《Re:Cursed》 Chapter 1: The Perfect Sacrifice The wide glass floor of the Grand Sacrificial Chamber granted a black hole view that was unbeatable, save a plunge. For all the cultists seated along the walls of the massive atrium, this was a spectacle. A once in a lifetime opportunity. For Nix, it meant her life was over. The heavy boots bolted around her feet made a horrible clatter in the silence of the atrium. When a hundred thousand came to witness your death, you would think there would be at least the hum of conversation. But no, the atrium was quiet. They must be enraptured, she thought. Would be a tragedy if they left me some privacy in my final moments. The weight of so many eyes bore down on Nix. From above, and below. They pierced her soul, and added to the strain. It had been years since she last walked this much, and her body had always been weak. Nix was hardly surprised when her legs collapsed beneath her. Her arms ¡ª bound by a grotesque mix of flesh and steel ¡ª could not protect her. Glass thudded against her face, and she groaned from the pulse of pain that ran through her head. Through bleary eyes, she saw a tentacle lash out from the darkness of the black hole. Incomprehensibly massive. But it was the eyes that had her gaze snap away. They watched. She settled her focus on her hair ¡ª what had become of it ¡ª where it stretched to the glass ground and stuck. The powdery, translucent white strands clung to the surface and spread outwards, like an accelerated spread of rot. Chains of steel twisted by corrupt flesh bit into her body, inflicting agony that wouldn¡¯t stop until she continued moving. She bit her lip. Blood flowed quickly and easily, but the wound didn¡¯t come close to diverting her mind from the unnatural pain. You guys couldn¡¯t have eased off just for today? I mean, it is my day, after all. The chains didn¡¯t respond. Nix raised her head, the white mould that had long since become her hair broke away with little resistance, leaving a small patch of fungi to grow along the glass. The crowd here to watch her death was huge, but somehow, her eyes still found the one man she hated most. K¡¯tan¡¯thar. Nix¡¯s eyes burned with the swirling depth of a dying galaxy. Her irises spun into a billion tiny dots surrounding a darkness as impenetrable as the hungry black hole below. Every ounce of her hatred flowed through her gaze. She liked to imagine that her betrayer truly flinched under her hateful glare, but that would have been too great an ask. He¡¯d been the one she trusted to reveal her changes. He was her overseer, and the person she trusted most. The only one she could rely on. Yet he had offered her up to The Fleshmiths as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Hadn¡¯t even hesitated. And now, he had the audacity to look upon her as if he held no responsibility. As if he didn¡¯t even know her. Fuck you. she wanted to say, but the words couldn¡¯t come; they¡¯d cut off her tongue when they¡¯d found a second mouth growing in it. She couldn¡¯t speak, but she could laugh, and so she did. It was so obviously forced to all who heard, but the eeriness of a dozen overlapping tones unsettled many. She was happy to achieve even that. ¡°Enough of this.¡± As soon as she heard that voice, the chains locked up tighter than ever and hoisted her off the ground. The chains wrapped around the six stubs of the limbs that had never been allowed to grow. A few feathers were plucked from her back as the steel links pinched her in just the wrong way. Now suspended, she was pulled towards the sacrificial altar. Nix snarled. The horrid warping of steel and flesh had always drained her energy, munched on her whenever an inkling of strength returned, yet still forced her to walk. And now she learns that they could carry her without all that pain? Around the slab of diamond were nine figures in identical black robes. The leaders of the largest cults. Despite her rapidly approaching death, Nix found herself getting excited. Her death was a certainty, but with these people here, she might get some retribution for all they¡¯d put her through. The acid of her saliva was the only change they hadn¡¯t cut off or locked away that might offer her some solace. It would, at most, be an inconvenience to these cultists, but that was all she could do to show her defiance. The chains lowered her on the diamond altar. Grooves lined the surface which were invisible from a distance, but were obvious to the touch of her knees and hands. They would flow with her blood. To Nix¡¯s surprise, the chains fell from her body. She was free for the first time in years. The fleshcraft slithered along the ground and coiled around a hooded woman¡¯s body like a serpent until it rested around her shoulders. S?lan-K¡¯Kant¡¯l-Ru¡¯an. Her body reacted before she could even register the hate. Filed-down chitinous claws snapped forward, ready to tear out the woman¡¯s throat. Nix¡¯s mind only caught up with her body when it slammed to a halt. Fully extended in a pouncing pose, her body had stilled like time itself came to a halt. Her muscles strained, but she couldn¡¯t loosen them. ¡°Know your place,¡± a voice chided from her side. ¡°P???h??o?s?p??h??o????r??t?a?n?i????????s-A??????l??????''o?r?, set her in place for the ritual. Z???????????o?????????a????????????u??????????????l????, we can begin.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. She¡¯d never heard the full inflections of their names spoken. The power within too great. It would be impossible for her to repeat without butchering their meaning. She couldn¡¯t replicate the unnatural thrum or alien complexity each syllable held, nor did she have the weight behind her own name to try. A hand from someone Nix couldn¡¯t see manually rearranged her body despite her continual inability to control it. She was turned towards the speaker, and she found herself staring into the eyeless sockets of Arasthis-Val¡¯boor, the leader of the Cult of the Everseeing Eye. It was him who held her in place. His sightless gaze kept her body from moving, kept her from swinging her arms or lathering these cultists with acid. He did that all without moving. Without even coming near her. The hands pushed her to her knees, and Nix felt the pressure release from her overextended muscles. As Nix¡¯s eyes still wouldn¡¯t move, she only saw her manipulator as she moved to her front while adjusting Nix¡¯s arms to lay calmly on her knees. Phosphertanis: the leader of The Bodytwisters. In her hand ¡ª held to the side with warped flesh so she could keep adjusting Nix ¡ª was a ritual blade adorned with diamond encrusted runes that shone with an eerie blackness. Behind Nix, another of those with an unbelievably powerful name began to speak. ¡°Welcome all, to this glorious beginning of a golden age. Today, all our great cults unite for the first time in history to achieve universal prosperity.¡± If Nix¡¯s chest could move, she would laugh. Universal prosperity? What about The Technocultists? What about me? Ah, right. Death is supposed to be the great equaliser in the end, so prosperity for all! ¡°Fate has looked kindly upon us, and has gifted us the perfect sacrifice. In the tens of thousands of years since Coral¡¯s origin, not once have we found a more qualified specimen. We shall sacrifice her to the Eidolon Gods, and reap the rewards for generations to come.¡± Perfect sacrifice. What a title. Nix wondered if it would be enough to earn a Feat to her name. Phosphertanis had finally finished setting Nix¡¯s body in the position she wanted, and looped her finger beneath the hem of her cloak. The intertwining threads unravelled like they had become a mass of worms. Each wriggled off the altar, falling through the massive hole in the glass. She couldn¡¯t watch them descend into the black hole ¡ª frozen as she was ¡ª but she could feel the gaze of the million eyes watching from below. Excited, but also patient. The cult leader did the same to her pants. Oh, yeah. Can¡¯t have those getting in the way. Might nick a knot in the fabric and scratch my spine while you pierce my heart. ¡°Behave yourself.¡± The words struck her, and Nix suddenly had control of her body back. She wanted to fight back ¡ª to strike out or resist ¡ª but as soon as her body was her own again, Nix broke out in shivers. Kneeling here, before thousands of people and far more monsters below, she¡¯d never felt greater shame. Being naked almost wasn¡¯t an issue next to her mutations. Her curses. They were the reason everything went wrong. Without them, her life would have been as normal as any other; she wouldn¡¯t have been betrayed. She wouldn¡¯t have been cast aside. She wouldn¡¯t have become a sacrifice. The woman broke the locks of Nix¡¯s boots, and revealed her sludgy, less-than-solid feet to the world. Just another cursed mutation she wished she could hide. She couldn¡¯t resist flinching at the touch of the cultist. This was not how she wanted to be. She¡¯d always imagined herself fighting tooth and nail until they tossed her over, but here Nix was, too terrified to resist. An inky black tear fell between her knees. Then a second. Another mutation? Now? When would her curses relent? It was nothing more than a miserable reminder. This outcome was inevitable. No! Nix snapped her head straight. I resolved myself. There¡¯s no fighting death, but I can at least burn one of my murderer¡¯s faces. The knife pierced her heart. Agony swept her body, and as blood pooled below her, the atrium filled with the synchronised hymn of a hundred thousand cultists. It was haunting. Nix slowly twisted her head to find the bulky leader of The Bodytwisters driving the ritual knife through her back. She was so close. With only moments before her death, Nix took the chance she was given. She spat. The liquid was visually unimpressive, but when it struck the woman¡¯s face, it exploded in a boiling mass that smoked as it ate through flesh. Nix¡¯s momentary triumph was cut short as the bubbling flesh simply slid off Phosphertanis¡¯s face. A mouth formed in the melting flesh, and with a bite, it ate itself out of existence. The cultist¡¯s face was untouched. No sign remained that she¡¯d even needed to knit her flesh back together. She wasn¡¯t even bothered by the perfect sacrifice¡¯s defiance, and gently nudged her over the ledge of the altar. Thousands of eyes stared down at Nix as she fell through the bottom of the sacrificial chamber. Coral¡¯s full beauty entered her sight. Nobody who lived on the static orbital platform would ever see their home from such a majestic angle. Only Nix. Beyond the large metal mass that had been her home, there were six smaller platforms sprouting from its sides that Nix hadn¡¯t known about. They were mostly hidden by the corruptive fog of the outer regions, but they were there. Flesh bridged the gap with some. Coral didn¡¯t look whole or smooth as the pictures showed. It was lumpy where corrupt flesh grew. Enlarged and spiky where only metal stood. Coral, Nix¡¯s home, fell away. She¡¯d succeeded in the one thing she¡¯d wanted to do before her death. She¡¯d succeeded, but¡­ it was so hollow. The target of her hate hadn¡¯t even flinched. Probably wouldn¡¯t remember it by tomorrow. It was supposed to give Nix at least some sense of satisfaction as she met her end, but she felt nothing but regret. They¡¯d tormented her for so many years, yet she failed to retaliate to the very end. The cultist leaders. Her former overseer. The thousands that watched on without calling for it to stop. Everyone who never reached an arm out to help her. They were all her murderers. They would all get to keep on living while only Nix had to die. She hated it. Nix never wanted to be cursed. She never wanted to have these mutations twisting her body until it wasn¡¯t even human. She never wanted to be their perfect sacrifice. As she tumbled continually faster towards the black hole, her body slowly twisted away from Coral and faced the gods waiting to consume her. The Darkness was too black to see any details, and yet she could see. Their writhing forms were everywhere. Masses of flesh. Tentacles, oozes, chitinous, insectoid limbs sprouting through countless mouths. But the worst were the eyes. So many eyes. They stared through her, cutting open her soul and inspecting every strand. There was an anticipation there that no human could understand. A million eyes stared at Nix, and never looked away. How was she not dead yet? Was the knife embedded in her heart not intended to kill, but to keep her alive? Hah, she laughed. Of course they would. They¡¯ve never been kind in the past; why would they change their tune now? The cultists wanted her to feel every excruciating moment as her body fell prey to the unfathomable torment of the Eidolon Gods. If there was one wish she could have in return for her death, it would be for the Eidolon Gods to punish those that tormented her. Nix missed out on so much of her life, so why should they get to continue theirs? As Nix fell beneath the event horizon, all sense of direction disappeared. The writhing bodies of gods were everywhere now. So many eyes. She couldn¡¯t see, but she could see. A jaw opened around her without beginning or end. Teeth as large as worlds expanded beyond comprehension. There were no eyes now. The horrific Eidolon Gods¡¯ maw welcomed Nix with veneration. Chapter 2: Back to the First Mutation Nix stared at the single budding feather sprouting from the side of her midriff. The inch long tube was like an oversized hair and hard to the touch. Splitting from the tip, small red tendrils already showed themselves, ready to blossom into the first of her plumage. It stood out on her sickly pale skin. It wasn¡¯t clear how long she¡¯d been staring. Her return could have been a minute ago; it could have been an hour. She didn¡¯t know if she was looking at the first feather, or the unblemished skin around it. She was supposed to be dead. Eaten by the Eidolon Gods that slept down in the Darkness beneath Coral. But she wasn¡¯t. Nix was back to staring at the very first mutation that grew from her body. Back to the time when her body was still normal¡­ mostly normal. Eyes widening, she jolted. In her hurry to dive out of bed and reach the mirror, she tripped and fell over the thin carpet. Nix had sprung forward with far more energy then she ever remembered having. After feeling so endlessly drained for such a long time, having a body that listened to her was wonderful. She shook off the dull throbbing in her head and scrambled to the mirror. Nix almost wept at her reflection. Her hair was back to that dull brown straw; not the glacial white mould it had become. No sign of spinning eyes, or extra limbs, or predatory teeth. Even her tongue was back. Her body ¡ª her face ¡ª was back to the way it looked before her life was ruined. Even the sight of her bloodshot orbs and unhealthily pale skin were a welcome change. She stuck out her tongue and tilted her head as her hands glided over her form, relishing in the tactile euphoria of skin not blemished with chitin, filthy feathers, and whatever that rubbery-like skin had been. Even beneath all the reversions of her changes, Nix was younger; fifteen, maybe sixteen. As her eyes finally fell away from obsessing over her own, now unmutilated, body, she found herself back in that two-bed dormitory room she¡¯d grown up alone. Considering she was here, and not in the hands of The Fleshsmiths, she had returned to the time she¡¯d been fifteen. Nix had fallen back in time. Unless this was an elaborate dream inflicted by a god in order to torture her ¡ª and she was doomed to repeat her horrid past ¡ª Nix had somehow returned to the day of her first mutation. The turning point of her life. How had this happened? How had time reversed? Nix didn¡¯t believe for a second it was all some nightmare; sure some trips into the dreamscape could become adjacent to reality when monsters and gods were involved, but that single feather sprouting from the side of her ribs was proof that her horrible future had already happened. Did it matter how she came back? She was here now. Whether it was some horrible nightmare to raise her hopes before crushing them, a hallucination in the face of death, or she had actually returned, this was an opportunity she had never even hoped for. The certainty of Nix¡¯s death had been drilled into her through every year of her captivity as the cultists prepared her for the Great Ritual. Now that she was back, there was so many regrets she could undo. Now, she actually had a life before her.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. If nobody ever found out about the mutations, then the past wouldn¡¯t repeat. Nix would make sure nobody could. K¡¯tan had already long proven that she couldn¡¯t trust anyone. If they never knew, she would not be discovered as the perfect sacrifice. Nix refused to question how this happened. She had her body back. She had her life back. Her body was already riddled with curses; she didn¡¯t want to see what kind of horrid retribution would find her if she tempted fate now that it had finally been kind to her. Freedom; Nix would enjoy it. A bang on the door to her room startled her. She spun and raised her hands in a gesture half to defend herself and strike at the noise. ¡°Nix. Don¡¯t forget the naming ceremony,¡± a voice yelled from outside her room. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want to miss your opportunity to free yourself a curse.¡± That voice. Nix felt her body stiffen in response. Of course, if she was back in the Rearing Ward, then K¡¯tan was her carer again. She suddenly felt sick. If he walked in and found her budding feather out in the open, then everything would occur as it had. No; it would happen sooner. Her shirt was across the room. She needed to dash for it. She needed to hide herself. It was a necessity, not an option, and yet her legs wouldn¡¯t move. Panic flooded her veins at the idea of reenacting everything that had happened, but it did nothing to push her to action. Thankfully, she heard the man¡¯s boots stomp down the hall, leaving her to slump beneath her mirror in relief. Of course, Nix had returned to the past, but those who had harmed her remained. She knew now not to trust them, but they were still far too powerful for her to even glance at the wrong way. She had been careless; even in the privacy of her own room, she was not safe. There were no locks, and she remembered times through her youth where other children had breached her space. It was not common, but it did happen. Nix picked herself up and trudged out of the small bathroom to her bed. There, lay the gown she must have set out for herself six or seven years ago. She remembered it only barely. A ritual gown with a stylistic twist on the cultist¡¯s classical robe. Back then, Nix had been so excited to wear it. It cost her three entire months of her allowance. And now, Nix felt nothing as she looked at it. She threw on a cami before curling the outfit around her shoulders. A dozen strings weaved themselves together, leaving the hooded cloak without a seam. It fit perfectly. Today was the day of her naming ceremony. An unveiling of one¡¯s true character, an opportunity to attract the attention of the greater cults, and most importantly, the day everyone could gain their first ability. Unlike every other teenager in the rearing wards, it wasn¡¯t some nebulous ability Nix had wanted ¡ª though receiving one certainly wouldn¡¯t have been unwelcome ¡ª it was the far more common curse relief she sorely needed. Back then ¡ª now ¡ª Nix had been given years of hope that her immense number of blood curses would be reduced when her full name was revealed. Nix had entered the ritual with so much riding on the outcome, so much hope and expectation that she¡¯d finally be lessened of the weights she carried, only for the Eidolon Gods to bestow her another curse. Nix-ine. That was her name. The onomastician overseeing the ritual had told her in no uncertain terms that it meant cursed. So, knowing that, along with the fact that K¡¯tan would be there with her, Nix was not exactly excited to repeat this day. Only¡­ she was. This day might have been the first of many horrible days that had led to her ultimate end, but she got to do it all over. She would do it all better. That alone had Nix thrilled to be back. With her single, not-fully-grown feather hidden beneath the soft cloth of her cloak, she strode out into the hallway with confidence and a smile she¡¯d been unable to raise upon her sickly features for as long as she could remember. First, Nix would prove to herself she was no longer the same timid girl she used to be. There would be no running away this time. She would be gifted a horrible name, but that didn¡¯t matter to Nix. She had so much more to look forward to than a stupid name. Chapter 3: Naming Ceremony The hallway was as clean as it was quiet. Nix¡¯s room was at the far end, separated from the other occupied rooms of her age-group. It wasn¡¯t unreasonable of the other kids; there had been plenty of tales with contagious curses. None of Nix¡¯s were, as far as she knew. They were blood-curses. The type that one inherited from their parents. Nix often wondered if her parents were criminals, exceedingly unlucky with rituals, or simply made themselves the enemy of the wrong cultist. She could only speculate. Nix, like every other child on Coral, was raised without any knowledge of who her parents were. Of course, whatever had inflicted the blood-curses upon her parents had been insistent. The whole point of separating a child from their life-giver was to weaken their inherited curses by removing familial connection ¡ª at least that¡¯s what she¡¯d been told ¡ª but that had never helped Nix. So, as hers were blood-curses, they shouldn¡¯t be contagious, but that didn¡¯t stop the isolation she¡¯d experienced. When Nix was younger ¡ª younger than her current body ¡ª there had been many more kids to share the dorms. They¡¯d all done whatever they could to keep an entire empty room between themselves and her, going so far as to share rooms between three. Over time ¡ª for better or worse ¡ª some of those kids had disappeared. It meant there was no fighting over who had to bunk on Nix¡¯s side of the hallway. She strode down the dorm, fingering that feather through her robe. Nix would need to plan ahead for some of her future changes. The thin cloth was decent enough for now, but what would she do once she started sprouting new limbs? What of her hair, hands, or any of the other mutations that would become impossible to hide. She had a long while before those began, but not forever. As much as she despised these mutations, she didn¡¯t want to mutilate herself to hide them. Her captors severed any unnatural limbs. She couldn¡¯t do the same, no matter if they¡¯d been the origin of her problems. But there was much she needed to accomplish if she wanted to avoid that. The most pressing of which; get through the ceremony. And get through it without breaking down. Only then can she prove that she¡¯s different from her past self. Prove that things can take a different direction. Only then can she do something for herself. Nix quickened her pace as she passed the empty ¡ª quiet ¡ª rooms and out of the dorms. The kitchen and living areas were equally empty. It was only as she passed through the metal subdivisions and arrived in the foyer did she find her seventy-odd neighbours chatting excitedly besides the thick shutters that led outside. A few of the other fifteen-year-olds cast wary glances her way, but ignored her for the most part. It was K¡¯tan¡¯s relieved sigh that surprised her the most. She¡¯d forgotten just how kind he once was. The man had been a source of comfort for the young Nix amongst the other kids that had always avoided her. She had always steered towards the adults back when she was a true teenager, as their pity was easier to deal with than the avoidance of those who were supposed to be her fellows. At least until K¡¯tan¡¯s fellow carers began avoiding her, too. I still don¡¯t know why, Nix thought. Surely I hadn¡¯t been that unlikable back then? One of the women was looking her way, but as soon as Nix turned to her, she pretended like she was looking at the ceiling. At this point in her life, K¡¯tan had been the only one she spoke to. But today, she wouldn¡¯t stick by his side as she had last time. She hadn¡¯t forgotten the declaration she¡¯d made to herself on the night of her death. It had been moments ago in her mind, after all. But for the fist time in so long, she was free of her chains and had the chance to step out under the Great Iris. It wasn¡¯t for the same reasons, but she was just as excited to leave the confines of Rearing Ward as any of the other teenagers.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. They looked forward to the ceremony. Nix looked forward to what was after. Leaving early, or skipping it entirely were temptations for her, but the naming ceremony was something everyone remembered. As overwhelmed by despair as she¡¯d been, it wasn¡¯t a surprise she¡¯d acted in such a way, but she still regret it. She didn¡¯t want anyone to remember her as the girl who broke down on her naming day. Nix only stood around for a moment before heavy screeching of thick metal sheets unlocked from each other and lifted over their heads. It was clearly in less than perfect condition. The entire Ward was pure tech and machine ¡ª no corruptive influence at all ¡ª so it was a shame the Technocult had been eradicated. At least they never forced you to worship the machine god when they offered repairs. Wait¡­ it is now seven years in the past. They will still be alive. Thoughts of the cult fated to die in the next few years fled Nix¡¯s mind as she followed the cheers and chatter of the dozen teenagers on their way to receive their names. K¡¯tan, along with his helpers, tried to keep them in check, and away from the dangerous, corrupted sections of Coral. Nix fell behind. The bright light raining down from above was glorious. She¡¯d spent the past few years of her confinement within the Under-Coral, so the intensity was almost too much, but she enjoyed the warmth as it burnt her skin. A wide ring of white hung above. It illuminated everything. Within that thick ring was the endless expanse of stars, and outside it, lay the impenetrable darkness of the black hole. Everyone knew the black hole was only beneath their platform, and yet the Darkness of its core spread through the sky. They lived within the Great Eye. The ring of illumination was the iris, while the pupil was entirely stars. Stars and distant galaxies. It remained impossible to tell if the Great Eye was constantly looking in on them where they nestled, unmoving on the black hole, or if it were gazing out into the depths of space and what lay beyond their world. Beneath the Great Iris, a half-shattered dome of glass rose from the edges of The Platform. Once in the long past ¡ª Nix had been told ¡ª the barrier had separated them from space. She didn¡¯t know why any ancestor would have wanted that; the true dangers of space could ignore glass entirely. Nix breathed deep of the pressure void, and ran after the others. She loved how her legs didn¡¯t waver beneath her. Like a cluster of ducklings, Nix and the other teens were led through the unmutilated alleys of the topside. Before she knew it, they had arrived at the ritual chamber. Well, this one wasn¡¯t so much a chamber as an open-aired courtyard with an alter in the centre. There were plenty just like it up here; the chambers cultists used when there was no need for subtlety. She tried her best not to stare at the alter. It wasn¡¯t the same. Not nearly as ornate, the stone block was covered with a crimson cloth to signify it had no use in our ritual. For that, she was thankful. As they were marched to the centre of the courtyard ¡ª where the dozen cult prospectors and the ritualist that would perform their naming watched from their front ¡ª Nix nestled herself at the back of the pack, behind a rather tall boy she had forgotten the name of. She wanted to remain unseen for this ceremony. Yet, as much as she wished for it, she still found K¡¯tan glancing her way with a sickening expression of concern. The first time she¡¯d experienced this day, she¡¯d stood right by his side. But now, she couldn¡¯t. Nix knew it would be best to act as if nothing had changed ¡ª to act how she once had so that K¡¯tan¡¯s suspicions wouldn¡¯t be raised ¡ª but she knew she wouldn¡¯t be able to hide her hatred. If she so much as looked at the overseer for too long, Nix feared she would be revealed. She had her whole life ahead of her; she wasn¡¯t about to let fate repeat. Thankfully, he had a job to do. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m sure you are all very excited to be here,¡± K¡¯tan said after the crowd grew quiet under the gazes of those they needed to impress. ¡°But please do not be disappointed if your name is not exactly what you wanted. The name unveiled to you reflects your soul. If you do not like who you are now, you have time to become more. With effort, you can extend your true name. Maybe some of you will even achieve a Feat if you work hard enough.¡± The overseer turned to address the man standing a step before the line of cultists. ¡°Onomastician A?l''Darvi-Thalnor, I shall leave them in your care.¡± ¡°Right,¡± the cultist droned. The voice of a man who¡¯d done this a thousand times and found the process entirely miserable. ¡°One by one you will approach. I will enact the ritual, and when you see your name, you will announce it for all to hear. With all inflections pronounced clearly. Do not try to mislead. It is obvious, and only makes you look the fool.¡± The specialist in name analysis cast his hand back over the dozen cultists behind him. ¡°Some of you may have already begun your journey with your cult of choice, but these men and women will observe the process of your naming. If your additive interests them, they may offer you a position in the higher divisions of their respective cult. Remember to be respectful.¡± Nix had heard it all once before, but she didn¡¯t remember the onomastician being this disinterested in the ritual. Maybe she had simply been too excited last time to notice. Finally, the ceremony began. She wasn¡¯t interested in hearing her name ¡ª she knew how horrible it would be ¡ª but she would make it through the naming to the end. Nix would prove that she was different from the pitiable girl she¡¯d been last time. Nix would make sure the timeline deviated. Chapter 4: Cursed The onomastician gestured for the first of the prospective cultists to approach. The hood stopped Nix from seeing who it was, but they were clearly one of the smaller kids of the group. Despite being the first, he let out a small cheer and jumped into the circle of black symbols etched into the waxed vinyl flooring. A?l''Darvi didn¡¯t even waste the time to acknowledge him. Instead, he immediately launched into a short hymn that had the runes glowing white. As the chant came to an abrupt end, the boy gasped; his true name likely appearing before his eyes. ¡°Dan-yae!¡± The name rang in Nix¡¯s mind, unfolding itself before a sense she had never understood. She could see the name reveal itself as more than just a bundle of letters. A name had meaning, and Nix could feel it. Dan ¡ª Base identity. Indecipherable. Yae ¡ª Stretch of the eye: one who sees far. Huh, that¡¯s odd. It was less convoluted of a riddle than it was the first time Nix heard it. Was it possible to develop one¡¯s interpretation without focusing on skills that do so for you, like the onomastician before them? With how much time she spent locked away, Nix wasn¡¯t surprised there was things she didn¡¯t know, but she was surprised something that must be common knowledge hadn¡¯t reached her ears before everything happened. Unless it was one of those secrets that every cultist knew, but weren¡¯t allowed to share. Nix was one of the very few that hadn¡¯t been able to join a cult, after all. ¡°Dan, a mostly indecipherable aspect. A gifted name which has grown to have meaning unique to you.¡± It was clear by his tone that A?l''Darvi had spoken those words countless times through his life. ¡°Now onto the important part. Yae. The additive describes the extension of sight. Double that of normal.¡± The boy visibly drooped with disappointment, but as he trudged his way out of the circle for another to take his place, one of the cultists strode up to him. Nix could make out the wide, unblinking eyes of a Cult of the Everseeing Eye member. It wasn¡¯t a surprise they of all groups would jump on those with enhanced sight. While Dan perked up at the attention of a high division cultist, the ritual began for another. ¡°Ari-ai.¡± Ari ¡ª Base identity. Indecipherable. Ai ¡ª Enticed by the craft, and never without the tools to create. The will of one¡¯s art demands they be ready. The girl ¡ª Ari ¡ª jumped in excitement. And Nix could understand why; the more convoluted or difficult to parse a name¡¯s meaning was, the higher classification. But that didn¡¯t always mean the name was good. The onomastician repeated his description of a gifted name almost word for word, before expanding on her additive. ¡°Ai. Create a brush, canvas or other such tool of your art with any material you hold in your hands.¡± Ari spun on the crowd of cultists, almost bubbling with excitement. It seemed she got exactly what she wanted. Her gaze snapped to a single cloaked figure to the side. By the sketchbook she held in her arms, it wasn¡¯t a leap to assume she was a part of the Omen Artisans. With palpable giddiness, Ari waited for the Omen Artisan to call on her. ¡°Move out of the ritual circle,¡± A?l''Darvi said. ¡°I still have dozens of you to get through.¡± Her head snapped to the onomastician, before doubling back to the cultists. Energy seemed to sap from her body. Where before, she¡¯d been barely able to stop from bouncing on her feet, they now stood flat. A dawning expression of dejection crawled its way up her face. ¡°No! My additive¡¯s grade is good. It¡¯s relevant, too.¡± Ari plead. ¡°Why don¡¯t you choose me!¡± Without moving, the Omen Artist responded. ¡°What use is an extra brush when our supply is infinite? We are only looking for talents.¡± Hah? Nix inclined an eye, catching sight of the two stripes on their hood. A second creed cultist speaking of talent? How ironic. Nix wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there was some amount of resentment shifting the artisan¡¯s opinion. It¡¯s not like they had a superior here to overlook things. Not that they would. There were more than a dozen naming ceremonies every week. Blatant bias like this was probably impossible to stamp out. How many of the teens here actually had a worthwhile name, only to be stamped out of an opportunity because some cultists were scared of future competition?The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. To A?l''Darvi¡¯s growing annoyance, that statement did not pull Ari from her slump. It only made it worse. K¡¯tan slid up besides her, whispering words of comfort, but the moment he touched her shoulder, she flinched away from him. She stared at him with fear for only an instant before she was sprinting out of the ritual courtyard with her arms over her eyes. Does she not trust him either? Nix watched her run, before glancing back to K¡¯tan only to find him frowning as his narrowed eyes followed her. Nix had never been close to her ward-mates, and now that she was back, she was realising very quickly just how little she¡¯d paid attention to things outside herself. As far as she remembered, everyone liked K¡¯tan. Besides when they made him mad by sneaking out after first fog, there was never a time in her memory where those of her ward didn¡¯t get along with him. That was clearly not the reaction of someone who liked her overseer. It wasn¡¯t even the reaction of one who disliked him or hated his guts. That was fear. Having already experienced the future, she knew K¡¯tan was a monster, but had those of her age-group already realised that by now? The idea that Nix was the only one who didn¡¯t know¡­ she decided to put it past her. She was going to punish K¡¯tan anyway, and Nix said herself that she wasn¡¯t close with her ward-mates. Much of this ceremony would be the same as before, and it was what she would do afterwards that she cared for, so Nix struggled to care much for everyone else¡¯s names. Even then, there were some that simply stood out. There was one boy, Grif, who received a name more cryptic than any other, and yet still seemed disappointed ¡ª to the combined chagrin of every other fifteen-year-old present. Rist ¡ª Weep upon the gods; foul are the chains which bind and restrain. One who calls more than they are, and receives for a pittance. Despite having apparently learnt to read names better, this one remained a confusing mess. Well, that was a problem only Nix and her ward-mates held. As soon as he spoke the additive, every cultist was scrambling forth to incite him to join their cults. They swarmed like flies. ¡°Rist.¡± A?l''Darvi thankfully remained uninterested. ¡°Loosener of restraints. Can reduce the requirements for rituals.¡± Oh! Nix remembered the additive. Some people truly have all the luck. It was probably one of the most in-demand names one could get. Even cultists of multiple evolutions wouldn¡¯t be disappointed to receive an additive like that. Every cult revolved around their rituals. Not even the Technocult could avoid them. Anything that reduced material cost, effort and time to perform a ritual was seen as incredibly valuable. If Grif never received another name, he would live well. Far, far better than everyone else here, unless they somehow proved themselves and worked their way up the creeds of the cults. And yet Nix knew the boy hadn¡¯t settled for that. He¡¯d gone on to become a powerful harbinger; a cultist focused near solely on battle and bloodshed. Their lives had been completely uninvolved last time. But now, she had to keep an eye on him. Her only option if she wanted to achieve her goals would be the path of a harbinger, and from what she¡¯d heard of the Trials, she would need to be wary of all other participants. As she looked around, she found most held some expression of discontent. Nix remembered he wasn¡¯t the most liked person ¡ª there was a niggling recollection of demanding a room for himself ¡ª but even those that were in his group were glaring enviously. He strode back amongst the group as if it were only natural. The rituals continued. Most ¡ª even those with decent names ¡ª showed some level of disappointment. It was simply too easy to raise your hopes for this day. Nix and every other kid on Coral had fifteen years to daydream what might happen on their fateful day. Realising the ceremonies were proceeding by whoever was closest to the ritual circle, Nix tried to push closer. She knew what was coming, and she didn¡¯t want to be last again. If she was somewhere in the middle, the others might forget her name when they received their own. Unfortunately, her efforts to push through her once-classmates worked too well. She accidentally nudged a boy¡¯s shoulder ¡ª Roy if she remembered right ¡ª who turned with a furrow marring his face, which immediately paled as he saw her. He was the first to step away, but he was certainly not the last. Like light fled darkness, her entire age-group parted. Before Nix knew it, she was at the front. A?l''Darvi gestured for her, and Nix couldn¡¯t back down. Breathing deep of the void, she stepped forward. The man treated her like he did any other; ignoring her clearly sickly appearance and getting on with the ritual. In fact, Nix was sure he¡¯d begun chanting before she¡¯d even stopped walking. As his chant ended, Nix was momentarily blinded. It was instantaneous, and she wasn¡¯t certain she hadn¡¯t imagined it, but an endless number of intertwining and overlapping scribbles had cross her vision. Nix-ine-oth Nix ¡ª Curse. Ine ¡ª Curse. Oth ¡ª Curse. Her name was different. Once she had the wherewithal to actually register the name before her, Nix was left gaping. She had a second additive? When? How? Is this what her name had become before she passed back in time, and she¡¯d simply been incapable of checking for herself? ¡°Speak your name,¡± A?l''Darvi said with impatience. Nix blinked. She realised she was still standing before a crowd, all eyes on her. The sight was a startling reminder of the sacrificial atrium she¡¯d only recently escaped. So many judging gazes. So many eyes. She stifled the growing panic in her throat. She couldn¡¯t speak that name. It was too unnatural. No fifteen-year-old could have a second additive without something strange having occurred. They would investigate. They would find that feather. Her life would repeat. ¡°Nix-ine.¡± The words somehow slipped from her lips. She didn¡¯t know how. Her own voice sounded alien. Still soft and weak, unlike the rough, echoey tone it was before her tongue was chopped off. ¡°No base identity¡­ just curse?¡± A?l''Darvi stared down at her with confusion and suspicion. She held her breath, hoping he wouldn¡¯t demand she reveal her full name. Thankfully, he continued, to that same horrible speech she never forgot. ¡°Nix; cursed. Ine; cursed. There is no deviations, ambiguity, or room for interpretations. You are cursed. You can never become anything besides cursed.¡± Chapter 5: Ill-Fortune There it was. The announcement that would leave Nix branded as a lost cause and irredeemable for as long as she lived¡­ at least until they discovered how good of a sacrifice she made. She didn¡¯t gape. She didn¡¯t break down and fall to her knees as she did last time. Nix turned and strode past the mixture of wary and pitying gazes. She didn¡¯t even glance towards the prospectors. There was no use wasting her time on hope to be chosen when she knew she wouldn¡¯t. Besides, each cult that held fault in her death had representatives here. The last thing she wanted was to be picked up by one of them. The cultist¡¯s attention didn¡¯t linger, but her ward-mates¡¯ certainly did. Nix made her way to the other side of the courtyard ¡ª opposite K¡¯tan and his deceitfully concerned gaze ¡ª and calmly settled on a low bench typically reserved for ritual equipment. When her gaze found the group surrounding the ritual circle, no less than a dozen head spun away. The onomastician never stopped the name granting ceremonies, but it seemed they all remained more interested in her then their friends. It wasn¡¯t like she hadn¡¯t expected such. Last time, it had been a nightmare. Not only did her hopes get crushed, but going last had left each of her ward-mates with nothing but Nix to focus on, and none of them forgot the way she broke down. Considering she wasn¡¯t an emotional wreck this time, pushing in line hadn¡¯t been necessary. But she has still been labelled as cursed. Cursed and fated to remain cursed. Of course they would stare after such a spectacle; most people didn¡¯t even think it was possible. But their gazes were soft and lacked any impact. Nothing like what she¡¯d now experienced. It was a bunch of kids that started at her, and she was glad to find there wasn¡¯t even the sliver of desire to run and hide as Ari did. As Nix had. She still would have preferred to avoid this ceremony entirely, but doing such would have attracted the attention of far worse people than just the few kids of her ward. A kid, not wanting to learn their name? A most suspicious occurrence. Well, it¡¯s not like she didn¡¯t know of any reasons some might want to keep their names hidden, but the cults were adamant about recording everyone¡¯s names. If most cultists didn¡¯t want to do everything in their power to keep their secret skills hidden, they would mandate the record of names even after a naming ceremony. Not that they could keep it hidden from a competent enough onomastician. That brought Nix to her current problem. She had raised A?l''Darvi¡¯s curiosity with her given name being labelled as a curse. It was obvious from his name that he¡¯d already had two evolutions ¡ª first the ¡®Al¡¯ which represented the path of onomastics, then the inflection ¡ª but did that mean he could pick apart her name from a glance? Or was that something only the stronger ones could do? ¡°Why do you hide from your name?¡± With a jolt, Nix spun to the voice that spoke with a roll of static, like it was speaking through the noise of an ancient radio. As soon as she saw the floating eyeball about the size of her fist wrapped in a small cloud of black smoke, Nix groaned. She immediately quietened herself as the number of students staring at her tripled. She thought she¡¯d been relieved of this torment. When it hadn¡¯t come back with her, she¡¯d assumed her return to the past gave her back her sanity¡­ but clearly she¡¯d been mistaken. Her hand fell to her side, where she touched the feather beneath two layers of cloth. It still hadn¡¯t sprouted, so there went the slight hope that this eye was the result of some mutation and not her own insanity. ¡°So many empty names.¡± The eye glances towards the ritual of another kid as she gets her name given. ¡°Why do they not know their own soul?" Why is it speaking so much? Nix eyed the back of the floating orb. The black smoke twirled lazily, and seemed to faze in and out of reality. It had never spoken more than a few words at a time. And the time between was usually staggering. Had her own mind decided that returning to the past wasn¡¯t crazy enough, and had to add voices to the back of her head?Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Why do so many despise their own soul?¡± it sounded baffled. Nix ignored the figment of her imagination. Her prolonged solitude had resulted in this creature, and as much as she willed it, it wouldn¡¯t go away. Couldn¡¯t you have been a puppy? I¡¯d take a corrupted abomination of one¡­ or a spider. If I was going to make an imaginary friend for myself, why¡¯d I have to make you an eye? As the rest of her ward received their names, Nix turned her attention around the surface of Coral. It was so nice seeing it again. Their immediate surroundings were a sort of quarantined space in the centre of the safe zone. Only facilities related to the Rearing Wards were allowed to be constructed. Considering the Wards themselves were mostly within Coral ¡ª not so deep as to experience any corruption ¡ª that left the centre of the safe zone as the only place not striving to reach the Great Iris. It made Coral¡¯s surface appear almost like a bowl. Buildings started gradual, rising only a few floors while still within the safe zone, before rising to incredible heights near the edge. Those taller buildings could only reach such heights with the support of alien constructs of flesh, illogical architecture, and other such means that went way over Nix¡¯s head. But above them all, stood the temples of the four pinnacle cults. To the north was the tallest. The Cult of the Everseeing Eye built their temple along the largest remaining section of glass dome. Thin and long, their structure¡¯s entire purpose was to reach as close to the Great Pupil as they could. Almost directly above her, a massive observatory hung in the sky. The Bodytwisters and Scriptures held their temples to the east and south, respectively. Both held unreasonable amounts of flesh in their designs, but the flesh of the Scriptures moved. It was constant. And any time Nix turned that way, she shivered in revulsion. It was well known that the fourth pinnacle temple was nothing more than a show of strength. That they could match the other cults. The Machine God Worshippers all lived in the depths of Coral. They worked, prayed and engaged in rituals as close as they could to the heart of Coral; where they believe the Machine God controlled the platform. The other cults either didn¡¯t care, or lacked the resources to grandstand to such a degree. Nix wished it was so easy to understand the interior of Coral. Out here, you could see to the outer edges. You could comprehend how everything fit in place, and organised themselves together. That was impossible below. On a few separate occasions, Nix miraculously found opportunities to escape. Yet mapping the corridors was pointless down there. Paths would loop on themselves, stairs led up to the same room, and most strangely of all, her cell would shift into an impossibly vast forest. That last one hadn¡¯t been an escape attempt. It had simply happened. Dark Star Events were a terrifying reality. Nix snapped out of her daydreaming as she noticed one of the boys storming her way. He was clearly fuming. Considering the gap in the crowd behind him, he¡¯d just had his naming. ¡°You should just leave,¡± he snapped, not daring to come close. ¡°You bring bad luck to us all.¡± Her mouth opened, but he was already racing out of the courtyard. Another boy was quick to join his side, tossing her a conflicted look that wasn¡¯t exactly accusing, but certainly wasn¡¯t apologetic. She slowly closed her jaw as he disappeared around the low wall bordering the courtyard. What would she have even said? I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m cursed? It shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with luck¡­ but if it did, then didn¡¯t that mean her future was set in stone? She couldn¡¯t think that. So he didn¡¯t get a good name, how horrible. At least he had the opportunity to earn more. As Nix considered her own name, the only future she could imagine was more curses. Seriously, how could my second additive mean curse as well? The group of fifteen-year-olds were a mix of joyous and gloomy. Most were gloomy. Nix entertained the thought that it truly was her presence that gave them poor results¡­ and found she didn¡¯t care. More than likely that was just how every naming ceremony was; a few getting more than they wanted, and everyone else left disappointed. They were quickly progressing through the rituals, and soon Nix would be able to break off from the past. Instead of returning to the ward as she had last time, she would go out into the city and strike a clear line between what was, and what will be. ¡°Why do you let them go unpunished?¡± The radio static voice sounded completely curious and unjudging. As if it could not comprehend human interaction, but viciously wished to learn. Nix didn¡¯t care much for her ward-mates. They¡¯d never reached out to her, either to help or simply provide a psychological pillar, but they¡¯d also not participated in her murder. She wasn¡¯t interested in getting along with them, but she wouldn¡¯t go out of her way to harm them. Her murderers, on the other hand? I can¡¯t, Nix thought, unwilling to respond to the eye aloud and seem insane. I don¡¯t know how. She glanced towards the four major temples, then to K¡¯tan. I don¡¯t know how, but I will. One day. Chapter 6: Ktan-thar When the last of Nix¡¯s ward-mates received their names, the onomastician cast a glance her way before striding off to the nearest tunnel entrance. He was the first to leave; not interested in waiting around while the cult prospectors spoke with the few to be selected. Soon, they left too. Followed by less than a handful of teens that had won the jackpot with their names. They were the ones the cults wanted to impress, rather than the other way around. Each would return to the Rearing Ward in a few days, with a wealth of knowledge gifted to them. Their future options would expand drastically. Everyone else¡¯s would narrow. Nix remember each of the those walking after the cultists being the ones that dominated in the Trials. Was that because of their names? Or was the guidance given to them just that important? Regardless, she would need to be a completely different person by the time she met them there. And she would meet them there. She turned back to her ward-mates. Only the disappointed remain. That boy who¡¯d thrown blame her way had come back at some point. Nix had only noticed from his constant glances her way. It seemed he still blamed her. That wouldn¡¯t be bad in itself, but he was surrounded by Grif¡¯s friend group. Not a single one of them looked happy. They were usually the most crude of the boys, occasionally willing to tempt the ¡®contagiousness¡¯ of her curses to mess with the weakest in the ward. Well, it was all childish bullying. Nix hardly even cared for it anymore, not when she¡¯d experienced treatment far worse at the hands of the cultists. In fact, she didn¡¯t even remember them attempting anything after the ceremony. So there was probably nothing to worry about. Especially with them all currently envious of Grif. She let out a sigh of relief that it didn¡¯t go as badly as it could have. Her naming had been a spectacle and nobody would forget what her name meant, but not going last certainly had a beneficial effect on everyone¡¯s attention. Last time, she¡¯d crumbled under the hundred eyes while tears spilled from her own. Nix¡¯s body was already weak, the last thing she wanted was to show she was weak on the inside too. With the ceremony out of the way ¡ª and A?l''Darvi thankfully not stoking his curiosity ¡ª Nix was ready to enjoy the rest of the day. The next few hours were all hers to enjoy. Curfew began when the thick mists seeped out from the Bodytwisters¡¯ temple and the subtle whispers chimed from within Coral. But before she could leave her ward-mates ¡ª who were already gathering in small groups themselves to do the same ¡ª K¡¯tan stopped her. ¡°Are you okay, Nix?¡± She repressed a sneer at his ingenuine concern. No one who cared, as he so intently made it seem, would do what he did. Oh, but how can I think of you so harshly? It¡¯s obvious you gave me to those cults for my protection, after all. Your increased creed was just an unfortunate happenstance. Even as she struggled to keep a straight face, Nix found his choice of name insulting. He now knew her full name ¡ª or at least what should have been her true name at this point in time ¡ª yet he chose to refer to her as her base name alone on naming day.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She remembered it not bothering her last time; her name hadn¡¯t been something she wanted to celebrate, after all. But it was true that to hate one¡¯s name meant to hate oneself. It¡­ had taken a very long time for Nix to understand that. For years, her name, on top of her curses and mutations, had been nothing but a source of resentment. In a way, they were all one and the same. And for a good chunk of her life, she¡¯d hated being called Nix. She didn¡¯t think that way anymore. Nix was her name. It wasn¡¯t the cause of her mistreatment. No, that blame lay in the hands of her murderers. Nor could she deny that it was a reflection of herself. With this new start, she wanted to create a better life for herself, and the only way to do that was to not deny who she was. Nix-ine-oth. The cursed one. While it was impossible to ever truly get over her mutations because of how directly they influenced peoples perceptions, her name was something she had accepted. So as K¡¯tan used the name her previous self preferred, Nix found herself bound by frustration. She desired to lash out at this man for the betrayal, but knew he was too strong. She knew her attempts would not harm him. Any attempt would just be seen as her lashing out from a bad ceremony. Not yet. ¡°I know this isn¡¯t what you wanted.¡± K¡¯tan was confusing her frustration and suppressed hatred for despair. ¡°But don¡¯t give up hope. If you work for your next name, I¡¯m sure your luck will turn around.¡± Nix wanted to laugh in his face. Her next name meant the exact same thing, and would likely occur for any additive she gained. The only chance she had to move beyond being labelled as cursed by her very name itself, was to evolve and condense it. That, or a Feat. A unique additive from an impressive achievement. Not that those were likely without any foundation to work from. ¡°I am okay, Overseer K¡¯tan-thar.¡± She wasn¡¯t, but she would be when he left her alone. ¡°I think I¡¯m just going to wander the topside for a while¡­ to gather my thoughts.¡± The man seemed surprised, and it didn¡¯t take long for Nix to realise it was her use of his title. She¡¯d never spoken to him so formally. It had always just been K¡¯tan casually, then the same shortened name but hatefully. In her effort to come across as unaffected, Nix had referred to him with his full name. She winced slightly, and tried not to let her gaze follow the floating eye that circled the man¡¯s head, staring quizzically into his soul. He never noticed the little monster, nor did Nix expect him to. But he did back down from his attempts to comfort her. ¡°Alright then.¡± He said. ¡°Stay within the accretion¡¯s light, and be back before first fog.¡± With his stilted tone and disappointed gaze, anyone would think he was just a caring adult that worried for his charges. Not Nix. She knew the monster hidden beneath the mask. She didn¡¯t wait for another word. In moments, she was racing down the streets to get away from the man she once trusted. To escape the depression and childish blaming of those who¡¯d had their lifelong dreams crushed with a single ritual. Low, roofless buildings, ritual courtyards and other open spaces passed Nix by as she ran for the nearest trolley. That conversation had been too much. She wanted to get as far from the man as she could without veering into the more corrupted areas of Coral. Despite the cults¡¯ common need to work in darkness, anyone who could live on the topside, would. It was always better to feel the burning heat in one¡¯s skin, than accidentally glance into the abyss and find something looking back. She was relieved to see the trolley stop already had one sitting in its bay, ready to leave. Like much of the other equipment in the safe zone, it was completely free of corruption. All old tech, designed to work without the influence of monsters and gods. Once, Nix had been told that Coral hadn¡¯t always been touched in the way it was. There was a time when it was all old tech, and nothing else. She struggled to imagine how it was possible. The safe zone itself created so many problems that could only be fixed with the existence of the outer regions. Food wouldn¡¯t grow here. Plus, it was simply harder to do everything. One couldn¡¯t summon a bound monster to scrub at windows and clean toilets, after all. Anything you wanted to do had to be done manually. Or with the often unreliable old tech. There weren¡¯t many kids in the Wards that wanted to stay there long after their naming. Nix was no different. ¡°Why do you lie?¡± As she stepped aboard the ancient trolley, words like static once more made her jump. A man and a woman already seated glanced up at her. The eye floated right before her face, its emotionless stare intense. Right. Nix still had to deal with this thing. Chapter 7: Corals Surface There were few things more annoying in the world than knowing you were insane ¡ª knowing the things you saw and heard were mere figments of your imagination ¡ª and yet remaining unable to keep your fiction separated from reality. ¡°Can we eat them?¡± the static voice spoke with the innocent curiosity of a child as it watched the two other passengers that shared the trolley with Nix. She didn¡¯t respond. The two were already sending subtle glances her way ¡ª whether because of her sickly look, or the fancy robe that was clearly out of place, it was hard to tell ¡ª but there was no need to give them another reason to stare. The safe, corruption-free central district disappeared through the glass as they accelerated away from their third stop. The rattle of their ride grew less intense as they travelled beyond the safe zone. It also sped up. Should K¡¯tan learn how far out she¡¯d already gone, he would have a fit. Nix grinned. Back when she was truly fifteen, she¡¯d been terrified of the man¡¯s outbursts when he discovered the other kids sneaking out. She¡¯d never wanted to see that anger directed towards her. Now, she relished in the idea of making him mad. So great was her regret that she¡¯d spent the life before her confinement striving to be acknowledged by the person who would betray her. Too long had she tried to be the perfect child for K¡¯tan. She was going to stay out and enjoy herself until she was dragged back to her Ward by the first cultist that actually cared enough to do so. And when she got back, she would relish K¡¯tan¡¯s anger. It might be a little against her goal of going unnoticed, but Nix didn¡¯t care. If she wasn¡¯t willing to live her life and enjoy the little moments, then why did she return? At some point, hiding in a hole might be the only option she had left, but until then, she wanted to live the life she¡¯d missed, and do everything to make sure her future wouldn¡¯t reoccur. With her naming ceremony out of the way, Nix had the whole day ahead of her. She intended to explore where she¡¯d once been too afraid, then later barred. It was nothing concrete, but she had the whole of Coral open to her now. It was a feeling of freedom she¡¯d never felt, even when she was this age originally. There was no point coming back if she wasn¡¯t going to experience the things she¡¯d always wanted to. No more would she linger in her isolated room while all the others of her ward broke the rules. She used to live by K¡¯tan¡¯s rules. Every minute of every day. She¡¯d been the only one truly faithful. Yet, when the time came for K¡¯tan to return that faith, he¡¯d punished her in a way the others couldn¡¯t imagine. She¡¯d lived by his rules, and gained nothing for it. Not anymore. The trolley slid to a stop, and Nix felt the gaze of the pair across from her. She looked up, but they didn¡¯t avert. Their eyes grew dangerously intense. Sweat slid down her back as their frowns deepened. When the doors of the trolley squeaked, Nix was up in an instant and slid through the doors just as they shut. She spun on the two, who continued to stare at her as the trolley slowly pulled them down the road that seemed to twist unnaturally the further she looked. Involuntarily, she shivered. Her imaginary eye bobbed down the road towards her, having been carried along by the trolley as it tried to slide through the window. Would have been nice if it got trapped. She thought. If I kill my demons, does that get rid of them? Or will my insanity only get worse because I acknowledged them? She wasn¡¯t sure she wanted to test that theory. All things considered, an eye that just asked dumb questions was better than one that spent all day trying to terrify her.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Well, this seemed to be the furthest she could go before cultists began asking questions. The streets were just as bright here as around the rearing wards, but corruption had begun. A bakery¡¯s welcome sign seemed to grow each time she stepped away. The crystal statue of a tree twisted just a bit too much whenever it was in her peripheral. And while the plated alloy brickwork of the footpath remained intact, there were places where the patterns seemed to spiral in impossible shapes. Nix didn¡¯t look. That was what everyone was told to do: the less you gazed at the corruption, the less it would affect you. The little eyeball that floated around her everywhere was already enough insanity. It grew worse elsewhere. Many places on Coral were completely off-limits, and while the topside was less affected than anywhere else, it still had regions that only the strongest harbinger dared explore. Nix was excited to get out and about and go beyond where she was allowed, but she knew there was a limit. Coral was not a safe place to wander. Between the twisted landscape, the spawn, and the cultists themselves, one always had to be careful. There wasn¡¯t much to worry about this close to the safe zone, but almost everything became unforgiving further out ¡ª people included. At almost every corner, there was an entrance into the depths. The city was vast on the surface, and only grew more dense and convoluted within the heart of the platform. Now that she was here, Nix didn¡¯t know what to do. The street wasn¡¯t particularly busy, but she still felt uncomfortable around other people. It would be best if she found a store to buy a new dress; something other than a traditional hood, or the baggy pants she¡¯d been forced into. Oh how she yearned to show off her completely natural hair and legs while she could. That option wouldn¡¯t remain for long. But¡­ as much as she desired to get out of this gown that was clearly overdressing for walking around the streets, it was not something she wanted to tackle immediately. Especially when it meant talking to someone. So she ended up walking. She didn¡¯t know where she was walking, didn¡¯t have any destination, and trekked slowly enough to take in the ¡ª relatively mundane ¡ª sights. The area she was in was only slightly outside the safe zone. Shops and stalls here were no different than those closer to the rearing wards. The ones she remembered spending much of her free time window shopping before everything had happened. The Ward¡¯s allowance wasn¡¯t enough to actually let her buy much. And it wasn¡¯t the clothes themselves she liked. No, it was the dream of her better future. A dream where she wasn¡¯t cursed, or isolated, or sacrificed; but wealthy, powerful, and hale. Back then, it hadn¡¯t been an impossibly distant future. It was something she¡¯d considered reasonably possible. Just a couple years away. Nix would strangle her old self for her foolishness if she ever¡­ oh, right. I did go back in time. Foregoing any actual self-harm, she walked along the windows of all the fine clothes, jewellery, and ritual supply shops. None of them inspired that same dream she once had. She didn¡¯t care for the fancy cloaks, blood-diamond broaches, or tomes on sacrificial runes and pentagrams. In fact, that last one only turned her stomach. Hopes and dreams for the future were all well and good, but they would never become reality if she remained as passive as she once was. But where did she start? Even her second additive wasn¡¯t helpful to her; she didn¡¯t think it was possible ¡ª or a wise decision ¡ª to evolve three curses without tempering them with another name first. So, without any actual benefits enriching her, what could she do? ¡°how am I supposed to improve, when my body¡¯s as weak as this?¡± Nix chewed her lip. The action was surprisingly calming, now that her teeth didn¡¯t slide through flesh in an instant. If there was one thing she could compliment the Bodytwisters on, it was how good they were at regrowing lips. ¡°If you do not like your body, then discard it.¡± The only reason she didn¡¯t jump from the sudden voice, was because she¡¯d been staring at the floating eyeball in the glass¡¯s reflection. It hovered frighteningly close to her ear, yet if not for the mirror, she would not have noticed it. Holding her breath and counting to three, she turned and ignored the creature. Even as she tried to ignore its words, she couldn¡¯t resist the idle consideration; What it would be like to slip out of her own body, and experience another¡¯s perspective for the day? As the orb bobbed behind her in a hurried attempt to catch up, Nix cast aside the thought of her future. Even in her previous life, it had been months before she¡¯d caved and told K¡¯tan. She still had time. Not forever, but today she could sacrifice to something fun. She was finally free, and she wanted to do something she never had before. The little eyeball floated before her face, so she waved the creature away. Doing so, her eyes rose between the gap in buildings to the Still Tower. It was the tallest building in this part of the city. Isolated from the rest, it was a mass of alloy beams that criss-crossed upwards like a spear striking at the sky. As far as Nix knew, it had no purpose. Some ancient structure that had been left alone because the effort to tear it down would be too great. Also, people rarely even went close to it. She¡¯d overheard some of her ward-mates had climbed it. They¡¯d, of course, been discovered. K¡¯tan¡¯s rage that day had been horrible and terrifying to the young Nix. Perfect. Chapter 8: Blood of the Sickly From beneath the giant legs of the tower, it was far more daunting than it appeared from a distance. The structure rose straight up, like a needle pushing towards the pupil of stars. The twisting mass of metal held only narrow sets of ladders intended for humans. The rest of it was alloy girders, long protruding barbs with a long forgotten purpose, and space. There was so much open space, that if Nix slipped, the only thing she would hit was the ground. And yet she wasn¡¯t afraid. Compared to the Eidolon Gods, this tower truly was a needle. Not even. A pinprick point smaller than she could see. Maybe, long ago, she might have felt some sense of vertigo imagining being so high, but after falling such vast distances into the maw of an impossible being, she didn¡¯t even feel worried. Climbing this would be easy. Nix reached her arm out, grabbed the wire mesh fence, and pulled herself over. Even under her gaunt weight, the ancient wire bent and she collapsed to the ground. Not a great start. She rose, noticing the pole of the fence near where she¡¯d tried to climb had snapped. The wire mesh held it mostly upright, and she¡¯d failed to notice before climbing. So, she¡¯d tripped on her first step, but Nix was determined to keep going. The old her would have backed off after a single failure. She would have seen it as a sign that this was already too dangerous and that she needed to run back to the safety of her corner room in the Ward. The old Nix had been a coward. A coward that was too hopeful and trusting for her own good. This Nix knew what sort of future awaited her if she was passive. Only by moving forward, and resisting her original attitude did she have a chance to change that fate. Even if it meant a little bit of danger. Once she got the metal rungs beneath her feet and began ascending, motivation became abundant. So much of her time had been spent confined and unable to exercise while under the ¡®care¡¯ of the cults. She¡¯d originally been placed in the care of the fleshsmiths. K¡¯tan offering her as a gift. After a year, maybe two, with them, she¡¯d been handed off to the four Great cults, who each passed her around. Each of them had their own, unique rituals they¡¯d performed on Nix, which supposedly increased her value as a sacrifice. The specifics, of course, were never disclosed to her. Some had backfired. The sound of ritualists being eaten by the very thing they tried to channel had been a rare joy in her bleak existence. The movement of her feet beneath her, and the strain of her muscles as she heaved herself up to the top of the first ladder felt great. She glanced around with pride as her breaths came quick, but not yet panting. After that, I must be a quarter-way up the tower. Her pleased expression soon grew strained as she looked down. She¡¯d only climbed, what? Two, three storeys high? It felt like she¡¯d done triple that. As her head tilted back, she found the tower¡¯s point no closer than when she began. With a nervous gulp, she moved to the second ladder. This was going to be much harder than she expected, but she refused to give up. By the end of the second ladder she was wheezing. By the third, she had no strength left in her legs. She glared at the imaginary eye where it floated above her. So nice of you to join me in this struggle. Nix crawled to the fourth, the sharp metal grating beneath her knees left them raw and bloody. With her hand on the lowest rung, she crawled upwards, doing everything she could to hug the ladder close. Ever so slowly, she pulled herself up. ¡°Why do you not fly? Or teleport? Or twist your flesh into something less weak?