《The Menocht Loop》 Map of the World and Overview Map of the World
Affinities
Light Control presence of radiance
Dark Control lack of light, darkness, void
Life Control life, like plants and living things; heal
Death Control death energy
Mountain Generally elementalist, earth
Cloud Generally elementalist, wind
Sun Generally elementalist, fire
Moon Generally elementalist, water
Beginning Augury based on the past; very easily pick up on patterns
End Augury based on future; can see threads of fate
Regret May create scenarios that branch off from a current moment in reality, effectively seeing into the future. Upon a scenario''s end, return to the present
Remorse Psychological healing or damage, with the ability to root through people''s memories
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Elementalism Based on their affinities, practitioners may gain the ability to practice elementalism.
Earth Elementalism (seismomancy) Typically Mountain; rarely Beginning or Dark
Wind Elementalism (aeromancy) Typically Cloud; rarely End or Regret
Fire Elementalism (pyromancy) Typically Sun; rarely End or Light
Water Elementalism (hydromancy) Typically Moon; rarely Beginning or Remorse
1. Yet Again I open my eyes, dilated pupils protesting the intense glare of sun reflecting off waves. My first instinct is to punch the dinghy¡¯s weathered side out of spite, but I¡¯m too exhausted to bother. Instead, I sit there, thinking, Oh, come on, not again. Useless thoughts, but still there. I squint my eyelids shut and cover my face with my hands, feeling mucus grits in the corners of my eyes. I¡¯ve already done this so many times before. Not. Again. I¡¯m curled up into a ball, my forehead on my knees and my bare feet braced against the raw wood of the floorboards. The boat¡¯s as small as it¡¯s always been¡ªa small dinghy that anyone might mistake for a freshwater fishing boat. I let out a low moan, then open my eyes once more. Be cool, I think. Anyone could be watching. Well, not anyone. I¡¯ve narrowed it down to either scientists, corporate goons, or a god. Why else would I be going through this hell if not for someone else to watch? So I throw up a deadpan mask, crossing my arms and legs to stop them from jittering in the sea breeze¡¯s chill. To be honest, it takes all my strength to not hyperventilate, to not just dive over the boat¡¯s edge and sink into oblivion. Why can¡¯t I? I ask myself, suppressing a smile that would probably scare even my mother. Scare anyone, really. I¡¯ve seen that smile in the mirror and it scares me. It¡¯s the smile of someone with nothing to lose. But I do have things to lose, I know I do. Just...I can¡¯t focus on them. They seem so far away. Mother...I picture her face in my mind. I can see her clearly, but it feels like I haven¡¯t seen her in years. ¡°Mother,¡± I murmur aloud, my lips forming the word with care. Mother: the unfortunate center of my life¡¯s brief orbit. Suddenly, I hear a seagull overhead¡ªthe first sign of life since I¡¯ve woken up. I swallow my growing nausea and lean forward, pressing my stomach into delicate knuckles. After the seagull, I know what¡¯s next. I almost giggle when I hear it: the moaning, clanking girth of a ship, the toot of its low horn. The cruise ship approaches, evil hiding behind its sleek white exterior. It comes closer, rocking over the waves, inevitable and ponderous. I feel the burn of the sun on my face and ignore it. I glance into the water. I tell myself that the cold will soothe my hot skin and slide in. Swimming in this heat is better than flying. I kick and paddle over to the ship, locating the nearest ladder with practiced ease, its silvery sheen stark against the ship¡¯s black side stripe. Then I¡¯m on board and I see the first of the barely mobile skeletons, the joints between bones poorly formed. I wave my hand and the five nearest to me stand erect, their bodies reinforced, their loyalties turned. Effortless. I don¡¯t smile; it¡¯ll just give the watchers pleasure. This is what they want, I know by now. They want this. Why else would they go through all the trouble of sending me here? The skeletons grin all around me, violet lights in their eyes replacing the pale green of before. At the same time, sunset-red flows from their eyes to their bones, cushioning them and keeping them in place as surely as skin, ligaments, and tendons. It makes the skeletons look pink or slightly pink-orange on the skeletons that are yellowed by age. I walk over the deck, turning the loyalties of the skeletons that cross my path. There are always twenty. Then I head to the rear of the boat. Tens of people lay submerged in a large on-deck swimming pool with water up to their necks, their shackled arms splayed over their heads while their fingers gnash at the sky. ¡°Help, please!¡± ¡°Ah, ah, It¡¯s so cold...¡± ¡°I¡¯m blind!¡± I ignore them. I used to say, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± but that only ever made things worse. Silence is the best tool in my possession if I¡¯m playing to win. Or maybe it¡¯s indifference? But I have the suspicion that indifference might be like a callus grown over bone. Let me explain: If you break a joint, like your elbow, the bone will grow back new, hard, and strong. Left unchecked, the new bone will grow differently than what once was, ruining the joint by preventing proper motion. I didn¡¯t use to be indifferent; rather, I cared too much. And now, I wonder at what I¡¯ve lost: Indifference is like that newborn bone, patching a warped wound but ultimately holding me back. I walk past the clamoring captives to the back of the ship and the engine. I know from experience that the steering mechanism on the ship is broken and that the only way to change course is by manually steering the rudder. I hold out my hand and wave it to the side. At my command, one of the fourteen people who died in the pool breaks free of her shackles. Her bony wrists are too small for them to contain after I instruct her to rub them free of flesh. She stands up and exits the pool of moaning captives, her skin glowing softly with red. I used to flinch when she walked past me and into the rudder, when her flesh spattered before the bones broke into pieces that I could easily manipulate from afar. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. But it¡¯s been a long time since my range was that short. I stand far enough back that I¡¯m safe from her splatter. I could throw her into the propeller from a hundred meters away at this point. Probably even farther than that. I manipulate her bones into place, forcing the largest fragments into the base of the rudder and nudging the ship¡¯s course to the right. I depart from the back of the deck, glancing furtively around me. I still don¡¯t know how they watch me. I¡¯ve checked for glosscams and thralled bugs...nothing. I walk to the front of the ship where the prow juts off a few feet into the distance. I rest my arms on the railing and feel the ocean spray against my forehead. The ship started out as a near-insurmountable puzzle. Defeat the skeletons, reconstruct a map, find the grimoire, master decemancy. I used to think that rescuing the people was part of the task. I have a sour taste in my mouth as I think of the moment when I really and truly realized my idealistic folly. My job was to ferry them, not rescue them¡ªthere¡¯s nowhere to rescue them to, not out on the ocean. And bringing them into Menocht Bay delivers them into the hands of a city gripped by outbreak. By the time I get on the ship, they¡¯re all already half-dead and unable to stand from weakness. I once tried bringing them out of their fetid pool and onto the deck, and they all collapsed and died. Suspended in the cool water¡ªtheir narrow profiles and sardine-packing limiting exposure to the sun¡ªis the best way. Once I carried all of them below deck, enlisting the skeletons for help. Even then, out of the sun, they died. Every possible action aside from keeping them in their aquatic holding container has led to their untimely deaths. I realize, as I think of this, that I¡¯ve never once tried rescuing one of them and talking to them about why they¡¯re on the boat in the first place. It seems like a most logical thing to do. I almost feel like crying from frustration, aimed entirely at myself. I look over my shoulder at a seagull overhead. Have I dehumanized them so much, after all this time? Thinking of them as some kind of test or obstacle? I know I have. And I know why I didn¡¯t talk to them in the beginning. First, I was dealing with a lot. Like the fact that I kept continuously dying and reliving the same nightmare scenario. Second, I was more interested in beating back skeletons than chatting with a bunch of emaciated, horrifyingly sunburned people. And third...those people scared me. They looked like standing corpses: Just one look at them was enough to know that they¡¯d never recover from this ordeal. And whenever they called out to me, it was with such desperation and anguish that¡­well, it disturbed me. And to someone who generally avoids human interaction, it was too much. And so I kept my distance, tuning out their cries as I did pretty much anything else to keep busy. I sigh and return to the moment. I almost consider heading to the back of the boat but think better of it. Instead, I instruct two skeletons lazing about to fetch someone from the pools. I direct them towards the human with the smallest aura of death in the hopes that they will be...less fragile. The skeletons come back a minute later. I feel the feeble struggles of their chosen human as he¡¯s brought to kneel behind me. ¡°Why...why...¡± I turn around. All the skeletons need is a glance to know that they¡¯ve been dismissed. I look at the pathetic person in front of me, at his bony form and blood-shot eyes. Are they...? Ah, so the blind one. And considering the meat remaining on his bones, I reckon that when he first came into the care of...whoever captured him and the others, he wasn¡¯t exactly thin. It¡¯s served to keep him alive, at the very least. And maybe the blindness from looking at the sun has saved his brain from the horror of looking at the people around him. I can tell from the pauses between his words that he''s thirsty and out of breath from the small walk. From what I understand, the only thing the people on the boat have to drink is their pool water¡ªalso their wastewater¡ªand rain that falls every other day or so from the sky. It¡¯s probably been at least a day since he¡¯s had anything to drink. One of my skeletons comes forth with a bowl of water, my desire calling him forth just as surely as a gesture of my hands or a glare from my eyes. I grab it from his warm, bony clutches and step forward. The person tenses at the motion, even though my feet are quiet on the plank floor. It must be so silent here, I notice, compared to in the back. Any sound would go noticed. He¡¯s latching onto anything he can to understand what¡¯s happening. I clear my throat, and he stills. ¡°Hello,¡± I say, surprised at how smoothly the word rolls off my tongue. ¡°I have taken over this ship and have changed its course for the closest shore.¡± ¡°Oh, oh Y¡¯jeni, please...¡± I almost smile to reassure him before I remember that he¡¯s blind and it won¡¯t matter either way. I¡¯ll have to encourage him with words, then. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± I pause internally, shaking my head. I hold my mother¡¯s image firmly in my mind, her aquiline features and cold expression anchoring me to my past. ¡°I¡¯m Ignatius,¡± I finish. Named after her husband''s father, and the father before him...and so on. ¡°But you can call me Iggy.¡± ¡°Iggy?¡± Incredulity saturates the man¡¯s voice. The name sounds innocuous¡ªwhat kind of villain is named Iggy? I chuckled. ¡°Yes, I know, it is a bit silly. Now, if I¡¯m to do anything to help you and the others on this ship¡ª¡± I begin. But I pause. ¡°My apologies, I didn¡¯t realize you were so thirsty.¡± I say this as the man licks his bleeding, cracked lips. I wonder if he notices my disingenuity. ¡°Here, let me give you some water.¡± I step forward, the bowl of water secure in my hands. ¡°Open your mouth: I¡¯ll pour water down your throat.¡± ¡°Thank...you...¡± I place the bowl by the man¡¯s lips, then use one hand to hold the bowl and the other to direct the man¡¯s hands onto the bowl¡¯s sides. I leave him, stepping back to watch. I¡¯ve never seen a person drink the way this man did. After he finishes with the bowl, he begins to lower it down but drops it a few inches from the floor. From the spasms in his hands, I can tell that the action wasn¡¯t intentional. Either way, the bowl is fine: I leave it where it is. ¡°So,¡± I say, ¡°tell me. What happened to the lot of you?¡± He begins to sniffle, tears running down his face. Don¡¯t be impatient, don¡¯t be impatient... ¡°I know it¡¯s been difficult,¡± I say consolingly, ¡°but I need to know who did this to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m blind,¡± he moans, covering his face with his hands. He collapses to a sitting position, no longer kneeling before me. It...irritates me. Maybe because it seems so sloppy and unpoised. Maybe because I am used to fear, and this man has none. ¡°Who¡ª¡± The man interrupts me. ¡°I don¡¯t know the name of the person who did this,¡± he murmurs, his face looking up as though trying to pinpoint the location of my eyes. ¡°But I can tell you what I know.¡± 2. Menocht Bay A skeleton comes by with a chair¡ªthe kind that¡¯s intended for reclining. This one even has an overhead umbrella attached. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I ask. I hoped that when I introduced myself earlier, he¡¯d tell me of his own accord. ¡°J-Jeremy.¡± I hum soothingly. ¡°Now, Jeremy, I¡¯ve brought over a chair for you to sit in.¡± I walk over and grab onto his hands, lifting him up. He can¡¯t be more than a hundred and twenty pounds. Based on his height, a healthy weight would lie somewhere around one-sixty. He¡¯s as unsteady on his feet as a newborn foal. I remember how the skeletons had labored bringing him to me. I was wrong in assuming it was because Jeremy was struggling. No: They¡¯d practically dragged him because he¡¯d been unable to move. He shouldn¡¯t be that weak, especially since I¡¯d given him water. He should be able to stand. Maybe he¡¯s just that pathetic. But I don¡¯t say anything¡ªdoing so would be counter-productive. If I do this right, it seems like I might actually have new, valuable information on the situation. I ease Jeremy into the chair, helping him to adjust his head onto the neck cushion while positioning the umbrella to fully cover his body. As I step back, I notice that he looks incredibly embarrassed. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± I ask. ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m not wearing clothes,¡± he says, his voice practically a whisper. No shit. ¡°Nothing to be self-conscious about,¡± I say. The malnourishment has rendered his sensitive parts...shriveled. ¡°But let me fetch you a towel.¡± A skeleton comes forth and drapes one over the man. ¡°Who¡ªwho¡¯s with you?¡± ¡°Oh, just my subordinates,¡± I reply. ¡°They¡¯re all mute.¡± Perhaps it¡¯s useful that the man is blind. Most people would refuse to talk to me on principle after seeing me control the skeletons. Given how desperate the people in the pools are, though, I don¡¯t think his ignorance matters too much. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°...You were saying?¡± ¡°Right...¡± I wait for a solid ten seconds, but the man¡¯s mouth remains closed. I cough, and he jerks as though startled. ¡°This used to be an actual cruise ship,¡± he explains, his voice soft, almost reverent. ¡°We were on vacation.¡± I ¡®mhm¡¯ to show him I¡¯m paying attention. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°And...well, I woke up in the morning to a legion of skeletons. I opened the door to my room, went upstairs, and then¡ª¡± ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°They knocked me unconscious. ¡°Next thing I knew, I was in the pools.¡± ¡°Did the pools always used to be there?¡± The man shook his head limply, barely moving it over the surface of the cushion. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did you ever hear anyone speak?¡± I asked. ¡°Anyone with a semblance of authority?¡± ¡°Only Miles Walker,¡± Jeremy admits. ¡°The captain of the ship...though I think...he...¡± ¡°He what?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s already dead.¡± I tsk. ¡°Shame.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Anything else you have for me?¡± I ask. Be patient, be patient. ¡°I only went blind a few days ago,¡± Jeremy says. ¡°Before then, I saw...some things.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I say, feigning interest. I doubt Jeremy has anything worthwhile to give me¡ªyet another wild goose chase. Besides, what was I expecting? Rescuing the captives is hopeless. ¡°There used to be a man on a bone wyrm,¡± he begins, ¡°but he left a week ago, taking at least fifty skeletons with him.¡± Must have been a massive wyrm to take on so much extra mass, I reckon. My gaze sharpens. I¡¯m oddly...surprised. Jeremy actually did have useful information after all. A skeleton comes forth with refrigerated food. It looks a little...dated, but it should be fine. I leave the skeleton with Jeremy and walk away. ¡°Enjoy the food,¡± I call out. ¡°I¡¯ll be back later.¡± I head into the captain¡¯s quarters and sit down at the man¡¯s desk. I pull a book out from the shelf¡ªthe third volume of Hercates¡¯ Grimoire. A bone construct... Perhaps a way to leave the ship before it reaches the shore? Maybe a way to break the vicious cycle of this game. I page through the grimoire, scanning for the illustration of bony wings... Ah, yes, flying constructs. Difficulty: expert, requirements...I skip over them, they don¡¯t matter...description doesn¡¯t matter...reagents: a bare minimum of twenty full, intact human skeletons or suitable equivalent. Two soul gems. A flight focus. I gaze coolly at the requirements. I return to the surface, then look up at the seagull that¡¯s been circling overhead for the past thirty minutes. As I pinch my index and middle fingers to my thumb, the bird seizes and falls, crashing onto the deck with a splat. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Jeremy¡¯s startled voice rings out, muffled by half-chewed food. ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± I call back. I walk over to the bird and rake my fingers over its chest plumage. As they come up, I see the bird¡¯s energy swirling around them like inky, violet water. I distill the dark energy into a soul gem. Afterward, I suspend the bird over the ship¡¯s aft and swipe one hand right, effectively skinning the bird and cleaning it of flesh. I swipe again; this time, 70% of the bird¡¯s skeleton falls away into the water, joining the superfluous meat. What¡¯s left is my flight focus¡ªa double-triangle formed by the bird¡¯s spine and wings. It¡¯s too big to place in my pocket, so I deposit it onto the deck. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I still need one more soul gem. I glance over at Jeremy...and mentally shake my head. He could be useful, I think, justifying mercy to myself. Instead, I direct a pair of skeletons to head over to the pools and kill someone at the very edge of death. Then, I direct them to bring me the corpse. I place my fingers upon the emaciated human¡¯s chest, pulling them back to form a violet soul gem. I have twenty skeletons on board, not even counting the dead captives. Enough to make a large skeletal mount and have servants left over. I direct the closest skeletons to my side while holding onto the flight focus with both hands. On either side of the focus float the violet soul gems. I collapse the skeletons en masse, watching as their bones fall away like broken teeth. They begin to take shape, flowing like water over the focus, soul gems, and myself. I step away to let the process continue to completion, watching the wyrm¡¯s construction with interest. It¡¯s said the exact form of a wyrm depends on the psyche of its creator. The thought almost makes me giggle but for the watchers...and Jeremy. If I had to describe wyrms in simple terms, they¡¯re supposed to look like snakes with crested lizard heads. Given the simplicity of the design, I¡¯m curious to see what variations in form might arise. The wyrm finishes self-assembling in five minutes. It¡¯s long and definitely wyrm-like, though I don¡¯t see anything unusual about it. Maybe all decemancers are as fucked up in the head as me. The wyrm roars, though it doesn¡¯t sound like the cry of any living creature. It¡¯s hoarse, like the grinding of metal, the sizzle of a pan. Jeremy panics, screaming, ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s back! I shouldn¡¯t have said¡ª¡± ¡°Relax!¡± I bellow. All is silent. ¡°This wyrm is taking me¡ªus¡ªto safety.¡± Why ¡°us?¡± Am I too soft? Was it Jeremy¡¯s noticeable drop in vitality when I said ¡°me?¡± I suppose deserting the man would push him closer to suicidal depression and loss of will to live. ¡°Really?¡± Jeremy doesn¡¯t ask the question I know he must be thinking¡ªhow I summoned a wyrm if I, myself, am not a decemancer. He¡¯s undoubtedly figured it out if he has two brain cells to rub together. ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Thank you so much,¡± he says, his voice catching in his throat. He begins to shake, then sob, then wail, until the only sound in the whole world is the peeling joy of Jeremy¡¯s restored hope. I swallow. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± It isn¡¯t nothing, but I¡¯m not sure what it is yet. ¡°Can you stand?¡± ¡°Yes¡±¡ªJeremy gasps¡ª¡°I can stand.¡± And he does, though he grabs onto the chair for support. I direct one of the remaining servants to lead Jeremy over to the wyrm¡¯s ribcage¡ªan area generally designated as the guest seating area. At least according to Hercates, though given the man¡¯s notion of safety... Not that there are any alternatives. ¡°Your servants,¡± Jeremy begins, licking his chapped, sun-blistered lips. ¡°They¡¯re quite warm.¡± ¡°The same temperature as you or me,¡± I reply. ¡°...Right.¡± ¡°Hold tight,¡± I warn. His hands currently grip two arcing ribs with all the strength of a starved, traumatized man¡ªnot enough force. I sigh, then collapse the skeleton that led Jeremy into the rib cage. I wrap its bones around Jeremy¡¯s torso and secure them to the wyrm. ¡°I¡¯m strapping you in with a harness.¡± Good thing that Jeremy¡¯s blind. ¡°A-alright.¡± Jeremy licks his lips again. ¡°Very...warm... Are you bringing anyone else?¡± ¡°No.¡± One passenger is already enough for this time. I¡¯ll see where this change in events takes me before I escalate things further. I climb onto the back of the wyrm, eventually positioning myself firmly onto the crest of its head. There, my hands once more take control of the flight focus, wrapping around its spongy, delicate bones. With a thought, the other nine skeletons on deck collapse into their components and fly onto the tail of the wyrm, extending its length by another seven feet for a final length of twenty-five feet from head to tail tip. Though Hercates draws the image of a bony winged dragon on the cover of the flying construct chapter, he never discusses the creation of such a mount. Wyrms are superior in that they¡¯re aerodynamic, can be made with bones from a plethora of sources (even though Hercates only uses human bones in his reagent list), and are easily extended out to account for additions¡ªand subtractions¡ªof bone. ¡°Ah,¡± Jeremy exclaims as the wyrm rises off the ground. I ignore him, lifting the construct farther into the air. Once we¡¯re around a hundred feet above the water, I direct the wyrm forward, towards the mainland. In minutes, the ship is a speck on the horizon behind us. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°The mainland,¡± I reply. ¡°But whe¡ª¡± ¡°Menocht Bay.¡± I hear Jeremy audibly gape. ¡°Menocht Bay? We¡¯re saved!¡± If only that were true. ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up yet.¡± Maybe a day or two¡¯s head start in the city will give me a better chance at preventing the worst of the outbreak. The city is within sight after four hours of flying, its skyscrapers towering over the horizon. The glass reflects the sunlight and magnifies the glare coming off the water, so much so that it¡¯s difficult to look at the city directly. I touch the wyrm down onto the waves, disengaging myself from its head and lowering myself down to Jeremy. Since he¡¯s already in his ¡®harness¡¯, I simply detach him from the wyrm¡¯s ribcage and float him next to me. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± he asks, flustered. ¡°We need to travel inconspicuously. I¡¯ll lead you along next to me; you won¡¯t have to do anything.¡± Jeremy breaks the silence after a minute. ¡°How¡ª¡± My head snaps around. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Do you have a harness too?¡± Funny. ¡°No.¡± He¡¯s quiet for a moment. ¡°Before this nightmare, I worked at an Arts academy. To cover all our bases, we ensured that we had personnel proficient in all practitioner domains.¡± I see where he¡¯s going with this. ¡°So you have a basic familiarity with decemancy.¡± ¡°Something like that.¡± ¡°Then you should understand why we should travel inconspicuously.¡± It¡¯s best to avoid headaches, even in a world with no consequences. The man grimaces. ¡°I know how you¡¯re moving me¡±¡ªhe spits the last word, shivering with disgust¡ª¡°but how are you moving?¡± I yawn. ¡°We¡¯re all made of bones, after all.¡± Sure it¡¯s considered dangerous to manipulate your own bones, but I¡¯ve done it enough times now that it¡¯s old hat. I can¡¯t blame him for being surprised¡ªmost would never dare experiment with their own bodies. ¡°But you¡¯re not far off the mark: I¡¯m not using a harness like yourself, but I have a few bones stashed in my clothes.¡± A blatant lie but easier to digest than the truth. Jeremy settles down with that revelation. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°When we arrive,¡± I begin, ¡°I¡¯m going to remove your harness. You¡¯re going to have to walk with me... Can you do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. It¡¯d be easier if I had eyes.¡± He¡¯s obviously hinting that I should bring him to a healer. But, seeing as neither of us has money or identification, I can¡¯t see it working out. I could try to fix his eyes myself, but my practice is more suited for destruction than restoration. ¡°I can whip something up for you. It¡¯ll make people look at you funny, but it should serve as a stop-gap until you can see a proper Life practitioner.¡± His lip curls up. ¡°A stop-gap?¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I pull the soul gems I used to animate the wyrm from my pockets. I crunch them, turning them into a liquid, and direct them into Jeremy¡¯s eyes. He jumps. ¡°Everything¡¯s in shades of gray!¡± I smile and tap my head. ¡°You¡¯re seeing the world in shades of vitality.¡± In other words, with the sight of Death. ¡°You¡¯re white,¡± he murmurs. ¡°I¡¯m alive,¡± I point out. ¡°Look at your own arm. You¡¯re a pale gray because you¡¯re still teetering on the cusp of death.¡± He pales. ¡°I am?¡± I need to find him a pair of sunglasses¡ªhis eyes are glowing violet. ¡°Yes, you are.¡± I really need to work on my patience as I keep snapping at the man. ¡°But you¡¯ve already lightened up quite a bit,¡± I say encouragingly. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how quickly we were moving,¡± Jeremy comments, probably referring to the speed of the wyrm over water. He looks at me, his eyes narrowing. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Ignatius.¡± He snorts. ¡°I should¡¯ve heard of a decemancer of your caliber.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± I murmur, directing us around the docks and toward the cliff by the left edge of the city. There¡¯s a small overgrown area that I use as cover to sneak us in. I lower our feet onto the ground and strip Jeremy of his skeletal overcoat. I sigh. I¡¯m not here to rescue them, I tell myself. Every time I¡¯ve gone down that route in the past... And yet, what else is there to do? Screw it. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the consulate and try to get in touch with an official.¡± 3. The Flower District ¡°Are my eyes really that conspicuous?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I give Jeremy a look while he readjusts his sunglasses. ¡°Thanks for the clothes, by the way,¡± he mutters. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have you walking around in a towel.¡± Before we left, I scrounged up a set of clothing from one of the guest cabins¡ªa simple black patterned shirt, a loose pair of gray trousers, and cheap sandals. It doesn¡¯t take long before the consulate building is just up ahead, its golden tresses sparkling in the sunlight. ¡°What business?¡± an attendant asks as she scrolls through a collection of names and appointments. Jeremy gives me a look. ¡°A ship containing civilian captives is going to arrive at Menocht Bay in a little more than one day,¡± I explain. ¡°I have a cohort that has taken over the ship and steered it on course for this city.¡± The attendant¡¯s finger pops off her glosspad. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Who should we speak to about this incident?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get in big trouble if you aren¡¯t serious,¡± she warns us. I nod. ¡°We¡¯re serious.¡± She shakes her head, then stares at her glosspad. ¡°Since this is...urgent, follow me.¡± She gives us a reluctant look before motioning for another guard to stand at the white-and-gold-filigreed entrance. Soon, we¡¯re standing before a large mahogany door. ¡°One moment.¡± The attendant knocks, then enters. She emerges a moment later and beckons us in. Jeremy and I enter the professional office of whom I immediately recognize as the captain of the guards. ¡°Esmerelda Conningway,¡± she says, introducing herself. She¡¯s standing by the window, looking out. It¡¯s not a particularly nice view, framing city instead of bay. ¡°Ignatius Black,¡± I lie. ¡°But you can call him Iggy,¡± Jeremy interjects. My eye twitches. ¡°I¡¯m Jeremy Sanderson.¡± ¡°...Mr. Black,¡± Captain Conningway calls out, ¡°I see Death energy around you. Speak your business.¡± It¡¯s by no means illegal to practice the Dark Art, though I¡¯ve found that decemancers typically enjoy lukewarm welcomes at best. When engaging with Menocht authorities, I¡¯ve learned that it¡¯s strategically useful to deny any decemantic association. Conningway, I suspect, will be no exception. ¡°It¡¯s unsurprising that the taint I fight has seeped into my vestments,¡± I rebut, sighing. ¡°A day ago, my assistant, Claude, and I traced the path of a peak decemancer back through the Illyrian Ocean. We thought it suspicious that a decemancer would use a flying construct to follow a circuitous path over water.¡± The captain hums her assent. ¡°Quite suspect. It¡¯s faster and safer to travel over ground, especially for the decemantic type. But why were you chasing a decemancer?¡± I smirk. ¡°There was a bounty on him¡ªwanted for human sacrifice.¡± Conningway frowns, then makes a gesture for me to continue. ¡°To our surprise and dismay, we soon found a ship that had been boarded by undead. Moreover, not only was it filled to the brim with skeletons, but it also held over two hundred shackled people in a pool on deck.¡± Captain Conningway¡¯s eyebrows rise, her expression turning grim. ¡°Heavens.¡± ¡°Jeremy was one of the better off that I managed to rescue,¡± I say, gesturing to the bony man. Even dressed in clean clothes and sunglasses, he looks half-dead. It¡¯s not exactly difficult to believe that he¡¯d just been liberated. Conningway¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°So, what happened to the ship and its captives?¡± I clear my throat. Y¡¯jeni, I¡¯ve talked more today than I have in ages. Not that I didn¡¯t use to talk in this looping nightmare: There just hasn¡¯t really been a need in the past however-many months. ¡°As I said, we only found the ship a few hours ago. Since then, we¡¯ve defeated the skeletons and taken over the ship¡¯s steering mechanism. With my partner at the helm, it should arrive at Menocht Bay soon¡ªin about thirty-six hours.¡± While there was no human steering the ship, I did leave a skeleton in charge of keeping it on course. The captain fingers her jaw. ¡°Okay. Excellent.¡± She exhales while clenching her fist. ¡°I swear, I can only handle so much evil in this world...¡± I cock my head. ¡°Has there been anything else going on in the city?¡± I take a step forward. ¡°You probably haven¡¯t heard of my name because I usually operate across the ocean in Turina, but I¡¯m quite accomplished in the Arts.¡± Jeremy gives me a look, and I wink at him. The captain groans. ¡°Nothing worth troubling a guest over.¡± ¡°I insist.¡± The problem at hand most certainly is my business after all the trouble it¡¯s put me through. She waves a hand dismissively but paces back over to the window. ¡°We¡¯ve been having problems with a drug called ginger,¡± she explains. ¡°It afflicts people with a mild bout of insanity that only grows worse with further usage. Moreover, it¡¯s contagious,¡± she spits. ¡°I know, it sounds preposterous. However, when someone exchanges fluids with another on the drug...the insanity spreads.¡± I know from experience that even a sneeze is enough to spread the contagion, with fluid droplets lingering in the air for hours. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°How long has this been going on?¡± I ask. ¡°Two days¡±¡ªshe sighs¡ª¡°and it¡¯s already grown into a terrible headache.¡± It¡¯ll be far more than that if it isn¡¯t stopped now, I think scathingly. Her information is correct, though: given that I¡¯ve arrived a day and a half earlier than usual, it¡¯s only been around two days since ginger began to be produced in the city. ¡°Do you have any leads?¡± I know the drug¡¯s source, but I might as well see if the captain knows anything I don¡¯t. ¡°We only know that the drug¡¯s maker is skilled in the Arts,¡± she replies helplessly. The consulate guards really don¡¯t know anything, then. Disappointing. ¡°Is there a way that I can contact you?¡± she asks suddenly. I blink. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You can contact me through quantum channeling,¡± Jeremy interjects. ¡°You do have a channeler in your office, correct?¡± She nods. ¡°I do.¡± I¡¯m mildly taken aback by this. Quantum channelers have been largely rendered obsolete by the emergence of glossYs, so it¡¯s surprising Conningway has one on hand. They do have their uses, though, allowing for communication without a physical device serving as a medium. In exchange for convenience, they¡¯re much more invasive. Just thinking of Mother screaming at a marketing agent over quantum channeler is enough to give me goosebumps. Granted, the agent deserved it: you can¡¯t ignore someone contacting you via channel as their voice tunnels straight into your mind. Unsurprisingly, the marketer contacting Mother over quantum channel was illegal¡ªa fact she repeated with feverish gusto. ¡°Excellent,¡± Jeremy says as he heads for the rectangular black receiver in the office¡¯s corner. ¡°I¡¯ll input my signature into the system... There.¡± He turns back and smiles. ¡°Remember: Jeremy Sanderson.¡± She smiles back. ¡°I¡¯ll contact you if I have any further updates or questions, and I¡¯ll keep men stationed at the docks to await the arrival of the ship. I presume that we¡¯ll have much more business together sorting out everything when your partner arrives.¡± I bow my head. ¡°Excellent. You¡¯ve been a pleasure to work with, Captain Conningway.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± ??? ¡°We¡¯re going to the Flower District,¡± I call out as we exit the consulate building. Jeremy follows behind, his steps sure enough that he no longer slows me down. ¡°Why?¡± I give him a grim smile. ¡°That¡¯s where the root of the trouble is.¡± He doesn¡¯t ask any more questions, for which I¡¯m thankful. I don¡¯t have any good answers. None that are simple, anyway. The Flower District is, on the surface, beautiful and decadent. That¡¯s because it has two levels. Flowers line pathways and shopfronts on the surface, gardens of rose bushes and shrubs interrupting the monotony of the trimmed lawn. Throughout the Flower District are strategically placed lifts leading down to the lower level. Sections of the upper level peel away from below, allowing the sun to cast slits of light into the underground. Instead of the park-like upper level, the lower level is a veritable warren of buildings. Thin streets crisscross shopfronts and lead off into seedier areas with less-than-legal businesses¡ªsuch as drug dens where the ginger manufacturers worked. From my understanding, the lower level is largely left to its own business, so long as the debauchery and crime stay below. I take Jeremy down one such lift to the lower, sunless level, not that he¡¯d be able to tell. ¡°What happened down here?¡± He breathes through his mouth, holding his nose. ¡°Smells like something died.¡± ¡°Lots of things have died down here,¡± I murmur as I sidestep past a group of stringy-haired loiterers. ¡°It¡¯s only going to get worse until this drug is out of the picture.¡± I almost can¡¯t believe I¡¯m in Menocht before the drug has reached the Central District. Things haven¡¯t gotten out of hand yet. While I don¡¯t want to get my hopes up, I feel like I might have a chance to nip this entire humanitarian crisis in the bud. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. ¡°Pay attention to people¡¯s vitality as we walk,¡± I murmur. Jeremy looks my way, his face rapt. ¡°People who are taking ginger will look gray.¡± Jeremy blanches. ¡°They¡¯re dying?¡± ¡°Something like that. We need to find the spot with the greatest density of people with low vitals.¡± It doesn¡¯t take us more than fifteen minutes to do so. We stand before the door of an abandoned factory. ¡°They¡¯re making it inside,¡± I whisper. ¡°But don¡¯t worry.¡± I wave my hand. ¡°Holy shit,¡± Jeremy hisses. ¡°You just killed all of them! They¡¯re all black!¡± Look behind you, Jer. I killed everyone else on the way over. ¡°The drug¡¯s new, so the captain doesn¡¯t know...but the insanity is permanent.¡± ¡°So? I¡¯m sure some healers could¡ª¡± ¡°Do you trust me, Jeremy?¡± He stops and looks at me, his eyes narrowing. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t, but I do.¡± ¡°Then trust that this is the only way.¡± I place my palms together, then split them apart. I can¡¯t use these bodies; the only thing they¡¯re good for is a fire. I strip them of moisture, expelling it from their flesh, though even for someone like me, the process is inefficient. It would be much easier if I were a water elementalist. ¡°You¡¯re a practitioner, right? What do you specialize in?¡± He sighs. ¡°I¡¯m a fire and water elementalist.¡± I give him an appraising look. Opposite elemental affinities of Sun and Moon? That¡¯s a rare combo. He¡¯s almost certainly been able to feel me moving water out of the bodies. Then he should have already guessed... ¡°You want me to light these bodies up, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°As if they¡¯re all infected with plague.¡± He runs a hand through his hair. ¡°They¡¯re already dead...¡± he mutters, as though trying to convince himself to light the dehydrated corpses up. ¡°I need to see what I¡¯m setting on fire to do it correctly,¡± he says, stepping toward the factory door. ¡°Fine. But if you need to get close, hold your breath.¡± I move the dead over to the far side of the factory and follow him inside. Tables of syringes and vials of yellow litter the inside, taking up a third of the factory¡¯s floor space. Mummified people lay strewn over the ground. He stays within a foot of the doorway, keeping his distance, hands shaking. ¡°Before the ship, I would¡¯ve vomited at this sight.¡± He immolates the corpses, his orange flames quickly turning shriveled skin black. When we go back outside, Jeremy sets the rest of the people I killed aflame. The entire process takes around half an hour. ¡°Is that it? Crisis averted?¡± he asks. I chuckle. ¡°If only it were so simple. We need to kill all the infected, Jeremy. That¡¯s the only way to prevent the city from going under.¡± I glance back at him. ¡°But it¡¯s easy to tell who¡¯s infected, at the very least.¡± ¡°Can we stop for dinner?¡± Jeremy asks, his tone defeated. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been seven hours since I last ate,¡± he retorts, anger creeping into his voice. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°Fine. If you can pay for it.¡± I mean this as a joke, but he takes my words seriously. ¡°Don¡¯t you have money?¡± ¡°No,¡± I reply, cracking a smile. He licks his lips. By now, we¡¯ve returned to the upper level of the city, and the consulate is within view. ¡°Why don¡¯t we see if we can get money from the captain?¡± I scoff. ¡°For doing what?¡± ¡°F-for taking care of the ginger problem...¡± I narrow my eyes and glare at him. ¡°People don¡¯t take kindly to solving problems with killing, even if it''s the only way.¡± I sigh. ¡°We¡¯ll be busy ridding the city of infected for the foreseeable future; we¡¯re bound to get money or food off the culled infected.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± ¡°We can take food then. Fair?¡± He doesn¡¯t reply. 4. World Shift Jeremy held an auri in his palm, rubbing his fingers over its smooth, blue, jade-like surface. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± I ask. Jeremy looks up, his eyes widening. ¡°...How did you know where to go?¡± I tilt my head in consideration. Using stolen auris, I brought Jeremy on over twenty hovergloss trips around Menocht Bay. Wherever we disembarked, I led him to budding groups of infected, striding through back alleys and commercial districts alike. In just under five hours...I did it: I eradicated ginger. ¡°You know the city like the back of your hand, but I¡¯m willing to bet you¡¯re not from Menocht Bay¡ªyou¡¯re too powerful. Are you from Kaspari?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did you grow up in Menocht, perhaps?¡± I scoff. ¡°Definitely not. Don¡¯t you hear my accent?¡± Jeremy¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°...Shattradan?¡± I grin. ¡°You guessed it.¡± ¡°But...¡± I sigh and fold my arms across my chest. ¡°Look, Jer, it¡¯s complicated, but have I steered you wrong thus far?¡± ¡°You consider culling over two percent of the city¡¯s population a success and somehow convinced me to be your accomplice. You can¡¯t blame me for still trying to figure out what¡¯s going on. What kind of person are you to kill so many without blinking an eye?¡± I snort and avert my gaze. ¡°The kind of person with nothing to lose.¡± ??? Inevitably some of the infected had access to store registers. I easily puppeted their corpses into giving us enough money to pay for two rooms at a hotel. We¡¯re in the hotel room now, a luxurious suite with two king-size mattresses. Jeremy falls asleep almost the second his head hits the pillow, not that I can blame him. I lie down on my own mattress, though I keep my eyes open to stare at the ceiling. ¡°Was this what I was supposed to do all along?¡± I murmur. ¡°In hindsight, it seems so close-minded that I stayed with the ship until it docked. I can¡¯t believe I never thought to go on ahead and stop the crisis from escalating.¡± I chuckle bitterly. Sometimes when you linger on a problem for too long, you grow blind to the way forward. Even a single external comment can help you to see things differently and illuminate a flawed pattern of thinking. Unfortunately for me, I¡¯ve been alone. Maybe that was the first mistake I made, here, in the loop: failing to treat people like people. Just because they won¡¯t remember anything in a few days doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t have anything to offer besides raw information. Thinking of the potentially uncertain future, a part of me is terrified. The loop always restarted when I lost, which was inevitable after the city completely went off the rails. I normally could hold the ginger-infected people off for a few days, taking out strategic points and disabling lines of communication, but the end result was always my failure. Was this the one time...that I would succeed? ??? I¡¯m awake after Jeremy¡ªsurprising considering that the man hasn¡¯t had a proper bed in weeks. Based on the position of the sun, I¡¯d say we¡¯ve been sleeping for seven hours. ¡°What now?¡± he asks. ¡°We wait for the boat to arrive.¡± ¡°...That¡¯s it?¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Am I missing something?¡± He recoils. ¡°You seemed to be in a hurry yesterday,¡± he observes. ¡°I find it hard to believe that there¡¯s nothing for us to do but wait.¡± ¡°I was in a hurry to stop ginger¡¯s spread,¡± I explain. ¡°Now that that¡¯s done with, we can relax.¡± ¡°The captain hasn¡¯t called us.¡± ¡°Should she have?¡± ¡°Well...the guard must have realized that someone went and killed over five thousand people.¡± ¡°Why would they blame us?¡± Jeremy¡¯s jaw drops. ¡°Forget it.¡± He turns away for a moment. ¡°Speak of the devil,¡± he exclaims. ¡°Look who¡¯s making contact.¡± I can¡¯t but feel that Jeremy jinxed us. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Conningway¡¯s freaking out.¡± ¡°Well¡ª¡± ¡°She wants us to come in now.¡± I pause for a moment, then shrug. ¡°Fine.¡± ??? When we step foot onto the steps of the consulate, a different attendant from yesterday comes up to us and leads us inside. Before I know it, we¡¯re once more within the office of Captain Conningway. ¡°Black, Sanderson,¡± she says, her voice strained. ¡°Welcome back.¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°No, no, nothing at all. Just the deaths of 4,243 people.¡± She takes a drag from a cigarette and clenches her fist. ¡°And that¡¯s just what¡¯s been called in so far. I can¡¯t help but suspect the dark art is involved.¡± ¡°On what grounds?¡± She snorts. ¡°Only Death practitioners have anything to gain from the wanton destruction of human life.¡± Conningway...I might be more willing to actually work with you if you weren¡¯t so intolerant of all decemancy. ¡°What kind of city is this?¡± I murmur, feigning surprise. Jeremy clears his throat and looks the other way as I continue. ¡°First, a cruise ship full of captives, now mass murder. Were the deaths concentrated in any one area?¡± ¡°At least five hundred came from the lower level of the Flower District alone, but they¡¯re also scattered all over.¡± ¡°Anything linking the bodies together?¡± She gives me a worried look. ¡°That¡¯s just the thing: all the bodies have been burned to ash.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°We¡¯ll look into it while we continue our investigation into ginger,¡± I say encouragingly. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have just been one person. More likely it was a group of people working in tandem, or¡±¡ªI stare at her¡ª¡°Ginger¡¯s so new that you know very little about it, right?¡± ¡°...That is correct.¡± I grab my jaw. ¡°It might, in fact, be the case...¡± I look over at Jeremy. ¡°While we were conducting our own investigation, we ran into evidence that pointed towards the lower level of the Flower District being a manufacturing center for ginger.¡± I begin to pace. ¡°Perhaps...the creator of ginger put some kind of deadly substance in it that can be activated remotely? Something that sets someone on fire from within?¡± I freeze in place, giving the captain a hollow stare. ¡°But why? Why kill off the users of a successful drug?¡± The captain rubs her arm, appearing more confused than ever. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s possible...¡± ¡°Regardless...the ship should be here in an hour. You do have guards stationed at the docks, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go down to the docks to wait, then.¡± ??? It only takes forty-five minutes for the former cruise ship to arrive within sight of the docks. The guards hail it down, and upon realizing that its course is set, they deploy anti-velocity nets to slow the vessel down. Then, they send out a team of tugboats to haul it to one of the piers. I rush past them onto the boat. ¡°Claude!¡± I call out. ¡°Claude!¡± By now, the captain has made her way to the dock to see the ship herself. ¡°Claude?¡± Jeremy whispers. ¡°He¡¯s my assistant, remember?¡± Jeremy gives me a dubious look. ¡°Right...¡± ¡°Where could he have gone?¡± I murmur, looking dejectedly off into the distance. The captain boards with the other guards and stops by my side. ¡°Can¡¯t find your associate?¡± she asks, concern visible in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m worried that the decemancer came back. If so, Claude probably left the ship to chase him off.¡± I groan. ¡°But now I have no idea where he is...¡± ¡°Chasing off a peak decemancer by himself? Your friend must be incredibly strong.¡± I shake my head. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine...but this entire situation of us being separated is an inconvenience.¡± ¡°Captain!¡± a guardsman calls out. ¡°We found the captives.¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± she shouts back. ¡°I¡¯ll come and see for myself.¡± ¡°You sure that¡¯s a good idea?¡± I say, grabbing her arm before she can leave. She jerks her arm away. ¡°Who do you take me for?¡± she growls. I hold out my hands in defeat. I did warn her. She comes back a minute later with a hand resting on her stomach. ¡°Only the most depraved of men,¡± she hisses, ¡°could ever do something like that.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t disagree.¡± She looks to Jeremy. ¡°And you, Mr. Sanderson...you were there, in those pools?¡± ¡°I was.¡± Her face turns ashen. ¡°You seem much better off than most. No doubt thanks to Mr. Black¡¯s assistance.¡± She shakes her head and exhales. ¡°We¡¯re taking them all off the ship in the next few minutes. Unless you¡¯re going to help...it¡¯d be best if you leave.¡± I blink. And suddenly, the world shifts. ??? I¡¯m back in my room. My room? My eyes are wide open, unbelieving. Some human is in the bed across the room, sleeping, his chest moving up and down beneath his pale sheet. Xander? My eyes open even wider. It¡¯s really him. I feel his vitality from across the room, feel the vitality of others housed within the building. I jump out of bed and rub my eyes. This isn¡¯t real. It can¡¯t be. I don¡¯t believe it. It must still be this damned nightmare loop. It has to be. The dorm room is as I remember it, like some kind of bad dream, socks strewn about near the hamper, the walls covered in frayed posters, and the window¡¯s cheap metal screen still torn. The worn wood of the floor calls me like an old friend, my slippers the most beautifully familiar object in the world. I haven¡¯t seen a pair of slippers in years! Menocht denizens all wear sandals instead of proper, warm, fuzzy... I step from the bed, my legs practically shaking from shock. I trip and fall over my shoes on the way to my fluffy sheepskin beauties. My eyes flash in annoyance. Xander stirs. ¡°Ian,¡± he murmurs, yawning. ¡°You alright?¡± Y¡¯jeni, after everything I¡¯ve been through, I¡¯m actually hyperventilating. ¡°Mmm,¡± I grunt in response. Me, hyperventilating after being spoken to by my roommate. I shake my head. ¡°Okay, well...I¡¯m going back to sleep. Quiet please.¡± He rolls over to face the wall, the bed so thin width-wise that his nose practically touches the plaster. I gingerly place a foot into a slipper, then the other. My hands are unsteady as I undress and grab a towel hanging from my dresser. I wrap it around my hips, doing everything I can to keep my teeth from chattering. I need a damn shower. I walk out of the room in a daze. It has to be a dream... There¡¯s absolutely no way I¡¯m out of the loop. Of course, when I get to the shower, I remember that I really should be wearing my shower shoes (sandals...) and not my slippers. I double back, regretfully extract my feet from the slippers, don my sandals, and return to the bathroom. I slam the door of the shower behind me and toss the towel on a hook outside. The water streams over me in a hot torrent, helping to ease my muscles and calm my thoughts. I think through the possibilities in my head for what¡¯s happening.
  1. I¡¯m dreaming, likely trapped in some kind of illusion because the captain suspected that I killed the people in Menocht. If this is true, then I¡¯ve severely underestimated her.
  2. I¡¯m awake, and I¡¯ve managed to break out of the time loop. I¡¯ve beaten the puzzle.
  3. I¡¯m in the loop...but the loop has changed.
With each passing minute, I¡¯m leaning towards option number two...but I can¡¯t bring myself to accept it. After all those times waging a one-man war on Menocht Bay and its drug-zombified inhabitants, I refuse to believe that the answer I was always searching for¡ªthe way to win¡ªwas just going ahead of the boat and stopping ginger before it took over the city. It seems too simple. Not at all like the kind of resolution that would satisfy whoever made the loop in the first place. After fifteen minutes of letting the water run, I realize I forgot to grab my shampoo. I sense the vitality in the area and note that nobody¡¯s even close to the bathroom. Nude, I step out of the shower, grab the bottle of hair product, and return to the warmth. Ten minutes later, I¡¯m brushing my teeth and marveling at how long it¡¯s been since I did so. ¡°You¡¯ve been in here for a while,¡± Xander says as he enters the bathroom, unwashed brown hair sweeping around his forehead. He grabs his toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. He glances at me. ¡°You okay?¡± I give him a toothpaste-filled smile. ¡°Fine.¡± Just seeing him makes me want to panic, and I don¡¯t know why. I shake my head. Hordes of insane humans and armies of skeletons don¡¯t make me panic. Facing off against the entire armed Menocht Bay armada doesn¡¯t make me panic. So why am I so jittery and anxious? ¡°Not shaving today?¡± Xander asks, raising an eyebrow. I pause as though struck. Right. ¡°Thanks for the reminder.¡± I chuckle, feigning normalcy. ¡°I didn¡¯t get much sleep last night. Nightmare.¡± He nods. ¡°Must¡¯ve been some dream.¡± I add another selection to my list of possibilities:
  1. The time loop was a nightmare.
Though that seems even more unlikely than the other options: What kind of nightmare turns you into a decemancer? ¡°It was pretty terrible.¡± ¡°Wanna talk about it?¡± My breath catches in my throat. ¡°It started on a boat,¡± I explain dryly. ¡°No matter what I did, after a few days, I always ended back up on that boat.¡± ¡°Sounds awful.¡± ¡°It really was.¡± I head back to our room, donning the university uniform and a pair of dress shoes. I shuffle downstairs and head off to the dining facilities to get breakfast. I barely get five feet out the main door before I turn around. It¡¯s a weekend, I berate myself, scowling. You wear casual clothes on the weekend. This is the real world, and in the real world, you need to pay attention to how you dress. I shake my head as I angrily throw off my clothes, stripping the robe-like uniform off to don a T-shirt, zip-up jacket, and jeans. Not exactly the eerie black robe and greasy-haired look I always spawned onto the boat with. I check myself in the mirror before I go out. ¡°Whoops,¡± I murmur as I grab my brush. Nearly went out with wet shower hair. The drybrush sucks the moisture from my hair as it passes over the follicles. ¡°So, I¡¯ve escaped.¡± I sigh, glowering at the mirror¡¯s reflection: brown eyes, pale skin, and dark hair. Utterly average. ¡°Now what?¡± Giving myself one last look, I reason that I look sallow and on edge but presentable. I head back out the door and make my way once more to the dining hall. [The False Ascendant] 42. Awakening Book 2: The False Ascendant
Lisandro felt his heart beat in his chest, its rhythm as rapid as Dedere¡¯s tapping foot. ¡°The moment of reckoning has come,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s see if ol¡¯ Prophet was right about this one.¡± Lisandro could tell that Dedere was extremely agitated because she never fidgeted. He could guess why: The patient had taken three minutes longer than anticipated to exit the loop, almost double the time expected. In other words, this experiment was going to be twice as expensive as they planned for. He didn¡¯t know why it had gone for so long; they¡¯d have to do an in-depth analysis after the fact, pouring over the dilation loop record. They¡¯d added new scenarios, but their break points hadn¡¯t changed. If the patient stopped showing signs of improvement for more than six months of time within the loop, the experiment was supposed to elapse. The same thing would happen if they showed extreme distress, akin to a complete mental breakdown, sustained for at least two months. If the latter happened, they would exit the loop and remain sedated until their memories from within the loop were treated by a Remorse practitioner. The two of them couldn¡¯t help but get their hopes up the longer the experiment went on. Theoretically, spending more time inside the Infinity Loop dilation chamber should mean that the patient had awakened as a practitioner and was making steady progress...but they couldn¡¯t dispel the doubt in their hearts that they¡¯d missed something. It was thus with great excitement and anxiety that Lisandro pressed the system¡¯s Release key. They heard a loud hum come from the power supply next to the capsule, a towering black box covered in blinking lights. The humming persisted for a good forty-five seconds before petering out to a soft whine, ultimately dissipating after a minute. Dedere walked over to Lisandro and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing. ¡°I opened the capsule hood last time,¡± she whispered. ¡°Good luck.¡± Just when Lisandro had steeled himself to walk over, a voice came through over the room¡¯s speaker system: ¡°Sedate the patient immediately.¡± Lisandro and Dedere¡¯s expressions paled; Lisandro spun around without missing a beat, his finger aiming toward the glosscomp display. He swiped through a menu, his finger eventually landing on Sedate. After pressing it, the researcher sagged in relief. Dedere, meanwhile, folded her arms across her chest and glared at the capsule. ¡°Dr. Prophin, did something happen?¡± Silence. Then, a hesitant response: ¡°It was just a feeling.¡± ¡°Just a feeling¡± was likely putting it lightly. In Lisandro¡¯s experience, if the Prophet had a feeling strong enough to act upon, it wasn¡¯t ¡°just¡± a feeling, but a premonition. Lisandro turned around in his chair and stood up before walking over to the capsule, his face coming up against the glass window. From that distance, he could much more clearly see the features of the sleeping young man within, patient Dunai. ¡°What should we do with him?¡± Lisandro asked. ¡°Just keep him there for the time being,¡± Prophin instructed. ¡°I¡¯ll come over myself to conduct some augury. In the meantime, see what you can gather from the dilation loop footage. Start toward the end; see if you can find out how much power he was able to awaken.¡± Lisandro¡¯s mouth thinned to a small line. ¡°Okay,¡± he replied softly. If that¡¯s what their adviser wanted to do, then he wouldn¡¯t complain. They¡¯d have to wake up the patient sooner or later, though¡ªhis mother was waiting. ¡°And Dedere, if you weren¡¯t doing so already, prepare to conduct an affinity reading.¡± ??? Dr. Eustatius Prophin massaged his wrinkled forehead as he stared intently at the display monitoring the experiment room. For the past five minutes, he had felt an ever-growing sense of foreboding. He got up from his desk and walked briskly towards the experiment room, a cozy, underground chamber surrounded by dampening void shields cast by peak Dark practitioners. All information between the experiment room and the outside world came through a fist-sized camera-speaker hub linked directly to his personal glosscomp. The void shielding was potent enough to mask the large energy draw of the capsule, its power tower concentrating the energy of twenty different reactors, each stored in a pocket dimension. The design was as unprecedented as it was costly; without funding from the Guard, it would have been impossible. But along with generous funding from the Eldemari¡¯s coffers came an equally heavy expectation: results. Dr. Prophin¡¯s feet sped down the metal stairs, leading him to the front of a nondescript room. He knocked once, then waited. The door opened, revealing the austere, white insides of the experiment room. ??? Ian felt as though he was drifting in a pool of lukewarm water, his sense of self fuzzy, his memory clouded. It was difficult to focus on anything. After an unknown period of time, he found that he was able to sense his surroundings. It felt like his lids were weighed down by boulders, but with his Death affinity, he could see even without opening his eyes. He was in a small room, probably underground, judging by the small vital signatures wriggling beyond the walls. He next noticed that he was lying in an ovular pod, beyond which were three other individuals. Ian tried to focus on them: two were young, and one was old, with graying vitality concentrated in his joints and heart. Unfortunately, wrangling his concentration felt like trying to hold onto wet sand, and he felt himself continuously drifting off. After a small eternity, he saw one of the young people come over and press up against the egg-shaped enclosure. He pressed something, then darted back as the roof of the pod opened up. Ian realized that he could sense an air current brushing over his skin, along with muffled voices. He flinched, his fingers twitching as his body regained feeling. ¡°...you¡¯re sure he won¡¯t...¡± an indistinct voice said. ¡°Yes,¡± someone else replied, voice loud and firm. Ian realized it was the old man, syncing the words with his mouth. ¡°Professor, shouldn¡¯t we get more protection?¡± a female voice asked hesitantly. ¡°If it¡¯s just us...¡± The old man shook his head resolutely. ¡°No one is allowed down here. Besides, if I said it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t you trust my augury?¡± Ian felt like he was getting a better picture of his current situation, though his mind still felt like mush. The old man was probably an End or Beginning practitioner, and had either predicted something with a Beginning augury, or by interpreting lines of fate. Ian felt a bit of muted excitement swelling in his heart. He tried to remember how he¡¯d moved on from the previous layer, but his most recent memories felt indistinct. He didn¡¯t feel any kind of ill will from the people in the room, and was both curious as to why he was here, and resigned to figuring out yet another layer of the loop. Time continued to pass slowly, and Ian felt himself fading in and out, gathering bits and pieces of conversation. All of a sudden, as though drenched by a bucket of cold water, he jolted up, breathing heavily. Memories of the last layer, of the mountains and the knife, Germaine and Euryphel, came forth, like some kind of surreal dream. Ian opened his eyes and regarded the people in the room, his gaze cautious and appraising. ¡°Who are you people?¡± he asked, his heart pounding. He slowed his breathing in an attempt to calm himself down. Even as he asked the question, he felt himself grow dizzy, his entire body starting to shudder, seeming to ignore his conscious mind. He looked down, seeing the world with both his eyes and his decemancy. After being in the loop for so long, he had forgotten what the real world looked, felt, smelled, and sounded like. With every new layer of the loop, he always had a hope, a suspicion, that he had escaped. But now, he was certain: Comparing the loop¡ªstill immediately fresh in his memory¡ªwith the world around him, he realized that the loop was but an imitation. It was almost real, but...if he had to describe it, the loop¡¯s version of reality lacked a certain harshness. It was like a slightly hazy reflection of the real world. ¡°Mr. Dunai!¡± a voice called out. Seeing that he had Ian¡¯s attention, the old man continued, ¡°Do you know where you are?¡± Ian found himself at a loss for words. His mind began to flash hurriedly through all of the possible scenarios he had thought up: was he under a life-death oath? Did they have someone he knew held hostage as leverage? Was he really a participant in some Selejan experiment? ¡°Selejo?¡± The young man nodded quickly. ¡°Do you remember anything about how you came here?¡± ¡°No. Should I?¡± The young man shook his head. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t. The first thing we do is wipe your memories pertaining to the Infinity Loop. It¡¯s standard procedure to maximize the stress¡ª¡± The man suddenly snapped his mouth shut, withering under the professor¡¯s judgmental look. ¡°We still need to run a few tests before we can let you go,¡± the old man said, gesturing to the young woman at his side. ¡°First we¡¯ll want to perform a potentioreading.¡± Ian froze for a moment, unsure of whether to laugh or cry at the researchers¡¯ nonchalance. Do they really have no idea how powerful I am? ¡°What if I refuse?¡± he asked, gauging their reactions. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The old man¡¯s expression became cold. ¡°I had an inkling you might say something like that. Well, to be frank, you agreed to this study under oath.¡± Ian felt his stomach drop. ¡°What kind of oath?¡± The young woman spoke up. ¡°You and your mother entered into a joint-fulfillment oath. If you renege on our experiment before its conclusion, your mother will enter into a coma for five years as collateral.¡± Ian gaped. ¡°Don¡¯t act so shocked,¡± the woman said. ¡°Given the amount of resources required for this experiment, you¡¯re fortunate it¡¯s only a joint-fulfillment oath.¡± ¡°How much did you invest in the experiment?¡± In the loop he¡¯d learned that dilation chambers were exorbitantly expensive to use, but the Infinity Loop didn¡¯t seem to be a normal dilation chamber. She blinked and rubbed the side of her hand. ¡°More than any regular is worth; more than what most practitioners are worth, for that matter. So please don¡¯t fight this¡ªwe need to collect the potentioreading.¡± Ian had to admit that the woman¡¯s words were quite reasonable: If he used the dilation chamber but refused to go through with the remainder of their experiments, the researchers would face a serious loss. Unfortunately, Ian suspected that as soon as they took a potentioreading and found out about the experiment¡¯s success, things would spiral out of control. ¡°There¡¯s no getting around a potentioreading?¡± Ian asked, voice wavering. The shock of exiting the loop was still coursing through his body, his thoughts racing in all different directions. What would happen even if he got out of taking a potentioreading? There¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t have taken some kind of loop recording. And when they watched it, they¡¯d see the potentioreading within. His head jerked to the side as his eyes looked for where the footage might be stored. Ian grabbed his head as though trying to forcefully settle his mind, gritting his teeth. He knew that the researchers wouldn¡¯t keep important experimental data in one place¡ªodds were his loop recording had already been transferred to a remote location. ¡°A potentioreading is required under the joint-fulfillment oath,¡± the woman clarified. Ian took a deep breath and tried to concentrate vitality into his head, but the mental haze refused to subside. ¡°What about patient confidentiality?¡± The old man smiled. ¡°Your results will be kept anonymous to the public, of course.¡± The woman researcher began to approach with a potentioreader. As she grew close, Ian instinctively leaned away into the wall of the pod, his head banging painfully against its smooth surface. ¡°Can you all give me some time to think?¡± he shouted, a spark of violet flashing in his eyes. The woman recoiled and moved back, looking to the old man for guidance. After a moment of contemplation, he replied: ¡°We¡¯ll give you a few minutes, but we can¡¯t leave the room. Is that acceptable?¡± Ian snorted. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± He turned away, his face turning red with shame. He hated feeling so disoriented. With a start, he realized that he¡¯d even gathered a bit of Death energy. He dispelled it into the surroundings. After the three researchers left him to himself, they began to pour over a glosspad. He could hear his own voice coming from the device, along with the voices of others. They seemed to be watching the loop recording¡ªconfirming his suspicions¡ªand from the sound of it, they were looking at the school layer. He wondered how much, if any, of his dilation-loop-recorded memories they had already watched. Honestly, from their reactions so far, it doesn¡¯t seem like they¡¯ve anything. Otherwise he would have expected them to be more cautious, more deferential. Upon waking, he hadn¡¯t sensed even a lick of the fear he anticipated. As the minutes ticked by, Ian slowly felt himself calm down. But even as his heart stopped pounding and his muscles relaxed, questions ceaselessly entered his mind. When was it? Was he still in school? And Y¡¯jeni, why was Mother here and waiting in the lobby? He had hoped that upon waking, he would remember some of the context for how he ended up in the loop, but that seemed like wishful thinking. After around fifteen minutes passed, Ian was mentally prepared to take the potentioreading. If he refused, his mother would go into a coma; besides, the researchers were already looking at the school layer¡ªthey¡¯d see the potentioreading sooner or later. He peered his head out of the pod and tried to grab the attention of the others. Unexpectedly, they appeared not to hear him at all, their expressions completely engrossed in the screen shared between them. From the sound of it, they were skipping around; Ian thought he heard the sound of seagulls, a common fixture in Menocht Bay. Ian rolled his eyes and sighed. I guess they¡¯ve seen some of what I can do. ¡°Hello!¡± he bellowed, raising his voice. The trio jolted as though struck by lightning, all three whipping around to face him. The shock with which they looked at him made him feel almost bashful. He chuckled awkwardly before turning away. ¡°Like what you saw?¡± ¡°You spent 222 weeks in the loop,¡± Dedere murmured, her face pale. ¡°We couldn¡¯t see very much in a few minutes.¡± Ian blanched. ¡°222 weeks. What a nice number.¡± He turned back toward the researchers, making eye contact with the old man. ¡°From your reactions, I figure you¡¯ve seen enough to understand the current situation.¡± The old man narrowed his eyes imperceptibly. ¡°Perhaps...regardless, you have taken an oath, the terms of which state that you will not harm any of the researcher staff or equipment, and you will submit yourself to all of our post-dilation-chamber diagnostic tests.¡± Ian¡¯s mouth curled downward. ¡°Bring over the potentioreader, then; let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ??? Dedere¡¯s hands gripped the potentioreader as if she weren¡¯t careful, it would slip from her grasp. As she approached patient Dunai, she felt an almost imperceptible, oppressive pressure weigh on her. Dunai looked at her without emotion, his face as placid as a still pond. After the outburst from earlier, he seemed to have collected himself. She was ashamed to admit that she couldn¡¯t say the same for herself. Dedere felt her heart start to race just thinking of the footage from the Infinity Loop. They had skipped around quite a lot as they had no way of knowing which parts of the recording were important. However, they had stumbled upon one particular scene that stood out to them: Dunai creating bone constructs on the shore of the Ramsay Channel outside of Academia Hector. Dunai had drifted over the ocean and effortlessly animated animal bones into lifelike constructs. The three of them had watched, utterly unraptured, before Dunai disturbed them. ¡°Are you ready?¡± she asked, extending the potentioreader orb. Dunai nodded and cradled it in his hands. Dedere grabbed her glosspad and made a few gestures. Suddenly, the potentioreader lit up, instantly turning bright red in Ian¡¯s fingers. The potentioreader¡¯s colorful surface swirled like a cosmic storm in different shades of red. After several minutes, it made a small clicking noise, and the colors froze. Dedere stared at the glosspad for a moment, her fellow researchers gazing at the screen from over her shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s calculating...¡± she murmured, frowning. Then, she froze, her hand suspended in place above the glosspad. The researchers peered incredulously at Ian, who could only give them a slight, knowing smile. ¡°So, how is it?¡± he asked. Dedere shook her head and pressed the screen. The room¡¯s fabY suddenly lit up and began to print a thin sheet of paper. Lisandro walked to the fabY, took the sheet of paper, and placed it in front of Ian. ??? Unlike the time he tested his affinity with Jasmine, Ian felt no excitement, only a sense of grudging acceptance. He picked up the freshly-printed sheet of paper. On it was recorded the following: Potential Affinity Readings of DUNAI, I. J. Year: 1021 Month: 11 Day: 17 Color: Red II Affinity (¡À 0.03%) Huh, Ian thought to himself. Definitely wasn¡¯t 99.99% before. I guess this potentioreader is more accurate than Jasmine¡¯s. He couldn¡¯t recall the precision on her micropotentioreader, but doubted it was as good as ¡À 0.03%. He was actually more interested in the date printed at the top of the sheet, indicating that it was temporally just before the date that he normally appeared during the school loop. ¡°You don¡¯t seem very surprised,¡± the old man observed. ¡°I had a reading conducted in the loop, with similar results.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°I should be asking you the same question.¡± The old man scoffed, then began to laugh for a solid few seconds. ¡°I am surprised,¡± he replied candidly. ¡°So surprised I don¡¯t know how to react.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t know your names.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Dr. Prophin, and these two are Drs. Manetti and Yuruskane.¡± He gestured to the man and the woman, respectively. Ian nodded. ¡°Dr. Prophin, what other tests are there? I want to complete them and be on my way.¡± ¡°That is...¡± Dr. Manetti began before seeing Dr. Prophin¡¯s expression. ¡°There are a few more tests, but we can conduct them in the coming days,¡± Dr. Prophin said. Ian had a suspicion that the old researcher was going to use more tests as an excuse to bring him back to the lab, likely to rope him into more experiments than originally planned. ¡°How about we just get them all done today? You should have already prepared them, correct?¡± Dr. Prophin¡¯s mouth twitched, corners turning downward. ¡°We didn¡¯t prepare every experiment, as a matter of fact. There are a few extra tests that must be conducted in the event that one of our experimental trials is successful.¡± He swallowed after saying the last word. ¡°We will have to respectfully ask that you return to us when those tests are prepared.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll return,¡± Ian said, drawing out the words. Maybe. ¡°But in exchange...I want an explanation. I want to know how I ended up in your dilation chamber.¡± At the very least, Ian wanted to hear the official explanation. His conversations with Euryphel and Aunt Julia about the purpose of the loop seemed to be right on target, so far. He was in Selejo, and Dr. Prophin had just indicated that their trial was a success. This confirmed that their goal really was to awaken his affinity in the loop. Prophin nodded. ¡°When you return, yes.¡± Damn. He hoped that they might tell him now, but no such luck. Ian wondered if they realized that they¡¯d bitten off more than they could chew. Once word got out that they¡¯d awakened someone with 99.99% affinity, everything would spiral out of control. He hoped for all their sakes that they¡¯d keep his potentioreader results under wraps, at least for the time being. To be honest, though, he¡¯d long since come to terms with the fact that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his power a secret forever. Maybe for a few months, but not for years. But even if the results got out, Ian already had a plan in place, one that he¡¯d been mulling over extensively for the past two weeks: seeking out the SPU¡¯s first prince. He supposed that he¡¯d be dragging Mother along with him. 43. Reunion Dr. Manetti walked Ian out of the room and up three stories of industrial metal stairs, letting him out into a clinical hallway. The higher up they climbed, the more people entered Ian¡¯s range of perception. There were hundreds of people above, and many of them in poor health. We must be in a hospital. A young woman in a white robe, seeing Manetti, walked over and bowed her head. ¡°Take the patient back to his mother,¡± Manetti said, wiping away sweat from his temple. ¡°She should be in the waiting room, expecting a Mr. Dunai.¡± The woman in white nodded cheerfully. ¡°Alright, Dr. Manetti.¡± She turned her gaze toward Ian. ¡°Let¡¯s get going, Mr. Dunai. Your mother has been a bit...prickly since your absence.¡± When Ian entered the waiting room, he wasn¡¯t sure what to feel. Ever since he¡¯d learned that Mother was waiting for him above, he knew that this whole loop situation was at least partially her fault. He wouldn¡¯t have sought out this kind of experiment on his own; it would have been Mother who found the experiment and pressured him to become a participant. He couldn¡¯t even be angry; rather, he was exasperated. It was so like her to do something like this, to force him into the loop without understanding the gravity of her actions. He wondered if they¡¯d told her that he might spend years in the dilation chamber. Mother looked over in his direction, as though she sensed his gaze from across the room. She saw his form standing in the door and immediately shot up out of her seat. ¡°Ignatius,¡± she called out, expression serious. ¡°You¡¯re late. You had me worried: Nobody would tell me why a thirty minute procedure took more than an hour.¡± She walked over to him, her lips quirking up into a small smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here and get something to eat.¡± Ian sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± He sensed hundreds of vital signatures within their vicinity, with many of those outside the hospital. They must be in one of Selejo¡¯s major cities. Mother led him outside, holding onto his arm like a vice. Ian¡¯s senses were immediately assaulted: the bright sun reflecting on buildings and puddles, the sounds of people and hoverglosses, the smell of petrichor from rain a few hours earlier. And then there was the feeling of Mother¡¯s hand on his tense arm, rooting him in place. Everything felt hyper-real. ¡°There¡¯s a place on this block we can go to eat,¡± Mother said, pulling him along. ¡°And don¡¯t gawk, it¡¯s unsightly.¡± Ian frowned. He wasn¡¯t gawking. Mother led the two of them into an upscale cafe, requesting a table by the window on the second floor. As they sat down, Ian folded his arms across his chest and stared out the window at the people on the street. Off in the distance, he could see a sliver of coastline peeking out from behind a series of glassy buildings. ¡°So it was a success?¡± Mother asked, interlacing her fingers. She said the words calmly, then took a sip of water while shooting him an expectant look. Ian ignored her. As he did, Mother¡¯s expression contorted into a devious grin. ¡°What?¡± Ian finally snapped. Mother laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve grown a spine. You¡¯re no longer so afraid of an old woman.¡± Ian finally looked over, studying Mother¡¯s aging face. All he could think of was her lost expression after he sunk Jupiter city into the lake. The harsh, demanding, petty woman in front of him was far more fragile than she let on. ¡°What were you expecting, signing me up for that trial?¡± She gave him a quizzical look. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign you up for anything.¡± Ian frowned. ¡°Why else would I have agreed to be a test subject?¡± Mother narrowed her eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± Ian¡¯s frustration leaked into his tone. ¡°Remember what?¡± he asked. Mother fingered her lips. ¡°They did say that you would have short term memory loss as a side effect of the experiment. What¡¯s the last thing you remember?¡± A ¡°side effect,¡± really? ¡°I last remember being at Academia Hector,¡± he replied coldly. ¡°Now explain.¡± ¡°I¡¯d tell you to stop being so disrespectful if I wasn¡¯t so pleased,¡± Mother muttered. ¡°So...it¡¯s a bit of a tale. Aunt Julia entered your name and basic information into the Infinity Loop study. Thousands of people did so, everyone from regulars to nobles. I¡¯m not exactly sure how she managed to bring your name to the top of the queue, but two days ago, you received a notice that you¡¯d been selected.¡± Ian frowned, trying¡ªand failing¡ªto remember any specifics about the past two days. ¡°What happened then?¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°You were initially confused, since you didn¡¯t sign up for the experiment. However, as the person who registered you, Aunt Julia was also notified. She reached out to both of us to explain the opportunity.¡± Ian took a sip of water. ¡°What did she say about it?¡± ¡°She said it was an opportunity people would die for.¡± ¡°And I agreed?¡± ¡°Yes. The experiment would only take less than an hour of real time. Aunt Julia did explain that since it was a dilation loop experiment, you¡¯d spend much more than a few minutes inside it.¡± ¡°Did she indicate just how much time, exactly?¡± Mother waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Oh, she went on for a few minutes about how time is the most precious thing there is. In her words, every day in the Infinity Loop would be a treasure. And a year or more in the Infinity Loop? Priceless.¡± Ian sighed slowly. He knew that Aunt Julia could be persuasive; he could see himself getting swayed by her enthusiasm. ¡°You still weren¡¯t eager to go,¡± Mother continued. ¡°The thought of spending potentially years in a loop, on the off chance that you might awaken some dormant affinity...you seemed quite frustrated that Aunt Julia was pushing you to participate.¡± ¡°Then how...?¡± Ian narrowed his eyes. Was it ultimately Mother¡¯s influence that made me partake in the experiment? ¡°Then?¡± Mother sneered. ¡°Then, Aunt Julia threatened to cut our side of the family off from her yearly generosity. She claimed that if we couldn¡¯t seize an opportunity when it was handed to us, then we weren¡¯t worth her aid and attention.¡± ¡°So, long story short, it¡¯s all Aunt Julia¡¯s fault,¡± Ian murmured, poking his chicken with a fork. Mother sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t put it that way. Even though the woman is from your father¡¯s side of the family, she¡¯s only ever meant well. She pulled a lot of strings to make sure you were chosen as an experimental subject, you know.¡± Mother sipped her water. ¡°It just so happens that you were an ideal experimental candidate. Young, likely possessing a dormant Death affinity, and...well, quite frankly, you are¡ªwere¡ªafraid of practically everything. The perfect person to send into a crucible like a dilation chamber.¡± An ideal experimental candidate. Ian couldn¡¯t argue with that: He figured that it would be difficult for the researchers to find another candidate destined to awaken 99% affinity. ¡°Don¡¯t you realize?¡± Mother continued. ¡°You¡¯ve received a great fortune. Even if you haven¡¯t awakened, just your attitude change alone is worth thanking Aunt Julia over. The next time you see her, you¡¯d better show some appreciation.¡± ¡°Do you know how long I spent in there?¡± Ian asked. Mother paused. ¡°A year?¡± Ian grimaced. ¡°Over four years, Mother. Four years stuck in a nightmare. No matter how great a boon it was, the experiment was inhumane.¡± This seemed to have an effect on Mother, causing her to fall silent for a minute. ¡°Four years?¡± ¡°Four years.¡± ¡°They said the maximum time was two years.¡± Ian shook his head, smiling humorlessly. ¡°222 weeks, to be precise. Did you consider the possibility that their experiment might have gone too well?¡± Mother looked up, her brows furrowed. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You said I took longer to return to the waiting room than you expected. Did you ever wonder if anything had gone awry?¡± Ian paused for her to respond. She gave him a cool look, evidently waiting for him to continue his explanation. ¡°Did you ever consider that maybe the damned experiment went too well?¡± Ian knew that he was letting his anger get the better of him, but he wanted to blame someone, wanted to vent. Writing the loop off as a stroke of fortune was too much to bear, especially when the riches of said fortune could very well leave him locked away somewhere or living with his autonomy restricted. His original plan had been to try and escape whatever lab he was being held in and afterwards return to Academia Hector with nobody the wiser. But with his mother upstairs in the lobby, that plan had quickly fallen apart. It now seemed inevitable that despite the claims of anonymity, his high affinity would be leaked and connected to him at some point. When that happened, he was as good as doomed. Some opportunity! Mother tugged at her sleeve. ¡°Define ¡®too well.¡¯ And don¡¯t raise your voice, it¡¯s disruptive.¡± Ian decided to blow caution to the wind and tell his mother right then and there. Let her worry about his future, too. He leaned over and whispered his affinity in her ear. He leaned back in his seat and gave her a challenging look. ¡°So?¡± She just gave him a blank stare. ¡°What am I supposed to think? I¡¯m not supposed to take your assertion seriously, am I?¡± ¡°Do you need proof? Bring me somewhere remote and I¡¯ll give you all the proof you need.¡± Finally, Ian noticed her expression morph into one of concern. ¡°But that¡¯s not possible,¡± she muttered. ¡°Believe me, it¡¯s possible. It happened.¡± ¡°Ignatius...¡± she looked at him with a troubled expression. ¡°This...this is a calamity. If it¡¯s true. And the experimenters have your potentioreading?¡± Ian nodded. ¡°They threatened me with our joint oath, said you¡¯d fall into a coma if I didn¡¯t do the reading.¡± Mother¡¯s expression became unsightly. ¡°Then you should¡¯ve left me in a coma!¡± she hissed. ¡°This...I can¡¯t protect you from the fallout. Do you know why they¡¯re running these experiments in the first place?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Mother turned away. ¡°Forget it! You need to leave Selejo immediately.¡± ¡°But if I don¡¯t return for more tests, they said¡ª¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find someone to break the oath, then, after the fact,¡± Mother seethed. ¡°But you must get out. Otherwise you¡¯ll be forced into taking an oath far worse.¡± She lowered her voice. ¡°People say that the Eldemari sees and hears everything in Selejo. As soon as she finds out about you, she won¡¯t let you go.¡± Ian swallowed. ¡°Fine.¡± In the loop, Euryphel once off-handedly mentioned that he could resolve most oaths Ian might find himself trapped in upon awakening. Ian supposed it was time to put the prince¡¯s words to the test. ¡°You must leave today,¡± Mother insisted. ¡°Ideally, somewhere as far as possible. Maybe Belloco, or Shibaria.¡± ¡°I already have a destination in mind, somewhere the Selejans won¡¯t dare to go.¡± She gave him a questioning look. ¡°You do?¡± Is it really that surprising that I made a plan in the four years I spent in the loop? Ian wondered. ¡°Yes; The Selejo Prince¡¯s Union.¡± 44. Deliberation Ian knew something was amiss even before they left the cafe. A few plainclothes passersby on the street began to loiter outside; when he looked at any of them, he noticed that they were discreetly eyeing the building¡¯s second story. He didn¡¯t think he was being paranoid in thinking that they were there for him. The more he looked at them, sensing their vitality through the windows and walls, the more he suspected that they might be practitioners: There was something about their vital energy that differed from that of the average person. ¡°Mother,¡± he murmured under his breath. She had just finished paying the bill, her glossY¡¯s screen still displaying the completed transaction. ¡°I think there might be people waiting for us outside.¡± ¡°Of course there are, you...¡± she trailed off. Ian was surprised that she didn¡¯t call him an idiot, imbecile, bloathead, or other choice names. Still, the scorn in her words was undeniable. Ian figured she would continue to think of him in contempt, at the very least subconsciously, until his actions supported his words. He was fine with that. It was more comfortable having Mother treat him like a failure. He wondered when she¡¯d noticed the suspicious individuals, and when she planned on telling him. ¡°So, what do we do about it?¡± Ian continued, aimlessly tearing off a piece of paper napkin. ¡°Do we acknowledge them?¡± ¡°We should wait for Julia,¡± Mother muttered, looking distastefully at the window. ¡°She¡¯s here? In Selejo?¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t,¡± Mother explained with a casual wave of her hand. ¡°But she decided to come as soon as I told her you had been chosen for the experiment. She¡¯s coming by transport array, obviously.¡± ¡°Why did she decide to come?¡± Mother gave him a dry look. ¡°Even though I had my doubts, she seemed convinced that you¡¯d benefit from the dilation chamber.¡± She removed her hair tie, then shook out her hair before twisting it up into a tight high bun. Her hair was a mixture of natural gray-brown and dyed platinum blond, the combination enhancing the severity of her features. Ian interpreted this tying-up of hair as a symbolic gesture: Mother meant business. It had been a long time since anything had preoccupied his mother other than her grudge with Vanderlich. He narrowed his eyes. What happened to existing only to witness Vanderlich¡¯s downfall, to exacting revenge? And yet here she was, far away from Jupiter, with him of all people, in some Selejan city. ¡°Where is Aunt Julia now?¡± Ian asked, his attention still focused on the people standing outside the cafe. He noticed the arrival of a man dressed in a guardsman¡¯s dark-red and white suit, complete with tasseled shoulder guards and a saber fastened to his belt. He was the only person in the area who was outwardly a member of the Eldemari¡¯s Guard. His presence should be nothing out of the ordinary: Ian knew that in Selejo, guardsmen often patrolled through cities, acting as peacekeepers. But why had one stopped just outside of the cafe? ¡°She should be arriving within the next fifteen minutes,¡± Mother replied, pulling up her glossY. ¡°I messaged her when we first arrived at the cafe. She had a meeting an hour ago on the opposite side of the city.¡± Ian cleared his throat. ¡°What city are we in, anyway?¡± Mother gave him an exasperated sigh. ¡°Pardin.¡± So, the capital of Pardinia, the province in closest proximity to the SPU. My luck isn¡¯t too bad, Ian thought. The only better location would have been the peninsular tip of Notralia, where the Bay of Ramsay separating Selejo from the SPU narrowed into the Ramsay Channel. Even though Notralia shared a border with the inhospitable Mount Ziggura, there was a thin stretch of coast one could follow toward the SPU¡¯s mainland. Ian was suddenly relieved that he¡¯d studied the regional map while acting as a Godoran corona. Before the loop, he didn¡¯t know anything about the politics of the central-west. The two of them nursed their glasses of water in relative silence, waiting for news from Aunt Julia. After fifteen minutes, Mother¡¯s glossY lit up. ¡°She¡¯s arrived,¡± Mother said softly. ¡°She¡¯s disembarking the hovergloss now.¡± Ian nodded his head. The closest rail stop was a minute¡¯s walk away, so Aunt Julia would be arriving any moment. He sensed her coming down the street before he could see her. After spending a few days with her in the loop, he inadvertently became familiar with the way energy flowed through her body. The vital flow was particularly strong because Aunt Julia was a Life practitioner. The passersby on the busy city street parted around her, as though subconsciously sensing the power of her dual affinities. She made her way over to the cafe, but was stopped at the entrance by the guardsman. Ian had considered thralling insects to listen in on the people surrounding the cafe building, but discarded the idea: the practitioners might be on guard for the slightest thread of Death energy. Thus he could only guess at what the guardsman was saying to make Aunt Julia livid. After thirty seconds of talking, Aunt Julia gave a short laugh. The guardsman pointed away from the building, as though telling her that she needed to leave. Ian then saw her release vital energy in a sphere around her, using its pressure to startle the guardsman into taking a few instinctive steps back. She shook her head and walked through the entrance into the cafe, leaving the guard to stand awkwardly at the threshold. Ian thought the man looked like he wanted to give chase, but in the end, he kept his post at the door, perhaps prioritizing keeping others away over chasing Aunt Julia out. Mother¡¯s expression was stony as Aunt Julia strutted up the stairs. ¡°Was that disruption really necessary?¡± Aunt Julia walked up to the table, her hands resting on her hips. She smiled and held out her arms toward Ian. ¡°Nephew, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Ian didn¡¯t return the gesture. Instead, he gave her a curt nod. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Given the cold shoulder, Aunt Julia sighed and addressed Mother: ¡°Iolana, I didn¡¯t start anything. That guardsman told me I wasn¡¯t to enter the premises, and couldn¡¯t give an explanation why.¡± Ian drummed his fingers on the table. ¡°He might have sensed that you were a practitioner. If he¡¯s aware of my presence here, it would make sense that he¡¯d want to minimize unknown variables.¡± Aunt Julia scrutinized him, her eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. ¡°It¡¯s been less than two hours since the experiment and you think the Eldemari¡¯s Guard might already be monitoring you?¡± She gave Mother a look. ¡°Did he do something? Break the equipment? Refuse to fulfil the conditions of the oath?¡± ¡°Nothing like that, Julia; the experiment was a success.¡± Aunt Julia beamed, but Ian figured that was only on the surface: her Beginning affinity must be going haywire trying to sort everything out. ¡°That¡¯s excellent, but success doesn¡¯t explain why the Guard might be monitoring you.¡± Ian could understand Aunt Julia¡¯s frustration. He hadn¡¯t anticipated that his ¡°confidential¡± potentioreader results would be leaked almost immediately. He supposed it was his own fault for not verifying the severity of whatever oath guaranteed said confidentiality, assuming it was separate from the joint-fulfillment oath. If the penalty was low enough, the researchers might willingly break it. Or, they might be able to get around it. It would be easy for the researchers to give the potentioreading to the Eldemari¡¯s agents with no name attached to it. From there, a team of powerful Beginning, Regret, and Remorse practitioners would be able to track him down. Mother lowered her voice. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t discuss this here. What is the fastest way to get from here to the SPU?¡± Aunt Julia¡¯s unflappable swagger seemed to fade. ¡°The SPU?¡± She stood with her mouth slightly agape. ¡°No transport arrays in Selejo lead to the SPU, Iolana. Choose somewhere else.¡± The corner¡¯s of Ian¡¯s mouth curved slightly downward. Neither of them considered that he might have a plan? He¡¯d already thought through a situation where he¡¯d need to escape from Selejo. After talking with Euryphel, he¡¯d developed several strategies in the days spent waiting for Hashat to summon the leviathan. Granted, in all of those scenarios he was alone, but he didn¡¯t think any of his plans would need to be modified too much to account for Mother and Aunt Julia. In the event that he was on the eastern coast of Selejo, on the shore of the Bay of Ramsay, he had considered three different strategic options. First, he could escape East into the neighboring Fassar, a province of his native Shattradan. That was if he could get to a hovergloss without being stopped. From there, he would be able to enter the SPU by heading South. Second, he could escape into the Ziggura Mountains, and then head East toward the SPU mainland. This was mostly viable only if he was in Notralia or Valia, the two provinces bordering the mountains. And third, if he was unable to escape quietly, he would create a bone wyrm and use it to travel across the Bay of Ramsay. He¡¯d keep the wyrm submerged under water, just below the surface so he could come up for air every minute or so. It would be a miserable journey, but he didn¡¯t think the Selejans would have the means to stop him from making his way across the bay. If he went by air, some of the elementalists might be able to keep pace; but under water, only potent water elementalists stood a chance. Moreover, while the mainland likely had artillery that could blast him from the air, he didn¡¯t think they had the capabilities to shoot at range underwater. Based on the behavior of the guards and the numerous covert agents outside the cafe, Ian ruled out option one: They¡¯d never make it onto a hovergloss. And since Pardin was far from the defensible reaches of Mount Ziggura, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape South without running into trouble. Which led him to option three. He stared at the two women before him, realizing that he¡¯d missed a solid minute of their strategic bickering. ¡°So,¡± he interrupted, ¡°what¡¯s your plan?¡± The women turned his way, their eyes glinting with concealed hostility. Seems like they can¡¯t agree on what to do, he thought. ¡°Well if neither of you can think of anything, I have a plan.¡± The two of them blinked almost in unison. He could practically hear their thoughts: ¡°Ian has a plan?¡± Yes, I have a plan, thank you very much! Sometimes they treated him as if he was actually dimwitted, as though his good grades meant nothing. ¡°I¡¯m not ignorant of the forces at play here. Since the two of you are associated with me, you won¡¯t be able to leave without being held for questioning. And I have a feeling you both would prefer to avoid being held for an indeterminate period of time by the Eldemari¡¯s agents.¡± Clearly Selejo didn¡¯t want to let him leave the country after realizing they¡¯d managed to create a peak practitioner. He¡¯d be an indispensable asset if they were able to control him, and if they didn¡¯t act now, he¡¯d likely escape their grasp. The longer they dallied, the more time the Selejans would have to organize. Perhaps The Eldemari would even come herself. Even with his high Death affinity, Ian had died enough times in the loop to know he was anything but invincible. Eventually, if he was hounded long enough, he would grow tired, and would let down his guard. All it would take was the briefest of moments, and that would be it: he¡¯d be incapacitated, captured, and forced into an oath against his will. At least, that¡¯s what he would do, were he in the position of the Selejans. ¡°You¡¯re right, Iolana, he has changed,¡± Aunt Julia remarked. They¡¯re talking like I¡¯m not even here, Ian lamented privately. ¡°I say that we escape through the Bay of Ramsay. I could lead us out across the water. It¡¯s a long distance, but I reckon we could make it within sixteen hours or so.¡± ¡°You realize we¡¯d have to cover over four-hundred miles of water?¡± Mother said. Ian nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± The ship from the first loop layer was just under four-hundred miles outside of Menocht Bay, and that journey last took him three hours using a wyrm. He figured that if he tried to keep the wyrm inconspicuously below the water, it would take significantly longer. ¡°In sixteen hours?¡± Ian didn¡¯t understand why she was so incredulous. Sixteen hours was around thirty miles per hour. If they could hypothetically take a hovergloss line over the bay, it wouldn¡¯t take more than six hours. It was also possible that the journey would take less than sixteen hours: After they were a few hours out over the bay, they might be able to take to the sky and cover more ground. Fine, maybe he did understand why she was so incredulous, since she had never seen him use his power. But couldn¡¯t she have a little faith if her son confidently said that he could do something? Aunt Julia snorted. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what methods you have in mind, but just because you¡¯ve gained a bit of power doesn¡¯t mean you should act recklessly. The Bay of Ramsay is dangerous, filled with storms and ten-foot waves. There¡¯s a reason why it¡¯s been a powerful natural barrier between Selejo and the SPU.¡± ¡°I¡¯m well aware of the Bay of Ramsay¡¯s utility as a buffer,¡± Ian replied curtly. ¡°And with all due respect, I feel that I am more than capable of carrying the three of us safely through its waters.¡± At this point, Ian could sense that the agents outside the cafe were growing agitated, especially the guardsman that Aunt Julia cowed. He seemed to have called for more backup, as there were two more suspicious individuals around the building than before. Some of them even carried zappers, the concentrated energy of the power clip clearly visible to his enhanced sight. Ian knew that they were out of time, though both Mother and Aunt Julia seemed unconvinced by his plan to cross the Bay of Ramsay. Seeing that they didn¡¯t have anything better to offer, he decided that it would be better to act now and ask for forgiveness later. 45. The Bay of Ramsay Without an ounce of hesitation, he reached out and grabbed onto Mother and Aunt Julia¡¯s arms. He led them down the stairs, taking advantage of their momentary shock. Even as they realized what he was doing, they were unable to resist: He took the initiative to enervate the muscles in their upper body. He knew that any Life practitioners outside¡ªif there were any¡ªwould be able to detect the action, but at this point, Ian didn¡¯t see much point in subtlety. He ignored the glares of protest as he dragged Mother and Aunt Julia out of the cafe door¡ªnearly bumping into the guardsman¡ªand onto the crowded street. Ian walked straight forward after exiting the cafe; fortunately, the beach front had been visible from the second floor. Though he couldn¡¯t see it at ground level, he knew the general direction to walk in. As they left the block, the closest few agents began to peel off the building. They didn¡¯t make any aggressive movements, nor did they come too close, choosing to follow at a distance. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that their vital signatures were slightly different from those of the regs, Ian might have lost them in the crush of people. All the while, Mother and Aunt Julia followed limply next to him, clearly dissatisfied with the current situation. Even so, they appeared alert, casting furtive looks into the crowd, as though trying to pick out anyone suspicious. Aunt Julia, in particular, was looking around with an expression of deep contemplation, likely putting her Beginning affinity to good use. As someone who could also sense vitality, Ian wondered if she was able to pick out the practitioners from the regs based on their vital energy alone. After traversing four blocks, Aunt Julia whispered, ¡°Stop.¡± Ian continued walking. ¡°What?¡± he asked, speaking under his breath. ¡°They¡¯ve set up an ambush site on the next block. They have more practitioners waiting, likely planning to neutralize us all in one sudden move.¡± Ian didn¡¯t question her augury. Even so, he couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised: What clues did she see that allowed her to make such a claim? ¡°Why do you think they¡¯re not just confronting us directly?¡± Aunt Julia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s too crowded here for an open engagement.¡± ¡°Besides, you haven¡¯t done anything yet,¡± Mother muttered. ¡°Why make an enemy of you when they could instead turn you into an asset? And with so many witnesses here, they won¡¯t want to cause a scene.¡± ¡°So how should we proceed?¡± Ian asked. ¡°Go two blocks left, then continue toward the beach,¡± Aunt Julia replied tersely. Ian didn¡¯t give a sign of acknowledgement, but began to head left at the next intersection. For the next several blocks, Aunt Julia served as his navigator, directing him past no less than five different ambush sites. By the time they finally reached the beach front, they had traveled nearly twice the distance he¡¯d originally anticipated. The beach front was thankfully deserted, as the weather had taken a turn for the worse, with ominous gray clouds blocking out the sun and brisk winds stirring up the waves. Ian led Mother and Aunt Julia directly to the water, speedily walking over the sand. At this point, the agents that were following behind were joined by reinforcements, their numbers swelling to at least twenty. Ian¡¯s intention to escape via water was now obvious, and he knew that if there was to be a confrontation, it would happen now. If they wanted a fight, he¡¯d give them one. All of a sudden, he threw Mother and Aunt Julia toward the water, away from himself, and formed a weak barrier of Death energy around him, just as a barrage of razor-sharp wind attacked. His eyes grew dark with grim determination. The beach was an excellent place for a decemancer: it was where carcasses washed up, where shell and bone accumulated. Even the sand itself was largely composed of ancient shell and coral: While sand was mostly devoid of any residual Death energy, it was a good energy conductor. For instance, if there was a skeleton buried under the sand, it was far easier to access its energy than if it were buried under muddy earth. And unfortunately for the people allied against him, this shore wasn¡¯t as peaceful as it seemed: like Aunt Julia said, the Bay of Ramsay was treacherous, killing numerous overconfident seafarers every year. Moreover, the beach front had been the site of bloody civil conflict when the royals of old Selejo fled for what would become the SPU eighty years before. Ian grinned as he sensed the remnants of skeletons under foot. Though they were old and their energy had somewhat dissipated into the sand, that which remained was enough. With an upward sweeping gesture of his hand, he pulled the energy from the ground. To those on the beach front, it looked as though Ian had pulled violet-pink lightning from the ground into his fist. A moment later, bones began to breach the sand, reassembling into misshapen skeletons. They clambered forth on broken limbs glued together by pinkish, ethereal sinews. In their eye sockets glowed violet-pink light. Meanwhile, more and more practitioners came forward, almost all of them elementalists. Ian sent the skeletons after them as a distraction, then ran to the water and grabbed Mother and Aunt Julia. With the two of them in hand, he kicked off into the air, dragging himself forward with practiced ease. He released the two women as soon as they were airborne, using newly-formed bone harnesses to tug them forward. The practitioners on the beach followed after them, the water elementalists skipping over the water, the wind elementalists riding the wind, and the fire elementalists blasting themselves forward by emitting fire from the soles of their feet and palms. The earth elementalists remained on the beach, lacking a swift method of pursuit over open water. As he glided over the water, Ian accumulated bones and shells, dredging them up from the depths. If sand was a good conductor of Death energy, then water was the best conductor of all: His reach extended hundreds of feet to the bottom of the water, where the ocean¡¯s countless dead had already met their rest. Soon, enough bones to open a small museum twirled aimlessly around him. They began to take on structured shapes, eventually forming into a sinuous serpent. Ian made a grasping motion with his hand and a nearby bird flew into his hand, its body swiftly decomposing into a pile of flesh and bone. Ian created a weak soul gem from the bird¡¯s energy and made a flight focus from its wishbone. A moment later, he created another soul gem from a second bird that had come too close. He waved his fingers and the soul gems socketed themselves into the serpent¡¯s head, with the flight focus locking into place on its forehead. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The wyrm shuddered and flashed with a violet crackle. Ian tossed Mother and Aunt Julia onto the wyrm¡¯s back, securing their haphazard harnesses of bone to the wyrm¡¯s ribcage. So much for a discreet exit underwater, Ian thought bitterly. They had wasted too much time at the cafe. He hadn¡¯t imagined that he¡¯d be in this kind of situation so soon, on the run from Selejo. Moreover, he was worried that if he wasn¡¯t careful, he¡¯d send these pursuing practitioners to their deaths. The idea of killing someone permanently...he couldn¡¯t deny that doing so was all but an inevitability. But if he had to kill someone, he¡¯d rather it be someone he had a grudge with. Not these practitioners who were only following orders. The problem looming over Ian¡¯s head was that his talents weren¡¯t well-suited to incapacitation when moving at high speeds. For one, range was a problem: at a distance, he had no means to directly affect the bodies of the practitioners, meaning his usual strategy of locking people¡¯s muscles wouldn¡¯t work. But even if he froze the pursuers in place, they¡¯d fall as soon as they left his range of influence, and likely perish out on the ocean. The best strategy he could think of was to simply outrun them. He spun around and joined Mother and Aunt Julia on the bone wyrm, straddling the area behind its patchwork skull. He placed a palm on the skull¡¯s flight focus and began to funnel Death energy into it. The wyrm carved a jagged path through the air, seeming to trace the tops of the waves. Ian gritted his teeth through the salt-water spray, determined to draw out as much energy as possible from the water. Now wasn¡¯t the time to be overconfident, as he could still sense no less than twelve practitioners keeping pace. Whoever the Eldemari had sent, they were talented. Ian estimated that most powerful among their number was a dual wind-fire elementalist who had been jetting through the air on skates of flame, a steady stream of blue fire erupting behind him as he outpaced his fellow agents. Ian estimated he had Cloud and Sun affinities at least in excess of 60%. More than likely, one of his affinities¡ªIan guessed Sun¡ªexceeded 70 or 80%. The kind of flames produced by a high-affinity Sun elementalist would be difficult to deal with. Ian sent a small flurry of bones to heckle the pursuers, focusing especially on the powerful dual elementalist. The elementalists swerved awkwardly, slowing their speed; the few who made contact with the bones were knocked completely off course, falling several hundred feet behind in the span of seconds. Thankfully, none of them hit the water; as fast as they were going, such a fall might be lethal. When will they learn to give up? Ian wondered, exasperated by their tireless pursuit. The bone wyrm was outspeeding their adversaries, but even as the practitioners seemed to fall behind, the dual elementalist put on another burst of speed, twin flares of blue flame exploding behind him. Ian focused his attention on blocking the dual elementalist¡¯s path with a shell barrier; however, the elementalist disregarded his efforts, smashing through it with impunity. The way he shrugged off Ian¡¯s attacks suggested the aid of an energy aegis. Ian frowned, suspecting that the man might have a weapon like the glosSword set to a defensive combat mode. Ian gritted his teeth and snarled in frustration. He sent more shells to obstruct the elementalist, practically burying him in a mountain of bleached white. He compressed the shards inward, forcing the elementalist off course in zigzags. Unfortunately, the blaze coming out of the elementalists palms and soles was powerful enough to carbonize whatever fell within its radius, preventing Ian from truly impeding the elementalist¡¯s progress. The rest appeared to be deflected by the energy shield. Fine, then, Ian thought. If you¡¯re going to be so persistent, don¡¯t blame me for what happens. Ian slowed down slightly to let the practitioner fall into his range, then raised his off hand in a sharp motion, made a fist, and threw his hand to the left. Behind him, the dual elementalist froze in place, his momentum completely halted. Then, he was thrown off to the left and into the ocean. Ian looked behind him for the first time in several minutes, his eyes full of morbid concern. He hoped the dual elementalist had only broken a few bones. As the dual elementalist plummeted into the water, his helmet fell off, revealing a youthful, soft face. Ian almost couldn¡¯t believe that he recognized it. Eldemari? he thought to himself with a gasp. He shook his head and turned around. No, not the Eldemari, but her son, Zilverna Sezakuin. He felt only relief as Zilverna thrashed in the water, his expression full of rage. If the Eldemari¡¯s son could afford to be angry, he wasn¡¯t likely to die before the other practitioners fished him out of the water and dragged him to safety. Ian let out a sigh and finally allowed himself to relax. The pursuers behind had finally given up the chase, and the wyrm was quickly pulling ahead. He leaned back onto the wyrm¡¯s spine, closing his eyes and directing it up above the water. It rose bit by bit until it flew level with the dark, thin storm clouds, eventually passing through them into a blue sky. Throughout all of this, Mother and Aunt Julia were awkwardly strapped to the midsection of the bone wyrm, jostling around roughly as the wyrm undulated through the sky. Now that they were free of their pursuers, Ian gingerly freed them from their harnesses and dropped them onto the wyrm¡¯s upper spine. Both women flailed for a better handhold upon being deposited in their new position, legs tightly straddling the wyrm¡¯s girth. With a small smile, Ian planted long spines of bone before them, giving each woman a rod to hold on to. ¡°So, how¡¯s the flight so far?¡± he asked, sitting up and turning around to face them. Mother gave him a blank expression. ¡°A bit turbulent,¡± she stated, raising her voice to be heard over the wind. Aunt Julia didn¡¯t speak; she appeared to be lost in thought. They flew in silence for the better part of an hour. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just kill them?¡± Aunt Julia asked, breaking the silence. Ian turned around. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You heard my question,¡± she said. ¡°Why would I kill them?¡± Ian asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°They were trying to capture you and force you into the service of the Eldemari,¡± Aunt Julia continued. ¡°If my augury isn¡¯t wrong, it would¡¯ve been trivial for you to end them.¡± Ian nodded slowly. ¡°Isn¡¯t that exactly why I didn¡¯t need to?¡± Aunt Julia shrugged. ¡°I guess the dilation chamber didn¡¯t change him as much as you thought, Iolana. Though that¡¯s not a bad thing.¡± She shot him a content smile. ¡°I always valued your kindness, Julian.¡± Mother rolled her eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a difference between being kind and being weak.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think his show of mercy was weakness,¡± Aunt Julia retorted, her eyes shining. Mother frowned. ¡°I never said it was.¡± She glanced at Ian. ¡°She¡¯s wrong, you know. Before you let people walk all over you, let them take your kindness by force. That¡¯s why you were weak, why I despised you for trying to please everyone, myself most of all.¡± Ian mulled over her words, not entirely convinced. Mother didn¡¯t need a reason to be nasty; her explanation felt like justification after the fact. He sighed in resignation, unwilling to start an argument. ¡°If that¡¯s what you think.¡± [The Eldemaris Wrath] 84. Alternative Routes Book 3: The Eldemari''s Wrath
Ian took a minute to settle his emotions after the call with Xander. Like it or not, winning the summit proves that I¡¯m one of the most powerful practitioners in the world. Regardless of whether the Eldemari or others discerned his half-step ascendant status, he was already shifting Ho¡¯ostar¡¯s balance of power. When Ian emerged from his chamber, Euryphel was nowhere to be found. Checking his glossY, he saw a new message from the prince to go ahead to the rooftop of the delegation building. With one final goodbye to his room, Ian set off. He hesitated as he traversed the exposed hallway, his eyes unable to look away from the straggling crowds of people. Families with children, groups of friends, people going it alone, people from all over the world¡ªthe Fassari Summit was a unique sight. I¡¯ll probably never see anything like this again. Ian emerged from the rooftop doorway to find that everyone in the delegation was present besides Euryphel and Diana. ¡°The champion returns,¡± Shivin¡¯i said, giving Ian a smile. ¡°Congratulations,¡± exclaimed one of the congressmen, a man named Nemir Kur¡¯sha, kicking off a wave of congratulatory remarks. Ian accepted their words, blushing slightly. ¡°Where is the first prince?¡± he asked, addressing Shivin¡¯i. Shivin¡¯i¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°He and the fourth prince went with most of the other delegations to investigate a rather dire problem. We¡¯re still waiting to hear back, and I hope it¡¯s not as bad as it sounds.¡± ¡°What problem?¡± He¡¯d just won the tournament; there wasn¡¯t anything else to do other than return back to the SPU. ¡°Was there a disagreement over final state rankings?¡± ¡°Fassar International Array Station is completely out of service.¡± Ian almost wondered if he¡¯d heard incorrectly. ¡°It¡¯s not working? The arrays aren¡¯t operating?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. And it¡¯s affecting not just us, but every array at the station. Euryphel and Diana went to get answers and advocate for prioritizing bringing our array back online as soon as possible.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± Ian had never heard of an entire array station being brought down. ¡°Fassar¡¯s station is one of the most complex in the world. Though the station is well-defended, a strong Dark disturbance could cause a cascade of problems.¡± ¡°What should we do in the meantime?¡± ¡°Wait, and stay vigilant. The entire array station going down right as the tournament ends is too much of a coincidence to ignore.¡± Lanhui spoke up. ¡°We¡¯ve all been discussing it in your absence, and we¡¯re fairly confident the Eldemari and her agents wouldn¡¯t dare to disrupt the entire array station. Whatever plot is brewing shouldn¡¯t involve us. At the same time, that doesn¡¯t mean Selejo won¡¯t take advantage of the chaos.¡± ¡°What do you think she might try to do?¡± Ian asked, frowning. ¡°Her powers are limited while we¡¯re in Fassar.¡± ¡°That depends on what we learn when the first and fourth princes return. And so, until then, we wait.¡± ¡ª Euryphel was at his wit¡¯s end. He already knew how this sequence would end, but he decided to live it out anyway. ¡°I demand to speak to your manager.¡± The clerk at the front of the shuttered array station shook his head frantically. ¡°Everyone has been asking to speak to her! She¡¯s not available. I assure you, she and our entire team are working to return functionality to the array station. Now, if I can¡ª¡± ¡°Do you know who this is?¡± Diana spoke up, her voice soft. She was dressed to impress, her makeup artfully accentuating her eyes and matching the coloration of her SPU uniform, a flowing tunic white over a sky-blue skort that stopped mid-knee. ¡°This is the Crowned Prime of the SPU, the state whose champion just won the Grand Tourn¨¦e.¡± The clerk¡¯s eyes widened, but he continued to shake his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there¡¯s nothing I can do. I assure you that everyone wants the same thing: a solution.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Euryphel motioned for Diana to follow his lead. They walked around the corner and stood by the side of the array station. ¡°Nothing worked?¡± Euryphel sighed. ¡°No. I think there really might not be anything we can do. The five people we talked to had no idea why the station went down, and it doesn¡¯t seem like a fix will be coming anytime today.¡± He drew Diana in close and used the wind to transmit the rest of his thoughts. ¡°The summit has concluded; after today, Shattradan will no longer have the personnel set aside to guarantee our protection. If we linger while waiting for the arrays to come back online, the Eldemari may find a way to ensnare one of us with her practice. If she does so, we won¡¯t have anyone powerful enough to break them free.¡± Euryphel¡¯s eyes gazed intently into Diana¡¯s. ¡°We need to leave, today. I need you to return and inform everyone of this sensitive situation. In the meantime I¡¯ll investigate a solution to get us out safely.¡± The young woman swallowed and inclined her head. ¡°I thought this was a peace summit.¡± ¡°You should know by now that things are rarely as they seem.¡± Diana snorted. ¡°Will you be alright by yourself?¡± The first prince nodded and spoke out loud. ¡°We¡¯re still under Fassar¡¯s full protection for today. I¡¯ll be in touch over glossY. I¡¯m relying on you, Diana.¡± The Sun practitioner laughed and gave him a smug grin. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever hear you say those words.¡± Euryphel¡¯s eyes rose skyward in exasperation. If I don¡¯t get this off my chest, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to spend another minute dealing with her. ¡°I rely on you every day to provide me counsel with the other princes, to represent the SPU and watch over your people in Il¡¯ix. Now I¡¯m choosing to rely on you to inform the others of our situation. What do I receive in return? Attitude. And generally, animosity and distrust.¡± Diana opened her mouth to respond, but closed it and fixed her eyes on the ground. Euryphel wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°Throughout the entire summit you¡¯ve been tired and lazy; you never offered any constructive comments, never made an effort to socialize at Tai¡¯s gala, and were first to drop out of the tournament bracket. ¡°I brought you here because you asked to participate, but also because you¡¯re young and ambitious. The summit was an opportunity, and while I could¡¯ve given it to someone else, I chose to give one of our nation¡¯s four slots to you. You haven¡¯t been acting like a prime, or even a prince: You¡¯ve been acting like a spoiled child, as though your actions reflect poorly on me rather than yourself.¡± Diana grit her teeth, her brows furrowing in anger. ¡°Euryphel¡ª¡± Ever indignant. ¡°Get out of my sight.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Diana stormed off. Euryphel pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled, somewhat relieved that he could finally vent to Diana where she¡¯d remember it. He¡¯d meant what he said earlier: Diana was generally competent. He trusted that she¡¯d do what he asked of her without letting her emotions get in the way. That aside, he hoped she¡¯d take something away from his outburst. Euryphel walked back around the corner to observe the fiasco in front of the array station, numerous powerful states refusing to leave without speaking to the ¡°people in charge.¡± What are we going to do? There wasn¡¯t much time to strategize. Strength was certainly better in numbers: Other states would be banding together into blocs to plan strategies while readying their own defenses. Not that we have any strong allies to call on. After Shivin¡¯i had warned him about the possibility that Selejo had renewed their loop experiments, Euryphel feared the worst. What if the Eldemari knows more than we thought, and by bringing Ian, we played right into her hands? Euryphel figured that there were a few options they could take. The first option would be to stay in Fassar City until its array terminal was operational. This would be the option that the states furthest away would choose, as other array stations might not have the means to provide a direct route back. The long-range arrays in Fassar International Array Station are the entire reason why the Fassari Summit is held here. The next option was to take some other form of ground transportation to the nearest array station with a direct route back. It was the strategy Euryphel expected states in Kester, Corneria, and Selejo to take. Then there was a third option, one that he thought very few states were in a position to consider; perhaps only the SPU alone. Going by sea. The SPU was the only nation that had a clear shot via the channel where the Bay of Ramsay fed into the Illyrian Ocean. A sea route to Selejo and northern Kester required either taking ground transportation to neighboring provinces or traveling at least twice as far as the SPU delegation to make landfall. Euryphel figured that the chance of them being attacked on the Ramsay Channel was less than if they traveled by private hovergloss to the array station in Pruscha, the capital of the neighboring Zentka province. Since most other states would be headed to Pruscha, the SPU might become embroiled in whatever conspiracy was afoot. Moreover, Selejo was probably headed to Pruscha as well. Contact wasn¡¯t unavoidable, but it was likely, and Euryphel intended to stay as far from the Eldemari as possible. What a disaster, the prince thought to himself. Perhaps the real target of this attack isn¡¯t any one delegation, but the peace summit itself. The idea was unsettling, but Euryphel knew he was only speculating. The truth would come out eventually; until then, he had his delegation¡¯s safety to worry about. 85. Auburn Diana stared up at the yacht in wonder. ¡°You actually got us a nice ship.¡± Euryphel chuckled bitterly. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe the hoops I went through to hire its crew on such short notice.¡± Ian noticed the prince turn his way, grinning sheepishly. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I might have made a few promises.¡± ¡°...¡± The first prince coughed. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss more once we¡¯re out on the water. Alright, everyone, we don¡¯t have time to waste.¡± Ian followed the rest of the delegation onto the ship, a rather large yacht that looked like a playground for wealthy aristocrats. Boasting three levels and twenty cabins, everyone would have their own room for the overnight journey. The captain of the ship greeted them on the main level. He wore a fitted navy-blue uniform and gave their collective a wave and an easy smile. ¡°Welcome delegates from the SPU! We¡¯re honored to have you aboard our vessel. I¡¯m Del Rodgers and I¡¯ll be your captain on this voyage.¡± Captain Del proceeded to give them a tour of the vessel, showing off an elaborate cabaret on the lower level and a fully-stocked bar at the back of the ship on the main level. The last stop was the upper level, Captain Del showing each of them to a numbered room before bidding them a good evening. After Shivin¡¯i doled out their stored luggage, the group scattered. Ian returned to his room to stow his luggage; before leaving, he donned a jacket to stave off the evening chill. Even though the Ramsay Channel was fairly temperate in the winter, the insulated SPU uniforms fell short as the evening breeze rolled in. Ian considered what to do next. I¡¯m on a boat in the middle of nowhere. I can either stay holed up in my room, doing nothing, or go downstairs and be social. I suppose I should go down... ¡ª Diana grabbed a bright-red drink from off the bar. ¡°Why put a pool on a boat? It¡¯s surrounded by water.¡± ¡°Are you planning to take a dip in the channel?¡± Shivin¡¯i retorted. ¡°It¡¯s freezing.¡± ¡°Fine, I see your point.¡± Ian leaned over against the side of the boat, his hands catching some of the sea spray. Night was fast approaching, the sun a solid circle of orange rippling across cloud and wave. A voice called out from behind. ¡°Skai¡¯aren, if it¡¯s not inconvenient, it¡¯s time for the agreed-upon display.¡± Ian turned to face a woman wearing a navy skirt and white polo, her head bowed respectfully. Already? Ian tried to think of what he¡¯d done in the past hour. I enjoyed the smell of the ocean, contemplated the future...He looked down at his empty glass. Had a drink. ¡°Can I do it from here?¡± ¡°Sure. The crew wants to see a real dragon, not a wyrm, if possible.¡± Ian scratched his head. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I guess.¡± He drew his set of bones from the void storage and shaped them into the bone wyrm that would form the base of the dragon. Not enough bones to make wings, he realized, considering his options. The channel between Fassar and the SPU was deep, making it difficult to find bones and shells nearby, but Ian didn¡¯t need very many to complete the construct. After a few minutes of trawling, a skeletal dragon was flying over the ship, swooping through the air by pumping its wings. ¡°Why don¡¯t you always use a dragon over a wyrm?¡± Diana asked between sips of her drink. ¡°Looks cooler.¡± ¡°Dragon¡¯s aren¡¯t as fast and require more bones. Flapping is slower than levitating.¡± Diana gave him a level look. ¡°I thought you recognized the power of appearances.¡± ¡°A bone construct is going to evoke fear regardless,¡± Ian replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. ¡°I think a winged dragon is far more arresting, bony wings strung with scapula feathers blotting out the sky.¡± Uh-huh. ¡°I never realized you¡¯d have such a strong opinion regarding my decemancy.¡± ¡°Whether I advocated for it initially or not...after the Fassari Summit, your name is going to be inseparable from the SPU.¡± Diana bit her red-stained lower lip. ¡°I¡¯d like for any association to be both positive...and intimidating.¡± ¡ª At Euryphel¡¯s behest, the delegation convened on the upper level. ¡°I hope everyone had some time to relax,¡± the first prince began, beaming. ¡°Even though we¡¯re still a day out from home, I hope we can take this time to celebrate. Our success this year was a group effort. In particular, efforts of our politicians contributed to a key victory promoting military IP export. But even more noteworthy is our elevated bracket ranking...and the overwhelming dominance of the Skai¡¯aren!¡± The gathered delegates burst into polite applause. ¡°Before we begin any festivities, however, we¡¯re going to need three people to take watch.¡± Ian raised his hand to volunteer. Euryphel gave him a disapproving stare. ¡°No.¡± ¡°We¡¯re more than capable of protecting the vessel without you,¡± Lanhui replied, shooting the proposition down. Euryphel nodded his head toward Lanhui. ¡°Guardian Lanhui, of course, will be one of the watchmen. I need two others; perhaps someone from the Congress?¡± Nemir Kur¡¯sha spoke up. ¡°I can do it.¡± ¡°Ok; one more...¡± Euryphel murmured, thrumming his fingers on the railing. ¡°I suppose I could do it.¡± Shivin¡¯i snorted. ¡°You¡¯ll be watching for danger regardless.¡± Euryphel gave him a sidelong glance. ¡°Any other volunteers? That aren¡¯t the Skai¡¯aren?¡± ¡°Me.¡± All eyes then fell to Diana. Euryphel gave her the slightest of nods. ¡°Very well.¡± The rest of the delegation proceeded on to celebratory festivities, a purpose to which the yacht was expertly equipped to handle. Where before the crew had seemed a bit unsure of how to handle the quiet SPU delegation, they seemed much more comfortable treating them like a typical group of practitioners. They all generally took care not to imbibe too extravagantly in the event that something befell the vessel; granted, the limits of impairment were less stringent when Life practitioners were involved, being able to speed metabolism of alcohol in a pinch. The two Life practitioners among the congressmen had reminded Ian of this fact seemingly every other minute. And so it was that at the humble hour of 2 am, Ian fumbled with the door to his cabin and collapsed on the bed. He managed to sleep for all of two hours before being awoken by the seizing of the vessel. Rough waves? he wondered groggily. His Death energy perception suggested something more nefarious: Euryphel, the sober squad, and several other delegates were on the deck of the ship scrambling around. Euryphel seemed to be orchestrating commands and directing people. Lanhui dove off the deck of the ship and reemerged aloft a torrent of seawater, keeping pace with the ship even as he circled its hull. Ian groaned and sat up. Thankfully I don¡¯t need a Life practitioner to get myself back into working order. Given that decemancy wasn¡¯t the right tool for the job, refreshing himself took more effort, but Ian didn¡¯t have time to find one of their two vivimancers. Euryphel and the others probably didn¡¯t want to bother me, he realized with a grimace. They¡¯ve all been trying to give me a break. Ian thought the gesture was ridiculous: The main reason they¡¯d be attacked in the first place was because of him. Moreover, as the strongest practitioner present, it was only logical that he be responsible for protecting everyone. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Every second Ian spent purging himself of the influence of alcohol felt like an eternity, the people on deck moving about like hummingbirds. With a frustrated growl, he ran out of the room while continuing to refresh his body, calling bones from discreet pockets to serve as armor. ¡°Euryphel!¡± Ian shouted, feet slamming down on the deck¡¯s first level. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± The first prince didn¡¯t turn, his attention focused on the nebulous mist surrounding the ship. He spoke in clipped sentences, the wind carrying his message to Ian¡¯s ear. ¡°Assassins shot a beam of plasma to sink the ship. Tried to aim it at you, kill you; if I hadn¡¯t been looking ahead, you¡¯d be dead, the ship sunk.¡± Ian¡¯s skin broke out in goosebumps. ¡°Is the ship damaged?¡± ¡°Lanhui used his water elementalism to quickly alter the trajectory of the yacht. However, the plasma beam never came, despite my initial foresight.¡± ¡°Have you been able to locate them based on what you saw initially?¡± Ian figured the prince must¡¯ve seen the general location that the plasma beam came from. ¡°We only have a vague direction. Shivin¡¯i and Lanhui have both been using their Beginning affinities to try and locate the assassins but haven¡¯t found them yet. The assassin team is possibly using a Dark practitioner to obscure its location. In the meantime, Shivin¡¯i and Lanhui created a heavy mist throughout the surrounding area to hide our presence and buy time.¡± ¡°Well, now I¡¯m awake. They won¡¯t be able to kill me so easily with my shield in place,¡± Ian murmured quietly. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be hit by this, Ian. It¡¯s an amplified beam likely produced by at least two powerful practitioners. Be careful.¡± Ian closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Selejo doesn¡¯t play around. It was one thing to hear that people wanted him dead...and another to be in the throes of an ongoing assassination attempt. His voice was barely a whisper. ¡°Eury...thank you. For protecting me.¡± The prince¡¯s vitality surged slightly, like a small hiccup. ¡°Help Shivin¡¯i and Lanhui. I¡¯ll facilitate communications and let you know when I see an attack incoming. From what I¡¯ve seen so far, it¡¯s likely they have a Regret practitioner among them, so you can imagine the mind games afoot.¡± Ian nodded stiffly, then shot off the deck. The thickness of the mist cast the entire world in a shroud of gray, the water droplets in the air leaving blurry streaks across his vital vision. There were few souls out in the middle of the Ramsay Channel, but they shone like vibrant lanterns in the otherwise dark night sky, cutting through all the dimness of the mist. Souls are attracted to the living, he thought to himself as he hovered in the air. Even if I can see little else, if I can find where the souls concentrate...I might be able to find the assassins. Ian recognized the imperative of being stealthy. If the assassins had either a Life or Death practitioner among them¨Ca likely assumption given that they were probably here to assassinate a decemancer¨Cthey¡¯d be able to see him coming from a long distance, active use of Death energy showing like a beacon. Of course he¡¯d also be able to see any enemy Life or Death users at a distance, but since the assassins had people with strong long-range firepower, they¡¯d snipe him down before he could get close. As he considered a strategy, the obscuring mist around him brought inspiration. Ian fell like a rock into the channel. He dragged himself forward by his bone armor, only occasionally coming up for breaths. All the while he drew out the wyrm components and created the construct anew, pinning himself to the back of its piecemeal skull. His jowls rippled as the wyrm surged forward, but he ignored the discomfort, eyes fixed on the souls still-visible even through the film of the water¡¯s surface. The enemy can¡¯t be too far, he thought. Suddenly a form appeared to his right. Lanhui. Ian surfaced and took a deep breath. Lanhui joined him and nodded, gesturing for them to continue forward. ¡°They should be in this direction,¡± the elementalist sputtered, icy water dripping down his face. ¡°But how did you know? Are you following some kind of energy trail?¡± While Lanhui didn¡¯t necessarily like him, he didn¡¯t think the man would do anything to betray him. Even so, souls were a touchy subject...constrained to the domain of necromancy. ¡°I can see energy that suggests people are nearby.¡± Lanhui narrowed his eyes, but didn¡¯t question him. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. If I notice anything off I¡¯ll let you know. We¡¯ll keep coming up for air every thirty seconds.¡± ¡°To communicate?¡± ¡°So I can tell you if you¡¯re going to get vaporized,¡± Euryphel¡¯s voice sounded in their ears. ¡°Which you are if you stay there for too much longer. They¡¯ve found you; move as quickly as you can.¡± Ian and Lanhui shared a look of determination. The two dove into the water, Ian leading the way with his wyrm. When they surfaced again in thirty seconds, Euryphel¡¯s voice blasted in their ears. ¡°Keep going! You haven¡¯t lost them. Dive deep.¡± Ian and Lanhui sunk downward, Lanhui grabbing onto the worm and propelling them forward with his water elementalism. Ian¡¯s ears popped and the pressure steadily intensified; Lanhui swam to the front of the wyrm and grabbed Ian¡¯s attention, gesturing for them to start heading back up. Ian nodded; the further up they went, the less woozy he became. When they broke the surface, Lanhui spoke rapidly. ¡°If you go too deep you¡¯re going to die, even with me protecting us with my elementalism, even with all your Death energy protections. Understand?¡± Ian nodded weakly, the chill of the channel fighting against the lukewarm insulation of his Death energy. ¡°You¡¯re both safe for now. Good losing them,¡± Euryphel whispered over the wind. Realizing that they could take a short breather, Ian asked the most immediately pressing question on his mind. ¡°Is there any way to keep from freezing?¡± Lanhui shook his head gravely. ¡°I¡¯m actually wearing a wetsuit. It¡¯s standard issue for water elementalists, helps to keep out the cold. Your Death energy seems to offer some protection; continue what you¡¯re doing.¡± Euryphel¡¯s voice returned: ¡°I said you¡¯re safe for now; keep going.¡± ¡°How are you finding us?¡± Ian asked, frowning. He figured that if Euryphel could do it, the assassins could as well. ¡°He finds us through my oath of service,¡± Lanhui explained. ¡°Skai¡¯aren, do you still know which way to go?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Another two souls had come into view, starting to form a noticeable cluster. Ian lowered them back down and launched forward, the worm¡¯s lithe body spearing through the water in wide zigzags, ultimately headed for the clustering of souls. The next time they surfaced, Ian only barely brought them close enough to take a breath, whispering softly. ¡°They¡¯re very close. Can you discern where they might be?¡± Lanhui scanned the horizon. ¡°There¡¯s something odd over there. That boulder isn¡¯t real. See it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I bet they¡¯re hiding behind it.¡± ¡°They know where you are again,¡± Euryphel exclaimed, his voice blasting into their ears. ¡°Though this time it¡¯s because you try to attack them first. You¡¯ve found them.¡± Ian and Lanhui grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t stop moving. The two of you need to split up, though I want Lanhui to take the bone wyrm. Ian, stay almost fully submerged, save one ear; you¡¯re going to need to trust me.¡± Ian turned his head toward the guardian. ¡°You think you can ride this by yourself?¡± The wyrm was powered by soul gems, so it should be able to go autonomously even outside of Ian¡¯s range so long as Lanhui steered its skull. Lanhui sighed and rubbed water from his eyes. ¡°Not exactly born ready, but I¡¯ve already ridden it this far.¡± Ian got off the wyrm and Lanhui shimmied his way just behind its skull. After giving each other sharp nods, they ducked under water and headed in opposite directions toward the assassins¡¯ false boulder. Ian surfaced twenty seconds later, just barely lifting his head to take a breath. Euryphel didn¡¯t say anything, so he continued to swim, dragging his body forward such that an ear stayed above water, a difficult feat given the sloshing of the waves. Euryphel¡¯s voice suddenly whispered in his ear. ¡°Someone will come at you from above in ten seconds. Kill them.¡± Considering that Ian was already riding an adrenaline high, the prince¡¯s words didn¡¯t have much physiological effect, but his mind began to go in circles. Ian knew that this moment was an eventuality. If what Achemiss said was true, he¡¯d already bloodied his hands many times over. He knew this on an intellectual level. Even so...this would be the first time he¡¯d be taking a life he considered real, where the death would be permanent. Kill or be killed. On the tenth measured breath after Euryphel¡¯s warning, Ian¡¯s eyes flashed wide and he froze the body of a person who¡¯d managed to come inches from his neck, a wicked, crackling dagger poised to cut his throat from above. Without the prince¡¯s warning, the suddenness of the attack might¡¯ve ensured its success. I¡¯ll need to find how this person came so close to me without my sensing it. Ian didn¡¯t need to move to take the man¡¯s life. The assassin fell limp, his energy siphoned into Ian¡¯s hand. As the last vestige of vitality winked out, a bright auburn soul separated from the man and began to float away. It was bizarre, but Ian felt as though he could feel the soul, unlike any of the others he¡¯d seen before. Head throbbing with the rushing of blood, his entire body feeling somewhat faint and yet also invigorated...Ian held out a hand, his index finger pointing toward the soul¡¯s center. The soul began to pull backward as though compelled until it eventually bobbed above Ian¡¯s hand. Ian stared at it in horror and fascination. ¡°Ian, what are you doing?¡± Euryphel asked. Ian snapped to attention, realizing that he¡¯d been spending too long in an exposed position. ¡°What next?¡± ¡°Keep swimming. Tow the body below and behind you so we can inspect it later.¡± He nodded, then dove back under water, trawling the corpse behind him along with the red-copper soul. A minute later, Euryphel contacted him again. ¡°Lanhui captured and killed one. The others are retreating. Their Regret practitioner is down, so you¡¯ll be able to move much easier; can you apprehend the others for questioning?¡± ¡°You already know the answer.¡± A soft chuckle brushed past Ian¡¯s ear. ¡°That, I do.¡± 86. Nightmare ¡°Diana,¡± Ian bellowed, teeth chattering as he landed on the ship. Lanhui climbed onto the deck behind him and grasped onto his shoulder. In a moment, Ian was dry. Diana was standing on the boat¡¯s bow, her eyes narrowed and gazing out into the dark, mist-cloaked surroundings. She turned and sprung back, releasing her hold on a pair of ropes tied to the boat¡¯s second level. She stepped before Ian and Lanhui, holding out her hands to disperse blessed warmth. ¡°Thank you both,¡± Ian smiled halfheartedly. He looked down and nudged a corpse resting on the deck. Laying to its side were four others. Lanhui inclined his head. ¡°Thank you for carrying them back.¡± Diana craned her neck. ¡°Are those three still alive?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Unless my vital vision is malfunctioning. She directed one of her hands in the direction of the unconscious bodies. ¡°They might not have been for much longer if I didn¡¯t warm them up. Euryphel, what are your plans for them?¡± The prince¡¯s disembodied voice whistled over the wind. ¡°Bring the corpses to Shivin¡¯i. The rest...bring them to me.¡± Diana gave Ian a look. ¡°You heard him, right? Shivin¡¯i and Euryphel are both on the second level.¡± Ian nodded and elevated the bodies off the deck, each silhouette bobbing ominously behind the next like a string of drowned captives. He flew up to the second level and noticed the first and fifth princes¡¯ vitality signatures on opposite sides of the deck, Shivin¡¯i actually waiting in his own room. ¡°Prince Shivin¡¯i?¡± Ian called out. The fifth prince opened the door and pointed out the two dead bodies among the five. ¡°Can you send them over onto the bed?¡± I guess Shivin¡¯i¡¯s not planning to sleep here tonight. He made a small gesture with his hand and the corpses floated past the doorway and onto the comforter, dripping water on the rug. One seemed as though asleep, while the other looked as though in agony, one of his eyes sliced halfway through and leaking fluid, his mouth frozen in a rictus. ¡°Good luck,¡± Ian said, shutting the door and heading to Euryphel. The first prince was on the deck, several sharp implements arrayed before him along with a stretch of rope and three neat sheets of thick paper. The prince turned, his sapphire hair ornament glistening in the moonlight. ¡°Can you prop them up on the side of that wall?¡± Ian nodded, then positioned the unconscious captives next to one another, keeping a foot or so of distance between them. While Ian kept a firm hold over their bodies, he gave them enough leeway to breathe, their chests rising and falling in slow rhythm. The prince walked over and began to inspect the captives, pulling up the robe of one of them and rubbing the fabric between his fingers. ¡°Bring me a sheet of paper and the third scalpel. I¡¯m going to show you a new way to weaponize End.¡± Ian¡¯s hair rose. With grim steps he fetched the prince¡¯s requested reagents, then stepped aside limply, the auburn soul hovering next to his head like a balloon. The man on the far right of the lineup was fair skinned, his black robes contrasting with ginger curls. Euryphel stood before him, scalpel held aloft. He breathed in deeply, his hand steady and poised over the man¡¯s exposed neck. When he breathed out again, he cut into skin. The wound was shallow, non-lethal. Ian watched as the man¡¯s blood dribbled onto his dark robes, dyeing them with graying vitality. Euryphel pressed a button on the scalpel, causing it to click. A small thread of red spooled from the dripping blood to the scalpel¡¯s butt...and Euryphel began to write on the sheet of paper.
