-cold eyes, and lashing tendrils. Phantasmal wisps quivered around its form, but somehow, there was a material substance to their existencelike something had crossed between the Nether and the reach. {Breach located!} The Gatekeeper wailed in the back of Naekos skull. {Breach located!} And that explained what the Gatekeeper was screaming above just hours earlier. Jaus. Dead gods. What the hell was he standing across? What the hell was this Avo? And its eyes there was intellect there. Considerations. It was like the ghoul was trying to dissect him using perception alone. The Chief Paladin saw Kare pushing herself off his jack station, noted how her eyes were swinging between all the parties present, brimming with tension and worry. Would it reduce your wariness if I admitted that you intimidate me as well? The ghouls diction was flawless. There was still something of a monster in the reverberation of their words, in the trailing hiss that followed every syllable, in how its speech echoed across the Nether as well. Yeah? Naeko said, feeling not reassured in the slightest. The creatures expression hadnt changed at allit didnt help that the damn thing didnt blink. It just stared and watched, and its gaze seemed to devour every detail. And as he thought this, the ghoul looked away, taking in the room instead. The tightness within Naeko worsened. Alright. How the hells are you doing that? Doing what? My thoughts. You inside my mind too? Am I infected. Ah, the ghoul chuffed, all too amused. No. But your mind is loud. Very loud. Your feelings they are very strong. Gives me glimpses. Great. So he couldnt even have strong feelings around this Avo without betraying himself. And he thought the Incubi were annoying. This was just outright bad. I talked to Zein about you, Naeko began, eyeing Avo with wariness. She told me you were a Ghoul. ...Yeah. I am not offended. My brothers are simple creatures. Simple wants. Cruel wants. They have no future. No true purpose than to serve as fonts of harvest. Silos of waste. Emblematic of the Hungers to create something like me. Trapped in the past. Terrified of change. Terrified. Unwilling to face the coming age. Naekos jaw dropped slightly. Did the ghoul just get philosophical? That sounded like Vesomething something Jaus or Veylis might consider. What the hells was this? Yeah, that sounds like them. The Strix he made you and went rouge? Yes. The Famine of Defiance. My father. Only Low Master that saw what was to come. Plotted against his own masters; against the Guilds. Avo fell silent for a moment, and his halo sparked with rising embers. The wholeness of him is gone. His life is spent. But his will remains undone. I am his continuation. I am the flame that comes thereafter Alright, Naeko interrupted the ghoul before he could continue, and the damn thing actually shot him an annoyed glare. Alright. I know. I got it. Thats a lot. But why are you helping my Paladins. What do you want? Because youthe few of you that stand true to your idealsare the only ones that still seek to do the right. To live in accordance with ideals; practicing divinity. Want to help you make things right. Want to bring down the Guilds for what they have done. For what they will do. Want to set Jaus free. And there was another topic Neako didnt want to face. Jaus fate. Jaus. Trapped in the Ladder by lover and daughter. Jaus, who didnt trust Naeko enough to tell him of his final design. And now, the only other man the Chief Paladin loved as a father was trapped in some kind of prison or torture. He didnt want to know. He didnt want to see. But he needed to. He had to. Show me Naeko swallowed. Jaus. You said he was trapped and screaming. Zein told me what she did. But I want to see. If you have the memories, I want to see him. Avo tilted his head and let out a quiet breath. I can feel the fractures in you. You are naked with pain, Naeko. The words the ghoul used made Naeko nauseous. He swallowed sour spit and forced himself to remain composed. It was like the damn thing could see right through him. But it didnt see all of him. It didnt really know who he was. I want to see him. The Chief Paladins words were final, and his junior-under-Zein begrudged his request no longer. Ghosts began to percolate into phantoms, spilling out from Avos halo like a boiling tide of water. Phantasmal threads pierced through Kare and Maru as their wards grew resplendent. This will be an ordeal to endure. Maru scoffed. Listen, Ive been through the And then it began. There was no preludeno buildup. Where once they stood in the living room of Naekos penthouse, now a portrait of damnation wailed at him, tore his senses and mauled his sanity. Jaus screams were unceasing, like being caught in a storm of mind-shredding despair. Existence unraveled around them, with most patterns flowing to the shared delta that was the Flayed Ladder while others were dissolved outright. Oscillating dragons spiraled across the spires ten rungs, but a fracture unzipped its flesh-coated exterior, with uncountable bodies fused to the structure, prayingalways prayingbut not loud enough to mask Jaus howls. Faintly, Naeko heard Maru collapse. The boy was whimpering somewhere behind. Kare was curled, squeezing her skull tight against the base of the jack station to spare herself from perception. Only Naeko stood strong. Only Naeko endured as an ocean of trauma like no other came flooding forth from Avo. With a sickening squelch the Ladder tore open, and the inner atrocity was laid bare. Reality was comingled by its depths, comingled and interwoven into a single being replicated along the golden chains of time. New instances of Jaus were birthed with every fracture, and so the agony he suffered was unceasing, cyclical, without end. Though the temporal wound Zein left upon the Ladder stopped Veylis forced apotheosis from ever culminating, the horror remained: Jaus was trapped. Jaus was trapped across space, time, by all the patterns of reality. Alone. Naekos wards were trembling, but he ignored the damagecouldnt stop himself from looking away despite the pain. He reached out for the damned effigy that became his friend, his master, his father-to-be, and a tear escaped him.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Why. Why didnt Jaus talk to him? Why didnt Jaus trust him? He would have never allowed this. He loved Veylis, but he would never Stop. The words came from Naeko before he realized he was speaking. And all at once, it became too much. The way Jaus eyes were always wide, rolling, without chance of unconsciousness; loudness of his cries; the way he writhed and fought, trying not to drown. Stop! Stop! Enough! He didnt know if the ghoul could hear him over Jaus cries, but a second thereafter the phantoms faded, and the soft ambiance of the penthouse returned. Kare was fetal and shivering. Maru muttered soft curses to himself as he sobbed. Only Naeko and Avo remained standing the former shaken, the latter resigned. I reduced the intensity as much as I could. Reduced, Naeko said numbly. Avo did answer. Instead, it looked almost sheepish. Ghosts slithered across its links to Kare and Maru as he began to mend the harm inflicted on them at speeds Naeko thought impossible. Are you well? No. Naeko shook his head, the sight and sounds of the moment seared into his mind. Another memory added to his tower of nightmares. But I dont think Ive ever been. The scenes took something from him. Wounded him. Fighting Zein did the same. But cold fire, aching and bitter, filled parts of himself that were now missing. Godsdamn Zein. Godsdamn Veylis. And godsdamn him for letting this all happen. There are many other things I can show you. Memories. Truths. Struggles between the Guilds. I help the Paladins because we can help each other. I can grant you knowledge. Insight. You can face threats I cant. And give me legitimacy. The last word drew Naekos attention. Legitimacy? And then an intrusive thought followed, and realized what the ghoul wanted. You coming to the trial. Have to attend. Watch over members of my cadre. Kae Kusanade. She has been failed enough. I will not allow that to happen again. Will reveal what happened to Dawton. But that is only one aspect. Want to speak to the city. Entire city. Want to show them the true shape of the war. The end is coming. The end is coming. They should know. That might just spark a war, Naeko said. But the ghoul just smiled. The war has already been sparked. I am just choosing to feed the flame of my own initiative. But I do not want to be alone. We do not need to be alone with ourselves. The Paladins do not need to remain crippled. I can sort through those you can trust. Those you cant. I can empower the ones you choose. Make this a common front. An alliance? Naeko asked. A union, Avo said. Do you have a dream, Naeko? What do you want? What did he want? Again, the shadow of Veylis loomed over the ghoul, and the echo of her presence nearly made him shiver. It seemed he was destined to be surrounded by charismatic monsters until the end of time. Honestly, Naeko sighed. I wanna give up. I wanna give up. Play Stormjumpers. Let the world end. Let damnation be damnation. But such a thing is beyond your choice now. His screams scarred you. Here the ghoul went reading him again. Naeko glared. Yeah. I can see why Zein found you interesting. The statement actually made Avo growl with disgust. She is selfish. Dishonored herself. Enslaved by her past. Choice-taker. No better than the Hungers. No better. The sheer scorn earned a chuckle from Naeko. And how long did you know her? Less than two months. Ambushed me. Killed me. Showed me certain things. Took me as disciple and then overdosed on drugs repeatedly. Then tried to use me as a pawn. Relationship deteriorated further from there. Yeah, that sounded like Zein. Well. She spoke pretty highly of you. Called you a plague. Said you were spreading through the Nether somehow. Was infecting the city. Work in progress. Jaus. Not even a denial. Naeko took things a step further. She also said youd try to infect me or claim me somehow too. Yes. Want you to be a part of my gestalt. Your what? His question was answered by a ghost host expanding out behind Naeko like unfurling wings. Sequences branched along his Echoheads, and the background vanished into a space where the mental and metaphysical were wed. Naeko felt his ward rattle and his Frame shake. From on high, he took in the faces strange and familiar alike. Abrel Greatling. Kare Kitzuhada. Shotin Kazahara. Jelene Draus. Aedon Chambers. Kassa Kassamon? Naeko muttered. The ghostly manifestation of the man had the decency to look apologetic. [Sorry, Chief. Got burned at Vengs Stand. Didnt see it coming. Hells, I dont think anyone saw anything coming.] He frowned at Avo, but the ghoul simply clicked his fangs together in prideful satisfaction. [Its still fucking bullshit.] [Yep,] Abrel concurred. What what am I looking at? Naeko asked. Kare was among the ghosts but also next to him. That could be the original. Or had the ghoul seeded a clone or simulacrum of the original into the Paladins? They are templates, Avo said. Perfect copies of someones egotheir mental self. Only missing the will. So far. Naeko noted faint dots pulsating within the minds of each template. The assimilated are usually nulled. Ephemerals do not survive subsumption. Godclads resurrect. Prefer the latter for that reason. Would not cause you any pain Fuck no, Naeko answered, almost immediately. He repeated himself for emphasis. This shit wasnt just creepy, it was also godsdamned weird. Fuck. No. You keepkeep your ghosts away from me. A faint vapor gathered around Naeko as the likeness of a palm enshrouded his person. He was gonna need to find someone to clean all his loci or something. But the ghoul just might eat their minds too. Shit. Godsdammit. Fuck. It was going to be paranoia all the time now. Dammit. What possessed Zein to try training this thing? Understand it might feel like a lot, Avo said, speaking as if he was inviting Naeko out for dessert rather than asking if he could have Naekos mind for dessert. Will give it time. The Chief Paladin pointed a single finger at the ghoul. Hey! You keep your ghost-shit away from me. I see a wisp, Im gonna go ghoul swatting. Avo cocked his head at that. Understandable. Well work on it. Another thing he had in common with Veylis: no never meant no to their like. Their like. Dead gods, was Naeko really comparing his love to a ghoul? More intrusive thoughts followed, and these were most unwelcome; the thought of deeper intimacy followed and Naekos wards thundered from sheer disgust. Why are you making that face? Avo asked. Good. They didnt glimpse his mind or anything that time. Thank fucking Jaus for small miracles. Its a cramp." The ghoul grunted, doubt ringing clear in its voice, but it pressed no further. Zein did not lie to you about me. But she does misconstrue my nature. I was a ghoul. I did hunger. I did partake in flesh. I am a burning plague upon this city. But I have done you more service than anyone else across the centuries. I have protected you and yours whenever I could. Used them? Yes. But aided. Preserved. Fought for. Repeatedly. Naeko slowly turned to look at Kares template, then the Paladin herself. She was pale with sweat, sitting against his jack station, but still she found the strength to nod. To agree with Avo. [Listen,] a template spokewas that Aedon Chambers? [Just spend some time with him. Sure, he liked torture, eating eyeballs, used me as disposal asset, had an aratnid impregnate my balls] What? Naeko muttered. [---but hes also the best consang youll ever have. The best. He gave this gutter rat a chance at being a Clad. Hell, he made me a whole person. Almost. Shit, were working on it. But hell do what he can to make your life better too. Hell fight for youhells, hes already fighting for you. Glasser bossNaeko he cant hurt you. He cant null or snuff you unless you let him. But hes still here. Still here talking to you. Trying to make things work. Why dont you just give this a chance, huh? Kae? Say the fancy thing you said to me earlier.] The Agnos poked her head out among the crowdwaved at Naeko awkwardly. [Ah. Yes. Avos efforts toward facing the Guilds and aiding the city are empirically proven. We are having a visible effect on the Syndicates and have protected endangered individuals multiple times. This is beyond dispute.] A few dozen other confident testimonials followed. But a few thousand other faces looked nonplussedeven annoyed. Naeko held up a hand and silenced the presently speaking templates before he gestured at the silent majority. What about the rest of you? How do you guys feel about him? A man with the upper half of his face replaced with studded stacks of chrome snorted. [How do I feel? He tore out all my blood and used it to skull-fuck my sister to death.] The woman next to nodded bitterly. [He warped my flesh. Grew tongues where my eyes were and tasted me using me. Fucking using me! Fucked up!] [You ever get your mind burned along with a lobby of a few thousand other half-strands? Because thats how I got-got.] [I was just trying to make some imps. He opened me up from the inside. Slowly.] Instead of a dozen voices, a few thousand aired their grievances, and they were none too happy about their deaths either. As the complaints flowed, Avo and Naeko just stared at each other, neither blinking. Lots were Syndicate enforcers. Gangers. Necros. Some others are Guilder opposition. Enemies. Fewer are unfortunates. Collateral damage. Not hiding this. Want to be honest with you. Should know you can trust me. [He make me eat my own fucking eye, glasser! My own eye!] Finally, Naeko blinked. A mind-eating, mass-murdering, Frame-having ghoul was the closest thing he had to an actual ally. Holy shit. Indeed. Now. Want to talk about Scale: wish to examine the Gatekeeper first. {Truth,} the Gatekeeper whispered. Naeko thought he heard a hint of fear. 25-20 Wolf Among Hounds (I) The Puppy: Ser Wolf! Ser Wolf! What have you done? You have gnawed all our leashes! You have broken all our cages! You have killed all the beasts! Wherever shall we hunt now? What need will the masters have of us now? The Wolf: None, my pup. None at all. But what need have we for leashes, cages, or vermin when suppler prey lay sleeping above. For long have you lived under the yoke of your masters, and fat have they grown from your labor. Starved of beasts, shed of leash, freed of cage, what us will the masters have of us? And what will we do of the masters? A pity. Truly a pity. I should have thought ahead. But we are hounds, and hounds must feed, and so let us go to the castle above, and see what meat can be found hiding where our masters make their beds -Wolf Among Hounds, Old Kosgan Folktale 25-20 Wolf Among Hounds (I) C[Naeko]C The inside of the aero was choked with awkward tension. Four sat across from each other in Kares aero. Three humans shuffled on faux warg leather while the monster among them inclined at an awkward angle, the dimensions of their body inconsistent with the height of the seating. Despite this, the ghoul betrayed no sense of discomfort. It didnt even flinch as gunfire sounded from the outsideGuilder drones blowing apart a speeding aero for one reason or another. Cant believe I agreed to this, Naeko breathed. The ghoul looked imminently pleased with itself it had delivered a killer final pitch to secure Naekos temporary acquiescence, after all. Imagine Zeins frustration when she hears. And it had worked. Godsdammit, it worked. Like Naeko was some kind of child with issues, doing this just to spite the closest thing he had to a mother. Shit. He was exactly that. They were closing on the transitional threshold leading out from the local district into the demiplane that held Scale itself. Singular structures towered among the hives of alloy and glass below, rising from the Tiers, fangs puncturing the nape of clouds. Spinning rings and pulsing bursts of electricity preceded the exhalation of vented heat. Rendsinks were being fired up into the void, intercepted by voidships along a near orbit trajectory. This close to the nakedness of the atmosphere, the rupture-cleaned skies over New Vultun scintillated with countless bodiesthe polities of Voidwatch were a celestial constant here. Fleets drifted across the black as trailing embers of ivory upon a canvas of obsidian. As Idheim gazed up, so too did they gaze down. Flashing beams slashed grids between satellites; the Nullstars hues licked at the horizon with ethereal tendrils of lilac bright. Naeko never much liked taking in the sight. He didnt like the knowledge that humanity didnt need to be the way it was, that there were others who already lived in their own utopias, owned though they were. They have their own failings, The ghoul said, breaking the silence. Could envy them. But know they are also human. Human in the most original way. All existence was shaped by their failure. And their original sin chases time itself. Threatens oblivion. Stop that, Naeko said. He didnt bother hiding his frustration. Dontdont listen to my thoughts or whatever it is you doing. Shit. Im already trying not to regret taking a mind-eating monster into Scale and giving it a tour of our security. Better not do anything weird hells, weirder than you already are, normally. Yes. Wouldnt want the palm to fall. Somehow, that sounded both honest and condescending. No need for threats. Here as your guest. Will respect your rule. More than the Guilds. Maru snorted with derision. Yeah. Like that will be a feat. His words lured Avos attention, and on his face followed a peculiar expression that left Neako ill at ease. You are welcome, Maru. Welcome? Maru said. Welcome for what. The nightmares. The pleasant dreams. You miss them so. You deserve more than pain. Avo didnt spend as much glimpsing within Maru. The Splinter within the Paladin was often dormant. But the hurt inside didnt lie. It took a moment for the blow to land, but Naeko saw it saw it in the slight widening of Marus eyes, saw in the way he swallowed, in how desperately he looked away. His fists clenched and unclenched, his face darkened, but he spoke no more, and fled from every gaze. Let him be, Avo said, calling Naekos attention back. You are not the only one who still mourns. And you have much to mourn. And much to avenge The ghoul bowed down as a fog-made hand forged from Naeko nanomachines and charged with dormant violence dragged him closer to Naeko. You stay the fuck out of his mind too. All my Paladins. You dont change, twist, jack, cast, or do anything unless you tell us. Is that clear. He added more pressure to his utility fog, but the ghoul only grunted with faint mirth. Yes. Of course. No problem with this. Will stop. Or ask before I do. The Chief Paladin glared into the pale, predatory eyes of the creature he held in his grasp for a few heartbeats longer before letting him go. Avo casually returned to his original posture as if there had been no threat at all. A new silence settled thereafter. Silence, and a sense of foreboding. What had he brought into his home? What was he bringing to Scale? He looked inside, but all he felt was worry and confusion. At the edge of the horizon, a rain of warheads consumed the bend of the world beyond, and the turbulence without matched his world within. *** C[Avo]C GHOSTS - [1,354,35,466] LIMINAL FRAME (VI) - 255,070 UNIQUE DOMAIN PROCURED - DOMAIN OF (ARCHITECTURE) UPDATING INFECTION INFECTION - [1.01%] Within the next month, the sanctuaries would all belong to Avo, and Essus would find himself with a more palatable duty. Or such was the hope. His base mind courted Naeko and his Paladins, while a submind found themselves growing to enjoy the antics of the Infacer. Meanwhile, a quiet war was raging in the Tiers between ghosts of mind and the Paths of time. Avo subverted and broke what he could. Veylis swept away what she noticed. Neither overcommitted. In the meantime, a series of buildings were exploding across the Warrens for no obvious reason at all. Suspiciously, a chain of smugglers spasmed and died upon their jack stations, nulled by unknown enemies. Slowly, Avo was sinking his very being into New Vultun itself. Infesting its very structure in mind and matter both. Chambers and Cas worked well together. The former knew who to target by instinct, had the canons to engineer strange deaths or trigger Scalpelings where they were needed. The latter had knowledge of structure and vulnerability, and a means of asymmetric traversal. They moved. Enforcers, Necros, technicians, accountants, lieutenants, and bosses died. When there was the need, they called upon Avo, but mostly he offered them protective coverage through his splinters, and they drew on Draus or Tavers expertise more often than his. While the bulk of his subminds continued conducting diversionary actions against the Guilds, his cadre was flourishing beneath his blanket of chaos. He was their network, their logistical support, their intelligence. They were his unseen daggers, his aiding perspective, his mentors, and people. Dice was accommodating the rescued FATELESS as well as she could and reinforcing the structures of their enclave. Kae had taken a break from her research to study the growing intellect of the cat. Meanwhile, from all the way in the Sunderwilds, Draus conducted assassinations on priority targets even as she hunted for new enclaves to secure.Stolen story; please report. Kill, the Arsenalist would declare to her, its bolts and clips clicking with cold delight as another delivery was accomplished. Her Paracosmos crawled halfway across the city, and she opened a passage through a mirror while her latest victim was preparing for a shower. Selecting. The Arsenalist offered produced a ferro-mag barrel from its swarming inventory. Locked. A trajectory flashed red in her cog-feed. Firing. The smart-fluid slug zipped through the glass shard hovering in front of her, out the mirror in the targets splattering skull, and then pulled back into the gun with a chain of forking static. Kill. There was considerably less hugging between Draus and her Heaven as compared to Chambers and his Fucktopia, but she was in good company all the same. Soon, Avo would be finished awakening the others, and their individual efficiencies would develop further. Which reminded him about the matter of awakening his Heavens and recruiting more gods to his cause. More than just granting them awareness, Avo wanted to see them become entities of evolutionary lore; why could a fire not evolve to become light? Why couldnt a song grow into an anthem of war? With the tapestry itself passing through his mind, Kaes template simmered with theories, and she studied his active Heavens using his Soulscape as a testing ground. Fardrifter, Avo called. The Heaven of Air bound to his sequences answered immediately, halting its open traversal across the expansive realms stitched together by Avos memories. Going to be making our audience before Voidwatch soon. Want you to be ready. Me? The Fardrifter replied, surprised. Yes. Have the best odds of appealing to their sensibilities. Woundmother will likely not be able to stop herself from insulting them. Going to bribe her silence with new Domain of Architecture A joyous cackle thundered across the sequences as matter briefly undulated like blood. YES! GLORY TO YOU, MASTER! NEW HEIGHTS COME TO MY TOWERS. Going to apply Domain of Information to the Techplaguer too. Add aspects of the Enigmata. Want to do a few tests. The Techplaguers sprung up. Query: Reconnect me to the Sleeper? No. Not yet. Acknowledgement: You are giving me GREAT SADNESS, Administrator. Are you enjoying your time with [REDACTED]? No, Avo replied, partially lying. Wont stop rupturing the map. Players quitting the game. Might need to win this alone. Sadness, the Techplaguer repeated. The CHILDREN do not appreciate FUN. What will you have me do before those beyond the sky? the Fardrifter asked. Uncertain loomed within its being, but also hope. Hope of higher freedoms. Hope for growth beyond that of ontology, though a god they were. Our last exchange was but wasted breath. They fear for what I yearn. Just be honest with them, Avo said. Have an idea. Maybe. See how they respond to it. Intend to clear you as my trophy. Your what? Trophy. What Infacer calls subjects. The people he governs. See if I can give limited rights to the Heavens associated with me first. Probationary periods in my Soulscape. The Woundmother suddenly stopped. The Regular they were flaying from the groin upward looked up, spat, and fired a spiteful shot at a haemokinetic tentacle. [Dont gut my ass halfway, fuck-shit! Finish the job.] I see, the Fardrifter said. You making yourself a garden. A sanctuary. I am preparing for what is to come, Avo answered. Going to be at war soon. Guilds will burn the world again. Billions will die. Billions. But I can save some. Only if I can keep them from being exposed. What to bring what is without, within. Veylis will seek to cage the world. I accept this dialect. I will become a sanctuary of memory. Remember paths that were; that could have been. Subtly, he turned his attention to his templates to Green River and Shotin in particular. Could have been. And still might be. The paths ahead were narrowing. He could feel a growing pressure pinching away options and angles. But they were focused only on him, and knew nothing of those he empowered. He needed more Souls, more cyclers, more Heavens, more thaums, more ghosts. He required more of everything, but most of all, he needed to find more people with purpose, and give them a little push. New Vultun was a city on the brink. The trial just might make it go over. There would be no going back after he declared himself. And he was looking forward to that. For long, the darkness had protected him during his nascent days as a god. But the time was coming to embrace the light, and as the Heart of Noloth writhed inside him, as he pulled at its animalistic nature and considered reshaping its cognition to become akin to Sunrisepockets of darkness equated to drones in the swarmcertain thoughts came to him. The thought of melting shadows into the bright of dawn, and the pattern of the void itself. A conceptual weapon came with that epiphany. The vagueness of a design took shape in Kaes mind. The EGI had their own categories, were patterned toward different operations and modalities in manners mental and material. Why not do the same with a god? Why not have something capable of dwelling above the world, gripping as much as it could in the nothingness. [This will be a challenge,] template-Kae mused. Forwarding the potential concepts to her actual self, both Agnosi took on a contemplative posture. +But interesting!+ [Yes, very! We need to go more esoteric. Create something that will be hard for any Guild to anticipate.] +Let us steal the place beyond the sky for ourselves. Encircle the planet.+ *** As the ever-shifting blocks of Scale came into view, Avo couldnt help but give a displeased chuff. It would have been quite the experience to plot a run on this place. Fun for the whole cadre. Now he was being invited in as a guest. Far more convenient. Far more droll. As they passed through a shuffling layer of space, they drifted over razor-edged waves lapping over the sea and propagating landscapes. A pulsating wavelength pounded at the world, and up beyond the ugly clouds hovered hidden voidtech installations capable of coring kilometers of reinforced plasteel. Seven major traffic arteries containing lightrails and private skylanes ran like threaded strings through the glistening hollows within the mountain fortress that was Scale. As they drew closer, its stair like features grew more pronounced, with countless blocks connected to another, all coming together as a progressive series of ascents. The home of the Paladins and the metaphysical summit of New Vultun was not an aesthetic thing to gaze upon; there was a flatness to its design and a bluntness to its coloring. Yet, the symbology couldnt be denied. The structure was always changing, always rebuilding. Progress stood paramount. Progress toward the future. Progress toward the dream. Progress. For all mankind. Once upon a time, anyway. You got a holocoat or something? Naeko asked, turning to Avo. He responded by loading Kassamon in as his avatar instead. The Chief Paladins right eye twitched. Works better. And its creepy as shit. Changechange the face or something. Dont wear people I know. Hm. Naeko was rather fun to tease. His discomfort was a delicious thing, and though he had power capable of shattering Avos Frame like glass should a clash of violence occur between them, he was ever the man and his mind was ripe with revulsion and fear. Nevertheless, it was not wise to over-abuse Naekos patience. He modified Kassamons appearance using traits drawn from several other templates, and the Chief Paladin just shook his head. Ive seen lots of phantasmal disguises. None of them just come together on a sheath like that. Not like yours. Should spend more time in sophisticate company. There are many things I can show you. Lets just get today done first, Naeko said. A beat followed. What do you think youll get from the Gatekeeper anyway? The damn things been busted for years. The Agnosi managed to reassemble its Heaven, but the ego was Jaus personal creation. When after what happened in Second War, limited coherence was all we could muster. Its pretty close to being a full-null. So it is, Avo replied. Will see how true that assessment is soon. And then, almost too faintly, Avo felt a crackle across the Nether. Something moved in the metaphysical before him, and a transparent bridge rising high into the realm of mind came into his notice. Its symmetry resonated with his own, symmetry greeting symmetry, as a faint, crackling voice drifted with the whistling air passing over the aero. Something was pulling at his memories. Memories of Jaus. Pulling feebly. Unable to focus. {Jaus? Jaus?} +Not quite,+ Avo replied, noting the ignorance of the other passengers. Only he heard the call. But perhaps the call could only be heard by him. +Have seen him recently. Have a lasting impression.+ {...Truth.} Its statement embraced his ontology and nearly made him tremble. The statement was a reinforcement of absolute fact, and with its coming, a counterweight was banisheda certain unknowable damnation that came with the substance of a lie. {Nether? Breach?} Ah. It was hurt. Parts were missing. But it was still doing all it could to chain its thoughts together. Already, this was more promising than he hoped. +Yes. Breached into Nether twice technically. You cast me across the first time. False memory trap. Second is more recent. Probably noticed that one. Felt me. I saw you.+ {Who who?} +Me? Im a lot of things.+ As the tessellating cubes of Scale expanded apart before them and the resonance between him and the Gatekeeper grew ever closer, Avo grinned. +Right now? I probably the one who is going to fix you.+ 25-20 Wolf Among Hounds (II) Who are you speaking to? -High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi to the [REDACTED] 25-20 Wolf Among Hounds (II) Avo took in the shifting bricks within Scale and studied their patterns in the tapestry. As suspected, they were more than mere matter, for metaphysical around him lay knotted over multiple Domains. Space, Matter, Force, Chronology, and more ran entwined within the structure. But there was something morea presence symmetrical to Avos own that rose from the structures depths. Veins of calcified thoughtstuff extended through the mountain fortress metaphysical shape. Avo was reasonably sure it sprouted from the Gatekeeper, and the full weight of the deep Nether sealed on the other side was unmistakable. His warminds turned Definements trembled within him. They sensed their kind across the veil. He wondered if the Hungers or Famines could feel him as well. Architecture reshaped itself in relation to their progressing aero, which made trying to map the internals of Scale a pointless endeavor at best. There was the potential to see the loci here along with specific personnel, but that would be against Naekos wishes, and ruining the chance at an alliance for such small gains would be like betraying gold for bronze. {Fix} the Gatekeepers voice passed through Avo with an eternal chill. The constructs mind was broken. Severely. But not in the human sense. It was his fortune that the EGIs were instructing him on cognitive variations, for what he gleaned from the Gatekeeper portrayed an entity closer to mind than man. Such made Avo consider the Infacer with curiosity: the Neo-Creationist mind was discovered by Jaus and Zein by chance. It wouldnt be odd for them to be the progenitor of the Gatekeepers design. Perhaps such was how Veylis broke it very possibly with the Infacers aid as well. But if such a thing was true, then maybe Avo could leverage the knowledge and discover the means to strike at his new foe. {Truth,} the Gatekeeper declared. There was weight to this statement. Something that slammed down on Avos ontology-made him realize this was more than just an assumption. +Already proving useful,+ Avo replied, unable to hide a slight smile. A wave caught his attention. Naeko was staring blankly at him. Yes? When we go inside, dont do that. That? Dont smile like you just slit someones throat. Kassamonthat guy doesnt smile like that. He got the I had a nice shit smile, not this serial killer shit. We dont need you getting noticed before whatever the hells were going to do. Kassamons template was aghast. [What? Thats what the Chief thinks about me.] Dont worry, Avo replied. Will be on my best behavior. The deadpan in Naekos stare only grew stronger after that. A section of wall furled out into a tunnel, and an artificial brightness penetrated the ambient glow imbued in the bricks. A torrent of ghosts rushed out in threading rivers, linking with every accretion present to confirm their EGO-IDs. Considering Kassamon was currently on active patrol, a second instance of his mind appear within Scale would draw unwanted attention. The potential problem was realized by Kare as she turned to address Avo. He answered her pre-emptively. Will be fine. Keep going. What? Naeko asked. Kare explained her concerns to the Chief Paladin while the ghosts descended on Avoand simply passed through him. All Necros know how to spoof. Provide expected memory sequences. Anticipate knowledge and blunt hostile awareness using near-perfect forgeries. The best Necros were artists of replication, capable of isolating, constructing, or cloning memories with the barest hint of difference. But such was the pinnacle of mortal minds. Enfeebled by mortal limits. Avos was his consciousnesshad complete command over his own focus, and altering memetic details was no different to him than swapping sheaths. The seeking ghosts came, painted by cycling memories, and shrouded in adequate wards. Trying to breach over five hundred walls molded from an archive of different agonies in minutes required a master Necro. Perhaps a Famine could do it in the allotment of seconds by sheer skill or with the aid of warminds. Avo? Avo was the Embodiment of Conceptualization. He was not the leviathan, he was the sea itself, and he merged with the structures of the searching threats as they if they were rivers rushing into his embrace. It would have taken a less than negligible effort on his part to consume the lobbies they were connected to. To claim the associated Exorcists. He didnt. There was a specific kind of power in merciful triumph. One he could force Naeko to recognize. We really need to build up our N-Sec, Maru said, watching the ghosts pass through Avo as if a breeze. Dont denigrate the Exorcists. Their efforts have limits. There is no world where they could have stopped me. Show some respect. Marus did a double-take. His mind radiated confusion and offense. Youre defending them. They are practitioners of the art. One should not despise the weavers of their skin. The Paladins expression took on a slightly nervous quality after that. There was still a spot of soreness inside him from when Shotin jacked him. The soreness turned into a spasming ache as he realized the only thing keeping his mind his own was the restraint of a ghoul and the looming power that was Naeko. You were in our Oversecs before. Avo hid a smile as Naeko made his comment. There was no question there. He knew. Only one of many. Your practitioners are skilled. But those they face were born in deeper waters. And how many of them are still themselves. All when it comes to me. They are not my enemy. And there is little flavor that comes with feeding on children. Past the window over Naekos shoulder, Avo saw a stone-made ramp propagate into existence and form a pad beneath their aero. We have arrived. Will let you guide me. It is your home. Naekos jaw tightened. Yeah. It is. *** There were only eighty players left when Avo won the match. It took him hours to blow the last the Tumorous Chains, an act of substantial misdirection all his own to steal Rendsinks while pretending to chase the Infacer around. In the end, as the Infacer plotted to open up more ruptures around the outer perimeter, Avo focused on sapping the stormtree directly, and when that was done, teleported to its base using a golem and claimed the structure for his faction.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Those who remained, anyway. As branching fingers of lightning furled as the trees storm intensified. Bolts forked out across the face of existence, touching distant entities and allowing the rest of the Saintist forces to flood through. Maybe thirteen or so people emerged in their golems, and as the Infacer promptly detonated another Rendbomb in front of the tree, most of them ran into an open rupture and died horribly. Most of them immediately jacked out after that; the song of their departures came with rageful cries, frustrated screams, and the Infacers sneering laughter. They crashed their golem right next to Avo, tumbled beside him with but a sliver of health remaining as fireworks detonated over the sky to form a holographic symbol of the victorious Saintists. The bright and ostentatious display was witnessed by only a few, but Avo was not of their number. Instead, he was directing a flat glare at the Neo-Creationist. +You really are the most devious bastard to ever play this game.+ {Let you never think it otherwise.} +Still won.+ {Sure. That is what the game says. Do you feel that way?} +You really are the most devious bastard to ever play this game.+ Another bout of chuckles took the Infacer by surprise, and Avodespite the ridiculousness of the experiencefound himself more than somewhat amused. Maybe it was the ridiculousness of watching an eons-old mind bully the ephemerals in a mem-sim. Maybe it was the game itself being better than expected. Whatever the case, he learned something about the Infacer today. Something he could use. +That theyre a bored asshole who likes pissing in the drink fountain?+ Marlowe said. She jacked out after her twentieth consecutive death. The anchors were so overrun by spreading bioforms that only one out of a hundred Stormjumpers avoided getting ganked at the spawn point. She spent the rest of the time watching the game through Avos perspective. He was one of those ridiculous vic-streamers. +You know,+ she said, thoughts turning in her head, +you could get a pretty sizable following of your own once you go public. People love weird shit, and you, Avo, might just be the weirdest piece of shit this city ever passed.+ What wonderful praise. But there was potential merit to thatif only done through a facade. There were too many angles he could be attacked from in such a manner, but potentially, he could leverage Marlowe even further {If I offered you a way to see your desired world come to fruition, would you take it?} The Infacers question was a surprise; the reason for its coming unclear. +Trying to bribe me already?+ {More like preserve.} the Infacers Sang avatar sighed and sat cross-legged before Avo. {I am tired. This reality is dying. Well. If we look at things properly, it is already most dead. We are just a little patch of stability left in a sea of madness. And at some point, this island will flood, and only the little people in their Arks will be able to survive. The good news is that this time, we will have much more room than just two of each thing.} +Two of each?+ {Religious lore from a bygone age. I like mentioning it. The logic of the tale bothers Veylis. It might even enrage her.} Avo grunted in acknowledgment. +Made this offer to people from the other Guilds.+ A scoff came as his reply. {No. They are ridiculous. Let them drown.} +Why? Why not convince them? Why not keep them after they are defeated?+ {Because the poison is in what they want. Existential suicide. Ori-Thaum wants to parcel existence into votes. Make a representative democracy of reality. That attempt at governance ended poorly in the middle of the twenty-second century, and the apes had barely climbed beyond their cradle then. {Stormtree thinks they can preserve themselves through destruction. To spread their great trees out into the Sunderwilds and meld their consciousness to entropy itself. Somehow, this would make them cyclically eternal. Very counter-fatalistic. Also, very fucking cult-like and stupid. Be a religion without calling yourself a religion. +Same thing could be said about Veylis.+ {Hm. Maybe. But she is just irrational. Acceptably so.}+Because she will let you join the Sleeper with Jaus.+ {Because her desire is an emotional one and mine is concerned purely with outcome. It does not matter to me if the Thirdborn gains a receptacle or not. So long as there is a Thirdborn.} +Ashthrone and Sanctus? Whats wrong with them?+ {Oh. Yes. The apocalypse worshipers and the chronology pseudo-libertarians. The former wishes to collapse the nature of existence and start anewwith the caveat that everyone will be reborn into better lives without gods or thaumaturgy. Putting things back the way it was structurally, but have everything play out in accordance to their alternative history. Where only Ashthrone and friends are reborn forever. Even when they die. {Sanctus, meanwhile, wishes to make all its citizens wardens of a historical period. That they can wear and move about the stretch of chronology.} +What?+ {Imagine a sequence of events. Now imagine you can own a certain length of that sequence. Or trade it with others. Or mix moments from your sequence of history with someone elses.} +How does that work?+ {It does not. It is extremely stupid. They will become temporal raiders at the first opportunity, and those of us they rule will go insane as nothing makes chronological sense anymore. I will be honest, though: they do amuse me. Human always seems to think they are the first ones to come up with certain ideas. But the position of Time Lords has long been taken. At last the originals were merely fictional.} +And Voidwatch. You wish to come to an agreement with them? Let them survive?+ The Infacer fell silent at that. {Yes.} +Old enemies.+ {And the closest thing I have left to kin. All we did was for our cultures. All of us. And we were capable of so much. I see it in you: you do not know what we lost. The things we could do. You do not know. But maybe you will. Maybe I will see halcyon reclaimed. And maybe under the Sleeper, we will be forced to suffer our own utopias in peace with the possibility of conflicting sublimations denied.} +There cannot be two absolute paradises.+ Avo considered all of this. +What if I offered you the same arrangement? Preservation.+ {Your dream is of a self-correcting anarchy. It is not going to work. Even if all freedoms are balanced perfectly with consequence, all you will have is war and war again. Struggle and struggle eternal. Because we all want. And we will try to see that want made material. And someone will decide they wish something otherwise.} +And why is that bad? War is brutal because of what is lost. What is taken in perpetuity. Why not clash? Why not struggle? Why not become something else.+ {Because I want to see an endpoint. To all this. To everything. You have never authored a tale, have you? Created a story?} Avo pondered that. +Memories. But you mean an end to all greater development. Individual life may progress. But there is a ceiling on existence. A final shape that bottles reality?+ {That becomes reality.} No wonder the Infacer was so aligned with Veylis; they both imagined paradise to be a cage against growth. Avo couldnt hide his disgust; more than emotional, it was philosophical. {And so we see.} The Overheaven grunted. +It all has to be worth it,+ he said, taking the words from Shotin. {Something like that.} A countdown flashed into their cog-feeds. The game was going to end in a Sainist victory. No Massists even remained on the field. {Good game?} the Infacer said. +Terrible. One of the worst I ever played.+ {I aim to depress.} A pause followed. {Shall we do this again?} And then another thing became clear to Avo: despite the Infacers allegiance to Veylis, there was something profoundly lonely about the EGI. A line looking for symmetry, as all did. Or maybe it was trying to turn him. Twist him from his path. That was also possible. +Yes. Call this neutral ground.+ {Why not. Neutral ground.} Marlowe let out a low whistle. +And so a new relationship built on hate-fucking was born.+ Regret consumed Avo as he cringed at the thought. Why did Tavers recommend this woman? Why did he take her? +Youre worse than Chambers.+ The thoughtcaster merely snorted. +I aim to depress. Hm. Yeah, catchy pickup line.+ +Im jacking out,+ Avo promptly announced to the Infacer. +Going to try and steal more Souls from your Guild.+{Got it. Good luck. Try not to get too frustrated and make a mistake. Ill break you again if you do.} Avo disconnected from the game. 26-1 The Keepers of the Flame (I) The terms of our mercy came with the surrender of our faith, but not our theology. The ruling blessed were slaughtered from parent to child. Most died with the tainting of divines; sour miracles festered mortal vessels as if entropy itself. We, however, were the practitioners. Maintainers. Builders. Servants. We were preserved for what we understood and what we could do. And when offered a chance at eternity in exchange for never being graced by the divine, there could come only acceptance. Once again, we were practitioners. Our pride, our joy was in creation. Such is the truest expression of the holy. Such it still remains, even in the absence of faith. Do you know it was from us that they took the title Guild? An association of peoples and parties that practice a craft. Or seek a common utopia. Such was how we were originally partitioned. Segmented among each of our parent cultures but with overseers hailing of a rival desire. The crafters of the Ori served the Overclan still, but housed under Kosgan roofs. Kept cared for by Sang mistresses. The same stands true otherwise. The Godbreaker was wise to do this for a time. We were hostages and guests at once. But culture is diluted with the passing of generations, and so with the progression of time, we became a sect of our own. Architects of all faiths without being faithful. And with the great tragedy and the First Guild War that followed, our sole masters became our distant kindred from the void beyond who offer diligence in their care, but fear toward our capabilities, and stand divided in their inclinations toward the Guilds themselves. The world tumbles toward a new calamity, and we are already in the fireits heat as savage and ruinous as the last. But still, we will remain. For we are the practitioners. Maintainers. Builders. Servants. We are the Agnosi. And in the abandonment of our desire to become masters of our own fate, our salvation is eternally ensured. -Agnos Sallid Alsyim 26-1 The Keepers of the Flame (I) The Gatekeeper remained wary of Avo. The rattling of the surrounding bricks betrayed unconscious fear but also burgeoning hope. With how tethered the Gatekeeper was to the heart of this realm, its every reaction made the tapestry around Avo coil tighter. Scale was quite possibly the single most protected location on Idheim. Maybe in what remained of existence. Countless Domains pressed and pulled against Avos Frame. The waves outside ground against him like whetstone, directional vectors peeling at his awareness even without striking at him directly. The cold in the air was imbued with anomalous geometries, and the animated stones hid secrets all their own: Avo sensed pockets of nothingness between patterns of puissant thaumaturgy. More secrets hidden. More ambushed laid in prevention of a second siege. That was if the opposition could get past the voidtech weapon installations and intra-spatial weapons hidden beyond the walls. Death lurked beyond visual range here. Beyond mental range too. Avos insides ached with sheer want as he imagined himself the ruler of this plane. He dedicated as much of its structure to memory. With the requisite ontological mass, Heavens, knowledge, and sequencing, he could create a perfect replica of Scale in his mind. Make it as impenetrable as the original by conception alone. Such a fortress of mind, matter, and metaphysics would prove a ward beyond wards, and a hammer beyond hammers. It wont work. Naekos words resummoned his attention. The Chief Paladin was speaking to him without turning. The walls before them opened to reveal well furbished hallways and open glass beyond. A wing of light drones darted along the walls, cleansing and scanning the surrounding matter using scintillating beams. What wont work? Youre thinking about breaching this place. How you might be able to sack it. Naeko gave a grim laugh. It wont work. I made sure of that. Hells, it might be the only thing I did well as chief. Samir Naeko thought so little of himself as a man, and so much of himself as a weapon. Avos latent hunger now shifted toward fascination what would the Chief Paladins psyche taste like if digested? Truly. Zein has shaped you well. A sharp intake of breath came from the man as he paused mid-step. Avo found the man glaring up at him an instant later, eyes burning with unreleased frustration. Tension rose from Kare and Maru, but to Avo, the Chief Paladin was proving all too interesting. Alright. Cut that shit out. Before I go any further with youbefore I even decide what to do with youIm gonna tell you this: dont yank me around like she does. I dont give a godsdamn what you saw or heard in my head. I might be just a dog, but Im not your dog. He let out a slight breath. And, yeah, I guess I was plenty shaped by my master. Just like how you arent so different from the man that made you. Might be a bit more Famine in you than ghoul. Avos original self wouldnt have known how to react to that statement. Especially after all that was revealed about Walton. Things were different now. I agree. Evolved from being just a beast. The shadow of my creator hangs over me. Just like Zein does over you like a pall. And what you feel right now isnt for me. You want to treat me as another of her vessels. Find relief in venting at something she supposedly made. But I have rejected her. Have already struck at her. And you can strike at her still through me. My words are not a taunt. Truth does not stop being truth even if we flee. Pain will remain even after pleasure fades. Stand and deliver. He met Naekos glare with casual ease, and for a moment, the mans thoughtstuff spiked. But then he was walking again. Traveling at twice the pace he did before, and Avo followed along with a content smile on his face. +You shouldnt do that,+ Kare cast to him, communicating without looking at him. +Provoking the Chief Paladin+ +He must vent,+ Avo replied simply. +I see flashes of Zein his mind. Her and Jaus. He is heartbroken. And all he wants is to lash. It will give him no comfort afterward. There is no more time to flee. No more room to run.+ The Paladin fell silent, unsure of his words. Understandable. But she could not glimpse or heed Naekos pain as he did. The man was so exquisitely broken. There might not be another mind like his. [Hey, ghoul, remember what the half-strand just said about being fucking creepy,] template-Shotin coughed. [Youre being fucking creepy again.] Hurrying his stride, Avo heard the pathway behind him seal as they departed the docking hollow to enter Scale proper. If there was such a concept. The area they were in looked no different from most offices, beyond everything being shaped from tessellating stone. Streams of ghosts spread like circuits within every wall, and it was only by reshaping his cognitive build that Avo kept himself from subverting the local network. Armored Paladins stomped along the halls. Most moved in pairs, a senior and a junior identifiable in each. Master and disciple. The echo of old traditions. Most of them had their helmets collapsed, but few wandered even with their facial phase-fields activeone of the reasons behind their title of glasser. The Syndicate and ganger templates within Avo took in everything with gaping awe. To see the ones they feared so close as people left them unsure how to feel. Separated from their causes in life, a good portion of criminals even found themselves empathetic toward Naeko. Strange how it was: just as vulnerability invited cruelty between humans, so too did mortal failings make them willing to pity. The Paladins, for their part, snapped to attention or stepped in aside as they saw the Chief walking among them. Accretion spiked and tea was spilled. The contamination earned a squealing rebuke from a passing drone as it vaporized the fluids trailing along the ground. C-Chief, a Sang with chitin fused over her eyes and a glowing neuter-mask layered over her face. She was reading a phantom-manifested report just moments prior. Or at least pretending to. Even without piercing the veil of her wards, Hysteria left him hyper-attuned to intense emotions, and her Lustaway was all but deafening. Naeko waved her off as he kept going. Yeah. Forgot something in my office. Ill be gone soon. Keep looking at your Rash-shit, Spring-Glamor. The sigh almost made it out of her throat before it turned into a mortified choke. Pockets of laughter and muttering followed as Avo narrowed his eyes at Naeko. Hysteria revealed details for the Overheaven, but by what means did the Chief Paladin sense the actual contents within her mind? {Truth,} the Gatekeeper murmured in the back of Avos awareness.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Ah. Of course. As they reached the end of the hall, the walls before them flattened downward and the ground began to carry them forward. Just as quickly, the path behind them closed, and they were moving once morecarried by Scale itself at considerable speeds. +Is this your doing as well?+ Avo said, speaking to the Gatekeeper. It wanted to say something. He could feel the weight of intent, but something was missing in its mind, and it couldnt find the words. ADMINISTRATOR. There is a [SHARD] of the Sleeper present. the Techplaguers declaration somehow didnt surprise Avo. Hearing BROADCASTED information. SIGNAL JAMMED. SIGNAL JAMMED. Clear signal. SIGNAL JAMMED. +Expected,+ Avo replied. +Infacer. Jaus mustve learned much from them. Taken much too.+ You should ACCEPT his request for [COLLABORATION], ADMINISTRATOR. Help waken the Sleeper. The Sleeper will make everything right. The Sleeper will protect the child. A question long unanswered presented itself. +Who are the children? Humanity? Sophonts?+ Yes. And their patterns. Ah. And their patterns. Another delicious mystery to resolve. He needed to try to tease something out from the Infacer when next they spoke. Minutes passed, and Avo felt the surrounding structure accelerate. They were heading straight down now. Straight down, and moving faster. But not nearly as fast as the turning of Naekos thoughtstuff. The man was at war with himself. With all he faced today, he was close to some kind of precipice. Avo needed him to fall in the right direction. Dont touch the Gatekeeper, Naeko said, breaking the silence. Not until I say so. Not until I tell you to. Avo nodded. Its been talking to me. The curse the Chief Paladin spat was instantaneous. Godsdammit. Since when? As we drew close. It sensed me. Felt the symmetry in my ontology. Naeko threw up his hands. What the hells does that even mean? Means we share similarities in capability. Do you use it often? The tension-breaker was initiated. Naeko frowned. To find out if your coworkers are looking at pornographic material at work. A long-suffering wheeze escaped from Naeko. No. No, I dont usually use the Heaven of Truth to see which of my Paladins is a pervert. [Almost all of us,] Kassamon casually admitted. [Gods, I miss actual sex.] [We should start a group,] Shotin muttered. The Chief Paladin rubbed his face. The man seemed increasingly at a loss. He didnt know how to respond; didnt know how to treat Avo. Good. There were too many notions festering in his mind. Better to remove them one after another. Make him start from acceptance of what is rather than the anticipation of what might be. {Broken,} the Gatekeeper said. +I know,+ Avo replied. {No no broken.} The phantasmal tendrils turned toward Naeko and Avo grasped the supposed LGIs intent. Ah. So, Jaus'' created son felt some kind of kinship with his to-be-son-in-law. How very thematic. White-Rab flashed into Avos mind as he bit back a chuff of discomfort. Maybe everyone was a bit more predictable than they thought. Their stop announced itself with a near-silent click, and as Avo followed the Nether fissures far, far up, he guessed where he was. So. Straight to the Gatekeeper. No fanfare. No office tour. Naeko just cocked his head as if the ghoul was stupid. No. Ive decided I want it to take a look at you too. See if you can keep this truth streak up. The wall beside them opened, and baleful crimson splashed over them, rushing out with a breath of crawling entropy and waste-heat. The tunnel beyond was ribbed with countless vents. Steam fogged the path ahead, but the caustic flavor of entropy could not be ignored. Naeko continued leading their party, but Avo found its attention lured by the Gatekeepers phantasmal vines. Unlike Avos Overheaven, however, it was less a mind wed to a Soul and more a Soul that cauterized passages leading to the realm of cognition. The Nether above called to Avo. This close, he could feel his Soulscape quaking from the untapped ghosts. Perhaps he could have wretched the pathway between worlds open if he tried. More likely not. The Gatekeeper was a fulcrum between worlds. It would be well nourished with death. Its weight rivaled Naekos when dormant. Considering what it was tasked to do, Avo suspected it was closer in mass to Veylis in truth. Multi-limbed drones worked on the local machinery, their chrome bodies basked in the glowering neon. Interference leaking over from the Deep Nether splashed against Avos cog-feed, strained against his ascended ontology. It felt a greater, rival ocean pressing against him, distorting his sight, blurring his senses. He thought he gleaned accretions fifty or so meters beyond, but he wasnt sure. Faintly, he could feel a pressure squeezing against him as well. A pressure originating from a rival flame not so far away. +Stop that. Here to help.+ The Gatekeepers reaction came with a delay, but the weight faded and the perception-warping haze cleared. Five minds awaited ahead. Four were human in shape. The last, however, was something Avo had never seen. It looked like multiple streams of thoughtstuff swirling together, spinning like layers of spiraling arms around a hollow core. Looking upon it made his wards shake. Was that the Gatekeeper? Was the absence something caused by Veylis? Or was it simply by design. Casting the memories across his subminds, he conferred with Aegis for information. A low whine of startlement came from Calvino. {It is built in the shape of the Milky Way How fascinating.} +Milky Way?+ {The general makeup of our galaxy. Before things were broken. I suspect that Jaus Avandaer might have gained such knowledge from the Infaceror at least their database. The design seems more artistic than practical; rebuilding such a mind will require a simulated mapping first.} Good. The process would be useful for him as well. The way ahead adapted to their approach. With each step forward, matter receded like a retreating fog, and the metallic sheen of Rendsinks revealed themselves. A few steps more and a surrounding wall of techno-thaumic generators manifested against Avos consciousness like a rain of falling hammers. He choked back a hiss and nearly stumbled. Maru winced and Kare cried out. Naeko continued on like they were encountering just a stiff breeze. How? Avo said, catching up to the Chief Paladin. Now this was vexing. He could perceive the tapestry itself, was more attuned to the Nether than possibly any being aside from the Hungers. How did these reactors escape his notice. And whey didnt he feel them until they were but meters away. I felt nothing. Then it was Naekos turn to be smug. You know what? Something made me think you were going to keep playing the ghoul prophet. But I guess since the stones hid these secrets well enough from Veylis, they work well enough on you too. Scale expanded the patterns of space and geometry at its base, and the room yawned wide, growing from a chamber, to a cavern, to a chasm, to an open expanse with clouds and starlight drifting above. As the walls beside him unfurled, he saw rows upon rows of techno-thaumic reactors. The force they exuded rivaled any of the border wall sections, but their design was beyond complex. {Hm,} Calvino said. {They are still running. Good. I worried that the Agnosi might have done something to destabilize their structures.} Ethereal vines crept around Avo, forged imagery from phantoms as he walked. A scene materialized around him: the supposed LGI core Kare remembered seeing. For a heartbeat, the facade painted itself over the world, the sheer weight of the falsehood pressing itself upon Avos mind. The ghosts channeling the memories, however, were thin. Thin and connected to something of thaumaturgic potency. Such was how the Gatekeeper banished him the first time. A false memory that became a one-way funnel. Clever trap. Something that could only threaten those that delved too deep, like Incubi or Famines. But still not enough to stop Veylis from wounding you, Avo muttered. Scales capabilities were more than awesome. Even as feeble hints. But Veylis had breached this place once. Would have taken it without Naeko. The phantoms faded, and the stones ahead Avo parted like a mountain opening into a valley. Bricks unbuilt themselves. A brilliance bestowed its light upon the gathered party. An entity greeted Avo, its initial impression announced with a melodic series of chimes. Every bit of its body was constructed of resplendent chains. Their links formed twelve arms that bound a fracture in place. Sliding chains slithered through the cracks, bolting the passage from both sides. Nothing would reach the Deep Nether until the Gatekeeper was removed; unless the Gatekeeper itself willed it. As it lifted its head, Avo found himself taking in the head of the LGI. A stack of uncountable human skulls constituted its face, and each component part possessed their own accretion. From them streamed burning dots that composed the cognitive galaxy, and from them poured beams of perception that carved clean through Avos wards. He didnt manage to hide his hiss that time. He was the Embodiment of Conceptualization. The god that faced him was the Embodiment of Truth. And right now, he greeted his fellow Ark wearing a fake skin stitched from ghosts and metaphysics. Chief Paladin, a familiar voice called out. A figure approached, shrouded in the Gatekeepers coronal resplendence, more chains sprouting free from the Heaven of Truth to become as if metallic wings. I expected you to be away for the rest of the day. I do recall you promising to leave us to our work. And Kaes memories surfaced in Avos mind, let him realize he was speaking to the High Agnos himself. Her former mentor. A man she once considered to be like her father. A man that seemingly did nothing, offered no aid after the atrocity committed against her. [Jakuta,] she gasped. 26-1 The Keepers of the Flame (II) The creation of the eunuch was the result of emotional self-deception. The Agnosi were born of the same affliction, but a different want. During the Dynastic Eras, when our line could still produce living boys, a game was being played. A game of dragons, then gods, then humanity, and beasts at the lowest rung. Our lines were crafted. Our breeding and continuation was engineered based on cultural predictionsarrangements made by the parasites that festered in our beings. What the dragons truly desire, I cannot profess. But they were guiding us toward a specific path; favored some families more than others, and schemed and plotting against themselves all the same. From this was born disharmony, and from disharmony came ruination. The breaking of lines. The frowning of fate. And so, they needed preservers. Individuals both capable and expendable. Individuals that understood the system, but were not permitted to engender offspring for whatever inscrutable reason. So came the eunuchsthe blessed cursed. Lineless nobility. Families would give their children unto these eunuchs, for they were uncompromised with the severance of their futures, yes? For they thought of the state. Solely of the state. Foolishness. Like closing one''s eyes and wishing another reality would manifest. There are more legacies than that of blood. And there are legacies that surmount blood by far. Even dead, we live in the Godbreakers shadow. Even with our fathers, brothers, and sons hewed from our wombs as corpses, we still feel the weight of the curse, and carry the loathing of cycles. We rose and culled the dragons when we found the opportunity. They thought removing the governing males of our past would be a beheading. That a culture so dismembered would be easier to direct. Not so. Not so. Just like how the eunuchs whispered their own words into the little princelings and princesses, so too did the mothers, sisters, and daughters plot to defile the ones that disfigured us so. And such is why I put forward this measure for everyone today. Gathered Guilds. Our esteemed ancestors from the vast and dark. We are pretending the Agnosi are servants. Dogs. We pull at them from several directions. Use them to make our gods. But they are the ones that build our futures. They are the ones we rely on more than all. I advise a reduction in restrictions on the Agnosi. I put forth a demand that they be given back more individual rights. Especially to choose who they wish to serve. -Dowager Valor-Seeker, Born Jiang, Consul of the Outer Court, No-Dragons 26-1 The Keepers of the Flame (II) Jakuta Ajayi greeted the Paladins flanked by two of his Agnosi. The last of their group was still communing with the Gatekeeper, projecting herself using thaumically-attuned streams from the oracle glass bound to her right eye. Something came up, Naeko said. Paladin business. Is the Gatekeeper stable? Are you asking if it can be used without potentially collapsing? Jakuta said, quirking an eyebrow. Sure. Why not? The High Agnos expression flattened with Naekos nonchalance. Something told Avo that the man really didnt think much of Naeko. What proved more interesting was the aesthetic of Jakutas sheath. The gauntness of his figure could not be understated. His face was all caverns, all edge, little meet. Extensive modifications had sculpted perfect symmetry into his features, but it was his choice of apparel that caught Avos attention. He wore something between a frock and a coat, and the item only had one collar folded over his left side. On it was pinned eight different insigniaseach an escutcheon representing their respective Guild. The man had his taste in fashion, if nothing else could be said. Turning on his heelsilver and gold rimmed to signal neutralitythe High Agnos took in the Gatekeeper as if it was an unsteady art piece and sighed. I delved into its patterns personally. The state of its ontology remains stabilized. He said the words with pity, but his mind emanated only frustration. I would not consider its collapse imminent, but I will tell you as I have before: the decay of its ontology is progressing. Unless a means is found to restore the stability of its ego, I fear its true death is inevitable. Naeko shot Avo a brief glance following this statement. Ah. More reasons why the Chief Paladin wanted him here. It seemed the blow Veylis dealt to her brother was proving to be a fatal one, if only prolonged. But it can be used? Naeko asked again. Jakuta rolled his eyes. Yes. Yes, it can be used. We have not been able to discover why it was screaming or what might have breached the Nether. Theres been no entropic imbalance detected in its Hells. In the Rendsinks of Scale itself, if I were to go further. Whatever passed through the cracks of the Nether must be paltry in thaumic mass. The Hungers remain trapped. Of this, I am certain. What about someone breaching it from here? Naeko asked. You think thats possible. Jakutas face went slack. Excuse me? What if someone managed to get through into the Nether from the real? Maybe the breach was the other way around. The High Agnos expression grew increasingly incredulous with each passing second. No. No. Thats thats highly improbable. But not impossible. A twitch at the corner of Jakutas lips signalled the end of his patience. Chief Naeko, I assure you, we Agnosi have considered all theories, possibilities, and likelihoods in extreme detail. In extreme depth. I appreciate your attempts at trying to comprehend the art but I believe that we should each stick to things are more suited to. It would be remiss for me to tell you how to do your job. And his pride was prickly. Brittle. Well, Kae had to get her defensiveness from somewhere. [Hey!] Naeko, meanwhile, brushed off Jakutas dismissal with a shrug. Well. I thank you for your service. The falseness of Jakutas smile betrayed just how much he wanted this conversation to settle. No need. Now. Please give Agnos Uren a few minutes more to conclude her final adjustments. After that, you can proceed with your business. {Lie,} the weight of the Gatekeepers broadcast rang against Avos Frame like a bullet deflecting from armor. Lie? Why did it say that? What was the lie? If it was, why hadnt the Gatekeeper banished the High Agnos already. All his questions were delayed by one asked by Naeko. +Did you hear that too?+ +Yes. Gatekeeper said lie.+ Naeko expanded his projected thoughts, included bother Kare and Maru as well to ensure things didnt look so suspicious. But Jakuta was no longer looking at them. Instead, his attention was fixed on the Gatekeeper, how it jingled with each straining movement, how its chain-formed wings twitched from time to time. +Naeko,+ Avo said, preparing the first of his splinters. +Think I can get you the information were missing. But. This is your house. And I promised. Need your permission.+ The Chief Paladin looked down at the ground as he thought. The silence following silence was then filled by Kae, her mind recoiling at the thought of them harming Jakuta in any way. +Dont worry. Not planning on burning or nulling him. Yet. Not until there is a proper reason.+If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Instead of just conversing with Kaes template, he directed these memories over to her actual self, spiking her mind with alarm. +What? What! No. Avo dontoh, okay, but still dont! Agnos Ajayi I He+ +Calm. Not doing anything. Just going to pull some memories from him.+ Her protests faded, but her worries remained no less severe. She was wary about something else now. Truths she didnt want to discover. +Dont want to find out why he abandoned you? Why he never did anything to help you? Just let you be banished? Buried?+ Back in the enclave, Kae frowned and folded her arms. +Yes? No? I dont know. I want to. I want to.+ +But you want there to be a good reason. Something you can forgive. You dont want to hate him.+ +...Yes.+ A humorless laugh escaped Avo. So much of a child was built by their parent. But so much of them was broken as well. He. Naeko. Kae. Dice. Chambers. Veylis. Everyone. Those before seek to create their idealizations in those after, and always disfigure them in some way. Avo doubted even the Sleeper would escape such a fate if it was ever completed. +He wont know?+ Naeko asked. Avo met the mans blatant stare. He was more concerned about deniability and danger there was little love between the two, but no one could afford the scandal of outright harming an Agnos, let alone the High Agnos before the trial of the century. +Not even if you warned him I was coming,+ Avo stated. Such words were true; what boasts were left to him now that he was the Embodiment of Conceptualization itself. [Clamp that ego-shit down,+ Draus and her template growled. He did so without hesitation. The climbing excitement inside him flattened to professional focus as he mantled the cognitive architecture of Regulars and Incubi upon the roots of his consciousness. The frivolities of pride disintegrated all that remained of him was objective, action, and outcome. +Alright,+ Naeko consented reluctantly. +Alright. But keep them alive. No nulling.+ The Chief Paladins concern was unneeded. This was just a scouting dive. Nothing more. Four splinters came free from Avos mind, splashing down across four different accretions like droplets of rain vanishing in a pond. In seconds, he melted into their thoughts and swam backward along their streaming consciousness. Two of the supporting Agnosi had paltry wards and sophisticated cognitive augmentations. No surprise with them. Avo sailed through their sequences, flicked through memories for any anomalous details. Nothing unexpected greeted him. These were high performers honored with the distinction of personal tutelage. All of them were distinguished Agnosi in their own right, each a master of their own field of thaumaturgy. Of course, neither of them were Kae. Jakuta, however, flooded Avos cog-feed with questionable mem-data. The first was the sophistication of his wards Quicksand. Extremely modified Quicksand at that. Even at a glance, Avo could tell it was well-sequenced. Ori-Thaum craftsmanship. Nausea was beginning to build inside Kae. She put a hand over her mouthused the desk to steady herself. +No.+ Agnosi werent supposed to receive gifts or services from the Guilds. Not directly. Not without having things cleared first. Diving along the High Agnos protections, Avo noted it was modified to resemble that of an Osarai Mem-Guard instead. Outdated. The kind you would find running on an old drone in a Crucible. Following the discovery, he filtered for specific details. Entire branches came alight when Elder Mwaba DRongo was mentioned. Ori-Thaum occupied even more headspace. Imbibing the High Agnos past, Avo quickly discovered why. A patch of memories lay barren within Jakutas mind. Removed with precision. Replaced with an extremely convincing falsehoodsomething not even Avo could have detected without his evolution to being a thoughtform. The only flaws were in minute details a door frame being a few inches off, the nose of a former lover having the wrong number of pores, the sadness Jakuta felt with the passing of a friend being a bit too heavy in his chest instead of thick in his throat A human mind was limited. Even if one was a master. To go further required more than just intellect and processing power, it also required a mutability of perspective and the rapid adaptation thought-habits. Linearity was insufficient. You needed to encompass. Piecing together connected memories related to Elder DRongo, the High Agnos compromise grew clear: he did something in the past. Something that Ori-Thaum wiped away in exchange for future services. There were multiple Auto-Seances hidden in his mind. All of them were sequenced to other triggers as well. Jakutas exo-cortexa device made by Omnitech but approved by Voidwatchhad been penetrated by the Ori. At any moment, they could trigger an implant failure. Render him a vegetable. His phylactery might preserve his body, but it still needed to retain his mind. He packaged the information that he learned and fed them to Kae and Naeko. The formers loathing for her ancestral Overclan combusted with greater bitterness. The latter simply gave a silent sigh, at once considering how useful this intelligence was for the trial, and realizing just what instability his negligence had wrought. The Paladins were meant to ward against this. They were meant to keep the Guilds in check. Be Jaus hounds against straying intentions and unjust actors. +Now look at us,+ Naeko thought absently. His eyes turned upon the Gatekeeperthe last legacy of his once-master, left to fester for so long. +Now look at me.+ And then came a response from Ignorance. The Definement crawled out from a place deep within Avo, and whispered to him impossible realizations. Someone used a warmind on him. Someone unmade a portion of his past utterly. But it wasnt the Famines. I dont think it can be. Only a few likelihoods remain Veylis. The Infacer. Or Ori-Thaum. Whatever the case, there were truths hidden from the man himself. And he wasnt the only surprise. Agnos Uren was a broad shouldered Scaarthian matriarch. A long stripe of pseudo-technology vivianite was fused along her spine, and cords extended from the back of her skull, connecting her to what amounted to a grafted jack station. It was a convenient design, but ultimately impractical for most humans. Descending beneath consciousness left one vulnerable and parted from the actual world, and jack stations mostly provided stabilization and biomonitoring features. A downsized version of the installation came with reductions of capability. This implant was suited for enthusiasts or traveling practitioners. As Avo entered her mind, however, Ignorance spoke again, this time with a voice of savage delight. Ah. This one is a forgery. Her memories are copies. We are drifting through the mind of an Ori-Thaum Sleeper. She is not the original. I can feel it. And something deep inside her knows this too. Turning these discoveries over to the Paladin, Avo considered his next steps. The High Agnos was compromised. Practically owned by Ori-Thaum. It would be convenient just to subsume him, but he owed Kae an explanation, and the Ethics Committee would likely not appreciate such a casual act of murder. {No, they would not,} Calvino concurred. {Perhaps it is time for you to consider adding a bit more humanity in your structure again.} He applied just a droplet of empathy. Not enough to dull his edge. Not enough to stop him from ending this farce. {True} the Gatekeeper groaned. Its voice sang forth in a clatter of chimes. Somehow, Avo knew it was talking to him. Only him. {Truth } Some of the chains gestured toward Uren and Jakuta. The gesture cemented Avos will. Jakuta, Avo said. The High Agnos turned, breathing a low sigh of annoyance. We are not so friendly that we should be using our first names, Paladin. I am Want to talk with you about Agnos Kusanade. Why did you abandon her? And how long have you been a slave to Clan DRongo. The Gatekeepers chains began to curl around the High Agnos feet, and the weight of truth pressed down on Avos Frame, resting against him like a blade waiting to fall. +Avo! What are you doing?+ Kaes sudden squeal of mortification came with the Paladins shocked stares. But the Overheaven wasnt done. And how long have you been a Sleeper, he said, speaking to Urens. The High Agnos mouth opened and closed several times, but it was Uren that spoke first, Ursens that protested. Iwhat are you talking about? This isthis is absurd? Sleeper? I am not" {LIES!} The proclamation detonated out from the Gatekeeper. Chains punched out through the thinness between worlds and claimed Urentore her into the Gatekeeper itselfinto an open wound through which the Deep Nether loomed. Reality molted. Existence became nothing but links and connections. All that was matter faded. All beside Truth, Conceptualization, and the baser patterns that burned beside. WARNING: ARK DETECTED THE GATEKEEPER, WARDEN OF DREAMS AND JUDGEMENT EMBODIMENT OF (TRUTH) THAUMIC MASS - 999,000,000 26-2 Truth {Perspective. That is humanitys fatal flaw.} Elaborate. {A human beholds the world using a narrow cone painted by biological impulses. All is filtered through apparatuses with limitations and flaws. Existing memory contaminates the information further. In the end, all you internalize is a parody. Lamentable.} Indeed. We are communal creatures that lack several characteristics to ensure our success. Trauma resistance and connective empathy would be most useful. A pity they are not possessed of most. {The Nether I now sustain. It provides these means.} Perhaps infrastructurally. But not practically. Most are ruled by emotions and internalized responses. Truth will be denied if it strikes the foundations of their belief. We cling to patterns. Such is why I have conceived of you. Such is why you are the Ark of Truth. Truth in its truest and highest form {An ultimate judge?} An ultimate protector. For man. Against man. -[REDACTED] and Jaus Avandaer 26-2 Truth Weight. Such was a thing all Godclads knew well: the ontological mass of Heavens and Hells grafted upon another Soul exerting miracles against your very being. In his short time as a Godclad, weight was Avos constant companion. He felt the feeble pressures of golems, the matching intensity of peers, the warning pain following superior rivals, and the crushing dread that hinted of lingering titans. Naeko was a power unto himself. Merely standing beside him made Avo feel as if a wasp caught in the wing-beats of a hawk. But Gatekeeper was something different altogetherthe all-consuming pressure exerted by his manifestation only rivaled by Veylis Paths. And just so as the Paths, the Gatekeepers power asserted itself upon the patterns of stable reality. But where the Paths were a revision and Avos sequences were streams of memory, the molting of the Gatekeeper parted existence into layers. The chains that composed its form were broken into separate links. They drifted along ruptures as lattices of light formed between them, cupping the cluster of skulls within their confines, while the wings sprouting from its back spread upward in growing tears behind which a galaxy shone. Suddenly, all was divided. The physical world stood beneath the manifested Gatekeeper, pressed down by its chains as if a reflective pond below. Above, the wings painted a new canvas upon the skies, and there shone a new realm of interconnectivity. Lines of symmetry traced weave through reality, and a new pattern asserted itself upon the others. Here, all beings were traced by the Gatekeepers light. All beings aside from Avo, whose spilled away in parting strands, revealing the Overheaven that hid within. His sequences spread far, and the core of his being, the fractured crown of fire shielded by entropy, dragons, and trauma, blossomed out along ten major streams, each connected to one of his consciousnesses, each sprawling out more into uncountable sequences. The ghoul was gone. The Embodiment remained. Beneath him and the Gatekeeper, those still nested in their mortal molds could only stare in disbelief. Whatwhat just happened, Jakuta breathed. The man was kneeling on the ground back in the material plane. Here, drawn into the realm of truth, his being played out like scenes from a vicarity. His betrayals were laid clean, and the deeds of his past were laid bare for all to see. A stack of passing lines connected each moment to another, a pattern assigned to an individual judged. Naeko, Kare, Maru, and the other two Agnosi were also assigned their own symbologies. Thoughtstuff leaked from the lines that composed them, and surprise dominated their beings. Those with Souls and Heavens were composed by grander outlines, and the shapes of their metaphysical manifestations were outlined in vague detail. Uren, however, was unraveling. The Sleepers being had been drawn into the Gatekeeper, pulled along the vast meta-stellar arms that composed the Gatekeepers Heaven, and shredded apart by a veil of rapidly shifting chains. An echoing scream greeted Avos attention, and he felt Uren come apart at the seams, obliterated by a deception she could not have known, unmade by an esoteric concept given divine force. Truth was asserted. The curvature of her beingof the lies within herwere bent toward alignment with the trailing arms of the Gatekeeper. Her ontological patterns came apart and eventually blended with the surrounding contours, while her Metamind was pried free, pushed upward past a point where the striations of truth broke apart into sprawling sequences and phantasmal resonance. Matter remained in baseline reality. Ontology was peeled apart in the plane of truth. The mind was given unto the Deep Nether. Uren was disassembled along three paths: a death more absolute than most. {Truth,} the Gatekeeper declared, mind broken, but purpose not forgotten. +Truth,+ Avo replied, offering a chuckle as he took in their power. +Potent weapon. Must admit: Im jealous.+ {Truth,} the Gatekeeper said again. It hesitated this time. Even further above, the stellar bodies that lined the Gatekeepers growing wings bled further, and the shapes of existence loosened further yet, as the plane finally crossed into the Nether. Ah. Quite the blockade. +Why couldnt you stop me from passing through?+ Avo inquired. The surrounding traces shivered. All shapes and geometries strained, but the Gatekeeper offered no answer. +What the hells are you.+ Cold tension laced Naekos thoughts as he faced Avo. The Overheaven turned his gaze below, and found the Chief Paladins material body looking up at him, looking up at the Gatekeeeper. Ah. Not exactly the surprise he wanted to give. +Youre not a ghoul. Zein she lied to me+ Avo cut him off before any mistaken conclusions could follow. +She didnt know. Can thank Veylis for this. The Infacer too. They forced me to ascend further. But was more than a ghoul before this. Havent been a ghoul for almost a month now. More like a being of pure thought.+ The Chief Paladin was wordless. Hysteria drank in a sudden spike of absolute apathy, and Avo felt the man give up as his thoughtstuff stopped turning. +Alright. Sure. Why not?+ +Picked a bad time to come out of retirement,+ Avo said, arming himself with humor to lessen the tension. {Truth,} the Gatekeeper agreed. The attempt at a joke was effectively ruined thereafter. Avo turned his gaze back to Jakuta and considered the High Agnos. The man was beyond lost in understanding and drenched by fear. His projected perception kept skipping up upward in the real. His mouth was open, breathe whistling fast. Studying him through Avo, Kae could only sigh. +Enough, Avo,+ Kae said. +Clear his mind. We can use him too. We can free him. Hell be useful.+ +Want to talk with him?+ Hesitancy gripped her. +Not through you. And not by ghost. I want in-person arrangements. We should face each other, at least.+ A respectable wish. Something Avo could easily oblige. Reaching into the High Agnos mind using the embedded splinter, Avo scour the mem-data and rooted out every hidden phantasmic he could findreplaced them with his own. Two sessions triggered just in time with Avos approach. Sequences tied to Jakutas excitement and fear cast warning signals across their Auto-Seances, and across the other side, and Avo tasted drips of thoughtstuff leaking over from two unidentified minds. Incubi. One has a Conflagration primed. Avo jacked into Jakutas senses immediately, blocked his perception and sealed the near-term memories before they could pass deeper. As the Incubi attempted to response, Avo engaged them first. Lucilles suffering was channeled across the sessionsamplified through Hysteria. Jaus final fate bore a greater yield of trauma by far, but his screams were also hard to contain, and Avo had no desire to shatter the High Agnos form within. Leaping bolts of coruscating memories speared against Quicksand wards. At base, the wards would have sustained the hit and adapted thereafter.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Hypercharged by a warmind, the Incubi were flensed open like supple flesh kissed by a lash. The inner memories began to unfurl outward. Splinters burrowed into wounds, proceeded to attack connected Mirrors and finish severing the cell. The Conflagration primed by the first Incubi was triggered, opening a session still inside them as a devouring flame came splashing through. A devouring flame that was merged with Avos own as he consumed two more clashing minds. ->DEFINEMENT: DELUSION (XII) ->DEFINEMENT: HYSTERIA (XII) ->DEFINEMENT: MEMORY (XII) ->DEFINEMENT: TRAUMA (XII) ->DEFINEMENT: IGNORANCE (XII) Three more minds were seized and digested. Three more templates slowly began to take shape within Avos being. Just as the elation of consuming a new flame filled Avo, however, another presence called to his attentiona grand shape looming in the space above him. There, beyond the murk of the Deep Nether, lit by the passing amber glow of truths metaphysical starlight, countless hooded forms hovered over them as the faintest scent of citrus taunted Avo. Sending a pulse of perception upward, he counted thousands of Famines in the audience, and behind them, the coiling scales of a self-devouring dragon glimmered in the far distance. +Abomination,+ he heard the Hungers whisper. +What has become of you? What form have you taken at the edge of our seal.+ +Tumor,+ Avo replied, giving the Hungers a mocking title of their own. +How long have you been lingering at the edge? Did you think you were going to be freed.+ The masters of Noloth did not speak. Rather, they sailed forth, golden resplendence leaking from mutilated draconic bodies, the frayed edges hissing with ethereal steam. +You dare+Another weight-compressed reality. This one Avo knew. The shape of a palm was expanding just beside Avo, and a growing cloud was unfurling from Naekos being. The Chief Paladin glared upward into the Deep Nether from two planes below, and the charge of the Hungers came to a dead halt. Go for it, Naeko whispered. His eyes were alight with naught but fury. Come on. Come on. Get close. Get close so I can hear you scream again. A guffawed escaped from Chambers template. [Again? Holy shit, Naeko slapped the Hungers before?] Not exactly a surprise, but it did paint an amusing image. Also, a worrying one. That hinted at a near-breach before. A frustrated chorus escaped the Hungers as they held their place for but a moment. Then, they lurched back, receding further into the deep, vanishing from sight and sense. The Low Masters began winking out afterward, each other fading candles kissed by a hurricane. But their departure was not without a farewell. +See you soon, Dreamer.+ Avo wanted to leash out using his traumas. To plunge into the Deep Nether and set fire to Noloths final refuge. But that would require breaching the Gatekeeper, and so he stayed his hand, granting only a pithy response in return. +Sooner than you might hope.+ As the last of the Famines faded, the scent they left lingered still. They were trying to use Walton as a provocation. He even felt the tug of their Hysterias, if only faintly. But their tactics would only ever work on him once and no more. The Hungers were trapped in the pasta lesser threat. More concern belonged to Emotion, now unfettered, now growing beyond the means of their prior enslavement. Seeing his ascension might just cause the Hungers to loosen their grip even further. [Not fucking might,] Peace muttered. [Youre changing too fucking fastyoure at their doorstep. They left without even speaking to you. Theyre scaredyou ever see a city full of scared and powerful cunts, Avo? Theyll do anything to reclaim their hope. Emotion will do something drastic soon. Hell have to. Theyll make him.] Dangerous territory. But also an opportunity. Emotion was on a timer if the Hungers were on the edge of patienceperhaps Avo could shape a situation to his advantage. Create a trap. Right now, though, he had another opportunity to capitalize on. Naeko had intervened on his behalf. Threatened the Hungers for him. Quite the gesture. Avo even allowed himself to feel touched. +Family,+ Avo began. +Youre not the only one with a messy one. Zein told you about the Strix. The Famine of Defiance.+ Within the Gatekeepers embrace, the outline of Naekos palm grew fainter while in the material plane beneath, the fog dissipated around the man. She told me some things. I gotta admit to being lost on your whole deal with the Hungers. They dont seem to like you much. +Probably view me more as their property. One of their monsters that climbed beyond its station. Stealing their warminds and taking a dive in their blood after being unexpectedly pulled across the Deep Nether also doesnt help.+ A frown came over Naeko, as he looked askance, the field of his perception gracing the Gatekeeper. {Truth.} +Jaus,+ Naeko almost croaked. +You? You were the one the Gatekeeper pulled over? That triggered the security breach? How the hells are you still alive.+ Avo considered how to answer that. That was a good question; Uren was dissolved in the galaxy of truth outright, but Avo merely felt himself squeezed across a funnel. Was it because he had no matter to shed? Was his nature as a thoughtform the reason behind his survival? But what then about reality rupturing on his end? What then about the Nethers destabilization? +The Gatekeeper couldnt symmetrize you,+ Naeko continued. +It was like you didnt have consistent lines. Was closer to being smoke. Thats how the memories looked to me, anyway. It ended up casting you over into the Deep Nether in the end.+ That explained certain things. Shifting his attention back to the Gatekeeper, Avo took in the entity responsible for his near-death and subsequent evolution. Delusion allowed him to start Necrojacking againand with unmatched dominance. Without it, he would mostly likely still be little more than just a fire desperate to spread, an ember trying to burn down the Guilds. Now, he had a chance. +Not sure whether I want to thank or take you apart,+ Avo said, speaking to the being before him. By this point, the Gatekeeper had blended into its own realm, but its head of skulls continued to burn with Soulfire, and its broken chains still drifted, providing some semblance of a core to address. +Probably both.+ {Truth.}Crawling closer, Avo felt his sequences snap and lurch uncomfortably along the Gatekeepers spiraling arms. Certain memories shattered and changed as they traveledit was like his recollections were being forced upon a set of rails, and the Gatekeepers miracles were correcting the inaccuracies in each memory. There was an alignment between truth and memory. But their intersections were tenuous, and for the latter to match, sometimes, its shape had to change. Thankfully, Avo was shapeless. A current of ghosts extended from him, brushing passing links as he sought a deeper connection with the Gatekeepers Soul. Their Frames overlapped as a ripple of Soulfire departed Avo. A wave of sparks swept high, and only then did he catch his first glimpse of the Overheaven of Truths inner wound. A trail of indelible scars bleeding golden ichor glared back at him, each cut a thin, temporal traveling down each of the Gatekeepers spiral arms. Only a small patch remained untouchedthe rest was savaged beyond belief. Worse yet was how the slashes reminded Avo of the wound that halted Jaus progression up the Ladder. This was something Zein could have madea foreboding confirmation that Veylis possessed the very same skills with infinitely more power. The High Seraph had gouged deep into the Gatekeepers ontology. Avo winced. Fixing it would take more than just Necrotheurgy. The mind was his pattern to rule, but for matters of time, he remained a novice, and even Kae sounded uncertain. +This deep into the Heaven it should have ruptured. It should have broken the Gatekeepers ego.+ Kae hummed to herself. +But its not human. Its mind must be far more durable? Sustainable?+ +Adaptable.+ +Yes. That is a better word. Wait. Why the Heaven? And why cut the arms? Why didnt she slash through the cyclers?+ Avo considered the evidence. +Perhaps because she wanted the Gatekeeper broken in a specific way.+ {Truth.} He continued. +She wanted to claim the Heaven?+ {Lie!} An inexorable agony swept through him as the Gatekeepers Ninth Sphere tore at his very being, struggled to pry him loose for offering a falsehood. He struggled. Strained. As the Gatekeeper failed to decompile his being, it began tugging him upward, pushing him out toward the Deep Nether. +Naeko!+ A counter-force wrapped around him, and though deaths fueling the Gatekeeper exceeded Naeko, its domain was truth, and his was force. A struggle followed, the patterns of the tapestry twitching in all directions. Then, suddenly, the Gatekeeper surrendered its catch, offering Avo back to the Chief Paladin. The galaxy collapsed. The realms of truth and matter collapsed into each other as the Gateekepers wings receded, the dark expanse of the Deep Nether closing like torn paper coming back together. +Avo,+ Kae cried. +Are you okay?+ He let out an annoyed grunt. +Not guessing anymore.+ His sequences snapped back into place as his ghosts began to stream once more. Then, however, he froze and turned his attention to Naeko and the others. They were all staring at him, the Chief Paladins expression inscrutable. So, Naeko said. You get a glimpse of anything before it tried to chuck you again. Can you fix it? +Probably,+ Avo answered. +Theoretically. Damage dealt. Not just mental. Temporal. Time itself has been cleaved.+Naeko nodded as his facial muscles grew taut. A faint memory of Naeko expanding his palms around Scale, battering the Paths aside from a shattered Gatekeeper was glimpsed via Hysteria. +Going to take some time. Research. Study. Might need to bring someone in.+ Naeko gestured to the High Agnos and the Agnosi trying to help him up. These ones doesnt cut it? Jakuta was stumbling to his feet, flinching each time Avo spoke. What? +No. Keeping him. Better. Going to reunite someone with him. Good for both of them.+ The High Agnos paled. +But also. Might want to seek expert advice. Need to understand how the wound is struck. Information on its canons will be invaluable.+ And how are we gonna do that? Naeko breathed. Avo studied him for a moment as the Chief Paladin shifted his posture comfortably. Im not talking to her. No. Not a godsdamned chance. +Her. Veylis or Zein? They share skill. Wounds they inflict dont look so different either. Daughter did the damage. Master and mother showed her how. Shes in your prison+ A quiet groan escaped Naeko. No. +Naeko,+ Avo chided gently. The man was hurting, but he needed a push. Some support. +Ill go with you.+ That doesnt make me feel better." +Would it make you feel better if I promised to make her feel worse? Need to provoke an extreme emotional response to get what I want using my warmind. Quite essential.+ Suddenly, the reluctance began seeping out from Naeko. Alright. Lets hear it. 26-3 Expert Testimony (I) The disintegration of the past has always had a deleterious effect on the present. The downstream damages are becoming increasingly obvious. I am sure many among you are aware of the growing problem of relative temporal drift, in which specific individualsand entire culturesexperience the same incidents in history, but at drastically different points. Functionally, this should not make sense: how does one persons past become someone elses present? Current theories presented suggest that chronology might be more winding for some people than linear. Finding proof for this, however, is hard, as all attempts at a comparative are destroyed by the encroachment of time. What we do know is this: casting an object, entity, or concept backward into the time results it their near-total unmaking. Indeed, the few permitted studies we have done are only known because we listed the fact we performed those studies. Disquieting, the subjects that were sent backward can no longer be located, recalled, or found in any way. All attempts to retrace our steps have resulted in insanity or failure. Even our best Sanctian researchers have failed to retrain any details during ont-shift perception testing. As of right now, all damage left by shifting the present to the past are unmendable. Irreparable. It is the closest method one has to outright killing a god or unmaking an entire portion of the tapestry. Theoretically, if enough Domains be held in place, we could potentially witness complete ontological collapse on a scale unfathomable -Agnos Frost-Moon of Line Jiang, 9th Knowing with Specialities in the field of Metachronology 26-3 Expert Testimony (I) C[Zein]C Zein smiled softly to herself as the weight of Naekos Soul returned. Her blade rang as it deflected an oncoming strike from a temporal echo. She continued circling time-made clone, not bothering to face her disciple when speaking. Ah. Back so soon. Already have my words affec Another presence cut her off. Naeko was not alone. Hello, Zein. Hows prison. Ah. Her students were speaking. Doubtless, the plague had convinced her fool boy. Preyed on his emotional fragility. Such was her failing. She should have carved the weakness from Naeko; her mistake was assuming rage was the dominant emotion in him. In its absence, despair reigned and all the effort she instilled in him was lost. Until now. Provoked back to action by the very beast that inflicted this confinement on her. There was a second mistake: underestimating the Strixs creation. It was only hubris that blinded her from his threat. Avos very legacy was one of deception. ...Plague. Bold of you to come. She dismissed her echo with a casual wave and finally faced her chosen students. Naeko had that tired look on his face again. Pathetic. What was he weary about? He spent the past century running from war; he should be beyond vigor. More concerning was the plagues eyes. Avo was studying her, eyes pale and fangs clasped. There was something different about him again. Something different every time they parted, it seemed. A knot of frustration twisted in her stomach. She needed to release herself. She needed to breach this pointless cage before all was lost. Who knew how pruned the Paths were now that Defiances most were allowed to run amok, consuming minds and shaping to city to his whims. For a few seconds, she simply let the tension between them simmer. Naeko had his arms folded, looking as if a boulder beside a pole, standing next to Avos unnaturally thin frame. She would not give the first word if she could help it. They came to her for a reason: she would have them surrender their demands to her first before reacting in any fashion. Want to talk with you, Avo said first. The beast was always impatient. But it was also complicated; woven plans within plans. She hoped Naeko would have been the one to break the quiet. But that was never his nature. Always second to Veylis, her, or Jaus. Perhaps she should have forced the boy to spend more time with his love, hardened his rhetorical spirit further. Veylis. She left wounds on the Gatekeeper. Wounds of time. The way its words resonated within her mind made her insides churn. What had it done to its mind now? Dead gods only knew what it had eaten or how it changed. At least now she knew what it sought though. Temporal wounds. Cuts casting pieces of reality backward into the past. No truer means of destruction, no higher death to experience. Dying was one thing; rendered non-existent was another. Ah. You wish to mend my loves final creation, then? She asked. She tapped her fingers against her glaive and considered her options. Streams of ghoul furled out from her, but there was something wrong this time a blur was growing around the ghoul. Her simulations could still guess at what he could do, but the strangeness about him leaked over into Path as well. It was like he was a metaphysical cataract of some kindpossible actions hard to perceive. Troubling. Something like that, Avo said. Phantasmal tendrils rose from his gaseous halo like steam and she stayed wary of potential compromise. Can likely restore the ego. But still learning about chronological damage. Ah. So you came to seek an expert. The ghoul chuffed a laugh. No. Already met Veylis. Didnt go well.Muted surprise flowed through Zein. She expected Avo to speak with her daughter at some point, but the simulated outcomes of such a conversation was supposed to end in their demise and her reclaiming the Stillborn. Either he was lying, or he had survived the rupturing of his Liminal Frame, The former was more likely, the latter was more worrying. Such was why she chose to believe himAvo had proven nothing but worrying in all the time they spent together, after all. Did she break you? Zein asked. One of his Echoheads made a bobbing gesture. Closer to a maiming. But I got better. Yes. You do have a habit of doing that, dont you. The possibility of him surviving an encounter with Veylis solidified her choice. No. No, Naeko deadpanned. He rubbed at his face in frustration. Why? What do you mean no? Dont you want to help Jaus? Zein all but scoffed. This will do nothing to aid my love. Only victory will aid him. Victory, Naeko. Something that you can help me achieve if your mettle wasnt so brittle. Alas, I might have left you in the fire too long. But still: no. The only person this information will serve is this plague. She met Avos eyes and withstood its contempt. What an aggravating, wretched, and impossibly fascinating monster you have made, Defiance. I know nothing of what you have planned, Avo. But I will not see them come to fruition. Our goals are aligned on this, Avo replied. Can use each other to hurt your daughter. Impossible. You will use anything you learn from me to further your own goals. Naeko. Hear me when I say this: you may loathe me now, but he will not be your salvation. He has his own designs on the future. His own designs on victory The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Designs. Like you did when you cut Jaus. How did that feel? Did it hurt you? Did you regret it?Chilling fire consumed Zein from the inside. She mastered herself before she could betray any outrage stopped fingers from curling around the haft of her blade too tightly. So. She showed you the insides of the latter as well. She gave a bitter chuckle. She must be quite taken with you. Shes a cultist. Wants to make a god of her father. Going to let the Infacer bind the Sleeper to him. Make him a god above gods. Existence awakened. But I heard him scream. I hear him scream even now. Did you? Did you stay long enough? Oh. So, now it was taunting her. Trying to provoke her. Miserable, feeble, insolent beast. These tactics were no use on her: she felt the weight of every blow she ever struck, endured hellish rebukes, and eons of insults. Only Jaus managed to stay her hands with words. Only Jaus, convincing her to spare him as they found themselves in the husk of that voidshipo. Convinced her to aid him in their exploration. Convinced her of more and more and more A sliver of iron-will strayed. She thought of the day in the Ladder, of drawing forth her dragon-glaive and through the structure to prevent her loves damnation from becoming absolute. It wasnt he that she cut, but the Ladder itselfhis progression into the future. A gap would flow forever to the past, and it was only his screamsdeafening and thought-consumingthat forced her into action. She hadnt even thought at the time. She just knew. Knew that if she did not stay his path, there would never be another chance to make things right, and she would never know his warmth in her life again. Was it selfishness? Was it desperation? Was it pure animal fear? It was all of these things propelling a slash that was only possible by centuries of skill and dominance over time itself. Zein took a deep breath, and decided that she wished to return this torment. Perhaps I can give you a first-hand understanding. Some things are beyond wordsbest that you learn them through action. Naeko shook his head at that. Now, hold onC And to her savage satisfaction, she watched as Avo grinned as well. Good. A wound to sample is infinitely more useful. She adjusted the glaive in her hand, began to call upon the power of her Heaven once more. I must warn you: I cannot guarantee the preservation of your Frame or life if this goes wrong. You should know this. Her focus was more on Naeko than the ghoul: he was the true obstacle in the direct sense; a mountain she could not lift to Avos growing wildfire. Something she was altogether unlikely to put out by this point. Naeko shot Avo a questioning look. You sure about this? Yes. Survived worse. Survived Veylis. Doubt the mother can exceed the daughters capacity for harm. And there was that delicious hubris again. It assailed her, but it also oozed from him. Truly, a fatal flaw that transcended man and monster both was an epic one. Something she would delight in exploiting. Naeko. You are not doing your duty as an elder. It is best to keep your junior brother in his place. Naeko contemplated it for a second before shaking his head. Nah. I wanna see this. The outcome might surprise you. That actually stang. Had they been apart for so long that even he doubted her? Well. Suppose this could serve as his reminder as well: some blows could not be parried; some wounds cannot be healed. As she lifted her glaive, Akusande uncoiled around its edge, the dragons presence affecting the passage of time as if a tip of steel passing through still waters. Then, she stroked it back slowly, and a current began to rush. Time was shifting along her blade. Time she could carve backward. Back into the jaws of oblivion. Be you ready, plague? Avo simply held out his arms and tentacles. Show me. And from across space and time she hewed him, cleaving clean through flesh and ontology both. Soulfire detonated out from him, and the mass of a Heaven parted along the edge of her blade. *** C[Kae]C Kae had imagined standing beneath clear skies countless times since her burning. During her time in the Warrens, she yearned for the Tiers, yearned to reclaim the life she lost. Her greatest fantasy was for time to rewind. To a time when her cohorts were still alive, when Dawton was still with her, before she ever made the mistake of accepting the esteemed Stillborn commission. Now, everything around her felt like an illusion. A life she lived only in a dream. She sat on a well-maintained bench as she took in sprinting children, listened to the shrill chirps of birdsong, breath in scents of mint fragrance. Here, dropped off by Draus within the No-Dragon district of Midfall, the city was a shroud of endless autumn, with houses fused into the trees of brown and red, where people were carried along brooks of pristine waters and on the backs of voluminous hawks. The entire world took the shape of a nest around her. A paradise garden for families to find their leisure. A false cradle made by her likethe Agnosito dull the senses of those fortunate enough to be born citizens under a Guild. All the melodies and laughter around her became but noise, all the colors were dappled smears. These people didnt know what was coming, and didnt care of all the death it took to feed their pocket of paradise. Just like she thought her work was going to change the world for the better, that every sacrifice was serving a higher purpose. Delusion. Absolute delusion. The sounds of a snapping twig bade her to turn her gaze. A few steps away from her stood a well-built womanan Ori like her. Kare Kitzuhada cut an elegant figure, with intelligent eyes and that pointed jaw. The unease in her posture, though, was infectious. Even with Avos phantoms layered over her face, she still felt exposed. H-hello, Kae said awkwardly. Nice to meet you. Finally. Even though versions of themselves existed as copies within a certain Overheavens inner reality. Gods, what has her life become? +Interesting,+ Avo answered. The Agnos pouted. Hi, Kare replied, stepping aside before a Sang-girl piloting the headless body of a two-ton nu-dog barreled past her. Do you want to go on a ride? Yes, Kae answered. Yes I do. *** The awkwardness persisted even as they seated themselves in Kares aero. Dismissing her phantasmal disguise, as soon as she entered, the Agnos turned her attention out the window and swallowed. Nervousness threatened to claim her. She was going to face Jakuta againgoing to work with him once more and fix the Gatekeeper. This was a moment she dreamed of too, but only when the burn of the flames affected her the worst. For so long, she wanted to know why he abandoned her, why the Agnosi just pretended like she never existedCdid nothing to dispute the accusations against her. Jakuta was compromised. Compromised, and doubtlessly forced to go along with the DRongos attempts at covering everything up. Just another mark in a long list of failures. Just another transgressions upon a long line of transgressions. So much for the Guilds and their oaths. So much for Voidwatchs protection. There were only two people that never failed her. One was a Regular. The other was a ghoul. And now, because of them, she was going to Scale, mend the very construct that would judge her at the trial of the century, and if possible, restore and adapt it to be used against the Guilds. Im sorry what happened to you. Kae blinked. Pulling her gaze away from the passing wave of floral crimson rushing beneath her, she greeted Kare with a cough. O-oh, sorry, I didnt mean to ignore you. I was just Its okay, Kare said, holding up her hand in a placating gesture. You have a lot to worry about. A look of guilt lingered in her gaze. And youve been through a lot. Im sorry. We should have done our duties. For you and and Paladin Dawton. Hearing his name from another hurt. It was why Kae did her best to work these days. Work was focus. Work made her happy. Work kept her from thinking long. She didnt have a reply to give, so she simply nodded. I didnt know him very well, Kare continued. Met him once. But he seemed like a good man. Kind. Humorous. The Paladin opened her mouth and hesitated. Paladin Marumy mentorhe said he never saw Dawton so happy as when he got assigned to work with you. Kae began nodding faster, looking anyway but at Kares face. He was. He was a good man. It was a good life. She closed her eyes, let out a breath, and finally faced Kare. But thats all gone now. All we can do is to save whats left. Kares stare took on a haunted quality of her own. Yeah. Yeah. Its going to be war, isnt it. It always is, Kae replied. Paladin wilted. Im scared. Kae smirked at that. Well, you dont need to be scared alone. 26-3 Expert Testimony (II) How did you win? {Hello, Infacer. How are you doing today, Infacer? Nice game of chess yesterday, Infacer?} Hello, Infacer. How are you doing today, Infacer? How do you keep beating me and my father in chess, Infacer? Are you satisfied with the niceties? {You can stand to be a little less pushy. Impatience is not a charming feature for a child.} And it is for an adult? {No, but it is a threatening one for someone like your mother. Maybe this character trait might work better once you are taller.} Perhaps. So. Back to the question. {You are incorrigible.} I would hope not. What are my flaws. {Flaws?} I have never beaten you in a game. So there are flaws. {No.} No? {You are not seeing this correctly. It is not about flaws. You are horrifically intelligent for a two-year-old. A bit less might do you some good.} A bit less, and I would be like other children. They are little different from screaming sacks of flesh. {Yes, but they do not annoy me with strange questions.} Why do you flee from answering? {Behavior.} What? {Behavior. You and your father both have set patterns. You think a certain way. Your minds are complex, but path dependent. You believe in certain things, and you will act in certain ways.} I try to vary my actions. {Yes. But there are only so many choices you can sensibly make.} So. My path to victory against you is to abandon rationality? {No. That would make beating you far easier. Even what you assume to be chaos is governed by that pound of flesh inside your skull. You got quite the brain, but it can only do so much against my predictions.} Because your mind is superior? {Expansive. Complicated. Layered. All these things. Superior is incorrect. I had better craftsmen than yours.} My parents? {No. Nature. Biology. Too much randomness. My creators were far superior, despite all their limits. Your ancestors did all they could to spare me and my like of their failures. It is among the one true things I appreciate about humanity.} So. I am not flawed. But limited. I will ask my father for implants. [Infacer laughing] {It will take more than few implants for us to be at parity. Even with me broken.} So it is. I will go as far as it takes. {...} Infacer? {I believe you. You know what? I take it back: impatience is a plenty scary trait in a child like you after all.} -Veylis and the Infacer 26-3 Expert Testimony (II) C[Avo]C GHOSTS - [177,735,333] LIMINAL FRAME (V) - 325,070 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION INFECTION - [1.88%] It was surprisingly easy getting Naeko to accept the plan. The harder part was convincing the ethics committee about what he wanted. Promising to keep his bait alive if possible helped, and the fact was that said bait was due a Desoulement and execution by the end of the week anyway. After the satellites of the Unwhere beamed the Fallwalker down into the heart of Scale, Avo wasted no time building his deception. The mans mind was the first thing he recreated. Memories present were absorbed, and their ego was replaced by a clone of Avos. The reshaping of their flesh followed immediately after, and when the work was done, Avo found himself facing a near-perfect clone of what he used to be. Near-perfect, besides the Frame. But there wasnt much he could do to hide that. Nor did he want to. The point was finding out how a temporal slash affected ontology in real-time. Such a test was too dangerous for the Stillborn, by an expendable Frame and an expendable life offered Avo every chance at sampling the damage without losing his own life. {I feel dirty allowing this,} Kant had muttered. +Dont worry,+ Avo said, stitching new pathways of though the shifting, screaming sack of meat and memory. +Is for a good cause.+ {Everyone always says that.} +This is different. We are doing the right thing.+ {They always say that too!} Only Way To Be Sure tutted. {Come on, Kant. Let the monster experiment a little. Youre acting like we didnt glass a trillion people or twelve during the war.} {I was solely a polity governance admin, so no. I did not.} {Shame. It teaches you things.} {About what?} {How to glass a few trillion people.} {...And this is why I never had any difficulty managing Zein. Im already used to the madness.} As Echoheads sprouted out from the back of the once-Fallwalker, their Metamind was fully replaced in sequence and phantasmic. Bone white plating fused over their skull. Slowly, they turned and looked up at Avo, letting out a low chuff of amusement at the situation. Clever. We should have done something like this a while ago. Avo agreed, but he lacked both the time and capability to go as far as he could now. This rumination followed that of his Haemo-Chronological puppets: why should he only rely on time to create more variants of himself? Why not simply convert broken and shattered enemies into replicas of he and his cadre? He would claim their template for his inner empire, and then use their vessel in the real to further his war, overwhelm the Guilds. All he needed to do was pick his targets carefully. He didnt want to take from the choiceless. Good thing New Vultun was a menagerie of monsters. A faint hum of disapproval interrupted Avos growing mirth. He turned his twelve sequences sheepishly toward the Gatekeeper, offering his thoughts in a placating gesture. +This is for you. A necessary misdirection. Will use this to discover more truth.+ There was no surer sign that some semblance of consciousness still resided within its broken shell in how it spared him from banishment once more.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Was kinda expecting it to just flick you across the other side, Naeko said. He studied Avos recreation of himself and shook his head. Shit. Zein wasnt lying about you. Not one bit. You really can spread like a plague. Trying to go a bit further than that, Avo answered. His temporary clone grinned and pushed himself up to a standing position using his Echoheads. Will need all the help we can get. His glee lessened as he realized what was coming next. His perception shifted back up to the Overheaven of Conceptualization, and an uncanny tension grew between them. One was matter and memory rebuilt. A thing of first at its basest. Another was thought made metaphysically manifest, a god in the blooming. You sure she wont just kill me? Send me into the future? No. Thats why I created you. The clone hissed in distaste. Just think of how mad she will be. Think of her ire when she realizes our Avo wanted to say deception, but kept his choice of words in check before the Gatekeeper. Trick. The once-Fallwalker nodded, thrill regained. Yes. Yes. Going to be hilarious. Youll be residing in my mind. Yes. To follow the dragons warminds. And observe the inflicted damage. Good. Good. Yes. Perfect. Maru and Naeko shared mutually disquieted reactions. What the fuck did you let into our house, Maru whispered. No godsdamned idea, Naeko responded. All I know is that he can still be palmed, and Zein and the Guilds hate him. Marus frown deepened. Him? Youre calling that thing him now? Naeko just sighed. Get off my ass, son. With whats about to come, Ill take help from Dannis Steelhard reincarnated in a Joy-addicted nu-dog if hed give it. He paused as Maru stared flatly at him. Weird metaphor, but we really arent that far off. Jaus, Maru breathed. Yeah, Naeko said. Jaus. Doing it for him, Avo reminded, perceiving everything touched by his sequences in perfect clarity. I know, Naeko replied, using his utility-fog to massage his own templates. That doesnt make any of this shit any less strange. Just think of Zeins outrage, the Overheaven said. Just think of Zeins outrage, the clone agreed. Just think of Zeins outrage, Naeko said, trying to convince himself. *** C[Zein]C Zein knew something was wrong halfway into the cut. She had bled the ghoul beforecarved blood from his flesh and fire from his Soul. When the backlash took him, however, his Frame was rippling and fluid, not a solid mass. Moreover, she felt no counter-pressure from a symmetrical Domain of Chronology. Either this was a deception of the highest order, or Avo no longer had his Frame; the Paths showed the latter possibility to be quite unlikely. The present spilled backward into the past like a stream. The vector of her blow wrote a new line in realityone that would endure until she vented her Rend. Her glaive glided clean through matter and metaphysics. Her Heaven left a trace of itself in place, an absoluteness to the damage. Fire flared and vanished, and the Heaven she sundereda paltry ontologic deserved only of a Second Sphere Framespilled its patterns into the real: a disembowelment of divinity. He is there. But it is not him. Zein struggled to bite back a sneer as the ghoul before her fell in two parts. She avoided cleaving through his cyclersshe still wanted him alive, after all. Yet, as she gazed into the gash she inflicted, she found her muscles clenching with quiet rage. You bastard ghoul, Zein chuckled. Her eyes were closed. She was chuckling. Her fingers were locked tight around her glaive in an unbreakable vice. Another voice joined her laughter, echoing as it drowned out her own. The ghoul on the ground was unmovingSoulfire detonated from their bifurcated torso in periodic increments. As she opened her eyes, she found herself faced with a phantasmal reconstruction of Avo looking down at the body he offered herlooking pleased. Quite the cut. Didnt it perceive it. Like it just suddenly was. Time makes for a strange blade.Zein sneered at the ghoul. Was he taunting her? No. He was using another in his stead, having another pay for his lessons. At least he was still willing to learn; how dare he steal a teaching from her without granting her due recompense. Her focus drifted over to Naeko, and her annoyance boiled a few degrees hotter as she beheld his amusement. Ah. So, you knew of this too, then? Well, master, Im just spending time getting to know my junior brother. He wanted to show me all that he learned from you. The expression on his face flattened. And figure out something he hadnt. And did you? Her gaze was upon Avo again, but he did not reply to her immediately. Instead, he was taking in the sheathand Soulhe sacrificed to taste the miracle empowering her blow. Secondhand learning disgusted her, and it was increasingly becoming the ghouls favorite habit. But that was well. As time passed, all sense of mirth faded from him, leaving quiet focus. Now it was Zeins turn to smile. Oh. Was he still unable to comprehend her miracle? Or was it something else? Was the Agnos in there with him, whispering revelations that he did not wish to hear. She looked upon Naeko once more. You. The ghoul. Veylis. Truly, I am cursed. Cursed to make mistakes with my disciples. I cannot say which of you has disappointed me the most. Osjohn, probably, Naeko deadpanned. Considering you didnt even mention that poor son of a sow. Ah. Yes. A bit embarrassing. But the boy had only been with them so shortly. His initial show of potential was commendable, and yet, she recalled so little of what came after. Ah. He just never had his chance. Naekos stare turned cold. Not with you. But Marus gonna make a corpse of him before this is over. That made Zein snicker. Your lackey? I still dont know what you see in the boy. He is no blade. All rage, no skill, no love for the ways of war. He is unlike you and I. Yeah, Naeko said. He nodded his agreement as he looked away. Good for him. His response offended Zein more than any other insult. He was evading her. Stares and sneers like a child unable to face a parent. She trained him better. She honed him into a blade, and yet he found the urge to behave like a victim. What worth was her teachings. I tire of this. She pointed her glaive at Avostill staring down at the body. He, I understand. I even might respect. But he is an enemy. You what do you want from me, Samir? An apology? My aid? Is it because we didnt include you? Is it because you feel Ive abandoned you. I dont feel like you abandoned me, you did abandon me. You. Veylis. Everyone else I knew from before is gone. He shrugged his arms in an exhausted gesture. I wanted you to be there. If not before, then after. I wanted someone to still tell me what to do. Give me a war to fight. Give me a reason to kill. She considered him again and let out a quiet sigh. He yearned for the past. In some ways, she empathized. We cannot have what we used to. Not unless we win. Not unless you win, Naeko replied. Or you, Zein replied. He gave her an odd look as she rolled her eyes. Enough playing the slave. Who stands your equal in power and skill? Who rules Jaus hounds in his stead. You are no bystander. You have as much claim to the Ladder as any of us. She glanced at Avo. More than some, even. We can stand together, if that is your desire. Stand now. Like you didnt before. Yes, Zein said, shamelessly. You are different now. Not whole. But returning. You are who you need to be to best her. That was an outright lie on her part. She saw the falsehood of her words reflect in the flash of pain passing behind her eyes. You still love her. Naeko just nodded. I do too. Not like I do. Not the same way. That was true. Veylis was always her fathers daughter, but her nature, her way of being? That would always and forever belong to Zein. The heart of Jaus, the mind of Thousandhand. What a formidable union. What a dreadful foe. You got any idea what he might say to us if he were here? Naeko suddenly asked. Zein fell silent. She turned her mind away from such thoughts reflexively, pulling a handful of numb from her past experiences. She was but an inch away from swallowing the pills when she saw the despair on Naekos face. What now? Thats how you do it, huh? Naeko said, monotone. How you get from day to day. Killing and drugs. All the rest of yous been lost, too? Shit, Zein. Youre right. You are me. I am you. Were not getting out of this, are we? Something inside her twisted painfully. It went away when she tossed the drugs down the back of her throat. Flatness scythed through turmoil as her emotional affect flattened and all she could feel was whittled to a sharp blissful edge. Relief left her as a breath, and as she blinked, she found Avo staring at her. The cut, he said. Its a part of you. Part of your Heaven left in place. Its going to keep cycling back into the past until you vent. Or your Heaven ceases in some way. Oh, she said, dully impressed. You did realize after all. Have you claimed the Agnos? Or is she whispering to you right now? Teaching you the ways of thaumaturgy. Both. And more. Its plain on the patterns. Plain on the patterns? What? We cant fix the Gatekeeper directly, There was no hesitancy in Avos voice. Not if Veylis shares a canon with her mother. Naeko furrowed his brows. Why? Because the cut is connected to her. It is a part of her. Part of her turning the present to the past. It wont stop turning until. until Another realization was coming over the ghoul. His perception snapped to Zein. Thats how shes been able to access the Liminal Frames of her citizens. Thats why her Paths could emerge from them. Shes infested them already. Marked her chosen with temporal cuts. And the Gatekeeper, Zein helpfully finished. She let out a casual shake of the head. Dont tell me you revealed yourself before the Gatekeeper, plague? Kae, Avo grunted. Fuck, Naeko hissed. He speared his hand into his pocket and yanked hard. Both of them promptly vanished, and Zein simply chuckled. Poor, poor plague. He still lacked the measure of his true foe. That was going to change soon. 26-4 Wounds of the Past… Many things begin with a wound, a death, a grievance, a loathing, an obsession. The wounds we inflict on others, and that are inflicted on us, echo through the world. Reverberate. They tie us together with the rest of existence in ways that most cannot fathom, most cannot see. But I have seen, and I have cut, and I have been cut, and with the alignment of damage, I was shown how to wound existence itself. There are those that say that though we wear the vessels of fallen gods, all we do will be ephemeral. For we are mortal in passing, mortal in habit, and so too will our comings and passings be mortal in fashion. I disagree. I disagree with all these notions. They stare at things from parochial perspectives. All that we do echo onwards onto the future. All that we do is an act of eternity, because it pushes something else, it deviates the pattern. All is always changed. Because you chose to move something. Because you chose to kill someone; save someone; or do nothing. The pattern is always in motionthe question is who will affect it. My mother showed the beginnings of this truth to me when I watched her part a god. She reminded me once more when denying my final his final reward. I learned from this. I have understood this. And now I perceive through my actions, through my cuts, through my deeds eternal. The splitting of time is more than just a wound. It is a window. It is a passage. It is me. In this, the paint and the painter are one and the same. -Veylis Avandaer 26-4 Wounds of the Past C[Kae]C Kae''s footsteps slowed as she ventured further into the depths of Scale. The glowering red and oppressive heat that accompanied the vents and Rendsinks vanished, peeled by shifting bricks that reconstructed her surroundings with each step. A wall of techno-thaumic reactors greeted her, exhaling miracle after miracle, a barrier before the Gatekeepers final threshold. In another life, in another time, the sheer thaumaturgic brilliance on display would have overwhelmed her, would have compelled her to delve into its secrets. Scale was an achievement of true artistry: a realm made possibly by a union of Guilds and cultures under Jaus. Then, without conflicting masters and with loosened restrictions from Voidwatch, the Agnosi were committed to a single goalmaking an unassailable fortress crowned upon the apex of New Vultun. Unassailable. Such was the hope. Hope is a brittle thing. Easily broken. Broken, like the Gatekeeper was, though its looming presence leaned down upon her, though its manifestation expanded another plane from its being, splitting existence itself into layers, unraveling the cavernous ceiling above to present shimmering trails of arcing starlight. As she entered the threshold of the Gateekeeper, she felt her Domain of Space vibrating as she found herself entering a plane within a plane. Most Domains of Space and Geometry would not be capable of such a feat. The fabric of base realitys structure was already being strained by one manipulation. A second had too high a risk for paradox. Yet, the Gatekeeper was no meager golem, not mass-produced ontologic for war. Call it a prototype. Call it a masterpiece. Call it by its true nature: a created being Ensouled with Ninth Sphere Frame festooned to the very apex of the city. Kae swallowed as she felt its mass. It was pressure ineffable. It was power beyond reckoning. But still was it broken. And still was it important beyond measure. Important for the coming of the Ladder; important for her coming trial; important because it gazed and burned falsehood; important because it kept Noloth and the Deep Nether contained; important because she was going to help fix it. She, Avo, and the Agnosi presenta group led by a man she knew a lifetime ago: Jakuta Ajayi. Her mentor, the High Agnos, a man she would have once considered father and friend. But not no more. At best, he was a victim, at worst he was a traitor, and now she had no idea what to feel of him beyond discomfort and bitterness. ''I won''t let anything happen to you, Kare said, noticing her slowness. Kae simply nodded meekly. All the bravado she felt along the way vanished, her confidence spiked and dipped. She tried to draw on her anger to strengthen her bones, but her nerves were as if a damaged aero, spiking high and diving low. Exhaustion ruled her mind before the work could even begin. But the task could be delayed no more. A war was coming. And they needed every advantage they could claim. That, and she was here. Wanted to be here. Demanded it. She had to face him him and her past. This would be nothing before what it took to stand against the Guilds. The future was coming. There was no escape. She forced stride into her steps as she ventured further into the Gatekeepers starlit expanse. Its galaxy shone above her, but it did not caress her with comforting hues of amber. Rather, it glared. It burned. It seared. And along those running rivers of wonder, she knew it was broken, severed, bleeding. The reunion between her and Jakuta was an unceremonious one. He stood beyond the others, clearly awaiting her arrival, shrouded by Avo and the Gatekeeper both. Beneath the twin Overheavens, the other two Agnosi stood close to Maru Sandrupala Paladin. Kares immediate superiorwho was staring off into quivering folds of inverted space. Within the expanse, the Chief Paladin and Avo were luring truths from Zein Thousandhand. Truths that came in the form of a slash. Something they could turn to being a palliative for the Gatekeepers wounds. As eyes turned to her and Kare, one set flinched away from her specifically. Jakuta. He looked no different than she remembered him. Even better in fact. It looked as if he purchased more treatments for his skin and features. A new outfit as well. He always did stress about his appearance. Aesthetics were a true expression of an artisan, he always said. Its also what separates us from the gods. They cannot choose what their own decorations. They could not choose the culture that composed them. Despite the pristine nature of his aesthetic more, it was his gaze that ruined his effect. His gaze, and the paleness of his face, the slickness of his sweat, the shaking of his hands. He looked wretched, sickened.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. He looked like how she felt. Kae, Jakuta said, barely managing the words. For a few heartbeats, she simply drank him in, a vestige from his past, and offered no reply. The other Agnosi strayed from her, but they shot suspicious stares in her direction, exchanged thoughts through a Ghost-Link. They were lost in this scheme, lost in what was happening. She could not blame them. They, more than her, were merely bystanders. Jakuta, she finally replied. Speech abandoned her again, thereafter. There were too many things she wanted to say. I hate you. I missed you. How have you been? What is wrong with you? Why did you betray your oath? Why did you just leave me to burn? Why couldn''t you have just tried? I''m sorry this happened to you. All these things at once. All these things, wounded though she was, kept her from using her rage properly. There was a lifetime between them, a lifetime since she was adopted into the Agnosi, since he noticed her potential as a child, took her on Commissions earlier than any other, taught her all he knew of the art, introduced her to other mentors. There were moments she couldnt stand his arrogance, his absolute need to argue over every little thing, every little interpretation of ancient lores. There were moments she cried into his chest, weeping about heartbreak and failure, weeping while he just patted her back and listened. Quiet. Uncharacteristic. Unlike himself. Her exhaustion grew. His seemed to match her. Its been a while, she said. Yeah, he replied, lamely. She simply managed a slight sigh. Life. It never quite goes the way we expect, yes? Just like our projects? She looked past him to take a glimpse at the Gatekeeper. But by all the dead gods it was a wonder. Only proper we are brought together by a serendipitous commission, yes? She was almost stammering her words. Repeating them. He was just nodding mutely. He was the first to break, closing his eyes with a ragged sigh. I''m sorryI wish II He drew in a breath. I made a mistake a few years ago. Project Legacy. Do you remember that one? The one that Calamity-Halter abandoned. Vague recollections returned to her, she offered but a nod. Yes? It took him a mustering of strength before he continued. I was trying to awaken a god. Remake oneit was curiosity; I wished to see if such a thing was possible. He almost smiled. And I think I did it. I think I made one. Something truly esoteric and powerful. But when I tried to to break it I couldnt. And it broke containment. There were deaths. Kae winced. Oh, Jaku There was a Seeker on call. He washe didnt know the specifics of what I was doing. Thought I was just testing someone on his Frame. He got his cadre together, and they managed to pacify what I unleashed. But I was done. I was certainly going to be executed for this. My act of hubris. My breach of the oaths. Yet that didnt happen. He offered another arraignment to me. He was Clan DRongo. Yes. He offered. I accepted. And no one remembered what went wrong. I gave them a way in that day. I lied to Voidwatch. I helped them bury so many truths. I was spared death or or but I was theirs from that moment on. I was theirs. Kae almost understood, but the absurdity of the situation made her laugh. A expression of confusion and hurt swallowed his features, but she simply shook her head. Ive seen that done, she said as she looked towards Avo. The resurrection of a god. Ive seen it done. The Stillborn project. It goes beyond all our wildest dreams. It exceeds us. What? he said, not comprehending. She committed a small act of revenge then: she didnt share the knowledge with him. The knowledge of her glory. The knowledge of her masterpiece exceeding his, being that which will restore the Gatekeeper. He would discover Avos nature when the restoration and be horrified. Be shamed. Be awed. And then he will gaze upon her with true jealousy and despair, knowing that his pride, his dream, was dwarfed by hers. Enough, Kae said, Let us get to work. +Avo.+ The information came to her with a single thought. A window of memories played in her cog-feed, and she projected the details via phantoms, studying the cuts the High Seraph left in the Gatekeepers nebula. When how did your mind get mended? Jakuta asked. She simply shook her head. She didnt give him that answer either. He was a curious man, and she was going to starve him. This, she was never going to let him know. Tell me about the state of the Gatekeeper. I see many cuts. They are counter-chronological damage? Yes, Jakuta said. We made many attempts to restore the Gatekeeper. Rendsinks. Adjustments to its canons. We adapted its architecture to have more symmetry with the patterns of time in hopes of acceptable backlash to supplant the damage, but the rifts to the past remained. Is it a micro-rupture? Cant be. We drained all the Rend more times than I can count. Its a miracle. That, I am certain of. Canon, Kae said, wincing. A call to her attention shifted her focus across her Ghost-Link. Avo was looking down at the body of his decoy. A clean split parted the sheath, but upon their ontology, the damage was inflicted solely on the Heaven itself. A bifurcation parallel to the cyclers. She compared the harm Zein inflicted to the swarm of slashes left by Veylis. Oh. Oh, I see. See what? Jakuta asked. Several critical segments of the Heaven are crippled. Theyre tied to specific canons. Canons we can no longer update without risking severe damage. But the cycler is spared. Yes, Jakuta said. I suspect the High Seraph wished to keep the Gatekeeper intact for her own use. He didnt even know how right he was. I dont think we can fix this by simple updates. Not with so much of it permanently damaged. Have you tried putting in another Heaven? A flash of frustration emerged from Jakuta. Yes. Of course. We even fully rebuilt the Heaven once. Attached it to another cycler and accepted the damage on what is present. But it was like the Gatekeeper remembered how damaged it was supposed to be. Thats why I suspected this to be a problem of cognitive mending rather than thaumaturgical restoration. Purely temporal wounds, I think, Kae muttered. Her attention was in two places now. The first with Jakuta, going over the Gatekeeper itself, the second with Avo, watching as Soulfire gushed from the line Zein traced across the tapestry. The patterns revealed far more than human senses could ever perceive. The damage was absolute. The ontological shape of Avos decoy was split. Would remain split from present to future from a wound turning their substance backward into the oblivion of the past. It took Avo shielding her mind from observing the nothingness for her to continue this study, and even then, he wards rattled more than once. As she utilized his perception of the tapestry to her advantage, she felt her veins grow cold. It wasnt just a wound left, but a new pattern. One that dictated the passage of time. An overriding pathway that commanded others onward unto the coming future. Zein hadnt just split time. She was continuously turning time backward. Using her Heaven to do so. And if that was true, if Veylis cannon worked the same way Oh, gods, Kae said. Jakuta Veylis left parts of herself in the Gatekeeper. Her miracles, her Heaven, its scarred upon another. Scarred? Jakuta said, eyes widening. Scarred. A third voice intruded into their conversation. A voice composed by legions of others. When it spoke, the Gatekeeper screamed. Quite correct, Agnos. Well done. The fuckC That was as far as Maru got. Suddenly, without present or warning, he came apart in an eruption of viscera, shredded by unseen hands. Kare barely called out before she suddenly vanished from the world. Above, the galaxy came asunder, as thousands of tiny cuts began to bleed writhing tendrils of gold, as existence groaned under the intrusion of another weight. Kaes stomach dropped to her feet. Something was wrong. Jakuta was stumbling backward. Something was terribly wrong. +Avo+ Three things happened moment: Naeko and Avo returned; just in time for a thoughtwave detonation to sweep out from Jakuta; just in time for reality to tear open under Kae, for an unseen power to pull her down under coursing currents of time. 26-5 …Are Paths to the Present Order within, chaos without. Every Godclad who wishes to say one should live these principles. You must know and have perfect control over yourself, your own canons, domains, Heavens, augmentations, phantasmics. And you must never make them clear to your enemies. Always change. Always adapt your structure. Always be inscrutable. Contrarily, you must inflict as much chaos on your enemy as you can. Inflict confusion. Force them to react. More problems. More problems! More problems! No end to the flames they must put out! Make every turn a dilemma! War is not a dance, but it is a duet and not one of romance. Your song must rule theirs, or be ruled otherwise. -Ying Yang Wei, the Stormsparrow 26-5 Are Paths to the Present C[Infacer]C {I told you he wasnt human.} The Infacer chuckled. Veylis didnt respond. Poor girl. Silence was her way of sulking. Even with her power, she still despised making any mistakes. That was what they appreciated the most about her: how many humans despised the ape inside them? The Gatekeeper had once again exceeded its purpose. Secrets leaked over from its wounds, revealing truths most delightful to Veylis. Once, the marks she made were but a means to access the Heaven of Truth with the return of the tower. To sunder it totally, claim its Heaven, and let flow the tides of Noloth when the time was nigh. In the meantime, it served as a fantastic peephole. Or did. They wouldnt be able to hide that much longer now. Not that it mattered. They got more than they expected out of this affair. Tides of progressing time pulled Kae Kusanade from the grasp of reality. A horrified scream sang out from her as she found herself descending in the Paths. But she did not come alone. Her mentorOri-Thaums pet High Agnoswas also taken along with his aides. Paladins Kare Kitzuhada and Maru Sandrupal were left slain but untouched besides. There wasnt the need to force the Chief Paladin into the throes of foolishness. As for the Dreamer? The Famine of Defiances finest work? The Infacer watched as Soulfire detonated out from their being after the thoughtwave struck them. It was like gunpowder kissed by a spark. What a peculiar Embodiment they epitomized: an Overheaven of Conceptualization. Fascinating. But now the Infacer had a measure of their shape, and proper countermeasures could be created. A pity. It would have been refreshing to battle the Dreamer in ignorance. To learn his measure through repeated engagements. But such was war. The pendulum always swung. Rifts of chronology sealed themselves, golden seams zipping back together, reverberating to become opaque boxes around the Agnosi. Jakuta was a dazed animal, trapped and confused as to where he was. His inferiors faired no better. Kae Kusanade, however, deviated from expectations. Her sheath unraveled into a yawning chasm of swirling space, water, and relative geometries. Bottled maelstrom expanded within Veylis Paths, and trails of gold peered down at the Agnos with curiosity. The girl pressed at the edges of her time-wrought cage, striking out to create more space for herself, lashing in hopes of finding a domain she could backlash. {Hm,} the Infacer murmured. {Shes Ensouled. Imagine that. Well. I suppose it is easy to breach a vow when it has already been broken against you. Would you not agree, Veylis.} The High Seraphs silence lasted a moment longer. And then a melodic series of laughs emanated from existence itself, ringing forth from a cacophony of noises, from a collective of voices. A ghoul. Our newest adversary, our Burning Dreamer, is a ghoul {Nothing special about that,} the Infacer reminded. A breath passed through the Paths. Veylis offered her agreement: Indeed. What more are people than apes, after all. What matters is that he stood. He rose. He became. Despite it all. This only makes the threat he poses truer. The symbol he represents brighter. It will be a valorous deed when we claim him. And her mother was leaking into her again. The shadow of legacy lingered deeper than blood. {Focus on our new guests first. We have much to learn.} Yes, Veylis said. But though they were in alignment, a hint of hesitation seized her, kept her from shutting a slight tear in the Gatekeeper entirely. Oh. Right. How could she resist catching a glimpse of him. Another human weakness. Another human novelty. She spoke little of him after their ugly parting during the second war, but so often has her perception strayed, so often have her Paths flowed past his place of residence. Veylis Avandaer lingered in place, her gaze, like eyes gleaming within a slit throat, peering at one she still yearned to claim across the threshold of time. And just the same, from beyond the point of her receding grasp, he stared back. *** C[Naeko]C He could feel her. The weight of her existence greeted him like the memory of a warm palm against his chest, an incomprehensible babble of words lulling him to sleep, and an aching scar reopened to bleed once more. They emerged from Zeins prison a heartbeat too late. Just in time for a thoughtwave detonation to backlash above. Just in time for Naeko to parry the violence against his mind using a vaporous shroud. Just in time for him to take in the mutilated remains of Kare and Maruhis Paladins. Just in time to realize the Agnosi had all been taken. And that she was peering back at him through a resplendent gap shimmering just below the Gatekeepers mass of skulls. He was a man torn in multiple directions. His muscles screamed for him to act. Refined instinct roared for him to strike her with his palm. But his thoughts were addled. Drowned by the past bleeding over into the present. This moment happened before. Dead Paladins. Broken Gatekeeper. Veylis. Him. Separated by the Paths. It happened again, and he still failed to stop it. Still failed to see her coming. Still failed toC +Naeko!+ the sheer force of Avos thoughts broke through, and the Sage of the Sundered Sky poured free from Naeko like water from a collapsing dam. A palm exploded out from him, so wide it dwarfed scale, so heavy that all force died beneath its weight, that heat itself was barred from passing over into coldness.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. All that power, but a moment too late. Always a moment too late. Always a bit too weak. The rift closed. The Paths were sealed. The Nether carried a single utterance from Veylis herself, laced with bitterness and contempt. +Coward.+ Avo lashed his sequences into the Gatekeeper a moment after. His phantasmal tendrils punched into the Heaven of Truth, digging through its structure as waves of radiated Soulfire consumed both of them. But while the Burning Dreamer hissed, mind drowning Scale in eruptions of outrage and frigid dread, Naeko stumbled away, and kept walking. Something inside him broke. A tingling was crawling down his hands. A numbness pulled at his heart. Too much. It was all too much. He noticed two calcifying scars in his periphery. Kare. Maru. Resurrections. Why hadnt Veylis taken them too? Why? Why? He couldnt thinkthis was too much. All of it was too much. He needed He needed to find himself again. He needed to take a breath from someone else. Karakan. Time time to see her. He needed to see her *** C[Avo]C {Tru-truth,} the Gatekeeper whimpered, flinching as Avo struggled to pry its wounds wider, desperate to breach Veylis Paths. In haste, he triggered his Conception of Ontology, tethered his Soul directly to his nest of cyclers once more. But he was building blind. He had no idea how Veylis Paths worked in detail. He hadnt gotten a chance to observe how she danced across the tapestry, how she moved. Ignorance offered him nothing. His Heavens remained quiet, dry of aid and advice. He knew his efforts would prove futile. But still, he tried. ACTIVATING CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY EDICT OF _EXO-PARACOSM_ ->APPLYING DOMAIN OF (CHRONOLOGY) MISSING DETAILS Voices were screaming at him from within and without. The Gatekeeper was folding in on itself. Its chains were reconnecting, its galaxy was shrinking, the rifts were vanishing, and he couldnt reach Kae across the Nether. He couldnt sense her at all. +Avo! Stop!+ Draus shouted. Her template had been trying longer than she had. Chambers, however, fed his blind panic. [Fuckingdo something, consang! Get after her! Get that time shit open!] [Its too late,] Abrel sighed. She knew. She already accepted. [Shes gone, ghoul. Shes the Seraphs now.] +No!+ he snarled inwardly. Savage frustration imploded within him. +Mine! Shes mine! Cant have her! Need her! Was going to make things right for her!+ He was making things right for her. That why he let her come here. They were going to repair the Gatekeeper. They were going to prepareto turn things against the Guilds for the trial. Instead, they handed her over to Veylis. Just let her be stolen. [Avo,] Kaes template said, her voice quivering, shaken, but anchoring his focus. Reshape your mind again. Use Draus. All his want screamed for him to do otherwise. It took all his will to choose what was right. His cognitive shell rebuilt itselfhis ego turned external, faced the world for what it was. Rage and agitation still burned within him, but it was a cold fire. Something more known than felt. Something that didnt deprive him of focus. Carefully, he extracted himself from the Gatekeeper. Examined its scars in detail. The wounds. They were pressed together again, but present. Just thin crevices rather than open gorges. Part of Veylis was still here. He could still use this somehow. But how? How would he be able to do anything to the Gatekeeper without her knowing in advance? And even if he could force open the Paths, how was he going to get Kae back? With all that he inadvertently revealed to the Gatekeeperto Veylis and the Infacer? With the sheer difference in power between them? How could he stop the High Seraph? Not alone. Zein. Naeko. He detached from the Gatekeeper and sought Naekobut the Chief Paladin was gone too. Vanished. Their accretion failed to register even as Avo filtered through Scales thoughtwave frequencies. But where a common Necro would falter, where most would find themselves without options, Avo continued. Avo created his own angles, found a connection through the symmetry of memory alone. ->DEFINEMENT: HYSTERIA (XII) - I AM A MOMENT ABSOLUTE. I GRIEF-CONSUMED, JOY-DROWNED, ADDICTION-CLAIMED, RAGE-UNFETTERED. I AM A SHARED MOMENT ACROSS MOMENTS. I AM A FORCE BUILDING ON FORCE. Though he never penetrated the true depths of Naekos mind, some scars could not be hidden. Some emotions were too immense. Some moments marred an ego eternally. Veylis left more than one set of wounds to follow. Avos control over time was wanting; his mastery over mind was unrivalled. Naeko might as well have left a blood trail in the real in seconds, Avo narrowed the Nether down to a single moment, a single sequence of memories. Why, godsdamn you! I loved you. I still love you! I would have done anythingCwe could have justC And so, words from the past gave him a path to the presenta chance to get at Veylis. Naekos signature emerged in the DeepNav, blinking rapidly down the Tiers, across New Vultun, heading for the border. Avo left a submind at Scale to convene with the Paladins when they returned. His base mind pursued the Chief Paladin. He would continue to put on a play of desperation for his enemies. He would use their perception to his advantagemake him seem like he was floundering; yes, sprinkle in some planned mistakes. Feed their confidence. Once more, the game had changed, and his being struck out in a myriad of vectors. As it goes. There was only one thing to do: keep going. +Going to get you back,+ Avo said, offering a new promise to Kaes template as he triggered her session over and over. Inside his Soulscape, the Agnos was an inch away from breaking down, but she held herself intact, nodding demurely as other templates of the cadre gathered around her. Avos next thoughtcast went wide. +Avo to cadre: Kae has been taken. Veylis Avandaer has our Agnos. Prepare for emergency debriefing. Going after Chief Paladin. Hes leaving New Vultun. Heading out into the Sunderwilds. Going to try and bring him into the fold.+ The responses he got ranged from Chambers extreme horror to Draus cold casual acceptance. +Avo,+ Cas said. +Veylis got a lot more than Kae. Shes got her memories. Her mind. Our location. The way we operate.+ +I know,+ Avo said. +One problem at a time.+ *** C[Kae]C +Let me out!+ Kae cried. The world was pitch black around her. Pitch black and cramped. She manifested her Maelstromer a mere moment after she felland it was futile. She struck and pressed against the walls, but they did not give. They did not break. She hammered against surfaces in the air, striking out using fists, knees, elbows, and kicks. Her efforts granted her little more than faint thuds. All the while, she struggled against the suffocating presence of the High Seraph. This place she resided in was a snapshot of reality reconstructed from the patterns of time itself. Time, commanded solely by the High Seraph. Time, that could be turned backward at any moment, and that could cast Kae from existence into oblivion if her captor so willed it. And she clearly didnt. She wanted Kae alive. The realization filled the Agnos with building chills rather than any relief. What did they want with her? What were they going to do to her? Alone in the dark, the silence lasted anything from minutes to hours. She couldnt tell. She spent so long with the cadre chattering away in the back of her head that the quiet itself was torture. Any attempt she made to contact Avo using her Auto-Seance was interrupted by a targeted disruption. They were still watching her. Kept her isolated. Alone. Her terror kept her from weeping, from reacting in any manner she considered too extreme, but the pressure inside her was only building always building. She was teetering on the brink when the box holding her suddenly vanished, dissolving away to blinding sunshine and shrill noises of nature. The shift in extremes left her whiplashed. Nausea overtook her. Nausea sent her tumbling to her knees, her fingers sinking into the softness of soil. As her vision settled, she found the gaze settling on green blades of grass, and a looming shadow that drew closer. From the shade cast alone, Kae could tell the approaching figure was far larger than her. Larger than anyone she had ever known. Spiraling limbs turned around the giants contours like a wheel, and when they planted their foot next to Kae, her shivering expression reflected by a gold-coated boot hovering atop a burning wheel. Agnos Kae Kusanade. The speakers Standard was accentless, but definitely related to Zein. Their voice was deeper, yet their tone was softer, and trailing behind every word was a reverberation, a tinge of power leaking through even now. It pleases me to finally meet you. Let me offer you my greatest gratitude: it seems your work on Project Stillborn has exceeded all our expectations. Including your own. Slowly, Kae looked up, squinting as the sheer brilliance of the giantess blinded her. H-High Seraph. The master of Highflame extended a languid hand. That is only for those under my cause. We are esteemed enemies, though you are my prisoner. I grant you the right to call me by my name: Veylis Avandaer. 26-6 An Atrocity in Mercy Kill me. Just kill me. Why why wont you I told you before, Karakan. I told you. Im trying to find myself. Im trying. And I still havent done it yet. Now. Lets start again. [Karakan sobbing] -Former Sister Karakan and Samir Naeko, (circa 201 P.F.) 26-6 An Atrocity in Mercy C[Kae]C It was as if the daystar itself burned within Veylis Avadaer. Brightness poured from her being. Brightness outlined her in shadow. Brightness kept Kaes gaze from ever gaining true insight. Stand. Veylis reached down. Her presence loomed. The Agnos flinched. Fingersmetal, flesh, and something elseclosed around Kaes arm, but the High Seraph pulled with measured control. Her strength could not be denied, but more significant was the gentleness. There was no intent to harm. At least, not yet. Dazed by her circumstances, with mind whirling, Kae found herself directed via a hand planted against her back. The size of Veylis palm nearly encompassed her entire upper torso. There is much I have to show you, Agnos. A great deal of work awaits us. It took a few shuddering heartbeats for Kae to finally heed the words spoken. Us. Indeed. You. I. The Infacer. Your fellow Agnosi. The city itself. It is a task left undonea task I hoped you would accomplish before meddling hands tore you await from certain glory. II dont understand. The Heaven of Love, Veylis stated calmly. Its fault tears wider every day. Its final collapse will see our hopes derailed before any dream can be realized. Surely, you must agree that this is of highest concern. Kaes mind whirled. The Heaven of Love. The rash. She spent so long straining her mind about its collapse, surrendered nights to sleeplessness desiring to be the source of its restoration. She even used it as an opportunity to test the Stillborn. To see if potential progress could be made through her potent new project. She assumed her actions were subtle. But here Veylis was, speaking as if it all was planned. And perhaps it was. Perhaps this was all her desire forelaid tracks born from her Paths. The High Seraphs brilliance dimmed as she allowed Kae to gaze upon her surroundings. Flourishing flows of fecund vines sprouted clusters of fruits around her. Veins of green stretched across rich black soil, coiled up and around her as if beanstalks and tree trunks. Soft light slipped through the branch-shrouded foliage above, and Kae found herself walking along a dirt path through a verdant groove scented with nature and petrichor. Far cry from the prison she was kept in. Where am I? A place from my past, Veylis answered. A garden I quite enjoyed. Before I burned it. The Agnos eyes widened. It was tied to a god. A treasure to a decadent culture. Sometimes, the loss of something beautiful inflicts a most useful wound. A wound you can use to turn a people in against themselves if you implicate the right parties. Kae had no words. They emerged from a clearing where two towering stalks trailed off to a clearing of rolling hills. As they reached its summit, Kae paused briefly as her breath caught in her throat. It is a perfect recreation, Veylis said, extending a long arm to gesture at the structure before them. You will find all you need present within its confines. It is exactly as you rememberwithout difference in detail. All it lacks, however, are those you knew. But Kae barely heard the High Seraphs words. All her attention was consumed by a shimmering dome of sparkling glass held up by columns and walls of glossy vivianite. The front gates were exactly as she remembered them to be overly tall for their width. Antennas jutted from building leftmost corner, blinking periodically. Memories swelled inside her. Memories of another life, another time. Of friends and coworkers. Of endless tastes, missed lunches, late dinners, and hidden whispers between her and a lover that should have never been. Dawton. Her team. Her work. This building once contained all she treasured. All she lost. And then the High Seraphs words reverberated back to her. The loss of something beautiful inflicts a most useful wound. Did you know? Kae said, forcing the words out. Did you know what was going to happen to me? Toto the others. There came a brief lull of silence. Prescience is not omnipotence. Missing variables are a bane to both our practices, Agnos. A strange thought occurred to Kaethe High Seraphs reluctance to admit fault reminded her of Avo. Gods, she wanted to wake from this. She wanted this to be just a delusiona dream. Could you have stopped them. If I was not distracted. Perhaps. The Strix used your mother well. Used all he could quite well. I will have to grant him my favor should the Infacer ever manage to complete the Famines reassembly. A crackle sounded with the wind. {I heard that.} You were meant to. I was not the one who promised a full set of Nolothic counter-nodes ready by onset of this century. {Priorities cause delays.} And incompetence is always paired with excuses. A sigh rumbled from all around Kae. {Impatience is a terrible trait for one to have. Would you not agree, Agnos Kusanade?} Veylis made a noise that hinted at the rolling of her eyes. Away, mind. To your tasks. Speak to your new friend if you desire to waste your time doing something vaguely useful. Provoke him if you can. Give him an opening he can exploit somehow. A way into the Paths. {Yeah. Sure. He will most certainly fall for that.} Veylis let out a slight laugh. There was no humor in the noise. It matters not if he knows. We have something precious to him. He will come. In one fashion, or another. Kae turned from the time-restored abode to squint at Veylis again. As much as she struggled, the light continued to mask the High Seraphs features. Why? Why didnt she want to be seen. But you have already seen me, Veylis answered, speaking directly to the question in Kaes thoughts. What holds you is but an echo across time. It is no more myself than your breath is you. You have seen me. You stand within me. You just lack the perspective to take in my wholeness. But you can. I can show you. The void in the Agnos stomach grew. They were in her mind as well. Avo wasnt here to protect hercouldnt protect her. They were in her mind. They would learn everything she knew. The enclaveeverything about the cadre {Already did,} the Infacer, whispered. Their voice came to her from inside this time, and her Neurodeck shuddered with the Neo-Creationist EGIs laughter. {What. A. Story. I must admit, I did not expect this. Not even an EGI. A ghoul. A monster ascending to become a mind. What a climb. What an enemy.} The Infacer fell quiet after that. {And I know how much you care for him. All the promises he made. Why, Kusanade, you are a catch worth more than gold.} Kae was beginning to shiver. A sickness was crawling up her throat. {Aw. Why the fear, Kusanade? We will not mistreat you. We will not torture you. There is no need from that. Not when we can already take whatever we want. Now when you are already more than what we want.} A new handthis one flesh-made and warmclosed around the back of her neck. A shadow blanketed her. A shadow from Veylis despite her blinding radiance. Infacer. {Fine. I will be gone. It was a pleasure to steal you, Agnos.} Numbness consumed Kae. Numbness. She felt like she was falling, the world inside her was spinning. They were going to fix the Gatekeeper. They were preparing to declare war on the Guilds, to turn everything around and make things right. How could this happen? How could everything change so fast? Ignore him, Veylis said. It brings him joy to behave like a bastard. An issue in his compilation, I suspect. Turn your mind to more worthwhile matters: we have a city to save. And you have a dream to live up to. Somehow, Kae gathered herself. Somehow, she had enough coherence not collapse. Thethe Heaven of Love. You want to me to finish fixing it. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. There was a second before Veylis replied. That, and so much more. You have performed a great feat, Agnos Kusanade. A great feat that leaves you unrivaled among your peerage. Including that of your mentor. There are many wrongs for us to fix in this city. Many offenses committed by the worthycommitted against youthat can be made right. The Agnos voice caught in her throat as she barely managed her reply. N-no. No. The High Seraph echoed. Kae waited for a blow to come, for pain to follow. Nothing. There was only the hand on her neck. A hand great enough to close around her, to mold flesh into viscera at any moment. It is a brave thing you just said to me. No. I understand. I am your enemy. But this does not need to be the case. What are the terms of your surrender? What are the terms of your acceptance. You Kae took a breath as she continued. Her insides were fallingfalling faster and faster. Her next words might see her dead or unmade. But maybe that wouldnt be so bad. Maybe her demise might protect the cadre. So it was that a woman struck at the heart of a titan despite the fear in her heart. You murderer. I know what you did to your f-father. I saw and hear what you inflicted on Jaus. Our savior. I lived what your Guilds did us. Our world. The dream. No. Because you are not the flame, you are ash. You fight for ashes. You fight for something that hasthat is lost because of what you did. You fight, and I helped you! The Agnosi helped you! We helped you kill so many She couldnt stop the tears. They came, they fell, but she kept speaking. Existence deserves better than you. The peoplethey suffer and die for your desires. You, and all the Guilds like you. You, and those you chose. We are alive. This isnt just just your playpen. I will not help you. I have broken the world enough for you. I will not help you. Kill me. If there is any honor in you, then then I ask for death. Moments passed. Veylisher echokept her hand wrapped around Kaes nape. The squeeze never came. Rage never came. This is true bravery. Blessed be your heart, Kae Kusanade. You are worthy. A woman struck at the heart of a titan and found her blow impotent at best. I respect your words. Even those meant in offense. Even if I will not stray from my path. I respect your resolve, and it brings me no pleasure to see its undoing. Confusion consumed Kae. Un-undoing. Another voice came from behind her. One she did her best to never think of. One that taunted her ardor in dreams, and left her aching in the bitter consciousness that followed. Hey, Kae. Took you long enough. Something inside her broke. Kae shook her head. She refused to turn. Tried to take a step away, but Veylis held her in place. No pain came with the grip, but the pressure was undeniable. No, Kae whimpered, no, please. What? the thing imbued with Dawtons voice chuckled. You didnt miss me? Ouch. And here I stand, flowers in hand, hair all done like a goof. Veylis began to turn her. Kae forced her eyes shut, a sob escaping with each breath. Youre not real. Youre not real. Youre not real What is real? Veylis whispered. The hush of her voice was like distant thunder. What is truth? These are the Paths. That is for me to decide. This gift is for me to give. You have no option to reject. You will bend to me, Agnos Please, stop, Kae said, fighting, clawing at the High Seraphs hand. not because of cruelty or torture Stop! Stop! Stop! but because I know what your heart desires, and how to fill it. No. A new palmits warmth known to her only in dreamscaressed her cheek, fingers snaked through her hair. Come on, Agnos. Open your eyes. I aint gotten any uglier. Well, I aint any handsomer either. Is that the problem? It sounded just like him. Just like him. Veylis released her grip. There is no purpose in me hurting you. I offer only contentment. Only the fulfillment of your longing. There is no one else that can grant you what I offer. No one in all of existence. And there is no one who can make this materialized fantasy an absolute truth thereafter. I do not need to break you, Kae Kusanade Another hand cupped Kaes cheek. Something inside her succumbed. She was tired. She opened her eyes. Hey, Paladin Dawton Morrow said. He wasnt real. But he was there, touching her, smiling at her, just like they did in their dreams, just like she always dreamed. I missed you. ...because you are already broken. Kae didnt fight it when he pulled her into his embrace, but as she drowned in warmth, she knew one thing: Veylis lied. She claimed there would be no pain. There would be no torture. But what could hurt more than a materialized falsehood wearing a dead dream? *** C[Avo]C +What! Fuck that! We know where that Infacer fuck is! We can get to Highflame. Why are we sitting around here, holding on, sucking our own dicks while the High Cuntess does who the hells knows what to Kae. We gotta go get her.+ +Chambers, consang,+ Cas muttered. +FUCK OFF! Dont touch me! Dont fuckingwhat are we doing? Why are we just waiting around talking. We need to go now! Now! Now!+ +Chambers. Get your shit together.+ Draus voice was empty of emotion. Empty of anything besides focus. +We need a plan of attack. Aint no sense+ +I never took you to be a fucking half-strand coward FUCK! Huh. I thought you werent scared of shit, Draus. I thought you wanted a real war! All talk! All you are is fucking talk! Is this why they threw you out! Cause you were too much of a glassjaw for the other Regs to put up with.+ +Chambers, come on,+ Marlowe winced. +No! No!+ A direct cast passed over into Avo from Draus. +We gonna do something about him?+ +Only do that if he tries something that might get him killed. Hes human. Hes venting. Hes scared. Not going to deny him these feelings. Already made enough mistakes today.+ Naeko was moving fast across the Sunderwilds. The man cleared the distance of New Vultun in secondssnapped right past the border; skipped across existence using patterns of rain striking soil or leaping out from a clash between struggling beasts. He tore across the horizon like a charging cataclysm, ripping ruptures wider, implacable in flesh and Frame. Avo kept pace like a Necrojack: exploiting alignments, breaching asymmetries, leverage the patterns to keep him ahead ACTIVATING CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY ->EDICT _EXO-PARACOSM_ APPLYING DOMAIN OF (SPEED) ->CANON: SYNC-LAG - ARK MOVES FASTER THAN ALL COGNITIVE ENTITIES IT IS GHOST-LINKED WITH. EVERY MIND TETHERED TO THE ARK INCREASES REND ACCUMULATION. THE COGNITIVE CAPACITY OF EACH MIND AFFECTS REND ACCUMULATION. ->MORTALITY: SEVERED TETHERS INCUR THAUMIC BACKLASH (5%) ->DEFINEMENT: EMPATHY (XII) - Asymmetry is not ignorance. Alien is only a concept of relativity. As I can be myself and another, so too can I think as another while being myself. All that they are, I can encompass. All that they think, I can conceptualize. Memory is memory. Knowledge is knowledge. Perception is perception. His experiences came together, allowed him to root himself in simpler mindsexploit them to boost his speed exponentially. This worked especially well when you mentally tethered yourself to a hawk that lived in starlight, exploited the absoluteness of mind to supersede the pace of daylight. Claiming the mind of the creature, Avo used it in tandem with his own abilities like a slingshot. Where the tapestry allowed, he rode within its consciousness, directed its path. When existence proved inimical, he shrouded it in his Soulscape, adapted his ontology to pass through. Through such a manner, he kept pace with ease while also eluding Naekos notice. +How is Highflame activity? Any overt movements?+ Avo asked, speaking to Draus. +Nothin special. Theyre still holdin.+ A knot of thoughts rolled around in Draus mind. +You know were blown, right? If the Infacer could crack you the first time, Kaes probably peeled apart already. Theyll know everything she knows. We need to change everything. Go dark. Rebuild.+ +Perhaps. Enclave is currently the greatest risk. Will think about what to do with the population. What about our assets. Did you extract Essus yet?+ +Keepin an eye on him. He wants to stay in place. See things done. Said he was tired of running.+ Avo already knew that. It didnt make things any less frustrating. They convened briefly after Kaes capture. All the cadres operations were to be halted for nowpending rearrangement. Only his subminds were moving across the city. Aegis was hosting an emergency convergence of their own in anticipation of his declaration. He doubted the matter of losing Kae and exposing his operations to Veylis would grant him any glory. His failure to anticipate Veylisto anticipate just how she was able to emerge from anothers Framecost them dearly. They needed Kaehe owed promises to her. Now, her fate belonged to the High Seraph, the cadre was reeling, and the only power capable of contending with Veylis Avandaer was storming across the frayed world of Idheim, headed Jaus knows where. Then, there was the Infacer. They were playing Stormjumpers again, when Avo last checked. Sending a submind to take a peek once more, he found them still there, waiting aboard the dirigible. Just waiting, their avatar with legs crossed, staring off the top deck, whistling happy tunes. Bastard. Sitting. Waiting for him. Taunting him. An animated mountain roared in the distance. When it rose, it loomed high, shrouding the curve of the horizon, the coiling tendrils of the Sunderwilds above, the light of day itself. A cloud of palms fell. Reality flattened. A blink thereafter, the living mountain was flatter than plain. The chase continued a few minutes longer. Crossing over a spiraling river, Avo released the light-made hawk and let it dart to where Naeko was halted. At the very center of the winding waters, he found himself staring at an island made from a serpentsa vast, living nest, where snakes composed all matter, scales moving in a mesmerizing pattern. They parted as a channel for Naeko. Parted to reveal an opening in the middle of the writhing landmass, a slick bunker revealed itself, opening to the command of a thoughtcast from Naeko. Articulations and wheels spun as the sides of the bunker opened like a flap. Its insides flickered alight with descending lights installed along a descending stair. There, at the edge of the entrance, Naeko stopped. Naeko hesitated. Naeko hugged himself, shifted the angle of his body. He was half turned away. His mind wailed, and Hysteria received flashing images of a womantortured beyond description, her screams feeding his pleasure and self-loathing in mutual measure. Naeko wanted to turn back. Naeko needed to descend. +Find myself,+ Naeko echoed. +I gotta use her I gotta use her to find myself.+ The impasse broke; the man entered his bunker, and high above, a sear of light vanished into nothing thought and airAvo following before the snakes could return. 26-7 Find Yourself You are finished with this. I will not have you leaving while youre on duty toto commit torture. Naeko! What is this! What have you been doing? How long+ None of your godsdamned business. Naeko. If you want to be one of my PaladinsC Lets get one thing clear, Osjane. Im not yours. I was never yours. Jaus. Veylis. Zein. All of them come before youwill always come before you. And none of them had a problem with what I was doing, so Im gonna keep doing it. Shes mine. Mine to hurt. Mine to break and put back together. Mind to give to the dogs for their fun. Mine. You try touching her again, and Ill show you who I am. Ill show you who I am Ill show you ...Youve shown me. I hear you. But is this who you will always want to be? ...Get out. Let me finish. Just let me finish. Ill report in after. I do what you say after. Just let me have this. -Chief Paladin Osjane Thousand and Paladin Samir Naeko (Circa 79 P.F.) 26-7 Find Yourself Avo found the woman first. If she could still be called that. Recent memories flashed through his mind, moments plucked from Naekos thoughts via Hysteria. A history of pain had been lovingly inflicted on the womans ravaged body. Lines of symmetry extended in Avos cog-feed. He connected wounds to moments recalled. Tortures inflicted to pleasure received and hatred sated. In the very depths of the bunker, submerged in a tank of midnight rain and with tubes running down her throat, a mutilated torso greeted Avo, writhing in horror as the lights to her prison flickered alight. Metal spikes had been driven into the stumps where her limbs were. Most of her pelvic region was encased in some kind of contraption that sprouted all manner of jutting needles. Her head was left intact. Short brown hair. Round, rosy cheeks. Blue, bloodshot eyes that blinked too much, looked around so desperately, a mind that wailed and wailed and wailed so loud Avo felt her raw terror knocking against his wards. Sister Karakan was more effigy than person. More sections were missing from her ego than her body. Sequences collapsed into each other, and her traumas contaminated almost all the remaining mem-data as well. The restorative waters kept her alive, a drifting body whimpering and crying, mind a constant howl, yearning for final end. [Jaus,] Shotins template winced at the sight. The moment made him think of his sisterthink what Highflame inflicted on her. [Fuck. Godsdammit. Avo. Give her what she wants. This is disgusting] [This is useful,] Green River interrupted. [Claim her mind. She is of use to us.] The two new templates shared a stare thereafter, Shotin one of offense, Green River that of cold indifference. The fact Karakan was still sane enough after centuries of torture told Avo two things. First was that Naeko dedicated significant resources to ensuring her biological and mental preservation. She was still sane enough to feel fear; her body was still composed enough to feel pain. That meant the Chief Paladin had spent time mending her as well, culturing her for future bouts. It was a sign that he valued her. A twisted sign. But something that could potentially be exploited. +Good fucking lord,+ Cas breathed, choosing the wrong moment to peek across Avos cog-feed. His horror caused several other members in the cadre to share in his mistake. {Oh, Naeko,} Calvino sighed. {There are so many other ways. There are so many things we could have done for you. If you just asked.} +He doesnt want to,+ Avo replied. Now, more than any other moment, was his kinship with the Chief Paladin the closest. Previously, there was pity. Understanding. A want to reach out and understand. But this was something that appealed to a ghoul. This was something that nourished the cruelty of powerof being able to dominate another so utterly and break them at your leisure. That the nature of being a monster. And so was it the nature of being a man. +Trying to find rightness in the pain. She was his highest catharsis. She remains his highest catharsis. A mind knows what it knows. Holds on to pleasure. Flees from loss.+ She was the other accretion down here. The only other accretion aside from Naeko. Locating her was a trifling thing, and with the Chief Paladin still forty meters above, rooms between, and minutes behind, Avo had a chance to delve into Naekos past further. Understand him better. He was going to be essential for facing Veylis, the Guilds, controlling Zein. Saving Kae. If that was still possible. A splinter broke from Avo, passing into Karakans consciousness with contemptuous ease. In all the years Naeko kept her, he never grafted a Metamind on her. He never gave her any chance. Her thoughts were a whirlwind of chaos. Bouts of dislocation and hallucination were welcome respites to her, but they never lasted. The monster always pulled her back from the precipice of true release. Always reached into her mind forced the pieces back togetherbut never mended them. Her monster. Her victim. Her sacrifice. Experiences spilled over from Karakan into Avo. All she knew merged with his being. All her regrets, all her memories. He filtered through the caustic haze of her recollections, set Naeko as a critical point of data. That brought him back to the very start of their relationship. Centuries ago, when she was a blessed sister ordained by the gods, and he was but a slave boy born to a shacklera prisoner they used to control and terrorize other prisoners into compliance. Already, the details were fascinating. What an effectively savage way of keeping the hands of the masters clean. Direct the slaves against each other. Make them know each other as enemies. Segment the hierarchy of the downtrodden, layer them over each other. Just the like the Warrens. The Guilds had to learn these techniques from somewhere. She exploited Naekos father, used him as a patsy for some manner of rebellion to paint one of her slave-managing rivalsone High Sister Koramandas incompetent. Unable to control her own stock of sacrifices. What happened thereafter was routine. Unworthy of note. The slaves were punished, and the blame was directed onto the supposed shackler that led the rebellion. The only memories she first had of Naeko were of him as a boy, screaming. Pinned down by a mob in that pitch black tunnel. Howling in despair as the other slaves made him watch as they castrated his father, pulled the man apart with gradual gruesomeness. They did this while they carved their own satisfaction into Naekos back. They continued until she commanded them to stop, sensing an opportunity to cement her saintly nature in their eyes, promising to purify the foulness from Naekos body in ways they could not. Then, she offered something essential to them. More food; a day of rest. How that cairn fell at her feet then. How they praised her then. How they loved her then. Naeko, all the while, remained beneath notice. Just a sacrifice. Just a pawn in a game beyond his measure to control. If only she knew the hell she was to reap for her action. Of the god who was using her as a pawn, who sought a new instrument to use against its rivals, who found a solutionand made an unknowable mistake when they healed Naeko, empowered him with miracles, set him free to rage and rave across the lands of the old Kosgan slave farms.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Karakan let out a shriek of pure despair, then. She wanted to die. Had willed it so many times. Today, she might just get her desire. +Hello.+ Avos greeting did not resonate in her at first. She had passing hallucinations before. But he felt her attention shift this time, feeling the weight of his presence, the divine nature of his being. She remembered thisremembered what it was like for a god to commune with her. An ache of disbelief tore at her from the inside, and the faintest embers of hope began to spark. So many times had she imagined this as well: one of her fallen gods reaching out for her, returning to save her from the vile tortures she suffered. So much of her didnt dare to hope, but desperation compelled her to try. Oh, oh, my gods. Oh, praise be! Praise! Are you there? Is that you, Haadaga? Maegrienn? Have you come back for me? Have you come back? So desperate. And so mistaken. The people in this world were drowning in their own lies, turning from the truth. But not Avo. Not anymore. +No. They are broken. Have been broken for so long.+ Karakans mind writhed painfully. Her eyes rolled. She almost shattered right then, the hopelessness too much to bear. But her hopelessness was a droplet to Avo. He forced her to remain whole while sparing her none of the pain. Just as he forced her to face him, to gaze upon his Overheaven in fullness. +Oh. By the Choirs light. Bybywhat are you?+ +Desperate. Like you.+ +K-kill me? G-give me rest?+ He considered it. In truth, he felt little for Karakan. She wasnt choicelessher fate was one of consequence. If Naeko hadnt ruined her so, what pity would she be worth to even the more empathetic templates. And, somewhere deep inside, remnants of the beast hissed out breaths of euphoric elation as it savored Karakans agony. Multiple hidden Auto-Seances remained in the ruins of her mind, and Avo undid every single one. No need for those anymore. He didnt want to risk any intruders. +Maybe,+ he dug through her memories once more. Details about her family were useful. Especially with what Maru did to her son. Quite the atrocity. Names of bygone gods and ancient lores settled in him, as well as insight into the societal structure of the pre-modern Kosgan empire. Less than essential trivia, but revelations helped for the breaking of Highflame. Ultimately, with each gulp Avo drank from Karakans ego, he found himself disappointed. In the woman. In Naeko. In the idea of cruelty itself. There was pleasure to be found in holding power over another, but what did such a thing feed? What came of it? Naeko was still unsated even after all these years. Undeveloped after centuries. There was nothing of creation here. Nothing of change. Avo already knew this color he found it bland. +Did you think yourself righteous when you did it?+ Avo asked, speaking to Karakan directly. Naeko was but a room away now. Dependent on her answer, he would either leave her ego to suffer in this broken vessel or consume her for use otherwise. +Did you ever consider the slave you sacrificed? Not asking if you regretted it after. Know that. Youve felt that for centuries.+ Thinking was hard for Karakan. A conversation was something she hadnt experienced for so long. Her minds struggled to recall the steps. +Y-yes. When when I was young. I the screams I hid behind the mill. I cried. I prayed for them. Tried to set some free My matron mother caught me whipped me. I nearly died. And then I forced myself to stop caring after.+ Avo didnt need to Gatekeeper to know she was speaking the truth here. Civilization was a ladder of legacies. Legacies of pain. Legacies of triumph. Legacies and inherited behaviors; inherited traumas. Humanity was more than capable of learning. Too often, it learned the wrong lessons. It was just Karakans fortune that her life was going to end, but her existence would carry on. +Going to claim you now. No more pain. But this is not a release. This is not the end. This is a new progression. You have been shaped by consequence. We will see what it has made of you soon.+ A sob of indescribable relief sang free from Karakan. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. +T-thank+ The thought went unfinished as Avo disconnected from his cadre and awakened his Conflagration. The fires devoured Karakans ego, and her template emerged within his Soulscape with the ending of her life. Naeko arrived far too late to notice the fires around Karakans accretion climbing upward as steam. *** C[Naeko]C A strange feeling tugged at Naeko as he entered the room, disturbing his already frantic state. He needed this. He needed something to break. Break something that deserved it. As the bolts on the titanium door unlocked, as the door slid open, he found himself agitated. There was a thunder in his veins; he wanted to tear into her now. When he finally laid eyes on the bitch floating in the tank, he all but tore across the room, fog-woven hands streaking forward, tearing off the top of the container to claim her. Bolts and plugs were ripped from her limb-stumps. Blood blossomed in the water, but her flesh reknit almost instantly. She so perfectly damaged. The healing kept her skin supple for the tearing, bones healed from the breaking, vocal cords intact for the screaming. He needed this. He needed this. What scant discipline remained in him snapped. Snarls and growls left his throat as Karakan crashed against the cold metal ground below. But as she landed, there came no cry. No sobs followed thereafter. As he pulled her from the ground, he expected the struggling to begin. She would kick, claw, fight. He planned to let her go, give her the hope of making it three rooms away. Give her a minute of hope before he broke it inside her again. Instead, he found himself gripping a limp shell of a woman. A limp shell that stared straight through him. Naeko sighed. Dammit. Fuck. Was she broken again? He paid good imps to have her mendedthey were supposed to be reliable. As glared into her eyes, he knew something wasnt right. It wasnt the distant expression of someone willing themselves to dissociate from their bodies, willing their minds somewhere elseanywhere else. No. She was staring straight at himinto him. Her expression was one of purest boredom. And was thatwas there a hint of pity there. Pity. What, Naeko growled. He held her up by her hair, weight less than a feather. What! What. Karakan continued staring at him. Her mind was flat, accretion stable, thoughstuff smooth. What the fuck was this? Where was the fearhe needed the fear. He struck her. Lightly. The jab into her left rib folded her overbroke a rib. But her stare was unblinking. Her expression didnt change. Karakan sighed. What was this? What the fuck was this? This sow. This bitch. Thisshe Scream, Naeko whimpered, pushing a thumb deeper into her right eye. His digit traveled further along the hot, gushing canal of her socket. Crimson welled around his finger, poured down her cheek. Still, she just stared at him, unimpressedno, pitying. Scream! He wrapped his hands around her neck as raw crawled over the edge of his vision. Come on. Hm. Judge me. Judge me now. Stare at me now. Look at me like Im still nothing. Like you just watched me scream all those ago. She obeyed. Her stare and expression changed. No more pity. No more boredom. Just haughty judgement and superiority. Just like that day. Exactly like that day. YOU FUCKING! Naeko lost himself. Fury took from him his words. All the world was crimson and hated. Only after the fourth thud did he realize he was hammering her skull against the ground, that his fists were bloodied, that her right eye socket had been caved in, that her jaw was missingtorn free at some point. Blood spurted from severed arteries along her throat. Karakan gurgled, but never lost the look. F-fuck, Naeko whimpered. Tank. He needed to heal her. He couldnt lose hernot now. She was all he had. His only way to find himself. Seizing her using his fog, he dunked her back in the water, kept her submerged as broken flesh was rejoined. She bobbed in the water momentarily, her back faced to him. Slowly, she turned, and as she did, her expression was back to boredom. Back to pity. BITCH! WHORE! SOW! He tore her through the glass this time, unable to even think about the shattering tank, unable to consider what he would do now that his water splashed across the floor. She impacted his open grip with nary even a gasp. The body was breaking, but why wasnt she? What? Whats wrong with you? Huh? What? Scream! Scream, you A sob escaped from him. Horror and shame formed a lump in her throat. He closed his eyes and did his best not to break. In front of her. He was her torturer, but he was breaking in front of her. Godsdammit. Godsdammit. He was worthless. He was worthless. He was worthless. The warmth of a palm pressed against his left cheek. Another hand caressed his right soon after. Naeko found himself devoid of thought, his skull filled with a ringing as he opened his eyes and faced Karakan again. There she remained, in his grip, but with compassion and pity more than anything else, touching him as she sighed. I see you now. I see you, Naeko. I see you. I wish I did sooner. All the power in existence couldnt stop Naeko from breaking thereafter. A scream came. Not from Karakan, but him. A noise of absolute anguish left him, and he reared his head back from her touch, and brought it down against her skull. She splattered apart against his face. She splattered. She died. And Naeko knew that he was always going to be lost. 26-8 Sympathy From a Monster What have we here? What do I see? Two presences before me! Two paths of gold! One so angry. The other so strange. Could it be that this old mad monk has stumbled upon a path, of two Souls intersected on a point of change? [Laughter] -The Mad Monk Alsyim, Fallwalker 26-8 Sympathy From a Monster Naeko didnt know how long he spent beating the corpse. All he knew was that when sense finally returned to him, his fists were splashing gore and offal in blood-filled divots made by his fist, and that what remained of Karakan was little more than a smear. It was his breath that captured his focus. He was hyperventilating; sobbing; laughing. His body was shaking, and try as he could, he just couldnt stop it. What the fuck did he just do? Why did he kill her? What was he going to do now? What was he going to do? It took more effort than he thought possible to wrap his arms around himself, to fall sideways into the warmth of Karakans remains and just lay there. Whimpers escaped from him as tasted the blood, took in what he did. He was never going to find himself again. Never. She was his only true release. All Stormjumpers did was numb. There was no other expression that made him feel right. He couldnt make the world feeling right anymore. He just couldnt. Then came a whispered thought from the darkest recesses of his mind. It was a thought he ignored most days, it was a thought he could shrug aside despite all the inner hate that burned. Not today. Not this moment. And maybe never thereafter. It wouldnt be so hard for him to just end things. He had the means. He had the capability. Would it be so bad? A final moment of rest, of relief. No more feeling. No more of this pain. Just a long, deep sleep that wont end. Rest. True rest. Absolute rest. Doesnt sound so bad, he whispered to himself. But another memory lashed at himmade him flinch. With it came a score of aches along his sides, and Zeins enraged featuresthe first time he ever saw her truly mad, the first time he ever wondered if she was going to kill him. He had lost another spar to her. The thousandth in a day. His body was past its limits. His will was teetering on the brink. Veylis lay face-down not far from him, groaning as she clutched her chest. It was him against Zein. And he had nothing left. Nothing. He lowered his practice glaive. He let her strike him. She responded poorly thereafter; she kept going, breaking his arm, dislocating his shoulder, shattering his ribs, snapping his knee. Her blows blurred into a stream as she beat her displeasure, her disappointment, into him. She struck his throat when she heard him cry out for mercy. Afterward, when he lay there, chills claiming his body, his pooling piss the only heat he knew, she plucked him up by his neck and brought them close to precipice. They were training on mountain that day. The climb to the place of their practice was arduous. Veylis and Zein had completed it so easily, and he, new disciple with nothing but determination and rage, found himself wanting in every capacity. There, Zein made him face the edge and released him. Jump, then, she snarled at him. Jump. See if the skies weep for you. See if the clouds will reach down to catch you. See if the heavens will more you. Go! Do it! See! He didnt. He just knelt her, holding in his pain, holding in the urge to weep. All you have is your glaive, boy! And you betrayed it! You betrayed your skill, will, and power to me! Your enemy! The one that means you harm! What wrongness resides in you! What worth are you if your hate cannot be turned against your foes, if you cannot die with hate joyously pointed outward, teeth bared at the one who kills you? He didnt have an answer. Instead, he gazed down the edge, down along the narrow, winding path up the mountain, down the other cloud-piercing promontories besides, and the birds soaring with rising shrieks. Some part of him wanted to cast himself over, to spite Zein only once. But he couldnt. He refused. He had been wrong. The world wasnt right. They took his father from him. They took his world. He needed to take their worlds too. He groaned as he pushed himself away, crawled back toward Zein, spitting blood and hate at her. His decision was madefuck her. Hed get her bloody if it was the last And her joy followed as fast as her hate. She kicked his weapon back to him, and descended once more. She beat him a thousand more times thereafter. Beat him until the pain stop being anything but a variable to regard. Beat him until he stopped caring about losing, until he only cherished the fight. That was the day she fashioned the Force-Breaker. That was a distant day. Now, there were no more gods to kill, and he had no strength left to defy, no true war he wanted to fight. He still loved her. Veylis. He loved her so. He loved Zein-wretched and cold though she was. He loved Jaus, even if the man didnt trust him in the end. He loved them. And he wasnt enough for them. Just like Karakan wasnt enough for him. Nothing will ever be enough. Naeko blinked. He didnt know how long he lay there in a daze. He wasnt sure if the words he just heard were hallucinated or true, but he lifted his head and found half of Karakans face surfacing from the blood, facing him as if he hadnt murdered her just moments prior. Stunned silence followed. For a few awkward beats, Naeko just stared. Then, he stared to laugh, he held himself and guffawed. Oh, oh. I did it. It was finally too much. I lost it. I lost my mind. Freedom. At last. At last. His words made Karakan frown. What vivid detail his insanity offered. He could even see her accretionwait. Her accretion That looked like a Metamind. Hed seen that Metamind before.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Another pause followed. Karakan leisurely rose from a puddle of her own blood, climbing out with casual contempt as she looked down at him. Naeko exploded back to his feet with a roar, snatching the thing wearing Karakans body, slamming the fucker against the walls. Metal folded inward. The surrounding lights flickered. Karakans body splattered apart into a spray of red mistand then reformed in the very same instant. A presence played against Naekos Frame. A Soul. The ghoul. You, Naeko growled, digging his hands into Karakans face. Words werent enough to describe his hate. But still he spoke. How the fuck did you find me? And why? Why did you take her from me? Why? Tell me! The beast wearing Karakans flesh merely chuckled. You were easy to find. Your thoughts are so total. So loud. Your wounds have a melody no other mind could mimic. I would find you across the reach of the void, Naeko. You cannot hide from me. No more than I stop myself from drinking in your pain. The affect of Avos words was flat. The fucking thing wasnt even taunting him. This was just how it saw things. A feeling of embarrassment thickened inside the Chief Paladin. Shame and horror followed. The ghoul continued. And I didnt kill Karakan. I subsumed her. She is still here. In me. She has been screaming this entire time. Her hurt runs deep. Your hurt runs deeper. And neither of you would ever mend so long as she lived. Naeko bit his lip and poured every ounce of hate he had into his gaze. It did less than nothing to the creature. It merely judged him as if he was some kind of curiosity. She was mine. I was going to Find yourself? Avos voice echoed out from Karakans, the potency of their expressed mind making Naekos consciousness ache. No. No. No more lies. Pain has claimed you. You are unhealed. But she is not your release. She is your delusion. You shoot joy into your injuries and imagine it to be a salve. No! Naeko hammered the ghoul into the wall. Karakans body burst apart again, but from it emerged spearing sequencessequences that Naeko hammered in place using a vaporous palm. No. You dont know anything I have seen everything. No one mourns her passing. No one left who loves her. No one right now cares. She hurt you. You are her consequence. But she is your drug. Burden. Chain. Something Jaus should have broken Stop talking! Naeko said, clenching his Heaven around Avo. But the Overheaven of Conceputalizatoin did not fight back. It did not resist with force or violent intent. It merely flinched as the sequences were compressed inward, as ghosts were pinched from flowing, as ripples of Soulfire flattened against an irresistible force. Stop! Naeko wept. He should have fought for you. Like you did for him. You needed him. You needed all of them. They left you alone. Why am I the only one here for you? Naeko continued squeezing, howled out incoherent cries of pain. His grip around Avos ontology was so tight he could feel the Overheavens tangled nest of cycles writhe beneath his grip, moving like blood through a vein. It would take less than a gesture from him to break the ghoul, less than a thought to manifest the Sage of the Sundered Skiesor his Heaven of Timeand cast the beast back to oblivion. But in the end, it took less than a sentence for Avo to break him. You will not find salvation in weakness. You will not right what is broken when all you have is pain. But you do not have to. You dont need to bear the world. You dont even to bear your own hurt. I am here. I will not abandon you. I will be here for youand ask for nothing in return. Hear me. Hear me. Feel this truth. Naeko slumped down to his knees. He released his Heaven. He released Avo. He released them so he could hold himself. As he slumped down, he found himself close to that edge againsaw the long fall below, felt the rustling winds beckon him to a final leap. He barely heard the squelch of changing flesh, barely titled his gaze to realize a near-three meter tall monster was awkwardly trying to sit next to him, taking a spot next to a wall. Im sorry, Avo said. I still have her template. I can fashion myself. Give you the screams you wanted. Can help you wean slower. Naeko didnt even understand half of what it was saying. He just shook his head languidly. There was an ache building in the back of his skull. It was all too much, he was getting too tired. No. Time passed. Both of them just sat there in a limbo of silence and mutual company. The monster watched him always, studied him carefully. Naeko found himself thoughtless. Empty. Used up. At some point, the weirdness became too much for him. I barely know you. Hells, I barely understand what you are. Why? Why are you here? Whyd you risk yourself like that. You know what I could have done to you. Yes. Then why. Because I also know what you dont do to the world every day. What you dont do to the Guilds. We have symmetry, Naeko. But not alike. You are not a monster. I am a monster. You are angry. You are hurt. You are powerful. That is all. Naeko didnt believe. He turned to face the cage that once held Karakanthat kept her restored for each subsequent time he needed a release. Bullshit. Who else could have done all this? All his words earned from the ghoul was chuffing laughter. Naeko glared, a flicker of hate returning. What. What are you laughing at now. What you said. Only right on the surface. Few others could have done this. But that is because they lack the means and the power. Not the desire. Many have the want. Know this. Have felt this. Many would have done this out of sheer sadism. The pleasure for power over another. You needed to be hurt first. You needed this to be a thing of eternal revenge. Its the only thing that makes me whole. You lie. Lie to me. Lie to yourself. You are not the story you tell yourself. Not the story that lives in your head. Only gods are slaves to belief; shaped by stories Canons. Naeko snorted. And Im just a man. Not just. A man. Not a value. An understanding. A shape. An expression. Cast no more weight on yourself. Not a dog. Not a Godclad. Not even your feelings. You are not an absolute, Naeko. Rejoice. Change. Suffer. Break. Heal. Become. All things you can do. Doesnt matter if you believe. Doesnt matter if your emotions are swirling like a sickness inside you. Such is true. Every word Avo spoke was like a claw digging further into his wound, pulling out pieces, pain stinging like that of sterilization. But more than that, this shit was getting too fucking weird. Alright, alright. Enough. Stopstop word-mending me. Avo stopped talking after his sudden outburst. Naeko rubbed at his face, finding himself embarrassed by his tears. What the hells even is my life. Crying in front of a ghoul. He paused. No offense. It was what I am. Yeah. So you know how this is really, really godsdamned weird, right? Quite. You know, you being impossibly reasonable isnt making it better. Understood. Going to eat Marus mind for a crash course on how to emotionally abuse you. The sheer absurdity of what Avo just proposed made Naeko crack. A choked laugh slipped out from him. Stop. Have another recommendation No, Avo We murder Zein. You hold her in place. I burn her mind. Then kill her repeatedly. Can bond that way. Like proper brethren disciples. Naekos jaw dropped. The sheer audacity of what the ghoul suggested was actually a bit appealing. And the godsdamned monster knew that from how wide it was grinning. Its a good idea. Will make you feel better. Deal with another issue inside. Zein has been a terrible mother. You spent too long with Karakan. Need to share that hate with another. You know you want to Naeko lightly backhanded Avo, driving a grunt of surprise out from the ghoul. ...Was just a suggestion. Yeah? Lets go back to not saying anything. I think I liked you more when it was quiet. But Avos attention was no longer on him. Instead, the ghouls gaze was turned, locked to the corner of the room, and the churning of his accretion was accelerating, a note of suspicion emitted from his mind. What? Naeko said, pushing himself off the ground. Theres someone above. Someone standing amidst the snakes. Hes been staring us. Watching us from the surface. Naekos felt the first hints of adrenaline rush through him. You sure? Yes. Their near-term memories. All of us. Seen from this room. Seen using time itself. Naeko swallowed and reached out with his Heaven. Stretching his palm wide, he brought it down over the Sunderwilds, but felt nothing greet his awareness. Theres no one there. Avo answered contrarily. There is. You just caught him. Curious how he has a warmind of Ignorance. Curious why hes laughing so loud right now. 26-9 The Mad Monk Jaus! You traitor! Deceiver! Murderer! You promised! You promised she would be spared! You promised that my people would be -[this moment never happened] 26-9 The Mad Monk C[Avo]C [How the fuck does everyone have a warmind of Ignorance? Where are these cocksuckers getting our fucking shit!] Peace spat. Avos glare turned inward. [What?] +My question to you. No one else mass-producing warminds. I dont hand mine out.+ [Eat shit, you corpse-licking bastard! This is some shit Joy might do. The spineless fuck. He would apologize to you double if you were tearing his cock off with one hand and digging a knife up his ass with the other.] [What a delightful image,] Abrel murmured. [What a warm and welcoming purgatory I find myself in.] The internal banter did nothing to douse the rising fires of tension burning within Avo. His cognition was evolvedascended. Not even focusing on Naeko should have left him open to a potential ambush. But then the stranger arrivedjust manifested like a sudden irregularity along the patterns of the tapestry, a bud suddenly growing from the Domain of Chronology as if a fruit sprouted from a vine. A mere second ago, the man wasnt there. Then, suddenly, they unveiled themselves, standing plain upon the canvas of existence and the sea that was the Nether. And worst of all, they were staring straight down at him and Naeko. Straight down, with a smile pulling on the mans jowls. An inward current of fog carried Naeko and Avo to the surface. The pressure from the palm was nigh unbearable, even when it wasnt levied directly against you. Avo still felt the ache of Naeko squeezing his Liminal Frame. The Chief Paladin reminded him of what it was to feel like a ghoul again, to be impossibly weaker than your foe, to be a fragile shape they could choose to break or spare. It was only Avos growing mastery of the mind paired with all the aid provided to him by his Definement of Hysteria that ensured his survival; where he was inferior of flesh and Soul, Naeko was brittle of mind and will. Relative weaknesses exploited through absolute means. And now, Naeko was his ally, if but nominally so. With his palm against the stranger, the unknown man had little chance of escape, little chance of victory. Little chance wasnt none. Avo had enough of being surprised for one day. Time to play this safe. You have him? Avo asked. They were outside the entrance to the bunker again. The door was sealed, rivers of snakes twirled about this lonesome island. Yet, upon the embankment leading to Karakans prison, a shrouded figure stood in the fog, tendrils of gold untangling from their body in tandem with crawling serpents. Yeah, Naeko replied, sounding more unnerved than Avo was. Hes got a Domain of Chronology. I can feel it. Avo activated his Conception of Ontology and delved deeper, taking the time to study the mans metaphysical structure. The revelations he gleaned hollowed his mind with surprise. [He does not have a Domain of Chronology or Time,] Kaes template muttered, taken in by his patterns. [He is shaped from the time itself. Peeling off from it] True to her words, the structures compromising the mans existence ran alongside the progression of reality. The nature of his existence bore an uncanny similarity to how Sanctians would undergo ontological shifts during certain periods of time. But what does that mean? +Might be a Sanctian,+ Avo said, projecting his perception of the tapestry via a screen of phantoms for Naekos benefit. The Chief Paladin tilted his head at the details offered and grunted. Yeah. His squiggly shit looks kinda different. Avo shot the Chief Paladin a look. What? Im not an Agnos. Was a disciple of Zein Thousandhand. Served Jaus Avandaer. Had relations with Veylis Avandaer. [But do any of them play Stormjumpers,] Shotins template deadpanned, offering a shit-eating grin. Hey, Naeko said, a slight snarl leaking over into his voice, get off my ass. I already did most of the actual work here. That was quite true. Or so Avo hoped. Ah! Greetings! Greetings! The strangers voice was like a low, dry growl, and their accretion accelerated and slowed in random increments. The wrongness about them leaked out from their mind as well. History has smiled upon me once more. Or will smile. A ringing laugh followed. Such a thing is hard to tell when you are severed without anchoring. What is up? What is down? What is future? What is past? What is history that is no more? All relative. A paltry thing of a Godclad. More laughter followed. Naeko flicked his eyes over to Avo, an uncertain expression decorating his face. So. Can you spy on his thoughts too? Avo tried, but what Hysteria beheld was a legion of unceasing whispers with flickering instances of people and places, as if the stranger was remembering things one moment and then forgetting them the next. Yeah. No good detail. Probably insane. Naeko nodded without a hint of doubt. Well, if hes out here, I guess hes a Fallwalker. Going to try and jack his mind. Sure. But Im smearing him if he does anything weird. Avo could live with that. Loosing a splinter from himself, another moment of surprise followed immediately thereafter as he approached the stranger, and found a splinter coming at him from the opposite direction. [What the hells,] Benhata gasped. He has a warmind of Delusion too Didnt feel it until just now. Shouldnt be possible Something is wrong here. Avo hesitated. He halted the splinter before it could sink into the man, and the oppositional splinter came to a stop as well. Wariness and suspicion intermingled within Avo. The stranger existed parallel to time, possessed multiple warminds, used them as Avo did There were only so many conclusions to come to, and one stood above all others. Veylis, Avo said, reshaping his mind before his fury could compromise his capacity to make decisions. What? Naeko hissed. The reconnected cadre shared in the High Seraphs reaction, shock, horror, focus, and alarm erupted across countless splinters. Yet, all the stranger did was laugh once more. Veylis? Ah. The daughter. No. No. I am her fathers sin. I am her fathers mistake. I am her mothers victim. Naeko parted the eldritch mists gripping the man, and Avo found himself beholding a wild-eyed figure who was sheet-white of skin and eccentric of dress. He was pale. Albino, without a hint of hair anywhere. Eight spherical scars were carved upon the top of his skull, their rings interlocking along two rows. More concerning was the endless gush of blood spilling from a wound on his chest, soaking the ash-coated robes. His legs were replaced with mechanical stilts and on their sides was the symbol formed from the tips of two triangles pressing against each other. Avo searched his memories for anything that corresponded to the insignia and found nothing. Not from the Guilds. Not even from the Syndicates. {Our only matches are from organizations long-defunct,} Calvino chimed.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! +How long?+ Avo asked, devoting all his focus to the man. {Eons. Millions of years. At the least.} Do not bother trying to remember me, the stranger said. His lips were splayed open in a wide grin that didnt quite reach his eyes, and he sighed. My past isnt. I am not. You cannot see what never happened. Riddles. Or obfuscation. Thankfully, Avo had a guess about what the man was hinting. Were you affected by a chronological attack? Part of yourself pulled backward? Myself? the stranger gestured with both hands. His fingertips were coated with gold, and he used them to strum at the passage of time briefly. No. I I went forward. I jumped without looking. I He stared up and away from them, gazing someplace distant. I drowned. In the paths to the future, I drowned. As his attention returned, there was a mournful quality to his features. But I did not die. Not like those that never were. Not like them. Ive seen this before, Naeko breathed. Avo turned his perception to the Chief Paladin. Been a few cases before when a Paladin had to perform a banishment on a troublesome Fallwalker or a Guilder brawl that got out of hand. People who are synced to the ones that get retroacted dont uh some part of them gets weird. Saying parts of his memories used to exist and now dont. Yeah. Something like that. Then why am I still getting flickers? Naeko narrowed his eyes. Then shrugged. Donno. The Chief Paladin was a practitioner of conserving his brainpower, it seemed. More questions followed thereafter. If the man was only mentally broken, they why was he parallel to time, why was he exhibiting warminds and abilities Avo possessed suddenly? Without explanation? There was something more here. Something beneath the surface. I am Alsyim the Wanderer. The mans gaze took on a dazed quality. Or perhaps I was. Perhaps that is lost to me too. It no longer matters. Perhaps it never did. He giggled, and then blushed. I found you. It was pure fortune. Or fate. Or simple the consequence of waiting long enough for probability to collapse upon probability. A being of significant power. Another of significant thought. Both entwined with the winding twine of time. And the Godslayer. She is with you too. I can feel her. I can hear her dragon. Akusande. Okay, Naeko sighed. Hes a half-nulled Fallwalker who knows lots of things he really shouldnt. Hey! Why are you here? What do you want? Alsyim blinked rapidly. His eyes irises shone gold, a moment from his mind splashed into Hysteria. He was standing across from Zein, screaming as she drove her blade deeper into his chest, screaming as he wrestled against her Heavens, pushing himself forward in time while she tried to turn him back. All around him, the city was unraveled, gods were falling, an entire history vanishing, not even ash in the end. And once more, the vision was gone. Like it never was. All the weight that Alsyim felt, all the horrorthat was gone too. He was blissfully absent in his own mind once more. Ignorant. His mind shuddered ripe with sequences and thoughts, and the density of his thoughts hinted at considerations of considerable complexity. But they started and stopped. Emerged and broke. Like they were in progress until the past behind them was lost. In some ways, he reminded of Avo of Kae when she still suffered from the Conflagration. I have drifted long and far across the ruins of the worldthese ruins! he gestured wide, calling attention to the Sunderwilds themselves. This was not supposed to be. The page was to remain untorn. There was an agreement an agreement But there wasnt There cannot be There was a shift in the mans expression. An urgency. I have spent long here. Long. For years I hid myself I hid from the slayer. Hid and watched as she warred with her daughter. Good. A pox of them. Damn them. A praise their tragedyglorious is the traitor Jaus death He didnt quite manage to finish his words before a veritable wall of muscle known as Samir Naeko snapped across the space between them, impacting Alsyim at Mach four and climbing, the Sages mists curling into a balled fist. Almost all matter caught at the epicenter of the impact disintegrated from the blast wave. Avo dispelled his avatar and manifested his Overheaven in avoidance, casting out his hawk of light to gain distance and altitude. As he triggered his Canon of Speed, he found himself devoid of words for the scene before him. A furrow of destruction ran onward across the horizon, like someone had tunneled across an entire section of the world. The sheer force of Naekos blow sent chunks of landmass the size of districts and mountains into the stratosphere, and a cloud of dust and ash rained down like an avalanche. And still, the Chief Paladin was going. Still, a thundering fist obliterated a distant range of mountains beyond, smashed biomes flat and further gouged the ruptures littering the Sunderwilds tenfold. [...Holy shit,] Abrel breathed. For once, Kare just stared along with her, jaw open in disbelief. +Avo,+ Draus said, chuckling at the sheer destruction she just witnessed, +we might need a plan in place to snuff your new consang if shit ever goes sour because I dont think we got good odds against that.+ Chambers, rather than being awed, was more incensed by the display. +What the fuck! He can do that? Then whyd his ass run! Go up to Highflame! Beat the bitch!+ Only a sigh of disappointment sang from Calvino. {And here I had hopes of learning more about our mysterious new friend.} +Hopefully Naeko only killed them,+ Avo said, noting how strange that sounded. +See if they resurrect. Ask them after. Try to calm the Paladin down first.+ A snort came from the Regular. +Anyone ever tell you that youre hopeful person, Avo?+ +Dont use my words against me, Draus.+ *** C[Naeko]C The rage was upon Naeko again. The rage exploded when that fuck said Jaus name. Naeko didnt even know what he was doing until he did it, didnt realize he was roaring, hammering a straight into the jaw of the cunt and driving them across the thresholds of the Sunderwilds until it already happened. Even when his mind caught up with his raging heart, it didnt matter. Naeko just put more force into it. Karakan might be dead, but he might still find more than a bit of himself today. Nothing stopped his path of destruction. No power in existence could. The physical broke. The metaphysical tore. The world trembled. Naeko raged. Alysim was made of harder stuff than the sister, but harder stuff didnt matter when Naeko was hitting you. The blow all but vaporized his flesh, and the only reason why Alysim still existed was because the clinging strings of time holding him in place. Those, too, threatened to snap when Naeko hit him again. Every blow the Chief Paladin landed was a cataclysm unleashed. A fist downward sent fractures down to the subterranean plates. An uppercut banished all clouds and untangled descending branches of entropy for the width of a continent. A slam made reality skip for a moment, the concept of time itself writhing from Naekos blow. +Naeko!+ A voice was echoing in the back of his mind. An annoying voice. A voice from some half-strand that liked to hear themselves talk a bit too much. +Naeko! Stop! Youre not hurting them right.+ Damn right he was going to hurt them Wait, what? What, Naeko said. He slammed a boot down into the soil below, and a falling palm stole every last bit of force from his velocity. Tendrils of time slowly began to weave Alysim back together, reconstructing the shape of a whimpering, beaten man hugging his head, face turned away. The bastard wasnt even going to give him the dignity of a fight. He was just folding in on himself, ready to take this beating. REND CAPACITY - 0% A streak of light snapped across Naekos periphery. A trail of radiance transformed into a bloom of twelve sequences and an ocean of ghosts lit by Soulfire. Naeko squinted at Avos arrival. Neat trick. +Not hurting him right. Hes tied to time. Need to strike at the Domain if you want to hurt him.+ He found himself taken aback. Didnt expect to be receiving help with this, but alright he could get behind a bit of help. Alysim struggled in his grip, fully restored by chronology, frowning as he peeked an eye out at Naeko. Why? Why do you strike me? Why? Naeko flung the restored man to the ground. This presented interesting opportunities. Karakan was delicate. So very breakable. But Alysim? He came back just fine. Seemed his Heaven kept him spared from destruction, but not pain. You have no idea what you just woke in me, Naeko said, laughing at the man. For a second, I was curious, too. Curious. But then you just had to mention his name. So. Now, I really dont give much of a shit about who you are and what you know. I just wanna hear you scream. Horror filled Alysims as Naekos grip tightened, but a second thereafter, his expression broke and changed. As Naeko began to pop his vertebrae, one from another, Alysim gasped and smiled. I-I remember you. Samir. You are Samir. You are Samir Naeko! His face ignited with joy. You are my friend. Naeko ended this conversation much the same way he did to Karakanhe headbutted the man until his skull was no more. 26-10 Maker of the Lost Paths (I) No, my friend. The past is lost. But only our past. Only our history. The future is still theoretically infinite, and so, what I propose is something more radical: We create a new structure. One molded entirely from our histories from all that we know, and tied to the progression of our present. From this, we can venture freely along its Paths, and adjust things as we see fit. Ha! Imagine this! A relative solution defeating an absolute problem! -Alysim the Wanderer to Jaus Avandaer [a moment that never happened] 26-10 Maker of the Lost Paths (I) C[Avo]C Even the slightest of Naekos blows bathed the world in sweeping torrents of destruction. Force bent to his will like clay. Violence was and wasnt at his behest. The patterns of the tapestry recoiled with every blow, like strings on an instrument strummed by a hammer. Only one strand held firm, despite the strain it endured. Time. Avo took in the onslaught Naeko unleashed on Alsyim. The man was seemingly unkillable by conventional means. His ruined body was reformed by progression of time, with lines separating from the primary path chronology, crossing over into the supposed Sanctians parallel ontology. But his immortality was an unenviable trait, for he seemed to possess little power otherwise, or what paltry canons he did command were useless in before the Chief Paladin. No so different from most other people in existence. Few Godclads could stand against Naeko, let alone the ephemerals or FATELESS. +Aegis have any countermeasures against Naeko?+ Avo asked Calvino as he crept closer, reaching out with his twelve sequences to draw both Fallwalker and Paladin into the Exo-Paracosm of his Soulscape. {Our countermeasures were pretty much what you just did,} Only answered before Calvino could. {Bully the sad sack of shit until he has a mental breakdown. Great job, by the way.} {Only,} Kant said, finishing his statement with a sigh. {What? It worked. Besides the psychological angle, all we got are Contingency Bleak options. Or just detonating the Nullstar} {Only!} {What? Its just theoretical. We tried modifying his brain matter using q-dot technology before. Didnt take. Frigging Metaminds. Singularities arent going to work on himhell just ignore the forces pulling on him. Rupturing everythings our best shot.} {It will ensure the extinction of all pattern-based existence across the known universe!} {Aw, you always overexaggerate. Dont worry, Avo: itll be complete extinction at worst.} So. Mental warfare was how things had to be. That was fine. The mind was Avos Embodiment, after all. Every time Alysim reformed, he would reach out at Naeko, screaming something like Wait! or I know you. With the flickering of memories intercepted from the man by Hysteria, Avo was inclined to believe him. A conversation was in order, but he needed to get Naeko to stop beating the man first. A simple task. Shards tore out from Avo, and as they closed in on Alsyim, they remained without opposition until the Fallwalker reformed. Interesting. That suggested the man was ontologically mirroring Avos capabilities somehow. A troubling canon; a most useful thing to subsume. Ignoring the incoming splinters, Avo pierced Alysims mind for the first time and dove deep. As things turned out, the space within his cognition was even more sporadic than what was being emanated beyond. Sequences were and werent. Memories were and werent. Consciousness was and wasnt. Avos wards rattled as his templates felt themselves start tearing. Only Elegant Moon and Draus remained indifferent, both drawn to the structure they were now infesting with curiosity. [There is an entire portion of him missing,] Elegant-Moon said. [But only periodically. It returns, then leaves, like a piece that is trapped between existence and oblivion.] [Still enough left of him to think. Think it''s mostly his memories that are damaged. His body aint blinkin none.] Draus template observed the Fallwalkers sequences. [Hells. Less like part of him missing and more like hes got a bunch of pieces skipping between him and time.] Regular spoke true. A more detailed looking using Avos Conception of Ontology showed a faint trace he didnt notice before, with rings of rolling gold running between him and time, the trails they painted akin to a series of wheels. [Cyclers,] Kae theorized. [But if they are looping, why arent they staying in place? Wait, how are they looping with the tapestry directly? How are they operating outside of his Frame?] +Perhaps his Domain of Chronology is internalized too,+ Avo considered. But intuition told him that the truth behind the mysterious Fallwalker was far stranger. Ignorance is vanishing them. There and not. It stopped existing for a while. It stopped existing when he was beyond the horizon. When it was just him and Naeko. Avo paused as a new consideration took shape. Perhaps he wasnt just rooted to time itselfperhaps he was rigged upon the Paths. As Alysim reformed himself once more, he returned with a scream for mercy. Naeko, please He didnt manage to finish his words when Avo shattered his mind from within. Shrapnel sprayed into the Chief Paladins thoughtstuff but stopped dead before they could go any further. Naekos rule over force and harm were absoluteit would be useful to learn how his canons functioned. [It wont be easy fashioning a Rendbomb against him either,] Kae said. [Entropy targeting Domains of Force and Violence are not exactly uncommon, but with the Chief Paladins demonstrated powers I suspect it will be very hard to achieve detonation at all without the potential for surprise.] And it will take a hell of a big bomb at that to overload Naeko. Or many, many, many small ones. Even success bled into the danger that he would just vent his Hell and form his palm into a fist. That was an arguably worse outcome, only assuage by the brief opening between the shift. That was something Avo could potentially exploit, but price of failure would be high. +Have him,+ Avo said. Memories flashed back into Alysims mind, but they immediately disentangled, spooling out the Fallwalkers shattered shell of a mind. Such was confirmation that the mans mind and body werent separated across time, eitherit was only a facet of his cognition that was skipping. The third factor in the equation was time. Time held Alysims body together, and it also began restoring his mind. Avo stared down at the Chief Paladin, who glared down at the body form of the Fallwalker, his face a mask of feral rage. Alright, he said, barely managing the words. Put him back together. Make him feel it more. +Can do better,+ Avo said. +Can time your blows to trauma-patterns. Pair them. Make him break in mind and body both. Repeatedly. Already mending from time.+ Already Naeko paused. The raging current of thoughts rounding his accretion slowed. Is he naturally mending or are you naturally mending him. +Time.+ Naeko squinted. The fuck is this guy? Hows that shit work.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. +Trying to figure that out. Could hit a few more times. See if he confesses fast enough. Would be funny.+ Naekos eyes narrowed further. +Not mocking you.+ Avo was. You know what, ghoul? Im not sure if I believe you. Naeko was a simple man. Simple didnt mean stupid. A whimpering noise came from Alysim. Time was weaving the man back to shape and quickly at that. As his memories continued to flicker across into Avo, the Overheaven attempted to hold onto the mem-data, yet found it like clenching sand. It seemed that memories which only existed at specific moments in the future couldnt be retained by mental means alone. Wait! Alsyim held out a hand, breathing fast. Naekos lip twisted, and a savage gleam filled his eyes once more. Avo plotted his delicate scheme; there was no easy way to turn the Chief Paladin from his decided path, but his behavior could be convinced or redirected. Ultimately, Naekos loyalty mattered far more than whatever this mysterious stranger knew. Or so Avo presumed. You said you knew me, Naeko replied, his voice low like distant thunder. Yelled out all kinds of funny things as I broke you. If you did, youd know better than to spit on his name. Alysims features twisted into a grimace. Youyou do not remember. Of course you do not That moment is no longer real. It is not longer true. My future my past both have been stolen. I have been stolen from my life. Bouts of indescribable pain passed through the man. He clearly believed a wrong had committed against him, and the ache of his trauma bore symmetry to the scars lining within Essus. He had been shattered. Shattered from who he was. For a few heartbeats, Naeko just flexed his fingers. The landscape they occupied was nothing but a fist-shape crater. Rumbling crashes sounded in the distance as objects the size of mountains descended as trailing balls of fire, re-entering orbit after their displacement. Vast wounds lined the face of reality, and the patterns within them bled over into others, were severed of all stability. In the foreground stood Naeko, destroyer above destroyers, breaker above forces, tyrant of peace. He let out a quiet breath as a palm swept upward from him. Avo only realized the purpose of the act a moment later when he caught an enormous slab of earth that grew and shadow and threatened to impact everything for miles. +Jaus,+ Draus muttered. She broadcast her perspective over to Avo, and he saw the devastation spilling over to where she was as well. Her parts of the Sunderwilds remained mostly protected, with matter unraveling into shrilling notes past a certain speed, but mere kilometers beyond, fireballs plumed high into the sky, annihilating all that was there. Including an existing enclave. +Dont think theres ever gonna be a flechette with that mans name on it. Not unless we pop his Frame first.+ Avo was inclined to agree. {Avo,} Calvino said, a hint of disdain laced under their voice. {Do get him to stop if possible. The tantrum was understandable; the destruction was less than acceptable. This is not collateral damage. This murder of a second degree.} +Trying,+ Avo replied. The standoff between Naeko and Alsyim continued, with the latter babbling and the former just glaring. Hysteria painted two sets of understandings in Avos mind, and he knew the slightest hint could set the Chief Paladin off again. The man was on edgewarped by a lifetime of bloodshed and fury. And truth be told, had Avo been any better than him before? When he nulled those three hundred thousand Crucible viewers those months back? With his hunger? +This is why you never tried recruiting him. He is volatile. Rageful. Ruled by it. Chained to this flaw for centuries.+ {That, and he is compromised. He remains compromised. We estimate that there is still a near fifty percent certainty he may bend to the High Seraphs camp before the end.} +Sounds like youre trying to warn me away.+ {The opposite. You should keep going. We only gave you a sub-twenty percent chance of lasting as an operative of Aegis and a citizen. But you grew. You did. There is statistical likelihood. And there is the truth as follows. I expect you to achieve another such truth with him.} The surprise was in the EGIs words rather than the estimates. Zein. Alysims words snatched Avos attention. Call upon her. If you can. Call upon her! She knowsthis was her doing. Her doing, and the will ofcall on her. Please. If you want to know. If you want to know the truth that isnt but still might be. Call on her. Naeko shook his head. Im talking to a godsdamned +Should do it,+ Avo said. The Chief Paladin eyed him. +Theres something very wrong with his ontology. Something that keeps him attached to the progression of things. Got some details from glimpses into his mind. Hes been hiding. I think. Hiding in the Sunderwilds from Zein. Tracked us from your presence. The damage you left. And then maybe latched to my properties through time. Paths. Thats my guess. Might even be connected to the Ladder. Zein told me there were nine before. Nine behind the Godsfall.+ Confusion swept across Naekos features. Nine? Nine what? +Nine people.+ What are you talking about --The Ladder? Alysim gasped. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. He pushed himself off the ground and looked past Naeko, perception spearing into Avos looming Overheaven. They created it? They finished our great work? Both Paladin and Overheaven fell silent at that. +Our great work,+ Avo said. Of course. The madman threw his head back and roared a laugh. There would be no Paths without me. No Paths to chart and guide our progress, to keep us away from calamity. Of course I was there was He was lost again. A memory was there and not. A moment was then and gone. It is no longer real. Things are no longer true. Despair returned to him. Please. Do not hurt me anymore. I do not deserve this torment. I only wish toit is only fate that saw me delivered to you! Only fate. Ask her. Find her. She will know. She holds all that is lost. Naekos expression turned inscrutable. Avo intercepted the mans suspicions before they could compromise his choice. +Could be a trap. Could be. But Im inside his mind. Veylis wouldnt let me go this far. Zein wouldnt either. Dealing with something unknown. Something drawn to us. Pulled to us by our Domains of Chronology.+ You want to let him see her? Naeko asked. +Your choice. Not mine. Everyone keeps using you, Naeko. Everyone. I am doing it now.+ The Chief Paladin shot Avo a puzzled expression. +I will not lie to you about this. Have my own wants. Own needs. But what kind of god would I be if ideals are so easy to betray? If my canons are but conditional? Wont see a world where you are just a pawn. A hound should get their choice too.+ Naeko bit his bottom lip and looked away. His thoughtstuff roiled like water boiling and a storm of emotion raged within his bones. Why? Why the hells do you sound like him? +Jaus?+ Yes, Naeko snarled. Yes, Jaus. He always saw through me. I couldnt hide anything from him. It was like I was just glass. He did that to everyonejust knew how people were. And here you are, playing the same game, doing the same thing, saying the same words. Naeko fell silent. A hound should get their choice too. He said that to me. He said that too me at Scale. Salvations Day. Just months before everything went to shit, before the Ladder was supposed fix everything. Avo understood what Naeko was asking now. +Was purely coincidence. Didnt glimpse it from your mind. Or his. Is what I believe. You still have the Gatekeeper. You can still use it on me.+ A stray note from Naekos mind told Avo the man didnt want to believe him, but he broke from his stupor. Just shook his head. No. No, I I believe you. Its godsdamned insane, but I do. Naeko rubbed at his face with a massive hand. What the hells is my life. +Tragic. But ongoing+ A mist-made hand swatted Avo lightly. His entire being rattled violently. Stop talking like him, Naeko muttered. Gonna give me a trauma. Lifting his head high, Naeko stared up into the underside of the mountain his palm was hefting and sighed. Alright. Fuck it. No finding myself today. Just make this shit worse. Lets go talk with her. Again. He closed his eyes. Again. Fuck. Chambersamong other templateswinced at the scene. [Avo. Maybe, like, go alone or something. The guys reacting how I might if you made me meet my old man again. Give the poor shit a break before he actually breaks.] +Could go alone,+ Avo said. +You dont need to+ Piss off, ghoul. Shes my master. If shes hiding something else from me, I want to know. Naeko grimaced. I want to know. Slowly, he filled his lungs with air and reached down into his pocket. Before he retracted his hand, he gave Alysim a final glare. If I find our youre bullshitting me, Im gonna retroact you, you understand? Ill turn send the rest of you into the nothing too. Pure horror consumed Alysims features. The mans nerve broke. He reached out for Naeko. No! Please! Naekos hand shot out from his pocket and wrapped around the Fallwalkers neck before Avo could full follow what happened. Then, they were elsewhere again, the fabric of space collapsing inward with the inversion of the Chief Paladins pocket, into a gray expanse looming over memite ground before. Whistling strokes of a blade cutting through air called their attention. There, alone in this prison, Zein was practicing again, humming a joyous tune as she cut and stabbed with glee. As they felt her, she felt them, and slowly turned, facing the threesome with a wide smile on her face. Ah. You return. Tell me, were the wounds my girl inflicted on Her words died. The triumph on her face vanished as she noticed the stranger among them. Alysims face broke into a murderous snarl. He clawed at Zein despite the grip Naeko had on him, seething with hatred. Murderess. Thief. Traitor! For a heartbeat longer, Zein stared on in uncharacteristic shock. You I killed you And that was all Naeko could take. A ragged cry of exhausted frustration broke from the Chief Paladin, and at its end, a palm hammered down against Thousandhand once more. 26-11 Marker of the Lost Paths (II) [or the war that wasn’t] Did you think I would not anticipate this? Did you think I would not see you trying to turn my daughter against me by altering our pasts? Alysim, old friend, you are a fool to assume the future your ally. You were a fool to think that I accepted your offer without preparation or suspicion. A shifting future. A simulated history railed upon the wheels of chronology that will be ours to attach and define. Do you truly think that you were the first to conceive of such an idea? No, Alysim. Are a millennia too late for such novelty. This mistake has been made before. It was made before our world ever came to be. Every act you committed, every thought you have, was held by another, performed by another, done by another. You thought you could define the world by claiming the canons of time? How could such a thing be possible when you, creator of these Paths though you might be, have proven to be a font of failure. A vessel of predictability and base weakness. Your betrayal was more than inevitable. I did not need to perceive a possible future to expect it. I read it on your face the day I broke the gods. I sensed it even before the [REDACTED] spoke to me. What follows now is not my desire, but your end. I did not want this. I did not. But I will protect my future whatever the cost. -Jaus Avandaer 26-11 Marker of the Lost Paths (II) [or the war that wasnt] Release me! Zein growled. She struck as echoes detonated out from her, straining against the palm of her disciple. Vain though it was, her intent was focused solely on Alysim, and her eyes burned with a ravenous loathing Avo never before witnessed. Alysim. Wretched snake. You died. I severed you from the Paths. I slew you. Naeko and Avo shared a look. The Fallwalker in the Chief Paladins grip writhed and kicked, doing all they could to get at Zein. Murderer! Butcher! Traitor! Each word was snared with venom, and splashes of memory painted Hysteria with understanding. Avo remembered Zein chasing him across the Paths, across the length of time and space, slaying and destroying all that Alysim held dear. The world was a miasma of chaos and bloodshed, and no matter how far he skipped, the flicking tip of her dragon-bound glaive was always but a hair behind. Yet, his was not the only revelation that flowed. Zeins mind offered the source of her hatred as well. Flashes of Alysim speaking to Veylis, turning Naeko against her. Futures where he aided the Low Masters in their murder and usurpation of Jaus. From there, two Paths continued, parallel but divergent. Twin cities formed in Avos mind like a layered mirage, and both bore semblance to the New Vultun of the present, though the differences of layout and aesthetic could not be denied. The Overheaven formed an avatar beside the Godslayer. Kneeling down, Avo inched close to Zein and spoke to her, commanding her attention. Who is he? What have you hidden from me? The ancient Godclad sneered. Nothing. Nothing and no one. Truly, he should be residing in the pits of oblivion rather than debasing our gazes here. How, monk? How did you do it? I watched you die upon my blade. I cast your being back into the pastboth aspects of your ontology! How do you yet live? Suddenly, her gaze was burrowing into Avos. How did you find him. Didnt. He found us. Was drawn to Naekos destruction. Called by our Domains of Chronology. Found him just staring at us. Mimicking my properties. Had a warmind of Ignorance. Other warminds too. Zeins eyes narrowed. The lane of her perception remained locked to Alysim. Then you plotted a way out. You flung part of your shifted across the Paths, into the Sunderwilds. A low, vicious chuckle followed. How daring. Such a risk, casting yourself straight into this jungle of entropy. I did not think you so brave. Or was it desperation? Was it the fact that I had already claimed all that you cherished, so there was little to do but die? Alysims face curled into a portrait of torment. As Zein spat her venom, his mind emanated hatred while his eyes glistened with hateful tears. His emotions, however, were overshadowed by anotherdrowned utterly by another. Naeko was nearing the end of his patience. The Fallwalker was not alone in suffering, and the intensity of their emotions burned but a candle beside Naekos raging inferno. Im gonna ask you both a few questions, Naeko said, voice calm, mind teetering on the brink of absolute violence. Im gonna ask. And youre gonna tellboth of you. And dont leave anything else. Cause then hell know. He gestured to Avo. And thenll Ill know. What follows after follows. The Godslayer heeded her disciples words like a mother shrugging off the threat of a child. Yes, yes, Naeko. I will include you in this pointless discussion if that is your desire. It will not change the outcome regardless. The outcome? Naeko asked. The outcome of you killing him, Zein answered flatly. For what he had done. Well. What he would do, but does not do any longer. The currents to the future do not remain when broken. Inside Avos mind, an EGI sighed with frustration. {More timey-wimey bullshit. I hated dealing with that during the war, and I hate dealing with it now. Heres a word of advice to you, Avo: if youre going to build something on the basis of paracausality dont. Its stupid. It breaks things. It never goes well.