¡± The eyeball monster¡¯s form distorted as Nix¡¯s sluggish backhand swipe passed effortlessly through it. The black mist spread outward, covering its form, before the eye popped back to normal. Completely unaffected.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Nix didn¡¯t have the energy to do more than that, but she was still left disappointed that the misty feeling hadn¡¯t been more solid. She really wanted the creature to leave. And seeing the creature get swatted out of the sky would be so enticing. Why did her own mind have to taunt her? A sudden pain bloomed in her chest, and she hugged the ladder tight. She may not have climbed as high as she wanted, but she was still high enough to die if she fell. The pain spiked in her heart, and she did all she could to keep her arms locked. A slimy feeling sprouted in the back of her throat. Suddenly, she found it impossible to breathe. Nix coughed. A chain of sickly hacks belted through her, leaving her entire body shivering with each progressive splutter. When the coughing finally relented, Nix couldn¡¯t move. She stayed on the ladder until motes of fog rose around the eastern temple, encasing it in its eeriness. That¡¯s strange, there should still be a couple hours. Nix snapped her head up, not knowing when she passed out. Her legs had gone numb, and her arms ached worse than her pounding headache. As she regained her bearings, she saw blood. It was everywhere. Her arms, and the rungs they clung to, were coated in dried crimson. Far below, the splattering of her internal liquid had painted the grey surface a darker hue. Well, shit. The iron tang was thick on her tongue, and as Nix looked down, she found the entire front of her expensive gown absolutely ruined. It had been a long time since this had happened. She thought she¡¯d grown healthier as she aged, but apparently it was just her lack of physical strain that prevented her from becoming a blood fountain again. Woozy and disoriented, Nix felt the ground run away from her. She was so much higher than before. Out to her sides, there was more open, uninhabited lots between Still Tower and the rest of the city than she remembered. Did they walk away? She thought hazily. I¡¯d hate to be the guy who has to deal with a bunch of buildings growing legs. As strange as the idea was, it wasn¡¯t impossible. She¡¯d heard of an apartment complex growing a stomach and eating a few of its residents once. ¡°Where did you go?¡± the eye popped in front of her face, but she lacked the energy to flinch. Where did I go? Nix thought. Where else can I go? Even when she¡¯d found opportunities to escape, it¡¯s not like there was anywhere on Coral that was safe. Her only option had been to hide in the eternal forest¡­ but that had been too terrifying, and she¡¯d chosen somewhere safer. Nix truly, truly regret not remaining in that forest. At least there, she could have lived for herself before she died. Her head tilted back, and found the next platform was only half a dozen rungs away. she wanted so much to continue climbing. Nix wanted to see what Coral looked like from so high. But her body was weak. As it was, she had no option but to give up and return to the ward. This body of hers couldn¡¯t handle it, but Nix wouldn¡¯t lose hope. She just had to bring her body out of this sickly state. Gradual exercise might make her healthier, but considering her current state was the result of curses, it might not. An alternative was to join The Bodytwisters, as they had ways to increase one¡¯s physical strength and capabilities. But not only would that require years of working her way up the ranks, the idea of being a part of a cult that had been a core pillar in her sacrifice left a sour taste in her mouth. Especially considering it was their leader that drove the dagger through her heart. Nix¡¯s best option, was to reach a name evolution. She¡¯d lost hope that any additive she gained would be anything other than a curse, but she had three name parts now; that meant it was possible to condense it. Or¡­ she hoped it was. A curse being so prevalent in ones blood it became a part of their name was rare, after all. Usually, it only occurred with cultists who already had an evolution or two¡­ and they would combine that curse with an additive to strip the effect. Was combining three curses really her best option? Even if she gained the opportunity to evolve, should she bother? An empowered curse might become endlessly worse than anything she had to deal with now. What if her weakness amplified? What if she became bed-bound for the rest of her short life because curses should never be combined? But¡­ Nix didn¡¯t have a choice. If she didn¡¯t grow, she knew her fate. Just imagining having the energy to reach the top of this tower was exciting. It was optimistic, sure, but the stakes on her life were already high. If combining curses gave her the slightest chance, she would evolve them. She would need to work for it, but it was better than waiting in her room for the world to eat her up again. It was already late, and K¡¯tan would be furious, so it was time for her to return. Her limbs felt like jelly, but she was able to slowly lower herself a single rung at a time. If she had to go up, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to move. When her feet touched the metal grating below the uppermost ladder ¡ª the uppermost one she¡¯d climbed ¡ª she collapsed to her back, arms flopping at her sides. There was a slight sound of bubbles popping that tempted her to rest. But she couldn¡¯t. The later it got, the more the cults would enact their rituals, and the greater the danger became. The first fog was already dangerous for her. A few minutes passed as she listened to the strange, accelerating sound of bubbles popping. They were just loud enough to deafen the indistinguishable whispering she knew came from beneath the surface. She didn¡¯t know what it was. This close to the safe zone, there shouldn¡¯t be any unprotected pools of water. Curious, and ready to take on the next ladder, she rolled to her front, and froze. Below, her pool of blood boiled. Nix¡¯s already pale face went white. Chapter 9: Amalgamation Manifestation Like a pot of oil, her blood simmered. Bubbles rose and popped, spreading the puddle with each splash. Occasionally, a droplet would reach too far, and burst into smoke before it could land. Nix only stared. This shouldn¡¯t be possible. The corruption around Still Tower was minimal at most. Not nearly enough for anything besides wisp spawn to appear, but those were difficult to notice in the first place. Wisps couldn¡¯t boil blood. Only something bigger. Something far more dangerous. Blood was one of the best natural medium for gods and monsters to manifest. Only beaten by sacrifice and genocide. But it wasn¡¯t so effective that they could do so spontaneously. Not unless the area was already seeped in corruption. Her fingers pressed into the metal platform as she slowly edged towards the next ladder. As far as Nix could see, the area hadn¡¯t suddenly been drowned in an overflow of corruption. Still Tower was just as structurally consistent as it had always been. Nothing was off. Nothing besides the affected blood below. A bestial hand snapped out of the roiling pool of blood. It breached the surface with a splash, tossing crimson liquid outward, spreading it further. Instead of sliding down the limb and returning to widening puddle, the blood clung to it. Blood bubbled and sloshed along its long, bony fingers. The viscous liquid coagulated around each digit, forming into a disgusting reddish-black flesh. The fingers stretched; each splayed outward far too unnaturally to even resemble a human¡¯s. Bubbling flesh pulsed, like the arm itself had become a heart. The pulsing grew strong enough to overpower the boiling flesh, and it solidified. In moments, the hardened blood lost its colour. It bleached pale, taking on a sickly shade worse than Nix¡¯s own. The beating flesh continued bulge the newly formed skin, but with each second, it slowed and settled. The arm crashed down into the pool of blood. Waves rocked outward, as if there wasn¡¯t only a few litres in the puddle. It continued to expand. Nix watched on as the crimson liquid lapped at the hard ground and reached ten times its original width. As wide as a true pool now, the blood splashed back and forth as if a storm rocked it. The limb pressed down on the surface of the blood ¡ª not dropping even a hair below, despite the rough waves ¡ª and pushed. Out from the sea of carmine, the rest of the monster showed itself. It was a weird, headless thing. A torso like a dog, with four humanoid arms strapped on in unnatural directions. Like a child took a doll, and nailed the arms to the only places there weren¡¯t any sockets. An Amalgamation. A completely random assortment of flesh that never should see the light of day. The endless, thoughtless spawn of gods. Their appearance should be impossible here, this close to the safe zone. Blood dribbled from its body, but like the already formed arm, it coagulated and twisted into flesh around bone. When its skin turned pale, and the thumping of its flesh stilled, what was left was a creature that appeared unnervingly perfect despite how wrong it was. Its skin held no blemishes. The joints between arms and torso fit well, despite the mismatching species and illogical angles. And those fingers ¡ª bony and twice as long as any man¡¯s ¡ª held the strength to lift its body. Once fully formed, the creature simply stood there on its four inhuman hands. Not a sound. Not a twitch of a muscle. Only the flow of the blood beneath its fingers let it sway over the ground. Was this her punishment for trying something new? Was this what she got for trying an ever so slight retaliation against K¡¯tan? She couldn¡¯t fight off a monster. A few ladders had nearly been the end of her, and now there was a flesh and blood amalgamation waiting below? Nix held her breath, but it was as if the intent to keep herself hidden was what attracted it. The monster tripped over itself as it scrambled towards the nearest structural pillar of Still Tower. Landing on its back, it didn¡¯t reorient. It simply took that as its new up, twisting its arms around to push against the ground.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The creature continued to stumble over itself like a newborn foal, but it never seemed to notice when it fell; it only kept moving. Panic rose rapidly in Nix¡¯s chest now that it had not wandered off. She¡¯d hoped it wouldn¡¯t notice, or care for her. If it wandered off into the city, then the harbingers could deal with it, and she could clamber back down and run home to the wards. It was coming for her. There was no other reason it would move for one of Still Tower¡¯s legs. The only relief to her dread, was that each time the creature grabbed the alloy beams of the tower, it¡¯s lack of control over its own body sent it right back to the bottom. It would try to dig its fingers into the metal as if it had claws. It would try to pull itself up, only to forget to hold on. For now, the creature found it impossible to climb. But it was learning. With each tumble, the amalgamation became accustomed to its body. With each fall, its motions grew more structured and intentional. Where it used only one hand to hold it steady before, it now climbed two arms at a time. It wouldn¡¯t be long before it reached her. Nix¡¯s eyes darted between the creature that ¡ª instead of running off and ruining someone else¡¯s day ¡ª came for her, and the ladder. Could she climb down while it was working its way up the metal beams? Or would it throw itself down after her the moment she tried? Her mind raced for an answer. She couldn¡¯t go up; she¡¯d make it a single ladder at most before her body gave out on her. Again. And coughing up more blood was unlikely to be much help. Shakily, she rose to her feet on the narrow platform. Her hand unconsciously fell to her side and fingered the budding feather. For the first time ever, she wished her mutations would come faster. They¡¯d been clipped before they could grow, but she was pretty sure the limbs growing from the lower half of her ribs were wings. And how great would wings be right now; she could fly off and leave this monster to something that could actually fight back. Glancing over the rail, she found the amalgamation losing its grip far less often. It had yet to pass a single storey high, but as soon as it figured climbing out, the distance between them would mean nothing. The situation was dangerous. And yet, despite that, she found herself idly noting how the only noise coming from the creature was the light patter of fingers against metal and the thump when it fell. It didn¡¯t growl. There was no scratch of claws against metal. It simply moved, and that was all it did. If Nix was to look for the benefits of her situation ¡ª or at least the aspects that sucked the least ¡ª she could focus on how the amalgamation was probably the least lethal she could have happened across. Without fangs or claws, or any of the other more worrying parts she¡¯d heard an amalgamation could have, at least it wouldn¡¯t kill her quickly. Though¡­ maybe that was not such a great thing. She finally snapped her gaze from the creature, and tried to focus on something else. She was desperate, and had no ideas how she might survive. The floating eye was watching the creature, but seemed to find no interest in it. Seemingly noticing her gaze, it turned her way. Upon making eye contact, she spun away. She couldn¡¯t be reinforcing her figments, especially at a time like this. Who knew if it would take the form of an amalgamation because of the fear she showed towards it, and suddenly couldn¡¯t know which was which. ¡°There is no need to fear an ant.¡± Static filled her ears, and she twisted back to the amalgamation, as if it the beast could possibly hear her imagination. ¡°Something so insignificant could never pose a threat.¡± Her efforts to pretend like she hadn¡¯t seen it were in vain. For a creation of my own mind, you are surprisingly arrogant, huh? A little god in my own head. Well, her chances of surviving against an amalgamation were slim at best. What did it matter if her imagination decided to make it twice as difficult? The creature¡¯s movements were becoming terrifyingly consistent now. Instead of flailing about and hoping something worked, its motions were smooth. Only momentary mistakes sent it sprawling back to the earth below. It never hesitated to throw itself back into the climb. It was a mindless desire, but not an unintelligent one. Each time it failed, it didn¡¯t even consider giving up or taking an easier path. The creature below reflected a perfect opposite of Nix¡¯s attitude in the past years. Where she had been cowardly, fearful, and hopeful of what was to come without ever putting the effort in, this beast held no thought. It only strove to achieve what it desired. It didn¡¯t care for any failures on its path to what it wanted. Maybe it was strange to take inspiration from the amalgamation that was coming to kill her. No, it certainly was. But it perfectly encapsulated how she needed to act with this second chance of hers. She couldn¡¯t be complacent. She couldn¡¯t give up just because her lungs decided there wasn¡¯t enough blood in them. Just because some monster decided to climb out of her blood. She couldn¡¯t accept death. She had to fight for her own survival. It had been a long, long time since she¡¯d lost any expectation for a hero to come rescue her from the captivity of the cults. And now was no different. She could scream for help, but nobody would come. If she wanted to live ¡ª both now, and when she took on the cults ¡ª she would have to do so with her own power. Nix may not yet have any power of her own, but she was hardly about to lay down and let an amalgamation climb up and kill her. Not when she¡¯d survived an Eidolon God. She was done being on the receiving end of fate¡¯s lash. Chapter 10: Dont Fall Right. Nix was going to take on an amalgamation with nothing but her weak, sickly, emaciated body. Nothing could go wrong. She¡¯d survived being eaten by a damn Eidolon God, after all. How could one of the weakest manifested beasts pose a problem to her? Hmm, she thought. Maybe the creature will get so intimidated by my confident aura that it will simply throw itself to its death. Well, she doubted she¡¯d get that lucky, but it was rather high; if she somehow manoeuvred the beast off the ledge, the fall itself might kill it. Or at least hurt it. Or maybe just shoo it away. Considering she held nothing but the clothes on her back, there really wasn¡¯t any other options before her. Either she threw all her eggs in this basket, or she died. Nix wouldn¡¯t die again. The constant scratch of bony fingers tapping against metal grew louder as the amalgamation approached. It was across from her, but with steadier hands, it had climbed as far as the second ladder without falling. There was only moments before it would strike. The rail pressed against her back, and she feathered her hand over the hard metal surface to make sure she wasn¡¯t imagining it ¡ª Nix refused to take her eyes from the monster ¡ª before bringing them back ahead of her. She would need her hands. If there was any one thing Nix was thankful for, it was the lack of any fangs or claws on the amalgamation. Those bony fingers were long and hard, but they were unlikely to kill her before she could fight back. Only its strength did she have to worry about, and she intended to use that against it. If there was any second thing Nix was thankful for, it was the lack of eyes. She didn¡¯t like eyes. The four armed beast finally reached her level. Each time its long fingers clattered into the structural beam, or latch around those strange, arm-long barbs in the tower, they would clamp shut with force. When it let go, an equal force went into that action. It made for an unsettling pivot between two extremes. And didn¡¯t help that when it clamped its fist shut, the fingers would often splay in ways no joint should allow. Its rapid climb up the vertical beam lurched to a stop the moment it went above Nix¡¯s height. For a moment, it froze, as if befuddled that it couldn¡¯t reach her by following the same path it had. That didn¡¯t last. As soon as its hands found the criss-crossing beams that crossed the structure, the creature was bounding for her once more. Twitchy arms pulled it along the side of the tower, before it found the ladder, and all restraint disappeared. The amalgamation flung itself at Nix. Unable to stop her racing heart, she tucked her legs beneath her, and scooped her hands out before her, then over her head as she dropped. She didn¡¯t even notice when she¡¯d closed her eyes. Something struck her hand, then there was a scrape along her forearm before something clanged. Her eyes snapped open as she struggled to get her feet beneath her. Her hand reached the rail, and she spun, expecting to find the amalgamation falling to its death. It wasn¡¯t. The beast hung from the last alloy beam before Still Tower¡¯s vast empty interior. If only it had missed that, it would have fallen. If only Nix had pushed a little harder. In an instant, it flung itself back at her. She had no time to react. She tried to back away, but quickly found three inhuman hands grasping at her with strength she couldn¡¯t hope to compete. One on her shoulder and one on her opposite elbow, she felt like the beast was trying to pull her apart. But it was the hand that grabbed at her hair that hurt the most. The rail was still between them ¡ª separating them ¡ª but she couldn¡¯t pull herself back. Nix tugged at the arms, tried to peel open the fingers, and wailed into the creature¡¯s torso, but nothing worked. She was just a teenage girl on her naming day. Had she been given this second chance only to die a few hours after returning? Would K¡¯tan and the great cults continue to go unpunished because some creature coincidentally spawned from her blood? Nix wouldn¡¯t allow it. If death was her future regardless of the choices she made, then she would take the path that left her on top. The only path that would give her what she wanted. She stopped resisting the amalgamation. Her weight shifted, crashing into the chest of the creature, and sent them both away from the safety of the railing and into freefall. The fall was too quick. There was no time to adjust her position to remain on top, nor could she even think of such an action; one moment she was five-ish storeys up, the next she was on the ground. In pain.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Something inside her chest burned, and she didn¡¯t even bother to look at her arm. It didn¡¯t move right. And blood was dribbling down her mouth again. The monster! Where was it. She rolled, adrenaline muting the agony she was sure would soon strike. The beast was flailing. All four of its arms were broken, but with how they continued to scratch at its torso, she doubted it cared for them. No, it was scratching at something that burned on its chest. Whatever burned at the beast did not last. And once the smoke was clear, the amalgamation was back to scrambling after her. Nix scooted away, before forcing herself to ignore the pain in her arm and chest and get to her feet. She was always just one swipe out of range of the creature, and finally on her feet, she could limp faster than it could clamber with its confused body. Each break in the creature¡¯s limbs now acted as another joint to bend. It now had to relearn to walk. That was the only reason Nix could escape. ¡°Why do you not kill it?¡± the floating eye taunted her. ¡°You could do it so easily.¡± She ignored Little God¡¯s jeers, but knew what her subconscious was screaming at her. She couldn¡¯t run. Even with her injuries, she could not leave this fight unfinished. It didn¡¯t matter that she had no weapon or her opponent was an illogical being, just that it was still alive. She saw herself in the same situation with the targets of her revenge. Would she run from them, when it wasn¡¯t impossible to take her slice, or would she drive a dagger through their skulls and make sure they could never repeat their sins in this version of reality. But¡­ she didn¡¯t have to fight without a weapon. She dashed ¡ª or at least the best impression of a dash her aching ribs and limp arm allowed ¡ª to the ancient fence. With a heave, she threw her entire ¡ª albeit light ¡ª weight into dislodging the metal bar from the fence. It bent the wire mesh, but remained in place. She grabbed it with her one good arm, and tugged. But that was no more successful. The makeshift weapon wouldn¡¯t snap free, and the creature was closing in, moving faster with each step. So she shifted strategies. Nix angled the pole towards the beast and waited for it to pierce itself. It was hard to do even this; the wire mesh resisted, and her body didn¡¯t want to listen. She shoved the metal pole down anyway. Wires scraped along her back, tearing holes in the shoulders of her gown and the skin beneath. Her head pounded, and she felt dizzy, but she couldn¡¯t let it bother her. She had to hold until the beast impaled itself. The amalgamation did so without any hesitation, as if there was no pain in getting your chest punctured. Nix took a few steps back, and the mindless creature continued to clamber after her, even as ancient fencing held it back. A heavy creaking foretold the snap. In an instant, all resistance was gone. With the fence no longer holding back the amalgamation¡¯s weight, it lurched forward, barely missing Nix as it crashed and shoved the pole clear through its chest. No blood came out. Instead a black ooze dribbled free. Nix leapt on the protruding pole and ripped it from the creature. It tugged free far easier than she was expecting, considering she only had the one arm in working order. She twisted the makeshift spear so the sharp end was facing down again, and shoved it in. The flesh resisted, and an arm rose to grab her ankle. She jabbed the weapon through the arm and twisted. It wasn¡¯t enough to sever the hand, but it certainly forced it to let go. Again and again, she shoved the pole through flesh, splashing black ooze everywhere. It kept trying to get back up, and she kept shoving it down. Her spear cut through flesh and scraped against bone like that was its purpose. Some worn down pole from a time long forgotten: now an implement of death. Whether it was the adrenaline, or the hate deep within her, Nix ignored the wounds and exhaustion that should stop her, and shoved the pole into the pile of flesh over and over again. When she was done, the amalgamation was nothing but a mass of flesh and black sludge that gradually melted away into nothingness. Nix stood there, panting. Her pole tapped against the hard ground as if she would find more flesh to stab. The death of an amalgamation ¡ª as with many monster ¡ª was a strange thing. Its flesh melted away without leaving a trace, as if reality itself consumed them. What was even stranger, was that a tiny dash of salt would prevent it from happening. If one wanted to, they could keep the corpses. It was disgusting practice and Nix didn¡¯t know why some wanted to have more to clean up afterwards, but many cultists were¡­ unique. The pole stabbed at the ground again, finding nothing left. It was over. Nix had killed an amalgamation. She¡¯d gotten so lucky in so many aspects, but she was alive and the monster wasn¡¯t. If even a single thing had gone differently in the past few minutes, Nix would have been torn apart in the hands of that thing. She must have landed on the beast when they fell to only have the wounds she did. Her gaze dropped to her arm, finding that just below the elbow, it hung at an angle. As soon as her eyes landed on the clear break, she couldn¡¯t turn away. It was so horrific, and her stomach turned at the sight, but there was a weird disparity between what she saw and what she felt. Seeing it bent like that made her think it should be a thousand times more painful, and while it certainly hurt, it wasn¡¯t that bad. Like how a bruise would feel after being hung by the arms all day. Still, despite the horrific state of her arm, she was alive. She could live to see another day. A vicious growl made Nix freeze. Tilting her head, she found another, much larger beast crawling out of her still boiling pool of blood. The thing was like a trolley it was so big. A long, toothy maw spread across the oversized head of a cat. A dozen spindly insectoid legs rose from the pool and tried to pull the amalgamation through the mass of blood that was clearly not wide enough for it. Nix stumbled back, her legs deciding then and there that they were done, and collapsed. Her makeshift spear rose, but the sight inspired none of her earlier confidence. The pole was a toothpick to this thing. Where she¡¯d struggled against something that was probably smaller than herself, this amalgamation was ten times greater. If not more. Waves of blood rolled off its sides, spreading the pool of boiling crimson further, and soon it was wide enough to free this monster. It skittered out, revealing its full two-storey height beneath the accretion¡¯s light. The massive head only held the mouth. No eyes, or snout, despite the structure that seemed to support them. The cat¡¯s head was attached to a lizard body, but connected far too low. It gave the beast a terrible hunchback. And, somehow, the lizard¡¯s body connected to a hundred randomly sprouted centipede legs in a way that didn¡¯t look terribly unnatural. The beast as a whole still looked like a nightmare turned reality, but it somehow made the uselessly hanging legs sprouting from its back seem fitting. Like evolution had decided ¡ª for some anomalous reason ¡ª that¡¯s where they should go. One moment, the amalgamation stepped towards her. The next, it was a pile of black ooze and flesh. Nix hadn¡¯t even been able to comprehend when it happened. She just knew that at some point in the past few seconds, the monster went from living to dead. And there was now a man standing in its melting corpse. A man glaring at her. Chapter 11: Technocultist Seven foot tall and heavy enough that Nix could feel the ground tremble with his steps, the giant of a man stepped through the still bubbling pool of blood, crunching severed pieces of flesh beneath his boots. Panting and on her back, Nix couldn¡¯t run. Whatever this cultist decided to do to her, she couldn¡¯t win. Despite that, she angled the metal pole at the cultist and stared him down. Beneath the shade of his hood, she caught the reflection of two orbs of glass. Cameras, not eyes. His jaw didn¡¯t outright look mechanical, but considering the metal clamps on his chin and below his cheeks, she wouldn¡¯t doubt it was entirely artificial. His neck ¡ª what little she could see ¡ª didn¡¯t hide its nature at all. Tubes and bundles of wires took the place of an esophagus, along with a bunch of connection ports. It was all old tech, and only tech. He was one of the technocult; not a worshipper of the machine god. He¡¯d killed the greater amalgamation as if it were nothing. Nix still had no idea how. And as he strode towards her, his foot crashed through another beast that tried to crawl from her blood. The motion didn¡¯t even look like he intended to kick it, but the monster¡¯s spine was severed and it immediately began melting into black sludge. How many will come? The cultist paused his approach suddenly. ¡°What have you done to make blood this reactive?¡± A cultist this strong doesn¡¯t know why? Nix thought. Well, shit. That¡¯s not going to be great for my plan to remain discreet. Good job Nix. And not even a single day. The technocultist¡¯s boot came crashing down on yet another amalgamation that grasped at his leg. The rat-like head only breached the surface long enough to witness the cultist¡¯s heel. The man lifted his hand, and a black, oily substance slid from a tube that extended from his wrist. The instant the liquid touched her boiling sea of blood, it settled. No longer did it boil or summon creatures. He spun on Nix again, and before she could react, he had backhanded the makeshift weapon from her hand and grabbed her by the shoulders. Nix became a doll on strings. Her legs wouldn¡¯t work to push her away, and the instinctual flinch at his touch hadn¡¯t even registered through the strength of his arms. If she was standing when he grabbed her, she was sure she¡¯d be dangling right now. ¡°Why did you not scream for help?¡± his voice rang with the hard metallic undertone of a modified vocal-box. Short and sharp, he demanded to know. But there was no concern in his eyes for the girl in his grip. Only irritation. Nix wanted to laugh. Call for help? Yes, people always come running when you scream for help. Of course, she could hardly say that. He would think she was insane if she said she believed a monster was more likely to come save her than a cultist. Well, she was insane ¡ª considering Little God ¡ª but she didn¡¯t want to be seen as such. Twisting, she tried to squirm from his grip, only to incite the agony in her chest and arm. Her adrenaline was waning. A sigh rang like the whirring of a engine. The cultist¡¯s grip lessened around her shoulders. ¡°Stupid child. You should learn to distrust the word of cultists. Especially those that attend a naming.¡± Er¡­ what? Why is he giving life advice now? Especially advice that I know better than most?Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Suddenly, Nix found herself carried in the man¡¯s arms. The pistons in the nook of his elbows dug uncomfortably into her side. She begrudged him the action, and didn¡¯t resist; it would only make her pained chest worse. ¡°I hope the Feat tag was worth nearly dying.¡± ¡°Feat tag?¡± What was he on about? His gaze lowered to hers. One of the still human eyebrows raised quizzically. ¡°They didn¡¯t even tell you that?¡± As he looked down at her, his cameras spun. They took on a depth that made her question her own sight, as they almost glowed to her perception. There was a slight tingle through her, like her soul was being touched. She was being observed. Nix had felt this many times before, but never had the source been so obvious. Whether it be the eyes of gods, or those of men, it was always a horrible, piercing feeling. But for some reason, it didn¡¯t feel like it pierced so deep. A tingle of a brush, rather than the hack of an axe. ¡°Ah. With a name like that, I can understand your desperation.¡± And suddenly, the brush was gone. ¡°Congratulations, you have your Feat, though it appears slightly different than the typical version.¡± He hummed for a moment. ¡°I wonder how it differs from Zyl?¡± ¡°A Feat?¡± It was impossible, right? They were the hardest name components to achieve. Wait, that wasn¡¯t the most pressing matter. ¡°You could see my name? How?¡± The cultist tapped open a heavy set of double-doors with the toe of his boot and marched into the candlelit chamber. Nix¡¯s head snapped up. When had they descended into the Inner-Coral? ¡°You speak a lot for someone with a pair of broken ribs.¡± As if the mere mention of them was enough to flare the pain, Nix winced. ¡°Each name evolution makes it easier to observe another¡¯s soul.¡± That was absolutely not a normal thing people knew. She would have felt far more of those gazes if just anyone could do it. Did this man just reveal a fourth, no, fifth creed secret to a random nobody as if it was nothing? Oh. She had a sudden realisation. I am so fucked. Nix was laid upon an unmarred alter. Dread flooded her mind as she took in the ritual chamber around her. Was she found out? Her blood was clearly more concentrated of a medium than any normal person. The blood of the perfect sacrifice. He has to know, right? Nix thought. That¡¯s why he brought me down here. I¡¯m about to be sacrificed seven years early because I got caught by a cultist with a distaste for sharing. Ignoring the pain, she yanked on her arm and tried to slide off the alter. She intended to escape his grip, but the man¡¯s fingers didn¡¯t so much as twitch. He didn¡¯t even show the slightest inkling that he¡¯d noticed. ¡°Whoever gave you the catalyst to mix with your blood: avoid them. They may have guided you to a name, but their unwillingness to divulge even basic cult secrets shows they never intend to welcome you. Not truly.¡± She watched him warily as he traced his hands along the pained side of her chest. ¡°Nix-ine, this will hurt.¡± His fingers extended, piercing her side with terrifying ease. A scream broke through the room. The flickering candlelight danced with each wail as Nix tried in vain to flail against the tall man¡¯s immovable hands. Then, it was over. The pain fled all at once, as the glowing runes drenched in her blood knit her skin back together. ¡°So they had you drink it?¡± Nix heard the cultist ponder to himself as her awareness returned from the pain. ¡°And a powerful potion too. It seems they were more interested in using you as an experiment than holding you in debt.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± she asked groggily. ¡°What did you do?¡± There was another whirr of a sigh before his hands moved to her broken arm. ¡°The cults love their secrets. Mine included. But each cult knows they have to share some of their knowledge with the younger prospects if they ever want them to give back. I don¡¯t know why your overseer never told you this.¡± This time, he didn¡¯t warn her as his fingers plunged into her arm. Somehow, she was able to ignore the pain enough to watch as the narrowed tips of his index and middle fingers moved around within her. There was a snap, and the slight sound of a drill, then his fingers were free again. Each hole stitched themselves together by the efforts of the ritual runes that had filled with her blood. ¡°There. Your bones are set. Come find me at the technocult¡¯s temple to have the bolts removed in a few weeks. Ask for Tarchon. Don¡¯t take longer than four; some corruptive influences will melt the metal if left too long. Unless you find yourself straying from the safe zone again, there shouldn¡¯t be any other issues.¡± And with that, he stood straight and strode to the door. Nix remained lying on the alter, hardly able to believe he hadn¡¯t been trying to sacrifice her, after all. Just before he stepped through, he stopped. ¡°I assume from today you will be joining the Trials. You will need a name evolution before then. Don¡¯t be fooled again.¡± Before Nix could ask any of the questions bubbling in her mind, he was gone. She stared as the door clicked into place, leaving her alone in the room illuminated only by candlelight, and the dim red glow of her blood. So much was on her mind, but there was one that remained stark amongst the rest. Did he just imagine a whole narrative based on an assumption? Chapter 12: Second Fog Nix didn¡¯t know what to feel. Relieved, probably, but she was also annoyed that the cultist ¡ª Tarchon? ¡ª had left without answering any of the questions his words had left spiralling through her mind. She doubted Tarchon was his name. A shortened, uninflected version, maybe, but he was too intense of a person to have such a simple name. His mechanical implants and the skill in which he used them was too far beyond a simple cultist. At the very least, he was on his third evolution. Though, considering how easily he¡¯d tossed about high rank secrets as if they were nothing, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he was on his sixth, or even seventh. Nix flexed her arm. There was pain there, but nothing like it was before. Tarchon hadn¡¯t lied. He fixed her bones back into place. All that remained of her wounds was some slight bruising. Somehow, Tarchon had bolted her arm back together in a way that left no problems with her range of motion, as if it were never broken to begin with. All with the mechanical tools in his hand. No typical technocultist could do that. Now that she had the time to calm down and think, the fiction Tarchon had created for why such events happened was not something she could ever deny. From now on, it was truth that some shady cultist had approached her. They¡¯d given her some potion, and told her how to earn a Feat. Just because the man saved her and knit her body back together, didn¡¯t mean he was any different from the other high-creed cultists. If he discovered her mutations, the same fate would befall her¡­ only this time, she would be in the hands of the cult fated to lose the war. They would sacrifice her far earlier. She placed her formerly broken hand on the alter beneath her, and pushed herself to the ground. The pain was minimal now, but exhaustion still permeated her body. She should be getting back to the Ward now, but her hand lingered on the alter. The Feat. Tarchon had spoken on her gaining one. It should have been impossible; one without anything but curses gaining a Feat was unheard of. Or¡­ at least she¡¯d never heard of such a thing. But apparently the technocultist knew what his imaginary culprits were trying to tempt her with. The way he spoke made it sound like an open secret between the cults. That would be why she didn¡¯t know. Even if something was known by everyone, the cultists didn¡¯t share information with outsiders unless they felt they could profit from it more than they would be punished. And the least of the punishments were rather gruesome. The most common type was bloodletting; it gave the cults some much in-demand blood, and was appropriately uncomfortable. Nix may have spent years within the captivity of the cults, but that hardly meant many risked sharing things with her. Nix had never joined a cult, so despite having reached her twenties, didn¡¯t know shit. But the idea that the cults knew the conditions for a Feat even someone as fragile as Nix could achieve, and didn¡¯t demand it as a requirement seemed odd. What had she done? Fought one of the weakest amalgamations you could find? If that had been the cause, then there would be a million cultists with the same name aspect. So was this actually a much higher creed secret ¡ª like the one about being able to see someone¡¯s name with enough evolutions ¡ª Tarchon had spouted, uncaring for consequences? Or was its benefit just so pointless that nobody bothered with it? If she truly performed a Feat, then she wanted nothing more than to sit back down on the alter and feel her name. But¡­ it would take too long. She was no onomastician. The naming ritual would take hours for her to perform, not a few seconds. It would have to wait. As Nix walked out of the ritual chamber, and found herself in a communal space with light trickling down from the surface entrance, she thought back to how Tarchon saw her name. ¡°Could he see it all?¡± she murmured. ¡°Can anyone?¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. This was bad. If there were people who could see her name, they would know she lied at her naming. They would know she¡¯d gained a Feat. ¡°They only see what you want them to see?¡± The static voice was as confused as ever. It isn¡¯t real, she thought. There are no voices. Nix clenched her fist as she raced up the stairs, thankful for the empty space. It was getting late ¡ª nearing peak ritual execution time ¡ª but with how close she was to the safe zone, it was unsurprising nobody was nearby. You wanted to be in the most corrupt area possible to enact most rituals. The ones Nix had climbed out of might as well have been training chambers for the freshly named like herself. She looked around for the technocultist, but he was nowhere to be seen. What was the man doing around this area in the first place? It was incredibly uncommon for the upper creeds to come near the safe zone. Not only because they preferred the outer regions for their own rituals, but their sheer presence was often enough to spread corruption. Back under the intense light, she found it had already reached the second fog. The mist from the northern temple had begun seeping out into the world. Unlike the grey vapour of the east, this was black. The fog already met in places, and strands like monstrous tentacles lashed between the two forces; a battle of dominance fought between two mists that refused to mingle. There was something so enrapturing about their fight for supremacy. It was like a dance. A dance to the tune of a million whispers that overlapped into indiscernibility. A scream joined the whispers occasionally. Though it was impossible to tell if it was true, or simply the siren call of a monster. Shadows moved beneath the grey fog, but nothing could be seen through its black counterpart. It raised the question of which was more terrifying; knowing something was there, but not knowing what, or having no knowledge at all. Right now, that was Nix¡¯s life. She had shifted from not knowing anything in her first life, to knowing there were some events and tragedies that would happen, but having no idea how or why they happened. The deaths of every Technocultist was the a prime example. She knew it had started as some small disputes with the Machine God Worshippers, but she didn¡¯t know how it had grown to a war with all the pinnacle cults. The two sides had been bitter enemies for centuries, but the other cults never poked their noses into it. Not until this war. And when they did decide to enter, all the major cults did so together. It reeked of collusion. But why? Why did they eradicate the Technocult? Was it linked to the prophecy of the Omen Artisans? All the highest creed Omen Artisans had directed their efforts to the Mural of the Endless Ocean for at least the past decade before this point. While it hadn¡¯t been finished before her death ¡ª not even close, as far as she knew ¡ª they had begun extracting predictions of the future about this time. They were entirely fallible and up for interpretation, but considering the Omen Artisans influence became almost embedded in the other cults, it was clear the knowledge they eventually gained was priceless. At this point in time, the mural was being kept under tight wraps. Nobody who wasn¡¯t somebody even knew of its existence, no less its actual location. Except Nix. She wondered for a moment if there was a way she could use this to her advantage. Surely somebody might buy a secret like this. But she quickly had to toss away the idea. Not only would most people be suspicious of a fifteen-year-old with knowledge only the upper-creed Omen Artisans would have, but it would bring down a mountain of interest on her head. Whoever she sold to would investigate her for sure, and she had no way of knowing that her identity wouldn¡¯t be sold back to the Artisans. Who would you rather be in good graces with: a millennia old cult that was rumoured to see the future¡­ or some cursed teenager that held no backing? All the knowledge she had of the future ¡ª limited it may be from being caged away ¡ª she had to find ways of using it directly. Trading it for money, or cult secrets, was a foolish short-term move that would only make it harder for herself later. With the light of the accretion drying the last of her moist blood into her once pristine gown, she turned to the safe zone. It was getting late. If she stayed out any later, not even the centre of Coral¡¯s surface would be safe. Nix wanted so many things right now. A bath. A change of clothes. Somewhere to enact her naming ritual where nobody else would bother her. A bed to crash. She could get all of those things by returning to the ward¡­ but she didn¡¯t want to. She wanted a private home for herself on the outskirts. Maybe some time in the public baths. Really, she just didn¡¯t want to deal with all the people that she had to live with in the Wards. There was just such little privacy. But she also really wanted to see K¡¯tan¡¯s furious outburst. So she made her way to the trolley, ready to return to the safest place on Coral. The place where only a human monster lurked, rather than the ones that were at least honest about their nature. K¡¯tan was dangerous, but only because he would sell you like an animal at the first opportunity, not because he would tear off her face with claws. Nix had come so close to death again today, and she was exhausted. She had barely enough energy to keep her feet beneath her, but she never fell. Each foot simply found its way before the other as she crossed the city. Ignoring the constant stares her way, Nix looked forward to K¡¯tan¡¯s reaction to her bloody, deathly appearance. He cared a lot about appearances, after all. It was the one flaw about him even the old Nix had known about. She would make sure he couldn¡¯t just brush her sickly appearance out of sight of the other wards¡¯ overseers. K¡¯tan was going to hate her, and Nix could only grin. Chapter 13: Ktans Fury By the time Nix reached the massive metal shutters of the Rearing Ward, her sweat had mixed with blood and left her gown smelling fierce. She¡¯d been exhausted from both attempting to climb Still Tower, and the eventual fight she¡¯d had with the amalgamation. The walk had been hard. Her legs felt like they would collapse beneath her at any moment. But she¡¯d pushed forward. All to see K¡¯tan¡¯s fury. There hadn¡¯t been anyone on the Trolley, thank the Eidolon Gods. As much as she was willing to show off her weakened, filthy visage to the overseers of the neighbouring wards to give K¡¯tan trouble, she wasn¡¯t willing to extend that to random strangers. After years of living in a pitiable state, Nix wanted to stand strong. The vault like shutters before her were closed, as they almost always were. Each rearing ward was more of a bunker than a building. They held the weakest of all Coral, so the entire structures needed to be isolated from the rest of the orbital platform. Essentially, they were just big metal boxes that housed a thousand kids. And this was just one of many. Each of the cults had a longstanding agreement ¡ª one of the rare few ¡ª to support and maintain these isolated environments for children to grow and learn. Before one¡¯s thirteenth year, they weren¡¯t even allowed to leave. And it was only after their naming day could they find somewhere else to live. By seventeen¡­ well, Nix didn¡¯t know what happened; nobody stayed around that long. But that was usually when the dorms were cleaned out for the next generation. Nix stepped forward, lifted the heavy knocker, and rammed it into the thick metal. They had doorbell and PA systems on the inside, but considering corruption had a tendency filter through any form of information transfer, it was safest to rely on the primitive effectiveness of a physical door-knock. ¡°Nix! By the everseeing eye!¡± a voice came from a speaker overhead. At least as a first line of defence. They needed to turn on the cameras and intercom if they didn¡¯t want to open the shutters for every random knock, after all. The grinding sound of the shutters scratched at Nix¡¯s ears for the second time that day. Before they¡¯d even opened fully, a lady was by her side with an arm around her shoulder as she gestured her inside. Startled by the touch, she flinched away slightly, but quickly tried to clamp down on the feeling. She wanted to come here looking pitiful, not actually feel that way. The woman pulled back a touch, noticed Nix¡¯s reaction, but still led her inside. ¡°What happened to you?¡± she asked, with a level of worry Nix had not been prepared to face. This was Val¡¯oura; Overseer of the current group of nine-year-olds, if Nix¡¯s memory was right. The woman shouldn¡¯t have let her in this easily. There needed to be questions asked to validate Nix was who she appeared to be. What if she¡¯d been a skinwalker? Or any sort of monster possessing Nix¡¯s body? She was put off balance that things had already derailed from what she expected, and Val¡¯oura noticed. It was clear she was being careful with Nix, as she put a hand on her back and led her to sit down in one of the couches of the foyer. Her fatigue and bloody gown only playing into her usual sickly appearance. Nix intended for this to be an act, not for her to actually feel vulnerable in this state, but she¡¯d remembered the other overseers and carers being far more detached, and it confounded her. When she¡¯d come running back to the ward to hide in her corner room, they hadn¡¯t cared to ask if she was okay¡­ so why were they now? Had she changed something this drastically already? ¡°What¡¯s going o¡ª oh, damn. Did you go swimming in a cult¡¯s blood vat?¡± Another of the overseers came over after hearing Val¡¯oura¡¯s commotion. Despite his words, Nix found even he was more worried than angry. Well, now was the time to mislead them. If she could make them think this was somehow K¡¯tan¡¯s fault ¡ª or at least the fault of his neglect ¡ª then she could put a strain on that image he loved to make people think was truth. ¡°K¡¯tan¡­ he said I should go for a walk. I¡­ I didn¡¯t think there would be a monster¡­¡± Nix finally got a hold of her as she made herself sound feeble. She suddenly realised that she didn¡¯t like this plan. Why had she chosen this path again? She was trying to separate her current and previous selves. Acting like the weak child her body still was rung home just how far she had to go despite such a long and eventful day.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The things I do to get you mad. She thought. I really hope you appreciate my efforts. Nix was already dedicated, so she wasn¡¯t about to back down, even if it was a bit humiliating. Just the mention of her overseer being the one to advise her to go for a walk where she¡¯d been attacked by some monster had been enough for the two before her to share a glance between themselves. It wasn¡¯t even that much of a lie. He did give her permission to go wandering. This is the last time I intentionally allow myself to be seen as pitiable. She declared to herself. It was a lifetime of being stuck in such a position, so she wanted to do her best to avoid repeating such days, even in act. Val¡¯oura had already sent a call through the internal comms network of the Rearing Ward, so it didn¡¯t take long for K¡¯tan to appear. Striding out into the main foyer, the hard glares of both other overseers stop him in his tracks. The way his eyes flicker between Nix and his fellow carers is almost comical considering how easily it is for Nix to follow his trail of thought. He was quick to realise why they were glaring. His teeth grit as his face morphed into his best veneer of concern. ¡°Nix! What happened?¡± His acting was almost as good as Nix¡¯s. Almost. As he approached her side and lay his arm on her shoulder, she didn¡¯t even bother to suppress the shiver of revulsion that passed through her. Though, she did put on a show of pretending to hide it again afterwards. She intentionally didn¡¯t answer his question. K¡¯tan must have felt the eyes burning into his back, as he pushed Nix to rise. She did so, making sure it looked as half-hearted and unwilling as she could. He tried to hurry her along. She knew he was just trying to get them out of the other overseer¡¯s eyes. Nix made sure her backward glance lasted just long enough to seem fearful and resigned, but not so much that she was pleading for help. She didn¡¯t actually want the other overseers to act; only that they spread his questionable actions to the other adults of the Rearing Ward. K¡¯tan hated when the kids under his care went out during ritual hours. It was like a personal insult. He would hate every one of his colleagues thinking he was the one who encouraged such action. As Nix turned back to follow K¡¯tan, she spotted something shift in the darkness of the corridor that lead to her dorm. The man ¡ª that was still tightly gripping her shoulder ¡ª hadn¡¯t seen, but Nix was pretty confident it was one of the kids. The walk back to their ward took a few minutes, and the entire while, Nix could almost feel K¡¯tan¡¯s rage writhing beneath the surface. His fingers were digging into her bone painfully, and she didn¡¯t even think he noticed. When they were finally in their section of the ward ¡ª K¡¯tan having shut the metal divider behind them ¡ª he couldn¡¯t contain his screams. They were in the common room, so his screams would be muffled by the time they reached the dorm rooms, but everyone would know he was pissed. Nix ducked her head to hide her grin. It felt¡­ good to be able to manipulate the man how she wanted. Maybe it wasn¡¯t to the degree of what he¡¯d done to her, nor did she retain all that much control, but it was so much better to be the one with K¡¯tan playing the palm of her hand than the other way around. As he raged, a quieter voice somehow pierced through the volume. ¡°You are going to kill him, yes?¡± little god asked, spinning around the man¡¯s head like a predator circled prey. ¡°Why do you wait?¡± Of course. But I¡¯m to weak to risk it. Not yet, she responded, realising too late that she was reacting to the imaginary beast again. ¡°¡­And what was that before, huh? Do you not trust me? Why would you react that way?¡± his frustration was leaking through his words, but Nix could hear the attempt to pull her back in line and his accusation present themselves together. The clang of heavy divider opening cut his shouting short, and he immediately scowled. His hand landed on Nix¡¯s shoulder again, and pushed her towards her room. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later. Now get to bed. You look exhausted.¡± It was obvious he was trying to shoo her off before he had to deal with whoever had come, and Nix took the opportunity that was presented to her. ¡°No. I need a bath.¡± His eyes widened, as if he didn¡¯t believe Nix could say no to him. Honestly, the old her probably couldn¡¯t. ¡°My assistants will be in there for the next while, you can go in the morning.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want my room to smell of blood and sweat.¡± Oh, this was just too fun. His eyes narrowed fractionally, and if he had any less control over his expression, Nix was sure he¡¯d click his tongue in annoyance. ¡°Of course,¡± he relented. ¡°But don¡¯t bother them when you go in. They might not be happy to have their time to relax stolen.¡± He then shooed her towards the women¡¯s bath. Nix was ever so tempted to wait around and see who had come. Was it Val¡¯oura? Or had K¡¯tan been waiting for someone? But¡­ she¡¯d already pushed him satisfyingly far tonight. Any more and he wouldn¡¯t just leave her with a bit of scolding. It might be fun, but she still had to keep herself from standing out too much. So, she head for the bath. On her way, she glanced down at herself. Many of the people who worked in the rearing wards did so because they wanted to avoid the nature of cultism. They didn¡¯t strive to climb the ranks, and many had a distaste for blood and death. Knowing that, and how the carers had avoided her, Nix was rather confident that by interrupting their after-shift relaxation time, they were almost certain to leave her alone. Nix would have the bath entirely to herself. So when she pushed past the moisture-trapping airlock, walked through the changing rooms, and out into the bathing hall proper, she was ready for every eye to turn her way. The half-dozen women in the warm pool sat shocked. They turned and talked amongst each other. And finally, they all rose from the bath together. What Nix wasn¡¯t prepared for, was for each of them to approach her, rather than try to leave. ¡°Nix, what happened? Are you hurt?¡± ¡°Let us help you take that off.¡± Just like Val¡¯oura, these women that spent much of Nix¡¯s teenage years avoiding her, were suddenly showing a level of concern she couldn¡¯t remember. Was my isolation just a figment of my imagination? Chapter 14: Washing Away the Blood Nix slowly peeled the blood and sweat soaked camisole from her chest as she sunk beneath the foamy water. She pulled up the once stylish gown. The chemicals in the bath had already eaten through most of the blood, but that hadn¡¯t returned it to its previous state. Even without the tears through it, the dress was ruined by the strain it had endured while weighed down by blood. It was a formal piece, after all. Not designed for the extreme circumstances Nix had been through these past few hours. She definitely wouldn¡¯t be buying something like this again. A thick robe that wouldn¡¯t tear so easily and could hide her mutations from any passing inspection would be great. The carers had left her alone, but not the way she expected. While Nix had assumed they would run off at the sight of her, or her blood-soaked body, they¡¯d done anything but. Actually, it had been hard to convince them that she was fine before they took off her top and revealed the feather beneath. Her hand found its way down to her side, and was immediately thankful that she had been able to stop them. Nix brushed away the foam to see half a dozen sprouts surrounding the fully formed piece of fluff. The black feather with red tip had bloomed. Barbs were yet to peel out from the other hard tubes, but it wouldn¡¯t be long. By the end of the week, Nix thought. I¡¯ll have a full plumage. She wasn¡¯t sure what to think about them. The feathers themselves weren¡¯t terrible ¡ª soft to the touch and easily hidden ¡ª but it was the promise of her future that made Nix dislike them. As she¡¯d already seen today, the future could be changed. She already had two more names than the same time yesterday. But her feathers, and therefore all other changes, would remain a constant. They weren¡¯t something she could hide from or fight. Nix let her head dip beneath the water as her clothes sunk besides her. Her hair splayed outwards. Chemical cleaners were quick to scrub anything unwanted from her locks, while also enriching them with moisturisers. When the women had helped Nix into the bath, she¡¯d asked the only question that was on her mind. ¡®Why did they keep their distance?¡¯ Their answer gave Nix a mixture of frustration, and complete understanding. It was K¡¯tan. The man had told them in the past that Nix was troubled and needed her space. They were to only help her if she reached out herself. And, of course, Nix being as self-conscious as she¡¯d been, had seen that as them avoiding her, and never called out. K¡¯tan had isolated Nix so that she would only trust him. She had only made it worse by not questioning their change in behaviour when it happened. But why? It wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d known she was the perfect sacrifice back at this point. She didn¡¯t even think he knew that when he¡¯d passed her off to the Fleshsmiths. What had been the purpose? Even if she now knew him as a monster, she didn¡¯t know why he would want her as isolated as she¡¯d become. Would things have been different if she¡¯d told those ladies about her mutations rather than K¡¯tan? Nix immediately dismissed such an idea. There had been a hundred thousand cultists to witness her death. They¡¯d all seen how desperately she didn¡¯t want it. And yet not a single one opposed. Her death hadn¡¯t even been a question for them, much less something they¡¯d fight for. They might be kinder than she thought, but that hardly meant she could trust them. Still, it showed that some things you always assumed to be true, never were. The water was wonderful. It slid over her tired, aching body and soothed her soul. She relished in the feeling. So long had it been since she¡¯d last enjoyed the peaceful comfort of a bath. And a private one at that!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Right before her sacrifice, they¡¯d washed her down. Not with a bath, but with a hundred bound leech-spawn that ate away a few layers of skin and cycled her blood through their stomachs before returning it to her. That had been slightly uncomfortable, and left her feeling more filthy than when she¡¯d been literally covered in filth during the worst parts of her confinement. This? This is paradise. How had it not even been a day since she¡¯d been sacrificed? An eternity had passed since then and now. She¡¯d returned to her naming day, discovered a second additive, and apparently even earned a Feat. And that wasn¡¯t even taking into account how close she¡¯d come to dying. As soon as she got back into her room, she would be leaping into the naming ritual to discover just what Feat she had achieved. She was exhausted, but she¡¯d been exhausted all her life; Nix was sure she could push through. But for now, she couldn¡¯t move. The water was too nice. Warm. Relaxing. If somebody walked in right now, the only thing blocking them from seeing her budding feathers was the foam surface. That was not going to be enough in the future. She needed to move out of the Rearing Ward before her limbs started growing. If she ignored the hardening of her fingernails which would be easy enough to hide with gloves or even some nail-paint, the first change she couldn¡¯t easily hide beneath her clothes would be her wings. She never actually had been able to grow them fully, but it was about six months from now that they began. That was her deadline. Nix needed to find a place to live outside the safe zone before her wings began to break through her skin. Unfortunately, the option to take a safe zone residence was off the table for her. She needed a place with its own plumbing and private shower or bath. Relying on public baths would eventually end in disaster. And I refuse to give up bathing. She thought. Never again. Water was a terribly strong anchor for corruption. So much so, that any piping anywhere, even in the safe zone, was bound to become a seedbed for its growth and spread. To counteract this, only large baths like the one Nix currently soaked were used. It meant that they could layer every surface with runic sinks and insulation. It also meant there was no privacy. In the outer regions, they held no reservation for corrupted water, so they didn¡¯t have to go through the same hoops to bathe or drink. They had showers. Nix so desperately wanted some of that. But¡­ it wasn¡¯t an immediate concern. She would need to work around everyone else¡¯s timetables to bathe when nobody else was¡­ but she¡¯d been doing that the first time round anyway. As long as she kept her body beneath the foam whenever others came in, she shouldn¡¯t have a problem. ¡°Why do you not let them grow?¡± Nix snapped her eyes open to find her little imaginary eye staring down at the foamy water. As she looked down, she realised she¡¯d been playing with her feather. The sensation was slight, but she could definitely feel through it. She snapped her hand away, pretending like she¡¯d done so of her own volition, and not because of the fictional eye. ¡°You refuse?¡± it slunk through the air without haste until it stopped right before her face. Nix did her best to look anywhere but directly in that pitch black pupil. ¡°You deny what you have. Why do you pretend that you are less than you are?¡± ¡°You think I wanted these changes?¡± she snapped, finally acknowledging the little creature. ¡°I¡¯ve wished they would disappear since the moment I grew my first feather.¡± ¡°You have?¡± it¡¯s inquisitive tone never deviated, but all Nix heard was an accusation. ¡°If not for these mutations ¡ª these curses ¡ª my life could have been so different.¡± Nix suddenly realised she wasn¡¯t exactly in a private place and lowered her voice to a hiss. ¡°I¡¯m back to the past, but these changes will only grow the same. I have a second chance, but my paths haven¡¯t expanded; they¡¯ve narrowed to one.¡± Nix huffed, annoyed at having argued with herself, and rose from the water. She¡¯d become far too used to talking to herself. It was a habit she needed to crush. Picking up her clothing that was now free of blood and sweat, she shook herself of water and made for the changing room. She found a set of fresh robes. One of the carers had been nice enough to fetch them for her. Unlike her expensive gown, this one had to be tied on manually. She breathed out, and found the frustration sliding from her body. Her body felt too good. Much too pleasant to lament over accusations thought up by her own mind. The bath had almost washed away the lingering pain in her ribs and arm, and she¡¯d regained enough energy to enact the naming ritual in the privacy of her own room, even if it took hours. She stepped through the airlock. Waving away the steam that rose from her body and clothes, she pushed through the second door and strode down the hall to her dorm. Only¡­ as she walked down to her room at the far end, she found one of her ward-mates twiddling a pair of metal frames ¡ª eversight assists ¡ª right in front of her door. He glanced up, locked eyes with her, and strode towards her. It was Dan-yae; the first boy to be named today. He wasn¡¯t a part of Grif¡¯s group, but that wasn¡¯t much of a relief to Nix. None of her dorm-mates spoke with her. Ever. And there certainly hadn¡¯t been one that approached her like this on their naming day. Had something changed this drastically already? Was that a good thing? A bad thing? Anything was better than the way things played out last time¡­ but she also knew things of the future that she could use to her advantage. If events changed too greatly, how could she abuse them? ¡°Nix,¡± he started, and she could only blink. What does he want? Chapter 15: The Feat ¡°You know there¡¯s a secret entrance, right?¡± Dan said, voice hushed. For a few long moments, Nix just stood with her jaw slightly agape. One of her ward-mates had actually spoken to her? Civilly? The only time they ever spoke to her was to speak at her. To yell or cry or bully like children, but never to engage her. She was struck speechless. Of course she knew of the hole through steel the other kids used; it was only two rooms over from her. It had been hard to miss the less-than-subtle kids trying to sneak in at night when she¡¯d grown up here. ¡°Yes.¡± Nix finally realised she¡¯d left his question hanging an awkwardly long time. ¡°Of course I know about it. Why?¡± Dan glanced down the hall, struggling to keep eye contact with Nix, and she was suddenly aware he felt just as strange about this encounter as she did. ¡°You know we use it to avoid K¡¯tan¡¯s anger, and you¡­¡± he trailed off, unsure how to continue. As he stood there, mulling over his thoughts, Nix considered simply pushing past him and taking refuge in her room. It had been a long day, and she really wanted to find out what that Feat she apparently received was. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked. ¡°From what happened after the Naming Ceremony, I mean.¡± he quickly added. Ah, Nix realised. He was hiding in the darkness of the halls when I arrived, wasn¡¯t he? He must have seen me in my bloodsoaked gown. ¡°I¡¯m not dead,¡± she shrugged, finally brushing aside some of the sheer oddity of the situation. Dan nodded, still as awkwardly as when he¡¯d begun. His eyes dropped to the metal frames in his hands. He hadn¡¯t stopped fiddling with them since Nix arrived. Eversight assists. They were a rather¡­ uncomfortable looking tool of induction into the Cult of the Everseeing Eye. Intended to be strapped to ones eyelids to keep them open, they were meant to prepare a trainee for when they would need to remain wide-eyed ceaselessly. The boy clearly had something else on his mind, but he couldn¡¯t seem to gather the courage. Curious, Nix waited, but Dan suddenly nodded again, and walked away from her. He head to his room. And not even a goodnight? ¡°You know I¡¯m the cursed girl right?¡± Nix asked before he could run too far. She used the term she¡¯d heard so often when they were talking behind her back. ¡°Why did you speak to me? Dan stopped in his tracks and glanced back. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ uh, getting close to that time of year.¡± Nix had absolutely no idea what he meant. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Just¡­¡± he hesitated, as if the words themselves were too hard to say. ¡°It is far too dangerous to be testing K¡¯tan¡¯s patience right now. You don¡¯t want to be the one he chooses.