Blood Oath: Until the drying of this wound, Bind this fate to truth.
Though the oath wasn¡¯t very long, it seemed to have an effect: As Euryphel penned the last letter, the unconscious captive shuddered against his restraints, his pulse increasing. ¡°Blood oaths are quite weak, though they have their uses. They can be fixed while unconscious...and are non-consensual. All the same, they fade as soon as the blood clots.¡± Without warning, the prince slapped the red-headed captive across the cheek. The man opened his eyes and recoiled back slightly, teeth clenching together, though Ian ensured his motions were restricted. If the man tried anything, Ian intended to knock him unconscious. The prince leveled a cold gaze at the captive, though didn¡¯t say anything out loud. He began to circle the captive like a prowling panther, his gaze growing in intensity. After a minute, the prince sighed and turned toward Ian. ¡°Clot the blood and knock him out.¡± The red-headed man¡¯s eyelids barely had the chance to widen before drooping shut. The prince repeated his oath with the other two captives: first a man with arresting eyes the color of a pale sky, then a petite dark-skinned woman with a golden oath inscribed across her neck. It tugged and asphyxiated her repeatedly during Euryphel¡¯s uncannily silent interrogation, but based on how long the prince stared into her eyes, Ian figured he found a method to make her talk. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. When the woman at last fell unconscious, Euryphel groaned and collapsed to his knees, squatting on the deck. A strong breeze swept past and wiped his brow of sweat, but the prince seemed exhausted, his eyes squinting painfully. ¡°Eury,¡± Ian exclaimed, stepping to the prince¡¯s side. Euryphel shook his head and stood, rebuffing Ian¡¯s attempt at helping him up. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a bit overtaxed, especially after the last one.¡± Euryphel¡¯s pallid lips curled into a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll save you the trouble of asking: The only one with useful information was the woman.¡± ¡°What did she know?¡± The prince¡¯s eyes fell back to the woman¡¯s prone form. He pointed at the golden choker still visible on the woman¡¯s neck, its surface visibly frayed. ¡°She nearly died telling me the name of the Eldemari¡¯s fourth-ranked general, Lias Grevald. She was unable to say more than half a syllable before her oath destroyed the ability to speak.¡± Euryphel stepped forward and pulled back the woman¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Even when asked to write the names of her superiors, shackle-like bracelets appeared on her wrists.¡± No wonder Euryphel spent so long interrogating her. ¡°Eury...are you alright? You were interrogating them for a while.¡± The prince sighed and ran a blood-caked hand through his hair. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I¡¯m not so sure you are. ¡°You should wash up and get some rest. I¡¯ll keep watch this time in the event that there¡¯s another attack.¡± Euryphel looked at him blankly, then began to chuckle softly. ¡°Ian, it won¡¯t do you any good to simply watch. I need to be looking into the future to vet our path. Everyone here is lucky I wasn¡¯t complacent.¡± ¡°Eury, if I stay awake and put in the effort to actively defend us...I¡¯m confident I can keep us all alive until the break of dawn.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How much have you slept throughout the entire summit?¡± Ian murmured, brows furrowing. ¡°I¡¯ve slept,¡± Euryphel retorted weakly. ¡°Of course you sandwiched your room between the two Life practitioners...¡± ¡°I slept!¡± The more the prince denied it, the wider Ian¡¯s cold smile. ¡°You almost had me fooled. Euryphel Selejo...you must know that you can¡¯t keep yourself awake for too long, even with vitality infusions.¡± Euryphel groaned. ¡°I really did sleep, Ian. And I didn¡¯t position my room between the Life practitioners; stop mixing up Jazeera and Veronica. They look nothing alike.¡± ¡°Why sleep soundly then but refuse to sleep now?¡± ¡°Because we were all under Shattradan¡¯s protection, Ian. If anything happened to our delegation...it¡¯d be unthinkable. In the grand scheme of things life would move on: The globe wouldn¡¯t mourn too long for a loss from a small, friendless state. But if the Fassari Summit lost legitimacy and states refused to attend...Stewing tensions might erupt and cause widespread chaos in both the East and West.¡± ¡°Are rifts and naturally-forming dilation caves really so valuable?¡± Ian asked, naming the top two tournament reward categories. ¡°They¡¯ve been worth going to war over, yes.¡± Ian shook his head and pointed back towards Euryphel¡¯s room. ¡°Enough beating around the bush. Get some sleep and I¡¯ll keep us safe. You¡¯ve exhausted yourself orchestrating a united defense and conducting the interrogation.¡± Euryphel¡¯s eyes were unbendingly defiant. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Ian asked, voice barely a whisper. The prince¡¯s gaze held steady for another moment before faltering. ¡°Y¡¯jeni, Ian.¡± Ian followed him back to his room. ¡°I¡¯ll wake you in a few hours, alright?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Euryphel closed the door with a gust of air, leaving Ian out alone in the cool ocean breeze. He sighed and turned back toward the stern of the ship, flexing his fingers. ¡°I better start preparing for the worst.¡± ¡ª Eury awoke in a cold sweat. He shivered and sat up, placing his head between his legs. You need to sleep, he thought to himself. Ian and the others are awake so you can rest. Knowing that he needed to sleep and actually sleeping were two different things. The prince knew he could reasonably blame a confluence of factors for his insomnia: the unfamiliar location, the rocking of the boat, leftover adrenaline from the attack, and fear of further assassination attempts. Just so...he knew the real reason lay elsewhere. He tightened his grip on the sheets and exhaled a shaky breath before flopping over in the fetal position, legs curling against his stomach. The scene that dominated the prince¡¯s nightmares was an old, indelible scar on his memory. The nightmare was always the same, and all the more terrible for it. In a way, it was the worst kind of nightmare for a Regret practitioner: Euryphel knew what the future held...and knew that there was no way out. In the nightmare, his parents were still alive. He and his mother observed from the balcony of the arena in their own private box. Father didn¡¯t often have challengers: He was strong, and well-liked. If someone wished to join the Princes Council, they could just challenge another one of its members. But on that day that never ended, Father had a challenger, a young man in his early thirties by the name of O¡¯osta Kestrelius Selejo from the up-and-coming Kestrelius clan. Little was known about him other than that he was a talented water elementalist. Euryphel remembered his father speaking before the duel to Mother. She¡¯d been upset, but father had refused to step down. Euryphel knew that his father had trusted his Regret affinity to deliver one-sided victory. The duel commenced without theatrics. After a minute of fighting, O¡¯osta nicked Father with one of his many watery knives. The wound was shallow and non-vital, though Father increased his wariness moving forward. Roughly a minute and thirty seconds later¨Cthe limit of his father¡¯s Regret scenario length¨CEuryphel¡¯s father began to move much more frantically, like an insect caught in the web of a spider. Euryphel¡¯s Mother began to weep. O¡¯osta¡¯s watery knives flared and Euryphel¡¯s father grunted in pain. The knife blades had only made purchase three times since the start of the battle, but each wound began to widen. Through the largest hole, just above Father¡¯s stomach, O¡¯osta began to pull. And pull. And pull. Father watched, face agape with horror, as his organs began to tear and squeeze through the wound in his skin, turning it from a cut into a massive, weeping hole. ...And that was the point at which Euryphel woke up. He thought the memory might grow less potent over time, but it still ate at him, even after killing O¡¯osta with his own hands. In a way, killing O¡¯osta had almost made the nightmare worse. Sleep, Euryphel commanded himself, squeezing his eyes shut. Please just sleep. 87. Return Lanhui was first to see the coastline. ¡°Just another hour and we¡¯ll make landfall,¡± he announced, turning toward Shivin¡¯i and Euryphel. ¡°Though traveling from Port Thumb to Zukal¡¯iss will be another six hours at least.¡± No matter how Ian craned his head, he couldn¡¯t see anything but the dark green-blue of the waves. Overcast clouds cast everything in a dreary light, blocking out the morning sun. ¡°We weren¡¯t detoured too badly,¡± Euryphel observed, his voice scratchy. He still doesn¡¯t look like he got much sleep, Ian noted, though not for lack of trying. ¡°Captain Del, can you foresee any complications?¡± the prince asked. The captain looked almost as exhausted as Euryphel, his eyes tinged red. ¡°None, unless we¡¯re intercepted by assassins.¡± He said the last word softly, as though still coming to terms with the fact his vessel had nearly been destroyed by a team of hostile practitioners. ¡°They would¡¯ve attacked again by now,¡± Euryphel said, Shivin¡¯i and Lanhui both nodding in confirmation. ¡°We¡¯re too close to the coast at this point. If they started blasting us from here, they¡¯d be signing their own lives away.¡± Ian recalled the heavy artillery positioned all around the SPU¡¯s coastline. When he snuck into the SPU originally, he avoided detection by limiting the use of his practice. If he¡¯d come in like an elementalist, beams blazing...things might not have turned out so well. Port Thumb eventually came into Ian¡¯s field of view, a rather large port city that primarily serviced the SPU, Shattradan, and Kester. Ian observed that its docks were mostly filled with commercial and privately-owned vessels rather than warships. Though it was fairly close to Godora, the port was far-removed from all other Selejan allies, leaving it fairly unscathed by past decades of conflict. ¡°That was the longest ride of my life,¡± Diana moaned, breathing a sigh of relief as they approached the docks. ¡°Y¡¯jeni, I missed land.¡± Shivin¡¯i rolled his eyes. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad, Diana.¡± ¡°I was sick nearly three times after Lanhui turned on the turbo,¡± she muttered. Ian agreed that the ride hadn¡¯t been as pleasant after Lanhui used his water elementalism to speed the ship forward, making up time lost when they detoured after the attack. What had made it even worse was the stifling atmosphere of paranoia that now pervaded the ship, each of them silently preoccupied with the night¡¯s dark implications. Lanhui snorted and stepped up to the starboard side of the boat. ¡°Stop whining: If I hadn¡¯t sped us along we¡¯d still be at sea for another few hours.¡± ¡°I know, Guardian,¡± Diana said. ¡°I do appreciate your efforts to keep us safe.¡± Ian, Lanhui, and Shivin¡¯i all shared a look of incredulity. Had Diana just said that she appreciated someone? Captain Del and Euryphel came up to join the rest of the delegation. ¡°Captain, are we good to depart?¡± the first prince asked. The captain nodded. ¡°Safe travels to all of you.¡± He bowed his head to Euryphel. ¡°And thank you for the offer...but as the boat and its crew escaped unmarred, I¡¯m going to refuse.¡± Ian had no idea what offer the captain was referring to; was Euryphel trying to offer compensation for entangling the crew in their mess? Euryphel offered his hand. ¡°Very well. At the very least, your crew has done the SPU a favor, one that won¡¯t be soon forgotten. The captives are bound and unconscious; we¡¯ll wait for the local soldiers to collect them and get out of your hair.¡± Del smiled back and gave the prince a firm handshake. With that, the SPU delegation disembarked and stepped onto the dock, their feet unsteady. Diana in particular seemed off-balance, her heeled boots encumbering her more than the others. Diana suddenly tripped, nearly stumbling into the bay. When Ian held out a hand to stabilize her, the fourth prince gave him a strange look. ¡°Thank you, Skai¡¯aren.¡± She turned her gaze to Shivin¡¯i and Lanhui, the Beginning practitioners giving her innocent looks. ¡°It seems that at least someone was paying attention.¡± She turned back toward Ian and began to speak, her words uncertain. ¡°I appreciate your...arm?¡± Lanhui snorted and covered his mouth with a hand. ¡°Diana, you¡¯re remarkably thankful today,¡± Ian observed, tamping down on a grin of his own. Ian noticed Diana glance at Euryphel. ¡°I¡¯m always grateful: I just don¡¯t show it.¡± Lanhui failed to conceal his laughter this time. ¡°What!?¡± Diana crowed, fixing Lanhui with a glare. Lanhui shook his head. ¡°Nothing.¡± Ian shot them both a wry look. If this is how this voyage back is going to be, I¡¯m not sure we¡¯re going to survive the journey. The first prince and Lanhui walked off to debrief a group of local guardsmen hailed by Euryphel¡¯s wind elementalism. Ian noticed the locals¡¯ ramrod-straight posture and racing heartbeats from afar. This is probably the most exciting encounter these men are ever going to see: the Crowned Prime, his delegation, two dead men, and three captives. When Euryphel and Lanhui returned a few minutes later, they resumed their commute to the nearest hovergloss station. ¡°According to the local guards, this is the fastest way back,¡± Euryphel explained. ¡°They had an armored hovergloss carrier that would normally have been able to take us, but it¡¯s been under repair for the past month. We¡¯ll just need to go through more standard channels.¡± ¡ª Due to space constraints, they split up into three hoverglosses and rode to Port Thumb¡¯s transit hub. There they regrouped and boarded a cross-country hovergloss tram headed all the way to Mount Ziggura, stopping at Zukal¡¯iss along the way. How...did I end up next to Diana? Ian wondered. He¡¯d planned to sit next to Euryphel, but the prince instead pulled aside Shivin¡¯i, the two discussing politics and plans in lowered voices. Since the larger hovergloss model was arranged such that people sat in groups of two, Ian had sat down behind Euryphel¡¯s row...only to have Diana drop down into the seat next to him with a dramatic huff. Half an hour later, as Ian was on the cusp of sleep, Diana addressed him. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Skai¡¯aren,¡± she began, ¡°what did you think of the peace summit?¡± Ian blinked himself awake. ¡°The summit?¡± Diana¡¯s eyebrows furrowed, her voice growing impatient. ¡°Yes, the summit.¡± ¡°I feel like I saw very little of it, to be honest. I mostly shuffled between my room and the tournament arena. I tried to stay inside as much as possible to avoid interacting with anyone that might be working with Selejo.¡± Diana hummed her understanding, though lowered her voice and motioned for Ian to come closer. She whispered in his ear, saying, ¡°But didn¡¯t you meet the Eldemari herself, anyway?¡± Ian swallowed his saliva, whispering back, ¡°She sought me out, yes; it¡¯s hard to avoid someone who always knows where you are and is trying to find you.¡± Diana was quiet for a few seconds. ¡°What was she like?¡± ¡°Domineering.¡± Alluring. Diana leaned away and sat back in her seat, her knees raising up to her chest. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°She¡¯s confident and acts like she knows exactly what she wants. She¡¯s well-spoken and polite, but...you can tell there¡¯s something underneath the surface, like she¡¯s waiting for you to make a mistake. It¡¯s unsettling.¡± Exciting. Diana nodded her head slowly. ¡°I¡¯m not like that at all, am I?¡± Ian sucked in a breath. ¡°Well, not really. You don¡¯t have the same presence. It¡¯s not necessarily your fault. She¡¯s been controlling people for decades: It¡¯s natural she¡¯d exude predatory confidence.¡± ¡°Ugh. I¡¯d like to be like that. Everyone just thinks I¡¯m a brat.¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Lanhui called out from the seat behind them. Diana turned and grit her teeth. ¡°Insolent...¡± Ian placed a hand on her arm. ¡°You need to earn people¡¯s respect, Diana. Being prince won¡¯t give that to you.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you need to figure it out now,¡± Ian murmured. ¡°You¡¯re barely an adult: You¡¯re just seventeen.¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t exactly stop Euryphel¨C¡± Ian cut her off. ¡°Euryphel¡¯s not the best example. Find your own way and stop worrying about it so much.¡± The young prince turned away, clearly frustrated. ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say. You¡¯re so powerful you don¡¯t even have to worry about earning people¡¯s respect.¡± ¡°Y¡¯jeni, Diana, you¡¯re so angsty,¡± Ian remarked with a short chuckle. Diana blinked and brushed back her hair. ¡°I suppose I am, aren¡¯t I?¡± Everyone in the delegation simultaneously revealed that they¡¯d been eavesdropping by chorusing their affirmation. ¡°Yep.¡± Diana¡¯s face reddened and she sunk into her seat, arms crossed in front of her. Ian frowned. It¡¯s easy to forget how much younger she is than everyone else. She¡¯s playing on the level of not just wisened adults but world sovereigns: If I feel overwhelmed and out of my league, she must feel doubly so. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chain of light-colored soul gems, the less-dense variants he¡¯d thrown together from ambient energy after the final duel. He threw the chain over to Diana, startling her. She reached into her lap and held the gems aloft. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bracelet,¡± Ian explained. ¡°Put it on and I¡¯ll show you how to clasp it.¡± A minute later, Diana held up her wrist, inspecting the way the crystallized Death energy refracted light. ¡°Euryphel has his hair clip; now you have your bracelet. It¡¯s probably even more valuable than his sapphires,¡± Ian noted with a grin. ¡°Hair clip?¡± Euryphel interjected from the seat ahead. ¡°What do you call it?¡± Ian asked. ¡°A hair ornament,¡± the first prince replied. ¡°I love it,¡± Diana said quietly, ignoring Ian and Euryphel¡¯s aside. Ian froze, surprised by her candor. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it.¡± She smiled at him, heavy makeup failing to conceal her simple, youthful beauty. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡ª ¡°Y¡¯jeni...home at last,¡± Ian sighed, collapsing onto his bed. A knock on the door interrupted him a few minutes later, stirring him from his nap. ¡°Mother...?¡± he muttered, recognizing the vital signature beyond the door. I didn¡¯t even think she could enter the inner palace. He opened the door to see his mother¡¯s severe features pinched into a worried expression, her eyes narrowed and her forehead furrowed. ¡°Hello,¡± Ian said simply. Mother closed her eyes and exhaled sharply, her arms tense at her sides. She opened her eyes again, her features relaxing. ¡°I see you made it back alright.¡± Ian nodded. ¡°You heard about the array station going down, I presume.¡± ¡°Yes. I worried for you.¡± Ian scratched the back of his head. ¡°Well...we got back okay.¡± She took a step forward and embraced him. Ian¡¯s eyes widened, his entire body stiffening. I can¡¯t remember the last time she hugged me, he realized, a feeling of hollowness coming over him. He stepped back, disoriented, but she held on, her grip like solid iron. ¡°I truly had no idea the level of your power,¡± Mother breathed softly. ¡°To win the entire Fassari Summit...¡± Ian gritted his teeth and forced himself from her arms. ¡°Does that matter so much to you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an incredible accomplishment,¡± she replied, her voice clipped and emotionless. ¡°I wished to express my congratulations. You¡¯re clearly more capable than I ever could have hoped.¡± She smiled sadly. ¡°No thanks to my own pitiful actions as a mother.¡± ¡°What do you want to discuss?¡± Ian sighed, leaning against the door. ¡°I don¡¯t think you came just to congratulate me.¡± Mother flexed her fist, rubbing her thumb over her index finger. ¡°The princes are going to have a discussion about you.¡± Ian frowned. ¡°Pertaining to what, exactly?¡± The way she said it didn¡¯t make it sound like the discussion would be positive. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure,¡± Mother replied. ¡°I¡¯ve been speaking with Guardian Druni; she seems to think that the princes are debating war. And at the crux of their discussions is, of course, you. The princes, the Congress, and the generals have all been tied up in meetings ever since you won the tournament. ¡°I do know that you should be careful,¡± Mother continued. ¡°From what I understand, your prince is going to be stuck in nonstop meetings regarding the SPU¡¯s path forward. I believe that he¡¯ll be advocating for you to be treated fairly, but he very-well may be outvoted or outmaneuvered, as he hasn¡¯t been here to politic the past few days. You¡¯re going to need to prepare yourself for the kind of responsibility you¡¯ve never wanted.¡± Ian licked his lips, his mouth dry. ¡°You think they¡¯ll choose war?¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely. And if they do choose that path, I believe they¡¯ll move quickly and decisively, seizing upon the current moment.¡± Ian had reached a similar conclusion that morning, as he silently surveyed the bay for assailants. If the Eldemari was bold enough to orchestrate an attack on the delegation, it meant the Union¡¯s window of opportunity would soon be closed. If Achemiss spoke the truth, Pardin can still be saved. Even if I fail my ascension... He looked up at Mother, whose stern look had dissolved into an unfamiliar expression. Why are you afraid Mother? Ian thought. Do you fear what will happen to me, or what I will become? ¡°Thank you for telling me,¡± Ian murmured. ¡°I can see you¡¯ve been trying to make yourself useful.¡± ¡°What else would I be doing here?¡± Mother replied, a bit of heat entering her voice. ¡°If I were just going to sit around idly, I¡¯d have returned to Jupiter.¡± Ian¡¯s expression tightened. ¡°Do you know anything else?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not. I did my best to keep my eyes and ears open, but there¡¯s a limit to my gossip-mongering abilities,¡± she replied, a bit of dark humor seeping into her tone. ¡°Meanwhile, your sister¡¯s been trying to read every article that¡¯s come out about you. She has an entire projection board mapping public sentiment from the beginning of the tournament through the present day.¡± Ian¡¯s heart swelled, a smile lighting up his face. ¡°That¡¯s incredible.¡± Mother nodded. ¡°She is.¡± An awkward silence fell upon them. Ian sighed and rubbed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a long week, Mother. I appreciate your concern and congratulatory remarks.¡± Something about his words seemed to have affected her; she began to blink rapidly and turned away. ¡°Yes, well, I tried my best. Reach out to your sister, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course, after I get a bit of rest.¡± She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡± Soon Ian was alone in the doorway, his thoughts tangled. Mother...I hope that one day, I¡¯ll be able to forgive you. [The Samsara Crucible] 144. The Long Hall Book 4: The Samsara Crucible
Ian¡¯s knees and palms slammed onto cold granite. He cried out and clenched his jaw as his entire body erupted in pain, his injuries flaring up. Ian took solace in the fact that the Eldemari¡¯s arrival was even worse: When she materialized, the back of her head slammed into the floor. Ian could tell with a glance that she was out cold. The necromancer¡¯s eyes moved up from the dark floor to take in the cavernous hall. Series of pillars supported a domed ceiling tens of feet in the air. The ceiling was frescoed to look like a blue sky with sparse, wispy clouds. A painted star at the dome¡¯s zenith hovered over what appeared to be the midpoint of the hall¡¯s floor: a circumscribed mosaic of an orange star socketed in the dark granite. The ceiling star illuminated the room in soft, natural sunlight like that from the sun. The buttressing pillars cast long shadows over the hall, one directly covering Ian and Maria. Ian gingerly picked himself up and hovered over the floor toward the star mosaic, his breath labored from his still-ruined lung. Aside from the fresco and mosaic, the room was stark, just dark stone, dark columns, and dark walls that seemed to absorb and reflect the room¡¯s sole light like shards of obsidian. Despite its austerity, the room exuded power, sophistication, magnificence. It felt like the kind of place ascendants might inhabit, but Ian could see no vital signatures in the vicinity: Aside from himself and Maria, the hall was empty. Ian¡¯s eyes fixated on a black door at the back of the hall, its form melding into the dark walls. It stretched halfway up the ceiling to loom over the rest of the room. On close inspection, Ian noticed that it was inscribed and filigreed with accents of gold. With nowhere else to go, Ian went up to the door and placed his hand upon its metallic surface, pressing gently. As though weightless, the door swung outward. Ian blinked but could only see opaque darkness. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since someone killed an ascendant.¡± Ian turned around expressionlessly. Before him stood a man in a green dress shirt with blond hair pulled back into a tail. The man caressed a black snake that draped over his shoulders, its diamond-shaped head hovering just over his palm. His expression was one of unconcealed interest, his green eyes glinting. ¡°Hello,¡± Ian began cautiously. ¡°How might I greet you?¡± The man smiled. ¡°Holiday is fine; that, or Crimson Teeth: It¡¯s up to you.¡± Crimson...teeth? Ian didn¡¯t notice any biological abnormalities, so the courtesy name probably referred to something else. ¡°...It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Crimson Teeth,¡± Ian replied, deciding to go with the more formal of the presented name options. ¡°Have you come to welcome me to the ascendant world?¡± The ascendant blinked, one eyebrow raising almost imperceptibly. The smile still played at the corners of his lips, though it was more playful than before. ¡°You¡¯re not quite ready for that yet.¡± ¡°I defeated my ascendant fairly,¡± Ian remarked. ¡°What¡¯s there to discuss?¡± The snake on Holiday¡¯s shoulder flicked its tongue. ¡°You killed an ascendant body and soul: There¡¯s much to discuss.¡± Ian blinked. So...a talking snake? It didn¡¯t literally speak, but its thoughts wormed their way into Ian¡¯s head. Holiday rubbed the pale chin of the snake and sighed. ¡°This turn of events was exciting for all of two minutes before I remembered that I need to prepare for the deliberation. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Ian¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand the problem. I defeated Ari, then ascended.¡± Holiday laughed softly. ¡°Still, Ari will be missed. Perhaps not by me, but by some.¡± The snake hissed. ¡°But also, there¡¯s the matter of bringing someone else along.¡± Ian wouldn¡¯t have thought to bring the Eldemari if Achemiss hadn¡¯t explicitly brought it up as an option. But Achemiss wouldn¡¯t have tried to screw him over as soon as he succeeded in his task...right? Ian kept a polite smile plastered on his face. ¡°Is that not permitted?¡± Holiday raised an eyebrow at the snake, who flicked its tongue back in response. ¡°It¡¯s permitted, but not advised,¡± Holiday finally snorted, caressing the serpent. ¡°Mostly because there¡¯s no formal procedure on how to handle such a circumstance...which necessitates deliberation.¡± Before Ian could ask further questions, Holiday¡¯s mouth twisted and he shook his head, eyes narrowing. ¡°I...should attend to something. I¡¯ll come for you in a bit.¡± In a swift maneuver, the ascendant stepped around Ian and into the darkness beyond the door. Ian stood by the vacant doorway for a few seconds before turning around. He then spent the next half hour healing himself. The extensive damage and lack of a Life practitioner to stimulate cell growth made the process painstaking. As he entered a rhythm of healing his more-extensive wounds, Ian¡¯s eyes gravitated to the reposed form of the Eldemari. Her strawberry blonde hair was covered in ash, her face stained with soot. Half of her clothes had burned off, revealing an athletic physique. What...am I to do with you? Theoretically, Maria was no longer tethered by fate to people from their old world. Given that Achemiss said that ascendants couldn¡¯t die unless they left the ascendant world, Maria couldn¡¯t kill him here. Ian supposed she could try and torture him for revenge, but the idea that Maria would get the upper hand was...unlikely. While Ian was lost in his thoughts, Maria began to stir, grimacing. On reflex Ian knocked her out again. He took in a deep breath and sighed as he studied Maria¡¯s figure. She looked younger than ever as she slept, the lines in her forehead straightening, her features relaxed. Here, in this world...isn¡¯t she harmless? When Maria stirred again a few minutes later, Ian didn¡¯t interfere. He simply sat on the floor and ignored her, showing no visible reaction. He kept his eyes fixed on a pillar while tracking Maria¡¯s movements with his vital vision. Maria¡¯s breath was labored as she tried to stand, her burnt hands and face red and puffy with inflammation. Ian could sense her eyes boring into the back of his head. ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°The ascendant world.¡± Maria nodded her head once, then sighed. ¡°Have you kept me alive because you don¡¯t think I can make your life miserable, Skai¡¯aren?¡± Her voice was exhausted, failing to deliver the line with sufficient vitriol. ¡°I still don¡¯t think of the conflict between us as personal,¡± Ian confessed. The woman fell back on the floor and stared at the ceiling. ¡°You¡¯re delusional.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°And both of you are now awake,¡± Holiday¡¯s voice sounded out from behind a pillar. ¡°Excellent.¡± Maria jumped in surprise, her eyes narrowing. Ian flinched and swallowed. Holiday stepped to the side and leaned casually on the pillar, his gaze alighting on Ian. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯ve informed your companion about the current situation.¡± Ian¡¯s eyes reflexively darted to Maria, their eyes conveying a mutual sentiment of disagreement: Ian hadn¡¯t told Maria anything more than the barest minimum, not that he had much more to share. ¡°So...the deliberation transpired. The interested ascendant parties didn¡¯t require much time to discuss and swiftly came to a tepid agreement.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve perfected speaking over everyone else into an artform,¡± the snake quipped. ¡°What deliberation?¡± Maria asked. Holiday ignored her completely. ¡°Quick tip before I forget: Your courtesy name below is Skai¡¯aren, but as an ascendant, I encourage you to change up your name every so often. It keeps things fresh. Tell me, who picked out such a...hard to pronounce mononym?¡± Ian blinked rapidly. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Holiday chuckled. ¡°Apologies, I¡¯m just excited. I¡¯ve been given leave from this place to serve as your guide for your first day; that was Ari¡¯s role. She was either the best or worst person for her position depending on how you view indoctrinating people the second they step foot in Eternity.¡± Holiday peered down at his snake and shrugged. Ian glanced at Maria. ¡°And what of my...er, companion?¡± Maria¡¯s brow furrowed in apparent confusion. Holiday looked off to the side. ¡°Well, she¡¯s not an ascendant, so it¡¯s a bit messy. Achemiss really wanted her dead, but Ari¡¯s faction seemed determined to keep her alive if only out of spite, which was confounding since she directly contributed to Ari¡¯s death...¡± The snake hissed and bared its fangs at Holiday, softly shaking its head before facing Ian. ¡°She¡¯s going to enter the ascendant world, but...the connection will ruin her body over time. She¡¯ll die in a year.¡± Maria took the news in stride, nodding her head gently. Perhaps she¡¯s just too tired to respond. Ian brought her here, put a noose around her neck...and even though he knew what it was like having a head on the chopping block, he felt indifferent to her fate. Perhaps I¡¯m just too tired to care. ¡°Are you going to lead us to the exit, then?¡± Ian wondered. Holiday seemed to have his own methods of getting around, but Ian didn¡¯t know if that was part of Holiday¡¯s practice or some localized method of transport like the doors in Ichormai. Holiday blinked, his face growing contemplative. ¡°There is no exit. Just an...entrance. I think it could technically be an entrance.¡± ¡°Just bring them already,¡± the snake hissed. ¡°You¡¯re being insufferable.¡± Holiday sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine.¡± Before the word fully left his lips, the world shifted. Ian found himself in another hallway, though this one was much narrower and lacked the columnar supports. This hall didn¡¯t have a fresco; instead, the ceiling was transparent, revealing a sky of millions of stars. ¡°You¡¯ve never been beyond the boundaries of your world, have you?¡± Holiday asked, peering at the transfixed faces of Ian and Maria. ¡°This is what the sky looks like beyond, a grand desert, the source of the beginning...¡± Ian felt his breath catch in his throat. Holiday spoke with uncharacteristic fervor tinged by a noble bitterness, as though discussing how tragedy begets beauty. But then he shook his head and began to mutter: ¡°But it¡¯s not really the sky, it¡¯s the void, which is of course completely different...¡± Ian realized that they were just standing in the hallway without moving anywhere. Maria made eye contact with Ian and shook her head, her eyes darting to Holiday. Ian cleared his throat and immediately attracted Holiday¡¯s attention, the practitioner¡¯s gaze falling from the open ceiling. ¡°You¡¯ll understand what I¡¯m talking about once you attend school.¡± Ian blinked rapidly. ¡°...School?¡± ¡°Oh yes,¡± Holiday continued, his expression pleasant. ¡°You¡¯ll learn all about the way the universe formed, how your own plane of existence came into being as well as why affinities exist. Additionally, you¡¯ll meet many new ascendant friends and go on adventures together!¡± ¡°...Why are you doing this?¡± Holiday cupped the snake¡¯s head with his fingers and looked at Ian conspiratorially. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be an exciting way to start your time in the ascendant realm? An academy?¡± Ian had no idea what he was supposed to say. ¡°It sounds...interesting.¡± ¡°¡®Interesting¡¯ means he doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s exciting.¡± Holiday groaned. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to pitch the school idea for years, but it still hasn¡¯t caught on. For the life of me, I don¡¯t know why people wouldn¡¯t want to relive the brightest years of their youth when they start their eternal life in Eternity. Boggles my mind! Truly!¡± Ian saw Maria trying to keep a straight face in his peripheral vision. When he made eye contact, she burst into laughter. Holiday froze. ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡± Maria¡¯s laughter was more like wheezing; it sounded painful. ¡°This entire business feels like a fever dream. It¡¯s like this entire place is as real as your academy.¡± The snake hissed and coiled tightly around Holiday¡¯s arm. ¡°Bring them to the amber.¡± Holiday¡¯s mouth dropped in mock hurt, his eyes narrowing at the snake. ¡°No need to be nasty about it.¡± He turned to the side and opened up a door that Ian could have sworn wasn¡¯t there a moment ago. Even so, the appearance of the door felt natural, as though it had always been present. ¡°In you go.¡± Ian peered into the doorway and frowned. Darkness. Maria strode forward first, seemingly uncaring what lay beyond the veiled threshold. Ian quickly fell in step behind her, his cheeks reddening slightly. After they took exactly three steps through the door, the veil of darkness lifted, the stars above illuminating the small space. At the back of the featureless, dark room was a wall made entirely of a shiny, ochre sap. Maria walked up to the wall and hovered her hand over its surface. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it yet,¡± Holiday¡¯s voice sounded out from behind, his tone oddly serious. Maria recoiled and stepped backward. ¡°This is...the amber?¡± Holiday crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a bit of a special material, though, so you should listen carefully before proceeding. ¡°Amber is liquid and solid, and above all else, it¡¯s sticky; it¡¯s terrible to extract yourself from it. You must enter it in one movement for a clean submergence or part of you might be stuck. I¡¯m going to demonstrate how to enter in a moment.¡± ¡°Where is Arcinda?¡± Holiday stroked the snake. ¡°She¡¯s still cleaning off; it takes a few hours. Case in point.¡± ¡°Is she prepared to take over?¡± The ascendant rolled his eyes. ¡°She¡¯s a human calculator type; she¡¯ll be fine.¡± The snake coiled its tail playfully around Holiday¡¯s wrist. ¡°Very well.¡± Holiday stepped up to the sticky wall and turned around, giving Ian and Maria a final once-over. ¡°You can enter with your clothes but it¡¯ll ruin them forever, fair warning.¡± Ian disassembled his bone armor into his void storage back in the main hall; the rest of his clothes he couldn¡¯t care less about. ¡°What of our items?¡± Maria asked, fingers trailing to a small teardrop pendant resting between her collar bones. Holiday nodded. ¡°Fair question. You should place everything you care about in your personal cubby. See, look over there¨C¡± Ian and Maria¡¯s eyes snapped to the corner of the room; there was nothing but an empty, mundane wall. ¡°Kidding. Actually, I was kidding about the clothes being ruined forever as well, else I would¡¯ve stripped already.¡± Ian and Maria gave Holiday blank looks. ¡°Neither of you seem to be in very high spirits for people who transcended the boundaries of their old world. I¡¯ve been trying to lighten the mood, but...I can see it¡¯s impossible. No matter: I¡¯ll still be the best guide I can possibly be.¡± Without any further warning, Holiday turned around and stepped into the amber as though entering a wall of water, his movements unimpeded. He gave both of them a smile before his hair fell still. Even after thirty seconds his eyes didn¡¯t blink. ¡°Best to get it over with,¡± Maria murmured. She stepped back, then ran forward and leapt into the wall shoulder first. She fell deeper into the amber than Holiday, but sure enough, her body froze in a matter of seconds. Ian took in a deep breath, then walked up to the wall. This is it, I guess. Seems like an odd way to start my ascendance, but Holiday seemed unfazed by it. He tilted his head to take in the stars one last time, then walked forward. The amber parted before him like warm liquid; it didn¡¯t feel sticky in the least. But as the seconds passed, the amber began to tighten around him like gelatin. He couldn¡¯t move his mouth, nor could he close his eyes. He was trapped and nothing was happening. Am I supposed to suffocate? Just as Ian was starting to panic, he felt a sensation of heat build all around his body...and everything faded to black. 145. Vizier鈥檚 Crown I appear on a plain of desolation. I sense the lack of vitality before my eyes register it in the withered, depleted husks of what might have been trees. The ashy soil is so gray it appears almost purple in the ambient light, and everything is so flat that I can see far off into the distance until the horizon kisses indistinct, gloomy clouds. I gaze out expressionlessly, uncomprehendingly. When I first escaped the Infinity Loop, my prize was simply living in the real world, feeling the permanence of existence, witnessing the long-term effects of my actions. When Euryphel first told me of ascending, I wasn¡¯t uninterested, but...it wasn¡¯t time: I had only just escaped one world, only to be told that I would soon be spirited away to another. Over the past two months, I began to realize that perhaps I really had overgrown my world: My existence was a tool to some, a calamity to others. Only a few people saw me for me, for Ian. Somewhere along the way I began to think of my ascension not just as something inevitable, but as a source of hope...a place of refuge, adventure, and ideally a place where I would meet others like me. A place where I might find myself. I¡¯m not sure what I was envisioning when I thought of the ascendant world¨CEternity, as Holiday referred to it¨Cbut this gray expanse isn¡¯t it. I sense Holiday and Maria standing behind me and turn around. ¡°Welcome to Vizier¡¯s Crown,¡± Holiday says. ¡°Specially chosen by careful deliberation to be our starting point.¡± ¡°Everything here is dead, but there¡¯s no Death energy,¡± I murmur, frowning. ¡°It¡¯s long since been completely depleted.¡± Wonderful. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be our guide for the first day...why don¡¯t you guide us out?¡± Holiday sighs. ¡°It¡¯ll probably take longer than a day to leave Vizier¡¯s Crown, unfortunately. Might take more than a week. Odds are you¡¯ll die of thirst a few times before finding the way out, but that¡¯s just how things are. I can at least point you in the right direction.¡± ¡°Ascendants need to drink?¡± I wonder. Holiday steps forward over the ash. ¡°That depends.¡± In a flash of red light, his body crouches like a spring, then jumps forward, leaving us in the literal dust. Maria looks like she wants to say something, but ultimately shakes her head and steps forward. After a brief sprint, she jumps off the ground, flames jetting out behind her like bright tulips, bathing the cool palate of the badlands in shades of carmine. While there¡¯s no ambient energy in the environment, I find that I can still use my soul gems without problem. The riftbeast gem glows with icy thunder as I draw energy from it into myself. My eyes flare violet as I throw myself forward into the sky and chase after Maria and Holiday, their forms already reduced to pinpricks. I admit I was hoping that my practice might change in the ascendant world, might become more powerful...but I don¡¯t notice anything different. I guess it¡¯s something that will happen over time. I realize after a few seconds that while I¡¯m keeping pace with them, I¡¯m not catching up. Sighing into the wind pulling at my cheeks, I withdraw all the remaining bones from the void storage with the intent to fashion a flying construct. But...no flight focus. I collected a host of flight focuses from birds before heading off to the East, but ended up using all of them on my army of constructs and the bone wyrm. I¡¯ll have to find a substitute, but for now...I need to think of an alternative to increase my speed. Bluebir¨C I freeze, remembering that my little companion isn¡¯t going to offer any more assistance. I grit my teeth and breathe in deeply, only to nearly choke on too much ashy air streaming down my throat and tainting my lungs. When I collect myself, I¡¯m no longer in the mood to innovate. Even after a few minutes of flying, it feels as though we haven¡¯t gone anywhere: The ground is ever a featureless plane of gray studded by black husks. I have no idea how Holiday even knows which way to go: There¡¯s no clear source to the light, illumination shining down evenly from above, its glow filtered by a haze of dark clouds. Without a sun by which to navigate, I wonder if he has some kind of map, something like the navigation application found on glossYs. Suddenly Holiday begins to veer toward the ground, Maria following in his wake. It only takes a few seconds before I catch up to them and touch down on the earth. I shoot Maria a questioning look, but she narrows her eyes and ignores me. ¡°Crimson Teeth, why have we stopped?¡± I ask. He chuckles, a curl of honey-colored hair nearly covering one eye before he brushes it away. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize just how monotonous flying over Vizier¡¯s Crown would be. The thought of doing this for the next several hours is unbearable.¡± I don¡¯t disagree with him...but he didn¡¯t make it sound like we had another option. We need to fly through Vizier¡¯s Crown: It¡¯s clearly the punishment ascendants like Achemiss and Ari¡¯s faction decided on earlier. Holiday unfastens the first two buttons on his dress shirt and waves his right hand offhandedly. His pupils scan left and right as though reading something, though I can¡¯t perceive what. Suddenly a classroom materializes before us. It¡¯s different from a classroom in our old world: There¡¯s no glosscomp projecting the lesson on a whitescreen, nor are there rows of desks with an interior cavity in which to place personal items. The floor is composed of thin, light-colored reeds pounded into a level slab. It has no walls and only two seats; thinking about it, I¡¯m not sure why I have the impression the room is a classroom at all. Holiday walks over to the far end of the room and turns to face the vacant chairs, then looks at us expectantly. This time I¡¯m the first one to move: I walk over and sink into a seat, humoring the eccentric ascendant. Maria drags her feet and sits down in the other chair; I realize that her injuries from the previous world have healed, her body no longer covered in blistering burns. Holiday rolls his eyes. ¡°Look, I know the both of you are exhausted, but remember the good news! You¡¯re in the ascendant world! Once you get out of this hellhole, things will be much more enjoyable.¡± His eyes trail over Maria. ¡°And even if you only have a year left to live...well, you could¡¯ve easily died today. Could easily have died tomorrow, or any day thereafter. Life is messy and fraught with danger, especially for a despot.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Maria is expressionless as she stares at Holiday, her hands folded cleanly in her lap. She doesn¡¯t say anything in response. Holiday rubs the bridge of his nose. ¡°So I took the last fifteen minutes or so to devise a short curriculum on Eternity for the two of you. Like I said before, usually this kind of thing is¡ªwas¡ªAri¡¯s job. ¡°To start, things may be a bit different here than what you¡¯re used to in your old world. Almost everywhere in the cosmos shares the same seed of existence, but that doesn¡¯t mean everywhere is identical. Moreover, in the ascendant world, the distinctions become...less important, shall we say.¡± Holiday smiled, his teeth glinting. ¡°For instance, what would you call the power of foresight on your world?¡± ¡°Regret,¡± I reply. Holiday frowns. ¡°...Right. That¡¯s one of the weirder names for it. And what do you call fate binding?¡± ¡°End.¡± Fate binding isn¡¯t a terrible alternative name for End, but it¡¯s almost too descriptive. The lack of ambiguity is almost...stifling. ¡°Just ¡®End¡¯?¡± I nod. ¡°Regret, Remorse; Beginning, End; there¡¯s symmetry around those key ideals. They¡¯re a bit abstract, but they work.¡± I didn¡¯t realize other worlds might use other naming conventions. ¡°How can we understand each other?¡± Maria mutters, expression puzzled. ¡°I¡¯m speaking Luxish: I doubt you know the language, Crimson Teeth.¡± I shoot her a look. ¡°I¡¯ve been speaking Swellish and thought you were, too.¡± Holiday places a hand on his hip. ¡°It¡¯s a benefit of living in Eternity. Learning the languages of all newcomers and vice versa was deemed...unsustainable, so we have the Intention Matrix filtering everything we hear. It¡¯s easy to think past it now that you¡¯ve recognized it. Devest shi mrur, sik tuol?¡± I almost nod along before I realize that Holiday trailed off into speaking gibberish. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Holiday chuckles. ¡°Tuo nie mrura.¡± Not gibberish, but a different language...Seems like I¡¯ve managed to turn off the Intention Matrix. I turn to Maria. ¡°Can you understand him still?¡± She replies in Luxish: ¡°Yes; I¡¯m not sure why you thought disabling your Intention Matrix was a good idea.¡± Obviously I didn¡¯t do it on purpose, but it¡¯s not worth arguing with her. ¡°Is Crimson Teeth saying anything about how to turn the Intention Matrix back on?¡± The ascendant gesticulates while saying, ¡°Shur zie mrinarun zunsk! Tuo hetareli mux.¡± Maria¡¯s lips curl into a smug smile. ¡°He says to not overthink things.¡± I exhale sharply and look upward. I have no idea if she¡¯s telling me the truth; perhaps she¡¯s just playing with me. ¡°You know, Maria, coming here isn¡¯t the worst thing that could have happened to you.¡± Holiday looks between the two of us, his hands rising up. ¡°Eh, shmi sur...¡± Maria¡¯s gaze remains fixed on me, but I can tell her words are for Holiday. ¡°There is unsettled business between us, Crimson Teeth. Are you unaware of our conflict?¡± He cocks his head. ¡°Nir, sheta.¡± I stare blankly at Holiday, my frustration continuing to mount. ¡°Y¡¯jeni Maria, what is he saying?¡± ¡°Nothing important,¡± she snaps. ¡°You really have the audacity to say that this isn¡¯t the worst thing that could have happened to me? I lost my country, the foundation of my power, and above all...I¡¯m never going to see my son again, not if I only have a year to live and I¡¯m stuck here.¡± Her expression is cold as ice. I shake my head. ¡°You lost. You could have died. Euryphel could have imprisoned you, could have murdered Zilverna and made you watch.¡± I don¡¯t think Eury is that cruel, but the point stands. My mind returns to the vision Achemiss gave me months ago...a vision of a freshly-shattered Selejo, of the Eldemari¡¯s distraught people storming the shores of the SPU in retaliation, their aim wanton destruction. What Achemiss said in that dream has stayed with me even now: ¡°I think you can imagine what happens to your mother and sister. And you should understand that things don¡¯t end particularly well for your Crowned Prime, either.¡± ¡°You would have done worse,¡± I spit. ¡°If I let Pardin be destroyed, you would have done worse. If I had lost...you may have done the unthinkable to the people I care about.¡± She sneers. ¡°I¡¯m not so petty as to go after your loved ones in the wake of your death.¡± ¡°And what of Euryphel?¡± She blinks. ¡°Him...there were possibilities that didn¡¯t end in his demise, of that much I am certain.¡± ¡°Hello?¡± Holiday calls out, interrupting our dispute. ¡°...Hello?¡± His eyes light up. ¡°Excellent, you can understand me again! Nothing like a good distraction to bring your Intention Matrix back up, it¡¯s like breathing in a way, stops happening automatically the moment you think about it. But now I need the two of you to pay attention.¡± Maria looks like she wants to say something, but closes her eyes and composes herself before turning back to face Holiday. He nods his head. ¡°All things considered, you¡¯re both remarkably reasonable. Most ascendants would sooner dismember archenemies limb from limb, let alone peacefully sit next to one another.¡± I¡¯m not sure what Holiday is going for, but emphasizing how non-violent we are is only making me want to fight Maria more. He looks off into the barren, gray plains, expression contemplative. ¡°Before the language distraction, I mentioned the fraying importance of affinity distinctions. The ascendant world is the origin of affinity.¡± Holiday held out his hand, a red glow subsuming it. ¡°Each of the affinities you mentioned is a segment of reality¡¯s pattern. Now tell me, what do the two of you think the less-flashy affinities look like at our level?¡± His gaze is expectant. Less flashy...like Beginning? Many Beginning practitioners lead the development of glossware, weapons, and other engineered deliverables. Some like Aunt Julia go into consulting, others into management and other pursuits... I try to imagine a Beginning practitioner descending...and immediately grow uncertain. How would a Beginning ascendant fight? Would they simply artifice themselves powerful equipment and deliver judgment from within a suit or ship? But the question was related to the statement that affinity distinctions become less important in Eternity. Thinking about how a Beginning practitioner¡¯s affinity might become more powerful after ascending...doesn¡¯t seem to be the point. ¡°Take the example of a Beginning practitioner,¡± I begin, shifting in my seat as I think out loud. ¡°Or...take someone like Ari,¡± I pivot, brow furrowing as I consider the more concrete example. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Ascendant Ari a Light practitioner?¡± Holiday nods. ¡°She was.¡± Right. ¡°But she wasn¡¯t just a Light practitioner when she descended. She possessed unparalleled physical strength and could endure extreme speeds. She didn¡¯t seem to use much of her affinity at all, didn¡¯t bother with making illusions, for instance.¡± ¡°Take yourself as an example,¡± Maria begins. ¡°I suspected you were an ascendant because your energy corroded Zilverna¡¯s flame strike at the Fassari Summit. That had nothing to do with your being a decemancer.¡± Holiday nods. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the first example you mentioned, a Beginning practitioner. Taken to the limit, people who find patterns and perform calculations...there¡¯s a limit to how accurate, how quick, how good they can get, correct? What, then, is the difference between a peak practitioner, stuck at the cusp of greatness...and an ascendant?¡± ¡°Time,¡± Maria breathes. ¡°Wisdom, experience. Perhaps new ideas of how the affinity can be used.¡± ¡°But something else changes. We¡¯re not selective for no reason,¡± Holiday replies, lips curving into a smile. Achemiss told Soolemar that he couldn¡¯t ascend...It wasn¡¯t a question of working hard enough. And from what I understand, it¡¯s because of what Soolemar did to his body and soul. Holiday continues uninterrupted: ¡°Ascension is a radical return. You¡¯ll have all the time you want to explore Eternity and tease out some of these answers. Before that, I need to explain in general how things work here.¡± 146. Eternity Holiday scratches at the open air with his glowing red hand. What looks like a small tear forms in reality, beyond which I can see...somewhere else. It immediately reminds me of Achemiss¡¯ lizard construct rending a hole in the sky to block Ari¡¯s attack. Energy condenses in my palm like oily vines. Fingers coated in talons of inky darkness, I scratch at the air...and nothing happens. Maria¡¯s gaze move between Holiday and myself, her eyes narrowing in concentration, flames coating her fingers. ¡°Eternity is unlike anywhere else. It¡¯s a place with layers upon layers of reality, though Vizier¡¯s Crown is a bit of a dead spot, makes it hard to pierce the veil.¡± Holiday strikes out again, grunting as he pulls apart the sky with both hands until we can just barely see a world that looks like the Vermuthi desert, red sands covered by dark storm clouds. A moment later the tear in reality collapses, expelling Holiday¡¯s fingers. He shakes them out once and crosses his arms across his chest. ¡°It¡¯ll take time for you to get the hang of it, and once you leave Vizier¡¯s Crown, you¡¯ll be able to travel through layers of reality. Questions?¡± My mind begins to swim with possibilities, imagining all the potential uses...trying to understand how Achemiss was able to tear a rift into our old world from Eternity. ¡°Will I be able to pierce the veil?¡± Maria asks. He gives her a sympathetic look. ¡°Someone can always carve a path for you. In reality...each layer extends until it reaches an end, but none are small enough for you to explore in a year.¡± ¡°This plane has an end?¡± I wonder. ¡°I thought Eternity was infinite.¡± ¡°A single plane is like a grain of sand. Imagine all the grains of sand on a beach laid out in a single line.¡± Holiday replies. ¡°This is the scale we¡¯re talking about here. If you find someone who really thinks they¡¯ve found the edge of Eternity they might just be insane.¡± ¡°Are many people here insane?¡± Maria murmurs. Holiday chuckles. ¡°What do you think? What are the ascendants who return like?¡± ¡°They¡¯re recluses, eccentrics,¡± I answer. The ascendant snorts. ¡°I will say that coming here certainly doesn¡¯t make you more normal. What affinity do the two of you think I have, hmm?¡± ¡°Beginning,¡± Maria says immediately. Holiday¡¯s lips part, his eyes glinting. ¡°If I¡¯m a Beginning practitioner, how did I fly before?¡± Maria and I are both silent as we mull over an answer. When we arrived, Holiday launched off the ground using his own strength, then just...kept going forward. It didn¡¯t look like he used any kind of item. I¡¯ve been around so many powerful practitioners that I didn¡¯t question it. ¡°I¡¯ll admit that the question is a bit unfair. The kinds of people who are selected for descents, people like Ari and myself, need to survive punishing conditions. Some type of armor or weapon wouldn¡¯t be enough to keep us alive. If you tried to descend now, for instance, you¡¯d die.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a dual affinity, do you?¡± ¡°No.¡± The words from a few minutes ago flash through my mind: Eternity has lessened distinctions between affinities... ¡°It¡¯s the energy of Eternity itself, the...ascendant energy. You¡¯re able to use it to change yourself.¡± I don¡¯t think what I¡¯m saying is incorrect as the words leave my mouth, but it feels too simplistic. ¡°Correct. But learning how to control the energy here requires practice. Currently all it¡¯s good for is a passive defense. Standing still won¡¯t help you learn; let¡¯s get going again but this time, I want you to actually pay attention to what I¡¯m doing. Maybe even try to replicate it.¡± Holiday turns to Maria. ¡°Fly along as you were before, but pay attention all the same. The future is ever uncertain.¡± Maria gives him a thin smile, her eyes dark, unfathomable pools. ¡°It¡¯s always the details that defy us.¡± ¡°...Too true.¡± He stares off vacantly; a moment later, the wood floor and two chairs of the makeshift classroom disappear. I catch myself with my practice before I hit the ground, holding myself aloft, while Maria jets the ground with a small burst of flame and jumps upright in one fluid movement. As Holiday starts walking forward, I can¡¯t help but ask: ¡°How do you know which way to go?¡± He taps his head. ¡°Beginning practitioner.¡± Is that really it? ¡°Do you have a map of this area memorized?¡± ¡°I might¡¯ve snuck a glance at one when I realized I¡¯d be dropping you two off here: It¡¯s not a location I would normally frequent. And while this monotonous landscape probably looks the same to you, it is different: It¡¯s almost impossible for me to lose my way.¡± Holiday chuckles. ¡°I¡¯d say impossible, but nothing is certain in Eternity.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Holiday begins to skip, launching himself off the ground and traveling several feet with each stride. His vitality is normal, and visually, I don¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. Maria glances my way as we both follow behind, me gliding just above the ground and her jogging. ¡°Can you perceive him doing anything?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m supposed to be paying attention to. His athletic form?¡± ¡°He must know that we can¡¯t see anything...¡± Maria murmurs to herself. Holiday stops abruptly and turns around. ¡°If my assumptions and known information are incorrect, I can still err. Dunai, you can¡¯t see this?¡± As he holds out his hand, it glows red. ¡°I can,¡± I reply. ¡°It¡¯s glowing.¡± Holiday turns to Maria. ¡°And you?¡± ¡°It glows red.¡± The ascendant nods. ¡°But can you see something besides the glow?¡± I squint. ¡°Can I come closer?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Holiday¡¯s hand doesn¡¯t look much different up close, unfortunately. ¡°Can I touch your hand?¡± Holiday jabs his hand forward so that it¡¯s touching my own. ¡°Look, no one can really die in the ascendant world, and my job is to get you at least acquainted with the way things work here. Do whatever you need to do. I¡¯ll stop you if I don¡¯t like what you¡¯re doing.¡± That¡¯s all the license I need to start experimenting. I still suspect that ascension is related to souls for several reasons: Soolemar is unable to ascend, ascendants have powerful souls comparable to necromancy experts, and ascendants can only face true death outside of Eternity. Even in a simulation like the Infinity Loop, where the body was inconsequential and refreshed each iteration...my soul remained constant and sustained wear over time. Similarly to then, I¡¯m certain that my soul is inside my body now: I would have noticed otherwise, would have been unable to control any ethereal energy without it. But at the same time...something here must be protecting souls in a way that the Infinity Loop didn¡¯t. As I stand there with Holiday¡¯s hand in mine, I realize that I have very little experience working with living, ensouled people that I don¡¯t intend to kill. Soolemar is probably the closest example I can think of, but...practicing offensive ethereal attacks against him feels qualitatively different than probing someone...normal. I start slow, poking into his hand with a single thread of ethereal. If Holiday notices the intrusion he doesn¡¯t say anything. The resistance is immediate: I¡¯m barely able to move the thread past the man¡¯s fingertip before it comes up against a tide of ethereal energy coursing through his body. My mind travels to the moment I killed Ari. The battleground was a plane of dust and smoke sundered in half by a gap over fifty-feet wide. I¡¯d only just revived Euryphel from death and his body was nearly falling apart, his arms and chest spiderwebbed by searing lashes, his arms in particular nearly cooked through. The wounds looked terrible, but I knew that I could heal them with time: A life practitioner team could restore them to function given a few days. Even nearly cooked alive, collapsed on the ground...Eury spun Maria¡¯s inferno attack into a fiery crucible, cooking both Eldemari and Ari alive. I see the moment in greater clarity as I close my eyes, the harsh light of the blaze, the scent of charring flesh, Ari¡¯s grunt of rage. I see Ari moving her arm forward in slow motion, about to end Maria... And then I strike. When I was only a decemancer, I considered myself a puppeteer: I puppeted myself around in the air, puppeted constructs and, above all, could even puppet people¨Ccould kill them with a thought. When I first encountered necromancy in the Infinity Loop, I didn¡¯t think of it as puppeting in the same way: It was a perversion, a twisted mysticism born of cryptic chants and harsh patterns carved in flesh. I¡¯ve since amended my way of thinking. I see myself draping Ari in a matrix of threads, then pulling them through flesh like water. I remember sawing at the soul¡¯s connections to vasculature, its anchors snapping one by one. I remember my terror when Ari¡¯s soul tried to uproot my own, followed by exhilaration as the decentralized shards of my soul provided stability at the critical moment. There was a strange euphoria in severing her mortal coil in messy, sharp strikes, like I was cheating by bypassing a physical body near impervious to my¨Cand everyone else¡¯s¨Cattacks. ¡°That...kind of tickles,¡± Holiday murmurs, interrupting my thoughts. I open my eyes and give him a look. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to hurt you.¡± ¡°Have you learned anything?¡± ¡°You have a strong soul,¡± I reply. ¡°Do you actively strengthen it, or does that happen naturally by virtue of being in Eternity?¡± He raises an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t do anything to my soul. I mentioned before that the distinctions between affinity lessen here, but perhaps not in the way you¡¯re assuming: Only those with domain over Death can directly manipulate souls. If you¡¯re looking for someone to give you more details, I¡¯d suggest seeking out Achemiss since you¡¯re already acquainted.¡± ¡°How would I get to Achemiss from Vizier¡¯s Crown?¡± I had already been considering seeking him out, but not for information about necromancy. I want to know how he contacted Soolemar...and how he contacted me. How I might be able to contact others. Holiday cocks his head. ¡°He¡¯s far from here. In case it wasn¡¯t obvious, this location is meant to be as inconvenient as possible.¡± ¡°How long would it take?¡± It¡¯s not like I have a shortage of time. ¡°Depends on how well you navigate Eternity, but at least three years from now, I¡¯d reckon. If you get stuck in zones like Vizier¡¯s Crown with scarce points through which to exit, the journey might take longer. In a place like this I might travel for days without finding a weak point in the veil I can exploit.¡± I narrow my eyes. Three years...I can¡¯t imagine how far a place must be for it to take years of traveling to reach, let alone years of travel by an ascendant. To be fair, this place is called Eternity: Any previous scales of distance I¡¯m used to are irrelevant. ¡°How long would it take for you to reach Achemiss?¡± Holiday shrugs. ¡°It could take three years. Could take longer if I¡¯m unlucky tearing through reality, could take significantly shorter if luck is on my side. Part of the point of Eternity is to be continuously unpredictable, else us Beginning types would make nice maps for everything and grow bored in a couple hundred years. Now, are you going to keep experimenting, or have you already mastered slashing a hole in reality?¡± I frown but keep my mouth shut. After another half minute of probing, I manage to wiggle an ethereal energy tendril into his chest cavity. There, I realize something I didn¡¯t expect: I can¡¯t actually touch Holiday¡¯s soul. It¡¯s almost as though I¡¯m trying to touch the holographic projection of a physical object. I frown. What kind of place is Eternity if neither body nor soul are real? I hadn¡¯t thought about the implications of Eternity being a land of immortality before now. ¡®Real¡¯ is perhaps the wrong word to use¨CAri was real. The power she no-doubt gained in Eternity was real. Unsurprisingly, there¡¯s a lot I still need to learn. 147. A Means of Return As I continue to inspect Holiday¡¯s soul, the black snake¨Cwho had seemingly been absent since we entered Eternity¨Cemerges from the collar of Holiday¡¯s shirt and stares at me with its slitted, yellow eyes. I have no idea how it keeps sneaking up on me; I think I would¡¯ve noticed the vital signature of a snake on the ascendant¡¯s chest. ¡°You¡¯re searching for the wrong answers,¡± it says, brushing its head against Holiday¡¯s neck. ¡°He likes to watch people try and fail, but failure alone is a poor teacher.¡± ¡°Failure is the original teacher,¡± Holiday retorts, peering awkwardly down at the snake. ¡°Systematic trial and error is the root of progress.¡± I drop Holiday¡¯s hand. ¡°I thought time was precious? I don¡¯t think it makes sense to watch me muddle around. I don¡¯t think I learned anything about ascendant energy.¡± The snake slithers over Holiday¡¯s clavicle and looks as though it¡¯s trying to whisper in his ear, its diamond head angled by the man¡¯s earlobe. ¡°Like Crimson Teeth said, whatever allows ascendants to cut through layers of reality in Eternity isn¡¯t specific to any one affinity. If that¡¯s what you¡¯re trying to do, you¡¯ll fail,¡± Maria murmurs from behind. She holds her hand out in front of her and narrows her eyes. The snake coils around Holiday¡¯s bicep. ¡°It might help to remember what it was like touching your affinity for the first time.¡± I grit my teeth. Awakening my affinity was...a complex moment, one of absolute despair leading into a glimmer of hope. It¡¯s difficult to untangle the scene and isolate how I felt breaking through. Suddenly a blueish light flickers at the end of Maria¡¯s index finger like a poorly-lit match, sparking once before winking out. She recoils, eyes wide with surprise. Holiday stares at her blankly as though he¡¯s self-destructed, unable to process what¡¯s happening. The black snake hisses, baring its fangs in annoyance. Just after Maria and I share a look of mutual concern, Holiday clamps the snake¡¯s maw with two fingers and begins to laugh uproariously. ¡°See? Helping them along isn¡¯t the same as giving them the answer,¡± the snake quips, unsilenced by Holiday¡¯s finger muzzle. My shock is somewhere between Maria¡¯s and Holiday¡¯s. Maria isn¡¯t even an ascendant and she¡¯s managed to touch the ascendant world¡¯s energy first. I¡¯m not sure if Maria is freakishly talented or if I¡¯m just incompetent. Maria turns to Holiday. ¡°I thought it wouldn¡¯t be possible for me to use ascendant energy?¡± Holiday loosens his hold on the snake¡¯s snout and strokes it between its eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, we haven¡¯t had a case like you, Maria Elde Sezakuin. Fundamentally, no non-ascendant has ever come here through amber from the outside, at least not to my knowledge.¡± ¡°His knowledge is extensive,¡± the snake says, tongue tickling the inside of Holiday¡¯s ear. The ascendant angles his head to the side and beams at the black serpent, releasing his fingers. ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°Though for wisdom, he has me.¡± Holiday snorts but is still smiling as he returns his focus to Maria. ¡°The effects of ascendant energy on non-ascendants is clear beyond the borders of the ascendant world, and so is the supposition that your body will wear out. I assumed that your body would reject ascendant energy entirely, but it seems you can control it at least while you¡¯re in Eternity.¡± He walks over and grabs Maria¡¯s hand gently, his eyes inspecting her fingers. ¡°Try it again.¡± I sense Maria¡¯s pulse quicken, her eyebrows twitching slightly. She looks calm on the outside, but I can tell she isn¡¯t fully comfortable. Holiday has an intensity to him that can be disconcerting. As he gazes into Maria¡¯s eyes now, I can tell he¡¯s turned his unnerving factor up to the maximum. I assume he¡¯s doing it to push her. She cycles her breath, but no energy appears after a minute of slow breathing and concentration. ¡°What did you think of before?¡± I wonder out loud. Maria¡¯s eyes snap to mine, her posture straightening. ¡°I ruminated on the worst moment of my life.¡± ¡°Perhaps not just the worst,¡± the snake says. ¡°But rather a moment of great flux. The intensity of feeling is what matters.¡± Maria sighs and pulls away from Holiday, expression inscrutable. ¡°Can we keep going? Dunai, being the genius that he is, will most certainly figure it all out eventually, and I now have confidence in myself.¡± Her tone is polite, but the venom in her words is obvious. ¡°Of course I will,¡± I retort. ¡°I have all of eternity to learn.¡± Holiday looks between the two of us and rolls his eyes. ¡°If the two of you are just going to fight, and you both agree that you¡¯ve learned what I have to teach you, I¡¯m just going to leave.¡± Maria and I both snap our heads around to face the flighty ascendant. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°I thought you were going to escort us for a day, acclimate us to Eternity?¡± I blurt. Holiday winces. ¡°I thought it had to be better than waiting in the Long Hall, but there¡¯s nothing to do here but pick a direction and fly, and this area is terrible for teaching you how to use ascendant energy.¡± I look at the snake in the hopes that it will say something refuting its perch, but it remains silent. ¡°I still have plenty of questions. Why don¡¯t we talk and fly?¡± Maria asks. Holiday runs a hand through his hair. ¡°Make sure you both stay close. Try and see how I¡¯m using the energy to move. I think of it like swimming without moving.¡± So...sinking? Holiday gestures forward. ¡°After you two.¡± I send myself into the air just as Maria crouches down. A moment later she springs off the earth, fire propelling her forward and knocking over one of the nearby tree husks. Despite our head start, Holiday catches up in a single fluid leap, arms held just behind his waist. While Maria is constantly working to remain aloft, sweat dripping down her temple, Holiday glides effortlessly forward. ¡°Now that we¡¯re on our way again...questions?¡± ¡°People return from the ascendant world,¡± Maria asserts, her words clear despite her exertion. ¡°How?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a complicated question.¡± Holiday doesn¡¯t say anything else, a cheery smile plastered on his face. I suppress the urge to groan in annoyance. Maria appears unfazed in her follow up. ¡°If I wanted to return from where I came...what method would be more likely to get me back within a year?¡± ¡°The most common way ascendants return to their own worlds is by one-way beacons. Such a beacon can connect to the one you used to arrive here, so long as it still exists.¡± Does Holiday mean to say that the beacon we used to get here is still on our old world, and can be used as an anchor to return? ¡°What about other worlds?¡± I wonder. Ari certainly didn¡¯t arrive by beacon. Holiday brushes a stray lock of hair from his mouth. ¡°If a world isn¡¯t your own, you¡¯ll be rejected by the energy there just as Maria faces rejection here. You won¡¯t be able to take a beacon to arrive there, but you would be able to take a beacon back to Eternity. It¡¯s what happens when we descend.¡± Maria stares calmly ahead as the scenery passes by. ¡°How do I obtain a beacon, Crimson Teeth?¡± ¡°The median age at which ascendants receive one-way return beacons home is one-hundred and thirty-five, where age is counted from the moment they¡¯ve entered the ascendant world. And that metric is sourced from the small subset of people that receive them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a game of luck,¡± I hypothesize. ¡°These are people searching for a way to leave, but it takes them years to secure a beacon. They must be in short supply.¡± ¡°Or, perhaps only a small subset of ascendants want to leave, and only decide to depart after a hundred years of carefree exploration,¡± Maria retorts. She has a point, but I think that if it were easier to obtain beacons, more people would go back and forth. The ascendants who have returned to our world haven¡¯t left in recent memory, suggesting that they might not have a way to return. ¡°Crimson Teeth, how do I obtain a return beacon?¡± He gestures out with an arm. ¡°Journey toward the edge of Eternity and you might get lucky enough to come across someone who will make you one.¡± I can tell from his uninterested expression that he doesn¡¯t think it¡¯s remotely possible for her to obtain one. He thinks she¡¯s wasting his time, and he¡¯s trying to let us know. ¡°That¡¯s not particularly actionable advice,¡± I point out. ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s the best advice we can give. The ascendants with the power to send others back...they¡¯ve been alive for a long time, and they¡¯ve traveled past innumerable mapped planes and into the distant unknown.¡± ¡°Something just occurred to me,¡± Holiday adds, seemingly changing the subject. He drops from the air and waits with crossed arms for us to join him. ¡°Dunai, won¡¯t you try something?¡± He turns toward Maria. ¡°Could you try doing to her...what you did to me?¡± ...What? He chuckles softly. ¡°To clarify, see if you can touch her soul. I know what you were looking for, what you would have found. See if she is the same as I.¡± ¡°No,¡± Maria spits, voice hard as iron, eyes filled with disgust. Holiday grins. ¡°I¡¯d let him do it if I were you. If I wanted to live.¡± ¡°You said I have a year,¡± Maria mutters, averting her gaze. ¡°What are you implying?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in my nature to experiment,¡± Holiday admits. ¡°So I have some selfish motivation, but fundamentally...wouldn¡¯t you like to know if your unique status as a non-ascendant in the ascendant world comes with any unforeseen defects?¡± ¡°Why do you suspect something to be wrong with my soul?¡± she grunts, flashing a glare my way. ¡°And even if there is something wrong with it, would knowing do anything?¡± ¡°I worry that a single poor death might spell your end, Sezakuin. It has to do with a fundamental aspect of the world that I believe Dunai discovered while investigating my body.¡± He strokes the head of the snake. ¡°Did you two know that very few ascendants enter into the amber while conscious?¡± I¡¯m not sure where he¡¯s going with the new question, but I¡¯m intrigued. ¡°Why not?¡± Holiday glances my way. ¡°Their assigned descendant knocks them out before they¡¯re brought to the Long Hall and thrown into the amber. Most ascendants have no memories of the Long Hall whatsoever.¡± ¡°What does remembering the Long Hall have to do with my soul?¡± Maria asks. She¡¯s collected herself, her expression serene but firm. ¡°How you come to Eternity influences how you perceive it. Many people survive their descendant¡¯s trial, then immediately wake up here. Few have control over Death, and fewer still mastery over souls, thus most fail to find the discrepancy between Eternity and the world they left behind. Dunai noticed it in just a few minutes, to his credit.¡± Maria appears unfazed. ¡°So...Eternity isn¡¯t real, but a simulation? We enter the amber, our bodies suspended in hardened liquid while our minds are sent to this other land.¡± I shake my head. This place isn¡¯t like the Infinity Loop or a mundane dilation chamber. Eternity is something...different. ¡°It is real...but it doesn¡¯t follow the same rules.¡± Holiday nods slowly. ¡°Eternity is almost like...a dream. For the dream to continue, it needs ascendants; and for the ascendants to continue, they need Eternity. Which brings me back to the question of you, Sezakuin: I didn¡¯t think you would be able to come to Eternity without consequence, but your body is hale and you¡¯re even able to use ascendant energy. There¡¯s one place I am unable to check where things might be...different.¡± Holiday gestures to me. I clear my throat: ¡°Unless I can touch your soul, there¡¯s no way to tell.¡± ¡°Why not form a small oath?¡± Holiday suggests, looking between the two of us. [The Blade of Revelation] 212. Send-Off Book 5: The Blade of Revelation
After finishing the visit with Eury, I spread out on the bed and close my eyes, losing myself in the moment, clearing out my thoughts. That I spoke with three people from back home is surreal. And not only did I speak with them, but I saw them¨Ceven had the ability to see the world. The transmission artifact doesn¡¯t just transmit my thoughts or voice, as I assumed it would, but does far more¨Cit transmits me. It is so beyond anything I could have hoped for, I don¡¯t even know what to think. With the artifact I can visit those back home whenever I want, almost like I never left. I can coordinate with Euryphel on a strategy to counter the Infinity Loop technology. Before, I second-guessed my decision to trade my loyalty to Karanos for a way to contact home. In hindsight, it was the best thing I could have done. ¡°He would not have gone so far to offer you such an artifact without reason,¡± Crystal interjects. ¡°Be appreciative, Ian, but do not sell yourself short. Karanos did not give the artifact to you to be nice. You earned it from him by proving your worth.¡± Yeah, right. ¡°He remains impressed by you.¡± Impressed? Really? She brushes past my skepticism. ¡°I thought it was obvious.¡± He¡¯s certainly been acting nicer to me, but I¡¯m not naive enough to think I¡¯m special amongst ascendants, all of whom are pinnacle masters of their old worlds. My practice has always come easy to me, but talent only takes you so far. My experience is lacking. ¡°Karanos wants to see you and Maria,¡± Crystal says, changing the subject. ¡°It is time to go. Suncloud has prepared a farewell send-off.¡± A hear a knock on the door and recognize Seraph Windflower¡¯s vital signature on the other side. ¡°Ascendant Dunai, I¡¯m here to escort you.¡± I look down at the casual sweater and pants I changed into after losing my clothes to Suncloud. ¡°What¡¯s the dress code?¡± ¡°Formal, but my god has asked me to provide you with these vestments.¡± I open the door to find Windflower bearing a small ring on a red cushion. She bows her head. ¡°The clothing is within¨Cyou should wear the set at the center. I¡¯ll wait outside while you dress yourself.¡± I pluck the ring and give her a nod, then close the door and hold it up. It looks suspiciously like that ring of Messeras¡¯ that chewed my finger off, but Cayeun wouldn¡¯t do that to me...right? Whenever I activate Messeras¡¯ storage ring, I see a list of items in an indecipherable language. When I activate the ring from Suncloud, I see circular thumbnail images floating around in a loose network¨Cno text. A major improvement. Each of the images features clothing. At the center of the network is a black suit jacket and pants. I quickly change into the new suit and check myself out in the room¡¯s floor-length mirror. Mother¡¯s lessons come in handy as I assess the fit¨Cinterestingly enough, it doesn¡¯t fit me at all. It feels like a suit made for someone at least one size smaller. Well that¡¯s awkward. Just as I¡¯m about to take the jacket off, the suit begins to shift on my skin, tightening and loosening in different areas. The fit feels significantly better, and looking at myself in the mirror, the cut is excellent. The suit is different from the ones back home¨Cit has a cape that extends down the back and clips in the front with a small, black teardrop broach, replacing the need for a tie. But it doesn¡¯t look tacky or like something from the annals of history¨Cthe suit looks sharp, modern. I smile at the mirror one last time before finding Windflower. ¡°I¡¯m ready if you are.¡± She points to the broach. ¡°If you put some of your energy in the broach, it¡¯ll change color.¡± If it¡¯s black now, odds are it¡¯ll turn violet from Death energy or blue from ascendant energy. ¡°I think I prefer it how it is now, actually.¡± ¡°Black does become you,¡± Crystal remarks. Do you understand human standards of style? I ask, genuinely curious. Sure, Crystal can read minds, but that isn¡¯t everything. ¡°In all honesty, it is easiest to parse the thoughts of others, rather than forming an opinion myself. I doubt you have a solid understanding of fish standards of beauty.¡± I suppress a grin. That, I do not. ¡°Have fun tonight, Ian. Be seeing you soon.¡± ¡ª ¡°Maria Elde Sezakuin,¡± a voice purred from behind. Maria jumped in place, stunned by the sudden appearance of Cayeun Suncloud in her bedroom. Maria was under no illusions that there was any privacy from Suncloud in the Perennial Palace, but appearing like this was simply rude. ¡°The esteemed Cayeun Suncloud¨Cto what do I owe the pleasure?¡± Cayeun¡¯s laughter was sonorous, bell-like. Her black wings draped onto the floor around her, contrasting with her pale dress to accentuate her figure. ¡°You know, I actually see a good bit of myself in you. I used to spend my days exploring Eternity, trying to find interesting individuals and sapient specimens. You belong among the numbers of the most intriguing on the basis of being a non-ascendant practitioner in Eternity.¡± Maria raised an eyebrow. ¡°Thank you,¡± she replied. I guess. Cayeun sighed and smiled. ¡°Look, meddling is my primary pastime¨CI can¡¯t resist inserting myself where I don¡¯t belong. I¡¯ve seen your past as well as Ian¡¯s and I¡¯ve decided to do you both a favor.¡± Maria grew suspicious. Sure, Cayeun Suncloud had given Ian the transmission artifact, but calling her eccentric was putting it lightly. Was she actually trying to do them a favor, or just trying to sow chaos? ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Maria finally asked. Suncloud pointed to the black diadem hovering over her head. ¡°I¡¯m going to give you a special one of these.¡± She snapped her fingers and a new diadem appeared and hovered over her hand, this one a pale blue color. ¡°I think it goes rather well with your eyes, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± The diadems worn by the seraphs facilitated inter-communication, but that was useless to Maria. ¡°It¡¯ll change how others perceive you, and even how you see yourself,¡± Cayeun explained. ¡°It¡¯ll make you look more like you did before you died. But it¡¯ll also help.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°With what?¡± Cayeun grinned deviously. ¡°Help with feeling how you used to feel. The mind is complex, but also simple, governed by physical forces like hormones. You¡¯ve told Ian that it¡¯s been getting easier to hold in your emotions, but that¡¯s a half-truth.¡± Maria fidgeted uncomfortably. ¡°They¡¯re becoming muted. You¡¯re feeling less, caring less. Feeling disconnected. Am I wrong?¡± Maria snorted to hide her mortification. She didn¡¯t like how easily Suncloud illuminated the issue at hand¨CCrystal had the good sense to leave things alone while Maria¡¯s resurrection was still so raw. ¡°No, you¡¯re not wrong,¡± Maria replied. ¡°And this diadem, it¡¯s going to serve as an emotional surrogate? If so, I don¡¯t need it¨CI don¡¯t need fake emotions. I¡¯ll work with Crystal to get mine back.¡± Cayeun just continued to smile. She suddenly flicked her wrist and the diadem flew towards Maria. She caught the diadem on reflex, the blue tiara hovering between her hands. ¡°You don¡¯t have to use it if you don¡¯t want to, but at least put it in your storage, for seraph¡¯s sake.¡± She winked. ¡°Our minds are fickle things, Maria. But that¡¯s the beauty of them. Ascendant bodies often stay the same, and many consider the mind equally static, changing very little the longer we live. But the uncomfortable truth is that the mind is ever evolving, shedding old memories for new. You and Dunai are both young, your minds more mutable than most. Good luck.¡± Cayeun let herself out through the balcony. Maria inspected the diadem, eyes narrowed in contemplation. Crystal, how has Ian been doing? Suncloud¡¯s presence interfered with Crystal¡¯s ability to communicate, so the question was partly a test to see if Crystal was once more available. ¡°He cried a lot.¡± Maria blanched. What? Why? What happened back home? Her heart leapt to her throat. ¡°From relief and happiness,¡± Crystal added. ¡°From the conversations he has been having, it is as though he has come back from the dead. I do not understand¨Cit has only been two months.¡± Maria blinked. Who did he reach out to? I assume Euryphel. ¡°His sister, his teacher, and the prince. He is wrapping up with Euryphel now, in fact. You should ask him about it later rather than hearing second-hand from me.¡± Fair point. What do you think about this diadem? ¡°I think it will help you.¡± Really? ¡°Really. Karanos added it as a second favor.¡± Maria¡¯s eyes widened. Excuse me? ¡°I was not going to tell you unless you asked. I think Karanos intends for me to tell you¨Cso he can pretend not to tell you¨Cto seem like he is helping you without seeking recognition.¡± Maria¡¯s head swam. I think I understood that. Is he trying to assuage his guilt over being the prick who murdered me? ¡°Something like that.¡± Maria shunted the diadem into her void storage without compunctions. Thanks for letting me know, Crystal. What would I do without you? ¡°Go insane?¡± Maria chuckled. Perhaps. ¡ª The farewell send-off differs from expectations. Rather than being a large ballroom with a bar and waiters running around with hors d''oeuvres, the room of Suncloud¡¯s choosing is rather small, around the size of my guest bedroom but with a taller ceiling. A long table stretches across one side of the room and at the chamber¡¯s center is a circular table. Karanos places a freshly-shuffled deck of cards¨Cthe variant Messeras showed me, 50 cards split between ten suits¨Cat the table¡¯s center. ¡°For some reason, I thought you¡¯d be worse at this,¡± Maria remarks, sighing my way. We¡¯ve been playing for over an hour and I¡¯ve distinguished myself as an adept, keeping up with Suncloud and Karanos. In contrast, Maria lags behind, while Crystal hangs on for dear life, her talons unable to dexterously manipulate the cards. ¡°You¡¯re making me look bad.¡± A swell of subdued emotion rises in my chest. I don¡¯t respond, but Suncloud has a devious glint in her eye. ¡°Your father did love cards, didn''t he, Ian?¡± You would know, I retort inwardly. This game relies on luck and quick, immediate thinking to play cards until there are none left in your hand. ¡°If he did, it doesn¡¯t matter, ¡®cause Beginning affinity can¡¯t be taught.¡± ¡°Your mother, though,¡± Suncloud continues. ¡°She hated cards.¡± I nod slowly. ¡°But she made you learn them. What an enigma.¡± Mother was crazy, especially when I was younger. She did everything she could to try and make me and Germaine into the posh kids she thought the Dunai family expected. Her only reference points were her husband, Demetrius, and sister-in-law, Julia¨Cboth Beginning practitioners who liked to play games. What is Suncloud trying to do by bringing up my past now? I thought that this send-off was a way to brush Suncloud¡¯s antics under the metaphorical rug before we headed out. ¡°She cannot help herself,¡± Crystal remarks. ¡°I mostly taught myself,¡± I state, rebuffing her. ¡°There wasn¡¯t much else to do when I was young. My sister had her sketchpads, but I never took pleasure in drawing for hours.¡± ¡°What about a glossY?¡± Maria asks. ¡°I couldn¡¯t keep Zilverna away from the projections of his.¡± Karanos raises an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s a handheld entertainment and communication device,¡± I explain. ¡°Common on our old world. Believe me, as soon as I had a glossY you couldn¡¯t peel me away from it. Glossy programmatics major, remember?¡± Karanos snorts. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how little of this conversation I understand.¡± He gives Cayeun a pointed look. ¡°You brought this up just to confuse me, didn¡¯t you?¡± Suncloud chuckles and fiddles with her bangs. ¡°I do things for many reasons, love.¡± We play a few more rounds before we all call it a night. We sleep over in the palace, then depart the next morning after eating a lavish breakfast. Karanos skips breakfast and is even late getting to our meeting point outside the palace. ¡°You look mildly disheveled,¡± Maria observes. He smooths his robes and flashes a cheeky smile before assuming his typical stoic facade. ¡°Such is the price of dealing with Cayeun Suncloud. Come along¨Cwe have a dragon to collect, and then we¡¯re off.¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you tell us where we¡¯re going?¡± Maria probes. ¡°Because I don¡¯t know where we¡¯re going, either,¡± he states. ¡°Eternity is vast, its interesting places uncountable. There are many places we could go.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re not going back to the lightless plane?¡± I ask. ¡°Not anytime soon, no,¡± Karanos replies. ¡°I know you have your large Death construct there, but you were never going to be able to lug that thing around.¡± I was supposed to help Floria... ¡°What about the dilated time there?¡± Maria asks. Karanos raises an eyebrow. ¡°What about it?¡± Maria frowns. ¡°Is it that easy to find other planes with dilated time?¡± Karanos snorts. ¡°I found the so-called lightless plane in an hour. You¡¯re lucky you have me.¡± Windflower approaches our group just before we depart. ¡°Long travels, sound mind.¡± I smile politely. ¡°Thanks, Seraph Windflower. It was a pleasure.¡± She smiles back and waves as we kick off the ground, rocketing into the sky toward Sah¡¯s location near the edge of the cloud layer. When we find the frost dragon, he¡¯s snuggling in a layer of cloudy white, fast asleep. Has he just been sleeping the whole time? ¡°Sah has had an eventful few days, and frost dragons are very good at sleeping,¡± Crystal remarks. Sah sniffs at the air, then stirs as we touch down on the clouds. His eyes snap open and he tears at the clouds with his talons as though surprised to find himself covered in them. Crystal walks over to his side and the dragon calms down, eyeing the rest of us with unearned arrogance, his black throat glowing subtly yellow with fire. ¡°Like before, try your best to follow what I¡¯m doing,¡± Karanos says, addressing me and Maria. ¡°You¡¯re not going to learn all my tricks through observation alone, but paying attention won¡¯t hurt.¡± He pulls his arm back. ¡°If you look closely, you can see the way my energy affects the world.¡± I struggle to see what he¡¯s talking about¨Chis control is good enough that his hand shows no signs of being coated in ascendant energy. I can¡¯t tell that anything is different from normal. ¡°It¡¯s almost like the world is bending around your index finger,¡± Maria remarks. Now that she¡¯s pointed it out, I see it. There¡¯s slight distortion around the single finger. It reminds me of the video footage of myself back home, when elementalist attacks fell apart as they passed through my Death energy defenses. I hadn¡¯t known anything about using ascendant energy back then¨Cproto-ascendant energy simply seeped into my practice. It was the main reason why I had to be so careful at the Fassari Summit and source all my energy from soul gems. Karanos nods sternly, then slashes out with his hand. The sky begins to peel away like old wallpaper. He pinches the sundered sky between two fingers and tugs it back, revealing a dark plane. Moonlight illuminates ferns and vines and petrichor wafts forth. Karanos steps through, and we¡¯re off. 213. First Practice ¡°You sure know how to pick them,¡± I mutter, beholding the barren expanse of Karanos¡¯ chosen plane. The sky is covered in dark gray clouds, and blue-violet lightning flashes in the far distance. Sah lays off to the side in a pile of gray sand that looks and feels more like soot, still unconscious after I knocked him out. The dragon still can¡¯t stand going through rifts. Karanos is unflappable. ¡°We aren¡¯t here for a picnic. If we pick a beautiful plane, we¡¯re only going to ruin it. Besides, the dilation here seems to be fairly strong.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t only talking about aesthetics. There¡¯s not much for me to work with here.¡± Much like the lightless plane, this place is devoid of living¨Cand decomposing¨Cmatter. I can¡¯t see any souls, either. ¡°Maybe, maybe not,¡± Karanos replies. ¡°Ian, you¡¯re going to fight Maria. You¡¯re to treat her as a practitioner, ignoring the unique vulnerabilities that come with being undead. You aren¡¯t allowed to use anything in your void storage, nor any of the soul gems you keep on your person.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s no way I can use my practice to actively attack her body, and your terms disqualify just about everything I own. Do I need to use things I find during the fight? The environment?¡± Karanos tilts his head. ¡°That¡¯s one way to interpret what I said.¡± Maria narrows her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m feeling slightly underestimated, Karanos.¡± He shoots her a glance. ¡°You say that, and yet who do you think will win, even with all these restrictions? Can you really bet on yourself?¡± ¡°If you gave me time to set up End arrays, I would, easily,¡± Maria retorted. ¡°But that¡¯s time you don¡¯t have.¡± She crosses her arms. ¡°Plane hopping is rather unforgiving to End practitioners. Still, I have my elementalism and ascendant energy to fill the gap.¡± ¡°Your flames aren¡¯t weak, but they aren¡¯t those of a pinnacle practitioner,¡± Karanos argues. ¡°They alone won¡¯t see you through.¡± ¡°At least for now,¡± I interject. ¡°These are going to be a long five years. If I can improve enough to challenge Achemiss, Maria can at least advance enough to challenge me. Recall that she¡¯s only just awakened her Sun affinity.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s been about three years since I properly awakened the affinity,¡± Maria admits. ¡°I raised it up in the Infinity Loop.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still within the period of initial rapid advancement,¡± I point out. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk,¡± Maria says. ¡°You¡¯ve still got several months to go before you hit the five year mark, though the exact threshold where growth cuts off is fuzzy.¡± Karanos looks between the two of us like we¡¯re mad. ¡°What¡¯s this about a five year cut-off?¡± ¡°When someone first awakens an affinity, advancement is most rapid in the beginning before leveling off,¡± Maria explains. ¡°It looks like a logarithmic curve,¡± I add. ¡°For most people, the five-year mark is when the curve tapers off, after which affinity increases relatively little over time.¡± Karanos narrows his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m honestly trying to remember what you¡¯re talking about, but it¡¯s not ringing a bell. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve dealt with the concept of new practitioners. Regardless of who will win or lose now or in the future, it¡¯s time to stop messing around. When you fight one another, I want both of you to keep creativity in mind. Think beyond.¡± Maria and I walk off a bit into the distance, putting some separation between us and the mortals, Crystal and Sah. As we walk, Maria doesn¡¯t even bother to hide the fact that she¡¯s scrawling a rough array on the ground. Won¡¯t it just blow away with a bit of wind? ¡°Karanos didn¡¯t put any restrictions on me,¡± she says with a small smile. ¡°I¡¯d be a fool not to leverage every advantage.¡± ¡°Can we just get started already, then?¡± I call out, meeting Karanos¡¯ eyes. A thin white rod withdrawn from Maria¡¯s personal void storage continues to swish over the sand with intimidating precision. I realize now that she¡¯s using her fire elementalism and ascendant energy together to transition the sand to glass. ¡°Sure¨Cstart.¡± Maria doesn¡¯t immediately spring into action, but instead continues to inscribe her array in the sand. Dunai, you have to think of battle strategically, Maria says, her thoughts coming over our bond. You¡¯re standing there like an oaf hoping I¡¯ll come at you, but why would I? It¡¯s in my best interest to create an array. You need to think of a strategy and go for it. I suppress a blush. My hands ooze and crackle with Death and ascendant energy as I come at her. I keep my eyes open, but defocus from the visual surroundings, viewing the world of vitality beyond myself. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve fought in close quarters. I think the last time was with Eury, before the war with Selejo started. I haven¡¯t done sparring since. When I normally go all out, there¡¯s no need for close combat. A notable exception is Karanos, but I can¡¯t hit him properly even if I tried. You move like you¡¯re a construct, Maria comments. As I send my arms swinging down toward her head, she ducks down and twists to the side. She continues to scribe into the sand even as she avoids me, calling on ascendant energy to empower her legs and dart out of the way. Even though I miss her, my energy splinters her array. ¡°You say that like it¡¯s a bad thing,¡± I grunt, kicking at her while manifesting a claw of Death energy from the side, pincering her between the two attacks. Unable to dodge, Maria blocks the blows with arms coated in ascendant energy. But as she defends herself, flames arise from the ground, blasting in my direction. I curse and fall back. Without a source of Death energy or soul gems, it¡¯s difficult to muster even rudimentary attacks or defenses. I settle on empowering my body with ascendant energy to defend myself. The heat dissipates when it hits my legs and chest. ¡°Your heart isn¡¯t in this at all,¡± Maria states with annoyance. Suddenly Karanos is standing only twenty feet away, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye. ¡°Ian, do I need to explain to you why you¡¯re under restrictions?¡± ¡°No.¡± He ignores me. ¡°It¡¯s not because Maria is weak. It¡¯s because you¡¯re weak. Against me, none of your typical tricks worked very well, did they? You were most successful when you caught me by surprise. You¡¯re adaptable when your back is up against a wall, when you¡¯re forced to think of a path to victory. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not seeing that kind of initiative now.¡± I try to see past my annoyance and consider Karanos¡¯ words. The restrictions are because you¡¯re weak. I frown as I dart around and come at Maria from a different angle, leveraging the untethered combat style I¡¯ve adopted to maximum effect, my feet gliding half a foot off the ground. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Lancing her with a spike of Death energy, I contort my body to slip between two concentrated blasts of fire. ¡°You belittle me, Maria, but you should be fighting more like I am. Look at what I can do without any real combat training.¡± ¡°Ian isn¡¯t wrong,¡± Karanos interjects. ¡°You fight like you still have a living body. You¡¯re cautious, but the reality is that unless someone destroys your phylactery, you¡¯re immortal.¡± Maria grunts and ascendant-energy laced flames spread out like unfurling rose petals, scorching the surroundings. As they fade, I realize that Maria controlled some of the flames to connect three separate mandalas together by a rod of glassified sand. Her eyes glint as the array activates. My body begins to seize, my control subverted. It¡¯s like when Eury and I invaded Cunabulus. Back then, the only solution to break free of her control was death. That was then. What can I do now? Dying is an easy, almost trivial solution. Before, I needed to kill and resurrect myself by delving into my own soul, but dying is easier in Eternity¨Csoul shenanigans are obsolete. Killing Maria is also a way to break her End bindings. I have the impression that Karanos won¡¯t look kindly upon choosing the suicide option. If I fight Achemiss after leaving Eternity, death will be permanent. So then I should kill her¨Cbut my limbs aren¡¯t cooperating, making close combat tricky. While I struggle to keep them in line, Maria is already combusting the area around me, conflagrations kissing my coat. It was included in Cayeun Suncloud¡¯s send-off ring, a sturdy dark brown material cut in a style similar to the suit jacket but more rugged. ¡°This isn¡¯t working,¡± Karanos says, his voice harsh. Maria halts in place, though her array¡¯s potency doesn¡¯t lessen. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things, turning ideas over in your head. There¡¯s no urgency. I¡¯m stepping in to give a demonstration.¡± Suddenly Karanos is on me, his arm cutting down diagonally toward my face. My heart leaps in my chest as I throw myself to the side. Even if I can¡¯t control my limbs while under Maria¡¯s influence, I can at least move myself over. There¡¯s no reprieve, though¨Ca beam of light extends out from Karanos¡¯ finger and pierces through my side, burning a hole through my stomach. I grit my teeth and suppress a cough. ¡°How did Karanos and Cayeun Suncloud fight?¡± Crystal asks. Quickly, so fast I could barely follow what they were doing. ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± They pierced through planes, I reply. Oh. We¡¯re still on the edge of Eternity, where the veil is unstable and easy to tear. I use my flailing limbs to carve a rough hole in the sky and send myself through to the other side. Unlike the dead soot desert Karanos brought us to, the plane I cut into is a green-blue swamp stewing with Death energy. I suddenly realize Karanos¡¯ point all along¨Cit doesn¡¯t matter what plane I¡¯m on so long as I can cut through to others. With that skill, I can make any battlefield my own. Because I don¡¯t shut the way behind, Karanos tails me. He snares my foot and drags me back out, but not before I strip the surroundings of energy. ¡°I was wondering how long it would take for you to realize,¡± Karanos remarks. ¡°Thought I was getting ready to kill Achemiss outside of Eternity,¡± I retort. ¡°Plane hopping is great and all, but how will it help me stay alive?¡± ¡°The secret lies in rift theory,¡± Karanos replies simply. ¡°Achemiss can send minion constructs beyond Eternity.¡± I sense Maria coming at me from behind to strike while my focus is on Karanos. My limbs are still locked down, but now that I have ample Death energy, I can retaliate. Suddenly my head is on the ground, separated from my body. My vision goes white, my ears ringing. Karanos chuckles. ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you let yourself get distracted.¡± Ironic, considering I was trying to be aware of both Maria and Karanos at once. I would argue that I wasn¡¯t distracted, but outmatched. When I respawn, I¡¯m no longer under Maria¡¯s control, and blessedly not completely naked. The coat Cayeun gave me remains, though my black trousers are laying on the ground where I died. The hole Karanos beamed into the coat is gone. What will it take to get a pair of persistent underwear? I wonder. ¡°What you want is a mantle that keeps all items near it persistent,¡± Crystal says. That reminds me of Holiday¡¯s cloak. It worked reliably on everything but his boots, the article of clothing that was furthest away. After cloaking my lower body in Death energy, I waste no time in tearing open a portal to the swamp. But rather than diving through the hole in reality, I keep it open. This way, it¡¯s a constant source of power. Soon I have a sphere of Death around me, ascendant energy coursing through it like a network of veins. Half-decayed bones from the swamp reinforce the protective energy shell. It must look like I pluck soul gems from the air, I form them so quickly, socketing them in nascent bone constructs that I send after Maria. Karanos appears behind me in a flash, then punches through my shielding sphere with impunity, red energy flaring up like a solar wind. My body flies forward, toward the window leading to the swamp plane...and the gaping hole in the world garrotes me across the throat, the edge of reality sharper than any normal blade. Maria¡¯s thoughts ring in my head: You have to hand it to him, making you slit your own throat on a rift requires skill. ¡ª The training session doesn¡¯t actually last all that long, maybe half an hour at most. Karanos calls it off and leads me and Maria back over to Crystal and Sah for a debrief. He explains some of the things he observed and guides us with leading questions to reach a few basic conclusions. For Maria, the main point was that she needed to adapt her old style of combat to her new reality. More than anything else, though, she needed to improve her elementalism. As soon as I gained a source of Death energy, her flames splashed futilely against my defenses. Karanos had a lot more to critique for me. He called my movements wasteful, sloppy, though applauded my apparent disregard for my own life. The recklessness I exhibited was one positive thing I took away from learning how to fight in the Infinity Loop. I was on the right track by using an adjacent plane to empower my practice, but the way that I did so was equally as sloppy as my close combat skills. He lists my deaths and the personal failings that led to each one using his Light affinity, conjuring up a snapshot of my body in various states of dying. Seeing twenty pictures of my dead corpse is mildly disconcerting. Karanos clasps his hands. ¡°With that out of the way, it¡¯s time for everyone to practice on their own.¡± ¡ª ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do this for five years.¡± Maria and I are sitting alone on a rocky outcrop. We headed out on our own after a quick dinner. Crystal elected to stay behind with a still-sleepy Sah, while Karanos had the presence of mind to give us space. Maria brings one knee up her chest. ¡°It¡¯s always hardest in the beginning.¡± In the distance, purple storm clouds roil, giving us an electrifying light show. ¡°He still pisses me off. I don¡¯t even really know why.¡± ¡°He did kill you for half an hour straight and rub each failure in your face.¡± I nod. ¡°He did do that, yeah. But.¡± ¡°But?¡± I pull the transmission artifact from my storage. ¡°I just...can¡¯t be angry after he got this for me.¡± She hums her understanding. ¡°Speaking of the artifact, you still haven¡¯t had a chance to use it. I confess I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t asked me for it yet. You could¡¯ve used it back when we were in the palace.¡± Maria frowns. ¡°Now that we have it, and I know that Zilverna is alive, I¡¯ve lost my sense of urgency.¡± ¡°Maria.¡± She exhales sharply. ¡°What?¡± I force the artifact into her hands. ¡°You should call him. Or at least contact someone, maybe your retainer, Kaiwen. Your departure was sudden and unexpected.¡± ¡°They probably think I¡¯m dead, which is close to the truth.¡± ¡°The only thing that¡¯s bad about death is saying goodbye,¡± I murmur. ¡°Here¡¯s your chance to say hello.¡± She snorts, then begins to laugh. ¡°Y¡¯jeni. That¡¯s one way to describe it.¡± She swallows. ¡°Unlike you, Ian, I¡¯m probably never going back. Karanos has the return beacon but as far as we know, it can only take two people, and it¡¯s going to be you and Achemiss.¡± I frown. ¡°We have no idea how it¡¯ll work out. Since you¡¯re technically one of my constructs, I might be able to bring you with. Besides, you aren¡¯t biologically alive, so I might be able to find a way to keep you in a large void storage for a short period of time. But even if all those ideas fail and you remain here, isn¡¯t it better to speak to the people you care about while you still can?¡± ¡°Or better to let them remember me as I was.¡± I shake my head. ¡°I¡¯m going to leave this with you,¡± I say, pointing to the transmission artifact. ¡°I¡¯ll keep Crystal company in the meantime. You can choose to use it or not, but I want you to at least take an hour to yourself.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she murmurs, her hands clenching the artifact tightly. Bowing my head politely, I head back, away from the heart of the storm. 214. The Looming Loop At the end of the workday, Fassar City¡¯s array station was a hive of human activity. Kess Elba had never spent much time in the station until seven weeks ago, when the government sent him as a gesture of goodwill to the new Selejo Imperial Federation. It was secret to no one that the federation¡¯s sovereign had been grievously injured in the conflict with the descendant. A lesser man might protest the assignment, stating that there was no reason to send a therapist when the prince really needed Life practitioners and physical therapy, but Elba understood the subtext immediately. What Euryphel Selejo needed most wasn¡¯t physical, but mental, healing. In the end, while Elba wished there was an easier way to commute to Selejo, he accepted the assignment with grace. Not that he could really refuse. Shattradan had a reputation for being a peacekeeper, but it wasn¡¯t uninvolved or idle. Interventions like these were common, but usually involved more influential nations out east¨Cit was the first time in over twenty years that Shattradan paid a western nation such respect. A woman in a yellow sweater bumped into him from the side, scattering his thoughts. If only it was less loud and crowded. Since Ho¡¯ostar¡¯s unification, the transit array from Fassar to Zukal¡¯iss was apparently ¡°busier than ever.¡± Elba could tell you with a Beginning empowered glance how the station was unsuitable for the demand. He could deconstruct the odd meld of neo gothic architectural style with modern windows and fixtures. And he could probably tell you any factual information about the station you wanted to know¨Cthe terminal had projections on many of the walls that explained the terminal¡¯s history, as though people might mistake the terminal as a museum in their boredom. He didn¡¯t particularly want to read the posters, but he subconsciously internalized them, his eyes soaking in everything. The only sign of Kess Elba¡¯s annoyance was the slight tightening of his lips as he waited in the queue. Eventually he reached the front and in a flash, he was in a completely different terminal. This one had been built more recently and was larger, but even that couldn¡¯t save it from the burgeoning mass of people buzzing through its grounds. He could barely even see the floor. The dry Fassari air was a distant memory as the tropical humidity of the peninsula melded with the sticky sweat of the crowd. Elba wrinkled his nose in distaste and set off, using his practice to weave through the crowd like a ghost. After exiting the station, he traversed three blocks and entered a side alley, then knocked on an unmarked door next to a dumpster. The door swung open of its own accord and Elba walked along a service hallway until coming to another door on the right. He knocked again, and this time it opened to reveal Euryphel¡¯s sun room. Elba closed the door softly behind him and walked along the room¡¯s length until he came to his seat¨Ca stool he¡¯d left during the first session. Made of plain wood, it rested inconspicuously next to one of the sun room¡¯s two bubbling fountains. As Elba reposed, one of the parakeets¨Cthe green one¨Ccocked its head and cheeped from its perch in the wall tapestries. Euryphel sat on the divan several feet away at the back of the room. The primary window cast him in shadow, illuminating his eyelashes and the crown of his head. As he turned to face the counselor, Elba heard warning bells in his head. Something¡¯s happened. Kess Elba¡¯s Beginning affinity worked a bit different than most, giving him less an analytical, predictive understanding of the world but something more...intuitive, instinctive, difficult to explain. Sometimes he wished it gave him just a little more insight into the why, versus just handing him the what. But then you wouldn¡¯t have any work to do. ¡°Hello Kess,¡± Euryphel began politely. ¡°Euryphel. Tell me about the past week.¡± The prince complained a bit about some unproductive meetings and mentioned a stroll through the gardens, but didn¡¯t bring up anything out of the ordinary. Still, Elba had a feeling he was hiding something. He hadn¡¯t been seeing Euryphel for very long¨Cit wasn¡¯t surprising the man didn¡¯t feel comfortable sharing everything on his mind. Eventually Elba moved onto the next part of the session. ¡°Please show me your scenario log.¡± His green eyes gazed impassively at the Crowned Executor, striking next to the blue fountain on his left. He sat with one leg folded loosely over the other. His back was straight like a rod. Euryphel wore a false smile and pressed a button on his glossY. A simple log of all the time he spent in scenarios the past week projected out, filling the air between them. Its purpose wasn¡¯t to record what Euryphel did, but the time he spent in scenarios versus in the real world. Assisted by his affinity, Elba read the entire projection in less than a second, even though from his perspective the text was backwards, facing the prince. What he saw confirmed his suspicions. ¡°Do you have anything to say?¡± the counselor asked, swiping a hand through his short brown hair. ¡°About what?¡± ¡°The log. What percent of your waking time did you spend in scenarios last week?¡± The sovereign was practiced at masking his emotions. And whether reclining on his divan or perching on the window sill, his posture was flawless in its casual grace and non-threatening, polite dominance. But it takes more than flawless to fool me. ¡°43%.¡± ¡°The past three days you spent over 50% of your time in scenarios,¡± Elba stated calmly. The end of the week had brought up the total average. ¡°It concerns me.¡± Euryphel sighed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± ¡°Then tell me this¨Cwhy were you entering more scenarios than usual? Was it because of what we talked about last time?¡± ¡°No. I wasn¡¯t...probing the people around me.¡± He rested one arm on the arm of the divan. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the paranoia.¡± ¡°Then why spend more than half your waking life in scenarios?¡± Elba continued. Euryphels eyes glinted in the sun beams. ¡°Something unexpected came up, and I needed time to deal with it.¡± Elba raised an eyebrow. ¡°Care to elaborate?¡¯¡± The prince looked at him with a neutral expression, not responding. He looped again, Elba noted, identifying the imperceptive way the prince shifted when snapping back into his present self. ¡°I confess I did some brooding, and dealt with my panic and frustrations in ways that would be unseemly in the real world. But much of the time I spent drawing up plans and strategies.¡± ¡°If you were planning in scenarios, does that mean you were working alone?¡± Euryphel showed no signs of discomfort. His eyes were like placid, blue-green pools. ¡°Look, I know it sounds like I was spiraling,¡± he finally admitted, sighing. ¡°It¡¯s easy to think the man working alone in the dark is paranoid and unwilling to trust others.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not judging you,¡± Elba replied. ¡°Nor am I calling you paranoid. Did something happen? You mentioned that something unexpected came up.¡± He kept his posture relaxed and open, inviting. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Euryphel blinked. He didn¡¯t pick at his clothes or fidget, like many others would. He simply stared and thought. ¡°Something happened, but I¡¯m not going to talk about it.¡± ¡°Can you share how you felt about it, at least?¡± Euryphel¡¯s mask faltered for a moment, his lips trembling involuntarily. Without his affinity, Elba would have missed it. ¡°Afraid.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d be happy. I was so happy, for a moment, but then...fear, dread¨Cthey crushed me. I don¡¯t know why good things ruin me.¡± Elba concealed his surprise at the show of vulnerability. Rather than asking further questions or prompting the man along, he kept his mouth closed. Sure enough, the prince continued on his own after a few seconds of contemplation. ¡°I¡¯ve been worried about something important, something bigger than myself or my country. I feel unworthy, incapable.¡± The insecurities weren¡¯t new, but the scope of what Euryphel spoke of wasn¡¯t lost on him. He knew the Crowned Executor was growing increasingly involved in international discussions, so he could be referring to that responsibility, but that didn¡¯t feel right. ¡°Is this related to Ian?¡± Elba asked, following a whim. Euryphel innocently brushed a tendril of hair behind his ear. ¡°Ian isn¡¯t here. Why would he come to mind?¡± Y¡¯jeni¨CIt¡¯s definitely related to Ian. ¡ª Euryphel¡¯s expression was grave as he opened the door. ¡°Guardian Urstes.¡± Urstes entered the refurbished dungeon in the labyrinthine reaches beneath the castle. No sunlight reached the chamber. Euryphel¡¯s face glowed orange from the only source of light, a small artificial candle on his desk. Neither practitioner relied on mundane sight to see¨Chigh-affinity earth and wind elementalism filled the gaps¨Cbut it gave their dealings a mysterious air. ¡°You¡¯ve been using this room more and more of late,¡± Urstes murmured. He slid into the chair facing Euryphel. Euryphel cracked a grin. ¡°More people would like to see me dead than I could have ever believed a few months ago.¡± ¡°While it¡¯s true the East is uneasy with the unification of the Ho¡¯ostar peninsula, don¡¯t you think this might be a bit...¡± ¡°Paranoid?¡± Euryphel cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sass me,¡± Urstes quipped, rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Or give me cause to worry.¡± Euryphel sighed. Urstes had been talking back more lately, but he supposed it was fair¨Che¡¯d been keeping everyone in the dark after Ian¡¯s phantom visit. ¡°I didn¡¯t call you here because of good news, unfortunately. There¡¯s much you don¡¯t know¨CI¡¯ve been making preparations these past two days.¡± The guardian¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°I thought you promised to stop doing things alone. You have nothing to prove¨C¡± ¡°Not the time, Guardian.¡± Urstes breathed deeply, resigned for now. ¡°What have you learned?¡± The prince stared at his clasped fingers, the darkness hiding his uncertain expression. Going into the conversation, he¡¯d sworn to himself that he would keep everything in the real world. He didn¡¯t need to worry about framing everything perfectly for Urstes. He didn¡¯t need to optimize his interactions. He didn¡¯t. But in the end, he couldn¡¯t resist¨Che had to enter a scenario. Elba¡¯s right that I¡¯m like an addict. ¡°Ian is returning in five years,¡± Euryphel announced. It wasn¡¯t the most important piece of information, and he didn¡¯t plan on sharing it first in the real world, but it was the development closest to his heart. Urstes flinched. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°He appeared to me.¡± Euryphel detected some doubt from the guardian, but the man nodded his understanding. ¡°We already know it¡¯s possible to make contact from beyond, but it¡¯s remarkable to do so, and so soon at that. It¡¯s been two months¨Cwhat could Dunai have gotten himself involved in so quickly?¡± Euryphel flashed him a wry smile. ¡°Ian escaped from the loop and came to us. Within two months, the geopolitical landscape of our world shifted. Are you really so surprised?¡± Urstes contemplated this, then snorted. ¡°He really does have a knack for trouble, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°And unfortunately, this time it¡¯s the kind of trouble that involves the end of the world.¡± Urstes smirked, but his expression fell once he realized Euryphel wasn¡¯t exaggerating. ¡°How is the world in danger?¡± Euryphel snapped back and delved into another scenario. ¡°Ian appeared to me using an artifact that he obtained in the ascendant world. How I missed him, Urstes.¡± The man¡¯s expression seemed unable to decide what emotion to land on before eventually settling on surprise. ¡°He appeared here? In the flesh?¡± ¡°No, as some kind of spatial projection.¡± ¡°I presume he had something important to tell you?¡± Euryphel barely heard Urstes¡¯ follow up. Even in the scenario, he was embarrassed. ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to face him.¡± ¡°He did leave you behind.¡± ¡°I suppose so. Though it was for the best¨Cif I had gone, I would have died. Maria did.¡± Urstes¡¯ eyes widened. ¡°The Eldemari is dead?¡± Euryphel bit his lip. ¡°Not exactly. It¡¯s complicated. But I digress...I didn¡¯t know what to feel facing Ian. This world is long behind him¨Cwe¡¯re a small piece of reality, inconsequential before the vastness of the cosmos.¡± The guardian looked somewhat amused. ¡°Pretty words, but did Ian actually feel any different? It hasn¡¯t been that long.¡± ¡°He was the same,¡± Euryphel replied. He looked off to the side. He hoped the darkness was enough to hide his blush. Not that it matters¨Cthis is just a scenario. He could feel the seconds counting down¨Cjust a few remained until he¡¯d need to start the conversation anew. You could always just hold the whole conversation in the real world, Euryphel chided himself. Growling internally, he killed the scenario and returned to the present. His brow arched slightly with indignation. This time, in the real world, he decided to start with the actual problem at hand. Ian could come later. ¡°The Infinity Loop experiment was worse than we could have ever imagined.¡± ¡°This is about that?¡± Urstes asked. ¡°All roads lead to the Infinity Loop,¡± Euryphel grumbled. ¡°But I¡¯m not even joking. Infinity Loops will literally end the world. I¡¯m not even talking about ending humanity, but destroying the planet and turning it into a lifeless sphere of rock.¡± ¡°Not sure how,¡± Urstes grumbled. ¡°They¡¯re dilation chambers, not bombs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought first as well. Ian told us about soul corruption before he left, and told us to destroy our loop...but.¡± Urstes sighed, knowing the gist of what was coming next. ¡°But.¡± ¡°Everyone is going to have an Infinity Loop, and the federation would be foolish to give up its head start. That¡¯s what everyone argued. They persuaded even me. Urstes, I¨C¡± Euryphel held his face in his hands. ¡°Ian came to me as a projection three days ago. He¡¯s the one who told me that the technology would doom our world.¡± Urstes sat, stunned. ¡°He came to me and told me of the danger. And as he spoke of worlds like ours falling to ruin, passing along the regrets of others who acted too late...I felt like a traitor. He implicitly assumed that I had never stopped trying to destroy Selejo¡¯s Infinity Loop, that I had already been devising plans to destroy Viscero.¡± In reality, the Selejo Imperial Federation had given up on thwarting Viscero¨Cthe company was well-protected by the Sere Consortium. But more than that, now that multiple countries had gotten their hands on loops of their own, the disease of the Infinity Loop was like a metastatized cancer¨Cthere was almost no way to snuff it out. With or without Viscero, it would spread to those with money and power. Urstes rubbed his thumb along the hilt of the sword at his hip. ¡°Why keep this information to yourself for three days?¡± Euryphel shrugged. ¡°After Ian¡¯s visit, I found it impossible to sleep. After the second day I finally crashed.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why you missed all your morning meetings yesterday.¡± Groaning, Euryphel leaned back in his seat. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡± The guardsman pondered his next question. ¡°Did you ever tell him that the federation voted not to destroy the Infinity Loop in Selejo?¡± ¡°No. I looped over and over again but I couldn¡¯t find the words.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it¨CDunai is understanding.¡± ¡°He is. But even now that I understand the danger the loop poses, what can we do? Three days, Urstes¨Cthree days I researched and schemed on my own, only to go in circles. Our influence is bigger than it was, but we can¡¯t touch Sere, let alone Iastra or Citelle. I can¡¯t see a way to win.¡± ¡°Executor,¡± Urstes murmured, leaning forward. ¡°Why do you think the Skai¡¯aren came to you?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s trying to help.¡± Urstes shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s because he believes in you as I do. Thank you for not shouldering this burden alone.¡± He frowned. ¡°Who else are you going to tell?¡± ¡°The primes, at least.¡± They¡¯d earned his trust. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a report on what I¡¯ve learned from Ian. Once you and the others are briefed, we can discuss the next steps together.¡± What Euryphel didn¡¯t mention was the contact information burning a metaphorical hole in his pocket. Ian had given it to him during their time together. Euryphel wasn¡¯t sure whether the right way to approach was from the shadows or in the light¨Cmuch would depend on how the others reacted to the truth behind the Infinity Loop. He held the contact¡¯s name in his mind: Ezio Soole Mar. 215. The Regalia Ascendant energy arcs between a flock of twelve bone birds, the decemantic constructs small and swift. They work in subgroups of three to concentrate the circuiting energy. Where the trios detonate their payload, the air parts, revealing slivers of other planes. Ascendant energy swirls around Maria¡¯s legs and torso, empowering her movements as she dances away. Fiery blasts from her arms help to adjust her trajectory¨Cnecessary given the speed she¡¯s going. She overcorrects once and that¡¯s the opportunity the birds need. They shift their trajectory slightly and catch Maria from the side. She twists her body to avoid the four nearly-invisible slits in the sky but her arm glances against one of them. Sharper than any knife, the sundered veil nearly tears the limb in half. The exercise halts now that I¡¯ve drawn first blood. ¡°Remind me never to get on your bad side ever again,¡± Maria smirks, unperturbed by her damaged arm. As a lich, she doesn¡¯t feel pain like the living. I can feel the sensation of dulled throbbing over our bond, accompanied by the instinctive need to restore the damage. While I consciously still consider Maria an independent person, my practice loves to remind me otherwise. Like it or not, she is your construct. ¡°Alright, time to test out your technique,¡± I say. We haven¡¯t had a true duel in several weeks, mostly because we¡¯ve realized it¡¯s pointless. Maria and I are never going to fight against one another. Instead we¡¯ve settled into practice sessions where we rotate using techniques against one another. She raises an eyebrow. ¡°Arm?¡± Oh. Death energy wisps off the leviathan riftbeast soul gem and swirls around Maria¡¯s arm. In a second, the limb is restored. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Alright, warning that this might hurt,¡± Maria says. I look around. The ashy desert sand is devoid of visible arrays, and I would have noticed if Maria dug around and inscribed an array earlier. This must mean she¡¯s testing out speed inscriptions. Thin strands of fire dance over her fingers like vines. Soon they¡¯ve grown to cover the area around her like the tentacles of an octopus, writhing on the ground. Where they touch the sand, it turns to glass. Death energy condenses into a mantle my combat robes, dying Suncloud¡¯s neutral brown fabric iridescent black. ¡°I¡¯m waiting,¡± I taunt. Suddenly she¡¯s skating over the dunes, fire sweeping out in front of her to turn the sand to glass. Her ascendant energy then lubricates her feet like skates. Finally, a conflagration extends out from her back like an oversized fox tail, pushing her forward. The end result is that Maria rockets across the ground like a missile, too fast to follow, even after the perception exercises Messeras put me through when we traveled together. She must be as fast as Messeras when she¡¯s moving like this. And normally that kind of speed might harm the user, but Maria¡¯s undead body is naturally resistant to physical damage. If she hits me while she¡¯s like this, there¡¯s no doubt I¡¯ll die. But that¡¯s not what she¡¯s going for. In the blink of an eye she¡¯s already put down a ring of glass around me. This isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve faced this technique¨Cat this point usually she spirals inward, her flame tentacles leaving precise inscriptions on the ground. She doesn¡¯t control their movements in the moment, of course¨Cthat would be too difficult¨Cbut instead relies on a series of pre-programmed arrays to coordinate their patterns of motion. I¡¯m proud to say that I helped her develop that part of the strategy. Never underestimate the value of a glossy programmatics degree! Of course, the spiral pattern is predictable, and her high speed a weakness. The shark tooth whip I first created back in the Jermal trench rift has seen a lot more use lately as a result. I flick the whip and it extends out like a sentient chain, not even pretending to move under the laws of normal physics. It zigzags and shatters the glass, then ripples up and down to form a sort of vertical barrier. Maria grunts and punches right through the whip, scattering bones, but it¡¯s thrown off her course. But then she smiles. A shudder passes through my body and I feel like a bug about to crawl into the spider¡¯s web. I was wondering why her actions were so predictable¨Cwhat was she hiding? Suddenly fire combusts around me, instantaneous, unavoidable. I¡¯m not currently using my trilayer bone shield defense¨Cthis is a practice, not a battle to the death¨Cso my only defense is the ascendant-empowered Death energy around my body. ¡°Yield!¡± I call out. The flames stop and Maria smiles coyly. ¡°Remind you of someone?¡± I give her an exaggerated sigh. ¡°Zilverna.¡± She laughs. ¡°His use of spontaneous combustion is a bit different, since his affinity isn¡¯t as high as mine, so he uses consumable foci to fill the gaps. But it¡¯s actually rather impressive what he¡¯s able to do. Manifesting flame so far from my body is difficult.¡± I nod. ¡°I never expected him to force my hand in the Fassari Summit. So, you¡¯ve spoken to him again?¡± Maria¡¯s expression grows contemplative. ¡°I have.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°He still doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m...like this.¡± I walk over to her. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you didn¡¯t tell him the truth in the first place.¡± Suncloud gave Maria an item that makes her appearance more human-like. She doesn¡¯t bother to use it normally¨Cclaims it makes her ¡°feel unlike herself¡±¨Cbut she always uses it around Zilverna. ¡°He¡¯s only seventeen. I don¡¯t want him to worry about me, or whether I¡¯ll ever be able to return home without being killed on the spot for what I am.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°You told Kaiwen the truth.¡± ¡°Kaiwen can keep secrets,¡± Maria retorts. ¡°Like Euryphel. There¡¯s a reason Zilverna hasn¡¯t been pulled into his closest circle.¡± I scoff. ¡°I think there¡¯s more to it than that.¡± Maria rolls her eyes. ¡°He doesn¡¯t hate Euryphel. Sometimes he acts petty and short-sighted, but he¡¯s a smart boy. He understands how the world works. If he was the child you seem to think he is, he wouldn¡¯t have signed the peace accords and submitted Selejo to the SPU.¡± She licks her lips. ¡°In which case, he probably would have died for his defiance.¡± After our morning bout, we join Karanos, Crystal, and Sah for breakfast. Crystal eats some kind of seaweed carted over from an aquatic plane, while Sah munches furiously on the whole carcass of a deer. Karanos isn¡¯t as much of a chef as Messeras, but his storage is filled with ready-made meals that are piping hot. He¡¯s been sharing them with Maria and I without reserve. Eating doesn¡¯t provide Maria¡¯s body any benefit, but she can eat, and it¡¯s not like Karanos¡¯ food is in short supply. It helps her feel human. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Today¡¯s breakfast is a bit plain: oatmeal with a side of eggs. As usual, the egg yolks are green; in the beginning they were rather unappetizing, but I¡¯ve grown used to it. ¡°You both have been training for a while now in this dilated space, but I can tell you¡¯re both running up against diminishing returns,¡± Karanos says, interrupting the meal. ¡°While I could theoretically lock you in a dilated plane for a few years and you¡¯d probably get better, the best teacher is real world experience. We don¡¯t need hundreds of dilated years to defeat Achemiss. What do we need?¡± Maria puts down her fork. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this. In the end, the decisive factor won¡¯t be overpowering Achemiss using brute force. Victory will come through careful preparation and the element of surprise.¡± ¡°The main challenge is for Ian to assassinate Achemiss after using the beacon,¡± Karanos affirms. ¡°Assassination is far from a direct confrontation. Like Maria said, it¡¯s all about preparation and surprise, rather than raw strength. Here¡¯s a fun question: Why not have Ian go face Achemiss right now?¡± I finish swallowing my oatmeal. ¡°...Because I would lose?¡± Karanos¡¯ eyes glint. ¡°But you killed me, didn¡¯t you? You caught me by surprise and I died before I even knew what was happening. You have the capacity to assassinate the vast majority of ascendants.¡± I open my mouth, then close it, unable to muster a response. Seeing my confounded expression, Karanos grunts and begins to explain. ¡°Most ascendants aren¡¯t expecting to be killed all the time, and even if they are, there¡¯s no true danger¨Cthey¡¯ll just revive. The biggest worry is probably theft. There¡¯s thus no reason to be constantly alert.¡± ¡°But you are training Ian, so it can¡¯t be that easy,¡± Maria murmurs. ¡°Else you would just send him to Achemiss.¡± Karanos nods. ¡°Achemiss is a man of many artifacts, crafted from the stolen souls of peak practitioners. He is arrogant but paranoid and always wears a regalia that offers potent protection from different kinds of attacks. Energy blasts dissipate harmlessly. Heavy physical attacks are sapped of their strength and absorbed, actually making his defenses stronger. He¡¯s not immune to Light illusions, as those work on the external world, but he can always close his eyes and rely on his perception of vitality. His residence is covered in defenses against intrepid End practitioners. While his mind isn¡¯t impervious, it¡¯s well-shielded. As for Life, Death, and Dark, he relies on his own power to resist them. Passively, his body should resist the kind of attack you used to kill me.¡± Karanos is right¨CDeath and Life practitioners are always a pain to deal with because of their ability to resist Death energy. They¡¯re the only ones I can¡¯t kill with a thought within my range. ¡°Dark?¡± Maria asks. ¡°He ascended as a Death practitioner, but his command over darkness is nothing to dismiss,¡± Karanos clarifies. That makes sense, given what I saw in Achemiss¡¯ visions¨Cthin dark fingers covering everything, the man¡¯s form melding with the void. And like Karanos said, even if Dark is a secondary affinity, Achemiss has had hundreds of years to master his craft. ¡°Is that all?¡± I ask. ¡°No. He might be wearing any manner of artifact on his person, depending on his current mood. He has too many to choose from.¡± Maria shakes her head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you or your organization supply artifacts to level the playing field if he¡¯s really so untouchable?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t make powerful artifacts without suitable reagents,¡± Karanos replies. ¡°This is the biggest hurdle. What makes Achemiss so dangerous is that he found a way to send his constructs to worlds beyond. There are others with powerful artifacts, of course, but not so many¨Cand really, there¡¯s no need for them. Why would I need artifacts?¡± I consider for a moment. Why would Karanos need a powerful regalia to protect him from others? ¡°To protect yourself from torture, I¡¯d presume. You¡¯re not afraid of dying but of being captured.¡± Karanos nods. ¡°Ideally, I could kill myself before capture if someone really nasty was after me. But if I failed, that¡¯s where having companions and a backing organization comes into play. In truth, if someone wants to hurt you badly enough, they¡¯ll find a way, even if you have all the defenses in the world like Achemiss.¡± He suddenly twists one of his rings and fifteen small, assorted trinkets clatter out. ¡°These are all artifacts, though they have niche uses.¡± He grabs an earring with a slotted red gem whose color shifts like real flames. ¡°This one makes you immune to extreme heat.¡± He places the earring on his ear¨CI didn¡¯t even realize it was pierced¨Cand black liquid spews out from all around his neck, covering the lower half of his body like dark mud. In the blink of an eye, his whole figure is encompassed in heavy black armor made out of the synthetic material. Not even his eyes are visible. He removes the earring and the material disappears without a trace. ¡°As you can see, not the most convenient thing to wear all the time, but useful in some situations.¡± The collection of artifacts disappears into his storage. ¡°Do you have anything to increase your firepower?¡± Maria asks. Karanos sighs. ¡°You¡¯re not getting the point¨Cwhy would I normally need such a thing?¡± ¡°To defeat people like Achemiss,¡± Maria retorts. ¡°If he has defensive artifacts, offensive ones should be able to counter them.¡± ¡°Sure, if the goal was to kill someone, that might be true. But kill an ascendant and they¡¯ll return. As you said earlier, the real goal is theft or inflicting torment. Is my time so cheap I can waste it all spitefully sieging my enemies? And even if I did do that, Achemiss doesn¡¯t live in a vacuum¨Cthe scum he calls allies would come to his defense and shoo me away. ¡°For most people, it¡¯s a better use of time to seek enlightenment and increase their ability to use ascendant energy than to seek out or craft elusive artifacts. Only someone with a cheat like Achemiss spends all his time and energy on them. If I found an artifact to increase my firepower, it would be by chance¨CI wouldn¡¯t seek it out deliberately. And no, I¡¯m not going to walk you through my entire artifact collection. If I had something that would help Dunai, I would have given it to him.¡± This conversation hasn¡¯t been very encouraging. ¡°If Achemiss really is so untouchable, and you don¡¯t have any artifacts to give me...how am I supposed to kill him?¡± Karanos¡¯ eyes are hard like steel. ¡°Specialization is always a weakness¨Cone we can exploit. Using the return beacon will isolate Achemiss from his workshop and most of his artifacts. Then, if you divest Achemiss of his regalia, he¡¯ll falter." I frown. ¡°He¡¯s a thousand year old practitioner¨Cregalia or not, I¡¯m not sure...¡± Karanos nods. ¡°He¡¯s also a shut-in, like some overgrown man-child lurking in his parents¡¯ basement. He would never admit it, but he thinks he¡¯s untouchable, that he¡¯s prepared for everything and seen it all. To him, the world is a small place. He will underestimate you and you will destroy him.¡± I¡¯m not perfectly sold by this uncharitable characterization. Maria and I share a dubious look, clearly on the same page. Off to the side, Crystal watches expressionlessly, observing but not speaking. Sometimes it feels like she knows all the answers but chooses to let us figure them out on our own. Maria taps her lips. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that if we can find a way to disempower the regalia, Ian will be able to kill him?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°Right, but how?¡± I ask. ¡°This sounds easier said than done.¡± ¡°If we had the answer to that question, you really could waltz in now and try to kill him. But in five years, I expect you¡¯ll find an answer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a lot of time,¡± I point out. Karanos is making me uneasy¨CI thought he had more of a plan. ¡°Recall that Eternity is a place that rewards attempting the impossible,¡± Crystal interjects. ¡°There is a place where Eternity¡¯s will is more present, where wishes become manifest. I suspect Karanos intends to send you there.¡± Karanos snorts in surprise, his eyes narrowing. ¡°Well, well. You didn¡¯t read my mind for this one¨Cthought of it on your own, I suspect. Smart fish.¡± Crystal nibbles unassumingly at her seaweed. ¡°She¡¯s right¨CI intend to send you to the lost quadrant. For the next five years, most of the passage of time will occur within it, as you seek a solution to the problem of Achemiss. The goal will be to expedition for one month at a time before returning to a dilated plane. You¡¯ll be able to assimilate your experiences and train for however long you¡¯d like before setting out again.¡± ¡°The lost quadrant is a minefield of danger,¡± Crystal observes. ¡°There are numerous stretches where you must traverse through the space between planes¨Cthe void.¡± ¡°Right again. And there are more planes with both dilated and compressed time than usual¨Cstepping into a compressed zone could prove catastrophic. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to be accompanying you on the first trip. After that, it¡¯ll be the two of you on your own.¡± Karanos turns toward Crystal. ¡°You understand why you shouldn¡¯t go, right?¡± ¡°Yes. I would prefer to live.¡± ¡°I have the transmission artifact, so we¡¯ll be able to communicate,¡± I point out. I feel a bit bad leaving Crystal behind with Sah, but if the lost quadrant is a dangerous place, it makes sense not to bring creatures whose deaths will be permanent. ¡°We set off tomorrow,¡± Karanos announces. ¡°Prepare yourselves.¡± Book 1 Release Announcement! AT NOON EST (GMT -5), TODAY (11/23/21), there will be a live reading of chapters from books 1 and 2 (and perhaps even non-canon content), by the narrator of The Menocht Loop, Joe Hempel! The audiobook sounds amazing. My parents do NOT like fantasy books but they were able to finish The Menocht Loop Book 1 by listening to the audiobook (a miracle; still took them a month kek). Joe has a professional streamer setup so his audio and video are top notch. It will be a FUN TIME. And since today is of course the BOOK LAUNCH OF BOOK 1, I will be in Discord with Joe hanging out, answering questions, etc. I will be on video so you will be able to see me and converse. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Joe will probably be LITERALLY RECORDING at least one chapter for book 2 that will go into the audiobook while on stream. To reiterate, you will be able to see him record THE EXACT TRACKS that will make it into the ebook! If you''ve ever been curious how narrators narrate books and what the process is like, tune in because he is happy to answer questions! Here is the animated cover for the audiobook, provided by my audiobook publisher, Podium! [The Trials of Descent] 261. Ominous Promise Book 6: The Seed of Chaos
