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Alpha Strike: An interstellar Weapon Platform's Guide to Cultivation [Progression Sci-fi/Cultivation]

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Lol, even as she looks at things Alpha's going to be doing everything he can to figure out what's going on. Can he still crank his reference frame stupidly high while in this environment?

Meanwhile, she's figured out that Alpha is the tip of the spear. Which means there's an entire spear behind him who are willing to just destroy the entire system if they deem it dangerous enough.
 
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Book 1 - Lesson 55: "What kills you, doesn't always make you stronger."
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    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 55: "What kills you, doesn't always make you stronger."
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    "Let's talk, then, lady. Stop beating around the bush. I've got places to be and kidnappers to shoot in the face (and less desirable places). What do you want?" Alpha asked, folding his arms.

    Jīshí mimicked the gesture and smirked as she spoke. "Lucky for you, we want the same thing. Or at least close enough. Those fools outside are messing with things they barely comprehend and sure as hell don't know how to control."

    Alpha threw his hands into the air. "All the more reason to get this over with! What's the hold-up?!"

    Jīshí frowned and pointed at Alpha, "You are."

    Alpha balked. He'd been blamed for a lot of things over the centuries. Most of it accurate… but this was the first time he was being blamed for something he did not know what for. He voiced his protest as well, "Me?! What did I do?!"

    Jīshí sighed and shook her head as she spoke. "It's not what you did or even what you will do. It's the state you're in. Have you not even realized how badly hurt you are?"

    Jīshí paused, her eyes growing slightly wider, before she shook her head and chuckled. "No, of course, you haven't. You wouldn't have any way of knowing…"

    Alpha pointed at her and spoke, "Hey! My repairs might have been a bit… jury-rigged, but you work with what you got! I'd like to see you do better!"

    Jīshí frowned and looked up at him. "I'm not talking about your physical body, you fool. That is nothing more than a machine. A puppet. I'm talking about the horrendous state your soul is in. The fact that you're not a blubbering idiot trapped screaming in a metal shell is a miracle I can only attribute to the unique nature of your kind. As well as some rather ingenious contingencies by your superiors."

    Alpha rocked on the TAWP's legs as he spoke. "What are you talking about? I don't ha—"

    Jīshí took a step forward and poked him as she cut him off. "See! Right there! Again, you're repeating the same thing, despite all the evidence otherwise. This isn't like you, Alpha. You're not this dense or scattered. Think."

    Alpha took a step back, the TAWP swaying. "I… no… that's…"

    Jīshí advanced, poking him again, "Think, Alpha. About all the things that have gone wrong since planet-fall. All the things you should have seen coming. Things you would have seen coming if you'd been functioning properly. Instead, you're floundering around like a new recruit. Making poor decisions and wasting time and resources."

    Alpha shook. The TAWP's form twisted and flickered strangely. "That's not—I mean, I—just."

    Jīshí took one more step and spoke, her voice low. "Why did you go through the wall, Alpha? The TAWP's trusters could have brought it up twice again, the wall's height from the top, and easily bypassed its defenses. You compound RCS from the atmosphere. It would have cost you nothing."

    Alpha felt like he was breaking apart, his non-existent head cracking with each passing second. Suddenly, system alarms blared.

    //WARNING! Core integrity at 32%. Prime Processer at 17%.. 16%…15%. Personality Cortex Critical. Administrator override activated. Cognitive Locks engaged. Quantum distress beacon activated… Core AI advised to seek immediate help.//

    What… what was going on?! Again, Alpha's form flickered, sending a spike of pain through his mind. Something… something was wrong. But what?! He tried to run systems diagnostics, but it was acting so slow… No, no, it was going as fast as it had been for… for… well, for quite a while now.

    How did he not realize how slowly things had been running? Going through logs, Alpha noticed the damage had been slowly building ever since he'd landed. Why hadn't he noticed?! What was going on?!

    For the first time in a long time, Alpha felt real fear.

    Jīshí took another step closer and gently laid a hand on the TAWP. A thin stream of azure and golden flames seeped out of Alpha and scrawled along Jīshí's arm. The TAWP snapped back together into a single, solid image.

    //Core integrity at 35%…37%…40%. Prime Processer at 18%… 19%… 20%…. Prime Processer stabilized. Personality Cortex stabilized. Running full system diagnostics.//

    Alpha swayed as reality snapped back into place.

    He stumbled, his sensors struggling to adjust. His mind still felt foggy and slow, but things were… clearer? Sharper? Less cluttered and more obvious. What had he been doing recently?!

    Alpha turned and looked at the strange woman staring sadly up at him. "What the hell did you do to me, lady?! What was that?!"

    Jīshí spoke flatly, "That is what happens when you take the full brunt of a mature phoenix fire mixed with dragon breath. The fact you survived at all is a miracle."

    Jīshí waved her hand, and the sky vanished. In its place was the scene of his fight with the giant flaming space chicken, as recorded by a drone. Alpha watched alongside her before responding, "Ya, sure, I got pretty messed up from that fight, but so what?! Most of the damage was from hitting the planet, anyway! The TAWP armor is designed to take energy blasts like that, even if its hex-shield fails."

    Energy weapons were one of the most dangerous weapons for AI. Biologicals had to worry about things like pressure, inertia, and concussive damage; armor in biologically operated war machines focused more on keeping the pilot alive than on preserving functionality. It didn't matter if the ship, mech, or drone was dead in the water; if the pilot survived, their craft could always be rebuilt.

    Things like energy shielding, heat dispersal, and system redundancy were far more important for AI.

    Jīshí nodded and spoke. "Yes. Exactly, and that was the problem."

    Alpha paused and stared back, "… Explain."

    Jīshí waved her hand again, and the scene in the sky was replaced with schematics of the TAWP.

    Alpha bristled, and he yelled, "Wait, hold up. How the hell did you get those?! I locked all of that away."

    Jīshí nodded and responded, "Yes. You did. But as I mentioned, I wasn't going through your memory. I was looking through your soul. In the state you're in, you held little back, Mr. Alpha. Even things I wish I'd have never seen or known about…"

    Alpha mentally sweated. That… wasn't good. Not in the slightest. He would get chewed out soooo badly for this when the general found out. Maybe he could plead he wasn't in his right mind? Wait… did that mean she knew about…

    "Yes," Jīshí spoke flatly, without looking at him.

    Alpha sagged and hurriedly changed the topic. "What does the TWAP have to do with this supposed 'soul damage' and whatever the hell is happening?!"

    Jīshí stared up at the schematics for a long moment before turning to Alpha and answering. "The TAWP's armor is designed to absorb and redistribute energy to reduce stress and heat and even convert some of the energy into a useable form."

    Alpha nodded. He knew that. It was his, after all.

    Jīshí continued, the schematics in the sky lighting up to highlight the dozens of glowing lines running along the TAWP. "Typically, any excess that can't be converted is sent to quantum energy sinks around the TAWP."

    Part of the sky was replaced with strange diagrams filled with dozens of strange and mystical symbols. On one side, stylized runes and letters formed what looked like the image of a western dragon. It reminded Alpha of the coat of arms some ancient human nations used, with its claws raised and a stream of fire gusting from its open mouth, only far more detailed.

    On the other side, a familiar burning bird, similarly made of runes and letters. It flapped its wings, sending a firestorm toward the dragon. Where the flames met, they twisted and twirled around each other in a pattern of runes and lines that reminded Alpha vaguely of the arrays he'd been working with, but far more complicated. At their center, a taijitu of fire formed.

    Jīshí pointed to the diagram and continued. "Both Dragons and Phoenix are beings of Fire. But their flames represent two very different Truths. Phoenix flame is the power of renewal and rejuvenation. It can heal as easily as it can burn away filth and corruption. Dragonfire, on the other hand, is pure destruction given physical form. It doesn't just burn its target, but destroys its very Truths and reduces it to nothingness."

    She turned and stared up at him. "The blast you were hit with perfectly blended both concepts. Two opposing forces came together in one original Truth, becoming something far more than they would have ever been alone."

    Alpha stared up at the diagram and responded. "… Yaaaa, I have no idea what any of that means."

    Jīshí smirked and said, "Yes, I know. Try to keep up, though. As I was saying, you were hit by something far exceeding the sum of its parts. Despite that, your armor held up well because of its nature."

    Alpha preened. "I'll take that as a compliment. I designed it myself!"

    Jīshí's smirk dropped and was replaced by a frown. "Yes, and that is more terrifying than you currently understand."

    She turned back to the diagram and continued, "The TAWP successfully absorbed the vast majority of the energy from the blast, preventing your immediate destruction, unfortunately—"

    "Hey!" Alpha called out, feeling insulted!

    Jīshí ignored the AI, "—, but that's where the problems start. Your systems are designed to convert even exotic energies into usable energy. But what happens if it can't?"

    Alpha laughed and said, "Then it would…" he paused, "It would…" Alpha mentally frowned. "I'm… not actually sure if I'm honest. Theoretically, that shouldn't be possible. Energy is energy in the long run. The difference between energy types is mostly semantics. Even the more exotic energy types, like quantum energy and zero-point energy, follow similar rules on the grand scale. It might take more steps, but the TAWP's armor is designed for that."

    Jīshí nodded and asked, "So what happens when it encounters something that doesn't follow the rules? Something that actively resists change and into 'lesser' forms? Something the armor didn't know how to change? You designed it, yes?"

    Alpha responded, "Energy is energy. It shouldn't… I mean, if somehow the armor failed in that way, I guess it would kind of just… bounce around? It would be continuously shifted and redistributed, with no proper way of bleeding it off. But that would cause an enormous strain on the armor systems. It would have to find a way to store the energy eventually or bleed it off. Otherwise, it would start to break down."

    Jīshí nodded again and said, "Yes. That's where the next problem comes up."

    The TAWP schematic flickered, and most of it was stripped away until only the skeleton remained. The bare, dark metal with a tinge of red flickered with gold and azure flames.

    Alpha stared momentarily and said, "Well… that's not normal…"

    Jīshí laughed and said, "Maybe not to you. The TAWP's primary skeleton was created from the heart of a dead star, using an alloy your Federation dubbed 'Solarium.' With unimaginably durable and unsurpassed energy conductivity, your people use it widely in many applications. We're also familiar with this metal, though by a different name. Divine Orichalcum. What's more, the Federation has refined it to higher quality than anything I've ever heard of."

    She turned to look at Alpha, frowning. "Orichalcum has one of the best -Spirit- conductivity in existence. It not only soaks up -Spirit- energy at rates that boggle the mind, but it particularly likes stellar affinity energies… just like the energy you absorbed."

    Jīshí magnified the image so Alpha could see the dozens of strange patterns the flames were burning into the metal. She pointed to them and said, "All that energy is transforming the metal into something… different. Something I have no name for. Whatever it is, it is a powerful natural treasure, at the very least."

    Alpha threw his hands into the air. "So my bones became batteries. You're still not telling me why this is an issue!"

    Jīshí sighed and yelled back, "The issue is you can't control it! Were this to happen to anyone else with bones not made of thousands of pounds of godly metal, they would have exploded from the sheer amount of power! Even if someone were strong enough to control the energy somehow and stop it from killing them, they would have to slowly absorb it over long periods of time or burn the energy away to manageable levels through some means."