¡± Dan opened his door and was gone before Nix could grasp his words. The one he chooses? Nix asked to herself. Choose for what? That was probably the longest someone Nix¡¯s own age had ever spoken to her. And it had been to warn her about K¡¯tan? Where was this the last time around? Why did he warn her of his untrustworthy nature now, and not in her last life when she needed it? Nix stared down the door he fled through. She was so tempted to barge in there and demand more answers, but she held back. Doing so would only start a fight with him and whoever was his roommate, and she still wanted to begin her name ritual. Dan was obviously being cagey about something, but as the only one in the entire dorm to have crossed the perception that you could inherit curses from proximity, she didn¡¯t feel all that interested in burning one of the few, narrow bridges she hadn¡¯t known she had. She opened the door to her room and slunk inside, thinking about what could have changed to make him warn her, and how her ward-mates seemed far more wary and fearful around K¡¯tan. Between Ari and now Dan, it was clear that the picture she had in her head of K¡¯tan getting along with everyone was not true. Had it been her own closeness to the man when she was young that forged this perception? He had been the only one she trusted. That might have made her think everyone else trusted him too. But what exactly were they afraid of? As far as Nix could remember, the only time his persona of the kind guardian broke, was when the kids came home late. Specifically, when the other overseers had to call him to bring his kids back to their ward. Any other time, he was the picture of serenity. What do they know that they never told me? Nix wasn¡¯t about to let this go. She¡¯d already resolved herself to punishing, then murdering K¡¯tan, but if there was something more he was hiding ¡ª some twisted trait not even she¡¯d known ¡ª then Nix wanted to know. As she was, she was weak. If there was anything she could use against the man, she would. And if that meant she actually had to approach some of her ward-mates¡­ well, they were just a bunch of kids after all. What¡¯s the worst that could happen?If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. For now, she had a name she wanted to see. She closed the door behind her. Now, as she had many times in the past, Nix wished the door had a lock. Her ripped and destroyed gown found itself wedged in the narrow gap beneath the heavy frame. It wouldn¡¯t stop K¡¯tan¡­ or any of her ward-mates, but she hoped it would give her that little more time to react. Everyone in the wards had at one point in time tried to use a wedge for privacy, but the doors brushed too low along the ground for them to be effective. Especially considering the rug only covered one corner of the room and didn¡¯t reach the door. Nix reached her bolted down bedside table and opened a drawer. The packets of candles and chalk had been given as a generic gift to everyone the night before their naming. It was seen as a rite of passage. Once you were named, you would work to enter the cult of your choosing. That meant a lot of rituals. Tearing open the pack, she placed the candles evenly around the room before sketching a basic pentagram into the thin, replaceable floorboards. This version of the naming ritual required very little resources besides time. It wasn¡¯t comprehensive, and wouldn¡¯t work until the proper, official ceremony gave one access to their name ¡ª not for lack of trying by her ward-mates in the months and years prior. They technically weren¡¯t allowed to enact rituals until their naming day, but the rule was practically ignored. If a caretaker discovered a kid before their naming had gone and bought some chalk, they¡¯d clap their hands and encourage such enthusiasm for their future, rather than chide. And still¡­ Nix had been one of the few that waited until her Naming. She sat in the middle of the pentagon decorated with only a few runes and began her hymn. It was one she knew entirely by heart. In her captivity, she¡¯d not been able to enact any rituals ¡ª even the ones like this that did not require corruption ¡ª but she¡¯d certainly spent a lot of time practising. Her voice flowed with the subtle notes, sounding far more elegant and clear to her own ears now that it wasn¡¯t marred by a missing tongue, or the echoing tone it once became. She relaxed into the effort. A meditative state overcame her as she sunk into the calming process. Even if she was still as weak as ever, Nix was glad she hadn¡¯t lost this. It had taken her years of patience and effort to achieve, after all. She¡¯d been worried it wouldn¡¯t transfer when she actually got to perform a ritual. The world seemed to seep out of existence around her as she continued to drown in her trance. Her mind grew dark. Like the core of the black hole far beneath their feet. Not even Little God could reach her here. She was alone. Utterly, and entirely alone. Time passed. Nix lost all concept of it. But soon, her name began to scrawl itself across her senses. Unlike the ceremony, it didn¡¯t come all at once. It began with her first, then her additives. The scribbling across her senses was so slow even in her timeless trance, and Nix felt dread that the technocultist had lied to her after all. That she hadn¡¯t achieved a Feat. But then, it appeared. Nix-ine-oth-Zylth Zylth ¡ª One who struggles without need. Neither help, power, nor might will satisfy their plight. Those who confine themselves in the eye of death can see through the binds of equal deceit. As soon as she read her Feat, the dark world of her meditation collapsed around her. Are you fucking kidding me? Struggles without need? I didn¡¯t exactly have any other options than to fight that amalgamation. So, what? Just because I didn¡¯t call out for help when I was close to death, I got a Feat? Nix rolled to her back and spread her arms across the floor. She was pretty certain that if Tarchon had been paying attention to the fight and was ready to save her if she failed to kill the amalgamation, then she would never have achieved the additive. Feats weren¡¯t that easy to gain. And whatever bestowed the names ¡ªwhether it was the Eidolon Gods or the world itself ¡ª knew when you were facing a challenge, and when you weren¡¯t. And she doubted she would have received this name if the amalgamation was actually weaker than her. Even if the benefit was minimal, if it was that easy, then everyone would have it just to boost their prospective evolution. Nix groaned. Why can¡¯t you just be clear?! Her best guess to the requirements for this feat was that she¡¯d had options available to her that she¡¯d outright refused to take, even if it meant death. And somehow still beat a creature stronger than herself. But she wasn¡¯t certain that was all. A cryptic description usually denoted a high tiered name, and yet it just made it frustrating for Nix. She wanted to understand it. It wasn¡¯t like she could go and ask some onomastician to tell her its meaning; she was still wary about making herself stand out. Plus, Tarchon¡¯s dismissiveness about the name declared just how pointless it probably was. Though, he did say she had a variant¡­ As she felt over the name¡¯s description again, she focused on the last line. It had to be a deliberate choice of words. Confine myself? After my last life? How dare you. She harrumphed. But the mention of seeing through deceit was interesting. She had no idea what it could mean. The way it was described made Nix think that she could see options an opponent might have that she shared¡­ but she wasn¡¯t sure how that might play out. She hoped it wasn¡¯t what she thought; if it simply gave her an insight into other¡¯s desperation or willingness to die, she could see why Tarchon thought it was a pointless Feat A name was only as useful as how well it was understood. And a Feat like this¡­ if it was useful at all, it might take some experimenting. In the meantime, she cast her mind over her first three names. They all still read only curse, but there was a niggling sensation at the back of her mind. One that hadn¡¯t been there at the naming ceremony. Each of her cursed names now appeared fuzzy. Their descriptions were less distinct, yet more intense and specific at the same time. The only word she could see when looking at them remained ¡®curse¡¯, but it was almost like she could see a layer beneath them. Something she couldn¡¯t comprehend. Curious, she poked and prodded at them, finding the third to be¡­ more susceptible, somehow. Her mental fingers skimmed the surface of Oth, and she got the sense of a shell to crack; a box to open. Enraptured, she reached within, determined to find what this odd hidden aspect of her curse was. An ache ran down her spine. It wasn¡¯t painful, but it was anything but normal. She pressed deeper. There was something within her name; she knew it. But as the crack in Oth opened wider, the name became more fuzzy and indistinct. Her sense couldn¡¯t comprehend what was happening, but she kept going. She had to know what lied within. Until that ache spread from her lower spine to her ribs. Glancing down, and shifting her robe, she snapped her mental fingers out of her name with a startled yelp. Feathers, in their black and red grandeur, now spread all around her midriff. Between her waist and ribs, only the navel was free of plumage. Nix scrambled back, knocking over a pair of candles ¡ª which were quick to extinguish ¡ª in her haste to get out of the ritual circle. She quickly found herself in the corner nook between her bed and the wall, where she glanced over her body again. By touching her name, she had accelerated her mutations. A week had passed in a moment. Chapter 16: Control and a Full Plumage No! I was supposed to have an entire week. Nix stood before her mirror and searched her body up and down for any mutations beyond the feathers. Her hands slid through the plumage, relieved that there was no inklings of a nub yet, but also horrified that all her feathers had come back this quickly. Thankfully, it looked like it was only her feathers that had grown in, but that was a poor alleviant to the fact that her feathers had grown in. Her hands balled into fists. A bunch of feathers caught in her grasp, and she was so, so tempted to tear them out. To hope that doing so would return her to how she was only a few minutes ago. But she¡¯d already done so once. Tearing out feathers hurt. Almost more than breaking an arm. Well¡­ not actually, but it hurt enough that she couldn¡¯t will herself to tug. Despite how much she disliked her mutations, they were as much a part of her body as her hair or fingernails. She just had to ignore the fact that those two things would soon not be a part of her while the feathers would remain. How does touching my name hasten the changes? Never in her life had she heard of interacting with a name. The closest was evolution, which supposedly gave you options for a direction you wanted to go. But even that wasn¡¯t anything like this. Nix had altered her body simply by gazing into her name. A name evolution was a leap. A consolidation of your very being that occurred all at once. And it was supposed to be very obvious when you were doing so. What Nix had experienced was different. Her names hadn¡¯t been ready to merge into one; they wanted to open up. It was the complete opposite of an evolution. A fragmentation of her curses that only pushed the physical mutations to manifest faster. Unless¡­ this was actually the fault of her Feat. She wanted to toss such an idea to the skitter-spawn. This achievement was the only part of her that wasn¡¯t cursed. She loved it. But she¡¯d never felt her names act the way they did until she¡¯d received this Feat. And when the final description of a name mentioned sight, or see to some variation, it was either expressly literal, or it meant a type of analytical perception. Considering that, it wasn¡¯t a leap to say her Feat gave insight of her own names. The problem was¡­ Nix had no way of proving this wasn¡¯t just some strange aspect of cursed names. If it was the Feat, then it would be possible to use it on normal names too¡­ but Nix didn¡¯t have any normal names. She couldn¡¯t dig into anything that wouldn¡¯t make her sprout wings or let her hair decay into mould. She still didn¡¯t like to think what those four other limbs would have been. The monsters of the black hole gave some rather worrying hints.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Nix strode across the room and tossed herself in bed. Robe and all. It would be only a few hours before the others began waking, and she really should be getting some rest. I can control my mutations. It was a startling thought. She didn¡¯t have full control over them ¡ª unless the Feat suddenly allowed her to pack her names back together and revert her changes entirely ¡ª but she now had some level of will over what happened to her own body. Sure, it wasn¡¯t the way she ever wanted to progress, but the very thought that she could influence her mutations was elating. Unlike last time, she wasn¡¯t bound by whatever pace fate wanted to twist her body. If she ever wished to ¡ª for some forsaken reason ¡ª she could grasp her names and unleash the full brunt of her mutations upon herself. It horrified her how exhilarating the thought was. This was an entirely new path she could take. Instead of hoping for some lucky name addition or an evolution that will change her fate, she could unpack her cursed names and find what they hid. Find the meaning that not even the onomastician could see. While Nix was sure that many of her mutations had been severed or locked away simply because the cultists were cruel, it was true that some provided real weapons to Nix. Her acidic saliva being the prime example. If any of her mutations provided even half the capability to kill or wound as her spit had, then she truly had to consider whether throwing herself into the mutations was really a horrible thing. As it was, she had no power of her own. Under the effect of curses since birth, her body was weaker than any other her own age. She had a four-part name, but she was weaker than many single-part kids that had yet received their ceremony. These mutations¡­ they provided an option that she might not be able to avoid. Not if she wanted to ever reach the heights necessary to take on the cults. But if she did go down this path, it was no different than painting a target on her back. The cultists would discover her as soon as she could no longer hide the mutations. They might raise her absolute weakness, but relying on her mutations alone to fight the cults was impossible. Her saliva had already proven completely ineffective. Still, the very fact that the option was there was a relief on a scale she could hardly believe. Enough to counteract the depression of suddenly growing a plumage. A thought occurred to her: does inspecting all her names have the same effect? She¡¯d only touched her new additive, Oth. Would the effect be the same if she tried to open Ine, or even Nix? It was something she would have to test the next time she initiated the ritual. She would also need to see if she could unravel Zylth. Even if it didn¡¯t unwind, that didn¡¯t mean the Feat wasn¡¯t the source of analysis. An eye couldn¡¯t see itself without a mirror, after all. From the comfort of her bed, she glanced towards Little God, who stared from the corner of the room. It¡¯d been silent ever since her outburst in the bath. Back to how he¡¯d been in years prior. Nix didn¡¯t know why she¡¯d expected it to say something now. That whole thing with K¡¯tan and all the questionable reactions going on around him was a far more pressing matter, Nix decided. She needed to figure out what was going on. Dan, and the other kids seemed to know something, so she would need to do what her past self never would have dared, and actually approach them. Nix had to stifle the slight fear that rose at such an idea. They were kids. Even if she¡¯d not actually been able to live her life, she still had seven years on any of them. Why would she worry? For now, she would focus on what she could do: aim for a name evolution and learn what all the other kids knew. Her cursed names¡­ she simply couldn¡¯t touch them. Not now. Maybe not ever. The one thing that would assure time would repeat was for the cults to discover her mutations. If she didn¡¯t touch them, she had at minimum six months. But if she tempted fate for the promise of some small biological weapons, that period of safety would collapse. She was happy to have another path before her, but it wasn¡¯t something she would use. Not while she still had her freedom. Today had been a long day. A long, but great day. While not everything was perfect and her future remained uncertain, so much had already changed. And to Nix, that was more than she could have asked for. Her fate had already deviated. She just had to make sure that deviation continued. There was still plenty of time. Chapter 17: Everyone Knows... Except You Nix woke late. By the time she¡¯d left the confines of her bed and made her way to the kitchen, the dorm was mostly empty. The day after Naming was supposed to be busy. Those who¡¯d gone with the cultists the day before were likely still with them, and the ones who¡¯d only received a word would be travelling to their respective temples under the protection of a guide. For the majority that received no interest, they spent the day applying for induction at the small, local cult-houses without corruption¡­ or they sulked. When Nix walked into the communal lounge with an arm-full of fruit and bread she stole from the kitchen, she wasn¡¯t surprised at all to find a bunch of her ward-mates slumped in despair in their little groups. K¡¯tan was nowhere to be seen ¡ª thankfully ¡ª but there ware other carers who were walking through the large hall, finding every nook and cranny the kids hid themselves away. They needled them to get out and work for the future, but also didn¡¯t push too hard. Sympathy was plentiful; after all, most of the adults standing here had been in the same position at one point. It was truly a foreign sight. Beyond the safety of these walls, the world was not nearly so nice. Cultists were brutal. And not only to Nix; she¡¯d seen plenty of instances where punishments would be dealt out for the smallest of mistakes. Trials would be given by upper creed cultists for their subordinates that seemed entirely intended to crush their spirits with how impossible they were. Enough exposure to the cults would twist anyone¡¯s sensibilities, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise that the only ones who could remain kind and caring to children instead of truly preparing them for the world of cultists, were the ones that had avoided that world entirely. Even the common store owners and workers in the safe zone couldn¡¯t avoid aspects of the cults. Most in the safe zone weren¡¯t actually a part of a cult, but you could never avoid their influence. Only here, in these thick metal boxes, could you pretend like the world wasn¡¯t so cruel. Nix walked through the lounge, looking for somewhere isolated to sit, and received a glare by one of the carers. She wasn¡¯t supposed to eat here. But today, the man wasn¡¯t willing to actually tell her off. Given the growing number of side glances now that her presence was known to the common-space, she would guess word had spread about her. Both to the carers, and the kids. Both about her cursed names, and how she came back bloody. They likely all thought she was devastated, so when they found her striding through them completely nonplussed and almost¡­ happy, she attracted some stares. She was intending to find a place for herself to eat the fresh food, but found her eyes landing on Dan, and immediately shifted plans. Considering he¡¯d been approached by one of the Everseeing Eye¡¯s members, she¡¯d thought he¡¯d be over at their observatory right now. He even had those goggle-like assists he was supposed to wear. Which now lay forgotten at his side. The boy held a comforting hand on the shoulder of the girl he sat besides. Ari. Nix remembered the Omen Artisan hopeful. Her eyes were red, and small canvas laid snapped in half in her lap. Dan was clearly trying to console her, and kept nudging her to take up the small notepad in his hands. Suddenly Nix stopped in her tracks. She¡¯d been so determined to go over there and ask her ward-mate more about K¡¯tan, but she suddenly found herself lost for what to do. They were clearly not in the mood to talk to anyone right now. Should she come back later? It¡¯s not like her ward-mates had changed their attitude towards her just because Dan had spent a minute in her presence. Even now she could see some of the kids sneaking off. Shaking her head, she dismissed her concerns. It was his fault for giving her such incomplete information. Who says to be careful around someone, and doesn¡¯t expect to have questions thrown back in their face. He owed her. Besides, turning around now would be too similar to what the old Nix would do. She wouldn¡¯t allow herself such timidity. Dan, noticing her come to a stop before them, blinked. ¡°Did you get struck by Madness?¡± ¡°No. Why?¡± Nix immediately responded, her eyes flicking to Little God where it floated besides Ari¡¯s head, seemingly interested in having a one-sided staring contest with the girl. That her curses caused insanity¡­ nobody could know. It wasn¡¯t exactly the mind affliction of Madness which had been near eradicated a hundred years ago, but it was close enough not to matter to most. It was almost as bad as those who lost their bodies to possession. ¡°You are¡­¡± he trailed off, as if realising the eyes around the room bearing down on them. ¡°Happy,¡± he finished, as if her being happy was cause enough to suspect Madness.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Well, he¡¯s not wrong. I¡¯m happier than I¡¯ve been in years. His words seem to reach his mind a second after he said it, and quickly blurts out, ¡°gloomy. I mean you¡¯re not as gloomy.¡± Little God finally slid out of Ari¡¯s face to reveal her wary glare my way. Dan wilted under the intense attention so many teens and carers fail to hide. ¡°What do you want?¡± he asked, clearly trying to shoo her away. ¡°Last night, you said abou¡ª¡± He was suddenly out of his seat and clamping his hand over Nix¡¯s mouth¡­ or at least that¡¯s what he tried. She¡¯d not exactly been comfortable being around this many people, and sprung back the moment he tried something. It only left the boy¡¯s arm to flail as nearly tripped over his own feet. Even the old me wasn¡¯t that clumsy. Trying to regain control of the situation, Dan spun back to Ari and announced, almost too loudly. ¡°Come on, lets go out for a bit. It will do you good.¡± He grabbed her arm, and strode down the hall to the shutters. Nix stood there, unsure what to do. He had given her an odd glance as he made his way out, but she wasn¡¯t good enough at reading body language and expressions to understand. Deciding that she still wanted to know what was going on with K¡¯tan, she followed after him. The few dozen gazes in the room shifted to murmurs the moment Nix passed them. She knew she was stirring their thoughts and rumours with how she was acting, but she no longer cared. As long as she didn¡¯t do anything that would catch the attention of the cults, her ward-mates could think whatever they wanted. In fact, it was great that their current gazes were filled not with wariness, disgust or hostility, but stupor. Like Dan, they all expected her to be distraught. Just like them. A giddy sense of freedom washed through her, and she flashed a smirk to her ward-mates who were really bad at hiding their stares before dashing down the hall. It was a small, minuscule vengeance against the kids that had once isolated her. Most wouldn¡¯t even realise it was an intentional act. They would feel conflicted knowing the ¡®gloomiest¡¯ amongst them, who had received the worst name, ran around uncaring, while they all sat here sulking. The shutters were already rising by the time Nix caught up. He clenched his jaw and seemed to sigh in resignation, while Ari besides him kept a distrustful eye her way. ¡°So, uh¡­ Nix. There wasn¡¯t anywhere you wanted to go?¡± Dan asked as he stepped out into the intense light of the Great Iris. Was he avoiding talking about K¡¯tan? It was surprising that the two weren¡¯t actively trying to avoid her, but he still hadn¡¯t clarified on last night. ¡°No.¡± She still needed to get a robe with thicker material, but that was something she could do later. ¡°Then¡­ we¡¯ll just go walking then?¡± he cast his head between Nix and Ari, as if it were up to them to decide. Seeing no objections, he led them down the street. Nix had nothing better to do right now, so she decided to see where this went. Was Dan intending to avoid the question forever? As she walked, she remembered the food she held in her arm, and quickly dug in. Compared to the disgusting sludge she¡¯d been forced to eat, it was godly. The fruit was firm, and melted in her mouth. The bread was hard, yet fluffy on the inside. No longer did she have to feel that horrible, slimy texture of the corrupt goop on her tongue. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve never eaten a day in your life.¡± Nix glances up to find Ari glancing over her shoulder. The questioning stare was much better than a semi-fearful grimace, but it was clear she wasn¡¯t comfortable around her. After years of avoidance, that was probably the best she could hope for. Which reiterated how strange it was that Dan had approached her. Did Nix¡¯s actions truly shift his actions this much? Or was it something more? For the first time since she¡¯d returned to the past, she considered if she was the only one. Could Dan have returned too? Is that why he approached her? If that was the case, there could be others. Some cults might already know she was their perfect sacrifice and were just waiting to take her in. No, Nix shook her head. She¡¯d said she wouldn¡¯t try to think about the cause of her return, but it was more than likely the Eidolon Gods. Only they had such impossible power as to morph time to their liking. They had heard her plea, and for some reason, had decided to give her the chance. Whether it was for curiosity, amusement, or some universal irony, she didn¡¯t know. Nobody could guess the wills of those so many realms above. ¡°Here should be fine,¡± Dan said, before spinning on Nix. ¡°Why were you trying to bring K¡¯tan up in the middle of the ward!?¡± Nix glanced around and found that they¡¯d wandered into a quiet park. Each crystalline tree was frozen in place without so much as a fake leaf moving, and the grass was just the slightest shade too green to be natural. Well, they weren¡¯t real. And Nix could only pick out the discrepancy because she¡¯d been down in the Biovault. ¡°You can¡¯t speak about that man there. I shouldn¡¯t have done it last night. You don¡¯t know which of the carers are in on it,¡± Dan continued. ¡°In on what?¡± I know the kids are wary about the man now, and blatantly pretend like they¡¯re not, but why? ¡°The sacrifices,¡± Ari answered. Nix barely held herself from flinching. ¡°Everyone knows,¡± Dan said. ¡°Well, except you apparently. Between Yuu, Tally, Kai, and even the idiot Sal, the signs were pretty obvious that K¡¯tan was behind their disappearances. Especially with how reluctant he was to search for them.¡± Nix didn¡¯t remember the names, but she certainly had noticed the declining number of neighbours over the years. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you t¡ª¡± She was cut off by Ari. ¡°Tell who exactly? The cults don¡¯t care as long as the number of disappearances don¡¯t reduce their yearly acolyte intake below the death count.¡± Dan stepped in to continue. ¡°And we can¡¯t trust that the other overseers aren¡¯t in on it too. Sal disappeared after he¡¯d done exactly that.¡± It was difficult to process, but Nix couldn¡¯t deny how likely it sounded. He¡¯d once sold her to the Fleshsmiths as a sacrifice; what was to say he hadn¡¯t done the same for others? A clamour of voices garnered Nix and her two ward-mates¡¯ attention towards one side of the park. There, was that annoying group that usually spent their time following Grif around. ¡°What are you two doing next to the cursed girl? Not trying to spread her curses through the ward, are ya?¡± Ugh. Do I really need to deal with these pricks? Now? Chapter 18: Tome of Household Rituals The four boys might as well have been a parade of ritual lambs as they strode up to Nix. They had all the confidence in the world, and yet she knew they had nothing to back it up. Considering the names they had, lambs had more use. Of course, she didn¡¯t actually care if their names were good or not, but by walking around as if everything was beneath them ¡ª when she knew very well they¡¯d been crying yesterday ¡ª it didn¡¯t leave a great impression. Kal ¡ª the boy who snapped at her during the naming ceremony ¡ª led the pack. They were here to cause trouble. It was as obvious as the accretion disk in the sky. Maybe her unimpressed thoughts leaked onto her face, as the boy snarled. ¡°What¡¯s got you in such a good mood, huh?¡± he snapped. ¡°Finally given up hope now that you have no future?¡± He didn¡¯t realise his own words inflicted a momentary grimace on the boys behind him. On all except one, that grimace twisted into anger aimed at Nix, Dan and Ari, but it was clear what they each felt about their names. Confrontations like this was something these boys loved to do, considering how often they instigated them. The old Nix would have curled up and hidden away, either in her room or wherever they couldn¡¯t find her. She would never do the same. These were nothing but childish bullies that were doomed to receive the same treatment when they finally entered a cult. Nix glanced to the two besides her. Their expressions already showed they wanted to be anywhere else. It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say this group didn¡¯t get along with many outside of themselves. ¡°That¡¯s an odd thing for you to say,¡± she replied, keeping her voice even. ¡°Kal-sar. One who extracts water from air.¡± She recounted his name¡¯s description to his face. ¡°What kind of job can you get with that? A bath attendant?¡± Nix hummed. ¡°No, we already have machines that do that. I don¡¯t see you having any more of a future than myself.¡± The most likely place he would end up was down in the Biovault, but he would need to reach an evolution before then. Not an easy thing to do for one with only one additive. Assuming he wanted to try to expand on that name, and not spend months trying for another. For a name like that, it had absolutely no use out here in the void of space. Her uncowed expression and instant rebuttal stunned Kal more than she expected. He and his group, along with the two she¡¯d been speaking to all stared at her. Damn, they really didn¡¯t think highly of me back here, did they? ¡°Who the fuck do you think you are?¡± as soon as the shock wore off, it was replaced by fury. His fists clenched, and Nix braced herself to be hit. She wouldn¡¯t back down, and she would remember every blow he gave. She may have killed an amalgamation, but her body was still weak. She couldn¡¯t take four physically stronger boys unless she found a knife and went for killing blows. She couldn¡¯t retaliate immediately, but she would certainly remember. But the punch didn¡¯t come. Kal shook his hand, as if the effort to unclench his fist was a challenge of itself. ¡°Enjoy being K¡¯tan¡¯s pet, then. Hopefully your curses don¡¯t kill you too soon.¡± And with that, he walked off. Two of the other boys turned to follow, but one, Tru ¡ª who she now noticed had a skitter-spawn resting on his shoulder ¡ª opened his mouth. ¡°I know you aren¡¯t happy with your name, but you really shouldn¡¯t antagonise others.¡± Nix couldn¡¯t believe her ears. She gaped as he continued. ¡°Shattering relations with those who could one day decide your fate isn¡¯t wise,¡± Tru said and spun on his heel to chase after his group. Kal was a slight annoyance, but his words didn¡¯t have this sheer arrogance about them. Tru-tus¡¯s name allowed him to bind a creature to his soul, but it was the weakest version of it. Most who got it didn¡¯t even bother. The single skitter-spawn was almost no different to the rats they formed from. What use did it have? ¡°What sort of inflated ego¡­?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t talking about himself, or the rest of his group,¡± Dan said. ¡°At least I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s Grif. He probably thinks that he¡¯s close enough to him that when he becomes a big name in the cults, he¡¯ll have some influence through association.¡± Grif had become a rather strong Harbinger, so the gamble would pay off. But¡­ ¡°what makes him so sure that he¡¯ll remain friends? I didn¡¯t think their bonds were that tight.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Dan shrugged. ¡°Tru¡¯s probably intending to make himself useful somehow. If he could have, he¡¯d be right by Grif¡¯s side, benefiting from whatever crumbs fell from the cultists as they try to entice the brute.¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Nix had seen many like that in her time with the cults, but they never seemed to reach the creeds they desired. By starting out by picking up crumbs, that¡¯s the method they would return. They didn¡¯t build their foundation. And without that, how could they expect to expand upon it? Eventually, they became nothing more than servants. Their creed was whatever the one the latched could give, but never held the actual capabilities of the rank. Eternally managing menial tasks¡­ until their backer died or disappeared just a bit too long and one of the lower creed saw an opportunity. ¡°Forgetting that,¡± Dan said. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not Mad?¡± ¡°No!¡± Nix scowled. His arms raised in a defensive gesture immediately. ¡°Sorry, sorry. It¡¯s just that you¡¯ve always ever been so¡­ closed off. With the, uh¡­ ceremony yesterday, most of us thought you would have slunk into yourself further, or¡­¡± he trailed off, not wanting to say whatever had been on his mind. ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re a different person.¡± She knew her differing personality was obvious to all, but hearing someone say it was surprisingly relieving. It was confirmation that she was distinguishing herself. That girl had been a coward who failed to fight for her own life. She was not the same. ¡°I have changed.¡± ¡°Yes, well, uh¡­ we¡¯re out here already. I was gonna get Ari a new canvas. Want to hit the shops with us?¡± Dan offered. Ari shot a glare his way, but didn¡¯t verbally oppose. Rejection was her first instinct. She almost shut them down then and there. But a part of her resisted. This is a part of what she wanted when she¡¯d returned, wasn¡¯t it? To enjoy life? Never did Nix expect her life to be anything but isolated, what with the cults themselves being her enemies, but now that the opportunity had presented itself¡­ ¡°Sure,¡± Nix said, and followed after them. She was never going to trust them with knowledge of her mutations. But it didn¡¯t hurt to spend a day with some people who didn¡¯t mean her harm. It would be a¡­ unique experience. A few hours later, Nix slid into a dark little booth of an equally dark restaurant Dan had led them to. The place was in a hidden nook between buildings at the edge of the safe zone. The extensive array of warding runes were a questionable choice of decoration, considering there wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough corruption in the area to warrant them, but she didn¡¯t question it. She did question their choice of meal, though. And apparently, so did Ari. ¡°Fish?¡± She exclaimed at my side. ¡°This is your idea of a good place to eat?¡± Nix poked at the bowl the restaurant owner had placed before them almost as soon as they sat down. Fish, and any other type of seafood, was prohibitively expensive. So much so, that it should be impossible to find anywhere near the safe zone. Casting a subtle gaze around the shop, she found it far too shabby to be some secretive luxury spot. Why would you leave a mop and bucket out by the back wall if you could afford to have summoners or contracted creatures to come clean the building in your stead. They were far more effective. Especially when it didn¡¯t actually look like the mop had been used in months. ¡°Come on, you have to try it,¡± Dan said. ¡°We need something to raise our spirits after yesterday.¡± And with that he swallowed a mouthful. ¡°The menu doesn¡¯t even call it fish. Do you really want us to eat something the owner themselves calls ¡®mystery meat¡¯?¡± ¡°Well, sure, it might be a little unnaturally sourced.¡± He took another bite. ¡°But as long as we don¡¯t eat it too often, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Nix glanced down at her own bowl. She never had tried fish. Deciding to screw it and live, she scooped a mouthful for herself. ¡°Not you too!¡± Ari cried. Dan just laughed. ¡°That¡¯s the way.¡± She almost gagged when it first touched her tongue. There was something undeniably similar to the sludge she used to eat. But upon letting it sit for more than a second, she realised that it lacked the slimy texture and the aftertaste that burnt the back of her throat. It was good. There were no bodies of water on Coral for fish to grow. At least none anywhere near the safe zone. Any seas or lakes hidden in the depths would be corrupted beyond hope. You couldn¡¯t grow fish there; their populations would be overwhelmed by monsters. Only a few businesses operated in the production, and they had to guard their aquarium tanks like they were the vaults of the pinnacle cults. Both from corruptive influence¡­ and thieves. They were that valuable. ¡°So, Nix.¡± Dan¡¯s voice dragged her from her food. He¡¯d somehow already emptied his bowl. ¡°When we were walking around earlier, I had an idea.¡± He picked something up from besides the table and placed it on the table. A book. A tome on household rituals, to be specific. ¡°I figure that if you get so good at rituals the cults have no choice but to demand you join, then it won¡¯t matter how bad your name is.¡± She picked up the book, questioning whether fate was trying to tell her something. It was the same edition of the same book she¡¯d ended up buying for herself. Though, it had taken her a month before she finally got over her wallowing to actually think about her future; she¡¯d come to the same conclusion. ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it.¡± And she did, even if she had long since memorised every ritual in the book. None of them were all that impressive. They weren¡¯t cult secret tomes. But they were small rituals that everyone should know. Things like the basic naming ritual she¡¯d used last night, a parasite and poison cleanser, and even a simple cultivation ritual. Though, if that last one worked, it was impossibly slow. She¡¯d seen no benefit from it before she¡¯d lost all rights to enact rituals. ¡°By the way,¡± Nix began, diverting her mind from the past. ¡°When are you going to put them on?¡± she gestured for the everseeing assists laying on the table that he¡¯d been lugging around all day. ¡°Ah,¡± he said. ¡°I will, eventually. I just never expected to go into the Cult of the Everseeing Eye. The idea of eventually having to slice off my eyelids isn¡¯t something I¡¯m looking forward to.¡± ¡°You could always just not rise. Sit still once you reach second creed and don¡¯t dedicate yourself further,¡± Ari suggested. Dan hummed. ¡°Maybe.¡± Stagnating at the lower creeds was¡­ an option, but anyone who did such quickly found that they lost all support by those interested in helping them rise. The chances they might have once had would be lost if they later tried to progress. They would become one of the masses, and their quality of living would decay quicker than their rank. ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out,¡± he suddenly chimed. ¡°I¡¯m in a better situation than most, after all.¡± The rest of his sentence he left unsaid. Chapter 19: Nix Nix enjoyed her time with Dan and Ari. It was fun to just speak with other people that didn¡¯t ¡ª as far as she knew ¡ª have ulterior motives. It was something she¡¯d had far too little experience. Not wanting to scar them with the stigma of being close to the ¡®cursed girl¡¯, Nix left them to return alone. Well, her intentions weren¡¯t wholly out of the goodness of her heart. She still intended to reenact the naming ritual from last night. With how startled she¡¯d been from the sudden appearance of her plumage, she¡¯d not properly dug into what her Feat could see. If it truly was her Feat. So, clutching her gifted book to her chest, and carrying the new robes she¡¯d bought ¡ª traditional black with red highlights to better hide her feathers ¡ª Nix head for the nearest public ritual chamber. The place wasn¡¯t anything fancy, but it was isolated and quiet. Perfect. The pentagram and runes were already carved into the floor here, so it was only a matter of lighting the candles and sitting within. As her breathing slowed and her mind calmed, she realised she truly felt content with how things were going. She¡¯d not yet increased her strength beyond that of the sickly child she was, but so much more had happened. Before she¡¯d returned to the past, Nix had been certain there had never been anyone who¡¯d cared for her. K¡¯tan had been the only one, and he¡¯d betrayed her. But now she knew that had been his manipulation on perceptions. The other carers had shown genuine worry at her bloody state last night, and now she had two ward-mates who actually talked to her. She felt like celebrating already. ¡­ but she knew it wouldn¡¯t remain. This¡­ kindness she¡¯d received was just a taste of what her life could eventually become. Yet that life would never eventuate if she wasn¡¯t ready to face everything that came her way. Not only was she going to face what she had last time, but there were surely challenges that she couldn¡¯t have imagined. Her goal was to take down the pinnacle cults. That was not something that would come easily. She knew that. And she knew that the only possible way she could ever succeed is if she pushed herself. If she took risks that she probably shouldn¡¯t. While in this ritual chamber, she intended to learn more about herself and her names. Her curses and mutations were something she had always despised, but she needed to know everything even if she never used them. The echo of her hymns twisted into her consciousness and Nix soon returned to her meditative trance. Nothing but her and the void. It was comforting, as it had always been, but nix was not here to escape the truth of her world. She was here to see her name. It appeared before her, as if on command. Wasting no time, Nix focused on the last of her names: the Feat. ¡®Zylth¡¯ was the same as before, and inspecting it with those same mental fingers as she had last time revealed no addition to its description. She allow her touch to linger. It was difficult to say how long while in this trance, but she assumed at least an hour. Her touch tried to feel out everything that created the name, and eventually, her patience was rewarded. Not with anything grand, but the sense of what could best be equated to a seam. It felt like the name had components. Three parts that made a single whole. But it also felt like more could be added. It felt almost like a puzzle piece, yet the edges that could slot into other parts did not make it seem unfinished. They were whole, both together and alone. If she considered that the name ¡®Zylth¡¯ was actually a variant on ¡®Zyl¡¯, than there was simply an added component onto the name? It was that component that allowed her to feel her names. Considering she had both other parts as well, then the base name¡¯s ability should be available to her as well. She just¡­ didn¡¯t know what that was. Maybe she¡¯d ask when she went to get Tarchon to take out the bolts. He seemed to be rather loose with high creed secrets; it would be a waste if she didn¡¯t take advantage. Despite the Feat¡¯s odd sense that let her feel her name, she didn¡¯t think it would qualify as an onomastics skill as it was more akin to sinking your hand into a bath and trying to gauge its volume. It was good for feeling and interacting, but not so much actually determining details of what it touched. She couldn¡¯t think of any way that matched up with any interpretation of its description. ¡®See through the binds of equal deceit¡¯ didn¡¯t make sense in terms of a self reflective skill. Its wording was explicitly focused on something external, but that was the opposite of what she¡¯d seen¡­ unless this touch was possible to extend beyond herself. The equal deceit part caught her up the most. Her first thought was that she could feel out the seams in skills up to the number of her own. But that didn¡¯t explain why she got the Feat in the first place. Was it possible that the Feat counted her mutations buried within her bundled curses as concealed power? That would explain a lot about how she achieved this variation in the first place; if she¡¯d had all her mutations from the day of her death, then the fight against that amalgamation would have been easy. Just those chitinous claws of hers would have been nice.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. So, it was reasonably likely that the Feat could work on other people. Nix just needed to figure out how. Hmm¡­ that might work. If her idea failed, then she would need to spend who knows how much longer to pull herself back into the ritual. Her mental fingers glided over her name, almost covering it in the touch, and she opened her eyes. Standing up, while keeping her focus on that sense, she walked out of the ritual circle. The name disappeared, but her touch didn¡¯t. She couldn¡¯t feel what her name was, nor could she get any details of their descriptions, but she could feel their shape. She slid her mind¡¯s finger over the Feat, and along the trio of curses. Each was distinct. Despite not seeing the names, she knew which was ¡®Nix¡¯ and which were the additives. Unlike her Feat, the trio of curses felt inherently different. Even as she hovered her touch over their surface ¡ª not going so far as to start opening them again ¡ª there were no seams. They didn¡¯t feel like puzzle pieces. This was a lot more helpful than having to enact the ritual every time. Assuming she could feel out her name without the initial guide of the ritual, then she would never need to guess whether she¡¯d gained another name. She needed to work on casting this feeling out to inspect other¡¯s names. It may not give her much information on what they could do, but it might give her a decent understanding of their strength by feeling out the number of name components they had. Though, she would need to see if it was actually usable. If it took her an hour to feel out someone¡¯s strength, that would be less than ideal. Especially if they were attacking her. After the confrontation with Kal earlier, Nix had bought a knife. It was a small thing, typically used as a means to draw blood, but it was sharp. If Nix was determined to change things, she had to be ready for things to change. Neither the amalgamation, nor a fight with her ward¡¯s bullies had she been expecting, but they had happened. If those boys were a bit more brutal, if they hadn¡¯t pulled away from actually throwing punches and actually tried to kill Nix there, there wouldn¡¯t have been a thing she could do. She knew none of those boys were murderers, but that wasn¡¯t something she could assume outright. A knife as small as the one now strapped beneath her robe was not much, but it gave her something to defend herself if she found herself in a difficult situation. In a situation where she was being attacked, she doubted she would have the time to worry about checking her opponent¡¯s general strength. That was not what this Feat was for. At least not for Nix. Not for a while. Its utility lay in the inspection of prospective enemies. If it worked the way she thought it might, then she would be able to tell how many names K¡¯tan had, and how powerful his evolution had been. She could see how far she needed to grow to take out the first of her targets. But that would have to wait. Nix scanned her new touch over the three curses. All three were equally indistinct and fuzzy, but they had aspects that put them apart. ¡®Oth¡¯ felt almost nostalgic as she brushed over it. The feeling was detached, and clearly not her own emotion, but the name had an aspect of that in its shape¡­ somehow. It wasn¡¯t the only name that gave a sense of emotion to its form. ¡®Ine¡¯ felt new and unfamiliar. That wasn¡¯t Nix¡¯s emotions, but the literal shape of the name. It was like the unknown; possibly fresh and exciting. Possibly dangerous and terrifying. The base name, ¡®Nix¡¯, was as interesting a sensation as it was depressing. Sickly, vengeful and dark, this was without a doubt where most of her blood curses settled. She returned her touch to ¡®Ine¡¯. Slowly, ever so slightly, she poked at it. Nix already knew ¡®Oth¡¯ grew her mutations, but she wasn¡¯t sure if it was the same for the others as well. If they offered her some opportunity that wouldn¡¯t declare her as the perfect sacrifice as her mutations had, then she would leap on it. She was desperate for whatever she could get. Unlike last time, she was much more careful with her manipulations. She didn¡¯t try to open the name, only pulled at it slightly. Focusing more on her own body than the name, she soon found a growing burning sensation in her chest. Her handling halted immediately, and she looked down on herself. After making sure nobody was peeking in from the sole door to her chamber, she twisted to face a corner and opened her robe. In the middle of her sternum, there was a wrinkle in her skin. She touched it, and found a hard lump. Something had begun growing right in the centre of her breastbone. Nix let out a deep breath and stifled her growing unease. She was certain now, with this mutation she¡¯d never experienced before and the feelings of each name, that ¡®Oth¡¯ held the changes she¡¯d faced in her previous life, and ¡®Ine¡¯ held the ones she had yet to face. There had been no reason to believe her mutations were coming to a stop when she¡¯d been sacrificed ¡ª there had been those inky tears, after all ¡ª but she¡¯d been hoping it had all been coming to an end. If it continued endlessly, then what would she look like in ten years? Twenty? At what point did she stop being human and become an amalgamation herself? Pulling her hand away from her chest, she covered herself and focused on her base name. If the other two instigated her mutations, then was it even worth doing the same for ¡®Nix¡¯? She would just be encouraging another change to begin. Nix truly considered not even trying, just to avoid the disappointment if it turned out the same. But as her mental finger feathered over her name, she knew she had to at least try. Too much was riding on every small gain she could get. So, Nix pulled. The room darkened immediately. What were mere shadows before became voids of nothingness. The candle-flames were strangled by the encroaching darkness, and began to twist and dance as if in terrified flail. Light of the horrified flames reflected off only the engraved divots of pentagrams and runes; each of which seemed to glow in a sickly yellow light, as if channelling the candles¡¯ terror. Nix snapped her head to the side. She swore she¡¯d just seen something move. Something large. Something that could not have possibly fit in the space between her and the wall. By opening her name, she¡¯d unleashed the corruption of a thousand curses. The room was changing by the second; twisted beyond natural. Ritual circles in this chamber weren¡¯t designed to handle any corruption, and quickly she found them burning shapes into her mind. Words she couldn¡¯t understand formed amongst those rapidly deteriorating patterns, and she was forced to snap her eyes closed. Her mental hand ripped away from her name. She let it fall back into place, but as she opened her eyes, the room was no less corrupt. An unsettling sound droned in her ear, but she was already up and racing for the door. Thankfully, the corruption wasn¡¯t so bad that the door itself had disappeared. She slid out into the hall between chambers, and sighed in relief at the lack of corruption. ¡®Nix¡¯ held an unbelievable amount of corruption. It was horrifying. It was damning. But it was something she could use. Chapter 20: What Makes a Sacrifice ¡°What Eidolon fuckery was that?¡± Nix ran through the streets to get away from the ritual chamber. If anyone found it, she couldn¡¯t have them tracing it back to her. It would ruin her. She¡¯d merely opened a crack in her name and corruption had flooded the room. There was so much compressed within. Her curses, however many there were, were all hidden away within her name and held impossible levels of corruption ready to burst out into the world. So this is what makes me the perfect sacrifice. She thought. Would have been a real nice thing for the cults to explain. Then I wouldn¡¯t have to terrify the next poor person to use that ritual chamber. It was a startling thing. Her mutations weren¡¯t what made her the perfect sacrifice ¡ª they were just a symptom the cultists could recognise ¡ª it was the core of corruption that sat within her soul. No wonder her base name had a different description than everyone else. The thousands of curses Nix¡¯s parents had left her had consumed that name and left it unrecognisable as anything besides a bundle of corruption. What loving parents I had. It made much more sense why she was considered an attractive sacrifice now. A sacrifice, whether it be the giving up of life, a part of your body, or simply the offering of material wealth, was a powerful thing. There were many well known aspects that improved a sacrifice. First, was the personal attachment. Many cults gave up parts of their bodies in their rituals to enhance them to incredible degrees. Removing your eyelids ¡ª as the Cult of the Everseeing Eye did ¡ª might power a ritual enough to give someone an additive, or empower a ritual of equal capability. Material wealth also fell mostly into this category. Beasts of the Darkness didn¡¯t care for gold or currency; they cared for the intangible value a person placed in it. The greater significance placed on an object of sacrifice by both individual and community, the more powerful its effect. Then there was age. The longer something had been in existence, usually, the better it was as a sacrifice. Contradictorily, the effect was often opposite in living things. The complexities of this, as well as with many other factors, made estimating the value of a living being at any one point in its existence extremely difficult. Some cultists specialised in sacrifices, and they had determined that Nix¡¯s prime sacrificial date landed during her twenty second year. That was the sole reason they¡¯d waited so long. Well, besides giving them more time to perform the rituals that improved her viability. The last aspect that valued a sacrificial candidate was both the most important, and usually the one cultists could do the least about. The power of the sacrifice¡¯s name. It didn¡¯t apply to non-living things, but the amount of strength one had accumulated in their life massively amplified the effect they would have as a sacrifice. Because of that, goats and lamb were usually given some time to grow through the foal stage before they were sacrificed. Rats particularly were used in excess because they matured and consolidated a name far faster than most animals. The corruption in Nix¡¯s name would count towards that. Curses were power that worked against the afflicted, but they must still count as power. With just how much corruption had overtaken Nix¡¯s name, the effect of her sacrifice might as well be identical to one of the cult leaders. But those ageless cultists would never give up their lives. Even if their words were true, and Nix¡¯s death would bring about an age without problems, the pinnacle four ¡ª and some from the smaller cults ¡ª had been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Never had they considered offing themselves. It¡¯s only okay when it¡¯s anyone but yourself. Nix panted as she slowed to a walk. Didn¡¯t matter how attractive these curses made her as a sacrifice, she just wished her body wouldn¡¯t consider a minute of running a challenge. Whoever found the ritual room would hopefully think it was just some high-creed cultist leaking corruption and not look into it further. They¡¯d call in a cleansing crew, and the corruption would be gone by tomorrow. This¡­ this was usable. It might not be the most effective way to fight, but if she could overpower rituals with the corruption generated by her curses, then she could descend into the depths. Nix only knew the basic rituals everyone had access to, but if she could flood them with corruption, she could redirect the backlash towards whatever monster she faced.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Hopefully. ¡°I wonder if I have enough time to go down before first fog?¡± Her words were intended for herself, but of course, her phantom tail had to answer. ¡°The seeping of the fettered god will begin in an hour,¡± Little God said. She eyed the creature. ¡°Fettered god?¡± Nix couldn¡¯t help but ask. After acknowledging the creature in the bath with that outburst, it hadn¡¯t gone and acted any more obstructive. Plus, she had no idea what it was talking about. ¡°Yes,¡± it said, its eye rolling back and forth in a strange mimic of a nod. ¡°The fettered god.¡± ¡°What is the fettered god?¡± Nix asked, trying to elicit a proper answer. ¡°It is the god that is fettered,¡± Little God said, to Nix¡¯s rising ire. Before she could swipe at the annoying oversized marble, it continued. ¡°The origin of the ¡®first fog¡¯.¡± The Bodytwisters have a god bound in their temple? How did they manage that? Gods were so far beyond a human¡¯s ability that any ritual related to them were expressly restricted. To think that they not only summoned one, but bound it to their temple was absurd. It¡¯s like they were asking for a disaster on a scope greater even than a Dark Star Event. But¡­ that fog had been seeping out of their temple for as long as Nix remembered. Apparently, it had been doing so for a hundred years. And they weren¡¯t the only cult to have a corrupt mist seeping from their temples every night. Nix shook her head, realising who exactly had suggested such a thing. It was simply a figment of her imagination. A fragmented explanation to one of the eternal cult mysteries. Why was she taking Little God¡¯s statements as fact? ¡°You come up with some strange things sometimes,¡± she said, unsure whether she was speaking to the floating eyeball or herself. Well, they were one and the same. Little God just stared back. The temptation to dive down into the depths immediately and earn herself a name was intense. Ever since she¡¯d returned, she¡¯d known the path of a harbinger was her only option. She¡¯d known the only way she would ever reach the pinnacle was by diving deep into Coral and slaughtering monsters wherever she found them. It was the only option fast enough that would bring her to enough strength that she could defend herself once her mutations became known. It was dangerous. Almost suicidal. But the alternative of working her way up from the bottom of a cult only to be bestowed a better cultivating ritual every few years wasn¡¯t an option. Besides, Nix despised the idea of working for the men and women who killed her. ¡°How many skitter-spawn do you think I¡¯d need to clear out to receive an additive, you think?¡± she asked Little God. ¡°I¡­ cannot see.¡± For the first time, an emotion besides curiosity worked its way through the static of its voice. It sounded distressed that it could not answer Nix¡¯s question. Like the very idea of not perceiving the path ahead of her was a failure worthy of agony. Out of curiosity, Nix took her new Feat-given sense, and brushed it through the eyeball¡¯s body. She spent a long time simply poking around, blindly feeling for its name. Eventually, she found something. The name she found was¡­ well, massive didn¡¯t fit because a name couldn¡¯t hold size, but it felt worthy of the word. Even a slight touch ¡ª without feeling for each individual seam ¡ª was enough to tell there were at least a thousand components. Feeling overwhelmed, she spread her touch outwards, and soon found another name part nearby. This too was just as dense. No matter how far she searched, she couldn¡¯t find the end of its name. She felt woozy. But beyond even that disorientation was frustration. She had hoped to use this Feat to distinguish between fact and reality, but her insanity had to twist her perception of this new sense, too. Nix¡¯s eyes traced every entrance into the underground she passed. As great as it would be to try for a new additive, it was almost certain to make her evolution arrive later. It would be far more beneficial to increase her proficiency with this Feat to the point where she would get an evolution, rather than tempt fate with an additive that might not solve any of her current physical issues, and delaying her chance at evolution a few months. Or years. It depended on how long each name took to grow into and learn. A lot of people didn¡¯t achieve an evolution until their thirties. Some never did because they found themselves lugged with too many additives and couldn¡¯t gain access to the cults¡¯ forced evolution rituals. When the first wafts of fog began to seep over the buildings to the east, Nix sighed. It was so frustrating that every time an option seemed to land before her, it was something she had to hold back on. First her sudden control over her changes. Now, having to return to the ward when she¡¯d finally found a way to fight. The most likely reward she would get for fighting was not worth putting off her evolution, after all. Damn, here I am complaining about having to evolve soon. All of my ward-mates will have at least a few years ahead of them before it becomes an option. None will have the required four names, after all. Nix had been walking around a long time today, and that alone made her tired. Not as tired as she¡¯d been yesterday, but still her body felt weighed down. She hoped her evolution solved it. Or at least her increased activity would make her more fit, but she wouldn¡¯t hold out hope. Even if she could never run as far as anyone else, she would simply twist the track with her newfound corruption until the finish line found her. The Rearing Ward soon found its way into her sight. She might have wanted to recklessly dive into the depths, but she couldn¡¯t be late another night in a row. Not when she knew K¡¯tan was taking sacrifices even without any indication of mutations. It would be horrible if he took her six months early because she¡¯d been out and about too much. Despite now knowing what she did about the overseer, it didn¡¯t change a thing. She was going to kill him. It was just a matter of when. Chapter 21: Imaginary ¡°Do you not intend to follow?¡± Nix woke to an eye floating mere inches from her face. She reacted. Her hand swung forward as a yelp found its way out of her throat, and she dived into the wall bordering her bed. Once again, her fingers slid through Little God¡¯s gaseous form without disrupting its flight. ¡°Why do you have to be so creepy,¡± Nix said as she calmed herself and leaned back against the wall. Her mind spinning off the sleep and lingering on the words that awoke her. ¡°What do you mean follow? Follow what?¡± ¡°K¡¯tan.¡± That oversized eyeball spun in the air, never taking its gaze away from Nix. ¡°Were you not interested in that man?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I would describe my thoughts as interested, but sure.¡± She checked to make sure her night gown still covered her feathers¡­ and the new wrinkle in her chest, even if it would be difficult to see. ¡°What about him?¡± ¡°He has just left.¡± ¡°What?¡± she startled. ¡°Through the hole in metal.¡± Nix simply stared as Little God twisted to look at the wall. Her mind must have grown inspired after having returned in time. Not only was her imaginary friend speaking now, but it was fabricating events. With a groan, she slumped back into bed. She wished she knew what time it was, but clocks had a bad tendency to break when observed. Only the expensive ones had any lifetime to them. Yet, even those caused problems. Clocks and corruption were simply two things that should never mix, regardless of the efforts some put into making one that worked. Her eyes clenched shut, but it was impossible to sleep. No matter how much she knew it was her imagination playing tricks on her, the thought that K¡¯tan was up to something prodded at her. If he was out and about, she wanted to know. Another groan, and she rolled out of bed. Her new robe found its way onto her body before she was creeping towards her door. This would be a good way to prove to her mind, once and for all, that Little God was a creation of her own. Maybe then it would finally correct, and get rid of the guy. At the very least, a late night walk might be nice. Nix peeked her head out into the hall, and upon seeing nobody, left her room. She donned her hood as she took a few silent steps to the room that hid the hole, before slinking inside. Padding over to the base of the left-most bed, she pulled up the thin floorboards to reveal the wide hole through metre-thick metal. The blemish was just as smooth as the last time she¡¯d seen it. And just as dark. While Nix had never actually used the hole herself, the curiosity had at one point in her past led her to search for it. It had been pretty easy to find. But for anyone who didn¡¯t know to look in the first place, the floorboards hid it incredibly well. No casual cleaning would reveal it. It had been too intimidating in the past for Nix to even consider. Both breaking K¡¯tan¡¯s rules and diving into the darkness had terrified her. Now? Well, the very idea that the past her wouldn¡¯t have done it was enough to dip her legs down, then slip into the hole. She landed on a scaffold that hugged the ceiling of an old maintenance passage. Three steps and she was down on the main walkway. A long strip bathed the tight corridor in a dim blue light. It was barely enough to illuminate the ground before her feet, but she had no problem making her way through. As she reached the end, she found the hatch already opened¡­ no, where there should have been a hatch, it had been stripped from its hinges. Whether that had happened recently, or a hundred years ago, Nix couldn¡¯t say. Regardless, she moved to climb out of the maintenance access, and into the main tunnel. ¡°Stop.¡± Nix jolted at the voice in her ear. Little God had the worst tendency to sneak up on her despite always being by her side. She was ready to snap back at the eye, but it continued before she could.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°K¡¯tan does not know you are here.¡± The orb floated out ahead of her and stared down one side of the tunnel. Rolling her eyes, she peeked around the corner and found ¡ª as she expected ¡ª nothing. Nix was ready to forgo her imagination¡¯s words and simply keep going, but as she turned back to Little God and found it still staring ahead, intent on whatever it saw, she hesitated. A silent sigh escaped her lips as she relented to the figment. She needed to practice with her Feat, anyway. She focused on that new sixth sense and pushed it into the tunnel. It was slow, and as the distance increased, it only became more difficult to move. For a good minute, she questioned what she was doing. She was never going to find anything doing this. What were the chances that she would land on a random name by flailing in darkness. But as she continued to use Little God¡¯s stare as a guide, she actually did; she stumbled across a name. It was a simple, single component name. Likely an additive. But as she moved her ethereal fingers, she found six more additives and a core name that held seven components. An evolved name, if she had to guess. Was this really K¡¯tan? She peeked her head around the corner again and found nothing despite the light. Shadows were plentiful, but it didn¡¯t look like there was anything hiding. Nix cast an eye towards Little God, who remained as focused as ever. Was this just more of her imagination, or should she trust it? The shadows twisted slightly and Nix felt the name move. As if it had been waiting for the perfect time, It entered a set of stairs that rose to the surface. It moved quickly, and soon snapped from her Feat¡¯s sense, but she never saw it with her eyes. Little God floated forward, and Nix took that as an invitation. Careful to keep quiet, she ran down the hall until she reached the stairs. Still nothing. Besides the light of the accretion seeping around corners, she could see nothing. Still not convinced she wasn¡¯t imagining all of this, she made her way up onto the bright surface, following the eyeball that seemed to know where to go. After walking a few blocks without pulling its glare from something far ahead of them, Little God finally spoke. ¡°K¡¯tan is turning around.