When Ian visited Euryphel a week later, it was during the day. He¡¯d manifested when the Crowned Executor was in a meeting and had quickly fled into the wall, waiting to come out into the open when the former prince was alone. ¡°That meeting didn¡¯t sound like it went very well,¡± Ian observed. He strode up and sat in a chair across from Euryphel¡¯s bureau, his movements casual, though Euryphel detected a slight stiffness to them. ¡°That¡¯s because it didn¡¯t go very well,¡± Euryphel replied wryly. ¡°The Kyeilans and Godorans have been difficult to wrangle since they capitulated. Under the federation¡¯s rule, they have almost complete autonomy, but still they find reasons to complain.¡± Ian raised his eyebrows. ¡°And Selejo?¡± ¡°In contrast, Selejo has been easy to work with,¡± the prince admitted. ¡°Zilverna culled Maria¡¯s political rivals when their plot to seize control on the of Ari¡¯s descent failed. Even so, he¡¯s been more of a figurehead than proper ruler, deferring to advisers.¡± ¡°Maria¡¯s advisers,¡± Ian said. ¡°Like Kaiwen.¡± Whom Maria had been in contact with using the transmission artifact. ¡°Yes.¡± The former prince frowned. Over the course of their short interaction, Euryphel noticed that Ian¡¯s eyes were lined by dark circles and that his face was sallow. With his Death affinity influencing the body, he should be able to subsist on minimal sleep for extended periods of time. ¡°You look more haggard than usual.¡± Ian chuckled mirthlessly and braced his hands behind his head. ¡°Do I?¡± Euryphel¡¯s mouth flattened in concern. ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Ian¡¯s eyes looked toward the ceiling, tracing the patterns of the crown molding. ¡°Don¡¯t make me question you in scenarios,¡± Euryphel grumbled softly. He didn¡¯t think that it was anything too serious, but still wanted to know what was on the necromancer¡¯s mind. ¡°Come on.¡± The necromancer took a deep breath. ¡°Ancient Ash is knowledgeable and has the mind of a scientist. I¡¯ve become his latest experiment.¡± Euryphel waited a moment before speaking. ¡°Can you please elaborate?¡± Ian¡¯s lips flattened into a thin line. ¡°Can we take a walk first?¡± Euryphel blinked. ¡°Sure.¡± Ian followed the former prince, evading detection by heeding the Regret practitioner¡¯s warnings and strategically sheltering in the walls and furniture. By the former prince¡¯s estimations, the walk wasn¡¯t relaxing because the palace was filled with people to avoid. Even so, by the time they reached Euryphel¡¯s personal salon and found themselves alone, they burst into laughter. ¡°I¡¯ve never gone the long way before,¡± Ian admitted, still chuckling. It struck Euryphel as exaggerated, peculiar¨Cyet another inconsistency with Ian¡¯s normal demeanor. Euryphel snorted, trying to remain casual despite his mounting concern. ¡°I usually never go the long way, but you can¡¯t go through my special doorways when you¡¯re just a projection.¡± He walked over to the whiskey cabinet and pulled out a handle and two glasses. He poured one for himself and Ian using his wind elementalism. Ian raised an eyebrow. ¡°You know I can¡¯t drink this.¡± He waved his hand through the glass and it passed straight through. Euryphel shrugged and used his elementalism to clink his glass against Ian¡¯s, the fluid threatening to go up over the lip. He grimaced at the almost-mess. ¡°Using wind for everything is harder than it looks,¡± he commented. Euryphel¡¯s hands had limited motor ability, but he could still use them to hold an already-filled glass to his lips. After taking a sip of the whiskey, he gave Ian a hard look. ¡°We¡¯ve taken a walk, now talk.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for a poet,¡± Ian joked, but it fell on deaf ears. Euryphel waited. Ian averted his eyes again, then leaned back and covered his face with his arms, crossing them so his hands reached toward opposite shoulders. Frustrated with Ian¡¯s reticence, Euryphel entered a scenario and began to pepper him with pinpoint questions, hoping to tease out the best way to approach the conversation. First he wanted to ascertain how long it had been¨Cfrom Ian¡¯s perspective¨Csince they¡¯d last talked. ¡°Have you been spending time in dilated planes?¡± Ian was quiet for a second. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How long ago did you last speak to me?¡± ¡°Not sure.¡± ¡°A long time or a short time?¡± Ian sighed. ¡°Define long or short.¡± ¡°More than a month is long,¡± Euryphel clarified. ¡°Long, then.¡± His arms still covered his face. Were he physically present, Euryphel¡¯s wind elementalism would have been able to sense the contours of his face. Since Ian was a projection, Euryphel¡¯s senses were limited to his eyesight. He could only discern that Ian¡¯s jaw was tense. ¡°Is Maria still with you?¡± ¡°Sometimes. Ash does other things with her, pushes her in different ways.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°And how does he push you?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°Does he push you by killing you, like Karanos?¡± He laughed softly. ¡°No, Ash¡¯s methods are nothing like Karanos¡¯s. He doesn¡¯t kill me.¡± There was a bite to his words that made Euryphel¡¯s hair stand on end. He terminated the scenario and returned to the present. ¡°Tell me about your training with Ash,¡± Euryphel said, deciding to be direct. ¡°I¡¯ll know if you leave anything out.¡± The threat was empty, but Ian didn¡¯t know that. ¡°Ash separated Maria and I early on since he made different curricula for us to go over.¡± It almost sounded like Ash were tutoring them in a university course. ¡°He gives us breaks occasionally where we can see each other.¡± Euryphel entered a scenario to interrupt. ¡°Can¡¯t you communicate over your bond? She¡¯s your lich.¡± Ian¡¯s fists clenched. ¡°He found a way to interfere with that. It was one of the first things he did.¡± So Ian¡¯s experienced prolong periods of either isolation, or at least time alone with this ascendant, Euryphel realized. ¡°And did you get the opportunity to call me during one of your breaks?¡± Euryphel asked. Ian nodded. ¡°It¡¯s the longest one yet.¡± He trailed off and shuddered. Euryphel snapped back to the present. ¡°When you¡¯re not on break, what does Ash have you do?¡± ¡°It depends. He has separate curricula for Beginning, End, Sun, and Remorse.¡± ¡°Affinities,¡± Euryphel murmured. ¡°You said that Ash has more than two¨Cthat he¡¯s achieved what most consider impossible.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ian removed his arms, revealing his face. He wore a serious expression, his jaw set. ¡°He has four. And he¡¯s experimenting with trying to awaken in me¨Cand Maria¨Cothers.¡± ¡°And has it been working?¡± Euryphel asked. His entire body felt both electrified and tense. He really wasn¡¯t sure what Ian¡¯s answer would be, and he didn¡¯t know whether his trepidation stemmed from Ian gaining an affinity or failing to do so. Ian snorted. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°As in, ¡®yeah¡¯, Ash¡¯s methods have been working?¡± ¡°What do you think I meant?¡± Blood pounded in Euryphel¡¯s ears. ¡°What affinity has made the most progress?¡± ¡°Which of my affinities after Death is highest? You should remember.¡± The word tumbled from Euryphel¡¯s mouth. ¡°Remorse.¡± Ian¡¯s lips curved up. ¡°We didn¡¯t even start with Remorse since Ash doesn¡¯t have a Remorse affinity. We only switched after wasting a week trying to develop my End affinity without results. Developing my affinity for Beginning during the day and Remorse at night¨Cthat¡¯s been my life for the past who knows how long.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re a Remorse practitioner now?¡± Euryphel almost entered a scenario just to collect his thoughts. Ian shook his head. ¡°By only the barest of margins. When I practice with Ash, I can get a small sense of his emotions and nothing more.¡± Euryphel took a big sip of his whiskey. ¡°Ian.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°You are in Eternity. You have all the time in the world to raise your affinity. You know that, right?¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t have all the time in the world, Eury. Our world is doomed unless we take action soon.¡± Euryphel narrowed his eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t need a Remorse affinity to save our world, Ian. You¡¯re already plenty powerful.¡± ¡°I need to defeat Achemiss,¡± he protested. ¡°I thought you said that Ancient Ash would probably give a return beacon to you, so you wouldn¡¯t need to rely on Karanos¡¯s?¡± Ian covered his face with his hands and leaned forward. ¡°Ash he hasn¡¯t mentioned anything like that, so who knows. Regardless, Achemiss wants our world to end to secure his immortality, so we won¡¯t be safe unless he¡¯s gone. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he¡¯s somehow involved in our world gaining the Infinity Loop technology in the first place. He sure knew an awful lot about it when he first reached out to me in my dreams.¡± Ian¡¯s voice was starting to waver, as though the necromancer was on the verge of collapse. ¡°Ian, it¡¯s okay,¡± Euryphel said slowly. ¡°No, it¡¯s not. I¡¯m trying to do the impossible but all Eternity has given me is a stupid dagger and a useless Remorse affinity that isn¡¯t even high enough to use outside of nethereal energy confluence.¡± Euryphel didn¡¯t follow the last part of that sentence, but at this point understanding Ian was secondary to deescalating his mental state. All Euryphel wanted to do in that moment was pull Ian into an embrace and tell him that he wasn¡¯t alone, but Ian wasn¡¯t really there. The executor gingerly deposited his drink and walked over to where Ian sat, sitting down on the floor. He crossed his legs and faced the other side of the room; Ian¡¯s legs were on either side of him. ¡°Ian,¡± Euryphel said softly. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one trying to save our world.¡± ¡°I know.¡± He paused. ¡°I wasn¡¯t the only one trying to win the war against the Ho¡¯ostar peninsula, either. But tell me, in the end, didn¡¯t it all come down to me? Euryphel didn¡¯t have a good response for him. ¡°It¡¯s different now.¡± ¡°When we last spoke, you confided in me your difficulties and doubts with the Darkseers. It¡¯s not different.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°Ash controlled his entire home world for years. Absolute control. If we could do something like that, maybe then we¡¯d be able to excise all traces of the Infinity Loop. Coincident with the death of Achemiss, our world would be free to develop organically.¡± Euryphel stiffened. ¡°What Ash did was absurd.¡± ¡°What Ash did worked. Thousands of years later, his terrible deeds are reduced to legend and his world lives on. Ascendant Kuin said as much.¡± Euryphel was only now realizing the depths of Ian¡¯s desperation to find a solution at any price. ¡°I see Maria¡¯s influence upon you,¡± Euryphel grated. ¡°She, too, exchanged people¡¯s freedom for safety and comfort. But that¡¯s no way for people to live.¡± ¡°I never said it was,¡± Ian remarked. ¡°But impossible problems call for drastic solutions. Eury, I should probably go.¡± Euryphel froze. His head whipped around to face Ian, peering up at the seated necromancer¡¯s face. He saw a dark line that traced the line of his cheek from an eye to his lips¨Cthe trail of a teardrop. ¡°Ian¨Cwait.¡± He would do anything, say anything to make Ian stay. The Crowned Executor entered a scenario, then recursed, searching for the right words. In the end he found them and sacrificed his integrity for love. ¡°You¡¯re right that our power isn¡¯t enough.¡± Ian blinked and nodded slowly. ¡°I want you to know that no matter what you do, regardless of the methods you employ, I¡¯ll stand by you. Even if you descend into madness or do irredeemable deeds, you¡¯ll never be alone¨CI promise.¡± ¡°Maria said that, too,¡± Ian whispered, ¡°but it¡¯s different. Hearing that from you¡­¡± He shuddered a sigh. ¡°Eury, I feel so relieved.¡± He broke into silent sobs. His hands draped over Euryphel¡¯s chest, just over the executor¡¯s folded hands, and he stayed there, shaking, for a solid minute. Euryphel said nothing. He¡¯d already said too much. 262. No Remorse Maria¡¯s cold arms embrace me from behind. What happened? Limp and drained, I take a moment to collect my thoughts. Since Ash separated us, we¡¯ve been speaking mostly over the lich bond. It wasn¡¯t something consciously decided, but a natural product of broken trust. Ash is like a prison warden, with Maria and I under his constant watch. Speaking over the lich bond is the only method of private communication. I spoke to Eury, I reply simply. I inhale the taste of the lake and the scent of wet soil. We¡¯re no longer in the rift. It¡¯s the first time since our training started that Ash brought us back to the plane¡¯s surface. I presumed you contacted him, but you were out of sorts while using the transmission artifact. Did he say or do something unexpected? I suppress a blush of shame. No, it was nothing like that. I ended up venting to him like a child. About what? I click my tongue. Everything¨Cthis whole, tangled mess of Achemiss and the Infinity loop and Ash. She pulls me in tighter. I feel her lips on the back of my head. Do you feel better now? There¡¯s still time to call Germaine if you need someone else to talk to. Who knows when we¡¯ll be given another opportunity? Y¡¯jeni, Germaine is the last person I want to talk to when I¡¯m raw like this. Knowing that I¡¯m suffering will only make her worry. Or you could talk to Soolemar, Maria suggests. It¡¯s fine, I say, cutting off the conversation. It¡¯s your turn. Call Kaiwen or whoever else is important. She holds me without saying anything or reaching for the transmission artifact. I grab her hands and gently close them around the artifact¡¯s length. We don¡¯t have much time, I remind her. Ash didn¡¯t say how long the break would be. Go. Still wrapped around me, her body goes limp. I gently lower her to the ground and stand up, stretching. I sense Ash fifty feet away in a copse of trees, the man keeping his distance as a small courtesy. I wish I could use my Remorse affinity to sense his emotions, but I can¡¯t call the ability forth. It¡¯s like trying to move your legs when your spine is severed. You know how it feels to move¨Cthe instinct is right. But there¡¯s a disconnect. That disconnect is my poor affinity. Ash doesn¡¯t have a potentioreader, but he has another device¨Ca wristband that changes color when I practice. This one¡¯s attuned to Remorse. When I¡¯m in the Remorse attuned nethereal confluence, I¡¯m able to get the color up from its baseline to a burnt orange. Ash says that means my affinity scrapes the 22% mark with the nethereal energy boost. ¡°You have four years,¡± he had told me, back when my Remorse affinity blossomed. ¡°Possibly more, but to be safe, four. Four years to stabilize this affinity and unlock a third.¡± I¡¯d thought that if I spent years here gaining strength, that wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing. I was planning to do training in dilated planes with Karanos anyway. But...years in this little plane, with only Ash and Maria as company, forced to practice my affinity with minimal breaks? Ash is suddenly by my side, having crossed the distance between us in a fraction of a second. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Time,¡± I reply honestly, then paralyze my facial muscles. Ash is too good at reading faces¨Ctoo good at reading me. ¡°That¡¯s a big subject.¡± I don¡¯t reply. ¡°Do you understand why we must go fast?¡± Ash asks. I give him a slight nod. ¡°It¡¯s fast now or slow later.¡± ¡°Five years, versus thousands of years,¡± Ash asserts, ¡°and only that little because you¡¯re unlocking a second affinity, not a third. And only because your teacher knows the trick of using rifts.¡± ¡°Am I supposed to keep that as a secret?¡± ¡°No, tell whoever you like. Good luck to those who intend to find a rift with nethereal and or ethereal energy. As I explained earlier, they¡¯re hard to come by in Eternity.¡± I pause, suddenly realizing something. ¡°But not down in the mortal worlds below. Rifts are stable there. If ascendants wanted to, they could go down and go into the rifts for the affinity confluences...¡± If that were true, Achemiss would never advocate for the destruction of our home world, would he? Why would he cut himself off from stable rifts if they¡¯re so useful? Ash rubs his arms and beady red eyes pop up out of the armor along his biceps, peering at me defiantly. ¡°I can guess where your mind is going, but you¡¯re off base. For people who aren¡¯t in the accelerated advancement period after awakening an affinity, even developing a second affinity takes a long time. This implies that to make use of rifts on mortal worlds, an ascendant would need to come down for an extended period of time. ¡°Not only would they place themselves at risk of being killed by others,¡± Ash says lightly, ¡°but they risk dying of old age. They can¡¯t stay in the mortal world forever without Eternity sustaining their body.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t keep yourself alive indefinitely?¡± I ask, raising an eyebrow. I find it hard to believe a Life practitioner of his caliber would fail. ¡°There is, ultimately, always a limit,¡± he says, expression somber. ¡°Our strength just determines when. Do you think I¡¯d be able to stay alive for millions of years outside of Eternity? Most mortal worlds self-destruct every few hundred or thousand years, and even an ascendant can die in a world bathed in the flames of violence.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°What about for a lich, like Maria, though? She¡¯s not even alive.¡± He smiles, revealing his fangs. ¡°Nothing ever lasts forever. But you¡¯re missing a key point, Ian. Most ascendants have no desire to master every affinity. They¡¯re content to live out their days as they are, secure in their power. There¡¯s very little they can¡¯t do.¡± He blinks. ¡°But simply subsisting goes against the will of Eternity.¡± I swallow. ¡°Eternity rewards those who dare to do the impossible.¡± Ash taps on one of the small eyes jutting from his armor, causing it to squint shut. ¡°Never lose sight of that unless you¡¯re ready to disappear from the cosmos.¡± ¡ª ¡°It¡¯s a shame you got Remorse first,¡± Ash comments. He crouches in front of me. ¡°Time was running out, so any affinity was better than none, but Beginning would have assisted in further efforts to develop other affinities. I also am ill equipped to help you with an affinity I lack.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t always get what we want.¡± Eyes closed, legs crossed in front of me, I try to feel the nethereal energy flows while reading Ash¡¯s emotions. His mental defenses are lowered so I can practice, but reading him is still almost impossible. I¡¯ve asked to practice with Maria, but Ash refuses on the grounds that Maria needs to focus on her own curriculum. There¡¯s something I¡¯ve wondered for a while, but haven¡¯t been willing to ask. In my frustration it tumbles from my mouth. ¡°Is it possible you don¡¯t have strong emotions?¡± For the first time today, I sense something from Ash in response to those words. The sensation is most similar to my sense of smell, almost like I can smell or taste people¡¯s exuded emotions. That¡¯s obviously not how skilled Remorse practitioners operate¨Cthere¡¯s no way they can smell people¡¯s thoughts or experiences. Moreover, the way Crystal describes skimming minds is acutely visual in nature. This all suggests that what I¡¯m sensing is more primitive, formless. Still, I¡¯ll take what I can get for now. ¡°Did you feel something just now?¡± he asks, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. I open my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s like when you smell something you¡¯ve encountered before, but can¡¯t put a name to it. Your emotion felt familiar but I don¡¯t know what it was, and it was gone in an instant.¡± Ash snorts. ¡°Most emotions don¡¯t have specific names. Ask people how they feel and most of the time, they¡¯re just fine. Perhaps they¡¯re tired, or frustrated, or hopeful. But almost never are they just one thing.¡± He pauses. ¡°Perhaps for the sake of your training, I should try to exude certain emotions more concretely.¡± Having a Remorse affinity makes my own emotions more tangible, harder to ignore. I recognize my own intense apprehension. But what if emotions are more than just hard to ignore? What if I can grab onto that apprehension and send it away? What if I can thrust it upon Ash? Before I can test the idea, Ash¡¯s form begins to ripple before my eyes, like there¡¯s a haze of heat around him. He¡¯s crouching less than two feet away and the temperature is constant, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯s using his Sun affinity. Then the waves of heat reach me and I almost gasp. I feel rage like I¡¯ve never felt before. The rage is at once within and without me. It¡¯s dominating my own emotions, making me angry, and also acting upon me. Every memory of Mother¡¯s verbal abuse rushes to the forefront of my mind. It¡¯s a visceral, debilitating assault that catches me off guard. Memories I¡¯d thought I¡¯d suppressed of the darkest of times¨Cthose first few years in Father¡¯s absence, when Mother drowned in brokenness¨Ccircle like sharks, biting into my psyche. ¡°Stop,¡± I call out hoarsely. The assault is comparable to when Cayeun Suncloud toyed with my memories and emotions during the celebration of mirrors. But Suncloud isn¡¯t here, and Ash doesn¡¯t have a Remorse affinity, so why am I so affected? A dark suspicion enters my mind. What if Remorse is a double-edged sword, and I can be as affected by what I sense as others are affected by me? I feel sick as I think about being a Remorse practitioner on a battlefield. To stay sane during the Ho¡¯ostar Peninsula war, I hardened my emotions, justifying violence to myself. But even then, I often couldn¡¯t bring myself to kill people in the cold blood, sending armies of constructs to do it for me. But what if you can¡¯t ignore the emotions of the terrified and the damned, those who lay in the throes of death? In that case, there¡¯s no quarter for denial. You¡¯ll know exactly what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯ll be able to smell people¡¯s fear and taste their despair. Ash¡¯s rage increases in intensity, then abruptly dissipates. Relief buoys over my body, seeping into the air. ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Ash asks innocently. I stare at him in confusion. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I conducted an experiment,¡± he explains, smiling, ¡°to test your hypothesis that I lack strong emotions. What¡¯s your verdict?¡± My verdict, really? ¡°Where did that come from?¡± I ask, sidestepping his question. ¡°All that anger. It had to have come from somewhere.¡± ¡°Not so,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯m not a Remorse practitioner, but I have a general understanding of how the practice works. Do you think Remorse practitioners genuinely feel everything they force on others? No. They construct emotions like artists painting portraits and landscapes, or actors subsuming the identity of myriad characters. You can try to make your metaphorical emotional paintings subtle, realistic¨Clifelike. Or, you can make them fantastical and bizarre, impressionistic. But the emotion doesn¡¯t have to be real. It just has to feel real. Do you understand?¡± The fear from before stews with the anger of the present, forming tight coils of emotion around me. Rather than almost smelling them, like before, I feel them as a static charge across my skin. I wonder if it¡¯s the nethereal confluence that¡¯s giving them a physical sensation. ¡°What¡¯s your point, that Remorse practitioners should take acting classes?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be facetious,¡± Ash says. ¡°From the way you¡¯re looking at me, I think you have enough organic emotion to play with. Let¡¯s see how much you can make me feel.¡± The static shifts. I see the faintest outline of red anger and frustration arcing through the air, crackling soundlessly around Ash, though not touching him. It flashes in and out of existence, grounding itself on my body, surging back and forth, looking for an outlet. Ash often states the importance of visualization techniques. Though his methods are dubious, I can¡¯t ignore his advice. I¡¯m the source of the storm, I think, envisioning myself as a black storm cloud crackling with electricity. The red-tinged arcs grow in intensity, becoming more tangible. But I feel the energy also taint my psyche as it passes through, causing my muscles to tense and nostrils to flare. The lightning soon flows in time with my breath¨Cout, it expels the rage around Ash, still not touching him. In, it pulls a fraction of that rage back in, forming a feedback loop that compounds my emotions. This isn¡¯t sustainable. If I keep cycling the emotional energy, it¡¯s going to overwhelm me. When I next exhale, I direct the charges to enter Ash. It¡¯s easier than I expect¨Cthey obey my intentions. Ash grunts, stiffens, then blinks rapidly. I feel an odd elation in my chest, along with a cold hollowness, like I¡¯ve spent a limited resource that needs to be replenished. ¡°That...¡± Ash trails off. He coughs once. ¡°That was rather potent. You wound me.¡± His last words are flippant, but that doesn¡¯t dampen the mix of shock and elation that surrounds me. This is the first time he¡¯s praised my efforts at developing this affinity. ¡°How did that feel?¡± I ask. ¡°Not great,¡± he replies. ¡°But you¡¯re going to do it again.¡± Ash is harder to hate when he puts himself through the wringer on my behalf, and I find myself relishing the prospect of paying some of the abuse forward. I grin at him. ¡°Alright. No take backs.¡± His eyes glint and he laughs uproariously. ¡°No remorse.¡± 263. Hubris She sat on the edge of the canyon wall, her legs dangling from the overlook. To better soak up the power of the false ethereal sun, she¡¯d removed her shoes and outer garments, stripping down to a modest wrap around her chest and a skirt hanging on her waist. Ash spent the majority of his time with Ian, but checked on Maria at least once a day to status her on the curriculum. It wasn¡¯t as ambitious as Ian¡¯s at the outset, but her Sun affinity¡¯s rapid advancement had prompted Ash to make frequent revisions. Maria knew that he had been tracking her advancement closely, always statusing her wristband and asking her to explain her progress in her own words. She was still surprised that he didn¡¯t have a better way of quantifying her progress. Eyes closed, her head hanging back toward her shoulders, she reflected on the nature of ascending to the pinnacle. At lower levels of affinity, advancement was cut and dry and involved hitting developmental checkpoints. Sun affinity¨Cand more specifically, fire elementalism¨Chad a rigid progression. First, someone manifested heat. Then they gained the ability to create fire, then to control a single tongue of flame, then cast an area of effect barrage, and so on. Accordingly, practitioner universities¨Clike the one Ian attended, Academia Hector¨Csorted practitioners into classes based on affinity level, assisting them in developing relevant competencies. At the peak practitioner level, there weren¡¯t obvious competencies to develop. Before then, skill and insight shaped the development and application of the core competencies at each echelon of power. Divergence was most often realized in affinities like Death that had multiple complicated sub-specializations. While Death practitioners could walk all specialization paths, mastering everything required too much time and most practitioners had a knack for one sub-specialization over the others. Practitioners had always been rare enough that any middling affinity brought wealth and power¨Cthere was no incentive for most to do more than the bare minimum of practicing the same sub-discipline every day. Ambition was dangerous. People like Ian who mastered all aspects of Death were anomalous, but even Ian had a preference for osteomancy¨Cthe shaping of bones¨Cand animancy¨Cthe distillation of Death energy into soul gems. These specializations were what influenced the path of a peak practitioner approaching the pinnacle. She¡¯d read all kinds of biographies of powerful Sun practitioners and analyzed how they¡¯d developed their practice. It had all been pointless until her Sun affinity awakened from quasi-dormancy. But as she¡¯d researched the myriad paths of peak practitioners, Maria endeavored to break down their personal successes, juxtaposing paths of progression. As a girl, she¡¯d delved into the problem with youthful enthusiasm, convinced that she¡¯d be the one to find the secret to success¨Cand with it, the key to unlocking both her Sun affinity and her mother¡¯s affection. To no one¡¯s surprise, she¡¯d failed. As she grew older, she attributed her failure to a lack of data points. Peak practitioners were rare. Moreover, data on Sun practitioners, particularly those who wielded fire elementalism, was locked down and unavailable because they were strategic assets¨Cin other words, living weapons of the state. Which brings us to the Infinity Loop, Maria thought. More practitioners, more data points, and perhaps finally answers. I thought we could write the book on advancement to the pinnacle and position Selejo to lead the West into a new era, eclipsing the East. Ash had lived for who knows how long and must have met innumerable ascendants, all of whom had attained mastery in at least one affinity. Since Ash considered himself a scientist and was personally vested in the study of developing affinities, she expected him to have the answers that she¡¯d failed to find years ago. In Eternity, he had all the data points he needed. And yet¨Che gave her a bracelet and asked her to explain herself in her own words. The bracelet was the most basic form of quantification and mirrored the capabilities of the potentioreader back home. She understood its utility. But explaining herself, freeform? No targeted questions? No measures of achievement? Was the path of ascension really so inscrutable, her ambitions nothing more than hubris? If that wasn¡¯t hubris, then entering the Infinity Loop and hoping to find salvation certainly had been. Maria remembered her desperation then with distinct clarity. Her mind drifted...and she lost herself in those bittersweet memories. ¡ª There hadn¡¯t been adequate time to configure the Infinity Loop for her specific usage. In the end, Zilverna¡¯s loop scenario had been selected because it started in Selejo¨Cthough in Pardin, not Cunabulus, as would have been ideal¨Cincluded Dunai, and Maria had already watched recordings of it. The Dunai of the Infinity Loop was outdated¨Cas the Fassari Summit made clear¨Cbut it was better than nothing. But Maria didn¡¯t make Zilverna¡¯s naive mistake of attacking Dunai from the very beginning. No¨Cshe¡¯d first consolidated her burgeoning Sun practice. Her End was already at its peak and difficult to improve substantially, even with years of dilated time to work with. Sun, on the other hand, was a reservoir of untapped potential. It was as though she were a blind man given sight. She awakened her Sun affinity when Zilverna died, but she hadn¡¯t even realized the metaphorical muscle was there until later, and hadn¡¯t known how to flex it. But in the loop, she could work the new affinity with single-minded dedication. Her first goal was to solidify basic control over her practice using her knowledge of the fundamentals. I wake with the dawn, when the sun rises and enhances my practice. I kill myself at the sun¡¯s setting to begin again. Soon, practicing her Sun affinity became as easy as breathing. It was almost like limbering up a sleeping limb, or remembering knowledge that she¡¯d forgotten. There was a limit to what she could learn alone. It had taken Zilverna months to return to Cunabulus to learn from Selejo¡¯s best practitioner instructors. The stubborn boy had been prideful enough to think that he could master his affinity through sheer grit and repetition like a certain decemancer. It took Maria two weeks to progress through basic mastery of the fundamentals. As soon as her progress slowed, she immediately traveled to her palace, the Cuna. Because she appeared as herself¨Cthe Eldemari¨Cshe had anyone she desired at her disposal. She received instruction from her very best practitioners, practiced against her generals and confidantes. She told them of the situation and the dire straits their nation faced. All rallied to the cause, pushing her beyond her limits, growing her power faster than she¡¯d ever thought possible. She effectively ignored Dunai for the first year and a half spent in the Infinity Loop. He didn¡¯t know or care who she was; from his perspective, he¡¯d just escaped the loop and found his mother. Stolen story; please report. But her curiosity won out, eventually, and she¡¯d found him. Without her sending agents after him, Dunai had actually remained in Selejo. Once he realized nobody was going to come to enslave him¨Cand that somehow, he¡¯d managed to fly under the radar¨Che had even returned to Academia Hector. In the loop, there was no Ari, no ascendant. The loop didn¡¯t recognize Dunai as a half-step ascendant, just a peak practitioner. What a mess we made, Maria had thought bitterly, realizing the reality that might have been, had things been simpler...had Dunai not crossed that final threshold into immortality. It was at that point that Maria realized they may have grossly misunderstood Dunai, a problem she intended to rectify. She found him outside of Academia Hector by the ocean where he¡¯d practiced in the loop recording. He¡¯d almost freezed to death, then, but now he came ready for the chilly weather. She¡¯d observed as he played with his practice, indulging in the joy of creation, of bending bone and shell to his whims. Bone whales and dolphins flew over the waves, fish dancing among them. She¡¯d seen a figment of that joy for creation in the Infinity Loop recording, but it was different seeing it in person, and it was different seeing a Dunai who thought that his future was bright and unfettered. She¡¯d held out her hands, had let fire dance upon them, and had frowned. She knew why she was in the loop, understood her grim task. She knew what had to be done. She¡¯d let that desperate need both consume her and grow distant. She couldn¡¯t maintain her initial urgency forever; soon what drove her on was her tenacious determination and iron sense of duty. But she was burning out, like a taper in the wind, down to the end of her wick. In that moment, watching Dunai above the waves conducting an orchestra of bones, she wanted what he had. She wanted to understand. And she realized who her next teacher needed to be. She¡¯d approached him then, on a whim. At first he startled, plunging the bones into the water. But she had shaken her head, told him not to worry. He¡¯d fucking killed her in an instant. She couldn¡¯t exactly blame him¨Cshe¡¯d found out his secret¨Cbut seriously? He couldn¡¯t have had time to properly look at her and discern her identity. He hadn¡¯t even asked her any questions. Maybe it was because she¡¯d startled him. Maria tried a different approach next time. She found him alone in a coffee shop outside the university. She knew he¡¯d recognize her¨Calmost anyone would, since she was the Eldemari and in Selejo¨Cso she borrowed the services of one of her Life practitioner retainers and changed her face. She¡¯d sat down in the chair across from him and taken out a glosspad, pretending to be busy. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Dunai had said, surprising her by initiating. His gaze was intense, scrutinizing. ¡°Why have you come to me?¡± She¡¯d raised an eyebrow. ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± Lowering his voice, he¡¯d said, ¡°I can sense a powerful practitioner when I meet one. You¡¯re the most powerful I¡¯ve ever met, aside from myself. You don¡¯t seem to have bad intentions, so who on earth are you?¡± She¡¯d frozen at that. ¡°If I tell you the truth, you must promise not to kill me, at least for today.¡± He¡¯d frowned, but nodded his head. ¡°I can agree to that.¡± Then he¡¯d smiled softly. ¡°Assuming I¡¯d be able to kill you, anyway.¡± ¡ª There was a part of herself that she¡¯d succeeded in hiding from Dunai, when he¡¯d entered her soul in the lightless plane. It was a part of her that she¡¯d shunted to the furthest corners of her mind, a part so filled with self-loathing that it was but a shadowy stain. It was the part of her that had fallen in love with the decemancer who taught her to love fire, who showed her that advancement didn¡¯t need to be painful and solitary. That part of her had broken when the loop suddenly ended and she remembered why she¡¯d entered it and what she must do. Who she needed to kill. She was the Eldemari. She could do anything, kill anyone, do what needed to be done at any cost to preserve her nation and forge a path for her son. There was no room in the Eldemari¡¯s heart to love the half-step ascendant Ignatius Julian Dunai. So why was it that at the moment the man had been weakest¨Cwhen he¡¯d entered the soul of the dying Euryphel and placed himself at the mercy of Ari... Why was it she¡¯d interceded on his behalf? How could I let someone who loves so strongly¨Cloves his practice, loves his friend, perhaps, in another world, another time, loves me¨Cextinguish? Maria hated herself for that moment of sympathy and weakness. For she knew Dunai hated as much as he loved, and in this world, she was certainly no object of affection. She hated herself for loving the man who undid her world, but in truth...she had never hated him. ¡ª ¡°Let me be frank,¡± Ash began. He held the stalk of a white flower in his hand, then plucked a petal free and tossed it over the edge of the desert canyon. In the intense light of the overhead ethereal energy, the petal blended into the bleached backdrop. Maria¡¯s eyes tracked its descent as it flipped back and forth, eventually falling out of sight behind a pillar of rock before reaching the canyon floor. ¡°I underestimated you.¡± He glanced down at her colored wristband. ¡°You¡¯ve already increased your Sun affinity by two percent.¡± Maria tried to hide her surprise at the admission. ¡°I¡¯ve been developing it non-stop since you brought me here. The ethereal Sun confluence is an incalculable aid.¡± Moreover, training here was similar to training within the Infinity Loop. She was isolated and driven, freed from external distractions. Maria didn¡¯t desire worldly comforts. If she was honest with herself, training in isolation¨Cespecially when her improvements were so tangible¨Cwas preferable to being the Eldemari back home in Selejo. Still, she much preferred advancing with Ian. Ash sighed wistfully. ¡°An initial advancement period happens when you first awaken. Intense external influences might prompt a so-called second awakening, especially in those with low affinities, accompanied by a brief period of rapid advancement. For both cases, you should be past the window of opportunity.¡± ¡°Perhaps it has something to do with being a lich?¡± Maria suggested. Ash smiled. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to determine. Unfortunately, your situation with Ian is rather unique. He¡¯s advanced more rapidly than an overwhelming majority of ascendants. Moreover, he has you. Of all the Death practitioners who ascend, how many ascend within five years of awakening? And of those, how many have sufficient mastery of necromancy to create a lich while still within the rapid advancement period?¡± ¡°Very few,¡± Maria replied. Their group hadn¡¯t met or heard of many ascendants, but aside from Ian, none so far satisfied those criteria. As a necromancer, Achemiss was half there, but Maria was certain the man slowly developed his affinity over time. He wasn¡¯t a prodigy like Ian who mastered decemancy on his own and without a teacher, relying only on a book and his intuition. Ash¡¯s gaze was hungry. ¡°Ian is the only practitioner I have ever met to satisfy those criteria. I think that as his construct, you also benefit from his rapid advancement.¡± If true, that was an extraordinary boon for her development. Maria hated how Ash micromanaged them and kept her and Ian separated, even finding a way to silence their lich bond because it was a supposed distraction. Karanos pushed them hard, but he was never so controlling. He respected their autonomy as adults and practitioners. Ash clearly thought of them as¨Cand treated them like¨Cexperimental subjects. But there was a part of her that understood that urge, the desire to keep them in a controlled environment to obtain the best results. If that was the price she had to pay for lasting power, she was willing to pay it. Ian...wasn¡¯t as forgiving. He didn¡¯t understand why Ash needed to keep them on such a tight leash when they were internally driven to advance and would work hard on their own. Ash¡¯s chitin armor began to tremble and clack like rocks in the first seconds of an earthquake. His hand darted forward and clasped the projector displaying Maria¡¯s curriculum. To Maria, the text looked like jumbled nonsense. When Ash removed his hand, she could tell that the gibberish was different. ¡°You can listen to the dictation of the revised curriculum later; for now, I¡¯ll be reciting it as necessary.¡± He darted away, then stood expectantly in the distance. White, violet, and gold wildflowers covered his shins, marking the end of the Sun confluence¡¯s desert climate. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Maria called out, taking one last look at the desolate, bone-strewn canyon before joining Ash. The grass wiped dusty grits away from her bare toes. He grinned at her, fangs glinting. ¡°To Ian.¡± 264. The Key The world beyond me is static. Before, crystallized Beginning burned my fingers with caustic, chemical heat. The burning is gone, but the Beginning¨Ca kind of frozen sap¨Cstill flummoxes my senses, even my vital vision. It would be an excellent weapon of disorientation if it could exist beyond the bounds of a rift. When my teeth begin to chatter along with my vibrating hands, I drop the mass of Beginning into my lap, heaving a breath. The fact that I¡¯m hovering at the center of a prismatic geode doesn¡¯t help my disorientation¨Cfor a moment, I don¡¯t know which way is up or down. In my recovering state, it takes me a moment to notice Maria and Ash¡¯s presence. Hello, love, Maria begins, smiling. You¡¯re here? I ask, my gaze fixing on Ash. I feel my stomach drop. What is he planning to do with her? Ash¡¯s mouth cracks open. ¡°Defensive¨Ccute.¡± He chuckles. ¡°You can¡¯t defend her from me, Ian. Thankfully, you won¡¯t need to.¡± I blink. ¡°Why is she here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve worked with many practitioners, tried numerous instructional techniques to maximize results. What I discovered was, at least for me, counter-intuitive. It was always better to pull than push, motivate rather than threaten. You have your own inward motivation, but it¡¯s tainted by the threat of death and apocalypse. And so, I¡¯ve brought another source of motivation with me.¡± He points. ¡°Maria.¡± She gives me a small wave, then looks at Ash. ¡°You said you¡¯d dictate the new curriculum.¡± He inclines his head. ¡°Go over to Ian. See how he¡¯s sitting in the middle of the crystal?¡± He gestures to the geode¡¯s fractured walls. ¡°You need to be in the same place.¡± Maria approaches, lithely stepping over the uneven crystal interior. I hover myself slightly forward, only for Ash to control the Life in my body and nudge me back into place. If I don¡¯t move, there won¡¯t be room for her. ¡°We can¡¯t both occupy the same space at the same time,¡± I protest. As the words leave my lips, Maria sits down in my lap, pushing the crystallized Beginning into my groin. My face contorts and I shift my legs, letting the crystal drop. Ash leans forward and grabs it, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Was that so hard?¡± I don¡¯t answer him. At least Maria¡¯s body is cool and won¡¯t be cause for overheating. ¡°Now that you¡¯re both in position, you¡¯re to grab the Beginning together.¡± He holds up the caramelized clump of Beginning and deposits it in my waiting hands. The world gradually begins its descent into static, but after months of practice, I¡¯ve gotten progressively better at staving it off. I should be able to hold it for a few minutes before my vision goes fully white. I feel Maria¡¯s body freeze. ¡°Wait¨Cthis is Beginning?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ash replies simply. He sounds distant to my overtaxed ears. She¡¯s quiet for a moment. ¡°Can you do the same, then, to End? Externalize it?¡± I feel the vibrations from her throat in my chest, radiating through my body. ¡°By the time I¡¯m done with you, you¡¯ll be able to answer that question yourself.¡± I feel Maria¡¯s arms shift, her hands nearing mine. She tugs apart my tense fingers and inserts her own into the gaps. She convulses against me as her fingers brush the Beginning spindles. Rather than let her jerk those fingers away, I close my hands around hers. One, I count, two, three. I open my hands and her arms fly away as though shocked, her head snapping painfully into my chin. For me, the world clears up, no longer shrouded in static. For her, it¡¯s probably still a wash of formless white, her senses fried. ¡°How was it?¡± I murmur, my lips upon her hair. She doesn¡¯t seem to hear me. I repeat the words again over our lich bond but all I receive in response is a jumble of pain, confusion, and fatigue. I sigh and address Ash. ¡°Was I like this the first time?¡± Ash scratches at his left vambrace. ¡°Your reaction was much more explosive. You only touched the Beginning for a moment and were insensate.¡± ¡°Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?¡± He hums. ¡°Inconclusive, at this time. Can you fix your lich?¡± Everywhere Maria presses against me, I can sense with unparalleled clarity the state of her vessel. Her sensory organs are more and less than what they once were. Some, like her tongue, no longer function¨CMaria cannot taste. Others, like her eyes, her skin, her ears, can sense, but only through the blessing of Death energy. The static I felt before affects her ability to process the senses, and exists wholly in the domain of the remote phylactery in my void storage. With tender fingers, I withdraw a bronze key and hold it up to the light refracted by the geodes. Scintillating sun rays decorate its curvature, casting its old, warped edges in shining white. ¡°It is not often I see a lich¡¯s phylactery,¡± Ash says, unmoving. ¡°The fragile heart of an immortal creature, laid bare. How did you choose this as the vessel?¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°I needed something that wouldn¡¯t break,¡± I reply honestly. ¡°And something to complete the symbology of the chant that anchored her soul.¡± His eyes shine. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°You wish to know the chant?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you promise to answer a future question of mine without reservations,¡± I offer. He agrees immediately. ¡°This is the relevant part: ¡®I dare to pluck a thread / to unmake the weave / to bring back the dead / to unturn the key.¡¯¡± ¡°Simple,¡± Ash observes. ¡°That really worked?¡± ¡°Of course it worked. I¡¯m no wordsmith, nor do I have the wisdom of age-old ascendants. If that was a prerequisite for success in the dark art, I wouldn¡¯t be where I am today.¡± ¡°What does this key unlock?¡± Ash asks. The phylactery is familiar in my hands, though it feels oddly small. ¡°It doesn¡¯t unlock anything, anymore.¡± Mother changed the lock to our apartment a few months before I left for Academia Hector. It was a decades old key, thick bronze with several teeth warped by use. Towards the end, only jimmying the key at exactly the right angle into the rusted keyhole unlocked the door. It was a cast of one of the keys my great-grandfather first acquired when he came to Jupiter, purchased to outfit the towering mansion our offshoot of the family had called home. But coincident with the family¡¯s decline and eventual ruination, that mansion was sold, cannibalized, and ultimately converted to a large multi-family home. We¡¯d retained ownership of a sliver of the property. As the locks of other residences gradually switched over to newer mechanisms with the passage of the years, only Father was stubborn enough to keep the same lock and key. The keys had been lost over the years and steadily replaced, but that hadn¡¯t mattered to him. They were all the same key, at least in spirit. Mother held onto the old keys as long as she could. I was honestly surprised the day she decided to replace them. Did it mean she¡¯d finally healed enough to let go of one more remembrance of her husband? I still don¡¯t know the answer. ¡°So a key of sentiment,¡± Ash assumes. He¡¯s neither right nor wrong. I¡¯d kept the key on a small keyring that I had with me when I¡¯d woken up in Pardin. I didn¡¯t have many belongings after fleeing Selejo, so I¡¯d carried the keyring along from place to place, unthinkingly dumping it into the void storage. I hadn¡¯t given it much thought until I dug it out and used it for Maria¡¯s resurrection. Sometimes we carry things with us for reasons we can¡¯t explain, unable to discard them like common detritus. They lurk in the back of our minds, ready to be useful when least expected. I snap out of my thoughts as Maria groans and recall Ash¡¯s original question: Can you fix your lich? Her phylactery is energized from within, almost tickling my fingers. Her soul is sealed away, folded into the tiny vessel. I can imagine it straining at the edges, looking for an escape, never finding one. Moving the key toward Maria¡¯s chest, I feel a resonance that marks the gateway between her physical body and her imprisoned soul. I slowly shake my head. ¡°What¡¯s happening to her is natural,¡± I observe. ¡°It¡¯s the stretching of her soul. There¡¯s nothing I can do save bear the burden for her, but then she won¡¯t improve.¡± ¡°Then bear it for her,¡± he says. I frown. ¡°I thought you brought her as motivation.¡± He laughs. ¡°You thought to compete against her in advancement?¡± Am I supposed to laugh along with him? It¡¯s not funny. ¡°Then what was your intent?¡± ¡°Maria can help you advance. She is your motivation because her assistance will cause her pain, and she¡¯ll take it upon herself willingly. But you can divest her of that pain by taking it into yourself.¡± Why would I strengthen myself at her expense? I shake my head. ¡°Or, we¡¯ll both gain the power of Beginning, and be twice as strong for it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too smart to speak words so stupid.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°Did you entertain delusions that you would unlock a third affinity while here with me? What have I told you?¡± ¡°That a third affinity is drastically more difficult to attain than a second.¡± ¡°Precisely.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s why we¡¯re here, in this special rift. And I also have the advantage of having recently awakened my Remorse affinity, extending the period of rapid advancement.¡± ¡°That would still never be good enough on its own¨Ceven with the boon of rapid advancement, awakening a third affinity within five years would be impossible, and after that point you would advance as slowly as the rest of us. You wouldn¡¯t unlock your third affinity for many years, if ever¨Cyou¡¯d need to be strong enough to never die once over that entire time.¡± ¡°Then why should I bother training anything aside from Remorse?¡± I ask. He threads his fingers together behind his back and leans forward, his posture predatory. ¡°To win against Achemiss, a Remorse affinity won¡¯t be enough. You need an affinity that still works well even at low levels, like Beginning, or Regret. Unfortunately, even I don¡¯t have knowledge of a stable rift attuned to Regret. It¡¯s the reason that I, myself, do not have a Regret affinity. But Beginning is the next best bet.¡± He chuckles darkly. ¡°Against the odds, you managed to awaken Remorse first. Better to awaken Remorse than nothing at all, however... we need something more.¡± ¡°You just said it¡¯s impossible to get something more within five years.¡± Besides, I¡¯ve already spent a few months sequestered away in this rift¨CI don¡¯t even want to think about spending years here. ¡°For you or Maria individually, it¡¯s impossible. But I have a suspicion that your advancement is tied, that Maria also benefits from your boon.¡± He laughs. ¡°In Eternity there is such a thing as a perfect storm. Eternity¡¯s machinations reduce us all to pawns, but I am not an unwilling one. Eternity reveals to us the edge of the evolving, expanding possible. Before I met you I would have said the making of an ancient required thousands of years of devoted pursuit at the barest minimum. But now I see it may not be so. I¡¯ve received Eternity¡¯s invitation to experience what perhaps none has experienced before. It¡¯s been too long.¡± I run my free hand through Maria¡¯s hair. ¡°You sound so certain of success.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not certain of anything,¡± Ash retorts, smiling grimly, his fangs on full display. ¡°But I see the world in terms of probabilities, potentials. It is the gaze of a Beginning practitioner¨Cthe lens of likelihood. Do you know what my affinity whispers to me about your chances of attaining a Beginning?¡± I just stare at him, though he takes that as invitation to expound. ¡°There was no chance, before. Now there is a rounding error of a sliver.¡± ¡°So it is impossible, then.¡± He strides forward and is suddenly before me, moving too fast for me to track. He stares into Maria¡¯s absent eyes, his mouth still locked into an eerie, hungry grin. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± 265. Might Have Broken Him Maria hissed between clenched teeth as Ian wrung the energy of Beginning out of her for what felt like the millionth time. Her fingers popped off the crystallized Beginning deposit. ¡°Sorry,¡± he whispered. She could feel the tension in his muscles against her back. ¡°It is what it is,¡± Maria replied softly. ¡°You know I¡¯m anything but fragile. Again.¡± She clenched the Beginning tightly in her fingers, inviting the shock of blinding white static into her system. Ian siphoned it away almost as quickly as it came. She held on for as long as she could before, in her disorientation, her unfeeling fingers drifted from the Beginning spindles. They practiced relentlessly, Maria taking the energy into herself and Ian stripping it out. Only when the ethereal energy ebbed did they stop and go their separate ways to cultivate nethereal attuned affinities, Ian focusing on Remorse and Maria on End. The more they cycled Beginning together, the more convinced Ash became that the boon of rapid advancement didn¡¯t act on a linear scale, but instead compounded. With that knowledge in hand, Ian and Maria raced to achieve the impossible. Ash even suggested at one point that Ian depart and bind more liches, but the necromancer had shut that idea down. I don¡¯t understand why it worked the first time, he¡¯d explained in exasperation. It was my emotion that made it possible. Without using a different technique, I couldn¡¯t replicate that success unless resurrecting someone I cared about. Maria had felt somewhat vindicated at that moment. She wasn¡¯t just some common construct, easily replicated. Moreover, her resurrection had only been possible because Ian had cared about her. She hadn¡¯t known concretely how Ian felt back on the lightless plane when they worked together to subdue Karanos. The man was tight-lipped when it came to his feelings. They¡¯d built up a rapport after days of working together, but Maria had questioned the depth of his affections. Their relationship only deepened after she became Ian¡¯s construct; consequently, she held onto doubts that he only loved her because she was beholden to him completely. He didn¡¯t treat her like a slave, but she¡¯d be remiss to forget that a lich¡¯s bond is, ultimately, to a master. Maria had a vague understanding of Ian¡¯s past and his parents. She knew how children inherited the sins¨Cand more specifically, patterns of behavior¨Cof their fathers. Both of Ian¡¯s parents left much to be desired, the mother and father wielding manipulative emotional abuse as their weapons of choice to control, dominate, and demean. She saw the effects of their violence in Ian¡¯s reticence to engage in political maneuvering and his desire to withdraw and be free of external quibbles. Whenever night fell and she moved to practice her End affinity alone, her thoughts wandered to topics regarding the future and her relationship with Ian. She tried to remain focused, but it was hard when she effectively trained non-stop every day without breaks. I know what I¡¯m fighting for, Maria told herself as her eyelids began to drift shut. The future of Selejo¨Cthe future of our world. I won¡¯t suffer regrets that I didn¡¯t try hard enough. The little black orb in charge of her curriculum interrupted her thoughts by repeating the current objective: ¡°Externalization of End. Prerequisites: control over ascendant energy, peak End affinity. Objective: use the chaos of ascendant energy to ink End directly into existence. Step one¡­¡± Ash kept them too exhausted to properly register the passage of time. Every moment was a bone-tired agony, drawn out, but when she tried to remember the past hours, all was cloaked in a haze. In this manner, the days flowed like water. ¡ª Liches didn¡¯t have a need for sleep, but as Maria¡¯s eyes snapped open, her body jolting to alertness in Ian¡¯s lap, she felt like she¡¯d overslept for a meeting. ¡°Ian,¡± she said suddenly, once she realized where they were. He didn¡¯t answer her. In fact, his body felt cold. She gripped his folded legs and squeezed, trying to stimulate the ascendant to action. She whipped around and beheld Ian¡¯s unfocused stare, his cheeks sallow, hair greasy, his body thin. Ian hasn¡¯t died and refreshed in...a long time. When did this become our new normal? At some point in their pursuit of power with Ash, Ian had given himself over entirely to bettering his practice, living like an ascetic. Looking at him now, she could imagine him sitting with the old monks in the state of Seven, where they allegedly subsisted off of pine needles and sat unmoving, waiting for the approach of death. ¡°Ash!¡± Maria called. Suddenly the ancient was behind her. He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her away, then waved his hand. As Maria landed lithely on the crystals with her feet staggered, green light suffused Ian¡¯s body, Ash¡¯s vitality potent enough to be visible. Ian¡¯s atrophied muscles regained their definition and his skin lost its pallor. Ian blinked, then coughed and fell from the center of the geode onto the crystals, landing hard on his knees. He winced and cried out. Maria could see the white vitality of his blood darkening as it smeared the crystals. Ian staggered to his feet, then seemed to remember his faculties and hovered himself a foot above the uneven crystals. He looked around with a dazed, yet oddly focused expression, reminding Maria of elders on the streets with untreated memory loss. It was as though everything was new, unfamiliar, and potentially dangerous. Without warning, Ash slapped Ian across the face. The necromancer reacted on instinct to block the move, his arm shooting up in front of his face. Maria recognized the motion¨Cback when they¡¯d traveled with Karanos, she¡¯d drilled Ian on combat maneuvers herself. It felt like those days were an eternity ago. Blocking the slap seemed to have aroused Ian from his haze. He kept his eyes closed and his posture was subdued as he spoke. ¡°Was it enough?¡± ¡°Look at the wristband and see,¡± Ash said. Maria looked at it, noting the shift in the bracelet¡¯s hue. Ian kept his eyes closed. ¡°It¡¯s hard to look. Overwhelming in a way that Death and Remorse are not.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Ash grunted. ¡°Though I can¡¯t speak from experience, Remorse will overwhelm once you leave this place and have countless thinking minds around you.¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± Ian sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t need to look at the wristband to know. I suddenly¨CI just know things that I shouldn¡¯t. See connections that I shouldn¡¯t be able to see. If this is what I experience, you certainly can¡¯t be using your Beginning at all times. Peak Beginning practitioners can¡¯t¨Cthey would go insane.¡± ¡°Beginning is always active, but there is a method to leveraging its madness, ways to dial it back. You¡¯re nowhere near the point of that being necessary, however. What do you reckon you awakened it as?¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have an answer to that question,¡± Ian began. ¡°But as I think on it, memories I¡¯ve long forgotten bob to the surface, interactions with Beginning practitioners throughout the course of my life. The memories come slowly, and many more feel like they¡¯re just beyond my grasp.¡± He paused. ¡°Beginning practitioners can be evaluated in terms of speed, accuracy, and concurrency. How quickly, how well, and how many questions can the mind process?¡± Ian shook his head. ¡°I think¡­something around 30%. Higher than Remorse.¡± ¡°Your affinity is 27%,¡± Ash corrected. ¡°Now, open your eyes.¡± Ash turned to Maria. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t open them in five seconds, help him.¡± Maria reached for his face, her hand cupping his cheek. Five seconds passed. She caressed a finger against his right eyelid, then pulled it gently upward, revealing a familiar brown eye. Ian blinked, his eyelashes fluttering against her finger. Grudgingly, he opened the other, staring at her contemplatively. ¡°Hello,¡± she said. ¡°Are you well?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± He frowned. ¡°My head feels like it¡¯s going to burst, but I assume that will fade.¡± But it didn¡¯t fade¨Cin fact, it only seemed to get worse with the passing hours. Ash had given them leave to exit the rift and make some calls using the transmission artifact, but Ian was in no state to activate it. Soon he was curled up on the ground, a bed of dead leaves cradling his head as a pillow. ¡°Why is he like this?¡± Maria asked, trying her best to constrain her accusatory tone. ¡°How could I know? He¡¯s the youngest ancient possibly ever, and that¡¯s no small achievement. We couldn¡¯t know the ramifications when we set out on this path. But take heart¨Cwhy would Eternity place us in his path, orchestrating this moment, only for Ian to falter after achieving the impossible?¡± Maria didn¡¯t have an answer, but she couldn¡¯t dispel the unease in her chest. She considered calling Crystal or Karanos, but didn¡¯t know what to say. She couldn¡¯t find it in her to rifle through Ian¡¯s void storage to retrieve the artifact. A day passed. Ash and Maria waited next to Ian. At first Maria was surprised that Ash hadn¡¯t corralled her away to work on her curriculum. You won¡¯t be able to focus with him like this, Ash had explained, unbidden. So stay with him. I won¡¯t force you to leave. After another day with Ian delirious and unresponsive, they decided to kill the necromancer and reset his body. ¡°He¡¯s already advanced as much as is reasonable,¡± Ash said. ¡°He¡¯ll keep the gains for the affinities he awakened.¡± Ash let Maria do the honors. She killed him cleanly, severing his neck from his shoulders by creating a small tear in the veil. She could have incinerated him, but that felt too much like a cremation for her tastes. He¡¯s not dead. When Ian reappeared in the same catatonic state, Ash said words that tore Maria¡¯s heart in half: ¡°You know, it¡¯s possible I might have broken him.¡± The delivery was casual, as though Ash were discussing the weather. Maria blinked, her mouth agog. Before letting incipient anger consume her, she took a calming breath. Her anger was such that literal steam from her elementalism left her nostrils. He¡¯s doing this on purpose, she reasoned. He knows exactly how to push my buttons. That he¡¯s pushing them now means he wants to direct my behavior. ¡°You know how to fix him, then,¡± Maria postulated, her fists clenched. Ash shrugged, then grinned. Maria wanted to slap the expression off his face. ¡°There is usually more than one answer to any problem. Rather than sitting around twiddling your thumbs, why not try to use your gifts to save your man from oblivion?¡± Maria felt like screaming, but a life at court gave her the skills to compartmentalize. Screaming wouldn¡¯t solve her problems. Why would learning a third affinity cause a young ascendant to break? Maria¡¯s mind raced to think of a reason. The soul, she realized. There¡¯s only one thing that remains static through deaths in Eternity¨Cthe soul. The more she considered, the more convinced she became. The soul was tied to affinity and the mind. It was defined by memory, and the weight of existence pressed upon it, shaping its tight, coiled structure within a person. She only knew that because Ian had explained it to her. Understanding the anatomy of souls was critical to comprehending how corruption manifested itself upon them. And a soul, lengthening with its longevity, coiling ever tightly inward...might it become unstable if set off kilter? A cup filled to the brim would remain upright in a breeze, while one filled only to the quarter mark might topple. Maria didn¡¯t know the answers to her many questions. More importantly, she had no idea how she was supposed to look into Ian¡¯s soul. That was his domain as a necromancer¨Cshe had no such gift. As she leaned over Ian, lost in thought, Ash cleared his throat. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing an awful lot of thinking. Let me spare you some of that effort¨CI¡¯d suggest you try using End.¡± Like Death, End affinity had the ability to influence the ethereal body, but it wasn¡¯t the same. Maria still didn¡¯t understand. She was so tired, so exhausted from everything. Her mind wasn¡¯t working as well as it should. Ash clicked his tongue. ¡°If you want Ian to do something, make him. You have oaths, methods of applying compulsions upon those at your mercy.¡± Maria bowed her head to him, thankful for the clearly-worded suggestion. She couldn¡¯t deal with ambiguity and puzzles, not now. An oath began to take form, draped over Ian like a gossamer spider web. Maria wrote it in carbonized ash, then anointed it with her practice. As her ascendant energy manifested, the array turned a burnished gold color and floated an inch. It began to slowly rotate before slamming down on Ian from all directions, folding to contour his body. Maria took a special stylus from her storage and pricked Ian on the arm. When she withdrew it, a thread of blood trailed behind it in the air like a red bead of saliva. She made broad strokes over the existing array, emphasizing a hexagram otherwise obscured by all the other writings. Ian¡¯s blood steadily seeped into the array, dying the gold sanguine red. It was a blood oath¨Cfundamentally, one of the simplest and most barbaric of oaths in that it forced the bleeding party to perform actions without their consent. Observers back home wouldn¡¯t recognize it for a blood oath, however¨Cit was far more complicated than the generic blood oath employed by most. This one had a very tricky purpose, and Maria wouldn¡¯t leave any detail to chance. ¡°Simple, yet exquisite,¡± Ash nodded approvingly. Before she could properly appreciate the compliment, Maria¡¯s spirit left her body and she found herself in darkness. 266. Unmoored Entering the soul of another was unlike anything Maria had experienced, even as formerly foggy memories of Ian¡¯s previous intrusion into her soul swam in crisp definition to the forefront. Many months ago she¡¯d experienced his coming like a goddess welcoming a vanquisher into her temple. She hadn¡¯t existed as a person with an individual sense of self; she was everywhere and everything in her own micro-universe of existence. Now their positions were swapped. Maria felt like an intrepid mortal as she peered into the inky, absolute darkness, seeing without eyes, feeling without skin. She didn¡¯t know up from down, had no sense of space or time. There was, however, a fluctuating tone in the background, like crinkling static, though it sounded far off. Ian? Maria, a voice replied, reverberating around her. Suddenly, a cage of golden arrows materialized. Only when they flapped one, extending to their impossible limits, and curled toward her did she realize that they were wings. As she gazed into the fathomless darkness, she spotted a dark smudge where the wings joined together. As soon as she recognized Ian, the distance fell away like an illusion. There is no distance here, she realized. He was in front of her, she in front of him. He was made of rainbow arrows, save for the golden wings and the ring of bent, red arrows that hovered above his head. It looked like a crown of barbed wire drenched in blood. But as she inspected him, grim shackles of midnight blue came into being as though summoned by her gaze, binding his wrists and ankles. A blindfold¨Ca square of cloth formed by orange arrow shafts wickered on top of one another¨Cmaterialized next, tying behind his head, the spare cloth draping down his back over an arrow-studded spine. The bindings and blindfold visibly constricted, straining against Ian¡¯s body. He shuddered, then went limp. Ian! Maria bellowed. He didn¡¯t respond, and even began to drift off aimlessly in another direction, as though adrift on a slow river. Maria looked down at her own body and wondered what it meant for her to shout. She was made of arrows; she didn¡¯t have lungs. This place isn¡¯t real. It¡¯s the concept of things that matters, the idea. Ian was shackled, and a cloth covered both his eyes and ears. With his practice, such things would never be an impediment, but here, in the space of his soul¡­ Maria reached up hesitantly and grabbed at the blindfold, pinching it carefully between arrow-tip fingers. Ian¡¯s body went rigid and Maria¡¯s vision shifted to an unfamiliar scene. Teen Ian was in a school uniform, a tie fastened immaculately around his neck. Maria considered that to most, the setting would be completely ordinary. However, outside of filmed programs, she¡¯d never seen a classroom. That everything in the chamber was in Swellish¨Crather than her native Luxish¨Cmade it feel even more alien. Maria could feel Ian¡¯s emotions as her own as he sat in his chair. An irrepressible gloom hung over him like a blanket. Dread. Loneliness. Fear. Denial. Hopelessness. A heavy patchwork of negativity that signaled to others that they should stay away. Ian wasn¡¯t concentrating on the others in the room chatting amongst themselves. His eyes were fixed on the clock in the corner, an ancient analog model with hands powered by a gear mechanism. It was incongruous¨Cnobody used old relics like that anymore. Every tick of its hands accompanied a beat of Ian¡¯s heart. It was a countdown to the arrival of the teacher and the end of the day. The students in the room flickered and wavered like a desert mirage. Suddenly Ian was out of the classroom, returning home. Maria had seen pictures of Ian¡¯s humble family residence, but seeing it like this¨Cin Ian¡¯s soul¨Cwas a powerful experience. She viscerally felt the dingy oppressiveness as Ian¡¯s loafers squeaked on worn steps, a light flickering behind him. He arrived at his door and fumbled with a keychain, holding up a bronze key and bringing it forward with a sigh. It barely fit the keyhole, and only after fifteen seconds of practiced jimmying caused the lock to disarm. Ian slunk inside with the same skittish demeanor of the white house cat that groomed itself under the dining room table. His back brushed up against the wall as he skirted the cramped space¨Creaching down to stroke the cat as he passed by¨Cand entered his room. There, he found a card waiting for him. On the cover was Germaine and Ian sketched in great detail, the two of them smiling. Maria could feel Ian¡¯s emotions as he held up the card. To her surprise, anger was strongest. He opened the card and silently read its contents. Suddenly Maria was in his head, seeing from his point of view, no longer a spectator. Ian, his mental inner voice narrated. It was dark, sarcastic. I hope you can be excited for me, going to Gent and getting away. It¡¯s an opportunity at achieving independence, a way for me to escape the Dunai shadow. Ian¡¯s bitter thoughts surged forth: You can never escape Father¡¯s shadow. But as he kept reading, his eyes misted over. The page became harder to read. You know I¡¯ll miss you. Please don¡¯t be angry. Sorry to leave you with Mother, I know it¡¯s hard, but when it¡¯s time for you to leave...maybe you can come to Gent, too. Ian grit his teeth. As if Gent is far enough. It¡¯s merely a few hours¡¯ hovergloss ride away from Jupiter. He threw the card onto the bed, looking away. But then he peeked back to read the final words. I¡¯ll always be on Team Ian, no matter what. Please don¡¯t shut me out. Love you forever. Yours, Germaine. ¡°Ian!¡± a waspish voice snapped, muffled by the door. Maria, still embodied in Ian¡¯s skin, felt the instinctive dread and simmering anger that rose in his chest as he flinched. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. He didn¡¯t answer, his throat thick with emotion. ¡°Where is your sister?¡± He rubbed at his face with his palms, his face ashen. ¡°Gone to Gent.¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®gone to Gent¡¯?¡± Ian¡¯s body felt so, impossibly heavy, but he managed to woodenly move his legs and shuffle to the door. His face relaxed, his expression turning frigid. He cracked it open, beholding the stern, impatient gaze of his mother. ¡°If you¡¯d paid attention, it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise,¡± he said simply, standing in the doorway. ¡°You knew?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been packing the past week. Why do you think she went to the transit array station three times, each time with a large suitcase that she didn¡¯t return with?¡± Her expression matched his in iciness, her eyes shining. ¡°Let me think.¡± She made a faux-contemplative gesture, tapping her chin. ¡°Oh, right, as usual, I was working myself to the bone this entire week so we¡¯d have something to eat.¡± Not for us, Ian thought. For your revenge. He laughed inwardly. As usual. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, she¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Do you have an address?¡± Mother asked, still maintaining an aloof air. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Useless,¡± she muttered. Then she slammed the door in his face, nearly breaking his nose. Ian blinked, then began to chuckle. He walked over to his bed, then collapsed, his chest still wracked by bitter laughter. He glanced over at the glosscomp on his desk. Despair warred with fear as Ian debated getting up to get his work done. His eyes once more fixed on the form of an old wall clock, the very same one from the classroom. The dread in Maria¡¯s stomach was entirely her own¨CIan didn¡¯t find the clock¡¯s reappearance odd. With each tick of its hands, he blinked, and his body soon fell limp, as though entranced to the dance of the clock¡¯s hands. Tick. Tick. Tick. The hands started moving faster, accelerating. Ian¡¯s eyelashes fluttered like hummingbird wings, occluding his¨Cand by extension, Maria¡¯s¨Cvision. When the hands became a blur, Ian¡¯s eyes opened wide, unblinking. The hands had twisted, the minute hand strangling the hour hand. ¡°It¡¯s broken,¡± Ian murmured, standing up. He walked over, took the clock off the wall, and began digging into its internals, exposing the gear mechanism. Frowning, he removed the largest gear and held it in front of him. And the clock began to melt. Bubbles rose on its surface, forming the shapes of other old analog clocks, as it dissociated. Sighing with the same level of casual annoyance as if witnessing his cat barf on his desk, Ian reached his hand into the goopy clock and withdrew the minute and hour hands. He straightened out the minute hand and separated them. All he had now were the two hands and the large gear. Suddenly, as though many minutes had passed in an instance, the melted clock¡¯s liquid filled the room, coating every surface up to Ian¡¯s waist. It was a thick, oily substance that evaporated rapidly like dry ice, releasing rainbow fumes. A cat pawed at the door, begging to be let in, and the door swung open of its own accord. The liquid threatened to wash the white feline away, but like Ian, the cat responded with preternatural calm and acceptance and began paddling over. When the cat arrived, Ian patted it on the head, then held out the large gear. The cat sniffed it, then grossly extended its jaw and swallowed the gear whole. The cat turned translucent, ghostly, and rose from the melted clock fluid, standing on the surface. Sorry, Zefur, Ian thought, though this wasn¡¯t dream Ian, reliving a static memory¨Cit was soul Ian. I couldn¡¯t bring you back. Ian stabbed the two clock hands¨Cwhich had suddenly enlarged into 6-inch spades¨Cinto his eyes, then everything went dark. Maria gasped as the vision ended, arrow Ian once more in front of her, her hands upon the blindfold. She took a moment to collect herself. What was that with the clock? It felt like a memory had spiraled off the rails in psychedelia. There was symbolism there¨Cshe only needed to take the time to interpret it. She removed her hands and the arrow-weave cloth fell from his face, the arrows unraveling and scattering into the darkness. Instead of eyes behind the blindfold, Maria saw two dark, circular pits, as though Ian¡¯s eyes had been dug out. Not a blindfold, but a bandage, Maria realized, freezing. She didn¡¯t know what she was supposed to do next. Remove the bindings on his wrists and ankles? It almost seemed too literal, too obvious, like she was tackling the symptom of a greater problem rather than its cause. Instead of toying with the arrows binding his limbs, she placed her arrow-tipped hands on his chest. When he didn¡¯t react, she wrapped them awkwardly around his waist, avoiding the enormous wings that extended to the sides. Still he didn¡¯t react. Frowning, she brought her lips forward and kissed him on the lips, but he didn¡¯t kiss her back. He was as catatonic here as in the real world. Maria tamped down on the kernel of panic that bloomed in her gut. He¡¯s not brain dead¨Che said my name and I just saw one of his memories. Frustrated, she acted on a whim and grabbed at the thorny crown floating above his head. It¡¯s funny how you¡¯re a king in here, she thought. You flee responsibility. She yanked it and placed it on her wrist. It shrank down to the size of a bangle. A king, or a prisoner? A crown or a shackle? he asked, his voice echoing. Maria ignored the question. Ian had already confided in her about his misgivings regarding power and how his responsibility felt like a shackle, forcing his hand. She wasn¡¯t here in his soul to liberate him from his deep rooted fears and complexes. That would come with time and experience. Do you understand what¡¯s happened to you? she asked. I...am severed. The vessel cannot hold my presence. I am leaving, drifting...untethering. That didn¡¯t sound good. That¡¯s not possible, Maria replied. You¡¯re in Eternity. You can¡¯t die here. Regardless, I am broken. I am drifting. I am leaving. Like Germaine, Maria said. I don¡¯t want to be left behind, Ian murmured, his booming voice growing soft, weak. I won¡¯t leave you, Maria promised. You didn¡¯t leave me. With arrow teeth reminiscent of shark fangs, she bit her lip. How can I help? What can I do? If the vessel is unsuitable...it must change. Maria blinked. You want Ash to change your body? There was no response. The darkness began to close in on her. The golden wings flickered like defunct lights. Soon the only light left was the sanguine bangle around her wrist. The bangle suddenly cut into her, severing her wrist arrows in one go. Maria cried out in pain, but the arrows melted back together, repairing the damage. The former-crown contorted and writhed. Right as Maria felt her soul yank back to reality, she saw its newest shape. A knife¨Cor a dagger. [Book 7] 327. To the Death Maria watched silently as Ian played the role of Ancient Black, enticing Achemiss into revealing his true body with the promise of knowledge. The arrogant Achemiss that stood before Ian was completely different from the obsequious man she¡¯d observed over the past two days. His gaze was sharp, and he let his expressions show plainly on his face¨Ca personal choice. This Achemiss seemed straightforward, but Maria wondered if perhaps even this was just a ruse. If Achemiss could play the role of a milquetoast so effectively, she knew that he could assume whatever role he desired. His acting skills made it more difficult to learn anything about him. Maria had thought it odd that Karanos and the white faction didn¡¯t know more about Achemiss, but having met the man, she now understood. Perhaps no one in all of Eternity could claim to know him. Although Achemiss was closed off, Maria and Ian had still tried to intuit more about his origins. Unfortunately, even after chatting with him for days, they only knew that when he ascended, he had a view of a lake that spanned the horizon. Given Soolemar¡¯s intelligence that Achemiss was from Adrillon, they assumed this to be Lake Adrian, the enormous body of freshwater that dominated the subcontinent. Such knowledge was as good as useless since Lake Adrian butted up against Shibaria, Iastra, and Flatochre. Should the return beacon bring them to the place where Achemiss ascended, they could appear practically anywhere. And given the gap of time between Achemiss¡¯s ascension and the present day, the old necromancer¡¯s ascension site could have become anything at this point¨Cfarmland, a town, possibly even the lake itself if the water level had risen. Of course, if Achemiss had ascended in a truly remote area, like the western Iastran steppes, the terrain might be virtually unchanged, giving Achemiss an advantage. As Ian demonstrated the soul technique on Achemiss, Maria¡¯s fingers gripped his arm like a vise. Somewhere in the past few years, her life had become intertwined with Ian¡¯s, and not because of the lich bond. She knew that their relationship was different from the one that Ian shared with Euryphel. Ian and the prince had spent relatively little time together yet had an instant affinity and a mutual faith in one another that was inexplicable. Her relationship with Ian had proceeded in a more typical manner, growing over several years. She knew him, understood him, perhaps better than anyone else. It was a relationship rooted in friendship and mutual respect. Maria had known going into this mess with Achemiss that her time with Ian might be cleanly severed, that she might never see him again if his plans failed. She imagined him leaving her in a blink, never to return. Even with the dulled emotions of a lich, a blistering, desperate fury filled her. She didn¡¯t want to be left behind. She wanted to help her partner. But more than that, she wanted to save their world, too. And perhaps she could even see Zilverna, though the thought filled her with a mix of hope and dread. She didn¡¯t want him to see her as an undead lich, especially not in person. Suncloud¡¯s diadem made her seem lifelike, but it wasn¡¯t perfect. Maria knew she needed to recenter herself. If her thoughts swirled like a maelstrom, she wouldn¡¯t be much help against Achemiss if she did go down with Ian. She cleared her mind and listened intently as Ian lectured. ¡°Gaining an affinity is akin to fundamentally changing the self to be more in tune with the world. When the self changes, it may destabilize the foundation of the soul, its anchor points. Within Eternity, where the soul is held beyond our reach, inspecting those anchor points is difficult.¡± Achemiss¡¯s free hand balled into a fist. ¡°Like seeing motes of dust in darkness.¡± Maria felt as though a switch flipped in Ian, a decisive determination passing through the lich bond. This was it. Were she alive, she thought that her body would be vibrating with anticipation. She mentally braced herself. ¡°But what if you could find a way to sense anchor points, even in Eternity?¡± Ian asked. She didn¡¯t see him click the return beacon; he hid the gesture well. But she suddenly felt something tugging her away. Euphoric relief filled her. She didn¡¯t remember the transfer to Eternity since she¡¯d passed out on arrival. In Ascendant Holiday¡¯s Discardia simulation, Ian had taken a return beacon to the Hall of Ascension, but that had simply felt like taking a transport array. With a sudden flash of white across her eyes, Maria smacked down on the ground, landing hard on her knees. She inadvertently yanked Ian forward, slightly destabilizing him. She felt like a shirt that had been turned inside out and back, though her undead constitution prevented her from feeling any nausea. Her heart sank to her stomach as her eyes adjusted, and she saw the crush of vitality and the countless End arrows around them. This wasn¡¯t Selejo. It wasn¡¯t a remote mountain or pastoral field. It was an unfamiliar city¨Csomewhere Maria had never visited, so probably not a political or commercial capital. It was warm and muggy, the sun partially covered by clouds. From the quality and direction of the light, Maria figured it was mid-morning. They had appeared on a marina wharf filled by restaurants, shops, and civilians. It was an area completely unprepared for a fight between three wielders of ascendant energy. If Ian couldn¡¯t finish this as fast as he planned¡­ the consequences were unimaginable. Even though Maria felt a compulsion to help and hit Achemiss with a blast of ascendant-energy-empowered fire, she knew the plan. She released Ian¡¯s arm and swiped the return beacon from his off hand. At the same time¨Cstill on her knees¨Cfire erupted from her legs and arms, propelling her backwards from the two necromancers. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Spray from the lake soaked her back as she rocketed away, stowing the return beacon in a void storage. She shut her eyes out of fear, but she couldn¡¯t unsee the End arrows that stretched from her to Ian and Achemiss. Over two seconds had passed at this point, but both arrows were present. Neither were dead, and Maria reckoned that the duo hadn¡¯t moved from their initial spots. She couldn¡¯t sense any specific emotions from Ian over their bond to give her a hint as to how the fight was going, but her thoughts were in disarray. She knew that Ian planned to end everything in a moment with the element of surprise. Every second the conflict dragged on increased the chance he would die. That made Maria¡¯s task even more important. She couldn¡¯t let the return beacon fall into Achemiss¡¯s hands. She knew worrying for Ian¨Cand the civilians of the unfamiliar city¨Cwouldn¡¯t help. She focused on her personal mantra as the flames clung to her skin. Move forward or die. ¡ª Ian reacted the instant the return beacon activated, his ethereal energy tendrils burrowing deeper toward Achemiss¡¯s soul before the transfer completed. His Beginning affinity was flooded with inputs from his Remorse affinity. He¡¯d already prepared for the possibility of arriving in a city¨Che had reckoned that there was a fifty percent chance they would arrive in Cunabulus¨Cso he knew better than to let hoards of unprotected regular minds overwhelm him. He intentionally filtered out all distractions other than the man in front of him whose hand still lay in his own. Achemiss knew what had happened immediately, even if he didn¡¯t fully understand how or why ¡°Ancient Black¡± had used a return beacon on him. His eyes were wide with indignation as he began the fight for supremacy, his opening salvo the activation of numerous artifacts. Scarlet chains snaked forth to entangle Ian, glowing intensely like a forge. An unnaturally disturbing music box hovered in the air, its song threatening to ruin Ian¡¯s concentration. Thick pieces of plate armor covered Achemiss¡¯s body, black and stylized with ravens and feather motifs. Several more items appeared one after another, but Ian didn¡¯t wait to discover their effects. He used his shard of black rock to summon its tethered kin. A hundred or so spectral rocks formed around the shard. Since they had all been invested with his necromancy, Ian mentally controlled them so that they formed affinity-dampening fortification. The rocks couldn¡¯t encompass a huge volume, so to properly isolate Ian and Achemiss from the outside, it pressed their bodies together. Achemiss¡¯s Dark energy washed over the cramped space, but it was weakened from the proximity of the black rock and failed to create a zone of total annihilation. At the same time, Ian and Achemiss wielded decemancy to destroy the body of the other. Since they were both weakened by the black rock, neither was at an advantage. Ian was shocked by the forcefulness of Achemiss¡¯s Death energy as it pried its way into his body, threatening to rot his flesh. His skin¨Cresistant as it was to Dark¨Calso partially resisted the decemantic energy, but Achemiss¡¯s attacks had exceptional penetration. He realized that Achemiss definitely had some kind of boosting artifact that increased the potency of his Death affinity. It wasn¡¯t a big surprise¨Csaid artifact was probably what allowed Achemiss to control his second body back in Eternity and wield energy from his ethereal body at a distance. As Achemiss warred with Dark and Death on the surface, he defended himself with rabid abandon within, his ethereal body becoming solid and springy like rubber to thwart the needle-like tendrils that aimed to eviscerate his soul. Ian¡¯s Beginning calculated that Achemiss had no less than four different soul-defending artifacts working together to produce the rubbery defense¨Can absurd amount considering that soul attacks were futile in Eternity. Ian knew that Achemiss had an ungodly number of artifacts, but he truly hadn¡¯t expected Achemiss to wear so many aimed at guarding his soul. It was a miscalculation¨Ca dire one. Ian could sense the black rock barrier buckling under the assault of artifacts on the exterior. The wailing sound of the music box returned, punctuated by muted, violent blasts and pops. Meanwhile, within the black rock barrier, Dark energy methodically receded, allowing elemental attacks and the slashes of flying armaments to ravage Ian¡¯s body. It had only been two seconds, but Ian knew he was being overwhelmed. The Dark energy was thick and abrasive, like sandpaper made of oblivion. It wore away everything that it touched. Standing still was the best way to withstand such an assault¨Cmoving through the Dark energy field exacerbated its disintegrating power. Ian knew that with the way things were going, he couldn¡¯t afford to wait. His original gambit had been foiled by Achemiss¡¯s extreme paranoia, so he needed to pivot and carve out a new opportunity in the present. Ian pushed the Blade of Revelation into his hands with a cluster of bone shards that disintegrated as they imparted the dagger with force, delivering it to his grip. Moving the limb through Achemiss¡¯s shifting field of Dark energy was like moving it through a grater. He sensed his muscles and bones shredding away, leaving bloody smears of flesh. With the protective layer of skin gone, his arm wouldn¡¯t last for another second. But if he didn¡¯t end this fight in a second, his life would probably be forfeit, anyway. Ian had glimpsed Achemiss¡¯s reflection in the Blade of Revelation back when they were in Eternity. It hadn¡¯t been insightful¨CAchemiss¡¯s skin merely took on a reddish tint, and his eyes became pure white orbs, matched by alabaster hair. He didn¡¯t know what would happen if Achemiss transformed¨Cperhaps he¡¯d become even more powerful. But Ian¡¯s Beginning auguries insisted that the transformation would interrupt the man¡¯s focus and possibly interrupt his defensive artifacts. At this point, Ian had lost the element of surprise. The dagger might give it back to him, if only for a moment, which was all he could hope for. With no time to waste, Ian slashed the dagger toward Achemiss¡¯s armored hand. He thrust downward with all his strength, empowering the blow with ascendant energy. He also channeled ascendant energy into the blade, hoping that it would transform the armor into a weaker material. As Ian pressed the dagger down, the armor transformed, turning into red water that was brighter than blood and filled with an inner radiance. The liquid held its shape, but allowed the knife to cleave through. It sank shallowly into Achemiss¡¯s flesh, but that was enough. Its energy pumped into the ascendant and initiated a transformation. Achemiss¡¯s Dark energy flared up, filling the space with even greater intensity than before. Ian noted the loss of his extremities with apathy¨Cwith time, he could grow them back himself, or regain them with the help of a Life practitioner. With Beginning affinity, he had every aspect of his body memorized, so the risk of mis-remembering part of his flesh as he regrew it was minimal. Ian couldn¡¯t see the transformation as it rippled through Achemiss. At this point, he couldn¡¯t see much of anything, his eyes ruined and the area flooded by inky darkness. Moreover, Achemiss¡¯s armor was dense like the wood that made up his compound, preventing Ian from seeing past it with his vital vision. But Ian could feel when the transformation reached Achemiss¡¯s chest, the cradle of his soul. The defensive artifacts stabilizing Achemiss¡¯s ethereal body stuttered, allowing his soul tendrils¨Cpreviously stuck in Achemiss¡¯s hardened ethereal body¨Cto move. A moment was all it took for Ian¡¯s poised ethereal energy to carve into the ascendant¡¯s soul. 328. Last Words Ian¡¯s ethereal energy tendrils now spread like terrible fault lines throughout Achemiss¡¯s soul. Achemiss would die if he couldn¡¯t hold his soul together and keep it from collapsing, but how could he hold it together with Ian¡¯s ethereal body renting it apart? Achemiss¡¯s ethereal body roiled and crashed into the soul like a wave, compressing it and crushing Ian¡¯s intrusive energy so that it oozed out the sides, forcefully ejected. Suddenly, Achemiss¡¯s soul-protecting artifacts reactivated, no longer interrupted by the wave of transformation from the Blade of Revelation. Achemiss¡¯s ethereal body froze, once more becoming an immutable bulwark. Except for in the exceptional case where an adversary had already reached the soul itself, solidifying the ethereal body would provide a nearly impregnable defense. With Achemiss¡¯s energy suddenly frozen, he failed to squeeze out all traces of Ian¡¯s ethereal body from within his soul. Ian felt the necromancer¡¯s soul shudder and peel away from the tendrils still lodged within. Achemiss immediately deactivated the defenses, but he was too late. His soul shattered. Achemiss¡¯s body went limp. The lightless darkness abated, and the artifacts beating on the black rock barrier halted. The reprieve was timely¨Cthe spectral rocks were so ravaged that they cracked like a broken egg, shards of rock falling to the sides and disappearing, forcefully unsummoned. Achemiss¡¯s body fell backward beyond the former area of annihilation that had filled the black rock barrier and cut a clean hole in the pier. His leg draped off the edge over frothing, dark water. The marina was silent aside from the blue waves of Lake Adrian thrashing the dockside and the slow dripping of water from doused structures. Ian trembled and reflexively conjured Death energy vestments to cover himself. He couldn¡¯t see the surroundings with his eyes; they had been destroyed along with his skin and clothes. He still had his Death energy perception, though, allowing him to perceive the surroundings in monochrome. Achemiss¡¯s body was a grayish stain on the ground, the white vitality leaking away into the wood planks of the pier. The man¡¯s face was frozen in a rictus of pain, outrage, and disbelief. Ian felt only apprehension as he carved the man¡¯s flesh with his decemancy, separating muscle and blood from bone. He directed all artifacts into a single pile off to the side. Ian planned to take them with him but didn¡¯t trust that they weren¡¯t boobytrapped. He needed to sound them out, ideally with Maria¡¯s help. End affinity was perfect for inspecting artifacts for dangerous enchantments. Ian¡¯s body was in a dire state¨Che¡¯d lost a significant amount of biomass. He cannibalized Achemiss¡¯s flesh, turning it into substrate for emergency expedited growth. Pulverized organs and muscles mixed with blood to form a thick, red suspension that coated every inch of Ian¡¯s body. He knew how gruesome it would look to onlookers¨Che was literally bathing in the blood of a man he¡¯d just murdered. It¡¯s practical, he thought, nearly laughing out loud at the absurdity of the situation. He was in a bitter mood, but not because of his injuries. He didn¡¯t feel victorious. In the very last moment that Achemiss was conscious, the transformation of the Blade of Revelation swept through the mental defense artifacts as well, causing them to momentarily fail. Achemiss¡¯s inherent mental defenses would normally protect him in such a situation, but his impending death rattled him. For a moment, Achemiss¡¯s mind was open. Ian still wasn¡¯t a Remorse expert and couldn¡¯t make the most of the opportunity to scour the necromancer¡¯s mind. He did, however, hear Achemiss¡¯s last thought: ¡°When I come back¡­¡± Not if, but when. Achemiss¡¯s dying thought was malice given form, even if it was unfinished. The missing promise had a concrete presence and felt like a pair of massive fangs, sizzling with vengeful venom, gnashing at the world, rejecting the allure of final rest. Unrelenting and utterly unwilling to die. Achemiss was a masterful necromancer who feared death to an extreme degree. Even though Ian butchered the man¡¯s body himself, after hearing Achemiss¡¯s final words, he wasn¡¯t convinced the ascendant was truly dead. There was only one way to be sure. Maria, Ian thought, come back. Is it over? Ian was staggered by the implications of her question. Can¡¯t you tell? I thought he escaped. No¨CI killed him, Ian insisted, hoping that she was just joking, even though he knew she wouldn¡¯t mess around about something so important. How could he have escaped? I¡¯m staring at the remnants of his corpse. I felt his soul shatter. Just a second ago, his End arrow abruptly changed orientation and grew fainter. It lingered for a moment before it disappeared. I used ascendant energy to increase the range of my fatesight but couldn¡¯t locate him. He must be on the other side of the world. In two breaths, Maria arrived at Ian¡¯s side, landing carefully on the ruined boardwalk. She found Ian hovering over a hole in the pier facing a partially deconstructed corpse. A mound of miscellaneous artifacts lay on one of the more intact sections of wood planks off to the right. This¡­ Her thoughts trailed off. It¡¯s like a hurricane or tsunami swept through. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. No¨Cit¡¯s like someone sent the marina into a blender. Achemiss¡¯s artifacts had cut the surroundings into pieces, turning all nearby shops into piles of rubble. It looked as though many long, sharp edges had assailed the surroundings, then served as lighting rods. Parts of the boardwalk smoked. Two restaurants were even frozen solid with what looked like roaring green flames burning inside them. There were no corpses, but the immediate area was devoid of vitality, suggesting that something had deliberately targeted people. Based on what Ian had seen in Achemiss¡¯s workshop, he suspected it was an artifact that absorbed human bodies to serve as an amplifying battery. There definitely hadn¡¯t been enough human lives nearby to matter; the artifact had probably just been thrown out with all the others, because why not? Ian hadn¡¯t been able to sense people¡¯s thoughts once the black rock barrier went up. He couldn¡¯t know what they felt as the world bowed before the might of Achemiss¡¯s artifacts, but he hoped that they hadn¡¯t understood what was happening. People within his very limited range still didn¡¯t understand what had happened, and it had already been five or six seconds since the ascendant trio had arrived. Most couldn¡¯t even see the boardwalk; they were simply staring, shocked, as the surroundings collapsed. The artifacts were focused on me the entire time, yet they caused this much collateral destruction in two seconds, Ian noted, his thoughts somber. Well, it¡¯s good you stopped him when you did, or the situation would be far worse. Ian found no comfort in her words. He didn¡¯t need it. He knew what he was doing when he brought Achemiss down¨Cknew that he was possibly dooming innocent bystanders. No matter how valuable the people were on the marina that morning, their deaths were necessary and unavoidable. Achemiss wanted the world to end, and he would kill far more than a thousand people in pursuit of that goal. Consequently, Ian felt bad, but in an abstract way. It reminded him of how he felt after killing people in the Infinity Loop. But what did the sacrifice of those civilians mean if Achemiss was alive? Were their deaths pointless because he failed? Maria tugged on his arm, her fingers grabbing his blood-drenched, ruined skin without hesitation. It¡¯s time to go. He let her pull him past the guardrail and over the open water, trawling the artifacts on a sled of bones. His mind was blank as the wind whipped his fragile skin. He couldn¡¯t wrap his hand around the fact that he was back. What should be a joyous occasion was corrupted by Achemiss¡¯s continued, inexplicable existence. He felt exhausted and incompetent. You need help, Maria said after they had been flying for several minutes. I know. Especially if he wanted to regain his visual sight anytime soon. We¡¯ll need to skirt around the lake. Find somewhere I won¡¯t be immediately recognized. Ian knew he had gotten too used to Eternity¡¯s convenient ¡°resets.¡± His grievous injuries really were unavoidable, but they served as a pressing reminder of his mortality. He could die. Trust the wrong person, and it would spell his end. Ascendant energy wouldn¡¯t save him if he was caught by surprise. With Achemiss still in the picture, Ian couldn¡¯t afford to be reckless. Before descending, Ian had thought that, with Achemiss dead, he wouldn¡¯t need to worry. If he made a mistake and died, then he died¨Cit would suck, but the world wouldn¡¯t end. He trusted Euryphel to take care of the Infinity Loop problem and save everyone, even if Euryphel didn¡¯t have such faith in himself. But with Achemiss alive¡­ Ian was possibly the only thing standing between Achemiss and the end of the world. Ian knew that his death might spell catastrophe. The chains of responsibility choked him. While they flew, Maria went through the pile of Achemiss¡¯s artifacts. She determined that most of them were safe to use¨Cthese were largely pieces that Achemiss always wore on his person. The biggest problem was the void storages that Maria determined would collapse if opened by anyone other than Achemiss. Still, she ascertained that they could be safely stored in another storage artifact. Ian healed himself on a superficial level. He looked better, but he knew parts of his skin were still lumpy and bloody, and some of it was little more than an empty shell. For instance, the arm he used to plunge the Blade of Revelation into Achemiss had been completely destroyed, and the reconstruction was little more than a sack of undifferentiated flesh shaped into the mockery of a limb. His transformed skin resisted Dark attacks, but it was slower to heal, resisting his efforts to reconstitute his flesh. Ending the transformation would improve the speed of recovery, but he would be less resilient if faced with unexpected attacks. You won¡¯t blend in unless you transform back, Maria said. You¡¯re extremely conspicuous. I¡¯ll still be extremely conspicuous if I¡¯m wearing a crown of embers, a fiery cloak, and a silvery bracers, Ian argued. Until he had time to fix his soul, he would fall unconscious in his untransformed state unless Maria became his regalia. This argument is ridiculous, Maria thought. You can hide or explain away your artifact, but you can¡¯t hide inhuman attributes like your skin¨Cand wings!¨Cfrom a Life practitioner. She snatched the Blade of Revelation from his belt and slashed herself across the chest. Ian pulled off the ring of flesh shift as Maria¡¯s regalia settled over him. He could obscure the glow of the cloak¡¯s underside. He placed the bracers in a void storage as they were helpful, but not responsible for stabilizing his soul. Unfortunately, the ember crown couldn¡¯t be moved from his head without risking unconsciousness. Ian drew steadily closer to the shore, keeping close to the wavetops to avoid detection. He plunged himself into the waves as a group of tourists passed by on a small yacht. Bobbing in the boat¡¯s wake, he used his decemancy to extricate all remaining bits of ruined flesh and sent them into the water. He finally approached the mainland only when he was confident that he wouldn¡¯t trigger arrays intended to force civilians to stay in shallow water and away from seafaring vessels. He donned a diving suit from his void storage¨Cthe one he had worn to reach the rift in the Jermal Trench. It covered his entire head save for the ember diadem. He swam the rest of the way to shore. He pulled off the head covering like removing a hood, exposing his ruined face. Realizing his mistake, Ian tried to form a hat facsimile out of Death energy, hiding his face. Hopefully, they think I just look like a burn victim, Ian thought as he walked robotically across the sand. Hopefully Achemiss looks far worse than you, Maria commented. Y¡¯jeni, Ian thought, he¡¯d better. If Achemiss were somehow already healed up to perfect condition thanks to the help of some artifact, Ian was completely screwed. But he trusted in his power. Even if Achemiss was alive, Ian had landed a devastating blow to the man¡¯s soul. More than likely, Achemiss was unconscious and passively recuperating. Ian needed to find him and end him. Don¡¯t overthink things, Maria thought. You¡¯re not alone. Let the Darkseers join the hunt. We¡¯ll find Achemiss and kill him for good. 329. Safe House Ian padded across the beach to the closest restroom. He gingerly peeled off the skintight wetsuit. Maria¡¯s cloak passed for a towel, but didn¡¯t wick moisture well, so Ian¡¯s bare head and feet were still clammy. With no one looking in the small single stall, Ian released the power of the cloak, bathing himself in the warmth of Maria¡¯s fire. He dressed himself in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, both saved from before he ascended. He hadn¡¯t worn them in Eternity because he hadn¡¯t wanted to accidentally destroy them. He didn¡¯t have a pair of normal shoes, so he grabbed a pair of black dress shoes from one of Cayeun Suncloud¡¯s suit sets. Without the transformation of the Blade of Revelation strengthening his body, Ian felt drained and oddly jittery. Forcing his fingers to remain steady, he reached into the void storage on his belt and pulled out his glossY. He¡¯d kept it in his void storage for years of dilated time, but only two or so months had passed in reality. It should still work. As it powered on, Maria questioned him. Shouldn¡¯t you use the transmission artifact to let people know that you¡¯re alive? I¡¯ll call Karanos and Red later, when I¡¯m somewhere safe. Euryphel? The glossY jolted slightly, indicating that it had successfully turned on. I can reach him via text message. Using the transmission artifact is unnecessary. You don¡¯t want him to see you like this, Maria guessed. He might do something rash, like insist on sending his best Life practitioners to my location. That would draw unneeded attention, Maria surmised. He wouldn¡¯t do something so pointless. Ian navigated to the messaging application¨Cor tried to. Unfortunately, both he and Maria could only see in shades of vitality, so the screen was impossible to read. Can¡¯t you just call him? Maria asked. You should at least be able to start a call while blind. I can¡¯t speak. That¡¯s part of the problem with calling him with the transmission artifact. After a minute of struggling with the glossY, Ian gave up with a huff and put the device into his pocket. He went back to the void storage sack and rifled around. He pulled out a beanie, a pair of sunglasses, and a scarf. They were necessary given his mottled, hairless scalp and ruined eyes. He wished he had a plain surgical mask to hide the lower half of his face, but the scarf would have to suffice, even if it looked out of place in the mild climate. The hat had the bonus of covering the ember diadem from Maria¡¯s regalia. He was thankful that the embers weren¡¯t flammable. Suddenly, the bathroom doorknob wiggled, followed by a knock. He sensed a person outside tapping their foot in impatience. Ian knew he couldn¡¯t delay further. He pulled any lingering Death energy into himself, then opened the door. He made his way onto a pedestrian walkway, taking note of the hovergloss rails above. It had to be at least a city¨Cnot a town¨Cto have multiple elevated rails. As Ian walked¨Ctrying his best not to stagger on his ruined legs¨Che dove into people¡¯s minds, trying to learn as much as he could about their surroundings. He was clumsy at reading more than surface thoughts, but quickly learned a few critical details. First: they were in a small city named Chemissa in southern Shibaria, named for the Chemissa Sound, a water feature that was too small to show on anything larger than a regional map. Ian nearly facepalmed. Chemissa. Here they had been trying to track down Achemiss¡¯s origins by listening to his language, accent, and talking to Soolemar¡­ Long ago, wanderers often took a surname based on the town of their birth, Maria mused. The second detail Ian learned was that the city was under a freak weather advisory notice, which explained why few people were out despite the pleasant weather. Apparently, a freak storm-cum-tsunami had destroyed a marina that was part of the greater Chemissa metropolitan area. Some storm, Ian thought ruefully. He supposed calling his battle with Achemiss a freak storm was better than calling it what it was. If regular people knew that two powerful practitioners fought and murdered thousands in a populated area, there would be mass panic, Maria said. Practitioner peacekeepers and investigators know the truth, though¨Cand they¡¯ll be looking for the perpetrators. You absolutely must not let yourself be caught. You will have been marked as extremely dangerous, too dangerous to capture alive. Ian paused. I wonder if Eury¡¯s heard the news and made the connection. After all, this place is called Chemissa. He sighed. Maybe I should call him before he works himself into a panic. If Ian used the Blade of Revelation to transform the transmission artifact, bringing Euryphel to Chemissa, Ian would be able to speak into his mind using his Remorse affinity. More importantly¡­ Euryphel could actually see. Unable to read any signs or maps, Ian was walking around aimlessly, hoping to sense practitioners using Life affinity through building walls. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Resigned to calling his friend, Ian walked into an alleyway and stepped behind a dumpster. Maria didn¡¯t say anything as Ian withdrew the Blade of Revelation and transmission artifact from a void storage, though he sensed her smugness over the lich bond. He chuckled, though the sound died in his throat and made him cough. The section of the scarf over his mouth was covered in bloody spittle. He pulled it down and the blood droplets sloughed off, visibly decomposing. In a second, all that remained were trace amounts of dark sludge that Ian deposited in the dumpster. Maria¡¯s smugness turned to concern. I¡¯m fine, he insisted. Still apprehensive, he used the Blade of Revelation on the transmission artifact and activated it to summon Euryphel. Euryphel appeared genuinely surprised by the summons, his eyes wide and his hair in disarray. Ian wasn¡¯t sure that he¡¯d even be able to see Euryphel without working eyes, but it seemed his concern was pointless. After all, Maria had no problems using her vital perception to see people with the transmission artifact. It wasn¡¯t the same seeing Euryphel in monochrome, however. Part of him felt that Euryphel wasn¡¯t real unless he could see the man¡¯s characteristic blue-green eyes and platinum blond hair. ¡°Y¡¯jeni, I take a nap for one minute¡­¡± the Crowned Executor groused, though his facial expression didn¡¯t match the complaint. His eyes misted, his jaw trembling. He lowered his voice. ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re alive.¡± Ian didn¡¯t know how to react to the sincerity in his tone. For a moment, Ian was thankful that Achemiss disintegrated his tear ducts. At least for now, he didn¡¯t want kindness and sympathy. He wanted to be admonished. ¡°I failed,¡± Ian said, speaking into Euryphel¡¯s mind. ¡°I destroyed Achemiss body and soul, but he still lives. He escaped far away, beyond Maria¡¯s fatesight.¡± Euryphel just looked at him. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then at a minimum, he should be grievously injured. He¡¯ll need time to recover.¡± He smiled, his voice barely more than a whisper. ¡°You have End practitioners in spades¨Cwe will find him and end him.¡± Ian nodded once, not at all comforted. ¡°I need your help.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Euryphel¡¯s tone turned frosty. ¡°I¡¯m not blind, nor am I stupid. How injured are you?¡± ¡°Injured enough to need a Life practitioner.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Chemissa. Haven¡¯t you seen the news?¡± Euryphel scratched his nose. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to stay awake for the past three days straight. I might have dozed off for more than a minute. I assume you fought him a few minutes ago?¡± ¡°About an hour ago, now,¡± Ian admitted. Euryphel¡¯s mouth popped open. Scowling, he said, ¡°Ur¨Cahem, Claysaber was supposed to wake me if I fell asleep for more than an hour, especially if anything happened that might be related to¡­ you know.¡± He waved his arm imploringly. ¡°Please explain what¡¯s happened.¡± Ian got the reference¨CGuardian Urstes¡¯s original courtesy name had been Claysaber, though he¡¯d changed it after his wife complained that it was too phallic. Ian spoke broadly about fighting Achemiss on the marina and fleeing to Chemissa. He let Maria take over and explain what she¡¯d observed with her fatesight. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I stayed up only to sleep right when everything happened,¡± the executor murmured. ¡°So, we¡¯re in Chemissa.¡± ¡°Are you familiar with it?¡± ¡°Nope. Do you need to be treated here, or are you well enough to take a transit array?¡± ¡°I should be treated immediately,¡± Ian confessed. ¡°Can you help me find a Life practitioner in the area?¡± ¡°Kill the transmission for five minutes. I¡¯m going to make a call and send someone to you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll just invite scrutiny if you send one of your practitioners here,¡± Ian protested. ¡°I¡¯m sending one of the others,¡± Euryphel said. Ian interpreted ¡°others¡± as the Darkseers. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, there should be someone nearby.¡± Ian frowned, though deactivated the artifact. Euryphel disappeared. Ian waited impatiently, picking at the mind of the regulars nearby. When around five minutes had passed, he activated the artifact again. Euryphel reappeared, though he no longer looked so disheveled. His hair was well-combed, and he had changed into a new robe. ¡°Well?¡± Ian asked. ¡°Someone will meet you; since you¡¯re impaired, I¡¯ll lead you to the place.¡± Ian pulled the scarf tight and pushed up his sunglasses. ¡°Lead the way.¡± Euryphel led Ian through the depopulated walkways of Chemissa, occasionally referencing a set of directions that he¡¯d written on his arm. A few times, Ian sensed practitioners patrolling through the streets, the vital energy flowing through their bodies giving them away. He avoided them, occasionally dismissing and resummoning Euryphel to make use of the practitioner¡¯s Regret affinity to sound out the best path. It was the same technique they¡¯d used at the Hall of Ascension¡¯s competition. While back in his corporeal body, Euryphel could start a Regret scenario before Ian reactivated the transmission artifact. That way, he could loop the next minute by Ian¡¯s side. After walking for over fifty minutes¨Cthey moved slowly given the patrols and Ian¡¯s injuries¨Cthey reached a large single-family home in a well-kept neighborhood with a semi-occluded view of lake Adrian. Ian sensed someone inside, a woman, though he couldn¡¯t tell what kind of practitioner she was. She was deliberately controlling the flow of her vital energy. This house seems normal at first glance, Maria thought, but there are End arrays in the walls and roof, drawn to blend in with the bricks and shingles. I can¡¯t tell what their functions are. Out of caution, Ian summoned and resummoned the Regret practitioner to scout out the next minute. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Euryphel assured him, leading Ian around the back. ¡°The door is unlocked.¡± Sure enough, when Ian tried the doorknob, it twisted easily. He pulled the door open and walked through a well-lit hallway into a living room. Euryphel walked a few paces ahead. The woman was standing in the middle of the room, clearly waiting for them. She had dark hair cut to her shoulders and was dressed in a flowing blouse and leather pants. She vaguely reminded Ian of General Var¡¯dun¡¯a. Ian didn¡¯t recognize her. He couldn¡¯t glean anything from her surface thoughts, either. Her mind was closed off with the discipline of a powerful practitioner, one trained from a young age. With the help of ascendant energy, he¡¯d be able to probe forcefully into her mind, but that would earn her enmity. ¡°Eury, I don¡¯t know who this is. Can you introduce us?¡± Euryphel cleared his throat. ¡°Ian, this is Linda. Linda, Ian.¡± Ian knew the Darkseers roster. There was only one person this could be: Lindabet Zhuram, Life and Dark dual practitioner, Night Queen and sovereign of Datcha. Maria, I freaking told you. He brought one of the most powerful Life practitioners in the world to heal me. Maybe she was just in the neighborhood? 330. For the Common Good Ian¡¯s thoughts were in turmoil. Datcha was a powerhouse, the state consistently placing in the top three at the Fassari Summit, and Lindabet Zhuram was arguably the most powerful practitioner within its borders. Ian reckoned she was powerful enough to kill him in his weakened state, especially if he invited her vital energy to heal his body. ¡°You really trust her not to kill me?¡± Ian asked. Euryphel couldn¡¯t respond out loud, but he gave Ian a small nod. I think she¡¯s much more concerned about you killing her, Maria noted. You¡¯re fresh in the minds of everyone after ascending two months ago. She knows that she could probably kill you with the element of surprise, but also that you could kill her with impunity if you desired. That would be illogical, Ian thought, she¡¯s allied with Eury and she¡¯s come here to heal me. I don¡¯t have any reason to harm her. Just think through it from her perspective a bit more, Maria coaxed. I¡¯m surprised she¡¯s even come here at all. Your life isn¡¯t in critical danger¨Cwhy should she risk her life when she has so much to lose, so many people relying on her in Datcha? Something clicked in Ian¡¯s head. Euryphel didn¡¯t tell her who she¡¯d be healing. I think she might have actually been nearby when we descended¨Cperhaps not literally in Chemissa, but somewhere in Shibaria. She came to this safe house because she trusted that Euryphel wouldn¡¯t waste her time. It dawned on Ian that Euryphel had gone from the sovereign of a middling, backwater nation to a leader that could even command a favor of Datcha¡¯s Night Queen¡­ and all over the course of a little over two months. He relayed his thoughts to Maria. It does sound insane, until you think of what Euryphel must think when he sees you. He¡¯s trying not to fall behind. ¡ª Linda¡¯s morning was knocked off kilter when she received a somber call from Shibaria¡¯s prime minister. She¡¯d been attending to a stack of documents that needed to be signed¨Can actual stack, since tradition demanded that the most important writs be inked rather than traced on a glosspad display¨Cwhen her glossY rang plaintively, breaking her concentration. Minister Senki had minced no words, asking if she knew anything about the sudden terrorist attack outside of Chemissa. Normally she¡¯d never be dragged into something like that¨CShibaria had its own guardians and peacekeepers to investigate dangerous practitioners. Why ask Linda Zhuram for help when her time was so valuable? When Senki explained that one of the assailants was a peak Dark practitioner, she understood why he might think to call her. Still, he could have called another strong Dark practitioner who wasn¡¯t a fulltime queen. Perhaps Senki wanted her to learn something that he wasn¡¯t allowed to tell her directly, something that could only be discerned in person. Or alternatively, something she would only trust if she saw it with her own eyes. The possibility that made the most sense was that the so-called terrorist attack (or weather disaster, if one listened to the news) was a hit from another nation. Despite her growing interest, Linda hadn¡¯t been willing to indulge the prime minister until he dangled the promise of reduced taxes on arms sales. Small as the reduction was, Datcha¡¯s defense industry would greatly benefit from any advantage against competitors from Iastra and Turina. Even without the deal, the fact that Senki was even willing to offer it meant that the situation was serious. Maybe Rathaway or Feather were involved. Her curiosity thoroughly piqued, she entered Shibaria in secret and traveled to the destroyed beachfront a half hour¡¯s hovergloss ride from Chemissa. She had just started investigating the damage to the marina when Euryphel called, asking her if she had a powerful Life practitioner agent near Chemissa and secondly, if she had a safe house she was willing to share with him. He had insisted it was Darkseers business, putting her in a tight spot. She would never expose one of Datcha¡¯s safe houses to a foreign power, especially one that might be at odds with Datcha in the future, which was definitely a possibility considering the Selejo Imperial Federation¡¯s meteoric growth. But a safe house could always be abandoned, and if this was for the Darkseers, it was for the sake of the common good. It was odd, having the ¡°common good¡± as a motivation. She hadn¡¯t believed it possible for a group of peak practitioners to band together for such a noble cause as saving the world, but with the Crowned Executor orchestrating their activities, they¡¯d done an impressive amount in a short period of time. Urgency drove them to take risks, but the caliber of their members was unmatched. Their operations ended almost universally in success. She had been stuck in the mire of politics for so long, she had almost forgotten what people could accomplish when the fetters were off¨Cwhen they had the chance to do what needed to be done, rules and consequences be damned. She wasn¡¯t alone in those thoughts. So, when Euryphel asked for her help, and she just happened to be in the area¡­ she showed up. Euryphel had told her an anticipated arrival time and she¡¯d expected the injured party to be punctual. She tamped down on her annoyance as the minutes dragged on, attending to the burgeoning list of unread messages on her glossY. When she sensed the approach of a heavily injured man, his vitality the color of ash, her mind snapped into focus. She stood from her seat and walked to the window. Which agent of the Darkseers had suffered such grievous injuries? She could barely see his features¨Che had covered his face with a hat, glasses, and scarf. She saw Euryphel at his side, though his vitality looked off, like he wasn¡¯t fully present, and he wasn¡¯t offering the injured man support as he dragged his feet. It must be technology that allowed him to accompany someone while incorporeal, like some kind of Light projection. She had been so focused on Euryphel¡¯s novel projection tech that Linda only recognized his identity when Euryphel introduced her. ¡°Ian, this is Linda. Linda, Ian.¡± She felt as though she had been struck. Only her Life affinity saved her from revealing her surprise, allowing her to forcefully compose her face to feign nonchalance. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Euryphel had once commented about the Skai¡¯aren¡¯s return, speaking as though it were a certainty and that it would happen soon. Not just within their lifetimes, but within a few years. She had considered it wishful thinking. Before ascending, Ian Dunai had been Euryphel¡¯s most powerful supporter¨Cof course Euryphel wanted to believe that Dunai would come back. She couldn¡¯t fathom how Dunai could be here¡­ in her safe house, bundled in a scarf and wearing a hat that was more at home on a safari than at the beach. It was too absurd. She wondered absently if she was caught in a Remorse practitioner¡¯s mental attack. As she came to accept the current unbelievable circumstances, a new curiosity surged within her. How did Dunai come back? How did he sustain such horrible injuries? Was it related to the destruction of the marina? Her mind drifted in another direction, toward a topic she¡¯d always wondered about, but to which she¡¯d never expected answers. What was Eternity like? Linda studied Ian¡¯s form intently. She had seen him during the Fassari Summit a short while ago. The man in front of her now was similar but largely unrecognizable. The Dunai she remembered only had one affinity, but she clearly sensed that this man had more than one. Wait. More than¡­ two? She wasn¡¯t misreading his vital energy¨Cshe knew she wasn¡¯t. Dunai had three affinities. To her knowledge, that was impossible. Her curiosity was now like an erupting volcano. It wasn¡¯t curiosity anymore¨Cit was need. She -needed to know how to break past the limits of two peak affinities. She¡¯d been stuck for over a decade, stagnating. Everyone told her that she had reached the peak, and she had believed them¨Ceven the returned ascendants had only one or two affinities. But they were all wrong. She forced her voice to be level, revealing none of her excitement. ¡°We can speak freely here due to the arrays, though I suspect you presently can¡¯t speak at all.¡± Ian didn¡¯t respond. She couldn¡¯t read any expression under the scarf and glasses because his facial muscles were mostly missing. He hadn¡¯t tried reconstructing them. If he couldn¡¯t shut off his own pain receptors, Linda didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to stand before her so calmly. He should be screaming in agony. She turned to Euryphel. ¡°In return for my help, I expect answers. About his return and the true reason you put Cunabulus in lockdown the past three days.¡± She and the other Darkseers suspected that there was something else that concerned Euryphel beyond the Infinity Loop. Dunai¡¯s return confirmed those suspicions. Euryphel sighed. ¡°Is it better to know about a disaster that you can¡¯t stop, or is it better to live in ignorance?¡± He turned his gaze to Ian, then back to Zhuram. ¡°Regardless, the situation has changed. I¡¯ll tell you what you want to know if you heal him.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Also¨Che can¡¯t speak, but if you permit it, he can speak into your mind,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°That¡¯s permissible.¡± She gave Dunai a once over. ¡°You need to strip.¡± ¡°Just cut me out of my clothes,¡± Ian said. ¡°It¡¯ll be easier. They barely fit anyway.¡± Linda manifested a ball of Darkness on her palm. ¡°Fine.¡± The Crowned Executor stepped in front of Ian, smiling without mirth. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°He asked me to cut his clothes off.¡± To her surprise, the tips of the executor¡¯s ears reddened. ¡°I should probably leave for now,¡± he said, voice hurried. ¡°Call me back when you¡¯re healed.¡± Ian nodded, then reached his hand into a void storage on his waist and withdrew an object that reminded Linda of a microphone. He pressed a button and Euryphel disappeared. They were alone. Linda strode forward and cut through Ian¡¯s shirt in one fluid stroke. Darkness spread like veins from her incision, disintegrating the regular cloth. Soon nothing remained of his vestments other than a dark cloak, a strange diadem made of fire, and his shoes. She sensed power in those items and knew better than to destroy them. He wasn¡¯t self-conscious about his nudity, not that there was much to be self-conscious about given the ruined canvas of his skin. Before becoming queen, Linda had served as a military Life practitioner. Though Datcha hadn¡¯t seen much conflict in her lifetime, she had seen no shortage of bad injuries. Sometimes spars and duels went too far, and training accidents were inevitable. They weren¡¯t the worst injuries she had ever seen¨Cshe¡¯d once attended to a man who had been barbecued by a fire elementalist¨Cbut she had never seen a man walk around so¡­ unperturbed when much of his body wasn¡¯t functioning. She recognized the disintegrating touch of Dark upon his skin, the way it completely shaved away flesh into nothingness. Nothing was as clean as Dark energy. She had no idea how the injuries weren¡¯t worse¨Cusually, the only way to deal with a Dark practitioner was to keep a good distance. If they were close enough to hit you with their power, you were as good as dead. The more powerful the Dark practitioner, the further they could manifest their power¨Cand the greater the volume they could summon. Beneath the surface, Dunai¡¯s internal injuries were also severe, suggesting that he¡¯d been under assault by more than just Dark energy. She sensed elemental damage to his organs, along with evidence of destruction caused by adversarial Death energy. She sensed that he¡¯d already taken significant steps to heal himself, though it was only a stopgap. Powerful as Dunai was, peak Death affinity couldn¡¯t rival peak Life when it came to healing catastrophic, overwhelming damage. ¡°Did you win, at least?¡± she asked. ¡°In theory.¡± Cryptic. ¡°Please remove the rest of your vestments,¡± she instructed. He kicked the shoes off. ¡°Just ignore them¨Cthey shouldn¡¯t interfere with your practice.¡± ¡°Have you ever worked with a Life practitioner to heal injuries before?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay. Well, I do things differently¨CI work alone. Please just relax and don¡¯t interfere.¡± ¡°You use your Dark to help your healing, don¡¯t you?¡± She nodded. Life-Death practitioner teams healed by having a Death practitioner selectively destroy the body while a Life practitioner restored it. This was especially useful for grievous injuries that required reconstruction of body parts, such as if a limb were crushed in heavy machinery. In her hands, Dark replaced the destructive power of Death. ¡°Can I have permission to read your surface thoughts?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯ll trust you to heal me if I can ensure you have no killing intent.¡± Her first instinct was to say hell no. But then she imagined him killing her because he mistook one of her Life-Dark techniques as an assassination attempt. Fuck. ¡°Fine. If you try to see memories beneath my surface thoughts, however, we¡¯re done. Healing¡¯s off.¡± The bluff was empty¨Chow could she walk when there was so much knowledge at her fingertips? ¡°I won¡¯t overstep,¡± he assured her. She took a calming breath and adjusted her mental defenses. Now she was all business, her thoughts the epitome of cold, collected, and regal. ¡°Can I start now?¡± ¡°Please.¡± She helped lower him onto the couch lining the wall, then kneeled and placed her hands on his chest. Life energy sank into his body, stimulating his graying vitality. There was some resistance, not that she could blame him¨Cshe was asking him to make a leap of faith. She lost herself in the challenge of healing. As she sculpted his body, she sensed the gradual waning of his resistance to her Life energy. Eventually, it came to almost welcome her, guiding her attention to the worst tangles of scarred tissue and dysfunction. Those old ascendants are insincere, she thought, refusing to help, refusing to teach or give back in any way, holding bitterly to their knowledge and experience. I always wondered if enlightenment fundamentally changed them. ¡°Eternity changes everyone,¡± Ian thought, speaking into her mind, ¡°but in the end, we¡¯re just people.¡± Then the returned ascendants really are just the same as us. Flesh and bones. Mortal. ¡°Believe me¨Cno matter what ascendants want to believe, there¡¯s no such thing as immortality. Just lonely roads and long travels until our minds fail and we die.¡± 331. Explanation After returning to his own body in the palace of Ichormai, Euryphel had a thousand and one things to worry about. While dealing with Achemiss and the Infinity Loop were the most important, another issue demanded his focus. He needed to handle the fallout of forcing Selejo¡¯s capital, Cunabulus, into a locked down state. There was a cold irony that his political standing would be much stronger had Ian and Achemiss appeared in Cunabulus rather than Chemissa. If the defenses of the city had defended its citizens from the wrath of an evil ascendant, all would have been well with the world. Nobody would have grounds to criticize him. No¨Cthey¡¯d be forced to sing his praises. He was so tired of the ingenuous political posturing. It was one thing to quibble over inane things like taxation on liquor. But in this case, the lives of thousands of Selejans would have been forfeit had Achemiss descended in Cunabulus. With an approximate 50% probability of that occurring, how could Euryphel not force Cunabulus to hunker down? How could the people who used the present situation to besmirch him look at themselves in the mirror with good conscience? He couldn¡¯t blame the reporters¨Cthey only knew what they were told. But he had trawled over the news in Regret scenarios and seen interviews with notable Selejan officials¨Call of whom knew the severity of the situation, knew that an ascendant might be coming, and still lambasted him. If those were the kinds of snakes Maria had to deal with, he understood why she had concentrated power into her own hands. Rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration, Euryphel used his secure glossY to reach Zilverna. Euryphel: Can you call? The young man answered almost immediately. Zilverna: It¡¯s a madhouse. Why do you want to talk to me? Euryphel: Two reasons. The first is about this mess with Cunabulus. The second I won¡¯t put into writing. Zilverna: I just went outside. Euryphel: Go to your room, at the very least¨Csomewhere more secure than outside! Zilverna: Trust me, it¡¯s fine. Euryphel ground his teeth but let the matter drop. He started the call with his glossY and Zilverna¡¯s upper body appeared before him as a projection. Behind him was a body of water¨Cmost likely, the Bay of Ramsay. ¡°See?¡± Zilverna said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m flying over open water. That¡¯s even safer than my room.¡± ¡°Your room has arrays, though,¡± Euryphel pointed out. Zilverna opened his jacket, revealing the interior fabric. Sewn into the fabric were multiple circular discs inscribed with arrays, though Euryphel couldn¡¯t see their details. Seeing that Zilverna hadn¡¯t come entirely unprepared, Euryphel conceded the point. He jumped right into the crux of the matter, saying, ¡°You need to do a better job handling your officials.¡± Zilverna snorted. ¡°They don¡¯t respect me, even if they publicly call me Selejo¡¯s prime.¡± Euryphel knew that was a sore point¨Chis mother and grandmother had unique titles, the Eldemari and Sezakuin, respectively. As the first ruler of Selejo after joining the Selejo Imperial Federation, Zilverna had been bestowed the title of ¡°prime.¡± Euryphel didn¡¯t forbid the Selejans from bestowing upon Zilverna another title in the style of his predecessors. The Selejan officials simply deemed the practice ¡°unnecessary¡± as Zilverna came into power. The whole situation was comical¨Cthe Selejan elite seemed to spit on everyone involved in the Selejo Imperial Federation, including Zilverna. But if they made everyone their enemy, their cause was doomed. Euryphel knew that they must have a larger goal, but he simply didn¡¯t view their ill-advised machinations as important enough to sound out. Let them scheme¨Che¡¯d take their worst. At least that was what he told himself. But with Ian and Maria¡¯s return, he might get the chance to quash their scheming sooner than planned. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if they respect you or not in private. You can¡¯t let your politicians discredit the SIF¨Cit undermines your authority, too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like they ask me for permission before they take interviews,¡± Zilverna retorted. ¡°I can¡¯t afford to make policies I can¡¯t enforce, cousin. It¡¯ll just weaken my influence further.¡± ¡°I really thought the court would have more respect for you on account of your mother.¡± He laughed bitterly at that, his cold expression making him look five years older. ¡°They never saw me as more than my mother¡¯s mistake.¡± He looked like he wanted to ask something, but held his tongue. Euryphel figured he¡¯d danced around the real reason that Zilverna had agreed to the call long enough. ¡°Now, for the second topic¨C¡± ¡°It¡¯s about my mother, isn¡¯t it?¡± he blurted. ¡°Yes.¡± Zilverna¡¯s eyes were manic. ¡°Is she here or not?¡± ¡°She¡¯s in Shibaria.¡± His hands were visibly trembling in the projection. ¡°The Chemissa incident?¡± Euryphel¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°And they say you don¡¯t pay attention to the news. Yes, that was her and the Skai¡¯aren.¡± ¡°That was, like, three hours ago,¡± he stated, his brow furrowed. ¡°She¡¯s currently indisposed,¡± Euryphel explained. Zilverna¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? Indisposed? What happened to her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Euryphel assured him. ¡°She¡¯s assisting the Skai¡¯aren.¡± Zilverna calmed down, but his brow remained furrowed. ¡°How do you know? Did she call you?¡± Euryphel shook his head. ¡°I spoke with the Skai¡¯aren.¡± Zilverna looked a bit like a sad puppy. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°She¡¯ll call you,¡± Euryphel assured him. ¡°I want to see her.¡± ¡°Talk to her about that.¡± Zilverna grit his teeth. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to see me. I already know.¡± His eyes were filled with inner fire. ¡°Help me see her, and I¡¯ll smooth this situation in Selejo over for you.¡± ¡°How do you plan to do that?¡± ¡°Whatever it takes.¡± His grin was without humor. ¡°I can be persistent when I want something.¡± ¡ª Ah, finally, Euryphel thought as he snapped back from a scenario, his focus sharpening. He had twenty seconds to get back to his room before Ian called him. Plenty of time. The door of his office opened with a gust of wind, revealing his bedroom. He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He counted down the seconds as he fell onto his bed, his hair fanning around his head. Three¡­ two¡­ one. Suddenly Euryphel was back in Lindabet Zhuram¡¯s safe house. Ian was sitting cross-legged off to the side, his body hovering two feet off the floor, his eyes closed as though in meditation. ¡°Welcome back, Eury,¡± Ian said, though his voice sounded gravelly. He was dressed in a simple tan t-shirt and jeans. A dark cloak lay across his back and a circle of embers burned above his head. ¡°Is he healed?¡± the executor asked, turning to Linda. ¡°Mostly,¡± she said quietly, her expression hard to read. Her eyes drifted to the ascendant. ¡°He was truly on death¡¯s door when he came here.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Ian interjected, ¡°you don¡¯t need to scare him.¡± Linda¡¯s countenance was severe. ¡°You reconstructed most of your body with flimsy panes of flesh, as though covering yourself in a mask. Imagine my surprise when I got to work and realized much of you was a hollow shell.¡± She turned to Euryphel. ¡°He was missing an arm and most of his face was gone. No eyes, no ears, no nose, most of his neck and throat eaten away¡­¡± ¡°Flesh wounds,¡± Ian insisted. ¡°And I was right. You healed me well enough.¡± Euryphel blanched. Ian hadn¡¯t looked anywhere near that bad. Euryphel thought he would have noticed if the man had been missing an arm, but he supposed it would be hard to tell if Ian fabricated a fake limb for himself. After all, as a projection, Euryphel could only rely on his eyes. ¡°I needed to reconstruct twelve major organs,¡± Zhuram continued, ¡°along with much of his nervous system. Do you have any inkling how hard that is to do?¡± ¡°You¡¯re acting like you did that all alone,¡± Ian said, ¡°but I took over the last steps.¡± Zhuram smiled. ¡°Yes, because you¡¯re the only one between us who remembers what your body looks like on the surface.¡± She kept her gaze on Euryphel. ¡°If he wasn¡¯t a decemancer, given how much I needed to reconstruct¡­ he would never be able to get back his old appearance.¡± Euryphel was torn between his desire to strangle Ian and wanting to wrap him in a hug. He settled for walking to the decemancer and flicking him on the arm. ¡°Linda, if he¡¯s mostly healed, what¡¯s left?¡± ¡°His eyes. I had difficulty healing them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s to be expected,¡± Ian added. ¡°Since ascending, they¡¯ve become a bit odd.¡± Suddenly, Ian opened his eyes, revealing two pale orbs like iridescent pearls. There were no pupils. ¡°At least I can see souls like this, even if I can¡¯t actually see.¡± Euryphel flinched at the unnatural, pupilless gaze. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re doing now, fixing your eyes?¡± Ian chuckled. ¡°Not exactly. Zhuram is still planning to fix my eyes, she¡¯s just taking a breather. I¡¯m focusing on something else.¡± Euryphel could take a guess. ¡°Your soul?¡± Ian smiled. ¡°I used to think you always had the answers because of your Regret loops, but the truth is much simpler. Nothing escapes you.¡± The Crowned Executor barked a laugh. ¡°If only.¡± He turned to Zhuram. ¡°Sincerely, thank you for helping him.¡± ¡°Of course¨Cit¡¯s for the common good. But don¡¯t forget, I didn¡¯t do it for free.¡± ¡°True.¡± He crossed his arms. ¡°I put Cunabulus into lockdown because there was a chance that what happened outside of Chemissa would happen there.¡± ¡°Why did this happen?¡± Euryphel considered how to best explain. ¡°When people ascend, they become almost immortal. The only way for them to die is to descend.¡± He knew it was a bit more complicated than that based on his conversations with Ian, but those details were irrelevant. ¡°There are only two ways to descend-¨Cto physically depart Eternity and fly through the cosmos, and to take a return beacon. The return beacon option is instantaneous, but it can only return an ascendant to the world of their birth.¡± Zhuram nodded. ¡°I¡¯m following. I presume the Skai¡¯aren took a return beacon.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But he didn¡¯t come alone.¡± ¡°There is an ascendant from our world named Achemiss,¡± Euryphel continued. ¡°He ascended over a thousand years ago. He sees our world as a vulnerability and aims to destroy it.¡± Zhuram frowned. ¡°He wants to destroy this world¡­ but you brought him here?¡± ¡°It sounds quite bad when she puts it that way,¡± Ian transmitted into Euryphel¡¯s mind. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to be here physically to interfere. He has numerous powerful artifacts. Principal among them is an artifact that allows him to send nonliving matter to other worlds, including our own. This includes Death constructs.¡± Euryphel¡¯s lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°So why hasn¡¯t he just destroyed this world, then, if he can send an army of constructs through?¡± ¡°Because,¡± Ian interjected, ¡°ascendants police one another, to an extent. If he destroyed his home world in such a blatant manner, there would be consequences that even he would balk at.¡± ¡°At least I think so,¡± Ian added mentally, speaking only to Euryphel. ¡°I don¡¯t see why the Hall of Ascension couldn¡¯t kick him out of Eternity if his crime was grievous enough. They could force him out of the amber and kill his true body. In theory.¡± ¡°So, his goal is to destroy our world subtly, over time,¡± Zhuram guessed. ¡°Right,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°Our plan was to kill him before he could succeed.¡± ¡°By bringing him to the mortal world, which is how the Skai¡¯aren ended up half dead. Okay.¡± Zhuram tapped her foot. ¡°Let me guess, you knew that if you used the return beacon, the Skai¡¯aren and Achemiss would return to one of the places that they ascended. For Ascendant Dunai, that would be Cunabulus. For Achemiss, it was Chemissa.¡± She paused. ¡°That¡¯s why you put Cunabulus in lockdown.¡± The wind elementalist bobbed his head. ¡°Yeah.¡± She winced. ¡°I haven¡¯t been following the matter too closely, but even I know that they¡¯re smearing your name in Selejo right now.¡± Euryphel groaned dramatically, giving her a wounded look. ¡°No good deed goes unpunished.¡± Zhuram didn¡¯t react to the attempted humor. ¡°So¡­ I take it that the Skai¡¯aren won against Achemiss?¡± ¡°Ask him yourself,¡± Euryphel said. Zhuram turned to Ian, her head cocked expectantly. ¡°I defeated him, destroying even his soul, but he isn¡¯t dead,¡± Ian admitted. Her eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re serious.¡± ¡°Completely.¡± ¡°A man who did this to you is at large, and seeks the end of our world?¡± Ian snorted. ¡°Unfortunately.¡± He inhaled deeply. ¡°I have nothing to blame but my own incompetence. But now that you¡¯ve helped me recover, I¡¯ll be able to track him down much faster and end him for good.¡± ¡°You know,¡± Zhuram began, ¡°I thought the Darkseers was about destroying the Infinity Loop.¡± Euryphel looked at her quizzically. ¡°It is.¡± She chuckled softly. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. You said that this was Darkseers business.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s somewhat related,¡± Euryphel argued. ¡°Once he kills Achemiss, the Skai¡¯aren will help us erase all traces of the Infinity Loop.¡± ¡°You asked me to save Dunai¨Cyou weren¡¯t thinking about the Infinity Loop. You were thinking about the threat posed by Achemiss. Your goal has always been bigger than simply eliminating the loop tech. All along, your goal has been saving our world from an untimely end.¡± You¡¯re wrong, Euryphel wanted to say. When he¡¯d called Zhuram asking for help, Achemiss had only been an afterthought, the Infinity Loop doubly so. But he couldn¡¯t voice the truth out loud, so he nodded along. ¡°I take it you don¡¯t think that¡¯s a bad thing?¡± ¡°It gives me hope that we can continue to do good even after the Infinity Loop is done with.¡± She averted her gaze. ¡°Anyway. Dunai, are you ready for me to work on your eyes again?¡± ¡°Please.¡± 332. Crossing the Continent Ian¡¯s eyelids fluttered open. ¡°Well?¡± Zhuram asked. Euryphel stood off to the side, his posture stiff with concern. ¡°I can see,¡± he said, staring at the Life practitioner. ¡°Thank you. I owe you a favor.¡± ¡°As I said earlier, it was aid freely given in defense of the common good.¡± Lindabet Zhuram looked like she wanted to say something else but held her tongue. After spending the past few hours in her presence, Ian could practically taste the indecision and curiosity on her mind. When she had opened her mind to him while restoring his body, he had felt how ambition roiled within her. She was the master of two affinities, and until his arrival, she had never known a third affinity was possible. He knew what she wanted, even if the answer wouldn¡¯t be satisfying. ¡°Linda,¡± he began, ¡°if you wish it, I will tell you the key to awakening a third affinity. Be warned, it¡¯s almost impossible without ascending.¡± ¡°Please do.¡± Ian explained what he had learned from Ancient Ash¨Chow ascendants needed vast amounts of time and extremely rare resources to gain additional affinities. He told her how he was a special case since he had still been within the five-year period of swift advancement, so he didn¡¯t need thousands of years like most others. For an example of rare resources, he told her how Ash provided him a crystallized form of Beginning affinity that jumpstarted his progress. ¡°Is it impossible to unlock a third affinity without ascending?¡± Zhuram asked. Ian considered the question. His gut response was ¡°yes,¡± but his Beginning affinity rejected such a simple response. ¡°If you can stay alive for thousands of years, and find rare materials attuned to the affinity you want to awaken, it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Where would I find materials like that?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°Rifts, probably. I¡¯m just making educated guesses, Linda¨CI can¡¯t tell you a definitive answer. Compared to most ancients, I¡¯m an aberration¨Cmy path to awakening affinities won¡¯t be the same as yours.¡± ¡°Sounds difficult,¡± she muttered wistfully. ¡°No wonder no one knows about it.¡± ¡°It was difficult,¡± Euryphel said softly. He looked surprised a moment later, as though he hadn¡¯t meant to speak the words out loud. Ian coughed. ¡°So. I¡¯ve been thinking about what¡¯s next, since I can¡¯t stay here indefinitely.¡± Both the executor and Night Queen stared at him with rapt attention. ¡°We need to deal with Achemiss as soon as possible. If he¡¯s truly reappeared on the other side of the world, he should be close to Euryphel.¡± He nodded to the former prince. ¡°Given Achemiss¡¯s intent to destroy this world, he should stand out in your fatesight, allowing us to locate him and end him.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already been looking for him,¡± Euryphel stated, ¡°though I haven¡¯t found anything obviously pointing to him yet.¡± I¡¯d like to question the assumption that Achemiss¡¯s intent to destroy the world connects him to this world¡¯s people through fate, Maria transmitted through the lich bond. That has always been more of a vague, far-off goal. People living today would not have suffered from Achemiss¡¯s machinations¨Cthat plight would fall to their descendants. Ian froze at the implications. Moreover, injured as I assume he is, his current goal should be recuperating and returning to Eternity, not creating a world-ending apocalypse. He might only have direct fate with us, Maria concluded, and perhaps a few others who are already involved, like Eury. That will make him difficult to find, won¡¯t it? So long as he isn¡¯t trying to kill massive amounts of people, yes, he¡¯ll be difficult to track down at a distance. But you can do it, Ian said. Yes. Ian¡¯s original plan shifted. ¡°While Euryphel searches for Achemiss, I will seek shelter elsewhere. I need to fix my soul.¡± He turned to Zhuram. ¡°You¡¯re intelligent and know the stakes. I won¡¯t claim to know all that you can bring to muster between Datcha¡¯s resources and practitioners¨Cjust do what good you can and keep Euryphel in the loop. Anything you say to him, you say to me.¡± To Euryphel, he added, ¡°After this, I¡¯m going to find Soolemar. Aside from his skill with souls, he also knows Achemiss best. We¡¯ll need him.¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Linda said. She then told Euryphel, ¡°I intend to involve Suran Rindo. The range of his fatesight is lacking, but I¡¯m curious what he¡¯ll be able to glean from his card auguries.¡± ¡°Please do,¡± Euryphel said, ¡°I was also considering asking him. We can use all the help we can get.¡± ¡ª It was almost time to leave. ¡°When we next meet, we can re-establish our quantum channel,¡± Ian mentally told Euryphel. Unfortunately, ascending had scrambled his configured quantum channels, forcing him to reestablish them. ¡°Until then, I¡¯ll reach out to you every twelve hours or so.¡± When the prince nodded his assent, Ian dismissed him with the transmission artifact and began to peruse the clothes available at the safe house. Linda watched stoically as he rifled through a wardrobe. He¡¯d already pulled out a set of clothes, only to realize that they didn¡¯t fit. His size had changed, after all¨Che¡¯d put on muscle since ascending. Lean muscle, but still, more than he had before. ¡°I¡¯ve grown too used to auto-sizing clothing,¡± Ian explained, chuckling at himself as he tugged on a pair of black sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. He had swept Maria¡¯s cloak of flames over and around his shoulders like a shawl, the silky fabric the color of charcoal when the flames were extinguished. Zhuram threw a matching charcoal ball cap his way. ¡°To cover your ember crown.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Ian caught the hat, noted the icon stitched across its front¨Ca pink margarita¨Cand put it on, then looked at himself in the mirror. He scratched his temple. ¡°I guess this is passable.¡± She cracked a grin, finally shedding her serious countenance. ¡°It¡¯s much better than what you came to me with.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not saying much.¡± He coughed. ¡°Well, I¡¯m off, then.¡± He headed for the staircase. ¡°You¡¯re an enigma, Ian Dunai,¡± she said suddenly. He paused and looked at her over his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not the first to say that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re incredibly strong, yet you act¡­¡± She trailed off, as though realizing that what she intended to say might be taken the wrong way. Ian turned around and clasped his hands behind his back. ¡°Go on. You won¡¯t offend me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t act like someone who is powerful. If I hadn¡¯t felt your three affinities, I wouldn¡¯t have guessed you were practitioner.¡± Is she calling me meek? Ian wondered. Maria responded with mental laughter. ¡°However, healing your injuries has told me clearer than any words how terrifyingly cruel you are. Not even to your opponents, but to yourself. It makes me wonder if the casual, easygoing, dare I say awkward person before me is a lie. But I don¡¯t think it is. Hence why¨Cto me, at least¨Cyou¡¯re an enigma.¡± That was shockingly blunt, Maria thought. You must have made a good impression. You sure? She called me awkward. She¡¯s convinced you won¡¯t murder her, Maria explained. In other words, she trusts that you¡¯re reasonable and level-headed. Ian considered how to respond to Zhuram¡¯s explanation. ¡°The way I think is different from how sovereigns like you do. You have people relying on you, looking to you for guidance and following your example. As the moment demands it, you put on a mask and play a role.¡± He considered what he had experienced in Maria and Eury¡¯s souls. Maria faced constant scrutiny and doubt, her intentions good but her methods scorned. He thought of Eury and the many ways he hid all parts of himself from the eyes of others, as though he hoped to one day deceive even himself. ¡°You think that playing roles is distasteful,¡± she guessed. ¡°No.¡± His voice was firm. ¡°It¡¯s just not my path. Believe me, I can act however I want. I¡¯ve assumed many roles in Eternity because it was necessary to achieve my goals. But here, now, I choose to act like myself.¡± Her expression softened. ¡°I see.¡± With a final nod of his head, Ian left the safe house. Zhuram had provide him with several useful items, including a new glossY connected to an ID counting him as a citizen of Datcha, a bank account holding a quarter million auris, and a prepaid hovergloss pass. All of this was in a charcoal gray backpack that matched the color of his hat and cloak-turned-shawl. Maria insisted that Zhuram providing such things was the bare minimum considering his status, and that he shouldn¡¯t feel grateful, but Ian still appreciated Zhuram¡¯s assistance. He¡¯d been worried about keeping a low profile since he definitely couldn¡¯t use his real name to get around. He had considered using his fake identity from when he went to the East before ascending¨Cthe twenty-seven-year-old traveler from Shattradan, Ian Baldwin¨Cbut he felt uneasy using it. Selejo had discovered his real identity when he¡¯d been in hiding, after all. With his eyes restored, he could appreciate the city anew as he navigated to the main hovergloss station. The city-wide order to shelter indoors had elapsed hours ago, and people were out and about with a vengeance, enjoying the cool, mild evening. Ian had been in cities with mortals in Eternity, but this felt decidedly different. Eternity mortals were all unfamiliar, with different societies and standards. They also were used to interacting with ascendants and had a general understanding of their smallness in the grand scheme of things. The people in Chemissa were bold in their ignorance. To them, this world was all there was. Ascendants were myths, Eternity shrouded in mystery. Even though regulars were beneath practitioners in the hierarchy of power, they still made up the overwhelming majority of people and held not-insignificant influence. Ian thought that the key difference was that everyone on this world was mortal. Practitioners and regulars alike died on the same timescale. They weren¡¯t true second-class citizens in the way that mortals in Eternity were. In Eternity, mortals were more important than ants insofar as they populated urban environments and made useful items, but they were expendable. Perhaps returned ascendants don¡¯t tell people about Eternity because they¡¯re better off not knowing, Ian mused. Maria considered for a moment before thinking, Some things are best left as legends. Soon enough, ¡°Ian Bellus¡± arrived at Chemissa Central Station. He moved along with the crushing throng of people, finding an odd satisfaction in being one with the crowd. Like everyone else, he boarded the civilian hovergloss and even had to stand, holding onto a thin rope that swung from the ceiling. He transferred at another city in Shibaria and hopped on another hovergloss that would take him to north through to Stilla. The hovergloss ride was scenic, the line hugging the coast through Kester¡¯s western mountains. The Gulf of Adrian¨Cthe stretch of the Illyrian Ocean between the eastern continent and the Ho¡¯ostar Peninsula¨Cwas a sparkling blue beauty. Why are you sad? Maria asked. Ian started. He¡¯d been looking out the window, lost in his thoughts. I¡¯m not. He knew Maria hadn¡¯t said that out of nowhere, however. He thought harder. Maybe it¡¯s because I saw so little of this world before leaving it. So many beautiful places I left behind. I didn¡¯t worry much about that, though¨CI thought that Eternity would have incredible sights to put this world to shame. Eternity does have incredible sights, Maria pointed out, but I think I understand what you¡¯re getting at. You do? I feel a heaviness within me, a deep, inexplicable melancholy. Ian sighed and placed a palm on the window, his eyebrows furrowing. This isn¡¯t our world anymore. How bittersweet a thought that is. Maria¡¯s mental sigh matched his own. Bittersweet indeed. It was late when the hovergloss car stopped in Stilla. There wasn¡¯t a train going into Gnoste until the morning. Ian didn¡¯t want to risk staying overnight somewhere, so he continued into Gnoste on his own. Thankfully, the train had taken him close to the northern part of Stilla, which was dominated by desert land and relatively unpopulated. To avoid using decemancy, which was easy to detect, he flew on a necromantic construct across the desert. He¡¯d done much the same before his entanglement with Zilverna and Judith when he¡¯d fled Selejo¡¯s pursuit and rushed to meet Euryphel at the Jermal Trench. The necromantic construct was freshly constructed using the thick arm of a cactus. He¡¯d flattened it into an elongated disc that hovered across the sands. The strands of Death energy that imbued the construct with power were on its interior, hidden from most eyes. Only arrays specifically designed to detect necromancy would be a problem. Ian knew that in Gnoste, where Soolemar¡¯s influence ran deep, he had nothing to fear. Ian flew faster with the construct than on a hovergloss, the wind whipping at his skin and threatening to tear off the charcoal shawl. Ian reveled in the experience now that he could feel again, his nerves restored to full functionality after Zhuram¡¯s treatment. After nearly dying hours ago, I feel so alive, he thought to Maria. Before long, he found his way to Soolemar¡¯s underground lair. The necromancer wasn¡¯t there¨CIan assumed he must be in Morinapol¨Cbut Ian didn¡¯t care. Soolemar would come soon enough. He couldn¡¯t wait to see his mentor and finally fix his soul. Chaptew 333. Teachew and S-Student An houw p-p-passed. Ian took *runs away* the x3 time t-to wewax. the *runs away* jouwnyey t-to Soowemaw¡¯s waiw had been wong, ;;w;; and Ian hadn¡¯t dawed sweep. He c-couwd sustain UwU himsewf u-using his pwactice¨Chad sustainyed himsewf fow weeks at a time whiwe puwsuing gweatew ^-^ powew. But he couwdn¡¯t ewiminyate *twerks* the x3 exhaustion in his bonyes, x3 onye exacewbated by Zhuwam¡¯s e-e-extensive weconstwuction of his body. When he weawized *screams* that he was nyodding off, Ian puwwed out the x3 Bwade of Wevewation and stawed at his wefwection. *walks away* Then, he dwew the x3 bwade acwoss his c-c-chest, inyitiating his twansfowmation and gwanting him a second wind. With wefweshed focus, he mentawwy addwessed Mawia. *boops your nose* Maybe he¡¯s nyot pwannying t-to come tonyight. I c-couwd caww him with the x3 twansmission awtifact and teww him I-I-I¡¯m hewe. Ow *notices buldge* you c-couwd message him with youw nyew gwossY¨Cyou *sweats* shouwd stiww have his contact infowmation in youw owd onye and c-can twansfew i-it uvw. Twue. Anyothew hawf houw passed *huggles tightly* without Ian d-d-doing anything. He didn¡¯t *runs away* undewstand *cries* what was stopping him¨Cwhy didn¡¯t *runs away* he just *whispers to self* weach out t-to Soowemaw!? am *blushes* I afwaid that h-he¡¯ww teww me my souw *walks away* is u-u-unfixabwe!!11 What Ian had towd Achemiss back in E-Etewnyity wasn¡¯t a wie¨CIan ^w^ t-t-thought h-he¡¯d found the x3 cwux of his souw *walks away* weaknyess. *screams* Even if i-it was hawdew t-to fix his souw *walks away* than anticipated, Ian wasn¡¯t actuawwy *screams* wowwied about succeeding in the x3 effowt. Mawia, he finyawwy asked, why am I n-nyewvous about seeing him? She answewed him with anyothew *screams* question. Why haven¡¯t you cawwed *looks at you* Kawanyos OwO and Cwystaw? Ian fwownyed. Ow Gewmainye. I just¡­ He didn¡¯t *runs away* knyow how t-to expwain it. You w-want t-to wait *cries* untiw this businyess is uvw befowe you contact them, Mawia x3 posited. As faw as Kawanyos OwO knyows, I-I-I¡¯m stiww in Etewnyity, Ian wepwied. What¡¯s the x3 point of cawwing him nyow *whispers to self* when *notices buldge* Achemiss stiww w-wives?!?1 G-Gewmainye is the x3 same. I don¡¯t w-want t-to give hew fawse :3 h-hope that the x3 dangew has p-p-passed. Hopefuwwy this wiww aww be uvw in a day ow (?`¦Ø¡ä?) t-two, if we¡¯we wucky enyough that Euwyphew finds Achemiss¡¯s End a-a-awwows with his fatesight. These awe poow justifications, Mawia x3 stated. ;;w;; You c-couwd caww them nyow *whispers to self* and wet them knyow what has happenyed. *screeches* kawanyos OwO m-might even OwO have good *whispers to self* advice. Nyow that Achemiss nyo wongew has his awsenyaw of awtifacts, he¡¯s at a mawked ^w^ disadvantage. Unwike you, he¡¯s awonye, without awwies. Even so, aww Achemiss nyeeds t-to do is a-assassinyate me when *notices buldge* I-I-I¡¯m unyabwe ;;w;; t-to defend mysewf ow (?`¦Ø¡ä?) unyawawe. He¡¯s a peak Dawk pwactitionyew, so even OwO though he speciawizes in offensive disintegwation, he c-can cewtainwy use his powew t-to phase thwough sowid mattew. It¡¯s a nyightmawe. That¡¯s why we *notices buldge* have W-Wegwet pwactitionyews, she awgued. Ian gwunted his acknyowwedgment. Yeah, I guess. You shouwd wemembew that onye of the x3 most powewfuw W-Wegwet pwactitionyews >w< on ouw wowwd is dead ^w^ set on keeping you awive, Mawia x3 added, the x3 impwication obvious. Awso, Owion Iucowsu is in the x3 Dawkseews. He has peak W-Wegwet and M-M-Mountain affinyities, pewfect fow detecting f-futuwe attacks and defending against them. Then thewe¡¯s awways K-Kaiwen, though I have othew pwans fow h-hew. Ian wecawwed his bwief encountew with the x3 W-Wegwet and Moon duaw pwactitionyew duwing A-Awi¡¯s d-descent. He c-considewed asking what kind of pwans Mawia x3 had in mind, but c-considewed i-it moot¨Che¡¯d find out eventuawwy, and he twusted hew judgment. You faiwed *sweats* t-to undewstand *cries* the x3 point of my question, Ian. You have Beginnying affinyity nyow, so you¡¯we nyot simpwy *screams* u-unyawawe¨Cyou¡¯we b-being dewibewatewy *starts twerking* obtuse. Nyot intentionyawwy. Wet ¨²w¨² me twansfowm, Mawia x3 thought. Ian :3 siphonyed the x3 Bwade of Wevewation¡¯s enyewgy back into himsewf, fowcing *walks away* Mawia x3 t-to wevewt t-to hew humanyoid ¨²w¨² fowm. As Ian sagged, she puwwed him t-to hew c-c-chest, suppowting his towso against hew own. ;;w;; He wested his head on hews, the x3 t-top of hew head suppowting his jaw. ¡°Ian,¡± she muwmuwed, ¡°you don¡¯t wike *screams* t-to show peopwe youw faiwuwes, youw weaknyesses. You put on a bwave fwont and pwetend that aww is w-w-weww. You don¡¯t w-want Soowemaw *walks away* t-to see youw fwagiwity, don¡¯t w-want those back in E-Etewnyity t-to heaw of youw faiwuwe, don¡¯t w-want G-Gewmainye t-to c-comfowt you.¡± *walks away* She chuckwed. ¡°You ^w^ didn¡¯t *runs away* even OwO w-want t-to ask fow Euwyphew¡¯s hewp *sweats* yestewday.¡± ¡°Is that so bad?¡± She hugged him tightew. *twerks* ¡°It¡¯s nyot bad¨Cbut it¡¯s nyot exactwy heawthy.¡± They *looks at you* hewd >w< theiw e-embwace fow sevewaw minyutes befowe Ian disengaged. Gwoanying, he puwwed out his owd gwossY and powewed i-it on once Mawia x3 wwote a smaww *starts twerking* End awway on the x3 back that pwevented the x3 device *whispers to self* fwom connyecting t-to the x3 distwibuted nyetwowk. He manyuawwy copied uvw sevewaw contacts, incwuding Soowemaw, E-Euwyphew, and Gewmainye. His fingews p-p-paused theiw typing when *notices buldge* he weached his mothew and aunt, ¡°Iowanya¡± and ¡°Juwia,¡± theiw nyames adjacent. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He wondewed what Aunt Juwia *starts twerking* t-t-thought about his ascension. He hadn¡¯t had the x3 chance t-to speak with hew in y-yeaws, at weast fwom his pewspective. And his mothew¡­ G-Gewmainye had avoided mentionying hew. ¡°Nyo mowe pwocwastinyating,¡± *sees bulge* Mawia x3 said, smiwing. Hew expwession was infectious. ;;w;; Ian smiwed back, then made a big show of sewecting Soowemaw¡¯s infowmation and inyitiating a pwojection caww. The owd nyecwomancew OwO answewed immediatewy, though appeawed t-to be busy, nyot deignying t-to w-wook at the x3 pwojection. He was t-t-tightenying a tie awound his nyeck >w< and fixing his cowwaw. ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°Youw student,¡± Ian said. Soowemaw¡¯s *screeches* head whipped awound. ¡°Why¨C¡± >w< he cut off, s-seemingwy at a woss fow wowds. ;;w;; ¡°A Datchan phonye nyumbew?¡± Ian s-shwugged. ¡°I awmost *walks away* didn¡¯t *runs away* answew!¡± Soowemaw *walks away* huffed. Sensing his distwess, Divian¨CSoowemaw¡¯s siwvewy hound¨Cbawked and bwushed up against hew mastew, ¨²w¨² hew head awching up towawd his chest. ¡°I have a gawa tonyight,¡± Soowemaw *walks away* added. ¡°An impowtant onye.¡± He gwabbed and hewd >w< up a bwack suit jacket. ¡°I *boops your nose* just *whispers to self* had this taiwowed *notices buldge* fow the x3 occasion. And this tie¨Cnyew.¡± ¡°It wooks w-wuvwy with youw eyes,¡± Mawia x3 cawwed, weanying against Ian so that she was visibwe in the x3 pwojection. Soowemaw g-g-gwaced hew with a woguish smiwe. ¡°Ah, Mawia. *boops your nose* I have heawd so much about you.¡± Ian waised an eyebwow. ¡°Awe you actuawwy *screams* going t-to this event?¡± The nyecwomancew OwO wet out a hawsh c-chuckwe. ¡°Of c-couwse you w-wouwd ask that stiww. Nyo, student¨Cit seems that I have a sudden change of pwans. *blushes* A cewebwation, I¡¯d *screeches* g-guess.¡± Ian¡¯s smiwe fwoze. ¡°Nyot exactwy.¡± Soowemaw¡¯s eyes nyawwowed. ¡°Whewe *boops your nose* awe you?¡± ¡°Youw cave.¡± Soowemaw nyodded. ¡°I¡¯ww be thewe immediatewy.¡± The caww ended. Mawia *sweats* g-gave him a knyowing >w< w-wook. ¡°Was OwO that so h-h-hawd?¡±¡± ¡°Yep.¡± She wowwed hew eyes and g-gave him a wight punch on the x3 a-awm. ¡°Do you nyeed me t-to twansfowm into the x3 wegawia?¡± ¡°Nyo, it¡¯s finye. It¡¯s just *whispers to self* Soowemaw. Besides, I bet h-he¡¯ww be intewested in you.¡± She waised an eyebwow. ¡°You ^w^ do weawize how that sounds, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Academicawwy,¡± Ian cwawified. ¡°An academic intewest, given that you¡¯we a wich.¡± She snyickewed. ¡°Oh Ian¨Cyou¡¯we too *twerks* easy.¡± ¡ª Soowemaw didn¡¯t *runs away* knyow what t-to think as he appwoached his wowkshop. He hadn¡¯t been abwe t-to pwopewwy pwocess the x3 situation when *notices buldge* Ian cawwed. the *runs away* a-ascendant had wetuwnyed and was awive. *screams* T-That was cause fow cewebwation, given his wisky pwan t-to k-kiww Achemiss. But *screams* appawentwy aww wasn¡¯t weww. Soowemaw sensed Ian and Mawia x3 befowe he saw them. They had p-p-pwoceeded into the x3 main pawt of his wowkshop undewgwound. *whispers to self* They shouwd have sensed his appwoach as weww *looks at you* but seemed content t-to wait *cries* fow h-h-him. ¡°Soowemaw,¡± Ian cawwed *looks at you* out as the x3 nyecwomancew OwO weached the x3 wowkshop. Soowemaw was nyo stwangew t-to Ian¡¯s twansfowmed appeawance, having seen i-it via the x3 twansmission awtifact. Even so¡­ seeing Ian in pewson¨Cfeewing his awtewed vitawity¨Cweft Soowemaw *walks away* momentawiwy stunnyed. ¡°Nyo wings, this time,¡± Soowemaw *walks away* said, watching onto the x3 smawwest, most innyocuous detaiw. Ian chuckwed. ¡°Nyot this time. T-That was just *whispers to self* t-to enhance my disguise whiwe in Etewnyity.¡± It was an effowt t-to tuwn his gaze away. *huggles tightly* Ian was a tewwow¨Cpossibwy the x3 most intimidating *starts twerking* pewson that Soowemaw *walks away* had evew *sweats* s-s-seen, the x3 effect e-enhanced by Ian¡¯s obvious nyonchawance. He wasn¡¯t t-twying t-to w-wook intimidating, wike *screams* a wowd of d-d-dawknyess. He just *whispers to self* was. His skin was the x3 c-cowow of n-nyight and wugged, *starts twerking* awmost *walks away* wawped, enhancing his bwow and cheeks. His eyes wewe pits that gwowed *walks away* with subtwe, wainbow iwidescence. His vitawity was stwong, awmost *walks away* impossibwy *walks away* so, as though evewy inch of him was cwammed with W-W-Wife, and his vitaw signyatuwe was the x3 most unyique Soowemaw *walks away* had evew *sweats* s-s-seen, couwtesy of the x3 thwee affinyities. Even Ian¡¯s casuaw cwothing¨Cincwuding the x3 bawwcap with the x3 mawgawita icon¡ªwasn¡¯t enyough t-to dispew the x3 oppwessivenyess awound him. Soowemaw undewstood why peopwe may have once wowshiped wetuwnyed ascendants as gods. He tuwnyed his attention t-to Mawia, Ian¡¯s wich, and the x3 fowmew wuwew of Sewejo. mawia x3 was stwikingwy w-w-wifewike, so much so that Soowemaw *walks away* awmost *walks away* couwdn¡¯t b-bewieve that she was undead. It was mowe than an iwwusion¨Chew vitaw signyatuwe was diffewent, unwike the x3 i-i-inky, unyifowm bwacknyess of a typicaw wich. She was dwessed ^w^ in a set of combat bwacks, *sees bulge* the x3 onwy souwce of c-cowow an azuwe diadem that huvwed uvw hew head. He incwinyed ^w^ his head t-to hew wespectivewy. ¡°You ^w^ w-wook wuvwy¨Cand wemawkabwy awive.¡± Mawia beamed. ¡°The pweasuwe is minye, Soowemaw. You w-wook wemawkabwy awive youwsewf,¡± x3 she teased. ¡°I¡¯ve had a miwwennyium t-to pewfect my disguise,¡± Soowemaw *walks away* said. ¡°I cheated *runs away* a bit,¡± Mawia x3 confessed, :3 pointing t-to the x3 bwue *starts twerking* ciwcwet. Suddenwy, Mawia¡¯s vitawity s-shifted, tuwnying bwack. *screeches* Hew skin took *runs away* on a pwetewnyatuwaw pawwow and hew eyes gwowed. She was e-enchanting, but nyo onye w-wouwd mistake *sees bulge* hew fow a wiving pewson. ¡°Can *twerks* I see that?¡± Soowemaw *walks away* asked, w-w-wasew focused on the x3 diadem. ¡°Suwe¨Cbut watew. the *runs away* situation is uwgent.¡± Soowemaw¡¯s *whispers to self* expwession feww. ¡°So you impwied *sees bulge* on the x3 caww. What is amiss?¡± Ian expwainyed how Achemiss had escaped. (?`¦Ø¡ä?) ¡°Do you have any OwO idea how anyonye c-couwd suwvive b-being destwoyed so compwetewy?¡± If i-it wewe anyonye ewse speaking, Soowemaw *walks away* w-wouwd have doubted theiw tawe. OwO Peopwe didn¡¯t *runs away* simpwy *screams* shwug *starts twerking* off b-being destwoyed body and souw¨Cespeciawwy when *notices buldge* the x3 onye who bwought such *twerks* annyihiwation was a pwactitionyew wike *screams* Ian Dunyai. Ian w-w-wouwdn¡¯t have made a mistake¨Che w-wouwd have uttewwy extinguished his o-opponyent. So how did Achemiss stiww wive? ¡°I knyow w-wittwe of Achemiss¡¯s pwepawations t-to ascend when *notices buldge* he was mowtaw,¡± Soowemaw *walks away* began, his bwow fuwwowed in contempwation. ¡°I *boops your nose* didn¡¯t *runs away* even OwO knyow that he had ascended in Chemissa. But I find i-it wikewy that he w-wouwd have pwepawed some kind of contingency in the x3 event that he faiwed.¡± ¡°We awso came t-to that concwusion,¡± *cries* Ian said, nyodding t-to Mawia. ¡°If he pwepawed a contingency a thousand yeaws ago, it¡¯s incwedibwe that it¡¯s stiww functionyaw,¡± *huggles tightly* Mawia x3 added. ¡°If ;;w;; he weawwy x3 pwepawed this contingency so w-wong ago, i-it shouwd have diwe dwawbacks,¡± Soowemaw *walks away* said, somewhat smug. ¡°Befowe he ascended, he wasn¡¯t my equaw.¡± ¡°Wiww you hewp *sweats* us find and end ;;w;; him?¡± Ian asked, getting s-s-stwaight t-to the x3 point. The answew was easy. ¡°Of couwse.¡± Ian smiwed. ¡°-¡°-¡°Gweat. W-With that s-s-settwed, thewe¡¯s anyothew *screams* pwobwem I nyeed youw hewp *sweats* with.¡± ¡°Fixing youw souw,¡± Soowemaw *walks away* guessed. Ian had towd him about his difficuwties since gainying his thiwd affinyity in Etewnyity. Whiwe h-he¡¯d h-h-hewped t-to specuwate about possibwe causes and s-sowutions, he hadn¡¯t been abwe t-to hewp *sweats* as much as he w-wouwd have wiked. But with Ian physicawwy p-pwesent and his souw *walks away* nyo wongew pwotected by Etewnyity, Soowemaw *walks away* t-t-thought they had a good *whispers to self* chance t-to fix whatevew pwobwem Ian suffewed fwom. ¡°Guessed i-it in onye,¡± Ian wepwied. ¡°Awe you weady t-to stawt nyow?¡± ¡°Weady if you awe.¡± x3 333. Teacher and Student An hour passed. Ian took the time to relax. The journey to Soolemar¡¯s lair had been long, and Ian hadn¡¯t dared sleep. He could sustain himself using his practice¨Chad sustained himself for weeks at a time while pursuing greater power. But he couldn¡¯t eliminate the exhaustion in his bones, one exacerbated by Zhuram¡¯s extensive reconstruction of his body. When he realized that he was nodding off, Ian pulled out the Blade of Revelation and stared at his reflection. Then, he drew the blade across his chest, initiating his transformation and granting him a second wind. With refreshed focus, he mentally addressed Maria. Maybe he¡¯s not planning to come tonight. I could call him with the transmission artifact and tell him I¡¯m here. Or you could message him with your new glossY¨Cyou should still have his contact information in your old one and can transfer it over. True. Another half hour passed without Ian doing anything. He didn¡¯t understand what was stopping him¨Cwhy didn¡¯t he just reach out to Soolemar? Am I afraid that he¡¯ll tell me my soul is unfixable? What Ian had told Achemiss back in Eternity wasn¡¯t a lie¨CIan thought he¡¯d found the crux of his soul weakness. Even if it was harder to fix his soul than anticipated, Ian wasn¡¯t actually worried about succeeding in the effort. Maria, he finally asked, why am I nervous about seeing him? She answered him with another question. Why haven¡¯t you called Karanos and Crystal? Ian frowned. Or Germaine. I just¡­ He didn¡¯t know how to explain it. You want to wait until this business is over before you contact them, Maria posited. As far as Karanos knows, I¡¯m still in Eternity, Ian replied. What¡¯s the point of calling him now when Achemiss still lives? Germaine is the same. I don¡¯t want to give her false hope that the danger has passed. Hopefully this will all be over in a day or two, if we¡¯re lucky enough that Euryphel finds Achemiss¡¯s End arrows with his fatesight. These are poor justifications, Maria stated. You could call them now and let them know what has happened. Karanos might even have good advice. Now that Achemiss no longer has his arsenal of artifacts, he¡¯s at a marked disadvantage. Unlike you, he¡¯s alone, without allies. Even so, all Achemiss needs to do is assassinate me when I¡¯m unable to defend myself or unaware. He¡¯s a peak Dark practitioner, so even though he specializes in offensive disintegration, he can certainly use his power to phase through solid matter. It¡¯s a nightmare. That¡¯s why we have Regret practitioners, she argued. Ian grunted his acknowledgment. Yeah, I guess. You should remember that one of the most powerful Regret practitioners on our world is dead set on keeping you alive, Maria added, the implication obvious. Also, Orion Iucorsu is in the Darkseers. He has peak Regret and Mountain affinities, perfect for detecting future attacks and defending against them. Then there¡¯s always Kaiwen, though I have other plans for her. Ian recalled his brief encounter with the Regret and Moon dual practitioner during Ari¡¯s descent. He considered asking what kind of plans Maria had in mind, but considered it moot¨Che¡¯d find out eventually, and he trusted her judgment. You failed to understand the point of my question, Ian. You have Beginning affinity now, so you¡¯re not simply unaware¨Cyou¡¯re being deliberately obtuse. Not intentionally. Let me transform, Maria thought. Ian siphoned the Blade of Revelation¡¯s energy back into himself, forcing Maria to revert to her humanoid form. As Ian sagged, she pulled him to her chest, supporting his torso against her own. He rested his head on hers, the top of her head supporting his jaw. ¡°Ian,¡± she murmured, ¡°you don¡¯t like to show people your failures, your weaknesses. You put on a brave front and pretend that all is well. You don¡¯t want Soolemar to see your fragility, don¡¯t want those back in Eternity to hear of your failure, don¡¯t want Germaine to comfort you.¡± She chuckled. ¡°You didn¡¯t even want to ask for Euryphel¡¯s help yesterday.¡± ¡°Is that so bad?¡± She hugged him tighter. ¡°It¡¯s not bad¨Cbut it¡¯s not exactly healthy.¡± They held their embrace for several minutes before Ian disengaged. Groaning, he pulled out his old glossY and powered it on once Maria wrote a small End array on the back that prevented the device from connecting to the distributed network. He manually copied over several contacts, including Soolemar, Euryphel, and Germaine. His fingers paused their typing when he reached his mother and aunt, ¡°Iolana¡± and ¡°Julia,¡± their names adjacent. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He wondered what Aunt Julia thought about his ascension. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to speak with her in years, at least from his perspective. And his mother¡­ Germaine had avoided mentioning her. ¡°No more procrastinating,¡± Maria said, smiling. Her expression was infectious. Ian smiled back, then made a big show of selecting Soolemar¡¯s information and initiating a projection call. The old necromancer answered immediately, though appeared to be busy, not deigning to look at the projection. He was tightening a tie around his neck and fixing his collar. ¡°Who is this?¡± ¡°Your student,¡± Ian said. Soolemar¡¯s head whipped around. ¡°Why¨C¡± he cut off, seemingly at a loss for words. ¡°A Datchan phone number?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°I almost didn¡¯t answer!¡± Soolemar huffed. Sensing his distress, Divian¨CSoolemar¡¯s silvery hound¨Cbarked and brushed up against her master, her head arching up toward his chest. ¡°I have a gala tonight,¡± Soolemar added. ¡°An important one.¡± He grabbed and held up a black suit jacket. ¡°I just had this tailored for the occasion. And this tie¨Cnew.¡± ¡°It looks lovely with your eyes,¡± Maria called, leaning against Ian so that she was visible in the projection. Soolemar graced her with a roguish smile. ¡°Ah, Maria. I have heard so much about you.¡± Ian raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you actually going to this event?¡± The necromancer let out a harsh chuckle. ¡°Of course you would ask that still. No, student¨Cit seems that I have a sudden change of plans. A celebration, I¡¯d guess.¡± Ian¡¯s smile froze. ¡°Not exactly.¡± Soolemar¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Your cave.¡± Soolemar nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be there immediately.¡± The call ended. Maria gave him a knowing look. ¡°Was that so hard?¡±¡± ¡°Yep.¡± She rolled her eyes and gave him a light punch on the arm. ¡°Do you need me to transform into the regalia?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just Soolemar. Besides, I bet he¡¯ll be interested in you.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°You do realize how that sounds, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Academically,¡± Ian clarified. ¡°An academic interest, given that you¡¯re a lich.¡± She snickered. ¡°Oh Ian¨Cyou¡¯re too easy.¡± ¡ª Soolemar didn¡¯t know what to think as he approached his workshop. He hadn¡¯t been able to properly process the situation when Ian called. The ascendant had returned and was alive. That was cause for celebration, given his risky plan to kill Achemiss. But apparently all wasn¡¯t well. Soolemar sensed Ian and Maria before he saw them. They had proceeded into the main part of his workshop underground. They should have sensed his approach as well but seemed content to wait for him. ¡°Soolemar,¡± Ian called out as the necromancer reached the workshop. Soolemar was no stranger to Ian¡¯s transformed appearance, having seen it via the transmission artifact. Even so¡­ seeing Ian in person¨Cfeeling his altered vitality¨Cleft Soolemar momentarily stunned. ¡°No wings, this time,¡± Soolemar said, latching onto the smallest, most innocuous detail. Ian chuckled. ¡°Not this time. That was just to enhance my disguise while in Eternity.¡± It was an effort to turn his gaze away. Ian was a terror¨Cpossibly the most intimidating person that Soolemar had ever seen, the effect enhanced by Ian¡¯s obvious nonchalance. He wasn¡¯t trying to look intimidating, like a lord of darkness. He just was. His skin was the color of night and rugged, almost warped, enhancing his brow and cheeks. His eyes were pits that glowed with subtle, rainbow iridescence. His vitality was strong, almost impossibly so, as though every inch of him was crammed with Life, and his vital signature was the most unique Soolemar had ever seen, courtesy of the three affinities. Even Ian¡¯s casual clothing¨Cincluding the ballcap with the margarita icon¡ªwasn¡¯t enough to dispel the oppressiveness around him. Soolemar understood why people may have once worshiped returned ascendants as gods. He turned his attention to Maria, Ian¡¯s lich, and the former ruler of Selejo. Maria was strikingly lifelike, so much so that Soolemar almost couldn¡¯t believe that she was undead. It was more than an illusion¨Cher vital signature was different, unlike the inky, uniform blackness of a typical lich. She was dressed in a set of combat blacks, the only source of color an azure diadem that hovered over her head. He inclined his head to her respectively. ¡°You look lovely¨Cand remarkably alive.¡± Maria beamed. ¡°The pleasure is mine, Soolemar. You look remarkably alive yourself,¡± she teased. ¡°I¡¯ve had a millennium to perfect my disguise,¡± Soolemar said. ¡°I cheated a bit,¡± Maria confessed, pointing to the blue circlet. Suddenly, Maria¡¯s vitality shifted, turning black. Her skin took on a preternatural pallor and her eyes glowed. She was enchanting, but no one would mistake her for a living person. ¡°Can I see that?¡± Soolemar asked, laser focused on the diadem. ¡°Sure¨Cbut later. The situation is urgent.¡± Soolemar¡¯s expression fell. ¡°So you implied on the call. What is amiss?¡± Ian explained how Achemiss had escaped. ¡°Do you have any idea how anyone could survive being destroyed so completely?¡± If it were anyone else speaking, Soolemar would have doubted their tale. People didn¡¯t simply shrug off being destroyed body and soul¨Cespecially when the one who brought such annihilation was a practitioner like Ian Dunai. Ian wouldn¡¯t have made a mistake¨Che would have utterly extinguished his opponent. So how did Achemiss still live? ¡°I know little of Achemiss¡¯s preparations to ascend when he was mortal,¡± Soolemar began, his brow furrowed in contemplation. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that he had ascended in Chemissa. But I find it likely that he would have prepared some kind of contingency in the event that he failed.¡± ¡°We also came to that conclusion,¡± Ian said, nodding to Maria. ¡°If he prepared a contingency a thousand years ago, it¡¯s incredible that it¡¯s still functional,¡± Maria added. ¡°If he really prepared this contingency so long ago, it should have dire drawbacks,¡± Soolemar said, somewhat smug. ¡°Before he ascended, he wasn¡¯t my equal.¡± ¡°Will you help us find and end him?¡± Ian asked, getting straight to the point. The answer was easy. ¡°Of course.¡± Ian smiled. ¡°Great. With that settled, there¡¯s another problem I need your help with.¡± ¡°Fixing your soul,¡± Soolemar guessed. Ian had told him about his difficulties since gaining his third affinity in Eternity. While he¡¯d helped to speculate about possible causes and solutions, he hadn¡¯t been able to help as much as he would have liked. But with Ian physically present and his soul no longer protected by Eternity, Soolemar thought they had a good chance to fix whatever problem Ian suffered from. ¡°Guessed it in one,¡± Ian replied. ¡°Are you ready to start now?¡± ¡°Ready if you are.¡± 334. Sharing Soul Sight Ian tugged off his shirt, revealing the hard lines of his transformed torso. His skin was rugged, almost molded like a statue. Soolemar stood close to him and spooled a tendril of ethereal energy from his soul. It snaked its way over to Ian¡¯s chest, then pressed into his clavicle, pushing its way into his body. ¡°It¡¯s hard to go past your skin,¡± Soolemar noted. ¡°The transformation brought on by your artifact is fascinating. When we have more time, I¡¯d like to study it.¡± Ian nodded. ¡°If all goes well, there will be plenty of time for that.¡± Before Ian went to Eternity, his soul¡¯s corruption heightened his offensive capabilities at the cost of defense. Probing Ian¡¯s body with ethereal energy had never been a challenge for the old necromancer. Until now. Soolemar had heard from Ian¡¯s own mouth just how far he¡¯d progressed but to witness it in person was different. Soolemar couldn¡¯t see embodied souls, but he was a master at feeling them, reading their contours, and discerning their composition¨Ctheir viscosity, flexibility, and responsiveness. Before, Ian¡¯s soul had been like a ruined plastic bag, torn and strewn throughout his body. Around those pieces of soul, his ethereal body had pooled. Usually, the ethereal body was almost like a cross between a liquid and a gel¨Cat least that¡¯s how Soolemar thought of it. A powerful, dense ethereal body would be hard to push through and would make injuring the soul more challenging. The strength of one¡¯s ethereal body was somewhat intrinsic, but for necromancers, the starting point was mostly irrelevant¨Cthey could increase the strength of their ethereal body over time. Most of Soolemar¡¯s experience feeling the souls of other necromancers came from a time long since passed: when his school still stood, and people openly learned necromancy. He drew on that body of knowledge as he assessed the changes in Ian¡¯s ethereal body and the state of his soul. ¡°Remind me, Ian¨Chow many years has it been, from your perspective?¡± ¡°Five or six¨Cit¡¯s hard to keep track in time-dilated spaces.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve used disembodied souls to repair the state of your ethereal body,¡± Soolemar said. ¡°It¡¯s significantly strengthened.¡± Soolemar almost said, ¡°Good work,¡± but stopped himself. Even if Ian considered himself Soolemar¡¯s student, the old necromancer couldn¡¯t think of him the same way, not anymore. Ian was a peer. He didn¡¯t need encouragement. Saying such platitudes felt wrong, almost disrespectful. Ian laughed. ¡°Let¡¯s see how hard it is for you to reach my soul, going against just my passive defenses.¡± By passive defenses, Ian was referring to how hard it was for foreign energy to pass through his ethereal body. The denser his ethereal body, the harder a time Soolemar would have. Soolemar pushed his tendril of energy deeper. After passing through Ian¡¯s skin, he encountered less resistance, but Ian¡¯s energy was still notably denser than Soolemar remembered. Before, it had almost been too stretchy and overly sinuous, lacking stopping power. It had allowed him to form needle-thin threads of energy that didn¡¯t break but had left his soul vulnerable to outside attacks. It felt healthier. But there was also something different that he hadn¡¯t expected. ¡°Why is your ethereal body constantly shifting?¡± Soolemar asked. ¡°As you know, souls are relatively invulnerable in Eternity, but can be manipulated indirectly. While training with Ancient Ash, I began regularly shifting my ethereal body to practice nudging the soul in particular ways. The more I did it, the more it became second nature. Outside of Eternity, it¡¯s not relevant, of course¨CI can control my own soul directly.¡± ¡°You make it sound easy,¡± Soolemar said, snorting in annoyance. ¡°No wonder Achemiss bought into your charade.¡± Ian laughed. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Soolemar ignored his question. He¡¯s practically fishing for compliments, the necromancer grumbled internally. The way Ian subtly shifted his ethereal body oozed nuance and practice. Soolemar found it hard not to be jealous when everything came so easily to Ian, but he recognized his own limits¨Cand his own inferiority. Ian really was that gifted when it came to Death affinity¨Cmore gifted than anyone Soolemar had ever known. And going by the fact that Ian had been recruited by a lauded ancient for individual instruction, even if it was supposedly as a reward for winning a competition between other young ascendants¡­ Ian clearly stood out even among ascendants. Soolemar continued pushing his ethereal energy tendril through Ian¡¯s chest. When at last he reached the threshold of Ian¡¯s soul¨Cthat timeless coil of thought and memory¨Che began to assess it in earnest. ¡°The anchor points,¡± Ian said, directing Soolemar¡¯s attention. Soolemar spent the next several minutes working his way over Ian¡¯s soul. Despite the greater strength and support of Ian¡¯s ethereal body, his soul was still in multiple fragments. Soolemar didn¡¯t think that would ever change¨Cyou couldn¡¯t fundamentally un-corrupt a soul. Piecing it back together merely meant applying external pressure with the ethereal body, forcing the fragments to migrate close together. Because Ian¡¯s soul was decentralized, it took the old necromancer a while to pore over the entire matrix of connections that fastened the soul to the ascendant¡¯s body. ¡°The effect would have been worse if your soul was in one piece,¡± Soolemar muttered. Ian¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Care to elaborate?¡± Soolemar paused. ¡°You were right to point me to your soul¡¯s anchor points. It¡¯s quite bizarre¨Cthey¡¯re frayed around your soul, almost like your soul was cannibalizing the anchor points to strengthen itself. Unfortunately, since the anchor points are extensions of the soul itself, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to manipulate them in Eternity.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I would have noticed if it were severe,¡± Ian pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s why this is so interesting¡­ I think the damage is from the inside.¡± He met Ian¡¯s gaze. ¡°To my point, since your soul is more distributed, I think the cannibalization may have been minimized. Can I cut open one of your anchor points to demonstrate?¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± Ian said, looking around. ¡°Do you have any disembodied souls stored nearby?¡± The question was almost insulting. ¡°Ian¡­ do you forget who you¡¯re dealing with?¡± A minute later, Ian was holding a string of souls on a line of his ethereal energy. He tapped the crown of embers on his head. ¡°Watch closely,¡± he said mischievously, ¡°this is pretty cool.¡± Soolemar scoffed, but the excitement he felt was genuine. This was the crown of embers that Maria transformed into, the artifact that allowed Ian to see embodied souls. It would allow Ian to follow Soolemar¡¯s progress as he dissected the anchor points. Moreover, it was the first real ascendant artifact that Soolemar had ever seen in person. He tried not to show just how interested he was¨Che didn¡¯t want to seem like the practitioner equivalent of a country bumpkin. As Ian offered the souls to the crown¡¯s embers one by one, the little flames changed color and rotated, spinning faster and faster until at last they sank into his head. Ian blinked and smiled. ¡°There.¡± It was a bit anticlimactic; Soolemar couldn¡¯t see as Ian did. ¡°Now let me share what I see with you,¡± Ian added. ¡°With your permission, of course.¡± The chance to see embodied souls? He relaxed his mental defenses. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Just a warning, I¡¯m still not very good at using Remorse.¡± Soolemar was going to tell Ian not to worry when his mind suddenly felt the impact of a mental equivalent of a sledgehammer. A mess of light and color subsumed his vision. It was practically a Remorse attack. ¡°Ian!¡± Soolemar winced. ¡°I warned you,¡± Ian said. At least his mental voice wasn¡¯t too loud. ¡°In Eternity, I mostly used my Remorse to communicate thoughts. Sharing my vision like this is beyond my capabilities.¡± How are you doing it, then? Soolemar thought. Assuming you manage to show me more than this mess of undifferentiated colors. Ian snorted. ¡°Ascendant energy bridges the gap, but I don¡¯t have the nuance to wield my Remorse affinity effectively. Just give me a moment; I practiced doing this countless times with Ascendant Red, but he¡¯s a much more forgiving subject.¡± The world gradually shifted into focus as the minutes ticked on. Soolemar had retained the ability to see in color, though his sight was desaturated compared to that of the living. Seeing through Ian¡¯s eyes reminded him of what he had lost a thousand years ago, when he¡¯d made the final, flawed step into immortality and undeath. Adding to the disorientation was the fact that he was seeing through Ian¡¯s perspective, not his own. Ian was currently looking at Soolemar, so Soolemar was seeing himself through Ian¡¯s eyes. It was markedly different from looking at himself in a mirror. He shuddered in anticipation as the blurry scene finally solidified. Soolemar saw something within his vessel. It almost looks like a green mass that had been pressed into the shape of kelp, or tree roots¡­ or maybe even an ink stain that had taken solid form. He hadn¡¯t expected it to look so ugly. When he sensed his soul, it felt smooth, the anchor points delicate yet strong. How strange. Soolemar saw himself press a hand to his chest, saw how ethereal energy pushed out from his hand and jostled his soul, straining the anchor points. When he retracted his energy, the soul drifted back. ¡°Maria says that your soul is a lovely shade of green,¡± Ian said. Soolemar smiled, not fully processing the comment. This was incredible. More than ever, he became determined to enter Eternity at any cost. Ian found a way to see embodied souls in a handful of years. Even if it took Soolemar thousands of years to find an artifact with a similar purpose, it would be worth the wait. Ian¡¯s gaze shifted downward to his own chest. Where Soolemar¡¯s soul looked almost plantlike, Ian¡¯s looked bulbous, like a host of tumors, or a dormant hive. It was an intense blue color, like the pristine waterfalls that once roared in Yurusi Canyon, or a cloudless, sun-filled sky. Ian focused on one of his soul¡¯s anchor points, plucking it with his ethereal body. Outwardly, nothing seemed wrong with it. ¡°Soolemar, why don¡¯t you cut into this one.¡± Soolemar¡¯s ethereal energy tendril hovered over the anchor point, poised to begin the experiment. Why not just cut into the anchor point yourself? Soolemar wondered. ¡°I already have, earlier¨Cjust a quick test, though, without the ember crown allowing me to see embodied souls. Something seemed off but I couldn¡¯t discern what. We both know my intuition is second to none when it comes to necromancy, but my experience is lacking, especially since souls are so hard to deal with in Eternity. You¡¯ve seen and felt countless souls in your lifetime. I defer to your mastery in this.¡± If you¡¯re sure. ¡°I am. Go ahead.¡± Soolemar¡¯s tendril of energy flattened to a thin edge and sliced along the length of the anchor point. Ian shuddered, though showed no other outward sign of distress. Soolemar carefully stretched the anchor point until it was nearly flat, revealing its interior. Glowing, cobalt-colored crystals grew inside the anchor point. ¡°What is this?¡± Ian mentally asked, concerned. I¡¯m not exactly sure, but it¡¯s definitely the source of your problems. ¡°The color is like that of my ascendant energy with Maria empowering me, as she is currently. Is my ascendant energy somehow compromising my soul?¡± Then all ascendants would be in trouble, Soolemar reminded him. ¡°You said that it looked like my soul was cannibalizing my anchor points. What if instead, the crystals are coming from my soul, spreading into my anchor points?¡± Your soul is protected by Eternity, Ian, Soolemar said. How could it be compromised? ¡°Nothing can attack it, but it¡¯s still connected to me through an inseverable link that spans any distance. It can be indirectly affected just by moving my ethereal body.¡± Ian sighed. ¡°And if an ascendant wishes to die, they can force their soul to atrophy to the point of unraveling.¡± In other words, Eternity¡¯s protections aren¡¯t absolute. ¡°We can speculate about how this happened later, once Achemiss is finally dead.¡± Agreed. ¡°Which brings me to my main question¡­ can you fix this?¡± Soolemar¡¯s lips curled into a smile. It looks quite difficult. I¡¯m not sure. ¡°Oh?¡± Together, though, I¡¯m of the opinion that in the domain of the soul, we can do most anything. 335. Cobalt Crystals Ian had no idea why there would be weird, dark blue crystals in the veins that anchored his soul to his body. He couldn¡¯t feel the soul like he could the physical world¨Cit was a different sense limited to the realm of the ethereal. Even though the ember crown made the cobalt crystals visually distinct, they didn¡¯t feel particularly distinct from the soul anchors. ¡°Soolemar, what do the crystals feel like to you?¡± Soolemar considered the question for several seconds before replying, Sticky, almost like a cavity on a tooth. Ian poked the blue crystals with a tendril of his ethereal body. Smooth. Then he pricked the crystals¡¯ surface. Like Soolemar said, there was an odd stickiness when he retracted his ethereal energy. ¡°What happens if we scrape the crystals away?¡± There¡¯s one way to find out, Soolemar replied. ¡°Go ahead. I know how to re-tether a soul, after all¨Cthat was key to escaping End oaths before I ascended. Anything you do to my soul anchors is inconsequential.¡± Ian steeled himself as Soolemar¡¯s energy arched over the root of the anchor, close to a fragment of his soul. The necromancer¡¯s energy cleaved diagonally, prying under the crystals. Ian struggled to keep his composure as Soolemar sawed back and forth, severing the connection points between the crystals and his soul anchors. Cutting away the crystals didn¡¯t induce physical pain, but it caused enough discomfort that Ian had to restrain himself from interrupting Soolemar¡¯s practice. When the man finished, tiny traces remained on Ian¡¯s anchors, dark blue specks of taint. The severed blue crystals lay suspended in Ian¡¯s ethereal body, perfectly buoyant within the metaphysical fluid. Ian ensconced them in a vesicle of ethereal energy, then expelled it from his body. The vesicle bobbed above his palm. A few more disembodied souls were fastened to a post off to the side. Ian grasped one that was sunflower yellow. He brought his two hands together, implanting the yellow soul with the azure payload. ¡°Now we¡¯ll be able to study them even without the ember crown,¡± Ian said. After all, he and Soolemar could see disembodied souls just fine. He cut his mental connection to Soolemar and let the artifact¡¯s effect fade, then reverted Maria¡¯s transformation. Soolemar stared at her, transfixed by the lich, though he quickly averted his gaze to avoid being rude. As usual, Maria supported Ian as he sagged, weakness seizing his body. The ascendant shook it off and leaned in to inspect the implanted soul. Ian could see the crystals with his normal soul sight. They dissolved in the soul like salt in water, their blue streaks winding through the soul¡¯s yellow ink stain. Twists of green bloomed where the colors blended. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to examine how the crystals affect a disembodied soul,¡± he said. ¡°Are you up to the task?¡± Soolemar snorted, then joked, ¡°The student assigning the teacher homework?¡± Ian barked a laugh. ¡°Or rather, the researcher collecting a specimen for his professor to study.¡± Soolemar waved him off. ¡°I¡¯ll supervise this experiment. What do you intend to do, given what we¡¯ve discovered?¡± Ian sighed. ¡°I¡¯m going to completely re-anchor my soul.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about the remnants,¡± Soolemar guessed, ¡°those blue specks left behind.¡± Ian nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t want the crystals to regrow and put me back at square one. I need a permanent solution for when I return to Eternity.¡± Maria placed a hand on her hip. ¡°Before, you detached and reattached your anchor points to fake your death. What you¡¯re proposing here¨Cdestroying and recreating the anchor points from scratch¨Csounds significantly more invasive¡­ and dangerous.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be right if I needed to destroy and recreate all my anchor points simultaneously,¡± Ian said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to induce a false death, however. I can recreate my anchor points one by one.¡± Ian felt her relief over their bond. They locked eyes and he grabbed her hand, squeezing it softly. ¡°The process of reconstructing an anchor from nothing will take time,¡± Soolemar cautioned. ¡°With your help, could I do it in half a day?¡± He considered, then nodded. ¡°We still don¡¯t know if this will solve your problem, Ian. Keep that in mind.¡± Ian knew what the old necromancer implied. His Beginning auguries predicted that reforming his anchor points only had a 25% chance to solve the problem. There was a greater likelihood that excising the taint was a temporary measure and the crystals would regrow, engendered by the conditions in his soul. In other words, more likely than not, the crystals were the symptom of a more insidious problem. Even so, Ian was hopeful that reforming his anchor points would rid his body of weakness, at least for a while. ¡ª Ian thrust the final fistful of blue crystals into a forest green disembodied soul. Finally, he¡¯d done it¨Cthe last of his anchor points had been remade. The process had been more laborious than anticipated. His shattered soul had more anchor points than Soolemar anticipated, nearly a hundred. Ian could reform an anchor point in a few minutes, but the task was exhausting, especially when done in succession. Even with Soolemar helping, they could only complete around ten each hour. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Ian couldn¡¯t tell if reforming the anchor points strengthened him. He didn¡¯t feel different, but he¡¯d also reformed the anchor points over time, so the change might not be immediately noticeable. There was one way to test whether their efforts had borne fruit. Ian rubbed his midnight fingers over the gilded hilt of the Blade of Revelation. With significant apprehension, he nodded to both of his companions before divesting his body of transformative energy, forcing a reversion to his normal appearance. Soft, pale skin replaced his stiff, obsidian countenance. Rather than feeling immediate weakness, Ian felt the same as before. Not perfect, but also not on the precipice of unconsciousness. He smiled at Maria and Soolemar. ¡°So far so good.¡± Maria beamed and pulled him into an embrace. Soolemar¡¯s eyes crinkled with mirth, but his mouth refused to curve into a smile. ¡°Is this a complete success?¡± he asked. ¡°Not quite,¡± Ian said. He flexed his hand. ¡°For now, it¡¯s enough.¡± ¡°You¡¯re leaving,¡± Soolemar stated. Ian nodded. ¡°I must, for now. You know how to reach my new glossY; let me know if you discover anything while studying the crystals.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have any time at all?¡± Soolemar asked, his gaze panning between Ian and Maria. Ian cocked his head. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful day in Morinapol,¡± the old necromancer remarked, flashing white teeth. ¡°If you¡¯re planning to go into the city to use the arrays, you might as well appreciate a view of the bay.¡± ¡°I can see the bay better from the open sky than from your high rise,¡± Ian joked, though his expression became somber. ¡°I¡¯ve never been to your apartment before.¡± ¡°We never had much time together,¡± Soolemar acknowledged. Ian turned to Maria. ¡°Don¡¯t we have time for a short detour?¡± ¡ª Soolemar¡¯s apartment was spacious, but not to an unreasonable extent. Divian lay on the floor between Ian and Maria, demanding head scratches while Soolemar spooned steaming food from takeout containers onto two plates. ¡°Should we come to the table?¡± Maria asked, her fingers digging into the space behind Divian¡¯s ear. Her gaze was fixed on the bay, its waters sparkling under the unclouded sun. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the plates over,¡± Soolemar said, his eyes narrowing as he scraped the last of the food from the container. ¡°Ian and I can control dead matter, so spills aren¡¯t an issue.¡± Ian appeared thoughtful. ¡°While that¡¯s true, it¡¯s unnecessary. I eat cleanly.¡± Soolemar raised a brow as he brought the plates over along with two sets of utensils. ¡°I would expect such confidence from the Eldemari, not from you.¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°Blame my draconian upbringing.¡± Maria curled her arm around Ian¡¯s and opened herself up to their bond. He shared his senses as best he could, allowing her to smell and taste indirectly. The noodles on the plate smelled like basil and soy sauce. Soolemar sat in a wooden chair across from the couch, one leg crossed over his knee. He held the plate with one hand and ate with the other, casually chowing down on the cuisine. ¡°How do you enjoy food?¡± Maria asked. She pointed to her blue diadem. ¡°Even with this artifact, I can¡¯t taste or smell.¡± Soolemar swallowed. ¡°Maria,¡± he began, ¡°I¡¯m not truly a lich, like you. Whatever I am is a being of my own creation, formed from my own flesh with the combined insights of a long life spent studying necromancy. Only a master necromancer could turn themselves into something like me that is immortal and dead, but¡­ not entirely.¡± Maria turned to Ian, who was also digging into the noodles. ¡°Could you make me more like him?¡± Ian¡¯s eyes flitted to hers. Maria had missed his human face, the warm, brown eyes that now shined subtly iridescent in the sun. The rainbow oil-spill effect that characterized the eyes of an ancient was more noticeable when Ian¡¯s eyes were transformed into dark, fathomless pools. His lips curved into a smile. He was smiling more now that he¡¯d returned. She knew Ian still worried that Achemiss would stage a comeback and spell his end, but that worry paled in comparison to the dread he felt before. It was so easy to forget how strongly Ian felt the burden of responsibility when he looked like a dark, capable god, surrounded by cloying specters of Death. Maria liked to think that she was immune to the deception¨Cafter all, she had seen the insecurities in his very soul and had spent most of her time as his regalia, sharing his sight and partaking of his thoughts. But the truth was, Ian deceived even himself in the waking world. He chose not to think about the enormity of the tasks that were before him. He simply moved forward. At times, the burdens had threatened to drown him¨Cand Maria had been there to share them. But usually, they lay buried, unaddressed, but passively felt, like invisible, soundless chains. ¡°Maria?¡± Ian said, snapping her out of her thoughts. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Did you hear what I said?¡± ¡°No, please repeat it.¡± ¡°I might be able to restore some of your senses, especially if I can study Soolemar¡¯s body.¡± Maria studied the old necromancer¡¯s reaction. He appeared impassive, but from everything she knew, Soolemar was incredibly secretive about his body. That¡¯s how most practitioners were¨Cprotective of their ace techniques. ¡°Perhaps when we¡¯re all in Eternity,¡± Maria said, giving Soolemar an appeasing nod. When the meal was done, there was an awkward minute of silence where everyone peered out the window. ¡°Can you tell me what you¡¯re doing next?¡± Soolemar finally asked. Ian¡¯s hands tightened on the couch. Kneeling on the cushions, he was a bit shorter than Maria and Soolemar, who were both standing. He ran a hand through his mundane, dark brown hair. ¡°I need to find Achemiss,¡± he finally said, ¡°but I also need to stop the Infinity Loop.¡± He turned to Maria. ¡°For now, the best place to go for both purposes is the Selejo Imperial Federation.¡± Soolemar seemed unsurprised by this conclusion. ¡°Will you be able to avoid notice?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°I have my ways, and the Crowned Executor is good with disguises, besides.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about your physical appearance.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Ian, how can I say this nicely? You¡¯re a trouble magnet.¡± Ian blinked, then smirked. ¡°Nobody knows I¡¯m alive. How much trouble could I get into?¡± Soolemar¡¯s lips pressed into a thin line. ¡°Several people know you¡¯re alive. Important people.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not public knowledge.¡± Maria gave Soolemar a slow shake of her head and mouthed, He¡¯s hopeless. The old necromancer shot her a look that said, Good luck. Ian had good manners and could handle himself in social situations, that much was true. His mother had done a good job teaching her son how to fit into social gatherings of the rich and powerful. That said, Ian didn¡¯t have patience for politics. Maria told herself that if Ian stayed hidden, everything would be fine. Yeah, right. 336. An Unplanned Stop Morinapol¡¯s array station was likely the largest in Gnoste, but that wasn¡¯t saying much. Of the station¡¯s seven available destinations, most were in the east: only two lead westwards to Shattradan and Sere. From there, travelers would take connections to other cities. Ian¡¯s margarita ball cap shaded his face, while a short beard sharpened his jaw. He wore a plain gray sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Holding his arm was an alluring woman in a sun hat, silk shirt, and tan pants, her eyes covered by a pair of sunglasses. As they approached the array station¡¯s schedule¨Cit was a projection that took up an entire wall¨CIan felt self-conscious, his Beginning and Remorse making him hyper aware of everyone around him. He tried to stay out of people¡¯s minds, but they were all unprotected: People practically shouted their thoughts at him. His Beginning jumped at the chance to process everything he heard, refusing to ignore the noise. Ian had consulted Red Griffith on balancing regular people¡¯s privacy and self-defense. Red had ultimately convinced him that when it came to reading surface thoughts, the short-term invasion of privacy was worth the situational awareness. That assumed, of course, that Ian could process thousands of surface thoughts. I wish people wouldn¡¯t stare, Ian remarked. Are they staring? Maria asked, giving him a coy expression. Clearly. Maria tilted her head. They just think we¡¯re affluent foreigners. If they recognized us, they¡¯d be giving us a very different reaction. He rolled his eyes and gripped her arm a little tighter. Something tells me you like the attention. It¡¯s a novel experience, being noticed but not recognized. Ian knew what she meant. Sure, in Eternity, nobody had known who they were, but that was different. Now they were home. Ian had lived most of his life as an unremarkable regular, but Maria had always been the Sezakuin¡¯s daughter and the expected future despot of Selejo. Euryphel had dealt with similar struggles, but his skill with disguises allowed him to hide his identity whenever he snuck out. As far as Ian knew, Maria had never shied away from her identity and status¨Cperhaps because she spent much of her early years proving herself capable of filling her mother¡¯s shoes. Eventually, the transport array activated. Ian and Maria followed the crowd single file, appearing on the other side without incident. They left the array station and boarded a small hovergloss headed north, through Belloco and into Illuet. It was the most direct way to the Selejo Imperial Federation. How is your soul? Maria asked. She stared out the window at the dry, windswept grasslands. The sun turned the withered, winter yellow to molten gold. It¡¯s fine, Ian replied. Hasn¡¯t gotten worse. Not better? Not better. Ian could live with the current state of his soul indefinitely¨Cit wouldn¡¯t kill him, at least as far as he knew. But aside from mild, perpetual discomfort, his weakened soul reduced the strength of his necromancy. That meant he¡¯d be weakened in a confrontation with Achemiss. After what Ian had done to Achemiss, he reckoned the necromancer would be weakened, too¨Cbut to what extent? Ian joined Maria in staring at Sere¡¯s countryside. He¡¯d never been to this part of the subcontinent, though he was deeply familiar with the eastern shores where Menocht Bay sat upon the coast of Illuet province. Or at least, he was familiar with a facsimile of the real place. He cleared his throat. ¡°Have you ever been to Menocht Bay?¡± In the flesh? he added mentally. Maria didn¡¯t look away from the window. ¡°No.¡± He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s one of the stops along the route.¡± She finally glanced over. ¡°We could stop for dinner there.¡± Neither of them really needed to eat¨CIan could sustain himself with his practice, while Maria needed no sustenance at all. But it was a convenient excuse, a justification. ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Ian murmured. Growing bored of the pastoral view, he grabbed his glossY and scrolled through the news. A day ago, while en route to Gnoste, he¡¯d started poring through news articles starting from around the time he ascended. His Beginning affinity allowed him to devour paragraphs at a glance, so he was only limited by how fast he could find relevant articles. Some had been unpleasant to read¨Csuch as articles denigrating Euryphel and the Federation, calling them the heralds of a new reign of tyranny in the West. Many more articles attacked Maria, lambasting her decisions in the final days of the war. Some called her incompetent for her loss, neglecting to mention the role that insurrectionist traitors had played in disrupting her plans to defend Cunabulus. There were plenty of articles about himself, too¨Cspeculating about how strong he had been and how he had compared to other half-step ascendants. Many wondered why his trial had been different. Why had the Skai¡¯aren¡¯s descendant failed to destroy Pardin? Had he summoned the massive green lizard hand that had blocked the descendant¡¯s initial hammer strike? But more interesting were the articles that speculated about what happened at the very end of the fight between Ian, Euryphel, Maria, Maria¡¯s second Kaiwen Chowicz, and Ari. Most ¡°experts¡± seemed convinced that the descendant had survived and taken the Skai¡¯aren to Eternity. Very few claimed that the descendant had perished in the fight, and Ian got the sense that those claims were viewed as conspiracy theories. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Ian knew someone had stolen Ascendant Ari¡¯s body. He¡¯d asked Euryphel about it before and confirmed that her corpse wasn¡¯t in the Federation¡¯s hands. But Ian hadn¡¯t realized that her death had been completely covered up. Euryphel and Chowicz were the only eyewitnesses who survived direct confrontation with the descendant. They wouldn¡¯t have lied about the ascendant¡¯s death¡­ would they? While Ian mulled over such questions and continued to read on his glossY, the hovergloss crossed into Illuet. When the sun was just beginning to set, it pulled into Menocht Bay. Ian felt intense disquiet as the car cruised closer to the city proper, his knuckles tightening as he clenched his hands. He¡¯d never been back to Menocht since the loop. Even though he¡¯d had time to heal and come to terms with his torturous ordeal, being back in the city put him on edge. He hated that he felt that way. He had come so far since the Menocht Loop. He¡¯d grown in more ways than he ever thought possible, both with respect to his practice and on a personal level. He liked who he was today better than who he had been, in those dark, despair-filled years. He didn¡¯t know what he¡¯d hoped to experience as the hovergloss passed through. Perhaps¡­ indifference? Maybe a sense that Menocht was nothing, just a small stain on his past. Ian knew that was a ridiculous hope. He remembered with clarity the visions that Cayeun Suncloud had shown him during the celebration of mirrors. She¡¯d shown him his greatest triumphs and his greatest failures, and much had been centered on his time in the Infinity Loop. ¡°Arriving in Menocht Bay,¡± the hovergloss speakers announced. The doors slid open, revealing the platform. Ian sat, frozen. He didn¡¯t want to go. There was no point in him getting off¨Cit was just a detour. Suddenly, a gentle hand tugged at his shirt. His gaze snapped up, beholding Maria¡¯s backside as she walked to the door. She turned to look back over her shoulder. Sun hat held in hand, her hair looked pink in the harsh backlight of the sun coming through the hovergloss window. Ian knew that Maria understood his reticence. She¡¯d spent time in the Infinity Loop. She¡¯d seen his loop recordings. And of course, she¡¯d spent the last few years with him as his closest confidante. She knew what this place was to him. It was a nightmare¨Ca shadow on his heart. And yet here she stood, a quiet smile on her lips, her eyes beckoning. For a moment, just standing there, looking at her, Ian felt their age difference. ¡°Coming?¡± Maria finally asked as the doors threatened to close. In that moment, all Ian wanted was to hug her and hide away, out of the public eye. Just embrace and be silent. Instead, he stood and shook off his apprehension, following her off the hovergloss. The platform was mostly deserted, with only a few loiterers¨Cunsurprising given that the platform was for long distance hovergloss rides. Though it was the golden hour, the moon shone overhead, a thin sliver opposite the descending sun. ¡°Where to?¡± Maria asked, smiling. She gave his hand a squeeze when he didn¡¯t answer and tugged him along. ¡°We¡¯re not in a rush¨Cnot tonight. Let¡¯s just see where fate takes us.¡± Maria hadn¡¯t spent as much time in Menocht as Ian, but she had a general familiarity with the city. They didn¡¯t stand out. Clothing that was conspicuous in Gnoste was typical in the shimmering coastal town. They walked easily, tirelessly, passing through neighborhood after neighborhood. They never stopped. When they at last reached the Flower District, the part of the city dominated by beautiful gardens and rows of local businesses, the sun had set, painting everything in shades of violet dusk. Overhead lights illuminated the entire district¨Cnot the iconic colored lanterns that floated above Zukal¡¯iss, but garlands of lights that hung between trees and buildings. Some strings of lights had been coiled into sculptures of animals. Unattached to any buildings or plants, they strode across the sky, providing an enchanting light show. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before,¡± Ian said, smiling. ¡°I was never in Menocht for the lunar festival season.¡± Between reading surface and his Beginning affinity, Ian quickly learned that Menocht Bay was midway through a month of festivities celebrating the end of winter. He thought it was ironic since Menocht Bay remained temperate all year round, but if the tourist city wanted to use it as an excuse to further boost the number of visitors to the coast, good for them. The festivities revealed a different side of Menocht than he was used to. Even the lower tier of the Flower District had been cleaned up. When they took a lift down, rather than being surrounded by seedy establishments and shady individuals, they were surrounded on all sides by garlands of lights that made the space even brighter than the surface. Countless pop-up business had sprouted all along the interior. Both locals and vacationers were out in full force, the sounds of human existence dominating everything and making it necessary to shout to be heard. Ian didn¡¯t like these kinds of places¨Cnormally. But seeing the Flower District¡¯s underground¨Ca place that in the loop was the source of the ginger outbreak¨Ctransformed into something so different¡­ It made the loop feel like the illusion it was, like the nightmare was fake. Of course, Ian wasn¡¯t ignorant to the truth. He couldn¡¯t be, not when he had peerless vital perception, Beginning, and Remorse. The festivities painted a wonderful veneer over a place that was normally rife with crime. He saw beneath them¨Cdetected numerous people skulking in dens of depravity outside the public view. Many more were among the crowd, taking advantage of the chaotic atmosphere to steal. One person even approached Ian and Maria. The perpetrator¡¯s hand got to within a half-foot of Ian¡¯s belt when the necromancer froze her body in place. He spoke into her mind: ¡°Wrong target.¡± She looked at him like he was the bogeyman. Ian tried food from some of the stalls, taking an odd pleasure in waiting in long lines just like everyone else. It was so normal. In Eternity, even in cities dominated by non-ascendants, he had always felt out of place. Everything was at best slightly strange, unfamiliar. Ian and Maria escaped the throng, taking the lift back to the surface and strolling toward the coast. The tentative excuse of getting dinner fell away as they proceeded onto the beach, moonlight the only source of illumination. They weren¡¯t the only ones, but Ian could tell that no one else was a practitioner. They walked hand-in-hand along the length of the shore. Eventually, the coast went no further, obstructed by rocks and greenery. Ian pulled Maria to himself, his hands resting on the small of her back, her arms wrapping around him. As they embraced, bones and shells slowly streamed out of the water, forming a thin, circular platform. Ian led Maria over and they stepped onto the simple circle. Ian kept walking with Maria¡¯s arm in his; as he did, another platform appeared, then another, like stepping stones. He made as small a use of his practice as possible, looking to avoid notice. Far from the shore, Ian and Maria came to a stop and stared at the stars. They didn¡¯t exchange any words¨Cthey didn¡¯t need to. They had crossed an unfathomable distance to enter Eternity and the same distance to come back. They had seen what endless planes had to offer, had seen people with power dwarfing anything they had witnessed before. Eternity was, in many ways, amazing¡­ but nothing there was quite like home. We¡¯re going to protect this place from the Infinity Loop, before it¡¯s too late, she said, as though speaking a promise straight into his heart. Ian held her tighter. Yeah. We are. He just hoped that their efforts would be enough. He couldn¡¯t afford to fall short a second time. 337. Complications Euryphel¡¯s head jerked as he caught himself nodding off. He had been attending to something important¡­ probably. Documents, signatures, something like that. He could barely keep his eyes open¨Che hadn¡¯t slept well. Everything that reached his desk was important, but not all of it was urgent. These days, however, most things were urgent, forcing him to pull unreasonable hours. There just wasn¡¯t enough that he could delegate¨Cthere were so many things that needed to be done now, in the months following the Federation¡¯s formation, things that he needed to do himself. As his eyes glazed over his glosspad, he contemplated entering a Regret loop to take a short, one-minute nap. It would do absolutely nothing for his restfulness, but it might provide psychological comfort. He decided against it. He didn¡¯t have that many documents left to review¨Che would push through, like he always did. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. ¡°Eury.¡± The Crowned Executor whipped around. ¡°Well hello,¡± he replied, his heart nearly skipping a beat. He set down the glosspad onto his desk and gave Ian a mock disapproving expression. ¡°You¡¯re lucky no one else is here to see you.¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°I tried messaging your glossY but you didn¡¯t respond.¡± Euryphel raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. He slid out his glossY and barked out a laugh, his eyes flitting back up to Ian. ¡°You messaged me fifteen minutes ago!¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°You could have been a bit more patient. What if I was in an important meeting? I wouldn¡¯t have had a chance to respond, possibly for hours.¡± Ian ran a hand through his hair. ¡°It¡¯s somewhat urgent.¡± As is everything, Euryphel¡¯s mind quipped, but his rational side kicked into gear. If Ian said that something was somewhat urgent, he was probably understating things. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ian coughed. ¡°It¡¯s a bit awkward. So, we were stranded in Mount Ziggura because the hovergloss broke down in the middle of the mountains.¡± Euryphel wondered if he was so tired that he was hallucinating the words coming from Ian¡¯s lips. ¡°Then there was an avalanche.¡± Of course there was. ¡°Half of the hovergloss cars were submerged. A rescue team was sent to collect everyone, me and Maria included. They brought us to a small town on the western side of the former SPU, at the base of the mountain chain. It¡¯s called Septima.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Euryphel asked, rephrasing his original question. Ian blinked. ¡°There¡¯s a life practitioner here whose affinity is quite high. She noticed something off about Maria and detained her. Nothing¡¯s happened yet, but you know the way necromancy is handled.¡± ¡°Y¡¯jeni, is it too much for you to stay out of trouble,¡± Euryphel said with a sigh. Ian and Maria could escape, but that would attract unwanted notice. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡± Ian smiled. ¡°Thanks for doing your job.¡± ¡°How is dealing with you and your lich wife my job?¡± Euryphel wondered, smirking. ¡°Not my wife,¡± Ian protested, his eyes glinting, ¡°and handling the whims of returned ascendants is definitely the responsibility of the Crowned Executor. I¡¯m no exception.¡± Euryphel nearly died at ¡°not my wife¡±¨Che hid his reaction with a scoff. ¡°I think I¡¯ve already gone above and beyond in that department, but sure, I¡¯ll concede that dealing with you two falls under my responsibilities.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Ian said. ¡°See you soon, then.¡± Euryphel almost blushed. ¡°I never said I was coming to get you personally.¡± Ian snorted. ¡°I never said you were. Our destination is your palace¨Cwe should arrive by the end of the day, assuming everything gets sorted out.¡± ¡°Consider everything handled,¡± Euryphel assured him. ¡°See you.¡± Ian gave him an appraising look. ¡°You¡¯re not using Regret, are you?¡± The executor shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t need to right now. It¡¯s not like I need to solve this problem in front of you.¡± Ian nodded. ¡°I¡¯m surprised, but in a good way. The way you relied on your scenarios in the past wasn¡¯t healthy.¡± With that, Ian killed the transmission, leaving Euryphel alone in his office. He felt wired. Who knew¨CIan is a better stimulant than coffee. Part of him really wanted to use scenarios when talking to Ian. It would make everything easier. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. But it would also be less¡­ less real. For most people, that didn¡¯t matter. He didn¡¯t feel guilty orchestrating his conversations to go the exact way he desired. But after the business with Ari and his ascension to rule the Federation, exhaustion was his surest companion. His therapist had told him that tracking and reducing the frequency of Regret loops would help. Obviously. Anyone could have told him that. Euryphel knew it himself. Addicts recognize their dependency, know that their habit is destructive. The problem was how to quit. Euryphel hadn¡¯t quit, for obvious reasons. He needed his Regret affinity to survive in a quasi-hostile mishmash of engulfed nations. But he had started to carve out times when he wouldn¡¯t use Regret, times when he actively recognized it as not being necessary. Speaking to Ian was one such situation he deliberately included. The development arose after acting as a projection at Ian¡¯s side during the Hall of Ascension tournament. For the first time in recent memory, he hadn¡¯t been able to use his Regret affinity. Sure, he¡¯d technically looped every minute during important moments when Ian unsummoned and resummoned him using the transmission artifact. But most of the time, he had simply been at Ian¡¯s side, as impotent as a regular. It had been stressful, since he¡¯d been playing a role, but also refreshing. When Ian unsummoned him for the last time, Euryphel had been both relieved and terribly disappointed. His heart had ached¨CIan only kept him around because he had been useful. Regardless of his feelings, he had liked how it felt to be around Ian without using Regret. Euryphel groaned and considered the matter at hand. He couldn¡¯t just send anyone to handle this because it involved the Skai¡¯aren, the Eldemari, and necromancy. Just one of the three would be a scandal. He wished that Ian and Maria simply hadn¡¯t let themselves be wrapped up in this mess, but he understood why it had happened. If the hovergloss cars had been caught in an avalanche in the mountains, safety arrays would have activated to prevent damage to the cars on the line. It would have made escape impossible without Ian or Maria using their affinities to cut open the car. If the duo had escaped, things would¡¯ve likely gotten messy, if only because the hovergloss line wanted to find and charge the individuals who had caused damages. An investigation would be conducted. Their fake identities would be discovered, and it would become known that they weren¡¯t even recorded as practitioners. They¡¯d then be pursued as fugitives¡­ So, so messy. But still better than if Maria were discovered to be a lich. The obvious choice to send¨Cjust from an ability perspective¨Cwas Guardian Nemi Por¡¯sha, the former SPU¡¯s most powerful wind elementalist. She¡¯d reach Ian and Maria in minutes, rather than hours. However, Por¡¯sha wasn¡¯t a member of the Darkseers. Euryphel had told the guardian about the Darkseers in a Regret scenario and her response hadn¡¯t inspired confidence. He had blurted the importance of their mission rapidly, trying to get through as much as possible¡­ but she¡¯d answered him with a noncommittal, ¡°I need time to think.¡± He could empathize, but the others, when given the same treatment, and hearing the earnestness in his voice¡­ the others had trusted him and been all-in from the beginning. No, he couldn¡¯t send Por¡¯sha. He brought up a mental list of other wind elementalists who could go to the border quickly, since there wasn¡¯t a convenient transport array. But just thinking about it made him fatigued. He glanced at his glosspad¨Cand all the urgent things that needed his attention¨Cin disgust. It was late. He shouldn¡¯t even be working. He should be sleeping. Euryphel opened the door to his office and stepped into his bedroom. He threw off his clothes and slammed the drawers of his dresser open with too much force. He used his wind elementalism for both actions, his agitated state roughening his control. He dressed himself in one prepared costume of many¨Ca military uniform with the epaulets and badge of a colonel. He sat down before his vanity mirror and skillfully applied makeup to change the contours of his face. He darkened his eyebrows and eyelashes. Finally, he scooped a bit of what looked like mud from a jar and dabbed it into each eye, turning his blue-green irises brown. He tied up his hair and used a clip to secure the bun close to his scalp. Then, he grabbed a cloth cap he had previously inscribed with End arrays. It was a bit like a hair net, lightweight and diaphanous. He stretched it over his hair, then used his End Avatar to activate the arrays. His long, blond hair became short and dark brown. As he was now, no one would recognize him unless they were expecting him. The combination of makeup, eye color change, hair swap, and officer¡¯s uniform was potent. The distance wasn¡¯t too bad. He could be there in thirty-five minutes if he went at top speed. Exhaling loudly in exasperation¨CIan and Maria really couldn¡¯t stay out of trouble, could they?