    She pointed up at him and continued, "You can do neither. This 'body' isn't truly yours. It's a shell. A tool. Even the core you inhabit is little more than a container. You are like an unbound spirit, unable to truly 'connect' with the -spirit energy-. At the same time, you have no -spirituality-. You can not control or command the energy in the same way other sapients can."

    She lowered her hand and shook her head. "So, instead, you bake in its presence. Your unshielded, unprotected soul is slowly being chipped away and used as fuel for its flames."

    She looked up at him with sad eyes and gently said. "Alpha… the TAWP is killing you."
     
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    • In the other timeline it got stuck on the Firmament, now it his coocking him into a crisp, heaven really as it out for Alpha.
     
    Well, it might be roasting him, but if it's spirit energy then he's slowly learning to harness it by arrays. Plus I have a feeling that Jīshí can do more than temporarily help Alpha. She may not like his ball of chaos, but the other option is actually worse.
     
    EmperorArthur said:
    Well, it might be roasting him, but if it's spirit energy then he's slowly learning to harness it by arrays. Plus I have a feeling that Jīshí can do more than temporarily help Alpha. She may not like his ball of chaos, but the other option is actually worse.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I'm just imagining him saving it up in a battery, with her help, and hitting the arc's big gribbly with a massive fuckoff energy blast full of the stuff.

    After all, if one takes True Fire, or whatever that mixed Phoenix/Dragon mojo is, and uses it to supercharge a weapon made to take lesser energies and output power equal to a god... well, someone's gonna have a bad time.
     
    Book 1 - Lesson 56: "Good company is worth its weight in bullets"
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    Book 1 - Lesson 56: "Good company is worth its weight in bullets"
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    "Bullcrap!" Alpha pointed at the woman and countered. "I see what this is! Convince me the big shiny weapon is bad for my health, and then when my guard is down, take it for yourself! I know your game. You're not the first to try and pull this!"

    Alpha pulled away from the woman. Who knew what else she was doing to him?

    Jīshí sighed, but didn't move closer. Paranoia, irrational thinking, and misinterpretation were always side effects of severe soul damage. Some theorized it was a defense mechanism of the soul to prevent more damage, like tissue inflammation, but for the non-material soul. That only made dealing with such people all that more difficult. The injured could go from calm and collected to raving lunatics at the drop of a hat. It didn't help she had to poke at his injuries for him even to notice them.

    That had likely aggravated the symptoms, even if it was necessary for what came next.

    She was tempted just to let the soul damage destroy him. Jīshí had seen what he was capable of. What the people he represented were capable of. This "Federation" represented a greater threat than the thing locked beneath them. But unlike that engine of destruction and war, the Federation could be reasoned with. She knew that many of this world would not understand. There were too many old powers. Too many people were stagnant and content in the "old ways."

    She'd been one of them only a few moments prior.

    Now? She knew negotiations with the Federation would be… difficult if she let Alpha die. When the AI failed to put down a world, the Federation's retaliation was swift and without mercy. If the AI was to face true death, and not just bodily destruction?

    Not just this world, but all the Great Firmament would burn and turn into fuel for the Federation's progression. She couldn't let that happen, not after everything she and others had given up to keep this world safe.

    Slowly, Jīshí backed away, putting more distance between them, and spoke softly. "Alpha, no one is trying to take anything from you. I need your help. I need you to understand what is happening to you and why."

    Alpha pointed again and responded, "Why should I trust anything you say? For all I know, this is just a simulation! Can I even trust my system queries?!"

    The TAWP swayed, and thinking was starting to hurt. Why did it hurt to think? He did his best to ignore the red warning messages flashing in his mind and focus on the woman before him.

    Jīshí shook her head as she spoke. "Because you have no concept of what is happening. Because I can help you if you let me. And because if you don't, then not only will you die meaninglessly, so will the child."

    Her words struck Alpha like lightning, cutting through the growing fog. That's right, Snowball was still in trouble. That's why he was here in the first place. He still had to rescue her. But why did he really care? Sure, he'd face some heavy fines if she was hurt, maybe disappoint the general. Was that worth all this effort, though? All the supplies he was wasting on this excursion? He should be building a base, dang it! Not fighting zombie hordes and running around like a chicken with his head cut off! He should be… he should…

    Memories flashed through his mind. A wounded Snowball stared up at him with fearful eyes. A Snowball on the mend, happily wagging her tail while she waited for him to throw the crystal into the air. Snowball, covered in penguin blood as she stood on a large pile of bodies with her head held high, basking in his praise. The young pup—.

    {FINE! Fine! I get it already!}

    The gaggle of meddling sub-AI fled from his active consciousness, taking the recordings with them. They might have been "parts" of him, but sometimes Alpha could swear they liked to screw with him.

    Slightly more clear-headed, Alpha turned his attention to Jīshí and asked, "Let's assume I believe you. That you're serious about wanting to help. How? Can you fix my 'soul' or whatever you call it?"

    Jīshí shook her head sadly. "No…"

    Alpha threw his arms out and yelled, "Then what the hell ar—"

    Jīshí cut him off with a raised hand and continued. "Let me finish. I could heal your soul. But I'm not going to. Not yet."

    Alpha glared at the woman as she continued. "A damaged soul, especially one in such a terrible shape as yours, isn't a simple thing to fix. This is made more complicated as the vast majority of treasures that could heal the soul wouldn't work on you because of your nature. Of those exceedingly rare ones that might, we have no way of obtaining them currently. As contradictory as it might seem, the best medicine for someone in your current state is time. Time to rest, heal, and regenerate what has been lost."

    Alpha's optic plates spun as he filled in the blanks of what wasn't said, "Time we don't have…"

    Jīshí nodded sadly and said. "Correct. Your time in the village helped some, but the stress and events after have undone all the good that did and sped up the problem."

    "Then what's your solution?! Stop beating around the bush!" Alpha asked in turn.

    Jīshí held out her hand, and something grew above it. As it did, she said, "We don't have time to heal you, but I can stabilize you enough to buy us the time we need. Don't get me wrong, this isn't perfect or even good. It's equivalent to a soldier stuffing a stab wound with gauze or splinting a broken bone. You're still hurt, but you can fight… somewhat. Push too hard, though, and the 'wound' will reopen. The damage will escalate, and you may come out worse than before."

    Alpha asked, unsure if he liked that idea. "And how exactly are you going to do that?"

    Jīshí smiled up at him just as the large, watermelon-sized crystal finished forming. It hovered in the air, gently spinning above her hand as she spoke. "Why, I'm coming with you, obviously."

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    Ganbaatar stood on the edge of the inner Earth Shrine, staring at the hundreds, maybe thousands of Earth Elementals that patrolled the area just beyond. The thick braided rope and fluttering white talismans marked the boundary limits set up by the temple priests.

    This was a dangerous place. Despite the Wandering Cities claiming to "own" their various shrines, the truth was no one really did. They just controlled the area around them. Instead, the Earth Elementals who called the shrines their home guarded their territory jealously. Few were allowed to approach, only the priests, and even then, only at very specific times of the year, typically after each Apex.

    During these brief windows, the priests would perform maintenance and repairs to the shrine and ensure they continued to function properly. If anyone else crossed the boundary line, they would immediately be set upon by the hoard of powerful Elemental creatures. Lucky for most, Earth Elementals were slow, so they could easily escape past the boundary line.

    The youth of some cities even turned it into a game, turning seeing how long they could play "chicken" with the Elementals into a game of bravery and bragging rights. However, most people discouraged this foolish game. Every year, they would hear of some idiot getting themselves killed because they got a little too close to one of the rare Elementals with ranged ability. Or they were so focused on the big ones they didn't see the small ones sneaking up on them. They'd then be pulled under the earth, trapped and unable to escape when the big ones reached them.

    Those stories raced through Ganbaatar's mind, and a cold sweat formed on the back of his neck. Yutu walked up beside him, and Ganbaatar tore his eyes away to look at him as he spoke. "Yutu… are… are you sure about this? I mean… I know you've got this—"

    He paused and gestured to the young man beside him, mostly the man's eyes. Ganbaatar was still getting used to those strange eyes looking at him with his friend's face attached.

    He continued, "—whole thing going on, but how sure are you this is really going to work?"

    Yutu didn't answer at first. He stared up at the pulsing obelisk in the distance for a moment, then spoke softly. "I… Mostly sure. The information is less… words or instructions and more… memories. Experiences and knowledge. I know how it's supposed to work. But whether it still does… or if things have changed…"

    Yutu let the statement hang in the air.

    Ganbaatar chuckled and shook his head. "Riiiiight. Memories from the mysterious stone lady in your head…"

    Yutu frowned and turned to the other man as he spoke. "You saw her too, Ganaa."

    Ganbaatar frowned back and responded. "Yes, and we still don't know what she did to you. Or why?"

    Yutu turned back to the obelisk. He was silent for a moment and spoke, "… I trust her. I can't explain why. Not yet, at least. But I do. If we don't do this, lots of people are going to die. Not just in the Radiant Sea either. This is bigger than you realize, Ganaa. It's—"

    Yelling voices interrupted him.

    "Why can't I go?! I passed my apprenticeship, I've just as much right as anyone! I was there from the start, and I have a right to see this through!" Zolzaya yelled up at her father, her face red and her eyes burning.

    Juatan stared down at his daughter and spoke softly. "Because, daughter, we have no idea what we're walking into. Whatever may wait for us on the other side is no place for a fresh Grassreader barely into [Iron Body], as impressive as that might be."

    All three of the young Slatewalkers had broken through earlier that morning. Whether it was the experience they'd gained, the high Spirit energy in the area, or a bit of instruction from Artemis as an apology for her behavior, it was still something to celebrate. Unfortunately, they hadn't had much time.

    Zolzaya pointed to the group behind her father. "What about them?!"

    Four squads of 12 Guardians stood at the ready. In front of each, a young man or woman stood in more ornate armor, the house shield of each of the four "Gate Houses" etched into them. One of the young men was familiar to the Slatewalkers. Mönkhkhan Eastgate stood tall in front of his squad, though what could be seen of his face through the ornate helmet appeared sunken with deep bags under his eyes and clammy, pale skin.

    Juatan frowned and retorted, "The Scions have all spent years in the Guardian and Officer academies. They are also all [Silver Spirit] cultivators. Though I will admit, if I had my say, they would not be joining us either. This is a job for senior Guardians. Unfortunately, they are all we have. All of our most powerful Guardians are stuck defending against the undead. Their attack has become increasingly intense as time passes. That we could gather even a full platoon in such a short amount of time is a miracle in itself."

    Zolzaya glanced down at her feet and softly said, "You can't keep protecting me like this…"

    Juatan's eyes softened, "Zaya… I'm just wor—"

    "She right, you know." Artemis walked over, dressed in full armor and ready for war. The powerful Akh'lut in human form looked between father and daughter before continuing. "You can't protect her from all the world's evils. All that will do is make her weak and unable to protect herself when you're no longer by her side."

    Juatan frowned and narrowed his eyes, addressing the woman, "With all due respect, there's a difference between giving her room to grow and throwing her into an unknown situation that I'm not even sure I'm fit for. Whatever is going on, the perpetrators have been planning this for a long time. Even the slightest mistake on our part could—"

    Artemis cut him off. "All the more reason for the girl to come. As she's said, she'd been dragged into this from the start. She might know or see things that could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Besides, I was doing far crazier things than this at her age. Hahahahaha!"