¡± Deciding that for now, she would trust that this was all actually happening ¡ª despite the lack of evidence ¡ª she scrambled down a side alley before the overseer could turn back down the street Nix had been creeping along. She slumped in the shadow of a building¡¯s overhang, hoping that her dark robe would keep her hidden. The intense light of the Great Iris made it difficult to spot things in the dark. Hopefully that would be enough. Nix followed Little God¡¯s gaze as it turned to follow a single point. The eyeball remained out in the open without care, and eventually, its eye followed something that passed along Nix¡¯s alley. Only in the open space where it couldn¡¯t walk from one shadow to the next, did Nix finally spot something. There was a warp in space; like light forgot how to work and became a shadow for a brief moment before it could reach the ground. It was a small effect, but it was enough to prove to Nix that Little God had actually been watching something. It wasn¡¯t acting the way it was for no reason. Poking her head out of the alley, she watched as the shadow appeared every now and then when there was no shade within a dozen paces. It eventually disappeared, but Little God didn¡¯t move to follow, so she didn¡¯t either. A minute later, she found K¡¯tan appear from thin air. He shook a cloak off his shoulders and tried to shove it into a bag. Nix watched with rising shock as the cloth seemed to fight back; it tried to twirl around his arm and cling tight, momentarily removing his hand from sight. K¡¯tan had a skulk shroud? How? Those things were expensive. An overseer wage should never allow him to afford one. The man turned, and returned to the path he was taking before. Scoping out the streets first? Nix Guessed. She returned to her shade, but as he passed her this time, she found there was another person with him. They were covered with a traditional hood, so all Nix could tell about them was that they were much smaller than K¡¯tan. Almost as small as Nix. Now that they were visible, it was much easier to follow the pair. They spent a while walking along the surface before eventually descending into Inner-Coral again. Following Little God, Nix could descend without being spotted herself. K¡¯tan was wary. His head flicked around at the occasional night-scream, checking to make sure he wasn¡¯t being followed. If not for her little eyeball, Nix would have been discovered a dozen times already. She was sure it was the same back when she couldn¡¯t see the man at all. He was wary, but the hooded figure beside him was not. Their head stayed steady. Their steps were regular and evenly paced. Yet when K¡¯tan brought them to a stop their body swayed. After a confusing number of turns that Nix really hoped she remembered well enough, K¡¯tan passed through an area Nix simply couldn¡¯t follow. He strode through a large archway guarded by four cultists each holding weapon with a memorable mix of flesh, steel and teeth. No weapon was identical. Some held blades, while others had rifles. But each of the weapons was twisted with the distinct skinless flesh that one cult favoured. The Fleshsmiths. It was unlikely this was a Fleshsmith forge ¡ª what with how close they were to the safe-zone ¡ª but it was clearly one of their joints. Maybe a warehouse? What was important, was that the guards hadn¡¯t so much as looked K¡¯tan¡¯s way, but Nix would not be so free. Nix could no longer follow the overseer, but she still needed to know what he was doing. Chapter 22: Organised Sacrifices Nix ducked down an unused side corridor. She didn¡¯t want to stay out in the open where any of the cultists could trip over her on their way through Fleshsmith territory. She was barely aware of how she got here. The late night whispers and screams echoing up through the depths were haunting, but the validation that K¡¯tan truly had been working with the Fleshsmith cult even this far back ¡ª that he¡¯d sacrificed children other than herself ¡ª was worse. Now that she was convinced this wasn¡¯t some dream, she realised that he knew of the hole beneath the floorboards. He¡¯d never even hinted that he knew. Considering K¡¯tan never raised a fuss about it, or didn¡¯t even bother watching that end of the hallway during the nights, Nix ¡ª and every other kid ¡ª had assumed he was unaware. But K¡¯tan had used it. Often, Nix could hear when the other kids would slip out into the depths. Either because they whispered out in the hall, or they let the floorboards thump back into place when they dropped. K¡¯tan hadn¡¯t made a sound. In hindsight, it was obvious he let the kids use it without commenting so that nobody would even assume that he might do the same. The only other entrance was the main shutters, after all, and it would be a lot more difficult to sneak out that way. Not unless he had an accomplice. Who was that person walking with him? Was it one of the carers? Another overseer? Nix wanted to know who else she would have to extend the promise of retribution to. She needed to know what was going on in there, but there was no way she could barge her way in, and she found it unlikely there would be a convenient path to sneak in. Nix¡¯s eyes landed on Little God. It was real. Unless this was all some convoluted game by her own mind and literally nothing she saw could be trusted, than the eyeball was real. Whether that meant it was a part of herself ¡ª likely a mutation ¡ª that she somehow interpreted as a separate being, or it truly was a monstrously strong monster as its name suggested, she didn¡¯t know. She couldn¡¯t know. It was as real as anything else in her life. It had shown the ability to see through K¡¯tan¡¯s skulk shroud; something that should be impossible in the low light of the tunnels. The small monster could understand and speak with Nix, albeit with difficulty on the oddest of subjects. But most importantly, Little God could not be seen by anyone but herself. ¡°Hey¡­ Eyeball,¡± Nix started, her tone much nicer to the being than it had ever been. Little God simply turned to her and tilted in question. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mind following after K¡¯tan and telling me what he and anyone else he speaks to says, yeah?¡± For a long moment ¡ª that might have been less than a second ¡ª the orb simply stared at her. Nix felt a hand grasp her heart. She¡¯d ignored and spoken to it so dismissively for as long as she could remember now. What if it decided she was worth punishing? What if it ate her for making a request without offering a sacrifice, as was the normal way? ¡°I will perceive.¡± But the creature simply nodded, and floated through the nearest wall. Nix blinked at the wall. The flat alloy was in pristine condition despite the number of centuries it must have stood here. She blinked again. When she¡¯d inspected Little God¡¯s name, it had been so obscenely impressive that she just knew it was her mind playing tricks on her. But now? Now she found out that what she felt was likely real? She¡¯d felt thousands of components even on a basic scan; who would ever think that was real? With that many parts, the being likely held a dozen inflections in its name. If not more. Usually, an inflection on your name reflected the number of evolutions one had experienced. It wasn¡¯t a perfect reflection, but it was always rather close. Except for prefixes which come with the first evolution, an evolution will combine multiple names into one with a single added inflection. K¡¯tan-thar held a single evolution, with the K¡¯ representing an evolution along one of the Fleshsmith¡¯s paths. This was¡­ well, it seemed impossible. Had a monster been with her ever since she was a child? Ever since she¡¯d been told that imaginary friends were dangerous and you should ignore them while never speaking of them. Had it always been there, and she¡¯d just always told herself it had been her imagination¡­ or had some god or monster inhabited the figment and made it real? Maybe it was rather apt that she¡¯d come to call it Little God. It wasn¡¯t clear how long had passed by the time the floating eyeball returned, but when it did, Nix felt herself searching out its name again. She had to make sure.Stolen novel; please report. Little God stared at her, as if feeling her touch, but allowing it anyway. She found the name again. This time, the name component she found was smaller, but her surface sweep still revealed a thousand parts. She tried to narrow her focus. Her mind attempting to isolate a single component from the mass, but each second she continued, her headache grew worse. She was viewing something that was ¡ª quite literally ¡ª beyond her understanding. Nix felt that she was handling it rather well, considering she wasn¡¯t bawling and screaming in a ball on the ground. Seeing things like this tended to fracture the mind. She decided that she would solve this new awareness of the being how she had always treated anything to do with Little God. By ignoring it. ¡°Did you see?¡± she asked. Little God nodded. ¡°Always.¡± Nix waited for the creature to speak, but it simply continued to float there. ¡°Well?¡± she prodded. ¡°What did they say?¡± ¡°K¡¯tan, good to see you!¡± Little God gets right into it. ¡°You¡¯ve bought us quite the gift, my friend.¡± ¡°You know it is not a gift, K¡¯ruul.¡± The eye leaps into the next person¡¯s voice ¡ª likely K¡¯tan ¡ª without any change in tone or inflection. ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Little God laughs, its static voice echoing endlessly in the narrow tunnel is beyond eerie. ¡°Your group has got what? a year left? Excited to get out I¡¯ll bet.¡± ¡°You know it.¡± The eye let out a gruff chuckle this time, clearly different from the previous laugh. Clearly K¡¯tan¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯ve been stuck at a single evolution for far too long. It¡¯ll all be worth it once I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet. I remember what it was like for me. Two evolutions in a year is quite the thrill. Say¡­ how¡¯s that curse girl coming along? Any sign if she¡¯s worth the effort, or is she a dud?¡± That made Nix perk up. They were clearly talking about her. So they were eyeing me even before my mutations. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Her naming was¡­ odd. Apparently her curses have infected her base name enough to twist its description. I didn¡¯t even know that was possible. But her body has also recovered in recent years. Forget being on her deathbed; she¡¯s been walking around more than ever these past few days.¡± ¡°A cursed base name? That sounds like an amazing sacrifice!¡± ¡°It sounds like a bomb.¡± ¡°A mere risk.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll be the one to take the blame for bringing her in before she¡¯s ready?¡± ¡°¡­ maybe we should keep her for emergencies.¡± Little God let out an exacerbated sigh, which sounded no different to a thrum of heavy radio static. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if there¡¯s any changes with her, but don¡¯t hold your hopes up. She hasn¡¯t reacted as negatively to her naming as I¡¯d hoped. I think she¡¯s troubled, but she¡¯s beginning to talk to others, so it could grow difficult to guide her to despair to cultivate the curses. For now, you¡¯ll have to settle with the other one.¡± Wait¡­ other one? ¡°Of course! She¡¯s a lovely offering. I¡¯m sure the master of the Bloodforge will be overjoyed once we ship her out to our peripheral platform.¡± What other one? Suddenly it all crashed down on Nix. The short partner that was walking with K¡¯tan. The way they never looked around and swayed on their feet. K¡¯tan had already brought a sacrifice with him. One of Nix¡¯s ward-mates was in there, enraptured by a dream bug, and about to be sent to her death. The same as Nix once had. And by the sounds of it, Nix had only avoided it now because K¡¯tan considered her ¡®not ready¡¯. They were all right here. Fleshsmiths involved in her death, organising an underground transfer of a sacrifice for the upper creeds of their cult. It was all planned. This wasn¡¯t just K¡¯tan selling off a few kids. He¡¯d been placed in the position so he could siphon them out to the cult. Did every cult participate in this? Did every ward have ass-holes like K¡¯tan willing to sneak out the odd kid every year or so for the sake of human sacrifices? They were here, behind this wall, and yet Nix could do nothing. She looked down at her hands. The veins and arteries of her wrist stuck out; a sign of her sickness, of her curse. Nix blinked. I can do nothing? She thought. No. I have options now. From beneath her robe, she pulled out a short length of chalk and began scribbling a ritual circle on the wall. It was just a basic fire summoning rite. Not void flames, carrion flames, or even nightmare flames. Just simple fire. The type you might start in a fireplace. It was weak and almost pointless considering there was no lack of electrical fire-starters, but Nix was confident it would react to overcorrupiton exactly how she wanted. With the circle drawn and each runic detail etched around its edges, Nix drew the small knife from its sheath hidden in the front of her robe. She didn¡¯t hesitate. The blade sliced through the palm of her hand and blood began to pour. Shaking her hand to spread the blood ¡ª and even splashing some over the chalk circle for good measure ¡ª she grasped her name as a hymn flowed from her mouth. Nix was going to kill them all. It was unfortunately unlikely her ward-mate would survive this. Whoever it was had already fallen into their hands, and Nix had no way of helping them other than unleashing hell on their captors. But Nix had been in that same position. She knew they would prefer to die while taking down those who tried to kill them, rather than dying as a sacrifice and enriching their murderers. She felt pity, but she was not going to stop. Knowing amalgamations sprouted from her blood ¡ª the blood of a perfect sacrifice ¡ª she spread it everywhere. There was a similar amount of corruption here as the Still Tower, and she was about to flood it with much more. Nix had no doubt the monsters would spawn. Once she blew open the wall with her overcorrupted ritual, amalgamations would tear their way inside and kill everyone. They would kill K¡¯tan. She doubted he¡¯d be able to fend off one of those monstrosities that had been the size of a Trolley. As the hymn of flame summoning reached a crescendo and the chalk ignited, Nix grasped her name. Blood simmered beneath her feet. Little God watched in enraptured silence. Pulling at her name, the wall exploded. Metal melted through a raging ocean of blood. The amalgamations were taking too long, but there was still more she could do. Nix ripped her name open. Her sight fractured. And the world screamed. Chapter 23: Dark Star Event The world became a nightmare. There was no longer a wall. Nor was there the hole, or any sign of the explosion that would have caused it. Darkness consumed everything, but it hardly stifled her sight. It only revealed the morphing of space that twisted and wrung her mind beyond what she could understand. Nix blinked, trying to reorient herself, but the landscape grew no more comprehensible. Screams, both real and twisted, rang in her ears. The ground gave way beneath her, and she found herself hanging up-side down, yet gravity failed to hold her. She blinked again, and suddenly the only thing she could see was blood. A cavern, miles long, held a warped ocean of blood that boiled across each surface. Towering beasts clambered forth, breaching the surface everywhere she looked. Monstrous, god-like amalgamations stood as tall as Still Tower. Blood clung to them. It formed their very existence from nothing. Her blood. Nix flinched away as an enormous claw crashed down on her, and suddenly she found herself drowning. She choked. Blood scraped its way down her throat. She flailed as a current dragged her away, pulling her through the esophagus of a giant before she felt herself floating through space. Somehow, she was dry. She was in a dark void surrounded by stars. They weren¡¯t only above her; they were everywhere. It was almost calming after her body had been tossed around so harshly, but a deep, instinctual dread consumed her as her gaze flickered over her surroundings. A star shifted into an eye. She barely even caught it, but as soon as she became aware, all other stars opened. A billion stars opened their eyes to gaze down at her. Nix felt a terror she¡¯d only experienced once before. Her heart thrummed in her chest, and she swore it was ready to burst. Glancing down at her arms, she found her blood boiling as it rushed through her veins. The watching eyes blinked out of existence as one, but Nix¡¯s terror and dread didn¡¯t disappear. She could feel it. She didn¡¯t know how, but she could feel the maw holding trillions of fangs galaxies apart all bearing down on her. Her brain ached, like it was suddenly crushed beneath an impossible weight. Emotions not her own washed over her mind, but even they made little sense. Amusement mixed with disdain. Hate empowered sentimentality. She couldn¡¯t tell if it was her mind breaking down, or the world speaking to her, but none of it matter through the agony. And just as suddenly as it all started, it was gone. Nix¡¯s legs hit metal and she slumped to the ground. Her hands touched metal. Metal soaked in blood. A guttural scream snapped Nix¡¯s head up. No longer was this the underground warehouse of the Fleshsmiths, but a nightmarish battlefield. Corruption filtered through everything; more intense than Nix had ever seen it. The ceiling, walls and ground all contorted in mind-numbing complexity. It twisted directions like ¡®up¡¯ or ¡®straight¡¯ into foreign concepts. Any objects in the warehouse had been given life and morphed into monstrosities. A timber crate fractured into a splintered beast and lashed out at the nearest cultist. Shredded by a thousand stakes, they didn¡¯t live long. Wires struck out from the wall like snakes, constricting a woman before snapping back into the wall where the exposed panel had perverted into a vicious maw waiting to swallow her. Perception was unreliable. Where a wall would be one moment, the next it would be a screaming cultist being plucked apart limb-by-limb by a physical mass of darkness. Nix¡¯s eyes fell on a man who¡¯s very muscles had grown a life of their own. His biceps convulsed within his skin, before breaking free and running off, leaving the cultist¡¯s arms hanging by nothing but bone. She couldn¡¯t snap her eyes away from the horrid sight. His screams continued. Each second they morphed further by the dense corruption. By the time his eyes, too, decided to flee his head, his screams sounded more like the snarls of a beast far too many octaves below what a human could produce.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It thumped though her chest, and she didn¡¯t know how her mind hadn¡¯t collapsed from the strain. But worst of all were the amalgamations. They rose from the blood that was everywhere. They pounced through the incomprehensible landscape and tore through human bodies like they were tissue paper. At least, the big ones did. Some of the cultists had formed a group to fight them off, but the corruption was their undoing. They couldn¡¯t keep their backs to one another when the moment you took your eyes off them, they would disappear. This was¡­ so much worse than she¡¯d been expecting. No normal amount of corruption could do something this horrible. Especially not shift the world around her as drastically as it had before. Nix knew what this was, but she could hardly believe it. A Dark Star Event. She had to get out of here. The initial explosion of corruption was only the start. If what she¡¯d heard was true, then those titanic amalgamations she¡¯d seen in that bloody cavern might be the least of her worries. Corruption shifted, destroyed, and remade entire sections of Coral beyond repair when Dark Stars appeared. They were disasters you wouldn¡¯t want to be on the same side of the platform, no less right in the heart. If Nix stayed, she could forget the cults discovering her; she wouldn¡¯t survive the next five minutes. But Dark Star Events were renowned for being impossible to escape. Their intense corruption flooded through everything and continually redirected you back to the core. You couldn¡¯t escape unless you had the perception of a¡­ Nix¡¯s eyes landed on Little God. Well, that will do. A laugh escaped her despite the situation, and she couldn¡¯t stop the grin from rising to her face. ¡°Eyeball, you think you could lead me back to the ward?¡± ¡°I can see,¡± he said with a nod. She moved to follow, but made it barely three steps before she stopped. Something had caught her eye. Across from her, a single figure stood unreacting to all the horrors that occurred around them. Nix¡¯s ward-mate K¡¯tan brought to be a sacrifice. It was Ari. Ari-ai, the Omen Artisan hopeful that ¡ª along with Dan ¡ª had shown Nix kindness. She may have seemed reluctant at the start, but she¡¯d never stated any opposition, and eventually accepted Nix¡¯s presence. K¡¯tan had chosen to sacrifice Ari. It shouldn¡¯t have struck Nix as hard as it did. She¡¯d never even talked to the girl until today. But she couldn¡¯t look away. The girl who, only hours ago, had shared a meal with her now stood between a mess of monsters and corruption, unable to do anything because of the dream-bug latched to the back of her head. The girl was surrounded. Amalgamations were all around her, and the moment one turned their attention away from the screaming cultists, then Ari was dead. Nix couldn¡¯t help her. With her weak body and the number of monsters around, she¡¯d be lucky to survive herself. Forget helping her. Nix needed to worry about her own safety. Her own future. Ari would be happy that the cultists that tried to sacrifice her were properly given their rightful punishment. Ari was already dead, and as much as Nix hated it, she couldn¡¯t stay. She would only be another casualty if she did. But as she tried to move, to follow that floating eyeball that watched her with a curiosity completely detached from the nightmare around it, she found her legs wouldn¡¯t budge. Her Feat sense slid over her names almost without her notice. She had an option. If it was anyone else, anyone besides the two that showed Nix not everyone saw her with disdain, then she wouldn¡¯t have hesitated. She would have turned and left them to their unfortunate fate. Only because it was Ari did her ethereal fingers slide between ¡®Ine¡¯ and ¡®Oth¡¯. To help meant sacrificing her time. It meant increasing the chance of returning fate to its original path. Nix didn¡¯t want to allow any of her mutations to grow. But¡­ she also didn¡¯t want to let Ari die. She shows me a few hours of kindness and I¡¯m already ready to risk everything for her. A laugh trembled out of Nix¡¯s throat. I hope I don¡¯t regret this. Nix had two options before her. First, was to follow the same path of mutations as last time. She knew what she would get, and she knew how close it would bring her to being discovered. The other option, was a dice roll. There was no way to know what sort of mutations ¡®Ine¡¯ held. It was a gamble. She could receive something that could make fighting these amalgamations a breeze¡­ but it could just as easily lug her with something she would never be able to hide. The risk held an enticement Nix almost couldn¡¯t resist. What if she got something incredible? What if there was a mutation that would allow her to truly fight back against the cults, to fight and win every conflict she faced. It was an attraction she¡¯d felt many times before. Between fits of hatred towards her mutations for landing her in captivity, she often dreamed of one being her freedom. Of a power so great none could oppose. But Nix knew that was nothing but a pipe dream. She¡¯d made that same hope over and over for years. The next one will help. I¡¯ll be free if I get something good. But it was never good enough. The sudden screaming howl of an abomination as it turned on Ari made the decision for Nix. She¡¯d learnt not to leave her life in the hands of fate, and she wasn¡¯t about to do the same for a friend. Nix ran forward. Her touch grabbed ¡®Oth¡¯, and opened. The mutations accelerated. Chapter 24: Accepting Growth A spike of pain rushed through Nix¡¯s back, but she ignored it. Growing pains were nothing. Beneath her robe, her feathers fluttered involuntarily. Nix grimaced, knowing that to get to the mutation she wanted, she would need to let those stubs at the back of her ribs make their reappearance. Another spike struck her spine and she nearly collapsed mid-run as her lowermost ribs reshaped themselves. Her spine adjusted to compensate, and soon she had two new nubs pressing her feathers outward. Nix huffed in frustration that she actually had to allow such changes to occur, but that only forced her to open her name wider. She needed this over, now. The aches of growth spread through her arms, and prodded at her fingers. That lasted only a few moments before the sensation disappeared entirely. Her sense of touch, gone. Like last time, the disappearance of her touch would only be brief. Only long enough for the mutation to complete. Before her eyes, her skin flaked and peeled. Like a snake moulting. She now wore a glove of dead skin that crumbled when she ran her fingers over it. When this first happened, the change lasted long enough that her skin flaked naturally, and she barely noted when the last of her skin was gone. This time, she had to peel off her own skin to reveal the stone-hard chitinous claws beneath. It all remained the same colour as her skin, and the chitin of her knuckles slid over each other so perfectly you couldn¡¯t even tell they were separate plating. If it wasn¡¯t for the change to her fingernails, and the rest of her fingertips, the mutation might not even be noticeable. Well, it wouldn¡¯t be until you shook her hand. Nix tensed, and like a bunch of pistons, sharp claws slid out from within. Her fingers locked, and she could no longer bend them, but when she clenched her fist, they snapped closed with such force that the snap echoed all around her. It echoed, and twisted, and morphed into a scream that rang in her ears. The corruption of the Dark Star Event messed with her perception. It made her senses feel alien, but when she felt the lumps in her back press against her robe, she knew she wasn¡¯t imagining it. Quickly, she released her touch from her name to halt any further changes. Seeing her sharp claws once again was both daunting and welcome. Her captors used to file them down on a regular schedule, as they would constantly grow back but they would never cut away more than where her fingers once finished. It had been almost like they were obsessed with keeping her in a human form, despite how clearly her body was trying to move away from it. She shook her head and snapped her claws. This wasn¡¯t the time. Nix had now sacrificed months for Ari, she wasn¡¯t about to let it be for nothing. An amalgamation was already rushing towards her ward-mate; its lack of limbs the only thing slowing it down. Two serpentine heads continually slapped their heads into the ground to drag it forward. Between its scorpion stinger and toothy tortoise shell, it had enough to kill the girl in moments. But despite its size ¡ª twice her own ¡ª and vicious appearance, Nix was glad it was slow. She dashed up to its side before it could react and grabbed one of the serpent¡¯s heads. Her hands clamped, and flesh splattered. One of the snake heads fell limp, its spine severed and black goop spilling everywhere, but the other snapped towards her, fangs bared. Nix raised her hand on instinct, and the creature sunk its teeth into her arm. Or, it tried to. The moment the fangs impacted the hard chitin of her pincers, they slid right off. She raised her other hand, and wrapped it around the second serpentine neck, before gifting it an identical fate. Her hands had become like the pincers of a crab, only sharper, and with five points instead of two. She¡¯d always imagined it would be less effective than the crab¡¯s natural pair of scissors, but these were undeniably more dangerous. Now without the pseudo-limbs it had been using to push itself forward, the amalgamation began to convulse. Its toothy, inverted maw of a shell flopped around in a desperate attempt to discover some way to move. Behind it, the scorpion tail twisted, but each of its movements seemed to go against the efforts of its shell. She couldn¡¯t be wasting time, so she leapt forward, intent on severing the tail before it became a problem. But it was just as she was about to clamp her hand around the base of the tail ¡ª where it poked out inelegantly from the bottom of the shell ¡ª that the amalgamation finally seemed to discover how to move.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. When it twisted its body, its teeth sunk into the ground, giving it leverage. That shouldn¡¯t have even been possible considering the unreasonably hard alloy it was built of, but the corruption had already seen that the earth acted more like soil than the hardened metal it was. The amalgamation spun, and its protruding teeth dug into the now soft metal and flung it forward. In a matter of seconds, the monster went from a crawl to a sprint. A flesh-wheel for my second ever monster fight. Nix thought. That¡¯s surely a common sight. Her arms and wrists halfway to her elbow might now be deadly weapons, but the rest of her was still the same weak teenage body. When the toothy wheel of a shell rushed at her, she leapt to the side, but not fast enough to avoid the fang tearing through the leg of her robe and slicing through her thigh. The stinger struck out, but already on the ground as she was, it simply sailed over her head. The amalgamation had yet to figure out how to aim the thing while rotating. With the thick shell that protected the beast¡¯s innards, Nix was doubtful her pincer claws could penetrate. They were sharp and strong, but could only do so much. Plus, she doubted her chances of catching that stinger while it was moving so fast. So, Nix did the next best thing: she ran for the next Amalgamation. The beast was too busy chewing on the corpse of some cultist to pay attention to its surroundings, but when Nix ran past it, it instinctively reached out for her. Only to be shredded by the spinning ball of teeth. She never stopped running. Even as her lungs ached and chest heaved, she pushed forward. There was a second Amalgamation going for Ari now, and she ran for it. As she passed the monster, she raked her locked claws through the throat of its humanoid form. It¡¯s huge teeth snapped down on her in retaliation. They missed, but the heft of its crocodilian head hit her side and sent her sprawling. The amalgamation wheel crashed into its brother, stinger piercing the back of its neck while the teeth shredded through the worm-like lower half. Nix scrambled. The creature had come to a stop, so this was the only chance she would get. She flung herself atop the pair, and clamped her claws around the base of stinger before it could extract itself from the melting flesh of a dead amalgamation. There was a moment of resistance, but a crack sounded only an instant before the tail was dismembered. The feeling of chitin losing to her own was wonderful. Like cracking open nuts, but somehow so much more satisfying. She didn¡¯t know if it was some instinct that came ingrained with her pincers, but she relished in the feeling of crushing things beneath her fingers. This was something she¡¯d missed out on for nearly seven years since she first grew in these claws¡­ and summarily lost them to the file. She was not done yet. The beast was still alive, and with each moment it tried to spin itself back into that wheel of death. If it did, she wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with it. Nix dove forward, her claws piercing through the fleshy innards where the scorpion tail had connected only moments ago. It avoided the teeth, and gave her a clear access for her weapons to tear up the inside of the shell. Her pincers snapped open and closed as she twisted her arm through the beast. Already she was shoulder deep, but the amalgamation continued to struggle. Efforts to push her off, or return to its spinning motion while Nix was attached to it continually drove its teeth along her robe. Bloody scratches appeared all along her arms and shoulders. All it would take was a lucky strike to her neck and she¡¯d be done. Grasping the edge of the shell for leverage, she swept her arm through the innards of the shell, scraping along the hard inner surface and severing as much of it as possible. It was a desperate attempt, and nearly drove one of the amalgamation¡¯s teeth through her eye, but finally, it settled. The monster slowly faded into black sludge. Nix pulled her arm free as she gasped. She wanted nothing more than to sit there for a while and catch her breath. To recover from the ordeal. But Ari continued to stand there, reactionless. It was likely the only reason the girl hadn¡¯t been attacked so far. She didn¡¯t perceive or react to anything, so nothing decided she was worth the effort. But that was ending. All around her, Nix found amalgamations that were finished with their cultist meals and were turning their way. Her pincers might help, but even with them, she couldn¡¯t fight through an army of amalgamations. She needed to get herself and Ari out now. Her feet were surprisingly steady when she raced to reach the girl¡¯s side. She¡¯d thought for sure, after a fight like that, she¡¯d be wobbly and disoriented. More so than what the twisted landscape caused, anyway. But no. Instead, the fight seemed to have steadied her. It focused her mind away from the impossible things she was seeing, and guided her to her task. As Nix slid to a stop besides Ari, her hand went to snatch off the fat worm chewing on the back of her head. Before she could, she paused. Did she really want to have her ward-mate aware right now? Not only didn¡¯t Nix know how the girl might react to this horrifying, mind-twisting environment, but it would also reveal her mutations. Extended as they were, her fingers were clearly not human. Instead, she decided to make use of the disgusting worm. ¡°Ari, follow me and keep up.¡± Nix despised the action. While the worm simply encouraged them to continue dreaming and sleepwalk, it was too close to the forced enslavement she¡¯d endured. She didn¡¯t know how these creatures didn¡¯t count in the treaties against mind-manipulation. She turned to the eye. Little god was still where she¡¯d left him, ready to guide her out. But between them, was three more amalgamations ready to tear her apart. And a sea of boiling blood. Nix couldn¡¯t help a nervous grin. I did wish my life would change, but fate didn¡¯t have to do such a good job fulfilling it. Chapter 25: Escape Corruption Nix dashed forward. Ari, despite being in the depths of slumber, followed close behind. The dream-bug guided her mind to move her body in a state without consciousness. It would have been nice if she could run around the monsters ¡ª maybe use the space warping tunnels around them to lose them ¡ª but the creatures were quick, and seemed to know their way through the unnatural bends in the metal floor far better than Nix. The amalgamations were quick, too. Or at least two of the three were. She wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid those ¡ª especially not with someone following in tow ¡ª so she engaged. She slammed her feet into the ground and pushed herself into the path of the monsters that even now sent inklings of terror through her chest. She swung her hands into the first. The impact sent an agonising jolt through her arms, and they only seemed to sink an inch into the being¡¯s flesh because of the momentum it carried. Nix didn¡¯t have much weight behind her, and her arms were weak. She couldn¡¯t be using the claws as if they were swords. She needed to use them where their strength shined. Her hand, wedged in the chest of the large bird, clamped down. Flesh splattered, and the long, oversized rat tail in the place of a head whipped down on her. With her other hand, she caught it, but the weight of it forced her to her knees. In an instant, she severed the tail. If that strike had been any heavier, Nix was sure she¡¯s have more than just some aching arms and bruised knees. She needed to be smart with her claws. They were hard as stone, but that simply meant the impact flowed into the rest of her body. She had to react to their movements. Nix needed to be better. The bird shrieked. With no beak or mouth to be seen, she didn¡¯t know where the noise came from, but the creature spun out of Nix¡¯s pincers and kicked out with a far-too-human leg. She was ready this time, and clamped down her fingers just before she felt the brunt of the strike. The foot went flying. It¡­ very nearly booted her in the face despite being detached, but Nix chose to never think on it. The second amalgamation rushed past her, ignoring Nix completely and dashing for Ari. The mutt was quick, with large rabbit-like legs in place of a canine¡¯s. She leapt. Her hand barely grabbed its rearmost leg before it went past her and attacked Ari. Nix didn¡¯t clamp down. Not yet. She tugged the beast back, and with it being one of the only beasts not larger than herself, it couldn¡¯t continue. Nix didn¡¯t bother severing any of this amalgamation¡¯s limbs. She placed her hand on the back of its spine ¡ª between a dozen fish eyes that gazed up at her mindlessly ¡ª and crushed it. Before she could get up again, the bird bodied her. She grappled with the creature, and as she tried to throw it off, she found that its feathers tore out far too easily. After moments of brawling, she discovered that beneath that ball of fluff, were hundreds of tiny little mouths. They all snapped open and shut in an attempt to bite at her, but considering they were smaller than a fingertip, getting their teeth around her was impossible. After stabbing her claws into the creature enough times, it finally began to melt. Nix rose. Huffing from exertion, she turned to the third amalgamation. A rhino¡¯s head slapped haphazardly upon the shoulders of an giant ant met her. It was bigger than a trolley. Bigger than the beast that grew from her blood back at the Still Tower. She turned, and ran. ¡°Ari, run!¡± The beast charged, but apparently its sheer heft was too much for its newborn mind. Its legs tried to turn with them, but with such a high centre of mass, it quickly found itself tumbling head over feet. Corrupted walls caressed at the beast¡¯s body without it ever coming to a stop. They urged it to collapse, spiral, and decay. Nix could not stop staring as the walls came to life and swallowed the amalgamation while masses of tangible darkness spilled out. She couldn¡¯t even process where it had eaten the creature, only that it had. No seams or cracks lined the pristine metal walls. They twisted and coiled beyond comprehension, but there was nowhere for that darkness to appear from. Nix snapped her head away. She knew she shouldn¡¯t look. Everyone knew you should never look too long at the things that didn¡¯t make sense, but it was enrapturing. She had to hold her head in her hands to make sure her eyes didn¡¯t seek out those oddities before she lost herself. Little God spun where he was and led them away from the battlefield of dying cultists. ¡°Keep us away from monsters,¡± she called ahead, hoping it was possible. The floating eyeball didn¡¯t respond, but it did change its path slightly. She took that as a good sign¡­ and ignored the fact that it might have led them towards something if she hadn¡¯t asked.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Nix glanced back to the girl who almost found herself a sacrifice. Ari jogged along pleasantly. Her eyes narrowed in accusation. Why do you look like you¡¯re out for a casual bit of exercise? I feel like hell. Each arm ached and her legs burned. This was already so much more than Nix¡¯s body could handle. For a brief moment, she considered asking the dreaming girl to carry her. She was, after all, in much better shape than Nix. Huh, she laughed. Wouldn¡¯t that be a sight; the rescuee carrying the rescuer. Refocusing on Little God, she pushed herself to keep moving. She wanted to keep her eyes up and on the lookout for more amalgamations, but she knew that would be less than beneficial to her sanity. For a few minutes, things were going well. Little God led them through the confusing mess of a metal labyrinth, while Ari kept pace behind her. So often, the floating eyeball seemed to lead them towards dead ends or back to where they began, but each time Nix approached the point of questioning their guide, they would see signs of progress. But now¡­ Now Nix had to question him. ¡°Eyeball¡­ you know we can¡¯t fly, right?¡± He stopped his ascent and looked down on her. ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± his gaze lingered on her lower back. Nix clicked her tongue. She wasn¡¯t about to force her mutations any more than they were. Not if there was still other ways. ¡°No. Ari and I cannot fly after you.¡± ¡°Then, walk?¡± He tilted to the side in question. Nix closed her eyes and suppressed her frustration. This little creature was strong. Far stronger than herself; she couldn¡¯t say anything to insult it¡­ even if it had never responded aggressively to her before. They were lucky there were no amalgamations in the immediate area. ¡°How? I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed, but gravity is holding us down.¡± ¡°Ignore it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ignore your worldly bindings. Close your mind to them and walk.¡± She was about to protest again when she stopped herself. Worldly bindings? Considering they were in a Dark Star Event, it wasn¡¯t a stretch to assume all laws of physics were just absent. This place was more akin to a dream then reality. Deciding to just go for it, she closed her eyes, did her best to forget exactly where she was and which way was down, then walked to Little God. It felt so natural that she was sure it hadn¡¯t worked. But when she opened her eyes and found herself on the ceiling, it suddenly wasn¡¯t so natural. Gravity still tugged at her, but she didn¡¯t fall. To her eyes, there was no possible way she could have gotten here; she was on an orb of metal floating above a hall. It didn¡¯t make sense. She glanced back and found Ari following without issue. Right, Nix thought. She¡¯s dreaming. It probably doesn¡¯t even feel out of the ordinary for such impossible things to occur. Little God apparently took her request to avoid creatures to heart, as while it took them nearly an hour to escape, they faced little resistance. No walls tried to eat them. No amalgamations tried to gut them. Really, after all that had happened, it felt almost too easy. Soon, somehow, they stepped out through a thick hatch, and found themselves on a building a the edge of the safe zone. Considering they¡¯d just walked through a large open hall, it should be impossible, but here they were. Corruption was thick through the air, and darkness lingered where the Great Iris¡¯s light should have eradicated it, but Nix didn¡¯t pay any mind to that. She couldn¡¯t. Not with the massive sphere of impenetrable black consuming the entire south of her vision. Solar flares of black void snapped out all along its surface, striking buildings and leaving twisted, confusing masses in their wake. They were constant, and struck out at anything that went near. A small rodent disappeared beneath one. Whether it twisted into some horrific monster, teleported far away, or simply vaporised, she didn¡¯t know. This truly was a Dark Star. Nix instigated a Dark Star Event. Thousands of buildings were flattened. More were twisted beyond recognition. Everywhere she looked, there were beasts, amalgamations, spawn and other nightmares rushing to attack anyone they saw, only to be cut down by an army of cultists. The Scriptures used their own bodies to enact countless rituals in opposition. The Bodytwisters fought with flesh crafted and perfected for battle. Those of the Technocult were much the same, only with metal implants. Worshippers of the Machine God spent their time praying to the massive metal machines that stepped forward to fight off each monster. And cultists of the Everseeing Eye stood, still and silent, but no less devastating as wherever they gazed, creatures fell. All the cults were here. Of course they were; this was a disaster beyond reckoning. They had to cull the creatures before they could slaughter everyone. But none of them moved to enter. The cults simply stood and culled the creatures that swarmed from the edges of the Dark Star. The waves of monsters would never end if they just faced them out here. They needed to crush its source. Belatedly, Nix realised she was leaning over the edge of the building. She was not in a position to be worrying about what the cultists chose to do. If even one saw her and decided to investigate the strange pair of girls far from where they should be at this time of night¡­ it would be catastrophic. Her arms were soaked in blood, and she had enough scratches to warrant a closer look. They would discover her newly chitinous hands and then¡­ Nix spun to leave. But before she could, she had to deal with Ari. She wouldn¡¯t be as affected by being discovered. Through her, they might even learn it was a Fleshsmith warehouse where the Event started. She grabbed a hold of the dream-bug, and paused. Would she wake immediately? As much as Nix hated the idea of leaving her ward-mate ensorceled by the worm, she wasn¡¯t willing to have her mutations exposed. It couldn¡¯t be known that she was here tonight. It would be better if Ari was found by the cultists ¡ª in a large enough crowd that they couldn¡¯t take advantage of her state ¡ª and be given the help Nix couldn¡¯t provide. ¡°Eyeball, do the stairs lead back into the Dark Star¡¯s corruption?¡± She pointed to the door access across from them. Not the hatch they came through. Little god glanced that way, then looked down, as if following the stairs. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Nix turned back to Ari. ¡°Now, you are going to wait five minutes after I¡¯m gone, then you¡¯ll walk down those stairs and find the first group of more than five cultists you can find. Approach them and make sure your hood remains down.¡± She really hoped the commands would linger in her dream-like state. It would be horrible if the girl had to stand here for hours suffering beneath its control before she was found. Leaving her there, Nix made for the stairs. Now, she just needed to get to the ward without being spotted. At least K¡¯tan was dead. Chapter 26: Nothing More Fitting He¡¯s not dead. Why is he not dead!? Nix screamed in her mind. K¡¯tan should have died there with all the other ass-hole Fleshsmiths. Nix¡¯s return through the streets had been anything but easy, yet she¡¯d found her way back through the secret hole in the floor soon enough. Alarms blared through the ward, and thankfully everyone had already gathered out in the assembly hall; it gave Nix the perfect opportunity to dive into the bath and scrub off all her blood. Her brand new robe was tattered. She would need to sew it up later. After getting rid of all signs that she¡¯d been in a fight to the death only an hour before, she¡¯d made her way for the rumble of chatter she could hear between each blare of the siren. Only, before she could reach them, her eyes landed on the distressingly familiar back of K¡¯tan. He stood and spoke to a woman in a hushed tone, clearly not wanting to be overheard. Nix noticed it was K¡¯kali; the overseer of the current thirteen-year-olds. She was quick to notice Nix, and motion K¡¯tan to stop talking. She tried her hardest not to stare. How was he alive? Nix and Ari only escaped because they had the help of some god that was apparently far too interested in Nix for her comfort. The overseer should have died there, along with all the other cultists involved in the kidnapping of Ari. Then there was the woman besides him. Were all the carers even tangentially related to the Fleshsmiths in on the efforts to collect sacrifices? ¡°Nix,¡± K¡¯tan said. His voice laced with that sickly sweet ¡ª fake ¡ª caring attitude. ¡°Why are you not with the others?¡± She tucked her hands under her arms, both hiding her chitin and acting demure. ¡°I was in the bath.¡± ¡°You went to the bath¡­ during a corruption outbreak?¡± ¡°¡­I was already in there.¡± She turned away, worried that something in her gaze might give away both her frustration and that she knew where he¡¯d been. The man groaned at her apparent foolishness, but didn¡¯t question her further. ¡°Fine, at least you are unhurt. Go and join the others; we¡¯re still trying to figure out what¡¯s going on for now.¡± Nix nodded and scurried off. Just as she was to turn down the hall, she glanced back and found the two back in their hushed chatter. ¡°Eyeball,¡± she said. ¡°Do the same as before, will you?¡± ¡°As before?¡± He spun, confused. ¡°Listen in to K¡¯tan¡¯s conversation again. I want to know how he survived.¡± Little God nodded before floating off to shove his gaze in the overseer¡¯s business. When Nix reached the main assembly hall ¡ª directly attached to the foyer ¡ª she found everyone gathered. Not only were her ward-mates standing around, but all the other ages as well. Most of the carers were off to the side dealing with the youngest groups, leaving only the few overseers to watch over the hundreds of teens that found the entire situation exciting. She was intent to just sit off to the side and wait for Little God to return. After half a nights rest and running around for so long, her beaten-up body demanded sleep. She wouldn¡¯t get that, but at the very least she wanted to remain undisturbed. ¡°Nix!¡± a voice immediately cratered her plans. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Dan weaved through the crowd to reach her. As he got closer, she made sure her hands were hidden well enough. No brief glance would reveal anything wrong with them, but they weren¡¯t foolproof. Her skin-tone was the same, but they no longer held creases, veins, or even fingernails. With her claws retracted like this, they almost looked like a doll¡¯s hands. Nix wasn¡¯t at all confident he wouldn¡¯t notice. Her sleeves covered most of them, and as long as she didn¡¯t unclench her fists ¡ª showing her finger-tips in the process ¡ª she should be fine. Especially tucked in her armpits as they were. ¡°The bath,¡± she said. He gave her a look that said he didn¡¯t believe her, but didn¡¯t press further. ¡°Have you seen Ari anywhere? I can¡¯t find her.¡± In those eyes of his was a depth of hope and desperation. He already knew what happened. He knew K¡¯tan was after a sacrifice, and he placed the last hope that it wasn¡¯t true in Nix. She wanted so much to tell him that Ari would be okay. That K¡¯tan hadn¡¯t succeeded in selling her off. Nix didn¡¯t want to lie, but she couldn¡¯t let him know she¡¯d been out. So instead of reassuring him as she desperately wanted, she shook her head.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The knuckle of his thumb suddenly found itself chewed on as Dan looked unfocused towards the tightly locked shutters. Nix wanted to comfort him ¡ª she knew it would be only a temporary worry ¡ª but quickly discovered she didn¡¯t actually know how. What would be helpful now, and wouldn¡¯t only make him feel worse? Little God floated over the heads of the crowd before she could make her decision. She gave Dan one last concerned glance, and turned to the floating creature she once considered her imagination. It thankfully dove right into K¡¯tan¡¯s speech. ¡°¡­think she was bullshitting? Who spends an hour in the bath while the alarm is blaring?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it matters. She couldn¡¯t have seen me even if she was out and wandering. It¡¯s concerning how active she¡¯s become, but I¡¯ll work on her later.¡± Ah, so this was K¡¯tan. ¡°How certain are you that it was the cult-house?¡± the other voice ¡ª likely K¡¯kali ¡ª suddenly shifts the conversation. ¡°Could it not have just been nearby?¡± ¡°Well, possibly. But the Dark Star appeared far too close to be a coincidence. A minute earlier, and I would have been dead with the rest of them.¡± As Little God continued to repeat K¡¯tan¡¯s words, Nix saw the man walk out into the hall. It only drove home the misfortune of events. The words she¡¯d heard were delayed, respoken, but Nix had assumed he wouldn¡¯t have had enough time to escape. By the time she¡¯d heard them, he had already been on his way out. ¡°This won¡¯t be tracked back to us, right?¡± K¡¯kali followed out of the hall a dozen seconds after K¡¯tan and made a beeline for her ward-group. ¡°Impossible. Whoever initiated the ritual to the gods, they would have used Ari. I doubt a hair remains of the girl. Nothing to link us. As far as we know, Ari never returned tonight and was swallowed in the disaster.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him.¡± Nix snapped away from Little God¡¯s narration to Dan, who was glaring with burning fury at K¡¯tan. He stepped past her, and she noticed the ritual blade he pulled from a pocket. She knew exactly how he felt. She¡¯d stewed in the anger for years after he¡¯d betrayed her. Even now, she wanted to walk over there and clamp her claws around his neck. It would work, too; none of his names were all too likely to provide him such protection. But doing so would ruin her future. Her hand snapped out and grabbed the back of his robe, the hard chitin of her fingers tearing through the fabric slightly. She winced, but suppressed it. ¡°Not now,¡± Nix hissed. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Dan didn¡¯t turn. He just kept glaring at their overseer. Thankfully, the man hadn¡¯t looked their way. ¡°He took her,¡± Dan said. ¡°You know it, don¡¯t you? He shipped her off as a sacrifice, and she either died in whatever is going on outside, or is already in the hands of the upper creeds.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t,¡± Nix whispered now that he wasn¡¯t fighting her. ¡°You know what happens if you attempt a murder before you¡¯ve got the backing of a cult. Don¡¯t let him make you a sacrifice too.¡± ¡°And what?¡± He spun on her. ¡°Just let the man walk free after he killed Ari? The others I¡­ I was a coward. But I can¡¯t let Ari¡¯s death be swept under the rug like everyone else.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t.¡± Nix¡¯s words were filled with a conviction that had Dan pause. ¡°I already plan to kill him. But I don¡¯t intend to die while doing so.¡± Why am I telling him? Nix screamed in her mind. He may be angry himself, but that is no reason to trust him with my resolve. What if he reveals it? ¡°You do?¡± he seemed confused. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I discovered he was intentionally isolating me.¡± Nix couldn¡¯t say the full truth, but even knowing this would be enough to infuriate her. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know I overheard him say he was prepping me for sacrifice. I didn¡¯t know it wasn¡¯t just me until you told me.¡± Nix looked back to the overseer, and found him glancing their way. She tugged Dan back, and turned to point at the shutters, as if she was talking about the disaster outside. ¡°I¡¯m not about to let him get away with it, but I refuse to let anyone know it was me.¡± ¡°How?¡± And that was the question, wasn¡¯t it. So often she¡¯d considered how she wanted to punish her betrayer. She¡¯d fantasised using her mutations to give him the most painful deaths. Melting by acid. Slowly eaten by mould. Crushed by the very claws she now had. But all of those would reveal her. It would be optimal for her to trust herself and grow until the man couldn¡¯t even resist her, but that would take too long. He didn¡¯t deserve to live that long. But how would she do it? Too many of the methods she wished to use would reveal her immediately. She needed to be careful. She needed to be smart. But most importantly, she needed K¡¯tan to have no idea what was coming. A trio of heavy, pounding knocks rang through the lobby and into the assembly hall. Everyone quieted immediately. The only noise that remained was that of an overseer scrambling with the door control. She turned the monitors on for only a moment before she lifted the switch and had the shutters rolling upward. Two pairs of legs stood outside. The first, small and scrawny. The second enraptured all. Thick, metal boots and legs bound by wires and tubing all framed with a pointed shin-guard. When the shutters finally rose to reveal the giant, Nix was surprised to see Tarchon again. Somehow, his presence loomed over them. He felt like a monster in a way he didn¡¯t when she¡¯d last met the man. Steam fell from glowing sections of his machine implants, pooling around his feet in a small fog. He motioned his hand, and the other figure stepped forward. Dan let out a choked sound, and ran. Ari couldn¡¯t even react before the boy was sobbing in her shoulder and holding her tight. She softly pat his back. Nix, in her corner of the room where she was sure she wouldn¡¯t be spotted, subtly turned to watch K¡¯tan. He was terrified. She couldn¡¯t help the giddiness rising in her chest as she watched the man try his hardest to keep his poker face, yet fail to cease the clench of his jaw or widened eyes. The dread rolling through his veins was almost palpable to Nix from even this far across the hall. His eyes were trained on Ari, and only Ari. He knew just how bad it was that she had returned, and at the hands of a cult that was anything but friendly with the Fleshsmiths. Tonight, he took Ari out to become a sacrifice, and it ended with a disaster beyond anything he could have imagined. Oh! Nix suddenly had a realisation. I know the perfect way to kill him. The only way he deserves. It would certainly be hard, but depending on how desperate the man became in the next few days ¡ª especially with Tarchon¡¯s intense glare washing over all the overseers ¡ª Nix believed it possible. ¡°What way is more fitting?¡± Nix finally replied to the empty space besides her. ¡°K¡¯tan will die a sacrifice.¡± Chapter 27: Lockdown When Nix turned away from K¡¯tan, she found Tarchon¡¯s eyes on her. Those glass lenses flicked to the man she¡¯d been discretely watching, but he revealed no emotion on his face. Though when Nix glanced back, K¡¯tan was sweating. It was impossible to tell how much Tarchon knew, and while she hoped he¡¯d only looked her way because he¡¯d recognised her, the intensity of his figure was enough that she questioned whether he knew everything. Her overseer must be experiencing a very similar feeling. Only he had a much more pressing reason to be concerned, considering Ari was still alive. Tarchon gestured the embracing pair to return to the crowd, and cleared his throat. The noise more like that of a turbine revving than anything natural. ¡°An hour and fourteen minutes ago, Coral experienced a Dark Star Event.¡± His voice carried through the hall without any need to yell. It was simply louder. ¡°The disaster¡¯s proximity to the safe zone has left it corrupt far beyond safe levels. For the foreseeable future, the wards are on lockdown. Nobody is allowed to leave.¡± The Technocultist glanced towards the shutter¡¯s control panel, and without anyone operating it, the heavy doors shunted, beginning their slow descent. ¡°I will be back within the week to inspect for corruption.¡± He casually stepped outside while everyone watched on in silence. ¡°As long as protocol has remained upkept, there won¡¯t be a problem.¡± The shutters clanged shut to the silence of the ward. There had been no ritual about it, no discussion or warning, Tarchon had locked them in without hearing a word of opposition. Okay¡­ he absolutely knows something, Nix thought, then glanced back to K¡¯tan. And he thinks so too. Completely forgetting the rest of the kids, the overseer was already storming towards the halls she¡¯d once held classes. K¡¯kali was only steps behind. Off to stress and fear together, out of sight of everyone else. The silence lingered in the hall for a few moments before, almost as one, a thousands kids broke in chatter. So many fearful, worried, and excited voices mixed with the cries of toddlers. It was enough to give Nix a headache. Without waiting for permission from the overseers that had far too much on their plates dealing with the tumultuous crowd, Nix slid down the corridor to her dorm. A couple other teens were doing the same, but for the most part, it remained empty. While everyone talked about the Dark Star¡¯s appearance and what they would now do that they were locked inside the Rearing Ward, Nix wanted to sleep. Not that she could just yet. She still needed to better cover her hands and treat her wounds. She could feel her old robe clinging to the blood. Nix had wrapped herself in bandages before leaving the bath, but apparently it wasn¡¯t enough to stop the blood seeping through. She was lucky it had yet to discolour her robe. ¡°Nix!¡± She froze at the voice and tucked her hands back beneath her arms. Considering how he thought Ari had died, she hadn¡¯t expected him to want to speak with her again tonight. Spinning while trying to make the way she tucked her hands out of sight seem natural despite the lack of chill, she faced Dan. The boy was busy pulling a shaken Ari behind him. That Tarchon hadn¡¯t mentioned the dream-bug to any of the overseers seemed strange to Nix. Either he suspected all of them, or he simply didn¡¯t have the time. There was a Dark Star Event going on outside; he likely had a lot to deal with right now. The cages that were the Rearing Wards were designed almost explicitly for disasters like this, so even with that breach in the room a few down from her own, they were safe from the worst effects. Some of which she¡¯d witnessed on her way back. It wasn¡¯t great when the lifeless trees reached for you. Or a missing tile revealed an endless hole. The Dark Star Event she experienced in her last life had been pretty bad, but limited to the already heavily corrupt lower surface of Coral. This was right next to the safe zone. By tomorrow morning, there wouldn¡¯t be anywhere left uncorrupted, if it wasn¡¯t all already. ¡°Were you serious?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Are you going to¡­¡± He trailed off as Nix¡¯s glare nearly burnt through him. Ari glanced between them confused, and Nix couldn¡¯t help but be relieved that the girl didn¡¯t seem to remember what had happened only an hour ago. She had been in the forced dream of that disgusting worm, but one didn¡¯t always forget their dreams¡­ only mostly. ¡°We can speak of that later,¡± she said and turned to Ari. ¡°What happened? Did he take you?¡± Nix had to do her best to resist asking ¡®what do you remember?¡¯ ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know? I was asleep, but I think I was inside,¡± she said. ¡°The Dark Star I mean; I think I was inside. My dream¡­ my nightmare¡­ I remember when it began. There were people all around, then suddenly they were gone. After that, I woke up outside, looking at the black star.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. For a moment there, Nix had felt her heart jump into her throat. If Ari remembered anything, it would be devastating. But, it was a dream, so the longer she left the memory, the more it would fade. By the morning, any slight glimmers that remained would be gone. ¡°We should go write everything you remember down,¡± Dan said, and without turning her head, Nix¡¯s eyes found him. She could strangle him. That was the last thing they should do. Technically, it was the proper action to take for anything dream and nightmare related, but she didn¡¯t exactly want Ari to gain any insight. Normally, it would be right, because who knew what sort of creature was trying to reach through your slumber to bless, or curse you. And then there were the prophetic dreams. So rare they were probably nothing but myth. Most of the time, there was no harm in trying to memorise those nightmares. Most of the time. ¡°Should you really try to recall what you experienced?¡± Nix asked, before hurrying to continue. ¡°In the Dark Star. You¡¯ve heard what¡¯s been said about their core; what if its enough to melt your mind?¡± Dan looked back at Ari with a horrified expression. Nix tried her best to not appear relieved. He wasn¡¯t about to let her write them down with that sort of possibility floating over their heads. ¡°I want to try.¡± Ari had to go and ruin her plan. ¡°I get the feeling that something really important happened, and I want to know what.¡± ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Dan said, his opinion switched in but a moment, yet Ari wasn¡¯t to be swayed, and he eventually sighed in acceptance. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to it, then.¡± Nix didn¡¯t say that she felt her own presence might spike some memory if she lingered for much longer. Besides, she still needed to fix up these wounds¡­ and cover her hands. ¡°But, about K¡¯tan?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll speak tomorrow,¡± Nix said. ¡°Not like we¡¯ll be going anywhere for the next few days.¡± He seemed appeased with that and turned to lead Ari to one of the couches of their ward¡¯s lounge. Ari wasn¡¯t so quick to turn. She stared at Nix¡¯s hands, where they were tucked away and out of sight. Nix didn¡¯t move them. She didn¡¯t so much as react to the girls interest. Instead, she turned and fled. She fled while doing everything she could to make it seem like she wasn¡¯t. The quicker she was out of sight, the sooner any memory that might be rising to the surface would disappear. When she entered her room, she shut the door and leaned against it on the off chance the two would come chasing after her. Ari was too perceptive. Why was the girl looking at Nix¡¯s hands? Had she noticed, or remembered something? Nix had been using them to slaughter amalgamations, so if there was any one thing her dreaming mind might have focused on, it would have been Nix¡¯s claws. Well, regardless of outcome, it was out of Nix¡¯s hands. She could only hope they didn¡¯t succeed with recalling any specific details except maybe K¡¯tan¡¯s presence. As stressed as Nix was, she could relish in the assurance that K¡¯tan likely felt a thousand times worse. The one thing that could go wrong for him, had. There was a slight concern that he might try to end Ari here and now before Tarchon launched his investigation¡­ but K¡¯tan wouldn¡¯t take the chance. The overseer knew there was already scrutiny on him; if his ward in question suddenly disappeared, then there was no way he would get off. Like Nix, he could only hope that Ari didn¡¯t remember. Still, she was certain the man wouldn¡¯t leave things to chance. While she didn¡¯t know exactly how he would weasel his way out of this mess, he would try something. All Nix had to do, was observe. Once she could figure out his intent now that everything had gone wrong, she would find a way to twist that into a trap. Nix was determined to make him a sacrifice. She didn¡¯t care what he would be a sacrifice for, nor did it matter how it came about, but it would happen. Glancing down at her hands, she slowly had the claws extract. It was strange to see the long talons again. In her past life, she¡¯d been too terrified to extend them when they¡¯d replaced her soft hands. And eventually, the opportunity to do so had been taken from her. Now that she watched the chitinous knives slide from deep within her forearm and through her fingers, she realised she felt strong. Stronger than ever. Most of her dexterity disappeared when they extended like this, but that lack of control was dwarfed by the impulse to snap. She did so, and the clang rung through the room loud enough that anyone out in the hall would have heard. They had the power to cleave bones. They could kill. They had killed. In these claws, Nix held strength that she had been far too afraid to explore in her last life. But now? Even if she didn¡¯t like her body mutating away from humanity, it was something she would learn to use. And yet¡­ her claws weren¡¯t the only thing she had available. Her claws weren¡¯t the only way she¡¯d killed. By opening her name, Nix created a Dark Star Event. All the chaos outside was because of her. All the deaths were because of her. The image of the man who¡¯s own flesh came alive and fled his body flashed through Nix¡¯s mind. She didn¡¯t mind the deaths of the cultists; they¡¯d all been there to sacrifice Ari. They deserved whatever miserable fate they got. But¡­ the Dark Star wouldn¡¯t have affected the Fleshsmiths alone. How many had died because Nix somehow had enough corruption in her name to ignite a Dark Star Event? How many would suffer without the safety of a corruption free zone? Should she even care? They were a few amongst the millions on Coral that knew of her sacrifice and didn¡¯t oppose it. So why should she worry about them in turn? It was an accident, and they were just unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nix wanted to think that way. It would be easy. But she couldn¡¯t help but consider how many of the lower creed ¡ª or even those not part of any cult ¡ª were like Dan and Ari, or any of the other kids; they knew of these atrocities, but didn¡¯t dare cry out in opposition lest they face the same fate as those they might want to help? In a way, Nix felt they still didn¡¯t deserve her care if they weren¡¯t willing to act themselves, but she also couldn¡¯t deny she would have done the same. Not now, though. She couldn¡¯t leave the cults to their ways. Her name might have revealed itself to be the corruptive equivalent of a bomb, but it was ¡ª unfortunately ¡ª not something she could use again. Not unless she wanted every cultist on Coral after her head. It was truly too bad the peak creeds could survive in the heart of a Dark Star. If the option had been there, she might have sacrificed everything to take out the cult leaders. Chapter 28: Finally: Calm Nix pulled the bloody, torn robes out from under her bed. She¡¯d tossed them there when she¡¯d returned so nobody would notice, but she would need to take them with her the next time she went for a bath. Not now. There would be too many of her ward-mates wandering around despite the late hour. She had a needle and thread to sew them together, but first, she needed to fix herself. Chalk scraped along the floor, candles ignited, and she paused when she went to reopen the wound in her hand. With chitin now in the way, she had to move further up. Slicing through the skin just below the elbow, she guided her blood into a small cup adorned with etched runes. She¡¯d noticed it back when Tarchon bolted her bones back together; her blood held enough quality that it worked as a replacement for a sacrificial lamb. It empowered the common ritual of wellness so that her wounds stitched themselves together, rather than just soothe illness. As Nix knelt within the circle and began her chant ¡ª and the cup of blood ignited ¡ª she watched with detached fascination as the cut she¡¯d just made closed itself. The scar remained. Common rituals weren¡¯t good enough to do more, but the very fact that the ritual took minutes rather than hours said everything about the value of her blood. She wondered if ¡ª with a better ritual ¡ª she could endlessly create more. It didn¡¯t seem like it should be possible¡­ but one should never make assumptions like that. Honestly, the very fact that the cults hadn¡¯t permanently strapped her to a blood extractor was strange. Her blood hadn¡¯t been this good initially ¡ª It¡¯s not like she¡¯d never bled out on the floor or anything back then, and no amalgamations had spawned ¡ª but if it had even been a fraction as effective, no cult would have missed the opportunity. The only answer that made sense to her, was that the excessive use of her blood would make her death less effective. A dilution of her sacrifice. Well, it was a good thing Nix didn¡¯t care about making herself a less attractive sacrifice. She would use this to the full effect it offered. On top of being a nightmarish corruption battery, there was unlikely to be many rituals she couldn¡¯t perform. Not unless the requirements were very specific¡­ or required a human sacrifice. As she unwound the bandages from her arms and chest, she found each of the cuts closed. Only the blood remained. She tried her best to wipe the dried crimson with her already dirty robe, but it didn¡¯t clean her off nearly as well as she¡¯d hoped. Moving on to stitch the holes of the robe together, everything seemed to finally strike home in her mind. She¡¯d killed monsters; people. She¡¯d willingly given herself over to mutations. She created a Dark Star. That alone was beyond anything she¡¯d imagined possible. Sure, one might fail a ritual when summoning or channelling the power of a god, but they were almost always performed far from inhabited sections of Coral. Sections that nobody would miss if they were destroyed entirely. Because that¡¯s how they were usually dealt with. Simple destruction of everything they touched. But Nix had created a Dark Star Event right next to the safe zone. Who knew how long it would take the cults to clean up? The needle in Nix¡¯s hands scraped along her finger and tumbled into her lap. Only two days had passed, yet she¡¯d gotten so used to the soft, tactile feedback of skin that bent whenever she touched something. Going back felt odd. The chitin held no problem with grip ¡ª even with something as small as a needle ¡ª nor did Nix lose her sense of touch, but that slight depression offered by skin made the world of difference when it came to handling small objects. She slipped again. This time, when her fingers moved to catch it, she pressed down too hard and bent the needle out of shape. While most of the power in these mutations lay in the snapping of her extended claws, there was also the benefit of increased strength in her digits even retracted. It wasn¡¯t enough to say, break the spine of a certain overseer, but it did give her a far stronger grip. A grip strong enough that she¡¯d likely do well with a weapon.