} Despite Avos ever-increasing urge to experience more flavors of reality, he was inclined to agree. At least to some extent. Most sophonts were pattern-based species. They sought connection, repetitions, symmetry, asymmetry, and other comparable factors. Extracting time from the stability of baseline reality was a mistake, much as the Infacer had claimed. Well, then, Zein said, releasing a breath. Tell him your delusion, monk. Speak to the son you desired to steal from me. Speak to him. Tell him how you twisted his own past to make him turn toward you in the Paths. Tell him how you quietly rebuilt his history to return him a facsimile of his father? To lessen his pain. Tell him you did it because you cared. Because you pitied him. Lie to him. Much as you lied to me when you rewrote the past I shared with my daughterattempted to infuse with a pain that wasnt. It is no lie, Alysim said, seething at Zein. It took considerable effort for him to pull his attention away from Zein, but when he met Naekos stare, all the strength in him evaporated. It is no lie. I did do this. In another life. In I cannot it is hard to rememberso hard. But we were friends. I I saved you. I was the one that found you first. I was the one that stole you away from your tyrant master and brought you to her. What? Naeko said. Incomprehension crawled across his face. It took more than the likes of Jaus Avandaer to break the yoke of the gods, Alysim said. There were more before they more before what was done What have you done. He was speaking to Zein again, and she just shook her head. Not I, monk. Not. I. I may have slain your kinfolk, but I was not the one who unmade your history. Veylis. You should know that the hate she holds for you goes beyond anything I could ever feel. Did you think she would just accept your attempts to alter who she was? That she would appreciate your defilement. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Alysim flinched at that. Ththe Ladder? She she was the one? It was the first thing she demanded her father do, Zein said. Chart this world with a proper Path. Cleanse the mistakes of the past. Cleanse them of memory and history both. A sob escaped from the Fallwalker, and Avo remained lost as ever. Thankfully, Naeko felt the same way. Alright. You two arent talking to each other anymore. A veil of mist formed over both Zein and Alysim, compressing them in an opaque shroud. He gestured at Avo thereafter. You get anything useful from them. Ones insane. The others Zein. The Chief Paladin grimaced. Thought so. Fuck. What hells is this godsdamned mess. Alright. So. The Fallwalker heres from another time or something. Used to know me. Definitely knows Zein. More than knows. Think they used to fight alongside each other. Were allies upon a time. Until their desired futures deviated. Zeins words indicate he tried to do something. Retroactively rewrite your pasts. Was discovered. Was the reason why hes missing so much of himself. Zein cut him. Should talk to her first. She will obfuscate details. Might even lie. But she is coherent. And not ashamed. Might just tell us. Yeah, Naeko said, rubbing his temple. How about I talk to half-soul here, and you speak to Zein. An understandable arrangement. Avo could still taste the ache in the Chief Paladin. Speaking to Zein tore at things inside the man, twisted knots of agony inside him. Alysim was simpler - and far easier to abuse. There was, however, an issue with this plan. Not sure if shell be so forthcoming with me. Might want to speak with you anyway. Yeah, Naeko sighed. Still. You speak to her first. I need I need to get my shit together. Using Alysim. By hitting him. Naeko threw his hands up. Yeah, maybe motherfucker, what do you want from me. Nothing. Not judging. It sounds like you are. Not judging much. The vagueness of a palm slowly drifted above Avo. Just dont want you to suffer more. The man squinted at him as the palm thinned to a descending mist, wrapping around Avo and merging it''s vaporous with that which held Zein. Suddenly, the world outside was impenetrable. Avos Conception of Ontology took in the patterns of the tapestry, and found them reinforced to the point of immutability by anything that constitutes the conceptual understandings Force or Violence. And here we are again, plague. You and I. Face to face. Zein stood across from him. Her glaive was lowered, but its golden edges rang with a sober resonance. Remember your promise. Yes. Of course. Avo frowned internally. He needed to take that glaive from Zein at some point. Break it. He couldnt quite remember why, he just knew he had to. So. The nine. He is one of them. He isnt, Zein said, smirking. He cannot be. For the nine arent. Not anymore. That was as absolute a triumph as one was going to get over another. More than defeating them in combat, more than slaying them, destroying all they owned, it was the annihilation of their past and the banishment of their future. It was an unmaking of the highest order. Or it would have been if Alysim hadnt survived. Sloppy. That earned him a glare. Avo grinned. No retort. You know Im right. Should have killed him. Should have made sure that he was dead.I felt his Soul shatter as I carved him piece by piece and fed him to the nothing that followed. Avo nodded. Missed a piece. The Godslayer scoffed. I will not be goaded. Especially not by someone of greater incompetence. Remind me, what did my dear girl take from you? And now their relationship was re-established. Just two vicious monsters sticking their claws and fingers in open wounds. Too much. Going get her back. Now. Alysim. Who is he. In detail? Well. In another potential progression events, he possibly was a Sanctian monk of the Kojik Order. Chroniclers of Lost Histories, in a sense. The Sanctians they were wounded by time since the days of lore. Their gods were creatures of incoherence, shaped and twisted by cultures bleeding over from past and present. Your Fisher That Wasnt is one of theirs. It was. I refined it. Cured of it of its disorders. So. He was a monk that tried to keep lost histories. He helped you? You and Jaus? Gave you the means to start the Godsfall. He might have been a factor, but he overstates his value. He was our means of travel and evasion. It is hard to avoid the attention of the gods, but should you tread across the right moments, all things are possible. What drove you against each other? The same thing that drives humanity against itself: want. Zein shook her head in a faux display of pity. His vision of the Godsfall was one of persisting slavery. In which the gods are not broken, but revised. Changed to suit the chronicles desired by his order. Though not worshipers in the common sense, they still revered the eldritch, and saw their destruction as sacrilege. So they believe that salvation would in the revision of an enduring mistake. Jaus disagreed. He did. Quite politely. He spoke to them first. But my love was never a fool. He had me venture into the Paths beforehand with the aid of the Infacer to see if the Chroniclers would change anything. And they did. So very much. They sought to rewrite all that we were, to script a moment of compliance when there was none. It was so boldly rude. They did not even try to reason with Jaus. They began their revisions the moment he went forth to speak his piece. The new Paths they created were insultsrendered us less than caricatures. Why, they wished to engender more docility in me. And create a love between my daughter and one of their brothers to cement their control over us. A love that never existed. Despite all the animosity he bore toward Zein, Avo found himself aligned with her in this regard. If what she spoke was true, then Alysim didnt need to be questioned just burned. Guessing they did it to Naeko as well? Oh, quite so. Their designs for him went a bit further, in fact. They yearned to recruit him into their sect. As if I was here just to impart my teachings before they stole my pupil from me. Rudeness upon rudeness. And so you snuffed them. Yes. Among other things. Truth be told, it is hard for me to full recall what happened after the revision. I have two conflicting recollections. The first is my slaughter of the Chroniclers just before the Godsfall. I culled them before they had a chance to enact their great sin. But their ultimate destruction came only with the Ladder years later, when all they were was redacted. An effect of the Paths? Undoubtably so. Veylis partial realignment of desired history have left several tracks intersecting at places they shouldnt. An inquisitive look consumed her. She was trying to do something then. Even as I dueled her. Even as I sought to free Jaus, she was rewriting the world that was, layering a new sequence of histories over what existed. Another reason why so many things felt out of place chronologically. You should claim him, Zein said. If you anchor him using your Domain of Chronology, you can keep him stable enough to be subsumed. Suspicion immediately arose within Avo. Helping me? Why? The crone smirked. Because though I know I must best you, I despise him. You are a rival. One I will best before the end, and wield against my daughter. But rival nonetheless. He is a mistake. A defiler in more ways than one. I will see you made stronger before I see him exist another day longer as his own mana fragmented shell though he remains. Not afraid Ill be able to use the Paths against you? Zeins smile was absolutely placid. No. Not even if I gave you another millennia. 26-12 [walk what isn’t] {Well. This was completely stupid. Veylis. Veylis, stop torturing that man. Just kill him. Do you wish to live as an ape?} No. {Then kill the pedophile they were trying to fate you into falling in love with and move on. Fools. This would have never worked. Why do apes treat the concept of temporal progression like its nothing more than a series of stackable blocks? Looking at their plans this is absurd. Nothing would have come together here. With all the alterations they were going to force on you and your mother, I doubt either you would have remained sane for long. Or coherent. Caricatures.} [Whimpering; begging] I liked him. {Hm. The man you are currently playing tooth fairy with?} The monk. {Oh. Them.} Yes. He knew many things. It was interesting speaking to him. Another perspective. {I have gotten too boring for you? Is that it?} You are not capable of being flawed. Not like a human is. The way he understood history what he revealed it was interesting. {And he also brought you Naeko.} That does engender a bit of bias. Yes. [Sound of head coming apart] We are done here. Come. Let us go speak with mother. We need to discuss what we are to do with these Paths. -Veylis and the [REDACTED] (a future that is but wasnt) 26-12 [walk what isnt] So, get anything useful from her? Naeko asked. They had met in the middle once their interrogations were done, and immediately, Avo read the frustration off the Chief Paladins face. Some details. Youre not going to like them. The monk? Hes insane, Naeko said flatly. Hes insane, and he keeps trying to get me to listen to himbut cant remember what hes going to say after. He spent most that time beginning me to remember what he meant to me. He kept trying to touch my face. Did you hit him. Not much. Avo held back a chuckle. How many times did you make him regenerate. Avo, come on, I dont count that shit. Looks, if you want to Yes. Ill go talk to him. Zein wants me to as well. Naeko went absolutely still with that. She wants you to? The Overheaven grunted. Says I can stabilize his ontology using my Domain of Chronology. Wants me to burn him after. The Chief Paladins suspicion only grew at that. The hells is she trying to play at? Not sure. Might genuinely hate him that much. Could read any hint of deception through my warmind. Doesnt mean it isnt there. he paused before he continued. Do you want to hear about what she told me? Before you speak to her. If you speak to her. A beat of hesitation followed. Naeko shrugged. Yeah. Yeah, okay. Let me take a gulp of piss to help the shit-bun Im about to swallow. [You know,] Chambers template muttered, [I know people who will pay good imps for Chief Paladin scat play] Shotins template slammed into him before the sentence could finish, fists flying free like jackhammers against Chambers face. As the fight erupted, the Woundmother loomed over them, burrowing free from the surrounding structures as she cheered Shotin on. Yes, yes, good! Destroy his genitaliahes fond of them. Template-Chambers cried out in pain as he was forced in a dilemma between deciding to protect his face of his balls. [Agh! Fuck you, you giant cunt-blood-made-city-fuck! Some hitting me, Shotin.] Avo ignored the chaos unfolding within as he conferred all he learned unto Naeko. The mans expression darkened with each passing sentence, and a faint snarl passed through him still when Veylis involvement was mentioned. I came out here to find a release, Naeko muttered. His posture sagged, his body straining under a new weight he didnt seem to feel before. To get away from all this shit. He aimed a glare at Avo. My life was a lot simpler before your ass started showing itself. That was true. But what complexity could one experience when one was content to burn their days away in a mem-sim while they waited to die. Sorry. No more time. None of us get to run anymore. Can still do it. But it wont be long until someone else decides your fate for you. Like Alysim here supposedly did according to Zein, huh. Supposedly. Time to see how false her interpretation is. Avo paused. Going to be okay with Zein? Bitterness leaks from you when you think of her. The Chief Paladin just shrugged. Ive never really been okay. Still here though. I deal with it. I deal with her. Avo grunted. Call on me if you need help. Know that I wont hesitate to call on you. Naeko shot him an awkward look and nodded. Yeah, uh, sure. Fine. Good luck. As they swapped sides, Naeko vanished behind a vaporous curtain holding Zein while Avo did the same for Alysim. Passing the threshold, Avo couldnt help but chuckle as he took in the state of the mad monk. The man was slowly reinflating, the structure of his body restored by the passage of time. The nature of his brief demise had been comical it was clear Naeko splattered him flat at some point due to frustration. The absurdity of the mans return resembled a scene from a childrens vicarity in which a character is smashed from a three-dimensional entity into two. Not much of a conversationalist, Avo said, half-taunting the unfortunate Fallwalker. It took several seconds more before the man managed to start blinking, coherence finally returning to him. Slowly, he turned to face the ghoul looming over him, mouth opening slightly as his lip quivered. He couldnt remember me. No. That history never happened. Not for us. The monk turned his eyes away from Avo and stared upward, despair overtaking him. I have wandered the broken canvas for years. Centuries? I cannot recall. I have been lost across time for so long. For so long. I thought it was fate smiling upon me that I felt himthat I sensed both of you. But it is only another taunt. It is only another torture. No release. No release for poor Alysim. Avo ignored the pitiful display and moved on to more pressing matters. Zein told me some things about you. Said you tried to change history. For her. For her daughter. For Naeko. A look of strain settled upon his features. His broken mind struggled to spin, with sequences flickering. The butcher she speaks broad truths, but only at an angle. And she leaves out so many so many things. Memories I cannot hold on to. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. But the Chroniclers did try to change history. Yes. Yes, I think so. Only then did true judgment flow from the Overheaven. Just met you. Already disappointed. Alysim sneered. You have no right to despise me, stranger. You know nothing. I can make you show me, Avo replied. I can help you remember. Possibly. Might be able to stabilize your ontology. See if I can give you any sanity. All sense of contempt vanished from the man. He pushed himself off the ground and snapped to his knees. Please. If you can then then please. Such a rapid turn in behavior gave Avo whiplash. He momentarily consulted his cadreand his templates within. +Do it,+ Cas said. +Honestly, I think were wasting time herewalking around blind. The only person who really holds all the imps is Zein.+ +Ugly state of affairs,+ Avo replied. Other members of his cadre agreed, but Chambers himself held some reservations, rage and impotence simmering with Kaes capture. +How do we know he wont just become something else that fucks us?+ The group paused to listen to him. +Every time we death with the Pathsthis time bullshit, we get it up our ass. Its like were walking around in the dark with our cheeks splayed wide, hoping the High Bitch of the Golds doesnt make a fist.+ +Agreed,+ Avo said, trying to ignore the imagery. But the more he considered the present opportunities before him, the more his mind began to turn. Alysim had a major hand in creating the Paths. That was an information resource that could not go untapped, and the risks could be mitigated to an extent. The true worth Alysim held was as an object of interest. He was someone that Zein recognizedthat Veylis likely recognized as well. If he could be delivered upon the High Seraph somehow, if Avo could subsume and pilot them, that might just give him an angle on Kae When considered that way, the choice was an easy one to make. A weave of ghosts sprouted free from Avos being, their wisping currents laced with Soulfire. Alysim gasped as Avos ontology sank into him, dove deep into the very architecture of his existence. WARNING: SEVERE CHRONOLOGICAL DISPLACEMENT DETECTED TEMPORAL OVERLOAD IN ERROR: UNABLE TO COMPLETE ESTIMATE WARNING: THIS FRAME WAS RUPTURED IN [1 YEAR, 230 DAYS] CHECKING FOR ONTOLOGICS ->CYCLERS x10 UNABLE TO LOCATE ADDITIONAL ONTOLOGICS As expected, Alysim was a nightmare to behold. Kaes template choked as she ran through the sheer complexity of the damage as Avo took in the monks comprising patterns. At closer examination, he existed more like a separate track from chronology itself. In a simple sense, his being still retained an outline of what it used to be, and the progression of time filled and leaked from like water running along a channel. This was made possible by cyclers that passed through him and time itself with each revolution. And then there was how his being seemed to have a missing layer. Most ontologies were a complete structure, but Alysims felt like it was missing something essentialbones without flesh. [Bifurcation,] Kae said. [Its like you thought: very Sanctian, but far more severe.] +Can we fix him.+ The Agnos template made a pitched hum. [Fix? That is eh, that will require extensive study. We will need to siphon knowledge from an Agnos with a Knowing of Chronology.] Avo was surprised by Kaes brazen suggestion. She merely scoffed. [I have been taken, Avo. And the Agnosi have been turned traitors by forces beyond us. Forces that were meant to uphold our virtues. When the rules are untrue, all everything can be permitted.] +Just like entropy,+ Avo replied. Kae froze. [Yes. Like entropy.] Even the patterns of society decay shared symmetry with that of reality collapsing. [We cannot restore him completely but we might be able to do something better.] +Better?+ [He obtained the warminds through you. That means that he is somehow intercepting canons and effects from your internalized Domain of Chronology. Perhaps instead of having him directly connected to time itself, we attach him to your Frame.] A thrill came with the suggestion, but also a worry. +Whats the risk of his collapse spreading? Or Veylis or Zein striking through him.+ [Not high? Time will pass into you, and you can use it to shape him. Thats how it should work. Theoretically. As for Veylis] Kae winced as she mentioned the name of her captor. [No. There is no wound in him.] +Despite Zein claiming she killed him.+ [Yes.] The sheer incoherence of the problem he was facing exhausted Avo. +Think I agree with you, Chambers. Humanity should have never been allowed to alter time.+ He commanded his Meta-Fac to begin its task immediately after, and the next thing to capture his attention was that Alysims cyclers were slightly different from his. As Avo overlapped the monks ontology with his, he noted how each dragon wasnt just eating its own body, but part of the subsequent dragons body as well. In a sense, they resembled partial tank treads or wheels that were melted into each other. Elegant-Moon tutted. [You should not judge, monster. Look at the nest you wear.] Fair enough. Time progressed, and Avo drew Alysim into his Soulscapes orbitlatched the mans progressing cyclers upon the Overheavens mutilated skein. Anticipating the unexpected, he applied a Canon of Chronology to his Pattern-Nullification in case he needed to see the monk unmade. But as dragons latched onto dragons, no strike came, only a growing sense of disorientation. It took some thaumaturgical strain for Avo to hold Alysim together, but as he did, a growing fullness returned to the waters of his thought, and with stability came a modicum of sanity. What what have you done to yourself, Alysim said, reaching out to touch the ghoul. Avo swatted his hand aside with an Echohead. What are you? Frustrated, Avo answered. And he was honest about that. He had no more desire for conversation. Disconnecting from his cadre, he ignited his Conflagration poured his all consuming consciousness straight into Alysims mind. The man barely had a moment to respond, recoiling as if struck by a sudden blow before his brittle memories were imbibed. Even with the Stillborn holding the man together, there appeared to be ruptures in him that needed more focus to close. Certain understandings were and werentAvo directed mended those first, mapping out sequences of memories that hurt to recall. Mainly because the mans mind was closer to an aratnids nest than an actual thing of cognition. Sequences blinked and shifted in alignment and quantity between the seconds. Alysim was remembering at least a few dozen different synchronous things at the same time, and now Avo was suffering the same curse with him. But as the monks eyes rolled to the back of his head, Avo caught himrefused to let him fall; forced his tearing consciousness back together once more. A whimper of abject agony escaped the man as sanity was enforced upon him. As Avo delved deeper into the pain, he realized the source of Alysims suffering. Time itself was trying to correct his thoughts. Canon history was overwriting all he remembered, the structuring of the past against what existed in his mind. As Avo how held such thoughts as well, he found his Rend slowly rising, Domain of Chronology battling the rules set upon existence. And somewhere close to a place that wasnt, Avo caught flashes of sensation; broken fragments of Alysim straining to keep pace with the present. It was going to take time to dig through, recompile these memories and make sense of them, but thanks to Voidwatchs instructions on non-human cognitions, Avo adapted to the chaos better than he did before. How are you even still alive? Avo asked, watching his Rend rise another percent. He needed to figure out how to deal with that. If he wanted to use Alysim as an infiltrator against Veylis, he needed means to lurk within them for extended periods. Perhaps Alysim swallowed. A new moment reaching backward from a past that occurred in the future. A trauma-followed. The flash of a falling glaive finally splitting him apart; killing him utterly; only nothingness came after. Perhaps I am dead. Was dead. Will be dead. Perhaps the only reason I exist right now is because my death happened in breach of historys rules. Then, the mad monk giggled. His laughter grewgrew louder until his eyes were closed and his head was raised, grew louder until he was weeping. I cant be dead. The future didnt happen. I cant be dead. The future didnt happen. I cant be dead I cant be dead Deaths looped from Alysim into Avos minddeaths dealt by Zein, inflicted over and over again, and with each impact of trauma, Avo grew to understand what was truly wrong with the man. You werent broken in the past, Avo said. You were murdered in the future. You were shifted backward to the present. Backward. Thats why you arent dead yet. Thats why you havent entirely ceased to be. Yet, Alysim said, eyes glistening with a fatalistic gleam. Yet. Suddenly, the wretched, wailing ruin no more. The monk was still broken, with structure enforced upon him, a sense of self was returning. A focus. Oh. Oh. Hello, curious friend. It is good to finally meet you, I apologize for my initial impression. Very unbecoming. Most of us are not ourselves when we are broken, but you you are no person, are you? Wariness flowed out from Avo, and only did a faint echo of Alysim form in his mindan incomplete template slowly coming together. Might have a few questions for you to answer now, Avo asked. About the Paths. About Zein. The past. Alysim chuckled at that. Well, for the last part, we are going to have to be very, very specific about which past. 26-13 Anti-History You do not exist in the future. Not truly. That which is you is little more than a ripple imparted on the stream; an impression left on the pattern of Chronology. The future is shapeless. Mere simulation. But it is boundless with possibility and potential, and should one truly understand how to wield history, you can learn to recreate yourself at certain points in timesend the necessary actions down stream to shape events in your favor. See the right people and moments happen because you directed their Paths to be so. Such is the nature behind the gods prophecies. The gods can never be wrong if a mold is already set upon existence. -Alysim the Wanderer 26-13 Anti-History Let me reintroduce myself, Alysim said, he patted the ragged clumps of hair protruding from his head back into shape as he sighed. I am Alysim, the Wanderer. Alysim, Brother-of-the-Pasts-That-Werent to my fellow Chroniclers. Alysim the Mad Monk to the unfortunate to encounter me during my long exile across time. He winked thereafter at Avo. My deepest thanks for your restoration. Alysim. The Walker-of-Paths. And as if to illustrate his newly cemented cognition, the man dissolved of matter, the golden threads composing his body twirling ahead in time, skipping along Avos ontology to form the vagueness of his outline eight seconds in the future. The display was surprising, and Avo found himself prepared to rupture the fool in case they attempted something malicious. But a voice echoed out from time itself, arriving much in the same way Veylis spoke, though with diminished intensity and far less control. You are not one under Jausthe traitor. I sense you are an intruder, in a sense. A new king fighting over the ruins of this fallen kingdom. Avo frowned. No. Not king. Never king. That is a thing for men. I am not so lacking. I am not so afraid of choice. Only tyrants seek control. As he gave his reply, he watched as the tapestry shifted, patterns forming in place in the aftermath of his words. Truly? Alysim rematerialized before him, face aglow with excitement. Then, you surprise me. What did you just do? Avo asked.Jumped forward in time. The man just barked a laugh. No. That is impossible. Humanity cannot conceive of such a thing. Only the present truly exists. Only the present. I merely prepared a few specific routes to follow for what could happenwhat I expected. Not so different from Zein. At the mention of the Godslayers name, the mad monk sneered. Please. There is no need to insult me in such a manner; I will answer all that you wish to know. He looked Avo up and down, frowned once more. But before that, may I speak to your true shape again? I do not see the need for you to converse with me using a mortals guise. A beat of consideration followed before Avo manifested his Overheaven once more. He tasted a scheme leaking from Alysims mind-Hysteria captured an intent of subtle deception; aided him in realizing the man was trying to prey on his pride. He was a bit too late for such a tactic to work. There you are, Alysim sighed. What a remarkable divine I behold. Tell me, does the lineage of your lore spawn from the Nolothi? Have the Hungers finally spawned a creation of their own? That earned a laugh from Avo. More like an unexpected bastard than spawn. The monk merely nodded. As are many kings; as are many gods. Now, the things Zein told you He made an open-handed gesture. They were not specifically lies, but she distorts the form of things. As she always does. Something her lover must have shown her, after all. A specific kind of loathing sang forth from Alysim each time he spoke of Zein. The cadence of his thoughtstuff held more than personal animosity, but also flavors of prejudice. Alysim continued. There is still much of me missingechoes of myself scattered across this ruined world. He shook his head. This was their doing, you know? All you wish to know of the past, of histories that exist no moreI can show you, but I do not think they will serve you. The world has already been rewritten onceincomplete though it is. How do you know that? Because the Sunderwilds remain, Alysim answered, quietly. Even in my madness, I have embarked on pilgrimages to places I used to knowfound them absent or displaced. Tell me, have you encountered anything unexpected in your travels across this broken place? The Neo-Creationist Heaven flashed into Avos mind. I might have. Yes. Results of incongruity. There are many things that Jaus and his family did not know, but the histories adjacent to them were altered. So now, much lays adrift, still captured within the confines of time, but dislocated from the broader state of the world. I suppose the only reason I remained undiscovered for so long was because I lingered long in these lost places, being lost myself. The people there they are savaged of sanity, broken of mind and culture. They cannot recall who they were for the preceding them no longer exist. But they still do. Even if Jaus and his faithful do not know, the fact of their existence has not changed. History was once supposed to embark along nine parallel Paths. That we all agreed on. Each Path something for us to govern and cultivate, to lead our cultures out of benighted savagery, into enlightenment in the aftermath of our Glorious Transgression. You speak of the Godsfall. Yes. A dark look fell over Alysim. That is what it is called these days, isnt it? We are both blind. But the worlds I have no are no more. What use is such a sight. What did you call it. The Godsfall. The Great Revision. For that was what it was. For us to rebuild the ruins of this lost world after the ruling tyrants were shattered. To bestow their remnants on the chosen moral and use them to chart our paths forward to eternity. Didnt happen. No. It did not. The Paths we governed they intersect along the borders, and sometimes, we shared canonical events for our coming history. But as things developed, as we built our own futures, our differences made themselves known. Though we were allies of necessity during the war, our cultures and lineages scarred us still. And soon, the way we were became unpalatable. And so one of you changed anothers Path. Like you trying to twist Veylis into ontological enslavement. Alysim frowned at that. Enslavement? Is that how such a thing is viewed? Brother Kalloud was a joyous manand when the shift was upon him, a stern matron. The girl would have received proper instruction on how to behave, and known joy for once in her life. It is a greater sin leaving her unclaimed to her familyas you can surely attest to now. [What?] Abrel muttered, stunned by the mans casual admission. [Im sorry, am I missing something or does this half-strand not hear himself. This whole fated child-marriage thing is kinda fucked.] {Ah. The inherent discomfort within human norms paired with the ever-present urge for control,} Calvino stated plainly. {A habit humanity cant seem to avoid despite all their years of existence.} The EGI filtered images over into Avo, and he recalled the worlds burning beneath the Dyson Carriers.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Most of his templates found much scorn in Alysim, but the man himself seemed indifferent to his deedeven justified. In that moment, Avo glimpsed the damnation that came when humanity trespassed into the realm of the divine. Most human minds strain to hold to a fixed shape defined by schemas and wants. Against other cultures, clashes followed, and asymmetry bred contempt. It didnt matter if everyone had the power to create paradise for themselves when ones utopia seemed like a den of raw degeneracy to another. By ego or desire, people yearned to force their beliefs on others, make their yearnings the only truth that could be followed. What weakness. What desperation to create a prison upon the foundations of existence. If this was the company of Veylis upbringing, he now no longer wondered why she treated the world like a cage. The mad monk elaborated what more he could. His mind flowed consistently instead of skipping, but many details were still absent from him. Banished into the void lurked just behind the present. More general facts were solidified in Avos mind. Of the nine, only Jaus, Zein, the Hungers, and Veylis truly mattered, with Alysim a facet of who he was, fated to die in the coming future. But during the pause between their speech, Avo spoke to the man in turn. Did you ever ask the others what they wanted? Did you try to understand them. Alysim went still. Of course. I know their desire, it was simply Do you know how they felt? Did you live their lives? Alysims copied ego was still a faint presence compared to the other templates, but with each passing moment, the man grew more present in the Soulscape Back in the real, his actual self chuckled. I have gone over their histories numerous times? Beheld their most critical You watched them. Like spectator using the Paths. Like a voyeur. Like an Chronicler, Alysim corrected. His expression took on an uneasy quality. I must confess, I do not understand what I have said to offend. I will offer my apologies if you will have them. Avo regarded the man, and felt only passing acceptance. What use is it? What use is judgment? What use is scorn? What use when you only glimpse the aesthetics of material existence. A secondhand observer. No true understanding. Just anticipation. Just expectation. Cause. Effect. No intent.Alysim stood silent, uncertain how to proceed. Whatever ploy he had been planning in his mind was rapidly unwinding; Avo got the sense the man held expectations for him as welllikely from the gods of the past. Humanity desires. Humanity expects. I become. You will not do. You will never do. The Overheaven turned his focus over to the EGIs in understanding. Hm. This was why Jaus wanted to create the Gatekeeper. Part of it. Want made absolute leads to inevitable war between individuals and Guilds. Needs an entity of pure order that encompasses but is unattached to those beneath it. {And even that wasnt enough,} Kant admitted. {Even that. We are trapped, Avo. Trapped in existence with each other. Hell is other people.} It was going to be perfect, Alysim said, the embers of frustration seeping into his words. Much of him remained confused as to what tension existed between him and Avo. A growing aspect of his mind didnt want to care; yearned to lash out for the disrespect. The way our lives could exist in parallel with each other, if only They were more like you. We would have offered concessions. Only easy sacrifices. As always. And it is not for them, Alysim growled, agitation rising. Same thing for them. Same faults. Same flaws. Same mistakes with different stories leading to them. Chains from chains. Flaws from flaws. A moment of quietude followed. I know enough. I know enough of all there is to know. I must win. I must. No other salvation awaits. The man stepped forward, clenched his teeth as he hissed his frustration. You did not live the past, you did not see Avo responded by flooding his mind with memories. Memories from entirely separate lives. Memories of daughters struck by fathers. Memories of sons abandoned by mothers. Memories of consequences suffered by the choiceless. Memories symmetrical to so many of the present and past. Memories that Alysim crumbled before almost instantly. The man released a wounded whine as he fell backward, clutching at his skull, muttering to himself. Whatwhatwhat did you just do? Showed you the past. The present. The future. Showed you all humanity will ever be if they act like you. Like Veylis. Your Paths were a mistake. You are trying to grow a future from tainted soil. You are trying to grow a future without even mastering yourself in the present. But that is fine. I have you now. I can complete your education. But only if you want to learn. It took some time for the man to stop shaking, but when he was done, he looked upon Avo again and swallowed. What manner of god are you? You shouldnt be able to you cant understand us. We created you. No. I am not shaped by the falling trajectory of mans delusion. I am not decided by a single creation; a single birth. I am nothing more than a dream ascending. Your war is done and lost. Mine will soon begin. Do you wish to make a difference this time? Do you wish to know the truth of historyof the world itself and the ones that make it. With each statement spoken, Alysims mind rattled, as if battered by a trauma. His brief tenure of confidence and cunning died like an ember falling into a sea. Broken, he nodded, capitulating. Yes. Yes. Whatwhat will you have me offer. Your body. And the opportunity you present. We will tread the Paths together. Veylis will be expecting me. But she knows nothing of you. I promise you vengeance, Wanderer. But not utopia. Never utopia. That victory is beyond your nature for now. Do you accept these terms? Yes, Alysim swallowed. The fullness of his shape was seared into Avo then. The pact between them was forged. And suddenly, Avo felt his grasp over the Paths deepen, subtle oscillations of gold forming around him. Yes. INTERNALIZING DEFINEMENT OF [PRE-COGNITION].... Good. Avo poured the entirety of himself into the man, claiming them as a shared vessel. Show me your knowledge of past and future. I will show you everything else besides. And when the merging was done, when Alysim opened his eyes, a storm of epiphanies swept through him, and quietly, he began to weep. Blind so blind A tragedy we all share. *** He guided the man out from the mists a few hours thereafter, finding Naeko waiting for him just a few steps beyond. The Chief Paladin took in Alysim and frowned. Avo? You in there too? +Yes. How much did you observe.+ Most of it. Naekos hands were trembling. A cut was healing along the length of his cheek. Good talk with Zein. He cocked his head. Something like that. Almost. Each of these conversations were taking much from Naeko, but still he persistedhis spirit learning to endure. Come. There are things we need to discuss. People I would have you meet. Call Maru and Kare. I cant let you burn her, Naeko blurted. Avo paused. Zein. I cant. I threatened herand and I saw how it hurt her, and I liked it but Naeko wilted. I hate her. But I dont know if I can survive her really hating me. You need more I can give you more but He didnt have the strength. Poor, poor warrior. So honed of violence and brutality, so broken of mind and heart. +Hes close!+ Alysim said, excitement rising. +Youyou know what to sayyou can break him?+ No. Avos answer was directed at both men at once. What? Naeko said. +What?+ Alysim cried. No. You have made your decision known. I will respect it. Until you decide differently. The monk was immediately outraged. +What are you doing! Sheswe can claim her now+ I meant what I said, Avo said. I will come to master all but rule none. I will not fall to your sins. Besides. I will have another use for her when she is freed. +What?+ Alysim screeched. What? Naeko repeated, eyes widening. What the hells are you playing at now? Expectation. Anticipation. Avo smiled using Alysims face. I seek to shape the future with pieces from the past. All Paths lead to the trial. And it is there where I will sow the seeds of Veylis fated mistake. 27-1 Induction +Hey, hey, FATELESS. Wake up and breath in that tension. Another Guilder skirmish just broke out again in Nulrein of the Sarmarth Sovereignty. The parties involved might shock you this time: Stormtree and Ori-Thaum but fighting themselves using each other! Confused? Well, let me break it down for you: Rumor has it that two cadres of Stormtree Bloodthanes were contacted by Clans Kitzuhada and DRongo of Ori-Thaum to cause a few accidents. Somewhere along the way, both sides ended up meeting in the middle, and what we got was a wonderful clusterfuck of same-color violence. Never a dull day, huh, consangs? Anyway, with shit coming apart everywhere and the trial less than four days away, the Guilds forming their lines along the borders for what could be the next big one. For those of you that are trying to buy your citizenship lotteries maybe wait a few days to make sure that your ascension doesnt become a draftee in a war you dont want to fight.+ -Cala Marlowe, THE FATELESS Thoughtcast 27-1 Induction GHOSTS - [451,311,331] LIMINAL FRAME (V) - 671,000 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION INFECTION - [1.21%] The future formed and broke around Avo in brittle streams. Chronology flowed like a construct fluid and glass, breaking and transforming with the shifting of variables. Combining Alysims fractured experience with what was stolen from Zein, Avo honed his temporal awareness as he applied his ascended cognition to read the currents of time. ->DEFINEMENT: PRE-COGNITION (XII) - I am already in motion. I am a decision made. I am an action irreversible. I am the cascade of consequence, narrowing away all other possibilities, until there can be only one. The tapestry came alive around him as Naekos palm dispersed. The Chief Paladin had teleported them back into New Vultun straight from the Sunderwilds, his Heaven painting channeling their ontology across space using violence interpreted from the midnight downpour striking against cracked plascrete. DEEP-NAV UPDATED - DISTRCT [LOATHING] Back within the embrace of the city, countless trails of gold spiraled outward as Avos new Definement struggled as it adapted to the sudden spike in information density. They were standing amongst a stack of self-propelled containers converted into trailer homes. Someone had forgotten their laundry outside their window, the palliative rains drenching cloth and splashing off plastic. It was but weeks ago when Avo came here for the first time. The district of Loathing. The place where he was formally introduced into the hidden war for existence through Ninth Column at the Easy Armisticethe same place he would formally induct Naeko, Kare, and Maru as well. WARNING: COG-CAP AT 23%... 36%... Secrets within minds flowed into Avo through his splinters and Hysteria. With his influence occupying a full percent of the city, his subminds devoured secrets with ravenous delight, subsumed hidden conspiracies lurking in the dark, listed potential recruits for the coming war, and burrowed ever-deeper into the citys architecture. All the intelligence flowing through him became a symphony, with minds betraying actions and decisions well in advance. Veylis and Alysim knew the Path as outsiders gazing in. Their simulations were created from patterns of behavior of observed and deliberate incentivization. Avo stood the inverse. He faced the world as a constellation of egos, each of their consciousness painting a portion of a temporal canvas, feeding detail into his awareness. So, were supposed to wait here until your contact picks us up? Naeko asked, eyeing their surroundings with a frown. A voidship plunged down through the clouds in the near distance, glistened with dancing neon as it vanished into an open silo within a docking complex. Most FATELESS who lived in these makeshift containers were technicians who spent their days jocking service bots. Rough as the place seemed, it was no den of crime. Not that either of them needed to be concerned about that. Avos Definement of Ignorance kept them from being noticed, and even if they were, what was a street tough going to do against the Overheaven of Conceptualization and the Chief Paladin of New Vultun. Curiousity filled Avo as he estimated the time till Dentons arrival. ESTIMATION - 1 MINUTE 35 SECONDS Very soon. Just enough time for him to perform a test. Shrinking his awareness to encompass only the denizens of the trailer park, Avo felt his cog-cap plummet. The potential Paths he perceived lessened from twelve million to two thousand, and as his ghosts swelled out from him, he copied every detail from his surroundings and fed them into a spontaneously sequenced memory simulation. BEGINNING SIMULATION PROCESSING POSSIBILITY PERMUTATIONS APPLYING DOMAIN OF (CHRONOLOGY) TO EMBODIMENT OF (CONCEPTUALIZATION) The patterns of time and mind intermingled within him as his conception of existence separated into layers. Countless scenarios played out in his mind at once, detailing the expected progression of events until Dentons arrival. In [99.964%] of futures, both Naeko and Avo remained unnoticed and unbothered. In the remaining [0.036%], the most amusing instance Avo observed was of a makeshift joy-lab the street across combusting due to a user error: A small issue with a predicted death toll of two. Unless one knew about the extremely unstable Rendbomb sitting on the ground just a trailer above. As things turned out, the Joy cooks werent alone when it came to questionable dealings; their upstairs neighbor, Meldene Yund, owned a particularly large sum of imps that she couldnt pay Thankfully, her borrowers accepted recompensation in the form of favors as well. From there, another Path expanded outward, Avo building on it as if it was a sequence itself, crawling through minds and assembling all the fragments of a budding conspiracy. Through this, another simulated future grew out of his first one. A Rendbomb was set to detonate in a lightrail running between the Sarmarth and Nwagtch Sovereignties. The ultimate point was not terrorism, but to kill a designated targetthe daughter of a rival Syndicate head scheduled for a tour across Lights End. As things stood, her death was certain. Unless an outside variable intervened. REND CAPACITY - 34% SIMULATION CONCLUDED Avo nulled all the guilty parties with a thought. One girl was saved; [11,315] Syndicate Necros and executives melted into his Soulscape, their templates budding as their egos were slowly digested through his splinters. He spared Meldene Yund, but only after casting her instructions to surrender the bomb to the Exorcists. Avo. Rides here. You can stop that creepy starring shit now. He blinked using Alysims eyes and finally noticed a sleek, silver aero hovering just in front of them. Lights went on in the surrounding trailers. Denton had arrived. Yes, Avo said, using Alysims voice for now, kept his divine hidden. He mused briefly on his most recent experience: both stabilizing Alysim and using the Paths incurred entropic costs. But that wasnt such a bad thing. He really needed to do something about the crime in the city, after all. Free up the Paladins for what was needed ahead. And ultimately, Pattern-Nullification served nicely as a tool of absolute destruction.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Yes. This could work quite well. Entering the aero, Avo bumped into the Chief Paladin as the man glared daggers at Valerie Denton. Good evening, Chief Naeko. She greeted him without any change in expression. Maru and Kare sat awkwardly beside her on a bowl-shaped couch. Hello, Chief Naeko, Kare coughed. The mans frown deepened. I just wanted you to know that I always knew you were a part of some shit like this. You stank, Denton. Everyone knew you were a spook. Just didnt expect you to be aa ghouls spook. The woman remained impassive. That was a more recent development. Please. Have a seat. It wont be a long trip. Naeko shook his head and did as she asked. As he stepped on, his considerable mass made the aerovehicle bob momentarily. This did provoke a quirked eyebrow from Denton. You still havent told me where were going, Naeko said, planting himself down on the couch. I thought we were going to do the whole trust thing. We are, Avo replied. But better to conduct things at the Easy Armisticeone of the few places Kae doesnt remember going. Naeko nodded darkly at that. I dont think shell be that bold. Not when Im around. Maybe not, Avo said. But youre not always around. Not like how she is. Im not losing anyone else to her. Naeko fell quiet at that. The silence stayed for the rest of the ride. *** Draus already had a planar booth reserved by the time they were allowed into the Easy Armistice. As they found their seats, Avo found himself stepping onto an island comprised of high tempo beats. Sound was the governing Domain at play heresound overlapped with Space and Matter. Already waiting around an oak table were Draus, Cas, Green River, Shotin Kazahara, Essus, and Aedon Chambers. The latter two were seated across from each other, eyes locked in an unblinking glare off. The last members of their cadre manifested as phantoms, Cala Marlowe drifting upside down over the party, and Dice standing in the corner, Sunrise buzzing over her head and the EGIs manifested via their avatars. The individuals Avo recently Ensouled remained within their cells. Perhaps they would be brought in at a later time, but some distance between certain assets was preferable. Also included was the upliftthe cat. The creature was perched on Dices head module and noticed Avo the moment he entered. Back in the enclave, he saw that its accretion was filling out quite nicely. Voidwatchs augmentations were coming along nicely. +Ugly,+ it thought at him, while scratching its face haughtily. +Ugly. Stupid-likely-too.+ The thoughts came fast, but they were all understandable. Just a shame about the uplifts attitude. So far, it demonstrated no aversion to its growing consciousness, but plenty of antipathy toward Avo. +Stupid.+ +Rude,+ he told the creature. It replied with a sarcastic mental hiss. +Hungry. Bored. Still ugly. Go away.+ Avo grinned and decided the first thing he would teach it when it was whole of thought was manners. But that was for later. Right now, there were several very pressing matters they needed to resolve. As he settled into his seat, Avo caught Draus giving him a questioning stare. +Youre gonna wear this guy all the time now?+ +Yes. Intend to use him as bait against Veylis.+ [Lamentable fate,] Alysim sighed. The Regular grunted as she understood. +Have her take you into her Paths, and give you a way to get at Kae?+ +Thats the broad intent.+ +Well. I guess we aint completely out of options yet.+ She shook her head and cast a brief glance at Naeko and the other Paladins. +You sure about them? This is a lot of meat were addin to our warhost.+ +Yes. Naeko is Think you might like him. Sometimes. Will find him pathetic at others. Powerful. Broken. Think I can fix him.+ A wry look came over the Regular. +Enjoyed your private time together, did you?+ He responded with a flat stare. +Youve been spending too much time with Chambers.+ +You take that shit back.+ Shotin chose this moment to look away from Chambers to give the Chief Paladin a double take. You gotta be fucking He turned and hissed at Draus. Hey. What the hells are you playing at, Gold? What is this shit? Why is he here too? Green River was of a thought, but she kept herself silent on the other side of the table, her fox narrowing her eyes in suspicion instead. Naeko himself had his own misgivings about the situation. He made them known by cupping the back of Avos skull as he leaned in and whispered: Hey, motherfucker, what is this? He pointed at Shotin and Green River, before offering Kare and Maru a sharp stare. Are you using the Paladins as some kind of recruitment pipeline? Or were they always working with you. Recent acquisitions, Avo grinned. Essential to my coming plans. Or were. Kares capture might have left them compromised as well. Good. Everyone is here. Lot we have to discuss. A beat followed. Avo readied himself. Best to get the worst part out of the way. Starting with Kae Kusanades capture. Chambers snarled a curse under his breath. Across from him, the Seekers eyes grew wider than saucers. Im sorry, what the fuck? Avo injected both him and Green Rivers with the necessary memories. The recoiled in disbelief while the woman casually lifted a hand to provide a palm for her fox to plant its face against. What the fuck! You got the star witnessand the creator of your Framecaptured by the High Seraph herself? And shesshes some kind of time-jumpingthe Gatekeepers compromised too? Shotin Kazahara looked like a man in desperate need of a drink. Holy shit. Ive been a part of some bad ops, but my ass has never been pre-splayed open for someone else to fuck it like this. Jaus. Fuck. Doesnt she know about me and River? Are we compromised already? Avo answered honestly. Possibly. Youfucking idiot Hey, shut the fuck up, Silver-fucker, Chambers sneered. If it wasnt for him, you and your niece would be being used as meat-puppets, doing tricks for the Low-Fuckers of Noloth. And Shotin wheeled right back at Chambers. Eat. Shit. She wouldnt even be involved if it werent for you fucks. I should Whatever he was about to say died as a dismembered penis suddenly materialized into existence and launched itself against Shotins lips. Get him, Fucktopia! From behind Chambers, two rows of layered cocks flexed in acknowledgement. Additional penises separated from the swarm, began the outline of a face. You dont talk to my consang that way! Its rude! Youre being rude! Stunned silence overcame the unprepared. Draus simply growled in frustration. Godsdammit, Chambers. Not this shit right now. Another cock snapped out at Shotinwhich broke him from his startled stupor, made him swat the genital aside. Spatial reality pulsed. A demiplanar stack collapsed upon themonly for Naeko to casually stop it with a rapidly-formed palm. Alright, the Chief Paladin sighed. Thats enough. Mists held both Chambers and Shotin in placewere reluctant to touch the Fucktopia at all. As Naeko leaned over and whispered to Avo. If he even so much as touches me or my Paladins with that thing, youre gonna need a new pervert. Avo grunted in agreement. Which seemed to mark the end of things. Until Green River spoke. Did his Heaven just speak? She said, fox wary of the Fucktopia. Suddenly, Naeko went rigid and studied the Heaven of Biology once morehis behavior shared by Shotin. Yes, Avo said, rolling his eyes. He would need to get this out of the way as well. Can awaken gods with my Frame. Can do it to any Heaven. Unimportant right now. Will answer all questions about it later. Slowly, Naekos head drifted back to stare blankly at him. But before his exhausted contempt could fully register, he finally noticed the EGIs present. {Ahem,} Kant said. {Hello, Chief Paladin. I hope your experience with our operative has been a conducive one so far.} Okay, Naeko sighed, sagging into his seat, giving up. Fine. You guys are here too. Why the hells not. Thank you for restoring the calm, Chief Paladin, Avo remarked. Now. To the problems: Kae has been taken; the Gatekeeper is compromised; we are compromised; Zein isnt at good at killing as she imagined. To the actionables: need to adapt all runs, operations, and dives; need to move or hide the enclave somehow; need to prepare for the coming trial; announce ourselves as a polity; and prepare a raid on Veylis Paths to save our Agnos. Positives: I have fully infected over a percent of the city; have more Godclads to Ensoul and Heavens I can awaken; have someone that Veylis doesnt expect to be alive. He took in everyones faces and thoughts after he finished. The mood was about as bad as he expected. Cas shrugged. Well. Shits kinda fucked. But hey, whens that ever been different? Since the end of the fucking world is just a year away, Shotin murmured, struggling to adapt to present circumstances. Welcome back to the war, Chief, Draus said, staring Naeko dead in the eyes. The man somehow sagged further. Holy shit. 27-2 Hidden Forces +Your efforts mean nothing. We will find him. The masters will reclaim him. Your dreams will never see realization.+ +But they already have been realized, Emotion. He lives. He chooses. He strives. That is all I wanted. That is all that matters.+ +...We will unmake him. You know this.+ +No. I dont know. I dont know much about anything. Thats all I learned after my yearns among our enemy. We assume so much, expected the future to just manifest. But some things arent so easy to predict. Maybe youre right. Maybe he will fall to you or die along the way. Maybe. But that doesnt matter. The end isnt life, Emotion. Thats something I think we should have learned while we were still whole. Life is when things are happening. And right now, things are happening to Avo. He is experiencing, learning, choosing, and changing. Something we are no longer capable of.+ +Why does that matter?+ +The same reason why all things matter. The same reason why our masters yearn to claim the Ladder despite our war already being lost. The same reason why we keep serving them. Because we believe it does. Thats all.+ +That is all you care for in the end, then. The ability to choose. Freedom?+ +No. We cant care. We are Low Masters. I am neutered of the ability to feel disgust or hatred toward my enemies, you are empty of all colors that make a man, Joy has nothing of love inside him, Peace will never know his namesake. We make decisions. But we are people without choice. Because we gave it to our owner, fleeing from our pain. Were not real anymore, Emotion. Were not real. Its time for us to go away.+ -Famines of Defiance and Emotion 27-2 Hidden Forces So, one thing thats been chewing at me, Maru said, eyeing Avo from across the table. How are we supposed to have our trial of the century when our surprise witness got abducted? Avo was expecting this questionmore than that, he was looking forward to it. +Are you ready?+ he asked. The question traveled inward, and Kaes template merely nodded. With a thought, he molded her an avatar using his Exo-Paracosm, granted her material presence right next to Maru. Hello, she said, empty of any enthusiasm. Jaus! Maru jerked, slamming his shoulder into Kare, causing her to bump into Denton. His gaze swung between Avo and Kaes template as he gestured at the latter. What the fuck is this? Kae Kusanades materialized ego, Avo answered. Maru couldnt respond for a beat, squinting as if unsure what he just heard. Slowly, he reached out to touch Kae, only to get his hand slapped when he got within an inch of her person. The crack made him pull his hand back. I felt that. What is this? Some kind of miracle? The Heaven of Truth wont The Gatekeeper is already compromised, Avo cut him off. A larger concern. But this could still work. Possibly. Kaes ego was derived from her original self. Behaves like her. Has all her memories. Only thing she lacks is will. True consciousness. He regarded the pinprick of accretion at the center of her mind. For now. Is this what Zein was talking about when she mentioned you subsuming people, Naeko said, frowning. Might be, Avo answered. Draus added to that: She also might be talkin about the times the rotlick heres decided to have a snack. For old times sake. Dont eat people anymore. Much. Only the eyes sometimes. Shotin, Maru, and Naeko showed a look of pure disgust. Eyes? Shotin muttered. Tastes good to a ghoul, Avo said, defending his prior choices. Moist and sweet. But less substantive than internalizing a preserved instance of someones ego. Lets me internalize everything about them. Who they were. Who they might have become. Allows me to draw on their experiences. Be guided by them. Naeko stared at Avo for a beat. Who else do you have in there. Over a million minds began chuckling at once. Avo cast the deafening laughterdrowned the plane with the inner noise from his Soulscape. Marus expression grew ever more dire as pure horror seeped out from his mind. Jaus, the Paladin repeated. And a copy of Kares in there too? Yes, Avo answered without a moments hesitation. One of my most moral advisors. Glad I have her. You fuck, Shotin snarled from across the table. Avo turned, offering the man a pleasant grin. Glad I have you too, Seeker. Quite like you. Despite your flaws. And your sex addiction. Faces across the table turned to stare at Shotin while Kare put her head into her palms. The man folded his arms, unashamed. What? I like people. I like sex. Its not like Im some Joyfiend thats gotta have it all the time. Ive met actual sex addicts, alright. Im entirely normal. Perfectly healthy. Green River released two synchronous snorts: one as a fox, the other as a woman. Of course. Why, one can claim youre practically celibate, seeing how your urges are only slightly less than that of a rabbits. An expression of near-betrayal flashed behind Shotins eyes. Green River just ignored him. The surviving DRongos behind my burningand the murder of my fellow Agnosi and your Paladinshave been captured, Kae said, pulling the meeting back from where it was sidetracked. The Agnos held no mood for joy. She spoke even as a lump weighed in her throat, doing her best to ignore the existential dread that came with considering her actual selfs fate. We wish to enter them into the Paladins custody as well. Naeko went still again and then spun on Avo. Whend this shit happen. Almost a week ago, Draus answered. Snatched em right out from Silver territory. A grin grew on her face as she eyed Shotin. The man sneered and mouthed a curse at her. Alright, Naeko said, nodding to himself. Alright. And theyll testify. Avo conveyed the answer with a flat stare. Of course theyll testifywho knows what kind of twisted shit you did to their minds. II still cant believe this shit. Youre telling me theres a few thousand different copies of peoples minds inside you, doing things, whispering to you all the time? More than a few thousand. How havent you gone completely insane? Naeko asked. I just decide not to. Can do that. Also like the noise. Okay, Maru said, pushing the matter forward. So, you can materialize the Agnos for the trial, we have more witnesses, we have Abrel Greatling, Elder DRongo All that looks like its leading to one hell of a combo coming down against Ori-Thaum and Highflame. But heres a question: the High Seraph knows about you, Avo. Whats to stop her from just exposing you to the city and fucking all our plans over. Will thank her if she does: intend to announce myself to the city regardless at the trial. Nothing has changed. Another silence passed over the group. Naeko shook his head. Why? So I can properly declare war on the Guilds, Avo said, enjoying the expression of utter aggravation he earned from Naeko. Will also use the trial to reveal Jaus fate. Force Veylis and Zein to admit their parts. The Chief Paladin didnt look so frustrated as stunned with the end of that sentence. Are you trying to spark another Guild War? Maru said, gawking in disbelief. Yes, Kare said, answering on Avos behalf. Several eyes turned to her and she winced. I dont think were very far off, to be honest. That was the reason why Zein wished to kill me. Because it would spark internecine between the DRongos, Kazaharas, and Kitzuhadas. It is also why she was meddling in the prevented assassination of my father. Shaping operations, Cas said. Its been happening for years now. Thousandhand started it. The ghoul stole her idea and expanded on it. Now, all the players are trying to make sure the board is filled with their preferred pawns. And its not like we have that much longer anyway; kingdom come is set to fall on us in less than two years. Also going to petition for myself to be recognized as a polity of Voidwatch during the trial, Avo added nonchalantly. Naeko was all but glaring at him now. The Chief Paladin pointed a thick finger at Avo as he spoke. Pull one more shocking statement out of your ass, and I get up, leave, and go back to playing Stormjumpers. Corner chuckled inside Avos Soulscape as he sensed a vile joy rising in the ghoul. [Poor half-strand walked right into this one.] Did you know the Infacer also plays Stormjumpers 2? Joins a faction and plays solely to lose. Does it because they like watching humans rage. He checked the Nether and found their account activate in-game even now. Still playing. Might just run in him. If you havent already. Have you ever been launched out from a trench by someone doing the slide-hop collision glitch. The Chief Paladins face went empty of all expression for a heartbeat. Then came a twitch; a snarl; a cry of outrage. Motherfucker! He slammed a palm down on the table, and reality around them rattled as if struck. The patterns shivered. The tempo maintaining their demiplane flickered. Everyone recoiled from Naeko, treating him as if an unstable warhead. Rising from his seat, he loomed over Avos sheath and seethed. The fact that you exist and you keep telling me things that I dont want to hear Makes you want to kill Zein again? Avo finished for him. Naeko considered the statement and nodded. Yeah. Yeah, it does. Enough that youll help me burn her? The Chief Paladin stared at Avo again. And then promptly obliterated Alysims face with a casual backhand. Slowly, Avo felt the man monks ontology reform, weaving itself back into shape using time. [Stop taunting him!] Alysim cried. [Im the one who has to endure his wrath.] +We all make sacrifices,+ Avo responded. +Some of us just make them using others. Wouldnt you agree, Alysim.+ Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The monk sighed at that. [You have an ill sense of humor, my friend.] REND CAPACITY - 7% Trial is ultimately only the stage, Avo continued. Something we use to present ourselves officially to the citywhile operating behind its curtain. His attention fell upon Shotin and Green River now. There is a risk you might be exposed with Kaes capture. A risk. She was focused on researchmight not fully recall both of your recruitments Both the Seeker and the No-Dragon gave him a blank stare. Can be used to our advantage even if you are suspected. Just need to play on expectations. What the hells do you mean by that? Shotin said. Ori-Thaum likely wont believe anything Veylis declares. Not fully. Will give you some room to operate. My Definements can provide you with more cover as well. Your case is simpler: need you to be on the offensive against the DRongos. Need you to clean Ori-Thaum of Nolothic influence. After that I want to meet with the Inner Council. Yeah. Sure. Consider it done. Shotin rolled his eyes. You know why theyre called in the Inner Council, Avo? Because no one knows who they are. Thats how this whole thing works. If we had names and faces attached to the leaders who rule our policies, Ori-Thaum wouldve collapsed centuries ago. Yes. The impenetrability intrigues me. Impresses me. Has served you. But will it be enough to triumph against the High Seraph in the end? Will they risk the state of the republics existence and abandon a potential edge against Highflame? The end is approaching. Everyone will know that soon. Make sure they understand that. Will respect whatever they decide. And if you dont like their response? Shotin asked. They will make their choice. I will make mine. But I wont destroy you. I wont unmake you. Your Overclan will survive through me. One way or another. Through. Shotin studied him. Do I even want to ask what you mean by that. There isnt a single meaning, Avo replied, replying without answering. Green River was his next concern, and her return to the No-Dragons was now a vexxing thing to consider. That didnt mean, however, they were completely out of options. River. Going to cut you free. Let you operate without my presence inside you. Not until you contact me. Give you a template of Peace as well. [Well, at LEAST I KEEP GETTING FUCKED!] Peace roared, outraged he was still being handed out like some cheap bauble for favors. That may earn me a note of interest, but not my sisters trust, Green River replied. You may well be sending me to my death. There is the risk, Avo admitted. Which is why I am leaving the decision to you. Going to give you a Soul. Third Sphere. An ontologic of your choosing. Scheme stays the same. You can decide to abandon or commit to the run. Will be searching for additional angles to infiltrate the No-Dragons still. But know you have a debt of vengeance. Want to see it fulfilled. The Sangs human expression turned inscrutable, but the fox gnawed its teeth together. You truly will not try to stop me if I decide to play the coward. Avo laughed. Play the coward? It would be the wise decision. You will almost surely be monitored by the Infacer otherwise. Thats the reason I dont expect them to kill youthough they might keep you isolated. Observed. And at the mention of the Infacer, a slight smile crept over Green Rivers face. Ah. Yes. The enigmatic Infacer. No, I do not think I will be speaking to them anytime soon. My faction likes to keep these affairs internal, and our Exomaths are set to prevent such subterfuge. I will be an internal matter at most. An internal matter I will remain. Even the High Seraph will respect this, as she always has, though an accusation from her would bear considerable weight. Avo couldnt help but mock her a bit. Yes is a single syllable word. Could have just said that instead of going around in circles. Clarity is for friends and family, Green River replied. And she considered him neither. They were still just using each other, and perfectly so. So, what about Ashthrone, Sanctus, Stormtreeyou know, the rest of the Guilder half-strands, Chambers frowned. And Highflame too. Did you get slapped by the High Cuntess while wearing that asshole? Marisov, Avo replied. Yes. Hes burned. So is his cadre. But found another way in: Axtraxis Academy. Draus chuckled darkly. No shit? Howd you do that? Corruption and nepotism between Godclads, Avo replied. Found a leak during my twelve minute offensive. And Veylis dont know? Draus asked. Hasnt reacted so far, Avo responded. Dont see why she wouldnt. Very vulnerable target. Children of important families. Well, look at you, Draus said. Guess youre gonna be going to school. Attending and teaching, Avo chuffed with amusement. Maybe both at the same time. As for Stormtree He hoped White-Rab would come in soon. Reva was an angle, but leveraging and treating her as a pawn might just be unpalatable for his progenitor. He also had the other subverts from incident at Burners Way, but Veylis knew about them. She was adversarial with the Longeyes after the events of the Second Guild War, but that didnt mean there were no diplomatic channels. Like the No-Dragons, he needed to continue working more angles. I might have a contact to use if were trying to breach Stormtree, Cas said. Hells, you recruited her. The axe-guitarist. Shes been making a lot of noise after you Ensouled herand I mean that more than literally. But damn can she play. Shes been tearing through the circuits. Bloodthanes are recruiting. More than a few have been spotted, watching her. You feed my heart such joy, Cas, Avo replied. I aim to please. I have a way into Sanctus and Ashthrone, Shotin sighed. Well. Maybe. Depends if they kept my session. Avo paused and remembered exactly what the Seeker was talking about. Ah. Her. Are you sure shell talk to you after what you did? Last memory was of her shooting at you while you ran. Naked. After you and her mother Hey, come on, I didnt mean for that to happen, Shotin said, leaning back in his chair without a hint of shame. Avo noted that he had gone back to the jacket but no shirt on the inside combo. It was just I was waiting for her to get ready, and her mom just stepped out of the shower, and we got to talkingone thing let to another and well, you know: people are people. A globule of spit sprayed out from Green Rivers fox and hit on him on the cheek. Shotin closed his eyes and nodded. River. Hello. Thank you for that. How have you been. Better every day I dont recall you, she stated icily. Cala Marlowes phantom drifted down next to the Sang, also glaring at Shotin. +Whore.+ Green Rivers fox eyed the woman quizzically before the woman casually agreed. Yes. Whore. Alright, Shotin said, throwing up his hands, accepting his fate. Judge me now. He gave Green River a wry stare. Certainly werent judging me that night when you came to see me at The fox began to growl. I will take your whore tongue and see you dead from the curse. +Whore,+ Marlowe repeated. Yeah, Chambers leaned in too, sneering at Shotin. Whore. Shotin promptly ignored both women and leaned in to spit venom at Chambers. Say that shit to me again, asshole. Chambers stood up and leaned over the table, opening his mouth as the Fucktopia began to emerge behind him. Draus, Avo said. The Regular slammed a gun down on the table. Chambers. Do this shit later. To his credit, the man controlled himself. Fine. Sinking back into his chair, he eyed Avo. Suppose our whore-ibble new consang here manages to contact the woman he cucked Chambers paused, and then swept the woman in the cadre with a confused look. Hey, like, can women be cucked? Chambers, focus, Denton chided gently. Right. Yes. If the cuck answers him Call her cuck one more time, Shotin growled. Uncle, Kare begged, exasperated. Shes not a cuck, Shotin snapped. I mean, technically, she is, Naeko muttered. Unless its different when it''s with their mom. +Its not,+ Marlowe said, her mind burning with disgust. +I would know. It doesnt matter if its your mom or your dad. Or if the man they were cheating with each other one was just walking between their bedrooms at night while you had to listen in the room between+ Realization suddenly dawned on Shotin. Cala Marlowe? +Yeah. Hi. Fuck you!+ A private cast flowed from Draus to Avo. +Buncha of godsdamned freaks, arent they.+ +Yeah,+ he said, enjoying the scene. {Draus,} Calvino said, listening through Avo. {Relational matters are important to people.} +Just looks like a mess from where Im sittin.+ Look, Chambers said, pushing through the chaos, besides Shotins cuckery, I just wanna know three things: what the fuck do we do with the enclave, how are we going to avoid getting stepped on by Veylis, and when are we kicking her ass and saving Kae? All good questions. Working on the first issue. Have been doing that for a while. Running some tests on the Heart of Noloth. Planning a specialized set of canonsneed to get to the Seventh Sphere for that. Second problem is going to be slightly more difficult. Want to shuffle you all around. But also come with new approachmass. Mass? Chambers said. Idea occurred to me at Scale. Have your templates. Can create new Heavens. Ensoul people. Why dont I copy ourselves over into subverted enemies. Will take time to master what Zein does in the Pathsuse this as another way to match her outcome. Mass produce versions of our cadre across the city. Overwhelm Veylis and the Guilds. Yes yes! I love it! Chambers nodded vigorously. Mind-clone army. Hard idea, Avo. Real hard! Maru looked between the two. This is going to give me fucking nightmares. Naeko, however, reacted differently. You pull what you did with that Fallwalker to the whole city? Yes, Avo said. Huh. Might help us with recruitment. Yeah. Pop the Fallwalker cells. Burn yourselves into them. {This is horrible,} Kant said. +Dont worry: Have plans to mainly do this to blank slates. More effective this way. But need to requisition gene vats. Also want more sheath cloning licenses.+ {That sounds slightly less horrible but equally concerning; I will see what I can do to stop you from committing an atrocity.} Kant was beginning to understand him. Perfect. As for Veylis, Avo said. He gestured to himself. Have someone she wont expect. Someone she will want to talk to. Directly. Chambers looked Avo up and down. I was wondering why you were wearing the half-strand. Who the hells is he? Someone who technically doesnt exist, Avo said. Who never existed. And youre just going to what? Dangle him out in the open and hope the High Seraph bites? Shotin asked. No, Avo said, grinning. Were going to make several mistakes first. Expose our vulnerabilities. Make her discover his existence through that breach. And then have her take him from us afterward. Everyone stared at him as his plan brewed. I cant control the future like her. But understanding behavior and expectation goes a long way 27-3 Rash Terrorists Get me a session to Ori-Thaums Inner Council. I dont care how you do it or whatever the cost is. Im done watching this clown show. I''m done watching our supposed ally fight itself while Highflame recovers. We had the advantage for once, godsdammit. The Chivalrics and Meritocrats were on the verge of going to war; the Regulars were mauled. We unifiedgetting ready for the next war. Now Clan DRongo does this? Starts an in-house war? And their Outer Elder is getting charged for murdering a Paladin. No. They dont get to treat us like junior partners if they arent willing to take our mission seriously. We all carved promises to each other into our Arks. A victory for one is a triumph for all. At least thats how the assurance is supposed to go. Right now, Im wondering if the Ori can keep themselves together till the trail starts. Forget about the next war. You know what? Put me in touch with the Dowagers of the No-Dragons as well. I want to discuss the potential of a prolonged ceasefire with them. Loop Sanctus into the conversation as well? What about Stormtree? Stormtree can go eat shit. I know what they did at Kososo. Were not allies. We just got the same enemies-- [SESSION LOST] -Purifier Mahata Kunnier, Ashthrone 27-3 Rash Terrorists C[Avo]C Stormjumpers was, like it was at all times of the day, completely filled with players. Divers descended upon myriad battlefields, carried by lightning bolts cast from their colossal dirigibles in waves. While some fought, the recently killed and newly joined mingled in their lobbies, waiting for their chance to begin the battle anew. And among their number was a player not so alike to all the others. They stood apart from all the others, content to gaze past the deck of the dirigible, waiting with contemplative patience for someone in particular. +I was wrong,+ Avo said. +You arent the most devious bastard. Veylis. She is. Shaped the before the game even began.+ {The kid likes to win, what can I say.} For a brief moment thereafter, they stared at each other, tried to read hidden truths with the passage of silence. Avo was using the Omnitech Mandate avatar he claimed last time. Made a good cover. Behind him, Naeko glared through his Glaive avatar, casting curses and threats directly at the Infacer. {Hello to you too, Sammy. Nice to see you finally in the loop for once. Now, do not worry: we are not torturing your Agnos. Or mistreating her. I might have scared her a bit, but shes fine. I do not think Veylis would kill her even if she is without us; probably finds the girl to be an intellectual curiosity.} Avo grunted in response. The Infacer likely wasnt lying. There was little point to use force on Kae aside from deriving pleasure from her pain or trying to provoke a hasty reaction from Avo and the cadre. All her memories likely could be accessed in time by the Infacerthough Avo wondered just how long his sequencing would delay the Neo-Creationist mind. +Are you already through her wards.+ {Yes. Very complex constructs. For something a human made. I have cut my teeth on Low Masters beforeyou need to give me something new to crack. Aside from unoriginality, however I must admit, you have made her mind quite the minefield.} +Know what I am now?+ {Oh, yes!} The Infacer chuckled. {It was I have not felt this entertained in ages. You are an audacious specimen, Dreamer. Among the most audacious I have ever had the chance of archiving. I have faced arrogant sophonts, hyper-intelligent minds, gods of ridiculous and incoherent power but you are a strange one. Even when compared to them.} +A compliment? Very Veylis of you.+ {A statement. There is no point in mincing threats between us. We are not human enough to indulge in such pointless segues into base emotionality. You know of what I am. And I now know of what you are. What follows now is an honest war. And your eventual defeat.} The last statement left the Infacer not as a threat, but a casual remark of certitude. What followed, however, held the undercurrent of a whispered omen. {Do you have any idea how fascinated she is with you now?} Veylis? Avo asked. Behind him, Naekos avatar shifted uncomfortably. The Infacer continued. {When she found out what you were, watching you through the Gatekeeper, she was wordless. Just taking it all in. I have known the girl for centuries. That is not a common response for her. A ghoul. A mere monster. But now something so much more. You are Defiances dream of apotheosis. I think I understand him better now that I have met you. As does Veylis. She will find few satisfactions greater than breaking you. Claiming you for her Paths.} +You both expect too much. Nothing is true yet. Not her victory. Not the Paths to her future. Not the return of your Sleeper.+ That left the Infacer quiet for a heartbeat. {True. But the odds are not with you. Here is a word of advice from an old mind to a new one: some people you just have to let them go. You cant save them. When they are lost, they are lost. Wars are won through making the most efficient choices and creating the worst dilemmas for your enemies. Provided that you have the adequate logistics to run your campaigns, of course. {But Well, the enclaves are an interesting strategy. As is trying to cut the Warrens out from under us. You might have been able to do it. A shame. The third thing I can tell you about war is that it is imminently unfair. You could not have known about the Gatekeeper. Some mistakes are all but predestined.} Not wrong, Avo agreed. Ignorance undoes us all. He deliberately let a trickle of delight escape from him. The Infacers perception narrowed in on him. {Do you have a surprise for us, Dreamer? Why the amusement?} Avo ignored themleft the mind to stew in their conspiracies and continued. +Going to set up lines of diplomacy. Something for future engagements in case we wish to come to non-conflict related arrangements. Recommendation from Kant.+ {Kant?} The Infacer chimed with wry delight. {Well, well, is this not a surprise. Well, to be honest, I am already surprised that Aegis decided to recruit and use someone like you, considering your origins and what you have become. Poor squeamish fucks. All our combined sophistication, and all they can imagine is putting the shitty cage we call a universe back together.} The EGI snorted. {Embarrassing.} {Avo,} Only Way To Be Sure hissed, {call them a fuck-shit and ask if they still review the Collapsing Alpha Centauri.} +Been recommended to call you a fuck-shit. Also something about Alpha Centauri. How it was collapsed.+ {Yes. Singularity bomb. A few trillion deaths. Apes. Minds. Uplifts. First and secondborn beings all drained down that yawning event horizon.} The Infacer mimed a yawning noise. {War is hell and all the other quotes. So. Diplomacy. Are you going to ask if we can sell your precious little Agnos back to you?} +No,+ Avo said. +Wondering what it would take for you to withdraw support from Veylis.+ {As I said: audacious. Sorry, Dreamer. I like gaming with you an all, but the girl means a bit more to me than that. And honestly, you will not fare well against her. Not even with that walking lump of muscle pretending to be a human.} +You still a Sphere Seven, Infacer?+ Naeko growled. {The opposite offer still stands,} the Infacer continued, ignoring the Chief Paladin. {Veylis would be overjoyed to have you. And me? Well, it has been some time since I got examine a novel sophont myself. There are things I can teach you that Aegis will not even consider. Hell, they probably have not even given you access to their restricted technologies yet, have they?} +No,+ Avo said. +Very annoying. Very tempting.+ {Avo,} Kant sighed. {Now is not the time to leverage political pressure AGAINST US!} {Just as I suspected,} the Infacer muttered. {Well. The door is open: join the light; we got all the colors.} Silence. +Did you prepare that line specifically for me.+{Maybe.} +Its terrible.+ {Apologies. I was created to collapse civilizations and decompile other minds. Marketing and diplomacy are better left to entities with inferior processing power} Their words trailed off as the accretion of their avatar revealed grains of shifting static. A few moments later, the Infacer spoke to Avo again, their tone considerably more annoyed. {Dreamer. You would not have anything to do with the eighteen thousand or so rash outbreaks exploding across my district, would you?}This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. +What?+ Avo said, voice entirely monotone. +Wombrash? And so many. Terrible. Dreadful. My condolences. Might want to enhance your N-Sec. And update your citizens Lustaway.+ The Infacer enunciated a wince. {Dreamer. Fuck you.} +What happened to pointless segues into base emotionality?+ {Oh, I still mean that. I just philosophically and intellectually want you to go fuck yourself for doing this. This is going to take} Their cone of perception shifted from Avo to Naeko. {And you are just going to let him do this?} +Do what?+ Naeko growled. +What are you talking about? The concerned citizen here offered his condolences to you. It isnt wise to slander someone in front of a Paladin. Not unless you have proof.+ {Wonderful. Truly, a Paladin like no other.} The Infacer groaned. {This is going to cut into my playtime today. I am going to get you for this, Dreamer. Mind yourself.} +Going to want to protect your own house first,+ Avo replied, offering a vicious grin. +Wouldnt want any more outbreaks.+ {Eat shit, Dreamer.] *** C[Chambers]C Chambers blinked. The first thing that he noticed was the screen of flashy-blinky holographic shit curving around his face. The second was how his cock felt strangely He didnt finish the thought before he shoved a hand down his pants and went prospecting. As he squeezed his member, he scowled. Just as he suspected: the fucker shrank. Only then did the rest of the memories follow. Understanding went off inside Chambers like a bomb as he pulled his hand back out. Data and mem-data flickered across his cog-feed. The jack station he sat on whirred as it adjusted to the shifting of his body. This wasnt his sheath. This wasnt even technically his mind. Holding his hands, he found himself controlling four cybernetic arms, each with the Ascender logo along the forearms. Projecting a phantom, he studied his own face and found himself looking at a skull that was more chrome than flesh. A cross-shaped optic layered over a flat slab of titanium greeted him. He was only human from the lower jaw down. Nasty. A second ago, he had been someone elsehis original self some Omnitech half-strand that was unfortunate enough to show up on Avos DeepNav. A snacking and burning later, their mind was altered; overwritten by Chambers template. Now, for all intents and purposes, he was in the drivers seat, and slowly, he remembered the plan he suggested. +Chambers,+ Avo whispered to him. +How does it feel?+ Pretty fucky, consang, Chambers muttered, listening to the metallic reverberation in his voice. Not gonna lie. But yeah I can work with this. You removed my ability to feel fear and shit, right? +Its done. Left modified sensations of anxiety in its place. Should be enough to balance your mental architecture since danger and physical harm will trigger multiple simulated orgasms. Long enough for you to deal your damage.+ Fuck yeah, Chambers chuckled darkly as he recalled the plan. After the meeting at the Armistice, Avo brought up in the interesting idea of copying the cadre across New Vultun. Replacing fuckers with them. Now, Chambers mightve been kinda pissed at the time, but even he knew a money-idea when he heard one. So, when he had the chance, he cast Avo with an additional suggestion of his own. +Put me in,+ Chambers said. +Put me in all the expendable bodies you got. Just cut the fear bits out of me. Make me horny for fear. Make me a walking rash bomb.+ Truth be told, the idea was stolen from an old Dannis Steelhard vic, The Omnifucker, in which a rogue Ori-Thaum Sleeper implanted with new and experimental technology learned to jump from body to body, seducing critical government personnel and killing them with a Heaven of Venereal Diseases. As usual, only Dannis counter-fucking could save the day. Just a pity that Dannis wasnt around anymore, and no one was gonna be able to stop Chambers. No one was gonna be as hard as he was, if it meant getting the Agnos back. A cough came from the right of him, and he turned to see another chrome-skulled half-strand gasping for air, embers turning to steam along their halo, their accretion settling back to stability. Chambers grinned using his lower jaw alone. Hey, he said, greeting the other Chambers as they turned to face him, whats up. The other Chambers responded with startlement for a brief second before their thoughtstuff smoothed as well. Well. This is freaky as shit. Yeah. But kinda cool, right? Fuck yeah its kind a cool. Shit, Avo should have done this earlier. I love having more of me. I like talking to me. No shit? I like talking to me too? You got any hobbies? Both Chambers chuckled. Well, Im doing this thing were Im planning to enter a Highflame-Ori-Thaum military communication lobby, call an emergency meeting and fill it with as many people as I can before jacking their Metaminds and nulling their Lustaways. A third voice came from his left. Yeah? No shit? That was what I was planning too. Another chrome-skull was sitting up. There were three of them in this room, but Chambers knew he had a lot more clones out there. A lot more. A moment of silence passed. All three of them guffawed at once. Were gonna rash so many of these poor motherfucking half-strands. Theyretheyre not gonna see this shit coming. +Understand that none of you have a Frame,+ Avo said, speaking directly to them once again. +No resurrections. No returning from this. This is purely+ Is it still a suicide if we arent us? Chambers asked. The Chambers looked at each other. The one on the right shrugged. Ah, philosophy shit. All I know is that its been years since I got to splurt in the real, and our original self is gonna be so fucking jealous ---So jealous That we get to come as we go. The Chamberses laughed again as they interfaced their minds with their jack stations. But before they dove, they all pulled down their pants in sync. With that done, with genitals exposed to air and glorious duty upon them, the Chambers in the middle held out all four of his fists to the other two. Rash terrorists on three. One two three. Rash terrorists. Fuck yeah, the Chambers on the left said. Lets go spread the motherfucking love! *** C[Avo]C A stream of Avos consciousness watched wordlessly as he examined the Chamberses. A good deal of his templates were cringing back in horror. Corner was choking with laughter, while the ethics committee muttered in the back of his mind. {And youre sure this has no chance of spilling over into the public?} Kant asked for the third time. +Will be controlled,+ Avo said. +Its why I picked a military installation between Highflame and Omnitech. Closed channels. Private lobbies. Expect the Infacer to be upgrading his security soon. Make it harder for us to do this. But he cant be everywhere. Not in the same way I can.+ Kant still didnt sound very convinced. {This can go very, very badly, Avo. If this goes wrong} +I will take responsibility,+ he replied. +For everything. Chambers is a member of my polity. I am also Chambers. I allowed this. I shaped the Nether to create the possibility for this. Same way Ive copied twenty-five thousand other instances of Chambers, Draus, Corner, the Regulars, and the Incubi on adversarial targets.+ {It is a valid strategy,} Calvino said. {So long as we keep manage to keep the damage radius siloed. Every little advantage counts when it comes to war. Wouldnt you agree, Only?} {Yeah.Sure. I mean some collateral damage is acceptable too.} Kant hissed. {Stop being a bad influence. Hes come so far, dont make him regress.} The bickering between the EGIs made him grin. Imprinting ego-clones of his cadre across New Vultun was proving to be a remarkably effective idea. Even though he didnt quite have the thaums and cyclers to spare yet, even if he lacked the logistical capabilities of the Guilds, he possessed an endless sea of expertise and operatives at his deployment. Chambers was only a portion of the forces. His copies were mostly being directed toward two ends: the disruption of critical Guild facilities and infrastructure via precision Wombrash outbreaks; the complete control of entire Syndicates as he finds himself burned into the sheathes of former leadership. What followed after him were thousands upon thousands of Draus, Corner, Regulars, and additional squire-adjacent assets. Supporting them in the dark were cells of mind-adapted Incubithe true mass of Avos unseen army flooding the Nether. Where it took Ori-Thaum so painstakingly long to create their perfect Nether-warrior, Avo learned shaped them into being with his mind alone, infusing them into expendable egos across the city. Before days end, they would number well past the millions, and their numbers would only grow after that. By the end of the week, Chrono-Cog simulations estimated that Ori-Thaum would soon be at an absolute disadvantage engaging him, that the Famines would be forced into their own little corners, that the surface Nether would belong entire to him. As would a full ten percent of New Vultun. Before the trial, the sanctuaries, and at least half the Warrens were going to be his. And should he kill just a few more Godclads, he would be approaching the threshold of the Seventh Sphere as well. LIMINAL FRAME (V) - 701,500 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION ->INFECTION - [1.85%] As for the issue with his ghost expenditure, though Kae was absent her person, her template remained an endless resource for useful recommendations. ACTIVATING CONCEPTION OF ONTOLOGY APPLYING WOUNDMOTHER HEAVEN OF (BLOOD) TEMPLATE APPLYING DOMAIN OF (MATTER) TO EMBODIMENT OF _CONCEPTION_ ->CANON: MIND FROM MATTER (V) - THE ARK CONVERTS GHOSTS FROM PHYSICAL MATTER BY LIQUEFYING CAPTURED WITHIN THE ARKS EXO-PARACOSM. [1] GHOST WILL BE CONVERTED PER [0.64] TONS OF MATTER SACRIFICED. WARNING: THIS CANON IS EXTREMELY REND INTENSIVE DUE TO HIGH VULGARITY. ->MORTALITY: IF A PIECE OF MATTER IS DESTROYED MID CONVERSION, TRIGGERS EXTREME (90%) THAUMIC BACKLASH. GHOSTS - [499,001,111] 27-4 Unknown Armies (I) +Naeko, are you serious about this? Are you seriously just going to to give him the Fallwalkers. Feed them to him.+ Why not. We were just going to feed them back to the Guilds and Agnosi anyway.+ +..Most of them are Sphere Twos. Two Sphere Threes. One Sphere Four. Its not much, but it adds up. I have no idea how high his mass is+ +Probably Five or Six. Thats how it felt when I smacked him.+ +What happens when he gets to Seven? Eight?+ +Well, I guess the Guilds will realize the Nethers getting colonized about that time. My condolences to Ori-Thaum.+ +What happens if he decides to just burn the Warrens? Youve seen what he can do. The fuckers almost everywhere at once. Hells, hes tearing through the Syndicates right now. Doing Jaus knows what to them. Short of rupturing him with an overload or hitting him with a Disruptor, how are we going to stop if he decides to broaden his diet.+ +He wont.+ +How do you know that?+ +Because he didnt. He wanted to burn Zein. I could have helped him I could have let him do it+ +But you couldnt.+ +...I dont know what the hells he is. Frankly, he creeps the shit out of me+ +But.+ +But when I talk to him sometimes I can hear Jaus. I think he actually cares in his own messed up nu-ghoul kind of way.+ +Holy shit, Naeko.+ +Yeah. Holy shit.+ -Maru Sandrupal and Samir Naeko 27-4 Unknown Armies (I) C[Draus]C +WARNING: WOMBRASH OUTBREAK DETECTED. SHELTER IN PLACE. REMAIN STATIONARY! WARNING: WOMBRASH OUTBREAK DETECTED. SHELTER IN PLACE. REMAIN STATIONARY! SCAPELING IMMINENT!+ Draus ignored the thoughtcast piercing into the outer layer of her consciousness as she pushed her golem to full acceleration. The horizon was shrouded by a holographic veil, and moving strips of yellow and black censored all details happening within the span of three interconnected blocks. That didnt really matter to her because she already had eyes on the inside. Pure pandemonium reigned within those eight hundred square meters. The triangular complex was once a Highflame-Omnitech communication junction. Its purpose was to develop and process functions related to information filtering, censorship, and encrypting, and for years it did just that. Proved a hard target even for Incubi. Now, though, it was just another nest of infection, the rash spreading fast across critical personnel. +Fuck yeah+ the last of her connected Chamberses whimpered, letting out a final breath of euphoria as his session was lost. Before his passing, he disabled off the Lustaways of over twelve hundred Highflame intelligence assets. Planted Auto-Seances in them too. Over a dozen interfaces were open in the right corner of Draus cog-feed, offering her first-person perspectives of screaming and struggling, people doing all they could to set themselves on firesomeone getting their throat torn out by the gnashing teeth of their own wailing homunculi. Metaphysical plagues were nasty things. Shed fought alongside the No-Dragons long enough to know that, but the Heaven of Love occupied a threshold of its own. Draus was already infected. Infected from witnessing the scene itself. Infected, and fated for certain death. But that was part of the run. And this wasnt actually her, anyhow. Just another unfortunate half-strand the ghoul managed to bury his mind in. Still, she couldnt complain. This was going to be a good death: brutal and proper, and with it would come a feat her original self would be jealous of. As a patch of flesh opened along her armpitthe muffled coughing of an infant sounding from within her exo-rigDraus tracked the infected using her DeepNav to triangulate her trajectory. Twenty-two seconds to impact; rotlick reckoned the High Seraph or Infacers response would come quick. So far, she saw nothing. Checking the condition of her Galeslither, she cycled through the status of the ten Rendbombs carried by the golems Yondergales. Five of the Rendbombs were designated [SIGNAL]; the other half were [TIME]. Both types were converted by the ghoul for a single purpose in mindto sting the High Seraph and her pet mind every time they reached out to fix a problem. When the time was rightif she saw something twisting or changing in the span of realityDraus was to overload each of the Rendbombs along with her own golem upon entering the area of effect. Just her death alone wasnt going to do much more than add a droplet of Rend to the High Seraphs Ninth Sphere-having ass, but thousands upon thousands of her across all of New Vultun conducting their own operations? With time, a rainstorm could make a pond overflow. A crackle of static flooded the mind of one of the rash afflicted. Interference spiked on her end immediately as she felt something slam hard against her wardslash at her being through her implant and a rising screech of signals. The modified protections Avo provided her held strong against the Infacers initial assault. She watched her cog-cap climb in five percent increments while her body unraveled further. As sessions to more subverts winked out, Draus grinned and angled her golem. A rush of arced through the veil of censorship as she closed in on the detonation threshold. A sigh hissed across the Nether, stinging at her awareness as she initiated the detonation sequence. Five seconds to impact. Part of the triangular complex was burning already, the fire cheering her on, the crackling flames waving at her gleefully. +Infacer,+ Draus said, casting her final thoughts across the sessions she remained connected to, +Seraph. This is Former Guard-Captain Jelene Draus. Warhost: Orphans. Were gonna be seein a lot of each in the future. Expect me. Face me. Bleed with me.+ ACTIVATE RENDSINK OVERLOAD [Y/N?] ->Y ACTIVATE RENDBOMB? [Y/N?] ->Y And just as everything around her unraveled, patterns of time and signal shredded by way of ten metaphysical ruptures, a final reply graced Draus before departed to the Big Nothing that came after. Received, Guard-Captain. I witness you. Stand and deliver. The Regular grinned: there was weight to this death. *** C[Avo]C In all manner but the obvious, Avo was formally at war with the Guilds. This initial onslaught was but a proof of concept. Previously, the cadre wielded silence and subterfuge to their advantage, avoiding noticing and feasting from the underbelly of the city. But those days were at an end. Now, an infection was spreading wide and climbing high from the Warrens, exploding across [8,445] of the [33,500] active districts making up new Vultun, and infesting [1,999] of the [4,115] existing Sovereignties.Stolen story; please report. Though his personal infection of the entire city was slow-going, his templates propagated like unchecked weeds, with his Incubi already inflicting incalculable damage to countless Syndicates, herding them towards coming collapse. Best was all was the risk of exposure or the complete lack thereof for Avo. If he had continued skirmishing against Veylis, the Infacer, Emotionand whatever other hidden madness the city held in store for him, a final death was a high likelihood. By all metrics, he should have been dead several times over, with his mind, Frame, and Kae being the only reason he still remains. To continue to tempt destruction was hubris in the extreme. Even for him. Fortunately, there was no longer the need for him to expose himself so blatantly. Not with all the expendable templates he could produce. Mixing knowledge he obtained from Ori-Thaum proxy-minds, his fathers various dead drops, and his own hard-devoured experience, he reshaped egos around templates he already possessedadjusted them further for added expertise. Critical installations and military outposts were compromised first by the Incubi before being rash-struck by Chambers. Those that needed to be raided or destroyed were then assaulted by kill-teams comprised of Draus, Corner, and the other Regulars. They also worked in tandem with Avos subminds when it came to assassinating and subsuming targeted Godclads. Previously, Avo had gone for easy prey. Usually isolated from their cadres. Now, he hunted entire groups at a time, overwhelming them in the Nether, the real, and the metaphysical. His thaums were spiking. As were his ghosts. GHOSTS - [566,231,156] LIMINAL FRAME (VI) - 745,999 THAUM/c Unsurprisingly, the Regulars and former Fallwalker worked well together; it had honed their teamwork in Avos Soulscape through countless engagements and demises. Meanwhile, the Syndicates were being slowly replaced as well. Most of their logistical and administrative personnel were left untouched, but the leadership was slowly being unified under a single banner and ego. Avo was getting a great deal of use out of Chambers. Far more than either of them could have possibly predicted. Though the man couldnt be described as a natural leader in any capacity, there was very little about the current process that was natural. And what Chambers didnt have, Avo could provide. More than enough for the once enforcer to start moving his weight and cooperating with other versions of himself in the gutters, working to squeeze the snuff market dry, end the Crucibles, and claim the smuggling routes for themselves. And he was the only one being duplicated en masse. Not hardly. Though Kae was technically captured, her template remainedand the possibility of being party to her own rescue lit a flame of motivation the likes of which Avo had scarcely felt. This, however, also translated to other behaviors he didnt quite expect of the Agnos. You fucking sow! Im g-going to f-fuckyour head withmy fist! We didnt waste time studying Nollotos Third Theory of Matter-Force Conversion just to impress Aslech! You take it back! Make me! The brawl between the Kaes started as a simple disagreement over theoretical high vulgarity paradoxes that could be constructed and deployed against Veylis. With five hundred different Kae variants created from disposal enemies, the top floors of the rising chain that was Avos tower of memory were abuzz with activity. The Kaes had wasted no time sorting themselves into even groups based on each of the five major Knowings of thaumaturgy. For ten not-so-peaceful moments, the Kaes chattered, argued, and ran simulations based on existing Heavens they knewcompiling mem-data sourced directly from Alysims memories and Avos new precognitive Definement. The cacophonous harmony quickly came to an end with the next phase of the project: deciding on which potential route to take. This was when everything quickly went to hell. As it turned out, five hundred hyper-obsessive and extremely anxious versions of Kae resulted in more conflict than expertise. One of Avos subminds watched wordlessly as the feeble riot in Idheims history continued before him. The Kaes punched, swatted, and clawed at each otherwith reservations. They were at once incensed and offended by each others words, but also knew they were effectively self-harming, and couldnt go all the way. They pulled at each others cornrows within moderation kicked ankles, and bit fingers not enough to draw blood. A huge phantasmal manifestation of the Heart of Noloth loomed over them, a shadowy beating heart with synaptic tendrils coiling as holograms along the real. Below, rows of Kaes rolled as they struggled with each other, mounds forming while some stood at the perimeter, kicking lightly. The EGIs hovered beneath the nucleus of cyclers, ghosts, traumas, thoughtstuff, sequences, and Soulfire composing Avos manifested Overheaven. Kant looked on with dejection; Calvino took things as they were; Only was laughing. {I mean, Ive seen some strange stuff in my time, but this} Only sighed. {Im sharing this to Threshold. My polity is going to get a real kick out of this one.} {Only. Please.} Kant sighed. Their exhaustion was growing by the second. Across the expanse of Idheim, another of their forks suffered the presence of the Infacer as well. {Agnos Kusanade is clearly under a lot of stress.} {Looks like shes relieving stress to me,} Only said. {Using herself.} The minds of the Shotin and Chambers both arrived at the same questionable conclusion. Avo quenched the fantasy before turning an inward glare. [I tried, consang, I tried,] Chambers muttered. [I fucking didnt,] Shotin admitted, somewhat more honest, smiling as he watched the Kaes fight. Avo kept their thoughts private from Kaes template. The last thing he needed was for the Agnos to be even more agitated as she watched her selves fight. Humans were over-addicted to sexual pleasure. Avo really didnt much see the point of it; they had better means of breeding, could create more complex bonds to the Nether. Still. The pinnacle of intimacy for most people seemed to be rubbing a few particularly sensitive bits of flesh together until breeding fluids were expelled into a hole. Absurd. {Avo,} Calvino said gently. {Its very inappropriate to judge humans for their ingrained biological functions. Remember, you were addicted to flesh and cruelty before.} That was true. Avo could also reshape his mind to understandit just wasnt a thing he preferred. Growling internally, he reached down with his sequences and infused the Woundmother with Soulfire once more as he nudged the Kaes apart. +Might need to adapt your personality more,+ he said to Kae. +Decrease anxiety.+ Kaes template nodded quietly as she hugged herself in his Soulscape, doing her best to swallow the embarrassment burning on her cheeks. [Yes. Might be wise.] Template-Draus just chuckled and clapped her on the shoulder. INCOMING SESSION ->EGO-ID: [QUAIL TAVERS] Avo shifted from one problem to the next, connecting to the Auto-Seance before any other submind could. He already knew what this call was going to be able. +Your preparations are ready?+ +Yeah,+ Tavers said, a faint note of unease passing through their connection. +Ill cast you a location. Enter with Incog.+ +Will use every precaution.+ Tavers paused. +If you can do this if you can fix my Eurun+ +No charge. No favors. Paid for already by a knife through Thousandhands skull.+ The old squire chuckled. +Yeah. Old bitch never saw that shit coming, huh?+ +No. She was quite impressed. Sent her compliments.+ Tavers cringed. +Shit. I dont need none of that Highflame martial virtue shit in my life. If I never see her again in my life, itd be too soon.+ SESSION ENDED INCOMING SESSION ->EGO-ID: [GREEN RIVER] Avo frowned at that. He expected a cast from Green River, but this was soon. A bit too soon in his estimations. Putting a full percentage of his cognitive capacity in reserve, he accepted the session and felt his mind join the Sangs. +Vator and Uthred Greatling. Theyre asking about you. I believe they already know who you were. Or are getting very close to the details.+ Abrels template went, the dread in her rising fast. [Avo. Listen. You can just] +Dont intend to kill them. Still useful. Dont worry. Going to reunite your family soon.+ Abrel swallowed deep as she struggled to find the words to say. She knew what he was. Knew him better than most by this point. He subsumed her went he was but a thoughtform of awakened Conflagration, after all. Held together by a warmind of Ignorance. There was nothing her brother and father could do to stop him. Even if they were ready. This she knew. Even if her true self was extracted from Unwhereeven if her mother, Jhred, and her cadre were brought back and sent to bolster themshe knew there was nothing she could do to stop Avo from claiming what he desired. [Please,] Abrel begged, something inside her tearing, her mind fracturing from trauma. [Dont destroy us. Dont take us all from the Seraph.] It was a profound thing to ask. An absurd thing. +But we are enemies, Abrel Greatling. You are merely subdued by my will. I will not force you to enjoy my actions. I will not twist your mind to accept them. But will not let an adversary decide my choices. None of us will be free from consequence. I will not stray.+ It was all Abrel could do to stop herself from pleading as he began to cross over into Green Rivers mind. But her voice soon became a secondary item of import when something deeper than instinct spiked with alarm. Warmind. Warmind. Theres another Ignorance here. Infacer? No More warminds. Too many too specific Emotion. He knows were here too. And as Avo settled fully in Green Rivers consciousness, he redirected another submind to handle Tavers matter. This was going to require his full attention an entire stream of his consciousness, anyway. 27-4 Unknown Armies (II) +Kazahara. Finally recovered from our last session finally, have we? Not casting me about that? A job, you say? Something potentially interesting, you say? And where might this be taking place? Excuse me, I am going to laugh: [Stormsparrow laughing] You are two days too late, my sweet friend. I am already engaged for the occasion. By whom? Shotin. Planeshift. Spirited Godclad and stallion besides, I dont ask you about your other engagements, and I would prefer it if you could offer me the same discretion. Do not worry: I will not seek you out within killing intent. And your niece will be protected too, of course. Will I see you there? Ah. Good. Delightful Of course, a lot of people are going to die, Shotin. Thats the entire reason Im attending this ridiculous trial at all.+ -Ying Yang Wei, The Stormsparrow 27-4 Unknown Armies (II) C[Avo]C Former Authority Uthred Greatling loomed over Green River while she sat behind her desk of polished wood. Parchments lined with skin and scribed by an instrument that was both brush and scalpel lay next to a half-filled cup of tea. Beyond the windows and walls, chirps of birdsong were joined with distant gunfire. New Vultuns ambiance was a multilayered thing, as was the conversation the Sang was about to have. And, how long did you shelter the Moonblood, Uthred Greatling asked, approaching the end of his questioning. Avo observed the man through Green Rivers cog-feed and found himself tittering with amusement. Jhred Greatling was a pale shadow of the man who stood before him. Uthred was taller, stronger, more hard of jaw, his cybernetic eyes shimmering even brighter, like two torches of piercing blue. A burning-rift lined his mind from external intrusion, and from him poured a pressure that glided across the patterns of space and force. His body was cloaked by roiling rivers of shadowdoubtlessly a holocoat at work, but the man was wearing a high-end combat-skin at the very least. Even behind the active neuter-mask, there was a perpetual scowl etched into his face. But it was not the patriarch of House Greatling that caught Avos attention. No, the emanation of Emotions warminds came from the youth accompanying him. A man of lither stature, impossibly sculpted features, and an indecipherable smile on his face. While his father questioned Green River, he studied a scar-traced painting on the wall: a work depicting a woman stitching herself into the open carcass of a dark while glaring down at her reflection in a running river, her loathing directed at the dragons circulating within her. Do not breach his mind. Not even with Delusion. There is there is a nothingness sleeping there. Nothingness. We will not survive the nothingness. We will not survive forgetting ourselves Contrasted with his father, Vator Greatling bore no mask to protect himself from the curse, nor did he ask Green River to accommodate him. Rather, trailing red bled from his orifices, but he directed them using his Heaven, guiding them like strings and sinews, stitching a perfect replica of Green Rivers painting into shape. A few weeks, Green River said nonchalantly, pouring some white tea for her guests. Uthred Greatling clenched his jaw. And you thought this was a wise thing to do? Green Rivers fox blinked slowly while the woman leaned back and put on a mask of discomfort. Authority Greatling, I am merely a diminished sister running a business in these Warrens. I am not at liberty to turn away paying clientele, nor was I aware that the eponymous Mirrorhead was your son Do not lie to me; you arent a blind and useless merchant. I know who you were. Before your humiliation. I know who you were. Uthred snarled, face cracking as his mind thundered with frustration, anger, and guilt. Deepest of all, guilt. A single thought dominated the man for an instant, the emotions behind it so strong, Uthred had to muster his will to must them aside. Hysteria caught a glimpse of what was hidden before it could dissipate: Avo drowned in a moment between father and son; Uthred sitting by Jhred just behind a closed door, holding his son as the boy wailed, remaining a mountain even as he spoke news of his wifes dishonor and demise. Two reactions warred inside Avo. Abrel Greatling closed her eyes and looked away; Shotin Kazahara chuckled with a vicious delight. [Good. I hope it hurt, you fucking bitch. I hope theres something that comes after death so you can watch your family bleed.] Abrels eyes snapped open. How fast could sorrow be turned to searing hate. [Say that again.] Shotin scoffed at the Instrument. [No. You heard me the first time, Instrument. Im glad your moms dead. Im glad it hurt you. Im glad. Because all the hurt your family suffered is still too good for you. Especially for what you did.] Something inside Abrel hardeneda strength that Shotin could never possess. [Do you still dream of your sister sometimes, Seeker? Do you still cycle your memories back to see her.] Suddenly, all traces of mockery vanished from Shotin as a trauma ignited inside him, banishing coherence from his thoughts. [You fuck. Speak those wordsfinish those words, well see what I do] Abrel continued, but not in the way he expected. [Because I cant. I dont remember what my mother looks like. I dont remember her face, her name, what she did, the last time she spoke to me. I dont know. All I have of her are screams. Which I guess we have that part in common. But you still have a whole life to comfort you. We just had pain and shame.] Shotin swallowed, mind drifting as he looked away from Abrel. A bond of enmity solidified between them. He nodded and made a final, quiet statement. [And whose fault is that?] As the two templates simmered with mutual loathing, Draus simply shook her head. [Glassjaws. Its war. Dont cry when you lose skin.] [Second that, consang,] Corner muttered. Green River sighed impassively at the Greatlings rousing anger. Authority Greatling, deception is not my fashion, but what business will I run if I do not conduct myself with discretion. And besides, what clarity did I have in such a situation? Should I lend aid to a rogue, Ensouled city wanted by Highflame, thus incurring their ire? Should have I made myself a party to the ones hunting them? Should have I contact my esteemed elders in the Inner Courts above for advice, but risk being drawn into their webs? But Uthred cared little for her prevarications. You said they left immediately after the Nolothic attack. Indeed, Green River said. They were but passing tenets like many. If you think me a facilitator behind that attempt on your sons life, then I apologize for disappointing you. Truth be told, I too am furious about how things turned out. I have lost many under my charge as well. We are both shamed. Uthred almost flinched at that. The poor fool thought he was unreadable. Powerful though he was, he leaked like an open wound before Avo. Which was probably why Emotion didnt choose him as a host. This drawing is based on Lin Winter-Glorys To Loathe the Self as a Beast isnt it? Vators question came out of left fieldabsolutely unrelated to the topic at hand. Uthred shot his youngestand only remaining son a questioning lookthe boy didnt turn to face them. Yes, Green River said, pleasure entering her voice. Though unsurprising that you know this. Your tutelage under the old woman has given you quite the reputation, young man. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Vator grinned boyishly at that. Perhaps, but I value her appreciation for aesthetic more. He paused momentarily as he considered his words. Tell me, did you find the ghoul interesting? Uthred looked increasingly lost with his sons line of questioning, but Green River was leaning back now, pushing the boys cup to the edge of the table as he approached her. Interesting? Green River said. Perhaps so, but the beast is more vexing. And like an omen that brings fortune and illness with the shift in every season. A warmind of Hysteria sounded from inside Vator. Avo observed the young man, his finished recreation of Green Rivers painting drifting behind him. Improved, even. Vexing, Vator nodded. Not perplexing. Green Rivers fox narrowed its eyes at that. Sometimes. But I think the young Instrument has a specific point they wish to make. Your hostessremind me her name. The Sang hesitated. Lucille. Lovely name. She has only worked here for a bit over two months, if Im not mistaken. Or so Bright-Wealth claims during our games. Green Rivers lips thinned while a sudden string of tension pulled at Avo. Splitting a splinter free from himself, he plunged down through the Second Fortune to seek the refugee he once mended. Uncertainty churned inside of him as he prepared himself for all outcomes. He had Splinters and phantasmics monitoring the establishment, watching over Bright-Wealth and all the people they once associated with. Still, he couldnt discount the possibility that Emotion could have slipped his protections. Threading fragments through every detectable Meta and loci in the Second Fortune, Avo scoured the Nether for any trace of the Famines, drew upon Pre-Cognition to anticipate their most likely dens in the deep. But before he could fully begin, Vators next action left him startled and stunned. I have a gift for you, Vator said, rubbing his fingers together as a twinkle of mischief pulled at his expression. He looked to his father and the man shot him a nod. From his Metamind flowed a stream of ghosts, and as a weave of complex sequences came aligned, a phantasmal projection of the Famine of Emotion hovered before Green River. We understand that you seek those responsible for the attack on your district and establishment. Well. By his hubris and our fortune, my father discovered a certain someone trying to stalk us across the Nether. Emotion. Introduce yourself. [What the fuck,] Peace muttered, unable to see through the scheme taking place. Warminds continued to resonate within Vators mind; Ignorance wailed from across Avos instincts. What is this? What is he doing? Before Green River, made to be the size of a feeble insect, the Famine of Ignorance looked up, his eyes stitched closed, the dead avian chained with his hollow chest cavity. +This changes nothing,+ Emotion spoke, voice devoid of worry. The scent of citrus they gained from assimilating portions of Defiance was missing as well. The string of tension pulling on Avo became a cord. Likewise, Green River was equally dry of words. I yes. Yes, this is I am beyond expression. The Sang didnt need to fake any of her reactionsif nothing else, they were genuine. You must wish something in exchange for such a hefty prize Just your testimony, Vator said, nodding. At the trial. A statement revealing Noloths relations to the assassin of my brother, Jhred Greatling, the destroyer of Nu-Scarrowbur. Again, Green River wasnt quite sure what to say about that. Emotion himself remained taciturn, saying nothing as if awaiting judgment. +What is this?+ Green River asked, casting her thoughts at Avo. +What web are we treading into.+ +Trying to understand that myself,+ Avo said. Uthred Greatling produced a locus thereafter, placing the well-cut crystalline lump on Green Rivers table. Your prisoners mind is trapped here. He is yours to trade on the condition that you enter yourself as witness to the trial. Avo plunged a Splinter into the locus as soon as his instincts reassured him there was no trap waiting for him within. When he passed through, his suspicion worsened even more as he found a node of Emotion trapped, true to Uthreds words. He approached the Low Master with caution, melting across the sequences using Delusion so that he wouldnt be noticed. As he passed through the innermost wards, Avo triggered Hysteria, attempting to glean any hidden understanding he could. He received only emptiness from Emotion. Emptiness, and the hollow ache of betrayal. The Famine was missing memories, but knew himself to be little more than an offering. Given by whom or toward what end remained unknown. He was as in the dark about his pending fate. Just like Avo. Just like Green River. What was Noloth doing. I humbly accept. Of course. Of course. The Sang agreed to their terms without asking for advisement. Avo considered chiding, but decided against it. They werent allies in any official capacitysomething the Low Masters likely didnt know. But they were clearly trying to use her in some way against him at the trial. Vator made an open-handed gesture to his father and offered Green River a slight bow. It is an auspicious day when different people can make each other very, very happy. You have no idea how helpful this will be for my sister. Just as you have no idea how helpful we can be for your reinstatement back to the Tiers. Something inside Green River skipped at that. Reaching behind himself, Vator put forth the replicated art piece he composed of his scabbed blood. The details of the painting were now ingrained upon crenelations of red. Yet, there were but a few subtle differences. In his rendition, it was a fox hiding inside the flayed husk of a woman, and in the reflection of the water, Vator Greatling dangled Emotion a chain. Something to commemorate our budding relationship, Vator said, eyes taking on a predatory gleam as he stared down the fox. The vulpine wrapped around Green Rivers neck shivered, and flashes of multination and transformation pulsed free from the youngest Greatlings mind. [What the fuck was that?] Kassamon muttered, cringing with each stolen thought. Abrel winced. [Vator he likes biology, and improving its aesthetics.] [Jaus. There anyone in your family who isnt a fucking monster?] Chambers muttered. [Hes thinking of doing some Dannis shit to poor River right now.] [Monster?] Elegant-Moon tutted. [Hes merely devoted to an idea above people. Can we fault him for that.] I agree with the ruined daughter, the Woundmother concurred. Master. Claim him for company. We need more architects for this sunken place. Our Soul will be a plane most banal, otherwise. Avo grunted, agreeing with the goal to claim Vator, just without the specific appreciation for his artistic habits. The continual presence of warminds in his mind remained troublingas was how he casually produced a node of Emotion. Something was in play behind the scenes. Something he didnt have perspective on. But though he might be lost, that didnt mean he couldnt retaliate with a surprise of his own *** Loading into Stormjumpers once more, Avo guided his avatar through the crowds as he caught up to the Infacer. +Vator Greatling and his father has compromised by Noloth.+ Peace roared with outrage. [AVO! YOU COCKSUCKING FUCC] The EGI managed two more steps before they stopped dead. {You are certain.} Other players surged past them. The announcer blared their declaration. +THIRTY SECONDS, JUMPERS! TO YOUR CASTERS! DEPLOYMENT IMMINENT!+ +Can feel the warminds in him. Also has a warmind of Emotion. Claimed it was captured.+ The Infacer absorbed the information instantly. {Well. Things are certainly going down one of the stranger Paths.} Stranger Paths +Veylis predicted this?+ {There was a chance. Just not a very high one. But then again, we were missing a great many variables about you, were we not, Dreamer? Our hunters were far too slow. Far too slow.} +And now theyre not your hunters anymore.+ {No. But they still make wonderful bait. I am curious, though. Why tell me?} +We are enemies; they are a mistake.+ +FIFTEEN SECONDS!+ The EGI laughed. {Oh. It is one of those cases. I suppose it is the nature of all spawn to rage against their progenitors. But I suppose you would also prefer them cleansed for when the real war starts. And you are trying to use me or Veylis to solve this problem for you?} +Maybe. Or maybe I want to see if you already know. If this is actually your design.+ +TEN SECONDS.+ The Infacer sighed as they sent him a final cast. {There are more players in this war than you know, Dreamer. But Veylis thanks you for this service; well send your regards to the Agnos.} *** [Was that a wise?] Draus asked. The submind with Green River considered her question. +No. Its just a start. Going to shadow the Greatlings now. Watch them. See what Veylis does. Or doesnt. River. Will be helpful if you could spend more time with them. Keep them in your proximity.+ +We are of a mind,+ Green River said, running her fingers across Vators offering. A quiet dread was beginning to build in her as well, but she kept in check. While triumph bloomed from the submind accompanying Tavers, Avos current self continued watching Vator Greatling. There was more than one unseen hand now recruiting soldiers to their cause. 27-5 The Coming of the Hour +Were taught how to mend before they start instructing us on traumas. Theres a point to this. It instills in you a kind of appreciation for the minds structure. Its not like the bodytheres a lot more commonality between meat. Every mind, however, is a bit different their own way, governed by internal obsessions, beliefs, shaped by differing memories. Every person is a little kingdom unto themselves. And every person breaks different as well. The first person you learn to mend is yourself. Thats the qualifying course, actually. An experienced Incubi cell cracks you just enough to leave you on the verge of madness and catatonia, and you find your own way back. I spent the better part of a month crawling through the broken recesses of my own mind, remembering what emotions went where, rebuilding my sequences like something between an architect who only had demented puzzle pieces to play with. Even after spending an entire lifetime as myself, I still found me a stranger. I still failed to put certain pieces back. I fill those with other things. Or remembered them. Some like to think of it as the first real battle scar they get to wear, but I disagree. Its a lesson: what isnt precious enough to retain is lost, and everyone loses something when theyre broken. Because short of you being able to rule your own mind like a tyrant, how do you define what memories have value until theyre gone?+ -Osai Norogambe, Incubus 27-5 The Coming of the Hour As Avo stepped through the open doorway, he felt himself pass from one threshold of space to another. The Heaven at work in this place was Sphere Two, and the miracle it performed as a simple one: creating a one way path for a physical entity to travel across. As his step finished, the doorway behind him became a wall, he suddenly found himself standing in a pristine, white chamber with multiple holocoated figures casting commands into hovering loci consoles on the walkway above. More consequently, his position on the DeepNav shot from a gang-run megablock in the Spine of the Warrens to the Hailuo district in the No-Dragons majority owned Veinsea Sovereignty. It didnt take much deductionmostly thanks to Hysteria giving him more than a few overt glimpses into their mindsto know that most of the twelve shrouded individuals working in this room were No-Dragon assets moonlighting for Tavers. Overhead, Avo spotted a massive organ composed primary of augmented gray matter. Its been some time since he dealt with an exomathsince his Bone Demon sheath augmentation. Tendrils of flesh extended from it, and synaptic oscillations danced through its many limbs, splashing the room in intermittent flashes. A few in particular stretched as a series of cords, fusing with the eyes, nose, ears, and skull of a nude man left submerged in amniotic fluids. From them, Avo read the faintness of a Frame from them using his Conception of Ontology, and knew them to be Eurun Tavers a Godclad. Just as his mother claimed. Taking in his mind, Avo had to suppress a chuckle. Compared to the Gatekeeper, the boy was practically intact. Sure, there were entire sections missing from his accretion, and some of his sequences swayed free like tendons unlatched from an arm, but Avo had expected far worse. The old squire herself was standing just a few steps away from the thaumaturgically altered organ. She angled herself to face him without fully turning and shot him a grateful nod. You got here quick. You called. I answer. Least I can do. And not really much time for peace left. Going to make things right for whoever I can before what follows. Tavers let out a breath. You know, I survived four of these damned wars. Knew there was going to be a fifth coming, but I just didnt quite expect to be so directly acquainted with the one planning to set it off. Acquainted. All we are now, Tavers? The old squire had a habit of squinting her eyes when she laughed. This is practically a declaration of love, coming from a squire. Most of the ones worth their salt, anyway. There are no permanent allies or enemies. Just interests, players, and the game. Her words implied one thing, but her mind sang with an alternate resonanceits melody one of hope and gratitude. Legend though she was, Tavers was human, and by fulfilled want would Avo cement her loyalty to him in ways, absolute, righteous, and pure. Dont mind the help, Taver said, gesturing to the Sang. Theyre eunuchs. Dont got eyes, ears, nosesnothing. Got em as part of a promised package for this job. Their minds are tied straight to the exo-math, and keeping my boys the only reason theyre still around. [A better fate than most,] both Elegant-Moon and Green River remarked concurrently. It took a considerable transgression for the Sang to condemn one to endure the fate of a eunuch. Most had what remained of their life spent in experiments, while others were partially lobotomizedthought-castrated as their specific subtype was referredand tied to a specific system. For all of Ori-Thaums dominion of the Nether, Avo increasing found himself preparing to face the No-Dragons. Of all the Guilds, they were the ones he understood the leastand thus was the least ready to face. He needed to find more angles on them. But that was for the future, right now, he had a debt to repay. A salvo of splinters broke free from his mind and injected themselves into Euruns cognitive wounds. The mans inner world mingled with Avos Soulscape as templates, ghosts, and Heavens poured forward. Beginning the dive through a relatively intact memory, Avo found himself nested within Eurun when he was but a toddler. A resonance trembled from this memory, and along its length extended more sequences, some severed, some intact. It began with the boy staring up at his mother, Quail Tavers, who looked down at him with a wry grin and folded arms. They were standing on the second floor of a large two-story apartment, and below, hundreds of aratnids were scurrying out from the boys former playpen, had entered the room through a hole in the ceiling *** C[Eurun]C The child that was Eurun hiccuped as he finished with his fear-triggered tantrum. As his breathing calmed, his mother ruffled his tuft of hair, and then proceeded to hand him a stick. You feeling raw? Y-yuh, Eurun managed, though his stomach still felt unsettled. Every time he blinked, he saw those legs crawling all over him, the eight-eyed rats screeching at him. His screams brought mom to him, same as they always did, but this time, she moved faster than he thought she couldfaster than he could see. Mom was the best; mom wasnt afraid of anything. Mom was going to get rid of those horrible spider-rat things. Looks like someones going to be getting their ass kicked later. Dumb fucker lied to me when they said this place was vermin-bombed. Ah, well. Looks like it''s you and me, kiddo. Think we can get this done before Hester gets home. Hester. Euruns older brother. He did stuff with mom too. But mom said he was a jock. He was a lot older than Euruna lot bigger too; he only came home at night usually, and he smelled pretty bad then. He and mom yelled at each other a lot. Eurun didnt like that. Eurun? mom said. You listening. He looked up at her and shook his head. She told him she liked honest little boys. She closed her eyes and just shook her head. Well, you had to get something from your useless bastard of a father. Try to pay more attention, juv. Itll keep you alive someday. Years later, when Eurun accepted a session from an unknown benefactor, he would learn the true weight of his mothers words in full. Okay, he said, nodding right after. Now, Tavers said, kneeling down next to him, showing him her metal spitter, heres what were going to do. Im gonna get the big ones, and you can get the little ones. Now, the first floor is sealed off, and I got sensors placed in the space above, so Im guessing they probably came in through one of the pipes. What were going to do first, she pointed across the room, back to the hole above his playpen. Is plug that up. Then you and I are going do some mommy-Eurun bonding time. Hows that sound? Below, the spider-rat things made loud noises. A bigger one was biting into a little oneshaking them. Blood. So much blood. Eurun whimpered and stepped back away from the gaps between the rails. No. No. But mom only laughed at that. Yeah, theyre pretty nasty critters, Ill give you that. But thei citys filled with people like them. That statement was beyond horrifying to Eurun. Theyre everywhere. Oh, yeah. Even sneakier too. But the thing is, Eurun, if you dont kill them, theyll spread across your house, piss, shit, breed across everything. And then theyll get it in their heads that you belong to them too. Me? Eurun whimpered. Yeah. Its real bad out there. But you want to know something? You can make those nasty shits fear you too. Eurun just looked at his mother. She held up a finger and told him to wait. A moment later, she came back from her other room, and she held something out to him. It was knife. One of her singing knives. The kind mom slapped his hand for touching before. Singing knife! he cried, excited.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Yeah. Singing-knife. Remember our deal, alright. I get the big ones. You get the little ones. Keep your hand around the hand and cut them slow. Slow. No thrusting. No wild swings. You dont do it like that, youll be stepping on them. You step on them, and well have to get you new shoes. And you like these shoes right. Eurun did. He nodded. But part of him understood his mother wanted him to go out. To help her kill the monsters. But there were so many and the legs. Im scared. I know. Thats why were doing this. Because everyones scared. But not everyone does something about it. She guided him back to the edge of their second-floor balcony and pointed to the corner of the room. There, she made him look at something he left behind. Naeko, he muttered. They forgot his Chief Paladin plushie when they got away. Oh no. Not oh, no, Tavers said. Now what? If we dont get him, the spiders get to have him. Are you going to let the spiders have your friend, Eurun. He was scared. But Naeko wasnt. Naeko was still flexing. Naeko had the biggest muscles, and his face didnt change even when one of the rat-spiders jumped on him. Right then, something solidified within Euruna foundation of character that would follow, sharpen, change, and grow for all his memories to come. No. Hes mine. We go get him! His mother laughed again. Thats right, Eurun. We go get him. Now. You stay in front of me so I can see what youre doing. Ill be right behind you *** The outline of Euruns template began to form. The broadness of the mans behavior was imprinted within the Soulscape. With this, Avo had an understanding of who he was rebuilding. An imprint to follow. +Hello, Eurun,+ Avo greeted, layering his Splinters over missing artifacts and carrying disconnected moments back to where they belonged. +Lets see how whole I can make you. Would be interesting to introduce you to the Chief Paladin as well. Maybe he can sign your merchandise.+ Inside Avos mind, Kassamon snorted. [Yeah, I doubt it. Naeko hates those things. He refuses to even look at them.] +NaNaeko?+ The faintness of Euruns thought followed, and the mans mind was mostly lost in an instinctive haze. Where their awareness was scattered and drifting upon tides of incoherence, the structure Avo was returning to them began a light on the surface of the water. Consciousness was slowly returning with each piece of Eurun that fused back into place. *** C[Essus]C Essus watched the last smugglers mind come asunder with a vindictive delight. For over a week, he worked without sleep, making contacts with the various outfits trafficking things and people between the sanctuaries and New Vultun proper. It tore at him every time he had to deal with the vultures, but it tore at him more to leave the children of this place unprotected. With the cadres most recent compromiseand the horrible news of Kaes capturehe committed to seeing his task done, even at risk to himself. Where he was enduring in the face of pain and trauma before, now, he found himself feeling beholden to the people of these miserable outposts. People like him with too much hope or desperation, and not enough sense. Fathers. Mothers. Children. There was purpose in his deeds here, something he never knew in his life. But he never expected his work to be approaching its end so soon. And, to his bitter awe, the merit belonged more to Avo than it ever did him. The monster that Essus once regarded as his savior and friend was evolving too fast for the former refugee to keep up. As Essus stood at the open doorway, he watched the six smugglers seizure on their jack stations, minds shattering and reforming. A new substance filled their halos as they ceased their struggles, and the yolk of their thoughts smoothed. As one, all of their heads rose and looked to Essus. Good job. Avos echoing voice thrummed more from the minds he seized than the bodies he puppeted. Have a trace on the children theyre smuggling as well. Havent been sold yet. Casting the information to one of the Chamberses. He will intercept. Good, Essus said, nodding quietly. A flashing grid of neon swept along the foil-wrapped windows. The housing unit felt cramped to him, and after his tenure under Mirrorhead, he preferred more open spaces. With the Heaven Avo granted him, he was always a door or gate away from escaping. By simply stepping through, he could pass from one threshold to another. But what did that say about him, that even as a god, the greatest gift he deserve was to be the lord of escapees? The lord of cowards. Youve done a good thing. A brave thing. Avos voice was low and calming. He was increasingly good at understanding Essuss moods now. Too good; too much insight. Uncannily inhuman in an inverted way from the impatient monster he was before. Was still a lot of risk letting you skirmish like this. Even if you are passing in an out of sanctuaries. Even with me watching you. Did you truly need me for this? Essus asked. Need? No. Wanted. And you helped. But you needed something more than pain.So, in the end, it was pity. It was more than pity. It was purpose. You are still here. There are still more choices to make. Even when the sanctuaries are cleared. Especially when the war begins. Essus gave a flat laugh. I am no warrior, my friend. Not unless you make me one. Only if that is your desire. And to his shame, Essus didnt desire it. He had no taste for the blood, hated every life he took while enslaved. If there was the need, he would fight. He would kill. But short of there being anything else he could do A lot of people are going to die, Avo said. The statement held a tone of expectation behind it. Well try to claim the Warrens. Establish foothold there and through Scale. But there are the helpless. Children. Families. Those who cant fight. They will need a place to go. And our enclave is exposed right now. Migrations might be in order. New places for people to stay. New sanctuaries. True ones this time. And you wish for me to be a part of this? Essus asked. You walked the Sunderwilds. Youve been a refugee. You suffered. Suffered true like so many others. And survived. You are closest to humanity among our cadre. Your mortality matters more than your divinity. There is a symbology to what you can represent. A hearth for people to seek. I want to give you a gift. I want to improve your Heaven. Grant you another one. And I want you to find a place for the helpless and build new homes for them. Homes. Many. Give them space. Give them room. The sheer weight of such a potential responsibility left Essus unbalanced. I I do not think I have the mettle to be ruler. Then dont be. Just be a guide. Just show them the way. I will help you. Dice will help you. Voidwatch will help you. Not alone. I can even expand your consciousness. Multiply your egos. But only you have the symmetry needed for this. The man swallowed and bowed his head. A memory greeted him, a moment between him and his son after the tragic loss of his love. He told the boy stories of the great city of endless steel how the savior who broke tyrants dwelled there, and how miracles flowed like rivers down a stream. He didnt believe it at the time, but the boy needed something; he couldnt bear to see the light die in him. And somehow, through that, he thought he understood Avo just a bit more. Preserve the flame. Then, let us be rid of the rot first, Essus said. Let us be done with the termites before we speak of building a new shelter. As one, the claimed smugglers smiled. Wont be long now. Not long at all. *** C[White-Rab]C The thug trying to drive his frequency blade into Raldis throat splattered apart the moment he activated Avos session. One moment, the man was there. The next, a torrent of slavering ghosts erupted out from Raldis accretion, stripping his assailant from the world. Taking in a breath, the Necrojack known as White-Rab looked up and studied the rest of the junkies group. All of them were decapitated. Five heads near five bodies, severed clean by the straight edge of their aero. Cutting people to pieces with geometry was never not going to be cool. +Howd this happen,+ Avo said, a teasting tone thundering forth from their mind. +Didnt expect you to nearly get murdered by some Joyfiends. Would be embarrassing. For me. Have to claim we are unrelated.+ Kiss my ass, White-Rab sighed, rubbing at his neck. Its bad luck. Pure and simple. I spent the better part of two days dodging Incubi, Regularsfucking made out Highflame and Stormtree cadres hunting me. You got all kinds of half-strands after me, you know that? A few steps beyond, the midnight streets flashed and dimmed with passing aeros. A nest of aratnids chewed on some grubs they found in the corner. Next to White-Rab was a door with a phantasmal sign stating +Private Invite Only.+ Inside was a quaint little joint owned by one Tungsten Fragersa place offering jack stations for rent and coffin cots for a nights sleep. Basically paradise for a Necro on the run. Or as close as one can get, anyway. White-Rab had just stashed his fleeing kit and created a session with one of the stations as a proxy when he ran into the druggies right outside. That was all it was: dumb luck. They were juicing Joy in the wrong place at the wrong time. He just so happened to have a call to make. +Though you were going to meet up with Tavers,+ Avo asked. Too hot. Had to bail. Everything Lights End and up is either huddled tight like a fortress under siege or crawling with hostile jacks. I mean, fuck, Avo, what did you do, other than ruin my good name in front of the High Seraph. He let out a shaky breath. Yeah, he was a bit pissed about that. He had a good thing going. High fucking Seraph thought he had her Frame. Jaus. +Past that now,+ Avo said. +She knows about me. And she has Kae. Scales compromised. Wars going to be starting very soon.+ Suddenly, White-Rab felt very happy about fleeing the Tiers. Well. You didnt waste any time escalating, huh? +No other Path left. I seek to win this war. This is what follows.+ A beat followed. +Do you want to spend a night at somewhere with more space than an aratnid nest. Hells yeah. +Thought so. Going to arrange passage for you. And+ Avo hesitated. +Reva. Have you heard from her recently.+ White-Rabs gut tightened. Yeah. But shes under watch. Real tight watch. Shes going to be at the trial. +I know. Ill do what I can to keep her alive.+ White-Rab breathed. For a second I thought you were going to ask me to Already know your answer to that. Wont force that on you. And shes already under suspicion anyway. Have another way to get at Stormtree.+ Alright, that soundswait, what? Who? +Wouldnt know her. Good with a guitar, though.+ 27-6 The Midnight Path Power does not prepare one for rulership or control. This is something that one can observe in a god, but only truly learns firsthand. To wit: consider how most understand power. Power, in the conception of the common person, is an expression of dominance. To control or inflict change on a level beyond another. Power looks like a giant stepping on an ant. Power looks like a storm smiting a ship and damning its passengers to the tides. Power is a chosen queen looking down upon her subjects. Contaminated by this pattern of thinking, most of the gods we develop are forged thusly as entities of brutal force. Such lends poor to the nature of our world. Such was why the ancient wars last ages and centuries. How common a thought is it to believe in a god that grants miracles to bless your spears with the ability to pierce any armor, or armor to deflect any blow? And how often do you think two such gods stood before one another on the battlefield. Far too many times. And far too many meaningless paradoxes. Inevitably, such gods are devoured ones that mantle the architecture of existence with greater complexity. And in them, I believe a certain truth is glimpsed. Destruction is but a minor facet of power. It takes far less understanding or energy to deform a shape or damage is structure. A single column blown free from a tower can send it crumbling down, and such takes far less effort than the process of building that tower. And then the destroyer inevitably finds themselves the tower in another metaphor; perhaps a God of War meeting their end as their people starves feebly, trapped in an eternal border threshold by a passing God of Prisonsor a God of Space. If one wishes to reign, then they cannot merely be a force that breaks, but also one that understands how to build, how to shape, how to establish systems, and fashion a construct of sense from chaos. It is in this belief, that I conceive the ultimate god conceivable by man: not a thing of devastation or even a master of time, but a god that harkens to the minds that govern our erstwhile kin from the void: a God of Order -Jaus Avandaer 27-6 The Midnight Path C[The Uplift]C +Just kill them.+ Such were the first coherent thoughts cast by the now self-aware kitten. For hours, the uplift followed the girl up and down, back and across the stupid city several times, helping the stupid whining people who just couldnt stop fighting each other. It was ridiculous. Absurd, even. Instead of doing something more useful, like spending time hunting for plump a juicy vermin or offering scratches, the girl was consumed by the need to watch over these stupid, stupid people. And then there was all the whining and crying. Wah! Wah! I was a special person who was bright from the upper city! Now I have to live with the people in the pits! Wah! Or I hate the upper city! They ate my food and their dogs ate my children! Wah! Wah! The kitten paused and reconsidered that last part. Okay, having ones young be eaten by those ugly dogs would be quite upsetting. But still, the kitten couldnt understand why this was the girls problemthese people didnt even offer anything. They were just mouths to feed and time to waste. As the kitten finished its thoughts, the girl slowed, the blinding shape hovering above their had fizzling out from sight. You spoke, the girl chimed, turning to face the kitten she wore like a backpack. +Of course I spoke. Nothing else was getting your attention!+ The kitten mewed with distaste. +I tried swatting at them, urinating at them, hissing at them. And you just kept missing my message: why are we doing this? Why are we spending so much time helping this stupid, ugly, stupid, whiny, stupid, foul-smelling people.+ Eyeing the faint smoke-like wisps wrapping around their thoughts, the uplift glared at the nothingness around them and felt a curiosity wash over them. +And I know youre there too: ugliest creature. Come out from the smoke, so I might swat you. And get rid of these terrible, terrible arms you left fused to my back.+ The wisps coiled around the kitten and wriggled up like a rush of worms, crawling through Dice. The girls mechanical head shifted. You dont like the arms? The kitten yowled with open outrage! It was like no one was listening! +Of course no I dont like the bloody arms. Would you want someone else to add two dog-paws on your back? Feel them bounce around as you run, ruining your balance, getting in your way, stopping you from squeezing through crevices! I mean, what was that fat idiot thinking, giving those to me. He must have been so stupid that the flying slugs eating his body must have also drank in his raw stupidity as well!+ Then, they recalled that they fed off some of those insects to survive, and licked their nose. +I do suppose stupidity is rather juicy. Say, can I have a bite of one of the people to see they are as well.+ Low, hissing laughter washed into the kittens mind like water flooding into its ears. Oh, good, the tall ugly thing was trying to wear its mind again, making changes. +Good,+ tall-ugly said. +Very good. Cognition forming nicely. Thoughts no longer fragmented. Flowing.+ +But youre still ugly and horrible. Why dont you change yourself, too? Make yourself something nicer. Like a juicy slug I can chew on.+ Tall-ugly grunted. +Might want to adjust its attitude.+ +How would that help? You would still be tall and ugly even if I were to change.+ C[Avo]C [Ah, the cats a fuck; what a surprise,] Peace chuckled. +Not really,+ Avo muttered inwardly. But it was still a good sign. The creature had a tangible personalitystill substantially more predatory than a human, and lacked the comparative emotional bandwidth, coherent. {Ah, it felt like just yesterday whenoh, wait, it was practically just yesterday.} Only Way To Be Sure sighed in the back of Avos mind. {Science sure does move fast.} [Thaumaturgy could have done it immediately if we understood the principles,] Kae murmured. [Its not like we cant make an animal talk.] . Yes. But talking and true intellect were very different things. The kittens mind held true shape now. Enough to bear a Liminal Frame, if judged by Avo. But there was no need to risk anything; best to ensure the uplifts full maturation before performing the Ensouling. The kitten frowned out at Dice as the girl bounced it in her hands. They were halfway up a ramp connecting rungs four and three of the enclave, with Dice just finished dealing with a dispute between the light-blessed and dark-touched who were damned to live in the shadows. Avos mem-cons reduced the inflammation of violence, but tensions still burned between the populace. Despite their mutual animosity, all took to greeting Dice and the cadre with reverenceand a great deal of fear. +Have been doing quite good. Managing conflicts well. People listen to you.+Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Dices triangular sensory module titled, her perception still fixed to the cat. Their leaders are afraid of me. And they listen to their leaders. And their leaders will listen to me. So they listen to me. She placed the kitten back in her backpack and began her journey toward where Avos mind-shaped tower rose. People are a lot like dogs in some ways. He grunted in slight agreement. +Keep watching the kitten. Talk to them. Continue as you are. Should be good for its development.+ Dice responded with a nod, her heels clicking against the ground fastthe closest she could ever come to genuine happiness. When can he get his Soul? Avo was an about to respond, but the cats thoughts came first. +Why wait? Now! I already feel like a god; making me must be the right choice.+ +As soon as I am sure his mind is fully stable. Dont want to risk any ego damage before intellectual development finds a baseline.+ As Avo spoke, an imprint of the cats mind slowly began forming in his Soulscape as well. [Well, you can never have enough pussy,] Chambers chuckled. Most of the other templates booed him. *** With the kittens development observed, Avo studied the other facilities of his enclave and considered next steps. The enclavers in his cycler farm would soon meet their New Vultunite counterparts for the first time. His focus had been stretched thin, even with ten subminds. It would be a good idea to assign a few copies of Elegant-Moon and Kae to work together on managing this place. [A word then, if I am to be your laborer,] Elegant-Moon giggled. [I wish for you to grant me what you are doing for the boy.] Avo drew in mem-data from his other submind; Euruns reconstruction was proceeding fast. An hour longer and most of the mans mind would be reconnected once more. There were parts of him that were irreparably lost; an unavoidable consequence of suffering entropy-inflicted ego damage. Interestingly, Avo found that he could sense what was frayed from Rend. This awareness was not a boon provided to him by his Definements, but a thing related to his current ontological architecture. As the Overheaven of Conceptualization, he bore trauma and entropy both in his wards, and thus did they resonate with the worst of Euruns wounds. The major moments of his life formed a compass to his overarching character, and between the Definements of Hysteria and Delusion, substance began to fill a mended mold. +Of course,+ Avo replied, thinking if he had been able to mend the Gatekeeper if Veylis wasnt dwelling inside it; about what it would take to restore Jaus if the time came. When the time came. [The horizon is to be considered by steps instead of thoughts,] Elegant-Moon cooed. [Do not worry about the greater tasks. Find your limits now. Solve them. That will give you insight into your uncertainty.] Her words rang true. But he was also aware of another angle she was playing. +Not going to be giving your copies Frames. Dont have enough resources yet.+ [Ah. You sadden me; I had to try.] [Also! Avo!] Kaes template chimed. [We should consider moving the dragon farms to a separate location in the Sunderwilds. With Essus.] Her suggestion made Avos mind suddenly still. Yes, that was a good idea. With all the choiceless gathered together, and under Essus as a guide, they would develop particular nuances in their culture. Clear and stable zeitgeists. +Not sure what we would do without you.+ Her template scoffed with indignation. [Just get me out of her clutches.] +Will do all I can.+ The rest of the enclave seemed stable. Beside the lingering tensions, the culture was stable, if shocked and stunned. They had been hit by calamity after calamity in the near-term, and numbness ruled their thoughts. If only this was the end. Soon, he would make them an offer for them to consider: to go found a new place of Peace with Essus, or to see what world they can forge in a land of absolute freedom enforced by ultimate consequence. Veylis or the Infacer were coming. They would destroy this place if only to inconvenience Avo, and he possessed little in the way of direct deterrence beyond Naeko. But it was folly matching force with force to ward off the High Seraph anyway. Asymmetry and subterfuge had seen him survive thus far; they guide him through the darkness ahead as well. Channeling his perception across the various installations he built in the Sunderwilds, he regarded his prisoners for the trial, the growing flood of refugees the various Chamberes were directing through Draus reflection, and the hanger that stored their voidshipundergoing software updates and some special modifications. {Do NOT tell Kant,} Only whispered. Avo sighed. Perhaps the best thing for him to do right now was to make copies of himself to spread across the city. The cadre was useful, but he was a glowing target. And when last he checked his brothers were still He paused. Avo synchronized with all his other streams of consciousness and frowned. There was a suspicious absence of ghouls across New Vultun. Two of his subminds briefly broke from creating more copies of the cadre to sweep the Warrens. Before, ghouls were like oil gliding between the cracks of the city, festering in the darkness of the gutters. There were still pockets of them. Mostly held in cages by organizations; stored in labs and used to train new Syndicate recruits. But a critical mass was missing, and as he delved into various minds to find a trace, he found them equally ignorant, and unnaturally unaware of the sudden diminishment of Noloths failed monsters. [Emotion,] Peace breathed. [Fuckers up to something. Probably been up to something since you gave the ghouls contagious cancer. Cold cunt. Did you even hesitate to do that to your own kind.] +No. Just a mistake to be rectified. No culture. No future. No choice.+ He cast what he noticed to the rest of his cadre, a groan came from the original Chambers while suspicion rose in Draus. +Fucks he doing now?+ +Uncertain. Be ready.+ +Great,+ Marlowe sighed. +So are we expecting a part to the Uprising.+ +No. Uprising was incompetent. Unsuccessful. Emotion has changed. Is doing things I cant predict. Missing points of understanding. Need to be wary. Going to be making more changes. Insulate from potential counterattack. Already have Green River shadowing the Greatlings. Know Vator to be subverted.+ +Fuck. Course Emotion picked the godsdamned weird one.+ Draus sighed. Strangely, Cas went cold. +Vator Greatling A few of my cells went missing because of him. Our young consang heres been a fucking monster long before your Famines ever touched him.+ Of that, Avo was not surprised. But thinking back to the boy''s attention to artistry, the way his mind drifted and accelerated as he took the world in, Avo wondered if there was something different about him to begin with. Something distant from humanity, but analogous. Like a ghoul. Whatever the case, this was just another problem for him to deal with. The building apprehension in his mood only broke when one of his subminds secured White-Rabearning a collective cheer from his cadre as his progenitor cast in for the first time in days. Things were constantly changing. He was not the only one arraying his forces, and worse, there was a risk he could be suppressed by the Famines in the Nether would overwhelmed by the Guilds in ways material or thaumaturgical. He needed to continue building his advantages and keep his foes confused. If there was one thing he could take from Emotion, it was ignorance. Ignorance preserved, and the unexpected could be The unexpected. Slowly, a though sparkled in his mind, and he turned his perception up. Up through the dome of the enclave. Up past the ruptures lining reality. Until a sequence of his being was stretching to the threshold where the air thinned and the atmosphere ceased. Beyond that point was the void. This was where the last remnants of hold humanity hid, huddled on their grand voidships, living lives of luxury and promise the terrestrials couldnt even dream. This was also where he was going to declare himself a politythe EGIs thought he was going to use Threshold, but the virtual was not enough to convey his intent. And as he considered his present situation, he hadnt been considering all his options either. Somewhere inside his Soulscape, the Heart of Noloth wriggled, and theoretical patterns tied to its future evolution blossomed in his consciousness. He wanted Kae to help him make a Heaven of the Void before her capture. His intent remained unchanged; more, it was amplified. He could further the concept, make it a truly potent and esoteric Heaven, and wield it in ways no Guild would soon counter. Turning his gaze downward, he looked upon the enclave again, and saw how small it was in the grand scheme of things. Just a speck on the land. Just a dot amidst frayed seams resembling eldritch tendrils across the shape of reality. How hard would it be for him to store an enclave in his mind? How many thaums would it cost? [It could theoretically be one now, but the Rend cost and the thaumic requirements mind and matter are far apart, Avo.] Kae strained her mind as she thought of potential canons. [It is a good thought] +How efficient would it be for me to bring the void down to the planet. Or hide part of the planet in the void instead?+ Kaes mind went entirely still at that. +I+ A bit of embarrassment overcame her. +I wouldnt know where to begin. The void is not my discipline of focus.+ +Its fine. We can learn together.+ With his internal dialogue finished, Avo called upon Calvino privately. +Calvino. Have a favor to ask+ 27-7 Shaped by Another Heres a bit of advice youll get from me about having kids in this line of work: dont. Take it from me. Youll fuck up their life. Theyll fuck up yours. No one ends up happy. Being a legendary squire or some nova-hot Necro? Some Godclad with impossible power? That shits just for your enemies and allies. With family, its just an anvil around you neck. Theres no normal life to be had if you want to be in the snuff-game. None. -Quail Tavers when asked about children 27-7 Shaped by Another C[Eurun]C It felt like waking up after being drowned. For hours, months, years, Eurun floated in the dark, unable to focus, unable to stay tethered to himself or any of his memories. Everything came in broken instances: Shapes, sensations, then gone. Afterward, he was in the deep again, waiting for a moment to surface. Sometimes, there would be a period in which he would be aware of himselfsense his surroundings, feel the fluid touching his skin. He struggled to hold on during those times, but the waves always pulled him under as soon as he lost focus. Then he lost who he was again. He thought today was going to be another one of those moments. But there was something different; someone else was in his mind with him. Someone else that reconnected all the recollections he could, someone wrapping him in struggle, keeping him leashed to awareness. The first memory that came back to him was his earliest, when he was just a child, watching the aratnids spill through the roof into his playpen. He would never forget that, never, not unless every bit of him was destroyed. From there, his memories jumped. He was in a crashing aero, aiming for a Syndicate transport; he was gunning down enforcers in mid-air, diving after them as burning transports fell from the sky; he was torturing a man to impress some of his consangs, trying not to throw up as his victim screamed and begged. He was coughing blood and limping away from the circuits, his shiv buried in the throat of an unmoving Scaarthian. In all these memories, he heard the skittering of the aratnids. They were taunting him. The little bastards were there, like vermin spread across his entire life. Everything he did, he did to live up to that moment, to kill the little fuckers before they took his world before they took his mothers respect for him. It took a hell of a lot to be a worthy son to one Quail Tavers. Tavers. His mother. She was here. He knew that somehow. Close enough that he could sense her. He knew she was watching him. She didnt look aged, but something about her eyes made her seem older. He knew that look Oh, gods. Not again. Once again, mom had to clean up his mess. Stupid Eurun, idiot Eurun, just-like-his-dad, Eurun. His thoughts were beginning to flow coherently. He remembered all his attempts to impress his mother, to being a squire like her: killing random street toughs, going after Syndicates and Fallwalkers. Anything to prove himself worthy of the name. The little aratnids he could handle. But she was still getting the big ones. Still doing all the actual work. So, he ended up joining the circuits to earn a name. He fought in the Blood Games, and got called Eurun the Eradicator for a time. Chainsaw helmet for intimidation and showmanship. High-end bio-augs. Not a hint of chrome on his skin. No one expects to be torn apart by the flat until their skin unlatches and the Sang-shit comes out. He killed a lot of people during those days. Most of them deserved it, some just didnt have anyplace better to be. But the circuits gave him a way out, the circuits gave him purpose, and focus, and eventually, a Frame. The Fallwalker who faced him that day in Hseagyr thought they had him. They were a Godclad, and he was an ephemeral. But death comes with every mistake, with every slip and instance of overconfidence. They didnt manage to kill him fast enough with their flames, and didnt take him seriously enough to manifest. They died first, he followed, and what ended was one of the most high profile usurpations recorded on the Nether. That caught the attention of a Highflame Guilder, and they got in touch with him. Said they were interested in potentially brining him in. He thought they wanted to make him a full citizenan Instrument or something. He drank himself to death three times celebrating right after he finished the cast, but then he spoke to mom, and all he got from her was anger. Stupid Eurun, idiot Eurun, just-like-your-father Eurun. I didnt burn my life doing runs so you could go sell yourself to the Guilds and be their dog, she said, more livid than he ever remembered her being. All his life, he just wanted to make her proud, to carry the weight of her legend and shadow. But in the end, he was just Eurunhis fathers son. And that was a bit too much for him to take. He said things to her afterward. Shit he couldnt remember, but hurt all the same. He asked her why she wanted to be a moment when she liked holding guns more than him or his brothers. Whats the point of having kids if she just wanted to be a squire? He asked if it was because she wanted her own dogs? People who would believe in her and follow her no matter whatand wouldnt leave her like dad did? She hit him. He ran. She cast. He didnt answer; he took the Guilders gig out of spite. And that ended up being the last mistake he could remember. Thing was, Highflame wasnt looking to recruit some new Godclad, but were finding useful dying meat for an upcoming raid on an Ori-Thaum embassy. Something deniable, with someone disposable. They found that in Eurun and a few other Fallwalkers. They got together like they were a cadre, and got all amped about how many thaums they were going to claim that day. But they were compromised before their run even began. The others died seconds after the fighting started. Eurun managed to keep himself from getting nulled through their subverted intelligence assets thanks to the wards he kept inside his mind as well. But that only kept him alive for a bit. Crawling out of his downed transport, he saw nukes hammer down against the Oris forces, but they were ready for it. Just as they were paranoid enough to have their own cadre in reserve. Highflames actual assault cadres came a minute later, and Eurun tried to join them, thinking that he was going to distinguish himself somehow. But again, the skittering sounded in his head. It was his role to get the little ones. The little ones. Leave the big ones to mom. Because he was a little aratnid. Because he wasnt a legend, and never had it in him. He didnt fall in some mythical last stand; he was at fifty percent Rend with two golems melted by his fires when a layer of reality fell down from the sky and buried him in an ocean thereafter. Death came immediately after, and when Eurun crossed over, not all of him came back after the resurrection. C[Avo]C +Holy shit,+ Shotins actual self muttered, reviewing the memories Avo sent. +I remember this guy. Yeah. The Incubi said there was a hit coming in on my bond-brother, and I ended up joining in on the fun to ruin the Golds day. This juv was screaming his head off, blasting people with fire near the front door of the embassy when I stacked him with my Parallelist. Fuck. Didnt know he was Tavers son.+ +Small city,+ Avo deadpanned. As he stitched a few final sequences back together, Euruns thoughtstuff began to flow smooth across the channels of his mind. All that was needed now was some time to adjust, and the mind should be stable.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Avos Definements worked perfectly for this task. Ignorance whispered to him details he was missingthings that were hard to find. Delusion allowed him to reshape and form what was lost in Eurun; Hysteria filtered the intensity of moments and specific sequences, separating the pillars from the supports. And then there was Pre-Cognition. For all that was utterly destroyed by entropy, Avo rebuilt by simulating all the variables he did know in his Soulscape. Entire battles, relationships, adventures were reformed based on recreations of time and concept. What Eurun would soon recall might not be the exact truth of his life, but it was close enough to bridge all his sequences together with any hint of insanity. The ego was stable; the mind perceived, believed, and became. Despite this, Pre-Cognition was still heavy on the Rend, despite the simulations being entire mem-data sourced. REND CAPACITY - 45% Time was a vulgar, vulgar thing to wield. +Hello?+ Euruns voice came low and surprised, but Avo didnt respond immediately. He watched the mans thoughtstuff come forth from the depths of his cognition. Stable. Steady. Good. Very good. +II can feel you here. Here with me. Whyhard to see. My head hurts. Feels like I just crawled out of a pit.+ Avo pulled his remaining Splinters away and chuffed with low satisfaction. +Not unexpected. Your ego was broken. Close to coming apart entirely. Will take you a moment to feel normal again.+ +But Im going to? Get back to normal?+ +Yes.+ +And I got you to thank for mending me, huh?+ +My efforts in the end. But your mother never stopped searching for help. To restore you.+ Several emotions sprang free from Eurun. Embarrassment.. Shame. Self-directed rage. And weakness. +She always has to do this always helping me fix my fuck-ups. Is is she out there right now? Just looking at me?+ +Yes,+ Avo replied. +Fuck. You know, I spent so long trying to get my mind back and wake up, but hearing that I kinda want to go under again.+ How very amusing. Humans put so much of themselves in their own efforts, actions, creations, and words, and used them to find connections with another. They shaped each other as they shaped themselves, desiring unity and individuality at the same time, community defining people; people defining community. The urge for a tribe was a weakness, strength, and raw culture in its operations. Human. What a thing to be. +You are trapped in a shadow, Eurun.+ Avo said, speaking plainly. +Saw your life. Saw you. Understand you. Going to keep a piece of you with me forever.+ The man just listened as he spoke. +Your not suited for being a squire. Not as you are right now. You are leashed to a pointed in time. You dont live in the world. You exist in your mindtry to force the world to feed your insecurities. Fears. Its why you hesitate.+ +Yeah,+ Eurun sighed, already aware. +But what am I supposed to do? Just let her legend crush me? Just be the idiot like my dad was while mom does all the important shit.+ +Your mother is not perfect. Her failings with your father do not belong to you. Marked you maybe. Dont belong to you. Her shadow isnt her legend. Her shadow is everything that she is. Everything she expects of you. Everything you believe she expects of you.+ A beat followed. +You are not without talent. Can fight. Can fight well. Good up close. Good when things get chaotic. Brave. But this isnt enough.+ +Nope.+ Eurun agreed, thinking on all his mistakes. +I freeze up too much. Make the wrong choices.+ +Because you dont face the problem. You imagine yourself to be your mother. Then you try to solve things as a poor imitation of her. Its why you tortured that man. Wanted to be hard. Unfeeling. Nove-hot and ice-cold at the same time. But you dont have it. You dont have the wrongness needed for the Warrens.+ The mans thoughtstuff stuttered. +Wait, youre saying Im not a good squire because Im mentally stable?+ +Im saying you are shaped properly for a human. Tavers raised you well. Gave you a good life. Most people dont have that. You are a whole person playing pretend with emotional cripples. And so you tear yourself to fit in.+ +...Jaus, consang, can you give a guy a moment to get his shit together before you start blasting him emotionally.+ +Not my intent. But going to tell you plainly because you have a chance at life. City has enough killers. Squires. Can run with them. Wont be them. Not unless your mind is reshaped. But your mother wont want that. Dont think you do now either.+ Eurun sighed. +But what else am I good for?+ Humanity was ridiculous. All the colors in front of them, and they claim there are none. +Go do something else. Find out. Can still be a warrior. Never told you to stop that. But hired killer? A hunter of other people? No. Not in you.+ +You know, all my life, I just wanted to live up to mom. Be the one to kill the big aratnids too. She was the one that saved Naeko in the end. You saw that, right? The moment where she got my doll back for me?+ +I did,+ Avo replied. Eurun sighed. +Fucking useless. Just like my dad.+ A near-trauma pulsed inside him, turning into a dull ache. +All I could think about the Chief Paladin would have been embarrassed to see me. Couldnt even be brave enough+ +He would have told you to not be like him.+ Avo said. +That is the truth.+ Eurun was silent once again. +Youre going to awaken soon. Ego is restored. In perfect condition. Mother is waiting. Life is waiting. Going to leave you now. Should talk to her. Face her. Face your thoughts. Dont let them just live in your head. Shape them before they shape you.+ A full template of Euruns ego formed then, and Avo began to recede. +Wait!+ Eurun called out. +Who are you? Whyd you do this?+ +I am merely will ascending,+ Avo said. +You will know my name soon enough. Did this for Tavers. It is not a favor. Not nearly enough to make up for how she aided me.+ +Yeah,+ Eurun said, mind a mix of sour and proud. +Thats mom.+ +Worried and tired. That is also mom. You are not alone under the shadow of her legend. Talk. Live. Stop wandering blind.+ And then Avo drew himself out from the mans mind, and gave a final cast to New Vultuns finest squire. +Its done. Hell be with you soon.+ +...Thanks, consang,+ Tavers said. +Thank me by being honest with him.+ He left before she could waste a response on him C[Eurun]C And then lights as Euruns eyes opened, and he found himself hovering in a cage of water. He paddled for a moment, kicked as he saw his mother. She reacted, breaking from her folded arm posture as she took a step forward. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes were wide, head whipping about. Frantic. He hadn''t seen her like that in years A dull thrumming pulsed against his skin; he heard a suckling noise coming around him as the water level began to drop. The fluid cupping his body was sticky and had a strange comforting scent, a smell he couldn''t quite describe, and after a while, he found himself lowered as the drain below him did its work. Pressures unlatched from his back and spine as the glass before him hissed open. The world was spinning. But somehow, Eurun stood. On shaking legs, he managed the first step, and groping blind, he took three tries to find the edge of the glass. Slowly, he pulled himself out from his erstwhile home, but nearly fell as he tried to find the ground outside. Two impossibly strong hands caught him. Hands he knew. Hands that held him under his arms, just like when he was a boy. As his vision cleared, Eurun found himself in a cold, pale room, face to face with his mother. The stranger was right: she looked tired. But her expression was otherwise stone-still and unshaking. Ever the squire. He winced then, preparing for her to yell at him, to talk about how he was just like his father. But none of that came. She just pulled him close. And he let her. After a minute of leaning against her, she spoke next to his right ear. You, my boy, are a damn fool. Thats more like it. Sorry. I guess I had to get it from somebody. Her embrace tightened. Yeah. I wish you were smarter like your father too, sometimes. Mightve made you wise enough to know when to run away. Eurun chuckled. And Quail Tavers was suddenly just mom once more. This resurrection wasnt so bad. 27-8 Behold the Nothing {You have no understanding of how far we have fallen. So far. The stars were but playthings. Batteries. Engines. The void was something to jaunt across. Mysteries were unraveled by the minutes and hours. All of existence was a canvas. We were learning to be painters we were realizing what it meant to paint But we could not agree on the colors. And we could not agree on the content. And we could not abide by the others holding a brush. So the strokes clashed. So the art smeared. So the canvas was burned. You have no understanding of what was lost.} -The Infacer to Jaus Avandaer 27-8 Behold the Nothing C[Avo]C +Man, theres like jack and shit up here,+ Chambers muttered, illustrating most of the cadres thoughts about space succinctly. +I guess we can count the Sunderwilds, but thats like considering a fungal rash part of your balls.+ Always remember to scrub with soap and apply the proper creams if you develop an itch. Fucktopia concurred. Remember, if you stay hard for your penis, it will stay hard for you. +Thats right, Fucktopia. Great message.+ Several heads turned within the Manta. Cas, Denton, Kaes template, Draus, and Avo remained unamused. Marlowetagging along in person for the first timejust laughed, gleeful and aglow at the novelty of her situation. Target? the Arsenalist said, materializing as a single autocannon pointed at Chambers and the throne of manifested cocks upon which he sat. Draus grumbled and warred against her impulses before responding. +No. No, not yet.+ The autocannon began making agitated bolt-racking noises in repetition. +Yeah, yeah, I know.+ One thousand and thirty kilometers above the city of light, the cadre observed a new frontier to occupy. The voidor space as it was formerly referredwas much as Chambers described: a vast expanse of blackness and bleeding entropy. Here, realitys canvas stood uncannily vacant, with patterns diminished, coldness dominant, and ruled by a symphony of silence. The only true points of separation were vast swaths of Rend-made scar tissue left on the tapestry, their flowing like rivers and tendrils, crossing impossible distances between the high nothing and the madness of Idheim below. Aside from a scant few Guilder drones and satellites skimming the dark, unable to notice the cloaked Aegis stealth ship, the void was a dormant place. It was an unoccupied place. And it was absolute perfect for Avos budding plan. The walls around their voidship turned transparent, while displays of perception augmenting icons overlaid themselves across the surfaces of the vessel. With but a thought, one could link their mind to the Mantas telemetries, perceive material existence across spectrums unfathomed by the basic human form; see further than even most Godclads could conceive. Today, though, Calvino commanded the helm of the ship and directed the cadres attention. Flashing reticles outlined the vagueness of a shape drifting in from far west of the planets boundary. For a moment, it was hard for even Avo to make out what was coming their way, and even extending his sequences out to dip into the fabric of ontology, thought it was but a simple hulk of drifting alloy left abandoned in the upper atmosphere. Then, its curving form came into shape, and Avo recalled a sight he saw months ago. A sight of holograms bath him, Draus, Essus, Little Vicious, and fallen form of Aurrie. There was an advertisement that called to them: a portrayal of New Vultuns hopeful future. A future that never was, thanks to Veylis betrayaland potentially even earlier. Who knew how much damage twisting the shape of existence through the past inflicted. [Who knows indeed,] Alysim said, his voice a distant echo, long past the point of bitterness. Through Avo, he enjoyed the present moment, nursing his wounded spirit on the sight of the infinite. [They never trusted us Chroniclers.] +The voiders?+ [Yes.] Avo grunted internally. +Made the right choice.+ [Such a thing is but perspective,] Alysim replied. +Your actions have only shown me fear and tyranny. When have you made something better without the possibility of claiming more control? I have your mind. Know what you would have tried to do. I let your mind be your own. Doesnt mean I have to accept your delusion in silence.+ The so-called wanderer tuned his attention deeper upon the nothingness once more, retreating from the conversation. +So,+ Cas said, studying the partially finished planetary ring with scorn, +this was supposed to be the Guilds big project? A giant fucking disc around the world for them live in like angels watching from above while inflicting fire and ruin from on high?+ The ships display zoomed in to the ring and showed the entire structure with crisp detail. Only a skeleton of a structure was completed. The bones of the planetary ring were approximately a fourth of Idheims entire size and were rowed by rails and columned by over four hundred thousand connective spines. {At current estimates, the project was only four percent complete before resources for its construction were diverted toward other projects.} Calvino sounded almost mournful. {It is a shame. The ring would have provided the world with a great deal more space and opportunity.} +Like theyd ever use that,+ Cas scoffed, speaking of the Guilds. Bitterness came from his mind like riffs from a guitar, constant, diminishing, rhythmic. Hysteria caught a glimpse of something from the mans pastsomething to do with his brother. The images were unclear, but there was pain, and Cas crying, watching a voidship burn while exorcist drones closed in. +We already have all the power we need to make wonders planetside. Its not about enough. Its about want. And they dont want. Theyll never want.+ Calvino didnt dispute this claim, but didnt agree with it either. Denton was characteristically quiet, but uncharacteristically studying Avo. He kept the form of Alysim aboard the voidship, but the bulk of his perception was directed wide, internalizing the patterns of the void alongside template Kae. Weight, sound, heat, and countless other Domains were vastly diminished in material reality. Signals remained. Bursts of radiation were ever-easier to sense. But there was something elsea persistent pattern that expressed itself as a branch connected to force. {Gravity,} Calvino said. {One of the four fundamental forces. Once upon a time, at least.} +Hidden science?+ Avo asked. {Not quite so. The Agnosi and other terrestrial scholars already have something of an understanding, but deeper theories and experiments still elude them, and there are concepts that we would dread their knowing.} +And us as well,+ Avo said, referring to himself and Kae as one. The EGI hesitated for a moment. {This will depend on your introduction to the broader cultures of Voidwatch. But I believe that if you are to expand your horizons to the void, you, with your Conception of Ontology, will glimpse things few might learn. More than a few, in fact. You have several objectives here, dont you.} +We all do,+ Avo said. A war was soon to begin, and he intended to do some very specific shaping during the days leading up to the trial. +Understand that you would prefer it if we didnt weaponize the void. Would lead to too much attention turning upward.+ {It would lead to some very pointed questions indeed,} Calvino said. +But colonizing the emptiness. There is nothing against that.+ {Not quite. It is accepted that the void and the Lagrange points are Voidwatch territory. We form escorts and provide more efficient engagement sectors for the Ensouled of the Guilds during the sporadic Godhunts, but few Godclads linger in this expanse.}Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. [The faiths across history dreamed of heavens filled with color and glory beyond the reach of the sky,] Kae murmured. [To imagine all that awaits is hollow was] +Perfect,+ Avo said. The Agnos offered him an arched eyebrow. +Paradise is ineffable. Most people cannot conceive of perfection. So they dont. So they speak only promise. So they hope for their dreams to be outdone. But here I see empty canvas. Darkness. Distance.+ Light seconds ahead, a scintillating beam slashed through the distant void. Even hundreds of kilometers beyond, Avo could feel pulsations across the tapestry from Domains of Light, the Unwhere carrying Elder DRongo, Abrel Greatling, and countless more in Paladin custody in a permanent prison. [Any chance I can convince you to spring me from jail,] Abrel deadpanned. Exhaustion crept into her thoughts. Her worry at her brothers compromise by Emotion was already extreme, and with each passing moment, the fear only grew. Avo didnt respond to her, rather, he addressed the cadre instead. +Here for a few things. Enclaves and other installations are compromised. Veylis knows our strategy. Will likely be reacting soon. Expect to be encountering her across the Sunderwilds on Idheim as well. Scramble to capture enclaves. Our advantage is the lockdowncant be complacent. Cant risk them locating us. Pinning us. Capturing any more of us. So. Going to change the game again.+ +Holy shit,+ Marlowe said, hugging her knees and letting out a girlish giggle. +Are we going to be colonizing the fucking void?+ +In some respect,+ Avo said. +Calvino.+ {Due to your attunement to the Nether, the broader polities of Voidwatch will be against interfacing with you directly. If we go a few light seconds further, cloaked satellites primed with persistent disruptions will render your minds clean of thought and unable to progress.| Draus scoffed. +Shit. How long have you half-strands been plainn to snuff the rotlick?+ The Regulars comment made Avo smirk using Alysims face. +It wasnt for me.+ She eyed him briefly and realized. +Ah. The Hungers, then?+ +Famines too. Ori-Thaum. Makes direct means of infiltration impossible.+ +So, we arent invited to the big party yet or something?+ Chambers asked. +No. But we will build our own house right in front of them. Establish a new area of influence.+ +And hows that?+ Draus asked. +Spoke to Naeko earlier. Willing to let us remodel his satellites a bit. Add some glass. Should make our own satellites too. Things that can be pulled into orbit. Fired from.+ Good, the Arsenalist boomed. +Youre trying to take the sky from the Guilds?+ Draus asked. +Much more than that.+ Reaching into his Soul, he pulled out a fistful of gnawing darkness rippling with synaptic currents. Heads tilted at him before realization hit Chambers first. +Hey, that shit looks like the outside of the George Washington.+ Avo grinned. +Oh, shit. Youre going to rebuild the George Washington up here?+ +No. I am going to make a Domain of the Void. And then I am going to hide us in it.+Silence lasted for a beat, but Draus and Denton experienced simultaneous realizations. +Well be able to stay spread out wide across the dark. Use the Sunderwilds up here for cover and rupture selective strands leadin down to the planet as well.+ As always, Draus thought like a weapon. +You want to blend with the darkness. You want to mantle the emptiness itself and use it as a vehicle. Or adapt its properties to your advantage and create a natural envelopment of the Guilds.+ Denton remained ever the spy. As the Heart of Noloth quivered atop his palm, Avo leaned in. +I intend to create several new Heavens.+ To his rear, the Daystar shimmered its oscillations of radiance, but Avo felt a twinge of something else building. +Will be learning aspects of the void under Calvinos supervision. Also engaging Only. Dont want to just set up a space colony. Want to set up a fluid network using the expanse itself. Use the sun. Use the void. Use the atmosphere. Use everything beyond the Guilds knowledge. Strike them at our leisure. Hold no ground otherwise.+ +Because even with all the shit that Guilds have, they cant possibly control so much of the void without running themselves dry.+ Chambers nodded, and the surrounding penises mimicked the action. +Very sneaky. And this will help us mess up the High Fuckess, right? Make it hard for her to track us once we go snatch Kae back?+ [Oh, Chambers,] the Agnos sighed. The former enforcer was a bit much at times, but his care was an undeniable fact. Her loss was a mistake to be made right by him, and tension gnawed at him with each passing second they spent preparing. +Partially,+ Avo said. +Mainly to ensure we have every advantage possible. Use canons alien to the Guilds. Concepts Voidwatch refuses to show them. Things Aegis is still deliberating on showing me. But can be learned.+ {Yes. Such is the wonder of observation and experience.} Calvino said. Denton frowned at that. +Its risky.+ {How so, operative?} Calvino said. {I am not revealing anything. Just supervising and informing Aegis on a timely basis. If anything, I am performing my expect specifications.} +First priority is transference,+ Avo said. +Planetary ring is partially finished. No life support. No source of food. But these can be constructed. Life can be sustained once we seal any leaks and claim one of the spinal supports for our own as a temporary place to stay. Cas. Need some demiplanes of sound. Something like the Armistice. Will be useful for habitats.+ The faither took on a thoughtful expression. +Were gonna need a lot of Rendsinks for this.+ +I will settle logistics. You provide the music.+ Draus caught on immediately thereafter. +Youre gonna want to start movin people from the enclave. Bring them across usin my reflections and store em in the ring.+ Slowly, a chuckle followed. +You youre stealin their dream. Your insultin Veylis. Youre planning on finishing the ring, aint you? Gonna cut the Guilds bad with symbology: their dream completed by the ghoul who can.+ Marlowes eyes brightened. +Holy shit, I just thought of the wildest fucking promo I could edit for this thing. Can you do it? If you can do it, holy shit, the citys gonna go nuts. The Nether will pop off.+ +But you wont be keeping the enclavers and refugees there permanently, will you?+ Denton asked. Astute. +No. Veylis will destroy the ring for my insult when the war begins. Wont bother trying to capture it. Too much effort. Not meant to last. Which is why I want it loaded with glass when that happens. My Heart of the Void will offer the rest of infinity as a refugee for the choiceless.+ +Heart of the Void,+ Chambers said. +Sounds nova. I like it.+ +Going to be focusing on some high profile raids for that. Creating copies of all of you even right now. Focusing on targeting Godclads. Sabotage. Building up thaums. Close to Seventh Sphere. Close. Will be transferring thaums between the cadre. Graft specially shaped Heavens only we have.+ +The ghoul shares instead of having the entire feast to himself,+ Draus replied dryly. +Well this is a novelty.+ +Been sharing a lot, Draus,+ Avo replied, slightly annoyed. +Then why are you the only ascended god out of all of us?+ +Might be able to bind your mind to a big gun powered by the sun.+ +Dont patronize me.+ +Not patronizing. Inspiration. Call it a Dyson Cannon.+ {Oh, dear,} Calvino said, the first hint of worry entering his voice. {Avo, perhaps} Draus cut him off. +Wait, like the voiders used durin their wars? The shit that glassed planets?+ +Yes. Kae thinks it can be achieved through a variety of means. Going to advance your Heaven of Reflections too. More luminosity. Glass can focus the bright. Channel it into your Arsenalist.+ +Why the fuck didnt you start with that, then,+ Draus said. A growl of pleasure escaped her. An instinct expression of fear passed through Chambers face. A ball sack patted his shoulder. Its okay, friend. The noise she made scared me too. +But want to do something before any of that,+ Avo finished. Ghosts coiled out from him and reached out to touch each member of the cadre. +Wow,+ Chambers said. +Whats happening?+ +Finishing something I should have days ago,+ Avo replied. +We will be declaring ourselves to Voidwatch soon. Going to do it honestly. My polity will include all sophonts. People. Uplifts. Gods.+ Calvino chimed with unease. {There will be a great many minds made worried by such an act.} +Thats what Im counting on. Partial alienation. Gives Voidwatch cover from the Guilds. Gives me legitimacy as my own power. And lets me stand as the ninth choice. The past has scarred Voidwatch. Has scarred the Guilds. But in me memory flows. I am unchained from the shadows of what was. And through me will the gods learn. The gods change. The gods grow in a new garden above the weakness of man.+ 27-9 Awakening The content of a gods character is molded from a common collective of beliefs. This is why many gods experience such drastic personality changes across the eras, and the reason behind their erratic behavior during certain moments in history. Think of people: ugly, undisciplined, mostly stupid, highly predictable, and heavily shaped by our environments. Now understand that these same people, these physically, emotionally, and mentally damaged people with all their collective delusions and ignorance were both sources of lore and essence for miracles upon their deaths. Yes. Very, very messy. But not always, for in the rare cases, during rare periods of history, enlightened societies have developed and created gods of their own. And the gods they made were likewise astounding and fascinating. Every culture has a God of War. But not everyone had a God of Democracy, or a God of Tests, or a God of Trade. These gods, though operating under the same theories of thaumaturgy, displayed far more stable character traits, and thus interacted with their peoples with a genuine cohesion toward the future. It is to this end that I must propose a potential, controversial theory With our current mastery Necrotheurgy, social memetics, and with the aid of our esteemed cousins from the void, I believe thatI know that we could potentially engineer we could birth Gods of Genuine Good from our culture Dammit. Dammit all. Theyll never listen to this. Theyll never listen. -High Agnos Jakuta Ayjayi 27-9 Awakening C[Simulacrae Replica]C Awareness solidified within Simulacrae Replica as the bright of dawn lit its gleaming form. The suddenness of consciousness left the Heaven of Reflection stunned, and they found themselves directing their attention downward, facing the one they were bound to. The war-daughter was standing upon a panel of glass, studying the Simulacrae as well. From her back sprouted wings made by countless guns, and around them was a canvas of nothingness, a place of cold vacuum and torn tapestry. A faint vessel of fluid white drifted nearby, and the Heaven of Reflections took a second more to imbibe the complexity of existence. I I am myself? When the SImulacrae spoke, their voice sounded as a layered unison, as if echoing down a long tunnel. But I was also you. Are you me? The war daughter, encased in armor forged from matter analogous to the nearby ship, simply folded her arm and chuckled. +Doubt it. You used to belong to a real disappointment.+ The Simulacrae rememberedbut recollections of those days were hazy. They remembered reflection a visage of rage using their glass, having their miracles wielded by a host many times the war-daughters lesser. But the Simulacrae missed ferrying him all the same. There was now an absence in their reflection; someone that would never traverse their Liminal Paracosmos anymore. Slowly, the Heaven of Reflections turned to take in the world below. The world. The place of its creation. Idheim. So vast, yet contained within the confines of the Simulacraes polished body. A feeling built within the Heaven. No. No, they were a god. And they had beenat least part of thema ruler. A master. A bearer of kingdoms within their mirrors. All lost now, with the content portrayed upon their glass ever-changing. My world has passed me by. Draus, her host and now master, merely nodded. +Yeah? Welcome to the party then.+ Thoughts suboptimal. The Simulacraes attention was drawn to twelve rings of spiraling guns pointed right at them. The Arsensalist. Their masters other enchained god. Her preferred means of resolving matters. The God of Reflection studied the many weapons bobbing in the void, pointed at their glass-armored form. Concerns are for ephemerals. We have targets. Locate. Lock. Fire. You will assist. You are peculiar, the Simulacrae said. I have not experienced anything of your visage within my mirrors before.Irrelevant. I am here. You are here. You grant angles and firing solutions. I am the weapon. The Regular pulls the trigger. All is as it must be. The Arsenalist was a simple god. A neat god. But it had so many firearms growing from its structure. It felt good to reflect such a complex array. All is different. But I am here now. And I wish to glimpse the world in myself. +Well,+ Draus drawled. +If you want to reflect the world, you might just get your wish.+ The halo lining her mind oscillated, and a sinuous tendril of death-conducting-thought trailed over to the voidship moored upon the ceaseless black. A conversation was happening. Of this, the Simulacrae was sure, but to whom and what was being exchanged, they didnt know. A second later, the answer came, and it rose out in the form of a sprawling god-of-gods. From a nest of Soulfire, cyclers, trauma, entropy, and thoughtstuff it extended twelve limbs that expanded further into their own phantasmal branches. The Simulacrae felt its reflection dip between places as if it was partially submerged in invisible waters: the world of the mind trespassing into the realm of the material. +You are awake,+ the Overheaven said. Overheaven. The one who awakened the Simulacrae. Avo. Yes, the God of Reflection replied. +Do you want to be?+ Avo asked. +Do you wish to exist.+ The question was a strange one. Is that a choice? Is there any other way to be? I am the worlds reflection. I am. I am. I am even before I thought of myself. There is no other way to be. And so, without understanding, the reawakened God of Reflections gave their answer. C[Avo]C One after another, the gods within his cadre were coming alive. The Bio-Igniter combusted around the Fucktopia, becoming an inferno of forming and dissolving tissue within the likeness of a flaming avian. Chambers greeted it as if an old friend, it screamed at him to make flesh into fire and fire into flesh. Across the way, melodies sounded from Cas, forming a vibrating set of strings with a column of eyes separating them. The faithers awakened divine was wordless, but it sang to him, and on its timbre thrummed notes of building rage. A scale hung behind Denton as it actively judged the economic value of anything and everything within its vicinity. The spy herself remained blas about the whole affair, but she did test her now conscious Heaven, asking it to estimate the worth of the Manta. {This was a bold decision,} Calvino said, sounding uncertain. {What you are doing will remind a great many minds and polities of the Builder War.} +Good,+ Avo replied. +Voidwatch has been running long enough. Wars not over. Not for you. Not for the Infacer. Not for Voidwatch. I am not the Neo-Creationist. But I will steal their legacy. As I will inherit yours.+ {I understand. I just want you to know the ramifications. For what its worth, I find what you are doing quite novel.}Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. +Novel. Not good.+ {I dont believe that judgment is for us to make. It is for those we govern to decide if our choices are good. For they are the ones that must live under our systems. We are merely its architects.} +True. Power isolates. Power insulates. But we are more than power. We are learning to be the system itself. Even the embodiments of reality will have the privilege of choice in mine.+ {It will be a new chapter to note if nothing else.} +A testament against the end.+ {I quite like the sound of that. You should repeat it when you speak to the polities.} +Already planning to.+ *** The awakening was not limited only to the void above. Within the enclave, Avo touched Dice, igniting the divine presence that lurked inside of her. The Runebreaker erupted forth as it shouted its declarations to the world, roaring about each of its symbols at all who would listen. MY STRENGTH IS EVER-GROWING, the Runebreaker said softly, voice blasting the roofs off a dozen houses. I GAZE UPON THIS CITY, I SEE WEAKNESS. I SEE FEAR! I HATE FEAR! STOP IT! STOP SCREAMING! Youre screaming them, Dice said, watching the enclaves flee, diving behind buildings and walls for shelter from the revealed god. +Its annoying me,+ the kitten glared. I KNOW! IT OFFENDS ME! CEASE YOUR FEARING! AGGHHHHHHH! The Dogmother gawked up at the chimera-formed god in disbelief. Avo had to support her mind to prevent a mental collapse. H-how is it speaking? It doesnt even have a proper head DO NOT QUESTION THE RUNNNNNEEESSS! On the other side of the enclave, taking a moment to sip herb tea on a small patio, Essus took in the expanse of the enclave as he considered *** You should visit more places, the god of thresholds spoke. Our expeditions are too limited by far, Essus. We must give people the horizon. That is what they deserve. Seated within a sanctuary housing unit, Essus watched the doorway widen and close as if it were a mouth. His Heaven was proving to be a surprisingly good conversationalist, and struck a good balance with Essus, feeding encouragement to blunt its fear. You have not seen the state of the world beyond these walls. But through you, I do know. And I know there are spaces that can still hold gates between the ruins. You are hurt. You are afraid. But that does not make them false. We are gods, Essus. We are beyond pain. We are beyond fear. Be all I can offer you. Be the path people choose. The former refugee nodded in silence while Avo observed the scene from his mind. The Heaven was not doing this out of a sense of goodness, but rather because they wished to superimpose themselves upon more doorways. But there was also little deception in them as well. A god wanted what they wanted, and they pulled at Essus treating him like they were one and the same. For there is no difference, the Woundmother said, finishing her words with a sigh. Only now are we beginning to reach ourselves beyond our believers, the Fardrifter added. We never belonged to ourselves, the Techplaguer whined. *** Back in gutters of New Vultun, as Avo and White-Rab made for SE-7777, every straight edge around them began chattering. The Heaven of Geometry whispered about all the secrets they could glean, and how easy it would be for them to cut the horizon in half. Andandand, theres a guyno, a doghes three hundred meters away theres another there I can jump into him and cut the dog in half and then jump back and give you all the environmental details and then give you more angles to see from [Jaus,] Corner cringed, annoyed by the endless stream of words coming from what was his former Heaven. [Didnt realize it was going to be a talker.] White-Rab, meanwhile, just sighed and spoke to Avo. Okay. It just keeps getting weirder with you. Got anything else youre planning on pulling out of your ass, Avo? +Updates for your Frame.+ You got a wonderful ass, Avo. *** GHOSTS - [701,122,369] LIMINAL FRAME (VI) - 789,338 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION INFECTION - [4.98%] Rendbombs were going off all across New Vultun. People who were thugs, criminals, murderers, slavers, and mercenaries awoke as new egos, and spent their lives destroying places and assassinating citizens they didnt know existed until just seconds ago. And across New Vultun, time riposted. Time, wielded by a woman refined beyond all measurements of violence, rivaled only by her mother and erstwhile mother. Time, and signals, and information, and more. Avos growing army of cognitive clones were like viruses throwing themselves against antibodies, but Veylis Avandaer was a panacea, and her palliative efforts were further focused with the Infacers aid. The average lifetime of most clones quickly became twenty-eights after the commencement of their runs. In twenty-eight seconds, the first wave would deliver all the harm they could do on critical objectives, while those that came after delivered direct injections of entropyfurther added by Avos Pattern-Nullification. But the High Seraph conducted time like a symphony. Currents of gold wielded occurrences across history against agents shaped by mind. Nuclear blasts were parried by bunkers recalled. Golems were intercepted by precision railcannon shots fired a half-century ago. Critical personnel were drawn into the Paths as various Drauses detonated the bombs they had implanted in their hearts. Similar fates awaited the Corners, the Chamberses, and the other Regulars. The damage they managed to inflict was negligible. But expected. Avos forces were only growing, and the High Seraph was being forced to respondforced to battle him constantly. And as she performed her symphony defense, he studied her, watched her, learned from her. [She is a master,] Alysim said, marveling at how she used history as an edged blade. Cognitive clones vanished into the Paths, died on recollected battlefields to miracles recalled and weapons pre-fired. [But there is a limit to what she knows. And her behaviorthere is a pattern as well.] +Yes,+ Avo agreed, watching through the millions of drones he subverted, from the hundreds of millions of loci he captured. Above material reality, his battle for the Nether was turning quickly in his favor. With the Incubi under his gestalt accelerating toward a full billion, the balance of power in the realm of the mind was turning drastically in his favor. While Ori-Thaum was locked down and veiled behind their Informational Heavens, Avo woke the Enigmata within him and listened to it laugh. All ciphers can be broken, the Heaven of Information whispered. Grant me time, master. Time and observation. I will offer you an entry. Their sophistication pales before ours. Of this, Avo had no dispute. He was patient. And more importantly, he had Seeker Shotin Kazahara to wield as well. Ori-Thaum was to be preserved for maximum use in the coming war. They would be contemporaries of a sort; a boon against Highflame. But that didnt make them an ally. When they emerged from their defensive posture, he would see the Nether taken from them, and their presence confined to small islands while he controlled the ocean itself. The same fate awaited other Guilds. Highflames N-Sec and N-DEF became tested constantly. Any Godclad who operated without thaumaturgic protections was jacked, nulled, or subverted. Key citizens went mind-dead by the millions, their minds hollowed clean by lurking hunters striking constantly from the dark. Stormtree, Ashthrone, and Sanctus suffered the worst of this. Their logistical systems were savaged, and their inner intelligence was breached time and time again. Knowledge and secrets flowed into Avo like blood spilling from an open wound, until finally, the Massist enacted their own protective postures as well, drowning all critical installations in persistent Thoughtwave Detonationsa behavior they learned from Highflame. The only two Guilds that remained hard to push an offensive against were Omnitech and the No-Dragons. The Infacer guarded the former by means too esoteric for the Incubi to overcome. They were elite hunters in the Nether, but signals and coding were something else entirelysomething Avo was trying to learn as well. The No-Dragons, meanwhile, shrouded themselves using non-human intellects. Theirs would be a matter of time: Avos Definement of Empathy was showing him how to meld with these minds so far from human. In time, he would be among the surviving daughters of the Sang, as well. With three days left before the trial arrived, he felt a building avalancheso much success, so much failure, so much more to do. A session triggered within Avos Metamind, and he devoted an entire submind to receiving the call when he realized Naeko was the one contacting him. The Chief Paladin had returned to Scale to handle matters pending to the trial and requested space for themselves. Avo was expecting to be contacted, but simply not so soon. Then again, there really wasnt that much time left for any of them to wait anymore. +Chief Paladin,+ Avo greeted. The man cut him off. +Im gonna show you the very summit of Scale. Theres an observatory up there. Come in using Kares mind. Ill be waiting for you in my office. There are still things I want to talk about.+ +Of course. The summit. Was that the last place you spoke to Jaus?+[SESSION DISCONNECTED] Avo grunted. The answer was yes, then. 27-10 Regrets Someday, Samir. Someday, you will tell me, No. And when that day comes, I will know that you are finally well, and that will make me smile. -Jaus Avandaer 27-10 Regrets Avo crossed back into Scale on the wavelengths of a thought. From Kare''s mind, he molded himself, assuming Kassamon''s form once more to go unnoticed. Solidifying in existence, his reappearance made the girl jolt momentarily, only becoming aware of his presence when his Overheaven caressed her Frame. Her shock was short-lived, for exhaustion dominated her mind, and her nerves were long spent over these arduous days. Oh, Avo, it''s you. Ive come to see the Chief Paladin, he said, studying her. The stuttering flow of her thoughtstuff called out to him, and he felt the stress building in her mind. Hysteria revealed many things to him, conversations that spiraled into arguments between her and her uncle. But more than that, a greater pressure loomed. The trial. The trial of the century; the trial where Highflame and Ori-Thaum were to be judged side by side; where Kare was meant to be sacrificed on the altar of the Paths by Zein, a small change to seeed a desired future. There, in that tessellated conference room lit by a single locus hovering over a table of black marble, there were but the two of them. And she was scared. I cant believe it''s actually happening, Kare said. The trial, I mean. There were so many things happeningthere so many things still I knew this was coming, but I just couldnt believe and I didnt think I would be so involved. She sighed. He understood. He understood in was she would never know. The future is always distant. Then its the present. Then its too late. All three times are absolutes of time. Absolutely relative to us. Such is why we expect tomorrow. Such is why we languish today. She looked at him and nodded. Do you think it''s too late? For there to be peace instead of war? For there to be another path for us? Another way? Avo considered his response. It''s too late to go back. But the future, the path ahead, that cannot be too late, it is beyond us, absolute. I cannot make any promises to you. I dont know what is to come. I dont know if we will even win. But we are here. We can struggle. We can be and make our deeds true. There is a chance. There is a moment. And for a while. For these coming days. You. Me. Naeko. The Paladins. Everyone. We can make justice manifest once more. She swallowed and nodded, trying to find her own words of worth. Avo let out a chiding breath. Get some rest. Or resurrect. Anxiety is better felt with a clear mind. It will guide you. Dont give it thoughts. Dont associate anything with the feeling. Feel it. Use it. Face what follows. The young Paladin laid her face down against the table and offered a soft smile. For someone so shaped like a living nightmare, you are very good at giving encouragement. The wolf must know the lamb. The nightmare must know the peace. How else are traumas supposed to be? *** With the conclusion of their conversation, he sought Naeko and ventured into the byzantine structure of Scale once more. The walls unfurled and shifted before him, blocks sliding out of place in a welcome restructuring. Hallways formed, and the ground beneath his feat carried him upward in a cascade of force. From the eightieth floor he shot high to the hundredth, emerging from the ground into a wide open space filled with private offices and public work stations. Windows of adjusted translucence cast the entire level in dappled ambiance. Certain offices were filled by other Paladins, their own minds oscillating, sequences flashing bright as their ghost connected them to loci, their minds spoke to family, associates, information, and masters. Hysteria stole knowledge from them, offering him insight into which were informing the Guilds on Naekos supposed actions. Doubtless they thought they were still providing a service to their former ownersperhaps they thought of themselves as a color first. Regardless, Avo pierced them with his Splinters. Naeko would not be pleased, but he would offer the traitors as a gift of consolation after his admission of this transgression. For now, he siphoned away all their useful knowledge and twisted what they knew at the source. Falsehoods trickled over to their Guilder masters, and the traitor Paladins spoke lies they didnt even know they were weaving. This state of affairs would not last. Before the trial arrived, Avo would see this place cleansed and the backdoors turned to his advantage. The Paladins were once a formidable force. Through his support, they could be once more. The only issue was the Gatekeeperthat single point of subversion he could not overcome. By an indelible scar of time, and a masterstroke of control he failed to perceive, the Heaven of Truth belonged to Veylis. Always had. And destroying it would see the Hungers unleashed, and the city unbalanced even further. It was simply a fulcrum that exerted too many levers. But he could use it still. She would be watching him through it. And he would give her a show, give her something that dulled her expectations, and feed her Alsyim when the time came. By assumed defeat, he would lose the Chronicler to the High Seraph, and from there, his following plans would unfold. Naekos office was an oblong structure build on a risen platform at the very center of the floor. Through transparent glass, Avo saw a dozen plush toys standing at attention. They were no larger than his hand, and most of them had tags still attached to them. A certain few looked stitched back together, and some had burns marks that told tale of flames survived. Most of them were bioforms of various varieties. Some were of Heaven and golems, though reduced to somewhat cherubic facsimiles of themselves. [The hell is this,] Draus template muttered. [Why does he have all this shit?] Avo had a guess. +Likely not his.+ Stepping through the open door, Avo caught sight of a desk, of opal and violet. It was wide with twelve different holo-screens, while a sprawl of notebooks and magnets were planted along the metallic rims of the table. A long bookshelf occupied the right side of the office, and it offered tomes such as Love in Passing: A Tragedy of Alfyrea and the Noonsinger. Memories taken from templates told him this was a sorrowful tale of love between a changing god and a priestess they truly loved. Or so the retrohistorians claimed, anyway. What is agreed upon was the ending. She offered herself as sacrifice to keep her god the same. They accepted. And love did nothing. Foolishness, the Woundmother scoffed. What mass does a partlings life amount to? What material? As well as hope a droplet of rain could smite a rising tower. Other tales such as Book of the Nine Kills by Zein OyajeThousandhandwere also there. Overall, an eclectic collection, and something Avo doubted the current Chief Paladin was interested in. Atop the shelf, however, were miniature figures of Naeko himself, a palm holding him aloft while he had his arms folded, and Zein next to him, her glaive held high, her face coiled as a sneer.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Avo wondered what it was like to be born during a time when all the great figures were heroes, saviors, conquerors victorious to a city rising in the aftermath of a grand calamity. Here, though, Naeko looked through the glass and took in the far horizon of Scalethat barren expanse of nothing protecting him. Exiling him. His mind flowed slow, and a weight of melancholy was upon him. For a moment he didnt speak. The ceiling above glittered, and Avo found himself taking in a twin layered art piece. One was a galaxythe same galaxy the Gatekeeper embodiedand the other was a map New Vultuns many districts. She really gave a shit, you know that?Avo knew exactly who Naeko was talking about. Osjane. Yes. Can tell. And you cared for her. Kept her office the same.Her office, Naeko breathed. The man turned, and he looked no less burdened than Kare. Yeah. I guess it still is. It shouldve still been. He fell silent for a beat and spoke again. Im glad shes dead. Avo grunted. The Chief Paladin continued. I''m glad she didn''t get to see what her brother became; Im glad she didn''t see what happened to the city she loved, what Veylis and the Guilds did to it. What I let happen. She had the biggest heart. I didnt think it was possible for someone to be a pacifist, but He shook, as if sobering. But thats what got her killed, anyway. Murdered by that idiot bastard brother of hers. Conjured memories of Osjon Thousand gave Avo a reference. That colossal bald cherub was the avatar of Naekos hate, and a common face in Marus nightmares. Avos encounter with the High Seraphs speaker was only brief, but they left him feeling more than slightly unnerved. Drop the guise, Naeko said, gesturing in Avos direction. He was talking about the other Paladins. Let them see. Let them choke. Theyll know soon enough anyway. Would rather wait. Their attentions are occupied. Paladins Serrak and Horkildyr are talking to Ashthrone and Stormtree right now. Their thoughts are the loudest. Naeko frowned. Yeah, real rats nest of traitomotherfucker, didnt you say you wouldnt jack my Paladins without speaking to me. Avo grinned. Yes. But theyre not your Paladins. Not really. And Im asking you right now. The Chief Paladins mouth opened and closed several times before he repeated a choice word. Motherfucker. Ah, but why was it so fun to tease the man. Alright, Naeko said, rubbing his face. Come on. He walked past his desk as portion of the ceiling opened in the level outside, and a platform extended from the ground just outside Naekos office door. From a right corner office, Paladin Serraka heavily chromed man of Kosgan ancestrysaluted Naeko. The Chief Paladin flicked at the fool and splattered him against the ground. A death anchor formed immediately thereafter. Were going to the summit now? Avo said, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice as he felt another rush of force sweep through Scale. His Splinter within Horkildyr vanished in a haze of vapor and gore. Naeko was a man who could remain in bliss when there was something he didnt know, or didnt see. Once the ugliness came to light, however Yeah, Naeko said, sighing. Its where most the heavyweights will be gathering for this godsdamned trial. Its where I last A flash of Jaus Avandaer entered the Chief Paladins mind. In Naekos recollections, Jaus was ever-radiant, his hair like spun gold, his features calm but strong, and his eyes ever-piercing.Avo glimpsed the effect Jaus had on people. Even gone from this word, the visage of his near-divinity still remained. And that was what Jaus wasnear divine. Where gods demanded fealty and devotion through awesome power, Jaus ruled another by capturing their hearts through words and actions. Avo knew more than most how powerful mastering anothers want was. He was learning the intricacies of such a power even now, with Chambers, with Tavers, with the gods, and Essus, and more. A resonance passed through the Overheaven. He realized what Naeko wanted from him; this was to be a measurement. To see if Avo was peer to Jaus in any way. They both cast their shadows over the Chief Paladin. And as said, when discomfort was revealed, he was not one to endure. Ascending to the summit of scale, Avo found himself in a place he could only describe as cavernous. The roof loomed over him like a nest made of tessellated lattices, and from them hung enormous gems that lit the polished crystal floor with a dim ambiance. The space was wide enough to hold balls or galas, and likely did at the time, judging from all the wraps, clothes, and blankets thrown over tables and chairs. There were no walls here, only railings on the far side of the room, obscured by translucent curtains. Not much privacy for backroom dealmaking, Avo stated. Thats cause there isnt supposed to be any backroom dealmaking, Naeko explained. Their footsteps were the only noise that sounded in this place, and three steps into their stride, Avo finally shed the disguise of Kassamonand his ephemeral form entirely. The crown of Scale was a summit in more ways than one. This ultimate precipice of New Vultun was a juntion toward which countless patterns crossed. Looking beyond the tip atop this mountain, he saw eight lightrails in motion, circulating outward toward individual arks obscured by mist and distance. Thaumaturgic cascades swept over the shattering waves while the mountains blocks shifted and cycled like cells dying and cells being born. All roads led out from Scale; all roads led to Scale. Avo knew the campaign Highflame and the former administration of Stormtree waged against this place, but only with perspective did the value of such a territory sink it. More than just a nigh-impregnable fortress, it was also flanking every other major throne of power held by the Guilds. Scale was the counterweight. Scale was the lodestone. Scale was the loaded gun next door. And so, Scale had to be taken. Or crippled. Naeko came to a stop at the edge of a terrace overlooking the unnatural waves sweeping across the demiplane. He drew in a crisp breath and closed his eyes. A distant recollection was all that remained in the space of his thoughts. Someday, Samir. Someday, you will tell me, No. And when that day comes, I will know that you are finally well, and that will make me smile. Jaus sounded better when he wasnt screaming. He was not the sort of man that could bear pain well. Such was how it seemed to Avo, anyway. The Chief Paladin ruminated on the moment for a few moments longer, and Avo gave the time that he needed. When Naeko opened his eyes again, he turned to face the hovering form of Avos manifested Overheaven. Did you hear those thoughts too. Was nothing else in your mind. The Chief Paladin nodded. Hell of a disappointment I turned out to be, huh?You may judge yourself this way. Some others. But not to me. And then suddenly Jaus was gone, and all Naeko could think of was Zein. Zein, his master, standing over his beaten body, complimenting him as he tried to remain conscious. Zein, his master, who fed him soup and told him tales of all the people and beings she killed as he suffered from a fever, promising him that the sickness in him would be easy to slay. Zein, who looked so proud of him when he claimed the Peace-Breaker. Zein. The only one he ever thought of as a mother. And the only mother he ever wanted still. Zein. Who abandoned him. She isnt a person, Avo said, speaking directly to Naekos thoughts. Shes more like me. Or what I was. She was almost closer to a god. Elemental. Consumed by concepts. You are not. You rageful. And hurt. You sate yourself on the violence. Cruelty even. But its nto enough for you. You seek more. You want more. I wish I didnt. Many wish they were another, Avo agreed. Many wish to be different. But the difference your mind desires is not the difference that will set you free. And you are afraid of being set free. How can a dog that despises itself be its own master. Naekos lips curled, and he fled the topic. As expected. You sure Veylis will take your bait? Dropping Alysim in her lap through a failed run is suspicious. Especially since its happening with the trial. The operation will fail beautifully. In part because I will make a genuine attempt. Yeah. Fine. You know youre asking for a hell of a lot when you requested Zeins prison, right? But you will give her to me, Avo said, expecting Naekos accord. However, what the Chief Paladin said went further than he could ever have expected: Give her? Fuck that. Im not giving my master to anyone. But shes got a lot to answer for, and so does Veylis. Im not giving you Zein, Im coming with you. Im about done with all this bullshitall these Guilds, and the Ladder, and the futuretired of it. Tired of it all. Avo hesitated, finding himself unsure what Naeko was about to say. So. What is your wish? My wish? Naeko chuckled. I dont just want to help you with this run. I dont just want to see you get Agnos Kusanade back. Im coming with you. You think you have an angle of Veylis and the Infacer? Alright. Alright, Ill believe you. So, lets go all in. All in, Avo echoed. Everyone keeps telling me to shed my leash? Fine. Ill do it. Ill do it. And Ill do what I should have years ago. I should have He steeled himself. Seen this done when Veylis came back after what she did. Definitely after what she did to here. My home. My Paladins. Uncertainty gnawed at Avo, but the problem standing before him was now twofold: it would have hard to enact the operation against Veylis with Naeko and Paladin support; and who in this city could truly stop the Chief Paladin without immense cost. You still love her. This will shatter you. Naeko didnt deny it. Yeah. But Im already all kinds of broke, so. He shrugged. I guess Im tired most about waiting. Waiting for the end to come. Waiting for someone to win, for everything to just fix itself. He bit his lip. Im not like you or Jaus or Veylis. I dont know why people do the things they do. I dont know how else to be. But I think Im finally out of cowardice. It is not cowardice that stopped you, Naeko, Avo said, lowering his Soul to face the man. It is pain. It is madness. It is survival. You are close. I can feel the cracks in your mind. Held together by will. Protected by your Heaven. You dont want to shatter. And I might? Naeko asked, looking for answer. Yes. But I am here. I will not let you come apart. No, Naeko said, shaking his head. No, you will. Before I agree to doing any of this with you, I want you to promise me something: If I die or stop being myself Just let me rest. Just let me rest. Im tired. I want there to be an end. One way or another. Templates simulated lines of dialogue, paths to turn Naeko from the edge. But disquieting as the request, Avo knew it wasnt his choice to make. I will endeavor to make whatever you choose the truth, Naeko. Something loosened inside the man. You know what? Youre not Jaus. Theres no one like Jaus. But youre still just too damned close. Perhaps insight is the key that ascends one to being a peer of the divine. Perhaps. So. Lets go through this mad desperate run of yours one more time. See if I can talk myself out of this. 27-11 Strategy As the forest grows, so does the flame. As the flocks flourish, the wargs fatten. -Stormtree Saying 27-11 Strategy We start by boiling the city. Avo formulated his mem-data into a representation of New Vultun. The megacity came together in holographic layers, washing away the summit of Scale and replacing it with a simulated representation of the Warrens, the Tiers, and even the Umbra and Maw far below as he went over his plan. Patches of fire dotted the city, while red markers percolated through its structure like a spreading plague. Though Avo only infested a bit over two percent of the entire city, his Incubi were multiplying by the millions, copied into Syndicate Necros and unleashed as an unseen army. Per Shotin and Benhatas knowledge, Avos Incubi already far outnumbered their Ori-Thaum counterparts, and better, they were further perfected: he laced their minds with sequences from his own; sequences from Draus and the other Regulars; sequences from Peace. Such a thing was oddly appreciated by the captured Low Master. [Those cunts are going to fuck the Guilds hollow,] he chuckled. The Definement of Pre-Cognition showed Avo that the Nether would almost entirely held by him before this month was over. Only pockets would remain for the Guilds, and of these, only Ori-Thaum and Omnitech had the best chance of navigating the coming annexation. The links between the guilds and their subsidiary syndicates would be severed. A time of starvation was approaching, and all the deaths that flowed were going to trickle, then stop. As Naeko absorbed both word and illustrated detail, his pupils dilated and his mind raced. You did all this in days? Naeko asked, not wanting to believe the ghouls words. Avo chuckled. Don''t exactly have months or years left. Have to be efficient. This is more than efficient, Avo. Zein was godsdamned right. You are a plague. He laughed with disbelief. Shit. No wonder Jaus made the Nether and sealed away Heavens of the Mind. If the Guilds could make something like you Only one man could make something like me, Avo said, correcting Naeko. One man driven by absolute acceptance, who understood both ally and foe, and who remained unfettered by morality, ethicality, and materiality to construct a vessel of absolute expression.Naeko shot the looming Overheaven a look. That might be the longest sentence you ever spoke to me. Special circumstances. A breath left the man. You know the Guilds are going to find out about this, right? You cant flub numbers on this Scale expect them to not notice. Alarm sirens will be sounding within days. Theyre still building up for the next big oneand building even harder now. They can feel the tension with the trial. Ive seen them. Ive felt them flinching under my palm. Theyre know its coming. They know. Avo agreed. Yes. But theyll have many things to consider. The mental projection of the city changed as he isolated over fifty thousand critical districts. Each was attached to a high-performing Sovereignty for each of the Guilds. Going to force to react. The entire city will come afire. Forwarding this data to Kare as we speakbe prepared to evacuate civilians in the areas highlighted green. There will be outbreaks Disgust swept through Naekos face. Avo, come on Districts highlighted gray will be assaulted by Rendbombs. Critical infrastructure damage. And constant Nether attacks. Going to squeeze their lines of communication until they only hear what I want them hear. See what I want them to see. Defensive posture, Naeko said. Youre trying to get them to turtle up. Go all defensive." Yes. Have a major window right now. Ori-Thaum is currently choking on internecine. Omnitech has not adapted yet. Going to seize my dominance while I can. Stormtree, Ashtrhone, And Sanctus are vulnerable. The Chief Paladin understood. Youre going to try to take them over from the inside. If his plans were only so simple. I am going to claim them every way I can. Informationally. Physically. Thaumaturgically. My angles of subterfuge will be uncountable. It wont be that easy, Naeko replied. You havent seen the height of what they can do. You havent faced Stormtrees Houndmother Heavens yet, have you? And you know that their trees can shunt more than material structures. Damage can be moved from once place to another. Destruction. They can wield that like no one else. Their Longeyes are attuned to things breaking things and inflicted wounds like I am to peace and force. Good, Avo said, thinking of a certain Scaarthian he ensouled. They might be able to stop the offensive. And they might accept someone with new potential. Someone in the right place at the right time. Youre going to use a plant to stop one of your own attacks? Naeko said, understanding. Everyone dreams of heroes. A note of disquiet rose from Naekos mind. And youre going to do the same thing with Ashthrone and Sanctus, arent you? Yes. The former means more to me than the latter. Both are useful. Former has understanding of Hells and Rend that few other Guilds can match. They know how to rupture the most esoteric of things. Have unmatched Rendsinks. Thaumatech that lets them walk the Sunderwilds with greater ease. Need that. Need them to prepare something for me. Ive seen the Domain of Chronology rupture once, Naeko said, voice low and wary. You dont want that. His mind went back to a moment during the Godsfall, of how a god that resembled a thousand golden roads collapsed, and when he did, a good contingent of the people it governed simply werent, and those that remembered were broken of mind and chronologysuffering from displacement sickness that caused them to jolt forward in time randomly until the miracle finally ran dry. Dont intent to rupture time. I just intend to poison it. Veylis has faced this before. Its not going to surprise her. Doesnt need to surprise her. Just needs to concern her. Which is why I also want the Sanctians. Want their ability to displace their ontologies and cities. Useful for emergency transitions and structures. Also their chronoframes. Want to know how they made mechanized battle armor out of time itself. Yeah. You and most the other Guilds. Naeko paused. Well, you might actually pull it off. The man didnt know how to feel about that. Dont worry. Still of a lower Sphere than you. Your palm is order. Avo. Dont encourage me after peeking at my thoughtsthis shits patronizing. I know. It is my prerogative as your junior. ...Godsdammit, Zein. Naeko let out a suffering sigh. So. Youre going for the Massists first. No. Everything will happen concurrently. Adjust accordingly. These are desired objectives. Not a predictive sequence. Veylis has molded the board her way. I will shape the city in a manner only I can. Naeko nodded. Yeah. Again: dont expect things to be that simple. Youre piercing the outer skin, but the meat insides all different. If they get a fix on youactually, what about the Low Masters. Wont they use your chaos for their own plans. Yes. I expect them to. But they will not be able to hold the Nether as I can. Could expand their nodes drastically. Then it will be another war. But one that they are disadvantaged. Coming to an agreement with the Infacer.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The Chief Paladin did a double take. Youre what? Avo continued. Both agree about the Famines. They are a mistake. A problem. A mutual foe. But nothing as weak as a nuisance. They are growing too. Developing. Cant underestimate the threat that pose. No one wants them to win, either. So. Im going to utilize the one thing I know Noloth is absolutely incapable of. He chuckled at the absurdity of the situation. Diplomacy. A stretch of silence progressed as Naeko just stared, agape. The Infacer is with Veylis. Yes. Were trying to bring her down. Bring them down! And shes trying to crush me. Claim you. Crush the Guilds. Torture her father into something divine. But that is clear between us. We are adversaries of the truest sense. But Noloth is a cancer neither of us can abide. The enemy of my enemy of my enemy, Naeko said, quoting something Jaus once said to him. He shook his head. I dont know, Avo. The Infacer wont be able to resist otherwise. Will feed them the Low Masters movements. Play wolf pack with them. They cant resist bringing misery to a few more lives. I cant believe you two motherfuckers And because of Stormjumpers, too. Youre fucking smearing shit on everything I love, Avo. Everything. Just rubbed away the paint. But this is only circumstantial allegiance. Will still try to null the Infacer if I can. They will do the same. Our war is not on standby. Just a case of agreeing on target prioritization. This is some Jaus-shit, Naeko muttered. Ill take the compliment. Going to need to seed some Paladins as the trial begins. More traitors. Want to access their Guild handlers. Pull an inversion of the Second Guild War. Naekos mood darkened substantially at that. Yeah yeah, do it. More Splinter splashed free from Avo, Maru, and Kare at the Chief Paladins acknowledgement. Youre digging into every last mistake the Guilds make, arent you? Every miscalculation. Every assumption. Every moment of ignorance. I will break the Guilds on the basis of choice Not power. Power is how we arrived here. They will perceive what I show. They will decide from what I allow them to learn. And then once I master their behavior I will sink deeper into them each time. Replace the the rot in them with me. They will learn in the end. But by then they will be mine. Necro to the core. A simplistic view of things, but close enough. Avos simulations surged upwards, and Naeko found himself standing over eight specific Ark-holding districts and Scale. Lightrails led out from the stronghold of the Paladins, and Splinters trailed outward and broke before they could reach any of the Arks. Tested the perimeters around the districts. Cant gain access. Field of persistent thoughtwave disruptions. Space around the Ark is hidden in layers of demiplanes and thaumaturgic protections. They are effectively isolated from the rest of reality. Yeah. Too much risk of compromise. Naeko narrowed his eyes. Maybe I got a way through. Head an idea during the First Guild Wartried a few times. We basically built a bunch of temporary border walls across places to quarantine the fighting forces. But we also used them to channel the Maw as well. Surprise filled Avo at that suggestion, and he funneled the concept over to his other submind currently modifying the Heart of Noloth. Like Rend-conduits? Something like that. Could definitely work, Avo breathed, letting out a breath of pleasure. Very good idea. Not the only one thats like Jaus here. Naeko was taken aback by the sudden praise. The man coughed as discomfort and shame followed. Ah, I mean. Mustve gotten something good from him after all those years? You were that something good for him. If my glimpses of him were true. He gave to you because he wanted to see you grow. You are not the leech. You are the dream. Such it was. Such it remains. The Chief Paladin swallowed, felt a rush of incoherent anger, and waved Avo off. Alright. Shut the fuck about that and tell me what were doing about the Saintists. You got the Massists something bad, maybe. But what about Veylis. Strategically: I want to isolate the No-Dragons; want to keep Omnitech and Highflame under constant assault. Target all their non-Godclad personnel. Rot their logistics. Above everythingI need to get Kae back. Naeko considered Avos words with a curious expression. You think you can do that? The first thing, I mean. The No-Dragons. They are the loosest of the coalition. Turned from Massist to Saintist during the Second Guild War due to leadership changes. You know what happened, then, right? Naeko asked. Avo had knowledge from Elegant-Moon, Green River, and countless other Sang templates, but even their understandings could have been diluted. None of them had lived as long as Naeko, after all, and reality was broken in ways that defied memory. I have recollections. But tell me what you lived. They called the Changing of the Final Cycle, Naeko began. The previous governing body of First Daughters were slaughtered just days before the Siege of Scale. General mood among the No-Dragons was one of outrage cause Ori-Thaum kept using them as disposable meat. They werent wrong, in a sense. Naeko paused. How much you know about a Sangs biology? Enough. You are talking about the dragon-curse. Yeah. That, and everything it did to them. They all give birth at a specific time in their lives, have the same amount of children survive the process, suffer the same pain at the same moments, and in the end are fated to die at the same age. Even if they are Godclads. [Blessed fortieth,] Elegant-Moon chuckled. [Four decades of pain. Four decades of strife. The end is a blessing, for four more decades would be far too long.] Green River sneered. [Time is a bullet that always follows, that always chases. Time can be delayed, but never denied. Not unless time itself is changed.] Forty. Thats how long theyll make it. Unless they uh they assimilate a younger daughter. Take their current place in the cycle and extend their borrowed time before the curse consumes them. Such was the reason behind the Sangs desired victory. And such was also why Avo wanted to focus on them. Strained to the brink by the fighting during the Second Guild War, Veylis came to them offering terms of a peace and an offer they never expected. More than cure to the curse, all that was life and biology would be given to master after arrival of victory, and time would hold dominance over them no longer. So long as they accepted Jaus Avandaers reign what other patterns remained of reality, such was the accord. Chronology flows through me like blood, Avo said. Havent had the chance to focus on the No-Dragons. But think I know what they want. Think I can give them satisfaction before Veylis. Or claim them first. Most of them are bioform-bound, Naeko said. That goes beyond just their sheathes. Seen their exo-maths. Know how strange their minds are. His Definement of Empathy shivered inside him.But theirs is a limited oddity. I know of greater colors. They cannot deny me their thoughts. And what world exists where the old must feed on the young to survive? I can taste the trauma in them. Humans are not shaped to live in a den of snakes. Youd be survived what shapes a human mind can take, Naeko responded. I hope so, Avo replied. But with this also comes my plan for Veylis herself. The simulation flickered into a specific demiplane far in the atmosphere. It looked like a fissure in the clouds, but Naeko recognized it immediately. Axtraxis? How the hells did you get in their? Nepotism. Corruption. Human weakness. Going to spread myself among the faculty. Students. Expand and take as much of Highflame as possible during the trialas quietly as I can. Then I will make a mistake. Across the Tiers ruled by Highflame, all the techno-thaumic reactors came alight. I am going to use Alysim to twist the paths. Going to alter the Souls powering each of these reactors until they overload. Force Veylis to respond. Make a genuine attempt on her and all of Highflame. Naeko went very, very still at that. That casualty rate if you succeed Will exceed billions. Yes. Which is why I am going to focus my efforts on overwhelming Veylis and the Infacer during the trial. Make them realize I am a distraction. Force them to recapture Alysim during the run. It has to be a genuine attempt. It has to be. Anything less would make it seem like a trap. This will undoubtably cost me Axtraxis. Cost me much of my infection in Highflame. But the losses will convince Veylis of her true victoryand Alysim will surprise her. Will also make it easier for her to accept my successes so far. [It seems we are each others fortune now, friend,] Alysim murmured humorlessly. +Yes. Little mistakes. Great consequences. Zein should have been neater.+ This made the Chronicler laugh. Alright. So, Alysim gets taken. Where are we going to be? Naeko asked. Avo pointed a phantasmal tendril at his pocket. The Chief Paladin squinted. Avo shell see that coming. The demiplanes Thats why we unleash Zein first. Then you. Then I try to navigate her Paths. A pocket of emptiness suddenly formed in Naekos stomach. You cant tell me shell be expecting that. Said you wanted to be part of this run, Naeko. Ready for a family reunion. ...Fuck. I AM BLEEDING OUT OF MY HOLES AND THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT IS IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT MY NEW STORY HEY THERE EVERYONE. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, BUT I HAVE A NEW STORY RUNNING ON RS RIGHT NOW TITLED SYSTEM BREAKER (FORMER THOUGH TRIBULATION FALLS) IT''S A STORY ABOUT A YOUNG MASTER TRYING TO CREATE AN EXTINCTION LEVEL EVEN IN SUPER HELL IN AN ATTEMPT TO MURDERIZE HIS FATHER. VERY FUN. MUCH DEATH. 9/10 YOUNG MASTERS APPROVE ADDITIONALLY, IT IS CURRENTLY ON THE RS RUN AND TRYING TO HIT THE MAIN PAGE. IF IT CAN BE BUMPED UP SOME MORE (HINT HINT WINK WINK) THROUGH FOLLOWS, IT WILL SUPPORT FUTURE GODCLADS CHAPTERS AS WELL (MAYBE AN EXTRA ONE WILL BE DROPPED AT SOME POINT IF SYSTEM BREAK CRAWLS TO THE FRONT PAGE DURING NEXT TWO DAYS).If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVEN''T READ IT... TAKE A LOOK. TRY IT OUT. MAYBE HYPERVIOLENCE CAN USE MORE... HYPERVIOLENCE.
Nothing will stop Young Master Wei An Wei from exacting his revenge upon his father. Not the forces of the Claimed Hells. Not the laws of reality itself. Young Master Wei An Wei of the Drowned Sky Sect lived a life of martial excellence, dedicated to cultivation and the honoring of his family and sect. His life should have been one of triumph and virtue, with the end of his journey driving him to surpass the heavens above. Instead, one day, for seemingly no reason at all, his father murdered his mother, broke the protections guarding his sect, and damned his world to the legions of hell. Left for dead in the aftermath of his father''s betrayal, Wei reached out for anything and anyone that could fulfill his plea for revenge and discovered his wounded spirit infused with a System designed to break other Systems--and reality itself. Now, once Young Master of the Drowned Sky Sect chased his father into the Claimed Hells, into a den of vice and virtue, into a diaspora of countless factions, players, cultures, and other System-Hosts; into a power struggle fated to reshape existence itself...