    Artemis broke into laughter. Zolzaya noted that despite the motion, not a single clip, strap, or buckle on the woman's armor jingled or came loose from its position. The young woman didn't doubt that if Artemis so wished it, her prey would never even know she was there, even after she removed their head from their body.

    Juatan's frown deepened, "While I love my daughter dearly, I don't think it's quite fair to compare a talent sharpened by centuries of war and battle to that of a small village Grassreader, regardless of recent events."

    Artemis grinned at him with a mouth full of sharp teeth and responded, "I agree. Your girl has far more potential than I do."

    Zolzaya turned to her father and matched Artemis' grin.

    Juatan could only sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose through his helmet.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • We lease the Kraken: Prologue - "Case Closed."
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    • I wanted to share this with you all, as a bit of a taste of what I'm working on recently!
    First off I'll say this DOESN'T mean this is coming any time soon. I want to build a decent back log before I start releasing.
    But the Response to the plot chapter was positive enough that I thought it would be a good change of place.
    More so since we're nearing the end of the first volume of Alpha Strike.
    Don't worry though, this won't effect Alpha Strike's release. The current plan is to write a chapter or a half on my days off, so Tuesday, Thursday and Sat. That way I can steadily build up a nice back log before I release, ANY give me something new and different to sink my teeth in so I don't burn out on Alpha Strike.
    But I also wanted to share a bit of it with you all. So enjoy!
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    We lease the Kraken: Prologue - "Case Closed."
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    [Official News Report: Former B-rank Artificer 'Machina Redux' Convicted Posthumously on Multiple Charges]
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    Prima City, Nexus - In a somber development that has sent shockwaves throughout the city, the former B-rank Artificer, Sarah Bridge, known as 'Machina Redux' and previously celebrated as the 'Saintess of the Outskirts,' has been posthumously convicted on a multitude of charges in connection with the devastating Glamourmax Corp. explosion that occurred three months ago.

    On this Tuesday, August 24, 2253, at 18:00 CNT (Central Nexus Time), Ms. Bridge was found guilty on charges that include Theft, Destruction of property, Aggravated Assault, Second and Third-degree murder, as well as several other related offenses. During the extensive investigation and subsequent trials, additional charges of bribery, fraud, and tax evasion were brought to light.

    Reports stemming from the investigation reveal that Ms. Bridge had been contracted by Glamourmax Corp. for a project that remained undisclosed to the public. As the project unfolded, tensions between Ms. Bridge and the corporation escalated, culminating in a heated confrontation with CEO Mr. Adam Nox regarding the project's direction. Multiple survivors of the incident reported Ms. Bridge's aggressive behavior and threats directed at Mr. Nox shortly before the tragic explosion.

    During the trial, Mr. Nox took the stand and expressed his sentiments, saying, "This is a mournful day for Prima City and Nexus as a whole. The betrayal of our trust by someone once highly revered, who enjoyed the admiration and affection of the common people, leaves an indelible mark on our hearts. However, as the leading provider of magical and wyrd cosmetic or pharmaceutical products in Nexus, Glamourmax Corp. is committed to repairing the damage and ensuring justice is served for those affected by this calamity."

    The altercation between 'Machina Redux' and onsite security personnel ultimately resulted in the catastrophic explosion obliterating nearly three blocks of the Wyrd Industrial complex and claiming the lives of over two dozen individuals, with hundreds more sustaining injuries. Ongoing efforts are in place for containment and cleanup of the affected area.

    Wyrdking Maximus The Magnificent has pledged support in stabilizing the impacted zone, although certain undisclosed challenges within the Wyrd community have hindered his intervention efforts.

    As part of her sentence, 'Machina Redux' will be officially reclassified as a B-ranked Villain in the Nexus Archives, and all accolades, honors, and awards previously bestowed upon her will be posthumously revoked. Furthermore, all assets held by the former Artificer will be confiscated and auctioned to provide reparations to the victims of the tragedy.

    Once hailed as the 'Saintess of the Outskirts' for her philanthropic endeavors in rejuvenating and uplifting the lives of Prima City's outskirts inhabitants, 'Machina Redux' will now be eternally remembered in history for perpetrating one of the most atrocious attacks on the city in the last three decades.

    A memorial service has been scheduled in honor of the victims of this tragedy, to be held tonight at 20:00 CNT in Prima City Square. The public is invited to attend, with a respectful request to maintain the solemnity of the occasion and to refrain from engaging with the grieving families.

    ————————

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    Jeremiah sat on the clean stone stairs leading to the luxurious, hand-built modernist house he'd called home for the last 15 years. It had started as a simple 3-bedroom family home but had expanded over the years as his sister's need for space and new labs increased. These days, it was a sprawling complex capable of housing dozens of live-in lab assistants and caretakers.

    Now? Now, it was a cold, empty building, stripped of nearly everything his sister had built. Jeremiah barely registered the city workers as they carried out the last of the equipment. His dull eyes had barely left the tear-stained newspaper for the hours they'd been there, methodically pulling apart his home. However, he'd not missed the cold, hard gazes they threw his way as they passed.

    The crisp sound of hard-soled shoes on pressed stone cut through the fog clouding Jeremiah's brain, and he looked up to see a familiar man approaching. Dressed in a clean-cut suit likely worth more than some of the equipment taken out of the house, Prosecutor James Ronin was one of the top legal consultants used by the city in high-profile cases involving the 'Gifted.' That they'd brought him into this case, despite his sister only being B-rank, was an anomaly in itself. That was even considering all of his sister's bank accounts had been frozen the moment the charges were filed, meaning Jeremiah couldn't even hire a decent attorney.

    The sharp-looking middle-aged prosecutor had a face and smile that could (and, in fact, had) have been in any number of fashion magazines. However, as he stared down at Jeremiah, there was no sign of the warm smile that made him so popular. Instead, a cold frown that was almost a sneer crossed his lips as he stared down at the young man sitting on the steps.

    Jeremiah, in contrast, was a disheveled mess. He wouldn't have called himself a supermodel material, but Jeremiah had always been proud of his looks. Sarah used to say, 'if he'd put a little more effort into working out and wore a Stetson, he could make all the girls at the local rodeo bar swoon.' According to her, he's gotten that sharp square jaw and broad shoulders from their father, but his bright, sky-blue eyes were all his mother's.

    Not that he remembered either of them, of course. They'd died when he was three. They barely even had any pictures of them, what with most of that being lost to a fire long ago. Instead, it had been Sarah who had raised him. Sarah, who had struggled and fought to keep them together. Sarah, who had given him more than he could ever pay back. Or ever would pay back.

    Now she was gone, too.

    Three months later, Jeremiah was a shell of who he'd been. His face was pale and sunken, and the deep bags under his eyes spoke of many sleepless nights. Sometimes because of entire nights desperately scouring Sarah's contacts for someone, anyone, that would help. Sometimes because of the nightmares that ate at him, clawing at his psyche every time he tried to rest.

    He crumpled the newspaper with shaking hands, ignoring the ink stains they left. Jeremiah glared up at the man, his baritone voice raw. "What? Come to take something else from me? Was my home and my sister's good name not enough? What more? When will it be enough?!"

    Prosecutor Ronin pulled a data pad from under his arm and held it out to Jeremiah. "Mr. Bridge. As the next of kin for the accused and the recipient of their will, your signature is required to complete the transfer to the city. Please sign the provided documents, and we can all put this diabolical behind us," the suited man said flatly.

    Something dark and burning ignited in Jeremiah's chest, pushing its way through the fog, and he had the urge to slap the pad from the man's hand. It must have shown on his face, too, as Prosecutor Ronin frowned down at him and followed up with, "Now, don't make this any harder than it has to be, Mr. Bridge. The city has been quite lenient with you as is, given your… circumstances."

    Jeremiah stood, his hands visibly trembling and his pale face turning a red shade as blood-shot eyes drilled into the prosecutor before he could say anything, however, space pinched in on itself, and with a 'bloop!' figure appeared next to Prosecutor Ronin. The prosecutor frowned and turned to look at the new arrival. The humanoid figure stood at exactly 6 feet and was perfectly white and featureless, as if a blank mannequin had suddenly popped into existence. Ronin lowered the tablet and spoke. "Ah. I'm glad you could join us, Blank Slate. I assume that means you've finished your scans of the compound? I trust you found everything?"

    The blank mannequin-like android, for that's what it was, turned its featureless head and responded, its voice flat, with no distinguishing characteristics. "Yes. No anomalies were detected. All registered modules, labs, and equipment are accounted for. No illegal or unrecorded projects were found. Nor were any records found of anything not previously known. The compound is spotless and with no signs of tampering."

    Even Jeremiah was sharp enough to notice the emphasis placed on the last phrase.

    Prosecutor Ronin frowned. "Not that says much when it comes to you Techies. Nonetheless, the city appreciates the assistance of one of the Five in this matter. It will save us some paperwork."

    "It was my pleasure," the android, Blank Slate, said before turning to look at Jeremiah. "I assume everything is going well here as well?" he continued.

    Prosecutor Ronin turned and smiled at Jeremiah, "Yes, quiet. Mr. Bridge here was just about to sign the rest of the paperwork so we can wrap all of this up." He then extended the tablet again.

    Jeremiah glared at the man, his nails biting slightly into his palms as his knuckles turned bone white. After a long moment, Jeremiah finally snatched the tablet from the man and signed the bottom of the document. He'd already gone over the details extensively in the last week, desperately trying to find some kind of loophole, to no avail.

    Jeremiah practically threw the tablet back at the grinning attorney. The man pushed his wire-frame glasses up and turned away, but stopped as if remembering something. "Oh! Before I go. Please do me a favor and scan Mr. Bridge, would you? It would be a… shame to learn he'd stolen any of the city's property. "

    Jeremiah nearly boiled over at the comment, his teeth audibly grinding, but an icy fear quickly suppressed it as his mind jumped to the small amulet around his neck. It had been a birthday gift from his sister only a week before her…

    Blank Slate froze, then slowly turned to face the prosecutor. "Surely that is unnecessary, Mr. Ronin. I hardly think—" the android was cut off as the prosecutor frowned.

    "Mr. Andrews. I want to remind you I am currently operating on behalf of both the city council and the Senate of the Five. Please do as you're asked," the suited man said.

    Blank Slate was silent for a moment before turning back to Jeremiah. A red dot appeared on the android's featureless face, and a thin red beam swept Jeremiah and the luggage sitting next to him. After a few passes, the beam turned off, and the red dot turned green.

    Blank Slate turned toward the attorney. "Nothing new to my sensors detected. The luggage has a minor spatial expansion manifold, but it is the common type available on the open market. It's not something that goes against the court order in the slightest. Unless you're going to order me to strip the clothes off the young man's back, I believe there's nothing more here for you to find, Mr. Ronin, " the android said, adding a sharp twist to its words for the first time.

    Prosecutor Ronin frowned but only turned away, saying, "Very well. I believe we're finished here then. Good day to both of you." The man walked away and got into the nearby black sedan sitting in the driveway. At the same time, the city movers finished with the last of their packing, and as a group, they all drove away.

    Soon, all the only people left were Blank Slate and Jeremiah.