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The only problem with that, was her poor arm strength. With fingers stronger than biceps, there wasn¡¯t many options she could look into. Any decently powerful gun would have a recoil that was more likely to hurt her underweight body than any enemy she faced. Not that it was easy to get one. In most cases, you already needed to be a prospective harbinger with the backing of a cult to gain access to weapons like that. It would be much the same for anything powerful enough to make her claws redundant. Not that she¡¯d be able to afford such a weapon. The main reason she considered taking on a weapon was to hide her mutations while still using them to fight. Take a blade to obscure her use of claws. If she could learn to use it for when other people were around, then all the better. After sewing her bloodied robe long enough that all her ward-mates had returned to their rooms ¡ª made clear by just how much noise they made through the walls ¡ª she finally tossed the cloth aside. Her needlework was horrid, and would be obvious to any that looked, despite her best efforts. She¡¯d only just got the robe, but it looked like she¡¯d need another. More than likely, this wasn¡¯t going to be the last time she got cut up and injured. Especially considering her intent to follow the harbinger path. What Nix needed, was a robe that sewed itself together after being cut. Similar to that fancy gown, but more intended towards battle. Only one problem with that; she didn¡¯t have anywhere near the funds required. If Nix wanted to stub each of the cults and turn up any of the tools or equipment they offered, then she would need money. Not just for the new robe, but for everything. Unless she intended to go and scavenge the lost depths of Coral, then she needed a way to earn her feed. ¡°Hey, Eyeball?¡± she called to the flying creature that was busy looking at itself in the mirror. ¡°You¡¯re good at going around unseen. Think you could sneak into the Fleshsmith¡¯s treasury and snatch some gold?¡± Their gold was less valuable than their blood-bank reserves, but Nix had no way to convert that to physical cash without a thousand questions being thrown her way. She¡¯d hardly need theirs if it was that easy. ¡°No,¡± he said, turning to her. ¡°I am here, but not. Intangible. Only wish to watch.¡± Well, when your body is limited to an eye, that¡¯s not a surprise. That was another thing she hadn¡¯t really comprehended. Still hadn¡¯t. Her Little God was actually a god. Or at least a monster close enough that the difference was pedantry. By its actions so far, and willingness to do as Nix asked, it clearly wasn¡¯t hostile. Not some beast waiting to swallow Coral. If anything, it was simply curious about how things worked. Most of its questions so far had been related to Nix¡¯s actions and choices; it wanted to learn about humanity because they were so alien to it. Nix had to wonder what Little God¡¯s home looked like. Was it a place with so much corruption even a Dark Star would look tame? Did it even reside fully in their plane of existence? ¡°Is this all of your body?¡± she asked as she sat on her bed. Her hand slid beneath robe to touch her wing-nubs. Small and without shape, she probably had two months before they were grown to the point they¡¯d been cut off. ¡°Yes?¡± Little God answered, although he sounded confused by the question. Nix wasn¡¯t sure she believed him. Whether he couldn¡¯t comprehend what she was asking, or she didn¡¯t comprehend his answer, she felt there was a disconnect somewhere. ¡°I know you said you were intangible,¡± Nix started as she moved to her wardrobe. There were an old pair of gloves buried somewhere in there. She knew it. ¡°But lets just say I was setting up a ritual and asked you bring someone to me ¡ª say by teleportation or mind manipulation or straight up dragging them ¡ª could you do it?¡± She paused her search to gauge the eyeball¡¯s reaction. ¡°No.¡± It shook its eye. So she had godly leech stuck to her side that was only good for watching people. Well, that had already shown its worth. And it was better than the imaginary phantom she¡¯d had by her side for as long as she remembered. Besides, it was probably better off that she deal with K¡¯tan alone. He was the easiest of her targets. If she couldn¡¯t strike him down with her own power, then forget ever chasing for the cult summits. Nix finally found her gloves. She winced slightly as she slid the garish red monstrosities over her chitin. They were small, and she felt the thick threads strain under each twitch of her fingers, but until she could get some nail polish to give the impression of fingernails, the gloves had to stay. With the lockdown in place, she wouldn¡¯t be going outside to get them. Her only option would be to ask Ari if she had any¡­ and Nix felt that would be too much like giving the girl a clue that there really was something suspicious about her hands. The lockdown would be annoying. But it would be more annoying for K¡¯tan, and that alone made up for the delay on her efforts to evolve. Would the man attempt to sneak through the hole in the room two down again? If he grew desperate enough he might. ¡°Eyeball, thanks for letting me know K¡¯tan left.¡± And she truly was thankful. The overseer would have gotten away with selling off another sacrifice if he hadn¡¯t. ¡°Do it again if you notice him, yeah?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± As Nix laid in bed, she wondered what Tarchon¡¯s reaction to the secret entrance would be. There was no doubt he would find it. A cultist like that simply exuded competence. How would K¡¯tan¡¯s denial of any knowledge hold up in the face of a cultist that could crush him like a bug? One that already suspected him. It might be hard to hide her hands, but Nix looked forward to these next few days. Chapter 29: Helpful Today will be a good day. Maybe it was already too presumptive of Nix to assume so, but considering their lockdown, there was unlikely to be more horrific scenarios where she would be forced to fight for her life. Two days in a row is enough. This third day after returning to the past was going to be quiet. Well, considering her ward-mates could no longer go out into Coral which left the ward busy, quiet was probably not the right word. Uneventful, then. It would be an uneventful third day back¡­ unless Tarchon was quicker with his cleanup than Nix expected. Being locked inside was less than ideal for her plan to evolve, but it was made up for by how stressed K¡¯tan looked when she¡¯d passed him in the kitchen. She¡¯d done her best not to smirk, but now that he was out of sight, she let it free. She intended to have Little God keep an eye on the overseer. Considering the eyeball¡¯s ability to observe without being seen, that should be enough to give Nix some ideas on how to take advantage of the man¡¯s tendencies and work together a plan to bait him into a ritual. But the problem was Little God himself. The being didn¡¯t understand even basic human motivations. To him, eating breakfast was the same as driving a knife through someone¡¯s heart. It made extracting important details difficult. ¡°Nix!¡± Dan¡¯s voice attracted the attention of many other teens as he ¡ª with Ari trailing close behind ¡ª rose to meet her. She barely had time to react before the boy was tugging her down the hall and into one of the lesser used storage rooms. ¡°We want to help,¡± he said as Ari closed the door behind them. ¡°Wha-?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your plan? How are we going to kill-¡± Ari hissed, and he cut his question short. ¡°Ah¡­ I mean about that thing you said last night.¡± Nix looked at Dan for a moment, then at Ari. She sighed I really shouldn¡¯t have said anything. Surely I could have stopped him from going after K¡¯tan without telling him I was planning the same. ¡°Next time, don¡¯t drag me into a closet. Did you want to make people suspicious?¡± Nix said. ¡°For now K¡¯tan still thinks I like him; if we suddenly start meeting like this away from any eyes at all, he¡¯s definitely going to be raising an eyebrow.¡± She looked pointedly at Ari. ¡°Especially after last night.¡± K¡¯tan would be terrified that she remembered something, after all. Any sudden change in their behaviours would only be seen in a paranoid light. ¡°So?¡± Nix asked, trying her best to hide her own nervousness. ¡°Remember anything from last night?¡± ¡°Yes, actually.¡± Ari¡¯s eyes dropped to Nix¡¯s ugly gloves and raised a questioning eye at her. Nix¡¯s heart shunted into her throat and she suddenly couldn¡¯t speak. She knew didn¡¯t she? She never should have given into the mutation. It would have been better to leave the girl to die. Now that it was out, Nix was going to repeat her past and everything would be ruined. Her hands flexed, and she considered murder. These two had been kind to her, but would she accept a bit of kindness over her own safety? Never. If they had to die for Nix to survive, then so be it. She would be disappointed to miss out on such enjoyment as friends¡­ but it wasn¡¯t worth repeating her past. ¡°I remember following K¡¯tan through the streets,¡± Ari finally continued. ¡°There was also the cultists, and a box they put me in. But after that, everything is too unclear. Like a nightmare. Nothing definite.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Nix suppressed a relieved breath and relaxed her hands. She wouldn¡¯t have to end the two she least wanted to. ¡°Unfortunately nothing that really helps us,¡± Dan said. ¡°Besides the confirmation that K¡¯tan did try to sell her. But if you plan on¡­ you know¡­ then we want to help.¡± Nix glanced at Ari, who nodded, even if she didn¡¯t look as determined as Dan. Was there any way she could¡­ turn them down? Even if they wanted to kill the man as much as she did, she didn¡¯t want to trust them with her plan. She didn¡¯t want to involve anyone else so that she could use her claws if things went wrong, and not have to worry about the consequences of others being there to see. ¡°So, what is your plan?¡± Dan asks. ¡°I¡¯d rather do it alone,¡± Nix said. ¡°Just¡­ keep out of it.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Huuuh?¡± Dan looked her up and down. ¡°You want to take him on alone, when you look like that?¡± Nix scowled. ¡°I hardly intend to make it a brawl.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not the only one to have resolved themselves. Either you let us help you, or we work separately, and get in each other¡¯s way.¡± Dan crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. ¡°Besides, if the worst comes to worse, it¡¯ll be better to have three on one than you alone.¡± He said that, but surely he knew that against someone with an evolution, freshly named teens wouldn¡¯t have a chance, regardless of their numbers. Nix groaned. She didn¡¯t hide it; she was frustrated, and by the slight smirk that graced his lips, Dan already knew he won. As much as she disliked having to include others in her plans when she didn¡¯t trust that they wouldn¡¯t ruin things, it was better that she knew what they were doing. She would hate to enact her plan, only to find K¡¯tan had seen through it because Dan had idiotically tried to stab him right before. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything concrete yet,¡± she started, reluctantly. ¡°But after last night, K¡¯tan is panicking. I intend to watch and wait for now, but once this lockdown is over we have some options. He¡¯ll want to meet with the Fleshsmiths as soon as the shutters open. We can ambush him on the way, or lead one of the Fleshsmiths¡¯ rival cults to do it for us. Now that you two are involved, we could pool our savings and buy some poison, or a ritual we can set up in a room before trapping him within.¡± That last one was the closest to her current plan. If she could trick the man into entering a lockable room, she could do the same thing she tried to do at the Fleshsmith¡¯s warehouse¡­ only this time without tearing her name open. To actually follow through with her intent to use the man as a sacrifice, she still needed to workshop her plans¡­ and now that she had to deal with these two, all of her more promising ideas would have to be thrown out. Couldn¡¯t exactly sever a man¡¯s spine with your claws unseen if you had two pairs of eyes following you around all the time. Nix had considered the idea of approaching Tarchon the moment he returned to tell him everything¡­ but if this went through an official line on inquiry ¡ª only possible because Tarchon was a high creed of a rival cult ¡ª the Fleshsmiths had all the time in the world to slip him out of what he deserved. Nix didn¡¯t want to give him the chance to escape her. Besides, doing so would just get the Fleshsmiths to focus their attention on her. Attention she didn¡¯t need. ¡°All right. Watching and plotting sounds good for now. We¡¯ll try to keep an eye on where K¡¯tan goes, and who he speaks to.¡± Nix looks at the boy with reluctance. Little God was already doing so, but she couldn¡¯t exactly tell them that. ¡°¡­don¡¯t be obvious.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he said. ¡°Then we¡¯ll meet in Nix¡¯s room at curfew.¡± ¡°What? Why mine?¡± She didn¡¯t like the idea of her space being intruded. ¡°Well, if you want to involve our room-mates¡­?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s no other choice,¡± Dan said. ¡°Unless K¡¯tan grows suspicious, we¡¯ll meet there.¡± Wonderful, Nix thought. Why not? What¡¯s mine is yours. It was annoying, and she would need to be extra careful of revealing anything ¡ª not that she had been careless so far ¡ª with this pair too interested for their own good. Last time, she¡¯d been able to hide her wings even as they grew to hug her back. As nobody paid attention to her, she¡¯d lasted for quite a while before she caved and told K¡¯tan. With these two trying to be around her so much more, it would become increasingly more difficult to hide the lumps along her back. What¡¯s worse, is that their very efforts to speak with her attracted eyes from their ward-mates. Nix had always been alone. Everyone knew that. So to see some of their fellows actually engage with her was a spectacle. Nix could only hope it wouldn¡¯t stir the pot and motivate some like Kal and Tru to do anything rash. Or K¡¯tan. The man had said he would try to ¡®work¡¯ on her back when he was speaking to K¡¯kali. Together, they walked back to the lounge where a few dozen teens chattered. Only those that weren¡¯t busy trying to enact rituals or prepare themselves for whatever tasks the cult initiations demanded sat here. And near the back, watching over them with a passive air was K¡¯tan. The white knuckles of his interlaced fingers the only indication of stress. They were determined to watch K¡¯tan, but they could hardly make it obvious, so instead they found an unused corner behind a games table to hide from most eyes, yet stay within K¡¯tan¡¯s. The man¡¯s eyes followed them the whole way. Nix wished she could read his mind. Was he worried about Ari remembering last night? Was it the lockdown? Or simply that Nix had seemingly broken free of his efforts to isolate her? He didn¡¯t reveal anything through his expression, so she could only guess. ¡°Do you mind if I draw you?¡± the sudden question surprised her, and not knowing how else to respond, she simply nodded her head. Ari placed her hand on the ground, and in moments, the floorboards flowed out of their natural form and snaked into her fingers. A pencil formed, and she was suddenly whipping it along a small sketchbook she pulled from her bag. ¡°Should you really be doing that?¡± Nix asked. ¡°What?¡± Ari looked up from her book. ¡°They replace all the flooring and walls when the generations switch out anyway. I¡¯m pretty sure they expect us to destroy things when we begin experimenting with rituals and our names.¡± Before Nix could respond, there was a loud clearing of someone¡¯s throat from the middle of the lounge. She lifted her head and found a couple of caretakers from one of the younger wards. ¡°Has anyone here seen Overseer K¡¯kali?¡± he asked the room. ¡°We¡¯ve not been able to find her since early this morning.¡± The only answers he got were negatives. But K¡¯kali? She was the one working with K¡¯tan. Nix glanced to him out of the corner of her eye and found him clenching the table; his veneer of calm fracturing. Nix felt she knew exactly what happened. The other overseer snuck out to get in touch with the Fleshsmiths. But she hadn¡¯t returned. Why wouldn¡¯t she return? Either she died, got caught, or abandoned the ward. All of which were really bad for Nix¡¯s overseer. K¡¯tan was in deep shit, and he knew it. ¡°Oh.¡± Nix turned back to Ari, who was staring at the page in her hands. ¡°I thought you might not have been¡­ considering the lack of effects in the past months, and how you¡¯re clearly not sick as often as you used to be, but your curses really haven¡¯t disappeared.¡± Nix looked at the sketchpad, where the entire page was scribbled black. The central figure was barely even visible. Shadows leaned in from the sides, obscuring, covering, and drowning the silhouette of Nix. Her curses must appear in drawings just as phantoms do. It was a curious sight, but not one she was all too surprised about. Ari shivered. She scrunched up the page and threw it away. I can¡¯t be that hard to look at, Nix thought, her eyes following the ball of paper as it landed beneath the table. Right? Chapter 30: Strawberries A few days passed and there was yet to be any sign the lockdown would end. Nix couldn¡¯t deny Dan and Ari¡¯s efforts were commendable¡­ but they were ultimately pointless. Between the two of them, they somehow managed to be anywhere K¡¯tan ended up, without alerting the man to their observations. It helped that there were a lot of kids around either being lazy and messing around in the lounge, or moving between their rooms and the ritual hall. But it didn¡¯t matter how well you followed a man when he did nothing but bite his nails for days on end. Even Little God discovered nothing of note. K¡¯tan had become a jittery mess and so unable to hide his worry that even the less observant of the kids had noticed. Considering they apparently knew of his involvement in the missing children, it wasn¡¯t a surprise that he suddenly found himself both avoided, and the centre of attention in any room he entered. It didn¡¯t help the man¡¯s paranoia. Nix relished in his fear, but also pondered why exactly he acted so. He had the backing of the Fleshsmiths. They weren¡¯t the biggest cult, but they were large enough that most didn¡¯t want to paint a target on their back by reporting the man to any of the other cults that might help. Of course, he could just be scared of Tarchon. That was fair. As an upper creed, the Technocultist could pretty much get away with whatever he wanted, as long as he didn¡¯t insult or anger equal or higher creeds from different cults. But, the most likely answer Nix could see was K¡¯kali, or her disappearance. Had she betrayed him? Did the cult abandon him? Those, along with many other questions were surely spinning through the overseer¡¯s mind. The cults protected their own¡­ but when it came to the Rearing Wards, none would want to have their dirty fingers caught anywhere near. It was possible they¡¯d abandoned K¡¯tan. They would certainly consider any who reported the man an enemy, but they wouldn¡¯t reveal themselves to help him. Not unless they could do so behind the scenes. If there weren¡¯t so many of her ward-mates around, Nix would have attempted to kill him already. It was that perfect of a situation for her. No support from the cult. No accomplices. Nothing to help him when Nix struck. Only because there wasn¡¯t a moment in the day that she could find him alone, had she not taken the opportunity. Nix had told her two ward-mates that she would let them help, but she didn¡¯t truly intend to let them participate. Their thoughts and efforts were appreciated. Their desire for K¡¯tan¡¯s death was commendable; none of the others in the ward were willing to do the same, and Nix didn¡¯t believe for a second that the kids would know of K¡¯tan¡¯s nature and not a single carer wouldn¡¯t. They were cowards. Dan and Ari weren¡¯t. But they would still get in the way. Nix had resolved herself to killing the man with a ritual. Telling the two of them that would be faced with clear opposition. They didn¡¯t care how it was done, as long as he couldn¡¯t sacrifice anyone more. For Nix, it needed to be more. He¡¯d been the origin of her pain, and he needed to die suitably. In these past few days, K¡¯tan had been throwing in effort to isolate Nix again. He was trying to do it subtly; by encouraging her to use this time to work on another name, and practice her rituals in her room ¡ª not the ritual hall with the others ¡ª and for now, Nix went along with it. She figured if he believed she was as isolated as she¡¯d always been, she could use that perceived control against him. Dan and Ari still came over at night, and when she¡¯d told them her intent, they¡¯d¡­ well, they didn¡¯t agree, but Nix had convinced them. They still came over every night, but it was brief. If K¡¯tan discovered them, it would ruin the ruse. Thankfully, Little God was good at watching the man to make sure he wouldn¡¯t make a sudden inspection. Right now, she was waiting for Tarchon or whoever that man assigned to investigate their ward. With the corruption spreading from the secret entrance, it would be discovered almost immediately. Nix could see two outcomes. The first involved K¡¯tan playing dumb when it was discovered, then after waiting out the lockdown, he would go out with that shroud of his and get in touch with the Fleshsmiths. The other option was that he would try to sneak out before they came to do the same. His lifeline was the Fleshsmith cult, after all. He would do everything to get in touch so that they defend him from Technocultist persecution.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Regardless of the option, Nix was ready to follow and chop off his legs before he could resist. She doubted his path would be out in the open this time. This was good; nobody would question his screams. Nix was currently sitting on the floor of her room, flipping through long memorised pages, and considering her options. There was only two rituals in the book that would make use of a human sacrifice. Both of which used them poorly. The first was a simple cultivation method. The same one Nix was pretty sure didn¡¯t actually achieve anything. Neither the addition or improvement of a name, nor the empowerment of one¡¯s body. The ritual type was usually slow, but one could pass days or years with a sufficient enough sacrifice to empower it. The other was a form of summoning. It usually allowed the binding of rather basic spawn for some basic tasks. Empowering it with a sacrifice would summon a stronger creature¡­ but it would rely on the skill of the summoner to lock the beast to a set of commands. She was tilting more towards the opportunity to improve her body, but considering her near-certainty the ritual was a sham, it might be best to just go for the summon, despite the risk. Having a physical beast to fight alongside her wouldn¡¯t be terrible. As long as she could control it. It was really a shame she didn¡¯t have access to any cult tomes. She was sure even the first and second creeds had much better rituals available to them than these shoddy things. So sure, that she considered sending Little God after their tome collection. If he was as powerful as she thought he was, not even the upper creed¡¯s best repelling and detection runes could stop him. The only problem¡­ Little God was illiterate. How the fuck can a god be illiterate!? She screamed in her mind as she glared at the floating sphere. You¡¯re a living eyeball; how do you not understand written language? She wasn¡¯t sure if Little God was just messing with her, or it truly didn¡¯t know, but it picked up each word as soon as she read it once; so it¡¯s not like it can¡¯t learn. But any effort to teach it would take forever. And she¡¯d thought sending the little guy in to copy all the most secret cult documents was such a good idea. Nix jumped as a trio of heavy gongs trembled the earth beneath her feet. She leapt to a run, and was out the door before the ringing in her ears could settle. A few heads popped out of rooms as she passed, but she ignored them. If she was right, Tarchon had returned to begin the investigation. Only him, or someone of equal creed could knock that loudly. Well, she hoped it was a knock. If it was a series of explosions outside, then that would mean some pretty bad things for their ward. But apparently K¡¯tan was of the same mind as her, as she found him already rushing down the hall ahead. She followed, not too close. They both made it out into the main hall just in time to watch the shutters grind their way open for the first time in days. Tarchon¡¯s feet were obvious, but it was the dangling legs of someone else that caught Nix¡¯s eye. They swayed a foot from the ground, but did not kick. They were entirely lifeless. As the metal shutter rose higher, she felt an odd mixture of dread and excitement flood her veins. Dangling from the neck in Tarchon¡¯s hand, was K¡¯kali. Pale face and hollow eyed. Dead. Tarchon casually tossed the body out before him. It tumbled and rolled, before it came to a stop with arms splayed and head tilted back. It almost looked like the dead eyes were looking her way. ¡°I was quite surprised to find this one outside ¡ª dead and tossed into the depths ¡ª when I know I put this Ward on lockdown myself.¡± More people were running out from the hallways, but when they heard and saw the sizzling heat flowing off the Technocultist¡¯s mechanical parts, and heard the whirring, barely subdued fury in his voice, they froze in place. ¡°The Soulsinger will be here to interrogate the dead soon, but for now; everyone is to return to their rooms. I will be performing the inspection earlier than planned.¡± It didn¡¯t matter where you were, whether right in front of the man, or deep in the corridors, everyone heard his commands. And anyone who held any sense knew to do as he said. Nix risked a glance at K¡¯tan before she followed the fleeing crowd, and found the man no longer bothered to hide his terror. K¡¯kali was found dead. Considering who she went out to meet, it wasn¡¯t difficult to put two and two together. She noticed Tarchon send a penetrating stare K¡¯tan¡¯s way, and she was sure the overseer nearly shit himself. Just being near the man, Nix felt that glare and had to suppress a shiver. Fortunately for K¡¯tan, the Technocultist passed down the hall to K¡¯kali¡¯s ward first. He took a moment to collect himself, but she could see his mind cycling a thousand times a second. When he turned and found Nix watching, he snapped. ¡°You heard him. Back to your room.¡± She spun, and did exactly as asked. There was no point opposing him now. In a few minutes, she would get to watch the man squirm as he tried to explain the presence of the hole beneath the floorboards. If she didn¡¯t hate him so much, she might even wish the man luck at trying to act dumb about the metre deep hole through solid metal. Her eyes crossed Dan¡¯s as she made her way back to her room, and she could see wariness in his gaze. She could understand his feelings. Change was sometimes a scary thing, but in this life, in everything besides her mutations, she welcomed it. Nix slid into her room, and lingered by her door. She was waiting for the heavy thumping steps to come their way. They would be soon. Tarchon clearly suspected K¡¯tan, and he would be down here right after he discovered nothing out of place in K¡¯kali¡¯s ward. ¡°K¡¯tan is coming.¡± ¡°Wha-¡± she spun to Little God who was looking right through her just as the door slammed into her back. Her body flinched to the side, but she was too slow. K¡¯tan¡¯s hand covered her mouth, and she smelled strawberries. Chapter 31: Desperation K¡¯tan-thar had dedicated the past decade of his life for the promise of assisted evolution and a path out of the dregs of the lower creeds. Life hadn¡¯t been kind to him. While others received useful names or quickly evolved away the bad ones, he¡¯d been stuck with nothing but a half-dozen useless additives and a lousy evolution. The only option he had to reach the heights of those who rose because of some simple luck, was to take on this¡­ foul job. He¡¯d never particularly disliked children, but after years of having to deal with their whining and neediness, it wore him down. Selling them off was never enjoyable. K¡¯tan had watched them grow up after all. But most would understand his reasons once they joined a cult of their own, and found it impossible to progress while the lucky got everything. Well, those that lived long enough. K¡¯tan was under no delusion of the nature of his work. Most of the low creeds would hate him, and the danger was high, but where else would he have found such an opportunity. The Fleshsmiths would promote him. They would assist his growth. They would protect him should anything go wrong. Yet his cult had abandoned him. The twisting tunnels curled around K¡¯tan as he ran. It was far more corruption than he was comfortable, but he was desperate. All other options had disappeared with K¡¯kali¡¯s death. He could read between the lines. The Fleshsmith Cult would usually do anything they could to pull him out ¡ª he¡¯d met too many cultists that had experienced their grace to believe it was a ruse ¡ª but the Dark Star Event had changed things. Whether or not his superiors actually had anything to do with it, they couldn¡¯t be seen with any relation. So¡­ they scrubbed their connections. They killed K¡¯kali. And they would do the same to K¡¯tan. A snarl tore across his face as he spun away from a tunnel with a too-dark shadow despite the light strip overhead. The body slung over his shoulder slid, but he quickly readjusted her. His cult had abandoned him after all the effort he¡¯d put in. It was aggravating. Why did the Dark Star have to appear where it did? What idiotic bastard initiated such a massive ritual there? K¡¯tan had tried to think of ways to use the knocked-out girl he carried as leverage. But he could only see those paths resulting in his death, and her being taken. Even if he managed to disappear, his superiors were likely already aware just how good of a prospective sacrifice she was; the onomastician was working for them, after all. After all the years of effort he¡¯d put into cultivating her towards something useful, he wasn¡¯t about to let them simply take her. While she was still a risk, he knew her value. If he was going to die anyway, then he might as well use Nix for the purpose she¡¯d been raised. Failure would result in death; either by explosive reversal, or to the cults. Success meant survival. If he could finally push his name to evolve, then he could twist it far from what it currently was. He could start anew without both the Fleshsmiths and Technocult wanting him dead. As long as he kept out of the eye of any capable onomastician ¡ª and visited the Bodytwisters for some facial reconstruction ¡ª he could disappear. Finally, K¡¯tan reached the sacrificial chamber he¡¯d been looking for. With the massively increased corruption level, it had taken him hours of navigating instead of a few minutes. It was one of the lesser known Fleshsmith sacrificial chambers that he¡¯d discovered by chance. Dumping the limp girl on the altar, he scrawled the activation rune in the bowl of sand raised on a pedestal. As soon as it was accepted, the rings of metal that made the altar began to spin beneath the girl, forming a pattern for the specified ritual. Behind K¡¯tan, the heavy vault door closed. Metal sections twisted outwards, and in moments it became impossible to tell there was a door there at all. Light faded from the normal white ceiling LEDs, and were replaced by the dim red glow flowing through the runes as the walls spiralled into the correct shape. This was intended as a high risk ritual chamber, with thick walls that could hold in any unintentionally summoned threat, but for a sacrifice as suitable as Nix, it was unlikely to hold. If sacrificing her were to backfire the ritual ¡ª as he knew was likely, considering she¡¯d been recovering from the curses eating at her body ¡ª it would incinerate everything in a hundred metre radius. And that was before the accumulated curses decided to latch onto anyone even remotely related to the ritual. If he did die, then this would be good payback to his superiors. Flicking a switch beside the altar, a set of shackles and chains clicked out of the ground. He clamped them around the girl¡¯s legs before moving to her hands. Pulling off the girl¡¯s gloves, he was met with quite the surprise. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! K¡¯tan flicked her skin, only for a light clink to echo through the room. They were hard. Like stone or ceramic, yet far too thin to be gauntlets. He moved up her arms, and found soft skin returned at the mid-forearm, yet there was no seam. Her skin blended perfectly into the solid caricature of a hand. At first, he thought the girl might have had her arms chopped off and replaced with those of a statue or mannequin. As soon as he touched her fingers, he knew that was wrong. They were hard, yet they moved like nothing was wrong. Barely perceptible breaks between plating allowed the digits an equal dexterity as any of flesh and blood. Had the girl gone and given herself as an experiment to the Bodytwisters? Sure she¡¯d been acting odd these past few days, but K¡¯tan had tossed it up to a depressed reaction to her naming. She hadn¡¯t spent enough time outside the ward for such an operation to occur. No¡­ this was too perfect of an adaptation to be one of the Bodytwisters¡¯ work. Not only was there not a stitch, but the skin blended perfectly. It was like the girl had always had them. K¡¯tan¡¯s eyes widened as he finally landed on the answer. A cursed mutation? But wasn¡¯t she far too healthy for that? Not to mention she didn¡¯t seem to have lost her sanity, and he doubted they grew in only after he kidnapped her. It was possible that curses could sometimes manifest as physical augments or mutations, but they always overwhelmed the host and twisted them into creatures that made amalgamations appear tame. Far too dangerous for sacrifices, they were slaughtered before their changes could grow out of control. But if she could control it, didn¡¯t that make her a much better sacrifice than he originally thought? It was unlikely to change the risk of failure, yet the possible outcomes were looking even more attractive. Either the ritual failed, killing him and cursing the entire cult as punishment, or it worked, and he benefit from likely the most valuable sacrifice anyone had seen in decades. He snapped the shackles closed and flicked a switch. The chains tugged into the ground, pulling the girl¡¯s arms taut. She began to stir. Would it even be a stretch to say he could be the next cult leader? The Fleshsmith Master. K¡¯tan¡¯s eyes burned with desire as he began the hymn. The thousand runes twisted in response, bathing the chamber in crimson light. ??? Nix jerked. Something was pulling on her arms and legs, and it was painfully tight. She awoke. Her eyes snapped open as her mind registered the low humming of a chant. Everything was red. That¡¯s all she could see for a moment, until the alternating shapes of the ritual runes defined themselves in her vision. Through bleary eyes, she turned to the source of the hymn. It took a while to actually process what she saw. Her body felt sluggish. Her arms weren¡¯t doing what she wanted. But as soon as she recognised what she was seeing, her mind cleared instantly. K¡¯tan. K¡¯tan was performing a ritual. She jerked her hands again, only to find them yanked back an instant later. Glancing down, she almost screamed. She was strapped to an altar. This was her worst nightmare come true. Her hands were out in the open, clear to the bastard besides her. She was going to be sacrificed again. Her claws slid out without resistance and she snapped them down on the chains¡­ only to find them impenetrable. Nix tried again, and again, only to never find success. She continued. Over and over in the hopes that she¡¯d eventually grind through the metal. ¡°My, those look quite dangerous,¡± K¡¯tan paused in his hymn to comment. ¡°Very glad I took the time to strap you down.¡± Nix glared and her touch snapped to ¡®Oth¡¯. She was so very close to tearing open her name and giving in to the mutations so that she could spit acid on the asshole¡¯s face. But rationality kicked in before she could. How could she have been so stupid? With how paranoid and nervous the man had become, she should have expected an extreme response. She should have expected he wouldn¡¯t leave without her. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s nothing personal.¡± K¡¯tan spoke as if Nix wasn¡¯t currently strapped to an altar. His casual attitude was the same as when she was first sacrificed. ¡°It¡¯s not like you had a future besides this.¡± She was tempted to unleash everything she had on him. Create another Dark Star. Rip open her mutations and tear into the man. Nix¡¯s hate lapped at the fuel, and burned stronger than ever. But she couldn¡¯t give in. She needed to calm down, and think her way out of this. ¡°Why?¡± Nix asked, more to give herself more time than any desire to know. ¡°Why this, and not sell me off?¡± ¡°Oh? You knew about that, did you? I figured the kids had caught on, but you were always¡­ inattentive.¡± She ignored the jab as she thought over her options. Another Dark Star Event¡­ only if nothing else worked. Not only did she know what sort of casualties she would cause, but strapped to an altar as she was, she would be defenceless to the beasts within. To destroy these shackles, the only mutation that might work was her acid¡­ and she was still a few changes away from that. If she opened ¡®Oth¡¯ enough to change her saliva, she would also be growing a few more limbs to go along with it. Not something she could hide. ¡°When your soul is swallowed by the black hole, don¡¯t blame me for how perfect of a sacrifice you make.¡± The hymn started up again, and it filled her ears. Runes flowed along the walls in anticipation of the ultimate conclusion. But there was something behind K¡¯tan¡¯s mad gaze that suddenly stood out to Nix. Desperation. Desire. A willingness to die that ignited the man to her senses. She could feel it all. Nix¡¯s Feat spun into activation, and she found herself holding his name without ever reaching for it. It quivered. The name held K¡¯tan¡¯s readiness for death. He had prepared himself for this sacrifice to end in the worst possible way, and Nix could feel that emotion flowing through his name and into her ethereal touch. Even if her eyes were closed and she was deaf, she would know where he was. It was an interesting aspect of the Feat, but ultimately a pointless one. With a deep breath, she truly acknowledged where she was. Things weren¡¯t all bad. A sacrificial chamber away from any eyes. Considering her intent for the man circling her alter, it was like an invitation. She may not be in the most optimal position right now, but she had options. She had ¡®Ine¡¯. K¡¯tan had done her a favour and crafted the ritual of his own demise. It was time to see what this thing in her sternum was. It was time to gamble. Chapter 32: A Fitting Sacrifice Nix tried her best to relax on the altar as her eyes followed the man who intended to sacrifice her. She didn¡¯t fight the chains; whenever she did, they would grow tighter. If they slackened when she wasn¡¯t fighting, then she would take as much length as she could for when the time was right. K¡¯tan was clearly put-off that she was being this calm. She was tempted to play into that. Maybe grin at him. Or laugh; she remembered that set people on edge back in the future. But no, she was too busy listening to his hymn to bother with such self-satisfied luxuries. It was something she¡¯d heard before. Not since a few years before her death, but she did remember this sacrificial hymn being used while she was held in the Fleshsmiths¡¯ sanctuary. They¡¯d mostly used goats and sheep to enhance and cultivate one¡¯s body and name, but there was no reason it couldn¡¯t work with people, too. She listened so she could learn. So she could remember the lyrics and intonations fully before she tossed the dice and discovered exactly what was growing in her chest. When she turned the tables on K¡¯tan, she really wanted to flip them. Hopefully, whatever the growth was, it could help her escape. If not, she was prepared to gamble only once more before she moved to more drastic measures. Her sense followed the man as he circled the altar. She couldn¡¯t pull away even if she wanted. Her Feat made sure she knew that K¡¯tan was ready to die, and remained steady in his determination. If this was all there was to the base form of Zylth, then no wonder Tarchon had told her how pointless it was. Why would anyone prepare themselves to die just to be able to tell when others felt that way? If it were a sense to feel when others were ready to kill, then Nix could see its worth¡­ but to die? What use was that? Unless someone enacted self-sacrifice rituals¡­ but who would ever do that? No cultist wanted to lose their own life. They were greedy and selfish by nature. All of them. It didn¡¯t take her long to get a feel for the hymn. It ebbed and flowed with an ethereal tune that K¡¯tan butchered with his sub-par enunciation. Nix had heard it before, so once she¡¯d heard enough, the sounds seemed to fill themselves in her mind. She could continue wherever K¡¯tan stopped. Waiting until K¡¯tan was above her head, she cracked ¡®Ine¡¯ ajar. Slowly, as to not alert the man who was preparing to kill her, she allowed the stinging of growth to warm her chest. There was no point in waiting. Without knowing what the change did, she had to give herself some time before he brought the ritual to its closing tones. She needed that time to figure out if the mutation could help or not. A loud crack rang through the chamber, and Nix stifled a scream. K¡¯tan glanced at her with narrowed eyes, but continued his chanting. It felt like her sternum had shattered. The central bone that connected her ribs crumbled and reformed as they made way for something new to take its place. Nix couldn¡¯t move her arms, so she couldn¡¯t move aside the robes to see what had grown in. She willed her gaze to pierce the fabric, so she could at least have some idea of what had happened. There were no unnatural lumps where the pain had been. No new limb had sprouted from her chest, nor had anything else. Whatever her change was, it remained hidden beneath the fabric of her top. Nix glared. Her gaze burned with effort as she felt for the change. What was it? Could it help? What if it was like the jelly her feet had become, and actively made living more difficult. What if her bone was replaced with something weak and fragile? Well, more fragile. She glared at her chest, determined to find out what exactly had been the cause of such intense pain. Her sight burned. Then, Nix opened her eye. There was another slight sting in her chest, but she paid it no mind. In an instant, she was bombarded with information she¡¯d never had to process before. A hundred threads interwoven. She focused harder, and found each of those threads contained a thousand fibres. The weight of her gaze intensified further, and suddenly a ring of fabric on her chest crumbled away. Within that hole in her robe, sat a slender gem. Red like a ruby, but with the slightest tinge of violet, she had a crystal wedged in her chest just below where her collarbones met. She could barely see it where it was, but she didn¡¯t miss the shift in its vibrant colour as her new sense moved to look upon herself. Nix had a third eye. She watched as the skin around the sides slid away into the rest of her chest. Eyelids that once blocked its sight, now gone. The sight was nothing like that of her natural eyes. Everything was a vague reddish-purple monochrome. In almost every way, the sight seemed inferior to her eyes¡­ until she focused. The moment her third eye glared at the ceiling above, it was like her sight had become that of an eagle. As she pressed on, her sight felt heavier, and she saw more. What was small, became clear. Her sight reached into the valleys and ridges of the metal¡¯s engravings, letting her see in a way no microscope could. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°What are you doing?¡± K¡¯tan paused his chant to shout. ¡°Stop it now.¡± He pulled the sacrificial knife from its sheathe and placed it beneath her neck. She knew he wouldn¡¯t do it. Not yet. The ritual wasn¡¯t prepared enough for the sacrifice. If he killed her now, then all would be for naught. But that did nothing to alleviate the instinctual fear of a sharp blade being pressed against her throat. Glancing up, she discovered what K¡¯tan had noticed. Wherever her eye observed, the ceiling seemed to crumble ever so slightly. Dust fell from the roof. Dust fell, but never towards the ground. It all angled towards the gem in her chest as if it was a black hole itself. Despite the knife to her neck, she intensified her gaze, and her guess was proven true. This new eye perceived by destroying and consuming. She shifted that gaze to K¡¯tan. It was quite the questionable decision in hindsight, but with a new toy to play with, she had to give it a try. The man barely grunted as parts of his face fell away. Instead, he slammed the butt of the blade into the side of Nix¡¯s head, then tried to stab her crystal eye. The blade couldn¡¯t so much as scratch it. Even dazed, her chest¡¯s eye was still able to follow the weapon, and with the weight of her gaze bearing down on it, the blade¡¯s sharp edge fell away. What remained in K¡¯tan¡¯s hand was a blunt chunk of steel. ¡°Fucking girl,¡± he snarled and stepped away. Nix tried to keep her gaze on him. Tried to burn a hole through his head, but before she could make any progress, K¡¯tan tossed his skulk shroud over her. The monstrous cloth wrapped around her and blocked her sight. Her perception slammed into the cloak, but there was nothing to see. Nothing to consume. The shroud intercepted her sight and left her blind. She still had two eyes, yet they were not nearly enough. Only seconds had she held the ruby eye. Only an instant since she lost it, and she was already desperate for it to return. No longer could she use her newest mutation. It had been far more useful than she could have hoped, and in a moment of overeagerness, she had thrown away her advantage. If she held herself back, she could have dissolved those shackles. If she hadn¡¯t struck as soon as she saw the option, she would still have her sternum eye available to her. The cloak hugged her body tight. It pressed down on her chest, and it squashed the wing nubs against her back. Each limb remained bound. And now, K¡¯tan kept his distance, eyeing her warily. It would be much harder to catch him off-guard. She grit her teeth as her eyes landed on Little God, floating in the corner of the room, doing nothing but watching. ¡°Want to help, Eyeball?¡± she asked, not caring if K¡¯tan thought her insane now. ¡°I watch,¡± he said, nodding as if that was of any assistance. ¡°Sure, thanks.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°You just watch over there while this bastard cuts me open. It¡¯ll make a good memory.¡± Little God hummed as he nodded again. ¡°Ah, so you have lost your mind,¡± K¡¯tan said suddenly. Nix turned to watch him slide his hand over the blade. Metal shavings slid off, and the knife was as sharp as ever. If a little thinner. ¡°I had hoped not, but we are already this far.¡± K¡¯tan¡¯s willingness to die spiked in Nix¡¯s sense. It was as if he¡¯d given up on all hope of survival, and knew his life was going to end. Where before, there might have been some hope of success, there was now only a desperate desire to take down as many people with him as he could. Who did he want to die? The Technocult? The Fleshsmiths? Nix¡¯s ward-mates? Whoever he had grown to hate this much, it didn¡¯t matter. She wasn¡¯t about to die for that sake. K¡¯tan was prepared to die, but Nix wouldn¡¯t let him take her with him. She opened ¡®Ine¡¯ again, as the hymn approached the point of sacrifice. An ache flared in her lower stomach, but that was it. Again, there was no sudden limb she could use, nor was there any new sense she could feel. If not for the brief ache in her kidneys, she wouldn¡¯t believe there was a change at all. K¡¯tan clambered up onto the altar, and Nix realised she didn¡¯t have any time left. She tried to bite at his ankles, forgetting for a moment her teeth were blunt and normal. But it didn¡¯t matter anyway, as the chains prevented her from getting close. The prick above her sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t make this harder than it needs to be.¡± He stepped over her before kneeling over her chest, arms raised with knife held high. Once more, ¡®Ine¡¯ tore open, and agony swept her back. She felt her spine burst out of her skin, tear through the cloak, and scrape against the metal behind her. The skulk shroud writhed as if in pain, but didn¡¯t unwind from her. Snapping her name shut again, she halted the mutation mid growth. It wouldn¡¯t help her here. She knew that. And it would only give her problems later. The hymn reached its crescendo, and Nix knew she couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore. She would die if she didn¡¯t. Strapped down as she was, a Dark Star was too much of a risk. The monsters she¡¯d seen within¡­ no, she didn¡¯t want to give the beings beyond her comprehension any more opportunity to eat her than they¡¯d already had. Her old mutations would have to do, even if it would make her life impossibly difficult going forward. Her spines, if they continued to grow as she knew they would, they would be impossible to hide¡­ and she had no way to know there was an option for her down that path. Better to rely on what she knew. Even if what she knew was dangerous. Nix hesitated no longer. She opened ¡®Oth¡¯ and released her wings. They slammed outwards with more power than she¡¯d ever expected, tearing the shroud along with her robe to ribbons. The feathered limbs grazed K¡¯tan¡¯s knees, sending him off balance. Nix¡¯s sternum eye was now free, and an opportunity presented itself. Instantly, the full weight of her gaze crashed into her overseer¡¯s left eye, and the fleshy substance fell away in dozens of ever so small chunks, before the eye itself was pierced, and fluid gushed everywhere. She continued as K¡¯tan screamed, his hand rising to cover it, but Nix moved onto his other eye. Anything to reach his brain sooner. A second before the man lost his sight for good, he realised what she was doing. He clenched the knife in his hand, and drove it down. She burst through his second eye, and jolted to the side, but it didn¡¯t stop the knife plunging into her chest. Nix glared a hole through his head. Chapter 33: Reversal Whispers. Nix could see whispers. Flickers of memories bound in an incomprehensible cluster. They burned in her mind as often as they were fleeting. Each jittery, unclear image flashed in and out of existence and struck Nix with wave after wave of agony. ¡­or maybe that was the beating of her heart. Indecipherable knowledge skimmed past her subconscious as she glanced down at the knife in her chest. It was too far to her left to have struck her heart, but fuck did it hurt. Nix choked on her blood as K¡¯tan¡¯s spilled over her new eye. They mixed and pooled beneath them, inviting the glowing red runes to shine. K¡¯tan was dead and she was alive¡­ for now. The ritual was still in progress. Spitting blood, she gasped in a desperate gulp of air. It was hard. It was painful. Her lung was pierced and the overseer¡¯s corpse was heavy, but she breathed. She spat again and sung. The sacrificial chamber responded by spinning into motion. A horrid mix of tech and corruption, the walls, the altar, the floor and ceiling; it all sung with her. The chamber pulsed and weaved and convulsed around her in ways her eyes or mind refused to follow. Each syllable was agony. Still bound as she was, she could not shove the man off her, so she continued the hymn while crushed beneath a weight twice her own. She remembered the intonations and melody easily. Nix lost herself to the music only the Darkness far below could truly understand. She fell into her trance. The last thing she saw: K¡¯tan¡¯s veins igniting in deep crimson flames. The ritual had designated him as the sacrifice. Nix cast aside her pain. Meditation was good for that; it let her ignore the horrors of the real world, by holing herself in and pretending it all didn¡¯t exist. Well, that¡¯s what the old Nix had done. The one alive ¡ª the Nix that had achieved her first vengeance ¡ª refused to become what she had been. She sung. She kept awareness of her body despite the¡­ wrongness of it. Stretched, squashed and stabbed. They should be the things that concerned her most; but no, it was the proprioception of the wings that now lay splayed at her sides that held her mind while she chanted. They felt massive. She could twitch them ¡ª move them ¡ª if she wanted, but she held herself back. The only thing that mattered right now, was ending K¡¯tan the same way he tried to do to her; twice. The highs and lows of the hymn fell from her lips almost without her knowledge. She had never memorised this chant, but as she sang, it continued to come to her. Even half-choking on blood, she was doing a better job than K¡¯tan. At a certain point ¡ª Nix didn¡¯t know when ¡ª energy began to flow into her body. She was bleeding out, badly, but she felt like she could run a marathon. With her body, that was a miracle. She¡¯d never run more than a few hundred metres without losing breath. Her arms flexed, as if she¡¯d be able to break chains, but they budged no further than before. The feeling of power flowing through her was incredible. Each second, it seemed to build. It escalated until the power began to burn. Instead of energy and strength, her veins became the pathways for magma; her muscles scorched; her throat erupted with a scream she couldn¡¯t hear. Nix¡¯s hymn continued. She didn¡¯t feel her mouth moving, but the sound continued to echo in her ears. She felt something touch her. Nothing physical. No, this was far more intimate. She spread her touch to her name, and found each component absorbing power. It wasn¡¯t only her curses that did so. The energy flowed through the fuzzy cracks of her curses, and slipped between the seams of her Feat. Then, the hymn ended. All the building power paused, lingering both through her body and around her name, before it dissipated. Some of it sunk into her body. Some of it was swallowed by her names. Everything else faded into the background, consumed by the ritual and the corruption that allowed it to function. Nix felt incredible. Her eyes snapped open again, only to be met with K¡¯tan¡¯s lifeless husk. Drained by the ritual, his skin flaked and lips had shrivelled. All blood was gone; moisture along with it. Compared to before, the man weighed almost nothing. If not for her binds, she¡¯d be able to shrug him off with ease. It was disgusting to have him on top of her, and she reacted without thinking. Large black and red feathered wings swept from her sides and shunted the man. He went tumbling off the side of the altar without struggle. Nix could only stare. Her wings were fully grown; larger than they¡¯d been when they¡¯d first been amputated. She stretched, finding it incredibly convenient that she already knew how to manoeuvre them. At full length, they hung over the edge of the altar. Each equal her height. They were huge. How was she supposed to hide these things? She¡¯d have trouble not knocking anyone over, much less keep them out of sight. Sighing, she let them relax. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. To her surprise, they folded up and hugged her side perfectly. All that length collapsed and clung to her waist and ribs like a thick coat. With how her curses had left her unhealthily thin, she might even pass as normal with a robe wrapped around her. She glanced around. The room was quiet now, and the white lights lit where an eerie red had only moments before. It was over. K¡¯tan was dead. Sacrificed for her own benefit. The ritual was over, yet she was still stuck with shackles on her arms and legs, and with a knife protruding from her chest. A wound which, by all means, should still be a major threat to her life. But it didn¡¯t feel bad. It was buried in her lungs ¡ª she¡¯d felt the effects ¡ª yet she had the sense that she could pull it out and all would be fine. She would bleed a bit, but death wouldn¡¯t come knocking. She still didn¡¯t like the look of a knife in her chest. Nix jingled the chain, seeing if the room would be so kind as to release her now that the ritual was over; but no dice. The gem on her chest was the next best bet, but no way she tried to twist her body could give her new eye a good enough angle to perceive the shackles. Instead, it seemed determined to focus on certain points along the ceiling. Dust continued to flow into her. She tried to cut off the focus of her monochromatic vision and simply see nothing, but it was impossible to pull back beyond a certain point. Nix couldn¡¯t stop looking at things. It was a slow trickle ¡ª unlike how she¡¯d melted through K¡¯tan¡¯s head ¡ª but it was constant and unstoppable. Damn this would have been a nice mutation in my last life, Nix thought. Good luck trying to cut this one out without killing me. I could have killed so many cultists. She would need to try out its limits later; it was unlikely to be enough, but there remained the hope that this could kill the cult leaders. Now, Nix was in a dilemma: how did she get out of these restraints? She really didn¡¯t want to give in to any more mutations, but it would be far worse if someone found her here with her wings and claws out in the open. As she thought about it, she snapped her claws down on the chain in annoyance. It broke immediately. The chain clattered on the floor. Her arm raised and did a few motions to stretch. Nix paused when she realised what she was doing, then flicked her head to the side where the chain should be. Huh? With her other claws, she did the same to those chains. This time, she watched. Through the metal that her claws hadn¡¯t been able to so much as scratch earlier, they now sliced through the chain links that held her arm in place. With both arms free, it was only a matter of a few snips, and the shackles on her hands and legs were gone. She sat up and yanked the knife from her chest. As she¡¯d expected, there was barely any pain. Blood flowed, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as much as such a wound should cause. What happened to her claws? The answer was obvious with a second of thought; the ritual had enhanced them. Enhanced her. All of what K¡¯tan was, and the very value of his life itself had gone into improving her being. No wonder she felt like running. She dove off the altar, only for her wings to instinctively snap wide. Her feet touched ground, but her wings sunk into the void and tried to lift. Nix¡¯s stomach flipped. The wings hadn¡¯t even beat and they already felt like they were trying to rip her from the ground. If there was any doubt before that her wings could actually hold her weight, it was gone now. A pain struck at her chest. Looking down, the knife wound gushed blood. Apparently it wasn¡¯t a perpetual effect, but a lingering benefit of the ritual that kept it from killing her. Before it could get worse, she drew a rune in the sand and returned to the altar. In a few minutes, she was healed. While Nix was excited to stress-test her body, she had to rein in her hopes before they ran out of control. Sacrificial rituals could not enhance the body to a great degree, even if one sacrificed a person of a higher evolutionary tier. The human flesh was simply too weak to be pushed far beyond its limits. There was a reason the cults like the Bodytwisters and Technocult replaced their organs with alternatives. Nix snapped her claws. The sound echoed satisfyingly through the chamber. But I¡¯m not just human flesh, am I? While she hoped her condition had improved enough that exhaustion wouldn¡¯t find her so easily, it was her mutations that gained the biggest benefit. Her claws could now cleave through steel, after all. She wasn¡¯t sure she liked the idea of her cursed growths taking up all the benefit of K¡¯tan¡¯s sacrifice, but she couldn¡¯t deny they were the best option for growth. As inhuman as they were, how far could they be pushed? How strong could they reasonably become before they hit the limit of what their flesh or chitin could do? Something to think about later. Now, Nix needed to replace her torn robe. Kicking K¡¯tan, she rolled his corpse onto its front and made the effort of extracting the clothes from his back. Nix tossed them around her shoulders and found, unsurprisingly, that they were far too large. The top of his robe fell down to her knees. She sighed at how this would clearly make her stand out and tied off the cotton belt, pressing down uncomfortably hard on her folded wings. Her third eye was already trying to burn its way through. Nix glanced around, and found the skulk shroud coiling on itself besides the altar. Between her new, sharp spines and the explosive growth of her wings, she¡¯d ripped the cloak in two. Well, it¡¯s not like K¡¯tan needs it anymore. She grabbed one, and had to grapple with it to stop it from circling her arm. Opening her oversized robe, she guided it to wrap her chest and cover the gem and the veins of violet-crimson streaking out from it. That was concerning¡­ but something for later. The other piece of shroud was shoved into a pocket on the inside of the robe. They were expensive. It might be years before she could earn enough to buy one herself¡­ even if she did discover a method to make money. And she had some plans to use them with her wings. Nix picked up her ugly gloves and flicked the switch to open the vault door. She cast one last glance at K¡¯tan. The man had been the origin of all her pain. He had betrayed her trust, given her up to the cults that sacrificed her. It suited him. A husk, alone in some forgotten chamber meant for improvement at the expense of others. He had never been able to succeed with his own efforts. Instead, he decided the only path forward was to cut down the future of others. She wouldn¡¯t consider him the worst of those that confined her, but to Nix, his death meant everything. His actions ¡ª his betrayal ¡ª hurt worse than any other. She would take revenge on the cults, but none would ever be this personal. Nix would not forget K¡¯tan¡¯s death for as long as she lived. Eye blind and wings bound, she heaved the thick door open, only to come face to face with Tarchon. His fist was wound back with steam rolling off his form, ready to obliterate anything in his path. The two of them stared at one another for a long moment, before Nix couldn¡¯t help herself. ¡°Are you late to everything? Or just for me?¡± Chapter 34: Are You Sure It Was a Knife That Made That Hole? ¡°Are you always getting yourself in trouble, or is it only when I¡¯m around?¡± Something in his arm hissed as the contraptions clicked and unwound themselves from preparing some attack. Tarchon stepped up to her, took one look through the sacrificial chamber, and hummed. ¡°Only when you¡¯re around,¡± she said. ¡°You must be a curse. One worse than all my others.¡± The Technocultist stared down at her, and suddenly she felt tiny. He stood two heads taller. With all those mechanical parts, he probably weighed ten times what she did. She clenched her fist and her eyes darted to his neck. Even ignoring the immense difference in their evolution tier, he was sure to be hurt if she struck those tubes and wires, right? She would fight back if he attacked. His arms landed on her shoulders, picked her up like a marionette, and placed her to the side before she could react. Now with nothing blocking the narrow doorway ¡ª for him ¡ª he strode into the sacrificial chamber to inspect K¡¯tan¡¯s husk. Nix had to take a breath. She was wound up from the ritual, and had immediately jumped to thinking the man was hostile. He hadn¡¯t shown that. If anything, he¡¯d showed distaste for the overseer. The Technocultist may not be someone she trusted, but he wasn¡¯t her enemy. Not right now, at least. ¡°So, he tried to sacrifice you, and you flipped it on him?¡± Making assumptions again? Well, at least this time you¡¯re right. ¡°Yes.¡± "How did you kill him?¡± ¡°Stabbed him with his own knife,¡± Nix lied through her teeth. Tarchon pressed his heavy boot against K¡¯tan, and rolled the corpse on its side. The hole through its head revealed to them both. ¡°Really?¡± Tarchon mused. ¡°Yep.¡± Nix tried her best to seem nonchalant, while inside she was panicking. ¡°I might have been a bit¡­ enthusiastic when I twisted the knife in his skull.¡± The ritual had deformed much of the head-wound and left no blood in his body, so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to believe. Still, the man¡¯s questions left her nervous. What if he discovered her mutations? ¡°And how did you break out of the shackles?¡± He kneeled down to pick up one of the pieces of chain that she¡¯d cleaved in half to escape. Twirling it in his fingers, he glanced back to her. ¡°He never used them. When I woke up, I found him ready to stab me, so I struck out, and got lucky.¡± ¡°Right.¡± His tone exuded doubt. Nix took a step away, preparing to bolt if the need arose. She thought she¡¯d been lucky that he¡¯d been so late, considering how her mutations would have been revealed if he broke down that door before she¡¯d opened it. But if he continued this line of questioning, he was certain to know something was up. Could she hide her mutations from a dedicated high-creed interrogator that was suspicious of her? The answer was an obvious no. She needed to redirect his attention, or give him a reason to believe her. But how? Nothing came to mind. ¡°How are you?¡± Tarchon suddenly asked, as he trickled some fluid over the corpse. ¡°What?¡± the question was so mundane that it tripped her up. Tarchon turned to her as he flicked his fingers, igniting the husk with a spark. ¡°He was your overseer, correct? Was it not difficult?¡± ¡°Oh, fuck no. He was a bastard that tried to sacrifice me. Not only me; he¡¯s sold off other kids in the past years,¡± she said. ¡°Ari was lucky to come back a couple days ago.¡± Really, Nix would be worried about telling him if she hadn¡¯t already made herself a target for the Fleshsmiths. Even if she was lucky and the only people who knew of her promise as a sacrifice were K¡¯tan and the cultists that died in the Dark Star Event, they would still come for her in retaliation for her overseers death. It was all about principle. They needed to make an example of those without protection for going against them¡­ even if they¡¯d intended to kill K¡¯tan themselves. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The Fleshsmiths would know she killed K¡¯tan. And now, they would know she told Tarchon about their human sacrifice trafficking ring. Though, considering how unsurprised the man looked, she needn¡¯t have bothered. Now done with disposing of the corpse, Tarchon returned to looming over Nix. She self-consciously touched her side, worried that her wings were pressing out against the oversized robe too much. They certainly felt cramped. There was no way they weren¡¯t visible if he looked close enough. ¡°You knew how to finish the ritual.¡± Nix immediately stepped back, ready for anything the man might pull. There was no satisfying answer she could give. Nix knew that. Tarchon knew that. How could someone who¡¯d only ever lived in the Rearing Wards have learnt one of the cults¡¯ secret rituals? The Technocultist hummed as his eyes bore into her. She felt that same feeling of her soul being seen and brushed as that time beneath Still Tower. "Be at ease,¡± he said after what felt like minutes of tension. ¡°I do not intend to pry. You would not be the only one bending the rules to give yourself an edge. I¡¯m sure even amongst your age group, there were dozens receiving assistance from the cults long before their naming. I just hope the person you bought this information from is more trustworthy than last you received ¡®help¡¯.