¨CEuryphel left his room, stepping foot in a dark, damp alleyway outside of Ichormai, the Palace of Fortitude. If he left from the palace grounds, he would have attracted notice. His practitioners regularly patrolled the city, so he couldn¡¯t just fly away from here. He walked swiftly through the streets until he found, via Regret scenarios, a fly-away point where he wouldn¡¯t be detected by anyone. He slipped into the air like a ghost and reached Septima in thirty minutes. When he touched down outside the base, a small fort nestled among a contradictory mix of evergreens and palm trees, not even a single hair was out of place. He reached inside his coat, his sensitive hands pinching free his official ID. It displayed his name, face, and rank on a flat rectangle made of the white plastic associated with all glossware. It was his actual ID, but he could change elements of it at will using his End affinity. That flexibility allowed him to change the name and rank. The picture on the ID¨Ca miraculously terrible photo¨Clooked like Euryphel even when he was disguised. In other words, it never looked like anyone in particular. Though Euryphel knew he should be dead on his feet, every step toward Ian gave him a slow, but constant bit of energy. Euryphel could see countless End arrows around himself¡­ but there were two arrows in particular that he searched for: the ones connected to Maria and Ian. He found them both almost immediately. His gaze snapped to his hand. As before, Ian¡¯s arrow plunged into the space between his knuckles, spearing into his palm. He spotted Maria¡¯s arrow extending from his shoulder. Euryphel waited a minute. Sure enough, a band of three practitioners approached him, one of them an End practitioner¨Clikely one of the End practitioners responsible for detecting the approach of anyone toward the property, especially at odd hours. Euryphel could tell because the arrows around the woman flickered subtly, as though she were picking at them with her End Avatar. It was a bizarre habit. He ran a Regret scenario to peek ahead. Nothing crazy happened¨Cthey asked him to identify himself and state his business. After revealing his fake rank, they all welcomed him into the fort. He repeated the same sequence in the real world and informed them that he was a specialist sent to evaluate one of the passengers detained after the avalanche. If his escort had any problem with how late his visit was, they didn¡¯t complain¨Cthey let the colonel do as he pleased. Soon, Euryphel found himself behind a one-way mirror. On the other side was a familiar¨Cand yet somewhat alien¨Cfigure, sitting in a short chair. Maria. 338. The Spy Ian waited impatiently in an empty office room. They¡¯d sequestered him there when they took away Maria. While no one treated him poorly, he hadn¡¯t planned a several hour stop-over at a small border fort. He wished his Remorse affinity was higher. If he was a peak Remorse practitioner, he could have altered the perception of the Life practitioner that had singled Maria out for her odd vital signature. Currently, while he could read the unprotected surface thoughts of regular military staff, the practitioners¨Cmost, if not all, of the officers¨Chad been trained in passive mental defenses. While Ian could probably brute force his way into some of their minds, the intrusion would be noticed immediately. He hated feeling incapable. Part of him almost missed being in Discardia, where he was back to having one, potent affinity. It was bizarre how the human mind worked, that he preferred being objectively weaker but more confident in what power he had. I just have to work harder at Remorse, he told himself, and Beginning. Though Beginning being weak wasn¡¯t as noticeable since it acted as more of a flat enhancement to everything else. Euryphel¡¯s here, Maria suddenly transmitted over the lich bond, interrupting Ian¡¯s ruminations. Oh, so he did come himself, Ian thought. The Crowned Executor¡¯s presence would make everything easier. Somehow, I¡¯m not surprised. Ooh, he¡¯s taking me away! Unlocking the doors to my interrogation room. Good. Unfortunately, the pesky Life practitioner from before is back and is questioning him. Ian rolled his eyes. Y¡¯jeni, of course she is. Oh, I think they¡¯re going to get into a fight. Ian paused. Wait, what? Suddenly, an explosion rocked the walls. Ian felt tremors through the chair. Maria, seriously, what¡¯s going on? Not sure. They didn¡¯t even speak¨Cthe woman entered the interrogation room and Euryphel immediately started attacking her with his elementalism. They had fate, though¨Cit¡¯s possible Euryphel recognized her from somewhere. Or he interrogated her in a Regret loop and didn¡¯t like what he found. Whatever the truth was, Ian was done sitting around in a random office. He tried the door and it wasn¡¯t even locked, so he strode out into the hallway. At this point, the fort was on high alert, alarms ringing and personnel streaming into the hallways. It was overwhelming, his Beginning and Remorse affinities struggling to make sense of the chaos. Ian winced but kept going, undeterred. At least the chaos gave him a useful cover¨Ca few people gave him questioning glances, but ultimately ignored him. He was probably just a scared, confused regular fleeing for cover. ¡­ Right. Another explosion rocked the base. How are they even making explosions? Ian asked Maria, his thoughts laced with accusation. Increasing his pace, he wished that he could just fly over, but that would ruin his cover. Euryphel has wind elementalism and the woman has Life affinity. Neither affinity should be this percussive. Guilty, Maria confessed. To be fair, I started fighting in self-defense. The woman tried to kill me first. The self-defense argument was a bit ludicrous¨CMaria would just reform if her body was destroyed. But coming back after death would reveal her necromantic nature, so Ian couldn¡¯t fault her decision. Besides, dying wasn¡¯t pleasant. How is she still alive? Ian wondered. He was close, now. Because she has a powerful defensive armament that makes capturing her alive difficult. It¡¯s eastern tech. I could kill her if I went all out, but there isn¡¯t a need. Not when it¡¯s one against two. Ian pushed past another set of doors. Finally, he could sense them outside¨CMaria¡¯s lithe figure making gestures toward a woman brimming with powerful vitality, and a man suspended above the ground, almost unmoving. The Life practitioner threw out a handful of seedlings that rocketed forth, locking onto Euryphel and Maria. The seeds were destroyed before reaching their destination, but a small subset fell halfway. Those grew into towering, tree-like constructs. Ian couldn¡¯t perceive the flames that burned them and the wind that tore them to pieces, but the constructs fell like wheat before the sickle. The Life practitioner had to know it wasn¡¯t enough. The most expensive shields in the world couldn¡¯t bring her victory against two peak practitioners. She was trying to retreat. Ian wouldn¡¯t let that happen. Whoever this woman was, she had secrets worth extracting. With one final push, Ian exited the fortress, stepping onto a wide field used for training. He was met with a sea of flames. His Beginning slowed down the world for a moment as he took in the scene. Everything was on fire, explaining why he hadn¡¯t sensed the vitality of grass under foot. Such destruction was necessary when facing a Life practitioner who could weaponize the greenery. He could barely see past the blaze and the smoke, but he saw Maria circling the Life practitioner like a vulture while Euryphel flew at a distance, their elementalism wrapping the adversary in a fiery cyclone. The wind whipped at Ian¡¯s clothes and threatened to abscond with his margarita cap. In the middle of the flaming vortex was the Life practitioner, her eyes so wide with fear, Ian could see her expression from a distance. But she had a resolute look to her and hadn¡¯t yet backed down. Seven layers of shields surrounded her, mostly transparent aside from the black striations that oscillated over them, the pattern reminiscent of water sloughing down a hovergloss windshield. Ian intuited that there had once been more layers, but that they¡¯d been broken. So much for sprinting all the way here to keep up my cover, he thought with resignation. Should have just flown from the start. He flew himself up and over the savage flames, then twisted and shot toward the Life practitioner like a missile. Fire and wind swirled around him. As the distance shrunk, he tried to incapacitate the woman with his Death affinity. Her automated defenses couldn¡¯t keep him out. He squeezed on a cluster of vessels supplying blood to her brain, but she resisted. He had expected it¨Che was still too far. But he had a cheat. Ian blasted her with a mental attack. She resisted that as well¨Cshe had solid mental defenses, likely learned over a lifetime of practice¨Cbut it distracted her for a moment. That was all Ian needed. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. She sagged forward, unconscious. She¡¯d been standing on a small patch of grass preserved by her shields, so that served as a cushion as she tumbled to the ground. Her defenses didn¡¯t dissipate just because she was knocked out. The wind and fire abated. Maria practically bounced over to the downed woman, her hands rubbing together. Ian couldn¡¯t see what she was doing exactly, but it was related to End affinity. Euryphel walked over to her side, and they nodded to one another. They grasped hands, then stared at the collapsed woman intently. A few seconds later, the shields popped. ¡°Where should I bring her?¡± Ian mentally inquired. This fort was in the Selejo Imperial Federation and Euryphel should have ultimate authority there, but that was only if the fort wasn¡¯t compromised. Ian recognized that they were on the border of Brin and the former SPU, nations that had been warring enemies until a few months ago. While the Federation¡¯s policies promoted autonomy among its member states, military power was a subject of contention. Reorganizing all member states under one military was a nightmare. From reading the news on the way over, Ian knew that preliminary efforts to unify the force¨Cespecially along state borders within the Federation¨Cwere an ongoing effort. The Federation had started distributing some of its forces to promote a limited degree of unity, but aligning personnel records and distributing soldiers and officers was a prime opportunity for adversaries to sneak in their own spies¨Cor make spies or dissidents out of the conquered soldiers. Sere was a prime suspect¨Cthey bordered the Federation and traded extensively with the East. Ian could see them leveraging Infinity Loop tech for access to powerful glossware. Euryphel considered Ian¡¯s question for a moment. This fort should suffice. As he thought that, a string of military personnel left the fort and walked warily onto the smoldering field. The one in front stopped before the trio and gave Euryphel a salute. ¡°Sir.¡± As far as they know, I¡¯m a Colonel, Euryphel mentally explained. How powerful are these people? Ian recognized the badges on the soldiers¡¯ breasts, but rank didn¡¯t always correlate with affinity. He inspected their vital signatures. ¡°The major who¡¯s saluting you is probably around 65% affinity if I had to guess. Moon affinity.¡± Given his rank, likely a water elementalist. ¡°He¡¯s the most powerful person in this group.¡± ¡°This woman was a foreign agent,¡± Euryphel stated. ¡°She is extremely dangerous. We¡¯re bringing her inside for interrogation.¡± The major looked between Maria and Ian. ¡°Sir, who are these?¡± ¡°None of your concern, major.¡± The man saluted, his epaulets shaking with the motion. He motioned for his group to return to the fort. ¡°Major,¡± Euryphel called, ¡°douse the field. In a few hours, I want it looking exactly like how it was before. Recruit anyone needed to get the job done.¡± ¡ª Tsarika tried to open her eyes, but they were glued shut. She stirred and found her body encased in what felt like solid earth. With a start, she remembered what had happened. She¡¯d been discovered, attacked. And now, it seemed, she was imprisoned. None of her glossware responded to her thoughts, suggesting that they¡¯d all been removed from her person. There was no vitality in the dense material that surrounded her, and it was thick, so she couldn¡¯t force her way out even if she supercharged her muscles with vitality. It was a grim situation to be in. Tsarika had no illusions as to her fate¨Cshe was screwed. Suddenly, a loud voice intruded on her mental thoughts, forcing its way past her defenses. ¡°Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Rumin. Or should I call you Tsarika?¡± Her official name in the Brinnish system was Arika. How did this interrogator know that name? She hadn¡¯t even been interrogated yet. Or had she? Her stomach dropped. That man, the colonel¨Che¡¯d attacked her without any warning. She¡¯d assumed that maybe he¡¯d come for her all along, but maybe that wasn¡¯t the case. Maybe he¡¯d discovered her by chance¡­ by using Regret scenarios. That seemed so unlikely, though. Why would someone use Regret to interrogate an officer, especially a Life practitioner specializing in food production and supply chain logistics rather than combat? Was anyone really that paranoid? ¡ª Euryphel interrogated the woman in scenarios leveraging Ian¡¯s Remorse. The trio discussed any gleaned information and iterated through more questions until they had a more comprehensive understanding of the situation. She¡¯s from Brin, but is an agent of Sere, Euryphel said. She didn''t cause the avalanche that stopped your hovergloss line. Another agent of Sere did that. The intent was for you both to be brought to the fort so she could scrutinize you. ¡°Is there a larger goal?¡± Ian asked. ¡°She¡¯s a fairly strong Life practitioner, and her benefactors gave her expensive equipment.¡± Expensive is an understatement, Maria interjected. Those shields are difficult to produce¡­ eastern powers only outfit their most senior officers with armaments like that. Sere must have paid through the nose to obtain them. Euryphel exhaled sharply. She came here to search for necromancers. Maria sucked in a breath. Then those leading the development of the Infinity Loop tech must have realized its true cost¨Cone greater than just energy and auris. There was no way the Infinity Loop¡¯s creators could feign ignorance over the loop¡¯s dangers if they knew about soul corruption. Even if most who worked on the loop tech or supported its development were kept in the dark, at the very least some people in positions of power knew the true dangers and proceeded onward anyway. Ian frowned. If they¡¯re looking for necromancers, it¡¯s because necromancers are the only people who can see clearly where Infinity Loops are located because of the corrupted clouds of souls that gather above them. That made them dangerous. Ian wanted to take a step back and re-center the conversation on their captive. ¡°Why send Rumin to the Federation, rather than stationing her on Sere¡¯s side of the Zigguran mountains?¡± Ian asked. If you¡¯re Sere, why not do both? Euryphel said, twisting the question. Even though the Infinity Loop tech was developed by a private company, Sere is fully invested in its success. It¡¯s seen as the way forward. They¡¯re doing whatever it takes to secure its future. Ian locked eyes with Maria. ¡°We must have tripped alarms when we arrived in Sere via transport array. We shouldn¡¯t have taken any stops¨Cthat gave them time to act.¡± But why act against you? Euryphel asked. Why target necromancers in this way? To the public, necromancers don¡¯t exist. They¡¯re killed on sight. But we know better¨Cthey can be found. He nodded to Ian. You found a necromancer easily enough. Ian wouldn¡¯t call his quest to find a necromancy mentor easy, but it had only taken a few days. He saw the point that Euryphel was trying to make, though, and it was troubling. Suddenly, a new thought occurred to Ian. ¡°Everything we¡¯ve said is assuming that those in the know are perfectly comfortable knowing that the Infinity Loop is destroying the world, and want to eliminate all people¨Cnecromancers¨Cwho could blow the metaphorical whistle. But what if that¡¯s all wrong?¡± Euryphel gave him a dubious look, but Maria¡¯s face was stoic, contemplative. ¡°What if they¡¯re looking for necromancers to solve the soul corruption problem, so they can keep using the loop without repercussions?¡± Ian continued. But it can¡¯t be solved, Maria thought. That¡¯s the point. This technology has destroyed world after world. If there were a better way, it would¡¯ve been discovered long ago. ¡°They don¡¯t know that,¡± Ian pointed out. He looked to the square chunk of earth holding the captive. ¡°Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think I¡¯m right. The shields around that woman¨Cthey were so strong because she needed to stay alive. If all Sere cared about was gaining information, they wouldn¡¯t have bothered. Quantum channeling would allow the woman to transmit information back at the speed of thought, even if she died soon afterwards. But dead people can¡¯t parlay with necromancers and convince them to head to Sere to solve the Infinity Loop problem.¡± They stared at him, digesting his words. How optimistic, Maria said, snorting. It¡¯s usually more accurate to assume the worst of your enemies. He smirked. ¡°I¡¯m glad I never assumed the worst about you.¡± 339. Achemiss鈥檚 Intentions After the interrogation, Ian, Maria, and Euryphel convened in a separate chamber secured by layers of arrays. They had to decide a path forward based on what they had learned¨Cand what they suspected. ¡°Our first goal is still to find Achemiss,¡± Ian said, expression contemplative, his eyes dark pools limned by iridescence. ¡°A task we¡¯re no closer to accomplishing days after his descent.¡± Both Euryphel and Maria were peak End practitioners, but only Maria knew what Achemiss¡¯s End arrow looked like. Maria hadn¡¯t been able to tell where his arrow was back in the east, but Ian had hoped that going to the other side of the world would rectify that problem, bringing them closer to the revived necromancer. That wasn¡¯t the case. Maria still couldn¡¯t see his End arrow. Euryphel and Maria shared a knowing look. ¡°There¡¯s only one place he can seek shelter where End cannot find him,¡± the former prince stated. ¡°A rift,¡± Maria finished. Achemiss couldn¡¯t have immediately entered a rift after Ian savaged him, body and soul. At least Ian didn¡¯t think that was possible. Rifts were unstable and impermanent. Even the most stable rifts weren¡¯t guaranteed to last decades, let alone a thousand years. Wherever Achemiss revived would have been either a pre-set point, determined when he was last on the world¨Cthe trio deemed this most likely¨Cor a random planetary location. Even if he had set his revival point in a rift a thousand years ago, it probably wouldn¡¯t exist today, and he would have been transported somewhere else, which led to the random location possibility. Ian thought it most likely that Achemiss revived in a secure, isolated location devoid of dangerous beings like the riftbeasts¨Cand only found a rift after reviving. Rifts weren¡¯t trivial to locate, and while there were publicly known rift locations, most were private and could only be detected by large facilities dedicated to the purpose. There was a reason why rift locations were a prize of the Fassari Summit. However, rifts did exist in Eternity¨Cand artifacts existed that could find them. Though Achemiss¡¯s items and storage artifacts were left on his corpse, nobody was na?ve enough to believe he didn¡¯t have special reserves. After all, if Achemiss prepared a last resort resurrection method for himself, he¡¯d be remiss not to include emergency provisions. Ian, Maria, and Euryphel planned to be as conservative and cautious as possible when considering the ascendant¡¯s means. If Achemiss resurrected powerless and without any items, great¨Cbut they wouldn¡¯t count on it. The real question was whether they should try to locate the rift in which Achemiss was sheltering. ¡°It¡¯s a hopeless endeavor,¡± Maria argued, tapping on her lip with a finger. ¡°Especially if Achemiss has special means to locate rifts. He might have entered one that is undiscovered.¡± Euryphel frowned. ¡°Is it possible you¡¯re overestimating him?¡± ¡°Having seen Achemiss¡¯s workshop first-hand¡­ I¡¯m not sure. But I agree with Maria, searching rifts one by one isn¡¯t ideal. Instead of trying to find him, I think a better method will be waiting for him to find us.¡± Euryphel raised an eyebrow. ¡°Please explain what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Ian nodded. ¡°Achemiss has one primary goal¨Creturning to Eternity. He cannot do that without a return beacon, which is in our possession. That, or waiting for another descent¨Cin which case he could murder the descendant and steal their return beacon.¡± ¡°And we know he¡¯ll choose the first option,¡± Maria interjected. ¡°Why?¡± Euryphel asked. ¡°First,¡± Maria began, ¡°he wants to leave this world as soon as possible. While he¡¯s here, he¡¯s vulnerable. We don¡¯t know if he has the means to resurrect multiple times, but we must assume that while he¡¯s here, he no longer has the perfect immortality bestowed by Eternity. That would be the main driving reason.¡± Ian continued, saying, ¡°Secondarily, Achemiss knows who I am¨Cat least he must have guessed it. He¡¯d have to be an idiot not to connect Ancient Black with Ian Dunai. That will give him an edge on finding me and conducting an assassination attempt and stealing back his artifacts and the return beacon. While Achemiss values his life above everything else, if he has a chance to get his artifacts back, he¡¯ll take it.¡± Euryphel¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Will he work alone?¡± Ian and Maria considered the question. ¡°Only if that¡¯s the best way to succeed. I already saw in Eternity that Achemiss has a method to create necromantic facsimiles of himself, controlling them like his own body. He could use a similar technique here, exposing a false body to negotiate and interact with powerful people on the surface. They wouldn¡¯t even know that he isn¡¯t using his own body.¡± Maria froze. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ and if he made himself a necromantic avatar while keeping his true body in a rift, he could be walking amongst us, effectively invisible to End affinity.¡± She rubbed at the bridge of her nose. ¡°Y¡¯jeni, that¡¯s almost certainly what he¡¯s been doing. We¡¯ve been too passive.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Ian smiled coldly. ¡°If he has been waltzing around on the surface, invisible to End affinity, what do you think he¡¯d be doing?¡± Ian could never forget his startling first memory of Achemiss, when the enigmatic ascendant had appeared to him in a dream. His Beginning affinity sharpened the memories, allowing Ian to remember exactly what the ascendant had disclosed. In that fateful dream, Achemiss had revealed some of his knowledge. Ian knew now that Achemiss had been deliberately trying to impress and intimidate him. Ian could only smile grimly knowing that Achemiss¡¯s words then might spell his undoing now. In the dream, Achemiss had revealed that he knew about the Infinity Loop. He¡¯d said that he could see the corrupted souls, something Ian hadn¡¯t even known to look for earlier when he¡¯d first escaped the loop. He¡¯d simply run away from the city and hadn¡¯t looked back. Since Ian hadn¡¯t seen the corrupted soul clouds before Achemiss contacted him in a dream, Achemiss must have had his own way of seeing them. This suggested that Achemiss roughly knew where at least one Infinity Loop was located. In the dream encounter, Achemiss had used his knowledge of the Infinity Loop to shock Ian¨Cto horrify him. He¡¯d cackled maniacally while sharing with Ian the details of how Ari would come and destroy his world because of the Infinity Loop¡¯s corruption. Achemiss knew that Ian didn¡¯t want his world to be destroyed. Achemiss needed a return beacon and his recovered void storages¨Call items in Ian and Maria¡¯s possession. And unless Ian was grossly mistaken in his logic, Achemiss knew what he needed to do to provoke Ian and knew who he could count on as allies. The proponents of the Infinity Loop¨Cand Ian¡¯s enemies. Most obviously, the Sere Consortium¡­ Whom Ian suspected was actively looking for a necromancer to solve the Infinity Loop problem. Ian had a headache just thinking of the potential mess of Achemiss approaching Sere and telling them everything they wanted to hear, promising that he could stop the soul corruption problem. The only price for his ¡°assistance¡±? Ian¡¯s demise. Ian was just speculating here, but he had a strong hunch that his intuition was on the right track. He hoped he was wrong, of course, because Sere allied with Achemiss sounded like a nightmare to deal with. Ian shared his conclusions with his companions. When Ian finished talking, Euryphel just sighed and shook his head. Maria groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t forget one more thing,¡± she added, ¡°if Achemiss really has made the connection that you¡¯re Ian Dunai, then we can¡¯t expect your return to remain a secret.¡± Euryphel buried his face in both hands, letting out a suppressed growl of annoyance. ¡°Of course nothing is easy when it comes to you, Ian.¡± Ian shrugged helplessly. ¡°Based on what we¡¯ve discussed, what¡¯s the plan?¡± Euryphel removed his hands, a few strands of hair falling into his eyes. His eyes were sharp. ¡°Much is uncertain, so I¡¯ll be sending agents of my own to confirm our suspicions. I think for now, it¡¯s safest to assume that Achemiss will follow an aggressive strategy. He¡¯ll be going to Sere if he hasn¡¯t done so already.¡± ¡°There¡¯s one thing I¡¯m still unsure about,¡± Maria said. ¡°If we find Achemiss¡¯s fake in Sere, what good will that do? We¡¯ll need to find his true body to kill him.¡± Ian didn¡¯t know how to answer her. ¡°We¡¯ll cross that road when we get there,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°After all, what problem can¡¯t Ancient Black solve?¡± Ian chuckled and quashed the nervousness in his chest. The Darkseers seemed to be on a collision course with Achemiss. Everything was coming to a head, and he wasn¡¯t confident he could force a good outcome. ¡°You just need to do your best,¡± Maria said. ¡°You¡¯re not alone.¡± ¡°I know. But if things proceed as we fear, Achemiss will have allies of his own.¡± ¡°Allies of convenience, built through deceit,¡± she stated. ¡°Motivations matter. He won¡¯t trust them and they won¡¯t trust him. We¡¯ll use that against them. That¡¯s how we win.¡± Ian hoped she was right. ¡ª Euryphel¡¯s mind was scattered as he led Ian and Maria into Ichormai, the Palace of Fortitude. They entered through one of the secret entrances in a narrow alleyway, a seemingly innocuous door opening into a service hallway in the palace. Euryphel took a breath in relief, then led them through another door, this one opening up into the labyrinthine space beneath the palace, the former dungeons. He walked to a door near the end of the hall, his heart unsteady. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was making the right call, but unfortunately, this kind of decision wasn¡¯t one that Regret scenarios could help with. It would mark a departure from his long-term strategy. He¡¯d originally planned to keep Ian hidden from everyone, at least to the furthest extent possible. But that strategy seemed too conservative to him now. He couldn¡¯t keep Ian safely tucked away in the palace forever. No, he couldn¡¯t keep Ian hidden¨Cgiving him a new name wouldn¡¯t hide the truth from anyone. A powerful necromancer suddenly working for the Crowned Executor was too suspect, especially if Achemiss spread news that Ian Dunai had returned from the ascendant world. Euryphel opened the door. Inside sat a collective of his closest allies, all of them both his subordinates in the Federation and his partners in the Darkseers. Maria had been speaking to Ian when she made her statements about trust, but they¡¯d resonated with Euryphel. He needed to trust his allies if he wanted to win. That would be his strength. And if his trust in them was misplaced? At the end of the day, Euryphel had his scenarios to fall back on, along with the scenarios of the Federation¡¯s on-duty Regret practitioners. With a minute¡¯s notice¨Cor even just a few seconds¡¯ notice¨Che felt confident that he could prevent Ian¡¯s demise, which was the only outcome he really cared about. Maria was a lich, so she was all but indestructible, and as for himself¡­ Well. If Euryphel couldn¡¯t save himself, at least he wouldn¡¯t live to suffer through the aftermath. He knew such macabre thoughts weren¡¯t productive, but that¡¯s how he truly felt. Diana was first to react, her eyes growing wide and her finger coming up to point at Ian, whose figure was only half visible in the doorway. There was one additional person who Euryphel had decided to rope in, much to Maria¡¯s chagrin. He reacted almost as fast as Diana. ¡°¡­ Mom?¡± 340. Introducing the Enemy ??Zilverna woke up knowing he¡¯d see his mother by the end of the day. It was Euryphel¡¯s payment for Zilverna¡¯s help handling bad press in Selejo. The public really had castigated the Crowned Executor for putting Cunabulus into lockdown. Zilverna vaguely knew the real reason, of course¨Cit had been a precaution in case the Skai¡¯aren and his mom appeared in Cunabulus and had a showdown with some enemy ascendant. Anyway, he¡¯d done his best to smooth things over and Euryphel had kept his end of the bargain, inviting Zilverna to see his mom. Finally. Now Zilverna¡¯s stomach was in knots despite his self-assurances that everything would be fine. He just didn¡¯t understand¨Cdidn¡¯t know why she hesitated, why she didn¡¯t want to see him, why she spoke to Kaiwen using the mysterious communication artifact from the ascendant world but never paid him the same courtesy. When she had left with the Skai¡¯aren just a few months ago, he¡¯d been at a loss. His mom was so strong, indomitable, reliable. A constant that never wavered in his life. And suddenly, she was gone¨Cdead, or at least never coming back, at least not within his lifetime. Or so he¡¯d thought. Zilverna learned to fear the Skai¡¯aren when he went through his own Infinity Loop trial, training against the monstrous practitioner ceaselessly. And when he went up against the Skai¡¯aren in the Ho¡¯ostar Peninsula war, that fear sank into his bones, staved off only by his mother¡¯s assurances of power. He¡¯d always taken his mother¡¯s ability to hold entire cities ransom with End as a matter of course. She was the Eldemari, the closest thing he could think of to a god among men, benevolent and heavy-handed. And like a god, she wielded her End to terrible effect, tying the lives of her practitioners to the lives of thousands, maybe even millions of civilians. She took upon herself the weight of their lives. He simply couldn¡¯t fathom doing the same. He was also an End practitioner, but the thought of extinguishing so many people with a metaphorical snap of his fingers didn¡¯t sit right with him. Such power in his mother¡¯s hands, however, felt natural. She was worthy. Which led him back to the sour, churning sensation in his stomach. His mom didn¡¯t want to see him. Kaiwen assured him it wasn¡¯t anything to do with him, and he tried to believe her. Intellectually, he believed her¨Che knew his mom loved him. But he couldn¡¯t help his innermost feelings and doubts that said she didn¡¯t want to see him because he was a disappointment. Albeit through unnatural means, his mother had ascended and now wielded the full powers that ascension entailed¨Cso far as Zilverna understood. She was immortal. What would it feel like to be immortal, and know that your child would grow old and die, returning to dust in the blink of eternity¡¯s eye? Again, he knew it was stupid¡­ but what if she didn¡¯t want to see him because his insignificance and his fleetingness would just make her sad? Zilverna rubbed at the bridge of his nose, wishing he had a Life practitioner handy to eliminate his headache. Were he in Selejo, he could summon one in an instant, but he¡¯d traveled to Ichormai a few hours ago with Kaiwen Chowicz at his side. Ichormai was a stunning architectural marvel. It had numerous galleries with elegant furnishings and exquisite paintings, and that was just the outer palace. The inner palace was a lush network of courtyards, idyllic and kept in perfect shape by Sun, Life, Moon, and Mountain practitioners. Zilverna couldn¡¯t stand the beauty and splendor. He wasn¡¯t in the mood. So, he¡¯d left Kaiwen¡¯s side and squirreled himself away in one of the libraries, a small one that was devoid of people. He¡¯d set himself up at a desk, connecting his glossY to one of the public glosscomp displays so he could work on a bigger screen and use a real keyboard. The only thing that took his mind off seeing his mom was work. Then, suddenly¡­ someone entered the library, one of the mid-ranked guardians, a Moon practitioner with dark hair. She looked at him and nodded. It was time. Feeling suddenly faint, he swiped his glossY from the desk and slid it into his jacket¡¯s inner pocket. He rose on unsteady legs. ¡°Hello, Prime Zilverna,¡± she said, nodding her head. How he hated that title¨Cnot that he let it show. ¡°Hello, Guardian.¡± She gestured for him to follow and led him through the labyrinth of the palace with sure steps. Finally, she stopped before a door. A familiar figure was waiting there¨CKaiwen. The Moon practitioner guardian gave Kaiwen a small smile. Suddenly, words carried by wind elementalism whispered in Zilverna¡¯s head. ¡°The door will open to the lower level.¡± It was Euryphel. They all must have heard the same message as the guardian turned the doorknob and pulled the door ajar. Sure enough, the threshold led to a different part of the palace that didn¡¯t match their current surroundings. It felt more sterile and was eerily quiet. She then led the Selejan duo to a room filled with other officials Zilverna recognized. All of them were from the former SPU aside from himself and Kaiwen. They shot him appraising looks as he took his seat at the long, ovular table, but seemed more familiar with Kaiwen, giving her knowing nods. Zilverna didn¡¯t have any mental energy left to feel self-conscious. He just exhaled and sank into the leather of his seat. No doubt any Life or Death practitioners present would sense his elevated heart rate, and any Remorse practitioner could probably pick up on the flurry of thoughts straining to push through his passive mental defenses. He figured that was why Remorse practitioner Prime Ezenti was looking at him funny. There wasn¡¯t anything he could do about his agitated state, so he just¡­ let it go. He breathed in, breathed out. Then, the door opened. The first person he saw was Euryphel, but his eyes immediately took in his two companions. On one flank, the man of his nightmares, the Skai¡¯aren. Normally, his attention would have been fully focused on the necromancer, but in this case, it was overshadowed by the person on the other flank¨Chis mom. He nearly lost it then and there. He bit his lip to keep it from quivering and clenched his fists. She was really here. She was really alive. Her eyes met his. That was when he realized something was wrong. She looked different, oddly younger, a bit more doll-like. It was like someone had taken his mom, made a lifelike puppet of her, and animated it to have her bearing and mannerisms. It was maybe the freakiest thing he¡¯d ever seen. Freaky on a deep, instinctive level. Part of him recognized this person as his mom, while another part said NOPE. How had she become like this¨Cit had only been a few months since she¡¯d left! A question slipped from his mouth. ¡°Mom?¡± As he spoke, his mother was actively entering the room. She took a seat at the head of the table, directly to the left hand side of Crowned Executor Euryphel. She averted her gaze, refusing to resume eye contact. She really doesn¡¯t want to see me, Zilverna thought, feeling like his worst doubts were all being simultaneously confirmed. He wished he could just melt into the floor and disappear. Kaiwen squeezed his hand reassuringly under the table. It only made Zilverna feel self-conscious. She seemed suspiciously unsurprised by his mom¡¯s weird appearance. Suddenly, a voice crashed through his mind like a sledgehammer, annihilating his passive defenses. ¡°Zilverna!¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. It was ridiculously rude. He flinched but kept his composure, refusing to look around at the people in the room to find the culprit. Who the heck¨C ¡°Zilverna,¡± the voice repeated, this time less abrasively, ¡°your reaction when you saw your mother is why she didn¡¯t want to see you. She didn¡¯t want you to see her changed.¡± Changed? Zilverna thought, taken aback by the mental voice. Sure, his mom looked weirdly fake, but that didn¡¯t matter. She was his mom¨Che just wanted to know she was okay. Why does she care what I think about her appearance? And who are you? ¡°It¡¯s Ian,¡± the mental voice responded. Zilverna¡¯s eyes widened slightly, his heart skipping a beat. His eyes locked onto the necromancer¡¯s. The Skai¡¯aren gave him a small nod. Since when did the freaking Skai¡¯aren have mind powers? Zilverna couldn¡¯t handle the unfairness of the world. Sure, he had two affinities, End and Sun, but the Skai¡¯aren¡¯s Death affinity was like, two peak Death affinities combined. At least it felt that way. And now he also had Remorse? Was he, like, mind controlling his mom or something? How else would they be buddy-buddy after the war? The Skai¡¯aren had literally kidnapped her, after all. It was all suddenly making sense¡­ His eyes flitted to Euryphel. Why hadn¡¯t Eury warned him that the Skai¡¯aren was controlling her? He suddenly remembered an offhanded remark Mom had made a few months ago about Eury and the Skai¡¯aren having a¡­ thing, and that being the reason why they were allies. What have I gotten myself into? Zilverna wondered to himself, suddenly feeling like a seal surrounded by sharks. ¡°Zilverna, I¡¯m not controlling your mother,¡± the necromancer interjected. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even if I tried, my affinity is awful, but I wouldn¡¯t do something like that regardless.¡± Zilverna wasn¡¯t exactly convinced, but he didn¡¯t think the Skai¡¯aren would lie. The man was terrifying, but as far as Zilverna knew, he was honest. Besides, in the loop, Zilverna learned quickly that the man had a bizarre fixation on his own mother. Threatening the Skai¡¯aren¡¯s mom was pretty much the worst thing Zilverna could do. It always led to a painful demise. Zilverna liked to think that the same man wouldn¡¯t mind control another man¡¯s mom and lie about it, just out of some kind of¡­ mom respect? Ah, what am I even thinking! Zilverna lamented inwardly, knowing he was just going in circles. Before Zilverna could mentally ask anything else, the silence in the room was interrupted by Euryphel rapping his knuckles on the table. ¡°Thank you, everyone, for making yourselves available on relatively short notice, especially when I keep most of you quite busy.¡± Guardian Urstes, one of the guardians that Zilverna knew by name, chuckled softly and leaned back in his seat. The rest wore serious expressions, their eyes glued to the forms of the Skai¡¯aren and the Eldemari. Now that Zilverna was less absorbed in his own thoughts, he took note of the reactions of others. They all recognized the ascendant duo instantly. How could they not? Watching their faces, Zilverna sensed a mix of nervousness and shock. He wondered if everyone was surprised, or if a few people had been warned beforehand, like himself. Probably some people had been warned, like Urstes, who seemed so nonchalant, and Prime Ezenti, whose gaze focused less on the Skai¡¯aren and Eldemari than on the others, likely gauging their reactions at Euryphel¡¯s behest. Euryphel exhaled sharply. ¡°You all know who these two are, and now you¡¯re part of a very small group of people who knows that they¡¯ve returned. I¡¯ll let them introduce themselves, however.¡± The Skai¡¯aren spoke first. Unlike Zilverna¡¯s mom, he didn¡¯t look too different. He had the same dark hair and pale skin, though his eyes had an odd rainbow sheen to them. There was an aura to him that Zilverna had only felt while in the loop, an aura of indomitability, of invincibility. Absolute confidence. From what Zilverna had seen in real life, before the man¡¯s ascent, he¡¯d been more unassuming. Less overbearing. It made sense, given that in the loop, the man really had been invincible¨Cwhenever he died, he returned in perfect form. He wasn¡¯t so invincible in real life. Was he just that confident in his abilities as an ascendant? It had only been a few months¨Csurely he couldn¡¯t have become that powerful, right? Ian addressed the room, interrupting Zilverna¡¯s musings. ¡°I am Ian Dunai, also known on this world as the Skai¡¯aren. In the ascendant world, Eternity, most know me as Ascendant Dunai.¡± He inclined his head toward the Eldemari. ¡°Hello, everyone,¡± she began, her voice the same as Zilverna remembered. At least something was unchanged. ¡°I am Maria Sezakuin, also known on this world as the Eldemari. In the ascendant world, I am known simply as Maria, as I am not a true ascendant.¡± She scanned the room, making eye contact with everyone¨Caside from her own son, of course. ¡°All of you, save Zilverna, are in the Darkseers. You have my deepest gratitude for all your efforts.¡± The dark whats? Zilverna once again felt like a child masquerading among adults. He suddenly felt a mental tap on his mind¨Cthe polite, normal way for a Remorse practitioner to make contact. Zilverna permitted it. ¡°The Darkseers is an organization dedicated to saving this world from the Infinity Loop¡¯s soul corruption,¡± the Skai¡¯aren¡¯s mental voice explained. ¡°Me and Maria are aligned with the Darkseers in this goal. That¡¯s why we returned.¡± You¡¯re trying to save the world? Zilverna clarified, dubious. ¡°Yes.¡± The introductions then went around the room, with everyone stating their name and position. After that, Euryphel took over. He began by explaining what had happened in Chemissa. Zilverna listened with only half attention since he¡¯d already heard some of the details from his cousin days ago. Needing a distraction to settle his thoughts, he reached for the pitcher of water and glassware at the center of the table and made to pour himself a drink. Of course, Kaiwen intervened by siphoning the water directly into his glass. He took a sip as he considered how to respond to the Skai¡¯aren¡¯s claims about wanting to save the world from soul corruption, of all things. For now, he decided to roll with it. So that¡¯s why you and Mom are working together. I guess that makes sense. ¡°We¡¯re partners.¡± Yeah, understood. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you do. I¡¯m dating your mother.¡± Water misted over the table as Zilverna involuntarily did a spit take. Everyone looked at him, and the Crowned Executor¡¯s sentence cut off. If Zilverna could die from mortification, he would have. No way Euryphel didn¡¯t see this happening in a scenario, Zilverna lamented. He could have warned me but didn¡¯t. Traitor! Zilverna¡¯s eyes flew to the Skai¡¯aren. Sure, he was admittedly not bad looking, and was extremely powerful, and, well, he knew his mom liked younger guys¡­ but what the heck! Moreover, why did the Skai¡¯aren speak so stiffly? Y¡¯jeni, ¡®I¡¯m dating your mother¡¯¨Che spoke to Zilverna like a parent even though they were less than ten years apart in age. Once again, Kaiwen squeezed his palm to calm him. With her free hand, she collected the water spat onto the table and deposited it in a napkin, leaving the table¡¯s surface pristine. Euryphel resumed his train of thought. ¡°This brings us to the issue of Achemiss, the ascendant whom they tried to assassinate¨Ca man who seeks the end of this world to secure his immortality.¡± Zilverna¡¯s ears perked up. He¡¯d never heard that name before. Achemiss. A mononym like the Eldemari. Was it a courtesy name? ¡°The assassination failed and Achemiss is in hiding. So long as he lives, this world is at risk. And unfortunately, he has a myriad of abilities and experience centered on keeping himself alive.¡± Euryphel began detailing how Achemiss could masterfully control necromantic avatars from a distance and described how he was a master artificer, capable of making powerful artifacts by harvesting the souls of strong practitioners. ¡°We have his artifacts in our possession, but nothing is stopping him from making new ones,¡± Euryphel said somberly. ¡°Time is of the essence,¡± Prime Ezenti said, running a hand through his white hair. ¡°The situation is worse than I feared.¡± ¡°But we know where he¡¯s likely going to go,¡± the Skai¡¯aren interjected. ¡°And we know who he¡¯s probably going to ally with.¡± Zilverna¡¯s mom concluded the sentence: ¡°Sere.¡± Euryphel steepled his fingers. His blue-green eyes glinted. ¡°Which brings us to why I¡¯ve summoned all of you here¨Cto devise a plan. One that even a crafty, thousand-year-old Dark and Death practitioner can¡¯t escape.¡± While Zilverna recognized that he sometimes acted like an idiot, he wasn¡¯t stupid. After hearing everything that Euryphel said, he had his own conclusion. A man that was impossible to kill even when caught by surprise, even after having his body and soul destroyed¡­ a man that, with his Dark affinity, could move through walls and disappear while controlling necromantic puppets almost indistinguishable from real people at far distances. A man that wanted his artifacts back and also wanted to watch the world burn. Such a man was their enemy. We are so screwed. 341. Finding Achemiss Before meeting Euryphel¡¯s allies in the lower level of Ichormai, Ian, Maria, and Eury conducted an extremely important experiment within one of Euryphel¡¯s scenarios. Ian used the transmission artifact on Achemiss. After the experiment, Ian clumsily read Euryphel¡¯s surface thoughts to regain his lost memory of the experience. Maria then received them through the lich bond. In those memories, Ian saw himself appearing in a completely dark location. There was no source of illumination whatsoever, though he could move around. Ian quickly realized that he was in a sealed chamber, however. He didn¡¯t have a sense of touch, but his mobility was affected by the density of the surroundings, so he knew when he ran into walls, and knew that the walls were too thick to move through¨Chis transmitted self got stuck in them. It had been what Ian had feared¨Ca recreation of the secure chamber where Achemiss had kept his real body back in Eternity. It made useless the transmission artifact¡¯s potent power to surveil a target. Such a discovery had necessitated calling on Euryphel¡¯s allies to devise an alternative way forward. Now, as the discussion wrapped up a few hours later, the room was in low spirits. Everyone had thought through multiple angles of attack to both find Achemiss and deal with the potential fallout of him allying with the Sere Consortium. They had considered all the resources and capabilities available. The Darkseers were already aware of the transmission artifact from Ian¡¯s clandestine activities before descending. That was still one of the key elements of their strategy, as there were situations where Ian had confidence that with its help, he could find Achemiss and swiftly end him. Thinking of the entire situation as a game of chess, they needed to arrange the board such that the transmission artifact would secure an unexpected checkmate. Achemiss was famously arrogant¨CIan didn¡¯t think that his defeat at the hands of a surprise attack would change that. So long as his body was hidden somewhere, he would think himself safe. Ian knew that wherever Achemiss¡¯s body was, it would be well-defended by a veritable army of constructs. He knew this because it was simply what he would do were he in Achemiss¡¯s position. He¡¯d carve out a section of a rift to serve as his lair and infest it with powerful decemantic sentinels made from riftbeasts. This way, if anyone entered the rift, they wouldn¡¯t realize he was sheltering there unless they had an End affinity and had fate with him, which was unlikely for random people, or they chanced upon his lair. In which case, they¡¯d end up dead, and others would likely just assume they¡¯d had an unlucky encounter with the local riftbeasts. If Ian were Achemiss, he would also have a backup plan in the case of unlikely discovery. He thought it most likely that Achemiss would acquire a list of backup rifts that he could migrate to. Assuming Achemiss allied with Sere, he¡¯d use exclusive access to multiple rifts as a bargaining point. Achemiss would never share the details of his current rift with Sere, of that Ian was sure, and he wouldn¡¯t trust Sere to simply give him rifts without secretly surveilling them. No¨Che¡¯d station his own constructs at the rifts to ensure that all of them remained free of prying eyes. That wouldn¡¯t be a perfect solution, so Ian figured that if Achemiss needed to make a quick escape, he would create multiple fake bodies and relocate all of them to different rifts, confounding attempts by Sere¨Cor any other powers¨Cto find his true form. Of course, the real body would escape unnoticed, made completely invisible by Dark affinity. After all, why would Achemiss ever need to inform his allies that he had more than a Death affinity? All those measures were just possibilities¨CIan had no idea what Achemiss would do, even with Beginning helping him to strategize. But thinking through the situation with Euryphel¡¯s Darkseer allies made everyone realize that simply finding Achemiss wasn¡¯t the greatest challenge. Their goal wasn¡¯t just to locate the man¨Cit was to kill him, and they could only do that if they held the element of surprise and could keep him in one place. If the previously imagined scenario was real, for instance, and Achemiss were escaping to rifts nearby, the transmission artifact would be the key to finding the real Achemiss¡¯s body and killing him. In such a case, Achemiss doppelgangers would emerge from one general location and split up, heading toward rifts provided by Sere. If the Darkseers got ahold of the rift list, then they could send assassins to all of them ahead of time, peak practitioners capable of evading Achemiss¡¯s autonomous constructs. Such assassins would be equipped with weapons capable of destabilizing the rifts, causing them to collapse with Achemiss inside. That would be the easiest way of killing him. Of course, they¡¯d have backup weapons as well, ideally artifacts provided by Ian and the most advanced glossware available. But the true ace in the hole would be Euryphel and Maria. After locating the rifts with Achemiss fakes, the real Achemiss would likely go to one of the remaining rifts. Both of the peak End practitioners would be able to follow Achemiss¡¯s End arrows. Then, the duo would need to pull off a near-impossible feat¨Cfinding Achemiss¡¯s rift within the duration of a single scenario, before he disappeared inside and his End arrow disappeared. With wind elementalism, fire elementalism, and the best glossware, it was possible for Maria and Eury to move incredibly quickly. But potentially flying even one hundred miles in one minute? That would be exceedingly difficult, even with ascendant energy empowering Maria¡¯s lich body past its limits. That was where the transmission artifact would be the key deciding factor. Throughout the entire escape, Ian could repeatedly use the transmission artifact within Euryphel¡¯s scenarios. With his Beginning affinity, he¡¯d be able to narrow the options down, giving Euryphel and Maria a key advantage. Even if they were unable to corner Achemiss before he reached a rift, Ian would be able to see the inside of the rift before Achemiss entombed himself, giving them a final clue. He¡¯d be able to see the kinds of riftbeasts present and whether the rift had an ethereal or nethereal alignment. Then, unless Achemiss relocated again, the Darkseers could send their best Dark agents in Regret scenarios to investigate the most likely rifts while Achemiss remained unaware, lulled into a sense of security once nobody followed him inside his rift. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. This was one rough plan that they¡¯d all come up with together, but nobody was very satisfied with it. There were too many unknowns. For instance, it assumed that Achemiss allied with Sere and negotiated to get a list of exclusive rifts for his own uses. It also assumed that the Darkseers would be able to obtain that rift list. Finally, it assumed that there was a situation that would force Achemiss to relocate¨Csuch as Achemiss thinking that he had been discovered, or at least that his rift¡¯s location had been compromised. Every strategy that they could think of relied on extensive deception and mind games. It made even Ian¡¯s brain hurt. Ian wished that he had a way to just find the man without all the trickery. It seemed so absurd that even with all his power, he couldn¡¯t just brute force things. Back when he was a regular¨Cit felt like an eternity ago¨Che¡¯d always assumed that powerful practitioners got what they wanted under threat of leveraging their strength. It was laughable. Practitioners were all so flimsy. Alone, they were vulnerable to assassination. Even Achemiss. Millions of Death constructs couldn¡¯t save you from a targeted blast from a peak fire elementalist, especially one leveraging a top-of-the-line focus. Or a peak Dark practitioner, who could pass through an army, near invisible and incorporeal, to deliver a fatal blow. Artifacts might offer protection, but they weren¡¯t foolproof. That¡¯s why, ultimately, Eternity was such a twisted paradise. It was a place safe from assassinations. Ian¡¯s lip curled. At least usually. Finally, only Ian, Maria, and Euryphel were left. The door closed and clicked shut. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is working,¡± Maria said, speaking first. Her lips pressed tightly together. Euryphel bobbed his head. ¡°I know. We don¡¯t have enough information.¡± He glanced at Ian. ¡°You think it would be better not to involve the others. You don¡¯t know why I¡¯m having them return here tomorrow.¡± Ian frowned. ¡°Since you¡¯ve looked ahead at my questions, you must have an answer ready.¡± ¡°I do. First, I¡¯m including the Darkseers because, despite what you think, their presence is helpful. You look down on them, Ian¨CI know you do¨Cbut they¡¯re some of the most powerful people in the world. They¡¯re my people, and by extension, your people.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t look down on them,¡± Ian argued, his brow furrowed slightly in annoyance, ¡°I just think we can strategize fine just the three of us, and there will be less of a chance that information will leak out.¡± Maria sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, her eyes shut. ¡°You don¡¯t trust Zilverna, do you?¡± Ian¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°I never said that. I know he¡¯d never do anything to endanger your efforts.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Regardless, please continue, Eury. You¡¯ve only said the first reason for why you¡¯re bringing the room to quorum again tomorrow. What¡¯s the second reason?¡± Euryphel held up two fingers. Ian noticed the scars on his slender digits, mottled burns that had been healed, but shone slightly under the overhead illumination. ¡°We¡¯re meeting again tomorrow because we¡¯ll have new information to share.¡± Ian and Maria shared a dubious look. ¡°Will we?¡± Euryphel snorted. ¡°Ian, what do you think about using the transmission artifact in some scenarios?¡± Ian leaned his head on his hand. ¡°I¡¯m game, of course, but we have no idea if we¡¯ll see anything useful.¡± When he used the transmission artifact on someone, it spawned him in close proximity. While he could try to hide, he was easy to spot if his quarry was paying any attention to their surroundings. If he appeared in the middle of a meeting room, for instance, his sudden appearance would throw said meeting into turmoil, ruining any attempt at information gathering. It was an annoying limitation, but he knew the artifact hadn¡¯t been designed for espionage. Its purpose was to facilitate long distance communication across all of reality. Using it to spy on people situated in the same world was an almost embarrassing use for it. Euryphel scoffed. ¡°I was doing more than just hosting a meeting to share ideas. While I had my experts assembled in the room, I could ask them all questions privately¨Cwith wind elementalism¨Cwithin scenarios.¡± ¡°Why not just ask them questions out loud, in real life?¡± Maria wondered. ¡°When it¡¯s just them and me, they speak more frankly. They¡¯re also more willing to share less-certain information or their own opinions.¡± He smiled bitterly. ¡°Everyone is aligned for one goal, but most of them are still high-ranking members of the Federation in direct contest with one another for power. They¡¯re all careful about what they say around their rivals.¡± Maria groaned. ¡°You¡¯d think with the world itself at stake, they¡¯d let things like that go. But I suppose it¡¯s not an active decision on their part.¡± Ian understood her point. The former SPU princes, guardians, and other powerful officials had forged bonds through the adversity of the war with Selejo and the Ho¡¯ostar Peninsula, but those bonds had limits. A lifetime of watching one¡¯s words around rivals wouldn¡¯t be nullified from a few months of war. ¡°I¡¯m willing to use the artifact in scenarios,¡± Ian said, ¡°but I¡¯m also willing to just let you borrow it now that we¡¯re in the same room together. If you think you can gain information that will help us, by all means use it.¡± Euryphel¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡± Ian held out the transmission artifact. ¡°Just press the button when you¡¯re ready.¡± Euryphel grabbed it gingerly, rotating the artifact between his fingers as he held it up to the light. ¡°This is one of the most powerful artifacts in Eternity, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been led to believe.¡± He gave Ian a deadpan look. ¡°Why does it look like a toy microphone?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°At least it blends in.¡± Maria snickered, holding a hand over her mouth. Ian raised an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think Suncloud cared about her artifact ¡®blending in.¡¯ I bet she thought it was funny to see countless powerful ascendants all fighting to acquire a power artifact that looked like a child¡¯s plaything.¡± Ian couldn¡¯t fault Maria¡¯s logic. ¡°Honestly¡­ fair enough. It is funny. I can use a bit of levity given the current circumstances.¡± Euryphel laughed softly, but then motioned for the two to be quiet. ¡°I¡¯m going to start.¡± Ian and Maria spoke together: ¡°Good luck.¡± 342. Unexpected Impersonator Cayeun Suncloud¡¯s priceless transmission artifact felt cool in Euryphel¡¯s hands. It felt almost surreal to hold. Before meeting Ian, he might have been intimidated holding something like this, might have felt unworthy of his mortal hands cradling the work of a lauded ascendant. But despite his mortality, Euryphel had essentially been to Eternity using the very artifact in his hands. He¡¯d walked alongside some of the most powerful people to exist. It shouldn¡¯t have been surprising to realize that they were still just people, but it had been, to him. He¡¯d thought them unreachable. Euryphel¡¯s thumb caressed the button on the artifact. His fingers still had nerve damage incurred during the fight with Ari, muting the tactile sensation. Even so, touching the button sent an electric shimmer down his arm, causing his hair to stand on end. In that moment, Euryphel understood what Ian had meant when they spoke for the last time before Ian had descended with Maria and Achemiss. He¡¯d said that the former prince now had a much greater chance of ascending, for better or worse. Euryphel had seen the heights beyond the mortal world. He¡¯d viscerally experienced just how small and limited his existence was. It was like Ian in the Infinity Loop, feeling like the present reality was stifling, like a glass ceiling that needed to be shattered. Euryphel took a deep breath to settle his thoughts. Then, he entered a scenario. The burden of acting in real life, where actions were remembered and permanent, fell from his shoulders, filling him with security and confidence. In scenarios, he could do no wrong. If he made a mistake, he could do it over. He set a recall point so he could recurse. This way, he¡¯d be able to run these experiments one after another with negligible time passing in the real world. Euryphel had used recursion more and more over the past week. Once, he¡¯d used it constantly, but in the wake of Ian¡¯s ascent, he¡¯d taken his therapist¡¯s advice to spend less time in scenarios. Now wasn¡¯t the time for moderation, however, even if he recognized that spending excessive amounts of time in his scenarios wasn¡¯t healthy. Visualizing his quarry, Euryphel pressed the button on the artifact. He found himself transported to a large assembly hall. On the far wall was the flag of Sere, covering it like a massive drape. A blue X emblazoned the white flag, subdividing it into four portions. In each section were two crests, each representing one of the eight states within the Sere Consortium. Stitched in bold uppercase on the top of the flag was a translation of ¡°RICHES FOR MANY¡± in archaic Luxish. On the bottom was the translation of ¡°FREEDOM FOR ALL.¡± Sere was an amalgamation of different states brought together by a mutual goal of profit and a desire for autonomy. That¡¯s why it was a consortium, rather than a federation or a union. Sere wasn¡¯t lawless, but its regulations were lax, and practitioners held great power. Most of Sere was sparsely populated desert, but larger cities were centers of wealth where riches actually trickled down to the regulars, ensuring a decent standard of living. This was a generalization since Sere was so divided, but it was largely true. Sere wasn¡¯t known for its fighting force. It was an western state, firstly, meaning it was already classified as second-tier compared to the forces in the East. That was changing, but the East was still firmly on another level. The Fassari Summit brackets made the difference stark. At the previous summit, Sere entered with two blocks, Eastern and Western Sere, with the former in the bottom tier and the latter in the middle tier, one rank behind the SPU. Due to the SPU¡¯s performance then, and its absorption of Selejo and the other nations in the Ho¡¯ostar peninsula, it was now on a completely different level, reborn as the first tier Selejo Imperial Federation. In a direct confrontation, the Federation would wipe the floor with the Sere Consortium. At least on paper. But Euryphel¡¯s intelligence painted a troubling picture, one where Sere was responding to the Federation¡¯s ascendance by allying with powers in the East, bartering with the Infinity Loop tech for powerful glossware, like the defensive armaments the Life practitioner spy Tsarika Rumin had used. The East had a stake as well¨Cthe Federation¡¯s rise was a threat to their power. Even if Sere had little of value to bargain with, the East would probably still help them. And now that they had the Infinity Loop, a technology that promised to create monsters like Ian Dunai? It was all such a headache inducing mess without even throwing Achemiss into the fray. Euryphel¡¯s gaze fell from the flag, focusing on the current speaker at the dais. Before he could hear anything, a shout sounded from behind him. ¡°Hey! How did you get here?¡± Euryphel sighed inwardly. The person he¡¯d visualized before using the transmission artifact was a lower-ranked member of Luxelles¡¯ cabinet. He had a strong Sun affinity and was a capable fire elementalist, so he¡¯d participated in the Fassari Summit a few years ago. Since Eury had met him before, he could use the artifact on him. The artifact typically transported its user behind the person it was used to visit. That was important, as it meant that if Eury appeared behind someone who was alone, he might be able to hide himself and spy without being noticed. Appearing in a packed assembly hall, however, was just about the worst circumstance he could imagine. First, not only would the assembly likely not mention anything too sensitive¨Cand useful-¨Cbut Euryphel would be spotted almost immediately. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. While people yelled behind him¨Cand a few tried to grab him, only to find their grasping hands empty¨CEuryphel considered who to visit next. Ideally, he¡¯d find an official in a private meeting in a secure location. Unfortunately, Euryphel didn¡¯t personally know many high-ranking Sere officials. He¡¯d met some at Fassari Summits, but there was rather high turnover in positions of leadership. Members of the consortium government represented top families and guilds. The actual representatives weren¡¯t democratically elected, but rather appointed on a rotational basis by their organization. This was a problem if he wanted to use the transmission artifact to spy on relevant Sere officials. It was one of the leading reasons why Euryphel had offered to use the artifact himself: Ian simply didn¡¯t know many officials from Sere, outside of whom he¡¯d met at the last Fassari Summit. However¡­ Euryphel had an idea he needed to test. He killed the transmission, then snapped back to the recursion checkpoint. This time, he envisioned a different official, the one who had been speaking at the dais¨CKeraly Banks. Euryphel had never seen the man in person. Euryphel suddenly found himself transported to the assembly room again, though this time at the front of the room. Keraly¡¯s broad back and gesticulating arms were a few feet away. Euryphel laughed uproariously. Things suddenly became much more interesting. ¡ª Maria looked at Ian, not sure if they should do something while Eury was using Regret. Before she had the chance to say anything, the Crowned Executor exclaimed, ¡°Ian, Maria, I have a lead.¡± Ian blinked. ¡°Eury, it¡¯s been a second. A single second.¡± ¡°Your surprise is almost insulting,¡± Euryphel replied, crossing his arms and giving Ian a crooked grin. Maria shook her head. She knew that Ian didn¡¯t have romantic feelings for Eury, but their every interaction oozed flirtatiousness. It was both oddly funny and bitterly sad. In times like these, she felt the age gap between her and them. Euryphel was 28 and Ian was theoretically closer¨Cat least mentally¨Cto something like 35, while she herself was now mentally closer to 50. They were grown men but lacked maturity in some areas. Important areas. Maria liked the think that with her help, Ian¡¯s emotional side had developed significantly over the past years. Significantly didn¡¯t mean Ian was the perfect partner. He had his romantic moments, but he was often stuck in his head, his emotions locked away. In those times, he had difficulty feeling desire and affection, even if he feigned them well enough. But she knew what he was really feeling through their lich bond, even if he wasn¡¯t so self-aware. It made her glad that she¡¯d decided to take things slow with Ian. Her goal wasn¡¯t to fix him¨Cpart of what made Ian such an imposing and powerful practitioner was his rationality and emotional severance. But she was happy with the changes she saw in him, with the easy way he trusted her and fell into her embrace. Of course, that was counterbalanced by the harsh training that they¡¯d both undergone, training that pushed them both to their limits, even though they¡¯d persevered in the end. While Ian had time¨Cand support¨Cto develop emotionally, Maria couldn¡¯t say the same for her cousin Eury. To him, it really had only been a handful of months since she and Ian had left. She knew Eury had never had a partner, had never explored that side of himself with anyone. He was cold and aloof to everyone¡­ except, for some reason, Ian. Quashing her pity, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the lead?¡± ¡°First, I learned something important about the transmission artifact. Anyone I see while transmitting becomes fair game, so I don¡¯t have to actually meet everyone in real life to use the artifact on them.¡± Ian¡¯s gaze became sharp. ¡°That helps things significantly.¡± I can¡¯t believe you never noticed that, Maria thought over the lich bond. I¡¯ve never needed to use it on anyone I haven¡¯t seen in person, Ian replied. Back in Eternity, anyone I wished I could use it on but had never met, would never be in the same vicinity as someone on whom I could use the artifact. Ian walked over and took the artifact from Euryphel¡¯s hands, scrutinizing it. ¡°It makes me rethink how the artifact works on a fundamental level. Just seeing a video of someone isn¡¯t enough to use the artifact. You have to have actually been near the target. But if being close to someone as a transmission is sufficient¡­¡± He trailed off. Euryphel cleared his throat. ¡°You can ponder the nature of the artifact later. We have a scheme to pull off.¡± As they were still in the meeting room, Euryphel pulled up the holo display over the table and pulled up an information profile for a Sere official that Maria recognized. ¡°Clara Belvaire is one of the major stakeholders for the Infinity Loop project. She¡¯s a scientist from one of the leading families in Sere and is currently serving as a representative.¡± Euryphel¡¯s gaze was full of excitement. ¡°I was able to find her by transmitting myself to someone else, then running through walls until I found her alone in her office.¡± Ian snorted. ¡°These people are going to regret not investing in thicker walls.¡± The wind elementalist continued with a smile: ¡°I spoke with her in several scenarios. She was always intrigued by the transmission and had no idea how I could reach her through the extensive End arrays protecting the room. ¡°She recognized me, of course¨CI¡¯m not wearing a disguise. But when I told her I was representing Ascendant Dunai in multiple scenarios, her responses confirmed that she knows Ian is back. How would she know this?¡± Euryphel let the question linger. ¡°Because someone told her,¡± Ian said softly. ¡°Achemiss?¡± ¡°Hold that thought,¡± Euryphel said. Ian tapped his lip. ¡°So, this official knows I¡¯m back¡­ Sere knows I¡¯m back. We suspected it, but I had hoped to be proven wrong. It¡¯s incredible intelligence to gain, however. Not bad for a second of work,¡± he joked. ¡°More importantly,¡± Euryphel continued, ¡°Belvaire knows that the Infinity Loop causes corruption.¡± Maria narrowed her eyes. ¡°How did you get so much information out of this woman?¡± ¡°It was easy because she claimed that Sere had already been talking to the Skai¡¯aren.¡± He pointed a finger at Ian. ¡°She didn¡¯t recognize the name Achemiss, which leads me to believe that he¡¯s been impersonating you.¡± 343. Playing the Player Ian rubbed his eyes. Achemiss was impersonating him? ¡°Excuse me?¡± Maria barked a laugh at Euryphel¡¯s supposition. ¡°That¡¯s one possibility I didn¡¯t foresee.¡± Ian gave her a look. ¡°That¡¯s an understatement. I thought we might try impersonating Achemiss to frame him for doing bad stuff and weaken his bond with Sere, but it seems like he¡¯s already a step ahead.¡± ¡°I bet he¡¯s going to take perverse pleasure in ruining your image,¡± Maria said, her voice losing its previous mirth. ¡°Y¡¯jeni, this is quite devious.¡± Euryphel interrupted their sulking with a gust of wind. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting that since Sere thinks that it¡¯s working with Ian, Achemiss¡¯s strategy is a double-edged sword. We have the actual Ian Dunai here with us. If we get Ian in the same room as people like Clara Belvaire, just think of what we can learn.¡± Ian wondered how Euryphel planned to get him in the ¡°same room¡± as important Sere officials like Clara. In-person meetings were a possibility, albeit a risky one. A potentially better solution was catching a glimpse of Clara while using the transmission artifact on someone else in Sere that Ian had met during his travels. Suddenly, his Beginning affinity derailed his train of thought, revealing a potential leap in logic he¡¯d neglected. At once, he realized Euryphel¡¯s true plan. ¡°You¡¯re planning to call her here,¡± Ian posited. He withdrew the Blade of Revelation and infused it with ascendant energy, then pointed its edge at the transmission artifact. ¡°You can call her even if I can¡¯t. And you think that if we see her, even if she¡¯s just a transmission, it¡¯ll be equivalent to seeing her in real life.¡± Euryphel let out a single chuckle. ¡°Got it in one. And actually, you¡¯ve already done just that in a scenario. I called her here and confirmed that you could use the normal, untransformed transmission artifact to visit her afterwards. You just don¡¯t retain your memories when the scenario ends. And before you ask, I tested sharing your memories with another version of you in a different scenario. Using the memories alone, you couldn¡¯t visit her with the artifact.¡± ¡°Impressive, Euryphel,¡± Maria praised. ¡°Seeing your methodical mind at work makes me feel less bad about my loss to you in the war.¡± She pinched her fingers together. ¡°Only a little bit, though.¡± Ian¡¯s gaze was fully focused on Eury, almost rude in its intensity. He didn¡¯t notice Maria¡¯s questioning look. He just stared, completely lost in his thoughts. One thought dominated the others. Eury was an incredible force multiplier. With his scenarios, he could do in seconds what might take Ian hours or days. He and Maria had tried to make moves against Achemiss, but those efforts had been... not great. Now that they were finally united with Euryphel, things were moving significantly faster. Ian could work with other Regret practitioners, like Ascendant Red, but working with Euryphel just felt different. Better. Ian felt incipient dread as he considered that he¡¯d need to leave Euryphel behind when he returned to Eternity. Dread that Euryphel and all his brilliance would die in a few short decades, or maybe even sooner in their violent world. He hoped that Euryphel would ascend, but even if the Crowned Executor had a better chance to do so than most¡­ Ian¡¯s Beginning calculated that it was an unlikely outcome. It left a bitter, painful pit in his stomach. He averted his eyes and exhaled, imagining all the negative emotions flowing out of him with his breath. He sensed the confusion and concern through his bond with Maria. I¡¯m fine, he told her, just lamenting that we¡¯ll need to leave a powerful asset behind when we return to Eternity. Ian felt Euryphel¡¯s blood rush subtly to his cheeks and ears in response to the piercing gaze. He chose to ignore it, knowing that Euryphel hated it when Ian acknowledged his attraction. After all, it wasn¡¯t something Euryphel could control, so why bring it up and make it harder for him? They¡¯d agreed to be brothers. Ian wouldn¡¯t make things weird. ¡°So,¡± Ian said, breaking the odd silence, ¡°what¡¯s our course of action? We can talk to this woman and get information, but what are we trying to learn? And what do we need to do in the real world, versus in your scenarios?¡± Euryphel responded swiftly, the question snapping him out of his embarrassment. ¡°Let me share with you both what I learned.¡± He raised an eyebrow at Ian. ¡°Sharing memories through Remorse is slower than me writing things out, so give me a second to jot everything down.¡± Remorse allowed for communication at the speed of thought. It was fast, sure, but Ian¡¯s inexperience led to inefficiency. Using the metaphor of reading a book, where a skilled Remorse practitioner could skim through and focus on the useful parts, Ian had to read line by line, sounding out the words like a child. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. With everyone in agreement, Euryphel began typing up what he had learned on the holo display. There were two columns, the left side showing the question and the right indicating Clara Belvaire¡¯s response. Horizontal lines indicated the end of each scenario, demarcating when Clara¡¯s memory was reset. ¡°How many replicates did you perform to confirm the veracity of these answers?¡± Maria inquired, her eyes scanning over the report. ¡°Let me note that down.¡± The Crowned Executor went through and dragged parts of the text into boxes. For a brief moment, Ian was confused before it clicked. Euryphel was showing the progression of his scenarios¨Cand more specifically, his recursion checkpoints. Next to each boxed subsection, Euryphel noted a number. Ian realized that even some of the most basic questions¨Cones verifying Clara¡¯s identity and her position within her guild¨Chad been repeated multiple times. ¡°I repeated my questions while adjusting my wording until I was satisfied that I had a consistent, and ideally accurate, answer,¡± Euryphel explained. He highlighted one such question in his write-up: Do you know a man named Achemiss? ¡°I never asked this exact question directly. But no matter how I phrased it, Clara never expressed any sign of recognition.¡± He scrolled to a later scenario¡¯s log. ¡°I repeated the line of questioning in a later scenario, one where I¡¯d already established that she was in contact with ¡®Ian Dunai.¡¯ Her lack of recognition was again consistent.¡± Maria nodded thoughtfully. ¡°What do we think Achemiss¡¯s aim is in impersonating Ian?¡± Ian cocked his head. ¡°He wants to lure me out because I have his void storages and the return beacon. While he undooubtedly wants to kill me, getting those items should be his priority. He also wants to borrow my authority as the most powerful Death practitioner known to this world in recent memory. He¡¯s a vengeful person, so he probably also plans to run my reputation into the ground, as Maria said earlier. Finally, he knows that I care about this world.¡± Ian rubbed his jaw before continuing. Both Euryphel and Maria regarded him intently. ¡°Y¡¯jeni. Based on what Euryphel learned, Achemiss is likely planning something involving the Infinity Loop that will doom this world even earlier than anticipated. He¡¯ll force me to intervene personally, giving him the opportunity to attack.¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t plan on facing you with his true body, he shouldn¡¯t pose a threat,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°You¡¯ll survive whatever he throws at you.¡± ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Ian said, his gaze focusing on Maria. ¡°As we all know all too well, practitioners are fragile. One mistake will spell my end, and Achemiss is a crafty old monster. The only one who¡¯s guaranteed to survive against one of his schemes is Maria.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have enough faith in yourself,¡± Euryphel said solemnly. Ian smiled grimly. ¡°I¡¯ll give you an additional point to chew on. What if Achemiss isn¡¯t acting alone?¡± ¡°You mean, what if Sere is helping him?¡± Ian shook his head. ¡°No. What if he''s aided by another returned ascendant? Or perhaps, multiple ascendants?¡± Euryphel¡¯s jaw worked soundlessly. ¡°Why would ascendants help Achemiss destroy this world even faster?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t think they would¨Cat least not for that reason. The ascendants on this world came here to get away from Eternity and to eventually die. But what if even one of them has regrets?¡± Maria¡¯s eyes panned to the ceiling. ¡°If Achemiss is successful, he¡¯ll have our return beacon. That will allow him to return to Eternity¡­ and he can take one other person with him.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s assuming that Achemiss doesn¡¯t have a return beacon of his own stashed in one of his storages,¡± Ian added. ¡°Maria still hasn¡¯t managed to work past the protections on them¨Cif we try to force them open, they¡¯ll collapse, destroying their contents.¡± ¡°And here I thought we had pulled ahead because Soolemar helped recruit an ascendant to our side,¡± Euryphel stated, his voice cold. ¡°But none of this is confirmed. We can speculate for days and never touch upon the truth.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ian acknowledged, leaning forward, his hands steepled together over the table. ¡°We should take things one step at a time. Returning to the matter at hand, should I reveal myself to Clara Belvaire¨Cor really, anyone involved with Infinity Loop research?¡± Euryphel hesitated. ¡°I think you need to reveal yourself. Which is perhaps the point¨CAchemiss¡¯s goal is to force you to act in a certain way. I expect he never thought you would find out about his involvement with the Sere Consortium this early, however.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Maria asked. ¡°He hasn¡¯t done anything yet,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°He¡¯s only made contact with them recently, and according to Clara, Dunai¡¯s return and interest in the Infinity Loop experimentation is strictly confidential, disseminated only at the highest levels.¡± ¡°Perhaps there¡¯s a different approach we can take,¡± Maria proposed, ¡°one with a subtler touch. We want Achemiss to be lulled into a false sense of security. We want him to deal with Sere so we can get clues into the location of his true body.¡± Ian frowned. ¡°Yes¡­ and?¡± Maria placed her hands on the table. ¡°What we really need to accomplish our objectives is a Sere insider. Someone who will be in the room negotiating with Achemiss. Ideally, someone also working directly on the Infinity Loop research.¡± ¡°Someone like Clara,¡± Ian said. ¡°Right,¡± Euryphel agreed, ¡°but that¡¯s easier said than done. If we forced Clara to take an End oath to spy for us, other End practitioners would see it. If we snuck into Sere and used Remorse to read her memories after any meetings, she would be aware of it¡­ and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she were already beholden to oaths that forced her to faint if anyone tried seriously reading her memories. That, or oaths that clouded her mind, preventing her from remembering important details outside of well-defended areas.¡± ¡°Like her office or the labs,¡± Ian said. ¡°Yeah. Anyway, she¡¯s surely well-defended against mental espionage, if only because of her rank in her guild. I¡¯m sure business competitors would love to use Regret and Remorse practitioners to extract her memories in unremembered scenarios.¡± Euryphel sighed. ¡°If we did something extreme, such as having Ian control her body with decemancy, any Life or Death practitioner would notice something amiss.¡± Ian froze at that. Maria, sensing his thoughts, spoke up. ¡°But what if no one could sense Ian¡¯s control? What if Ian¡­ what if he hijacked the woman¡¯s soul?¡± 344. As Talented as We Hope ¡°If it¡¯s a matter of the soul, even a necromancer wouldn¡¯t notice anything amiss,¡± Maria continued. ¡°Necromancers can¡¯t see embodied souls. There would be no traces, so long as Ian can keep existing End oaths intact.¡± Euryphel arched an eyebrow at Ian. ¡°Can you do that?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve never done it before.¡± Maria reached under the table and squeezed his leg, giving him a knowing look. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean much, coming from you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d need to experiment,¡± Ian continued, though he looked uncertain. ¡°What we¡¯re talking about¡­ it¡¯s the kind of necromancy that gives all necromancers a bad name. You both know that, right?¡± Euryphel looked completely unfazed. ¡°Necromancy is a tool. So long as you use it with good intentions, I see no problem.¡± Ian didn¡¯t know why he felt disconcerted. He should be relieved that his companions saw nothing wrong with a disturbing form of necromancy like soul jacking. And yet¡­ Something gnawed at the back of his mind. Was it his conscience? Ian didn¡¯t think so¨Cit¡¯s not like his hands were clean. His eyes moved between Euryphel and Maria, his iridescent irises hypnotic. ¡°Do you understand what my experiments will need?¡± ¡°Human test subjects,¡± Maria uttered calmly. Ian closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose. He understood that human experimentation was sometimes necessary for the greater good. But so far, he¡¯d always experimented on himself. The few times he had performed risky procedures on others¨Clike when he¡¯d resurrected Zilverna and Maria¨Che¡¯d done so because there was no alternative. Either he succeeded or they died. ¡°You won¡¯t be experimenting on just anyone,¡± Maria added. Euryphel hummed his agreement. Ian understood the implications. He¡¯d probably be given criminals. Or more specifically, Euryphel would give him criminals of the Selejo Imperial Federation. Here it is: the burden of responsibility, Ian thought ruefully, driving me to undesirable ends. He thought back to the events that had brought him to this room, this very moment. Ian had never asked to be a practitioner¡­ but having spent nearly ten time-dilated years as one, he could no longer imagine his life any other way. His old goal to be a glossprogger seemed so small. It wasn¡¯t so much a goal as a cop-out. He¡¯d needed a way to achieve financial independence, and developing glossware was a high-paying profession for regulars. It had been a practical path to pursue. His current life had everything his old life lacked. Despite its faults, Eternity was a magnificent land that promised adventure. He¡¯d never need to worry about money or basic necessities. While living forever might drive him insane eventually, he wasn¡¯t too concerned about finding a way to avoid Floria¡¯s torturous fate. And above all, he had Maria and others who cared about him, like Crystal and Karanos. What did he have in this world? Euryphel, Germaine? I could just take them away with me, if I really wished, Ian realized, his Beginning leading him to consider a radically different path. They¡¯d need to become liches if he did so or they¡¯d slowly wither and die, but being a lich wasn¡¯t so bad. In some ways it was ideal. Liches could die when they chose, unlike ascendants. Just keep telling yourself that, he thought scornfully, thinking of Maria and what she¡¯d lost. Still, he considered taking the only two people he cared about and escaping, leaving Achemiss trapped without any way to leave aside from intercepting future descendants for their return beacons. That was certainly one path he could take¨Ca path where he shed the yoke of responsibility entirely. A path that might be ideal, in some ways. If Achemiss were truly stranded on this world, he¡¯d have an incentive to keep it healthy until he secured a means of departure. After that, though¡­ nothing would stop Achemiss from destroying the world. Another path stretched before Ian, one where he continued on his current path, using every ounce of his ability to corner and kill Achemiss. Ian once had a line he swore he wouldn¡¯t cross regarding necromancy. In a few short months, he¡¯d crossed it to save Maria, turning her into a lich. At least then he¡¯d done so because he¡¯d wanted to. Now, he was being asked to cross another line. This time it was for the greater good, not because of his own desires. Ian didn¡¯t need to follow through with the soul jacking plan and its prerequisite human experimentation. They could find another way. But Ian had a sinking suspicion that no matter what path they followed, he¡¯d be forced to do things that he¡¯d never otherwise do, things that he¡¯d never want Germaine to know about. Alas¨Che stared at his wrists as though he expected to see shackles. Responsibility. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Then he looked up and saw Maria¡¯s steely expression and Euryphel¡¯s determined gaze. The second path¨Cthe difficult path, the just path¨Crequired him to be the kind of necromancer that had horrified him in the Menocht Loop. But Ian wouldn¡¯t be the weak link. He couldn¡¯t be. How could he live with himself if they failed because of his selfish unwillingness? Without letting more of his inner turmoil show, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± After giving them each a searching look, he sighed self-deprecatingly. ¡°Let¡¯s see if I¡¯m as talented as we all hope.¡± ¡ª Drained by the hours of strategizing, Euryphel motioned limply at the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll take you to your rooms.¡± Maria spoke up. ¡°If it¡¯s not an imposition, could you send me to Kaiwen Chowicz¡¯s location? Assuming she hasn¡¯t left Ichormai yet.¡± Euryphel¡¯s wind elementalism was cut off in the secure area beneath Ichormai, but it was easy to check in a Regret scenario. He left the subterranean complex and his control of the wind allowed him to sense all within the palace. He found Chowicz easily. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s still here,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°And no, she¡¯s not with Zilverna.¡± Maria¡¯s relief was nearly palpable. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°In the gardens,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°He¡¯s walking by himself outside. I assume he wants to be alone.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t he be recognized?¡± Maria murmured. ¡°He slipped into a sweatshirt and has the hood up over his head, paired with jeans. He¡¯s walking around with a regular tour group.¡± ¡°¡­ Why?¡± Ian gave her a look. ¡°Probably because he needs an excuse to make sure he doesn¡¯t run into one of us.¡± Maria exhaled her frustration and pain. ¡°Very well. Please send me to Chowicz.¡± Soon only Euryphel and Ian were left in the corridor. Euryphel swallowed, suddenly aware of their privacy. He slipped into a scenario. ¡°Can you tell that I¡¯m nervous around you?¡± Euryphel asked. He bet that if he hadn¡¯t been raised for politics and skillful oration, he would be stuttering. Ian cocked his head. ¡°We¡¯re in a scenario, aren¡¯t we?¡± Euryphel didn¡¯t answer the question, though he cursed how Ian¡¯s Beginning affinity helped him to sense when he was in scenarios. ¡°Just humor me.¡± ¡°Yes, I can tell,¡± Ian said slowly, ¡°but you don¡¯t want me to know. I respect that. I can¡¯t ignore what I sense, but I can choose not to act on it.¡± Euryphel nixed that scenario, entering into another one where he screamed loudly, venting his frustration. That was a short scenario. Then he entered another, poised with a new statement. ¡°We should establish a quantum channel again, for easier communication.¡± Ian looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. ¡°Makes sense.¡± Euryphel remained in that scenario for a few seconds, processing Ian¡¯s response. It was so thoughtless. Quantum channels were mostly used in professional settings where instant, secure communication was a requirement. For instance, the military made judicious use of quantum channeling, though only for soldiers on active duty. The channels were typically unregistered as soldiers returned home. Best friends didn¡¯t establish quantum channels; most spouses didn¡¯t even have them. Nobody normally needed that much intimacy. Use it enough and your brain would hurt. And if you weren¡¯t careful with your thoughts, something unintended might slip out. As a case in point, Euryphel didn¡¯t even have quantum channels with the Guard. He had one with Urstes, but scarcely used it. Even establishing one with Ian before had been a necessary leap of faith after war broke out and Ian went east to find a necromancer teacher. Ian had needed to leverage Euryphel¡¯s Regret scenarios while continents apart¨Cand do so securely. Now they faced another severe threat, one that might require them to act continents apart. Instant communication was a powerful boon, so it made genuine sense for them to have the quantum channel re-established. All the same, Euryphel had feared that Ian would hesitate. That hesitation was what Euryphel was really searching for¨Ca break in Ian¡¯s masterful fa?ade. He knew this pursuit stemmed from his toxic personality rearing its head. Why did he need to look for the worst in people? Why was he so intent on proving to himself that Ian found him¡­ what, disgusting? Euryphel snapped back from his scenario, then re-proposed the question in the real world. Ian agreed as before. ¡°After you get settled, we can perform the procedure.¡± When Euryphel opened the door this time, it revealed a well-furnished guest room. It was like the one Ian had stayed in before he ascended, with fine crown molding and pale green walls that complimented the emerald bed linens. The Crowned Executor gave Ian a few minutes alone while he sulked in his room. His mind wouldn¡¯t stop playing over the scenarios he¡¯d run earlier when Maria had left them to find Kaiwen Chowicz. He grabbed a pillow and smothered his head in it, screaming. Then, with a tired sigh, he padded over to the door and went to collect Ian. It had been long enough. Euryphel walked inside Ian¡¯s room, closed the door, and reopened it, revealing the quantum channeling room. When he and Ian stepped inside, the dim overhead lighting brightened, revealing a large, tower-shaped device in the left corner of the room. Euryphel patted it. ¡°This is how we register quanticodes.¡± He then walked over to a small device in the back connected to a hollowed-out half sphere fixed to a thin, clinical table. ¡°And this is how we set you up to handle quantum channeling. Again.¡± ¡°Let me just make sure I need to do everything again,¡± Ian said, walking over to the quanticode tower. Fifteen seconds later, he sighed in defeat and lay down on the table, his head positioned under the curved hood. He stared at it with sharp focus. Euryphel wondered what Ian would sense, if anything, as the device¡¯s arrays activated. The procedure was quick, inexpensive, and reversible, so many regulars had it done, even if it provided limited practical use. Euryphel figured its popularity was a reaction to regular impotence. Why wouldn¡¯t regulars embrace any power they could? After all, to the ignorant, quantum channeling seemed almost like Remorse. Moreover, having the capability wasn¡¯t the same as using it. Euryphel bet that only a fraction of the regs who could quantum channel actually had quanticodes registered. Euryphel walked over and hovered a finger over the start button. ¡°Unless you have any reservations, I¡¯ll proceed.¡± ¡°None here.¡± Euryphel pressed down, initiating the procedure. All he needed to do was wait, so he lounged on one of the thin couches on the wall and lost himself in his thoughts. 345. Experiment Start Ian and Euryphel walked down one of the hallways in the kernel, the innermost area of the palace. Both could sense the presence of people nearby using their powers, so they knew which way to walk to avoid the smattering of guards and staff in the vicinity. Now you can call for me whenever you want, Euryphel thought, grinning slyly at the necromancer. Ian exhaled a chuckle. As if that were necessary. Your wind elementalism pervades the entire palace¨Cyou could always speak to me whenever you wished. That¡¯s why I specifically said that you can call for me whenever you want, Euryphel ribbed. My mind can¡¯t be everywhere at once¨CI¡¯m not a Beginning practitioner. If you say something, there¡¯s no guarantee I¡¯ll notice and respond. With this quantum channel, you can speak to me directly, anytime, and know that I¡¯ll hear you. Unless you¡¯re asleep, Ian pointed out. I don¡¯t think quantum channeling is so powerful that I can force my way into your dreams. Euryphel laughed, a bit louder than was normal. ¡°Was it that funny?¡± Ian asked, speaking out loud. Euryphel kept his voice contained to the area around them using his wind elementalism, preventing anyone nearby from listening. Euryphel sobered his expression. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t miss quantum channeling,¡± Ian stated. ¡°It¡¯s so robotic. All emotion is stripped away, leaving only raw thoughts. I¡¯d rather just talk.¡± Euryphel hummed. ¡°That¡¯s why most people don¡¯t use it if they can avoid it.¡± ¡°Where are we going, by the way?¡± Ian asked. Euryphel could travel anywhere in the palace through the doors. Walking was a deliberate choice. ¡°Nowhere,¡± Euryphel scoffed, ¡°just stretching our legs. Even I¡¯m not good enough to disguise you sufficiently. I can hide your rainbow eyes and obscure distinguishing facial features, but there¡¯s no foolproof way to hide the fact that you have three affinities.¡± Ian could muddle his own vital signature, but the real concern was that an adversary¨Cwithin a Regret scenario¨Cwould attack Ian, forcing him to use his affinities. That would be enough to reveal his vital signature to any powerful Life or Death practitioner. Moreover, depending on the attack¡¯s power, he might be forced to reveal his ascendant energy. Was it perhaps excessively cautious to keep Ian on lockdown because of this possible situation? Yes. The risk was small, but the potential impact of an adversary seeing Euryphel in cahoots with a tri-affinity ascendant was too big to ignore. And Euryphel knew that people were watching him, and by extension, everyone around him¨Cespecially when he was in the seat of his power, Ichormai. An adversary might not realize the tri-affinity practitioner was Ian, or even an ascendant. Just the fact that someone with three affinities existed would be shocking. And the fact that such an individual was seen with Euryphel would cause unneeded political complications. As it was, the Selejo Imperial Federation¡¯s existence threatened the East. If Ian hadn¡¯t emerged as a half-step ascendant, Euryphel thought it likely that the eastern powers would have taken a more aggressive stance in the war, intervening behind the scenes to prevent the formation of a new, unified Ho¡¯ostar peninsula. Instead, they had sat back, complacent knowing that the man who had single-handedly changed the status quo would disappear. Several eastern powerhouses were in the Darkseers, but that didn¡¯t mean their countries were friends. Even if Eury contacted his eastern compatriots to reassure them that he didn¡¯t have a powerful practitioner on payroll, that wouldn¡¯t be enough to assuage the clamoring cries of hawkish politicians. Not that Euryphel could blame them¨Che really did have a powerful tri-affinity ascendant on his side. Ian had a far greater purpose than propelling the Selejo Imperial Federation to new heights, but Euryphel didn¡¯t doubt that Ian would defend the Federation if asked. It was all such a mess. There was a coal of bitter rage in Euryphel, a coal that had existed within him ever since the death of his father, serving as the core of a conflagration of miserable, masochistic determination. The conflagration had died with his victory and ascension to lead the SPU. The war with Selejo hadn¡¯t been enough to fully reignite it; Euryphel inwardly hoped that nothing ever would. But even if the dark pit of hateful passion was relatively dormant, it still smoldered and sizzled. Usually, his self-hatred fed the ember, but more and more the selfish shortsightedness of the outside world invoked his greatest ire. Euryphel was trying to save the world! Literally! Not because he had any grand aspirations of being a hero, but because he knew he was one of the only people who could. He just happened to be aware of the delicate situation around the Infinity Loop, happened to have the power, influence, and connections to stop disaster from befalling them. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Ian asked. Euryphel realized that he¡¯d stopped in front of a tall, old portrait of one of his forefathers. There was a strong resemblance¨Cpale, straight hair tied in a queue, fine facial features, and dark blue robes with gold trim. His ancestor¡¯s jaw was squarer, his brow more defined. Whether the man really looked like this or the artist had taken liberties, Euryphel didn¡¯t know. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a bit overwhelmed,¡± Eury replied honestly. Ian sighed and rolled his head. ¡°Yeah.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°At least we have a path forward.¡± ¡°Potentially.¡± Ian looked at him through narrowed eyes, slivers of rainbow iridescence. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Euryphel continued walking. ¡°You know, I used to think it ludicrous, reading the histories of the giants that carved new states, kingdoms, and empires.¡± Ian gave him a quizzical look. ¡°Why?¡± The former prince smirked. ¡°Many were so young. Younger than both of us. Practically children, closer to Zilverna¡¯s age. And through a sea of blood, they built nations that stood the test of time¨Cat least some of them did.¡± He turned his gaze on another portrait of an ancestor. This one was even older, the paint faded and cracking. ¡°I¡¯ve pieced a new country together and already it feels like it¡¯s crumbling.¡± ¡°Nation building is never clean,¡± Ian said. ¡°I never said it was,¡± Euryphel murmured. ¡°I doubt it was easier for those distant, brutal figures. History has just smoothed over the bumps and ridges. I just¡­ appreciate it more, now. To do what I¡¯m doing now while barely an adult. I feel almost inadequate by comparison.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t have to worry about the greater burden of the world¡¯s ruin,¡± Ian added with a sage smile. ¡°Besides, not all of them were so young.¡± He tapped his head. ¡°I estimate 60% were over the age of 25. Very few people are powerful enough before then to lead conquests.¡± Euryphel returned his smile. ¡°Fair enough.¡± He was acutely aware of Ian¡¯s presence next to him, Ian¡¯s shoulder a few inches from his own as they both stared at the aged portrait. ¡°I think we¡¯ve stretched our legs enough. Are you ready to get started on the experiment?¡± ¡°Ready,¡± Ian said slowly, ¡°who is ever really ready for the things we intend to do? I supposed I¡¯m as ready as I can be.¡± Ian¡¯s comment was a poignant conclusion to their conversation. Who was ever really ready? Readiness came through experience and repetition. The most important moments in life were decision nodes where fate and destiny gathered. A choice was made, a path forged. What was readiness when you walked into the unknown? Ian squeezed Euryphel¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re thinking so hard, you¡¯re practically giving me a headache. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡ª Ian was unsurprised when Euryphel led him back into the clean, almost clinical former dungeon beneath the palace. Is it a former dungeon, or an active one? Ian wondered as he stepped into one of the interrogation rooms. Sitting in a stiff, unpadded chair was a woman with gray, scraggly hair cut short and thickly muscled arms. She wore a scowl that hid what might¡¯ve been naturally beautiful features¨Can aquiline nose and long eyelashes framing expressive green eyes. Her skin was weathered and tan, especially on her hands, which were heavily calloused. Ian froze her as he entered the room, divesting her of all bodily autonomy. She only breathed because he willed it. Vitality still pumped through her body, marking her as a Sun practitioner and probably a fire elementalist. A straightforward affinity. It would be unnecessarily cruel to take a Beginning or Regret practitioner as a subject. Ian wore a mask because he didn¡¯t want to be recognized-¨Cdidn¡¯t want his subjects to know who was experimenting on them. His Beginning suggested that it would amplify their fear and confusion. He could use his Remorse to suppress such reactions, but finesse wasn¡¯t his strong suit. The mask was simple¨Ca black medical mask that covered his nose and mouth. He left his upper face uncovered, but Euryphel had used his special eye mud to make his eyes appear plain brown rather than rainbow-y. Ian could see his reflection in the opaque, glassy walls of the interrogation room, made from military grade gloss plastic, the same kind used in the construction of off-road hoverglosses. He almost looked like¡­ well, his old self. Dark brown, curling hair, brown eyes, pale skin. He hadn¡¯t aged at all since ascending. He might as well be looking at a yearbook photo from his senior year at Academia Hector. Y¡¯jeni, all the people I went to school with, like Xavier¡­ they¡¯re still in their senior year. Ian turned his focus back to the immobilized woman. Her expression was frozen, but her eyes conveyed her quiet fear. ¡°Hello,¡± Ian said, speaking directly into her mind. ¡°I am developing a technique that may be deadly. I am not a cruel man. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive. The best way to increase your chance of surviving is to not resist me, no matter what. I assure you, your resistance will fail¨Cyou¡¯ll only hurt yourself.¡± He didn¡¯t ask if she understood¨Che could sense her fear and resignation. Ian didn¡¯t know what the woman had done to warrant her presence before him. Probably something terrible. He trusted Euryphel to give him someone whose death wouldn¡¯t haunt his conscience. He could have found out. Euryphel had given him the woman¡¯s file. Ian preferred to know nothing at all. It was easier to do terrible things to those whom you pretended weren¡¯t people. Euryphel had argued that knowing what she had done might make it easier. Eury never said it outright¨Cit wasn¡¯t something that could be said in good conscience¨Cbut he¡¯d implied that the woman deserved what was coming. Ian understood Euryphel¡¯s point but he disdained that rhetoric. He refused to give himself a reason not to feel the gravity of his actions. He wouldn¡¯t feel guilty for what he needed to do, but he would treat his subject with respect. She was a living, breathing person. He sensed her frantic vitality and her anxious, cold mind. And to him, she was a blank slate. An unknown. Besides, whether he wanted to or not, Ian had a suspicion that he¡¯d learn more about the woman than he wanted as he manipulated her soul. Suddenly, thoughts bubbled to the surface of her mind. You can be sure that I¡¯ll fight with everything I have. Ian resisted the urge to facepalm. ¡°So be it.¡± He walked over to her so that he stood directly behind her, his chest against her back. You¡¯re warm, firm. Young. Na?ve. I don¡¯t know what experiment you¡¯re trying, but you won¡¯t break me. Ian ignored her. He slit her shirt with a shard of sharpened bone, revealing her back. It was covered in horrific, healed scars. Not like those caused by a whip, but it looked like someone had flayed her decades ago. No wonder she wasn¡¯t flinching in the face of his potentially deadly experiment. She thought herself tough. Ian wondered if she¡¯d reconsider her bravado when he got started. He placed his hands on her, the left on her back, the other just below her sternum. Handsy, aren¡¯t we? Ian ignored her insinuation, completely unfazed. He didn¡¯t feel an ounce of attraction to her aged body, nothing like he felt for Maria. With both his hands in position over the nucleus of the woman¡¯s being, the first tendril of his ethereal body entered her body. She didn¡¯t feel it¨Chow could she when she didn¡¯t have any sense of her ethereal body? He carefully severed the tendrils anchoring the soul to the woman¡¯s vessels. He made the cuts as clean as possible since he intended to re-secure them if everything went according to plan. He wasn¡¯t trying to extract the woman¡¯s soul¨Cjust hijack it. When the last anchoring tendril fell limp, the woman did something unexpected. She screamed. 346. Breakthrough The scream resounded in the woman¡¯s head, piercing and pained. Ian could almost hear it physically. Nothing was forcing him to listen to the woman¡¯s thoughts, but he wanted to know what his soul manipulation felt like. It would help him understand what parts of it would go unnoticed¨Cand what couldn¡¯t be ignored. In this case, only fully severing the soul evoked a response. Ian paused the experiment. His ethereal tendrils swiftly re-established a few connections between the woman¡¯s body and soul. He stopped using his Remorse to read the woman¡¯s thoughts. With his hands still planted on the woman¡¯s torso, he considered his next steps. Eury, he asked via quantum channel, is there still an end arrow connecting you and the experimental subject? No. It¡¯s gone. Ian wasn¡¯t surprised, but he had been hoping that careful and slow un-anchoring of the soul would allow for End bindings to persist when it was fully untethered. Ian wished he could run his experiments in Euryphel¡¯s Regret scenarios, but he required more than a minute to work with. He could call on Eury if he wanted to finesse a certain maneuver, but he wasn¡¯t at that point yet. It¡¯s a bit ironic, isn¡¯t it? Ian thought, this time to Maria. She wasn¡¯t with him in the experiment room¨Cas far as Ian knew, she was still with Kaiwen. Even though the women had spoken a few times using the transmission artifact, they had a lot to catch up on. What specifically? she replied. To win the war against you, I developed a technique to sever End bindings. I used necromancy to effectively kill myself, albeit temporarily. The memory is vivid in my mind, she said, her thoughts slightly caustic. My son was your first successful experiment, after all. Well¡­ now I need to find a way to separate the soul without destroying the bindings of fate. I think there¡¯s a better way to think about this than simply ¡®ironic.¡¯ You¡¯re learning more about the limits of necromancy, limits you¡¯d find difficult to plumb while in Eternity. You may be talented at necromancy, Ian¨Cthat¡¯s obvious to everyone around you¨Cbut you¡¯re still inexperienced, at least when it comes to manipulating embodied souls directly. An opportunity indeed, he thought, suddenly thinking of the Hall of Ascension. He didn¡¯t personally know of any necromancers among the Hall¡¯s ranks, which was interesting considering that Death was an affinity that could most benefit from descending to conduct ascendant trials. Eternity had mortals with pliable souls, but they weren¡¯t practitioners. The only way to find mortal practitioners¨Coutside of using artifacts like the one that invoked such greed as to turn the black faction against Achemiss¨Cwas to descend. Therefore, while most practitioners could reach the peak of mastery wholly within the confines of Eternity, this wasn¡¯t the case for Death¨Cand Life, based on Ian¡¯s limited understanding of how Life practitioners could influence souls. This opportunity may never come again, he thought, his fingers cold against the feverish heat of the unnamed experimental subject¡¯s body. Sweat fell down her exposed back in rivulets, tracing the paths of her scars. If I never descend¨Ceither by joining the Hall of Ascension or using another return beacon¨CI¡¯ll never again have the chance to freely manipulate practitioner souls. The realization was like a cold vise, squeezing guilt into submission. These experiments were meaningful and necessary¨Cnot just to deal with Achemiss, but also to further his stalled practice of Death. He almost recoiled at the thoughts. Really, dangerous human experimentation is necessary to further my practice? Those were the thoughts of someone like Ancient Ash, someone who valued his personal progress over all else. Spending time surrounded by immortal ascendants had clearly impacted his perspective. What will I be like in a thousand years, I wonder? Ian wondered if Beginning might be the key to protecting his mind from becoming detached and calloused. Beginning was known for enhancing the mind and allowing it to do intensive calculations and analyses, but Ian knew more was possible at higher levels of affinity. He considered the oldest ascendant that he knew in Eternity, Ascendant Holiday. The man was a bit unhinged, but he wasn¡¯t a cold monster, as far as Ian could tell. What stood out to him, thinking back, was how he had treated Maria when she was still human. Holiday had known that Maria¡¯s fate was all but hopeless but had still given her well-meaning advice. Ian didn¡¯t even want to think about how Ash would have treated Maria. Probably with a lot of excitement. He¡¯d have almost certainly experimented on her since she was an incredibly rare mortal practitioner with an unprotected soul. A more interesting case was Karanos. The man was a genius, his mind powerful enough that he could masquerade as a Beginning practitioner. But that massive intellect hadn¡¯t saved him from becoming callous toward mortals. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Karanos had reneged against a practitioner-elitist regime back on his home world. He was polite to mortals in Eternity. But something was missing. Even after Karanos accepted that Ian and Maria weren¡¯t to blame for Ari¡¯s demise, he had incessantly bullied her. What had he said? Ian wondered, thinking back. His Beginning affinity pulled up the memories. They had been following Karanos to the edge of Eternity, where they eventually found Floria¡¯s lifeless plane. Karanos had been moving too quickly for Maria to keep up, saying that the fault was with Maria for choosing to accompany them. When Ian confronted him and asked where else Maria would have gone, Karanos¡¯s words had been casually cruel. They rang crisply in Ian¡¯s head. ¡°The grave? Not my concern. It¡¯s unlikely she¡¯ll survive more than a few days. Why suffer when you can go out peacefully?¡± The lack of empathy, Ian thought, is probably a defense mechanism. He could understand it but didn¡¯t want that for himself. He didn¡¯t want to stop caring. His eyes fell to the calluses on his experimental subject¡¯s hands. They protected her hands from a rough existence, but something was lost. Ian couldn¡¯t call those fingers beautiful, and he knew they would be less sensitive than uncalloused fingers like his own. It wasn¡¯t a perfect analogy. There was nothing wrong with calloused hands. But it did somewhat capture an idea of an innately beautiful mind, one that could empathize and care for others, one full of hopes and dreams¡­ becoming cold and closed-off, protecting itself from the pain that accompanied such vulnerability. Ian recognized that such mental self-defense was almost necessary for ascendants to remain sane. But what if Beginning could serve as a shield, like a pair of gloves in the hand analogy? Ian felt his heart racing as the insight crystallized. He breathed deeply in and out. A breakthrough, he thought, his eyes wide. He hadn¡¯t expected his Beginning to noticeably advance anytime soon, but he wasn¡¯t going to complain. I suppose I still am within the initial five-year period of rapid growth after awakening an affinity, Ian thought wryly. His Beginning affinity couldn¡¯t have increased by too much, but Ian¡¯s thoughts came slightly smoother and easier. It wasn¡¯t much, but the fact that the change was noticeable at all spoke to at least a two or three percent increase in the affinity. His eyes locked onto the unnamed woman with renewed intensity. Eury, can you re-establish fate with the woman? Ian didn¡¯t know the specifics behind doing so but knew it was possible, especially within Euryphel¡¯s own palace. At a bare minimum, it required intentionality on Euryphel¡¯s part. Already done, Euryphel replied. Ian smiled softly. Inhaling deeply, he took his hands from the woman, flexed them, then placed them back on her skin, pressing with his fingertips. Ethereal energy snaked from his digits and into the woman. He re-initiated mental contact. He didn¡¯t know what he was expecting, but it wasn¡¯t what he found. Silence. She was silent. Petrified, but adamant, unbreaking. She didn¡¯t know what Ian had done to her, and her body instinctively feared the soul-searing agony he¡¯d inflicted, but she refused to so much as mentally whimper. Ian could appreciate her tenacity. Whatever her past was, it must have been brutal to make her so capable at stomaching torture. As his ethereal tendrils caressed the ethereal suspension cradling the woman¡¯s soul, he teased at the soul itself. When disembodied, souls were like watery orbs stained by ink. Embodied, they transformed, becoming organic and spreading throughout the host like a mix between root and web. Only with the fiery crown from Maria¡¯s regalia did this appearance become apparent. Without it, the soul appeared to Ian¡¯s perception as a tightly wound coil, felt rather than seen. Sans Maria, Ian didn¡¯t have the ability to visually see the embodied soul, but he didn¡¯t need it. What he cared about was the coiled form of the soul¡­ the essence of the person. As he teased the soul¡¯s outermost coil apart, Ian monitored the woman¡¯s thoughts. She seemed unaware of his intrusion. Good. The soul was still there, after all. It¡¯s not like he¡¯d cut part of it off. Ian let his instincts guide him as he teased the soul apart. Suddenly, he was assaulted by a foreign memory, which entered his mind as fragmented sensation and emotion. He wasn¡¯t in her soul, where the memories would spill forth like a flood around a jungle of metaphorical constructions. From handling her soul, he was just dealing with a single memory. As a novice necromancer, he¡¯d struggled to comprehend anything. After training with Soolemar, he¡¯d become skilled at understanding the crux of another soul¡¯s memory, though he never understood all the details. Now, he processed the unnamed woman¡¯s memory with greater ease than he ever expected, his Beginning affinity facilitating its ingestion and his training with Remorse helping him parse it. There was fire everywhere. Blistering and horrible, toxic fumes filling the air. Ian saw the world from a full-face mask, one rugged enough to withstand the flames but whose intention was to provide fresh oxygen and filter out the fumes. Ian didn¡¯t know where this was, but the crumbling infrastructure of the building revealed a smoke-filled sky and a neighborhood that looked like it had been hit by a natural disaster. In the memory, Ian strode forward with hurried purpose. He blasted various pieces of furniture with flames and crushed them under thick, fire-proof boots. He growled and ascended to the second floor, boosting his steps with gouts of flame. He burst down the door with an arm jab and continued to a twin bed. Beginning allowed Ian to take in details that had been lost to the unnamed woman when she experienced the memory firsthand. The room was filled with posters of children¡¯s cartoons, the ceiling covered in a galaxy of glowing stars. Not even powered by an array¨Cthey were made of some pale, naturally fluorescing material. They glowed gently since the room wasn¡¯t yet on fire and the room was dark, the lacy pink curtains drawn. Ian blasted the bed with flames, but this time he was met with more than just the screaming of the cheap furniture breaking. He rushed forward and kicked the bed aside, revealing two things. The first was a black safe, rugged and locked by a simple-looking circle. Ian knew that beneath the surface was likely a complex array. Next to the safe was a burning girl, curled up on herself. The flames of a fairly strong fire elementalist weren¡¯t just normal fire. They licked around the girl, hungry and unceasing. Ian felt sick, a sense of dizzy dissociation coming over him. And then he stepped forward and blasted the girl¡¯s head with fire, scorching her skin and boiling her brain in equal measure. He then sat down and fiddled with the safe. He sat on the girl¡¯s body, using it as a cushion, uncaring of the fire that still charred her corpse. Seconds later, he tsked and grabbed the safe, hoisting it awkwardly. He walked to the window and smashed the glass with a well-placed kick, then burnt the wall around it to widen the exit. He stepped onto the roof and looked behind. The girl¡¯s boiled eyeballs stared back. He shuddered. The memory ended. 347. Another Way Ian recoiled, only keeping himself still by using decemancy to control his body. Just who was this woman and where had the gruesome event transpired? Ian wasn¡¯t na?ve¨Che knew that practitioners warred with each other on a small scale. Practitioner families like his own, the Dunais, often had a hand in such local conflicts. Politics and power went hand in hand with violence, and areas with little economic power too often served as the battleground. He¡¯d been lucky enough to grow up in a not terrible part of Jupiter, at least that¡¯s what Mother had always said. Lucky enough that the mansion his ancestor had owned, the one eventually turned into apartments, wasn¡¯t surrounded by bad actors. But Ian knew quite intimately just how seedy things could be. Menocht Bay had a terrible underbelly, not that he¡¯d seen much of it when he returned with Maria. Jupiter, too, had its gangs, though they were small scale and toothless. Even so, he¡¯d used one of Jupiter¡¯s gangs in the loop to bring all of Jupiter to the ground, sabotaging the generator that kept the entire city suspended on too-small legs above the lake. He stilled his thoughts. His goal wasn¡¯t to investigate the woman¡¯s wrongdoings. He had a much greater purpose. The woman¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t overly agitated, so Ian concluded that only he had experienced the memory. It was probably for the best¨Che didn¡¯t think she would take kindly to him pulling up deep-rooted memories. It was something that Remorse practitioners could also do, but that was different¨Cmore deliberate and more difficult. Ian experimented for another hour before he left, taking a break from the interrogation room. He walked next door and sighed, stretching out so that his upper body draped across a square table, his cheek pressed flat to the surface. He¡¯d hoped that he would figure something out on the fly, as he always seemed to, but it just wasn¡¯t working. He pulled out the transmission artifact, resting it right in front of his face. It looked so normal. Ironically so. Like a cheap piece of glossware you¡¯d use as a costume prop. He reached out a hand and cupped the artifact. Considering for a moment, he frowned and pulled a medical mask from his void storage ring. ¡°Eury,¡± he thought. ¡°You¡¯re good to call him,¡± the Crowned Executor immediately replied via quantum channel. Ian¡¯s lips curved into a smile at Euryphel¡¯s efficiency. Ian hadn¡¯t even needed to ask the question¨Chis friend had looked ahead to find both query and answer. Confident that he wouldn¡¯t appear at a bad time, Ian pulled on the mask, then pressed the activation button and sent himself across the world. He found himself in Yurusi Canyon. Soolemar was sitting in the temple-like building where once rested the souls of his necromancer contemporaries. Not in a chair or even on a cushion¨Che sat on the edge of the steep cliff that formed the rear edge of the open-air chamber, his right leg pumping back and forth in a steady rhythm. Next to him lay Divian, the hound¡¯s silvery head planted on the ground. Both Soolemar and the dog were backlit orange by the harsh desert sun. ¡°Soolemar,¡± Ian called out. The necromancer started, but his surprise wasn¡¯t overmuch. He turned around, scratching Divian¡¯s ears as the hound barked at Ian¡¯s arrival. ¡°Shh, Divi,¡± he murmured. ¡°You know him.¡± Ian didn¡¯t blame the dog for failing to recognize him¨Cas a projection, he didn¡¯t have a physical presence. Consequently, without a scent, the hound struggled. Ian ignored Divi for now, cutting to the heart of the issue. ¡°I need your help with a technique.¡± Soolemar raised an eyebrow. ¡°Can you elaborate?¡± ¡°Is this area secure?¡± ¡°I would sense anyone nearby,¡± Soolemar asserted, raising one eyebrow, his eyes scrutinizing. ¡°Things have changed, Mar,¡± Ian said. He gave Soolemar a knowing look. He wasn¡¯t confident saying more out loud¨Cnot when they were in the East. It didn¡¯t matter that they were in Yurusi Canyon. If Ian was part of the eastern powers, he would send agents to track the movements of persons of interest. The identities of most Darkseers remained hidden, but Ian wasn¡¯t so confident that Soolemar had evaded notice. Their enemies must have figured out by now that the Darkseers had a necromancer ally, one that could see disembodied souls. When Ian had sought out a necromancer teacher, the first person he¡¯d found was Soolemar. He wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to believe that the eastern Beginning practitioners hadn¡¯t flagged Soolemar as a suspect, even if they had no proof of his involvement. Adding to his unease, the East had methods to track someone like Soolemar¨Cones that relied predominantly on technology. Sure, Soolemar could detect vital signatures, but would he notice a discrete glosscam? Soolemar nodded as understanding dawned on him. ¡°Call me back in an hour.¡± ¡ª When Ian reactivated the transmission artifact, he found himself in Soolemar¡¯s cave. Divian was in the middle of fetching a thrown bone, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she bounded excitedly forward. Soolemar turned from the loping hound as Ian called out a greeting. He broke out into a congenial grin. ¡°I hope this place is secure enough for you.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Ian smiled back. Given the extensive arrays covering the necromancer¡¯s lair, he wasn¡¯t overly concerned. This place had to be at least as secure as a military establishment. Soolemar crosses his arms. ¡°Now, do tell¨Cwhat technique is vexing the eminent Skai¡¯aren?¡± Ian was careful not to reveal too much. Enemy Remorse practitioners were an ever-present threat, so telling anyone more than they needed to know was a vulnerability the Darkseers didn¡¯t need. ¡°I¡¯m developing a technique to control someone by leveraging their soul, keeping all existing oaths and fate bindings active. It would need to be untraceable.¡± ¡°And I assume this would need to work from afar,¡± Soolemar stated, his expressionless visage revealing nothing of his thoughts. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be in the room with said individual.¡± Ian nodded. Soolemar¡¯s green eyes fixed on the ceiling and he sighed. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to compromise an agent of Sere, or someone influential in the East, there are other ways. Bribery and intimidation are ones I¡¯ve leveraged extensively in the past.