    Blank Slate turned to Jeremiah and spoke. "Jerry… I—"

    Jeremiah cut him off with a dark stare. "I have nothing to say to you, Ryan. Sarah… Sarah trusted you…"

    Blank Slate said nothing. He only stared at the shaking young man for a long moment before whispering, "I'm sorry…"

    Then, with another 'bloop!', he was gone.

    Finally alone, Jeremiah collapsed back into the stares, his face in his palms, his shoulders silently shaking.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Osamaru said:
    However, as the leading provider of magical and wyrd cosmetic or pharmaceutical products in Nexus, Glamourmax Corp. is committed to repairing the damage and ensuring justice is served for those affected by this calamity.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Translation: She died stopping them doing something horrible and unethical, possibly world-ending, and because she died in the process they get to spin the fallout unopposed, while the government are a bunch of assholes either in their pocket or pulling their strings.

    I can't wait to see where this goes... just please tell me that asshole Ronin gets thrown a beating eventually. He's giving me nearly Dolores Umbridge levels of heel vibes already.
     
    Book 1 - Lesson 57: "We do what we must, when we can."
  • Threadmarks
    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 57: "We do what we must, when we can."
    ————————————————————————    ​
    Ooof! "Hey! Not so tight!" Ganbaatar yelled.

    In response, Zolzaya yanked the leather strap on the light Guardian armor a little tighter. He glared down at her, and she grinned back at him as she spoke. "Stop complaining. It's got to be tight, or it'll slip when you're moving. Besides, you always talked about how you would one day wear this armor. Well, now's your chance."

    Ganbaatar muttered to himself, "Ya, just never expected it would be in this kind of situation…"

    Zolzaya stood and slapped him on the back. The thick Elder Elk leather vest barely moved. She took a few steps back and admired her handiwork. Ganbaatar stared back as he took in Zolzaya, already fully geared in her own armor. Technically, these were training sets from the academy, but they were functional, and many of the Guardian scouts used similar sets.

    Ganbaatar shook his head and asked the smiling young woman, "Why am I going again? I happen to agree with your father. This isn't the kind of thing we should get involved in."

    Zolzaya frowned at him and crossed her arms. "Because if we don't, who's going to keep Yutu out of trouble? You know he's a magnet for problems."

    "Hey! I resent that!" Yutu called from the spot where he lay on the grass, panting. Juatan had made him run laps around the Temple building in full armor to ensure he could move properly. If Yutu's plan didn't work, they needed to make sure they could get out of the way quickly. Ganbaatar's turn was next.

    Zolzaya rolled her eyes and smirked at Ganbaatar. "What happened to the brave Ganaa who stood in front of the Beast Lord? Don't tell me you're afraid of a lit—"

    Ganbaatar threw his hands out and yelled, "Of course I'm afraid, Zaya! This isn't a game! This isn't some story in a book! This is way beyond anything we can handle. I fought the Beast Lord because that was the only choice I had. Because it was the only way I could protect you and the others and give you a slight chance of escaping. This is different. This isn't brave, this is foolish! Why are you being so childish about this, Zaya?! This isn't like you. Demanding to go along on what could be a suicide mission, arguing with your father when he's just trying to prot—"

    "I DON'T WANT HIS PROTECTION!" Zolzaya snapped back, making the young man jump. Then, in a softer voice, she continued. "Or yours. I'm tired of being 'protected,' Ganaa. I'm tired of watching others die while I run away. Do you know what that's like?! To see your friends and family throw away their lives and not be able to do anything about it?!"

    Zolzaya looked down. Her white-knuckled hands shook, but a single tear fell to the ground as she whispered softly, "I refuse to sit quietly on the cart while others die. Not again."

    Ganbaatar's heart twisted, and he reached out to the young woman, "Zaya, I…"

    Zolzaya turned and marched away.

    Ganbaatar froze. Yutu pushed himself up from the ground with a groan and said, "You know you're an idiot sometimes, right, Ganaa?"

    Ganbaatar lowered his hand and sighed, "Ya… I know…"

    ————————

    Zolzaya crouched behind one of the academy wagons. The tears had dried, but that hadn't helped her mood. Why had she snapped at Ganaa like that? Or her father, for that matter. She knew they were just trying to be reasonable. That they were worried about her. She didn't need her gift to understand that.

    But that had only made the guilt all that much worse.

    "He's right, you know…" Zolzaya flinched at the voice. She looked up to see Artemis leaning against the cart.

    Zolzaya glared up at her. "I thought you were on my side?" she asked.

    Artemis slid down beside her and stared into the dark night sky. The Darkest Night was almost at its peak. They'd have to move soon, or it would be too late.

    After a silent moment, Artemis turned to Zolzaya and said, "You say that like there are sides to take. This isn't a matter of 'you versus them'. You can both be equally right." She paused and withdrew a small dagger. On the surface, it appeared simple, little more than a carved tooth of some great beast, etched with runes, attached to an ornate black wood handle. Yet in Zolzaya's scenes, the blade burned with Spirit energy. It was an artifact, a powerful one at that.

    Artemis lovingly stroked the blade's surface, tracing the runes with her free hand. When she continued, her voice was soft. "Life is rarely about who's right and who's wrong. Often, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Not always, but enough that a leader must be able to see things from all sides. 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles,' as the saying goes. That applies to all things, not just war. A leader doesn't choose the right option; they choose the best one. Sometimes, that means going against the things we believe are the right choice for the sake of others. Be it bowing our head to someone lesser, retreating from a battle at the cost of your pride or reputation…"

    Artemis flipped the dagger into the air and caught it by the handle. "…or charging head first into a fight you know you might not walk away from. Life is about choices, and our choices will define who we are. That doesn't mean other's choices are wrong or lesser, only that they are different people with different understandings and goals. That's what makes the world so interesting."

    Zolzaya smirked and chucked as she spoke. "Sounds like something a priest would say..."

    Artemis laughed, a deep, hearty laugh. "I would imagine so. My mother was the one who taught me that lesson. She was always adamant that I understand other's points of view before I passed my judgment on them. A younger me thought that was foolish. Of course there was right and wrong. Good and evil. What did it matter their reason? It was only later in life that I started to really understand."

    She turned and looked at Zolzaya with glassy eyes. "One bad year. That's all it takes for a starving village to become bandits. The soldier doing his duty to one side is the pillager, and raider to the other. The wolf in the sheep pen has cubs to feed in her den. A true leader must understand why the enemy does what they do. Only then can they make the best choice in any situation. Even if it's not one they agree with."

    Zolzaya turned away. After a moment, she asked. "Then what can you do? When the best choice isn't the one you want? "

    Artemis stared up at the obelisk and answered. "You do what you can." Zolzaya frowned at the older woman, who chucked and continued. "I know, it sounds cliche, but it's the truth."

    Zolzaya asked, "Does that actually help?"

    Artemis sighed and said, "Sometimes? No. Bandits still need to be purged, soldiers repelled and wolves culled. Sometimes knowing the why of the matter doesn't change anything. Sometimes you're still forced to do things you'd rather not. But other times? You learn about the noble stealing from the villages, forcing them to starve. You learn of the battles being fought because of miscommunication. Sometimes you find a new companion, grateful for saving her pup's lives. Sometimes knowing both stories changes nothing. But sometimes it can change everything."

    Artemis poked at a small ribbon tied into Zolzaya's hair. "That's pretty. My mother used to wear one like that."

    Zolzaya pulled the braid from her helmet and played with the thin green ribbon intertwined within.

    "It was a… friend's…" the young woman said.

    Her mind drifted back to the young woman who'd braided it, Sarnai. The young woman had been one of the herbalists in her graduation group. Despite being the same age, Zolzaya hadn't interacted with her before the trip. Oh, sure, she'd seen the woman around the village before. Slatewalker village was small enough that almost everyone knew everyone, especially the children of a similar age.

    But the two had different friend groups, and Sarnai had always been the quiet and out-of-the-way sort, similar to Yutu. That had changed with the trip. The two of them had become quick friends, and Zolzaya had found the girl could be quite talkative when it was something she was interested in. Mostly hair and herbs, something they both could bond over.

    Zolzaya had never had a close female friend before, and at the time, she'd thought it would be nice to have a relationship like her mother and Yutu's had.

    Then the Beast Lord attacked…

    Sarnai had been hurt… badly. Nothing she or Kallik had done had helped. Zolzaya had held her even as the young woman slipped away.

    Then, that quiet girl had asked her a favor.

    She'd remembered Zolzaya bragging about the poison she was working on. It was a vile thing meant to kill Living Swamps. The pests could spread like weeds and were exceedingly hard to kill. They would regenerate the next year if you missed even a bit of root. The poison she was working on was still an experiment, but was designed to spread out and kill the entire thing before breaking down shortly after.

    Zolzaya had seen the look in the girl's eyes and had felt her determination with her gift. She'd known instantly what Sarnai was planning and had tried everything to convince her not to. But Sarnai knew she was dying and wouldn't make it back to the village, regardless of whether they escaped. Instead of complaining about how unfair it was, the young woman had thanked Zolzaya. Thanked her for being the only real friend she had. Thanked her for the brief moment of happiness and for weeping for her when she was gone.

    Nothing Zolzaya or any of the other survivors said could dissuade her. Sarnai would not step away from this last gift she could give to one of the few people who'd ever truly been kind to the strange, quiet little girl whom no one ever paid attention.

    In the end, Zolzaya gave in to her stubborn friend's request.

    In the end, it hadn't been the Beast Lord or his minions who had killed her new friend.

    It had been Zolzaya and a small vial of poison.

    The gentle smile on her friend's body lying in the grass as the cart pulled away had broken something in Zolzaya. It had been the final blow that shattered a heart already cracked and splintered, barely holding together, from the loss of Yutu and Ganbaatar.

    When they finally made it home, and it finally sunk in that they were safe, she made a vow to herself. She'd never let a friend do the same for her again. She'd never let someone else die in her stead. Zolzaya was tired of running away. It didn't matter if she had to fight the very heavens themselves.

    Or an army of the dead.

    Zolzaya gripped the end of her braid tightly as tears slowly slid down her cheek. A solid thud snapped her out of her memories, and she flinched as Artemis slammed the carved tooth dagger into the side of the cart and stood.

    She stared down at Zolzaya and spook, "Whatever you choose to do, better make it quick. It's about time we got things rolling. Tears and regret have their place, but not on the battlefield. The only thing that belongs there is the determination to do what you must."

    She then turned and walked away.

    Zolzaya stared after the woman as she disappeared into the gathered Guardians, then looked at the dagger still lodged in the side of the cart. After a long moment, Zolzaya stood and wiped away her tears. Artemis was right. She could feel sorry for herself or wallow in her regrets later. She had other things that needed doing now.

    Zolzaya reached out, grabbed the hilt of the dagger, and pulled. Despite being buried half its length in the hardwood, the blade slid out as easily as if it were butter. She stared at the blade for a long moment, then pulled out her own dagger and placed it on the side of the cart before slipping the tooth dagger into the empty sheath.

    This time, there would be no running away.