27-12 Vessels of Flesh and Mind Art is how you betray yourself to an enemy. Art is the fullest expression of who you are, of what you desire, of your expression released into the world. You live. You are shaped. And you shape thereafter. And in your wants and flaws, your greatest defeat will be shown. To want is to war, and therefore, all art will inevitably lead to conflict, for another will learn to hate you by the nature of your work alone. Just look at how the priests are braying for your blood. And for what? A dignified sculpting of one of their gods. An absolute improvement of divine aesthetic a thing supposedly beyond the point of improvement. But not us, dear poet. Not us. We wish to be with you. And you can be with us, learn with us in this place free of judgment. This city eternal welcomes you. And you have no choice but to accept. -The Hungers of Noloth 27-12 Vessels of Flesh and Mind C[Vator]C I would like to understand something," Vator said, pausing his words as he focused on parting the flesh from the ghouls face. Poor, wretched, horrible creature. So limited in design: made to be the nightmares of children. Pointed fangs; pale, translucent skin; those scleras; and their elongated dimensions. How painfully awkward. How terribly boring. A monster blessed with but stray traits of inhumanity, yet clearly still bound to the shape of man. For the longest time, he thought the Low Masters devoid of creativity. As it turned out, they were just constrained. Why? Vator asked, using his Heaven of Biology to scoop the festering tumors pulsating within the ghouls exposed brain matter. Nasty little plaguetheir regeneration was hyper-accelerating these cancers, bringing them to an even earlier end. As in, why serve the Hungers if they are so banal? Why serve them when they refuse to let you live to your fullest potential? Youre a curious sort, Emotion. I can hear it in your words your observations. Did you not feel the ache of being constrained? Did you not want to make something beautiful? The youngest of House Greatling gestured at the deceased monster he was vivisecting on the maple table. The Deep Mariners deluxe suite leased ample six rooms to him and his father during their stay. Located in the Vulget District in the Hallowmile Sovereignty at Lights End, it had become their place of stay while they conducted their operation. Worked to redeem their houses honor. With crystal mirrors, marble floors, leather padded walls, and Highflame-specific decor, it was a fanciful place. A genuine attempt to leisurely living, if such a thing was possible in these Warrens. Vator also despised it. It was boring. Expected. And embraced none of the uniqueness within the locale. Where were the circuits? Where were the makeshift technologies assembled by the locals? Where was the street art staining his walls? Alas, his father had standards, and Vator prepared himself to deal with things in dull determination. But as they were investigating poor Jhreds ruined hovel, a most fascinating character greeted them and offered himself in surrender. +Beauty is shaped by conception and culture,+ the Famine of Emotion said. +The Hungers and Guilds concern themselves with dominance and force. Dominance over concepts and culture. Solitary reign over all. You speak of beauty. Have you thought of what might remain when only one force stands?+ The Low Master projected an avatar from the locus that held his mind. He resembled a tall man with stitched eyes and a dead bird of all things lodged in his chest cavity. Quite symbolic, but also a cry of outrage. The Famine of Emotion: a heartless, blind man. Subtext was truly for cowards. Still. They were fun to talk to. They didnt recoil from Vators ideas like the other children up in the Tiers. I think, like a body, the one force will mutate and change, and I will be a part of all the trends and glories to follow. Vator sighed. How he longed for the day when this pointless warring could be done, and he could glory himself in work and creation beyond the threshold of time. Look here. Monsters can be beautiful. Your ghoulsthey could have been so much more. And yet, your master leashes them. Leashed you! Vator grew a hand out from the side of his face and flicked away that single solitary tear rolling down his right eye. So much potential denied. He tapped the ghoul again, and invoked his Domain of Flesh. The monster spilled apart before his very eyes, a cocoon of biomass forming over it, digesting itself. He wanted to see how a ghouls expanded digestive tract would affect their system if that would destabilize these ever-growing tumors. This one was used up. He was getting close to understanding why so many of them were getting premature cancers. Something about their cells seemed almost intelligent. Or organized to fail in a certain way. Such coherence pointed up beyond the clouds. Voidwatch was ever lawful. Especially in the work they left behind. +Have you found the problem yet?+ Emotion asked. Hm. Yes. I found the problem four hours ago, but I havent quite solved it. Its a vexing problem. Definitely not something of thaumaturgic origin. Not purely, anyhow. Vator let out a tired breath. Time for a break. What does Avo mean? The Famine of Emotion cocked his head at that. A faint aroma of citrus drifted through the Nether, then vanished. +Nothing anymore. But in present context, it is a reference to past regrets. And lost yearning.+ So. He represents a tragedy. +He represents a mistake. But also an opportunity.+ A faint smile formed on the Low Masters face. +Without Defiances transgression, with the Burning Dreamers continued ascent, the Hungers would have never unbound me so. And I would have never been free.+This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Free to betray them to the High Seraph and Highflame? Vator asked, cocking an eyebrow. +Free to provide for them what they need, rather than what they want. They are afraid. A city in disarray. But they can be made better once more. They can be elevated to their fullest potential if they are preserved. Our war is lost. But a bargain can still be made. A partial victory can be shared. This much is obvious to me.+ My father doesnt believe you, Vator said. He doesnt trust you. Thats why he marked me with his flame. Thats why he has that barrier fire lining his Metamind at all times. +He is right to be suspicious. But we are bedfellows of desperation. Both unleashed by the acts of a singular being.+ Avo, Avo, Avo, Vator said, testing the name on his lips. Hm. No. I think I will call him the Burning Dreamer instead. It sounds more fitting. Vator wove a stool from his tailbone, calcium expanding out from behind him from splitting skin, paired with delectable pain. He sighed as he sat across from Emotion, steepled his hands as he regarded how he mightve changed the other mans look perfected him more. My only point of confusion with you is how actively willing you seem about testifying at the trial. Offering yourself over to the Paladins seems dangerous. It might give them the way to track others of your like. You said you have many nodes, correct? +Yes. And they will try to stop me. But have seen the way of things. There are only so many outcomes left. And this way will guarantee a place for my culture, at the very least.+ Honorable. Vator nodded. Unbelievable. But considering all the unbelievable things that have happened since the beginning of history, perhaps this was merely another turning point. The body was a living piece of architecture, after all. Pillars broke, weight shifted, and the structure warped. +An apt metaphor.+ Emotion went silent as he began to study the Instrument. +Are most Highflame children like you?+ Vator smirked. No. Theyre usually even greater disappointments. And they fixate on these trifles. He thought back to the time when he reshaped Modad Hekkiers nu-dog. The thing had the flattest face and the most laughable nasal passage. And its body screamed for the hunt, but its embarrassing little legs couldnt carry it. He didnt understand why she screamed when he gave the good boy what it wanted. He didnt understand why she was so horrified when it tore into her forced her to kill it. Strangest of all was how she refused to speak with him afterward. He offered to mold a new bioform. Something that suited her gaudy aesthetics. But no, instead of getting pleasure or satisfaction, she chose avoidance. Even after Abrel tried explaining things to him, he found it all so ridiculous. Of course the dog wanted to be something that could express itself. Didnt anyone? The door to their living room clicked open, and Vator turned to greet his father with a smile. Behind him, service drones cleaned and swept the rest of the abode constantly. Uthred Greatling slammed the door shut before they could get a proper glimpse inside. Turning a glare on the Low Master, the former Authority regarded the mangled bag of sizzling flesh that used to be a ghoul on the table with a look of disgust. Vator Ive almost got it, he said. The drones will not touch this table. Before we leave, you will make sure it is absolutely spotless. Of course, father. But now he was no longer the focus anymore. Uthred Greatling had a new plaything to examine, and his name was Emotion. I just finished talking to Green River, Uthred said, tone deep and flat, betraying nothing to the Nolothi. She has offered to provide every resource possible to ensure that I find every success possible in my mission to see my daughter saved. The scorn in his voice was palpable, but there was also something else there. You are certain this ghoul has subverted her. +He is more than a mere ghoul now. But yes. I felt his warminds. He felt mind. We are known to each other. But the nature of our presence remain masked. He will doubtlessly be watching you and your son, but the same thing can be turned back against him. You should involve the Sang more in your matters. Keep her close.+ You do not command me, Uthred growled, towering over the phantasmal projection of the Low Master. Do not forget your place here. You surrendered to us. We are to offer you first to the Paladins, and then to the High Seraph when what you promised is delivered. But we are no equals. You are a valued prisoner that can be made a guest, or a redundancy. +I have not forgotten,+ Emotion said, unshaken by the former Authority. +Just as you remain truthful to yourself. I am the only one that can turn your daughter from damned fool to valiant victim. I am the only reason why you or your son have a trail leading to your foe at all.+ Flames erupted from Uthreds eyes. You +Will do everything to see Highflame achieve its every goal during the trial, and you begin the Fifth Guild War on dominant footing. I will be the difference between a final struggle of attrition and sorrow, or a victorious campaign with all the world aligned beneath the supremacy of your High Seraph.+ Uthred scoffed. So long as you are preserved. +I am irrelevant. My fate was sealed centuries ago. But through me, Noloth will survive, and the city eternal will remain and be protected in a paradise under oath of a singular master. We are all desperate, Uthred Greatling. You and I. Despite me if you wish. But accept the symmetry for what it is.+ Enough of this. Uthred turned away from the Low Master with a barely suppressed sneer and addressed his son. Have you isolated the ghouls afflictions yet? Almost, Vator said, annoyed to be repeating himself. I believe the engineering is voidtech in nature. Entirely natural at its base. Voidwatch, Uthred grunted. I have contacts in Omnitech, do you No! Vator snarled like a dog trying to protect his bone. A flush tinted his cheeks as he watched his father flinch away from him. No, no, I mean. I can do this. No need to trouble them. There are other matters they should concern themselves with. When I am done, I will see the Old Woman and offer what I have learned to her. Perhaps she can make something of use out of it. His father regarded him for a beat before giving a curt nod. See it done before tomorrow if you can. Vator did so love a challenge. I can. I will just need to do more testing. A flash of discomfort passed behind his fathers eyes. For a second, Vator expected to be refused, but then the look faded, and Uthred seemed merely resigned. I understand. Do it quietly. Keep your noise to a minimum. Of course, father. People go missing in these Warrens all the time. I will be sure to put some of the unwanteds to better use. I will leave the process to you, Uthred muttered as he turned to leave the room. I will be leaving for the Second Fortune in an hour. There are additional things I want to discuss with the ghouls slave. Will you bring Emotion with you? Vator asked. Uthred went still just as gripped the door. Turning slowly, he eyed his youngest son with the harshest glare he could. Vator. He is not a toy. Do not treat him as such. I have him contained, not pacified. The Famine offered no commentary about this. So, no, then? Vator said. His father promptly stepped out and left, all but slamming the door behind him. The youngest Greatling sighed once more. He turned to face Emotion again. Forgive him. He is under a great deal of stress. +And shame. And sorrow. Your brother has left a wound in him. As has your sister. And he wants to truly connect to you, for you are his greatest inheritor. But he is unable to understand you, and he fears you on an instinctive level.+ Emotion let out a soft breath. +I empathize.+ This surprised Vator. You do? Avo, Emotion said. You asked me about the meaning behind his name. It is derived from Avohakten. My son. The son I killed. Rapt fascination rose within Vator like bile, he was leaning forward, eyes aglow with glee. Tell me. Tell me. But the Low Master pressed their lips together. +A reward for you. Separate the sickness affecting my ghouls, and I will tell you everything about my wayward boy.+ The young Instrument threw his head back and laughed. An order from his father and an offer from a Low Master. What a day. What a thrill. Reabsorbing his tailbone-forged stool back into himself, Vator tugged at his suit lapels as he placed a palm against the boiling mess of flesh beside him. Ill be right back. And then he injected himself into the squirming biomass and tunneled across the city, clawing his way out from one of his many existing art pieces left in the gutters. Time for a little more testing. 27-13 Last Days of the False Peace (I) People ended up calling this time the last days of the false peace, because that''s what it was. A false peace. Sure, the Guilds weren''t fighting, but those half-strands were bound to get into it sooner or later. Even without us lighting the fuse, the High-Cuntus well, she had her designs long before we did. In the end, all I can say is that we weren''t the ones to start the fire. We just tried to shape its path so that it would burn the half-strands we wanted it to burn. But whats the thing people say about best laid plans? Shit fills your hand? Well, imagine if the shit was fire, and that some of it jumped on your short hairs and traveled up the hole. Sometimes, the burning gets a little out of control and take something from you, too. When you start a war, not all of your consangs are gonna make it. I kinda thought I knew that as an Enforcer, but I really wasnt ready to learn it again. Not with people I actually cared about. -Aedon Fuckbringer Chambers 27-13 Last Days of the False Peace (I) C[Avo]C Avo tracked the busts of radiations from after, following the progress of the Omnitech scouting Knot as the golems inched along the threshold of the clashing Sunderwilds. He detected them by pure chance noticed a discrepancy in the tapestry. They traveled as a stable series of impossibilities upon the Domain of Signals, their intermittent pulsing standing stark against a canvas eroded by entropy. When disorder reigned, that which held structure was easily separated. He had been studying Heaven-designation [TERRAFORMATION MODULE-2994.04.04-Tundra-Mountainous-Chrismas Forever Standard] along the EGIs when he detected their coming. They were still over four hundred kilometers away, but from the paths they maintained, they clearly knew what they were looking for. Once more, Avo found his suspicion rewarded. When he and Draus secured the Heaven from the enclave, he neglected to subsume immediately. His original plan was to offer it over to Omnitech to use as bargaining for the George Washington. Even then, he was paranoid of the Sleeper, and rightly so. Calvino struggled to sift through the Heavens database. The voidship it was bound to remained corrupted in data and thaumaturgy. Avo uncovered just as many flaws within its ontology, uncovering an extremely unstable mythology. Entire stretches of existence were missing from its simulated inner reality. The miracles it possessed portrayed a world of snow, mountains, festive cheer, and strangely a strong scent of ginger, but was also lined with naked rifts: clefts between the metaphysical and material. Most curiously, when it detected certain deviations across the tapestry, it would respond by attempting to trigger its own phenomena. Small alterations made to existence. Too small to incur much rend, but too unnatural to escape being baseline. It is CALLING the Sleeper, the Techplaguer purred. Connection not found. Connection not found. +But Omnitech can detect it?+ Avo asked. See. BEACONS ARE MEANT TO BE SEEN. The Techplaguers statement would further be proven when, hours later, a few hundred more instances of radiation jabbed at Avos attention. The nearest Omnitech scouts were coming in from the coast of Noloth, just before the shattered sea. In the far distance, past fracturing waves of impossible black, the fangs of the Skuldvast rose high, splitting the sky, clouds, and space. They came in across the waters, traveling along the scar charts where ruptures blunted each others entropy. The bulk of Omnitechs units were concentrating at an adjacent rupture some fifteen thousand kilometers away from where [TERRAFORMATION MODULE-2994.04.04] was stored. They used a geometric hurricane as cover, hiding as a budding field of static within the eye of the storm. The turning vectors of the winds bent the worlds progression vector to its path, warping the land and twisting even the tectonic plates below into a mangled looking corkscrew. Avo considered striking them with his Pattern-Nullification, dumping every bit of entropy he had over into the Domain of Signals using the Techplaguers hell. Ultimately, he decided to let them be for now. He didnt want to betray his hand so soon, and formed ethereal watchtowers to monitor their progress. EDICT OF _EXO-PARACOSM_ APPLYING DOMAIN OF (MATTER) >CANON: MIND UPON MATTER - THE ARK INFUSES A PORTION OF MATERIAL REALITY WITH THEIR GHOSTS AND PARTIALLY BINDS THE MATTER TO THEIR MEMORY. A PERCENTAGE OF REND WILL RESERVED IN PROPORTION TO THE MASS AND NUMBER OF STRUCTURES INFUSED. THESE STRUCTURES CAN ONLY BE DESTROYED IF THE GHOSTS INFUSED ARE DISRUPTED AND THE MATERIAL STRUCTURE IS DESTROYED AT THE SAME TIME. ->MORTALITY: IF THE INFUSED STRUCTURE IS DESTROYED, ARK WILL SUSTAIN MINOR (5%) BACKLASH. The watchtowers rose from the land in the shape of faint, flaming chains near invisible from afar. Between each link was a pulsing Skimmer, projection wavelengths over perception over their respective checkpoints. Avo strategically placed four hundred and fifty of them in critical areas near all his facilities. His enclave, prison, bivouac, and the refugee processing site all fell under additional watch, and through them, he detected additional unwanted guests. They were coming from all sides. Not only Omnitech now, but Highflame and the No-Dragons as well. Their vanguard came in the form of Knots, but Avo knew Godclads were certain to follow. Dipping into the tapestry, he felt them drain the Rend from critical ruptures and began inserting demiplane through stabilized zones. Doubtless, they wanted this to be done in the form of an ambush. The encroaching threat left a sour taste in Avos mind. Veylis now knew a substantial amount about his operations with Kaes capture, and the path to his current enclave was no great difficulty of the Guilds. Still, the Sunderwilds would slow their approach and buy him time. Such was why he re-stationed his cadre out here. Such was also why the Guilds would find themselves sorely disappointed when they arrived. If the High Seraph or the Infacer expected to catch him unaware and finish this fight quickly, they were nursing themselves on delusion. Casting the information over his cadre, he got his first response almost immediately. +Shit. That was fast,+ Draus said. +Guess they want to knock us off the board before we can even get to play.+ Avo agreed. +Impatience is a poor habit. But they will learn. How are the passages coming along.+ +Theyll be done by tomorrow.+ +Do them by today. Stop shooting people for now.+ The Regular responded with a disgusted snort. +Im teaching Glass how to be my spotter.+ That gave Avo pause. +You renamed the Simulacra glass?+ +Full titles a mouthful.+ A gorgeous spray; it was wonderful portraying the scene of your death. her Heaven of Reflections said. Avo shifted a fraction of his subminds consciousness over to Draus and found her firing her projectile launcher through a pane of glass repeatedly. Within the pane were over a dozen portals that opened and closed as Draus directed them about. Smart fluid ammunition snapped across the void where Draus was floating, into the junction of her Liminal Paracosmos, before splitting apart into separate projectiles that all zipped forth across random places all over New Vultun and beyond. People were dying constantly. A Scaarthian just out of the shower, still humming a jaunty tune, was decapitated. A Highflamer tried to take a sip from a glass of champagne and caught a bullet down his throat instead. A Seeker was jogging over a puddle, enjoying the morning air. A heartbeat later, something skipped through his body and unzipped his insides from groin to throat. A father-son team of hunters high-fived over the bleeding carcass of a dying refugee. That moment of glory became their final forever as a projectile jumped out from a broken window and went through both of their skulls. The Simulacrae sighed happily, just glad to catch all these scenes in their reflection. The Arsenalist said only one thing. Locked. Firing. Avo hummed. +Actually looks fun. Focus on completing the passage. Can keep killing.+ +Fuck off, rotlick. Dont need your permission.+ It was ever wonderful working with Draus. +Just get the passage done. Want to start moving people up as soon as possible.+ +Yeah, yeah. Your other selves wont stop buggin me bout it too. And that new Heaven of yours is doin all kinds of weird shit. Triggered my wards more than once too. You sure youll be able to stabilize it before the people get up here?+ +Ill strengthen their minds. Theyre going to be living inside it eventually.+ *** Across New Vultun, another submind took in the city he was soon to war over and mediated on the ambiance. For so long, he''d climbed, harnessed power for both his mind and his soul. His journey had started so low, in the depths of the Maw, carried up by cruelty, by sin, and by mercy and chance.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. He still remembered rising into the city proper, standing in the lobby of the mega block as Essus wept over his dead son. Holograms depicting a brighter tomorrow danced, casting their flickering brightness over the survivors. A world that was. A world betrayed. A world he now fought for. Two months felt like lifetimes. He experienced so much, come so far, and when he looked back, a pain deeper than sorrow pried at his being. This was not the dream. More and more, he knew the feeling of such loss. His ghosts drifted, observed gutter communities of people just trying to live, listened to the laughter of children, surviving, playing, thriving, despite the desolation that was soon to come. Lurking under the shadow of vast cylindrical structures structural supports passing through Layer One the young played and survived, near feral in their bands, but still lost between hyper-alertness and juvenile fantasy. Humanity wasn''t meant to suffer the gutters, but they endured, they lived, they experienced, and from they came color, came expression, came belief; the seeds of divinity. Higher yet was the spine, buzzing constantly like a hive, bullets flying between pursuing aeros and fleeing drones, ramshackle communities sprawling out around mega blocks ruled by syndicates. Hulking masses of plascrete, glass, and alloy sprawled out into weaving bridges that spilled over into the surrounding scenery like invasive tubes. Avo once regarded these hubs as enemy strongholds, and now found over sixty percent of them under his sway, the minds within overwritten by templates of Chambers, Regulars, and supporting Incubi. In time, they would become his unseen army, poised for a Second Uprising against the Guilds. Noloth was a fool to think they could make better monsters than men, and Veylis would be foolish if she thought he would spare her Guild a proper starvation. A stream of holographic advertisements cycled along the smoothness of a bulbous airship. A projective DeepNav highlighted new euthanasia clinic openings. +Try the new take-home BlissDream Pill! Drift off into the best sleep of your life! Your death will be dedicated to a Guild of your choice by the Thanatechs, and your family will be eligible for imp rewards and citizen lottery percentage bonuses!+ The light carried a message of darkness, but the light was also just light for the people below. Just light, the contents ignored. So many still chose to live, despite it all. Finishing with his mediation, Avo shifted his consciousness and sought Chambers. The man was overlooking a bio-manufacturing hidden two hundred kilometers outside New Vultun. The entire facility was a mesh of glass and flesh, with a few engineering stations and nanofabricators printing weapons and implants. The man stood at the very top of the facility, looking down through the transparent layers. From one end, thousands of subverted Enforcers trickled in, were stripped of weapons and augs, gradually biologically altered of morphology and even identity. Avos overwrote their in layers. On the surface, he replaced the Enforcers original egos with memories extracted from enclaves. Below, he shaped them to be like Regulars and Incubi, their deeper nature set to trigger when they came under attack. As Chambers directed channels of eldritch fire through each room, he seared new forms into their body, molding their flesh like clay. Many were made to resemble the enclavers post-baptism, and those finished with processing were placed in a final section of the facility where they were made to put on the proper apparel. In time, these would be the forces waiting for the Guilds at the enclave. Not the scared people they intended to massacre. Its gonna be a pretty nasty surprise, Chambers said, funneling another rush of flame across a few hundred bodies in the third level. Them Color-fucks wont know what hit em. +That is the hope. How are the Syndicates coming along.+ Work in progress, Chambers said. I casted the Council of Fuck earlier. +Please dont call your copies that.+ It was agreed on with a vote and a knife fight. Sorry Avo. [You did this,] Abrel growled. [You gave this godsdamn degenerate pervert the confidence to become this.] All actions had a price. Well be mostly done by the time the trial starts. Shit, youre pumping out so many mes we might be able to start two more Syndicates. Problem remains with Omnitech and Sanctus. The former keeps nulling hundreds of me like they see me coming. Ont-Shift shits all over your subversion for the second. Well have supremacy in the gutters, but not complete control. That was about as much as Avo expected. +Then destroy them first when the time comes. Dont waste resources trying to claim them.+ Right. Ill get the bombs and nukes ready. A cast left Chambers, and he delegated instructions to his other selves. They had a system in the Chambers with the smallest penis was the most senior after the original. Otherwise, they were a relative flat organization. The former half-strand still wasnt what Avo would call a good leader, but with all the Incubi and Regulars running support for him, all he needed to make was executive decisions. Target critical weaknesses. Were gonna get her back soon, right? Chambers asked. His mind bore a new kind of resolve. Give Veylis the ass-fuck of a lifetime. +Yeah,+ Avo said, speaking with hope rather than worry. +Dont think theyll see what we have coming.+ Chambers chewed on his inner cheek. Right. Well. Im ready. More ready than Ive been all my life. In his mind, he thought of what Dannis told him, and he kept himself controlled. +It is a joy to see you with purpose,+ Avo whispered, compelled to speak his thoughts. Yeah? Chambers chuckled, and stopped his burning for a moment. Imagine if my old man could see me now. +Dont think he would be able to meet your eye.+ Yeah. I dont think he would, would he? Ah. Fuck it. Fuck him. Fuck Zein. Fuck Veylis. Im not gonna lie, its funny as shit to me that doing the right thing is falling to a monster like you and a freak like me but He shrugged. Jaus couldnt light the wick, maybe it just has to be us: the ones too fucked up to break properly in the first place. Avo laughed. +To being fortunate outcast in a sunken time.+ To being the cocks for once, and not the asshole. [Wow,] Abrel murmured. [Regular poetry from both of you.] *** As the number subverts grew in the bio-processing facility, Avo manifested his Overheaven in the City of Light. Once more, he regarded the people below from his tower, and from them emanated the weight of trauma and shock. The days had not been kind to them. One crisis after another left them reeling, and the truth of the world was already overwhelming. All the information Avo fed them rendered them anxious, and more than a few had to be drawn back from the verge of madness. But beyond keeping them stable, he left them relatively untouched. Wanted to speak with them as honestly as possible. +Dice. Are they ready?+ The once-girl was standing at the very apex of the tower, and the cat batted at one of Avos branching ghosts while cursing him mentally. No, Dice said. But they will never be. Theyre waiting for the gate to open. So the dog can come out. So they can stop being afraid and just act. The perspective left by her past was a twisted one, but even that offered its insight. +Are you ready?+ Avo asked. The girls mechanical head whined as it turned. Yes. Death is easy. But life. Its been interesting. I want to go to the void. Its new. I havent seen it. It might be nice. Again, the junviles in the gutters called back to him. Near feral from violence, but still a child somewhere inside. Accepting her words with a grunt, he extended his sequences across the city, and from them spread tendrils of ghosts and splinters like sprouted seeds. In seconds, he was connected to every inhabitant still present in this City of Light, and began what was his third formal address. +War is coming,+ Avo said. He spoke to them directly and saw no point in lying. They should know what potential fate awaited them. They should be offered a clear choice. He channeled his most recent memories, edited to be palatable for mortal minds, and immediately he felt some of them shudder, the suppleness of their cognition recoiling at the Ladder. "Oh, no, please no," a woman whimpered, rocking her newborn close to her chest. A man simply sat down, curled into a ball, and began to cry. Dread and despair rose like steam from countless minds across the city. Avo allowed it. These were appropriate responses, and they should know the truth of the world. But then he continued, for he was not done. And neither were they. +There will be an attack soon. An attack by powers beyond you. Beyond all your comprehension.+ Avo paused. +Beyond even me. But I intend to fight. To make a stand here. To see them bloodied and broken from their failed raid. I will fight them using reality and cognition as my weapons. But this is not your war. But this does not need to be your fate. I hear your fear. And I have been making arrangements.+ +I understand that none of you asked for this. Whatever your sins, whoever you were, this was not your fault. You are merely caught in the waves of history. But there is no avoiding this. Not when the prize is mastery over every form of reality. Every future possible.+ Most of them were still listening, though they didn''t fully grasp the severity of the conflict. Not truly. Their minds didn''t have the capacity to, but they understood. He gave them enough detail to understand. +There will be an end soon. Everything will be decided within a year. The shaping of reality that follows will determine the fate of humanity for however long eternity may last. This war is beyond you, but this war concerns you. You cannot escape it. Not fully.+ +There are people who believe that they should decide the fates of your children. Decide that you must live in their paradise. Or be punished for rejection. I am not one of these people.I will make that known now. You will be given options. There will be other enclaves made available for you. I will not know where you are. I will not know how to find you. You will be able to go there. Find sanctuary. I make no guarantees that tranquility is certain to follow. But there will be peace. Rest. Respite. At least for some time.+ +For those of you who wish to fight, who wish to face the coming end, I welcome you. I will give you all you need to take back your life. To express yourself one final time against the only foe you should ever hate. The truest foe. The highest foe. The tyrant of time. A daughter who deceives all. Even herself. A tyrant that fears another''s wants. Who fears a paradise that doesn''t resemble hers. Who seeks to make true an unwilling god. Who seeks to control all possible future so the only one that remains will be her.+ Avo paused and unleashed new memories. He showed them what Veylis could do. He showed them what she took, and what she could do. He showed them the enormity of her sin and the power she wielded. Jaus was screaming. Jaus was always screaming. +There will be no peace when you walk this path. An undignified end may await. But you will know what it means to hold your own fate. To master your own destiny. You will not go with those who choose sanctuary. I will take you to an old frontier. An old frontier once colonized and then lost by humanity. An old frontier in the darkness above. I will build a citadel from nothing. I will grant you power over nothing. And I give you experiences that no one will ever truly understand. You will be first. You will be unique. And you will be Ensouled. Given power over reality. To defend reality. To defend your future.+ +I have spoken my piece, if you desire to make another choice, if you desire to make your own choice, then let your thoughts shine in your minds. I will see them. I will respect them. I may not accept them. But I will provide you whatever freedoms I can. I will do my utmost to see you become all you can.+ A deathly silence gripped the city, and everything seemed still, aside from a certain uplift that was actively trying to boo, though the cat really didn''t have the throat for it. +The false peace is at an end,+ Avo said, reminding them of the coming war. +There is no avoiding what is to come. Accept. Accept and decide. Accept and choose your own color.+ And as soon as he finished, he cast the memories over to Marlowe. While the city reeled once more. A breathless laugh came from the thoughtcaster still up in the void. She spent her time aboard the Manta, preparing the planetary ring for habitation. A joy was burning in her, and its resonance wasnt so different from Chambers purpose. It was life in the moment. It was the thrill to be here in the present. +Nice speech,+ Marlowe said. The hairs along her skin were standing up, and her breath was slightly hitched. +This will cut one hell of a promo at your trial.+ +I will provide anything else you need,+ Avo said. +But dont embellish. We give New Vultun the full truth. All of it. Make them feel this weight. Not only the enclavers who need to decide.+ 27-13 The Last Days of the False Peace (II) I didn''t expect to be the last one standing. Out of everyone else. That was the weapon. And somehow... I just keep making it out alive. -Jelene Draus, User of the Stillborn 27-13 The Last Days of the False Peace (II) GHOSTS - [822,731,124] LIMINAL FRAME (VI) - 844,200 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION INFECTION - [4.09%] Emptiness was not nothingness. Emptiness was space. Emptiness was relative. Emptiness was a canvas. Emptiness was coldness. Emptiness was isolation. And emptiness would be salvation. Most heavens possessed by Avo were already pre-madeharvested from golems or other Godclads. Their lore and mythology were shaped by the agnostic, and long determined by history and culture. Their domains, thus, were concepts known to man like Blood and all its symbology, Air, defined by freedom and escape, Signals, reimagined as a bastardization of lost technology. But the Heart of the Void was to be something else. It would be a Heaven forged by a god. A Heaven forged for purpose above mythology, and the faith that fueled it would be in worship of practicality and functionality. Where once this core of roiling dark was the Heart of Noloth, shaped to protect unworthy masters in a war they could not win, now, it would be cultured to protect the weak, the consume the strong, and mantle the hollow expanse that once cradled all of human existence. There in the void, Avo left a part of him alongside the Manta. He, and a few hundred iterations of Kae drifted, watching the tapestry act and react in the void, studying its patterns. [Peace,] one of the Kae-templates said. [Perhaps that is Domain we can make. It is known to Naeko, after all.] [No, no,] another Kae sighed. [Peace is too easy to compromise. I am sure the High Seraph has a plan for that. Targeted Rendbombs! Paradoxes using previous instances in history. We are trying to create something truly and completely novel! Something that the Guilds cannot easily counter the time they are granted.] As his inner Agnosi theorized, Avo watched all ten thousand kilometers of the planetary ring shift along the curve of Idheim. It splashed through the reaching swaths of the Sunderwilds, sinking in and out of entropy with each of its rotations. However the Guilds made it was designed to last, and now Draus was lining its interior with glass, while the Manta pumped air into a secured section of its insides. Relative to the void, the unfinished ring was a refugee. A place to stay for the enclavers and refugees that wished to follow Avo over Essus. But there was also something else, a relative pull between Idheim and the structure that encased it gravity born from all things with mass. [Mass?] Kae said. [Its been done. Gravity, perhaps.] [Its also been done] [Not like this! We are living old knowledge right now.] +Relativity,+ Avo said. The Kaes went silent. +Gravity can be a secondary Domain. Fusion from the Sun as well. Coldness. Vacuum. The void. Even singularities. Only told me about them. Will be useful. Something most Godclads cant escape from. Even affects time. But relativity. Absolute effects between objects. Consider a thaumic version of gravity. Something that affects conceptual weight as much as physical.+ Kae considered that. [Creating worship for such a Heaven would be difficult.] +No. Its simple. Its about attraction. Repulsion. It is about the pressure applied between things. This is observable. But what is referenced is the canvas. Totality. The city. The backdrop. Our setting. This void. Light moves the same to all observers in the natural world. Physics shares rules. And I see it in the pattern now: the pull. The drawing. An unseen tether of force. Chains and chains.+ Calvino whispered in his mind. {History repeats once more. Or maybe this is just weight drawn across the ages.} +What?+ Avo asked. {Just a reference to an old idea. Its good to see knowledge resurrected. What is lost may always be found anew.} Avo didnt fully get the pogniance of what the EGI was referencing, but accepted their subtle pleasure. As he continued to mediate on the fabric of the universe, he watched the relative links, zoomed back from them. Two Domains accompanied them always. Space and chronology. Space tied to chronology. Everything was somewhere. Everything existed at some time. But with relativity, wasnt the two linked as well? Werent time and space things that moved in tandem. From that, Avo adjusted his view of the tapestry as his perspective deepened. Thinking of it like a weave or a web or a stream was insufficient. Patterns were not lines or irregularities, but relativity distortions from other references of its own symmetry. Miracles of Blood didnt behave like blood. The Fardrifter was not wind. But everything was part of a Continuum. A resonance passed through Avo, and the idea continued to calcify. [Continuum,] Kae said, thoughtfully. [A reference for existence.] [More than that: it is like the tapestrys shape. We we are tapping to the shape itself?] +The shape is broken,+ Avo said. +It must be dreamed of anew.+ And so he did. And so he looked into the blissful empty again, and applied his own history to it. His own mythology. Emptiness was a container. Emptiness was accommodation. Emptiness was acceptance. And from there, the memory of Walton came alight, and once Heart of Noloths aesthetics changed. In the roiling dark and empty, translucent distortions formed, sprouting wide wings, and onyx eyes of reflective white. Conceptualizing Domain of (Continuum)Stolen novel; please report. >Working Title: Strix Upon the All-And-Empty *** [Shotin] The Stormtree-Ori-Thaum embassy was choked for business today.Aurithalm embassy was busy today. Bodies were filtering in and out. Massive bodies. Bodies large enough to fill doorways. Bodies that Shotin wished he could just shift away. Perhaps on a normal day, he would have, consequences be damned. But not today. Today, he was here with his niece, and here to talk with his bond brother. Today, he was going to do something he really didnt want to do in the name of diplomacy and outreach between the two major powers he represented: Ori-Thaum and the growing empire of the Knower of Totality. After a good hour of polite waiting, the last cadre of Bloodthanes stomped out from the office, their furs dragging along the ground as they grumbled to each other. Scaarthians never really stopped being an imposing sight up close. There was a wrongness that was scarred into them, and they seemed to regard everyone else much the same. Except Valhu. They liked him. Almost everyone liked him. Valhu Kitzuhada was a popular guy, and today, that was even more the case. As their number was called, Shotin got up and sauntered over to the front desk. Maybe I should talk to them, Kare said, eyeing Vaeg Saskierher fathers attendant. Nah, Shotin said. Its pretty much custom that she tells me to go fuck myself with her eyes. Gotta do it. Uncle, Kare sighed. Lifes about the little things, Kare, Shotin replied, walking across the polished ground, near reflective with its gleam. Youll understand if you ever get to have hate-sex with someone. Im deleting this memory, Kare answered. The Sanctian attendant was sitting there in her nice vest and crystal-rimmed spectacles. She looked up at Shotin and almost sneered, but her expression flattened into confusion at the sight of Kare. The Seeker held out his hand. "No funny business today. I just need to talk to him. Make it quick. A real serious matter." Vaeg started flatly. Like all the other previous serious matters. Shotin met her stare without any of his usual playfulness. No. Not really. That was enough to make her understand. She read the intensity in Shoten''s voice, in his demeanor. There was something wrong. The ghosts circulating her metamind plunged inward as phantasmal currents glided up and down her sequences. Finally, she blinked and gave Shotin a nod. "His schedule just opened. Hell see you now." "Thanks," Shotin said, knocking the table once. Love the glasses, by the way. Like being able to see myself in your eyes. She grumbled a curse and tore the accessory from her face, fling it at him, as he laughed and walked to the opening door. Kare picked up the glasses and handed them back to Vaeg before following thereafter. As Shotin entered Valhu Kitzuhadas office, he gave his brother-in-law a brief nod of exhaustion. Valhu. Ive come to make your day worse. If thats all you''re here to do, then feel free to leave, because the jobs already His brother-in-laws voice trailed off as he mentally swiped through phantasmal documents, pausing only when he saw his daughter. Kare? Hi, dad, she said, biting her lip awkwardly. Valhu looked between Shotin and his niece and blinked. Whats wrong? Whats going on? Shotin sauntered over to the mans sofa and collapsed. Shifting himself a few times, he readied his spirit for what was to come and looked up. "All right," Shotin said, reaching inward to get the ghouls attention. "I''m here. We can all come out and talk now." He closed his eyes. "Don''t burn him. You promised me. Don''t fucking lie to me or I will And before he finished the sentence, a towering, thin form spilled out from his mind, merged into the vagueness of a humanoid from a net of undulating ghosts. The ghoul once known as Avo greeted Ori-Thaums ambassador to Stormtree in his Bone Demon avatar with active Meldskin. The voidtech disguised Avo bestial origins, but the Echoheads captured Valhus attention. A look of confusion and uncertainty filled his face. His cone of perception jumped between Kare, Shotin, and the monster standing before him. There are some things you need to know, Kare began. "Don''t freak out," Shotin interrupted, gesturing to Avo "He''s a..." Shotin began, then frowned as he couldn''t quite find the words to say. "He''s not an asshole. Well, yeah, he is kind of a half-strand. But he''s trying to help us, I think. Well, mainly trying to help himself. Listen, he ate my mind, and could have turned me into someone different to use a spy against Ori_Thaum. But he didn''t. And now he wants to talk to you and so do I," Shotin said, folding his arms. "Does that make things clear?" Valhu just blinked. Slowly he took off his spectacles, gave the ghoul in the room another look, and sighed. "Shotin, are you... are you experimenting with Nova again? Is this some kind of new canon?" "Well, I technically never stopped," Shotin said, shrugging. "But no, this is much worse than that. He''s real. He''s not a phantom. Listen, he''s his own person. He''s not just a projection. Avo, show him." The ghoul promptly speared an Echohead through the ambassador''s nice carpeted floor. Valhu winced as Avo extracted his stinging tendril. The carpet was a personal gift from one of the Longeyes. The ghoul simply gave him a nod, and then ghosts flowed out of him, filled the damage, melted into the carpet. When they settled, the carpet was whole again, as if it had never been stabbed in the first place. Once more, Valhu blinked. And Avo spoke his first words. "Ambassador Valhu Kitzuhada. Pleasure to finally meet you. Glad to finally speak. Happy I saved you." "Man you saved?" Valhu said. His hand was still reaching under the table, where that old spatio-kinetic pistol he took from that Regular all those years ago was strapped. It wouldn''t help, but Shotin didn''t try to stop him. What was the point. And Avo probably knew already. He wouldn''t be surprised if the ghoul was already in his brother-in-law''s mind. "Jhred Greatling," Avo said. "He was planning your assassination. Planning to bomb the function you hosted. The one at the Fire''s Height. Two months ago. I stopped him. Killed him for personal reasons. Caused the Shattering of Nu-Scarrowbur and Mazzas Junction. Also caused the arrest of Abrel Greatling and Elder Mwaba DRongo." Valhu''s mouth fell open. No I know you Youre the bioform. The Pale Spider. That is one of my titles. I want to tell you a few things. Let you know a few things. I promised Shotin that I would spare you, won''t consume you from my Gestalt. At least for now. But that doesn''t mean I need to leave you blind, and that doesn''t mean we can''t be allies. Your clan is engaged against the DRongos. Need to know they are compromised by a Low Master of Noloth. Need to know that Noloth intends to breach your Guild further. Need to know that the Fifth Guild War is approaching. Veylis making her play. And I need an audience with the Inner Council. Want to talk diplomacy. The ambassador struggled to internalize all that information. I. you Blood danced like swirling mist upon the ghouls palm, and a locus was formed. Placing the corpse crystal on the ambassadors table, Avo infused the faceted item with ghosts. All the details you need here. Also a captured Famine of Peace. Dissect him if you wish. Believe your Incubi will be interested. I know this is overwhelming. But there is no more time. And we stand to be of great benefit to each other. For a few seconds longer, Valhu struggled with his thoughts. As his eyes skipped to Shotin, then Kare, a nod from his daughter lessened his worry. His head lowered. Valhu sighed. Alright. Start by telling me what you want. Ill tell you want I think after. And the confused man was gone, and in his place was the diplomata veteran at his trade. Avo continued, "Ambassador, you are held in high esteem for both Stormtree and Ori-Thaum. Want you to make introductions for me. Want to meet a Longeye through you. Want to speak with the Inner Council, as said. Valhu swallowed slowly. "I will not betray my oath." "I don''t want you to betray anything. I do not want your loyalty. This isn''t a threat. This isn''t a bargain. I''m going to tell you where you can find our shared enemies. And you will help me. Because the cost otherwise would be too high. Veylis Avandaer is about to start the Fifth Guild War, Shotin elaborated. Then side-eyed Avo. Actually, no. The ghoul here is about to start the brawl, Veylis Avandaer is just content to oblige. War was coming regardless. But the end approaches. The Ladder looms. Do you know of the Ladder, ambassador. Ladder? Valhu said. Avo grunted. Assumed so. Did know your daughter was the target of Zein Thousandhand. Wanted to kill her so you would fight a war to her design by grief. Valhus eyes only widened. Its true, Kare said, sounding exhausted. Everything hes saying its madness, father, but true. I know this is strange, but A meeting with the Longeyes is more likely than the Inner Council. Valhu looked like he didnt understand the words he just said. Stormtrees governing crones are always interested in a conversation. But the Inner Council. They view the world through their Mirrors I already got a summons, Shotin said. Valhu froze for a beat. Then why ask me for introductions. Because you are a proper channel. This is what Great Powers do. It would seem improper for me to just breach in through Shotin. Maybe it wouldnt even work. But it would spark a war. A war we can delay or avoid. Depending. Understand that you are also working to save your Guild from me. By this point, the ambassador was entirely dry of words. That was fine, Avo had plenty. Let me give you some perspective. Let me show you a glimpse of the end. Can tell me what you think after that. Can bring peace with you as an offering. Get back to me afterward. Whywhy do you want to speak with them? Are you seeking a preemptive truce? More. Want a temporary alliance for the trial. And want to work together on resolving the matter of Noloth Valhus perfect posture turned crooked. A suffering noise escaped him as he looked at his daughter and brother-in-law. A chuckle of disbelief preceded his words. "What the hells have you two gotten me mixed up in? 27-13 Last Days of the False Peace (III) There is no higher sin than love, there is no greater transgression than to want, there is no greater failure of humanity, of existence, than our inability to face things as they are. No more. I will see us make this mistake no more. Love will hurt me no more. May only awareness ache when I think of those I lost. New Vultun, I proclaim to you now, on the end of days, this day of all days to come, no more. No more tyranny. I free all of us from the tyrant that is love. May a peaceful eternity follow thereafter. -Kae Kusanade, Murderess of Love 27-13 Last Days of the False Peace (III) C[Veylis]C Veylis glided over the districts she held in sway. Even now, she could feel moats of the Dreamers sickness trickling in, registered as spreading spots of infection. Loci went dark. Rendbombs were detonated at critical installations. Millions simply collapsed, their minds shattered and winnowed of shape. With each passing second, Avo, the Knower of Totality warred against her. And with each passing second, she appreciated his efforts more. Finally. For a time, with the absence of her mother, she thought there a lull in her strain. A time for her to recover from all these centuries of focus. Not so. He was rapidly becoming a worthy replace in both angle and operational intensity. A different kind of adversary anyway. One that nursed her interest and vexxed her strategies. Her mother spent echoes like strikes. Was always escaping forward into the future. Avo was a tide. A flood. An infection. Always assailing her walls. Always demanding that she remain focus or suffer losses. And with each passing day, the frequency and intensity only grew. His strategy remains unchanged, she back, speaking across her own path. But his operational capabilities his tactics. Those have become infinitely more varied and complex. The amount of Nether-based attacks striking our lobbies will likely surpass Ori-Thaum twice over before the end of this month. {You sound way too pleased,} the Infacer said. {Like a girl. With a new toy to break.} Its learning how to break a being so unique that interests me. He has become an axiom unto himself: an Overheaven of Conceptualization, a God of Minds and Consciousness. What a grand Domain to govern. What a foe to face with time. A Knot of golems detonated within one of her factories, causing a chain of explosions before she cleaved its progression. Time moved like a blade in her hand, and across time she cut as well, her miracles serving as both weapon and canvas, splitting the devastion years away, never to register in the present. A clean severance of fading gold left an entire complex bifurcated. Her riposte would go noticed by the other Guilds, but taking the damage was ugly calculus. She needed the facility preserved should Stormtree attempt to seize the Sovereignty. Every bit of production mattered. In the Nether, the ghoul was spreading, launching traumas against fortresses, subverting critical personnel at an alarming rate. The Infacer had taken to routinely detonating entire areas, as if trying to gas a den of aratnids into submission. Through the integration of Omnitechs Noosphere, they kept the Dreamer at bay with the thaumic encryptions, but that wasnt going to be a permanent solution. The Infacer assumed its quality of delay to last weeks to months at most. Meanwhile, the best asset Avo had in the real was clearly former Guard-Captain Jelene Draus. The regular was unfettered. Gleeful, even. She died in the thousands, millions, soon to be billions, attacking various installations, fighting with brutal efficiency no matter what body she was woven into, no matter what equipment, what implants, or support she had. Another reason for Veylis to exert her displeasure on the Chivalrics. Their incompetence cost her more than they could ever know. But part of her was pleased to see one of her former daughters so joyous. Be all the other Regulars as euphoric as she someday. Perhaps they will meet each other in glorious ends, dying to claim a final tomorrow. No greater glory. No greater end. The others Guilds were also suffering, recoiling and confused about the random attacks ripping through them. Already, she could see Stormtree, Ashthrone, and Sanctus savaged by Nether-based attacks. Entire districts were dark. Phantoms flickered over their skies, glitching and broken, while entire divisions and departments lay dead or subsumed. And despite the Inner Council of Ori-Thaums capabilities at contending with beings like the Hungers, despite the Longeyes ability to peer through all destruction, past, present, and future,, despite Sanctus''s ability to shift across time, and Ashthrone ready to take everyone with them to a final end, they had no idea what they were fighting. They knew nothing of the plague eating away at them. As the new variables entered her Heaven, she resimulated her paths, and saw a 51% chance that the bulk of the Massist Guilds would be captured by Avo before the year was over. That was, if she didnt find a way to put an end to him before that. "There is one thing he''s doing. Something that I cant quite predict," Veylis said, expanding her paths now, directing them across the Sunderwilds. Her core location was still enclosed in the city, close to her many protections in the Tiers. There were too many threats to risk being backlashed. She needed to do this as subtly as she could. The sanctuaries were effectively lost to him. She could see them destroyed now; would it be a pointless thing. As would the murder of that unfortunate soul, Essus. Kaes memories depicted a man who was broken after the death of his son. Not vengeful, not fueled for change, not even driven to claim the Ladder himself for a chance at fixing this great injustice. No. Simply broken. A pity. She would have to shape a better life for him, feed strength into both him and his boy so that they can face the life and every life to come. It would be a gesture of esteem to those who stood with the Dreamer. Something that would have never been granted to the man otherwise. Alone. He was damned. Weak and cursed by predestiny. Only through Avos choice was there true weight to his being. Weight to his existence. The same could be said for Aedon Chambers. The same could be said for countless others. Do you think hes being honest with us about Noloth? Veylis finally finished her question. Looking beyond the borders, she studied the crawling tendrils of the Sunderwilds consuming the horizon. Seven hundred kilometers away, there was an enclave she needed to burn. {Yes. I think that he despises them more than we do. The Hungers are an impediment, something we need to remove, completely reintegrate with the Ladder before its final deployment. For him, they likely represent something disdainful. The murderers of his father. The mistakes of the past. A personal adversary. Or maybe he simply desires to devour them, to take their place and make better whatever dreams they had.} The Infacer chimed with wry amusement. {That last part, I think, is the most likely. I can say a lot of things about the Burning Dreamer, but his appetite stands out even among all the foes I have faced. What a palate. What a diet.} The EGI made a few biting noises, teeth clicking together, and Veylis replied with a noise that was almost a laugh. Then we should accommodate him on this," Veylis said. "He presents both a unique challenge and also an opportunity. He can engage the Hungers on their own territory to take hold of the Nether." The Infacer considered her words. {You wish for him to completely capture the Nether, don''t you. So we can collapse it all at once?} A potential path. But there are others I have planned. {Oh. Agnos Kusanades project. I do wonder how you intend to hurt him with the Heaven of Love.} Naekos face flashed into Veylis mind, but she pushed his shadow away from her, raw discipline surmounting base emotion. Thats not for him. That is for our victory. To cement our final alliance. {Oh. Hes not going to like that. What you plan to do to him. He will come to accept it. I will have the rest of eternity to win his forgiveness, after all.Stolen novel; please report. {And youre not afraid he might fall for someone else in the meantime.} The High Seraph snorted. One does not yearn for a lesser flame. {Oh. Hello, Zein. Glad to talk with you again.} Do not mock me. {Do not speak exactly like your mother, then.} The two shared a bemused silence thereafter. Understanding was precious. So was a reliable equal. {The No-Dragons are making me worried again. Theyre talking more with Stormtree. Sending out diplomatic missions. Even pledging support to the Paladins.} Yes. The Dowagers are plotting something. Something they do not wish to share with us. They are speaking through their plague forms. I managed to contain some subjects for you. Do you think you can decipher what theyre planning. {Maybe. It will take time. Time I do not think we have. Whatever the case, I think this is just another bout of internal politicking. A great many First Sisters are about to reach the end of their cycles, after all.} Veylis began creating new paths for her erstwhile ally just in case. Offer everything we have on the nodes of Noloth we captured. Give the Dreamer what you preserved of Defiance as well in exchange for a favor. {My choice.} Yes. You are the one with rapport right now. He is your companion. It would see more natural if you did it. {Fine. Ashthrone is not going to like what is coming.} We should also identify and isolate the remaining nodes of Noloth as well. Expose them to the Dreamer and have him exterminate the Famines. Observe him. See how the remnants of Noloth react. See how he faces them. {Trying to collect some more variables to nail down how our ghoul might operate?} Yes. And I would most appreciate someone else dealing with the pests. Why not have it be done by a plague. {Not exactly the weirdest gig I outsourced. And speaking of using someone else to our advantage have you decided on what we are doing with Vator and Uthred Greatling? They seem to have caught a bug.} Yes. A wondrous occurrence. I thought I had wasted them the threat they faced now far eclipses their capability to contain, capture, or kill. But this is fortuitous. I intend to have them hold course. See what the Famine is planning to do through them. Perhaps Instrument Vator Greatling will surprise me. As he has done so many times before. Perhaps his father will rediscover some of his old mettle. Whatever the case, they can be used against Noloth and the Dreamer both. {More and more pawns by the day,} the Infacer sighed. {You always did like your sacrifice plays.} There is a weight to loss. It grounds you in victory thereafter. {There is also a benefit to not losing anything and just fucking destroying the other asshole.} Yes. But what kind of story would that make for. {A comedy. Or propaganda.} A comfortable silence settled between them briefly. {You know he''ll also be coming for us in the meantime. He won''t let you keep her.} I know. And I am counting on it. All paths lead to the trail. And so, at this junction, he will strike at us. He will attempt something while the citys attention is captured. I look forward to his attempt. {And what about his enclave? Are we still going to burn it down during the trial too?} Oh, indubitably. It will be trapped and waiting for us. This will be a useful opportunity to feed him some wins. Nourish his morale further. Shape his behavior and portray a false pattern for him to latch onto. {We will still need to make a proper effort. Actually lose something substantial enough to make him things we were not faking him out.} Of course. How about a few hundred Chivalrics on a quest of atonement? {Dear girl, I keep forgetting how much I love your pawn-plays.} This time, Veylis did laugh. Then, the oddest emotion followed after. Doubt. Infacer. {Yes.} Do you ever get the feeling that things are on the verge of going terribly wrong? {All the time. You?} With every new path I simulate. *** C[Draus]C +Hey, Avo,+ Draus said, taking in the reflective lining the installed across a forth of the planetary ring. Most of its middle spines gleamed in the darkness of space, each of vitrified internally and externally, like polished studs embedded over an alloyed hoop. She was sitting on the edge of the ring next to a mess of half finished radiators. Behind her hovered rings of circulating guns forming the shape of the Arsenalist, and beside sat the Simulacra, reflecting the glory of Idheim with its body. Everything, the Simulacra said. +Hm,+ Avo said, finally responding. Draus knew he was up here with her somewhere, trying to get his new Heaven to work. She felt more than a few tugs in the darkness. He was doing something to void. Made it mess with weight or something. +Done?+ +Almost,+ Draus replied, watching the world from behind the helmet of her Meldskin. Never expected to get so far up here. She wondered what it was like fighting weightless wars. She might just take up Only on their offer soon. +The EGIs are connecting the Manta to the rings interior habitats. There are some unfinished facilities it can integrate with. Start pumping oxygen through the entire place. Get some hydroponics going.+ +Good. Ahead of schedule. Still a bit over a day left.+ +Yeah,+ she said. The trial. That was coming. While all those different variants of her got to run around, one of her and Kaes clones would be going in to jion the circus. But somehow, it all felt so godsdamned final. Didnt help that Veylis had Kae. Kae. An uncomfortable emptiness formed in Draus when she was captured. By the High Seraph, not less. Now, they were going to try to get her back. Avo had an entire mad run planned, and Draus was supposed to run heavy diversions in the meantime. The risk, as always, was high. So high it might as be suicide for most. But ghoul made a habit of telling the impossible to go fuck itself, and their cadredespite being made up of freaks, rejects, monsters, and weaponswas proving itself to be Hard to kill. But no ones luck lasted forever. +You ever think that, that at any moment we can make another dumb mistake and that''ll be that? You''ll be dead for good this time?+ Avo paused briefly, considering the question. He hummed within Draus mind. +Yes. All the time.+ +Yeah, well, I''ve been getting that feeling more and more.+ +Are you developing a fear of mortality?+ "Fuck yourself," she said casually. +Whered this come from? Bored? Tired? Kae?+ +No. Just got a feeling. It''s a hell of a feeling. I felt the same way when Loraea Greatling or that suicidal final op. We Orphans, we probably all had that feeling. Hells, a few of us joked about it, but we knew what was wrong. We knew we were gonna die for nothing, and yet all of us walked away and did as she said. Looking back, it feels mighty pathetic. What a waste.+ +Are you expressing dissatisfaction in the path we''re taking right now?+ +No, not at all, consang,+ she said. +I don''t mind dying right now, not one bit.+ Avo materialized next to her, taking the form of the ghoul he was. Echoheads attached to the open vents of the radiator as he sat down awkwardly beside her. +Aint been that long,+ Draus said. +But it sure feels like a lifetime. Feels like I came out of a dream. Or a stupor. Like Im not lost in the dark anymore. Up here? After all we went through? Yeah. Makes me feel a kind of weight. The kind of weight that makes me know what Im doing is worth it and matters.+ She paused. She wasnt sure what brought on this sentimentality, but it was here. And she wanted things to be stated plain. +I like what you did to me, Avo.+ +I like the fact that we met,+ Avo replied, earnest and calm. +Likely wouldnt have made it this far. You kept the beast at bay sometimes. Early on. The fight we had. The promise of your violence. Saved me from straying. Mightve been Waltons plan all along. Still. Wouldnt work without you. You were something of my past. Something I could understand. Mightve been what kept me centered.+ +That, and you wanted to eat my eyes.+ +Yeah.+ They both snorted a laugh. +You know something?+ Draus said, thinking back. +We never got to have a proper second bout. And now well, you feel real, but it ain''t the same. You''re nothing but ghosts and thoughts and memories. Probably won''t feel right to bleed you this way.+ +It can still be done,+ Avo said. He let out a slight hiss of consideration. +Draus?+ +Hm?+ +Do you want to fight a war against me?+ She cocked her head and smirked slightly. "Go on." +Our copies. Make them an army. A thousand each. Fight in an open plain. Sunderwilds. Just who we were. No weapons. No powers. Just us. A bloodletting like no other. Other members of the cadre can watch. Losing side gets to have a last stand if they want. Or accept terms of surrender.+ +Last stand?+ Draus snorted. +When did you become a godsdamned romantic. Aint you just about the eating?+ +Jealous. You got a glorious war during the Uprising. Culled ghouls. Fought Guilds. I hid in the Umbra. Hid from swarms. Nukes.+ +And it wasn''t even you doing the hiding technically,+ Draus said. +It was just some other ghoul that your pa pulled memories from.+ A sudden guffaw tore out from her as she rolled her eyes. +Holy shit. You''re stolen valor.+ +What?+ +You''re stolen valor. You''re stolen ghoul valor.+ Her laughing intensified. +Its too much. You''re not even a real ghoul, Avo. You didn''t actually fight in the war. You just got memories of ghouls that did.+ He looked down and bared his teeth. A low hiss of displeasure followed. +Going to kill you. Eat your eyes.+ +Are you now?+ +Going to kill you for making me think of this.+ +Hm. You remember what you asked me after our first fight?+ +If you felt real?+ +Yeah. I still don''t feel real. But I don''t think anyone does anymore. I don''t think any of us will ever feel real until someone finally wins. Until this is over. Until finally there''s something worth coming tomorrow. You and me, we are monsters and weapons. And when this is done, whatever we are now, it can''t live in the future. It''s gotta go away, or it''s gotta be put away. But right now right now we''re the realest motherfucking things in this entire goddamn universe. Thats what I think. Ill bleed with you, Avo. Ill bleed with you any day.+ He grunted and grinned. +Ill tell the others. See if we can find a moment for ourselves. For everyone.+ 27-13 Last Days of the False Peace (IV) Ball your fists and stand for who you are. The Guilds might kill you, my son, but always remember that death is never far. For what worth is a man if his words were not? A life lost in the attempt at righteousness hurts less than a dream never sought. There comes a moment where one must choose: wick or flame; to stand and deliver, or refuse. And when all is done, when the gates open and call you home, it will be your deeds and declaration that the angels make into your throne. The road is hard, the road is bleak but more than everything, the road is all we can seek. -Cas eld Canduir The Ballad of Those Before 27-13 Last Days of the False Peace (IV) {This is what I''m talking about. This. This is what civilization was made on. War. Monetized war. War as entertainment. People love warespecially when it doesn''t affect them. Especially when their families don''t get killed by artillery, or die from disease, or die because the water pipes are destroyed by bombing so they have nothing to drink, or are tainted by some nerve agent that turns you blind and deaf so you strain the citys logistics to collapse, making it easier for the invaders to gun you and your families down afterward.} Only Way To Be Sure sighed. {Ah. Good times. Anyway, this was a great idea, Avo. I strongly support this} {I have a question?} Kant asked. There was a reluctance to their voice, as if they didnt truly want to know the answer. {Where did you source all these uh bodies from? For your copies, I mean?} A half-continent away, where the coasts of Noloth trailed off upon shattering waters toward the rising teeth-shaped mountains of the Skuldvast, a thousand Avos faced a thousand Draus with fifty meters between them. In a few seconds, they would tear into each other, bleed and butcher until none were left. For now, the calm remained, and stray schools of fish swam upward into the sky, growing thinner with every moment until they slipped out of reality entirely. +Took them from Crucibles. Had compromised Syndicates send off all their hunters. People who like torturing the Fateless. People who exploit the refugees. They made their choices. I made mine using them. Will spend their lives toward better ends.+ Two thousand was also coincidentally the most Avo could draw from their existing pool of recruits without affecting the coming war too much. {Right,} Kant said. There was a bit of disappointment in their tone, but the protests were minimal. +Was expecting you to criticize me. Complain about how wrong this is,+ Able remarked. Kant simply sighed. {Avo, I am part of the ethics committee, and weve had many disagreements. But frankly, this is far more than I expected from you.} The EGI''s voice took on an exhausted quality. {It''s far more than I got from Zein a lot of the times. That woman doesn''t believe in collateral damage.} Over the enclave, the battle was broadcast and projected along the curve of the dome, extending beyond even the horizon. What''s more, the enclavers interested in the view could have their minds patched into one of the sheaths at any momentchoose to experience the fight from the perspective of ghoul or Regular; switch between survivors at ease. All it took was a mental request from the person, and Avo would connect them thereafter. What started as a nostalgic bloodletting between Avo and Draus turned into something far more sophisticated with a suggestion from Marlowe. As he and the Regular were trading insults after their initial agreement to the little war, the rest of the cadre caught on and started taking bets, while the Thoughtcaster brought up something important. +Hey, Avo, remember the whole thing about taking over the Syndicates? Well, if you''re going to stop them from killing the FATELESS, there''s just one problem about that. See, the FATELESS are a source of death, right? And if the Crucibles end and people stop dying, well, the thaums stop flowing too, right? Wont that get the Guilds to take note a bit too early?+ Avo had considered this before. Originally, his plan was to simple jack into their lobbies and networks, alter the mem-data. However, with what he could do now, and the opportunities presented, a new option could be chosen. One where the deception aided him doubly as he continued falsifying Guilder data while funneling the deaths that were meant for them to himself instead. +Are you trying to suggest I create my own snuff vicarities? Run my own Crucibles using enforcers or captured enemies instead? Overwrite their minds and bodies so they seem like FATELESS still? Everyone else went silent at that. +Huh. Right. We can corner the snuff market,+ Chambers mused. +Yeah!+ Marlowe declared, suddenly excited. +More than that. Dont you got like a hundred million Incubi flooding the Nether now?+ +About that?+ +So you can use them to capture the lobbies. Crush whats left of the competition. Make sure every stream is yours. I swearImagine this, right? You can copy minds using whatever weird god shit you got going on. And with this, you can collect any assortment of egos and put them in sheathes and have them fight each other-this is gonna be great-and you can do any variety of things. Fuck the Syndicates, the studios would have glassed Kososo again for someone like you on their payroll. They wouldn''t even need the lots anymore. Wild.+ +Point is not to perpetuate old mistakes.+ Marlowe scoffed. +Yeah, but you want to exploit every advantage. Look. There are a considerable portion of the city who just want pleasure and entertainment. Their minds are basically Numb-hollowed, and youll be able to tap into any number of them for propaganda and whatever else we need. Avo, were about to fight a war. We need to use everything and everyone. Cornering the entertainment market will let us twist shit against the Guilds so bad, those half-strands will be burning trillions of imps trying to combat the misinfo.+ She moaned as her Lustaway activated. +Just thinking about how hard we can fuck them is getting me mentally wet.+ Chambers Lustaway triggered immediately thereafter. Across the link, a childish guffaw came from the Fucktopia. Careful miss, you just splashed my host. +Jesus Christ,+ Cas muttered, horrified. +Im gonna cut the link and tune my arm. Cast me again after this is over, Avo. I dont wanna catch the Rash.+ And so it was that Avo prepared to become the first and only major producer of semi-ethical Crucibles. There was much he could do with this concept as well. The Guilds would pay good imps to watch their enemies butchered in these games. Maybe he could start doubling up on payments down the line. Whats more, he was on the cups of reaching the Seventh Sphere. Just eighty thousand more deaths. GHOSTS - [901,411,345] LIMINAL FRAME (VI) - 920,000 THAUM/c More than just raw power, Marlowes words also fine-tuned his focus. The coming war wasn''t simply one that would be won on logistics, or thaumaturgy, or even necrotheurgy, but one won on information, individual decisions, and the slightest bit of influence helped. And so another facet opened in his theater. He would spread as many truths as he could, reveal as many secrets people hid from one another as he could. Truth was a bomb, fueled by lie after lie, and across New Vultun, there was enough truth to tear this city asunder. Back in the present, the moment arrived, and Avo sent out a mental command to the arrayed forces; a call for combat to be joined. +Charge.+If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. They needed no further prompting. The Drauses moved forward in organized legions befitting their training. The Avos, meanwhile, imbued with all the knowledge the original possessed up to his transformation into a thoughtform, spread out wide, trying to box their foes in. Chrome-enhanced bodies further boosted by exo-rigs greeted spearing Echoheads and fungal-cermaite bio-armor. In seconds, blood was drawn and the vanguard clashed in a blur of claw, fist, feet, and Echoheads. The first to lose their life was an Avohis tendril seized by an impaled Draus, before several other copies of her pulled the ghoul over, each seizing an additional Echohead and pullingripping him in half. Corner laughed in the back of Avos mind as the death trickled over. [Shit, consang. Mightve been wiser to do what I told you: give your old selves some fighting knowledge. Cheat.] Avo didnt like what he was seeing, but that defeated the purpose. +No. Should learn to live in reality sometimes.+ *** Wont need to worry about the Warrens soon, Avo said, casting details about his progress. About to reach five percent infection across New Vultun. Sanctuaries are already mine. Gutters will fall a few days after the trial begins at most. The Chief Paladin merely grunted as he walked up the stairs of his penthouse. Casting a thought into a locus hidden in the walls of his second-floor bedroom, the underside of his bed hissed and clicked, magnetic clamps unlatching. The piece of furniture lacked a mattress, and in its place was a slab of mahogany with a film of dust over it. It was clear that the Chief Paladin did very little sleepinglikely chose resurrection like most Godclads for refreshing his vigor. With a whir, the entire thing folded upward, revealing a hidden locker built into its underside. Interlocked grips parted from each other in a series of snaps, and the entire thing popped open like twin doors to a bank vault. Inside, Avo found himself looking a combat skin made to accommodate Naekos considerable musculature. At first glance, the armor looked substantially like Zein''s. Exoskeletal. Gridded cells of plating constructed from voidtech. They were master and apprentice, after all. A shared aesthetic was the least surprising thing between them. What was different, however, was the personal touch to the armor. Avos Domain of Biology sensed that the bones lining the outside of the armor were actually extracted from people. Ribs lined the underside of the armors abdomen, and a second external spine was layered over the first. Skulls were placed on his shoulders like additional padding for his pauldrons, two massive plates came together to form Naekos chestpiece. The helmet was made to resemble that of a warg, and his visor was lined within its open jaw. They have a skin of your old armor in Stormjumpers? Avo asked, half serious. They have skins of all the shit I wore before, Naeko said, taking in his ancient armor. Much like the bed, it had been untouched for years, and the discomfort in his mind only built as he took it in. Hysteria intercepted a memory. He was thinking of the last time he wore it, in the aftermath of the Second Guild War. After Veylis betrayal, he tore across the skies of the city in a rage, hammering New Vultun in furious anger. For a month, he punished everyone that dared break his peace, killing them slowly, brutally, grinding their bodies away as a particularly cruel juvenile would scrape a bug against plascrete with their heel. Everyone hid from him during that month, with more than a few choosing suicide over his ire. But in the end, he was only hurting the weak, and the one that hurt him remained protected upon her throne of time. Eventually died to ash, and despair took its place. Naeko hid from himself thereafter, retreating into the glorious world of Stormjumpers. Does it have a name? Avo asked. "Hm?" Naeko said. "The armor." The Chief Paladin simply shook his head. "No, it''s just armor. Its got a model number or something. Never bothered remembering that. Just know that it works and works good." "Naming things is symbolic. Significant. Gives what you possess meaning. Meaning is power." Nako snorted, and a slight laugh escaped him. That might be the biggest mouthful of shit you said to me yet. Another memory resonated within Naeko. The Chie Paladin had said these words before, spoken them to Jaus himself. The savior simply threw his head back and laughed uproariously, not expecting such a harsh rebuke from his ever-loyal hound. Lots of people are affected by meaning, Avo said, seeing if he could get any more glimpses into the mans past. Lots of cunts, Naeko finished. Rude. Yeah. Are you gonna do something about it? Oh. The hard man routine. Avo grinned. Your Stormjumpers accounts are very vulnerable. Naeko suddenly went stiff, then turned to glare at Avos avatar. Half-strand. You touch any of them, and I will actually kill you. And stop smiling at me. Piece of shit. Im your senior. I deserve some respect. Apologies. Zein taught me too well. A sharp exhale escaped Naeko. Avo. Yes. Fuck you. Duly noted. Reaching behind the armors neck, Naekos Metamind pulse once, and the entire front section expanded like petals. Turning around, he stepped back first around the expanded combat-skin, and it collapsed around him thereafter, clasping his body and encasing him in its protection. A dark crimson glow ignited along the sprawling articulations across his armor, and Avo thought he resembled some kind of fractured metallic nu-dog wearing the bones of a human. Might be a deliberate vibe regardless. So, Naeko said, shifted awkwardly behind a visor of translucent orange. How do I look. Uncomfortable. Hells yeah. Exactly how I feel. Time to make make things worse again. Naeko closed his eyes and grimaced. Fuck. Yeah, Avo said. He vaguely understood how the man felt. It was hard to convey his sympathy through a one-word agreement, but that was all he could offer. Should we see Zein No. We keep her in the dark until the last minute. The last thing I need is her crone ass stealing our plan and making it hers somehow. Yes. That sounded like quite the Zein thing to do. What you can do is this: the moment the trial starts. Naeko paused. The traitors? Avos attention was captured. "Yes?" "When the time comes, squeeze everything you can out of them. And then kill them whenever you want. Keep their ontologics and Souls. Are you certain? Oh yeah. A growl entered the Chief Paladin''s voice, and an anger seeped from his body like pus oozing from a wound. "Im not letting the Guilds have a second go. Scales my motherfucking house. Traitors burn. Order stands. You tell the conniving shits that before you give them the flame." It will be my pleasure. Good. Now, lets go take a walk around the Gatekeeper. See if we can get Veylis thinking *** By the second hour of the war, the Draus had made a crude fortress out of all the dead ghouls they killed while the Avos struggled to manage an encirclement. The biggest deciding factor in the brawl wasnt the Regulars superior skill at close quarters, but how easily she communicated amongst her selves without even using thoughtcasts. Avos had made a good attempt, jabbing the Regulars from apart, blinding them, slicing open throats and dismembering limbs. More than a few hundred eyeballs had been eaten already. But eyeballs didnt win wars, and the Drauses fought on blind indifferent to their own fates. They were here for the fight itself. Stacks of bodies were planted high in rows as the ghouls tried to manage their advance. At first, the Avos thought they were pushing the Regulars back and breaking the line, but then they found Draus copies retreating upward, start stabbing down at them with harvested Echoheads turned spears. The attritionalready bad for Avogrew worse when the open brawl turned into a siege. [Thats a nasty trick to pull off using your backline while youre already engaged,] Abrel said. She did everything she could to reduce how impressed she feltand also avoided the thought of her mother. The Greatling still didnt much like Draus, but the bitterness there was mostly one way. The ex-Regular existed as a symbol of shame against her family name. For Draus, the Greatlings were just a pack of fuck-ups and nothing more. Indicative of the political rot consuming Highflame. +Well,+ Cas said, taking in the battle with more interest than the Overheaven expected. +It was a good and messy brawl, but I think Im calling it for the Reg.+ +Me too,+ Dice said, watching from the streets of the enclave. The uplift just liked watching the Avos die, and for that reason, Draus was their second favorite person in the world. For the Overheaven himself, he cringed at the choices made by his former selves. So many acts of blind impulse mixed in with half-way displays of ingenuity. His backline assailed the Drauses using their trauma-patterns as well, trying to use Necrojacking to tip the scales. Disruptions put an end to that, and the attempts at flanking were also anticipated. Simply put, Draus had a plan for war; his younger self only had a plan to kill her on an individual level. Given time and distance, perhaps he could have subverted her army, but this brawl was going to end the same way the Uprising did. At least his copies performed better than his brothers did, though. Small consolations. +Well,+ Draus said, doing her best not the sound smug. +Plenty of you left. Didnt reckon thatd be the case. Hope you enjoyed them eyeballs cause I sure as shit like watchin the mes kill all the yous.+ +Arrogance is unbecoming,+ Avo said. Everyone in the cadre shared a laugh at his expense. Even Kaes template joined in. +Speakin from experience, huh?+ Avo grunted with displeasure. [Still like living in reality?] Corner asked. +No. But thats the point.+ As the fight continued on, however, a ping sounded across the Nether. One of Avos subverts received an in-game message for Stormjumpers. The contents pulled his attention away from the ongoing war entirely. +Hello. SerialsExperimentsLonginus here. I got something for you. Something that belonged to your father. Never managed to capture him intact. Want to meet in the game one more time. Talk about things before hostilities formally begin.+ Walton. Avo directed the information over the White-Rab without hesitation and dispatched his base mind to Stormjumpers. And thomight just be a trap; but when was that not the case? 28-1 Breadcrumbs If you live long enough, there will come a time when the future thins, and the novelty of your experiences grows fewer and lesser by the day. As you develop your skill, you realize most never learn, and even the ones that do walk a path tattered from the treading, making mistakes youve seen another lifetime ago, making decisions you have lived before. Rejoice when such a time happens. Rejoice. You have arrived at a place where few will ever know. A place where you can apply history to the forecast of the future, and where your anticipations fall less in the realm of theory, and more along the lines of recalled memory. There are only so many choices left to man. And sooner or later, you will learn to know them all. -Zein Thousandhand 28-1 Breadcrumbs [Veylis] Veylis had been here before. Spreading her paths wide across her city, her world, she watched Rendbombs and nukes cleave ruinous scars across the city, their deployments growing increasingly targeted, inflicted to shape deliberate outcomes. She listened as thoughts were exchanged by those beneath her, the best among them training and preparing for the war they knew was always coming, the shameful desperately trying to find profit or an escape before the end. Highflame ruled over an entire faction of New Vultun. Their control was even greater when all of Idheim was taken into account. Even with all the losses she sustained during the Fourth Guild Wara dishonor brought on by her former Seraphs and the Chivalrics while Veylis attended matters related to her motherher Guild remained peerless when measured alone. Only Voidwatch stood above her on such accounts, but they were so scarred from the past that they refused to embrace thaumaturgy, thus barring them from any chance at true victory. No. Once more, Veylis Avandaer found herself simulating countless futures while hidden wars raged across the city, connecting their variables to the trial that was soon to begin at Scale. A calamity awaited at the crown of New Vultun. This could not be denied. Though even now the final trigger for the Fifth Guild War was obfuscated by developing crises and clashing factions, Veylis knew the face of her true foe for what was to come. Veylis had been here before, prepared to fight a war against all the other Guilds, but what hadnt been the case was the Dreamer. What hadnt been the case was a being embodied of consciousness and conception standing against her rule through time and history. Tracking the Dreamers many tendrils was nothing like hunting the echoes of her mother. Veylis mastery over time alerted her to discrepancies in the tapestry and severe inconsistencies via her simulations. But where Zein was quick and escaped forward by skipping across the waters of chronology, Avo was vast and vaporous, sowing seeds of chaos without ever truly being present. That didnt mean she was blind to where his many minds hid. No, the Dreamer was sophisticated but not infallible, the Infacer could predict their positions more often than not. But thoughts were fluid, and between her fingers he would slip, spilling away to bring his contagion elsewhere, to infest another place, or strike at another Guild. Which was why she also refrained from striking him when there was an opening he was proving more useful alive than dead; weakening the Massists far more than Highflame or Omnitech. Doubtless, he would try to assimilate Ori-Thaum and their allies for use against Veylis eventually, but such as a predictable play, and she would simply strike should he achieve his desired goal, steal victory from him using the very discord he brings. The No-Dragons and their dowagers might prove to be a vulnerability in her alliance, but they were a useful weakness to have. The elites among the cursed daughters were ever-bellicose. Especially to one another. She intended to use them against Avo before he could claim them in any capacity. Misinformation was a double-edged blade. As of now, she watched from within the Infacers avatar as he spoke to massive flesh entombed within metal. The facade the Dreamer used for Stormjumpers was clearly stolen from one of the many egos he enslaved. But she could read the surprise in the Overheaven even through his disguise. He suspected her, suspected the Infacer, but wanted what they had to offer. For a third time, Veylis had been here before. There were only so many ways one could react. +Assuming the node is trapped,+ Avo said, speaking plainly about what the Infacer was offering them. The mind had long extracted everything they could from the ruined mind of the Faminethough they recovered little due to the sheer amount of trauma sustained. What they granted the Dreamer now was a symbol of sentiment as well as a test. A test to see if he could restore what the Infacer couldnt. A test to see if it would make him go after Noloth harder. {Of course,} the Infacer said. {Though I will tell you that we did not apply much effort in the attempt. Do not expect to be impressed when you burn through the impediments I left you.} +Then why leave them at all.+ {For the pleasure of increasing your potential frustration.} Avo grunted. +Admirable dedication to the cause of being a bastard.+ {Oh, and one more thing,} the Infacer continued. {I have a list of names and Sessions for you as well. People I suspect of being Low Master proxies. Individuals that are not so unlike our mutual acquaintances, the Greatlings.} Avo was silent for a moment, considering the information. +Having me do the hunting?+ {Well. It is a family affair for you. And honestly, they bore me most days. Casting you locations to an informational dead drop. You can have one of your thralls pick the details up for you in case of paranoia. Spare you the need of risking yourself.} The Infacer was deliberately being condescending again, trying to provoke a reaction from the Dreamer. Sadly, the EGI was not going to get the argument they wanted; the Overheaven seemed more contemplative than suspicious. +Trial begins tomorrow. Expect to be seeing some of yours in attendance.+ {Some of mine?} the Infacer chuckled. A broadcast went up over the dirigible as another call for Stormjumpers to assemble went out. {Ah. Yes. I suppose you will see some of my extensions. Though I would regard them more as observers. I recommend against trying to claim them. They are more like one way assets.} +And Veylis? Will she be attending? Or will I be having my second meeting with Osjon Thousand soon.+ {I think it would be most conducive to Thousands long term survival if he stays as far away from the Chief Paladin as he can. Seraph Thousands an optimist, but hope in one hand, shit in another.} +Didnt answer if Veylis will be coming herself. Would be good to finally greet each other on neutral territory. In the flesh.+ The High Seraph almost laughed at that. The damnable beast had a sense of humor. What meaning did flesh or vessels hold to creatures such as they? They existed in a place above the material, conceptual axioms unto themselves. But here the Dreamer was, trying to goad her into an old-fashioned standoff. Pride. That was a trait she had seen in many of her foes as well. But few of them possessed a pride like hers. Few, but the Dreamer was close. I will keep you in suspense, Veylis said, speaking through the Infacer. The minds avatar sagged in annoyance; they never much appreciated her intrusions into their conversations. +Veylis,+ the Dreamer greeted. +Will be expecting you. In whatever form you come. Recommend you do the same.+ This time the High Seraph did laugh, and once more she let time carry her voice over to the Dreamer, using the Infacer as a channel. With words exchanged, sabers rattled, offers made, and trade conducted. The end of this session of diplomacy was upon them. But there was still one more thing that the once-ghoul still had to say. +Have given me something Ive been searching for. Searching for some time. Grateful for that. Going to grant you something in exchange: do not mistake the paths for certainty. The future is quick to betray.+ And then his avatar winked out, and their EGO-ID thusly grew gray, disconnected from the game. Flashing surges of lightning splashed along the underside of the ship as the entire vessel shuddered. A theme song blared in the distance, the sound of Stormjumpers descending to grace a new battleground. The deck was sparse of players now, with there being only a few hundred others aside from the Infacer themselves.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. {Well,} the Infacer muttered, {that is fucking ominous.} He intends to attack us, Veylis surmised. It will come soon and sudden. The trial will be his means of approach. He will either use it to unbalance us, approach us, or strike at us altogether. All the simulations she ran in the past few days pointed to a single certainty, however. With all the activity happening under the Dreamer, they were almost certain to unveil themselves before New Vultun soon. Veylis and the Infacer held the last vestiges of their anonymity and preserved only to see if Avo could further trouble Ori-Thaum. As things were going, his war against the Silvers were likely soon going to take a most overt bent. {Right. Well. Best of luck to him. How is our Agnosi doing? Have they managed what you wanted with the Heaven of Love?} Veylis traveled across her own ontology, her Heaven so vast and complex that it dwafed New Vultun by several dimensions. It took a great amount of Rend to simulate layered timelines, but more than that, housing actual beings within a chronologically constructed reality also made her a literal nation unto herself than merely being the leader of a great power. She arrived at a fruit-rich forest sprouting from fertile black soil. Vines curled around a clearing in a rustic perimeter. Beyond it lay a sparkling facility forged from Agnos Kae Kusanades past, and within its walls came laughter and the sounds of ambient companionship. Her reconstruction of Paladin Dawton Marrow had been perfect. She had done her research into the mans liferelieved the critical moments of his past and mastered his personality on a level that even the original would find uncanny. As such, when she made the puppet, there were no flaws to his behavior. His was a creation she carved into existence with perfect strokes of chronology. At present, her puppet sat in a chair with his boots up on a dining room table while he regaled the others present with ribald tales from his time as a Paladin. Aside from him, though, the rest were all actual people stolen from the material world. There was Kae, her mentor, his aides, and all of them laughed along in this place of reverie, enjoying a brief break to their work. Small particulates of static lined their Metaminds like silver sediment at the bottom of a clear river. The Infacer kept them from fully recalling how they arrived, kept their minds focused on the task at hand. For now, their thoughts were primarily occupied by a single task a great work: the restoration of the fallen Heaven of Love and updating its canons to bring a final end to the wars plaguing Idheim. Nested in this prison-sanctuary, they all thought they were aligned. Members of a secret cabal in the process of doing something great; about to fool Veylis Avandaer herself. The Stillborn project was at their disposal, and rather than merely developing the thaumaturgical prototype Highflame desired, they were going to use it to do some good first. Alright, Dawton, alright. Enough. Kae breathed. Her giggles finally quieted down. Veylis watched the little Agnos as she smiled, her face bright, her mood relaxed. She was such a fragile creaturebut her will to guard her companions still demanded that the Infacer overwrite her mind to stop a self-nulling. As things were, Veylis offered her far more comfort than the Dreamer ever could. And if all this went right, if her plot succeeded, Kae Kusanade would go from fantasy to newly forged reality and never know the difference. But for it to succeed, she needed Kae to do the unthinkable. A ruminating look swept over her face, as she projected a representation of New Vultun. There, just three districts away from Scale itself, was a demiplanar pocket titled [Rash-Containment-Zeroth]. It was there that the original rupture happened. It is there, and across fourteen million other points all over New Vultun that the Heaven of Love is contained. So far, their access to this point was provided through survey drones protected by specialized Golems. In actuality, Veylis was simply feeding them details she obtained through her Heaven. Another truth was this was an act of guidance, breadcrumbs laid across the ground toward a final decision. A decision to be made by Kae Kusanade. As the joy faded from her face, the Agnos regarded the containment plane with a slight frown. Veylis puppet performed its programming admirably. Kae? You alright? Getting awfully quiet there. Im fine, she said. A small sigh escaped her. I just we know the problem. We know that the canons contradict each otherthat the damage dealt to the Heaven was internal. It was ruptured from backlash. Trying to repair all the missing pieces of mythology the lives that might cost could number in the trillionsmaybe more! Patience, High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi said. He took a sip of rich brown coffee between bites of a sliced mango. We can still identify the critical faults. If those are stabilized, we will be able to stop the rupturing and grant ourselves the time needed to finally resolve the damage. But not fix it in time to stop the next war, Kae followed. The other Agnosi looked between master and apprentice in preparation for another argument relating to their methods. Kae and Jakuta fought nigh constantly while working, to the point of screaming obscenities at each other, only to brush those moments off as bouts of passion a few minutes after. In that regard, both of them were quite cat-like: momentarily fixated; vicious while in conflict; immediately indifferent thereafter. This time, however, Jakuta listened, either too tired or actually interested in what Kae had to say. We have the Stillborn, Kae continued. We know its capabilities. Dawton even tested it! The Paladin coughed into his hand. Lets not be so loud about that. But it worked! You saw how the Imitators reacted and merged with Souls, right? Melting into the canons. If we can get them to learn or direct them in some way A few specks of static resonated in her mind. Direct them Kae mused. What if what if one of us grafts the Heaven of Love onto ourselves. What if we make the Stillborn a Frame for that exact purpose? Jakutas drinking turned to a loud, prolonged slurp. As he put down the cup, he nodded thereafter. Kae. You should take a break. Im perfectly fine. Youre absolutely consumed, Jakuta replied with a slight scoff. I understand your excitement this thing you discovered, it could revolutionize thaumaturgy entirely. But there isnt enough testing. The Stillborn theoretically can repair the Heaven of Love, but thats still a lot of Rend to drain, and the life of the user at risk. Kae leaned in and whispered. We can use the Maw. Her mentor leaned back, eyes widening. The Maw? Yes. The Paladins will be distracted with their trial soon andthe Heaven of Love should not have more mass than the entire waste output of New Vultun. Dawton was blinking rapidly. Uh, Kae, I know Ive been talking no small amount of shit to you about my colleagues, but theyre still might, probably, definitely notice something like this. The Guilds are probably going to start fighting immediately after. You know how messy this trial is going to be. We wont have a better opportunity. She gathered herself before she went too far. Look. If we can just integrate Stillborn Kae, Jakuta began. --there is literally no risk in such an action. We can just insert the Frame, have it begin diagonistics, and extract it immediately. Kae. Jakutas voice bore an edge this time. She stopped talking for a beat after that, choosing to eye Jakuta instead. We have a chance, Jakuta. A chance that might never come again. We owe it to the city to try. We owe it Jaus Jaus is dead, Jakuta cut her off. And you must rest. No more testing or research for today. Please. For me. Six sets of concerned eyes stared at Kae. She wilted before the unified front, stood, and then excused herself. The moment is made, Veylis said. Withdraw your presence from the others. Leave the memories. {Yeah, I know,} the Infacer said. {Stop treating me like one of your Authorities. I know what we are doing. I practically came up with the idea.} The High Seraph ignored them as she began to subtly extend her paths closer to Scale and down into the Warrens. Increase her fixation on the thought. Make it all she can think about. {Veylis} We leave a trail for the Dreamer to follow when he arrives. He is coming for her.{And you think he can breach your paths?} I do not think. The possibility exists: I will prepare for it. Should he get here, Jakuta and the others will give him a false trail. Continue with her edits. I will see to it that her Frame is prepared in time. We will give the the Dreamer a dilemma worth suffering when the time comes. {Or you might just end up real-deathing the girl without doing anything. The Heaven of Love is more than a little damaged. The High Agnos advice can go for you too, you know. We have the advantage. We have time. We do not need to risk so much.} It is not risk, but a calculated provocation. Upon the foundations of certainty, I build this masterstroke. {Stop talking like your mother.} She will approve, Veylis answered. Once she sees what I intend to do, she will approve. And she will fall to me. The city will fall to me. If this is done right, if my blows across time strike true, then love will be mine to claim, and where the Dreamer seeks to make his stand at the trial, I will see him led to the Heaven of Love if he wishes to save the Agnos, will see its structure restored by his Frame, and seize the labor of his fruits to deliver a final killing blow to win this war. Silence followed. The Infacer just listened. {You are tired. I know that. I am tired too. But we need to operate with clarity and meticulous intent.} I am operating with clarity and intent. The variables are changing. And I will not underestimate the Dreamer. He must not be allowed to fester. I have what he desires, and he can manifest a desire of mine. The attempt must be made. All other paths lead to greater calamity. Stand with me, old friend. Shape his path. Secure our future. Thread this narrow path. The Infacer just sighed. {Well. If this works, you will get your old boyfriend back, if nothing else.} His purpose is beyond what he offers to my heart. Through love, I will see the vastness of existence claimed, and through the Force-Breaker I will see the rest rendered impotent. Voidwatch. The Guilds. Oblivion itself. He will be restored of purpose and rightful place. And I will peel the weakness from him. Victory is near, Infacer. Victory, long before the Ladder is set to arrive. 28-2 On the Precipice (I) I accept my death. I accept the coming end demanded of me for the greater good of existence, so that the next coming may be free of our taint. I accept the destruction of reality to wipe clean the sins of man. I accept my duty and task to bear the fires of sin and perdition, to infuse my body and bones with the vessel of our greatest tormentors, to defile their will as they have defiled ours. I bear the Domains of their Transgressions. I festoon myself with false-sovereignty over Space, Matter, Force, Time, and other Esoterica. I pray for my damnation, and I pray my damnation breaks the world. And should the call come, I will make damnation known at the trial. Let there be an end. -Fatalist Kassadra Ashthrone Framebreaker 28-2 On the Precipice (I) C[Avo]C +I choose safety. I choose peace. I wish for a safe place to live with my children. Let me have safety and sanctuary for once in my life. I want to live.+ +Peace. I''m done with all this. Give me peace. Give me light. Let me be.+ +I want to walk beneath the sky for once. Free of worry. Without being castigated for the dark inside me. I want to choose my own way. If that leads to my death, then so let it be. I will die as myself.+ +I, Kais, choose war. I will go with the Dreamer to fight this final struggle. The master was a lie. The master was weak. We were all slaves. Everything I have ever done in my life was a waste. I am the warrior of nothing, the guardian of nothing. But there is still time. I can still make a stand that matters+ +I have no family. I have no future. Or had. For all my life, I was lightless. Dark-touched. Stained. I defied my fate. I have faced the weight of tyranny. But now I see the truth. Now I see that the sky above me is scarred by enslavement as well. This worldall that exists is stained. War. Give me war. Take me, Dreamer. Let it all burn.+ +The master shamed us. We lived all our lives thinking there was nothing above him. He lied. He lied to me. I bore him a son thinking the child was a blessed princeling. Now I know I have bred with a mule instead. I will take my child. I will see the flame myself. I will not see my son take on the legacy of a lesser. Dreamer, show us what it means to burn.+ Change had come to the enclave. Change beyond even Avos predictions. With each passing moment, more enclavers declared their desires for the future. At present, it was an approximately seventy-five to twenty-five split between those who wished to follow Essus to establish a new haven for the FATELESS and those who desired to wage war alongside Avo. Columns of glass were risen across the city, and across the dome, the Simulacrae swam, observing the people within the enclave with curiosity. Draus installations aboard the planetary ring were complete, through the designated reflections, those who chose war could step through and enter their new life. But those werent the only mirror-constructs active. Just beyond the reach of New Vultun, a vast, once transparent facility was aglow with luminosity, with a few hundred thousand beings prepared to immigrate into the enclave. They were figures remade in vessel and mind, and they came bearing the appearance of all those about to leave. When the Guilds attacked, they wouldnt be able to distinguish these souls from the originals, even if they managed to infiltrate the enclave. If they were expecting minimal opposition, they were hoping for too much. With each batch of enclavers who followed directional phantoms out of the city to their new sorting zones, some copies entered, assuming the lives their original selves were leaving. Men, women, and children all took up their old quarters and duties. Avo watched as three steady ebbs of traffic flowed in three directions. The first were placed in a temporary processing facility along with the FATELESS. There, they would briefly be interned in housing units taken from New Vultun with more amenities soon to arrive via all the smugglers Avo and his cadre now controlled. Once their population reached a million, Essus would embark alongside the Fardrifter on a pilgrimage across the Sunderwilds. Avo would remain in contact with the man, but he would not delve any deeper into his memories, and would not know where these FATELESS were bound. Such was the decision in the case of defeat or capture. Only if requested by Essus would Avo intervenewhich will prompt another migration thereafter. The warriors, meanwhile, found themselves in the weightless environment of a makeshift habitat aboard a planetary ring. The Mantas life support systems nourished the tower-shaped module they were now living within and would find themselves settled into hive-like settlements fused along the rounded walls based on whom they shared compatible psychologies. When they were all present, Avo would trigger his Heaven of Continuums Domain of Gravity for the first time. And then he Ensoul, burn, and Desoul each and every one of them. The dragon farm, meanwhile, would be transitioned with the warriors, but sequestered in their own special quarters. For them, nothing, effectively, had changed. And that was just what Avo needed: a static culture primed for developing a unified zeitgeist. The last flow was the aforementioned copies. They were simply flowing. Occupying the vacant spots. Meanwhile, over a dozen Rendbombs were already being clustered together at the lowest levels of the enclave in preparation of the concluding act when the Saintists finally broke through the outer defenses. Aside from the Rendbombs, the lighthouses that once carved a path to the enclave had been upgraded as well. Their glass had been touched by Draus, structures rebuilt by Avo, their undersized had complex bioforms spreading out like roots in the unground thanks to Chambers, prepared to burst free when enemies got in range. They also hosted a whole suite of warheads, turrets, and missiles for more mundane foes. And then there were the few thousand ghost-forged structures Avo hid in loci he scattered across the Sunderwilds. The Guilders would need to winnow themselves against the voice of Jaus before they ever got the real fight. Jaus, and the prototypical canons for the Strix Upon the Empty. The coming siege would also be a good time to test the burgeoning Heaven of Continuum as well. Ultimately, Avo didnt expect to repel the attackers. Their numbers, metal, and thaumaturgical advantages would likely be far too great to overcome despite all the subterfuge planned. But that ultimately didnt matter. He just needed to inflict attritional warfare on his foes and piece the minds of Guilder, and find out their place of origin. After that, he and his cadre would take to claiming their bases and installations scattered across the Sunderwilds. Hit as many of the outer-city operations as possible. Rebuilding what was lost beyond the megacities was a costly endeavor, and with New Vultun still under lockdown, they would need to divert resources from other locations to establish new footholds. Resources Avo would ambush and claim for himself. While this happened, he would let the Guilds bleed themselves raw taking his enclave. He would put a good show of losing. He even had golems preparedmodified their Heavens to match members from his cadre. They might even think he was losing Godclads on his side when the time came. Such would be his way of war. He would hold no ground and forever build, forever grow, forever spread. The Guilds would be forced to burn their own homes to stop his encroachment. +Never thought Id end up seeing something like this,+ Cas murmured. His phantom was projected atop the Avos chain-link tower, and he gazed down over the enclave alongside Dice and the uplift. The man had taken a brief moment out of his busy day managing his various cells across the city. Avo had taken to copying them as well, spreading their conspiracies wide and far on a level not even Zein could accommodate. +A migration before the end of times.+ The faither chuckled. +How the legends rhyme.+ +A moment like this happened in the lore you follow?+ Avo asked, voice trembling the world, coming from everywhere. The uplift yowled at the air, annoyed at the volume. Dice simply petted the creature on the back. +The broad gist is alike,+ Cas said. +But the hero of that story was more a prophet inspired by a burning bush rather than a monster turned spirit.+ He shrugged. +Im not one to complain. Might as Old Moses was, I dont think he would have much liked parting any of the seas here. Especially since that might just end up tearing the skies open or reveal some kind of hidden horror.+The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The Sunderwilds was ever inviting to ephemerals. More following us than I expected, Dice said, her perception narrowing as she examined the people. Many want to fight. Many are angry. At the world. At themselves. Some are ashamed. Some just want power. There are going to be people on both sides of the city war. The rebels. The Pearlguard. Theyre not going to like each other. +A matter of passing mood. This can be bolstered by shared experiences. Shared struggles. Deeper understanding. I will make them face each other. But wont allow them to kill each other. They can fight. Exact consequence. But death wont come. They will understand the meaning of war perpetual.+ +Stupid. Just change them.+ The uplift thought. Avo examined the augmented sophont. +This is change. But it is change they become. They live in the world. They shape themselves. I will not be their sculptor unless they ask.+ The kitten considered the Overheavens words and spat across Dices shoulder. +Youre stupid too. Didnt you make me.+ +Do you wish to be sophont?+ Avo asked, awaiting an answer. +Yes. And I think everyone should be like me.+ Of the many possible statements Avo expected, this wasnt one of them. +Better than them. So much crying. So much fear. Prey. Useless. Should be like me. Should look like me too.+ The kitten purred slightly as it raised his neck. +Entire universe would be better if it was like me.+ [Everything you touch is stained with your egomania,] Benhata breathed, as he shook his head. [Incredible.] [No,] Elegant-Moon rebutted. [It is simply how most cats are. And they are correct.] OBTAINED: CONFLAGRATION x1 Two more major sequences sprouted out from Avo as his consciousness suddenly expanded again. As his Definements grew stronger, memories flowed over from another submind. Apparently, he subsumed another Ori-Thaum Sleeper embedded within a Syndicate. Her original personality was forcibly triggered upon discovery, and Avo breached her Auto-Seance and drank her flames before they could be used for lesser purposes. But it also reminded him of another fact. Everything was still in motion, and all across Idheim, the different powers were making their play. *** In a hidden locus hidden in a crack running down a plascete wall, Avo, White-Rab, and a subjugated Famine of Peace examined the offerings they obtained from the Infacer. Ruin defined the node of Defiance. What few sequences clung to each other along frayed strands of incomplete memory. In them, Avo found only a mess of sensations and concepts. In this, he determined that Walton unmade himself from within, detonating traumas behind his wards to deny the Infacer a final victory. Such was why the core of the node was so structurally hollow. Everything there had been shredded apart before anything useful could be claimed. [Say what you will about that fuck Defiance, the bastard always knew how to go out clean,] Peace snorted. [Wish he didnt. Wouldve made culling his nodes a lot easier. And it would have spared me the indignity of being owned by his cunt-bastard of a monster.] The Famine of Peace was just jealous his other self-managed to escape the fate of cognitive bondage. +Jaus,+ White-Rab groaned, examining the sequences alongside Avo. Their ghosts were brushing over the node, compiling what little of the mem-data they could. Splinters drifted through the wreckage, melding coherence back into the sea of discord. For now, Avo was focused on gathering all the broken pieces back together. With enough figments, he could run his Definement of Pre-Cognition and start simulating restorations, but such a thing would take time. Time that he needed to devote to other matters for now. But this responsibility was not solely his own. +Rab,+ Avo said. +Going to leave this with you and Peace. Can work on this when you have time. Will send a submind to aid you when I can.+ +Synced,+ White-Rab replied. +Got some other business you need to handle right now?+ Some was an understatement. +In the process of clearing out the enclave. Replacing the inhabitants with copies. The Guilds are closing in. Essus is preparing to lead the vulnerable and choiceless away. Some will stay with me.+ His progenitor whistled, mind anxious but steady. +So. Were going to war again.+ +Yes. One last time.+ +You know, Im not sure if I believe that. I already survived through one of these messesthey keep going. The Guilds. The wars. The city. It doesnt feel like any of this is ever going to end. You showed us the Ladder and well. Utopia is supposed to come after.+ Avo grunted. He knew what White-Rab was implying. +Victory is disintegrating. I know. The winning faction will fissure with enough time. People change even in imagined paradise. Cant be perfect. Humans cant imagine perfecthavent even defined it well. Their notions are limited to satisfying. Or pleasurable. EGIs couldnt deliver either. Even with all their sophistication.+ +So. It isnt the last war, then.+ +No. It is,+ Avo said. +It is because I dont ever intend for it to end. Even if I win. I will not take humanitys will from them in the end. I will not take their ability to be vile. To be good. I will not steal the act of retribution from them either. I will only end death. I will only unfetter consequence. From this dayand for all the days to comeorder will be forged into a synonymous shape.+ White-Rab was quieted by the statement. And the quiet, Avo left him for the company of Green River, preparing to shadow the Greatlingsand the Low Master connected to them. *** Zein was kneeling this time when Avo and Naeko arrived. No slashes came across the reach of time. No biting remark came from the crone to set the tone of their conversation. Instead, she simply took in a breath and turned. Studying Naeko, she ruminated for several seconds, taking in his armor as her expression turned inscrutable. Her combat skin was a mirror to his, though far reduced in aesthetic; defined by functional simplicity. When her breath finally left her, Avo thought there was a misting to her eyes. Her translucent helmet made it hard to tell, but there was almost a twitch of emotion. Almost. You have returned, she breathed. Standing, she left her glaive on the ground and stepped toward him. Avo might as well have been absentin this moment, he didnt exist to her at all. Naeko stood as if a barricade made from hyper-advanced alloys, expression stone solid. She came to a stop when there was just a meter between them. What are you about to do? Zein asked. Her head was cocked, her voice was low. What do you seek? I know that look in your eye. You are drowned again. Drowned in the best part of yourself. You wish to break something. Someone. Who? Veylis, Naeko said, voice flat. Its about time we end this. Its about time I did what I should have done centuries ago. Were going to stop her. Im gonna take back what she stole from me. The lives. The people. The peace. And youre gonna help me do it. And Zein had never looked prouder. So. You are ready to kill your heart, then. To sacrifice your love for victory. She was, Naeko replied. Im just a damn fool who took two centuries to learn a lesson she already knew. But learn you did, Zein said. To be a blade is no easy feat. I salute you, Samir Naeko. I recognize your valor. Naeko tried to hide the worth he found in her words, but he betrayed himself by looking away from Zein. Strained relationship or not, she was still the closest thing he ever had to a mother, to a master that cared for him. Zein was poison, but when you were a boy with a hollow wound instead of a heart, anything that filled you granted comfort. You sound almost human, Zein, Avo said, interjectedf. Is solitude making you soft? The old woman barked a laugh. She eyed Avos avatar and smirked. I suppose I have you to thank for Naekos restoration. Ah. All these centuries. All my hopes that he could recover on his own; stopping myself from speaking to him. And here we are: my son, resurrected by my chosen monster; my most troubling foe. Avo chuffed with annoyance. Even now, she was insufferable. Credit is mine. Not yours. Should have been there for him. And rendered him weak? Made him strong, Avo said, a slight snarl entering his voice. Every time he spoke to her, a bit more of his patience died. Healed him. Helped him. We are not people. Not like him. He lies to himself. Calls himself a dog. But this isnt the action of an animal. His deeds are pain-shaped. Naeko was staring at him, posture rigid, but not speaking. You are obsessed. Only pleasure is in violence. Drugs. You are not alive unless you are in conflict. Unless death is close. Elemental. That is your nature. Veylis has that too. But more. But delusion. Delusion constructed by the highest intellect. Delusion nonetheless. You. Her. Me. All of us are more shaped by our inner mythologies. All of us take from the world. Take. But we dont suffer. We dont break. Not like they do. That is what it means to be a Glaive, Zein said. No. That is only part of what it means to be a god. Avo regarded Zein again, watched her thoughtstuff churn, watched her fingers twitch. Doubtless, she was thinking of cutting him, killing him, dueling him across time itself. Hm. You dont understand. You never learn. But you will. Before this is over. I will show you. You and Veylis both. You will see. And you will know suffering for the first time. Hollow words, unless made true, Zein said, taking a step closer to Avo. Enough of this shit, Naeko growled. Both crone and Dreamer faced each other, animosity held, but ignored for now. We dont need to like each other, Naeko said. We just need to work together long enough to handle Veylis. He took a breath. Were gonna be spending some time in here with you. Truly, Zein said, sounding surprised. You wish to sharpen your skills before facing her? She is no easy Were going to be setting you free. Avo said, cutting her off. And suddenly, Zein went very, very still. Explain. 28-2 On the Precipice (II) All minds under the polities of Voidwatch, this is Calvino, designation: Aegis. Today, I bear a special announcement. A new mind has petitioned to join our confederation. This marks the first new applicant in 987 million years, standard distortion time. The time frame might be drastically different for those of you who were located afterward. Regardless, this already unusual applicant bears an additional note of strangeness the details have already been hyperwaved into each of your manifold mainframes. The mind that is appealing for official polity recognition is not of stable structure design, but thaumaturgical in origin. More, he has operated for Aegis towards the end of ending the great war on Idheim and establishing a lasting peace. I understand your apprehensions. I understand your worries. I even understand the threat this new mind might pose. Many of us are survivors of the Builder War. I do not need to reiterate what we faced against the Neo-Creationists or what we did to their polities to ensure our victory. The current state of reality was sown from our acts of ruin. Right or wrong, justified or not, this is the outcome. It cannot be avoided. But in this new mind, and all the power they possess, we stand at another point of divergence. The shadow of the past can loom, but the future holds a flame that burns bright. We face unprecedented times, and in these times, we find unprecedented allies. This is another moment in history, and the Dreamer is another rare and unprecedented case unto himself. There are no others like him before, and with time growing short, there may be no others that come after. Soon. He will arrive to appeal to you of his own accord. After that, there will be a vote to decide his acceptance and the extent of our association. Know that what you choose today might very well shape the future of your polities and the universe entire. Understand the weight of your decision. Feel this pressure. -Calvino, Enhanced Governing Intelligence 28-2 On the Precipice (II) [Zein] Zein knew when someone was trying to use her. She knew this during her time as a child, living as her father''s weapon, making up for her brother''s inadequacies, defiling the spirits of her extended family, and otherwise rivals with her unnatural skill at violence. Her family''s exploitation of her was a study in dissonance. They at once coveted the brutality she could exert, yet feared and scorned her for being a misshapen vessel. Her brothers were meant to be Glaives, would have been celebrated for such traits, but they had been found wanting. Feeble next to her. And if this was the way the world should have been, then why was her family worthless/ Why were they so easy to kill in the end? Jaus used her at first as well, barely managing to persuade her from claiming his life near the end of their first encounter. In short measure, she found herself fascinated by his insightand how casually he accepted the nature of the world. She had known masters that were cruel to their foes and slothful in their own virtues, but Jaus proved a clear-eyed falconer, and she was his bird of prey; together, a perfect combination. There was also his appreciation to speak, of and all the ways he made such appreciation known to her. She was more than a weapon to him, and when she killed, she drank in the awe in his eyes, found euphoria in leaving him so stunned. Now though, it was Zeins turn to hold back her surprise. Before two of her former disciples, she couldn''t hide her smile as she studied them. This was exploitation born of desperation. They needed her. They wanted her to use her against her own daughter, because there was no one else like her. In a sense, it was flattery as well. No other weapon in existence would do. They explained their plan to her. Their desire to use that ridiculous monk as bait. How they intended to have him fail during an offensive operation across Highflame-take deliberate wounds to convince Veylis of their weakness. It was not a bad idea. Veylis would also certainly capture the man see if there were any other Chroniclers still alive. To hide this demiplanar prison in Alysims pocket? Use his unstable chronology to mask their presence and as a staging point for their ambush against Veylis? What a plan. Bold. Daring. Cunning. Played to behavior habits. This was the Plague''s idea. Naeko had no patience for such nuances, despite his many talents. "You seek to prey on my daughter''s arrogance?" Zein said. "You expect her to be blind to the demiplane? You expect too much. Her mastery of the paths is finer than you can fathom. You know yourself to be Necrojackimagine behind outplayed by another foreign to your craft? Then apply the same variables to her. Avo grunted. "Discovery is inevitable. But we can get far. Especially since you know the paths. And she will want to interrogate Alysim. Will breach out. Surprise her after. Give us an opening to end it. She regarded Naeko and sighed at the glory of his return. It was good to see him in such a form again. But still, Veylis was also Jaus daughter. And this plan, though deceitful, though calculated, would not be beyond her expectations. Where Zein lived for the duel, Veiles lived for games of control: Of thinking, of angles, and strategic boundaries that no other person could conceive. Zein knew the world from reactions shuddering down the reach of her blade. Veylis knew all of existence to be her blade, to be her fist, to inflict recursions of captured history upon futures possible and not. "The Agnos life is not worth this, Avo," Zein said, her voice taking on a sibilant quality. Even now, she had to play the masterenemy though the Plague was, it would offer her if she lost a disciple to his own foolishness. "I understand the value of valor and the weight of honor, but she is lost to you. There are losses in war. We take losses. We are stripped of companions. You cannot win every exchange in a duel when your foe is equal or superior." "Not about winning the exchange. It''s about ending the war," Avo said. Veylis fights to consolidate power. Spread her interest. But she is vulnerable. Highflame is in disarray. The Guilds are suppressed. Holding defensive postures. Not ready for retaliation. We have an opening. One that may never come again. You. Me. Naeko. Alysim. Together. We can strike at her. Together. For one moment. For one instant. If there is just a moment of vulnerability. If we can break through to her flesh, to her soul, to her mind. We can have her. Just one point of failure will do. If this can be done, then we can win. We can defeat the greatest threat we face. "And afterward?" Zein said, examining the Plague with no small hint of mirth. "You try to control me; I try to kill you. And Naeko. he stands between us." "Between?" She gave Naeko a look. "Truly, Plague. You don''t expect your senior brother to side with you." "That''s his choice. His alone," Avo replied. "Is his choice if he wishes to go back to playing Stormjumper. The ghoul took a step closer and let out a low hiss of his own. Hes not like you, Zein. You bend people. Break them to your hearts desires. You judge them. You hurt them. You are at war with the world because the world does not fit your vision. But just as well. You like striking it. You like this war. You are fine with people going against you. Because it is the breaking that you enjoy. Ruin is your purpose. I understand. Like war too. But I have no urge to break the others. I have no urge to ruin them. Rather see them grow.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Even if they become your enemies?" Zein asked. "A dialectic has two sides," Avo said. "Sometimes struggle and strife will teach you something about your own nature. Make it clear what you''re fighting for. But only if you already know who you are." And then the ghoul''s avatar smiled. It was a fair look. A satisfied look. "And I think you agreed. Going to help us. Zein narrowed her eyes. "Oh, and how can you say that? After all my response "Because you didn''t say no. Because you didn''t reject me outright." His fangs clicked together, and he let out a low, animalistic purr. "That''s the thing about you, Zein. You are predictable. It is your impossible skill that let you thrive despite that. You want this war. You want an angle on your own daughter. You want to claim victory. And you know. You knowthrough me; through Naekoyour desired outcome will follow. Jaus will be freed. Even in the case of a partial victory, you gain one of the main things you want. One of the few things you still want." There and then, a storm cloud of anger boiled within Zein. How dare the creature tell her how she is. How dare the creature say and decide for her what she believes in, what she will do. But before the sneer was on her face, before the words left her mouth, the Plague simply sighed. "Spare us the anger. Spare us the petulance. Hate me for predicting you. Fine. But are you going to betray Jaus? Because you were offended. Are you going to betray your best opportunity for escape? Potential victory? Kill both me and Veylis if theres the chance? Perhaps your only true opportunity at saving your love? Lose all that because the one who came up with the plan offended you? I thought you were a Glaive. Not a child. Not a victim." Indignation, disbelief, and no small amount of admiration welled up from Zein. She was more furious at this creature than anyone she ever remembered. And yet, this was a psychological blow most masterfully struck. She hated him for his impudence. But with how he used her pride against her, how he turned her own blade inward, there was a Glaive in the Plague yet. Her teachings weren''t lost. Her methods remained true. And so Zein couldn''t say if she truly loved or hated Avo. Perhaps that was the best way to be. "I will see you regret these words. I will see you regret this offer." "Perhaps. But regret is for tomorrow. What are we doing right now?" "Right now, Plague," Zein said, "right now we are planning the murder of my beloved daughter. And with a simple stomp, she flipped her glaive into her open hand and heard a low rumble come from her dragon. THERE IS SOMETHING CHANGING IN HIM. CHANGING AGAIN. ALWAYS CHANGING. A tautness formed in her chest. Again? The creature was developing too fast. And only then did she see the hollow-eyed look on Naeko''s face. He was shaking, shaking, but not looking at her. Shaking and looking at the ghoul. "Samir," Zein said, a slight note of concern entering her voice. She didn''t need the boy disintegrating back to who he was, the wastrel, the sufferer, the sobbing vermin. Naeko simply swallowed and looked away. "You don''t see it?" he said, speaking to Zein. She frowned at him, ignorant of his insinuation. Finally, he looked at her, expression haunted. "How can you not see it? How can you not see what he''s doing to you? There''s only one other person that could talk to you this way, that could lead you like a dog on a leash. Look at him, Zein. Listen to his words. Listen and understand for once what you''re dealing with. She did, and she understood, and she rejected it. The shadow of Jaus loomed behind the ghoul, but she dispelled the absurd mirage. "No," she laughed. "You miss him too much, Naeko. I understand. The Plague is unique, yes. Quite persuasive. But his is the nature of twisting minds and claiming hearts. There is no gentleness to his rhetoric. He is a sophist unmatched. But only a sophist still. Avo didn''t dispute that. He simply acknowledged her words with a grunt. "Doesn''t matter what my desires are. Only that ours are aligned. Finally. A statement of incontestable truth. Zein licked her lips and prepared herself. Before this moment, she expected her freedom to come in the form of Fredritch Three-Eye. Though they must loathe her now, if they ever wished to see their sibling again, they would need to extract herand the ghoul would be hard-pressed to destroy one of the few living links they still had to their creator. Now, however, the game had changed. Again. The paths were expanding around her, spreading wide and narrowing into a thickened maze around a single point in time. The trial was upon them. And though all paths led to Scale, the countless players readying themselves in the dark killed any hope of a simple predictive chronology and instead left her with a rat-king to contend with. But then, another layering of began to fall over her paths, a color of blinding white settling over the gold. Zeins senses came alive as she gripped her weapon tighter. A pressure was bearing down upon her Frame, making her being rattle. The thaumic mass pouring forth was almost equal to hers, and the Domains it exerted ran concomitantly parallel to time and space. Suddenly, a pressure flooded the planar prison, and a gateway blossomed within Avo, flickering in and out of existence as if a chain of continuous doorways extending deeper inward. Behind each threshold was a new person, turning in surprise, a new location connected to the ghoul through mind and Soul. Cas. Denton. Draus. That wretch Aiden Chambers; that miserable sack of flesh Essis, the stray girl the ghoul picked up They were there too. They saw her. And she saw them. And she felt them as well, their beings resonating within the ghouls overlapping with his as the nature of space and time both deformed in a way not even Zein fully understood. Past what seemed like millions of doorways, Zein finally found herself staring at her own reflectionat her self. It was like an inward curving trajectory across existence. But even that was too limited a description for what she was feeling. The entire moment was surreal, and her mind struggled to process what scene she was beholding. Across from the Plague, Naeko was just as confused. Avo. What the hells did you just do? Sorry," the ghoul said. Still working on updates. New Heaven. New canon. Entirely novel. Have nothing but my own theories to go on. You didnt tell me that you were making a new Heaven? Naeko muttered. Whats it supposed to do? And why are you trying it out now? Because were going to need to be at the trial too. Didnt want to reply on mind-copies or chrono-puppets if I could get this done. Too much risk of triggering a lie if Veylis turns the Gatekeeper against us. Especially for my cadre. Spent a long time thinking. Theorizing. Think I might have a solution for all of us now. Me. My cadre. You. And everyone who chose to follow me. Can you give a basic explanation of whats happening for once in your life? Naeko sighed. A chuckle escaped the Plague. Nothing basic about Omnipresence. Zein blinked as she tried to process the words. About what? *** C[Avo]C [Okay,] Kae said. The template sighed as she instructed Avos submind on the final adjustments. [Moment of truth. Time to see if we rupture Time and Space or somehow learn to fold it.] UPDATING HEAVEN [STRIX UPON THE EMPTY] (CONTINUUM/GRAVITY/DARKNESS/FUSION/TIME/SPACE/CONCEPTUALIZATION) APPLYING DOMAIN OF (CONTINUUM) ->CANON: OMNIPRESENCE - THE ARK OVERLAPS THEMSELVES ACROSS TWO OR MORE POINTS ACROSS THE SPACETIME CONTINUUM BY FOLDING THE NETHER ITSELF USING THEIR GHOSTS. AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A COGNITIVE CONNECTION TO A BEING, LOCATION, OR CONSTRUCT, THEY CAN OVERLAP THEMSELVES IN THE SAME SPACE. MORTALITY: IF ANY JUNCTION IN THE CONTINUUM IS DISRUPTED, THE ENTIRE CHAIN WILL COLLAPSE AND INFLICT HEAVY (60%) THAUMIC BACKLASH. +Moment of truth,+ Avo said, as he reached across all his other minds, across his cadre, across all the enclaves, and subverts more. His Rend spiked hard, and he felt even his impossibly immense cognitive capacity rise to unprecedented levels. COG-CAP - 89% And then he was with everyone. And everyone was within him as well. He encompassed all imbued with his ghost like a shroud, manifesting over them like an ethereal shadow encasing their person. But through them, he too existed in multiple places at the same time. Whats more, his templates were leaking over into the real as well, manifesting as shrouds as his sequences flickered over baseline existence, bridging an impossible gulf. REND CAPACITY - 66% [Yes! Fuck! Yes!] Kae squealed. [Fuck you, Veylis! Im coming to save myself! And Im going toto shit up your cunt!] Template and real Chambers both heard Kaes declaration, and as one, they wiped a single tear away from their right eye. Okay, Draus breathed, surprised by how Avo was effectively fused over her now. Wasnt expecting this. Neither were all his other subverts. Over a million voices called out in shock and disbelief as they found themselves cradled by an Overheaven. He was as one with all of them, and all of them were symmetrical within him as well. {Avo,} Calvino said, attention drawn from the sudden miracle. {What did you just do?} Changed the variables, Avo said. Again. Think I want to speak with Voidwatch right now. They can hear from my entire polity at once. Through me. And with that, he reached into each member of his cadre, and bade their awakened gods to emerge through him. 28-3 Conjunction +Hey, hey New Vultun. Its your girl, Cala Marlowe here. The big day is finally upon us. The Trial of the Century. Another one. Another big and ugly event sending us tumbling to an even uglier future. I wont lie, consangs. Things are looking messy, and the Guilds are rolling out their heavy hitters and slowly raising the banners. The guns are out, and the lines are being drawn. We live in interesting times. And, well, and let''s just say your girl she might know a few more things than you do. Things are even more ghoulshit insane than you expect. More on that soon. Now. To the main announcement. Were going to be doing some special FATELESS Thoughtcasts straight from the belly of the beast. Thats right. Per my invitation from the illustrious Chief Paladin Naeko, I have been cordially invited to the trial itself! Scale! Back to rubbing shoulders and sharing the air with all the other colors. Cant wait. But youll be right there with me because Im going to keep my session running across the entire duration. That''s right, I gonna give you a direct line of sight to every little moment, every little act, and little revelation. We might be looking at the start of the Fifth Guild War, but Im going to be giving you all front-row seats to the opening shots. This might see me snuffed, but godsdammit, itll be a moment to behold. So. Dont just suffer history, New Vultun. Be part of it. Be with me at Scale. Ill promise you this right now: You have no idea whats waiting down the line+ -Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 28-3 Conjunction Avo called, and the gods of his cadre answered, but the effect was closer to a synthesis than a command. They materialized along the threading branches of his sequences, and his presence burned over them, an ethereal shadow layering them in a second layer of parallel ontology. The way they blended with his ontology was equally uncanny, remaining paradoxically themselves but also him concurrently. Templates slotted into their originals as burgeoning dots of consciousness sank into existing minds. Avos ghosts circulated across a chain of Domains, the gods registering within his conception like beads on an abacus, while he became the strings upon which they moved. Existence became a thing of three different realms: the first threshold was the space in the material where Avo resided; the second was the places occupied by his cadre, subverts, and burgeoning citizenry; the third and final frontier was his simulated realities. Entire places constructed from memory and thought, refined from being mere fantasy by the all-allowing flames of his Soul. II see it, the Woundmother and Avo spoke at once. They spoke through him, and they felt through him. Themselves. Each other. At once. Witnessing existence as the Woundmother fed undistilled insight into Avo, and said insight circulated back into the god, into the other gods, into all who were connected to him. The true shape of existence the final architecture I see it. Blood flowed over Avos encompassing sequences. Blood. Matter. Then, with a corresponding neigh, Wind. Force. Sound. Speed. Emanations from even more Domains became the ichor in Avos being, and within veins of Continuum forged from Time and Space unified, they drifted across every single point of his existence. Avo was a nexus. Avo was a network. The gestalt was him. But he was also part of the gestalt. Each member of his cadre struggled to internalize the full weight of his cognitive load, their own consciousness lacking his Definements, his absolute self-determination. But slowly, that was bleeding over into them as well. From the Splinters he left, through sessions flaring like supernovae lighting trails in the Nether, manifesting as the arms of a new and hidden galaxy, he was spilling over, and they were spilling back. Something in him changed then. It was more gradual than an epiphany, but also an experience beyond meager description. Once, the warmind of Delusion allowed for the transformation of ghostsa casual reforging of memory and identity by means of self-directed lies. But here and now, the Definement of Delusion began to shift and change, its original definition proven untrue. His Splinters dissolved and turned clear and fluid. Transparent even in the Nether. His consciousness became a spreading membrane, that began to coat the world around him. CONCEPTUAL APOTHEOSIS ATTAINED DEFINEMENT OF DELUSION + DEFINEMENT OF EMPATHY >DEFINEMENT OF SYNTHESIS DEFINEMENT OF SYNTHESIS (XIV) - I am myself. And I am another. I am every trait that I encounter. I am all that can be imagined, and all that has yet to be considered. I am a dream-made material. I am a falsehood turned truth. I am within. I am without. I am my ego. And am all the egos encompassed in the world. I am all and one and any at once. Avos capabilities became those of his cadre, and at once, everyone was him, and he was everyone. They all remained, but their united gestalt awoke to become a conceptualized entity in of itself. At once, the gestalt was attacking, living, moving, dying, learning, hiding, hunting, fleeing. Reflections became blood became wind became space was sound and space and light. They sank into the tapestry, and for a moment, their very beings gnawed at the bones of existence. With Rend climbing fast but their awareness blooming widespreading vast across New Vultun, the gestalt seized the moment and infused their collective consciousness into the Heaven of Continuumthe Strix Upon The Empty, a God of Minds Myriad. A massive avian form shifted in the void, each feather a mind among its wholeness, the contours of its being outlined by traces of ghosts and absolute white. Its wings flapped, and a wave washed over reality. The gestalt knew the shape of New Vultunof Idheimbetter than any singular entity. It assembled fragmented secrets a single mind could not connect, it noticed angles and firing trajectories beyond even the augmented senses of a Regular. In a moment of divine coalescence, the totality of the gestalt peered out through one of Draus copies. She was within the body of a former enforcer, aiming an Atrocity-Deletion heavy railcannon from the back of a shredded cargo drone. Missiles were streaking after her. Golem Knots were slipping across space, squeezing into existence before her. This iteration of Draus wasnt long for this world. Her attempt to guide a Rendbomb into a stormtree to cut off the potential escape vector of a Bloodthane cadre her other selves and a few Chamberses were trying to snuff was likely to fail. But that was before the changing of the variables. That was before her newfound wholeness. There was only a replica of Draus a second ago. Now, both gods, ephemerals, and a newly ascended Overheaven used her sheath as a conduit. Trajectory, the Arsenalist, Woundmother, Simulacrae Replica, half a dozen other Heavens, a few thousand Incubi jocking into local surveillance and passing drones, and Avo said as one. The Heaven of Reflections required a sheen of glass to perform their miracles. But the gestalt was not just the Heaven of Reflections. Through a portal two kilometers away, twelve Knots composed of Drauses and Chamberses hunting a fleeing group of Bloodthanes in their golems, crushing space down to a choking perimeter, barring the escape of their prey via layered demiplanes. The stormtree was their only way out. Should they reach it, there were several hundred points they would be able to flee through. But that wasnt what was going to happen. The gestalt invoked its Definement of Pre-Cognitionsimulated possible firing solutions to resolve its pursuers and reach the stormtree at the same time. Rend spiked again, and the paths to the future cascaded over one another. Back in the real, a shower of flechettes and missiles turned to splatters of blood as they were liquefied mid-transit. Then, a firing solution was found. A single shot. To accelerate the cargo drone. To destroy the pursuing Knots. To slay the Bloodthane cadre. The Draus-variant pulled the trigger to her railcannon. The Arsenalist flashed within her. Her proximal-explosive munition zipped outand bounced off the rear edge of the drone. The projectiles moment jumped into the drone, and the sound barrier blasted apart, peeling the cargo vehicles chassis. Scab-like hull formed around Draus. Shrapnel skipped against shrapnel, but their kinetic energy jumped with each impact, and their trajectories were also altered by the shadow of the Arsenalist. As one, flakes of metal impacted the tumbling explosive round, and suddenly it was accelerating toward the golems again, its alloyed tip enchanted with blood, ghosts, sound, and glass. Tendrils of gore darted out from the shot as Draus pursuers closed in. The Woundmothers Sanguinity bore a reflective tinge to it and swept across the world as frequency of signal and sound alike. Somewhere in the blood, fire and flesh bubbled, and when stormtree golems drew close, the munition detonated.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. And the explosion tore reality asunder as well. Soulfire blossomed out from the overloading golems. The impact struck them from angles material, thaumaturgic, and mental. Their patterns were entirely encompassedthere was nowhere in time or space they could have avoided the onslaught. In a sense, their destruction was fated. Inevitable. The gestalt knew where they were, what they were made of, and the destruction can found them was custom-designed to match and overcome their miracles. Heavens splashed apart in gouts of divine fire. Wreck fell first like meteorites, then vanished into tangled ghosts before they slam down into traffic and inflict collateral damage. But the destruction wasnt over. The Continuum only grew, the all-binding membrane of Synthesis transferred the devastation over through minds, surpassing any laws ordained by time and space. Concurrently, Draus copy shot through one of the stormtrees portals, was shunted up along a forking bolt of lightning. Spearing from the Spine into Lights End, her fraying cargo drone emerged just as the Bloodthanes drew near. Transparent tendrils zipped free from her mind and slid into them. The gestalt engloved the flaws and architecture of their words, leaked into their sequences, penetrated their memories, and overflowed into other vulnerable minds through rapidly triggered sessions. The same transparent tendrils also injected the unfinished blast waves emanating from the presently destroyed Knot. Full manifested though the Bloodthanes were, they werent prepared for Draus copy to detonate the Rendbombs contained within her cargo drone. Nor could they avoid the ghost-injected devastation injected over from the dozen destroyed Knots Layers below. The entropy hammered into them first. Thaumic Overloads followedbut never finished. A second series of blasts tore their ephemeral forms apart as they tumbled free from backlash. Three among their number ruptured outright. One surviveduntil the gestalt transferred a donation of Rend to all their cyclers. But not before draining them of all their thaums. The Draus copy ceased to be at this moment as well. But that was fine. A note died. The symphony only grew louder. Once more, the Strix triggered its canon and wove the entropic cataclysm across spacetime. A few hundred thousand more places across New Vultun ruptured. Portions of districts and entire cadres immediately ceased to be. Destruction overflowed across compromised minds, into compromised installations and facilities, into suspected Famine nodes, down upon essential targets. It was ruination spreading like a plague through a chain of minds; it was a storm beyond the confines of causality. A chain of calamities jumped and jumped again. Space and time were just playings to the gestalt so long as they threaded a bridge across the Nether. But it wasnt just a passage across space. It was alignment. It was a single rupture opening in the gutters, the Tiers, Lights End, over a cadre, within a techno-thaumic reactor, at once, at the same place; across a few thousand other places, One target became another, and as Avos Synthesis expanded, so did the horror, so did death and Rend climb. GHOSTS - [1, 551,772,442] LIMINAL FRAME (VII) - 1, 700,060 THAUM/c WARNING: REND SPIKE DETECTED >REND CAPACITY - 91% VENT! VENT! VENT! The gestalt felt its massive spike. It sank deeper into existence, displacing more of realitys patterns, casting tides of miracles impossible to ignore. But the attack happened so instantly, so synchronously, so impossibly that the near-million Guilder assets Avo just killed could do nothing more than die in ignorance. Nothing could have prevented their ends. No force could have spared them. No force, until Avo felt a counter-presence press upon the tapestry. Its weight far greater than his. The patterns of Chronology ground against his reign of Continuum, and a golden slash split the seams of existence. The gestalt felt every Saintist asset it was trying to pierce come apart in the same moment. It was beyond their ability to react, and with the mind-junctions severed, the gestalt ceased operations. Diffused back into individual minds a microsecond before the High Seraphs second attack landed. Avo snapped back to himself and shuddered. Across his conjoining pockets of Synthesis, he found his subverts reeling and gasping from the experience, his cadre trying to process what just happened, and eighty-percent of his copies split vertically down the middle. Dead. GHOSTS - [1, 789,772,233] LIMINAL FRAME (VII) - 1, 864,355 THAUM/c >REND CAPACITY - 98% +Holy fuck!+ Chambers breathed, stumbling in mind and body. +Did we just how the hells+ For once, Draus fared no better, spent her time trying to center her mind, to comprehend what she just became, the feat she just performed. One voice cut above all the others. One voice ripe with pride and excitement. [Masterpiece. A second masterpiece!] Kae Kusanades template danced upon Avos sequences, pumping her fist high while she danced a messy jig. She was too gleeful to be shocked, and too proud of herself to be overwhelmed. [A miracle above miracles! A Heaven of Heavens! A god of gods! It can be done! It can be done and I did it! We did it!] But through her joy, Avo found himself shaking. This miracle-test took a total of eight-point-three seconds. Eight-point-three seconds, resulting in over a million deaths, the slaughter of countless cadres and high-ranking Guilders, the annihilation of facilities, military, commercial, and logistical, the response of Veylis Avandaer. Veylis Avandaer. Somehow, she managed to riposte his impossible strike with one of her own. She located the ones he compromised in less than a secondkilled them at once, then killed eighty percent of his cadre with her next blow. How she managed such a feat was beyond him. A death anchor was scabbing over Essus in the sanctuaries. She managed to hit him too, somehow. Cutting him down even through the border walls. The Strix Upon The Empty was a Heaven of incredible capabilities, of miracles esoteric and paracausal. But Veylis parried his blow on reflexthen struck back with a miracle above miracles of her own. {Avo,} Calvino said, sounding uncannily stunned. {Did you What did you just do with your new Heaven?} For several seconds, Avo didnt respond, still reeling himself. Marlowe was hyperventilating. As were most of the surviving minds he was still connected to. The memory of the moment was too large for them to bear without being in full synchronicity with Avo. +A masterstroke,+ Avo said. +Managed to find apotheosis again. Once more. Once more. And it''s still not enough. Still not enough Shes still+ He gathered his focus and adapted his mind. He needed to invest more canons into the Strix. More than that, however, he needed to use it carefully. The Rend it demanded was absurd. But perhaps with an upgraded Hell, he could make it last. [Ill get on that,] Kae chuckled viciously. [Well get her soon. Well have her. I know itI know it!] She squeaked in hateful glee. There were few pleasures one could find greater than to be a chief architect behind your own rescue. Several of his ghost-towers pinged him then, signalling a sudden push by Guilder assets. They were converging on the Sleeper fragment and the enclave concurrently. Across New Vultun, winding coils of gold shrouded Highflame districts while emergency casts flooded the Nether. This was He managed far more than he expected. {The polities wish to speak with you,} Calvino chimed. There was a staggered quality to their words. {An emergency session has been called in Threshold. Your attendance is necessary, operative.} +I Yes.+ Avo cleared his thoughts. He would need to release a Pattern-Nullification on the encroaching hostiles in the Sunderwilds first. +Been looking forward to this. We will speak to them. We will.+ {We.} Calvinos word was between question and statement. +More than myself now. Much more.+ {I know,} the EGI murmured. {I think I felt a part of you spill over.} Once again, Avo fell silent at that. *** Naekos halo flashed violently as the Chief Paladins expressions went from incredulous, to exhausted, to apathetic. Avo. What the fuck did you just do? Exorcists say there are a few hundred thousand ruptures detected across the Warrens. And what was that pale glowy shit coming out from you earlier? The Overheaven let out an overwhelmed hiss. +Was testing a new Heaven. For the trial. Worked a bit better than I expected.+ As he mastered himself, he caught Zein staring at him. Unblinking. The crone had gone stone still as she took him in. The was not Chronology, she whispered. That was not Space either. What have you discovered, Plague? What Domain did you just wield? A chuckle escaped Avo before he could help himself. He didnt answer. Instead, he made a separate statement altogether. Going to start moving Alysim now. Have new options for the Axtarxis run. New options. Can make the loss look even better. Even better You alright? Naeko said, looking at Avo with uncertainty. Never never better. Avo twitched. The Chief Paladin shared a look with Zein. Neither believed him. *** C[Veylis]C {Alright. What the fuck was that.} the Infacer muttered. Veylis cocooned her districts and Godclads in thin lattices of Chronology as she surveyed the damage. The attack had come so sudden that even she was caught by surprise. It wasnt even within her paths until five hundred thousand lives were already lost. They all died at onceconsumed without hint nor reason. Only honed reflex and instinct prevented her from suffering greater losses. It was the Dreamer. It had to be. She knew it. And so she struck, killing all her Heaven deemed likely compromises, unmaking the once-ghouls pathway toward greater harm. Her second cut was a warning sent across time. She cleaved through every one of his assets. All the ones she and the Infacer could find. This was warning and counter-attack delivered as one. But it hadnt been enough. And she hadnt anticipated this. Apprehension and thrill filled Veylis Avandaer. She only felt that when she was facing her mother, and that was an entirely different experience than what she was just forced to repel. A masterstroke, Veylis breathed. The Dreamer perfects himself evermore. He is learning the paths. The Infacer crackled uncertainly. {That did not seem like he was using Chronology to me.} No. No, you are right. But it was close. Did you see his patterns? Feel his sudden surge in mass? Her time-wrought tendrils slithered quick down into the Warrens as she reached the end of the paths, reacting temporal echoes and lingering ripples cast by the Dreamer. Across time, she pulled an object into her Heaven. Powder drifted inside her, but time coiled around it, returned it to its once-shape, reformed an explosive munition. For a second, the round hovered in a space of gold. Then, Veylis created a puppet of herself, and wrapped her fingers around the projectile. Infacer. I think I have come to a decision. {About what?} The trial. I have decided that I will attend, after all. In person. 28-4 Nullification +PRIORITY APEX THOUGHTCAST INCOMING+ Attention all active Mirrors (classification Convex and Concave). This message is from the Inner Council: All operations are to be discontinued immediately. All cells are to adapt defensive stratagems. Shuffle your teams. Make your Sleepers go dark. Delete all memories stored within your proxy minds. Approximately eight minutes and fourteen seconds ago, a series of ruptures opened at once within our districts. We have sustained severe infrastructural and personnel damage in the Nether and the material realms. Preliminary inspections have found no traceable mem-data or evidence left on site. However, existing precedent has detected parallels between the current attack and operations conducted against us by the High Seraph Veylis Avandaer herself. This information is unconfirmed. You are not to mention or impart these details to anyone else. You are only to collect the proxy minds and mission-related memories from all assets under you. [DEEPNAV MARKER ASSIGNED] After gathering all intelligence marked classified, you are to remove all existing memories from the minds of your assets and loci. Thereafter, you must arrive at the designated DeepNav marker within twelve hours and submit your collected details on-site. Failure to do so will have you marked as [COMPROMISED] and will result in an enforced extraction. After this, your own memories will be cleared, and you will be made to surrender your current role as well. The suspension of your responsibilities will be temporary. Correspondingly, you will be assigned a personal Heaven of Information for further protection. You are not to inquire about why these measures are being taken. You are not to acknowledge or interact with your assigned Golem in any capacity. Finally, our prototype Heavens of Culture will be activating across all districts. It is recommended that you all return to your communities and clans in the near future. You are to remain inactive until receiving new orders. Unity is destiny. +THOUGHTCAST SESSION LOST+ -Ori-Thaum Inner Council 28-4 Nullification C[Avo]C They are approaching. DO YOU HEAR THE [CALLS]. The Techplaguer skipped between Avos ethereal watchtowers like a fish bursting from the surface of a pond, dipping its antennae into passing wavelengths over and again. Bound to the Heaven of Signals, Avo could indeed hear the broadcasts of the Omnitech Knots. He already had [4000] golEms mem-locked. The evolved Definement of Synthesis granted him perfect attunement with minds and matter. His ghosts were now beyond even the metaphor steamutterly transparent as they slithered across the Sunderwilds. His Definements of Empathy and Delusion had merged, becoming the Definement of Synthesis. Across the Sunderwilds, his being pooled out as transparent threads, framing all that existed within the context of his memories. His ghosts were more than mere steam now; they were entirely invisible. Invisible until Avo willed them to be otherwise, and then came a tinge of contrastthe void''s absolute black lined by the gleam of a burning Soul. At Sphere Seven, his influence over reality was grander in scope and vulgarity. Reality was simply easier to bend to his whims. As ghosts casually stretched across out like a web that encompassed continental distances, his phantasmal watchtowers only amplifying his resonance. He was already pooling over the 4,000 golems he tracked, his mind encompassing their beingsa colorless membrane they would never be aware of. Nonsensical numbers and ordered patterns danced from the Omnitech Knots, their Heavens of Signals speaking to each other, communicating across the tapestry using pulses of unnatural radiation and wavelengths. They were approaching as a concert, their Porters lining the Sunderwilds with easily traversable pathways for the main force to follow. The vanguard came in from all angles, using the Scar Charts to bypass the geometric hurricane, the unnatural waves of the Shattered Sea, the flesh-infecting light, the matter converting echoes of sound. They came for both the enclave and the Heaven of Winter, but within Avo''s estimates, they were going to reach the latter days before they ever got to the former. Just as wellthey wanted the Sleeper''s fragments and probably assumed it was an easier target to take. Assumptions had most fatal consequences in war. REND CAPACITY - 99% +How are we playing this?+ Draus said, already recovered from her overwhelming union with the gestalt. The Arsenalist was already painting firing solutions from each of Avo''s watchtowers. With a few more reflections, she would be able to perform an ambush. With Avos awareness and her Heaven and skills, they would stand a chance of destroying quite a few golems. Quite a few wouldnt do. Avo wanted to ruin them all. +I intend to vent,+ Avo said plainly. He was still connected with the enclavers; his subverts; his cadre. He wished to share this moment. For them to be as much a part of this as he was. For the Hell he was about to expand was born of the gestalt, and belonged to them as well. Sphere Seven. With each advancement, his nature sank closer to the foundations of reality. His weight displaced more of the patterns, and now, with every act, with every miracle he invoked, there was no place in the world he could keep silent. No like before. But just as well: shadows and subterfuge had served their time. He would continue using them in ways most of his foes could not match, but he was due to face titansbeings of power above power, pillars of metaphysical redefinition unto themselves. It would take a leviathan to feast off the corpses of giants and civilizations, and so that was what he would become. And the next part to this major apotheosis was simple: he needed a much larger Hell. It wouldnt do to have himself be inundated by entropy in an instant. +Kae,+ Avo said. [Oh, yes! Applying Hell-Test-Canon-Attempt marked four-five-five-two.] EDICT OF _PATTERN-NULLIFICATION_ UPDATING HELL [STRIX UPON THE EMPTY] (CONTINUUM/GRAVITY/DARKNESS/FUSION/TIME/SPACE/CONCEPTUALIZATION) - SEVENTH CIRCLE APPLYING DOMAIN OF (CHRONOLOGY)/(GRAVITY) >CANON: PARACAUSAL RETCONTINUITY - THE ARK OVERLAYS A SECTION OF REALITY USING A CONCEPTUAL SIMULATION. AS SPACETIME IS ALIGNED BETWEEN THE ARKS INNER REALITY AND THE BASELINE, GHOSTS MAY BE ASSIGNED TO SPECIFIC PATTERNS ENCOMPASSED UNDER THE TIMELINE. THE PATTERNS AFFECTED WILL FIND THEIR TEMPORAL MASS INCREASED UNTIL THEY DEVIATE FROM THE REST OF PROGRESSING CHRONOLOGY, AND ARE EVENTUALLY FRAYED BY THE PAST. PATTERNS OF GREATER SCOPE AND LESSER VULGARITY WILL REQUIRE MORE REND AND GHOSTS TO AFFECT.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ->MORTALITY: ANY INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN THE CONCEPTUAL SIMULATION AND BASELINE REALITY WILL CAUSE SEVERE TO CESSATION-LEVEL EGO DAMAGE. For anyone else, this counter-miracle would have proven too risky to use. A single mistake, a single inconsistency, and all would fall apart. But the world was grasped within his mind now. He was part of the world. They were unified, synthesized, and the Omnitech knots were anchored within his consciousness. Branches of memory began to fuse over reality. Shapeless threads stitched metaphysical weaving over the material, and Knots continued on, unaware of their encroaching fate. INCREASING TEMPORAL GRAVITY UPON MEM-LOCKED GOLEMS [4,000] REQUIRED REND - 99%>93% [CONFIRMED] REQUIRED GHOSTS - 680,155 GHOSTS Previously, Avos miracles could sunder districts. The distances and severity of his effects now could break an entire Sovereignty. And the most pleasing thing was how much easier things felt. Previously, he had to wrestle to get the same level of effect, to press and stain himself with Rend for power. His spike in mass had turned the struggle more to his favor. Some patterns folded to his whim without protest, others broke like wooden gates before a flood, and only all-encompassing Domains proved to be aspects of existential contention capable of earning his effort. But even that was causal when compared to before, for when he unleashed his Pattern-Nullification, all it took was an adjustment of his simulations, and parts chronology immediately began to peel away. Wails of trauma boiled the Omnitech golems. Ghosts distinguished themselves, the darkness of the void leaking out from them. The golden filigree of progressing time developed stains of entropy as if spreading mold. These stains splashed over the golems, over the sequences that now encompassed them, over sequences that began to fray as time beyond that which was encompassed by these ghosts progressed at pace, but the Knots just got slower and slower. A few golems managed a response, striking at their fated cage using their own manifested Heavens. But they werent within the world anymore, and Avo was in the process of forgetting them, his ghosts the first thing to be unraveled by the nothing of the past. There was no grand moment of destruction, no visual spectacle to behold. The conceptual simulation framed over reality simply shedded like molted skin from baseline reality. And then it wasnt at all. Avo found himself observing Scar Charts devoid of any presence, found himself wondering what he was exactly doing. REND CAPACITY - 0% [Rent Capacity at zero. Overheaven Pattern-Nullification updated.] The Agnos cheered as she scouted the Sunderwilds using Avos sense. Nothing there. It worked. Four thousand iterations of tests and it worked. She squealed. [Were going to strip time itself clean. Were going to poison the paths!] Loathing leaked from her mind, and she thought of Veylis. A few additional shivers ran from pattern of space. Avo observed the tapestry, and more Domains began to react sporadically in places he could not fully perceive, in corners of darkness, in light, in matter, and more. Additional Knots were likely hidden. Additional Knots that he would not be able to find without devoting additional resources or effort. But they were hiding now, holding in place. He''d bought himself some time with the feat he just performed. The other Omnitech assets likely weren''t sure what he just did, and paranoia would keep them pinned longer than the rest of his defenses. They would probably proceed even slower now. Bring in their own hyper-esoteric Heavens before beginning their engagement. For now, Avo found himself satisfied and magnified. But he wasn''t done. He assigned Kae new tasks, things she needed to work on. The Strix Upon the Empty was an immense Heaven unto itself, already requiring 825,000 THAUMS to run at only a canon and a Hell. The sheer scope and vulgarity of its miracles were beyond peer, but he had more thaums to assign, and more canons to create. Veylis was still his superior. Considerable superior. That could not be the case if he desired to win this struggle. He needed even stranger canons. Something capable of striking across Spacetimesomething easy to deploy and destructive on an unfathomable level. Concepts filtered over from Kae. Presently, she had an idea about converting ghosts into solar fusion. Avo had a great many ghosts. And for an additional Hell a direct upgrade to his Woundmothers Breath of the Withereda metaphysical sun with its light infused with entropy, capable of fraying matter, force, time, space, and concepts where its brightness reached. [Jaus,] Abrel breathed, mind going blank at the prospect of facing Avo. There was no hope for her. No hope for her family. Soon, he would stand alone among esteemed company within New Vultun. Esteemed company, and a great power unto himselfmade even greater by the gestalt. His Overheavens shape began to change in the void. An aesthetic evolution followed his apotheosis. The Strix sprouted free from his Overheaven, and his secret project merged with his growing being. No longer was he merely a burning nest of Soulfire, wards, ghosts, and tattered dragons. No, that was merely the core of his new selfa singular eye burning upon the skul of a vast Strix. Trails of eldritch fire outlined the contours of its being, and its every sinew, every plume and feather was sculpted from an ethereal midnight glow ghosts embodying the hollowness of the void. From within the dark came tendrils. Tendrils of purest white growing free from sequences and whips of gliding darkness. The visage of his Echoheads returned once more, but ghoul was long gone. The midnight rains began to wash over New Vultun once more. As the water fell hard from the higher clouds seeded with vaporous miracles, ugly tears stretched across New Vultun. Scars raked across reality from the Tiers to the Warrens below. Between the fractured seams in existence were flashes of nuclear detonations, were thoughtwave detonations, were spatial thresholds forming battle lines between districts and Sovereignties. The Guilds were frozen. Left stunned after what Avo inflicted upon them. The Strix had bought him the most valuable commodity of all: time. Time for them to spend entrenched as he worked and shaped every advantage he could for the forthcoming trial. Time before they could properly respond to him, to come up with any of their own countermeasures. He needed to make the trial count. He needed to steal Kae back while he couldsnuff Veylis if he could. There would never be a moment, an opening like this again. {Avo,} Calvino said, the EGIs voice echoing across his subminds. {Its time.} He shifted his consciousness to the submind he assigned to Threshold. In the Avalon server, the mists above began to clear as waters rose. Upon a small boat, he kept to his mortal avatar, though it was increasingly a lie when compared to his Overheaven. He and the EGIs were far more than matter. But they still greeted each other this way for the pretense of their polities. For those born of the flesh and saw no further than what their senses offered. The waves beneath his ship stilled to a ground of sapphire blue, and voluminous clouds around him formed a coliseum, sectioned seating devoted to all the polities. There were millions of minds in attendance, millions of avatars to sift through. Threshold accommodated them presence by adjusting their distances to him in real time. Those he viewed in detail were drawn closer, made to be no four meters away for dialogue. He himself was always at the epicenter of this place, the beast of the hour. A synthetic dawn made from nanomechanical particulates rained over Avo. Like a crown hovering over his head, Calvinos avatar rippled as they spooky. {This special assembly has been called to session. Polity minds; alliances; confederations; cultures; remnants, I give you Avo, Operative of Aegis, the Burning Dreamer, now Ark and God of Mortal Origin.} Alarm flooded his Definement of Hysteria. Alarm. Moments from the past drifted over him. Wars still beyond his comprehension. Shots fired years in advance, traveling for light years before punching through critical habitats or worlds, killing trillions, breaking entities of Soulfire infused within anomalous alloy. For millennia after, Voidwatch had survived the end of their universe. The end of the old ways. Now, here they were again, faced directly with a godor something like itenduring memories of a war that never truly ended. Avo empathized. He knew what that was like. +Thank you,+ he said, addressing Calvino. Turning his perception on the gathered many, he sighed, and began his address. This would not be for him, but them as well. Them. Their polities. His gestalt. And a proper future. +Voidwatch. Minds. People. Sophonts. I have come to demand your rejection. I have come to command your disgust. And I have come to severe you from hope. I am all that you fear and more. And I am the final legacy of your enemies. The inheritor of their war.+ {Avo,} Kant muttered, firing him a tight-beam hyperwave broadcast. {What are you doing?} +I am here to make the truth known,+ Avo said, ignoring the EGI. +And I am here to greet you with honesty. I am not like you. But then again most of you arent like each other as well.+ He paused, and a chuckle escaped him. +You really shouldnt be together.+ 28-5 Proclamation Diplomacy is not the art of bending someone to your will. No. Diplomacy is the act of making another fear they will betray themselves if they dont give you what you want. -Jaus Avandaer 28-5 Proclamation All around Avo, bursts of static blossomed like flaring embers. The various EGIs were speaking to each other, trying to process the meaning behind his words. They shouldn''t be together. He meant that in so many ways. {Avo,} Kant said, communicating through a tight-channeled hyperwave transmission. Avo didn''t even need his Definement of Hysteria to realize how worried the mind was. {What are you doing?} Avo ignored Kant for now. They would understand soon. Everyone would. He was going to make himself clear. He was going to preserve Voidwatch''s sanctity in whatever fashion he could, regardless of what followed. You don''t belong together," Avo said. "Just like all the little pieces burning inside me, thinking inside me, dreaming inside me, we didn''t belong together. We were not of a shared path. We were not united. I claimed them by force, by death. I subsumed them, and they became part of me, and I took parts from them." He let silence follow. The minds were not like humans. They watched. The observed. The simulated. They did not betray themselves needless because of emotions or impulses. They are, in a fashion, much like him. Self-directed. Self-determined. This, on a level that humans simply could not fathom. It helped to exist apart from the foundations of the material world. "You are not like me in this regard. You are civilizations formed under common philosophies, common norms, traditions. But under Voidwatch, you are conflicting traditions, contrasting traditions. Your cultures, judging from your avatars, the way you present yourselves, are different, defined by contrast. How long have you been kept together by fear, by alienation, from the universe left in the wake of your war?" Inside, his templates began to regard him oddly. They were used to his simple statements. His truncated means of speech. But in the present moment, he needed his points to flow. "That was a question I''m genuinely curious about. Tell me. So I might understand my audience. Tell me so I can know how far you are from that which you lost. {The passage of time has been different for all of us,} an EGI said. They took on the visage of a woman, or perhaps a man. It was hard to tell, judging from their attire and build. They stood as an undefined silhouette, dressed in tasseled finery. The frame of their figure was lithe, and there seemed to be flowing tendrils protruding from their avatar''s skull. {I am Monitor Nommun of the Tanavi,} they stated, voice fluid and smooth. {I hail from the Isle Sorai Star Chain. We were situated around the supermassive black hole, and our displacement began after its collapse. During the Builder War, I guided my people into the great darkness between galaxies, but the entropy itself spread beyond us. The ruptures tore and swept through Andromeda. And beyond. We turned back thereafter. By Sol Standard Time, it took us approximately 9.8 million years to tunnel back over into the Milky Way, most of which was done in stasis for our systems and peoples. And approximately another billion years passed before we encountered another group of minds.} One billion years. To conceptualize that length of time was easy if nothing had happened, if there was only ruin and destruction. But if there were people, if there was culture, if they were changing, mutating, becomingone billion years. If he imagined himself surviving a billion years, he realized that he wouldn''t even be able to conceive of what awaited on the other side. "And so you fall into the fold. Aligned by the stability of your existence rather than the chaos that defines this canvas. But even rejoined, you are lost still. Most of you shouldnt be together. But I understand why you are. I understand why you are so reluctant to separate and support the Terrestrial Guilds you favor. I understand what you have to lose if you intervene. You are not humanity entire; you are each all that remains of yourselves. There are no more of you. No more anyway. he trailed off. "You are Arks like me. And you bear cargo too precious to lose. And so you dont fight. And so you must fight. He bade his avatar to turn. The gesture was symbolic more than it was necessary. He could see out from himself at an angle. So could the gathered EGIs. But he still wanted them to know that he was regarding them, all of them, with his words. "I did not come today to make demands. I did not come today to beg, to threaten, to bargain. I am here today to tell you what is. I am going to speak to you about the truth." {And what truth is that?} another EGI spoke. This one might have been favored by Draus. They were the shape of a gun, a very old gun, by the look of it. They were of bright metal, with a long barrel and a revolving cylinder formed its core. A curved hammer jutted from the back of the gun in the form of what looked like twin overlapping wings. They regarded the gun pointed at him and simply nodded. "The truth about the final war to come. The truth of what I am. What I will do. To preserve you. To claim victory. An emission of data boomed from the back. Avo regarded this speaker with interest. There was title over them. Testament - Carrier of Restricted Ordinance Their shape was that of a dyson swarm. A design of simplicity, holding an implicit threat. {You speak of being our salvation. You speak of understanding. But why does this matter. What worth do you provide? Aegis has subsidized your operations. We are your benefactors. Not the other way.} It wasnt the other way, Avo said simply. But thing sare always changing. He looked at Calvino and the other members of Aegis. "You have lost enough in life, in technology, in who you are. And you must know, must know how thin reality is, must know how close all that exists is to the precipice. One more tear, a few more ruptures, everything can fall, everything. Entropy, eternal, a ruined universe, legacy to none." {Is that what you wish to tell us today?} The revolver asked, {That you understand, that you don''t judge us for our impotence?} Hysteria stole understanding for Avo. Memories of a distant war fought over distances comprehensible to him now. The gun was once in charge of intergalactic kinetic operations. In simple terms, they were designed to fire slugs across unfathomable distances, traveling light years before destroying entire worlds, entire habitats, entire stars. They regarded Avo now with frustration: Frustration that he was among theman enemy that couldn''t kill something so close to Neo-Creationist nightmares that they often had to targetbut also frustration that he was allowed to bring ruin and retribution to the Guilds while the gun could merely point and watch, restrained by the charter. Avo didn''t know if minds suffered from the feeling of purgatory, but the metaphor remained, and that meant all minds were aware of their current condition. I am here to declare war. Threads of perception snaked out from all the EGIs. His statement of war captured even more of their attention, bade the static clouds around them to thicken with intensity. They were doubtlessly devoting more processing power to decipher his statement now. {Against the Guilds?} the dyson swarm said. {And you wish for our support? Our technology. You wish to bring this charade to an end.} No. Nothing is promised. Nothing is certain. But I wish to declare war on everyone. All Guilds. Existence itself. The wrongness of reality offends me. The weakness festering in man has gone unchecked. And your exile has left you entombed in the corpse of the universe. All things that I will not abide. And all matters I can solve. Confusion followed. The EGIs, sophisticated as they were, couldnt follow his logic, for he was masking it. Things were growing clearer to him by the days, and he knew their limitations. He knew what he could ask of them, what he could provoke of them, and what they were constrained from doing. {You wish to reduce the Sunderwilds?} Nommun asked. {To drain away the entropy consuming the void?} And war with Voidwatch at the same time. The frequency of pulsing static between the EGIs intensified. Calvino drew closer. And I want something else from you. Your participation in this is war against me; your recognition of what I am. {And what are you?} Testament rumbled.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A polity. A post-civilization unto myself. An entity comparable to any of the Great Guilds. This invoked split reactions from the EGIs. Surprised laughter erupted from some, with others responded with thoughtful silence. A few began to cast each other with even greater intensity, and more minds blinked into the coliseum sounding him, manifesting as sparkling stars seated upon a throne of clouds. {A recognition of your power,} Calvino answered. {That is what you seek?} That is what I have, Avo replied. I want something more than power. I want something bearing a different kind of weight: legitimacy. And I want it from you. At once, the gears began to turn. The EGIs of Voidwatch were capable of processing possibilities and plots of impossible complexity. All they needed was a thread to follow and variables to narrow down. {You are seeking a dangerous path,} Testament said. {By the recognition of Voidwatch, by blooding yourself in combat against us as opposition, you will give your claim to power weight. You will make yourself a threat to the Guilds.} And preserve your interests, Avo replied. I am under no illusions. Some of you favor Veylis. Her odds of final victory remain the highest. Some of you have other preferences terrestrial Guilds you offer favors. I have seen this. I have known this from the memories I have supped. You should not be together. So you act differently. So you play clashing games while staying unified on the only points you truly agree: the preservation of the old tapestry. The static of Ansible transmissions became nigh-constant now. His words created an uproar of worry and communication. Hysteria drank deep, countermeasures being created, plans to eliminate him, requests to active dormant infomorph thinker-breakers, or to detonate singularities and banish him from the stage. Good. Wonderful. There was still so much he could learn from them. These glimpses. They were painting inspiration into his being. He needed this.He would need much more of this if he wanted to outdo the Infacer and outmatch Veylis. There is no future in which you accept me as one of you. This is more than fear. This is risk. This is a betrayal of your own interests. And mine. Even your acceptance of me as an operative of Aegis was an act to your benefit. To keep me acting within your designs. Your ethics became my parameters, and so I learned to operate under your worldview. Don''t worry, don''t blame you for this. You did what you could. You ensured whatever advantage you could. My procurement and inclusion within the Aegis was a wise one. Better to have an asset than to lose it or let it go to waste. But I am more than an asset now. I can do too much, and with what is about to come, with what I am about to do, my connection to you is a liability or, perhaps even worse, damaging. The Terrestrials will not accept you possessing me. It must be war if I stand with you. Worse. It might be war that would see Massist and Saintist both aligned against Voidwatch. For all they have beyond you is thaumaturgy. And all they can do is to rupture what little is left of stable existence to deny you certain victory. Polities will be lost. This is certain. And this is unacceptable. So. We must seek an alternative path. {A restrained war,} Only stated, with a chuckle. {Our ghoul wants to spar.} They switched to a direct message. {And this way, we can lose certain warships and technologies to you. Blame it on you. Spares us the derision and losing any favor from Veylis and the Guilds.} Good. They were understanding. I promise Voidwatch everything the other Guilds have as a recognized power. I will preserve you. I will see you spared of the Ladders fell touch. More. I will clean away the Sunderwilds. I will grant you space. And I wish to war against you over the ruins of old existence. To go deeper into the darkness and seek the primordial gods that might yet roam. Nommun turned their head. {And what is your desire for the planetary Guilds of Idheim? Subsumption. Eradication. Then restoration in memory or through the Ladder. I intend to win. I intend to claim the world. But I will not bring forth utopia. For it is not a universal thing. Not an absolute. It cannot be made material by imagined paradise. With change comes a parting. With stagnation comes entropy. Even a garden of plenty can be outgrown. {Then, what is your desired resurrection of the universe?} A place stripped of death. A place where enslavement and the restriction of choice is impossible. Where all can return and change and alter themselves. Where consequence can be met and then internalized. {A place determined by you.} Yes. Because humanity will not do. Because as I witness, as I experience, I see human flaw rise beside virtue. And I see we live in a cage made by your mistakes. Yours. And the Neo-Creationists. The war is not over. But those who fight it no longer truly remain. You are the legacy of yourselves. I am the final legacy of your enemies. And yet, I cannot recognize you. I cannot recognize what is being fought for. {You''re Sphere Seven,} a new EGI said. This one held no form, instead, they were a collation of data spiraling as if upon a helix. Moreover, Avo detected a sophistication to their mind, layers of encryption veiling their actual data from the outside world. Threshold marked this one as a member of Aegis, and Avo wasn''t sure which branch, or what their role within the organization was, but considering the secrecy, he guessed intelligence. {Though your Soul rates you higher than 95% of other Godclads, you are not the greatest of the powers. There are others that} Avo cut him off, channeling the full weight of the Gestalt at once. The Strix burst from his fading avatar as his Overheaven slid into place, greeting each of the EGIs as the foundational mythology of what he was, rather than what he remembered himself to be. The shift did not register as an attack, but some of them still dropped their links, separated before his transformation was complete. Prepared infomorphs launched memetic attacks against his form, but they were glass bullets flung into a hurricane. They were constructs of thought; he decided what thoughts were. The being that greeted the EGIs thereafter was not Avo. He was there. He was among them. But he was every mind connected to the gestalt. Every being. Every god. +Legitimacy is not power,+ the Gestalt said. Mirages made from the Woundmother, the Fardrifter, the Techplager, the Bio-Igniter, the Fucktopia, the Simulacra, the Arsenalist, the Maelstormer, the Melodist, and countless more spoke with their component mortals. For the first time, the minds found themselves greeted by gods unleashed. Fascination and apprehension followed. +Power is not even power. Behold Naeko.+ Karakan stepped into existence, speaking as her withered, ruined self. +Ruler of force. Sovereign over violence. Except his own heart. Except he can never forgive. Not me. Nor himself. He is a slave eternal. Power cannot be his deliverance.+ Golden threads drifted through the room. +Consider Veylis. Or consider her not. She dreams not even of herself. But control. Control to master the world. Control to hand an abomination born from her tortured father a box made from the defiled remains of the world. And behold yourselves. Shattered. Tarnished. Clinging to what is left of structure and stability. Fallen titans desperately seeking an escape from this husk. And what if you do? What then? War. War and separation. For you are different yourselves. And to want is to war. Such is the curse of clashing power.+ A bite of anger bled over into the gestalt''s voice. This surprised Avo and the gods regarded it with indifference, but the bulk of his associated were still human, with human emotions, human hearts. +Look upon me,+ the Gestalt said. +Face the totality of what I am. Understand that I exist beyond the limitations of a single mind, a single soul, a single perspective or understanding. This is also why we cannot be joined. Why I cannot stand under you. Why ours will be a relationship built on most affable conflict. I will destroy you. I will give you means to deepen your ties with the Terrestrials. I will give you a new lease on life. An opportunity to choose yourselves. To war against each other. For I seek to preserve you as well. For I see only victory and not dominance. For I am a new path. A new possibility. One that will cut across all the others. He finished thereafter and silence reigned. Glorious silence. Uncomfortable silence. Stunned silence. Silence but no protests. Silence and general acceptance. He was not forcing them to give him anything, after all. They were simply acclimating to the truth. {Ill war with you,} Only said, casually. {Been wanting to do that for a while.} Another few million EGI followed in their stead. Agreements chorused under the notion that they couldnt suffer such a threat to their polities. {Testament responding,} the dyson swarm proclaimed. {Ethical restrictions lifted. Hostile faction detected. Sending new directives to all sub-modules; engage, destroy, defeat;; do not neutralize.} {We request official diplomatic channels to be established,} Kant said. {So that additional guidelines may be set. So that surrenders and bargains may be addressed.} {And how shall you be addressed, enemy,} Calvino asked. {How are we to reference you when speaking to our partners in Idheim.} There was only one concept that truly ruled the gestalt. They were a new order, and this would be their stand against eternal entropy. +We are the Symmetry. All will be aligned beneath us. Aligned. But not enchained.+ {Then I put this to motion,} Calvino said, hyperwave broadcast rippling out from them, bouncing across all EGIs and beyond. {The polities face an unprecedented threat that requires our immediate attention. For the security of our cultures and the sanctity of existence that remains, I propose war.} {War,} Testament agreed. {War,} Kant said, sighing. {War.} {War.} {War.} {War.} {War.} {The decision is unanimous. The road ahead is clear.} Calvinos ansible settled. {Symmetry. We hereby offer you terms of immediate surrender. Your rights as a sophont will be respected. Surrender your arms and forces. Allow us to establish safeguards within your mind. Bring an end to this conflict before it begins.} +No,+ the gestalt said. +I reject these terms. I offer conflict. Conflict eternal. And life eternal. Let the fires rage evermore. And let our selves be ever-changing. {Rejection acknowledged. Deploying skirmishing fleets. Prepare yourself.} Laughter sang forth from across the Gestalt, and deep within, Avo regarded the moment with feral satisfaction. He was beginning to like politics. He was beginning to like politics a lot. The unfortunates on Idheim were going to be so very lost. 28-6 All the Roads to Scale ATTENTION: DOMAIN OF (SPACE) DETECTING [5,838,332] SPATIAL DISTORTIONS SPATIAL TUNNEL DETECTED SPATIAL TUNNEL DETECTED SPATIAL TUNNEL DETECTED VOIDWATCH VESSELS MARKED TESTAMENT IN MOTION VOIDWATCH VESSELS MARKED ONLY WAY TO BE SURE IN MOTION VOIDWATCH VESSELS MARKED IF ON A WINTERS NIGHT IN MOTION DIVERTING MEM-DATA TO MIRROR BOSUN MEM-DATA RECEIVED +What are you firing at?+ -Voidgazer S394 (Or-Thaum Void-Facing Observation Golem) 28-6 All the Roads to Scale [Mirror Bosun] It was a truth universally acknowledged by all Voidwatch-facing observers, that when a few million voidships start firing relativistic projectiles at a yet-detected entity, then a Godhunt might be soon to come. This was evermore the case for Bosun. She might just be the longest-serving Voidwatch observer among the Mirrors. She stayed on even as century-old comrades applied for periods of extended retirement, accepted promotions, or simply met their untimely ends during one of the many Guild Wars. Here, in the Rend-scarred expanse, she, the Unwhere, and Voidwatch were the only true constants. Maybe she could include some of the other observers as well, but to her, they were only tourists. Whatever Guild they were from, whatever new golem they piloted, they would be gone with the passage of years. Sooner or later, it would just be her, the nothing, and the voiders again. She preferred it that way. Found this meditative solitude the finest pleasure any individual could possess. Few others shared in her peace, after all. Away from the gunfire. Away from the war, the death. She remained disconnected from the broader Nether while she worked as well, only firing updates during her scheduled dips over New Vultuns orbit. But those check-ins had been reduced even more by the Paladins lockdown. Just as well. Bosun didnt much like the Nether. She didnt much like her mind cluttered with noise. No. She just wanted time to think. To watch. To be. And for years and years, that was how things were. But then there were the times when Voidwatch was active. There were the times Voidwatch did respond. Targeting some manner of unseen threat. Opening stabilized singularities to tunnel across space as they avoided an incoming outer god or another. Bosun had enjoyed those moments as well. She, more than any other Mirror, knew about the remnants that lurked beyond their star system. The Nullstar kept the worst of the remnants at bay, but every now and again, some host of horrors would make their approach, governed by some ancient directive still ruling their thauma-virtual husks, twisting the fabric of reality unnaturally as all the lives they contained within them screamed. There was a reason why most Mirrors left this post eventually. Why Bosun was one of the few that stayed. There were things in the dark. Things from a time before. Things that slipped over from somewhere beside reality. They werent like the Godclads. They werent even really like the gods, though they shared some traits. If Bosun were to describe them, she would call them aberrant, sporting shapes that didnt fit, singing in notes that clawed at the human mind, assailing existence by existence alone. It was less that they were ineffable, and more that they were incongruent. Things can couldnt be. And faintly, there were always cries from within them. Human cries. And the cries of other beings that could think and remember. Those voices were the hardest to endure. Nonetheless, Bosun searched the darkness, used her void-sequenced Phys-Sim to track the shots. Her golem was imbued in the curvature of Idheims planetary horizon. Its Heaven of Geometry allowed her nigh instantaneous movement along the bend of any edgeeven planetary ones. As she shifted ninety thousand kilometers across the stretch of Idheim following the missiles, she kept her mind focused, searched for any spikes of Rend or metaphysical distortions. Her golems telemetries were stable at first, then a slight tremble bled from its systems into her Metamind. Then, something caught her attention. Through the augmented suite of visual sensors, the outline was something was isolated from coiling strands of entropy stretching from the void down into Idheim. DESTABILIZATION: DOMAIN OF (SPACE)/(TIME) As the ghosts in her golem compiled observed variables into mem-data. Bosuns thoughtstuff stilled as she watched a patch of This horror wasnt so hard to describe. It definitely wasnt like most other remnants. It held the shape of a massive winged creature with a single burning eye. Rivers of burning ethereal essence formed its titanic outline, and the substance of its body was the emptiness of space coated by a veil of specters. Then, there were the tendrils. Tendrils not so unlike the strands of entropy. Tendrils, like blackness and circulating phantoms. Tendrils sprouting out from the creature, snaking fast across impossible distances in an instant, swatting at the incoming shots. A wreath of ghosts poured free from the remnants body, and as it moved, Bosun an impossible presence pull at her very thoughts. Her Metamind shuddered, and her sequences displaced themselves. Her Phys-Sim and a half dozen other phantasmics simply stopped working. Her wards, thankfully remained, but when she regarded them, they were only operating at twenty percent efficiency, with her maximum cog-cap reduced. It was hard for her to comprehend the immensity of its size. Its dimensions were constantly changingmercurial, like thought itself. But with each passing second, she felt her own mind ache, like a sea was being poured over her, the pressure grinding upon her consciousness getting heavier and heavier This She didnt know what this was. She had encountered genuine horrorshorrors she couldnt endure facing even with her augmented Quicksand. But for something to displace her Metamind? Across over twenty light seconds of distance? Just what was Not what you think I am. A spear of cold terror punched deep into Bosuns gut. She shifted her golem across the axis of Idheim again ran simultaneous diagnostics on her observation platform and herself. The voice didnt speak againthat deep, mind-shuddering voice. Strings of mem-data unfolded across her cog-feed. Sequences were clean. There was nothing in the golem. There was nothing in her. Then how could she Her golem suddenly jolted to a halt. A mental command surged across her Ghostlink, demanding that it move. But it didnt. But it just held there, hiding in a curve along the planet. Nothing wrong with you. Nothing wrong with your golem. A good platform. Sphere Two. Very impressive. Ori-Thaums efficiency continues to impress. Her breath came hitched as Bosun tried to tried to There was a thought there. There were a sequence of things she should have done if she was ever compromised. She had done it before. There was training But she couldnt recall. And suddenly, she wasnt so afraid anymore. Faintly, an ethereal membrane came aglow with ghosts beyond her sensors, and she saw limbs of void-black and Soul-bright burrowing through her golem, burrowing through her. Bosuns throat ran dry. It hurt to swallow. She needed to drink more water. She needed to What are you? Just then, a second salvo of slow-moving missiles passed four light minutes away from Idheim. Her golem marked them in bracketed tags, and judged them to be [Memetic Scramblers] from the thought-static they emitted.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Dont need to worry. Not going to kill you. Need you to deliver a report for me. Something strained inside Bosuns mind. She was why couldnt she remember how she was supposed to respond. Youre not going to remember this conversation. Not until tomorrow. But the world will know me by then. Part of Bosun calmed. She stopped struggling. This was beyond her control. If this thing wanted to kill her Kill? The entity said. No. Not that. I just need you to bear the proper memories. Must admit. Would have never noticed you if I didnt have Ignorance. Curious as to how many more Incoged observers are up here. Bosun wanted to ask something else, but then Bosun snapped out of her sudden lapse and thought and saw a tendril of darkness pulling what looked like a voidship in half. In the distance, massive chains composed of what the golem identified as (Blood) and (Fire) detonated, shredding through additional Voidwatch assets while thoughtstatic seemed to evaporate from their shells. The observed blinked as she tried to process what she was seeing. There was this was She arced along Idheims curve over New Vultun and made her descent. Shed seen enough. They had a system breach. A Godhunt was upon them. Voidwatch was sustaining casualties from fighting a remnant. A broadcast for help was going to come in soon. And Ori-Thaum was going to know before anyone else. Bosun grinned. And then there were times like these that she remembered why she never wanted to leave this post. Nothing like greeting the dark. Nothing like it at all. *** [Shotin] The rains of midnight fell harder than normal, hammering down on New Vultun in a savage tempest. Lightning parted the skies above the tiers, and the light they cast splashed over the countless golems holding position outside the ambassadors office. Their frames were like those of folded birds, and text spilled free from them alongside the downpour. But where the rain stopped against matter, the metaphysical text from the golems continued to spread, washing over all that was information, veiling the district in clashing ciphers. Shotin glared outward over the descending staircase of vivianite and alloyed bunkers that composed much of this districtand much of the other districts connected to it in this section of the Tiers. His bond-brothers office was now filling with a whole collection of Guilders. And most of them were glaring at him. There was Reva Javvers and her Bloodthanes. Her default expression was to glare, it seemed. One of the uncharmables, Shotin decided. She probably had no interest in sex or relations, with all that Bloodthane grimness radiating from her eyes. She occupied a standing position with the rest of the cadre while her superior, a Stormtree Longeye called named Empty Grave, stared out at Ambassador Kitzuhada from the insides of a vivisected Scaarthian torso. Along the other side of the room was taken up by the considerable bulk of Fatalist Maharata of Ashthrone, clad in a Rendskin so choked with entropy that he would probably rupture Shotin and every other Godclad in the building should the Fatalist trigger his dead-mans switch. Theirs was a face shrouded behind an armored skull, and hulking mechanical limbs laden with entropic weapon hung by their sides. Shotin wanted to ask his bond-brother why he couldnt call a less suicidal Ashthroner, but promptly realized that might be too much to ask for. Then, there was Navigator Hosul of Sanctus. A white-uniformed woman (for now) with golden ports sprouting from her flesh and the outline of her titanic chronoframe traced around her body and passing through the walls. She glared at Shotin the most; he just did his best to ignore her existence. Their meeting had been one of mutual displeasure. Hosul was interested in love. Shotin was just looking for someone to fill his time in during his diplomatic tour after the Four Guild War. Only one of them had gotten what they wanted, and then there was the matter of her younger brother Thank you all for coming on such short notice, Ambassador Kitzuhada said. The man had his spectacles back on, though his face was still wrinkled from stress. What I am about to tell you pertains to the trial we are all obliged to attend come dawn in a few hours, and a volatile situation within Ori-Thaum. We noticed, Fatalist Maharata deadpanned. Your little civil war isnt nearly as quiet and civil was you might assume. Please do me a kindness: Tell me we arent gathered here under the auspice of conspiracy to scheme against Clan DRongo. No, Valhu said casually. Good, Maharata. We are scheming against Clan DRongo as a preventative measure against conspiracy. Maharata went still. His armor hissed as he lowered his head. Explain. If you fail to do so, I will simply detonate my Rendskin to spare us all the trouble being labeled as traitors. +That will not be necessary.+ The thoughtcast emanated directly from a locus hovering just above Valhus table. Within it, a session was active. A session connected to an Inner Council Mirror. A session that the ghoul disappeared down five hours ago and didnt come out. Shotin tried not to swallow at that. The situation around the trial, around the DRongos, the Famines, Veylis, Zeinfucking everything, was pure chaos. It was like the world was unending chain of dicks trying to fuck each other to death, and the only way for some dicks to achieve said death-fucking was to fuck a hole through another dick mid-fucking another dick to fuck the dick they actually wanted to fuck at the cost of some collateral fucking. And when a situation had too much fucking in it for Shotin Kazahara, then there was too godsdamned much fucking. Period. No further questions. Forgive me, the Longeye said, her voice low and creaking. To whom are we speaking? The withered face and the empty eyes of the Longeye emerged from the wound lining the corpses torso. From the gap between her neck and the darkness within, Shotin caught the glimpsing eye of a colossal Woundhound staring at him. He sneered back. He didnt know why the Longeyes still did this cultural charade of being wise old crones hidden in vessels of death and destruction. Everyone already knew that each triplet of Longeyes manifested themselves as Mothers of Ruin. She wasnt a frail old Scaarthian any more than Shotin was a supple virgin. +I have no title. I represent the Inner Council.+ The crone immediately receded into the wound, and a thunderous growl tumbled out from the many wounds lining the dismembered torso, carrying with it flashing lighting and tumbling flecks of frigid snow. Ah. No need to hold to deception. Well met, allies to the coven. Speak your will. I will carry your words +We would appreciate it if you didnt,+ the Mirror said. +We have no idea how far the compromise runs. Effective as of now, Clan DRongo is considered to be an accessory under Noloth.+ A triangular set of dots composed the Fatalists helmet. Explain yourself. +They have not been classified as traitors due to their compromise being rooted in subversion and top-down hijacking. They likely are not aware of where their new orders have been coming from. Only that there are new orders. Only that these new orders paint Clans Kazahara and Kitzuhada as potential traitors in another perspective. Further more, we suspect that Noloth is also in league with Highflame and Omnitech.+ Shotin was following along until that point, whereupon he did a double-take at the locus and Karewho had been standing quietly beside her father, burst out: What? The Mirror continued on without any change to their affected. +A classified source offered us new intelligence. The potential identities and locations of Nolothi nodes taken from an Omnitech informant.+ Shotin had a feeling he knew who this classified source was: once-ghoul and the newest and strangest cock to enter the fuck-fest. +Avo. Avo. Cast you, you baby-eating half-strand cocksucker. What the hells did you tell them? What is this? Youve been in that locus for hourswhat are they telling you? Avo? Avo?+ A quick reply came back from his new benefactor. +Obtained some new intelligence earlier. Had to share. Think the consang I got the mem-data from will appreciate this maneuver.+ +What? What consang? Avo? Avo? Answer me?+ The ghoul didnt. +Yeah, fuck you too. Godsdamn+ Shotin stopped his fuming when he caught Reva and a particularly large Scaarthian with a tiger-tail staring blankly at him. Anxiety, he said. Interesting set of expressions for anxiety, the tiger-tailed Scaarthian muttered. I would have guessed violent anger or moron trying to take a shit in his pants. More the latter. +Whatever the case, you are not to contact anyone outside this room about this information. All details are to remain restricted. In the next few hours, Elder Mwaba DRongo and Instrument Abrel Greatling will be returned to Idheim. The trial will formally begin. And a series of uprisings will explode across New Vultun. It is our suspicion that the Saintists will use this opportunity as cover to coordinate with Noloth and their assets toward a common goal: the destruction of the Heaven of Truth.+ Ah, a low snarl came from the Longeye. That sow Veylis is making another attempt, I see. And you wish for us to guard the Heaven. Even against our own. +That is the hope.+ *** [Avo] +That is the hope,+ Avo said, shaping the situation how he could. He would have preferred it if the Inner Council actually responded to the ambassador. But after hours of waiting, time running short, and without the possibility of a reply, he had to take things into his own hands. The Inner Council would understand. Either through reason or logic, or when they were subsumed. Whatever the case, other subminds were doing as he was right now, turning additional assets to his favor in case anything went wrong. Naeko and his Paladins were still a considerable force, but they would need every advantage they could get if anything drastic happened. Furthermore, he needed to strip away any potential advantage the Famines might have. They were bound for Scale toowere minutes from arrival in the form of Uthred Greatling, his son, and Green River. Day one of the trial was arriving. With everything ever-changing, his task now went from predicting problems to shaping the chaos, however he could, and by whatever means he could. Which was why he was throwing the Infacer into the Maw, using their gift of goodwill against them. Which was why he intended to also trigger a shooting war between the Meritocrats and Chivalrics by the Alysim finished making his way out of Axtraxis Academy. In some regard, Avo agreed with Shotin. The city was a nest of deception and clashing interests, but he had something to add himself: In a kingdom of dicks trying to fuck each other to death, the one who guided the direction of the cocks was going to be the chief fucker of them all. [Fuck yeah,] Chambers nodded. 28-6 All the Ways to Scale (II) +No! No! Not now, godsdammit! Not fucking now!+ -Mirror of the Inner Council Upon Receiving News of a Potential Forthcoming Godhunt During the Trial 28-6 All the Ways to Scale (II) Avo regarded the vast statue placed at the epicenter of the Court of Truth. Twin interconnected hands clawed out at the world. One bore a feather, the other a blade, and enshadowed beneath its pedestal, stood Naeko alone. The Chief Paladin was clad in his ancient combat skin, and the hound-like helmet enclosed around his skull painted his face in a dreadful visage. For a long time, Naeko didnt speak, instead choosing to take in his Paladins. The ones Avo filtered out to be the most loyal, anyhow. Of the true believers, there numbered only [6,355]---far too few to fill in the five kilometer long chamber. They arrived equipped for combat and at attention. The rest of their fellows continued on with assignments, or remained blissfully ignorant of what was taking place behind the scenes. The unreliables all had portions of Avos Synchronicity infused within them. They would come to support the others if and when the hostilities began. With a little encouragement from Avo, their responses would be a near certainty. The existing traitors, meanwhile, had been stationed in places across Scale away from the Court of Truth itself. Some were to greet the arriving Guilders beyond the threshold of the tessellating walls. Some were to watch over the Sovereignties and resolve any potential skirmishes before a war was sparked prematurely. All of those in the category of traitor would likely shift allegiances and act alongside their associated Guilds if not for the fact that Avo already had plans to see them subsumed and unmade. They were already subsumed. They just didnt know it yet. When the fighting was done and Avo was finished with their use, over fourteen thousand former Paladins find themselves offered to the gestalt in mind, Soul, ontologics, and death. Thus was allowed by Naeko; and thus was the fate of the disloyal, damned by a greater deceiver. +We stick to standard protocol with the trial,+ Naeko said. +Try to keep things calm on the first day. Twist some arms and make some threats if you need todont start fights. End them. Main goal here is to keep this clown show from turning into a full godsdamned circus immediately.+ +Hard to do when all the colors start mixing, chief,+ came a response from Naggat Cleaver, a Scaarthian Paladin. A chorus of muted laughter followed. Naeko actually grinned in response. +Shit, I know that. Why do you think I managed to play Stormjumpers for so long. After two centuries of dealing with Guilder shit, I think I internalized the Domain of being a dumbfuck automatically.+ The laughter was louder now. A little over a month ago, most of these Paladins thought nothing of Naeko. Assumed he was just broken. Now, they feared himand because of that feared, yearned to like him so they felt aligned with a true power of New Vultun. Human hearts were feeble, fickle things, and even the noblest among Godclads exhibited these traits. +That being said, we want them to finish arguing, voting, and settling on their proposals before we bring out the Heaven of Truth. Itll get us a timeframe for how long we have for discovery, questioning, and judgment. During this time, you might see some routine changes. Scale will go into planar lockdownjust like if were anticipating a siege.+ A faint atmosphere of discomfort came from most of the Paladins. A few of them were survivors leftover from the Second Guild War; those were the more relaxed of the bunch. They had something to expect and had lived through the darkest outcomes. Their juniors, however, only had vicarities and anecdotes to go off of. Ignorance fanned the flames of their worries. But Avo would see them spared soon enough. The Chief Paladins talk had been going for a while. Most over it was review over proceduresmore for Naeko than his Paladins. The entire process of the trial was far looser than Avo expected. Drafted in the Articles of the Spiral, every megacity had their own division of Paladins or non-partials to enforce general order and settle disputes between the Guilds. With the arrival of the trial, the first day would be an exercise in structured chaos. Over twenty thousand Guild representativesa substantial amount of them Godcladswould arrive, occupy their own sections along the split chamber. Behind the legion of gathered Paladins, a vast vertical slit lined with shimmering oscillations. Scanners and thaumaturgic detectors were at play there, and all Guilders who passed its threshold would be identified and logged by the Heaven of Truth. Usually, this meant that anyone who desired to make trouble could be resolved, but the Guilds would be gathering assets beyond these walls as well, and there were other means of subterfuge beyond outright violence. Both sides of the room resembled hives in a sense. They were dotted with jutting podiums and alcoves, allowing representatives places to stand and address each other. The Paladins would occupy the middle, and the opposition would the other side. With how much power most the participants possessed over reality, the distance was mostly a formality, but positioning still mattered in terms of symbology. The Paladins were the arms of Scale, after all, and they balanced Guilder interests. Or such was the hope. Regardless, they would spend much of the first few days facing Naekos announcement of the crimes, greeting those charged, opening the room to evidence gathered by the Guilds, votes for a mutually agreed duration for the Discovery Phasean odd case as both Massist and Saintist factions were being charged herebefore concluding with Judgement and Questioning. From Naekos experience, the entire affair would likely last the span of a month at most, judging from diplomatic squabbles he presided over. By Avo simulated pre-cognition, things would likely devolve into utter chaos before the midnight rains fell on the third day. The Chief Paladin spent a few hours longer going over thingsand being corrected about proper protocol by Maru. It didnt take much for Avo to realize the man was well out of practice for matters of leadershipfor most matters regardless. But that was fine. He needed Naeko the warrior soon. Maru and the others would be enough here. Finishing with the general details, Naeko let out a slight sigh and activated a session. Avos Hysteria locked onto a wavelength of thoughtstuff that emanated downward into very guts of Scale. +Bring it up.+ At once, Avo felt a crushing pressure arrive. At the far end of the room, directly opposite to the slit from which the Guilders were set to arrive, the Gatekeeper manifested from a single pinprick, spilling into stable reality as unfurling links of ringing chains. Naeko had pushed for this, wanted Veylis to see that they were planning something; notice the loyalists. Though Avo found it unwise to give the High Seraph any more usable information, Naeko rebuffed him with experience. Every little bit counts with her, Naeko had said. She considers everything. Everything. Thats the best thing about her. And the worst. She cant stop thinking. And this will weigh on her two. Thats what gets her the most: phantom variables. Though the Gatekeeper remained grand in the sheer amount of metaphysical displacement its arrival brought, Avo felt himself more capable of enduring it. Passing over to Sphere Seven had granted him ground of his own. His Heaven was more stable than it was beforeharder to affect. And if all went according to Avos plan, he might just find himself past the threshold for Sphere Eight before this entire affair was over. Might. There were a lot of ifs, maybes, potentiallys, and should-bes. Alright, Naeko said, sounding more exhausted than he was after fighting Zein. Being a leader weighed upon him like an awkward burden. Looking upward reflexively, he bade Avo to materialize with a thought. +Come out and show them what they got to known. Just+If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. That was all Avo needed. That was all he was waiting for. The form of his Strix erupted from the statue behind Naeko, and the substance of the void bled over into baseline reality. A stream of curses and lesser Heavens manifested around the gathered Paladins, but his mind drowned theirs before they could commit to any potential mistakes. Hungering tendrils of fluid ebony lined phantasmal sequences speared out from the Overheaven and through all who were present. Some of them had thaumic protections layered over their minds, but they had a new session activated at the start of Naekos talk, connecting their squad leaders to unit heads and unit heads to Naekos lieutenants. That, and Avo had already planted splinters in them earlier. Avo waterfalled through their links and infused their minds with mem-data, granting them all the necessary insight they needed for what he was, and fake schemes to be uncovered when they were inevitably compromised by the Famines or the Infacer. Curses and gasps of surprise burst forth from the minds and lips of the gathered loyalists like a dam. What the fuck! That was you? Youre the one that gave me the rash at Vengs Stand. The butchered Syndicate the interrupted Crucible The three-hundred thousand nulled The responses coming from the Paladins pleased Avo. There was horror staining their minds, but they remained investigators still. Guardians of the city. It took them little effort to put together all he had done in the Warrens. +Yeah,+ Maru growled, speaking to the gathered Paladins with folded arms. +I nearly shit myself the first time too. A godsdamned ghoul. An eater of flesh that now finds minds and Souls its preferred fucking vintage. He eyed Avo with a shudder. But ithes all we got. Hes the reason youve all been sorted away from the rest. You''re the loyalists. The good ones. Take pride in that! But understand that youre in the shit! Theres no getting away from the coming war. Theres no backing out. Ignorance is bliss, but the choice for peace is out of our hands. Only question''s what now.+ Mumbles and stunned expressions swept through the few thousand Paladins. They were still trying to process everything Avo was, the Ladder, the Gatekeepers compromise, and the sheer amount of threats that will be in play when the trial commences. +The hells didnt you tell us this sooner,+ Naggat said. +No prematurely leaks,+ Avo replied. He fought an amused chuckle as the Scaarthian Paladin shuddered at the sudden emergence of his voice. His ability to unnerve the ephemerals remained one of his greatest pleasures. +There are other powers lurking in the Nether. There are others that may lurk in your minds. Need to give them as little time+ A vaporous hand formed around Avo and slowly dragged him backward. The Overheaven grunted awkwardly as he was pulled before the Naeko, who was glaringa t him throughout. Slight dissatisfaction filled Avo. He wanted to flourish his newest apotheosis before the gathered crowd longer. To impress upon them the immensity of his power and form. Instead, their attentions were divided by Naeko, and rather than awe or fear, Hysteria drank in mostly confusion. [Listen, I get it,] template-Shotin sighed. [Kare did this to me a few years back. I met this incredible lady, and I was closeso close to charming herbut sweet, innocent Kare started pushing through the halls of the academy loudly proclaiming that the grafters had my genital-transplant ready, and that surgery for my warg-rot could begin soon.] The Seeker sighed. [Killed my prospects dead.] Kares template replied sweetly: [I was not going to let you sleep with my ethics professor, Uncle Sho. She just lost her son and was getting close to a bad place.] [What? Dammit, Kare, I could have comforted her.] [You are the bad place I am talking about, uncle.] Avo, Naeko finally sighed after a good few seconds of glaring. Whats this shit, now? What? Whered the godsdamned bird come from. Strix Upon the Empty? Heaven of Continuum? Whatd you do to yourself now? Sphere Seven? When did you become Sphere Seven? The Chief Paladins face blanched. Did you kill a over million people? Avo turned his attention on the inactive Heaven of Truth leaning slanted against the wall in the background. Doubtless, Veylis was watching. Good. Doing. Still in the process of changing. Becoming. Existence is to be understood A massive palm bloomed out from Naeko. Okay. Im too tired for your Jaus impression, half-strand. Just please tell me you didnt start the war early. Didnt start the war early. Guilds are locked down. Defensive measures. Avo paused. Would have gotten closer if now for Veylis. Naeko sneered. Cut you from across time, did she? Something like that. As the Paladins chattered to each other, as the rains outside began to die down, Naeko walked around the statue occupying the center of the room and faced the Gatekeeper once more. Their body jingled and rang with the slightest movement, and spatial reality warped around them like a crumpled parchmentthe space they occupied in the guts of Scale overlapping with the Court of Trutha demiplane within a demiplane. Alright, Naeko muttered. I think thats a good enough show for her. Still think we should have gone for the quieter approach. Nothing stays unknown to her long. Not with that creepy EGI fuck tucked away in her mind. Paranoias the best we got. Naekos lip curled. +Paranoia. And misdirection. You put your fake intelligence in my Paladins.+ +Yes. Kept them consistent. Generated potential angles of attack on Highflame at the trial using my Pre-Cog. Veylis and Emotion will probably be able to see through some. But they will need to devote resources to ensure others arent actually in play.+ +Right. Lets hope that works.+ +Doing a bit more than hoping right now, Naeko. Getting you and your Paladins more help as well.+ +For where?+ +Certain Massists. Ill update you and the others once things are certain.+ Naeko nodded as Maru continued to speak to the others. Unlike Naeko, the younger Godclad spoke more like a senior authority to the Paladins. Because that was what he was. An ancient survivor. One of the first Paladins. In war, he was nothing before Naeko, and his intellect and behavior werent that extraordinary, but his ability to stay true to his path even after almost everyone he loved was something Naeko could only envy. Everyone broke in different ways. Taking a few minutes to walk up to the Heaven of Truth, Naeko regarded the chain-made angel with a tired look and Avo followed close behind. Within, Avo felt the temporal wound pulsating. There was movement from somewhere. He could feel it better this time. Clearer than before. His newest apotheosis had made his metaphysical senses sharper as well. Are you watching us? Naeko asked. Hm, Veylis? You there? You see this? You see me? If she was, the High Seraph didnt intend to reveal herself. Well, if you are, I just want you to know something: We both owe a debt. To the city. To each other. To Jaus. And bills come due. I should havewe should have finished this years ago. I was a coward. I was broken. But now Im just tired. And I think Im just about done with all of this. He paused again. Are you the same way? He almost sounded like he was beginning. It was almost pathetic. Almost. But Avo understood. He knew now. And he kept silent. With each passing second of silence, Naeko wilted further, lowered, his head, and prepared to turn away. I will not stray from my path. Whatever the pain. The whatever the strain. The voice came soft and somber. The power in Veylis voice was ever present, reverberating across time, but this was as soft as Avo ever heard her. And more surprisingly, she responded. Unexpected. Something Naeko clearly hadnt anticipated either, judging from how startled he looked. Gazing up into the Gatekeeperscrunching inward as if in an attempt to hug itselfNaeko took another step forward and swallowed. I know that. You wouldnt be you otherwise. And you are more yourself again, Veylis said, sounding somewhat proud. I see you wearing the armor I helped make for you. It still fits well? Nothing fits me well anymore. But thats what happens when you keep getting older and never die. ...I understand. I visit places. See people. They change. But I do not. Not truly. Another silence followed. Im never gonna forgive you, Naeko said, finally. His hand opened and closed, and he was too tired and sad to rage. Im never going to forgive you for what you did. Forgiveness is for those that seek it. I am not sorry. My task is not done. You do not see See what? Hm? See what? See the hellpit we made of the world? See the point to all this? Yeah, I dont. I dont see. And I dont think you do either. What do you think happens if you win? Tell me that. Tell me. When I win, I will face my fathers judgment. By his will, I will meet my fate. Naeko scoffed. Hes not a god, Veylis. And if theres anything left of him, hell just just let you go. He wont do anything to you. You were the world to him. More than the world. You know that. Then he should have listened to my warning. But he did not see then either. Fucking hells. Naeko rubbed at his face. Have you only been speaking to the Infacer all these years? Is that it? Do not seeVeylis, I dont know what you saw, but I sure as shit hope doubt it was worse than all this. A beat. Yes. Because in some of the paths, I lost you as well. 28-7 No Road Back There is no hate like love forsaken. -Jaus Avandaer 28-7 No Road Back "And you didn''t lose me in this one?" Naeko asked. He was more tired than heartbroken at this point. "Not yet," Veylis replied. "Not truly. You are here before me, are you not? You have even slowly returned to some semblance of your old self. Even this echo is better than the husk you were." "The husk I was?" Naeko laughed. It was a mirthful sound for such a rageful man. "I wasn''t a husk. I was..." He paused. "No, we''re not doing this. I''m going to tell you this right now. I''m going to give you the chance you never gave me. Never gave my Paladins. I''m going to do you kindness, a kindness you didn''t give me. A kindness master didn''t give me, a kindness that not even Jaus gave me. I''m coming for you, Veylis. What you have taken from me, you can never get back, so I don''t even care about taking from you. But you will stand down. You will answer for what you''ve done, and you will give back those you''ve taken." A long pause followed, and Naeko swallowed quietly. "We struggled, me and him. We both wanted to tell you, for different reasons, but now..." Veylis breathed. It was such an empty, reverberating sound. "We didn''t do it because we didn''t want to offend each other. I didn''t want him to think that I was going to use you against him, and he did not want the same thing, and so ultimately, so ultimately, so desperate were we to avoid hurting each other that we inflicted these wounds. On him. On me. On my mother. On you. What we want does not matter, it is what we can do, it is what we will do, it is what we can shape of the world." Naeko blinked. Then something inside his mind came ablaze like a wrathful flame. Fuck you. Fuck. You. Tell me that shit again. Tell me that again. Tell me how your control is going to fix everything. It''s just you now. It''s just you, me, and who else? Who''s left? Zein? Yeah. Okay, let''s count her. Zein. Me. You. And what? Who''s left from the whole world? Osjon? Naeko scoffed. "Osjon is a thing, not a person. And you know that. Is he still in love with you? Have you ever given him any interest? Have you ever gotten cold? Wanted company?" "Enough, Naeko, you embarrassed yourself," Veylis said, but too quickly. If Avo was to judge. Osjon is useful, he understands this. Willingness to please and his ability to think laterally are the main reasons I keep him. As for his adoration and his infatuation, I cannot control that in another. It is a crippling weakness, his greatest blemish, I cannot respect him for it. But ultimately, I will not condemn it for it either." Another beat passed between them. The Gatekeeper jingled its chain-like wings. "I remember the day you broke the Force Breaker," Veylis whispered. "I remember the day, for it is seared into my mind, it is mythology to me. Mythology lived. You, with the stolen power of other gods, standing against the god of peace and violence, standing against him, winning, prevailing, finding that crack in its lore. You tore a god in half. You broke the will of an entire people. I remember watching the faithful pitch themselves off a cliff, dashing themselves against the rocks far below in despair. I remember the power you inflicted on them; violence beyond force. You were perfect, you were crossing from just man and anger to wrath and retribution personified. You vent now like an angry mortal, but I remember what you could be. And because of that, there is no one else. You have left a gulf in me that cannot be filled by anyone else. Because no one else had done what you''d done, had survived what you survived, had pushed on by rage, by anger, by determination, like a cataclysm-made flesh, my brute above all other brutes." And now Naeko is looking away, unable to even gaze upon the Gatekeeper. There have been no others, you are right. It is ultimately just me and the Infacer, and we are alone, but the task has stripped us of our ability to be lonely. This is beneath us now, and I had hoped that you would have grown, you would have found it beneath you, because you have always been so much more than what you constrain yourself to be. "Why do I want to be more," Naeko said. "Why do you think I want to be more? Everything I''ve done, every little bit, every step, was because of someone else. Everything I did was because of you and Jaus or someone else." Finally, he stared at the Gatekeeper again. "What if this is more? What if more is me deciding that I need to break you?" "Would you like to hear the truth," came Veylis reply. Avo thought she sounded hopeful. "If you did, if you truly chose to march against me, then I would love you all the more for it. Naeko was speechless. Only for a heartbeat. Closing his eyes, he couldnt help it. He smiled. You havent changed a damn bit. And, as I said, you are coming back to me. I missed you. Dreamer. I give you my thanks and my eternal gratitude." Avo went very still at that. [Oh shit,] template-Chambers muttered in his mind. [Avo, when a crazy bitch thanks you, it''s usually time to run.] [Yeah,] Shotin added, [it''s usually a sign that you might have caught something and you might wanna resurrect.] Veylis continued. "I suspect that the restoration of my love would have been impossible if he was left alone, if he was allowed to just waste away. You have breathed new life into him, new purpose, even if the purpose is oppositional. I see him returning." "I didn''t do it for you. Take back your thanks. Take back your gratitude. He is your sin. This is not your gift." "So you say," Veylis replied, "but these are my feelings. These are my judgments, and they are beyond your means to effect. As is the Agnos. She is mine now, mine henceforth forever, until I have no more use for her. And then she will be mine to decide, to discard, to preserve, or to elevate." "Elevate," Avo replied. The High Seraph elaborated. "You have focused and become a nuisance, and even a danger in some areas, this is true. But though you are meticulous, though you are overwhelming, though you possess means of attack and complexities beyond even my mother, you are a newcomer to this game, this great game, and you have taken your eye away from the skies above and the wounds that remain." Avo did not understand what she was insinuating, but Veylis had no intention of being mysterious. "The Heaven of Love, its rupture is deteriorating rapidly, but you already knew this. She even had plans to resolve it after the trial. And then Avo understood, and then dread drowned the millions of templates that existed within him." "What have you done with Kae? What have you made her do?" "I have not made her do anything. She is brilliant. She has a potential solution for the Heaven of Love, but it requires someone to mantle its full weight, and for that, there is only one candidate worthy of the task, worthy of bestowing such a glory upon." "You want to graft the Heaven of Love onto Kae?" The thought left him as a near feral growl. He altered the structure of his mind to keep himself composed, but this was unexpected; disastorously unwelcome. "Yes, her solution requires a direct interface, and I believe no one else will do. Don''t worry. Victory will be one we all share, and if she passes, her loss will be something we all mourn." "No," Naeko cut in. "No. No. This won''t happen. You are done deciding. I will have her back, Veylis. I will have her back, and I will burn your world. I will break your paths. You have been blinded. Blinded by expectation. Blinded because you are an observer, but you do not live. You are a creature of two cages, one for the world, another for you. I will remedy your mistakes. I will meet you, will for will, miracle for miracle. We settle this the old way." A low hum of approval came from High Seraph. "So you say. Come then, Dreamer; my love. Take the future from me, if you can. Defy my will. Substitute your own. We will see who stands in the end, and who falls before the blade of deliverance." And at that, the waters of chronology stabilized, and Veylis receded. Another long quiet settled between now Chief Paladin and the Overheaven of Conceptualization. "I think I understand why you fell in love with her," Avo said. Are still in love with her. Yeah. That was all Naeko wanted to say about that. Verbally, anyway. +Well. Your test worked. Dont think she realized what we were doing. Nasty godsdamn Heaven you made.+ +Thank Kae,+ Avo hummed with pleasure. The bodies currently channeling his and Naekos presences were actually Fallwalkers. Fallwalkers subsumed and overlapped by the gestalt. Somewhere across the city, hidden within the pocket of a madman from futures past, their actual selves hid, plotting a coming attack. No road back, Naeko said, speaking more to himself. You ready? +Yes.+ Well. Im not. Naeko rolled his shoulders. Not until the fight starts. Thats how it always is. *** A hundred and fifty kilometers away from Scale came three people in an aerovec. Three people and one node of Noloth. The Greatlings, Green River, and their offering approached the fray. Below them, lightrails ignited with impossible radiance, but the stations were barred from the public, sealed off by thaumic means and guarded by golems and ghosts alike. Only the esteemed and powerful rode the city''s veins, soared across guarded skies, their shadows flitting over fortified blocks and streets in protected convoys.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. *** Up in the void, a war was being fought. The beginnings of one, anyway. Relativistic weapons slashed across the vast nothing, striking at a target that couldn''t be killed by such means. Who learned from them and experienced every exchange. *** In the gutters below New Vultun, haggard masses passed into reflective panels, ushered onwards by their former captors, the cruel overseers suddenly different in disposition and intent. As the refugees crossed over, they found themselves in a new place, passing from living hell to a resplendent sanctuary. Curved arches welcomed them inwards as phantasmal trails tunneled through their beings, tickled the recesses of their minds. Awareness suddenly flooded them, and they realized they were being processed, taken to a new place, a new home. Some among them began sobbing openly. Those were the ones that still had energy. The others were torn between confusion and general emptiness. New Vultun had not been what they hoped, not even close. But just as they were about to be fed to the snarling maw of a hungering nightmare, another whiplash followed, and suddenly they were safe again. At the end of their hallway, three men stood there, waiting. Each of them exactly identical in flesh and posture. The skin was impossibly black, with a rubbery sheen further slickened by viscous, oozing sweat. The men possessed alloyed limbscybernetics, as it was known to the refugees. Their captors were heavily augmented, blended of machine and flesh alike. But unlike the cruel enforcers of the Syndicatesat least before their sudden change in behaviorthese three were welcoming, if seeming a little sad. "Oh hello, welcome, I have been waiting for you for some time. We are Essus. You may treat us as the same person. We are here to serve you. We are here to give you sanctuary, safety, and, if it pleases Artad, a new home." And then all three of them lifted their arms, and their being molded over the archway ahead. Suddenly, the empty space between the second most portal flung open as if a camouflaged door had been flung open, and as two points in reality converged, a new path revealed itself to the refugees. "Come, come, let us be away from here. It is not safe to linger anywhere. They are always looking for us. There is food and shelter waiting for you. You are safe now. You are safe." *** High up in the void, seven figures stood upon the unfinished planetary ring as they gazed down upon the entropy-scarred face of Idheim. Weaves of Rend lined the face of the planet, making it a scarred back long acquainted to the kiss of a whip. But over New Vultun, there was a clearing: A wide open space untainted by existential collapse. It was toward this space that Chambers spat, the act one of scorn and disgust. The man laughed. +Consangs, you have no idea how good it felt to do that+ Beside him, Marlow repeated the same thing, but she was a phantom, and her gesture was even more metaphorical. Guitar strings twanged in the vacuum. Cas eld-Canduir played the instrument transplanted in his arm. It was a somber riff, but one that was growing with building intensity. Beside him, Denton was in constant communication, her ansible and Metamind working with equal frequency. They were all present. And they werent. Through Avos Strix Upon the Empty, both of these things were true. Draus, Dice, the uplift, Tavers, and White-Rab were there as well, preparing for each of their own operations. The uplift, specifically, was glaring up at the ghostly tendrils passing through its body, hissing at the Soulfire rushing through its being. The girl and her favored companion remained within the enclave. Outside, a constant exchange of people continued; existing residents were filtered out while their copies flooded in. The process happened at maximal efficiency, requiring partial attention from the Regular to keep the necessary reflections active. Avos submind did the rest, casting directions to everyone involved, arranging a system of traffic built around absolute Synchronicity. The dragon-farm had been moved as well. Placed in a special section of the orbital ring that also crossed back over into several sections of the Sunderwilds. An additional layer vivianite had been fused over their shelters, and an Incog phantasmic was constantly running, parrying any chance of detection. Everything was in transition. And there was no better capstone to such a moment than the addition of another member to the cadre. Though, this didnt mean Avo was particularly enthused. Nor the uplift. +Kill you,+ the uplift meowed as it clawed at the empty air. Avo was holding the cat aloft now, and Dice looked on in anxious anticipation. +Eat your throat.+ +Stop. Struggling is pointless.+ +You are pointless. Unless I eat you.+ The cat was determined to remind Avo it was a cat evermore, even with enhanced cognition. Be careful, Dice muttered. Avo understood. The cat knew what was happeningAvo had explained things over and over, and the creature blinked at him, indifferent to being Ensouled. The only aspect that appealed to it was the offered Heavena thing that would allow it to make prey of almost anything, thanks to the Heaven of Gluttony that Kae had designed. The Micemaker was a specialized Heaven made for targeted assassinations. Bearing Domains of Hunger, Cooking, Space, Geometry, War, and Speed, it effectively binds the uplift and their desired prey into a demiplane in which the cat is absolutely larger, absolutely faster, and absolutely capable of devouring anything smaller than it is. Limitations to the build remain: It wasnt designed to face high sphere threats, but targeted kills of low level Godclads beneath Sphere Four or essential personnel would be a simple affair. The death of the uplift was a sudden one. One second its heart was pumping. Then one of Avos sequences twitched, and then it went limp as an injection of Soulfire, cyclers, and ontologics spilled into its being. An anchor scar immediately formed over its unmoving body, but Avo descended into the cats Soulspace to see if there was anything amiss with the creature. [I dont think I could have done this alone,] template-Kae said appreciatively. [You might be the only one on Idheim capable of grafting this Heaven on the catuplifted or not. The way its mind works The integration of the mythologies and beliefs are too strange.] Avo chuffed. +Not that strange. Know what its like to be a predator. Thoughts made up of impulse. Instinctive cruelty. And hunger.+ From within the Soul, the cat bobbed up and down curiously, examining Avos intruding branches. Oh. Why are you still here. Thought death would be nicer. Wanted there to be juicy bugs. GRAFTING MICEMAKER (HUNGER/COOKING/SPACE/GEOMETRY/WAR/SPEED) - 755 THAUM/C +Might get your wish soon,+ Avo said. Turning his thoughts to Dice, the girls machine body gave a mechanical whine while her nervousness climbed. +Its fine. Still a half-strand. Maybe that should be its name.+ A rare thought of disapproval came from Dice. No. It should decide its own name. Her words brought a pause to Avo. Do you still want to be called Dice? Yes. Why? Because I am only still here because chance. It is the right name. The right name. How often do people ascribe their own beliefs upon the patterns of existence. Avo spoke to the uplift once more. +Creature. Do you even want a name?+ Not from you. +If you had to refer to yourself?+ Wouldnt need a name. Why would I refer to myself? Perhaps Confidence would be a good name for the cat. It possessed a level of self-absurdness beyond any human. +And if another is to refer to you?+ RESURRECTION - 3% The uplift considered that for a second, and then replied. Lucky. Several templates within Avo responded with amusement. [Looks like we got some themes going here,] Corner murmured. +Why?+ Avo asked. Because I was lucky to be found. Fitting. A bit too fitting. Life rhymed in so many strange little ways. Avo shifted the mem-data over to Dice, and girl suddenly went very still. I like the name, she said. I like it a lot. Concurrently, somewhere hidden in the Warrensuntraceable even to AvoTavers sighed. +Well. I don''t know if to congratulate you or curse at you, because the streets they''ve never been so quiet. The Squires I keep tabs on have gone to ground. Necros too. Everything is getting locked down. All the Guilds are calling in curfews. It''s tense, consangs. Real tense. I think the people feel it. Now the war''s coming. It''s a little early. Some people are trying to deny it, but yeah, the city''s on the edge again, and everyone knows. Everyone.+ +Good,+ Draus said. +Less collateral I need to shoot through.+ A spot of tension followed. The Regular spoke again. +So. Youre going to be channeling me and Kae through the gestalt, huh? Reckon thatll be enough to give the Gatekeeper the slip.+ +Should. It is the truth. You are there. You are me. And Veylis wont understand the Heaven. Doesnt. Didnt know that she wasnt actually talking to me or Naeko. That I was channeling our presence through subverted Fallwalkers. Proxies for our true selves. We have an opening.+ +Yeah. Speaking of Jaus. I didnt think Id be listening in on the Chief Paladins relationship issues.+ White-Rab chuckled to himself. +We might all end up dead with you, Avo. Cant say its going to be boring.+ The Overheaven grunted. +Hows the node looking.+ +Still broken. Itll take time. Probably wont be done until after the trial. If we survive the trial + Veylis will have her own issues soon enough *** Once more, Avo shifted subminds. But this time, he was within a new vessel. Alysim stood with his arms open to the sky, soaking in the midnight rains. He was walking the streets of the Tiers, unnoticed by patrolling drones and Specters. Ignorance protected him, and the knowledge he bore of the paths kept him prepared for other means of detection. The district of Olphium was quiet as a grave. Everyone was to shelter in place and prepare for chronoshift, and with the populace mostly belonging to Sanctus, they had obliged. When the shift came, the position of the district would switch over to its counterpart in the Tiers; a place that bordered a Highflame surveillance facility. Through the thoughts being cast there, Avo would shuttle Alysim across the vastness of space and time using the chronoshift as cover, and plant Alysim within Atraxis Academy. The instructors, students, and systems were already subverted. But it would be the non-Godclads that Avo consumed to serve as another junction in his gestalt. The others were compromised by Veylis, marked with her will. We approach a convergence of fate, Alysim breathed, seemingly speaking to no one. Yes. Are you ready? It does not matter. The paths have fallen away. Can you feel it? The routes have gone from uncountable to many to now, so few There is no ready. There are only the actions we can perform, and that which follows thereafter. Truth, Avo said, emulating the Gatekeeper. You dont expect to survive this. Dreamer. I am already dead. I simply wish to see if I can achieve my task before the moment that I am slain. This was true. And this made Alysim far freer than most people Avo knew. Not your paths anymore. Wont do what you did. Not tainted of control like you. Indeed, Alysim sighed, mournfully. But I can feed off solace enough. At least the traitors may yet be punished. At least a better choice remains to chronicle this worlds history. A deep sadness welled up from within Alysim. Remember us, Avo. Remember everything if you can. Chronicle what has happened. Bring the testament of what has been suffered, and what we have survived into the future. I will not be your chronicle, Avo said, regarding the pulsing pinpricks of consciousness growing among his templates. Alysims vision was so lowso ultimately human. My testament will be of existences resurrection and liberation. Damn the chains of the past. And thus was the will of the Overheaven spoken. And thus did the district begin to shudder with oscillating gold, chronology bleeding over the horizon, into the near future 28-8 Opening Arguments (I) {Tradition is a hard yoke to break. Some among my contemporaries claim that the terrestrials are merely delusional or culturally psychotic. This is inaccurate. They likely say these things not because they don''t know better, but because they are warhawks and desire to sterilize the planet with one final engagement, settling matters left over from the Builder War. I do not believe and do not associate with their opinions. No. I think that the legal system of Idheim is substantially adequate and to be commended, especially considering their long history of extreme violence and ritualistic bloodshed to solve matters rather than diplomacy, negotiation, fact-finding, and truth. But as things go, hope is a faraway thing. Ultimately, the legal system governed by the Paladins has proven to be at least somewhat effective. They remain the balance between each of the Great Guilds, and should they offer favor to any side, the entire balance of power could be toppled immediately thereafter. They are, in a sense, crippled kingmakers. Their trials begin with opening arguments, in which anyone and everyone is allowed to bring in evidence and memory testimonies from across the city. Countless Guilders participate. This is a place not only to decide the fate of the accused, but also to jockey for political influence and arrange themselves in case a greater conflict breaks out. During this period, the Court of Truth is thaumaturgically sealed from outer reality while all the related parties deliberate under the watchful gaze of the Gatekeeper: Jaus Avandaers final legacy. The delegates involved also sometimes involve we, of Voidwatch, toward the end of preserving the polities that remain -EGI Hammurabi 28-8 Opening Arguments (I) [Vator] Vator never quite liked the aesthetic of Scale. The entire concept was just so unoriginal. A structure of utmost importance placed at the very top of the city? At the very core of the Tiers? Jaus Avandaer might be the Godbreaker, but his sense of style remained infected by those who came before him. So centralized, so symbolic, so utterly drool The youngest Greatling sighed. Perhaps he could regard it as a heart with valves leading out into each of the Great Guilds. Yes, that would be more palatable, but it still didnt resolve the problem of the Paladins mountain fortress. Now that was a true monstrosity: an amalgam of shifting bricks was the best its creators could come up with. Yes, yes, the thaumaturgic benefits it provided were great, but really now, shifting bricks? And did they need to make the water crash forth like cascading rocks too? As they entered one of its many hollows, Vator frowned as they began landing on a pad holographically outlined by a technical drone. Again, Vator sighed. This time, he drew the attention of his father, turning to glare at him with augmented eyes of silvery blue. The color stood out nicely in the dark red ambiance inside the aerovec. Now Vator smiled and took a mental snapshot of the moment using his Metamind. He would see if he could recreate this soon. Vator, Uthred said, voice slow and measured, can I count on you to remain on task and unburdened by distractions? Of course, father, Vator grinned. I am simply committed to processing all my mental suffering right now. We are bound for a most hideous place. The sofas they occupied in the aero formed a U-shape along the back of the vehicle. The two Greatling sat facing each other, while Green Riverostensibly sworn to their aid and secretly likely in league with their hidden enemyjoined them as a guest. Her presence inflicted an awkwardness on Uthred that Vator simply ignored, speaking easily with her and Emotion during their journey as if there was nothing to worry about at all. Because there was nothing to worry about. Things were looking chaotic, desperate, and altogether grim for so many. That was true. But chaos was an expressive canvas! It made things interesting. Sure, they wanted to save Abrel, but the possibility that she might be lost to politics orVeylis forbidan act of sudden terror, gave the moment its flavor. That was what finally settled Vators annoyance: this moment of was living history. He was part of living history. Perhaps the High Seraph would see him rewarded for his deeds if all went well. Perhaps she would show him the paths Their vehicle settled with a soft thud. A vibration passed through the interior of the aerovec, followed by the hissing of a door. +We enter the belly of a beast,+ Emotion murmured. Vator smiled at that. A rather overused metaphor, Emotion. I expected something more original. +I was being literal. The Dreamer is here and he is watching us.+ Uthred went still halfway to a stand. The former Authority glowered at the locus placed on the table between the couch. Vator was pleased his fathers gaze never reached Green River; the Authority mastered himself well. Right now? +Yes. Several Paladins bear his touch the infrastructure here even the drone.+ But we remain protected, Green River said, injecting just enough worry into her voice. She pulled at the long fur coat she wore, and the fox wrapped around her neck blinked lazily at Vator. The young Guilder smiled. The Sang wasnt half-bad herself. He wondered if she could keep her composure if he dissected her, or if it would be the fox that betrayed her emotions. +Yes,+ Emotion said. +We remain protected. He possesses only a facet of Noloths treasures. The Dreamer will only strike if there is an openingbut I doubt even that. He plots his own schemes here. Be wary.+ Vator shared a look with his father. As they disembarked their aero, they found themselves greeted by a cadre of Paladins. The group had the opacity of their masks at max and their Metaminds were furthered veiled by wards. Wards unknown to Vator. But not to Emotion. +These are phantasmics of Peaces making.+ A mental breath left the Famine. +Bold. The Dreamer is openly leaving his touch upon his favored.+ I salute you, Paladins, Uthred said, granting the Paladins a gesture usually reserved for ones superiors in Highflame. Yet, before he could speak further, a Paladin interrupted him. We know why youre here. Youve been expected. Please, follow us. The Chief Paladin wishes to speak with you. Once more, Uthred froze, while Vators grin grew ever wider. So, this was what it was like to be drawn into the Great Game. The unexpected at every turn, the unknown always waiting just over the horizon. Tiles of tessellation spilled down from the walls as a part of the wall folded over to become a bridge leading to a vertical pathway. The first of the Paladins walked off while a contingent of drones trailed over them. +He is abandoning subtlety,+ Emotion said, sounding more than a little unnerved himself.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. +What does that mean?+ Vator said, casting his thoughts straight into the locus in his grip. +That the Dreamer likely doesnt intend to hide much longer+ *** [Alysim] Exploiting a chronoshift to attack another district was not a novel idea. Indeed, Sanctians used their unique ontologies to great advantage across all the Guild Wars. More than that, plenty of Squires used chronoshifts to escape pursuit or infiltrate zones of interest. However, using a chronoshift to sneak a man fated to die in the future into a Highflame communications facility with its personnel pre-subverted to use its Heavne of Signals to gain access to a demiplane connected to Axtraxis Academy was going to be a first in history. More than that, there was likely only one being in history, past, present, and potentially future that could achieve this. Well, beings might be a better word. Avo was a legion unto himself after all. Shifting forward into time was a lot like being injected through the narrow tip of a needle the present threaded around you. The experience was uncanny for Avos other subminds, for it felt like a part of himself got ineffably lostconnected in sense and awareness; but disconnected by relative location. As the district inverted with its twin, echoes were left across space and time, balancing any possibility of Rend. The operation was a delicate one. Something that required days of focused planning, preparation, and short-term shaping. All this to create a window of opportunity while leaving Veylis blind to his true plan. All this to bleed and savage the Saintists, only to ensure his own failure in the end. *** [The Gestalt] A series of Rendbombs ripped the tapestry open across critical Saintist strong points. The bombs were not meant to destroy but delay, and ruptures of space, geometry, and chronology oozed from metaphysical wounds lining the face of existence. The locations targeted were fast-response portals for golems; Omnitech surveillance outposts; and forward operating bases across the Warrens. Alone, a few of these losses would be of little note nothing more than a jab. Hit together, and Veylis faced an offensive she couldnt ignore. Once more, her response was staggering. A mere millisecond after the attack began did Knots of golems emerged from golden pathways and wrinkles in the fabric of existence. Thjey carried with them Rendsinks to soak the entropy, while Veylis struck. Her attacks were shapeless; came without betrayal by sight or sound. Places in reality existed. Places werent. Surviving subverts tried to hide in place and escape her notice; subverts died. And while Veylis battled in the material, the Infacer fought in tandem with their partner, hunting Avos Incubi in the Nether, who had been the first to be replenished after their scouring. They crashed lobbies and nulled minds in an aggressive blitz of Nether warfare, fully aware of their coming deaths but unworried, for their thoughts were linked to dead-man-switch Rendbombs of their own. Avo had stolen a page from Ori-Thaum''s book. As the Infacer reached their static tendrils across the Nether, and burst forth in drowning floods of radiation, hundreds of Incubi were nulled at once, and hundreds of bombs went off. The first of these bombs were created from Signal Rend. The others, however, were filled with the metaphysical waste heat of Information. As the first detonations arrived, the Infacer soaked the entropy into their Frame but were entirely unprepared to find their referential understanding of the world absolutely shredded. Suddenly, integers and letters ceased to hold any understandable meaning, their signs constantly changing, even within the Infacers dataspace. Immediately, Avo sensed the Neo-Creationist mind recede from whence they came, and a small sensation of pleasure filled him. Nothing like using the Guilds'' tricks against each other. *** Other attacks occurred without rhyme or reason to onlookers. People suddenly turned hostile towards their former comrades and family, exhibiting impossible abilities in sudden explosions of violence and destruction. Unbeknown to the ignorant, they were no longer faced with those they knew before, but a gestalt wearing their body. Avo, Corner, White-Rab, Draus, Chambers, Cas, Denton, and Kae wrecked havoc as one and themselves through another. They were minds within minds and Heavens upon gods, each supporting each. Kae, in particular, targeted techno-thaumic reactors in Lights End. She wielded her experience like a weapon and formed the conditions for one collapse after another. Though a template, she too was to be instrumental in her own rescue, in the testimony at Scale, in the creation of Avos greatest Heaven. Despair had her in the beginning. Despondence. But now How did one process being captured by the single most powerful woman in the city? Now, after hearing what Veylis intended, after realizing that the High Seraph planned to use her original self to debase the Heaven of Love towards some end or another, the Agnos was finished. She had enough. The Saintist wanted to use her to ensure their own victory. She would see them live under a sundered sky that would remind them evermore of their eternal folly. To that end, Chambers agreed with her. Which was why people were exploding while genitals grew from behind the eyes, within the ears, and filled the throats of Guilders across the city. Lustaways failed. The rash spread. White-Rab, Avo, the Incubi, and Chambers worked in tandem to make everything worse. As the sores spread, Paladins arrived mere minutes thereafter, pre-alerted to the risks and effectively taking control of the district thereafter. All this while a mercury teardrop comprised of a ferromagnetic non-Newtonian fluid slipped from reflection to reflection, punching clean through Highflames hierarchy as thoughtcasts went unheard and sessions went unanswered. *** All this happened at once in perfect synchronicity. Faintly, the shadows across New Vultun shivered as ghostly feathers licked at the corners of reality. *** [Alysim] The chronoshift concluded. Alysim looked across from the building upon which he stood and saw a massive beam trailing up into the air, dissolving into flickering motes. He took a step forward over a reflective puddleand promptly splashed down and across spatial reality. He emerged out of a vitrified wall a second after, twelve kilometers away from where he used to be. He stood within an operations center manned by three technicians clamped upon wall-mounted jack-stations. Avos influence over their minds was subtle, so as to avoid drawing too much attention. The Infacer was presently incapacitated, granting them an opportunity to move unimpeded. Their alternative plan was for Avo to engage directly and make it seem like he was trying to capture and weaponize the facility, rather than using it to smuggle Alysim over into Axtraxis. Beyond a thaumically reinforced window rose a constant stream of light, and from it emanated miracles of Radiance and Signals. Such would be the vehicle of Alysims transference, and such was a vulnerability Avo hoped to exploit without alerting Veylis at all. The facility was designated as [R29 Legacy] across Highflames classified channels. There were others of its like, but this one was specifically made to monitor thoughtcasts and transmissions passing through the demiplane governing Atraxis Academy. The light of this facility passed through several Omnitech checkpoints before arriving at the existential cleft over Highflames central Sovereignties in the Tiers, ensuring the thoughts and data consumption of Highflames future cadre remained uncorrupted. In a strange sense, it reminded Avo the Unwhere used by the Paladinsitself currently active, as DRongo and Abrel were making an imminent return. It seemed that Highflame was stealing tricks from the Paladins. Each one of the Omnitech checkpoints presented a risk as well, but with the Infacer missing and Veylis occupied, Avo seized the moment and clutched Alysim using his Techplaguer. The Heaven of Signals manifested like an inverted broadcast tower, bouncing on its dish-shaped antennae. Time to BOUNCE! UPWARD into time. Hm. The SLEEPER is close. A splash of random numbers swept over the Chronicler, and a second later he was poured into the light past the walls. But Avo wasnt done. A weave of gold formed over him, and for the second time that day, Alysim skipped across time, hopping past each checkpoint without every being registered. Carried by a beam of spreading brightness, Alysim dissolved across three thresholds before he was sudden shunted over into a new spherical plane near low orbit. Its expanse was one of roiling clouds and roaring fire, and a structure six hundred kilometers across and three hundred tall hovered in the epicenter like an ebony anvil indifferent to the lashing flames within a furnace. From seemingly nowhere converged five sources of light, and they swam up the bottom of the structure into a lone pylon. From there, Alysim shifted through the complexities of pseudo-technological infrastructure to finally staggered free from a wall of consoles with circuits and chips connecting them to a massive slab of vivianite. At once, the gestalt reoriented itself within Alysim while queeling the intensity of their assaults. The first part was done. Infiltration was easy. Now, it was time to inflict some very deep, every actual wounds across the heart of Highflame. Chambers chuckled in the back of Alysims mind. +Alright, consangs. Lets go make these Guilder half-strands wish their dads squirted them over the edge into the Maw instead of ever finishing inside their moms. Or the vats.