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t trust that,¡± Ian thought. ¡°Even if we arrange a binding oath¡­ those can be broken, and the East has powerful End practitioners at their disposal.¡± Soolemar gave him a funny look. ¡°You have Maria, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a peak End practitioner, but still,¡± Ian said, frowning. ¡°She can use ascendant energy, however, and the enemy¡¯s practitioners cannot.¡± Ian shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s a greater problem. Other End practitioners would see the oath, even if they couldn¡¯t break it. That¡¯s why we thought controlling someone through necromancy would be a better idea. Even if the enemy has necromancers at hand, they still wouldn¡¯t notice anything amiss unless they actively invaded the person¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°What you want to do might be achievable with ascendant energy blurring the bounds of possibility, but I¡¯ve never done anything like it before and won¡¯t be any help to you.¡± Ian frowned. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate, but I¡¯d be open to any recommendations.¡± ¡°I do have one, but it¡¯s probably not what you were expecting,¡± he said, bending down to grab Divian¡¯s fetched bone. He stood up and lobbed it toward the opposite end of the cavern. ¡°What you¡¯re trying to do with necromancy is unorthodox¨Cnot what it¡¯s intended for. Using End is a far more natural choice. What do you think will be easier¨Cdeveloping a method to hide a single oath, or developing one to control someone¡¯s actions using their soul as a conduit?¡± Soolemar had an excellent point. Ian realized that his low affinity Beginning had somewhat led him astray, locking onto the challenge of soul hijacking without fully considering alternatives. ¡°A follow-up question for you,¡± Ian began, his eyes narrowed in thought. Once he accepted Soolemar¡¯s idea as a possibility, new ideas bloomed. He needed to prune the metaphorical garden to find something that would work. ¡°Have you ever used necromancy¨Cand your control over the ethereal body¨Cto influence oaths? Aside from killing people to sever fate, obviously.¡± Soolemar laughed. ¡°A much more interesting¨Cand feasible¨Cquestion than the one you came with.¡± He manipulated a ring on his finger and a wooden mannequin manifested, hovering a foot off the ground. It was marked by intricate inscriptions along the lateral lines of its body, thin ribbons of power that snaked over otherwise unmarked wood. Ian knew that a soul lay within, even if he couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°The domain of the ethereal is normally invisible. Only End practitioners and the subset of Death practitioners who can see souls have the privilege. And what they see isn¡¯t the same.¡± He cocked his head. ¡°You¡¯ve used Maria¡¯s fatesight before. Have you seen her End avatar?¡± ¡°A few times,¡± Ian murmured. ¡°With my artifact, I can wield her End affinity and inherit her fatesight. But I haven¡¯t had the chance to personally break any oaths in Eternity. It¡¯s viewed as a less useful skill when death is reversible.¡± If Ian wanted to break an oath, he¡¯d just kill the person. The only people he couldn¡¯t just kill were mortals, and breaking oaths on them was almost inconceivable, given their unimportance as far as most ascendants were concerned. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never had that experience, but I¡¯ve seen memories of what it¡¯s like to use an End avatar. I¡¯ve seen how they manipulate the metaphorical chains that bind and constrict fate arrows. Long ago, it was an area of personal interest to me,¡± Soolemar confessed. ¡°I wanted to better quantify Death¡¯s ability to subvert fate.¡± ¡°Better quantify?¡± ¡°You already said it, Ian¨Ckill someone, and their fate is severed. And as you¡¯ve proven, you can use necromancy to wipe someone¡¯s fate without truly killing them. What is it about dying that severs fate, however?¡± He ran his hand along the shoulders of the mannequin. ¡°Detachment,¡± Ian replied. ¡°Specifically, separating the soul from a living body.¡± Soolemar averted his gaze to the edge of the cavern where Divian gnawed on the tossed bone. The cavern was dark, almost unlit¨Cneither necromancer minded. The elder then spoke. ¡°The shedding of the mortal shell unspools the soul¡¯s coil.¡± Ian had seen as much in his experiments before ascending. He had to prevent the soul¡¯s degradation when it unrooted from the body. If he could do that, it could be re-introduced to its host. Resurrection. ¡°But severing fate isn¡¯t the intent,¡± Ian said. ¡°We just want to hide an oath while keeping it active.¡± Soolemar stared at the puppet, then back at Ian. ¡°I can¡¯t give you a proper demonstration when you¡¯re here as a projection. But chew on this.¡± He pulled out a circle of wood from his ring. He drew out a single, pink disembodied soul from its center. That¡¯s a smart way to store souls, Ian thought. Better than his method of randomly tethering them to objects. Soolemar pinched the pink orb to keep it in place, almost like holding onto the butt of a large balloon. He raked his other hand across its surface, peeling clear ribbons off so that they dangled from the soul at odd angles. He repeated the process several times until coils of soul draped over the mannequin, almost like a jellyfish¡¯s tendrils. The action was so deceptively simple, Ian could almost forget its difficulty. Souls could certainly be destroyed¨CIan had seen their corruption many times over, and had even seen Soolemar casually slurp up a soul. Ian had cannibalized disembodied souls to repair his own tattered ethereal body. But this was a very particular form of soul mutilation. Soul membranes were infinitesimally thin, almost nonexistent, and Soolemar had just peeled one with practiced ease. Then, Soolemar pulled the soul away. Its hanging tendrils remained stuck on the mannequin where they¡¯d fallen through the wood¨Cand, Ian figured, into the soul within. The tendrils had gotten stuck. Soolemar walked further away, Divian¡¯s wagging tail thrumming against his knees, and still the tendrils stretched, unbroken, but ever thinner. Soolemar¡¯s cool, green gaze met Ian¡¯s. ¡°Since I¡¯m limited by what I can demonstrate when you¡¯re a projection, I hope this will at least give you some ideas.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if I figure something out.¡± The old necromancer smiled. ¡°Good.¡± Ian deactivated the transmission artifact, a matching smile playing on his lips. 348. Death and End Ian returned to the woman bound in the interrogation chamber with a fresh perspective, a new insight, and Maria serving as his regalia. A green apple rested in one hand. The captive woman¡¯s cold visage was unyielding as Ian approached. Defiant. He understood that there were circumstances that shaped people into monsters. He didn¡¯t understand what upbringing the woman¨Cwhose name he still intentionally refused to learn¨Chad endured, but he figured it must have been brutal. Children didn¡¯t naturally grow up wanting to commit arson and murder kids¨Cat least not those without certain cognitive abnormalities. As far as Ian could tell, the woman wasn¡¯t a psychopath. In the one vision he¡¯d seen through her soul, she¡¯d felt a flicker of something when she¡¯d killed the girl hiding under the bed. If remorse was like a fire, Ian could still see its dying embers in the woman. She hadn¡¯t always been so numb. It doesn¡¯t matter, he thought, gazing at the woman contemplatively. What I¡¯ve seen of her depravity is only the tip of the iceberg if what Euryphel said is true. Ian froze the woman with his practice as he¡¯d done before. He sensed a trickle of fear with his Remorse, but she quickly stamped it out. He came in close. This time, he knocked her unconscious. He unzipped her body along the line of her sternum, stopping just above her navel. The halves of her ribcage split cleanly, like puzzle pieces, pulling her chest a few inches ajar. Ian closed his eyes and breathed. I¡¯ve never seen you cut open someone¡¯s body for soul work before, Maria observed. Ian held up the apple, then pinched a soul free from its center using his ethereal body. I normally can¡¯t justify opening someone up to play with their soul, he said, but in this case¨Cfor this delicate work¨CI think it will be helpful. He had already fed the ember crown with disembodied souls; this last soul put it over the limit, activating its signature ability¨Cembodied soul sight. Ian shuddered as the woman¡¯s body came alive in a new way. With her torso butterflied, he had an exquisitely bizarre view of her soul as it entwined with her blood vessels. It was a beautiful light blue green, like a clear, tropical ocean. Unlike previous souls Ian had seen that appeared organic and arboreal, her soul was smooth, with synthetic, thin tubes that wrapped around the vessels. It was an unexpectedly beautiful soul for such an inwardly hideous person. In all fairness, Ian hadn¡¯t seen many embodied souls. He didn¡¯t like the fact that the ember crown required a tithe of disembodied souls to activate soul sight. While he recognized that perma-killing a handful of souls at a time wasn¡¯t impactful¨Cthe Infinity Loop gradually destroyed millions¨Cit still left a sour taste in his mouth. He¡¯d spoken about his misgivings to Maria before, so she sensed when his thoughts took a dark turn. They¡¯re empty, Ian, she mentally reminded him. I know, he said simply. Then what¡¯s bothering you? He paused, his gaze fixating on the gently swaying tubes of his experimental subject¡¯s soul. He reached out his hand and caressed the woman¡¯s exposed vena cava, the largest vein leading to the heart. He¡¯d butterflied her in such a way that her heart was fully exposed. Only through absolute mastery of decemancy was he able to keep her body functioning and safe from foreign contaminants. He couldn¡¯t individually control a single cell, but he could control all cells and dead matter¨Cwhich included viruses¨Cwithin a tiny volume. He did so all around the woman¡¯s exposed insides, creating an invisible protective membrane. The woman¡¯s embodied soul clung to her flesh. By exposing her heart and vessels, Ian forced the soul to retreat, like a creature of shadow spurned by a bright light. As he stroked the woman¡¯s heart, he also stroked her soul where it nestled within. It was a convergence of his senses¨Cenhanced necromantic soul sight, decemantic vital perception, and his mundane sight and sense of touch. The thump of each heartbeat and the nauseating smell of a cut-open body added further complexity. Souls are a bit of an enigma, Ian said, not quite answering Maria¡¯s question. We think of them as important. They nestle within the body, inextricably tied to us. Without a soul, the body is a nonfunctional shell. But we all know that actual thought happens in the brain. He moved his finger to the unnamed woman¡¯s scalp. It vexes me. Are we in symbiosis with the soul, or has it parasitized us, preventing us from living without it after countless millennia of evolution? He paused, collecting his thoughts. As if it could be evolution, when we¡¯re discussing a phenomenon occurring across species and even worlds. He swallowed. Besides, what does embodiment even mean when a soul can be transplanted into a mannequin to become a lich? What is so special about our bodies that a disembodied soul¨Can insensate, spherical sack¨Cmolds into a person? And finally¡­ what does it mean to truly destroy a disembodied soul? Clearly, on a massive scale, destroying disembodied souls is a practical disaster for humanity, but is it inherently bad to destroy a soul that is empty? You¡¯re concerned about whether a soul has intrinsic value, Maria observed. What¡¯s your opinion? Ian asked. I¡¯ll answer your question with a question, she retorted. Ian sensed a cheeky grin over their bond. What¡¯s my value to you? Ian snorted. Hilarious. Oh really? I¡¯m funny? He rolled his eyes. Your soul is priceless, of course. Who but me on this world could even appreciate it? Soolemar doesn¡¯t count¨Che¡¯s far too old for you. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Maria¡¯s silent laughter rocked his mind. That¡¯s funny, coming from you. It almost sounds like you¡¯re calling yourself old, Ian mused, tapping his lip theatrically. Alright, that¡¯s enough chatter, Maria said, suddenly channeling a serious persona. Back to your experiment. Ian was thankful that Maria had distracted him from his misgivings. They weren¡¯t helpful-¨Cit wasn¡¯t like he was going to stop using disembodied souls for his experiments. He re-focused on the woman¡¯s separated torso, his lips pressing into a thin line. He returned his fingers to the chasm between the woman¡¯s ribs, his fingers settling on the moist exterior of her heart. As he touched its surface, he just barely caressed the entrenched soul. He couldn¡¯t grasp it without using tendrils of his ethereal body, but there was something sublime about feeling the soul in a tactile manner. He sent tiny ethereal threads into the heart, hooking the cerulean soul tubes and pulling forward several into his hand. He pulled the hand back and the tubes stretched without resistance, thinning. On a whim, he braided them together as he pulled. He suddenly found himself assailed by another memory, this one of the woman as a child. It was short and fragmented, revealing a humble cottage and a lush garden. Ian forced himself to leave it early. Ian¡¯s Beginning affinity allowed him to take away much from Soolemar¡¯s deceptively simple demonstration. The first takeaway was the stringiness of souls. Ian could pull them out like taffy and they¡¯d keep stretching. The second was that a disembodied soul could be draped into an embodied soul and become entangled. Ian hadn¡¯t quite understood the value of doing that when watching Soolemar¡¯s demonstration, but it became apparent now. He needed a way to avoid direct contact with the embodied soul to stymie the flow of distracting memories. He retrieved another soul-infused apple from his void storage; he¡¯d prepared a few. With his off hand¨Cthe one not holding onto the soul filament¨Che pulled a green soul free and experimented with dragging it close to the embodied soul. There was a strong repulsive force. Ian¡¯s brow furrowed as he carefully pinched the soul¡¯s surface, creating a small furrow. He picked at it, pulling a small thread from the surface. He draped the thread over the embodied soul filament. This time, it flowed freely, snagging on the blue tube. Ian couldn¡¯t tear his eyes away as the disembodied soul thread seemed to meld into the tube. It looked like a green crack on the tube¡¯s smooth exterior. An imperfection, and a potential point of weakness, but Ian didn¡¯t think that would matter for his plans. He maneuvered the disembodied soul around the blue filament, wrapping it in a spiral along its length to ensure a more solid connection. Then, he let go of the blue, grasping the green with both hands. The connection persisted. Ian pulled on the green soul and the blue-green filament stretched even thinner. No visions assailed him. Ian eventually walked out of the interrogation chamber and into the hall, the filament trailing behind him, cutting through the wall. Physical obstacles were no impediment. Why does this tether remind me of an End arrow? Maria thought, her mental voice filled with equal parts awe and apprehension. Ian recognized her question as rhetorical. End arrows were of the ethereal. They were colored and stretched¨Ctheoretically-¨Cinfinitely between two people. The power of an End practitioner determined, in part, how far away two people could be before the connection was no longer visible with fatesight. Ian didn¡¯t fully understand what the similarity meant. They had known¨Cor at least suspected¨Cthat End and Death were more closely related than other affinities, due to their shared manipulation of Ethereal energy. However, they had always seemed to operate on different frequencies, so to speak. But now, as Ian contorted the soul filament into a thin line of color, the difference between them began to break down. A sobering thought crossed his mind: If he could emulate fate arrows with necromancy, could he also create pseudo oaths? His mind buzzed, enraptured by the possibility. He¡¯d set out to find a soul jacking method, but he¡¯d perhaps uncovered something far more significant. A hint into the greater mysteries of the fabric of reality and a versatile, unexplored avenue. Ian had better than average understanding of oath mechanics courtesy of working with both Maria and Euryphel, but he didn¡¯t think it would be of particular help at this juncture. Ian was performing necromancy. He needed to find his own way, his own technique. As Ian threw himself into the challenge, the woman¡¯s heart beat quietly, her lungs slowly rising. It was a macabre operating room. I¡¯m lucky to have you. The thought bubbled up in Ian¡¯s mind unbidden. I never thought I¡¯d find someone who wouldn¡¯t shy away from this side of me¨Cfrom my practice. It¡¯s easier when I¡¯m transformed into your regalia, Maria said. Without Cayeun Suncloud¡¯s artifact strengthening my humanity, I feel less. Her mental thoughts darkened. As you well know, that¡¯s sometimes for the best. Ian did know. He worked to shed the mantle of humanity when it impeded him from doing what needed to be done for the greater good of his world. Conversely, Maria worked to pick up the mantle of humanity, regaining what she¡¯d lost in undeath. He considered how he controlled necromantic constructs¨Cthe inhuman, the unliving. The souls that were embodied in objects and given meaning while utterly lacking any semblance of humanity. He invested his souls with careful thoughts, powered by fervent emotions, to produce desired actions. It was painstaking. He had to effectively teach a soul what it meant to do anything, which was completely different from decemancy, where constructs all had an intuitive understanding of his will. He cocked his head, a realization dawning on him. If I¡¯m working with a soul that is embodied, it shouldn¡¯t be a blank slate. It should understand a concept like sitting or talking. That would be, at a bare minimum, convenient. And what if I take it a step further? I could never give a normal necromantic construct a complicated command and expect it to act out my wishes. But what about an embodied soul? His mind suddenly flew back to the Infinity Loop and the Dark practitioner who had been turned into a ghastly necromantic puppet. Her soul had been transferred directly to its new shell, like how Ian had transferred Maria¡¯s soul into the lich mannequin. Something had been lost during the Dark practitioner¡¯s transfer. She had become a dead creature, beholden to the necromancer¡¯s authority¡­ but she had also retained a will. And when Ian had captured her, she had assisted him, understanding his desires. Ian considered Maria and their lich bond, something greater in strength than any oath. It was a bond that would exist until Ian¡¯s soul was extinguished or Maria¡¯s phylactery broke. It demanded absolute obedience, the lich forced to serve its creator. That, he thought, is the key. A lich that is not a lich, a necromantic construct that is alive and whole. It was a perversion of his craft, but Ian didn¡¯t see why that was a reason to stop. If Eternity had taught him anything, it was that there was no limit to what he could accomplish. Ascendant energy¡¯s purpose was to grease the wheels of impossibility, even for profane experiments, like the sorts Achemiss and Ancient Ash conducted. The will of Eternity demanded that its chosen transcended limits. 349. Unwelcome Visitors Clara Belvaire knew something was off when she returned home. Outwardly, nothing was wrong. The lights were all out, aside from the lamp she always kept on in the living room. Her husband was away in the Adrilli Isles on business, so it was to be expected. Her entire residence was layered in complex arrays unbreakable to all but the most powerful End practitioners in the world, and none of them had been tripped. For most, the defenses would be overkill, but the Belvaire family was influential. The family¡¯s rivals had reason to enter her house and steal information off her glosscomp, or even plant monitoring devices like tiny glosscams or mics. And now, those outside threats were compounded thanks to Claire¡¯s involvement in the Infinity Loop technology¡¯s development. Everyone wanted to know what the loop tech was and what it could do. All the world¡¯s powers wanted to know how to manufacture their own Skai¡¯aren. But more than that, they wanted to understand how they might leverage the technology to churn out peak practitioners¨Cand how easy it would be for their rivals to do so. Should everyone start planning for powerful agents of destruction to pop up every year, destabilizing the global power dynamics? Even states like Shattradan that touted a policy of isolationism were interested. Shattradan already had a booming industry of public and private guilds for defense, guilds that in many ways were just mercenary organizations. If Shattradan managed to produce extremely powerful practitioners, it could use them for self-defense in an increasingly dangerous world¡­ or loan them out to other nations for a price. Clara knew they were at a pivotal moment in their world¡¯s history and found both satisfaction and apprehension at being in a position to influence how everything would unfold. Comfort came with the understanding that she was ultimately only one person with limited authority. If they failed to mitigate the loop¡¯s dangers, and everything came down on their heads, she wouldn¡¯t be individually culpable. More than that¡­ she refused to believe that their world would actually be doomed by the loop tech. Even if all the scientists on the project couldn¡¯t find a solution, they had the returned Skai¡¯aren helping them from the shadows, calling through to them from Eternity. His unexpected appearance had instilled her entire team with confidence. And if even he couldn¡¯t help them to solve the problem of soul corruption? Then all the world would be forced to collaborate and find a solution. And if they all failed, then the loop tech would just have to be abandoned until a solution arose. Clara¡¯s current favorite Plan B was to set up a loop off world in space. Their world had never made any spacefaring vessel, but how hard could it be to engineer one if they compelled their best Beginning practitioners to tackle the challenge? A cold gust of wind blew against her jacket, sending a shudder through her body. The arid climate was hot during the day but cold at night. Pulling her jacket tighter, Clara proceeded up to the front door, unlocking the mechanism with a wave of her glossY over the door handle. She opened the door with caution, listening for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. She sighed and shook her head. She was letting the stress get to her head, infecting other areas of her life. People within the group¨Cthose who knew the true stakes of their research¨Chad fallen to paranoia. Others had been hospitalized after the powerful oaths they¡¯d taken¨Coaths that ensured secrecy¨Chad activated. Those people weren¡¯t dead, but they were in no condition to share information with anyone. Clara was bound by oaths as well, but they were less strict. She was responsible for reporting information about the research to stakeholders. Therefore, rather than silencing her completely when outside the confines of research institutions, they allowed her to share the information with people in specific positions of authority. There was an entire list of approved people she could share information with. She hadn¡¯t bothered to memorize it. If she started telling too much to the wrong person, the oath would let her know immediately. If the oath didn¡¯t stop her, she knew the information exchange was allowed. She preferred it this way, having a system that prevented her from making mistakes. She trusted her own judgment, of course, but when the stakes were this high¡­ she couldn¡¯t afford mistakes. None of them could, or they might have a war on their hands. As she shucked off her shoes and took a seat at the kitchen island, she supported her head in her hands, massaging her forehead with the joint of her thumbs, kneading deep, as though she could pierce through her skull and put pressure on her chronic headache. She had the money to pay for a Life practitioner to cure the pain, but it was always only a temporary relief. Unfortunately, Life practitioners couldn¡¯t cure stress. The pounding was so distracting that it took her a full minute to realize she wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°Hello, Clara,¡± a voice called, sinuous and smooth. Dangerous. She jumped in place, nearly falling out of the chair. She composed herself as she slid from the chair and faced the direction of the voice, her left hand already wrapped around the micro zapper in her left pocket. It was small, but that didn¡¯t reduce its power¨Cjust its range. Hair so blond it looked white¨Chalf pulled back into a tail, half loose¨Cfell on shoulders garbed in thin, curved shoulder guards. He was dressed in a navy robe in the traditional style of the former SPU¡¯s royals. His eyes were sharp but filled with curiosity, like those of a cat playing with its food. She shuddered under that gaze¡­ and she flinched as her mind caught up with her eyes. She didn¡¯t need to see the crown resting on the man¡¯s head to recognize him. This was the Crowned Executor, Euryphel Selejo. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. That knowledge brought both concern and relief. Concern, because she had no idea why he was here, but it couldn¡¯t be good for her. The Selejo Imperial Federation wasn¡¯t outwardly opposed to Sere, but the nations weren¡¯t friends. Relief, because she had a suspicion that he wasn¡¯t actually here. He looked solid, but there was no way the Crowned Executor had come in person to visit her. Then again, he¡¯s one of the only people in this world who might be able to disable all the End arrays around my house without tripping any alarms¡­ So maybe he really was here in person. She suppressed her grimace and waited for him to speak. She hated feeling so defenseless¨Cshe wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think her zapper would do anything to a peak practitioner like Euryphel¨Cbut she was no stranger to the feeling. After all, Clara wasn¡¯t a practitioner. She was brilliant, so much so that people assumed she had a high Beginning affinity, but everyone who mattered knew the truth. At times, her brilliance was better for research than having a bona fide Beginning affinity. She thought and saw the world differently than her Beginning teammates did. She offered an invaluable perspective and was often better at seeing the bigger picture. But she lacked in other areas. For instance, she didn¡¯t have preternatural observation skills. And she certainly couldn¡¯t absorb martial lessons in an afternoon. Her family had trained her in self-defense when she was young, before she¡¯d been written off as a regular, but that had all stopped long ago. Standard martial arts would never be enough to protect her from the enemies that mattered. She also wasn¡¯t as astute at judging the behavior of others. She didn¡¯t have the knack for analyzing facial tics and body language. Normally, that didn¡¯t bother her¨Cshe didn¡¯t know what she was missing¨Cbut as she stood before Euryphel, she wished for something, anything, that would give her an edge. But there was truly nothing. It¡¯s possible that I die tonight, she realized. If Euryphel has a method to extract information from me by temporarily holding my oaths at bay, I¡¯ll be either severely incapacitated from breaking my oaths after the fact, or he¡¯ll simply kill me. Clara had no idea if the Crowned Executor could do anything like that, but Euryphel was famous in End circles for his stand against the Eldemari. Even months later, nobody knew how he¡¯d disabled the woman¡¯s arrays to invade Cunabulus. If anyone could hold my oaths at bay, it¡¯s him. ¡°Quiet, I see,¡± Euryphel continued. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be nervous, Clara.¡± She still didn¡¯t speak. Against a Regret practitioner, that was the safest path to take. Remain silent, even under torture. Her lip almost trembled in terror as she considered what fate might be in store for her. Almost. If she was in a loop, now, then nothing could stop him from tormenting her in the most painful ways possible. At least my real self would never remember it, she thought. ¡°I swear that everything I say is the truth,¡± he continued. His voice was cold and impassive, giving credence to his reputation as an ice prince. ¡°Even if it¡¯s shocking.¡± Clara clenched the zapper tighter. ¡°First, I am not here in person. I cannot hurt you. I also cannot run Regret scenarios while I am projecting myself to your location. In every way that matters, I¡¯m as powerless as you are.¡± Clara swallowed. He could be lying, she thought. I should assume everything he says is a lie, no matter what he says to the contrary. If I were in his position, I would say anything I could to get the information I want. Maybe in his scenarios, he¡¯s found that this is the best way to make me let down my guard. Y¡¯jeni, she lamented, Regret practitioners are the worst. ¡°First: the Skai¡¯aren you¡¯ve been talking to is a sham.¡± He gave her a crooked smile. ¡°I would know. Second: your fears regarding the Infinity Loop are true. There is no way to stop soul corruption. And no, moving the loop into space won¡¯t work¨Cthe loop needs souls to run, and won¡¯t work in the middle of nothingness. The only way to save us all is to eliminate the loop technology altogether.¡± Clara could hardly believe her ears. This was why the Crowned Executor had come to her? To give her, what, a warning? And to reveal that he knew way more than he should? So far, she¡¯d gleaned a lot of information about his capabilities that she was sure her family would be very interested to learn. She couldn¡¯t hold herself back from responding. ¡°Thank you for this information. Is that all?¡± ¡°You think it¡¯s impossible to stop the loop tech at this juncture. But you¡¯re wrong.¡± She blinked, mildly triggered. She was wrong, was she? ¡°You say grand things but have no proof for any of them. The Skai¡¯aren has reached out to us from Eternity to give us a path to greatness¨Cto perfect the technology that brought him, a regular, to the apex of power.¡± Clara stopped speaking abruptly as she realized that her oaths weren¡¯t triggering to prevent her from running her mouth to an unauthorized party. ¡°I will give you the proof you desire, Clara. But beware what you ask for. With proof and knowledge comes responsibility. Do you aspire to cause the end of this world?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± she said softly, her mind racing to find a discreet way of alerting someone to her current situation. Maybe she should just try to run away? If Euryphel wasn¡¯t here in person, which was seeming more likely by the second, he couldn¡¯t stop her. Steeling herself, she suddenly sprinted for the back door. No wind elementalism surged forth to stop her. Elated, she threw the door open and launched herself to the left, circling on the yard toward a quaint wooden gate that separated her garden from the front yard. Then, suddenly, her entire body froze. She couldn¡¯t so much as twitch her fingers. Even moving her eyes was impossible. Thankfully, her lungs and heart were still functioning, but she found that she couldn¡¯t control them. She couldn¡¯t hold her breath, for instance, and her heart was beating evenly, even when her terror should be forcing it into a swift drumbeat. Her body was no longer under her control. So I am going to die, after all, she thought, filled with bitter resignation. ¡°You will not die tonight, Clara Belvaire,¡± a voice blared into her head. ¡°But it¡¯s possible you¡¯ll wish you had.¡± 350. An Oath That Isn鈥檛 an Oath Clara Belvaire¡¯s terror was overwhelming. Ian sensed it with his decemancy and Remorse. Her body locked up, her heart raced, and her mind was frantic. He sensed her frustrating feelings of helplessness. She had reason to fear him¨CIan didn¡¯t exactly come with peaceful intentions¨Cbut it would be best for her to calm down. He forced her body into a meditative state, keeping her heart and lungs pumping in an unhurried rhythm. He forced her into stillness. At this point, she rallied her mental defenses, preventing Ian from so easily gleaning her surface thoughts. Nothing could stop him if he really tried to read her thoughts, especially if he empowered his practice with ascendant energy, but he didn¡¯t think that would be necessary. He made Clara walk herself back into the house; he followed her inside. Her movements were fluid, not robotic in the slightest¨Ca testament to his experience controlling his own body like a puppet in combat. Euryphel was still in the living room. Ian had called him here using the transmission artifact. While Ian knew they still needed to be cautious in Sere, he wasn¡¯t as fearful of being surveilled as he was in the East. Sere was too decentralized and divided. Compared to the most powerful eastern states, it was second class at best. She¡¯s absolutely terrified of me, Ian said using Remorse. He could speak to Euryphel mentally, but Euryphel didn¡¯t have the same privilege as a summoned projection. Ian considered just using quantum channeling for his side of the communications, too, but rejected the idea¨Cquantum channeling was unpleasant. Since Maria was in her artifact form, she was able to follow Ian¡¯s thoughts¨Che opened them to her. You¡¯re controlling her like a puppet master, Euryphel replied. What do you expect? Maria didn¡¯t have anything to add, but Ian could sense her unwavering support. He didn¡¯t hide his reluctance to invade people¡¯s houses and perform dangerous experiments on them. Especially since his quarry in this case was a regular. He felt her sympathy and quiet approval. Ian didn¡¯t want to harm people if he could avoid it, but Maria was well-versed in the practice. She had hurt people for the greater good too many times to count. As Ian wrestled with his misgivings, he sat Clara Belvaire down on her couch and sat across from her in a leather armchair. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Ian asked. He loosened his hold over the muscles that controlled her breathing and those in her face. She blinked rapidly and worked her jaw, then sucked in a large, shuddering breath. Her eyes fixated on the crown of embers over his head, then snapped back to his face. Is she too shocked to speak? Ian wondered. Guys, what should I do? This will all work better if she¡¯s a willing participant in saving the world. I already explained the situation, broadly, Euryphel said. I don¡¯t think she fully believed me until you showed yourself, though. Ian continued to wait for the woman to speak. ¡°You¡¯re the Skai¡¯aren,¡± she murmured. Ian could sense that she¡¯d be trembling if not for his hold on her body. ¡°So quick to jump to that conclusion,¡± Ian mused. Euryphel raised an eyebrow his way, but the necromancer ignored it. ¡°The Skai¡¯aren¡¯s likeness is well-cataloged and easy to mimic. I could be a Light practitioner creating an illusion, or a master of Remorse infiltrating your mind and altering your perception. There are so many explanations that are more likely than me being here, in the flesh, in front of you. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°You¡¯re controlling my body,¡± she said, breathing rapidly. ¡°It¡¯s decemancy. You¡¯re a decemancer.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t prove anything. Besides, a Life practitioner or even a water elementalist could theoretically control your body as I have.¡± Ian had never met a water elementalist who used liquid in biological tissue to control a body, but he assumed it was possible. She looked a bit uncertain, but rejected his claims. ¡°What you say has merit, but is ultimately inconsequential. If you aren¡¯t the Skai¡¯aren, and he¡±¨Cshe pointed to Euryphel¨C¡°isn¡¯t the Crowned Prime, then someone is trying to trick me. Why would a practitioner, or practitioners, devote effort and time into impersonating two powerful people to deceive me, a regular with limited influence? Perhaps it might be to test my loyalty, but I don¡¯t think so. A test like this¨Cand the underlying lack of trust¨Cwould be more likely to alienate me from the cause to which I¡¯ve committed myself.¡± ¡°There are people more influential than yourself, that¡¯s true, but you have a unique role as a lead researcher on the Infinity Loop project,¡± Ian said. ¡°That has a different kind of authority. In many ways, it¡¯s a more concrete authority. It makes you more interesting to me.¡± ¡°Aside from that,¡± Euryphel interjected, ¡°you are included in meetings where the imposter Skai¡¯aren appears.¡± Clara blinked. Ian could feel her trying to move her arms, probably to rub the bridge of her nose. ¡°This conversation isn¡¯t anything like what I expected.¡± Ian chuckled. ¡°Good. That¡¯s what I was going for.¡± He sighed. ¡°Clara¨CI¡¯m not here to make you figure out whether or not I¡¯m the real deal. I was trying to distract you from the current situation, give your mind something less frightening to latch onto. It¡¯s worked, you know. Your mind is much calmer than earlier.¡± Clara¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Does that crown let you read my thoughts?¡± she blurted. Ian was wondering when she¡¯d ask about that. He¡¯d spoken into her mind earlier, after all. ¡°No,¡± Ian replied. ¡°That power is my own.¡± He flashed his eyes. They glowed violet but were surrounded by colorful iridescence, almost like an aurora. Then, he spoke into her mind, projecting his power and authority but also his sincerity. ¡°I am the Skai¡¯aren. I am Ascendant Dunai, returned from the limitless planes of Eternity to save this world.¡± Every word he punctuated with feeling, with earnestness and even memories. He showed her a glimpse of Eternity, showed her flashes of him using his power. ¡°This is the threat posed by the Infinity Loop.¡± This time, he shared a longer memory¨Cone that revealed the open sky above the Infinity Loop in Selejo. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He sensed her mind recoil at the horror of millions of souls circling the city of Cunabulus in a terrible vortex of corruption, a crucible of souls. It¡¯s like¡­ they¡¯re decaying, she thought, Ian able to hear her surface thoughts now that he was in her head. Next he shared memories of him discovering the truth of the Infinity Loop¡¯s dangers. He had carefully prepared the sequence of memories he would show to give the full picture, starting from the beginning, when Achemiss visited his dreams and offhandedly mentioned the loop¡¯s soul corruption to throw Ian off balance. He showed Ari¡¯s scorn for their doomed world. He conveyed his many conversations on the subject in Eternity, each one reiterating the same message. A world with technology like the Infinity Loop is doomed. Ian knew that his Remorse was still fairly untrained. Sharing memories like this was beyond his capabilities, but he was able to use ascendant energy as a crutch, directing it into her head. It helped him bridge the gap between his mind and hers. When he released her from his mental hold, he also released her body. She sank into the couch, her body limp, her eyes wide. ¡°Are you well?¡± Ian asked. She jumped at his words. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. This has been overwhelming.¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m fairly convinced you are who you say you are, though. I don¡¯t think someone could make all of those memories up.¡± ¡°You understand the threat of the Infinity Loop, now?¡± Ian asked. ¡°I always understood the threat,¡± she retorted, crossing her arms, closing in on herself. ¡°I believed there was a way to solve the problem the loop poses. I still believe that. There must be a way.¡± ¡°If there is a way, I do not know it, and neither does anyone I know in Eternity,¡± Ian said. ¡°This isn¡¯t the kind of technology where we use it now and figure out a fix later,¡± Euryphel said darkly. Clara considered Euryphel¡¯s words and nodded solemnly. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying. I do. But the loop technology¡­ it offers an unprecedented opportunity¨Cto regulars, especially. A path to power.¡± She smiled weakly. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Ian Dunai know better than anyone what I¡¯m talking about? You were once like me. Powerless. Looked down on. Now look at you. I bet if you wanted, you could kill everyone on this planet and no one could stop you. Not if you really wanted to do it. Power.¡± Ian supposed he could probably end the world if he really put his mind to it. The key would be hiding in a rift, as Achemiss seemed to be doing. ¡°I understand you,¡± Ian said, his eyes narrowed as he gave her his fullest attention. ¡°Practitioners are treated much better than regulars, even people with low affinities. I know. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think the Infinity Loop offers a solution. Its usage is extremely expensive. Very few people will ever be able to use it. It would never result in the democratization of power you seek.¡± She bowed her head. ¡°Well reasoned.¡± But Ian could sense her unwillingness to give up on her hope. He knew that for Clara, this issue was personal. She had suffered as a regular in an influential family with scores of practitioners. As a lead researcher on the Infinity Loop, if she played her cards right, there was always the possibility that one day she¡¯d be one of the lucky few chosen to undergo the loop¡¯s trials. Clara held onto the hope that one day, she¡¯d be a practitioner, too. And here Ian was, telling her to sacrifice her dream for the greater good. He knew that it could appear disingenuous for someone who had, on paper, benefited so much from the loop tech to call for its end. That¡¯s why he had shown so much to Clara. He wanted her to understand his intentions and his viewpoint. ¡°You want to destroy the loop technology,¡± Clara said slowly, ¡°but isn¡¯t it already too late?¡± Ian and Euryphel locked eyes. ¡°Almost,¡± the Crowned Prime said. ¡°We¡¯re almost too late.¡± ¡°But the bigger issue at the moment is the man who has been impersonating me, leading Sere further down a path of no return.¡± Ian sent more memories into the woman¡¯s mind, showing her the shadowy figure of Achemiss. ¡°The man who first told you about soul corruption¡­ that¡¯s the imposter?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s come to destroy this world.¡± She recoiled. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He wishes to live forever,¡± Ian said simply. ¡°To do that, he must sever the final tie between him and mortality. His home world.¡± ¡°C-crazy,¡± she stuttered. Euryphel snorted. ¡°He is.¡± ¡°We need to kill him before he kills this world,¡± Ian continued. ¡°But he¡¯s hiding. We think he must be sheltering in a rift to avoid the fatesight of End practitioners.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯ve come to me,¡± Clara concluded. ¡°You want me to be your insider.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ian said. ¡°I¡¯m under oath not to reveal what I¡¯ve seen.¡± Ian gestured toward Euryphel. ¡°You didn¡¯t have any issue talking to Euryphel.¡± She frowned. ¡°That¡¯s different. There is some information I¡¯m allowed to share with certain people, mostly that pertaining to research. Anything regarding the Skai¡¯aren and the assembly discussions, I am not permitted from disclosing in any contexts. The words cannot pass my lips and cannot be trawled from my mind.¡± ¡°We have a peak End practitioner who should be able to subvert such restrictions,¡± Ian said. She turned to the Crowned Prime. ¡°No disrespect intended, but the person who swore all of us with the most restrictive oaths is a 96% End affinity practitioner. To subvert his oath without leaving traces, someone with a 99% affinity would be a minimum. I do not believe the Selejo Imperial Federation has someone with such a high affinity¡­¡± She trailed off when she saw Ian and Euryphel just smiling smugly. ¡°It won¡¯t be an problem,¡± Ian said. ¡°The bigger issue is that we want to put an oath on you¨Cone that will protect your knowledge so that it cannot be disclosed to anyone, even Remorse practitioners.¡± ¡°Any new oath will be noticed immediately,¡± she said hurriedly, as though worried that they would place an oath on her then and there. ¡°You absolutely cannot do that.¡± ¡°What we have in mind is special,¡± Ian said. ¡°It¡¯s an oath that isn¡¯t an oath. No End practitioner will sense it.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t an End oath,¡± Ian explained. ¡°It¡¯s something new.¡± He cocked his head. ¡°Something that might hurt. Hence my warning when we first met.¡± ¡°Something new? Experimental?¡± She sounded both horrified and intrigued. ¡°What is it? I¡¯m not agreeing without being fully informed.¡± Ian shrugged. What they hadn¡¯t told her was that if the experiment failed, or she refused to endure it, they¡¯d be forced to take more drastic actions, like wiping her recent memory¨Csomething Ian wouldn¡¯t be able to do without relying on his ascendant energy, which would inevitably lead to him wiping more than he intended. That, or killing her. They simply couldn¡¯t afford for her to leave this room without ensuring the information they had shared remained hidden. And without irrevocably binding her to their cause. There was no room for betrayal. The ember crown flared with light, casting Ian in a somewhat sinister light and emphasizing the pallor of his skin. ¡°I will bind you with an oath using necromancy.¡± 351. A Weave of Souls Euryphel watched silently as Ian told Clara Belvaire what he planned to do at a high level. He made impossibility sound so simple. Ultimately, he persuaded Clara to accept the procedure¨Cdepending on one¡¯s definition of persuade. Euryphel recognized that the power dynamics in the room were grossly imbalanced. Ian was an ascendant¨Can elevated lifeform nobody would ever expect to meet one-on-one, especially not a regular like Clara. Returned ascendants were all reclusive and enigmatic, revealing few secrets of Eternity. Euryphel knew more about Eternity than most non-ascendants, possibly more than anyone else. He had heard Ian describe how it warped people. How it made them worse. He had also learned what kind of person returned to their home world, leaving behind Eternity. People who wanted to die. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. But one bit of knowledge was universally known: returned ascendants were all extraordinarily powerful. And what happens when you have extremely powerful people who have deep rooted trauma and a death wish? Euryphel asked himself. Not good things! It was no surprise that Iastra was the strongest nation on their world. Most ascendants lived within Iastra¡¯s Adder Spire, a mountain range that threatened to scrape the stars with its jagged, winding peaks. Were Eury the sovereign of Iastra, he would have made it his prerogative to either control the ascendants or force them out of his territory. Otherwise, they were a risk¨Ca blade hanging over his head. Euryphel didn¡¯t kid himself. If he had a random person as strong as Ian living in his backyard, he would want them gone¨Cor dead. Too much could go wrong if an ascendant decided to go on a murderous rampage, even if other ascendants intervened out of a sense of responsibility. Iastra¡¯s mighty practitioners and ingenious technologies were the inevitable result of such dangerous neighbors. Euryphel figured Clara knew more than most about ascendants after being in an assembly room with Achemiss¡¯s projection. Even so, she wasn¡¯t familiar with them. She wasn¡¯t immune to their dark charisma. To their undeniable confidence. Which brought Euryphel back to the question of power dynamics. When an ascendant told you that they would be performing a procedure, you didn¡¯t have an option to say no. Not really. This situation wasn¡¯t an exception. Clara knew she couldn¡¯t deny the special oath, not after everything she¡¯d learned. Ian was kind enough to humor her and explain what he intended to do, but that¡¯s all it was¨Ca kindness paid upon someone who might endure great pain and serve an important, dangerous role as an inside agent. ¡°Are you ready for me to begin?¡± Ian asked. His eyes shined iridescent. In the dim light cast by the lamp in the corner of the room¨Cthe overhead lighting was off¨Chis features were even more striking than usual, the shadow of his jaw accentuated, his eyebrows ebony arches beneath the glowing ember crown. Euryphel thought that Ian looked striking in his Ancient Black get-up¨Cnamely his formal armored suit from Cayeun Suncloud and Maria¡¯s full regalia¨Cbut he thought that seeing Ian in casual clothes with the crown of embers was¡­ he didn¡¯t even know how to describe it. Perhaps scary, in a good way. Ancient Black¡¯s attire was part of a fa?ade, meant to give off the impression of power. Ian¡¯s current clothes¨Ca gray linen shirt and black jeans¨Crevealed a side of him that lacked embellishment. And combined with the fact that he wasn¡¯t transformed by the Blade of Revelation, his aura of authority seemed more real. More his. It made Euryphel consider himself and his own path to power over the last ten years. He remembered feeling like an imposter in the beginning, wearing the clothes and hair ornament of a Prime, but lacking the experience and wisdom to rule as his parents had. His high Regret affinity had allowed him to compose a peerless fa?ade of power, one only broken occasionally, like on calls with Maria Sezakuin. Facades were funny things, Euryphel thought. People grew into them. He had grown into his constructed persona, just as Ian had grown into his. When he met Ian, the man was oddly experienced in some ways and na?ve in others. He had been a powerful loose cannon, one without guardrails. I really should¡¯ve been more terrified about letting him near me, Euryphel mused. And now¨C His thoughts were cut off as Clara nodded, cueing Ian to begin procedure. The necromancer suspended Clara in front of him as though setting her on an invisible operating table. The woman was eerily still, frozen by Ian¡¯s practice. ¡°It¡¯s best for the operation if you stay conscious,¡± Ian said calmly as he slid a hand under her blouse. ¡°I¡¯ve temporarily removed your ability to feel sensation from below the neck and I¡¯ve frozen all your muscles in place. You don¡¯t need to do anything. You can¡¯t.¡± The women¡¯s face pointed toward the ceiling, so she couldn¡¯t see Ian as he worked. All she had was his voice. ¡°You¡¯re wondering why I¡¯m keeping you awake¨Cand why I said that the experiment will be painful,¡± Ian said, this time speaking mentally to both of them. ¡°It won¡¯t be pain of the physical body, but pain of the soul. Almost like what you can feel from an oath.¡± Ian adopted an expression of intense concentration, his eyes narrowing. Then, he used his other hand to withdraw a few small apples from his void storage, hovering them in the air with his practice. He pinched each of the fruits in what looked like a bizarre pantomime, pulling his hand to the ember crown. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Euryphel had never seen him activate the crown before. As Ian¡¯s empty fingers reached the crown, one of its embers changed color. He repeated this until each ember assumed vibrant gemstone hues. Suddenly, the entire crown changed. The embers rotated rapidly over Ian¡¯s head, then condensed into one tongue of black flame. Euryphel had never seen a fire so black, not even from the fire elementalist entertainers who specialized in colored flames for yearly celebrations. And that black flame is still Maria, somehow? It was hard to wrap his mind around the Eldemari¡¯s regalia form. Ian blinked his eyes and hummed to himself as he added his second hand to Clara¡¯s torso, pressing into her back. For a while, nothing happened. Ian¡¯s hand movements, if there were any, were largely masked by Clara¡¯s shirt. At some point in the experiment, Ian willed another apple forward, though he didn¡¯t touch it with his hands before sending it to the floor in a pile with the other expended apples. ¡°There are souls in the apples, Eury,¡± Ian mentally said, as though only now realizing how weird his actions must seem to an outsider. Euryphel raised an eyebrow, giving Ian an expression that said, You really think I didn¡¯t already figure that out? Ian just gave him a small smile back. A few more minutes passed. Then, Ian slid both hands from the woman, revealing fingers pinched together, as though to hold onto a fishing line. ¡°I bound your soul together with a disembodied soul¨Cwhich you can think of as a blank slate,¡± Ian thought. ¡°As I told you before, doing that alone shouldn¡¯t have any adverse effects. The two souls are barely connected. If I walked away now, the natural repulsive force between them would undo the small binding. ¡°I need to make the connection permanent. That¡¯s the part that might hurt. And that, unfortunately, is what I¡¯m going to start doing now.¡± Clara¡¯s entire body was frozen, even her eyes, revealing no emotion. Euryphel wondered what Ian sensed with his Remorse. Did he taste her terror? Or was she calmly resigned to her fate? The ascendant¡¯s countenance was as emotionless as Clara¡¯s, his hands stretched slightly in front of him, still as glass. ¡°Do you want me to try and show you what I see?¡± Ian asked, not looking in Euryphel¡¯s direction. Euryphel mouthed, ¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡± and pointed to himself. He didn¡¯t strictly need to be quiet when Clara was in the room, but he thought it a respectful courtesy. Just because he and Ian were powerful didn¡¯t mean they needed to be inconsiderate in such a small, unimportant way. Besides¨Che knew Ian¡¯s Beginning affinity would make short work of reading lips. ¡°Of course.¡± Eury felt warmth in his chest, then nodded his assent. He was immediately assaulted by a bizarre, overwhelming rush of sensations. This was a veritable mental assault. Ian was definitely using ascendant energy to bridge the gap of his own ineptitude. ¡°I know it¡¯s disorienting,¡± Ian thought, as though anticipating Euryphel¡¯s complaints. ¡°I¡¯m cheating by using ascendant energy. This kind of shortcut sucks for you, but it¡¯s useful.¡± Euryphel pressed his fingers to the space between his eyebrows, grimacing, but he didn¡¯t complain. He waited for his mind to adjust to Ian¡¯s shared senses. Despite the initial disorientation, things quickly came into focus. Through Ian¡¯s eyes, Euryphel saw a round, cyan watery orb¨Cthe disembodied soul¨Cconnected to the woman¡¯s body, not that it looked much like a body. It was weird¨Cwhite with vitality and entrenched with what had to be the woman¡¯s soul. It was vibrant orange and bore a strong resemblance to a coral reef. Euryphel was glad he didn¡¯t see the world like this. He liked to see people as people, not vitality sacks and soul wombs. Countless small, ultrathin tendrils extended from Ian and caressed the point where the two souls joined, thrumming and coiling around them. They pushed and pulled, twirling the souls together, like braiding a clumsy tapestry. Then, without warning, the tips of the ethereal tendrils flattened like scalpel heads. The caressing gentleness remained, but instead of kneading the souls together, they sliced delicate spirals off of them. Then more of Ian¡¯s energy tendrils appeared¨Cthese with blunted tips¨Cto weave the spirals together. It looked difficult¨Cthe soul strands clung to each other, almost melting into one another before Ian could intervene. But his ethereal energy strands were able to insulate them, allowing him to weave them tightly together. Euryphel noticed Ian¡¯s weaving becoming faster as he went. Not frantic, but urgent. It had to be because of Clara. Ian was a masochist-¨CEuryphel bet that he forced himself to sense the woman¡¯s pain as he worked on her. Giving himself consequences would make him feel better about what he was doing, serving as a twisted form of proof that he wasn¡¯t just callously experimenting on someone who couldn¡¯t resist him. After minutes of weaving, Ian had a beautiful bi-color tapestry braid bridging the two souls with his ethereal energy serving as connective insulation between them. Ian took in a deep breath¡­ and his ethereal energy retracted. The sunset orange of Clara¡¯s soul melted into the tropical blue of the disembodied soul. Then Ian pulled, tugging the disembodied soul, stretching out its connection. He stared at it for a moment. Then, suddenly, Clara gasped, freed from Ian¡¯s influence. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. Euryphel still saw through Ian¡¯s eyes. The necromancer squeezed the disembodied soul with his hand, digging his fingers into it. He gazed at it like he was taking in the secrets of the universe. Soon after, he cut off the sensory sharing. The world became as it was. Less strange¨Cand perhaps a bit less beautiful. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Ian said softly. ¡°I¡¯ve bound you with a necromantic oath.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m bound by a new oath,¡± Clara said. She wiped at her eyes, her teeth clenched and knuckles white. She looked like a victim. ¡°That¡¯s because the oath I gave you is more than an oath. It¡¯s flexible¨Cwhatever I need it to be. I can control it through the disembodied soul. I haven¡¯t even defined what it does yet.¡± ¡°Then how do you know it works?¡± Clara asked. ¡°Because,¡± Ian answered, ¡°you¡¯re not the first person I¡¯ve tested this on.¡± He turned to Euryphel. ¡°It¡¯s time to leave. I¡¯ll call you when it¡¯s convenient.¡± The transmission artifact cut out, depositing Euryphel back into his real body. He sat up on his divan, the sun room¡¯s eternally sunny window bathing his face in golden light. He ran a hand through his hair. I need coffee. 352. Winning the Right Way After Euryphel left, Ian focused his gaze on Clara. He felt the new bond between them, raw, unidirectional. It was distinct from the two-way connection he had with Maria that shared their emotions and allowed them to freely communicate. When he¡¯d turned Maria into a lich¡­ his mind had been electric, his body on fire. He¡¯d reached a breaking point and committed a most taboo miracle. After years of considering the matter of Maria¡¯s resurrection, he¡¯d concluded that making liches was rightfully taboo, but not because it transcended death. Death was irrelevant, as far as Ian was concerned. No¨Cthe issue was the power he held over Maria. Years together hadn¡¯t lessened the subtle unease he felt whenever he considered their bond. It was always there, tickling at his mind, waiting to be exercised. And now, another binding was present, even if it ached and called to him differently. The formation of Ian¡¯s bonds with Maria and Clara were, on the surface, similar. As with all necromancy, he had needed to create the oaths using his mind, focusing his intent to shape them. More vivid, impactful thoughts worked best. He¡¯d succeeded in his first real attempt to make a necromantic bond with a human soul¨CMaria¡¯s¨Cbecause ascendant energy had intervened to bridge the gap of his inadequacy, and because of the strength of his emotions and conviction. The bond he had with Clara was incomplete. He currently had no power over her, but that would soon change. Commanding a necromantic construct wasn¡¯t a naturally evocative exercise. For instance, commanding a construct to walk required Ian to really think about what walking meant, conceptually. Over the years, Ian had learned best practices for necromantic commands. In the walking example, it was best not to think of how freeing and enjoyable it was to walk, but of how terrible it would be to lose the ability. Fear was stronger than appreciation. For that reason, the first oath Ian intended to command¨Cone ensuring Clara¡¯s silence¨Cwould be easy. As Clara shuffled over and collapsed into an armchair, her head rolling back against the backrest, Ian began to imagine the worst-case scenarios should Clara tell everyone what she¡¯d learned. If Clara were taken seriously, her testimony would confirm any suspicions of Euryphel working against Sere and the Infinity Loop project. Learning of Ian¡¯s existence would also throw the Sere Consortium¡¯s people into chaos. They¡¯d learn that there were supposedly two Ian Dunais and that one was an imposter. The most likely outcome, according to his Beginning, was that Sere would confront their point of contact¨CAchemiss masquerading as fake Ian¨Cand ask for an explanation. That was a headache Ian wanted to avoid. Ian compressed all his fears into an imaginary ball, then imagined pushing them from his mind, down through his arm, and into his hand, where he clutched the disembodied soul connected to Clara. He felt his worries and desires unfurl within the metaphysical nexus of Clara¡¯s being, blossoming into a command. Reverberations hummed against his ethereal body as the oath took effect, settling onto Clara like a loose, metaphysical harness of roots. As the woman rested, panting lightly, she exhibited no sign that she¡¯d felt the oath take effect. The unnamed criminal woman beneath Ichormai also hadn¡¯t felt anything during Ian¡¯s experiments, but Ian hadn¡¯t been sure if that was a fluke. ¡°Clara,¡± Ian said, speaking slowly, giving her time to refocus herself. She stared at him, her eyes wide with fear but shimmering with intelligence and ambition. She¡¯s finally starting to see this as an opportunity, Ian realized. ¡°Yes?¡± Ian gestured with the hand holding the disembodied soul. ¡°Tell me something you learned today about me.¡± She opened her mouth, only to croak, her hand rising to her throat. She stroked her neck gently, her eyes narrowing. Ian could tell that she was experimenting, feeling out the oath, sensing which phrases were forbidden. ¡°You¡­ seem older than you should be,¡± she finally said. She wasn¡¯t trying to deceive him¨Chis Beginning and Remorse all but assured that. She had tried to say other, important information, and had failed. The necromantic oath had worked. Ian smiled and sat easier, the tension in his shoulders lessening. He was finally free to ask her what the Darkseers needed to know. What he needed to know. And she wouldn¡¯t be able to reveal the questions he asked to his enemies. ¡°How did Achemiss--¨Cfake Ian¨Cappear to the officials of Sere?¡± Ian asked mentally. His arrival was sudden. I wasn¡¯t there for the initial visit, but I know he asked for many things in return for his expertise, Clara explained. She went on to list numerous expensive reagents and materials. He also asked for a list of rifts for him to conduct studies in unperturbed. ¡°Did you give the rift information to him?¡± Ian wondered, his breath catching in his throat. It¡¯s impossible to refuse an ascendant, she said. I believe we gave him the location of five rifts, which was what he considered the bare minimum acceptable. Ian felt Maria rejoicing in his head. This is the first evidence we¡¯ve found to support the conjecture that Achemiss has been sheltering in a rift, she thought. Her enthusiasm caused his lip to curl into a grin. Five rifts weren¡¯t very many. If they could find out which of the five Achemiss was hiding in, then they had a chance at killing him. ¡°You don¡¯t know the five rifts, I assume,¡± Ian thought. Clara shook her head. No. However, I can tell you the names of people who might. ¡ª Maria leaned up against Ian. The couple sat on the edge of a cliff, one inaccessible by the switchbacking trails that scored the cliffside. Secluded, they watched the sun rise over the Bay of Ramsay. Ian hadn¡¯t slept well. He was agitated and didn¡¯t have a good way to blow off steam. Yesterday evening, Euryphel had paid Clara Belvaire a visit with the transmission artifact. He did so every night, usually in a Regret scenario. This time, the news had been different. After waiting for nearly two weeks, they finally had news of Achemiss. He would be approaching the Sere Consortium¡¯s assembly soon. Extremely soon¨CAchemiss had only given Sere eighteen hours to prepare. By the time Euryphel learned of the pronouncement, they only had ten hours¡¯ notice. And now, the meeting was set to begin in two hours. Ian, Maria, and Eury had speculated what the meeting¡¯s purpose was. Ian hoped Achemiss planned to ask for more rifts in addition to the five he¡¯d already been granted in return for his help on Infinity Loop research. The Darkseers had tried to steal information about the original five rift locations from the Sere Consortium, but they hadn¡¯t learned anything. More than likely, the consortium elite had agreed to a small mind wipe eliminating their knowledge of the rift locations, fully transferring them to Achemiss. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ian figured that, if more rift information was bartered, there would be another mind wipe. Achemiss¡¯s paranoia would require it. Of course, it was possible that they were all over thinking things. This meeting might just be a routine check-in on Sere¡¯s research efforts. The uncertainty ate at Ian. Maria squeezed his hand. Sometimes, our greatest weapon is patience. I can be patient, he thought. Sometimes, Maria allowed, but not when the future is nebulous. I¡¯m not very patient either, so I don¡¯t blame you. You are patient, Ian argued. Patient with me, at least. He laughed softly and rubbed his face into her hair. I suppose you¡¯re right. I consider myself patient on matters pertaining to my practice. I wouldn¡¯t call that patience. More like obsession. Ian cocked his head and considered his right wrist. He¡¯d eventually forced the disembodied soul connected to Clara into a thin bracelet made of interlocked bones. A strand of blue stretched from the bracelet and disappeared into the cliffs behind them, extending to the Sere researcher. Ian hadn¡¯t been entirely honest with Clara, and even Euryphel, about the soul oath. Only Maria¨Cwho had been present for his full experiments on the criminal woman beneath Ichormai¨Cknew what the oath could do. End oaths often took effect based on proximity. An End practitioner needed to be physically close to create oaths and arrays, or they needed to make use of conduits for their power. Maria had developed extensive infrastructure throughout Selejo to weave webs of End arrays, afflicting her opponents with terrible effects if they invaded her shores. Having suffered those End afflictions firsthand, Ian knew how powerful they were. He¡¯d needed to kill himself¨Cand Eury¨Cto disable them. But while End arrays could be strong and nuanced, they weren¡¯t flexible. Once an array or oath was made, it was static, unless deliberately changed¡­ but changes were impossible from afar. In contrast, Ian¡¯s necromantic oath was fluid, responsive. He could change it as he wished so long as he maintained a connection with the disembodied soul connected to his quarry. Unless Ian wanted to always keep a throng of disembodied souls around him, he could only maintain a few necromantic oaths at one time. Additionally, his oaths were far more invasive to establish compared to End oaths, which could be activated by something as simple as signing an agreement. In summary, his oaths were more flexible than End oaths, but significantly less practical. Their one decisive benefit was that only necromancers with soul sight would be able to notice them. When Ian used ascendant energy, however¡­ things changed. He could do more. His will became undeniable. Why didn¡¯t you tell Eury the extent of this power? Maria asked, sensing the turn in Ian¡¯s thoughts. The bone bracelet floated up over Ian¡¯s wrist until it draped over his palm. It wasn¡¯t ever convenient or necessary, he thought, which was true. He rubbed his fingers against it, feeling the connection. He could sense the restrictions he¡¯d imposed through it. You didn¡¯t think it was necessary to tell him that you can control Clara from afar? It¡¯s not useful to do so, he replied. Clara has no authority at the assembly. She is there to report on progress when prompted, not to offer opinions or ask questions. Shouldn¡¯t you at least tell him you can do so? It opens up other possibilities. I¡¯m certain he knows, Ian said. But he won¡¯t acknowledge it until I tell him in reality. Maria turned her face and gave him a probing look. You¡¯re certain? My Beginning says there¡¯s a 95% chance he knows. Maria snorted. Your Beginning is crap. He doesn¡¯t know. He frowned. How are you so sure? Because you¡¯re acting on outdated information. We¡¯ve both changed over the past years, but Euryphel has changed a lot since we ascended, too. She shook her head wistfully. He used to always peek ahead so he had all the answers and was the smartest person in the room. But nowadays, he looks less often into the future. I¡­ noticed that to some degree, but I didn¡¯t know what to think about it. It¡¯s not like his Regret is broken. He¡¯s simply learning the importance of self-moderation, she said, giving Ian a half smile. But I think for him, it¡¯s also a matter of trust. He trusts me to tell him what he needs to know, rather than interrogating me in scenarios, Ian said, guessing at the direction of her thoughts. She just gave him a knowing glance before leaning her head back against his chest, crossing her arms. They were silent for a minute. You know why I don¡¯t want him to know. Maria didn¡¯t respond for a moment. Not really, Ian. You don¡¯t even fully know. Your excuses change by the day. They¡¯re justifications, not excuses, Ian retorted. I don¡¯t like the fact that I wield this power. I don¡¯t want Euryphel to ask me to bind others with necromantic oaths. I want that to be my decision. You act like this power is so much worse than what me and the Crowned Executor can do, Maria said, but it really isn¡¯t. Our End oaths are just as controlling and inviolable, and only a select group of people at the peak of power can break them. On this world, aside from the returned ascendants, no one can break my oaths if I use ascendant energy. Then why not force everyone in Sere into an End oath, Maria? Ian asked, frustrated. Why not bind the entire world? Force them to abandon the loop, to destroy all traces of the technology? Maria frowned. Y¡¯jeni, we could hide your phylactery in outer space where it can¡¯t be found. You could stay on this world as a sentinel, forcing everyone to abandon thoughts of using Infinity Loop tech. You would be an undying nightmare to your enemies. And once you were sure of your enduring impact¨Cthat the loop technology was truly forgotten¨CI could come for you and take you back to Eternity. That wouldn¡¯t solve the Achemiss problem, Maria noted. No, it wouldn¡¯t. For the record, I don¡¯t consider that a viable solution. Other returned ascendants might intervene against what they consider an overstep of power. And even if they didn¡¯t, that solution isn¡¯t fair to you. What is your point, then, Ian? He took a deep breath, his Adam¡¯s apple bobbing. He suddenly felt exhausted. I don¡¯t know where to draw the line. I don¡¯t know how far I should go to ensure success against Achemiss. Now that I¡¯ve proven the power of my necromantic oaths, why shouldn¡¯t I go around to all the world¡¯s sovereigns and force oaths upon them? Why shouldn¡¯t I control them for the greater good? I could force them all to cut funding to the Infinity Loop research, to turn their backs on its temptations. The only limit is my ability to control multiple necromantic oaths, but as my Beginning affinity increases, I¡¯ll be able to control more and more. Ian sighed. Euryphel considers himself the strategist and us, his strongest weapons. At least with your End oaths, he tells himself that they¡¯re traceable and will alert Achemiss to our involvement. He doesn¡¯t need to consider the moral implications of forcing unbreakable oaths powered by ascendant energy on his enemies. But if he knew of the potential of necromantic oaths, I think he¡¯d be forced to recognize their utility and strategic importance. He¡¯d be forced to ask me to use them. You don¡¯t want Euryphel to ask his best friend to commit an atrocity, is that it? Maria asked. Ian raised his head and angled it to meet her eyes. You make it sound like I¡¯m coddling him. No. I want Euryphel to win the right way. Achemiss is an ascendant, and should be dealt with by ascendants. But the Infinity Loop is a problem of this world. There is a right way and a wrong way to save this planet, Maria. Having us ascendants strongarm a solution is definitely the wrong way. But what if it¡¯s the only way? Maria wondered. He could sense her concern for Zilverna and Kaiwen, for all the people of Selejo whom she¡¯d once called her subjects. Even if the current generations never suffered from the Infinity Loop¡¯s soul corruption, their descendants would. Consider Ascendant Ari, Ian replied, pulling Maria close to his chest. We know she tried to save worlds tainted by Infinity Loop technology. Tried, and failed. Every time. It drove her mad, at least in part. There¡¯s a lesson in that. You say that now, but I know that you and I care too much about this world to let it fall, Maria said, gripping his hand. Ian¡¯s chest constricted. This conversation hadn¡¯t helped his mood at all. ¡°Ian,¡± Euryphel¡¯s voice cut in, speaking over quantum channel. ¡°It¡¯s time to meet beneath the palace.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be over soon.¡± 353. The Assembly Commences ¡°It¡¯s starting in a minute,¡± Euryphel said. He reclined in one of the chairs situated around the table, his legs perched on an adjacent seat. Ian stretched an arm across his chest and curved his neck. ¡°Should¡¯ve brought popcorn.¡± Euryphel snorted and gestured to a lovely spread of finger sandwiches laid out on the table. ¡°Really, Ian?¡± He grinned. ¡°Fine, I take it back. Thank you, August Crowned Executor, for bringing these from the kitchen.¡± Eury rolled his eyes. ¡°We don¡¯t know how long this assembly is going to last. Might be fast, might drag on. Regardless, we¡¯re not leaving this room until it ends. And while I know that you¡±¨Che pointed to Maria¨C¡°don¡¯t need to eat, us lesser lifeforms operate better with sustenance.¡± Maria raised an eyebrow. ¡°You think Ian needs to eat?¡± Eury froze, then blinked. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Ian shot Maria a disparaging look, then turned to Eury and shrugged. ¡°Decemancy can make up for a lot.¡± The former prince looked scandalized. ¡°You still need to eat, though, don¡¯t you? A living body needs sustenance.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Ian said, a smirk playing on his lips, ¡°but unlike weak mortals forced to feed every few hours, I don¡¯t need to eat that often.¡± He bent forward and grabbed one of the sandwiches, bringing it up to his mouth. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t eat if it¡¯s convenient.¡± Eury¡¯s mouth popped open. ¡°You still need to drink, at least.¡± He held up a mug of coffee in one hand; the transmission artifact was in the other. Ian could sense the strain in the man¡¯s muscles as he did so. They were still weak and damaged, even if Euryphel¡¯s skin had mostly recovered, allowing him to hold objects without debilitating pain. Don¡¯t say anything, Ian chided Maria mentally. Fine, I won¡¯t mention that you developed a way to recycle water for maximum training efficiency. It wasn¡¯t like I had any choice, Ian thought. Ancient Ash considered eating and drinking a tiresome, time-wasting practice. Ian held up his own cup of coffee. ¡°You know, I think this is the first coffee I¡¯ve had in years. Better be good.¡± He took a sip and nodded. ¡°Not bad.¡± Euryphel smiled. ¡°Though it¡¯s not like you need the caffeine.¡± Suddenly, his body stiffened. ¡°Achemiss is coming. He¡¯s going to show up exactly on time.¡± Ian and Maria shared a look. Euryphel was using the transmission artifact in Regret scenarios to spy on the assembly. His projected self was always noticed immediately, ruining attempts at spying. However, he could run multiple short scenarios, staggering them such that he could catch every second of the assembly as a projection. Ian could then try to access those memories with Remorse, and he could share them with Maria. The process was painstaking, but it worked. Ian disdained how weak his Remorse was. It was so difficult for him to read complicated memories, requiring his full focus. Without Beginning, he didn¡¯t even think he¡¯d be able to pull it off, even with ascendant energy. But at least for the moment, his capability was enough. So far, all Ian had seen from Euryphel were a few seconds of the assembly room filling up, Clara streaming into her assigned seat along with a tide of other important people. Their names were all projected above each of their heads. It was a convenient, albeit odd quirk of the Sere Consortium, but Ian supposed it made sense. The people attending the assembly were on rotation, serving short terms. Having nametags with their roles, affiliations, and affinities made keeping track of everyone much easier. It also, unfortunately, made a projection like Eury stand out even more. From Eury¡¯s stilted memories, there weren¡¯t many regulars in the room. Only a handful, and all with high mental acuity like Clara. Ian noticed that they sat separate from each other. It was likely an intentional arrangement to integrate them into the greater assembly, rather than sequestering them in their own section. People didn¡¯t ignore Clara¨Cshe was greeted left and right, appreciated for her role in the Infinity Loop project¨Cbut Ian could discern a stiffness in her smile. Having grown up in a family filled with practitioners-¨Cat least until his mother¡¯s excommunication¨CIan remembered well the subtle air of alienation. Those memories of entering the assembly were from minutes earlier. Now that the time of Achemiss¡¯s arrival was upon them, Ian prepared himself to plumb new memories from Euryphel¡¯s mind. Ian could sense the memories Euryphel tried to share. They swam at the forefront of the Crowned Executor¡¯s mind, unprotected by mental defenses. Ian latched on and internalized them, shutting his eyes as he processed the many disorienting skips from Euryphel constantly running scenarios. He was seeing the same scenes multiple times since the memories overlapped with one another. It took Euryphel a minute of scenarios to see barely twenty seconds. Ian called his ascendant energy to his mind, quickening both Beginning and Remorse to better process the memories. Clara¡¯s seat was in the front, though at the far right end of a long, curved dais. Easily accessible to answer questions but largely out of sight. She plastered a polite, inoffensive smile on her face as silence washed over the room. Everyone was waiting for the ascendant¡¯s arrival. They didn¡¯t wait long. Exactly when Achemiss said he¡¯d call, down to the second, he did. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The assembly¡¯s gaze fixed on a live transmission of Achemiss¡¯s face. They all seemed to know that it was going to happen, if their absolute silence around fifteen seconds before his appearance was anything to go by. A Sere Regret practitioner had probably sent out a warning. After all, if any of them pissed the ascendant off for any reason¨Ceven if they didn¡¯t think the newly-ascended Ian Dunai was as much of a threat as older, more experienced ascendants¨Cthe outcome wouldn¡¯t be favorable. Ian considered the guise of the imposter. Achemiss had no qualms sheathing himself in lifelike puppets to experience the world and was apparently skilled in shaping his golems to take on certain forms. While Ian could appreciate Achemiss¡¯s skill on a technical level, seeing his appearance perfectly recreated as an ¡°Ian golem¡± was unsettling. ¡°I appreciate everyone gathering here today,¡± Achemiss said, addressing the assembly. Wearing the skin of Ian Dunai, he acted confident but not rude. Reasonable. It reminded Ian of Achemiss¡¯s seemingly supplicant demeanor at the beginning of their encounter in Eternity. I wonder what he¡¯d think if he knew we were watching, Maria thought. In response to Achemiss¡¯s greeting, the members of the assembly seated at the dais all offered an obsequious welcome and introduction. Due to her seat¡¯s location, Clara was last to speak. This was happening in a Regret scenario, in the future, but Ian still felt for the necromantic oath, rubbing his fingers over the bone bracelet. The oath would do more than just compel Clara to stay silent about what she knew. Ian was unwilling to hinge the success of their plan on Clara¡¯s ability to feign ignorance. What the oath did, in that moment, was strike the memories regarding Ian from Clara¡¯s mind. They weren¡¯t gone, but almost blurred¨Cmuted like old, unimportant recollections. After Clara introduced herself, Achemiss stated his intentions. Achemiss¡¯s eyes scanned the room. ¡°It has not been long since I last spoke to this body. First, I want to express my appreciation for your trust. The Infinity Loop technology has unquestionable power¡±¨Che gestured to himself¨C¡°but the dangers of using it are real.¡± The assembly was enraptured. ¡°Give me a status update on your progress.¡± The head of the dais, a Beginning and Moon dual practitioner, spoke from memory, likely parroting off notes that Clara had delivered. They all knew Achemiss didn¡¯t care about minute details¨Cthe ascendant wanted to understand the bigger picture. ¡°I would prefer to hear the head of research talk herself,¡± Achemiss interrupted, pointing at Clara. All eyes were suddenly on the regular. She smiled, then stood, her legs slightly trembling. Only because Euryphel was so close did he notice it. The power of a wind elementalist projected her voice. ¡°We have not yet been successful finding a powerful enough necromancer to accelerate our research,¡± she explained. ¡°We¡¯re expanding our search radius into adjacent nations, like the Selejo Imperial Federation, but those efforts have been met with external resistance.¡± Achemiss narrowed his eyes. ¡°You haven¡¯t found anyone? Not even necromancers who evaded recruitment?¡± Ian suddenly felt a tingling in the necromantic oath. It must be from when Clara introduced herself. The temporal dissonance between what Ian experienced and what was actually happening was disconcerting. We found at least two potential suspects, but were unable to successfully engage them and they slipped away. Necromancers are illegal everywhere on this world; any that would be powerful enough to help us must be stealthy. Hiding their power is a necessity for survival. As a Death practitioner yourself, I¡¯m sure you understand the situation.¡± Achemiss¡¯s gaze was inscrutable as he considered her words. ¡°Very well.¡± He returned his gaze to the center of the dais. ¡°It appears that with your efforts stalled, more direct assistance may be required. I¡¯ve returned to this world for two reasons. The first, of course, is to solve the issue of soul corruption. The second is to conduct research within rifts. You¡¯ve already provided me five rifts. For ten more, I will personally intervene in the search for a suitable necromancer. I have a feeling we will find greater success in the East.¡± Ian knew what Achemiss was implying. He would go after Soolemar. Ian¡¯s frosty anger at the idea was tempered by his excitement. Achemiss really was trying to acquire more rifts. There was one glaring issue: giving away so many rifts would be terrible for Sere¡¯s artificers who depended, in part, on materials sourced from them. However, Ian was certain the Sere assembly would agree to Achemiss¡¯s terms-. They were likely betting that ¡°Ian Dunai¡± wouldn¡¯t stay on their world for long, which was a fair assumption. Whatever rifts they handed over, they¡¯d get back once he left. The speaker of the assembly didn¡¯t hesitate in responding, ¡°We are interested in this trade, contingent on you delivering at least one necromancer who can help our research.¡± Achemiss smiled without humor. ¡°I never said I would find you a necromancer, just that I would intervene to assist. I have too many enemies. Should I make an appearance, I¡¯ll be putting myself¨Cand the success of our efforts-¨Cin jeopardy.¡± ¡°The Sere Consortium covers a large geographic territory but lacks the resources and influence to have private ownership of so many rifts. The best we can do is five more.¡± ¡°Five more rifts and access to the classified subject,¡± Achemiss retorted. ¡°Classified subject?¡± Ian murmured, shooting Euryphel and Maria a look. The speaker of the assembly worked his jaw. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can promise that.¡± ¡°You said that the last time,¡± Achemiss said, ¡°and I didn¡¯t push the issue. But I haven¡¯t been idle since our last meeting. The classified subject is necessary to further my research.¡± Ian sympathized with the speaker of the assembly. Achemiss was putting them in an awkward position, claiming that he was helping by conducting his research and making promises of potential future help, all without proof. He could get away with it because he was an ascendant. But what¨Cor who¨Cwas the classified subject to make the speaker so reluctant to agree? ¡°You don¡¯t want to force my hand on this,¡± Achemiss said softly. ¡°You can trust that I¡¯m doing this for the greater good.¡± Ian¡¯s gut roiled. Achemiss¡¯s greater good, perhaps. ¡°Please give us a few seconds to discuss,¡± the speaker said. What ensued was a period of complete silence. ¡°They¡¯re conferring in Regret scenarios,¡± Euryphel observed, tapping his lip. ¡°That suggests a higher degree of cooperation and trust than I expected from the Consortium, given the more fragmented nature of their government.¡± The seconds ticked on. Around fifteen seconds later, the speaker broke the silence. ¡°Ascendant Dunai, we cannot agree to your terms.¡± Ian¡¯s heart nearly skipped a beat. No. Sere had to agree, no matter what. It was the Darkseers¡¯ best opportunity to pin Achemiss down. Euryphel wore a bitter expression, his eyes tight. This happened in a scenario, and without any way to influence the people within it, Maria thought, grabbing for Ian¡¯s hand underneath the table. The outcome will always be the same. Ian understood the implication. ¡°Eury,¡± he said, his eyes narrowing in concentration, ¡°run the scenario again.¡± 354. Tell Them What They Need to Hear So, the Sere Consortium ultimately refused the request of an ascendant. Interesting. Euryphel took all the time he needed to think within scenarios, his brow furrowed in contemplation. He wasn¡¯t shocked by the Sere Consortium assembly¡¯s refusal of Achemiss¡¯s demands--¨Cit had always been a possible outcome, albeit an unlikely one. What did it mean for Sere to refuse Achemiss, known to them as the recently ascended Ian Dunai? It meant that they didn¡¯t consider him an unbeatable threat. Sere¡¯s Beginning practitioners must have accounted for the possibility that Ian Dunai had experienced the passage of time differently in Eternity, especially since the power of the Infinity Loop¡¯s time dilation was on everyone¡¯s minds. They must have considered that Dunai wasn¡¯t the same person who had ascended a few months ago. This didn¡¯t prevent them from looking down on him, in a bizarre way. Before ascending, Ian Dunai was the formidable Skai¡¯aren, a Death practitioner at the peak of power. Now, having returned, he was more powerful, but the weakest of all returned ascendants¨Cor so they assumed. They knew he was an ascendant, on paper, but didn¡¯t really consider him one. Euryphel wondered if part of their skepticism was regarding his return. No ascendant had ever, in all of recorded history, returned so soon after their ascension. He didn¡¯t know how Achemiss had first appeared to the Sere Consortium, but Euryphel could imagine the events from Sere¡¯s perspective. The Skai¡¯aren¨Creturned from Eternity¨Chad suddenly reached out with important knowledge regarding the Infinity Loop. The fact that he had initiated contact would have been considered highly unusual. Euryphel couldn¡¯t guess at what the ensuing discussions entailed, but the result was that Achemiss had gained exclusive access to five rifts and helped Sere with research on the Infinity Loop. Were Euryphel an official in Sere, he would have been skeptical of Dunai¡¯s warnings of soul corruption from the Infinity Loop, prioritizing investigations into the matter to confirm his claims. After all, Dunai had a conflict of interest¨Che had benefited greatly from the Infinity Loop, and was still, in the eyes of most, tightly connected to Euryphel Selejo, and by proxy the Selejo Imperial Federation. While the Federation wasn¡¯t technically an enemy of Sere, it was a looming rival and a potential threat. Finally, Euryphel would have considered it peculiar that the Skai¡¯aren had requested access to rifts, as this suggested that he was in hiding, even if he claimed the rifts were for ¡°research purposes.¡± The request would have made some sense¨Cthe Skai¡¯aren had made enemies by participating in the war over the Ho¡¯ostar peninsula. But the need for rifts suggested weakness. An ascendant shouldn¡¯t so openly fear mortal strength. Besides, why would Dunai come to Sere for rifts rather than the Federation, where he¡¯d established a network of support? The Crowned Executor didn¡¯t think that Achemiss had been incompetent in his approach¨Cassuming as much would be terribly na?ve¨Cbut the old necromancer had been forced to act from a compromised position at the weakest he¡¯d been in a millennium, stripped of his artifacts. He truly would have been weak¨Crelatively speaking¨Cwhen approaching Sere in the hours following his forced descent to Chemissa. Euryphel wondered how the ascendant was feeling about the negotiations. Here stood the powerful Achemiss, absent his items of power and hiding in a rift, impersonating an enemy he had recently considered little more than a pawn¨Cthe very same enemy who had deceived and assassinated him. Euryphel felt a savage, vindictive pleasure as he considered the man¡¯s plight. Achemiss wanted to destroy their world. He deserved every misfortune, even if¨Cin an odd way¨Che was also the reason why Ari¡¯s descent hadn¡¯t destroyed large parts of Selejo and its surrounding territories. Euryphel recognized Achemiss¡¯s intervention for what it was¨Ca bargaining chip. He had bartered Ari¡¯s life, something that had great strategic value to him, in return for blocking her strike, which required minimal effort and had little lasting significance. That Euryphel had benefited as a side effect was immaterial. There would be no mercy for the incredibly selfish, reclusive ascendant. Euryphel snapped out of his scenario, returning to the real world. ¡°Eury, run the scenario again,¡± Ian said. His eyes were steely, the iridescence giving them a profound intensity. Euryphel¡¯s blue green eyes glowed with the power of Regret. ¡°What should I change?¡± Ian shook his head. ¡°Change nothing. I need to try something.¡± The Crowned Executor kept his expression neutral, but inside he wrestled with Ian¡¯s statement. What did Ian want to try? Was he going to do something drastic, like seizing the transmission artifact to appear in the assembly room and confront Achemiss directly? Despite his confusion, Euryphel answered without hesitation. ¡°Of course.¡± He started a scenario and gave Ian a look. ¡°You can go ahead.¡± ¡°Just do everything the same as you did before,¡± Ian instructed. Euryphel drummed his fingers across the transmission artifact. He recursed, setting a new checkpoint just before triggering the artifact and sending himself to Clara¡¯s side. He immediately snapped back, waited for a moment, and set another recursion point. He repeated this over and over, gaining fragments of seconds to stitch together into a cohesive whole. Ian thinks it¡¯s painstaking to sort through these memories, but it¡¯s even worse to collect them. Euryphel wasn¡¯t used to such short, repeated scenarios. He already had a headache from their jarring nature. He watched carefully for any deviation from the metaphorical script, but there was none. Achemiss was refused yet again. ¡°Again,¡± Ian commanded. He ground his teeth, one fist clenched around a bone bracelet. Euryphel dismissed his mental fatigue and the pain behind his eyes. He began again. Nothing seemed to change up until the end. The silent discussion between the members of the assembly¨Cthe one undoubtedly conducted in a series of chained Regret scenarios, with memories relayed by Remorse practitioners¨Cdidn¡¯t end after fifteen seconds. It went longer. What has Ian done? Euryphel wondered, intrigued. It must be related to Clara. Euryphel knew the bracelet was an object of power connecting Ian to Clara but didn¡¯t know much else about it. Ian simply claimed it allowed him to maintain control over her oaths. This prevented her from sharing information¡­ but perhaps it could be used in other ways. Maybe to force her to share information, making it so she was unable to say anything except for what he desired? It wasn¡¯t that much of a stretch for the ascendant. What would Clara be able to say to make a difference, though? Euryphel waited with anticipation until finally, after thirty-five seconds, the members of the assembly appeared to have reached a decision. That wasn¡¯t a long time, but assuming the 89% affinity Regret practitioner in the room was the one running the scenarios, Euryphel bet that each scenario lasted around forty seconds. Even if the Regret practitioner were slow, he could probably still run at least two per second. At two scenarios per second, for thirty-five seconds, that meant seventy scenarios¡­ and at forty seconds a pop, that was 2,800 seconds, or around forty-five minutes of scenario time. Euryphel imagined spying on forty-five minutes of discussions. Maybe it¡¯s for the best the talks happened in Regret scenarios, he mused. If he really needed to spy for that long, he would be forced to find a way to slip his body into the walls or floor and eavesdrop. With anticipation, Euryphel ran repeated scenarios to hear the new response of the speaker of the assembly. ¡°Ascendant Dunai, we agree to your terms. We will discuss the details on the classified subject¡¯s delivery later, to minimize the number of people who must subject themselves to memory removal. Doctor Clara Belvaire will be in charge.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Euryphel balked. ¡°Excellent,¡± Achemiss said, his lips curving into a small smile. ¡°I shall speak to Doctor Belvaire about the classified subject. But what of the rifts?¡± ¡°You may also speak to her about them. She will handle delivery of everything we promised.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be in touch.¡± With a small flourish, the ascendant disappeared, leaving the assembly chamber in silence. Euryphel stuck around for a bit longer, but after it was clear Achemiss wasn¡¯t coming back, he killed the scenario. ¡°Ian, what did you do?¡± the former prince asked. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the outcome first,¡± Ian said. He kneaded his fingers into his temple as he took in Euryphel¡¯s recent memories. His expression turned thoughtful, and he studied the bone bracelet. ¡°That actually worked. Cool.¡± ¡°Just, ¡®cool¡¯?¡± Maria asked. ¡°You completely changed the outcome by influencing Clara with your necromantic oath. It¡¯s an amazing first application.¡± ¡°I still need to make it happen in reality, too,¡± Ian reminded her, his subdued elation fading to cold focus. Thankfully, that didn¡¯t prove difficult. Less than a minute later, the trio breathed easy as Achemiss departed the assembly room having established the deal with Sere. ¡ª Clara Belvaire This was Clara¡¯s fifth time sitting on the assembly as a representative. Full meetings with the entire body weren¡¯t common, but the presence of an ascendant more than warranted everyone¡¯s attendance. The last time the assembly convened, she remembered being still as ice, intimidated into silence. It had been her first time around an ascendant, and the ascendant hadn¡¯t even been there in person¡­ but that hadn¡¯t mattered. It had been monumental for everyone present, even if their guest was only the recently ascended Ian Dunai. Or so they had thought. She had been in the presence of the closest thing she knew to a god. Someone who had transcended the limits of this world. Someone who, less than a year ago, had been like her. Powerless. This time was different. Whatever reverence she felt for the imposter Ian Dunai was gone. If she was being honest, her whole world view regarding ascension had been upended. She¡¯d seen behind the curtain. She knew now that ascendants really were just people, not gods, not creatures beyond her understanding. They were just people acting on yet a greater scale of power. To Clara, a regular, what made them so different from the peak practitioners she regularly worked with? Their age and experience were all she could think of. She could respect both, just as she respected the opinions of the family elders, but living longer didn¡¯t make people better. It didn¡¯t ensure that their decisions were superior or just. In the case of the Ian Dunai imposter, Achemiss, the years spent in Eternity had left him so disconnected from the world that he chose to end it, seeing the humans living there as inconveniences rather than valuable lives. Or maybe he had always been that way from the beginning, viewing people as ants, Clara thought coldly. Some practitioners¨Ceven some in the assembly chamber now¨Cwere like that. They tended to reveal their true colors more easily around those they considered worthless. They knew when the false Ian Dunai was coming¨Ca wind elementalist whispered it to them, carrying the tidings from their most powerful Regret practitioner. They waited in silence, no one in the mood for chatting. He appeared before them without fanfare as a projection. Clara didn¡¯t know how he¡¯d first made contact with Sere¡¯s leaders¨Cshe¡¯d heard rumors it was through a dream¨Cbut he had a proper way to call them now, a special glossY that could function in a rift but could only connect to a single, pre-registered location. She mechanically followed the motions of everyone else as they paid the expected courtesies. Eventually, it came time to introduce herself. Those seated at the dais were all required to. That was when she first felt the active pull of the necromantic oath. She could vaguely sense that it was warning her to not introduce herself as a spy. Hilariously blunt. As if she¡¯d even consider it. With introductions out of the way, Clara resigned herself to being a wallflower. She¡¯d already given everything important over to the speaker of the assembly so he could inform Achemiss about their efforts. Rather than focusing her gaze on Dunai¡¯s impersonator, Clara looked beyond his projection at the walls. They were covered in murals of the Sere Consortium¡¯s greatest innovations and commercial successes. There were no portraits, save for that of the Consortium¡¯s four founders, each placed in one of the cardinal directions. It was symbolic of their insights preventing Sere from losing its way. Clara nearly jumped out of her seat when, unexpectedly, Ian Dunai¡¯s sinuous voice called out her name. ¡°I would prefer to hear the head of research talk herself,¡± the imposter said, pointing a finger at her. Clara¡¯s mind buzzed. Achemiss had asked for a status update on the research efforts on combating soul corruption. I can just recite the report I sent to the speaker of the assembly. She felt the piercing stares of everyone as she stood and smiled. She hated that her body trembled. She wasn¡¯t a teenager. She was forty-four. She had deep experience in academia. You couldn¡¯t survive there as a regular without being exceedingly sharp and capable, never ceding ground, while still remaining self-denigrating and obsequious when the moment required it. But this wasn¡¯t academia. She wasn¡¯t in a lab, lambasting her practitioners on problems with their rhetoric or presenting a novel finding to a board. Imposter or not, she was being directly addressed by an ascendant. One who sought to end the world¨Cif she could trust the words of the supposedly real Ian Dunai and Euryphel Selejo. Despite the bizarre, uncomfortable, painful, and mildly traumatic nature of their first encounter¡­ she did trust them. Or at least, she trusted their overall motives. Facing down the imposter, nerves twisting her stomach, she reminded herself of what she¡¯d already accomplished. You¡¯ve spoken face-to-face with the real Ian Dunai. You have an important role to play, more important than these people could ever know. Swallow your fear. Your uncertainties. When she spoke, wind elementalism projected her words to all. Thankfully, she¡¯d mastered herself enough to keep her voice steady. ¡°We have not yet been successful in finding a powerful enough necromancer to accelerate our research. We¡¯re expanding our search radius into adjacent nations, like the Selejo Imperial Federation, but those efforts have been met with external resistance.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t found anyone? Not even necromancers who evaded recruitment?¡± Clara felt the compulsion of the necromantic oath again as she considered her response. She spat out something about necromancy being illegal and the difficulty of finding any. It seemed to be enough, for the ascendant replied without obvious animosity. After, the speaker of the assembly took over and discussed what the false ascendant desired. After a minute of haggling out loud, the speaker called everyone aside from the ascendant into a dilated deliberation¨Cin other words, a string of Regret scenario bridged together by Remorse. Only the full assembly would have practitioners of a high enough caliber to facilitate discussions in Regret scenarios. She knew her family always conducted proceedings in the real world, verbally, though in spaces with arrays to prevent spying. The seconds ticked on as the deliberation ensued. Throughout, Clara felt a flickering, powerful compulsion. Whatever they were deliberating, it involved her. Are they actually asking me for an opinion? And then it was over, and the memories came like a flood. Clara inhaled sharply. The memories of the proceedings were fluid, as though she had experienced them all uninterrupted. The Remorse practitioner responsible, Practitioner Shuma, had sublime skill transmitting memories covering long stretches of time. She had stripped the memories of her personal emotions and opinions, leaving only what she experienced visually from an impartial viewpoint. Despite Shuma¡¯s skill, seeing the deliberating from another person¡¯s eyes was disconcerting. She saw herself sitting at the dais with the others. Normally, as the token regular, she kept quiet unless called upon. That might have grated on her if she weren¡¯t so used to it everywhere else in her life. Only in her labs, where she was the highest authority, could she forget about her deficiency of birth. Clara didn¡¯t know what had come over her in Shuma¡¯s memories, even if she felt the vestiges of the compulsion fading now. She was talking. A lot. She almost wanted to slap her own forehead and leave the assembly in embarrassment. It was as though all respect had flown out the window, the filter over her thoughts destroyed. She spoke her mind unrelentingly. She called upon all her knowledge of their rifts, pointing out the five that they could afford to sacrifice. She argued that the rifts would only be given up temporarily. She persuaded them that the soul corruption risk was real and that they would be lost without Dunai¡¯s help. It was as though a fire were lit under her, forcing her to run her mouth and say whatever necessary to approve the agreement. And when it came to the classified subject¡­ she had outright lied. That shouldn¡¯t have been possible unless Dunai¡¯s necromantic oath superseded her other oaths. I suppose¡­ it must. She¡¯d claimed that they¡¯d already conducted all the experiments they needed to, and that the degradation of the classified subject had proceeded past a point of no return. She¡¯d argued that it was worthless to them. All of that was extremely untrue. But everyone trusted Clara¨Cor at least, they trusted her oaths. And in the moment, with the eyes of an ascendant on them, they couldn¡¯t afford to double check her claims. As she processed the last of the memories, she crossed her arms and looked around. The members of the dais looked at her a bit differently than they had before. So this is how you get ahead here, she thought absently. You lie, you cheat, you bluster. You tell them what they need to hear. You empower them to make an easy choice. Clara could only plaster on a cool smile as the speaker of the assembly conveyed their decision. ¡°Ascendant Dunai, we agree to your terms.¡± The next part, however, caused her stomach to drop. ¡°Doctor Clara Belvaire will be in charge.¡± 355. Advice After the assembly¡¯s conclusion, Ian waited until Clara was back home, scoping out her activities through Euryphel¡¯s Regret scenarios. Then, he summoned her with the transmission artifact. Knowing that she¡¯d appear behind him¨Cthe artifact always manifested the projected person directly behind their quarry¨CIan turned around. Sure enough, Clara¡¯s lifelike form stood before him. She jumped reflexively, her eyes snapping wide in surprise. She nearly fell over herself, probably from the disorientation. ¡°Hello, Clara,¡± Ian said, ¡°we need to talk.¡± ¡°So, the communication can go the other way as well,¡± she murmured, her eyes fixating on the room. Suddenly, she seemed to remember her audience. She stiffened and bowed her head. ¡°Ascendant Dunai,¡± she said first. ¡°The Crowned Executor.¡± She stopped on the third figure, her brow furrowing in disbelief. After a moment of mental processing, she inclined her head to Maria as well. ¡°The Eldemari.¡± Maria chuckled. She was seated at the table, her back straight as a rod, not touching the back of the chair. The blue diadem was active overhead, giving her a lifelike appearance. Ian cleared his throat. ¡°Clara. I can¡¯t read your thoughts with Remorse while you¡¯re here like this. Please inform us about what happened during the deliberations.¡± Ian had considered asking Eury to interrogate her in Regret scenarios, but decided the Crowned Prime had endured enough for one morning. Euryphel would never complain, which meant that Ian needed to be more conscientious about when to ask for the Crowned Prime¡¯s help. How does she seem to you? Maria asked mentally. Mostly fine. The shock of working with us has faded significantly since we first approached her. She even took your presence in stride. Ian felt Maria¡¯s agreement through their bond. She¡¯s used to eccentric peak practitioner behavior. We¡¯re just one tier higher than the practitioners she¡¯s used to. Still people. She¡¯s learning to internalize that. Clara gave Ian a probing look. ¡°Where should I begin?¡± ¡°Just when the deliberations started¨Cno need for anything earlier. The trio of experts hung on to every word as Clara explained what she had seen, narrating how she¡¯d spoken strongly in favor of accepting Achemiss¡¯s terms. But she emphasized how she didn¡¯t know why she acted that way. ¡°You don¡¯t remember why you said what you said?¡± Ian probed. ¡°No¨CI only remember what the Remorse practitioners stitched together and shared with everyone. As I understand it, passing memories back and forth to a Regret practitioner is exhausting, tedious work.¡± It was more than just exhausting. Ian knew how hard it was to ingest the memories of others. Even if the assembly members all freely let down their mental defenses, processing all those memories, remembering them accurately, passing them to a Regret practitioner, and then reading them back from the Regret practitioner¡¯s mind in future scenarios and the real world¡­ it was highly infeasible. Maybe Cayeun Suncloud could pull it off, but mortals had no chance. ¡°That¡¯s why they had three Remorse practitioners,¡± Euryphel interjected, looking at Ian. ¡°Redundancy.¡± Even though Ian understood why Clara didn¡¯t have first-hand memories from the deliberations, he was frustrated by the lack of information. He¡¯d wanted to hear how his oath had worked from Clara¡¯s perspective. Maybe it¡¯s for the best that she doesn¡¯t remember, he considered. How would she react to me compelling her through the necromantic oath? Ian had only done what was necessary to ensure the desired outcome, but he didn¡¯t find pleasure in commanding Clara¡¯s behavior. More than anything, he felt annoyance that he had to control her so directly. Why had he needed to intervene in the first place? He wished she would have acted under her own authority to ensure the success of their plan. She didn¡¯t have a Regret practitioner to guide her, Maria mentally reminded him. In her explanation, she rather deliberately pointed out that her saying anything at all was unexpected. Had she really planned to stay silent during such an important discussion? We can¡¯t know for certain, Maria replied, though Ian could sense her agreement. Clara wasn¡¯t a politician. She was a scientist and a regular. In the spaces where she held real authority, she wielded it. The assembly chamber was no such place. I¡¯m not convinced she¡¯s fully invested in our goals, even after telling her everything, Ian thought. We still need to use her now that she¡¯ll be directly interfacing with Achemiss. But after¡­ She¡¯s a liability, Maria finished, her mood somber. ¡°So,¡± Euryphel continued, his expression aloof, ¡°how are you supposed to help ¡®Ascendant Dunai¡¯?¡± ¡°He is supposed to reach out to me,¡± she said, her words slow and uncertain. ¡°He will contact me tomorrow to arrange the details. When we eventually meet through the same method of transmission as in the assembly chamber, I will provide the false Dunai information on the promised five rifts. These will be classified rifts, unknown to the public.¡± ¡°How does he trust that Sere won¡¯t keep a record of them?¡± Clara sighed. ¡°When we made the original agreement, we had to give him repeated assurances about the nature of our system. All who handle the classified rifts sign life-death oaths that prevent them from ever speaking about them. Only within the specific offices where the rift managers work are the oaths suspended. And when a rift is removed from the classified rift database, all traces of its existence are wiped from the minds of the workers.¡± Maria hummed her understanding. ¡°But what about those at the highest levels of power? Don¡¯t they have access to knowledge regarding the rifts?¡± ¡°Normally, yes¨Cthey are excluded from the mind wipes. As part of our agreement with Achemiss, however, everyone was forced to sign oaths to forget, and to ensure that anyone that they knew with compromising knowledge be forced to undergo the same oath.¡± ¡°How did he trust that you all actually did so? He¡¯s not an End practitioner.¡± Clara shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Ian, Maria, and Euryphel shared a look. ¡°You will be able to inform us about the rifts, correct?¡± ¡°As long as you can subvert the oath I¡¯m sure to take, yes. Or if you don¡¯t care that I die.¡± Clara chuckled humorlessly. ¡°But you¡¯d need to be careful¨Cas soon as I know that you have learned of the rifts, I¡¯ll die since I intentionally worked to divulge the information. Achemiss will then know the rifts are compromised and won¡¯t use them, and you¡¯ll have lost your insider.¡± ¡°We will subvert the oath,¡± Ian assured her. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Or rather, he¡¯d send someone to break it. If they didn¡¯t want the oath to kill Clara eventually, it would need to be destroyed. And to avoid notice, it would also need to be reconstructed. It was a daunting task. And it would need to be done in person, as close to the meeting time with Achemiss as possible. They would need to destroy the oath right before Clara met him and reinstate it as soon as he left. She would still have her memory wiped, of course, but this arrangement would allow for Clara to show the locations of the rifts when she knew others not beholden to the oaths were listening. Maria, Ian thought, can you handle this? Her firm fingers squeezing his was the answer. ¡°Tell us about the classified subject,¡± Ian demanded. Ever since he had seen Achemiss request the so-called ¡®classified subject¡¯ in Euryphel¡¯s memories of the assembly, a seed of dread had grown in his stomach. ¡°This is one of the subjects that I cannot speak about out loud, even when no people are present,¡± Clara said. ¡°You¡¯d need to subvert my oath.¡± Ian frowned. ¡°Can you say anything about why Achemiss might be interested in the classified subject?¡± Clara just shook her head. ¡°Just know that I will meet Achemiss in the compound where the classified subject is held. He wants proof that we actually have it.¡± Ian exhaled slowly. He felt the necromantic oath from where it sat on his wrist, tethered to the bone bracelet. He could use the necromantic oath to control Clara, to compel her to speak¨Cbut that worked alongside existing oaths. He had never successfully disabled an existing End oath with necromancy. That was why Maria was so key. She was their ultimate oath breaker. ¡°Never mind then,¡± Ian said, ¡°we¡¯ll find out later.¡± ¡ª Maria was surprised that Euryphel was so agreeable about the ¡°send Maria into danger¡± plan. It¡¯s because it keeps Ian safe in Ichormai, by his side, she mused, looking between the former prince and her necromancer. ¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised,¡± the Crowned Executor said, giving her an eye roll. ¡°You¡¯re immortal so long as your phylactery isn¡¯t destroyed, right?¡± He looked to Ian, who still sat in the same chair as he had been half the day. Ian hadn¡¯t even stood up to stretch after Clara¡¯s dismissal. Ian nodded. ¡°The only danger is discovery,¡± Euryphel continued. ¡°You need to get into the Sere Consortium and we know for a fact that they screen for necromancy on the borders. Ian was able to bring you in as an artifact when visiting Clara, but such a plan becomes complicated when you¡¯re going alone. Then, you¡¯ll need to travel to where Clara is meeting Achemiss. She wasn¡¯t able to tell us where that was, but she said that if we use the transmission artifact tomorrow morning, we should be able to listen in on a meeting where the location will be discussed. You should already be in Sere by then.¡± ¡°Do you have a plan to send me over the border?¡± Euryphel grinned and turned to Ian. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for Maria to meet your mentor.¡± Ian coughed lightly. ¡°She already has. But I agree¨Cit will be indispensable for Maria to learn how to hide herself from detection. Sneaking her past the border is more than feasible, but we can¡¯t assume Sere will only hunt for necromancers there.¡± ¡°Also worth considering is that Sere is expecting the presence of a powerful necromancer. They¡¯re going to be wary of his actions, even if he¡¯s only sending an avatar in his stead.¡± Ian knew Maria had a point. Sere knew that the real Ian Dunai could control armies of constructs. If Dunai supposedly didn¡¯t like the rifts Sere offered, or he found issue with the classified subject, what would stop him from rampaging with an undead army? Nothing¨Cunless Sere put emergency defenses against necromancy in place. Ian just hoped Soolemar¡¯s wisdom would be enough to conceal his lich. ¡ª Before calling Soolemar, Maria and Euryphel clinked glasses of wine on a balcony within the palace. Maria¡¯s face was obscured by a wide-brimmed hat, and she wasn¡¯t overly worried about discovery. The balcony overlooked the grassy fields of the inner palace, populated predominately by members of the former SPU¡¯s nobility. She swirled it, the motion smooth and well-practiced. When she inhaled, though, it wasn¡¯t the same. Drawing the glass to her lips, she took a sip, tasting nothing. She stymied her disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s been too long since we met in person,¡± Euryphel said quietly. ¡°Years.¡± ¡°Too long since we talked at all,¡± Maria noted. ¡°How are you doing?¡± He shrugged one shoulder. ¡°For one, recovering. Healing from Ari¡¯s strike was slow in the beginning, but it¡¯s been a lot faster recently.¡± The words lingered in the air. ¡°It¡¯s him, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Healing you?¡± Euryphel inclined his head. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Maria answered, ¡°but I would believe it. If Ascendant Ari used ascendant energy to strike you¡­ it stands to reason that only another ascendant could fully heal the wounds.¡± Euryphel¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°How do you not know?¡± ¡°We like our privacy,¡± Maria replied. ¡°Emotions are more likely to slip through, but passing whole thoughts requires intention. Ian never told me that he was healing you.¡± Silence descended. Maria decided to bring up the one topic that Euryphel probably wanted to never discuss. ¡°How are you feeling about Ian?¡± His smile became bitter. ¡°I¡¯m proud of him. By becoming an ancient, he¡¯s potentially achieved more than anyone who¡¯s ever lived on this world. Sometimes it¡¯s easier to not think about that when interacting with him.¡± Maria gave him a dissatisfied look. ¡°Is that all? Such a bland response from my favorite cousin.¡± Euryphel snorted. ¡°With all due respect, cousin, must I discuss my feelings with you, when you¡¯re with him?¡± Maria certainly wasn¡¯t ignorant of that fact. ¡°No other knows both of you as well as me. I ask because I care.¡± Euryphel raised an eyebrow. ¡°I have someone to talk to. A professional.¡± ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know Ian.¡± The former prince sighed and leaned back in his seat, his pale hair stark against the navy cushion. ¡°What is there that needs saying?¡± Maria crossed her leg. ¡°Ian doesn¡¯t experience relationships as I believe that we do.¡± Euryphel¡¯s gaze flickered to hers, but he didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can expect to change how he feels. But I don¡¯t think that was ever your goal, was it? I know how unkind you can be to yourself. Rejection is but another misfortune to decorate your mantle.¡± She sighed. ¡°Apologies¨Cthat was antagonistic. I mean to give you advice.¡± ¡°Then give it.¡± Maria took another tasteless sip of wine as she considered her words. Around Euryphel, Ian¡¯s entire demeanor shifted. He smiled more, laughed constantly. It was as though he were a teenager, one unburdened by a bad childhood. Euryphel was much the same way. The two just clicked. They meshed better than most¨Cmaybe all¨Ccouples that Maria had ever met. She empathized with Euryphel¡¯s desires and unfulfilled expectations. He wanted a typical romantic relationship. Ian simply couldn¡¯t give that to him. Maria knew that Ian didn¡¯t feel any spark of physical attraction. She reached up to her diadem, disabling it. Her skin turned pallid, her eyes glowed, and her mind became a colder place. ¡°I¡¯ve had time to think about love after dying,¡± she said, studying the Crowned Executor¡¯s reaction. She¡¯d never triggered the transformation in front of him, and the transition from living to dead was admittedly disconcerting. But Euryphel revealed no outward reaction, maintaining perfect control. ¡°In the beginning, I feared that losing my emotions¨Cfor they were even weaker back then¨Cprevented me from loving my son. As a lich, I simply didn¡¯t feel the same way. After the change, my incessant worry faded to a general curiosity. It was as though my own son had been reduced to the same status as a good friend. ¡°But my situation forced me to realize that there¡¯s more to relationships than the emotions our hormones stir within us. Love isn¡¯t just a chemical. With or without this crown, I love Ian. You can love a person, appreciate them, want to spend your time with them, if you can. That¡¯s how I feel.¡± Her lips pressed together. ¡°It¡¯s what I see in the two of you.¡± ¡°What you describe could easily be friendship,¡± Euryphel argued. ¡°It could.¡± Euryphel swirled his wine, the red hue melding with the dark shadows of twilight. ¡°I still haven¡¯t heard any advice. Just statements, observations.¡± Maria set down the cup. ¡°Don¡¯t try to put your relationship with Ian in a box. What you both have is unique.¡± She thought of the statue that Euryphel had commissioned of Ian in the outer palace¡¯s gardens, a statue that specifically celebrated the concept of brotherhood. The word was inadequate. ¡°You¡¯re his girlfriend¨Cshouldn¡¯t you be telling me to get lost?¡± ¡°Get lost.¡± She playfully kicked his leg. ¡°Do you have advice for me?¡± ¡°Based partially on what you said, don¡¯t alienate Zilverna because you¡¯re afraid you can¡¯t love him as a mother. Your interactions with him the other day were cold.¡± ¡°Easier said than done. For both of us.¡± It was time she paid Zilverna a visit. But first, she had a necromancer to talk to. 356. Walk Your Own Path ¡°It¡¯s your call,¡± Ian said, holding out the transmission artifact. Rolling her eyes, Maria snagged it and motioned for the blade of revelation. Ian tossed it over haphazardly, forcing the lich to step forward to grab the hilt. ¡°That will never get old,¡± he said, smirking. She¡¯d seen his gaze on others she¡¯d trained with in the past. It was an appreciation for her physical form that, from anyone else, would be unacceptable. When coming from Ian, though, it was oddly hilarious. Almost out of character. ¡°You¡¯re a child.¡± She channeled ascendant energy into the blade, then slid its edge across the transmission artifact, transforming it. It didn¡¯t look much different. Maria thumbed the activation button, but didn¡¯t press it. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ nervous?¡± Ian cocked his head. Maria flinched. He certainly hadn¡¯t read the emotion through their bond; she had a tight lock on what she shared. It must have been Beginning helping him to read her body language. She wasn¡¯t angry that Ian saw through her, but she was a private person, especially when it came to matters related to her¡­ condition. You could love someone and still not want them to know everything you were feeling, if as much for your own sanity as theirs. Maria had been a lich for over five years, now¨Cat least from her perspective. While she had grown used to her new state of existence, Cayeun Suncloud¡¯s azure diadem was like a security blanket, a way for her to slip on a mask of humanity. She admittedly hadn¡¯t explored much of her lich side while in Eternity. Most of her efforts had gone toward furthering her mastery over her affinities and perfecting her use of ascendant energy. She treated herself like an ascendant, albeit one who spawned close to her phylactery when she died, rather than returning to where she¡¯d been minutes before, as was the case with true ascendants. Ian had always treated Maria like a living person as well. Probably to assuage his own guilt over turning her into an undead. But Maria couldn¡¯t deny that she was wasting her potential by not fully embracing her powers as a lich. She wasn¡¯t human, and along with that came inconveniences, like being unable to taste and having muted emotions, but also strengths, like not dying¨Cand presumably, many more. ¡°Not nervous, exactly,¡± Maria said, ¡°there¡¯s some anticipation mixed in.¡± The next moment, Ian was out of his seat, his arms around her. She eased into his chest. ¡°I want you to be strong,¡± he said, his voice tickling her ears. ¡°Soolemar is as old as Achemiss, a true master, no weaker for not having ascended. If anything, staying here has forced him to focus solely on his own abilities, rather than on harnessing the borrowed power of Eternity.¡± Maria hummed to show she was listening. ¡°There was no lich from you to learn from in Eternity, and all I had were the memories of Floria. Even here, there is no lich. Soolemar is¡­ something else. If I¡¯m being honest, something better, if your metric is how closely he¡¯s able to pass as a human.¡± Maria could feel the sting of that statement in the way he held her, his arms tightening slightly. Of course Ian blamed himself for making her into an inferior creature, rather than congratulating himself for bringing her back from death itself. She clicked the button, her head already tilted to look behind him. Soolemar sat, his back arched unhealthily, clearly in the middle of inspecting something small, his two hands held up together. He didn¡¯t so much as blink before saying, ¡°I was in the middle of something.¡± Ian smirked, his body twisting against Maria¡¯s to see Soolemar. ¡°Was it more important than your favorite pupil?¡± He barked a laugh and stood up, brushing off his pants. ¡°No. I was trying to put a treat into Divian¡¯s puzzle chew toy.¡± The reason was¡­ ridiculous. And also believable¨CSoolemar doted on his silver-furred hound. Maria released a small chuckle, which brought Soolemar¡¯s attention to her¨Cand the fact that she was the one holding the transmission artifact. ¡°How can I help?¡± he asked, looking from her, to Ian, and back, his green eyes filled with mild uncertainty. ¡°I need to learn how to better conceal myself from those who might seek to hunt me,¡± Maria said, her voice crisp. ¡°Specifically, from the eyes of Sere while within its borders.¡± Soolemar frowned. ¡°Where are you both now?¡± ¡°A secured conference room beneath Ichormai,¡± Ian answered. ¡°As secure a place as is available to us.¡± The old necromancer exhaled. ¡°My concern is that teaching you from here won¡¯t reap results. I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s possible for you to do as I say, and even then, my methods aren¡¯t foolproof. When I entered Sere a bit over a month ago, I treaded very carefully.¡± Maria felt a bit discouraged, but didn¡¯t let it show. ¡°Anything will help.¡± ¡°The first step,¡± Soolemar said, walking around to properly settle into a chair across from them, ¡°is detecting where they¡¯re searching for necromancy. You should be able to if you look for it¨Cit¡¯ll be done with End arrays. If you¡¯re stuck within a hovergloss car on a cross-country line, for instance, you won¡¯t be able to see them, and you¡¯ll run right through. A normal necromancer would simply control constructs to keep an eye out from the exterior of the hovergloss, but you¡¯re more limited in this aspect.