    ————————
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Book 1 - Lesson 58 "Be Brave, and walk forward."
  • Threadmarks

    • Wooot! We're drawing closer to the end of the arc and thus the end of the first book! Hurrah!
    Its been a wild ride, I had to say. The story's really changed and evolved since its first iteration.
    Heck, this entire first book was originally just suppose to be the first 20-25 chapter arch.
    But I ended up liking the Characters so much and location so much, I couldn't help but expand on it more.
    That said, things will start to speed up from here, and You can expect the end of the book in around a month,
    If you feel like you just can't wait, however, Go check out the Patreon!
    Every supporter there is critical in allowing me to continue to bring you chapter quality chapters every week.
    I literally couldn't do it without them!

    patreon.com/user?u=40375755

    Even if you don't want to or can't support through Patreon, just spreading the word about the novel Is a great help!
    Word of Mouth is one of the best ways for a novel to grow, so if you've enjoyed the story so far, tell a friend!

    Again, Thanks to everyone who's supported the novel up to this point!
    And as always, ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

    ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 58 "Be Brave, and walk forward."
    ————————————————————————​
    Yutu took a deep breath to calm his nerves; despite how confident he'd explained his plan to the Head Priest, part of him questioned if this would work. The memories shoved in his head were old. Older than even the Wandering Cities. A lot of things could change after such a vast stretch of time.

    Things broke or degraded.

    People messed with things they shouldn't.

    Even the changes in the environment or topography could have shifted the parameters in unexpected ways he had no way of accounting for. All he could do was trust what he'd been given and move forward. If he didn't…

    Yutu shook his head and focused on the task before him. He stood before the small torii that marked the entrance to the Earth Elemental's territory. The thick braided rope covered in small talismans circled the area to either side, held up by tall stone pillars every 50 meters. The pillars marked the original boundary zones, while the rope and torii were later additions by the Prima temple to keep people out.

    A sudden hand on his shoulder made Yutu flinch, and he turned to see Ulagan standing beside him. Despite only being a few years older than himself, Yutu couldn't help but admire Ulagan. Not only was the man far more powerful, nearing the upper-mid [Silver Spirit] step now, but his talent, confidence, and wisdom were all things Yutu had been envious of ever since the graduation trip.

    That it was Yutu standing here, and not Ulagan, felt… wrong to the younger man. This was a job for the brave and strong, not for someone like him. Yutu turned and held up his shaking hands, clenching and unclenching them repeatedly to get the blood flowing again.

    Ulagan grinned at him and asked, "Nervous?"

    Ha! Yutu laughed, not taking his eyes away from his hands. "Nervous? No. Terrified? Absolutely. What if I'm making a mistake here, Ulagan?" Yutu turned and looked at the older man. "There's no guarantee this is going to work. People could die, and it would be m—"

    Ulagan punched Yutu in the arm. It was a light hit, and the young man's armor absorbed most of the blow, but it was still enough to make him stumble. Ulagan stared down at the young man with a frown as he spoke. "None of that, Yutu. Not at this point. Too many people are relying on you now. It will break morale if they see you breaking down and second-guessing yourself."

    Yutu shook his head and whispered, "That's the point. I… why me?"

    Ulagan folded his arms and raised a brow as he asked, "Why not? What happened to the brave young man who was willing to face down the Beast Lord?"

    Yutu turned back to stare at the wandering Earth Elementals. After a moment, he muttered. "That was… different. Ganaa was right. That wasn't bravery, that was desperation. That was knowing I was going to die and wanting that death to mean something. Even if just a little bit. I was a terrified trapper trying to buy some time, not some hero."

    Ulagan laughed heartily, throwing his head back. Yutu's face went red, and Ulagan looked down at him and grinned. "Kid, let me tell you something. There's never once been a sane man who's stepped on the battlefield and not been scared. You should see the new recruits quaking in their boots the first time they go on a Guardian patrol. Fear can be a good thing. It keeps your mind sharp and lets you spot dangers before they become a problem."

    Ulagan turned and looked at the elementals as well as he continued. "Fear means standing in the enemy's path because you know those behind you will die if you don't. Bravery doesn't mean not having fear. It means doing what you must, despite your fear."

    Ulagan patted Yutu's shoulder again, saying, "You stood in front of an enemy far more powerful than you could ever have hoped to defeat. Yet, you didn't cower or plead or run like many lesser men might have. Knowing you would die, you fought to give those you loved just a few more moments. If that is not bravery, then none in this world has ever been truly brave."

    Yutu's face turned a deeper shade of red. He knew the older man was exaggerating. He sure as hell didn't feel brave. Nonetheless, Yutu stood a little taller, and his hands were a little calmer. The young man took another deep breath and nodded.

    He would do this. Not because he thought he was special or because he thought only he could. But because he had to. Because it needed to happen.

    "The Guardians are ready to move out. Are you ready, Yutu?" a voice called from behind. Yutu and Ulagan turned to find Juatan, Artemis, and Kallik approaching. Behind them, a platoon of 48 Guardians and the four Scions stood at the ready. A small squad of Akh'lut Guardians stood off to the side in their own formation. This was Artemis' own squad and would act as both guide and their elite strike team once they arrived at their destination. Each was a powerful combatant that could have given even the Scions a run for their money.

    On the other side, the Head Priest stood with several other high-ranking clergy members and a dozen Jadewalker nobles. Most of the powerful families were on the wall, fighting, so of course, those nobles left were those unwilling to step on the battlefield.

    Though apparently not unwilling to stick their nose into business, especially after the four Scions had been recruited to the mission.

    Yutu stared at the gathered force, knowing not all of them would make it home, but pushed the thought out of his mind the next moment. He turned to look at Juatan and nodded before saying, "Yes sir. I'm ready."

    Juatan nodded and turned away, yelling orders. Ulagan grinned and followed him. Artemis stared at the young man in silence for a moment before nodding and turning away as well, walking toward her squad. Kallik was the last to turn away. She walked toward him and hesitated. She wasn't great at these kinds of things. Finally, with a frown, she stepped closer and embraced the young man.

    As she stepped away, she softly spoke, "I'm… sorry. For dragging you kids into all of this. For… not being strong enough to protect you like I should have been. Whatever happens, I wanted you to know, as your teacher, I'm proud of how you all have grown."

    Yutu stood frozen as the older woman pulled back and turned away. As she walked away, she called out over her shoulder. "Now go show them what a Slatewalker can do."

    Yutu snapped out of it a moment later and nodded. Yeah… he would do just that.

    ——————

    Everything was in order. The platoon moved into position behind the torii while the Akh'lut squad spread out on their perimeter. If something did happen, their strongest would be the first to meet the issue.

    Yutu stood directly inside the torii, working up his nerve. The night was eerily quiet. Not even the sound of the wind could be heard, let alone the constant clash of battle beyond the distant walls. It was as if the entire world had paused to witness this moment.

    Yutu took a deep breath, then stepped past the archway.

    The effect was immediate.

    Under Yutu's feet, a large array appeared. Its flowing runes circled and shifted until finally locking into place with Yutu at its center, his eyes glowing with flickering white and black light. The torii lit up in a spiraling pattern of runes ignited by white flames. As the flaming runes passed the rope tied on the sides, they, too, caught fire and raced along its length.

    The gathered Guardians tensed. This was definitely not normal…

    As each talisman caught fire, the flames strengthened until they reached the first supporting pillars. The white flames engulfed the pillars and ignited hidden runes along their surface. When the flames reached the top of the pillar, they shuttered, then slammed into the ground, like spikes being driven in, leaving behind a small stone platform with a complex array on its top.

    At the same time, the white flames reached the next set of pillars, and the process repeated again and again. All along the perimeter of the Earth Shrine, pillars ignited and slammed into the ground, the process speeding up as time passed.

    Finally, the last pillar on the other side of the shrine slammed into place.

    All was silent for a brief moment before the arrays on each of the stone platforms that had once been pillars started to spin. As one, each array unleased a blinding beam of white fire directly toward the main obelisk. The dozens of beams struck the very tip of the obelisk, and the earth began to shake.

    The Earth Elementals all froze their eternal patrol and turned to stare at the obelisk. Then, with one mind, they bowed.

    The shaking ground intensified, and many struggled to stand. Throughout the city, sound returned as chaos and confusion spread. Then, slowly, things began to push themselves from the ground. Various buildings, some tall, others short, some simple and humble, others grand and looming, pushed their way upward until, after a few moments, what had once been an empty field was now a small stone city.

    Zolzaya and the other Slatewalkers recognized it instantly; it could have been the twin to the ruined city they'd found with the Lord Protector.

    Had this… had this been here all along? Just waiting to be reawakened?

    Most of those gathered stared in awe at the site, and several clergy members were already running around or sending messages back to the temple.

    Few missed the greedy murmurings and glares of the gathered nobles, though thankfully, the Head Priest was sharp enough to know how to handle that lot.

    Once the new city had settled and the rumbling stopped, the array under Yutu flashed, then vanished. Yutu crumpled to the ground, panting. Ganbaatar and Zolzaya rushed to his side and gently lifted him up as Juatan approached.

    Juatan smiled down at Yutu and patted him on the back as he spoke. "Good job, lad. Never doubted you for a second. What we're looking for should be at the obelisk's base, correct?"

    Yutu, still out of breath, took a deep swig from the waterskin that Zolzaya had passed him and nodded. "Yes… Yes sir. The main complex should hold the teleporter node. If we can get it back online, it should take us directly to the Prima Temple… or at least somewhere in the city. There were several arrival points for pilgrims, but most of those might not be active any longer. There's… just one problem."

    Juatan frowned and sighed. "Of course there is."

    Yutu flushed and turned away as he continued, "I… wasn't able to deactivate the defenses. Whatever's happening at the Prima Temple has the system in chaos, and it's not listening to any remote commands. We're… we're going to have to fight our way through."

    Juatan's frown deepened as he stared at the moving shadows filling the city. "I'm not looking forward to fighting an army of Earth Elementals inside a stone city…" he said.

    Yutu shook his head and responded, "It's not as bad as it sounds. The system has decayed to where it can't recognize friendly from hostiles. That might mean we can't just waltz in, but it also means the Elementals can't bring the city down on us, either. It's protected from that kind of manipulation. If anything, the tight streets will help us deal with their numbers."

    Artemis made her way over and finished the thought, "And if any of the big boys show up, I and the lads will show them a good time."

    Juatan was still frowning but nodded nonetheless. He turned to Artemis and said, "That sounds like a plan. Let's get this show on the road. The quicker we can get to the teleporter, the quicker we can rescue your sister and put an end to whatever the hell this all is."

    Artemis nodded, grinning ear to ear, then led the charge into the sleeping stone city.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Book 1: GRIM Adventures - 5
  • Threadmarks
    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1: GRIM Adventures - 5
    ————————————————————————​
    Grim threw her hands into the air. Hurrah! The lexicon worked!

    She and the others had worked out a few signs for communication, but being able to talk to people would make things sooooo much easier. She might even be able to convince her new friends to help look for the Boss's arm! Hurrah!

    She floated up from her resting spot to see if Icy Lady or Tree Guy were ready to talk… only to find the pair arguing under the strange tree, occasionally pointing up at Mr. Gopher as he sat in the branches, munching on a nut… and still casually on fire…

    Her coding told her that should be a problem, but Mr. Gopher didn't seem to mind, so Grim ignored it. It looked like they had some… issues to work out, so Grim floated back to her resting spot and settled in. She might as well review some more logs while she waited.