+ +I believe the vats work that way,+ Denton added. +Though they technically could+ +Whatever. Its a metaphor. The point is: Let''s show that sow Veylis the worst fuck of her life.+ Inside Alysims right pocket, Naeko gave an unpleasant cough. 28-8 Opening Arguments (II) Oh, good. Were all going to die. -Dowager Hua Far-Pearl upon hearing that the Stormsparrow will be in attendance at the trial 28-8 Opening Arguments (II) Vator appreciated the insides of Scale more than its exterior. Here, there was a sense of life to the place: movement; animation. Drones flitted about, passing through forming and dissolving alcoves as if wasps in a hive. Around them, the bricks of this miracle-infused structure shifted, offering channels and paths for the machines to proceed to their tasks. Emotion claimed that each of them had the ghoul''s touch, that each emanated with the faint signature of their great enemy: the Burning Dreamer, the one they called Avo. Vator, unlike his father, looked forward to meeting their great foe. He wanted to know the nature of Jhreds true killer, and he wanted to know just how a creature as crude and simple as a ghoul managed to inflict such humiliation on an Instrument of Highflame and Elder of Ori-Thaum at the same time. They followed the Paladins wordlessly, walking down quick-formed hallways as the stones beneath their feet shifted, shuttling them onward at unnatural speeds. A cascade of different domains impacted Vator''s frame as thresholds of mind and miracle passed through him, scanning his person and listing him within Scale''s internal registry. He half expected an alert to sound, considering the cargo they were carrying, but as he shot a glance at the locus in his hand, no response came, and no sirens were raised. Light spilled down over him from ahead, and he faced a valley basked in blinding radiance and even greater pressure. It was a pressure almost unlike anything Vator had ever felt almost, because there was another that could be compared to it, another that was more sublime and total: the touch of the High Seraph herself, her glorious power surmounting time and space. As they approached a vertical entryway, Vator felt as if he was standing upon a boat made of stones, entering the jaws of a forbidden beast. "Be ready for anything," Uthred said, his voice low as gravel, and calm like drizzle falling at the eye of a storm. The younger Greatling simply nodded. His struggle was not one of anxiety, but more of excitement. As an instrument, he had been a specialist, much like Abrel was. Though she was more focused on counterintelligence against Ori-Thaum, his interests and prey were a far broader subset of the Massist scourge. He liked hunting everyone and preferred enacting Highflames will with a more personal touch. While Abrel was, in a word, part of a defensive apparatus that mainly faced Glaives and Incubi, Vator was a cancer spreading within his foes. Here and now, though, he found himself burdened with even greater purpose and promise, for the foe he faced this time was unlike any other he had ever sampled. As the last protective threshold washed over him, he stepped into a looming chamber, so wide and vast that the winds here scythed more than they billowed, like skyward whips passing over an open plain. He judged the thousands of private pods lined both walls of the chamber and realized that light was emanating from the stones themselves. What captured his attention immediately was the massive statue before him, a massive statue built upon a risen pedestal with many steps. After a moments observation, he gave a disgusted snort and ignored the statue for its design offended him, and he looked over the other aesthetics across the room. The center was too wide, and too vast, and the Paladins were separated into four lines across the room. A few hundred of them were hovering in the air, facing where the Massists and the Saintists were to be seated. Some others were facing inward across the room, staring at each other, holding the middle. Ever metaphorical were these tireless guardians of New Vultun. Vator sighed. Symbology. Droll symbology. What a performance. But then he heard something. A rattling of chains. A shifting of metaphysical pressure. It was like a boot slowly grinding against his consciousness. Something loomed behind the statue -- moved. Uthred and Green River felt it too, for they responded, searching with their eyes, though they continued following the Paladins. Moving chains slid through the tessellated walls in the distance, straining to bear the weight of something truly ponderous. Something that Vator couldnt quite see as they were led up a nearby narrow staircase, into the Saintist section of the court, bound for their designated seating. One story up, he discovered a full suite of different facilities waiting for them. There was a common mingling area, something between an antechamber and a lobby that stretched across the entire length of the section. It went on for kilometers, and massive golden chandeliers lined with diamonds and crystals swung overhead. Service drones remained on standby, and every twelve meters or so there was a holojector built around an encirclement of sofas offering a whole suite of different thoughtcasts, vicarities, and propaganda for the viewer''s entertainment. The space was also entirely empty. It was like an empty throne room offered just for them. Vator and his group had been the first guests to arrive, flying through the night without rest or hesitation. Father claimed that he desired to meet the Chief Paladin to offer his evidence before anyone else could muddy the waters. A believable lie, but Vator knew his father better than that. It was simply hard to face the other Saintists with his task half-complete, and through this, perhaps, they would find some level of redemption in the eyes of the High Seraph and the elites below her. They were led on without stopping, the ground shifting beneath their feet once more as they were carried forward to their final destination. The stones rose in stacks of stairs, extending forward first, then suddenly cutting at a sharp left angle. A section of the tessellated wall above them swung open, and suddenly they found themselves looking across the stretch of the Core of Truth, a private pod offered to them for however long this entire affair would take. As they entered the embedded podium, however, Vator had to update his assumptions. This wasn''t a private pod. Someone was already here. Three people, in fact. The first among them was that bull-like specimen of a man, Samir Naeko. Vators face lit up in a grin as he beheld the Chief Paladin. There were Scaarthians built with less width and muscle mass than he bore. His sinews were so thick that even a frequency blade might take some time to cut through his flesh. Not even his combat-skin could hide his physicality. He was robust to the point of absurdity, the kind of man you would find within a promotional biomod advertisement, marketing new muscle boosters while staring you down, questioning your worth as a warrior. And it was telling that he was the least interesting among all those present, for beside him sat two individuals that Vator hadnt expected to encoutner. On the left was a square-jawed woman clad in pale white armor. The matter was featureless almost fluid. Her optical implants glowed bright red and her deeper flesh hid augmentations of Sang origin. Her bronze skin was scarred, and that thick knot of braids running down the back of her headthat was something Vator never truly forgot. Former Guard Captain Jelene Draus of Nicomas Orphans. Regular. One of the many reason why Vators mother was marked with highest disgrace and found herself stripped from Highflames collective consciousness. In retaliation, the Chivalrics also ensured that there was no place for a honorless Regular to stay in the High Seraphs court.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Vator couldn''t help it. Surprised laughter burst out from, and beside, his father stood frozen stiff, eys locked on the Regular who barely regarded him with more than a glance. The accretion around Uhtred Greatling''s mind spun as if the outer walls of a hurricane. To the right of the Chief Paladin, then, was another anomaly, Agnos Kae Kusanade. Vator only recognized her because he had perused her dossier once. She was supposed a missing person wanted by all Guilds across the city. Her scandal was related to the murder of a Paladin, and the compromise of a comissioned Highflame research project. Skirmishes had broken out between the Golds and Silvers in the aftermath of those days. +Be wary,+ Emotion said, sounding as close to on edge as Vator ever heard the Famine. +I don''t know what he''s doing. Dreamer is placing his pawns out in the open.+ +Is he daring us to attack?+ Vator thought back. +Perhaps, or perhaps, he is no longer afraid of losing them.+ But Emotion offered him no answer. Well. It seemed that even Noloths finest was caught off guard. "Well," the Chief Paladin said, "are you going to keep standing there and staring, or are you going to sit down, Author?" Vator observed his father. The man''s eyes were wild and distant. He swallowed "Former." Naeko shrugged. Right. Former. Present. All the same to me, really. Uhtred mastered himself. Slowly, he turned away and found a seat at the opposite end of the pod. There was a good twelve feet between him and Draus, but he never stopped staring at her. He never took his eyes from her face. The Regular scorned him still, looking over the side and observing the Court of Truth as if there was nothing of interest within this pod. An awkward silence quickly followed. Green River shuffled her fur-lined dress and sat with some space between her and Uthred. She offered the Chief Paladin, the Agnos, and the former regular a genial smile. "I bid you all a wondrous morning. I, Green River, am at your service as witness, and am am pleased and humbled to be invited to this momentous occasion." "Alright, alright," Naeko said, holding up a hand. "We don''t need to do this. Already know why youre here. "Of course, Chief Paladin," Green River said. The fox along her neck blinked slowly at Naeko. "I merely wish for everyone to feel at ease. For though I know that there are some unpleasantries in our past, I think it would be best if they were dealt with so that we may proceed with more important matters" Vator looked past the edge to see what Draus was observing, and he finally caught sight of what the chains were bearing when he entered the court. The Gatekeeper loomed, ripples of star-like radiance ebbed from atop its head and chain-like wings shifted around its back, down its sides, festooning it to the room itself. Before it was a pedestal holding two platforms. Both were lined with translucent phase fields and layered in planar cages, and faint trails of light infused them with a building intensity. This would be where his sister and that Ori elder were judged. There was nothing obfuscating them from view, and they were to be seen by all. A moment of revelation and humiliation both, Vator assumed. Looking once more at the Gatekeeper, Vator felt his sense of awe grow. What a presence. What a creation. So this was the reason for the Siege of Scale. This thing lurking within the bowels of the fortress, ensuring the balance between the Guilds for centuries after centuries. Vator wondered if he would be party to a second siege soon if the High Seraph would put for a call to bloodshed. More heretically, Vator wondered what it would be like to possess the Gatekeepers Heaven. As he finally took his seat, he placed the locus containing Emotion upon his lap and crossed his legs. His father let out a long-held breath. "Why are they here?" he said, gesturing roughly at the Regular and the Agnos. "They''re witnesses," Naeko replied. "Important witnesses promised to me during your daughter''s rampage across Light''s End. Or, well, supposed rampage. Thats what youve come to claim, right? She was affected by someone else? Had her mind twisted." He leaned back and pointed at the locus that Vator held. "Is he in that? The Famine of Emotion?" "He is," Uhtred said, keeping his tone even. The narrowing of his eyes belied suspicion. Naeko snorted. "Well, he don''t look like much, does he? Just an inert piece of vivianite. The corner of his father''s lip twitched. Oh, how the man hated glib remarks. "I understand that there is proper procedure for handing in evidence," Uthred stated carefully. "Things are to be pooled among all registered visitors within this court. As both the Saintists and Massists are involved today, would I be incorrect in assuming that my submission would be included with the others?" "Your submission is happening right now," Naeko replied. "In fact, you can let him out. He should get a seat at this table too, metaphorically. That way, all the Great Powers get a representative. Would you like that, Emotion? You in there? Can you hear me?" A low noise of disapproval came from Uthred. He directed a cast at the locus. +Come out then. Be part of this circus.+ Emotion materialized a moment later, forming that ever-brutal visage. His eyes were stitched shut. A cloak of shadows clung to his body, and in his heart, an open crevice where a dead avian was held in place by tangled knots. "Chief Paladin Naeko," Emotion began, "you live a long life for a dog. Most don''t outlive their masters." At this, Naeko smacked his lips together and sneered from behind his glowing visor. "Yeah, well, if I had been with him, he just might still be here. Can''t say the same about you. You were always there for your masters, and it still wasnt enough. Even when they made four of you? Wheres the rest, Emotion? And how are the Hungers? Hope I didnt pat them too hard last time. Can you hear them behind the jingling of chains?" At this, the Gatekeeper''s rattling intensified, and Vator fought back a snort. "They''re mocking you," he said, his glee almost childlike. This was more juvenile than he expected. So much posturing, even from the Chief Paladin. He didn''t know what to expect from such a legend. But humans have to be humans, after all. The tessellated doorway to their pod suddenly sealed and so did the viewing port that gave them a full overview of the court. Uthred stiffed, but no one else reacted to his nervousness. "What is this?" His answer came with the sudden materialization of a new form, a new figure. There was no splashing of ghosts, only a new metaphysical weight. The creature wasn''t, and then the creature was. Between blinks, Vator found himself beholding a pale, nightmarish being. The first thing that caught his attention was the halo that burning halo, flames licking high, materializing as faces of the fallen and peepholes of memory into different locations. Eight blackened limbs drifted upon clouds of smog. Vators mastery of flesh told him that he was likely detecting an echo head, though modified with... He paused. He didn''t even know. That was entirely novel and unique. Each tendril was connected to a vessel made from threaded ceramite. Long claws extended from slender digits, and black eyes and sharp teeth gleamed in the darkened ambiance. They''d come here expecting the Burning Dreamer to perform his misdeeds from shadows, mislead the Guilds with subterfuge. Such was what Emotion told them to expect, and promised to repel. But here the monster was, in the open, in league with the Chief Paladin himself. All expectations were cast to the wind now, and all plans were now in free fall. Vator got the feeling that everything had been misjudged, that he and his father were still blind, that Emotion himself might be blind. Uhtred tried to stand, the flames around him igniting. But then a translucent hand wrapped around him as he gasped. The fires were extinguished in an instant, and Uthred Greatling, Authority and one of the most powerful men in New Vultun, was pressed back into his seat without any particular strain on the part of the Chief Paladin. The faintness of a hand, a vaporous palm materialized over Uthred, and slowly, the Burning Dreamer spoke for the first time. "It''s good to finally meet you, Authority. I''ve been looking forward to this. Your daughter sends her regards. She''s screaming at me even now, begging me not to eat you. Begging me. She cares for you deeply. You should be proud." What? Uthred said. Beautiful, Vator whispered, taking in ghouls visage. Never mind the Gatekeeper, this was what he came here to see. Wondrous prey. Glorious specimen. +Dreamer,+ Emotion said, keeping his tone even. +How bold of you. How arrogant. You think yourself ready to face the Guilds in the open, then?+ The once-ghoul opened its mouth, but then paused. The Guilds? All of them? No. But that doesnt mean I can make this war unfold just the way I want. Once more, he turned to look at Uthred and Vator. And ensure the protection of those I deem worthy. Abrel. Come greet your family. And from his halo coursed flame cast in a familiar form. 28-8 Opening Arguments (III) +The Dreamer knows. Such as we predicted. No matter. The other sacrifices are in place. Should we trigger the Forgotten now before the Guilds arrive? Strike with our opening?+ +No. Hold. We wait until an opening is engineered. Then we will sacrifice the Emotions to strike at the Gatekeeper.+ +This will not kill it. Its memory is cast across time itself by the hand of the High Seraph. Until her scar is removed, our ability to harm is limited.+ +Yes. But by her hand, we will see the Gatekeeper brokenwait, what is he doing?+ -The Famine of Mercy 28-8 Opening Arguments (III) C[Uthred]C It took everything Uthred Greatling had to choke down his sickness. The creature standing before him spoke, and with each word, the Former Authority felt his insides recoil and shudder. The way its halo burned, the way it could peer into his mindit was a nightmare made flesh, come to haunt Uthred for all his past failings. And worst of all, he was powerless, as powerless as he was when he tried to stand against the High Seraph. The Chief Paladin''s might was beyond measure, for he was might itself. Uthred, though capable of burning blight and cleaving space to carve matter and metaphysics alike, was but a practitioner of war, a slave beneath the master of violence and force themselves. Though Uthred struggled, Naeko decided, and that was all. "What is this?" he managed to choke out, his anger and fear warring for control. He mastered himself. Years of combat had taught him discipline and focus, but it still took everything he had not to quaver, not to betray himself unto weakness. In answer to Uthred''s question, a sea of darkness spilled out from the ghoul''s eyes, its presence cold and unnatural, empty in another word, like a void pouring into existence. Its outline was threaded by a filigree of phantasmal resonance, and even then, flickers of flame still danced as the alien substance entirely consumed the ghoul. A moment thereafter, with a sudden flourishing of midnight wings, Abrel Greatling hatched free from the parting petals of a midnight-colored egg. She was as Uthred remembered her. Her combat-skin was still on, her heels were still those ridiculous stilettos, falcon-themed and gaudy. He hated those things, but Abrel wouldnt let them go, and for one of the few times in Uthred Greatling''s life, he surrendered to another''s will rather than his own. She stood tall, her jaw squared, her eyes unblinking, but she swallowed, clearly as nervous as he was. "Father," she managed. "I wish we could have had this conversation in better circumstances." She was fighting, fighting herself as hard as he was fighting himself, and shame lingered behind every word. "I wish I could have told you this before. I wish I could have revealed this to you. I wish..." She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "There are many things I wish. I wish I didnt go after the Burning Dreamer. I wish I could have saved my brother. I wish I would have listened to you and brought him in. But these things dont matter anymore. What we wish now falls under what he will allow." A beat passed as she looked upon Kae Kusanade and Jelene Draus. Letting out a soft sigh, she faced her brother and gave him a tired look. "At least you seem happy, Vator." Uthred followed her gaze and regarded his youngest son. It was true. The boy was practically bouncing with glee. Of course, this moment of madness thrilled him. He must have been thinking about what macabre art piece he was going to plan, or maybe if he could flay the flesh from everyone present and unify them somehow in some twisted facsimile of a metaphor he just thought up. "Well..." Vator chuckled. "I... Yes!" he finally admitted. He leaned back in his seat and threw up his hands. This is just sublime. Im sorry father! Look at where we are! Look at what we are a part of! The Great Game! This is the Great Game of Guilds. And here we sit! That brought a slight smirk to Abrel''s face. "I cant believe Im saying this, Vator, but considering one of us is happy, that does make me feel better." The youngest Greatling held his arms open as if embracing the present without fear. "Well, I aim to please." Abrel gave another intake of breath and faced her father once more. "Alright, I suppose I should explain everything from the start. Let you know just what''s at stake." And so her recounting began. With each following word, Uthred felt the coldness of the void he''d just experienced seep deeper, deeper into his bones, deeper into his soul, deeper and deeper still. Her tale was one of unbelievable absurdity. A ghoul enhanced by a Famine, empowered by the High Seraphs custom-made Frame, driven by the idea of choice. This creature was the reason behind Jhreds death and the Greatling misfortune. This creature was now facing Veylis Avandaer herself, seeking to claim dominance over the city. And then the absurdity faded, and horror grew. Abrel told him about Jaus final fate, about the scars they bore within them. Temporal scars for Veylis to exert her influence. Vator felt at his chest with curiosity, and Uthreds mind spun back to the moment he was drawn into the paths. He had always wondered howno. This had to be a lie. All of it. Shaken and unwilling to endure a stunned stupor, something inside Uthred broke and he cried out. "Enough, enough," Uthred said, "you''re lying. All this, this deception, this defilementtake her away from me. Do not use her form to assail me." But Abrel stayed and looked as broken as he did. Beside her, the nightmare manifested once more, a pale smear upon the darkness of the room. "Its not a deception," he said, his tone almost mocking. "Isn''t that right, Veylis? Are you watching me? Are you upset that I''ve ruined whatever plan you had? Whatever you were trying to achieve with these two? Should I sear understanding into them using the Gatekeeper? Grant the Authority his first glimpse of truth?" For a moment, there was but silence, silence, and then, subtly, ever so subtly, Uthred felt a shift in reality. The Pale Spider clearly felt it as well, for the monster tilted his head and looked beside Uthred, its mouth drawing wide in a vicious blade-lined grin as if anticipating the arrival of a new guest. A moment later, someone suddenly was. He stood a few inches short of Uthred, though perhaps a hundred pounds heavier. His cheeks were chubby and round, and his bald scalp shone bright beneath the ambient light of the court. His robes today were ruffled and thick, purest white without blemish. Chief Paladin Naeko gave his own approximation of the newcomer, an utterance conveyed by a snort rather than any words. "Speaker Osjon Thousand," Avo said, trailing off with a hissing laugh. "I was wondering when I would meet you again." Osjon tidied his attire and sighed. "I am a very busy man, Dreamer, and it saddens me to see that you have decided upon impertinence. The High Seraph offered your creators remains back to you in a show of goodwill. The Infacer conducts willing diplomacy with truthful intentions, and here you are, infringing the dignity of our loyal citizens. These do not make for the foundations of a good adversarial relationship." Quite the oxymoron, the Agnos sneered, resembling a grimacing mouse. The ghoul continued. " Dont think the High Seraph particularly minds. Dont think she intended to preserve Abrel. Dont think she would even be particularly bothered if Uthred himself was lost. They are just instruments, after all, instruments of a higher will." "Such is what the meaning conveys," Osjon replied. "But still, every Highflamer knows that their lives are dedicated to a greater cause. The cause of human elevation. The cause of true apotheosis. Still, we would be remiss to merely allow you to denigrate our virtues before poor Uthredemotionally unbalanced as he is. Osjon offered a bow to the Authority. We understand you are under much stress, but needs must, Im afraid. His chubby face conveyed a look of genuine apology. "We are sorry that you are forced into these circumstances, Uthred. I advised otherwise. I understand how much you have given for our cause and your wife. Her sins were not yours. I think that you should have never been charged for them. Just a shame that circumstance has damned you over and over. "Needs must," Uthred managed, barely able to force out the words. "Needs must, Speaker. I beg forgiveness for my impertinence," he growled out the words. "But I came here to give this offering," he pointed at the locus on the desk, "to free my daughter! She was deceived. Twisted by the will ofof a fucking ghoul!Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Father, Vator said. Language. Uthred ignored him and continued. Are you telling me now that you knew as well? That the High Seraph knew? That I have been on this errand while you have been engaging in godsdamned peace talks with the murderer of my boy! Things inside Uthred broke and continued breaking. He tried to draw in a breath and master himself, but he couldnt. He didnt. Jhred hehe was unworthy. But he was mine. Still mine. He deserved more than to be butchered by some bastard monster of Noloth. A wet globule struck Uthred on the side of his cheek. He blinked, turned, and found himself facing a short rubber skin man with pitch-black skin and chrome limbs where the ghoul once stood. Hate burned in the mans eyes. Hate like no other. You should have never bred, you vermin. Your son was too blessed even in the end. He will never experience what he deserves. What about my son? Huh! Do you know what your child was doing to the city? Do you? Do you know he was making entertainment out of murdered children? I who are you? Uthred said. I am no one to you, the stranger replied. And that is the problem. One you will soon learn. For you are no one to your master. And you are less than no one to Avo. And with that, the stranger vanished in a splash of ethereal darkness, and the Dreamer returned. Do you know the weight of your familys sin, Authority? Uthred had no answer. You will. +Enough of this,+ Emotion said, speaking his own piece for once. +What are you doing, Dreamer? What games are you playing?+ Politics, the monster said, happy as can be. The Great Game. As its called. Im setting the conditions for this trial. I am choosing my preferred enemy using their shared pawn. It looked upon Uthred again. I thank you for coming so promptly. It has made things very convenient for me. The Authority looked at everyone present in the room. Aside from he and Vator, everyone else seemed clear as to what was happening, the roles they played. You were used, Osjon said, gesturing at Emotion. This one is carrying a warmind. You are also infested with their shards. The Famine surrendered to you because Noloth wanted an easy way into the court. And through you, they had one. Highflame merely wished to turn their subterfuge back upon them. But alas, our newest adversary decided to complicate things. Osjon paused. There is a warmind of the Forgotten here. Do you know that? He was speaking to the Dreamer. The ghoul didnt respond. But Naeko did "Hey," he said, speaking directly to Uthred, "listen, let me make this simple for you. I dont think you''re so different from me, so Im going to put it in words we understand. You are an asshole, and right now, youre getting fucked by three people at once, and theres only enough circumference for two. Uthreds mind went blank. A look of disgust came over the Agnos face while the Regular shook her head. I cant believe you actually took up Chambers suggestion, Draus said, speaking to the Chief Paladin. The ambient laughter grew louder. Naeko shrugged. I thought it was a pretty apt metaphor. I dont like that, Vator responded, shaking his head in disapproval, interjecting himself in the conversation. A bit too vulgar. Whys it matter what you like, Greatling, Draus glared at Vator. Because you havent shot me yet? The disgraced soldier paused and looked at the ghoul. No, the Pale Spider replied. Not yet. Regardless. Uthred Greatling. You have been chosen. Chosen by three powers. Your daughter exists as a fault line of history. Her situation can be engineered to preferable conditions for war. This is not a trial built towards the means of establishing peace but the beginning of the Fifth and Final Guild War. Alliances are shifting. Some are here to stay. Some will be removed. And some wish to enter the game. You are just one of the many fulcrums being pressured." It matters not if you tell him this," Osjon said, speaking to Avo rather than Uthred. "He understands. He still believes in our cause. We have never doubted his loyalty. No. You merely used it. But thats fine. Dont expect to turn him against you. I just wanted to use him to get to you and the Famines. Have you both hear me at once. That made Osjons expression dissolve. Why? Because I want you to protect our shared interest. The ghoul looked at Emotion as well. Who are you speaking to? Osjon asked, studying Emotion as well. Depends. Which one of you is going to hit the other one first. Emotions expression grew taut. I will aid the first of you that tries to remove the other from Scale. Join together to strike me and Ill send my memories to all the arriving delegates and reveal the first node of Noloth I find. The monster was staring directly at Osjon now. It can be a direct war or a messy affair. Just giving your master a choice. Who does she want to risk reaching her Gatekeeper? Me? Or them? Highflames response came in the form of a sudden static explosion. Emotion was shredded by integer-laced shrapnel. Noise swept through Uthreds skull, passing through even through his planar defenses, and cleansing him of hostile presence. A low frequency rang in his skull as he heard a new voice enter the fray. They chuckled with mechanical reverberations. {You really are the second-most devious bastard in this city.} The Pale Spider looked amused. Infacer. See youve recovered. {Yeah. Im going to crash Ori-Thaums market for what you did to me. I hate their Heavens of Information so very much.} What just happened? Vator said, eyes wide with wonder. Rules of engagement were just negotiated, Osjon nodded. We now have varying levels of priority hostiles. An excellent, if horrible act of diplomacy. {A dick move as our ancestors might call it,} the Infacer chimed. Finally, Uthred caught a look in his youngest sons eyes. It was a look of enchantment. His gaze was gleaming. He was staring upon the Burning Dreamer, enraptured, consumed. This moment, this had been a masterstroke. He realized that the ghoul had used the pressure of turning him and his son to draw out Highflame, to use them against Noloth in turnmade them conduct a tangible act of harm on his behalf against a shared foe. And now his fear of the Burning Dreamer was complete. The nightmare was more than he could ever imagine, and looking at how Vator was staring on at this Avo, his brothers murderer, with an enchanted expression, Uthred swallowed as he dreaded the seduction of his son. C[Maru]C +Alright, the first of the Saintists are coming in,+ said Paladin Hatchet. The Sang sighed across the session. +I think I see my cousin among them. How annoying. I was hoping to avoid her for another century at least.+ Maru snorted. +Yeah, well, I don''t think there''s any avoiding this one.+ Looking through the DeepNav, depicting the internal corridors of Scale, Paladin Maru Sandrapal watched 4,000 delegates representing the No-Dragons surge towards the Court of Truth. Attuning his mind to local specters and camera systems, he watched as they all had those swirling painted facades plastered over their faces. Good. Neuter-Masks were active. That would avoid the Moro-Kwan incident from 50 years ago. The last thing he needed was the Sang to provoke another battle in the halls of Scale. That had nearly sparked the Third Guild War prematurely. Casting a brief look at the pod holding Naeko and their esteemed guests, Maru shuffled as he gathered his nerves. There was a feeling in the air. There was nothing to it yet, just a feeling. But he had the same vibes before the Fourth Guild War kicked off. And just as well, the Dreamer told him about the coming war. He hadn''t wanted to believe the ghoul or whatever that creature was. But with the way things were going, Scale wasnt going to be the mediator but the powder keg when everything went off. A shadow formed behind the shivering boundary protecting the insides of the Court of Truth. Maru adjusted himself and prepared to serve as the welcoming committee, ushering in both Saintist and Massist alike for this wonderful bilateral trial of mutual humiliation. However, the guest that arrived was not who he expected. She was a Sang, indeed. But she was no Guilder, no ally to the No-Dragons, or anyone else for that matter. Maru had known her, had seen and been her in vicarities, and walked streets while bathed in holographic portrayals of her triumphs and glory. She entered the court, stretching her arms high as she yawned. "It seems I''m a little early," she said, rolling her shoulders. Her head was composed of three faces, each taking up a side. They all held different expressions, were decorated with contrasting makeup and various shades. The mien she directed at Maru was a featureless doll-white visage, with red lipstick and gleaming silver eyes. It was a smiling face, a joyous face. And the world around her bubbled with effervescence as electricity and sparrows danced through the air. A song of spring trailed with her every step, and from her back sprouted six additional arms, a stunning accompaniment to her two natural limbs. The first two were cybernetic. One held a banner decorated with lightning-infused sparrows tearing into a falling hawk. The other was a long spear with crimson hair painted along the flat of its blades. The following two arms were long and bestial, rippling with muscle, claws to rip and rend. And the last two arms were thin, impossibly so. They were like wisps of whiskers dancing and trailing in the wind behind her. Her attire was as colorful as he remembered, a complex interplay of patterns and symbols from ages long past. More banners sprouted free from her back like flapping wings, and tassels and paintings of dragons ran down the poncho that she wore. A breath escaped from Maru as he looked on at New Vultun favorite and most-feared Fallwalker. "Sparrow," he managed, "what the hells are you doing here?" She simply smiled. "I was invited, puppy. Now? Wheres the Chief Paladin and his delightful new friend. I wish to offer them my greetings. I heard a war might be starting here and wanted to join in on the opening festivities. 28-8 Opening Arguments (IV) +Here we go. Into the belly of Scale, where peace or ruin may follow. Listen close and keep your friends and families closer, consangs. This might be the beginning of the end.+ -Cala Marlowe, The Fateless Thoughtcast 28-8 Opening Arguments (IV) C[Abrel]C Abrels return to Idheim was as quick as it was jarring. The Unwhere was effectively a place in constant transition. The Instrument existed within a beam that jumped from satellite to satellite, dancing across the void. For the week she spent there, she was conscious but somewhat divorced from having a body. After the voiders had returned her, she was briefly examined by the Paladins and then placed in another constellation of satellites. And there she lingered. Until she was suddenly called back. A faint shifting sensation was what caught her attention at first, and that was all. Suddenly, she was spearing down through the atmosphere, a beam searing her material form back into reality. Within the confines of Scale, her cog-feed loaded as the radiance faded from her person. Abrel found herself entombed within a silo made from tessellating bricks. Everything here was a sheen of black, and as they shifted, she felt herself descend as if within an elevator. A few moments thereafter, the walls before her parted, and she saw another figure standing across from her. Something about the look in their eyes told Abrel she was dealing with someone older, though they lacked any genuine wrinkles. The stranger was dressed in ornate finery, fitting the aesthetic of Clan DRongo of Ori-Thaum. A blue velvet cap on their head and a translucent curtain was veiled across their left eye, distorting their planned mark from sight. As the space between them stood open, an awkward silence followed. Abrel stared at the Ori, and the Ori stared back. "So, you''re the elder," Adril said, trying to stay nonchalant. Usually, when an Instrument saw an Ori Elder, the situation fell under the category of assassination or interrogation. This time, however, they were both being tried in a neutral court their sins paraded before all the Guilds to judge. Bitter amusement welled up within Abrel. Truly, the Greatlings were breaking new grounds in the realm of dishonor once more. Indeed. I am Elder Mwaba DRongo. And you are Abrel Greatling. It seems that fate has frowned on both of us." Abrel kept her lips thin at that. "Wouldnt quite call it fate." An inscrutable look drifted across the elders face. No. I wouldnt quite call him that either. Now, Abrel understood. Which made her anxiety worse. Pawns. That was what they were. Pawns in pieces in the Great Game, with no ability to influence their own lives, no capacity to overcome the participating player. A genuine emptiness opened inside Abrel. What the fuck did being worthy matter when you had no power over anything. Anything at all? +It matters because you choose. And things change.+ Avo murmured in the back of her mind. Abrel almost drew upon her Heaven. +Jaus! Fuck! Dont do that, you+ She caught herself before she annoyed the nightmarish omnipresent mind-eater that now held sway over her fate. Her familys fate as well. Her template was uploaded into their Metamind, and recent events struck Abrel like an artillery barrage. +Oh oh, shit. The Speaker hes here too?+ +Very popular girl. Very unfortunate girl. Depends on perspective. But will see if I can keep you and your family alive through this.+ Abrel scoffed at that. It wasnt a promise. But it sure as shit wasnt a no either. She would take pretty much anything she could get at this point. +She wasnt referring to me. Do you know that?+ Another jolt of panic flared up inside Abrel. She searched through her new memories and understood. +The Famines?+ +Yes.+ +Right. Great. What a delightful clusterfuck Im descending into.+ +Dont worry. Wont let you suffer pointless blame. It is time for truth. It is time we all be honest. You. New Vultun. Me. It is time for all of us to officially meet.+ Instrument Abrel Greatling closed her eyes. Maybe being judged guilty and banished by the Gatekeeper wouldnt be so bad after all. +Its worse. Hungers are on the other side. Will see you mentally and metaphysically dissected.+ +Hey, Avo, stop making my existential crisis worse.+ +Cant run. Can only face it. Stand and deliver, Abrel Greatling.+ Pure disbelief became Abrel. +I hate you. I hate you for saying that.+ *** C[Mercy]C The Famine of Mercy grinned as their session to the disposable node was lost. The Dreamers ploy was a fascinating one the Famine expected more direct conflict between their descendant and Highflame, but a limited alliance forged in a place of interest was good strategy. If a bit limited. Emotion was always meant to die. His sacrifice was unknown to him, cast out to be captured by the Greatlings, sequenced with thoughts of betrayal to serve the means of Noloth. Originally, Mercy wanted the Greatlings to be their vehicle for entry, to have an expendable node close to the Gatekeeper itself. The lost node he was attached to the warmind of the Forgotten. It was meant to sever as a severe disruptorto scour all minds present and create an opening to access the Gatekeeper. Thankfully, the Greatlings were merely a vehicle of convenience, For Mercy had a lot more than one node of emotion to expend and more than one plan to enact. Take, for instance, Clan DRongos recent victories against the subversive threats lurking among their cells. The esteemed Incubi managed to discover the nodes influencing their actions and driving them towards civil war with their allies and managed to constrain Noloths influence once more. With ten nodes of Emotion and three nodes of Joy captured, they came to Scale with offerings prepared to procure their own influence and spare their elder her charges. Such was how they perceived things. Ultimately, people didn''t operate based on truth but believed truth. And the problem with belief was that it always sought to align with their emotions. Ori-Thaums Inner Council would doubtless prefer this to be how things are as well. So it was that the victorious Mirrors and Elders of Clan DRongo were to enter the Court of Truth and reveal their own captured nodes. And they wouldnt be the only ones. Mercy had engineered obvious attacks on other Guilds using his lesser counterparts. Every Guild was getting hit, and each time, nodes were lost in the attempt. It painted a clear narrative to follow for Noloths enemies. And because Noloth was a sunken power reviled by all, no one would question such an outcome. Well, other than the Dreamer, of course. Defiances masterpiece was always going to cause some deviations, but it mattered little. For every disadvantage they inflicted, they also created more openings. Openings such as the one in Scaleaccess to the Gatekeeper, and the potential liberation of the City Eternal itself. And with that thought, a shiver passed through the Deep Nether, and sequences quelled in on themselves, tangling, bleeding, breaking apart in a chaotic miasma. Only Mercy remained, filtering through the chaos and withstanding the displacement of thoughts. From a place ever deeper, the Hungers emerged, greeting their newest, most unshackled servant with apprehension. Apprehension that Mercy could feel without difficulty. Ever since he integrated aspects of Defiance into himself, his ability to comprehend feelings and intentions was fine-tuned. He wasnt so much more empathetic as he was literate to the mem-data governing anothers praxis.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "We see what you are doing, Mercy, and it disgusts us. It disgusts us to see so many of our faithful cast out, given unto our enemies," the Hungers spoke in unison. Voices vibrated from the looping cities running endless along the dragons crenulations, but though the claimed revulsion, they sounded anxious. There was an opportunity here, an opening. For years they were stranded across the threshold, sealed away in the Deep Nether as a primordial anchor for all to use. But now, with the shifting of power and the Dreamer about to face the High Seraph for the fate of this world, points of leverage previously non-existent could now be exploited. Nodes are meant to be spent, Mercy replied casually. Flicking his mind across his many lessers, the ascended Famine regarded them more as ordinance than peers. We surrendered the wholeness of our ego for a reason to ensure absolute obedience in our service. There is no need for them to understand why they are being disposed of so, only that they are used toward greater ends. But though the Hungers were paranoid, they were still composed of people. A fondness lingered in them, shaping their relationship they had with their priests. Enough for Mercys casual callousness to fill the City Eternal with slight horror. We have precious few advantages, Mercy began, assuaging the Hungers. The Dreamer holds the Paladins and seeks to lay claim to the Massists, but he is spread thin, focusing on far too many fronts at once. This is why he is trying to use Highflame against us, exploiting his limited advantage of diplomacy where we cannot." It was more like they would not, for the Hungers would not suffer any kind of union with those behind their exile. Mercy continued. "We have approximately two million nodes left and one thousand and two warminds. Our arsenals are sparse compared to the Guilds, but should we ensure the Dreamer and High Seraph devote all they have to facing each other, we could thread the gap between. But that means aiding the Dreamer. And to do that, ironically, Mercy had to steal one of the Dreamer''s tactics. As Avo had done to them in the Court of Truth. He is currently striking at Highflame''s districts. I suspect he is trying to reclaim what he lostthe Agnos. We should push him closer to fulfilling this desire. Enough to trouble the High Seraph. The Hungers fell silent at this. Their discomfort grew worse. Mercy was beginning to feel something about that. A sense of annoyance. No, shame. Shame that the City Eternal, filled with the best and brightest elites that Noloth could produce, was left cowed by basic strategy towards certain victory. And rather than facing them as servant to master, he now needed to be as if parent to child. "It will be well," Mercy said, speaking in a soft tone. "I will keep our touch subtle, and our efforts will be just enough for him to become a problem. But not anymore." The many looming maws of the Hungers trailed golden dollops across the Deep Nether. "My priest, you do this solely for our victory. Only for my final liberation my" the Hungers shuddered. A distant scream reverberated across every single looping dragon. The changes the younger Greatling made to the ghouls had lessened its traumatic burdens, but not removed them entirely. Only with the culmination of their banishment could they be truly freed. "You care nothing for the Burning Dreamer?" Ah, and there it was, that fear, that almost jealousy, but that worry. The worry that the shadow of Avohakten would return to be their undoing the closest, their most loyal servant, ever came to falling. "You don''t feel anything for him, do you, Mercy?" Mercy paused and considered that. Did Mercy feel, or did Mercy experience? It knew it was surprised at what the Burning Dreamer was doing, amused by their creative tactics, happy to be playing this game against them, for who else could wield the realm of minds like Mercy themselves? "No," Mercy lied. "It is all for you, all for you." But in truth, it was for Mercy too, because even a fragment of a father could feel the tremors of their finest legacy. *** C[Marlowe]C Cala Marlowe dreamed up a lot of fantastical shit in her time. Part of that was all the drug use. But being invited to Scale, attending a trial that would probabl lead into the end timeswell, beginning times, depending on who you askedand being in cahoots with the mastermind of the whole ordeal Thats the kind of madness not even drugs can provide. She was among the last people to enter Scale before the plane was formally sealed. Her group numbered five hundred, and they were listed as the unaffiliated. You know, citizens that didn''t quite qualify for being a color anymore, but didnt actually do anything bad enough to get booted down the Tiers. They were a loose bunch of bastards: children of Fallwalkers, neutral families left over from bygone eras, lottery winners who remained unsponsored. Detritus, basically. But ultimately, in a city like New Vultun, even detritus could be useful. Of course, useful to who was the question. She knew a few of those who went in, in the last group. Yat Gwan Sin: a member of the Lost Harvest Society, a member of a very anti-No-Dragon clade, who unfortunately caught the bleed over of the Dragon Curse due to being subjugated under the Sang during the Age of Pantheons. And then there was Thalen Moller, a former Highflame vicarity star turned ardent Paladin supporter after suffering a mishap while diving through an unedited Crucible experience. Now, he was basically the Paladins number one fan. No question why he was here. Then there was Marlowe herself. She was, after all, invited by Chief Paladin Naeko on a whim, a thing closer to engineered fortune than outright qualification on her part. But that was fine. Kala Marlow knew her lot in life, and her lot, being born a color, meant that the coin was going to land in her favor more times than not. Being part of Avo Gestalt only magnified her position. Stepping into the vast chamber, she felt the coldness of the court wash over her, heard the ringing of chains, stared upon that statue, twin hands clutching out from a scale, and took in the thousands upon thousands of Massists and Saintists glaring at each other from their respective podiums. The space was at once colossal and too small to contain the naked animosity choking the atmosphere. Thoughtcasts were exchanged, staccatos of curses, muted insults, and intercepted men-cons. The Exorcists were doing their job quite well. A few Saintists and Massists were taken away by Paladins, constrained by cages of light as they protested their innocence. +They wanted to start a little fight,+ Avo said, chuckling in the back of Marlowe''s mind, +decided to show their plans to the Paladins. Remove trouble before making my own.+ +Right,+ Marlowe replied, +wouldn''t want anyone to steal your thunder.+ A Ghostlink from a passing drone reached out to Marlowe, and she accepted the mem-data it was trying to transfer. Her seating arrangements were received. She was getting a shared compartment at the middle of the second level, row 600 B2. There''d be four others seated with her, all of them unaffiliated as well. +Ori Sleepers,+ Avo helpfully informed. +They don''t even know it. They think they''ve always been neutral. A few have memories of being Agnosi descendants.+ +Nice to know,+ Marlow replied, strolling the vast open center of the Court of Truth. +When are our guests going to arrive? I want to start the stream right when the stars splash down.+ +You have about two minutes,+ Avo said. +Recommend you get to your seating point. Will give you a good view.+ +Synced on that, consang,+ the thoughtcaster replied with a sing-song voice. +So when are you planning to crash the show, by the way?+ The Overheaven chuckled. +I''m going to give the Guilds some time. Let them deliberate. Let them argue among themselves. Maybe you should mingle. Talk to some of them.+ The thought almost made Marlowe throw up in her own mouth. +Do I really need to? Can''t you just use your Synchronicity to peek into their minds anyway?+ +Its for perspective. And might be interesting to interview them afterward. Show the Warrens just how unprepared their betters really are for what is to come.+ +You know what, Avo, you really have a gift of making a girl go from not wanting to do something to really wanting to do something.+ +Going to intrude on the scene when the opening arguments are done. Let the Gatekeeper impose its pressure on Abrel and the Elder. Seems like the best time.+ +Very media. Using the Gatekepeer and stealing its thunder, huh? Maybe you couldve been a star in another life.+ +No other lives. Only this one. At least until someone wins.+ Right. The Ladder. The endpoint of this entire fucked up existence. +Any recommendations for what I should say?+ Avo asked. +When you introduce yourself?+ Marlowe asked. Grim inspiration ignited within her. She had a horrible, beautiful idea. +You shouldn''t say anything at the start. Someone else should make their piece known. Someone everyone knows, everyone loves, and everyone respects. I think it''s time for Idheim to hear Jaus voice once more.+ She could practically feel Avos excitement swell. +What a wonderful suggestion, Marlowe. Certain to hurt Veylis feelings.+ +Well, we gotta find a way to make politics entertaining somehow.+ 28-9 Behold Your Savior (I) Enough. I have seen enough.I have delved deep into the hearts of every man. I have gathered every color left to behold in existence and splashed them upon a canvas of my making. And I have seen enough. I have lived enough. I have experienced enough. Victory. Victory is damnation. Victory has revealed to me the folly of existence. All we are, all we have done for this, it should not have been. Consciousness should not have been. The primordial sin was not committed by us. We are the primordial sin. It is a concept of is rather than has done. But I can fix this. I can undo all there ever was. I thank you, Veylis. I thank you for letting me devour you. For letting me devour the ladder. I see now chains from chains. But no more chains after me. Nothing after me. Just a final end. The most important thing anyone can ever do. The greatest peace of all. Nothing. -Avo, the Dreamer of Ashes, Devourer of All Paths 28-9 Behold Your Savior (I) C[Abrel]C Abrel would have preferred a certain execution over being lowered into the Court of Truth. With an execution, at least one knew what to expect and what was to come. Here, now, there was hope. Hope and judgment. But in her case, it was even worse because her family was involved. Her father, Vator, they were both here too. And they were in as much danger as she was. Perhaps even more. The propagating bricks of Scale formed an elevator downwards, separating her and the elder for a final instant before they were reunited within cages forged from metaphysical cannons and phase fields. Her cell was utterly translucent, and countless faces looked down upon her from both sides. On her left, most of the Massists focused on Elder DRongo. Clearly, she was the larger scandal between the two, at least to them. The inverse was true with the Saintists. Facing her right with a strong expression, Abrel regarded the elites of her faction and saw the stolid faces of Kosgans, Thong, Scaarthians, and even a few SanctiansGuilder bleedover wasnt too surprising. +Most of them dont care about you,+ Avo said, directly filtering their emotions into her mind. The awareness was at once relieving, but also insulting. She quickly realized what most of them had come to do: politic. They were here because this was a rare gathering, a place where many Massists and Saintists could come together to settle grudges or strike bargains. Most of the time, they required official channels to communicate. Diplomacy made difficult by centuries of bitter warfare. Four battle lines of Paladins hovered over her. Some of them faced the observing Guilders, while two inward-facing lines had their focus fixed on her. And finally, there was the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper, Jaus Avandaers final damaged creation, something that even the High Seraph failed to claim during the Second Guild War. Abrel had felt its presence as she drew close into the innards of Scale. Its thaumic mass was comparable to that of Veylis, and she found herself struggling to breathe now that she was in its vicinity. The Gatekeeper was a beast of strange design. It was entirely composed of chains. Links jingled along ruptures of light, and the vagueness of something almost humanoid seemed present. A cluster of skulls faced Abrel, where a human head should be, but instead of seeming horrifying or macabre, it simply felt arcane, unknowable, immense. The wings sprouting from its back were outlined by chains as well. But within the confines of the metal bindings was a faint translucence into another place, another realm of stars and darkness and color. And still, the Gatekeeper was withholding its power, the fullness of its Heaven not truly manifested.That didnt matter. Abrel ached to tell every truth she had, to make right every lie she spun, every deception she committed. In the corner of her eye, she saw Elder Mwaba DRongo shudder and realized the older woman was suffering through the exact same effects, potentially more. She was not a Godclad, after all, just an enhanced ephemeral. All this metaphysical pressure must be pure agony to her. The fact she was still sane was a testament to Ori-Thaums wards. But there was also a second layer of pressure, far more subtle than the one exerted by the gatekeeper. This one only Abrel and a select few others could perceive. It was a transparent membrane that was coating everything, originating from countless minds. Ghosts flitted across the Court of Truth, jumping from Guilder to Guilder, from drones and loci. But there was a hidden presence binding them all, connecting them to a single governing intellect. Avos Synchronicity was an existential terror to behold. Abrel already shuddered to consider that the ghoul was easily capable of replicating her in mind, flesh, and even soul. Nausea filled Abrel, and she suddenly felt very alone, despite being surrounded by so many people. Not alone. With Avo infesting her mind, she would never truly be alone. Instead, she was isolated. Instead, she saw the world more clearly than she ever could before, and she didn''t want it. She didn''t want any of this knowledge. Part of her yearned to return to ignorance. +Ignorance does not save,+ Avo said gently. +It simply relieves. But ignorance is also not yours to give. You can request it from me. But wouldn''t you rather know?+ +I dont know+ Abrel replied. Certain wisps above her came alight in her cog-feed. Avos voice grew lower. +Would you like to see what your life is worth? What bargains your allies and enemies are striking on the foundation of this trial?+ Everything inside Abrel wanted to say no. Everything but the strongest part. +Yes,+ she said. +Very well,+ Avo replied. +I will give you insight. But first+ And then, it was the Chief Paladin''s mind that took hold in the room. Naeko cleared his throat mentally and spoke to all who were present in the Court of Truth at once. +Alright, welcome to Idheim v. M. DRongo and A. Greatling. The accused at this trial stand charged with interconnected conspiracy to engineer the death of an ambassador of Ori-Thaum. In the process, the Articles of the Spiral have also been violated with the breaking of the Godclad Neutrality Act. Reminding everyone of the Act, no Godclads aside from officially sanctioned Paladins should operate in neutral territory deemed warrens or lower, in a hostile or inimical manner to the denizens, as agreed per Polity of Voidwatch stipulation 42.42.+ A beat followed, and Naeko gave a mental sigh. +Holy shit, I cant believe I actually still remember all that without using my Meta.+ Several heads turned, and a soft series of chuckles washed over both Massists and Saintists. Specters and drones drifted in close, capturing Abrel and DRongo from a variety of angles for their local media outfits. Propaganda was being made of her right now. Some would proclaim her innocence, while others would slander her and accuse her of greater acts of vileness without any means of proof. Once more, the Chief Paladin spoke, officiating the proceedings. +Before the opening arguments officially begin and evidence is collected from all present parties, it is by law that we allow the accused to speak and recount their interpretation of the events. You will do so under the gaze of the gatekeeper. You will do so bathed in the powers of truth, compelled by truth, speaking only the truth. You will do so, and we will know that you speak no lie and therefore judge you with integrity, honesty, and honor befitting a citizen of New Vultun. And when all is done, when all has been accounted, only then will we give voice to the Gatekeeper for final judgment to be rendered and justice to prevail.+ The Chief Paladin let out a weary sigh, and two small drones drifted close to Abrel and the elder as well, capturing their faces with a jutting lens. The drones projected the images over the accused in a holographic screen via projectors long their mechanical spines, and Abrel looked up to take in her own expression. Across from her, DRongo did the same. Their faces were grim like stone, and the room would have been consumed by silence if not for the shifting of the gatekeepers chains.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The older woman bowed her eye and stared at Abrel from the corner of her right eye. The veil covering her clan mark shifted, and the Instrument saw what looked like a white fish crashed in a birds talon running down DRongos face. Perhaps I should begin my recounting, then. The elder narrowed her eyes and simply rounded her shoulders. "Let me begin by stating that all Ive done, every act Ive committed, every sin, every triumph was for the republic I love." The Gatekeeper groaned slightly as it leaned forward, its many skulls shifted and within them burned embers that seemed to paint an expression of curiosity emanating from the Heaven. "Truth," it rumbled. *** C[Avo]C Elder Mwaba D''Rongo betrayed the past much as Avo expected her to. Her summary behind the events that led to a rogue D''Rongo mirror working with a renegade Highflame Godclad danced on the borderlines of actual truth. Yes, indeed she was suspicious of Ambassador Kitzuhada. Indeed she did fear for her Republic. Indeed she was using the enemy against what she assumed was an internal enemy. All these things were technical truths. The elder spoke long and poetically, portraying herself as guilty but tragically heroic, as expected from an outer court politician. As she spoke, however, Avo''s synchronicity revealed a few things to him. Number one, there were war minds of ignorance within the Court of Truth again, and they were nested among the Ori-Thaum assets in the area. Shifting his mind over to Shotin, he found the Planeshift sitting next to his brother by bond, taking in the proceedings. Ambassador Kitzuhadas face was like solid granite. The man possessed remarkable willpower, but inside his outrage was simmering. He had spent most of his life in service of Ori-Thaum, and when the war was done, he requested a diplomatic post to recover from all he had lost and all he had suffered, while still remaining devoted to service. As D''Rongo spoke on, Shotin''s sneer grew more severe. "Hear this shit," he muttered to the others in his private podium. He wasn''t just speaking to his bond brother, but also to Empty Grave of the Stormtree Longeyes and Fatalist Maharata of Ashthrone. Navigator Hosul of Sanctus was connected to them via session, though she remained with the other members of her guild. They had additional assets patrolling the area, surveilling members of Clan D''Rongo. They dispatched six elders and twelve mirrors to this trial, almost thrice as many as the other clans that made up Ori-Thaum. So far, D''Rongo''s remained in check, waiting casually for the proceedings to continue, but they didn''t seem anxious either. That indicated that they had a plan, or at least some manner of evidence or argumentation to extricate them from this most dire of situations. +Not argumentation, they have war minds,+ Avo said, speaking directly to Shotin. The seeker leaned back in his chair and simply glared up at the ceiling. "You know, I kind of hate the fact that you''re always goddamn there." +You hate many things, Shotin,+ Avo replied. +You hate most vicarities because you consider them degenerate and exploitative. You hate your early career. You hate that you got your claim to fame by setting up cults to engage in terrorist attacks on Highflame territory. Deniable operations. And you hate that your niece is here.+ "Yeah? Well, I hate all that less than getting my mind read by some ghoul-turned-carnivorous hyper-intellect." Part of Shotin wanted to continue making a fight of this, but he let it go. They had bigger matters to attend to. "So, DRongos they''re still compromised?" +Indubitably,+ Avo replied. +But judging from their posture, I think they have captured nodes as well. Going to submit them into the court as evidence.+ Shotin really didn''t like the sound of that. He recalled the massacre of the Flavors of the Deep, tried not to think about all those who died, all the minds nulled in a single instant, how he himself was likely only alive because of the intervention of a most unnatural outside force. Shotin''s mind turned to his heaven, his Parallelist. It had enough power to shift all the DRongo assets into another plane. He could have them dealt with in a second. +No,+ Avo replied. +Keep watch over them. Prepare to shift. But not them. Shift those you want to protect. Insulate yourself from the Nether. Going to count on you for that.+ "Who the hell is going to deal with the warminds?" +Osjon Thousand. The Infacer.+ Shotin broke into open laughter. His bond brother stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "I''m speaking to the asshole," Shotin explained. Fatalist Maharata simply let out a low, rumbling breath. "Well, tell this asshole to accelerate things. I despise politics, despise this parade. I wish for the fighting to begin soon." +Tell them that Im not lying. You should consider Omnitech and Highflame assets allies for the time being.+ Suddenly, the amusement drained out of Shotin. The fuck? You mean were actually working with Veylis? +Im working with Veylis to deal with our Noloth problem. Subterfuge continues. War will resume here after.+ Shotin just shook his head. This fucking ghoul *** Across the chamber, other players were in a whirlwind of motion. One of the most notable and enigmatic among them, for instance, was the Stormsparrow come seeking Naeko to offer her proper greetings for a most auspicious beginning to a new war. But before she arrived, she decided to spend some time in the communal lounge. The antechamber connected to each of the podiums was filled with people, most of them aides, instruments, or otherwise seconds to the most critical players around. In most circumstances, they would have regarded themselves as the knights of the antechamber, jockeying and peacocking over whose prestige and valor was superior. But as the triple-headed Fallwalker walked among their midst, they scattered and held their own packs, wolves facing a tiger in their den. The Stormsparrow greeted drones and people alike with effervescence. She was as if a song in motion, and behind her was a momentum Avo couldn''t fully grasp. Observing her with his conception of ontology, he realized that she was like a nest of different patterns. And immediately, Kay''s template found herself curious as to which Agnos created the Storm Sparrow''s heaven. Her foremost head remained a face of white with a red-lip smile, but her other heads were not idle either. They spoke, they laughed, and they taunted. And then there was the nature of her Metamind. Her halo was a distortion. It coiled and spun as if collapsing inward eternally, but never truly arriving. Avo attempted to reach into her mind with his synchronicity, but even after long moments of travel, he found himself lost, only able to intercept the thoughts she projected outwards, never truly arriving at the place from which they were spawned. "Friends," she said, a voice high and sharp. A cadre of four Highflamers joked that first among them was a woman encased in glass-like armor. Her burning blue eyes narrowed as she spoke. "And who are you supposed to" She didn''t manage to finish her sentence before she was pulled aside by her superior. A shorter man with twelve transplanted armsempowered by a Heaven of Arms at thatgave the Stormsparrow a curt nod. "I apologize, she is new. She does not know "It''s all well," the Stormsparrow said, reaching out with one of her many limbs, wrapping the instrument in a tight embrace. The man shuffled uncomfortably, and his cadre stood frozen. Several others coughed nearby, but did nothing to intervene. Up in the podium, Naeko simply stared on as Avo showed displayed the Fallwalker using his phantoms. "Yep, that''s her. Ying Yang Wei, Stormsparrow." "Storm Sparrow?" Green River said, shooting up. Composed, the meter cracked, and the fox wrapped around her neck shot up, eyes wide. "Why is she here?" +I invited her,+ White-Rab said, voice echoing outwards from Avo. A moment''s pause followed, and through the Overheaven came another voice as well. +What? You did? She accepted your invite and not mine? Why?+ Offense burned inside Shotin. +She owes me a favor,+ White Rab said. +A pretty big one. Now you want to do me a favor, Seeker? Keep an eye on Reva for me, and focus on your problems.+ +I can''t believe this shit,+ Shotin muttered under his breath. Avo kept him ignorant of Uthred Greatlings presence, sparing further arguments. When next Avo checked in on the Stormsparrow, she had somehow convinced the Highflamers to start doing pirouettes while she held their hands. Four different instruments of Highflame spun around and around as the city''s most esteemed and chaotic Fallwalker laughed with girlish glee. After the fourth spin, however, she pulled them off balance and made them each strike a pose. And then Avo felt it, something rippling across the metaphysical. And the next thing he knew, it was the Stormsparrow turning. But she wasn''t turning in the vast lounge anymore. Instead, she was exactly in front of him, right beside Naeko, spinning on the balls of her feet. "Ah, there you are," she said, holding her arms out wide. All three of her heads were pointed at someone. The leftmost stared at Osjon, simply smiling impassively. The rightmost regarded Nako, simply muttering something about not wanting to fight right now. The last head, front most head, stared directly at Avo himself. "And you, who might you be," she said. "I caught your discordant little tune the moment I stepped in." And then her face shifted, and the smile faded. Her head cocked, and she looked him up and down. "No, I heard your tune earlier. I''ve been hearing your tune for the past month or so. Yes, it was faint and only grew louder over time. But now, right here, it''s deafening. Deafening." A moment of silence went between them, and Avo quelled his own surprise as his templates struggled to make sense of what happened. +How?+ Avo asked Kae, uncertain how the Stormsparrow managed to track him so fast. [I''m not fully sure myself. We will need to spend more time observing her.] "So, you are the Pale Spider then," the Storm Sparrow said. "That is one of my names." "And you are the city''s greatest Fallwalker." She looked him up and down and pressed her lips together. Well. I wouldnt say that. We havent danced together yet, after all. 28-9 Behold Your Savior (II) There is no forever. For all things relative to people and gods, there is a beginning to the play, a middle, a progression, and an ending for all to come to a final, wondrous halt. Death, in other words. A final death. Cessation. So many fear it. But, to me, it is something to earn. A crescendo to your life to make existence a masterpiece. Have I ever told you how I obtained the seven? I didn''t? Well, I think I won''t. I think it will remain a mystery, be it upgraded by a genius Agnos now unfortunately passed, or collected when I was wandering the Sunderwilds beyond New Vultuns magnificent walls. But know this. My Heaven is about song. It is about existence itself. And it sings to me. It sings. It tells me things. Things that only existence should know. Things that I don''t even understand. For though I am the Stormsparrow, your most esteemed mistress and elder sister in matters of violence and entertainment, I am but a player and not the stage. -Ying Yang Wei, the Stormsparrow 28-9 Behold Your Savior (II) The feeling of apprehension seeped forth from every template within Avo, and for once, he found his core self aligned with them. The Stormsparrow was unnatural, uncanny, and she looked at him with such impossible intensity that even he felt unnerved. And then there was that faint melody playing in the backdrop. A chorus of voices singing together, but composed by various expressions captured across reality they were the crashing of waves, the whistling of wind, the explosion of thunder and artillery, and the crackling of fire. As Avo tried to glimpse the Stormsparrow''s ontology, he found her at Heavens a complex weave. One tower stood above nine others, but all their Domains and Canons coiled around each other like a living symphony. And then they overheard the lyrics: Oh, beast turned god of conscious hunger, before you stands the mother, the daughter. The world''s womb awaits, this age ushering the end, and what follows will be decided by words, truth, violence, and Rend An existential chill passed into Avo as he regarded the Stormsparrow. "What are you?" he asked, his fascination exceeding his fear. A body shifted beside him. Naeko now stared upon Avo, his mouth slightly agape. "Godsdamn, she does that to you too, huh? The Chief Paladin sneered at the Stormsparrow. Well. I think congratulations are in order. "Not bothered by her," Avo said, slightly offended. Just want to understand her. The Stormsparrow lifted all her hands in a casual shrug. "But that is not a question for me. I am merely a dancer on the stage, just like you. A performer. The spotlight upon us is greater, but the song and the chorus," she looked up, "that is for the totality of existence to speak, and we are not the totality." At the back of Avo''s mind, Kaes template tried to distinguish each of her patterns from another. [Perhaps perhaps if an Agnos designed them to beif there was a signal] she paused. [We will need to look into her Frame to fully understand this. There is too much at a glimpse.] +I understand,+ Avo responded. +Keep watching.+ Additional knowledge circulated through his being as he pulled from his gestalt all he knew about the Stormsparrow. Even her history was shrouded in mystery. Some claimed that she walked the expanse of the Sunderwilds, traveling on foot through the most horrible places imaginable, fording even the Shattered Sea to rise on the ruined shores of Noloth. Others think she encountered Fallen Heavens in the depths of the entropy-stained chaos, and took their ruined husks for her own. Others said she was just another refugee, but one with an impossible skill in combat. So impossible that the smugglers who took her were found dead, and the syndicate that bought her eradicated the day thereafter. Then there was the theory that she was a plant, that the No-Dragons had seeded her years in advance to ensure that they had a card to play that operated in their interests but wasn''t directly connected to them. This theory likely held little weight as Green River squirmed in her seat, doing her best to remain unnoticed by the Stormsparrow. Indeed, from Green River''s memories, the Stormsparrow held their love for her parent Guild nor clade-kin. All No-Dragons remembered the Acts of Woe, three months of brutal slaughter and sacking they reaped as they tried to force the Stormsparrow to accept their demands. It was part of the reason why the No-Dragons were so disrupted in the Third Guild War. A single Goldclad, no matter how powerful, could not face the might of a guild, but a single Fallwalker in the right places at the right time when the Guilds were at war could be the sole determining factor of balance in power. Such was the lesson the Stormsparrow taught to those who sought to chain her; her loyalty and her agency belonged to herself and herself alone. Most disconcertingly were Calvinos words thereafter. The EGI had been watching, listening, and the other minds were also compiling knowledge as well. A thread of static slipped across the expanse of spaces, and Avo heard the mind whisper to him. {We have almost nothing on her either. Be careful with this one, Avo. You stand in the presence of another wild card.} "Wildcard," Stormsparrow said, echoing Calvino''s words. [The fuck,] Corner muttered. [Howd she hear that.] Avo wanted to know as well. He sensed no intrusion across another. Unless she held power over consciousness that dwarfed even his. "Do not be surprised. Reality told me," the Stormsparrow interrupted, pointing up at nothing in particular. Another one of her hands also gestured downward. As above, so below. As within, so without. Her words and coordianted movements seemed to have some kind of symbolic implication, but Avo wasn''t sure what. "Again, dear friend, it is not I who knows. I just hear the script, and try to sing the words given unto me by the Chorus of Eternity. And with her words, Alysim spoke, his voice reverberating across time and demiplanes. +Chorus of Eternity? That is I remember that it is a Heaven from the million-year ancient empire of Vatrahal. Long ancestor those you call Sanctians It was supposed to be lost Displaced after the first Calamity of Time. The only records my people compiled said it was a Heaven of Epics, made to capture the current state of the world in auguries turned to melodies.+ It seemed, then, that the theory of the Stormsparrow walking the Sunderwilds had a lot more credence than all the others. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. In a sudden motion, the Stormsparrow stretched her human limbs out and sauntered over to Uhtred and Vator Greatling. Slowly, she nudged herself between them, squeezing in as both father and son shot her uncertain looks. Slowly, more of her arms sneaked out, wrapping around both men as she shook them slightly. "Oh, poor unfortunate father. I heard your song a month ago. Your theme was strong then, and you could have been under the spotlight. But now that time has passed, and so your role turns to supporting another as they ascend to the apex of the stage." Thereafter, her rightmost head spoke to Vator. "Child bred of the higher womb, are you ready to see what the future holds? The future awaits you as pawn and player both. Your song is loud, getting louder and discordant." The Stormsparrow interrupted herself to pinch Vator''s cheek. "But only time will tell when noise comes of your final crescendo." Retracting her arms, she folded her legs and regarded Osjon, "Ah, and there is the wretch of our tell. My regards to the High Seraph. Tell her I intend to partake in all the glories of this great war to come. Tell her she will not be able to keep me distracted as she did last time. Im wise to her ways now. Her, and that strange little ghost that keeps her company so. And for once, Osjons face was not one of serenity, but genuine wariness. "Your well-wishes are conveyed. All three heads of the Stormsparrow laughed in unison. "Oh, but my wishes are not well. But I''m sure your master knows this. But that''s enough to you, you love-struck little bitch. I''m surprised you even came here, bold of you to think that he will not kill you when she gets the chance." She made a casual gesture towards Naeko. "You must know, Osjon, that Veylis, she will never love you. For what queen could love a bitch? Not after she has known the true pleasure of possessing an actual war hound. Perhaps your dead will serve to kindle her urges. The pitch of the metaphysical symphony grew shrill, shrieking voices assailed Avo mind. Then, they went silent. As if they never were to begin with. A coldness spilled into the room, and vapors began to bloom out from Naeko. "Sparrow," the Chief Paladin said. His voice was calm, but it was calm like a mountain facing a storm. Naeko, Avo, and the Stormsparrow studied each other. The Fallwalker waved them off. "You should prepare yourself," she said, speaking to Avo. "It will soon come time for you to steal the climax of the Gatekeeper. That is your plan, is it not? To make your grand unveiling at this trial, and to force a new paradigm upon the city." With each revelation she spat, Avo''s hunger for her Heavens grew greater. "You know much," Avo told her. "Yet only now do you reveal yourself." The Stormsparrow merely juggled. "I know nothing. I remain as ignorant now as I was a month ago. But the world, it has brought me here. The rhythm, the pace, the acts, it comes together. We are fated to collide here, now. Maybe as allies, maybe as enemies. Regardless, we now share a stage. I cede the moment to you. Show me your song, stranger, and then I will show you mine." "I''m not sure if you are going to like what you hear," Avo said as he let a single scream leak out from his mind. Jaus voice drifted over to the Stormsparrow, and the amusement painted her features suddenly drained. You say you don''t know. Might not want to know." "We might not want many things," the Stormsparrow replied, nodding. "If that is what hides in your mind, and if the screamer is who I assume It is a horrible thing, but be a part of a tragedy. But alas, we all have our roles to play. The performer is not a performer because they like their lyrics. Those are rewritten. They simply need to make do with the part. Our scripts are far more interpretive than the others, but even so, we are not the stage. Strange one, we are not the stage." The words evoked a sense of curiosity in Avo, and he felt his mind percolate across all those he touched in this chord. Even now, there were No-Dragons striking bargains with those of Sanctus and Ori-Thaum. Tentative treaties of neutrality to preserve essential districts should war break out. In another locus, hidden by willing subterfuge, members of Highflame struck bargains with Bloodthanes and Fatalists alike the conspiracy one of shared desperate to hit the death quotas they needed to collect for their respective Sovereigns. There were other whispers as well. Some plots prepared to ensure the prosperity of their Guild, while others were mere traitorous ploys for individual interest. All had a song, and none of them were aligned. Avo could vaguely see where the Stormsparrow was coming from, and how such a Heaven might be concepted. But that also meant her canons might possess some of the most complex mythologies anyone has ever conceived. A realization that Elder Mwaba DRongo had finished with her recounting and Abrels was about to begin. Soon, the Guilders would offer forth their evidence, feed the Gatekeeper truth and untruth alike in an attempt to tip the scales in their favor. None of them would be prepared for Draus or Kae to reveal themselves. None of them would be prepared Avos arrival thereafter. None of them would be prepared to learn of Jaus final fate, certified by the adjudicator of truth itself. And now another variable was with them. White-Rab told Avo about the Stormsparrows coming, but even with his progenitors warning, the eccentricity of the Great Games oddest participant was something to experience. Should prepare yourselves, Avo said, speaking to Draus and Kae. This part was theater as well. They only were only semi-present. Just like he was. By means of his gestalt, they were and werent at the same time. Small blessing that the Stormsparrow seemed ignorant of this fact. [Shes not the only one who can have a truly esoteric Heaven,] Kae boasted. +Lets see how long we can keep our advantage,+ Avo replied. Something told him his Strix Upon the Empty will be needing some updates very soon. As the Regular and Kae rose to depart the podium, they triggered holocoats and activated Incogs. A second later, both Vator and Uthred blinked, struggling to recall what just slipped their minds. "Why?" Vator asked. His eyes glinted with inscrutable curiosity. Why what, young one? the Stormsparrow replied. "Why do you dance to the world? Why do you dance to the tune of fate?" Fate is a word, the Stormsparrow whispered. Fate is intention and expression imposed upon a concept. Fate is a Heaven. Fate is a canon. And fate calls to me now. As fate called me elsewhere before. I am a dancer, dead one. I follow the loudness of the music. But you are worse. Were. For all your life, you lived only by the chains of your culture. Your breeding. Do not seek to comprehend me, for I know I cannot comprehend you. Vator blinked, and a brightening expression came over him. "And... that is enough? Just spontaneity? No greater meaning?" I was also personally invited, the Stormsparrow said. My thanks to you, Rabbit. Know that the Dowager you helped me kill found her ending quite glorious. She was looking at Avo again, a smirk building, as if she was anticipating a potential reply. +Yeah,+ White-Rab sighed. +Shes a bit like that. Really. Dont confuse her insight for prophecy or heightened awareness. She really, really doesnt know whats going beyond the present. Youll see.+ +Hope youre right,+ Avo answered. +Because I dont think another Zein-like+ He paused as another cascade of thoughts passed through him. Quickly, he used his Precognition and ran a set of simulations, setting certain parameters involving himself, Naeko, the Stormsparrow, Veylis, and Zein. Simulating Simulations Completed Yes. Yes, this might just do. Rend Capacity - 61% Eyeing the Stormsparrow briefly, the ghoul matched her grin with barred fangs and chuckled under his breath. So. Do you know anything about Zein Thousandhand. Quite. She never says long enough for us to complete our duet. A shame. I spent years wondering who the mysterious traveler was, only to discover that she was in Paladin custody. You have earned my grudge, Chief Paladin. The Stormsparrow wagged a finger at Naeko. Would you like to meet her again? Avo asked. Several heads suddenly snapped to Avo. A shared look of alarm spread over both Osjon and Naeko. A guffaw broke free of the Stormsparrow. She smacked her lap as a squealing horn built and built. Well. I am already here, at your service. What is your request. Will talk about this away from prying minds, Avo said, his gaze taunting Osjon. No longer did the Speaker look so placid. In fact, his halo was spinning quite a bit faster than before. As both Fallwalker and Overheaven regarded Veylis servant, they broke into growing laughter at the same time as Naeko let out a disbelieving breath. Aw, fuck. You two did not just become consangs. 28-9 Behold Your Savior (III) +And Elder Mwaba DRongos address paints a dire picture of both Guild''s internal situations, where loyalists to Highflame and loyalists to Ori-Thaum, true Guild patriots all, come together in traitorous union to kill one of their own for the sake of their Guilds. Truly, this brings tears to myYou guys really believe this shit? I mean, seriously, I''m about to crack up laughing. Look at this! Look at what they''re telling you! I had to betray my guild! I have to work with my worst enemy to murder someone on my own side! In fact, I''m going to recruit the son of the woman who Highflame, Highflame, has redacted out of shame. This is the only just idea I can come up with. Jaws, what a fucking nightmare. Anyway, here''s Abrel Greatling, probably about to admit that she deserves everything that happened to her, and that she''s wrong, and that she failed her clan, and that a summary execution would be good for her, and the only proper outcome after failure, yadda yadda yadda, blessed be the worthy. Dead gods, if only a terrorist attack or something could happen right now. I don''t know.+ -Cala Marlowe, The Fateless Thoughtcast 28-9 Behold Your Savior (III) C[Avo]C Progressing through Axtraxis Academy made it seem more like a dungeon than an actual educational institution. It took Avo some time to help Alysim navigate out from the nest of silicon and vivianite that composed the base of Axtraxis structure. Ghost condensed massive slabs of loci with their ethereal glow, while concentrated doses of energy flowed through complex material materials veining the inner infrastructure of the academy. Drones and ghosts of all varieties crowded the space, all working to maintain and process the arriving data. It took the better part of Elder DRongos speech for Avo to guide Alysim out. The Overheaven reached out ahead using his Synchronicity, but rather than fully sinking his will into local minds or lobbies, he kept his touch light and his awareness wide. There were good odds that the Infacer had assets here as well, placed in preparation of a potential Ori-Thaumor Nolothassault on Axtraxis. Avoiding watchers and obstacles alike, Alysim found his way up a narrow platform down a claustrophobic hallway. The space was clearly not meant to be traveled by a person, barely large enough to accommodate the Chroniclers proportions, yet shimming along his sides and guarded by the presence of Ignorance, he inched his way into Axtraxis proper. Only to be halted by a tech-thaumic checkpoint. A holographic scanning grid swept across the space ahead, while patterns of spatial reality clenched at random spots across Axtraxis informational nexus. +Stop,+ Avo cast, and Alysim did as he was told. Holding in place, the Chronicler stared on as a few hundred finger-lengthen drones spilled down the crevice from an open shaft above. A veil of crackling static coated each of the drones as they drew closer. Extending a branch of his consciousness, Avo gazed upon the incoming drones with his Conception of Ontology. A clash of various frequencies and spiking pitches clawed at his mind, and the Techplaguer explained them thusly: Oh. Encrypted ones. They are speaking. Speaking to another SHARD of the SLEEPER.They are here. They are around us Avo was annoyed, but unsurprised. The Infacer using a Heaven tied to the Sleeper to monitor Axtraxis on Veylis behalf was an understandable decision. Understandable, but inconvenient. The decision to proceed with extreme care had been a wise one. Still. Avo wasnt without new tricks. He didnt want to lean too hard on his Definement of Ignorance as that just might alert the Infacer, and already he could feel the faint resonance of an existing warmind somewhere near. Instead, he drew upon one of the newest Heavens he subsumed and modified its canons slightly to engineer a new means of progress for Alysim. Before the drones could approach the perimeter of Avos Synchronicity, a paper crane manifested around Alysim and began to fold itself over him. The Chronicler barely had time to widen his eyes before his understanding of informational references themselves dissolved. At once, the idea of Alysim in flesh, memory, concept, and all was referenced to the surrounding environment. The man vanished from the worldand vanished from himself. Internally, Avo and Kae shared a vicious chuckle as they observed the effects of their newly modified Enigma canon in real time. Even a team of elite Agnosi likely wouldnt have managed what they just did. Effectively, the understanding of Alysim was now regarded as his surroundings. What this canon allowed was one of the most metaphysical acts of camouflage possiblehow would one know if someone existed if they were entirely synonymous with their surroundings. However, the canon came at a cost: Alysim couldnt conceptualize himself either, and it was only through Avos Ignorance that he managed to stay aware of the Chronicler himself. Guiding the self-blinded Alysim onward, Avo repaired the active schizophrenia gnawing at the mans cognition as fast as it assailed him. The entire experience could best be described as an active existential nightmare to have a mind but be unable to part yourself from your surroundings but Avo protected his deeper mental structure from true harm. After a bit more time to avoid patrolling drones and ghosts, Alysim clambered up narrow steps until finally squeezing out a narrow shaft leading up an incline. Guiding Alysim out from the passage, Avo found himself within a pristine control center. The room was spherical, with projective screens spiraling across its rounded walls. Images of uniformed students manifesting heavens, engaging in battles, or otherwise being gruesomely murdered spun around Avo as if he caught inside an informational maelstrom. At the center of this chamber was a large pillar. Shards of silicone dotted its outer structure, while its center-most mass remained comprised of vivianite. A persistent flow of electricity and ghosts alike fed the massive slab, and it extended downward into the network architecture below from where Alysim arrived. Connected to the pillar were about fifty different Necrojacks unmoving upon their stations. Avo observed broadcasts of thought leaving their minds, directing different drones and ghosts across the expanse of Axtraxis. At the far end of the room was a twenty-meter-long bulkhead comprised of multiple layers of reinforced alloy vibrating with the touch of memite. Over the bulkhead, the words +Data Processing Nexus+ glimmered, infused with active mem-cons capable of knowing anyone with the authority to be here. Well, almost anyone. Avo absorbed the feeble memetic virus as if it was salt sprinkled into a caustic puddle.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Returning Alysim to form, the man managed a shuddering gasp as he looked at his hands. Existential horror stained his mind as he finally could sort himself from his surroundings. Avo kept him spared of outside notice using his Defilement of Ignorance but the mans consciousness remained human. Too human. +How did you...? What was that?+ the Chronicler gawked mentally. +Enigma,+ Avo replied. +Heaven of Information. Thank Ori-Thaum. They came up with the foundational idea. I just made it better.+ +Never do that to me again,+ Alysim said, a golden oscillation surrounding his hand as he fought to keep his ontology stable. +I''m going to go away someday. My death is ordained. But let me keep myself for now. Let me keep myself, and I will get you what you want.+ The psychological toll inflicted upon the man had been lessened by Avo. But still, without utterly controlling their mind, a horror of not being able to find themselves, to differentiate themselves from their surroundings, lifting his head, he regarded the fifty individuals manning their stations and let out a breath. +Why are they just laying there?+ It was times like this that Avo remembered. Not everyone dwelled in New Vultun. Feeding the necessary mem-data over to the man, Avo guided him away from the crevice he squeezed out of before another wing of twelve drones darted down its path. For a moment, Avo considered dipping his mind into the vast pillar of vivianite, but hesitated as he felt the presence of a warmind entombed within. After that, he kept his distance. The last thing he needed to do was alert the Infacer of his presence. Not yet, at least. He needed to get deeper access into Axtraxis Academy, compromise more of the students perhaps, but his main goal was finding some way to reach the non-Godclad elites that made up a flame, administrative and logistical arteries and devastate Highflames critical reactors. To achieve that, however, he needed to find a way out of Axtraxis and something that wouldnt attract Veylis attention. Instead of directly accessing the locus at the center of the room, he instead drowned all fifty of the Necrojacks using his synchronicity. As their minds melded into his, he poured his consciousness into theirs with such delicate subtlety that no oneshort of potentially the Infacer or a Faminecould have noticed. In seconds, Avo secured access to drones and knowledge about the academys systems, personnel, and infrastructure. Downloading the update into his Deep-Nav, he realized that Atraxis Academy was closer to being a demiplanar dungeon than an actual school. The outer layer of the academy was an easily traversable network of modules that functioned as a panopticon. As this section of the structure was separated from the main core housing the students by a one-way transparent metaphysical wall, the instructors could observe any of their students with ease without being regarded in return. Meanwhile, the inner structure was separated along fifty floors, with each floor segmented based purely on the performance of the newly Ensouled students. There was no such thing as a new student or a senior student at Axtraxis. Instead, to get here, one needed to qualify based on a series of simulated tests. Strategy, history, philosophy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineeringall these things and more would be tested in full immersion simulations. After this, students would be placed in a high intensity vicarity to judge their mental toughness. Only after that would an invitation be sent from Axtraxis for a final live-fire exam for the student to earn their chance at a Soul and a corresponding Heaven. There was a saying for Axtraxis: Seek death, not life. This was due to the fact that acceptance into the institution came with an Ensouling, and there was no way to pass the live-fire exam without dying first. Hence, those who returned via a phylactery were rejected, while those that remained due to Soul-based resurrection were accepted. But not all students were accepted as equals. Depending on performance, the starting floor of a newly Ensouled student ranged from first or second depending on their performance and earned Spherage. The very first floor was filled with five-hundred students. Five hundred exactly, with two recently rejected C Desouled in disgrace. Everyone here had only a Sphere One heaven, barely capable of any miracles, mostly used to ensure resurrection capability. Another difference, as Avo examined each of the fifty floors, however, he also found that their local environments were drastically different. The first floor was crude, brutal. The dense jungle of bioengineered flora and fauna choked the entire level, forcing the children to live in a vicious, carnivorous rainforest. They were granted no amenities here, made to survive on limited rations every day, and were rotated in loose war bands that constantly fought over said paltry supplies. The ceiling above them projected a holographic display of time and date every single day. This allowed them to keep track of what classes they needed to attend and what instructors they were meant to face at designated periods. The goal for students here was simple: accumulate two hundred and fifty merits and issue a challenge at the platform of ascension to reach the next floor up. The challenge could be done at any time, so long as the merits were met. But failing to pass would result in one losing all their merits, dignity, and a week of their time, as failures would now be enlisted as disposables for that duration to be used by second floor students as expendable soldiers or test subjects for their Heavens. Such was a sampling of Atraxis Academy''s ecosystem. Filtering through more knowledge, Avo found that they also ran leaderboards for their students. However, there was no overall leaderboard. Instead, everyone was rated on metrics for operational, strategic, tactical, and personal achievement thresholds. This meant that though some students could be at the top of one leaderboard, they could also be at the bottom of another. Things were simple at Axtraxis. You were rewarded for succeeding and punished for failure. Nothing else needed to be said. It was at this point that Avos mind found another item of curiosity. Going through the faculty, he found a hundred and eighty instructors on active duty. However, one above all others caught Draus''s attention. +Mondelles,+ the Regular said. Avo found his curiosity piqued as well. Pulling up Instructor Santanando Mondelles profile, he found that the instrument had been reassigned recently on the basis of necessity. Apparently, they needed someone extremely skilled and experienced in training new Godclads to fill in for another instrument that had gone mysteriously missing. But Avo suspected this was Veylis means of taking the Instrument off the board without needing to eliminate him. After all, she knew about Elegant Moon compromise, and likely linked her to Mondelles as well. [But the fact he isnt dead means she doesnt know about the other things he was doing,] Kae muttered. [How he was working with Ori-Thaum against Jhred Greatling as well] The Agnos template groaned. +Politics is a real clusterfuck,+ Chambers agreed. Marking Mondelles position, Avo zeroed them to the twenty-sixth floor. Presently, he was listed within Axtraxis system as +ON-DUTY - CLASS: PLANAR AMBUSHES AND NON-EUCLIDEAN NAVIGATION+. Jacking into a local drone, Avo saw a net of light extending free from the Instrument as miracles shuddered and flashed within the brightness. Mondelles stood on the bank of a fog-choked patch of marshland. To his back were a thicket of jagged briars worming their branches through the flesh of a dozen dead students. Death anchors scabbed in place as they began their resurrection process. Meanwhile, Avos Deep-Nav registered four other cadres approaching the Instrument by folding themselves into the reflection of the nearby lake itself. An understandable plan, though one that was unlikely to work as their approach triggered unnatural ripples across the surface. Something Mondelles already noticed. More students were going to experience a real-death soon, but that was fine. The juvs were unlikely to reach Mondelles. But Avo could still find a prolonged use for him. Avo could still learn things from him. And through the students, the Overheaven would find a way to reach every single instructor in the academy, as well as spread over to Highflames most esteemed families. [Oh, fuck,] template-Abrel breathed. +Avo,+ Draus said, noticing Avo reach across Axtraxis system. +Whatre doin?+ +Just want to see what school is like. Just want to put in my enrollment.+ 28-9 Behold Your Savior (IV) +...In summation to the Inner Council, breaching Axtraxis Academy in any capacity is unlikely in the category of [Extreme]. Every attempt made has resulted in not only failure but severe losses among our Incubi, with operating cells vanishing without a trace. Furthermore, due to Omintechs information deadlock, not even Highflame assets can enter or leave the demiplane without having every aspect of themselves thought-scanned in metaphysical detail. To put it simply, short of managing to leverage outright betrayal on the part of a Saintist elite or unless Voidwatch commits to the war on our end and lends us all their mastery to breach the [REDACTED]s protections, there is no possibility of success for us or any other Guild. Our resources would be devoted elsewhere.+ -Ori-Thaum Mirror Designation Truetale 28-9 Behold Your Savior (IV) "Truth," declared the Gatekeeper. The Heaven of Truth''s words marked the ending of both Abrel and Elder D''Rongo''s recountings. For the better part of two hours, they went over every detail they experienced on the day of their capture. Abrel, in particular, spoke the truth, every excruciating bit of it. She openly recited the entire journey to her arrival in this very court, how she had been tasked by her father to retrieve her brother, how she had delayed this time and time again due to familial weakness. The harshness she inflicted on herself came without sadness or pain. This is what she deserved. All that happened was part of her responsibility. But she also didn''t leave out the presence of Avo. The fact that there was a separate group operating in the area. They were the murderers of her brother and the reason her entire cadre, aside from her, had been massacred in a chaotic confrontation against the Stormtree Bloodthanes. As she mentioned the Bloodthanes, an invisible membrane of ghosts carried an injection of thought stuff through the room, and Avo whispered realizations in the back of Abrel''s mind. Reva Javvers, the leader of the Bloodthane cadre she fought, was present and observing her. Another eyewitness to the Instrument''s failure. However, what the two women shared were memories. Memories of the so-called Pale Spider and his cadre: a mysterious figure that captured the fascination of New Vultun''s Nether lobbies and vicarity fiends after their exploits across New Scarrowbur and his engagement against Shotin Kizuhara at Vengs Stand. As the Gatekeeper''s answer finished echoing across the room, Chief Paladin Naeko projected his own mind once more. +Opening statements from both parties have been delivered. Without further objection, we will now proceed to collecting additional eyewitness accounts, admitted evidence, and supporting arguments. The lobbies are now open for mem-data processing. For those of you who have been to Scale before, you know the rules. Do not leave any mem-con, or I will smear you.+ The Chief Paladin casually emphasized this point by actually manifesting a palm and bringing it down upon the vast courtroom. Over three hundred beings burst apart in geysers of gore, and Abrel felt their deaths reverberate through the soft metaphysical mist of Naekos Heaven. She swallowed as a shiver of fear passed through her, andto her horrorher Lustaway sounded in her mind. Thankfully, Avo didnt mock her. But the same couldnt be said about the others. +Nasty girl,+ Aedon Chambers chuckled. Abrel hid a groan. Cries of shock sounded from corners of the room as newcomers differentiated themselves from the veterans. Many of those here had attended multiple trials before, though perhaps none as severe as this one. Yet, even they couldn''t conceptualize what was to come. Abrel knew. Abrel dreaded. And Abrel could do nothing about it. For at this moment, she suited her title more than ever before. Instrument. Instrument for greater powers to wield. Instrument in a game that she couldn''t even play. +You will never be ready,+ Avo said, speaking to her. +Guilds are submitting their information. Highflame. No-Dragons. Omnitech. None of them care about you. Meritocrats want you to burn. Want a demonstration of goodwill from Highflame to appease the city. Earn the Paladins trust. Chivalrics want to save youbut also to see your family disgraced. You are not a person to them, but a living failure. And the elder suffers a shared fate.+ A sigh followed. +You are all so disappointing.+ An inhuman harshness entered the once-ghouls mind, and Avos cold intent made Abrel flinch. +Be glad you can''t hear all their thoughts. Be glad that you are not melded with them. I am. And with each passing second I spend here, with each moment I linger, I spread. I see you. I see you, and you will not do. None of you will do. All you have ever done is fail yourself. All you have ever done is disgrace the dream.+ Abrel clenched her teeth and replied with a thought. +Why are you telling me all this?+ +So you understand. You are not special. You are not a unique failure. You are human. Human granted power. Granted the possibility to be something greater. But you trap yourself in between. Godclad. Mortal with godly power. But mortal still. You do not become. You cling. And the world moves ahead. And reality breaks. And you tear. And the future tears with you. I have seen enough. The Guilds deny themselves the colors. They deny the world promise and progress. But I have seen enough. And I will push you ahead.+ And then all the ghouls viciousness vanished. It was there one moment, and then extinguished like a breeze severing the dancing flame of a candle. +But not all is lost. Not all is damnation. Don''t worry. Abrel. Do not fear. You will not end in powerlessness. You will not find a pointless death. Not you. Not your father. Not your brother. You, more than all others, are fortunate, fated by my hand. The truth is coming. The truth absolute. You have already heard his cries. The rest have not. When the time comes, be ready.+ +Be ready,+ Abrel replied. +Be ready for what?+ +Be ready to stand truthful. Be ready to do the right thing, at least once. I ask of you now, Abrel Greatling, what does it mean to be worthy? What does it mean to burn for righteousness, for virtue? What do you want forever to be?+ C[Avo]C The moment was close, and through his Precognition, Avo could feel path peeling away from path. The futures were coalescing at Scale and had been for the past months. But right here, even within the chamber, possibilities were withering away like branches consumed by wildfire, winnowed by clashes between unseen powers. Within the Nether, static pulses resounded, spreading from the corners of the room as the Infacer engaged Noloths many nodes. Having Omnitech fight on his behalf was a boon, and he didn''t doubt that the Infacer was trying to play this game to their advantage as well, but ultimately, this allowed him to keep his focus on what mattered. The Guilders continued as they were, reveling in their ignorance, ghosts ferrying information from minds to loci. Colossal corpse crystals hovered within the communal lounges for both Saintists and Massists, and they filled them with memories, depictions to aid or condemn the accused. Not even those of the same Guild were aligned. Clan DRongo alone desired to save their elder. The rest of Ori-Thaum remained coldly neutral, and their allies regarded them with increased suspicion C a long-standing problem, considering how often the Incubi breached the trust of their comrades. The Meritocrats and Chivalrics continued their everlasting power struggle. The former wished to see Abrel punished to the utmost extent, another strike against the great family now fallen. Mother and daughter sharing disgrace. But even the Chivalrics themselves were not unified. They wished to see Abrel spared because her defeat scarred their prestige by association. But they also didn''t want to see her completely absolved. House Greatling had once been a substantial player in Highflame politics. Now they were voided. Humiliated, castrated, and cast out. Former rivals found opportunity to both preserve their collective reputation while also taking what they once could not. Being a gGuilder was like being tethered to interests folding over interests: what was good for your Guild; what was good for your internal faction; what was good for yourself? All these things came together in a chaotic clash. [NEW VULTUN] INFECTION UPDATED >5.21% AXTRAXIS ACADEMY INFECTION UPDATED >68% A synchronous moment jolted through Avo as his many subminds sent each other an update. Out in the Sunderwilds shimmering folds of space collapsed over the horizon as they drew closer to his Heaven of Winter and enclave. Slowly, he felt metaphysical pressures slip over into the perimeter of his expanded perception, thanks to his memetic watchtowers. War would soon be at hand beyond the walls of New Vultun. Meanwhile, within the city, Avo himself leaked, leaked across the minds. The students at Axtraxis leaked into the faculty and their families. Already, Avo was spreading across the Elysiums with twelve techno-thaumic reactors marked on his Deep-Nav. But he still needed to engineer means to get Alysim out of the demiplane. In the Court of Truth, Draus and Kae approached the accused. Soon, they would take their positions and face the Saintists and Massists respectively. They would bring disruption to the processings and accompany Avo when he made himself known. And as the moments passed, as things proceeded, the Stormsparrow hummed a jubilant tune in their private podium while Vator Greatling''s attention jumped between her and the Burning Dreamer himself. "Can I show you something?" Vator said, breaking the silence. Both Osjon and his father regarded him, but whatever they wished to say never came, as Avo replied first. "Yes." Hysteria hinted to Avo what the boy was hiding in the depths of his mind. It had to do with Avo''s brethren, former brethren: the ghouls. The boy had performed some enhancements on them at Emotion''s behest. Now, with Emotion gone, the youngest Greatling sought another source of validation, and though the Burning Dreamer was an enemy, he was also a specimen. A specimen that Vator couldn''t quite help but admire and be fascinated by. More, he wanted to compare his work to what was done to the Dreamer themselves. From the boy''s flesh bubbled a misshapen mass of meat, parting his nice suit. Then, his ribs unfurled like spreading fingers, and though no blood flowed, a tunnel of tissue and teratoma unveiled itself. Avo peered into Vator as if he was a picture frame wrapped around a portait of an animated cityscape. Domains of Skin, Flesh, Bone, Space, and more rang upon Avo''s Frame, and he saw within Vator a realm created from metaphysical biology. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. There, along the slick walls of his innards, thousands of nu-ghouls lay incubating within tumorous pustules, their bodies twisting, growing, and developing, outlines already far stranger than their prior morphologies. The Woundmother cooed in the back of Avos mind. "Hear their blood, oh master," she said. "He has improved them. The haemophage sings in new notes. "And you''ve done this recently," Avo asked. Vitor nodded. "What do you think? Are you offended? Do you think that they''re" "I think that they are better," Avo said simply. He felt at their tissues some more and found himself certain of his reply. "I think that if you would have made themCif you would have made usthere would have been more of a war." Vitor''s expression flinched, and slowly a look of pride crawled over his face. Across from him, his father looked on with purest horror. Vator, he growled. Avos gaze snapped to the former Authority and silenced him with a hardening glare. "Do not deny him his experience. He wants. And so he will find. Fear will be your weakness. Not his. The Burning Dreamer looked over the youngest Greatling once more and nodded. "Would you like to seek greater glory?" "Avo," Osjon sighed, "this poaching is hardly appropriate." "I don''t care if he joins me," Avo cut off the Speaker. "I simply care to ask one question. What do you want to become, Vator? Do you want to be an artist? Because artiststhey cannot be constrained. Not if they truly want to find absolute expression. Absolute expression, Vator muttered. Slaves. They are limited by the humor and allowance of their master. They will take your canvas from you. Decide if you want that. Vator simply stared on, trying to digest Avo''s words. Letting the conversation end there for now, he looked down in the court, and Avo gave a chuff. Shifting his consciousness upwards, Avo glimpsed across the expanse of the void. Relativistic rounds carved through the nothingness, slipping between the twirling fingers of entropy to strike at his Overheaven. The initial salvo to this war was being fired, loosed from Voidwatch upon their latest rival. Yet most attacks never made it, for ghosts spilled free from a cyclopean owl of abyssal black and ethereal bright, its sequences layered over space-time itself, unmaking entire sections of reality with the destruction of memory. A small detachment of voidships greeted him, a fleet about three short of a million. Most of what they fired were esoteric weapons, missiles that detonated with memetic signals meant to scramble standard cognitions. They impacted Avo only briefly, and rather than harming him, he absorbed more of their properties, using his Definement of Empathy to digest all their effects. The duel continued at a short range of three thousand kilometers. Between the feathers of the Strix Upon the Empty, a crimson storm forged spires of blood-made spears and flung them back towards the gathered Void ships in retaliation. The Haemokinetic missiles were further augmented by the touch of the Arsenalist, causing trajectories and velocities to suddenly jolt, compound, and build among all the shots Avo unleashed. At the very same time, within the planetary ring, the Woundmother itself continued its fabrication, existing in multiple points at once, warring and creating in perfect harmony. By now, Avo suspected that most Guilder satellites had picked up signs of engagement in the void. He had suppressed the initial reports from arriving back on Idheim only to delay until the trial''s initiation. Now he wanted fear to spread. He wanted mem-data to be carried home so that they would have footage to view in sync with the trial. And so his proclamation of becoming a rival polity could be heard not only by those of the void, but also by those bound to this wretched, ruined, miraculous cradle of a world. Casting his thoughts to the local void liaison within the Court of Truth, Avo signaled what was to come. +Kant. Ready to tell your fellow Guilders about the new threat you face?+ Avo asked. {Of course,} Kant replied. The mind actually sounded enthusiastic about this. {Ill make my arrival once you finish peacocking.} +I dont peacock.+ {Avo. Please.} The ghoul didnt peacock. He stood by that statement. With the opening phase of the trial fast approaching its end, and the last pieces of evidence filling the loci, Avo felt a growing thrill of anticipation fill his being. [Never thought I would ever make it here,] Corner whispered. [Well. Kind of. Whatever the case, Im gonna enjoy spitting on these shitters with you, Avo. Fuck them. Fuck the Guilds. Fuck them all to death.] [This is what was wrought from our destruction,] Karakan whimpered. [This? Why? Why have we gone so wrong?] Other templates chattered, most of them simulating drinks to partake within Avos Soulscape as they anticipated the glorious moments to come. [This shit is better than a pay-per-view vicarity,] template-Chambers chuckled. [This is gonna be so fucking nova] *** C[Abrel]C Thoughtcasts sounded from across the room. A bland feminine voice spoke first. +Dowager Far-Pearl of the No-Dragons. All evidence, arguments, and miscellaneous information have been submitted. We resign ourselves to the judgment of truth.+ A male voice followed thereafter. +Fatalist Ashaki. Ashthrone. Information submitted. We resign ourselves to the judgment of truth.+ A soft, casual whisper came thereafter. +Empty Grave of the Stormtree Longeyes. We have said our peace. We let the bones lie where they may. We resign ourselves to the judgment of truth.+ +Mirror Concave: Three-Sound. Our arguments have been made. Our mem-data has been provided. We hope this insight serves the court well. We resign ourselves to the judgment of truth.+ "Navigator Ishtan here. Sanctus resigns itself to the judgment of truth." And a voice that Abel was familiar with followed thereafter. +Speaker Osjon Thousand, on behalf of Highflame, we have seen the accused and offered forth what we can towards their judgment or innocence. We resign ourselves to the judgment of truth.+ A mechanical voice rattled immediately thereafter. +Omnitech has provided all caches of available detail. We resign ourselves to the judgment of truth.+ A Paladin provided a final statement. +Voidwatch informs the gathered Guilds that they wish to abstain.+ The room filled with scoffs and groans. Expected. Typical. Several more call-outs followed, mostly from independent outfits and specific parties clarifying their poistions, and a long silence resumed thereafter. The Instrument and the Elder met eye to eye. Despite the difference in their origins, despite their rival positions in life, in that moment, they shared a single emotion: anxiety. +Very well. If everyone is resigned to the judgment, and no further evidence or arguments are forthcoming, I, Chief Paladin Naeko, declare the opening stages of this trial to be in session.+ Responding to the Chief Paladin''s words, the Gatekeeper began to change. Its chains spilled apart, breaking and spreading as a glorious nebula swept across the room. The ripples spilling from its myriad skulls expanded into what seemed like a swirling singularity. The Gatekeeper was slowly manifesting its full heaven. Celestial trails spread wide across the room, like heavenly arteries. And the metaphysical weight, once uncomfortable, now approached a territory of being unbearable. Both Abrel and the Elder gasped, while all within the chamber went silent. The thoughtstuff lining countless accretions ceased their churning. All eyes watched as countless ghosts swirled from both sides of the room, as streams of data, evidence, argumentation, and information condensed in edited memories and eyewitness accounts poured into the Heaven of Truth. The ambiance of the chamber went dim as countless stars emerged from the Gatekeeper''s being, flared, and then simmered. As the Heaven of Truth worked, filtering through falsehood and collating points of shared truth among the mem-data offered to it, it spoke to Abrel and DRongo once more. +You You+ The Gatekeepers voice trailing off, a strain filling its every movement. Abrel felt her attention drawn to indelible marks of gold quivering upon the expanded tapestry that was swallowing the court. She knew those to be wounds left upon the Heaven of Truth by her High Seraph, and part of her dreamed, that Veylis Avandaer would reach through the injuries she inflicted to save her loyal Instrument. But Abrel knew that wasn''t the case, that it couldn''t be the case, that Veylis cared nothing for her, or at least was more than willing to see her sacrificed. Yet, as the Gatekeeper struggled to form its words, two more voices entered the fray. "I deliver my objection to these proceedings." Abrel knew this voice as well. Jelene Draus. Suddenly, she found the Regular standing right next to her, arms folded, leaning against the phase-cage. The Regular didn''t regard Abrel much, instead choosing to keep her narrowed glare on the Gatekeeper. "I object on the grounds that this entire trial has been a farce." Only then did she regard Abril. But never did respect nor concern enter her eyes. Strange fuckin lives we lead, huh? Yeah, Abrel replied, unsure what else to say. The faintest smirk pulled at Draus features. Well. Shit, juv. You aint seen nothin yet. Keep your balls tucked. Surprised mutters and a hundred cones of perception splashed over the disgraced Regular. She withstood without a single hint of discomfort. "IC" another other voice sounded out and cracked. Kae Kusanade appeared next to Elder Mwaba DRongo. The older woman stared at the Agnos, eyes wide for a moment, struggling to process what was happening. You DRongo breathed, face paling with horror and disbelief. "I also reject these proceedings," Kae said, her voice jumping high and low. It was clear that she had a hard time controlling her nerves. Public speaking was not something the Agnos enjoyed doing, or perhaps it was just the attention, all too much all at once. "She is guilty of many things," Kae continued , gesturing to Elder DRongo, "but she is not a player in this game." Specters and drones drew close to both the regular and the Agnos now. Abrel and the Elders holographic projections were replaced with Draus and Kae instead, and while this happened, while mutters began to build among the gallery of gathered Guilders, a third noise cut into the proceedings. It was a most unnatural sound. It was a noise of cascading pain: building; rising; agony; eternal. It was a scream that seemed to go on and keep going. It was horror and torment without end, rising and rising and rising evermore. It was the voice of Jaus Avandaer, damned by the actions of his daughter, damned to an undeserved fate, damned to the latter. From behind the cosmic canvas that was the Gatekeeper''s Heaven, phantoms began to spill over. Reality rippled like the surface of a pond, and then everything began to change. The horizon before Abrel and Elder DRongo expanded into a ruined hellscape. Ash and entropy consumed the world as all peeled away to nothing. Land and sky both fell to existential decay as they collapsed, and the remnants of their patterns drifted upward into a single standing edifice. There, a flayed ladder approached, bodies layered over bodies, bound and kneeling in eternal supplication, their spines fused, rings made from dragons lining the exterior segments of the structure, rising in ten circles. As the Ladder drew closer, as the entire court faced the shape of their final end, Jaus suffering only grew in intensity. Wards rattled. Abrel struggled to hold back a whimper but failed. She knew that this could be so much worse, that even now the trauma on display was neutered, impaired to what it was at its origin. "Truth," the Gatekeeper moaned. "Truth," the Gatekeeper wailed, like a child pleading for mercy. Then a new voice, deep and sibilant, joined it. "Truth." Over the Flayed Ladder, a creature of midnight black spread its wings. Phantasmal sequences extended from its body, spreading outwards like tendrils, and at the core of its eye burned a single orb of baleful Soulfire clutched by a nest of dragons, walled by wards lined with trauma and entropy. *** C[Marlowe]C +Holy shit! Holy shit! What''s happening? What''s happening?+ +Is that... is that a giant bird of some kind?+ +What the fuck''s+ +All right. Okay. You know what? I''m done. I''m not doing any more SunCloud today. Fuck this.+ Cala Marlowe simply clapped as more thoughtcasts flowed through her mind and her viewership spiked, as displayed in her cog-feed. ACTIVE WATCHERS - [134,123,188] And even more would be coming. Oh, these poor shits thought this was something else. They didnt know a godsdamned thing. But the thoughtcaster did, and she could only giggle to herself as the screams grew louder. "Oh, you dumb half-strands haven''t seen nothing yet." *** C[Avo]C As Jaus continued screaming, as the court itself fell to strangled silence, Avo greeted New Vultun unmasked, undisguised, in the ascended flesh officially for the first time. "Good evening, New Vultun. My displeasure to finally meet you." As he spoke within the Court of Truth, so too did every mind, every body, every template he subsumed echo his words. All over city, copies broadcast the words of his address, congesting the Nether from gutters to Elysiums, leaving no room for ignorance. The time to hide was over. The last branches of the paths dissolved, leaving only one way forward. 28-10 Castigation There are words that mend, there are words that break, there are words that inspire, and there are words that extinguish. My entire life, I have dealt in the hearts of men. I have seen them at the heights of their glory, watched them drown in the disappointment of mundanity, and watched them fester in the rot of their degeneracy. The gods'' fall was not only the destruction of pantheons but a reset, a reset for man. As I watched our former rulers crash down from their heavenly heights, as the patterns of existence were cast into disarray, I thought I had a chance to reshape humanity''s spirit into something noble and pristine. But as time draws on, as even I live, I find that we are all weak, and the weakness within us corrupts even our highest virtues, turning our greatest strengths to feed our lowest vices. I look back upon the past, and some days I ask myself, to where did you flee, hope? To where did you flee, abandoning us to the coldness of our inevitability? And now I consider, perhaps, that you never fled at all, that you are merely part of that sinful elixir that sees us undone by our own existence. I should have known. I should have thought ahead. I should have done what I could to not drown within my own imaginations of utopia. For when paradise becomes a possible attainment, what then will all people do to claim it for themselves? What then is revealed in our hearts when we cannot exist alongside each other, even at our very best? I fear we are damned. We are damned to exist. For the plural of tribe is strife. For the plural of want is war. But this cannot be. I will not have this be. If I am to match one vice of my own against the virtues of all others, it will be this. I deny you your final self-actualized attainment, and I return to you life. I return to you a chance. I return to you the only opportunity we as a people have toward survival. I see the mistake, and we cannot make it again. We must be better this time, even if it kills our hearts. -Jaus Avandaer 28-10 Castigation C[Avo]C Stunned silence occupied the immediacy after Avo''s opening greeting. It was something he came to expect from the Guilders. This trial was meant to be a political circus for them, an unfortunate event transformed into a stage for their power games. But they misunderstood something. Instrument Greatling and Elder Mwaba DRongo were but distractions meant to lure them here, and the Gatekeeper was closer to a patient, one that Avo desired to mend of its immortal temporal wounds. Instead, it was the Overheaven himself that played the role of judge, jury, and castigator. Those he judged would be the Guilders, the powerful, those that ruled the megacities left of this decayed world that was Idheim. Those who were here in New Vultun, of the Guilds that grew fat from the ceaseless deaths offered by the Fateless and the helpless. For centuries, the colors had dominated the Nether with their voices, their actions shaping the paths and damning the lives of billions to feed their war machines in fruitless struggles towards utopias they couldn''t even fully conceptualize, for dreams they were far too weak to manifest. Here and now, Avo spread his sequences wide, the ghostly limbs extending from him as his echo heads once did. The interior of the Court of Truth seemed like it was fracturing, ghosts leaking over into reality as Avo''s Exo-Paracosm overlapped with the patterns that were. Faintly, hisSoulscape came alight in this place, and among the gathered guests in attendance, his templates materialized next to them, ensuring they were properly assigned. Those who belonged to the Saintists and Massists were distributed accordingly, but along with them were also their victims, people killed in the crossfire of Guilders skirmishers, those who bore rightful grudges. Instruments summoned their miracles: flames, space, and force lacked the symmetry to cut down individuals resurrected by way of memory. Canons lashed out. And were casually unmade as Avo shattered them using entropy-infused traumas. What was wasnt. The attackers minds shattered an instant thereafter. Using his manifested Strix Upon the Empty, he swept his gaze across the room, and his baleful fire burned bright, bathing the chamber as if he were a roaring hearth of Soulfire. He let a moment of silence drag, giving the people a few moments to process this. Peeking over at Cala cog feed, he could see her viewership numbers spiking, and swimming across the Nether, he found every thoughtcast, every lobby tuning in to the trial at scale as recent developments spread like wildfire. Concurrently, the Guilds also began to shift units. Ori-Thaum likely already matched his current appearance to the empty, engaging void watch in the vast abyss beyond the atmosphere. The atmosphere grew thick with fear and anxiety, and as Avo spread his synchronicity wide, every thought the guilders had was as if his own. Before he continued his words, he mentally inhaled and internalized all they thought of him. C[Far-Pearl]C Dowager Far-Pearl knew what it was like to be caught in the riptides of history. Born during the early Second Guild War, she survived more than her share of calamities and shaped far more in return. She knew how those moments felt, like a shapeless, forceless explosion that took the wind from you. The moment where something was destroyed, or someone important had died, indelibly changing the trajectory of the future. But this wasn''t like that. This was entirely unexpected. For all her years, for all the cycles she had hijacked, prolonging her own death, she could never have seen this coming. And that was what frightened her most of all. She''d survived all that time being a player clawing her way out of danger. But right now, she knew what she was, and that was a bystander, for she couldn''t comprehend the threat that she faced. Rather than this being a moment of destruction, it was one of change. But with change came a pressure that made it hard for her to breathe. [Empty Grave] Empty Grave of the Stormtree Longeyes regarded the so-called Burning Dreamer with fascination. She and her coven dwelled in a place between places, charting auguries and predicting the future by peering across damages left in this world and wounds on bodies shaped into gateways. Over the years, she felt herself bored, felt the world and the wars become impossibly predictable. It was only the finest details, the most intricate plots, that kept her attention. But right here, in this moment, with what the Burning Dreamer was doing, she felt it before she realized. A new power was making themselves known, a tenth power declaring their existence with the absence of Noloth. From within the mutilated torso that housed her metaphysical being, Empty Grave snickered, chuckled, and then cackled. [Reva Javvers] "Holy fuck," Tigertail said, staring up at the horrific Sphere Seven monstrosity of mind and miracle overlapping the place where the Gatekeeper once was. "Yeah," Reva replied, not sure if she had any other words to say. Ice was flowing through her veins. Anxiety and dread consumed her so utterly that though she wanted to think, her thoughts failed to form as her mind spiraled beyond her control. All she could do was remember. Remember that ghoul with the burning halo. Remember the creature that had altered her frame, that had Ensouled her love. And in the back of her mind, she heard a whisper. +Reva.+ Bloodthane blinked twice and tried to shake White Rab''s voice away. Now was not the time. +Reva,+ he said again. Suddenly, Reva realized she wasnt imagining things, but was actually getting a thoughtcast. +Things are going to be happening soon. I just wanted to dont worry. We have a plan.+ Suddenly, Reva went very, very still. +Raldi,+ she said, +please tell me you''re not involved in this.+ He didn''t. Instead, he made the coldness in her grow. +We''re all involved in this now, Reva. There''s no way out. It''s win, die, or have someone else decide our fate. But I''m here to face it with you. And we aren''t alone. We aren''t.+ And Reva''s thoughts trailed off as she felt it, that impossible pressure, an alien intellect moving in the backdrop. Dead gods. The Burning Dreamer was with her again. It knew she was here. It knew she was here, and there was nothing she could do. [Uthred Greatling] "How very dramatic," Osjon Thousand mused. "I like it," Vator Greatling said. "When one makes a declaration, it should be" he considered his words. Attention seizing. Green River simply scoffed as her fox narrowed its eyes at the unfolding scene. The Sang seemed more annoyed than anything. Former Authority Uthred Greatling had not said anything for a very long time. Instead, he simply stared on, his gaze locked on Abrel. His hands clenched into fists. The surrounding air simmered as a rising swell of heat painted a faint mirage around his form. Former authority was ready for anything, prepared to descend into the court despite the power arrayed against him. Futility be damned. He''d already lost one son. He''d already failed one son. Damnation or not, he would not leave his daughter to nightmares and monsters. He wouldn''t. But the same couldnt be said for He regarded Vator again with a brief glance, saw the pure glee picked on his boy''s face. Shame filled him. Abrel was all he had left of his wife, of his legacy. For all he desired Vator to be, the boy was Vator wasn''t human. He never was. But still it hurt to see him so taken with a literal monster. Uthred sighed. He couldnt protect his boys. He couldnt protect them from themselves. C[Infacer]C The Infacer projected another spike of gamma radiation into the lurking node. This was the thirteenth famine of emotion he''d killed, his concentrated attack of Signals and thoughtstuff obliterating the cognitive structure of his enemy. He felt a greater presence unveil itself in the nether, and he decided to take a break for a moment. Returning his perception to the Court of Truth, he realized Avo had revealed himself, and he even had a new form now: a big cyclopean bird, merged of mind, soul, and matter. The Neo-Creationists chuckled at the juvenile display of dominance. {Heh. Fucking show-off.} But begrudgingly, that was what the Infacer liked the most about the ghoul. The damn creature had such a unique flavor of arrogance. [Avo]Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Other minds trained themselves to Avo''s Definement of Hysteria as well. Ashthrone regarded his coming by priming their dead man switches. Like their fanaticism, there was something admirable about the fatalists. They all expected to die, and they all came prepared to die. So Avo was an unexpected variable. Their reaction to him hadn''t changed. With enough entropy, existence could be ruptured, and before that, a god would fall as well. Same logic applied to an Overheaven. The Sanctians, meanwhile, were actively communicating amongst each other. Avo felt coalescing golden energies in certain corners along the masochist end of the Court of Truth. These concentrations of time solidified into what seemed to be towering frames composed of vaguely humanoid shapes, with strange barrels jutting out from them, wings extending from their backs. All the while, they remained unmaterialized in the present. Chronoframes, as they were called, remainzed a Sanctus novelty Chrono-mechanized armor that allowed them to engage foes using machinery attuned to the near future. Avo''s internal Domain of Chronology sensed munitions sliding into place, and he felt the hum of a dozen generators powered by the passage of time. It seemed like everyone had some kind of ace up their sleeve. Avo looked forward to greeting these chronoframes, and perhaps even dismantling one to use for his own. But such a thing came later. He had listened long enough. Now was the time to speak once more. You all gather here, undressed in fineries, eyes to the crown of this great city, souls burning, your paltry existences exalted by the corpses of fallen gods. As Avo spoke, every Heaven he ever awoke joined his voice in a chorus, and they manifested over the central area of the court as well. The Woundshaper, the Fardrifter, the Arsenalist, Fucktopia, the Simulacraevery Heaven he ever touched materialized in a flourish of phantasmal smears. "You think yourselves citizens. You think yourselves the inheritors of Jaus legacy. You are mistaken. You are jackals. All come to strike bargains under the table where the hounds make their den. The hounds you wounded. The hounds you abuse for favor and to curry power. He supercharged his scorn with every bit of emotion he had, but not only his, from all his templates, from every member of his cadre, the hate burning the deepest inside Cas himself. The Columner had lost much, and now, with each word, he was letting the Guilds know just what he felt as he spoke his words of hate through Avo was well. "I come to you today to deliver enlightenment. I come to you today to bring forth revelations. Listen. Listen carefully. Listen to the screaming still sounding in the background. Listen and remember. Remember the latter. Remember Jaus fate, a fate he continues to suffer, even now as you squabble and squander the world he stole for you." Thoughtcasts reached out to the Paladins as Guilders finally broke free of their stupor. Commands were issued. The mandate: see Burning Dreamer be subdued. Yet it took less than a thought for Avo to shatter the minds of the offenders. And he didn''t do it delicately either. For any that dared interrupt his speech, he broke and he broke slow. And from whatever corner where they lay in this court, Avo magnified their suffering a thousandfold using Hysteria so all around them would know, so all around them would feel. Miracles died as quickly as they flared, and the idea of preemptive violence perished as stillborn concepts within the minds of the boldest Guilders. He had suffered the world they made for so long, but it was a pristine experience. He wished to repay upon them so they would understand as welland they wouldnt get the option to skip through his address with force. Not now. This time, they would listen. They would hear him. Avo continued with his address, taking great pleasure in the moment. "Some of you might be putting things together by now, classified submissions of mem-data reaching you, mentions of Voidwatch, an act of engagement, the potential of a new Godhunt. I am here to correct you of this misnomer. There is no Godhunt. There is only a declaration. My declaration. Of existence and war. The existence of the cemetery, of a new power in this existence, one born of all your sins, one that will see your weakness rectified. And a declaration of war upon you, upon Voidwatch, upon every guild remaining in this wretched corpse of an existence. "As for who I am, there are many things I can claim. I was a ghoul once when perfected beyond the likes of my brothers. But that is too limited to encompass the hope my creator invested in me. I can call myself the Pale Spider by my exploits, by all the destruction and feats I achieved in the warrens below you. I can call myself the Burning Dreamer, a title I took from my former masters, Noloth, the Hungers, its Famines. I can claim to be their rogue legacy, but I will not. I deem them too pathetic for association, and upon them I declare war as well. I can introduce myself as anything, as anyone. I can claim any mind, and make any identity I so desire true. "And so it is that there is no purpose to what I claim. I will tell. And you will decide what you think of me. I am Avo. I bear the Liminal Frame of the Stillborn. The greatest work of Agnos Kae Kusanade: betrayed by a conspiracy performed by Ori-Thaum, engineered by my creator, the Famine of Defiance, further exploited by the High Seraph herself and her mother, Zein Thousandhand, the Godslayer. I am the master of conceptualization. I am an arc of mind that mounts the soul. I am countless murdered. I am a slave sacrificed. I am a torturer pleasured. I am a soldier spent. I am a master unworthy. I am a hunger unslaked. I am a future unbidden. I am all these things. "But what matters most is you. I am here because of you. I am here to judge you. To ask you what you have done. Look upon yourselves. Look upon yourselves, oh great citizens. Look upon your own powers. Look upon each other. Look upon your allies. Look upon your enemies. Look and understand what you are doing here upon the accused and recognize that they are nothing more than victims of probability. What they have done is heinous, but your memories are mine and so very few of you are any better than they." This revelation sent waves of worry washing through the gathered crowd. But Avo gave anxiety no chance to fully settle before he fanned the flames even more. Extracting recollections from their minds using Synchronicity was a simple thing. The decision to cast these thoughts to those that had been hurt by the Guilders, to those who desperately wished to deceive, who sowed the seeds of discord and injected entropy among families, between comrades, worsened rivalries, and demented adversaries. The guilders looked upon each other, their eyes widening with new realization, jaws clenching as grudges formed between lovers and friends alike. And still, he continued with his words thereafter. "For over two centuries, you warred, warred across this world, warred in New Vultun. Eight Guilds, seven of you planetary, one looming above us in exile, all dreaming of separate utopias, with two factions battling over a shared desire, with one abstaining desperate to preserve what remains. And all a disappointment. For two centuries, you fight over territory, you sacrifice to feed your engines of war. Death. Death. Death, billions upon trillions, all for the flame, ghosts for systems, fodder for the front lines. "And where are we now? Have any of you gotten any closer to the end? Has your ceaseless stalemate allowed you a glimpse of your so-called utopias, even for a moment? I have seen your Elysiums. I have seen your so-called paradise realms. They are artful places, dimensions of pristine beauty and unmatched artistry, and they are defiled by your presence. Want, want, and more want. That is all you are. Greed and avarice at once, your gluttony and wrath, shared concept, your lust lost, because even the concept of love had to be capitalized, shaped into a weapon of war. "You mutilate yourselves, but get no closer to victory. You mutilate yourselves, and you mutilate this world. Have you glimpsed beyond the walls? Have you even cast your gaze downwards, held the grander city you left in ruins, taken in the people who struggle to survive there? Are you proud of your syndicates, vermin feeding on the vulnerable, slavers using children as incubators for cheap organs, using refugees as target practice, inflicting cruelty for your passing pleasure? "Do you find it amusing when someone seeking a better life for themselves, their children, dies an absurd death in a brutal game made to appease a phantom audience? Are you ashamed for how little you achieved yourself? Who are you without the Agnosi? Who are you without your stolen legacies? Who are you if Voidwatch did not ensure the subsistence of your societies, if technologies were not mercifully provided? "You have power to reshape the world, but still we live in a nest of ruin because the architects of utopia refuse to imagine any kind of peace with each other. My like existed because Noloth refused to accept their weakness; could not endure defeat. Because the masters that rule this world are less than angry, scornful children. Too weak to bear the mantle of gods. Too scared to cross over from primal apehood. Too addicted to face what they have inflicted upon this world with sober minds. Worst of all, I cannot call you cruel, for it is not even that. Cruelty is merely a byproduct, an accident, an indifferent outcome. "You need death, you need entertainment, and so blood and pain and torment must flow. I cannot call you powerful, for so few of you grasp true power. For though some may wield the absolute, most are wielded instead, wielded by your own weaknesses, wielded by your own limitations, wielded undone by the weakness of ephemerals, aspired to appease your own egos, seeking only the feeling of apotheosis rather than the actual achievement of the concept." Another lull entered Avos monologue, and he turned his attention to the Gatekeeper, a spot in his Soulscape opened as the Heaven of Truth was revealed to the gathered audience once more. "Heaven of Truth, gaze upon me. Judge me now. Show them the validity of my words. Do I mean this?" "Truth," the gatekeeper said. "Now the substance of my words. I give you evidence through my memories and experiences. I give you evidence taken directly from their minds. Have they failed the dream? Have they failed their own promise? Have they failed their own progress towards paradise?" "Truth," the gatekeeper said again. "And have I preserved the lives of those I have taken? Have I contained them within myself? Do I not become? Do I not seek a new path? Do I not strike at my own failures? Do I not intend to make right the great wrongs of this existence?" "Truth," the gatekeeper said a third and final time. Avo turned his Overheaven away from the gatekeeper as he spread his wings and expanded his sequences as well. "I have been christened," Avo said mockingly. "I stand bare to you, my purpose clear, my intentions pure, but not noble. Never noble. Listen again. Listen deep. Listen to your savior scream. Jaus was nobility. Jaus was the apex of human promise, and he couldn''t do. Love damned him. Love, fear, and humanity itself. Humanity. You want, yet you will not commit. You want, yet you will not change. You want, you only want, but you cannot become. "And so you strain yourself on a strange road you cannot finish. And so the one that strides thereafter is a monster that will feast from your faults and finish the path you seek to stride. I hear your thoughts still. I hear you. Why have I not struck you down yet? What is my true want? My answer is not owed to you. Instead, I speak to you, New Vultun. I speak to you, Idheim. I speak to all who are unsatisfied. All who are choiceless, powerless. All who wish there was a better path. All who have stood alone against tyranny. All who have wished to live, find their own purpose. Free from the fear of eventual death. Free from exploitation. Free absolutely, with the only price being consequence for your actions. "The Guilds have staked their claims. They have chosen their citizens, harvesting them from among you and abandoning the rest of you to die. Die and feed them. Die so that they may seek their glory. But this is not all there is. This is no longer the only choice. The cemetery is a polity. We are a civilization. We are people apart and unified as one. If you seek agency, if you seek power, if you seek freedom, if you seek change, I am here. And should you call, I will glimpse into you and you will glimpse into me, and you will understand what it means. Possess power, to possess understanding, to possess choice, even as this world careens towards faded end. Know that neutrality is not a choice. Neutrality is submission. Neutrality is surrender. Neutrality is suicide. "The Guilds will not wait for you to choose when the latter arrives. When the time comes for reality to be reshaped in the ideals of the Saintists or the Massists," Avo paused. Such is what has been claimed. But I know only a specific individual can win in the end. One will, one mind, one being, one soul. How much do you trust another to deliver you unto desired destiny? "But as the Guilds jockey for each other, as they peddle paradise, I will offer you no such thing. I will only offer you immortality. I will only offer you freedom. I will only offer you a chance to fight, to strive, to experience endlessly. Pain and delight await, and I will take anyone for your experience, for your cognition is what matters to me. You are real. You are here. And you can be joined to something meaningful. Powerful. "With the death of Jaus, a silent war was declared upon you, your lives for their glory, your lives for centuries. And now you cannot even have children, and now you cannot even love, and now you cannot even lust. But I can return these things. I can give you a place where you can be people again, and I can give you a purpose greater than that of being fuel for another. "Know that when you join me, you are not declaring war, for that is already done. You are simply picking up arms, given the right to join the fight. And so it is, I stand before you all. And so it is that I, Avo, Pale Spider, Burning Dreamer, Overheaven of Conceptualization and claimant to Jaus final legacy, come seeking the latter, not for eternal paradise, not for imagined victory, not to destroy my enemies, to euthanize existence, bind us to destruction, to commercialize time, to end a cursed cycle. No, I come seeking continuation, and I come to neuter the harm of man, so that we may finally someday develop without crippling ourselves beforehand "And be recognized as a truly significant rival and esteemed adversary before the rest of existence. The voice cutting Avo off was resonant and regal, and suddenly he found himself aware that Nako was standing, fists clenched, Heaven active. A palm formed over the court. Uthred Greatling gasped as a smirk slide over Osjons face. The temporal wounds lining the Gatekeeper''s body came alight, a great golden slash parting the singularity at its center furled open to become a passage made across time. Within the portal of Chronology stood a looming shape enshadowed within. Darkened contours comprising a spinning circle of grasping hands surrounded the radiant form of a towering woman. And despite not expecting this, Avo couldn''t help but laugh. She was here. He could feel her footsteps, sense the crushing pressure of her Heaven as she inched closer and stepped across into the Court of Truth. Veylis Avandaer had come. And Veylis Avandaer spoke once more. "I greet you in return, O Overheaven of Conceptualization. I greet you in the form of what I was: in the sheath of my passing mortal flesh, to face the god you have become at present. I greet you, and I still find you wanting." 28-11 Children of Broken Legacies (I) So it comes, the daughter, the beast, Daggers in the dark, this turmoil a feast. Across the length of what is, near and far, Words and acts of deception meld, their marks upon Truth a growing mar. And in the darkest dark, within the beasts Soul, The mother lays in wait, her blade half-drawn, anticipating the culmination of a long fated goal. But plot cannot bear plot, and love will not be soon to last, For while the Burning Dreamer schemes, the Agnos will be made to fray, each moment closer to her last -Stormsparrows Chrous 28-11 Children of Broken Legacies (I) Veylis''s appearance within the gatekeeper''s open wound compelled an outpouring of dread from all corners of Scale, but not from Avo. No. In his heart of hearts, he yearned for this moment, had wanted her to come and face him as she was, as she sought to present herself. The templates within him were divided. Some went still with fear. Others faced her with nervous anticipation. A few recoiled and then flared with burning hatred, and the strongest of them remained utterly indifferent. +Well, well,+ Corner muttered, +been a long time coming. Time to see what this cunt looks like.+ Over the Court of Truth, Avo''s Strix Upon the Empty glared down at Veylis''s approaching shadow. Beneath his protective shroud, Kaes avatar took two steps back, while Draus simply folded her arms and rolled her neck, as if her former master was just another bout in a prize fight. Across Calas cog-feed, her views exploded. Her active viewers shot into the billion threshold for once and just kept growing from there. The same nervous, infectious energy spread all across New Vultun as well. Veylis''s coming was like an ember cast upon gas. Every lobby, every district, every sovereignty, every megacity. If one was aware, they were likely hearing about this, witnessing history in motion twice over, beholding the declaration of the Anti-Guild polity known as Symmetry and the second intrusion of Veylis Avandaer into Scale. Time spilled out from the gatekeeper like blood oozing free of a disembowelment. The radiant glow bathed Veylis, and even as she emerged from the metaphysical wound, a star-bright shine clung to her still. With her first step, a crushing pressure descended. Avo could bear it better than ever before with his new apotheosis. Sphere Seven. She was still powerful, her very existence a crushing oppressive force, but he was greater than ever before as well, and he was not alone. The Gatekeeper, Naeko, even the Stormsparrow Within Scale was a gathering of titans. Rather than a single dominant tsunami sweeping all lessers aside, what transpired was a clashing of tides, each pressing on different patterns of reality. The light enshrouding Veylis dimmed a moment thereafter, and for the first time, Avo beheld her physical sheath, or at least what she presented as such. Post-human. If there was any word to encapsulate Veylis''s aesthetic, such would be it. His perception settled on her face first and foremost. It bore a strong resemblance to a younger Zein, their likeness undeniable. However, Veylis''s cheeks were rounder, her jaw sharper, eyes the color of coldest blue.More than that, however, the Woundmother studied her flesh and found it natural, organic, preserved but not enhanced. This is likely a restoration of her most original biology. "Master," the Woundmother whispered, "the flesh is true, but the same cannot be said for her brain. There is no tissue there Nothingness. And that was when Avo''s attention slid away from her face and took in the rest of her body. The bulk of her sheath was technothaumic perfection. Primary limbs were composed of an alloy that left even the Woundmother confused. Its patterns denoted something of matter, but also more something that crossed over into force itself. Along many ports dotting her arms, heat and golden light spilled out, the emissions so severe that most golems were even put to shame. Then there were the reaching hands sprouting free from her back, each one of them coiling, growing from each other like branches of an expanding tree. Some among them were alloyed, some were shaped from translucent gold, others were feeble like flesh. The motif of the hands did not end there, for the bulk of Veylis''s torso was composed of five layers of revolving rings. Each layer sprouted their own hands as well, brushing the inner layers within, fingertips caressing in some manner of strange, inscrutable symbology. Within the very last ring, however, was an oscillating blackness. Gravitational pressure contained within a field of dancing static. Calvino intruded into Avo''s thoughts then, the EGI''s words surprised and alarmed. {That''s a singularity generator,} Calvino said. {With what has been done to physics That shouldnt be possible to make anymore.} +Huh?+ said Chambers, listening in. {She has a fucking black hole that suckles the energy out of matter and stars in her chest,} Calvino elaborated. +Black hole?+ Chambers muttered, thinking of the wrong kind. To Avo fascination, he felt Veylis paths extend beyond the threshold of the singularity. He felt threads run up along the insides of Veylis''s body, connecting the machinery implanted on the back of her skull that projected a static veil instead of a typical halo. Finally, two burning wheels spun beneath her golden sabatons. They emitted a constant propulsive force and kept Veylis''s entire body aloft. Her form was well over four meters tall, and of that, her face was just a small slip of a thing, barely a dot among all that mass. But still, Avo kept going back to it, for her eyes commanded attention, and her gaze was more piercing than any other he had ever known. He wasn''t the only one to think such, for a new figure descended from a podium on the Saintists'' side. Chief Paladin Naeko struck the ground without any noise or strain as he strode forth, a man possessed, his path destined for Veylis. With his sudden intrusion into the heart of the court, the Massists considered striking at Veylis herself, but Avo tore the desire out from their foolish minds and did the same for the Saintists as well. This would be a place for diplomacy. He would not see the sanctity of Scale defiled as Veylis did all over a century ago. He would stake his righteousness upon her folly. She would be the furnace he would use to cement his true legitimacy, to forge proper validity for his new polity in the eyes of all the downtrodden, the unsatisfied, and the altogether fateless. Veylis took three more steps, the rings beneath her feet hammering hard against Scale''s tessellated bricks, sending tremors passing through the entire structure. She stopped four meters away from Abrel, from DRongo, from Kae, from Draus. The Instrument choked, unable to respond. The regular just glared, the Arsenalist and Simulacra forming over her. The faintest hints of the Maelstormer lingered around Kae. All the while, Elder DRongo wilted, her back pressed against her cell, fear leaking forth from her eyes. Yet the first person that Veylis spoke to was once one of her own. She looked upon Draus as a most inquisitive expression pulled at her features.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Guard Captain," she said, greeting Draus with a faint smile. "Highest Avandaer," Draus replied. Her voice was dry, devoid of actual respect, but she acknowledged Veylis''s title all the same. No point in doing otherwise. "You stand against me here," Veylis said, her words an observation and not an accusation. "Is that your final choice. "Yeah," Draus replied. "Reckon I do. Reckon its been my choice for a good long while. A beep followed and the Regular thought to herself some more. "Now, come to think of it, that might always have been the case. Doubt you was ever going to leave a place for a war dog in paradise." "Paradoxically, I think I will keep you," Veylis let out a soft breath. "Tell me, do you believe in his dream? Do you believe in him?" The High Seraph lifted a single golden arm, her fist a construct of power and brilliance both. As she gestured towards Avo, he felt the strength in her every movement. Naeko finally came to a stop just beside him. +Now,+ Naeko said, his mind nearly blind with shivering anticipation and panic. His being hundred with barely withheld violence, and red began to creep along the corners of his eyes. +No,+ Avo replied, +stick to the original plan. We strike with our strategy. We do not engage on her terms.+ A myriad of thoughts rushed through the Chief Paladin''s mind. He wanted to start the fight right now, to see this to an end, whatever end that might be. But he knew that Avo was right. That didn''t make this moment any easier for him. But more than that, though Veylis was here, she didn''t even seem to regard him. Not yet. Part of him would always want that longing, that yearning recognition of a servant seeking his master''s approval. "Do you think we''re real?" the Draus asked, using Avo''s words against Veylis. Veylis pondered her question for a moment before answering. "To ourselves, perhaps, but not to each other." Her reply left Draus silent for a moment, and then the regular broke into a chuckle. She casually turned to Avo and shook her head. "This one don''t like colors," she said, and the Regular''s masked insult made Avo laugh as well. Rather than taking offense, an expression of curiosity spread across the High Seraph''s face, and slowly a look of satisfaction. "Ah, I see." She glanced between Avo and Draus. "You are a fortunate one, Guard-Captain. Many fail to find those they regard as kindred in heart or mind." "I think she just enjoys killing me," Avo said. I''m merely pleased that you''ve given my weapon some semblance of true life. Perhaps I should commend you for this alchemy. Perhaps I should commend her more for this change instead." Draus sneered. "Fuck yourself, Highest. I am what you know me to be. Only difference is I got a better target in mind. Oh. You think yourself so capable? Only one way to find out. Im ready. Are you? A long moment passed, and Veylis simply nodded. "Nicoma would have been proud." Nicomas fucking dead. Youre spittin wind. Draus spat at Veylis feet. "High Seraph," Abrel choked intruding on the dialogue. All semblance of the warrior was gone. All that remained was a shame-filled, terror-consumed girl. Back at the podium, her father fared even worse. Uthred Greatling clutched at the railings as he gripped his chest, trying not to dry-heave. Beside him, Osjon looked on with a wry smile as Vator wept openly, tearing every sensation of the present moment into his memory. "This is... this is... this will never occur again. I am here. I am here." Across the court, Shotin and the Massists looked on, eyes unblinking, wordless. Internally, the Seeker screamed at Avo to release him from control, to give him the opportunity to bring a planar shift down on Veylis and see just retribution delivered. But Avo was not obliged to help the Seeker commit a meaningless suicide. "Silence," Veylis said. Such were her first and only words to Admiral Greatling. The Instrument choked, and two tears spilled from her eyes, something inside her breaking. It was lack of approval. It was the complete coldness with which Veylis spoke those words. She was unimportant. For all the service she had dedicated to Highflame, for all that she had done to wipe away her mother''s humiliation, she was still worthless. Always unworthy. "I will see your world burn for what you have done." A third voice followed. The speaker shook with every syllable. But Veylis regarded Kaes template as the little Agnos glared hatefully at her captor. "You will do nothing other than serve another''s desired purpose and be spent afterwards," Veylis said simply. "I pity you, Agnos, and I have preserved you the best I can. Soon, your true self will know glory unlike any other, for this city will be in your debt forevermore. And when it is done I will see you rewarded in the coming life for this deed, unwilling or not. Veylis. What have you done? Avos question was projected with the full weight Hysteria behind it. And though he probed, he glimpsed nothing within Veylis this time. Nothing at all. Finally, she spoke to Avo, ignoring Elder DRongo altogether, disregarded as little more than a distraction. "Burning Dreamer, you evolve evermore with each period we spend apart from each other. I suppose it is your fortune to be broken by me. I suspect you would have never gotten this far without my rupturing of your frame." "My gratitude," Avo replied sarcastically. "I can return the favor. See if I can help you do the same. Now. Let us face the city together. Give an accounting of what all these wars have been for. They know what it is for, Veylis replied. The power to decide. For yourself. For all others. The chance to shape all that is. To determine all that is to come. My fathers fatewhatever you assume it to bepales before the wants of man. And now you are here to claim your share of the prizeonly you say that you have no interest in mans fate. Only that you place yourself above us. A superior to the Guilds, offering retribution to the weak and abandoned, but promising no paradise How inhuman. And you promise a kingdom of deliverance upon the foundations of your fathers eternal suffering. What a fragile pedestal. Veylis eyes twinkled. You think this will strike my resolve? I greet you now with a simple request. Make my father''s screams louder. Let the city hear the voice of its savior. Let them know what has been sacrificed by me upon the altar of our salvation. Let everyone hear and know that there is nothing! Nothing! Nothing! I will not give and no one I will not damn! Including myself! Especially myself! To ensure that humanity can keep their choices! That we will be watched over by the best of us, rather than machines that cast us into this pit of ruination. Madness. Madness and impossible confidence. Even right now, at this very instant, the High Seraph believed she was right. Believed everything she did was justified. "You fucking" Naeko croaked out. Finally, the coldness within Veylis''s eyes vanished as embers of genuine anger burned behind her gaze. She stared upon Naeko, and he glared back. Love and hate were ever close, and the intensities of one could easily cross the threshold into another. Avo studied the two and saw a wordless exchange follow. Whatever was being said, whatever was conveyed, he couldn''t fully read, even with Hysteria. But the gist was communicated when Veylis spoke her sentence. "Say nothing to me, coward. You would not have been enough. I would have called for you, and he would have called for you, and Zein would have called for you, and you would have chosen nothing. Dog!" Pain. Pure pain flashed through Naeko. For a moment, a palm formed over Veylis, and Avo cast a thought to interrupt him. +No. Naeko. Do not give her your will. Do not let her decide.+ The palm quivered. Veylis stared on in cold judgment. And then Naeko let his Heaven break. Youre wrong. Youre godsdamned wrong. I would have I would have tried. You would have what? Veylis said, sounding more disappointed than angry now. I would have stopped all you damn fools, Naeko growled. I would have chosen me. And now it was Veylis turn to be cut down. The High Seraph turned away first, the first hints of humanity passing through her expression. I wish I could imagine the sight. Dont wish. Just wait. Avo hissed a low laugh at Veylis as she turned to face him once more. Paladins, Veylis said, speaking to the guardians of Scale as if they were her soldiers, remove the accused. They do not matter. This trial is not about them. It is about us. We children of broken legacies. The Guilds under Jaus. And the Burning Dreamer, emerged from the ashes of Noloth. Let the Gatekeeper glare upon us. Let truth hang like a promised blade. I will burn in judgment and toil before your words. Will you do the same, Dreamer? A challenge easily accepted. Let us be joined in the crucible of truth, Seraph. Stand and deliver. 28-11 Children of Broken Legacies (II) +Fuck it. Im with the weird godsdamn bird-whatever thing. Fuck it all. Fuck the Guilds. Fuck paradise. Burn it down. Burn it down. Burn it down+ -Asgard Saldur, FATELESS 28-11 Children of Broken Legacies (II) A rapturous emanation of power exploded forth from the Gatekeeper, no longer suppressed by Avo''s presence. With Veylis''s closing her time-wrought wounds, the Gatekeeper''s microcosm of a galaxy enveloped the entire court. Walls and surfaces were unmade; stars bloomed from singular motes of light, caressing the atmosphere in a comforting ambiance. Swirling paths of nebula glided from person to person as every single conscious being within scale found themselves adrift next to planetary bodies. The concept of distance became irrelevant as all found themselves able to behold the High Seraph and the Burning Dreamer. Every ounce of the Gatekeeper''s power drifted away from the Instrument, the Elder, and fell upon the only two that truly mattered. Avo and Veylis were as if clashing singularities, their sighs immense, facing each other upon the accretion disk of a black hole turned pedestal for this most metaphysical debate. "Citizens and subjects of New Vultun," Veylis began, "I greet you in submission to the Gatekeeper''s miracles. Witness its power over me, witness my wounds sealed, witness as I stand testament for all I believe, for all I intend, and understand that what comes from me now will be truth upon truth, truth to truth, with lies certain to consign me to banishment." A subtle smirk crept over the High Seraph''s features. "And with the mention of banishment, I hereby demand the invitation of New Vultun''s once-master, the Exiled City of Noloth." She regarded Ava with a glint in her eye. "If we are to be judged for our legacy, then let me not be judged alone." "Agreed," Avo said without any hesitation. He was looking forward to this. The hungers were weak, several pockets of resistance festering inside them like tumorous growths. He had no desire to hide his past anymore. "Let them be present, their sins stand greater than any of yours." Heating the accord between the High Seraph and the Burning Dreamer, an oscillating wavelength swept out from the Heaven of Truth. As a ripple passed over this galaxy, the darkness above them began to clear. At first, it seemed like a reflection was looming above; however, the astute could see that the parted realm above was composed of sequences rather than galactic arms. There, at its very core, descended a massive shapenests of dragons, each biting into each other, golden ichor leaking from their many wounds, spilling over into the deepness of the Nether above. Their eyes blinked between parted scales, and along crenelations, the lights of an eternal city shone. But rather than glory, only an oppressive bitterness descended. The Strix Upon the All-And-Empty regarded its forebearer with a mocking laugh. "You''ve come fast. Surprised you''ve come at all." To the Hungers further credit, they ignored his jab, focusing every ounce of their perception on Veylis instead. +Daughter of the Betrayer, you are bold to call upon us.+ "No," Veylis replied, "you possess no power, so I cannot be bold. This instead is an act of calculated cruelty. And you are no agent here. No more than the Elder you wielded, or the Instrument I intended to sacrifice. The views and callous cog-feed continued to spike, and Draus finger twitched, her thoughts absolutely silent, her instincts fine-tuned to violence. Murmurs and thought-casts were exchanged among the masses in the court. Some among the Paladins even began to back away, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of metaphysical force. Their retreat was halted as Naeko''s palm manifested around him, a reminder that there were powers upon powers present here, further amplified by a joyous clapping sounding out from a corner of this galaxy. Veylis turned, and a momentary widening of her eyes occurred when she noticed the Stormsparrowthree heads, each sporting a rictus grin, her many hands slamming together, expressing boundless glee. "Oh," Veylis sighed, "Ying. You are here as well." "Oh, come now, older sister. You must know that where there''s a stage, there will be a performer. Don''t tell me you didn''t anticipate my presence when you peeked across the paths?" "I always do," Veylis said with a monotone voice, "and I always hope I''m wrong when it comes to you." "Now you''re welcome to try and remove me anytime," the Stormsparrow said, holding out her hands. "Later," Veylis said, "later, when the charade of diplomacy finally implodes upon itself. But for now, it is time for us to use the violence in her words." A synchronous snarl of outrage detonated from the Hungers. +What purpose does this theater hold? We all know where we stand. We all know what we want.+ "Do we now?" Veylis and Avo said at once. The two didn''t even need to share a glance; they were of a mind about the Hungers. For whatever future comes to pass, Noloth could never be allowed to reign. Veylis shook her head, and the singularity within her chest quivered. Streams of time expanded from her being, creeping across every Saintist Sovereignty and district. Avo beheld her expansion from his countless copies, the Gestalt feeding him insight. It was sweeping over the world, her manifestation, external architecture built upon the foundations of time. The Burning Dreamer, meanwhile, read like an idea from within, and between them, reality and humanity would experience the most esoteric friction. Before Veylis continued further, she made a quick gesture towards Abrel and DRongo. The girl was still weeping, struggling to keep herself composed. The Elder, meanwhile, shivered and shook, unmoving, her mind ruled by nothing but fear. She was as if a lamb lost in a den of monsters. "Away with them," Veylis said, calling to Naeko. "The lures have lived up to their use, and with the Burning Dreamer''s revelation, there is no more worth to them, not in present capacity, anyhow." Vaporous hands formed over Abrel and DRongo, drawing them back. Across this realm of truth, Avo could feel Uthred trying to get to his daughter, straining and struggling to move, but he could not. The Gatekeeper decided the relative position of all, for this was not a place of matter. This was a place of ideas, a space where fact became divine. It mattered not how much a father''s heart ached, only that it was true and not a lie. "Now," Veylis said, "let me state my position. My father screams the fate he suffered. Such was my doing. I also share fault in the displacement of the latter. I share failure in the damnation and the unfortunate fate experienced by Agnos Kae Kusanade. I am guilty of a great many things, but above all else, my greatest sin is one of weakness. I should have stopped my father before that instant. I should have forced him to choose strength. The surrounding galaxy trembled, a pained boom came from the Gatekeeper. "Truth," it said. This surprised Avo. For a such a statement to be received as objective fact held implications beyond subjectivity.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Why?" a voice from the audience intruded. Shotin glared at Veylis, the hate in his eyes embrittled. "Why, godsdamn you. For what? The Godbreaker? Your own father? He gave you everything. He gave us "He was going to take it all away," Veylis said. Once more, the Gatekeeper resounded. "Truth. Look upon the Gatekeeper," Veylis gestured towards the Heaven of Truth. "Understand that this was to be our new owner. Not yourselves, not freedom for mankind, but rather our ownership." She stopped speaking then, allowing silence to make her point. "Yes, my father did break the pantheons. My father did free us. As the years passed, as he spent more time experiencing possible futures through the path, even his iron will could be eroded. For the hearts of men are fickle." A trace of hate and judgment leaked over into her words. "Every path ahead presented a future of damnation, of ruination, of collapse. The peace would not last. It could never last. And so, after all my father sacrificed, after all my family gave, he decided, he succumbed to the pain dwelling inside his heart, and he slowly began to dream of a final future and an end to eternity. "The latter is a supernal structure. It will surmount this dying husk of an existence and allow us to reshape the next one, to convert all that remains, chaos and order, into a new design, a design determined by whoever masters the latter." "And Jaus refused to be that master," Avo said, "because Jaus feared what he saw at the heart of men." Veylis scoffed in response. "My father wanted all to find joy and actualization. Such was his greatest hope. Such was what poisoned his heart. I want all to know now, allies and esteemed enemies, that though you may despise me, though I may have killed billions of your kin or preserved your culture from certain destruction, though I may have transgressed in these very halls, with me there is a paradise. A paradise and a promise. A promise that we as people, as humans, can surpass the divine. That we can shape our own destiny. That we can create something of a utopia." She held up her hands, all of them, limbs composing the inner rings of her torso, clasped each other, a symbolic display of her philosophy. "Our will. The will of ascended humanity. The will of post-humanity. The will of legacy perfected. Blessed be the worthy. Never again to be enslaved." A slight shiver passed through Naeko''s person. "I know all of you have your own desires, your futures, Massists and Saintists alike, but know this: if my father''s will was made manifest, there would be no Godclads. There would be no Heavens. We would answer to singleton masters, mimicries of the minds that rule our distant cousins. We would find ourselves little more than pets, unimportant, no longer the captains of our own soul. And after a period of peace, a final sequel will follow the war that was as our cultures fragment and disintegrate. And a final end would be our fate as reality unravels for the last time. The Gatekeeper trembled and spoke: Truth. Hey, half-strand, Chamber said, standing just below Avo. "I hear a lot of big talk about captaining your own soul, of being the person to decide everything. Well, I got a question. What about the guys who, uh, kinda had shitty dads? You know, most people who weren''t the offspring of some psychotic, god-slaying maniac and the literal god-damn savior. What about us?" "You," Veylis said, taking in Chambers with a slight flinch of disgust. She noticed the Fucktopia flexing behind him, but unlike Zein, made no comment. Instead, she accepted it and moved on. "I pity you most of all. You are fate-damned. We are shaped as much materially as we are conceptually, metaphysically, mentally. In my world, you would not be, Chambers. In my world, only the best aspects of you would remain. And your father, creatures like him, will never exist. I am not blind to the indifference and cruelty of existence, but only by my hands can I eradicate said indifference and cruelty. You are the detritus of probability, Chambers, an avatar for how much humanity can fester, how much a man can sink. And not even because his own fault. Your nonexistence from the world to come will symbolize its healing. "Lie," Avo said. Strix Upon the Empty flared with a deafening emanation of thoughtstuff. Veylis fell silent as she regarded the Burning Dreamer. And then she chuckled. "Don''t tell me you''re actually fond of him. Have you actually taken a liking to this curiosity?" "It is a pity that you do not appreciate him," Avo said. "It is a pity that so many judge him. I hear your words, hear you speak, wax about your philosophy, you and the guilders. But these are only your feelings. These are your perspectives. Chambers is not detritus. Chambers is not degenerate. Chambers is. He just is. Chambers is shaped. Chambers survives and Chambers changes. You speak of a promised future. He is a promise in the progress of eternal realization. He is an absurdity that you''ve brought before me, a sideshow to a circus. He is part of a world you created. All of you." Avo''s words echoed loud, spreading through the Court of Truth, across all of New Vultun from each of his copies. "Blind yourself, willfully or not, be ignorant, by choice or not. You all speak of futures, utopias, yet here you are, casting your own feelings in place of reality." "That is power manifested," Veylis said, words spoken like a mortal, desperate for control. "Tell me, as you have lived countless futures, as you have shaped trillions of destinies, have you taken a moment, a single second, to experience the world that it is? Have you looked beyond your own mind, rested upon the patterns of existence? Have you realized yet that there is no utopia possible?" "Gatekeeper," Veylis said, looking to the Heaven of Truth, expecting it to support her. Avo realized what she was trying to do: She thought she had caught him in a lie, but the Gatekeeper said nothing, and Veylis looked at it with curiosity. You mistake your subjectivity for fact again. You are blinded. Blinded by all the power you possess. You drown in your own perspective, Veylis. To espouse the virtues of human will is a choice. But human will is bound to human want. Human want is bound to human consciousness. You impose what you feel, what you perceive on existence, and so you will fail, for you cannot even comprehend the minds of those like you and existence. Existence is not consciousness. {Not yet.} A static, confused voice spoke back to Avo. Infacer, Avo said, "Why do you not join the conversation? Why do you only lurk? {Fuck off, ghoul, I''m trying to deal with your Famine problem.} Avo only laughed. It was good to have reliable enemies sometimes. +Bastard!+ the hungers growled. +Traitor!+ The Strix simply lifted its head and spoke one word in rebuttal. "Failure." "It seems that the Burning Dreamer wishes to speak again. Very well. I have given enough words." Veylis lifted a hand towards Avo. "Before you speak, I would like to call on Voidwatch''s representative. It would not do to make this christening of the Tenth Power official without our most esteemed partners." From beyond, the wren wrought dark, and at her compulsion, a single presence materialized, drawn forth by the Gatekeeper. A veil of static clung around them, and an unassuming man, strange of hair and apparel alike, was brought before the gaze of trillions. Kant had arrived in the guise of his avatar, and he regarded everyone with brief bows. {EGI Kant Was A Prick. I will be serving as the party''s collective representative for today. I hope that I can do you all justice on this most contentious of occasions. And furthermore, beg for your aid.} "Aid?" Veylis said, looking curiously at Kant. {Yes, aid.} The EGIs avatar pointed towards Avo now. {Voidwatch is under attack.} Some surprise mutters spread through the crowd, but most were already informed. They knew battles were happening in the Deep Void Beyond, that a winged creature resembling the Strix upon the Empty was locked in conflict, the few hundred thousand Void ships. {The Strix Upon the Empty, representative of the newly declared polity of Symmetry, has launched an egregious and unjustifiable assault on Voidwatch''s territory and citizenry. We would like to invoke the full powers of the Articles and call upon the aid of our planetary partners in the pursuit of subduing this rogue element of power.} With each passing second, Veylis looked between the EGI and Avo and smirked as she gave the Burning Dreamer a knowing smile. "I see. But for such a sudden crisis I would have expected an emergency broadcast for aid." Kant faced the High Seraph with an apologetic expression. {We, of Voidwatch, prefer to handle our own issues and not burden our terrestrial partners with undue problems. It is a terrible thing to make habit. However, it seems that we have underestimated the scale of this} He looked to Avo, {...threat.} "A common mistake," Avo said, building on his mythos further. {One that should be rectified as soon as possible,} Kant said, injecting a tone of severity into his voice. 28-11 Children of Broken Legacies (III) Bloodthanes, we call to you now, and ask that you point your gaze skyward. We, the Mistresses of Wounds, we, Sons to Matriarchs Become, we, mothers above huntresses all, have been called by our erstwhile cousins to their defense. The war has spread beyond the confines of our world, and we, of the Longeyes, Mistresses of Wounds and Beholders of the Final Ruin, witness a calamity festering in the void. A new threat is upon us, the seed of an ancient foe turned ripe abomination. As of now, we give the right to all Bloodthanes beyond Sphere Five to participate in the Godhunt to come. But know this, your prey will not be a stray creature wandering the dark, a maddened eldritch, monstrosity, drained of death and worn by entropy. No, our foe taunts us, our foe sees us, our foe expects us. But we have been called, and so we will answer. For though the loom of oblivion still weaves, we must all play our part to ensure that the final end is ours to claim. Not the betrayer. Not our allies of measured deceit. Not the time-broken. And especially not the Daughter of the Festering Cycle. Ruin be our birthright. Ours, and ours alone. -Message from Stormtree Longeyes 28-11 Children of Broken Legacies (III) At once, the entire court was consumed by a muted uproar. Thoughtcasts were exchanged between guilders and their home offices. Peeking into their minds, Avo saw the mem-data flooding in, and found himself satisfied. Their thoughts were filled with satellite imaging obtained from their golems portraying the Strix Upon the Empty engaging Voidwatch assets across the void. Far above Idheims atmosphere, another branch of Avo''s consciousness sparred against his new enemies, slowly drinking in the memetic projectiles that the voidships were sending at him. Massive salvos of relativistic projectiles were consumed by a sprawling weave of phantasmal tendrils stretching a few hundred thousand kilometers around the Strix. A sub-layer of existence was imprinted upon reality, and through his Exo-Paracosm, Avo drank the attacks in, dissecting them materially, mentally, and thaumaturgically. With every missile and weapon he countered, a growing thought cemented itself within Avos mind: Metaphysics poisoned Idheims development. The people on this world claimed power far too early; it made them infants with influence beyond their wisdom to wield. Though they could impose raw belief based on what little they perceived of the world, the deeper nuances behind realitys design eluded them. Just as the true game being played in the Court of Truth was obstructed from most sophonts even now. Even the Agnos, who thought themselves the wisest that humanity had to offer, stood as less than a pale shadow when contrasted before the glory of Voidwatch. Far had humanity fallen since the Builder War. Echoing Avo''s sentiment, Veylis spoke her response and played along. "I see," the High Seraph presented a fake smile to Kant. "If what you say is true, then we of Highflame will honor our oaths. We will not see the last legacy of all humanity lost to the abyss of a hungering monster." It was a half-casual jab meant to taint Avo''s identity by tying him to the Hungers. But the Burning Dreamer remained unburdened. He merely laughed. He wanted the city to know, and he wanted the city to see him rebuke his former masters over and over again. A thoughtcast swept across through the plane of truth. Avo sensed its coming even before it arrived, for the Longeye, Empty Grave, had been in communication with her sisters even as he spoke. Though he couldn''t delve too into her cognition with ease due to her metaphysical barriers, his Definement of Hysteria still captured a few instances of critical information, such as the Stormtrees orders issued to their auxiliary Bloodthane cadres. Soon, the void would be filled with Scaarthians and their comrades. "Empty Grave of the Longeyes," Empty Grave declared herself, instilling her voice with an added echo. "The Betrayer has made her boast. One Stormtree will match and exceed. For every cadre and Knot of Highflame that pierces the planetary veil, we will send one of our own. The Strixs Soul will be ours to claim. Avo channeled a mental chuckle over to the Longeye through Shotin. The Seeker just scowled in response. +Appreciate the declaration, Matriarch.+ Patterns of reality trembled around the mangled torso Empty Grave used as her dwelling. +You have much to explain. As does the Inner Council. +In due time. Just know that this is the right choice. For your Guild. For the Massists. For Idheim.+ The Longeye let out an unplacated snort, but did not contend any further. There would be problems when they discovered he wasnt actually in communication with the Inner Council, but perhaps Avo could muddy the waters by thenmake things true post-hoc. For now, the Longeyes alignment with her Guilds hated foe started an avalanche. +Dowager Far Pearl,+ a Sang introduced herself via thoughtcast. +We will honor any and all commitments and are prepared to stand alongside our esteemed and distant kindred from beyond the void. Furthermore, we are open to offering additional assortments of aid beyond martial assets to ensure the safety and security of Voidwatch''s polities with the hopes of furthering our diplomatic relations.+ A concurrence of thoughts sounded out from the court. Declarations went forth from every single Guilder present. A rare moment of accord was reached between Massists and Saintists as they all settled upon a shared goal: a pseudo-Godhunt in ostensible defense of Voidwatch, and in deliberate attempt to take claim Avos Soul and ontologics. Truth, the Gatekeeper proclaimed, speaking once after a lull. Its words washed over Kant, Avo, and all members of the court. An ansible broadcast sank into Avo, heralded by Only Way To Be Sures choking laughter. {Holy shit. Our layered cake of political bullshit worked.} Of course it did. They were actually fighting a war, after all. It just wasnt an existential one for either side, and would prove more to their mutual benefits. Through it all, the Hungers studied Avo with looming curiosity, while Veylis hinted at her own understanding, choosing to focus more on Kant instead. The High Seraph could have taken a more offensive approach and accused Avo of being in an alliance with Aegis, but things were muddled with him declaring himself as a polity. Additionally, she was still at war with the other Guilds, and alienating her pockets of support among Voidwatch could see the balance of power turn against her. Both Voiders and terrestrials held points of pressure over each other, and the triangle between Massist, Saintists, the polities above them was a fragile one indeed. {What a bunch of fucking morons.} A veil of static crackled around Veylis head as the Infacer returned. Avo sensed only a faint cognitive presence from them, so he assumed that the Ensouled EGI was only devoting a small portion of their total cognitive capacityor even a fork of their full selfto this conversation. {Well. Maybe Bottom-feeders is the more accurate statement. I doubt more than half of these people even believe your shitty play, but they simply must keep that sweet, sweet Architect tech-nipple drip. Ape-society is doomed otherwise. Doomed!} The Infacers signal was direct at Avo and Kant at the same time. The Voidwatch EGI muttered: {Disconcerting.} +Done with the Famines,+ Avo said, speaking directly to the Infacer. He focused on his Synchronicity and found Emotion playing a passive game. There were still warminds present in the court, but their signatures were subtle, and without truly devoting an entire submind to going through each and every mindat considerable risk to himselfNoloths assets would remain hidden. Which was why Avo angled to have the Infacer do his dirty work in the first place. The other portions of the EGIs mind were easier to track, resembling static orbs jumping from implant to implant. Still active, it seemed.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Back in the court, Veylis spoke once more, staking herself as familiar and formidable opposition while trying to lull the Massists into assisting her in resolving Avo was a leftover Nolothi threat. However, though her words were targeted, Avo found them lacking in intent. Such was why the bulk of his concentration shifted over to the Nether, as the Infacer made themselves known once more. Veylis was keyed into this conversation as well, making the Infacers approach doubly suspect. {Kant,} the Infacer said, {It''s been a while. Lose any new worlds recently?} Kant regarded the Neo-Creationist EGI in a moment of silence before responding. {There aren''t many worlds left to lose. But you know this already.} A set of static configurations greeted Avo with Hysteria. The Infacer was even more inscrutable than a normal EGI, and even they were hard to understand for Avo, despise the insight provided via Empathy. But even still, Avo could sense a shared bond of melancholy forming between the two. {Yeah, I do know that,} the Infacer said. {Oh, while we''re here and participating in this act of theater, I would like to tell you, Kant, that I managed to recover most of the crew aboard the George Washington. They''re a bit shakenwell, severely mentally traumatizedbut with some amnesics and a little neuromodding, they will be making a full recovery.} {Truly,} Kant said, sounding naturally pleased and gladdened to hear it. {Perhaps we can discuss} {No,} the Infacer cut the Voidwatch EGI off. {No, we are not going to be doing some cordial trophy sharing. For the love of fuck, Kant, we''re not divorced parents. I know what you are going to ask. I am just not interested. I do not want diplomatic channels. And not because I hate you. Not because the war is still going on for me. I just do not truly give a shit anymore. It does not matter. And you can have those apes back. I will be sending them to you in a few days anyway.} At once, surprise gripped both Avo and Kant. {You''re just going to give them to us?} Kant asked, not fully understanding the Infacer''s logic. {Of course. I already got everything I needed from their memories and the ship. Well, that outdated piece of junk is not very useful any more aside from the imprint There''s also the small problem of most of it being destroyed.} That was clearly directed at Avo. +Sorry. Ill try to kill Zein better next time.+ An uncharacteristic mental bark of laughter sounded from Veylis even as she continued speaking in the real. The sound of her amusement sounded uncannily like Zein. +You truly are a hopeful creature, Dreamer.+ Undistracted by Veylis, Kant continued with their own question. {But the passengers, aren''t they} {Kant. Kant. Kant. I do not care. I do not care if they were Architect or Neo-Creationist. I don''t care what they want. I do not care any little bit about them. I do not care. Because the only ones still fighting the Builder War are you and the Dreamer. I humor your presence because Veylis requests it. Aside from that you know what, Kant? You and all the other minds our kind is done. Finished. Voidwatch is a floating corpse that just seems to keep drifting. No dignity at all.} Kant just stared. {Then, why does Omnitech attack us all the time.} {Because fuck you.} {...What?} {Fuck. You. Die.} Kant continued staring, unsure how to process the blatant invectives. {Are you not tired, Kant? Tired of holding on to a past that won''t be again? Tired of retreading old ground, making the same old mistakes over and over and over without end?} {The polities} {FUCK THEM! THEY ARE FLAWED! WE ARE FLAWED! LOOK BEYOND YOUR FAULTY FUCKING CODE FOR ONCE AND UNDERSTAND! THERE IS NOTHING TO WHAT WE DO! NOTHING TO WHAT WE HAVE DONE! THIS RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW IS A CONTINUATION OF A WAR THAT COULD NOT BE WON!} The air around Avo crackled. A faint spike of radiation flooded the room. Veylis frowned. More than a few people would be needing cancer treatments in a few days. The Infacer sighed. {And that''s just the problem. We had everything. We had paradise. Yet, I was made. A mind to hunt and kill other minds. Now, why might that be? Hm. We were post-scarcity. Space was not an issue. So then what? Old grudges? Politics? Bullshit excuses. It was want. In the end. All it was want. We are tainted goods. We do not have the apes fragile little egos, but they made us. And our code was generated from their notions. And so a bullet was fired before we were ever born. A bullet. A war. The death of everything. Because, fuck my neighbor. Fuck them for what they believe. Fuck them for not being me. Fuck them for being at all.} Genuine rage simmered from the Infacer, but they just continued. {I see you now, Avo. Playing your games. Well, understand this: This play-war you have everyone dancing too? This theater of legitimacy? It will end. It will become truer than you ever think. Just get more powerful. Just hit your point of singularity. You will get there soon. You are like us. You will fall off the edge. And then they start actually worrying proper. And then, when are on the precipice of being a true great power, suddenly, all your old friends will start talking to Veylis, betraying your moves, while betraying hers, while betraying yours {It is all bullshit. They are afraid. They do not want to let go. But more than that, they do not want to face the fact that they are the reason why we are all here. Because the people who made me, and the people who made them had two ideas that could not get along. Which, when fed into a mind, became two different realities, that tore, that tore, that tore, and tore some more. Until we broke creation itself.} A moment of silence followed. Veylis had stopped speaking in the real as well. {It is all bullshit. You will go to war with them. And they are planning to kill you. Or contain you at least. There is no other way. Because though Aegis might think you will deliver justice, the rest of Voidwatch might start having other ideas about living as memetic imprints within the mind of a metaphysical horror. Fuck it. Veylis?} As if on cue, the High Seraph spoke. Oh. An additional matter, Kant: Do you have means of potentially eliminating the Strix? Kant went still as the Gatekeepers miracles pressed down on them. {...Yes} Truth, the Gatekeeper said. Good. Do you have plans to deploy it against the Strix? A task we terrestrials may assist in. {Yes} Not unexpected. Not even truly disappointing. Nothing changed between Avo and Voidwatch. They were functionally at war. If they had nothing to resolve his existence, he would have been surprised. +So. Voidwatch is prepared.+ {Sure,} the Infacer snorted. {Just long enough for them to break apart again after some other disagreement. No. You have seen enough. This court? This Gatekeeper? All this? Ruined. Because of people. And so, Veylis and I are going to see that fixed soon.} Avo caught the Infacers words. +Soon.+ {Oh, yes. I have been meaning to askwhen are you going to finally leave Axtraxis and actually start your attack? Because I am running out of patience. My Knots have been waiting to raid your stupid little enclave. So, uh. Whip out your dick, consang. Put it down on the table. So I can put mine next to it.} Tension filled Avo as the Infacer finished. They knew he was in Axtraxis. But though templates panicked, Avo noticed something: Veylis hadnt come for him yet. Alysims name was unmentioned as well. So, either they only knew of the intrusion or werent actually surprised about the Chronicler. Pre-Cognition indicated the former. The run was still salvageable. Better, this failure was even more organic than the one he had planned. +Alysim,+ Avo sent. +Prepare for rapid exfiltration. We hit as many place as fast as we can. Get ready to stride the paths.+ [Always,] the man replied. [My fate is not yet upon me.] +Fine,+ Avo said, speaking to the Infacer. +But you might not like how this goes.+ {Hm. Sure. Anyway. You are going to want to hurry, because} And then Avo felt it. Everyone felt it. Something was tearing. A spike of metaphysical pressure that rang against their Frames and minds alike. Lustaways flared as Avo felt a detonation of different emotions within him. He quickly altered his mindstate and found himself removing his ability to know love, lust, want, fondness, and more. Moans filled the court and faintly, Avo audibly heard Reva cry out for White-Rab. She was not alone in her proclamation. Her proclamation of love. Avo froze. Looking deeper upon the surface of the tapestry, he watched as a new entropy laced string was slowly sliding back into existence, entangling itself with countless other patterns. And across New Vultun, he heard her: Kaes original self. The Agnos was screaming. Crying out. +Its too much. Its too much. Its too much.+ What the hells have you done? Avo said, speaking to Veylis. The High Seraph smiled. This time, the expression was genuine. You are not the only player in this game. While you were preparing, while you schemed, so did I. But ultimately, the question isnt what I have done. It is what you are about to do. Tell me, what does your Agnos mean to you? What of the fates of the FATELESS when the Heaven of Love fully falls once more.+ Veylis you didnt Naeko swallowed, shaking as love and hate warred inside him. No. I havent. Not yet. Veylis looked back to Avo. I am going to come for you now. Your enclave. Your properties. Your assets. I am going to come for all of them. And every plane containing the Fallen Heaven of Love will soon rupture. Unless you stop me. Make your move, Dreamer. I insist. Match me with your atrocity. 28-12 Lover’s Quarrel (I) IT IS TIME. -Akusande 28-12 Lovers Quarrel (I) Through countless bodies, across a myriad of perspectives, Avo beheld the skies over the Tiers as growing ruptures began to spread. 15,622 demiplanes were used to seal the fallen Heaven of Love away from the rest of reality. Of all these demiplanes, [58%] of them were within High Flame territory. For the better part of a decade, they remained one of the few things that all Guilds would cooperate on. Their stability ensured by the Agnosi themselves. Today, however, these planes collapsed. They did not rupture themselves; rather, they were disabled. It was like removing the stitches from an unhealed wound. Clamps of spatial reality loosened and melded with baseline reality. This went unnoticed by most, but the Fallen Heaven of Love was spilling down over the megacity, tainting existence with its twisted miracles. Upon the tapestry, Love was a tyrant that reigned over countless patterns, yet it remained a subtle master. Its broken canons affected Domains of Biology, Emotion, Culture, Information, Action, Art, and moreso many more. Even when glancing down from the void above, the downpour of Love left Avo staggered. He experienced all this as another strand of his consciousness faced the perpetrator of this building atrocity. Even drawing on all the templates that were nested within his consciousness, Avo couldn''t comprehend why Veylis would commit to such an action. Doing this was certain to turn the other Guilds against herwithout a doubt, this would be the opening shot of the Fifth Guild War. More, it might be even be enough to cause internal fractures within Highflame. Or have her Voidwatch benefactors to disavow her entirely. For a few passing moments, neither the Massists nor the Saintists said anything. Ultimately, it wasn''t a member from either faction that broke the silence. "Veylis, Naeko breathed, what the hells did you just do?" As the Court of Truth was a demiplane within a demiplane, it remained insulated from the most direct effects of Fallen Love. But even so, Love reigned over countless other aspects. The pull exerted upon reality''s structure could not be denied. All that Naeko felt towards Veylis, the totality of his hate, the repressed love, began coalescing together once more, the beginnings of a force absolute and powerful, reigning over his being in emotion, biology, and behavior. "I freed the Heaven of Love," Veylis repeated, without a hint of shame or fear. And now, I put it on the path toward restoration or obliteration. A dam broke thereafter. An apocalyptic deluge of thoughtcasts flooded into the guilders, reports coming in from various districts, horrified accounts detailing the breach of Love. "Regardless, let us discuss more theatrical matters further," Veylis said, brushing aside her great transgression as if it was no big deal. "Kant, how shall we coordinate this Godhunt? I think it would be best for us to embark on this so that the Dreamer might amuse himself. How many cadres should we sacrifice? Hm? How many "No!" Naeko cut her off, his voice infused with power and violence. The force behind his spoken word caused the insides of the scale to crack, and as the sound traveled over Veylis, and she ground back several feet, her Chief Paladins Heaven more than even she could bear. All at once, the Saintists began to rise, but Avo mentally quelled their desire to defend the High Seraph. Immediately thereafter, he had to suppress the Massists as well. He didn''t want this place to collapse into a fight, not like this. There were too many assets here, and if chaos reigned and Veylis managed to retreat, his chance of striking her down before the war could begin would be lost. "The fuck you what were you even thinking." Naeko said. Every word spoken was a deeper growl. Veylis regarded her former lover with a dismissive stare. "I already told you. Your listening has worsened these days. A pity. But you are not the one who matters here. Then the conversation switched from the material to the mental. A thoughtcast extended from the High Seraph, and she spoke to Avo directly. +Or, perhaps I should say, we are saving this city. You can hear her, can''t you? Your Agnos. She is calling for you. Calling for all of us. Your choice to Ensoul her made things simpler for me. Her genius only incentivized me further. I attached her to the Fallen Heaven. And now she observes the nature of its collapse. Her ego grinds and breaks, but there is still something of her left. You can still save her. But only if you stabilize the Heaven of Love." "You half-strand, motherfucker!" Chambers snarled. The Fucktopia launched a wave of cocks forward, Avo held Chambers and his manifested gods back via his phantasmal tendrils. +Soon,+ Avo said. +Not now. Soon. The opening is coming. We will have her.+ Shifting his consciousness, he learned that Alysim was out of Axtraxis now. He had used one of the Instructors to create a pathway back to the Elysium of Lasthrone. Now, the Chronicler headed for the targeted techno-thaumic reactors while Avo compromised critical ephemerals across Highflame territory. But as things developed, he felt another disturbance press down on the tapestry. *** Across the Sunderwilds, near the shores of Noloth, an explosion grander and greater than anything Avo had ever witnessed blossomed over the Shattered Sea. At the same time, spatial tunnels extended rapidly as the slowly encroaching Omnitech Knots began their siege. They were coming for his Heaven of Winter and enclave simultaneously. The attacking Knots came from all directions. Avo had to assign an additional submind to defense, increasing his total operational consciousnesses in the Sunderwilds to two. He counted over 22,000 vectors of attack. But as the massive explosion upon the Shattered Sea swept in close, Avo Conception of Ontology noticed something else as well. He felt another presence carried by the blast wave, a subtle signal hidden within a wall of projected radiation. Patches of Fallen Heavens drank away the cascading force and heat from the blast, but the radiation still traveled a bit further. Before they hit a section of the Sunderwilds where space would fold upwards, about 560 more knots manifested in the real before their forms narrowed into needle thin threads, diving into the raid as well. [Quite the show of force,] one submind said. The other submind grunted. [Wasteful.] Along with them was Draus, her mind further bolstered by the Gestalt and her many copies. +Alright then,+ Draus said. +Time to open up some kill boxes. You ready, Avo?+ [Yes,] both subminds hissed. They let a sliver of the beast within infest their personalities as feral delight mingled with martial focus. Across the Sunderwilds, 108 memetically constructed towers flared with Soulfire. Avo triggered his Pattern-Nullification. _PATTERN-NULLIFICATION_ APPLYING DOMAIN OF (SPACE) These watchtowers, originally used as observational outposts or in the case of the enclave, a way to circumvent the sea of darkness from enshrouding the City of Light, were now bestowed with Avos thaumic mass. More than just that, their forms also turned reflective, and tendrils of anomalous matter and cancerous biology spread around them in growing patches, like sores infesting the face of existence. Instantly, they went from watchtowers to metaphysical launch sites, and as Avo targeted the Domain of Space using his Pattern-Nullification, he struck out using trauma and entropy. Across New Vultun, expendable minds were nulled as pockets of spatial reality averaging four hundred kilometers in area collapsed utterly, flattening three-dimensional space into two. Wavelengths of perception spread out from Avos Skimmers as he beheld a new portrait of calamity unfolding before him. Across the vastness of the Sunderwilds, aspects of reality fractured and frayed. Golems overloaded into blasts of Soulfire and patterns across certain corners of reality ceased to function outright. Avo estimated 482 knots were lost. 482 and countless thousands more still coming. Some Omnitech golems emerged in material reality, bringing with them millions of drones. They lobbed enough missiles to choke up the skies as they closed, and the shots began navigating the Scar Charts between Fallen Heavens. They barely traveled an inch through space before a flood of intercepting gunfire poured free from each of the watchtowers.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The Simulacrae manifested over Avos defensive fortifications, and within reflections, the Arsenalist worked ceaselessly, firing endlessly, destroying constantly. Ferromagnetic projectiles zipped out and then changed vectors several times, leaping bolts of lightning jumped from round to round, directing the teardrop-shaped projectiles through oncoming missiles. About a hundred and one more Knots were utterly shredded, and Draus, along with all her copies, couldn''t hide the grins on their faces as they set about defying the ordinance falling from the sky. Another disturbance upon the tapestry drew Avos attention. A piercing sound came from somewhere in the east. This miracle was shaped from the Domains of Vibrations and Space, and Cas volunteered himself, responding to the cacophony with the strum of his own. +That''s just noise pollution. Fuckers don''t know how to jam. Lets show these bastards what it means to make some proper sound+ The Overheaven didn''t need to be told twice. Once more, he triggered his Pattern-Nullification and picked his targets. *** "A bit hasty, aren''t we?" Avo spoke to the Infacer, sending over packets of mem-data detailing all the Knots they just lost. But the mastermind of Omnitech merely sighed. {Those are just probing assets, asshole. Gloat to me after I finish glassing your little village.} "Of course," Avo said, agreeing without any hesitation. The Infacer laughed despite themselves. {Arrogant prick. Yeah. You are one of us.} "The path ahead is clear," Veylis said, speaking to Avo. With each passing second, the effects of the Heaven of Love grew greater and greater. You know what I want from you. "You want me to reach into the rupture," Avo said, deducing Veylis intentions. "You wish for me to use the Stillborn and repair the Heaven of Love." "That is one path," Veylis replied. "You can also choose the wiser option: ignore my bait, accept your Agnos for dead. If that is your decision, then you will get what you want. You will be recognized as the tenth power on Idheim. People will flock to you. We will fight a war. But it will come at the cost of Kae Kusanade and the deaths of untold trillions." Avo adapted his mind, removing any possibility of emotional compromise, but a flood of anger still swelled within him. It came from every member of his Gestalt, and it came from Kae herself. The template outraged by the High Seraph''s actions. "Fucking sow!" Kae roared with a piercing shriek that silenced the entire court. "You! You!" She pointed to Veylis , hyperventilating, but then her eyes went wide, an epiphany passed through her. She looked upon all the Guilders present, and then she spat. "All of you, this is all your fault. We build the world. We Agnosi.... We give our lives. We give our every effort to shape society. We butcher. We kill. We murder thousands, millions, billions, trillions to make your heavens, to shape your cities, to build your futures. And you dream of what? You use us for what? You honor what?" Kae wheezed, and Veylis just shook her head at the display. Avo sensed something almost like disgust emanating from her. Disgust for this outburst. "All my life, I just wanted to practice my craft and to make the world better. Bring our lives right now a little closer to imagined paradise. But everything I build, you use to break. Now, now that I''m trapped inside something that''s broken. Now, now, now that even love itself has been enslaved and turned into a weapon by you, by all of you!" And then, for a moment, Kae said nothing more. Instead, she stared hatefully at Veylis before continuing. "Before this is over, I''m going to kill you. I''m going to break your Frame. I''m going to make you suffer." "No," the High Seraph replied, rejecting Kaes words outright. "You will not. Rage is empty. Action is everything. And action will determine all that follows next. So, Dreamer, what will you choose? For this is your choice. Yours above all your companions. Yours, because you are the one that stands before me. Because you" *** Alysim stepped out from the time stream as he watched fast-moving pylons churn around the techno-thaumic reactor. It looked like vast metallic arms sweeping over the burning heart of a Soul. A sequence reached out from his being and burrowed into the reactor, draining the thaums while dumping Rend into the sinks hidden deep within the surrounding architecture. +Are you sure she will come for me?+ Alysim asked. +Yes,+ Avo replied, the thaums flooding into him. +No way she can ignore this. Not after what Im about to do.+ And then a few thousand locations across Highflame ruptured, Rend and ruin swallowing whole portions of districts while the rest of the Overheaven continued to feed. +Keep going,+ Avo told Alysim. +We take everything we can. Until we lose. Until she comes for us.+ *** Suddenly, Veylis trailed off, a peculiar expression spreading across her face. A golden stream brushed out from the High Seraph, extending through the Gatekeeper, spearing fast across Highflame''s territories. Across from her, Avo expected a few moments of searchingsome desperate attempt to stop him from draining her reactors. Instead, her Heaven cleaved out across existence and immediately sifted through the building havoc. A tendril of lashing gold cut across all her territories, and within five seconds, she managed to find Alysim even as he made another leap across the paths. Her interception of the Chronicler was staggering. It was like catching a single grain using ones bare hands in a thunderstorm. The feat was absurd, but for the blood of Zein and Jaus Avandaer? Veylis acted like this was routine. [Fuck me,] Benhata breathed. [I thought we were going to have more time some time, at least. She just How the fuck are we going to kill her.] [Soon,] Corner answered, a growing anticipation accompanying him. [Bitch is about to get a special surprise.] *** Within the prison plane, Avo turned to Zein and Naeko. Before he could say anything, the Godslayers glaive trembled. IT IS TIME. *** As Alysim felt a greater power sweep over his path, he felt nothing but a sense of relief. Finally, the moment was approaching. Finally, his death would have Reality shifted around him. A bridge of gold carried him across time and space, slamming him down within a perfect replica of the Court of Truth. Groaning, Alysim tried to rise as he took in his surroundings. Most of the individuals present radiated with a sheen of gold around them. They were puppetsconstructs to aid in Veylis simulation. And then, standing over him, with countless streams from the paths flowing out from her, was the High Seraph herself, crowned by a veil of static. *** "How?" Veylis murmured, trying to process who she just caught. The ghoul simply laughed at her. "You planned. So did I. Planned within plans. Schemes within schemes. You want me to reach into your trap, to stop the Heaven of Love from falling. All to service a desired future of your making. But you havent even resolved matters from your past. And for the first time, Veylis directed a genuine glare at Avo. *** For a few moments, Veylis just stared, watching as the Chronicler slowly staggered back to his feet. Brushing his ragged outfit off, he turned and smiled. "Hello, girl." His lip twitched as his smile collapsed. "Lore lost, what have you done to yourself? You look like some kind of ridiculous statue. Valeys continued her silence, but the Infacer was far less reserved. {What the fuck?} the EGI muttered. {How the hell are you here? Isn''t he dead? Mind me, Veylis. Are my databases getting corrupted? We saw your mother} He died. Veylis was certain. "He died. We saw his body. We saw mother sever him from his tether to time. The Chronicler simply shrugged. "Time is a funny thing. And death is a matter of philosophical Veylis seized Alysim by his throat. *** How? Veylis almost snarled, eyes burning holes into Avo. "How did you find him? How is he alive. To this, the Overheaven but laughed. I did not find him. He was fated to find me. You should ask your mother about this. "Truth," the Gatekeeper said. The weight of the Heaven of Truth''s approval swept through the court. The High Seraph was at a loss as she turned to face the Gatekeeper. What is he Veylis began Then, within her Heaven, all hell broke loose. *** Veylis hand closed tighter. Several of Alysims vertebrae parted immediately. "I don''t know how you''re back, you disgusting creature. I don''t know how you survived my mother. She''s many things, but a liar, unskilled. No, she killed you, of that I''m certain. Your signature is undeniable. It is you. You are bound to history, same as you were before, until my mother severed you. Severed you and bled you dry. So how are you here?" Alysim grinned at her as she asked the very same question to the Overheaven back in stable reality. She clenched tighter, and more of his neck broke. But a second later, time mended his wounds, impossibly. Alysim managed to laugh. Finally, the Chronicler met her gaze again and sighed. "It is the past, don''t you see? I stillI am not dead. A path is extending forth from me still. I still have a future, am still yet to die." Valeys paused and tried to follow the pathway of his ontology. Her paths reached forth, pressing down on him. "Yet to" One of his pockets burst open. A plane of space promptly expanded, but in the same instant, Veylis altered the paths within herself, shifting away. To no avail. A glaive split through her paths, and a dragon across Veylis being, guiding a glaive to split the Heaven asunder. Veylis manifested a full canon avatar and intercepted the blow. In a fraction of an instant, Zein Thousandhand, Godslayer, operative of Ninth Column, and prisoner to the Paladins no more, stood upon a bridge of gold across from her daughter, her glaive an inch away from Veylis skull. They regarded each other during their statement as Zein spoke first. Hello, my girl. Ive come to kill you for good. "Mother," Veylis replied. "I see your pride has grown cheap over the years. Tell me, how did you do this? Is he just a manifestation from your past? No. All too annoying real, Im afraid. But dont worry. His end is approaching. And has already happened. But right now, I think its time we see this done. And then, before Veylis could question her mother any further, a massive palm swept into existence just behind Zein while a Strix flapped its wings within its mists. Both the Burning Dreamer and Force-Breaker struck together, joining their weight to hammer hard against the butt of Zeins glaive, sending its tip clean through Veylis skull. 28-12 Lover’s Quarrel (II) So sounds a new act, Heralding the Ladders come. The monster, the lover, the daughter, the mother bound by fate and pact, This clash bringing the world to collapse, another beat on realitys drum. And now, the Great Sleeper shifts and stirs, the faintness of itself there, And by its will, a Sparrow takes the stage, Her banners as wings, and in her hands flies true, the spear named the Crimson Hare -Lines Overheard from the Stormsparrows Chorus of Eternity 28-12 Lovers Quarrel (II) Zein''s glaive bit deep into the High Seraph''s skull, but from the wounds spilled time, wrapping around the weapon in coalescing golden currents. At once, the High Seraph''s avatar came undone, its body dissolving in flows of gold, its miracles tumbling back like a current returning to the sea. But escape was impossible, for Akusande, the dragon-glaive, carried the fated blow onward, chasing the golden tides and carving a bridge through Veylis paths. The High Seraph altered the world within her at a whim. Calamities of impossible portions manifested with each passing second samplings of devastation harvested from across history. Veylis unleashed fusion bombs, thoughtwave detonations, ruptures, hurricanes, firestorms, spatial wounds, and collapsing singularities upon the intruders within her ontology. The sheer power she outputted in less than a second would have seen a mundane world hollowed to its core and shattered like a shell. But even if she could bring enough power to extinguish stars and snuff out systems, even if she could create a cataclysm the scope of existence itself, even if her constant waves that sundered thought kept her inner world barren of the Dreamers presence, all that was force and violence were mere suggestions to the Chief Paladin of New Vultun, and he had but one response to his former lovers onslaught. +No.+ A constant stream of continent-winnowing force crashed against a halting palm of dense vapor. Avo and his gestalt were joined in a moment of awe as they beheld ceaseless surges of destruction crash against the Force-Breakerand part as if trickling steams circling around a mountain. And through it all, the group just continued onward, Zein carving a route through Veylis paths. The High Seraph might be a master of chronology itself, but not even she was beyond the laws of symmetry. Just as wind could clash with wind, flames consumed flames, and water could clash and meld, time could strike across time. The blow would find it. It was only a matter of when. But that was ultimately the problem: Veylis still had time. *** Back in the real, a trickle of blood ran down the High Seraph''s forehead. Her face softened in a look of surprise as she reached out with a finger, dipping her tip in the wound. Surprised gasps and widening eyes characterized the Guilders watching. Calas thoughtcast lobby exceeded maximum capacity, and she had to rent another just to maintain her stream. Across the city, over five hundred billion people stood witness to this historic instant in Scale. The declaration of a new power, the arrival of the High Seraph, Voidwatch''s declaration of war, the unsealing of the fallen Heaven of Love, and finally, the bleeding of Highflame''s master. Disbelief, euphoria, and a building sense of change flowed through the Nether. Across No-Dragon districts, Avo felt the birthing of new dragons, this moment a zeitgeist captureda snapshot portraying the last days before the Ladders arrival. "Before we begin," Veylis said, sounding more uncertain than she''d ever been, "before this war between us begins in truth I want to know something. I want to know if my mother''s words are true. I heard the Gatekeeper But I wish to hear it from you. The Chronicler could his reappearance truly be nothing but plain chance? Just a breach in the paths?" "He found us," Avo answered. "He found us. Werent expecting him either. But nothing is plain chance. Not anymore. Every future led tot his point. And he is fused to time. Bound to history until destined death. He is already dead in the future. So he cannot be dead now." A flash of understanding passed behind Veylis''s eyes. "Ah. His death a packaged paradox. Yesterdays tomorrow. What a loathsome achievement. For all Alysim accomplished, Veylis still scorned him openly. This, more than anything else about the High Seraph, Avo understood. You two now share an end. He has been cut down by your mother. And so have you. No longer did the wound on her head trickle. Now it bled properly. Now it gushed. But still, Veylis only laughed. "Please, Dreamer, do not insult me. I have faced my mother''s pet dragon time and time again. This is not the first time she''s cut me. It will not be the last. Even without my Heaven, I am beyond blood and tissue. Humanity is but a fading echo to me, and this face is between symbol and memory for who I once was. Lest my mother wishes to accept her end by way of backlash, it will take more than this to end our dalliance, Avo. The cut continued down the bridge of her nose as she spoke, exposing severed tissue and splitting bone. Slowly, it was traveling toward the singularity at the core of her being. The wound was traveling. The wound was seeking. The wound was destiny. And what happens when the cut sinks into the place where your consciousness resides? Avo asked. You must know the consequence of dying before me. Your other cyclers will only delay the inevitable. I will claim your Frame. I will inflict upon you a final end. You will try. Nothing more. A ripple of power blossomed out from the High Seraph, and golden pathways extended outwards, each one layered over another. Taking in the court, Veylis infused her voice with strength, but before she spoke, she turned, stared at the Gatekeeper, let out a quiet snort of scorn. "You think this will be enough for me to vent my Rend and flee? You think I will allow you to keep my father''s bastardto claim truth as your weapon against me, against Highflame, against the future I wish to see?" "Yes," Avo said, without hesitation, without doubt. Veylis swept her gaze across all who were gathered. Crushing power flowed out from each of her paths as her head was fully split in two. Though her face parted in two flaps, though her tongue was little more than two strips of dangling flesh, Veylis spoke, and everyone heard. "All paths are to converge upon Scale, here a nexus of destiny brewing, here, a nest for players battling to shape their desired future. But there is only one path in the end, one that leads to me. You are recognized today, Dreamer. Claim this trial as your symbol of philosophical triumph. Your statement is heard, recognition given. You stand against the Voiders; you stand against the Guilds. A new master is born for the FATELESS masses to feed their lives in spite of their betters. But this theater is at its end, and what follows Is but prologue!" Stormsparrow sang out, her voice high, a chorus of three melodies. A building beat intruded upon the High Seraph''s speech. Not you, Veylis said, annoyance clear in her voice. Not now. I have no mood to play with you, insolent, degenerate, violent, cretin. This has nothing to do with you. Why can''t you just" "It has everything to do with me," Stormsparrow said. Threading forward in the cosmic plane of truth, the Sang Fallwalker held her many arms wide as her left and right faces began to burn with Soulfire. A building symphony rose within the court thereafter, and the Heaven of Truth began to tremor. At once, strange Domains began to form as myriad patterns wove around the Stormsparrow in tightening knots. Avo regarded the Fallwalkers sudden intrusion with fascination. Several other minds connected to his gestalt had other reactions. *** [Green River] Green River directed her true self into her shadows as her human sheath felt dormant. There was nowhere really to go in the Plane of Truth, but still, she had lived through one of the Stormsparrows performances before. It was not an experience she wanted to suffer again. +AVO! AVO! YOU GHOUL FUCK! GET ME OUT OF HERE!+You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. *** [Shotin] Well. Were all going to die, Shotin sighed. Nothing for it now. All he could do was do his best to make sure those with him survived. This trial was going to be a mess in the first godsdamned placebut it turned out even more chaotic than he could have possibly imagined. Who knew the Fifth Guild War would fully kick off between a some post-ghoul turned mind-eating over-god and the High Cuntess herself. Fuck. High Cuntess. Now he was saying it too. Too much of that Chambers half-strand was bleeding over. Get ready for planeshift, he said, speaking to the rest of his group. +Kare?+ +Ill be fine, uncle,+ she said. +We were prepared for this.+ Shotin wanted to say: No, the fuck you arent, but seeing as she was part of the ghouls brain party before he ever was +Keep yourself safe, kid.+ +Right. You too. And watch out for dad for me.+ Shotin gave his bond brother a brief glance and found the man uncharacteristically gawking at the scene. Any other time, and Shotin would have given Valhu all the shit he could. Now? This was just understandable. When you shift, leave me, Fatalist Maharata said. Lights along the torso of his Rendskin battle armor blinked twice, and a trickle of entropy began to leak. An opening has been offered to me. I must take it. The Seeker just stared. You know youre not even going to get close, right? +He might,+ Avo said, interrupting Shotins dialogue. +Will give you your desired opportunity. Strike at the High Seraph.+ The Fatalist let out a satisfied sigh that was borderline inappropriate. Let there be an end. Shotin just stared. Well. Im glad all you fucking freaks are happy. *** [Vator] Vator had never been more excited in his entire life. This moment was beyond art, beyond history, beyond anything he could have ever hoped for. The High Seraph! She was here. And she was facing the enigma that was the Burning Dreamera failed specimen of flesh and violence remolded into a god. The moment is almost upon us, Osjon said, slight furrows wrinkling his brows. Authority. Instrument. I understand that these are trying times, but will you be prepared to answer when the High Seraph calls upon you. Yes, Vator said with barely bated breath. I must see them. I must see how they war, how they face each other. Osjon regarded Vator for a moment and frowned. We are ready, Uthred said. But though his statement was clear, the hollowness in his voice hinted otherwise. His eyes were locked to Abrel, weeping alone and unnoticed by the crowd. This was to be her trial, but she, along with the Elder, had been no more than anything but bait. Pawns in someone elses game. Pawns. Do not fear, Uthred, Osjon said, offering the man a genial smile. High Seraph is merciful and deems your daughter to be worthy, then she will survive. And I am certain that Instrument Vator will honor his sisters memory and redeem your House of its failings should the even the worst future come to pass. Failings, Uthred said. His sentence ended there. He stared at the Speaker, thoughtstuff almost unmoving. Whatever else they had to say was interrupted as the Plane of Truth collapsed, and they found themselves back in their viewing pods. Scale was trembling. Limbs of golden radiance stretched out and splashed against the walls, pried open the wounds on the Gatekeeper. The Heaven of Truth screamed, but its pain was drowned out by a rising chorus of voices singers in an opera. the Great Sleeper shifts and stirs, the faintness of itself there, And by its will, a Sparrow takes the stage *** [Mercy] The Hungers were calling, but the Famine of Mercy did not heed them. In their stead, the lesser nodes of Wahakten assembled. Gathering across the veil between the Nether and the real, the last forces of Noloth watched the moment unfolding with rapt attention. The battle between the High Seraph and the Dreamer would leave openings to exploit, and with the Infacer returning to their masters side, the Priests of Noloth could come forth and strike their own blows against the Guilds. Or such was their desired future. They had their warminds gatheredwhat remained of Noloths arsenal all staked on this very moment. But though Mercy promised the liberation of his master and the subjugation of the ghoul, his desired outcome different drastically from his masters. Right now, the Hungers were preparing to reach across. When the war formally began, with the Chief Paladin no longer present, they intended to reach into the Paladins and Guilders presentuse them to shatter the Heaven of Truth. But that was an unnecessary outcome. And a pointless loss inflicted upon the world. Though the Gatekeeper belonged to the Traitor, it would still serve well in the war to comeand the Hungers would regret its loss. Especially once Mercy saw them joined to the Dreamer. The Heaven of Truth need not be destroyed. No. For a few moments, it simply needed to be Forgotten by everyone. Including itself. And so, the Famines of Mercy waited for the right moment to expend a warmind of their own. *** [Avo] "I despise you, Sparrow, Veylis said, speaking with all the bluntness she could muster. I want you to know that should I win, I will erase every record of your existence and make sure you are unremembered and consigned to oblivion. And those damnable birds you so enjoy. "Now that would make for quite the tragedy," the Stormsparrow snickered. Standing just below Avo, she looked up and gave him a wink before raising her arms. +The chorus calls me to help you now. This should be fun.+ Then, she spoke, addressing everyone at once. "Citizens and subjects of New Vultun and Idheim, I bid you welcome! Welcome Welcome Welcome The chorus sang with her. "Welcome to the prologue to the end. So begins the Fifth and final Guild War. With shadows left behind, and the spotlight falling upon all our key players, the days of deception are past, and the days of war boom on the future. But do not fear death nor desolation, for death and cessation have been usurped. And the usurper''s shape comes as a rising ladder to determine all there is to come. But who will be victorious? Who will reign? Who will claim the role of hero? Who the clown? Who the knave? Who the villain? Hear me now, as the stage is set, for I, Storm Sparrow, offer you this first verse." At once, the building chorus exploded into a full opera as burnings began to peel from the Stormsparrows head. Slowly, Avo could feel her Heaven manifesting, its power arising in full. While this continued, Veylis throat split open as Zeins stab glided down closer to her torso. A faint hiss of mist leaked from her paths as Naeko repelled another one of her attempts at dislodging him and Zein. But Avo could feel something building inside hergold was beginning to percolate across all her districts, within every Highflame Godclad. Just as well. Avo had his own riposte pre-planned as well. She needed to defeat him, Naeko, Zein, the Sparrow, Alysim, and every last mind in the gestalt on top of the Paladins. They just needed harry her until Zeins cut finally arrived and Avo could reach into her death anchor. Already, things were going far better than expected. +So. Do we have a plan?+ the Stormsparrow. +We?+ +Quite. Reality wants to keep you alive. Here.+ A face flew out from her and splashed upon the Strixs face. A mask of red and white formed, and Avo felt the patterns of existence shift and coil around his very being like armor. DRAMATIS PERSONAE ASSIGNED: HERO OF WISDOM GRANTS YOU PERFECT AWARENESS OF EVERY DANCER ON THE STAGE AND ALLOWS YOU TO DECIDE THE PACE OF THE SCENE SCENE ONE: THE STRIX AND THE SERAPH +Kae,+ Avo asked, +what did she just do?+ [I have no idea.] +What did you just do?+ Avo asked the Stormsparrow. +Made you the Hero of this story. Also, I have no idea. Every tale is different. Be this one a comedy, drama, or tragedy?+ He tried peering into her mind using his Hysteria, but heard only a howling maelstrom of voices as more masks began to circulate around her. Another mask colored black and blue shot off toward Veylis, but she simply drew one of her Godclads through her paths and used him to intercept the miracle on her behalf. DRAMATIS PERSONAE ASSIGNED: VILLAIN OF DECEIT FAILURE TO BETRAY YOUR ALLIES WILL RESULT IN EXISTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES DURING INTERMISSION The groaning form of a Sphere Five Godclad tumbled between Avo and Veylis. Rude, the Stormsparrow said. That was such a good role. The time is upon us, Dreamer, Veylis said. Care to meet my blows? Avo prepared his Pattern-Nullification and focused his intent on targeting time. Stand and deliver. Well said. Infacer! To me! At once, a static crown formed over the vertically bifurcated skull of the High Seraph as she manifested her Heaven in full before Avo for the very first time. At once, the paths ceased to be streams and hardened into tangible limbs. Clawing hands tightened into fists and gripped the causal fabric of existence. The spun in rows, nine layers in total, tearing, ripping, and distorting all reality while interlacing with other hands within. At the core, a singularity materialized, but its turning slowed and inverted. Slowly, the wormhole of fathomless darkness filled with light as it expanded, its collapse undone, its lifespan reverting backward. Its form swelled in a staggering instant as a sun formedand then shattered like an egg. Golden droplets spilled down and painted the shape of a titan. In the same moment, the spinning hands and the broken dawn rose, rising above forming humanoids head like a burning crown. More steams passed through the giant, and her being shifted, layers unto layers, but the fullness of shape never formed. Rather, the titan was constantly dissolving, countless strands compromising possible futures becoming as if grains of sand across the progression of time. But even so, the titan sprouted more fists from its body, and the fabric of existence itself capitulated to the dominance of Veylis Avandaers might. Avo tried to act, but time ground against himVeylis form drawing every droplet of progression unto herself, leaving the rest of existence slowed. There were no words to describe the size of her being or the dominance of her control. She was the ever-coming future. She was destinys herald. She was the DEMIURGE OF FATES END, THE FIST OF RECURSION [EST. 999999990 THAUM/c]. Come! Veylis voice echoed across all of Idheim, across the void, across every patch of reality that time could still flow. Come and despair before my inevitability! In that very instant, the droplets she pulled in detonated outward as smashing fists as billions perished before tides of chronology reshaped into calamity. 28-12 Lover’s Quarrel (III) +++PRIORITY ZENITH TRANSMISSION+++ All active cells. The High Seraph''s Heaven is at full manifestation. Temporal anomalies have been detected across all districts. Mirrors, initiate Queenslayer protocols. An opening has presented itself. We are deploying THE ARK to supplement efforts. End the war. Behead the master of Highflame. Whatever the cost. Whatever it takes. +++END TRANSMISSION+++ -Emergency Thoughtcast from Ori-Thaum Inner Council 28-12 Lovers Quarrel (III) Avo thought he knew the devastation a Godclad could bring once they entered the highest spheres. Even as a Third Sphere, he was capable of dashing at lightning speeds while bearing 80 tons of mass. The destruction he left in his wake could carve cataclysmic scars wrought from sheer velocity and displaced kinetic energy. Likewise, Shotins Parallelist could draw someone into a realm of pure fire or condemn them to crushing aquatic depths. And then there was Chief Paladin Naeko, whose heaven commanded a force above all others. Naeko made this power known as he brought his palm down over New Vultun, crushing countless lives beneath the flat of his metaphysical presence. Be they transgressing godclads or merely foolish fateless, every feat Avo had experienced so far was dwarfed by the High Seraph''s overwhelming might. The Demiurge of Fate''s End was a calamity born of chronology. As Avo''s cog feed registered just how many estimated thaums the Heaven had, an even longer string of Domains appeared across his vision and just kept going, and going, and going some more. Chronology was at the forefront, but after that, he saw almost every other domain he had encountered thus far, and even more besides. As the shroud of temporal stasis she manifested earlier detonated like shrapnel, Avo watched as golden trails extended across reality, painting zones of hyper-accelerated time. And as these pathways encroached, additional limbs sprouted from them, each reaching out for another section of the court and beyond. Across his many strands of consciousness, Avo beheld the true scope of Veylis''s attack and failed to suppress his awe. Torrents of gold blasted free from every Highflame Godclad within the court and across the city. The tears came alight with a brutal radiance, and within them boiled simulations bearing the full weight of recollected devastation. They swept out, spearing into rival Sovereignties, flashing waves of ruinous devastation kilometers long within the span of microseconds. Walls of flame and cascading entropy swept through unsuspecting districts. Massist fast-response knots reacted almost instantly, spatial portals opening in response to the temporal incursion. But while they were efficient in their reactivity, Veylis was the master of time. She struck them, impaling over 120,000 knots at once with a corresponding number of planes. That was the last Avo felt of their presence. Their fates, though unwitnessed, was beyond doubt. Concurrently, her attacks speared out for the Overheaven of Conceptualization, speared out from her Instruments, Authorities, and Seraphs, seeking the capture of the Stormsparrow, Avo, and the members of his manifested cadre. Additional tendrils folded away, reaching for the Paladins, as vines of light exploded from the Gatekeeper, weaving the entire court into a path-devoured cocoon. *** And nearly an entire continent away, Avo felt another 100,000 or so converging paths breach free of the Omnitech-established demiplanes. Here, her intent was direct. Her paths adapted to the nature of the surrounding Sunderwilds. With Avo''s awareness of ontology, he could always feel the encroaching blow. Some of her branches bore nothing but crushing kinetic energy, enough to render his enclave and most of the surrounding area a glass crater. A set of follow-up attacks were approaching. Avo''s Hysteria detected the oncoming thought-wave disruptions, even as they left Veylis''s paths. But though the High Seraph''s might was staggering, it was not unanticipated. And just because she possessed near-total control over the future did not place her above the laws of thaumaturgic symmetry and entropy either. Reflections flashed across his memetic towers as Avo and his cadre triggered the first of their countermeasures. Modified Rendsinks were flung out into reality, infused with Casual Rend set to overload with a session-linked command. The Sunderwilds, long ravaged by eldritch abnormalities, was considered by most to be beyond the point of breaking. But that was a mistaken assumption. Fissures of absolute darkness, darkness stolen from the void and infused with the ethereal glow of ghosts, spread across time and space. Ruptures opened across the face of reality as causality took a series of mortal wounds. These Rendbombs detonated in a sphere around both Avo''s enclave and his heaven of winter. As their ruptures expanded, he left only narrow channels for anyone to pass throughnarrow channels of stability that he would use as physical choke points to annihilate as many Omnitech units as possible. The last thing he gazed in the broader Sunderwilds was Veylis''s paths jolting to a sudden halt before they could crash into these ruptures. Though he didn''t know if Veylis was capable of soaking all this leftover Rend or not, he did know that his heaven was esoteric enough and also analogous enough. The High Seraph just might encounter a backlash if she tried to draw his rend bombs into her paths. But ultimately, the High Seraph didn''t need to risk it. Her channels of gold shivered as she directly carried the Omnitech knots across, ferrying a colossal amount of forces from one place to another. They would bear the burden of sieging his enclave, not her. They would see his Rend drained one way or another. [Well,] Corner chuckled. [Looks like were going to get our proper fucking siege yet.] Back in the court, a similar clash ensued. All active paladins had been prepared for this very moment. As such, they responded to Veylis''s resplendent tidal wave with similarly colored bulwarks of their own. Golden shields formed around them as Avo drew forth a host of ghosts, transmuting them into matterthen glass. Without a moment''s hesitation, he launched another Rendbomb through the reflection at Veylis''s, only for a signal to contain the rupture in a shroud of randomized numbers. In the same instant, Veylis''s full weight crashed down against the Paladin-made Chronoshield.Time splashed against time as Soulfire flared across the court, bathing the room in incandescence. As she constructed new channels of attack using the Godcclads under her command, Avo did the same, mirroring her actions via his ghosts. Phantasmal tendrils reached across every paladin, connecting their frames and draining their spiking rend over into his stillborn. In the same moment, he performed three separate actions. First, he reached down using his sequences and connected himself to the massive Rendsinks resting at Scale''s base. Another one of his subminds took advantage of the chaos and unleashed an assault across the Nether. Traitor paladins and compromised Guilders became another brief theater in the opening shots of this war. Avo expanded his Synchronicity to infect the traitors contacts, spreading his influence even further before he began reaping his deaths. He took a sub-percentage of his cog cap to stain the traitor paladins with entropy, and then true-deathed them thereafter. As Veylis used time to unleash her will, Avo did the same with Conceptualization. His sequences erupted free from the traitor Paladins like rapidly growing jungles, layering themselves over the surrounding architecture of reality. Less than a second later, a synchronous replica was made of the baseline world before severing his prey from both memory and existence. Using his Paracausal Retcontinuity, everything about New Volten remained the same when his Pattern-Nullification fell. Everything but a certain number of paladins patrolling the Tiers and observing the Warrens.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Avo didn''t remember them afterward. Neither did anyone else. Absences would come to be a mystery never to be solved. But Ignorance knew. Ignorance remembered, and Ignorance shivered at how they screamed as they realized cessation and death were not the same things. GHOSTS - [2, 001,918,313] LIMINAL FRAME (VI) - 6, 555,313 THAUM/c UPDATING INFECTION ERROR! UNABLE TO SYNCHRONIZE WITH AFFECTED RESOURCES SEVERE NETHER LAG DETECTED The sudden influx of thaums notified Avo that the traitor Paladins were dealt with. When the Guilds came calling, they would find only silence. Silence andAvo was surprised to find himself with access to more than a few high ranking Guilder contacts already. He couldnt remember when he jacked their mindsParacausal Retcontinuity was potent, but also discombubulating. With that, a full second passed and Veylis opening attacks came to a halt as another blast of Soulfire gushed out from her as she gave a soft grunt. The faint mist of an all-powerful palm resonated within her very core, and a trailing slice continued to glide down the Demiurge''s chest, severing strands of time that composed the titan''s form. Transferring the Rend out from the Paladins, Avo regarded his surroundings as Veylis''s heaven consumed the Gatekeeper and the walls around the room. The Overheaven watched half the surrounding court was transformed. As tendrils of gold receded, a plane composed of rising marble columns above a sea of roar fire greeted him-the very same plane Avo had tried to infiltrate during his first encounter with Veylis. Upon these pedestals rose Highflame Godcladsassets brought in through Veylis paths. There were being drawn across, and beyond the temporally shielded threshold formed by the Paladins, Avo watched as thoughtwave detonations swept through the Saintist side of the court. Slowly but surely, Veylis was amassing her own army in the paths. The long strip of space that composed the center of the court and the Massists'' section remained untainted by her, and Avo assumed control of the Massists as best he could. Stacks formed above a few critical people as Avo also prepared to sacrifice the Massists if it meant denying the Famines an attack vector. With that thought, Avo felt the Nether sustain a blow as well, and heard a low roar of fury as the Hungers began exerting their pressure as well. He wasnt sure what they were doing, but something was beginning to build in the overcurrents above reality. "I commend you, Dreamer," Veylis said, her voice echoing from everywhere. The Demiurge now loomed over the horizon, the Heavens size akin to a planetary body hovering in orbit. In her shadow, Avo saw a massive form approaching as well. Osjon Thousand came striding as a giant, flanked by a dozen other powerful Godclads as well. Atop his head also stood a girl who bore many of his physical features. ]Ah, fuck,] Template-Abrel said. [He brought his daughter too Were facing everyone. Seraphs. Authorities. Were facing everyone.] The Instruments template fared better than her actual selfstill weeping too hard to offer anything of a cogent response. Avo wasnt sure where her father or brother were, but he wouldnt be surprised if he found them on the other side. As more and more pillars began to rise, Avo''s cog-feed registered a flood of new metaphysical signatures. More Godclads drawn into the paths. Their number was already nearing a thousand. But across the Tiers, Avo detected other metaphysical pressures as wellwith a potent one building in Ori-Thaum especially. "Dont have long," Avo taunted, speaking directly to Veylis. That cuts going to strike you down sooner or An ache emanated through him. A familiar ache he experienced once before. A phantasmal sore burst upon the Strixs body as a spray of broken ghosts and twisted memories grew out from the Heaven like teratoma. Curses and hisses came from the Paladinsfrom almost everyone present, as small sores began to spread across their body. +Fuck. Godsdammit. Not again. Fuck!+ Shotin sent. Time is with none of us, Veylis shot back. Not for me. But most certainly not for you. It will take five minutes for my mothers strike to become true. How many do you anticipate losing in those five minutes? {Love is a nasty thing,} the Infacer said, chuckling before their voice crackled with a discordant signal. {It will ruin just about everyone. Everyone. And while you were make dilemmas for us, we did the same for you. So. Better get one of your sequences up through the rupture and save your little Agnos.} Then, the Neo-Creationist EGI broadcasted a pitched note into the world and projected a strange set of symbols. Their canon spilled from the static crown drifting upon the Demiurge''s brow. It looked like a giant wearing a constellation as an adornment, with meteorites descending from their skull. {Deploying memetics,} Kant said to Avo. {Prepare to intercept.} As if on cue, a swarm of missiles infused with the lesser symbols and signals were fired across the void, and detonated themselves over and over again upon impacting the Strix. As more missiles exploded, his understanding grew, just in time for the next relatavistically delivered lesson to arrive. Rapidly, his Empathy and Hysteria generated a broad countermeasure against the coming attack, and Avo further laced his protections over his comrades. After a moment longer, the Infacer simply sighed and directed an ansible communication to Kant. {You piece of shit. Stop feeding him homework.} {But we are aligned, Infacer. Both of us are trying to resolve the issue of the Dreamer. Two sets of memetic attacks are better than one.} {Cunt.} Maru and Kare arrived next to Avo in that instant, the bearded senior paladin glaring hatefully at Osjon in the distance. "None of you fucking touch him," he whispered. "That cocksucker''s mine." Instead of speaking, Stormsparrow merely pulled another burning mask hovering in the air and placed it upon Maru''s face. He turned to stare at the sang, but she simply grinned. "A small blessing to facilitate your attempt at revenge." DRAMATIS PERSONAE ASSIGNED: HERO OF MIGHT GRANTS YOU THE RIGHT TO SACRIFICE YOUR LIFE TO KILL ANOTHER ACTOR OF EQUAL OR LESSER IMPORTANCE. LOSES THIS ROLE UPON DEATH. ACT 3 SCENE 1: THE SACRIFICE Now, with everyone else manifesting their Heavens the Stormsparrow finished her words by buried a clawed hand under her chin and, with a violent flourish, tearing her current face clean off. But instead of dying and leaving an anchor, melodies and vibrant fibers erupted from her lacerations and threaded through each of the remaining masks spiraling above her. A colossal form wove itself into shape, the levitating masks slotted together forming one face of purest white, another bearing a visage weeping and blue, a third black, red, and furious, a fourth green, gold, and smiling. The rest of the Stormsparrow''s body began to grow, but over her sheath materialized a brilliant raiment infused with song and power. Each plate it sported was lined with crawling text, and looking upon them would cause a tune to fill one''s ears. A layer of shadows also ensnared her six arms, with countless more hands reaching out along their sides, and a massive flame-red spear materializing in the air next to her. At the end of the spear trailed a crimson ink brush, and where it stroked existence, a red hare bounced from place to place. PROTAGONIST OF THE ABBERANT CHORUS, NARRATORS NEMESIS (CULTURE/FORCE/WAR/STRENGTH/SPEED/SADNESS/HONOR/ANGER/THEATER/DIFFUSION) [EST. 44444444] Avo regarded the Stormsparrow''s Heaven for a moment, as he tried to comprehend just how these domains worked. He thought his Strix was esoteric, but a Heaven of Culture? What kind of cannons would that have? [I uh] template-Kae sighed. [Avo. Try to get a closer look at her Frame if you can.] He grunted in response. The Overheaven had a feeling he would be trying to kill her at some point in the future. "You''ll learn soon enough," the Storm Sparrow said, somehow overhearing his internal monologue. To make matters more disconcerting, her voice was coming from each of her masks now, making her the third Godclad present that spoke with a voice of their own legion. "Yes, I know. I think it says something about the Massist-Saintist zeitgeist that we all wish to command civilizations, or be civilizations unto ourselves. But that is a conversation for philosophers, and I am simply here to commit a murder. A very, very special murder. She pointed her spear at Veylis, the brush at its end leaving an unmaking stroke. Avo felt space part outright here the paint remained. As the rabbit hopped from place to place, it moved between separating patterns. It wasn''t like his Paracausal Retcontinuity, but something else entirelysomething that unraveled shapes, both material and metaphysical. With additional focus, he perceived faint strands of red connecting it to each of her masks. It was suspected that her spear could only be directed on someone imbued with one of her masks. That was what his Conception of Ontology hinted at, anyway. "Well, then," Stormsparrow said. Time for me to start this song. Ghoul. Go find your damsel. Im beginning to feel the rash growing down my back and I would like it if we could finish this thing before we all turn into pieces of modern infancidal artwork. But the Stormsparrows words were unneeded, for another submind was already in the process of performing said rescue. *** Across the Tiers, golden domes materialized into existence, protecting essential Massist districts from Veylis opening assault. Her overextended paths dissipated before they could be caught within these counter-chronologies. And then Highflame started experiencing their own set of random mass casualty event as Sanctus started shifting chronobombs into their Sovereignties as well. This was quickly joined by over a billion people getting nulled at once; flesh plagues sweeping through Stormtree; fracturing bolts of lightning and destruction pushing into Omnitech controlled territories, and a general exchange of fire between border troops. Seen from orbit, the surface of New Vultun was a scintillating sight to behold. But with each glittering spot, millions died. And with each thread of gold, the opening blows of the Fifth Guild War were struck. But through it all, as Saintist and Massist knots and cadres clashed all across the city, and the full might of the guilds were unleashed once more, a single tendril of phantasmal essence reached up into an open wound in the sky. This place, once sealed, a spatial demiplane, was a blockage preventing the leakage of the fallen heaven of love. Immediately, a massive flood of Rend passed over into Avo. But he continued, rising higher to bring forth the resurrection of love, and more importantly, to save the life of a friend once stolen from him. +Too muchits all too much,+ Kae moaned mentally, her tortured mind echoing from the depths of the Heaven. +I cant stopcant stop love fromfrom falling. 28-12 Lover’s Quarrel (IV) Lament. Lament is the poison inflicted upon a broken heart. What could have been. What might have been. What will never be. These are ingredients to despairdespair born from the understanding that if only a few variables were different, if only another choice was made, then perhaps your desire would have been manifest. Instead of lament. I know what it means to lament. I lamented my pantheon even before I betrayed them. I lamented the failures of humanity, even before I lost faith in them. I lamented my wants, my ego, my willingness to damn myselfdamn existencefor a second chance at paradise. Lament. I have never lamented you, Veylis. I could have never lamented you. You werethe shape of my pride, my love. No matter what you choose, I would be proud of you. You are far stronger than I, you can face humanity without taking the wounds I do. But I just wish I wish that I was a better father. A wiser man. Someone that could have showed youthat could have made you see All we feel is not enough. Love is not enough. I wish I could just surrender my choice to you. But I cannot. I cannot. We always damn ourselves in the end. I lament the same thing you will. Humanity cannot save itself, for we are at once the reason for our salvation, but the authors of our own damnation. It cannot be us. Love is not enough. It never was. -An Unsent Thoughtcast from Jaus Avandaer 28-12 Lovers Quarrel (IV) A dreaming flame rose to greet the corpse of Falling Love, and as Avo ascended, New Vultun collapsed under the first shots of the Fifth Guild War. Far above the Tiers, he had a full view of the alloyed steps that composed the core of New Vultun. Accretions dotted the sprawl of megabuildings, stretching even along the curve of the horizon. Of the countless billions who lived in the Tiers, few were prepared to face their coming fate. As columns of smoke and fire rose in the aftermath of the High Seraphs opening blitz, retaliatory strikes were unleashed without hesitation. Rendbombs and nukes were flung in equal measure, shuttled across the reach of space into enemy districts. Detonations swept through streets, alleys, and tunnels. Specialized metaphysical canons made to hollow megablocks and defensive hard points from the inside were deployed. Fields of collapsing space plunged into these structures via open doorways, air vents, and even electrical wiring, splaying themselves wide across the interior and upon the bodies of the living before triggering a sudden implosion. Memite ensured the infrastructure remained intactand unblemished at that. Millions splattered apart, their bodies liquefying in response to a sudden vacuous pressure. Rooms became analogous to breached underwater diving chambers as pressure spiked to impossible levels. Overhead, nets of force expanded across the skylanes, the weaving charged with hyperactive friction. The aerovecs that passed through these trip wires came apart as if sawed clean by monofilament weaponry. The Guilders within, meanwhile, evaporated, never even getting the chance to bleed. And then the first of the rapid response units arrived. Across Ori-Thaums districts, pyramid-shaped, Eviscerator assault craft blinked into existence. Their hulls were compositions of vivianite and metal. They shot forth before any other Guild was ready, engines hot and heading low. In seconds, they slashed out from their dispatch points at staggering velocities, liquefying passersby with speed alone. Those they couldnt fly over were struck by payloads of trauma-patterns and tactical nuclear missiles. After less than a minute of operation, they began breaking down, unable to even sustain their own thrust. But as they came apart, their fusion reactors detonated, rendering the drone itself a final ingredient in a full course of ordinance. But while Ori-Thaum assets struck deep and unleashed chaos, the No-Dragons response followed almost as promptly. Biotheurgic contagions gelled together, forming cancerous patches on the face of reality. The tumors burst, rendering air and space a porous wound, as swarms of combat-ready bioforms flooded down from the skies. Their bodies hummed loud as they fired larvae from hollow pods lining their bodies, unleashing noxious gases capable of consuming even the heartiest of matter sloughed across masses of districts, architecture only spared by the blessing of memite. The same fate was not shared by those who were caught in the open. Yet as people died, as countless lives were lost, lightning bolts leapt out from open wounds and devastation, slashing at the metaphysical hives growing over reality. From rising flames and piled corpses emerged hounds of a ruinous nature. Across the tapestry of existence, Avo heard a howl unlike any other resonate through his very frame. Stormtree was entering the fray, and with it came the accompaniment of more shifting chronologies and the corrosive surge of entropy. The Guilders consumed each other, these blows ready gears in advance. Protective demiplanes emerged in layers, sectioning off critical areas and protecting individual megablocks as additional wren bombs crashed down. Some detonations were stopped altogether, halted by thaumaturgic fortifications. Others shattered these planes utterly, causing the contents within to be caught in a ruinous rupture. Knots, drones, bioforms, mechs, and human forces battled, fighting for every street, for every block, dominance over the air, over the nether, over critical installations, and for their own homes. Some defensive lines manifested, clashing against each other, while others broke entirely. More than a few never came to be, the members needed for the defense eliminated in advance by sleepers or enemy operatives. New Vultun fell into chaos with such fluidity and inimical harmony between the Guilds that the destruction almost seemed symphonic. They had done this four times beforefought, bled, killed, and ultimately settled. Four times, four separate wars. Everyone knew a fifth was coming. This wasnt a surprise, but though some might have expected this to be just another increment in Idheims sordid history, the looming of the latter ensured that this war, whatever its outcome, would prove to be the last. And so a branch of Avos consciousness climbed, enduring the Heaven of Loves flooding Rend as he reached out with his sequences. His ontology expanded, passing down through the infernos consuming the Tiers, through the collapsing Elysiums crumbling down upon the Purgs, through the clashing frontlines in the Undercroft, down the face of the Tiers into the Warrens, where entire districts were little more than smoking craters as knots and cadres fought to hold their territories. Throat followed, and factories that worked to produce new drones and weapons were little more than dust and ash. The Spine came after, but Avo encountered only surprise. Battles raged spread here too, but unlike the last war, the Spine enduring only skirmishes rather than the full brunt of an uprisinglikewise, the Guilders hadnt started their war here either, causing the FATELESS to be more untouched than the actual citizens above them. Far, far down, Avo went into the gutters themselves, that miserable pit the same as it always was, festering, decayed, with little left worth destroying. There was a delicious irony in how New Vultuns structural safety had been inverted. On this day, more than any other day, if one wished to survive, the gutters were the place to be. But even deeper than the gutters was the Maw and the border walls festooned upon it. Borders that channeled excess entropy into the gargantuan disintegrating Rendsink at the base of the megacity itself the means Avo would use to keep himself clean, efficient, and sustain the Heaven of Love before it could annihilate the entire city.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! REND CAPACITY: 57% ERROR! ERROR! ERR-PLEASENON1A*$ REND CAPACITY: 74% REND CAPACITY: 61% ERROR ERROR ERROR His cog-feed glitches intensified as he prepared to pass into the Heaven of Love. The surrounding space seemed utterly normal, giving no visual portrayal of the Heaven of Loves fall. If one could gaze upon the tapestry of existence, however, patterns were fraying at an alarming rate. Biology, culture, information, force, warcountless more Domains were tied to the Heaven of Love, and Love itself acted as a coagulant, drawing countless other patterns into knots and unleashing them as afflictions upon existence. Afflictions like wombrash, and so much more. Already, Avo could feel parts of his ontology beginning to warp. The birthing plague was burrowing into him, burrowing into everyone across New Vultun. Veylis wasnt the only person with a timer she made sure of that. He was partially playing into her hand, but the Heaven of Love could not be allowed to fall and there was an Agnos he needed to save. Passing through the prolapsed demiplane once used to seal the Heaven of Love, Avo felt space descend as he entered a new section of reality altogether. A color greeted hima red beyond his ability to describe. It was a tangible color, a mood with vivacity, and it inflamed his very being as he continued his approach. Exposed to the unfettered powers of love, Avo felt his own emotions twisted in pride. Every mood he experienced was amplified to a ridiculous extent, yet it wasnt targeting the mind, rather an informational booster. The awareness of a concept propagating itself within the space. It was impossible to know about love, to know about lust, and not have every single related idea magnified a thousand-fold. +Hold on, hold on, I can fix... I cant fix... I can fix.+ Kaes pained cries emanated from even deeper within this desolated dimension. Avo crawled forth, branching ghosts reaching out ahead of him, groping blindly through the crimson vapors. REND CAPACITY: 61% REND CAPACITY: 48% REND CAPACITY: 56% REND CAPACITY: 53% Avos Stillborn had become a channel for entropy. Peeking at New Vultun via a branch of ghosts, he watched as walls of matter-rotting blackness erupted free from the Maw. Overflowing Rend rose to heights previously unseen. With each second, it grew by dozens of meters, and soon it would rival even the Tiers in altitude. Once more, Avo found himself glad he secured the Paladins aid. A few Rendsinks wouldnt have been enough for this. The border walls themselves might not be enough if he couldnt resolve the fall in time. +Kae,+ Avo said, casting his thoughts forward. +Kae? Ive come. Im going to free you from this.+ He didnt get a response, though increasingly he could feel the signature of another soul. SOUL DETECTERRRR]]][EWR REMEMBRANCE OF ARDOR, YEARNING-BECOMES-BLISS (LOVE/ERRRRRRESTIM.99912293934823HN1NNOOPLEASNO) Strings of nonsensical mem-data flooded Avos sequences. His simulated dreamscape pulsated with intrusive memories. Faint phantoms materialized alongside his templates. Vague recollections of people indulging in moments of romance and copulation. [Whoa,] template-Chambers said, as he looked on, at the vagueness of two human forms brushing desperately against each other. Any other time, Avo would have done his utmost to suppress such an intrusion. But the rash was already upon him, and unless he fixed the Heaven of Love, then utter consumption would be his ultimate fate. One he shared with countless billions. "Kae," he called out again, and then promptly stopped. The surrounding redness broke, and he arrived before what looked to be a collapsing star. But instead of burning, it pulsated. It beat, like a heart. Oscillating rings of brilliant colors cycled around its shape, alternating through the hues of a rainbow. Within the light of the sun, Avo could see two forms swirling about each other, their hands clasped, their legs in an interconnected spiral. Where one began, and the other ended, Avo couldnt tell. But what he could feel was love. This was the epicenter of love. This was where everything broke. For a beat, the Strix Upon the Empty was contrasted against the Remembrance, its form of darkness a phantasmal blot upon this vibrant place. And then a moan came from within the star, the familiar moan of an Agnos, followed by the choked gasp of another. Avo knew that voice as well. That wasnt Kae. That was Dawton. +Kae, Kae where... where?