¡± ¡°So no high speed public transportation when I¡¯m alone¨Ca reasonable restriction, though somewhat obvious.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Soolemar continued. ¡°You should travel as much as possible by foot, in areas with less dense concentrations of people. And when you see the detection arrays, you should disarm them with your End. It¡¯s a capability I¡¯m jealous of.¡± ¡°And what about when I can¡¯t disarm such arrays?¡± she asked. ¡°What if they¡¯re set underground, as many important arrays are?¡± ¡°You find a way to reach them, or you go around.¡± ¡°And if neither is an option?¡± Ian cleared his throat. ¡°Soolemar, Maria may need to access, or at least approach, a heavily guarded location, one with provisions put in place specifically for necromancers and their minions. We¡¯re asking you for advice to execute such a mission without being discovered.¡± Soolemar froze. ¡°Ah.¡± His eyes glinted with understanding. ¡°You¡¯re not here for intelligence on Sere, but something more fundamental.¡± ¡°There are ways you hide yourself,¡± Ian said, ¡°ways that aren¡¯t just related to your practice. My hope is that Maria might learn them from you.¡± He glanced at his partner. ¡°Maria should be telling you all of this herself¨CI¡¯ll excuse myself.¡± He squeezed her hand, then separated from her and walked out the door. ¡°Rather abrupt,¡± Soolemar muttered softly. It was true, but Maria understood why Ian had left. It had been out of privacy. Because ultimately, at her core¡­ Maria found this entire situation and conversation¨Cat least where she expected it to go¨Cembarrassing. But she tempered that with her anticipation. From what Ian had told her, Soolemar had never divulged the secrets of his body to anyone before. From his contemplative expression, it seemed he was entertaining the notion. Maybe that¡¯s also why Ian left, Maria thought. He isn¡¯t ready to inherit such knowledge from the old necromancer¨Cyet. Or at least Soolemar hasn¡¯t freely offered that knowledge up as an inheritance of sorts. But in my case, there is a pressing need, and I already am what I am. I¡¯m not a necromancer. Whatever he teaches me will only help me to better use my own power, versus in Ian¡¯s case, allow him to create potentially unparalleled necromantic constructs. Though she knew that Soolemar simply didn¡¯t create powerful necromantic constructs¡­ at least not now. He certainly didn¡¯t have a lich at his beck and call. The necromancer peered at her calmly. ¡°How much has Ian taught you about controlling your own body?¡± Maria reached up and deactivated Suncloud¡¯s circlet. She felt the change wash over her, muting her senses and emotions. Soolemar had seen her change before when they¡¯d visited his cave in Gnoste. ¡°He hasn¡¯t taught me anything. When I die, I respawn automatically. There¡¯s not much to it.¡± He tapped his lower jaw. ¡°I forget at times how little he really knows. It¡¯s easy to forget when he successfully turns someone into a lich without external guidance on the first attempt¡­¡± He trailed off. ¡°He¡¯s probably told you already that I¡¯m not a lich.¡± She inclined her head. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not quite true. The easiest way to describe what I am is an evolved lich¨Csomething greater but built on the same principles. A fundamental difference is that I formed my phylactery within my own living body. It was an attempt to do something new, radical¨Cpart of an insight that led me to the pinnacle, while also barring my way to Eternity. ¡°Knowing the method of my creation won¡¯t help you. But if we can focus on the differences between you and me, we might get somewhere. Again, I¡¯ll start with the phylactery. It is what binds you to the world, calling you to manifest when your physical shell is destroyed. ¡°Sere¡¯s methods to detect necromancy looks for a few different signs¨CDeath energy, though that only filters for those with a Death affinity, of which there are many. Necromancers are extremely rare among them, and even then, most are fledglings, self-taught and without soul sight. So they must look for other indicators. Care to guess?¡± ¡°Connections between necromancers and their constructs?¡± ¡°Yes. Most necromancers aren¡¯t skilled enough to even maintain connections to their constructs across long distances, and wouldn¡¯t dare venture into public¨Cor travel¨Cwith a necromantic construct near them. Only the most powerful and skilled would dare. People like me and Ian.¡± ¡°The exact kind of person Sere is looking for,¡± Maria realized, ¡°and the only kind of necromancer who would pose a threat.¡± ¡°As an added bonus, such detection arrays would also quantify the number of connections sustained by a necromancer,¡± Soolemar said. Maria drummed her fingers on the table. ¡°So, if I go into Sere, and run into these arrays, my connection to Ian will set them off?¡± He shook his head, his green eyes serious. ¡°That¨Cand your connection to your phylactery.¡± He sighed. ¡°I avoid both of these problems courtesy of being my own creator and situating the phylactery at the core of my being.¡± Maria scowled. ¡°Then there is no hope for me to avoid notice should I need to enter an area encircled by inaccessible detection arrays?¡± Soolemar held up two fingers. ¡°I assume you can mute your connection with Ian. That alone wouldn¡¯t be sufficient, but if you tell him you need the connection between you to be undetectable, I¡¯m sure he could find a way to make it happen.¡± ¡°Do you already have such a method?¡± Maria asked. He scoffed. ¡°No. But it¡¯s Ian, and both of you have ascendant energy.¡± He lowered a finger, leaving only one up. ¡°As for the phylactery issue¡­ if you keep it on your person, you should be able to fool detection arrays.¡± Maria shook her head slowly. That was the worst possible news. The entire point of sending her was that she wouldn¡¯t be in true danger¨Cshe could always just resurrect through the distant phylactery. It was also her extraction strategy. ¡°And if that¡¯s not possible?¡± Soolemar grinned. ¡°Well, you give up on not being detected, unless, of course, you can sabotage the arrays. But being detected isn¡¯t the end of the world. Just make sure you have a means to kill yourself to avoid capture, and ideally a method that will kill you even if you¡¯re incapacitated.¡± The necromancer paused. ¡°There¡¯s a way to take advantage of every situation, Maria¨Cnever forget this. If it¡¯s inevitable that you¡¯ll be detected, then plan for it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand the full context around what you¡¯re doing. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re going into Sere to a facility that¡¯s supposedly heavily guarded. But I can guess it has something to do with Achemiss. You don¡¯t need to confirm or deny that,¡± he said, putting up a hand, ¡°but. If it is related to Achemiss¡­ my old friend certainly won¡¯t go anywhere in person. Pretend to be one of his constructs. His lich.¡± Maria leaned back in her seat. If Sere thought she was one of Achemiss¡¯s constructs, they wouldn¡¯t act against her unless she took hostile action against the consortium. ¡°Will they be able to locate where my phylactery is with their arrays?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Soolemar said. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to tell that when you get there. You¡¯re the one with the End affinity.¡± ¡°Thanks for sharing the secrets of your undetectability, Mar,¡± she said, sighing, ¡°even if there¡¯s no easy solution for a ¡®less evolved¡¯ lich like me.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Never forget, Maria¨Cyou¡¯re not just a lich. You¡¯re an ascendant lich. I just told you what I know about Sere¡¯s arrays and means of detecting necromancy. Walk your own path.¡± She smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve been walking my own path for most of my life, but it¡¯s a good reminder.¡± His green eyes crinkled at the corners. ¡°Good luck, Eldemari.¡± 357. Choosing Him Zilverna was alone in his room, sprawled on a chair, his arms wide and draping toward the ground. A thick blanket lay over him. He was in his own room, his original room. Maria frowned. He should have taken my chambers once I was gone, she thought. It¡¯s where I stayed, and before me, my mother. His room was tasteful but sumptuous, full of soft fabrics and plush furniture. The bed was an oversized monstrosity that was so soft Zilverna practically disappeared into it when he slept. The chair he lay on now was no exception. It was a recliner with thick, padded cushions that provided support, and even had a massage feature that could be controlled using an array interface inset into the side of the armrest. Maria knew she should go in, rather than skulking outside the window. Zilverna had to know she was there. They could sense each other through their shared fate. But rather than doing anything, he just remained still, not even bothering to get up and unlock the window. Lips pressing into a line of displeasure, she pressed her fingers into the space between the window and the wall, sending ascendant energy into her nails. She slit the mechanism, breaking both the physical lock and temporarily suspending the defensive End array. She pulled the window open and slunk inside, her footfalls silent. If she had a heart, she thought it might be hammering in her chest. Still, with Suncloud¡¯s diadem active, she felt slightly lightheaded, unsteady. Nerves bloomed in her chest. She was almost surprised at the steadiness of her hands. ¡°You look like an assassin,¡± Zilverna said matter-of-factly, his eyes still glued to the ceiling. ¡°Act like an assassin.¡± Maria smiled despite herself. It was a very Zilverna way to start the conversation. ¡°You could have let me in,¡± she said. Zilverna propped himself up. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting guests. I would ask how you managed to sneak past every guard in the Cuna, but the answer is irrelevant. Nobody knows this place as well as you do.¡± Maria could think of a few such individuals off the top of her head, including Zilverna himself, but held her tongue. She could tell he wasn¡¯t finished speaking. ¡°Am I allowed?¡± he finally said. ¡°Allowed to what?¡± His words were filled with an odd sort of¡­ almost desperation, and bitterness. ¡°Look at you.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± she replied, stepping further into the room. His eyes snapped to hers, his expression the opposite of cold, though devoid of warmth. It was afraid. Angry. Lost. ¡°You died,¡± he said softly. He brought up a hand to cover the lower half of his face. His eyes were red. ¡°You died.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± She walked to him, grabbed his hand, lowered it from his face, revealing his trembling jaw. ¡°Zilverna. We¡¯ve already spent hours in a room together. You know it¡¯s still me.¡± ¡°Mom¨Cthat¡¯s not the point. He killed you and turned you into his minion, or something! You literally follow his commands and even pretend to love him! Don¡¯t you see that you¡¯re brainwashed?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that really what you think?¡± He wilted. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just¡­ don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°You know why I¡¯m working with him,¡± Maria said, careful to avoid mentioning Ian¡¯s name. She was glad that Zilverna had also employed the same caution. ¡°You know why we returned. It¡¯s important. And you¡¯re involved, too.¡± He made a face. ¡°I¡¯m still not so sure this is going to work out. It¡¯s like he¡¯s brainwashed all of you.¡± Maria almost asked, ¡®who else¡¯, but the answer was fairly obvious. ¡°Why, you don¡¯t believe him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe him, but I think you all trust what he says a little too much,¡± he said, pinching his fingers together. Maria had to roll her eyes. ¡°Zilverna. You don¡¯t have to treat him like a father, and he doesn¡¯t see you that way. But we¡¯re together. It¡¯s not mind control. It¡¯s genuine.¡± ¡°But how do you even know? Mom, if he¡¯s hurt you¨C¡± ¡°Even if he had done the worst things imaginable to me, you know what you should do?¡± ¡°Utterly destroy¨C¡± ¡°No. I know you aren¡¯t a stupid boy, even if you¡¯re a stubborn, prideful one. When it¡¯s someone like him, you are powerless unless you get lucky, and you know how I feel about relying on luck. Even if he had murdered me¨Che didn¡¯t¨CI would¡¯ve been deeply disappointed if you threw your life away trying to attack him. You know better than most how he outclasses you¨Cand that was before.¡± Zilverna grit his teeth. An inferno smoldered in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he launched himself at her, pulling her into what might be the tightest hug she¡¯d ever felt. There was something poignant and at once horrifying about being held by her grown son, feeling his worry. It was the final, complete reversal of roles between parent and child. ¡°I held your funeral,¡± he said, voice cracking. She felt his tears on her shoulder. ¡°I thought I¡¯d never see you again.¡± ¡°Are you¡­¡± She struggled for words. ¡°Disappointed?¡± ¡°What? No¨CI¡¯m so relieved.¡± He inhaled a deep, shaky breath. ¡°When I saw you in¡­ you know where, I nearly had a breakdown. I had some inkling it was going to happen, but my brain knowing that didn¡¯t seem to matter. Actually seeing you for the first time¡­ it was as though my very soul was finally able to exhale after holding its breath for months.¡± ¡°Did it actually feel like that in the moment?¡± He laughed roughly. ¡°Y¡¯jeni, no. But later, when I was alone, I felt it. A lightness. A burden unloaded. Freedom.¡± ¡°Freedom?¡± ¡°Regret can shackle a man,¡± Zilverna observed. ¡°I regret a lot when it comes to you.¡± He disengaged and gave her a serious look. ¡°I was impossible. Ungrateful. Spoiled. Entitled.¡± A smile tugged at her lips. ¡°And now you¡¯re a perfect Zilverna?¡± ¡°No. But I¡¯m at least an aware Zilverna. A version of me that will never, ever again take you for granted.¡± He stared at her like he was trying to bore holes with his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll leave, eventually. Right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± she responded. ¡°This world isn¡¯t meant for people like him. Like me.¡± ¡°Just how strong are you even?¡± Maria chuckled, glancing at the window. ¡°I¡¯d show you, but wait, I don¡¯t have control of the Cuna¡¯s Mountain arrays and can¡¯t create a convenient corridor to a private training room.¡± She sighed dramatically. ¡°Oh well.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Zilverna made an exaggerated expression of outrage, then rolled his eyes. ¡°Very funny.¡± Silence descended for a moment. ¡°Well?¡± Maria prompted. He just looked at her. ¡°Can I see what you really look like?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not show you,¡± she said. ¡°Why?¡± She didn¡¯t have a good answer for him. He crossed his arms. ¡°I will never stop loving you. You know that, right? To me, you¡¯ve always been the coolest parent alive, even if you tried to exclude me to keep me safe. You know, I always acted like a brat, but I understood. I always understood. I just didn¡¯t like it. You babying me. But now I get it. I feel the same way about you. Now that I have you here, I never want to let you go. I¡¯m worried you won¡¯t return to me. Worried you¡¯d choose him over your son.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about choosing him,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve outgrown this world. Forcibly, but the results are undeniable. This isn¡¯t the right place for me anymore. It isn¡¯t the right place for him, either.¡± ¡°Am I going to see you again?¡± he said sharply. ¡°After all this is over, after you¡¯d saved the fucking world, am I going to see you again?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this in the training room,¡± she said, deflecting. ¡°We can go to my favorite¨C¡° ¡°Mom! Don¡¯t ignore me!¡± His tears were flowing again, his knuckles clenched. ¡°How can you just¡­ leave? Don¡¯t you miss me like I miss you?¡± His words felt like a sword through her chest. She knew the answer. She really didn¡¯t miss him the same way after dying. Before, she¡¯d been consumed by the need to see Zilverna. She remembered how she¡¯d felt. A mother¡¯s desperation to see her abandoned son. Now, she still loved him, but didn¡¯t feel the need to be physically close. Knowing he was fine was enough. He had his own life to live, one that didn¡¯t need to involve an ascendant lich stirring up trouble. ¡°Can you at least, I don¡¯t know, visit sometimes?¡± he said, his voice fragile, pleading. Begging her to give the answer she couldn¡¯t give. She couldn¡¯t promise anything. ¡°I can figure something out.¡± ¡°Can, or will?¡± Her own words, used so often against him, thrown back in her face. She let a bit of steel enter her voice. ¡°Can.¡± He sneered. ¡°Why are you even here, then, with your disappointment?¡± When Zilverna was angry, he often resorted to ridiculous arguments, blaming outcomes he disliked on unrelated insecurities. It was childish and irrational. But when he was like this, Maria knew it was difficult to get through to him. He needed space. She¡¯d hoped this more official reunion would be more pleasant, but she¡¯d come in expecting the worst. She couldn¡¯t even say she was disappointed. ¡°I think it¡¯s best I go.¡± He looked at her, nostrils flaring, looking like he at once wanted to punch her and cry on her shoulder again. Instead, he turned around, averting his gaze. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°I love you, too,¡± he said with a huff. But at least he said it. She¡¯d try getting through to him again¨Clater. When everything calmed down. ¡ª Maria wore comfortable black clothing with Light arrays woven into the fabric, allowing her to change the pattern on the fly. It provided a modest level of camouflage while she traveled. With her End affinity she¡¯d be able to suppress the arrays if needed, such as if she passed through a secure zone that scanned for the presence of potentially hostile arrays. Illusion arrays that were small, adorning expensive jewelry or other luxury goods, would be fine, but wearing an entire set of clothes with the arrays would set off warning bells. Typically, only elite special operatives would wear such clothing¨Cthe cost was prohibitive. She stood at a remote section on the border of the Federation and Sere, perched on the edge of an overlook around Mount Honorus. She felt no cold from the chill of the altitude and the wintry gusts. That was definitely one perk of being undead she appreciated. I¡¯m here, Maria transmitted to Ian. I see the arrays on the border. They¡¯re out of reach underground. Will that be a problem? he responded. I have a workaround, she replied. I have more freedom to act in an area this remote. She could sense his grin over their bond. I wish I could see what you come up with. Alas¨Cthis is it. I¡¯m going to mute the bond between us. She nodded to herself, even knowing that he wouldn¡¯t see it. True to Soolemar¡¯s predictions, Ian had figured out a way to temporarily silence the bond between them. They¡¯d been naturally making progress in that direction over the years, but with Maria¡¯s life on the line and their plans in jeopardy, Ian was able to make the leap to fully suppressing the bond. He really did work best under pressure. Go ahead, she said, I¡¯ll be back before you know it. Don¡¯t you trust me? Warmth surged over the connection, filling her cold, still chest with a facsimile of life. More than I trust myself. And then the connection dimmed, as though pinched, the corridor that their thoughts traveled along rendered impassible. Alone, Maria looked out at the majestic landscape. The dry, ice-capped mountains, and below, the flat, rugged expanse of Sere. It would be a long journey, but she¡¯d move quickly, relying mostly on her ascendant energy. It was less flashy than propelling herself forward on blasts of fire. The End arrays on the border were simple in their construction, likely because they needed to cover such a wide area¨Cthe entire border¡¯s length. That didn¡¯t mean they were ineffective or inefficient. Their purpose was obvious, unhidden to other skilled practitioners, and straightforward. While some arrays had defensive measures built into them to prevent tampering, this array relied on physical defenses¨Cbeing deep underground, with detection arrays in place to monitor anyone digging into the earth nearby. One function of the border array was to detect different types of energy, including Death energy, as Soolemar had cautioned. All things had Death energy within them¨CMaria could see it directly as a lich¨Cso the array needed to be a bit clever about what it looked for, or it would be inundated with false positives. It seemed to be looking for movement of Death energy in certain ways, such as how it naturally flowed through the body of a construct or through the body of a decemancer. Maria pulled an orb from the void storage at her hip. It shone a white-green, with verdant motes drifting off of it like glowing snowflakes. She¡¯d brought it as a possible contingency, but doubted it would work here. An explosion of Life energy would greatly obscure her own energy signature, but she wasn¡¯t sure it would be enough to hide it completely. She couldn¡¯t afford a mistake. Sighing, she stashed the orb and jumped. It would¡¯ve been too easy to leave a crater from the force, but that would¡¯ve run contrary to her goals of not leaving traces. Instead, she used her ascendant energy to empower her Sun affinity, producing a powerful heat differential underneath her body. She whipped out a thin parachute also made from fabric inscribed with End arrays. The hot air rushed into it and Maria soared upwards. Maria climbed like a balloon, her eyes scrutinizing the array, looking for weak points and finding none. But she knew that it would have limits. The array would stop detecting energy at a certain altitude. Likely higher than hoverglosses and other self-propelled vehicles could go, since it would be a serious vulnerability if they could fly over the border and avoid detection. She didn¡¯t fully understand what prevented them from working so far above the surface, but figured it was related to the change in gravitational force. Even with all her experience flying, Maria felt vertigo as she rose above the earth. It reminded her of the experience freefalling from outer space onto the planet, avoiding powerful artillery. This was much more peaceful. She was alone as she passed through the clouds, unbothered by the wet vapor, the hot air drying her clothes as it kept her on course against the tugging of the wind. She¡¯d never been able to accomplish such a feat without her high Sun affinity and ascendant energy. Creating enough heated air to float up the first few thousand feet or so would¡¯ve been possible with a high Sun affinity alone, though it would¡¯ve been a struggle. But the trick to ascending through a thinning atmosphere was to make increasingly hotter temperatures. Doing so without actually creating a physical flame was nearly impossible, but necessary to avoid attention¨Ca superheated aerial object would invite scrutiny for being too similar to certain types of artillery that used rockets for propulsion. But ascendant energy allowed her to make her heated air hotter than should be possible without combusting. It was a relatively cloudless day, so she could see the terrain as she ascended, its features growing progressively smaller. She didn¡¯t need to worry about lack of oxygen or exposure to harsh solar rays. Ian¡¯s right¨CI really could just exist in outer space, returning to the surface to mete out judgment, if all else fails and I need to remain here as a sentinel to prevent the Infinity Loop technology from being used. She shuddered. Just because it was technically possible didn¡¯t make it palatable. Such an existence would drive her insane. Finally, she saw the end of the detection arrays. They extended further into the atmosphere than she would have guessed¨Cover twenty thousand feet. She¡¯d lost track of how high she was and hadn¡¯t thought to bring an altimeter. She floated across the border to Sere. Why couldn¡¯t I just¡­ keep going? she wondered, peering down at the endless sand dunes. She¡¯d originally planned to run quickly across the landscape, but this high up, she could just float across it with directionally heated currents of air. The only question was, how fast could she propel herself? The answer: fast enough. 358. The Compound From high above the surface, End arrows between people became almost completely indistinct, though masses of them in one place¨Csuch as cities¨Cwere visible. The arrows between Maria and people below¨Csuch as Ian¨Cextended beyond sight, though they served as a rough compass, allowing her to instinctively orient herself to fly deeper into Sere. She had a ruggedized glossY outfitted with a map and compass, and it even tracked her rough location and showed it on the map. Still, she¡¯d only checked it twice since the elevated vantage point made it easy to tell where she was. In Eternity, she¡¯d lamented all the supposedly-useless knowledge she¡¯d never put to use. Part of her upbringing had required her to memorize maps¨Cand not just maps of political lines, but topography. East, west, north, south¨Cshe¡¯d committed every part of the globe into her memory, reinforcing her knowledge through necessity, especially for Selejo¡¯s neighbors. She knew she was almost to her destination when the water¡¯s edge filled the horizon. It was the Haethen ocean, spanning westward between Sere¡¯s southern shores to the Adrillon, Kester, and Corneria. She¡¯d only ever seen it a handful of times on diplomatic trips before she became the Eldemari. It was a deep blue, reflecting the perfect, cloudless sky. There weren¡¯t many people on the coast¨Cshe was keeping close to the Kaspari mountains, so the nearby beaches were rocky and precipitous, dangerous for regulars. There were a few coastal towns, but all were west of the mountains, comfortably sheltered in the valley. They had no idea what the Sere Consortium was hiding in the compound that stretched from a primary entrance in the mountains all the way to the island of Pierre¡­ Maria controlled her descent carefully using her Sun affinity to heat the air, filling her parachute. She consulted the projected map of the immediate surroundings and shifted her heading a few degrees, away from the ocean, instead looking down the coastline. Ten minutes later, she saw it¨Ca small lake in an old volcanic basin. As she approached the surface, she watched intently for the first signs of defensive End arrays. Where are they? she wondered, her eyes narrowing. Lower and lower she fell, with no signs of them, not even as she finally alighted on a tall snow-capped peak. There was no one nearby and no arrays¨Chad she been sent to the wrong place? Clara Belvaire had told them that this was where she had the best chance of entering the compound. She had been tempted to try entering through Pierre directly, but Clara had availed her of that possibility, insisting that the island was covered in detection arrays. Maria had still been tempted until Clara said that Achemiss (or whatever form of representation he sent) was coming through the entrance in Kaspari. Clara had been somewhat limited in what she could tell them, even with Ian¡¯s necromantic oaths. She¡¯d only been to the compound a handful of times, and her memories of it were limited, likely removed by oaths or Remorse practitioners. But she knew some details. The subterranean compound was labyrinthine and difficult to traverse, not to mention heavily guarded. Sere was known for its many technological innovations, developed by guilds and corporations within its borders, and the most sensitive projects¨Cespecially those with defense applications¨Cwere siloed in the Kaspari compound. Maria wished she could use quantum channeling to confer with Ian and Euryphel back in Ichormai, but it was incompatible with her unliving physique. If she had Eury in her head, she¡¯d be able to proceed with less caution, assured of her steps. You¡¯ve tangled with old ascendants and come out on top, she reminded herself, and you¡¯re effectively immortal. You¡¯ll be fine. At least with ascendant energy and the camouflaging clothes, she could proceed swiftly down the mountain, reinforcing her body and moving with preternatural grace to avoid leaving traces of her passage. This close, the arrow tying her to Clara Belvaire guided her steps. It was dark blue, cutting across the sky and mountains like a strip of midnight. Finally, she found it. A lake, more like a pond, with dark, deep water, lay at the center of seven peaks. From her vantage point, the peaks looked like a weathered silver crown, the snow blinding in the sunlight. She saw numerous End arrows extending from her into the mountains and lake, confirming the fate she had with people here. It was ominous, seeing fate between herself and unknown individuals in a secretive government compound. But even as she saw the arrows, there were no signs of any arrays. They must be contained to the mountain itself, she thought, frowning. She¡¯d expected the arrays to be buried in the mountain, though for their range of effect to extend past the surface, visible to her fatesight. Then again, if the compound is subterranean, the arrays don¡¯t need to cover the surface. By restricting them to the mountains and the earth, the Sere Consortium hides this location from people like me passing through. I only found it because of Clara¡¯s description. Maria wasn¡¯t exactly surprised, though she was disappointed by the discovery. She¡¯d made ample use of Selejo¡¯s natural geography to create her array networks and buried important parts deep underground. Even Ian and Euryphel had needed to rely on the power of Ascendant Ari to destroy her arrays beneath the Cuna. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. As she circled the seven spires of rock, she considered how best to proceed. Assuming there were, in fact, arrays in the mountains, she wouldn¡¯t be able to disrupt them if she couldn¡¯t get in close. Sure, she could dig a hole in the mountain using her fire elementalism and ascendant energy, but that would attract notice, defeating the purpose. Which brought her back to Soolemar¡¯s advice: plan for the eventuality of being detected. And maybe even masquerade as one of Achemiss¡¯s constructs. She considered her objectives as she mulled over the path forward. Her primary goal was finding Clara. The woman was here¨Cthe End arrow confirmed it¨Cand bound by an oath that would kill her if she knew that she¡¯d successfully helped divulge the locations of the rifts that were promised to Achemiss. It was an insidious kind of oath, subjective to her own perspective and memories. Maria found it distasteful and prone to sabotage from Remorse practitioners. But it was equally as powerful for the same reason. Clara was going to convey the rift locations to Achemiss at this compound, and then they¡¯d be stricken from her memory. For the entire visit, Ian and Euryphel planned to eavesdrop using the transmission artifact. They¡¯d never told Clara that explicitly, but she was a shrewd genius. She knew that Ian had the transmission artifact and that it could be used¨Cin tandem with Euryphel¡¯s scenarios¨Cto spy without leaving traces. So she knew¨Cknew that they¡¯d be listening when she told Achemiss the private rift locations. And in telling Achemiss without alerting others to Ian and Euryphel¡¯s anticipated surveillance, Clara would break her oath, and she¡¯d die. Ian could hold her death at bay with the necromantic oath, but that would only be a temporary measure. Maria would need to destroy the oath and reconstruct it after Clara¡¯s mind was wiped. And she couldn¡¯t wait to do it¨Cother End practitioners would notice that the oath had been triggered by inspecting Clara¡¯s end arrows. Maria knew it was cold, but Clara was only a means to an end¨Cif she needed to die for them to learn this information, so be it. But her death would alert Sere and Achemiss, rendering any knowledge gained useless. The woman¡¯s death had to be avoided at all costs. After learning of the rifts, Maria¡¯s second objective was related to the classified subject. They already knew that Clara couldn¡¯t speak about it beyond the compound. Ian would ideally learn its identity while using the transmission artifact to follow Clara¡¯s movements. Whatever the classified subject was, Achemiss was interested in it. And since Achemiss wouldn¡¯t be coming in person¨Cthat would be unfathomable¨Ca construct would likely be returning with the subject either today, or later. If it was later, Maria wouldn¡¯t have much to do after saving Clara with her End affinity. But if Achemiss¡¯s envoy returned carrying the classified subject today¡­ she could destroy or intercept it. For now, she needed to get close enough to Clara to fulfill her primary objective¨Ckeeping the scientist alive. I¡¯m going to need to enter the compound, aren¡¯t I? It was the reality Maria had feared and expected. Her eyes scanned the mountains, looking for an entrance in the rock. It would need to be at ground level and accessible to hoverglosses for the transport of supplies, but Maria couldn¡¯t find anything. She wondered if her undead eyesight was to blame, her reliance on sensing vitality preventing her from seeing an entrance. Wait, she thought, pausing. A hovergloss could simply fly straight into the caldera, approaching from above and diving into the water. Clara had mentioned the lake surrounded by tall mountains as being the entrance to the compound, but Maria hadn¡¯t considered that the lake might be the literal entrance. But even if there weren¡¯t End arrays or even guards on the surface, Maria knew there were other ways to detect trespassers. She slunk closer to the lowest of the peaks, one cast in the shadow of its neighbor¡­ and nearly stepped on a glosscam buried in the rock, facing out toward the lake and the opposite side of the caldera. Maria was difficult to track with her camouflage vestments and her lifeless physique, but the cams made her hesitant. If she literally stepped on a camera, she¡¯d expose herself on the surveillance system. You¡¯re already committed to exposing yourself, assuming that they¡¯ll take you for one of Achemiss¡¯s constructs, she chided herself. The stealth game is already pointless. Taking a deep breath, Maria descended, jumping from the mountain side and landing with a soft crunch of ice. She fixed her eyes on the lake, its shore only a few feet away. Then, with trepidation, she dived in. ¡ª Clara Belvaire waited in Compound 89, the subterranean research facility and fortress considered too locked down for even the Infinity Loop experiments. At least that¡¯s the excuse they give, she thought, staring at the white, dingy ceiling of her temporary office. It was lit by cold overhead bulbs linked together through an array that ran through the bedrock. The truth was that this place was too remote, lacking easy access to flowing souls. The Infinity Loop worked best in a city. Clara felt numb, sitting and waiting, unsure if she¡¯d survive the next few hours. Her life was in the hands of Dunai and his allies, but if she knew one thing well, it was that powerful practitioners were fallible. She believed that Maria Sezakuin had the ability to save her, but she didn¡¯t trust salvation would actually come. Sure, letting her die would ruin their plans, but that didn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t happen. Suddenly, she found herself yanked from her present reality. As she gasped in surprise, she heard Ian¡¯s voice. ¡°Maria is entering the compound. Vouch for her and let her see your End oath.¡± She spun around, realizing with a start that she was in the same conference room she¡¯d been in before when Ian had called her. The Death practitioner stood next to her, while Euryphel reclined on the table itself, his elbows propped up on a pillow, his stomach pressed to the wood. ¡°Okay,¡± Clara said, unsure how she was supposed to respond. It¡¯s not like no was an answer. Her stomach roiled at what his words implied. Maria had actually come. Maybe the plan would work, despite her jaded assumptions. Ian killed the transmission, snapping Clara back to her real body. Maria is entering the compound, she thought, repeating the necromancer¡¯s words. And I¡¯m supposed to deal with it. Clara rubbed at her forehead. What could go wrong? 359. The Upper Hand The water had a peculiar buoyancy, like a mix between water and air. Maria fell faster than she¡¯d anticipated, cutting through the false liquid like a missile. Soon the bottom of the lake, dark and covered in plants that shone whitish gray in her vital vision, was only a few feet away. She passed right through it, slamming into a dry chamber. She glanced up at the ceiling. The lake. It was as though there was a pane of glass keeping the water away¨Ca bizarre one that permitted fast-moving objects like herself to pass through. The floor and walls of the spotless, stark room had no features. It was as though she were stuck in a prison cell, one large enough to fit several hoverglosses, about ten feet wide by twenty feet long, with a relatively low ceiling. Not so much a prison as quarantine, she realized, rising from her crouch to a poised, straight-backed stance. She¡¯d stashed her azure diadem in her void storage, so she appeared to any onlookers as exactly what she was¨Ca lich. It¡¯s in your hands now, Clara. ¡ª Clara Belvaire¡¯s hands trembled slightly as Maria Sezakuin showed up on one of the glosscams, her body flagged by the surveillance system. The security room buzzed with activity¨Ceveryone here was briefed on the nature of their expected visitor. It was the most excitement the people here had probably had in months, if not years. Most of them were stuck in Compound 89 for several month terms, unable to leave the premises or at least the mountains. Quick as a whip, the woman plunged into the lake and slammed into the deck of the pressurized entrance chamber. The room was almost completely devoid of oxygen and would be hostile to anyone who made it past the bitingly cold water of the lake. Most people wouldn¡¯t be in a state to realize, the fall from the lake¡¯s surface to the floor fatal for the unenhanced and unprepared. ¡°Calamity level,¡± General Kelvanne said softly. The three star shook his head at a projection filling the wall. It was provided information on anything that entered the entrance chamber. Normally, it displayed equipment health for supply cars, but it could also show other information, like affinity readings and fatefulness measures. It was a highly sophisticated system and under active development. It was good enough to be an export to the East. Detected: DEATH CONSTRUCT Class: NECRO Type: UNIQUE Fatefulness: SOVEREIGN Assessment: An unknown, unique necromantic entity with exceptional detected durability and traces of ascendant energy empowering its body. Fluctuations of Death energy throughout the construct suggest near-human intelligence. Equipment recognized as high-grade auto-camouflage armor from Iritas Industries, likely obtained through underground channels. High levels of affinity readings for Death, End, and Sun. The necromantic entity¡¯s bodice is likely constructed with intricate arrays that embed abilities from powerful practitioners. Be wary of fire elementalist attacks. An aberrant fatefulness reading suggests that the necromantic entity is tied to a master of superlative importance. Threat Level: CALAMITY Clara read the report and shuddered. Calamity level, and the assessment didn¡¯t even register the Eldemari¡¯s full power. She couldn¡¯t blame the system¨Cshe didn¡¯t think it had ever encountered anything like the lich-ified Maria Sezakuin, much less a normal lich. Near-human intelligence¨Cit was laughable. The assessment didn¡¯t even seem to consider that the lich could actually use End affinity. ¡°Guess the Skai¡¯aren likes minions that are easy on the eyes,¡± one of the practitioners commented, his gray eyes fixed on a blown-up glosscam recording of the lich¡¯s body. The Eldemari looked different, Clara realized. It was subtle, but her eyes were slightly more slanted, her eyebrows thinner, her lips fuller, her nose sharper. Why are you surprised? she thought. Of course she¡¯s not going to waltz in here looking like her actual self. Dunai must have changed her appearance. ¡°Fitson,¡± Kelvanne bellowed, ¡°shut up if you don¡¯t have anything useful to contribute.¡± He sucked in a breath and pointed to the live glosscam recording. ¡°This is an ascendant¡¯s construct. I don¡¯t care if you consider the Skai¡¯aren only half an ascendant for his brief stint in Eternity. We¡¯ve all seen the briefing materials of his abilities during the war for the Ho¡¯ostar Peninsula. Can anyone tell me his threat level?¡± It was practically a rhetorical question¨Cany of them could. Clara had joined the entire compound¡¯s staff for briefs on Ian Dunai over the past two days. Over and over, it was hammered into their heads why it was considered such a relief for him to ascend and leave this world behind. The gray-eyed peak Cloud practitioner, Fitson, snorted. ¡°Apocalypse level, Sir.¡± ¡°Right. And he sends to us a construct just one level lower. Calamity.¡± His eyes roved over the room. ¡°Do you all think he¡¯s still fucking apocalypse level? Huh?¡± The room was dead silent. Kelvanne slammed his hand on the table. A mug of coffee nearly tipped over, saved only by a water elementalist stabilizing the liquid within it. ¡°This construct? I think it¡¯s a lich. Do you all understand what that means?¡± No one answered. The general¡¯s words were oddly hypnotic, delivered with a gripping intensity. ¡°Forget the assessment. That construct is unkillable. Smart as a person. Utterly loyal to its master. Capable of suicide maneuvers. And likely possesses the powers of a practitioner if it was made from the body and soul of one. This one clearly seems to have at least the powers of an End and Sun practitioner. And do you remember who disappeared with Dunai? Conveniently, someone with an End and Sun affinity of extraordinary power.¡± He looked around the room again. ¡°Anyone?¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Clara felt her stomach rising to her throat. I guess that¡¯s the power of peak Beginning. ¡°Belvaire, you seem to have an idea. Come and share your thoughts with the class.¡± For a moment, Clara panicked as she felt the necromantic oath constricting her throat, preventing her from divulging the lich¡¯s identity, but that cut off almost immediately. Dunai is watching now, she realized, suppressing a shudder. ¡°The Eldemari,¡± she stated. The general nodded sharply. ¡°If we were welcoming someone with the Eldemari¡¯s affinities to this facility, what would be the normal protocol?¡± The second highest ranked person in the room, the one star General Bellestoy, knocked on the table. ¡°No entry at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Why?¡± ¡°Peak End,¡± Bellestoy said, running his fingers through close-cropped salt and pepper hair. ¡°Makes oaths ineffective. Of course, the fact that she¡¯s here as an undying lich complicates matters further. Maybe she has her full oath breaking capabilities, maybe not. We have to assume the worst case scenario, though.¡± He sighed. ¡°Ultimately, all this is irrelevant. She¡¯s the envoy sent by the Skai¡¯aren. If the ascendant wanted to destroy us, he could send an army of constructs our way and wipe us out. He doesn¡¯t need anything we have, with the exception of the classified subject.¡± General Kelvanne smiled wolfishly. ¡°Well spoken. It puts us in a precarious position. Does anyone else care to weigh in?¡± Clara had her own thoughts on the matter but didn¡¯t feel comfortable voicing them. She just wanted them to get on with this so she could greet Maria, send her away somewhere with any excuse that made sense, spin some story about another construct coming, and then greet Achemiss¡¯s real representative. Every second they spent gabbing, Achemiss¡¯s construct might arrive. Clara didn¡¯t know what would happen if it saw Maria¨Cthat would depend on the nature of the construct. Though she suspected the construct would be piloted from afar by Achemiss himself. Achemiss seeing Maria was a situation that needed to be avoided at all costs. Suddenly, Clara felt herself possessed by the need to speak. The necromantic oath. It was like she was back in the assembly hall. ¡°It¡¯s a rude gesture,¡± she posited. ¡°Disrespectful. The Skai¡¯aren should have sent a weaker construct if he just intended to obtain the rift information and learn about the classified subject. Instead he sent a lich potentially powerful enough to wipe a city off the map.¡± Why am I saying this? Clara wondered, her mind racing, trying to understand Dunai¡¯s intentions. Kelvanne¡¯s smile fell slightly, his eyes glinting in the low light of the various projections spanning the walls. He was looking at her differently. Like someone worth listening to, she realized. ¡°Exactly,¡± he agreed, ¡°which is why I think, if anything, sending the lich is a test.¡± ¡°Sir¡­¡± Bellestoy interjected, frowning, ¡°even if that¡¯s true, how does that change our response?¡± ¡°If I may?¡± Clara said, once more bowing to compulsion. She gave Kelvanne a questioning look. ¡°Dr. Belvaire, go ahead.¡± Suddenly, she understood without needing the oath¡¯s prodding. When she spoke, it was through a combination of her own will and Dunai¡¯s. ¡°If the Skai¡¯aren can create a lich, he can doubtlessly create constructs that he can sense from over a long distance, ones that are limited in strength. I think there will be another construct coming, one puppeted directly by the Skai¡¯aren. As for the lich¡­¡± Clara paused for effect. She had the whole room¡¯s attention. ¡°Well, she¡¯s already here. And we know who she is. That means we also know how to hurt her. Lich or not, I don¡¯t think she¡¯d do anything aggressive to Sere. She should still care for her son and the fate of Selejo. She has a political mind¨Cshe¡¯ll understand the threat without it ever being spoken.¡± ¡°Why send her at all, though?¡± Bellestoy asked, frowning. ¡°If her being here is a test, it seems like a pointless one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a warning not to renege on our promises,¡± Kelvanne reasoned. ¡°That,¡± Clara agreed, ¡°as well as a practical move. The Skai¡¯aren is interested in the classified subject.¡± Clara fully understood the plan by now. It was cunning, though risky, dependent on what construct¨Cor constructs¨CAchemiss sent. ¡°If he decides that he must obtain the classified subject, the Eldemari is here to safeguard its transfer. With her here, could you reasonably say that you could stop her?¡± There was very little that could threaten Compound 89. There were extensive, layered arrays to shut down Remorse practitioner skills, which was a primary reason why Clara wasn¡¯t overly worried about a Remorse practitioner skimming her traitorous thoughts. Additionally, the material structure of the compound was highly resistant to fire and concentrated beams of light, had water removal systems to handle water elementalist torrents, and was anchored in materials that earth elementalists couldn¡¯t control. The compound was divided such that they could isolate entire sections of it, suck out all the air, and create a vacuum where even the most talented air elementalist would falter. Dark practitioners could still pose a problem, but in a locked chamber without air, they¡¯d eventually succumb. And outside of someone like Ian Dunai, Life or Death practitioners weren¡¯t really a concern. But a peak End practitioner like the Eldemari could turn their own arrays against them. As Bellestoy said earlier, peak End was a damning strike against the lich that would normally mean no entry. Kelvanne sighed. ¡°Killing her wouldn¡¯t be enough. I don¡¯t know how the respawn mechanic works for liches, unfortunately. Can they only resurrect by their phylactery? Or can they revive at the place of their death? Does anyone here know for sure?¡± He looked at Clara expectantly. He was right to¨Cshe was the supposed necromancy expert given her leadership in the Infinity Loop project, not that most people in the room knew it was related to necromancy. She just shook her head. ¡°There have been no recorded liches for hundreds of years¨Cthey¡¯re practically a myth. The Skai¡¯aren must have learned how to make one in Eternity. And given the mysterious capabilities of ascendant energy, who can really say what the limitations of the lich¡¯s resurrection are?¡± Kelvanne sucked on his teeth. ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to assume that she can respawn at will in the vicinity of her death. If she decided to attack this facility, the only way to stop her would be to incapacitate her, but she has excellent mental defenses and a body that needs nothing to sustain itself.¡± ¡°Which is why we should take a diplomatic route,¡± Clara said. ¡°I¡¯ll bring her inside, into a peripheral chamber, keep her company, and then leave when the construct controlled by the Skai¡¯aren himself arrives. Ultimately, the test is to gauge our trust.¡± Bellestoy grit his teeth. ¡°We¡¯re between a rock and a hard place.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have many choices,¡± Kelvanne said, holding up a hand, ¡°which is the real message here. He has the upper hand, and sending Maria is how he asserts it. It¡¯s far more devious a strategy than I ever expected from the Skai¡¯aren, given all psychological profiles of him before his ascent.¡± He chuckled mirthlessly. ¡°We all know that things aren¡¯t actually so simple, but it¡¯s best to let him believe he¡¯s in a superior position. At least for now. ¡°Belvaire¨CFitson and Bellestoy will escort you to the entrance chamber to entertain our guest.¡± He smiled grimly. ¡°Any objections?¡± Silence, once again. 360. Ascendant End Ian kneaded his forehead, his eyes shut tightly. Next to him, Euryphel lay on the table, his jaw clenched. He cracked open his eyes and met the former prince¡¯s gaze. No words were needed between them. Twenty minutes into Maria¡¯s infiltration and they were already in a world of mental pain. Ian practically wanted to throw the transmission artifact away. Thousands of button presses, thousands of overlapping memories stitched together. ¡°This¡­¡± Euryphel sighed. He¡¯d already peeked a minute into the future, buying them at least thirty seconds of mental downtime in reality. They¡¯d been stopping for short breaks since five minutes ago. ¡°Is partaking in this kind of insanity normal in Eternity?¡± Ian gave him a blank look. ¡°My knowledge of Eternity is really quite limited,¡± Euryphel continued, somewhat out of breath, ¡°mostly to that gathering of ascendants with that madman, Ascendant Crimson Teeth.¡± He groaned. ¡°I remember one thing clearly¨Cat that gathering, everyone was relying upon Remorse. Peak Remorse.¡± Ian exhaled softly. ¡°In my experience, yeah, it¡¯s a shitshow whenever so many ascendants gather in one place. But that¡¯s just how it is when everyone is at least as powerful as you or I and have unlimited time on their hands.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Eury, is this really how you want to spend our short break?¡± The Crowned Executor moaned and weakly flailed his arms. A gust of wind clumsily guided a mug of coffee over his head, then directed it to pour the liquid perfectly into the blonde¡¯s mouth. ¡°There¡¯s no way you nailed that without Regret,¡± Ian protested. ¡°This is supposed to be a break¡­ was supposed to be one.¡± ¡°You and I both know that there are no breaks,¡± Euryphel said, his voice suddenly icy. ¡°There¡¯s too much at stake here, Ian. Don¡¯t you feel that pressure mounting in your body, making your muscles tense and vibrate with anticipation? Isn¡¯t your mind constantly calculating plans, even during breaks?¡± Ian frowned. ¡°You know, I could force your body to be calm. If you wanted me to.¡± ¡°Ian¡­ shut up.¡± Silence. Then laughter, roaring and strained. It was bitter laughter, the kind that stemmed not from humorous circumstances but from a stressful situation. Ian knew that his offer to Euryphel was completely pointless, in the end. Ian could control his own body, but physiology only controlled so much. His mind was restless. It was as Eury said¨Ctoo much rested on this moment, and there was so much uncertainty. ¡°Again,¡± Ian said softly. It had been over thirty seconds. Euryphel sighed, then nodded. He folded his arms across his chest. And then, they began. Euryphel¡¯s thoughts were fragmented, frustrating to parse and stitch together, but Ian was getting progressively better at processing them. Images and sounds streamed into his mind, conjuring a clear scene of Clara Belvaire walking down a well-lit hallway, two military men flanking her. Her head was held high, but there was a sort of feebleness to her that hadn¡¯t been present when Ian first met Clara. A certain¡­ resignation. Ian didn¡¯t need to use Remorse to understand her. He had taken away her choices and forced her to comply with the Darkseers¡¯ plans. He had persuaded her to help¨Cit¡¯s the right thing, the only way to save the world¨Cbut she was still shackled. She was too important, especially at this juncture¨Cthey couldn¡¯t let her make any mistakes. They couldn¡¯t trust her. Ian suspected that an independent, brilliant scientist like Clara didn¡¯t appreciate such treatment. Finally, Clara and her associates stood outside a large hangar door with a few letters and numbers spray-painted on it. A light flashed yellow on the side, by a palm-sized pair of buttons. When the light changed to blue, Clara pressed on the top button. With a hiss of air, the door retracted into the ceiling in an instant. Clara appeared slightly startled. Her eyes flitted to the lich at the room¡¯s center. ¡°Greetings, illustrious envoy of the Skai¡¯aren,¡± Clara said. Ian nodded to himself. So far, so good. Maria didn¡¯t speak, but inclined her head. ¡°Accompany me and my companions, Fitson and Bellestoy, to a space that is more accommodating,¡± she said, ¡°while we wait for the Skai¡¯aren¡¯s true eyes to arrive.¡± Is she too forward about sharing information? Ian wondered. It was good for Clara to help Maria understand the situation, but her last sentence was too blunt. He could force her to change what she said, using the necromantic bond. They were seeing the world many seconds ahead, after all. He considered it¡­ but ultimately dismissed the idea. Clara¡¯s words could be interpreted in another manner¨Cindignant and almost threatening. They revealed that the Sere Consortium knew that Maria was intelligent, who she was¨Ca very illustrious envoy¨Cand that they knew she was there not to observe or act on Ian Dunai¡¯s behalf, but as a threat. So, under the disguise of voicing a threat¨Cwe know what you¡¯re really here for¨CClara conveyed critical information to Maria. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The lich smiled but was still silent. It was Bellestoy who spoke next, his tone saccharine. ¡°Please allow us to escort you.¡± Maria took a step forward and all three humans flinched. Her lips remained sealed, but she inclined her head slightly in a nod. Is she playing mute? The escorts retreated back into the long hallway, exiting the entry hangar, and walked a short distance to a lift. Bellestoy placed his palm over a projected symbol of a hand over the doors, and they slide open, revealing the platform. When the lift descended, the transmission artifact lost its utility¨Cits user would appear on top of the elevator, in the shaft, as the platform plummeted. For several long seconds, Ian and Eury were blind. They didn¡¯t even know if the shaft was heading straight down or changing directions¨Cthey had no source of illumination. The only senses they could rely on were sight and hearing, and in the deep shaft, the soft hum of the platform provided no answers. With a gentle click, the platform stopped, the doors opening to show a long, austere hallway in dark gray, seemingly made out of metal. There were no overhead lights, like in the other part of the compound, just braziers with white burning flames, heatless and smokeless. Powered by arrays, no doubt, but disconnected, not part of a broader array infrastructure. If a peak End practitioner wished to mess with the lighting, doing so would require manually handling each brazier. Not that you actually know this, Ian thought scathingly. These are just things that you think you know because of your affinity. The trio of humans and the lich headed for a vault at the end of the hall. Bellestoy and Fitson were both needed to open it, the duo straining to turn the mechanism. But with a sigh, it popped open, revealing a room that was cramped and utterly lightless. When Clara stepped inside, braziers on the sides flared to life, basking the room in a cold, inhospitable glow. Ian guessed it was supposed to be intimidating, not that Maria would be able to appreciate the ominous lights when she saw everything in shades of vitality. There were no chairs, no tables. The floor was covered in a layer of an odd, shiny substance that looked rubbery. Clara sat down on her knees, her legs folded behind her. ¡°Thank you for the escort,¡± she said. ¡°One is enough to keep our illustrious guest company. It¡¯s more¡­¡± She trailed off, then smiled. ¡°Intimate.¡± The two men looked uncertain. Fitson nudged his companion. Frowning, Bellestoy said, ¡°If you¡¯re sure.¡± ¡°I am,¡± Clara said resolutely. ¡°Dunai has expressed his desire to work with me¨Cto have me share the rift locations and reveal the classified subject. Our illustrious envoy will not hurt me. On the contrary, perhaps, when it is just us¡±¨Cshe flashed the lich a questioning look¨C¡°our guest will speak.¡± The two men¡¯s expressions shifted slightly, despite their attempts to maintain unbothered facades. They had clearly understood what hadn¡¯t been outwardly spoken: the illustrious envoy, the all-powerful lich, would not hurt Clara because of Dunai¡¯s plans. Anyone else, however, may be in danger. After all, even though a lich was supposedly as smart as a person, they were a dead thing, a necromantic construct, a creature most taboo and deadly. Maybe the lich was a bloodthirsty fiend, killing wantonly without the heavy hand of its master? Necromancy being spurned has never been more useful, Ian thought. It allowed for Maria to be a wildcard. Soon, only Maria and Clara remained. Clara¡¯s expression was polite but cold as she faced the lich. ¡°How was your journey?¡± ¡°Uneventful.¡± They engaged in small talk back and forth for the next few minutes while waiting for the observers in the security room to fall into complacency. Maria was a bad guest, answering long questions with single words. In the scenarios, Ian began tipping the two women off by compelling Clara to initiate contact through the necromantic oath. She would find some way to touch Maria. If everyone at the compound were paying close attention, they¡¯d notice even a casual caress. But after minutes of dry, almost painful conversation, a small movement could pass unnoticed. That was the idea, anyway. They kept using the return beacon on one of the men that had accompanied Clara¨CGeneral Bellestoy. The man had a sharp gaze and scrutinized every action Clara and Maria made while the three-star General Kelvanne, his superior officer, handled everything else. Bellestoy wasn¡¯t the only one watching, but Ian and Euryphel had realized that nine times out of ten, he was the one to notice something amiss between Clara and Maria. Even as the minutes dragged on, his focus didn¡¯t waver. It was infuriating. And then, blessedly¡­ ¡°Bathroom!¡± Euryphel thought, pumping his fist and groaning in relief. He mouthed the words, ¡°Thank you!¡± Ian chuckled, holding a hand to his mouth. Then, they duo fell into contemplative silence. This was going to be their best opportunity, especially when Achemiss¡¯s real envoy might arrive any minute and force Clara to accompany it to see the classified subject¨Cand disclose the rift locations. Maria needed to break the oath bindings¨Cget the rift locations¨Cand reform the oath without alerting anyone. Specifically, she needed to reform the oath right after Clara¡¯s mind was wiped regarding their locations. Because the oath¡¯s activation mechanism was subjective to the bound subject¡¯s memories and perception, the mind wipe was actually a critical part of the strategy. She wouldn¡¯t remember divulging the information to the eavesdroppers and violating the oath. But Maria had to reform the oath as close to the mind wipe as possible to avoid the notice of Sere¡¯s End practitioners. It seemed like a nearly impossible task. Maria wouldn¡¯t have access to Clara once Achemiss¡¯s real envoy arrived. Additionally, to successfully subvert the oath, Maria would need to destroy and reconstruct it almost immediately after it triggered. Even if Ian suppressed the fallout of Clara knowingly divulging rift locations to people other than Achemiss, End practitioners would notice. All this meant that Maria would need to break the oath and reconstruct it from afar. In scenarios, the two men watched as Maria¡¯s fingers brushed up against Clara. Euryphel couldn¡¯t see End arrows as a projection, so they couldn¡¯t see what Maria was doing. They just had to trust her. Euryphel sighed. ¡°What she¡¯s trying to do¡­ I¡¯d say it was impossible if I hadn¡¯t seen her practice before I left.¡± ¡°Externalization of End,¡± Ian said absently. ¡°Which requires ascendant energy,¡± Euryphel added. ¡°It¡¯s a concept that Ash taught her, though I wonder if she fully grasped the extent of its applications until the Blade of Revelation turned her into a pair of bracers.¡± Ian snorted. ¡°How did Ash put it? ¡®Use the chaos of ascendant energy to ink End directly into existence¡¯?¡± Euryphel¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Is that what she¡¯s doing?¡± He held out his hand to the light, inspecting his scarred fingers. He clenched his fist. ¡°She¡¯s creating a temporary End anchor on Clara¡¯s body rather than painstakingly constructing an array with fixed foci.¡± He frowned, then hesitated. ¡°She could be even more dangerous than you. She could use people as carriers for powerful, involuntary oaths that normally require sacrifices, like blood oaths. Ascendant energy could bridge the gap, make the impossible possible¡­ They could spread from person to person, granting her power to control all of them. And since they wouldn¡¯t be active oaths, but dormant seeds allowing Maria to take control from afar, they wouldn¡¯t visibly affect End arrows like most oaths. No one would know.¡± Ian just smiled, though the expression didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°End can be dangerous beyond measure, I agree. But don¡¯t underestimate me¡­ and don¡¯t underestimate Achemiss.¡± 361. The Classified Subject Clara¡¯s hatred for the plan only increased the deeper she fell into it. It was simple: the Eldemari would infiltrate and use her End to save Clara from her life-death oath. Supposedly, all the lich needed to do was touch Clara. Clara had heard the rough plan before today, but the full horror of it hadn¡¯t hit her until now, alone in the room with Maria. Given everything she knew about End affinity, what the Eldemari intended to do simply wasn¡¯t possible. She knew, intellectually, that Maria was also an ascendant now, and that she could do impossible things, but Clara couldn¡¯t help but feel like some kind of test subject. As if you weren¡¯t one already, she thought bleakly. Ascendant Dunai had already made an experiment out of her with his special oath. He had never said outright that the oath was a new phenomenon, but the way he wielded it to shape her actions felt clumsy, suggesting a lack of familiarity or competence. With Dunai, it had to be the former. Maria gave Clara a steely look, snapping her out of her thoughts. The researcher realized that she was frowning, her hands clenched. She relaxed her grip. She cleared her throat and prattled on about an inane subject, playing the role of a ¡°good host¡± for the observers that would be surveilling the room. Her heart wasn¡¯t in it, though. All her mind could think about was the inevitable arrival of Dunai¡¯s¨Cno, Achemiss¡¯s¨Crepresentative. She knew it would probably be controlled by Achemiss directly, which was an intimidating thought. The more time she spent with ascendants, the more she agreed that they deserved their own celestial playground beyond the reach of mere mortals like herself. They were fragile when taken by surprise, as was the case with nearly all practitioners, but individually they could cause cataclysms. She thought back to the conversation back in the security room, when they¡¯d analyzed the Eldemari and assessed her as a calamity level threat, one tier down from apocalypse level. Clara knew that neither was correct as she stared into Maria¡¯s eerie glowing eyes and porcelain perfect face. A calamity was a disaster localized to a certain area, one that wouldn¡¯t spread. Apocalypse level was a disaster that could spread uncontrollably, causing an apocalyptic event if left unchecked. Either that, or a localized, non-spreading disaster on a massive scale, like if an ascendant fire elementalist razed an entire continent to ash. What Dunai had created during the war with Selejo¨Cthose self-replicating flesh monstrosities¨Cwere easily apocalypse-level material. And the level beyond that was extinction. Someone with enough power to completely wipe out the entire world. Like the Infinity Loop supposedly is, she thought. Like any of these returned ascendants could be. She was startled from her musings when thoughts intruded upon her mind via quantum channel. Belvaire, another envoy has arrived. We believe that Dunai is controlling it personally. Her heart skipped a beat. It seemed to be General Kelvanne. How can you be sure? Have you spoken with the envoy yet? The envoy is still waiting in the arrival chamber, so we can¡¯t be sure. However, it looks like the spitting image of Dunai, aside from the fact that it¡¯s obviously a construct. It also seems to have some human mannerisms, shifting its weight, fidgeting. It doesn¡¯t seem to be a construct acting under orders. Clara suppressed the urge to sigh in relief. To let anyone else talk to the fake Ian Dunai was dangerous. If any of them mentioned the Eldemari¡¯s arrival, Achemiss would realize that something was amiss. She had heard from Ian and company that the ascendant was incredibly paranoid, and knew they were all acting under the assumption that if anything happened that seemed remotely off to the necromancer, he¡¯d leave. And if that happened, their plans would fail. They wouldn¡¯t be able to learn of the private rifts that Achemiss would take over, so they¡¯d be back to square one, without any leads about where he was hunkered down. Y¡¯jeni, it was infuriating dealing with such a crafty foe, and Clara was just doing what she was told, not actively strategizing against him. She figured Dunai and his allies must be constantly cursing the man¡¯s caution. Who will take over for me here? she asked. No one will entertain the lich in the room, but two guards will remain outside of it. It won¡¯t be enough, but we¡¯ll have the compound¡¯s defenses. That was fine with her. She cleared her throat. ¡°Your master¡¯s second envoy has arrived, so I¡¯ll take my leave to receive him.¡± Maria¡¯s mouth was a cold slit across her face, curving up dangerously. ¡°I hope he¡¯s as good of company as I.¡± Clara smiled, letting some aggression show on her face. ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± The doors opened, revealing the hallway and two guards that she didn¡¯t recognize. It seemed she¡¯d be expected to find her own way back. Figures that they didn¡¯t want to wait to send an escort to grab me. As she walked through the stark halls, she almost felt like she was back in the subterranean labs in Saispar, where much of the Infinity Loop research was ongoing. The place had never been particularly inviting, at least not in the places she was in charge of. She liked to keep things clean, neat¨Cprofessional. Others tried to make their labs cozy, putting up little signs or posters outside their doors, but she found that misguided. They weren¡¯t down in the massive, classified complex to have fun and be friends. They were there to conduct the most important research of at least the century. That should be all the motivation they needed. At least, that¡¯s what she had thought. Now that she knew the truth of her ambitions, the lab felt¡­ hollow. The dimly-lit hallway around her now suddenly felt claustrophobic. She shook off an involuntary shudder and strode into the lift. Just act normal, she told herself. Once you¡¯re with him, just do your part and don¡¯t mention Maria. Easy. As the lift slowed, marking the end of its journey through the earth, Clara exhaled and steeled herself. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. When the doors opened, her escorts from before, Bellestoy and Fitson, were waiting for her. They appeared calm, so she figured they were just skilled in controlling their expressions. She¡¯d convinced them all earlier that Maria¡¯s presence was both a test and a threat. The envoy¡¯s presence, on the other hand¡­ it was supposed to be the real deal. Dunai himself. Of the people gathered in the compound, Clara was probably the only one who¡¯d actually been around an ascendant, or at least knew that she¡¯d been around an ascendant. No one in the compound was aware of Maria¡¯s true strength. That made it easier for her to keep focused and unfazed. She nodded to her escorts, then headed for the arrival chamber again. Within, Achemiss waited for her under a false guise. Ian Dunai, she thought to herself. Don¡¯t think of him as anything else. She wasn¡¯t worried about slipping up¨Cshe figured the necromantic oath would prevent it. But she needed to mentally think of Achemiss as Dunai to better act her part. Achemiss was a terrifying, paranoid, murderous ascendant who thought nothing of destroying the world. Dunai was a stoic and dangerous ascendant, but he didn¡¯t have a bad reputation. She needed to treat Achemiss like he wasn¡¯t evil. You still don¡¯t know for sure that he even is evil, she thought, the enduring skepticism of a researcher showing itself. Her heart wasn¡¯t in it. The door fell away with a hiss. Ian Dunai stood a few feet outside the door, his expression inscrutable. Clara looked for any imperfections in the disguise and found none. He looked perfectly human, just like the real Dunai. Seeing him as a physical construct, rather than the projection in the assembly chamber, made everything feel so much more real. This is the enemy of the world. She smiled politely and bowed her head. ¡°Ascendant Dunai. Welcome to the compound.¡± He returned the expression, though the smile didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°Not the warmest welcome,¡± he mused, his gaze wandering over the hangar. ¡°But I¡¯m not here for a vacation.¡± His eyes once again fixed on her, scrutinizing. Intelligent. Completely ignoring the escorts despite their high military ranks. ¡°I¡¯ll keep this visit quick. Bring me to the classified subject first. Then we can move on to the rifts.¡± The original plan had been to do that in reverse order. It didn¡¯t really matter, but the deviation felt like a portent of ill events to come. Dread gnawed at Clara¡¯s stomach. ¡°Of course,¡± she said, gesturing to the side for Achemiss to exit the hangar. He sauntered out, his eyes fixed on her. She led him down the hallway in silence. She doubted Ian Dunai would appreciate small talk; Achemiss probably less so. But he surprised her. ¡°How did you acquire the classified subject?¡± She didn¡¯t know¨Cthe information was highly restricted. She glanced at the escorts. ¡°Fortuitous circumstances,¡± Bellestoy finally said. Achemiss¡¯s lips curled. ¡°Fortuitous? Or opportunistic?¡± None of them replied. They couldn¡¯t reach the deepest level of the compound fast enough. Clara¡¯s nerves threatened to betray her as she led them deeper. She clasped her hands tightly to hide the tremors. Her mind kept cycling the same phrase over and over. The enemy of the world. Shut. Up. She reached the end of a short, featureless hallway lit only by two lights on either side of a thin door. Achemiss stood next to her, gazing at the door in curiosity. Clara took a step forward and a projection manifested before her. General Kelvanne, the highest ranked officer in the compound, stared imperiously at the group. Fitson and Bellestoy saluted. ¡°Ascendant Dunai,¡± Kelvanne began, ¡°we ask that you linger only for fifteen minutes at most, to limit the subject¡¯s degradation.¡± Achemiss¡¯s construct stand-in nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll be mine soon enough. This is just a preliminary confirmation.¡± Nobody bothered to correct the ascendant that, technically, there had never been an official agreement that the classified subject would be given up. They¡¯d only agreed to give Dunai access, but they¡¯d assumed he¡¯d insist on taking the subject with him¨Cby force, if necessary. The presence of Maria had only played into those expectations. The door split down the center, retracting into the wall and leaving bare a narrow passage illuminated by bright white panels on the ceiling. Clara blinked as her eyes adjusted. The corridor was small enough that they went in single file. Clara tried to ignore the sensation that Achemiss was boring a hole into her with his gaze. Along the wall were a few bare metal doors, each with an identifying number. Clara stopped at the number 11. She grasped the knob and opened it, revealing what looked like a morgue. Goosebumps rose along Clara¡¯s arms from the cold. As they crossed the threshold, an opaque rectangular pillar rose from the floor. It exuded a slight chill from the front, though the backside ran hot to the touch. They gathered around it in a rough circle, Fitson and Bellestoy flanking Clara while Achemiss stood on the opposite side. He appeared to be scrutinizing the pillar¨Clikely trying to see what lay within. ¡°Refrigeration?¡± the imposter asked, his brows pinching together in obvious displeasure. Clara would have snorted in derision at any other guest. ¡°No,¡± she said simply, not deigning to give away more information than necessary to her adversary. Suddenly, the pillar¡¯s dark exterior became clear, the color draining away. Within the pillar was a woman¡¯s figure, her form naked aside from the thin white shroud that covered her from shoulder to thigh. It looked like she was encased in glass. ¡°Is the classified subject to your expectations?¡± Clara asked. Ian Dunai leaned in closer, his eyes narrowing. ¡°My construct uses vital energy to perceive the world¨Cwhatever this pillar is made from, it¡¯s preventing the transmission of Life and Death energy.¡± Clara nodded. ¡°And that¡¯s why the general asked that we spend only fifteen minutes here.¡± She then pressed a finger to the pillar, manifesting a projection screen full of configuration options, not that Clara needed them. The pillar was highly sophisticated, on the level of technology like glosSwords. Anything she needed, she could request mentally. Hello Clara, it said, an almost childish voice speaking into her mind. What do you need? Pause preservation, she thought back. Are you sure? Yes. The pillar¡¯s interior shattered, filling with countless dark cracks. Then it melted and drained away, though Clara knew that much of the fluid still filled the subject¡¯s body, preventing it from breaking down or collapsing. She¡¯d said to pause preservation, not completely end it. Soon, all that remained was a thin shell made from glosslike material. That piece would remain to protect the body from foreign contaminants. It¡¯s why they hadn¡¯t needed to go through an extensive sanitization process or put on clean suits. It was thin enough that their visitor should have no trouble seeing through it. ¡°This is the ascendant you killed, isn¡¯t it?¡± Clara asked, trying to gauge some reaction, even if she knew that every expression the construct made was deliberately controlled by its distant master. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°Where are her artifacts?¡± Clara paused. ¡°Anything on her body was separated for other studies.¡± ¡°Interesting. Are they in this facility?¡± ¡°I believe so.¡± ¡°I need them.¡± Before Clara could muster a response, he had already turned around, heading for the exit. ¡°Let¡¯s continue¨CI¡¯ve seen enough.¡± 362. The Most Terrifying Adversary Achemiss hated this wretched world. It was literally the only thing in existence holding him back. His only vulnerability. And his present circumstances? They had confirmed his every fear. He¡¯d never expected the one to send him here was Ancient Black, also, impossibly, known as Ignatius Julian Dunai. A new ascendant. Practically a baby. And yet, he¡¯d somehow developed two additional affinities since ascending. Achemiss didn¡¯t care how Ian had networked to his front door. He¡¯d thought Dunai rather simple when it came to social skills, but it was within the realm of the possible. Three affinities? Becoming an ancient? It was worse than a smack in the face. It was almost worse than being shunted from Eternity. It was the darkest, cruelest reminder that Achemiss wasn¡¯t anything without the contents of his void storage¨Cwhich was, of course, in Dunai¡¯s clutches. Achemiss¡¯s constructed face exuded none of his seething rage at being forced to cooperate with Sere¡¯s decadent, weak practitioners. He was a dragon forced to compromise with ants. He plastered on an impassive expression as Clara Belvaire, practically the only regular in this forsaken place, led him through the blocky, uninspired corridors and into the armored lift. His hands itched to take what he wanted and depart, leaving the base a smoldering wreck, but he suppressed the urge. His thoughts had become far too murderous lately. Too impulsive. Too... bloodthirsty, even for him. He blamed Dunai for what he¡¯d done. For not just seizing the source of his power and stranding him, but for the horrifying damage the callous man had inflicted on Achemiss¡¯s body and soul. Clara was an interesting one. One of the leads of the Infinity Loop project, and for her to keep that status as a regular, she had to be extraordinary. Real genius¨Cnot the kind Beginning practitioners were blessed with¨Chad always intrigued Achemiss. He¡¯d been intelligent and cunning enough to rise above everyone else during his era as a mortal, but he¡¯d always known that he wasn¡¯t a genius. Not like Clara. Not like that idiot savant Dunai. The elevator opened, leading them to the third most fortified room he¡¯d seen, after the arrival hangar and the chamber where they¡¯d been keeping Ari¡¯s corpse. Two guards stood outside of it, irrelevant low affinity fodder. They stepped aside and the door opened like an iris. Clara walked in, Achemiss following on her heels. The door shut. It was only the two of them. He gave her a smile. ¡°So, Clara¨Chow does this work?¡± He could see her body¡¯s reaction to being alone with him. All the markers of fear, but also... defiance. She rejected her own insecurity. ¡°It¡¯s a simple procedure,¡± she said, pawing at a slab of shiny material girdered to the back wall. It was chunky and hideous, lacking the aesthetic of modern devices like glossYs. It notably wasn¡¯t a projection. Achemiss considered that it might be the first actual screen he¡¯d ever seen since returning, with tactile buttons. Clara didn¡¯t seem particularly familiar with it, her fingers often redoing keystrokes as she made input errors. ¡°Who made this?¡± Achemiss asked, genuinely curious. The technology was so different, he had to ask... ¡°Was it another returned ascendant?¡± Clara¡¯s body reacted again, her shoulders shuddering. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t you see it the first time you had this procedure done?¡± His gaze became icy. He let her see it. ¡°I didn¡¯t come to the facility in person, last time.¡± The hours following his escape from Dunai had been some of the worst he¡¯d ever experienced, more harrowing than the day the descendant had come to judge him. It was the closest he¡¯d ever brushed with death. Not just because of the state of his everything, but because of what he¡¯d needed to do. The position he¡¯d been forced into. He¡¯d been forced to rely on others¡¯ self-interest¨Cthat helping him would be worth more to them than contributing to his demise. Sere hadn¡¯t been the first he¡¯d reached out to. But in the end, he¡¯d thought they had the most to gain, the least to lose. They were most invested in the Infinity Loop. Not only did they need him to further its development, but they needed him not to help anyone else, so they would keep their technological edge. To their credit, they hadn¡¯t betrayed him, at least not yet. They would be unwise to do so, given what he¡¯d told them about the loop¡¯s true nature. They must have run some experiments of their own that were unable to disprove his claims about soul corruption¨Cthey would be fools to trust him outright. But as they¡¯d said when he came to parlay at their little assembly¨Cthey hadn¡¯t succeeded at finding any worthy necromancers capable of corroborating his assertions that soul corruption was real, and certainly none capable of researching ways to stop the corruption, as if such a thing were possible. That was the only reason he¡¯d deigned to meet with them again. They still needed him. They also knew that he wasn¡¯t vulnerable like before. If they betrayed him, not only would he be waiting for it, but he¡¯d retaliate with disproportionate force. It would be utterly irrational for them to act against me, Achemiss told himself. Utterly irrational. Belvaire¡¯s eyes rolled into the back of her head as her body jolted. She exhaled sharply and collected herself. ¡°Ian Dunai,¡± she said, ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you the coordinates of the rifts. You may choose to do whatever you wish with them¨Ceven forgetting them entirely, or bestowing the locations as gifts. They will fully belong to you, and all knowledge of them held by the Sere Consortium will be completely erased. After we leave this room, I will no longer remember the locations entrusted to me as an intermediary.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°This is satisfactory to me,¡± he said. And then she shared them, clearly enunciating each digit without referencing anything, like the locations had been burned into her mind. Five unsullied rifts, now his. She smiled, though he saw... anxiety. Fear, greater than any she¡¯d shown before. Why? Was she afraid that, having now received the rift information, he would turn on all of them and abscond with the classified subject? He didn¡¯t think Ian Dunai had a reputation for being such a hooligan, but then again... people acted funny around ascendants. The door opened. They walked out. Clara¡¯s body language eased slightly, as though she was inhaling fresh air after being stuck in a room of noxious fumes. The guards fell back into place in front of the door, and Belvaire¡¯s two escorts flanked Achemiss. Maybe she¡¯d been relieved to no longer be alone with the man who¡¯d gotten what he came for. Really, Achemiss could think of countless reasons to explain away the woman¡¯s behavior. Everything he¡¯d noticed had been barely noticeable, anyway¨Cshe hadn¡¯t outwardly appeared fearful or anxious. It was only her vital energy that betrayed her. Clara... really was an interesting one. He could just ignore what he¡¯d noticed. It¡¯s what many ascendants would do, arrogant warriors like Ari. Achemiss would never let himself be so careless in the mortal world. So he kept his impassive expression, showing only a hint of satisfaction as they set back off. ¡°The classified subject¡¯s items?¡± he ventured. ¡°Ascendant Dunai, they were not included in the negotiations,¡± Clara said. ¡°If you wish to discuss them with General Kelvanne, I can bring you to him.¡± The man on Achemiss¡¯s right turned his head. ¡°Dr. Belvaire, it won¡¯t be necessary to return to see General Kelvanne. We¡¯ll go to the artifactory.¡± Belvaire inclined her head. ¡°General Bellestoy, please lead us¨CI don''t know the way.¡± The man gave her a radiant smile, but his eyes were sharp, guarded. ¡°I was planning to. You don¡¯t have access.¡± The artifactory was situated one floor higher on the lift than the chamber holding Ari¡¯s body, not that the floors actually corresponded with spatial order location. Achemiss couldn¡¯t see beyond the walls, but he had a strong hunch that the way the lift shaft curved and changed direction was to disorient its passengers. The artifactory might be one floor away from Ari, but Achemiss would bet that they were on opposite ends of the facility. He had to admit, he was curious what the room had in store. Did they have other artifacts there than just Ari¡¯s equipment? If so, did they really think he¡¯d leave without taking anything he found interesting? The room that marked the end of their trek was significantly less protected than the others, just a normal, thick door with an obvious airlock. Bellestoy turned and gave Achemiss a sharp nod. ¡°Ascendant Dunai, this is the artifactory. Only I will escort you inside.¡± He stepped up to the door and lights along its top and bottom glowed. He manipulated the airlock mechanism, then pulled the door open, entering first. The other man, Fitson, closed the door behind them. The room was awash in darkness, only dim, violet lights illuminating the walls where various objects rested. Achemiss could tell that many were broken, but still¨Chis eyes clung to each. He saw her mace at the back of the room, the latest addition. Next to it was a pristine suit of armor mounted on a black, matte mannequin that seemed to absorb the backlighting, such that the armor almost seemed to hover in place. He went to Ari¡¯s belongings last, starting at the beginning of the room and moving clockwise. He¡¯d thought the artifactory would be more... scientific. A place for investigating the artifacts, their abilities, and so on. This room seemed more like an armory, or a room for showing off. Maybe Sere occasionally brought high ranking foreigners here. He supposed it was silly to think that they¡¯d be able to do much else than show artifacts off. Mortals didn¡¯t have ascendant energy. To them, the artifacts really were nothing more than show pieces. ¡°Our researchers spent two months investigating the mace and armor,¡± Bellestoy suddenly said. Achemiss hid his surprise. ¡°The interior of the armor was covered in End inscriptions. Nothing about them seemed particularly noteworthy. The inscriptions were exquisite, but... the effects they could produce were mundane. In many ways, inferior to the technologically advanced armor coming out of the East.¡± Achemiss didn¡¯t fall for the obvious attempt at distracting him away from the other artifacts. It¡¯s not like there were that many of them. There were ten aside from Ari¡¯s, though half were destroyed, no good for anything but looking. ¡°Do you need artifacts, Ascendant Dunai?¡± He froze. ¡°Artifacts aren¡¯t a rare commodity. But I¡¯m a collector, and each of these has a history.¡± Bellestoy smiled, though Achemiss could see heightened tension in his shoulders from the flexing of his muscles. Had he said something? Oh. He¡¯d mentioned being a collector. That was a bit of a slip. How very unlike him. And the worst part was, killing Bellestoy wasn¡¯t a valid option. Achemiss wasn¡¯t stupid. There were two generals at the compound. The higher of the two, General Kelvanne, was here because of him. The other, Bellestoy, was likely the commanding officer of the entire compound. He had been happy to let Belvaire lead the way, acting as a simple escort up until the end. It was an intelligent deception. Achemiss had let himself make a small mistake in front of such a man, one who probably never left this lightless place, one who Achemiss would have extreme difficulty killing without inviting scrutiny. It was infuriating. Abandoning his innocent sightseeing, he walked over to Ari¡¯s belongings and snatched them, depositing them into a void storage ring that he¡¯d fashioned himself. One of the lovely boons of being a Dark practitioner and a skilled necromancer was that he could kidnap a powerful End practitioner and either control them physically, or turn them into a mindless construct that retained part of the practitioner¡¯s abilities. Combined with his Dark affinity, he could make a near unlimited number of void storages. And the number he had on him now, and their contents... The thought was almost enough to salvage his dark mood. It made him want to laugh. When would these mortals ever learn? Whether it was Achemiss, the real Ian Dunai, or even pathetic Soolemar... A Death practitioner was the most terrifying adversary of all. Each one was a one-man army, self-replenishing, and beyond cheap to construct. He¡¯d seen Beginning practitioners touting their drone swarms and autonomous legionnaires, even using necromancy to implant their technological constructs with souls. Powerful, but ultimately limited by production capacity and materials. Besides, who could forget the crowning destructive achievement of Death? The crucible of souls themselves, the corrupting Infinity Loops. Insidious. Unstoppable. Just like death itself. For a moment, Achemiss wondered what he was doing here. He needed rifts, and he wanted Ari, but this all felt so silly. Not even just beneath him, though it was. This trip felt... oddly pointless. But it was the safer, surer route to recovery, escape, and of course... visiting revenge upon Ian Dunai. Achemiss sighed softly. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the classified subject.¡± 363. Interception ??Ian and Eury were like statues, their heads bowed as they both viewed the unrolling weave of the future. Three times already Achemiss had almost asked a question that would lead to mentions of Maria, requiring intervention¨CClara changing the subject or saying something of her own volition. The most nerve-wracking part had been the transfer of rift information¨Cbut that, too, had succeeded. Maria¡¯s deft oath manipulation had worked. She¡¯d destroyed the oath when Clara brought Achemiss to transfer the rift information, doing so from afar using the anchor she¡¯d formed when Clara had escorted her. Then Maria had reinstated the oath almost immediately after Clara¡¯s mindwipe. Ian had believed the plan would work, but it was still a relief. He didn¡¯t like Clara much, but he still didn¡¯t want her to die, especially when her presence was so strategic. The problem was that he just didn¡¯t trust her not to make a mistake. She was brilliant and accustomed to cutthroat academia, but she wasn¡¯t used to conspiracies and larger plots with high stakes, and it showed. He felt like he was micromanaging her, influencing her subtly all through Achemiss¡¯s visit to the point that he doubted she even noticed. And now, finally, it was all coming to an end. Achemiss had retrieved the rift locations and stood before the classified subject¨CAscendant Ari. They watched as Achemiss demanded that they have a Dark practitioner slice through the base, creating a clean cut. He wanted to take the entire preservation pod with him. Not because he wanted to use it, but because he didn¡¯t want to remove her and expose her body to the air, even for a moment. In a somewhat drawn out process that included pained deliberating¨C¡°The preservation chamber is priceless!¡±¨Csomeone with Dark affinity was sent over. With the base of the preservation pillar separated, Achemiss¡¯s construct touched it and it disappeared into a storage artifact. The ascendant¡¯s construct was wearing jewelry, but Ian suspected that the actual artifact holding Ari was better hidden¨Cperhaps even within the construct¡¯s body. ¡°How are we getting her out?¡± Euryphel muttered. Ian just snorted softly and shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get there.¡± And then, with a distinct lack of fanfare¨CAchemiss left the way he¡¯d come, swimming up through the lake that connected to the arrival hangar. Clara had convinced everyone that Maria was meant to stay in place until Achemiss was truly gone, serving as a safeguard. They had to time her departure well¨Cnot so soon that Achemiss would suspect anything, but soon enough that she could track him down and engage to fight for Ari¡¯s body. Ian didn¡¯t know what Achemiss intended for the body, but it couldn¡¯t be good. He doubted Achemiss just wanted the corpse as a trophy. Ian knew just how severely he¡¯d injured Achemiss when he¡¯d attempted the assassination upon using the return beacon. How Achemiss had escaped death was still a mystery, but Ian knew without a shred of doubt that Achemiss shouldn¡¯t have been able to make a full recovery, especially without his cache of artifacts. And even if Achemiss kidnapped skilled individuals to help him, all the peak practitioners of this world wouldn¡¯t have the skills necessary to undo the total destruction of his body. After Achemiss departed, Clara had returned to Maria¡¯s room. Maria removed the End anchor, eliminating any vestiges of her tampering. The two engaged in painful small talk while waiting for Achemiss to get further away. And now, enough time had passed. ¡°She¡¯s going back¡­¡± Euryphel said, sighing and steepling his fingers, his brow furrowed. Maria asked to be escorted out. The seconds dragged on so slowly as they used the transmission artifact within Regret scenarios to spectate. It was excruciating. But finally, finally¡­ Maria entered the hangar. The doors sealed behind her, dividing the space between Maria and Clara. The lich walked calmly to the center of the room, revealing not an ounce of hastiness. Then, she jumped, disappearing into the ceiling. ¡°Fucking finally!¡± Euryphel grumbled, tearing at his hair. ¡°My mind is a scenario away from cracking.¡± While Maria was in pursuit, using the transmission artifact was near useless¨Cthey¡¯d appear in the sky, but she¡¯d already be racing ahead. Besides¨Cthere¡¯s nothing I can do from here. Ian had needed to closely monitor the situation in the compound because he could control Clara. Now, however, he had no way to contact Maria and no way to affect the outcome of her chase. ¡°Eury,¡± he said, rubbing his forehead, ¡°can you please ask for more coffee?¡± The former prince scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you don¡¯t permanently keep your body operating in peak condition.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my body that¡¯s broken, but my mind. We¡¯re in similarly dire straits, you and I.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Eury leaned back, shooting Ian a skeptical look. ¡°More coffee can always be arranged. And whiskey.¡± ¡°Too soon for that.¡± ¡°Again, permanently peak condition.¡± ¡°Too soon for you.¡± Euryphel chuckled. ¡°We need to get out of this dungeon. I need a walk. You need a walk. Come.¡± The gardens of Ichormai beckoned. ¡ª Now that Maria wasn¡¯t trying to stealth her way into Sere, she scorched her way across the sky like a comet, chasing the fading scar of the End arrow extending between her and Achemiss¡¯s construct. She didn¡¯t really care if Achemiss knew she¡¯d been waiting around the area¨Cshe just needed to make sure he never learned that she¡¯d actually been inside the compound. Normally, constructs didn¡¯t have End arrows. Liches were an exception, and so, apparently, was the construct that Achemiss had sent. It didn¡¯t appear to be a lich¨CAchemiss himself seemed to be in control. From what Maria had heard from Ian, Achemiss had specialized in keeping his true body hidden away while sheathing himself in artificial vessels using necromancy. To do so between reality and a rift was a genuinely impressive accomplishment. She supposed she shouldn¡¯t be too surprised that a thousand-year-old ascendant could accomplish feats that Ian currently couldn¡¯t. Achemiss¡¯s construct was fast, but Maria was a missile. Within a few minutes, she had eyes on Achemiss¡¯s false body, and it still hadn¡¯t noticed her. Maria might have missed the speck-sized construct if not for the End arrow disappearing into it. They were over the Illyrian Ocean, avoiding the land mass entirely. She couldn¡¯t assume anything about the route it was flying, however¨Cif she were Achemiss, she¡¯d fly a circuitous route, and she¡¯d certainly not lead the way back to the rift Achemiss was in. She expected this construct to engage in deceptive measures, like rendezvousing with a group of other constructs that would then scatter. She wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the construct simply dropped a piece of jewelry into the water every few minutes, all but one of them the real void storage housing Ari. Maria formed a potent ball of flame between her hands as she careened forward, propelling herself only with her feet. She fed ascendant energy into the compressed blaze. Then, with a cry, she let the projectile loose. She wasn¡¯t confident in her aim, so she¡¯d formed a ball of fire that expanded the further it went. Her ascendant energy protected the ball while guiding the air around it, feeding the inferno. It was just one trick she¡¯d learned under Ancient Ash that she hadn¡¯t had the chance to use until now. It only took a moment for Achemiss¡¯s proxy to be fully consumed by the blast, and Maria was on it a moment later. The construct fell apart, separating into pieces the size of Maria¡¯s palm. They fell toward the water like the shards of stars. All of them were Achemiss¡­ and none of them were. The End arrow flickered like lightning between them in an uncanny, unprecedented way¨Clike Achemiss¡¯s very being was jumping between the falling pieces of the construct. And they weren¡¯t just falling toward the water: They shot out in different directions. Maria felt a sick sensation in her stomach. One of the pieces had to hold the artifact that possessed Ari. But she couldn¡¯t stop all of them, and she worried that just chasing whatever construct fragment held an End arrow was too easy¨CAchemiss would plan for that. Was she going to fail? The idea made her livid. She rejected the possibility. You¡¯re more than your fire, she thought. In Eternity, she¡¯d practiced creating arrays countless times, though typically over a large area, like on an open field to create large, hard-to-escape effects. All the construct pieces were still alight with her flames¡­ and she could still control them. Gaze filled with an intense air of concentration, she clapped her hands together. The fire surged, then morphed. The pieces were shaped differently, so forming the fire into a coherent array on each fragment took all her willpower and experience. But she succeeded. The fragments suddenly started to come together, pulled by an invisible force. Maria didn¡¯t stop, increasing the array¡¯s complexity by adding another function that would cause backlash to Achemiss if he cut his connection to the constructs. Maria considered what she should do at this point. Was she supposed to somehow pry Ari¡¯s cold corpse from this smoking, flaming wreckage of Achemiss¡¯s fake body? Support constructs were undoubtedly on the way to fight her, so she needed to act soon. She needed to move. I need to move somewhere else where Achemiss won¡¯t dare to go, Maria thought, but where? Unfortunately, she was in the middle of nowhere on the southern coast of Sere, far from the Ho¡¯ostar peninsula. She had Darkseers allies in the East, but they were about equidistant from Selejo¡¯s most western state, Valia. If she pushed herself to her limits, she thought she could get there in a handful of hours. She¡¯d need to sustain the End array flames the entire time while dealing with Achemiss¡¯s machinations, all while also flying herself. Much more exciting than life in the palace, Maria thought, recalling her tenure as the Eldemari. She¡¯d occasionally done incredible things, like conquering the former SPU in the days before her defeat, but the vast majority of her time had been spent on politicking. That¡¯s Zilverna¡¯s life, now. And after this mess is also done, it¡¯ll be Eury¡¯s. She wondered if she¡¯d see Zilverna before the day¡¯s business was done and Achemiss hopefully delivered into Ian and Eury¡¯s hands. She strongly hoped not. Dragging Zilverna into this was the last thing she wanted. It was hard to feel for him the way she wanted to, as a mother, but still. If her boy really died because of her actions¨Cbecause they wanted to play hero and save the world¨Cshe knew it would haunt her to the end of Eternity. It would be her greatest failure. Why else was she trying to save the world, after all, than for him? She didn¡¯t need to breathe, but still took a deep, calming breath as she grasped Achemiss¡¯s burning, twitching body, the pieces all connected in odd, incoherent ways. Then she ignited one hand and both feet to fly. She was on her way. 364. Unidentified Object ¡°You¡¯re not worried about Maria at all, even now?¡± Euryphel asked, his hands clasped behind his back. Before Ian¡¯s return, even that much would have caused him pain. Now... He was more certain than ever that his preternatural recovery must be Ian¡¯s intervention. Ian didn¡¯t bother to avert his gaze from the vibrant rose bushes. Zukal¡¯iss was blessed with mild weather year-round, so even in the winter months the gardens were naturally verdant without the touch of Sun and Life practitioners¨Cthough their presence was clearly felt in the immaculate perfection of the greenery. ¡°If Maria really needed to contact us, she could,¡± Ian pointed out. ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to be as stealthy, now. Don¡¯t forget that she has a glossY¨Ca burner, one she can just call us with then throw away. Since she hasn¡¯t... we have to assume she¡¯s doing fine.¡± Euryphel tilted his head. Or so harried by Achemiss¡¯s constructs that she can¡¯t afford to retrieve the device from her storage and make a call. ¡°And if she failed... if she died...¡± He paused. ¡°Would you feel it?¡± Ian sighed and cupped one of the roses in his hand, its sharp thorns unable to pierce his skin. The petals were a deep crimson¨Ca very classic rose. ¡°I think I probably would,¡± he finally said. ¡°We didn¡¯t test that before sending her away.¡± ¡°And are you ever worried about her?¡± Euryphel asked again, delivering the words with a different emphasis, referring to a different woman. ¡°Germaine?¡± Euryphel nodded. ¡°Sometimes. Not as much as I probably should.¡± He released the rose and continued walking. They both wore disguises¨Cfor Euryphel, simple makeup and color changing mud for his eyes, along with a change of clothes. Ian just wore a sweatshirt and jeans, with his margarita logo hat casting his face in shadow. ¡°You should visit her,¡± Euryphel suggested. Ian chuckled softly. ¡°When all this is over.¡± Eury frowned. ¡°There¡¯s nothing stopping you from visiting her earlier. You can see her more than once before you return to Eternity, you know.¡± He deliberately chose not to jump into a scenario, despite his desire to do so and tease out the nuances of Ian¡¯s hesitation. ¡°Either the idea makes you uncomfortable, or afraid. Maybe both¨Cwhy?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know. Beginning doesn¡¯t mean I always have the answers.¡± Euryphel realized they¡¯d come to the original part of the gardens where he¡¯d first met Germaine after leaving his room while unable to sleep. It felt like a short eternity ago. The Crowned Executor sat down on a stone bench, reclining with his legs up, arms wrapped around his shins. ¡°Would it help if we brought her here, instead?¡± Otherwise, Ian would probably need to go to the Dunai family enclave in Feather. Ian joined him on a separate bench, laying down flat, his elbows splayed beneath his head. ¡°Maria brought this up before you... Because I didn¡¯t want to even tell Germaine I¡¯d come back. I wanted to wait until everything was finished.¡± ¡°That behavior is definitely within expectations, but still disappointing,¡± Eury said. ¡°You should have told her immediately. She knew you were going into danger.¡± He stared at Ian, focusing on the drawstrings attached to his hood. ¡°You did tell her, eventually?¡± Ian didn¡¯t respond. Euryphel groaned. ¡°That is inexcusable.¡± How many days had it been since his return? Nearly two weeks? ¡°Maria pesters me about it frequently. But I just... I think I want the compartmentalization. Right now, I¡¯m still acting as Eternity Ian. I¡¯m fighting an ascendant, just on a different playing field than normal.¡± ¡°So you want to wait until you can be... regular Ian,¡± Euryphel supposed, though he thought Ian¡¯s train of thought was ludicrous. ¡°You called Germaine while you were in Eternity, though, using the transmission artifact.¡± ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± he said. ¡°When I use the artifact, I leave my body behind. In some ways, it¡¯s the purest distillation of me, or at least my mind. But if I actually see Germaine in person... she¡¯ll see me as the brother who left her to become more. Ian the practitioner. Ian the ascendant.¡± For someone so talented and intelligent, Ian could be so, incredibly, dense. Euryphel resolved to bring Germaine over as soon as possible. Suddenly, Ian¡¯s glossY buzzed from within his pocket. He withdrew it, frowning. ¡°Maria?¡± Eury asked, already half out of his seat. He shook his head. ¡°No¨Cit¡¯s Zilverna.¡± ¡ª Zilverna had been minding his business as ruler of the Selejo, poring over documents on his glosscomp, when his mother¡¯s favorite helper burst into his room. ¡°There¡¯s an unidentified object rapidly approaching from the southwest,¡± Kaiwen Chowicz stated formally, her posture rigid. ¡°I¡¯ve sent two teams to investigate. I need to evacuate you, now.¡± Zilverna choked and burst into a coughing fit, his cold tea sloshing over the side of his cup and dribbling onto the desk. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because my job is to keep you safe,¡± she replied, her demeanor as expressionless as the ice she wielded. He rolled his eyes and lowered the cup to the table. ¡°No, why is there an incoming potential threat?¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Chowicz looked like she wanted to drag him away by the ear. ¡°We have absolutely no idea, which is why we need to go now.¡± He sighed and covered his face with both hands, rubbing his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t make you worry.¡± Chowicz waited for him, not saying anything. A few seconds later, he stood, his back aching. The Regret and Moon dual affinity practitioner was in professional mode, but she still squeezed his hand reassuringly as she led him away. Neither of them were earth elementalists, but they didn¡¯t need to be. Chowicz led Zilverna to his mother¡¯s old room, which still lay unoccupied. Even her favorite ratty rug was there. It was the room where his grandmother, the Sezakuin, had originally stayed as well... and it was where she¡¯d placed the secret passage that descended deep underground. The Eldemari, lacking a Mountain affinity, had developed a more creative way to use the passage with her End affinity. When Chowicz placed her hand on a specific part of the wall, hidden arrays glowed and the wall opened up, revealing a gaping chasm and a rough earthen platform. They stepped onto it and descended through the Cuna. The passage was black, completely devoid of light. Zilverna made a small flame to see by, but all it revealed was the featureless red earth. They rode the platform until it stopped on its own. There was only one way forward, a small room that was well lit by simple overhead rectangles fixed to the ceiling. The small room didn¡¯t have any furniture, probably because his mom always disdained basic comforts. An ergonomic chair? Too indulgent! A soft bed? Heresy! She¡¯d rather sit rigidly on a stool and sleep on the hard floor. He swore that the imposing leather office chair she¡¯d practically lived in was the most uncomfortable abomination of a chair ever made. Why he insisted on sitting in the same chair now, he had no idea. Idiocy, probably. Chowicz stared intently into nothingness, though she held a glosspad in her hands. Zilverna knew better than to complain and distract her when she was obviously running through scenarios. He¡¯d brought along his own glosspad, extracting it from the glosscomp dock on his way out, but the lower reaches of the Cuna didn¡¯t have any connectivity. At least he had the documents he¡¯d loaded upstairs, so he busied himself by looking them over. It wasn¡¯t long before he felt like his eyes would fall out of their sockets from fatigue. After rereading the same paragraph for the third time, he placed the glosspad on the ground and sat up against the wall, uncaring that the unfinished reddish surface would dirty his taupe shirt. He closed his eyes. Ever since his mother¡¯s visit several hours ago, he¡¯d been barely able to concentrate. Why had she been so... so... impossible? No, not impossible. Unwilling. Like she hadn¡¯t even wanted to visit him, like she¡¯d only done so out of some misguided motivation. She¡¯d pretty much confirmed that once she went back to the ascendant world, there was a good chance it would be the last time he ever saw her. And she wanted to choose that¨Cchoose going back¨Cover living here with him. The easy explanation was that she had, in fact, been brainwashed by the Skai¡¯aren, and she was detached because she was unable to emotionally care for anyone but her master. It gave him a simple and easy enemy to hate while removing any culpability from his mom. Zilverna had always liked easy explanations, easy choices¨Cblack and white. He and his mom against the world. Selejo versus the SPU. In this simple world, he only needed to work harder, grow stronger, and do his best to live up to the long shadows of the Eldmari and the Sezakuin, even if those shadows often felt more like one big dark, inescapable hole. He had always been in such a hurry to act, to prove himself, but there had also been a feeling that he was still young and had his life ahead of him. If his mom¡¯s disappearance had killed that rosy dream, her reappearance had killed something else, something he had no words for. Something even more precious. But he hoped, before she left... maybe they could find a way to repair it. A few minutes later, Chowicz shook Zilverna¡¯s arm, rousing him from an unintended nap. ¡°It¡¯s your mother,¡± she said, her lips tight. Zilverna wiped at his eyes, face blushing from the wetness he found there. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± he said defensively. She blinked. ¡°Your mother is the unidentified incoming object,¡± she clarified. His jaw dropped. He patted down his shirt and jumped to his feet. ¡°She¡¯s back? Already?¡± Was she here because she¡¯d changed her mind? Because she wanted to apologize? Because she really did love him? He waited with bated breath for an explanation. ¡°I had to call off the teams I sent to intercept her before they actually made contact in reality. I¡¯m going to meet her and escort her down. She needs a highly secure room to work in. I¡¯m planning to bring her here.¡± ¡°To... work in?¡± Zilverna asked. ¡°This is Darkseers business.¡± Chowicz took a long exhale. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to involve you. I told her you were still in your own room.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll see my End arrow long before she reaches this chamber,¡± Zilverna pointed out. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. She¡¯s coming with me¨Cshe has nowhere else to go.¡± Zilverna fidgeted with his hands. ¡°I¡¯m already involved somewhat, just by sitting in on that meeting in the Federation, but... is she right? Should I not be here?¡± Chowicz gave him a small smile. ¡°The fact you¡¯re asking that question gives me confidence you¡¯re the most ready you¡¯ve ever been.¡± And with that, the dual affinity practitioner left the room. Chowicz returned five minutes later with the familiar, eerie form of his necromanced mom, who was dragging along some kind of horrifying puzzle of shorn flesh. It looked like someone had diced up a human body, then shuffled the pieces and glued them back together in the wrong order. The pieces of body didn¡¯t bleed, but they were still incredibly uncanny to look at. They looked real. While the patchwork monstrosity looked terrible, to say that Maria looked disheveled was an understatement. She looked like someone had taken scissors and tough nails to all her clothes and cut them to shreds. ¡°Zilverna,¡± she said, hoisting the monstrous body over and throwing it into the corner, ¡°long time no see.¡± She singed a circle into the floor around it, then started inscribing. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to involve you any more than necessary, but since you¡¯re here¡±¨Cshe gave Kaiwen Chowicz an accusatory look¨C¡°you might as well just stay. I¡¯ve picked up new arrays in Eternity¨Canything you can learn now should be of great use to you in the future.¡± Zilverna just numbly nodded. ¡°Also, please call the boys,¡± Maria said, pinching the bridge of her nose. ¡°My glossY didn¡¯t quite make the journey.¡± Zilverna didn¡¯t have Ian¡¯s number, but Euryphel was one of his most frequent contacts. He waited for the Crowned Executor to pick up while watching his mom¡¯s array come to life. The call went through. ¡°She¡¯s fucking here! With a thing!¡± He wasn¡¯t particularly concerned with eavesdropping on his end¨Che was deep underground in a claustrophobic room¨Cbut he didn¡¯t know where Euryphel was. He didn¡¯t dare say specifics when the topic was his dead mother and... the patchwork thing she¡¯d dragged in with her. ¡°By here, do you mean Cunabulus?¡± ¡°Yes. She¡¯s, uh, tying the thing down. Metaphysically.¡± They should know what the thing was, right? Because he certainly didn¡¯t! He heard some unintelligible back and forth discussion. Then, Euryphel said, ¡°We¡¯ll be there as soon as possible.¡± ¡°How soon is that?¡± Zilverna muttered. ¡°Sooner than you¡¯d probably like,¡± Euryphel added. ¡°You have time alone with your mother¨Cmake it count.¡± 365. His First Teacher Ian and Euryphel stood within the rib cage of the bone wyrm. Euryphel¡¯s elementalism kept the wind still in the chamber, ensuring that their hair and clothes remained unruffled. ¡°Much easier this time around,¡± Ian murmured, staring blankly at the approaching coastline. Euryphel had the foresight to get both their vital signatures whitelisted to the defenses. Euryphel glanced his way, then laughed. ¡°Maria really was a terror. The only way to breach her stronghold was to die. How crazy is that?¡± He sighed. ¡°Meanwhile, I just play with the wind.¡± Ian rolled his eyes. ¡°Your End is nearly as strong as hers was. What¡¯s your excuse?¡± Euryphel gasped in mock hurt, then shrugged. ¡°My own patience, maybe. Selejo¡¯s arrays are the work of decades. I¡¯ve been planning a network of End arrays to span the whole Federation, though¨Cbigger and better than Maria¡¯s ever were.¡± Ian smiled. ¡°Have you shown your designs to her?¡± ¡°No. I probably should.¡± The levity of the moment fell away as they crossed the coast. They¡¯d flown stupidly high in the air for most of the trip to avoid Achemiss¡¯s constructs, if there were any in the Bay of Ramsay. They only descended now, when Selejo was at hand. At first, Ian hadn¡¯t understood why Maria had gone to Cunabulus, which was on the opposite side of Selejo country from its southwestern shore in Valia. She could have crossed over the Bay of Ramsay and entered Zukal¡¯iss just as easily. But thinking about it with his Beginning affinity, he thought he understood. Achemiss was trying to intercept her. Even though the Bay of Ramsay was now fully contained by the Selejo Imperial Federation, it wasn¡¯t policed; Achemiss wouldn¡¯t have any difficulty entering the bay from the ocean and lying in wait to ambush her. Ian wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Achemiss had constructs dormant in the waters just outside the capital, Zukal¡¯iss, since the ascendant would be a fool if he didn¡¯t at least suspect it as a place where the real Ian Dunai was staying. Ultimately, Maria going to Zukal¡¯iss was too predictable. Cunabulus was also not the most surprising place to go, but at least Selejo was protected by a system of End arrays and other perimeter defenses that had been recently reinforced specifically to deal with a peak Death practitioner threat¨Cironically, Ian himself. Some of Maria¡¯s End arrays had been destroyed when Ari cleaved them during her descent, and they¡¯d been deactivated once she ascended, but she wasn¡¯t the only End practitioner in Selejo. Zilverna¡¯s End affinity wasn¡¯t potent enough to control them at this point, but someone (or maybe even several people) had inevitably been appointed to repair the damaged arrays and preside over them. If Achemiss paid Selejo a visit in person, Ian doubted the arrays would stop him¨Cbut just sending his constructs, even if they were powerful ones boosted by ascendant energy? He wouldn¡¯t find it easy to send them into the Selejan continent. Ian came into Selejo this time with a completely different mindset than before. During the war¨Cand even before it, when he¡¯d escaped from Pardin¨CSelejo had been hostile territory. He¡¯d thought of it in terms of threats and hidden dangers. Now... it was the land of his partner, Maria. He¡¯d seen inside her mind¨Cseen parts of her history, here. Growing up in the Cuna, under the exacting gaze of the Sezakuin, forced to use the subtle, insidious power of End to control a land formerly cowed by the Sezakuin¡¯s displays of overwhelming earth elementalist might. As the wyrm passed high over Selejo¡¯s cities, Ian saw more than shiny glass facades and industry. He saw the future Maria had been trying to build. He saw her idealism in the hovergloss lines that crisscrossed the country¡¯s mountains, plains, and deserts, all filled with cars that glimmered like pale drops of dew in the sun. Or at least he tried to see all these things. He hoped that before ascending again, Maria would be able to show him herself. Finally, the earthen city of Cunabulus came into view. Courtesy of Zilverna, Kaiwen Chowicz knew to expect them. As they neared, Ian collapsed the bone wyrm and sent its bones into a void storage. He and Euryphel descended outside the city limits. A trio of Selejan practitioners approached them barely more than seconds later, garbed in military uniforms and wearing severe expressions, their heads bowed. Euryphel was still wearing his disguise¨Cbrown eyes and makeup that contoured his face¨Cand Ian wore the margarita cap, his bangs partly covering his eyes. They weren¡¯t easily recognizable, so the group¡¯s deference was likely due to whatever Kaiwen had told them. Ian guessed that they were all at least in the high eighties in terms of Mountain affinity. They were all clearly well-trained, as well, possessing strong mental defenses. ¡°Follow us,¡± a man with leathery skin and a scar over his eye said. As he spoke, his companions, a tanned man and an elderly, white-haired woman, collapsed a hole in the ground, then jumped into it. Ian peered into the opening, feeling the space it connected to with his vital perception. It joined with a larger tunnel that extended toward the city. The scarred man looked at them as though trying to gauge their reactions. Ian just stepped into the hole, falling with nonchalance. Euryphel was right behind him, and the wind cushioned their descent. Ian didn¡¯t even need to control his own body with decemancy to land safely. The scarred escort jumped down after closing the hole behind them, leaving the tunnel in complete darkness. Sandwiched between the three Selejans, they proceeded into the city. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Eventually the earth elementalists led them out of the dark tunnel into a red earthen courtyard, the iconic color of the Cuna and the desert state of Vermuth. Kaiwen Chowicz was waiting for them. The Regret and Moon practitioner wore a slightly relieved look as she beheld them. ¡°You made good time.¡± She turned to their escorts. ¡°Return to your posts. I¡¯ll take it from here.¡± They saluted, then departed, leaving Ian and Eury with Maria¡¯s right hand woman. Chowicz motioned with her hand and walked into the Cuna. Ian didn¡¯t bother wondering how she led them through the palace while somehow avoiding every person within it¨Che knew better than to question the power of peak Regret. They came to a dead end when they reached a small room. It was simple, with bare walls and a neatly-made bed with stark linens. The only noteworthy element was a small rug, worn and well-loved. Ian recognized the place from Maria¡¯s thoughts. It was her room. He suddenly had the impulse to sit on the bed and just... exist in the space that had been hers for so many years. He pushed down the urge as Kaiwen activated an array in the wall to reveal a passage. Ian figured it would only activate for a small number of people, probably just Maria, her son, and her most trusted guards. They descended down the lift and soon found themselves in a tiny, windowless chamber. Maria was crouching in the corner, working on an End array. Zilverna knelt next to her, his eyes following her fingers as they pointed to different aspects of the array. They both turned as Ian and Euryphel entered. Ian¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to the bizarre construct half obscured by Maria and Zilverna. It was uncanny because it clearly looked like someone had made a statue of him, then shattered it and smushed the pieces back together. How lovely. ¡°Ian, Eury,¡± Maria said, smiling. ¡°Welcome to the Cuna.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± Eurypel gave her an unconvinced look. ¡°And I thought the basement of Ichormai was soul-killing in its simple decor. And it used to be a dungeon. What was this room originally, a solitary confinement cell?¡± Maria pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°It¡¯s always been a safe room.¡± She shook her head and walked to Ian, squeezing his arm. ¡°We¡¯ve been working on an array to keep Achemiss¡¯s construct fully constrained and his soul anchored to the vessel.¡± Ian paused. ¡°His soul?¡± ¡°See for yourself.¡± ¡°Should I be worried about ruining the arrays?¡± ¡°They¡¯re singed into the earth¨Cyou won¡¯t ruin them just by walking.¡± Ian nodded, then approached the ruined construct. He closed his eyes and placed his hands upon it, then shuddered. ¡°Maria,¡± he said, eyes still closed, ¡°how did you constrain his soul, preventing him from leaving the necromantic construct?¡± ¡°I confess that I researched many types of soul-related arrays while in Eternity, in the hopes of finding a way to reverse or at least halt the damage done to your soul when you gained your third affinity. I thought this particular array might serve another purpose, and it seems I was right.¡± ¡°And you just¨Cinscribed the array on each individual piece of the necromantic construct, with fire, while flying and fighting?¡± He could perceive her smiling with his vital perception. ¡°Are you surprised?¡± Ian¡¯s lips curled. ¡°No. Just proud.¡± He didn¡¯t miss the mock barfing expression Zilverna made off to the side, nor the disapproving look that Maria shot her son. But he soon let all those distractions fall away. Achemiss was, unexpectedly, in his grasp. Ian knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to seriously injure the necromancer ascendant just by attacking the part of the soul in the construct¨CAchemiss would never be so negligent¨Cbut there was much he could learn. In particular, Ian wanted to know how Achemiss could project his soul over such long distances to control constructs directly. With that power at his disposal, Ian could potentially control multiple clones of himself. On his own, controlling more than one body at a time¨Creally controlling them, like Achemiss controlled his false Ian body¨Cwould be difficult. But with a Beginning affinity... Perhaps Ian could send intelligent clones of himself, all connected to his main body, to each of the new rifts that Achemiss had been given. It would be a far better solution than relying on autonomous decemantic constructs. ¡°Euryphel,¡± Ian said with Remorse, ¡°please run some scenarios for me.¡± ¡°Ian.¡± The Crowned Executor¡¯s pained expression was priceless. ¡°Will you make me ask Chowicz?¡± Not even a second later, the former prince was jamming memories from a scenario into Ian¡¯s brain. In the scenario, he¡¯d sent a tendril of ethereal energy into the construct¡¯s body. Then, he¡¯d nearly been sent unconscious by a vicious soul attack. ¡°Aren¡¯t you glad I did this first in a scenario?¡± Ian said. ¡°Again.¡± The construct was a tough nut to crack. Whenever Ian thought he¡¯d found a new approach to the man¡¯s embedded soul, there was some countermeasure that impeded his progress. With Achemiss¡¯s real body, the man had been somewhat constrained in what he could do, mostly relying on an extraordinarily viscous ethereal body protecting the soul within. But with a construct, Achemiss¡¯s creativity had many more outlets. The ascendant had created numerous necromantic sigils, all of them invested with meaning forged from stolen souls. Achemiss must have used hundreds of souls to fashion the body, with several baked into each piece of the construct. It was artistry on a level he¡¯d never seen, not even when Achemiss had briefly toured him through his workshop. There were similarities in technique between Achemiss and Soolemar, but only on a basic level. Ian had seen some of the ascendant Death practitioner Krath Mandur¡¯s practice during the white faction¡¯s tournament, but not enough to get a solid handle on his techniques, so he couldn¡¯t use the man for comparison. Isn¡¯t it ironic, Achemiss? Ian mused. You were the one who set me upon this path. You gave me the ability to see souls and told me to seek out a teacher in Soolemar. And even now, when you wish to destroy me, I steal your secrets by deconstructing your construct in scenarios. It was a shame. If Achemiss wasn¡¯t such a selfish, reclusive, paranoid, apathetic old monster, he might really be a good teacher. Unfortunately, he was all those terrible things and more. So Ian would take everything he could from him, then end him. With the way their plans had been going... those no longer felt like aspirational words. If Ian felt that way, Achemiss must also feel his paths to victory closing off. And a desperate Achemiss was the foe that Ian feared most. 366. One Week Ian stepped out of the Cuna for the first time one week later. The inland air was dry, but pleasantly so, and a soft breeze played with his hair. Cold weather usually came early to the northern part of Selejo, reaching its peak when fall transitioned to winter. It was currently late winter, and the weather usually hovered around fifty degrees. Today was an unseasonably warm day at sixty-five. Ian smiled and closed his eyes as he basked in the sun. Maria closed the wide double doors behind them. They¡¯d taken one of the back exits that led to a secluded overlook. From the steep heights, the city of Cunabulus stretched before them, disappearing into the yellowed winter grass. Souls of all colors danced above the metropolis like glass balloons. Sights like this were such a rarity in Eternity, where souls were far scarcer. He thought he could stare at the city for hours. ¡°Less humid than Zukal¡¯iss, right?