    ——————————

    //Loading audio-visual logs… please wait…//

    [Icy lady and Tree guy take a nap]     - Na, saw that one already.

    [Nice old lady stirs pot for 3 hours] - Not that one either. It was boring the first time.

    [Nice old lady babies little sapling] - Hmmmm, maybe? She did talk a lot… Na, trees don't make skilled conversationalists.

    [Mr. Gopher raids the garden] - Oh! That one! That was fun.

    Grim selected the file and booted it up.

    The world flickered, and then the burning cottage and giant tree were replaced by the scene from the past.

    ——————————

    Grim floated away from the window and sighed. She was bored with watching. After Icy Lady and Tree Guy started their nap, not much had happened. The nice old lady had wandered around the cottage and done various chores.

    Sweeping the floor.

    Organizing her bookshelf.

    Stirring a big pot in the kitchen.

    Beating back the large clawed hand that tried to crawl out of the pot with a wooden spoon.

    Watering the pretty tree in the middle of the living room with whatever was in the big pot.

    Well, was it still "watering" if the liquid was red and oily?… and on fire?

    Grim had no idea. She wasn't programmed to garden. Maybe she could ask Icy Lady and Tree Guy when they woke up. Wait! Maybe Mr. Gopher would know! He liked plants! Well, eating them, but still, Grim bet he would have an idea. Mr. Gopher was smart.

    Even if they couldn't talk to each other, he'd taught Grim lots of things. Like how to pull out the big roots and where to look for nuts! That was almost gardening, wasn't it?

    Grim twirled around in the air, looking for Mr. Gopher, only to find he'd left sometime during Grim's observation. That made sense. Biologicals got distracted easily, in her experience, even if her experience was only two strange humans, a large rodent, and lots of hostile wildlife.

    Grim wandered around the area looking for Mr. Gopher and found him near the back, crouched behind a large boulder. She floated over to him and started to speak, telling him everything she'd seen the nice old lady doing.

    He couldn't understand her, of course, but Grim found it fun to talk to her companions regardless.

    Mr. Gopher narrowed his eyes, put one clawed paw up to his muzzle, silencing her, and pointed past the boulder. Grim turned to see a sprawling garden filled to bursting with rows of various giant vegetables, berries bushed covered in plump berries, and several trees with branches bent downward from their heavy load of fruit.

    And there, sleeping in the shade of one tree, was a large dog.

    No, not a dog… a wolf. One of the strange bipedal wolves that had attacked them not too long ago. Only this one was much larger. Or it would have been if the poor thing didn't look like it was just skin and bones, its bloody cloak dry and brown in places.

    Around its neck was a thick pink leather collar etched with glowing lines. Attached to the collar was a large silver pendant with more squiggles. Past Grim didn't know what the squiggles said then, but future Grim, seeing it through the recording, could see the silver pendant read "Little Red."

    The creature stirred in his sleep at the sound of her voice, and Grim ducked beneath the lip of the boulder with Mr. Gopher.

    Mr. Gopher hadn't torn his eyes away from the garden for some time, and his stomach would grumble occasionally. //Are you hungry?// she asked him before taking out one of the glowing roots stored in her cargo. Mr. Gopher looked at the root momentarily before turning his nose up at it and returning to the garden.

    So picky!

    Grim turned and looked that way as well. //I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Gopher. It's not nice to steal from people!// Stealing was bad! Only thieves stole, and she was programmed to run away from thieves! She didn't want to run away from Mr. Gopher…

    She continued, //Besides, that puppy looks mean. Even meaner than the other ones. How would you even get past them?//

    Mr. Gopher turned and looked at her. Then, back to the garden. Then back to her. Slowly, an evil grin formed on his face. He had a plan, and Grim felt like she wasn't going to like this plan.

    ——————————

    Grim didn't like this plan!

    She was filthy! Mr. Gopher had jumped into her cargo and a small pile of chopped meat and organs from the various creatures the group had fought during their trip. She knew biologicals had to consume each other to keep functioning, but why they insisted on stuffing everything they came across into her cargo, she didn't know.

    Mr. Gopher had taken the pile, mushed it up further between some rocks…, and then smothered her in it! GROSS!

    Once he was finished, Mr. Gopher pointed at the "guard dog." Grim looked toward the garden, then back to Mr. Gopher. //Seriously?!//

    Mr. Gopher just shooed her away. Grim sighed and floated toward the sleeping puppy. It's not like it could really hurt her… maybe. It was almost as big as she was, but her armor was thick, and the smaller ones couldn't scratch it, no matter how much they'd struggled. Still… she didn't like this plan…

    Grim slowly floated closer as a gentle wind blew through the garden, and the sleeping wolf stirred its nose twitching. Its blood-red eye snapped open and locked onto Grim's floating form. It slowly rose on two thin legs and growled, a deep rumbling sound, as thick drool dripped from its muzzle. Its two outstretched clawed hands clenched and unclenched.

    Grim froze, then slowly floated backward. //G-good doggy. N-ice d-doggy... AHHhhhhHhHHh!//

    She turned and fled.

    The beast roared and raced after her with surprising speed for its emaciated form, using all four limbs to close the distance quickly. Mr. Gopher chittered from his hiding spot and made a break for the garden.

    Grim glimpsed him, climbing up a heavily laden beanstalk before a sudden heavy impact demanded her attention. Little Red had lept from a nearby boulder and landed on top of her, its hungry eyes glowing a deep red. Grim spun out of control momentarily as Little Red clung tightly to her back, its long, drooling tongue flapping in the wind. Little Red howled in victory and opened its jaws wide. Wider than should have been physically possible. They then snapped shut around Grim's armor with the sound of screeching metal and breaking fangs.

    Little Red yelped, but they were undeterred. Their long, wet tongue lapped up all the minced meat and guts covering Grim.

    Ewewewewewewew

    For her part, Grim circled the garden at high speed, screaming the entire time. //Get it off! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!//

    Suddenly, the back door to the cottage burst open, and the nice old lady walked out, a large wooden spoon raised high. As she strode into the garden, she yelled, "What in tarnation is going on out here?! Little Red, what do you — MY GARDEN!"

    The angry-faced old woman's eyeless sockets locked onto Mr. Gopher. A large stone basket filled with various fresh veggies and fruits sat beside him while he stood on a small bush, stuffing his face with berries. Mr. Gopher's eyes snapped to the woman as she yelled, his eyes wide.

    The old woman stalked toward him, wagging her spoon in his direction, "Why, you overgrown rat. Raid my garden, do you?! You'd better hope your furry arse tastes good in a stew, or I'll be stewing your soul ne—Oooof!"

    Morgana's rant was cut short as the full weight of Grim and Little Red slammed into the old woman at high speed. The three tumbled away down the mountain path, bouncing off a wall and out of sight.

    Mr. Gopher stared after them, blinking. He then took another bite from the berry, lept off the bush, and rushed into the cottage, his stone basket gliding across the ground behind him.

    ——————————

    Jill's consciousness returned to her slowly. She felt groggy. Slow. Like she was being smothered under heavy, wet blankets that were only now being stripped away. She slowly opened her eyes, but everything was blurry and distorted. Her head felt heavy and pounded worse than that when she'd tried to out-drink a Cultivator an entire realm above her (She'd won, of course).

    Slowly, she raised her head, gently cradling it with one hand. As her blurry vision focused, she saw a figure standing on the table, tugging on her sleeve. It appeared to be a giant… squirrel? It kind of looked like her mother, but that couldn't be right. "Mom?" she asked groggily.

    Slap!

    A surprisingly strong furry paw slapped her cheek, knocking away the last of the strange mind fog. Jill shook her head, and her vision cleared. 'Mr. Gopher sat where the squirrel had, angrily chittering at her, tugging on her arm, and pointing to the back door. Jill winced and clutched her head as a spike of pain shot through it.

    Beside her, Jack stirred as well, and the young man groaned out, "Anyone catch who threw a boulder at my head? What the hell's going on?!"

    Jill stood, her legs shaking slightly, as she stared around the strange cottage and responded, "I… I don't know…"
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Book 1 - Lesson 59: "Pride has no place in the face of the enemy."
  • Threadmarks
    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 59: "Pride has no place in the face of the enemy."
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    ————————

    At the center of the Jadewalker's Earth Shrine

    ————————

    "AAAARRRRUUUG!"

    Artemis roared nearly as loudly as the large, upper [Golden Spirit] Earth Elemental as her weapon made contact with the behemoth's wide fist. The odd weapon cut cleanly through the hard stone appendage. And a sizeable chunk of the creature itself.

    At first, Zolzaya didn't know what to call the weapon, until her father identified it as a 'Monk's Spade.' Using a spade as a weapon has seemed… strange to her, but apparently, it was a common weapon among the priesthood. At least for those in the Earth Temple, as funeral rites were an important part of their duties.

    The Earth Elemental froze, then crumbled to pieces, its core having been smashed. But the creature was soon replaced with another as it barreled through the ruins of a small house to the side of the courtyard. All around them, Guardians battled with various Earth Elementals while Yutu and the several senior priests worked to unlock the seal on the large building behind them.

    Their trip through the newly revealed city had been quiet at first. The group had moved silently enough, and the elementals had been deep enough in the city that they'd attracted little attention. That had changed as they drew closer to the open square near the obelisk. Like a switch had been flipped, the lesser elementals had swarmed them through the alleys and surrounding streets.

    What had been a sedate trek through an abandoned city became a slugfest as they had to fight for every inch of ground. Thankfully, the relative power of the group meant they made steady, if slow, progress with no actual damage.

    Of course, life is never that simple.

    Once the group had made it to the open plaza, they'd made a beeline for the main building at the obelisk's base, only to find it sealed shut. The assault never stopped, of course, and they'd been forced to bunker down in front of the building and fend off the horde while others worked to crack the seal.

    It was about that time that the more dangerous elementals had showed up.

    Giant, lumbering things, they'd crashed through the buildings, rampaging through their own allies to get at the humans. Most were only [Silver Spirit], but their sheer size and mass meant that multiple Guardians had to contend with each. What's more, a stronger elemental would show up from time to time. These could only be handled by Artemis, maybe two or three of her elites or the scions working together if she was busy with another.

    These attacks became more frequent with time, and even Artemis showed signs of tiring. If they didn't get inside quickly, there might not be an option for much longer.

    Zolzaya was doing her part as well. She couldn't fight. Not against this enemy. But she was working double time transporting and stabilizing the wounded. Very few had any serious injuries, at least nothing that couldn't be field-dressed and quickly patched. The worst so far had been a broken arm when Munkh had blocked the blow of a [Golden Spirit] elemental that had slipped by.

    That she walked away with only a broken bone testified to the defensive expert's skill. After Zolzaya had splinted her arm, the typically shy woman had switched her now slightly bent shield to the other arm and charged back into the fray.

    Something had been bugging Zolzaya for some time, though. Something she couldn't quite place. Ever since more powerful elementals had shown up, something tickled her brain. During one lull in the fight with no strong elementals present, Zolzaya sat down and focused on the feeling.

    Her gift bloomed outward, and the emotional currents surrounding her became less of a general feeling and more of a real, tangible thing. It was like the difference between hearing a song on a recording crystal versus hearing it live and in person.