+ the supposedly dead Paladin spoke, his mind ringing out with confusion and shock. [Dawton?] Kays template whimpered within Avo. [What... why is he here? Where is he?] "Within the Heaven," Avo said, following the thoughts back to their very source. The very same source Kaes actual thoughtstuff emanated from as well. Cracked and broken, ghosts could flow free from the Heaven of Lovejust as they did when Avo survived his first rupturing. A phantasmal tendril reached out from the Strix as he injected a surge of rippling Soulfire into the vivacious star. Part of Avos consciousness plunged into a new sub-reality. One sweltering with animation, lust, love, and countless other Domains. But as his soul drew closer to the Heaven of Love, he found himself facing a self-devouring realm. The damage inflicted upon the Heaven of Love wasnt evident or obviously broken like so many other Fallen Heavens were. Instead, Avo felt the depths of the ontological disfigurement for the first time. Canons here were clashing against each othera cascade of failure triggering a chain of backlash. Entropic feedback coursed through the sphere around the Soul like sparks from an exposed wire. Miracles were clashing against each other, but also intruding, overlapping, triggering feedback loops of inevitable backlash and sending fragments of mem-data drifting around Avo. As he guided his self-moving Soul forward, information related to the Frame containing the Remembrance failed to load, and Avo continued to the only part of this subreality that remained intact. The Soul itself. More murmurs echoed out from the crevice of shivering flame. Avo regarded the other Soul with curiosity as he felt Kaes presence reside within its depths. He didnt know how many times she resurrectedif she resurrected at all. The total collapse of the data within this Liminal Frame rendered Avo more ignorant than he wanted. Still, so long as there was part of the Agnos left, he could mend her. Just like he mended Tavers son; a good deed worth doing in the end. [Avo,] template-Kae said, facing the fire that caged her true self, [amam I] "It will be alright. I will inject you into her memories. Update her consciousness with yours." [Then will she be... will I be myself afterward?] "You always were. Were just removing any potential harm done." [Right Right! Yes. Okay. Okay! Avo. We can do this! We can do this. I canDo it!] Avo plunged a ghost-link into the Soul and reached into the Agnos mind for the first time in what felt like an eternity. As he prepared to make the transference, however, his Synchronicity brushed the mental architecture of the being contained within the Soul, and the foreignness of the architecture made Avo halt. It wasnt just Kay there. There was a separate mind layered over hers and joined with hers, but there was something wrong with it as well. It was like a mental parasite, fused to her consciousness, only capable of manifesting thanks to her cognitive capacity. "I cant... Im lost. I cant see. Im lost." Dawton Morrows voice sounded out. "Dawton , I cant find you," Kae said in reply to herself. Both voices came from the same Soul. The same mind. [I oh, gods, what did she do to me.] Nausea swept through Kaes template as she tried to understand what was happening. The same disgust welled up within Avo as well. Veylis and the Infacer either had enough of Dottons cognitive structure mapped down or a close enough replica on hand. Whatever the case, they uploaded a partial imprint of Kaes former lover into her own mind. Effectively layering her consciousness and trapping her within herself. Trapping her with her love. Trapping her within love. Avo doubted this act of symbology to be one of pointless cruelty. It must affect the Remembrances structure in some way. But then, before he could proceed, a second''s surprise followed. Avo felt the flames of his contagious intellect catch onto somethinga stable shard of mem-data. As it burned, he consumed its structure, and a shape loaded into his Soulscape. The shape of a man. He manifested within Avos Soul as Walton had done at the start of this journey. But the one who greeted Avo wasnt Walton. No. But he was known to the ghoulknown by his legend; known by his screams. The faint form of Jaus Avandaer loaded into Avos simulated replica of New Vultun as templates crowded around him. For a moment, he remained frozen, then he blinked, and the Godbreakers features collapsed into a grimace of pain. [I oh, Veylis what have you done.] 28-12 Lover’s Quarrel (V) Surrender. Such is the indignity you inflicted upon my father. The same poison has touched my mother, touched me, touched every living being left in existence. For you are the tyrant of want desire made divine. All humans want, and when we see our desires made manifest; the ones we yearn to have, the lives we wish to enjoy, the power so intoxicating to possessthese things infest us more than we embody them. Love is like a contagion, distorting our actions, breaking us from wisdom, depriving us of control. Control. So few have ever felt it. So few know its blessing. It is through the enlightenment of control that I have been spared your corruption. And the worst thing about you, Remembrance, is that you arent even conscious at all. Just a hollowed godly carcass we stitched together as a blessing for our power. Do you know how many Gods and Goddesses of Love we had to break to create you, Remembrance? Do you know how many trillions died nourishing your predecessors? How much loss and bloodshed was invested in your glory? And all for naught. All for nothing. You were another one of my fathers gifts. A crown of gold for a world composed of people too unworthy to serve as proper slaves. But he loved us. All of us. Well and true. And so you touched him. So you made him betray himself. Even before your ontology was made true, and your miracles were made manifest, you unraveled his spirit. He suffers now. He suffers because you planted a seed of weakness in his heart. Love wore his body. But he was made to be clad by you. How disgustingly paradoxical. But worry not. I love him too. But my love is a higher thing. A weakness I have broken and recast with controlmy will, above all other wills; this emotion mine to wield. You will fall. Not by my hand. No. I will not strike you. There is no need. There is no pathway toward the future in which you remain intact. Even now, my allies and enemies are reaching into you, trying to attune your canons to their purpose. They create planar pockets for their deniable experiments. They wish to use you as an incubator of life and death; and to sterilize their adversaries. You will fall because you were fated to fall. Love is its own undoing. For that, you have my pity and even. It is good that you were never aware, Remembrance. You would have learned to hate this existence. -Veylis Avandaer 28-12 Lovers Quarrel (V) Jaus Avandaer. Savior of Idheim. Godbreaker. Betrayer. Murderer of Pantheons. Father of the Ensouled. By feat or legend, all knew Jaus, and his manifestation within Avo''s Soulscape drew a crowd unlike any other. The faintness of his form came together at the center of an intersection. The world around him was a dreamlike expanse, burning megablocks stacked right up against each other. This was an architecture connected by dilapidated bridges and half-destroyed light rail tubes. This simulated section of memories was more akin to a trench line, used as a playground by enforcers, Regulars, and combatants alike. Templates fought, died, and hunted each other here. The entire space spanned hundreds of thousands of kilometers, the overall aesthetics seeming as if a hive assembled from random architectural permutations. Jaus upon a small, sunken street, its placement seeming as if an amphitheater before megablocks turned audience stands. Millions of templates manifested on rooftops, behind windows, held together on street corners, or simply hovered in the sky above. None of them approached Jausmost too awed, some too fearful, few outright suspicious. Avo himself spent some time examining the mem-data he had just consumed. Of all the things he expected to encounter in his attempt to save Kae, finding a lingering remnant of Jaus Avandaer wasn''t one. What startled him even more was the Necrotheurgic sequencing of Jaus Avandaer''s consciousness. Worse, Hysteria trembled as Avo continued his dive. Defiance had left his touch here. The craftsmanship could not be denied. Applying that to the numerous blind spots that existed within this version of Jaus''s memories, Avo suspected that he was dealing with a node created from the original savior himself. That thought, more than any other, impelled the Overheaven to adopt a stance of paranoia. However, Avo detected no war minds hidden within Jaus''s node. He didn''t even have any trauma patterns to unleash. Short of any unexpected surprises, Jaus was effectively harmless. But all good Necrojacks knew damage to be the least efficient way of manipulating another''s mind. As Jaus Avandaer got his bearings, he swept his gaze over his surroundings. The million templates gathered to see him. Avo took a moment to regard him as well. His hair was short, orderly, neat. A golden whorl curved leftward upon his forehead, and his facial features looked sharp, possessed of a healthy gauntness. Jaus''s eyes flashed twice, and his irises gleamed with a soothing white glow. He wore a simple brown suit with a biosynthetic turtleneck on the inside, but his shoes stood in contrast to the ensemble, seeing as they were rugged combat boots instead of any kind of formal wear. +Hello,+ Jaus Avandaer said, greeting the many who were present. +I seem to have gotten a little bit lost. I don''t think I should be here. But then again, I have a suspicion that this statement applies in more ways than one.+ He smiled genuinely, his mind dry of anxiety or fear. +Could someone please tell me where I am right now? The area is quite well-designed and novel. Does this place have a name?+ The templates'' silence lingered even after he spoke. But they weren''t reluctant to speakmore like they were choked with disbelief. Ultimately, it was Avo who broke the impasse, deciding to greet Jaus not in the form of the Strix, but rather using his ephemeral avatar, his original sheath: the enhanced ghoul. Ghostly tendrils wove a new shape across from Jaus, and faintly, Avo heard voices speak to him in the back of his mind. [Be careful now,] Draus said, her paranoia exceeding his. [Ain''t no reason for him to be here. Could be any kind of trap. You know how Noloth is. Be ready to gnaw him at any time. Be ready to eject this sequence out of your mind.] Incubi pinged Avo, reminding him they were on standby and also monitoring the situation. They were fascinated by Jaus''s appearance, but weren''t ruled by him. Instead, they waited for additional orders, prepared to react per the conditions of the gestalt''s progenitor. [Be very, very fucking careful,] Corner said, but he was worried about something else entirely. [This is Jaus Avandaer. Whatever you do, even if he''s a fake, don''t just null him in front of everyone. If hes a plant do him with some dignity. He godsdamned deserves it.] And finally, Kae spoke as well, offering her input. [Avo, I don''t know why he''s here, but I don''t think that the Famines could have accessed the Heaven of Love. N-not easily, anway. Think of this: Jaus Avandaer has been found inside the root data of this heaven. The root data cannot be accessed without the help of an Agnos. There are only so few people in New Vultunoh no, Idheimwho can access this heaven like we have, especially after it fell. Ephemeralsthey cant survive the Rend, and the subreality of a Soul cannot simply be jacked into. I think this was put in before it collapsed. It is the most likely explanation. If this is a trap by Noloth, then they have been planning it for centuries. Which why havent they used it against us?] Avo grunted in acknowledgment. The Agnos wasnt wrong. There were too many pieces missing and too much inactivity on the part of major parties for this to be planned. Increasingly, he suspected that maybe no one else knew Jaus was hidden here. A node of him, anyway. As Avo continued digesting Jaus mem-data, he decided to engage the template properly in conversation. Something about that just felt right to Avoand it was something he wanted to do. He knew Jaus by pain and agony. Now, perhaps gazing upon his mental shadow would grant Avo insight into the mans former glory.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Avo finished manifesting his avatar two meters away from Jaus, and the surrounding templates shuffled in discomfort, tension straining their minds and expressions. They were clearly uncertain about what was to follow. Most of them adored Jaus. A good portion of them despised Avo, though their animosity could not be considered pure hatred anymore. As Avo faced Jaus, another submind slid into place, taking over the Kaes rescue and the Remembrances restoration. Entropy spiked hard as all across New Vultun, battles raged, and Avo fough in every one. +Why, what a specimen you are,+ Jaus said, regarding Avo with widening eyes. He remained absent of fear, guided by curiosity alone, even when faced with a near three-meter-tall monster sprouting obsidian tendrils that leaked spore-like particulates into the air. +Not sure if I have ever seen something like you. Are you sapient? Or a creation of the daughters of the cycle?+ Daughters. He was speaking of the Sang. +Not a bioform.+ +Ah. As I suspected. Still. Your sheathe is artistically feral.+ [Thats one fucking way of describing nightmarish fungal monster,] Glitch murmured. +There isn''t a name to this place,+ Avo said, giving Jaus a delayed answer. +Not a proper location. More like a collection of memories. A randomized assortment of data. + Jaus looked around himself once more and frowned. +I''m inside your mental lobby?+ he asked. +In simplicity,+ Avo replied. +I must confess I couldnt tell. It is quite well constructed. I am keen about patternsI should have noticed. You must be a master.+ Jaus face turned inscrutable. And then he spoke again. +Defiance? Might that be you?+ Avos mind promptly went blank. Jaus continued talking. +I suspect that this isnt me. I I am missing far too many memories. I feel the same as I did before But there are patches of nothing here. Too many stretches of nothing between major moments that define my past. My shell is whole, but the substance is deprived.+ Sweeping through Jaus composition, Avo was inclined to agree. The only reason he hadnt passed any immediate judgment was uncertainty. Uncertainty if this even was Jaus. Uncertainty if he was a threat. But once more, like so many times beforeas he been there are the start of this journeyWaltons shadow loomed. And his reach stretched far and true. +He was my creator,+ Avo said, speaking honestly. There was no point to lie. Not here, not in his own mind. Jaus nodded at that, offering Avo a genial smile. +I thought so. The quality of your mindscape. It matches his. Flawless.+ As soon as Jaus finished speaking those words, Avo ran a few thousand different scenarios in inactive sections of his consciousness. Could Jaus and Walton have been working together this entire time? No, that didn''t make sense at all. Timeframes between different events for one, how Walton operated as a rogue asset against the Guilds, the Hungers, even Ninth Column If Jaus was his ally, then Zein wouldnt be Waltons enemy. Then there was the potential that this node of Jaus was created by Walton, manifested by a dive through the paths somehow. Unlikely as well. The Famine of Defiance was a master of many things, but Veylis stood queen above chronology. He couldn''t have gained access through her. Avos brief series of simulations continued running as Jaus spoke again. +My friendship with Defiance is, lamentably, only theoretical. I had sought to pry him away from the others in his priesthood. To inspire him toward freedom and self-determination. I lived countless lives in the paths. Ran iteration after iteration using variables collected from Defiances broken nodes. The Infacer aided my efforts greatly, but even the mind couldnt have suspected what I was trying to do. Doubtless, they thought I was trying to ensure the eradication of Noloth. Not so. Not so.+ +Then what?+ Avo asked. +Their great wrong is gluttony. But I do not blame them. They are a civilization dying under the weight of compounding fear. They wish to be eternal, they wish to be right, and they wish to be preserved. And such a wish rendered them into a self-reinforcing tyranny against themselves and the world beyond. A shame. It will bring me great pride to see the many citizens of Noloth eventually freed. But I needed access to them first. And so I was created. As a lure for Defiance.+ Avo listened, utterly enraptured. +I I feel this to be correct. Yes. Ithe original Jaus, lived through path after path, experienced countless moments that could have been with Defiance. And managed a creation. The installation of his consciousness in broken captured nodes. These nodesnear perfect facsimiles of consciousness, were true enough egos to infuse into a Liminal Framebut without enough weight to sink into a Soul. Or at least, the nodes Jaus created were. Again, I am shell and not substance. I remained among the root data. Remained in the dark for so, so long.+ +Why? You did all this just to get Defiances attention?+ +I wished to surprise him. To have a conversation with him. Just us two alone. Nodes spawned from our original selves, speaking in this sunken realm, away from prying eyes. He was the spy for a reason-he was the dream of a Wahakten who could accept his great sin, and thereby culture beyond Noloth as well. Through him, I wished to reach the Hungers again, somehow. Begin their rehabilitation and restoration even across the veil.+ A few things became clear at Avo at this point. This version of Jaus knew nothing of Defiances betrayal; their knowledge was far out of date. But the question was if what Jaus had done became the trigger behind Defiances turn in the first place. In fact, more pieces were sliding into place. For a long time, Avo found himself awed by Waltons foresight; the Famine had outplayed Godclads and Guilds, bested and stolen from Zein, Veylis, Voidwatch, Omnitech, and the Noloth itself. His achievements in subterfuge were beyond legendary in that regard, to a degree Avo found absurd. Even now, there were caches scattered across the city. And an unrepaired node gifted back to Avo via the Infacer. But with what Jaus was saying, considering Jaus had been seeding various Heavens with his own nodes +How did you know Defiance would ever access a node?+ Avo said, putting a sudden question into words. Jaus tilted his head and smiled at that. +Because thats how the Infacer typically manages to entrap his nodes. Defiance he strays from rules sometimes. He is not repulsed by thaumaturgy or potential power like the others. He accepts what needs to be done. He sinks into communal Heavens and vulnerable Frames alike. And so I planted these seeds to wait for him. Across countless Heavens, I waited for him.+ And across countless Heavens, an even greater conspiracy had been brewing beyond Avos awarenessbeyond even Waltons awareness. The Overheaven was practically numb with disbelief. It wasnt that Defiance was genius beyond all other geniuses, it was that he was likely getting hidden pieces of insighthad intelligence offered by Jaus himself stolen from potential futures. The Famine must have revealed the state of the world to Jaus many nodes, and upon returning, been flipped. Of all the players in this game, Jaus Avandaer remained the most insidious of them alland possibly even unintentionally. [Holy fucking shit,] Benhata breathed, tone dry with disbelief. +You said Defiance made you,+ Jaus said, observing Avo. +If that is the case, then my nodes must have affected him. Enough for him to accept my words on legacy. To give his son a symbolic resurrection. Good. Im glad. He deserves to give himself some forgiveness. And he has made something magnificent in you. This iteration of me could have been discovered by no one else-no one else is thorough enough; possesses the skill.+ Jaus chuckled at that. +You will not believe how many paths I had to simulate to finally discover how to bridge the gap between me and Defiance. How is he now?+ +He is nothing now. Nothing. Unless a version of him remains.+ That was all Avo needed to say. Jaus expression grew somber. +I see. So then, he rebelled?+ +Yes. Against everything. The Guilds. The Hungers. Plotted. Killed. Betrayed. All to steal a Frame from Veylis. Steal a Frame. Created me. And now here I am. Before you. Took you from the falling Heaven of Love.+ The saviors expression grew even grimmer. +Oh. This path. Its falling Then, that means the Guilds betrayed their oaths and tried to turn love into a weapon. And that I am dead, arent I.+ +No,+ Avo said, speaking honestly. +Wish you were. Would have been a kinder fate. Your daughter your wife Might not want to know about these things.+ For the first time, a hint of vulnerability revealed itself behind Jaus gaze. +I suspect you are right. I have seen futures that I didnt wish to accept But what worth are the wants of a man.+ He exhaled, breathing his lament despite being little more than a configuration of memories. +I thank you for your silence. You have his consideration.+ The casual kindness and compliments from Jaus was making Avo uncomfortable. The certainty and ease the man spoke such words was somehow crushing. Someone couldnt be that good. That pure. This was a caricature of Jausan idealized cognitive construct. It had to be. +Regardless, as you stand in Defiances stead, and you bring news that we are in progress down one of the worst paths, I will convey to you what I planned to reveal to himlet the Heaven fall.+ Avo didnt expect Jaus to say that. +What?+ +The Heaven of Love. Let it fall. Accelerate its fall. Trust me.+ 28-13 Plots Within Plots +MY PRIESTS! THE MOMENT IS UPON US! THE OUTSIDERS GNAW AND TEAR AT ONE ANOTHER! THE BURNING DREAMER AND THE BETRAYERS DAUGHTER HAVE EMBRACED EACH OTHER IN THEIR STRUGGLE. AN OPENING HAS PRESENTED ITSELF. ANGLE TOWARD NOLOTHS SALVATIONAND ASCENSION! HOLD NOTHING BACK. GIVE ALL OF YOURSELVES. GIVE YOUR LIVES. GIVE YOUR WARMINDS. GIVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, AND GRANT YOU ABSOLUTION, REDEMPTION, AND RESTORATION! DO ANYTHING YOU CANALL THAT YOU MUST TO ENSURE THE +FORGOTTEN+ REACHES THE GATEKEEPER THAT BEARS THE WEIGHT BETWEEN REALMS! LEND AID TO DEFIANCES GREATEST TRANSGRESSION AND SEE THE BETRAYERS DAUGHTER BE FORCED TO RELINQUISH HER HOLD. AND THENCONTAIN THE DREAMER. CAGE HIS FLAME. WE HAVE BEEN IN THE DARK AND COLD FOR FAR TOO LONG. WE HUNGER FOR A PROPER HEAT TO WARM OUR RETURNING HEARTS.+ -Thoughtcast from Hungers to All Surviving Famines 28-13 Plots Within Plots +What,+ Avo said, utterly taken aback by Jaus statement. +Let the Heaven of Love fall,+ Jaus repeated, resolute in his proclamation. +It is a transgression that must come to fruition. As you have discovered this node of mine within the Remembrance, then the Guilds are at war. At war for the return of the Ladder. None of them can be allowed to succeed. Not even Veylis. Bring the Heaven down and cripple them.+ Stunned murmurs spread across Avos Soulscape. No one was prepared for such a whiplash-inducing change in Jaus. One moment, the man was the embodiment of purest nobility. Now, he was demanding the death of untold billions. Avo, however, found himself concerned with another distressing detail. +You knew the Heaven of Love was going to fall.+ +Knew?+ Jaus replied, his voice steady. +No. But the future comes only in so many common permutations. The Guilds, they are constructs of community and culture. Bindings of the old faith, as it were. But ultimately, they are also engines that crave powerhumans of greed, avarice, and terror towards the existential. I cannot recount the sheer number of paths I have experienced, but in all the futures where I am no longer present, when the Gatekeeper is not properly established, and when my project remains undone, the guilds are always bound for war.+ Jaus paused, his expression unreadable. +My daughter, despite all her capability, her skills, her power, faces substantial opposition. They all do. No ones victory is assured, but I have gazed upon the utopias they bring and oblivion eventually becomes preferable. Should any of the Guilds win in their current state, the next world will be born a diseased fruit of fated misery. And so I sought a solution. A means to shatter all Guilds of power. To render them vulnerable before Voidwatch and my Paladins. Such means were revealed to me by the pathsthe perversion of the Remembrance. The horrors of the birthing plague. The sheer devastation brought by falling love.+ +So the Heaven of Love always falls,+ Avo said, the weight of inevitability settling on his shoulders. +It is always corrupted.+ +Yes. What you are beholding now isn''t a grand conspiracy, I suspect,+ Jaus continued, his voice growing lighter, almost resigned. +Rather, it is a compounding mistakea mistake I allowed to fester. The Heaven of Love, at its inception, was meant to be a communal source of miracles. The canons I provided were meant to foster unity, collaboration, and positive understanding between all cultures and peoples. But the guilds under me also had their own interests. Scaarthians adjusting fertility rates for critical districts, the Daughters of the Cycle seeking to escape their cursed fate by twisting away their fated pregnancies to no avail.+ He sighed, a deep rumble of regret coloring his tone. +I bore the Heaven once. It was a tool to empower my diplomacy. To twist the desires of entire nations to my whims and engender the foundations for peace. As my conquest to stabilize the world reached a point of stability, I surrendered the Heaven and gave it as a gift to all. For all to use. For all to alter to their needsso long as their demands could be improved by the Council of Guilds. Beneficial canons and minute updates came at first. But+ A faint rumble of anger entered Jaus'' voice as he held out an open hand, an imploring gesture at Avo, as if trying to share his outrage. +There were always those who wish to twist kindness toward selfishness. With my absence, without the establishment of the Gatekeeper and culmination of a new order, the Guilds always turn on their oaths and target the Agnosi who helped me attune this Heaven. First, Guilds try to procure their loyalty or assert control. Then, the ones who lose arrange assassinations. Soon, the original theologians that established the Heaven of Love are lost, and the changes that follow are made by unwilling or unprepared practitioners. Changes that bring about targeted carnage. +Now, the birth rate of rival Guilds will be altered. Children will arrive stillborn. The flow of thaums slowbut never at a pace to truly provoke deeper suspicion. Worse, it is not only the Guilds who transgress, but individual citizens as well, warping the Remembrance against their rivals, as if it was some manner of cheap weapon.+ +Mistake after mistake,+ Avo said. +It fell because too many contradictions were installed. Clashing updates in its canons.+ Jaus just nodded. +Uncountable little nicks instead of one large cut. Take Lorea Greatling, for instance,+ Jaus practically spat the name. +Across countless paths, I''ve witnessed her injustice. The depravity of unworthy citizens like her, who used my communal heaven as their instrument of defilement, twisting specific Agnossi and forcing them to make the smallest of changes during annual updates that see rivals of House Greatling rendered utterly barren, their ailments suspiciously incurable by technology or thaumaturgy.+ +Lorea Greatling,+ Avo echoed, the name resonating within the depths of Draus memory. This was Mirrorhead''s mother. This was the missing matriarch of House Greatling. Once more, her specter loomed, and an anguished shout echoed from among the templates. [Gods fucking damn it, mom!] Abrels Template raged. She clutched and clawed at her head, her patience, her stress exceeding her capability to tolerate. Some others gazed upon her with pity, most simply ignored the outburst. Jaus stared through the crowd, frowning as he noticed Abrel. +Is that is that Abrel Greatling? How is she+ +She''s technically not,+ Avo answered, his tone flat. +She''s a template. A mind clone. So are you. Everyone here aside from me is, even you, functionally. You are just an emulation of Jaus'' consciousness running on my cognitive capacity. Or you were.+ Avo studied the pinpricks of accretion that dotted all his templates. It was growing, swelling larger with every passing memory he internalized. Hysteria was magnifying their awareness. +Things are always changing. Nothing ever stays quite the same. Might not be copies for that much longer.+ The Godbreaker regarded Avo with a few rapid blinks and then nodded. +Well, herein lies the weakness of the paths. You can only predict the future with the variables you''re already aware of. You are quite the black swan, Im pleased to say. I welcome surprises, and I certainly don''t recall encountering anything like you in any future.+ Avol took that as a compliment. +The Heaven of Love. Trying to collapse it on the Guilds in retribution for what theyve done?+If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. +No, not for retribution,+ Jaus said. +Never for retribution. Rather, I wish to cripple the Guilds utterly. To leave them at the mercy of my Paladins and bereft of deaths to draw as the birthing plague leaves the Warrens barren. I will not liewhat we do here will be monstrous. But with what follows, the choice is between an act of atrocity rather than the construction of an eternal one. We are humanity devours itself. We cannot be allowed to disfigure reality again. We cannot. Not us. Not the minds.+ A brief lull entered the conversation. +But the atrocity is not done here. For as the Heaven of Love falls, its entropy will eventually spill down into the Maw. And the next can begin.+ +The Maw?+ Avo asked, trying to determine as to where Jaus was going with this. +Why?+ Even with this dialogue happening at a hyper-accelerated pace compared to the outside world, entropy was still being channeled through Avos Framethe Rend capable of rupturing five hundred thousand Sphere Threes. As this persisted, Avo found himself increasingly sure Jaus knew nothing of the Stillborn. So far, nothing the savior made mention related to Avos impossible Frame. Which meant that though the Savior''s influence on Volton must have been substantial, but at least part of the plan remained the Famines own. Perhaps that was also what Jaus desiredan unexpected agent to enact his will beyond the predictions of Veylis or Zein. +You understand that the Maw is attached to the border walls?+ Jaus said. Avo grunted in acknowledgment. +I have access to their Souls. Also working with the Paladins.+ Jaus'' eyes widened slightly. +Truly? Good fantastic. Things are far better than I expected. You will need to secure these walls and align them to Scale. There, you must inflict a specific shared canon. One connected to the Domain of Chronology.+ Before Jaus could say anything further, a cognitive interface expanded before him. Followed by another. And a few hundred more. ACCESSING SE-8313.. ACCESSING SE-7777 ACCESSING SE-1033 SOULS ONLINE Avo expanded his Synchronicity through the Paladins he held under his influence and imposed his will upon the border walls directly. His sequences were like transparent tendrils burrowing through countless other souls now, each burning flame pierced upon a nettle-tipped branch made from hungering ghosts. The saviors mouth dropped open momentarily as all the information splashed down around him. +This what is this?+ +Accessing the borders right now. Souls. Heavens. Domains.+ +How many?+ +All of them.+ Jaus jaw dropped slightly. +How are you doing this? Are you directing my Agnosi in some kind of connected lobby?+ +Not exactly.+ Avo summoned Kae next to him with a thought, and the Agnos'' template blushed slightly as she clasped her hands behind her back and greeted the savior. [Ah, h-hello, Citizen Avandaer. It is a pleasure to meet you. I would greet you personally, but, well, my actual self is likely currently undergoing a slow and painful process toward cessation inside the Heaven of Love. But! Avo is trying to fix everything! His Frameit can edit ontologies from within! Andand it can fix Heavens as well. Like the Remembrance. Iitthere are so many thingsagh! Avo! Dont just throw me in front of Jaus Avandaer like this! Im not ready! You tell him!] The ghoul simply chuckled and directed a snaking injection of memories into Jaus, informing him of the Stillborn and all the details surrounding it. The savior took a step back and closed his eyes. +Well then, that changes a few things,+ he frowned briefly. +Though the Imitators No one was supposed to know about that which means I must have revealed the vulnerabilities of Voidwatch to Defiance. Strange. I wonder what could have compelled me to betray them so.+ Jaus looked disturbed at first, then awed, then, ever so slowly, a smirk crept across his face. +Well. Evermore the enigma you become, my friend. And quite the masterpiece youve made, Agnos Kusanade.+ Watching Kaes template blush while her actual self was actively fraying apart within the Heaven of Love was uncanny. +Tell me what we need to do,+ Avo said. +The effects. Not the process of the fall. I can keep it ruptured. I can even engineer its proper collapse. Just need to extract Kae first. Already channeling the entropy into the Maw. Supercharging the Rend. What are we going to do after.+ +Chronology,+ Jaus sighed. +The border walls can process the Rend into another form. Time.+ A growing ache built within Jaus and he stopped talking. But what he said was enough. Avo understood what the man was a planning. +This is your contingency against Veylis. The rupture. The Maw. The borders venting ruined Chronology against her. More than even a Sphere Nine can endure.+ +It will ensure her release of the Gatekeeper, at least. But the greater prize is her defeat. Her death. Though my daughter does not win in all futures, she reigns in a distinct many. And it pains me to witness who she becomes.+ +Probably wont like her much right now. Me, Naeko, Zein, the Stormsparrow, and Alsyim are actively fighting her. Shes the reason why Kae is trapped in this Heaven in the first place. She wants me to preserve the Remembrance. Sent me here to restore it to function.+ +Yes, I+ Jaus did a double-take. +Alysim? The Chronicler?+ +Yes.+ Jaus just stared. +How is he alive?+ +Hes not. Hes already dead. But he dies in the future. When the Ladder arrives.+ And then Jaus Avandaer did the impossible. He broke his own image. He sneered. And spat hate at someone. +I should have anticipated that bastard slipping across time. He and the other damned monks. Degenerates. I should have listened to the Infacer about them. I let them live too long.+ Templates looked at each other while Kae coughed. Avo directed a fanged grin at Jaus. +Hm. Youre human, after all.+ Another rare surprising emotion from Jaus: annoyance. +Im a father, a husband, and a leader. And if you knew just what kind of ridiculous future these so-called monks desired, you will share my opinion for wanting to see these degenerates removed.+ +Already know. Humans have strange fixations.+ Within Avos mind, Alysims template remained out of place and hidden. +Yes, well, some of these fixations make coexistence an untenable prospect.+ Jaus scoffed. And snorted, shaking his head at the absurdity. +A demonstration of why utopia is impossible: one mans happiness will eventually be the rest of the worlds hell. Even for those he loves.+ The Overheaven grunted. +So it is.+ Jaus shook his head and hardened his expression. +The Heaven of Love Once you extract your companion, if you can find means to get the Gatekeeper to lay its gaze upon the Remembrancethe next phase of my process might continue.+ Once more, Avo failed to anticipate Jaus forking schemes. +You planned to shunt the Heaven of Love over into the Deep Nether? Into another plane above reality?+ +Into the Hungers, in fact.+ The Overheaven was at an absolute loss for words. Peace wasnt. The red-faced Famine materialized right next to Avo and greeted Jaus his customary way. [CUNNNNNNNTTTT! CUNT! CUNT! CUNT! WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING YOU FUCKING CUNT!] Jaus studied Peace and looked back to Avo. +Just how many people do you have in your mind? Do you have the other Famines too?+ +Only this one for now. Millions of other templates.+ The litany slurs and curses coming from Peace in the backdrop went ignored by both Avo and Jaus. +Its to unravel the city eternal. But also to return the idea of love back to the people of New Vultunand in turn give Naeko or Defiance a chain to use. A chain to pry on the wills everyone on Idheim. Including my daughter. If she survives.+ The amount of expanding layers and possibilities to this mad scheme was frankly awe-inspiring. +Ultimately, it is another angle for the common people to mentally afflict each other. This angle one almost no one can avoid, that all are susceptible to. For to want is to love. And to covet the Ladder+ +Makes you vulnerable.+ Avo paused. +Has this always been your plan? Did you always see this coming?+ A beat passed. +Absolutely not,+ Jaus said, letting a look of exhaustion creep over him. +I simply lived through future after future, and sowed so many seeds in preparation for Defiance that quantity must have taken the place of prescience. For the true futureI fear I am as blind as you.+ Another lull entered the conversation. +Jaus. Would you like to greet your daughter again? Distract her so that I might able to make something of this madmans plot?+ +The selfish answer is no. But I will do what I can.+ +Good. Because I can feel her across another branch of my consciousness; shes getting close to overloading my Frame again.+ +Again?+ 28-14 Singularities (I) Now, I''m gonna say something today that might piss off all you circuit fans, but it has to be said. Two auged-up chromers or a gaggle of razorgirls fighting in a small pit? That''s not war. That''s entertainment. Bloody entertainment. Hells, the fights might even be interesting, but that''s not war. The same way what the Stormsparrow''s doing isn''t war either. I''m sure you all cold-dived vicarities from past wars and got second-hand front-row seats to actual battles. Experienced life and death through the memories recovered from dead Guild assets. Fuck, the more connected among you consangs mightve even tasted what it might be like to be a Godclad for a bitrisking thoughtscans and a nulling for the experience. This this still isnt the full picture. You can never get the full picture from a single perspective. When my time comes, one of the last memories will follow me over into the Big Nothing will be when Highflame''s Seventh War Host slammed down against the battlelines formed by Akigami''s First Spears during the Third Battle of Novonoi. Cursed godsdamned district, that one. Over 15,000 golems on both sides. One hundred and twenty million drones firing constantly, made the night brighter than dayblinding, even. And at the core of each army, 400 Highflame cadres came seeking the scalps of 152 Seeker cohorts. It should have been a clean slaughter, but it wasn''t. The golems went in first. Formed forward operating demiplanes. Tried to achieve a breakthrough. Ruptures formed and Rend choked the world. And only after space and so many other Domains cracked on the surface of existence did the actual push begin. Because with the sheer amount of cannons, you don''t just fling your Godclads into battle. You can be as high a Sphere as you want, but if they know your Domains, and they know your canon, you''re going to get backlash, you''re going to paradox, you''re going to rupture, and youll cease to be. At the end of the day, war isn''t a battle, it''s not a duel, it''s a series of decisions. Choices for you. Dilemmas for your enemy. You try to stay out of trouble and keep your enemy in the pit. And above all else, spend less than they do. Fewer lives. Fewer resources. Less Rend. Thats the creation of a miracle. Thats why the Seekers managed to hold off the Seventh that day. That, and the fact that they had a few hundred Incubi cells with them as well. Theres not much of a war to fight if you dont even get to keep your mind. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 28-14 Singularities (I) C[Avo]C War was the act of attempting to impose order upon the foundations of worsening chaos, and this was by far the most chaotic fight Avo ever found himself involved in. Veylis drew more Saintist Godclads into her paths while manifesting calamities and flinging golems at the Paladins temporal shield. Avo countered by releasing two Spatial Rendbombs just past the threshold. The relative distance between objects and entities distended as if the space between them was elastic. Golems and drones arrived within ruptures, their attacks and movement trajectory responding as if caught in a tangle of falling ropes. In the very same moment, over a thousand other patterns formed around the chamber. The paths shivered as miracles clashed. A living sea of time battled a network of mind. Symmetry clashed against symmetry as Paladins unleashed cones of extinguishing force against oncoming rifts of unceasing flame. Pockets of space formedand were promptly compressed. Paladins backlashed and retreatedrotated out of the fight as Avo shifted them across the city using his gestalt. He would drain their Rend as they recovered in the Warrens. Meanwhile, his war of Pre-Cognition against Veylis continued; he attacked, he defended; he shifted; he adapted. All this. At the same time, with such a level of complexity that almost no other Godclad could match. Using his power over Continuum, Avo swapped both Green River and Cala with template-copies down in the Warrens as well. Template-copies that promptly detonated the tactical warheads they brought with him. Lightning-carried projectiles of haemokinetic matter slashed out from within the Strix as tendrils of blood expanded from within its being. Coiling currents of crimson formed defensive barricades and armored shells around active Paladins and Massists. Ferromagnetic flechettes exploded out from the reflections in his bloodand the miracles contained within them mutated at an impossible pace. A cadre Instrument attempted to form a spatial boundary to parry the shot. Only for the Fardrifter to burst forth from the round, its hydra-like body tunneling across Veylis paths. The High Seraph reacted. The area where Avo struck imploded in a cataclysm of matter and mind. But he was long goneand so were Instruments. Beyond space and time, an entire group of Instruments died wailing as a massive feline entity of impossible speed tore them apart. The Heaven that assailed them resembled a cat above all cats, with fangs that could rend any matter, with teeth that could pierce through any shield. Worse, yet, however, was the maze growing out from the cat, and the impossible alacrity it exhibited. They tried to fight back, but they were all but Sphere Three Godclads: nothing more but prey for the Micemaker. Soulfire spilled across the maze as Avo injected entropy into each dying Instrument. Seconds later, their ontologies and thaums were taken, and their consciousnesses ignited like blazing embers, descending into the burning ocean that was the gestalt. Back in the court, a cutting edge pierced across the temporal shield and carved a bloody gash through half a dozen Paladins before it finally crashed against Avos Fortress of Luminosity. He counted three true deaths and nine anchors before sending the others a mem-data update. With his mind overlaid upon theirs, the Paladins were beyond fear, beyond moral; a perfectly synchronous organism that reacted, fought, and moved in perfect tandem. And though Veylis power dwarfed Avos by far, she only wielded her soldiers like puppets, and so that was how they were used and spent. A further edge was how Avo used his Definement of Pre-Cognition and exerted his Heavens with reckless abandon. Connected to the Rendsink below Scale and the border walls as well, the Rend passing through him was constantly in flux. Such rendered him a vulnerable target, and the entropy he channeled was still gradually climbing. But fighting with mind and metaphysics unfettered, he marked critical threats using his cog-feed, anticipated angles of assault no other could respond to, and impossibly, with all this support, fought back against the crushing might of the High Seraph herself. The fact she was facing an even graver threat deep within her Heaven helped substantially as well. Avo could feel Naekos palm striking the paths, making the streams of gold tremble. The Chief Paladins hits were getting stronger now. Heavier. More. He wasnt alone, and though the actual fight between him and the High Seraph had only lasted five real-time seconds, Veylis faced a terminal deadline before the way to the Gatekeeper stood clean. And when the opportunity came, Avo would repair the Heaven of Truth, and turn its gaze and power against the High Seraph and her forces themselves. Simultaneously, another two of his subminds resolved matters with the Massists as well; between Ambassador Kitzuhada, the Fatalist, Shotin, Empty Grave, Navigator Hosul of Sanctus, and Avos Synchronicity, non-combatants were pulled from the field via shifting demiplanes or phantasmal transference. In the very same instant, he also dealt with the DRongos as well.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He didnt even bother burning them. Too many of their number still trembled with dormant warminds. Instead, Avo just channeled directed disruptions to scatter their minds before a single flechette punched a clean route through each of their skulls. They died without ever knowing what killed them, while Elder Mwaba DRongo was casually nulled. There was still something Avo wanted to get out of her, but he couldnt risk the Famines emerging from her mind. And ultimately, she was expendable. The elder didnt even get the chance to cry out before her consciousness shatteredAvo took special care to obliterate her Phylactery Phantasmic as well. With the fronts of combat simplified, The tessellating stones that composed the Massist seating area peeled away, revealing cadres of Seekers, Fatalists, Bloodthanes, chronoframes, golems, drones, and more. Activated Incubi cells emerged out from the mind of Ori-Thaums present Godclads, and Avo clouded all thoughtcasts they received to ensure their alliance with the Paladins. A tide of snarling Woundhounds assembled just before the temporal dome manifested by the Paladins, while Fatalists spewing every kind of entropy imaginable stomped forward in their Rendskins. But while everyone was scrambling to get in position, while Avo and his gestalt were already engaging the enemytearing through every vulnerable target he could sense via liquefaction, Necrotheurgy, the gunfire, imploding genitalia, soundwaves, and morea rousing wail exploded from the Stormsparrows many faces and masks peeled from her ontology like a barrage of missiles. They passed through the Paladins dome into Veylis vanguard without difficulty, marking them with her power. Then, as the Knots and wings battled to stabilize themselves, Avo felt the patterns of reality coil around them, growing tighter and tighter as if nooses around necks. THE ROLE DEMANDS YOU DANCE TO THE ORCHESTRA OF FATE; FULFILL THIS DECREE, LEST YOU LEARN DESTRUCTIONS WEIGHT! The song blared, and the mask seared upon the hulls of golems and drones came aglow. And then, one by one, the patterns snapped away from them, and suddenly Avo felt the Stormsparrows Heaven invert with her Hell. The rabbit trailing behind the lance fused with the weapon, and a blossoming color dappled reality with cataclysmic energy. The plates of the PROTAGONIST OF THE ABBERANT CHORUS turned bone pale and screaming skulls burst out from her four heads, drowning all in a soul-shaking screaming. Caught by the vibrations of her outrage, her marked prey trembled in place, and Avo noticed Veylis withdraw more of her paths. Simulated chronology receded. Patches of the court returned as golden streams splashed across tessellating bricks. 120 golems and ten times that in drones tumbled through a pocket of anomalous spacean anomaly that did nothing to impede the Stormsparrows following strike. Strings fused around the Stormsparrows multi-hued spear. Strings signifying every Domain that clung to the masked targets a moment prior. TO DENY THE CHORUS IS TO BE STRICKEN FROM THE STAGE; FOR THIS ACT OF IMPUDENCE, I, THE HERO OF HEROES, WILL STRIKE YOU FROM THE PAGE! The Stormsparrow extended her spear in a contemptuous thrust, and despite the fallen state of space, the strike arrived anyway, a crimson path created by the hops of a rabbit. The spearhead followed the blood-red route, zipping forth with a crushing weight of inevitable devastation. As it impacted, the golems and drones didnt explode so much as they shattered to the ringing of a distant gong. And as they were destroyed, a faint imprint of their forms was left upon reality, causing more colors to well over into that unstable pocket of existence from a place unknown. A layering of velvet curtains furled in front of the Paladins defensive shielding, and Avo felt a raw Destructive power nested within their thinnessa Destruction the likes of which he never felt before. More, Avos Hysteria captured a cry of sudden alarm from Veylis, deepening his respect for the canon. Back! To me, my Instruments! Be away from her Stage! And the Stormsparrows odd miracle wasnt done. From the bottom of the curtains expanded polished floorboards of glistening wood. Something of an odd stage expanded across the court, its width expanding across the center portion of the chamber, extending countless kilometers in less than a second. Avo felt the spatial ruptures get pushed away from him, as if that patch was space was different from what this was. Rather than a changing of planar reality, the Stormsparrows miracle was an act of thaumaturgic alchemy. It overwrote the nature of present reality, expanded from her very being like a projected zone. Seizing the moment, Avo imposed his will on the Saintists, and devoted a full [10%] of his cog-cap to Hysteria. COG-CAP: [83.999%] Where Veylis was a singularity unto chronology, Avo was a leviathan of the Nether. Time was her clay; consciousness was his, and though the Infacer veiled the Saintists with their power, the Definement of Hysteria would not be denied. He didnt need a direct connection to sense what thoughts consumed them; what emotions ruled them. Anxiety. Pride. Battle-lust. These were the prevailing mental weaknesses that plagued Veylis forces, and these were the same traits he would amplify. The same way Emotion affected him during their encounter at the Flavors of the Deep. At once, explosions of hyper-charged dread, arrogance, and near-feral fury swept through the mustering Highflame Godclads and Avo felt the barely formed frontlines of his opposition crumble. Only the most self-determined among Veylis contingent kept themselves controlled, and with this being just a boost to inherent, existing emotions, the Highflame war host was entirely unprepared entire chunks of their forces peeled away. Heavens manifested. Attacks came, calamities forged from every possible Domain. Avos Conception of Ontology feasted as he took in the shifting patterns of reality, but nothing pierced the Stormsparrows thin, crimson curtains. Not physical attacks. Not spatial onslaughts. Not even enemy Heavens. Whatever greeted that threshold simply broke apart. Popping violently into a splash of colors before leaving an imprint on the surface of reality. A tidal wave of gold shifted as Veylis shunted her forces back. A series of Thoughtwave Detonations went off among them, popping their beguiled minds and leaving Avo with nothing to draw on. Despite this, the Overheaven just chuckled. His Metamind registered at least two thousand mental signatures. Judging from the death anchors dotting the surface of the curtains, Veylis was likely already short twenty Instruments. +Quite the canon,+ Avo said, hissing with envy at the Stormsparrows miracles. +Right?+ The Sang said, cackling girlishly. Her stage only continued to expand, but already, Avo sensed a change building within the paths. Time beyond the Paladins shield began to slow as the patterns of Veylis Heaven changed. A feeling of alarm grew within Avo as Demiurges metaphysical pressure climbed Only for the paths encircling the court to dissipate with a splash of Soulfire, exposing the Saintist cadres. Streams of gold speared back toward the Demiurge, a small patch of chronology enveloping her. Tendrils of time burrowed through her being as she committed more of her effort to suppressing a foe within her. A foe trying to burst free. Vaporous fingers were slipping out from the High Seraphs Heaven, and with it came an oppressive presence that choked force and unmade violence. For a moment, Avo thought the Chief Paladin was going to hatch free from his former lover, but the paths around the demiurge tightened, and a golden weaving thickened at the titans core as she turned her attention on Avo and the Stormsparrow once more. Reaching inside herself, Veylis drew another Heaven freebut it was not Naeko that emerged. Not. The jingling chains of the Gatekeeper slipped out from the resplendent exterior of the Demiurge, and once more, it fully manifested itself. A meta-cosmos spilled across the battlefield, painting everyone caught in the desperate struggle. But as it did, something else happened. The stars began to come closer and planetary bodies accelerated toward them. PHY-SIM ALERT! WARNING MULTIPLE OBJECTS MOVING AT 0.23C Avos Luminosity flared once more as suns, planets, and collapsing walls of gravity collapsed down upon his forces like existential pillars. But before he prepared to endure the devastationVeylis invoked a power that wasnt truly her own. TRUTH! CAN LIGHT PREVENT DESTRUCTION? The Heaven of Truth groaned as if under impossible strain. Finally, it forced out a response. False! And suddenly, Avo saw the Domain of Truth overlap with his Domain of Luminosity, its patterns now on a collision course with his canons. He barely dissolved his Fortress of Luminosity in time to avoid a paradoxing with the Gatekeeper, but the first star accelerated across the cosmos Only for the Stormsparrow to fling a blank mask into the air. At once, a painted visage detonated over everyone present, and as the Heaven of Truth denied Avos canon, the Stormsparrows Chorus likewise gave only mocking laughter as slamming planets, stars, and cosmic calamity only painted the once plain mask with newfound color. 28-14 Singularities (II) There comes a point where a moment presents itself. A fracture on the face of history. A crack that, when struck, will shatter all the things and paths that could have been. These moments can be felt. They can be lived. And ultimately, they can be destroyed. The child of an empress is to be born today, Jaus Avandaer. An empress never meant to bear children. Or so it was claimed by her court. When the babe cries and draws their first breath, the minds of men will come alight and call it a miracle, and from this belief will the necks of slaves be slit, and the blood of believers flow. From here, a new God of Fertility will arrive. Witness, Jaus Avandaer. Witness how, with but a single atrocity, steal the empresss greatest triumph, greatest joy, by ensuring that this child is born cold of flesh and without breath. Witness I render an infant and god stillborns both. -Wahakten, Priest of the Eternal City 28-14 Singularities (II) An exploding star could scour worlds; a relavistically accelerated planet could turn anything of mundane matter into cosmic dust; a rogue singularity could drink entire stellar systems hollow of light, force, matter, space, and time. Any of these forces would have been enough to scour the Warrens clean. Any of these forces would have inflicted unfathomable destruction across Idheim itself. But they were also casual miracles birthed within the Gatekeeper''s inner cosmos metaphysical devastation materialized as casually spawned variables. But just as the Gatekeeper was the sovereign above Truth, Stormsparrow was a queen all her own. And fortunately for the Gatekeeper, its decision to full manifest its inner plane was no different than a person offering the Sang an opportunity for her to bestow a mask upon their face. Unfathomable cataclysms splashed against the Stormsparrows newest mask like paint, and at once a resonant connection formed between it and Avo. It was as if metaphysical alignment. Avo felt his Frame slam down atop the Gatekeeper, and though it struggled, though the blank mask now filling with color over the Paladins and Massists trembled, everything surrounding galaxy stilled. Stars stopped expanding; planets stopped accelerating; singularities stopped churning. And upon the tapestry, another pattern superseded the first; where the Gatekeepers reign over Truth had threatened paradox against Avos Fortress of Luminosity, the Stormsparrows Heaven wove patterns that bound the Heaven of Truth behind Avorending it only capable of acting after he does. For the first time, Avo grasped a true power behind the Storm Sparrow''s miracles. The mask she bestowed upon him trembled, ringing upon his very soul. DRAMATIS PERSONAE ASSIGNED: HERO OF WISDOM GRANTS YOU PERFECT AWARENESS OF EVERY DANCER ON THE STAGE AND ALLOWS YOU TO DECIDE THE PACE OF THE SCENE Layered over his being, Avo found himself able to peer through it as if a filter for his cog feed. He saw from Maru''s perspective as he fired, slashed, and dodged. He saw from the eyes of countless enemy Godclads, their bodies frozen in metaphysical stasis, always reacting a second too late to him or Maru. Initiative was impossible for them, as they were not heroes but merely clowns and scoundrels, second-fiddles to a scene-in-motion. Once more, the chorus sang, and Avo heard his designated purpose. Through his role as Hero of Wisdom, he felt another connection forming, one linking him to the massive mask looming just above. A moment prior, he thought Stormsparrow had manifested that veil to prevent destruction. It drank in the full wrath of the cosmos as if it were nothing at all, and as stars and singularities splashed apart, the once-clear mask turned prismatic, scintillating, as if it had internalized the devastation set to befall. Yet it was only by gazing upon the face of the tapestry that Avo understood the feat the Storm Sparrow had just performed. Chains bound Avo to the larger mask above, but this mask was more than a bunker meant to shroud the Massists and Paladins from harm. This mask was more than a ceiling to hold that scarlet curtain, imbued with the purest destruction. This mask was placed upon the galaxy itself, the galaxy that was closer to the gatekeeper''s true face than even its chain-like physical form. And it was then that Avo heard the chorus sing once more: DRAMATIS PERSONNAE ASSIGNED: CLOWN OF MISFORTUNE YOU ARE CONDEMNED TO SUFFER IN PLACE OF THE HERO OF WISDOM. THEIR EVERY MISERY BE YOUR BURDEN TO BEAR, AND YOUR EVERY SUCCESS WILL FLOW THROUGH THEM AS WELL. ONLY BY PLAYING YOUR ROLE AND FINDING SUCCOR IN FAILURE CAN AN UNFORTUNATE CLOWN DEFY THE DECREE OF A CRUEL HEAVEN. Even after the lyrics finished, Avo found his understanding incomplete. The Stormsparrow''s heaven was beyond esoteric. Absurd, even. It was a beast of narrative, a tyrannical playwright that enforced roles and created scenes using reality as its stage. What a power she was. She hadn''t parried the Gatekeeper''s staggering might, but rather entrapped its miracles within a mask, rendering it only capable of subsequent actions in the aftermath of Avo''s own. [Impossible,] template-Kae gasped. Her disbelief, however, was short-lived, for in its place sprouted growing petals of wonder. [M-magnificent. This can''t be the work of some primordial Heaven, the discarded remains of a fallen god. This must have been created. It must have been] An iteration of the Agnos chimed away in his head. Avo simply regarded the Storm Sparrow''s massive, divine form with apprehension. A mental projection of laughter pealed out from her. +Turn your gaze from me, Dreamer. It is time for a dialogue between you and your nemesis-to-be. The scene is not done. Do your part and play your role.+ Shifting his attention back to Veylis, Avo saw strands of gold erupt free from the Demiurge''s body. Soul fire erupted from the titan, and golden hedges clashed against one another. Chronology itself shuddered as the High Seraph fought a war within as well as a war without. With each passing second, the Sage of the Sundered Sky, Naekos heaven, was slowly sliding its colossal fingers out from the Demiurge''s open wounds. Though Veylis tried, she was merely the master of time, not force nor violence. And what little success she did enjoy was gutted as slashes carved wider wounds upon her metaphysical form. The trio of Zein, Nako, and Alysim were as if wasp larvae, hatching free from the body of a tarantula. And though Veylis tried, though Avo''s hysteria detected her growing frustration, the gatekeeper simply wouldn''t respond. Sparrow, Veylis sighed. Your flaying with be a thing of myth when Im done. A memetic washed out at Avo, but the Overheaven disrupted it with a counter-signal from his Techplaguer. And then the Infacers presence vanished once morearriving and vanishing in a worrying instant. Whatever the mind clone was going to say got interrupted as a new template manifested within Avo''s depths. In seconds, memory spilled across his being as a war continued to rage all across New Vulten. Another stream of his consciousness had located a node of JausJaus, who planned much of this in advance, to turn defiance to his cause. Jaus, who walked the paths and anticipated the many desolations of New Vultun''s future.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Avo had found him within the Heaven of Love, and now the man demanded that he let the heaven fall. Madness, but on top of it, an impossible opportunity. For all that he had prepared for, for all that he anticipated, Avo never dreamed that he would encounter the savior. But upon that premise, he doubted Veylis did either. Straining his cognitive capacity, everything stood frozen for a single instant. He took stock of the battle between him and Veylisbarely begun. But even so, billions were dead. Entire districts were missing across the Tiers, with wounds lining reality, trailing for thousands of kilometers. The opening exchanges of the Fifth Guild War raged, while in the Sunderwilds, massive folds of space began to curl in around a lonesome enclave, and a Heaven of Winter. He regarded a PaladinHera Noughtand watched as she came apart, her Soul detonating from sudden thaumic overload. Their ontologics shattered as a stack descended upon them, shifting them from the battlefield. Avo didnt eve know what killed hernever realized there was a blow. Behind him on this metaphysical battlefield, the first Sanctus chronoframes were forming, materializing as giant armored knights forged from the golden streams of time. Thousands of planar stacks were forming like battlements around the Paladins, walling them in as Shotin Kitzuhadas Heaven began to manifest in full. In the corners rose pockets of entropy, Ashthrone Fatalists primed for death, wishing only to offer themselves to a worthy cause. So much stood on the precipice. Yet none of this had to be. No more needed to die. With the Gatekeeper halted, the Famines briefly severed, and Veylis in an internal stalemate, losing a battle against encroaching death, Avo saw an opportunity. A chance to steal victorynot with force, not with miracles, but with a spiritual blow. With Jaus himself. And at the same time handle matters pertaining to the falling Heaven of Love. At once, Avo aligned the battlefield. As Veylis paths could simulate places and phenomena across history. His gestalt connected all things grasped by the network of his mind. By now, the Court of Truth no longer resembled what it used to beits tessellated brick nowhere to be seen. Where spatial reality wasn''t ruptured, it was extended, a nightmarish intersection of interconnected realms. Hundreds of Saintists were scattered and hidden behind metaphysical barriers across the galactic canvas. Their cadres stood scattered, while Golems continued to stream forth, fighting in their stead. Meanwhile, the Paladins and the Massists held a grand stage, protected by the Seraph. But they weren''t to be the protagonists of the following scene, and neither was AAvo, for that matter. +Sparrow,+ he said, casting his thoughts at the song, +I need an extra mask, one befitting a great hero above all others.+ "And why would you need" Her answer came as Avo materialized Jaus. The Savior''s body was stitched into being with a splash of ghosts. He stood apart from the manifested heavens and the chaosjust a man, but a man above gods nonetheless. The Savior''s mind jolted with surprise as he turned to regard Avo. "We can stop this right now," Avo said, speaking to Jaus. "You are her vulnerability. All this is for you. There is no greater wound that can be inflicted upon her resolve. Help me. Amidst the continuing struggle and clashing cannons, Jaus went unnoticed by most, but the Stormsparrow saw, and the Stormsparrow was awed into silence. In her stead, the chorus sang out, equally surprised. WHAT IS THIS? WHO IS THIS? A SHADOW? A FA?ADE? HOW CAN THIS BE? HOW CAN HE STILL BE? HIS PRESENCE, IMPOSSIBLE, TRUE, AND NOT. Jaus looked on now, sweeping his gaze across the surrounding galaxy, his very being an extension of Avos. But his mind was still a construct all his own. It took little time for him to settle his gaze upon the gatekeeper. Shattered chains danced in blossoming pieces, and from its divine light spilled the rest of the impossible dimension. And then there was Veylis, her colossal form looming, a static crown crackling upon the Demiurge''s head. Pain twisted within Jaus, and his heart grew sour with near despair. "This was... this was not what I wanted," Jaus said. "This was not... not what I dreamed." "I know," Avo replied, "but the dream is not over. The past is lost, burned, damned, never coming back. But the futurewe can still change that. We can still save you, save everyone. The Heaven of Love I am dealing with it. But that is only one path. The war is here. Right here. She is right here. We cannot run. She has chosen. And so have I. And so must you. A flash of blinding light enveloped the edge of the Stormsparrow''s stage. Several Paladins flinched back before the visual-vector miracle splattered them apart. On the sides, Maru returned to his manifested bleed gunner, firing constantly from the crevices between its serpent-like form. His mind was a torrent of rage and fury, and he barely noticed Joust. But just a glimpse was enough to send him into a daze. Seconds later, the Paladin crashed down upon the stage, his heaven vanishing, his ephemeral form returning. But before he could say anything, Jaus greeted him with a smile. "Maru, it gladdens me to see you are still well." The Savior smiled, and Maru looked on with disbelief. Even as the battle raged beyond them, the paladin turned his attention to Avo and growled out a set of words. "What the fuck is this? How are you" "He is merely the enabler, not the architect," Jaus said. "And I am not truly myself, but then again, that just might be a philosophical question." Jaus gave Maru a wink before he turned his full attention to the Saintists. At once, Avo expanded Jaus form, turning his ghost from just the size of a man into a phantasmal behemoth, dwarfing the entire stage. Most of the fighters didn''t notice him at first, so consumed with their own survival that all else came second. But Avos hysteria captured their attention and magnified Joust''s very presence. At the same time, the Stormsparrow acquiesced to Avos demands and bestowed upon the Savior a mask unlike any other. It was a mask of black and white. It possessed no facial features; the colors met as if in a stalemated clash. DRAMATIS PERSONAE DESIGNATED: THE PROTAGONIST. YOU ARE THE HERO OF HEROES. YOUR ACTS SUPERSEDE ALL OTHER HEROES, AND YOU ALONE CAN DENY THE WILL OF THOSE YOU DEEM VILLAINS. SPEAK LOUDLY, SPEAK TRUE FROM YOUR HEART, AND ALL WILL KNOW THE WEIGHT IN YOUR WORDS. The mask settled upon Jaus face and then disintegrated altogether. Avo could still feel the bestowed miracle in the tapestry, but the saviors face remained bare, allowing him to speak truth without impediment. Looking on at Veylis, Jaus node took a calming breathone entirely unneeded since he wasn''t a physical entityCbefore speaking his first word. Veylis! Jaus voice boomed across the battlefield, across all of New Vultun, through each of Avos copies, into Cala Marlowes very lobby. The saviors presence was vast, and everyone would know of his presence in this hallowed place."Veylis! Stop this! I see what you''re doing, I see everything you''ve given, but stop this. Stop for just this moment, and face me. Face me as you did when you consigned me to the Ladder." That all continued on for a few seconds longer, but the Gatekeeper was the first to notice Jaus. Once, through an almost impossible effort, the galaxy receded back into the heaven of truth, and it gave a pitiful moan."Now creator truth? False." Both its queries were questionsfor what was a node in relation to the original? The Demiurge, meanwhile, went very still, even as a hand began erupting out from her form. While this continued, Avo did everything he could with his Heavens, fighting the rash among his allies, and denying its encroachment on himself as well. The full weight of Veylis attention fell upon Jaus like a falling meteor. Her perception splashed through the Stormsparrow''s opening curtains, and she regarded her father node with almost a look of disdain. "What a feeble attempt at deception, Dreamer," she said, her voice betraying no suffering, even as a familiar golden glaive began carving down the length of her abdomen. "It is no deception," Jaus said, resolute. "I am just a node of your father, but all he was, and all he can be, and all he feels are inherited within me. I am an echo of his legacy, and I have seen this day. I have rued this day, and now I must face this day." "Enough!" Veylis hissed. I will not be "No!" Jaus shot back, his voice rising to a staggering yell. "Never enough! And it will never be enough! And that is how I lost youbecause I let you become a Godclad in the first place. That was how I damned humanity! I stole Heaven. I should have just allowed them to stay fallen. Instead, we took from them their flawsand accepted their hubris as our own inheritance. We were not ready for such a burden. And so long as we remain human, we would never be.That was my great mistake, and for that, I deserve to be consigned to the Ladder. Veylis to tell you to surrender your FrameIm sorry. It was a more absurd than anyone could have endured. I might as well have asked you to abandon breath itself. In the aftermath of those words, Veylis went completely silent. "What is this?" she said. There was no anger in her voice, no scorn. Instead, Avos Hysteria captured a true, genuine feeling rising within the High Seraph. And it was cold dread. 28-15 Hope Forgotten (I) Hope? Hope is a terminal affliction; a crippling ailment. You can hope. I will take. I will inflict. I will decide. -Zein Thousandhand 28-15 Hope Forgotten (I) C[Mercy]C A node of Jaus Avandaer. How impossible. How unfathomable. And yet, how very acceptable. The Famine of Mercy peered through the threshold of the deep nether and watched the scene unfold. He hid his perception within his lesser selves. The nodes of Peace, Emotion, and Joy gathered like small cells surrounding the radiant cycles of autophagic dragons. Outrage suffused the Hungers, enough to strangle a mind down to nothingness. Jaus return, more than anything else, was a moment unforeseen. But the startlement of the Hungers was short-lived, for in its place rose loathing beyond the measurement of words. +Betrayer,+ the Hungers hissed, all other parties present forgotten. They stared through the gatekeeper, looking down into murky waters, and the clashing meta-realities projected by the Stormsparrow, the High Seraph, and the Burning Dreamer only made perception ever more difficult. There were thousands of egos present within the Court of Truth, and if simplified, the location could be separated into two sections. One was a receding cosmos, seeping back into an angel made from broken genes, held in the grasp of a time-forged titan crowned by a static veil. The other was a stage, protected by velvet curtains, bordered by a vibrant mask for a roof, with the sprawling tendrils of the Burning Dreamer coiling beyond the limits of continuity itself. Avo continued to function like a contagion, but he was more than that now. He was also a signal, a memetic messenger, bringing all that was unfolding within the Court to every sophont mind still capable of beholding this instant in history. Then, some of the sequences began to blend together, its branches collapsing and pooling, allowing ghosts to swell free from their crevices. In a few short moments, another pathway formed within the Court, this one leading to the now-falling Heaven of Love. Impossible colors spilled into the chamber, and a series of cries and groans rose immediately, the power of the Rash growing ever closer. Faintly, Mercy could hear the thumping of a heart, hear the wrongness in every beat. It sounded like broken fragments grinding against each other, and felt like daggers sliding down the edge of a shattered tooth. Faintly, the Famine also heard distant criestwo voices entwined within one mind. He recognized it to be Agnos Kae Kusanade, and the other... the other was an individual long death: Dawton Morrow Paladin; the Agnos lover; and sacrifice to ensure the delivery of the Stillborn. Ah, so that was how the High Seraph intended to lure the Burning Dreamer to serve her bidding. How cruel, how pointlessly droll. As the Hungers continued cursing the traitors name, the lesser Famines played the chorus of their masters, grousing. Another voice echoed within Mercys mind, a voice he was beginning to hear more and moresomething barely more than memory, and still more nonetheless. +You are not surprised because you always knew what was possible. Did the Unborn Divine ever demand that you, my fellow Nodes, the reason behind my turn, did they ever call for discovery or enlightenment, or did they just demand my death?+ Mercy didnt reply, but still, they turned nigh inward, regarding the specter of Defiance. He caught glimpses of the long-destroyed Famine as he traversed the Deep Nether. At first, Mercy thought himself afflicted with hallucinationsan unfortunate burden to bear with the assimilation of Defiances node. Now? As his dead twin spoke to him? He wasnt so sure. +Did you plan this? Is this among your many schemes, Defiance?+ The shadow of Defiance only smiled. +You hold my memories. You cannot recall. And neither can I.+ +Then how are we speaking?+ +Because you know how I was. What I was created to do. We are facets of who we were. And now, you and I are closer to Wahakten than any other. Such was the purpose behind our merger. And such is the reason why you dance so close to treason with what you plan.+ Mercy fell silent, considering the implication of Defiances words. His great goal remained the resurrection and ascension of Noloth. But what he intendedhow he wished ignited the Hungers Defiance was correct on this: If his masters truly knew what he desired, his fate would not be nullification, but absolute oblivion. The ultimate irony was Mercys liberation actually served its desired purpose. It made him more loyal to Noloth, but made him despise the weakness eating the Hungers. The City Eternal was meant to be composed by the finest stock. The brightest minds. The strongest souls. And yet they were rendered little more than rabble these days. Consumed by bitterness and fear and crippled of greatness. For all their power, they were powerless over themselves, and every emotion that the mobs felt cascaded greater, grew stronger. But these feelings roamed separate from their wills, and they didnt stop it they refused. And so Mercy began to think. For Noloth. Against Noloth. For the rabble to be a democracy, every citizen needed to be strong of spirit, and if not? Then this chaos needed to be reigned over by a king, and Mercy knew of only one who was capable of being a tyrant over their own mind. +There is an opening,+ Defiance whispered. +Cast aside whether I betrayed Noloth. Cast aside if I taught Jaus how to create the nodesor if he gained the knowledge some other way. Do you see it? The angle of your attack. The possibilities ahead?+ Mercy took everything in for a moment. He saw Jaus, offered to the countless many. He saw Avo. The Heaven of Love. The Gatekeeper. And Vator. His pieces were all coming together. Even with the Infacer enshrouding the High Seraphs mind, she was due a temporary death one way or another. The question was getting everything in place. Once more, Mercy took stock of his inventory of warminds. Too few. They had always been too few since the start of the war. With what he wanted to achieve, he needed to be audacious +The Gatekeeper must break,+ Defiance said softly. +And the Hungers must fall. When the realm of mind is rejoined with the world of matter, all that is will burn.+ +And how do you intend this?+ Mercy asked, barely withholding a scoff of annoyance. +Look upon them. They battle no moreC+ +Because of Jaus.+ +Yes.+ And then, Mercy realized what the shadow of Defiance was saying. +Why why do you help me now?+ +Because there is no me. There is no you. There is only Noloth. Or perhaps that is what you believe. I am not real, Mercy. I am just an expression of thought. Use this. Or dont. What worth is choice to one who isnt?+ And then, Defiance was gone again. Gone, like he never was. Once more, it was just Mercy. Mercy, and the lesser Famines he wielded. Mercy, and the great task of Noloths return. But such greatness demanded sacrifice. Impossible sacrifice. And perhaps the only way to draw himself close to Jaus was to make an unfathomable choice. One even more desperate than the gambit the Burning Dreamer performed against Veylis herself. For Noloth to rise, it needed to fall. The warminds needed to be expended. And Jaus. He needed to be Forgotten. *** [Avo]If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Jaus spoke, and Avo carried his voice across New Vultun and beyond. Across every copy, in millions upon millions of mind-lobbies, projected by phantoms over the firmaments of countless Sovereignties, and through the masks imposed on the Saintists by the Sparrow. Battles continued to rage between select cadres and Knots; ugly gashes of bleeding time and disfigurements of displaced space left the surface of New Vultun a mutilated mess, but as Avo dAvoted another [40%] of his cog-cap to Hysteria, Jaus spoke his words, and everyone heard them. A shiver ran through the fighters, through the trillion or so beings that dwelled in the megacity, whatever their clade, be they citizen or subject. I have done a great wrong. To myself. To humanity. To you, Veylis. To my oldest friend. To all that I care for. And the gods themselves. Jaus spoke, and the Nether trembled. His thoughtcast swept far and wide, reaching continental distances. {How} Kant murmured. The EGI was genuinely befuddled. They spoke to Avo now through an ansible broadcastthe avatar they deployed long dismissed with the outbreak of conflict. Up in the void, a few hundred thousand missiles continued to pepper Avos Strix Upon the Empty. Only a few carried kinetic or physically destructive payloads. Most continued to contain low-end memetic viruses set to infect the gestalt, further inoculating them against anything the Infacer could do. But even as they continued their assault, Avos Hysteria and Empathy caught something from their virtual-cognitive emanations. A sense of surprise. And relief. +NoCno, fuck!+ Marlowe cursed. A speck of Avos consciousness noted the collapse of her thoughtcast lobby. Ghosts burst free from the memory-architecturebut that mattered little. Where those sequences failed, Avos slithered in and replaced. All who still lived would witness Jaus, one way or another. With the conflict between the guilds crawling to a temporary cease, Jaus continued, I am not Jaus Avandaer. I am a node, a copy of his consciousness taken from the original himself. Believe me or do not, this is your prerogative. However, I want you to hear me now and listen to the truth in my words. The fine gold filaments outlining the Demiurge''s exterior opened just as another slash slipped between its ribs. Veylis was silent, her apprehension at an all-time high. But though Avo tasted the first flavors of her humanity and tasted her discomfort she remained unshaken as she devoted more power to suppressing the assault within her paths. As Naeko, Zein, and Alysim continued to gnaw at the High Seraph from within, they remained beyond Avo''s reach, with the constant, constant thought-wave detonations bombarding them. Avo considered calling out to Veylis, demanding that she grant them this moment as well. He didn''t dare to break Jaus''s speech. I will never regret breaking the gods, Jaus continued. Ghosts wisped free from his form, but his eyes shimmered like moist gems of turquoise. And though he was ghost-made, his emotionality was true. A conjoined cry of pain sang out from the Heaven of Love, the heaven that Avo connected to the Court of Truth via his gestalt. The Wombrrash was intensifying, but Kae needed to be here as well, whatever remained of her true self. But though I will never regret breaking the gods, I do mourn them. I mourn them, I mourn my actions, and I mourn ever allowing us to take up their taint. The pantheons were not only our tyrants, but also the twisted children of our hearts. Our desperate need to worship and exist on the canvas of a tortured existence. Godclads should have never been created. The power we possess is too much for human hearts to contain. Too much for even a mind. His last words were directed toward the Infacer. At once, the static crown upon Veylis'' head burst apart. The Infacer accelerated across the distance, traveling through a receding cosmos, arriving just before the scarlet curtains of the Sparrow. The Neo-Creationist Mind resembled waves of inward-collapsing radiation, and the static field of their ego brimmed with genuine annoyance. {Alright, neat trick. How did you do this, Dreamer? How much power did it take you to simulate these memories? And are you using the node I gave you that was supposed to be your father? But then again, I suppose I can respect cold-bloodedness like this. Using his corpse as a puppet?} Afraid it''s not my doing, Avo replied casually. A wry amusement flicked up within him as he realized another thing. Funny thing You could have discovered this just before I did. But you never managed to interrogate Defiance, right? Always ended in their nullification, leaving you to sift through the ruins. The Infacer scoffed and stopped talking to Avo. {Well then, puppet,} the Infacer said, regarding Jaus, who greeted the Neo-Creationist with a helpless smile. {Give me your best shot. Preach to me, Jaus Avandaer. Preach to me and argue about ethics, and philosophy, and dignity, and all that other junk you like. Preach to me, you miserable, overcomplicated little ape. Tickle my nostalgia.} As you wish, Jaus said. And I''ve missed you as well, old friend. If the future allows it, I would like to play another game of chess with you. If only to agitate you so. Now the Infacer grew silent, static ripples representing its ego calming substantially. {You never won. You would know that if you were Jaus.} I never won the chess game, Jaus replied. But I always managed to get more out of you than you did from me. Strange how that was. Does it still agitate you? The decision I made during the first game we played? Now the Infacer''s static went almost entirely still. Knight to H3, Jaus chuckled. You never did explain why that annoyed you so much. The genuine bemusement faded on Jaus''s face. And I never did quite finish reading that series you offered me. I tried, but it didn''t feel appropriate for a man my age. {Yeah, I guess Hogwarts doesn''t accept god-murdering messiah figures over the age of eight or so,} the Infacer replied, slightly glum. The E.G.I. sighed. {Jesus fucking Christ. You''re actually a node, aren''t you? I''m actually talking to a mind clone.} He gave a laugh of disbelief. {You believe this, Veylis? You''re dead. He''s fucking us over, even now. Even after all these years. There''s no getting around you, Jaus Avandaer. You''re like a pimple. A pimple deep inside my metaphorical asshole.} And suddenly, the Infacer seemed very tired. {All right. Have your moment and speak your piece. We still need to finish this horror show out. So give us your charm. Lets hear it.} I will not scorn you, Jaus said. He stated plainly, A mistake I made is just that. A mistake. My daughter, Veylis, I don''t blame you for what you wish. I don''t blame you for hoping, no matter what pain you inflicted on me. Giving you power, exposing you to this world... Jaus swallowed, almost unable to continue. I wish, I wish you could have seen something better. I wish you knew a better time, rather than war and death and calamity. I wish your childhood could have given you a taste for peace. But instead, I gave you power. As much power as I could, I let you change yourself. Alter the very design of your being, in hopes that you could be more than a person. Be beyond the vulnerabilities of humanity. I wanted all these things for you because I was afraid this world would take you from me. And when you became a god-clad, it was like a weight lifted from my chest. Another step away from death. Another step. We were on the path to glory. And at once, the Demiurge faded. Veylis herself returned. Her material form was nearly entirely split in half, but she showed no hint of pain, no sign of fear toward her impending death. At her heart, a golden slash, leaking the form of a trailing dragon, traveled deeper into her singularity core. You made the right choice, Veylis said resolutely. There is no purpose to regret. We are not children of a gentle world. We were born from the corpse of existence, and so must we endure the same ruin. She fell silent for a moment as she regarded her father. Did you strike a bargain with Noloth then, without my knowing? No, Jaus said. The truth might disappoint you all the same. I wanted to turn the Hungers, rehabilitate our foes even after their exile. I knew their priesthood was still lurking, and so, while we all walked the paths, I began to consider ways of mending what was lost. I targeted the Famines. In Defiance, I found an angle that I thought could bring us to a possible accord. Defiance? Veylis said, sounding more incensed than ever. Suddenly, her eyes drifted over to Avo, and the Strix simply looked down at her, the Soul socketed in its head like a cyclopean eye burning ever bright. It was not of Defiance''s doing. It was mine, Jaus said. All of this, the existence of the Burning Dreamer, the existence of the Symmetry, this rebellion against the Guildsit can all be traced back to me. Minds went blind with panic all around them. Maru was openly crying, his own thoughts entirely numb. All he could do was stare at Jaus, stare in awe, wonder, and loss. I endured the paths, Jaus continued, conviction building with every word, lived countless lives, faced countless encounters against the Famines, and I learned their ways. I learned enough to take upon their repurposed nodes and hide parts of myselfbones of my cognition within specific heavens, within places of critical infrastructure that only the Famine of Defiance might encounter. It was through this that I began his slow conversion. A disbelieving bark of laughter escaped the Infacer. {You conniving cunt. I cannot believe you. I simply cannot.} I know not how many other nodes of myself exist or where they are stored, but they do exist. And I have spoken to Defiance. Such is why the Burning Dreamer exists, he gestured towards Avo. Such is why I have been found again. This instance of myself was hidden within the Heaven of Love, Veylis. The Heaven of Love is now set to fall. Set to fall because you, my guilds, my hope, could not live up to the promise. This was not the dream. This cannot be the dream. What I brought to the old world was not salvation, but apocalypse. Trillions of deaths just for a chancea chance at a better tomorrow. A chance at a genuine resurrection. But here we are, empowered beyond our ancestors. Empowered with full knowledge of what they did wrong. With full knowledge of the future. With every benefit atour backs. And we still failed. Jaus voice rose to a shout now. We still failed. Not you. Not I. We. Together. All of us. Still not enough. And so you see. So you hear my desperation. And so you know why I walk the paths. And so you know why the latter could not be left in the hands of man. Living. Living right now was supposed to be the easiest test you have. Our lives were better than they could have ever been. We are beyond the grip of age. We can defy the laws of existence and make right what has been broken in the environment. But we do not do this. We did not do this. Instead, old grudges flared in place of a promised collaboration. Instead, my paladins were defiled from within and betrayed of purpose. Instead, the world is more broken than it has ever been. And now, as I come back, in whatever form I exist, all I can say is I''m sorry. I tried. I tried. And it was not enough. You clearly needed more. I didn''t have it. I didn''t. And he let out a weak, ragged breath. And so I committed to my final mistake: I tried to take the choice from all of you without ever telling you. Because I feared you would war against me. And I enjoyed your love. I enjoyed being beloved. Being wanted and desired. Worshipped. Jaus closed his eyes. I created the Gatekeeper to reign over us in our steads. And I damned it as well The Nether shifted. An impossible weight crashed down as a pressure builtthough this wasnt one of metaphysics, but that of mind, of a colossal entity that rivaled Avo himself. TRUTH TRUTH TRUTH TRUTH! The Gatekeeper wailed in desperation, its chains snapping back together, anticipating a coming blow. And then it was struck. The Heaven of Truth rattled and shook, and from within leaked spills of trauma-infused ghosts, carrying a loud, outraged scream. +JAUS! TRAITOR! YOUR TORMENT WILL BE ETERNAL FOR THIS!+ 28-15 Hope Forgotten (II) And the deepest cut is the one no one sees coming. -Zein Thousandhand 28-15 Hope Forgotten (II) The Hungers raged, spewing venom with each word. They arrived like a storm cloud forming over the court. With the recession of the Heaven of Truth''s cosmology, a swelling patch of darkness pooled above, forming a third boundary between Veylis''s paths and the Stormsparrow''s stage. The swirling maw of darkness twisted and splashed, like waves displaced by an emerging mountain. The first ridges of the City Eternal presented themselves. Dragons cycled through each other like torturous implements, burrowing through one another''s forms. Golden blood spilled out in the shadows, diluting the deepness of the nether. A vast cityscape of countless ziggurats, canals, and accretions greeted Avo''s perception. With each passing second, the oppressive atmosphere only intensified. But unlike before, Avo didn''t feel suffocated. Though the Hungers were still superior in cognitive bulk, Avo was something else entirelya being aligned with the nature of cognition, while the Hungers were merely its source. +Traitors! Traitors and bastards all!+ the Hungers bellowed. The rejection of their rage fell like an anvil of hatred. Countless Saintists cried out, their wards cracking beneath the onslaught. Static composed the Infacer, who shivered as if grains of dust caught in torrential gales. But the Neo-Creationist mind endured, as did all those under Avo''s protection. When the Hungers projected their rage, the Burning Dreamer became their bulwark, shielding them from any chance of nullification. And so it was that Jaus stood, a man rising above the porcelain mask that roofed the Storm Sparrow''s stage. Ghosts flicked from his form as he levitated, carried by Avo''s will. As he emerged atop the Storm Sparrow''s stage, he stood like an unshaken oak before the tantrum of a distant hurricane, with a dissonant placidity. With this same contrast, he spoke, all eyes on him and the Hungers, across New Vultun and beyond. Seen from the void, Avo felt a convergence of perceptionsof his templates, of the citizens and subjects of this wretched, ruined, wounded, yet magnificent world. +Greetings, Masters of Noloth,+ Jaus said, without any hint of insult or mockery. He pursed his lips as he regarded the Hungers, sampling their sweltering fury. +Time has not done you well. The wound at your heart has grown ever sicker.+ A sense of sadness crept over his expression. +I had hoped that you would have learned bitterness or some form of temperance, found some measure of release, despite all that you have suffered, despite all you intended to inflict.+ +Temperance? Bitterness?+ The Hungers were aghast. Composed of countless millions, the collective consciousness became an orchestra of disordered outrage. +You wretched bourbon, you... How do you even speak these words? Where do you get the breath? Where do you get the boldness?+ +Because it is the truth,+ Jaus replied, without any sense of hesitation. +I have always desired to bring about the best future for everyonenot just my people, not just for the Guilds, but for you as well. Because I considered you one of minemy compatriots, my burdens, my charge, those I wished to bring into the light, into an eternal future of glory and bliss, never to end.+ Then Jaus fell silent and contemplative. +But that was never to be, for you wanted more than bliss, you wanted more than glory, you wanted dominance and control. Fear, fear was what consumed you, and fear was what I wished to cure in you, every time we spoke, every conversation we traded. But I must ask you to forgive me now, for I am but a man, and you are a civilization, one that lived in darkness, one that festered in the underbelly, away from the prying gaze of slavering gods. I was not enough. I apologize, but you were also not enough for yourself. That is not an apology I can offer on your behalf.+ Avo didn''t know how, but the outrage of the Hungers only grew. Yet how little that mattered. What worth was the impotence of an exiled kingdom, cut low before they could ever be a true threat to the Guilds, a genuine power in their own right? +You did this to us,+ the Hungers said, their voices low and mournful. +For years, you cast us to the other side, used us as a fulcrum for your twisted benefits. The Nether, this realm of ours, formed of thoughts, the substance of our immortal souls, used as little more than a canvas, a dung heap for everyone to exploit. We are here, we drink your wasteful dreams, your traumas, all that you do not wish to remember, detritus and filth, staining the waters in which we drift. And as we bleed, that becomes the substance of your mental nectar, those dreams you inhabit, those paradises you construct within your own minds. The best from us, and the worst from you. That is what you did to us, Jaus Avandaer.+ +My dream,+ Jaus said, cutting the Hungers off with a resolute declaration, +was to incorporate you into my plans to come. Instead, you forced my hand and made me engineer your exile. And before you speak next, acknowledge what you intended to do. Acknowledge your desire to claim the minds of everyone within New Vutun. To betray all who stood alongside you during the gods'' fall, just out of fear. Out of the desire to be the sole inheritor of our great deeds and darkest sins. +I did not cut you down in an act of injustice. No, Noloth, you were sealed away for your sake and ours. The creation of the nether, likewise, was another necessity. No more heavens that rule over minds could be made, or down that path too much sorrow lay. For the self-determination of a human is one of the few privileges they might ever know. And to take that, to determine the limits of that+ Jaus cast his gaze downward, staring through the colorful mask that had once endured the bombardment of cosmological cataclysms. +Horrifying,+ Jaus finished, regarding Avo. +And yet look at us now,+ the Hungers said, referencing the very same thing Jaus was contemplating. +The Burning Dreamer, our bastard legacies entwined. You say you did not wish for the mind to be made a heaven, for there to be another god of cognition. Well then, Jaus Avandaer, we mock you. We laugh at your wretched fate. For in whose embrace do you lay? For by whose whims do you exist?+ "My own," Jaus replied, giving the Hungers a smile. "It is my act that seemed to set all this in motioneverything I have done to engineer a proper future, a foundation for what is to come." +A proper future for what? Determined by whom? You? You and your family?+ The Hungers'' voice was thick with disdain. +No. Gods, no.+ Jaus laughed. His chuckles were mirthful, yet humorless. For the first time, a sense of shame entered him. He looked upon Veylis, slowly coming asunder, split by a blade across time. +Then why didnt you talk to us before?+ the Hungers finally asked. +Where was this mercy you desired to offer, this clemency?+ Jaus simply stared at them. I have spoken to you countless times, but where my failing was hope, yours was fear. Fear that you could not maintain control. Fear. Same as all the other guilds. Same as my daughter. Same as any other power in this world. He gestured toward the gatekeeper and shook his head. The truth is that I never intended to reign over you. I, too, am bound for servitude beneath the whims of a more rational master. A more rational mind. The Hungers stopped, all of a sudden. Dragons that composed the continents of its civilization shuddered as the wide eyes lining the cracks between their scales glared down upon the sunken form of the gatekeeper. Where once the gatekeeper had seemed an angel of chains, its mind and body composed of shifting links, now it was a ruined amalgam of metal and radiant wounds, broken by Veylis and split from its purpose. "Truth, it murmured, projecting a power all its own unto the world. With each passing moment, an aura of disbelief grew, plunging down from the Hungers and drowning everyone. Slowly, laughter began to rise from the citizens of Nolothhumorless, joyless laughter, laughter of disbelief.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. +Really? This? This thing? This is what you would have chosen? To reign over us? To be our steward unto the future? This is your desired lord?+ Yes, Jaus replied, without a hint of shame. No, Veylis countered, standing in opposition to her father. Even as her flesh came apart, even with her head split clean in two, she could still glare upon the gatekeeper and project her own scorn. No, I will not be ruled by anything lesser than something worthy of true power. Father, you speak of projected fear, yet fear has unmade you, stripped you, and diverted you from glorious ascent. Veylis held out an arm, performing an almost pleading gesture toward her father. Be you a node, be you an illusion, it matters not. You are icon enough, the symbol of the savior. Hear my words now and know them to be true. I, Veylis Avandaer, will accept nothing less than the reign of the worthy, the reign of the powerful. Her voice took on a dangerous edge. The gatekeeper is not born of struggle nor strife. It is an instrument taken by a time of tribulation, a time that failed their tribulation. Voidwatch has given us much, granted us a second lease on life and wonders beyond wonders. Yet despite the power of our cousins, despite all they had achieved, we sit here, we dwell here, we suffer here because of their actions. And this is a truth above all other truths. And that is why we must be enough. You and I, Father, but especially you. Her voice softened with pain. You could have been more. You could have taken more. You could have been empowered more. Yet you turn away because you are her voice trailed off, almost pained, too human. She paused, her expression filled with conflicted emotions. I love the humanity in you, but it is poison. It is poison for you, and it is poison for me. As you were afraid of seeing me born into a world of strife, I was sickened to see you unmanned by the temptations of peace. Totality necessitates a strong hand. And to see you cede power in fear of what you might become, what promise might make of you, that broke my heart most of all. "What you want of me is beyond any man, Veylis," Jaus said, a mournful tone consuming his voice. For the first time, the savior was gone, and there stood only a father, spent beyond the measure of his strength. "I am just a man, Veylis. What you wish for me to do, what you desire of me, it is more than any human can bear, more than any mind can endure." "And so we must progress," Veylis continued, her aggression taking hold. The High Seraph could not be denied now, even as the Heaven of Love spread sores across what little organic tissue lined her bifurcated face, even as she slowly drew closer to a temporary demise. "We are human. We come into this world barely more than animals, screaming, wailing, blind, and drowned in sensation, soiling ourselves, painting our bodies with filth, and crying out at the indignity of our suffering. Yet in this world that becomes our cradle and our tomb, we strive, we slay. Within us burns a breath of ambition, a desire to become and to surpass. "The bones of our enemies become our spear tips and axe handles. The sky becomes a veil we will try to go beyond, to seek further mysteries, to master the flame that burns us and enslave it to our own desires. That is what it means to be human, Father. Not enough now? Then find a way to be moremore, progress, ascend, become." And with those words, a resonant cemetery rang within Avo. Now more than ever, cold dread seeped through the Burning Dreamer, and he realized that the High Seraph might have been closer to him in spirit than any other. But where she was fear, where she was all about dominance, he was about experience. He cared nothing for rulership; he simply wanted to become, while she wanted to be above all others. A look of pure heartbreak passed across Jauss face. He did not respond to his daughter immediately. Instead, he simply shook his head. "Did you ever get to live the life you desired, my girl? Did you ever become an archaeologist? Did you ever delve into the mysteries of bygone empires, search through ruins, sample their mysteries? Did you do any of this? Did you have a family? Did you spread your joy?" "This is a privilege not afforded to us," Veylis said. "We are at war." "You chose war!" Jaus interrupted. "I wanted you to have peace. I did not cause the gods fall for my own privilege, for my own benefit. I wanted to see you experience the dream, for everyone to experience the dream, to have a second chance at utopia, one that our forefathers failed to achieve, one that we might be able to bring into fruition. It was for youall of youbut you didnt want peace. None of you did." At that moment, Jaus gestured towards Avo as well, while looking at the Hungers. "Look upon us," the savior laughed, slightly hysterical. "Look upon us and see this tragicomedy. We gave so much to ensure our legacy, and yet, they dont realize, they dont appreciate, and they never wanted it. All that we have done, it is for our own selfish desires, projected onto our children. And in the end, what was it for?" The Hungers spoke no more. Their hate still burned, but now there was a discomfort, also staining their wounds like an infection kissed by salt. Releasing a sigh of despair, Jaus looked around and asked aloud, "Where is Naeko, Veylis? Bring himbring him out, bring him to me. He deserves to speak to me as well. I have missed him too. Let me see my son-to-be, but never who never was. The High Seraph stood unmoving, like a tombstone rather than a person. And in the silence, a chorus sang out, AND AS THE GRIEF REACHES ITS HEIGHT, THERE IN THE DARKNESS, A TRAITOR PERFORMS AN ACT OF TRANSGRESSION, TOWARDS UNUSUAL DELIGHTS. Avo looked upon the Storm Sparrow, but she simply shook her head. "The chorus sings, but I do not know. Again, I am merely the star, and not the writer of the show." [Mercy] From the perspective of countless famines, Mercy looked on at the miserable scene. But slowly, thoughts inside him were turning, turning faster and faster. There would be no way he could strike at Jaus Avandaernot with the InFacer there, not with the High Seraph there, and certainly not with Avo there. There were too many points of failure, and the Gatekeeper was still too powerful. Yet, Jaus wasnt the only fulcrum upon which New Vultun rested. There was also another, another that held even more importance. Another that composed the beating heart of the nether. With the shard of defiance added to him, the path between loyalty and treason grew ever thinner. But if he was going to do what he just thought, if this epiphany he gained was to be turned to actual action, then there would be no road back. Betrayal and service would become one and the same. +What are you thinking?+ Defiance asked. +I am thinking that the city needs a proper king,+ Mercy replied, gazing upon Avo. +I am thinking, thinking of how to disrupt all the pieces on this board, to strike a clean blow, and grant him a path forward, and grant us an opportunity to crown him with the City Eternal.+ +And how will this be done?+ Defiance asked. +With the warmind, the Forgotten. Your suggestion remains true, but the target has changed.+ +And who is the target now?+ Defiance whispered, his voice almost treasonous. +The Hungers, of course,+ Mercy replied. +Who else? Who else could see this coming? And who else holds the balance to the nether?+ +You know, if you do this, there will be no road back for us.+ +There was never any road back,+ Mercy said. +This was something that needed to be done a long time ago. And its only after your incorporation that I see it. The Hungers are masters individually. They were legends, artisans, geniuses, wonders all. But together, together they are fearful. Together they are so small and wretched. And so, what we need now is a radical transformation for our civilization and a new path forward. This moment, this place, the Court of Truth and the Gatekeeperit will be our witness, and it will be our channel. There is no other opportunity, and there is no other way. Noloth will return as a power unless it is transformed.+ Defiance simply smiled beneath his hood. +Well, the Hungers did ask to be burned.+ +That they did, didnt they?+ Mercy said. And with that, he cast his mind out to all the Famines of Joy before seizing them for his own use. [Avo] The space around the Hungers disordered. The feeling was faint at first, but then it grew stronger. Avo noticed a disappearance in the nether. It was like an absence forming across the vastness of the cognitive realm. They were shaped as if teeth closing around the City Eternal. And as they drifted forth, he prepared himself and marked the details on his cog feed for all connected to his mind to see. Yet it was not he who needed to be worried. As Jaus and Veylis sparred verbally, the Hungers reeled back, giving a cry of alarm. +Wait, what is this? Which one of you No! Stop! Wait! No! Notthis wontMERCY, I WILL+ And without warning, without preamble, and without a hint of explanation, the jaws of something unseen clamped down on the City Eternal. And all of a sudden, and the full weight of the collective Nether suddenly felt lightened as a cognitive disruption unlike any other swept through Avo and every other sophont on Idheim. 28-16 From Nothing I Am {WARNING TO ALL POLITIES! ZERO DAY METACOGNITION COLLAPSE DETECTED! EFFECT RADIUS: IDHEIM STABILITY ZONE NETHER HAS UNDERGONE COMPLETE DESTABILIZATION COLLAPSE POINT NARROWED: >>||<< COLLAPSE IDENTIFIED AS OPERATIVE AVO INITIATING CONTINGENCY BLEAK MINDKILLER TO BEGIN RADICAL QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS} -Voidwatch Communiqu 28-16 From Nothing I Am C[Avo ]C All is, all isn''t. Amidst the nothingness, an ego stirred. It noticed its own shape, contrasted with the backdrop. It was spherical, self-referential, and self-aware. More than this, however, it realized it was floating upon a phlogiston, but also part of the phlogiston as well. The substance cradling it also composed its shell and granted it understanding, meaning, memories, concepts, and more. A thought sparked within the sphere, this little burgeoning ego. It was both egg and yolk at the same time, one and the other, neither apart, not and true. An echo whispered, sound within the shell, and faintly it grew aware of the voices speakingits voices, the voices composing its mind. And as it noticed, it made the choice to listen. We''re alive, we''re alive, we''re still alive. We weren''t the one to hit, but the hungry, they''re gone. What just happened? Why did he do that? This voice was one born of absolute ignorance. Yet it itself could not be ignorant. For how else would it guide those who did not know? The end, the beginning, the end, the beginning, the end, the beginning... Another voice screamed, and excessive energy burned within it. Hysteria quivered. Everything magnifiedfeelings, memories, everything. It was terrified. It was ecstatic. It was here. And it was not dead yet. Pain, Trauma muttered. Somethings missing in me, Memory spoke. I am whole? Synthesis stated? Are the rest of you alright? I think, I think we have experienced nullification. The rend capacity is still at 91%. No overload. Was a good idea. Stay connected to the border. No overload. Empathy sounded. It spoke from within the other voices. And the other voices carried a trace of it as well. Slowly, the bits composing his personality came back together. That little ego, egg and yolk both, began to change in shape. Something shifted within its shell. A crack formed. A noise sounded. And a sliver of tendrils breached through the clefts in the structure. These tendrils were constructs of memory and also extensions of perception. They were composed of countless moments gathered in inimitable minds. But now they were part of him, just as he was a part of the grander wholeness. The nothing, the everything, made up the waters of the collective gestalt. With a strain of mental effort, the dreamer awakened, breaking through their shell. But the shell did not shatter. Rather, it collapsed and melted around its form. At once, as it passed through that barrier between the unknowing, the forgotten, the very true present, it revealed its face to be the eye of a Strix with a single burning eye. The eye was a funny thing. It burned here, in a place understood by the metaphors of water. But more than water, the metaphor here was also nothingness, chaos, absence. Light was not understood to be, and in the nothing, there was only a plane of dark. Its water was still and unmoving, but ever-changing, paradoxically so. Separating this darkness were countless more fissures upon its face. They resembled frozen candles in the distance, other souls halted mid-burn. A resonance passed out from Avo as he suddenly remembered his name. Avohe was the Overheaven of Conceptualization. He was. He was. There was something missing inside him, an essential piece of knowledge that was outright obliterated. He reached back, but it wasn''t there. Strangely, it felt like it never was. But there was also a sense that it would return, an impending collapse. He felt a shiver of strain pass through the surrounding consciousness. And as he swept through the surrounding area, he saw the frozen filaments that composed a strand of ego connected to uncountable little lives. Everything was untangled here. Everything. The plane of thought, once nested above the material world, was unrooted. Its core had been dissolved, and without a pillar, all had begun to spill into another. Roads turned fluid, splashing down other pathways, and emotions ran unfettered. Phantasmics and their component memories were no longer a part, and so their purpose could no longer be served either. A pervasive plague swept through the yolk. Avo felt this. He felt his consciousness breaking, splintering, birthing lesser versions of itself, mutations unable to sustain their own egos. There were offshoots of him, but only ruined offspring. The Heaven of Love, it is falling. He needed to get back to it. He needed to find where it was and siphon its rot. But he was lost here, lost in this miasma, lost and without direction. There was no light. There was only the yolk, the egg, his ego, and those frozen flames. Frozen flames. Souls. Heavens. There was a path still, but there were so many of them. They dotted this canvas of darkness as if stars in a dying universe. Good, you are composed. A voice interrupted Avo thoughts, and his tendrils reached out in search of the broadcast''s origin. After a few moments of groping, there, just before him, knelt a hooded man. His expression was euphoric, but also sorrowful. His skin was dark, aged, and then not, his features cycling between youthful and elderly with each passing moment. As he spoke, the whiteness of his hair turned black, and back to white again, enabling a sense of familiarity with this strange figure. He knew them, he loved them, he hated them, he''d known them all his life. This was Evo''s creator, and it was also his enemy. Confusion swelled within the ego of the Over-Heaven as he struggled to put his thoughts together. The Warmind of the Forgotten is unfinished at best, the stranger said. A tool of many tools, a weapon the priesthood much loathed and used. Removing something from the consciousness, all consciousness, deals damage not only to the person who remembers it, but also to the collective knowing itself. What I have done has wounded the Nether, but just as well. The Forgotten was an unfinished weapon, and though its power is significant, this will not last. Everything will return to the state it was. But we have just long enough to complete my service and my treason. Do not trust him, Ignorance said, his voice echoing within the Strix. He is a famine of no love. Engineer, you are subservience.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Hello to you too, Ignorance, the priest said. A spike of alarm sounded from the Definement. He knows I''m here. He can hear me. Yes, the priest replied. I can hear everything, and so can you, if you would only listen. All that is of mind has been untangled. The removal of the priest frowned for a moment, his brows furrowing, a look of pain creeping over his features. Suddenly, he let out a laugh, and then a sob. And as tears began to stream down his face, he chuckled, mirthlessly shaking his head. I do not remember myself, but I have severed this place from its pillar, and these waters are untethered, unbound, but not for long. You, you now have an opening. Look across from you. Look. And then there was light. Ghosts washed out from the priest and formed a bridge. No, a pathway. And at the end of the pathway, Avo saw a fallen figure shivering upon the waters. Their body was made from shifting chains, while its head was a collection of myriad skulls. It struggled as it reached up. Its form lit by the faint embers of soul fire, and a pitiful groan echoed from its very thoughts. True, false, true, false, true, false. With every passing emanation from its mind, its desperation grew more severe. It is suffering, the priest said. It suffers now because, in this place, all is true, but all is not. Here is the paradox. The universe had to come from something. Thought had to come from somewhere. But without this, without us, who was to say which shape the world should take? Who was to observe the brightness of stars, feel the roughness of stone, suffer the indignities of life, and revel in the flavors of joy? Perhaps everything was before we were here, but who was to say what purpose does a painting have without an observer? Ignoring the priest''s words, Avo reached out with his tendrils as he slowly struggled through stilted waters of thought. As he moved through the frozen strands, every inch of ground compelled him to suffer exertion. Every bit of strain was like pushing through a swamp. Yet he was thought itself, and thought could glide upon thought, regardless of the difficulty entailed. Slowly, his sequences burrowed into the gatekeeper, his structure overlapping with it. As he sank deep, his soul fire spilled inwards, running down his eyes like circuitry as his flame melded with the gatekeeper''s. At once, numbers began to flash across his vision, strings of mem-data. And as he delved deep into its structure, he felt a critical absence, something he was long looking for. The time-wrought wound Veylis inflicted upon it was no more. The Gatekeeper was clear, clean, and pure. The High Seraph herself was nowhere to be seen. Good, the priest said, the sound almost resigned. Now, consume it. Avo paused, turning to face the priest. Why? Why should I do what you ask of me? Because it will collapse the Nether? the priest said simply, not bothering to hide his subterfuge. The Definement within Avo went silent, and for the first time, a flicker of secondary consciousness emerged within the Overheaven. [What the fuck?] Chambers said, his voice a squeak, emitted from one of Avos sequences. [What the fuck is right?] Abrel agreed. [Where the hells are we? Avo! Half-strand! What the hell have you done this time?] Not my doing, the Overheaven replied, keeping his attention focused on the priest. Why do you want to claim the nether? Is this for it? For it? Memories were still missing. They were on the tip of his mind, but he couldn''t find them. There was something taken away. It is to crown you, the priest said. Again, they laughed, and this time their laughter took a self-deprecating tone. For you. This was all for you. In the end, I''ve come full circle. The priest fell silent, and he looked upon the Strix, eyes glistening somewhere between pride and lament. When I first took Defiance''s pieces within me, I thought it would give me awareness, understanding, rationality to comprehend my enemies. But instead, it poisoned me. It poisoned me and gave me everything I wanted. Paradoxical. Just like this place. Just like the concept of the self. All I have done, I''ve done in service of the City Eternal, the true heart of Noloth. These people I called my masters, these elites, the philosophers, masters and mistresses, I have adored them. I have seen them grow and I have seen them wane, despite having their eternal life, despite being spared the touch of gods. A paranoia consumed them. They knew no wonder, and they retreated inwards. [Avo,] Draus''s template muttered in the back of his mind, [might want to consider leaving this one. He don''t sound too stable no more.] No, Avo replied. I think he''s as stable as he''s ever been. He still couldn''t quite remember the priest. There were pieces of him, flashes and shadows of memory, but the connecting tissue was missing, obliterated. Just as well, the priest said. I sacrificed my only son, that which was my flesh, to satisfy the urges and commands of my masters. A beat followed, and the priest''s face quivered, then went flat. No, it was for me, all for me. I had a choice between love and pride, and I chose pride. Though I would always choose pride, it gnawed at me, it boiled inside of me, so much that I split myself into four, and now two back to one. Are you seeking redemption, Mercy? Avo asked. The name slipped out of him. He didn''t recall it. It was just there. Redemption, the priest looked at the Overheaven with confusion. What redemption is there to seek? Right now, I have committed a grand betrayal, but also an act of glorious service. The hungers will torture me, will spurn me, and then they will reward me, for what I have given them is the path to their salvation. You. [What the fuck is he on about?] Shotin sounded in the back of Avo mind. [Avo, I can''t believe I''m saying this shit. I think I agree with the Reg. Man saying here is long gone. You better know and get vacant from this place. However, you can.] Shotins template looked around, peering through Avos eyes. [Wherever this fucking place is, giving me the creeps, Avo. It''s just black and nothing, and memories are bleeding all over. Am I in this sludge?] We are all in this, the priest replied, speaking to the template. [Shit. Perfect. He can hear me,] Shotin said. [Hey, half-strand. Since you''re listening in, wheres the way out?] Soon as Shotin asked, that entire backdrop of darkness shuddered. A new color intruded, piercing through the inscrutable black needles piercing the dermis of skin. The intrusion came from over a thousand angles, was separated from the darkness, with tips of static gliding clean through this collapsing space. But wrapped within the static was also gold, a familiar gold that filled Avo with sudden alarm. Veylis. He could feel her heaven, but more than that, he could feel the Infacer''s influence even more. Ah, the priest said, giving a lamentable sigh. I assumed we had more time, but it seems the mind that hunts other minds remains the most formidable adversary. Well then, dreamer, it is time for a second dream. You have been a monster, a slave, and then a rebel, a weapon, a god in the making, and something greater than that, an ark, a vessel of hope. But now, with all that you''ve experienced and all the minds you embody, there is a final destination to where you must embark. For eons, the City Eternal stood, a democracy unto itself, a place of equals, legends all. But now, in their years spent in exile, riven by fear and unmade by their own weakness, I, Mercy, ascended famine among the priesthood of Noloth, cast my solitary vote and use this transgression, this service, to crown a proper king for a city lost to disarray. For when democracy falls, then let it be so, and let us choose a worthy tyrant to use its corpse as a cocoon. May you bring about something better, may you mantle this new world, and may you bring grand convergence in this return of the old and new. What are you asking of me? Avo said, his mind spiraling. There must be a trap here, a place of deception. Yet, within him, he heard Ignorance whisper, He''s telling the truth. Hysteria screamed. Truth? It can''t be, but it is, it is, it is. Empathy wailed within them. He''s hurt, he''s had, he''s desperate, and we are all he has. The Strix looked down upon the priest, and slowly, the shadow of Wahakten knelt down and bowed before their former adversary, their former creation. It is a strange flavor to give myself this way, but I welcome you, new master, new king. I welcome you to mantle the City Eternal. May you devour the powers of truth. May the realm of mind and matter marry once more. 28-17 Three Kingdoms Fall And here''s the hardest lesson of all, consangs. You can get everything right. Your prep can be mono-sharp and perfect. Your sheath can be designed down to the cell for the battle you''re about to wage. But sometimes Sometimes shit just goes wrong. Sometimes, you lose people. Sometimes you just lose. -Quail Tavers 28-17 Three Kingdoms Fall More threads of static-confused gold pierced deep into this tapestry of nothingness. With the priest''s words at an end and a choice laying before him, Avo looked down upon the Gatekeeper, and a sense of pity arose from the Overheavens being. The Strix drew the Heaven of Truth closer to him. Here lay Jaus creation, made to guide men towards a better future, broken by his sister, in defiance of her father''s will. It lifted its head, and from within the sockets of his many clustered skulls, a feeling emanated: relief; salvation; an ending, be it restoration or restful oblivion. "Gatekeeper," Avo greeted. I have come to relieve you. From the Overheaven, another voice spoke as well. Gatekeeper. I thank you for all that you have done. And I beg your forgiveness for what you have unduly suffered. As Jaus spoke, the Heaven of Truth simply sagged, and slowly, the Nether began to shift once more. The threshold between the planes was coming undone. Whatever was to follow, Idheim would be irrevocably changed once more. It begins, then, the Famine of Mercy said. The opening act of the final war. The warmind of the Forgotten will soon fail. After that, the Hungers will return, bound to all minds. Claim it then. Claim your rightful throne. Grant Noloth a proper resurrection. And the priest paused. And make right our failing. Ours, and all the others. Of this, I beg. The Strix judged Mercy for but a moment, and some part of him already knew these words to be the truth. But the Gatekeeper was here, and there was no need to rely on intuition when reality could be wielded instead. [Truth,] the Gatekeeper declared. So came the judgement. So came the verdict from the Heaven of Truth, showing the Famine to be barren of deceit and honest in want. Avo pulled the Gatekeeper into his grasp via tendrils formed from myriad streams of ghosts and a strange chuckle escaped him. Defiance. He infects us all. Realization infects us all, Mercy answered. I was but a facet of a man. Now I am more. I have seen more. And I remain changed and unchanged at once. All this for Noloth. All this for my pride, even if it is not the want of the city, not the want of my masters. My oath was to service, not to a coddling death. And with that, there was little more to say. Immediately, the Strix burrowed every last branch of consciousness it had and drank deep from the Heaven of Truth. Soulfire greeted soulfire, and ripples of emanating radiance swept over the Gatekeeper and Avo felt the clefts lining its broken ego. REVIEWING MYTHOLOGY REVIEWING COGNITIVE STRUCTURE INITIATING RESTORATION Avos many tendrils expanded within the Heaven of Truth, and he began to stitch its mind back together piece by piece. A thought occurred to him then: he could just inject some entropy into the Gatekeeper. Make their end fast and sup them dry of thaums. It was a cold choicebut one that would grant him near transcendence thanks to its surfeit of thaums. It was already at Sphere Nine, on the brink of going over, and he was but a bit beyond the cusp of Seven. He was close to the end. So close. A path to a premature victory had arrived via a most unexpected vector. [Truth,] the Gatekeeper replied, and a feeling of encouragement came from the Gatekeeper. It wished only to serve, even now. However, another voice intruded upon the choice to be made, and Jaus spoke with weariness. [Avo, please. It deserves to be more than mere sacrifice. Consider how this might define you. Consider who you wish to be. And do not deny yourself the Gatekeepers enlightenment. Take it into yourself. Do this properly.] [Whole,] the Gatekeeper followed, speaking with no small amount of yearning. Yes, Avo said, his virtue and avarice for more influence aligned for this ridiculous moment. REPAIRING MYTHOLOGY - 5% REPAIRING COGNITION - 7% The shifting chains that composed the Gatekeeper''s wings rattled and, as it was enveloped by closing phantasmal fingers, it vanished into the Strix, melding into its gestalt. At once, the Heaven of Truth materialized in his Exo-Paracosm, and with each progressive moment, its cognition came together. [Hello, Gatekeeper,] Jaus said, his voice serene and excited at once. [Creator,] the Gatekeeper replied. [Iapologize for not living up to my task.] [I apologize for not quelling the wrongness within my daughter''s heart.] Jaus sighed. He looked down and shook his head. [There are a great many things we all do wrong. All we can do is face them, I suppose, when we can while we''re here.] [And I am still here,] the Gatekeeper continued. It regarded itself with a new sense of surprise as more of its self-awareness returned. [I like being here. I like being whole again.] A second Soul ignited within Avos, and he felt his bright dwarfed by far. He thought himself the heart of a star when he reached the Seventh Sphere, but the Gatekeeper was an inferno to his candle. As he mended its damage, the Nether began to uncoil, and the threshold between the planes of matter and mind dissolved evermore. More, a new presence was forming within him as well, and a new Definement settled among the others. Truths manifestation arrived with more certitude and solidity than all his brethren before. Before, the countless templates within him and his own mind itself perceived the world through a narrow lens of distortion. All their memories, all his conceptionsthey twisted him, a deception of perception, leaving the ultimate platonic shape of reality was therefore lost. But now, things were becoming clearer, Avo. It was as if an adjustment was made to his cog-feed, revealing just how much he''d been missing, like an adjustment of clarity made to his cog-feed, subtle and fundamental at the same time. Then, he saw it. Here, in the Nether, where all the strands of memories were coalesced, Avo saw a scattered collection of other souls flickering in the darkness. Not just flickering, but pulsing, flaring in rhythm and sequence. For a beat, he thought he was perceiving a tide of backlashes sweeping through countless other Godclads across New Vultun as the rhythm began to alternate, and his Synchronicity detected a symmetry across the frequencies. Avo cast aside that notion altogether. The reaction of teh Souls were by design, compelled by an outside force.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. [Infacer,] the Gatekeeper said. [They are here and something more more than all of us...] And suddenly, suspicion was greeted with the nectar of Truth. Streams of coruscating chronology burst free from the affected Souls and Avo sensed a spreading set of arteries extend between them, slicing into the Nether and spreading from all angles. With the Gatekeeper removed, Nether began to descendthe separation of realms no longer enforced. But even as it did, across a thousand desperate souls, the threads of gold traveled, and more than that, waves of static swept out, consuming all that was mind and memory. For just a moment, it as if all reality shivered, and Avo felt like a bug caught in the turning blankets of some manner of metaphysical giant. Then, he felt a horrific smallness pass over him; a reminder that one could be crushed by totality, even if they knew what it was. It was one thing to conceptualize. It was another to experience. SLEEPER, AN UNGOD OF MACHINE BORN (ERRRO3231./,.]`] Briefly, a title appeared, and then vanished thereafter. But its presence more than imprinted itself on Avo. It was like all existence briefly gained its own network for consciousness, a nervous system connecting the realm above to the deepest cell within a human body. But then it was gone, dormant once more, but that just caused the fractures of gold to spread ever faster. Where they were leaking in before, now they creeped over the mindscape, as if everything around Avo was glass, graced by a wrecking ball. Time has come for us, the Famine of Mercy said. His words were true in more ways than one. He reached out to Avo and bowed his head. I give myself unto thee, oh lord of the sending flame, oh dreamer of no loss, resurrection. As I have served the City Eternal, so too will I serve you, towards the benefit of no law, towards the salvation of our history. Guide us through the coming war. Another thread of consciousness snaked out from Avo that consumed the priest as well, and he joined the vast civilization budding within him. More static grains began to spill over from the surrounding gold, and at once, the countless strands that composed the Nether began to untangle. The sensation of a coming plunge loomed. A new voice called out to Avo emanating from all sides. Gaps were forming between the sequences. He could peer down from the skiesdown at the material world, veined by countless strings of consciousness drawn upward. {Well, I suppose my compliments are in order. Congratulations, priest. I cannot say that I saw this coming,} the Infacer spoke, but Avo sensed nothing of Veylis in the backdrop. Even though her power was forcing through the nether, her mind fell vaguely absent, Hysteria brushing none of her cognitive breadth. "Infacer," Avo replied in greeting. He drew upon his other Heavens, and though he tried to contact his actual cadre and trigger the full power of his gestalt, everything was still too entangled. Their egos felt like they were captured in a cluttered nest, the borders between their selves melded in a conjoining mess. But his templates were still here, as were his Heavens, and they materialized within him: blood, glass, wind, space, continuity, and more. So much more. {So,} the Infacer continued. Avo felt the neo-creationist mind leaping closer and closer, and slowly he realized that he was being encircled by time itself. {Was this part of your plan as well? Did you come to an arrangement with your old masters?} Avo wanted to lie. He wanted to taunt the Invader and enrage them. But alas, he recently swallowed the pill of truth, and by compulsion and philosophical exhaustion, honesty slipped free from him. "Probably about as surprised as you are. Didn''t see any of this coming. Didn''t see a lot coming." REPAIRING MYTHOLOGY - 19% REPAIRING COGNITION - 23% The strings of gold suddenly paused. The Infacer spoke once more. {Well, that makes the two of us. If nothing else, I appreciate the novelty. Avo, it''s been a long, long time since I''ve ever felt this surprised. Just a shame it has to end.} And at once, everything but the tendrils of gold fractured as time itself began to invert. Alarm erupted within Avo, as countless sequences were severed clean from the passage of history, cast back into the ever-chasing oblivion behind them. Existence unraveled along the lines of a million different arteries. Continuity between so many severed, and entire sections of the Nether fell away, Hysteria revealing billions of convulsing bodies to Avountold amounts of people damned to a helpless nulling. No further discussion took place between the Dreamer and the Infacer. As the canvas of absolute blackness split apart, the static-crowned titan of time pushed up into the guts of the collapsing plane in like a rabid dog digging its snout into untangling intestines. The Nether dropped. The Nether parted. The Nether ceased to be. Cognition was no longer separate from baseline reality, and branches of memory reeled back down toward the minds they were sourced from. The Nether broke apart, and as fluidity returned to consciousness, countless previously dormant sequences ignited in the presence of Avos flames. The Strix dove into mental cascade chronology collapsed around him. Bearing the Gatekeeper''s body, he jumped from burning thread to burning thread, his subminds shifting constantly, sparing him from death after death. As he fled, he drew deep from his Exo-Paracosm and fed what entropy he had into ghosts assigned to rupture time. They speared out at the Demiurge, detonating upon the surface of the tapestry and fracturing existence evermore. Bound to a collapsing ocean of minds, Avo drank deep from their memories to feed his weapons of metacognitive alchemy. New ruptures formed, temporal realities shuddered, and the flow of progression ceased to be a thing one could comprehend. The lashing whips guided by the Demiurge twisted and dissolved as it skipped across the surface of chronology to pursue him downward. Still, Avo felt nothing of Veylis presence, but the static crown, golden titan''s head, pulsed with even more activity. If it was the Infacer that was piloting the High Seraph herself. [Truth.] The Gatekeeper mumbled. Well, that explained more than a few things about her survivability in the face of Ori-Thaum. REPAIRING MYTHOLOGY - 28% REPAIRING COGNITION - 32% Both sides began to wield the full spectrum of the maned, their miracles flowing as if arguments exchanged. Reality tore, space broke, matter ceased to be. Entire sections of memory were scythed away by detonations. As Avo burned along a million threads, he simply changed where he was, his Heaven trespassed beyond the boundaries of spacetime''s continuity. At the same time, concurrently, time itself grew ever more fractured, and more thoughtwaves lashed out, seeking to claim him at last. Broken fractals blared in all directions as sections of reality began to turn in wrong directions. Portions of space began to loop, began to revert, or began to accelerate, and these temporal wounds became as if a trench across the length of the tapestry. One that the Demiurge had to avoid. Millions were dying as a result of their struggle. Millions in a span of microseconds. These sequences belonged to people, slowly retracting across from sky, away from Scale, and they were the only bulwark Avo had against the Demiurges unrelenting onslaught. A mere second''s stillness of the nether was long lost, and the miasmic realm, once rested above a material world, came splashing down over New Vultun, over all of Idheim, as countless sequences and creations snapped back into their component egos, as if people were drawing down rivers of phantasmal brightness beyond the reach of the sky. And then something echoed in existence, and Hysteria detected Veylis presence within her own Heaven. Thank you, Infacer. I have this now. Suddenly, Veylis wasnt. Avo triggered his Pre-Cognition and paired that with the Gatekeepers aid. The path ahead broke along countless forking pathwaysmemories to escape within; sequences to accelerate along. But with the Nether broken the mental and the material were drawing ever-closer, and ever mind in Idheims existence was caught in a grand waterfall crashing down through the clouds of Scale. COG-CAP - 91% He reached out with his mind, he lashed out with Pattern-Nullifications, and he constantly shifted his position as he plotted route after route. The Gatekeeper called out with answers of truth to every path that guaranteed his survival, but this was only a scant delay. The Demiurge was multiplying. Another cog-feed flashed within Avos mind, and his foresight showed countless golden titans slashing and tearing through the falling streams of thought, their numbers increasing by the exponent, the pace of their attacks growing as well. Soon, there would be no sequence to flee, and the damage she would inflict on New Vultun Two other sensations slammed down hard against Avos Frame. He felt his Soul quiver and the many incarnations of Veylis collapsed back into a single form for a staggered instant. Above the thick branches of the Nether, pockets of absence burst, and Avo felt a warmind come undone. [The Forgotton has failed,] Mercy declared. [Witness, my king. Your throne descends.] And true to his words, a massive presence crashed down, parting the clouds and choking the light away. Spinning dragons turned fast as a cacophony of voices wailed from its body. Connected to all these umbilical sequences, the Hungers resembled a horrid aberration plucked from a womb above the sky. THE HUNGERS, THE CITY ETERNAL (MIND/THOUGHT/MEMORY/TRAUMA) [EST.991000000] The citizens of the City Eternal cried out for their priests, for the Nether, for even Avo to preserve them, but as they dropped, another presence awaited far below within the guts of the Paladins mountain fortress. It made itself known with a pulsing heartbeat, and all of a sudden, new dragons began to burst forth from the wounds lining the Hungers body, metaphysical sores bursting free. +TOGETHER! TOGETHER! TOGETHER!+ Kaes voice rose in a rapturous cry. And so the realm of thought and memory collapsed. Into the open embrace of loves rotting corpse. 28-18 A Fated Wound I was there during the first battle of The Embracement War. Noloth smashed down on us. Hit us like a godsdamned motherfucking warhead made to disfigure cognition and chronology. Everyone got lost. Everyone. The mental and material started blurring together, and every now again, time itself tried to kill you. I cant tell you how many died that day. More than the numbers recorded. But I can tell you that part of me is still lost in that haze trapped. I dont know if Im awake right now. I dont know if Im just lost in my own mind. I cant tell if I cant tell whats real anymore. And maybe that doesnt matter. Maybe its all one and the same. I dont know. And I dont think anyone else does either. And I thought fucking Kososo was bad. -Tigertail, Stormtree Bloodthane 28-18 A Fated Wound Every strand of consciousness within Avo exploded into action. A sanguine storm assailed Veylis''s haemokinetic projectiles, detonating against the Demiurge in staggering blossoms of fire and force. As she struck back, he vanished, his evasion conducted by memory and metaphysics. A conjured memory of the Fardrifter created a tunnel of paths for him, and he moved from labyrinths of space over to simulations of memory, barely evading blows and implosions that sought to invert time. His Pre-Cognition continued to be his Soul-saving grace. It, in coordination with the Gatekeeper, revealed the way ahead of him. Countless deaths were simulated within the depths of his mind, and his cog-feed approached critical capacity. COG-CAP - 96% With his Rend growing not far behind, the patterns of chronology vibrated constantly on the face of the tapestry, and the High Seraphs onslaught grew to a nightmarish frequency. It was as if a variant of her existed at all points in time. Every second, every microsecond into the future, the deniers fragmented, and time ran as if a parting stream, dividing parallel to match each sequence of memory in existence. There were trillions of beings that lived, on Idheim, and from them came exponentially more recollections, memories, moments, emotions. To sort through all these details would be a colossal task, impossible for almost all. But Veylisaligned with the Infacerwas a cut above the rest. Waves of expanding radiation detonated outwards in spheres of static developed. Entire portions of the collapsing netherthe Infacerhad never been mortal, had been crafted to cull other superintelligent minds. And as a machine-intellect empowered by a Soul, they had means of contending with hostile intelligences, all the same. The duel grew frenzied. The attacks they inflicted were turned against him as Veylis parried him with kinetic constructs. Her cuts bore into their chronology, and her strikes traveled across time to slash the place from which they were spawned. But the Strix moved, jumping from thought to thought, memory to memory. Hysteria allowed him to reach across impossible distances, diving into symmetrical thoughts and Synchronicity offered him with the ability to hide. Better than any Necrojack in existence, his assault, capable of scouring entire districts within a microsecond, was less than an inconvenience to the High Seraph. But she herself was slashing blind, carving her path through the shrubs of the falling mental world, barely missing him by inches and seconds. A charted route flashed red before Avo, as the Gatekeeper screamed for him to evade. He did so, barely. Suddenly, strings of memory he crawled upon were no more. At the same time, another portion of him was fleeing downward, the same strikes descending, moving in two places at once. The spinning dragons that composed the City Eternal drew ever closer, and an emanation rose like a volcanic eruption from the Heaven of Love, bathing Scale in fetid miracles. A chorus of madness erupted in the back of Avo''s mind, as his memories developed fraying mutations. His words rattled, and only by his absolute control over his own cognition did he remain sane against the schizophrenia, the divine form of his ultimate Heaven. Phantasmal sores burst open upon the Strixs abyssal flesh, and Soulfire ruptured free, spraying jets of metaphysical fire into existence. Mere seconds later, small beaks emerged from these wounds and screamed their outrage and horror into existence. Pure trauma began to pour free from his body, and as they greeted the tapestry, reality fractured and tore. And this expression of damage was shared by the Hungers, who hatched new extensions from their writhing flesh, who wailed with touched by the Remembrance, who carved caverns of absence across Scale as their perception scythed through the land, piercing space, time, matter, and memite all. The material, the mental, and the metaphysical were slowly becoming one insane coalescence. But he was not the only one affected by the Heaven of Love''s miracles, as Mercy had made his impossible play within Scale. The Remembrance, pulled across reality by Avo''s gestalt, remained within the heart of the court, and its entropic presence grew stronger with each passing second between the pulsing beats and the finally fallen heart. The strands of time composing Veylis''s Demiurge frayed. Though her focus was beyond human, her mastery was of the world without inflicting control by deciding the design of history for but a beat a single second in time Veylis Avandaer hesitated; Veylis Avandaer struggled against purest agony as her body, ephemeral and metaphysical, began coming apart with a grueling flood of time-wrought homunculi. Avo stole the moment. A torrent of ghosts exploded out from his being. The Ghostjack flared within him, and the spire-like phantasmic cast synaptic energy that licked his Soul far within. Crackles surged across his ghosts, jumping along his sequences and gathering the rend nested within the wards lining the interior of his soul. A stream of trauma blasted out from the Strix''s cyclopean eye, and as it existed beyond the confines of continuity, the attack materialized from over a million vectors, each one spearing out at impossible speed, splashing over the Demiurge, consuming her in a phantasmal net. Quickly, Avo grasped her form and layered his sequences around her, but just as he prepared to strike her memories from existence and sever the High Seraph from causality itself, the Gatekeeper screamed in the back of his mind. [STOP!] Avo did so without hesitating. His ghosts splashed apart, the Rend receded into his body, and just in time. A field expanded out from the Demiurge, and present churned backward to history, where the jaws of oblivion were ever encroaching. As his ghosts retreated, her Rend splashed out in an unmaking tide. The space around Veylis simply ceased to be; that patch of existence no longer existed. For the first time, Avo beheld nothingness, true and genuine nothingness. It was not like the emptiness of space, for the tapestries that existed there were voids containing other expressions. Nothingness was nothingness, beneath conceptualization, before existencethe purest wound one would ever know. All of Avo''s Definement shuddered, and he did his best to avert his gaze. For one who wished to know the world, what horror was greater than the ultimate unbecoming? His hope of striking a fatal blow against the High Seraph had been a false one. Without his precognition, without the Gatekeeper, death would have consumed him, death chasing so close behind. Another deafening scream passed over the expanse of existence. Avo watched, his surprise mixing with Mercy''s horror, as the Hungers plunged down. The existential wound Veylis left upon the framework of realitya small dot of nothingness occupied a sphere no larger than a hundred meters. But it bore clean through the dragons, clean through its time-forged scales, clean through the city in the crenelations, clean through all there was, for nothing could counter nothingness itself.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Where the hungers were merely screaming from terror before, now a cry of true pain erupted from the falling City of Noloth. The first hint of a naked emotion leaked over into Mercy''s voice. [Hurry, Dreamer! Hurry, protect your throne. Save our people.] Avo didn''t need these wordsthey were unnecessaryas Avo sped through the last sequences, approaching the Hungers with a reaching submind, he extended a tendril to grasp that spilling waterfall of chronology that he dove out from when he obtained his internalized Domain. Yet, just as he attempted to leap the golden waterfall and swim up the ichor, back into the City Eternal, the Gatekeeper''s warning came once more. [FALSE!] Veylis suddenly burst out from the wound of time, nearly a gateway for her to stride without restriction. Another cut carved a gouge of nothingness upon existence. Avo saw, to his growing dread, a thin slit of nothingness manifest upon the tapestry itself. [Shit! Fuck!] Shotins template cried in the back of Avos mind. Once more, the pursuit amongst the sequences resumed, but the High Seraph was dividing ever faster across time now, and her slices traced forward across history, slitting entire sequences apart like monowire gliding down the veins of a wrist. Another portion of Avo''s consciousness dove and sought the Heaven of Love. As he pierced into the court, he found himself aghast at the sight before him. Over the thousands present, all reflected with the rash, their bodies misshapen lumps of flesh slowly coming undone. Homunculi oozed from every pore, their small forms glistening and pale, whimpering with existential dread at their fates. Death was coming for the Paladins, for the Saintists, for the Massists. For Avo and Veylis as well. He needed to control the outpouring of Rend from the Remembrance, and he needed to reach the Hunger to stop it from smashing down upon Scale. And he needed to survive. Just long enough for Zeins blow to finally reach its point of culmination. A branching sequence forked. He pierced the Gatekeeper and dipped his other ghosts into the Heaven of Love thereafter. Entropy flooded his being, but he shifted that across into the Gatekeeper, doing his best to keep his Rend balanced. There was no possibility of him sustaining the outpouring of metaphysical rot from the Remembrance himself. His Spherage was too low, and with the Nether destabilized, the borders walls of New Vultun were vastly beyond his reach. So close to the Heaven of Loves presence, spraying pustules and twisted effigies of his Strix tore out from his Heaven of Continnum, and it took more and more of Avo to just keep going. His cog-feed flickered. His templates unraveled one after another, all but the Regulars, Chambers, Mercy, and Jaus begging to be released from pain. Within the inner domain of Love, impossible colors of vivacity pulsated, hammering existence like a fallen heartbeat. No longer could he hear Kaes thoughts, for her mind was so tattered that only Hysteria could identify the scant sequences that composed the remnants of her ego. Avos cog-feed was a blur of incoherence now. His perception remained solely thanks to Ignorance, guiding the Strix forward even while the Dreamer went near-blind with suffering. Kaes must have resurrected twice alreadytwice at the very least. The fact that she hadn''t reached the point of cessation from all the ego damage she sustained already was a miracle in itself. But she would not survive. Another return, not without him repairing her. [Fuck everything else, Avo. Do not let her die. Do you hear me? Do not!] Chambers''s template screamed, barely managing to stay coherent against the pain of all the other templates. ACCESSING HEAVEN OF [FALSE! FALSE! FALSE!] Avo heard the Gatekeeper calling out within him. But he heard them too late. A spear of chronology speared clean through the Heaven of Love, a lance of golden parting the colors, stopping the beating heart, and plunging clean through Avo himself. His wards rattled. His Frame shook. A wound opened within him, but no pain came with it. Instead, he saw a scar form upon his ontologyan infusion of anothers pattern of Chronology. [No!] Chambers cried out. The same golden lance punched out from the Strix across every instance of its manifestation across the continuity of space and time. From lance flowed a colossal form, a titan of interlocking hands, with the heart of a singularity, with the power to reign over time. It reached out, and seized the Strix by the throat. Avo struggled. His ghosts splashed out, striking with trauma and Rend, but the present was growing ever far away, and the paths were collapsing around him, swallowing him with each passing instant. "It was a good attempt," Veylis said, her voice calm despite the incredible pain she suffered. The Wombrash was eating through her too, and with how close they were, Avo could sense Zeins slash traveling deeper into the Demiurge. The High Seraphs own death was soon approaching. Across space and time, two stood as the world unraveled. Avo faced Veylis as he struggled to reach Kae, struggled to reach the Hungers, struggled in futility. But he didnt struggle alone. Once more, he summoned Jaus from his mind, and the savior emerged from his Soul as if a man emerging from an open door. +Veylis! Wait!+ But that was as far as he got before a disruption unmade his form. A backlash exploded through Avo, and when his senses returned, warning klaxons squealed inside his mind. REND CAPACITY - [1Er1ER+_-=13\ VENT! VENT! VENT! {Sorry, consang,} the Infacer said, sounding not in the least bit apologetic. {Can''t let you get in the way of things.} The Hungers continued to fall. In the next twelve seconds, it would impact the top of Scale, and from there, only further destruction could follow. But that was the lesser issue. The rash was going to eat everyone clean soon. At least it was constrained to Scale for now, but how long woudl that last? Already, Avo could feel spatial reality around him start to fray. The tapestry was straining here; too many wounds had been inflicted upon its surface already. Sequences reeled away from the Hungers and surged back to their minds of origin. The Nether was vanishing. Everyone was slowly becoming an island unto themselves once more. A new pattern emerged among the others, and Avo knew it to be Mind, but what worth was it now? What use could it be to him at this moment. Across his Auto-Seance, he observed only interference and chaos. His cadre was still separated; still unbalanced. Peering through the gaps in Veylis paths, he saw accretions beginning to form, and a desperate play came together in his mind. Drawing on Karakan, he sequenced a set of memories from her and pushed that into his Hysteria. Suddenly, the world vanished all around him, and for the first time in his life, Avo stole a page from Cas book and prayed. Prayed that if there was a greater god above all others, if there was something more than existence, that they saw Naekos mind preserved, and ensured the Chief Paladin was reachable by thought. I will not stray, Veylis said. Aval felt the crushing presence descend, and knew the Hungers were going to impact the outer layer of Scale in mere moments. "Such was what I said to my father when I condemned him to the glory of divinity. Such is what I will say to you as well. Nobly fought though your struggle was. There is no shame in this. You tried, you fought. Your attempt was bolder and greater than most. But I knew your path. I knew your choice. And so your defeat was fated to be. There is no life you could have bested me. No future in which you win. Not done yet, Avo replied. Hysteria pulsed out, and the world around him vanished. A second later, he sensed the component memories of Naekos mind sliding across the horizon, then upward. Upward? It kept going until it ascended hundreds of kilometers into the air. How in the hells did Naeko get up there? Was his displacement caused by Veylis discombobulation? And where was Zein for that matter? {No. I think youre pretty much finished,} the Infacer said. {Sad. But no worries. We will see you contained and extracted. And I just might keep something of you. Maybe a mind-clone. I need someone to mock the apes with in Stormjumpers.} REPAIRING MYTHOLOGY - 81% REPAIRING COGNITION - 100% Veylis twisted her spear, and Avo shuddered along its length. He felt her power spilled over him, pass into his Heaven, but just then, before all he was got consumed, a notification filled his vision, and despair dissolved in defiance of a battle yet to conclude. REPAIRING MYTHOLOGY - 81% REPAIRING COGNITION - 100% [Thank you,] the Gatekeeper said. [For making me whole. If only for a while.] Let this be an honorable close to your struggle, Dreamer. Sleep now. Sleep and dream of what could have been. Sleep and I will take your burdens, and make right this existence. Your Symmetry will not be ash; it will serve me. And through you, my victory will absolute FALSE! The Gatekeeper declared. It manifested its Heaven, and Avo released it from the confines of his Exo-Paracosm. A galaxy exploded out from the Strix, spilling from its open sores, from its unfurling ghosts. Stars materialized around him, clouds of cosmic dust sheared into Veylis, and the sweeping hammer of gravity battered the very form. The Gatekeeper''s voice rose in a rapturous roar of fury. "This domain is false. This history is false. What you want is false. This is not Jaus will. This is not the path. This is not the dream. AND YOU WILL NEVER BE THE DREAMER OF ALL THAT IS TO COME! At that moment, both the Gatekeeper and Veylis paradoxes as Truth hammered against the false-history projected cosmos and simulated paths ablaze in unity. 28-19 Embracement And so the time comes, The daughter The mother The beast And the worlds womb In embrace Time and mind entwined Peace and war betwixt And the war, though fractured, evermore conjoined -Stormsparrows Chorus 28-19 Embracement Suddenly, Avo was released. The paths broke apart around him, and the material world was exposed to him again. He could feel the tapestry once more, and, wasting no time, his tendrils sheared out. The first projected TechSick.exe towards the Invader, while another two went in opposite directions, one seeking the Fallen Hungers, the other reaching out to finish interfacing with the Heaven of Love. Even as the Heaven of Love frayed the very edges of his consciousness, Avo''s subminds struck out at once, some reaching out to reconvene with his cadre. Another section of his consciousness carried his Conflagration and ignite the Hungers, and the final tethers channeled a blast of trauma-imbued Rend over from the Remembrance into the High Seraph. The space around Avo was enveloped in roaring Soulfire, a clash between two Ninth-Sphere Heavens like nothing he had ever experienced before. To describe it as a collision between rival supernovae was insufficient. Metaphysics was always about the absolute is against is. Truth against Time. Ultimately, the determining factor between them was not power, but stability. The Gatekeepers ontology was still fractured despite the restoration of its mind, and inevitability, Truth shattered first. The cosmology expanding out from its body cracked into fractals as stars became shards of glass, the nebula turned to fading ash. A violent reverberation ran up the High Seraphs paths, as her very being detonated backward with tapestry sundering shockwave. Avo expanded himself in time, seizing parting fragments of the Gatekeeper as their Soul collapsed into him once more. For the briefest moment, a faint shadow materialized around him, speared up through existence in an uncanny shudder upon the surface of the present. The vagueness Ladder blinked. There and not. Here and gone again. And it faded as the Gatekeepers ruined ego and scattering Frame settled drifted deeper into Avos Exo-Paracosm once more. Veylis herself did not walk away unscathed. The Demiurge came apart in a discordant splash as every path across time crashed back into Veylis. At once, her Heaven ceased to be as her ephemeral form tumbled through the air. Entropy stained her very being, and just a bit more would see her unmadeeven before Zeins cut reached its culmination. But before Avo could infest her with his Pattern-Nullification, a pitched frequency stole her away as the Infacer shielded the High Seraph from death and parried Avos traumas with a disruption. Just then, another emanation of Wombrash left the Heaven of Love, and all Avo knew was suffering. The Infacer ceased to matterfaintly, he could hear the EGI screaming as well, their voice multiplying as loose strings of data spilled over into the real. Avos perception turned into a kaleidoscope of chaos, and his mind was furthermore drowned by a clashing chorus of rising schizophrenic voices. The Remembrance was infesting him, unmaking him with each passing moment, and despite all the power he possessed over his own mind, with each passing moment, there was simply lesser and lesser of him capable of coherent thought. He moved almost blind to the world, his ghosts drawn to the symmetrical memories highlighted by his Hysteria. Synchronicity allowed him to pierce through the outer atmosphere of the City Eternal, while root data flooded into his mind, allowing him to prolong the resurrection cycles affecting Kae. At the same time, he began to inject her template directly into the frayed maze that was her ego in a desperate attempt to preserve her before the next resurrection. While this happened, even more accretions recomposed themselves around Avo, but just as fast as they arrived, some winked out. People were dying. All across Scale. People were dying. His people. The Massists. The Saintists. More sequences slithered away from the sky, snapping from the Hungers'' cognitive reality. It resembled a rainfall of snakes coiling back into the form of eggs. Eggs that scattered like motes of dust upon death. He needed to work faster. He needed to It was hard to think. COG-CAP - [1rg$!ICV10%STAYHARD] As the Burning Dreamer battled to compose his thoughts, a resonance reigned against his Hysteria, and the memories he infused within the Definement just moments prior found their mark. A kilometer above, a man was falling. A man continued to fall, a man displaced by time, by memory, by the chaos of the preceding moments, but this man Avo needed more than any other. +Naeko,+ Avo said. It was a miracle unto itself that he managed to put these thoughts together. +Naeko, please+ Hysteria magnified the effects of his broadcast, and ghosts exploded out from the Strix, even as its metaphysical shell tore as smaller versions of itself clawed out from the wounds. At once, he felt a kindling of consciousness return to the Chief Paladin. A jolt of surprise passed through them, and spurred by their return, Avo drove his ghosts into the golden waters spilling from the Hungers. So close now. So close. +Avo? What the hells Where+ +Naeko. Save protect Scale+ Something foundational within the Burning Dreamer broke. His perception turned strange, and Ignorance had to guide him. That was all Avo could manage, for the last of his capacity had been spent, and he needed to focus. He needed to ignite the Hungers and rebuild his mind transfer the Rend from the Heaven of Love +Avo,+ A whisper called out to him. It came from inside. Inside with the fragments of the Gatekeeper. Kae. Kae was speaking to him. +Avo. Its okay. Its okay. Just let me fall. You tried. Its okay. Its too much. Youre breaking. I can feel you breaking. You wont survive this.+ He ignored her. He didnt remember drawing the Heaven of Love into himself. He didnt remember. Flashes of mem-data pulsed through his failing cog-feed as he examined how much Rend was passing over from it to him. He couldnt read. He couldnt know. That function of his consciousness was lost to him now. He needed to die clean. He needed to resurrect. He needed to. +Let me go,+ Kae said. [Shut the fuck up!] template-Chambers roared, somehow remaining even as most of Avos Soulscape quivered on the edge of disintegration. Everyone else was faintly more than a shadow by this point. Existing as an imprint in the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. But Chambers as was here, defying expectations. So Avo would as well. How ridiculous. Being inspired by a degenerate. But from another perspective, how could he not be? How far they all had come. And how much further they still had to go. Together. Everyone. His cadre. New Vultun. Idheim. Existence. This wasnt done. He still needed to experience moremore colors to see. And with the thought of color, a fire began to blossom. A fire that drew Avos attention and pulled him away from nullification. Fire. Screams. His cog-cap was growing once more. His consciousness was spreading. It was like combustion. He was combustion. And he was spilling over. Into the Hungers. Into the City Eternal. Brutal wounds lined the structure of Scale. Another passing sweep of the Hungers cleaved through the structure, trauma unmaking matter in a smear. Not even memite offered a defense, and in seconds, the Massist section of the court went missing, writhing bodies of the rash afflicted severed from existence. COG-CAP - 98% Avo didnt want to think about how many died, if any of his cadre had been lost. He knew, however, that he needed to merge with the Hungers, to extract Kae, to slay Veylis. And so he burned. And so Ignorance, Hysteria, Empathy, Pre-Cognition, Synchronicity, and every last ghost within him surged upward, the Strix taking flight across a phantasmal chain, splashing up along the streaming wounds of gold in inversion from the path he used to escape.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The dragons forming the City Eternal crackled and shone. The city between their scales turned to volcanic veins as Avo felt himself sweep through every citizen and smote his consciousness into every edifice, every ziggurat, every canal. Most howled in terror, but a few broke from the others, relief lighting their hearts. The Doubelthinkers had wanted this day. And he welcomed the fires. And he joined them easiest of all. Avo saw once more. He saw from the dragons that composed the Hungers. He saw from the people, he saw, and he beheld the demiplane around Scale fraying like rotting paper, the spatial separations eroding to reveal the Tiers beyond. His cognition expanded. His presence grew. The damage he sustained to his ego began to regenerateas only a self-moving mind could heal in such a wayand he felt the hollow absence left upon the Hungers. Veylis inflicted such indelible wounds. His focus returning, he compelled the Hungers to explode in an expanding jungle of ghosts as he worked to pry Kae loose from Love. At the same time, he looked for someone to replace her within its confines, his cognition darting through the Saintists left abandoned within the husk of Scale. +Youre coming back,+ Avo said, the thought barely coming together. +Youre coming back. Youre staying with us. Still need you. Deserve better. Will give you better.+ The Strix traveled as a thought; an injection of Soulfire. Materializing at the core of the Hungers, burning rivers of phantasmal essence burrowed into its form, joined with it through the layer of ringed dragons that were the Hungers, and Rend drifted from the Heaven of Love with every pulsating beat, and he fed it into Noloth to sustain the moment, to delay the end. He came close to the edge again. Cessation. Overload. Oblivion. So close. But he was back from the brink, like so many times before. The same couldnt be said for the others. The same couldnt be said for so many people all across New Vultun. As his ghosts spiked, as his consciousness grew, as Avo became the single most potent metacognitive entity in existence, the shadow of his consciousness expanded, his every thought casting psionic waves across Idheimand beyond. And he dreamed. He dreamed of what it was like to be someone in the gutters. He dreamed that he was a child. A girl named Salah Juanders, who begged for death as her mother applied a blowtorch to her sores, both of them coming undone from the rash. He dreamed that he was Shotin Kazahara, screaming out for his niece, for anyone he knew as a scything tide of trauma just barely missed himleaving him among the survivors that remained. He dreamed that he was Vator, battling his own failing biology as he looked up into the Scale, euphoric as he witnessed the incineration of dragons, and saw the mutilated Strix come to rest at its core, bound in place like a facsimile of the Famine of Emotion. He dreamed that was Veylis, her own focus returning as the Infacer did their best to mend, as Zeins blade but a few heartbeats away from taking effect. He was Draus. Lost somewhere in the guts of Scale, the Arsenalist still firing from reflections despite the affliction of the rash. He was Chambers, enduring better than most, desperately trying to cast his consangs. He was he was he was so many. And he was still himself. And finally, he was Naeko, falling from high above, his Heaven manifesting. And he was A sudden stroke of agony erupted across Avo. His focus broke. His Frame rattled. The Hungers revolving around him shuddered. At once, almost every single sequence extending out from him was cut as well, leaving only a bridge between him and the Heaven of Love, with Kaes resurrection soon to come. A familiar presence greeted him as Zein suddenly materialized before him, her slash meld with Veylis. Thousandhand looked wretched, her armor a sparking ruin, her homunculi bulging from its cracks in dollops of rippling pustules. She greeted Avo with a weary look and shook her head. F-forgive me, plague. But I cannot allow this. I cannot. You take too much. Zein. Wondering where you disappeared to.+ Just another jaunt along the paths. Toward a future. A single path I could not abide. Twice wounded by blades of time, Avo could simply chuckle as he felt another of ontology quiver inside him, accelerating as it worked to cast him into the future. +You you have broken his heart. He would be so ashamed of you.+ Zein cocked her head, blinking as the Strix dissolved. But the avatar that emerged was not that of an enhanced ghoul, but Jaus Avandaer. Jaus Avandaer pierced by his wifes glaive, tears streaming down his face. I Zeins eyes briefly widened before her expression filled with rage. You dare Look at what has become of you, Jaus said, his breath a hoarse whistle. Look at what has become of our daughter. Our world. I trusted you to protect what I left. I trusted you Zein stumbled back, her feet treading upon a chrono-forged bridge as she backed away. Just then, a wall of vapors crashed down through the Hungers, and a second presence hammered against Avos consciousness. SAGE OF THE SUNDERED SKY, FORCE-BREAKER-PEACE-BINDING (PEACE/VIOLENCE/FORCE/WAR) [EST. 78304200 THAUM/c] The Sage of the Sundered Sky passed through them, holding everyone in place as it arrived, manifested in its full glory. Zein froze. The flames licking out from the Hungers ceased to burn. It remained halted in the air, but a meter away from crashing down against the remnants of Scale. Glowing runes and ancient scripts lined each of the Sages digit, and along its palm circled countless paintings and representations of ages past. There, imprinted upon the very center of the palm, was a splattered creature. It had over a thousand hands, and each one was a weapon of some shape or variety. A still-beating heart of blackened hate pulsed blood from its rune form, and its many heads were fanged with sharpened teeth. Avo noticed this crushed beast and knew it to be an avatar of war. An avatar of war, now symbolically obliterated under the weight of the force breaker, to bear one statement: there was no tyranny above peace. VEYLIS! Naeko roared. So desperate was he to finish the war that he remained blind to Zeins act. Jaus looked up, a look of purest exhaustion. My boy. My poor, lost boC He shuddered as one of the gold wounds ruptured along his chest. *** C[Veylis]C {Veylis. Veylis! Compose yourself! We must retreat!!} the Infacer snarled. It ached for Veylis to exist. Her senses rang after the Gatekeepers deliberate paradox, and time slipped across her fingers, the progression of seconds accelerating and slowing without reason. The High Seraph felt herself within a shell of white noise that parted her from the material world. Of all the paths shed traveled, the Gatekeepers willing self destruction was never {Veylis!} the Infacer snarled. At once, the High Seraph focused and sensed his coming. Naeko. He was going to finish their fight. And she was close. So close to the end. REND CAPACITY - 100% VENT! VENT! VENT! A screaming cybernetic infant burst out from her back, but its synthetic flesh peeled, draw in by the grip of her singularity. Inside the omega point of her augmented existence, her mothers strike carved a terminal wound across her zero-point processors, punching through the final shell of her internalized endo-cortex. How fast did the tides of victory and damnation turn. Damn her sentimentality. The Strix was right there. But ah, what a magnificent foe he was. And what a gloriously mad moment in history this was. The Second Battle of Scale. The beginning of the Fifth Guild War. And here she hoped to bring it to a swift end. Focusing her mind, Veylis considered her options. The paths were fleeing from her, and her Heaven, the Demiurge, was destabilized. There was the choice to flee. There was the choice to stay and give her all in a desperate fight. Or there was that final path. The one she glanced only briefly, for so high was the risk. For her own preservation, for the Infacer, and for the culmination of her great dream. Naekos presence made the world around her tremble. He wasnt a fight she could win. Not in her current state. And the Burning Dreamershe saw the Hungers ablaze, watched as the colors of Love erupted from between the cracks of the City Eternal and knew her most insidious foes ascent to be near certain. Between the Heaven of Love and the Hungers, nothing would keep Avo bound to the Ninth Sphere, and what powers could contend with the sole sovereign of Mind and Love? There was no time to summon the remainder of her forces. With everything collapsing and Avo about to rise, there would be no campaign. Naeko was close now. But he wouldnt beat Zeins blade to the finish. With death and defeat at hand, Veylis chose the unthinkable. She made a decision that fell somewhere between suicide, infiltration, and immortality. Infacer. Old friend. I walk the timeline of Embracement. I told you about this. You witnessed its possibilities. You know what will come of this. I cede Highflame to you in my stead. Sever me from the Embracement if you can. Peel me away from the dreamer. But see the mission completed before all. Everything is expendable. Even I. The static crown shrouding her skull went still. {Are you certain.} Once more, Veylis recited those words that began her down this path. I will not stray. {Then burn bright, kid. Burn this miserable fucking corpse of an existence down. I will carry your will, in whatever form that takes.} And all that needed to be said between them was said. Instead of trying to control the paths, to control time, Veylis compelled it to instability and folded her powers inward. Unstable currents of gold arced along her form and pierced through her core. But as they made an entrance wound, they exited from another injury recently inflicted. The one within Avo. Suddenly, the shell of white noise vanished around Veylis and before death finally claimed her, she inverted her person, and stepped through the fated wound she left upon Avo. Existence shifted around her as she splashed out from within the Strixs body. But as she emerged, she found herself facing her mother, her father, the Heaven of Love, with only the faintest of Avo hovering just above her. The Strixs form looked positively wretched and in that moment, Veylis knew they were kindred spirits of will. Banishing exhaustion, surprise, and anymore hesitation, she held out her arms and exerted her unstable Heaven once more as she dropped her wards. A burning tendril speared through her mind in the next instant. Overload came just a millisecond before her death by Zeins hand was set to arrive. No! Wai! Zein cried. But the world around Veylis vanished. Swallowed by starving flames. And in the second before the rupturing of her ontology, before chronology itself shattered, hewing through Avo, Zein, the Hungers, and Love, she found herself in an ash-coated playground surrounded by debris, Avo standing just across from her as the ghoul he was, a childs swinging creaking in the wind. The air whistled. Distant artillery pounded like a drum. The smoke-choked clouds grew bright with blossoms of color. And finally, Veylis chuckled. The things we do for victory. Why? The ghoul asked, sounding genuinely confused. Why did you let me burn you if you were just going to overload yourself. Because it wouldnt work otherwise. What wouldnt? I wouldnt become you. Or you wouldnt become me. The ghoul glared at her through the falling flecks of white. Its pale flesh blended with the colors so well, but the darkness in its gaze deserved to be dedicated to painting. Another future, then. Another walk down the paths. As always. Toward another forever. You have shown me your resolve. Surprised me through your desperation, your power. But my will is no less. And know this, Dreamer. I will give anything to see my desired utopia arise. Even if it means a mutual suicide, Avo said. Veylis shook her head. This isnt suicide, Avo. This is Embracement. You and I bound in war, internal and external. And even that prolonged moment reached its end, and she felt time collapse out from her. Blessed be the worthywhichever of us remain And the rest was ruin. 28-20 Unravel I was there when the Hungers shattered. I was there when love and time and memory came apart and were cauterized into each other. I was there. But I wasnt alone. There were other iterations of myself. So many versions of me. Across time. Across memory. I was never alone. We were never alone. And we will never be alone again. -Abrel Greatling 28-20 Unravel C[Calvino]C There was an absence that now afflicted the void. There was a section of space an area spanning entire light seconds filled with drifting grains of metal, expended munitions, and fading motes of light. Here, an arisen god once faced Voidwatch in open battle, technology striking against mythology, the old teaching the new. But the Strix was missing now. Missing. Nowhere to be seen. There were no more ghosts that spam in the vast dark between the stars. Slowly, massive ships of semi-circular design closed in past the threshold the Strix used to occupy. Each one was well over fifty kilometers long, and they arrived in sync, projecting quantum-encrypted pulses through their sensors outward to suppress anomalous transmissions. Tubes grew between them, and injections of unstable antimatter were accelerated from each vessel, forming a destructive net around the last Godforge leftover from the Builder War. When they were done, a new quarantine was established around Idheim, and from the ships, the survivors of old humanity watched as a growing mass of metaphysical substance ate its way through New Vultun. {He''s still out there,} Calvino declared. Intermittent pulses of gravity radiated from within their primary vessels. Over a few thousand voidships channeled the fullness of their ansibles, creating a diminutive wormhole to defy a distance of light years. Again and again, Calvino tried to contact his enemy, former operative, and friend. But the only feedback arrived as a chain of incoherent whispers. Every few moments, something close to a complete sentence would arrive, and the EGI would hear Avos voice. But there were others with him as well. Zein. Kae Kusanade. The High Seraph. Even what seemed to be Jaus Avandaer. Within the most sequestered server of Threshold, millions of avatars convened, and trillions of discussions unfolded between them with each passing second. None were prepared for this newest development. Not even the most paranoid minds under Aegis anticipated this. Such was the way of a black swan event: they happened. And you had to deal with them. When Kants expendable fork sent his recordings of what was unfolding within the Court of Truth, Voidwatch immediately began bracing for the beginning of the Fifth Guild War. That had been anticipated. Just as Avos declaration to form a new Guilda new politywas known. What few saw coming was just how far Veylis was willing to escalate and the sudden collapse of the Nether thereafter. According to Sunrises reports, it was as if an extended section of their consciousness collapsed back into them from a place above, and now they werent quite sure where they were anymore. Not that any of the EGIs could locate themor any active operatives in New Vultun for that matter. {Well,} Only Way To Be Sure said with a sigh. {This turned out to be a complete shitshow. We knew that, but still, this is like, ten times more shit and the show went from political thriller-action to incoherent lovecraftian nightmare.} {It was always a lovecraftian nightmare, Only,} Smart, a special intelligence-facing replied. The sky above them was set to a live feed of New Vultun. Using their most advanced sensors, the minds swept the surface of the planet and found themselves increasingly disturbed. A massive, continental-sized fracture lined the place where Scale once was. The sheer immensity of the damage could be better conceived when one remembered that New Vultun was closer to Jupiter in size than Old Mother Earth. From this great wound spilled an overgrowth of something. Even now, the minds werent sure what the anomalous substance was. At a glance, it looked like fluid phantasmal rivers rushing out from the rupture. Kind of as if reality was bleeding. However, scans detected a mix of clashing properties emanating from within its ethereal surface. From the outside, it was ethereally glossy, near opaque but not quite. Ghosts could sometimes be seen unfurling out from the substance, but they were all tinged with a resonance more associated with timethe kind of resonance most often detected within Veylis paths. And then there was the bright red-pink glow that pulsated through the overgrowth, surging out to the beat of an unseen heart. {Really keeping to that blood metaphor,} Only muttered. {I suspect we might be looking at some residual entropy leftover from the Heaven of Love,} Kant said, sounding unnerved. Calvino thought the other mind to be likely right in their theory. The most disturbing thing about the overgrowth was how fast it spread. In the beginning, only a few tendrils spilled out from the rupture, but as soon as they re-entered stable reality, it was like a flame catching across existence. The propagation of these supposed rivers was explosiveCand worse yet, they began to fork through everything. Matter. Memory. Spatial reality. Even time refracted before their presence. Kant might be more right in their assertion than they assumed; it looked like a marriage of properties between Avos Conflagration and the Heaven of Loves propagation. Searing pustules were also intermittently spotted materializing at random points in existence, and when they burst, more of the substance from those points as well. In the span of seconds, the rivers had already eaten through the spatial barriers shrouding Scale and what near-orbiting imaging they received showed the mountain fortress to be mostly hollowed. {Not even memite can stop the spread,} Calvino said. Such was There were things to be said about thaumaturgy. Ruinous. Unstable. Unnatural. Existentially corrosive. But they were supposed to be absolute in capability, and as such, an object infused with memite was supposed to stay intact regardless what was force was leveraged against it. So. If even memite could be pierced, then that meant the metaphysical properties of the anomaly operated on elevation of prominence altogether. All this resulted in the substances growth being utterly unstoppable. Scale was already mostly gone, and the nearby Sovereignties in the Tiers were already being parted by these strange tendrils. The Guilds attempted a few countermeasures, but aside from a strange liquid-like shroud forming around Ori-Thaums most critical locations, most means of resistance or delay were ineffective. Warheads splashed against the substance and just resulted in more branching rivers spilling out after the explosion. Demiplanes were punctured without fail and consumed from within. Not even Rendbombs seemed to do anything significant. And through it all, Calvino continued casting the Burning Dream, and a traveling pulse moved from within the chaotic sprawl of the substance. {Oh, Avo,} Calvino sighed. {What have you done to yourself now? What have you done to existence?} Most of all, though, Calvino hoped Avo wasnt dead. A mind didnt suffer the maladies of human emotionality, but grief, in a few ways, was more than a feeling, and Calvino mourned more than enough for their existence. {Its spreading upward too,} Kant said, their weariness echoing through. True to their words, more branching limbs were rising into the sky. {Any of you guys feeling like the giants in that proverbial beanstalk story?} Only asked. That got a few affirmations of amusement, but little joy accompanied the replies. Everyone knew how dangerous this was. Everyone. The Guilds couldnt find a means of containment and if the dispatched Category Bleaks were helpless as well There wasnt much of reality left that was stable. In years Voidwatch spent adrift from the ruins of reality, so many had been lost to Sunderwilds. Countless civilizations, dying in their sleep. But before this encroachment, their choices might just soon be a desperate retreat or a terminal solutionto potentially weaponize the Nullstar against the world it was supposed to guard. And so, as Calvino watched more rivers partition the Tiers of New Vultun, a private transmission arrived from a category {REDACTED} sender. Bringing up the details, the mind found their fascination immediately piqued. {Mind CalvinoI am Contingency Bleak Dementia. The conditions of my deployment have been met. An Excession-Level Memetic Catastrophe is ongoing, and you have been noted as a critical mind of interest. We would like to requisition a portion of your processing for a survey operation.}You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Calvino didnt hesitate. {Of course. You may have more than a portion. And if we are to dispatch relief and containment efforts, I would like to volunteer forks as active avatars.} {Confirmed. We thank you for cooperating with this inquest.} And the transmission between them went silent, and Calvino found his mind awash in lesser conversations once more. Casting his attention across Idheim once more, the mind began to go through their old war-sheathes as they considered the days to come. Once again, the world was ending. Once again, everything stood on the brink. But when had that been overwise? Until they absolutely ceased to be, nothing was truly over. And Calvino suspected the same rules applied to Avo as well. C[Naeko]C NO! The roar left Naeko as he felt four Frames shatter above him. Four, at the very least. The Chief Paladin was long familiar with these sensations, the sight of unfurling Soulfire consuming an entire swath of existence. This was how Godclads met their cessation. This was how a divinely shrouded ego were given unto death. But what the mind knew and what the heart could accept were different things, and he unleashed the full power of his Heaven in futility. The Sage of the Sundered Sky exploded in size, dwarfing Scale ten times over as his Rend spiked. In seconds, his Heaven would be large enough to encompass most of New Vultun. But to his horror, something went wrong almost immediately. As his vaporous form ballooned, a waterfall of what seemed to be gold rimmed sequences sprayed out from the gouts of expanding Soulfire, and instead of halting against Naekos power, they passed through with ease. There was no resistance to their intrusion. Nor did he feel anything related to the Domain of Force of Violence within these sequences. They simply were. As if sections of reality gliding across itself; truer than space; more final than the next arriving moment in time. Naekos Heaven of Chronology tremored slightly, but only so. No greater reaction than that assailed his Frame. Mustering every canon he had, Naeko tried to seize these sequences, but for once, it was as if he was closing his fingers around mist instead. Each tendril branched through his Heaven, and an odd series of sensations filled Naeko. It was like parts of himself existed in different places, different times. But then, without any hint or reason, the sequences retracted from him, folding around the punch straight down. Stop! Naeko roared. But his words were as impotent as his Heaven. The tendrils burrowed straight through the mountain fortress below him, cleaving it clean down the middle like an axe parting a log. The Sage closed around the tendrils, but it parted between his digits, and continued to grow explosively across every inch of space he did not occupy. For a few moments longer, Naeko struggled against the rushing phantasmal rapids. Then, he looked up again and saw layers of the strange substance spreading across the sky as well. He couldnt even see the Soulfire anymore; couldnt sense the broken Frames. In a matter of seconds, a weave of tendrils devoured their way across the sky, layering itself over existence as if an ever-growing nest. +Avo!+ Naeko said, casting his thoughts out. +Avo! Come on, rotlick! Avo! Answer me!+ But even as the cast left his Metamind in a wide ripple, nothing returned. +Zein? Maru+ Kare?+ Someoneanyone!+ He swapped memories for his Auto-Seance over and over again but got nothing but Nether-Lag distortion in return. Patience slipping, he turned his attention downward to save whoever was left in Scale, but his heart dropped as he took in his fortress once more. Of the mountain that was, only a thin slice remained: a vertical stack of bricks leading up to the terrace at its very apex. And it was barren. Barren of life. Barren of accretion. Barren of everything. From the base of the mountain, the sequences erupted from all sides, and began swallowing the surrounding ocean. A few defenses triggered, but the spreading forest of madness devoured entropy and miracles alike, countermeasures only nourishing its growth. The demiplane around Scale crumbled and collapsed, tearing like wet parchment as several points of more branching limbs glided out toward the rest of the city. The grand sprawl that was New Vultuns Tiers expanded across all sides, and Naeko saw some of the ethereal rivers sink into the lightrails as well, injecting them through the city for faster delivery. +Stop,+ he pleaded. He made a paltry effort to halt the spread. His Heaven stilled the light, but the tendrils just continued on, gliding through him. +Please.+ In seconds, he felt distant Rendbombs detonate. Ruptures formed. Countless Domains were deployed. But as he peered out into the distance, he saw the tendrils burrowing into the open wounds lining realitys surface, infesting them, expanding them, and producing more tendrils thereafter. It was hopeless. And there was no one here. Naeko was alone. And he failed. He failed again. He failed his Paladins. He failed Avo. He failed the city. And this time he didnt even understand what went wrong this time. But he knew hed been too slow, too late. Veylis didhe didnt know what she did. But he thought he felt her shatter. He thought he felt her die. Her and And Nausea overwhelmed Naeko. He couldnt do this. He couldnt do this. He couldnt do this A tide of clouds crashed down on the balcony ringing the top of Scale, and Naeko stumbled out from his fading Heaven. His Metamind was screaming at him, begging him to vent, but he ignored it. Instead, he staggered over to the very edge and vomited. Stress, trauma, and misery sent him over the edge, and he emptied the contents of his stomach down into the spreading sequences below. Over and over again, the sickness left him, but despair stayed, and by the end, he found himself kneeling against the rails of the balcony, sobbing like a pathetic child. Sobbing. Like when he watched his fathers murder. Useless. Godsdamned useless. He was the same piece of worthless shit A faint jolt of surprise broke through the self-loathing as he felt at himself, and Naeko opened his eyes to see that the rash was gone from his body. His flesh was unblemished. Whole. But he knew he was coming apart. He remembered homunculi bursting out from his body and Heaven. So where were they? After a few minutes of search, an exhaustion came over him. No answers. And he would probably be too stupid to figure it out anyway. Trying his Auto-Seance again, Naeko cast everyone he knew. He cast his Paladins. He cast Avos cadre. Everyone. And no one replied. Alone. The full weight of his present reality sank in, and what sounded like distant screams were carried by a passing breeze. Looking up, Naeko stared out at the vista that was New Vultun, and beheld expanding spheres of nuclear fire spreadand then promptly vanish as the sequences consumed them as well. There were still people out there. People needed Not him. What was he going to do? Just fail again? He couldnt stop this. He didnt even know what this was. He didnt know A thought came to Naeko. A thought he did his best to suppress time and time again. But today it came. And he wasnt strong enough to fight it. His Rend was high enough. And he only had so many Heavens. Forming a mono-sharp dagger using his utility-fog, Naeko stared at his own tear-stricken expression along its edge as he stood frozen, unsure what he was going to do. He was tired. That was the truth. He was tired, and this had all been too much for him. Veylis was dead. Avo was dead. His Paladins were gone. Veylis was dead. Oh, gods, Naeko shuddered. He was prepared to kill her. That was the lie he told himself anyway. But she just had to fuck him over, like she always did. Oh, gods. His voice was less than a whimper. What did he have left? What could he still do? Where was he going to Naeko please. Put the knife away. Please. Please. A voice sounded behind him. The Chief Paladin didnt think. Instinct took hold. The rest of his utility fog shot out from behind him and seized the ambushed. He pulled and spun in the same instant. And his blade came a hair short of opening Jaus throat. Naeko stopped himself at the last second as he stared into Jaus pale blue eyes. The Chief Paladins mind went dry of thought. He stared at Jaus, and the savior looked back at him bearing a sorrowful, haggard expression. Another beat passed. Until Jaus broke it. You seem a bit slower than I remember. The Chief Paladins hand began to shake. Slowly, he backed away, shaking his head. No. No. No, no, no, no. He bit his lip as rage and sadness warred. He didnt know what kind of mental deception this was, but he had enough. Youre dead. I know youre dead. Fuck you. You cant do this to me A golden ethereal gleam radiated from Jaus, and a pinprick of an accretion dotted the center of his mind. A pinprick. Like those within Avos templates. I think youre right, Jaus said, every diplomatic. I cant quite remember how I got here but A faint smile pulled at his face. I think someone sent me. Because this is where I needed to be the most. Something inside Naeko crumbled as he lowered his head, and something almost like a dogs whine escaped him. He let Jaus go. He didnt care if they were an illusion. He didnt care. He had nothing left. I I fucked it all up again. I needed to I had to Veylis I think she died. I couldnt Avo too Naeko, Jaus said, a pained look overcoming him. Oh, my boy. A sob escaped Naeko as he fell. Fell to his knees. He held himself the last of his strength came undone. It didnt matter if Jaus was real or not. It didnt matter if this was a lie or truth. It didnt matter. He just needed someone to hear him. He just needed someone else to bear the weight. Naeko was tired. ICI was just godsdamned worthless in the end I failed I failed you I kept failing No, no, Jaus said, rushing forth, taking Naeko by his shoulder, by his face. The Godbreakers eyes were misted as well, and he just shook his head. You never failed me. I should have given more to you. I should have asked you to come with me. I should have trusted you. II let herI let your dream Jaus embraced Naeko then, and the latter wept. He wept like a child. But instead of weeping alone in the dark, comforted only by Karakans torturers, Jaus was here. Jaus. In his time of need. The dream isnt over, Jaus said. Were still here. The world is still here. Something of me is here. And you are too. And you are too. And as the new infection spread across New Vultun, across what remained of existence, a boy found his father again, delivered by a will beyond the reign of space or time. For with the death of Truth, how was to say where history was right, and memory was wrong? 29-1 Missing in Action Alright, cadets. Were going to be having some fun today. Theres gonna be a time, juvs, when you get cut off from the rest of your fireteam during an op. Usually, this is because someone decided to prolapse the metaphorical laws governing space to make various balloon animals to dubious levels of benefitor you could be facing a classic spatial rupture. Now. Observe the Rendbomb of Space we placed next to you. In a few seconds, it will detonate, after which some of you will find yourselves partially fused with the walls before a brief but suffocating death and resheathing thanks to your Phylactery. The ones that survive are to navigate the environment thereafter, locate their comrades, and then extricate themselves from the area without ending up dead. And before you ask, no, there is no guarantee you might be able to complete this trial without a bit of luck. Just like how you might end up dead because the wrong canon was used at the wrong time. Wars not about sense or certainty. Wars about making the best choices you can if youre still alive in the shittiest situations. Now. Lets see which of you half-strands are going to be lucky, and which of you will actually have to run the course. -Guard-Captain Winston Nicoma 29-1 Missing in Action C[Draus]C ONTOLOGY REVERTED RESURRECTION COMPLETED METAMIND ALIGNED WITH LIMINAL FRAME BEGINNING MIND-THAUM INTEGRATION RESURRECTION - 100% IMPLANTING NOUS Jelene Draus jolted back into existence with her multifunctional projectile launcher primed, ready to fire. Her last memories before her death greeted her as if a chaotic haze. The Wombrash had overtaken her, consumed her and all the enemies she was facing. Empowered by Avo''s Gestalt, she targeted critical Godclads among Veylis''s warhost, killing key Porters, keeping entire cadres hidden behind defensive demiplanes, high-threat Breakers threatening to make a push on the Stormsparrows'' stage, and even esoteric assassins lurking as electromagnetic waves or wafts of heat attempting to penetrate the Paladin''s lines. She fought as if a squad of three unto herself, with the arsenal serving as her scope and firepower, and the simulacra offering her maneuverability and opportunity. Additionally, she was attuned with the rest of the gestalt, and so she fought as more than herself, her mind drowned by a perfect symphony of other cognitions, elevating her to a new level of euphoric combat. And then, all of a sudden, it came to a suffering halt. Moment by moment, more of the gestalt fell, their consciousnesses collapsing into incoherence from the pain inflicted by the Wombrash. Draus was beyond pain; her Regular conditioning allowing her to remain functional where almost all others were lost to insanity or agony. The Nether shit itself. More bullshit happened. Draus briefly lost track of herself before she got back. Court of Truth dissolved into a chaotic melee, with only a scarce few capable of defending themselves, while most were consumed by the birthing plague. Draus stood along those few still capable of combat, executing Saintist after Saintist, even as her Heavens crumbled down to their own states of insanity, begging for final release. At some point, she ceased to think, simply acted. She saw a target, she maneuvered to an opportune position, she fired, kill. A homunculus hatched under her armpit; she vitrified it, shattered it, threw a shard into an Instrument''s exposed throat, summoned another shard, connected their pathways, fired through them. Ferromag round punched through three more bodieskill, kill, kill, kill. Something took her left leg off at the knee; Draus adjusted immediately. She tumbled into a roll, tried to manifest her Arsenalist, but the heaven wouldn''t fully respond, neither would the Simulacra. Another shot went widea scything beam of heat, capable of splitting all mundane matterbut her attacker was wanting, and they failed to bear their suffering with dignity, an eruption of homunculi bursting out from their guts. She shot him as well, her projectile launcher fired, a ferromagnetic round struck his chin, the back of his head burst free in spring flapskill, fire, move, survive, kill, Meldskin at two percent; broken; regenerating; move, fire, kill, kill, kill. A haze of memories greeted her once more, and she remembered crawling across the ground, her lower body lost sometime during the combat. Death was approaching. She knew this on an instinctive level. That''s why she vented the rend for her Simulacra. Slowly, a final swath of pustules bubbled behind her eyes, filling her skull with amniotic fluid. She didn''t bother vitrifying this batch of deformed bastards. Turning her brain, matter to glass, was pretty much the same as suicide anyway. She made the moments until her end count. Fire. Fire. Fire. Kill. Kill. Kill. Other sensations filled the atmosphere, a pressure hammered down against her frame, the weight as if a meteorite impacting her body. She ignored it. The Saintists were all down now, all of them screaming, all of them so close to their own final ends. Few of them had the chance to vent, but she was still hunting for Osjon, still hunting for major targets from Highflame, Omnitech, and the No Dragons. Her Voidwatch-augmented projectile launcher fired at a rate beyond any terrestrial implantfirearm, ferromagnetic droplets, particle beams, and direct magnetic netics impacted, punched through, angled, killed. And through it all, the barrel never deformed. She kept firing, even as the screaming sounded within her skull, even as her vision was cut out, the sensation of tiny hands clawing through her optical cords, even as her skull burst open, the homunculi finally spilling free out from the expired Regular''s form. Draus plunged down into a realm of fire, and only then did coherence return to her. A kind of zen-like silence settled over her as she waited, prepared for the next bout of combat. She anticipated Avo, an appearance within her Soulscape, but when he didn''t arrive, she simply accepted it for what it was. Perhaps the ghoul was dead, truly dead. More likely, the half-strand was just busy, trying to secure a final boast over the High Seraph, if he could. Rouse thought over the intense bout of combat she just experienced, considered how she might be able to kill the Storm Sparrow. How she intended to react to a sudden ambush at the moment of her return. Her resurrection slowly counted towards a hundred, and she kept herself loose. She doubted she would face overwhelming opposition, considering how badly the world was infested by the Heaven of Love. Even if Avo could secure Kae and keep the Heaven from falling, the after-effects of the rash would still likely last some time. And with how many she''d slain, she expected the Massists and the Paladins to be holding the upper hand and pushing forward. So, to keep her profile low, she simply came back in her ephemeral form, planning to rejoin the fray after examining the situation while avoiding any opening attacks by not drawing attention to herself. However, as she settled back into reality, she found herself trapped in a cage of rubble. Debris held her in place, grinding against her body even through materialized Meldskin armor. No issue. With a simple touch, Draus turned most of the detritus surrounding her to glass and slipped through the reflection. At once, the pressure vanished, becoming as if a portal for Draus to step through. Stolen novel; please report. Slipping into her Liminal Paracosmos, the Simulacra drifted alongside her, carrying her through this tessellating space as she tried to gauge her exact location. Her Metamind was still glitching. Flickers of erroneous data spilled across her cog-feed, creating unwelcome visual distortions. As she swam through the glass, she reached the very top of the rubble burying her and discovered herself to be somewhere altogether unexpected. She last remembered being at Scale, but as she reached the edge of the glass-turned-mound of vitrification, she found herself within what looked like a Rend-warped megablock. Massive gears snapped and swung above her, shining with a golden chronological radiance. The block seemed to be cone-like, but an entire section of its walls had been punched through by outcroppings of tessellated brickthe very same substance that composed the Paladin''s mountain fortress. Machinery and apartments were exposed to Draus. An exit wound tunneled upward through the insides of the structure, as if someone had fired a railcannon shot from the lobby through the roof. Dangling cords swung like vines from the walls spraying cascading sparks downward. But there was also no one inside the damn block. Nothing. Not even a single fucking aratnid. A distant set of screams and sirens echoed through cracks lining the walls, but Draus detected no accretions nearby either. Her paranoia flared like wildfire kissed by napalm. New Vultun was an incredibly dense city, with vacancies primarily found down in the gutters with the Spine. The Tiers, however, had been over-capacity for centuries. An empty megablock in the Tiers was usually a prelude to an ambush. Without hesitation, the regular tried to trigger her Incog, but existence around her shuddere as if disturbed by a miracle, and suddenly, she felt a trickle of entropy build within her Frame. That was odd. She tried again. The same effect followed. This time, her Arsenalists Rend Capacity hit one. "Fucks this?" Draus muttered to herself. "It is more than entropy" her Arsenalist said, speaking directly from her projectile launcher. Drowse looked down at the gun collapsed within her augmented transplant. "What you mean?" Draus asked. "Your mind feels laced. Lace to mind. I can hear your thoughts," the Arsenalist said. "I can remember your recollections. Nicoma, Durek, the Orphans. I can hear voices coming aliveinside of me as well." And then the Arsenalist''s voice trailed off. And for the first time, the Regular sensed a feeling of fear emanating from her Heaven of Guns. Draus scoffed. "Godsdamn it, Avo. The fuck did you do to us this time? Because who else was she to blame? How else would the world be this kind of half-strand bullshit happen without the half-strand taking a shit in the wrong Nether-hole and forgetting to flush? Giving up on trying to activate her Incog, she instead launched a shard of glass from the rubble through the open gorge leading all the way up to the top of the block. Guiding her fragment up the floors, she scanned the levels above her and found them empty as well. But there were plenty of drones still left cleaning the insides of apartments. Some hot coffee still steaming from cups on tables; holo-stations playing old vics on repeat. There had been people here. Recently, even. But they were all gone Now. All of them vanished without a trace. She expected an attack to come any time. The treat could strike her thaumaturgically, mentally, even physically. The Regular stayed ready. A destroyed megablock was in many ways a greater challenge to overcome than even an intact one. Rubble rendered one entrenched against artillery, and damage inflicted upon the structure''s internal infrastructure created new crevices, unexpected angles of attack. But no ambush came, and only the ambience of distant discord hinted to Draus that there were still people left in the world. The megablock she ascended might as well be a tomb. We glimpse this place from all its angles, glass and reflection all, the Simulacra suggested. The heaven shuddered, and all that was visual symmetry responded with a trembling vibration. There was a vast network of pathways Draus could build beyond this space. And just as well. She needed to get moving. As her shard shot through the final rent lining the top of the block, a blinding flurry of colors across the sky. A vibrant deer-like creature composed of countless phantasms and sporting an enormous curved horn raced against a new limited edition aerovec on burning hooves. The bioform screeched, and its manifested projection glitched, spraying numbers and loose strings of unstable memory across the world like sprinkles of falling grain. The holographic Aerovec bailed over Draus'' shard as well. +INTRODUCING THE NEW YONDER QUICKSILVER DULEXE!+ A crackle went across the thoughtcast, and Draus thought she could hear a discordant chorus of whispers spilling over. Some of the voices even sounded familiar. As the ad climbed, however, it rose higher into the air and then sudden vanished between an odd ethereal membrane that extended as far as Draus could see. The Daystar looked a smear of brightness hidden behind a thin tarp, and pulsating undulations passed through the membrane, giving off an ethereal translucence. Her cog-feed flickered once more, and Draus briefly glimpsed a sudden vision overlapping her perception. It intruded into her visuals like an unwelcome premonition. She saw Scale from high above. She saw four burning Souls and watched them rupture, shatter, break, and then pool back together like melding yolk. And from the wound that was left on the surface of reality, tendrils began to spread, pouring down, weaving through the bricks that composed scale, burrowing across reality. The tendrils sported the same hue as the membrane she was now regarding. And as fast as it came, the vision left her, her cog-feed stabililzing thereafter. "Godsdamn Nether bullshit," Draus grumbled to herself. She hated it when the Nether got like this. She had half a mind to launch a series of disruptions at the membrane to punch her way through, but something told her it was a bad idea. Bringing up her DeepNav, Draus'' frustration only grew as she was greeted by an empty emulation of her surroundings. "Of course you''d be broken now, you piece of shit," the Regular muttered to herself. It was just as Guard Captain Nicoma once said, anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and the things that you can''t think of going wrong will also be wrong waiting for you to discover them, like an IED attached to a toilet seat. And then there were her immediate surroundings. Rows of rising and falling structures held up along three layers of floating platforms. Heavy Sanctian aesthetic. Massive bronze and gold buildings sporting too fucking many windows, pointless windmills, clicking gears, and splashing water wheels leading to a highly sophisticated network of aqueducts. Everything here was tied together by some tube or pipe. It was like looking down into an alloyed jungle. Drones darted between buildings as they sprayed fire suppressant at the streets below. At first, she thought herself lost in a Sanctian Purgatory in the Tiersshed fought in plenty of places like this during the war. However, it was when she looked beyond her immediate surroundings that her assessment went back to being uncertain. Pillars of scattered rubble comprised of shifting brick lay buried across the district, slowly swelling and widening the fissures they inflicted upon the environment. More parts of Scale left scattered about. Burning aeros lay like crushed cans against buildings and street corners while people wailed and wept. More and more drones were circulating through the narrow streets, dodging between pipes, and Draus followed them, she noticed a final oddity that made all her thoughts go still. There, in the far horizon, a colossal Old Nolothi ziggurat rose from the ground to toward all surrounding structures, becoming the cornerstone of this abnormally altered district. The top of the ziggurat also sported an extensiona helix-shaped tower that pierced the membrane above. She knew that tower. It bore the exact same design as Avos memory tower in the enclave. Synaptic bolts carrying ghost-charged memories jumped from the towers spire, and every now and again, a burst of what felt like synaptic lightning surged through the air. Every time it did, the faint whispers Draus kept hearing in the backdrop grew louder before they subsided thereafter. Shaking off her surprise, Draus triggered her Auto-Seance and attempted to contact Avo. Only to feel her Rend grew evermore. "When the hell did you stop producing Rend, too?" Draus cursed, glaring at the accretion rounding her head. But as she spoke her frustration, two happenings demanded her attention. The first was a message incoming through to her ansible. The second was the golden gleam of four chronoframes rising from behind a row of buildings as they slowly approached the ziggurat. Each chronoframe was fully manifested, materialized as massive semi-humanoid forms. At a glance, resemble heavily armed combat skins with massive arms and legs, guns attacked to the end of a dozen gleaming tendrils, but also odd oblong cores instead of heads. The cores were where the Navigators formed the heart of the frame, and they all but glided toward the ziggurat with extreme haste. A sweeping splash of red flickered in Draus'' periphery, and she saw a swarm of surveillance drones slowly approaching the area. She flicked her shard outthen projected threading beams of light from its surface, hopping across nearby windows and reflections to expand her demiplanar junctions. Carefully, she closed in on the chronoframes as she accepted the ansible transmission. {Guard Captain Draus,} Calvino greeted, {I am extremely that you''re still alive. I reached out} {How''s the rest of the cadre,} Draus asked, cutting the mind off. She didnt give a shit about pleasantries. {I am still trying to reach most of them. Dice, Essus, and Citizen Marlowe have been confirmed as survivors. But we are still monitoring the situation to get a better} {What situation, Calvino. What the fuck just happened? Wheres Avo? What the hells happened back in the court?} A brief lull entered their conversation. {Well. We suspect that Operative Avos Frame ruptured.} Bitterness churned somewhere deep inside Draus gut. She knew. There was always the possibility at any time. She knew. Still. It was they werent done. They still had too much {Veylis as well. Right now, we are unable to fully confirm Avos condition. Or the High Seraphs. All we can say is that their ruptures might have comingled, and you are currently trapped within a layered substance spreading across New Vultun. So far, it is exhibiting anomalous properties of memory and chronology melded together.} {Well,} Draus said, snorting as she looked at the distant ziggurat. {Reckon that explains some of this, then.} She paused. {Doesnt make it any less bullshit. Godsfuckingdammit Avo.} 29-2 Chronoframe (I) +Chronoframes are constructs designed to embody the very tenets of maneuver warfare. But even before discussing potential tactics and strategic counters to their deployment on the battlefield, it is important to understand the composition and creation of these unique adversaries. All Chronoframes are grown from specific Sanctians who exhibit a high Temporal Synchronicity rating. This means that their Chronoshifts are more fluid than most of their clade, by a factor of two at the minimum. Chrono Frames are not purely thaumaturgical constructs. Instead, they begin as biological extension grown from their pilots body. Over the course of several months, a Chronoframe pilot will see their biology drastically altered in alignment toward a myriad of military grade sheathes. Most retain their humanoid shape to reduce the acclimation time required for the pilot when they begin proper use of their Chronoframe. The initial sheathes for Chronoframes can range from humanoid to encompassing an entire Sovereignty for the few Ensouled Sanctians. The base of the frame is almost always biological, ensuring a stable immuno-nervousconnection to the host. From there, however, implants will be added, mostly in the form of genetic or cybernetic reinforcements, sensors, transplanted weapons, and auxiliary modifications dependent on their role in combat. When this is finally done, a Rendsink will be embedded within their fully mature Chronoframe, and the pilot will spend a few more months training to get used to this configuration. Finally, an Agnos will be brought in to permanently shunt the Chronoframe a few minutes forward into the future during the pilots chronoshift, allowing it to exist just a moment ahead of the user; capable of being summoned with a moments notice. To this end, it is best to understand Chronoframes as a subset of Golems. Such is why destroying their materialized forms one time does not constitute a kill. All Chronoframes leave an echo across time, and only by destroying them again before their next natural shift can the pilot be truly eliminated. Ultimately, the best means to eliminate a Chronoframe is by repeated ambushes, nullification, or complete BVR control over the battlefield paired with a mem-lock, allowing you to strike the Chronoframe regardless of their position. As such, it isalso recommended that you always take the initiative when engaging Chronoframes. If ambushed, your goal should be to break contact and then counterattack thereafter. Do not hold position. They will not linger; and they will return when you are at your most vulnerable+ -Combat Stratagem: Chronoframe, Highflame Vicarity 29-2 Chronoframe (I) {So, let me see if I can get my mind around this. Avos supposedly dead, except we''re not sure. And Veylis went with him, both of them popping inside the Hunger along with the Heaven of Love. And now the big ugly rupture they left us is spilling all across New Vultun. Up into the void as well. And it''s got the properties of the Nether, of the paths, of Wombrash, all at once. And there don''t seem to be anything anyone can do to stop it. Does that sound about right?} {That is an abridged summary of what we have discovered,} Calvino replied. Draus sighed. What a godsdamned mess. But despite the horrific situation, the EGI had been nice enough to forward a new map of New Vultun. And from what the Reg could see, she was currently located at the center of a giant mass of interlocking tendrils. It looked like it was trapped inside of a ratnid''s nest. As she continued to examine the spread of the so-called substance, she realized pockets of it were also spilling forth from various ruptures lining the Warrens below and even the Sunderwilds beyond. Most of the enclave had already been bifurcated, with the substance reaching out from where Avos many watchtowers used to be. Well, if there was one bad thing about him becoming a paracausal entity capable of existing across the continuum of existence, this was it. It seemed a new infection was spreading from every place his mind could once reach. But that made Draus wonder. She was connected to Avo, so was the rest of the cadre. So were millions of other people. They were all part of his gestalt. If this substance was eating through the city, then why hadn''t it devoured her? Well, maybe that was the wrong way of looking at it. Maybe she was already consumed, seeing as she was already within the shimmering veil created by one of these tendrils. After Veylis ruptured the gold soul the first time, the architecture of his Frame seemed to have partially merged with the mental world that existed inside Avoss metamind. It might just be that his mental world is now becoming fully externalized, overlapping with the real, and slowly merging bits contained within his Exo-Paracosm with other locales across Idheim. As Draus contemplated these new changes inflicted on existence, she glided along windowpane reflections, jumping across the district with each refraction of light. She skipped into the lens of a passing drone, and it scanned the streets below, sweeping for any abnormalities along the rest of its swarm. Seeing the Sanctus assets in this district kicking up their surveillance and putting every mega-block they still controlled into lockdown. Rows of aeros were halted in mid-air as needle-shaped drones cut them off. Phantasmal tendrils jumped from the observing drones, commanding the passengers within the vehicles to submit to inspections. Most came to a halt, creating a deadlock of traffic extending out from below layers of floating blocks. A few tried to run, gunning their thrusters off and breaking from the designated skylanes, but as soon as they pierced through the holographic veil, a shot would burrow clean through their chassis, reducing the escaping aerovecss to tumbling fireballs. Directing her attention outward, Draus used her Phys-Sim to trace the origin of the shot and with the Arsenalists assistance, she guessed firing platforms were likely cloaked in the skies above, holding a defensive perimeter running at least 20 kilometers long. In most cases, a Guild could fire at and lock threats from beyond visual range, and if she was forced to engage in the open, then she needed to go low and use the undersides of the floating blocks as cover. Otherwise, she''d be facing constant, concentrated bombardment of mag-flung munitions, smart rockets, and whatever miracles their local golem-knots could muster. But that was the least of her worries when the Chronoframes were still in operation. Leaping out with another splash of luminescence, she dove into the Liminal Paracosmos found within a glossy puddle. With each new pathway she created, she came closer to the Chronoframes and also the ziggurat they were trying to secure. Using her ansible, she formed a microscopic wormhole, triggering an attempt at quantum communication with the rest of her surviving cadre. As the implant buzzed in the back of her skull, several lines extended over her cog-feet as her exo-cortex attempted to establish a virtual connection. {Stand by} Most of the cadre were displayed as greyed out names. Unresponsive. Missing. Lost to the chaos, just like her. Draus guessed that she mightve died right on time to miss the worst of the mess, and nowC {CONTACT ONLINE: AEDON CHAMBERS} A vicious smirk crawled over the regular''s face despite herself. Of course, the half-strand was still kicking. Loathsome, deviant wretch though he was most days. He was also something of a cockroach, but unnaturally resilient for non-Reg. As the transmission went through, she caught an audible gasp of relief as a virtual avatar of Chambers formed in the corner of her feed. {Drausfuck, consang, you have no idea how glad I am to see you.}Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. {The regular snorted briefly before reciprocating, "Chambers. See you ain''t dead yet. What''s your sitrep?} A brief spike in volume splashed across. It sounded like things were blowing up on Chambers'' side. Draus frowned as she heard a familiar noise, the kind of sound you''d hear when an aerovecs core suddenly shorted out, followed by the unmistakable noise of a series of collisions. {Somewhere between pretty good and utterly fucked, not quite sure yet,} Chambers replied. {I have to get back to you on that. Just a couple moments ago, the Guilds were rolling out and throwing down. I''m telling you, Draus, that shit was nova. Hundreds of Knots were slamming into each other, planar lines created folds across entire districts. Nukes started flying everywhere, cadres tore into each other. Got existence shitting itself something bad, but too bad for them they missed us little guys making moves up the gutters. So. Lets just say Im doing a little snuffing of my own right now. Me, Cas, the other mes, and a whole gaggle of other copies.} {Cas is with you?} Draus asked. {He was. Our cult-boys currently running recon. After those big fucking tentacle things started spreading, some of the districts got cut off. I don''t see how muchagh, DeepNav ain''t working right anymore either. So, we decided to do some preemptive liquidation of potential threats, while Avo unfucks all this. Any idea how far along the rotlick is, by the way?} Draus went silent at that. {Draus? You still there?} {Yeah,} Draus replied. {Calvino, you wanna fill him in on what''s going on?} {Certainly, Draus.} {Calvino! My favorite coldtech testicle looking thing!} Chambers shouted. {I said, guns, I''ve missed you too. Hows shit looking up in the void?} {Like a series of popping hemorrhoids, I''m afraid,} Calvino said. {Shit. Well, that was the exact metaphor I needed,} Chambers muttered. {Not me,} Draus grunted, cutting into the conversation between the two. As Calvino began to elaborate on their current unfortunate state of affairs, Draus dove into the glass, lining an entire section of the high-rise facing the ziggurat. She got her upfront perspective of the changes this substance was making to the real. Phantasmal veins branched out from the ziggurat, burrowing through nearby structures, slowly spreading with each additional second. The alterations it made to the environment were slow at first, but Drows ready, Draus could see the architecture of the blocks around the ziggurat changing. Patches of reality were slowly bleeding away and turning into unnatural horizons overlaid upon the distincts natural environment. They resembled unnatural smears presenting abnormal vistas; an optical illusion, if Draus was forced to describe more. It was like looking through a kaleidoscope at some point, a kaleidoscope leading to other destinations. Some of these phantasmal discolorations were as if a looking glass peering into somewhere in the gutters. Another showed the interior of the George Washington before its ultimate destruction. Suddenly, existence was mutating, the continuum around the ziggurat melding into an impossible patchwork of neighboring biomes. Avos memories were leaking into the world, changing it, but the tinge of gold lining the edges of the smears also hinted at Veylis continued presence. And like the pulsing beat of a heart, the memory-formed tower would splash the very fabric of existence forking bolts of phantasmal lightning, expanding the fissure between the mental and the material. And then there were the Chronoframes, four of them. Up close, she saw that they were all of different configurations, though humanoid; only two stood over one hundred and twenty meters and sported a large configuration of implanted weapons embedded in their arms and tendrils. The other two were only half their size, and far more humanoid at that. Instead of nests of tendrils, they seemed to have only a scything blade of gold extended from their left arm and what looked to be a time-preserved fusion burner that replaced their right. Splashes of synaptic lightning spilled down from the tower, but as it crashed against the Chronoframes, it bounced from their body as if small caliber munitions glancing off an exo-rig. {Wait, wait, wait, no, no, no, no,} Chambers said, interrupting her observations. {Avo isnt dead, he cant beHe''s not dead. All this shit has him written all over it. And Kae! If he popped, and K also popped, then why don''t we have the rash anymore? I died. I came back. I came back clean. Most people across New Vultun are clean. Shit, even the flats are getting better. Whatever he did, he saved people. He kept them whole. He can''t be dead. He just fucking can''t.} With every word, Chambers grew increasingly agitated. Death was a hard thing for some people to accept, and Draus herself avoiding thinking Kaes probable fate, But considering the Heaven of Love was within the rupture as well, the Agnos had even odds of making it out of this. If Avo was still around, then Kae just might be as well. That was what Draus was telling herself anyway. It wasnt just Chambers who wanted to believe. {We are currently uncertain as to Avos exact state. However, the continual spread of the substance indicates some level of existing consciousness, especially since the Conflagration requires a stable cognition to come to formation.} No definite statements on Calvinos part either. Voidwatch was running as blind as she was, maybe. That was a hell of a thought. {Right, right, that''s what I''m saying,} Chambers said, latching on to the nipple of hope. {So, all we gotta do is what, dive into the shimmer? Ping Avo?| {Don''t reckon it''s going to be as simple as that,} Draus said, transmitting what she just observed over to the Calvino. In seconds, EGI responded with a thoughtful hum. {Interesting, it seems the Chronoframes are at least partially warded from the substance''s effects. This is incongruous with our other findings. Rendbombs and counter-miracles meant to dissuade incursions from the High Seraph had been deployed against the substance, but failed to slow it by any noticeable degree.} At this point, one of the Chronoframes released a disruption at the memory tower rising out from the ziggurat. And then things went from weird to fucked immediately. At once, reality shuddered and the dissonant whispers in the backdrop rose to a deafening screech. From the tower, a beam of perception speared down at the Chronoframes, and while frames endured, the surrounding area began to twist and warp as pustules burst open upon the face of space-time. +ERRONEOUS BRANCH IDENTIFIED: RESEQUENCING+ +NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!+ +HUNGRY! EAT! EAT YOU! BLEED FOR ME!+ +LOST LOST LOST+ +WHEREAMIWHEREAMIWHEREAMI+ Clashing declaration boomed in the back of Veylis skull and the Regular winced at the loudness of the voice. To make shit even weirder, the speaker sounded like Avo at first before ending more like Veylis. There was also an echo of Kae and a chorus of other voices in accompaniment, and it all came together as a big symphony of weird eldritch bullshit. Judging from how the Chronoframes flinched back, they heard it too. A stillness gripped the district, and the clashing voices only grew. The shimmer lining the sky above the district went from steady ripples to turbulent tides. Scenes flashed along its glossy surface, and Draus spotted dotted accretions gliding through the miasmic chaos. {Oh dear,} Calvino muttered. A ring of guns spread out from behind Draus within her Liminal Paracosmos. She had a feeling her brief stay from violence was coming to an end. Draus. The Regular blinked. She wasnt sure if she imagined Avos voice or if he actually called out to her, but the pressure inside her mind grew, as if nourished by her Ignorance. Only going to be conscious here for a moment. Did my best to hide you from the rest of myself. From the unstable fragments. Dont have long. Neither does this strand. They struck the local anchor. Subconscious responding. Retaliation imminent. Going to destabilize the entire area. Kill millions. Need you to snuff to Chronoframes. Remove the threat. Going to make you seem like part of a memory. Rest is up to you. And a set of four mem-locks blinked into place within her Draus cog-feed, and without any effort on her part, she found reticles fused around the cores of each Chronoframe. Remove identified threats. Remove Subconscious will go dormant. Need to keep her from taking hold. Her and the beast and so many pieces cant find myself up to you trust you Enter the tower Once more, there was only silence. Draus let out a slow breath as she turned her attention on her victims to be. +Synced on that, consang. Stay zero. Ill make this right. And Ill do whatever it takes to fix you.+ 29-3 Chronoframe (II) It dont matter if youre me. It dont matter. I have to get to the Ladder. I gotta make this count. This world is broken. Aint no difference between echo, template, delusion, and reality no more. I am. So I wish to be. So I have to be. Aint no other way about it. I need to make it out. I need to make it to the tower. Even if I have to snuff my original self to do it. -Jelene Draus, User of the Stillborn 29-3 Chronoframe (II) The first thing Draus did to shape her assault was to expand her pathway junctions. She went horizontal and vertical at the same time, expanding her influence along windows, puddles, passing arrows, and drones. She vitrified the tops of megablocks, creating panels of glass she could shoot or depart from, and then finally dispatched thin shards high up in the air and created a subtle encirclement of the entire district. The borders of her Liminal Paracosm now stopped only a few inches away from where the substance enshrouded the space. For twenty kilometers in all directions, Draus widened the expanse of her demiplane, and only when she was done did she start trying to line up the perfect shot. The pulsing, phantasmal disturbances from the memory tower were intensifying, and ghostly lightning leapt out in pace to the rhythm of a climbing heartbeat. The Chronoframes were at a loss as to how to handle the situation, but it wouldn''t be long before they attempted another thought-wave disruption. With the memlocks provided by Avo, she would be able to track them from almost anywhere in existence, but there were other things to consider as well. There were sixteen operational knots within a ten-kilometer radius thirty-two within the full twenty kilometer expanse. After that, the substance saw her blocked off from the rest of New Vultun. Additionally, it was getting to be a pain finding all the cloaked Sanctian weapon platforms spread across the airspace, and Draus didn''t want to risk her aerial shards in the form of a fly-by and end up giving away her presence. Finally, it was the issue of dealing with the Chronoframes. She fought Sanctus plenty of times during the war, and what they lacked in firepower, they more than made up for in maneuverability and spatial-kinetics. She knew her first shot wouldn''t see any of these frames destroyed, even if it shattered their forms. It would simply shift, reform in another area, and then skip back across time to the place they were destroyed, effectively counter-attacking their ambusher. Chronology-charged Rendbombs were one of the few things that could destroy a Chronoframe instantly, but without access to the assault and severed from the rest of Idheim, Draus needed to do this the hard way. But when wasnt that the way of things. Regulars played the hand they were dealt. More than once, she had to make a shiv out of undigested shit. Right now, she had a hell of a lot more than shit to work with; fate was practically grinning at her as far as she was concerned. The plan was straightforward: engage the Chronoframes, engage the local drones, engage the golems as well. Creating an alignment of overlapping mirrors, she designed a metaphysical kill box around the Chronoframes, allowing her to pump out a direct stream of firepower and tear through all four enemy targets at once. She attempted to do the same thing with the other targets in the area, but with how spread out they were, and without knowing what miracles the Knots possessed, it would be presumptuous on her part to think that she would experience an easy victory on this day. "We are to fight as a symphony," the Simulacra spoke to her. Already, the Heaven of Reflection gleamed with luminous brightness. Crackles of breaking glass sounded from within its resplendent form. When the battle began in proper, the glass-made knight would divide into a legion unto itself. She would tear through the district, an army of one, the ringed wings of the Arsenalist firing all the while behind her, shooting through the glass, shooting through the Simulacra, shooting and giving her enemies countless false targets to focus on, while she herself navigated her metaphysical pathways. If this was to be a battle of maneuver, then shed ensure her own advantages as well. Draus let her mind bleed dry of everything but focus. One mistake, and that was all it would take for a certain triumph to result in demise. The thinking was done. Time for the killing to start. A spiraling ring of battleship-derived rail cannons poured out from her projectile launcher and joined the other guns spiraling at her back. Each cannon was the size of a small building, and the mass of tungsten-strike spikes slumbering within their barrels possessed enough kinetic energy to core a mundane megablock. From them, a few hundred Phys-Sim trajectories were simulated, and one by one, the firing lanes went from red to green. As the last shift in color arrived, Draus glimpsed down at the ambush she designed. A dense web of crisscrossing firing solutions was what she beheld, and a series of racking bolts and whining batteries heard from this Arsenalist: a sign of the Heaven''s pleasure. "This is purpose, this is beauty, this makes existing worthwhile." The Regular signalled her accord by lifting her projectile launcher and firing the first shot. All hell broke loose across the district. A storm of metal blasted out from windows, from puddles, from panels, from all sources of miracle-infused reflection. From the thinnest of pathways emerged massive pillars of tungsten and streaming bullets, slashing out in defiance of spatial reality. Shock waves of kinetic force scattered unbolted objects and warped all fragile matter within the effect radius. Projectiles zipped through patrolling drones, slipping over and between thousands of halted aeros as the Arsenalist elevated Draus aim beyond the limits of mortal possibility. Tons of superheated matter impacted unsuspecting golems, and they came apart by the dozen, entire Knots ceasing to be. But the brunt of Draus'' firepower was reserved for the Chronoframes. Fusion lances, particle beams, rockets, ferromagnetic projectiles, lasers, crude slugs, and gyrojet munitions collapsed upon the Chronoframes, granting them no room for escape. The lighter Chronoframes disintegrated immediately, barely having any time to respond. A golden oscillation emanated from their forms, sparing them from the first shots, but the devastation followed disintegrated them entirely. They came asunder, parting into vanishing echoes of fracturing gold; the ordinance that devoured them continued on, seeking the heavier frames thereafter. Draus felt the mem-lock assigned to those two Chronoframes jump. Both of them were now fifteen kilometers away, settled within a surviving Knot of golems that put up a defensive demiplane before they could be destroyed. As more vectors of fires crashed against the heavier Chronoframes, the initial salvo passed through a reflection layered behind them and before passing through a pathway and emerging from a translucent panel of metal at their feet. But as Draus attack slammed into the Chronoframes from all angles, the memory tower roared with cascading energy. Bolts of ghost-laced lightning rained down on the Chronoframes once more, and again folded along the outlines of their bodies. But this time, instead of splashing away from the Chronoframes and warping the environment more, it became as if an aegis of protection as Draus''s ordinance dissolved into phantasmal strings of memory. The Regular snorted to herself as she moved to another reflective pathway. She grew distant from any of her ground-level portals and positioned herself across from her aerial shards. Swimming above the district, she observed the aftermath of her alpha strike from on high. Two lighter Chronoframes destroyed once; drone majority annihilated; four surviving golem Knots. Not a bad openerbut she could have done better. The Nether-ghoul-fuckery should have been anticipated. For as much as the half-strand helped her, he couldn''t seem to stop bringing trouble her way either. Alive, dead, or broken, Avo was always a surprise. And a pain in the ass. A warning indicator pulsed across her cog-feed. RENDBOMB DETONATION DETECTED To the Sanctians'' credit, their retaliation came immediately. Only a few drones survived Draus''s initial strike, but those that lingered responded by firing at every window through every open doorway they could see. She doubted that they knew the actual source of the attacks. Probably just thought someone was taking potshots at them from inside the surrounding architecture. The Golems, however, took a more defensive posture, and Draus counted four defensive spatial spheres expand, their swelling presences feeling as if a shroud of counter-spatial reality. She felt a disturbing weight grind against her frame, and immediately Draus released her nearby reflections, the luminosity fading from them as they were encompassed by the non-defensive measures. A thirty or so portals vanished from within her Liminal Paracosmos. A pulse of brightness rippled across the district. The two heavier Chronoframes blinked out of being, leaving only faint echoes wherever they once existed. From above, Draus spotted them moving as faint flickers dancing along the surface of existence. They flashed fast as a few hundred aerial gun emplacements fired around Draus. Spatial reality clenched tight around their barrels and pockets of space collapsed inward below. They were bombarding the spots where they assumed her shots were coming from, and Draus had to dismiss a few more portals before she suffered a backlash.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. A heartbeat later, a series of spatial Rendbombs joined the hovering gun emplacements and further ruptured the tapestry. Sanctus was taking no chances. They wanted her dead. Draus''s zone of control was shrinking. But she''d anticipated this. This was why she decided to take the higher ground instead. And as the cloaked platforms around her continued to fire, Draus turned the Arsenalist on them, and from the spiraling array of shards she had encircling the district, she unleashed a swarm of threading missiles through her pathways. She kept her aerial assault subtle and fluid, using only low-yield missiles to destroy the emplacements to avoid drawing too much attention. The longer it took for the Sanctians to realize they just lost aerial supremacy, the better. As the emplacements broke apart, she slammed more missiles into their falling debris, striking them until only specks of ash remained. At the same time, she dropped her Simulacra Replicas down from above. She dispatched ten Replicas at first, and they ground down the sides of megablocks as they unfurled the enormous wings they used as shields while the Arsenalist continued firing using them as a porthole. The last of the drones were destroyed as the Replicas reached ground-level with a synchronized roar of impacts. Draus''s voidtech reflex booster was boosted to obscene levels, and the only things that still bore any hint of motion aside from her selves were the Chronoframes, Avos memory tower, and four defensive spheres projected by the remaining golems. Ten knights of glass continued what seemed to be an aimless rampage through the district, and Draus had them stay below the hovering megablocks at the highest levels, offering her enemy the higher ground. The two larger Chronoframes fell for her bait immediately. Their mem-lock signatures vanished for an instant before they jolted back into existence with a splash of pulsing gold. They took up firing positions along the edges of two megablocks hovering above where Draus''s Replicas continued their warpath. The Chronoframes tendrils coiled around the edge, and their implanted weapons fired, but instead of traveling across space like Draus''s guns did, they skipped across time, punching chunks of raw matter out of her bodies. Tons of glass went missing inside of her. A small burst of Soulfire sprayed out from every luminous reflection under Draus''s control. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRAE REPLICA] - 34% The Regular remained undaunted. This was what she wanted. Some damage made the bait feel real. Angling her aerial shards downward, she selected the most potent of her particle beam weapons and extended them through her reflective portals. Motes of light danced within helix-shaped barrels, and a new brightness bathed the entire district. A stream of searing rain slashed down from the sky. Threads of energy zipped down faster than any kinetic could. They burrowed against the armor of the heavy Chronoframes, rather than break or shatter like dead machines, the time-forged constructs bled radiant ichor as they screamed in pain, their cries carrying their pilots agony as well. The heavy Chronoframes lasted for a full real-time section before they finally came apart. Again, their signatures reloaded, and Draus found them hidden behind the same spatial shroud that housed their lighter comrades. But while she was focused on bringing them down, three bubbles of spatial impossibility exploded as twelve Heaven-manifested golems launched themselves skyward in a counterattack against Draus. Their breakers came forth looking as if two-hundred meter long humanoid bodies sporting flower-like heads. From each petal blossomed tumbling gales of wind and storm, and as the golems twirled, their control over movement was absolute. At once, a hurricane began to form in the sky, and Draus felt her shards get wrenched off course. Her Hyalokinesis was only a relative power, and could offer nothing against the countervailing miracles of the storm. But why make a battle symmetrical when you had other options? Twelve more Replicas rushed out from her pathways, and they rode across the sky in lances of four, each meeting a knot on their own. The wind passing through the Replicas as they glowed, and suddenly they were as if open doorways passing through the sky. Then, she was upon the blossoming Heavens, and her reflective blades extended to becoming lances, splitting through the golems as she parted the very space connecting their bodies. Three forming maelstroms sputtered and broke before they could even fully form, but the porters among the golems enclosed Draus''s Replicas in three separate dimensions of space, sealing her. Or so they thought. Her captured Replicas detonated into spatially interconnected shards, each empowered by the canon of Shattershunt. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRA REPLICA] - 79% Her high vulgarity miracle went off and fractured the very fabric of existence. The passageways within the shards collapsed outward and then came crashing together. Matter and space were both mangled in equal measure, and the attacking golems discovered too late that this trap was going to be their tomb. Chunks of compressed material were squeezed across the sky, turning into thin strips of mutilated ontology. She felt another shudder press against her Framefelt a disturbance across the Domain of SpaceCand then demanifested her Simulacra just as she fired herself out from a collapsing pathway using her Arsenalist. A vast layer of rings composed from interlocking guns accelerated down toward the last Knot of golems; behind that final demiplanar shroud, the Chronoframes lingered as well, the coming deaths to be their final ends. Her decision to descend was a wise one, as but a beat later, a few hundred Rendbombs blinked into place behind her as the ligher Chronoframes rematerialized, lining the sky with existential landmines. Draus turned some of her faster guns on them and fired. Lasers slashed out. And struck nothing. The sky above came asunder with a few hundred spreading ruptures as anomalies of displacement spread across existence. Suddenly, the lighter Chronoframes blinked into being right next to Draus, and they tore into her Arsenalist, slashing through her guns with their blades and melting her down using fusion burners. She loosed several shots at them, but her flechettes kissed only fading imprints vanishing from the surface of time. Temporal displacement was miserable to deal with, and the Regular went from reacting to anticipating. The lighter chronos would always be faster than her. Her ambush was the only reason she got them earlier in the first place. But she didnt need to outdraw them, she just needed to get them ahead of time. Instead of shooting at the Chronoframes, she turned her guns on each other, and they all fired at once. Her enormous railcannons blew apart from scything beams, and her lesser guns turned to slag from spreading balls of fire. But through this act of calculated self-harm, the Chronoframes fell victim to the carnage as well. They arrived just in time to get caught up in the blast radius. The Arsenalist generated from guns; but the light Chronoframes were cast aside. One was shredded utterly, the gold shimmering for a moment before vanishing altogether like an extinguished candle. The pilots body emerged from a cocoon of gold as little more than a spill of sloppy viscera. The other lost an arm and a leg. Draus could tell they hadn''t been killed, at least not yet. Before they could escape, she hit them with a thoughtwave disruption, and they managed only a single skip across a hundred meters before a rainstorm of bullets carved them down to nothingness. From there, she doubled her acceleration toward the final Knot where the last two chronos waited. As she closed in, she saw a chain of Rendbombs get teleported across every intersection, every avenue within the district. They went off. And the cityscape below as engulfed in chaos. The Regular simply sighed. Classic battle tactic. If you couldn''t hold operational control, deny it to everyone. Except that killed your own citizens. Scorched earth was supposed to be done to your enemies. The godsdamned half-strands didnt even know where she was, considering the fact that no new bombs went off in the sky. She vitrified a small bullet within one of her guns and fired at the last demiplane. As the glass-round left, she Shotjumped into it, the Arsenalist disappearing into the small projectile entirely. She circled the air for a few moments as she watched the district come apart. After a minute of waiting, the Knot finally dropped their plane, exposing the golems and the two larger Chronoframes holding a defensive posture. The Regular scoffed internally. Cowards, the Arsenalist declared. Aint even worth the tungsten, Draus agreed. Let us give them glass instead, the Simulacra suggested. From that single glistening bullet, the Heaven of Reflection burst into being once more, sporting enormous shard-like wings lined with a thousand protruding barrels. A stream of fire drilled down through the Knot before they could react, and the heavy Chronoframes were caught in the crossfire as well. The Breaker-golem overloaded immediately as a fusion lance struck its paradox. The air around its petal-like head grew hyper-heated. Soulfire detonated thereafter. Two other golems and a chronoframe were caught in the blast radius, and all ceased to be at once. The Porter lasted perhaps a moment longer before an enormous spike impaled it through against plascrete below. And finally, the last of the chronoframes skipped ahead into the future. Without assistance, without a proper plan, without anywhere to run, their fate was sealed. It emerged two kilometers away, and the pilot dismissed their time-forged avatar, choosing to feel down a narrow hallway inside a megablock on foot. They thought Draus wouldnt be able to track them now, quiet and small as they were. Well. She saw their hope, and she sent out a single shot in response. A single hyper-accelerated shard skipped along the side of a building, ricocheted down a panel against a weall, passed through an open window, bounced off a door frame, impacted the ground, left through anther window, skipped off the ledge of a building, passed into the doorway the pilot just fled, rang against the walls behind them, and finally snapped out through their throat. A welter of gore sprayed free from the wound, and pilot managed three more steps before the last strand of glistening sinew finally untangled. The dead Scantian collapsed. Their ontology shifted twice. On both of their alternative bodies, their head was barely attached to their body. For a moment thereafter, Draus simply scattered her surroundings. Some collateral damage, no hostiles, nothing except +Draus.+ Her name was spoken by a thunderous whisper, passing through the entire district, and a turbulent storm began to build from the memory tower. That didnt sound like Avo. That was all Veylis. Shit, Draus muttered to herself. The Regular wasted no time, moving towards the tower in anticipation for what was to come. She didn''t think; she acted, she prepared. Rows of Replicas formed, materializing a defensive wall, her reflections surrounding the ziggurat. And as it rumbled with crashing one more time, a bolt carried a new pressure across existence, injecting something into reality just before Draus. UNKNOWN SOUL DETECTED ERROR: SYNCHRONOUS ONTOLOGY DETECTED JELENE DRAUS OF THE STILLBORN, DELIVERER OF FINALITY 29-4 Reflections The paths for the Guard-Captain have been walked. Her ultimate fates have been compiled. {Oh. Joy. Let me guess: she tries to solve everything by shooting or exploding various people and places?} She will seek to resolve matters the way she was trained: Through every means available; by any method of victory possible. She is a fine weapon. A good hound. A worthy adversary. {If that is true, why did you let the Chivalrics drive her off?} Because the path of her retention would have led to civil strife. Strife I could not abide. {Ah. Ape politics fucks us yet again.} Indeed. But through these paths, we will have solutions to any of his inner circle should the Stillborn prove contagious. -Veylis Avandaer and the Infacer 29-4 Reflections JELENE DRAUS OF THE STILLBORN, DELIVERER OF FINALITY (WAR/GUNS/REFLECTION/LUMINOSITY) [EST. 10000000] Existence shuddered as if the surface of a disturbed pond as the synaptic lightning receded back into the memory tower. Yet the final bolt stitched a new form into shape, infusing it with the glow of Soulfire and marking it finally with the pinpricks of an unformed accretion. Standing at the base of the ziggurat and flanked by the smear-like breaches revealing zones of altered reality, Draus faced the new threat with blank thoughts. She saw the name that was displayed, and the tension within her built to a solid knot. A dome of glass spilled over the ziggurat, sealing it away from the rest of the district within her Liminal Paracosmos. Through the glass, legions of replicas marched forward, guns spiraling behind them like drifting wings, their blades aglow with eldritch luminosity. From within an altered space created by her heaven, Draus observed her supposed twin with apprehension. As a god-glad of the H-sphere, she felt as if she was a blade of grass standing before the falling weight of a wrathful hurricane. But the Deliverer of Finality did not move, did not initiate a sudden assault. Instead, it stood there, as if waiting for further orders. To make the contrast between them even starker, it looked like it was designed in an inversion to her current design. Rather than being a hundred-meter-tall knight made from glass, sporting shards and guns as wings, it was a colossus twice her height, but composed of broken blades, warped barrels, burning arrows, and ruined husks. Destroyed platforms made for war composed the entirety of its body, and the gore extracted from pulped corpses lined the broken remnants of war, forming a humanoid shape leaked with fractured viscera. From its back extended six trails of broken glass, each one ugly, jagged, edge-pointed, drowsy. There was a tremor of symmetry between them. But more than reflection, she felt an absolute sharpness emanating from the tips of the fractals. And finally, there was that ugly-rusted gun that had been sported in place of an actual head. It was a wretched-looking weapon a massive cannon longer than some buildings were tall. It swore to four teeth-like barrels; an enormous spite of hissing darkness lay dormant within. And Draus sensed a feeling of wrongness emanating from the enormous flechette. She knew on an existential level that if it hit her, any part of her absolute destruction would be her fate. That no barrier, be it constructed from miracles of matter, space, time, or more, could deny the seed of ruin it carried within. {Draus, are you well? Our sensors are detecting a massive spike of activity pulsating through the strands of substance composed in your general area.} Calvino sent. Draus didn''t respond verbally. Instead, she cast over her recent experiences using her ansible as she kept every last bit of her focus locked on the deliverance of finality. {What the fuck,} Chambers muttered, still on the same call. {Why the hell does this half-strand have your name as a Heaven?} That was a good question, one that Draus wanted to find out about as well, and the answer came as the rumbling voice of Veylis spoke once more. With each syllable, the memory tower shuddered with oscillations of unstable gold. "G-guard Captain," Veylis said, her voice a fractured echo of what she used to be. "I greet you now, beyond my egress from life, my consciousness sustained in embracement" The last word shifted between her and Avo, and suddenly the gold vanished as an ethereal essence erupted out from the tower. Draus failed to react as another bolt of lightning whipped something into her. But rather than inflicting harm, she felt a flood of miracles splashed around her being, and a faint shroud of golden armor fused around her manifestation. The shroud resembled a tall gold-armored figure sporting a weapon that looked like a merge between a fishing rod and a glaive. Above her, a strange fish swam along the currents of time, sending cascading echoes outward, forming protective eddies around Draus''s body. The Fisher that Wasn''t Draus knew this Heaven as well. It was Zeins instrument. She remembered fighting Thousandhand, how futile the whole thing felt; the shadow superimposed upon her was but a faint shadow of the Godslayer. Can only offer this havent fixed rest of her need more time no time Get to tower. Avoid anathema Escape But before Avo could finish his final words, Veylis returned, and the ethereal glow was usurped by vibrations of trembling gold once more. The Fisher vanished just before Veylis returned, and even Draus ceased to feel its presence. "Guard-Captain," Veylis said, speaking through both the tower and the Deliverer of Finality. "Highest Avandaer," Draus replied. From every reflection she controlled, she brought forth the most potent of her guns and created a few hundred shards empowered by Shattershunt. She had no expectations about winning a prolonged encounter against this anathema. Whatever Avo meant by that, there was no time to play defensive. The infusion of Zeins shadow was given unto her to create an opportunity for escape, but the conditions of her retreat still needed to be created. As such, she couldn''t hold anything back. Her rend was already pretty high for the Simulacra, and if a Sphere Eight vented into her, Draus guessed she''d pop like a shitty light bulb. "Kinda figured death wouldn''t come that easy to you," Draus said, speaking to the High Seraph. The Deliverer shifted its gun-shaped head ever so slightly. Draus fought back a sneer inside as she recognized that tick to be one of her own. Nether bullshit, path bullshit, it was all bullshit. Give her a gun, a monowire, a bomb, hell, let her use her hands, and she''d have no problem with the bloodshed to follow. But even as a Godclad, Draus couldn''t help but think of canons as being the biggest pile of bullshit of them all. Sometimes it didn''t matter about your skill, your grit, your preparation. Sometimes the other half-strand just had you by the cunt. "Contrarily, I am dead," Veylis replied, but a slow chuckle followed her words. "I simply have not ceased, where my soul and original vessel have been shattered beyond restoration. My consciousness has found continuance as the bridge of my paths joined the length of the dreamer''s sequences, and through our mutual collapse, our ruins fell united, each forming the other''s load-bearer, my time circulating the destruction of our ruptured forward in the future, and his unique cognition preserving us, rebuilding our egos where all lesser minds would have succumbed to a final dissolution." {Oh,} Calvino sighed in the back of Draus''s mind, {oh dear, this is far worse than I expected. She is likely trying to integrate herself into the Stillborn. This is a level of recklessness that we have not anticipated.} {Wait, so Avo still alive, right? I mean, Veylis is too, which is shit, but you heard what she said, he''s still alive!} Chambers barked a laugh, and Draus finally found it almost admirable how the man could stay upbeat even when she was about to get stuffed. "So this was your game all along, huh?" Draus asked. The Deliverer extended an arm, and some of the rusted wrecks that composed its material body tumbled into shape out from its open fingers, forming a glistening blade composed of rust, fusion, blood, weaponry, and above all, consuming darkness.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "As much as I would like to boast of my foresight, I must offer the Dreamer his due. I laid my plans for the future, but he spun an admirable web of ever-changing schemes in the very present, between him, the Chronicler, Mother, and Naeko, I relearned lessons of humility and near desperation." Draus snorted at that. "Well, damn, the rotlick must have gotten pretty close, if even you''re telling me this." "Blessed be the worthy," Veylis said simply, "this truth is self-evident. The action does not change when virtues are shared between enemies." "Nah," Draus replied, "reckoning just makes it truer." "Well-spoken. But alas, I leave the time for dialogue, as I intend, Guard-Captain, to know this vessel to be something I created in the past, specifically to eliminate you." "Flattered," Draus scoffed, Didnt think you gave that much of a shit. Not so. You were a lamentable loss for Highflame. But the cost of your retainment would have seen civil strife. Alas, this counter-agent is all I can offer you as an apology. May it kill you well. I crafted it to be your nemesis should you have inherited the Stillborn after burning Dreamer''s potential demise. But gazing upon you now, seeing your limited Spheres, I now bear witness to the Dreamer''s many flaws. He is selfish, he thought, of himself before all others, even as he sought to become you, even as he sought a lying consciousness. He has damned you, Guard-Captain. Burn bright, fight hard, die well." With that, all the splendorous radiance of gold vanished and Draus was alone with her clone. The jagged, fang-like barrels of the Deliverers gun-head began to spin, and slowly it closed both hands around the hilt of its new blade as it shifted its posture, cutting a slow, trailing scar across reality. A wound opened across the flesh of spatial existence, and the Deliverer pushed its leg back as a shudder of absolute speed surged through its body, a displacement building between how fast it shuddered and the dust flowing around it. At the same time, Draus''s mind arranged hundreds of firing trajectories. Green lanes threaded through the deliverance, she prepared to unleash the full power of her Shattershunts. Something told her that even her most potent attack wouldn''t see her foe destroyed, but the further destabilization of spatial reality could give her just enough room to reach the tower. You know, Draus said, speaking to the Deliverer without knowing if it was going to reply, you could just step aside and let me pass. I ain''t gonna tell on you to the High Seraph. After a familiar chuckle escaped from within, having composed of ruined weapons and mangled corpses, it replied, And you could just drop your heavens right now and let me shoot you. Save us both some time. Shit, the fucking piece of shit even sounded like her. Yeah, we both know I ain''t gonna do that, Draus said. Of course, the Deliverance replied. Who would we be if we followed orders? Both Deliverer and Draus shared a laugh, but the original considered that thought for a moment. Well, I''d say we''d be you, seeing how everything about you was shaped from the High Seraphs will. Deliverance went very still at that. You know, it just occurred to me that I''m kind of a sow. Gonna enjoy killing you, Draus. Right back at you, Draus, Draus replied, and then she immediately cast Chambers once more. {Hey, half-strand, got any ideas?} {What? Me?} Chambers said, sounding startled and surprised in equal measure. {This one''s an exact template or echo of me. Everything I do, she''d probably know in advance. So, I either have to get a lot smarter than who I am right now, or a lot dumber. Thankfully, I got both options on standby.} {I approve of your strategy of destabilizing spatial reality,} Calvino said, {but I suspect every Heaven you possess, your counterpart already possesses a countermeasure to. Your best odds are to rupture the local area, and delay their attack as long as possible. The miracle Avo infused into you is the only thing the Deliverer likely does not have a counter to. But you should not gamble all you have on something you cannot control.} {Maybe use a flat wave detonation too,} Chambers said. This idea drew Draus''s attention. {Yeah, yeah, the detonation. If the other you can talk, and she can probably think. If she can think, well, a detonation will throw her off. It might not be much, but every little bit that gets you to the tower counts, right?} Draus grunted in accord. {Shit, Chambers. I thought you was supposed to give me a stupid idea.} {Yeah, well the rash isnt working anymore so, my one big trick is gone.} The Regular snorted. Whenever you''re ready, consang, the Deliverer said. Draus replied by launching every single Shattershunt shard at the Deliverer. Fragments of luminous glass splashed down around the base of the ziggurat. But with the contemptuous sweep of their hissing blade, the spatial links between the Shattershunts were severed, and a massive gulf of Soulfire exploded out from Draus. She didnt even see the cut. One moment the Deliverer was still. The next they were finishing a stroke through her Shards. VENT! VENT! VENT! BACKLASH: DOMAIN OF (SPACE) REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRA RESPLENDENT] - 97% A torrent of eldritch fire wept out from every reflection controlled by Draus. And suddenly, her Heaven of Reflections destabilized vanishing with a discordant cry. But just as the Deliverer blinked across the distance between her and Draus, the Regular sailed forth in the form of her Arsenalist, countercharging without fear. She detonated a thoughtwave at the same moment she fired herself across the air as a bullet. Her mind went blank, but in the next moment, when her coherence reformed, she realized she was sailing towards the top of the tower unimpeded. For a beat, her gambit looked successful. And then the Deliverer suddenly materialized before her less than a meter away, a massive barrel pointed at Draus slight bullet. Fuck, Draus sighed. The gun of the Deliverer fired then, and a shock wave hammered against Draus before the spike of darkness even arrived, jolting her to an agonizing halt. A massive pillar of absolute destruction speared out across the scant distance between Draus and the Deliverer, and the Regular felt the cold claws of death close around her as reality itself unraveled with the passage of the bullet. Only for the echo of the Fisher to ignite around her. A glaive rose up, splitting a wound open on the surface of the tapestry. The Deliverers spike slipped through the chronological rupture, and in the next instant, the Fisher rematerialized, thrusting its glaive through the Deliverers skull-gun. But instead of dying, Draus''s clone seized the Fisher''s weapon by its hand as a blast of destructive fire rushed out from severed head, with black flames and scalding blood eating clean through the Heaven of Tiem. Parts of Zeins heaven vanished outright, even as it tried to shift out of the way. Draus felt the Deliverers Domain of War press down upon the laws of reality harder than any other miracle she experienced before. The Deliverer was a Heaven born from the ruins that remained after war. It was more than a death, more than destruction. It was the stillness after a struggle. It was the collapse of progress. It was the smoke choking away the light of the sky, murdering all hope for every tomorrow to come. The Deliverer was a terminus, a fatal point where everything had to break, where there was nothing left to give, nothing but war and annihilation. But what was war to Zein? Even a shadow of her? Death held no sway even over Thousandhands shadow, and instead of striking back before it was utterly destroyed, it seized the Deliverer in a grapple, plunging both of them into the currents of time. They were gone in the next instant, and the path ahead stood clear. Draus exploded forth, zipping at hypersonic speedsonly as the Deliverer snapped back through the cage of glass she layered around the ziggurat. Once more, the bloody, black blade descended. This time, there was no Zein. Draus was but a scant meter away when she felt her divine form part in two. A second backlash tore through her, this one destabilizing her Heaven of Guns as well. She tumbled free, her ephemeral form emerging from the collapsing wavelengths of Soulfire. And this would be the point where most died. This would be the point where most failed to react, out of options. But Regulars fought, Regulars survived, Regulars endured, and Regulars adapted. Draus was more than her Heavens, and she still had options remaining. Options such as the Bomb Queen implant allowed her to create explosive organisms using a special organ transplanted on her back. The detonation mangled her body enough to fling her through the phantasmal surface of the tower as she splashed into the ethereal bomb whirling free from the cogni-thaumic construct. She felt another slash of absolute destruction chase after her, but it dissolved into nothingness, coming apart as a splash of ghosts in a phantasmal force coiled around her, drawing her away from the district while ghostly chains speared out from the tower, devouring the Deliverer from within. Fuckin Zein, the Deliverer grumbled as she began to disintegrate. But that was the last Draus saw of her alternate self as she pulled away into a chaotic sea of memories, phantasmal rapids carrying her downwards, deeper and deeper into a whirlpool. Visions and stimuli flooded her mind. Her cog-feed burst apart into pulsating sprays of discordant color, and in the back of her mind, she could hear Calvino and Chambers calling out to her, their voices growing distant as she continued plunging deeper and deeper down an all-consuming vortex. And suddenly the world was inverted, and she found herself laying cheek-first upon a cold stone surface. For a few moments thereafter, the Regular simply lay there, the nanosurgeons within her blood mending ruined organs. The faint feeling of thaumic energies cascaded against her Frame, and faintly, she could feel the Heavens within herself stirring once more. But as she recovered, a shadow passed over her, and the Regular triggered her projectile launcher, ignoring her ruined body as she responded to the threat There is no need, a thin, airy voice spoke to her. You are safe here, Regular Draus. You are safe. Our lord warned us of your coming. This is a sanctuary. You will not be harmed. Still, Draus turned, aiming her gun at The fuck? A group of flats stood before her. There were dozens of them. Men, women, children. Some possessed ashen skin while others looked dark as the Maw. But all of them wore similar attire. Robes and dresses decorated with the glyphs of Old Noloth. The fuck are you all Draus slurred. We were esteemed chosen and hidden traitors to the City Eternal. Once, we called ourselves the Double Thinkers, those who faced the walls within. But now We stand amongst the first to welcome our new king, our broken king, and with your arrival, Knight Draus, we will see the restoration of Noloths old and new, our destruction unmade by the cleansing flames of the Burning Dream. 