¡± Maria said. Her face was obscured by a pair of sunglasses and a wide brim hat that also hid her azure diadem. ¡°I don¡¯t really notice humidity,¡± Ian said. Maria rolled her eyes. ¡°If you had long hair, you would.¡± She pointed off in the distance. ¡°That way lies your old university.¡± Ian scoffed. Academia Hector was a relatively short distance to the northeast. ¡°In case you forgot, I¡¯m a dropout.¡± She chuckled. ¡°I mean, if you showed up now, as you are... I¡¯m sure they¡¯d issue you an honorary degree.¡± Ian laughed. ¡°Probably.¡± He pulled her closer so that her head rested under his chin. ¡°Maria.¡± ¡°Ian.¡± He pressed his chin into her head. Then, he switched to speaking into her mind for privacy, having re-opened their lich bond. ¡°The Darkseers are closing in on every Infinity Loop program. It won¡¯t be long until we can destroy all traces of its existence at once.¡± ¡°Including all Beginning practitioners working on the programs,¡± Maria added. They couldn¡¯t take the risk that Beginning practitioners would be able to perfectly recreate any Infinity Loop information or data that they¡¯d seen. They theoretically wouldn¡¯t need to kill every Beginning practitioner, but it was difficult to make sure every trace of Infinity Loop information was erased without powerful Remorse practitioners doing memory wipes. Ian wouldn¡¯t be in charge of that¨Chis Remorse wasn¡¯t good enough, and he didn¡¯t have the time. From what he understood, Ezenti was in charge of the memory erase effort, and they had a few other Remorse practitioners in the Darkseers who could help... But Ian still assumed that many Beginning practitioners would end up dead for lack of other options. Their overall goal was to kill as few people as possible, simply removing all traces of the technology and relying on the influential Darkseers members to remain vigilant over the coming decades. Ian wasn¡¯t exactly optimistic. ¡°That¡¯s in Euryphel¡¯s hands,¡± he said. ¡°For now, our only concern is Achemiss.¡± He¡¯d made significant progress over the previous week, running countless tests to deconstruct Achemiss¡¯s necromantic construct. ¡°We need to move soon, before he accelerates his efforts even further.¡± She sighed. ¡°How many constructs have I needed to destroy over the Bay of Ramsay this week?¡± ¡°Twenty,¡± Ian said. ¡°Not enough to complain about.¡± ¡°Sure, but you¡¯re not counting all the ones stopped by my End array networks. Thousands of weaker constructs must have been destroyed.¡± End arrays didn¡¯t work well on inanimate objects. Oaths could only be formed between ensouled beings¨Csapients. Necromantic constructs were vulnerable, however. For any decemantic constructs Achemiss sent, they had Selejo¡¯s automated defense systems. ¡°When are you thinking?¡± Maria asked. It was the metaphorical elephant in the room. Nobody had asked Ian directly when he planned to act on the rift location information. Him leaving the Cuna¡¯s secret basement chamber was a turning point. ¡°I need a week to prepare,¡± he said, ¡°then we can move.¡± He squeezed Maria tighter against his chest. ¡°There¡¯s only one thing on my agenda for today, though.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I want you to show me Selejo.¡± Maria¡¯s laughter bubbled up. ¡°You¡¯re looking at it. Besides, you¡¯ve lived here for years while in school.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know it like you do,¡± Ian replied. ¡°No one knows Selejo like I do,¡± she retorted. ¡°Exactly.¡± She twisted so that she looked up at him, the brim of her hat hitting Ian¡¯s lips. She grabbed his hand and stepped over the low earthen balcony, pulling him behind her. They bounded down the red clay overlook, ultimately dropping onto the roof of a residential building, one of thousands. ¡°I can¡¯t show you everything in a day,¡± she said out loud. ¡°A day isn¡¯t even enough for Cunabulus, and you have the gall to say you want me to show you all of Selejo?¡± Ian grinned. ¡°You like a good challenge.¡± She huffed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to show me all of Selejo,¡± he amended. ¡°We can come back when everything is settled. Maybe we can even bring Eury along.¡± ¡°Are you really inviting the Crowned Executor to third wheel?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. She pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°You are such a fascinating man. Yeah, whatever, we can figure out the logistics later. For now¡­ Let me show you Cunabulus.¡± All Ian really knew of Cunabulus was that it was an earth elementalist city, fairly brutal and stark in construction. Much of the city structures were made of red earth stolen from the Vermuthi Desert. The further out Ian looked, the more modern the buildings appeared. The entire outer sprawl of the city lacked red earth altogether. The city was designed to be flat so it could sink into the ground. Such a defense mechanism had been triggered in the hours leading up to Ari¡¯s descent. Ian found it refreshing. It was so different from the city he¡¯d grown up in, Jupiter, and Zukal¡¯iss. Jupiter was filled by modern skyscrapers, while Zukal¡¯iss was older and grittier, but oozing character in its old buildings and the colored lanterns that danced above the city. Cunabulus wasn¡¯t the most aesthetic city, but at least it was unique. People were healthy here¨CIan could sense it¨Cand they all seemed to feel¡­ safe. He saw kids roaming around on their own, racing through the streets on skateboards and even independently entering hovergloss cars to get around. Members of the Eldemari¡¯s Guard¡ªthough he wasn¡¯t sure if they were still called that¡ªpatrolled the streets as peacekeepers. Maria led him up to one of the large, elevated pedestrian crossings, a bridge that spanned two separate quarters of the city, continuing past the primary city boundary¨Ca red clay fortification¨Cand out into the greater Cunabulus area of Magnestria Province. As they walked its length, they were just one couple of many enjoying the warm day. Ian didn¡¯t regret a moment. When they reached the end of the bridge, Maria led him away from the main pedestrian areas and into the wild grass. She moved quickly, empowering her legs. Ian glided behind her. Before long, a body of water stretched out before them. Not the Bay of Ramsay, but Lake Magnestria. Maria led him to the shore, and they walked along the perimeter. Many areas lacked good foot paths, but that didn¡¯t stop them. Even though it was winter, the lake region was dominated by evergreens and the grass was greener, probably due to the lake¡¯s proximity. It was easy to forget it wasn¡¯t spring. ¡°I used to take Zilverna picnicking here,¡± Maria said, stopping by a large rock. She stepped onto it and walked to the edge, her feet dangling toward the water. ¡°You know he used to complain?¡± Ian laughed. ¡°Zilverna, complaining? I¡¯d never guess.¡± She smirked. ¡°He¡¯s a city boy. Likes being around people¨Cbeing near important things. He always liked the idea of adventure. He always wanted to help people. Going somewhere outside the city, away from civilization, was his idea of torture.¡± ¡°When was the last time you brought him here?¡± Ian asked, sitting down beside her. She shrugged and leaned her head against his shoulder. ¡°Five years ago, maybe? Relative to his frame of reference.¡± ¡°Have you thought of taking him back here again?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°A lot has changed,¡± Ian pointed out. ¡°He might see a place like this in a different light, now.¡± ¡°Ian,¡± she began, hesitating. ¡°Can you fix me?¡± His heart nearly skipped a beat. ¡°Fix you?¡± ¡°Make me feel the way I used to,¡± she continued. ¡°Make me love the way I should. The way a mother should.¡± It was a cruel question, one they both already knew the answer to. ¡°This motherly love you¡¯re placing on a pedestal is just the product of hormones, driving you to love your progeny, to care for them and further your bloodline.¡± He sighed. ¡°Survival.¡± She responded by squeezing his hand and holding it tight. ¡°You don¡¯t need a biological crutch to love deeply, Maria.¡± He turned and cupped her face. ¡°I know you don¡¯t.¡± Her response was barely audible. ¡°I know.¡± They took their time by the lake. When they finally returned to Cunabulus, Maria took Ian to one of her favorite restaurants. They were able to sit outside since the upscale establishment had a patio with heating arrays. When they returned to the Cuna, the world was dark, illuminated only by the moon. Ian wished he could extend the day forever and put off what needed to be done. Time marched on without his consent, plunging him back into a new day. He woke up with Maria beside him. She was just staring at him, smiling softly. They were in one of the sumptuous guest rooms within the Cuna, the chamber ironically not at all furnished to her austere tastes. ¡°It¡¯s a new day,¡± she murmured. Ian groaned and sat up on his elbows, resting his head on the headboard. ¡°Y¡¯jeni.¡± She chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? Have I really rendered you speechless?¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± He got out of bed, took a shower, and met Maria and the others for a quiet breakfast in a parlor room within the palace. Euryphel had returned to Ichormai days ago, so it was just Zilverna and Kaiwen who joined them. Maria just watched everyone eating while Kaiwen picked at a bun filled with sour cheese. Zilverna had scrambled eggs next to a thin, crispy strudel that Ian was pretty sure he could buy in any normal grocery store. ¡°So¡­¡± Zilverna began, ¡°you¡¯re gonna¡­ do the thing?¡± Ian nearly gagged on his juice. ¡°You really have no filter.¡± The teen took a bit of the mass-produced pastry, sending crumbs everywhere. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to make sure I don¡¯t say something sensitive!¡± Kaiwen and Maria shared a knowing look. Ian sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll be doing the thing if the workshop space I¡¯ve requested is ready.¡± Zilverna grinned. ¡°I checked it out yesterday night. It extends from Mom¡¯s secret room and it¡¯s like, four times bigger, with tables and actual chairs.¡± He gave Maria a disapproving look. ¡°Did you get the materials I asked for?¡± Ian asked. ¡°Wood, check. Pretty sure that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°I specifically asked for mannequins.¡± ¡°Exactly. Wood.¡± Zilverna paused. ¡°Don¡¯t you need other things, though?¡± ¡°I have everything else with me.¡± Zilverna lowered his voice. ¡°But, like, souls.¡± ¡°Y¡¯jeni, Zilverna,¡± Ian said, chuckling, ¡°I have what I need.¡± After finishing up breakfast and imbibing a healthy dose of caffeine, Zilverna and Kaiwen led them to the secret lift. Where before the lift only led to the tiny safe room, now there was another room next door, this one much larger, as reported. Ian walked inside and nodded at the twelve mannequins lined up on the wall. Two for each of the five new rifts, then an extra two as spares. He pulled out the Blade of Revelation and drew it to his heart, initiating the transformation. Just a few short weeks ago, before his return, he¡¯d only been able to function when either transformed by the Blade of Revelation or while wearing Maria in her regalia form. He was doing much better now thanks to Soolemar¡¯s help in reforming his soul¡¯s anchor points. Even so, the solution wasn¡¯t perfect. He would only be able to do his best necromancy work while in this form, his soul better stabilized. Zilverna stared at him in speechless awe, while Kaiwen¡¯s expression was inscrutable, though Ian sensed a mix of fear and disgust oozing out of her mental defenses. He was used to his transformation but understood why it might strike someone as freakish. He sheathed the blade and walked to the first mannequin, feeling it over and getting a tactile sense of it to enhance his vital perception. He then set aside an apple. He¡¯d tethered Over a thousand souls to it, to the extent that he could barely see the apple with his eyes open. Was he going to need so many souls? He hoped not. But since he¡¯d resigned himself to not leave his new workshop until he was done, he erred on the side of caution. Whatever he didn¡¯t use now, he could release later. ¡°Is there¡­ a soul¡­ trapped inside the apple?¡± Zilverna asked. ¡°Mom said you sometimes put them in random objects.¡± Ian raised an eyebrow. ¡°You could say that.¡± ¡°Let the Skai¡¯aren work,¡± Kaiwen said, tugging Zilverna away. ¡°We¡¯ll check on you in a few hours to see if you need anything.¡± Ian gave her a small smile. ¡°I won¡¯t, but do as you please.¡± Maria settled in a chair as the two departed. Then, Ian snagged a soul and got to work. 367. Black Rock Avatar Watching Ian at work was at once a bit terrifying and engrossing, especially since Maria could see vital energy after becoming a lich. Even if she couldn¡¯t manipulate it herself, she could perceive how Ian imbued the mannequins with Death energy. Ian had been a practitioner for over ten years now, from his relative perspective of time. That was a little less than a third of his life. Watching him, it was hard to imagine that he¡¯d ever been anything but a master of Death. The way he pored over the mannequins, freezing in unnaturally awkward positions sometimes for minutes or even hours at a time, was simply inhuman. People moved. They fidgeted. They breathed. They needed to take breaks. Ian just... didn¡¯t. He hadn¡¯t needed to for a long time, not since achieving 99% Death affinity, though he had clung to those habits, slowly shedding them over the years. Even under the tutelage of Ancient Ash, he had held onto some human habits, mostly in his desire for downtime. With his budding Beginning affinity, it was increasingly unnecessary for him to take even mental breaks. Maria had seen Ian¡¯s loop footage, and she¡¯d even experienced life with him in her own loop, during her last ditch effort to defend against his incursion into Selejo during the war and train up her nascent fire elementalism. She¡¯d literally seen every part of Ian¡¯s journey from powerless mortal to the man he was now. She knew there had to be others who had experienced similarly remarkable metamorphoses. Eternity was nearly infinite, and across all ages... they had to exist. That didn¡¯t make Ian less extraordinary. Maria walked over and peered over Ian¡¯s shoulder. He was stone still as he sat next to the mannequin. He didn¡¯t need to move when he was performing necromancy, not that she could see it. Only when she shared Ian¡¯s vision could she see souls, for instance. ¡°Maria,¡± he suddenly said, his dark, chiseled face turning her way. He grabbed the Blade of Revelation from where he¡¯d set it on the floor. ¡°I think it¡¯s time to start the final step.¡± With that, he stood and took a few paces back, beholding the twelve mannequins. Markings covered their exteriors, but Maria knew that most of what Ian had done wasn¡¯t visible to the eye. He leaned on her, then pulled her to his chest. ¡°You haven¡¯t been working for that long,¡± Maria observed. ¡°I thought you needed a week to prepare for the assault? It¡¯s been two days.¡± Ian smirked. ¡°It was easier than I anticipated to riff off Achemiss¡¯s handiwork. Well, that, and the fact that I have you.¡± Maria gave a dramatic sigh. ¡°And let me guess¡ªyou need to use me again.¡± He¡¯d asked her to transform into her regalia form six times over the past days, mostly so he could take advantage of the crown of embers, which allowed him to better visualize ethereal bodies and perform complex feats of necromancy. He chuckled and pressed the dagger¡¯s pommel into her hand. ¡°Guilty.¡± ¡°I suppose I can do it one more time. It¡¯s for the greater good, after all.¡± With a flourish, she dragged the blade across her chest, cutting deep. Her vision faded as she manifested as the crown of embers, the burning cloak, and the silver vambraces, sliding onto Ian¡¯s form. Through the lich bond, she could always share his vision, but she usually didn¡¯t when she was embodied and had her own way of seeing the world. But as she gave herself over to Ian, she focused on seeing what he saw. It wasn¡¯t too different. She could see the world in color, not just shades of vitality, and she could no longer see End arrows. She could, however, see the mass of souls tethered to a table in the corner. They almost looked like they would tear each other apart from the way that they strained against each other, repelled by the proximity. Souls just fundamentally couldn¡¯t overlap, so if tons of them were pushed into the same place, they strained to escape. As they were now, they looked elongated, having been squeezed and contorted into irregular forms. They still seemed intact and healthy, for lack of a better word, but seeing the display made it clear how soul corruption might take effect. An Infinity Loop forced millions of souls into an incredibly small space, sucking them toward the nexus of its power to create its simulations. Doing so tore the souls apart. Ian strode forward and plucked six souls from the throng¡ªone for each of the embers in the crown that danced over his head. He fed a soul to each ember as though making an offering to ancient deities, each ember changing color to match its given soul. When all were fed, the crown completed its final transformation, the embers merging. In this final stage, Ian¡ªand by extension, Maria¡ªcould see within the mannequins. Each wooden construct held a complex web of power invisible to any other form of perception. Maria couldn¡¯t pretend to understand it¡ªshe was surprised Ian had been able to glean insights to create the formations from Achemiss¡¯s almost-destroyed Dunai construct. Do you see it? Ian asked her. Something is missing from all of them. Maria scrutinized the mannequins, but didn¡¯t see anything. Go closer. He obliged, stopping before the mannequin in the center. Within its faceless head was a complex bundle of nodes that twisted together, plunging down the neck and into the chest cavity, where they branched out and expanded throughout the wood like a fractal. She looked for anything that might be missing, but nothing jumped out at her. Then, the realization hit her. It¡¯s missing you. These are supposed to be connected to you. It¡¯s the only real vulnerability, in return for the unparalleled control they give you. Yes. The final step requires me making a tether. I confess that I¡¯m... nervous. She considered for a moment. You¡¯re worried your soul won¡¯t take well to this. He sighed. Essentially. It¡¯s been doing much better since we¡¯ve left Eternity, and while this shouldn¡¯t hurt it¡ªand I¡¯ve put a ridiculous number of safeguards in place to ensure Achemiss won¡¯t be able to critically injure me through the connection¡ªit still concerns me. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Small steps, Maria told him. Start with one. See how it feels. Maybe bring in Soolemar to see if he finds any vulnerabilities you haven¡¯t considered, if you¡¯re still nervous. Yeah, he said. One at a time. He frowned. Sorry¡ªit¡¯s just the Beginning talking. The little voice in the back of my head saying there¡¯s a 59% chance that there¡¯s something I¡¯m not thinking of, some vulnerability I¡¯m not seeing in my inexperience. It¡¯s hard to ignore and it¡¯s incessant. But it¡¯s also not always right. My Beginning told me I needed a week to do this, for instance. Whether there is a vulnerability or not is irrelevant, Maria pointed out. You¡¯re not doing this alone. We have the Darkseers behind us and a slough of powerful peak practitioners. They aren¡¯t ascendants¨Caside from the one ascendant they managed to recruit that we haven¡¯t yet met¨Cbut they¡¯re powerful enough to tangle with Achemiss¡¯s minions. As for the man himself... Well, once we find him, we¡¯ll end him, personally. These constructs are just for tracking him down. I know. He breathed in deeply, then exhaled. Alright. Let¡¯s do this. Suddenly, a strand of ethereal energy¨Ccobalt blue and thin as a hair¡ªpoked out of Ian¡¯s chest. Maria could see how it sourced straight from the largest pool of ethereal energy in Ian¡¯s torso, where most of his soul was. The strand snaked forward a foot until it was just before the construct. Then, it lunged forward like a viper, sinking into the mannequin¡¯s center. It latched onto a strand of the web within it, one that appeared, at least to Maria, random. But at its touch, the whole nexus began to vibrate as though from resonance. Ian¡¯s blue ethereal energy surged through the pale, white lines of the necromantic construct, at odds with the dead, dark vitality of the wood. Then, the web shifted. It started almost... folding in on itself. Remember back in Eternity, when we were at the black faction? Of course. It hadn¡¯t been that long ago, even if it felt far longer. It was there that I had my first breakthrough on the nature of souls acting across long distances, he said. It¡¯s when I began to realize that the soul was the true glue between our real bodies, trapped in the amber, and the avatars we actually controlled. My first test was investing a soul in the affinity-dampening black rock, to summon it from afar and form a potent defense. The more time I¡¯ve had to think on this subject, however, the more possibilities I¡¯ve come to imagine. Getting my hands on Achemiss¡¯s construct only filled in the final piece of the puzzle, answering some questions I¡¯ve been mulling over. The web of ethereal energy within the construct pulsed. Ian pressed his hand onto the mannequin¡¯s stomach. Souls are uniquely independent and incompatible with one another. But they are pliable, and can be individually controlled. That gives a necromancer flexibility. And it lets me do this. Suddenly, the entire nexus fell apart, the center of the mannequin disappearing and destabilizing everything. Maria blinked in shock. What had Ian¨C Then, a moment later, the web restored itself. Ian chuckled softly. At the center of each mannequin is a piece of the mysterious black rock from Starbreak. Even if someone utterly destroys these mannequins, the rock should survive. Why does that matter? Maria asked. Consider Achemiss¡¯s construct. If I destroy it, I will destroy the tether between him and the construct, causing him minor backlash. And if I don¡¯t destroy it, theoretically there should be a way for me to use it to attack his soul directly. He¡¯s put a ridiculous number of defenses around the tether to prevent that from happening, using techniques I can¡¯t decipher. If I had to fully create that all from scratch, I would need years, not days. But I¡¯m not Achemiss, nor am I dependent on his designs. I created a solution of my own. What I¡¯ve done is made a connection between my soul and the black rock shards. The indestructibility of the black rock, even to ascendant-empowered Dark affinity, will prevent it from being suddenly destroyed by attacks. More importantly... I¡¯ve developed a way to treat the black rock like an ascendant avatar. I can retract the connection, cutting it off completely. Likewise, I can also restore it. It sounded so simple, the way Ian said it. Why shouldn¡¯t a necromancer be able to simply pull their soul away from a vessel it was attached to? It made sense on the surface. But Maria knew just how insane what Ian was saying truly was. When she considered her own End affinity, it was the equivalent to saying she could edit an array she¡¯d drawn days ago on the other side of the world. It was just... impossible. An array was set in stone, fixed in its logic. Said logic might be complex, accounting for numerous situations, but it was still immutable without the practitioner being present. Some ¡°geniuses¡± had tried methods where arrays edited themselves in highly controlled ways, but that never worked. The actual touch of an End practitioner was needed to modify the array without destroying or severely degrading it. The closest society¨Cat least on their home world¨Chad gotten to arrays that made other arrays were machines that manufactured glossware, but an End practitioner was still required in the process. Perplexed, she asked the only question she could: How? It¡¯s simple, really, he responded. Beautiful simplicity. The black rock shards stay with me, and I simply manifest them within the mannequins when I want to control them, using the same technique I revealed in the duel where I defeated the black faction¡¯s two ascendants and proved myself. When I want the constructs to function on their own... The nexus of power winked out again, but the construct began to move all the same. Death energy consumed its bodice. Suddenly, Maria noticed two soul gems embedded into the creature¡¯s body, one in the chest and one between the hips, visible only with Ian¡¯s vital vision. They had always been there, but had been easily overlooked when the web of ethereal power took center stage. Now that she looked even closer, she realized that the mannequin was actually full of bones, almost as though it were a proper person with a skeleton. She hadn¡¯t even noticed when Ian had done it. The bones were so hard to see, faint whispers of darkness on an already black backdrop, but Ian¡¯s perception was refined enough to pick the subtle differences out. Maria finally grasped the full picture. Most of the time, the mannequins could simply function like decemantic constructs and follow set commands. But when Ian chose, he could manifest the black rock within the mannequins and activate the necromantic network, allowing himself to take manual control whenever he wanted. And if any one mannequin were captured, he could abandon it completely without any concerns. ... You really think there¡¯s a 59% chance you¡¯re missing something? Ian just shrugged. It almost seems too simple. Like, why hasn¡¯t Achemiss done this? It¡¯s not like the black rock itself is necessary as a reagent¨Cit¡¯s just the most defensive material I have on hand. Achemiss could do this with anything. If Maria had a physical body at the moment, she¡¯d be rubbing the bridge of her nose. Ian, I think... you¡¯re underestimating yourself. You think? Stop fishing for flattery, she teased. Besides, I haven¡¯t seen your manual control mode yet, using this so-called ¡°too-simple¡± technique. Let¡¯s see if it¡¯s really as easy as you think. 368. Moving Out The twelve mannequins hovered over the workshop floor. Each was dressed in a plain, black uniform, complete with a dark mask that covered where their eyes would be, if they were human. Ian thought they looked rather intimidating. ¡°Can I have them?¡± Zilverna asked, his eyes wide. Ian gave him a sidelong glance. Zilverna¡¯s cheeks flushed. ¡°After you¡¯re finished with this whole business, obviously.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t even seen them in action,¡± Ian said. Maria arched an eyebrow. ¡°If you¡¯re asking to receive them as an inheritance, does this mean you accept Ian as your¨C¡± ¡°Forget I said anything!¡± Zilverna blurted. Ian chuckled. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m a Beginning practitioner, so...¡± Zilverna just gave him a wary look. ¡°Regardless, they¡¯re most powerful when I control them directly. I doubt you¡¯ll find them particularly valuable after I¡¯ve returned to Eternity.¡± ¡°And the method to control them¨Cit¡¯s complete?¡± Kaiwen Chowicz asked. ¡°It is,¡± Ian replied, gesturing to the constructs. ¡°I informed Euryphel via quantum channel that they¡¯re ready to go, and he¡¯s coordinating with the other Darkseers. If nothing changes, we strike tomorrow.¡± ¡°... What kind of strike?¡± Zilverna asked. Ian¡¯s smile was thin. ¡°A two-pronged one.¡± It wasn¡¯t just Achemiss they were going after, but all Infinity Loop research and production facilities. Everywhere that they¡¯d tracked down and infiltrated over the previous weeks. There was simply no way they¡¯d eliminate every trace of Infinity Loop knowledge, but they¡¯d do their damndest. Ian and his closest allies would target the rifts, while the other Darkseers would handle the rest. There was one facility in particular in Iastra that was near impregnable, and they¡¯d only succeeded because Orion Iucorsu had leveraged his father¡¯s influence to infiltrate it. Apparently none expected Iastra¡¯s prince in all but name to plan such a betrayal. Except Ferasci Iucorsu himself¨Cwhom the Darkseers¡¯ enigmatic Ascendant had personally kidnapped and locked away yesterday. It was still unclear how much the most powerful Beginning practitioner in the world knew about the Infinity Loop. For Orion¡¯s sake, Ian hoped not much. It did make him more curious than ever about the allied ascendant¡¯s identity, but such information was held in the strictest confidence for good reason. When this business was all over, he hoped to meet them. Maria placed her hands on Zilverna¡¯s shoulders, fingertips rustling the tassels draping from his uniform¡¯s shoulder pads. She smiled faintly. ¡°Zilverna... you must stay here with Kaiwen.¡± ¡°I know,¡± he said, the words barely audible. Maria squeezed his shoulders. ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± Ian felt Maria¡¯s awkwardness both through the interaction and through the lich bond. They¡¯d spent more time together over the past two weeks or so, but their relationship needed more mending. Ian cleared his throat. ¡°Can one of you activate the lift to the surface?¡± Maria¡¯s head snapped around. ¡°Of course. Kaiwen, lead me and Ian up.¡± It was a bit of a squeeze to fit all the mannequins in the passage, but they managed it. Kaiwen must have contacted the guards and worked to ensure none saw them as they emerged, with the exception of the same three guards Ian and Eury had encountered on the way over. The scarred one nodded, and a passage opened up in the red earth. Ian and Maria bid Kaiwen farewell and plunged into the dark with the mannequins in tow. Ian wished he could keep his wooden masterpieces in a void storage, but doing so made him nervous, what with the piece of rock tethering his soul to them. Souls couldn¡¯t go inside void storages as far as Ian knew. At least they look like people, Ian thought. Creepy, unbreathing, and eyeless¨Cbut still people. They emerged in a remote, unfamiliar area¨Cat least to Ian. Maria recognized it at once. We¡¯re on the western side, she communicated mentally. So straight ahead is toward Koro, and behind us lies the Bay of Ramsay. Ian considered the five rift locations. Three were in the south in the Illyrian Ocean. The other two were significantly east, one in the north between Shattradan and Corneria¨Csurprisingly close to Jupiter¨Cwhile the last lay close to Datcha in the Haethan Ocean. If he were Achemiss, Ian would choose one of the rifts in the Illyrian Ocean as his hiding place. The other rifts were within relatively easy reach if one had to be abandoned, which made it a relatively safe choice. The one near Jupiter seemed too far and isolated to be of use, though the rift in the Haethan Ocean actually wasn¡¯t too far off. Ian would still send two mannequins to each rift location, regardless. It was more a question of where his true body and Maria should go. Ian wanted to be as close as possible to Achemiss¡¯s rift. Not because he planned to engage the man in close quarters directly¡ªthat would be Maria and the mannequins¡¯ job¨Cbut because first, Maria would respawn to him if she was defeated since he¡¯d taken back her phylactery, and second, because he needed to ensure Achemiss soul was isolated and extracted. As they¡¯d already seen once, even total destruction of the ascendant¡¯s body wasn¡¯t enough to put him in the grave. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. How Achemiss had pulled that off, Ian still didn¡¯t know, but he¡¯d be remiss to assume simply destroying Achemiss¨Cwhatever that actually looked like¨Cwould be enough. I thought you¡¯d have already picked where to go by now, Maria said. Ian sighed. It¡¯s hard to decide when we still have no new information. I¡¯m leaning toward the two rifts on either side of Belloco. In other words, the westmost rifts in the Illyrian Ocean. That left two rifts bordering them on the sides¨Cthe one in the Haethan Ocean, and the right-most one in the Illyrian near Shibaria. If Achemiss ended up in the rift near Jupiter, they¡¯d be mildly screwed, but there was nothing to be done about it. How are we getting there? Maria asked. By going up so high, nobody notices us until we¡¯ve dropped down. ... What about the mannequins? Ian chuckled. They¡¯ll go the long way, over water. And Achemiss¡¯s constructs won¡¯t pose a problem? Ian just stared at her. Maria¨Cthese are made to fight Achemiss himself. She smiled and held up her hands. Just checking.You¡¯re the only one who fully understands what they can do. Ian knew they were just stalling at this point. He pulled her into his arms so that her back was to his chest. She still had the diadem activated, so she was warm, lifelike. He gingerly raised a hand to her diadem, feeling the smooth, cool surface of Cayeun Suncloud¡¯s gift. Maria¡¯s hand rose to meet his own. Then, with a soft exhale, she deactivated it. Her vitality immediately darkened as she shed her false humanity. Her chest stilled, and her pallid hand held his for a few beats before it fell to her side. Ian pulled away and nodded. Go, he commanded, envisioning each destination in his mind. The mannequins didn¡¯t have an understanding of where to go other than a direction, so he¡¯d have to manually keep them on course. Before, that would have been an impossible task, but with Beginning, it entered the realm of the feasible. For the first part of the journey, the mannequins would navigate without any global positioning, like that included in most glossYs. They¡¯d stay close to land masses so Ian maintained a frame of reference. When they entered a terminal stage, flying out over the open ocean, he¡¯d remotely activate the locators he¡¯d placed on them. While unlikely, the locators could be traced, which made them a risk when flying close to land. For a short duration in the middle of nowhere, however, using them would be fine. It¡¯s uncanny how they move so silently, like little missiles, Maria thought. Ian rolled his eyes. You should be familiar with it by now, considering how much time you spend with me. She chuckled, though the laughter died quickly, replaced by a severe focus. How long should we wait to head out? Ian cocked his head. Maybe an hour? We¡¯re faster than my constructs, especially since our strategy involves going up and then plummeting down. Maria sat down to meditate while Ian reached out to Euryphel. My constructs are on their way, he said, opening the quantum channel. Excellent. I¡¯ll orchestrate everything on my end. Euryphel paused. Good luck, Ian. Good luck to you, too, he replied. There¡¯s no one else I¡¯d trust to pull this off. I can think of several, but I appreciate the vote of confidence. Seriously, Ian insisted. Tell me nice things to my face, Euryphel rebuffed him. It¡¯ll give me something to look forward to. Ian was speechless for a second. That was brazen, even for Euryphel¨Cand an obvious sign of the Crowned Executor¡¯s stress. Alright. Take care, and let me know if anything goes wrong. The transmission cut out. Ian pulled out the Blade of Revelation and held its surface up to the sunlight. It was beautiful, appearing almost glass-like without his ascendant energy running through it, its blade blending in with the pale blue sky. He wondered absently what the blade would do to something like Ari¡¯s body, which still remained in stasis within the void storage Achemiss had dispatched with his Ian-esque construct, the one Maria had captured. They hadn¡¯t found a way to open the storage in the intervening weeks, much less the one they¡¯d stolen from Achemiss¡¯s ruined body upon returning to their home world. It was a task for Void Seeker Karanos. If he wanted Ari¡¯s body, he could find an ascendant capable of cracking Achemiss¡¯s protections when they returned. Speaking of¨Che probably should¡¯ve contacted Karanos, at the very least, to explain what they were attempting. He was most likely to know if there was something they hadn¡¯t considered. He still hadn¡¯t called the ascendant since returning. Technically, he had almost an hour to kill... Maria, he said mentally, I¡¯m going to use the transmission artifact. She opened her eyes and stared at him. Who are you calling? Karanos. She narrowed her eyes. Isn¡¯t there someone else you should be calling before you do something dangerous that could, potentially, end in your death? He scoffed. I¡¯m hardly in danger, Maria. He swallowed under her withering stare. Why should I call her when it¡¯ll just make her worry? Because you should¡¯ve called right after returning home. The last time you talked to her, it was to tell her you were attacking Achemiss¨Cand she hasn¡¯t heard anything from you since. I¡¯ve told you this several times, but it¡¯s ridiculous. You can talk to her about anything¨Cyou don¡¯t have to let her know what you¡¯re doing. Just... Won¡¯t you regret it, if you do this, and you never get to speak to her again? Ian would really prefer to just call her twenty-four hours from now, when everything was figured out. But the nagging number-crunching of his Beginning gave him pause. While there was a very high percent chance he was in no danger, it wasn¡¯t zero. He squinted at the glare produced by the Blade of Revelation, thinking. Fine, he said. I¡¯ll call her. Maria gaped. Truly? Yes, truly. He produced the transmission artifact. But Karanos first. 369. Overdue Calls They were in an isolated area, one without protections set up, but Ian was fully confident in Maria¡¯s ability to keep him safe. He pressed the button to activate Suncloud¡¯s artifact, then fell backwards as his mind left his body. Karanos was alone, sitting in his room in the white faction, apparently lost in thought, his dark brown eyes staring at the floor. Ian cleared his throat. Karanos flinched. ¡°Ian,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s been weeks. Are you...?¡± ¡°A lot has happened,¡± Ian said. ¡°You look better than before,¡± Karanos said. ¡°No need to transform yourself with your knife?¡± Ian smiled. ¡°No need.¡± The Light practitioner nodded. ¡°Where exactly are you? Last we talked, you were on your way to Achemiss.¡± ¡°About that...¡± It took Ian a few minutes to give Karanos the broad strokes. The ascendant¡¯s face was characteristically stoic through the entire explanation. Only at the end, when Ian explained the ongoing execution of his plan, did Karanos run a hand through his short, dark hair. ¡°Ian... A lot has happened? Really?¡± His voice dripped with sarcasm. ¡°You never thought to contact me once? Not even when you retrieved Ari?¡± Real anger colored his voice as he said her name. He shook his head, averting his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s situations like this that remind me of your true age.¡± ¡°But tell me this, Void Seeker¨Cwould reaching out before now have accomplished anything? What could you have told me?¡± Karanos seemed momentarily at a loss for words. His brow furrowed dangerously, like his eyebrows would tear off his forehead. ¡°Ancient Dunai, despite your title, your wisdom and experience are lacking. Let¡¯s see. To your conundrum about where Achemiss is located, I probably can¡¯t add anything¨Cas you pointed out, it¡¯s a bit of a long shot to guess without more information. But as for what he has in store for you... Well, he¡¯s had a while to prepare, and a plentiful supply of powerful souls for him to steal. His signature artifact, the source of his fame and success, allows him to capture powerful peak practitioner souls from other worlds. Its absence is hardly important given the current circumstances.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware he¡¯s had time to create powerful artifacts,¡± Ian said. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re moving as fast as we can.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you are.¡± Ian chuckled bitterly. ¡°What would you have us do? Anything productive to suggest?¡± ¡°Achemiss will be prepared to wage a one-man war,¡± Karanos said. ¡°You can¡¯t rely on your constructs to defeat him on their own. Not even Maria will be enough. Not when Achemiss is using ascendant energy to empower his army. He doesn¡¯t need to win¨Che just needs to distract you long enough to escape, unnoticed in the chaos.¡± Ian crossed his arms. ¡°I think you¡¯re underestimating us. Underestimating my constructs, and underestimating Maria.¡± Karanos paused, his fiery expression fading. ¡°You¡¯re that confident?¡± Ian shrugged. ¡°Me and Maria have both had breakthroughs since we¡¯ve been here, her with arrays, me with my practice. Helped that we captured one of Achemiss¡¯s constructs, one attached to his soul, for me to study. Also helps that my soul troubles have been largely dealt with for now.¡± Karanos¡¯s gaze was long and hard. Then, it thawed into exhausted resignation. ¡°I apologize for how dismissive I was,¡± he said. ¡°I just¨C¡± He cut off. ¡°If you don¡¯t return to Eternity, Cayeun Suncloud will have my head. She still needs the transmission artifact back. Don¡¯t fucking die.¡± Ian snorted. That was definitely the real reason why he wanted Ian to return successfully. His face felt hot with emotion. ¡°I wonder how many times she¡¯d kill you before she¡¯d be satisfied.¡± ¡°Too many,¡± Karanos said blithely. ¡°Based on how calm you are, I suppose you really do have things under control.¡± ¡°Hopefully.¡± Karanos cracked a small smile, one filled with an inexplicable emotion. ¡°Contact me again after it¡¯s all done. Promise me.¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Then, Karanos made a shooing motion. ¡°Then get to it, Ancient.¡± Smiling, Ian ended the transmission. He felt like he¡¯d sprinted a mile. How about we don¡¯t call Germaine? he thought, giving Maria a pleading look. Seeing her unamused reaction, he sighed and prepared himself for just what he didn¡¯t need before a big fight¨Cto be overwhelmed by his emotions. He had clear ways to numb them, but still. Maria¡¯s right, though, he thought. Better to go into this final fight without regrets. Not with the transmission artifact, Maria suddenly added. Remember, she¡¯s being watched for her own safety. But that means if you appear near her seemingly in the flesh, it¡¯ll cause a stir. Ian frowned. What should I¨C He looked down and pulled out a glossY from his void storage, the one he¡¯d used to call Soolemar. Maria had forced him to input several numbers into it, including Germaine¡¯s. Grimacing, he called his sister. It rang once, twice¨Cmaybe she won¡¯t pick up¨Cand a third time. ¡°Hello? Who is this?¡± Her voice... Ian swallowed. ¡°It¡¯s me, Germaine.¡± The line went silent for a second. ¡°You¨C You¡¯re back?¡± He hummed in confirmation. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! So this means you succeeded? You won?¡± Her exuberance was infectious. ¡°Almost,¡± he said. ¡°Soon, it¡¯ll all be over.¡± He hoped. ¡°Tell me about what you¡¯ve been up to since we last spoke.¡± She launched into a recap of the past month without hesitation. Ian figured she must have picked up on his unwillingness to speak about his own situation, which he appreciated more than she could ever know. She even sent him an image halfway through the call, a selfie taken in an unfamiliar locale, somewhere wooded, outside. It was dusk. Germaine was sitting on a small boulder, a sketchbook in her lap, her one visible hand stained by graphite. ¡°You¡¯re there now?¡± he asked. ¡°Yep! You called me while I was sketching. It can¡¯t hold a candle to where you brought me using the, uh, transmission thing¨Care we allowed to talk about that stuff?¨Cbut it¡¯s still a good spot.¡± She became quiet. ¡°Is there anything you can tell me about what you¡¯ve been doing?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve seen our mutual friend the ex-prince,¡± he said. ¡°He¡¯s doing okay. I¡¯ve been driving him a bit crazy. Too much to do, too little time.¡± ¡°Yeah, he called me a few days ago. Sounded stressed out of his mind. Just told me not to worry about it, which is ridiculous. Also told me not to worry about you.¡± Ian blinked. Eury had called Germaine and hadn¡¯t mentioned that he was back? His stomach felt tight. Eury had a million things he had to balance, and yet his friend had checked in on his sister while also respecting his wishes to let Germaine know he was back on his own terms. Eury really was too good to him. ¡°You were worrying about me?¡± ¡°Not that much,¡± she replied, though there was an uncertain tinge to her words. ¡°Well, don¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°Remember, my affinity is great for letting me do things from afar, keeping myself out of harm¡¯s way. I can¡¯t tell you what I¡¯m doing, but I was serious when I said things would be over soon. Why don¡¯t we make plans to meet?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love that. I¡¯ll do you one better¨Chere¡¯s a carte blanche. Just come anytime you can and I¡¯ll be free.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t wait,¡± he said, smiling. He ended the call. Maria was suddenly at his side, an arm strung behind his back. ¡°Was that so bad?¡± she asked, speaking out loud. ¡°No,¡± he admitted. And now we only have¨Cwow, forty minutes left to wait, Maria continued, switching over to the lich bond. Time for lots more calls. Remember who else I put in your phone? Your mother¨C Nope, Ian said firmly. No more calls. I¡¯ll take some alone time, thank you very much. During his short call with Karanos, the constructs had navigated entirely autonomously. It had been... fine, considered they had so far to go. He¡¯d taken some manual control during the call with Germaine, multitasking with his Beginning affinity. But it was nice to give the constructs more dedicated attention. So far, they hadn¡¯t encountered any issues. The majority of the drones were currently cruising across the Bay of Ramsay, most headed south, and a single pair headed northeast. Ian knew there were Achemiss constructs all around, but he didn¡¯t think they were prepared for constructs of this caliber. Even without Ian doing anything, the constructs had minimal Death energy emissions due to the way Ian had constructed the decemantic components, embedding them in the wood. And if Ian actually took control, that signature faded to almost nothing as necromancy supplanted decemancy. He thought back to his conversation with Karanos. It had taken a turn he hadn¡¯t expected. He¡¯d thought that Karanos would maybe ask more about Ari, or for more details on how he tore Achemiss to shreds, or simply just wish him good luck. He hadn¡¯t expected Karanos to be angry and to be so... Confrontational? But Ian had to admit¨Cthe ascendant questioning his competency was exactly what he needed. In defending his own competency, and Maria¡¯s, he¡¯d also taken the step to truly believe that they were ready. And he really did think they were. We actually can do this. I know, love, Maria thought. It¡¯s crazy that we can actually do this. Not too long ago, we considered the only path to victory assassination. Now we¡¯re confronting him head on, wherever he¡¯s lurking. I mean... you did already defang him by stealing all his artifacts, Maria noted. And you¡¯re a three-affinity ancient, which doesn¡¯t quite put you on the same level as Achemiss¡¯s peak Death and Dark, but it gets you close, and gives you versatility. Maria¨C But yes, it is incredible. He smiled and pulled her down to the grassy ground, hugging her tightly. They stayed like that for a while, the minutes lovingly wasted as the time to depart drew close. And then, it was time. Ian pulled Maria to her feet. What a gentleman, she teased. Shall I blast us off? Ian could fly them up courtesy of his decemancy, but it would be faster if Maria took care of the launch. Besides, they didn¡¯t have to be as cautious about the noise wherever it was the Eldemari¡¯s Guards had taken them. Please, Ian replied. Shooting him a wicked grin, she turned and gestured to her back. Ian shook his head. I¡¯m taller than you¨Cgrab me from behind. He smiled pleasantly and tapped his shoulder. I¡¯m stronger than you, she retorted. He raised an eyebrow. Doesn¡¯t that mean you should be the one to hold onto me? She held up a finger, her mouth open with a response on her lips¨Ca performative gesture since their conversation was purely mental. Y¡¯jeni. I suppose you have a point. Besides, the Eldemari is too esteemed to be reduced to a lowly steed, Ian added, brandishing the dagger. Channeling ascendant energy into it, he slashed it across his chest, triggering the transformation. Maria wrapped her arms around him as Ian lifted them a few feet off the ground. Then, Maria¡¯s flames burst forth from her feet, rocketing them skyward. It was exhilarating to move with such speed. A boon of his dark, rugged skin was that it withstood the rapid velocity much better than normal flesh, barely rippling in the wind. With Maria¡¯s ascendant-energy-enhanced flames, they were flying incredibly fast, faster than falling from orbit, and much swifter than Ian¡¯s decemancy could muster. Maria couldn¡¯t steer effectively with her arms wrapped around him, but she didn¡¯t need to. Ian kept them on target with his practice. As long as they remained within the atmosphere above Selejo, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues with the strong heat signature. But as the air thinned more and more, the world becoming so small beneath them, Maria cut her fire and Ian took over, seizing on their momentum to shoot across the world, heading south toward Sere. He observed the world from above while directing his constructs below. None of them were in the terminal flight phase yet, but it wouldn¡¯t be too far off. I feel oddly calm, Maria thought. Yeah. I know what you mean. On their end, the plan was relatively simple¨Cthey just needed to get Ian¡¯s necromantic constructs into position, then make a last-minute arrival. There wasn¡¯t much complexity, and very few ways for things to go awry... at least until they actually reached the rifts. Ian had a feeling he wouldn¡¯t be feeling calm then. Eventually, their flight across the continent came to an end, and they started their descent south of Sere in the middle of the ocean. Unlike Holiday¡¯s Discardia trials, there was no incentive to crash dramatically to the earth, making a stir. Ian controlled the terminal part of their fall with decemancy, slowly lowering them to the water¡¯s surface. He timed it well¨Csoon after, the last of his constructs arrived within proximity of Achemiss¡¯s rifts. When assuming manual control, he could hold up each construct¡¯s arm, pull the sleeve back, and view a coordinate readout and a compass. It was finally time to kick the nest. 370. First Contact Euryphel propped his glosspad up on his legs as he reclined on the divan in the sun room. Nothing was on the display; just a blank background. His mind was still fried hours after the marathon coordination session beneath the palace. It had been him, Urstes, Diana, and General Var¡¯dun¡¯a poring over the extensive maps and notes they¡¯d compiled on all the different facilities the Darkseers would strike. It wasn¡¯t just double-checking and refining the planned courses of action¨Cthey were actively communicating with every cell of the Darkseers as they deployed. Two facilities in particular were of most concern¨Cthe subterranean labs in Saispar within Sere¡¯s Kaspari province, and Iastra¡¯s high-security state research compound in the ruins of the old Adrillon Empire at the bottom of Lake Adrian. That was by far the most secure. Not just because of the Infinity Loop, but because it was where Iastra developed much of its most advanced tech and armaments. Iastra was arguably the most powerful state in the world for a reason, and it defended its edge with extreme prejudice. Thankfully, all of the other facilities they had identified had significantly less defenses. Probably because they didn¡¯t expect to be singled out for any attacks. And technically, they were right. They weren¡¯t being singled out. Aside from Euryphel, who was required to stay behind and facilitate, the others had proceeded to their own destinations. Urstes was en route to Saispar, while Diana and the general had already taken covert transport arrays to the east. They were assigned to smaller facilities. Kaiwen had also been sent away as planned, so Zilverna had taken a transport array to Zukal¡¯iss. The teen was somewhere in the palace; at this point, Euryphel didn¡¯t have the mental bandwidth to keep tabs on his many-times-removed younger cousin. He trusted the Guard to ensure Zilverna¡¯s safety¨Cat least, those who weren¡¯t Darkseers members dispatched elsewhere in the world. The waiting was killing him. It took every ounce of self control to keep himself from running recursive loops to keep exhaustive tabs on everyone. As it was, his role was to send messages over quantum channel to everyone who had agreed to the procedure. To everyone else¨Cnotably the sovereigns they¡¯d recruited, like the Night Queen; Soolemar, who couldn¡¯t undergo the procedure since he was a lich; and their only ascendant ally aside from Ian, who was simply unwilling¨Che would attempt to contact their secured glossY. In Regret scenarios, Euryphel would ping them periodically. Based on the contents of Euryphel¡¯s messages, the Darkseers would know whether it was real life or a scenario. Most of the messages Eury sent would be in scenarios, of course, and they would be much less brief, inquiring about mission progress and whether there were any concerns. When an individual got into position, if Euryphel sent them the go-ahead and nothing else, they¡¯d know it was real life and that they were to proceed immediately. If Euryphel instead sent the command to hold, they¡¯d do just that until told otherwise. And if he told them to abort... Well, they¡¯d get the hell out. The same went for communications over quantum channel. Those were easier because they went at the speed of thought, though. Eury, we¡¯re in position, Guardian Druni said. Me and Kaiwen are together in the ruins. Euryphel nodded to himself and entered a scenario. He waited thirty seconds, then recursed. He sent a message to Orion Iucorsu¡¯s secured glossY. The man was inside the facility now. The glossY would normally have connectivity anywhere, but there were parts of the compound that blocked communications as surely as entering a rift. If Iucorsu didn¡¯t answer immediately, Eury would just need to wait. Seer: The water elementalists are in position. How much longer on your end? Breaker: Less than fifteen minutes. Everything proceeding smoothly inside. Euryphel snapped back to the recursion checkpoint, then recursed again, this time reaching out to Ascendant Deathflame. It was an obvious and uninspired pseudonym, though it did match their affinities, Sun and Death. As far as Euryphel knew, though, they primarily used their fire elementalism. Seer: Are you in position? Deathflame: No. Euryphel groaned internally. Seer: Where are you currently? Deathflame: I¡¯m not sure. I was swimming with the wetsuit on, but it¡¯s hard to navigate when everything looks the same. Seer: Should I send one of the water elementalists to grab you? Deathflame: I¡¯ll figure it out. Why, is everyone else ready and waiting for me? Seer: Yes. Deathflame: Oh. Deathflame: Tell one of them to grab me. I¡¯ll send you my current location. Retrieving the coordinates, Euryphel killed the scenario, snapping back to the present. While he reached out to Druni, his mind was consumed by all the other missions that needed attention. He thought he deserved to unlock a Beginning affinity at this point, not that it worked that way. Finally, Ascendant Deathflame was practically towed into position beneath the facility. By then, nearly everyone else across all the missions was ready for action. As the minutes went on, the last stragglers fell into place.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Everyone was ready for Euryphel to give the orders to move. There was just one person he was waiting for. ¡°Ian, are you¨C¡± ¡°We¡¯re ready,¡± he replied, cutting Eury off. ¡°Just arrived. All the mannequins are in position. How are things on your end?¡± ¡°Ready,¡± Euryphel replied. ¡°This is it. Am I the only one shuddering with anticipation?¡± ¡°I would be, if I weren¡¯t controlling my body. Maria too, if she wasn¡¯t a lich. I can feel her excitement and nerves in equal measure.¡± ¡°So I am the only one.¡± ¡°I wish sarcasm could come through over quantum channel,¡± Ian replied. ¡°And laughter.¡± ¡°Y¡¯jeni, Ian. I¡¯m going to kick things off if you¡¯re really ready,¡± Euryphel continued. His hands were shaking. He pressed them together, the scarred digits holding each other in place. ¡°Do it. Now or never, Eury. Good luck.¡± ¡°Good luck,¡± Euryphel echoed. The quantum channel closed and he squeezed his eyes shut. One last time, he went through a series of scenarios to ensure nothing unexpected would go awry in the next minute or so in any of the operations. After doing that due diligence, he reached out one-by-one to everyone in reality. Since he could only have one conversation over quantum channel at a time, he sent those messages in the agreed-upon order while sending off a wave of communications to the secure glossYs. As the final confirmation came back, he drummed his fingers on his glosspad. The display was still blank; in his scenarios, he¡¯d pull up whatever plan he needed as he directed each team. Ideally, none of them would need guidance, but most plans unraveled at some point. When reality deviated from expectation, the plan they¡¯d agreed upon was rather simple. Euryphel would just use his recursion to run as many scenarios as needed to find the best path forward. They¡¯d already done extensive planning ahead of time for anticipated situations, so hopefully he¡¯d only need to pick a plan B or C for most teams to follow, rather than create an entirely new course of action on the fly. At least the team in Lake Adrian had two peak Regret practitioners. That had to count for something... right? The only other bit that Euryphel would definitely be supplying was Ian¡¯s Regret scenario coverage. Ian would ask for scenarios on demand through quantum channel. Euryphel had considered dedicating another powerful Regret practitioner, like Kaiwen, to support Ian¡¯s assault on Achemiss. In the end, Euryphel only felt comfortable doing the job himself. He and Ian had worked together so many times that they had an intrinsic understanding of the other. Ian had literally been inside Euryphel¡¯s head¨Cinside his soul. If Euryphel didn¡¯t personally help Ian and then the necromancer lost... it would leave him with a crushing regret. ¡ª Maria waited in apprehension as Ian sent his mannequins the final stretch to the rifts, his brow furrowing in concentration. Through their connection, she could see what he saw and what he wanted her to see, a skill much improved since he¡¯d received his Remorse affinity. So it was that she tracked the final journeys of the constructs as they dove into the water, disappearing between cresting waves. None of the rifts had constructs patrolling the surface or any other signs that would point to Achemiss¡¯s presence. That would be too obvious. But it made following Ian¡¯s mannequins into the depths especially nerve-wracking. The dark waters were clouded with mist-like vitality, proving an enigma to the constructs¡¯ limited senses. Seeing more than ten or twenty feet down was impossible. They had the rift coordinates, but even finding the rifts would be a challenge. They were all in deep bodies of water, and technically, could be anywhere¨Cthough would more likely be closer to dense material, such as that composing the seabed. Rifts like these, in the middle of nowhere and hard to access, were much less valuable than the few that appeared on land. It was obvious why they¡¯d been given away to Achemiss when the ascendant¡¯s only demand was rifts with no other stipulations attached. The mannequins swam down like torpedos, their uniforms streamlined and slick over their bodies. Down, down, down... until the first mannequin hit the bottom of the Gulf of Corneria, the one off the coast of Shattradan. The one furthest from anywhere else. It hadn¡¯t found the rift, so Maria was surprised at Ian¡¯s reaction. Shit. What is it? she asked. Ian relayed a message he¡¯d received from Euryphel over quantum channel. In the next minute, the mannequin that had reached the seabed would enter the rift. Within it would find an army of constructs. Eury didn¡¯t have the specifics due to the limitations in communicating via quantum channel, but thousands of peak Death constructs couldn¡¯t be good news. Worse, when Ian¡¯s construct entered the rift, it set them off, causing the army to rush for the rift exit¨Cand pour into the gulf. It seemed like Achemiss was either prepared for them invading his rifts, or he was stocking all the rifts he had in preparation for a broader war. We¡¯ll need to find the rifts using Eury¡¯s Regret, Ian said. It was a priority before, but now it¡¯s a necessity. I¡¯m positive Achemiss will know if one of his construct armies is set off. We already know he can control necromantic constructs across multiple planes, so getting feedback from constructs in four rifts while he orchestrates from the fifth isn¡¯t unbelievable. Maria just wished her End could work in the same way. If she could see Achemiss¡¯s End arrow, all of this caution would be unnecessary. There was probably an insight hidden within Achemiss¡¯s practice that could help, but she wouldn¡¯t be figuring it out from him today, or ever, if they really succeeded in their task. She was still frustrated that their original plan A¨Cwaiting for Achemiss to leave his original rift and travel to one of the new ones¨Chadn¡¯t worked. While Ian had been creating his mannequins in the Cuna, Maria had waited for any sign of Achemiss¡¯s End arrow. And it had appeared¨Cwhich is how they knew he¡¯d relocated rifts¨Cbut confoundingly. Achemiss had seemingly used his necromancy to create a multitude of facsimile End arrows. They were necromantic constructs similar to the one she¡¯d chased down out of the Sere compound, which had also had its own End arrow. That one, however, hadn¡¯t felt completely like Achemiss¨Cnot like these arrows had. Maria had informed everyone of the development, and had attempted to find the real Achemiss out of the tangle of fate, but the arrows had disappeared after only an hour. She¡¯d only managed to chase down three of over twenty, all of which were dead ends. Whenever she¡¯d gotten close enough to see the constructs as little more than specks on the horizon, they utterly self-destructed, leaving nothing for her to collect or bring back. It had been maddening. Now was their second chance, and while she felt optimistic that Achemiss would be in one of the five rifts, his slipperiness and caution continued to give her pause. This latest development¨Cthe construct army lying in wait¨Cwasn¡¯t surprising, but it was unnerving. Who knew what kind of disaster lay in wait in the rift where Achemiss actually lay? 371. Dueling Regret Achemiss hadn¡¯t expected any visitors today. He¡¯d known another confrontation would come eventually, but he¡¯d put plans in motion to ensure it happened on his own terms, where he could use his perceived vulnerability to lure Dunai into a disadvantageous position. Perhaps even using the ancient¡¯s family against him, though Achemiss knew such a venture might backfire. A Dunai with nothing left to lose might very well abandon this world¨Cleaving Achemiss stranded. Achemiss wasn¡¯t sure exactly how Dunai had managed to find his rift, but it was clear he had. Achemiss knew because he had a Regret practitioner of his own. He peered over at Jenexa, one of the more powerful practitioners he¡¯d captured since his return home. With a Regret affinity just over 80%, she could reliably give him thirty second¡¯s warning on anything. Well, giving her the credit wasn¡¯t entirely accurate. Anything she did was because of his commands. She wasn¡¯t really Jenexa anymore, though Achemiss prided himself on his ultra-realistic constructs, so her appearance should fool anyone who had known her. Only the glassy stare and vapid expression indicated anything was awry. She was a special sort of construct. Not a lich¨Cthose were a trial to create, and frankly unnecessary. Achemiss didn¡¯t want his minions to think independently or remember themselves. He wanted minions like Jenexa who were almost vegetables, but perfectly did what they were told to do. Jenexa did the work of teams of Regret practitioners. Even many ascendants didn¡¯t have the mental tenacity required to run Regret scenarios every few seconds over an extended period of time. Days, sure. Months? Years? Jenexa could do so¨Cwould do so¨Cuntil Achemiss gave her a different command. Tirelessly, without complaint¨Cwithout mistake. So it was that Achemiss had 29¨C28?¨Cseconds in counting to figure out how to respond to whatever threat was knocking on his door. Jenexa¡¯s grasp of the interloper hadn¡¯t been very helpful. He¡¯d gleaned from her limited thoughts that it was a necromantic construct, the kind that he would only expect Dunai to send. That gave him precious little to work with. But that was okay. Achemiss was a peak Dark practitioner and a master at creating void storages¨Cthough after the many breakthroughs he¡¯d had after studying the way planes worked in Eternity, he thought of them more as dimensional pockets. Such spaces were isolated and often time passed incredibly slowly within them, so they supported only inanimate objects. As an ascendant, Achemiss had never had much need for an accelerated pocket dimension¨Cthe opposite of the norm¨Cbut he¡¯d still toyed with the concept. The idea had returned to him when he¡¯d first come back, weakened like an ember flickering in a storm. He had needed time to just think and come up with a path forward. So, he¡¯d created an accelerated pocket dimension and ordered a construct to place him inside, with commands to withdraw him after a certain duration. It was a plan that never would have worked were Achemiss still whole¨Ca reminder that even disasters had silver linings. Achemiss¡¯s form sat on a stone throne whose seat was anchored to the pocket dimension. He was proud of the work¨Ccreating a pocket dimension within a rift was challenging and potentially dangerous, but he¡¯d been sure of his abilities. The throne itself was imbued with necromancy. A simple weave of dark tendrils and intent that had one function: controlling Achemiss¡¯s passage into the accelerated pocket dimension. On the throne¡¯s arm Achemiss could control a small dial, twisting it to indicate how long he¡¯d like to remain inside. He twisted it to fifteen, then mentally triggered the construct into action. The world flickered. Suddenly, Achemiss was surrounded by darkness. He was on a lone platform of ageless rock. The belongings he¡¯d filled the space with were sparse¨Ca desk, chair, pencil, and paper. Lots of paper, which was stupidly hard to acquire in this world¡¯s contemporary era. What he wouldn¡¯t give to be able to use his practice in the dimension, but he found using his affinities destabilized it. That was a driving reason behind the timer system, versus him trying to issue commands to the throne necromantic construct from within the pocket dimension. It was a shame, but probably for the best. Working in a pocket dimension was a bit dreary. Achemiss slid down into the chair¨Ca mundane one, since Achemiss couldn¡¯t manipulate a chair made from materials like hair and bone. It was somewhat annoying on principle¨CAchemiss loved highly-adjustable furniture¨Cbut his current state of existence didn¡¯t experience discomfort in the same way, so the minor frustration faded to the background. There was no air in the dimension, so when Achemiss leaned back and laughed, it was eerily silent. He couldn¡¯t say he was happy with the current development. Obviously he¡¯d prefer not to be attacked in his own rift with thirty second¡¯s warning. But he couldn¡¯t deny the part of him salivating for a proper rematch¨Cand the allure of being able to eliminate the greatest threat to his life on the planet. He didn¡¯t know if Dunai kept the return beacon on his person, but if he did, then today¡¯s victory would be glorious indeed. Not that Achemiss planned to use it immediately. Once the beacon was secured, he would track down his stolen possessions. He¡¯d ensure that the destruction of this world was still in full motion. Next, he¡¯d focus on rebuilding himself so that he wouldn¡¯t return in disgrace as some half-living reject. For that, he¡¯d need someone¡¯s corpse. After all, it¡¯s not like ascendant bodies grew on trees. Having Ari¡¯s body in nearly perfect condition was already as much of a miracle as he could ask for. But if he could have Dunai¡¯s as well... He shook off the thought. Regardless of what happened re: bodily reconstruction, he¡¯d leave this wretched place¨Cand hopefully never be able to come back. But first, he needed to win.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He picked up the pen and let his ideas flow to the paper. ¡ª ¡°Bad news,¡± Euryphel said. ¡°Achemiss doesn¡¯t seem to be in any of the rifts.¡± Ian frowned. ¡°That simply can¡¯t be possible.¡± ¡°Send Maria in to the closest one to confirm, then,¡± Euryphel suggested. Ian gnawed at his lip. ¡°Fine.¡± They¡¯d touched down closest to the rift just to the southeast of Sere¡¯s southern coast. It would take Maria minutes to reach the rift¡¯s entrance if she went stealthily, but if she went full speed in a Regret scenario... she could probably get there in thirty seconds. Maria, I¡¯m going to tell Eury to enter a scenario. When he does, you need to sprint to the rift as fast as you can. She nodded at him. Need me to confirm if he¡¯s just hiding or absent? Yeah. Not long after, Euryphel contacted him. ¡°So... Maria entered the rift, as planned. Inside she didn¡¯t detect Achemiss. No End arrows at all, so nobody is in there. What do you plan to do?¡± Ian¡¯s Beginning tried to make sense of everything they knew. None of the rifts seemed to contain Achemiss as far as the mannequins could tell. Not even Maria entering the rift he¡¯d deemed most likely to contain Achemiss¨Cthough only by a small margin¨Crevealed his presence. Something felt off. Achemiss seemed to have predicted their arrival to some extent. Perhaps he had a Regret practitioner working for him. Technically nothing was off the table. Normally, remaining in a rift meant communication with the outside was impossible, but Achemiss had already proven such restrictions were little more than an inconvenience. If Ian assumed Achemiss could assume they were coming... what could Achemiss do? That depended in large part on how much notice Achemiss had. Had the ascendant somehow gained privileged information from a traitor? Ian found that possibility unlikely. Achemiss probably was operating on less than a minute of notice, then¨Cwhich shouldn¡¯t be enough for him to act on. He didn¡¯t have a Beginning affinity to help him process faster, nor did he have Regret to stretch a second out. Wait, Ian thought to himself. Unless Achemiss was never in the rifts, or always hides within them, he would only know to hide if he knew we were coming. Even with his Beginning affinity, Ian felt a headache coming on as he considered Regret-on-Regret tactics. Battles between Regret practitioners were always horribly convoluted because each side would respond to whatever the other side did, with each constantly adjusting tactics based on the updating behavior of the adversary. Beginning was often a foil to Regret since Beginning practitioners had a heightened ability to discern whether they were in a scenario or not, but that effect was lessened when acting remotely, as Ian was now. Maybe his Beginning affinity was just too low. Ian couldn¡¯t say for sure¨Cit¡¯s not like he remembered anything from scenarios aside from what Euryphel told him. We¡¯ve never actually entered the rifts in the real world, obviously... but in some scenario potentially only known to Achemiss and his Regret helper, we did enter the rift holding Achemiss because we detected him and decided to go in for the kill. That¡¯s the only situation in which we would have attacked one of the rifts in reality. That means Achemiss really is in one of these rifts. The question becomes, would we have sent a mannequin to attack Achemiss if me and Maria weren¡¯t there in person? If the answer is no, then it¡¯s almost certain that Achemiss is in this rift, End arrow or not. If the answer is yes... Ian sighed, shaking his head, his heart pounding. He heard the blood rushing through his body. Every second gave Achemiss more time to prepare countermeasures. I don¡¯t think we¡¯d send a mannequin ahead of us, Ian concluded a moment later. The chance wasn¡¯t nonzero, but Ian couldn¡¯t let small chances weigh down his decision making. If he failed to be decisive here, he stood to lose everything. Maria, he finally said through the lich bond, I think he¡¯s in this rift. I don¡¯t know how he could hide his End arrow, but... I think attacking it with everything we have is our best shot. Are you certain? He laughed. You can feel how certain I am. And it isn¡¯t a comfort. Ian sighed. There¡¯s a good chance Achemiss has a Regret practitioner in his pocket. It¡¯s the only thing that makes sense to me¨Cthe only way he could know to hide preemptively. We won¡¯t have the element of surprise no matter what we do unless we remove Regret from the equation, but that¡¯s a longshot. The practitioner could be operating from anywhere. You¡¯re thinking, the longer we delay, the more things shift in Achemiss¡¯s favor? Something like that. We probably had the element of surprise until two minutes ago or so. I think we can still win if we attack now. Maria frowned. You¡¯re assuming he benefits from more time, she said. That his goal is to stretch things out. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s right. You¡¯re dealing with a deeply paranoid, vengeful man who has likely spent every waking moment considering how he¡¯ll destroy you and regain what he¡¯s lost. He¡¯s not trying to deceive you into thinking he¡¯s not here so that you¡¯ll leave him be, or so that he can run away. You coming here today, and placing mannequins at all his rifts, means that he¡¯ll never be able to return to them. His shelter in a rift strategy is done. He¡¯s not going to play cautiously, Ian. He¡¯ll be playing to win¨Cto kill you. Then he¡¯ll need to exit the rift and dirty his hands personally, Ian said. I¡¯m not going in, if that was a concern. And there¡¯s no chance of him attacking you through your mannequins? Ian had specifically designed them so that he could sever his necromantic connection to the mannequins at will, preventing Achemiss from exploiting the connection the way Ian had with Achemiss¡¯s own construct. I hesitate to say none, but there shouldn¡¯t be anything obvious for him to exploit. Then... Is there a possibility that he can attack you through me? she asked. Ian paused. He felt like his mind was a hovergloss and Maria had just pulled the brakes. Because you¡¯re connected to my soul? She nodded. That¡¯s... a very good point, actually, Ian said. Yes... if Achemiss is looking for a target I won¡¯t see coming, a way to get to me, it really might be through you, if we send you into the rift to fight. Assuming he could defeat you, which is still an ¡®if¡¯¨Cyou¡¯re a terror. Thank you, but I don¡¯t see why you¡¯re getting excited over this. This isn¡¯t a good thing. It¡¯s how we win, Maria, he said. You¡¯re the ultimate trap. 372. Into the Rift Achemiss will think he¡¯s exploiting my one vulnerability¨Cyou¨Cbut in reality, when he tries to attack my soul through our connection, we¡¯ll close it off. Realization dawned on her face. Like we did when I went to the Sere Compound? Yes. Pulling this off is going to take some acting on my part, though, Ian said. We have to make Achemiss think he¡¯s not just going to win, but that he¡¯s already won. If they made it too easy for Achemiss to supposedly exploit the connection between Maria and Ian, their foe would naturally wonder why. Maria crossed her arms. Assuming the Regret practitioner is somehow receiving information from Achemiss, their intel will be limited to what enters the rift¨Cor what Achemiss encounters in the immediate vicinity, should he send his constructs out. If we keep our distance, it will be difficult for Achemiss to find us. Ian considered the point. If he can¡¯t find us¨Cme, specifically¨Che won¡¯t be sure of his victory. If I were him, I¡¯d send out as many constructs as possible to track down my foe. How many constructs do you think he has? Ian wasn¡¯t certain. Euryphel said that the rift armies were numerous, thousands strong. But Achemiss was a Dark practitioner and could make his own void storages. He might have many thousands more constructs on his person. Enough to be a nuisance, Ian replied. He flexed his hands. We¡¯ve already wasted too much time discussing. Let¡¯s go for the plan. So... I should enter the rift? The mannequins will enter first and do what damage they can. Then, you should go in and flush Achemiss out. When it comes time to mute the bond, I¡¯ll make sure you know. After that, you¡¯ll be on your own. Use your best judgment, as always. He held out a hand. When she grabbed it, he pulled her in for a hug, tight against his chest. Then, he reached back out to Euryphel over quantum channel. ¡°I assume you already know the plan?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Y¡¯jeni, it¡¯s so convenient having you in my head to coordinate,¡± Ian thought. ¡°I¡¯ll miss it.¡± With that, he kissed the top of Maria¡¯s head, her diadem brushing against his cheek as he withdrew. Then, with a solemn nod, Maria began sprinting across the water, ascendant energy flaring around her legs. ¡°So, Eury,¡± Ian thought. ¡°What happens when we send both mannequins in and kick things off?¡± ¡°Achemiss still doesn¡¯t reveal himself, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡± Ian huffed. ¡°That would obviously be too easy. Still, I think we should do it anyway.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Whatever Achemiss is doing to keep himself hidden, I doubt he can hold it indefinitely. He¡¯s like a seal hiding under ice while a bear waits on the surface. He¡¯ll have to come up for air eventually. I can¡¯t relent based on the futility I see in a minute¡¯s worth of time in a Regret scenario.¡± ¡°When you enter with both mannequins, you¡¯ll unleash the horde, Euryphel cautioned. I¡¯d tell you to make a barrier around the rift entrance, but Achemiss¡¯s army will push past it. There¡¯s nothing you can do to stem the tide.¡± ¡°Let them come,¡± he replied. ¡°I hope he shows me the peak of his craft.¡± He smiled humorlessly. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s much more for me to learn.¡± ¡ª Maria was surprised by how satisfying running over the water¡¯s surface was. It was meditative to let her ascendant energy free, bolstering her physical power rather than just enhancing her fire. You¡¯re almost there, Maria, Ian said. That was good, since she¡¯d been running for over twenty seconds, nearly an eternity as far as she was concerned. She covered a lot of ground¨Cwater?¨Cwith each stride, but it was slower than flying. All she had was a direction since she couldn¡¯t see the rift from the surface. What¡¯s the mannequin situation? I sent them in just now. Maria blinked. Oh. What¡¯s happening? Well, things are proceeding as we¡¯d predicted, Ian said. We kicked the nest. Get ready for the hornets. Or in this case, worms. Almost as soon as his words registered, a geyser erupted in the distance. Intermixing with the dark gray of the inanimate water were thin, black splotches. A swarm of Death-fueled darkness, propelled to the surface with such power that even the water rose with them, exploding outward. As she drew closer to the fading geyser, the silent swarm came into better focus. It had only been a second or two and their dark forms carpeted the sky, flying at variable elevations over the water. Many skimmed the surface, and below, Maria caught faint signatures of Death all around her.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Most appeared serpentine, swimming through sea and sky with soul gems embedded haphazardly. Tentacles of dark energy writhed from some of them, questing for nonexistent prey. They were alien, yet uniform. She pegged them as reanimated riftbeasts rather than original creations. Maria moved so swiftly that the swarming constructs couldn¡¯t react to her. The ones that happened to be in her way she either dodged or dispatched with quiet efficiency, destroying them with sharp kicks or slashes. Soon, she reached the site of the geyser¡¯s eruption. Receiving no further guidance, she dove into the water. She stared, almost uncomprehending, at the volume of constructs spewing forth from the rift. Only her rapid speed allowed her to cut through the din and approach the rift, but she stopped fifty feet out, the density of constructs preventing her from swimming further. She¡¯d come as far as she could without using her practice. Might as well give it my best, she thought. They didn¡¯t know if Achemiss would take the Maria-bait; it was possible they¡¯d need to simply defeat him in an all-out confrontation. Maria would be lying if she said she wasn¡¯t hoping for the latter. The one time she¡¯d encountered Achemiss, she¡¯d flown away as fast as she could. It hadn¡¯t been cowardice¨Cthey had agreed on that plan to cover the situation where Ian lost. While Ian had the satisfaction of tearing apart Achemiss with his own hands, Maria still had nothing to show for her anger. While she found it more likely that Ian would deliver the final nail in the coffin, she¡¯d love the chance to kill him with her own hands. Maria, Ian suddenly said, don¡¯t let them grab you. They¡¯ll explode. Is it a problem if I burn them up first? Not at all. Maria grinned. As the swarm of Death constructs began to coil around her, she flared her elementalism, powerful flames materializing around her. Ascendant energy let them burn despite the lack of air, fueled instead by her power. The constructs crumbled. Maria clapped her hands together, then spread them apart, fingers curling as she drew a new array into existence. Her fire scorched the bedrock as it scribed a circle and sigils around its length. She invested it with every bit of power she could muster from End. The array she¡¯d drawn took advantage of her own nature as a lich, creating a field where Death energy perception was inverted. Decemantic constructs were capable of executing complex commands, but they were limited by their perception of the world. To them, all open water should now seem like a black wall of impassable Death, while only the space where their brethren swam appeared vacant. Maria smiled grimly as all the constructs near the rift entrance turned toward one another, smashing together into a veritable ball of Death energy. They constricted their brothers, seeing Life in place of Death. Several explosions broke out as the constructs detonated. Maria darted forward, pulled back her arm, then punched out, ascendant energy empowering the blow. The ball of constructs broke apart, clearing a path for Maria to enter the rift. She found herself in a shallow pool, perhaps an oasis, for the surrounding land¨Cthat visible behind the horde of constructs¨Cwas a dusty yellow desert. Instead of a sun, a bright blue light filled the sky. Streaks of soft white energy pulsed to a slow tempo, almost like wispy clouds. The sky¡¯s appearance marked this as a textbook ethereal rift, which meant the riftbeasts would be predisposed to Light, Life, Mountain, Sun, Beginning, or Regret. It was often possible to guess based on the riftbeasts, but all she saw were their reanimated corpses. The ethereal nature of the rift made it almost certain that the murky energy extending from the worms¡¯ backs was Achemiss¡¯s work. It was hard to tell how large the rift was since her perception was tied to vitality, and everything faded to gray after a few miles. Still, it seemed bigger than the norm. Larger rifts were often valued higher because they produced more powerful riftbeasts, but they were worthless if the beasts were too dangerous to defeat. For a large rift like this one to be unknown and unused... It made her wonder what hid within. Maria kept her momentum, bounding out of the oasis to skate across the sand. Flames redoubled around her, her elementalism much more suited to the dry environment. Wherever she glided over the sand turned to glass. She¡¯d practiced drawing End arrays this way countless times; it was practically muscle memory. Soon she¡¯d drawn out a vine of arrays, each connected to the other. They were based on the arrays she¡¯d used around Selejo. They would debilitate whatever ensouled beings entered. If Achemiss crossed them, he¡¯d find himself in a world of pain. She still didn¡¯t sense any End arrow belonging to Achemiss, and had no idea where the ascendant might hide himself. A pang of doubt stirred in her mind¨Cwhat if Achemiss wasn¡¯t here after all? But she quashed it down. While Achemiss¡¯s location remained an enigma, she could sense Ian¡¯s mannequins. As necromantic constructs tied to Ian¡¯s soul, their arrows also connected to her. They had split up, one arrow headed left, the other directly behind her. My constructs are fighting off some more powerful creations of Achemiss, Ian said over the bond. The one to your left could use some firepower. Maria changed her heading, continuing her looping path over the sand. A handful of seconds later, an enormous form came into view. She slowed down and skated around it, pivoting right. It had a long segmented body with inky, semi-corporeal tentacles extending from its back. A single tentacle was over fifty feet long, and they moved with impossible agility, unhindered by biological constraints. It was clearly a riftbeast, one similar to the smaller ones that spilled out from the rift. A powerful specimen¨Cthe kind that attained mastery over an affinity and could be harvested for powerful soul gems. But it doesn¡¯t have fate, Maria thought, frowning. It must not have a soul. Must not be a practitioner. Those were the most dangerous kind of riftbeasts, the ones who were almost like Crystal, possessing sapience. If that was the case, why was Ian¡¯s construct having trouble with it? Her first instinct was to say it was a reanimated corpse, like the other worms. However, unlike the weaker riftbeasts, which all shone pitch black to her vital perception, the monster appeared a slate gray. It was the same color sick people appeared. It seemed to be alive. But that didn¡¯t make sense¨Cit was clearly producing sinister energy on its back. She¡¯d assumed it was Death energy, which¨Cgiven the rift¡¯s ethereal nature¨Call but guaranteed Achemiss¡¯s involvement. Maria circled for another half turn, perplexed. I¡¯m supposed to help Ian¡¯s mannequin, not analyze the riftbeast, she rebuked herself. Speaking of... where even is it? The mannequin¡¯s arrow disappeared into the massive riftbeast¡¯s girth where it writhed on the sand. The beast¡¯s tentacles savagely churned the dunes. It gave the impression that either Ian¡¯s construct was inside it, or underneath. Where she¡¯d originally thought the beast¡¯s tentacles were lashing the ground in an attempt to score a lucky blow, she realized the monster was actually hitting itself¨Cor at least, the sand beneath it. Both possibilities worked fine for her. Ian had made his constructs fire resistant, to survive a few blasts from Maria¡¯s flames. She doubted the sickly riftbeast had such immunity. Maria condensed a ball of tight energy, tightening her fingers as she prepared to release her attack. Then, she let it rip. What should have been a fiery explosion fizzled against the beast¡¯s hide, and it continued striking itself, seemingly immune to Maria¡¯s attack. She blinked. Just what kind of rift was this? 373. To Collapse a Rift It turned out the rift was a Sun-aspected ethereal rift, which wasn¡¯t the best matchup. Powerful riftbeasts with Sun affinities significantly dulled the lethality of Maria¡¯s fire blasts. Ascendant energy added piercing power, but the monstrous worms were still huge, requiring several searing strikes to take out. Ian¡¯s constructs still did enough damage to kill them, but it was tedious work when the riftbeasts could come as large as apartment buildings. The best way was to kill them from the inside, attacking critical organs. Ian¡¯s focus was pushed to its limit as he controlled his mannequins, shared in Maria¡¯s sight over their bond, coordinated with Euryphel, and worked to avoid detection. The latter was growing more difficult by the moment as a tide of riftbeasts saturated the ocean around the rift. Riftbeasts rarely left their place of origin. Not only did they need to find the rift exit, which was seldom obvious, but they were weakened when they left. This often meant a riftbeast would retreat back into its rift rather than proceed forth into the greater world. It did happen, of course¨Cbut never on a large scale. Nothing close to what Ian saw now. But there was one key point to note. While the riftbeasts all maintained a semblance of life, possessing a fleshy body, they were all dead. It was a feat of carnimancy¨Cflesh-shaping¨Cone that weaponized the vast numbers of riftbeasts without placing much load on their master. Ian couldn¡¯t deny he was getting irritated by their lack of progress. The mannequins were intended to fight against Achemiss directly, constructed explicitly to fight a Death and Dark practitioner. With no knowledge of the enemy¡¯s whereabouts, he used them to cull the most powerful monsters in the rift instead, but they were ill-suited for the task. In Regret scenarios, he¡¯d tried using the transmission artifact on Achemiss, but it hadn¡¯t revealed anything. The world was bathed in complete darkness. Achemiss was likely underground or in some kind of shelter that lacked visible lights, relying instead on his practice to perceive the world. That was the only conclusion that made sense. When Ian tried transforming the transmission artifact first and summoning Achemiss to himself, it bafflingly had no effect that Ian could perceive. Achemiss just didn¡¯t appear. He¡¯d never had that happen before. Ian was taking all this as fact given what scenario-Ian claimed. He didn¡¯t have a personal recollection of the transmission artifact experiments. He had never used the artifact on Achemiss outside of a scenario, but he was growing increasingly tempted to. Maybe actually using the artifact in real life would spook Achemiss and force him to change his behavior. Ian had no idea. ¡°Eury,¡± Ian said, ¡°I need you to run another scenario for me.¡± ¡°Done.¡± He paused. ¡°You contacted Cayeun Suncloud?¡± ¡°About the transmission artifact,¡± Ian confirmed. ¡°What did she tell me?¡± ¡°You asked her why the transmission artifact would fail to work, and she apparently laughed and told you to think about the basic rules.¡± Ian¡¯s expression darkened, his mind processing Euryphel¡¯s words and coming to its own conclusion before the Crowned Executor could finish speaking. There was one very obvious rule they¡¯d stuck to in Eternity: no using the transmission artifact in spaces with irregular time. Given the artifact¡¯s priceless nature, they hadn¡¯t dared to cross its stated limits, especially since they personally knew Suncloud¡¯s volatile manner. ¡°Achemiss¡­ is in a dilated space?¡± Ian finished. ¡°That¡¯s what it sounds like.¡± Ian was positive none of the five rifts were dilated. He would have sensed it through his connection with all the mannequins and Maria. So how could that be? ¡°In the interest of time, you and I have several conversations in scenarios and come to the following conclusion,¡± Euryphel continued. ¡°It must be tied to his Dark affinity. We plan around Achemiss by focusing on the Death side of the coin, while devoting relatively little concern to the Dark side. Mostly just preparations to deal with void attacks. But Ian¨Cnothing Achemiss has ever done showcased offensive Dark.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ian replied. ¡°That¡¯s part of the problem when trying to prepare for a fight. Many of his capabilities as a Dark practitioner are a mystery. We know he can make void storages, but that¡¯s not unique.¡± ¡°Making a dilated space that he can enter might be within his capabilities, then.¡± Ian felt like they were missing something. If it was really easy enough to make dilated spaces on demand, Ian thought he¡¯d have heard of it. While ascendants didn¡¯t view them as necessary or particularly useful due to their immortality, it was a simple fact that being able to occasionally slow down¨Cor even speed up¨Ctime had its uses. Yet as far as he knew, void storages came in one variety only¨Cstasis. Actually, that¡¯s not right, Ian thought. His mind went to Bluebird, his favored glosSword before ascending. Ian only had a rough grasp of how the technology worked, but he knew they were powered by large reactors housed in void storages. There was a clear transfer of energy out, and while the exact specifications eluded him, time didn¡¯t seem frozen. Such workings of Dark affinity were at the peak of what people could do. But what about an ascendant like Achemiss, with countless years to master his practice, and ascendant energy to nudge the rules of reality and make the impossible possible? There simply wasn¡¯t time to consider all the possibilities, even when they discussed at the speed of thought via quantum channel, but it did seem feasible that Achemiss could have used his Dark affinity to create a dilated space.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. But even if he did make such a space, there must be limitations, Ian realized. Otherwise he would have no need of the rifts to hide his End arrow. What those limitations were, Ian unsurprisingly had no idea. The easiest possibility was that Achemiss could only spend a limited amount of time within before needing to emerge. Ian would have to go with that until other evidence emerged. ¡°What can we do with this information?¡± Ian asked, frustrated, not that emotions transferred over quantum channel. ¡°Well,¡± Euryphel began, ¡°we have an inkling that Achemiss is in this rift, and that he¡¯s possibly hiding inside within a dilated space of his own making. How would being in such a space affect his control over his constructs?¡± ¡°He¡¯d still maintain a connection, and I think he¡¯d still be able to command them and respond to what¡¯s happening on the outside,¡± Ian said. ¡°But if we did something, he might be slower to respond, the disconnect between the passage of time making it more difficult to analyze complex developments. Especially since he lacks a Beginning affinity.¡± ¡°And the Regret practitioner he¡¯s in contact with?¡± Eury asked. ¡°That depends on how they¡¯re communicating. If we assume they have a direct line to one another, like that between master and construct, it may just seem like information about the outside was arriving slowly. But it would give Achemiss more time to plan countermeasures and direct his army in real time.¡± ¡°It seems like our first priority should be forcing Achemiss to leave his hidey-hole. What might happen if we did something drastic?¡± ¡°Like?¡± ¡°Collapsing the rift.¡± Ian¡¯s mind went blank for a beat. A rift collapse was completely destructive, everything within vanishing from existence. Ian didn¡¯t see how he¡¯d survive without prior warning. ¡°You say that like we can just do it.¡± As far as Ian knew, rifts operated on their own schedule. They might be stable for a long time, or only last for a fleeting few days or hours in the most unstable cases. All the rifts given to Achemiss had been stable, known quantities¨Cextremely unlikely to catastrophically collapse. ¡°You and Maria are good at piercing the veil,¡± Euryphel continued. ¡°Maybe you can pierce a rift.¡± Ian thought it was a longshot, but what did they have to lose at this point? ¡°You tell me.¡± ¡ª Maria, Ian said over the lich bond, grabbing her attention. It had been a hot second since he¡¯d reached out to her. In that time, she¡¯d helped destroy other hulking riftbeasts while spreading her arrays over the sand. How are things outside? she asked. A bit messy, Ian replied. Lots of worms. It¡¯s challenging to remain hidden, but as you discovered, they¡¯re sensitive to vitality. I can spoof my own vital signature to appear uninteresting. That isn¡¯t why you¡¯re reaching out to me, though, Maria guessed. No, it is not. He paused, and she could feel uncertainty over the bond. What would you say to collapsing the rift? Maria snorted as she glided over the sand, her eyes fixed on the unending horde of riftbeasts. Seriously, what were these things, a breeding factory? I¡¯d ask how to do it, she said. I assume it¡¯s dangerous to collapse a rift from the inside, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me. I¡¯ll just respawn. We can¡¯t actually simulate collapsing the rift in a Regret scenario, Ian said. It takes more than a minute for you to pull off, if it¡¯s possible at all. What do you want me to try? she asked. Pierce the veil, like we do in Eternity to visit new planes. That sounded simple enough, but clearly it couldn¡¯t be that easy. Maria finished off her current array, then stood firm on the sand, empowering her fingers with energy. Then, she struck out at the air. Her goal wasn¡¯t to tear it wide open in one go¨Cthat would be challenging without a veil vulnerability¨Cbut she should at least be able to make a small mark. To her astonishment, her fingers almost skidded off, as though she¡¯d tried to scratch metal with mundane hands. Frowning, she gathered energy in her foot. Then she kicked out, all the force of an empowered blow combining with the piercing power of her ascendant energy. This time she felt a slight amount of give, like she¡¯d pressed firmly on a glossY chassis and deformed the smooth, white material. As the energy from her foot faded, the sky looked undisturbed. There was no trace she¡¯d ever attacked it. Are you sure this is possible? Maria asked. Not at all. But until we think of something better to do, keep trying. In the meantime, I¡¯ll have my mannequins continue scanning the desert in the hopes of finding Achemiss¡¯s lair. He obviously has some kind of workshop¨Che¡¯s not working out in the open with all this sand. No one would be that much of a masochist. Especially not him¨Chis workshop in Eternity was spotless. Maria chuckled lightly, not finding fault with his logic. But a feeling of dread continued to grow within her. Achemiss was here, somewhere, and he wanted to kill them. Ideally he¡¯d come after her, taking the metaphorical bait, but it didn¡¯t seem like things were moving in that direction. So what was he doing? What was he waiting for? Why bother with the riftbeast distraction? She punctuated each question with a jab at the rift¡¯s supposed veil, but the blows failed to do damage. Ian, do you have Holiday¡¯s plane compass, the one that points to veil vulnerabilities? Yeah. You want it? It¡¯s a long shot, but maybe a rift has vulnerabilities I can exploit. Can you send it over so I don¡¯t have to leave the rift? It¡¯s a bit challenging to get a construct through the throng, Ian said. I suppose it¡¯s time to stop being so passive. Two can play at a game of numbers. While waiting for Ian¡¯s special delivery, Maria resumed making her arrays, seeing no point in fruitlessly striking the air. Before long, Ian reached out again. Catch. I think you¡¯re in for a nice surprise. Maria turned around to behold a thin serpent, not unlike the worms, but entirely made of bone and with two glowing, dark violet gems where its eyes should be. Its mouth was curved in an awkward rictus, like some deep-sea fish from a documentary. Clenched in its jaws was the compass. Maria placed her hand beneath its mouth and it dropped the artifact, its behavior almost dog-like. Shaking her head, Maria snapped the compass open and stared at the needle in anticipation. If no vulnerabilities existed, the needle would hang limp. To her shock, it actually pointed in a direction. Firmly. There was a vulnerability nearby. 374. Blood Array Maria wasted no time. If Achemiss was in contact with a Regret practitioner as they feared and already knew she was coming, he¡¯d naturally react if she was on the right track. She hoped he¡¯d respond by attacking her. As she approached the vulnerability and nothing changed, she wondered if she was up against another dead end. Ian had sent his mannequin constructs to flank her for this next stage of affairs. Finally, she made it to the spot, the compass arrow swiveling in place. This was it. I guess this doesn¡¯t work, huh? she thought to Ian. He was being awfully quiet. Besides, if Maria was really going to destabilize the rift, she thought Ian might want to evacuate his pinnacle constructs. That is yet to be determined, Ian said. You¡¯ll see. Breathing deeply, Maria empowered her leg with ascendant energy, concentrating a particularly potent razor-thin part into her foot. She kicked out with everything she had¡­ And nothing was different. She deflated, confused. Filled with a cold, simmering anger, she released a flurry of blows. Wait, Ian said. Stop. Look at the compass. What about it? In a scenario, you get so pissed off you start shaking it. That¡¯s when you notice what happens when you point it down. Realization dawning, she snapped the compass open and angled it sideways. Her cold, nonexistent heart skipped a metaphorical beat as she beheld the arrow¡¯s unwavering point. How should I get down there? Maria asked. With a little help, Ian said. Not longer after, the first wave of Ian¡¯s serpentine constructs began making their way over, joining the little smiling bone serpent. Many were coated in half-washed-away gore, making it clear that they¡¯d fought their way over. They tore into the sand, burrowing and digging rapidly. And Achemiss is still doing nothing? Maria thought to herself, confused. As the excavation proceeded, Maria followed in the constructs¡¯ wake, staring intently at the compass. Oh, wow, Ian suddenly said. Maria, we¡¯ve found it. In less than a minute, you¡¯re going to find Achemiss¡¯s lair. And¡­ he¡¯s not there? Not that we can see. What do you think the chances are that he built his lair on top of the only veil vulnerability in this damned rift? I agree with you that it¡¯s obviously not a coincidence. Ian, I really don¡¯t like this. We shouldn¡¯t be getting this close without provoking a reaction. He should have shown himself by now. She sighed. What happens when I try to tear the veil close to the veil vulnerability? Nothing so far, he replied. Seems the same as before. What am I trying, exactly? You¡¯re... I think just doing the same thing as before. Stabbing at the air, hoping for the veil to at least deform. Maria frowned, pensive, as the sand continued to pile up on the sides, the way down revealed. She might just have to go down and see for herself. When at last the tunnel was complete, Maria stared at the dusty edge and jumped down, brushing past the decemantic workers, who had pressed into the tunnel¡¯s sides. Her undead body was still and calm as she dropped down into Achemiss¡¯s workshop. Were she still human, she doubted she¡¯d have been so collected. Maria¡¯s eyes ran over the space, her vital vision and heat sense confirming that nothing living¨Cor even hot or cold¨Cwas within. Most light sources gave off some kind of limited heat, which suggested Achemiss¡¯s lair lay in total darkness. Vital vision would allow the man to see, but it would never be a substitute for real sight. For most, it would have made for an uncomfortable stay. For some reason, she doubted Achemiss was bothered by the dark. There really wasn¡¯t much within the room. The most conspicuous object was what could only be called a throne, for it was an elaborate working of wood, metal, and cloth. It looked outwardly normal, but Maria knew that wood was often a preferred substrate for necromancy. There were a few surfaces throughout the room, but all of them were empty and pristine as though they¡¯d just been cleaned. It feels like he¡¯s escaped somewhere, Maria thought. Like he saw us coming, sent out his construct army as a distraction, and then fell back. All without revealing his End arrow. Maria... you wouldn¡¯t see his fate arrow if he escaped and you remained in the rift, right? That¡¯s right. But I don¡¯t see how he could leave the rift without me seeing his End arrow. Besides, in a scenario we could easily test that. I could just kill myself and reappear next to you. We didn¡¯t test for that, though, Ian said. Eury said we just tried it now. You don¡¯t see anything. There hasn¡¯t been enough time for Achemiss to reach one of the neighboring rifts, so if he truly left, he shouldn¡¯t have a way to obscure himself. She approached the throne, the only object of obvious interest, and the compass¡¯s arrow pointed forward. She stopped when she was just before it, her eyes taking in the detail of its make. It was exquisite.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. And still, the compass pointed forward. She pushed her arm over the chair, adjusting the compass in her hand. Again, when she pointed it down, the arrow stiffened, locking onto the vulnerability. Was it underneath the chair? Frowning, Maria hoisted it up, a feat only possible when she empowered her limbs with ascendant energy, and placed it to the side. She held out the compass again¨C Only to realize that the arrow pointed to the left. She turned her head, not fully comprehending the significance. Okay, you just found the vulnerability, right? Ian said. Maria blinked. It¡¯s on the throne? Yeah. Except it¡¯s not a veil vulnerability. Then what is it? she asked, leaning over the chair. I¡¯m not sure. You still haven¡¯t figured it out. Try tearing the veil¨Cit won¡¯t work. Whatever this is, it¡¯s clearly related to Achemiss, she replied, empowering her hand. She clawed the space above the throne, questing for a weak point, but like Ian said¨Cnothing. What if I just destroy the throne? Maria asked. Like, chop it in half? Ian was silent for a spell. Apparently, doing that triggers a powerful soul attack. It kills you, and... Well, it knocks me unconscious, at minimum. Euryphel isn¡¯t sure if it kills me. Maria¡¯s body tensed. What? Achemiss must be hiding in a dilated space that¡¯s anchored to the chair, Ian said. If you even try to move it out of the way, or cut the ground around it, the disturbance is enough to produce the same effect. The chair cannot be disturbed in any way. Maria scoffed. That¡¯s ridiculous. What is Achemiss going to do if I just camp outside of the chair, waiting? He¡¯ll need to emerge eventually. I have no idea, Ian said. Constructs are trying to get in from the outside, but my army is holding them off. I¡¯ll send the mannequins down to accompany you. Maria nodded, staring intently at the chair. So, she couldn¡¯t disturb it... but what counted as a disturbance? What about an End array? she asked. Does that affect anything? Not that I can tell, Ian said. What are you thinking? I¡¯m thinking... that Achemiss is underestimating Ian Dunai¡¯s lich, Maria said. Her eyes glowed as she leaned over the chair again, her smile eerily intense. We¡¯ll see how he deals with all the soul fuckery I¡¯ve picked up over the past years. Maria¡¯s rage had simmered for too long. Now, it boiled over, hot flames igniting into an inferno. Achemiss threatened to destroy their world. The only threat he recognized was Ian Dunai, but she would make him see the truth in the end. It was Maria who would be his undoing. She pulled a preserved corpse from a void storage¨Cpart of one of the half-living riftbeasts she¡¯d killed just above. It fell on the clean floor, covering it in filth¨Csand, viscera, and a gritty, bloody sludge. Her smile refused to abate as she kneeled before it and withdrew a pen, plunging it into the dead flesh. When she retracted it, blood beaded at the tip. She walked around the chair, thinking, considering. Then, eyes glinting with malice, she pressed the pen to the floor and began to draw. In Eternity, End was considered the weakest combat affinity. Nobody outright said it, but Maria wasn¡¯t stupid. Anybody could weasel out of most powerful End bindings simply by committing suicide and waiting for Eternity to reform their body. She found creative ways to compensate for this weakness, but that only went so far. Back in the real world, though? One where death mattered? End was one of the most terrifying affinities of all. Inexorable. You may be a master of Death, Achemiss, Maria thought, the array unfurling out around the chair like a malevolent flower. But I¡¯ll be the one to make sure yours is final. If you don¡¯t reveal yourself before I finish... there will be no escape. She worked as fast as possible, her rage fueling a fugue state, one where the array practically drew itself. She couldn¡¯t inscribe it in fire¨Cthat ran the risk of disturbing the chair¨Cbut this way was better, anyway. Achemiss wouldn¡¯t miss what she was doing if he had a way of observing his workshop, which she assumed he did. He would see her drawing in excruciating slowness through whatever dilation he was using. He¡¯d watch her write his death into the earth. There¡¯s no way he can resist leaving, Maria thought. He has to make a move. She kept a careful focus on the lich bond, prepared to reduce it to nothing at a moment¡¯s notice. She didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be caught off guard with Euryphel¡¯s Regret scenarios, but it was better to be prepared. Her array was written with the assumption that it would have to take effect while incomplete. That was part of the beauty of it. That was one of the strategies she¡¯d learned from Ancient Ash. If she engaged in fast-paced combat, she needed to create arrays that could put in work even if she couldn¡¯t quite finish them. It was silly to complete 90% of an array, only for it to have no effect due to it being unfinished. And with the blood coming from a Sun-aspected riftbeast, one tainted by Achemiss¡¯s own hand... he¡¯ll be in for a nasty shock. Maria, Ian suddenly said over the bond, his thoughts filled with glee. You¡¯ve done it. He¡¯s coming out. What happens? Euryphel just said... He¡¯s dealing with another emergency, but good luck, and well done. So I¡¯m not sure. What emergency could be more important than killing Achemiss? No idea. But Achemiss is going to emerge in the next half minute or so. If you can kill him, definitely go for it. If you can¡¯t, just knowing for certain that he¡¯s in this rift is invaluable. One thing to be aware of¡ªwhen he emerges, he has several constructs with him. According to Eury, one of them is probably functioning as his Regret practitioner. If you can identify which one, put them down. I¡¯ll do my best. I guess this means it¡¯s time to sever the lich bond? Yes. I¡¯ll still be watching you from my mannequins, he said. The two mannequins in the room gave Maria small waves, and she rolled her eyes. But the ball is in your court now. I believe in you. I know, she thought. She mentally twisted the bond until it became thin and weak, tearing apart where it was pinched. It was so much easier now than before. She knew that if she wanted, she was free. The bond was gone, unrecoverable, unless she went back to Ian and he restored it. It was truly the ultimate sign of trust. It felt silly to think that way¨Cwasn¡¯t it a low bar to say that removing what was effectively a slave collar was a sign of trust? It just marked a return to how relations between normal people functioned. No, it¡¯s not that he removed it¨Cit¡¯s his thoughts around doing so. She could hear Ian¡¯s thoughts, understand his emotions. The first time, he¡¯d been nervous about severing the lich bond¨Cboth because it was something he¡¯d never done before, and because he was sending her into danger while she held her own phylactery without any way to communicate with her. Now, she felt his reluctance, and she understood where it came from. Still nervousness from losing his direct line of communication, but more than that... sadness that they wouldn¡¯t be able to feel one another. He would miss her, pure and simple. She looked right in the eyes of one of the mannequins and smiled. She mouthed three words. Soon after¨Cearlier than anticipated¨Cshe felt her array activate, and the world exploded into inky, consuming darkness. 375. Dimensional Departure Achemiss seethed from within his pocket dimension. Within, Jenexa stood, gaze vacant as ever, while his other constructs¨Cand most of his workshop¡¯s contents¨Clay on the ground. Achemiss didn¡¯t know why Dunai was so confident he was inside this rift, but the man¡¯s dogged determination had left Achemiss with little choice but to hunker in the pocket dimension and seal off the entrance to the workshop, collapsing it under sand while instructing his constructs to remove all traces of the disturbance. He¡¯d had to act fast, before Maria and Dunai¡¯s other constructs entered the rift. But he¡¯d pulled off the strategy, hiding himself away from any probes the duo could throw at him. All the while, with bated breath, he had Jenexa run scenarios. So far, the pocket dimension had held steady, showing no signs of breaking, but Achemiss was concerned that the Regret affinity¡¯s usage would add up and destabilize it. While he was inside, he couldn¡¯t use his Dark affinity to repair or keep it stable, either, putting him on a timer. They¡¯ll give up eventually, Achemiss thought. There are no signs I¡¯m here. No End arrows for the lich to sense. Time moved excruciatingly slow in the dilated space. Achemiss gradually reduced the frequency of Jenexa¡¯s probes so that she sampled the real world only every minute¨Cor every few seconds, relative to time in the rift. While stewing, he pored over the sheets of paper arrayed out in front of him. Most of them had plans focusing on what he would do once Dunai¡¯s bitch of a lich stopped sleuthing and left the rift, which, with Achemiss¡¯s luck, might take hours. His foot tapped the ground as he watched and considered, his elbow resting on the table and propping up his head. His gaze became clouded as a new wave of constructs¨Cthese clearly sent in by Dunai¨Centered the rift. It seemed the ancient had finally sent greater numbers into the fray. One of them went straight to the lich, offering her a small trinket. Jenexa¡¯s scenarios were limited to what Achemiss¡¯s constructs could see, and the lich allowed none to get close. Achemiss tried to make out what the object was¨Ca box? Perhaps a weapon, or an explosive? Whatever it was, it wouldn¡¯t do her or Dunai any good unless they discovered Achemiss¡¯s location. It took him minutes of dilated time before he realized the true danger it posed. His foot¡¯s tapping sped up as the lich drew closer to his workshop, angling the box as she ran. He finally realized what it was: a compass. One that was leading the lich to his buried workshop. He snapped up in his seat, his hand clenching and inadvertently snapping the stylus. He looked at all the papers on the table and snarled, scattering them. How could Dunai have such an artifact? Even Achemiss didn¡¯t have one, relying instead on his affinity to detect spatial blips in the fabric of reality. There was only one ascendant that Achemiss knew held an artifact with a similar capability, and they were a white faction leader in the Hall of Ascension. Someone that Dunai should never have contact with under normal circumstances. But Achemiss thought back to the period just after Ari¡¯s death, when Dunai had just ascended. The Hall of Ascension had called a council to deliberate. Achemiss had been summoned for it, not that he¡¯d attended¨Cthe black faction had represented him, as they always did. He hadn¡¯t even heard of the deliberation until a week later when the news reached him. But he could remember the name presiding over the hearing from within the Hall itself¨CAscendant Crimson Teeth. A man who normally didn¡¯t meddle, focusing instead on creating artifacts and tending to his little serpent pet. Achemiss had always held the man in quiet contempt¨Ca Beginning affinity ascendant who had all the time in the world to pick up another affinity, one that would actually make him useful, and never did. Still, Crimson Teeth was rather hands-off and as impartial as faction members came, part of what made him a key figure in the Hall of Ascension. He wasn¡¯t the messy emotional type. He wouldn¡¯t have shed a tear for Ari, even though they¡¯d worked together as members of the Hall. With Ari dead, someone else in the Hall would have needed to orient Dunai in Eternity. Because of the deliberations, Achemiss knew for certain that Crimson Teeth had been present. While unlikely, it was plausible that the ascendant had oriented Dunai personally... and gave him the compass that now lay in the lich¡¯s cold, dead hand. There was simply no possibility that Crimson Teeth had anticipated all the events that had transpired, leading to this moment, Beginning affinity or not. Impossible. And yet. Dunai was equipped with the one implement that could nullify Achemiss¡¯s ability to completely avoid detection. Achemiss laughed coldly, his rage burning furiously in his chest. As he watched Jenexa¡¯s scenarios, his mind felt oddly blank. He numbly followed Dunai¡¯s minions as they breached his workshop and inspected his chair, the one where the pocket dimension was anchored. Even with time crawling forward outside, Achemiss felt that it was passing much too fast. He needed to make a decision. He couldn¡¯t hide in the pocket dimension any longer. That was a certainty. What he could control was how he left. With his Regret window peeking thirty seconds ahead, he needed to carefully time when he departed to ensure his own safety and kill the lich in one move. Achemiss assumed that Dunai also had a Regret practitioner helping him¨CAchemiss refused to believe that everything was going perfectly for him without such assistance. Since they both had Regret assistance, choosing an opportune time to leave the pocket dimension was an exercise in frustration.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Especially because Jenexa¡¯s scenarios always indicated that Achemiss succeeded. He killed the lich and survived to the end of the scenario. But that just couldn¡¯t be true. Either Dunai didn¡¯t have a Regret practitioner helping, which was ludicrous; his lich had a way to know when they were in Jenexa¡¯s scenarios and adjusted their actions; or there was something Achemiss was missing. He had to assume the latter, but he just couldn¡¯t figure it out. As Achemiss considered his next steps, the lich slowly but surely etched out an array on the ground around the throne in Achemiss¡¯s emptied workshop. He couldn¡¯t tell what it was¨Chis best vehicle of perception was the monster corpse that the lich had dropped onto the floor, almost as though she wanted Achemiss to have a window into her activities. He wanted nothing more than to break her cold neck and shatter her phylactery. At present, the former was futile, and the latter impossible without knowing where the phylactery was. Achemiss could reasonably guess it was with Dunai¨Cif the phylactery was far away, Maria¡¯s first death would take her permanently out of the fight. The conclusion he was slowly coming to, scenario after scenario, was that worrying about the lich was misguided. His true opponent was Dunai, and he needed to think offensively. How could he strike at the necromancer while still within the rift? Achemiss adjusted his scenarios. Not to kill the lich, but to capture her and those resilient dark-robed puppets that accompanied her. Through those constructs, he¡¯d find a way to attack Dunai¡¯s soul. The ancient was a prodigy, but he was still so young and inexperienced. There had to be flaws Achemiss could exploit. But if there were, Achemiss wasn¡¯t finding them before the scenarios ended. Thirty seconds wasn¡¯t enough, especially when he couldn¡¯t properly convey thoughts between his scenario selves and his real self. He needed more time. He¡¯d delayed enough and had little to show for it. He¡¯d have to just go for it. Eyes flaring with power, mouth pursed in a firm line, he triggered the breakdown of the pocket dimension. Since he couldn¡¯t rely on the timer to bring him out the normal way, he had to use the brute force exit¨Cdestroying the dimension and using his own Dark affinity to protect himself¨Cand the space¡¯s contents¨Cfrom annihilation. The pocket dimension would never be usable again, but that was of little consequence. The breakdown of space from a dimensional collapse was uniquely terrifying to behold. The world cracked and bent, then exploded out, vomiting Achemiss into the workshop in a wave of pure destruction that encompassed everything¨Cthe array on the ground, the throne, and Dunai¡¯s minions. He knew the mannequins wouldn¡¯t succumb to the Dark affinity wave¨CAchemiss would have to study how Dunai made them so tenacious later¨Cbut the lich would die if Achemiss didn¡¯t intervene. He swiftly drew the expelled constructs and belongings into a dimensional ring. Then, his mouth stretched into a cruel smile as he encompassed the lich in a bubble of insulating Dark while seizing control of her being with his necromancy, his will and power pitted against hers. Unsurprisingly, a mere construct, even one imbued with a proud human soul, didn¡¯t stand a chance. The Dark dissipated in a moment, leaving Achemiss in the destroyed workshop with just the mannequins and the lich. With a contemptuous snort, bones and corpses appeared all around him, exiting the various dimensional storages on his person. They completely filled the space, serving as a temporary bulwark. Achemiss empowered them with decemancy, allowing them to withstand the mannequins¡¯ furious thrashing for the two seconds it took Achemiss to tunnel through the fleshy morass and reach the short passage to the surface. Dunai wanted a fight? Achemiss would give it to him. Now that he was out of the pocket dimension, he could personally command his army, one that was nearly endless. A shield of flesh and bone extended out around him like a cocoon, thickening by the second as more dead materials joined the fold. From afar, it would look like a pulsating organ, but not for long. The thick, defensive hides of riftbeasts stretched and sealed together on the surface in a hideous patchwork. With the shield established, Achemiss finally felt like he could breathe. He brought out Jenexa, the construct hovering next to him in the air. He compelled her to look ahead, to share with him the secrets of the future. He needed several questions answered. Would Dunai¡¯s constructs breach the shield in the next half minute? Would the lich wrestle free from his control? How was his army faring both inside and beyond the rift? He didn¡¯t find answers to any of them. In less than fifteen seconds, the scenario ended. He tried again, forcing Jenexa to run several in the course of a second. No warning. No pain, no signs of destruction. The scenarios all just... stopped. This can¡¯t be happening again, he thought, his mind nearly incapacitated by fury. He grabbed the lich¡¯s unmoving form with a flesh-sculpted limb, holding her up by the fabric around her neck and staring into her emotionless, dead, glowing eyes. On the outside, he could hear several forms ramming into the shield. One of Dunai¡¯s mannequins, its head completely coated in gore, punched through, only to be pulled away a moment later by one of Achemiss¡¯s minions. Dunai had gone for a quality over quantity approach, and Achemiss was loath to admit it, but it was working, especially when Achemiss had to split his attention between his army and the lich while trying to keep abreast of developments with Janexa¡¯s scenarios. Achemiss prided himself on his ability to think rapidly and decisively, and above all, his multi-tasking, a capacity that few could better take advantage of than Death practitioners. But he had limits. Backed into a corner, he made the only choice he stomach. Achemiss still had his trump card¨Che wasn¡¯t ever truly in danger of dying today¨Cso he decided to go all in on offense. He plunged probes from his ethereal body into the lich. He sought not just to destroy her, but to usurp the bond between her and her master. After a second of searching, he couldn¡¯t find any obvious connection to Dunai, so he dug deeper. He tore at her being as only a necromancer could. She was conscious and incapacitated, so she should feel every bit of pain. He wished he could hear her scream. He hoped Dunai could. And then, as the seconds before the scenarios all ended approached, he found it. A small thread, one he was certain led to Dunai. Achemiss had been intimately acquainted with the ancient¡¯s ethereal body during the assassination, and he recognized it immediately. Unto the thread, he leveled the most powerful soul attack he could muster. And then, everything unraveled, his vision going dark. As he felt his soul being yanked across the planet, he gnashed immaterial teeth while lamenting his second death. He didn¡¯t even know how he¡¯d died. At least this time, he wouldn¡¯t be unprepared when he reformed, unused to his new state of existence and stranded without items or allies. He¡¯d need to move very, very quickly, but he would persevere. He always had, always would. So why... did he feel such dread?