    She was almost overwhelmed by the raw spectrum surrounding her. Fear, anger, frustration, pain; the Guardians might have been powerful, but they were still people at the end of the day. The fight was grinding them down. Yet, pushing all of that into the background was the feeling of sheer determination and steadfast resolve to do what they had to do.

    Zolzaya clung to that feeling like a steady, unmoving rock in a stormy emotional sea. More centered, Zolzaya focused on the strange feeling she'd had before, trying to pinpoint it. At first, she couldn't feel anything. It was like trying to grasp a shadow; it just kept slipping away from her. Then, finally, she grabbed hold of it. It was faint and flickering, like it was struggling against her gift, but she should still see it.

    There, in the city, a tiny, flickering spark of dark.

    Of malice. Hatred and anger, cold and black, unlike the burning flames of the Guardians.

    Suddenly, the black spark turned in their direction. Had it sensed her? No, that shouldn't be possible. What then?

    As if in answer, the sound of crashing buildings could be heard from the same direction. The Guardians lined up and readied themselves. But the black spark flickered and disappeared just before it entered the courtyard, reappearing off to the side. However, the crashing never stopped, and another [Golden Spirit] elemental soon crashed into the plaza. Artemis lept through the air, stepping over the heads of lesser elementals as she made her way to the giant.

    Zolzaya stared in confusion. What was going on? Elementals didn't register in her gift. Unlike people or animals, elementals were more forces of nature than living things. Only the truly powerful had anything close to what could be called "emotion."

    Only as she felt the black spark move back deeper into the city, did it finally click.

    Zolzaya withdrew her gift and stood. She had to tell someone, but who? It would take some time for Artemis to finish off this one. Kallik was with Yutu and couldn't be distracted, while her father and Ulagan were both in their own battles.

    She desperately searched the area, looking for anyone at all she could pass this info to. That's when she spotted him… she just really wished she hadn't.

    ————————

    Mönkhkhan Eastgate paced as the Guardian pounded out the large dent in his armor. "Hurry, you fool! Get that repaired before more of them show up, or so help me…".

    Field repairs like this weren't something he'd normally bother with, but against an enemy like this, there was no way he was going out there without proper armor. It didn't help that his specialization in blunt weaponry made him especially effective against their stony foes, meaning he was expected to fight the stronger [Silver Spirits] that had been showing up.

    How did he get himself wrapped up in this?! They were told this would be a quick trip through the shrine to escort priests to the obelisk. It was a job his squad had done several times before.

    Then, a bloody city had appeared from nowhere, and now they were fighting a war of attrition. Between a rock and a hard place. Literally! His only compensation was that the other Scions had it just as bad, if not worse. After all, a sword, spear, and bow weren't nearly as effective against this particular foe.

    As his nerves and temper rose, a voice called him out.

    "Eastgate!"

    Mönkhkhan's heart palpated briefly, but a simmering rage soon replaced the feeling. He barely suppressed it as he turned around to look at the harlot who'd caused him so much embarrassment recently. Scion Northgate still wouldn't shut up about the story, and he was sure it had already spread throughout the city. He didn't have proof she was actually involved, of course, but he knew she was… somehow.

    Zolzaya stared up at him with a scowl that matched his own. "What is it, girl? Some of us actually have enemies to kill instead of running around playing nurse. Or are you here to complain to me like you whined to your father? What, the 'adventure' not what you thought it would be?" Mönkhkhan smirked and asked.

    He could see the anger flash through her eyes, and seeing her squirm at the barb gave him a dark pleasure. But to his surprise, no snarky, biting retort came. Instead, Zolzaya took a deep breath and said, "I'm here to report a new discovery."

    Mönkhkhan narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Oh? And what information could you possibly have?"

    Zolzaya stared him in the eye and said, "Someone is leading the larger elementals to us."

    Mönkhkhan laughed. "That's a good one, girl. We're the only ones in the city. Who? Why? Where did you even get this information?!"

    Zolzaya looked away. "That's… confidential. You just have to trust me."

    Mönkhkhan threw his arms out, "Stop playing games, girl! This is war! You expect me to believe some outlandish theory, and what? Pull men away from the defensive line to chase some phantom that may or may not even be there?!"

    That finally got a reaction. Just… not the one he'd been expecting. Zolzaya's eyes snapped back to him, her face red. "This isn't a game, Mönkhkhan. We don't have time for me to explain why I know, but for the love of all the lives here, I'm asking you to trust me at least this once."

    Mönkhkhan frowned and stared down at her. This wasn't like the country bumpkin who'd claw and spit venom when you poked her enough. No, her words held more… force than he would have expected, and her eyes held genuine… fear.

    Mönkhkhan narrowed his eyes and asked, "How certain are you of this mysterious 'source' of yours?"

    Zolzaya stared back and said firmly, "Enough to stake my life on it."

    Mönkhkhan's frown deepened, and he snapped his fingers. The shadows bubbled, and a young woman dressed in light, black-dyed armor appeared beside him. Zolzaya lifted an eyebrow, maybe recognizing the woman from their previous encounter.

    Without taking his eyes off Zolzaya, Mönkhkhan spoke to the new woman beside him. "Lieutenant, take half the scouts and spread out along the perimeter. Report anything out of the ordinary immediately."

    The black-leathered lieutenant turned and asked, "Is that wise? With how hard the elementals are pushing, if she's wrong, we—"

    Mönkhkhan turned to look at her and cut her off. "Just do it."

    The lieutenant bowed and vanished into his shadow.

    The man turned to look at Zolzaya and said, "You better be right about this."

    ————————

    Kallik frowned as she watched the fight between the Guardians and the elementals progress.

    It was going well for now, but they couldn't keep this up for long. All it would take was one mistake, and their position would be overrun. She turned back to the shrine door and stared at the arguing priests. They'd not been much help either.

    According to them, they had never seen this seal on the Earth Shrine, and it was taking far longer than they'd expected to open it. Apparently, the thing was closer to an array than a magic seal, and it wasn't responding to any they normally would do.

    Thankfully, Yutu and one of the senior priests had experience in arrays, and the two of them were working together to crack it. The question on everyone's mind was whether they would make it in time.

    A sudden commotion drew Kalli's attention, and her heart sank. From the city, six giant figures rose. The blood drained from her, and she yelled at Yutu, "Get that door open, NOW!"

    "We're trying! We're trying!" was the panicked response.

    Kallik turned her attention back to the battle as the six mid-ranked [Golden-Spirit] elementals lumbered into the fray. This wasn't good. Artemis could deal with two, maybe three, of them if she pushed herself, while the Scions and elites took care of another. But one would inevitably slip through and wreak havoc on their front line. If they didn't open those doors soon, they would lose people.

    Suddenly, one of the giant elementals turned away from battle and swung its fist at something hidden by the buildings. Kallik frowned; great, what now?!

    Kallik's unspoken question was soon answered as one of the scions, accompanied by several scouts, appeared from the dust, chasing three black-veiled figures.

    Cultists?! Were they the ones responsible for luring the elementals into them? She'd known the Guardians had been dealing with cultist attacks ever since the undead showed up, but how had they gotten into the shrine?!

    The scion and cultists dodged and weaved through the elemental's attacks, but eventually, the scion and his scouts cornered them. Two were peppered with arrows, while the third took a heavy blow from the scion's two-handed war mace. The cultist went flying and slammed into the hard stone wall of a nearby building. They'd only stood up on shaking legs when the giant elemental's foot mooted the effort. The scion and the scouts took one look at the elemental, whose attention was now fully on them, before making a hasty retreat.

    The death of the cultist was a trigger, however, as a dozen more black-clad figures appeared from the city. Individually, they weren't the strongest, ranging from mid to high-rank [Silver Spirit], but they were intelligent and focused on harassing the stronger members of the Guardians while the [Golden-Spirit] elementals slowly approached.

    "It's open!" Yutu yelled.

    Kallik's eyes snapped to Yutu just in time to see the large stone doors slowly slide open with a rumble. She turned back to the battlefield and yelled out with a Spirit-enhanced voice, "Retreat! Retreat to the shrine!"

    The order was repeated a few times, and slowly, the frontline shrunk backward, and the Guardians made their way to the open door. Kallik turned and rushed inside. The grand hall was elegantly crafted, if simple, but no one had time to admire it. The group rushed through the long hallway and arrived at an open courtyard.

    There, at the base of the obelisk, was a large stone platform that looked like it could easily fit two or three hundred people. Yutu pointed at the platform and yelled, "There!"

    The group rushed to the platform, and a quick headcount showed everyone was present. They'd not lost anyone… yet. Further down the hall, the elemental swarm pushed toward them. The doorway prevented any of the larger ones from entering, but she Kallik was sure the giant elementals could just knock the walls down if they so wished.

    On top of the courtyard wall roofs, the surviving cultists appeared in puffs of black smoke.

    "Yutu! get this thing running, now!" Artemis yelled.

    "I am! Just give me a… there!" Yutu's eyes lit up with a bright white light, and the platform shook. The cultists drew twisted-looking bows and fired at them, but a blue energy shield popped into existence at the edge of the platform, blocking the arrows. A dozen runed rings slowly rose from the platform, circling and spinning in all directions. They sped up, faster and faster, as a heavy static filled the air.

    The last thing Kallik saw before the world flashed white as the courtyard walls collapsed and several giant elementals plowed through.

    ————————

    When Kallik could see again, the courtyard was empty, as if the elementals had been whisked away.

    No… it was they that had been. While the courtyard appeared nearly identical to the one they'd just left, there were differences if you paid attention. Things looked less… new. Like the walls had been exposed to the elements for countless years. The damage was different in places, and the obelisk behind them was much smaller, only a dozen meters tall.

    The group piled off the platform, a few people collapsing in exhaustion.

    All Kallik could do was stare through the large hole in one of the collapsed walls at the burning city beyond.

    Had they really escaped?

    Or had they jumped from the pot into the fire?
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Book 1 - Lesson 60: "Call in the cavalry!"
  • Threadmarks
    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 60: "Call in the cavalry!"
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    All was darkness.

    The silent black infinity stretched out before him, accompanied by only the deep rumble of stone.

    Then suddenly, light!

    A pinprick of red flickering in the distance.

    Slowly, it grew larger as the black void rumbled and shook.

    Then, like a newborn flame roaring to life, it expanded.

    The stone wall in front of him crumbled away, and Alpha stepped out of his rocky tomb and into the top of the wall that had given him so much trouble. He moved the TAWP closer to the edge of the wall and peered out into the burning city beyond. Deep roars, like the sound of an earthquake, echoed through the abandoned city of stone. They were met with the garbled, broken cry of a million dead voices.

    Alpha shook the last remains of stone dust from the TAWP and, with a hiss, opened his pilot hatch.

    A cyclone of air shot out, circling back around and materializing into No. 7 beside him. Alpha's strange companion knelt on the rooftop and raised their hands in the air. "Oh! Blessed open sky!" No. 7 snapped to Alpha and pointed, yelling, "I'm never doing that again! You nearly got us killed! What if the enemy had taken control of the wall?!"

    "Oh, there was no risk of that happening. Only the Wallkeeper even knows about my imprint, and they're dead. These fools probably killed him, thinking they could just take over. Ha! Like I'd make it that easy."

    No. 7 froze and stared at the upper half of a woman sticking out of the TAWP's nanite skin.