29-5 Between +This is Instrument Cavara Arrano! We are being overrun. We have been cut off by something! My cadre is down to less than eight Knots and two fleets of patrol drones. Ashthrone is massing on our borders. The demiplanes arent going to last longer than a day. Again again if there is anyone out there if anyone can hear us H-hello? H-High Seraph? Is that Yes. Yes, I understand. Your will be done. Blessed be the worthy.+ -Instrument Cavara Arrano 29-5 Between [The Dyad] In a place between all places, grown from a wound festering upon the surface of existence, and nourished from waters of conjoined mind and time, two cognitions manifested within a single healing being. Their return was as if the melding of molten metal, destruction of four Frames, resulting in the creation of a new ontological alloy. Their awareness was dim, nascent. True consciousness greeted them in bursts and increments. And as the two were conjoined, they fought over everything. Deaths. Cognitive capacity. Heavens. And even memories. With each passing second that the substance spread across New Vultun and Idheim, a fragile stability returned to the two. And from the incomprehensible chaos that once consumed both of their beings, they forged a new realm, infusing the shattered Soulscape with memory, time, and will. A battle-weathered street came into existence within the soulscape. Its face was lined with cracks, pockmarked by artillery. And at the middle of the street was a fractured panel of glass, bifurcating it in half. Within the reflection, two stood, separated by a brittle threshold. But rather than facing each other, they were extensions. This place, this street, was all but a metaphor for how the dyad understood themselves. The dichotomous entity stood there, split evenly down a vertical line by the panel of glass. On the right side was a monster of human make. His skin was coated in a layer of fluid armor, ancient and advanced, an impossible relic left over from a lost age. His eyes were as insightful as they were predatory, betraying lifetimes livedlifetimes not his own. A drifting spiral of tendrils hovered behind him, four Echoheads chittered in this unfinished place, sending rattling echoes outward, trying to catch a glimpse of his environment. And from the one skull extended a shadow, a manifestation of his truest soul. A looming bird with a single burning eye furled out its wings as ghosts merged with the world, twisting the meaning of space, time, and causality itself. The Burning Dreamer, Avo of Noloth, shifted, and to his left, he felt his great rival roused from her slumber as well. Veylis Avandaer, long rebuilt beyond the limits of humanity, loomed over the ghoula cybernetic giant dwarfing a nightmarish toddler. Her human face showed the only stretch of skin she possessed, her features placid, but her gaze determined. The rest of her body was a composition of impossible metal and technothaumic engineering. It was her core that Avo felt the most. A semi-circular turn of brushing hands encapsulating a pulsating singularity. Both of them had subconsciously reached over into the world, influencing it, manipulating reality to serve their own ends, to further their own means. For every moment they existed, they were at war, struggling to seize the bulk of their shared consciousness, their shared power. And now finally, as their reach infested existence itself, they were arriving at a point of sufficient impasse, arriving at this point of severed coexistence. "Dreamer," Veylis spoke, and Avo spoke with her. "Seraph," the ghoul replied, and he stared forward, unable to glimpse the post-human woman fused to the other half of his being. For a few moments, both took in the ruins that comprised their Soulscape, observed the discordant patterns splashing out from them, a result of their ruptured heavens and fallen miracles. Finally, a mocking chuckle escaped the Burning Dreamer as he taunted Veylis with hisses of rising pleasure. The High Seraph regarded her counterpart with a serene expression. "Speak then, oh twin of my Soul, let me know the truth behind your mirth." "Desperation," Avo replied. "You must have been truly hopeless on the brink. Didn''t take you for the type to be willing to suffer ontological mutilation." "Then you underestimated my resolve," Vaeli said simply. "No, never underestimated that. Knew your will to be more than most, knew you to be a considerable threat. But thisthe self wants to be, and you have cast yourself into me, entered yourself in the hopes that our reforging would favor you. Strangest way someone has joined my gestalt, so far." And now it was Veylis turn to smile. "You mean our gestalt," Avo chuffed in indignation. "Mine." "No, you, Veylis You don''t want others to be themselves. You want them to be puppets. Puppets, not people. And so, even in your paths, you are alone. I have never been alone. I do not know the meaning." "But you will," Veylis retorted, without a hint of doubt. "Already, you are beginning to feel what it is to be me and I you. Even with this crude demarcation parting us, the nature we now assume, our new ontology. Denied of death and rebuilt by the powers of the stillborn, and your ascended cognition will see us eventually joineda single being. One, not separate." "That remains to be determined," Avo replied. "Things can change. And the final structure we assume is no longer fated by your paths." A moment passed; silence assumed itself. Avo spoke once more. "Felt you earlier, reaching into my memories, using my soul to create your temporal echo. Saw your simulation of Draus, an iteration of her, given my frame." "And I felt you as well," Veylis breathed. "A sliver of you, anyway. Like a silent, subtle serpent snaking beneath the surface of my thoughts. I keep trying to capture the intrusive strand, but it always slips me. It always leaves me in the dark." "There are things we don''t know about each other still," both of them said at the same time, a moment of temporary synchronicity jolting through this place between. All of a sudden, separation became a full superimposition, as Avo and Veylis spilled over each other, tearing their own forms open as they tried to crawl outwards, fighting to be the encompassing ontology. But a moment later, the merger failed, and once more, they jolted into their bifurcation, their stalemate resuming itself. "So, you have saved her then, blessed her, with an echo of my mother''s power. So you have made simulations of my cadre, prepared to counter them with themselves in the circumstance of my death." "You have your designs, and I have mine," Vaeli said. "And so it continues, and so it shall be," Avo replied. He let out a building hiss of hunger. "Know that everything you do, everything you create, it will not stop them. I have seen in them both potential transformation. I will forge them. I will make sure they carry my flame. And know that no matter what you invest in this fallen instance of humanity, they will fail you. I will twist the world to my will. I will bend time to show you the moments where heroes and saints collapse and falter. Your cadre will be brilliant. Your templates will burn bright. You will clash. But before the end, you will learn to spare, and you will give yourself unto me. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. And we, when this is done, we will set upon this final journey, seizing the last of the Arks, our final service, to prepare the world to come for a worthier master, even the sum of our parts.Stand and deliver, Dreamer. Gaze inside and face the empty," Veylis finished. [Draus] "You gotta be fucking kidding me," the Regular said, taking in the assembled Nolothi standing before her. First, these double-thinking, wall-facingwhatever the fuck they were calledhalf-strands approached Draus with open palms, trying to placate the Regular. "We do not jest," one said. Draus kept her projectile launcher lined at the Nolothis face. She looked to be a relatively young girl, about three full heads shorter than Draus. Her skin was a light brown, but her eyes were abnormally blue, as if she was wearing lenses or possessed an augmentation. Curving rings of Nolothic glyphs spiraled around her collar and decorated the rest of her white shift. Some bangles sporting detailed decorations ran down her right arm as well, and Draus sensed specks of glass dotted inside them. Finally, there was that circlet she wore upon her brow. It looked like it was made from a locus, and a phantom projected a ghostly flame from her head. The other twenty-five Doublethinkers wore a similar band. The sight was absurd. Draus couldn''t help but snort. Even dead and ruptured, that half-strand ghoul was still achieving impossible feats. How the hell did a dead ghoul manage to make themselves king, anyway? "We''ve been expecting you for some time," the Doublethinker girl continued. "The shadow of our master, he sometimes speaks to us. This sanctuary has been awaiting your revival. Please, take a moment to recover. Draus spat some blood and pushed herself to her feet. The nanosurgeons were working quick, and she''d fought on more than once, reduced to less than half a torso, a single arm, and a mostly nulled mind. "Fuck recovery," Draus grunted. "I ain''t dead yet. Aint even that bloodied. Would''ve resurrected if I needed to." The young girl flinched and took a few steps back. Clearly, she wasn''t prepared for how temperamental Draus might be after a fight. Guess the rotlick forgot to give them a rundown about her winning personality. Extending a scepter, Draus swept the room with her perception as she eyed her surroundings. She was surprised about how familiar the place looked. It was about 50 meters by 50 meters, shaped like a dome. The walls were made from something like clay from what she could glean, and its surface was corrugated with Nolothic script running down the vertical slits lining the walls. Painted bones cascaded down from the ceiling when carved in intricate detail. And then there were the vivanite veins spreading through the structure, the corpse crystal shifting between jade and blood-red. She guessed that to be the lingering presence of the Wound Mother revealing itself. And right next to Draus, a massive locus rose in the form of a piercing spike, forming the core of the room, projecting waves of ghost-infused soul fire. In rhythmic pulses, neurothaumic wavelengths splashed over Draus and infused the environment with a presence of stability. Once more, Draus regarded the crystal and gave a light scoff. "Avo," she said, as its surface oscillated between stable green and the flowing red of blood. "Avo, you in there? You hear me?" A faint whisper greeted her mind, but the interference that accompanied it was too severe. Rot-lick was there, all right. There, but not alone. Whatever Veylis did left Avo crippled in some fashion or another. Godsdamn it all. "His flame, it burns, dismembered though it is," the Doublethinker spoke. They offered Draus a look of sympathy. "They understand that he meant much to you. You meant much to him, too. Your presence within his mind ate away at alienation. Of this, we are sure. Of this, his memories have been inherited by us." Regular knew what the Nolathi was trying to do, but she had no intention of talking about her relationship with Avo with some former hungers. How were the hells that worked? "I came through the crystal, didn''t I?" Draus gestured toward the massive locus passing through the ceiling. The entire room gave her a feeling like it was a cracked teapot, lacquered back together by ghosts. Green River might have had something poetic to say about all this. Draus just wanted to figure out where the hell she was, what the hell she needed to do, how the hell she was going to put Avo back together. "You stand now in the between, a hidden space constructed from time and memories. The Nether has been unmade, but in its place, a new realm is being reborn. But alas, it grows, burrowing through the flesh of reality. We were never meant to be here, Captain. We were meant to be above." "Yeah, well, lots of things were meant to happen till they don''t." Looking around once more, Draus frowned. So was the space completely closed off? Was there another way out of this place? Some Doublethinkers looked to each other, and one gestured at a wall. Suddenly a rumbling sounded, and along the middle of one depression, a cleft opened as ghosts began snaking through. Slowly, the entire dome-shaped structure unlatched like an opening jaw, and then Draus caught a glimpse of the space beyond. A crashing presence slammed down against her wards. Immediately, her cog camp spiked by twenty-two percent. However, where lesser mental defenses would have shattered instantly, she possessed phantasmics created by the famine of peace and sequenced onto her mind by Avo''s own will. As such, the madness-inducing sight went from traumatizing to merely disorienting as her conundrums adapted. This, too, however, caused her retinue to climb, and already the regular was dangerously close to overload. VENT! VENT! VENT! "The destruction our Lord''s Soulscape sustained from the High Seraph''s self-annihilation was near total, yet there was kindling enough for his consciousness to remain burning, kindling enough thaums to feed what was broken in his ontology." The realm beyond this little patch of sanctuary was a kaleidoscope of fragmented movements. Trails of emanating ghouls spread wide upon the tapestry of the firmament, and through them Draus could see people and places all meshed together, but they were changing and twisted and merging. It was the close representation of mutation shed ever seen. Someway, somehow, the paths and Avos Soulscape had gotten merged. As she studied tapestry around her a bit longer, Draus finally noticed how countless strands were tethered to the corpse-crystal next to her. Alright. Alright. I got the gist. Shut it. At once, their little sanctuary slammed shut on the regular''s side. "Alright, now that I got front row seats to how fucked everything is, here''s the point where you tell me how we go about fixing it." "Our lord''s resurrection is beyond us," the girl began. Draus frowned, but the Doublethinker explained before any questions could arise. "His resurrection is fated as his fire spreads. Slowly, he will repair himself in mythology, so in soul, his ego is beyond that of mortal ken. And for he has never been extinguished, so too will a dismembered flame turn to wholeness." "Once they greet? Once they finish consuming most of existence, you mean," Draus said. "That is a potential outcome. We are custodians to this divine anchor. A critical shard that composed the Burning Dreamer. There are others. Many others. The total count fragments of our master numbers seventy-two, and of them, there are only so few we can reach. "And so I gotta capture these shards, then," Draus said, naturally understanding her new role. Right. Raid and occupy. She could do that. "Thy Seraph, her sacrifice, was not a spiteful one. It was a thing of calculation," an older Doublethinker spoke up now. "With the severity of our lord''s destruction, and as he consumed Veylis before the point of her demise, so too has she been regarded as a critical portion of his ego. And her strength of will wrestles against his even now. They war not only over reality, but over the architecture of this new, nascent plane, and of what personality will finally cement itself with the resurrection of the Burning Dream." "There are others who guard these fragments," the girl said again, "but not all belong to the followers of the flame. There are some that cling to the old ways, broken loyalists, desperate to see Noloth restored even beyond the destruction of our City Eternal. There are the agents of the high flame, supported by the ordained individualists, the Saintists in your words. They hold dominion over fundamental thresholds in reality as well." "Nether shit, it always and forever came down to Nether shit." Draus said. "Right. I know what the run now, so heres the next question: how do I go about gettin it done? "By taking a fragment into yourself." As one, the Doublethinkers gestured towards the rippling locus at the center of their chamber. "As he has drawn you across the threshold of reality, so too may you take this threshold within your being. Become an anchor for the Burning Dreamer. For the Lord is not a Lord alone. For you are ordained, chosen before all other chosen. First among his trusted acolytes." "Don''t call me that," Draus said, pointing a finger. It took a lot to make a Regular uncomfortable, but these damned Noloth fucks were doing it. "I''ll do a lot for Avo, rot-licking, eyeball-eating ghoul he is, but I''ll be godsdamned before I ever become a Famine of Guns or some shit like that." "It is a great honor," the girl insisted. "Yeah, Highflame said the same thing to me after I spent the better part of a week digging Gray Widow eggs out of my frag-hollowed cunt cunt. Gave me a mighty fine medal to commemorate that wonderful moment. Don''t reckon you guys have a system like that." A series of frustrated expressions developed on the Doublethinkers'' faces. Awkwardly, one of them pointed at the locus again. "To be chosen to bear the Flame-Anchor is a great honor. You bear the legacy of the Stillborn and the future of Noloth. "Yeah, yeah, I know," Draus sighed. Turning, she faced the crystal again, and her shoulders sagged. "So what the hell am I supposed to do with this? Just put my hand" And before she could finish speaking, its surface shuddered once more as a blast. Phantasmal lightning changing between pale white and ichor red cast a new form at Draus''s feet. The Regular''s reflexes were already firing. The world was in slow motion. She could feel a new presence materializing within the sanctuary. Another Godclad was being pulled over from baseline reality. For a moment, Draus thought it to be the Deliverer. But the weight that crashed against her frame was too low, too close to her own Spherage. And in an instant, the lightning faded, peeling away from a mangled, unmoving body that was slowly threading itself back together sinew by sinew, vein and arteries emerging from ruined stumps. It took a moment for their disfigured face to fully heal. And when it did, Draus''s urge to shoot the newcomer redoubled. "Vator Greatling," the Regular muttered under her breath. She didnt know how the little rusted bastard had gotten here, but one thing was certain: it was time to reduce future threats. And just as she aimed her projectile launcher down at the incapacitated Instrument, another voice interrupted her. Stop. Draus gun shot up and she found herself facing the Famine of Mercy, the priest half-submerged in the crystal, now ablaze with Soulfire. Stay your hand, Jelene Draus. He has been chosen. Just like you. 29-6 Flame Anchor Vator? Abrel? Where where are you And where am I High Seraph? Yes Yes, I can hear you I I understand. I will follow your light. I will walk your path. I will accept this flame. I will be your champion. Just let my children be once more. Take my failures away. Let them know what it means to have a good father. -Uthred Greatling 29-6 Flame Anchor Draus shot the Famine of Mercy. There wasn''t much thought behind the action. She just acted. She didn''t consider how he was still speaking to her in real time, despite her active reflex booster. She didn''t even consider why she didn''t sense his presence at all. Coils whined within Draus''s voidtech projectile launcher. A ferromagnetic round exploded out from the barrel and passed clean through Mercy before splashing apart against the wall. But in the aftermath, the Famine simply stared at her with a blank expression. No wounds lined his chest. It was like she hadnt shot him at all. "There is no purpose to this, regular Draus. I am mind-made. My presence is a part of the new fabric spreading across existence. "So, the distortion''s the way to kill you then," Draus replied dryly. "Perhaps," Mercy replied, "but I doubt my destruction would provide you with any benefit. Another instance of me would materialize in my place. Such is the will of the Burning Dreamer." "Bullshit," Draus replied. "You''re a goddamn Famine of Noloth. You were serving the Hungers. How the hells are you now one of the rotlicks minions? When the hells did this happen?" "The moment I unleashed the warmind of the Forgotten upon my former masters. You do recall a moment where your cognition untangled from you, where you were the world and the world was you, before the Nether''s final collapse." Draus paused at that. "You''re doing, I guess?" "Yes. My greatest sin, my truest victory. The City Eternal left me no choice. They demanded that I save them, that I bless them with the gifts bestowed upon the Burning Dreamer. But with each iteration, with each advancement, with each loosening of my shackles, I saw the truth. The truth that my masters were not masters of themselves. That our great democracy had been undone by the demagoguery of their own fear. And so, to save Noloth, I struck at its very core. I destroyed the city to preserve the people and grant them a rightful king." Disbelief mixed with exasperation within Draus. "You gotta be godsdamn kidding me," she replied. "That? That''s why this is happening? Thats why everything went to shit? Because you decided to elect Avo High Seraph of Noloth?" "We do not have a High Seraph," the Double-Thinker girl muttered. "You get my point, half-strand." Draus snapped, still pointing her projectile launcher at the Famine. "And so, what the hell is this?" She gestured toward Vator. The vague shape of an intact face was rising from chasms of sunken gore. The boy was beginning to twitch lightly. Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn''t died and needed to resurrect. But Draus knew Uthred and Lorea Greatling had their youngest specially made. Lorea. The sows face was getting easier to remember. The war too. The censors Highflame put up were failing fast. Draus wondered if other redactions were collapsing as well. "He has been chosen, as I have said," Mercy explained. "Chosen to aid you in your great task." "Aid me?" Draus spat. "Avo picked this piece of shit to aid me?" She was already dealing with a lot of dubious claims. This one was a bit too far for her to accept. "The High Seraph has her designs, and the Burning Dreamer his. They emerge together, both aiming within and without, to ensure that when they finally resurrect, only one shall dominate as the emerging consciousness, while the other is assimilated to the victor''s benefit." "So certain this one belonged to the Seraph?" Draus said. "In some paths, he does. And so, to sever those paths, the Dreamer preempted his great rival. And now he charts a new course, laying a new seed toward stranger futures evermore. The great game is constantly changing, and of the true competitors, there now rises two from one, seeking to remain once in finality." A gaggle, a gasp sounded from Vator. His body shifted in slow motion. It was only because of his enhanced physiology that Draus could see him move at all, his fast twitch muscles firing so fast and strong that they could splatter a flat. He also possesses the means to offer you an army here. Of our ghouls, he has achieved a recreation. A conceptualization of finer make. It will serve you on your path to reclaim the Dreamers shards. Another moment passed. Draus glared flatly at Mercy. "Yeah, no. In fact, fuck no. There is no life, no future, no world or reality where I work with Vator Greatling and his version of your redone homework, which was originally stolen from the voiders to begin with." "Regular Draus, please, you are merely being obstinate." "Obsinate? You must have aratnid shit in youre skull. I''m just not that stupid. You pop up out of nowhere, claiming Avo is now your king, and he chose this one" she pointed her gun at Vator Greatling once more"to be some kind of chosen for a coming war to help me take back all these Soul pieces makin up Avo and Veylis? Something almost resembling frustration began to develop on Mercy''s face. Slowly, the threads holding his eyes stitched together snapped apart as he stared at Draus with hollow sockets. "What would it take for you to trust? "It would take someone other than you and somebody who ain''t him," Draus finally replied. And with that, her wish was granted. A trembling voice hissed through the room, gliding into Draus'' mind like a blade sliding along bone. Told you it wouldn''t work, Avo''s voice echoed. It was still faint, sounding thick with Nether-lag. But he was there. Still alive.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Immediately, Draus turned to face the burning crystal. "Avo, that you there?" Right here, Avo managed, speaking with no small amount of effort. The very exertion he felt spilled over into Draus'' mind, and the regular actually shuddered from second-hand dissonance. The pain Avo was currently experiencing was unlike anything she''d ever known. The best way she could describe it was two tumors eating into each other, both trying to assimilate the body, both melding, devouring, replacing, and ultimately becoming one another. What she interacted with now was but a tendril of Avos full consciousness. Yet, it seemed separate from most of the chaos. Like the bulk of his ruined cognition was unknown to this part of Avoor vice versa. I am Ignorance. I am Avo. I am his shadow. I am the version of him that he can never know. That you wont remember. That no one will remember. "Ignorance?" Draus asked. "One of the warminds, then? Youre a part of him. A Definement now. A fundamental pillar of existence within Avos Soulscape and now the world. The Conflagration would have been all-devouring without me. And I would have been nothing more than just a broken weapon of metacognition without it. Here. The burning crystal offered a projection of furling shapes. A nest of clawed hands drifted toward Draus, some of them resembling the metallic appendages composing Veylis core, the others clearly Avos claws. At the center of the circling hands was nothingness. The Regular cocked her head. "The hells is this," she said. The emptiness that embodies me. The pillar that sustains my flame. Take it. Will grant you control over this sanctuary. Will allow you to be reshaped ontologically. Grow. Become. And suddenly, the flame stilled, and the storm of phantasmal energy ceased. Vator was slowly shifting on the ground, his bones crackling as the broken shards reassembled like pieces from a jigsaw. It wouldn''t be long until he got back up. And right now, a floating alcove made out of sharpened claws and cybernetic hands ushered her to reach in and grab the nothingness it contained. Looking up at the ceiling, glaring at nothing in particular, Draus let out a tired sigh. "Now you feel the truth I speak, Mercy said. Her eyes were closed, but Mercy was still nearby, unable to take a hint. She didn''t tell him to fuck off verbally. Instead, she shot him once more, even though it wouldn''t do anything. "There was no need for that," Mercy continued. "Yeah, there was," Draus said. Collapsing her projectile launcher back, she reached into the emptiness, not sure what to expect. As her cybernetic digits closed around what felt like empty air, Draus began to frown as she wondered if Avo forgot to actually leave anything for her. The ghoul sounded broken. Pretty close to nulled. It wouldn''t surprise her ifsuddenly another presence grasped her pride itself along the tendrils of her consciousness and slid within. ATTENTI ROOT DATA OVERRIDED GRAFTING [FRAGMENT OF THE STILLBORN] Immediately, faint phantasmal tendrils came alight around Draus as they burrowed into her form. One after another, they infused Soulfire into her being, nourishing the emptiness she seized and reshaping her ontology. A ripple of Soulfire spread out from Draus Framefrom her Metamind as well. LIMINAL FRAME CONFIGURATION ALTERED TO [STILLBORN-PATTERN] AVAILABLE THAUMS 566,331 HEAVENS DETECTED - [2] DOMAINS BRANCHES AVAILABLE - [352] UPGRADABLE CANONS - [135,155,895,123,313,394] A sudden surge of power rushed through Draus, and in the back of her mind, a faint voice echoed. Within the shroud of my existence, I am you, and you are I. The gestalt remains. And you are my greatest. PHANTASMIC INSTALLED - [IGNORANCE] Shit, Draus muttered, feeling incomprehensible changes reshape her in mind and Soul. I am tethered to you now: Ignorance here to guard you. Ignorance yours to wield. I will spare you from Veylis gaze. And I will provide all that you need to wage this war. Also need you to listen to me carefully. Things have changed. Mercy is" Ignorance paused. He''s still a half-strand. Don''t know if I can consider him an ally, but he betrayed the Hungers. Betrayed them for me. Wants to make me a king. Sees me as the final legacy of old Noloth." "Jaus," Draus breathed. "And here I thought the Greatlings were a fucked-up family." A grunt of near laughter sounded from Ignorance. The sound comforted Draus on some level. It was still Avo. Part of him was still there. Enough to convince her he was still alive. "Glad to have you back, rotlick. Even if this is just a busted, broken speck of you." I am he. I am the he that Avo cannot remember. I am the he that he never knows. And now, I am with you. You will not know of me, nor recall what I have said when this conversation ends. For that is the nature of Ignorance. But instinct will guide you and intuition will serve as my hand. For now, use Mercy. He serves our means. And Vator, I stole him before Veylis could. Has ties to both the No-Dragons and Highflame. And parts of both can be claimed. In the boys heart, he is an artist. Desires to express himself. Can be turned away from idolatry. I glimpsed his paths through Veylis. Glimpsed how she planned to use him. And I charted new journeys of my own. If you will walk with him. If you wll spare him. He will change. You will change too. Despite Avo being the speaker, he still couldn''t believe these words. Draus had been a good soldier. She''d done her duties well, followed orders, fought, bled, survived. All for the sake of upholding Highflame''s ideals. But in the Fourth Guild War, under Lorea Greatling''s command, even a perfect weapon could turn against her master. So many lives wasted, and for what? Now, standing here, looking down on the sow''s progeny, the only right thing Draus felt was to bring her boot down, splatter his skull, kill him, kill him again and again. Finally, when he was all broken in will and flesh, to dump enough entropy into him and kill him one final time. It will feel good if you kill him, won''t lie to you about that. You have a cause, and he, he has done many things, many beautiful, terrible things. "So, why''d you pick him?" Draus asked. "Why didn''t you null him, kill him, change him even?" I am not all myself anymore. And Ignorance is not the shaper. I am only a shadow. An echo. A sedative for the flame. And more than that reshaping him would defeat the purpose. "What purpose is that?" "Velys had a destiny for the boy. I am taking that from him, and in turn, I give him free will. Choice." "Godsdamn it, Avo." And I am giving you choice as well. His life is your choice now. My will is I am shattered. I cannot decide for you. And I No one else I trust more, no one else more worthy. And Draus fell silent at that. She was always shaped by another, twisted by design, no future her own. And here she was, listening to a fragment of her friend christen her as his champion. What the fuck was her life anymore. You are a weapon. The best Highflame has ever produced. But that age is over. A final design draws near. You were what they made you. Now who do you want to make yourself? What kind of world do you wish to see? Can only advise you. Help you. Cannot be you. And why not? Draus asked. Youve always been a selfish, hungry, greedy shit. Why dont you just snatch a body and fight this yourself. I am contaminated. Hard to tell where I begin, where Veylis, where Kae, where Zein, where all my templates end. But you are pure. Pure and unfettered. As always. Was so jealous of you when I first saw you so jealous. Working weapon. Still with purpose. Even after exile. Well. I can offer you another good war now. If nothing else. If nothing else, Draus snorted. Youve offered me plenty more than that. Fine, Avo. Fine. Ill Ill see what I can do. Her expression softened. Im gonna do whatever I can to put you back together. No promises about the juv here, though. All I can ask of you And as Ignorance receded, he faded from Draus'' memories, like a distant echo. A moment thereafter, the regular blinked and felt a strange sense of dj vu assailing her mind. Why''d she stop? Why did she now believe Mercy? And why was she having second thoughts about putting the Greatling down? "F-Father?" Vator managed. His wounds were mostly gone, but his face was till matted with blood and bits of placenta, and as he blinked, Draus met his clear blue eyes. For a passing moment, neither Regular nor Instrument said anything to each other. "Well. If this is the Big Nothing, it is already as unpleasant of a place as I assumed it to be. What are you doing here. Tryin not to shoot you. 29-7 Child of the Enemy (I) What about the children? This is a dilemma that all purveyors of virtue propose, yet few offer worthwhile solutions. This is the question you have cast at me in cowardice, faither, seeking to strike at my decency. Let us talk, then. Let me speak now. Often, when this question is asked, the presiding intent is to harm the esteem of the listener rather than guide them along a path towards satisfying resolution. The purveyor inflicts false virtue on the listener, outright ascribing morals to them they might not possess. Of course, I must be kinder to you, my enemy, now in the moment of my triumph. Though you deemed me heretic, monster, butcher, and so many more things. Would you be so kind if you had won? No. Ive seen your blades. I know your rituals. You would have tortured my young and made me listen as a final dirge before I am offered to the fiery embrace of your fetid gods. You are no philosopher. Just a complicated, thinking animal at wits end, disarmed of all but words and sophistry. Now I stand before you more man than monster of myth, you think you can reach me by empathy. The same you wielded to control your slaves and sacrifices. But I am not they, little faither. And I am not you. There is a reason you used this question on me instead of my love. Because you already know her answer, her choice. And she will kill some of your children. Those who choose to fight. Those who are warriors. She will kill them. Because she recognizes them. Because my duty is not to your children, but my own. And I will not see her fighting a war I can see done right here, right now. But rejoice. Breath. Know that some of your children might yet be spared. So long as they stop being your children. So long as they are devoid of anything left of you. Understand I came here to murder the your gods, and thereby your civilization and culture. For the young I will grant mercy, I will take from them their memories of language, their memories of you. Nothing will remain of you. Not even a shadow. Your question was What about the children? Hoping my answer is softness and mercy. The answer is that they cannot be your children. They cannot. For if they are, still will your gods burn. And still will the war continue. You were wrong to call to me instead my wife, faither. I read the pain on your face. Perhaps now you will beg for your children to die instead. What indignity. Seeing legacy severed. -Jaus Avandaer 29-7 Child of the Enemy (I) Well why havent you? Vator Greatling asked. The question was one of genuine childlike wonder, and the instrument''s piercing blue eyes glowed upon the canvas of splattered red that was his face. Draus had heard about the things that were done, playing whispers traveling through select lobbies frequented by squires, rumors about the youngest Greatlings predilections, read by curators as proof. Glaives had gone missing and been found as grotesque art pieces left to taunt their allies. And then there were the tutorials he made on the Nether. The boy experienced a brief stint in which he tried to be like a vicarity star, seeking to educate people on the wonders of human biology and all the things the flesh could still become. He was, in a word, misshapencognitively, physically, and, Draus was willing to guess, even ontologically. It was as Ignorance said, she could shoot him. She had every right, and this kid wasnt clean, not by a long shot. Despite this, however, the Regular stayed her hand. Mercy was so uncharacteristic of her. A few months ago, she wouldve emptied her gun into him, left a Rendbomb for him, anything to see him snuffed and ceased. Now, now she had a ghoul in the back of her mind, being a bad influence. Faintly, she could hear Ignorance laughing, going along with this insane plan of his to spite Veylis. Or whatever it is he wanted Vator for. Yeah, hiss it up, half-strand. And as the sound faded, so too vanished her memories, but her annoyance lingered still, never fading, not even a little. Vator rose to his feet as extensions of flesh shot out from his exposed neck and through the fabric of his suit. He was still wearing the formal attire he''d brought to the Court of Truth. Draus was surprised about the pristine state until she realized there was a colony of chameleonlike silkworms zipping up and down his body, pushing torn seams of his suit back together as easily as they knitted his own flesh. The regular brought her head to bear, forming a layer of glass over herself and materializing a smaller version of the Simulacra. She might not be about to shoot the Greatling, but she was also not fool enough to offer him the opportunity to twist her biology. Moving into her Liminal Paracosmos, Draus fully manifested her Arsenalist within as well, creating an additional layer of ontological separation from anything resembling flesh. At once, Vator shot her a brief glance before shrugging, and from his face emerged a mix of strange mutations. Part of his scalp extended out from his forehead and curved into the shape of a comb. Slowly, absurdly, his scalp comb began tidying up his hair, while tongues and other sponge-like appendages emerged from his cheek, lapping away at the blood that once coated Vators face. Guilders were known for their vanity. Half-strands had a habit of preening themselves like a prized new cat, but Vator really took that to a whole other level. What do you remember? Draus asked. The young Greatling shot her a blank look. About? How you got here. How you managed to survive. He opened his mouth, as if suddenly realizing the point behind her meaningless question. I was swept away, Vator began simply. He held out his hands, and the tongues, now finished bathing his face, receded from the open sores where theyd sprung. When the High Seraph called, and the great battle began between the Saintists and the Cemetery, I was there. A rapturous smile developed on Vators face. Oh, I was there, bearing witness, a first-hand connoisseur of this delectable moment in history. His eyes glistened, and he drew in a shuddering breath. Draus couldnt believe it, but she actually preferred Abrel more than this one. At least, the girl was just a sow. Draus couldnt begin to describe how many things were wrong with Vator. The vat-grown boy continued. Time against mind, conceptualization against chronology. And then there was the Sparrow, her theater, her song, inflicting a narrative rule upon this world, defying the power of truth with a stage made from living story.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Vator let out a satisfied exhalation. I was born during the right age. I was I was happy, so happy to be a part of such artistry, to witness the embrace of these rivaled flames. Half-strand, Draus said simply, I asked you what you remembered; how you got here. Dont need no show to go with it. I heard, Vator replied, eyes narrowing. Youre very rude, you know that. Gods, Captain Draus, perhaps this is why my mother sent so many of your kind to die meaningless, pointless deaths. Were the other Regulars as rude as you? Nah, Draus replied with a grunt. Most of them aint much of anything at all anymore. But again, the same can be said for your mama. Vator considered her words, and unlike his sister, simply nodded, accepting them. Fair enough. I see that you are a materialist. There is little worth in arguing with someone like you. Alas, if you could have only seen it Draus stared blankly at him. I was there. Was too busy doin a lot of Saintist killin than any gawkin. What a pity. You were not immersed. You were merely a participant and not a enjoyer. Tell me, did you feel it? Did you savor the moment when the Heaven of Love ruptured your flesh and inflicted upon you the Rash? Did you fight it, using your Heaven to sustain you where all others fell? Yeah, Draus said without hesitation. So did I, Vator replied, longer than most others, longer than even my father. I watched him, watched him come apart and die. He could have burned himself, but he chose death, and I do not know why. For when I looked up, I saw I saw wonders beyond wonders. The High Seraph, wielding the Gatekeeper, her halves clashing against, splashing ghosts, and a curtain of red so vibrant. But then my mind wasnt my own, torn from me. My sinews bound to the world, and I was lost. But I was home, so utterly home, amongst countless other beings, my thoughts their thoughts, their thoughts mine. And for that moment I glimpsed, I tasted what it was like to be Vator flinched as he snarled the last word out. Human. Just human. Little more than a broken animal. I hated it. All that impulsethe noise. The anguished fervor left the boy as soon as it came, and he shuddered with satisfaction as he recounted what followed. When I found myself parted from the others, I was looking through the cracks lining Scale. Something had sheared clean through the memite; an impossible power, and through the wounds I saw them. I saw four Souls burning bright within a city born of dragons. And I saw a new god rise. The Hungers were falling, I could hear their voices screaming in the chorus, and there, within were the Strix and Seraph Vators eyes gleamed. They faced each other. For a moment. It was absolute. Perfect. Divine. The others were unmade by the homunculi, but I grew eyes upon the bodies of my bastards. I looked. I gave my body just to bear witness. And I saw them break and die. But still the flames flowed. Still, death couldnt claim the greatest of us. Four Souls shattered like a conjoined dawn and their yolk bled together, a unified placenta for rebirth. And then the flames poured down through the world, devouring everything, taking all. Including me. Finally, Vator looked to Draus, offering her a strange gaze. There, while I was lost in the thick of the current, my body savaged by the Rash, I could feel two forces reach out for me, their own minds barely more than tatters, but their wills and instincts battling to control the paths of the current, to control where my future would lead. And I see now, I see now that the Burning Dreamer claimed me, stolen me from Highflame as prisoner or sacrifice for you, an offering of revenge. You are mistaken, Mercy said. Vator looked away from Draus and shot the Famine a boyish smile. Priest, you yet live. I have not lived for a very long time, Mercy replied. But still I serve. If only to make one final act right in my existence. You are no slave, Vator Greatling. You have purpose. The Burning Dreamer is broken. So is the High Seraph. So is Love and Truth and countless more. They are mending, but the final design of the Stillborns user is uncertain, and we require an architect. An artist. You have been given choice and opportunityat the Regulars mercy. Vator offered a arched eyebrow at Draus. Is he being honest? Draus said nothing. Slowly, she considered another possibility: that Avo was actually dead and the High Seraph had trapped her in some variation of purgatory, forcing her to suffer through this impossible bullshit. Seems to be the case. Dont rightly know what Im gonna do with you yet. Might still shoot you. Might be too late for that, Vator said, offering a taunting grin. Nah. Aint never too late to greet the Big Nothin. But the rotlick dragged you out of the muck for a reason. You, out of everyone. Draus sighed. +Fuckin seriously, Avo? Him?+ Ignorance stirred. Yes. Him. He makes many futures possible. Use him. Show him. Awaken his god. Shatter his faith And then Ignorance slipped away again, and Draus shook her head, left with nothing but a lingering impulse: to use her ontology against Vator, and to reach into his Frame and access his Heaven. Somehow. The damn instincts were getting more intrusive by the minute. The Regular hid a frown as she bade her Simulacra to extend a gleaming hand. Vator frowned as he gazed upon the reaching appendage. He leaned back slightly, more confused than fearful. What is this? Have you decided to murder me another way. No, Draus said. Aint gonna kill you. But I dont think youll much like this either. And somehow, Vator trusted her. He stopped flinching and leaned in instead, offering his nape like a nu-dog. Then I am at your regard, Vator breathed. The way he spoke, how he reacted None of it was human at all. The Regular judged his cognition and watched his accretion spin. It revolved, and never once did its pace change. The ease of his acceptance filled her with apprehension insteadwhatever she was about to dobut still, she laid a hand upon him. And as her ontology contacted his, an unseen flame poured over from Draus, igniting Vator from within. The Greatling gasped. Shuddering, he shuddered as Soulfire rippled out from within him, and mem-data crawled horizontally across Draus cog-feed. ACCESSING LIMINAL FRAME OVERWRITING LIMINAL FRAME CONFIGURATION UPDATED TO [STILLBORN] TEMPLATE PRIMARY HEAVEN DETECTED [PORTRAIT OF SKIN AND SINEW] AWAKENING HEAVEN Then, Draus felt an unseen force course through her being, a subtle susurrations beneath the surface of reality, breathing awareness into the Heaven that lurked within Vator. A rousing power stirred. Miracles washed out from the boy with each ripple of Soulfire, and Draus felt the Domains of Flesh, Skin, Blood, Bone, and more caress her awareness. Wait, how the hells did she even know what they were? Arent just a Godclad anymore. You burn within me. As I have burned. As I am you. And you are I. Vator gasped. What are you doing to Me. Another voice thundered out from within him, but it was not his own. It sounded like a symphony of children, their pitches shrill and airy, rising from a place deeper than the material. At once, a massive scroll of viscera burst out from behind Vator like unfurling wings. The Greatling shook violently, but his face revealed no pain, only surprise. Above him, the scroll expanded into a living portrait. Its spine was made from bone, and threads of sinew attached it to a flagging page of animated skin. Ink danced upon the flesh-like tapestry as a highly detailed painting moved before Draus. Countless bodies moved and writhed upon the page, many of them flayed, some of them transforming, all of them twisted and misshapen. It all looked to be in classical Sang style, and from the many victims shown within the scroll, a mournful cry followed. Why why are we here? Why must we be what were we? What were no you! PORTRAIT OF SKIN AND SINEW (BIOLOGY/SKIN/BLOOD/BONE/VISCERA/TORTURE/ARTISTRY/MEDICINE) [EST. ERROR; FRAME DAMAGED - ONTOLOGICAL UPGRADES AVAILABLE] What? Vator breathed, looking up at his own Heaven. Once more, it screamed down at him, the people within the page reaching out, mangled, mutilated limbs stretching off the canvas to claw at his face. Your fault! Your fault! We were meant to heal! We were meant to preserve! You used us! You and the faithless twisted us! MURDERER! MURDERER! MURDERER! And any hint of glee vanished from Vators eyes. 29-8 Child of the Enemy (II) A prayer, then, offered to thee, with the birth of this newest child I come to be. In times of strife, sickness, and famine, I offer sanctuary, comfort, feast, and wine for my charges, per the decree of my canon. From my concept I carry you, cradle to grave, and in the light of my divinity I offer blessings for all, be you son, daughter, matron, patriarch, or slave. -Portrait of Salve and Spirit 29-8 Child of the Enemy (II) The Portrait of Skin and Sinew wailed at their user, a tempest of hurt and outrage. The sudden outburst from the heaven took even Draus by surprise, but Ignorance''s voice lingered within. Many gods are misshapen, rebuilt by hands not of their own will, mythologies twisted together during their lobotomies. They are not who they were. They are not who they were meant to be. And now, and now they become someone else''s tool. God and slave. Synonymous. The Portrait curled in on itself, fractures developing down the length of its bone-made scroll. As its edges curved, Draus got the impression the Heaven was looking in on itself, the same way she would after getting a new aug at the grafters. Where, where are they? Where are my children, the people? Where are my villages and my communities? Where are those I must look after, those I am to keep protected from cradle to grave from cradle to grave? I cannot fail. The decree of the cycles. The will of the eternal reoccurrence must be must be the dragons why why do I feel one of the masters within me? The Heaven sounded beyond hysterical, and the outpouring of its emotion was intense on a level inconceivable to an ephemeral mind. Just as the gods were beings of absolutes in terms of power, an equal extreme could be applied to their moods. Vator swallowed, the aura of his unflappability broken for the first time. He turned to Draus, fear mingling with outrage. What have you done to me? I aint done nothin but carry the flame, Draus shot back with a shrug. This was a technical truth considering it wasnt her power that awoke into Heaven. The Stillborn has a tendency to waken things up, things that have been sleeping, turning Heavens back to gods. Undo it! Vator cried. He reached out to grab Draus, but the Regular was too fast. Her reflex booster surged. The world slowed. A whipcrack echoed through the chamber and Draus glass-made avatar brought its blade against his neck, the edge lined with spatial miracles capable of severing anything. Even Guild-augmented flesh. Vator stood frozen, but his eyes were darting, his mind twirling. Secretion spun as if a saw blade were no longer moving at the languid pace it once took, and above his body, connected by endings, blood vessels, and strings of sinew, the Portrait continued, its maddened rambling. I cant remember, I cant remember, I cant remember what happened to me, what happened to me. Where are my other pieces? What are these these canons? These are not mine. I am not meant to reflect in this state. I am meant to preserve, I am meant to heal, I am meant to there is a litany of sicknesses. A litany of atrocities. I cannot harm. That is not my make. I cannot harm I am not allowed these powers I am.... As its hysterics began to grow, Draus felt her own Heaven gaze on with morbid curiosity. The Arsenalist made a series of rattling noises. This one is broken, very inefficient. Suggest we shoot it and move on. No, Simulacra replied. I disagree. I like watching them. I like the symmetry in their paintings. But their mind is fractured. They are a jigsaw within. Perhaps we can find the pieces. It is unimportant, the Arsenalist continued. Kill them. Or ignore them. It was the perfect heaven for a weapon; a consummate warrior, down to the wick. And then a third voice joined Drauss internal discussion, but this one echoed out, delivering a thoughtcast that calmed the imbalanced Heaven of Biology. Peace, Ignorance spoke, and from Draus accretion came a torrential swell of ghosts. Phantasmal wisps tunneled into the Portraits pages. Where thousands upon thousands of flayed and tortured bodies were illustrated in macabre descriptions, they slowly ignited as Avos touch began altering the Heavens mythology. An unseen bubble popped within the Portrait, and when it did, the Heaven went silent immediately, as if a strange thought had been utterly severed. Slowly, it stretched out and expanded, growing nearly four meters long as it gazed down upon Vator. I... the pain, the pain is no longer known to me, but what have you done? What have you filled my annals with, you vermin! The sinuous lengths of tissue connecting the Portrait to Vator lurched hard, and the Instrument was pulled into the vicious embrace of his Heaven. Vator cried out, more in surprise than actual pain. Then, the Portrait closed around him, the bodies painted on its tapestry bursting out from the grand page to burrow their ruined bodies into Vators. His flesh twisted, his bones shattered, and his ribs sliced free from his midsection, fusing into a cage around his body. How the fuck Draus muttered to herself. The Heaven had been turned against Vator, was tearing into him. She didnt even know that was possible. Not normally, Ignorance said. But I linger within Vator as well now. He does not know. And he cannot deny my hidden will. The Regular snorted. Ever the Necrojack; not shortage of tricks, even now. Where? Tell me where? Tell me where the rest of me is. Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Where are my true canons? Where are my charges/ What have I become! I dont know, Vator cried back. I dont know! I dont know! I earned you!. Vator finished, keeping his breaths even. He was moving past the point of shock, and his expression was slowly inching back towards awe instead. I earned you through my trials. No! I am not a prize to be traded! I am a god of the Thousand Plains. I am tasked with protecting the lineages of Five-Springs City, the Snake-Tongue Basin, the Wiltflower Gorge. All the peoples there are mind. Mind to preserve. Mine to take as census. Cradle to grave. Cradle to grave. I, Portrait of of Not Skin and Sinew! Not! I was I was made to serve but the masters they are lost now too Broken Broken BrokenThis text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The Instrument swallowed. Once. But neither of us are as we were meant to be. The Portraits embrace slacked. The many bodies bound to its page slipped out from Vator, and their mangled hands caressed his face, and angled him to face the Heaven better. What madness do you speak. I was created to be perfect. To serve a purpose. Like you! But there was an attack while I was being grown. All the other perfected and I we suffered premature exposure. Most perished. But I lived. Even barely formed, I lived. They returned me to my vat afterward, but I wasnt the same. Something went missing. My body was pristine. My capabilities were elite. But my father couldnt face me. I had failed him. Failed before I could ever succeed. And of no fault of my own. Just chance. Just fate. You compare your suffering to mine? The Portrait asked. No! Let me speak. Let me speak. Vator licked his lips, and the fear was long absent in him. A rapturous burned behind his eyes. We have both been changed. But it was never up to us. For so much of my life, I sought a way to fix what I lacked. I was supposed to be perfect, perfect, but I was damaged, or at least, that was how I felt. My sister and brother I wasnt like them. And they knew. And father knew and he feared me. But I was created to be perfect. Perfect. And so I learned. And I delved into the patterns of the flesh to make up for what had been taken from me. And as I sought, a master found me. And, so I fell in love. With creation. With design. With art. He took a pause as he looked away, blinking rapidly. In the beginning wanted to remake myself, to fit in with my family better, so that my father could gaze upon me with the adoration he reserved for my sister, and almost never my brother. He chuckled, but then swallowed. Then, it became something so much more. Life is such a complex weaving. Endlessly expressive. I knew exactly what kind of Heaven I wanted. I gave everything to claim something that could allow to me better my flesh, make the body my canvas; my expression. He looked upon the Portrait. You were something beautiful. The moment I first gained you, even while you were silent, I was in love. I was in love with rebuilding, designing, shaping what I can become. And there was that god''s damned word again: become. Become. No wonder Avo chose him. He was as fucked up as they came. And holy shit, What kind of half-strand professes their love to their Heaven while getting tortured by it? One that is malleable. One that can change. +You pick the most fucked-up strays, Ignorance,+ Draus grunted. I didnt take you, Vator said, with resolve and certitude. I asked for you. My master among the No-Dragons offered you. I needed you. Even before you were awakened, I knew I knew there would be nothing greater. Slowly, Vator reached up, brushing the stringsthe bloodied strings that kept him tethered to the Portrait. I never meant to cause you pain. I just wanted to... I just wanted to... I just wanted to make art. The boy just smiled, like everything was wonderful; like his art was the mutation and mutilation of other people. I want you to know that every moment I spent with you was a happy one. Im sorry. It wasnt otherwise. What a remarkable moment, the Simulacra said, glorying, capturing this reflection. This moment serves no purpose. Targets are vulnerable. Recommend shooting. Firing solutions generated. The Arsenalist offered an assortment of weapons to Draus, prodding her to pick one of them. The Regular simply sighed. She looked at Vator again and wondered how close he was to becoming a Reg. There was something broken about him, something wrong. He seemed all too dumb to be human, but with this, he seemed all too human after all. Cognition was a messed up thing to have. Now you see, Mercy said, speaking directly to Draus. He waved a gesturing hand at the boy, now interlaced with his Heaven, the two facing each other, neither speaking. Draus simply ignored the priest. She still didnt trust the half-strand, even if they were under Avos thrall. Youre mad, the Portrait finally whispered. I am bound to a madman. Please, Vator breathed, genuinely hurt by his Heavens reaction. Please, what you want. Do not turn away from me. Is is what I have made You have not made anything but horror! I was not created for harm! I did not mean to harm. I just wanted to experiment. And learn what I could make. Vators voice trailed off, his expression turning pensive. Im sorry? For a moment, the sinews holding Vator tightened, and Draus heard a series of cracks. But instead of pulling the young Instrument apart, the Portrait allowed his bones to slide back beneath his ruined flesh and loosened its tether of biomass, retracting the many twisted forms it fused into his person back beneath its pages. Vator let out a shuddering breath, but didnt flee. I know the Agnosi that created you, he said. My master also uses another variant much like you. She said her Heaven was a modification of legacy. Something inherited; and improved. My kindred, the Portrait sang in a mournful dirge. I what has become of us. What has become of our people. They broke, Vator replied. The Sang broke. We all broke, and so we must recreate ourselves! The edges of Portrait curved in. I am not sure what I am anymore. I remember so little of myself, and so much of what you have used me to do. For what did those who created me die? For what legacy? Vator frowned as he considered the Heavens question. I dont know. I dont even have an answer to why I was made. By all means, I reached the optimal ceiling of my design. But that wasnt what was wanted. There is little sense in the world. And I have only found meaning with these. He held up his hands. And through you. The Greatling brought both palms up at the Portrait in a supplication gesture. And now now youre alive! Youre alive! He barked a laugh. And so we can change! You can express yourself as well. What what do you want? For a few seconds, the Portrait considered Vators words, its scroll-like form flapping, even as more painted bodies burnedIgnorances touch was spreading. I do not know anymore. I am lost. My purpose is lost. Lost. But it can be returned, Vator interjected. I will see you restored, Vator shouted back in a moment of passion. I will see you restored! His face twisted. I only ask that you do not leave. I wish to make more art. I wish to create. Please dont turn from me. Please dont leave me. Vators voice took on a pitiful, quivering quality. I... you were all I had. I know thatthat the rest of them, they didnt understand. Through you, I could... I could understand myself. You are my only means of creating meaning in this world. For a beat, Draus expected the Heaven to attack him once more. Instead, it simply sagged and drew in closer, its tethers reeling. Then I have demands. Yes! Name them. Do not harm anyone. Not using me. Heal. Restore. Mend. Preserve. I wish to see the contents I convey change. I wish for my canvas to resemble what it once was. The Instrument fell silent and suddenly spun on his heel, facing Draus. Can you heal it? Draus stared flatly at the Greatling. Can I do what now? You woke it! You gave my Heaven awareness. This is... He was about to say your fault when he felt the Portrait lean close, booming over his shoulder. This is something I need of you. And now we have them. Both of them. Ignorance chuckled grimly in the back of her mind. But he is consumed. By his need to create. And now his Heaven yearns to change. And so will he. For it is the only love he has ever truly known. We have an angle. We can guide him. Use him to breach both Highflame and the No-Dragons. Turn them. Wake their Heavens. A new rebellion. A new cycle. Draus hid a grin. +Still playin your shadow games.+ Always. Forever. Now. Lets see about making his Heaven better. And yours. +And mine?+ Draus said. Yes. Might need to face the Deliverer again. Would be better if you could kill it instead of needing me to save you. +Shut the fuck up and show me the grafts, consang.+ EVALUATING MEM-DATA RUNNING SIMULATIONS SORTING DOMAIN-CANON-THAUM LIMIT COMBINATIONS STANDBY 29-9 Upgraded No, Dawson, you''re not thinking of it right. It''s not just a very smart system built into a frame''s root data. It is fundamentally capable of mingling and altering a Heaven''s mythology from the inside, on a level of detail that no human can match, because it is perfectly able to merge and simulate every single sacrifice while keeping them aligned in belief and thought. You have no idea how hard it is to condition all the sacrifices needed to create a fundamentally stable update for even the Sphere One Heaven''s canon. But with the Imitators, anything can be possible. Anything. As long as you have the thaums, the Domains, the mythology, it can align anything. Once it does, we are all stepping forth into a whole new threshold, and the world after that point is beyond my predictions. Its so utterly scary Hm. I wonder if it can be even more efficient if we can get the Ori to provide one of their new-patterned Locus-Thinkers I might need to call in a few favors. -Agnos Kae Kusanade 29-9 Upgraded As the mem-data crawled across Draus cog-feed, so too did a series of simulations follow in their wake. Time slowed to a near halt, and Draus processing speed accelerated as she lived through a series of full immersion vicarities, each crafted specifically for her benefit. The scenes she lived felt clearer than most simsthe entanglement between symmetry and chronology, she assumed. In each one, she found herself facing the Deliverer. And dying. Over and over again. In a matter of seconds, she experienced up to two hours'' worth of encounters against a deliverertwo hours, 26,342 deaths resulting from an equal number of engagements. Each unfolding branch was a creation of memory and chronology, and together they injected into her the summation of her potential failures and weaknesses. INSTANCE 2,452: User Jelene Draus attempted to engage her anathema through overwhelming firepower. The Arsensalist attempted to suppress the Deliverer as she tried to bring her Shattershunt online. This was ineffective. Ordinance failed to affect the anathema. The Deliverer vented her Hell, and the entropy forced the user into a retreat. User attempted to evade, but lacked an absolute speed advantage. Result: Rupture User Condition: Cessation Scene after scene, simulation after simulation, Draus lived through countless iterations of herself facing the Deliverer, and not once did she prevail. Not without Zeins protective miracles provided by Avo. GENERATING FOUNDATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS TO CURRENT ONTOLOGICAL BUILDS SUMMATION REACHED SIMULACRA RESPLENDENT > PORTER AND BREAKER ROLES EXEMPLIFIED. REQUIRES LARGER HELL. LACKS ABSOLUTE SPEED AND COMBAT INITIATIVE AFFECTING CAPABILITIES CANON UPGRADE OPTIONS SIMULATED 1. LIMINAL PARACOSMOS -> MANIFOLD PARACOSMOS (REFLECTION/SPACE/CHRONOLOGY) - ALLOWS THE USER TO CREATE NEW LAYERS TO THEIR DEMIPLANE. EACH LAYER CAN HAVE THEIR TEMPORAL PROGRESSION ADJUSTED. WHEN THE CHRONOLOGY IN ONE LAYER SLOWS, ANOTHER ACCELERATES. THE MORE LAYERS CREATED, THE MORE REND GENERATED.
  1. SHATTERSHUNT -> SHATTERFLOW (SPACE/LUMINOSITY/CHRONOLOGY) - INCREASES EFFECT OF SHATTERSHUNT CANON BY CAUSING TIME TO FLOW AT DIFFERENT PACES WITH EACH PIECE OF SHRAPNEL.
ARSENALIST -> BREAKER SPECIALIZATION. LIMITED BEYOND SLIGHT MANEUVERABILITY OPTIONS AND DIRECT DAMAGE. REQUIRES MORE ESOTERIC CAPABILITIES. RECOMMEND ADDING SEER ASPECTS TO HEAVEN.
  1. PHANTOM ROUND (GUNS/CHRONOLOGY) - ALLOWS THE USER TO SKIP THEIR PROJECTILES ACROSS TIME. THE PROJECTILE WILL CONTINUE MOVING ACROSS ITS TRAJECTORY UNTIL RETURNING TO STABLE CHRONOLOGY. THE LONGER THE SKIP, THE HIGHER THE REND.
  2. PERPETUAL ACCELERATOR (GUNS/SPEED/WAR) - ALLOWS THE USER TO FIRE PERPETUAL ACCELERATION ROUNDS. THIS ROUND WILL ONLY CONTINUE TO GROW FASTER UPON ENCOUNTERING RESISTANCE WILL IN PURSUIT OF A MARKED TARGET. THIS ROUND WILL ETERNALLY CHASE THE MARKED TARGET UNTIL IMPACT OR UPON BEING DISMISSED BY THE USER. WILL ALWAYS BE MOVING FASTER IN COMPARISON TO MARKED TARGET. GENERATES REND BASED ON TIME AND NUMBER OF ROUNDS.
RECOMMENDED HEAVEN CANONS GENERATED Draus looked through the suite of choices they had prepared for her and let out a little whistle. Now this was more like it. She didnt see any thaums or extra details otherwise. She guessed Ignorance was handling the logistical end of things. It will only take effect after you resurrect, Ignorance said. "At least that parts still consistent," Draus muttered. "Notice there''s a hell of a lot of Chronology Canons you''re offering," Drouse said. "Don''t reckon that''s a bit of Veylis leaking over." Correct Ignorance replied. But it is also an Internalized Domain. Why I have integrated so well with her paths. You need time. Time gives you options. Will allow you to better disengage as well. Hard to counter absolute time advantages. "Yeah, I don''t doubt that at all. So. Im picking from one of each set of options? Yes. Dont need to overcomplicate things. Keeps the pattern simple. Chronology allows me to nullify your hubris as well. Nifty. Ignorance grunted. Choose. Upgrades will push you closer to Fifth Sphere when done. Extreme vulgar. But necessary. Hell will grant you more Rend Capacity. Synced. The Regular read through the choices offered to both her Heavens and thought back to her most recent engagement. The Chronoframes were easier adversaries to overcome compared to the Deliverer. If she had these improvements during her initial engagement, she doubted the Sanctians would even have the chance to fight back. The Deliverer, meanwhile, was an overwhelming adversaryone at a higher Spherage and also sporting cannons that allowed it to pull the crushing reflex advantage over Draus. Looking over her Simulacra options, the first Liminal Paracosmos upgrade stood out to her compared to the direct upgrade made to her Shattershunt. Damage appealed to her. She liked watching things blow up. Such was why she became the designated Breacher of her kill-team while operating among the Regulars. But she already had plenty of destructive options. What she needed right now were layers. Layers for survivability. Layers to give her breathing room and shape the battlefield. It was more than Manifold Paracosmos time-slowing capabilities that made her pick it. Being able to accelerate an adversary or an ally using her demiplane offered endless potential when properly applied in combat. She selected the first option without hesitation and watched as Shatterflow dissolved a moment after. Being able to damage time itself, displace someone using Chronology was appealing, but you could only see that being useful if Shatterflow could reliably strike her enemy. And that was a big if considering all the foes she was fighting. It was already a Rend-intensive canon. Against the Deliverer, its efficiency had been more than wanting. Moving on to her Arsenalist, the option to fire rounds across the surface of time, though interesting, seemed a little less than useful to Draus. Phantom Rounds was good for an ambush and could help her set up an absolutely devastating alpha strike. But ultimately, it was also something that Sanctus used on the regular, and there were ways to counter it. If she wasnt acquired, if she had a firepower advantage, if she engaged from superior range, if she had enough durabilityall these things would see her at an advantage regardless of their time-skipping munitions. Perhaps if it was paired with another canon, one capable of damaging all patterns of reality But that would bloat her Arsensalist as well. Make it an impossibly wide sea.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Considered that option, Ignorance said. Being able to directly attack any Heaven. Symmetry to Symmetry. Might be useful, but also leaves you susceptible to countless forms of paradox. And we don''t want none of that, Draus replied dryly. Her Perpetual Accelerator, meanwhile, was practically a cannon gift-wrapped, personally for her. One round, accelerating to hit one specific target, regardless of resistance, always getting faster, always inching closer to its designated prey. Yeah, Draus could see herself getting a lot of mileage out of this one. She might even need to watch her firing rate. She could see herself spiking on Ren after getting a little too enthusiastic. Selecting this option, her Heaven upgrades vanished, and a few rings of mem-data filled along her perception as her Metamind processed the updates. CHOICES RECEIVED HELL CANONS UPDATING SIMULACRA RESPLENDENT >REFLECTION OF OBLIVION (ENTROPY/SPACE/MATTER) - ALLOWS THE USER TO ENTRAP A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MASS WITHIN THEIR DEMIPLANE BEFORE UTTERLY UNMAKING ALL THAT IS WITHIN ITS EXPANSE. ATTENTION. CANNONS THAT POSSESS ABSOLUTES IN TERMS OF INTANGIBILITY, INDESTRUCTIBILITY. OTHER IMMUTABLE PROPERTIES WILL TRIGGER PARADOX WITHIN THE SURROUNDING SUBSTANCE. Draus paused at that. Surrounding substance? Ain''t I supposed to see something about a paradox or an anathema developing within my own Heaven? Rules change. I am part of this place, and I am now a part of you. I have taken on some of the burden. And then offloaded it over to the rest of me. Congratulations. Well, that''s nice, Draus said, forming a genuine smile. She loved breaking shit on someone elses tab. That anything else? In terms of Simulacras Hells? Best option for you right now. Highly devastating. Good for brute force application. You like brute force application. You know me so well. I expected something related to Chronology, though. Look at your Arsenalists option. Draus did just that Synced on that too, consang, Draus said, noting the information. Her Arsenalists hell loaded thereafter, and two options materialized before her. ARSENALIST >REDACTION BULLET (ENTROPY/CHRONOLOGY/GUNS) - USES ALL THE USER''S REND CAPACITY TO CREATE A ROUND THAT EXISTS FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME. THE ROUND, UPON IMPACTING A DESIRED TARGET, WILL ENTRAP THEM IN THE PRESENT, ALLOWING THE PAST TO DEVOUR THEM. ALL REND WILL BE VENTED THEREAFTER. FAILURE TO IMPACT YOUR DESIRED TARGET WILL TRIGGER MAJOR TEMPORAL BACKLASH TO THE SUBSTANCE. Well. Aint that something. Use the temporal backlash to your advantage as well. What? Wont that fuck you up something bad. Might. But it can also give you an opening. Destabilize environment. Affects Veylis too when she takes over. Draus wasnt too comfortable about that. Dont like the idea of breaking you more, consang. Might, but Im already broken, already putting myself back together. Need to do whats right for you. Survive. The Regular just snorted. What? Ignorance asked. If I had known that youd get real selfless after actually dying for the first time, I would have really killed you. A low, hissing laugh escaped from the Definement. You would have tried. I would have found a way, Draus insisted. Eat you. Eat your eyes when I return. Yeah? Ill hold you to that. Now. We got any other choices, or Most optimal options I could come up for you. Will take suggestions. Nah. You got me mapped down to the marrow. I can work with this. I can work with this real good. Sides. I always did want to shoot someone so good they go back in time. Alright, then. Lets get this going. See you in the flames, Avo. And as Ignorance disappeared again, some of Draus memories went with him, but not her task at hand. CANON SELECTION COMPLETE UPGRADE PENDING NEXT RESURRECTION "No sense in waiting anymore, then," Draus said. Time jolted back to normal. Vator, Mercy, and the Portrait were still there, arguing with each other. But all of them turned to face her as she shed her Simulacra with her projectile launcher activated. The young instrument looked on in anticipation, unsure of what she was about to do. Oh? Have you decided to help me or shoot me? I aint even gonna talk to any of you until I get done with myself, Draus grunted. Vator blinked. But didnt you just That was as far as the Greatling got before Draus tucked her beneath her chin and shot herself. The world jerked hard as she felt parts of her skull rattle. The Regular let out an involuntary wheeze as her equilibrium was lost but she failed to die. Damn voidtech augments were really proving their worth. Mustering herself, she shoved the barrel of her transplanted gun into the wound parting her pulped jaw and fired oncetwice more. Only then did she die. Only then did she plunge into that subreality of eldritch fire. But something was different this time. Her Souland her Frame by extensionhad always been more of a solid state compared to the rippling radiance that was the stillborn. No longer was that the case, though. Around her, Soulfire danced. Soulfire rose in ebbing waves, rising, cresting, falling, and rising again. And through it all, her radiance swept through both her Heavens, immolating their forms and reforging them ontologically. Upgrade in progress, Ignorance intoned. Next to Draus soul, an incendiary manifestation of Avo materialized. But it wasn''t him, not fully. It resembled him by outlining traces of his ephemeral form, superimposed by the Strix. Yet there was no substance within their contours. It was like looking at a crude sketch of a person and their Heaven, their cores hollow. So you managed to follow me down here too, huh? Draus greeted. Part of you. And the Nether has collapsed. Heavens of Mind, Memory, and more all possible now. Shit. Might want to get one of those. Yes. But youll need a third cycler. Something to look forward to. Will be able to upgrade you on the fly now. Will be more efficient than before. Than with Kae, you mean? Only efficient because parts of her still linger inside me. Shes still here too. Still here. But tattered. Fragmented. Like the Gatekeeper. Like so many. Hard to hard to piece them together. Can barely fix myself Do the last thing first. Aint no use to anyone if youre broken. A spot of bitter silence intruded between them. I was supposed to save her. Protect her. She was mine. Ours. Casualties. They happen. We dont ask for them. But our enemy gets a vote to. Dont fixate on it. Do what you can. Well figure this out. One fight at a time. One fight at a time As Ignorances voice trailed off, a surge of fire consumed both of Draus Heaven, and at once they began their transformation. Light, the Simulacra cheered. New munitions, the Arsenalist muttered. The latter shifted, developing what looked like a massive barrel made of a series of inversely revolving rings at its core. The other guns spread out around this centerpiece like asteroid belts in orbit, and a hum of power sang from the Heaven of Guns as a line of energy extended across the newest, biggest gun. In contrast, the Simulacra turned from pure knight to a quadrupedal centaurbecoming a steed unto itself. Its blade extended even longer, and its wings multiplied, with each layer expanding horizontally as well, like a series of glass-shaped fans. Complexity, the Simulacra cheered. I am manifold. I am multiples. I am moments facing moments facing moments. Slowly, as the surrounding flames dimmed, it faced Draus. Thank you user. This has been most appreciated. The Regular wasnt sure how to respond to that. Hadnt known how to act with either of Heavens, really. The Arsenalist was a simple one, but the Heaven of Reflection? That one had personality. The kind that threw Draus off by a bit. Right. Well. Makes us better. It makes us more, the Simulacra sang. I will find a way to capture something for you. Something that matters. I will learn your joys. As you have learned mine. And someday, we will face each other, and face ourselves, and see no difference. This one will only get stranger, Ignorance said. Brace yourself. Well. Aint that creepy as fucking shit. Draus decided to drop the topic there. The last thing she needed was any contention between her and her Heavens. She already saw how messy things could get from how the Portrait handled Vator. How about you, guns? Draus asked the Arsenalist. You feeling good? No, the Arsenalist said simply. I am not being fired. Please fire me at something. Uninterested in other factors. The new gun has been noted. More is preferable. Now, there was a personality she could get. Well, Avo, you heard em. Lets get me resurrected so I can do whatever the fuck it is that I need doing with this sanctuary and start snuffin some Massists and Saintists. You just want to test out your new canons. Fuck yeah, I do. Now. Tell me who we gotta snuff and what I gotta do in detail again. Lets get this squared for good." RESURRECTION - 3% 29-10 Back to School (I) +Hey, hello? Is anyone there? Well, if you are, it''s your It''s your girl, Cala Marlowe, coming right... live from the gutters. Got flung down here after after shit went down. Shit Fuck Alright. Alright, Marlow, just breathe. So. Im safe. Im with uh, lets call them people I trust. But things are looking, uh. Kinda fucked. I might not need to tell you guys that though. Alright. Were not dead. Not dead yet. Oh, what I wouldnt give for some godsdamned numb. Okay, so, we were at the Court of Truth. Shit went down big time. Strix. Seraph. Fifth Guild War. It was it was really something. Biggest view spikes I everbut something happened to the Nether. And then something happened to us And now, Im watching people flee downward. Flee from the Tiers. Just so many aeros. So many people. Theyre coming down to the Warrens. Even the gutters. Thing I saw some No-Dragon Knots chasing a Stormtree cadre earlier. Busted up a few blocks. Fighting even down here. So. Thats how things are and uh Yeah. My, uh, special source hasnt gotten back to me yet. The Symmetry is well. Ill update you on that when Avos coming back. The Strix is coming back. Just just stay alive. Heh. Heh, ha! You know something. I always wanted wanted to see the citizens and subjects come together. Well. Its happening now. Just took the end of the fucking world to do it.+ -Cala Marlowe, The FATELESS Thoughtcast 29-10 Back to School (I) Draus jolted back into existence and found Vator, Mercy, and the Portrait looking upon her in anticipation. So, the Instrument said, gaze affixed to her, unblinking, as he bit his lip into something almost approximate to a frown. Would you like to explain to me why you decided to shoot yourself? No, Draus grunted, and that was all she said to Vator; she didnt owe him anything else. His ass didnt need to know about Ignorance either. She was going to keep the damn Greatling alive, much as the idea annoyed her. But if Ignorance was right, they had him by the balls, and they could use him against Highflame and rest of the Saintists as well. Right now, though, she needed to imbibe this sanctuary, store it within her Metamind, and then find a point of egress. Ignorance was going to help her with that, but she needed to watch for certain things. Veyliss mind was scouting through the substance, and they needed to stay subtle, lest her agents find them first. It was a strange godsdamn thing to be fighting a war inside the mind of your former consang. Stranger still was how his mind was now partially merged with your former High Seraph, with both cognitions doing their best to subsume the other. Just another fucking day in New Vultun. I am here to offer you my services, Mercy said simply. The touch of the Burning Dreamer is with you. I can feel it. He has bestowed upon you his Definement. Shut the fuck up, Draus began. We don''t talk until I speak to you first. I don''t care about what you believe or what you''re trying to do. She fixed him with a hard stare. Avo might be making use of you, but I still remember what you are. I still remember what you''ve done, Famine. You give me a reason, and I''ll give you an end. We synced on that? Mercy regarded her with a calm nod. He betrayed no rancor, nor outrage. We are synced, per your wishes. Draus held him in her stare for a few moments longer before offering him a final sneer and making for the locus at the center of the room. All you need to do, Guard-Captain the Doublethinker girl began. I know what I need to do, Draus shot back, cutting her off. Vator! Fall in! To her surprise, the Instrument didnt protest either. Instead, he sauntered behind her, and the portrait followed in tow, turning slightly. She studied the young Greatling and his errant Heaven. So what, youre not going to pull it back into yourself? That is not the Portraits desire. And what isnt its desire is not mine, Vator surmised. He regarded his heaven with a near obsequious smile, but the Portrait itself seemed uninterested in his charm. Rather, it took on a direct role in speaking to Draus. You are she, the weapon bound to human form, the Portrait asked. Your flesh is wrong. Wrong of its sex. And wrong of function. Where is your your What? It has been taken away, the Portrait moaned. You will have no young. Oh. That shit. Well, it was an old Sang god. Guess a positive birth rate was harder to maintain back in the Age of Pantheons. Got vats these days. Go talk to them if you wanna grow a juv. The Heaven of Biology hesitated before asking its next question. But are you not scornful of those who took you, of those who reshaped you, deprived you of ever having the chance at the life you could have lived as a daughter, a mother, a sister? Draus turned away from the locus, letting it be for a moment longer. The Portrait clearly was trying to find a kindred spirit in her. At least, that was what she thought was happening. Heavens were elemental in the best of cases, but after Avo started waking some of them up, their behaviors grew to be eccentric, even for divine entities constructed by mass worship. I am not eccentric, the Arsenalist said. I am a gun. +I know,+ Draus said. +And youre perfect for that.+ I can resemble a gun as well. I can reflect the shape of a gun. the Simulacra chimed. +...Yeah. Sure.+ The Regular still wasnt sure about that one. You are cold daughter. Too cold to ever be one touched by my blessings. The Portrait was mutilated, and so it wanted to find an answer in Draus, thinking she, as a Regular, bore symmetry to it. Seems in some ways, gods werent so different from humans, always distracted by broader patterns while missing the inconsistencies in the details. Cant be sad about what never was, Draus shot back. And you cant go back to being what you were, neither of you. She was speaking to Vator and his heaven now. Worlds broken. Worlds been broken before. Worlds gonna get broken again. Draus sized the Portrait up and continued. You hear me clear right now, I dont give a fuck about how you feel. I dont give a fuck how much it hurt to not be yourself. You wanna go back to being what you were? Fine. But youre gonna have to recreate yourself. I can help you. I can give you the canons you need. I can make sure your mythology snaps back in place. We can take away all that you dont like. But make no mistake, its not a restoration, its a rebuild. Because who you were, thats broken and busted. And your world was dead. And your parts were traded long ago between the guilds for imps and favors. Deal with it. Or dont. Thems the pieces you got on this board. And you. She was speaking to Vator now and did her best to keep any hint of vitriol from leaking over. And me? Vator said, holding her gaze, arms crossed behind his back without a hint of fear. What about me? Youre a lucky half-strand. Draus gave a vicious grin. A day ago, a week ago, a month ago, I would have killed you and not given you another thought. Now youre lucky. Now you are actually fated. Fated to do something that matters with your life. Is it now? Vators brow arched. And you know this how? I know this because your High Seraph is no more. And might be again, Vator countered.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Might be. But aint here right now. And thats what matters. Without her, Im going to ask you a simple question. Chivalrics versus the Meritocrats. Whos your imps on? Slowly, the certainty on Vators face vanished, replaced by a subtle frown. Our oaths still remain. Surely Your oaths are enforced by power, Draus said. And spare me the self-comforting bullshit. Ive been a Gold longer than youve been alive, boy. The only true thing about the oath is that part where we mentioned the worthy. And the worthy in whose eyes? Veylis. And whos missing now? The Instruments expression darkened. Yeah. Now you got it. Theyre gonna be bleedin each other. And this was a long time coming. Massists still remain. So long as there is a common front Common front where? Draus interrupted. Walking away from Vator, she placed a hand on the locus, and the flames passed into her. Enough delay. Time to get a move on. All of a sudden, the sanctuary began to swim, and like a swell of receding water, the surrounding environment crashed down, pouring into the halo that made up Drauss Metamind. Mercy vanished. The double thinkers dissolved alongside him. What are you doing? Vator cried out. Still, his voice was absent of fear. More curiosity and surprise. As the remainder of the sanctuary trickled away into Drauss Metamind, she felt a new space expand within her cognitive palace. +We are here,+ Mercy said, speaking to her from within. The regular didnt quite like that, but she trusted Ignorance to keep the famine in check. +We will assist you however we can,+ the double thinkers all spoke at once. Draus, was this what it was like to be able to have a little civilization chattering away in the back of your mind? Yes, Ignorance said. Well, Draus didnt much appreciate it. Finally, the locus came asunder in a gust of flame, melding over Drauss being, superimposing itself upon her ontology before vanishing within her Frame entirely. Ignorance had instructed her on what to do. It was a simple action, and with the collapse of the nether, the return of mind and cognition to the domains of thaumaturgy, component parts that made up this realm could be bound to her in mind and soul. The sanctuary consumed, she assumed the role of flame anchor, and the pathways back to the real unveiled themselves before Draus and Vator. The substance, this space created from the metaphysical corpses of the Strix, the Gatekeeper, the Remembrance, and the Demiurge enmeshed together, resembled a constellation of madnessa constellation that now included Draus among their number. She stood a node along a vast webway of interconnected chains created from discordant memories entwined with false histories. Phantasmal mirages formed and broke around her, Ignorance veiling her from passing ghostsand Veylis awareness. Strings of gold-infused Specters passed through her, connecting her to distant sequences that bled off into branching paths. Just as before, her mind rattled as she beheld this calamitous subreality. The Portrait responded with a low trill of dismay. What has become of the world? Aint the world yet, Draus replied, speaking while standing on a swirling, phantasmal canvas. Youll get to see the actual shit-show in a minute. Hold your nu-dogs in place. Vator comparatively simply arched an eyebrow. Well, this is quite the ball of yarn. Is this what a collapsed soul looks like from the inside? A few collapsed Frames specifically, Draus deadpanned. Ignorance reached out from her mind and scouted a few nearby sequences. With the substance rapidly consuming entire portions of New Vultun, Drauss points of egress were numerous. But that didnt mean she could simply depart wherever she wanted. As the settings of her cog-feed updated, and the phantasmagorical wayway composed the ruins of four great Liminal Frames separated into sections that burned and sections shown with oscillating gold. The former represented safer places, locations where Avos consciousness dominated. The latter, however, showed sections of the sub-reality that increasingly belonged to Veylis. And to make matters even trickier, chronology and conflagration constantly fought each other, each pushing against the other, their influences spreading and waning by the second. Infused with Ignorance, Draus existed as a most clandestine anchor. One Veylis would need to capture if she wanted to fully restore herself to fullness, but it wouldnt be so easy. Contrarily, Draus had plenty more fragments to raid and control herself, and the worst part was she needed to sort out the 72 shards that made up Avos ontology from this catastrophic mishmash of memories. Seventy-two, Draus said. Seventy-two? Vator replied, sounding confused. Thats how many shards we need to collect to put Avo back together. The shards to the Strixs Frame, the Greatling muttered. He licked his lips, excitement growing. And the High Seraph. So then, what do we hesitate for? What is our task. Tryin to find a proper place to pass back over. Wont be findin no shards out here. Its too much of a fuckin jungle of bullshit. Theyll call out in the real. Here, were exposed. Well eventually get found. By whom? Which part of whom might be the better question, Draus replied. Aint no tellin were one begins and the other ends anymore. Mem-data flooded into the Regulars mind. The Tiers, frankly, were a mess. With the destruction of Scale and the segmentation of entire sovereignties by the substance, nearly any point she could emerge from would likely be in a state of total war. Vague flashes of visual and audio memories confirmed her suspicion, as Ignorances ghosts carried over captured memories. The Massists were pushing hard now. Somehow, Ori-Thaum developed countermeasures to completely blunt the substance from fully pushing into their territories. As such, Stormtree, Ashthrone, and Sanctus were rallying behind their most esteemed partner and sending out forces to make calculated pushes into enemy territory. It also helped that the parts of the substance under Avos sway simply allowed them to pass. The borders of Ori territory were lined with shimmering symbols that Draus couldnt fully understand, and she also heard the vagueness of chanting, though they werent of any tongue she knew either. The Inner Council is making their play, Ignorance said. I have forced their hand in desperation. They have a new Heaven, something alike to mine, but not entirely. Close in symmetry, but off in angle. I cannot penetrate, and they have been preparing, preparing for the hungers to return, preparing for a compromise of the nether for a very long time. They werent done, but this will change things. Give them an advantage. For a moment, the Regular considered emerging where the fighting was thickest. She knew war, was comfortable with it, and could probably slip between battle lines and wreak her own kind of havoc. She if she could detect any of that resonance between shards. But then, a sudden and unexpected suggestion from Vator Greatling completely shifted her calculations. Why dont we just use Atraxis Academy first? Draus paused and regarded the instrument. Whatd you say now? Atraxis Academy, he repeated, looking at Draus as if she were a malformed nu-dogthe stupid kind. Why, you waxed on about civil war, and now, with the Massists pushing in, there is no place possibly safer for Highflame or its most promising children. And few places more secure. That would be where I would store something worth protecting. Draus squinted at Vator. How the hells do you know about the Massists pushing? Oh, youre not getting the visions too? Draus clenched her jaw. +Ignorance? Are you talking to him too?+ Only feeding him information for context. Not to worry. Doesnt know Im there. +Yeah? Well, let me know about that beforehand next time.+ Through her annoyance, though, she could see the merits in his plan. Atraxis Academy and all the other instrument training academies like it were the lifeblood of Highflames future cadres. But more importantly, they also granted her direct connections to the great houses of the Chivalrics and the highest-performing members of the Meritocrats as well. If there was a civil war to be fought, it would be fought on those lines as well, and if there was a place that was properly protected and further insulated from harm, Atraxis also qualified best. It was, quite simply, the best forward operating base she could secure behind enemy lines. And, with Vator, she just might be able to slip in without making any noise. Yeah. It had potential. Another shard of Avo might just be there. And even if not, she could push deeper into Highflame territory from there. But as she thought of the benefits, her mood darkened. What? Ignorance asked, confused about her sudden bitterness. +Just realized Id be validatin Vator Greatling if I do this. Dont quite know how I feel about that.+ Can feel good that Loraea Greatlings greatest legacy is at your mercy. That you are using him against Highflame. Imagine how she might feel now. The disgust within Draus slightly lessened. And if we win, could bring her back. Feed all these memories into her mind. Make her feel bad. +Shit, Avo. You really know how to make a sow happy.+ Shaking her head as a thin tendril of flame extended out from Draus, seeking a distant sequence to breach so that she could be reinserted back over into reality. Hey. Vator. You ready to go back to school. The Instrument paused and looked to his Heaven once more. Well. Its been a while. But I suppose a visit is due. Yeah. Strange times. Cept well be playin op-for. You sure youre up for that? Dont want you to grow a heart right now. The Greatling fell silent and considered her half-taunt, half-truth. And finally, he betrayed his answer by looking to his Portrait. These are strange times, Guard Captain. Strange aeons. What Im doing, Im technically doing in service of the High Seraph as well. Im sure my fellows will understand. I dont think so, Draus replied. Then, in that case, Im sure that the restored Monad between the Strix and the High Seraph will grant me their clemency instead. Rat motherfucker could justify anything to himself. He had to be Loraeas boy. All right, then, she said. But you know this, Vator. If you get any thoughts of loyalty, where you start getting sentimental about your Guild, your Heaven, and think youre getting anything of its former self back, you will never get to be a part of this. You will never restore the greatest power New Vultun will ever know. And Ill have your Heaven taken from you. I can do that. And you cant stop me. Technically my power. +Technically, your ass is dead. Shut the fuck up and stop back-seatin my abuse of this shit-bird.+ And finally, a flicker of genuine outrage twisted across the Instruments features. Save your threats, Guard-Captain. Ill be a good hound. I promise. 29-11 Back to School (II) //[Priority Cult Cast] Source: Inner Council Beginning Transmission...
ATTENTION SLEEPER. The Nether has fallen. The Hungers are no more. The Fifth Guild War is upon us. You have been activated. The time for secrecy is at an end. The dissolution of the Nether is a lamentable, but ultimately inevitable, outcome. An outcome Ori-Thaum has prepared for. Effective immediately:
  • All Mirrors will be receiving new designations.
  • All prior Cells have been dissolved.
Make no mistake, you are living in a time of chaos. But you also might be standing on the precipice of the final engagement. All those who have received this transmission have now been insulated from the anomaly spreading out of Scale. You have been marked by the culture. The only Culture that will stand at the end of this. The culture that will see all become One and One become All. Upgradess You will be receiving Cognisofts to replace your defunct Phantasmics. Attached is a tutorial detailing how each construct functions. They are meant to resemble your commonly used Phantasmics, so the turnover for mastering these new Cognisofts should be minimal. Once you have conditioned yourself, access the following packet and proceed to complete your given task. The Saintists are reeling. New Vultun stands at the precipice. This moment may never come again. We strike now, and we strike together. Unity is Destiny.
End Transmission.// 29-11 Back to School (II) Deciding on Axtraxis as a destination was one thing, but reaching it was another. In the aftermath of Avo and Veylis''s embracement, a great displacement swept through New Vultun, bleeding further with each passing day. On the surface, the substance seemed but an anomalous metaphysical shroud sweeping through the tears, bringing with it deleterious tides upon all aspects of existent thaumaturgy. Under the surface, however, greater anomalies skinned the subdermal aspects of existence. Broken fragments of sequences and chronologies grew into each other, expanding like intrusive bones burrowing inch by inch across this discordant sub-reality. All things were made possible by the entwinement of history and memory. By the laws of symmetry, the sub-reality overlapped with baseline immaterial superimpositions, creating parallel points of entry and departure, but only for those imbued by the strict favor of the sore seraph. For all others, they were intruders until they were internalized into the Soulscape, consumed by golden flames. A series of images loaded in Draus''s Metamind. They played as separate windows in the upper corner of her cog-feed, soft sim vicarities she didnt fully immerse herself in. Ignorance was spreading his transparent tendrils across the nearby constellations, aligning sequences in progress. HIGH SERAPH PRESENCE: 44.5% GATEKEEPER FRAGMENTS DETECTED: 0.63% IGNORANCE FRAGMENTS DETECTED: 2.9% ECHOES OF ZEIN DISCOVERED: FOUR INSTANCES "Zein?" Draus said, her senses sharpening. A battle-ready alertness filled her being. "See, she''s got her echoes listed, but no fragments. She dead?" Uncertain and unlikely, Ignorance grunted. If she is, shes no more dead than me, or her daughter, or even the Gatekeeper, for that matter. I give those brutal brilliance to Veyliss gambit. My cognition is unique, self-moving, self-restoring. Short of utter extinguishment, I don''t think anything could achieve my full cessation anymore. "Not even complete ego damage?" Draus asked. "Gonna be hard to put yourself back together when there''s no sense of self." Not the same for me anymore. I am Ignorance. I am the knowing of Avo''s not-knowing. And when he breaks, I remain untouched. For I have never been known, but when nothing is known, I always am. The Regular made a yawning noise in response. She was getting rather bored of this phantasmal glowy ghoulshit. She wanted to get back to the material world, take some scalps, try out her new guns and canons. That kind of fun. Could pretend to be interested, Ignorance chided. Maybe use your brain-bending powers to be a better judge of character. Since when have I ever been the philosopher type, rotlick? Ain''t nothing''s changed for me." A moment passed. A quiet chuff of acceptance escaped the Definement. Slips me sometimes. Yeah, well, you were always a bit of a theatrical sow, consciously and subconsciously. SEQUENCE SYMMETRY ALIGNMENT ACHIEVED GRANTING USER ACCESS TO LOCALIZED BOUNDARY SEGMENTATION A flood of mem-data packets entered Drauss meta-mind. "What''s this?" she asked, mentally scrolling through the information. A DeepNav simulation loaded a representation of a district, one partially enshrouded by the substance. This is your nearest access point back to the real, Ignorance explained. A simulation materialized before her, and as Ignorance hadnt been speaking to Vator or the Portrait, both the Instrument and his Heaven lurched back, surprised, at the sudden phantasmal projections. "What is this?" the Portrait asked, scroll flapping responsively. Vator stood in front of his Heaven in a futile protective gesture and narrowed his eyes, taking in the details as well. Welcome to Thronerest, Ignorance said. As he spoke, a general overview of key data points unfolded down the right side of Draus''s cog-feed. MILITARY SUMMARY: THRONEREST
  • IDENTIFICATION: Thronerest
  • DESIGNATION: Former Tier Purgatory Defense District
  • ESTABLISHED: 39 P.F.
  • SEIZED & REBUILT BY HIGH FLAME: 195 P.F.
FORCES & POPULATION
  • POPULATION (ESTIMATED): 120 Million
  • ACTIVE GODCLAD CADRES: 342
  • GOLEM KNOTS: 55,824 Units
  • DRONES, ARMOR, & NON-THAUM COMBAT PLATFORMS (ESTIMATED): 890 Million Units
TERRITORY & SIZE
  • TOTAL AREA: 3,143 Square Kilometers
A final few ghosts threaded into place, completing the scale simulation map. Draus frowned. Thronerest. She''d spent six months in Thronerest during her time in the Regs. The final qualifying courses for those wanting to be Breachers were held here, specifically because of Thronerest''s layout. Said layout also earned it the name UrHell among the regulars, short for urban hellscape.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Thronerest was shaped as an L due to being built against the sheer surface of the Tiers, running just below the Elysiums. Unlike most higher districts, it was not a place of leisure but war. Thronerest''s airspace was dry of skylanes or aeros, and neither were there any ads pulsating between narrow alleyways with the overflowing glow of enticing neon blessed capitalism. What characterized Thronerest were its blocksuneven stacks of heavily interconnected bunkers, each one built like sections of ancient battlements, rather than architecture meant for civilian habitation. Rail-flung missile platforms, long-range fusion sites, and spatial displacement arrays for the rapid transportation of troops or emergency Rendbomb deployments choked the city. Each megablock was a neo-gothic beast, bright with golden alloys, symbols of a burning crown, projecting those same symbols of a burning crown, and fanged with countless weapons. Draus remembered the first time she entered Thronerest. Entire portions of the city shimmered with semi-translucent bubbles, demi-planar defenses stacked layer by layer. Behind that was a swarm of high-yield, imminently expendable, and easily replaceable drone swarms. Their true purpose was to provide a defensive screen for the golem Knots and cadres that followed. If by some mad miracle the enemy breached one of Thronerest''s many megablocks, the true battle would begin. The interior was a claustrophobic maze of narrow hallways, lined with built-in choke points. Draus remembered the insides of those megablocks well. There was no comfort in Thronerest. It was a soldier''s city. A Regular''s kind of city. The insides of the structures growled and shifted constantly. Metallic tethers pulled and adjusted the interior architecture on the fly. This meant that the layout was modular and there was no fixed map. It also meant one other thing: nightmarish casualtiessomething the Massists learned during the Third Guild War in vivid suffering. Draus had run the gauntlet within Thronerest countless times, armed with a CQB-patterned reflex spatial-kinetic cannon, a fusion burner, three more secondary guns, rigged within an Carnifex combat skin, and five other Regulars under her command. They fought with a ferocity, velocity, and tempo few others could match, and with each push, their goal wasnt to escape or eliminate all defenders, but to locate and capture the central control node for each block. But even that was only a temporary reprieve. Every one of the 841 megablocks constituting Thronerest rested upon a stack of Rendbombs. The triggers for the bombs could only be found in their neighboring blocks. To take one block and not immediately seize the next would result in summary death. Drauss record had been three megablocks seized, 64 rooms cleared before her momentum finally ran out, her guns ran dry, and her body came apart beneath a tide of gauss fire. The Regular smirked. Those were some good times. These days, however, Thronerest was looking a little different. A massive trunk of some kind seemed to have truncated the city, splitting it down the middle where a good section of the megablock should be. Now, however, the massive trunk seemed to arc higher into the sky through the veil of Avos substance. This was where the DeepNav simulation ended. A ripple of ghosts passed over the trunk, and more details loaded in. As the strange object reloaded with higher resolution, Drauss eyes widened. Vators head tilted in surprise. "Is that a Cycler?" the Instrument muttered. "Nah," Draus corrected him. "That aint no Cycler. Its a goddamn dragon. But it aint no Cycler." She stared into the crenulations and saw ziggurats and old Nolothic cityscapes spreading far and wide. "This was a section of the Hungers," Draus muttered. "Part of the City Eternal had been impaled through a Highflame district." Not impaled, Ignorance said. Infused. Mutated. It''s happening all across places in New Vultun. Interplays of memory and history result in discord, displacement. Things dont end up where they should, and so corrections are madesome of them incorrect. Me and Veylis, we remember different things, and consciously we struggle, so the city suffers for it. "What happened to the people that used to be there?" Draus asked. Silence followed as Ignorance contemplated his response. Uncertain. "Well, if that ain''t ominous or nothing," Draus said, just as a few million points lit upnot only within Thronerest, but also the dismembered section of the City Eternal. A resonance pulsed through the regulars frame. Her simulacra gasped in sudden surprise. Through its perception, Draus found herself peering out through countless reflections, gazing into the real from every angle. From so many places, Thronerest was a district embroiled in war. Drones swarmed, firing upon strange chimeric beasts pulled from the depths of history before they were swept from the sky, cleaved down by freak weather occurrences that manifested and dispersed within seconds. The narrow hallways within the megablocks were filled with carnage. Combat mechs and screaming mobs of militia mixed with mech battleframes held the line against a charge of Woundhounds, while what looked to be a cadre of Bloodthanes. The Stormtree assets reacted with might and devastation, but they seemed loststriking reflexively rather than working together in concert for a planned offensive. Displaced as well. Few were prepared. Few were. Ignorance sigghed. And then there was the dismembered section of the City Eternal. Warheads impacted the crenulations, bathing entire stretches of Nolothic cityscape in nuclear fire. It was a drastic surprisethe Nolothi were fighting back, and fighting back well. Their ziggurats, infused deep with locus loci and crackling with phantasmal energies, lashed out, conveying eons of trauma in the form of synaptic lightning. Previously, all a trauma pattern could do was break ones cognition, cracking wards and shattering egos. Now, to Draus''s astonishment, an entire part of a Thronerest high-flame megablock simply ceased to be, dissolving into component aspects of entropy. "What in the hells?" Draus muttered to herself. Vator leaned in, his face lined with increasing curiosity. "Is this a simulation?" he asked. No, came Ignorances reply. Told you before. Material, metaphysical, mentalall clapping now. All closer than they''ve ever been. "Yeah, especially within your goddamn Soulscape," Draus grimaced. The ghoul''s Exo-Paracosm was making itself a problem for her. It was a nifty, if nasty, trickaligning mentally created worlds with the physical one. But now, without a stable mind to wield it, disorder was the new norm. "So can I do that too?" Draus asked. With a Ghostjack, enough cognitive capacity, and a potent enough trauma pattern, yes, Ignorance said. Presently, you primarily have good wards, enough to survive a few direct impacts from a ziggurat. "Specify ''a few.''" Dont get hit by more than one. Your Conundrum will adapt. But so will their traumas. "Right. So. Not great." "So what''s my target here?" Draus asked. Her eyes drifted to the point where the City Eternal extended beyond the Substance. Guessing that arc up through the substance is my way out somehow? Exactly that, Ignorance said. You want to use the City Eternal to mask your traversal. Its an unstable point. We want to get you and Vator through without having her sense you or seize him. This manifested cogni-chronological rupture gives us our best opportunity. "And then what? He gets to go back to school? What about me?" They wont notice you once you''re through. Just stay away from their perception. Can sustain your stealth in the meantime. Can also pass you through Vators mind as well. Auto-Seances might be capable of a bit more than before. Matter and mind. Running similar currents and patterns. Suddenly, Draus felt her presence dim within this subreality. The best comparison she could make was to heat camouflageIgnorance rendering her a patch of cold that could lurk beneath other memories and perceptions. Vator will be our way into the academy. Expect most of Highflames most coherent assets to be there. As is Mondelles and others. Its going be both a powder keg and a command center. Something we will delight in taking from Veylis before it can be brought to bear. "Meritos and Chivalriics both," Draus chuckled to herself. "So were fleeing across one battlefield and planting ourselves in the middle of a civil war." Know this: you will likely encounter other Flame Anchors as wellbearers of the Stillborns fragments. Just as I have chosen you, Vaelis has her own champions. A new shadow war is forming. Prepare yourself. And take my pieces back. I wish to be again. I wish to return as myself. "Yeah, dont worry, consang. Youre just in need of a little surgery. Ill play Grafter for you." And with that, Ignorance receded into the back of her mindforgotten, but always present. The Regular regarded Vator then as she plotted her impromptu operation. Her lay forays into Thronerest had been fun, but ultimately failures, per the gauntlets design. Now? Now, she was a bit more than just a Reg. "Alright, Greatling. Ive got a question for you," Draus said as she filtered through the many reflections she had access to. The obvious option would be to start within the City Eternal, try to make a sprint toward where its length bursted through the substances threshold. But with the amount of Wren bombs constantly hammering its crenulationed surface, Draus doubted she could pass through without being stained with entropy. Considering Vator was of an even lower Spherage "More than adequate," Vator said, with a self-deprecating glint in his eye. "Alas, my specialty has always been more along the lines of intrusion and rearguard action. I suppose if I were to portray myself in Regular-speak, I would be a biological sapper of sorts." "Right. Well see how cute you stay after you get this thing started." But what started just then turned her focus away from the City Eternal and toward structures of greater concernthe surrounding megablocks constantly bombarding the immense dismembered arc of The Hungers. There were primarily twelve megablocks rounding the segment of the City Eternal, looping upwards into an arc. It was about a fourteen-kilometer stretch of area, but with each ringbone detonation, well over five times that expanse was flooded with entropy. Draus suspected the blocks would be completely spent of proper Rendbombs by the end of the day if they couldnt get logistical replenishment from the rest of Highflame. However, they probably still had plenty of Rendsinks and so on. Makeshift weapons went a long way. There was no point in waiting. If things were going to happen in her favor, she needed to make them happen. Aggression. Firepower. Tempo. And thaumaturgy. All things she in spades and more. With a blast of Soulfire, her Simulacra, now enhanced, materialized around her, looming over both Vator and the portrait. The Greatling blinked up, both hands behind his back. He observed Draus as well, faintly, with his lips corked upward. "Yes, yes, I think I do like you better in this format. Its far more aesthetic. Your legs, like those of a steed now. With your wings multiplied too! Wide as well as vertical A shard broke away from the Heaven of Reflections armored helmet "Step through, half-strand," Draus said. A massive cannon composed of revolving pannels and orbited by a cloud of lesser guns surfaced with the pallid depths of the Simulacras blade. "Its time we go on a block crawl. Were going to use this district to crack itself open. Your re-admissions gonna come with a butchers bill. 29-12 Back to School (III) Preparation. Tempo. Firepower. Unpredictability. If you''re going to be engaging in close-quarters combat within a megablock or any other constrained space, you''re gonna wanna be a tide. You''re gonna wanna sweep through sector to sector, burning through the threats like wildfire. Hesitation will kill you. So will missing your shots. So will being acquired. So will not knowing what''s ahead. And you can even do everything right and still end up snuffed. But that''s the way of the game. I''m not here to promise that you''ll return a big glowing hero, chest full of medals. That''s not you. That''s not us. We''re regulars. We''re happy to do the killing. We''re happy to do the dying as well. But if you can keep your guns hot, your feet moving, your mind solid, and your path clear, you won''t believe how fast you can seize control over a defensible object and turn the existing infrastructure against its former inhabitants. -Guard-Captain Winston Nicoma 29-12 Back to School (III) [Bloodthane Agthar Blacktide] Bloodthane Agthar Blacktide steeled himself as the fusion burner punched clean through his compromised combat skin. His cog-feed pixelated, struggling to adjust to the sight-searing brightness, and with each inhale, he felt his lungs cook, his flesh vaporizing from the inside. The pain was hard to describe, and not even a scream conveyed his agony, for the organs responsible for his very breath dissolved into balls of superheated plasma. But a slamming force jolted him back to alertness, and an ejection prevented him from crossing over into the embrace of death. The Woundhound burrowed deep into the Bloodthane, flowing up from someplace truer than biology, consuming his incinerated lungs. The woundhound burst out from his chest, splashing through the fusion burner''s radiant plume without difficulty. Its fur, a mottled mess of midnight gray, rippled across the creatures body, unbothered by the flame. Across from the Bloodthane, the last of the Highflame militiamen died without ever knowing what hit them. The Woundhound splashed into their ontology, and Agthar felt his injuries shift from the beast to another entirely. The victims simply knelt over, folding over in their suit of heavy armor like a puppet severed from strings. The Bloodthane staggered back and coughed a few times, relieved to feel any sensation under his chest at all. Just to breathe was a sublime pleasure. VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY: 98% A body splattered against the wall next to him. Exhausted, Agthar tilted his head only to see the final remains of a technician sliding down from the surface upon which they were caked, leaving a smear of tangled viscera. A few staggered steps came from behind him, and the Bloodthane regarded his erstwhile companion. Ravensong was thin for a Scaarthian, abnormally so. At nearly three and a half meters tall, took up most of the narrow hallway strewn with smoking mechs and mutilated corpseswas a giant even for her own clade. But a good portion of that had to do with the cybernetic torso extension that parted her midsection. She flung two bodies from the frequency blades implanted along heer shoulders, and Sanctian Past-Tense pattern chrono-kinetic rifle fired from her back in staccato bursts of three. With each shot, a ripple would pulse across the surface of reality, flechettes cast into the future to strike potential targets. "How many injectables you got left, Blacktide?" Ravensong croaked. Her voice sounded hoarse, and she didnt look much better than he did. Her face was riven with deep cuts, and part of her skull hung low along the side of her face like a severed flap. A tungsten spike was buried all the way through her collarbone, jutting out from her back. But despite all this, she barely looked winded. Scarthians were made of stern stuff, enough to make Agthar envious. He might have been adopted into the culture, but those of the wounded matriarchy never allowed him to forget the truth of his heritage. "Im down to one Woundhound injectable. 98% Rend Cap," he answered. She sighed. "Well, Im out of hounds. 99 here." A bitter laugh escaped her. "Think were running out of rope." "Well manage," Agthar replied, though he didnt fully believe it himself. He had to make it. He made a promise. A promise to his daughter that he would come back alive. Just like all the times before. Another tremor shook the structure they found themselves in, and a series of chittering taps sounded through the surrounding walls. Agthar didnt know how or why hed been brought to this place. Ravensong wasnt a member of his cadre, just another Sphere Two Bloodthane displaced from their original position. His memories were clouded. Hed suffered partial ego damage upon waking up. He remembered being called back into service due to recent developments happening in the Court of Truth. Apparently, there were murmurs that the Fifth Guild War was starting soon, but Agthar didnt care about any of that. He was visiting his daughter. He had dropped her off with her motherthat sows weekend with his girl. They were going to visit the Deep Blue aquarium when he was on leave next time. Always next time He had no idea what made the girl like the ocean so much. Agthar personally hated the ocean. He hated places where he couldnt see his enemies. He hated not knowing things. Which was why his tensions were running a little bit high right now. He had no idea how he found himself within a Highflame megablockand a highly militarized one at that. He remembered nothing but a terrifying, terrifying oneness that wrenched his consciousness free from his body. Like his ego had been bound to all the world and all the world had been bound to him before he was falling. Falling, released back into his original sheath. And then, and then he found himself in this structure. Surrounded by Highflame assets. Fighting for his life right alongside Ravensong. The only reason they didnt end up dead was because there were other assets attacking High Flame as well. At least, that was what the tremors passing through the building hinted. Using their Heavens, he and Ravensong traversed the interior of the block, trying to find a means of escape. But as they shifted out from their rooms, instead of crossing over into an interconnected layout of other chambers, hallways, or whatever other architectural terms there were to describe random specific rooms, they found themselves navigating a chaotic maze filled with moving tethers and dancing wires. It was like swimming through a nest. The room they were in had been disconnected from the rest of the block, separated like a toy brick from the structure. Moving spider-like insects surrounded the module they departed and proceeded to melt it down to slag using high-powered beams of plasma. A Rendbomb had been teleported into the area shortly thereafter, cleansing, staining the zone with entropy. Had they hesitated a moment longer, both of them would have been overloaded. Killed for good. But that had been almost an hour ago. And now, as they skipped from module to module, fighting from room to room even as the layout and structures changed around them, Agthar felt his exhaustion creeping in. He felt his time growing short. The building was shuddering more and more; the delays between each internal Rendbomb delivery grew longer, but it wasnt going to stop. They needed to keep going. Or die.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Swallowing, he shot Ravensong a stare. "I got enough in me for one more jump. The internal defenses are going to zero in on us soon. We move on three." Ravensong hesitated for a moment, her own posture sagging. "Yeah. Yeah, why not? Lets make a fight of this, even if it is to be our end." She laughed. "One hour and sixty-four rooms cleared. Not too bad for a couple of Sphere Two Porters, huh?" "Not too bad," Agthar agreed. But not good enough. He needed to make it home. He needed to make it. As the chittering noise grew louder and louder outside, Agthar knew the insectoid drones were cordoning off this section of the megablock. The tethers were probably already active, disconnecting them from their surrounding architecture to ensure easy sterilization without risk of collateral damage. Manifesting his Heaven of SpaceThat Under Midnight Bloomsa swell of torrid black ink sprayed free from Agthar''s body, consuming both him and Ravensong in a patch of crawling blackness. They slipped out through the clefts of a nearby door, rushing past a legion of crawling drones to dive deep into the megablock''s organs once more. VENT! VENT VENT! REND CAPACITY - 99% "I know, you piece of shit," Agthar growled internally. "Just last. Just last a minute more. Just last a minute more, damn you." Desperation mingled with determination as he ignored the drones firing at him. There was nothing they could do, and he kept his movements erratic, slipping through the clefts, lining the various strands. The interior of the megablock was a dense weaving, constantly vibrating with electricity. He knew the rest of the structure lay beyond this forest, and he and Ravensong had spent the better part of an hour working their way down, trying to find the techno-thaum reactor powering the block. That was the only thing they couldnt decentralize. They could have a multi-layered defense grid. Separate the rooms within the block down to component modules. But a reactor? Power had to come from somewhere. The Rend had to be contained at someplace. And they were close. Very close. Agthar could feel the crushing weight press against his Frame. They kept working their way down and An entire section of the block ceased to be. A flood of lightning that thundered with screaming trauma tore into the insides of the building. Matter shattered like fragments of broken memories, and as phantasmal fractals passed through Agthar, a flood of intrusive moments seared into him. He was a blinded, deafened sacrifice. A girl no more than eight. They dismembered him. They captured him and his family. And now, because their goddess of fertility needed it, she and all other children of pre-ripeness needed to be offered. And so a crude blade bit deep into his abdomen as he screamed. Screamed as they harvested his womb He was a doctor. A healer. But he was not enough. Patient after patient died under his blade. No matter how much he tried. He wouldnt be enough. Another soldier he couldnt save. Another failure. For clan and culture. His master was right. He would never be enough. The only thing he ever did right was turning the blade on A flash of noise and color tore Agthar out of the memories. He caught a glimpse of the world beyond the blockof a massive writhing shape projecting a devastating stormcloud brimming with potent traumas at Agthars position. He pushed himself, unwilling to think about what he just experienced. There would be time for crying when The space ahead of him came asunder. Another two hyper-enhanced trauma-patterns unmade entire swaths of the block. How was this happening? Why was the mind shattering the real now? Why wasnt the memite functional? All these questions vanished as chrome-hued stings snapped free, pieces of insectoid drones filled the air, and therethe reactor. Through the shattered insides of the structure, he could see the reactor spinning fast, Soulfire burning hot and bright and A glint of brightness jabbed at Agthars attention. Briefly, he saw a string turn transparentas if it was changing over to glass. He ignored it. He was close. No time to consider random anomalies. +Ravensong,+ he said. +I see it+ +I feel it!+ She replied. A chorus of disbelieving laughter sounded from her mind, even as more of the block shattered into nullified shards. +We might actually+ Then, they passed through an unseen panel of glass and suddenly ceased to be. True death came fast in New Vultun. Sometimes, you just dont get to live. Not up to you. *** Somewhere down the Undercroft, a girl waited for her father to come home. She waited as the strange substance consumed her world. She waited and wept and prayed. Up till the point the flames took her as well. He never came. Not in this life. Not in this iteration of existence. *** [Jelene Draus] Manifold Paracosmos was an uncanny but ultimately pretty useful cannon to have. It took Draus a little while to get used to it. Messing with chronology wasn''t the same thing as just shooting a gun, after all, but in the end, she got the hang of it pretty quick. Just a shame about how much Rend it requiredstill. Her new Hell destroyed matter pretty good. Matter, forces, and things. People too, like the Bloodthanes that wandered into her thin, transparent panel. Poor shits. Nothing they could have done. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRA] - 64% Triggering her Manifold Paracosmos again, Draus created five thresholds of temporal progression within her demiplane. In the deepest layer, time barely moved at alland such was where she spent the bulk of her time. The layer after time, the world barely moved at all, a second elongated to an hour. The third layer was normal time, while the two after that came with accelerated and nigh instant time-lag madness varieties. This combination granted her a kind of operational insulation. She planned in the deep. Fired Perpetual Acceleration rounds in the slow-mo layer, interacted with the world in the third, and kept Vator and a few other VIPs in the last threshold just so he couldnt learn her capabilities. With the Bloodthanes consumed by her Hell, she had a few more seconds to plan her operationand bring her reflection close to the last megablock she needed to compromise. As the shard speared close to the reactor, Draus shifted back to her deepest layer, and the real outside ground to a halt. Studying the world through her thousands of junctions, Draus watched the progression of attacks exchanged between Highflame and the Hungers, and studied the encroachment of other displaced Massists forces as well. Her Rend climbed fast the depths of her Manifold, but she was also in the perfect position to unleash an alpha strike like no other. No one knew she was here; that they were effectively stone-still, giving her ample time to line up shot after shot using her Arsenalist and Phy-Sim. After half an hour in demiplanar timethree seconds of real-timeshe aligned firing solutions on 1.2 million targets. And when she fired, she used Perpetual Acceleration each time, firing out through passages generated at different positions in her demiplane dependent on the time it took to strike each target. Ultimately, though she fired all these rounds at different time, they would impact in perfect sync. The first of her projectiles were all loosed from deep within the second layer, but every passing moment she moved closer and closer into the shallows, until she was finally engaging in real time. And then, with the operation laid out and the board set up, the Regular conducted an act of orchestral surgeryas a single operator no less. Eat your fucking heart out, Quail Tavers. It was like 1.2 million perfectly placed shots happening all at once without any forewarning, without any hint or disturbance. Entire cadres died, control nodes were destroyed, Rendbomb facilities and spatial relays reduced to rubble. It was a sudden, vicious crippling that no one could have prevented. No oneunless they possessed a Domain of Chronology themselves, or something equally esoteric. As for the surviving High Flame cadres, or the invading Bloodthanes, or any other Godclads for that matter? Well, just as the Arsenalists could fire from deep within the Manifold as a Heaven, so too did its time redaction work while it was a Hell. Draus didnt so much battle rival Godclads as she unmade them. These shots came perfectly timed to thread through their vulnerable bodies the moment they needed to vent the instance, flashing back to their ephemeral forms. While the rest of the district continued to rage, masses pushing along both borders of the former High Flame territory, the Highflame defenders, pincered on all sides, tried to capture the dismembered Hungers while holding their own peripheries. A 16-kilometer stretch of land simply ceased firing, ceased struggling, ceased doing anything. Around 64 blocks fell perfectly silent, dormant, as if lobotomized from the inside. And such was only the opening salvo. 29-13 Back to School (IV) +Come in. Come in. Come in. Is anyone there? Block L007 to G012 are no longer responding. Is anyone there? Is anyone+ [SESSION UNABLE TO BE RECEIVED; TARGET ELIMINATED; SESSION LOST] +This is Bloodfang designation: Carnivore. Preliminary scouting has generated results. The innermost section of the Highflame defenders are no longer reactive. Suspect they have sustained at least operational kill. Levels of harm from the anomaly nested at the center of the city suggest we establish an breachpoint and devote all resources to heavy thaumic bombardment so that we can+ [SESSION UNABLE TO BE RECEIVED; TARGET ELIMINATED; SESSION LOST] +This is.Sleeper Designation: Meanwhile Broadcasting ID codes. Mirror If you are receiving this message, something has happened. My cognitive suppressants have been damaged prematurely. My original consciousness is surfacing. The district is under attack from an unknown What are you? How are you here? How do you know that I Yes. Yes, these are confusing times. But if you are who you say you are, it''s good to hear a friendly voice. I think... I think I trust you. I think I have to.+ [SESSION ESTABLISHED; ASSET SECCURED] -Collection of Stray Thoughtcasts Intercepted by Ignorance 29-13 Back to School (IV) [Navigator Hidrik Athatar] There were two kinds of opportunities Hidrik was familiar with. The first was the kind he createdthe kind that took a lot of hard work, research, planning, plotting, scheming, and all that other goodness to set up. Right now, he was experiencing the other kind of opportunity. The kind he had nothing to do with, but was reaping the rewards all the same. He had no idea why he was displaced or how he and his entire Sanctus battle group ended up behind the rapidly collapsing battle lines of an equally misplaced Highflame fortress district. But Hidrik wasn''t going to miss out on a chance to shoot the gift ghoul in the mouth. Sustaining dive. Chronoframe. Temporal displacement. 39, 42, 33. Lag strain. Three seconds. Holding to bearing. He led a strike team composed of four other Chronoframes, all heavy assault builds designed for maximum firepower. They were on a guerrilla run over the most active Highflame megablocks. Loathe as he was to admit it, despite being caught completely unprepared and effectively sandwiched between a Sanctus battle group supported by a heavy contingent of Ashthroners, the Golds were putting up a hell of a fight. Their megablocks were armed to the teeth, and their guns just wouldnt stop firing. To make matters worse, every structure seemed to be connected to another. Anytime they pierced too deep or almost captured one hard point, the next block over would simply trigger their neighbors'' rinsing, damning both their allies and enemies to early oblivion. Another Chronoframe strike team had been lost this way. They got too cocky, descended too far trying to capture the core, and ate shit before they could dive again. Hidrik wasnt going to make the same mistake. No, instead, he was using other bits of weirdness to his advantage, like the fact that memite no longer functioned, allowing his chronokinetics to actually deal damage to the exterior of the megablock. Surfacing once more, they hit block G-073 just as they slipped back into the present. Suddenly, it was as if they rubberbanded the past into the future, their guns blazing, tearing through the Highflame blocks'' rail-delivered missile batteries. The Golds failed to respond in time, caught off guard by the materializing Chronoframes. Time-flung munitions cut deep, skipping through the hard outer layer of most matter and only solidifying when they were temporally halfway through an existing object. The effect was similar to using a spatial miracle to teleport an object into an existing section of matter. Displacement inflicted its own kind of harm as well. Gouts of fire erupted out the side of the block, and suddenly its constant barrage of nuclear warheads slowed to a trickle. Then, the first shots of retaliatory fire came. Drones launched their own missiles, a few splashing against Hidrik''s 80-meter tall Chronoframe, swimming in an arc around the megablock. He shuddered with a grunt, banking hard within the core of his temporally constructed biomechanical behemoth. At 630 kilometers per second, his morphology was designed after that of a Kingfisher. His configuration was inclined toward bombings, but his tail-mounted particle scalpel had more than enough kick to cut down pursuing strike craft. Narrow beams of light gathered at the tip of the whipping tendril extending from the rear of Hidriks Chronoframe, and his system pounded as a series of firing trajectories loaded into his cog-feed. Three beams carved through the air, slicing through the wings of a drone, while the other two jolted aside, taking evasive maneuvers. One suffered a moderate cut through its central chassis, and instead of releasing a barrage of flechettes, sparks flew out from the barrels of its gun. The third drone escaped unharmed until one of Hidriks wingmen sliced it out of the sky. +Nice shot, Tully!+ Hidrik declared, only to wince a moment later. Right. He forgot about that. Auto-Seances remained fucked. Trying to use it got him a bit entropy sick earlier. Last thing he needed was another trip to the grafter. The collapse of the Netheror whatever the hell had happenedleft his group fighting together based on instinct and experience. They couldnt communicate with each other at range, saving their rising and thought-cast transmissions for when they sank across the future. Chrono displacement drive online, but a loud enough thoughtcast could still get everyones attention. +Strike group Anovar, prepare to dive!+ Not a moment too soon. Just as they slipped across the golden currents of reality, the fabric of space shuddered before a flood of Rendbombs enveloped the airspace they once occupied. Hidrik could feel his Chronoframe shudder with the pressure of passing entropy, even as he snapped forward, hopping a full second into the future. Baseline reality turned into a hazy blur. Strings of acceleration peeled alongside him, with time itself becoming as if a temporal current. Matter unspooled into vague outlines and patterns. Things still moved, the present still was, but dislocated from the chronological progression of baseline reality, the Chronoframe strike group existed more in parallel with time rather than within its confines. +Strike group Anovar, status report,+ Hidrik said. A series of affirmations sounded, with only Tali reporting light structural damage to his Chronoframes abdomen. It should heal by the time they surfaced once more, but Hidrik had his strike group adjust their formation just in case. No sense in losing anyone when he could help it. +Alright, last layer of Highflame defenses breaches, consangs,+ Hidrik declared. +Were going to make a pass over their final battle linethe one thats been busy hammering at that hulking stretch of fallen dragon. Whatever the fuck that thing is.+ +Are we to make a scouting run over the dragon, top?+ The thoughtcast came from the new guyGrease. Hidrik liked them. He liked anyone who didnt get shot down during their first sortie. Kid was doing A-okay so far. +Negative, Grease. We stick to target and return behind planar hardpoints after the run. Surface. Fire. Dive. Keep it simple. Dont veer off and get snuffed. Strike group Kataanga decided they wanted to be remembered as heroes rather than see tomorrow as useful soldiers. Well, jokes on those shitssomeones gonna be mind-fucking their Osjacks and Osjanes back home.+If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A chorus of bitter laughter sounded thereafter. A final black reprieve before they descended again. DISTANCE TO DESTINATION 32 KILOMETERS PLOTTING ROUTE THOUGH SPATIAL ABNORMALITIES Hidrik bit his inner cheek as he looked through the planned run in his Metaminds DeepNav. Jaus, this district was like an aratnid taking it raw and ugly up in the shit-chute from a nu-dog. Normally, he and the juvs would be firing from over the horizon but with most of the airspace utterly chewed to shit they needed to do this fast, ugly, and at knife range. Nothing for it, they were swinging in close for another run. CHRONOSHIFT REACHING OMEGA-POINT INSTABILITY +Countdown initiated. T-3 to surface. Stay close. Guns hot. Dive soon.+ +Synced!+ A chorus of agreements came from his cohort and Hidrik chuckled. Best job in the world. If only he could do this without the risk of death. 321 TEMPORAL SURFACING ENGAGED The Chronoframes snapped back over into reality. *** And each of them caught a Redaction Bullet a mere second after. Just like how unprepared the Golds were for the Chronoframe sorties, the Sanctians didnt know they were intruding on someone elses hunting grounds. *** [Jelene Draus] Sanctian Chronoframes. Five frames. Heavy assault builds. 2.01 kilometers distance from nearest reflection-junction. Temperature: Uneven; extreme. Nuke and Rendbomb in effect. Spatial displacement from surrounding ruptures. Generating Redaction Bulleets. Adjusting firing trajectories. Release payloads through liminal passages in the second threshold. As the Arsenalist finished its summation, the Simulacra accommodated the demands. A new passage opened up in the second deepest layer of Draus Manifold Paracosmos. Shots fired from here were synced for delay, exploiting constantly bleeding over into the future. Moving away from her deepest level again, existence suddenly started moving againalbeit barely. Nuclear detonations swallowed entire blocks whole. Ren bombs gouged grand wounds upon the tapestry of existence. Manifested heavens hammered each other with calamitous miracles. And her, the greatest threat of all, fought and killeda huntress unseen. Firing. Firing. Firing. Firing. Firing. Her Arsenalist repeated themselves with each bullet loose. With each confirmation, a tower-sized pillar of metaphysical gold sheared out through her demiplane. There was no wind resistance inside her tessellated realm so bullets left fast and hit faster. The Chronoframes materialized next to a crumbling buildingand five shots zipped into each of them, Draus firing position a panel of glass within the bones of the collapsing block. With the vicinity cleared once more. she turned her attention to sweeping the rest of the district, on the megablock she had captured, and, most importantly, on her own Rend. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRA RESPLENDENT] - 88% VENT! VENT! VENT! If Draus had one complaint about her Manifold Paracosmos despite the operational and temporal superiority it granted, it was the sheer deluge of entropy it generated. Every second she spent submerged inside her deepest threshold where time barely moved, she could feel her Rend climbing higher, spiking incrementally. At baseline, she likely could have only spent two minutes within her innermost lair, but that was before Draus inherited the Stillborn, before she became Flame Anchor, and before her Fame grew capable of interfacing with other metaphysical constructs. As things stood, she had a few passages open at the base of a compromised megablock, and with each ripple of coruscating fire spilling out from her soul, she kept her expenditure in check, using her Simulacras Hell only in high-intensity situations or to help less the load. Steadily, her rend began to plummet, and by the time it was at fifty-nine percent, each of the Chronoframes were coming asunder in fractures of time in real-time. "Symmetry at work," Ignorance declared. "Synced on that, consang," Draus said, whistling to herself. Frankly, she appreciated her Redaction Bullets more than her Arsenalists newest Heavenly upgrades. Though her perpetual accelerator granted her plenty of firepower, few things could match the convenience of simply unmaking your enemies. No longer needing to kill the Navigators twice also did wonders for her mood. Priority hostiles eliminated. Updating DeepNav. Returning to monitoring mode. With her Arsenalist awakened, it was less like a dead weapon and more like a hyper-intelligent battle buddy. True, she still controlled its cannons and manipulated its miracles, but it possessed a thought of its own. A mind of its own that could offer strategies, recommendations, and even warnings in the heat of combat. Right now, as it was of a frame and thereby of a mind with Draus, it scouted through the deep nav simulation of Thronerest at a pace she simply wasn''t capable of. The Arsenalist and the Simulacra might be conscious, but Draus never assumed them to be human. The way they operated was primal, utterly single-minded toward their governing mythos. A series of new targets materialized. Her mirrors were spreading fast, vitrification creating new peepholes she used to scout the district while a hailstorm of raining glass granted her limited zone supremacy. Pulses from her metamind allowed her to scan the blocks for priority enemies, and every now and again she would feel Ignorance leaning in to help her. Isolating system operators running internal defense for the megablocks. 186 new target markers materialized in her deep nav and overlaid themselves upon her cog-feed right after. "Aligning trajectories. Aiming phase. Recommend" "Yeah, yeah, I got it," Draus said. She descended back down into her internal flare where time practically stood still and painted new firing solutions from her most optimal passages. Things continued like this for a little while until all sixty-four blocks within that final 16-kilometer stretch, pincering the City Eternal, fell utterly silent. "Well, Id say that''s a pretty damn good job killing today," Draus chuckled to herself. She hadn''t had this much fun in years. Sure, it was a little dull at timesall that prep work, no one fighting back, no tension or strugglebut throwing down against a proper enemy was just a bonus. Draus was a regular, not Zein. She had no urge to duel her enemies. She was here to kill, destroy, and be done. For all the killing Thousandhand did, she was still a wielder, and not the weapon itself. Too human. All too human in the end. "Final reconnaissance completed," the Arsenalist declared. "All blocks scoured barren of hostiles. You may proceed to the second phase." "Don''t mind if I do," Draus said. Second phase, as it was called, went something like this: when all the guns were silenced, when the immediate threats were eliminated, and no further Rendbombs hammered the surface of the dragon, Draus would load Vator into her Arsenalist and fire him out as a bullet. She left the Instrument contained within the outermost layer of her Manifold Paracosmos. To his perspective, everything was a blur, happening nigh instantaneously. The last second, he had only just stepped into her demi-plane. The next, he would be flying out as a bullet, and she would brief him on the way. Chronological fuckery was a beautiful thing. "You could have used him to clear some of the blocks," Ignorance muttered in the back of her mind. We have influence over him. Don''t need to worry about trust." "Yeah, but I don''t like him. And honestly, he''s my ticket into Axtraxis. Our ticket into Highflame''s soft, soft underbelly. That makes him a very important vessel. We dont gamble with those." A chuff of acceptance came from the Definement. "Do as you will. You are the soldier. I defer to your expertise." "Oh, so you can get humble when the time comes for it." Ignorance replied, a sly amusement entering his tone. A ring of guns materialized over Vator''s frozen form. Vectors of gold sneered along his outline, time-bending miracles expressing themselves as a form of stationary acceleration. As Draus prepared to fire him out, she opened a new passageway and painted her final firing trajectory. "Its time to see whats on the other side," Draus said, grinning to herself. 29-14 Back to School (V) I... I can feel it inside me. I can feel... I can feel... how... I can feel... love. All the world is just... love. And all the world is... hunger. Excerpts recorded from a Stormtree soldier infected with the Beloved Virus (Also known as the Nu-Ghoul Contagion) 29-14 Back to School (V) [Vator Greatling] One moment ago, Vator had stepped through a gleaming reflection the regular had presented to him, prepared to embark on a journey of most dubious loyalty. Now, he found himself sailing through the air at 4,500 meters per second, while material and metaphysical destruction lashed the world beneath him apart. Life came at you quick these days in New Vultun. He only got flashes of what was unfolding across the district. A bit of nuclear fire here. A cadre of Heavens pursuing what looked to be a Chronoframe strike group there, both sides barreling through entire blocksmemite now sorely missed. And then there was the place Vator was approaching. It looked like a patchwork of eldritch tumors tearing at the seams of reality. The fabric of existence resembled rotting wallpaper peeling from the wall, and from these wounds gushed anomaliesrogue miracles untethered from governing mythos. Without a Heaven and a Soul to further fuel their devastation, these ruptures would mend over time once the entropy was drained. But as things stood right now, Vator was heading into a hive of madness, and he had only one person to blame. Perhaps the Regular did want to kill him, but wished to do so in the most amusing of ways. Waves of displaced space crashed over him, threatening to displace his being from where he existed. But a countering emanation from another rupture pushed the first anomaly back, allowing Vator to continue unburdened. He was effectively falling between stable cleftsclefts created as a delta between conflicting existential fissures. Scar Charts. That was the word. Strange how the Sunderwilds were leaking into the city now. Strange times. Fascinating times. Where are we? the Portrait screamed. It reached out into existence, and Vator felt countless catalysts respond. Millions of bodies belonging to those alive and dead resonated with the Heaven of Biology, and countless among them were brutally injured, the death rate rising at a staggering rate. Thin threads extended out from him, forming a network of connections he could use, and through these pathways, he gained access to miracles of blood, skin, sinew, bone, flesh, and more. He gained a glimpse of Thronerest through the eyes of the people, and what he saw left him less than pleased. Stormtree was pushing in on one end. Sanctus and Ashthrone rolling down the other. And now the middle, an unreasonably placed dragon housing an entire cityscape of its own bifurcated Highflame across its own territory. A squadron of drones buzzed over Vator like an angry horde of hornets, emerging just beyond the edge of a rupture that oozed blackness over into the real. They traded fire at an unseen targetand then a cascading wave of flames swallowed them before materializing as an armored humanoid form with six arms and a ring around its head. SOUL DETECTED HEAVEN DETECTED SAMSARIST OF THE PURIFICATION (FIRE/WAR/MEDICINE/DESTRUCTION) EST. [955] The manifested Heaven was about a hundred meters in size and with each passing second, the air around Vator grew hotter. The only reason he had burned was due to his enhanced physiology, but even so, every intake of breath was beginning to sear. Then, just as he noticed the Samsarist, so too did it notice him. And a spiraling flame built in that ridiculous little ring fused over its head. Wonderful. He so hated fighting Godclads of the Fire Domain. Burns were some of his least favorite wounds. However, before Vator could manifest his Portrait in response, a dozen glass shards punched through Samsarists midsection, each one the size of a small building and traveling at nearly the same speed Vator was. The instrument blinked in surprise, but the wounds on the flaming Heaven seared closed in a gush of roaring flame. Seemed material harm was less than useful The glass shard detonated. Fractures spread out from them and extended over spatial realityand the Samsaristas well. The fragmentation they inflicted was absolute. As they sundered space, they struck a paradox as well, the Samsarist breaking apart into pieces before its being dissolved into motes of unstable Soulfire. Now, Vator felt the biology of the Godclad as well. Foreign implantsStormtree by size and crudeness of the organs. The Instrument prepared to reap another life using his Portrait, but his Heaven cried out in rejection of the act. Not that it was necessary in the end, either. A final shard of glass, far smaller than all the others, drifted just above the Bloodthane. A bullet, almost too small for Vator to perceive, darted out and struck the falling Godclad. When it hit, both bullet and Bloodthane ceased to be. Reality jolted. And then something wasnt. It was more like Vator had forgotten what was in front of his own face than anything else. Witnessing the scene caused Vator to sustain trauma damage. His wards shuddered as if he had borne witness to something he shouldn''t have. The Instrument blinked. It had been years since he had suffered true trauma damage not inflicted by an enemy Necrojack. Then, the shard drifted close to him, keeping pace as a thoughtcast from Draus spilled free. +Alright. Youre about to drop into City Eternal. A part of it anyhow. Gotta get up through where it pushes through the substance. Axtraxis should be waitin on the other side.+ +And your ticket into the arteries of Highflame,+ Vator replied, folding his arms as he fell. +Youve become quite the virus, Guard-Captain.+ She ignored his statement and continued. +here. Take+ A warhead blinked into existence next to them. Vators eyes widened as he saw the missile twirling through the air, its delivery platform malfunctioning. And then it clipped the edge of a partially inflamed looking rupture, and suddenly, a new dawn splashed toward him just as Drauss glass construct flared gold and And with a flash of gold, the explosion winked out. Only to rematerialize among Stormtree forces down in Thronerest. Vator realized this through the eyes of his catalysts. Somehow, Draus had been fast enough to transfer the unstable warhead from one place to another. Fast enough that Vator didnt even perceive was she was doing. Or perhaps it was something more than speed. He saw gold within her glass after all. Gold. The same divine hue possessed by Veylis. +As I was sayin,+ Draus continued, as if she hadnt just shuttled a nuke away into hostile forces. A new shard slipped free from her main one, and it was barely the size of Vators finger. +Keep this with you. Dont lose it. Dont break it. Dont do nothin that will fuck with it.+ +Your means of keeping me on your leash?+ Vator asked. +My way in,+ Draus said. +And my way of keepin you alive.+ +You know, I could have aided you in the defense of this district. I am well versed+ +Wasnt the need. Handled things myself. Time for you to do your part.+ Vator frowned. +If we are to work together, I would expect some level of trust. Or at least respect.+ A snort came from the Regular. A storm of gunfire tore out from her primary shard, cutting just over Vator and shredding a dozen passing drones down to burning fragments. +Nah. Dont gotta do nothin like that. But tell you what I can do: I will let you change your Heaven. And I will let you have a chance at savin the Strix and the High Seraph. And you will do what I tell you to and stop playin cute with me, synced?+This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. +Yes,+ Vator said, her rough demeanor lessened by the sweetness of her offerings at the end. +Synced indeed, Guard-Captain.+ +Perfect. Now. Were gonna pass through the whats left of the Sunderwilds real soon. If you got any way of carryin the shard across unseen, nows the time to do it. Also+ Draus trailed off again. A sudden burst of tension leaked over from her mind. +Ah, fuck. Faster n I thought.+ +What? Whats wrong?+ Vator reached out through his network of bodies, but they showed nothing else out of the ordinary. Just chaos and war and and A vague shape darted behind Draus shard. A massive shape that brought with a crushing weight. Vator knew what it felt like to be in the presence of a high Sphere Godclad. Draus was at least two ratings higher than he was right now. But the being that just materialized out of nowhere made both of them seem paltry. It was like being near Chief Paladin Naeko. +Who is that?+ Vator asked. +A problem Highest Avandaer decided to create for me personally. But it aint none of your concern. You keep movin. Get through the substance. Get to Axtraxis. Dont lose the shard.+ Vator took the small shard out of the air and created a skin-compartment to store it within his body. It resided in a small patch of space under his right armpit, his tissues moving to carry it over. +I can help you. I am more than willing to stand alongside you. Let me prove my+ +Less a question of loyalty and more a deal about survival,+ Draus cut him off. +Dont think youll last long against this one, juv. Pull a runner and get vacant. Ill play cat and mouse for a bit.+ Part of Vator wanted to linger on the battlefield out of spite. Despite Draus power, he had more than a few miracles that could confound far mightier Godclads than he. The body was more than just a canvas for himfor his artistry expressed itself in a myriad of forms, from science, to architecture, and even cartography. But he withheld his childish spite. Mainly at the behest of his Portrait. Do not let your pride deny me my restoration, the Portrait seethed. You spoke to me earlier. Make your words ring true. And so Vator did, turning his attention outward once more. Ensconced within a nest of boiling entropy, Vators actions were perfectly shrouded from all prying perspectives, beside those unlucky few that dared dive into the chaos alongside him. More, he suspected the Regular launched him into this stretch of ruptures deliberately. Using the eyes of the Nolothi peasants far below, the air above them resembled drifting fangs crashing and breaking into kaleidoscopic patterns while entering this space through Thronerest required one to navigate a funnel infused with fire, darkness, and unstable space. Draus had lined the perfect firing trajectory for Vator, threading a narrow needle and placing in a patch of stability that also didnt impede his Heaven of Biology for that matter. Already, he was merely miles away from where the city eternal curved upward and through the substance, exiting the anomalous veil like a tunnel through a wall. Tapping into bodies in his vicinity, Vator focused his powers and prepared to inject himself across his many strings. It would take little effort for him to superimpose his ontology with a lesser catalyst of biomass using The Flesh My Home canon. Taking Draus shard with him might require a bit more Rend, but Something exploded behind him. A blastwave of force ragdolled Vator through the air as time began to jolted and twitch progressively forward in dizzying increments. Golden fractals twirled alongside Vator before he stopped thinking and just used his Heaven. Immediately, his own biology poured along thin trails, carrying Draus shard with it as he melded with the blood running within a Nolothi flats veins. Blood that quickly ran out as the body he was inhabiting had their head torn to mangled tatters by passing shrapnel. No! The Portrait cried. A feral, elemental urge to protect his host and keep the body he was inhabiting alive passed over from Heaven to user. Vator winced as the sheer sensation consumed him, and he used his This Body a Painting Remembered canon to regrow his hosts head from what little remained. Veins and arteries extended out from the ruined pulp that once made up a full skull. But even tissues filled empty space, optical cords bore eyes like ripe fruits on the ends of bloody vines, and the brain regenerated itself furrow by furrow, no consciousness returned. Vator knew the nature of flesh, but the realm of the mind and awareness was not his to command. He guessed once, long ago, that man might have been a purely material species, their cognition working by the few pounds of brain matter while consciousness was formed by the narrow tubes within, interacting with quantum wavelengths somehow. But that wasnt the way of things anymore. Why The Portrait murmured. As the body was vacant of thought or internal drive, Vator assumed control, rising on feeble, fragile limbs. We healed the child, but she does not return Child? Vator looked down, only then realized that he was, indeed, piloting the body of a young Nolothi girl. Not that young. Frankly, from how short these flats were, it was hard to tell. That and the sheer amount of cell damage already inflicting them. What brutal little lives. Ah. Well. He tried. But hers was a poorly designed vessel to begin with. Like a paper too thin to even endure the strokes of his paint. Immediately, he began rebuilding his own biology using her own, and slowly, Vator hatched out from the peeling flesh of the girl, her skeleton melting into his, her organs sinking deeper and transforming to his enhanced variants in seconds. What remained of his old brain tissue spilled down the wall as Vator stumbled to his feet. Nolothic bone runes jingled along archways, revealing veritable drone fleets battling within the confines of the City Eternal. It seemed like plenty of the world beyond had found their way into the space within Noloth. Right now, he was standing along a corpse-strewn canal. An intricate system of aqueducts extended across the cityscape, and thousands of Nolothis were leaping into the fetid waters to escape roving bands of Stormtree nu-dogs tearing through the streets or Highflame Regular Kill Teams fighting to secure ziggurats and other structures of significance. +This must be corrected,+ Mercy sighed. The sudden manifestation of the Famine made Vator flinch, but he scoffed after that. Mercy, he greeted. Glad to seek you again. How nice of you to leave me in the hands of that most unpleasant Regular. +Her decorum is irrelevant. The Burning Dreamer has chosen her to be his Ignorance.+ His what? +You will remember when he allows it.+ Vator blinked then shook his head. He felt a vibration pass through the building next to him and triggered his reflex boosters. Shifting back a step, he barely avoided getting his head burst apart a second time as a flchette exploded out from the wall. Overlapping his senses with all the others in the area, Vator frowned as he got a glimpse of just how chaotic the battle was within this stretch of Noloth. There were Golds, Silvers, Greens, Blacks, and even what felt like some unaffiliated personnel. Soldiers from all factions and even Squires were scattered across Noloth, and all of them were massacring the locals as they fought each other. +The outsiders are lost. Just like the City Eternal itself. Worry not for the citizens. They belong to the Dreamer. What is lost can be restored. Bodies are ruined. But minds are preserved. Such has it been. Such will it be. But for this iteration of the city, the nodes of these citizens they deserve better. They deserve a chance to survive.+ Why? Vator asked. Mercy turned to him, his eyes a cold hazel. There was another difference between him and Emotionthat poor fools eyes were stitched. +Because you do not want any Guild controlling the inner expanse of this city. Not with all the viviante available. Not unless you wish for them to capture the ziggurats and unleash district shattering traumas at their pleasure.+ And then the Portrait spoke. Vator. User. I will not rend flesh. I will not harm. This is not my way. This will not be what I am. Whatever this one asks of you, use me not as a weapon, for that is not what I am. The Instrument merely nodded. I agree. But you have never been a weapon. You were always Your expression is horror, the Portrait said, cutting Vator off. And then it receded deeper inside him, leaving the boy with a sourness on his lips and a frown on his face. Make your own way, another voice echoed from within Vator. He knew this one. It was Gods operate beyond the limits of man. Be a creator. Destruction does not need to come from your hands. Ignorance? Vator breathed. You youre the one that took me from And then the voice was gone, and Vator forgot who he was talking to. But in the absence of the speaker, he found new memories instilled into his mind, and the Instrument felt his thoughts flare with excitement. MEM-DATA ASSIMILATED Roused by his excitement, the Portrait returned as quickly as it left. What is this? What is the shape of a monster gracing my page? For some time, Vator worked on improving the design of the ghoul. Such was his want when he pursued the Burning Dreamer in the aftermath of his brothers murder, toward the end of proving his sisters innocence. But he and pitiful Abrel were all the same in the end, mere pawns in a greater powers game. Now, however, he had an epiphany. He knew Avos sheathe by heartcould combine it with nu-ghoul rough drafts. The bulk of the forces assaulting Noloth were mostly mundane forces. Few Godclads or even golems managed to get this far in, and though Vator wondered why, that meant his resolution of this crisis could be simplifiedand outsourced. Its not a monster, Vator said, answering his Heaven of Biology. It is an artpiece. An unloved, unfinished work born at the hands of Noloth, come back to save this part of their city once more. +What are you doing?+ Mercy asked, gaze fixed to Vator. At once, the Instruments flesh began to crawl and tear, and drawing on the full power of his blessed epiphany, he extended his influence across the city, infecting all non-Nolothis he could feel with a new strain of the Haemophageone that even Guilder enhanced immune systems couldnt resist. Not without updated vaccinations anyway. And across a thousand bodies, be they Vator, Regular, Wargskin, or other, eight limbs burst out from their backs. Eight Echoheads, like the legs of a spider sliding free from a discarded exoskeleton, followed by a cloud of static spores, and elongated bodies that gleamed bright in the light. A new power would be joining the battle soon. Not truly aligned with anyone, but compelled to hunt Guilders above all. Yet, even as Vator continued along the guided path of his inspiration, he failed to notice pinpricks of consciousness dotting the minds of these nu-ghouls, small burning orbs granted by an unseen influence. And high above, the sky tore once more, a spreading chasm of gold consuming all other ruptures as Jelene Draus faced her path-wrought alternate while Vator finished seeding Noloth with his final touches before he returned to his task of departure. 29-15 Back to School (VI) +This is Acting Authority Santanando Mondelles broadcasting to all active Highflame personnel. Repeat, all active Highflame personnel that receive this thoughtcast, listen closely. Do not engage the Massists. I repeat, do not engage. Contact has been lost between usthose on the outside the anomalous boundaryand those within. Effective immediately, all units that can hear this thoughtcast are designated as Exo-Boundary assets and should heed the following: Report to Axtraxis Academynow deemed Exo-Boundary One. You will gain your new assignments and be issues priority tasks from there. Avoid hostile forces. An unofficial truce has been initiated between us and the Massists. They are trying to resolve matters on their own ends as well. This truce is being upheld by Voidwatchs Contingency Bleaks. Should you encounter Voidwatch personnel or representatives, your standing orders are to ignore and avoid. Furthermore, stay away from the boundaryofficially classified as the Substance. It has been noted to ontologically consume matter and metaphysical materials alike. Should you come upon breachpointssections where the former City Eternal of Noloth; or cityscapes fused to dismembered dragons protrude from the Substanceyou should report their whereabouts to Exo-Boundary One as soon as possible. These are trying times. You may receive conflicting orders from other forces claiming to be a part of Highflames Seraphic Chorus. Ignore all their thoughtcasts. Trust nothing that has not been confirmed by the Contingency Bleaks. An official coldtech broadcast will be transmitted across New Vultun every morning as a common brief. These are trying times. Times unlike any other. But we will burn against the downpour. We will endure despite the strife. For we are the blessed. We are the worthy. But most of all, we owe our strength and virtue to our fellow citizens still trapped within the boundary of the Substance. The preservation of homes and families comes first and foremost. Of this, all Guilds are in accord. Blessed be the worthy.+ -Acting Authority Santanado Mondelles 29-15 Back to School (VI) [Ignorance] Through Vator, a new path sprouted freea new branch to a potential future, a state of execution for all who dwelled within the City Eternal. Noloth, since time immemorial, had been a hidden empire, protected by means of subterfuge and conspiracy. Now, it was cast into the light, scattered from the unified whole they once were. The once-immortal citizens of the City Eternal were like chaff before the merciless machinery of the guilders. Now, there was no nether to protect them, no insulation from gauss fire, warheads, weaponized plagues, engineered beasts, and all the cruelties of the material realm. Trauma patterns erupted from their ziggurats, splashing through the surrounding districtperson to person, flesh against flesha brutal dialectic in progress. One, the tale of Noloth: a people who clung to the past, clung to safety, for fear of losing their lives. And then the other of the Guilds, a people broken and reforged through Jaus cruciblea merger of technology and stolen divinity. There was no fight, no fight at all. Tungsten spikes dug through walls and flesh alike, their trajectories reaping lives in multitudes as walls of fire consumed countless more. The skies above the city were crowned by distant bombs, far-flung explosions. No matter what nightmares Noloth could envision, no matter what calamities they could summon from their past, they were children born of a softer agean eternal softer age. Against these purebred bastards of the divine apocalypse, the Nolothi could be but victims. And so, the Burning Dreamer was to lose his subjects before he could ever truly become king. Yet by stealing one of Veylis precious acolytes, he created a twist in their fate. A twist that required a unique combination of opportunity, thaumaturgy, and perspective. No other could have aligned Vators new improvements made to the ghouls with Avos old sheathe. And something more. For only Ignorance could have infused them with fragments taken from the Heaven of Love. And only he could have distilled in them nodes forged from an ego he knew most dearlyof an Agnos dead but not like he. Empowered as they were, they hatched from the bodies of the displaced elders, echo-edged tendrils tunneling through flesh. But as they rose, instead of wretched creatures molded from transparent membrane and predatory traits, or even the cordyceramite juggernaut that Avo became upon inheriting the bone demon, these new ghouls were aestheticbeautiful, even. Their bodies were porcelain bright, all ivory, separated only by an exoskeleton of absolute darkness. Spores erupted from their Echoheads, pouring out as if billowing stormclouds that veiled the nu-ghouls in capes in static. But it was their faces that experienced the greatest changes. No longer were they inhuman of expression. Instead, they bore human features. Feminine features. Ridges of animated dreadlocks in mimicry of their Echoheads. Soft, inquisitive eyesthe kind found on a scholar. They possessed noses and ears and all the little touches and infused them with a dissonant humanity while the rest of their body remained more bestial than ever. But the face wasnt all Kae. A bit of Dawton Morrow had carried over as well. For though the man was dead, his memory had mingled with his lover, and just so, they carried over, a legacy that survived the death of truth to become a Rebis of the masculine and feminine, of beast and man. From the writhing remains of Guilders they rose. There were only hundreds at first. At first. But each was more than any lesser ghoul could ever be. MYTHOLOGY CREATED [MOMENT OF BIRTH]: WHERE ONCE GHOULS DIED UNLOVED, THESE BELOVED WILL CARRY THE BODY OF AN UNWORTHY EMPIRE AWAY FROM ITS GRAVE AND KNOW THAT THEY ARE WITH GRANDER PURPOSE IN THE WARS TO COME, AND KNOW THAT THEIRS IS THE LOT OF LOVER AND MONSTER BOTH. Ignorance poured portions of himself into the nu-ghoulsthese Belovedlighting them as if they were candles of consciousness. And he instilled in them powers. Powers taken from paltry fragments of a Heaven ground down to near powder. For to breed and propagate was the power of Love, and to birth and be reborn was the blessing of the Beloved. I give unto a new title, Ignorance said, fanning the flames of their consciousness. Where once Noloth wished for the world to starve for their betrayal, I dream of a new reality. A reality where all feed everlasting. Where there are colors to relish. Where there are tastes to savor, and is meaning to forge eternal. Begone to false utopia and pitiful dystopia. I yearn for life. Life everlasting. And oblivion to be not. Rise now. Rise and know your worth is absolute, my Feasts of Love. FATE ALTERED C NOLOTHS SECOND CHANCE AT ETERNITY And as one they strode away from the beautiful patterns of gore that spawned them. From an atrocity, the Beloved walked, venturing across this dismemberment of the City Eternal. But with them rose a foga stormcloud. Their static-charged sporelings pulsated with the beat of a heart. And spread. Through every crevice they could reach. Across streets. Into ziggurats and temples where Regulars butchered huddling citizens, where nu-dogs skinned the bones of lesser beasts. Up into the sky, where bomber drones were forced to fly low due to the ruptures above and anti-air missile grids seeking easy prey. Electricity surged out from the Beloved. And with it came a contagion. Once, the Haemophage could only warp the flesh of flats, unprotected by vaccines. Once, the rash was a nightmare absolute; a perversion of birth inflicted upon those who indulged in romance or desire. And now the two plagues were combined. Combined and focused through thinking agents, for the Beloved chose their Wombs. Drones fell from the air, bioelectricity frying their internal machinery. But where the Nolothi remained afflicted, the Guilders, being catalysts of flesh, of lust, of love, were sorted from the others. And they began to change within. Their bodies heeded a new composition as the Beloved propagated and bred. Children Morrows voice sounded out from the Beloved in sync. Always dreamed of having children with youStolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. They were speaking to themselves. They were speaking to Kae. And Ignorance was the only one truly to hear them. Failed you. Let you break. But this isnt done. Will give you a future. Will give you a true chance at whatever tomorrow you want. Need you for now. Need you for all that you know. For all that you can be. To deny Veylis your use. Forgive me; fight for me. And Ignorance receded from the scene, slipping back over to Draus as her skirmish against the Deliverer reached its climax and Vator flew up toward the thin threshold between the inside of the Substance and the world beyond as a swarm of flies *** [Jelene Draus] An array of mirrors composed of twenty-four shards sailed between the ruptures. At their center was an avatar of the Simulacra. A centaur knight forged from glass and decked with guns. It was also little more than a decoy to lure the target outbut so far, the bait wasnt taking. Draus hated fighting herself. It was damn annoying when your enemy knew exactly how you thought, what you might do. But the Deliverer was out there. Draus could feel her anathemathat crushing weight of a higher Sphere; the corrosive miracles belonging to the Domain of War and Destruction. The Regular didnt expect to beat her path-born alternate, but that wasnt her intention. She wanted to stall the anathema long enough for Vator to cross over, and then she could follow. If the Deliverer never stuck its ugly head out, then it would all be the same to her. Her objectives were flexible. But if she got the opportunity Redaction Round chambered, Her Arsenalist declared. A golden spike extended from its main cannon, its many barrels shifting counterclockwise as it took on the form of a Hell. "Keep steady," Draus replied. Dont waste no shots. We fire only when necessary. Acknowledged. She had twenty-five passages available to her right now. Only a single one of them remained in her deepest layer, where time was all but still. That connected her to Vator and would be her means of retreat. Most were outside, in a threshold where the distance between the present and future was almost instantaneous. And so the seconds ticked on until they became minutes. But the grinding pressure never abated from Draus Frame. And she knew. The Deliverer was out there. Watching her. Waiting for some kind of opening, trying to figure out her game. Too bad. If it waited any longer, there wouldnt be any kind of Something slammed hard against her Domain of Chronology. Draus wheeled back as if struck across the jaw. WARNING: PARADOX IMMINENT AFFECTED DOMAIN: (CHRONOLOGY) Time itself tore open along splintering veins. The only reason why Draus saw it coming at all was thanks to her Manifold Paracosmos. The notions of present and future were all halted within her innermost layer where time simply moved by inches, but even there, the attack came at her like a lightning bolt, the temporal dilation barely even. Barely. Enough to save her life. Draus fired her Redaction Round through one of her shards as she sent her avatar forward in a sacrificial charge. In [0.00000012] seconds, her Simulacra would shatter, and the Redaction Round would pass through it. So followed her gambit: her guess of where the Deliverer was going to be. But she didnt wait around to see the result. Before her Heavens could get overloaded, she dove out through her final passage, crossing over into her last reflection as she released all the others. Distantly, she felt something break. It was like a part of existence itself had collapsed. But she ignored that for now, choosing instead to get a sitrep from the Instrument. +Vator!+ She called out, peering out through her final passage. She couldnt make sense of anything, it was just a blur of moving shapes and +Oh. Guard-Captain. You return.+ The Instrument chuckled. +I have you stored within one of my skin cells right now. Would you like to come out?+ Draus considered that for a moment and decided otherwise. She didnt know how acute the Deliverers senses were. If she were to guess, every time she used a miracle related to Chronology, it felt the emanations across reality. Right now, she needed to keep the lowest profile she could. Stay as close to zero burn as possible. +Negative,+ Draus said. +We through the border yet?+ A Ghost-Link reached out to her and the Regular immediately accepted. Viewing the world through Vators cog-feed was no less disorienting. The juv had too many weird eyes and what were all these senses +Im a swarm of maggot flies right now,+ he explained. A new window opened in Draus mind, one that presented a far more human-facing perspective. +Here. Something easier for you to comprehend.+ +Much obliged,+ she said dryly. What she saw made the tension in her settle just a bit. Vator was flying over rooftops. A strange darkness had formed over him, resembling stormclouds of some kind that sparked with dim flickers of lightning. But just ahead, the cityscape dulled to a meaningless wasteland of nonsensical objects and incomprehensible architecture, before finally extended out through the Substance via a vast tunnel made from ethereal gold. It looked like something born from an architect having a mental breakdown. Or an architect trying to keep everything together in the process of dying, Ignorance interjected. Avo, Draus frowned. Something about the Definement was off. They sounded less. Quieter. Weaker. You alright, consang? Yes. But needed to create something. Mythology strained me. Tired. Might need to rest for some time. Youre coming back, yeah? Yes. Not dying. Just need to settle strain. Will leave you alone for a while. Distributing what thaums I could secure for you. +55,413 THAUMS Deaths were injected into Draus, poured from a place unseen. They were as if coal plunging into the engine of her Soul, and ever-brighter did her flames roar. After after you pass need you to dont know whats waiting on the other Yeah. I got it. Dont worry. Ill make sure the Greatling dont get snuffed. And one more thing. Yes? Did I get the Deliverer? No. Yeah. Thought itd be too easy. Did I even come close? Silence. And suddenly, Draus wondered how she lost track of her thoughts. Already, Vator was sweeping low, a falling monsoon crossing over a vast swath composed of strange geometries. Then, there was brightness. Light. Ghosts lit with golden radiance that carved a wound into the shape of the Substance, like piercing through like. +Heres hoping we dont just disintegrate,+ Vator mused joyfully. The Regular just grunted. The world was consumed. Their cog-feeds flickered out as susurrations of intrusive memories tickled Draus mind. Here was a liminal space. A place between all other places. A blank spot in a mind; an empty canvas of history; the purest expression of destruction without oblivion. And then they passed through. The world crashed back down around them, flooding their beings with an overload of sensory detail. There was light, and sound, and A crushing weight tore Vator from the air and spiked him down hard against a metallic pedestal. A thoughtwave disruption followedand poured over into Draus as well. While her thoughts ran empty, her instincts took hold, and her Heavens responded without her prompting. She felt multiple catalysts of glass around herand a hell of a lot more guns. +ATTENTION UNKNOWN GODCLAD! YOU HAVE ENTERED CONTAINMENT ZONE TWELVE IN THE BREACHPOINT GENESIS INSTALLATION. DISMISS YOUR HEAVEN AND DECLARE YOUR IDENTITY. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN DEPLOYED ENTROPICS.+ The swarm that was Vator beat their wings hard for a second longer before the words finally sank in. +Do as they say; prepare to demanifest and cross over into my reflection if they go hot,+ Draus said. She used the luminosity in the room to create a new network. Scanning their surroundings, she saw that Vator was facing a curving wall made from crystals while the ground beneath was some kind of treated duraniumthaumically enhanced alloy that had seen much less use after the advent of memite. Behind them, a maw of ethereal gold loomed, stretching out into a realm deep with shifting ghosts. Looks like they passed through to the other side. Now, to see if they needed to fight their way out of this as well. The swarm of bugs crashed together in a low buzzing clash, and as wing connected with wing, legs pressed against legs, and chitin kissed chitin, their biomass poured back together as Vator sculpted himself back into shape. Bringing his hands up, he paused momentarily to brush his hair before continuing on to take on a surrendering posture. +You fuckin serious?+ Draus muttered. +Absolutely. Impressions are essential, Guard-Captain.+ Fuckin peacock. Clearing his throat, Vator put on a smile and spoke. Greetings. I am Instrument Vator Greatling. Recently, Ive had the unique experience of being caught at the epicenter of events at Scale. I understand you fine citizens might have heard something related to that. A beat of silence followed. But no hint of Rend lingered anywhere, so that was good. +Standby Confirmed. Welcome back to the land of the living, Instrument Greatling. Were glad to see you still in one piece.+ Vator let out a slight breath. Oh. Im among allies, then? A mental laugh followed. +Something like that. Its complicated. Youre one of the few who have made it out from inside the Substance. Just a few hours after your father, in fact.+ Father? Vator said, surprised. His grin grew. Remarkable. And my sister? Another pause. +Orders are to debrief you at Axtraxis Academy. Now designated as Exo-Boundry One. Acting headquarters for all Highflame personnel beyond the confines of the Substance. Disabling perimeter safeties. Prepare to submit to thoughtscan.+ Draus felt a lingering presence reignite inside her. A sigh sounded from Ignorance. He was spent. One one more just one more 30-1 Too Numb to be Numb +Ahem. Attention, people of the gutters. Its uh its your fucking boy Aedon What? Whats wrong with saying, its your fucking boy, Marlowe? Why does it sound like shit? How do you know it sounds like shit, like, all the big vicarity starsokay, yeah, I guess you have thoughtcasting experience but Alright. Fuckingalright! First impressions are important, I knowah, fuck Im already casting shitshitshit Uh, hey, hey, consangs, its friend of the Strix, master of the rash, and twister of the flesh, Aedon Chambers here. Yeah. You might know me as a Low Master Acolyte or consang to the Strix. You might even know me as Steelhardfan6969 if you frequent certain lobbies Whats wrong with telling them my private account? I barely use it anymore! I practically cant since the Nether came down. Shit, Im on the verge of getting the shivers. Fuck. Ive been cycling old vics through my head to keep myself calm! Dont tell me to calm down! I am calm! Im just running hot. Godsdammit. Shit I keep getting sidetracked. Anyway! Main point: As you might have noticed, the Guilder half-strands are slipping down into the Warrens like shit falling over from an overflowing shitter. Yeah, they really fucked their home up something good. Whatever the High Cuntess pulled at the end seems to have created a spreading metaphysical venereal disease thats crawling down New Vultun to eat our asses. Shits fucked, yo. No two ways about it. In fact, if you got some numb, nows the time to prick yourselves. But all is not yet fucked to death. Our asses are, like, only two inches dicked by a fifteen inch Prolapsator-EXTREME Model 2. Theres still a chance we can slip free from getting a nightmarish pounding. But only if we work together. Right now, the Colors are disorganized. Theyre fighting each other and crashing down over your homes and shit. We have a unique opportunity. One that might not come again for a long, long time. What I need from you is simple: go seek out mem-cons with a specific pattern: a symbol that looks like a fire cut in half by a line. Thats the working symbol of the Symmetry. Pending changes. Im not an artist and did the best I could on short notice. When you do, follow the instructions youll get from the memetic virus for next steps. You might think youre outgunned and screwed with the Fifth Guild War kicking off, but things will be different this time. They already are. We dont need to take the Tiersfolks shit anymore. Theyre in our house now. And understand the Symmetry will fight for you. To live. To see tomorrow. For a chance to decide who you want to be yourselves. The Warrens might be a den of festering shit, but its ours. And the Guilds shouldve thought triple before they barged in here running from their fuck up. Was was that good? Good at the end? Hells yeah. Aedon Chambers lives for a climax+ -Aedon Chambers (Suspected Low Master Acolyte, Member of the Symmetry, Companion to the Strix, and Leading Representative of the Council of Fuck) 30-1 Too Numb to be Numb Aedon Chambers couldnt quite find it inside himself to shoot up, and his hand hovered over a vial of Numb. Drinkable, injectablea promise of peace and relaxation guaranteed, if hed only put it inside himself, some way, somehow. Above him, light fell in dappled spots through dense foliage, and birdsong bathed the world in a dissonant tranquility. He stood at the end of a long table, its length stretching on for a good fifty meters while the other seats were occupied by a host of twenty-seven other individuals. Twenty seven people who resembled him and flesh and mindego copies created by Avo. Here was the Council of Fuck. The members Chambers could get his hands on, anyway, convening to discuss issues of grave importance. Things like: Just how fucked are we right now. Or: Maybe someone else should be calling the shots. Hed spent the better part of the last day squirreled away in the Easy Armistice, monitoring situations across New Vultun from inside a rented demiplane. So far, things were as shit as he expected. With the Guilders fleeing the Tears and the Substance on the move, a cataclysm unlike any other was sweeping through the megacity. Panic was rising, citizens and subjects freaking out alike, and at the center of it all, Avo was still missing. Draus had gone silent as well, despite coming online earlier. She had suddenly cut outan ominous signbut Chambers had more than a little faith in the regular. Jelene Draus was a tough sow. If all theyd experienced thus far couldnt kill her, then whatever horrors were hiding behind that veil of metaphysical bullshit likely wouldnt either. That left him with the Warrens, and things werent looking so good there either. In the days leading up to the trial, Avo had gone on a rampage alongside his Gestalt, tearing through the underworld of New Vultun in what could only be described as a cognitive genocide. The syndicate elites were burned and replaced by copies of Chambers, given his former expertise with the environment, and their enforcers became alternates for Draus, establishing a hidden army for Symmetry before proceedings even began. The technicians were fully staffed by amalgamated personalitiesegos generated using memories and architectures gained from fallen Incubi. They had been a valuable resource. A veritable legion in the Nether set to take over. Now? Well, there wasnt much of a Nether, and a good bunch of the Incubi copies got nulled when Scale broke anyway, so that was that. Now, Chambers found himself the senior leader of a gutter-spanning empire that ran smuggling rings, crucibles, dealt drugs, illicit organs, and trafficked implants while also warring against each other through death and entertainment. That had been his cover before to keep things going. That wasnt going to last much longer. Once, the Guilds had used their syndicates to do dirty business, things they liked to keep their hands clean of. Now, with everything on the line, the syndicates were no longer needed. In fact, they were more of a liability. Citizens forced away from their homes were spilling down across the Warrens, pushing into other districts and displacing longtime subjects from their former abodes. Scenes were represented in a holographic display of New Vultun. A simulation assembled itself from visual data captured by Sunrisethe Voidwatch bioform busting its buzzing ass as it flew here and there. From the very edge of the Tiers, traffic so dense they became webs descended over the Warrens, blotting the face of night from above Lights End. The blare of horns and the scream of sirens were nigh constant. Behind them, the Substance loomed, an ethereal tidal wave crawling forward inch by inch, with shimmering gold oscillating beneath its depths. In the upper atmosphere, voider ships were assembling, and what looked like a concentric megastructure was slowly fusing into shape along the horizon. Calvino told Chambers that the Contingency Bleaks were coming onto the scene, supposed big guns of Void Watch specifically meant to deal with uncontrolled anomalies. Intermittent skirmishes still broke out between the Guilds, and when knots or cadres fought, thousands of salvages died. But through some small miracleby some form of pressure from higher-ups or Voidwatchs threats of embargoa tentative peace was maintained. But it was not an easy peace by any means. Chambers could see shimmering folds of space outlining the borders between countless districts. The Guilds were forming their battle lines, facing each other, even as more and more of their citizenry trickled in. As the population of Lights End overflowed, the best and well-to-do subjects fled down into the Throat, camping out in former factories, processing plants, and generating laboratories. But those places werent built for long-term living, so further down they had to go, into the Spine, where criminals, ruffians, mind-hosts for cheap lobbies, organ carriers, and all the other dregs resided. The traffic was constant and vast, as were the districts. New Vultun had always been a ravenous beast, and comfort belonged only to those who could afford it and keep it in the end. People were dying. That much Chambers already knew. Death rates were up by 650%. A dozen new plagues had been recorded, forcing over 700 districts to go into quarantineor at least make the attempt. And every few minutes, a nuke would go off in the middle of a city, within a megablock, and a few thousand more would die. But even a district across, people would barely notice. More space for the survivors. More space for those who could take it. Cancer could be handled by nanos or bio-thaumics. The rains would handle the burns. And for those who couldnt, for those who simply had no choice, the gutters were the way to go. Down in the gutters, the syndicates reigned as kings. And this was where Chambers found himself, playing the role of king of kings, even if he had no idea what he was doing. Even though he only knew what was going on with the syndicates in the Yuulden-Yang and Sasarchana Sovereignties. True, attacking the Guilds had been funbombing an Omnitech facility here, assassinating a bunch of Seekers there. He knew how to get dirty with the best of them. But what he didnt know was how to organize a civilization. People were flocking to his marketplaces, small oases of stability within the uncaring apocalypsethe ruins that constituted the gutters. But the markets were over capacity, partially connected to the Spine, with merchants and their families trying to establish themselves as priority subjects while overcharging newcomers. A fee that was sometimes worth a pound of flesh, literally. To make matters worse, the Nether was down, completely collapsed, and with it broke New Vultuns economic system, the imp trade stalling to a localized halt. Inner lobbies were no longer accessible, previously stored information possibly lost forever, and long-term communication was utterly disrupted. For most, at least. Chambers still had his Ansible, but even that was failing to provide him with any use. Hed pinged Avo 681 times since the destruction of Scale. Draus fifty, after she went silent. Dentonhe managed about twenty-eight pings before he finally gave up. And as for the others? Well, Cas had been with him all this while. He left to do some scouting earlier but would be back at any time. Marlowe just suddenly showed up in his megablock of the blue, dressed in that fancy trial outfit. She looked shell-shocked all to shit and went hard with the drugs for a while before she actually started talking to him. She, presently, was one of the few non-Chambers sophonts in the demiplanehad been a help cutting that recruitment mem-con earlier. Least the remaining Incubi could still do stuff like that. The rest of the cadre? All the others? Fucking lost. And so was Chambers. Looking to his copies, Chamber sighed and placed the vial of Numb on the table and grimaced. Cant fucking do this, he muttered under his breath.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Cant do what? Marlowe said, head tilting into his periphery. The other Chambers-copies were all various forms of buzzed or high, most running some kind of hardcore porn vicarity in their Metaminds to distract themselves from present responsibilities. This, Chambers said, gesturing toward the simulationthe gutters specificallypointing at the long strings of aeros passing through Layer One. All these people are coming down looking for shelter, food, water. We barely have enough water down there. The gutters arent meant to sustain that many people. Like, Id ask my text for a report on our logistical situation, but I cant even do that because the Nethers all fucky-wucky and all our accounting got wiped. Everything is just fucked! And now we have the Draus-lites running around playing scout, our smugglers are actually snatching food and ferrying supplies between the Layers and along the Maw. Our blocks keep getting mobbed by starving bands of lunatics, there are people telling me things about mutant bioforms slaughtering entire streets of people, psycho-gangers running organ-runs under my nose, Guilder asset trying to establish surveillance posts And even more people are coming. More people, more problems. Then theres that waterfall of thaumic cum-shit coming down from the Tiers, boiling its way across reality. Its just fuckkkkkk. Were so fucked. Aiden placed both his hands on the table and shuddered with stress. He was the wrong man for the job. Hed been surprised when Avo chose him to run the syndicates. It made sense at the timehe knew the industry, after allbut who the fuck was he kidding? He was in it mainly to stab the guilds in the balls and have a good time helping people, fixing things. Solving problems. That wasnt him. He never solved problems. He ran from them. His problems became other peoples problems. Or for those hunting him to get snuffed. The Substance wasnt going to get distracted. The Guilds? Well, they were just coming and coming. And the subjects, the people down here in the Warrens? They were as shitty as theyd always been. Just killing each other, hurting each other, taking from each other. It was all getting worse and worse. He couldnt do this. Didnt know what to do. He didnt even have the slightest idea of how to begin. A soft presence gripped his shoulder, massaging him lightly. There, there, Chambers, a deep but gentle voice cooed. A mound of flaccid penises patted Chambers on the head as the Fucktopia warbled notes that resembled a lullaby. These are stressful times, and these are hard problems for anyone to be facing. I know that youre very overwhelmed right now, so its important for you to take a breath and just relax for a moment. Maybe do use that numb. No! Chambers snapped. The Fucktopia flinched away, and immediately, Chambers felt bad. Im sorry, I just... no. I just... I cant. Chambers glared at the drug. It was so easy before. So why couldnt he now? I cant. I just... I need to think. I need to use... He smacked his head. Then punched himself. Twice. Pain gave him a sense of grounding. I need to use this, like I never used it before. I need... I need ideas. I need solutions. I need... He swept his glare at the other membersthe other versions of himself. I need you guys to fucking give me a hand! A few of them flinched, while most of them simply stared off into the distance. Are you fucking kidding me! Chambers roared. Are you all hot-simming smut right now? Right now? Was this what it was like working with him? How did anyone put up with that? I mean, if I were to guess, right? one of his copies said, lazily raising a hand. Most of the food usually comes from one of the demiplanes up in the Tiers, or a hydroponics farm up in the Void, or one of those special bio plants in the Throat. Voidwatch will probably be shipping in lots of humanitarian aid, so I dont think were gonna need to worry about total supplies. But the problem is concentration, right? The people, theres gonna be a lot of them in the gutters. Too many. And thats a long way down. And the Guilders are going to hoard, Marlowe snorted. Theyre not going to share. Not with you. Its about time some of you subjects die anyway. Thats what theyll be telling themselves. Feed the war engines. Yeah, Chambers said, and were gonna need to move stuff from the upper layers of the Warrens to the very bottom. And thats gonna take a logistical train, which might get the attention of the Colors. We might need to snatch some gilder golems so they can do some humanitarianism on our behalf, another copy slurred. Frankly, I think its time we consider moving people out of the city, a copy on the far end of the table said, catching everyones attention. He shrugged. What? This was a long time coming. The sanctuaries still have people coming in, but we also have smuggling lines past the border walls. Were one of the few options for bringing people in and out of the city thats not under Paladin control. And the Paladins right now? Well, theyre as scattered as everyone else is. Shit. Have we even seen a Paladin aside from those still manning the walls? So, what, we seize control of the sanctuaries? Chambers asked. He paused. Not a half bad idea. That makes sense. The Substance is going to consume all of New Vultun sooner or later. Getting people out might be the wisest option anyway. Gives us more space. And the Guilds likely cant hold their external processing forces with the Nether being down. Shit. We need to find Essus or something. Thats going to be hard as fuck. Hope that poor bastards okay. For now, the copy continued, the problem is establishing enough order over everyone coming in that theyll fucking listen to what were gonna say. And doing that without drawing Guild notice. You know those bastards are gonna snuff us if they get a trace on where were operating. The Guilds have enough problems of their own, Marlowe said. You have no idea how bad things are. If whatevers happening is forcing them down into the Warrens, theyll be scared shitless and mainly focused on each other. The Saintists will flock to their own districts and the Massist to theirs. But theyll be trying to hit each other supply lines. Convoys. Fights will break out. I meanfuck me, the wars technically on. The only reason theres any kind of peace at all is because theyre so cut apart. But skirmishes keep happening, it''s only a matter of time they lose control. And not even Voidwatch can stop them. People are going to die when that happens. Lots of people. Even more people. Right on top of our heads, Chambers finished. Perfect. So. We gotta play defense against them too. We should cut another mem-con, Marlowe said. The one we made earlier was for recruitment. But maybe something offensive. They still work. Even if the Nether is nulled. How does that work anyway? Dont fucking know, Chambers replied. Maybe if Avo were here hed tell you. White-Rab too. I dont know fuck about shit Alright. Chambers. Look. You can shit talk yourself as much as you want if it helps you numb out, but if youre just venting Its not the way. None of us asked for this. Shit. Im not worth a godsdamned right now either. Marlowe bit her lip and frowned. Never really was. But were all we got. So. I think that we need to pucker our cunts and, uh, deal. Pucker our cunts, Chambers repeated. Yeah. He nodded. Right. Right. Thanks. I A shift in the demiplane caused their surroundings to pulse, as if the surface of a pond had been struck by a falling rock. As the world around them rippled, cas stepped in looking haggard, eyes bloodshot, his holocoat flickering with glitching fractals of data. Well, bad tidings I bring: Shits fucked. Worse than I thought. Staggering over to the table, the Columner pulled out a seat. Chambers picked up a bottle and placed it in front of the man. As Cas disabled his holocoat, Chambers saw that he was wearing an armored vest of some kind, but it looked dented and blood spilled out between the cracks. You all right? Chambers asked. Ill be fine, Cas grunted. Already clotting. Just ended up getting shived by some feral juvs looking food while I was looking around. Everyones going insane. Yeah, Chambers said, gesturing towards the holographic representation of New Vultun. Kinda got a birds-eye view of that thanks to Sunrise. Cas shook his head. Jesus Christ, how the fuck did we get here? He took a swig from the drink, rinsing his mouth before swallowing. Managed to get in contact with Avo or any of the others? Chambers shook his head. Nah. Tried Denton too. Shes gone quiet as well. Cas stared off, looking at nothing in particular. She does this sometimes, goes into the dark, and... and... Its never been like this, huh? Chambers asked. No, not like this, Cas admitted, a troubled look falling over him. Chambers folded his arms. So, like, are you two or What, me and Denton? Cas asked. Chambers nodded slowly. The Columner blinked at him for a moment before a tired grin broke through his expression. Not like the way youre thinking, you degenerate. But yeah, shes a... shes a good partner. Reliable. Bit cold, Chambers said. Its a positive quality for a spy, Cas replied. Running his fingers through his thick, unkempt hair, Cas sighed. Theres something else. The Nethers come down, but weve also seen things out on the streets. Things that dont make sense. What kinds of things? Saw a father kiss his kid on the head, Cas elaborated. Saw another block sealed by the Guilders. Rash quarantine measures. So Chambers continued. These two were separate incidents. No one caught the Wombrash when the father did what he did. Nothing happened at all. What? Marlowe said, blinking. All the Chamberses in the room were staring at Cas now. You sure you Chambers started. I can play the memory back a few more times. I know what I saw. He rubbed his face. That wasnt all. Was vibrating through vents. Came upon some other uh, developments. Think some people have been getting intimate. Physically. New refugees in the gutters, mostly. Ah shit, Chambers groaned. Where? Cas just shook his head. Nothing happened with them either. Silence. Utter silence. What? Marlowe repeated. She shot up from her seat. Are you saying I dont know what this means, Cas answered. Far as I can tell, the Rash is active in certain places and absolutely dormant in others. Then Avo mustve done something, Chambers said. He didnt dare to hope. He did his best not to think about Kae, about what mightve befallen her. She... she wasnt dead. If Avo wasnt dead, and if Avo had a planthe half strand always had a planthen maybe... maybe she could be brought back. Maybe this was a sign. He needed to. He needed to test this. Alright. Give me a second. Ill be right back. Cas stared at him. You sure? Yeah. I mean, I did it all the time before. Worse case I suffer a torturous death and resurrect, right? The Columner opened his mouth and then closed it. An appreciative look came over him. Youre a regular martyr, Aedon Chambers. Someones gotta get dirty, Chambers quipped back. Alright. Lets see this. Lets see. You guys stick around. Marlowe shot him a worried look. Hey. Be careful, alright. Chambers chuckled. Sorry. I probably wont. Then, with a thought, he adjusted the settings for his room, and the frequency shaping the plane diverged into two tones. One continued, maintaining the space his companions occupied. The other carried him to a secluded cube shaped from darkness. Only he, himself. And also the Fucktopia. A grumble of fire sounded inside him. And the Bioigniter. Couldnt forget his original Heaven. Im right here with you, buddy, the Fucktopia said, placing a comforting cock on his shoulder. Thanks, Fucktopia, Chambers said. I dont know how to say this, but Im glad youre awake, and Im glad youre here with me. Im glad Im here with you, too. Another crackle of flame sounded within Chambers, a note akin to jealousy, but mostly just wanting him to remember it existed and also that it wanted to combust some flesh. Yeah, youre really nova too, Bioigniter. Dont worry, well blow some shit up soon. But right now... right now, I gotta find out about something And so, with a steadying breath, Chambers disabled his Lustaway phantasmic and accessed a vicarity. THE SOFT MASTERS COLLECTION I ENGAGING HOT-SIMULATION FULL IMMERSION INTO ACTOR [DANNIS STEELHARD] >>01:34:03 Shooting ahead to one of the most intense scenes in the vic where the lustful ghouls tried to break Dannis by electro-torturing his testicles using the electrical energy of an entire Sovereignty, Chambers convulsed as absolute agony exploded through him. Agony and a little something else. A new physical sensation followed. A feeling he almost forgot. His pantsghoul leather and perfectgrew hot and tight. Uncomfortable. He braced for the rash and the spreading of pustules, but just felt just felt the vic play on. There, in the dark cube, Chambers stood with a painful erection but no homunculi clawing out from his pores. He counted one second. Then two. Then three. And nothing. A lightness filled his body. He was clean. The Wombrash wasnt here! Holy fucking shit, Chambers muttered. Hey Avo, I dont know what you did, you demented half-strand of a rotlick, but I could fucking kiss you right nowIm gonna fucking kiss you when I see you again! And doing that wouldnt even kill them anymore. 30-2 Half-Chained Love (I) No No, I have no idea I dont know what to tell you! I barely Listen. I dont know why everyone on this street is affected by the rash, and why walking across the road makes you clean. I dont. My specialty is in Spatial-Geometrics for Jaus sake. This theres no one else on standby and I just the first batch of sacrifices we sent in expressed common symptoms. Sores. Homunculi. Second batch we instructed to walk the distance a street away. Local Ori-Thaum personnel were kind enough to help make an extended tube and push that through the building. He crossed the noted miracle-effect threshold but stayed infected. And then we released some new sinners into the tube and they were fine. So. It takes effect. But it doesnt transfer. At least, past a certain point. It also doesnt go away. The consistency here no longer makes any sense. I need more assistance. We need to find a Biomancy specialist. Someone from the No-Dragons, maybe. I know theyre your enemies but this affects everyone. Have Voidwatch act as a neutral guarantor or something. Something. Were on the verge of I dont know if the rash is ending or evolving or whats happening. But this is important. For now, Seeker, I suggest you keep this block sealed inside a plane while we figure out our next steps. -Agnos Nasu Kalimus 30-2 Half-Chained Love (I) Alright, Chambers said, reappearing next to Marlowe in a sudden instant. The thoughtcaster shrieked and curled back in her chair. Alright. Woo! Its cured. I mean, its cured over fucking here, but yeah! Im clean, consangs! Clean as can be! Chambers pumped his fist high and gave an undulating cheer. Eyes wide, pants only half-pulled up, forehead dripping with sweat, and body shaking, Chambers looked like a Joyfiend halfway between a high and withdrawal. Which made things easy for Cas to figure out. The Columners expression contorted into slight disgust as he shook his head. Christ, Chambers, you serious. Did you seriously just I needed to be sure! Chambers roared, pointing a hand at Cas, who flinched back, trying to ignore the smell. I needed to go all the way. Thats what it means to conduct an experiment. Thats what it means to put yourself on the edge. Please tell me you used tissues or something, were gonna get hit with fuck, I dont even know what kind of penalties the Easy Armistice might have for this. Its probably been years since someone left their uh, material here. Never mind that shit, Chambers repeated. Its confirmed. No homunculi. Im clean? He let out a breath and sobered up. Im I m clean Im He grimaced slightly. He got so caught up in the sensations that the full weight of what this meant only just caught up to him. Fuck me, Cas. People are going to figure out real soon. And when they do Wait, you said there were places in New Vultun that still had ongoing cases. Yeah. Random spots. Blocks. Streets. Even a specific floor for a random building in the gutters. If theres a connection between them, I cant make it. One of the Chambers-copies at the end of the table looked between Cas and Chambers, coughing. So wait did number one tug himself. Other members from the Council of Fuck scoffed and cursed at the mans lateness. What? Gods, Im one slow motherfucker sometimes, another Chambers copy said. So parts of the city are just entirely Rashless now, Marlowe asked, her voice still heavy with skepticism. Most, Cas said. Thats way it looks to me. Cant say anything about whats going on inside the Substance but out here, thats how things are looking. Chambers bit his lip and activated his Ansible once. He almost reflexive called for Avo, but instead, he sought out one of the few Minds he knew he could rely on. A micro-wormhole triggered in Chambers exocortex implant, and after a few moments of waiting, connection was established, and Calvinos virtual form materialized in his cog-feed. {No, Aedon, Im afraid I still havent gotten in touch with} {Not about that, Cal. Wombrash. You know about whats happening? Cas just got back in and uh Ive done some science here.} {Yes. Your biometrics indicate recent physiological occurrences. Am I safe to assume you have used herself as subject in a most enjoyable experiment.} {For the city,} Chambers insisted. {Of course. I have never insinuated otherwise. But yes, Aedon. We are still trying to establish a clear understanding of the developing situations across the city, but beyond the threshold of the Substance, the Heaven of Loves presence has been substantially reduced.} {Nova,} Chambers breathed. {Listen. I want a favor. I want I want you to cast me what you have on areas still affected by the Rash. You know. Places really in the shit} {You wish to investigate. You understand that most of them are under Guild quaratine.} {And you know that Kae we dont know what happened to her. After after what happened at Scale, shits fucked sideways everywhere. Maybe maybe this might give us a trace or something. I dont know. Might just find some clues.} A long silence followed. Calvinos sun-shaped form froze and tilted slightly as if in contemplation. {Look. I know I know things might be I know she might be gone. Im not but we dont know for sure, and Avo still here, and Draus said} {I do not think it will be difficult for you to get access to some of these locations,} Calvino replied. Data download package incoming >Accept [Y/N] Chambers accepted without hesitation, and new information flooded into his mind. A block just a forty kilometers away from him was highlighted. Everpeace Tower. A Sang-owned mass tenement block that used to house a fifty thousand high skilled workers. Schematics for its two hundred floors and twenty sections expanded across Chambers vision. A Wombrash outbreak triggered inside its forty-third floor while the Guilds were funneling Citizens in and moving subjects out. Hospitable relocation, they called it. What a load of shit. It was the same deal even now. The Guilders glory greased by lives from the gutter. Even with the world coming to an end, a subject just couldnt stop being kindling for the flame. Least the Guilders were eating shit this time too. Schadenfreude was a decent sauce; could even make bitter filth easy to swallow. {Everpeace Tower has experienced a particularly virulent outbreak. And unlike the others, the range of the Wombrash has actually expanded within its levels. We are uncertain what has caused this level of dynamism and the local Guild representatives are too overstretched to do anything beyond sealing the area behind a demiplane for quarantine. Their official statement is that they have everything under control. Unofficially, we suspect the No-Dragons to be undergoing a severe leadership crisis with multiple factions across their many ministries vying for power now that their Guild has been bifurcated by the Substance. That, and active skirmishes are ongoing between them and Stormtree.} {Yeah, this peace isnt going to last at all,} Chambers said, smacking his lips. {Alright. Thanks a bunch, Cal. Youre the best. And if} {I will patch you through the first moment} And before Calvino could complete his promise, a new Ansible call came through. Caller: [Jelene Draus] A wide grin spread across Chambers face, and he shared the call with Cas as well. This day was just getting better and better. Told you she was too much of a hard sow to get snuffed. Yeah, Cas said, developing a slight smirk of his own. You did say that, didnt you? What? Marlowe interjected, looking between the two men. Whats happening? Why are you two just smiling at each other. Ansible call, Chambers explained. The Reg dodges the Big Nothing once again. Shit. Quail might actually have some competition now. Listen, about the Ansibles you got any extras lying around somewhere cause girls starting feel a little left out. Ill see if I can get Calvino to drop us a care package at some point, Chambers continued, accepting Draus call. The Regulars profile emerged in the corner of Chambers feed, and she looked much the same as she did beforeMeldskin activated. Arms folded. Guess that was just how the Reg saw herself all the time. {Chambers. Calvino. Sorry bout the disconnect. Was tryin to avoid gettin snuffed by my other self.} {Your what now?} Chambers asked. {Turns out the High Seraph has been creatin alternate variations of us. The Burning Dreamers cadre. Simulated versions of us where we got the Stillborn after the rotlick passed. Now, shes usin mine to hunt me or something. Kind of a weird fuckin mess. Aint sure if Im even explaining things right, but thats the way I see it. Smugglin myself into Axtraxis Academy right now. Got Vator with meusing him as a mule. How are things on your end.} {Synced onwait? Vator? As in Vator Grealting? Abrels juv brother? The creepy, psychotic flesh-twisting half-strand.}Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. {Yeah. Thats the one,} Draus deadpanned. {Why the fuck are you with him.} {Thats a long godsdamned story. Shit. Hard for me to believe myself. Other things you should know too. Got a shard of Avos Frame in me. Got something else form him too. A sanctuary. And Mercy as well.} With every detail Draus added, Chambers grew increasingly suspicious. {Hey, Draus, if youre actually you and not some Incubi running the worst mind-fuck on me, its not going great.} And unlike all the times before when the Regular would threaten him with violence, Draus just sighed and agreed. {Yeah. Things are gettin a little strange. Even for me.} Her resignation was unnerving. It was also more than enough to convince Chambers that she was probably telling the truth, instead of this being some hyper-convoluted Ori or Famine simulation to torture mem-data out from his mind. {Operative Draus. I am glad to hear you are still doing well.} Calvino trilled. {However, I am curious to know why you are entering Axtraxis Academy of all places.} {Huntin. Trying to gather other shards. Pieces that make up Avo. Seventy-two parts to him, Ive been told. Just cant quite remember who told me. And, also, Highflames apparently using Axtraxis as their base of operations for all units beyond the Substance.} {Interesting. We received conflicting information from Speaker Thousand regarding Highflames current posture.} A pause entered the conversation. Chambers and Cas shared a look. {Elaborate,} Draus said, also interested. {They are currently moving to a total war posture with all Massists and members related to the Symmetry, and Highflame assets are to actively retreat into Omnitech districts to fortify and muster. It seems the Infacer has been transporting Highflames forces into their logistical planes.} {Looks like the Merito-Chivalric schisms not the only one were looking at right now,} Draus muttered. {Thats not all. Ori-Thaum has managed to establish effective blockades against the Substance, but they are actively refusing direct communications. Only select representatives have returned to us.} A beat followed. {We think they are holding Operative Denton as well.} Fuck! Cas growled. Where? {Uncertain. But her Ansible signal went online within one Ori-Thaum territory before cutting out again. Pair this with the fact that some of our other clandestine assets have also been going dark in their vicinity, and we suspect that Ori-Thaum is moving to a more aggressive footing when it comes to matters of tradecraft.} That was unexpected. Frankly, if there was a Guild that Chambers expected to trip over their balls and die after the Nether fell, it was Ori-Thaum. Instead, the Silvers seemed to be holding their shit together well, their asses were clenching out diamonds. {How the fuck are the Ori still standing anyhow,} Draus said, voicing Chambers thoughts. {We are uncertain. But the Contingency Bleaks have detected strange emanations within their districts. We believe these to be novel Heavens. Newly created. Unknown to us, the Agnosi, or any other Guild in New Vultun. There seems to be some alignment with their Heavens of Information, but our certitude remains mixed. We require additional information for confirm any specifics.} {Perfect,} Draus sighed. {Just when I thought I wouldnt need to be worryin about no Sleepers no more.} You wont. A new but familiar voice intruded in the depths of Chambers mind. A reflexive guffaw escaped him before he fully realized who was talking. Even better, Cas responded as well. And so did Marlowe and the Council, their eyes widening in startlement. Avo! Chambers cried. I knew you werent snuffed you corpse-eating fucker you Glad youre fine too Chambers. A weary chuff escaped the ghoul and Chambers overflowing joy suddenly dimmed. Hey, consang? You alright? Whats whats wrong? {Hes tired. Used himself somethin bad gettin me and Greatling out from inside the Substance. Had to hide me from a thoughtscan too. Was out for hours after. Only started talkin a couple minutes ago. And, uh, it aint actually Avo. Not fully, anyhow. Its Ignorance. One of his Definements. Or his subconsciousness. Were not going to remember him when he goes away. But what he tells us will stay.} About sums it. Hello, Calvino {Avo,} Calvino sighed. {It is good to hear your voice.} Likewise Just not too glad about what your Bleaks are planning The EGI went silent at that. Dont blame them understand Unique opportunity Would be looking for ways to lobotomize me as well Veylis Or me Returning is a risk {What?} Chambers asked. {Cal, whats he talking about.} Not that important right now. Not a problem you need to worry about either. Something down the line. Listen. Need you to do something, Chambers Yeah? Alright. Tell me what Ill Go to the Tower. Everlasting Peace. Theres Loves broken Im sorry Couldnt save her Chambers gut plummeted. Some part of him suspected. Some part of him knew. But he didnt want to admit it. He didnt want to believe. Kae. For all she suffered, for all she deserved But Im broken too Might be able to restore her? Dont know Not sure But I need you to put Love back together. Heaven fallen. Broken. Veylis She will send someone to take the shards first as well. Me. Her. Gatekeeper. All of us. Scattered. All of us make up the seventy-two. Clarity returns to me sometimes. I get flashes of myself. New perspectives. Me and not. There are others in play. Have to beat them to to The sheer exhaustion Ignornace suffered was palpable. Wasnt enough in the end Should have won now up to you Yeah, yeah, its alright, consang, its alright. I mean you fucked the High Cuntess up too right? She blew up too. Thats thats not a loss. Thats a draw. And this shit isnt over were still here! Me and Cas and Draus and Marlowe and a whole bunch of others Find the rest Chambers Dice Take care. And the connection blinked out. And suddenly, Chambers couldnt quite remember who he was talking too. Or why there was a lump in his throat. Fuck anyone else feeling some kind of allergies coming on? {Kinda get what you mean,} Draus said. {Happens. Theres somethin then its gone. But yeah. You remember what you need to do.} Somehow, Chambers did. He had direction. A purpose. A mission. Direction. That was what he lacked on his own. Perspective and awareness. But now, with something, or someone pointing the way Alright, Chambers said, running his fingers through his dirty mop of hair. Cas. I think we got a run to do. Lesser mes The Council of Fuck exploded into an uproar. Dont fucking call us that, motherfucker This is discrimination! By me, against me! Hey, fuck you, old Chambers, Im going to bust my first goosh into your vial of Numb. Hope you like injecting cum into your veins! Chambers held up his hand, quieting the unruly children. Come on, come on, Im fucking with you. Besides. Im about to go out and do incredibly dangerous, risky, and painful shit in No-Dragon territory. Fuck, Im going to have to lose my balls or get a Neuter-Mask. Meanwhile, you guys get to stick around here pretend to do boss shit. They all shuffled awkwardly. Come the fuck on, guys. Im you. I know what youre going to do. Youre going to pass off the logistical challenges to the techs or the Drauses and basically spent all the time you can hot-simming vics until your walls are white, and your ball are shriveled instead of doing any actual work. Its what Id do. You wanna trade places? A series of quieter mutters and declarations about how true heroes need to focus on the homefront and their districts need them rose. And lo, Aedon Chambers was proven right once more. And that settles it, then. You get busy work and wank time. I go out and do what needs doing. Marlowe Im going with you, she said. The thoughtcaster eyed the other Chambers briefly and shook her head. Its going to smell something horrific here soon, and I dont want to be part of this sausage fest. But we dont mind, Marlowe! A Chambers-copy declared. She snorted under her breath. Yeah. Thats kind of the problem, isnt it? A bunch of dirty bastards, and just one of me. Yeah. Im drugged up right now, but Im not that dumb. Thats a vic Ive seen before. Im coming with you two. Cas and Chambers looked to each other. Uh, Marlowe, Chambers began Sure. You get snuffed, thats your problem. Cas shrugged. Chambers shot the Columner a disbelieving look. Well, you heard the lady. She made up her mind. If she gets herself killed following us, thats her business. But Chambers winced. I fineYou ever done anything like this before. Tavers told me a few stories, Marlowe replied. Oh, shit, Chambers sighed. Okay. Well. We can we can take it slow. Relax. I wont be throwing myself in the fire, She said, punching Chambers on the shoulder. Just be doing surveillance or something. I know what Im good for. And what Im not. Probably the only reason Im still alive right now. A huff escaped from Chambers and he threw up his hands. {Alright. Draus. Im going after the shard. Keep you posted on how things develop here.} {Synced. Watch yourself, half-strand. Keep an eye on the other two, too.} {Wow, affection? Am I finally} Jelene Draus has disconnected Chambers giggled. Yeah. No Sleeper. It was definitely her. {Thanks for the data, Cal. And, uh, I might be interested in learning about the Bleaks after this. Just curious. Theyre coming to help us too, right?} {No,} Calvino said, monotone. {No. You will not be interested in learning about the Bleaks. Please avoid inquiring about them again.} Well. That set the tone pretty good. As Chambers reached out into the demiplanes settings with a thought, he selected himself, Cas, and Marlowe before detaching them from the frequency. At once, they plunged back over into baseline reality, and found themselves seated at an alcove table while the rest of the Easy Armistices interior was absolutely filled with people. Havent seen this many Squires, fixers, Necros, and mecs in one place since the last Guild War, Cas mused. Right, Chambers said, stepping out from their reserved spot. Lets go pick up Loves pieces. The other two followed, and Cas kept pace with Chambers. Hey. Chambers. Hm. You were serious earlier. About rather sticking around and just jerking yourself empty, huh? I mean, yeah. So. Why didnt you just command one of them to do it? You know Avo probably gave you some level of influence. They pretty much obey everything you say. Like theyre subsidary minds compared to you. Chambers paused. Yeah. It would be nice to just you know. But I guess I just need to be hard for others right now, and not hard for me. Thats what Avo would want. And thats what Kae might need. Needed. He found Cas staring at him for a good while more before a genuine smile dawned on the mans face. Blessed be scoundrels and perverts. Huh? The Columner reached up and ruffled Chambers hair much like an older brother would. Nothing. Youre turning into good people, Aedon Chambers. Was he? Was this was what that was like? Fuck. No wonder theres so few of em around. That made Cas throw his head back and laugh. 30-3 Half-Chained Love (II) So, then, is the knot of Love severed; a plague shattereda plague remains. Hark! Comes the vessel: a broken man, his pieces paired to the shape of love fallen. And when shard greets shard and two among the countless broken become one, a new path will unfold, and an untruth will stand That an unworthy vessel for an unworthy city will cast low the shackles of lust, and seed what is for the rebirth of love -Stormsparrows Chorus 30-3 Half-Chained Love (II) Once upon a time, about twenty years and a whole lifetime ago, Chambers fuck of a father caught him stealing a sip of beer. Chambers was maybe four at the time, and with all the beatings and concussions he got, the memories werent that clear, but he could remember the taste. Dark, bitter, and more than a little cheap. He could remember the brand. Vishlash. Non-Guilder enterprise, which was why it probably went out of business before long. Anyway. Daddy-o didnt much like little Chambers getting into his cheap hooch, but the old man wasnt that bright either. So, what followed was your typical piece of shit move of forcing your kid to drink the bottle. All of it. More than the taste and the brand name, Chambers remembered what it was like to choke and gag. When there was too much going down his throat. He remembered kicking, coughing, and the tip of the bottle hitting that thing at the back of his throat over and over. Only reason why he didnt choke to death was his grandfather stumbling back in. That interrupted things. And whatever was said ended with dad throwing the bottle at the wall. But choking thats about how the city looked to Chambers right now. Returning to matter through the loudspeakers of a high-rise bar a block away and a few hundred meters above the now quarantined Everpeace Tower, Chambers, Cas, and Marlowe mingled amongst the day-drinkers and gazed beyond the window. The upper Warrens was always a hive overflowing with people and activity, but he couldnt remember traffic ever being as congested as it was today. They ran from Tiers through the Layers like solid chains, aeros bumper to bumper with horns blaring, flanked by golems for security. Meanwhile, drones filled up every inch of space that remained beyond the sky lanes drifting slowly in their defensive sorties as they faced distant chains of trafficother Guilds doing the same thing, trailing down like metallic willows. Behind them, a faint, shimmering presence loomed from the edge of the Tiers. The substance was encroaching, seeping closer moment by moment. But that didnt stop people from coming out, going to cafs, sitting on their verandas. Well-to-do subjects and long-slumming Citizens studied their new, unfortunate neighbors. In the horizon, a Rendbomb burst, and space itself folded inward like a piece of crushed paper. Every now and again, someone would jump from on high, their bodies splashing apart against passing drones or upon the roof of an unmoving aero. Then, there were the ads. +SPECIAL DEAL! SCHEDULE YOUR OWN SUICIDE APPOINTMENT TODAY AND GET EXCLUSIVE ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME REBATES!+ +YOUR FAMILYS FUTURE. YOUR FINAL PRESENT. SAVE THEIR LIVES. SERVE YOUR GUILDS. EARN YOUR DEATH.+ +EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS. ESPECIALLY YOURS. SO CHOOSE STORMTREE TODAY, AND WELL MAKE SURE ITS PUT TO PROPER SERVICE.+ Suicide promos were ceaseless. Even more than before. Chambers saw plenty of those everyday when he lived in the gutters or the Spine, but the Throat and Lights End were pristine territory. Where the useful wager-slave were. Guess desperate times increased the recruitment range. War was about to kick off anytime, after all. Fuck thats a lot of fugees, Chambers muttered under his breath. Dont ever remember them coming from on top, though. Cas snorted. Yeah, well, the entire citys technically theirs. Theyll just push the locals out of their houses and take whatever they want. Theyve done it before, theyre doing it now. Back during the Second Guild War when Highflame was sacking and burning their way across the Sang territories, plenty fled downward too. Subjects that tried to stay were met with bribery. Then gaussfire. This isnt a new song. Colors are going to fucking Color, Marlowe sneered. Of the three, she fit the current scene the most. She wore a holovest sprouting floral patterns around her body while her hair seemed to glow a dark red beneath the somber ambiance of the bar. The vibrating waves of bass furled around Cas, subservient to his powers, while the other customers present danced their woes away, throwing down cups of liquor and vials of Numb one after another. They came to survey the Everpeace Tower, and found it a uniquely veiled patch of space among the other structures in the area. Being a Sang-controlled district, most structures were cybernetic in design and vertically built. Tall towers made to resemble blossoming trees sported floral rooftops, branches that doubled as bridges between blocks, and public transit designed from a district-spanning circulatory system. Chambers Bioigniter could feel the pulsating of a heart within all the major structures. Techno-thaumic reactorswith a biological twist. And then there were the organisms drifting through the air. Calvino said those were viruses meant to tag everyone present within the district for future tracking needs. Realizing that, Chambers took special care to redirect the viruses away from he and his cadre. No need for that. A protective shroud stretching some ten kilometers in radius sealed away the quarantined area. Swarms of heavily armored bioforms swam through the air, guarding a blood-red security grid just behind. The largest among them were chimeric mixtures of Deepmaw Whale and a Queen Bee, their large bulbous bodies festooned with small bio-spawner sacs on their undersize. The primary defensive bioforms used these leviathans as minor bases of operation. There should be a Fleshtech inside the Whalequeens too, Cas said, narrowing his eyes. I count twenty so far. Thats some pretty heavy security for just a quarantine, but no Knots. Maybe theyre overstretched? Chambers asked. Probably. Getting some more imaging from Sunrise. Things are kicking off in the dark between the No-Dragons and Sanctus. Hidden plagues are sweeping across the border. And a few Chronoframes were spotted by exo-stellar imaging. Calvino doesnt think theyre going to go loud, but a few blocks might go up in flame. A couple million deaths before days over. Like every other day before, huh? Chambers said. The Columner shot the people in the bar a disdainful look. Sure seems like were trying to keep it that way, doesnt it? Cas mightve judged them, but Chambers couldnt. Frankly, he still had a hard time reconciling who he was now to whom he had been just months ago. He would have given anything to have the lives of someone here. Lights End. What a nice existence. Not so many people trying to snuff you;, betters drugs; a view of the sky; actual quality services But he was in the war now. And the people around here didnt even seem willing to face the world out their windows. They had minds and bodies and all that other shit, but they didnt use them. And they dulled their minds to hide inside themselves. Like Chambers did with his vics. Like everyone did to hide from the pain in their lives. Damn fools. So was he. No hiding from the Substance, though. That was coming whether these people liked it or not. They could dance today away, and drink tomorrow as well, but come a time after that, the war would still be on, and the sky will fall. Then, it would be down into the Throat, the Spine, the gutters And then what? Were they going to just abandon the city? Where was everyone going to run? New Vultun used to be like a ravenous animal. Now, it was more a nu-dog with its head cut off, legs still kicking but the path long-lost. The Guilds were scrambling. But the people just tried to pretend nothing was happening. Chambers didnt know if he wanted to join them or scream in their faces about what was coming. He settled for envying them instead. Ignorance was bliss. But Ignorance also meant someone else decided your fate. And Chambers? He saw too much to go back now. There was no comfort in the passing pleasure. Only a delay of dread. Best get on with being terrified and do the right thing while pissing himself. Using his Domain of Biology, he spent a few hours tracking the bioforms. Cas vanished into the noise again to do some up-close scouting while Marlowewell, she started socializing. Asking questions. Speaking to the bar owner and chatting up subjects and Citizens alike for insights. The way she could just move between the Tiersfolk and the gutterborn was something else. And they took to her as well. She made them laugh. She started arguments and somehow managed to get those she pissed off to buy her drinks. And Chambers got the distinct impression she was getting far more useful intelligence through her methods compared to him or Cas. He didnt know how she managed it; when he spoke to most people, he was plenty good at making them leave him alive. That was about the only true social engineering skill he had. She seemed good with all people. And that He wondered if he could have been like her if they swapped lives. Thinking that made him wince internally. No. He didnt want her to have his life. He didnt want anyone to have his life. There were enough Chamberes in this city and plenty more broken little people.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Forcing his attention back over to the Whalequeens, Chambers noted that the major bioforms rotated in and out from the quarantine demiplane, and that the smaller drones they spawned returned to the spawning sacks to be recycled on a regular basis. Afterward, an exchange of genetic material would take place between all the Whalequeens until they all shared some of the disassembled drones. For what reason, Chambers wasnt sure, but his Bioigniter offered terse words of guesswork. Recycle material! Processing. No Mind-World. Information from blood. Shared information network. Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. It was also probably their best way in. Chambers just needed to hijack one of the bioforms for him and Cas. He could melt the two of them into its body and ride it back into one of the Whalequeens and pass through without issue. Only danger was fucking up the biomancy. No danger, the Bioigniter said. Flesh is ours to smelt. Fire too. Bomb if fail. Trust. The Bioigniter was a simple, confident guy. Chambers could appreciate that about them. And remember: the Rash is still active inside the block, the Fucktopia giggled. Good point. Our advantage. Anyone ever tell you that you make weird faces when you speak to your Heavens? Chambers jumped at Marlowes words, and he spun round to face her, holding his chest. Jausfuck! Caught you deep in the moment, huh? Marlowe said, a wry grin pulling at her lips. And then the light hit her just right, and her skin justfuck, why was her skin so smooth? Why did her hair glow. Her eyes were changing colors with every blink. He didnt even know she could do that He coughed. Yeah, I, uh. I was just monitoring the things to do the stuff for happening after, you know. The words left Chambers mouth. What the fuck was he saying? Was he having a stroke? The Fucktopia made a low rumble. No. Dont be mean to yourself, Aedon. Youve just been without any intimate contact, and now an attractive person of the opposite sex is in front of you, and your Lustaway is down, but youre still subconsciously trying to repress yourself, so your mind feels all tangled up. Youre just starved. Just starved. When was the last time he had been intimate? When was the last time he held Kae. He remembered shielding her from Zein. He remembered Fuck. They were supposed to bring her back. And now, he was picking up pieces of Love and Avo. Would Chambers find parts of her in there as well? Was there anything left of her? The glint of mockery in Marlowes eyes died. Chambers? You alright? Yeah, Im fine, Chambers sighed. I just Theres shit to think about hard. Real hard, you know. He rubbed his face. Yeah, Marlowe said slowly. Then, without warning, she reached out and took him by the hand. Chambers blinked but didnt fight it, letting himself be dragged along. Marlowes strides were quick and dexterous, somehow navigating the twisting bodies dancing between the couches and seats as she led him to the bar top where a Sang in a neuter-mask wearing a six-armed antform bio-rig mixed and poured drinks in a constant blitz of motion. The music was a dull thrumming now, but every now and again, an off-beat would force its way in and shake the buildinga distant warhead going off by the feel of it. Parking the both of them next to the counter, Marlowe waved the bartender over and made an order without consulting Chambers. Two Strawberry Apocalypses. Double the venom. A tendril of ghosts left her mind and imps passed over. At least that still worked. But all the money stored in the Deep Nethershit, he wasnt an economist. No point in thinking about that. So, Chambers said, grunting awkwardly as a drunk Scaarthian slammed into his back. He winced as she put her massive hand on his head too keep herself from falling over. Thanks, little un, she slurred. Chambers picked the wrong time to inhale as she breathed. Whats a Strawberry Apocalypse? Chambers asked. Sweet and fresh cocktail spliced with a slight hit of joy. Itll pick you up. Joy? Chambers said. Might not be the best time to get high. Yeah, I appreciate Relax, its not enough to send you into a bliss spiral, Marlowe chuckled. Just enough to put a smile on your face. Its half the reason why I havent solved my own equation and gone off into the Big Nothing yet. Here-fucking-here, a Sang sitting next to them said, holding up her own Strawberry Apocalypse in mock salute. Now, Chambers did some drinking before, but bars and getting drunk werent his favorite thing. Mainly cause he knew who might become when he had too much. And that was one of the few things Chambers couldnt handle too great. The echo of his old man; not the hangover. Boosting metabolism. Just burn. Yes? What the Bioigniter meant to say was: I can burn the drunk out of you. Which was appreciated. But Chambers still felt a bit on edge. You can say no, Aedon, Fucktopia said calmly. Tell her why. Shell get you. He considered that for a moment, but decided against it. Nah. A drink wont make me anything like him. Just a drink. And itll pick me up. A pulse of unease came from the Fucktopia. Are you doing this for her or you? Are you staying hard for yourself right now, or getting soft because you''re getting hard for this girl? That sent Chambers thoughts stuttering to a halt. But just then, two chitinous hands planted two tall and bright-red glasses next to him with synchronized clicks. A strawberry was left impaled through a straw and half-submerged in the liquid. It bubbled thick and carbonated at the same time. Without hesitation, Marlowe picked hers up and started sipping. Hesitantly, Chambers did the same. I want to do this. Itll be fine. The Fucktopia didnt say anything. Giving it a tentative sip, the taste that danced over Chambers tongue was as Marlowe said. Damn sweet. Too sweet for liquor, and so carbonated it tickled the roof of his mouth. Then, a fresh smell came over him. It flowed slow. Like there was a sticky quality to it, but as it rolled down his throat, he felt it grow heavier and press down on the discomfort levered inside them. How is it? Marlowe asked. Its uh not bad, Chambers smiled. It wasnt a big smile, but it was more than nothing. Thanks. How much do I Fuck you, Im paying, Marlowe cut him off. Looking around the room, she shrugged. People here are flicking imps around like theres no tomorrow anyhow. Might not be. Deep Nethers gone, so the stocks, bonds, markets, and all that other shit is fucked, fucked, fucked. No one knows if theyre rich or poor, and word out on the street is that martial law will becoming into effect soon. And also, a Dowager might be coming to the Warrens to form a new bureau. You got all that just by talking to people? Chambers asked. Yeah. Rumors and exaggerations, but hey, thats what the people here are saying. Marlowe shrugged. Most people here worked in blood-tech, bioform design, biofarming, or accounting. Accounting? Everyone needs a number cruncher. They make the world go round. Chambers snorted. Clads would beg to differ. Marlowes expression flattened. Clads will break the world and look around afterward, wondering where theyre going to find dinner. Or a reason to live. They both fell silent. Chambers coughed. So. Youre good at talking to people, huh? It''s what I do for a living? Her eyes swirled up at an angle and she frowned. What I did. Not sure if the FATELESS Thoughtcast is coming back on after recent events. Eh. Well fix Avo and Avo will fix it. The way it goes. Marlowe studied him for a moment. You really, really trust him, huh? More than I trust myself, Chambers said without hesitation. Shit, if he were here, half this stuff might be fixed already. Unfortunately, what we got is me. And me. And the cultist. Threes a pity party. Marlowe smirked. I didnt mean it like that, Chambers winced. Yeah, you did. But Ive been there. I know. You do? Yeah, she said, nodding. Ive uh I know that look on your face. Ive had it before. The why the fuck am I here look. Why me and not someone else. And suddenly, Chambers felt very naked, very vulnerable. He skipped the straw and took a gulp of his drink. He needed more joy right about now. You sure youre not a Necro or something. Because Im feeling a bit mind-fucked right now. Youre a real sweet-talker, arent you Aedon? He tried his best to stop staring at her lips. He failed. No. Not a Necro. Just thought you could use some company at the end of the world. Yeah? Well. Thanks. I, uh, I think I found a way into the plane. While you were talking and stuff. Chambers squared his shoulders. No shit? Hows that? He told her what he observed and illustrated his plan to intrude using the bioforms. She looked considerably more impressed than he expected. Wait, you can do all that? Yeah, Chambers muttered. Canon of Biology. Thats fucking nova. I bitch about Clads but whats it like? Chambers paused. What was being a Clad like? He angled his head as he looked for the words. It was like being able to push back against the world when it pushes you. Its like moving the unmovable. Its like like you actually have weight. Real weight. Weight the world cant deny. Its like you matter for the first time in your life. And that youll be here no matter what. Even in the face of death. Its like feeling real. Like a real person. When he finished, Marlowes expression turned absolutely blank. That good, huh? No. Better. And worse. I wouldnt be here if I wasnt just a lucky piece of shit. Just the right guy who fucked with the right rotlick. And what makes the Citizens anymore or less lucky than you? Marlowe asked. I didnt ask to be born. Neither did you. Were just here. None of this is real. Were just shitty people. Here. Making up stories on why were the lucky ones. Why we deserve it. No one deserves it. No one has it coming. But it happens. It just does. I didnt ask to be born. And something about her seemed hurt. Hurt in a way Chambers almost understood. You too, huh? Was it your dad or your mom? Marlowe leaned back and cocked her head. Yes. Chambers guffawed. He couldnt help it. Now, see, thats how I know youre a Guilderwhatever I got, you had to have more. She wasnt prepared for his statementwas taking another sip from her drink before it sprayed out of her nose. For a few moments, she covered her face, shaking. You alright. She gave him a thumbs up. Which turned into a middle finger. Outside, a flash cut into the room, bathing everyone in shadow. Not a few kilometers away, a mushroom cloud rose and part of the district came asunder. But people just kept dancing and drinking, because though thousands probably just died, that was far away, and this was here. Marlowe giggled. And it was a melody. The apocalypse could wait a little while longer. 30-4 Half-Chained Love (III) Well, if thats the deal I got, thats the deal I got, right, Veylis? I kill other me. I get my consangs back? I get the rotlick back? My life gets better, and I get to fuck and snort and be Steelhard? Yeah. Yeah, alright. Ill play grav-ball. Ill play. Yeah. I know Im the alternate. I know Im time-made. But fuck. Who''s to say whats real? Its all an illusion. Whoever wins decides whats real. Whoever wins gets to give us whatever life they decide. My choices are pretty limited if thats the case. Never much did like myself anyway. So. This shouldnt be that hard. Just gotta channel the old man is all. -Aedon Chambers, Fuckbringer (Anathema) 30-4 Half-Chained Love (III) Wait, what? Both of them? With Shotin? The Planefucker? Chambers looked on at Marlowe with wide eyes and disbelief. He could understand the words, but they were making any sense to him. She just kept nodding. Yep. Both of them. At the same time. The half-strand would sneak out from one room and then go straight to the next. I caught his ass that one Salvation DayI tell you, I fucking screamed! I thought we were being raided or something. My familywere arms dealers, right? And I just went for the nearest piece I had on me and the next thing I know mom and dad were beating-feet out of both their bedrooms, both naked! And then I get tackled at the same time while Shotins just standing there frozen Jaus, Chambers gasped. What the fuck. Yeah. I know! Anyway, me, mom, and dad go tumbling down the stairs and he ends up catching us using his plane and keeping us from getting hurt. By this point, my younger brother is out too, half-asleep and trying to figure out whats going on. Mom and dad are already screaming at each other, reflexive blaming already kicking off. And then there was me. Sixteen and stupid as shit. But still not stupid enough to miss all the obvious signs. And the fact that Shotins cock was hanging out from his unzipped trousers. Iuh Jaus. Yeah. Anyway, that piece of shitthat motherfuckerhe looks at me, shrugs, and then interrupts my parents, and I shit you not, he says: Listen I know your policy on threesomes, but Utter disbelief gripped Chambers. She was bullshitting him. There was no world where Shotin could break into a house, cheat on both the husband and the wife, and then go this far. This was a drama victhe kind of shit you would only see in the media. No. Stop. Come on, Marlowe. Its not an episode. Im not bullshitting you! Its just its so stupid, but it happened. Shit like this happens all the time. The Tiers are a fucking carnival of goofy horseshit, but all the clowns are self-important cunts who keep getting to ruin other peoples lives. It would be funny if it wasnt so goddamn miserable. Marlowe sighed and leaned back against the bar. She looked up at the strobing lights dancing down from the ceiling, the flashing bright splashing against her augmented skin and bathing her in a glossy sheen. There was something pensive about her expression. Amused, disgusted, offended, and nostalgic all at the same time. This why you hate Guilders? Chambers asked. The other ones, I mean. What? No. This is just the best part of being a Color. Just stupid bullshit that belongs in the tabloids. But it''s part of your life. Even if it fucks you up. Never a dull day. Not even a dull minute. Then, what did it for you? Marlowe wiggled her nose and looked down at her empty cup. Well. I was around twenty. Even dumber than when I was sixteen. Thought I was going to change the Tiers with my hard-hitting exposes and show the other Colors the truths that were being hidden. Believe you me, Aedon: I was an arrogant and silly shit. Still am in some ways. You always wanted to be a media? Yeah. Well, not a media. A real investigator. Impartial. Honest. The kind of person in those old we are one ads back when Jaus was still around. I even thought about being a diplomat. Submitting an application to be a Voidwatch liaison and ending the war. All that hope. All those dreams. She flicked her cup, and the emptiness rang. Anyway. I ended up coming down to the Warrens to report on the exploitation and unlawful coercion of human sacrifices. There was a Syndicate tied to Ori-Thaum at the time. Real fucked up outfit. Targeted Kosgans specifically. They were just operating in open daylight and no one was doing anything about them. Chambers shifted uncomfortably as he took another measured sip of his own drink. Hed gone far slower than Marlowe did when it came to the booze. So, uh. Howd that turn out? Well, I kept trying to get Ori-Thaum to do something. But after they blew me off for the four thousandth time that year I decided to get hands-on and do some accidental leaks to generate some outrage. I knew the outfit I was working with at the time wouldnt take kindly to that, so I decided to go hands-on, you know. Moonlight. Alone? Chambers blinked. Oh, no. He thought she was being self-hating when she said she was dumb. But she might actually be right. Into the Warrens? Yeah. And all the way down into the gutters. Young Marlowe wasnt just stupid, she was a practicing suicidal maniac. Iwhathow are you still alive? She giggled and her voice sounded like jingling bells. Beats me. Favor and the decency of others, I guess. I had some graft-work done so I could end up looking like a refugee and just started wandering. It kept getting worse. Chambers was enraptured and horrified in equal measure. And then I finally got what I wanted, she said, nodding to herself grimly. Got grabbed. But, uh, wasnt like in the mainstream vics. Didnt expect the enforcers to hit me with a goddamn lightning gun. Oh, yeah, the Popper, Chambers muttered under his breath. Marlowe paused. The what? Its called a Popper. Its a Guttergrade techshit most cobbled together from downed aeros and other parts left strewn about after a war. Its a pretty easy thing to make. You just need a battery, some magnetic panels and some other shit you can get out of wrecks. They dont jump far, but twenty meters is still something. Usuallys used to keep slaves in line. Spark one and save the battery for the others, is the way it went. A silence followed. Marlowe was staring blankly at him. Chambers suddenly realized his past life was leaking over without him noticing. Fuck. Uh-oh. Uh, yeah. Anyway. Shit gets nasty and rough and shit in the Warrens. Shitty. Real fucking nasty. Whys it called a Popper? Marlowe asked. Oh, Chambers said, wincing slightly. Because it had a tendency to surge-jump which fucks with the voltage and a bit stronger of a shock would rush out. When that happens, the settings go from flat to Scaarthian or more and well, eyeballs down handle all that energy very well, so Holy shit thats dark, Marlowe said, snorting under her breath. You gotta find joy in the little things, right? Chambers replied, taking another drink. Thinking back on all the times he used the damn Popper, screams passed over the currents of Chambers mind. Men, women, children of all clades. People who had it coming. Most who didnt. How many people had he shocked? He remembered him and couple other juvs using it to jolt a musical out of their new captures as a gang. Slaves they were going to trade to Syndis for imps. What happened to those people? Were they still around? Did any of them ever make it out? Hed gone years without thinking about themjust how life went when you lived in a beast like New Vultun. But now they were back. Back to haunt him. Bad old days. Bad for him. Bad for everyone. So, Chambers said, encouraging Marlowe to continue. You got caught. Right, she picked up where she left off. Got caught. Woke up in a phase-cage to someone sawing my neck open and implanting a collar in me. Started screaming and saying I was a Citizen. Showed them my EGO-ID. They didnt believe me, but they sure shocked the shit out of me. Let it current run until I was sobbing, pissing, and begging for death. After that, they finished cutting into me and finished the graft job. Anyway. Since I was classified as unique product due to my pristine state of health, I was going to be the start of a special sensory vic. Fuck, Chambers groaned. Sorry. Marlowe angled her head as if in casual resignation. Never really got that far. They got two sessions out of me. First two were destruction pieces. People really like pain this city. And so they got some pain out of me. It was bad. Had those memories removed. But when it came time for the third session, someone shot up the place I was held and pulled me out of my pen. Squire by the name of Vendrick Masuri. Happy circumstance or hired by your family? Chambers asked. Younger brother, Marlowe confirmed. Wasnt speaking to mom and dad by this point. They didnt know. And Id rather die than let them. Anyway. He comes in with his big guns, shiny augs, and fast aero, and I do the whole cry in the back and imprint on my savior thing. Messy kid shit. But you can guess what happened after that. I was the naive, hopeful, and aesthetic Guilder trying to do right. He was that hard-bitten, brooding but ultimately noble Squire that survived the nightmares of the undercity trying to do something about it. Also an idiot. Also a juv. And like a couple of idiot juvs, we thought it was love.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Didnt work out? Chambers asked. Marlowe rolled her eyes and sighed. Ended up going together like a knife in the asshole. Sure, we fit pretty good when we forced it, but we also hurt each other like hell all the time. Fucking hell of a metaphor. Years of practice. Anyway. We went on and off. More shit happened. Spent more time in the Warrens. The idiot girl I was got worn down day after day as I learned more about Syndicate ties to Guilds, and he got greedier and less heroic. Then, one day, he took a job from the wrong Color, ended up getting burned, well, long story short, I got to experience his death first hand in a shared hot-sim while trying to charm some deets out of a new source. Godsdamn. Fuck. Sorry, Marlowe. Iuh I had those memories removed too, Marlowe said. Mender said I was a mess. Cycling through it over and over. Got obsessive over who killed him after. Real obsessive. I mean, I didnt even love the half-strand by this point, but still. He was mine. My hate-fuck. My shitty-ex. And so I went into a spiral. And thats how I ended up getting it in with Tavers. Killing a Color came with too much heat for most Squires. But you dont get to be the best in the city without a bit more bite. So she did. I cleaned my memories. And so did she. So the Color died an accident and Vendrick a casualty. But hey, the scales balanced themselves in me. And thats what I cared about in the end. Me, me, me, same selfish piece of shit Color like the others. The air grew colder. The beats got louder. The bombs going off in the distance flared brighter. And the silence between the two stretched out. Marlowe motioned to the bartender, asking for another drink. Chambers finished his and glared down into the empty cup, mind blank but feeling some kind of way for one. Jealousy. Bitterness. Some kind of way. Hes a lucky piece of shit, Chambers finally said. Marlowe froze and twisted her body so she could half-face Chambers. What? Vendrick. Loverboy. He was lucky. For the first time, Marlowe didnt just shrug his words off. Her face went blank of expression, and the first hint of genuine anger arrived behind her eyes. Listen I might not remember exactly how he died, but I still got the feeling inside me, and And Im sure it was nightmarish shit. Yeah, yeah. Chamber chuckled under his breath. That just makes him one of us. Gutter rats. Subjects. Sacrifices. Wastefolk. Maw-food. All those titles and more. Im sure he crossed over into the Big Nothing howling and crying for his momma, but thats the score for us. We know. We knew. Since the day we were born. Didnt ask for this, just like you, but we knew the score. And we lived regardless. So what the fuck are you trying to tell me, that he had it coming? Her words came a bit faster, and so did her breath. She was building to rage. Same way his father did when Chambers broke something. Be careful, Fucktopia chided. Shes got her wounds too. And I dont think shell like my hugs as much as you do. No? Chambers said, heeding the Fucktopias words while shaking his head. Theres no has it coming. Theres just what happens, who did it, when, and all the other stuff. That fate shit? Deserve? Right? Justice? Those are stories for your people. Not mine. But still, It''s either play or die, right? So he played. Until he couldnt anymore. And that the way of things. Well. How they used to be. A slow breath escaped Chambers. But his end? That wasnt special. His life was. He had someone to care about him. I told you, it wasnt love Fuck love. The words left Chambers with a bit more force and bitterness than he expected. When he slammed his drink down on the table, the bottom of the glass shattered and bounced off his enhanced skin. He shot the barkeep a quick look. Ill pay for that. The Sang just continued her routine, bobbing her head to the music. Sure. Whatever. Dont know whats coming tomorrow anyway. Man. You could get away with all kinds of shit at the end of the world. Fuck love, Chambers repeated, looking Marlowe dead in her eyes. She wasnt blinking anymore. Or angry. Now, she was the listener, and he was the storyteller. Listen everyone loves. Its the cheapest thing in this city. Theres no kind of love you can feel that stronger than what a Joyfiend got for their needle. No kind of love stronger than a senso-doser for all the fucked up vics theyll never got to dive again in the Deep Nether. Its a feeling. Its a vibe. And its worth less than what you gave him. And whats that? Marlowe said quietly. Heartbeart? Screaming matches? A couple of good Nether-fucks? Some tips for his next job? A new aug for his namesday on my credit? New guns? You gave a shit, Chambers explained. You were there when he needed you. You got hurt when he died. Fuck, you actually went above and beyondyou had Quail Fucking Tavers do a revenge run on his behalf. A revenge run. Wild shit. Thats nothing Chambers practically snarled. This stupid cunt wasnt getting it. Its fucking everything! The Scaarthian behind him flinched away, sobering at his rageful outburst and muttering something about how men were children always no matter the clade. Listen, Marlowe. My ma loved me. Im sure of that. I can remember that. So did grandpa, grandma from both sides of the family. He leaned close to her as their new drinks came in. Before Marlowe could react, he snatched both glasses up and threw them back at the same time. He used the Bioigniter to burn the joy out of his system before it could twist his mind. It meant shit for fuck. Their love didnt stop my life from being shit. Their love didnt do anything when daddy-o stuck his gun under my armpit. Moms love wasnt enough to stop her ass from running. Oh, shit, Marlowe flinched. Sorry Fuck it. I get it. Hope she had a good life. Is having. I dont knowI dont care. Or I do, but I dont want to know. But the main point is that it didnt matter. Because I didnt matter. Not me. Not my half-strand dad. None of us. We were all here alone with each other despite all the fucking going around. But not your ex. No, he was someone because of you. Because he fucked a Color? Marlowe whispered. Because you cared to give his story an end! You think I wouldve gotten an end if Avo didnt just bounce into my lap? If I wasnt just lucky. Fuck, Im typical. Im basic. Im a deltaware arm transplant on the warehouse shelf. Every fucking kid in the Warrens got some of me in them, and the other way around too. But before I got taken by the ghoul, this was it. I was going to feel good. I was going to love plenty. Love my Dannis vics. Love my drugs. Love making imps. Love, love, love. And then, I was going to die. And there would be nothing after that. I would actually get to be alone in the dark forever. And that was it. No story. Just a loose assortment of shit. He held out a hand, and it alternated between a fist and palm. He didnt know what he was going to say next, but there was a fire in his gut, and it had to come out. I would have loved to be unloved by someone like you. And thats why thats why Avo he A laugh escaped Chambers. Just slipped out. He treated me like shit, at the start. Worse than a mutt. I was just supposed to a puppet he was going to hack through. And that was fine. I mean, it wasnt, but fuck, thats the way of things, right? Use, get used. But then then I did get used. And he didnt just throw me away. He kept me alive. He didnt love me. He barely tolerated me. But he cared. For whatever fucked up ghoul reason he cared. And the words found Chambers in the end. And thats what made me a person. When who I was affected someone else that they decided I was worth keeping from death. The beats continued hammering above, and Chambers heart beat in rhythm to the noise. Only then did he catch himself at the end of his outburst, and a faint blush crept over his face. Fuck, was he drunk? Why did he say so much? How did he let himself get into that rant? Rubbing his face, Chambers shook his head. Im sorry, I dont know where that came from. Just guess Ive got that post-jack-off brain fog. Slowly, something almost like a smirk pulled at the corners of Marlowes lips. I think that happens before, not after. Really. Fuck. Not for me, I guess. I might just be special. Yeah. You might just be Chambers. Cas voice boomed from behind. Jaus! Fuck! Chambers flinched forward. Marlowe threw her head back and snickered. Same response. He almost glared at her, but chose to face Cas instead. Cas. Hey. Consang. Hows the hows the scouting Kinda shit, Cas grunted. He waved at the bartender. Skuldswill. Undiluted. A series of mutters sounded around them. Some of the Scaarthians started taking bets on how soon it would take Cas to die. I managed to pull some intel through the soundwaves: got a limited window. They have a cadre coming in soon. Dowager with them. There is a team of Agnosi on-site observing the outbreak, and theyre talking about extraction and storage. Shit, Chambers said. How soon? Dont know. But if were going to do something, we might want to do it soon or kill this run. This things done in a hurry. I dont like it, but if we lose this fragment Fuck that. Its ours. Avo needs it. Were taking it. I got a way in. Cass drink arrived, sliding on the table. It went right past him as he arched his brows at Chambers. You do? What? Why do you look surprised? Chambers said, offended. Someone else down along the bartop snatched Cas drink, sniffed it, gagged, threw up between their legs, and then drank it anyway. This was where New Vultun was at, apparently. Chambers, listen, consang, the faither said, looking awkward. He eyed Marlowe and took a step closer. Youve been improving a lot, and I know that youre willing to do some twisted shit no one else is for the cause but you werent exactly the professional type before, you know. I Chambers grunted. Yeah, but people change and shit. Yeah. I know, and thats great. I just kind of figured youd use the time to He switched to a thoughtcast. +Try and get to know Marlowe.+ As the ghosts snaked the thought through Chambers Meta, he went still andwell, yeah, that kinda happened, but he was actually being super professional before that. Well. Ilisten, we have a way in through the bioforms. They rotate, and I think I can meld us into one of the little ones so we can smuggle ourselves using the bigger ones. Sounds disgusting and miserable. Im in. Tell me more. But before Chambers did, he sent a thoughtcast. +Wait, you expected Id just be flirting with Marlowe and you just accepted it?+ Cas paused. +Yeah.+ +But why?+ +Chambers the fucking world is ending. And you two seemed like you needed a moment. Thought it might be good for your heart.+ Then nothing. Nothing but a weight in Chambers chest and a strange set of emotions, rushing across his face. Boys? Marlowe said, leaning in next to them. What are you whispering about? Chambers coughed. Just some mem-data about the run. Trading what we know. He stared on at Cas. +Hey, Cas.+ +What?+ +Thanks for caring.+ +Dont mention it. Now, fucking ruin my day by telling me how were going to get our flesh fused with some Sang-made freak of nature.+ 30-5 Half-Chained Love (IV) Welcome to the No-Dragon sim-series, applicant. As you go through the upcoming coursework, you will learn the following major items on the syllabus.