¡± Oh. No, there he goes. Back to the false assumptions. Nix tried her best not to laugh. At least it saves me from any further explanations. ¡°Well, I did almost die-¡± ¡°Again,¡± Tarchon added helpfully. ¡°Again,¡± she admitted. ¡°So I¡¯d very much like to get back to the ward to rest,¡± and inspect these new wings. She stepped away, fully expecting to be let go, but Tarchon¡¯s words stopped her. ¡°The ward has been evacuated while the corruption is cleansed.¡± He stepped out of the sacrificial chamber and shut the heavy door behind him. ¡°This wouldn¡¯t have happened in the first place if the cults didn¡¯t protest an inspection of the wards under the pretence of ¡®children¡¯s privacy¡¯.¡± ¡°Where were they evacuated to?¡± Nix asked, carefully watching the falling steam from Tarchon¡¯s sigh. ¡°Distributed between the wards.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± That was going to make things hard. If she had to move, it was more than likely she¡¯d be stuck with a roommate. She would never have the privacy to stretch her wings. They felt cramped already. ¡°But¡­ I still have some concerns about the Fleshsmith¡¯s involvement, and as the victim of an attempted unlicenced human sacrifice, I have a vested interest in keeping you alive for the sake of this investigation.¡± Nix tilted her head in question. It was odd that he was so specific, but her musings were soon interrupted as a small tag slid from the man¡¯s hand, which he handed to her. Flat, and about half the length of a finger, she held it without understanding what it was for. ¡°I assume you can handle a little bit of corruption?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± she responded, still not sure what the tag was for. ¡°That will allow you access to a safehouse.¡± He then proceeded to give her directions. ¡°Do be careful not to approach without the tag on you. The defence systems aren¡¯t kind to trespassers.¡± As she inspected the card and turned away, she wondered if it would be smarter to just decline. Nix had declared to herself that she would stay away from the cults, and doing this would be placing herself in the middle of an already brewing feud between the Fleshsmiths and the Technocult. Though, maybe it was better to accept. She didn¡¯t have a grudge against the Technocultists ¡ª mostly because they were all dead by the time her sacrifice occured ¡ª but they were still a cult like any other. In the end, it came down to one thing. ¡°Does it have a private bath?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Tarchon said, emotionless, though his eyebrow did raise ever so slightly. ¡°Alright then, thanks.¡± ¡°One more thing,¡± he said. ¡°Was your overseer prepared to die?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Nix said. She knew it intimately. Tarchon suddenly pulled her shoulder to stare her in the eye. In an instant, she felt her touch slide over his name involuntarily, but it wasn¡¯t any willingness to die she felt. Instead, it was a scar. Or more closer to a memory etched into the side of his name. Every time he¡¯d felt that determination and preparedness to die recorded for any who knew how to decipher it. It was only as she saw the number of times he was intimately ready to die ¡ª eighty two, a staggering number ¡ª that another aspect of names made themselves known to her. She could read none of them, but there were so many variations, rises and falls, twists and turns to just a single name that she finally understood what onomasticians often spouted, but rarely could explain. A name, even if shared by multiple people, was infinitely different per individual. Nix could only see the number of times Tarchon had been ready to die, but out of her reach was so much information that made his name what it was. All of his history. All of his memories were the building blocks of his name. She¡¯d known it before ¡ª it was well known, after all ¡ª but she¡¯d never truly understood what that meant until now. ¡°For the first few, it is better to combine them all. Especially so in your case.¡± With that cryptic statement, he turned and walked away. ¡°I¡¯ll drop by in the next couple days¡­ maybe. Good luck.¡± Nix stared after him, still struggling to process what he¡¯d just showed her. She moved her sense over her own name. If she could see it on others, surely she could see it on her own. Twice. Only twice had she been truly prepared to die. The first, when she was to be sacrificed by all the cults, and she knew there was no escape. She¡¯d been ready to die as long as her murderers were punished. The second was the same moment she achieved this Feat. But the subtle imprint of her own history through her Feat ¡ª her cursed names remained too indistinct to determine any records ¡ª was not what caught her attention most. The seams had widened. The puzzle pieces were shifting around each other with fluidity she¡¯d not seen before. Even her curses seemed to glow with corruption; as if they were wide, and inviting what they contained to reach out for the rest of the world. She didn¡¯t understand at first. All she knew was that Tarchon had done something with her Feat, and it had freed her name somehow. What was he talking about? Combining them? Names? Oh. Nix suddenly realised. Oh! She was ready to evolve. Chapter 35: Not So Safe-House A little bit of corruption. That¡¯s what Tarchon said. Only a little bit. This is not what I would call a little bit. Nix stood before the supposed safehouse and could only think how unfitting that term was for what she was looking at. It was one of the ancient refineries with massive pipes criss-crossing everywhere and machines filling the vast open space. Only, it had been modified. Some of the old age refiners had been cut into parts, only to be replaced with fresh mechanisms that moved and spun with speeds that seemed inappropriate considering the explosive nature of what flowed through the pipes. Making everything worse, was the thick musk of corruption that lingered. Even as Nix watched, a cloud of darkness slunk in between the cracks of a piston. When it smashed outward, a chorus of screams overlaid the mechanical clinking with their song. The centrepiece of the former refinery was the control room. Or what had once been the control room. She couldn¡¯t imagine the hundreds of pipes that connected to its every possible surface could have much of a purpose for the small box. In fact, if not for the corruption twisting the place, Nix doubted it would be possible to reach the door with the sheer number of added piping and wires. Nix held the electronic tag out in front of her in case whatever detected it relied on sight rather than any other method she likely didn¡¯t understand. The last thing she wanted was to get crushed by one of those pistons if they suddenly moved the wrong way. If it wasn¡¯t so clearly Technocult territory, she would have doubted Tarchon¡¯s directions. How was this the place she was meant to stay? She walked along the raised metal platform that led straight to the control room. The man had said there was a private bath. Yet, no matter how Nix looked, there was barely enough room to sleep. She really hoped it was just a spatial illusion, and the inside was bigger. Her eyes trailed down to the machines moving beneath her feet. Between them, she caught sight of a dozen rodent corpses and their associated spawn flitting along wherever there was free space. The skitter-spawn lost cohesion wherever they touched one another. Two would often run head first into the other, only for their forms to flicker and reappear. One such occurred only for the creature to be crushed by a spinning axle before it¡¯s form fully reappeared. Its lingering flicker meant half its body survived. Of course, the critter spawn still died, but the presence of the flicker itself was worrying. Skitter-spawn alone were probably the weakest manifested beast. But they became deadly in swarms. There were some sections of Coral completely quarantined because the sheer number of them meant it was difficult, if not impossible for even the highest creed harbingers to deal with. In the millions, they became a bodiless swarm of teeth that would all bite and chew simultaneously. She didn¡¯t like seeing so many here. Thankfully, they were under her platform, and she didn¡¯t have to worry about fighting her way through them. Really, despite all the movement around her, it felt anticlimactic that she reached the control room door without anything happening. Nix opened the door expecting to find a perfectly mundane house hidden away in this deception of a refinery. She was disappointed. She¡¯d been right that the inside was larger than it appeared, but there was so much junk lying around that it left her feeling more claustrophobic than if it truly had been how it looked. The inside was more akin to a workshop than any home. A dozen benches each held piles of metal junk and half-finished projects without any form of order or sorting. There were massive shelves lining the walls for equipment, but they were just as disorganised. She found wrenches and wires together on one shelf. The next had some sort of lubricating oil and¡­ bread? The more she looked, the more she saw that there were everyday necessities mixed in with all the machine parts. Somebody lived here. And they never separated from their work. Unless it was food adjusted to perish incredibly slow, but if it was supposed to be a safehouse, then why leave the stuff they need out amongst the other trash? Tarchon didn¡¯t give me the key to his own house, did he? Well, regardless if it was or not, Nix didn¡¯t intend to stay for long. Such close proximity to any cult was bound to create issues. She would leave as soon as the ward was cleaned out, or she earned enough to rent her own place. Whichever came first. Overhead, there were enough pipes interweaving that she couldn¡¯t see the ceiling. A few had connections linked to the workbenches or the creations themselves. It was all modular. If Tarchon ¡ª assuming this was Tarchon¡¯s place and not some other Technocultist ¡ª needed whatever fluids flowed through those pipes, he could easily bolt on another and open a hinge lever. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Nix passed a door, and upon peering in, found a single reclining chair centred in the room. It was surrounded by machines. Unlike the large space behind her, this wasn¡¯t cluttered with loose parts, but the number of contraptions connected to that single chair left almost no room to move. The recliner itself had dozens of rods and tubes poking out. Even if Nix tried, it would be impossible to find a comfortable position in the altered furnishing. She moved on, not wanting to touch any of the equipment that probably cost more than the ward¡¯s entire yearly grant. Beyond the next door, was the guest bed. It was the cleanest and most normal of the building. If you excused the dust. But even here, one of the corners had been blown out to make room for pipes and cables. The last of the rooms she found was the bathroom. She would have been relieved, if the place didn¡¯t also look like an operating room. Medical equipment mixed with mechanical machines in an entirely sterilised environment that made Nix question whether this was truly the same building as the mess behind her. As she walked by, a robotic arm flared into motion. She leapt back, startled. Other things had been moving inside this place, but this was the first time something had reacted directly to her. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem to be a defensive system. It reached out to her, giving her an offering. A towel and a robe. Nix didn¡¯t know how Tarchon had prepared this when he hadn¡¯t come himself, but the robe was almost identical to the tattered one she¡¯d been wearing in the sacrificial chamber. She took them from the arm, and it swung back around into its resting position high above the operation table. Along the ceiling above it, there were countless modular hands the robot could connect, but the ones it wore now were very similar to sewing tools. They weren¡¯t. If she guessed right, they were intended for stitching ¡ª the fleshy kind ¡ª but apparently it was close enough to recreate a robe. ¡°Eyeball, can you tell if there¡¯s anyone watching?¡± ¡°There is no perception here.¡± ¡°What about cameras then? Sensors?¡± ¡°Many eyes. But all lack thought.¡± Nix hummed in annoyance. It didn¡¯t really matter if Little God meant there was nobody searching through the cameras or just that the sensors themselves lacked any thought. It would take Tarchon suddenly tuning in for all her secrets to be revealed. If he was far, there wouldn¡¯t be a need for concern; corruption and incomprehensible beings would morph the signal into something untrustworthy. Even if he saw her wings, he would assume the feed had been hijacked over them being real. But there was the possibility that he would look while close enough to trust what he saw. The other threat was if he stored the recordings. But that wasn¡¯t something Tarchon would be foolish enough to do. The monsters that fed and grew in stored information were some of the most dangerous to allow to fester because of the very nature of their existence. They twisted the data and knowledge beyond what was natural, and used any method to expand. You really don¡¯t want all your computer systems turning against you. Scrolls and books were really the only safe way to store knowledge, and even that was with caveats. Approaching the back half of the room, she found the shower. It had eight nozzles. She had to imagine water only came from one; or maybe two, if he wanted water without the normal cleaning chemicals. But what could he need all the others for? Along the wall there was a control panel that conveniently had a bunch of labels tagged below eight knobs. The top two had little red warning symbols besides text that read ¡®acid¡¯ and ¡®darkness decontaminant¡¯. Why the decontaminant was given the same level of warning as acid when another label called ¡®lubricant (toxic)¡¯ hadn¡¯t receive a warning, Nix didn¡¯t know. What she did have, were her two water valves, and a lever labelled ¡®barrier¡¯. With high hopes, she pulled it. A fogged glass and metal mesh wall suddenly rose from the ground. It cut off the shower from the half of the room that would have been better suited in an operating theatre. She was now enclosed on each side, but this is what a private bath should look like. Only¡­ was it even private? ¡°The eyes have turned away,¡± Little God said before she even needed to prompt it. ¡°Interesting.¡± It hummed as its gaze twisted through the surroundings, and looked through walls. ¡°So there¡¯s absolutely no chance I¡¯ll be seen while I¡¯m in here?¡± The eyeball turned to her and tilted its head as if she said something stupid. ¡°The Elders will always watch you.¡± The Elders? Nix thought, her mind immediately flashing to the Eidolon Gods. No, I think it¡¯s better to leave that alone. What was important, was that she finally had the privacy to inspect her changes, then clean herself off before she evolved her name. Nix untied the belt from her oversized robe, only to pause. Little God was staring. Little God always stared, and she didn¡¯t know why it had taken so long for her to realise this, but with him being real ¡ª not a figment of her imagination ¡ª then didn¡¯t that make her undressing awkward? ¡°Hey, Eyeball, could you turn away?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re not supposed to stare when a girl undresses.¡± Little God tilts its head, pondering her words. ¡°No. I watch.¡± Nix sighed in exasperation. It had done so for as long as she remembered, so it really shouldn¡¯t make a difference now that she knew it was real, especially considering it had never so much as commented on her appearance. But now that she did know, she felt she should put up at least some effort to separating herself for these moments she wanted to be alone. ¡°You can watch something else,¡± she said. ¡°Just leave me ten minutes of privacy.¡± ¡°I am here to watch you.¡± The static of his voice suddenly amplified. It stung at her ears and distorted her vision, but there was no missing the way his pupil narrowed. ¡°Do not take my role from me.¡± Right. Don¡¯t forget Little God is a god; no matter how cooperative he usually is. Well, it¡¯s not like having the monstrous eye share a bath with her was the worst thing in the world. She had already long since grown accustomed to it. And the creature was clearly not concerned with her body. But what is it concerned with? Why does it linger by my side? Is it truly out of curiosity that the being cannot cease its watch over me¡­ or is it something more? Chapter 36: Fluffy Wings Nix took off K¡¯tan¡¯s robe to reveal her new mutations. Almost without her input, her wings snapped wide. Having been bound ever since they grew in, they felt amazing to stretch. While the feeling was slightly different, it was similar to the freedom of her arms after days of the fleshchain holding them behind her back. She tossed the robe to the side. The thing would be burnt later. Or melted, if she was willing to try the acid showerhead. The cloth was decent quality, but she wouldn¡¯t keep anything of K¡¯tan¡¯s on her if possible. The bastard was now dead. She could hardly even believe it; her first revenge had been achieved. It was hard to tell if she felt more satisfied, relieved, or annoyed that the man couldn¡¯t be here to suffer in his demise. For her next kill, she might consider hiring a soulsinger to bring them back just to drive home their loss before the black hole ate them. Not that such vengeance will be satisfied any time soon. Sure, there were some individuals that were worse than the rest, and could be cut down without much trouble, but her goal was to take down the cults and the leaders who sacrificed her. Until she¡¯d gathered strength, even considering such an option was suicide. Nix moved her wings forward. As easy as kicking her legs, they did as she wanted. What she wasn¡¯t so sure about, was where to put her hands as the wings wrapped around her front. She was too slow to decide, and found herself in the embrace of her own wings. With how large they were, they were incredibly effective at covering her. One wing raised and one lowered as they curved around from her back to hide her entire front. Well, Nix wasn¡¯t sure that would ever be helpful. It was her wings she needed to hide; not herself. But¡­ her feathers were soft. She was curious what it would be like to lay down wrapped up like this. Her sleep would be amazing. Unfortunately, that would pose far too great a risk of being discovered. She would need to rest with her wings uncomfortably bound. With her hands, Nix tried to push open her wings, only to find them resisting her strength. Were her wings strong? Or was that just her own lacking strength showing itself? Out of curiosity, she dropped to the floor and tried to do a few push-ups. Her arms lasted twenty. Far more than what she could previously do, so the sacrificial cultivation had helped, but not enough to make her arms that of a harbinger. It was when she used her wings that Nix felt impressed. They had trouble finding purchase on the ground ¡ª a lack of hands will do that ¡ª but once she¡¯d found a posture that worked, it was effortless. Nix could lift herself with her wings all day and they wouldn¡¯t get tired. In fact, she was sure the rest of her body would become tired of flying before her wings did. Flying. The very thought of the possibility sent a thrill down Nix¡¯s spine. She could fly! She was so tempted to run outside and try it out in the open space of the refinery. But doing so would be stupid. Even discounting the dangers of Technocult territory, it would only take one wandering eye to spot her and fate would repeat. If she truly wanted to try them out, she needed to go somewhere that she could be certain nobody else would go. Considering how strong her wings were, it was truly a shame they were absolutely horrible at grabbing things. Thoughts of swinging blades in each extra limb were shattered as she tried to pick up the bundle of cloth from the ground, but found her feathers slipped without ever getting a grip. They were feathered wings. Not winged arms like one might find on a bat. Nix didn¡¯t feel that disappointed though. Feathers felt nice. Suddenly realising what she was doing, she snapped her fingers away from stroking her wings. These were mutations; a sign of her curses manifesting in the world. They were the root origin of her life going the way it had. She shouldn¡¯t be enjoying them. If they¡¯d never appeared, she never would have faced hardship. Well, unless K¡¯tan had chosen to have her sacrificed anyway. What might have happened then? If K¡¯tan had chosen her as a sacrifice, and she hadn¡¯t been their ¡®perfect sacrifice¡¯, she wouldn¡¯t have been passed around through all the major cults. She would have died in the first week. It was¡­ a way of looking at the events that she never considered. In that way, her mutations had given her seven more years to live. Seven years of isolation, confinement and torture. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Brushing aside the thoughts, she sunk her fingers beneath the skulk shroud that clung to her chest. It fought her as she tugged it off, but stopped moving after being tossed to the side. The return of her new sight was like a jolt to her system. Immediately, she felt her focus on the bathroom tiling amplify. The surface coating was immaculate, with the surface remaining consistent and flat even as she began to see the detailed crystalline structure that grew ever more elaborate as she watched. When her sight reached through that surface coating, and found the thick structure behind, she finally slammed her hand over her eye. A small trail of motes flowed off the wall and through her hand, but thankfully, it didn¡¯t seem like much of the wall had been damaged. It was far more resistant than K¡¯tan¡¯s head. Nix expected her hand to hurt, but apparently even her greedy eye knew not to harm itself. She got a fuzzy, indistinct silhouette when she looked into the chitin of her hand. No matter how hard she tried to focus, it wouldn¡¯t explore her body to the same depths it did anything else it laid eye on. But¡­ at least this was better than continuing to look into nothingness and feeling blind. She would need to see if she could make a cover from her own body. Maybe a bundle of her hair would work? Preferably, she¡¯d learn to control the eye so she could keep it tucked beneath her robe for emergencies. A weapon that relied on nothing but observing a person was invaluable. Slowly opening her hand, she tucked her chin and gazed into the depths of that crimson gem. A tinge of violet spun through the centre like a ribbon; the iris or pupil. The crystal was small, about an inch. Sharp and smooth edges of the gem bordered her skin. Nix could almost lose herself in the constant twirling of colour, but there was something far more concerning to worry about. The bright, glowing veins that sprouted from the sides of the eye stood out like flares. If not for the skulk shroud, they would have shone through the robe. Thankfully, they seemed to have shrunk since she was in the sacrificial chamber, but they still hadn¡¯t fully returned her veins and arteries to their usual ¡ª unluminescent ¡ª state. It was honestly hard to tell if the crimson glow was from her blood, or whatever powered the eye¡­ assuming there was a difference at all. A thought occurred to her, and ¡ª after taking out the second skulk shroud piece ¡ª she held K¡¯tan¡¯s robe ahead of her. Her third eye, as greedy as it was, observed the cloth immediately. Nix watched the eye as it consumed every thread of the outfit. Sure enough, her guess was right. The veins were growing. The more she observed and consumed, the more that glowing energy spread through her body. It would mean that she couldn¡¯t use it haphazardly, unless she wanted to be discovered¡­ or find out what happened when it spread all through her body. She thumbed the edge of the gem where it sprouted from her sternum, before turning to the last of her changes from earlier. Her body refused to twist enough to let her see, but the bathroom mirror made up for it¡­ even if her wings still got in the way. All along her spine, small, sharp points poked through the skin. They were clearly bone. Each vertebra had begun to grow and spike out from her back, ending in very sharp points. Despite the numerous breaks in skin, there was not a speck of blood. Whether it was burnt away in the ritual, or there hadn¡¯t been any in the first place, Nix didn¡¯t know. What was important, was that they hadn¡¯t caused her back to become a fountain of blood as they grew out. Nix rubbed her finger around one. It was hard and smooth, but still relatively small. She could hide these away as long as they didn¡¯t grow to some insane length any time soon. As she passed her finger over the pointy tip of her bone, she was surprised by just how sharp it was. If she¡¯d still had skin, it would have pierced her finger. I¡¯m going to have to find rubber or something to blunt them, Nix thought. Well, there¡¯s enough trash lying around out there that I¡¯ll find something I can steal. Stepping up to the shower knobs, she turned on the soapy water. Nix made very sure it was actually water spitting from the nozzle before she shoved her head underneath. A relieved sigh slipped from her lips as soon as the warmth flowed down her back. Her ethereal touch moved back to her name. It shifted slowly; the seams separate and waiting to be reconnected in ways she didn¡¯t understand. For a moment, Nix worried that evolving might not be the smartest thing to do. There had been plenty of stories of people choosing an evolution and the path it led them locked them out of the abilities they relied upon previously. Did nix really want to sacrifice such an obviously useful ability as her Feat? If the base, ¡®Zyl¡¯, only told when someone was ready to die, or gave an indication of how many times they had experienced such, then she could understand why Tarchon told her to combine it away. But ¡®Zylth¡¯ had the ability to inspect names. It allowed her a fairly decent indicator to strength, even if it didn¡¯t give insight into exactly what that strength was. Did she really want to risk losing such an advantage? The whole reason she¡¯d been so happy to achieve a Feat ¡ª despite it¡¯s initially unimpressive showing ¡ª was to evolve out the curses that had corrupted her name. To give her a future that wouldn¡¯t repeat. Yet it was that Feat that allowed her to make those cursed names more than they were. Because ¡®Zylth¡¯ allowed her to interact with her cursed names, she¡¯d been able to both control her mutations and slaughter a whole pit of Fleshsmith cultists. It allowed her to be more than her curses. She didn¡¯t want to give it up. So despite Tarchon¡¯s recommendation, Nix fully intended to only evolve her curses. It was something she¡¯d always feared would be her only option¡­ and even now the thought they would combine into something far worse than she already had to experience rattled her mind, but as long as she had ¡®Zylth¡¯ she would be able to use it. With her mind made, she shut off the water and shook her wings. When she slept, the evolution options would come. When she slept, she would choose the option that truly separated the past from her future. Soon, she would not be Nix-ine-oth-Zylth. She would be something more. Chapter 37: Name Evolution Nix crashed into the bed she assumed was hers. It wasn¡¯t like there was anyone else here to say otherwise, so for now the room, and this bed, were hers. This would be the first time she evolved. The most important event in every Coral resident¡¯s life. She was giddy¡­ and terrified. While the naming ceremony for fifteen-year-olds was the starting point of everyone¡¯s lives, an evolution was a mark of achievement. It was a day that their efforts and pain accumulated into a consolidation of their very being. Evolutions, even bad ones, brought people into a new tier of opportunity. By evolving for the first time, it was like a new world opened up to you. The cults would suddenly have a dozen new paths for advancement out of the lowest creed ¡ª most unevolved never reached further than the first creed ¡ª and an equivalent standard of respect and power came with it. But the opportunities came not only from the cults. By evolving one¡¯s name, they improved the foundation of their soul. It allowed countless more names to become available to them. Stronger, more useful names. To evolve, all Nix needed to do, was lean back and fall asleep. But why does that have to be so hard? She had already tried a dozen positions, but rest never took her. It would be so much easier if she found out she was ready to evolve like everyone else; by discovering it in her sleep. But she could already feel how ready her names were. Nix was too excited to rest. Idly, she wondered if Tarchon kept any of his cult¡¯s scrolls or tomes lying around this place. He wasn¡¯t the most organised of people. If he had any, they weren¡¯t likely to be well stored or protected. If she could use one of the cults¡¯ forced evolution rituals, then she wouldn¡¯t have to wait until rest found her for the evolution to start. She could force it to appear before her like in the name ritual. But now wasn¡¯t the time to be making enemies of the cults. Especially not one that she didn¡¯t have any great grudge against. If Tarchon, or any of the Technocultists discovered she¡¯d been snooping, they wouldn¡¯t let her go with only a warning. To a cult, secrets were everything. Hoping that her meditation might allow her to slip into slumber, she took in deep gulp of void, and cycled her breath. Nix ignored the slightly damp feathers hugging her side. She ignored the demands of her blind eye to be freed from the skulk shroud. All thoughts of K¡¯tan, and his death slipped her mind. Nix blinked. Or it felt like she did, but she wasn¡¯t sure if her eyes were even open. Nix-ine-oth-Zylth Suddenly she could feel her name. Not with the sense given by her Feat, but the innate understanding she felt during a naming ritual. She could read each name¡¯s descriptions again if she wanted, but it was another feeling that held her attention. Her name was ready. She¡¯d known it before because of her Feat, but this felt far more intimate. Her name screamed at her that it was ready to evolve, and waiting even a minute was something it refused to do. It wanted to be more than it was. Now. Reaching out, she felt her name expand. She tried to use her Feat¡¯s sense, but found it unavailable to her. Even without it, Nix was sure she already knew what she might see. Each of her names split into their pieces, ready to combine in whatever way she chose. Eleven options made themselves known. Eleven paths for her name, her advancement, and her fate. Nix tossed away four immediately. Even a glancing sense made it clear they were not true evolutions ¡ª not in the sense she wanted ¡ª they were combinations that excluded her base name. If she chose any of those, the fundamentals of her soul wouldn¡¯t improve, and she would be limiting her growth. For later evolutions, such choices became reasonable. But now ¡ª while her base name was still unevolved ¡ª they would be a complete waste. Two of the seven remaining were considerably less impressive than the rest ¡ª consisting of only two names rather than three ¡ª but there was none besides the top two possibilities that Nix focused on. They were the only ones that felt more. Like they were a tier above the rest. They were the only two she¡¯d ever truly considered as options. She directed her gaze to the first. Nix-ine-oth This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Curse ¡ª Fate repeats Nix glared. She¡¯d always been told that descriptions for evolutions were more cryptic than names, but this was clear. It was so clear, that despite the combination being the one she had been prepared to take, it had now slipped from her list of options completely. Combining her curses would doom her to the same fate? She didn¡¯t care if the next best option would leave her crippled, it would be better than this. She¡¯d wanted to have certainty that she could control her mutations. She¡¯d wanted to keep ¡®Zylth¡¯. Sure it was likely to mix with her other names and become more than it was, but there was always the risk that what she wanted wasn¡¯t what her evolution thought was right. The risk was only made worse by the fact that she was combining the Feat with curses. She had no idea how horribly those might twist it. Now realising that her options weren¡¯t as open as she¡¯d hoped, she focused on the combination that felt most instinctively promising. Nix-ine-oth-Zylth Curse ¡ª A seedling grows within the rotting soil of fate. Not yet sprouted. Not yet free of rot and parasitic weeds. Okay, there¡¯s the more cryptic description I was expecting. At least this one doesn¡¯t outright state I¡¯m fated to repeat my past. It was still labelled a curse, but she hardly expected any different. Considering she had enough curses and corruption to ignite Dark Stars, there wasn¡¯t a future she could see where she¡¯d somehow cleansed them all. Usually, one could evolve away a major blood curse by sacrificing a name, but apparently that would be so pointlessly ineffective against Nix¡¯s curses that her name hadn¡¯t even offered the option. The metaphor about a seed in rotten soil was rather apt for her situation; her task before her was immense and nearly impossible, but if she could surmount the challenge ¡ª if she could sprout ¡ª she would be out of reach of the rot and parasites that were the cults. Nix already knew what her only option was. Tarchon was right; combining all of her names was for the best. But she was curious what the path that ignored her mutations looked like. Nix-Zylth Death Curse ¡ª The collapse of a star destroys not only itself Well. She really didn¡¯t have a choice, after all. But it was strange that the curse descriptor had changed. Besides the obvious, how did a death curse differ from any of her current cursed names? Was there something specific that gave this its own distinct descriptor while all her other curses were just a general ¡®curse¡¯? The description itself was rather ominous. Considering she achieved her Feat for being willing to die, and her base name held the power to create Dark Stars, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what sort of path this would lead her down. For a brief moment, Nix actually considered the option. It was clearly a suicidal path¡­ but what if it let her destroy the cults and their leaders? If it gave her the opportunity to self-sacrifice and wipe out all of Coral, could she turn it up? Like K¡¯tan¡¯s death, all of their own lives would be taken through a sacrificial ritual. Fitting. But what of the people like Ari and Dan who do speak up? Those that try to fight, only to be crushed by the immense cults. Nix would have to kill them, too. What about the future Nix had so greatly desired? The life she¡¯d wanted to live while stuck in the cults¡¯ basements. Nix wanted revenge, but not at the cost of herself. She grabbed the option to combine all her names, and with a mere nudge, she felt her names flare into action. All descriptions disappeared and Nix felt herself change. It was intimate. Her soul flowed into a soup, before searching for proper places to connect. How she wished her Feat sense still worked during this. Her name had ripped itself apart to search for new ways to combine itself. What did her curses look like? She could somewhat guess at how her Feat broke apart, considering the puzzle pieces were observable from the surface. But she¡¯d never been able to decipher her cursed names. How had they altered her names from the usual cloud of components? The evolution washed over her, and she felt her mind stutter, as if readjusting to a slightly different Nix. Nix? No, that doesn¡¯t feel right. Why doesn¡¯t that feel right? The answer came almost immediately as the evolution locked itself in place, and her new name registered to her mind. It flooded her soul and she knew it was now who she was. N?x Before she could truly relish in the name, she found herself startled awake. She snapped her eyes around the room. But there was nothing. She¡¯d finished her evolution, and had been kicked out of that contradictorily aware slumber. N?x. That was now her name. It was different, yet it felt as natural as Nix previously had. Nix no longer felt right. It was a thing of the past. And yet despite her intense desire to have everyone begin calling her by her proper, new name, she couldn¡¯t tell anyone. It would be too strange that she¡¯d already evolved. Well¡­ except maybe Tarchon. The man knew she was ready to evolve, didn¡¯t he? That was why he gave the advice he did. But even if he did have a pretty good idea, was it smart for her to outright confirm those suspicions? She stretched her body, and looked over herself. There was no reason to; evolutions rarely had an immediate effect on the body ¡ª they were an effect on the soul after all, any physical change or improvement would only come as the body tried to reflect the soul ¡ª but something screamed out at her to check. Nothing seemed off¡­ but she wasn¡¯t exactly ready to take of her top and check her wings unless she was certain she was safe from any eyes. It was only when she tapped her fingers along the side of her leg that she noticed. Her chitinous claws, her gem eye, her bound wings; they all felt innate. She¡¯d never had problems controlling her mutations, but there had always been a lingering sense of unease around them. It had only added to the despair her mutations had caused her. That feeling was now gone. If anything, they felt more natural than her own arms. As interesting as it was that her mutations might have grown more fitting for her ¡ª or the change in her soul had adjust her to the changes ¡ª it took a backseat to her Feat¡¯s touch. The sense was, thankfully, not gone. But as she passed it over her name, it became clear it had changed. She got the sense that she could no longer detect the willingness of death, either in a person¡¯s mind or their past. But there was now more to it. Aspects of the sense she couldn¡¯t yet understand, but were possible. What was also made abundantly clear from her touch; Nyx had no idea how she would control her changes. As all her curses were now crammed into a single name, was it even possible to rush her changes without igniting a Dark Star Event? Had she lost that tiny bit of control she¡¯d gained over her mutations? Chapter 38: N?x Nyx dove off the bed and immediately began sketching a ritual circle. Her ethereal touch shifted along the cursed surface of her name. It was intense and fuzzy. The combination of three cursed names having made it much more difficult to feel than before. Yet, her touch moved along the indistinct surface as if guided by some unknown force. A magnet tugging her towards three separate points. As Nyx fell into her trance again, she sung the hymn of naming. She doubted it would tell much, but it was important to check regardless. Unable to find any answers with her name ¡ª without tearing it open, but that would be a horrible idea in Tarchon¡¯s home ¡ª she shifted her touch to Little God. The eyeball floated in the corner of the room without a word. Watching. Observing as it always did. Nyx skimmed her touch over his name and felt that she truly had lost that instinctual understanding of which valleys and hills detailed the preparedness for death. But she could still feel those details. Damn. I should have checked Little God¡¯s count before I evolved. Well, it wasn¡¯t like it mattered if the observer had a million experiences, or only two like herself. She doubted it would answer much about why the creature was here. But as she felt over its unreasonably long name, she felt a tug. It was the same tug she felt when touching her own name, but this didn¡¯t lead to a specific point on the same name component she was inspecting. It led her down the chain. She followed the sensation, and eventually found herself feathering her ethereal fingers over a cursed name. Her Feat¡¯s sense no longer focused on a willingness to die. It, instead, had become enraptured with curses. When she thought about it, the evolution made sense. She¡¯d used the Feat almost exclusively to interact with her curses, so it wasn¡¯t far-fetched that it would narrow on that focus when it integrated into the foundation of her being. It was still surprising to see her ward¡¯s teachings unfold before her eyes¡­ fingers¡­ ethereal sense. While the name additives one gained were still parts that made up a person and who they were, they were not their core. The base name ¡ª the heart of one¡¯s soul ¡ª that was their true reflection. To incorporate an additive into a base name meant to accept the meaning of that name into who you were. Of course, not all aspects of that name connected; hence the loss of abilities. But in cases like this, the original utility of the name bent itself to fit the soul better. So, of course, Nyx¡¯s feat took on the aspect that defined her life. Curses. As much as she disliked it, her lives ¡ª both the past and present ¡ª were centred around curses. It also made sense why her mutations felt more natural now; she¡¯d accepted them into her soul. Her ethereal touch could seek out and detect curses in names. She wasn¡¯t sure how that would be helpful ¡ª cursed names were already detrimental to those who had them ¡ª but she was determined to figure something out. As her fingers slipped across Little God¡¯s curse, she was tempted to dig them in and try to pull it apart. As she did with her own names. But that thought didn¡¯t even have the chance to fully complete before she crushed it. The eyeball was a being beyond her understanding. It would invite chaos to attempt such even if it didn¡¯t enrage the creature. There was a reason rituals with greater beings were approached with caution and immense preparation. She would have to try on some poor, unsuspecting cultist later. With how many enemies the upper creeds usually made, and how many curses they¡¯d be struck with after those enemies had¡­ unfortunate ends, Nyx could only imagine how useful being able to tear open their cursed additives might be. Though, she would need to be careful that the curses didn¡¯t make them more dangerous, as hers did. Well, this assumed it was even possible. Finally, the ritual reached its climax and her name appeared before her again. N?x N?x ¡ª Curse Of course. What else was I expecting? A detailed description of what to expect from my evolution? Fate loves me too much. Nyx snapped herself out of her meditation and broke the ritual circle. She knew her name would be labelled as cursed ¡ª her more intimate evolution selection made that clear ¡ª but she¡¯d been hoping for something more helpful than just ¡®curse¡¯. Despite how late it was, the bed didn¡¯t look at all inviting. She¡¯d used it in order to enact her evolution, but with the energy from the ritual, and now the excitement of having evolved, she felt not in the least tired. Her wings screamed to be let loose. Her eye stung at being unable to see. Nyx doubted even meditation would bring her near sleep now. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Pocketing Tarchon¡¯s tag again, she left the refinery. Hopefully, the Technocultist didn¡¯t expect her to stay there. She would come back when she was tired, but for now she couldn¡¯t sit on her haunches. With her evolution done, she didn¡¯t have to worry about additives blocking her progress. Nyx could finally begin her efforts towards the harbinger¡¯s path. After only five minutes of walking through an artery of Coral, she found a trolley station. It was surprising to find one so close to Technocultist territory considering they were a service from the Worshippers of the Machine God. Whatever the reason, she was glad for the convenience. At the station, she peered down the tunnel not meant for human traversal. How long would she be waiting? Nyx had energy to burn for the first time in her life; she didn¡¯t want to be waiting around forever. As she watched a flickering light at the end of the tunnel, she wondered if it would be better to search for beasts that might roam nearby. Yet, this area was Technocultist territory. She didn¡¯t know when a member might jump out of the dark and spot her mutations when she tried to free them. No, it was better to return to the surface and get a proper idea of where she was first. Then she could find somewhere to hunt some beasts. Each time that single light blinked, it seemed to move. As she looked closer, the shadows stretched. Nyx got an eerie sense that the rate of flickering was increasing, but when she began to count, the numbers didn¡¯t reflect her feeling. It sucked her in and kept her eyes locked on the long, empty tunnel, and Nyx suddenly realised just how alone she was. She was familiar with the feeling of being isolated, but this was different. There was nobody at the trolley stop. It felt like there was no one around for miles. The longer she stared, the worse it got. ¡°Little¡­ Eyeball.¡± She snapped her attention away to focus on the one being that was always with her. What was that reaction? She¡¯d long since learnt to deal with solitude. She wouldn¡¯t freak out, even if Little God wasn¡¯t around; Nyx wouldn¡¯t let herself. ¡°Do you see anything down the tunnel?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Which one? There are many down there, observing you.¡± ¡°Which-¡± she spun back to the tunnel, finding there was no longer any flickering light. Only darkness. Nyx readied herself. Her gloves dropped into her pockets, and she was prepared to extend her claws at the first sign of trouble. She¡¯d planned to fight once she was sure there was nobody to watch on, but if she was ambushed by creatures of the darkness, then she would just have to hope no cultists saw. A loud horn blared and she leapt away from the rails just in time for the Trolley to roll into the station. It¡¯s doors opened, inviting her in. Glancing down the tunnel, she couldn¡¯t spot anything but darkness. The Trolley¡¯s lights burnt along the walls, but couldn¡¯t penetrate its depths. She continued watching that darkness, but it didn¡¯t dare seep out into the wider cavern of the station. The folding doors of the trolley slammed shut, then opened again. Taking the hint, she climbed aboard, only for the vehicle to jerk into motion immediately. Through the window, she watched as the trolley rocketed down the tunnel where the light had been. Faces flashed through the glass. Horrified visages of shadow and nightmare ripped apart by the rolling weight of the trolley and the light it carried. Screams rang through in her ears. The thin set of folding doors were the only thing separating her from the phantoms. A thump made her leap back. In the light shining from the inside of the trolley¡¯s cabin, was a hand-print of physical darkness pressing against the window. It lasted a few moments longer, then everything returned to quiet. Nyx assumed that was it, and things would calm now that she was away from the phantoms, but through the front window, she caught sight of a solid wall. A wall they were barrelling towards. She leapt for one of the chairs, and held on tight. The chitin bent the frame slightly, but she was more worried with their imminent crash. A crash that never came. Instead, the world seemed to twist on its head, and she watched as the trolley broke and reformed as it turned a full ninety degrees upward. Gravity followed the trolley for a few seconds, before it slowly shifted back to what was properly ¡®down¡¯. Nyx clung to her seat. Fitting herself so her back would hold her upright. She did that for an instant before she felt her spines start to slide through the rubber tubes she¡¯d slid over the tips. The acceleration of the trolley was not helping when gravity was already trying to shove her further back into her seat. One of the safe-zone trolleys would be really nice right now. Any of the transport moving through the centre of the surface was tame. This was one of the trolleys that never came near; it was far more¡­ unnatural. It was hard to tell if the trolley had been designed to operate like this, or if the corruption had simply twisted it and its rails to become as strange as it was. Well, when the Machine God Worshippers shoved some creature from the darkness into the trolley¡¯s circuitry, it was bound to act in ways humans couldn¡¯t predict. But¡­ it had brought her to her destination. The intense light of the surface shone in through the windows as the trolley did another sharp ninety degree turn and jerked to a stop. The doors opened. When Nyx took more than a single second to gather herself and climb off the questionably-sapient vehicle, it snapped its folding doors twice. Quite the personality for a box on wheels. She stepped off, and the trolley was gone before she could look back. There were enough half-flesh buildings in the area that she immediately knew she was in the Bodytwisters domain. At least the flesh didn¡¯t move like in the Scriptures¡¯ area. The Bodytwisters just liked to build with tissue; not live in something living. Considering the feud between the Technocult and the Bodytwisters, it was suspicious that their territories were only a single trolley stop away. If you added how little the Machine God Worshippers liked either cult, well¡­ For now, Nyx wanted to make her way to the area around the Dark Star. It would give her plenty of cultists to observe, which she could hopefully use to learn about her altered sense before she dove into the depths and challenged something she probably shouldn¡¯t. She wouldn¡¯t take long. Her wings demanded freedom. Chapter 39: Illicit Testing The Dark Star was large enough that it didn¡¯t matter where you stood, as long as you weren¡¯t intentionally trying to ignore the thing, you would notice it. As Nyx walked down the wide road towards it, long black solar flares struck out at nothing. It had already been a few days since the Event, so there were no longer any buildings in its path to reach for. They¡¯d been broken down and removed. Not by the Dark Star, but by the cultists that feared the devastating corruptive influence emanating outward. It was easier to knock down a hundred buildings and take the loss, then have to deal with the twisted monstrosities they became. Even if it was possible to return them to their former state, it was often not worth it. The line of stripped surface revealed Coral¡¯s structural depths. Massive metal beams that were usually hidden away were now revealed to all, but alongside them were a whole bunch of things one wouldn¡¯t expect in the supporting structure of an enormous orbital platform. Fleshy growths. Thick, building wide roots interweaving below where the surface used to be. A sea of black sludge that both clumped together and flowed like water. With all the cultists standing on the other side of this moat from the Dark Star, it was the closest thing to a warzone Nyx could imagine. Wars weren¡¯t exactly uncommon between the cults, but the teachings of the rearing wards avoided the topic entirely. The way Nyx understood it, there was no way to properly portray war in a way that was completely favourable to all participants, so the cults refused to allow it. A lot of what the wards taught were heavily curated. Much of the information was straight up lies; things Nyx only found when the truth whacked her in the face. Imagine my surprise when, oddly enough, the cults didn¡¯t always honour the loyalty of their members. Then again, the teachings of the wards were rather bare of political or historical points. The cults never agreed. So most of the efforts to embed children with lies beneficial to any one particular cult never made it through to the curriculum. Groups of harbingers cut down any beast that left the wall of intense corruption, but the Dark Star still remained. Nyx was surprised it hadn¡¯t been dealt with. For a disaster to occur on the surface like this, it was almost an expectation that the highest creed harbingers would gather to destroy the Dark Star from within. And that was if the cult leaders themselves didn¡¯t decide to take it on. What was taking them so long? Nyx didn¡¯t bother to hide herself as she walked down the street adjacent to the harbingers. Many cultists noticed her. They would have noticed her even if she did her best to creep by. And yet none paid her any mind; not more than a raised eye at what one as young as herself was doing here. If there was one thing that she liked about the cultists of higher creeds, it was that they rarely cared about anyone but themselves. They wouldn¡¯t have gotten where they were otherwise. Well, there was the chance that one could see her as an opportunity for themselves ¡ª K¡¯tan¡¯s recent attempt came to mind ¡ª but out in the open like this, they would be under the scrutiny of many other cultists. They may care only about themselves, but if they got the chance to cut one of their competitors down, few would hesitate. Despite technically working together, none of the cultists mingled outside their own. They each held their own operating bases ¡ª buildings repurposed for harbinger needs ¡ª and many not holding the defensive line rested there. Nyx veered as close as she dared. The temporary quarters of the Bodytwisters had already been reshaped with hard, rubbery tissue that she assumed was harder than steel. She had decided they would be the best targets. They wouldn¡¯t discover her questionable actions as easily as the Everseeing Eye cultists, nor did they have countless minions running around like the Machine God Worshippers¡¯ mechanical spiders or The Scriptures bound beasts. No, the Bodytwisters were the only ones so fully focused on themselves that they would never notice the touch of her Feat sense. Her former Feat sense. She wasted no time and cast her sense forward. It was slow, but with the cultists in sight, she had no problem feeling around in their torso for where their name hid. Her first target was a lady busy dissecting a few rodents upon a small fold out table that already had a complicated ritual circle inscribed. The base name was easy to find. Considering the woman¡¯s name had just over fifty components to it, Nyx had to guess she was on her third evolution at the very least. She would have assumed much higher, but names of higher tier were likely to have more parts; especially for additives that one couldn¡¯t get with less inflected names. There was little chance the second evolution additives would have the same number of components as you would receive while unevolved ¡ª well, unless you were really unlucky ¡ª so Nyx decided it was more likely the number of components per evolution was exponential. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Her theory was supported by the four subtle stripes on the cultist¡¯s hood that represented creed. Even if she didn¡¯t trust such symbols. They were incredibly easy to fake, after all. If it truly was exponential, then the cult leaders¡­ well, she didn¡¯t even want to think about it. They were out of her reach; that was all she needed to know. Nyx followed the guiding attraction of her sense as it carried her over the dozen small and nearly pointless names for someone with three evolutions. She tried to see if there was anything to learn from them, but found nothing. They were clearly forgotten remnants. Additives the woman discarded when she evolved. She wondered if every cultist was like this. Was it even possible to evolve the natural way? Could you incite each name to grow enough for evolution to trigger in your sleep, or were you doomed to continue collecting names and delaying your evolution each time you did? Suddenly her touch arrived at what she was being led to. She was stunned. ¡°This is it?¡± Nyx mumbled to herself, making Little God tilt his eye in curiosity. The name was tiny. Smaller even than a single name component. Despite the slightly fuzzy border that clearly differentiated it from normal names, Nyx struggled to believe this was a curse. Comparing it to her own curses was like standing the shadow of a marble against the Darkness of the black hole. The scale was simply on different planes of existence. Her ethereal finger touched it, and the thing collapsed. The woman sneezed. She rubbed her nose as if there was a particularly bad itch, but she soon returned to her work, unbothered. Was that¡­ a curse of sneezing? Nyx thought, incredulous. Who the fuck curses someone with the need to sneeze? She groaned but moved on. That wasn¡¯t the only curse the woman had, and Nyx was determined to rip open them all. The next two were equally unimpressive; mere nuisances. Nyx would open the gate and unleash the full effects of the curse, only for the cultist to show a slight bit of discomfort before one additive or another smothered the source of the irritant. She finally gave up when she opened a slightly larger curse ¡ª still as indecipherable as any other ¡ª only for a cough to be stifled before it even rose through the woman¡¯s throat. She¡¯s a fourth creed cultist! How are the only curses she has so impotent and ineffective? Ignoring the woman¡¯s suspicious lack of curses, Nyx had discovered that yes, she could interact with curses besides her own. This was¡­ well, it was promising. Usually, if anyone had a curse they couldn¡¯t deal with, there were rituals to get rid of them; ones that required a greater sacrifice. But sometimes they were strong enough that the sacrifice wasn¡¯t worth it, and they simply learnt to deal with whatever effect it brought them. Exactly what was it she was doing by tearing open the curses? She wasn¡¯t breaking or removing them, that was clear. Was it simply unleashing their full power all at once? Did that mean the curses would disappear afterwards, would they stay at full power, or would they return to a dormant state? Well, there were plenty of cultists here to test on. ??? For the next half-hour, she skimmed every Bodytwister¡¯s name in search for curses. There were a few like that first woman that seemed to go through immense effort to rid themselves of any curse they received, but for the vast majority, they simply took the blows. Most figured a curse that snapped their elbow backwards was reasonable when they could just replace the joint with flesh that didn¡¯t have a problem being bent in non-standard directions. Of course, not all curses were exactly horrible, despite never being beneficial. She snapped open one man¡¯s relatively large curse ¡ª compared to others around, not hers ¡ª only for the cooked chicken he was eating to suddenly come alive in his hands and run off down the street. While annoying, Nyx could see why he wasn¡¯t willing to sacrifice any name of worth to get rid of it. The sudden flaring of everyone¡¯s curses hadn¡¯t gone unnoticed. While they had yet to consider an adversary, many of the cultists spoke with each other where before they¡¯d remained more isolated. They didn¡¯t suspect the young girl sitting down the street. Nyx couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying, but she was sure they were tossing up theories related to the Dark Star by how they kept tossing glances towards it. Nobody actually knew how the masses of corruption worked, after all. Even if they hadn¡¯t considered it could be a person giving them all these annoyances, she would be pushing her luck sticking around much longer. But¡­ just one more. She had just found an upper creed. Her name immediately screamed seventh, or eighth evolution. Thousands of components. Nyx could feel a curse somewhere in her name, so she veered from the base, and shot down the chain in search of it. The woman had dozens of names with hundreds of components by themselves, but she didn¡¯t focus on that. The only thing that mattered was the curse. Finally, she found it; a large, indistinct curse equal in size to a name with a hundred components. At least that was the feeling Nyx got after experiencing so many other curses. Didn¡¯t help measure her own, though. As she reached for it, she suddenly felt her soul brushed. Nyx froze. Somebody looked at her. Her eyes didn¡¯t even need to move to discover who; the cultist she¡¯d just been reaching for stared at Nyx out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes swirled with the depth of someone who gazed into her very soul and saw what she hid. Nyx panicked. No longer keeping her air of nonchalance, she ran for the nearest tunnel entrance, and dove into the depths. She sprinted until her legs burned and the light of the Great Iris was gone. ??? ¡°Shall we chase her?¡± ¡°No. It was just a child trying out a new toy.¡± The high-creed cultist straightened her back as she watched the teen flee into the depths. Cracking the kinks out of her spine, she reached a full three heads taller than the next largest. ¡°A rather interesting toy, at that¡­ Say, when are the next Trials?¡± ¡°Six months, I believe,¡± her assistant stated. ¡°Have it pushed forward. I believe we might see something interesting.¡± ¡°The Technocult will oppose.¡± ¡°When do they not? Do it anyway.¡± As the man ran off to fulfil her desires, a slight smirk crossed the eighth creed cultist¡¯s mouth, revealing fangs meant for no human. Ep?''N?an?o?r?sc?hi?? looked forward to her first Trials in decades. She would not be disappointed. Chapter 40: Biovault Fuck. That was Ep¡¯Nanorschi, wasn¡¯t it? It definitely was. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Of all the people to have seen Nyx, it had to be her. At least she hadn¡¯t chased her down. That was the only relief Nyx had. If the woman had been determined to capture and punish her for messing around with the Bodytwisters, then she would have done so. Easily. She¡¯d heard all sorts of things about the woman in her time with the Bodytwisters. Seen just as many. The cultist had replaced so much of her body with otherflesh that it was impossible to call her human. She was the type to play with her food. Instead of stabbing a sacrificial lamb in the heart to let it die out quick, she preferred to tear out their necks with her own jaw. Considered it more effective to have the sacrifice die in pan and terror. Not that she¡¯d ever been able to prove it. Nyx panted as she slowed to a walk. There was no point running any further when she had only made it this far because the woman had let her go. As much as she¡¯d love to think that meant Ep¡¯Nanorschi took no interest in her, Nyx had a bad feeling about her future. Her breath returned to her much quicker than she expected. Looking back, she¡¯d run further than she ever had as well. It was great to see that the sacrificial ritual truly had benefit her body. Considering she was puffed, it was unlikely she¡¯d be able to run that marathon, but she was much closer to her ward-mates level of fitness now. Exercise was no longer off the table. Finally calming from her ¡ª entirely reasonable ¡ª overreaction, Nyx glanced around the dark tunnel she found herself. The light strips that should run along all underground hallways were only lit in brief segments, leaving her surroundings dimmer than they should be. That was on top of the corruption that made the tunnel appear to extend infinitely in both directions. ¡°Eyeball, could you lead me back to the trolley-stop near Tarchon¡¯s place?¡± She wasn¡¯t ready to call it quits for tonight, but she also wanted to know where here was. And¡­ she wasn¡¯t comfortable returning to the surface right this moment. Little God nodded, and immediately began leading Nyx through the tunnel. She was thankful for his presence. Without him, she didn¡¯t know how long she¡¯d be wandering around, lost. With a few u-turns that didn¡¯t make sense, the eyeball led Nyx through a series of large hatches that always shut behind her. By the time she went through the third ¡ª one that she thought would be impossible to have noticed considering its position behind a set of long forgotten scaffolding ¡ª she was too late to question the wisdom of her decision to have a god with no sense of what was dangerous to guide her path. Suddenly surrounded by a lush forest with countless birds screaming in her ear, she spun to go back the way she¡¯d came. Only to find herself too weak to stop the hatch shutting, then locking her in. Using all the strength of her new hands, but lacking any leverage from the rest of her body, the large manual locking wheel refused to budge. She sighed and glared at her small companion. Little God had the audacity to act unbothered. He¡¯d brought them right into the Biovault. The place was absolutely massive. Well, she knew it was massive, but the plants blocked most of her sight. Living trees rose dozens of metres overhead, creating a thick overhead foliage that filtered rays of light that Nyx knew came from no comprehensible source. She¡¯d entered this place through a rather wide room, and yet the hatch was attached to a metal box that was little more than a shed in this vast rainforest. Taking a few steps away from the locked vault, Nyx caught sight of a gap in the foliage. Beyond, was a mirrored forest hanging from the ceiling a few hundred metres above. ¡°Shall we continue?¡± Little God asked, still waiting to lead her. Considering she had no other option, she moved to follow, only to stop after a single step. ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°Is there anyone¡­ any human observing us?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then I think this is the perfect opportunity.¡± Nyx pulled off her ugly gloves and shoved them in the pocket of her robe. ¡°I just need you to tell me whenever there is a person coming, or about to observe me, and this place will be exactly what I need.¡± She would need to avoid veering into the uncharted sections of the Biovault, or towards the less corrupt farming section, but with how many creatures this place held ¡ª that actually had bodies she could strike ¡ª it was perfect. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nix lowered the skulk shroud binding her chest enough for the gem to peek over her robe. It immediately began observing the trees. When she pulled up the back of her robe¡¯s top, her wings struck her arms as they shot wide, as if punishing her for hiding them away so long. She would need to think of a way to bring them out easier. She could hardly leave her top hanging over the base of her wings. It left her midriff exposed¡­ which didn¡¯t sound like that much of a problem now that she thought about it; what was a bit of exposure compared to her wings being spotted? The way her robe bunched up at her back left it tighter than it needed to be at the front. She wanted her clothes to fit properly and not get in the way while she was trying to fight. Maybe she could cut some lines through the back. Nyx wasn¡¯t exactly a talented seamstress; how could she do that without revealing her feathers to the world? For now, it was an inconvenience. Another problem she would somehow have to solve on top of finding a suitable weapon or the funds to buy it. With her convenient guide always by her side, there wasn¡¯t that much worry about becoming lost in this forest, but as it just showed, Little God had no awareness of what was too dangerous for her to handle. After she was done hunting, she would need to figure her own paths to follow. As her wings stretched, her claws extended to their fullest. The hard chitin clicked into place and the dexterity of fingers disappeared. The first wingbeats sent her stumbling. For an instant, her feet left the undergrowth covered soil and she was airborne. But that hadn¡¯t been an attempt to fly; she¡¯d just wanted to get the feel for the motion that seemed to come so naturally. Nyx¡¯s claws sunk deep into the earth to stabilise. She righted herself, and prepared properly this time. Her wings slammed down besides her, striking through the air of the Biovault with intent, and she was immediately moving. Ten metres in the air, she struck a branch and it sent her off-kilter. She beat again, and found herself backflipping. The long black wings snapped wide on instinct, and while she was on a downward course for the earth, her descent was controlled. Another beat, and she was moving horizontal, flitting through the trees. Nyx brushed the bark of five trees and destroyed countless branches before she started to get the handle of flight. It was incredible how quick she was moving. Exhilarating. Now that she was in one of the few sections of Coral with air, the feeling of it whipping past her was amazing. But¡­ something didn¡¯t feel right. After her initial clumsiness, she¡¯d taken to flight as if she¡¯d always been able to do it, and yet it didn¡¯t feel right. Nyx couldn¡¯t figure out whether she was supposed to fly with her head forward, or upright. Both worked. Both felt equally wrong. It was like she was missing something to make gliding actually work properly. The human body was simply not designed for the task. With her wings positioned almost perfectly in her centre of mass, they were essentially inviting her to try out acrobatics. They felt right. Twists and flips and lurching herself one way or the other all felt natural. But gliding did not. It was as if her wings weren¡¯t complete. They were fully grown, and none of her subsequent evolutions had anything to do with her wings ¡ª that she knew of ¡ª so she didn¡¯t know why they felt incomplete, but there was no shaking the sense that the way she was flying was¡­ limited. Well, even if it felt slightly off, it didn¡¯t detract from her newfound ability to defy gravity. Acrobatics felt better than gliding, so Nyx leaned into that. She used her wings to leap from tree to tree. She performed flips that her body would have collapsed attempting to perform only days ago. All too quickly, her body grew tired. Her wings may focus more of her weight at her core, making it easier to twist her body through the air, but even her recently improved body could only handle so much strain. She pivoted back to flight, regardless of the slight discomfort it brought. Her wings had not yet felt the slightest exhausted. Considering the trees didn¡¯t seem creepier than normal, she was rather confident she wasn¡¯t in any place with excessively powerful beasts, but still, it would be best to keep aware of her surroundings. What she was after was something to fight. Something that would actually strike back, but not be so much of a challenge that she was sure to die to any unlucky blow. Nyx was after a vitiate beast. As she flew in search, she fingered her name. After messing around with all those cultists, it hadn¡¯t really become any easier to tell what a curse did at the touch of it, but she could recognise some that were rather common. None of those were similar to her own curses, but the very fact that there were similarities between them gave her hope that reading them ¡ª and eventually her own ¡ª was possible. The three magnetic parts to ¡®N?x¡¯ were more than likely parts of her old curse and where they¡¯d integrated into the one. She was worried about opening any one part because she was worried that the effect might be different from before. An evolved curse was going to be stronger than what she had previously, after all; what if it took less effort on her part to ignite another Dark Star Event. Or her changes decided they wanted to push their way out once the door was ajar. They were all unlikely fears, but she didn¡¯t know for certain they wouldn¡¯t happen. She would need to test it out eventually, but for now, there was no need. Nyx already had all the weapons she needed in the claws of her hands. If she needed to push her mutations further than they already were, then her future already looked dire. Nyx swung her wings and jerked to a stop, her claws crashing deep into the trunk of a tree to hold her in place. There was a doe running her way. Or, it had been until she¡¯d made all that noise and had it run off to her side. She watched it flee, her chest eye accidentally burning a hole through the fur of its rump before she could focus on something else. Something less living. The creature looked uncorrupted. A normal animal running through the forest. It was supposedly not a rare sight down here, but Nyx hadn¡¯t exactly come down here often. And the one time she¡¯d found herself lost here, she¡¯d been in the depths of vitiate land. Before she could jump off the tree and resume her flight, the reason the doe had been running crashed through the underbrush. An oversized fox with glowing purple veins foamed at the mouth as it stomped through the bush. At first, it looked determined to follow after the deer, but it paused. Its nose twitched, and an instant later its head twisted to land on Nyx. Well, her wish had been fulfilled. A vitiate beast had come to her. Chapter 41: A Vitiate Heart Nyx didn¡¯t hesitate. Before she could spend too much time in her own mind, her wings snapped back, and she rocketed towards the fox. Claws held to her side, ready to rush forward and crush whatever she struck. The vitiate beast leapt to the side, barely avoiding her first arm, snarling all the while. Nyx¡¯s wings tried to slow her before she hit the ground, but she¡¯d been too committed to the blow. Her hands and knees struck earth together. Her claws took the blow easily, yet her arms collapsed behind them. She tumbled, head over ass. When she finally got her footing, her knees bled, but that wasn¡¯t her biggest problem. The fox¡¯s foaming jaw snapped for Nyx¡¯s neck. She reactively raised her arms, only for the horrid sound of teeth crunching on chitin to ring in her ears. Instead of whining or retreating after what had to be a painful bite, the vitiate grew vicious. Its head jerked and twisted, scraping its teeth along Nyx¡¯s hand. She threw her other arm forward, but the fox saw it immediately and leapt away. Not without leaving a dozen scratches from its claws on Nix¡¯s chest and arms. Her claw struck empty air. Putrid foam and saliva clung to her chitin, but she didn¡¯t take her eyes from the beast that now circled her. She shook her wrist, clearing most of it. The fox growled, bubbles inflated and popped through the foam dribbling from its mouth. Nyx was new to fighting, but she really shouldn¡¯t open her defences like that. As much as her wings and claws demanded they be used to their fullest extent, she couldn¡¯t throw everything behind them and expect results. She couldn¡¯t let her mutations direct her actions. Nyx controlled them; not the other way around. Her wings, claws, and eye were all strong. Too strong for the limited ability of her body. If she were to listen to every instinct they screamed at her when she fought, her body would be crippled before even the fox could kill her. She rose to her feet and glared at the beast. It didn¡¯t take kindly to the burning observation of her third eye, and immediately dashed forward. Ready this time, Nyx beat her wings and leapt over the vitiate fox. Her arm came down, and snipped. The feeling of flesh squishing beneath her fingers felt great, but as soon as the satisfaction came, she suppressed it. The beast howled as it tumbled. Its speed carried it into a series of rolls before it stilled after half a dozen metres. Nyx had cut cleanly through the beast¡¯s lower spine. She clicked her tongue. It had been the neck she¡¯d been aiming for; trying to synchronise the timing of both mutations was going to be a challenge. Unsurprisingly, the vitiate¡¯s crippled state was only temporary. As Nyx watched, the glowing purple blood flowed back into the wound, sealing it and reconnecting the spine. The fox¡¯s veins grew twice as bright. Now, even through flesh and bone, the glowing silhouette of its heart shone in the fox¡¯s chest. If the beast was feral before, it was undeniably savage now. Violet blood seeped into the foam flowing from its jaw as the fox¡¯s growls grew louder. Its pupils dilated and fixated on Nyx. Each thump of its heart pumped an intense purple glow all across its body. Soon enough, every vein and artery in the creature¡¯s body overlaid its form; the light shone through. Nyx¡¯s consuming eye never stopped observing, yet on top of the creature¡¯s resistance being far greater than K¡¯tan¡¯s, it healed everything it lost. As soon as the fox¡¯s spine knit itself back together and it regained control of its hind legs, it threw itself forward faster than Nyx could react. Ten metres became zero in the blink of an eye. She beat her wings and swung her claws, but the vitiate beast sailed over them easily. She was already moving back, but not fast enough. Fangs sunk into her shoulder. The teeth of the beast buried itself in her flesh for a mere instant before they were out¡­ only to slam down again. Three more times the rabid beast bit down into her shoulder before her claws smashed into its sides. The snap amputated both forelegs. Despite that, the creature continued to tear into Nyx¡¯s arm. Her eye burnt into its head, and claws cut into its side, but the fox continued its mauling unabated. Her back hit the ground, and finally she had a reprieve. The vitiate beast was flung over her head and without its front paws, it could do nothing to stop its head slamming into the soil. Ignoring the agony in her shoulder, Nyx threw herself at the creature. Her claws came forth and ripped into its flank while the purple blood was already closing up its shredded side and regrowing limbs. The fox twisted, trying to snap at her face. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. She¡¯d been expecting it this time. Her pincers clamped down just as the vitiate slammed its teeth into her chitin. The entire lower jaw was cleaved free. The fox fumbled for a moment, trying to bite into her despite no longer having the complete jaw to do so. Nyx shoved it off, ready to finish it before it could recover again. The violet light flowing from the beast was intense now. Its heart thumped a dozen times a second, and only seemed to build power with each moment. Then, she noticed the wounds stop healing. Nyx struck forward with her claws, but she was too late. The purple heart shone as bright as the Great Iris for an instant, before it exploded. Her arms raised to cover her face and her wings swept around her body. The blast of violet energy slammed into her. The next thing she knew, she was lying on her back, looking at foliage. To her sides, her wings lay limp; the feathers were in disarray and blood seeped through. Nyx lifted her head to look for the fox, but only found a crater with the surrounding underbrush destroyed. Not finding danger anywhere, her head slumped back to the ground. Her aching wings curled around her front, and she hugged them unconsciously. There were a dozen tiny shards embedded in them. She yanked one out, hissing away the pain, and found a small purple glass. A crystallised fragment of the strange blood that flowed through the vitiate. Nyx brushed her damaged feathers, and found there was an ever so slight purple glow to the veins that ran through them. Startled, she lifted her head again, and discovered the same violet tinge beneath her skin surrounding the numerous bite marks along her shoulder and upper arm. ¡°Lovely,¡± she groaned to the air before quickly moving into action. As her claws scraped out a ritual circle into the earth around her, she discovered that on her chest, her eye-gem¡¯s own glowing veins fought off the purple that encroached upon it. The crimson-violet of her mutation overpowered the lighter hued purple of the invading vitiate blood. They explode? Nyx thought, indignant. Why would anyone neglect such a detail? She¡¯d heard these creatures were good for teaching junior harbingers. She¡¯d known about the regeneration. It made them a difficult fight. But why had nobody ever mentioned that they explode? It seemed like something that ought to be shared. The ritual for toxin removal begun as soon as she let some of the blood flowing from her shoulder splash over the circle and began the hymn. It was highly unlikely the ritual would have worked under normal circumstances¡­ but like with the healing one, her blood empowered it to its limits. As expected, the purple vitiate blood receded from her veins. It dribbled down her wings and arm, crystallising as it fell to the earth. Her first visit to the Biovault this life, and she¡¯d already been infected. Well, at least she had a convenient method to clear it out. Not so many had that luxury. That was also the reason most didn¡¯t veer into the depths of the Biovault. Get an unlucky bite without a decent enough detox ritual, and you were doomed the same feral fate as all the beasts here. What made it worse, was that the deeper you went in the forest ¡ª beyond where the vitiate infected the trees ¡ª you needed far stronger rituals to keep yourself safe. Nyx doubted her current ritual ¡ª even boosted by her blood ¡ª could extract the vitiate of any greater density. Once the last droplet crawled out of her veins, she scrawled the circle for the ritual of wellness and begun that as well. As her wounds sealed, she sat up to watch the forest. Nothing remained of the fox besides the crystallised shards of blood embedded in tree trunks. Her wings hugged her tight again, thankfully having recovered enough that she could squeeze them without pain. Even if the beast exploding had been a shock, the battle had been an important learning experience. It was her first time fighting with her mutations working in conjunction. The chest eye was easy; it could burn away at her enemies independent of what she was doing with the rest of her body. But her wings and claws¡­ she needed to work on them. They were both incredibly beneficial, as without them she could never have taken down the vitiate fox. The problem was her inexperience. The instincts that seemingly came packed with the mutations could not accomplish all the things she wanted in that fight. She had no instincts for using the mutations in conjunction. Her primary example was that effort to leap over the fox and pincer its neck. She¡¯d missed by nearly a metre. It was mostly an issue with timing, but if she had hit her mark then, the fight would have been over before that purple blood overcharged its heart. Nyx considered whether it would be better to simply get used to using her mutations, or pushing forward for more vitiate beasts to fight. Until she managed to get her hands on a better detox ritual, she couldn¡¯t risk being bitten or scratched by any stronger infected creatures. But then again, she would learn much quicker by attacking more of the beasts. Considering her goals, the decision was obvious. She could fight now ¡ª and rather well, if she could say so herself ¡ª but it didn¡¯t help her main concern. Nyx needed a weapon to hide the claw marks she was almost certain to leave behind in her fights. Thankfully, the fox exploded. Nobody who happened across her would need to believe her stretch of a story that she¡¯d killed the beast with the tiny ritual dagger she held on her. Only a blade could explain her battles, so guns and many of the Fleshsmiths¡¯ stranger weapons wouldn¡¯t cut it. Not that there was much desire to use them. But blades weren¡¯t exactly cheap, and her allowance from the Rearing Ward was a mere pittance. Unless she wanted to wait a few months ¡ª which she didn¡¯t have ¡ª she would need to discover some way to make money for herself. But how? Nyx¡¯s eyes fell on the crater across from her. Ah. That could work. It wouldn¡¯t be much, and she would have to slaughter dozens ¡ª hundreds ¡ª but she already intended to fight the beasts. If she could kill the beasts without damaging the hearts ¡ª or letting them explode ¡ª then they would sell. Probably. The harbingers who usually hunted the creatures never found any value in their corpses, but most who came here probably already had the backing of a cult anyway. They didn¡¯t need whatever loose change they could get from lugging some beast parts back with them. Nyx did. Hopefully, they were valuable enough to get everything she needed. Chapter 42: Vitiate Barter "Nix! You¡¯re later than usual today. Something happen?¡± Nyx suppressed the urge to correct the man on her name. It wasn¡¯t something she wanted people to know about, no matter how much her soul desired to be called properly. ¡°I went to meet with a couple of friends,¡± she said. ¡°The overseers wouldn¡¯t let me in.¡± After almost a week without having seen them, Nyx had finally learnt where Dan and Ari had been relocated. She¡¯d tried to meet with them, but she¡¯d been turned away at the doors. ¡°Ah.¡± The short shop-owner nodded in understanding. ¡°The lockdowns are still in effect, then? You were lucky to avoid getting stuck in those metal boxes, I say. Nothing beneficial comes from hiding away from the world. They should let all the kids out already. Why, when I was a kid, I was diving in corruption so thick you could swim in it.¡± ¡°You were, huh?¡± Nyx doubted the slightly pudgy man had ever felt worse than it was now, with the Dark Star amplifying the corruption everywhere. ¡°Of course! I may have settled down and started my own business, but Old Arc?hei here was once a prime harbinger candidate, like yourself. I couldn¡¯t handle it.¡± He let out a laugh as if it were a nostalgic tale, rather than an admittance of failure. ¡°But I did learn a thing or two that helped me survive and make my business flourish.¡± Nyx glanced up at his ¡®shop¡¯. Compared to all the other establishments in the open archway that was the main entrance into the Biovault, Archei¡¯s was closer to a run-down stall than a proper shop. She¡¯d chosen to sell the vitiate hearts to him because he wasn¡¯t linked to the cults ¡ª at least not directly ¡ª and he hadn¡¯t tried to immediately scam her like the other two places she¡¯d tried. Though, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he was still majorly undercutting her¡­ but he¡¯d not asked questions. That itself was worth it. Despite all that, she couldn¡¯t imagine the knowledge he¡¯d gained would be all that useful if this was all he had to show for it. ¡°What sort of things?¡± she asked. He let out another laugh. ¡°Come Nix, you can¡¯t expect me to give away my secrets so easily. Old Arc?hei has worked hard for them.¡± Nyx rolled her eyes and took a step away. He couldn¡¯t be more than thirty, and he was determined to call himself an old man. The owner of the store besides him was twice his age. She readied herself for her daily jog to the forest depths beyond where most dared, but Archei stopped her. His eyes had found something over her shoulder, and as she turned to look, he continued. ¡°I will give you one lesson; avoid groups like that. Don¡¯t sell to them, don¡¯t interact with them, and don¡¯t dare get in their way.¡± Archei¡¯s voice was grave now. She found the focus of his sight: a group of five cultists strode through the plaza; ignoring all around them and focusing entirely on reaching the Biovault. Each of their hands lay on their flesh and steel weapons. Fleshsmiths. ¡°You can tell by the look in their eye,¡± Archei continued. ¡°They¡¯re on a mission. If there¡¯s one lesson you should learn, it is to avoid any harbinger when they are like that. Interrupting one in the hopes of a sale will have the flesh collectors coming for you.¡± As he said, the crowded market opened a path for the small group. None dared approach. Nyx was tempted to cast her sense out and feel for their names, but if she was unlucky enough to come across one that could detect her touch like Ep¡¯Nanorschi, then everything could be over in the blink of an eye. Soon, they were gone, and Nyx decided it was best to wait a few minutes before entering the Biovault after them. It would be only a few more days before she could afford a weapon. Just a few more bags of vitiate hearts. Nyx had not yet decided what weapon she wanted, but it had been narrowed down to either a rapier, or a set of butterfly swords. Considering all her power was in her fingers and wrists, she figured they would be the better options. The short butterfly swords would be perfect as a cover for the wounds she could inflict against the creatures she fought, but they would also perform exactly as her claws did. They would be a tool of deception, and nothing else. The rapier was the complete opposite. It gave her the option of range on top of how close and personal she could get with her claws. The weapon might take some time to learn, but it was almost certain to become beneficial in a way the misleading butterfly blades could not. But that highlighted the main problem; a rapier was a thrusting weapon, and her claws left slashes when they didn¡¯t cleave. ¡°Before you head off for today, let me make you a deal,¡± Archei said, snapping her out of her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ll pay twenty times what I have for the hearts if you bring back a live specimen.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Twenty¡­ couldn¡¯t you have said so days back?¡± ¡°You want me to feel responsible for some kid¡¯s death?¡± Nyx stared at the man for a moment. ¡°You didn¡¯t oppose me going into the vitiate region of the forest.¡± Archei shrugged, his pretence at being kind and caring shattered along with it. ¡°Alright, you got me. I cared more about losing a supplier. It¡¯s hard to get much of anything that isn¡¯t immediately snapped up by the cults. I figure you¡¯ve proved yourself capable enough not to die while capturing one.¡± The thought of needing to only take out one of those beasts to get a day¡¯s worth of funds was almost too good to pass up¡­ but capturing one of those things alive? She would be risking another explosion. She hadn¡¯t failed to stop them exploding since the first one. It was a simple matter of killing them before the healing effect of vitiate put too much strain on their bodies. But capturing them meant falling back into that possibility. ¡°Forty times,¡± Nyx said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Forty times the price of a heart.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fool yourself kid. Why would I pay that much for a basic vitiate beast?¡± ¡°Because otherwise its not worth my time.¡± Nyx shrugged. ¡°As you¡¯ve said, I¡¯m an aspiring harbinger; my main goal is to fight as many beasts as I can. If I need to capture one without allowing it to explode, then transport it all the way through the forest, I want to be properly compensated. And I¡¯m sure you know how feral the beasts can get.¡± Archei winced. Clearly he¡¯d been expecting her to be a bit more foolish than she was. ¡°Twenty five.¡± Nyx shook her head. ¡°Forty.¡± ¡°Thirty. My final offer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not budging.¡± Her primary goal wasn¡¯t money, after all. It was the power to take on the cults. Say it took half a day to capture and transport a living beast, that was half a day she couldn¡¯t spend improving herself. The man groaned and tilted his head back to glare at the massive metal arch overhead, as if that would help him. ¡°Fine,¡± he said, dropping his head to lock eyes with Nyx again. A scowl crossing his face. ¡°But nothing worthless. Only infected creatures above thirty kilos.¡± Ugh, that¡¯s going to be a pain to carry. ¡°Alright,¡± she said, turning to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll be back later.¡± She heard grumbling, but she paid him no mind as she made her way to the Biovault. There were thousands of people around, and no matter how Nyx tried to tell herself she was stronger than she used to be, the numbers surrounding her put her on edge. It reminded her too much of her last moments before death. There were too many eyes around, ready to spot her mutations at the first mistake she made. Her wings strained against the fabric of her new robe. They wanted to carry her away. She wanted to fly off and leave these countless people behind. Unfortunately, doing so would only give herself away. As she hurried through the plaza, the massive archway widened into the vast cavern of the Biovault. The shops dispersed only for tall glass cylinders to take their place. Within each, grew all the fruits, vegetables and spices that sustained the people of Coral. There were hundreds of the towers. All stretching between the ground and the ceiling. All arrayed in a perfectly repeating pattern for kilometres. Not wanting to waste any time, Nyx leapt into a jog through the corridor of biotowers. The Biovault was one of the most wide-spanning regions in the depths, and naturally had the most entrances. A vast majority of which where either secret or undiscovered. If she wanted, she could use the entrance closer to Tarchon¡¯s place that Little God showed her, but then she wouldn¡¯t be able to sell the vitiate hearts. Plus, she felt it better to keep hidden for emergencies. Even as she took the shortest path she knew to reach the vitiate infected area, it still took a long time before the number of workers reduced. With a mix of tech and ritualised automation, the biotowers needed almost no human interaction. But there was still an immense amount of work required to keep them running and corruption-free. That wasn¡¯t to mention the guards the cults placed around their own collections. Finally, Nyx knew she was approaching the forest when soil replaced the hard alloyed surface that made most of Coral¡¯s floors. She ran past a shattered biotower. At some point far in the past, its innards spilled out and drowned the formerly sterile surface with life. More and more of the towers had met the same fate, until Nyx ran through nothing but forest and all sign of man-made construction was gone. ¡°There are no eyes.¡± As soon as Nyx heard Little God¡¯s confirmation, she lifted her robe and snapped her wings wide. No matter how long she had them, the sensation of being bound never became easier. It reminded her far too much of the Fleshsmiths¡¯ chains that confined her so long. Nyx shot through the air to get far away from people as soon as she could. There was still that lingering sense that she was missing something, but flight felt so good it was easy to push the discomfort aside. Considering Archei accepted that price, there was no way she would miss out on such an opportunity. Even if she would struggle to carry a creature that approached her own body weight ¡ª not to mention the added difficulty of it being feral ¡ª it wasn¡¯t even a question that she would attempt it. She needed the money. Weaving through the trees, it took her no time at all to come across the first vitiate beast. The rabbit lunged for Nyx¡¯s throat instantly. The little buggers were quick, and if she hadn¡¯t been keeping an eye on where she was flying, the small mammal would have cut through her tender flesh with ease. Instead, all that met the rabbit was the hard chitin of her pincer. A half-dozen chunks of flesh sailed through the air behind Nyx, but she didn¡¯t stop. Even if the rabbit¡¯s heart remained intact, Archei wouldn¡¯t accept something so small. Nyx cut through a dozen more creatures as she flew through the forest; all too small for what she needed, but some had hearts worth stopping to collect. Compared to just days ago, the task of killing the vitiate had become a chore. Her improved coordination between wings and claws made even the stronger infected beasts fall in an instant. It was simply a matter of getting close and cutting off their heads. She was ready to push into the deeper part of the forest and find some larger beasts, when Little God spoke up. ¡°Observers approach.¡± Nearly faltering right after take-off, she recovered and landed again. As quickly as she could, she tucked her wings away and covered her third eye. She pulled out the ritual knife from her robe and relied on the natural toned nail-paint to hide the nature of her claws. All too soon, they arrive. Fleshsmiths. Five of them. The same ones she¡¯d been told to avoid not an hour ago. Chapter 43: Come Along Nicely ¡°That¡¯s quite the mess you¡¯ve made,¡± One of the Fleshsmiths said as he walked from the line of trees. His gaze locked on the headless corpse of a wombat Nyx had just butchered. ¡°You do all that with that tiny knife?¡± Nyx stepped back as she watched the four other cultists spread out and surround her. Two of them had guns; a rifle and a side-arm. Both barrels were steel, but the firing mechanisms and chambers had been replaced by flesh and snarling mouths. The three other cultists ¡ª speaker included ¡ª held more melee focused weapons. As with all Fleshsmith tools, they were disturbing mixes of metal and life from the Darkness. I knew they would try something, but this soon? She¡¯d thought that with the Dark Star and her apparent proximity to the Technocult, the Fleshsmiths would wait a good month before acting. Moving now was bound to draw attention. So why? Was this about getting retribution on K¡¯tan, or did they want to take her as a sacrifice? ¡°Fuck me, she¡¯s absolutely got a name related to cutting.¡± A woman ¡ª the only one of the group ¡ª kicked the dead vitiate beast. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy since your naming,¡± the first cultist stated. He lazily twirled a bladed spike at the end of a rope; a rope entirely constructed of muscular fibres. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have been two weeks since.¡± Ah, so I¡¯m not lucky enough for all info about me to have died along with the K¡¯tan. Nyx winced. Now, just how good of a sacrifice do they think I am? ¡°What do you want?¡± she snapped her head to the cultist with a club that was veering out of her peripheral. ¡°No need to be so guarded. We are simply here to invite you into the fold.¡± The speaker snapped his hand and caught the handle of his rope dart while spreading both arms wide. ¡°The upper creeds heard about how you struck down your own overseer after he tried to sacrifice you. Very impressive. They¡¯ve decided to allow K¡¯tan¡¯s death to be water under the bridge when you join us.¡± Ah, so it isn¡¯t only my value as a sacrifice they know about. ¡°No.¡± All of the Fleshsmiths halted. Their speaker himself blinked, leaving his jaw hanging. ¡°What?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not joining the Fleshsmiths.¡± She¡¯d considered the possibility of infiltrating one of the cults to take them down from the inside, but it was simply not something she believed she could do. She didn¡¯t want to help those bastards at all. Even if it led to their eventual downfall. More than likely, it would only make her do something rash. ¡°Kid, I don¡¯t think you understand your position.¡± The woman besides the wombat corpse said. She¡¯d walked closer than the last time Nyx had looked. Her toothy sabre clung to her waist with a dozen semi-formed fingers, but with how her hand rested on it, she was ready to attack at any moment. ¡°You¡¯ve already been discarded by the other cults. This is your only option.¡± The man with the rifle agrees. ¡°Few who go cultless achieve much. None of those live long.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not joining the Fleshsmiths.¡± How many times did she have to say it? ¡°Leave.¡± Finally, the rope dart cultist got a hold over his shock and sighed. ¡°Alright, let me make this clear; you either come with us willingly, or we make you.¡± At that, the two gunmen levelled their weapons towards Nyx, while the woman and the burly club wielder strode towards her with their own in hand. She¡¯d already scanned their names. None were more than their second evolution, but they were harbingers; they almost certainly had names related to combat. Even the two amongst them on their first evolution ¡ª the same as herself ¡ª were surely leagues apart from anything she¡¯d fought before. ¡°Don¡¯t do this,¡± Nyx warned. Her eyes darted between each of the Fleshsmiths and landed on Little God. As always, he observed. She couldn¡¯t rely on any help coming from him. If she was going to get out of this alive, she had to save herself. There was no world she would let the Fleshsmiths capture her. Not again. ¡°Give up,¡± their leader spoke again. ¡°I am on my third evolution. There is no winning for you. No matter how good your additive might be.¡± She could run, but the only way she¡¯d be able to outpace adults ¡ª any adult ¡ª was by revealing her wings. Doing so would mean that even if she survived today, her future was doomed. If she fought, she was bound to lose. No matter how well she could wield her knife with her improved wrist strength, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to take on one of these cultists. Not to mention all of them. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. No. There was only one option for Nyx. Only one way she could survive. She lowered her hands, dropped her eyes, and let the two approach without a fight. A mumbled ¡®thank you¡¯ came from the club wielder to her left, but she ignored it. She was too stressed to care about him. This was it. ¡°None of you will survive.¡± Nyx was sure the woman besides her made some sort of response, but she¡¯d already stopped listening. Her arm flung forward, throwing the knife to the rifleman, while simultaneously tearing open every curse permeating the pistol user¡¯s name. Immediately, he doubled over, puking. A hand clamped down on Nyx¡¯s shoulder. The woman tried to push her down, but it was already too late. Claws clamped around her neck. The ripping sound of wings tearing through cloth accompanied the thud of a decapitated head impacting earth. Before the screams began, Nyx¡¯s wings beat. By the time the screams struck, her claws had already pierced through the rifleman¡¯s chest. It all happened in a moment. She could hardly believed it had worked. Two harbingers dead at her hands before they could so much as blink. She watched as the life fled the eyes that stared at her in horror. He slumped, and she tried to pull her arm out of his torso but found too much resistance before his weight crashed down on top of her. She jerked her hand, but couldn¡¯t push him off her. ¡°K¡¯faa?l? K¡¯faa?l!¡± Nyx heard over someone¡¯s screaming. No matter how surprising it was that her plan went off without a hitch, she was still surrounded by three Fleshsmiths. Distraught Fleshsmiths that likely no longer cared to capture her alive. She was a sitting duck trapped as she was. It was useless trying to pull her arm out of the man, so she took the other ¡ª more gruesome ¡ª option. Her pincers began to slice through flesh. The feeling of cutting bone and muscle was gratifying, yet it clashed with the disgusting sloppy sound and knowledge that this man was alive only seconds ago. She loved the feeling, but also felt a discorporate horror that she could do so without any hesitance. Finally, she cut out of his side, and used her wings to push the corpse off her. The cultist with the baton had collapsed over the woman¡¯s body, scrambling to put her head back on. It was him who¡¯d been screaming. Nyx felt pain before she heard the gunshot. She spun, diving out of the way of the next volley. But they hit anyway. Somehow, the cultist¡¯s bullets curved towards her. His name, probably. She beat her wings again, and closed the distance in an instant. He couldn¡¯t fire off another burst before her claws cut off his hand. Through the agony of the bullet wounds riddling her wings, she struck out again. This time intending to kill. A short blade pierced her arm just below where it became chitin, and yanked her back before her stroke could land. She fumbled, but held her feet as the sharp blade of the rope dart pulled free of her arm. Nyx turned and raised her arm just in time to knock aside the blade that came for her head. ¡°K¡¯roan?e! Get up! This is not the time to grieve.¡± Despite not being the target of his speech, the rope-dart cultist¡¯s eyes never left the teenager. Nyx moved her wings to throw herself at the speaker, but her intent was not well hidden. The cultists swung that rapid moving knife around his body and flung it her way. She tried to use her hands to block it again, but a pulse along the rope of muscle suddenly had the blade spinning in mid-air, only to drop beneath her guard and cut through her side. As long as it wasn¡¯t too bad of a wound, she was determined to continue forward. But a wave of¡­ something, some power, washed through the blade and suddenly sent her spinning back into a row of trees. She groaned as she rolled along the earth. That felt like she was struck by a trolley. One filled with to the brim with metal. And the attitude of a bull. Whatever his name, it was clear his evolutions had been focused around the use of his rope dart. She doubted it was the blade itself that sent her sprawling. Rising to her feet again, she eyed the twirling blade that spun around the cultist¡¯s body without any seeming rhyme or reason. Any attack head on would just get her struck again. Instead, she tugged down the skulk shroud and observed the Fleshsmith. He felt the effects immediately, and spun his blade out ahead of him, as if creating a shield from her. Of course, he was quick to learn that didn¡¯t stop her sight. Flesh from his face broke down and floated through the air towards her, gathering near her eye before being swallowed. Unfortunately for Nyx, this effect made it far too easy for the cultist to discover the cause, and he reacted accordingly. An explosion of dust filled the air. Whether a name, or some Fleshsmith tool, Nyx didn¡¯t know, but it blocked her sight. Her sternum eye had to jump from one mote to the next to burn through the cloud. She could pierce through; it would just take some time. Before she had the chance, the blade spun out from within the cloud of dust that continued to roll towards her. It darted in from the right. She turned her focus on the muscle strands forming the rope, and worked to eat through it. If she could sever the rope, the cultist wouldn¡¯t have his weapon to strike her with whatever his name could do. But, of course, the fleshy rope just had to be able to recreate itself even in mid swing. She beat her wings, and made some more space from the encroaching whips of the blade out from the dust cloud, but a flash of light from her left caught her attention. K¡¯roane, the other cultist, had finally risen from the corpse of the woman. She could only barely make him out through the dust, but she immediately grew wary when she saw his cudgel momentarily ignite with a tongue of flame that coloured the dust red with it¡¯s illumination. Yet, it wasn¡¯t his club that worried her most. His eyes glowed with hatred. Like cinders, they shone with a dull red light, but there was no mistaking the fury. The cudgel ignited again, and this time a horrid stench of burning flesh wrung her nose and wouldn¡¯t let her free. As his weapon burned, the flesh writhed. Sharp claws of unfortunate, long dead beasts scraped out from the mass of flesh, as if to escape the cinders flowing through the blade that they were now bound. Nyx had been lucky to kill two in the first second. She¡¯d also disabled the other gunman. Despite that, these two knew to take her seriously. They were going to do everything they could to kill her where she stood. This was where the real fight started. Chapter 44: Fleshsmith Harbingers Nyx faced down the two Fleshsmiths that stalked towards her. Both men¡¯s weapons were daunting to oppose, and she somehow had to take them on together. A cudgel with cinders channelled along the metal and burning all flesh that clung to it swung through the air. The cultist practising his strikes. Or trying to intimidate her. Unsurprisingly for a weapon designed for such a gruesome purpose, while the tissue trembled beneath the fire, it didn¡¯t truly melt away. Flesh burned as it was intended to. The short blade darted in and out of the cloud of dust. Each time it appeared, it struck out from a new direction, completely unpredictably. The long rope of muscle connecting the weapon to its user often tensed, snapping the weapon like a whip and altering its trajectory. Yet that alone wasn¡¯t terrible. It was the unknown nature of the cultist¡¯s name that worried her most. Nyx spread her wings. They protested at the pain of a dozen bullet-wounds riddling their length. Blood flowed freely, and showed no sign of coagulating. A name ability? Nyx thought, looking down on the blood pooling beneath her feet. Could those bullets do more than simply veer my way? Lucky I took him out quick. She glanced the way of the pistol-user. He was kneeling on the earth, clutching at his stub of a hand. Even if he did stop agonising over the loss, Nyx had cleaved through the weapon; there was no threat of him rejoining. Well, she didn¡¯t consider him completely harmless. He was still a harbinger. But she needed to focus on the primary threats and deal with him later. The club Fleshsmith, K¡¯roane, finally decided that looking menacing would get him nowhere and rushed forward. Instantly, Nyx was airborne. Despite the ache of her wings, they sky was her domain. Without their two gunmen, she was untouchable up here. A flying rope-dart immediately proved that wrong. She pivoted away, but the trajectory of the blade shifted into an arc as it followed her. Another beat of her wings, and she backflipped over the weapon. Something she¡¯d gotten rather good at with the past few days of practice. What followed, was also something she¡¯d worked to perfect. Her claws snapped forward, and clamped down on her target. The muscular rope severed. The blade flung through the air, no longer bound by the flesh that connected it to its user. But Nyx wasn¡¯t unaffected. A heavy weight smashed into her chitinous fingers and blew them ¡ª and herself ¡ª back. If her hands weren¡¯t so hard, she was sure they¡¯d be broken. So his ability didn¡¯t focus on the weapon itself? Just anything he touched? There was obviously more limits than that as he hadn¡¯t struck her through the earth, but it meant he was likely able to do the same in close quarters. If she was going to end him, it needed to be quick. Not that she really had any other way. Her eye continued to try and eat through the dust, but there was always more blowing outward. The cultist¡¯s ability obviously not a one time deal. Fortunately, with how dense it was at the centre, it was rather obvious where the man hid. She set her claws at her hips, ready to pounce, and waited. When the cultist¡¯s muscle rope whipped out ¡ª frustratingly reconnecting with the severed blade above ¡ª Nyx beat her wings and crashed through the thickest part of the dust cloud. Her pincers struck¡­ but there was no cultist to be seen. Her claws pierced through a small mound of muscle coiled like a snake, and tore them to ribbons, but the rope-dart wielder was gone. Nyx beat her wings to disperse the fog, but she was too late to react. The last piece of unshredded rope reached up to touch her, only for another weight to smash into her side. She was sent flying. It felt like a club had hit her. Then, a club truly did hit her. Before her wings could gain any sort of control over her, the glowing cudgel burst through the dust and crushed her other side. Nyx didn¡¯t know how many times she rolled, but by the time she stilled, one wing was pinned uncomfortably beneath her back. She had broken ribs. How many was unknown, but she was certain with the stabbing pain in her chest that there were at least a few. A few hacking coughs spilled blood from her lips. She spat to the side as K¡¯roane walked towards her, cinders burning through not only his club, but his own legs. Is that how he¡¯d reached her so quick? It was clearly painful for the man, and he seemed to hobble while the glowing heat slowly fled his own flesh. Why is it taking so long? Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. She didn¡¯t want to have to grow any more mutations, and relying on another Dark Star here in the Biovault would be labelling herself as the cause to not just the Fleshsmiths, but all the other cults that currently had no interest in her. There would be too much evidence to link her. She had intended to beat them with her current power¡­ yet her plan was falling apart. Nyx scowled as the first cultist appeared from the dust. Far from where she¡¯d thought he hid. His rope dart was fully back in working order despite her efforts to shred through the muscle. He approached besides his companion, but it was clear he was being wary despite her prone form. ¡°You could have just come with us,¡± he spat. ¡°The upper creeds wanted you alive. We were escorts. That¡¯s it. But no, because you had to go and kill them, this will end in nothing but pain for you.¡± Even as her chest protested, Nyx couldn¡¯t help the laughter that bubbled out her throat. ¡°You think I wouldn¡¯t have been sacrificed?¡± He opened his mouth, but she didn¡¯t let him reply. ¡°Besides, their deaths don¡¯t matter. Yours don¡¯t. You¡¯re all Fleshsmiths; you were all going to die whether you met me today or not.¡± Her grin seemed to set him off. He snapped the blade from the rope into his hands, and stormed towards her. ¡°You still think you can win? I don¡¯t know what you are, but it¡¯s about time someone taught you how the world works outside the wards. You don¡¯t cross the cults.¡± He swung the rope end of his weapon, clearly intending to torture her before she died, but Nyx only laughed in his face. About fucking time. ¡°Are you sure this is your win?¡± Despite her words and confident grin, the cultist didn¡¯t so much as narrow his eyes. He didn¡¯t believe her¡­ until K¡¯roane screamed. As the cultist spun to his partner who had the fangs of an amalgamation sinking into his shoulder, Nyx struck. With all the force her wing could enable, she closed the distance in an instant. His ankles gave no resistance. The man screamed as he fell, but somehow, he found the will to throw his blade back at her. She rose her arms in defence, but it didn¡¯t stop her being thrown backwards like an explosion erupted beneath her. Her wings caught air, and she landed on her feet. Everything ached. Her arms, chest, and wings all felt like they were on fire, but she still managed to keep her head straight and legs beneath her. As the cultist wailed and clutched at his amputated legs, he kept enough presence of mind to know he was still in danger. He felt the moment her chest eye began to eat into his head, and another explosion of dust shot out from him. A second later the rope-dart cracked towards Nyx. She didn¡¯t want to fall prey to his name ability once more, so she beat her hurting wings and rushed to the side. Her claws could withstand the blows, but the rest of her body couldn¡¯t. Unlike before, the blade didn¡¯t curve to follow after her. He was unable to stand; so when she rocketed forward, this time, he was right where she thought he would be. In an instant, he realised his blade missed and her sharp claws were coming for his throat, so he abandoned his weapon, and swung his arms. His hand touched Nyx¡¯s shoulder, and sent her spiralling away. But not before she¡¯d cut through the tender flesh beneath his jaw. Sounds of sputtering reached Nyx as her wings caught her again ¡ª she was getting rather good at pulling herself out of a spiral before she crashed now ¡ª and through the dispersing dust, she found the harbinger clutching at his neck. He was unable to stop the blood. Leaving him to die, Nyx turned to the other cultist. The man roared as he swung his club through a pair of amalgamations. The burning flesh cut and scorched the bodies of the unnatural animalistic forms. Some swings crushed them. Other swings left nothing but ashen remains. He was bleeding far too little for someone who¡¯d been struck in the neck by such large fangs only seconds ago, and cleaved through each amalgamation with ease. Fighting beasts like that was clearly something he was used to, but their numbers kept coming. They endlessly rose from Nyx¡¯s blood. The same blood she¡¯d been spreading through the forest ever since the first bullet pierced her wings. K¡¯roane could handle the amalgamations, but it left him distracted. One more time, she beat her wings. One more time, her claws took a life. The harbinger never saw her coming, but he did feel the jolt. He did see the claws poking out from the front of his chest right before they crashed inwards and shattered his ribcage. Nyx knew better this time, and pulled her arm free before the heavy man could crush her with his weight. The embers cooled in his cudgel as it fell by his side. Now that he was dead, all the amalgamations turned their attention to her. Thankfully, there were none she couldn¡¯t handle. None as large as a trolley¡­ or worse. But the longer she left the pools to grow, the greater the chance would be. So, instead of cutting down the creatures immediately, she flew through the forest and spilled droplets from a vial. She¡¯d found the substance amongst a bunch of Tarchon¡¯s other equipment, and taken it for herself. Nyx assumed it was fine. If he minded, then it was his fault he hadn¡¯t returned to tell her she couldn¡¯t. Only when the pools of her blood had stabilised and no longer boiled did she rush down the remaining amalgamations and end their existences. They were much easier to defeat than the Fleshsmiths had been. Once she was done, she returned to the corpses. The rope-dart wielder had apparently not died right away; his arm was mid scrawl of a ritual circle when he¡¯d bled his last drop. Depending on the ritual, that could have been disastrous. If he¡¯d decided to try taking her down with him, he could have summoned some horrid monster from the Darkness. She would need to make sure her targets were dead from now on. Who knew what some of the stronger cultists could do if they became desperate enough. Speaking of¡­ where is that gunman? Nyx glanced to the pool of blood where she¡¯d sliced off the man¡¯s hand. The cultist and his hand were gone, but the broken remnants of his handgun remained. Oh, that isn¡¯t good. ¡°Eyeball, where is the fifth?¡± Her observer spun its eye away from her to search through the forest. ¡°Running.¡± ¡°Okay, and where is he running.¡± It certainly wasn¡¯t the main entrance to the Biovault. Little God tilted his body. ¡°Aimlessly?¡± Nyx snorted and fell to her knees. She groaned as she sketched the circle of that basic healing ritual. The agony in her ribs and wings was horrible, and she needed to recover before she chased after him. The cultist could be searching for one of the many secret exits, so she couldn¡¯t have this ritual take long. A few minutes at most. Once she healed, she would hunt him down. Nobody would learn of what happened here. Nyx would kill any that learnt of her mutations. Chapter 45: The Invow K¡¯lon ran for his life. The mission was supposed to be simple: guide a kid to their main temple, and protect her from any of the other cults. They had a reason to believe the Technocult was already interested in her, and while none of the others had given any indication, it was possible they could interfere. Really, just another Monday. All they needed to do was encourage the girl to join them ¡ª by threat if necessary ¡ª and lead her through the depths. It should have been easy. The girl even spent most of her time alone, which cut out the most annoying part of these types of missions. Nothing should have gone wrong. But it did. It all went so horribly wrong. The girl was a monster. They should have realised something was wrong from the start. Between the shredded vitiate beast and her all too calm demeanour, warning bells should have blared in his head. But no. K¡¯lon, along with the rest of his team had assumed it was the arrogance of a kid who gained an impressive additive and had yet tasted defeat. He knew all too well what that was like. Yet, in an instant, the world flipped on its head. K¡¯lon¡¯s curse reared itself to the back of his throat faster and more intense than he¡¯d ever felt. He couldn¡¯t hold it back. A vile taste clawed up the back of his tongue and he puked. Doubled over, his stomach emptied itself, but he remained aware as everything unfolded. Nix ¡ª the supposed cursed girl that looked like a twig and weighed half as much ¡ª decapitated K¡¯faal. She was dead before she could react. K¡¯lon doubted his eyes. It was easier to believe he¡¯d been cursed with hallucinations than what he saw before him. K¡¯faal, the woman fast enough to deflect bullets, died before she could so much as twitch. K¡¯lon had blinked, trying to comprehend what he saw, but the girl had disappeared. What he found instead, was the demonic appearance of huge black wings sprouting from her back where she crouched on the chest of his fellow gunman. She¡¯d crossed the distance in a second. Only when K¡¯lon¡¯s friend collapsed did he realised the girl¡¯s arm cleaved through his chest. They were not facing a human. This was a monster. Something worse than he¡¯d ever faced. He¡¯d only been a part of this team for a few months now, and they¡¯d taken on plenty of dangerous hunting grounds. After he¡¯d been almost fatally wounded in the Trials a few years back, it had taken him a while to catch anyone¡¯s eye. But once he had, he¡¯d been able to evolve. He¡¯d been able to join this team. Now, with all the experience he¡¯d had with these four around him, a second evolution was in sight. K¡¯lon had been in plenty of dangerous situations, but never had he felt such visceral fear. So sure that death was upon him. Not when his arrogance had been wiped in the Trials. Not even when he¡¯d had the chance to stare down into the core of Darkness below Coral. No, this fear was immediate. He ran through the forest with his dismembered hand cradled to his chest. A ritual painted onto a scroll he¡¯d kept for emergencies had stemmed the bleeding of his stub, but he barely paid it any mind. That monster was after him. He just knew it. A flash of the instant he¡¯d lost his hand lingered in his mind. The visage of a young girl was terribly deceptive. Even ignoring the claws and wings that stood out on her feeble form, it was her eyes that he couldn¡¯t forget. Intent and hateful. She had shown no hesitance when she struck. It was nothing like the mindless viciousness of beasts, phantoms and spawn. He¡¯d faced someone who¡¯d been intent to kill him before, but not even he had shown the single-minded desire for murder he¡¯d seen in that monster. She¡¯d killed his team. Those black-turned-crimson wings flitting across the battlefield to stab K¡¯roane in the back while he was distracted was the last he could handle before he¡¯d ran. Everyone in K¡¯lon¡¯s team was stronger than himself. He knew that, and had hoped to change that over time, but now they were all dead. A girl he knew to only have just received her name had slaughtered them all. Whether she was possessed by some greater being, or it was something pretending to be human, it was not something he could fight. He felt like a coward for fleeing, but this wasn¡¯t something he could handle. Not when she killed a third creed. Something shifted in the trees to his right. K¡¯lon jolted and nearly tripped, but when he looked again, there was nothing. Was he seeing things? Or was that monster already chasing him down? The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. There had been no thought when he¡¯d begun running. He¡¯d just chosen a direction and fled. Now he didn¡¯t know if he should continue this way, or work back around to the main entrance. Even through the pain-induced fear, he worried that going for the increased populous was too obvious an answer. If she was waiting for him to go that way, he was doomed. But if she had a way to follow him, he was doomed anyway. He groaned, and wished he at least had a second weapon as he shifted his path towards the biotowers. He should have kept his old one as a back up, but the new, cult-crafted gun had enraptured him too much. Another black shadow flit between the trees in his peripheral, and for the first time in K¡¯lon¡¯s life, he wished it was a phantom. At least with a phantom, he might have some idea what he was dealing with. The girl, or whatever was pretending to be her, was an absolute unknown. And everyone knew the unknown had to be revered, and feared. K¡¯lon stopped running when he next glimpsed black and red between the thick foliage. She was above him now, and no matter how fast he ran, there was no escape. He backed away from where he¡¯d seen her. His eyes flickered to every moving leaf. There was a crunch behind him, and he twisted, throwing the only thing he had with all the flesh consuming power he had. It was only an instant after the amputated hand left his fingers that he realised what he¡¯d thrown. He watched the hand sail through the air. The fingers splayed as they spun, and whatever droplets of blood hadn¡¯t yet been squeezed out of it when he¡¯d clutched it to his chest now trailed behind. Fuck! How stupid was he? The automatic lock-on that he¡¯d focused his first evolution around found its target. Despite K¡¯lon not able to see the girl, his hand chased after her. At least, it did for a second, before it melted into motes of flesh that dissipated into the bush. K¡¯lon didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry at the erasure of his hand. It had simply ceased to be. Destroyed before the power he¡¯d flooded it with could do any damage. No longer did he know what to do. He could begin a hymn and try to draw a circle of one of the few useful rituals he¡¯d been given¡­ but there was no chance she would just stand around while he tried. It all seemed hopeless, so he did the only thing he could. He dropped to his knees. He bowed his head. And worshipped. He didn¡¯t know if she was a god, a monster, or simply some twisted experiment, but if he prostrated himself, there was the possibility of survival. If he showed his subservience, and Invowed loyalty into his name and soul, then no matter what she was, monster or god, as long as she was intelligent, she would take him on as an eternal servant. The sharp prick at the back of his neck sent him stiff. There was also a horrible burning sensation at the back of his head, but that disappeared as soon as it began. ¡°What are you doing?¡± he heard. Her voice that of a siren-call; young and innocent, yet hiding terrible danger great enough to wipe out third evolution harbingers. ¡°I give myself to you. Tell me your name, and I will Invow it into my own.¡± ¡°You would make yourself an eternal slave for the sake of survival?¡± K¡¯lon heard the disgust in her voice, and he suddenly doubted himself. Did he really, truly wish to sign away his very soul to cling to the rotten life he had here on Coral? As much as he hated himself for it, the answer was clear. ¡°Yes.¡± The monster snorted in either amusement or disgust. He couldn¡¯t tell; he refused to glance back at her with the blade at his neck. ¡°Alright. It¡¯s N?x. Carve that into your heart.¡± The moment she said her name, the prick at the back of his neck pierced skin. The threat was clear. K¡¯lon took a breath, and gathered himself for the biggest choice of his life. Slowly, he reached down and etched the pentagram into the soil beneath him. It was a simple thing, not even all that necessary for this ritual. The lines were only there to support his focus and direct his will when he truly dedicated himself to this decision. When that was done, he began the oath. It was a short thing for a ritual of such immense, life-changing properties. The Invow was not something that could ever be considered a normal ritual. It was an etching into your soul; only if you truly wished for it, would it work. No form of coercion could invoke an Invow. ¡°My body, mind and soul belong to the one named N?x.¡± As soon as he felt her name etching into his own, K¡¯lon knew he made a mistake. Where before, her name sounded like any other, he now had an intimate and instinctual feeling for it. It felt sick. It was like his own curse, but wrapped up in a million more only to be shot into the depths of the black hole and rot for an aeon. He now despised his connection to her, but also loved her. She terrified him, but also shone like a saviour. To K¡¯lon, N?x was his god. ¡°Huh. Now that¡¯s interesting.¡± The claw at the back of his neck was gone, and he hesitantly risked a glance at his god. She was the same as before ¡ª a winged human with deadly claws ¡ª but now he could see a shadow looming over her. It was barely perceptible, completely unreal, and emanated from the scar of her name in his. Another small cloud of darkness loomed over her shoulder, separate from the rest of the shadow, that took on the shape of a sphere. As he stared up at her, he knew he could never go against her. He would worship her forever. But she had suddenly grown eternally more terrifying for reasons he could not grasp. ¡°Teach me the rituals of the Fleshsmiths.¡± There was no hesitance. K¡¯lon complied. ¡°Tell me how much the cult knows of me.¡± There was no hesitance. K¡¯lon complied. ¡°Climb into the ritual circle, and sacrifice yourself for me.¡± There was no hesitance. K¡¯lon complied. As he drove the blade through his heart, he knew this was his end. His god would consume his soul to empower herself, and he would cease to be. This was the very thing he wanted to avoid by Invowing her name, yet he did so willingly. He commit sacrificial-suicide with a smile on his face. This was the sole purpose for his existence. Chapter 46: Balance of Timers Nyx slumped into the grass with a groan. Despite benefiting from both the ritual of wellness and the empowerment of a self-sacrifice, she still felt beaten up. All her wounds had closed, yet she was sure her ribs were still broken. Some cartilage in her wings might also not have healed properly, as they were agony to stretch. She sneered at the dried husk of K¡¯lon where he lay in the burn grass a few metres from her. His name had appeared in her mind despite how little she had cared to learn it. The Invow gave an instinctual knowledge of the man. Her own name hadn¡¯t changed at all, but it felt like he¡¯d opened a hole in his own soul large enough for her to reach her hand through and fiddle as she pleased. She still hardly believed the man had actually done it. Never, no matter how one would torture her, would Nyx have swore herself to another like that. Even if she believed it would save her from her confinement and sacrifice. The very idea that the Fleshsmith had given up his soul for a slim chance of survival bewildered her. But she didn¡¯t complain. Because the cowardly man had made such a foolish mistake, she¡¯d gotten everything she could have hoped for out of the man. It was so much better than torture. She could be absolutely certain that the knowledge he shared was not at all an attempt to mislead her, or obscure details. Well, it was possible what he knew was wrong, but that was besides the point. The choice disgusted her. K¡¯lon had desired nothing more than to live. He¡¯d committed himself to eternal worship of her to simply avoid Nyx¡¯s claws. If she wanted, she could have used him as an infiltrator in the cult. Someone on the inside that could send her information or push to rise through the ranks so she could take down the Fleshsmiths from within. She could have done that. There would be no doubt about his loyalty and dedication. But K¡¯lon was a Fleshsmith. Life ¡ª especially with how much he desired it ¡ª was not something he deserved. It was not something she would bend on. Not even when she knew it was smarter to use the man for her long term benefit. Should any of the cults decide to follow her ¡ª decide to worship her as this fool had ¡ª that would not save them from their sins. Besides, having the cultist kill himself blessed her with far more immediate benefits. Despite being of the same evolution as K¡¯tan, K¡¯lon¡¯s death fuelled Nyx¡¯s name and body with so much more energy. She didn¡¯t know if it was simply the benefit of the self-sacrifice, or the greater number of components in each additive, but she was very happy with how strong it made her feel afterwards. ¡­If only her broken ribs didn¡¯t detract from the feeling. She¡¯d stolen a bunch of the Fleshsmiths¡¯ rituals from his mind too. A better ritual of wellness; which had apparently been what the rope-dart cultist had been trying to perform. Not a monster summoning, which she¡¯d feared. Most of their rituals seemed to be about their weapons; either creating them, or adapting to the flesh so they didn¡¯t try to bite their wielder. As a harbinger rather than a craftsman, K¡¯lon hadn¡¯t cared for the former, and his recreations for Nyx had been very clearly wrong. Nyx had just killed a team of harbingers. It hardly felt real. She¡¯d ended each of their existences without needing to rely on the extreme option of a Dark Star Event. While she hadn¡¯t left the fight unharmed, murdering each of the cultists with her own hands had felt great. It was proof that she could do this. Her efforts to grow and eventually take down the cults weren¡¯t beyond the scope of reality. She wasn¡¯t happy that she needed to rely on her mutations to have achieved this, but nothing else offered her such strength. Thankfully, from the mouth of K¡¯lon, the Fleshsmiths had not yet discovered her true worth. They were interested in her, but not enough to send one of their higher creed harbingers. That would change. There would be no way she could hide the deaths of the cultists. It would be easy to cover it up as them coming across a beast they couldn¡¯t handle ¡ª and she wholly intended to do so ¡ª but the Fleshsmiths would be suspicious. They would send another team, and when those didn¡¯t return, Nyx could expect them to pull out the stops. Nyx¡¯s timer was no longer just how long she could keep her mutations hidden; it now counted down to the point the Fleshsmiths took her seriously. What could she do? Would it be alright to continue as she had? Slowly gaining experience with her mutations by hunting vitiate beasts until she eventually gained new names? Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. No. Even if she¡¯d improved rapidly in the past few days, it hadn¡¯t been fast enough. She needed to constantly push herself. Any lapse in effort would land her too weak to face the cults when they inevitably came. Spending half the day carrying a vitiate through the forest would be a waste of time, even if she needed the money. Her time was far more precious. Nyx needed to use it wisely. Though, she still needed that weapon¡­ She couldn¡¯t stay appeased with the slightly feral beasts at the fringes of the forest. She needed to dive deeper. She needed to hunt the true dangers of the Biovault. The creatures everyone stayed away from. But would that be enough? Even if she found the perfect hunting grounds that no other harbinger of her strength would dare take on, was it even possible to gather the personal strength required to fight them off in such a short time? Say she broke records and reached a third evolution within only a few months. That wouldn¡¯t come close to protecting her from the upper creeds. Nyx hovered her sense over her name. It was all as one now, but she should be able to unleash her mutations as easily as before. She wasn¡¯t facing an immediate danger this time, but the mutations she¡¯d already gained had shown themselves to be unbelievably beneficial. Knowing what was coming, she needed to be prepared. She needed to gather power however she could. And now, even without a knife to her throat, she considered opening the floodgates for more of what her curse could bestow. If she took this path, it would need to be a balancing act. Her two timers both led to death, but she didn¡¯t need to worry about accelerating one if the other was already about to ring. Conversely, the reduction of either would only bring her doom closer. If only there was a way to delay the timers. Something to add time¡­ Her thoughts suddenly derailed as her sense trailed over a second name. A name that hadn¡¯t been there the last time she¡¯d checked. Apparently killing four harbingers and having the last sacrifice himself was enough to finally push her to the threshold. And it was an impressive additive¡­ even if she didn¡¯t know what it did. It had nine components to it, which was comparable to even some of the better names the second and third evolution Fleshsmiths had. She wanted to discover what it did immediately. It was clearly not corrupted. And unless she was obscenely lucky and somehow gained a second Feat ¡ª while below her fifth evolution ¡ª this was her first additive. What sane person wouldn¡¯t want to find out what new ability they¡¯d gained. Would it help her against the cults? Would it improve her ability to fight, or was useless to her, and had nothing to do with what she needed? Nyx had to know¡­ yet the ritual would take too long. Before she could even think about finding a place to kneel and perform the name ritual, she had two major concerns to deal with. The harbinger corpses, and her broken ribs. It would be easy to deal with the bodies; she could just lead some vitiate beasts to the four she¡¯d killed and nothing but bone would remain of them in an hour. Though, K¡¯lon¡¯s husk was different. Rising to her feet, she returned to the body. In a few seconds, she had a ritual drawn around him, and he was burning. A dollop of her blood and the extra corruption in the air thrust the ritual beyond its original purpose, and had it incinerate all that remained of the fool who signed away his soul. She¡¯d considered using her eye to do away with his corpse, but the resulting veins grew too obvious with overuse. Nyx needed to keep it for emergencies. Besides, the ritual worked well. She scooped up his ashes with his cloak. It would be better to spread them somewhere far off, so no investigator could discover he¡¯d died by ritual rather than a feral beast. Really, she was just happy his soul was no longer around for any soulsinger to question. Not that he would have betrayed her. Nyx froze. Soulsingers? Why have I only considered them now? If the cultists who came to investigate these harbinger¡¯s deaths brought a soulsinger along with them, then Nyx was fucked. She could hope they took long enough for the souls to be swallowed by the Darkness, but what were the chances an entire week passed before they attempted to call their souls? None. They would speak to her victims¡¯ souls, and suddenly all Nyx¡¯s secrets would be revealed. For a moment, she lamented not using them all as sacrifices¡­ but quickly realised the folly of that thought. If she hadn¡¯t struck them dead as quickly as she had, her life would be over. Forget any immediate plans of growth. She needed to act. Now. Nyx couldn¡¯t remain passive as the Fleshsmiths worked out what happened here, then came after her with harbingers she could never hope to handle. The only way out of this was to divert their focus elsewhere. She needed to sow chaos throughout their entire cult so the very thought of looking outwards would never cross their minds. ¡°But how?¡± she suddenly asked her permanent companion. Little God simply tilted its body. The black mist rolling off its form barely shifted at the movement. ¡°No. That option is too extreme.¡± She rebutted, as if Little God had said anything. ¡°they¡¯ll could track it back to me. Two in such a short time is bound to attract the attention of the cult leaders. Not to mention the Eidolon Gods. I don¡¯t want to be seen again.¡± But how else could she make the Fleshsmiths forget about her? Nothing else came to mind. She could try to attack some of their peripheral temples and forges, but unless she destroyed some of their major infrastructure or logistics network, it wouldn¡¯t work. And anything important was bound to have upper creeds defending it. She was not yet strong enough to attempt such an option. It really came down to whether she wanted to risk everything and remain passive. Or risk everything and strike in a way that could actually hurt the cult. In the end, it was her hatred of the Fleshsmiths that made the choice. There would be another Dark Star Event. Chapter 47: Arachnoangels It took Nyx no time at all to lead some vitiate beasts to the corpses of those she¡¯d killed. Each infected animal forgot about her in an instant. The free meals before them were much more appetising than the small human that flew outside their range. Now that she¡¯d set her mind on it, she wanted to rush down into the depths and punish the Fleshsmiths for coming after her. Despite that, she still felt reluctant to actually ignite another Dark Star. The things were deadly, but wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Solan, the Fleshsmith leader. Because of that, no matter how many Dark Stars she created, she could never fully eliminate the cults. It was those unassociated that would suffer. The Fleshsmith¡¯s main forge was deep in the depths of Coral, yet it would be naive to believe only the cult would be effected. Corruption would multiply, and significantly endanger the lives of those who relied on areas of lesser density. Where people who couldn¡¯t survive sudden manifestations or the breaking of reality lived. Another disaster in the heart of Coral was bound to spread disease and death. But it was the only option she had to save herself from the cult¡¯s investigations. The only way to add days to the endlessly ticking timer. Nyx wasn¡¯t happy that it could affect people like Dan and Ari, but she couldn¡¯t make compromises for her own fate and the eventual downfall of the cults. At least by igniting the Dark Star at the core of the Fleshsmiths¡¯ territory, she would place them right in the crosshairs of the other cults¡¯ wrath. By triggering a conflict between them, the cults wouldn¡¯t have the time to focus on a young woman that kept to herself. They would have no reason to point the cause on her. As she turned to leave, her eyes found a rather young vitiate deer chewing on the femur of the woman she¡¯d decapitated. Its teeth slid along bone, searching for any remaining morsel of meat it could find. And it just so happened to be about the right size. Glancing down at herself, Nyx realised that she¡¯d torn her robe. Again. And, well, if she was going into Fleshsmith territory, she needed some way to defend herself that others could see. She needed that weapon. She needed a robe that would actually repair itself. Her impatience was great, but a little bit of funds acquisition was unavoidable. ??? Nyx dumped the two vitiate beasts down on Archei¡¯s counter with a thump that had both the creatures screech in indignation, and lash out at her, only the makeshift muzzle locks and bindings made their efforts meaningless. It would have been impossible if not for the recent sacrifice. Having to drag around two bodies that fought her at every moment through miles of forest had taken forever. With a combined weight of more than her own, the infected creatures would have been impossible for her to carry so far, even with her recent muscular enrichment. Her body felt healthier, but it was still tiny. Emaciation at the hands of her curses for so many years could not be reversed with a few dead men, it seemed. Nor the sickly tone of her skin. But despite the lack of change to her appearance, there was no doubt that she¡¯d grown stronger. She¡¯d pushed through the pain of broken ribs to bring this pair of ferals back for the cash she needed. They were still broken. Unfortunately, the improved ritual of wellness given to low creed Fleshsmiths didn¡¯t have the capability to seal bone back together, even empowered by her blood. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have brought them back in cages?¡± Archei asked from as far from the counter as he could within the small stall. ¡°Treatment for vitiate is expensive.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get bit then,¡± Nyx said dismissively as she glanced around the plaza. It was starting to get late, and harbinger teams were becoming more frequent. She did her best to remain inconspicuous. It was hard, considering she was trying to sell a pair of vitiate beasts, and each movement made her want to clutch her ribs in pain, but she was pretty sure she didn¡¯t stand out amongst the summoned or bound monstrosities that followed some cultists. Compared to the blob of what looked like pus that followed one, her wings might even look tame. Of course, both of her beauties were tucked away. She¡¯d torn her robe in the battle earlier, so she had to bind them with the other half of her skulk shroud. If someone saw through the tattered remains of the lower half of her top, they would see that rather than her mutations. Not that it was all that safe to be seen with the cloth. They were expensive. Enough so that people might kill for it. She turned back to Archei only to find he hadn¡¯t taken a step towards the vicious former animals that coiled on his counter. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It took me hours to drag them back, and not once did they break free of their muzzles. I doubt they will in the next few minutes.¡± It may have been only today that she¡¯d been given the opportunity, but she was impatient to move on. ¡°If you could pay now, I¡¯d like to be on my way.¡± Archei, hesitantly, grabs a pair of hard plastic bags before tossing them at Nyx. ¡°Tie them around their heads.¡± Nyx stared at the bags with runic words scribbled across their white surface before snapping her eyes back to the trader. ¡°So much for a former harbinger.¡± ¡°Prospective!¡± he protested. ¡°There was a reason I never actually committed to the path.¡± Groaning, she moved to slide the bags over her already perfectly good rope-muzzles. ¡°You remember how much we agreed on, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Two hundred blood drops for each carcass.¡± Apparently feeling calmer now that the beasts were focused on Nyx, Archei bent down near the counter to pull out some cash notes. The money should be enough ¡ª added to her previous savings ¡ª for Nyx to get her weapon and robe. Though, she doubted there¡¯s be much left over. As she finished sealing the bag around the neck of the feral deer that bucked beneath her arms, she became aware of a man approaching from her left. She was still alert of her surroundings. ¡°Four hundred BD for those specimens?¡± his voice was gravelly and hoarse; typical of those who chanted hymns all day for years without ever allocating resources to the improvement of their own flesh. ¡°My girl, the man is fleecing you. I¡¯ll offer you five.¡± Nyx turned, and at the sight of a dozen mechanical spiders skittering over the man¡¯s shoulders, she almost recoiled. Not because of the spiders. She didn¡¯t mind the critters. It was because the man was a Worshipper of the Machine God. Countless scars and burns textured his face, and his clothes were shabby, but the machines he let climb all over him were pristine. She glanced behind him, and found another, larger machine spider waiting patiently a few metres away. It only reached her waist, but the polished mechanisms of its form were some of the most sleek and well-machined she¡¯d seen. The eight long legs were armoured, yet slender, with joints that had no obvious separation in the metal. Its torso was much the same. All arachnomachines held their greatest arsenal within that thick, well armoured body, but Nyx couldn¡¯t see where any weapons or equipment might sprout from. It wasn¡¯t the most complex she¡¯d seen, but its build quality was far beyond any normal automaton. Her eyes returned to the man the machine served¡­ or whom served it ¡ª the position of power was never truly clear with the Machine God Worshippers ¡ª and inspected him. His hood was tattered much like the rest of his appearance, and there was no sign of his creed. Was that intentional? Without reaching out and touching his name, Nyx couldn¡¯t tell if he was some low-creed that was working with a higher-creed¡¯s machines, or if he was a higher-creed himself. She didn¡¯t. Last time she¡¯d been lucky to have gotten away without the Bodytwister questioning her. Nyx couldn¡¯t risk his attention. At least any more than he¡¯d already given her. ¡°What? Don¡¯t butt into others¡¯ business,¡± Archei exclaimed, suddenly no longer terrified to get close to the duo of vitiate beasts. He hovered his arms over them defensively. ¡°Now, Nix, we agreed on-¡± The trader trailed off upon seeing Nyx¡¯s intense stare. Even from her peripheral, it was clear he mistook her wariness of the Machine God Worshipper for temptation at his offer. ¡°I¡¯ll give you five hu-¡± ¡°We agreed on four hundred, yes?¡± Nyx turned back to Archei. It wasn¡¯t honour that made her want to keep to their agreed price. Nyx just didn¡¯t want to let a member of one of the pinnacle four cults win. Not even in this small bid. Of course, Archei¡¯s mouth hung, obviously not expecting such an outcome, but when Nyx crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, he rushed to hand over the money before she could change her mind. ¡°Y-yes, as we agreed.¡± Nyx took the notes and fled. She noted the cultist¡¯s raised brow, but he was thankfully not about to start anything. ¡°Ah, well I guess I know what the market rate is, then.¡± The Worshipper turned back to Archei. ¡°I¡¯ll take these off your hands for four hundred.¡± Nyx heard the trader scoff, and his words made her pause. ¡°I think a thousand is much fairer.¡± He¡¯d tried to lower his voice, but not enough. Huh¡­ Looks like we¡¯ll need to have a chat about fair value next time we meet. ¡°Ah, is that so¡­¡± A pair of his small spiders leapt from his shoulder and bit into the vitiate beasts. Faster than Nyx had seen even when inflicting bisecting wounds upon the creatures, their hearts began to shine. That purple glow pierced through their skin and soon their circulatory systems overlaid the feral animals¡¯ bodies. ¡°Such a shame.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Archei shouts, attracting dozens of nearby eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll kill us both!¡± ¡°I cannot control the will of our angels.¡± The Worshipper declared as the pulsing purple glow reached critical levels. ¡°They fulfil the will of Coral; to say otherwise would be blasphemy. Heresy.¡± Nyx, along with everyone else nearby backed away from the stall holding the pair of vitiate bombs ready to explode. Nobody dared step forward. ¡°Fine!¡± Archei caved. ¡°Fine. Fine. Fine, I¡¯ll give them to you. Four hundred.¡± In one smooth motion, the larger arachnomachine stepped forward and slipped the two thrashing vitiate beasts over its back. Metal link straps snapped out from its side and tied them down in an instant. ¡°The Machine God thanks you for your service.¡± He bowed his head slightly before walking off. The dozen spiders continued to scuttle over his shoulders and back as the large one followed. Archei glared after him, before turning his frustration on those watching. It was clear he wanted someone to interfere. A wish that would not be fulfilled. Higher creed cultists had a certain level of immunity to their actions, and only the presence of an equivalent power ¡ª more likely from an opposing cult ¡ª would hold them accountable. Nyx turned away. She didn¡¯t have time to waste, and after learning how much he was trying to undercut her, she wasn¡¯t all that concerned. He didn¡¯t end at a loss, after all. Now with full pockets, Nyx could finally choose a weapon for herself. She couldn¡¯t deny the excitement she felt; as much as she loved the feel of her claws, they were weapons forced upon her. An actual harbinger blade would be something she chose for herself. Chapter 48: Seno?e?uls Shady Shop Nyx knew she was limiting herself by choosing armoury stores not expressly backed by any cult, but it was a matter of principle. Her measly pocket-full of BD would hardly be a drop in the bucket compared to the near infinite resources of the major cults. Crumbs that would never be noticed even by the average member. Anything that would support them, she would abstain. She considered thievery. It was an option that not only got her what she wanted ¡ª for free ¡ª but was actively detrimental to the cults. Even if insubstantially. But no. That wasn¡¯t something Nyx could risk. As a first evolution hiding as a no evolution ¡ª especially one as demure-looking as herself ¡ª not a single cultist would hesitate to hold her up. The cultural reward system and the chance to ingratiate themselves were benefits few passed up when they could do something. ¡­Assuming it was a cult they were agreeable with. Like with Archei¡¯s stall, her fussiness greatly limited her choices. She¡¯d already gone through two. Which, despite how massive the market under the Biovault archway was, meant she¡¯d cut through half her options. In one way, it was good that she had so few stores to go through, considering how impatient she was to strike at the Fleshsmiths. But on the other hand, it also meant she might not find what she wanted. Knives were very popular. Many of the independent blade stores seemed to have a horrible proclivity to supply towards that demand, and only that demand. Meaning both the armouries she¡¯d visited would be better labelled as knife vendors. The glass front walls of her next option revealed a much more promising sight. Rows upon rows of weapons. From polearms, to rifles, to a single ancient artillery piece that sat behind one window as a centrepiece. She strode through the open front doors and immediately hovered towards the shelves of blades. Nobody paid her any attention. She was short, and the store was already busy; neither the owner or those perusing for themselves cared about the teen that ¡ª from the average eye ¡ª should still be hidden away in a ward. Nyx didn¡¯t complain. There were so many different types of weapons here. Both the butterfly blades and rapier stood in front of her, but now that she had to make the choice, she didn¡¯t know which way to go. The butterfly blades were a pair of short swords ¡ª almost knives ¡ª that would be a little longer than the length of her claws when they slid out from her arms and through her fingers. Conversely, the rapier was a long yet thin blade with a wide hand-guard. The tip would be deadly, but the length, while sharp, was clearly not intended to be swung. She¡¯d never be able to hide the damage of her claws with this. ¡°What do you think?¡± she asked the one that had always been by her side. ¡°The poking stick, or the decoy?¡± Little God glanced between her, and the weapons she pointed to. ¡°Why bother? You are superior in every way.¡± ¡°Aww¡­ how kind of you.¡± Nyx rolled her eyes. ¡°But seriously?¡± He didn¡¯t respond immediately, so she stepped forward and picked up the rapier. It was the weapon she was veering towards the most; something that would give her more options in a fight regardless of any observer¡¯s eye. Something she would choose even without her mutations. As soon as it was in her hand, she lifted it in a stance, as if ready to strike. Her fingers pressed in tight¡­ and she immediately got the sense that something was off. Nyx lowered the weapon before raising the guard to her eye. There, where she had gripped the grooved metal handle, was an impression of her fingers. She tugged off her new gloves and brought her hand to the blade itself. Squeezing the blade between two fingers, she watched the metal deform before her very eyes. This wasn¡¯t normal weapons grade alloy. Nyx struggled to believe this was even good enough to be basic steel. Pulling back her thumb, she found a single dent in the otherwise unblemished blade length. ¡°Weak,¡± Little God commented over her shoulder, and she couldn¡¯t help but nod. She sighed as she put the blade back amongst the rest. Of course the one place that looks decent is the one scamming their customers. Before she turned to the door, she found her little eyeball glancing the opposite direction. ¡°Why is she trying to sneak up on you?¡± he asked. Nyx spun, and as Little God said, there was a woman slinking up behind her. She appeared surprised and a little disappointed that she¡¯d been noticed, but the expression was gone after a moment. ¡°How can I help you?¡± she asked, as if she wasn¡¯t just acting suspicious. ¡°Looking for your first weapon, I gather?¡± ¡°I am,¡± Nyx responded briskly. ¡°Say, what are your weapons made of?¡± She grins. ¡°Everything here is forged with carbon picoweave alloy A-nine. Entirely corruption immune and perfect for the self defence of one such as yourself.¡± ¡°Right.¡± What an obvious lie. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t find anything interesting, so I¡¯ll be leaving.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Immediately the woman¡¯s grin slipped. She gave Nyx the stink eye, but the teen just raised an eyebrow and stared back as she walked out of the store. She is a fool. Even if it was only a few steel blades snuck in amongst actually good blades, the day would eventually come where she sold to the wrong person and would find herself as a criminal sacrifice to the affected cult. Nyx herself couldn¡¯t actually do anything even if she could prove it; only with the backing of a cult would anyone take her accusations seriously. Not that she wanted to. The last thing she wanted right now was attention. Still, even as she left the store no worse off than she went in, she only had one more store to search. If that didn¡¯t have anything, then she would have no other option than to visit one of the cult backed stores. And she didn¡¯t have much hope for the next; from what she¡¯d seen, it was just another knife shop. Another sigh escaped her as she trudged through the plaza. ¡°They¡¯re a sham, huh?¡± Nyx glanced up to the voice. A rather tall man had fallen in step besides her. With how many people around, she hadn¡¯t cared, but now he¡¯d revealed that he¡¯d been watching her. Why? ¡°You¡¯re a good eye. Is that an additive? Quite lucky to get one like that straight out of your naming. Though, you don¡¯t look the type to take on an inspector job, now do you? I¡¯d say you¡¯re goin¡¯ for harbinger. Would explain the rapier, though I¡¯d go for a good ol¡¯ rifle myself.¡± ¡°Do you want something?¡± Nyx asked, coming to a stop and cutting off the man¡¯s rant. She was incredibly suspicious, and readied herself to run at the first sign of hostility. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± He waved his arm out to the side. ¡°Y¡¯see, I¡¯m like you. I got a good eye too. I find customers myself, rather than letting them never come to me. Name¡¯s Seno?e?ul, by the way. You¡¯re after a rapier, yeah? Or something good for slashing. I¡¯ve got just the thing.¡± The fact that he knew what she was after sent whatever guards she didn¡¯t already have up skyrocketing. If he knew that much, what else did he know? Mind reading was not an ability she¡¯d ever heard of a name granting, but that didn¡¯t mean it was impossible. Though, if it did exist, she¡¯d be fucked regardless what she did. ¡°You have a rapier that¡¯s also made for slashing?¡± she asked doubtfully. Even if she knew she should leave this suspicious man who¡¯d been watching her, the idea that there was something that would fit her needs so well was hard to pass up. ¡°Yep!¡± Senoeul chirped, before he swung his arm to the side and gestured Nyx to follow. ¡°Got it cheap from a renowned smith. He was gonna melt it down for scraps caus¡¯ he messed up the guard, but it¡¯s an otherwise pristine A-twelve blade.¡± She inspected the man for any falsehoods for a moment before glancing at Little God. ¡°Let me know if anyone tries to ambush me,¡± she whispered and followed the excitable man. Her eyes fell on the man¡¯s right hand; most of it was covered by his long sleeves, but what she could see twitched and convulsed like an electric current constantly ran through it. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mind that.¡± He slid his sleeve down to cover it when he noticed her gaze. ¡°Just an¡­ injury from before I left the Bodytwisters.¡± When the man led her down a dark alley between a row of shops, Nyx suddenly felt a lot less confident about following him. With how well lit the arch was, she didn¡¯t even think it was possible for there to be a place this dark in the plaza, yet she was proven wrong very quickly. The narrow alley devoid of any life was clearly not a safe place to be. Senoeul may have promised exactly what she needed, but it was clear he was leading her somewhere that he could take advantage of her. Was he trying to rob her? Sell her off as a sacrifice like the Fleshsmiths¡¯ trafficking ring? Or was it some other twisted reason? Nyx hid her hands in the sleeves of her robes and slowly let her claws extend. If he wanted to bring her into an isolated space, then all the better. She could always use another sacrifice. Her sense immediately slid over Senoeul¡¯s name, and the number of components matched with the way he¡¯d pronounced his name. He was in his second evolution. Considering he wasn¡¯t a harbinger, Nyx was confident she could take him easily. As long as there were no interruptions, and Little God would warn her if there were any of those. Just as her tension rose to its peak, and she was ready to strike out at the man, he flicked a lever and a garage door rolled open. A storehouse revealed itself. Rows upon rows of crates all filled to the brim with random odds and ends. There where dumpsters filled with knives simply tossed on top of one another, and barrels of weapons without any sort of order to them. Beyond the weapons, there were clothes, tools, and an entire library worth of tomes stacked in piles along the back wall. Senoeul wasted no time diving through the crates, tossing aside all sorts of odd weapons over the floor in his search. ¡°It should be somewhere here,¡± he murmured. ¡°Do you manage all of this yourself?¡± Nyx asked, her claws sliding back up her arms and the tension suddenly slipping from her shoulders. ¡°What?¡± he glanced to her, then all through the warehouse of goods. ¡°Oh, no. This is mostly the boss¡¯s. He¡¯s been away for a bit, so I¡¯ve been managing it in his stead,¡± he said. ¡°Ah, here it is!¡± In his left hand, he pulled free a long, slender blade. As he¡¯d stated before, the guard was broken ¡ª it would be more apt to say that there wasn¡¯t a guard at all ¡ª and it gave the weapon the appearance of being a single piece. Thick at the handle, then gradually growing narrower to the sharp point. Except for the missing guard, it was a rather standard looking rapier. Why did he say it was good for slashing? ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, and yes it can slash. A-twelve metal and beyond, in the hands of the right smith, can incorporate aspects of corruption on top of being resistant to its natural occurrence.¡± Wait, he actually can read minds? ¡°Yes, I can do that too.¡± Nyx faltered, and stepped back out into the dark alley before Senoeul burst out in laughter. ¡°It seems that was a lucky guess,¡± he chuckled, grinning all the while. ¡°Here, its easier to understand by trying it out for yourself than listening to my explanation.¡± As she tried to hide how much the idea of a mind reader freaked her, she took the proffered weapon. Immediately, Nyx knew this wasn¡¯t sub-par steel. It fully resisted her full strength grip. She didn¡¯t know if it was strong enough to resist the shearing power of her claws, but it was clearly far beyond what the last store had been trying to sell. The lack of guard might be a problem if she ever faced another person, but not in fear of her fingers being sliced off. No, she trusted her chitin. But if someone¡¯s blade struck her hands, it would shatter any concept of them being soft and human. Against beasts and manifestations? The guard would make no difference. Following his advice, she swung the blade. Not as any rapier should, but as a standard sword. In motion, it took on a far more curved appearance ¡ª like that of a sabre ¡ª before it returned to it¡¯s straight shape when she halted the blade. Nyx doubted it was her imagination, and when she swung it again, Senoeul enlightened her. ¡°A dual spatial state has been inlaid in the weapon. For near all purposes, it will remain a straight rapier. But when you swing like you did, it takes on its more curved nature.¡± While being swung, she found the tip curved more than the rest of the blade. A method to protect the thinner section of the rapier? She jabbed forward, and found not a kink in the blade. It was as straight as it could be. Nyx was already taken with it, and by the smirk on Senoeul¡¯s face, he knew it as well. But she still had one more thing to get. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to have some self-repairing robes that would fit me, would you?¡± His grin widened. ¡°I think I can sort something for you.¡± Chapter 49: All or Nothing Weapon Nyx strode out of the dark alley with empty pockets, but very happy with her purchases. The scabbard of her new weapon was strapped to her waist. She couldn¡¯t help herself; her fingers fiddled with it as she walked through the dark alley. The walk back to the market proper want long, yet she¡¯d already unsheathed it a dozen times just to look at it. It was clearly an incomplete blade. She liked that about it. No cult specific runes had been carved into its length. The hilt was simple grooved metal, stripped of leather or any other coverings that made a normal grip. And best of all, it lacked the bulky guard shared by many other swords. Any rapier ¡ª any blade ¡ª was objectively better with these aspects, but Nyx felt no desire to fix her weapon. The grip felt tight in her chitinous hands. The blade was unmarred by ritual. And the lack of guard meant the style of fighting rung true with her heart. She had to strike and kill while risking it all if she hoped to live another day. Senoeul¡¯s eye for suitability extended beyond the rapier. Under her other arm, Nyx carried her new robe. Thick, self-maintaining fabric and sized perfectly for her ¡ª she¡¯d tried it on over the top of her current robe, not trusting the changing room he offered ¡ª was just what she needed. And it just so happened to be the same black with red accents of her wings. A colour scheme that was growing on her. She would need to stop by Tarchon¡¯s to put on the robe before she descended into the depths of the Fleshsmiths¡¯ territory and erupted their cult in chaos. Between the robe and blade, Senoeul had stripped her of every drop she had. Despite that, Nyx knew she got a good deal. The blade itself, if it hadn¡¯t been a throwaway piece, could have fetched ten, or even a hundred times what she¡¯d bought it for. It almost made her feel like she was robbing the man. She remained suspicious. There was the possibility the blade was flawed in some way she¡¯d yet to discover¡­ but even if it was, it fulfilled its purpose as a cover. There was no reason to believe that yet, so her main concern was what Senoeul was really after. Nyx didn¡¯t believe for a second anyone would give something like this away out of the goodness of their heard. Not when there was room to benefit. So the only answer that made sense to her was that he wanted her to feel indebted to him. She had to realise it sooner or later. Nyx wasn¡¯t the only one who could see or guess at one¡¯s evolution. The additives that allowed such weren¡¯t unique to onomasticians, after all. So it wasn¡¯t a stretch to think that Senoeul saw she¡¯d already reached her first despite her obvious youth, and decide to invest. Well, he said he¡¯s no longer associated with the Bodytwisters, so I guess it¡¯s fine. Nyx thought. Besides, his range beats out the other unaffiliated traders. Her timer was ticking and she had to get a move on, so she stopped fiddling with her new toy and jogged through the market. The added weight felt odd at her side, but it didn¡¯t whip around as much as she¡¯d been expecting. Thankfully. The harbingers died mere hours ago, and there was probably a few more before they were expected to report. It was also unlikely they¡¯d send out an investigation team immediately, but she didn¡¯t think they would wait long either. Nyx gave herself twenty four hours. She needed to cause mayhem in the cult before this time tomorrow if she wanted to have whoever was sent out be called back before they could possibly discover the truth. It would likely take longer than that, but she faced greater danger the longer she took. Best case scenario, she would ignite the Dark Star Event long before the investigator was sent out, and they would write off the team of harbingers as casualties of the disaster, and not unexplained circumstances. She¡¯d already passed the borders of the market and was wandering down the quieter tunnels that led towards Technocult territory when Little God spoke. ¡°You have followers. They move to ambush you.¡± Nyx nearly spun on her feet, but quickly stopped herself. The last thing she wanted was to let them know she was aware of them. Were they Fleshsmiths? Had they discovered what she¡¯d done to the harbingers already? ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Three.¡± She took a moment to appreciate the orb floating out ahead of her. Little God had become a great help ever since he¡¯d started talking¡­ or at least since she realised he was real. What would she do without him? ¡°Are they strong?¡± The eyeball dropped its eye to stare into her own. ¡°Weak,¡± he said, as if it was the only possible answer. ¡°Is that in comparison to me, or you?¡± He bobbed up and down. ¡°Yes.¡± Or¡­ maybe she¡¯d do fine without the simpleton. Nyx turned down the next narrow tunnel offshoot. Hugging the wall tight, she slid up a portion of her skulk shroud to cover her face and glanced back. The trio were easy to spot under the white glow of the light strips. Hoods covered their faces, but now that she could see them, it was much easier to stretch her sense out to them. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. There wouldn¡¯t be enough time to scan any more than one, so she chose the leader and feathered her fingers over their name. She was underwhelmed by what she felt. The man or woman hadn¡¯t even achieved their first evolution. Their core name only a single component. Before they could catch up, she slipped away from the main corridor and ran. Nyx made no effort to hide her footsteps. These three were obviously not with the fleshsmiths. No unevolved would be entrusted with a task that even a third creed cultist had failed. So why were they after her? It wasn¡¯t a question she could leave unanswered, so she baited them further and further from any form of life. Led them down one of Coral¡¯s forgotten maintenance corridors, and past long redundant machines. She soon found herself at a dead end. Deciding this was as isolated as she¡¯d get, she spun on the scaffolding that hung above broken turbines. Any that approached would either have to come at her directly, or fall into the wreckage of the machines. When the three came into view, Nyx cast her sense over the other two just in case they were secretly a higher creed in disguise. They weren¡¯t. In fact, the two trailing behind the first seemed to have even fewer additives. If any of them were over twenty five, Nyx would consider that a feat of incompetence. Were there any Feats for being the worst at something? Fortunately for them, when the dull light shone beneath their hoods, none seemed that old. They were about as old as Nyx had been when she¡¯d died¡­ which wasn¡¯t all that much better. At least I had a good excuse. ¡°Nowhere to run,¡± the leader, a woman, barked. ¡°Give us the skulk shroud, and all your BD and we won¡¯t cut you up for the skitter spawn.¡± Wait¡­ this is just a robbery? Nyx thought. Oh, thank fuck. I thought this was going to be something I actually had to worry about. All three pulled rather threatening looking knives from their robes, but after a week of near non stop fighting, Nyx barely felt concerned. Of course, if the blades struck her, they would do a lot of damage. But in those hands? There wasn¡¯t a chance they hit her. If they had any skill, their additives would have grown enough for an evolution by now. Well, it gave her the perfect opportunity to try out her blade, so she wasn¡¯t complaining. ¡°No.¡± she said. ¡°Why should I?¡± ¡°You dumb, kid?¡± The second crook lifted his knife before his face, as if Nyx hadn¡¯t seen it. ¡°You¡¯re young, so maybe you don¡¯t know how things work, but when someone stronger than yourself threatens you, you do what they say.¡± His last few words were spat out with a snarl. Nyx guessed he spoke from experience. But regardless of who took advantage of them, she didn¡¯t care. They¡¯d signed over their lives the moment they knowingly threatened her. But they hadn¡¯t yet attacked, so maybe she could give them a chance. ¡°Out of curiosity, are you with any of the cults?¡± she asked. ¡°The Bodytwisters,¡± the woman said, stepping forward with her knife raised towards Nyx. ¡°Now stop dawdling and give your stuff. We don¡¯t intend to hurt you unless you resist.¡± Negative points for being with one of the worst cults. Nyx took a step back from the woman and unsheathed her blade before pointing it at her. The cultist glared warily at the blade. Even with Nyx¡¯s small and thin stature, the presence of a blade longer than your own was always something to worry about. ¡°Leave now and I¡¯ll let you live.¡± That was the only warning she would give. If they didn¡¯t listen, then there was only one outcome for them. Their reactions couldn¡¯t be more different. The leader¡¯s gaze hardened, and she remained stoic. The man scoffed and stepped in line with the woman. But the third, another woman, her eyes bulged and she stepped back. ¡°Guys, I don¡¯t think we-¡± whatever she was going to say was cut off by her leader. ¡°Get up here and help. We can¡¯t be any more picky with our targets than we already are,¡± she said. ¡°Do you want to starve?¡± Unfortunately, that was enough to convince the third to fight. She took her place behind her leader, unable to move out to her side on the narrow walkway. ¡°Last warning kid; you don¡¯t have to die.¡± Nyx just tossed her newly purchased robe behind her to deal with later. That seemed to be the breaking point in the cultists¡¯ patience. The woman jerked forward, before immediately pulling back as Nyx thrust the blade at her chest. In a coordinated move, the man dashed forward before Nyx could pull out of the thrust. She caught the blade with her hand ¡ª the chitin not even scratching ¡ª and slammed her own into his chest. He collapsed with a scream. As great as it would be if she could immediately be amazing with her new blade, it was unrealistic. She was an amateur with the rapier, and to expect she could take on more than one target at a time with it would be foolish. So even if it meant revealing her mutations, she needed to cut down their numbers first. Taking a step back, she hooked a finger in the collar of her skulk shroud and revealed her third eye. In mere moments, the second woman¡¯s legs were burnt through, and she was on the ground screaming alongside her companion. Nyx felt slight pity for the woman who¡¯d wanted to flee, but quickly shook off any regret. No matter her reluctance, the woman was a cultist. A cultist that willingly followed Nyx down the isolated back corridors with the intent to rob and kill. She likely had done the same to plenty of other unaffiliated people. Pulling up the shroud, Nyx raised her weapon to the shocked leader. ¡°This is what you wanted,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t second guess yourself now.¡± Thankfully, the woman didn¡¯t run. Already she was less of a coward than K¡¯lon. Yet still a cultist. Still someone who deserved death. Nyx stepped forward and thrust. The cultist¡¯s knife slapped it aside. Unlike her own dainty little ritual knife, the blade was closer to a short sword. Like the butterfly swords she¡¯d considered. Despite her weapon being knocked aside, it was almost too easy for Nyx to flick her wrist and bring it back across the woman¡¯s unprotected abdomen. The sharp ¡ªmomentarily curved ¡ª tip tore through cloth and drew blood, but it was hardly deep. Mere scratches. She would need to learn to angle her blade properly for such last second alterations. Realising she was on the losing end, the cultist roared and swung her arm. It was a clumsy strike. One Nyx could have avoided easily. But with her blade already in hand, she tried to redirect it. Of course, that only had the large knife glide into her fingers. The thunk of metal on chitin was loud enough to overwhelm the screams. At least briefly. Nyx struck again, and the woman dropped her knife. Two more slashes to her legs, and she was prone on the ground. Groaning alongside her comrades. Three more sacrifices. It would take a little while, but she felt it worth it. Especially with how energised she felt after the last one. After that, she would drop by Tarchon¡¯s place. She needed something to eat, and would leave a note saying she¡¯d gone to one of the wards so he didn¡¯t think she was the one to cause the Dark Star. Not that she was worried. The man hadn¡¯t dropped by in the entire week since he¡¯d given her the key. What were the chances he would return the night she needed to strike the Fleshsmiths? ??? Chapter 50: And Where Were You, Young Lady? Nyx made her way back through Technocultist territory feeling disappointed. She¡¯d made sure to keep the three that chased her down alive so that she could benefit from their sacrifices, but after K¡¯lon, their effect felt inconsequential. Whether it was their lesser standing, or her human body already approaching its limits, Nyx didn¡¯t know. It could be a combination of both. What it meant, was that she couldn¡¯t just endlessly improve herself by sacrificing waves of people. Then again, if that was possible, the cult leaders would never have hesitated. Unfortunately, the peak capabilities of her current body was not nearly satisfying. Five sacrifices and two weeks of effort equated to a strength not much greater than an average adult. One that hadn¡¯t been blessed with sacrifices. It was hard to tell if her efforts were building muscle. She could tell the added experience was helping grow her name ¡ª the new additive she had yet to explore was proof enough ¡ª but she was still as thin as the day she returned. She knew a couple of weeks was nothing, really, but she¡¯d hoped to put on at least some weight. Some more mass to throw around in a fight. Yet only her wings seemed to have done so, and they weren¡¯t exactly the heaviest things for how large they were. If it really was her curses keeping her thin, then there was unlikely anything she could do besides peel open her name and hope that somehow helped. Though, she was wary of wishing too much. They were curses, after all; she was all too likely to become some amorphous blob. Shuddering at the thought, she entered the large refinery chamber and jogged for the former control room. At least now she could run without getting winded. A twinge of pain shot through her chest as she shoved past the door. She ignored it. A few broken ribs were nothing to Nyx. Sure, they weren¡¯t exactly the most pleasant injuries to be stuck with, but she couldn¡¯t waste her time getting fixed up. Not that she had access to any of the cults¡¯ ¡®medical¡¯ divisions. Nyx strode straight for the shower. She would change, inspect her new name, then be gone before first fog. With four sacrifice empowered cultivation rituals having flooded her veins with energy, it was unlikely she¡¯d be able to sleep tonight if she tried. Maybe she¡¯d become too accustomed to the freedom of living alone in the days since she¡¯d arrived here, so her eyes locked only on the door to the bathroom and nothing else. She missed the cultist right in front of her. ¡°I thought I told you not to leave.¡± Nyx nearly leapt out of her skin. She spun and found she¡¯d walked past Tarchon, whose mechanical parts blended in with the mountains of scrap on the workbench he stood behind. ¡°What?¡± she asked, trying to collect herself. ¡°You never said anything like that.¡± ¡°When I said I intended to speak with you, I imagine I was quite clear that you were meant to wait until my interrogations were complete.¡± His eyes narrowed and the cold glare of glass deepened as he looked upon her again. All the machines in the workshop seemed to react to his anger. Robotic arms pointed her way. Half-complete creations spun to life, and rose from their tables. Even the pipes seemed to groan and alter their flow in response. ¡°I gave you access to this place so that the Fleshsmiths couldn¡¯t reach you until my investigation was complete. You understand the danger you are in, do you not?¡± More than you do. ¡°I had some things to do.¡± ¡°I can see that.¡± Tarchon¡¯s eyes fell to the new blade at her hip and the tattered robe that hardly covered the skulk shroud beneath. Suddenly, steam burst from a vent in his neck, and he tilted his head back. He glared at the ceiling rather than her. ¡°Congratulations on your evolution. Apologies that it was probably not what you wanted.¡± Nyx grit her teeth. She¡¯d known Tarchon could see her name¡­ at least in some sense, but she¡¯d still hoped to keep it private. So if he knew her base name was corrupted, then he too knew she could make a decent sacrifice. Even if he didn¡¯t know how much. She could only assume that he¡¯d gone and spread the word to the rest of his cult by now. The Technocult hadn¡¯t participated in her sacrifice, but they¡¯d been eliminated at the time, so Nyx didn¡¯t know what to think. She just knew she couldn¡¯t trust them. For now, Tarchon probably didn¡¯t take her as a sacrifice because of the immense risk she posed should such a ritual occur. He didn¡¯t know about the mutations, after all. ¡°You are injured.¡± Of course you would notice. ¡°Follow.¡± Tarchon strode for the combined bath and surgery room. Nyx wanted to immediately refuse. She didn¡¯t have only a single feather like the last time he¡¯d bolted her bones back in place. The chance that he would discover her was high. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. But denying him would scream suspicious. Nyx couldn¡¯t fight him. She knew he was of considerable evolution tier, and no running, hiding, or fighting could end with her victory if he insisted on pressing her. All she could do was hope the man didn¡¯t question why she held the skulk shroud around herself and keep her spines out of sight. Besides, she did need patching. Tarchon was the least dangerous option she had. Following him through the door and sliding herself onto the operating table at his gesture, Nyx tore open a section of her robe. Tarchon would have access to her broken ribs. Nothing else. The Technocultist stared at her. ¡°It would make it easier if you gave me more room to work with.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it would.¡± She nodded, but made no motion to widen the gap between her two sections of shroud. She couldn¡¯t. Lowering the cover on her midriff further than it was would reveal her feathers. She really had to thank the shadowy appearance of the cloak. If it did not have such an indistinct form, the shape of her wings would be obvious through the torn section of her robe she¡¯d given him access to. ¡°Have it your way,¡± Tarchon said as he reached his hand to the side of her chest. ¡°But do not complain.¡± His fingers stabbed through her skin, and she had to suppress a scream as he immediately began digging around. Tiny forceps tore through flesh as they scraped along bone and analysed the damage. Even with the pain, Nyx could tell when he found something he didn¡¯t like. She panicked. Had he found her out? With her wings and the sharp vertebrae altering her spine, it wasn¡¯t impossible the shape or composition of her ribs had changed. If he wanted, he could simply slide his hand down, and he¡¯d feel her wings, bound as they were. It would only take a single touch. He had no reason to respect her wishes, and was all the more likely to try and find out what she was hiding. That was the way of the cults. With each mounting second, Nyx knew she¡¯d made a mistake. She regret allowing him to fix her. She should have just sucked up the pain and dealt with it until it eventually healed naturally. This was a mistake. A mistake that could very well reveal her despite all the effort to hide her mutations so far. Nyx couldn¡¯t help but wince and close her eyes, expecting the worst. ¡°I thought I told you to stay away from corruption dense areas.¡± The mechanical growl of a turbine accented his anger. ¡°How you are not deathly ill at this very moment, I have no clue.¡± Her eyes snapped open again. Then blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The bolt in your chest has melted. Honestly, I¡¯ve not seen anything like it. That alloy was rated at twelve months for both tissue rejection and a corruption rate within ten percent.¡± It sounded like Tarchon was speaking more to himself than to Nyx, but that changed with his next question. ¡°You didn¡¯t get caught in the Dark Star, did you?¡± ¡°No,¡± she squeaked, not sounding convincing even to her own ears. ¡°Then again, it might be a reaction from your curses,¡± Tarchon pulled himself away from the truth even as Nyx felt herself sweat. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that some curses can negatively affect implants, and yours are particularly strong. If that¡¯s the case, the Technocult cannot take you on.¡± Surprisingly, he seemed rather disappointed by the fact. Is that what this is? ¡°Have you let me into your home because you are considering making me an acolyte of the Technocult?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t deny that you are intriguing, but no. Our process is systematic. If you want to join, show us what we want to see during your Trials, and our doors will open.¡± ¡°What you want to see?¡± Nyx repeated, curious what exactly it was that the Technocultists desired in their prospectives¡­ even if she refused to become one. ¡°Not something I am at liberty to share. But you need not worry. If you continue as you are, you¡¯ll either be taken in by your cult of choice, or you¡¯ll be dead.¡± He chose that moment to clamp down on her ribs and fix the fracture in place. The message behind the pain, clear. Regardless, she had no choice but to continue onwards. Nyx knew the Technocult were rather unaggressive in their scouting efforts, and it showed in the number of cultists they had, but that hardly meant they were without strength. They had, after all, remained at odds with the Machine God worshippers for centuries despite that cult¡¯s far greater member count. ¡°And if I don¡¯t want to participate in any?¡± Nyx didn¡¯t know why she said it. Really, making it known that she was against participation in any of the major pillars of Coral was paramount to painting a target over her face. It announced to all that she didn¡¯t have anyone at her back. And she never would. Tarchon paused his manipulations as her blood flowed over his entirely mechanical fingers. He watched her. Seemingly intent on picking apart her reason. Nyx was ready for a round of questions, but they never came. Tarchon simply turned back to his work and twitched his finger beneath her skin. ¡°Try not to move. This will be uncomfortable.¡± It¡¯s already painful having you dig around inside my ribs. What could possibly make this any more un¡ª¡± Nyx immediately lost her trail of though as a wave of ice crashed through her. She knew, logically, that it was intense cold flowing off Tarchon¡¯s fingers, but it felt like he¡¯d taken a branding iron to her inside. She gasped for breath as he tore out a chunk of frozen metal along with an alarmingly large amount of flesh it had melded to. At that moment, she didn¡¯t care for the damage it had done, nor how she was going to regrow all that muscle. There was only one thing that shone through the pain. He¡¯s going to do that to my arm as well, isn¡¯t he? Sighing as the man somehow sewed her flesh back together, Nyx tore open the sleeve of her robe just above the elbow. Better that, then Tarchon getting the chance to touch her chitin. He was much quicker the second time. In an instant, the metal permeating her flesh was frozen, and broken free from her triceps. Now she had a lump missing in both her arm and her chest. Tarchon reached out his hand, and that robot arm hanging down from the ceiling passed him a tube it grabbed from the hundreds of vials along the wall. The Technocultist slid it into the table beneath Nyx, and began a hymn. As the roaring of a turbine enhanced his voice, the table glowed with runes that weren¡¯t there a moment ago. Unlike most other cults, the rituals for the Technocult were entirely utilitarian. The circles were squares. His hymn was a drone that nearly put Nyx to sleep the moment she heard it. But it was as effective as any other. She felt her flesh return from nothing as her Tarchon-inflicted wounds sealed. Whatever was in that vial must have been enough to power the ritual to almost as good as what her blood could. Unless it was just the ritual itself that was that efficient. Regardless, she was happy she didn¡¯t have to reveal anything more about herself than she already had. ¡°Now, we both know you know more about this situation than you¡¯re letting on. Before that, go take a shower.¡± Tarchon said, cleaning her blood from his fingers. ¡°You look like you need it.¡± And she did, what with all the blood. ¡°I mean, you¡¯ve even got mould in your hair. How does that even happen?¡± Oh. Nyx¡¯s hands shot to her head. Oh, shit. Chapter 51: Interrogation Nyx glared at her reflection. She¡¯d hoped Tarchon had been seeing things, but sitting there, growing along the tips of her hair, was mould. Its glacial blue sheen stood out upon her dark locks. Stabbing her fingers through her hair, she tore the semi-opaque substance from her head. It slid off her hair easily. For now, the mould only grew upon her natural strands, but in time it would gradually eat its way down to the roots. When that happened, it would fully take the place of her hair. The mould was fragile, and often snapped at a mere touch, but it grew rapidly to make up for it. It was the first mutation to come in after finding herself in captivity of the Fleshsmiths. They¡¯d cut her hair short in an attempt to remove it all, but as far as she was aware, that had simply accelerated the process. Nyx wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the mould by wiping it free. As she bathed and donned her new robe, her mind spiralled. After she¡¯d evolved, Nyx had gained the slightest of hopes that her mutations would stop revealing themselves over time. But that was now proven unrealistic. Even if she avoided opening her name, her changes remained inevitable. Not wanting to seem too suspicious, she didn¡¯t cover her head when she flicked the shower lever and walked back out into the main workshop. Tarchon had been the one to point the mould out; she couldn¡¯t hide herself immediately. At least for now, Nyx was confident it would take a few hours to regrow enough to be visible. But going forward, she had to be careful to keep her hood up lest someone spot its unnatural shade. From here on out, the mutations would only become more difficult to hide. Her tongue, her teeth, her saliva; while not things she couldn¡¯t hide at a glance, the simple action of speaking and interacting with someone was sure to raise questions. As much as she appreciated Tarchon allowing her to stay at his safehouse, she had to find her own isolated place where she could gather strength without being discovered. Tarchon waited for her. One of his workbenches had been cleared of the mess ¡ª although the pile of the next table was suspiciously taller ¡ª and he offered a seat across from her. Knowing she really didn¡¯t have much choice, she did as instructed. ¡°Now, lets start with you.¡± Tarchon began without any word for small-talk. ¡°What was your relation to the Fleshsmith cult?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have any. At least none besides K¡¯tan being my overseer.¡± Tarchon¡¯s gaze was emotionless. His face remained blank, and the glass orbs that replaced his eyes expressed no reaction. Despite his fully professional air, Nyx couldn¡¯t help but suspect that he didn¡¯t believe her. ¡°Alright. How about something easier?¡± Maybe it was the benefit of having cameras for eyes, but Tarchon never wavered. Nyx tried not to let it affect her. ¡°Did you know about the smuggling ring?¡± ¡°I learnt of it not long before the disaster.¡± ¡°How long before?¡± Nyx hesitated. She knew the proximity would paint her as suspicious, but she couldn¡¯t lie; what if Tarchon had already interrogated Dan or Ari? ¡°The day after my naming.¡± ¡°So within a day of the Dark Star?¡± Wincing, she nodded. ¡°Do you know how it happened?¡± Nyx shook her head. She could hardly tell him she did it herself. He hummed. Turbines revved in his chest as he looked down at her. Even sitting, the Technocultist towered over her. ¡°There¡¯s something that¡¯s been troubling me. That night I brought Ari back to your ward, you weren¡¯t surprised to see she¡¯d been outside, nor that she was safe. Instead, you seemed far more intent on K¡¯tan¡¯s reaction. I can¡¯t keep my memories digitised for long, but each time I replayed them, your reactions became more curious.¡± Her tongue ached from how hard she bit down. Nyx hadn¡¯t thought she¡¯d done anything to stand out, but here Tarchon was, questioning her because she had been too interested in seeing K¡¯tan¡¯s anger and fear. ¡°Did you know that Ari had severe corruption poisoning when we found her? It took some of my more expensive chemical solutions to disperse it. Even now, I struggle to understand. For her to have experienced that level of corruption, she had to have been within the Dark Star, except escape should be all but impossible for those who don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing. Not even I have a method to do so without destroying the core. So how did an unevolved child? Especially one affected by a dream-bug.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Nyx scrambled to think of some way to respond, but no ideas came to her mind that wouldn¡¯t incriminate herself. ¡°What is your relation to the Fleshsmiths?¡± Tarchon pressed. ¡°Do you know what caused this Dark Star?¡± She remained silent. ¡°You knew the Fleshsmith¡¯s sacrificial ritual. It is clear you¡¯ve had interactions with them. Was it the same one who gave you that catalyst on the day of your naming?¡± Again, Nyx couldn¡¯t speak. How could she explain that she¡¯d learnt their ritual by listening in on them from within the depths of their temple. She¡¯d never been there in this life. He would never believe her. After a minute without response, Tarchon sighed. ¡°I understand you wish to keep your silence, and I won¡¯t hold it against you if that is your choice, but to denounce the Fleshsmiths for both their hand in the Dark Star Event and their illegal sacrifice trafficking ring, I need solid case. I need to prove without question their involvement.¡± He rose to his feet, still looking down on Nyx. ¡°If you are concerned about retaliation, then be assured that your identity shall remain anonymous. If it is your abilities you wish to keep hidden, speak around them. Give me something to work with.¡± Nyx skimmed her mind for anything to work with. She refused to talk about anything related to her mutations or how she ignited the Dark Star, but if he was telling the truth and he truly intended to make this a political denunciation of one cult to another, then she didn¡¯t not want that to happen. ¡°That night¡­ I¡¯d followed K¡¯tan out through the hole in my neighbouring room. He had Ari. He took her into the Fleshsmith territory.¡± ¡°And what did you do?¡± he pressured. ¡°I¡­ I returned. There wasn¡¯t anything I could have done against the cult.¡± The only thing she could do was lie. Anything else would reveal too much. No matter what Tarchon¡¯s intent was for the Fleshsmiths, Nyx couldn¡¯t even hint at her mutations or the fact that she¡¯d been the origin of the disaster. Hopefully, he would accept it. Yet the Technocultist only stared down at her in silence. He stood there, hovering over her, waiting for her to continue. His sheer presence made her sweat. She wished she could tell him more, but there was nothing to say. All this effort to enact a denunciation wouldn¡¯t matter after she¡¯d ignited another Dark Star on their temple; it would be enough circumstantial evidence for the cults to denounce them anyway. Nyx almost jumped out of her seat when Tarchon sighed. The sound of high pressure gas releasing from some valve hardly matched his disappointed expression. ¡°I see.¡± He flicked his wrist, and the small key-card slipped out of her pocket and slot itself back into his arm. ¡°That is unfortunate. As I do not believe I can trust you, I can no longer offer you the refuge of my safe-house. Make sure not to forget anything.¡± Nyx could do nothing but gape. After discovering her mould, she¡¯d been planning to tell him she would be leaving, so it ended up the same. But to be told that she was no longer welcome felt¡­ infuriating. She could understand where he was coming from, and never trusted that this place was truly somewhere she could consider safe or permanent, yet the fact that she wasn¡¯t the one to say she was leaving first made her indignant. ¡°Alright. I was planning to find my own place anyway.¡± Trying not to huff in annoyance, she rose from her chair, grabbed her things, and made for the door. She didn¡¯t stomp. That would be childish of her; she was supposed to be twenty two inside. ¡°Don¡¯t get yourself killed before the Trials.¡± She heard right before she stormed through the front door and made it back out into the refinery. Without that tag, she suddenly felt so much more vulnerable between the massive clanking machines that spun and slammed around her. She rushed along the metal walkway quickly, in case the defences were on a timer or something. Soon she found herself far enough that not even the sound reached her. This was less than ideal. Nyx had been hoping to spend a couple hours to inspect her new name before she set herself to hunt the Fleshsmiths. She could probably find a quiet spot to do so, but she¡¯d already been attacked by two separate groups today; she didn¡¯t like her chances if she left herself at all vulnerable. Instead, she would head out into Fleshsmith territory and see if she could figure it out by trial and error. If not, she could always look into it later. After she¡¯d escaped the second Dark Star Event with the help of her little companion. ¡°Eyeball, can you guide me to the core of the Fleshsmith temple without being spotted? Ideally right below their main forge, but otherwise as close as we can get without resistance.¡± Little God looked at her for a moment, then veered his gaze into the distance. He looked through walls and saw paths Nyx could never hope to know. After a minute, he finally turned back to Nyx. ¡°Yes,¡± he said in that static voice of his. It might be frustrating to be kicked out of the place she¡¯d slept for the past week, but with the prospect of giving the Fleshsmiths what they deserve right around the corner, her excitement was quick to overtake any other feeling. Taking away the place she had to return to only reinforced what she needed to do now. Before she could relish in luxury. She donned her hood and thumbed her rapier. The Fleshsmith forge ¡ª their main temple ¡ª was not on the surface like the pinnacle cults. It was in the furthest depths of Coral. Downward facing. Only those who knew its location could find it through the chaotic twisting of the tunnels down closer to the black hole. If Nyx didn¡¯t have Little God, she couldn¡¯t have even thought to do this. She¡¯d lived in their temple for near a year. Despite that, she had no knowledge of the official path from the surface to the forge. And with her floating eyeball companion, she would be able to use the countless other, secret, passages into the cult. Should this work out, it might not be unreasonable to think she could repeat it with the other cults. It wouldn¡¯t help her kill the cultists that lived nearer the unaffiliated regions ¡ª nor the highest creeds ¡ª but it could cut down on the number of people she needed to cut down in her path for vengeance. ¡°Are you looking forward to this as much as I am, Eyeball?¡± Nyx said. ¡°If things go well, we might wipe out half the Fleshsmiths in one night.¡± He nodded. ¡°I will enjoy observing you.¡± Nyx grinned up at the floating orb. He was a bit dull ¡ª and a stick in the mud ¡ª but it was nice to have someone you knew was on your side. Chapter 52: Coral Heart Nyx took two steps towards where she knew the Fleshsmiths¡¯ territory lay before she realised Little God was moving the other way. Off in a direction completely separate from her goal. ¡°Where are you going?¡± she asked, already shifting to follow the small creature. Little God paused to look back at her. It tilted its body, confused. ¡°You wished the fastest path to their forge? This is the way.¡± And again, he turned to continue down his original path. The quickest path follows the opposite direction of where I know their territory lies? Nyx thought. Of course it does. She shook her head and chased her companion down a narrow staircase. It might be foolish to trust the eyeball god with anything related to humans and their relations, but she could never dispute his sight. When your body consisted of an eye and nothing else, you better hope you were good at seeing. ¡°Say, this path you¡¯re taking me won¡¯t put me before any monsters, will it?¡± Nyx asked as she went down the tenth flight of stairs. Two weeks ago and she would have been puffed already. Those sacrifices might not have made her body invulnerable, but it was clear they had an effect. Little God spun to look back at her without stopping its descent. The plumes of darkness flowed off its lower half as if in a breeze; one that was impossible in the airless halls they walked. ¡°None that are a threat to you.¡± Nyx would like to say that those words comforted her¡­ but she¡¯d come to learn that Little God tended to overestimate her capabilities. She didn¡¯t know if it struggled to see the difference between beings so much lesser than itself, or it saw the potential she had, but it wasn¡¯t accurate to her current state. A ¡®threat¡¯ ¡ª in his eyes ¡ª might very well be one of those titanic amalgamations she¡¯d witnessed in the Dark Star. ¡­hopefully she wouldn¡¯t have to see them again. Them, or the Eidolon god that came after. Little God led Nyx through dozens of chambers and hallways, each without a soul in sight. Some were decrepit ruins of her ancient ancestors. Others remained in pristine condition. She walked through what was some long forgotten abode that appeared almost lived in with how free of dust it was, which only made it eerie to walk through. She walked into a small nursery; strange in that there was only one crib. Back in the ward, there was never enough caretakers to ever afford to keep the babies separated like this. It made Nyx wonder at the luxuries the people of a thousand years ago might have experienced. But, even with such idle thoughts, nothing pulled her attention so much as the missing wall behind the empty cradle. The nursery shifted from a room of toys and nurturing, to a writhing mass of flesh spiralling into a dark tunnel without the light that permeated most of Coral¡¯s ancient metal halls. It pulsed. Each second, the walls floors and ceiling all convulsed like a esophagus trying to swallow an entire room. Nyx glanced between the writhing, fleshy tunnel and her guide uncertainly. ¡°Is this really the quickest way?¡± she couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Yes.¡± Little God floated within the dark tunnel, undaunted by either the grimy appearance or Nyx¡¯s hesitance. ¡°Is there no way to avoid these¡­ slimy tunnels?¡± ¡°No.¡± He didn¡¯t look back at her for once. ¡°Not unless you wish to be seen.¡± She groaned, but stepped after him despite her reservations. The soft squish beneath her feet sent a shiver down her spine. One that was made worse when it pulsed. Even with shoes, there wasn¡¯t enough of a barrier between herself and the sliminess of the living flesh she stood upon. It was strange. Her own feet had become less than solid in her past life ¡ª more slimy than the ground she walked on ¡ª yet it never felt as disconcerting as this. It had been an inconvenience, nothing more. The sensation of walking while your feet fell apart was certainly odd, but never disgusting. Ignoring the sickly sensation the spasming tunnel sent through her, she followed the eyeball into the dark. It quickly became too dark to see, and she immediately regret not buying a torch. For a moment, she wondered if the only option she had was to wade through the dark after Little God until light returned. But her third eye screamed in her mind. It always screamed, but now that her main eyes had become useless, it¡¯s demands reached the forefront of her mind. Seeing little reason not to, she lowered her robe and the skulk shroud until the crimson gem was revealed. It worked amazingly. While she couldn¡¯t get a perfectly detailed picture without focusing ¡ª as that would bring about its own problems ¡ª it was no different to how she saw beneath the Great Iris¡¯s light. Of course, now that her eye was out, it was impossible to stop herself from focusing on parts of the walls. Wherever she began to eat away at the flesh, it squirmed and recoiled from her. Thankfully, that was it. The fleshy walls didn¡¯t retaliate in any apparent way. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°So there won¡¯t be anyone to observe us from here on out?¡± She trusted Little God, but she had to ask. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good,¡± she murmured and sliced two strips down the back of her new robe. Her wings pushed outward, happy for the freedom. Nyx was too. A wave of euphoria washed over her as her wings stretched as wide as they could. Their tips nearly touched the walls of this tunnel before they returned to a more comfortable resting position bundled into her sides. Unbound as they were, they reached from her shoulder blades to her hips. If she happened across anyone, there would be nothing she could do to hide them, yet keeping them confined when they didn¡¯t need to be was torture. Nyx¡¯s new robe repaired itself around the base of her wings, leaving the outfit hugging them rather nicely. She gave a few experimental flaps, and twisted her body. Immediately she could tell it wouldn¡¯t get in her way. Her robe didn¡¯t have to be bunched up over her wings anymore. Glancing down at her hands, she considered letting out the claws, too. They were her most accustomed weapon, after all. But no. She unsheathed her sword and slid her finger along the sharp edge ¡ª doing her best to keep her third eye¡¯s gaze anywhere but the blade. It was not her claws she needed to practice with. After a good fifteen minutes of walking through the dark tunnel, thick veins and arteries began to grow larger and more apparent along the walls. A moment observing too long had burst open one of the natural pipes, and blood flowed freely from the ruptured vein. If the flesh had been quivering before, the addition of the arteries quake under a regular rhythm. The world around her beat so hard that she Nyx could feel her own heart forced into synchronisation. Each thump resounded in her chest. Nyx knew where she was heading even before the shifting shades of red and blue light began to illuminate the tunnel ahead of her. The veins by her side converged into a few massive ones that bulged and distorted with each wave of blood pumped through them. Eventually, the giant veins, along with the rest of the flesh, opened up into a massive chasm. Nyx now stood on the ledge of a hole in the wall of an immense cavern of blood, flesh and arteries, but none of that compared to what loomed at the chamber¡¯s core. The heart of Coral. A kilometre tall and beating like that of any animal, Coral¡¯s heart beat with such power that her ears rang and chest ached. Arteries wider than entire rearing wards shot out at odd angles from the top and side. Each shook from the heart¡¯s power. They reached to the cavern walls and split, boring into the flesh like roots. Poking out from one side of the giant, muscular heart ¡ª taking the place of the left ventricle and atrium ¡ª was an equally huge sphere of metal and glass. Towering pillars held it in place. Pillars that many arteries used as a support to reach the walls. A wave of blue light spun beneath the glass of the grand construction, and Nyx could feel the power of it burn her skin, right before it flowed into the heart as it thumped. Nyx was spellbound. The intense blue glow of the ring inside the sphere spun in concert with the beating heart, first shining the cavern with its distinct, icy light, then shining through the blood and burning the walls a bright, yet deep, crimson. In the depths of the chasm was an ocean of blood. An ocean with fleshy bridges connecting the base of the heart to the walls. It was distant, and the thumping heart twisted the space so that her vision was never purely direct, but when she focused her sternum¡¯s eye, she found dozens of cultists prostrated on the largest of the fleshy bridges. ¡°Eyeball!¡± she hissed at Little God who hadn¡¯t given the heart even a glance. ¡°They¡¯ll see me.¡± ¡°They cannot.¡± Little God paused to glance down at the mass ritual taking effect below. ¡°Not yet. Not unless you linger.¡± Nyx narrowed her eyes at the small creature. He¡¯s not¡­ doing this on purpose, is he? She thought, before shaking her head. He doesn¡¯t even understand basic human interactions. It is impossible he brought me here to get a reaction out of me. Though, when she looked up, she found Little God watching her, and suddenly she couldn¡¯t be so sure. There were pulsing veins all along the walls around the hole she found herself ¡ª large enough to walk on ¡ª yet her guide didn¡¯t lead her across any of them. It simply made its way directly to another tube of flesh somewhere overhead. He knew she could fly. Did he he choose this path because of that, or did it not cross his mind? Nyx hoped he wasn¡¯t making too many assumptions about what she was capable of. She might be able to fly, but to show her wings in the presence of cultists¡­ even if she had Little God¡¯s assurance they couldn¡¯t see her, was difficult. The eyeball had already made it the whole way. It now hovered there, tilting its eye back at her in confusion as if not understanding why she hadn¡¯t taken the leap yet. She wanted to shout at the eyeball. Tell it off for putting her in such a risky position instead of a path that didn¡¯t take them through the very ¡ª literal ¡ª heart of the Scriptures cult. But the damn Eye had moved far enough away that if she wanted it to hear her, those down below would, too. Letting out a silent sigh, she decided that she trusted Little God, and leapt. Her wings beat immediately and she shot across the cavern. Nyx¡¯s heart pounded in her chest. There was no way to tell if it was the fear of being discovered, and having her mutations revealed to the world, or just the effect of Coral¡¯s heart slamming through her chest. It was probably both. She crossed the chasm in moments, and quickly found herself speeding through the dark, fleshy corridor. Now that she was already flying, she saw no reason to land. She didn¡¯t have to feel the disgust of moving flesh. Little God, naturally, adapted to her speed without issue, and she shot through the depths of Coral far faster than she¡¯d otherwise hope. But the fleshy tunnel didn¡¯t remain horizontal for long. Soon, it slipped into an almost perfect drop that would have required her to fly anyway. Nyx saw no deviating paths. The tunnel was just one long pipe of winding veins that cut through the depths of Coral until the weight pulling on her amplified immensely. It was sudden and immense. The gravity that was a constant touch on her body became the tight grip of a monstrous limb. It curled around her chest. Weighed on her wings. Stuck in the powerful clutches of an invisible beast, she was torn down the tunnel with more power than her wings could handle. The tunnel disappeared. Instead, she found herself plummeting out of Coral¡¯s underside. She could see the shifting shapes at the edges of her vision that never seemed to form when you looked. Not even her third eye helped. Her wings beat, but didn¡¯t slow her down. Nyx looked down. The Darkness was impenetrable, yet it arose such a horrid memory in her mind. The black hole had its clutches on her.