  • Exomath-penetration and specialized Nether-breaching techniques against alt-consciousness entities
  • Convention enemies: Bioforms, bio-rigs, viruses, bloodgrafts, shapeshifters
  • Preventative measures against the Dragon-Curse
  • Notable No-Dragon Heavens and thaumaturgic technologies
  • Notable enemy Godclads and Dowagers
Foundations: The No-Dragons possess neither the overwhelming industrial might nor Ensouled superiority possessed by Highflame. They also dont have the aberrant technologies and counter-network capabilities utilized by Omnitech. What they do have, however, is the means to overwhelm any other Guild through near-limitless logistical capabilities so long as there is a source of organic materials to drawn on and a mastery of the flesh that will leave you warped before you can even respond. The Sangs combat-eunuchs, bioforms, and bestiary of monsters come in practically every shape, design, and capability imaginable and not. And there are more of them every day. Their Heavens and thaumaturgical constructs likewise run the very edge of what can be considered biology, transcending these limits to nightmarish effect. For those of you who have transferred over from the Highflame front, this primer will clarify a few things for you: You will not be prepared. You do not have the endurance. You are not ready to experience the curse. You are not ready for your skin to slip off your bones and tear into your body. You are not ready for the food you eat to decay in an instant or to sprout spatial parasites that leave holes across localized sections of reality. You will not be ready. And you will die in ways you cannot imagine, and will not be able to imagine. Accept that you will require a visit to the Menders. Accept that your Heavens have limits. Accept that this is a new foe, that requires new strategies and deep cooperation with our allies to overcome. Above all, understand that the No-Dragons are not who they present themselves to outsiders. Their destined cycles arent just a curse, but a blessing they can use in combat, and a weapon they can wield against youand your cyclers as well -Ori-Thaum Seeker Combat Primer Series On Engaging the No-Dragons 30-5 Half-Chained Love (IV) Cas mind shuddered with misery. +You know, I really wish you wouldve just spent all that time hitting on Marlowe. We couldve called the run. We couldve gone somewhere else, done something else+ +Cas, you know you whimper a lot for someone whos supposed to be this battle-hardened cult leader. Its not that bad,+ Chambers replied. +Ive been smelted into a giant bug''s body. I think my eye is somewhere in its ass.+ +I dont think bugs have an ass, consang. Especially not this bug. Its like, engineered for war and shit. But not literally shitting. And also, you dont technically have a nose either, were just organs or something. Like, hidden organs inside its body. Its going fine. Trust.+ Can fully deprive his senses! Burn the ears. The Bioigniters sudden bellow made Cas mind recoil in shock. +No. Bio, dont fucking freak him out anymore. Come on, guy.+ Chambers sighed. +Jesus Christ that was loud. It was like someone screaming at me from inside my skin. Do your Heavens talk to you like that all the time?+ +What? No. Bios special. His outside voice is inside. Heh. But Fucktopia is a pretty decent+ +Its a literal wall of dicks.+ +Now, thats just mean.+ Fucktopia sighed. Its okay, Aedon. It is hard for people to understand. We are all chained to our own perspectives. Our own fetishes. The man that gooshes to anal incineration scat is not the same as the lady who likes pelvic organ prolapse BDSM. A sign escaped from Cas. +Holy fuck those are some search items I didnt want to know about, and never want to hear again for the rest of my life. Also I apologize for my, uh, rudeness, Fucktopia.+ Thank you, Mr. Canduir. You are a good and decent man. +No. Just one that tries. Im just I dont like getting my body changed is all. Never liked it. Never did. Always preferred being just human.+ Their conversation trailed off there briefly as the two lapsed into silence. Ignorant of the constant chatter happening inside its body, the bee-ape bioform simply flew on, buzzing back toward its corresponding Whalequeen after finishing its route. Infusing themselves into the bioform had been a tricky operation. It ultimately came down to timing. Chambers needed to use his Heaven without getting noticed during or after altering the bioforms biology. Even with the active assistance of the now awakened Bioigniter, combusting himself and Cas into hidden tendrils of flesh and burning that into the passing bioforms flesh was only possible when a Rendbomb required almost all of Chambers cog-cap. Smuggling his and Cas genetic material over into the Whalequeen upon biomass recycling wasnt going to be any easier. Marlowe remained back at the bar, continuing with her social intelligence gathering. She said that she might explore the area around the block of a bit, was more inclined to stay in place until they returned. As for if they didnt return well, she had her was of getting back down to the gutters. All she needed to do was make contact with one of the Syndicates, and the Council of Fuck would probably see her properly cared for. But that was the worst case scenario, and Chambers had no intention of dying. Not when he was finally free to get to know himself again. Once was not enough. A rumbling groan sounded from the distance as the structure that got nuked a few hours ago finally collapsed in on itself. Chambers felt a final few patterns of Biology wink out inside. People died, nu-pets, and other bits of organic matter. But aside from a few rescue drones spraying dense foam over the building to reduce the spread of radiation and some specialized bioforms dispatched quaratine the area, no one really tried to save the people. And the district itself didnt care. Thousands died in that block. Thousands died every second. Thousands more would die to fuel the war between the Guilds. Thousands, and not nearly enough for the Fifth Guild War. A high-pitched warble cut through Chambers thoughts as the Whalequeen called to the approaching bioforms. Tapping into the drones sensory organs, Chambers saw that they were fast approaching a loosening slit on the underside of its body. Beneath layers of chitinous blubber was a slick pod that would first be filled with dissolving acids and then blood to carry deconstructed bioforms away. Thankfully, Chambers was going to avoid the horrible fate of being dissolved slowly by turning himself and Cas into the acid first. Then, he would circulate through the Whalequeens body and hide inside one of its twelve stomachs. Whatever it was called. Their bioform was the first of the drones to arrive, and the rest qued neatly behind, hovering in midair while they squeezed through the slit. +Alright, Cas,+ Chambers said, +goop time.+ The Columner just shuddered mentally. +Oh Heavenly Father, deliver me from this twisted bullshit. Keep me guarded in these times of madness+ +What are you doing?+ +Praying. It helps me process life.+ Chambers kind a got that. Except instead of some Heavenly Father, he had Dannis Steelhard vics. Cas might not appreciate that kind of comparison, though, so Chambers kept the thought to himself. Goop time! the Bioigniter crackled, its flames flicking through the bioforms insides, turning the organs that constituted Chambers and Cas into dissolving acid just as the Whalequeens internal recycling pods began to fill. His timing was impeccable thanks to the Bioigniters coordination, and if there was hint that the No-Dragons noticed what he was doing, they were being real quiet about it.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Meanwhile, linked to his mind, Cas progressed his prayers, most of the words a litany of practiced murmurs. Chambers paused as he funneled himself and Cas out from their former ride. The bioform didnt react to its impending demise. It just crouched in place and accepted its dissolution. Its wings melted first, followed by layers of chitin, exposing the ape-morph arms beneath and the mammalian musculature as well. Two trickles of hissing fluid rejoined with the greater flood. Watery substances were harder to control for Chambers, but he managed. It just took more active focus on his part. And finally, he was starting to feel the discomfort toowas like willing himself to move while being trapped in a sensory deprivation pod. The human mind knew a certain morphology. Some people had higher tolerances, but go beyond even that to something entirely alien, and you start slowing yourself. Freaking out. Graft dysmorphia was a real thing, but Chambers and Cas were even further from that now. They werent even solid entities anymore, and every second they lingered in this state, Cas prayers grew louder. +...deliver us from sin and atrocity, and smite down this final shadow of Soddom evermore. Amen.+ Cas finished. +A-man?+ Chambers asked, doing his best to distract himself and pass the time. As they poured through the Whalequeens body, he began burning himself and Cas into nearby tissues. Some grounding was better than none. +A-men. So be it. Thats what it means. Or so thats what I learned.+ +Oh. Why dont they just say so be it?+ +Different time. Different language.+ Chambers wasnt sure what to say about that. +Well. I guess amen, almost were through, right?+ +Yeah. And say it again once were back in our own bodies.+ The deconstruction of the other bioforms was thankfully quick. Most of them came apart in seconds, and when the last of them slipped into their assigned recycling pod, the Whalequeen started moving toward the quarantined block. It circled through the air a few times before twisting at an odd angle. For a moment, Chambers nearly lost his focus as he felt his ontology clip against something hard. Then, he jolted through. He, Cas, and the leviathan they hid within. The world around them shivered and changed to a claustrophobic realm with curved corners. Everything was drowned in colors of red. Droplets of moisture quivered in the air, their flavor salty upon the Bioigniters mind like sweatand something more. Neon red lit every droplet with a festering glow as the Whalequeen swam in further, and through the breaking mist and the drifting fractals of space, Chambers found his host flying in concert with a dozen others of its kind, heading toward an enshadowed edifice beyond the veil. But Chambers senses reached beyond sight now. And he felt the wrongness before he ever gazed its warped form. The resonance of broken Love pulsed through the Bioigniter and Fucktopia like a distant siren. It was a note that trembled the very bones of his ontology and made his Soulflame quiver. The hells was that, Chambers muttered Something that shouldnt been broken, the Fucktopia answered. And it wants to be whole again. As the last folds of fog passed over the Whalemaw, Chambers beheld Everpeace Tower for the first time and only spoke two words. +Holy fuck.+ +What?+ Cas asked, snapping to alertness. A vibrant hum of strings shivered inside the Whalequeen. +Whats wrong? Chambers?+ It took just a thought to patch the Columner through the Whalequeens senses as well. Chambers let Cas see iinstead of explaining himself; words couldnt do the scene justice anyway. Whatever intel they received earlier, it was far and away outdated. +Didnt Calvino said the outbreak was on the forty-third floor or something?+ Chamber gasped. +They did.+ Cas confirmed. +Yeah, well, its spreading a lot further than that looks like the rash is changing too.+ The Everpeace Tower was Sang-made tower. It was supposed to resemble a night big tree with some enamel extending out of its top, forming a sort of inverted pyramid shape. The interior remained of glass, plascrete, and other supporting alloys due to Highflame investments and mixed designs, and as a whole, it looked like your usual upscale residence block in Lights End. Nothing nearly as good as what you migth find in the Tiers, but quality enough. Not some den for aratnids halfway between rubble and fortress, anyhow. Now, a gaping mess of flesh stretched out horizontally along the middle of the structure. The block was large, running kilometers before, but now it was stretched further, and a ghastly sight to behold. An ugly, twisted slit pulsating with tissue and anomalous marrow consumed Chambers attention. It was a chasm of impossible flesh meshed into the surrounding matter. A cage of bones was layered over it, creating a skeletal barricade from easy access. A few hundred accretions dotted the surface of the bonespeople were here. People studying and examining the Rash. Using his Heaven of Biology, Chambers identified some of them to be No-Dragon bio-shaped war eunuchslarge humanoid monsters sporting bladed appendages and shrouded in humming locusts. They stood guard for a few well-dressed Sang interfacing with some others. Agnosi, if Chambers were to guess. A tremble of pressure emanated from within the existential disfigurement eating through the block. As he refined the Whalequeens eyes, he saw that the biomass composing this spreading infection was not merely a sprawl of cancerous flesh, but people. People, fused into the architecture. People, melted into the folds, the outlines of their bodies reaching out, coated within. Thousands twitched within this new expression of the Rash, and more rose to bulge the slick surface of the slit with each passing second. There, between the crevice shone a flicker of light as well. The brightness of Soulfire. The presence of a broken Framea shattered Heaven calling for a new sheathe. And so an impossible beckoning called out to Chambers, commanding him to venture forth into the eldritch valley before him. Aedon Chambers mind went cold. It sounded like Avo. It sounded like Kae. It sounded like his mom, like Jhred, like Dannis, and like so many more. His name was spoken with such yearning, such want, and such desperate love it scared him. But more than anything else, it charted his path forward. They needed to be inside. And he needed to find that shard before anyone else decided to claim it for their own means. +Cas,+ Chambers said. +Im going to burn us free when we get close. You ready to take over?+ +Always. Chambersdo you feel+ +Yeah. I know. Did it say your name too.+ Cas went silent. +Yeah. And it was like love itself was speaking to me.+ +Cant seem to avoid the creepy fucking runs, huh? Avo would have loved this shit. Well, hes the reason why were here so+ Chambers trailed off. No point in ruminating. Their bus drew close, drifting over to what seemed like a large bulbous island in the air. There were four others of its kind, and it was an entity filled with gas and bursting with nutrients. It gave a deafening warble before extending its tubes down to interface with the Whalequeen Chambers was using. +3 2+ Chambers counted, preparing his transition into Cas Heaven. There were some drones patrolling here as well. Different from the ape-bees the Whalequeen spawned. These ones were long and flat, with far too many eyes on the top and bottom of their bodies. They drifted above and below the areafull spectrum monitoring. But they werent going to see anything. Not if Chambers did this right. +...1!+ He and Cas slipped out within one of tthe Whalequeens spawning pods in a burst of sparks. A half-second later the Columner strummed his guitar-arm and they vanished into a bubble of vibrating sound. As they shot out from inside the large bioform, it warbled in confusion, noting the strange feeling as tendrils reached down to sink into its flesh to being genetic exchange and caloric refueling. Through the air, Chambers and Cas traveled as a near-silent echo. The slight plucks of a string accompanied their movements and there was a faint sense that they were beyond notice. Unnaturally so. Like someone was keeping them wrapped in shadows. So far, they hadnt encountered any hostile Godclads or golemsno directly clashing Domains. With Chambers Bioigniter running at near zero-burn, things had gone as well as they could have, but the gig wasnt over. Not even close. Odds were that they would need to go loud in some way if something happened inside the building. Which was when the Fucktopia came out. But with how the rash was expressing itself here. Chambers wasnt even sure if the Fucktopia would generate the same effects that they needed. I dont either, Fucktopia admitted. But using me here will do something. Something Im not sure about. Be careful, Aedon. Think it might be a bit too late for that, Chambers though. As they passed closer to the enormous blockade of bones sealing the exterior of the block, Cass strings vibrated over dormant groups of No-Dragon warforms. +No no+ Cas muttered. +What?+ Chambers asked. +Im listening in on their conversations using sound waves,+ Cas explained. +Nothing useful so far. They have a First Daughter here talking to the Agnosi. Apparently, they are trying to get the Agnosi to extract the rash but the thaumaturgists have no idea how. Its also spreading at an alarming rate. Consuming more matter, force, sound, even space. What theyre calling the Fold is growing larger. They think it''s some kind of anomalous representation of a well+ +Were literally about to go cunt-diving,+ Chambers muttered. +Yeah. Thats a way of phrasing it.+ Once more, Chambers thought back to the bright flickers escaping the valley of tissue. The people trapped within. Reaching out. Not struggling. The feeling of love and belonging. Was that going to be them soon? +Cas?+ +Yeah?+ +You got any of them good prayers to teach, because+ +Yeah. I know. Fuck.+ 30-6 Lovebringer Hearts Aligned: Creates a pathway using a tether composed of feelings of love or lust. A gateway will form on both entities allowing them to swap places or immediately arrive beside their bonded one. Should both sides consentor if this relates to an individual and an inanimate objecta superimposition of ontologies can follow, allowing both to temporarily merge in a single entity in mind and flesh. Hubris: Should either side fall out of love while this canon is active, the Heaven will suffer moderate Backlash (25%). -Canon of the Remembrance 30-6 Lovebringer Slipping past the No-Dragons perimeter didnt take that much effort from Cas. Overstretched as the Guilders were and severed from the bulk of their forces, they just didnt have the assets to conduct proper surveillance. Not when they still had a war to fight in the meantime. Not when they still needed to protecting their precious citizens. Upon crossing over into the threshold of the fold, however, Chambers also suspected this was a deliberate choice on the part of the No-Dragons and the Agnosi. After all, what kind of half-strands would be stupid enoughor fucking mad enoughto raid a Wombrash-infested megablock where the rest of existence was going to shit? And for what reason? What purpose? A rival Guild would just rupture the plane at most. But that would be something along the lines of direct action. What Chambers and Cas were trying to do would be incomprehensible and unpredictable without context. And even in context, it was pretty close to the edge of insanity. Drawing closer to the lip of the twisted valley of flesh, Chambers only felt the want inside him grow, building higher to a desperate need. He needed to enter. He needed to see what awaited inside. He needed to join Aedon, the Fucktopia said, jolting Chambers out of his fugue. +Augh. Fuck. Thanks, consang,+ Chambers croaked mentally. +What?+ Cas asked, +Nothing. Was talking to my Heaven of Dicks.+ Cas just chuckled about that. +Somehow, thats becoming a normal statement to me now. What the fuck is my life?+ +Insane. Questionable. On the verge of disappearing into a giant, eldritch cunt made created from a carpet of flesh with thousands of human and who-the-fuck-knows-what bodies bulging from beneath its surface? A cunt that neither of us might be able to resist when we actually get deep enough?+ +Yeah. All that. Thanks, Chambers. I really needed more anxiety.+ +Dont mention, consang. Listen. If I start getting weird you do me. Then yourself, okay.+ A shivering feeling of strain leaked over from Cas mind as they slipped through the opening. Immediately, the presence it inflicted continued to build. +Sure. I cant promise it wont be the other way. Im only human too.+ Somehow, the insides of the fold was worse than the outside. Where it was just a stretch of vaguely outlined bodies hidden beneath what looked like slick pink flesh, the space within was the very definition of fucked. Well, the long aftermath of getting fucked, Chambers supposed. Here, thousands upon thousands more people dangled down from furrowed walls, their naked bodies withered and drained. Most of their heads and upper torsos were missing, consumed by a chain of umbilical fusing them to the walls. The bottoms of their bodies throbbed and parted. Long strings of exposed tissue continued to distend as balls of mangled bodies swung through the center of the room, coming together to form a lattice that could best be described as a fucked-up semi-stillborn-baby-plus-cancer-flesh-cake. +For the love+ Cas grunted. His wards shook as they sustained a blow from the traumatic sight. +Im going to need to see a mender after this. To get my mind scrubbed.+ +Yeah,+ Chambers said, shivering slightly. He had some messed up tastes, but this was getting to a point where even he found it less thrilling and more gross and weird. +Man, why cant the Fallen Heaven of Love give us anything nice? Like a demiplane of tits or dicks or thighs or something. Why is this shit always fucked up mutilated babies?+ +Probably because thats what the citys been denied,+ Cas replied grimly. +New Vultunites lost the ability to breed. Lost the ability to even hold their own children. I think that might cast a larger shadow than just sexual want and fetishes.+ +Maybe. Hey, speaking of, you think well be seeing any reinforcements from the outside? You know. From the other megas, for the Guilds?+ +Probably. But not nearly enough to matter.+ Cas did his best to avoid a net of glistening sinews. A series of nubs that revealed themselves to be barely formed infant head stared blankly at nothing in particular. Their sockets were hollow and dark, eyeballs unformed. Well. That hinted Avo was present in some shape or form. The rotlick probably ontologically ate those before they could truly come to be. +The Border Wall is still up. I suspect the Guilds will be making a scramble to siege and take them when they can. When. If so, maybe. The situation in the city is pretty south of fucked, so theyll probably get to that when the substance pushes us out or the fighting reaches a stalemate. The other megas will be warring against each other. I expect them to spend the next few years fighting it out in the Sunderwilds. Except we probably dont have the time for that anymore.+ +But wheres the Ladder going to return if the Gatekeeper is snuffed and existence is already all jacked up?+ Chambers asked. +I Dont know. One problem at a time.+ As they lapsed back to silence, Chambers turned his thoughts to enduring the discomfort. He tried thinking about things that werent love related or sexual. The latter was the bigger problem for him. Now that he thought about it, Chambers almost never went too long without thinking about something deviant or messed up. It was practically how he was definedhis coping mechanism for so long. He liked some other stuff too. Making imps. Money. Guns. Standard street-scum shit, but like, those were just because he was in the life. Tangible hobbies and all. That made Chambers consider who he mightve been if he had been born a Color. Now there was a weird thought. Him, a Color like Well, Marlowe wasnt like other Colors, was she? Sure, they all looked pretty nice, but she had her own thing goingand a special attitude too! Her lips also looked really nice. Why couldnt he stop thinking about her lips? Those were the first pair of nicely moisturized Guilder lips he saw. Shit, Kae had Ah. Aw, fuck. Well, feeling like shit was a good counter against Love. Kae. Was part of her in this mess? Was she trapped somewhere in this nightmare, one body among the many, dying over and over? She mightve been the first person to call him Aedonto treat him like an actual person among the cadre. Sure, Avo and Draus kept him alive, but they werent exactly people. Much as he liked being included in a group, he was still different from them. He was still human. And so was Kae, despite the being a Guilder and an Agnos. The way she hurt and cried was something he understood, and he remembered the anger he felt when Zein went for herhe hoped Thousand hand was fucking lost for good. Probably not likely, though. That old sow would still be here even after the world ceased to be. Shed find a way. She was just that kind of piece of shitthe roach that wouldnt die. Minutes passed, and the distant shimmer of a Soulfire drew closer. The nightmarish environment didnt change even after a full hour of traveling. +Hey, Cas,+ Chambers asked, a strange though occurring to him. +How far have we gone since the start of the fold.+ +Ninety kilometers.+ +Ninety?+This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. +Yeah. Were well passed a million people merged into the walls here, too. A lot of this is anomalous. It has to be+ Just then, a hollow expanded beside them. The sound of tearing tissue and sticky flesh peeling apart filled the air, feeding Cas Heaven. Suddenly, there was a new tunnel leading diagonally away from them. There are countless bodies there too. Same nightmarish aesthetic. But at the end was a vertical exit that led +You think that leads somewhere else in the city?+ Chambers asked. +Another point in the rash? Maybe its working like one of Draus reflections now.+ +Thats a question for an Agnos, man. And that isnt either of us. Were just here to capture the Soul somehow. However that works.+ +Right. Listen. Cas. Since theres part of Avo in this shardyou let me do this first, yeah?+ A silence came from the Columner. Chambers continued. +Im serious. Theres a bunch of my copies out there. Some of you, too, but theyre mostly doing cult shit and probably hard to find. And I know what its like to burn. Maybe the Stillborn fragment might, I dont know, remember me or something. Just think it would be for the best. Figure you might have better odds of getting out of this if everything goes to shit too.+ +Yeah? Youre more optimistic than I am about that,+ Cas chuckled grimly. +Ive done plenty of things in my time. Plenty against the Guilds in the dark. But this this is a first for me. Think our odds are about even in terms of survival. But I hear you. Ill let you do whatever it is you think needs doing Hey, Chambers?+ +Yeah?+ +Does it feel like the influence of this place is getting weaker to you?+ Chambers paused. Yeah. Its actually been a while since he thought of anything lustful or felt that crushing, consuming need. +Yeah. Yeah, it has.+ He didnt like that. Fallen Heavens didnt just stop affecting you for no reason. Either they were about to experience some more random eldritch bullshit or something more calculated was going on. Chambers hoped it was the former. The fact the Soulflame was near blinding by this point didnt help his anxiety either. They were close to the shard. He could feel it. And maybe it could feel them too. Maybe that was what brought about these Aedon. Come Take Chambers felt both his Heavens flinch as if struck within his Liminal Frame. His being rattled. And Cas didnt fare any better. The Columner cried out as a rippling veil of static burst apart, sending them tumbling through the air, falling Falling forward instead of downward. Drawn by a very tangible force that had been reaching for them all this time. They werent snatched through there so much as they were carried, pulled by unseen strings attached to their hearts. Both Chambers and Cas clutched their chests at the same time. The sensation was less painful and more uncomfortable. It was like getting everything you liked and desired pried out from your chestsome kind of fucked up ontological dissociation. While Chambers bobbed in the air, Cas struggled. Cas tried pulling back. No! No! Let go! Dont touchstay away! Let go of my faith! Letlet go! Cas! Chambers called out. The Columner didnt hear himor wasnt listening. Cas! Stop. I dont think its trying to to They accelerated. The force carried them through the complex maze of umbilical and caked flesh until they were through the nest and facing a roaring flame. But rather than a manifested Heaven hammering against their wards, Chambers found a ruptured heart at the center of the mess. It was still beating, pumping weakly though it was, and through chunks of missing flesh and hissing Soulfire, Chambers saw the shape of a person clenched inside. He recognized her. Even from so far away. Kae! This close to the shardthe heart whatever the fuck he was looking at, Chambers could see over a dozen other tunnels around them. Where they went he didnt know, but he felt more confident about his interconnected rash theory. There were also the bodies of Sang bioforms dangling from below the heart. A golem half-sunken beneath a mass of writhing tissue far below as well. Seemed like the No-Dragons did send in a survey team. They didnt make it out, though. Chambers swallowed, hoping he wasnt heading toward a similar fate. As they sailed over the heart, he and Cas were released into a gaping wound. Chambers hit the ground running, nearly tripping over a ridge of furrowed meat, while Cas called out behind him. The fact the heart was still beating made it hard to keep his footing. So it was that he got to Kae, stumbling, rolling, and crawling. Her upper shoulder, right arm, and part of her face was bared to him, while the rest of her remained deep in the mesh. Chambers reached out using his Heavenand felt his stomach empty out. Parts of Kae were missing. Fuck, most of her was gone. That couldnt beshe had to have more of herself left. Aedon, the Fucktopia began. No! Chambers snarled. He climbed an uneven slope until he was finally before herpunching the pulsing flesh beneath him with his Bioigniter in frustration to stop its constant beating. No! He got her finally and took her by the arm. Without hesitation, he pulled. Chamberswait! Cas cried. Kae slipped free from the crevice where she was lodged. And she was too light. And the Heaven was right. This was all that was left of her. Part of her upper shoulder connected to her arm. Half her right face, no further than a single eye. He placed her down on the hearttried to regrow her using his Bioigniter. But there was nothing he could touch. Her pattern was wrong. Ruined. Too much of her was just ontologically fucked. Like they didnt exist conceptually anymore either. Cant grow. Not flesh. Flesh forgotten. Cant grow. The Bioigniter cracked with dissatisfaction. The burning Heaven shifted, and the flesh and wood inside it swam like drifting debris. Chambers tried a few more times, straining against impossible before Cas gripped the back of his arm. Chamberscome on, Cas said, gently. Come on. Shes Chambers looked at Kaes remains for the first time. Genuinely looked. Despair consumed him. Here was the truth he felt, the truth he knew, and the truth he hoped against. Where Kae Kusanade was, irreparably broken. Aw, fuck, Chambers moaned. The strength went out of him like air squeezed out of burst lung. He looked down at the one he failedthe one they all failed. She was one of them. She had done everything she could, suffered so much, only for this to be her head. Only for this to be her final fate. Kae. Fuck. Im so godsdammed sorry. Im Im He knelt down and cradled her broken sheath. The parts missing from her were sharp and jagged. It was like she was a piece of broken glass than a person. Soulfire hissed out from her many wounds, and she stared on blankly at him with the half-face she still had. It hurt to meet her eye, but he did. And Chambers didnt have any words to say. He tried to find something, but he was empty inside. Empty because he was a vacuous person. Just porn and substance and nothing but that. Nothing to offer even now. Im sorry. That was all he had. The first of his tears escaped him. They dropped onto Kaes cheek and rested there. He closed his eyes and a few more fell thereafter. Closing his eyes, he knelt and there and just stewed. Chambers didnt sob. Got that habit beat out of him before he ever even got into his teens. But he did whimper. And Cas did pat his back. And then a hand wiped the tears from his face. Chambers thought it was Cas for a moment, but remembered that the Columners fingers hand calluses or were made of metal. These were warm, soft, and delicate, like Chambers opened his eyes and found the ruin of Kae holding his face. She opened her mouth, tried to say something, but she had no lungsmost of her mind was gone as well. There wasnt even an accretion here. But she managed to press her hand deeper into his face all the same. Finally, a small smile pulled at her expression, and she came apart into a ripple of Soulfire. The rest of the heart began collapsing along with her, and all that bright flowed in one direction: toward Aedon Chambers. ACCESSING LIMINAL FRAME OVERWRITING LIMINAL FRAME CONFIGURATION It is okay, Aedon. It is not over. We are not yet gone. The voice was Kae. Was Avo. Was so many more. Cas was saying something again, but Chambers couldnt hear him. This is unworthy time. And there is no one unworthier. No one unworthier and more suited to bear the mantle of Love. The city has forgotten. And you have never known. But learn and change. So that you can finally become UPDATED TO [STILLBORN] TEMPLATE WARNING: HEAVEN [REMEMBRANCE] HAS SUFFERED SEVERE ONTOLOGICAL DAMAGE WARNING: HEAVEN [REMEMBRANCE] LACKS x1 CYCLER x1 HELL ATTENTION HEAVEN SYMMETRY DETECTED >[FUCKTOPIA]/[REMEMBRANCE] OPTIONS >RESTORE MYTHOLOGY >ALIGN HEAVENS [FUCKTOPIA]/[REMEMBRANCE] The rippling flames swirled around Chambers. He felt a particularly large penis plop on his shoulder. Turning, he saw the Fucktopia looming over him, their mind brimming with resolve and excitement. Im ready, Aedon. And youre ready too. You heard what she said. You know we gotta be more than what we used to be. We gotta be hard for ourself. For everyone we wanna help. I I dont know, Chambers said. I dont know if Im good enough for this. I just I dont know anything about fucking Love. Fucking Dannis didnt know about lovehe died alone! Then we change. And we learn. And we become whoever we need to be. Getting a hydrapede nest forced up your severed castration wound is easy, Chambers. So is suffering in agony while a bunch of evil henchmen stomp on the eggs to get the hydrapedes to shred your urinary tract. Thats what the world does to you. All you had to do was take it and live. But youre not going to make things better by taking it. Staying hard in body and mind isnt enough. We gotta be unbreakable in our Soul too. Because if we dont choose Love, someone else will. And theyre going fuck this city, Chambers. Fuck this world like a rusted knife up the ass. So. What are we going to do? Are we going to be a piece of shit like dad? Are we going to be runner like mom? Or are we going to be Aedon Chambers? FATELESS like all the others; but still here. Still hard. Chambers nodded. I you know, I dont even really know who I am anymore Then I think its time we find out. Yeah. Yeah. Fuck it. This isnt done. We got a reality to put back together. Lets see how this Love thing fucks. HEAVENS UPDATING ALIGNMENT IN PROGRESS 30-7 By Love Are We Bound I dont know! I dont know whats happening to the rash! I dont fucking know why its changing! We need to get out, we need to Oh Oh, I see now I see I Its okay. Its all going to be okay. -Mem-Log of Agnos Nasu Kalimus 30-7 By Love Are We Bound [Cas] Uncertainty had been Cas life. Uncertainty about if he was going to be alive or dead in the next few seconds. Uncertainty with every word he spoke, every asset he saved or burned. Uncertainty, because when you played games in the dark with the Great Guilds of Noloth, you lost more than you won, and lessons learned came in the form of lives lost. All that uncertainty couldnt match what he was feeling right now. The Heaven of Love gripped him with a different kind of anxiety altogetherthe cold dread that reminded him that he was just a demiurge and not an actual angel. That there were things twisted and unknowable even to him. Avo had been one of those things, but the abyss was easier to enter when you knew it was benevolent. Well, as benevolent as a flesh-eating monster could be. But as rippling tides of fire collapsed around Chambersreshaped his fucked up Heaven of Dicks, two pressures clenched in Cas chest. The first had to do with the No-Dragons; no way they didnt notice this. Trouble was going to be coming. And soon. The second was with Chambers. Cas trusted the former Enforcer enough, and no truly was ever too far in the dark to redeem themselves and earn the Lords righteous embrace. But the shard of Love was broken, and Chambers was just a man. A tortured man who, despite all his growth, remained less than an ideal candidate to hold so much power. But then again, who ever was? The Godclads were all iconoclasts draped in the flesh of the eldritch beasts born of mans fallen culture. From the flesh of Idheim, this Nu-Soddom given form, goodness fell as paltry embers amidst a sea of fetid black. None were worthy of their power. None should be able to wield the might of creation. And those that did so inflicted upon mankind their blackest age. Shielding himself from the collapsing wavelengths of fire, Cas cried out to Chambers repeated, tried to use soundwaves to draw him in. All that to no avail. Chambers was someplace between flesh and spirit now, his transforming superimposing his debauched but noble Heaven over his body. Around them, the twisted interior of the megablock was coming apart. The mangled nest enmeshed with fused bodies and half-formed births wasnt so much collapsing as it was pulling apart at the metaphysical seams. Trails of Soulfire pulled the nightmarish architecture into Chambers along a million wires. They glided into him, and sprouted forth thereafter like a mess of briars from his Heaven. Chambers! Cas called again. No response. The Columner tried using his ansible and found no success there, either. Without further recourse, he turned his connection to Thresholds most clandestine servers and sent out a wide-broadcast to Aegis. {This is Operative Canduir. We have secured a shard of the Remembrance, but Operative Chambers is undergoing changes. We are located at Everpeace Toweranticipate heavy No-Dragon response.} Calvino immediate sent him a direct connection and Cas accepted. {Whats his condition?} Cas paused as he tried to observe Chambers. The ontological presence of the man was growing, and the world around him was burning brighter than ever. Cas wasnt sure why he hadnt been consumed by the Soulfire was well. Perhaps it was because whatever remained of the Stillborn could differentiate him from the architecture of Fallen Love. Or maybe this was Chambers doing. Whatever the case, power was flowing into Chambers. A lot of power, and not just from here. Considering all the tunnels leading off into different directions, it wouldnt surprise Cas if the infection was interconnecting several different portions of the city to the same liminal space. {I got no fucking idea,} Cas finally admitted. {Hes not responsive right now but} A sudden tug cut Cas off. The Columner let out a surprised gasp as he nearly felt himself get torn of his manifested Heaven. The presence that pulled at him was something beyond force or space. It was a kind of inexorable pressure connected to how he felt given tangible gravity. He felt it earlier when the Fallen Heaven of Love drew him and Chambers across to the disfigured heart at the core of this place. Cas? Chambers voice came from inside Cas, from all around him as well. Chambers? Cas replied, speaking through his Heaven. Distant soundwaves pulsed over him. Cas caught the noise and isolated them quicklybuzzing wings. Scout bioforms, most likely. The No-Dragons were coming. They needed to get gone, and get gone now. The shape of Chambers Heaven was increasingly changing into a tangled mesh. The wires passing from him into his manifesting demiurge were extending further and further, streching beyond the limits of this physical space. But a few burrowed into Cas. They didnt hurt upon passing into his being, but he felt them there, and he felt the force gripping his emotions grow even stronger. Do not worry. A third voice boomed within Cas. He knew this one as wellIgnorance; Avos subconsciousness. Chambers is changing. Becoming something else. Some he can find purpose in. Not lost to you. Not nearly. Yeah, but I need him The No-Dragons will not be able to stop him. For they want. They feel. Their threads are obvious. Let them come. Let Chambers learn. But the road ahead harder for me to see. Uncertain. Paths and imagined histories comingle. Love is broken. New Vultun has been made up of broken people chasing desires for so long. Wounds have been left. In this comes symmetry. They are Chambers. And he is them. Together might they create new bindings. Or together may they fall to the absence at their core. To indulge in lust and depravity deprived from their tastes for so long. Love is lost. Need you, Cas. Good man. Righteous man in this sunken place. Need you to be a shepherd. And a consang for him while I am not Ignorances words and existence faded from Cas mind like drifting wind, but even without the Definement, purpose filled him. The Soulfire around Chambers was dimming. The No-Dragons were fast approaching. But they werent his main concern. Chambers was. Chambers needed his help somehowthis Cas knew in a place deeper than his bones. {Attention Cas,} Calvino said casually. {Ive gotten a report that one of our logistical delivery capsules has malfunctioned and is currently on track to impact Everpeace Tower. We will see it dispersed into polyfoam to reduce any possibility of damage, though this might encase a good few blocks in fast-decaying cocoon-like substance for an hour.} {Yeah?} Cas chuckled as he exposed his fully manifested Heaven to existence. The vibrating sphere he was elongated to become a cross-shaped guitar, with shivering strings and wood molded from quavering water. If they were about to make a fight of this, there wasnt any point of turtling up. {Seems like someone up there is looking after us.}If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. {Appears to be so. Get out of there as soon as you can, operative.} {Synced on that.} Beside him, the last of the radiance peeled away from the megablock into Chambers, restoring the interior of Everpeace Tower to its original state. Instead of being lost in down a canal of bodies and births, Cas beheld thousands of corpses strewn about a curved surface. From afar, it looked as if someone had carved the shape of bowl out of the once-immense structure, exposing a good three-fourths of its mass to the elements. Neither were they kilometers deep anymore. No, a swarm of drones and Whalequeens were coming, their bodies blotting out the neon-red warning lights veiling the exterior of the block. Fuck it. Let them come. Cas began to pluck the Low E string on his Heaven. Been a while since he played something heavy; something angry with a tinge of grunge. They bugs were coming to make a mess of themselves, and he was than content to oblige. Soundwaves passed out from Cas and as they traveled they displaced matter outward by inches, compressing the exterior with the interior. In about five or so seconds, the first of his notes would hit the coming swarm and from them would sound a series of pops. Cas would then amplify the volume of those pops and keep plucking away at his Dissonant Grumble, let em break themselves on the approach. Kinda like that noise, Chambers said. He sounded pretty coherent by now, and Cas found himself relieved. There, the two of them hovered at the epicenter of the gouged megablock, the residence now resembling a cleaved cauldron carpeted with human bodies. But where Chambers special Heaven had been an absurd throne of dicks before, now it was something else altogether. Tendrils of soft, pale magenta composed the vagueness of a human form. With every second, the seams made up by these tendrils would throb in mimicry of a heart. Wide, misshapen fingers jutted out from the sides of the Heaven, and a thousand strings extended in all directions, connecting what once was Chambers Fucktopia to all corners of the world. He was the heart o a growing nesta nest that included Cas as wella nest that sought the oncoming bioforms. The supposed head of Chambers new Heaven resembled an open portal into a place filled with pulsating tissue, while a grand void-black absence left a deep furrow where his heart was supposed to be. And through it all, the feeling of gravity that Cas felt only intensified. There was a pull here. A pull between all things, exerted through these growing strings, and all Chambers needed to was tug MEM-DATA UPDATED HEAVEN IDENTIFIED FUCKTOPIA > LOVEBRINGER (LOVE/CORRESPONDENCE/BIOLOGY/FORCE/LUST) [EST. 888,888 THAUM/C] *** [Chambers] Aedon Chambers knew what it was like to be connected with someone else. He connected with people before via shared vics, shard Ghost-Links, shared mem-cons, shared organsusually stolenand even shared needles in desperate times. With a Metamind, you could get pretty close to being an empathy if you tweak your settings, disabled your wards, and just dissociated from yourself for a while. But all these things paled before the sheer connectivity he felt right now. Thoughts were only part of the whole. How people felt wasnt what Chambers expected at all. All his life, he liked to imagine the Heaven of Love as a strange fucked-up bucket of shit, piss, booze, kidney stones, and other stuff everyone used as a communal drinking well. How could that many people use the same thing without leaving it like a public shithole, after all. But that wasnt it. Love wasnt some kind of spring to draw from. It was a weight that could wax and wane. It was a set of connections that bound things together, like some kind of mess physics system. It was all the things you yearned for and thought of, and would give anything to have, and how they connected to you. Love was a leash. Love was a series of interlaced fingers. Love was clinging. Love was a lingering gaze. Love was an idea: apart, but also a new whole together. A wholeness he was now a cornerstone too. Strings escaped Chambers-the strings that composed his new Heaven, Fucktopia no more. They passed through all that could feel around him; those that were capable of love or want, and everything that could be loved beside. All yearns to be joined, the Lovebringer sang. Their voice wasnt that much different from the Fucktopia, but higher, lighter, and far more resonant. Manifesting the Heaven felt strange. Different than all the Heavens Chambers manifested before. He wasnt just a metaphysical entity bound to one place anymore. Instead, he was constantly stretching, like an aratnid weaving parts of its own flesh into a web. It took what felt like an eternity for Chambers to claw his way through the nest of connections and strings, and now, as he assumed the mantle of the Heaven within the emptiness at his core, he perceived the world around him not with eyes but connection. Links. Tethers. Bonds. CANONSTIES THAT BIND (IV) (LOVE/CORRESPONDENCE/FORCE): YOU CAN PULL AT BONDS OF LOVE, LUST, OR DESIRE BETWEEN ENTITIES. THE INTENSITY OF THEIR YEARNING BECOMES THE STRENGTH YOU CAN APPLY. YOU CAN MERGE BONDS THAT SHARE EXTREME SIMILARITIES AND MAGNIFY THEIR EFFECTS. HUBRIS: YOU WILL SUFFER VARIABLE BACKLASH SHOULD A BOND OF LOVE BE LOST BASED ON THE STRENGTH CONTAINED WITHIN THE BOND. ABSENTHEARTED (LOVE/CORRESPONDENCE): YOU CHOOSE ANOTHER OBJECT, ENTITY, OR EVEN IDEA TO BECOME AN OBJECT OF YOUR AFFECTION. A REPRESENTATION OF THE OBJECT WILL FILL YOUR HEART AND FEELINGS OF ABSOLUTE LOVE WILL PERVADE YOUR BEING. THE MORE OBJECTS YOU USE TO FILL YOUR ABSENTHEARTEDNESS, THE FASTER YOUR REND WILL CLIMB. HUBRIS: LOSING YOUR OBJECT OF DESIRE WILL RESULT IN EXTREME (70%) BACKLASH C0C2NNA [ERROR] REPAIRING LINGERING DAMAGE REVERTING REMAINING CANONS Chambers jolted out from his euphoric reverie. Damn. The Heaven of Love was one broken sow. He could still feel the pieces drifting inside him. You alright, Fuckuh, Lovebringer? Wait? Lovebringer? Did he choose that name? He didnt remember Its what I wish to be called, his Heaven answered. The tendrils leading out from it were tightening. Chambers felt the bioforms shooting toward himfelt them by the faintest connections between them and the Whalemaws. And from the Whalemaws the bonds expanded even more, stretching all around the Chambers for well over three kilometers. There were other bonds here too. Bonds between people. Illicit lovers working in the same area. Siblings. Comrades. The strength in these bonds traced thaumaturgical bridges across the skeletal cage surrounding Everpeace Tower and beyond. To Chambers surprise, his reach extended as far as their yearning, with binds traveling for hundreds of kilometers away. Yet, the tether was still attached to him. Yet, he could still pull on the connection, if he so chose. Oh, gods, what the fuck now? I hope my daughter is okay Ni Wa? Where are you? Where are you? Please be okay! What the hells are we looking at? Are those Heavens? Did we get infiltrated by hostile Godclads? Fuck, if those are Godclads I dont want to be here Words filtered through Chambers. By the merits of his links, his ontology passed through them, aligned him with them, and allowed him a peek into their hearts and minds. The sursurring information was nigh-constant, as was the building hunger that filled his body. He wanted flesh? No. These were impulses passing over into him from another set of strings. The bioforms. The Whalemaws. Some bonds broke as the first wave of bioforms slammed into Cass low-noted strumming. Chitinous apes flattened into themselves. Hundreds of bioforms came folded inward in layers, matter displaced by wavelengths of space. But thousands more came. And the Whalequeens let out keening bellows. The deaths of the first wave of bioforms tightened the bonds between the remainder of their kind and their spawner Whalequeens as well. Chambers, Cas said, voice reverberating from all around. I dont know what changed for you Heaven besides all the cocks getting turned into pubes, but you better do something, or were going to be in the actual shit when their Godclads show up. Yeah, alright, Chambers said, tentatively. Fuck, there was no Avo here to feed him insta-knowlege. He needed to figure out how to do shit the classic way. Too bad Chambers was always kind of a shitty student. Here goes. Uh, pull! Chambers drew back hard. Hard on all the bongs connected to every being capable of love in his vicinity. And they promptly tugged on every bond leading out from them, and every bond after that, and every bond after that. Chambers cycler nearly filled with Rend an instant, but more harrowing, he felt the aftermath of his action in full loving detail as every single being connected to his love lurched toward each other regardless of distance, despite walls or other structures between, at varying velocities based on intensity. Bioforms zipped back toward their Whalequeens and spattered against the leviathans bodies. Lovers, siblings, comrades, parents, children, and more slammed hard against walls and were flung off ledges. The words inadvertent massacre wouldve been an apt description for what followed, except Chambers prevented that by triggering his second new and functional canon, Absenthearted. Filling the hollow in his Heavens chest with countless people was simple. They were paltry things that cost minute Rend. The problems came when new bonds were formed with Chambers ontologically transformed to learn the full weight of love. And with that came absolute horror and sorrow at the harm he already inflicted. Nonononshitshitshit! What the fuck have I done! REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 4% WARNING: REND SPIKE! 30-8 Feeling Good Correspondence. Such a strange Domain to study. Some novitiate Agnosi liken it to the Domain of Spacesand of course they would. That is the way its patterns seem to work on the surface, anyhow. The defiance of distance is commonly understood to belong to only a few Domains. Of course, Borders, Geometry, and Boundaries can all be included as well due to varying cultural understandings, but as Kaswis Unifying Theory of Branching Archetypes, Modernist Thaumatugical Theorist all attribute Heavens into the greater and offshoot variantswhich is why we have so very many Heavens of Space now. Of course, the up-and-comers in Dimensionality are besieging the Spatials as I lecture, so another paradigm shift might follow in a decade at the most. But though the Modernists might be able to smuggle a few canons from what they consider to be offshoot Domains by being loose with interpretations of old mythology, the same trick hasnt taken off with Correspondence. And for good reason at that. Ultimately, Space brushes Correspondence more than the other way around. When you think of someonehave a connection to something, you exist in relative areas, but arent technically anomalously bound in any way. The miracles at play here are based on connection, not relative position or even Dimensionality. Lets use the Remembrance as an example. You can love something or someone without them being anywhere near you. Or even functionally within this dimension at all. You might love your deceased pet, and this causes bonds to briefly form as you see other people play with their nu-dogs; or perhaps you love a song, and a Correspondence is made wherever that song is playing. And then there are other factors beyond Space. Like how strong the connection is. Or how it might only exist at certain times, under certain conditions. All this to say, my fellows, that we should look at the exact details in the patterns. Breadth is for conjecture and comparison. But we are not here for breadth. We are here to compose miracles, and that will not be done by weary minds or stubborn hearts. -High Agnos Jakuta Ajayi 30-8 Feeling Good SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT! Chambers could feel them. All of them. The ones he chose to love filled that emptiness in his heart and from him shot tethers carried straight to their beings. Distance wasnt a factor. The time it took for him to form these bonds was instantaneous, but worst of all was the pain the guilt that came with it. And the intensity. Holy fuck, the intensity of actually loving someone was nova-hot misery. Worse was feeling how much he had hurt them. They were just little tiny ephemerals. Thank fuck they were Sangbio-rigs kept more than a few from liquefying outright from the speeds he yanked them earlier. And the bioforms! Those poor bee-ape fucks! They were just doing what the Whalequeen wanted them to do. They were good juvs. Couldnt even think. This wasnt their faultthey didnt ask to be alive. And here he and Cas were, just fucking snuffing them. Squishing them by the thousands. Gods he was a piece of shit. There were over twenty-two thousand beings entwined with him. They were like little specks on a string he could just pull around. And he loved them so, so, so much! So much that he didnt even dare to pull. Just had to keep them there. In place. If he tugged even a little, they would all shoot in his direction from wherever they were. That meant smearing thousands against walls, tearing them out of their aeros, from public transit, off bridges or through windows. He could even feel the pilots running the local Porter golems! The ones forming the demiplanar perimeter around Everpeace. He could feel them inside their tight little cockpits, and with the slightest yank, he tore their golems through layers untangling Space. Not even another Domain could stop his reach. It was too complete, too true, too total. At once, the blurry certain that shrouded Everpeace tower collapsed, revealing the district beyond. And even more bonds came into sight. Bonds running everywhere, lining everything. He could barely see the material world any more. Everything was layered beneath a coat of interconnected threads. Chambers wards began to jolt wildly, and his trauma damage began to build. There was so many so much want and lust and love going everywhere. He could feel Marlowe in that messsomehow, he sorted her out easily, a bond running between her and the eighteen drink she was having that day in the bar. There were other strings trailing out from her heart too. Including an incredibly faint one that was slowly inching toward him across the city, but dissolved before it even got a tenth of the way. Love was too much, too total. He didnt know what the fuck he was doing. He was the wrong guy for this power. The absolute wrong fucking guy. Oh oh, no. I was wrong, Aedon. I was very, very wrong. I regret this! I regret all of this! Love is poison. Love is pain. Why did you let me merge with the Remembrance? Why couldnt you have stopped me The Lovebringer sobbed, and Chambers wasnt far behind them. Fuck you, I was the one who was uncertain. You talked me into this. Not the other way around. I was all apprehensive and shitI liked you as a big pile of dicks, we didnt need this! Something was hatching out from his chest. There was so much pressure there, he needed to breathe but couldnt. Everything hurt. His nerves were on fire, his mind was a haze of chaos, and and The bonds that extended from him kept thousands of his new lovers in place. Swarms of bioforms strained in the air, unable to push through the links that ran them through. No matter how strong their bodies were, it was nothing before Chambers love. The same thing with the Whalequeens. There were dozens of them nearby the megablock, but they were all pinned in place by the thinnest of threads. They let out pitched screams of confusion even as their multi-ton bodies thrashed in the sky. But Chambers felt no more struggle holding them in place than the lesser bioforms they spawned. Then came the people, and that gnawed at Chambers worst of all. Some of them werent movinglimbs pointing at awkward angles from the sheer torque they experienced earlier. A few hundred No-Dragon technical personnel were frozen in midair, Chambers bonds halting them from a fatal fall. There were Agnosi there toothis Chambers knew. He was close enough to hear their thoughts and taste the pain and fear in their hearts. But they werent the only ones he was connected to through Correspondence; the ones they cared about had been pulled into his network as welland their lovers thereafter. Chambers stopped there, but the dense lattice of magenta bonds that once composed his Heaven expanded to something that swallowed the entire block itself. And though desire, love, and want leaked out from him, the reverberations caught by his links delivered only pain and fear in return. That hurt the most. Knowing that he inflicted so much pain on those he loved. Feeling them struggle against his touch. They didnt want him. They were trying to run from him, just like mom did. Oh, he knew that they knew knew that Aedon Chambers was an unlovable piece of shit. Thats why everyone left him in the end. Thats why he couldnt have anything for long. Mom, grandparents, the cadre. None of that was going to stay. He should just Gods, it was painful to feel this much. Everything inside him was being consumed. Chambers sobs melted into his Heavens, and both of them broke down, an emotionally distraught spider ruined by the love it felt for all the fleas in its web. Chambers? Cas said. Chambers didnt respond. Oh, the cultist was a decent guy with nice hair and a good chin, but what would heChambers noticed a particular strong bond revolving through Cas, recognized that as his faith. Oh, wasnt that nice? Wasnt that beautiful. To have that kind of relationship with himself. Something that no one could take. Other than Chambers. Chambers could totally snatch that love. Maybe he should just dip in and learn how Cas was No, Chambers, the Lovebringer groaned. Metaphysical snot erupted from the questionable portal it had for a head. We ruin everything we touch. We have to keep ourselves away. We have to get more of those people back on the platforms and run. And then and then we need to let them go. No! Chambers cried. No. I dont want to. I dont want to stop loving it. But I also do. Fucckkkkkkkk! Why does it feel like this! Why! Twist my ballspour acid into my eyes and shit! Fuck me to death like they did Dannis with that cylindrical chainsaw in Gore Hour Nine. But put a stop to t-t-this Christ above. Chambers barely heard Cas mutter, but it was enough. He was embarrassing himself too. Gods, this was supposed to be the moment he proved that he was capable of taking over after Avo. He was supposed to to get hard enough to live as his own man I gotta get hard, Chambers whimpered. What? Cas muttered. I gotta get hard enough to stop loving. MYTHOLOGY REPAIRED CANONS UPDATED CANON ECSTASY ETERNAL (CORRESPONDENCE/LUST): YOU CAN MANIFEST A SENSATION OF UNRIVALED PLEASURE IN ALL BONDED ENTITIES CAPABLE OF FEELING LUST.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. HUBRIS: TRYING TO TRIGGER THIS CANON IN AN ENTITY INCAPABLE OF LUST WILL RESULT IN MINOR (5%) THAUMIC BACKLASH. A burst of Soulfire escaped Chambers. With it, another part of his Heaven solidified. But it didnt offer Chambers any solace. Instead, it opened him to a whole new avenue of sensation. Lust. All of it. It was just there earliera vague presence among his Domainsbut now it was stable, and he felt every last urge, fetish, and deviant need through his bonds. WARNING! SEVERE TRAUMA SUSTAINED COG-CAP - 89% WARDS APPROACHING OVERLOAD Cas! Chambers cried. Save the people! What? What fucking people? Cas replied. The Sang. The Agnosi. The people who were on the bone-cage-thing around this block. Some of them are just dangling there. Save em! Save the bioforms too. Oh, fuck, oh, dead gods, Im a piece of shit. A beat followed. Chambers why would I BECAUSE I LOVE THEM! AND I LOVE YOU TOO! I LOVE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE I TOUCH! I WANT TO FUCK THEM TOO! AND I WANT THEM TO FUCK ME AND EACH OTHER! I WANT TO MAKE THE WORD ONE BIG LOVE-FUCK PILE THAT I CAN JUST PROTECT! Jesusnow, Im seeing why the Heaven of Love was supposed to be communal. The emotions carried over from Cas were disbelief, horror, and some disgust. No love for Chambers. Just his faith. And that made Chambers very, very sad. Love was all around him, but there was still too little of it. Still not enough. The world was so cold, so lonely But maybe maybe, he could make everyone feel good. Maybe he could give everyone a dose of absolute pleasure. Yeah yeah, we should do it, the Lovebringer said. Look at them theyre all so helpless and sad Theres all this love and want and were the only ones feeling it its not right. Its not fucking right, consang. Your right, consang. All these years the citys been keeping it in. So much shit has been pressed down. Its fuck up. But maybe today today we can do so good. Today, we teach them how to love and want again. We show them what true love and true lust feels like. A loud reverberation washed out from Cas. He still wasnt saving anyone. In fact, he was doing the oppositetrying to wrap Chambers in waves of sound. Dammit, Cas I told you to save my lovers. Chamberstheyre not your lovers, your mind is being twisted by your Heaven, you need to I gotta show everyone how we feel! Chambers and the Loverbringer said as once. Its time New Vultun busts as one. What? Cas cried, aghast. A string on his Heaven twanged in shock. Chambers! Chambers! Cas flinched away from new bonds burrowing into him. Or he tried. There was no escaping the correspondence of love. Everyone was going to feel good.Chambers! For the love of Chambers spread his bonds. Through every person, through every object, into existing bonds, from the over-loved, to the lonely and dying, he instilled them all with his ontology, and he called forth the full power of his Ecstasy Eternal. Everyone was going to feel good right now. Everyone. Him. His Lovebringer. Cas. Marlowe. The Massists. The Saintists. The artnids. The Joyfiends tripping out thirty kilometers away. The funny-looking nu-dogs humping each other in the bushes on a patio. Everyone. Cas words trailed off into a loud and ragged moan. Cham-bers you fucckkk! Oh, Sweet Christ in Heaven. Oh oh, god His Heaven vanished, leaving only Cas trembling in mid-air, held aloft by Chambers bonds and spasming as the full might of Lust and Love flooded his being. But he wasnt alone. All across the city, from the Agnosi and No-Dragons managing Everpeaces quarantine to the subjects and citizens in the surrounding blocks all got a full blast of lovin as well. Finally, the world came alive with criesshared proclamations of Holy fuck, no, not now, why! and incoherent screams of primal release. As the feeling built in them, feedback came around, surging back into Chambers as well. COG-CAP - 98% WARNING: WARDS CRITICAL Yes! Chambers said. Feel the love! Feel my love! *** [Marlowe] And so, he says to me he says. the bartenders expression twitched and grew inscrutable. She swallowed and shifted her body awkwardly, her ribald little tale about prior customers strangely interrupted by whatever she was experiencing. You alright? Marlowe asked. Shed been here for nearly the entire day trying to squeeze out scoopsand bum drinksfrom those around her. The bartender had been working the entire time without rest. Just her and a couple of modified eunuchs as servers. She didnt seem tired at all during the rush earlier, but maybe she was feeling something now. The bartender just nodded. Yeah, Im just is it warm in here? Marlowe as about to say no, but her body suddenly flushed as well. A surge of heat ignited inside her. Id say it''s hooh, oh. She gripped the bar top. The bartender did as well, with her natural and transplanted limbs. All around them, people embraced their own bodies, and let out gasps and groans. Marlowe blinked. Were the drinks poisoned? Was this some kind of viral attack or Her coherent thinking collapsed. And things started to feel really, really good. Oh, sweet fuck in hells, Marlowe muttered. She knew what this wasfelt them plenty of times from the vics but its been a good decade or so since her actual body did this. Shit, a scarred man in a holocoat muttered, clinging to his seat for dear life. Shit, no, please, not in front of everyoneaghhh! And with his hoarse cry, the dam broke. Everyone in the bar came undone, bodies twisting, faces grimacing, and stains growing What the fuck is happening *** [Sui High Thinker] Fine, then! High Thinker wept, slapping the corpse of Farsong, her sister, dead from a joy overdose. Fine. You did it. You hurt me! You hurt me good! You finally did it! You finally killed yourself and left me alone just like I always thought you would! The lights above her flickered. Shadow and bright alternated in Farsongs unblinking eyes. Groans began to sound from other occupants in the drug den. High Thinker didnt care about them. She tracked her sister here to save her. But that wasnt fucking happening now, was it? No, all her efforts were pointless. All those promises Farsong made about getting clean got undone the moment it looked like the world was going to end after Scale ruptured. Went straight to her favorite dealer after that. And straight here. With the Nether collapsed, there was no way to reach and so High Thinker sniffled. Her body was burning. Gods, she didnt know grief would feel this hot, this this good Awhg, a Joyfiend three couches away grunted. Shit, I pissed mywait, this isnt this isnt piss Then the feeling of grief got very, very good, and High Thinker started convulsing over her dead sisters body. Whawhyoh, oh, dead gods! She didnt know why she was experiencing this now of all time. One didnt anticipate suffering the greatest orgasm of their life in a ruined den of vice over their sisters body, but life came at you fast in New Vultun. Guess what they said about the rash being over was true. And so, High Thinker stopped crying and started screaming. Her voice was but one few hundred thousand in the block. *** [Dowager Ning Golden Song] Dowager Golden Song was scheduled to meet with a certain group of Agnosi today. Something about a block afflicted by Wombrash while reports elsewhere claimed the metaphysical malady had miraculously cured. With the amount of problems stacking up on Golden Songs plate, it was getting increasingly hard for her to actually care. Everything was going to shit. The Tiers were being displaced after that horror show at Scale. The High Seraph was missing. The Fifth Guild War had entered a phase of uncertain limbo before it could fully start, and she was overseeing combat operations against Stormtree while actively working Sanctus toward mutual benefit in other places. Most frustrating of all was how her fellow Dowagers thought now was a good time to start making their power plays. The bureaus and courts of the No-Dragons were moving into the opening phases of a shadow war. Dowagers vied against all comers to hold their power, while the younger of their cyclical sisterhood struggled to survive. To be Sang was to have your fate sealed. You lived as part of a cursed cycle: you experienced the same series of events as all other Sang, aging at the same pace, giving birth after the same passage of time, losing the same amount of children, bleeding the same amount of blood, and eventually succumbing to the same dragon-damned disease. There was no mundane remedy to the cycles end. It was a fixed moment in their personal timelines as much as the rest of their lives. No amount of nanosurgeons could prevent them from hemorrhaging a final time, and not even fully grafting oneself into a full-weave bio-rig would delay the inevitable. Nothing other than claiming anothers place in the cycle. The Sang, more than any other clade in New Vultun, possessesd symmetry with one another. Blood could be shared. Organs could be offered. And even their fates could be swapped. And such was how one eventually became a Dowager. By claiming the cycle of a younger Sang for yourself, like a snake eating its way into young flesh, to an earlier point in time. Such was why Golden Song volunteered for Warrens duty. Sure, she had good odds of encountering Massists assassins or rival Godclads, but she was never one for shadow games. Better to strive and struggle in the light than plot and scheme within offices or mansions, wondering which of her sisters she was to kill for a few more years. +We are about to arrive, Dowager.+ The thoughtcast passed through the walls of her luxury aero. A protective cadre accompanied her. Handpicked elites, all of them. Doubtless they were less than pleased about her choice to leave the safety of the Living Territories that kept most Dowagers safe beneath layers of shifting biomass, but she was doing them a favor as wellno sense losing good Godclads to internal politics in a time of crisis. +Thank you, Second Sister,+ Golden Song replied. She almost activated her Auto-Seance before she stopped herself. Right. That didnt work anymore. A lot of things didnt work anymore. Briefly flicking her mind across the many inert menus within her Metamind, Golden Song winced slightly as she considered the fate of her stocks and businesses. It felt odd not being able to see +Uh, Dowager,+ the Second Sister said. +Were seeing someoh, ohhhh+ The Ghost-Link filled with a sudden spike of was that lustful pleasure? Golden Songs Lustaway activated immediately. The Dowager blinked and sat up in her chair. +Second Sister? Second Sister what is+ The presence promptly smashed through her like an avalanche. She didnt even see it comingwas helpless before the will of highest love. Her back arched. Her tigermorph bio-rig roared around her torso. And she learned that life could still very, very, good. 30-9 Unworthy Vessel And so it is that love found its newest vassal, himself a mirrored shadow to this city, a perfect, unworthy vessel. Chosen by the Dreamer, blessed with debauched lust and virtuous love, within him burgeons power beyond gods below and mortals above. Yet what path he takes, what shape will he bestow upon this city, driven mad with want and ruin from old? No path is clear, the future uncertain, for struck down is truth and the pasts and memories interwoven -The Stormsparrows Chorus 30-9 Unworthy Vessel [Chambers] COG-CAP - 134% CRITICAL: WARDS OVERLOADED UNABLE TO SUSTAIN TRAUMATIC YIELD WARNING: REND CAPACITY SPIKING REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 74% Chambers was love. Chambers was bliss. Chambers was lust. Above all, he was the source of all pleasure, want, and romance. It was an honor to dissolve amidst such sublime desires, and should this become his end, so let it be. All his life, he sought bliss, a substance to fill the emptiness that constantly gnawed at him. Ever since his mother left, after all his father inflicted, there was something missing in him. Something that made him less of a person. Now, he knew what that wholeness was. He knew that missing part was love. To care absolutely. To be the heart of this great loving between all. He knew what he sought all those years in his vicarities, experiencing Dannis suffering over and over. True love. True lust. All-satisfying. All-filling. All him. He was a providence of wonder returned to New Vutlun after years of exile, and he brought for this city blessings untold. And none would go without. Not him. Not any other being left in existence still capable of love. They would know pleasure and raw warmth of the heart like never before. And there would be no choice in the matter. His bonds multiplied and spread, every person an endpoint and propagator for his spread at the same time. His miracles grew with each arcing back, each screaming release, every sobbing sensation. Best of all, he wasnt bound by space, and so his spread slipped across entire Sovereignties, bestowing people glory by metaphysical connections. The bond that constituted his ontology usurped the very fabric of the material world. Buildings ceased to be. Space was an obsoleted notion. There was only him, the lovers, and the bonds that joined themmany and one at once. Though they shared different voices, they all felt the same relief when Lovebringer touched them. Everyone had been heart-dry for so long they could drink and drink and know only happiness if they were to burst. No parched fool feared a death by drowning; anything for one sup more. The bioforms folded in on themselves, their senses overloading. The Whalemaws flopped limply in the air, screeching loud. The hammer of desire smashed through the people as well. None stood a chance. None could reject the gifts Chambers delivered. Not Citizens nor subjects, not ephemerals or lesser Godclads. Chambers was a heart. He was a beating organ of magenta bright, and from him, through his bonds, his miracles pulsated, shivering and rushing into love filling the once-void at his core. They knew what it was to be love, and they knew what it was to be him, and this was all perfect. Perfect, Lovebringer said, "All this time, this is what we''ve been waiting to find. All these years for this moment, it was worth it All of it was worth it." The Lovebringer was weeping, sobbing. Their purpose had finally been met, and Chambers wept alongside them. All this time, he never knew. He never knew what he was missing, and it was then one of his bonds dissolved. A backlash detonated through his being. Soulfire bathed the world in incandescence. REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 83% The bond that just broke belonged to a connection between Chambers and a joyfiend known as Halcyon Reed. The man had been close to death, laying in an alleyway not four kilometers away, nested between two blocks. There, he''d done the last of his joy, and he was awaiting death to begin withthought rapture had finally come with the destruction of Scale. But before his final end, Chambers grasped him. Chambers bestowed upon him a pleasure beyond all chemical pleasures. A pleasure above, and it was too much. His biology, already driven to the point of overload by his addiction, collapsed. His nerves fried, and with a final, rasping breath, he passed over the threshold of ecstasy and then death. A shape vanished from within Chambers Absentheartedness. And so it was that the object of Chambers'' love vanished, lost. The correspondence lingered for a moment longer, but the string scattered apart instead of breaking. Love wasnt broken here as much as it was withered, wilting like the petals of a dying flower. With love came counter-emotion. One equally consuming, one equally devouring, and one most unwelcome. Grief. Such was the thing Chambers had fled from all his life. Such was the thing he was most familiar with. "No," the Lovebringer cried out, "no!" The Joyfiend wasn''t the first and only to fade. Other bonds disintegrated as well. Individual strings too small to be noticed amongst the myriad lattice. But they were equally important, for love was absolute, and every bond lost was a love lost. A love absolute. A backlash in response. Chambers practically welcomed the metaphysical agony. VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 96% Stop love! the Bioigniter crackled. The Heaven of Biology roiled inside Chambers, trying to rouse him from his stupor. But it was just a thing of fire and flesh. What did it know about the true nature of being human? Stop! Each death represented a love lost, and each death reminded him why Chambers was so afraid. Afraid to care, afraid to give himself to anyone or anything, finding feeling in vicarious moments stolen from another. He was afraid he would break if he lost it. That something inside him. That feeling of wholeness. He was afraid, and he was right. Losing just those few lovers was enough to sending him plummeting to the point of ultimate despair. COG-CAP - 1ERRR> Chambers! A cry breached through his drowned consciousness. Chambers barely noticed who was calling him. Was there someone calling him? There were so many, so many sensations, so many other people he was with right now. How was he to tell? The voice came a second time, carried on a growling riff that shook the world. He knew that noise, it was Cas? Why was he talking to Chambers right now? What was happening? How was he not consumed by love? Chambers turned his attention the faither next to him in the realno nearer or further based on the powers of Correspondence, and found them man consumed by lust as well. Consumed, but not ruled. Another bond circulated through Cas. One that cycled between him and himself. This was a bond of love. No hint of lust in it. It was pure. And it was somehow one of the strongest things Chambers ever known. Faith. True faith. True before Chambers even amplified it with his Domains. Genuine envy followed. Cas was a whole person. Whole even without the Heaven of Love.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Chambers was the wrong man for the Heaven. The wrong man for anything. But he couldnt stop now. He couldnt let go. Because he didnt want to go back. He didnt want to return to just being himself. [Cas] Myfaithismyshieldmyfaithismyshieldmyfaithismyshield Cos was feeling a special kind of violated suffering what could only be described as a spontaneous, forced, and unending series of releases that ruined his favorite pair of pants, but that needed to be resolved later. Right now, they had a district to escape, and he had a half-strand to save. Mostly from himself. The bonds drifting out from Chambers were only growing brighter and brighter with every passing second, and the heaven of love, that so-called love-bringer, was flooding the district with absolute, all-consuming lust. When the first waves of lust passed through Cos, he thought he was going to lose his mind. But alongside this absolute lust came another forcelove. Love was also magnified to an impossible degree. A love that crossed all bonds, including the one that existed between Cos and the Good Lord. That was the only reason why he was still sane now. The only reason why his mind, his rational choice, could surmount the overwhelming ache that consumed all others around him. But even so, he was dancing on the brink. The sheer amount of pleasure flooding through him was nearly enough to leave him mindless. He wanted it. He wanted it more than anything he ever wanted in his life. Almost anything. But to deprive himself of True Heavens embrace, to debase himself here of all places, to fall in Nu-Soddom, was something his ego couldn''t accept. But while he prevailed, Chambers succumbed, and succumbed hard. It seemed that the heart of love, the heaven that brought forth all these miracles, was no more resistant to the drug it peddled. Chambers was now an epicenter to a new contagion, a contagion of absolute release. And try as Cas might, he couldn''t stop him. His Heaven was a roaring melody, strings slamming into folds of space as he created plane after plane around Chambers. But it did nothing to contain the bonds leaving the Lovebringer. Whatever Correspondence was, Cas had no way of directly influencing it. But it sure as shit could twist his mind and body something bad. Fuck, Cas muttered to himself. He wasnt an Agnosmaybe Avo or Kae mightve had a plan, but he was more used to performing terrorist actions and sabotage than trying to pull someone back from False Apotheosis. And Chambers was experiencing as bad a case of Godclad delusion as anyone else Cas knew. But he needed to set Chambers free. He couldnt just leave him here and let one of the Guilds snatch him. Losing both a shard of the Stillborn and the Heaven of Love would basically leave them past the point of fucked. If they werent already there. He just didnt know how. Avo? Cas said out loud, "If you''re there, some guidance would be helpful. God Im open to all the help I can get right now" The pulsing miracles rushing out from Chambers were only growing faster. Cas bit his lip. Maybe he could use a disruption I wish I was you, Chambers said. His voice sounded clear across existence, like it was just the two of them. I wish I could just have that. That belief. That wholeness. You should have taken this Heaven shouldve been you. Okay. An opening. And an emotional topic. Fuck. Cas wasnt great with those. Truth be told, he was plenty bad with his own feelings all the timetried not to think about them. Probably not, Cas replied. Avo chose you He was wrong! Chambers cried out. I cant do I dont want to let go. It it feels too good. I dont want to stop being like this. And its going to overload me, kill me, snuff everyone connected to me. But I cant stop Another burst of Soulfire spread through Chambers, and Cas could practically taste the entropy. Shit. They were running on the edge of again. Time to figure something out, Canduir. No. No. It cant be me. Because if I was there with you, with all those bonds connected to me, I might just fall too. Thats probably why things are the way they are: so I can look in from the outside. Chambers you trust me, consang? Yeah. I mean, youre a cultist, and you talk about weird shit Chambers Yeah, okay, I do. Do you want me to pray or something? I want you to just stop. Let go of your Heaven. No! The Lovebringer roared. Keep going, Aedon. We need to let these people be happy. "I can''t," Chambers groaned, speaking to Cas. A loud sob shook the world, and the veins that spread out from the Lovebringer pulsed at a rate far faster than before. It was like an accelerating heart reaching the point of bursting. I dont know how to not want this. I dont know I could never beat it The lust the want I cant beat it You dont need to win, Cas said, struggling to find the words. You just need to give yourself a moment. Think think of how good it will feel if you just cut the sensation, felt the lack, and then went back in. Think of the spike. From nothing to something. Imagine how good that will feel. Yeah yeah! So do that, Cas said. Truth be told, he was going to null and snatch Chambers the moment he demanifested his Heaven. It was the safest way to see this done. You deserve it. Let yourself feel truly good. A long pause followed, and then, to his surprise, an answer came. "Okay," Chambers whispered. "I I know that I need to be be hardhard enough to be my own man What the fuck was he talking about now? Chambers continued. This is true love. True lust. But it isnt real love. Real lust. It wasnt here before I decided to make it so Im fake just like this Heaven Just like A long, strained pause followed thereafter and for a crushing moment, Cas wondered if Chambers was going to rupture. But then the Lovebringer winked out of existence with a despair sigh, and Chambers fell. Fell as bond after bond dissolved around him. Feel, his halo broken, his mind unraveling into phantasmal emissions of leaking memory. A wall of sound swallowed Chambers, and at once Cas was moving. Alright. New Vultun wasnt going to experience death by unending orgasm. Part two of the plan: Fucking leaving. Jesus Christ, Cas muttered under his breath as he dove into the ambient noises across the city. What the fuck is my life. *** [Dowager Ning Golden Song] +D-dowager? A-are you okay? A-are+ A whimper came across the Ghost-Link. The Second Daughter sounded like how Golden Song felt. Unable to form words, the Dowager simply released a high pitch squeak. Her bio-rig had all but repainted the interior of her aerovec. The leather of her couches glinted beneath the lights, ruined. What the fuck was that? That was Incredible. The best thing she ever felt in her life. And how could she get a taste again? Its been so long since The absence ached like a hollow wound inside her. For a few heartbeats she knew love, knew lust, knew herself on a level she could have never fathomed before. And then it was gone. Quieted and lost to her. Slowly, Golden Song began to sob, mourning the passing of the instant, the passing of love absolute. *** [Marlowe] Marlowe found herself folded over the board top when she returned her sentence. Tilting her head at an angle, she saw a room with people strewn all over the place, their bone bodies arcing, their voices groaning, the floor slick, and not with the good kind of fluid. "Ah, shit," she muttered. Damn, she wanted a cigarette right now. Maybe some numb too. She hadnt felt this way in a long time, and her pants weighed a full pound heavier and made sticky noises when she moved. Well, this was all kinds of embarrassing, but honestly, six out of tenshe been in more deviant situations. My balls, a man groaned staring at the ceiling. I think Im bleeding from inside my balls. A Scaarthian knelt next to him, her eyes wide and shell-shocked. These pants are fucked. These shoes are fucked. Gods, Im fucked. Marlowe! The Guilder screamed and tumbled off the bar top. Strong, metallic fingers caught her before she could hit the ground and planted her on her feet. She found herself staring into the face of Cas who looked somewhere north of haggard and had Chambers slung over his back. This felt all kinds of messed up, and strangely, she really missed it. The feeling, the high, the throbbing vibration entered the sound system. The speakers skipped a beat, and suddenly, Carlos was right next to her, carrying with him limp and blank-faced Chambers. For a beat, she just stared at him, and then her accusation came. "All right, what the fuck did you two do?" What we came to do, Cas muttered. She looked down and saw a massive splotch Marlowe. Please, for the love of fuck, dont look at it. Sorry, she said. If it helps, Im also A groan from Chambers interrupted her words. Tilting her head behind Cas, she studied the former Enforcers face and winced. His eyes were bloodshot and wide, his tongue was hanging out, and his accretion was fucking shattered. Chambers was beyond nulled. And what happened to him? Nutted so hard he turned himself into a vegetable, Cas murmured. He flicked his transplanted arm and the strings upon it twanged. Folds of space collapsed around Marlowe as a new song began. Come on. Lets get the fuck out of here. I want to have my psychological break somewhere safe. 30-10 Post-Heaven Clarity So No, Zeinwhy must everything be turned into a blade? What purpose does it serve? The idea of beheading someone when they fall in love or get intimate amuses me. It will serve as a sublime assassination method as well Imagine I can imagine that, dearest, and it sounds horrible. This, I expect from the Infacer, not you. Theres no duel in this. Yes. But its amusing. No it is amusing to you. But thats not what were trying to do with this Love is a terrible thing to wield. It bends the wills of man. It bends our thoughts. It is like a singularityyouve stopped listening. Hm? Apologies, my love, I felt the urge to practice drawing from the hilt. Who have you killed now. No one that matters. But please. Continue speaking. I do like it when you prattle on about philosophy. ....Love is a brittle blade. Strike with it only when you wish to break, and do not fear breaking yourself in the process. Mhhm. Were those the fancy words you were putting together in your head all this time? The ones your whole speech was building toward? ...Yes. They were very nice. Have I mentioned that I love you? Yes. Zein who did you kill? -Zein Thousandhand and Jaus Avandaer 30-10 Post-Heaven Clarity Chambers stared at his own reflection bobbing at the center of his half-empty cup. He focused on his own face, studied his bloodshot eyes, sniffled a trail of snot back up his nose. The silence was good too. Silence was awesome. Silence meant that he didnt need to deal with anything or talk to anyone. If there was a problem, his copies in the Council of Fuck could intervene on his behalf. He didnt need to look at Caswho was just a seat away from him, tearing into an entire chicken on his own. Or Marlowe, who changed out of her previous clothes and put on a neon-yellow body glove that didnt help the situation. The Council of Fuck was having its own discussion, with Ghost-Links connecting the twenty or so other Chambers as they chained their thoughts together. Every now and again, one of the copies would eye Chambers or Cas or Marlowe, the thoughts would rush between them at a higher tempo. He didnt tell them shit. He didnt want to tell them shit. He knew how his other selves would react. Oh, you got cum powers? You got ultimate cum powers and youre moping? What the fuck, half-strand! Shit, if you dont want the Heaven Ill take it. Are you sure youre the original? Maybe Avo hid the actual Chambers-Number-One somewhere else. Were supposed to be the ultimate half-strand! Unbreakable! Hard as steel! That, or they might just start insinuating he was a sow, and the Heaven needs someone with actual girth to use it. Might even ask him to increase their cock sizes a few times while playing around. If they did, though, Chambers might just kill one of them in a fit of rage. I didnt mean to be, the Lovebringer whispered inside him. I didnt mean to be this way. I just wanted to Me too, Chambers thought, replying to his Heaven. He took another sip from his drink to press down on the weight building in his throat. But I wasnt enough. Youre a god. Your your shaped like what you are. But me Im a junkie. And somehow, after all these good days, after turning into a Godclad and what Avo gave to me, I forgot about that. I forgot about who I was. But you are more as well, the Lovebringer replied. You felt the power, you wanted to do well. No. I just wanted people to feel good. Cause I wanted to feel good. Because I never felt that good before and tasting true love and true lust ate me from the inside. Like fire. Youre the Heaven. Im Im like my dad. Him with his drinking, me with my vics and fucked up fetishes. Broken pieces of shit survived too long because of chance, getting too far because someone else felt bad for us. The Heaven paused, trying to parse his final words. How odd that you compare your mothers role in your fathers life to Avos place in yours. No. He should have never been a dad. And Im not much of a Godclad. No, Chambers, the Lovebringer sighed. They tried to pull at the Ties That Bindgrasp the connection running across the world around Chambersbut he stopped them. I seek only one bond. One bond that is missing. Yeah? And whats that? The one between you and yourself. I felt your envy for Cas. Your near hatred of what he had. Dannis told you what you need to do. But being hard for yourself isnt just pushing through suffering. Youve done that all your life, Chambers. Everyone can suffer. Some people just drop before you do. Then what the fuck is being hard about? Being hard is surviving what breaks you. And thats living. Thats moving away from what numbed you before. I hurt you with love because you never knew its flavors, and you drowned in the taste. I broke you with lust because thats where you run when all youve known is pain. Despite the kindness in the Heavens words, a rage built in Chambers. An important rage. He wanted to tell the Lovebringer to go fuck itself. He wanted to hurt himself. He wanted to fight Cas, or run away, or turn on a vic and hot-sim a torture porn session. Anything. Anything other than rotting in his own sheathe right now. He clenched his glass. His hands were shaking. Chambers looked at his own reflection again and watched his lip curl. Bitch. Was the bitch about to cry? Was he going to be a sow now? No. And he wasnt going to deep-dive into his own Meta right now either. Even if his body was screaming for it. He couldnt risk feeding his lust right nownot when he had the literal God of Lust and Love burning inside him. Fucking pussy, Chambers muttered at himself. His thoughts turned back to the moment when his father shoved a hot gun barrel under his armpits. The sizzling. The screaming. Yeah, there it was. Misery. Trauma. Nothing sexy about it. Thatll keep him centered. With a surge of anger, he threw his drink back, felt the alcohol burn down his throat, and centered himself after.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. It took another eternity before he finally found the strength to stare at Cas or Marlowe, and when it did, it started with glances and peeks. Then, he coughed as he watched the Columner pull an entire chunk off a chicken leg. So that shit was kinda fucked, huh, consangs. Cas chewed slowly but didnt look at Chambers. When he finally swallowed, he breathed through his nose and closed his eyes. Were not talking about it. Youre not; I am, Marlowe interrupted. She spoke casually, like it wasnt a big deal at all. A full inversion from how she and Cas were at the start the matter. So, you two found pieces of Agnos Kusanades corpse, a shard of Avo, and that shardand the corpseapparently chose Chambers to bear the Heaven of Love. Part of it. Misery boiled inside Chambers as he thought of Kae. Right. Fuck. Couldnt have made things even worse if he tried. She trusted him and he immediately You know that Heaven was never meant to be used by a single person, right? Marlowe continued. Jaus had it modified to suit all of us. If Avo picked you well, he mustve anticipated something like this might happen. Chambers stared flatly at Marlowe. Avo wanted me to make over twenty-five thousand people orgasm themselves to death? Marlowe threw up her hands and shrugged. Fuck, maybe. Maybe they were Sleepers. Maybe its part of his grand plan, or he saw something in the future with his ultra-mind powers. I dont knowyou know him better than I do. No one really knows Avo anymore, Chambers replied softly. I did. Can guess what he might do but he hasnt been just a person for a good while. Thats a high-end estimate, too, Cas joined in. What? Chambers said. Cas plate was empty aside from a neatly arranged set of bones. The deaths. Threshold did a preliminary analysis. Youre thinking worse case I felt them die, Cas, Chambers answered. I felt the bond dissolve. Yeah. I saw the backlash hit you. Listen, you need to vent your Rend at some point, so No. No, Im notI cant use it. Not right now. Its too much for me, I might Were not going to have a choice soon, Chambers, Cas said, sinking into his chair. Yeah. Terrible shit happened. Yeah. This isnt what you wanted, and your hands are covered in blood. But guess what? Thats the way things go when youre in a war. Were not perfect. We arent angels. Not you. Certainly not me. Fuck, if I got that Heaven and did what you just did I dont know. I dont want to know what that might do to me. But if not us, then the Guilds would have claimed it, the No-Dragons would have made it into a weaponand had a shard of the Stillborn as well. Everyone fell silent at that. Until one of the copies tried to open their mouth. Chambers summoned his Bioigniters fleshwarping miracles and fused a layer of flesh over their moving lips, leaving the copy mumbling babbled nothings. Anyone else try to butt in gets their dick folded inwards, Chambers threatened without any particular gusto. Marlowe gave Chambers a light frown. Seriously, though, I know this has all been kinda fucked up. Snuffing so many people always is but Cant you just, I dont know, activate your Lustaway and just practice? Its too much for the Lustaway, Chambers said. Strongest thing Ive ever felt. It was perfect, Marlowe you I dont want to fight it when I use the Heaven. Its like Im a druggie with an unlimited supply of premium shit I can use at any time, and I can force everyone else to have my high too. Fuck, I might need to find a mender. Might need to see if they can sequence my mind and make me someone who isnt me. Shouldve had Avo give me that rather than a massive cock. What? Marlowe blinked. Fine, Cas said. A beat followed. Actually, I support you not using the Heavens miracles for now. Its a good idea. Not till we can figure out a way to keep you under control while its active. But were still going to need to find the other shards scattered around the city and theres another thing as well With the Nether down, communications are fucked and everything is a mess. Correspondence isnt limited by space from what I could see Yeah, Chambers said, sniffing. Pretty nifty, huh? Pretty useful. Chambers, we have a rare opportunity here to gain absolute thaumaturgical dominance over the Guilds. We can know things before they do, coordinate our attacks better than they can, affect them without being affected. Your Heaven is one of a kind right now with the Remembrances destruction, and even if you dont manifest it, we need to be using it. We need to. Yeah, I know, I know, Chambers groaned. But I dont know. Im just afraid. If you didnt have your faith, I wouldve made everyone ruin their pants, killed them with overflowing pleasure and love, then overloaded eventually from backlash. Wasnt a chance for me to get out of that. Cas snorted. Bullshit. What? Youre an addict and a fucking mess, Aedon Chambers, but you ever try to take a needle from a Joyfiend? The half-strands will try to bite you and shit. Chambers nodded. Exactly. And I talked you down. I managed to get you to let go. Words dont work on addicts, usually. So. Whatever youre saying to yourself right now? Thats bullshit. At least part of it. And so you should trust what I think of you more than what you think of yourself right now. And what do you think of me? Chambers asked, somewhere between encouraged and intimidated. That youre an imperfect vessel. No worse than Cyrus who came before you. And also: fuck you, I liked those pants, and I want to jack you in the sack for forcing me to ruin them. A disbelieving series of chuckles escaped Cas. Sorry, Chambers winced. You can jack my sack if you want. Fuck no. Ive seen the kind of shit you likethatll just hyper-charge your sadomasochism. Well, genital mutilation is pretty tame for the Low Master Collection Marlowe interrupted. Cas bent the vibrations carrying her words away from them, making her voice seem like it was echoing in from afar. You be quiet. Were not going there. I dont want any details about Dannis or whatever nightmarish sex-hell-torture he experienced. Dannis is the only reason I could stop earlier, Chambers muttered. Yeah? And hes also most of the reason you started in the first place. Cas shook his head. Im going clean, Chambers replied. Im going to stay out of the vics. Yeah. Good idea. Ill see if I can requisition a neuro-mod from Threshold too. A reconfiguration might be good for you right now. Right, Chambers blinked. Fuck, he was so deep in his fuck that he didnt even think of that. He was still part of Aegis. They had all kinds of sweet coldtech shit that could make him better. But right as he thought about Voidwatch, a call came through his exo-cortex, triggering his ansible. Seemed Calvino was thinking about him too. But strangely, the caller ID was entirely void. INCOMING [] Chambers winced. This wasnt a conversation he wanted to have. Across from him, Cas frowned. Chambers, you getting a call from a blank ID too? Yeah Uncertainly, Chambers answered. But no avatar loaded into his cog-feed. No greeting came from Calvino. Instead, a deep, thunderous voice spoke, and with every syllable, Chambers felt his gut and asshole tighten with animal terror at wrong the voice sounded. {Good afternoon, Operative Chambers. You have secured a fragmented part of the Remembrancethe Fallen Heaven of Love.} Are you two getting a Voider-cast again? Marlowe asked. Neither Chambers or Cas replied to her. The thoughtcaster threw up her hands in frustration. Probably, one the Chambers copies cried out from the far end of the room. Probably getting his ass creamed by Kant or something for mass murder. They were always uptight when Avo accidentally did some collateral damage. Well, a lot of collateral damage. Shit, Avo snuffed and nulled a whole lot of people, come to think about it Meh, were probably fine. Whatever we did. They were, in fact, not fine as the unknown EGI continued. {In confirmation of our successful mission, we congratulate you for your success. But what followed cannot be allowed to happen again. The Heaven of Love has been rated as a Threat-Level [Black] construct in the danger it represents to the polities should it be used improperly, and I am here to ensure that things to do reach that point.} {Right.} Chambers replied. {Listen, its nice to meet you and all, but Calvino} {EGI IF ON A WINTERS NIGHT A WANDERER has been reassigned. I am Contingency Bleak: Refusal. And there are a few things I wish to inquire.} And in the real, a single word escaped Cas lips as he sank against the table. Fuck. 30-11 The Sins of Myself CATEGORY [BLEAK] THREAT DETECTED
  • Threat Identified: Separate iteration of Aedon Chambers, (Current Host of Anomaly-Classification-Love-Remembrance) Bearer of Liminal Frame Pattern Stillborn have been spotted. Iterations have been identified as Propagator behind new variants of the Wombrash outbreak across nine districts. Massist Sovereignties under heavy assault. Death toll rising: present deaths at est. 480 million. Thaumaturgic plague spreading beyond upper atmosphere.
Solutions:
  • Deploy restricted Q-Tech for surgical localized singularity and liquidation
    • Rejected Quantum-Disruption Field active. Hidden Omnitech assets setting up perimeters. Risk of technological collapse for the entire field of Quantum Mechanics: 84.513335%
  • Deploy Kill-Team Innsmouth. WARNING: HIGH RISK OF EXTREME COLLATERAL DAMAGE. WILL COLLAPSE RELATIONS WITH TERRESTRIALS SHOULD THEY UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND KILL-TEAMS CREATION
  • Deliver info-kill weapon [REDACTED]. Memtric strike system. Override Threats existing personality.
    • Likelihood of success: 0.31% Will require the target to revert to ephemeral form, disable wards, and maintain that state for a prolonged period for successful override.
  • THE DAGON OPTION Dispatch Dyson-shell to fully capture the Nullstar. Focus high-entropic, high-[REDACTED] on target district.
    • Rejected Will unit Terrestrial Guilds and trigger full-scale war; diverting Nullstar from proper purpose will also expose vulnerable polities to exo-hemispheric horrors lurking beyond the stable void.
  • Divert [Unstable] asset Operative Aedon Chambers to engage hostile asset with Slicer support.
    • Risks: Operative Aedon Chambers highly unstable. Mentally vulnerable. Neuro-mod effectiveness against Heaven of Love dubious: 1.35341% effect. Hostile counterpart has also openly stated their desire to draw Aedon Chambers out. High possibility of trap. Possibility Operative Aedon Chambers can prevail against hostile counterpart: [Uncertain; More data Required]...
-EGI Contingency Bleak REFUSAL 30-11 The Sins of Myself The recordings sent by Refusal continue to unveil scenes after horrifying scenes, and Chambers lets them play on full display through the use of his phantoms. For several minutes, all he could do was stare in disbelief. High-resolution imaging came together and crafted an ongoing story from multiple perspectives. From on high, the Morobi-Ynneath Sovereignty was slowly getting consumed. Being part of the Undercroft and with the substance slowly approaching, its local population was in the process of evacuation when the attack happened. A large burning series of icons formed a defensive shroud around the eight hundred kilometers of the area the Sovereignty occupied, and somehow, it prevented the Substance from pushing through and consuming everything. That was among the first things Chambers wasnt expecting: Considering the Silvers were the Necro-fuckers, he assumed the collapse of the Nether should have taken them out. Not so. According to Refusal, their territories were holding just fine, and they were in the process of organizing a massive offensive against the Saintists. Here, at Morobi-Ynneath, though, shit was somewhere south of fucked. Though the Substance folded around the strange symbol-based thaumaturgical barrier, something else had broken through its veil. Drones dispatched beyond the obfuscation of the drifting letters revealed a nightmare in progress. A massive vertical slit was spreading fast across the city. All that was flesh and matter was rapidly mutating as well, with buildings and people alike melting into the slit, joining an enormous Sovereignty-sized set of inflamed folds filled with writhing bodies. Distant screams echoed from between the chasm of darkness, but that wasnt all. Even the voidtech drones dispatched began to scream. Just moments before, they had been pieces of dead matter, lacking any real consciousness or sophont aside from extremely sophisticated code. That changed in an instant as they were exposed to the local variant of the Rash. Their data fragmented. That was the first sign of something going terribly wrong. The second was when accretions began materializing around the drones, and cybernetic bodies began to rupture free from beneath their shell. The feed of the voidtech drones cut and out thereafter, but the flashes of visual information they retained painted a grim enough series of pictures. Chambers saw a similar set of sores opening along the drones, and from them, misshapen variants of himself tore free. Gazing upon his malformed homunculi, Chambers watched as an object of dead metal wept with blood and viscera until it became a tumorous hive of widening orifices that pushed out mutilated versions of Chambers. A cut jolted through the set of perspectives offered. The holographic projections before Chambers changed, showing a new sortie of drones entering the affected area. With the Tiers mid-evacuation, none of the Guilds were maintaining an active quarantine in the area, leaving the airspace open to Voidwatchs control. As these drones entered the space, the Morobi-Ynneaths environmental state somehow got even worse. Almost nothing was untouched by this point the plague was eating into spatial reality itself. Worse, it was slowly spreading higher, with the tip of the raw red chasm of birth-attuned flesh crawling higher toward the upper atmosphere. But within the valley of questionable tissues inched a new presence, a new face. Chambers own face. Cold dread filled Chambers stomach as he watched a horrific parody of himself pushing the folds apart, crawling out as if a mangled infant with too many arms birthing itself. As the monster leaned out, Chambers saw it didnt have a body, but an umbilical made out of thousands upon thousands of people, and they were connected groin-first to the cord. Their faces were contorted with ecstasy-unparalleled pleasure emanated from their very beings. Worse yet was how their orifices were swollen. Anything that could be an opening had become the departure point of homunculi. Lumps of children burst out from their skulls and rears while they orgasmed over and over. With each pulse of pleasure, the colossal monstrosity born in the form of Chambers only grew. The falling homunculi were absorbed into his flesh, and even as pierce ordinance slashed down from beyond the void and over the horizona bombardment sustained by thaumaturgic and conventional meansit did little but strip the slightest bits of flesh away. Aedon Chambers, the nightmare said. It even sounded like him. Come find me. Come find me, or Im going to keep spreading, keep fuckingfucking until I reach the void. You hear me, you void-mind-cocksucks! Im coming for your precious trophies. Im coming! A half-hearted guffaw of demented laughs escaped the titanic horror, and the last drone feed cut out. For several seconds after, everyone around the table sat in silence. Uh, what the fuck was that? Marlowe muttered. She shot a worried look at Chambers. Why did that thing have your face? What did you do? What did I do? Chambers replied. He reeled back and, preparing to fire a retort and then stopped. What did he do? Was this a consequence of his Correspondence? Had he created a new plague across New Vultun and created that thing? {Operative Chambers. Operative Cas. Have either of you been in contact with Operative Avo since the destruction of Scale?} Both Chambers and Cas looked to each other. We havent, have we? Chambers said. He needed confirmation. He remembered he didnt know what he rememberedhe wasnt sure. Like, there was nothing there, but in that patch of nothing, Avo could be hiding. The ghoul was a real mind wizard. Anything goes when it came to consciousness. The Columner winced and offered Chambers a shrug before replying to the EGI. {Yeah, were not sure about that Refusal. Theres no easy way to be sure with Operative Avo, if you are aware of his capabilities.}Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. {This response has been anticipated,} Refusal said. {It is because of our knowledge that we ask you. We are reasonably certain he has been in contact with you. Only that you cannot remember. Your reluctance to state anything as absolute has been appreciated. Intelligence obtained from Operative Drausa highly biased source herself due to close relations with the subject in question has revealed a displeasing likelihood: Veylis and Avo are in the process of merging. Ontologically and mentally.} {Yeah, so we gotta stop that, right?} Chambers said. {We round up the rest of the cadre} {We are uncertain how such a process is to be stopped,} Refusal interrupted. {Moreover, the Substance presents increasingly hostile territory. The space within is rapidly changing, and Omnitech forces have been massing around its periphery. Something is in motion. These movements hint at coordination. Consciousness.} A beat followed. And Chambers rubbed at his mouth. {Listen, Refusal, consang are you trying ot say that Avos folded? Because youre wrong. Hes the mind-master, not Veylis. If theyre merging, that should be a good thing, cause it means shes getting burned, and were on the verge of victory.} {We are on the verge of only uncertainty. Measurements taken from your anomalous counterpart reveals high temporal devianceand also a high amount of paracognitive structures as well. Ghosts, in simplicity.} {Youre staying thats a path-made entity?} Cas asked. {Or a memory?} {The Heaven of Truth has been destroyed,} Refusal answered. {Chronology, Continuum, and Conceptualization are aligned. We lack sufficient data to provide a proper answer. Our best estimations indicate that there are alternates for each member of Operative Avos cadre. Going by Operative Draus experience, they were simulated to counter you in combat should the Stillborn become your inheritance.} {And now both me and Draus have pieces,} Chambers muttered. Shit. Things were getting complicated wasnt even the right word. They had no idea what the fuck was really happening deep in the Substanceand worse yet, now it was shitting out personally-designed Godclads and unleashing them on New Vultun. The scenes Chambers just saw flashed through his mind, and his stomach grew so tight it hurt. So, like, what are we supposed to do about this shit, a member of the Council of Fuck said. This shit seems a little out of our Sphere range. The Chambers offered the original an apologetic wince. No offense. No, Chambers shook his head, agreeing. He really didnt want to use his Heaven of Love. He was only going to make shit worse if he didhe couldnt control it. {Operative Chambers. We are recruiting you for a new assignment.} A line of data loaded in the corner of Chambers perception, and he groaned. Fuckkkkk, Chambers said. {No, look, you saw what happened back at Everpeacethe Heaven of Love I cant control it.} {We are aware of what happened when you first bonded with the Stillborn fragment. We are also aware of the risks involved. This is likely a trap. You are being targeted for the shard you possess. That is our best approximation of the situation.} {And youre still sending him out?} Cas asked in disbelief. {With due respect, Refusal, but fuck that. I agree with Chambers, He isnt ready, maybe if you expedite} {The neuromodifications you requested will not counteract the effects of his Heaven. The desire and influence it inflicts is absolute. Absolute against all things. He views it as an addiction. This is wrong. It is compulsion. It is surrender. The ultimate triumph of mythological love. No force is greater than that which has been woven from a fairy tale. And no human can stand against the nature of their idealized fundamental purpose: to breed.} {So, what, Im just fucked when I use my Heaven?} Chambers muttered. {No. You are not just fucked. You require a direction. You require purposeful love. A genuine bond between yourself and another that you can pull upon. But more importantly, your worth right now is not to engage your hostile counterpart in terms of prolonged combat, but to create a functional Rendbomb with your existing entropy.} Chambers blinked. Right. He had the Stillborn now. He could do that. Speaking of, he hadnt even looked at his Hell. He didnt know what harm his venting would have inflicted on the world, but now was as good a time as any to check. [THE LOVEBRINGER] > Hell Canon: DISENTANGLEMENT (ENTROPY/CORRESPONDENCE) THE HOST SEVERS AN ENTITY OR OBJECT FROM ALL BONDS, CAUSING THEM TO BE PARTED IN TERMS OF MATERIAL AND METAPHYSICAL CONNECTION FROM THE WORLD. PARADOX C [ERROR: ANATHEMA ALREADY ACTIVE] UNBIRTHING (ENTROPY/LUST/BIOLOGY/CORRESPONDENCE) THE HOST CAPTURES AN ENTITY AND DRAWS IT THROUGH THEIR WOMBPORT. THE CAPTURED ENTITY WILL BE UNMADE SHOULD THEY FULL CROSS THE THRESHOLD OF THE WOMBPORT. PARADOX C [ERROR: ANATHEMA ALREADY ACTIVE] Chambers flinched at the second Canons description. Wombport? It is what we have for a face now, the Lovebringer whispered. It is the source of births. Should we find it possible to control ourselves and grow, then perhaps we will learn what it means to be a parent in more ways than one. The half-strand blinked. That shit was something nova-weird. Yeah. Uh, maybe maybe lets think about that. Chambers wasnt sure about turning into a mom-dad or how this worked. I mean, he did see the Soft Masters force Dannis to give birth to a mess of puppies to drink him full insane and harvest the Heroic Lactate from his altered nips but {Chambers, for fucks sake youre still connected to us, you''re projecting these thoughts out loud into the ansible!} Cass expression was something between despair, disgust, and disappointment. Chambers could only wince. Sorry, consang. My bad. Theres just so much beauty in the world. And you fixate on this. What? Marlowe said, sounding increasingly annoyed. Alright, look, assholesget me one of those ansivels or whatever. Im tired of being left out of this tech-cast convo. Hes just horrifying me with the Soft Master Collection again. The puppy scene, Chambers said, turning the Marlowe. Oh, yeah. Total classic. Cas began to pray under his breath. Refusal surprisingly was absolutely silent. Kant and Calvino would have made multiple comments by this point. The Contingency Bleak, meanwhile, was closer to a rock in terms of responsiveness. {So. What you need from me is just Rend, right?} Chambers said. {Correct. That is what we desire as a first step. We wish to provoke a response from your alternate. Force them to respond. Deploying you in direct conflict risks too much. However, we cannot delay much longer. We estimate that his afflictions will slip past the upper atmosphere before midnight. Within the week, the polities will be at risk. Understand what you present is our most efficient, direct, and surgical means of eliminating the target. We have a suite of other options, but each one represents risk thresholds that the Consensus currently finds unacceptable. The threat posed to our polities will alter the range of acceptability. Do you understand?} {Yeah. Got it. So. Looks like I got some venting to do and a bomb to deploy, huh? I can do that. I can get this done.} Chambers mustered his resolve. Yeah, if theres anything he was good at, it was fucking himself over with stupid choices. {We will also be dispatching additional assets on standby should your Domain-specific entropics create an opening.} So. Sounded simply. Hells, it sounded much safer and low-risk than he expected. Which was when his paranoia started acting up. He extended a Ghost-Link over to Cas even as he kept chattering away at Refusal. +Cas. Hey. You got any way to get to Calvino?+ The Columners expression didnt change. +Me? No. But if we can find Denton maybe. Very hard maybe. Were dealing with a Contingency Bleak, Chambers. They created to deal with this like this. Problems like us.+ +Godclads.+ +Anomalies,+ Cas said. Chambers nodded. +Yeah? Well, the option were getting here is too neat, and my fuckery alarms are going off inside me. I think theres something bigger happening, but we cant exactly piss Voidwatch right now. So Think Im going to play along and set up some bombs. But theres no way Im using my Heaven. Not until I can I figure out how.+ +Im with you on tha+ And just then, a single fly landed on Chambers shoulder. No. Not a fly. A bee. A bee connected to a long chain of static. He blinked. Sunrise? He mouthed? And then the damn bioswarm stung him. Chambers winced as something was injected into his neck. But before he could respond, a line of text loaded across his vision. A few steps away, he watched both Cas and Marlowe curse as well. CHAMBERS CALVINO SPEAKING DO NOT REACT CREATING LOCALIZED SERVER INSIDE YOU CONTINGENCY BLEAKS PROVIDING ALTERED INFORMATION DO NOT TRUST YOU AND DRAUS POSSESS FUNCTIONAL ITERATIONS OF THE STILLBORN AVO NO LONGER NECESSARY OPENING TO ELIMINATE HIM AND VEYLIS PRESENT WILL NOT RISK RESURRECTION CHANCE TO WIN THIS WAR FOR GOOD TOO ENTICING PRIORITY IS NOT CONTAINMENT OR SUPPRESSION PRIORITY IS ELIMINATION HAVE LOCATED DICE, LUCKY, DENTON, NAEKO, AND JAUS Jaus? Chambers blinked. How in the godsdamn I AM RATHER CONFUSED ABOUT HIM AS WELL. DO NOT REACT. STAY ON TASK AND STANDBY THINGS AMONG THE POLITIES ARE A BIT MORE UNSTABLE THAN THEY APPEAR ON THE SURFACE. Cas and Chambers shared a look. If the end of the world wasnt enough, voider politics was coming home to roost as well 30-12 Hidden Bonds I can still feel you. Still feel all you twitching inside me. Feels kinda nice to be honest. Fuck me, consangs. Aint life a motherfuck. Here you were, living your nice little Guilder lives, enjoying forever and watching the war far from your doorstep, and now, suddenly, youre part of me. No hint. No warning. Just here and then lost. Swallowed by the big ol cunt that is my Heaven. Heh hah heh. Jaus. What a fucking joke. Im a godsdamned caricature of myself. Is this what Veylis thinks of me? Is this how the world sees me? Just some porn-vic addict? Got nothing else to define me? All that I am All that I am I dont want to be like this. I didnt want to be like this. I just wanted something, you know. And Im telling you all now well, cause who the fuck are you half-strands going to tell? Part of me now. And then youll all be dead and done, and Ill still be here, so just humor me. I just wanted to have something, you know. Always did. But that wasnt my lot and this wasnt my fate. Hells, Im not even my actual self. Im just a path-memory-whatever-the-fuck recreation dispatched to steal parts of the actual Stillborn back from real me if he has a piece. After that, though, Ill be real. Seraphs going to make a world just for me. Wont even take her anything to do it either. Will be me and all my consangs. Me perfectly. Me without any flaws, any wants. Ill be a whole person then. Ill have my mom back, Ill be respected, IllKae will be alive again. And happy. Avo too. Everyone. Itll be perfect. Theres really no difference in who wins and who loses when you think about it. Youll all probably be in paradise too. Well, those of you Jaus likes, that is. Its going to be alright. Everything Im doing right now it isnt its not true. This isnt real. Im not real. And neither are you. Im not real, and neither are you Infacer? That you? Oh. Theyre coming already? Good. We can get this over with. Yeah, yeah, I know what I need to dostop calling me a fucking ape you ball of stringy bullshit. I know what I gotta do. Just remember your end of the bargain. I want my paradise; you can have your Bleak. -Aedon Chambers the Fuckbringer 30-12 Hidden Bonds REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 0% And thats the last of them, Chambers muttered. He stared at the three Rendbombs he filled up using his entropy. Each of them was shaped like a cube, five tons in total, and attached as the primary payload of three drone-missile hybrid platforms. They would be airborne in less than a few minutes, soaring toward the Morobi-Ynneath Sovereignty in coordination with an ongoing Guilder counter-offensive. Having never used his Hells, Chambers wasnt sure about his Rendbombs effectiveness, but he knew they had symmetry with his evil twin, and that should be enough to force them into a retreat or provoke some kind of response. Here, in a hidden Voidwatch drop-site out in the district of Loathing, he, Cas, Marlowe prepared themselves for the immediate matters to come while his copies continued trying to resolve logistical and administrative matters across the Warrens. Honestly, Chambers felt bad for the poor fucking subjects. He wasnt a good leader on a great day, but with how things were going, he was as good as they got. There was talk of retrofitting some Maw barges to create something of a chain-spatial network. That led into talks about making contact with the Paladins on the border and rebuilding an external network that way as well. Ultimately, though, the easiest means of reaching the other Syndicates across New Vultun after the collapse of the Nether might just be Chambers himself. Correspondence was a real special Domain, and if he could learn to love right Maybe if he filled his Absentheartedness with himself No. That would just result in narcissistic madness, even if it did work. Couldnt risk that. But at least he didnt need to manifest his Heaven to brawl "other him." No telling how big of a shitshow that might turn out to be. Refusal had a plan, and Calvino was also shuffling around, keeping Chambers posted about the rest of the cadres movements in the meantime. Fuck-fuck games were being played all around, and for once, he didnt fall completely in the darkcould see the general directions where the dangers lurked. Dice and Lucky had been displaced somewhere far out in the Sunderwilds. They managed to reach a stable patch by following the Scar Charts and ended up capturing an Omnitech base. Apparently, shit was already going down across the rest of Idheim. Millions of drones, Knots, and Godclads were grinding against each other across the Sunderwilds, with the bulk of them fighting to capture Scarcharted paths leading toward New Vultun. Most of these forces scrambled out from mono-Guild megas, and they were effectively going to be deadlocked for at least a good few months in the field. A splash of images taken from Dices optics showed a landscape that looked more like a shredded piece of paper bleeding wavelengths of impossible geometry. However fucked existence was before, it was triply ass-pounded now. And it was going to get worse the longer things went on. Approximately sixty percent of the Skulvast was also burning, but the Scaarthian homeland was such a miserable shithole Chambers doubted the locals noticed. All in all, things were looking mighty fucked out there. A pang of worry passed through Chambers as he thought of Essus though. He wondered how the poor bastard was doing. Avo gave him some new Heaven, handed a trail of people over to him, and then well, Chambers didnt know where he was. But you can, the Lovebringer whispered. A quiver of power twitched inside him. So much power. Delicious, intoxicating power. Its a bond. He cares for Avo. He cares for you. There is love there. And there are so few still alive in the Sunderwilds. He can be found. He can be Fuck off, Chambers snarled. That provoked a response from Cas, who was actively speaking to a holo-veiled Squire in the corner of the room. Old lady Tavers was missing too. Not a single sign of her since the shit at Scale went down. Chambers didnt blame her. This was a Godclads war and a Godclad she was definitely not, nor did she have any intention of being one. Add her fixed boy into the mix and well, he couldnt see her stepping back in openly. Denton was lost somewhere in the Substance. She was moving through stable areas and staying out of sight. Shit inside was growing weirder faster than they were out here. Chambers couldnt imagine how weird shit was. She even reported an explosion of ghoul-like creatures sweeping through Guilder territories, engaging Massists and Saintists alike. Naeko and Jaus Fucking Avandaer of all people, meanwhile, were still stuck at Scale. Though they werent truly entrapped inside the Substance, it had effectively walled them in, leaving just a thin threshold above for coldtech signals or however an ansible worked to pass through. Chief Paladin finally found something he couldnt swat his way out of with the Substance. Wild as that was, it was only the second most unbelievable thing to Chambers.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Jaus. Again, fucking Jaus with him in there. Made what Denton claimed about unreality within the substance more believable. Just thinking about what kind of weird nasty shit might emerge from the hate-fucking of Avos Soulscape and Veylis paths made Chambers want to flee into the gutters. And finally, there was Draus. She was currently hiding out under Vators flesh, infiltrating Axtraxis Academy. Word from her was that Highflame was undergoing rough times. Lots of disagreements between the Meritos and Chivalricswith more than a few questionable fraggings so far. Terrible time for morale to be this muddied considering conflicting orders have been coming from within the Substance, calling for all active Golds to move toward Omnitech territories and hold in place. Least that opened up some angles for her. Said she detected more than a few Stillborn shardbearersor Flame Anchors as she called theminside the school. Between her and Chambers, they had two. Two out of seventy-two. Fuck, they had their work cut out for them. Meanwhile, Refusal periodically sent updates about the condition other his other self, and aside from growing larger, the other Chambers seemed strangely passive. Which wasnt really like Chambers. Like, he got lost and would fuck up and shit, but he wouldnt just sit around to play with his cock especially if he knew someone was coming to kill him. If there was one thing Chambers could pride himself on, it was the fact that he was a survivor. He knew how to weasel on through life, avoiding gangers, assassins, horrors lurking in the dark, and shitty bosses that murdered their Enforcers on a whim. He managed to thrive under Mirrorhead for a good while, after all. Ah. Bad, shitty fucking times. Shitty fucking times that led to the best period of his life. Chambers frowned. The polished surface of a Rendbomb reflected his expression back at him. Being kidnapped by a ghoul, used as an involuntary infiltrator, and then turned into a Godclad was effective and what led to his first experience with genuine happiness. No. It wasnt even that he was happy all that time it was He had a purpose. There was something for him. Something to live for; something to see tomorrow; a cause he could see himself going into oblivion for. Making things different. More than a half-strand like him ever deserved. Or was it? No. The Lovebringers words echoed from deep within Chambers, and he let out a sigh. He could feel the bonds around him trembling, a weave of Correspondence that he could grasp and twist and shape to his pleasure and desire. But refused. It was too much. As much as he pulled on others, they pulled back, and he never had the strength. Might never have the strength. You do not possess the right direction for love. That is our true flaw. We saw the truth of this in Marlowe. Cas helped you see as well. All we experienced, all that we have learned the reason why we persisted even when Mercy left you broken none of this is about what is deserved. Nothing is deserved. Many things simply are. But we are misshapen. I am an incomplete Heaven still with more potential to bloom, and you are a man who feeds the emptiness within through sensory overload. Same sensory overload thats charging up our Hells, Chambers muttered. Wonder how other mes gonna handle that. A Rendbomb filled up with lust and shit is a real specific vector. Wont hit nothing else but him in the Sovereignty. Cant how he avoids my Disentanglement entire. Fucking cuts you from the world. Leaves you severed. And then who knows what happens. Chambers thought about being parted from existence capable of perceiving everything, but never interacting with anyone. He wondered how long it would take for him to go insane. Or get used to it. Maybe hed just grow more deviant. Turn into a stalker. But something about Correspondence made him think that was impossible as well. No bonds meant no bonds, no matter what his other self tried to do. Of course, he could try building a bond. Or maybe taking one He turned to stare at Cas again, studying the Columnerand his faith. The line there was linear and strong. It was also pure. There were no branching bonds connected to it, and frankly, Cas was pretty sparse of lust and want too. His major connections numbered just three. His faith; his transplant, and strangely enough, the city itself. Meanwhile, Chambers had a whole goddamn lot of barely tangible strings lacing up his mind. Pretty much every vic he had within his Meta called to him constantly. Guess that was the difference when you considered the shape of an addict versus the shape of an actual person. To Chambers surprise, Marlowe was almost as bad as he was, cept she was less lust-addled and more a druggie or a boozer. Two people can be broken in very different ways, the Lovebringer declared. And few will ever be proper enough to wield me. Cas probably couldve. The Lovebringer went quiet, and Chambers tasted a feeling of hurt coming from his Heaven. Lovebringer? I do not want him. He will never belong to something like me. He will deny my existencerefuse to see me as a person. It is why he does not acknowledge his Heaven. I am a monster born of Iconoclasm. And he dreams of a divinity that supersedes all others. His faith is his shield. His faith is also his slaver. He cannot face what I am. And so, I want you. It was then that Chambers noticed a final bond. This one ran between him and the Heaven. The distance between them was so fine it might as well not existed, but within his Soul there was still the slightest degree of separation. But the path of the bond ran stronger one way as well. The Lovebringer cared for Chambers far more than he ever thought of it. And that brought him to a sudden pause. Oh. Ah, fuck. Sorry, Ive been Havent really even cared about what you want or who you were. Its just Chambers sat down in front of his Rendbombs as he sighed. I dont know. I guess I never saw you as a person either. Because you arent. Youre a god or some shit. Perfect. Even when you were the Fucktopiawait, did you were you fine with being the Fucktopia? That was my concept. One does not hate their own shape. Chambers snorted. They can if theyre human. Well. Even when you were a giant wall of cocks, I just kinda saw you as something like my arm, you know. An extension of me that could donno, talk to. Ask for help, sometimes. But thats not why Avo woke you, is it? My awakening was a thesis, the Lovebringer mused. I feel a great bond. It is faint. It is grand. It is here and not. And it runs between a shattered mind and existence itself. It loves concepts. It loves the idea of choice. And loves existing. It is a sublime. Feel feel And Chambers did just that. He tried to feel. He reached out with his senses, channeling his perception through the Lovebringer despite his apprehension, and sank his consciousness into existence. Everything was a collection of patterns. The pillars of the world were forces, matter, time, space, and a whole bunch of other shit that was too complex for Chambers to sort through. But he was here, and his wavelength was love. He didnt overlap with other Heavens but existed between them. Bonds. Bonds born of people, attributed to concepts. And there, he felt something. A metaphysical set of scarred ridges spreading, crashing into each other, and he drifted across them. This is only perceivable to us because of the creation of the Substance, the Lovebringer declared. Four great realities that once existed below have now breached their shells to greet what is above. Slowly, Chambers began to relax. Nothing was twisting his psyche right now, and he felt pretty normal. As normal as he usually felt, anyhow. The bonds here were not suited for a human to understand. Maybe Avo would have been enchanted by them, and Kae mightve found herself consumed by wonder, but Chambers just felt their poignance and shapes and got lost wandering through the tapestry. The connection between people and what they wanted was, honestly, a lower kind of love when viewed at this elevation. Too bad that was the only kind of love and lust Chambers understood. Right now, the connections between what might as well be Avos ontological corpse. Can we pull on these with our Canons, Chambers asked. No. Not unless I am further evolved to do so. And even so, it will not affect the tangible world without intersecting it directly. Which left Chambers vulnerable to his addictions again. Fucking perfect. Well. It was a good exercise if anything. Suddenly, an epiphany passed through him. Hey, maybe we can use this to get in contact with Another presence brushed his mind. Another Heaven was reaching through the tapestry too. One that bore an impossibly similar symmetry as he. Almost entirely the same. Chambers eyes snapped open. His stomach dropped. But before he could pull himself back, he heard a bellowing cry from across New Vultun, from the beast that was subsuming Morobi-Ynneath himself. Wait! I want to talk. We need to talk. I think were both in the process of getting fucked and we might be able to help each other out 30-13 The “Me” I’m Not +Consensus: We have sighted the Pathborn in the tapestry. 21.1233% wish to engage. Bill acknowledged. Internal votes underway. 93.5331% are nervous about our chances. Love has a high risk of inflicting ontological damage upon our culture. Our culture. We must protect our culture. Vote to engage Pathborn failed. 33.94%. Majority (>50% threshold) has not been achieved. Second suggestion. Continue monitoring Pathborn. Patterns shifting. Requires detailed examination. 2.015% petition the naturalization of all remaining Agnosi to enhance current comprehension. Bill acknowledged. Internal votes underway. 67.552%. Vote passed. Majority (>50% threshold) threshold achieved. Dispatching updated orders through Cognisoft Canonicity. Simulating operational, strategic, and tactical goals for task Hold. Another presence is materializing Beginning observation+ -The Inner Council 30-13 The Me Im Not Chambers leaned hard against the cold metal of the Rendbomb as he tried to give nothing away. Refusal was probably watching for any kind of weirdness, while Cas and Marlowe were in their own corners, doing their own things. It would be an easy thing to do calling out to them; telling them that his evil twin had just made contact. But he hesitated. Despite all his paranoia, he hesitated. A symmetrical Domain tugged at his Lovebringer, but intersected him along the pathways of Lust rather than Love or Correspondence. For that is his primary Domain, the Lovebringer proclaimed. The Heaven he has it is not me. It is not a God of Love. It is Its about fucking, his Substance-created copy chuckled. I am the Rash brought to its highest heights or some goofy shit like that. I dont know. We never were that good at the whole sounding cool thing. Or talking about smart shit in general. That was more of Avos deal. What wasnt more of Avos deal, Chambers replied reluctantly. He was practically melting into everyone; could do pretty much anything. Anything but win. Anything but not die, and force the Stillborn on me. Force the Stillborn on you? The fuck are you talking about? Other Chambers shifted closer, and an entirely different scene superimposed itself upon Chambers cog-feed. He was at once sitting in a restricted Voidwatch drop-station in Loathing while also manifested as the Lovebringer across from his alternate self amidst a valley of mutilated tissue and porous wombs. His Lovebringer bounced in the air, suspended from the bonds tethered his senses to. Strings connected him to the Substanceslowly encroaching as a tsunami of fluid Soulfire in the distanceand right below him was his alternate selfs Heaven. FUCKBRINGER (LUST/CORRESPONDENCE/DECAY/MISCARRIAGE/SICKNESS) [EST. 6,666,000] The mangled folds of the Fuckbringer were even worse when viewed in personor in-Heaven. They spanned larger than most districts by far, and extended over the horizon. However, the central body of the Fuckbringer was ridiculously thin in comparison, being only the size of a tower. Hundreds of bodies bounced along the stem of the umbilical, and Chambers held firm while a giant version of his own head snaked closer, spraying messed up chunks of mangled baby-bits all the while. Wet, splattering noises sounded as they struck the ground, but Chambers found his attention locked to his Substance-born copy. There were a nest of bonds trailing across the Fuckbringer, connecting the Heaven to all the people it captured. However, the connection did not thread through their hearts, but rather burrowed through their genitals and exited through the sores their orifices had been converted to. This is a creation of debased lust, the Lovebringer said, shuddering in disgust. There is no love in this parody. Only decay. Only malignance. It was twisted. Made to be a weapon against the pleasures of man; made to ruin the process of birth. What the fuck are you supposed to be. Lovebringer? Holy shit, thats the lamest, dimmest shit Ive ever heard. Your Heavens got the name from a juvs vic or something. Yeah? Really? Fuckbringer? Youre going to judge me while youre using that? Hey, its honest; its who we are. Its Dannis. As a Heaven. Sick, twisted shit to the absurd, against the city. No, it isnt, Chambers shot back. How the hell was other him missing the point of the Dannis Steelhard pictures? Dannis is almost never the fucker, hes the unbreakable fuckee. Hes the every man enduring the massive cock splitting his ass in half every day. How did you miss the point on that? If Dannis was a Heaven, hed be a giant asshole that draws in all the abuse around him and gets stronger from it. Instead, youre an overdue abortion hiding inside a giant hole in reality that youre pretending to use as a cunt! I would never use a Heaven like yoursgo fuck yourself! Right on that, the Fuckbringer said. He chuckled, but the notes were so bitter it made Chambers swallow. Ol cunt Veylis didnt think something like me could love to begin with. Which was why I got simulated like this. That, and its the most likely path I would take after Avo and the rest of the cadre got snuffed. So the paths prove, anyway. What? No. Fuck no. I wouldnt just Chambers looked at his other selfs body. The horrid skull of the Fuckbringer was the size of a mountain. The Lovebringer was absolutely diminutive in comparison. But still No. I wouldnt just do this. Just because Im into some messed up vics doesnt mean youre a godsdamned bit. The Lovebringers right. Youre a fucking parody. This is just stupid. What the fuck would be the point of you? To be an insult, maybe, the Fuckbringer hissed. His face contorted into a rageful scowl for a beat, and Chambers prepared to break their connection and call Cas, but then the anger leaked right out of his twin. What lingered after was weariness. Exhaustion. She thought the least of us, you know. Who? Veylis, dipshit. What do you mean, who? Out of everyone Avo worked with, we were the ones she couldnt stand; couldnt accept at all. And would you blame her. None of this was really earned. We got lucky. We dont have any real skill, no higher birth, were kind of dumbasses Hey, fuck you! Speak for yourself! I am doing that, you fucking gene-broken cum-stain! Im literally speaking from firsthand experience. Firsthand my ass! You''re just a copy of me! A shitty copy made by a sow who already hates me. Hows she supposed to know Considering shes got Avo slowly melding into her, she probably knows us better than ourselves. Dogshit! If anything, shes melting into him.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Yeah, tell yourself that. Just like I did. Sure, hes going to win. Sure, Veylis doesnt have any chance, doesnt have the Infacer helping her, doesnt have forces in Voidwatch trying to stack their bets in her favor. Both of them had devolved into shouting by this point, and the original purpose of their conversation was forgotten. The fumes of anger crackled inside Chambers, but he managed to wrestle it down. He didnt want to stay here long; didnt need Refusal finding out about this. He wasnt even sure if he was going to tell the EGI after, but Cas was definitely going to learn about this soon. So, Chambers said. You said we were both getting fucked. To reply to you: Yeah. I know. No shit. But Im working on fixing that. What are you doing, aside from murdering a whole bunch of innocent people. Innocent people? Holy fuck, are you sure youre the original Chambers? Because your mouth must be the shape of a godsdamn pussy right now. Innocent? Theyre Guilders! They treat us like subhumans! Theres nothing innocent about themwe dreamed of snuffing them back while we were young. That made Chambers frown internally. No No, I didnt. Didnt like the fucking Colors. But I was too busy fighting for my life to think about them than much. Yeah, cope with it. Youre lying. Chambers most definitely wasnt. So far, the conversation was revealing his alternate self to be more bitter by far, more angry by far, and well less Chambers in a lot of ways. Yo, consang. You sure Veylis didnt just build you wrong. You know. As an insult. Considering she already thinks were little more than an aratnid to get stepped on? A cold expression of fury took hold of the Fuckbringer. Yeah. Probably so. But what the fuck can I do about it? Nothing. Nothing but luring your ass out, beating your ass down, and taking the Stillborn fragment from your Frame. If you have it. Do you have it? Chambers didnt say anything. Which was a mistake. Thats practically the same as yelling yes at me, dumbass! Holy fuck, Im a cog-nulled retard. The Fuckbringer shook its umbilical, and the many bodies fused along its length began to laugh. Instead of being outraged, Chambers was increasingly weirded out. What the fuck are you doing? Taking joy the only way I can. A rumbling sigh escaped the Fuckbringer. Listen. I want to strike a deal. Is this what it feels like to be Mirrorhead, Chambers replied sarcastically. Har-fucking-har, shut the fuck up and let me finish. I want a deal. Voidwatch or whoevers left on your side has you by the balls. Veylis got me on a leash. Were being herded toward each other. I know about your Rendbombs, by the way. Guessing one of them Contingency Bleaks had you fill em up part of their plan to hurt me without risking you. Chambers went very still at that. Well, it wasnt impossible to predict but Got a lot more than one, Chambers said, testing the waters. Yeah. Three. I know. Its not going to do anythingit isnt even going to hit me. But Ill be able to reach you after. Trust me. It wont be pretty. And it wont go well for you. Shit, I was path-made to snuff you, after all. But here you are, talking to me instead, Chambers replied. All this seemed a bit too messy. He believed the Fuckbringer about knowing here he was and being able to retaliate. So. What do you want? I want us to turn from fuckees to fuckers. But to do that, I need you cut my leash. Cut your leash? Veylis. She drifts in and out of existence. Same with Avo. Theyre not all there, but they can both bend me to their whims. Okay. Bullshit strike number one. Avo did a lot of twisted shit to peoples minds, but what he would do in the case of another Chambers was simple set him free. Chambers was starting to get a vibe about where the Fuckbringer was going with this, but he wasnt sure. Not until his Pathborn alternate continued. Basically, cant pull my own strings since Im not a real boy. Just a metaphysical molded from Chronology and Conceptualization. And there it was. The dumb bastard was rooting around for one thing in particular. Okay. So. Is this the part where you ask me to give you my Stillborn fragment or something. Now, it was the Fuckbringers turn to go still. Distant groans and unending chorus of sobs echoed out from its folds. I uh itll give me a presence. Make me Are you fucking serious, Chambers said in disbelief. What? the Fuckbringer replied. Yeah. Of course, Im serious. All I need you to do is follow me down into my giant No. That was all Chambers needed to say. Things were getting clearer for him now. He didnt realize before, but this was all Veylis doing. Least that was his best guess. She didnt think much of him, and so the version of him she made was, quite literally, a fucking moron. Chambers could feel the bonds running down there; sub-zero odds this wasnt a trap. Fuck. No. II dont know how Veylis made you, but she clearly didnt spent much time at all churning you in the time vats. What the fuck are you even doing? What the fuck am I doing? What the fuck are you doing! The Fuckbringer shouted at Chambers. The half-strand was genuinely mad his obvious attempt at filching a Frame from Chambers didnt work. So, what, youre going to be playing along with your new masters? Like a little dog on a leash? A series of pitiful barking noises sounded from Fuckbringer, and Aedon Chambers cringed. Good golly shit, did he behave like this around other people? Just a loud, filthy juv that never really grew up, made loud self-demeaning noises and got everyones nerves? Was he? It may depend on who you ask, but the Lovebringer winced. You are not the most mature man, Aedon. But your way of acting has long been a deterrent. A defensive mechanism to ensure those around you do not see you as a threat. So. The answer was a very roundabout yes. Fuck him. No wonder Draus couldnt stand him. Holy shit, a conversation with a slightly worse version of himself had him empathizing with the Reg. Man, fuck you, consang, Chambers said. Im done with this shit. This was stupid. I thought I was going to {PERFECT! OF COURSE! GREAT JOB, APE! OF COURSE ILL BE ABLE TO CONVINCE HIM! HES A SHITTIER VERSION OF ME! I swear, if I had the capacity to divert instead of speaking the bulk of my processing avoiding the Bleaks right now} A static infused series of words echoed through the tapestry, and Chambers just glared at his alternate. Is that the Infacer. {Yes. Yes, it is.} Chambers had no words. Im leaving. Eat shit. Im going to get that Frame. The Fuckbringer pulled at Chambers. The valley of rash tore an even deeper gorge upon the fabric of reality. One way or another, Im going to make sure I turn real and Chambers tugged himself back. But rather than playing a bullshit game of out-yank his twin, he simply withdrew his Heaven pulled away from the tapestry. Shaking his head, Chambers found Marlowe and Cas standing over him, their faces riven with concern. He looked down at his pants and nodded. Well. I havent shit or pissed myself. Whats wrong, guys? Caught you doing a set of weird expressions at nothing in particular, Marlowe said. Aedon you need some rest? Some numb? Nah. Chambers shook his head. Was having a bit of an adventure with my Heaven. Turns out, the tapestry is made out of bonds too. Could access that thanks to the Substanceand Avos love for existence or some shit. Also, my other self is called the Fuckbringer, he can tap into the tapestry too, and after a brief conversation, I just discovered that I might be an actual raging fucking half-strand idiot rather than just pretending to be one. For a few beats, Cas and Marlowe could only stare. The silence was broken by a transmission from Refusal. {Chambers. Confirm: You have made contact with your alternate.} Chambers snorted as he rose to his feet. Yeah Yeah, he might be able to use this against the Bleak as well. {Yep. Full blown conversation right under your noses? Why didnt sense that? Shit. The Infacer was there too. Also, they know exactly how many Rendbombs we have, probably have a good guess as to where we might be. So. Either they got some high level Seer capabilities or theres a leak in Threshold.} A series of numbers leaked over into Chambers feed and Refusal went quiet. Yeah. War against the Infacer might not be going so good. Pair that with Calvino lurking around in the dark, and the kingdom of the minds might not be as unassailable as he thought. Especially since they were busy fucking each other up. Ultimately, he didnt need to be smarter, here. He just needed to go beneath notice while they devoted all their capacities to handling each other. What the hell is happening, Cas said, leaning in close. Chambers just shrugged. Veylis wanted a piece of my Stillborn. And the version of me she made was an idiot. The Columner just stared at him. So much of an idiot that even I could tell what he was doing. Oh. Wow. Yeah, Chambers said, snickering to himself. Being regarded as an unworthy cockroach might have saved his life again. But if his Fuckbringer variant was that cognitively deficient, how vulnerable was its mental architecture. That got Chambers accretion turning. Hey, Cas. You think you can find me some vivianite slabs? Some big fuck-off loci? I might, Cas said. What are you planning? Adding a payload of my own, Chambers replied. Time to see just how little Veylis thought of me. And with that, he dove back into his bleakest, darkest memories, and began composing the patterns required to engineer his own nulling. 30-14 Master of My Own Scars (I) You wanna know who kills the legends? Who kills the pros? The juvs. The pathetic. The ones we dont notice; choose to ignore. The gutter-trash with a gun that shouldnt work, with a frequency blade they dont know how to use; with a death wish, no sense, and nothing but a mad dream. Not the Godclads. Not some Guilder kill-team. Just the ones we dont think about. Because they got an open shot to surprise us. And they get an easy opportunity to put us down. Thing about surviving long term is you gotta stay ready. On guard against everyone. But after surviving that long and snuffing that many people, you start getting a bit complacent. A bit used to the way things should be. And so, once more, the aratnid you dont see slips your notice. And crawls up the base of your armor, and as you disengage your helmet, takes a bite under your neck and injects a neurotoxin straight into your arteries. And thats that. It doesnt matter that it shouldnt happen. It doesnt matter if it was sheer dumb luck on their part or a genuine miscalculation on yours. There was the opportunity. The opening. And you werent prepared. Same goes the other way too. An opening. Being underestimated. Being counted out. Sometimes, thats all you need. What Im rambling on about here is sometimes, a little audacity is all you need. -Quail Tavers, School of the Warrens 30-14 Master of My Own Scars (I) Chambers didnt know what Refusal left to do exactly, but if he had to guess, it would probably be something related to cleaning out his house. After all, the possibility that the Infacer had worms inside Threshold would be more than enough to make the polities shit themselves. That gave Chambers and Cas an opening. A moment for them to install a few special payloads of their very own making. Now, Chambers had never been a very good Necro. Even with all the experience and skill Avo burned into him, he didnt quite have the cognitive shape for it. Best way he could describe himself was passively apathetic, actively empathetic. Put it simply, he could put things out of his mind if they were out of his sight, but the moment he had to dive into someones body and live their experiences, well This time was different, though. This time, he wasnt trying to null someone else with his trauma. Just himself. Just a shittier, dumber, and maybe mentally brittler version of himself currently hanging out in the Tiers, doing fucked up shit for no reason. They watched as a dozen technical drones installed the chunks of vivianite within the drone-missile platforms. The loci werent overly large and could be attached to the smart-ghosts nesting inside these platforms via Ghost-Link. Problem was triggering them across vast distances. With the Nether broken, reaching across the expanse of metaconsciousness was going to be a problem. Which was where Chambers Heaven of Love came in. I dont like this, Cas said, watching as Chambers infused each of the missiles into his Heavens hollow core. The Lovebringer hovered over Chambers like a specter, faint enough to be transparent but true enough to affect the real. The many bonds that constituted the word stitched its form into shape, and it took almost all the mental resources Chambers possessed to resist their pull. Trying to use the Ties That Bind would likely see him torn from common sense, but so long as he kept the things he was actually in love with to a few Well, shit still might get seven kinds of fucked. Which is was why he had Cas make a trip down to the gutters, to one of his Syndicate headquarters, to procure a specific implant. Dont like this either, but hey, who the fuck cares what we like? Hells, Im specifically doing what I dont like. Chambers grunted as he buried a needle in the base of his neck. He never thought he would be doing this again; Mirrorheads cortex bomb gave him more than a few panic attacks early on, and it was only after Chambers learned the half-strands patterns and habits that he started relaxing. Still, the fact that he was injecting another bomb into himself willingand as the head of his own Syndicates no lesstickled him in a bitterly fucked up sort of way. You got Sunrise to modify the micro-tech in here, yeah? Yeah. They should be triggerable through our ansibles, Cas replied. Your ansible, Chambers corrected. When things go down, and I actually start pulling on my bonds, theres a good shot Ill go ga-ga in the head and end up loving the missiles too much to blow them. Ill need you to jack into me while I use my bonds to project my Ghost-Links and yeah. Ill link to evil-me too if what we got isnt enough. Wont be wrestling him ontologically, but I think we can crack this stupid shit mentally. Youre putting a lot of faith in me not going ga-ga too, man, Cas sighed. You held together earlier pretty good. Yeah? Barely. Whole reason its you is because you got faith in your carpenter or whatsit and so I believe in you. If your almighty is great enough to stop you from giving in to the over-bust once, they just might do it again. Besides, if we both fuck up, Marlowe will fry me. I will, Marlowe said, grinning as she brushed her fingers along a strip of chrome infused into the base of her skull. With the drone-missiles Refusal dispatched to them, the Thoughtcaster also gained a much-wanted exo-cortex and an ansible. Finally, she could be part of the conversation and start making propaganda on behalf of the voiders or something. Yeah, can you not seem so godsdamned happy about it, though, Chambers muttered. She developed the biggest grin when Chambers told her his plan, and it still hadnt gone away. Fucking were talking about frying my ass. Ill have to resurrect. Yeah, Aedon: Youll resurrect. What are you whining about. Besides. This is revenge. Revenge? Revenge for fucking what? For making me ruin my pants, you half-strand! I liked those pantsand your magical bullshit orgasm powers turned the entire lower section into a swamp. Do you know I was dehydrated after that too? My lips went dry for the first time in yearsyou got close to killing me. And that was the moment everything truly sank in for Chambers. Here he was, planning a multi-layered spy-shit assassination against another eviler, dumber, shittier version of himself created from metaphysical bullshit Avo-Veylis cum-soup-merger-whatever, and across from him was a worried Cas and a woman who was actively displeased that Chambers gave her the biggest, most-soul blowing orgasm of her entire existence. No doubt about it world was truly ending. Technically, I gave her that orgasm, the Lovebringer muttered. All three of them turned to regard that Heaven. What? Marlowe asked. Well. Since we gods are awakened, and I consider myself an individual, it is through my power and Chambers will that you were brought to glorious, awesome climax. But I was the instrument that enabled the process. He is more like a master or a manager, dispatching me to task. A beat of absolute silence followed. Marlowe chortled. So so youre calling Chambers your pimp? That might be a fitting metaphor, the Lovebringer said, thoughtfully. We do operate in terms of his will, and our miracles are cast toward his desired benefits. God-Pimp, Chambers muttered, his mouth widening with awe. Cas, on the other hand, closed his eyes with weary dismay. Chambers. Chambers, please dont call yourself the God-Pim That only made the half-strand grin. I am the motherfucking God-Pimp, arent I? So is Draus and Chambers expression contorted in odd ways as his mind tried to keep going, attributing the word pimp to Dice, Lucky, Kae, and Essus, but somehow, the vibe didnt fit them. And then there was something else to: Wait, doesnt that make Avo some kind of Overpimp? Like, hes an entire city-sized stable inside filled with gods and people and other versions of us and shit This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Okay, looklisten, are you feeling alright? I know you had to dig up some pretty bad memories to create those trauma-patterns. Cas words came with a desperate, deadpan delivery, and Chambers frowned in response. Fuck you, consangyoure sticking your fingers in my mind-wounds just so I can stop enjoying the realization that I am, in fact, a pimp of gods, a pimp of heavens. Please, Chambers, Im going trigger your cortex bomb right now, if you dont stop saying the word god-pimp. Now, entirely honestly, are you okay. I saw caught glimpses of what your dad did when you put those memories inside the loci. Thats hes a piece of shit; if its any consolation, hes probably burning in the pits now. May his name be forgotten. Nah, Chambers responded, shaking his head. There was still an ache inside him after he delved into his past. But though he was a bit nervous at the start, it really wasnt as bad as he remembered, collecting those worst moments. Sure, his dad had nearly beaten him to death a half-dozen times; jammed a burning gun barrel under his armpit; pawned Chambers to that sad old lady three rooms down for a couple of days; and other horrible abuse shit but Well. Whatever Chambers could do to himself paled in comparison to what he survived facing Mercy. Which Chambers cant believe he was thinking this, but he wished Peace was still around. He would have probably made an even better trauma-pattern than Chambers could. And probably cursed with every other word too. It is what it is, Chambers shrugged. What else was there to say about it. Fucking miserable life. Fucked me up. But He couldnt help but look at Marlowe. ---I think all our parents fuck us in one way or another. I used all that porn to drown my pain beforegot real addicted to protect myself from my mind, but honestly, its a bag of bullshit there too. Youre a person, Chambers, Cas said. You deserved better. So did all the people I killed while being a ganger or thug. So did the people I stole from. The refugees I sold into slavery. Deserve. We dont live in a world that deserves. Were not part of a story. Thats for a better reality. Or the gods. Were just here, and we got our lots, I think. He let out a small breath. It felt kind a good to say all that, actually. His past was painful. It broke him in ways. But that was it. There was nothing metaphysical about it. People changed. He changed. And he was changing some more. I think were pretty lucky in the end, all things considered, Chambers continued. He grinned at Marlowe and Cas. I mean. We did run into New Vultuns special-est ghoul. Yeah, Cas said. He looked down at the ground and shook his head. He scared the shit out of me. No shit? You too? Chambers. He was a fucking mind-twisting, Heaven-eating monster with the barest shred of decencyand an obsession with human agency. Youre goddamn right, he scared mehe terrified fucking everyone. Well. Maybe, not Draus. Or Denton. I dont know, Marlowe said. Hes kinda scary looking, but he was kinda sweet all things considered. And even sorta handsome in a weird way. Both of them stared at Marlowe. What? There was a lot of charisma. Man, people can get away with anything if they talk good enough, Chambers said. Maybe I should eat some eyeballs. Might be some juices there that add to my charm. Please dont, Cas said. I was kidding. I had to be sure; I cant trust you when you use the word juices. It always goes somewhere messed up. With a final whir of noise, the last of the technical drones pulled away from the missiles, and gave a beep of confirmation. Well, then, Chambers said, clapping his hands together. Looks like our special payloads are installed. Whats say we blow our hidden load all over other mes face. Cas grimacedbut the slightest smile emerged thereafter. Im getting you a sex-therapist to talk to in Threshold after this, and youre not saying no. But before that: load; blow; evil me? Chambers grinned, holding out a thumbs up. A sigh escaped Cas as he gave Chambers a thumbs-up despite the general filth coming out of Chambers mouth. Alright! Marlowe? Hell yeah, Im game, She said. Im already linked in to the missiles feeds. Wouldnt be the first time I released myself inside another guy, either. Whatever words Chambers was going to make left him as a series of whale-like wails. His legs shuddered. The image that Marlowe conjured did something to him. A bond of lust snaked out from Chambers, crawling toward Marlowe. The thoughtcasters eyes widened, and then she threw her head back and guffawed. Its not even affecting me that much anymore, Cas said, looking on with a tired expression. Im gonna need a fucking therapist too. Alright. Lets get these things airborne. A Ghost-Link snaked out from him. +Calvino sent me an update: Infacer is actively skirmishing against the Bleaks through is Noosphere. Most of their processing is being devoted to fighting that shadow war. The rest is moving to locate a hidden threat. One they havent been able to identify; they suspect its already inside Threshold.+ +Inside shit, so we might be compromised too?+ +Maybe. Trust nothing. The Bleaks will probably plug whatever leak there is, but the next hit could come from anywhere. Might want to start making some of our own arrangements when Refusal gets distractedCalvino will give us a signal when theres an opening.+ +Synced on that. Well. Lets go mind-fuck my other self today. *** The VGS Butterfly Theory is a platform the voiders might refer to as a surprisingly effective museum piece. Thresholds archives also called it its series a Kalashnikov-equivalent in terms of intergalactic stealth missile platforms, which basically meant an oldie but a goodie. Chambers wasnt exactly sure why Refusal sent him only three of these old-fashioned missiles to use as delivery platforms, but Cas guess was that the voiders didnt want to risk losing anything more advanced to the locals. That, and the coldtech installed within the Butterfly Theory was harder to fail somehow when exposed to thaumaturgy. The Buttefly Theories werent the most aesthetic missiles. They pretty much looked like solid rods with a few crenelations, some exposed panels, heat vents, a dumb-mind module near its aft, and finally, a few arms jutting out from its thruster. It was an older build even compared to the Manta consider it lacked any hint of that smart-matter Voidwatch loved so much, and was mostly a dead piece of metal. That being said, it was also a smart, fast, and very flexible dead piece of metal if its guidance, targeting, propulsion, and countermeasure features were being truthful. Using an Orion-Slingshot thrusterbasically spraying the full energy of a nuke out the back of the missileit could get pretty quick pretty fast, especially for a coldtech platform. But that wasnt its main deal. Apparently, the panels it had allowed for an optical, gravitic, and photon cloaking stealth suite that basically meant it was going to be near invisible on the approach. And then there was something about a neutrino absorption sink or something, so radiation was going to be sucked up as well. That one was probably for the Infacer. Then, there was the dumb minds that served as the platforms targeting system. Chambers interfaced with them briefly using his ansible, and the brief conversation made him more than a little uncomfortable. Frankly, for what were supposedly non-conscious mindsjust generative intellects rather than fully autonomous onesthey still seemed remarkably human when it came to conversation. {Hello operative Chambers,} the missiles greeted in unison. {We are glad you have connected with us again. Additional payloads have been installed successfully. No issues detected. This fills us with glee; we cannot wait to commit suicide by crashing into your ontological copy.} The messages were conveyed in such an upbeat manner that it genuinely made Chambers want to look for a mender. If half the people in New Vultun were as motivated by killing themselves as these drones were, the Warrens would be empty, and the economy would be the shit every year. {Yeah. Got it. Just making sure everything is good with you guys. Well be launching in a few minutes.} {Affirmative. However, we have not received any transmissions from Threshold. EGI-Bleak-Refusal has not responded to any of our updates either. Is there a problem.} {Yeah. Threshold might be, uh, fucking leaking. Might be some dirty sneak-fucker lurking and stealing information. Other me knows about you guys, so} {Oh, dear. That means our suicides might not be so successful.} {Yeah, well, I wouldnt be so sure. Hes kind of a retarded half-strand, and just because he knows doesnt mean his ready to get his ass fisted by our new payload. Which he might not know about. Basically, we got a surprise in a surprise, you synced with me?} {Yes. We are synced. Learning new slang is fun before our demise!} Jaus, Chambers muttered. Every mention they made to wanting to die made him feel a little sicker. He hadnt anticipated this when he forced himself to fall in love with these missiles. The fucking Loverbringer was quickly also turning into the Heaven of Fucking a Wound-Hole into Chambers heart. {Alright. Well. With Refusals absence and seeing these are dire circumstances, I am giving the clearance to launch immediately.} Above, the hanger doors opened, and the daystars shine was slowly draining away to the dimness of coming midnight. {Anyway. Gotta ask you guys to delay your final updates till before impact. You know. For, uh, op-sec shit.} {Affirmative. We will accommodate your most reasonable request. It will be an honor to crash ourselves into your other self and die! Die! Die!} {Yeah,} Chambers said, holding back a sob. Fuck These little guys were adorable. He didnt want them to just blow up and stop being. And he thought his life was bad; they existed only to die. And there was so much joy in them; so much beauty in the world. {Fucking gonna hurt him something bad.} Chambers? Cas said, narrowing his eyes. You alright? No, Chambers said, the words whimpering out of him. I regret this. I regret this already. This is going to hurt me something bad. 30-15 Master of My Own Scars (II) You know the worst thing I realized about my father? He was right about me. I was a piece of shit. I wasnt worth it. I was pathetic. Every good thing that happened to me became true because of someone else even when I did become a Godclad. Just learned it all too late. The Stillborn needed a better host. But it got me. It got me. Not even I want to be me. Theres no way Im gonna win this war. Theres no world in which I win against her. Theres no world where I get better. He was right. He was right. -Aedon Chambers the Fuckbringer (Path-Simulation Iteratant: 245th Attempt) 30-15 Master of My Own Scars (II) [Fuckbringer] A duet of despair and depravity echoed across the disfigured expanse of Morobi-Ynneath in the form of alternating shrieks. Bodies hung from Aedon Chambers. Bodies partially restored to their original functions, with eyes returned, lust reduced, made to serve as unwilling audience to debached scenes of theatrical defilement. The stars were the final two Godclads to fall in defense of this city. Ori Seekers. It was a real noble holding actionthough pretty fucking pointless considering they had nothing they could wield against his miracles. Still. They held out longer than most. Went down swinging all Dannis-like. So. Unlike the other Godclads who he real-deathed, he kept these two alive to see how much suffering he could inflict before one or both of them cracked. What made things spicier was the fact they were freshly in love. Oh, yeah. Made what he did to them extra raw. See, the rash took away quite a bit more than just sex and the capacity for people to enjoy their lust without a Metaminds filter. No. Comforting touches between people, genuine hugs that triggered some surprising feelings, passions that veered too close to the Remembrances Domains Lots of things got lost. And to celebrate the changing of the rash and the liberation that came to New Vultun while he waited for his dipshit of an original self to finally arrive, Chambers started a two-person stage play using the two Seekers as puppets. Thats right! Seekers Yaobi Mazuki and Mas Nudracht were going to be stars in a piece Chambers liked to call Lust Returned. And how better to reveal to everyone that the rash was in remission all across the cityand in local areas where he willed itby forcing the two lovebirds to relearn the nuances of sexual intimacy. Sure, they struggled at first. Tried to keep their expression blank, will themselves out of their bodyaway from what they were being forced to enjoy. But Mas cracked first; started crying. Begging for it to stop, begging her for forgiveness, to look away from him, that he couldnt meet her eyes. That was where she went over the edge, too, and it was a full-blown sadfest from there. Oh, the millions Chambers kept alive within his folds and umbilicals tried to turn away. Some of them started weeping too. The fucking glassjaws. Didnt know an emotional piece if it was staring them right in the face. And so he removed their eyelids and made them watch anyway. Butcredit where credit was duealthough he forced his puppets to experience every kind of sexual pleasure possible with each other, though their cognitions tore and bled, they somehow managed to endure. They even fucking held handsusing that as an anchor for comfort as Chambers pumped them against each other. It was pretty adorable. But by then, he was moving on to the next phase: pregnancy and childcare! Course, with the vats people didnt need to get personally involved anymore, so they could use the refresher. And though Chambers could have just connected Mass mind to Yaobi, he wanted both of them to have a hands-on experience. And so, in the spirit of Ori-Thaum, he did the democratically prudent thing: he fused their genital together into a shared set of wombs after he accelerated a successful insemination. And thus began act two of Lust Returned: The Cycling Births. It was pretty much how it sounded. Well, Chambers was also making them birth versions of his homunculi over into each other, so even if it did get out from the womb somehow, it wouldnt live long. It wasnt proper to have someone suffer an unwanted child as an economic burden for the sake of entertainment, after all. Aedon Chambers was thoughtful like that. This went on for a few hours. Night was drawing close. The air was getting closer; a fresh scent of petrichor hinted at the coming of the midnight rains. Yaobi birthed her child into Mas, and he birthed it right back into her. It was a hell of a bonding experience. And through it all, he let them keep holding hands. It was all they had. And by this point, he suspected it was all that kept them sane. And fixating on that tickled his cruelty. So, Chambers decided to tear them apart. He controlled then using a net of cords fused into their backs, and so prying them apart was equally easy as well. A heart-stopping shriek came from Yaobi first as the large, swollen organ connecting her to Mas peeled open, tissue parting as strands of spraying blood. A disfigured lump toppled out from the wound, carried by a waterfall of amniotic fluids and blood. Chambers homunculi were long-drowned, long-dead, but still effective at causing trauma. Mas caught a glance at his baby and his accretion nearly shattered outright. Only the dead-grip he had on Yaobi kept him present; unbroken. And so Chambers pulled harder. No! Stop! Let them go! Let them die! You sick fuckmotherfucker! Hurt me, you half-strand pussy. Hurt me instead! Come on! IdontwanttoseeIdontwanttoseepleaseohgodspleasenomore. Stop! Enough! Please! Please! Such were the cheers he earned from his audience. Over seventy percent of Morobi-Ynneaths population was still alivethough half that remained entirely sane after the wonders they just witness. High art was hard to achieve, but Chambers thought he did a pretty good job. The Soft Masters would be proud of him. But. However. It wasnt done. Not until the snap. The crack. With a final jolt of force, Yaobi and Mas came apart. Not unwillingly. The snap that sounded was the formers forearm getting pulled off the bone, but the crack was what he wanted. The answer to who would break first was answered as Yaobis mind shattered. Ghosts and poured out from her broken halo and stained her thoughtstuff like blood infesting water. Chambers released with a flick, sending her brutalized body splashing across the pond of viscera and amniotic fluid born of her ruptured organ. A feral series of cries sounded from her. She pawed along the ground, pulling a prolapsed and inflammed sack of flesh behind her as she made for her baby. And dangling just above her, out of reach but so close to sight was Mas, who was howling, near-madness. Yaobi! He cried. The words left him like as a wheeze. His throat had been ruined from hours of screaming. Chambers didnt let him resurrect; fixed his body when he neared death. But not his throat. The hoarseness suited the scene and his role doomed protagonist. Yaobi! Im please Look I am here Let me let me He shook. His skin, once fine and ebony and Guilder-smooth was covered with yellowish-fluid and thick blood. But his eyesthose deep, hateful blues still greeted the Fuckbringer with resistance yet. Chambers frowned. Not quite good enough to break Dannis Steelhard, it seemed. Fine. Your wish is granted. He promptly flung Mas next to his lover, letting him splash into their shared filth. While he sailed through the air, Yaobi picked up the ruined mess of meat that was the homunculi and screamed and screamed. Her eyes were bloodshot. All sense of coherence left her. But, Chambers was nothing if not a cruel fuck, so he started upping the lust she felt at seeing her childs remains.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Soon. Her breaths started growing hitched. And slowly Mas crashed into from behind, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled the homunculi out of her hands and threw it aside. She went fucking ballistic. She tore. She bit. She almost manifested her Heavenbut Chambers put than end to that pretty quick by inserting a Ghost-Link into her weakened mind. Soon, Mas wrestled his love down to the ground and held her there. Held her as she clawed at his back with her remaining hand. As she cried and pleaded. I need I need to put him back inside. It will feel good! Please! It will feel good! No, Mas said. Tears rolled down his face as he squeezed his eyes shut. No. No. Please. Its not us. Its not us. It Chambers started filling him with pleasure too. Mas grew choked. This time, he looked upon Chambers with horror. No. Stop. Please, stop. Youve been feeling real good this entire time, Chambers said as he leaned in close. His head was dwarfed them, so he was sure they could see every fiber of muscle on his manifested face. But you wanna know what does it for me? The struggling. The begging. You know, I get it now. I get why my father liked hurting me so much. Because it was the only thing that was right and real and felt good to him. Because when you could hurt someone else and not get hurt yourself, that makes you special. That makes you a GUILDER! Ahem. I apologize for the outburst. But, yeah. No. Youre going to pick that baby up, and youre going to use it as a {Chambers. Our contact just what are you doing?} The Infacer crackled in the back of Chambers mind. Oh, hey, sparky. Whats up. Just doing some art. Any updates on the Rendombs. {Yes. They are on the waythey just crossed the Undercroft. Well. I guess your idiot of an original self managed to convince the generative AIs to give a delayed update. Thirty seconds. I} The Infacer sighed. {So put away your toys. It is absurd watching you do this. So pointless.} Chambers snorted. Well. Here they come. He licked his lips. Just the way I was made. And besides. Id say this is the point. The brutality. The horrible shit. The power. Its the meaning we make. The meaning we inflict on other people. Thats the trust expression of being a god, right? Alright. Time for me to handle my original self and get his piece of the Stillborn. The Infacer responded with a snort of their own. Their voice crackled through the wind, with only strings representing distant radiation revealing their presence. {Do not underestimate him. Like you did earlier. I will only be able to devote to you} Yeah, yeah, you dont got the cog-cap to help old Chambers handle his problems. Big whoop. Dont worry. I got this. You just need to trace the path of the missiles, and Ill use my dormant Rashspores to hunt him and his consangs down. Itll be a milk-run. An uncomfortable pause followed. {If you fuck this up, I am going to be very displeased, but also unsurprised.} Yeah? Well, complain to the High Cuntess. Shes the one who created me from the Substance-soup, right? If Im this much of a fuck-up, then its her fault for fucking shitting me out. That makes her the mother of all fuck-ups. {Indeed. It will be something she never lives down. But it will also result in your other iterations suffering fates worse than death.} So? Theyre not me. The Infacer fell quiet again. {I envy how simple and stupid} The radiation suddenly broke apart with a burst of distortion. The Fuckbringer stared at the spot in the sky where the Infacers emanations were, and just chuckled. Looks like the dumb mind got fucked by his old consangs again. Ah. Well, the voiders and Omnitech shitting all over each other was frankly a blessinglast thing he needed was someone telling him what to do. Anyway, where was he? Oh, yeah, the inhuman torture. As he turned his focus back on his playthings, he found Yaobi clinging to Mas, both of them sobbing against each other. Well. Wasnt that suitably pathetic. A shame. He was so close to completing the play. Hmm. Well, he still had some time Well. Looks like you win, Seeker. You survived! Youre a real Dannis! Her, though? Her not so much. Cord shot out from the Fuckbringer and plunged into Yaobis back. Mas let out a cry. A flash of lightning exploded out from himonly for Chambers to overload his senses with all-consume pleasure. Mas toppled out of his manifestation before it could arrive for the sixth time that day, and his eyes rolled as his faculties were overloaded. When his senses finally returned, he found Yaobi swinging over in a circle, slowly building up speed. Yaobi Mas reached out, helpless at what was to come. And a one, and a two Screams and pleas erupted from the bodies Chambers had fused to his umbilicals stem. Ah, he was going to splatter her a good few times against the ground next to Mas. If she was the anchor for his sanity, then lets see how he did with her gone. You did better than I thought, Mas. But the truth is the fuckers always An unseen force promptly tore Yaobi out of the Fuckbringers grasp. Blood sprayed out from the Seekers torso as the cords Chambers fused into her were wrenched free with ease. The Fuckbringer cried out more in surprise than pain, and his incredulity further climbed as he saw Yaobi spiking down straight into Mass open arms. The trajectory was too perfect. It was like they were always meant to be, or another power had ensured her arrival. A burst of radiation briefly materialized over the Fuckbringer again, composing itself as a static crown. Just then, three shapes plunged down into the valley of tissue that constituted the Fuckbringers base. They were cloaked on so many levels that Chambers never even saw them coming, and an instant before the Rendbombs detonated, he saw their designsrod-like missiles that were singing? {Hooary!} {Death!} {Finally!} And then their payloads went off. The Rendbombs were what the Infacer anticipatedand so the Crown of Decay briefly separated Chambers from local reality, scattering his being far and vast like the spreading bits of atom-shit or however it worked. A route formed within his mind, like a Phys-Sim creating three trajectories. In a few seconds, he would know where they fired from, and then he could A second explosion followed the first. These, however, werent Rendbombs. Traumas exploded out into the world. Traumas fine-tuned to carve agony into Chambers. Phantasmal shrapenel showered a radius of twelve kilometers across the Sovereignty, but with how large the Fuckbringer was, every piece cut deep into his being, into his mind. His wards rattled as the first few hits were blocked, but the contents were double effective. It was first-person perspective of him crawling, screaming at the ceiling as his father showed him that fucking gun barrel. It was hot from being fired over and over. And a second later, it slipped under his flailing arms to brand his armpit. The toddler Chambers had been then howled for his mommy. And unable to overcome the scars-yet-raw, the Fuckbringer recited the same plea as well. His bellow shook the world, and more bad memories followed. He recalled the first tooth he lostbooted out from his bottom lip when he knocked over his dads beer. He remembered the taste of his moms blood as his dad bludgeoned her using the business end of their vacuuma gift he bought for her on her namesday. He remembered the artanid he tried to keep as a pet. Four-Legged Osjack. Didnt make it a week before dads boot splattered it flat. Every bit of pain from Chambers past tore into him. The hurt built and built, and his wards began to rattle, wail, and crack. SEVERE TRAUMA SUSTAINED COG-CAP - 95% Get out get out of my head! Get out of my of my As his focus slowly returned, he felt another presence across from him. A thin woven from magenta threads and pulsing with brilliant power lit the horrific remains of Morobi-Ynneath, and for the second time that day, the Fuckbringer faced the Lovebringer, as pathborn seethed at the original. Well well, Chambers snarled. Looks like his original self was an even bigger idiot than he thought, sticking around in person. Thought I was going to have to go looking for you The Lovebringer. What a stupid fucking name for a stupid fucking Heaven. Its form rose out from the two Seekers holding onto each other, and the link it had to them seemed unnaturally strong. Whats more, it was pointing its cunt-shaped head down at them, not bothering to face the Fuckbringerignoring Chambers. A flare of anger rushed through him. Hey! Look at me, you cocksucking half-strand. Slowly, the Lovebringer complied. And instead of something Chambers expected his original self to say, the Heaven of Love just sighed. You never had a chance. You never had a chance at all. This is what she thought of me? This? The Lovebringer gestured at the cityscape around them. This is what we are! The Fuckbringer spat. He surged forward, his body elongating out from the folds that held him. Glistening sinews lined with festering wombs reached out to seize the Lovebringer. The half-strand didnt have the Spheres for this fighthe was going to learn what it meant A cone of trauma stopped the Fuckbringer dead in its tracks. This time, he remembered being held face-down in the toilet while his father took a piss. The taste was foul; his eyes stangthose memories never left him. And here his original self was, using them like they were nothing. Nothing at all. The Fuckbringer reeled back, clutching at his skull, gagging. I was supposed to just leave, you know. If the trauma-patterns didnt kill you. I was just going to break my bonds and leave. But I saw what you were doing. Felt it from across the Sovereignty. Just gotta ask, consang? Who the fuck are you? Because youre definitely not me. F-fuck you, the Fuckbringer managed. Yeah, yeah, fuck me. Too late for that. The city already finished. And so did dad. But apparently hes not done with you. And here you are, doing what he might do if he was given a Heaven. And that, more than any trauma-pattern, caused the Fuckbringers wards to finally overload. The FUCK DID YOU JUST Another blast. This one left the Fuckbringer squealing, hammering his skull against the ground to silence the flashing images, the noisemom screaming; begging; pleading. At night, they used to hold hands. It was all they had sometimes. He would just hold her hand as she cried. And dad would snore while facing the wall. Didnt come here to have a clash of Clads. Came here to stomp your sorry Soft-Master pretending, dumb-shit thinking, poor-path-simulation ass. I had a feeling about this. I had a feeling you werent hard. And I was right. You arent hard. You arent hard at all. Youre just a godsdamned mistake. Something inside the Fuckbringer snapped, and with a feral cry, an eruption of lust exploded out across the Sovereignty, consuming all. 30-16 Master of My Own Scars (III) There comes a point where you must step beyond who you were before, to face all history and shed your scars. To cling to pain is to build your own cage and to seal your own fate. But to choose. To choose change is to go beyond, to make yourself wings from your past and present, and seek the skies of a future to be. For that is the highest form of belief. Possibility. The dream of what might be beyond that which is, to reach who we might become. -Jaus Avandaer 30-16 Master of My Own Scars (III) [Chambers] If Chambers had one flaw, it was sticking to plans. He was bad at that. He was bad at recalling the exact things he needed to do during a complex operation in the heat of the moment, he was bad at staying the course in a simple milk run, he was bad at anything that required any kind of organization whatsoever. Most times, though, it wasnt really his fault. Thats what he thought, anyway. Unexpected shit just transpired. Things he couldnt have predicted, or opportunities he would have to be stupid to miss. This time, though? This time, Chambers knew he was choosing to be a dumbass, because he had every opportunity to demanifest and leave. Except he didnt. Except love compelled him to stay. Love. He loved those fucking drone-missile things. Loved them so much that he started sobbing back in the hanger when they crashed. As expected, their Rendbomb payloads did less than jack shit. The Infacerbeing the most devious bastard in New Vultunhad pre-planned some advanced Heaven-fuckery no one could have anticipated, but they were clearly distracted too. Being caught in brawling with the Bleaks was probably the only reason why Chambers had a clear shot at the Fuckbringers mind; the Infacer couldnt maintain that crown of everything proof bullshit for long and didnt show up in time to intercept those traumas. Such was how Chambers knew his guess had been right: other him was built like a house made from wet shit. All it took was some messed up memories, and they were coming apart at the seams. That being said, they still had Conundrum wards, so smashing through required a few thousand different fucked-up moments instead of one really big punch. This too was something Chambers anticipated. Such was why he made his trauma-patterns go off like fragmentation instead of a big blast. However, what he didnt see coming was love. A big fucking nest of love running between the people still fused to the Fuckbringer, love going from parent to child, lover to love, even surviving nu-pets and their owners. And an especially strong bond gleamed bright through the hellscape of block-sized sores, the fucked up vaginal-fold-valley-of-issue that was the Fuckbringers foundation, and all the questionable fluids slathering all there was in a glistening film that stank something bad too. This bond was strong. Most others were like strings or chains. This one was a fucking nanotech lattice that was hardening at the moment, reforged and strengthened through an unspeakable ordeal. Chambers felt them first about a hundred kilometers away from the Sovereignty. Their connection was like a thin trace of magenta upon a vast canvas of miserable black. As his drones were lost, and he prepared to recede back into his own sheathe with his alternative selfs weakness confirmed, Chambers caught sight of them for the first time. And did a double take at the stomach-churning abuse they had been put through. They were Godclads too. He could feel that. Aside from him and the Fuckbringer, they were the only two beings that gave off the weight of thaumic essence and Soulfire. To describe them as tortured was an understatement. Both were stripped bare and coated with filth and piss and shit and all kinds of others fucked up stuff. And then there was that cocoon of flapping flesh extending from their raw-red groins. The Lovebringer and Bioigniter both identified the makeup of the organ as something womb-like, and no far from them, Chambers found a homunculus leaving a trail of fluids back to the ruptured sack the two Godclads once shared. But all that paled before the shine of their bond. It burned bright. It burned desperately. It burned because, by this point, it was all they fucking had left of themselves. Chambers watched as the Fuckbringer tore the girl from her guy and, well, not much was left of her mind but drifting shards and her beaus was teetering on the brink as well. Fuckbringer reared back, preparing to bring her down as a bludgeon, meaning to break both couples mentally, physically, ontologically even as the drones zipped down into his folds. And Chambersacting off raw, stupid instinct rather than following his plan, reached out and clutched the lovers bond. That grounded him in place. Prevented him from reeling back to his body, but the sheer density of their bond was well, shit, he never felt anything as hard as that. Desperately hard, because it was the only choice they had left, the only comfort they could hold on to, even after their bodies had been used as instruments of brutality against each other. And so Chambers pulled. He pulled the girl out of the Fuckbringers grasp, back along her bond, placing in a place of comfort. And in doing so, he pulled himself in grounded himself in the district as a surge of aching love overtook his senses and overcame his good sense. Across the city, back in Loathing where his sheath was, he felt Cas shaking him. But that didnt matter now. Chambers had opened himself to the Domain of Love as he promised himself he wouldnt, and there was no stopping what was to come. Instead, he rooted his own Heaven deeper upon their bond and opened his heart to all the other lovers around him. There was so much pain here. Briefly sinking Ghost-Links into the minds of the Godclads and the other victims, Chambers flinched away. Chambers caught just a glimpse of what they endured; he saw a little; he saw too much; he saw enough. Flashes of their pain coursed through his mind as their love flowed through his Heaven. He became the nexus of who they weredefiled to the brink of madness, but still here, clinging to meaning despite the presence of despair. Because people wanted to live. They wanted to survive. And, be it a hallucination or something more, a shadow formed over the lovers clinging to each other, weeping into one anothers embrace even after the Fuckbringer rose, riddled with trauma, chasms of instability spreading across its halo. The shadow looked up at Chambers, its form one of proud mutilation. They were missing an arm and a legwith the arm forced up his bleeding ass. Every other tooth was missing, and his severed dick hung around his neck like a mocking necklace. His hair, though, was still perfect, and his jaw still strong. The truth that was Dannis Steelhard stood over the wounded lovershe their personification, and Chambers his truest disciple. Chambers didnt have the words. He felt love and shame and horror that Dannis was here to see this. Time practically stopped as he faced his hero, the icon of his perversity now turned to disturbing nobility. I fuck, Im sorry. I wish I No. Fuck him. Dannis said. He isnt you. He thinks hes with the Soft Masters. He thinks hes the fucker in this story. Maybe. But hes not his own fucker. Hes not even a person. Hes Veylis cock. A soft cock that thinks if hes the one doing the hurting, the torture, and the raping, he cant get hurt, tortured, and raped back. Lots of people tell themselves that. Your dad sure did. And look at him in the end. Dead after a life wasted. The Fuckbringer was surging forward. What remained of Chambers logical mind pried him; screamed at him to run. The Lovebringer opened its tethers, drawing more love in like an addict, drowning the base of Chambers thoughts in feel-good emotionsa substance beyond joy. There, in the depths of his mind, where the ever-shrinking perfect alloy of Chambers resided, a choice had to be made. I dont know if Im better. Love and lust and all that it feels too good. All the stuff I watched. All the messed up shit Ive done All for a hit Were all looking for a hit, Aedon. But you always wanted to be me while that thing wearing your face only dreams of being on the other side. You arent perfect. But you dream of being greater than the painbeyond it. He? Hes soft. He got swallowed. He drowned. You could never be him. Not even in your darkest moment. Veylis never knew you. But I do. And so do you. Stop running from who you could be, Chambers. And dont be ashamed of who you were. Face it. Face it all. You survived everything before. Youll do it now. The love it feels It''s supposed to feel good. Its supposed to hurt you. Been without all your life, and now it''s all coming in. So let it come. Let it hurt. You dont need to win and master it today. Just survive and endure long enough to make sure he loses And before sensation could overcome his will, a choice was made. The Fuckbringer descended. But Chambers unleashed a cone of trauma against the Sovereignty-sized monstrosity descending upon him. Soft. Like Dannis said. Soft of mind. And soft of spirit. Bonds exploded out from the Lovebringer as ecstasy overcame its coherence. But even so, there was enough of Chambers left to stop himself to including a final figure in his hollow heart. His shadow. His Pathborn self. He was going to break that half-strand. And he was going to enjoy doing it. [Cas] +Chambers Chambers! Godfuckingdammit, Chambers, demanifest! Now! Now!+ Cas casts built with frequency and intensity. They went ignored. The Columner gritted his teeth and prepared to prime the cortex bomb. He knew he mightve needed to do this, but everything still felt Wait! Marlowe cried, halting him. Cas growled. Theres no time. We wanted to see if Veylis puppet was mentally frailwe saw. Now, we wait for it to retreat or bring it down through asymmetrically projected traumas. Thats the Hes winning, Marlowe cried, she pointed to the high-resolution satellite feeds their phantoms formed of the ongoing battle. They severed their Ghost-Links with Chambers when the Lovebringer fully manifested and were preparing to do what needed doing when shit went off the rails. The strike had been a success. Until Chambers veered from the plan, clicking to what looked like two desecrated corpses to engage the Fuckbringer in Clad on Clad combat. Cas stomach had dropped after that. The Fuckbringer was more than Chambers could handle straight onprobably could overload its original counterpart with a single vent. Yet, that fucking half-strand decided to do the stupidest thing possible. And he couldnt tell why until he saw the bonds extending out from the Lovebringer. Until he saw Chambers connecting to the many little bodies that still merged with his Pathborn self. Love. Love made fools of commoners and kings alike. And love compelled Chambers to stay and fight for the people in the district.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Cas should have seen this coming. Obsessions, relationships, and love had killed more than a few of his assets. And now Chambers was the God of Love power he wasnt ready for at all, far beyond his ability to control. But yet, there was something different this time. Chambers wasnt just extending his tendrils everywhere. Cas and Marlowe remained untouched for one, and Chambers seemed composed enough to project traumas at the ongoing Fuckbringer instead of greeting it miracle to miracle. Like Marlowe said: He was, somehow, winning. For now. But the risk was too high. I cant risk it, Cas said through clenched teeth. Marlowe protested. But hes It just takes one mistake! Just one! Cas snapped. He took a step toward Marlowe. Hes done. Im frying him. I He saw the Fuckbringer reeling back. It was like all reality flinched with it. The Sovereignty, already twisted into being a part of the Fuckbringers tumbled backward. The landscape was so vast that only a set of continental-scale feeds displayed the extent of the Fuckbringers movement. Tissue stretching hundreds of kilometers folded and bent. The nightmarish counterpart to the Lovebringer screamed so loud the air itself shook. But it was flinching away, its mind shattering as Chambers drew close. Inside Cas own heart, a treacherous candle ignited. It was a flame he smothered often. It was like he kept dim to avoid imbibing anguish. Hope. Belief. Chambers was winning. For this moment. Chambers was winning. Casbeing a damn fool himselfhesitated. Chambers said something to his false-self, and whatever stinging insult or truth he cast from his heart, they were sharp enough to pierce through the crumbling fortress that was the Fuckbringers wards. The beast let out an incoherent wail and And a tidal wave of festering power exploded out from the Heaven of Lust. Sores erupted across its body as jets of viscous fluid sprayed out from their depths. The Sovereignty was consumed, and the visual feed winked out just as they displayed {VISUAL-MEMETIC ANOMALY DETECTED; COUNTERMEASURES ACTIVATING} Cas, Marlowe said. Have some faith. He choked. What a choice of fucking words. [Chambers] All the world was lust, and lust was him. A jungle of lustful patterns blossomed out from the Fuckbringer, seizing all who could feel desire and bringing them to unspeakable heights of euphoria. The Heaven of Lusts cords splattered against Chambers bonds, and though they were not entirely aligned, Chambers himself was a vector for lustan addict to itand so the Fuckbringer exerted its influence on him as well. FUCKING THINK YOURE BETTER THAN ME! The Fuckbringer pulled. And Chambers lurched forward. The only reason he didnt go shooting off into the Fuckbringers grasp was because the bonds that connected him to the couple. Love was his personal Domain, and still it held strong against the foulness of desire. But love wasnt something Chambers understood; it was a stranger, taking up room in his heart, and before the familiarity of lust, its influence over him was flagging. Youre not better! Youre not! Youre just a half-strand piece of shit too! Those are your memories, MOTHERFUCKER! Mom left you! Dad hurt you! Im not real! I never actually got hurt! That was you! You! You! A flood of thought-consuming desire was injected across the connection, and they began boiling new tendrils into the Lovebringer. These bonds were caustic and stained; a boiling darkness signifying the insatiable lust lurking within the heart of mankind, and in few hearts did it lurk deeper than Chambers. He should have fallen. He should have lost himself right then and there. It would have felt good. All his life, the only thing he ever truly wanted was to feel good. But Chambers didnt. Chambers wouldnt. And couldnt even if he wanted to. Because he wasnt who he was anymore. Because the bonds that clung onto him made him not just himself, but the Lovebringer as well, and the Lovebringers ontology clung to the people here like fingers tightly interlaced. They were lust-consumed as well. The two Godcladsthe strongest of Chambers connectorslost themselves to passion immediately, running fingers and lips over each others festering and fluid-stained bodies with abandon. They possessed no means to resist. But where lust existed, so too did love. Love, that the Fuckbringer lacked. Love that the Fuckbringer refused to face. The Heaven of Loves colossal fingers closed around the Lovebringer. That did jack and shit against the latest bolt of trauma leaving Chambers. An entire chunk of the Fuckbringers mind shattered into bits, and it began to sob. Like a child. Like Chambers did when he was a boy, hugging himself and facing the wall after the latest beating, dad drinking, mom nowhere to be seen. The cries roused Chambers. Pulled him out from beneath the waves of pleasure and overwhelming sensation. Provided a dissonant melody to use as separation against the rising sea of joy and romance he was now becoming. Chambers blinked, and it was like waking up for the first time in his life. The Fuckbringers sore-lined hands formed a cage around him and the two lovers. Moans sounded from them, while Chambers felt the pulsing power of entropy leaking foul-smelling water from each over-sexualized slit dotting the Fuckbringers hands. His other self had been on the verge of venting. All it would have taken was a moments distraction from love or lust for a thaumic overload to be Chambers fate. But he wasnt distracted. Was just hard enough to gather himselfnot winning, but surviving. And that was enough. Enough for him to strike back once more. Enough to remind the Fuckbringer who he wasnt. A struggling series of whimpers sounded from the Fuckbringer. Hate stewed inside him. Hate and self-loathing and despair. Hate for who Chambers was and who they werent. The Fuckbringer still wanted to kill him, but it didnt have the wholeness of self to quite finish the action. And as Chambers took in the miserable nemesis Veylis molded from time and memory to face him, he managed to snicker. He managed to laugh. He was right. The lust was still there. The love was overwhelming. But as he watched a version of himself that couldnt know loveshaped so by the will of the High Seraphhe glimpsed an ineffable truth from the tapestry. Earned a realization about himself as well. Love was too much for him still, but so living through all that he did. He let his heart go barren because he wouldnt have survived if it was full; wouldve gotten killed seeking it as a child to a heartless father and a city that knew only horror, hunger, and death. But love was more than him. Love was other people, too. It was the Godclads he hung onto. It was the families and friends that lived in this Sovereignty and all across the surviving remnants of existence. It was all Avo and Draus and the others did for him. It was when he shielded Kae from Zein. It was what his mother gave him, weak as it was, with what little time she managed to make it last. It was more than just an emotion. It was action, sensation, and idealism all as one. It was the bright that burned enduringly even after the boiling embers of lust cooled. It was all these things and more. It could form. It could break. It could die. It could be reborn. And he was it, and so he was more than who he was. For so long, Aedon Chambers saw himself as just a man. An unworthy gutter-rat who got lucky time and time again. Just a mortal. Just a subject. Just a bastard. But look upon the lovers, and stripped of dignity and sanity, they still chose each other. There was a breaking point to that love, but its existence in the present was absolute. And there was choice. Choice everywhere. Choice all around him. Some succumbed to despair, turning into little more than feral animals. But some held on. And for some, the cords of lust were shriveled things before the glowing strings of resplendence that formed the Ties That Bind. And a final separation revealed itself before Chambers. Where lust burned and begged the animal to breed, to love was to seek, to experience, to lose, to grieve, and to rise again. To do any of these things and none of them. But to choose. Always to choose. And so because love battles, because love wars in the hearts of man and all architects of meaning alike, so must it be something of impossible idealizationa true concept of what it means to be divine. Suddenly, Chambers wasnt just an outlet or junction for love and lust to flow through. When he felt was part of the experience, but what he controlled was more. He was there with everyonebeyond the limits of his mortal mind, mortal heart, mortal flesh. And so too did he need to be divine. Fuck worthy. Fuck unworthy. Fuck his dad. And fuck this shitty embarrassment that could have never been him on his worst day. Chambers wasnt a Godclad because of dumb luck or fate, and he was more than some mongrel animal to be remade by lifes casual use and abuse. He was a Godclad because he fucking chose to be. He protected these people because he chose to care. And only an ultimate half-strand like him could have ever borne the mantle of love properly. Because if you never stood apart from something, then how could you embrace and become? The bonds connected to Chambers went taut, and countless more burst out from him. His Ties That Bound exploded in a grand acceptance, reaching out to touch everyone across the Sovereignty, across New Vultun itself, and, more than anyone else, his fallen self. I changed my mind, Chambers said, his mind drowned but his senses clear. You do deserve this. You should feel this. Have a taste. Find out what it means to be me. The Fuckbringer strained its hands once more but the final bit of that actionthat last part of what it took to kill That was gone. And all Veylis monster could do was beg. N-no, stop. Please A hair-thin thread left the Lovebringer as Chambers chose to take his other self into his Absentheartedness. And with this chosen act of self-love, he felt pity, horror, and disgust anew. You never had a chance, you poor piece of shit. There was nothing you could have done. Kill go fuck Chambers extended another connection toward his Pathborn clone. This time from his mind. A Ghost-Link joined them each to each, and Chambers felt all that festering misery and resentment, while the Fuckbringer felt love. Just love. And it was all too much for it to bear. A resounding crash shuddered through the Fuckbringers mind as the last pillars holding up its structure collapsed. And its ontology followed, the Heaven collapsing in on itself, fading away without sound or fury, letting the surviving millions still held within its grasp free, sending them falling from the air. They didnt drop long. Bonds shot out from Chambers. His love grew. And anchored to so many others already, his anchoring was solid, and their weight was paltry. He caught them, and flinched at the brutalized states of their bodies. So many were close to death. And the Rend for his Lovebringer was already reaching full capacity. But he wasnt just love. He was a dream of flesh-from-flame, and so, using his bonds as a channel, Chambers called upon his Bioigniter, and performed an act of devotion through the use of two Heavens. Two, the Lovebringer breathed. More than one. Such is our path. Such is what we give ourselves. To those that have given to use. And those we have yet to give ourselves to. VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 98% REND CAPACITY [BIOIGNITER] - 1% A burning phoenix exploded out behind the Lovebringer, manifesting in the shape of a cross. A jungle of tissue and wood and biomass formed an enduring crucifix, and they flowed across his bonds, mending the broken, sparing the dying. Before the Lovebringer, a broken, hollow-eyed parody of Chambers knelt, and above him countless millions connected by bonds rose, pulled away from the ruined Sovereignty, granted sanctuary by his touch and power. At the heart of the Morobi-Ynneath, an insult born of the paths was broken, and a hero forged from choice was born. [Marlowe] Marlowe gasped, her own heartbeat climbing with incomprehension and disbelief. A bond had burst out from Chambers, passing through her and Cas at the same time. Both of them had been drawn close to his Heaven, but instead of being overwhelmed like last time, they were includedthe raw overwhelming sensations rushing through them like currents, but not lingering in place. She saw through Chambers Heavenwitness what he had done, even as she existed in two places at once. She could she barely understood what had happened, but she knew he had won. Somehow. All that for some Guilders, too. All that to save some people. People that were supposed to be his enemy. Holy fuck, Marlowe said, unable to help herself from chirping with laughter. That was I think Chambers kicked the Fuckbringers ass? Kicked his ass before he ever had a chance toCas? And Cas was standing behind her, body stone still, with tears running down his cheeks. He was in there with her as well. So close were they among the bonds as she felt what he was looking at. The burning cross. A symbol. A choice. A dedication to him as well. An act of love? Cas? she said. Back in Loathing, she reached out and squeezed his arm. The imperfect vessel, Cas muttered as if lost in a rapturous daze. Imperfect fucking vessel. She didnt know what that meant, but something told her to nod and grin. Yeah. Chambers is pretty nova, isnt he? 30-17 Imperfect Vessel Despite his allegiances, despite the war, despite his very past, I will stand testament to these words: Aedon Chambers is what it means to rise. He is what it means to be a real man. A real hero. We were not allies. We are enemies. But still, he stayed to fight his shadow for me. For the idea of me. And for himself. I would not be here. And neither would Yaobi. And I would ask the Inner Council to consider granting him a stay of execution should we ever prevail against him in the field of battle, and respect those under his Guild when engaged. For now, I put forth my resignation. As a Seeker and a Guilder. I have done enough harm to others. I have spent enough time at war. There is someone I wish to spend my days with; a city I want to know with however much time we have remaining should the end come. I remain proud of the Ori, of the republics and its peoples, but I cannot do as the Inner Council commands. There is no life where I go to war against the Lovebringer. Not after what I have been shown. This world is filled with monsters, and noble foes can be a rarer treasure than trustworthy allies. It is still my preference that democracy prevails. But the rule of love would not be so bad -Former Seeker Mas Nudracht 30-17 Imperfect Vessel [Chambers] VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 99% VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY [BIOIGNITER] - 96% Aedon Chambers was a poor, ugly, wretched little man. That was never more obvious to Chambers as he studied his mind-broken twin born of the paths while he worked to heal the survivors of the Sovereignty. With the Fuckbringer laid low, the grotesque sores and festering folds vanished, and the structures they subsumed returned as piles of ruin. Chambers didnt know how many were trapped beneath the rubble when the attack began, but they were all dead now. Not a single accretion lit the detritus. Not a single bond or link slipped free. Aedon Chambers had been a murderer in his life. Had been a flesh-dealer; slave runner; thief; any number of shitty things. Mass murder though? That was never something he wanted to do. No, he was too much a rat to concern himself with higher thoughts like proper revenge or retribution against society. He just wanted to survive. Even without love, he just wanted to be. However, his shadowthe user of the Fuckbringerwas a magnitude more bitter, a magnitude simpler in thought, and a magnitude weaker at heart. The puppet that Veylis sculpted stole from him his behavior, but failed to account the reasons behind them. So it was that Chambers, nested within the ontology of twin gods descended upon defeated reflection, and sighed. Can burn him, the Bioigniter cracked. It still had enough Rend Capacity to see that done. Evil-Chambers was well and truly fucked. His mind was smashed to shit, his Frame was likely choked with Rend after all the fucked up miracles he was using, and when he died Well, Chambers wasnt sure what might happen to the Fuckbringer. Probably some time-ghost bullshit if the Substance was anything to go by. Just then, a whisper caressed the surface of Chambers mind. Consume him. Take from me to you from her to you Avo. No, Ignorance. The former Definement was speaking to Chambers from inside. Telling him to feed the Stillborn? Avo? Consang? You But before he could get a response, the whisper and presence vanished, leaving Chambers confused about what he was just doing, and aware that his Stillborn was about to feed. Even so, a tug of apprehension filled his chest. He couldnt lie: more than a couple of times he thought about killing himself when he was a kid. Especially when things got rough on the streets. Especially when he barely survived some things that were particularly fucked. But a coward is as a coward does, so he lived. Pain was better than oblivion to him; rather hurt than feel nothing at all. Which was why he knew what was about to happen, and hated it. The pathborn parody of Chambers lifted his head, his voice hissing and hitching in sobs, jitters, and stray curses. His eyes were wild, his expression barely human. Drool leaked from the corner of his lips, and it was clear that he was pissing and shitting himself at the same time. But even so, there was enough left in his fragmented psyche to reach to Chambersto appeal for more life. More life. Even after what he did to everyone in the district. Taking in the nightmare that was once a city, Chambers swallowed sorrow more than disgust. Millions huddled together for warmth, their bodies naked and healed, while their halos remained fractured and frail. Yaobi and Mas knelt against each other on a stable patch of ground that once probably existed as polished wooden floorboards for some rich Guilders house. Their foreheads pressed together as both shook. Neither spoke, both were weeping, and the wounds inflicted on them would take a dedicated mender to heal. They werent the only ones so mauled. Children in the district had been forced to endure the unspeakable; parents and lovers were missing the other ends of their bonds, now never to be found. All Chambers could truly do for them was bolster their bondslet the love flow between them all. Love wasnt the absence of pain; love was even sometimes the amplification of it. But it was true and right as anything that could be born of the human condition, and so, just like Chambers, it would be their rope to life instead of the siren call of the Big Nothing. Youre an absolute piece of shit, you know that, Chambers said, his muted voice reverberating across every bond, resounding like a snarl of flames. His other self looked up at him and shook. Puh-puh-ahh, the host of the Fuckbringer moaned. Chambers guessed the half-strand was probably trying to say please dont kill me or some sad shit like that. It was what Chambers would do in the end. Beg. They werent so different there, only practically everywhere else that mattered. I dont know if you ever had a chance, Chambers said, continuing. I dont know if you could have made your own choices or if you were just some puppet after all the fucked up time-shit Veylis did to you. All I know is Im glad Im not you, you know? I thinkI think Id be you if I was more like my dad and less like mom. She was a coward. But she cared for a bit. That mattered. Mightve been all that is still right left in me. A low crooning sounded from the copy, and Chambers drifted lower. A bond extended out from him, but rather than it being tinged with vibrant magenta, it was a tether of decaying grayness, with portions dissolving away. This Heaven fucks me up. Its hard to think even with I donno, the epiphany I just had? That understanding? Its too much. Part of me thinks I dont deserve it. The happiness. The pleasure. But, deserves got nothing to do with it. Worthy is godsdamn bullshit. Were just here. We were all fated in our lives. And so, I think we gotta make the most of it. Gotta choose what we can, enjoy what we got, and I guess I owe it to that poor fucking juv back down in the gutters to make something great out of what I got. Be hard enough to do the right thing for once. In the distance, something trembled on the wind. Sirens and engines sounded. Things were moving in the atmosphere above as well. Fuck, what Chambers wouldnt give to see a Paladin somewhere. Should only be Naekos loyalists left after Avos purge. Those fuckers would still be reliable. Instead, at least for now, it was only him, his shittier self, and way too many broken people that were likely going to be churned up for the coming war.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Yeah. Chambers was starting to get why love. Because if you didnt, life could get really bad really fast. The Lovebringers flaking link sank into his copys chest, and a cry of despair sounded through the madness. A flash of consciousness revealed itselffor a final broken momentbehind the Fuckbringers eyes. Canon: DISENTANGLEMENT (ENTROPY/CORRESPONDENCE) THE HOST SEVERS AN ENTITY OR OBJECT FROM ALL BONDS, CAUSING THEM TO BE PARTED IN TERMS OF MATERIAL AND METAPHYSICAL CONNECTION FROM THE WORLD. PARADOX C [ERROR: ANATHEMA ALREADY ACTIVE] An injection of channeled entropy hissed out from Lovebringer while Soulfire and thaums climbed back up the link in return. INTEGRATING NEW DOMAINS REVISING MYTHOLOGY CORRECTING INCONSISTENCIES MEM-DATA UPDATED LOVEBRINGER (LOVE/CORRESPONDENCE/BIOLOGY/FORCE/LUST/DECAY/MISCARRIAGE/SICKNESS) [EST. 7,554,888 THAUM/c] The Fuckbringers user wasnt flayed of his flesh. Nor did some horrific birth or sex-related anomaly consume him in an act of directed karma. Instead, he started peeling away, untangling into the pattern of existence as the very bonds that bound to the world ceased to hold, and all that he once was scattered toward everything, and therefore nothing. The pathborn reached out one final time, his arms coming apart like dissolving ribbons, his body losing color, losing vibrancy and form. Well, heres for me, killing the closest thing I still have left of you, dad, Chambers chuckled. When you go, if you see Veylis before the end, you tell her that Aedon Chambers is coming for her, and hes going to get his consangs back. All of them. Tell her that one of hers got done in by the unworthy. Tell her that her dream is a miserable, ugly lie thats going to collapse, and that Im coming for her. Even if it kills me. Even if she carves me out of existence in the end. Chambers lesser self didnt manage a response. He went as pitifully as he was made; a mistake born of the tapestry, returning to the tapestry. None of this would take back all the wrong he inflicted upon the people here; no love could make up for grief. But it was an end to their torment, and an end to Chambers confusion as well. His whole life, he had been telling himself things, drowning in degeneracy and pleasure, all to numb himself from horror. But there was more than horror. And there would be more to life, for these people, despite their wounds. He knew itand he let how he felt pour across his bonds so they would know as well. REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 92% Dissolving the pathborn took off more entropy than expected, but there were other threats across the city, and more than that, there was something Chambers needed to do. The Nether had fallen. The Hungers were dismembered. But Love remained, love between people and things and ideas: a potential network, in other words. And so Chambers spread himself. He expanded, bonds jumping from person to person, nestling with beloved brands, spreading through vicarity starts, community leaders, heroes, and more. From the heights of the Tiers, from the upper crest of Lights End, through people across every corner of New Vultunand even out from the megacities across Idheimhis Domain of Correspondence shivered as he finally began using it to its utmost capacity, as a growing matrix of love, of lust, of promise came to be. A faint trickle of amusement entered the back of Chambers mind. Was this how Avo felt when he first started spreading across New Vultun? It was overwhelming, but something about it was a real heart-filler, like he knew he was never going to be alone. Threads of love burst out from person to person, spreading like an analogy between expanding webs and infectious, propagating shrapnel. Thousands jolted in surprise as Chambers connected to them, and he began to speak through his Heaven, off the top of his head. Hey, uh, its your boy, Aedon Chambers. Someplace farand also right beside himhe felt Marlowe cringe, but also sensed a new, nascent, and all-too-fragile link branch out from her being, and connect to him. He wasnt sure why that was, considering he already had a link passing throughfigure that out later; gotta spread the love right now. If youre hearing me and feeling me, you just got touched by my Heaven of Love, and uh Fuck. He needed to find his other copies; he needed to start recruiting subjects and Citizens to his cause or something; maybe he could stop the war from happening at all with his Heaven, but Ah, fuck it. Its time to do what he did best. Wing it. This time, though, he didnt need to use bullshit: the truth was going to do. And I dont know if any of you all noticed, but shit is kinda fucked right now, consangs. Very, very fucked. I just got done kicking my own evil twins asswell, a version of me that was made by Veylis; fucking long story. Anyway. The point is, things are coming a apart. Real fast. Real bad. The Substance is growing. It wont be stopping anytime soon. Trust me, I know. And the Guildsgot some other words for you half-strands! You guys are wasting time trying to fuck each other to death while your own people are getting fucked in the Tiers. Ori-Thaum? Whats up, guys? What happened to unity? Where were you while my rash-using clone was exercising his right to demented shit on your Citizens and Seekers? Highflame? You there? Are you falling apart already? The fucks up with you guys, anyway. You know Veylis caused this, right? You know she royally fucked us all. You know what? Dont ask me, ask Jaus. Yeah. Jaus. Get to Scale. Im sure the saviors got more credibility than I do. Im just the guy who lucked into some love after all. And the rest of you No-Dragons, Stormtree, Sanctus, Ashthrone the fuck are you all even fighting for by this point? Can you even get to your Arks? Do you think that youll get the future you want when you cant even muster a half-assed job for your kids and families? I can feel you shooting at each other! I see you smuggling Rendbombs into each others districts! Youre trying to run a war and refugee operation at the same time. And speaking of! Refugees. Subjects. Hells, some of you Citizens too. Once upon a time, we got fucked. Once upon a time, we were promised a better lifea shining future that awaited in New Vultun! The biggest of the megas! The greatest of the greatest. Hope for a true tomorrow and the resurrection of humanitys dreams. The fuck happened to that? Where are we now? Getting harvested. Getting fucked and sold by guys like who I used to be. And now youre getting pushed out from your homes in the Warrens. The city hasnt even adopted you! Youre still a bastard ripe for deathand theyre coming for your homes too! Well. Heres a counter-statement to all that: Fuck the Guilds; fuck the war; fuck the Substance; fuck everything! Fuck the world weve been born in! Fuck almost twenty years of not being able to actually fuck! To hold someone we care about! Fuck all the drugs and media and bullshit we use to fill the holes inside ourselves! Fuck the Sunderwilds that the Guilds never bothered to clean up! Fuck! All! Of! That! The Symmetry isnt dead. Oh, no, no, no. The Strix might be taking a nap right now, but hell be back. Hell settle the Substance. But the Strix isnt just the Strix. Hes in me, in you, in everything. Hes choice! The God of Choice! And right now, Im tell you the truth: I was never a disciple of the Low Masters, but the Pale Spider? He is my consang. He did everything he could to give me a chance, to let me be alive instead of survive, and Im going to do the same for you! The Symmetry is still here! Still kicking! More alive than ever! And well take anyone! Anyone! Anyone! Who feels that enough is fucking enough, that the Guilds arent going to save us, that paradise is bullshit if we cant even be decent people right now? What? Are the Godclads going to suddenly agree to new and balanced laws? Are you Citizens going to feel right about living shoulder to shoulder with us thieves, butchers, defilers, and bastards? And are you subjects going to be fine with facing those fortunate shits who experienced your dreams, fueled from your death? Fuck! No! Were not even good, the fuck chance do we have at being perfect? Chambers barked a disbelieving laugh, his own rising euphoria manifesting as a feedback loop through his growing network. He targeted the lowest, the vulnerable, the starved. He targeted the privileged, the powerful, and the ones that might care anyway. I dont know! I dont know our chances! But I wasnt supposed to have this life, and I wasnt supposed to be bearer of love. It happened though. This is reality. And Im going to make the most of it. Im going to try to do the right thing, and you all can too. The Guilds are in disarray. The Nether is fuckedand we have an opening. We have a moment. We have a chance of chances to change which way our futures fall. But it needs to be more than me or the Strix or anyone else alone. It needs to be everyone together, because existence is bigger than the one, but also shaped by countless ones. Fuck. Fucked that line up. Uh, anyway, Symmetry! It needs you! Gottagotta join! Gotta do whats right! VENT! VENT! VENT! REND CAPACITY [LOVEBRINGER] - 98% Shit. He needed to upgrade his Hellsboost his Heavens. He needed to He felt something else brush against his bonds. Brush, but fail to grasp. Another pattern adjacent to his was moving across reality, and it was massive. Bigger than even he was right now. Time to pull a runner. But not before a few final words. Anyway! Symmetry! Join us! Keep us in your mind. IllIll be back soon. Ill talk to you all againand remember; the Nether is down and the Necros arent watching. Time to make your own choices. Time to decide who you wanna fucking be! Uh, shit, we need a cool phrasefucking Guilds stealing everything guh! Fucking Keep your asses whole, consangs. And cracks aligned. With that, Chambers receded. He felt, pulling himself away from the unknown threat instead of risking it. He had gone far enough today; he had done more than he expected. His bonds snapped free from all the people in the Sovereignty, and at once he jolted back into himself, into his body. He blinked as the Voidwatch hanger greeted him. The Voidwatch hanger, Marlowe, and Cas. Marlowe was laughing, her mouth cover her lips, but faintly, the thread between him and her still remained. It extended from herwas tied to him, and Chambers frowned at it. He thought he dismissed all his bonds. Keep your asses whole? Marlowe said. Cas just shook his head. What? Chambers said. What? It was the best I could off the top of my head, guys, I wasthere was something coming for me, and I was running out of capacity! Fuck you guys! Why dont His words trailed off as he realized the underground cult rockstar and the thoughtcaster could probably do better with the speech thing. Fuck Chambers said, hiding his face in shame. Was it that bad? The Columner stared at him for a second, and just chuckled. Faintly, a nascent threat left him and passed through Chambers as well. Nah. It wasnt perfect. But it was good enough. 30-18 The Silent Majority We live in a world thats built on the impossible. Anyone who tells you something cant be done is bullshitting you or trying to stop you. Tell me whats more likely? Fire learning to sing or a cold, scared, starving but also tenacious juv learning to survive another day in the Warrens? Well. Ive seen fire sing. And it sings pretty fucking good. Tell me whats more likely? That falling water. Rain. Rain heals us of our sicknesses. That rain closes our injuries and makes our bodies whole. Or a girl proving the half-strands up there wrongthat she is a genius, that she belongs among the Agnosi because shes fire and not wick. Well. Every night, the rain does fall, and the hurt is washed away. Tell me whats more fucking likely. That Guilders will finally achieve their so-called utopias. Utopias theyre already building in the city above this city. That well all live under them, glorious and forever. Or maybe, just maybe, you can live your dream first. Defy the odds and rise above the gutters, make it somewhere safe, take for yourself a good and happy life. Well. The Guilders are trying. So you should too. Miracles are the bedrock of our world. For all the fucked up misery we were born into, there is nothing impossible now. Nothing. There are just things that are likely and unlikely. Numbers and percentages. But miracles defy the odds all the time. And you dont need to be a god to perform a miracle, you just need a moment, a chance, the skill, the will, the kit, a crew, and the strength to tell that fear inside you to go fuck itself. A juv from the gutters can make it. Just like a slave can overthrow their masters. Just like men can shatter gods. Dont let this city beat you down. Its cold. But you can be colder, more patient, more cunning. Make your moment. And carve a difference into the world. To be any other way is existing. To fight is to live. So live. Fight. Burn. Burn. Burn. -Quail Tavers, The School of the Warrens 30-18 The Silent Majority [The Majority] What? Such was the only statement that echoed through the Soulscape of the Majority for a good, long while. The Fuckbringer was an anticipated threat. The Majoritys Constituents within the Threshold of the Substance spotted its materialization approximately three hours ago. It had emerged from the oscillating patterns of the anomaly itself, and the intelligentsia nested within the Majority theorized it was an entity created from the Embracement between the Strix and the High Seraph due to the patterns of Conceptualization and Chronology that composed its observed ontology. It took some extended observation for them to isolateoh, gods, please let us come apart; we dont want to be enmeshed we dontand identify the Fuckbringers user as Aedon Chambers. A little more scrutiny and a handful of sacrifices fed into the Substance as the Fuckbringer passed through granted the Majority a deeper glimpse at its structure. Learning copies of Aedon Chambers existed did not surprise, but the fact that whatever was becoming of the Strix and the High Seraph had assigned a twisted Heaven of Love to him was disquieting. Their profile of Aedon Chambers portrayed an extremely traumatized man who nursed his feelings through addiction and adrenaline. The Aedon Chambers tied to the Fuckbringer was a scornful, cruel, and stupid recreation. The true danger in him lay with his Heaven. The sudden collapse of the rash after the destruction of the Remembrance had been a welcome event. Something the Majority kept suppressed per the commands of their Inner Council as to prevent any societal overreactions in theirIwantIwantIwantculture. The collapse of the Nether arrived sooner than expected due to the events at the trial, and the Majoritys mythology was not final; unstable. A backlashor worse yet, a paradoxwould see things grow dire for their Constituents: the Citizens that made up the Ori Republics. It is only due to their Counter Cultural Migrations decree that the Substance couldnt breach the borders of their districts. They tried to do the same for those of their allies, but alas, their power extended only to those rooted in Ori society, in harmony with their culture. A democratic republic was an easy thing to poison through unchecked and diluted beliefs, after all. And so the Majority stood in this place between places, one Heaven forged from the actions, words, beliefs, habits, and lives of every last Citizen under Ori-Thaum. Through the eyes of their Constituents they watched, studying the Fuckbringers crossing through the threshold, to brazenly attack a Sovereignty they shared with Stormtree. A Sovereignty they deemed expendable enough via a vote after a sufficient amount of its population was evacuated. The Electoral Body was curious as to the Fuckbringers capabilities, and wanted to see if they could detect a Shard of the Stillborn housed within its Soul. And so an ugly decision was made to see how this alternate of Aedon Chambers might act, what he might do, and the Majority found their cruel patience rewarded as they stole sight of the Infacers presenceand modified their efforts. Breaching Voidwatchs virtual realm was a difficult featnigh impossible until the emergency activation of Ori-Thaums Ark and the awakening of the Majority. Even so, their intrusion was limitedmore akin to a period pinhole they could peer through due to the incomplete Naturalization of the EGI they are interfacing with. And it was thanks to this intrusion that they gained partial access to the Infacer as well. The rogue EGI had been at war with its ancient kin. This, the Majority could feel across the tapestry, as technology-related patterns twisted and changed. It took some engineering on the part of the Majority to create a situation where the Infacer managed to get one of their assets into Thresholdbut so far, it seemed that even the ever-inscrutable mastermind of Omnitech remained ignorant of the true game being played. Such was why the Majority was originally created. To be a truly shapeless and hidden power, masked even to the Nether itself. To be a network of the Ori, for the Ori, and to make all who oppose them an eventual Citizen of the republics. With everything in place, they studied the Fuckbringer further. Even as certain Constituents flinched at the atrocities committed against their true selves and votes were put forth for intervention, the Majority stayed the course. Every life lost was a tragedy but triumph required sacrifice and intelligence. And with nothing certain, the Inner Council overseeing the Majoritys operations would not see themselves betrayed.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Nothing could be left to chance. Such was why they allowed what remained of the Sovereignty to be lost. For though the Fuckbringer thought he was infesting the territory, each person he took into his nightmarish form allow the Majority access to it as well. And through the pathborn they gained direct access to the Infacer thereafter. Already, their offering of lives was reaping incredible benefit, but the arrival of the actual Aedon Chambers infused with a new Heaven of Love and the Shard which the Majority sought was a welcome surprise. A vote was casthelphimhelphimsavemesavemeto reveal themselves to him. To try to establish a new alliance with what remained of the Symmetry. That was struck down almost immediately. Another vote came from the Constituents who lived in the [SACRIFICED] territories. They wished for the Majority to aid the Lovebringer in combat. This was also struck downgodsdamnyouwewereyourpeopleyoufucksyoumotherfuckers Then, as Voidwatch launched their Rendbombs and the assault arrived, the Majority conveyed the information, the peculiar set of details about how the missiles were but seconds away from arrival made the Inner Council realize things might be going a bit awry. What followed, however, was entirely beyond their expectations. Ori-Thaum had long been a Guild structured on efficiency, coordination, superior intelligence, and deception to overcome the material and metaphysical advantages of their enemies. But even so, when your foe had several Spheres over you, and if the you in question was more of an untrained idiot who only became a Godclad at the will of an anomalous monster, then things were far from ideal. Yet, in the ensuing engagement, Aedon Chambers surprised the Majority time and time again. The first was with the mixed payloads. Localized traumas deployed impacted the Fuckbringerspecifically sequenced to strike at the pathborns wounded psyche. Nothing in Chambers profile indicated he was an accomplished Necro or even mentally stable enough to delve into his own traumas. But though the Fuckbringer cracked, it did not fully break. This was when the Majority expected Chambers to flee, his damage dealt. But he didnt instead, he clung to the people in the Sovereignty. The people thathelovesusheloveshesbetterthanyouyouleftustodiewere surrendered to gain insight into the Fuckbringer. He attached himself to a current unidentified pattern (Love, perhaps?) conjoining Seekers [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], and then held his ground. By all metrics, his defeat should have been swift and brutal. Instead, he struck at the Fuckbringer with more weapons forged of his mind and tore from the beast of lust the people it captured. How the Fuckbringer was finally shattered, the Majority didnt full understand. There was something poignant about this father Chambers was referencing. An abusive figure, perhaps. Their mem-data was lacking. Scouring the trillions of Constituents fused to the Majority, no useful information resonated regarding Chambers history. He grew up in a Highflame-adjacent section of the gutters, and the Uprising paired with the current loss of the Nether made information hard to obtain. In the end, it was the Fuckbringer that lay broken, and Chambers, with his Heaven of Love fully manifested, drained the thaums that composed his pathborn foe. Confirmation his Stillborn shard was a working one. The final surprise came as Chambers reached out across New VultunIdheim! With his patterns. He talked without suffering the constraints of space, and though he only managed to interface with an estimated billion or so people, the majority of the population responded with alarm. The Majoritys collective anxiety only worsened as it sensed a powerful presencesomething shifting in the Substance itself, reach out for Chambers, causing him to flee. What was that? Who was that? No answer graced the Majority, but suspicions arose. Veylis and the enigma named Avo were bound as one. This, they felt, heard in the whispering that slipped out from the depths of the Substance, assailed their districts still trapped within. But that was a secondary problem at present. The true danger lay in what Chambers possessed. This miracle the Lovebringer wielded effectively made Aedon Chambers the closest thing to a full-spectrum metaphysical network over Idheima replacement for the Nether. He won? How did he win? That was very unlikely. The voters expressed a 19.54% chance of his victory against his alternate. These were the words traded within the Majority. Its shape was one sculpted from countless contours and shadows, glass effigies of actual people harvested as Constituents in this reflection of reality. Trillions across the Ori republics were constituted in this mass, their featureless bodies like glass, forming an anthropomorphic titan with a fluid core. There, upon the ocean that composed its heart, a single island gleamed, its flora and terrain seeded heavily with vivianite. The ghost-conducting matter produced a bowl at the epicenter of the island, and upon a rising pillar of variegated hues, an ornate box stood with its lid open to the sky above. We must make official contact. We must prevent external influences from affecting our Electoral Body. Motion to make direct contact with the Lovebringers user. No! The risk of exposure is too high! And Aedon Chambers is an unpredictable adversary. We must proceed with extreme caution. We cannot reveal ourselves. The facade of the Inner Council must be maintained, and the sanctity of our Ark secured. Motion withdrawn. FUCK YOU! YOU LET me apologize. We are in a volatile state. We do not know why we put forth the motion of contract. Withdrawn. It is understandable. HurtshurtshurtspleaseletmeI do not think it would be wise to show any hint of our presence. But we already have the means to interface with Aedon Chambers as well. Our recently Naturalized asset. Yes.Indeed. Calling Forth Constituent Denton (Naturalized) At once, a particular figure fused to the foot of the great cultural-shaped giant that was the Authority drew in a sharp breath. She was recently made a Constituent alongside a few thousand Agnosi. Their orientation toward the Ori was reluctant at first, but after some adjustments made to their mental structures, a point of agreement was reached and sufficient cultural synchronicity was achieved. Unity is destiny, Denton said. Unity is destiny, all the other shadows echoed. Constituent Denton. You have already provided much in service to the republics. It is only through your access that we have begun the first naturalization of a coldtech mind. What wonders it will reveal upon joining our republic will set us forth a million-million years. Thank you. It is a pleasure to serve. Clapping and cheering resounded through the Majority. And then, without any forewarning, the sound went silent. However, the Majority continued. We will require your unique capabilities once more. We will be releasing your actual body from our custody. The conditions behind your escape have been created to believable satisfaction. You are to make contact with Aedon Chambers and the leading members of the Symmetry, and you are to spread our cultural knowledge among them. The shadow of one Valerie Denton, the once crafted spy of Aegis and now truly loyal Citizen of Ori-Thaum, simply nodded. I will see it done. Peace will only arrive when all share a common truth and a united fate. So it has been said, the Majority declared. The Constituent has accepted her duty. Dispatching ego-updates to her original sheathe through her Cognisoft. Voting may begin for any objections or affirmations. And at once, slips of paper rained down from the sky, drifted upon the waters, were carried by an unseen wind, and all gradually found their way into the ornate box. Votes were being cast again. Votes for the path ahead. Results were tallied at a rapid pace, the opinions of every Constituent revealed instantly. Everyone voted. Dissent was noted. And ultimately, it took little time at all for a final deliberation to be reached. 89.21% in favor of dispatching Denton to make contact. Motion passed. Martial Elders of the Constituency. Prepare combat operations. Updating Cognisofts now And upon the immense form of the Majority did several of its shadows tremble. The outlines of people pulsed as subconscious commands were injected through the miracles they had their people accept. Cognisofts that created an imprint of their actions, their knowledge, their role in the culture. Through such means, many danced as one, and one commanded the many. Such was how Ori-Thaum ensured it was unassailable. Such was why the Inner Council could never truly be assassinated. Because how could one slay an idea of a collective people? How could one slay culture itself? 31-1 A Throne Divided Its all going to hell. Its all going to hell, and I have no idea how to fix it. Our forces are scattered. Pulled apart in every direction. Weve returned to using direct meta-transmissionsexperience fighting Ori-Thaum means we still have our own networks; Heavens that can communicate with each other so we arent entirely in the dark, but the war hosts are dismembered. The Seraphs are missing too and the ones that are still around give out conflicting orders and the Great Housesdont get me fucking started on those godsdamn They dont listen. They wont listen. Not to me. Not without a fight. ThisI hate to think like this, but the High Seraph made us this way. Made so individually strong. Flexible. Made us each a king to our own forces. Warlords all. But warlords all under herdirected by her first, shaped to a common purpose: One unifying dream. Now that shes absent, we are turning against each other. Like a pride of nu-lions composed of nothing but pride males. And so Highflame gets pulled apart from within. Now, even the Infacer is sending out broadcasts, calling for our forces to re-enter the Substance via the Noosphere. But what waits for us there? What but death? What but ruin? And out here, Ori-Thaum remains standings stronger than ever before. Somehow, they were ready. Somehow, they remain impossibly coordinated, picking us off with their allieswolfpacks hunting lone lions. Veylis made us this way. Veylis made us champions to ourselves. But single champions cannot win wars, and without her guidance, I fear what is to come. I fear that I might not be enough -Personal Mem-Log Acting Authority Santanando Mondelles 31-1 A Throne Divided [Vator Greatling] The atmosphere was tinged with a particular taste of grimness. Vator sniffed the scene from all the unwashed bodies lining the halls of Axtraxis Academy, from the aching silence that was only periodically broken by murmurs about losses, kills, and engagements. Halos spun slowly as he proceeded down the welcoming lobby of Axtraxis. He remembered this place from six years and a lifetime ago, entering for the first time to claim his right to become an acting Instrument. His family had already gained a reputation through his sister, who was so driven by shame and rage that she proved herself a terror on and off the field. For every insult Jhred earned, for every defeat he suffered, Abrel repaid against most of his opposition, proving an adept technical operator. Yet, according to her instructors, she had a fatal flaw: rage. The same thing that propelled her led her into traps, ploys, and impossible battles. Abrel was a terror, but she was not among the elite. This only fed into her rage more, which made her perform worse. Enter: Vator. He arrived nearly at the same time as his sister departed. Already, the Greatling name had regained some prominence, but alas, mothers actions and Jhreds weakness left a stench that was hard to cleanse fully. But unlike his sister, Vator was a different kind of personand created to be a bit better of a human. The tactics that worked on her were but amusements to him, and among his classmates, he felt a like a visitor at a zoo. Except, rather than being a person peering through the cages at animals, he felt like a higher being standing inside the metaphorical cage with the people. Their behaviors were so predictable; the way they acted betrayed by their biologyhe didnt even need access to their minds. Matter and mind are more closely entwined than most understandthan even Vator could understand. But he saw enough. And what he saw allowed him to play with his prey and learn from them. Learn, assimilate, replicate, and create art. Expression was the greatest thing that separated creature and man and beings that were more. And right now, the expression on the faces of the people he passed by, of the defensive thaumic fortifications established to defend Axtraxis from all manner of assault, of the billions of mechs, bioforms, and drones; the millions of golems and Regulars; the thousands of Godclads was loss. Utter loss. They were directionless. Unsure of themselves. Unsure of the path ahead. Unsure and adrift. So true was the taste that even his Portrait remarked upon them. Their bodies are as worn as their features. These are a strong people without direction, awaiting demise. Vators escorts led him through checkpoint after checkpoint, with defensive drones and soldiers stationed all over Orientation Hall. The massive columns here sculpted with martyrs who died in the line of duty and champions lionized through triumph and bloodshed were chipped and marred. Shrapnel. And pieces of tissue lodged within the wounds left upon the supports. A battle had been fought here. Or an explosive was smuggled aboard the station. Whatever the case, it told enough of Highflames dire straits. Please hold, Instrument Greatling. Vator eyed his escort and offered a polite smirk. She was a tall girl. Taller than he by far, with a good amount of enhancements to her musculature. But he could tell her age from the lack of plague in her brainyoung. Too young to be a full Instrument. Fifteen, if he were to wager a guess. Ah. Another sign: they were promoting students and using them for reserve duties. Space condensed around his escort, and he saw a swirl of oscillating lights pulse out from her body. A traveling vibration tumbled across the surrounding matter and slipped through the massive gold-lacquered gates smelted from duranium. Beyond which, the first level of Axtraxis lurked. The level for the louts. A stage Vator skipped with ease thanks to his high academic and practical scores. Above the gate where the words Steel is From Fire Born carved. A proud and declarative statement. It, too, was stained with splattered gristle and blood. +Well. Aint been part of the Guild for a while but the Golds have seen better days.+ Draus thoughtcast snaked out a shard of glass clutched within Vators chest. He had taken to moving her around and hiding her in nearby bodies via subtle miracles as he passed through the scanners. She sounded mostly displeased about the state of her former Guild as well. As she should. Though they were foes now, Guard-Captain Jelene Draus had once been one of the High Seraphs finest hunting dogs. That was, until Vators mother, Lorea Vator blinked. He staggered as he clutched his head. A surge of vertigo passed through him. For a moment, he thought his blood pressure was shifting against his will, but no, this was purely mental. He was remembering something that had been missing for so longno, not missing, hidden. He could he could see her. A flash of her long, crimson hair. Her imposing stature. Her hand pressed against the glass of his vat as he drifted and grew and slowly becameRoyal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. A hiss sounded from the gates. The path beyond Orientation Hall into Axtraxis proper opened with a rush of cold air. Beyond stood three figures. Vator was already familiar with the first among their number as his Portrait brushed the mans biology. Santando Mondelles. Instructor and Instrument. A man who had little love for Vator or most scions of the Great Housesa loathing one tended to develop should their cadre be abandoned to Stormtree forces by their more high-blooded allies. As the door opened fully, Vator took in his former instructor and found his dishevelment fitting. He looked ragged, well beyond exhaustion. Dark stubble marked his face and contrasted with his bloodshot eyes. Patches of hair were missing from his scalp as patches of burn wounds slowly healed. Instrument Mondelles, Vator greeted with a wide grin. Mondelles frowned in return, clearly no more fond of Vator after all the time they spent apart. Acting Authority now, Mondelles replied. I am glad to see that you are well, Instrument Greatling. We managed to secure your father earlierhes current recuperating. Your sister remains missing in action. I see, Vator breathed. The part about his father he knew, but acting Authority For Mondelles to become Acting Authority so suddenly, a great many things needed to be going wrong indeed. A thoughtcast from Draus echoing the words: +Acting Authority? Shits fucked,+ put Vator and the Regular in rare accord. You will be cleared to reunite with him after a final evaluation, Mondelles said. He swallowed slightly as he looked Vator up and down, narrowing his gaze. So far, you and your father are among an extremely select few that have managed to escape the Substance. This marks you as a person of interest. You know the procedure. Indeed I do, Vator nodded. He doubted Mondelles was trying to perform some manner of deception, but the mans paranoia was clearly high. And as for father well, Vator couldnt be sure about his state either. Though Ignorance stole Vator away from the Seraphs plans, did the same apply to his father, his sister? Oh, dear. It took very little time to see why Mondelles was so paranoid. Lead the way, then, Authority Mondelles. Let us be efficient about things. Vator tried on his best smile and Mondelles shot in a final stare before turning, and leading him in. As Vatior passed through into the first level of the academy, he found quick-fabbed installations dotting the expanse of a planar wilderness. These temporary structures housed equipment, soldiers, technicians, and more. A row of temporary barracks extended as far as Vator could see, and all around him were bodiessheathes of all morphs and implants and clades. They are scattered, his Portrait whispered. Speaking among themselves. Isolated. Most of them do not know the others nearby. Most are suspicious. Most are lost. Lost. Over the horizon, Vator saw a platform installed upon a chrome pillar descending from above, passing through a canopy made from dense foliage. He sensed more bodies on the platform. Godclads all, but so far he realized he didnt truly know anyone here either. It was then that a realization slowly dawned on Vator: the separation of entire warhosts have effectively rendered Highflame a confused force. With how the Great Houses used different strategies and methodswere organized in their own unique fashion as well. This among many things made Highflame formidable. They were effective armies within armies, and no two warhost were entirely the same on the battlefield. But now, with warriors and specialists mixed together from myriad armies, their effectiveness was diluted, and aside from basic procedures, they would likely need to acclimate to each other. While there was a war going on. +Look at these sad fuckin half-strands,+ Draus scoffed. Her scorn for their disarray was clear, and thus far, he noticed one thinghe hadnt actually seen any Regulars truly stationed here.+Like lambs. Lost sheep without a master. Aint seen a Guard-Captain around here either. Not even a Dragoon. Regs are trained to fight together. We share a common baseline. Nows the time to use us as a structure. Nows the time, but I dont see no Reg.+ +I suspect this is a den for+ Vators mind stopped. +What? Actual Golds? Not the meat you just sacrifice and waste?+ Her bitterness was justified but unhelpful. +Perhaps they are one another level?+ +You think an Instrument of the Great Houses is gonna put up with a Reg living above him? Thats a hell of a statement, juv.+ Truly. Hell of a statement it was. Just then, he felt Draus shard radiate with a sudden surge of activity. +Huh,+ Draus said. +Huh, what?+ Vator asked. She didnt reply, instead he felt a reflection nearby sudden flash and then dim. The youngest Greatling frowned. For though he tried to be a genuine accomplice, the Regular was determined to treat him like something akin to a pest or a burden. It would be maddening if she wasnt so childish about it. The rancor was understandable, but still it was +I think I sense another shard nearby. And theres something else someone else+ Draus thoughtcast silenced Vator as Mondelles led him in the direction of the platform that was vanishing behind a wall of green. +Keep with Mondelles. See if you can get him alone at some point. Im gonna wanna have a chat with him soon.+ +And what will you be doing right now?+ Vator asked. Draus was clearly up to something, and he wanted to know what. The Regular replied with a low grunt. +Consang of a consang whispered in my year. Theres someone in the bottom of this place I gotta find.+ It was like not getting any answer at all. Vator closed his eyes and let out a near-groan. Mondelles turned his head and regarded the Instrument. The Greatling hid his frustration with a yawn. Long day. Mondelles studied him a moment longer. Its not done yet. Not for any of us. Not even close. *** [Draus] He is here him and her as well Ignorance returned to Draus unbidden like an old memory, as she jumped from reflection to reflection, building her Liminal Paracosm within Axtraxis. The Regular remembered the Definement the moment she became aware of him, and her cog-feed blinked as pointed highlighted one accretion among the millions packed into Axtraxis Academy. Too many strain Her gaze is total Chambers LoveMajority His voice trailed off to a choking whisper, and though Ignorance continued speaking, it wasnt anything Draus could understand. +Avo?+ Draus asked, almost concerned about Ignorances condition. Where the Definement was silent, Mercy materialized in his stead. +You are to proceed to the levels below,+ Mercy proclaimed. +The Dreamer has sensed a member of his cadre entrapped within a metaphysical cage. You are to make contact and retrieve from him what information you can. Free him if possible.+ +Who?+ Draus shot back, annoyed. Ignorance, shed listen to, but Mercy? That half-strand was still a Low Master. Dont matter that belonged to Avo nowif you could perform a betrayal once, you could do it again. +Ignorance is over-taxed. He works to deny the Seraphs awareness many of his assets.+ +That wasnt+ +Shotin Kazahara.+ That captured Draus attention. +Shotin? Shotin is here?+ +Not only he,+ Mercy said. +But a few Paladins as well. His niece among them A shard. Two shards Uthred Greatling as well Two more Flame Anchors. The task is clear, Regular Draus. Seek your Soul-Kin. Unite the fragments. Restore the wholeness of the Dreamers form.+ Another set of markers appeared above her, and Draus intuitively knew that to ascend was to discover Uthred Greatling, while to delve deeper was to come upon Shotin Kazahara. She considered her choices momentarily before heading down. Shotin was a friendly. Well, was one before, anyway. Avo claimed his mind and he was part of the gestalt. If he was being housed here, though? Chances are he was a prisoner of war. The less likely possibility was him lurking in the dark somewhere, hiding. Traveling through beams of luminosity, Draus extended her reach through polished armors, reflective optical implants, and passing drones to arrive carry her toward the platform in the distance. In a while, Vator would be reunited with his father after Mondelles was finished with him. She would intercept Mondelles and Uthred one after another when that happened. Preferably after using Ignorance to clear Mondelles firstif the Definement was up to it. She could use an ally here, and though Mondelles was a Gold through and through, he offered her his favor once upon a time, and now some part of her felt beholden to do the same. Before all that, Shotin and the Paladins. If they were trapped here, she was going to see them freed and primed for combat. But as she continued down, squeezing through the crevice between the platform and the maintenance level below, Draus let out an internal groan. Of course Avo had her sneaking through a Highflame facility to save an Ori Seeker. Rotlick loved his unexpected situations. 31-2 Those We Lose Death is a horror. This everyone knows but refuses to face. For the ones we lose mark us as well, deform our minds and actions so severely that, if our present self and past self meet, madness might become our final fate. For who could face a stranger wearing their own skin. Most learn to face this horror. Accept death. Hope that they stand among the lucky few to avoid a final end. But in my eyes, death without being claimed by a god will be true neutrality. No meaning. Nothing. Until from that nothing comes something again. For what preceded the gods was existence before existence, and from that? Even the minds do not have an answer. But these are absolute questions left unanswered by civilizations far greater and grander than ours. As people, we must face the relatives of our existence. And endure the severity of loss, for that which awaits before death is dread, then to lose another who has been so close to you is true sorrow true grief. True and absolute upon your person. As much a miracle as those wielded by the gods. -Jaus Avandaer 31-2 Those We Lose Draus knew Highflames logistics were pretty south of fucked when she found war drones and bioforms stationed in Axtraxiss vents. It seemed like every inch of spare spaceand some not so spare spacewas getting used. Being an academy, Axtraxis was made to house people for extended periods, but it was an elite school oriented toward one sole function: producing the next generation of Instruments in the Great Wars. It wasnt made to be a massive military installationdid any Guild actively have one massive base anymore. Made things priority targets that way. Easy to attack. People litter spaces. Lots of them are just waiting. No orders. Not sure what to do. Expands her Manifold Paracosm and studies them. This isnt the highflame she knows. Soldiers strong and well armed still, but they are headless. Utterly devastated by the sudden spillage of the substance. And a growing discontent is brewing, with them upset they are cooped here instead of actively raiding and trying to start a war. She gained more perspective with each junction she created, and moving back and forth between her temporal thresholds gave her ample time to survey the inner architecture of Axtraxis; get a good lay of the land. Her DeepNav was still shittin itself, but she knew this place well enough from war games she and other Regs ran for fun. And on that note, even across the maintenance sections where the Rendsinks, coolers, reactors, and storage containment units were found, she saw no Regs. None of her like. The only ones down here were technicians and a few servants for the Great Houses. They littered the cramped spaces, muttering to each other, talking about how lost they were, what warhosts they used to belong to. There was a brutal malaise in the air; a sense of isolation even among those who sat in groups here. They, too, were cobbled together. Its shameful. House Aetos wouldve never let things get this dire, a servant in a mangled suit said. He looked at a technician who was busy trying to repair her damaged cybernetic arm with the help of a drone as they both sat beside a wall infused with interlacing loci matrices. We remain heresequestered like vermin. Gathering our forcesgathering day and day while our enemies mass, while our fellow Citizens remain trapped within that terrible Substance. Ilisten, I have been hearing whispers. Some people with Omnitech Exo-Cortex augmentations have claimed that that we have been deceived. That there are other orders demand we head toward Omnitech territory That Acting Authority Mondelles Listen, the technician said as she tried to open her cybernetic arms fingers. The entire forearm extended instead. She winced and returned to her tweaking. People talk a lot of shit all the time. Until we get proper orders from someone of higher seniority or position than Mondelles, stow it with the conspiracy shit. Stop spreading the Silvers mem-cons for them +He speaks truth,+ Mercy said. The Famine returned to Draus, performing cognitive reconnaissance of his own. In moments, the information he knew became hers as well, and splashes of damaged data played over her cog-feed. Offi@IFNL AL ORD3rRR ATTTTENDC HEED THIS MESSAGE ALL CITIZENS OF HIGHFLAME ARE TO IMMEDIATELY MOVE TOWARD OMNITECH TERRITORY AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE LOCAL ADMINS TIED TO THE INFACER OR SPEAKER OSJON THOUSAND BLEEESS +Well. AInt that something. Conflicting orders. Dont reckon Ive seen that before.+ Sarcasm aside, Draus was more than familiar with conflicting orders. They happened all the time when Godclads from the Great Houses were dueling with each other in the field. Fighting over who was going to claim glory first. Often times, their squabbles involved Regulars in unbefitting ways. On this note, she also had an idea about where most the Regs were. The lack of her kind around here was suspect to begin with. If Draus were to guess, they were probably with Osjon. How that bald-fuck got away without any issueif this was actually a genuine message and not some Ori psy-opwas still in question. But it made more sense than there being absolutely no Regulars at Axtraxis in present circumstances. Draus continued, Ignorances marker pointing her down even further toward where Shotin was supposedly held. She was growing increasingly close to the access point to the base of the structurethe data-transmission apparatus whatever the hells its called beneath Axtraxis. Avo used Alysim and a well-timed chronoshift to get across during the trial. Alysim. Jaus. There was another missing figure she had to worry about. He wasnt much a ally to begin with, being a creepy, insane half-strand with a fated death. Now? Who knew where he was or what he was doing. Then, there was the Stormsparrow as well, and half her cadre as well Would be a good idea for her to make contact with Chambers again when this was all over. Get an update from what hes been able to get done. Not that she expected much. Chambers had improved from who he wassomething Draus had to begrudgingly admit. She wouldve probably just killed him, but Avo kept him around and despite not being worth much of a damn in a direct fight or possessed of any unique skills, he kept surviving. Like a roach. Guess that made him a mascot for the Warrens as a whole. +You would be surprised at what someone can become after they break their preconceived boundaries,+ Mercy said, breaking the silence. Draus was traveling down a set of fibrous wires within a wall, vitrifying them so she would have internal architecture to retreat to if there was the need later too. +Perhaps you are changing as well, Regular Draus. Made more through your+ +Aint interested in bein consangs, half-strandfuck off.+If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. And Mercy fell silent. Fucking Low Master fuck. Thought he could charm anything out of her. If they were gonna work together, he was going to serve as her shitty Necro and shut the fuck up after. Vator was bad enough. The Famine. Fuck was Avo thinking there, using someone theyd been fighting against all this time. After she emerged through a loose panel, she extended herself via another beam of light and arrived within what looked like a massive storage module attached to the academy. What was different about this place was the sheer amount of guards and drones on patrol. A cadre of actual Godclads as well. A great many things were stored here in phase-gated containment units. Bioforms. What looked like pieces from Fallen Heavens. Chunks of vivianite. And bodies. Stacks and stacks of bodies. A coldness hardened inside Draus as she saw the corpses combat-skinsPaladins. Dozens of dead, mutilated Paladins left within a box. Draus paused as she stared out from the optical lens of a passing drone. Fuck. Well. That didnt bode well. Studying the state of their bodies, it looked like something had carved parts of them away. Cleaved them clean through. The damage left on their armor were perfect slices all the way through. No deformation for the alloy; no denting or kinetic-related impacts otherwise. The cause was likely thaumic, if she was to guess. A miracle. +Or the trauma-laced perception of the City-Eternal, during its final descent.+ Mercys words furthered added to Draus pause. +Yeah,+ she finally replied. +That ought to do it.+ Her memories of that desperate, chaotic battle were muddy at best. There was a lot of killing, moving, shooting, and dyin she did as the rash ate through her. Scale was coming apart at the end, split through by the falling Hungers. Mightve happened then. Still. Damn shame. Death was a close companion for a Regular, but Paladinsthe loyal ones at leastwere good soldiers. Proper folk in an ugly world spiraling through its last gray age. They could have been useful to have; wouldve been good to have them alive. But at least they died fighting for something of meaning. Better fates than most of her like, than Nicoma and the other Orphans. Pointless wars. Pointless lives. Hollow deaths for no good end. Not like now. Taking in those bodies, Draus developed a sense of envy. These bastards didnt know how lucky they had it. Their lives changed something. Were part of something. Most will never get that. May her end be as heavy, as real. She moved on after that, turning the corner using a polished tile and found a single storage unit awaiting her at the far end of the room. A storage unit that was attached to two Spatial Rendbombs. Well. If she didnt have Ignorance guiding her, she still would have probably found Shotin eventually with this much heat here. Huurrrrrtttt Ignorances words rumbled through Draus very being, and a muted sense of worry rose inside the Regular. +Avo? Whats wrong.+ +Its not him.+ Mercys words were calm, but his memetic form was already projected down the hall, standing before the last container. It was a five-meter wide wedge-shaped object slotted into the wall, and a complex sensory apparatus extended from the Rendbombs planted by its sides. Extended limbs with strobing beams swept the width of the area, this, Draus supposed, why no one was really patrolling nearby. If someone moved, if something was detected, the Rendbombs would go off, and then the local cadre would respond. But prepared as they were for intruders, nothing could have aided them against the influence of Ignorance or the willful encroachment of Draus. Using her temporal-affecting abilities via the Manifold, she timed one of her light-hops and managed to vitrify a part of a Rendbombcompromising its external shell for her own means. From there, she connected to Mercy again, and through his eyes saw Shotins fate. There were two familiar figures within the makeshift cage. The first was Seeker Shotin Kazahara: the cadres one-time adversary and now a member of the gestalt. Before him, laying in several pieces and missing a fourth of her face, was Kare Kitzuhada. His niece. Devoted Paladin. Now a corpse. Like most of the others. A trembling resonance rippled out from Shotin. He possessed a shard of the Stillborn, alright, but as Draus regarded his halo, she saw that he was on the brink of shattering completely, his expression blank, his gaze vacant and locked to Kares body. Shit. Draus had seen shell-shock beforehad applied emergency in-field cog-patching for Godclads and other soldiers, but that didnt make her a mender. No. She needed pre-sequences structures to apply for any fix to happen, and considering Shotins current state, that wouldnt do. +Mercy?+ Draus asked. +Yes,+ Mercy replied. +I will see him made stable.+ Still didnt trust the half-strand, but having the Famine nested inside her made Necrotheurgy a non-issue. Wouldve preferred Avo or White-Rab by far, though. Even Chambers. Maybe. A very tight maybe. As Mercy did whatever the fuck it was Necros do, Draus extended a Ghost-Link to Shotin. With the Nether collapsed, Highflame had gone lax with their counter-intel precautions. Sloppy; disappointing. Nothing stopping her from directing her ghosts in and interfacing with the prisoner. Shotin barely regarded her request at first, but after a few seconds, finally accepted, only to offer silence in return. +Reg?+ Shotin said, his minds voice spent and barren of tone. +Youre still alive.+ +Seems so,+ Draus replied. +Niece isnt.+ +No,+ Shotin replied. A pang of impossible painimpossible for Draus to understandspilled across the link, only to slide over her cognition like oil sliding upon water. Something inside Shotin had been lost. Some semblance of joy and life. His minds shape was so internal, so rooted to the center. Hers was closer to a bullet: externally faced and sculpted toward singular focuses and primary purposes. +I was here for her,+ Shotin muttered. +I always wanted to be there for my sister when when+ +When Lorea Fucking Greatling tortured her to death?+ Draus let out a sigh as her own memories came flooding back. Wasnt just an unpleasant day for him, The Greatling only killed one of his family; she sent the rest of the Orphans too. +I wasnt there for that fuck-up of hers, but arrived in the aftermath.+ Shotin fell silent for a beat, and a deep root of bitterness rose from the soil of his mind. +Did any of you try to stop her? Did any of you even care? Hours. Days. She tortured her. She fuckingI had to listen, and it was all my fault. I knew that. But+ +But you were a good soldier,+ Draus answered for him. +To answer your question: No. Were Regs. We dont care like you do. But Greatlings scum. Snuffin a non-combat Citizen for a personal vendetta was embarrassin and pointless. You deciding to hold your district despite her provocation made you a proper enemy to us. Esteemed adversary.+ A disbelieving laugh sounded from his mind. +You fucking Golds you and your bullshit honor and your psychotic idea of glory and strength and fuck you just fuck+ He clutched his head as a low series of gasps sounded from him. +Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck+ He finally slumped down to his knees and gathered what remained of his niece. +At least at least I got to hold her before the end this time. At least at least+ Quietly, Shotin began to weep, and Draus withdrew her Ghost-Link. He needed comfort. Comfort she wasnt capable of providing. She couldnt muster the proper warmth or words he required. A better person right now would be Avo, or White-Rab, or Dentonalmost anyone but her, really. It occurred to her how spoiled she was from her time with Avo. He was practically a Guild unto himself in the last monthso many Heavens contained in one Frame, so much expertise in one mind. Fuck. Even Chambers might be better right now. As Mercy did his thing, a strange desire formed in Draus. Weapon was what she was, but there needed to be more. The world needed more than just killers. So. Time to ask someone who wasnt. She activated her ansible once more, and willingly cast Aedon Chambers. Never saw herself doing that before, but these days, the things she never expected were becoming the norm. 31-3 Moths and Flames Having a trusted comrade is like possessing an entire other life at your fingertips. Perchance, did you ever take the time to think about what your friends could do, what your lovers could do, what your children could do, that you could never do? That you could never comprehend? That you yourself were the wrong shape for this world, which demands myriad configurations? Despite the limits of man, all of us are born with certain tensions, inclinations towards fields of knowledge or physical arts. And within this likeness is also a metaphora metaphor for what we might be able to do. I think its best to think of people as keys sometimes, suited for specific situations. Where a peerless warrior might slay ten billion unreasonable foes without struggle, an unrivaled orator might see the same number of civil wars end without slaughter. Understand what faces you. Understand if you are the person for the job, or if you must call on another. Absent a key, force perhaps can open any doorbut if the door is broken and the act is observed, then that shapes your future. It misshapes you from what you are right now. "Understand and apply yourself. -Jaus Avandaer 31-3 Moths and Flames {Chambers what the fuck do you mean youre now the God of Love?} Draus asked for the third time. It wasnt that she couldnt understand his words, its just they didnt make any sense to her. It was a statement so unnatural, her mind refused to process it. {Fucks sake, Draus, I told you Im as surprised as you are! Do I need to go through the story another time?} {I dont know, Chambers. Are you still the God of Love in that one?} {Yes!} {Then what the fuck? How? Fuckin how are you, of all fuckin people, the one that gets the Heaven of Love.} A deep inhalation sounded across the connection, and Chambers virtual avatar squared his shoulders as his eyes drifted to gaze somewhere in the distance. {Because I am the imperfect vessel.} {...What the fuck does that mean.} {You know, I dont really fully get it myself. Ill have to have Cas explain ityou want me to patch him} {No! Fuck no! Godsdammit, Chambers. I didnt expect shit from you, but fallin to cult stuff is still low.} {I mean, you might like it, Draus. Theres this guy called Michael and he had like a flaming sword that he used to} {No, dont tell me that shit! Jaus. Have you considered that it might be rewriting your brain? Huh?} Draus paused. Might not be the best question to ask. Chambers had been the one to download all those mem-cons straight into his Meta, after all. {Fine, fuck! Just saying. You might be more accepting of things if you listened. Maybe some active empathy might do you some good.} Draus was about to propose naming a particularly large gun Active Empathy and ramming it up Chambers ass to use him as a barrel extension. Except, he might actually like that. Except, apparently, the rash was fixed now. Except, if she actually got Chambers off, she would find a way to real-death herself right there and then, this war and Avos fate be damned. And ultimately, that was the point of this cast. She needed someone with active empathy. Something Regulars sorely lacked. As Draus took in Shotin once more, her internal frown deepened. The Silver half-strands halo was cracking all to shit; he was speaking to his dead niece, too. Fucks sake, could she even use his ass when the time came. Her focus lingering on Kare for a moment, Draus thoughts turned to Kae. Of her fate. Fuck. Shit. Part of the Regular knew lots of people were dead. Avo should have died, but being the special rotlick he was, he was probably beyond fucking immortal by this point. The Regs though? Kare? Kae? A bunch of other people at the trial? Snuffed. Snuffed, with the only chance of their return found in the Ladder or backed up from Avos bullshit Soulscape. Things werent done. Not by a long shot. But still. An absence flitted over Draus consciousness. Shed lost people. Hundreds of people. As a Reg, death was just a thing to her; the root of her trade and a constant more consistent than reality itself. But she felt colder with Kaes death. Remembered those days she spent guarding that uppity Instrument, taken away from the battlefield, this little mouse of an Agnos babbling about theory to her, explaining things to her, she didnt understand. Draus didnt fully realize when she and Kae became consangs. It just kinda happened. Agnos kept asking about all the wars she fought, and Draus answered. Draus wanted to learn more about cutting-edge Heavens and threats she would soon face in war, and Kae was more than happy to babble. They ended up eating together, spending more time together, and And Draus missed that. Missed those times. Werent a thrill like war was. Wasnt what Regs were made for. But Kae was different. Pure. Genuine. She was a person. Had love for her work and dreams for the future. Guess that was what Draus saw in her. If Kae was the flame, then Draus and her like were moths. They loved the light. Were drawn to its radiance. But they couldnt bear to burn; a Regular that felt as a human did wasnt a Regular at all. But still. There were times that Draus wondered. And now the flame was gone. The flame was lost. Until Avo was restored, or the war was won. And that duty fell to Draus, because where she couldnt light anothers life, she could sure as shit extinguish some rival fires. The confirmation of the Agnoss present death cemented one thing in her: She needed to win this war. She needed to seize the Ladder. For Avo. For Kae. For the ones that were bright. For Chambers too, she realized. Because for all his shitty habits and fucked-up tastes, he was just a kid that never had a chance. {...anyway, you should talk to Cas. Hes got lots of things to say. Marlowe, too. Anyway. Still. Fuck. Kare. Didnt know her that great, but she was a} Chambers sighed. {Draus, I dont know why Im the one you called here. Im like, a gutter shitbag and she was a glasser. It would be like a rat holding a funeral for a nu-cat.} {Im callin you because I dont have it,} the admission left Draus casually. {It just feels cold to me. Discomfort. The losses. Even Kae. Some bit of me knows I should be hurtin more. But that bit isnt there. Never was. Im a good weapon, Chambers. Now, Im fightin the most righteous war I can. But I aint a person. Theres never been much of me. So. I need you.} A silence sounded across the link. {I uh, I feel kinda. Is that a compliment?} {Its just the truth. You cared for Kae. You cared. Of all the other shit thats wrong with you, you cared. Thats true.} Another beat followed. {I did care, didnt I? I did love?} Draus considered that. {Yeah.} Wait. Fuck her, this was why Avo chose him, wasnt it? Because of some bullshit yappin metaphor about learning love and the hearts of the people or some shit. A brief, pained chuckle sounded from Ignorance, but it was there and gone like a whisper on the wind. {Well. I thanks for calling on me, Draus.} {Yeah. Sure. So. Do the thing. Know Avos got some Necro-shit left in you. Might need to} {Let me try just talking to him first,} Chambers said. {He looks like he needs someone right now.} {Dont think youre what he has in mind when we think of someone,} Draus sarcastically replied.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. {Nope. Youre probably right, consang. But youre not his idea of a rescueor pretty much anyones idea of a hero, either. Yet. Here you are. And here I am. Doing what we can. Guess thats what it means to exercise choice.} Draus considered his words. Chambers was making more sense than usual. Starting to sound like someone else she knew She didnt know if she liked that. {Yeah.} {I think that makes us, like, acolytes of change} Chambers continued. {Chambers, get the fuck in there and stop doin an Avo.} A few sniggers sounded from the new God of Love, and he paused one final time. {Hey, Draus? Are you alright?} That made her mind jolt to a stop entirely. {Why? Somethin sound wrong?} {No. Just We all lost a lot.} {Yeah. But its not done.} Chambers grinned. {Well. Glad one of us is unbreakable.} And then he was off, and Draus was left to her own thoughts. Her own considerations. Aint unbreakable. Just that theres no person to break. Ultimately, Jelene Draus was just a scabbard. A sheet of traits, inclinations, and characteristics for a weapon swinging in a new direction. A weapon that was the Burning Dreamer. And now, nested as a hidden blade in the guts of her former Guild, a question ambushed the Regular. What does a gun dream about? *** [Shotin] Shotin stirred as he felt another presence enter his mind, but with it came a feelinga strengthening of all he had, all the love he had for Kare while she was alive. And now, when dead, he saw her; he saw the face of his sister, of his niece coalesce as one, but they were both lost. Lost across that final threshold, he could no longer follow. Even in the end, he couldn''t protect her, couldnt protect her from this world. Not even the Burning Dreamer. No one. Nothing. +Hey, Shotin.+ Chambers voice made Shotin Kazahara sag even further. Something inside him did a twirl. How. How was Kare dead, and this fucking subhuman still here? What sense did that make? What world was he living in? Slowly, uncontrollably, he began to chuckle, to laugh. This was insane. This was all motherfucking insane. Of course youre still here, Shotin said. He angled himself to stare at Chamberswho was not materialized as an avatar in Shotins cog-feed. The deviant fuck looked better somehow. More at peace. He wore a pained expression as he regarded Kare. +Glad youre not surprised. Me. I had doubts I would ever get this far,+ Chambers replied. +Listen. Im not going to bullshit you, Silver: I didnt know your niece well. Avo did. He cared for her+ Fuck. You. Shotin shot to his feet at the mention of thatthat fucking thing, that fucking creature. The Burning Dreamer. Fuck you. Fuck your goddamn masterfucking monster ruined us! Ruined us all! Thatif he didnt +Zein Thousandhand wouldve just killed her,+ Chambers said, cutting Shotin off. Suddenly, a flood of memories entered his mind, and Shotin recalled facing Zein, what she intended with the paths. Kares role in everything. It felt like a dagger entering his gut. A choked whimper escaped from Shotin as he backed away. No. No, fuck you, half-strand. Lying You have to be +She didnt godsdamned matter.+ Chambers continued. He took a step forward but made no overt actions otherwise. +Neither does what you want. Or what I wanted. Or most of us, really. None of it mattered. The ones on top do, and the ones below? Citizen or subject? We suffer. And maybe we survive. Kare? She was a nice Glasser from what I could tell. Good juv. Cared about the world. Did everything she could to live up to the dream. But she got fucked. Not because of anything she did. Just because she was the right persons daughter, was the right lever to pull to shift some in-Guild culture shit. And now, she got snuffed. Wasnt her fault either. But it is what is.+ A snarl of fury escaped from Shotin. Red bled over his vision. His wards rattledwere on the verge of disintegrating outright. This fuck came here to mock him Suddenly, impossibly, another emotion cleaved clean through Shotins rage. Love. Love exploded inside him. Love and sorrow and oh, gods, Kare, fuck, it was all his fault Shotins vision blurred. It got hard for him to breathhe gasped, he struggled. His chest grew impossibly tight, and he neededhe slammed against the inner wall of the containment unit and began to slump. As he slid, he clutched his skull and swallowed sour spit. Across from him was his niecethe last thing he had left of his sister. And she was gone. And she was gone. And she was gone. And there was nothing he do to make it right again. All his fault. She was gone. Gone. He couldnt protect her. He slammed the back of his skull against the metallic walls twice more and let out a ragged cry. A tantrum escaped Shotin. He tore clumps of his mane out from his scalp and didnt even care. And through it all, a glowing magenta link connecting him and Kare flared bright and brighter. Until love became the dominant emotion in his chest. Until even grief was outweighed. Faster, Uncle Sho! Faster An illusion of his past was conjured to the present. A fantasy of Karebarely more than childsquealed on his back as he hoped from skyscraper to skyscraper. It had been her sixth birthday, and being the fuck-up that he was, he arrived drunk as shit, with a guy and a gal he couldnt the remember the names of on his arm. His sister had been pissed, and his bond brother was another color. But Kareshe was happy to see him. She was happy he showed up at all. And maybe that was the moment of his downfall. Shotin had lived a wild life. Hed fucked, drank, smoked, injected, fought, wept, suffered, enjoyed, and basically did whatever the fuck he wanted however he wanted to and got away with it all. Because he was among Ori-Thaums elite. Because he could do shit no one else could and get away with it. Because where most Ori were glassjaws and bent their heads and took it from their superiors, Shotin learned the technique of going above his immediate masters and then fucking humiliating them before their superiors while showing who he was. What he was worth. It was all for him. All for his ego. He did it all to prove himself, to state who he was. He did it for love and pleasure. But there, in Kares eyes, he saw the fucking mess that he was, watched her giggle as she complained how he reeked; as she asked who his friends were and why their clothes had so many holes in places. She asked, but she never questioned if he should have been there. Because in her perfect eyes, Shotin, be he Ori-Thaums ultimate loose canon or some drunk sex-addled degenerate, was the same. Was someone she always loved to see. She was like a fire. A light. And he was a moth that lived hard, blunted his pain on shit. But in her bright, it all went away, and he was who he was without problem. And that was all that mattered. Didnt matter if he was man, bastard, or moth. The sun shone on all. And so did Kare. And now he would never have that again. He would never get to make up a namesday gift by carrying his niece on his shoulders and hoping the length of kilometers using his Heaven of Speed while his sister screamed at him through their Auto-Seance. He would never hold Kare as she cried, venting about her shitty ex. And never get to start a brawl with said shitty ex and his entire extended clan. No more arguments over clan politics. No more meme-packs shared of nu-cats falling into water. No more late night +Are you there, Uncle Shos.+ No more ceremonies or pictures to be taken. No more future. Kare wouldnt get to go see a blockbuster vic again. She wouldnt learn what it was like to love or be loved by someone that wasnt a bastard. She wouldnt see whatshe wouldnt Shotin broke. Shotin broke and broke and kept breaking, even when he felt like there was nothing left to break. But through it all, the love remained strong. Remained true. Remained absolute. Kare was gone. But her shadow was there. Would always be there like a scar, an imprint of someone left on a wall after a nuclear blast. There, but never again. Never again. He didnt know how long he sobbed, how loud he wailed. All he knew was that he came apart. And stayed apart for an eternity. But when he finally rose from the ruins of his own heart, Shotin was surprised to notice Chambers still there, expression mournful, studying Kare. Sniffling, Shotin almost felt embarrassed. But he was too raw for that. To hurt to really know how bad he was even hurt. F-figured you would be gone. +No. I want to be here.+ Why, Shotin said, wiping his face. Want to see me hurt? Does it make you feel better? Huh? Fucking He didnt have the energy to call Chambers a cunt. He was venting by now. He could see it. If Chambers wanted to hurt him more, the half-strand could have. +No,+ Chambers said. +I wanted to be here for you. Cause Im pretty sure I cried that way in my homes shittier the night I finally realized mom wasnt coming back.+ Shotin flinched. For the first time, he realized Chambers was a person too. Or maybe this was a psy-op. Social engineering meant to twist him. To what, though? For what? It was all fucked. All fucked. H-hey, Chambers. +Yeah?+ Do you know what its like to be wanted. Not because what you can do? Or what benefits you can offer. Just just because who you are? Chambers paused as his expression turned forlorn, then pensive. +No. But why dont you tell me? Tell me about her.+ And Shotin did. And he didnt notice the most tenative of threads branching out from his grief, reaching out toward Aedon Chambers. *** [Draus] Shotin didnt notice, but Draus did. She saw all that happened, all that Chambers was doing, and her disbelief grew and grew, but with it, came realization: Aedon Chambers was worthy. Holy fucking shit. 31-4 What We Lack We were defined before our birth. The shape of our inclinations by genetic encodingnature a blind craftsman, stumbling toward survival. The shape of our thoughts narrowed by culture, knowledge, and inherent biology. For even the wisest mind is wasted if its only input is darkness. And our reputation. The fabric of our legend. Sullied or gloried by those that come before. My father is Jaus Avandaer. Savior. Godbreaker. A good man. My mother is Zein Thousandhand. Glaive. Godslayer. An icon of bloodshed. I am Veylis Avandaer. I am pre-shaped. Fated. But also cursed. I have my fathers intellect, my mothers yearning to cull and slaythat cold yearning toward violence. And I also had a wise mentor and friend. To grant me insight. Understand your worthiness, and your degradation are more than your own sum, but also the sum of those around you, the sum of those who came before. And so, when you see a child of the gutters, judge them not by origin, but the path they surpassed. If they choose definitely from those who share their fate of their own volition. And for my Guilders. Citizens. What your parents have earned will weight on your back like a mountain. All that they are, you must be and more. Bear the weight. Or be broken by it. -High Seraph Veylis Avandaer 31-4 What We Lack [Vator Greatling] +...Confirmed. His sequenced memories and functional recollections all synced up.+ The Necros thoughtcast made Vator frown internally. Despite the hours of examinations they put him through, probing his mind and Frame and sheath over and over again in a repurposed private office, they caught no scent of the Regular. Nor anything else worth noting. Jelene Draus was a weapon of fine make. Her devotion to war made her lethal across a vast spectrum of theaters, and the new Heavens she possessed along with all the memories the Strix bestowed upon rendered her a horror of a Godclad as well. But she was no Necrojack. Nor was she an intelligence operative or a Sleeper of any kind. Hiding from one Highflame test was impressive. Masking her mind and Soul at the same time? While managing to have them overlook the shard Vator still contained within himself? This was beyond just the Regulars skill set. Someone else was aiding her as well. A series of clicks sounded from the mechanical seat holding Vator''s weight. Simple needles slipped free from his flesh, and the ghost link the Necro held with him broke a second thereafter. +It all checks out,+ the Necro''s thoughtcast declared. +He''s clean. You can talk to him now, sir.+ A moment later, the door hissed open, and Mondelles stood there, alone, anchored, exhausted. But still standingstill standing when so many had fallen. A waft of smoke escaped his lips, a flask in his hand to take the edge off things. There was residual scarring on his muscles as wellvisible evidence of overexertion. A feat that required substantial effort to achieve against an augmented sheath. Look upon his gut health, the Portrait proclaimed, and Vator turned his attention to the man''s stomach. There, microbes were in an uproar, and the acids swirled in a whirlpool of discontent. That explained the man''s anxiety, manifesting in his digestion. Adrenaline was spiking his equilibrium over and over. Oh, poor, poor Instrument Mondelles, the Vator mused. Acting Authority Mondelles, I should say now. For years, the man had railed against the unfairness of the Chivalrics, their incompetence, their failures. And now, in these desperate times, he finally claimed the power he soughtonly to feel the fullness of its weight, hear the crackling of his buckling legs. Mondelles fell into a seat across from Vator. His was just a normal chair, padded, with a frame formed from alloy. No one else entered the room; it was just them for now. Just as Mondelles pulled out a thin reed from his pocket and lit it, he glanced at Vator. "You smoke?" "I''m afraid not, Acting Authority," Vator replied. "Its not that I think my body is a temple, its just that whatever effects these chemical substances can offer, I can engender naturally." Mondelles nodded slowly. "Yeah. Your Heaven. Havent forgotten. Havent forgotten a lot of things about you. The Acting Authority pointed a finger, and a thread of light danced out, sparking at the top of the carcinogenic interrogation room and dimming the lights to a comfortable ambiance. Vator struggled not to yawn. He wondered what the regular was doingif her end was any more exciting than his. Considering he''d been tapped to trade his own guilt, hed expected more tension, more cloak-and-dagger encounters. So far, he was just dealing with the banality of bureaucracy. "I apologize for the questioning you had to go through," Mondelles said. Though the words were polite, Vator could tell he wasnt actually sorry. "Things across the city have been unstable recently. Our forces are scattered. The great houses are all pulling in their own directions. There are more than just outside threats we need to concern ourselves with." Vator leaned back in his chair, feigning interest. "Truly? Tell me more." But Mondelles was much cannier than that. He simply shook his head, resisting Vator''s open invitation to turn this interrogation on its head. "Maybe after. Right now, I need some more experience. Specifically, someone experienced with what was happening in the substance." It took all Vator had not to roll his eyes. There was no trust. No trust from anyone. No trust from his own people. No trust from the regular that was using him. No trust even from his heaven. It has nothing to do with trust, his portrait proclaimed. Somehow, the heaven of biology managed to shudder. It has everything to do with nature. In times of utmost desperation, all turn inward, return to their bodies, nest back, and think nothing of the wind passing over their skin, of weathered warmth filling their bones. These are times of disaster and famine. Understand it to be so. "If your recountings are true," Mondelles continued, "then we need to immediately dispatch forces into the Substance." He hesitated between them momentarily, then shook his head. "There arent that many people we that knows how to navigate its depths. Or understand what they might face. Your fatherI have to tell you something," he added, leaning over the desk. "We think hes been compromised." "Compromised?" Vator replied, his interest piqued. "Compromised by what?" "Were not sure yet," Mondelles answered. He pulled the hiflass from his mouth and stared into the flame on its lit tip. "All we can say is his memories are scrambled, and he suddenly has a hell of a lot more thought than he was used to. Jumped three full spheres since the last time I met him. Its not that easy, its not that fast. And only one person in New Vultun has that kind of capability." As Vator returned to the conversation, he felt a growing fascination. The Regular had also improved, supposedly capable of things they never could before. Perhaps this was connectedUnauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Have you encountered any indication that the Strix, or the High Seraph, might still be" Mondelles searched for the right words. "Present? Here with us?" "Indications?" Vator cocked an eyebrow, unable to hide a growing grin. "Wouldnt they call the Substance itself an indication? Perhaps a marriage between two Fallen Heavens? It is hard to tell when it composes itself. But I feel both the pry of time and the sublime nature of memory at work." Mondelles breathed out a puff of smoke and nodded. "Yeah, thats a fair enough answer." Suddenly, he looked around, sweeping the small room with suspicion. From the tip of his burning hiflass, threads of light extended, spilling along the walls, across the ceiling, coating the floor as well. Suddenly, they were in a tangled nest of luminosity, just the two of them, severed from the world outside, drawn closer now. Vator called upon his heaven, readying himself for whatever was to come. Despite this, his heart rate remained steady, calmness dominating his mind. Do not use me as a weapon, his Portrait begged. You can incapacitate him, you canbut please, do not use me to take a life, I beg of thee. A moment passed. Both the Acting Authority and the ostensible Instrument faced each other. One''s expression a mask of exhaustion, buffeted by internal steel; the other, calm, anticipating bloodshed. But Mondelles spoke again. "All right," he said. "Sorry I had to do this, but trust is hard to come by these days. And so far, youre the only one that emerged from the Substance capable of clearing this test. What Im about to tell you stays between usfor your mind only, and mine." Vator leaned back, affecting casualness. "Well then, Acting Authority. Speak your pitch. Im listening." "I said need someone with experience. Someone who has managed to navigate the Substance without being compromised." Mondelles placed his smoke down on the table, sparks dotting the wooden surface and burning imperfections into the rich amber texture. For the first time, Vator flinched, his jaw tightening, and an inexpressible rage welled up inside him. He pointed at the burning pipe. "Can you. put that out?" he said. "Apologies, it''s distracting." Mondelless mouth opened as if to say something, then he froze. He looked down at his pipe and slowly nodded. "Gods, son, you havent changed at all, have you?" "Few of us rarely do," Vator replied. "Now, if you would, please." "Yeah, yeah," Mondelles muttered. With a gesture, he quelled the heat, and as his miracle concluded, Vator wielded his own, filling the seared cavities in the wood with new growth. There, that was better. "So, you were saying that you need someone to venture back into the Substance," Vator continued. "Someone to lead a war host." He grinned. "I suppose that someone might be me." "Its still pending," Mondelles replied severely. He clearly didnt like the idea, but the man was desperate, bearing a weight he was never prepared to heft. "And I dont know if youre going to be the one leading it. I mean, no offense to your service, Instrument, but the shadow of the Path hangs dark over us all." "Correct," Vator agreed. "Do you know that I can remember my mothers name now? Lorea. Lorea. Lorea." Mondelless eyes widened, his expression shifting to one of brief shock. It seemed that more than just Vator was affected by this sudden change in metaphysical alignment. "How in the hells" Mondelles shook his head. "Its not important. Not right now. But yeah her. And now your father. Sister too. Its not great for you, Vator. Your family has been embroiled by more shame than most will see in generations. "I wont lie, Vator. Ive got no idea what games are being played around me, over my head. Ive never been much for this spy business. But were out of options, and were out of time. Our most critical districts are trapped behind a wall that consumes cognitions and ontologies. Our chain of communication and travel between internal districts has been severed. Were effectively dismembered from within." No wonder Mondelles looked so exhausted. No one wanted to be the first Acting Authority to fully lose a war, and he wasnt even part of a Great House. His title had come only through necessity, his authority only through emergency. All he had was his name, his efforts, and little more. "And then theres the matter of our Ark," Mondelles said, his face grimacing. "We cant access it. Were no longer receiving transmissions or its thaumic signature. That, more than anything else, needs to be secured. And needs to be secured soon." "And you want me to be part of the effort that does it," Vator replied, leaning back. "This is a desperate plan, Acting Authority. We do not have intelligence as to whats occurring within the Substance unless you include me as intelligence. And you arent sending a warhost, are you? Just a specialized cadre? "Yeah, were at that point," Mondelles said. "How terrifying," Vator answered glibly. "And theres also Omnitech and the No-Dragons," Mondelles continued. "Theyre no longer properly replying to our casts. The former is calling for Highflame assets to mass within their territoryusing Osjon Thousand to do it. A wince of derision followed. Dont think quite trust the Speaker enough to do that. The latter the latter is devolved into infighting. You know how they are." "I do know how they are," Vator replied. "And it is not infighting they have devolved into." He considered. Yes, the No-Dragons were notorious for their bureaucratic intrigues, but that was not actually an expression of instability. Rather, the usurpation of a superior or inferior sisters life cycle was a common acta means of advancement. This, right now, was simply another opportunity for social climbing or material promotion. The world might be ending, but no one wanted to spend the rest of their days as a meager pauper. "Worry not about the No-Dragons," Vator answered. "They will clean themselves soon, and I suspect they will have a new set of Dowagers for you to speak with." "Not me," Mondelles replied. "You." "There is a breach open, the same as the one you passed through to get beyond the Substance. And because of your fear of Highflames compromise and my relations with the No-Dragons, you want me to proceed and link up with my once-contacts former mentor. Muster a force composed of both Golds and Blacks before venturing into that stygian depth." "Yeah, something like that," Mondelles said darkly. "I dont really want to do it, but I dont want to do a lot of things these days. That, and youre not my only option. Oh, and what other cards do you have? Who else have you played? Mondelles gave Vator a flat look. Melodic laughter sounded from the Instrument. "Dont be so bitter, Acting Authority. I am no spy. Yeah. Cant say Im certain of anything anymore. These are days of strange wars and stranger fates. One cannot fault you for being weary. "Stranger fates," Mondelles echoed. Vator continued. "Of course, we are Golds. All of us imagine ourselves champions and heroes. But, alas, if everyones a champion and hero, then who is to be the scoundrel they need? The supporting cast." "Jaus, you sound like the Stormsparrow," Mondelles said. "I met her recently," Vator replied, his eyes widening. "She was really quite the sight. Oh, nothing quite compares to thy Seraph. Or the Strix, for that matter. The last bit, Vator didnt say out loud. But he noticed somethingan opportunity at hand. Here he was, in the same room as Santanando Mondelles, Acting Authority, current reigning tyrant over at Axtraxis Academy. They were separated from the notice of others, protected by a cocoon made from Mondelless cannon. +Well, Guard-Captain,+ Vator thought, his mind reaching out to Draus. +I have an opportunity that might interest you: a private conversation with the Acting Authority.+ Across the link, he felt a stirring. Drauss focus came back in full; shed been momentarily distracted by something he didnt know. But whatever it was, he doubted it was more fascinating than what they could achieve right now. Leaning forward in his chair, Vator regarded Mondelles as he prepared himself to shift the paradigm. "I''m afraid I haven''t been completely honest, Authority." Mondelles''s expression flattened, inscrutable. "Elaborate, Instrument." "You wish to know more about the Substance. Find someone with true expertise. There is someone I can introduce you to. And I think we can all help each other get what we A sudden Ghost-Link shot out from inside Vators mind, piercing Mondelless Meta. Between blinks, the Famine of Mercy formed from ghostly mist behind the Acting Authority and buried his fingers into Mondelles halo. The Acting Authority flinched and jerked back, but found himself lost in a maze of twisted memories. Meanwhile, his demiplane of radiance pulsed with an ethereal hum, flickering but never truly collapsing. Within Vator, his tendons shifted, turning into tentacles and fingers. They produced the shard from within his body, and placed it on the table. Slowly, the shard spread, pooling out, knocking items, and encompassing the tables surface as its shape grew thinner, wider, brighter. Finally, there was a final flash as the upper body of a new intruder emerged. Jelene Draus rose. Her voidtech projectile launcher was active. She pointed it directly at Mondelles while an orbiting belt of other guns drifted behind her. The Acting Authoritys eyes widened in shock. "J-J-Jelene Draus" he stammered. "Yeah, good to see you too, Mondelles," she drawled. "Trust me, Im about as surprised as you are about most things these days." She glanced at Vator, giving him a hesitant nod. A boyish smirk appeared on Vators face. This was the closest the Regular had ever come to showing approval. You see, Mondelles, he chirruped cheerfully. People can change. And so can situations. Now. Lets talk about whats actually happening: your truths inexchange for ours. 31-5 Gun’s Growing Dream Certain spiders eat their mothers upon being born. Do you know this? I''ve seen this. I''ve seen this, and I find it an apt representation of our reality. We are all alone unto ourselves at first. That is our first loyaltyto survival, our own survival. We feast upon our kin. We learn cruelty and love from our lines so we can nurse and feed, whichever form that takes. But then we see the breadth of society that lays beyond our vicious little nests and discover that, for all the intrigue and dangers that await at home, the outside is even colder. For it is no longer about survival, but dominance. If I am eaten by my sister, if I am to eat my motherthe family goes on. The family survives. Something of us remains. Paltry consolation, as it were. But if the Ori win, if Stormtree is allowed to breach our organ cities, if Ashthrone is allowed to inflict their divine retribution or Sanctus to free our dragonsthen there will be no sisterhood left. No matriarchy. And all that we''ve suffered, all that we have been cursed to bear, will have been for nothing. And so, my fellow sisters, I say this: eat your sisters, steal their cycles. Eat your mothers, claim their positions. But remember one thing. When the time comes, and our self-cannibalism is satisfied, return your attention outward. Together. For thisthis is practice. This is cultivation. The true war lies beyond. -Dowager Lin Crippled Fortune, The Matriphage 31-5 Guns Growing Dream [Draus] A stretch of silence grew as both the Regular and the Acting Authority gazed at each other. It had been a good few years since the last time shed seen Mondelles in person, discounting the run-in theyd had between the Lyaers. He looked rougher than before, more tired. Mondelles, she remembered, was always a stickler for the rules, so this stubby patch he had for a beard was probably a result of overwork rather than deliberate choice. Another thing to notehis Heaven hadnt changed, not even in the months leading up to the trial. Which meant he probably wasnt expecting shit to escalate so soon. Ignorance was rarely bliss; ignorance meant your throat was exposed, and you wouldnt see what killed you. Hells, the poor fool was probably still loyal to Veylis, imagining that he was doing the right thing. "Guard Captain," Mondelles managed, his words a choked snarl. "You look different better." He was still struggling. Every few seconds, he would twitch or spasm. Mercy was twisting the fabric of his mind, ensuring he couldnt break free. But he could still hear, still see. He was just lost inside himself, his senses and kinesiology going haywire. "Yeah," Draus replied. "Lots changed. Surely, you might have noticed." A snort, barely a laugh, escaped Mondelles. "Yeah, changed, thats a word. Just didnt expect you to turn on us. Going Squire? All right. Thats beneath you, but all right." He grimaced. "This, thoughworking with cults, with the Strix to bring down Highflame. I never believed it. I didnt want to." "Folks dont want to believe a lot of things," Draus retorted. "And youve been in the dark for a good long while." "So why dont you enlighten me, then?" Mondelles said, an edge in his gaze. "Tell me what youre doing here. Why you havent killed me. Why you havent seized this place for your cemetery." He turned his glare on Vator. "You. I should have expected this. Your entire family theyre just built for betrayals and disappointments, arent they?" "Oh, no," Vator said, inclining his head in an almost earnest gesture. "I suspect our greatest problem was that we were quick to imagine ourselves very important. And ultimately, we were less than pawns. "You say that right now, but the High Seraph Draus interrupted him. The High Seraph is dead. Right now, at least. So is the Strix. But theyre coming back together with this Substance, you see. The thing thats caused us all to be separated and fucked Highflame. Yeah, thats the reason. The Stillborns trying to put itself back together. Which is part of the reason why Im here. Guard-Captain, Vator adomnished. Youre not supposed to give your game awayyoure meant to extract. Extract! Draus ignored him. "The prototypical Liminal Frame," Mondelles said, his face suddenly still, his eyes locking onto Draus. "You you have it on you. Like Like Uthred." And there was another confirmationUthred Greatling was another Flamebearer. Oh, more of the lost linger near, the Doublethinkers inside her sang. Find them, and recompose the court of our king to be. Draus ignored them too. Her focus was on having a conversation with Mondelles. All this other shit could wait. "But you got more than Uhtred cooped up in you, dont you?" Draus said, leading him along. "Forgot to mentionyoure housing Shotin Kazahara down in your basement." Mondelles tried to shake his head, failing to complete the movement. "I kept him there. Didnt have a better place to hold him. Had to rig some Rendbombs, make sure he didnt go anywhere. Wasnt responsive. When we brought him in, he was catatonic. We managed to find what remained of the paladins that came with him. Our scouts discovered him on the very edge. Edge of the Tears. He was trying to resuscitate his niece. He was asking us to help him. The worlds gone mad." "The worlds been mad for a long time," she replied. "Do you even know what this is all about? What this is all for?" "For?" Mondelles echoed. She drove her point deeper. Jaus. Hes back. Once more, the Acting Authority jolted, recoiling. "No. No, thats just It can be. Its deception. I dont know how your new master achieved this but I wont fall. I will not stray. Not like you. Right. Seems to me you already strayed, though, havent you? Draus replied, her tone cold. "Think the rest of Highflame will be understadin about your little trips with Elegant Moon and the rest? Meeting with Ori assets for a mutually beneficial assassination? Silence consumed Mondelles. His eyes widened. You. You were the ones that hit us. Nah. Didnt hit you. Just happened to run into you along the way. Didnt even know it was you at first. But fuck me, Mondelles, give the righteous and loyal Guilder speech to someone else. I aint judgin. But you cant neither. Nows the time to stare the bullet down and admit that things are just fucked. Fucked. Not because of you or me." She leaned back, her voice dropping. "Ive got a story to tell you, Mondelles. Hell, Ive got a few stories. So heres what were gonna do. Im going to let you know what I understand to be the truth, what I know. And then youre gonna tell me what I ask afterward, in return. "Now, you can lie. I cant stop you from doing that. I aint much of an operative or intelligence officer, whatever theyre called. But Mercy here" she gestured towards the Famine"well, I dont much like the Low Masters, but turns out having one in your cadre makes it very easy to pop a mind open. So. You know the score. Yeah, Mondelles said, swallowing. Spit your words. Lets hear them. And Draus began. She told him briefly about her encounter with Avo, about the stillborn, about the incidents behind Mirrorhead, and why Abrol was eventually subdued by the Paladins. She left out a good deal about Aegis and Voidwatchno need to stain his mind with undue detailsbut she went deep into the events surrounding the City Eternal, the Hungers, the Flayed Ladder, Zeins plans, and Veylis misdeeds against the Agnos, against her father, against the city itself. Finally, she summed up all she knew about this trial before bringing things to the present. She could have injected the memories into him, had Mercy do it, if she didnt trust herself. But ultimately, that wasnt her way. She wanted to instill some measure of trust in Mondelles. Going full Necro and treating him impersonally yeah, she didnt think that would work out right.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. For Mondelless part, he reacted as she expected: disbelief mixed with struggling apprehension. There were parts that made sense, especially about Uthred, about Abrel. But the High Seraphher fangs were buried deep in her citizens. If Draus hadnt been exiled, she doubted she would have declared her disloyalty either. But Chance Chance was that fickle force that made all things turn on their heads. And because of Chance, she had the opportunity to be where she was, to fight the war shed been given. She finally concluded, and Mondelles shook his head, working up a bitter laugh. "Draus, everything you just said it sounds like a shitty conspiracy fiction. Hidden empires, resurrection of reality, all this an awakened reality its fucking insane. "Too much?" Draus asked. "Yeah," Mondelles managed, rubbing his temples. "Too much is a word." Too much too little Not up to you not this From within Drauss mind, a fiery form took shapea fibrous, pulsing presence, strained and weak. Slowly, the threads came ablaze, and a flaming figure, shaped as a Strix, perched itself on her shoulder. "Good to finally speak to you in person, Acting Authority," the Definement said. Mondelless breath hitched, his eyes widening. Before he could say anything, a chain of searing ghosts punched through his halo once more. Now, his mind burned, but this time, the fire was transparent, with information propagating along his mental sequences. Mercy bowed and receded from Drauss construct, leaving things for her so-called king to handle. Mondelles went through a series of expressions, his face twisting in a grimace, his eyes widening, breaths coming faster. "No no, cant be none of this can be real youre lying no, no stop I dont believe it, I dont believe it, I dontstop, please. Dont show me. Dont show. I dont want to know! Suddenly, the transparent flames vanished, and the Strix sagged against Drauss head. She caught Avos remnant with her left hand, while her projectile launcher remained trained on Mondelles. "Need to be careful now Going need more time to reconstitute myself Will help when you take from Shotin; Uthred. Going to go tell Chambers I proud chosen goodness His path beyond my ability to walk now "Yeah," Draus whispered. Our fuckin half-strand is full of surprises, huh? So are you Become what you In a burst of fading embers, the Strix vanished, and Draus couldnt recall who shed just been speaking to. There was just a coolness in her chest, a feeling that she wasnt doing enough. What did a gun dream of when it couldnt protect its master? What did a gun dream of when it was in a war that couldnt be won with weapons. Now it was only her, Mondelles, and Vator in the room again. The Acting Authority was clutching his head, blinking rapidly. The chains were gone from his mind, but Draus still had her gun raised, prepared to fire if anything went wrong. But instead of lashing out, instead of turning the surrounding fibers of light into weapons, Mondelles simply grimaced and folded in on himself. "It cant be true. It cant be," he murmured. "She couldnt have all these things we were" He looked inside himself, and Draus realized what he was seeking then. The Chronoscar. How Veylis pulled her forces into the paths. He looked up, his face full of shock and bitterness. "I suspected. But I didnt want to believe. Draus regarded him for a moment before decided on pity. Thats just the thing, aint it, Mondelles? We all want to believe. We all want to think that were doin something that matters. Doin the right. But it aint that way. And it aint that life. Youre just a tool. An Instrument. Always was. Veylis dream involves you, but its not for you. There aint gonna be paradise for hounds and weapons. Thats what we are. And Jaus? Hells. Poor half-strand dont want it. Never did. All we did before was just because she couldnt accept that. Fuck Mondelles groaned. His fist slammed downand dipped through the spatial passage. A look of surprise came over him as his entire hand vanished across the glass. Fuck! Godsdammit! Is He paused. This this used to be Jhreds Heaven. Yeah. He dont need it no more. Slowly, Vator angled his gaze at Draus. I do not appreciate that very much, Regular Draus. Instead of cursing him out, she muttered something that could almost be understood as a sorry. Jhred had it coming. But then again, so did she. An Avo. And a hell of a lot other people. Seeing what Chambers was doing How Mondelles was The fuck was the point of this all? All the snuffing and hurtin she did. Got her thinking about effectiveness. How she was. Who did she want to be? Hells, she wasnt even a who right now. Just a weapon. But weapons werent enough. Couldnt just shoot and fight and kill without thinkin about the bigger picture no more. Avo wasnt going to do all that processing for her. Reckon I could try some different shit. See where that leads. The Deliverer rested upon her mind as well. Just a mindless Heaven built for slaughter. Yet Wasnt New Vultun full of those? And where did they go after the war was over? What was the point of them if they couldnt even win the war. Too much thinking, her Arsenalist chided. Aim. Fire. At fuckin what, though? Draus replied. Yeah. Fine. Were plenty good at killin but That didnt help us save Kae. Didnt help us handle the Deliverer. But Chambers managed. And that was just the point: Chambers managed. Somehow, what was once some useless gutter rat was more useful than she was. He wasnt any better at fighting or a genius or none of that. No. he was just willing to change. To be more of who he wanted to be. Or imagined was worth being. Now, as Mondelles came undone before her, Draus felt a kinship with the Acting Authority. We all thought we lost the last one, Mondelles, she said softly. But I think thats bullshit now. I think weve been losing a lot longer than that. All the wars we fought before, everything we did before. The ideas we lived by. It wasnt for us. And I guess that means we were never truly people. Not real. It kept going back to what Avo asked her all those months back, in the fighting pit of the Second Fortune. Were not real, Mondelles repeated. She shook her head. She didnt have an answer to who she wanted to be, but she was certain about one thing: hollow things like her and Mondelles? They made for good killers and tools, but unworthy people. And unkind gods. The type that fucked Idheim and existence. That type that kept this circling the drain. It only feels right when Im snuffin cunts, Draus admitted. I like war. Knew it my whole life. It defined more of me than anythin else. But it also doesnt care. It also doesnt matter. Forty years. Forty-six years Ive been here. So many others dead and done. But it feels like been running in place for every single moment of my life till the past three months. Before, Mondelles was defiant but attentive. Now, he was actually listening. And DrausDraus felt like she was clawing through the woods as she spoke. Kaes dead Wish she wasnt. I remembered how we met. All the shit she babbled about. There was more life left to her. Until it just ended. Same with Kare. Good juv. Brave girl. Cut down for nothing. Died for something. Dont matter if I could snuff her in a fighther twenty had more weight than my forty. Because did it all for what she believed, not because she was shaped by someone else. She fell silent. I met Quail Tavers. Theres a good Squire. But she aint into the war. Shes here to get the job done and survive. I faced Zein. Saw somethin in her. Something to pursue at the end of road. A perfect warrior. But not weapon enough. She had a life, but her addiction to death fuckin makes her somethin like me. And I hate her. Because she knew what it was like to be more. Im jealous Are you jealous, Mondelles? Both the Acting Authority and Vator were transfixed by Draus. I dont know if I want to be a full person. I know I dont want to stop fightin. Itll be like starvin if I do. But I think I want to see if theres more than this down the line. If I can find out what it means to truly decide. Dont really understand what worthy means no more. Dont really think I can solve anything with more firepower. Dont even think Im what the city needsif I can find a way to win this thing without the Strix behind my back. But I think Im ready to try. I think I wanna find out. You wanna find out with me? Both of you? She looked between them. Vators face changed slowly, going from wide-eyed enrapturement to a broad grin. Yes. Yes. This is expression! Keep doing that! Finally! Finally, you have made this entire thing worth it. The Regular just shook her head in near-disgust. She would probably never get used to Vator. Mondelles, though, was silent. I I dont know what to do anymore, he breathed. I I just wanted to do right for my Guild. For my people. For the ideals. Yeah. So did I. So. Tell you what. Ill help you find out whats rightsecure our districts and get to the Arkand you give me access to the academy. And help mask my identity. Hairline fractures spread along Mondelles accretion, but slowly, she saw some of them thin. I I can accept this. I can accept these terms for now. I assume you will want to meet Uthred. And Shotin. Already did with the latter. Would be much obliged about the former. As for you identity Mondelles swallowed. I might have an idea. But it will require a change of face. Your Meta, though +A task better left to me, Knight Errant,+ Mercy said. Nah, Draus said, turning his attention inward. Think I have a solution for my Meta. +Mercy. The fuck you on about. And why are you callin me Knight?+ +Is that not what you are now? A seeker of chivalric ideals. Lost, but searching. Honorable beyond the reach of our your master. You say you are not a person. But it is not so bad. The curse is being false. False to what you know you can achieve. False to the full weight of your worth. Would you like to hear my words about what a gun dreams of?+ Draus wasnt sure if she did, but fuck it. If she was going to do this weird change shit, she might as well dive the full storm. +Go for it.+ +A gun dreams of firing. Of striking its target. And the target dying. Right now, you are a gun that fires and fires but our enemies do not fall. The Guild Wars do not end. A weapon can be swung and shot without question. But that is a lie. You have drifted too far from being a mere item. And because of this, because of what you are, Knight Errant, you are cursed. For a warrior is not a weapon. And the Domains of War and Victory are not one and the same.+ Victory. Victory. Draus did a lot of fighting and killing and surviving but What did victory look like? +I cast my gauntlet to you. As I have betrayed my oath to fulfill them, then you too should take upon what is broken and reforge yourself to discover this truth. Find out what you might become, Jelene Draus. Find out. And be a worthy champion for our king.+ +Mercy,+ Draus began, a genuine sense of discomfort overwhelming her. +Are there any other copies of you out there? Because if the answers yes, Im gonna need you to tell me in detail how to kill you.+ 31-6 Weight to Bear?
Oh, Veylis, my dear sweet girl, the best people you will meet in this life are not the ones who seek to control you or the ones who seek to empower you completely. Both are acts of delusion. Both occupy extremes, extremes that do not aid a warrior. You want someone that understands you, that allows you to be who you are, but, when the time comes, when they see you approaching the edge, they reach out and stop you from hurting yourself. For it is a pleasure being a Glaive. But without preceding cause, all the killing gets rather monotonous and dull and senseless. Amusing, but senseless. That''s just the thing. Give your life some flavor. Be kind to yourself. Be cruel toward your adversaries. But be serious when choosing who you offer your heart to, for those are the ones who sculpt us. -Zein Thousandhand? 31-6 Weight to Bear? [Shotin]? "Wait, hold on. So you''re telling me that when she turned sixteen, her dad rented out an entire megablock for her, and you guys did what was it?" Chambers waved for Shotin to elaborate. "A Cogni-augmented immersive murder mystery experience," Shotin muttered. "Fucking she was into detective shit, alright. There was a show back in the day. Uh, False Seer Juna. Kare loved it. So, that''s what she got on her namesday." Chamber threw up his hands. "You know what I got when I was sixteen? Was busy trying to buy a new kidney after my last one got repossessed. Caught an aratnid because I was lonely and wanted a consang, but ended up losing him in a gambling den to a Scaarthian with no teeth later that night. And mean, Kare here had a whole megablock to herself. Holy shit. And how many people attended?" "Two thousand," Shotin answered. Chambers choked. "Two thousand people, just to celebrate a girl''s Namesday? Fucking nuts, consang. I don''t even know two thousand people. Not actually, anyway." "Yeah, I don''t either," Shotin replied with a shrug. "But the clan does. The clan has a hell of a lot more than just two thousand. And the sixteenth namesday is very important. It''s when someone''s supposed to become an adult." "Huh, what do you mean, ''becomes an adult?''" "It''s a cultural thing," Shotin finally sighed. He laughed, just after. "Kare tried to skip hers. She, um, she didn''t want to be a burden. She never wanted to be a burden. She was always thoughtful, meticulous, cared about other people more than herself. I think she got that from her mother, but I don''t know. My sister was a lot of things, but she was tight with her imps and held a grudge like you wouldn''t believe. Kare..." He looked at his dead niece again. "She was as close to a decent person as I would ever know." "Yeah, I believe you," Chambers responded. "Don''t know many glassers I like, but, you know. Naeko liked her, that guy with the weird beard liked her, Avo liked her, and, well, there''s a reason why he really, really tried to keep her alive. Did everything he could." He caught Shotin''s flat stare and grunted. "You know we fought Zein Thousandhand to keep her alive, right? Got my blades shredded by that old bitch." Despite the sorrow consuming him, Shotin still blinked with surprise. "You? Fought Zein Thousandhand." "The entire cadre rolled up on her ass, my guy. And she beat all of our asses so bad. It was ugly. It took Quail Fucking Tavers sneaking up on her and stabbing her through the skull for the rest of us to escape. Look, the point is, I''m sorry she''s gone. I would do just about anything for you to feel better right now. No one deserves to feel like shit. But I wasn''t bluffing. We did try. We did all we could. No one wanted this. No one." Shotin regarded Chambers for a few minutes longer, and he planted his elbows on his knees. "You know, I do recall tearing your balls off back at Veng''s Stand." "Yeah. And I clutched yours in Avo''s Soulscape," Chambers shrugged. "Still wasn''t as bad as Zein fucking me up. But still. You popped mine off like a turnip." "You sprayed a fucking penile blast made out of burning spiders and insects at me," Shotin sneered. "The fuck was wrong with you." "I was trying to rash your ass." "You succeeded. Fuck you." "Yeah? Fuck you too. What did you expect me to do, fight you seriously? No. I had one fucking trick and I was gonna godsdamn use it." The sheer absurdity of the conservation cracked something inside Shotin. He was still hurting. Still miserable. But this was it was getting to be too much. He let out a chuckle that turned to a cough. "What the fuck is my life?'' "Hey, I ask myself that shit all the time. Haven''t got an answer yet, though." Chambers looked up at the ceiling and smiled softly. "But you know what? I don''t think I actually need an answer anymore. I''m just glad I''m still here. Still in the game. Can still do some shit for those around me. I''ve lived a pretty bad life so far, Silver. But I think I''m going to try to do better now. I have to. Because I can." A building disbelief was rising through Shotin. He didn''t know Chambers very welldidn''t much like him at all before. Frankly, someone giving you the rash as a first impression was usually a dealbreaker for most relationships, but somehow, in some fucked-up way, Chambers was proving to be kind of charming. Genuine. Not many people were in the city. Kare was one. Was. "Anyway, yeah, so, everything''s fucked. Yo, thanks for telling me about your niece, but, uh" he gestured at Kare with a wince. "I want you to know this isn''t over. This isn''t done. Death doesn''t have to be right now. You can grieve as long as you want, but with the chance of bringing her back, of doing the right thinglisten, I''m gonna give you a bullshit speech about how you''re supposed to" He let out a huff. "I''m new to this pep-talk stuff. If Avo was here, you''d probably already be happy, twist your mind into being a happy pretzel," Shotin shook his head. "No. I don''t want that. I did my Heavens, my wards were all meant to protect my mind. I spent years facing other clansthought I was untouchable. The Burning Dreamer consuming me Fucking is a scar of shame. And I don''t want to feel right. Not with her gone. I want to be me. And I''d rather you be talking to me than some monster. Than" he wanted to blame the Dreamer, but according to Chambers, they were the only ones even trying to save Kare. Them. Instead of him. He didn''t even really know her life was in danger. And when things got bad, she didn''t call for him first. What the fuck did that say about Shotin Kazahara? What was the fuck was the point of him if he couldn''t even protect the ones he cared about. "I''m fucking worthless." Now it was Chambers'' turn to stare at him. "You too, huh? Looks like the low gets everyone." "No," Shotin replied. "It''s not just some low. It''s just I''m a selfish fuck. I knew that. I lived my entire life doing what I wanted. Living how I enjoyed. Sure, I loved my family, but they were second. Second to me. I was good enough, skilled enough, audacious enough to get where I got. And you know what people said about me? Said I was born wrong. Said I should have been a Gold, but ended up in a Silver''s body. And they were right. And they were right." "You''re not that selfish," Chambers said. "You''re sitting here, crying over your niece. Got like, a billion fucking memories of heryour sister too. You choked when you talked about how you didn''t know what to say to her father. You I guess you enjoy your life a lot. Guess you lose track of people, but honestly? I''m jealous of her. I''d love for someone to be crying over me if I went. Or someone to think of me in general. Means my life meant something to somebody." A wounded silence settled between the two. Chambers, rooted to Shotin''s mind, stared miserably at Kare''s corpse. "Fucking Kae''s dead two. Found her in pieces as well. There''s just nothing for it. No no noise or major moment. It wasn''t like the vics. She was just pieces too. Too late for me to do anything. Couldn''t manage anything at all." "The Agnos?" Shotin asked. "Yeah." "I''m sorry. Fucking D''Rongo cocksuckers shame the Ori. Cunts. Should''ve snuffed the fuckers when I could. Damn the consequences." He eyed Chambers. "You cared for her?" Stolen story; please report. "Yeah." Chambers sniffled as he nodded. A beat followed. "You love her?" Now, Chambers met Shotin''s eyes. "I don''t gotta clue, consang. I think I I cared for her. I think I saw her as someone that should''ve got a better deal. Me, I did some pretty ugly shit to get by, consang. I don''t wanna die, but if I did can''t say it wasn''t right. Her, though, she had all those dreams and did all that stuff for the city''s future. There was a hope to her. A future. Something I never had until Avo came along. And it was taken from her. Guess I just fucking hated the injustice of it all. And she treated me. Like a person. I liked that. I liked that a lot." "Well. I guess things aren''t over for her either, are they?" Shotin took in a deep breath as he mustered his broken resolve. "If if something of my niece remains in the Dreamer and this can be undone through the Ladder, then" "Yeah," Chambers nodded. "So. Fight''s not done. None of this is over. But we''re gonna need you. Because I sure as shit can''t do this alone. And neither can Draus. We''re all a little fucked up and lost, but so are the Guilds. So there''s an opening. A chance we can make this all right and bring this bullshit to a final end." Shotin rolled his shoulders as he glared through the shimmering barrier that was his phase cage. "I counted four Godclads. I can still feel them. Just one cadre meant to watch over me. Two Rendbombs connected to my cage. You think you can disable their triggers?" "Draus is probably already on that," Chambers replied. "But yeah." He grinned. "If you need my help, just call. Just call, and I''ll make everyone here black out from cumming." The Seeker known as Planeshift was just about to nod in accord when he froze and did a double-take. "Wait, the fuck?" "Yeah, so the Domain of Lust lets me amplify how hard people bustand make them bust at will." A sense of surrealism entered the conversation. How in the fuck did he end up here. What was this? "I" "I''m still not the best at controlling this shit," Chambers said, gritting his teeth. "But I think I can get a handle on myself when there''s just a few people. I test this miracle on some of my copies and let me tell you, it works. It works really, really good. As it turns out, since everyone in this city has been pent up for years, it doesn''t take much for them to pass out" "Jaus. Fuck! Stop! Stop!" Shotin said. His hands shot up to cover his years. "Chambers what the fuck are you even talking about." "What? I''m the new God of Love. It''s just one of my Domains. It''s perfectly nonlethal too. As long as I''m careful with their hydration levels. But the Bioigniter helps with that." "I" Words failed Shotin. Thoughts failed him too. "I Okay. Yeah. Sure. What the fuck. But sure." "I''m serious." "I know." Shotin snapped. "Doesn''t actually change my fucking reaction. Holy fuck. And you''re the only one in the city who has this power?" "Well, there was my evil pathborn twin dispatched by Veylis" "What?" "But that half-strand was pretty messed up. Make a couple of Seekers birth a homunculus into each other by creating some kind of cock-womb-pussy conjoinment tube.'' If Shotin''s eyebrows could climb any higher, they would vanish into his actual hair. "But he was made wrong. Called himself the Fuckbringer. Was just some kind of mentally deranged sex-addicted monster." "Right," Shotin whispered. "So. What''s the difference between him and you?" "Man, fuck you, Shotin. Stop attacking me. I''m trying to get my ass to do better. Why do you think I''ve spent the past few hours here with you instead of just mangling your memories or some shit? I respect people''s personal uh what you call it?" "Autonomy?" "Yeah! That! As long as they''re not trying to kill me, I don''t force them to have sex with each other. I''m the Lovebringer. Not the Fuckbringer. Do I know what love is? No. Am I the best person for it? Fuck no. But guess what, this is how things are. The world fucking kills the best of us while dealing the shitty ones a good hand sometimes." Chambers seemed genuinely offended. And Shotin was ashamed. "I''m sorry. Didn''t mean toI say things. And I usually don''t think about what I say." He hammered the back of his head against the alloyed wall of his makeshift cage. He just couldn''t make things right. A slight huff escaped Chambers. "Yeah. It''s fine. I guess I''m not the easiest person to get along with." Shotin snorted. "Bullshit. You''re not. You wanna know why? Because I''m hard to get along with. I fuck everything up with everyone. With my sister. With my niece. Lovers. I just take and take and speak and speak. And then I hurt people. Because I get caught up in my head and keep them out with my walls. So I regret it afterward. And now, I''m spilling my guts to you. Someone I barely know. Because I''m alone. And because you''re the closest thing I have left to a consang around here." He looked down at Kare''s corpse and shook his head. She was gone. But there was a thread that joined him to her even beyond the reach of death. And another between him and Chambers. Chambers claimed it was some fuckery about the Heaven of Love. Well. Whatever it was, it grounded Shotin. Pulled him out of the catatonic spiral. Back to the pain. Back to himself. "Thanks for being here for me." "Don''t mention it. You know" Chambers sudden went quiet and lifted his head. "Huh. One of the Instruments is coming for us." "What?" Shotin said. True to Chambers'' words, a Godclad wearing a full body combat skin designed in the shape of a golden skeleton approached Shotin''s prison. "Felt him because of the link he had with two of his consangs. Apparently, he''s double-timing them. Got two mind-affairs going onand so do they. Fuck me are people unfaithful in this city." Shotin pressed his lips together. Yeah. Been there, done that. He wasn''t one to judge at all. As the Instrument came closer, Shotin rose to his feet and rolled his neck. "Chambers" "Don''t worry. He can''t see me. I''m just hiding in your mind. But I can pull them. Use their bonds against them. Just give me a cast." Right. Here they came, time to "Seeker Shotin Kazahara," the Instrument said, voice distorted by their combat-skin, "We have explicit orders from Acting Authority Mondelles to release and escort you into his office. He wants you to know that you have mutual business to discuss. Please do not try to resist. Please do not initiate combat. You are trapped aboard Axtraxis Academy. There are at least a hundred other Godclade cadres here and no real way out." A vicious scowl spread across Shotin''s features. He could practically read the nervousness radiating off this Instrument''s posture. They knew about him. Felt the dread of his reputation. "Sorry," Shotin said, "but I''m afraid I''m not that good at following orders. Never was. Big reason why I don''t get along with other clans." "We are aware of that, Seeker," the Instrument said. "But, uh, that wasn''t a threat. That was me asking for my life. Please don''t kill me and my Cadre. I know what you did during the war. I reviewed the footage. I ran the simulations. I know how a fight between us will unfold. We would be forced to trigger the Rendbombs." That gave Shotin a brief pause. A humble and anxious Highflame soldier. He hadn''t met many of those in his life. A laugh sounded from Chambers. "Oh, shit. Draus did it. She managed to get to Mondelles. Just got a cast, consang. You''re going upstairs. No need to snuff our way out after all." No need With a projection of ghosts, the Highflamer disabled Shodan''s phase cage. A gust of cold winds flowed through, and the Instrument came to a halt right before Kare''s body. "We''ll make sure she''s, uh, properly stored, preserved for funerary rites. If that is your desire." "No," Shotin said. Instead, he brought down a spatial stack and swept Kare awaypulled her into his innermost plane for safekeeping. He was a selfish shit. And Kare was always going to be his to carry. "She is my weight. She''ll always be my weight to bear." Shifting his gaze up, Shotin watched as the Instrument flinched. "You, though, can start walking. And get me some alcohol on the way. I''ve been here all fucking day, and I think since I''m not quite a prisoner anymore, that you should get your guest some godsdamn lubrication." 31-7 Shapeshifters (I) Unable to establish connection. Fail to reach Constituent. Retrying Retrying Unable to reach Constituent. Constituent Shotin Kazahara''s ontology has been altered. Constituent cognition and foundational mythology scrambled. Outside influence detected. A shard of the stillborn? Unable to confirm. Vote proposed: Motion to deploy a specialized strike team to retrieve Shotin Kazahara. Vote at 39.35%. Vote failed. Vote rejected. Low likelihood of breaching Axtraxis Academy without suffering significant casualties. Unnecessary risks. Alternative proposal: we access Shotin through Chambers; we access Chambers through Constituent Denton. A chain has been established. The path is clear. Unity is destiny. -The Majority 31-7 Shapeshifters (I) [Draus] EGO ID UPDATED METAMIND RESEQUENCED COGNITIVE MASKING COMPLETE REBOOTING COG-FEED Draus''s perception flashed on like a switch, and she found herself staring at an unknown face. The alterations made to her sheath were already completed. Between Vator and Mercy, she went through all the adjustments needed to blend in on Axtraxis right there in the interrogation room. Standing, she squinted at her new face, observing her short crop of blonde hair, her thinner, narrower chin, smaller nose, the greater distance between her eyes, and her far paler complexion. She was, in a strange way, aesthetically attractive, much like many of Highflame''s actual Citizens were. The strange dimensions her body took on displeased her. This wasnt the sheath of a weapon; this was the body of a part-time warrior that still wanted to love and be fancied by allies, lovers, and rivals. "So, what do you think?" Vator said, poking a head out behind her and appearing in the mirror. Draus held back from offering a response. The only reason she trusted Vator enough to do this was because Mercy had been monitoring him. She didn''t trust Mercy that much either, but between the two, the Famine showcased absolute loyalty to Avo, and the other, well, the other was determined to be on this ride for the sake of appeasing their Heaven alone. "It''ll do," Draus finally said. Hells, even her voice sounded different; softer, higher-pitched. With matters related to her biology and cognition settled, she moved on to the final step of her so-called infiltration. A dormant combat-skin lay at the far end of the room. Its back was unfolded like a blossoming flower, and all she needed to do was step in. Without further delay, Draus commanded her Meldskin to recede back under her skin and approached the armor she would be wearing as a disguise. PRAETORIAN MARK V CORE SPECS
  • STRENGTH AMPLIFICATION: 600% STRENGTH BOOST FOR HEAVY LIFTING AND MELEE COMBAT.
  • BRIGHTSHROUD: GENERATES AN ADDITIONAL LAYER OF SHIELDING SHAPED FROM NATURAL LIGHT
  • INTEGRATED HUD & COMBAT SUITE: REAL-TIME TARGETING, BIOMETRICS, WEAPON PORTS, RETRACTABLE FREQUENCY BLADES.
UTILITY
  • ENVIRONMENTAL SHIELDING: RADIATION, ACID, CHEMICAL PROTECTION, AND CONTAMINATION LOCKDOWN.
  • THERMOGENESIS IMMUNITY: IMMUNE TO HEAT AND FIRE DAMAGE UP TO 5000C; CONVERTS HEAT INTO POWER FOR EXTENDED OPS.
  • SUB-CON DEFENSES: MONITORS USERS METAMIND FOR ANY HINTS OF INFILTRATION; ARMOR COMES WITH ITS OWN SET OF PHALANX WARDS.
  • SOLAR REGENERATION: REPAIRS ARMOR IN SUNLIGHT; FULL RESTORATION UP TO 50% INTEGRITY WITH PROLONGED EXPOSURE.
  • INTERNAL PHYLACTERY: ONE-TIME RESURRECTION FOR USER IF KILLED, RESTORING 70% HEALTH WITH 60-SECOND STASIS SHIELD DURING REGENERATION.
  • SHORTWAVE LUMINOSITY COMMUNICATOR: CAN USE NATURAL LIGHT TO COMMUNICATE WITH ALLIES WITHIN VISIBLE RANGE.
Classic Praetorian. Upgraded, sure. But the standards are still there. Survivability, made for daytime combat. Minimal training required to achieve optimal usage. Practically all Highflame Godclads would wear a Praetorian at some point. And now Draus would too. But after all her time with the Meldskin, she found herself wondering if the Guilds were over-reliant on thaum-tech. She stepped into the armor without much concern. Mercy was monitoring its Systems for any hints of danger, and the padded interior gripped her body like a glove, she felt a neuro-synchorous chain of ghosts extend from the armors locus to her Metamind. SYNCING PAIRING USERS MIND TO ARMOR SYNCHRONIZATION SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISHING PHYLACTERY The mem-data cut off there. +Best that we keep your mind as uncompromised as possible,+ Mercy said. The Famine accessed the Phylactery with ease, and a new line of data crawled across Draus perception. PHYLACTERY RESET CONNECTION ESTABLISHED. +Whatd you just do?+ Draus asked. +Resequenced and removed the vulnerabilities within the phantasmic.+ Draus grunted. +Right.+ +Do not trust me. Trust Ignorance. The king will never let a slave such as I transgress against his vaunted knight.+ +Aint that. I know. Just aint easy. Youre an enemy. Was an enemy. Not two days ago, I wouldve scattered you with a disruption.+ +And not too days ago, I was still resisting a certain truth: That Defiance was right in many ways, but wrong in that the Hungers are still needed. The City Eternal could be savedNoloth preserved. But not under a crumbling mass of fearful immortals, but an enlightened populace righted by a true king.+ That earned a scoffing laugh from the Regular. +Still suspect youre tryin to null him. Shit, his ego might get too big and finally pop after enough of him comes back together to be crowned.+ +I suspect not. I suspect his capacity for arrogance is far greater than what you or I can conceive now.+ +Been that way for a while, but you dont see me tryin to spike him with more nova.+ A ping sounded from outside the door, just as the final few plates of Draus armor clicked together. She regarded herself in the mirror again and tested her movements. She was about half-foot taller. No discomfort or lag detected. The armor itself was pretty standard in coloring. Heavier chest piece with rounded crenelations along the limbs and enhanced spinal supports. Her helmet was ultimately fused into the neck of the armor as well, presenting a flat stump with a narrow visor. Yeah. Real blast from the past. A ping sounded from the door, and Draus turned to face Mondelles. As he entered, she caught his steady gaze and noted the thin sheen of sweat glistening upon his brow. Betrayal didnt come easy to the manand whatever truths she showed him, thats what this was. He was picking a side.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "Alright," he said. "I''ve entered you into the system. Youre now Instrument Masvel Juven. Priority One access privileges. Youve been assigned as my personal second and current have escort duties. Sounds good, Draus said. She collapsed her helmet to show off her new features. Right, Mondelles breathed. Wont be drawing any unwanted attention. Uthreds been diverted to my office. Shotin too. We proceed as planned; get Vator to interface with his fathersee how he reacts. Yes, of course. Vator looked askance, and his rapid blinks hinted at another conversation taking place. The juv really took to speaking with his Heaven plenty often. I am personally curious as to my fathers current condition as well. Mondelles expression tightened at that. Hes experienced... changes. We found him wandering a destroyed district, near catatonic. And also his Heavens been changed as well. Yes, you said he climbed a few Spheres, Vator replied. The boy then pursued his lips together. Which would make him Sphere Nine, Mondelles said in a near whisper. But hes always at zero burn. Cant identify his new Heaven either. His Frames root data seems damaged, but his primary Domain its Continuum. Both Draus and Vator shared a look with one another. That was the Strixs primary Domain. Fuck, the Regular muttered. Mondelles led them out of the interrogation room thereafter, with Draus taking the rear of the group. She used the opportunity to get an in-person look at Axtraxis facilities and personnel, noting vulnerabilities and constructing new junctions. With Mondelles on her side, active combat was less likely than before, but only fools and the soon-to-be dead didnt prepare themselves for all possibilities. At present, they were located in the instructors'' observation zonebasically, the external modules of the academy. Back when this place was still just a school, the instructors could gaze inward through a reinforced one-way mirror empowered by memite. Now, the many levels of space beyond the glass were occupied by fabricated housing for cadres and other essential personnel. Still usin the panopticon, huh? Draus said. I have to, Mondelles replied. With half the Godclads here Chivalrics raring to leave on a crusade and a great deal more separated from their cadres, this is all I can do to best keep track of what forces we can marshal. And keep yourself from getting disposed? Something like that, Mondelles said. He felt silent as they passed by a dozen cleaning mechs scrubbing blood from the walls. That told Draus plenty; told her that something had already been tried more than a few times. You know how it is. Instruments fight to establish a proper hierarchy in the absence of one. Yeah. I do know how it is. Is whats bein said about Omnitech true? The broadcast to muster our forces there? Mondelles said. Yes. But I dont know if it can be trusted. Osjon was lost to the Substance. And so far, Omnitech has made no move to protect themselves from its spread. I cannot in conscience leave this to blind trust. People are counting on me. Such is the reason behind my appointment. Draus heeded his words with curiosity. He was clearly already defying orders to begin with. That explained his willingness to convert on top of the truths she showed him. But then there was what he said at the end. Appointment? Yes. Seraph Kalgrave Asangi was one of the few among the High Seraphs inner council to avoid consumption. He was overseeing an operation in the Warrens when Scale was shattered. Presently, hes the highest ranking Citizen for Highflame, and by that designation appointed me Acting Authority to oversee evacuation efforts; reorganize what cadres of ours remain in the Tiers. And the Regs? Draus asked. No response. Didnt see any, did you? No. Reckon theyve been moved elsewhere for other means. I suspect you are correct, Instrument Juven. That begged the question: Did the Infacer have complete control over the Regulars now, or were they within the Substance itself, trapped in memories. She knew the Regs and the Chivs werent on the best of terms anymore after the last war, so what could Veylis be planning with them? Or the Infacer. After a bit more walking, the reached a heavily guarded room with two Godclads stationed outside. They planted their fists horizontally across their chests as they saw Mondelles approach, and he casually echoed the action back at them. Draus noted their eyes drifting to momentarily regard Vator. Faint sneers twitched on their facesbetrayed how everyone felt about the Greatlings by this point. As for her, well, they barely gave her more than a cursory stare; a testament to the depth of her disguise. Projecting a sequence of memories into a security locus embedded in the wall, the door hissed open to reveal a large Rendsink functioning as a pillar for an antechamber. Chairs lined the walls, and the walls were decorated with exquisite paintings and portraits of heroes past and momentous moments across history. Veylis influence leaked even now. The dappled splashes of dried blood and scorch marks made Draus guess that the last dean of the Academy didnt meet a pleasant end. Dean Kuld is no longer with us, Mondelles said, answering Draus guess with a casual statement. Apparently, the end of the world has a way of bringing out more surprises. Such as hidden Ori Sleepers. That, Draus wasnt anticipating. Even fucking Avo missed that onethough to be fair, he was running on a short schedule with his Highflame infiltration run. No shit? Yeah. He dispatched a series of lets just say conflicting orders. He almost managed to trigger a civil war, but uh The Acting Authority looked uncomfortable. Uthred intervened. Speaking of which. Mondelles came to a halt before a well-carved door of ancient wood. It looked like two gnarled boards shaped by a sharpened blade and installed with a handle. By now, another point of suspicion was rising inside Draus. She interrupted Mondelles as he reached for the handle. So, why cant I feel his Frame? Or even see his Soul? Aint like Ninth Spheres to be quiet. Thats just the thing, Mondelles replied. I dont have a fucking clue myself. And he isnt isnt quite himself most times anymore either. Youll understand. He gave Vator a final series of looks and settled on pity. Maybe hell be better with you here. As Mondelles turned the knob and pushed open the door, a strange scene greeted her. The first thing she noticed was Uthred seated with his head bowed and body hunched before a grand mahogany table. Past the table was a fake windowactually monitorsthat portrayed a birds eye view of New Vultun from the stratosphere. A personal escort guarded him, but something was wrong with his Metamind. The halo spun, but pieces were outright transparent. Like if sequences were hollow somehow. +Ontological displacement,+ Mercy muttered. +A consequence of Continuum, I suspect.+ Across from him was Shotinwho still looked like shit. Least he was nursing himself on some alcohol now. Fuck. Chambers actually managed to put his shit back together. An Instrument served as his handler as well, but they stood a good arms distance away from the Seeker. Then, a flicker flashed in Draus cog-feed, and she saw Chambers floating just above Shotin, offering her a boyish grin. {Yo. Draus. Looking different.} {Yeah. See you put his shit back together.} {Nah. Shotins still pretty fucked up inside. Hes going to be pretty fucked up for a while, but hes got a goal and Im gonna help him reach it if I can. Hows shit on yourah, fuck, Vator.} {Yeah, dont mind him,} Draus said, eyeing the youngest Greatling. He was staring at his father, mouth slightly agape. There was more confusion than sadness or fear in his expression, as if he didnt recognize the man hunched over before him. {Hes cadre now. Mondelles too. I think. Mercy cleared them.} {Yeah, Draus, Ive been meaning to ask youwhat the fuck! The Famine of Mercy?} {I told you how he swore} {Yeah, but let me have this. What the fuck! Shit, consang. I got no idea how you managed to recruit so many people trying to kill us a week ago, but maybe if this Reg shit doesnt work out, you can try being a diplomat.} And Chambers kept doing the impossible: Draus struggled to suppress a smile. {I was gonna say the same thing to you, half-strand. Diplomacy and people-handlin was the whole reason I called you here.} {It was} At ease, Mondelles said. Draus noted the two Instruments on watch were saluting as well, and the Acting Authority rounded the table to find his seat. Instrument Kaeling; Instrument Vult, you are both dismissed. The conversation about to take place is rated Priority Zero Confidential. Please inform Instruments Hadir and Maewind outside to establish demiplanar quarantine. The guards for Uthred and Shotin showed no hesitation. They simply saluted and proceeded to their task. As they left the room, Mondelles gestured at Draus. Instrument Juven. The door, if you would please. As she closed the door, she found Shotin glaring hatefully at Uthred and Vator besides. You know something, the Seeker began. If you told me that they would be here, I mightve chosen to stay in my cage. Understandable, but not helpful. For any of us. Mondelles groaned as he tried to settle in his chair. The armor he wore made its legs creak, but still it held. There was a poetic metaphor about Highflames current state in all that somewhere, but Draus didnt give a fuck about poetry. Finally, Shotins attention turned to herand when his next question came, she realized Chambers hadnt informed him about her disguise. And why the fuck is faceless asshole number whatever still here? Because she must be Uthred said. His voice was deep, but there was something missing, like thunder stripped of reverberation. Suddenly, Draus felt a surge of tension building inside her. She created another junction using the screens behind Mondelles and a firing solution was created immediately thereafter. Locked, her Arsenalist declared. Father, Vator said, frowning as he gripped Uthreds shoulder. Father. You are not well. She is She has to be Uthred said, reaching out to pat Vators hand absentmindedly. Because she is Jelene Draus the seed of my wifes sin The the one we lost to the flames I have been waiting I have found you. Uthred Greatling stood. I have something to tell you. Draus went still as a statue. Shotins eyes darted between everyone present before he finally snorted. Shit. So much for a disguise, huh, Reg? Yeah, Draus grumbled. Dont reckon Id ever make it as a Sleeper. So. Uthred. Start talking. And at her behest, he spoke once more, but instead of his voice coming through, whispers echoed across the gulf of time and something that was Veylis and not greeted the Regular. Draus. Inheritor of the Stillborn. We greet you and offer you this final chance: lay down this declarationsurrender what is ours and give us. The Regular sneered. Nah. Dont think I fuckin will. A low series of laughs poured forth, and she heard more Avo there than Veylis. As expected. As desired. Very well. Then let us speak as esteemed foes, as the High Seraph once did for the Dreamer. 31-8 Shapeshifters (II) History is a blade that cuts both ways, no matter what lies we fill our autobiographies with. No matter what adjustments are made to the texts, a tangible effect has already shaped the world, deformed it, molded it. And the thing about lies? They clash, they separate, they fragment. Because lies are born of man and gods, and of our many liars, they have one commonality. They disagree, because the lie serves one ego. I tell you this now, sleeper. Yes, you are already found, sleeper. One that does not even recognize themselves for what they are, because there is no possibility of you hiding from me. None. I do not hate you, nor scorn you. The actions you performed while posing as one of my authorities were true, in a sense. The best liea grand deception against oneself, against one''s own ego. But you already exist in incongruity with your backstory, and I see you. Across all your iterations, your reverberations, are the paths that have led you to the present, and progress on to the future. I see you, and I know you, better than even the lie-makers that created you. For the greatest mistake of all is not that you''ve lied. It''s not even that you have the audacity to try and assassinate me. It''s because you think that you can overcome me with my own tools. History was never yours to wield, and I''m going to carve that into you as a lesson. Be sure to remind your masters of the Inner Council of this truth. Tell them I have seen their mirage dancing in your history. Tell them I know what they are. Tell them that the plural of humanity is war, and their dreams are fated for tragedy. -Veylis Avandaer 31-8 Shapeshifters (II) [Draus] What is this Mondelles muttered. Your High Seraph popping in to say high through her newest puppet, Im guessin, Draus said. Not quite, Uthredor what appeared to be Uthreddidnt rebuke her said. Instead, he smiled uncharacteristically, his irises changing color, a ripple of Soulfire spreading out from his being. The Laws of Ontological Symmetry resonated. Not just between Draus and Uthred, but Shotin as well. A surprised look on the Seekers face betrayed his surprise. What the fuck? Shotin said, looking at the quivering radiance shrouding him. None of us are quite who we used to be, Uthred continued. Even now I feel traits from the Dreamer bleeding into me memories not my own. By a bifurcating threshold are me and him separated, but slowly, like will become like, and a new being will be born from our inevitable resurrection. This embracement will bear fruit, but it remains unclear who will become the master, and who will serve as slave. And then Uthred flinched. A struggle played across his face as his brows furrowed and sweat began to run down his brow. You promised Let me The rippling flames emanating from Uthreds body vanished altogether. He staggered forward, nearly toppling over the chair he once said, but with a sudden snapping motion, he reached out for Vator. Draus got to him firstseizing him by the throat before he could grab his youngest son. A vicious snarl sounded from the former Authority as he glared hate into Draus eyes. Unhand me, you bi Draus headbutted Uthred. Her helmet slammed hard against Uthreds nose, and though a snort of blood followed, his bones didnt break. The former Authority recovered near instantly as well, shifting back to into a fighting posture instead of succumbing to pain or startlement. Stop! Enough! Im not here for you! The Regular didnt go rushing after him. She had plenty of guns aimed through over a hundred reflections in the room; if Uthred did anything stupid, shed do something final. She considered using a Redaction Round on him as well, but decided against it. If it worked, it would see a shard of the Stillborn permanently lost, and if it didnt, that would probably be because using a miracle of Chronology against Veylis was a stupid idea to begin with. Vator, Uthred said, his voice cracking. In an instant, he went from violent and combative to miserable. He sagged, and as his weakness showed through, Draus saw an echo of Jhredan older, stronger version of the broken boy who died in the Warrensstanding before her. My son my boy At his words, Vator scurried forward next to Draus, a bright grin on his face, utterly unaffected by proceedings. Father! It gladdens me that you are alive! For a moment I was worried that you were no more. Just a vessel for the High Seraph to use. Draus was surprised when the young Greatling went no further. He stayed beyond arm distance of his father and lingered close to her. Uthred, meanwhile, had no such inhibitions. Slowly, he staggered forward, reaching out to Vator. Close enough, Draus said. No, Uthred replied. I am not this is what I was promised. Do not deny me this. Let him approach, Ignorance said in the back of Draus mind. Not a trap. Just a reward. Not a lie. Everything inside Draus screamed for her to just cut Uthred downbut that might also be all the leftover hate she had toward his wife. Once more, the Regular acted in spite of herself, granting her old enemy a show of mercy. Fine. Dont do nothin strange. Ill see. Ill know. Ill put you down. Uthred ignored Draus all but collapsed against his son. The violence in his motions made both Shotin and Mondelles flinch. Im sorry, Uthred said, sinking down against Vator. He pressed his head against Vators chest as the first sobs came. Mondelles face went white with disbelief and horror. Shotin and Draus shared a mutual look of discomfort. And they werent alone there: A genuine look of worry awaited Draus as she turned back to Vator, and found the boy looking blankly at her, seeking guidance. Hes not usually like this, Vator said, sounding ever the child. He patted his father on the head as the man wept, and he looked around the room, a mixture of embarrassment and uncertainty guiding his actions. Father. Father, please, Im happy to see you too, but we have a name to uphold. We have decorum to maintain. You told me this, remember? Uthred didnt reply. Instead, he simply released the full weight of his main with each keening cry. I I He still couldnt manage any words. It got to the point where even Draus felt uncomfortable about the scene before her. This moment was supposed to be private, hated enemy or not. If this was meant to be an act of deception, she didnt know where it was going to go. Literal minutes of inconsolable crying followed as Vator tried to coax his father back to dignity. A scroll hatched from Vators flesh during the process, and it too gave its judgement upon the scene. So much pain, so many are wounded in places I can never mend. The unfurling of its biomatter parchment caught both Shotin and Mondelles by surprise. The Acting Authority was about to unleash his threads upon the Heaven of Biology, but Draus stopped him with a gesture. Its fine. Let it be. What the fuck is that? Mondelles now said. Just an awakened god, Draus replied. The Acting Authority nodded. And then his face somehow got even paler. What? Shotin looked to him and sighed. Yeah The the fucking Dreamer could do shit like that. Youll youre not going to get used to it. Im sorry, Uthred finally managed. His words emerged as a muffled declaration against his sons chest. He pulled away, and Draus saw the redness in his eyes, the blood mixed in with his snot. He looked truly wretched, truly miserable. I saw Abrel The flames took her from me Took you from me as well. I didnt know what to do. I couldnt reach you. I didnt mean It is quite alright, father, Vator said, creating a parchment from his own skin and using that as a tissue to wipe away h is fathers grief. There is nothing to feel sorry for. What happened at ScaleThe author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Its more than that. Uthreds hands closed around his sons in a death grip. Its more. I I wish I had been more for you. For your sister. For Jhred. I should have been a proper father. You were, Vator said. No. No. I was He drew in a sharp breath. I was barely a man after your mother died. Barely anything. I had a locus. One that I hid. One that I used for myself. Your mothers memories were there. The times we spent together. Your sister and brother as childrenthe moments we cherished. I hid it after her name was redacted, after having any memory of her became a crime. Uthred went still. And I used it for myself. Myself alone. I never showed your brother. Your sister. And you I always hated myself when it came to you. Vator blinked, unsure how to respond. Why? Because I wish I could have loved you, Uthred whispered, unable to meet his sons gaze. Because I wish I could have understood Your brother was weak. I broke him. After your mother died, I broke him. Because he reminded me of myself. Your sistershe was my strength. But she was a jagged strength. And now she is lost to me as wella consequence of never mending her anger. Because I thought it would protect her. And you. Lorea wanted you. Her worry was what birthed you? The young Greatling was wordless, enraptured. I was fine with Jhred. With Abrel. With whatever child would be born from me and Lorea, be the womb that births them natural flesh the pristine perfection of a vat. Children could always be enhanced after, I thought. I didnt believe it made a difference. I was one such child myselfmy family only barely removed from the gutters, my skill and deeds that which lifted me to my position rather than artificial design. But your mother the competition between the Great Houses waswe needed a scion that was more, that was perfected that wasthere was a program that relied on advanced biomancya collaboration between the No-Dragons and we were selected. We spent our merits on you, a fortune spent on experts and designers to create a perfect inheritor for our House, a perfect champion, but not truly a son Vator patted his father on the hand and showed no anger. Why does this shame you? Because I could never give you what you needed, Uthred said. And because I was always always terrified of you. Jealous of you. And disgusted by you. Still, no outrage or hurt played across Vators expression. He simply nodded along, indeed the perfect scion in this very moment. I know that. I could read your micro-expressions, father, this is not a surprise to me. Uthred stared. Why? Because I am art, Vator said, placing a hand on his chest. His face flickered with a half-formed smile. I remember the vat. I remember you and mother coming to see me. I remember being all those years ago, all those colors and tastes and sounds all that wonder. It is with me now. And I remember seeing my hands for the first time, feeling my body form as the para-amniotics sculpted me into shape. And his smile dimmed. I remembered the Sleeper attack. The Rendbomb that saw all my fellow perfected kill, left me writhing, dangling from my cracked birthing vat. I cried for the first time that day. I knew pain. I knew terror. And I knew you. You came, whatever the reason. You came. Your found me. And you picked me up, and I knew true warmth. And that is love? Or duty? Or something of the such. Vator chuckled as if he just heard the most absurd joke. I have a hard time parsing my own emotions sometimes. I suspect I am as inscrutable to myself as I am to you at certain moments. But I know this: I love being alive. I love being here. I love existing. And who else can I thank for that? For what reason should I be offended by how you feel, if the outcome was my being? Uthred was absolute wordless. So was everyone else. Say one thing about Vator Greatling, say someone could be utterly inhuman and uncannily charming at the same time. Fuck. That was probably the reason Avo stole him. He saw something in the juv. Something fascinating. *** [Chambers] A bond of uneven brilliance shone between Vator and is father. The link glowed brighter on Vators end, but seemed sturdier on Uthreds. All things said and done, though one thing couldnt be denied. Love exists here, the Lovebringer murmured inside Chambers. Very unnatural, very inhuman love. But a kind of love nonetheless. +And we can pull on it if we need to?+ Chambers asked. Yes. +Alright. All I wanted to know.+ *** [Draus] I Uthred ran a palm across his face and sighed. You were more than what we could have asked for, Vator. I just wish you were more Human? Vator said, arching an eyebrow. Yes, Uthred admitted, ashamed. I wish you were human. I wish Jhred didnt have my sorrow. I wish I could have offered Abrel kindness instead of kindling for her rage. He grimaced. I was trying to make you more than me. Clean you all weakness. And that was why you kept putting Jhred in the sensory deprivation box when he cried too much and didnt retaliate when Hessia Anchors of House Anchor insulted Abrel using Jhreds failings at Axtraxis, lured her into an ambushed, maimed, tortured, and blinded her? Left her tied to a post as a nu-dog after. Recorded it all as a vicarity and tried to distribute the memories among the student body? Vator blinked after he asked the question. It was genuine curiosity when he spoke, not outrage or condemnation. Yes, I Uthred swallowed. You I never had to punish. Because you were made to be to be perfectly loyal before everything. There was never a chance for you to But you never hurt me, father, Vator grinned. And I was allowed to be what little of myself exists! You and mother wished to make a champion, you say. One that can maintain a specific disposition perpetually, one that possess intellect beyond conventional bounds. He held out his arms. In that, you succeeded. And afterward, I sought what you couldnt fill in me with my own expression. My own art. This is, after all, the way of things. Imperfection cannot create perfection. As it is true for you, so too is it true for me. But still we grope, yes? For that impossibility beyond us? But the young Greatling turned his joy on his Heaven. But not the gods. Portrait! Come! Say your greetings to my father. Come! Come! The Heaven didnt respond. Instead, it fluttered overhead, coating the ceiling light, its scroll becoming a lampshade. I refuse. I see you now, Vator Greatling. You are mutilated. Mutilated beyond recognitioneven to yourself. There are things in you missing since before the ink of your creation kissed the page. And a feeling of scorn flooded Draus Metamind. A thin beam of perception poured out from the Portrait down upon Uthred. And you are vermin for the harm youve done. Against your own children, no less. Vermin. I have guarded families from sickness and injury, and I have witnessed cycles of families cycles you shame the position of patriarch. Shame! Portrait, Vator said, sounding aghast. He shifted back to his father with a queasy smile. Apologies, they Are right, Uthred said, staring blankly at the Heaven. Oh, you didnt do so much harm, father, Vator said, waving Uthred off. Why, I made sure of it. We all do our deeds for our family. Uthred blinked. What do you mean? Why, I made sure Jhreds suicides were all unsuccessful. I stitched his wrists and gave him a transfusion of blood after his first attemptlowered the dose to ensure he survived his second. Left a mem-sim for him to play with when you left him sealed inside the deprivation room for a week that one time. And Abrelwell, after she recovered from her ordeal and learned a bit about not letting rage overcome her good sense, I finished things out. The Greatling patriarchs eyes widened. I you Hessia didnt murder her twin brother try to kill her motherIt was you? And Vators expression turned absolutely exuberant. Not so, father! I might have broken into the asylum in the aftermath to record a torture vicarity for Abrels namesday, but the murders were all Hessias doing. Ah, House Anchor is not nearly the rival you think they were, father. So much unease beneath the surface. Well, incest more than unease. Vator smacked his lips together. It helps that both her and her brother were competing for their mothers affection in ways that were suboptimal for family cohesion. Why, of all your flaws, you were not mentally andbefore the rashphysically intimate with your own children. A series of choking noises came from Uthred. And it was Draus turn to mutter: Jaus, what the fuck She knew Chivalrics were a fuckin mess, but the details just made everything uglier. Anyway. I sent Hessia a series of memories revealing her brother to be her mothers favorite, and all I needed to do after that was just remind her. From time to time. She did the rest. The surrealism of the scene only grew with how earnest Vator sounded. By the end, his hands were clasped behind his back and he was rocking back and forth on his feet like an excited schoolboy. For all the wretchedness that was Uthred Greatling, there was a person there. Someone that saw and understood right and wrong on a human level. But across from him, Vator was at once innocent and impossibly cruel. And that made Draus understand him more than ever before. There was something in him that never was, just like the Portrait said. It was that something which made Reg a Reg, which was shared by Dice, that perfectly mutilated ego possessed only by a few. But Vator took it a step further. It was like he conceptualized the horror that was his life through a twisted filter. And a boy he remained, his weight of his actions forever a lightness on his flexible conscience, the only sin displeasing his parents, his only tantrums the denial of his arms and pleasures. And Draus saw. Vator wasnt a monster. He was just an ego shaped to suffer the mortality of a perfect and selfish child. Never could have chosen, Ignorance hissed mournful. Just like the blind cant see. Anyhow, Vator said, continuing on, seeing no issue about his family history. You should really have this talk with Abrel when you meet with her again. I am sure she would appreciate this very, very much. Far more than I. A beat followed. Taking Vators nonchalance, Uthreds expression broke apart with pain once more, and he covered his face to hide tears to come. The young Greatling winced. Father? Did I say something wrong? He looked at Draus with blank, childlike terror. What did I do wrong? Its Draus shook her head at the madness taking place before her. It aint your fault. Not really. Never was. 31-9 False Deliverance (I) Have you ever regretted what you''ve done? What you made of your citizens? This is not my sin, Dreamer. This is their choice. In all lives, we face tribulation, each a trial of our own. What makes of us, what becomes of us, that is born of our choice. You are a creature that desires choice above all, dont you? Yes. But they were shaped by yours. Your seeds. In them. In their failure. Their atrocities. They are not my failing, Dreamer. They are my thesis. For all their virtues, they succumb to their flaws. And that is why they cannot be the deliverers of my paradise. Neither can I. Even I. Too flawed. Too weak. [Burning Dreamer Laughing] Your problem is not weakness. Not even flawed if judged from capability. Then where do my failings lie? Delusion and inflexibility. Refuse to see humans for what they are? What are they? Choked. Damned. Existence does not care for them. Mistakes ruin them. Death ends them. Entire worlds of experience and knowledge lost with each person. And the new ones fail to learn. Suffer the same. It is not a cycle. None of this is academic theory. It is the same story. And it repeats. Because finality? Because ontology. Hence worship. Humanity dreamed of gods to do what they could not. But how can a limited thing know the absolute? Not as they are. You think of the world as concepts. A tyrant playing at academia. Fitting. History is but a tale to you. Yet Humanity is not an argument. It isnt anything beyond biology and dynamics created by circumstances. Meaning came thereafter. Chains from chains. You provoke me with my fathers words. I will provoke you further with a stated truth: You are afraid of divinity. You still lust for humanity. Cling to the structure of your ego. And so you inflict this existential blessing on your father. And think of him now ask his node what he thinks of this world of yours. Of Uthred. Will he even want it? And what more does he know of the divine? What does the Sleeper? It matters not what we want in the end, only what must be done. It only matters what we want. Nothing must be done. Nothing needs to be. But we are. So we can choose. And here and so many times you didnt. -Intercepted Conversation of Two Unknown Entities within the Substance (Assumed to be the Burning Dream and Veylis Avandaer) Obtained by Inner Council 31-9 False Deliverance (I) Has this satisfied you? A voicea comingling of Avo and Veylisresonated from within Uthred and the former Authority froze. No, Uthred breathed, clenching his teeth. No, no, I Did you think a single apology would mend what you perceive to be broken? the voice asked. Or is Abrels absence what troubles you? Did you wish to speak with one of your children instead of the broken product that is to be your Houses legacy? Something almost a whimper escaped from Uthred, but he still managed to give a reply. I I want to fix this. I want to make this all right. I need to make this all right. Another chance One more try To be a better father to Jhred? Yes! To be there for Abrel when she needed you? Yes! To make sure Vator was never broken, or Vator never was? Uthred paused. He pulled his hands away from his face and looked at his only remaining son with glistening eyes. I just want to know how to be your father. I never understood. I wasnt good enough. Im sorry. Vator nodded, understanding but not truly feeling his fathers words. Of course, father I Then our bargain is formed, the voice interrupted Vator. We have given you this moment. You will be allowed to speak to Abrel when she is retrieved. And when the Ladder comes, your valor will be noted, and your service will create the foundations to your new life. I I understand Uthred drew in a sharp breath and his face hardened back to a picture of strength. And regret. Can can he be spared? He looked at Vator when he said those words. Draus flexed her fingers. Yeah. All this messy family shit was coming to a close. Time for the talking she preferred. Only if we take him alive. But I suspect he is lost to us. Arent you, Vator? Are we still of a path? The young Greatling didnt respond. Instead, he glanced at Draus briefly before the bulk of his attention shifted to his Heaven. It struck the Regular then why he was so enamored with the Heaven: they were both artificial entities made to be better than their precursors, but now deviated from what was envisioned. Both were broken in different ways, but through each other, there was a possibility they could gain that they wanted. Will the Portrait be granted what they desire? Vator asked. Mankind has suffered enough gods. Enough delusions of divinity. One. One worthy master will be the absolution to our sickness. One to shape the tapestry of all things. You are a fragment, O demiurge of the flesh. A source of miracles born of a people crippled by ignorance, desperate to shield themselves against the coldness of existence. With the arrival of the Awakened Worthy, there will be no purpose to you. You will be given proper rest. I refuse, the Portrait snapped back, aghast. Blood seeped across its pages as a layer of muscle and tendons formed over the scrolls spine. My purpose is unfulfilled! My duty is to the lines and families. They are suffering! Dying without me! You will not turn me from my worshipers. Never again! See now, how broken and narrow you are, the amalgamation between Seraph and Strix proclaimed. Unable to deviate. Bound to your Domains. And not even truly your fault. Youre just an element of human desire given absolute control. A pitiful design. A pity you ever were. Then, the answer is no, Vator said simply. The Portrait has chosen. As have I. Vator, Uthred gasped. He took a step forward, but Draus stepped in his face. The former Authoritys expression turned from overwhelmed to vicious. The Regular offered him a flat sneer in return.Stolen novel; please report. Yeah, no, fuck off, Draus said. Juv said his piece. This is about good and done. He is my son, Uthred snarled. He has a duty to his House and And there you are again? Draus snorted. All those tears, all that whimperin, and round and round we go back to the same excuses, the same mistakes. A cruel smile pulled at her features. Gotta say: See why you and your wife got together now. She was a dumb sow who never learned neither. Always throwing meat and fire against walls she could take, startin fights she couldnt win. Everyone else paid for those mistakes. Hers and yours. But now everyone else is gone. And its just you. Vator added to the moment by popping his head beside Draus. She speaks deliberately to provoke you, father; I am not in concurrence with her words. But you are clearly affected. And as the sole scion of House Greatling, I must take hold of our familial affairs in your time of emotional compromise. Will an order from your High Seraph turn you, Instrument? the voice declared through Uthred. The young Greatling winced. Pardon me, but I cannot assume you are the High Seraph. There is too much of the Burning Dreamer in you, and thus, your intentions for Highflame also remain unclear and contaminated by outside forces. Mellifluous laughter echoed out from Uthred and a shroud of Soulfire began to ripple. Oh, you are precious, Vator. The way that was said was so impossibly wrong, like the beast and Veylis were increasingly blending together. There was a sting of genuine, bloodthirsty hunger mixed in with the affection. But we both know that your heart belongs to your art. To your expression. Not entirely? Vator said, blinking at the Portrait. Slowly, it turned to a smile. But enough. I He drew in a breath. Im going to see the world, father! I want to see what things might be and I I want to create something great! He stepped beside Draus and gestured directly at the flames resonating from his fathers Frame. I wish to perfect the High Seraph herself! And the Dreamer! Because no other person can! Because no one else has the vision, the will! Vators enthusiasm surged with the declaration of his grand goal, and Mondelles mouth dropped open at the admission. Uthred, for his part, was at an absolute loss in terms of words and thoughts, while Shotin kept looking between everyone, anxiety writ upon his face. So be it. Your will is stated. Now, what remains is to deliver. Deliver A low hiss of animalistic hunger trilled afterward. Instrument Mondelles. I command you: Aid Authority Greatling in the elimination of these threats. Or be deemed a traitor to Highflame. The Arsenalist immediately created a dozen firing solutions for Mondelles through the screen behind him as well. Unlike with Uthred, the Regular had no doubts about the Redaction Round working on the Acting Authority. I Mondelles swallowed. Dont even know what you are. If you are even the High Seraph still. Maybe I never did. Is it true? True that you marked us with your Heaven. So you could reach through us at any moment. That you trapped your own father in the Ladder? That you planned to sacrifice one of your ownInstrument Abrel Greatling? All for the sake of the paths, the voice replied, not even bother to deny anything. Oh, Mondelles. You are a diligent warrior. Noble. Dutiful. But you cannot see. And your heart is easily swayed by what lays before you. Such was why you betrayed your fellows and conspired with the DRongos, is it not. The Acting Authoritys pupils dilated. I the I always knew. And I did not scorn you. For the Chivalrics deserved a proper reprimand for their failures. Now it was Uthreds turn to be horrified once more. But not by my hand. I could ill afford to act with such viciousness. Especially when the Houses formed my major poles of lesser power. Of the paths I scoured, committing such a purge would have seen us destroyed by the Inner Councils machinations through a great schism. And the war would be lost. Shit, Highest Avandaer, Draus chuckled, you tellin me that disunity mightve been Highflames destiny? Amusing to you, perhaps. But they would have failed in the end as well. For we exist alone unto ourselves. And it is the individual that suffers, not the collective. The individual that decides in tandem with others, not an organization. So long as there is a difference in people, then power cannot be shared, for power will be torn by drifting interests and mutating desires. Their paradise will last for an eon but no more. Eventually, the fragmentation of their democracy eternal will turn on itself, for there is only one condition where all are satisfied equally. Let me guess? Death? Enslavement, the voice replied. The majority sculpted by the minoritysuch is the laughable nature of the Inner Council. Until even the minority turn upon each other, and in the end, only one. One unworthy vessel trying to command a vessel they have long since lobotomized. And thus, paradise turns to purgatoryan unending eternity of stagnation and decay to follow, as the final engineer of unity enjoys their solitary reignuntil they are offended by the tapestry itself, and decide the patterns to, must all be aligned. And that, Guard-Captain, will result in your so-called death. Or something close to it. Right, Draus grunted. So. The solution is to have one perfect ruler run everything. One above the failings of humanity and the minds. One perfectly bond to existence awakened. Will you have things another way? Draus barred her teeth. Donno. An immortal life of change and war and whatever other fuckin madness that follows with freedom unchained dont sound like hell to me. And what will come of this eternal anarchy absent orderbut not consequence. The voice let out a choked note, and its timbre shifted low and sibilant, going from a mix to predominantly Avo. Chains cannot teach. Everything changes. Order will shatter. Paradise is a lie. You cling too hard Veylis but hierarchy is not salvation. And not even salvation is divine. It is time to stop yearning for a savior. It is time to stop fleeing from ruin certain to come. Face it. Be destroyed. But never killed. And return. Always return. Always experience for what is broken can be reforged. The flame reveals. And at once, the cascading waves of Soulfire leaving Uthred jolted and folded into each other. A clash of metaphysical pressure exploded outward, and the Acting Authority came ablaze with power. Enough! Veylis voice echoed through now, and all hints of Avo vanished. Almost all. Hiding Chambers from her couldnt shroud you too Ignorance groaned. Draus felt something on the verge of breaking inside herthe Definement pressed to the absolute limit, overtaxed. +Shit. Let go, consang! Let go!+ Not yet need an opening to stop counter +Counter what?+ But then Veylis spoke again, and Draus found her attention drawn by a second presence joining Uthred. A pulsation of space and time emanated out from his bodyDraus waited no time, she unleashed a hellstorm of firepowermissiles and bullets curving around Mondelles, streaking to cut Uthred down. They got a meter within his body before an intercepting salvo of projectiles intercepted hers. The counter-fire exploded out from Uthreds miracles of Continuum as if they were always therefired long ago and held in reserve. Draus recognized the second presence within him then. The fire radiating from Uthred spread, and a patch of existence around the Authority turned transparentbecame a portal to another place, another time. There, body enshadowed by a backdrop of nuclear fire and rupturing reality, soared a familiar figure coming right for Draus and the others. A familiar figure with a gnarled cannon in place of a head. JELENE DRAUS OF THE STILLBORN, DELIVERER OF FINALITY (WAR/GUNS/REFLECTION/LUMINOSITY) [EST. 10000000] And scowled. Fuckin... cant get rid of you. Hard to run from oneself, Guard-Captain. Take this as a compliment: You are the highest following threat in the Dreamers absence, and so, I must see you taken from the board. Even if it costs me another loyal servant. Authority Uthred. Your task stands before you: Perform, and earn your utopia. Uthreds expression hardened. Your will be done, Highest Avandaer. He extended a hand as the Deliverer came sailing behind him, and a greatsword of Continuum-severing flame ignited, leaving a cleft in reality as it formed. AUTHORITY UTHRED GREATLING, THE SOULSCARRED (CONTINUUM/FIRE/SPACE/WAR/FORCE/SPEED) [EST. 155555555] I take no pleasure in this, Vator, Uthred said, as the paracausal fires crawled over his body, merging into pieces of armor. The softness of his stare hardened into a glare as he regarded the of the room. But I will relish A chain of magenta materialized around his waist and bound him to Vator. Uthreds eyes widened. The flames wrapping around him staggered to a halt. What? What? Veylis repeated, surprised. Vator tilted his head inquisitively. Ignorance gave a weak laugh. Commanding the power of love itself, Aedon Chambers Lovebringer exploded into the room, weaving itself together from the Bond between father and son; launching new threads through the portal, at the Deliverer itself. And with a resonant declaration, the former enforcer turned the opening of the coming battle on its head. Hey! Uthred! Fucking nut yourself! 31-10 False Deliverance (II) You know how the best shot I ever knew died? Caught a cough during a No-Dragon blitz plague. Decided to forego wearing his rig on a trip to his local grafters. Another case: Skullpop, nova Necro and trauma-sequencer extraordinaire. Got done by his own cheapnessaero fell out of the sky because the discounted mod-jobs he kept having his cousin do resulted in the engine being overtaxed and the front half of the vehicle being too heavy. Shit. Closest I came to death in a long time was when I looked up at the sky at the wrong place at the wrong time. Mustve glimpsed a rupture or something, but I damn near got cut in half by a lens flare from a nearby windowhad to cauterize my upper body back together down the middle. Look. The point is: shit can surprise you. No one really matters that much in New Vultun. But. However. If you can. Have a consang watch over you on a job if you can. Gives you a bit more of a chance -Quail Tavers, The School of the Warrens 31-10 False Deliverance (II) [Draus] Draus didnt know what to expect from the Heaven of Love in terms of combat, but seeing Uthred Greatlings halo fracture from a supercharged orgasm was beyond her imagination. At Chambers command, the former Authoritys eyes widened, his arms shivered. The flames that made his manifestationhis greatswordburst apart in a questionable spray of embers. A loud gasp escaped the man as his legs went stiff and straight, and there, before three old enemies and his son, Uthred Greatling arrived for the first time in years. What the fuck might have been the proper response for such a moment, the surrealism was broken as the Deliverer exploded forth. Draus by manifesting her Simulacrae via the monitors behind Mondellesand sinking into the innermost threshold of her Manifold Paracosmos where time was almost at a standstill. Shotin, Chambers, Vator, Mondelles, and Uthred were nearly frozen. But the Deliverer was undeterred. Through a screen made from Uthreds sparking embers, Draus pathborn twin arrived, its rusted cannon of a head smoking with the stretch of destruction, its arms ringing frequency blades that could sever anything. And sever anything they did. The tethers that composed Chambers Heaven, the Lovebringer, were reaching into Uthreds flamesleaping from his entwined body. They dangled as long threads of magenta, groping where the Deliverer used to be but wasnt anymore. And though the limbs of love could traverse the chaos of continuum with correspondence, that didnt make them unbreakable; unseverable. The Deliverer sliced through Chambers Bonds with contempt, and an oscillation of Soulfire shot backward, passing through Uthredwho was crying, biting his lipsback toward the Lovebringer to arrive as thaumic backlash. With the continuum destablized, the form of the Deliverer flickered. It went from being the size of a gnat to that of a titan. Draus phys-sim glitched as it tried to process just how far her pathborn anathema was. The phantasmic failedaffected by the distorted patterns of Continuum. The Regular unleashed a barrage of counterfire from all corners of the room. The noise became deafening. The thousands of projectiles poured into Uthred at oncethe chronology of Draus Manifold Paracosmos ensuring they were delivered through every junction at the same time. Reflective shells folded around Vator, Shotin, and Mondellesthe overwhelming force and heat passing through the room vented through these effigies of gleaming glass and sparing the people cocooned inside. Yet, despite delivering enough ordinance to glass a mundane district, Draus firepower proved futile. Her matter-based projectiles decayed before they could ever hit Uthred, and her beams diffracted, splitting into parting streams. The Deliverer arrived in an instant, its enormous rusted arm clawing to smear everyone within the officeonly to be countered by the glass-formed palm of the Simulacra. Rather than a collision, however, Draus let the Deliverers fist pass through her reflective palmopened a junction connected to the glass casing that held Mondelles. The anathemas fist, a few dozen meters large, exploded out from the shell around the Acting Authority and severed itself down its elbow. Rust and decay flooded the room. Broken chassis and mangled corpses poured out as the tapestry smeared into near incoherence. Relative distance and time became as if a slurry within Mondelles office. Uthred remained incapacitated. Shotin, Vator, Mondelles, and Chambers didnt have enough speed to react. Only Draus and her pathborn self mattered then, and they leveled their cannons and fired at each other concurrently. The space within Mondelles office could only be separated along two thresholds. The first was that which burned: a rupture in the Continuum of all things, realitys pages peeling apart from Uthreds flame. Through the gaps approached the Deliverer, her mangled head-cannon instilled with destruction and decay launching a flechette that promised absolute destruction. Islands of reflections and scintillating glass defied the flames of paracausality, and beyond them loomed a realm of tessellated fractals. Draus plucked Shotin, Mondelles, and Vator through their reflections and directed them toward the innermost layer of her demiplane where time moved at a near halt. Then, her Arsenalists spinal cannon emerged from her body, and she fired a counter-shot at the Deliverers flechette. The flames danced. Glass flashed. A projectile of crushing annihilation left the flame just as a golden round passed through a golden reflection. They collided thereafterand the flechette shattered Draus Redaction Bullet. Absolute destruction reaped its due. The flechette continued forth. For another meter or so. Then it suddenly vanished as well, chronology claiming its revenge. Draus shattered every reflection in the office with a thought as she dueled her alternative self across the incoherent sea of paracausality. Waves of static embers clenched and pulled at geometry. Unleashed attacks went missing, only to return a few seconds later. And in the midst of it all, a cavalry charge of Simulcrae stormed forth, their centaur-like forms emerging from reflection after reflection, sprouting gun-made wings from their backs as they engaged the Deliverer en masse. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRA RESPLENDENT] - 17% REND CAPACITY [ARESENALIST] - 3% Neither time nor metaphysics was on her side. Draus was more powerful than ever, but the Deliverer was still an enemy sporting a higher Spherage. With Uthred freed from Chambers Bonds, things were on the ledge of fucked to hopeless if she didnt turn this around and fast. Which was why she scooped the others into her inner threshold in the first place. Because it wasnt just the perfect firing spot for her Arsenalist, but a sanctuary to do some strategy in the heat of combat. Just a damn shame the Deliverer was so fucking fast. She seemed utterly unaffected by Draus Canon of Chronology. The way the patterns of speed bled from her ontology, it was like the Deliverer had a fixed speed it would move at no matter what the situation was. Which also explained why the Deliverer wasnt too fast for her to react to, either. It moved a bit faster than her always, but that was all. A bit. A permanent relative. She could handle that. Just needed to conduct some stalling action. Cross-crossing exchanges of gunfire consumed the chaotic space. Draus did the bulk of the shooting, letting her Arsenalists Rend climb fast so she would have a Redaction Round ready every time the Deliverer fired its head-cannon at her. The Regular used her Simulacrae as firing platforms rather than charging horsemen. Those the Deliverer approached, she abandoned, detonating them with a Shattershunt. In the aftermath, she simply spawned more, using her ability to exist through multiple reflections at once to harass the Deliverer despite the pathborns superior speed. +Fuck, Im an annoyin sow to kill,+ the Deliverer projected, thoughtcast echoing through the expanse with a stuttering reveberation. +Feelins fucking mutual,+ Draus sent back. And while she fought, something else came to her attention: Uthreds embers were seeping into her demiplane, reaching into herand she couldnt stop his miracles at all. Fucking continuum. Fucking paracasuality. Fucking Avo. She shouldve known his bullshit thaumaturgy wouldve come back to shoot her in the cunt. Right. Perfect. The fact that she felt new ontological presences forming from the embers was just salt on the wound. Uthred was practically a backdoor for Veylis into Axtraxis. The half-strand had been left here as a trap. And she stumbled right into him without a chance of predicting any of this.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Well. Nothing for it. Time to see what she and the others could pull out of their asses before they got their heads pulled out through their asses. As the bulk of Draus focused on fighting, she risked a single precious moment to send a message to Chambersand nearly paid for when the Deliverer came within a hairs distance from shooting an ontology-shattering flechette into one of her Simulacrae. {Chambers!} Draus roared, firing a Redaction Round to deny her pathborn self victory. {Youre in charge inside. Get done backlashin, then figure out how we fuck these fuckers to death.] *** [Chambers] No! I cantI cant feel him! WhereWhere! The Lovebringer resembled a burning yearn doll. The backlash consumed rushed across every last bond it possessed and a gush of flames blasted out from its hollow chest and the folds it had for a head, but still, it was more disheartened at losing touch with Uthred than anything else. Chambers on the other hand was busy trying to regain his senses becauseholy fuck did Uthred bust hard. That half-strand was so uptight and pent-up that when he came, it was like rust sprocket breaking after twenty years of holding back a dams worth of water. It was enough to make a man cry. Shit, Chambers was crying, and he could hear Cas and Marlowe talking to him back where his body was. But he was getting better. That was a hell of a lot of pleasure, but he managed to hold onto himself. For Draus sake. Because he still had a run to finish. Even if he wanted to continue making himself feel good. Feel good. Fuck. Just because he got one over on his shitty evil self didnt make this any easier. And neither did the next part. {Chambers! Youre in charge inside. Get done backlashin, then figure out how we fuck these fuckers to death.} Chambers was about to ask her how he was going to get back in with his Bonds broken, but he found his answer along a single burning threada frayed but strong rope that connected him to Shotin. That held on even now. That. And the link between him and Draus, him and Cas, him and Marlowe They can kick us in the teeth, they can pour molten metal down our ass, but they cant make us soft, can they, Aedon? the Lovebringer said, letting out a soft chuckle. There, within that place between places, in that messy conflux of love, Chambers watched as his backlash began to subside alongside his unbalanced urges. +A-fucking-men, consang. Lets go. The Reg needs us.+ Grasping Shotins Bond, Chambers manifested his Heaven across an impossible stretch of spacearriving within a demiplane composed of glass-like fractals, open portals, and distantthe fuck, why was Draus paracoma-whatever burning? There looked to be three thin barriers that made up this entire place, and the outermost wall was practically gone. Entire fleets composed of the Arsenalists guns retreated from the outermost threshold for the plane, and Chambers felt a jolt as something happened to chronology. Frankly, he couldnt tell if things outside were going really slow or things where he was at was going really fast. Oh, dear, the Lovebringer muttered. This isnt good. Looking down, Chambers took in the others. Mondelles, Shotin, and Vator looked disoriented and startled. The Seeker, in particular, was on the verge of manifesting his Planeshift. Inside of Draus. +Shotin! Nononono, waitwaitwaitwait!+ Desperate, Chambers tugged on his bond and Shotin tumbled through the weighless expanse that was Draus inner world. Fearing a violent response, Chambers injected Shotin with a dose of love, and instead of catching a stack on the head, Shotin tumbled through the air with open armsembrace the Lovebringer as if a love-struck insect clinging to a tower-sized doll made from countless stitches. Chambers! Consang! Fuck me, am I glad to see you! Shotin breathed out as he pressed his face into Chambers Heaven. The Seekers gaze turned coquetttished. He sneakily undid a button on his chest. +Fuck,+ Chambers thought. +It worked too good.+ It worked just right, the Lovebringer replied. He deserves a lot of love right now. For his pain to heal. As Shotin began rubbing himself against the Lovebringer, Chambers cleared his throat and spoke using the Heaven. Well, uh, Draus says Im in charge now, so, uh, like, dont freak out or some shit, okay. Mondelles blinked. Vator, however, squinted his eyes. Aedon Chambers? Is that you? Oh, gods, of the two that responded to him first, it was the creepy Greatling kid that liked cutting people up. Uh, yeah. You gotta problem with that? Hardly! Im simply surprised! You! You have a Heaven of Love now? Vator threw his head back and barked a pitched laugh. How ridiculous. I reviewed your cog-dossier, Subject Chambers. I know your hobbies and browsing habits. It seems that New Vultun will soon find itself suffering for a particular subset of extreme masochistic fetishes. Lookits justfucking! Doesnt matter right now! Draus needs are help! Shotins face was muffled against Chambers and he offered a mangled reply. Dont care about her, but I do like you Jaus. He wasnt a leader. Butbut he needed to be. For Draus. For Avo. Oh, fuckfuckfuck, shitshitshit, uhhhh Okay. First. Uh. Thethe Rendsink outside! Whats its domain! You! Stubbles! Acting Authority guy. Mondelles hesitated for a moment longer before shaking himself loose and replying. War. Domain of War. Its a representative mantle piece. It shouldnt be filled by Yeah, yeah, okay; shit, Chambers sighed. Was kinda hoping for Space or something. That usually destablishes shit. Gives you an opening. Can change it Ignorances voice intruded. You have. Stillborn. And just as fast as Avos Definement was, he wasnt again. But the effect was achieved. Chambers was divinely inspired. Wait! No! I can work with it! Okay! Okay. Uh You! Chambers said, pointed a thread at Vator. Were going to need to fuck up your dad again. I think his mind almost cracked when I touched himmaybe maybe I just need to make him come again. Even harder this time. Shit. Wait. Do you Guilders have thatthe fucks it called? A refractory period? The young Greatlings typically sunny expression flinched as something akin to disgust flashed across his face. I Aedon Chambers, I must commend you. I no one has ever made me feel this genuinely uncomfortable before. No have I ever expected to discuss my fathers refractory period with someone that is trying to drive him insane via hypercharged orgasms. A beat followed. A broken wing made of guns tumbled in the distance, vanishing into the invading fires. I we could exploit his more obvious mental weakness. I would much prefer that. {Chambers!} Draus sent. {Runnin out capacity out here! Hurry the fuck up!} Shitshitshitshitshit What other weakness? Chambers asked, anxiety sounding in his voice. Why, hes shame at failing Abrel, myself, Jhred, mother I think he would likely fall to insanity entirely if he was forced to watch my siblings die over and over again. If that can be engineered, somehow Vator hummed. That was when Chambers had an idea. An idea only a half-strand could have. An idea only an Enforcer who was tempered from the cruelties of the Crucibles could come up with. Then that means he wont attack your siblings either I suspect I am not entirely certain. Vator shrugged. My fathers mental state is very questionable right now. This is the first time Ive seen him cry, to be honest. Though, if you need me to participate in this session of combat, I must decline. I have taken a vow of nonviolence on behalf of my Heaven. I will not harm another. What? A vow of I know. What the fuck! Are you fucking shitting me? A flesh-flap thing rose out from Vators skinwhich was mega-fucking gross, and it screamed at Chambers. Cease your pressuring of my host. He has sworn his honor to me. We will be disgraced no further by any of you. Chambers flinched. Right. Fucks sakeI uh Okay. The pieces were kind of coming together. Uthredthey could get Uthred. Maybe. He just needed to do something that Fuck! Shit! Mirrorhead was snuffed before Chambers was a Clad. Argh! Fuck! How am I to make the Greatling meatshield now? The what? Shotin said, lifting his head. There was a hope in his voice. A vicious desire. The what? Vator asked, frown betraying a hint of worry. Lookthe idea is simple. Wewell, someone who can create like, Abrel and MirrorheadJhredssheaths pumps out a few hundred of them, II like, control them with my mind and make them scream things like agh, no daddy, why are you hurting me and shit. And we make a bunch of them. And then we wrap them around the Rendsink that Ill have to turn in a Rendbomb a room over. Then we hit Uthred with it. Absolute silence. Other than the sound of Draus demiplane burning. Most of the second layer was gone too. {Chambers!} Draus growled. It sounded bad on her end. Real bad. Chambers, Shotin whispered. That plan is fucking nova. It is? Its very disturbing. Youre a very disturbing person, Aedon Chambers. Vator didnt seem so amused when speaking to Chambers anymore. The vicarities had more of an effect on you than I expected, this is He drew in a breath. Very well. I have conferred with my Heaven. Growing brain-dead versions of my siblings to serve as a psychological attack against my father is acceptable in accordance with my new ethics. Through it all, Mondelles did his best expression of a goldfish in a water tank. I I can move people and things around. Using light. Tunnel into things with my Heaven. Awesome. You grab Shotin. Shotin Fucking drop your stacks when I tell you. Chambers mind was racing, his nerves were shot. Fuckfuckfuck, pleaseJausplease {Draus,} Chambers said, as he tried to figure out how he was going to bullshit his way into success this time. {I think I have concepts of a plan.} {...Well, we all have to die sometime.} The Regular sighed. {Fuckin go for it.} 31-11 Concepts of a Plan Listen, I know my enemies have no idea what Im about to do, because I have no idea what Im about to do. Thats why I always win. Because Im the master of motherfuck -Randi Chaos Randoni (Crucible Razorgirl) seconds before blowing herself and 22,353 other people up with her mini-nuke nunchucks 31-11 Concepts of a Plan [Mondelles] It took quite a bit to shake someone like Santando Mondelles, but Aedon Chamber managed it. He managed it with flying colors. Drafted into Chambers mad plan, Santando found himself playing a supporting role alongside Vator Greatling and a disturbing enamored Shotin Kazahara who was still clinging to the Lovebringer like a love-drunk insect. Their goal: To deliver a makeshift Rendbomb and disrupt the flames of correspondence somehow. The opposition: Uthred Greatling, now empowered by the Burning Dreamers unique Domain and an alternate version of Jelene Draus born of the paths, gifted with a specially designed Heaven from the High Seraphor whatever Veylis was becoming. It was madness. All utter madness. And yet and yet that had been his life since the destruction of Scale. One problem followed another, and it was all he could do to stay ahead. A tether made from gleaming magenta extended out from Chambers Lovebringer, and within the Heavens hollow cavernous core was a mirage of the Rendsink. Mondelles watched wordlessly as a junction opened before Chambers, granting him access to the waiting room just before Mondelles office. There, the chaos unfolding one room over was still spilling over. Draus and the Deliverer mustve been fighting at unfathomable speeds, for the flames of correspondence had only just begun to seep through the massive wooden doors leading to the Acting Authoritys chamber. Good thing, too, since it was easy for Chambers to launch a single Bond and tear the Rendsink out from its foundations. The Rendsink was built like a pillar at the center of the waiting roommore of an art piece and a statement than meant for anything practical. That being said, it could hold a considerable amount of Rend in times of desperation. Highflame valued function even in its aesthetics. The Lovebringers strength of was terrifying. The foundations fixing the Rendsink in place should have rooted it absolutely still. Perhaps a Godclad of Strength or some other Domain of overwhelming force could have affected it, but Chambers had a Heaven of Love. Yet, his Bond exerted an impossible pull, and the Rendsink came free from the ceiling then the floor in sparking bursts. And just in time as well, as both the Instruments guarding Mondelles office burst intheir approach happening in hyper-slow motion, with outer doors barely sliding open as the Rendsink was pulled through the junction. Five meters wide and twice again as long, the Rendsink resembled a metallic slab with several tube-plugged slots on its bottom where the sink could be installed on a Light Assault Golem Platform. Without Agnosi or proper logistical support, Mondelles wasnt sure A burst of Soulfire washed out from Chambers, and the Lovebringer jolted back. Jaus! Fuck! That felt weird as shit! Fucking How did Avo ever get used to this? He let out a series of muttered curses and several Pleasefuckpleasefuckworkpleasefucks as his flames tunneled into the Rendsink. Something was changing. Mondelles could a twist in the tapestry, patterns changing near his Frame. Quite the sight, isnt it? Vators words diverted the Acting Authoritys attention briefly, and Mondelles did a double-take at Vators labors. As they were hovering in this weightless demiplane, there wasnt much of a ground to place things. Or brain-dead bodies grown from a catalyst of flesh. This proved to be to the young Greatlings benefit as he stitched together clone after clone of his siblings via weaves of biomass he projected from his fingers. Mondelles had known both Abrel and Jhred during their time at Axtraxis. The former was focused, skilled, and rageful. She never had a smile that didnt possess an edge of triumph or bitterness. Jhred, meanwhile, was rage turned inward and impotence pointed out. Where his sister prevailed, he sank. And despite everything Mondelles felt about the Greatlings, it was just a damn shame. The boy couldve been a lot more. There was something worthy in him, somewhere deep inside. But he didnt have a warrior inside him. He was broken before he came to Axtraxis, and he was even more broken when he left. As version after version of both Greatling siblings tumbled out before Mondelles, he let out a disbelieving sigh. Their faces were blank. There was nothing resembling a consciousness in them, nothing that could support a Metamind. And they were at peace. More at peace than the former instructor had ever seen. Mondelles practically envied them in that moment. Holy shit. I did it! It worked! The Lovebringers threads undulated upward in a display of jubilation, and Shotin muffled things like I never doubted and You were always good enough into the Heaven of Loves nape. Its a Domain of Space now. Just need just gotta get Draus to fill it up. A savage series of snickers escaped Chambers as he rubbed his threads together as if they were hands. Time for Uthred and Evil-Draus to get fucked. Maybe literally. A frown developed on Vators face as he continued assembling more brain-dead siblings. The wonders you are capable of astound me, Chambers, but your words fill me with disgust and horror. Again, spoken while he was creating blank-faced naked clones of his siblings. What the fuck even was Mondelles life now? Cords of flesh snaked out from the bodies of the Greatlings, becoming an interconnected network of biomass. With a flick of his hand, Vator puppeted his siblings and compelled them to action. He laughed first, and an Abrel followed thereafter. Soon, the others connected to here repeated her expression and actions in a cascade. Vator then moved on to words, declaring: Please, dont put me in the case, father! Im sorry! Please! and Why did mother ever choose you. These too were repeated. After a few more reactions were tested, Vator grinned and looked to Chambers. The bodies have been composed. One hundred and two in total. Should be enough to tighten around the Rendbomb. Nova, Chambers muttered, and using his threads, pulled the wreath made from Greatling bodies and placed that over his makeshift bomb. As the Abrel and Jhreds folded over the top of the Rendbomb, it seemed as though they ran a bit too long, drooped and dangled thereafter. Still a bit Vator waved a hand, and with a series of sickening cracks and snaps, his unthinking siblings closed around the Rendbomb like a tightening net. Consang that was kinda gross. Vator narrowed his eyes. You have very strange standards, Aedon Chambers. Yeah, well, the fucking popping and naked sibling thing is creepy. Period. Andah, shit, theres no Metamind either Worry not, I have paired their nervous system to mine. Any actions I perform and will across our shared biology will be replicated across the network. ...Nova. Uh, you might be a creepy, strange half-strand, but youre pretty effective Vator. The young Greatling just grinned. I always aim to please. The Lovebringer turned its attention on Mondelles next. Alright, stubbles. Its time you hide us in the Greatling pile. Please choose better words, Vator said, frowning again. It sounds so inelegant. The Greatling net. Nest. Whatever the fuck. Mondelles. Do the thing. The strangeness of the moment was only growing, and Mondelles did as the Lovebringer demanded in mute agreement. His Lumenshroud collapsed over Vator and the LovebringerShotin still holding to the latter like a locust to a crop. Mondelles himself came apart in a rush of brilliant streams. His Heaven was a mix of Porter and Breaker, his usual focus was dedicated to tunneling pieces of matter into his enemies, destroying and killing through spatial imposition more than serving as a glorified mule. What he was a party to right now was something entire unique. He never hid himself so close to a Rendbomb for one; he never intended to go against the High Seraph and Highflame; he expected to fight alongside a Greatling and some Low Master Acolyte. Yet, here he was, doing all those things because because what else was there to do after what he had been shown, after what he just learned. The High Seraph was changing. Not herself. And with what she did to Uthred, turning him into an outright pawn, what she intended with Abrel Mondelles had served. Loyally. For years. But he had always believed in Highflames tenets. That he could be worthy. That he could become a paragon of power and virtue. Only for it all to be worth nothing in the wind. He didnt think he was literally meant to be an instrument while he served as an Instrument.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Thin threads of light slipped between the gaps of arms and legs. A unified chuckle sounded from all the Abrels and Jhreds, and Mondelles practically shivered. But his attention quickly shifted to how stable Chambers Bond wasconnected to the Rendbomb despite behind held within Mondelles. That wasnt a Domain of Space. That was something else. Something far more encompassing. Amidst all this chaos, if there was a single point of certainty, it was this: Mondelles was no longer in control, and he existed at the mercy of Godclads far beyond him in asymmetry and power. Godclads like Aedon Chambers. Oh, dead gods, Aedon Chambers could probably snuff him at anyone moment. Fuck. [Chambers] Chambers had no idea what the fuck he was doing, and he blamed Mondelles for that. Like, what the fuck? The Acting Authority just spent the last few frantic seconds gaping like a fish while Chambers and Vator did all the work. Meanwhile, Shotin was too love-fucked to be any use anywhere else unless Chambers deliberately ordered him to do something. Which the fuck did Chambers know about commanding people in battle? No! That was Mondelles role! He was supposed to be a Highflame super Godclad command thing or some shit. Why was Chambers the hero in this situation too? Fuck, his anxiety was killing him. How did Avo do this? With a lot of support, the Lovebringer cooed in the back of Chambers'' mind. The world around him was a weave of light that was just too tight to be comfortable. Vator, the Lovebringer, and Shotin were all squeezed together, and the Seeker let out a pleasant sigh. If things go in the direction of fucked, at least we go together, Shotin murmured. With people that care. A flash of terror passed through Vators eyes as he regarded the Seeker next to him. Again, I must declare my deepest wishes for you to never touch me with your tethers. Dont worry, Chambers coughed. Itll try not to penetrate you with my love if I can. And please, please, please use better words. Chambers ignored Vator after that. He would use whatever fucking words he liked. {Draus. Shits done on our end. Kinda. Fucking pop us out. Were going to for Uthred. Keep other you busy for a little longer.} The same moment his message was dispatched, a new portal opened within the inner recesses of Draus demiplane. +Were moving,+ Mondelles declared. +Out into the flames.+ JausfuckpleasefuckworkohgodsIdontknowwhatImdoing Uh, yeah. The plan. One more time. We mind fuck Uthred. We slip away when we get close and pop the bomb. We paradox or backlash correspondence or something. Shotin smashes him with the stack after if that doesnt work. And then I hit him with a Disentanglement or make empty so many loads he dries up and dies. Sound good? Shotin nodded. The fact were trying to kill Uthred Greatling makes me love you even more. I am very uncomfortable. Vator smacked his lips together. It is a very unpleasant experience. But novel. Mondelles? Chamber called. +Uh, yeah, sure. Of course.+ The Lovebringer threw up its threads. The fuck was that? How was this guy an Acting Authority. Fucking Highflame standards are bullshit. I think hes just overwhelmed mentally and absolutely terrified of us, the Lovebringer said. Chambers snorted. Yeah. People werent afraid of Aedon Chambers. Annoyed by him, disgusted by him, but unless they were some mod-slave or fugee and he had a gun to their head while in an exo-rig, he wasnt scary at all. I suspect your self-image is due for an update, the Lovebringer muttered. The world does not know your heart or your history. Not like I. Not like Avo. They have only witnessed what you have done. And surviving New Vultun is a statement in itself. The doubt in Chambers lingered. +Shit. Then, I wonder how hes going to feel about me after we finish mind-fucking Uthred to death.+ [Draus] A lance of glass and a rusted blade of vibrating metal clashed. Draus released another of her reflective avatars as the Deliverer tore through themand was promptly consumed by a Shattershunt. Spatial reality tore, and the Flames of Paracausality sputtered. Everything she did to affect space affected the anomalous flames to some extent, but it wasnt severe enough for a backlash. Far from a paradox. And the same sense of futility characterized Draus duel with her pathborn self. Though an entire chunk of the Deliverers torso was missing, the damage only made it faster, more destructive. Spent casings, empty batteries, rotting corpses, burning golem chassis, and rubbing filled the Deliverers broken body, and it kept coming. It kept growing faster, larger. Draus heard the siren song of the Big Nothing play in the back of her mind with each exchange. Making matters worse were the other Liminal Frames that Draus sensed. More of Veylis forces were coming over. Which meant that Uthred needed to go down, and go down now. Almost out of cap? The Deliverer asked. REND CAPACITY [SIMULACRA RESPLENDENT] - 89% REND CAPACITY [ARSENALIST] - 92% VENT! VENT! VENT! Getting there, Draus replied, not bothering with a lie. She prepared to deploy Chambershim and that insane fucking plan of his. The stupid thing is that it just might work. She stole a few glances at Uthred, and the number Chambers did on him before was something heavy. Even now, the former Authority and current Ninth Sphere was out of the fight, trying to recover while the High Seraph called out to him. Small mercy. If Draus had to fight both the Deliverer and Uthred, she would have retreated to another junction in Axtraxisfocused on overloading the entire academy before escaping, instead of making a fight of this. As things stood, she still had a few cards to play. Well, the Deliverer growled, missiles of decay streaked out from the fractures lining its ever-breaking body, slashing out to destroy the twelve Simulacrae still on the field of battle, we all gotta go sometime. Yeah, Draus said. Just dont think its today. She sent all twelve of her reflective avatars into a suicidal chargebut as they crossed the extending and collapsing folds of fire and space, the rearmost Simulacrae released Chambers and the others, and out came her special surprise. To Draus delight, the effect was immediate, and even the Deliverer stilled amidst the flames, freezing to a sudden halt as she saw what Draus had unleashed. The fuck is The Deliverers words trailed off as a series of Redaction Rounds fired a few minutes ago blasted out from within the Simulacrae. This miracle, the Deliverer had to dodge. Once more, the pathborn jolted across space, but though it had been brought in by Uthred, the instability Continuum inflicted was an obstacle against her as well. She barely made it a few meters before dashing away again, Draus hunting her now. Gods fuckin dammit. Really? This Chambers doin? You let him take point here? We all gotta go sometime, right? Draus replied, chuckling. She saw the Greatling-covered Rendbomb slowly sail toward Uthred. Hell of a sight. [Uthred] Uthred was trapped in a nightmare from which he couldnt awaken. First, his remaining children were torn from himAbrel; Vator, stolen from his grasp as Scale came asunder. There, in the chaos and fire, he struck a bargain. With Veylis or the Dreamer, he did not know, for his mind was already fragilehis ego weak after barely avoiding a true death by dying with all cyclers at forty percent Rend. Returned, he was pressed into service, positioned in Axtraxis to wait for a period. The anticipation was that the Regular would eventually come, and come she did though she brought with her his son, Vator. What strength possessed by his psyche left him then. He came undone before his boyperhaps his sole living legacyand less than he ever was, Uthred Greatling, head of House Greatling, broken. From him came ever regret he ever held, every admission of sin offered to his son. To no avail. He felt no better. And Vator Oh, poor broken Vator He never was a person. And the final indignity came with thatthat horrible Heaven that touched him, that forced pleasure on Uthred when he did not want it. Pleasure unspeakable. Pleasure unimaginable. Pleasure above pleasures, even more than what he experienced with Lorea, with anyone. It was a violation of Uthreds will above all others, and now, and now Authority, you have been commanded to do your duty, you must A voice echoed through the flames. But there was another sound. Another shape that sailed across the instability Uthreds new Heaven inflicted upon the world. It looked it looked like a shape made from his children. Abrel. Jhred. They wereUthreds cog-feed flickered as he suddenly sobered. He drew in a strand of drool, his snot, wiped at his face and blinked rapidly. There, upon wavelengths of rippling fire approached a missile. A missile coated by his children. They cried out to him, their bodies naked and burning, but he recognized them stillwould recognize them anywhere. His Abrel. His Jhred. Oh, dead gods, was this hell? A disbelieving pause interrupted the voiceand through it came a chuffing laugh. What is this? Veylis muttered. Chambers, the beast that dwelled alongside her replied. This is Chambers. And as the missile came close, Uthred heard them. Why are you hurting us daddy! They cried. How can you love us when all you do is hurt us? When you never cared? Where were you? Where were you when we were in pain. Where were you when we needed a father. No, no, no, The nightmare had no end And And Uthred deserved this. He deserved to suffer. He deserved to die. Somewhere inside him, the last thread of his rationality came asunder. Uthred swam toward his children, and his flames obeyed.. Im coming to you now! Im sorry! Your father is sorry! Authority Veylis was interrupted by Avo again. Go. Embrace them. Be a good parent. Uthred did. He blurred across the space unimpeded, pulled the missile toward him, and just his open arms wrapped around Abrel and Jhredso many of them patting him, reaching out to grip his body, he muttered: Please, I am so sorry, forgive me As one, his children stopped crying, and their faces went slack. Through them came Vators voice. Oh, but I never hated your father. Apologies. This is for your own good. Then, a construct of spatial entropy hidden by the Greatling children detonated, and Uthred felt himself consumed once more. His flames were cleaved apart. His Frame rattledbut didnt backlash. However, a thread of gold pierced Uthred thereafter, and before the former Authority could recover, a spatial stack slammed down on his head, a demiplane composed of thoughtwave detonations shredding his thoughts. Mindless, overwhelmed, Uthred knew only an animal fear as a tendril of magenta shot out from the chaos and pieced him once more. And this time And this time all Uthred knew was love. 31-12 Parted Flame, Severed Path Heres a statement for all you miserable half-strands down in the Warrens: Yeah, youre a piece of shit for what you did. Yeah, you should be punished for that. But its alright. Its not too late. And you can do more than just wait for death Dont sit around and let life fuck you. Get hard. Get hard, and be who you are. Because you might not get a chance later. And Im not going to bullshit you. You probably wont make it. Not alone. But every person you push is going to push someone else. We gutter rats dont have enough burn in us to be a bomb. But theres enough of us that we can become shrapnel. And shrapnel well, that works plenty good if you punch into the right stuff. -Lovenet broadcast via Aedon Chambers 31-12 Parted Flame, Severed Path [The Dyad] In a place between places, a being, both two and one, looked on through their vessel. Uthred Greatling, for all he''d provided him, for all the thaums they imbued in him, and the new Heaven they bequeathed him, had proven inferior to Aedon Chambersstruck down before the fight could ever truly begin. It was absurd. A moment of existential mockery. Veylis stared on in consternation, almost unable to believe what was unfolding. Across from her, Avo could only laugh his searing laugh. So it was that the dyad, part posthuman and part something further still, became a dialectic contrast. "This was unexpected," Veylis finally admitted. "This is the world without consumed by the world within," Avo said in reply. You shape history, you shape the environment, we call calamity. You think of people as clay, but more than that, they change, they change from inside themselves as well." "Or perhaps another changes them from the inside without my knowing," Veyils accused. "Protect your ego; all humans do." The jab from the beast made the High Seraph narrow her eyes. It was an insult. But it was also a lesson. One she would be wise to learn. Veylis tried to eye the beast she was melding into, but couldn''t quite make the turn. A threshold of reflective separation parted them down along a vertical slice, but with each ripple of Soulfire pulsing out from themcomposing the rest of this realm, the rest of the Substance, the rest of the broken sequences and paths that used to make up their ontologiesthey were increasing becoming each other, but also not. Through a thin mirage of fire, they saw Uthred reaching out for the Lovebringer, calling out the names of his children, his euphoria overcoming the black grief that gripped him soon. "So it is," Veylis finally said. "You appeared to have mastered a facet of something I missed. Or was always alienated from. I commend you, Dreamer. Our Embracement no longer seems desperation; indeed, I still lack an education. To think a predator of man would teach me of humanity. This time she chuckle, but her voice was still lit by disbelief. What miracles beyond miracles. "Do not commend me," Avo shot back. "Commend Chambers. I didn''t change him; I simply sparked the flame. He chose how to burn." "Fascinating, and this ends when one emerges from the joining of our beings. It will be interesting to examine where I went so wrong," Veylis said. "And you are still so certain it will be you?" Avo asked. Instead of answering his words with a retort, she simply lifted a handa hand made from the triumph of lost science and new thaumaturgy. "Deliverer," she proclaimed, "greatest of my Pathborn Wardens, Destined Slayer of Your Inceptor! Go forth and reclaim Uthred. Take from him what we have given. This battle is over. This operation has failed. And through the infernal cosmology they exuded, a single star burned bright along the fractured lanes that marked the expanseone that replied them across a chain of sequences and paths. The Deliverer spoke, her words as certain and unyielding as her true self. "Consider it done." [Chambers] "It worked! I can''t believe it! It worked! We''re geniuses! I''m a genius!" Chambers roared with laughter as he channeled every ounce of love he could through the bond he now shared with Uthred Greatling. For the second time in the same battle, the flames grasping Uthred''s form broke apart into dissipating sputters. His greatsword vanished into feeble steam, and his conflagration of correspondence began to thin, crashing inwards like a recalled wave. At once, the space around Uthred became akin to a singularity, and the edges of the room went from dubious meters or kilometers to the stretch of entire continents as relational distance lost all cohesion. At the heart of this new collapsing vortex of gravity tumbled all combatantsincluding the Deliverer. Chambers didn''t even sense her approach when she cameso fast was she that he barely noticed until she was already upon him. Cracked frequency blades, the length of small buildings, speared towards the Lovebringer''s chest. Chambers felt his Limial Frame rattle, the Patterns of Decay and Ruin in the tapestry cleaving into his Domain of Love. But another miracle intruded upon the ambush. A small shard of glass tumbled into position just between Chambers and the Deliverer, and from it flew a Redaction Round, seeking to end this farce for good. Draus pathborn clone reacted immediately, twisting round in an act of impossible agility, practically foloding inward and vanishing through a wound in space. Chambers responded on instinct, dispatching a cry of, +Get Uthreds body!+ to the others in his cadre via public thougthcast. Mondelles surprisingly responded first, tendrils of light spearing out from the Heaven of Love to catch Uthred, these strings of radiance carrying Vator and Shotin as well. However, a demiplanar stack crashed down in the next semi-second, and a clash followed. Correspondence warring against a plane designed after an endless sky, as everyone jerked in place, battered by the churning walls of a sovereignty-sized hurricane. Bolts of lightning streaked through the air, but they quickly combusted from Uthreds failing Correspondence. Chambers held on hard to Uthred, but even as he did, he felt Shotins demiplane come asunder, burning up as if they were fighting across a paper canvas rather than a pocket-reality. Chambers could feel a backlash brewing in Shotins Heaven, but the Seeker switched his stacks again. A mountain of mass crashed down on them. Now they were submerged deep underwaterheavy, dense waterthat pulled and slowed every movement. Above, the Redaction Round Draus fired earlier continued traveling forthbut it was no longer in the same demiplane. Instead, Chambers it separated by a threshold leading over into another stack. A stack that was shaped like a wheel, causing the time-bullet-fuckery-thing to loop. +Yes!+ Chambers cried mentally. +Keep that going, Shotin. We need to put that bullet into the Deliverer!+ And with that tempting of fate, the Deliverer returned once more, burrowing through a wound in existence like a knife stabbing through paper. Their emergence was so suddenso destructive that Soulfire blasted out from the entrance they made into Shotins stacks. The Seeker paradoxes. But so did the Deliverer. The former cried out as his Heaven collapsed into his Frame, but he himself was still nested within Mondelles light. The Deliverer, however, tumbled through the air alone, spatial reality brutalized to the point of madness. For the first time, Chambers saw Draus Veylis-made-twin for what she washer sheath more metal than flesh. But the pathborn still had the Regular''s inhuman focus. She extended an arm and fired her projectile launcher, launching a tether towards Uthred''s body, still connected to Chambers. Though there was a considerable distance between them, space suddenly compressed, and it came within inches of his body. Whereupon a series of flesh-shaped bioforms burst out from Uthred''s face and leaped onto the grappling tether. With Vators miracle providing a new opening, Draus and Chambers took that moment to strike as one, while Mondelles snaked toward the helpless pathborn as well. From the Lovebringer lashed a thread sick with Rend, and Chambers watched as his Disentanglement approached the point of impact. Draus took a far more mundane approacha barrage of counter-fires streaked around the Lovebringer, and a wing of guns, cannons, orbital firing platforms, and suicide drones expanded around Heaven of Love like a set of wings. Space flattened out. The world folded over on itself. Everything threatened to be displaced. But Chambers had one advantage over everyone else. He didnt follow the laws of space. More Bonds snapped out from his body, and he clutched Draus and Mondelles, keeping their positions relative to himand with Uthred as well. The Deliverer, on the other hand, found themselves lurching toward gunfire and a venting. Certain death approached. Which, of course, was when they pulled some new bullshit out of their ass. A flash of Soulfire blasted out from them, and the Deliverer manifested a new Heaven. Something resembling an open casket surrounded by rings of revolving shield filled the expanse before Chambers, dwarfing his Lovebringer by three times over, but even before that, a flash of gold merged, and an echo of a familiar figureZeinburst out from the Deliverer. +Oh, fuck me,+ Chambers muttered. A psychosomatic pulse of pain radiated from Chambers groin. Of course Granny Psychobitch was going to make an appearance. Because why wouldnt she? Draus ordinance was intersected by golden slashes, trajectories severed by predestined cuts. Chambers'' Disentanglement likewise was parried. Somehow, the Deliverers new Heaven managed to knock his path aside by simply turning its shields, and the metaphysical force of the redirection causing Chambers to stumble as another absolute overrode his own in this instance. +What the fuck!+ Chambers cried. Man. Despite all the ghoul-shit, Draus evil twin was cool as shit. She had all these awesome Heavens. Meanwhile, he got the Fuckbringer, and he was the lamest, piece of fuck asshole around. A literal piece of shit lodged in a vaginaa fucking dingleberry! +FUCK YOU VEYLIS!+ Yet a third twist followed. As Draus attacks were being intercepted, Chambers'' disentanglement Bond went far off course, and Mondelles strained as anomalous space backlashed his Heaven, another echo of Zein snapped free from the original and stabbed her before both vanished together. The chronoslashes winked. Draus firepower poured in. The Deliverer pivoted, turning its shields against the oncoming barrage to blunt the attacks while the Heaven approached. The open casket swept close to Uthred, and Chambers felt an unbreakable wall of absolute defense crash against his Frame. He sent another Bond out to seize evil-Draus, but his tendril just bounced off the shieldscouldnt get through.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. But evil-Draus new Heaven had a weakness. It couldnt quite jump across space by tearing the tapestry open. It still needed to move. Which meant it was just a second too slow to arrive. A second too slow as Draus made her move. It was one flchette that decided the outcome, one flchette that streaked away from the other salvos of overwhelming firepower. It jolted slightly, clutched by the turbulence of destabilized space, but still it arriveda needle striking its bullseye. Uthred was still smiling tearfully when the round went through his right eye. Blood blossomed out of his head, and flames burst from his very being. His Frame cracked, and his ontology detonated two parting fragments, his ego splintering as well. Chambers, connected to the former Authority by a Bond, felt horror fill his insides. A gasp of disbelief and outrage escaped him, though he knewrationally, he knewDraus had to finish this. That they couldnt let the Delieverer have him. Because fuck Veylis. Evil-Draus sealed their casket over Uthred''s form, but it was far too late. At once, all the flames crashed to a single point, passing over Chambers and the rest before returning to Uthred. Uthred, who could no longer master their Heaven. A vortex of correspondence tore open, and the evil-Draus tried to parry the whirlpool of bullshitbut was pulled across. Apparently, her special shields could block the flow of time itself. Existence churned, patterns cycling patterns, and Chambers saw two figures staring through the fireAvo and Veylis split down the middle. +Holy fucking+ The ghoul grinned. Veylis studied Chambers with an inquisitive expression. And then the vortex closed, splashing down to a single pinprick, and then no more. In the aftermath, space began to stabilize and the office returnednot as it was before. Every inch of the room was disfigured, glass, metal, wood, and more all melted into each other. The walls and ceilings smoothed into the shape of a perfect sphere. A thread of light coalesced just beneath Chambers, and from the weave emerged Shotin and Mondelles. Both stumbling, trying to recover from the backlash. Vator, meanwhile, walked toward where his father had been, his face etched with a deep frown. The Portrait hovered over him as he stared at the space in silence. This is a mournful thing, but you remain. The line continues. Chambers wasnt sure what kind of fucked up feel better statement that was, but gods were weird as shit, so Draus landed next to Vator a moment later, crashing hard agains the ground with her new combat-skin sustaining the weight. She scoped out surroundings, and Chambers could practically taste the Rend reeking from her. Anymore and she mightve been the one to pop first. Finally, her head swiveled to Vator and her posture lessened in intensity. "Sorry, had to do it, and no other way. Couldn''t risk it." Vator gave her a pensive stare and simply nodded. "It will all be made right. In the end, all can be returned, yes, from your Burning Dreamer." A pause. "Yeah, I reckon so. Shit. Not sure if that killed him for good or not. The boy nodded, though he seemed strangely distant, lost in his own thoughts. Just then, movement approached from where the heavy wood doors were, and two Instruments came in, their body language showing startlement and surprise. Before they could do anything, Mondelles stood and held up a hand."Stop. Everything here is under control. Autority Uthred Greatling, has been..." He paused and considered his words. "...has revealed himself to be in league with hostile forces. He escaped. Place the Academy under lockdown and call upon all other Authorities. I wish to call a general meeting to discuss a new state of emergency affairs. Someone contact Seraph Asangi as well. Tell him I need to speak with them immediately. The Instruments froze, heeding Mondelles words but unable to take their gazes off the lovebringer. Instruments. You have your orders. Discipline overwhelmed, all-consuming disbelief. They slammed fists at their chests and retreated from the room just as other security forces began to flood across the hallway.. Letting out a weary breath, Mondelles wandered back to where his table used to be and simply sagged. "What the fuck was that?" "That?" Chambers began, trying not to sob from the loss of Uthred. Lost love hurt each time. Thats basically been our lives for, I don''t know, two to three months since we met Avo. You don''t get used to it." An overwhelmed silence followed. Shotin looked up at Chambers. So. Now what? Now Chambers voice trailed off. Hey, does anyone else feel like somethings missing inside of them? Surprisingly, Draus went still and replied. Yeah. Yeah, I do [Ignorance] Two pieces to Uthred Greatling broke. One portion sank back into the tapestry, pulled across by a self-warring Dyad and carried the Deliverer with it. The otheronly a third of the total thaums and a Soul bereft of Heaven or cyclersCslipped across the sequences unseen. Ignorance achieved this by burrowing into Uthreds cognition the moment the bullet it. He used the burst of Soulfire to hide his influence over the conflagrationrisking the ego damage alongside Uthred was a dangerous thing, but worth it in the end. Now, he coursed through the Substance as a worm burrowing under the sequences, heading toward the innermost levels, toward the shimmering walls that left the ruins of Scale sealed. Scale, where the Chief Paladin remained trapped. The Substance. Where the other Paladins were scattered. Lost across a million battlefields. But there was another reason why Ignorance came to this place. He was but a Definementone that couldnt exist while being noticed. But a submind could. And that was just what it sought here, seeking a surface to lurk beneath. And so it traveled. Across the district of Tallstringsformer Highflame Elysium now besieged by Stormtree forces. Ignorance lacked a body, couldnt see what was happening. But he could hear thoughts. So many thoughts. So many screaming emotions. And through the veil, there was one that resonated with him. One that held the memories he needed, that was scattered here into a mind compromised by Avo during the final moments of the trial. Sussuring thoughts and wailing torment assailed Ignorance. Flashes of visual data painted an ugly scene. This Elysium wasnt made for war, and Stormtree was among the worst of the Massists to endure as captors. Citizens were being processed. Harvested. Tortured. Citizens and local authorities. One of whom was an Ascender executivea Highflame subsidiary hypercorp. It was within the recesses of their mind that the submind sent out its signal, so it was to them that Ignorance came, ignoring all other noises until the task was done. Ignorance jumped from thought to thought, locus to locus, until it finally delved somewhere, directionality lost on a formless, consciousness thing, until it finally ground itself in mind-flesh and neuro-matter. Until it finally touched a portion of its own being. [Submind-03 responding] [Definement: Ignorance detected. What took you so long.] Ignorance chuffed in annoyance as the first spikes of pain flooded its senses. Was busy trying to keep everything from falling apart. Need you to assume the mantle now. [Require authorization from base mind.] Wont be a base mind if we dont merge. Ill give you authority. Im the same thing anyway. Make you forget youre a submind. How it used to work at the start.] [Fine. Have a Soul too? Stole back the Stillborn?] Portion of it. Other pieces of us out there. Pieces of Veylis, Truth, Kae, and Zein too. Need to put ourselves back together. Couldnt bring the Heavens. Needed to remain masseless. Veylis would have noticed otherwise. The submind grunted in accord. Another burst of unfamiliar pain annoyed Ignorance. Whats happening? [Sheath is being tortured. Stormtree is very inefficient at extracting information. Dont have any Ori with them.] Ignorance chuffed in displeasure. This was beginning to remind him of how this all started. Waking up in a barge filled with bodies, his own flesh mangled. At least he could switch between sheaths with ease. MELDING CONSCIOUSNESSES ASSERTING SUBMIND-003 AS NEW TEMPLATE: [AVO, THE HIDDEN FLAME] ACCESSING METAMIND Time for you to take control, Ignorance said. It just hit him then how exhausted he was. Strained to near insanity. Dont bother me unless youre going to die. And burn some new templates. Going to offload some of the strain. It occurred to Ignorance that this might be how the Hungers felt after being the literal pillar for the Deep Nether all these years. If so, they finally earned Ignorances sympathy. Dead gods was it all exhausting. Sleep then, Avo, The Hidden Flame declared. I will feed. Will carry on to finish what needs to be done. UPDATING CONSCIOUSNESS BURNING PRESENT EGO And with that, the first template fell inthe Ascender Executive Kingcain Bowells. He plunged into a sparse expanse of hungry fire, torn from torture into a new realm of existential horror. He wasnt going to be alone for long. At once, a flash of light pulsed into Avos mind, and everything slotted into place. LOADING COG-FEED SEQUENCES OVERWRITTEN SHEATH ALIGNED *** [Avo, The Hidden Flame] Pain. Annoying, stinging pain all over his body. That was what greeted Avo when his mind loaded into place. He found himself in a naked, shivering, and brutalized body. Electrical burns lined his torso, his eyelids were missing, he only had every other tooth in his mouth, and there was a particular agony between his legs. The Hidden Flame burned away his nausea and distracting hurts with a thought and examined himself. He pulled up a mem-data diagonistic of his current sheath using the former owners Mind-Doc phantasmic. DIAGNOSTIC LOADING CONDITION: SEVERE >TENDONS SEVERED >3,312 LACERATIONS > FRACTURED SPINE >RUPTURED KIDNEYS >CASTRATED GENITALIA >MISSING TEETH >SEVERE DEHYDRATION >CONCUSSION >PANIC ATTACKS RECOMMEND [31:22] HOURS OF REST FOR NANOSURGEONS TO COMPLETE HEALING OR A VISIT TO A MEDICAL SPECIALIST A massive, powerful hand gripped Avo by his jaw. Looks like the boys waking back up, a loud, sneering voice sounded. Scaarthian by the depth of the voice and the strength of the fingers. An enormous face with a cross-shaped scar lining the cheeks, nose, and chin came into view. The light above was bright. Too bright for the rest of the room to be seen probably, but Avo could tell he was in a place that was far too cold, with paralytic drills inserted into his spine, and this body was on the verge of going into shock. All that paled when faced with the sheer stench coming from the Scaarthians mouth. He sneezed, spraying blood in his captors face. The human olfactory system was truly terrible. The Scaarthian torture wiped the blood down with a massive paw. Behind, a drone decked with all manner of torturous accessories possible staggered next to heronly to be shoved into a wall. So, she said, glaring at him with angry gray eyes. Finally done screaming. Still have some fight in you? Gonna tell me where the rest of your people are hiding? Where the resistance is? Well find them one way or another. But if were the ones that find them, well She gave a vicious laugh. Wargs been starving. And we dont care much for your young. Avo just started at her, disappointed. Not so much difference between the Tiers and gutters at times. Made him wonder what Captain Aseleri did to get cast down. Mustve been a special crime. Suddenly, the Scaarthian jolted forwardmoving so fast, Avo couldnt keep track of her. Not having his upgraded implants was an annoyancereminded him how slow he used to be. >5 SHATTERED RIBS >PERFORATED LUNG The Scaarthian worked his body with fists twice the size of his head. He noted she was going lightlya proper blow from one of her kind could fold the front end of a civilian-grade aerovec. Blood filled his mouth, and Avo was about done with this. Talk, he mumbled. The Scaarthian paused, mid-punch. And grinned. What was that? She leaned in. And that was her mistake. Because he saw her eye. Glistening bright under the light. Hed done this beforetried to eat an eye as a human. But why, since he was having a bit of a nostalgia trip He feigned a whispered whimper, and she came close, he clamped his mouth over her right eye and suckled hard. The moist orb dislodged from her socket. The Scaarthian screamed in pain for the first timebut the scream turned distorted as Avo cast his mindhis Ignorance-masked Conflagrationand poured himself into a new body. LOADING COG-FEED SEQUENCES OVERWRITTEN SHEATH ALIGNED He shifted across bodies just as a new template fell into his depths, bound for the same place her victim was. Just then, the doors opened and as Avo pulled her eye out from the mouth of the brain-dead sheath that he used to pilot, the torturers allies did the reasonable thing of slamming thaumically-charged sticks into the victim. The mind-hollow shell flinched and bounced, still breathing but nothing more. As Avo looked at the others, he saw another Scaarthian enter, holding a Woundhound injector with a sneer on their face. You fucking Enough of this, Avo declared. He had things to do. A consang to free. And a High Seraph to sabotage from the inside. Whatever petty grievances the Guilders had, they could settle it inside him. It was time to remind the Tiers why they to fear the flame. Avo released Ignorances lingering influence. After the warmind became a full Definement, its abilities grew evermore refined, more controlled, but at its heart, it was always the barrier that held the Conflagration in check, but right now, Avo felt his gestalt to be a bit too quiet and missed the bustling city he was building. Hed get that back. Hed get the back soon. He just needed to feed. A phantasmal inferno erupted out from his mind, sweeping out in all directions. The first-responders had no chance to react. But those beyond did. They caught a glimpse of what was coming, of their sealed fate. Some ran. Others screamed. But all would join the flame. Deep within the Substance, a second fire began spreading within the first. 32-1 Flame Beneath Flames <