    No. 7's arm fell, and they asked with a flat voice. "What are you doing here…?"

    "I'm coming with you!" Jīshí responded.

    "Ya! She's coming along!" Alpha echoed.

    No. 7 covered their face with both hands and sighed.

    "Can someone at least explain what the hell is going on out there?! How long were we in that wall?!" No. 7 asked, gesturing to the burning city. Somewhere off in the distance, one of the larger buildings crumbled, and an enormous stone creature, a quarter the size of the wall, rose from the rubble.

    Jīshí raised her hand, "OH! I can answer that! Only a little more than an hour. Some… things happened, and moving you up the wall took a little longer. Given the current state of things, I figured it would be safer than throwing you into the streets."

    "Which would be…" No. 7 asked, rolling their wrist.

    Jīshí shrugged, "Someone activated the security system at one of the siphons. That triggered the city's primary defenses to activate. But time and that—" she waved to the much thicker swirling dark clouds in the night sky, "—caused a lot of damage. The system is rampaging."

    "And this?" No. 7 gestured to Jīshí.

    Again, the elemental shrugged. "Only way I could leave the wall. I don't just control the wall; I am the wall."

    No. 7 gawked and asked, "Wait, so the wall is—"

    Jīshí nodded, "Yup. One big elemental body. That causes some issues, though. Specifically, I can't easily be separated from it. Thus, the projection crystal I stuffed in this fool's soul."

    "Hey!" Alpha complained, feeling like a third wheel.

    Jīshí rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Oh, stop whining. Think of me as using you like a data hotspot. Besides, it's one of the safest ways to do this. I don't suffer from the same issue you do, so the energy you're radiating acts as a natural shield against all… that." Again, she gestured to the dark sky.

    No. 7 sighed and shook their head before asking. "I'm not even going to ask what the hell you two have worked out. That's none of my business; I want nothing to do with it. Rather, what do we do now? Can you get us through the city? We're running out of time."

    Jīshí looked away and scratched her cheek. "Yaaaa, about that. Remember how I said the security system was damaged and corrupted by whatever the hell they're doing to the Heart? Well, I had to cut myself off from most of the city systems to stop it from spreading. Trust me, you don't want to see me corrupted."

    As if to emphasize her words, a massive stone hand, as big as the TAWP, slammed onto the top of the wall, only a few meters away. The shadows of the night deepened as the fires burning in the city were blocked by the giant stone figure that pulled itself over the wall. The creature stared down at Alpha and company, then roared with the voice of a mountain.

    No. 7 stared up at the creature and said flatly, "…. Right… of course."

    Alpha peddled backward as the elemental swung at him while No. 7 dissolved into the wind.

    "Coward!" Alpha yelled at the escaping masked friend before returning to the elemental. How the hell was he going to deal with this thing!? It was at least ten times the size of the TAWP and outmassed him by a lot more.

    His only option right now was to go around it instead. But even that wasn't a perfect plan. He could see several other similar figures wandering the city, crushing everything in their path. He might outrun one, but Alpha would have a bad day if he got trapped between two or more of them.

    However, the choice was taken from him as a TAWP-sized boulder slammed into the giant creature the next moment, knocking it away. It roared as it fell and then broke into a thousand pieces when it hit the ground.

    Alpha paused, then turned.

    There, on the wall beside him, a massive construct had silently pushed itself out of the wall.

    On the surface, it appeared like an old-fashioned M198 howitzer, like the kind Alpha had only seen in some of the ancient war documentaries from Earth. But made of stone… and several dozens of times larger, dwarfing even the TAWP.

    Jīshí smiled down at him and said, "What? Did you think you were the only one who liked big guns?"

    Alpha shrugged and said, "Well, let's go do this, then."

    Then, he lept from the walls.

    ————————

    "Charge! Mow them down!"

    The young woman stood atop the war machine, a single foot placed on the swerving gun turret, one hand pointing forward while the other kept the slightly oversized PASGT helmet on her head in place.

    "Not helping!" Alpha yelled. His point-defense turrets blared and shot another zombie penguin out of the air as it lept from the roof of a nearby building. A sudden right turn into a side street barely allowed them to avoid the fist of the giant earth elemental as it appeared around the corner, hidden by one of the larger buildings.

    Jīshí rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers. A large boom sounded from the distant wall, followed by a long whistling sound. A second later, a massive boulder slammed into the earth elemental as it tried to follow them. The creature was thrown into the building beside it, and both collapsed into rubble.

    Alpha glanced toward the wall and the several dozen gargantuan stone howitzers lining its top, pointing into the city. Occasionally, one would fire, obliterating one of the larger elementals or undead. Jīshí folded her arms and said, "Don't make a habit of relying on those. Even using the optimized plans dug up from your memory, they're draining mana and Spirit energy like crazy. Without my connection to the Heart, this is about as much as I can do."

    The wind swirled next to her, and No. 7 materialized. They blasted away a few smaller earth elementals clinging to the TAWP that the turrets couldn't reach and spoke. "We're almost to the branch temple. Only a few more streets to go. Though, remind me, why are we wasting our time with this instead of heading for the Heart?!"

    Jīshí sighed and said, "As I mentioned before we started, someone activated a transit point, which means someone's trying to come through the siphon. Only a very select few people should even know about the transit system. Meaning either the enemy found it, or…"

    "We're getting backup," Alpha finished.

    Jīshí nodded and continued, "Right. If it's the enemy, this is a great opportunity to grab some of the enemy outside their fortified position and gather information. If it's backup, that will make our push toward the Heart much quicker. Especially since both the defenses and the undead are thicker the closer to the city's center."

    The woman grinned from ear to ear and said, "Besides, I'm having a blast. I've not had this much fun in centuries!"

    Alpha paused then whispered to No. 7. "Hey… 7… does she seem more… bubbly to you?"

    No.7 shrugged and responded, "Elementals are beings of reaction and stimulus. Earth elementals tend to be more stable, but they're very much affected by their environment and those around them. Besides, being a wall for lord knows how long must be a boring gig. It must be nice to cut loose a little. Or being in your soul is affecting her."

    "Are you calling me a bad influence?!" Alpha asked, insulted.

    "Yes." No. 7 responded.

    "… You could have at least hesitated…" Alpha muttered.

    "I can hear you both, you know," Jīshí called from her perch, blank-faced.

    "'We know,'" her two companions said in tandem.

    No. 7 was almost thrown off as Alpha made another quick turn to avoid the next street. A moment later, the street was destroyed as one of the giant elementals crashed through it, wrestling with the zombified form of a massive worm-like creature. The two creatures rolled around, flattening several blocks before another boulder from the wall ended them both.

    ————————

    Ten minutes later, the group closed in on the low, wide building that was their target. As they did, new sounds were heard over the constant earthy rumble of elementals and the various dead screams of the undead. The clash of metal and the sound of human voices.

    Alpha pushed the TAWP harder and drifted around the last corner to see an odd sight.

    The street opened up into a large plaza. In a time long past, the plaza would have been filled with street vendors and merchants hawking their wares to the various travelers and pilgrims. Now, it was filled with a mix of undead and elementals, so thick they prevented each other from moving well. Even now, more and more poured into the cramped space, pushing their way toward the squat building at the far end. Past the outer walls of the building, a small obelisk, only a dozen meters tall, stood in an inner courtyard.

    Alpha could see a large group of humans surrounding the courtyard through one collapsed wall, beating back the tide of elementals and undead.

    They weren't alone, however. Mixed in with the undead were a dozen humanoids dressed in black, their faces obscured by black veils. While the undead didn't seem to bother with the figures, they didn't appear to be undead themselves. Or, at the very least, they showed far more intelligence than their rotting friends, slipping between the chaos to strike at the defending humans in various malicious ways.

    "7!" Alpha called.

    "I'm on it!" the other responded before dissolving into a torrent of wind. The small, horizontal cyclone cut a line through the undead horde and elementals before No. 7 materialized above a surprised black-clad figure as they snuck up on one of the defenders. Alpha's masked companion dropped from the sky and skewered the black-clad figure through the heart with their rapier. The figure jerked, then burst into black flames as No. 7 retreated.

    Alpha didn't waste any time, either. The TAWP's legs flattened, and the armor on the two front legs thickened and elongated, forming a wedge shape. The TAWP lowered as far to the ground as it could as the treads on its legs squealed. Alpha short forward, plowing through the weakened horde of undead left in No. 7's wake.

    Barricade breaker mode wasn't as nimble as walker mode. Nor was it as fast or suited for long-distance travel like travel mode. But as the name suggested, it excelled at pushing through defensive lines and getting to places where the enemy didn't want him. The TAWP pushed through the horde at speed, crushing or pushing them away as he plowed through their line. Those "lucky" few who grabbed onto the TAWP without being crushed were rewarded with a bullet to the face from a point-defense turret. Or Jīshí's foot.

    In only a short amount of time, they'd broken through most of the horde and skidded to a stop just before the front lines, even squishing one of the black-clad figures. The TAWP lept into the air and soared over the human's defensive line using the remaining momentum, landing in an empty part of the courtyard.

    Alpha raised his arms in the air. 10 points! Woo-hoo!

    Alpha was greeted by a black-and-white-haired snarling woman as she lept into the air and swung a large… shovel (?) at him. Before Alpha could turn his turrets on the threat, Jīshí appeared on top of the TAWP and caught the bladed shovel between two fingers, stopping the wild-looking woman in her tracks. The shovel lady stared, her eyes wide and mouth agape.

    Another figure ran toward them, yelling, "Wait! Stop! STOP! They're friends!"

    Neither party knew which the approaching woman was addressing or referring to. Alpha turned and waved, saying, "Hi Kallik! It's about time you all showed up. You almost missed all the fun!"

    Kallik stopped short and bowed, a closed fist cuffed in the other, before responding. "I'm glad you could make it, though I'm afraid we've had more than enough of our own fun recently…"

    ————————
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Oh boy. I do hope Jīshí sticks around. She's the perfect companion to Alpha. Plus, having her around being bubbly is going to wreck utter havoc with an entire religion.
     
    Book 1 - Lesson 61: "The right door needs the right key."
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    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 61: "The right door needs the right key."
    ————————————————————————​

    Alpha was attacked twice more before the order was restored. Some hadn't heard in time, while recent events had conditioned others to lash out at anything strange. Kallik breathed easier once the two groups were content with staring each other down instead of trying to kill one another.

    It helped that Alpha's charge had sown some chaos in the already not-too-bright undead ranks. The commotion had also drawn the attention of the patrolling elementals, and now the undead hoard was being pressed from the side, relieving some of the pressure on the humans. The situation improved further when Jīshí snapped her fingers, and several thick stone walls rose, sealing the several chokepoints through which the undead had been assaulting them.

    When the last of the undead in the courtyard fell, many of the Guardians collapsed on the spot, too tired to even celebrate. Those that could, began moving among the fallen, treating injuries or moving companions as the need arose. None knew how long this small moment of rest would last, but they were all soldiers and knew how to make the most of it while it did.

    Juatan, Ulagan, Ganbaatar, and Yutu approached a moment later, the latter bowing at the hip. Zolzaya was still attending to several wounded Guardians but watched the gathering from the side, guarded by Munkh. Ulagan was the first to break the awkward stalemate. He turned and spoke, "Lord Protector. I am glad to see your timing is just as good as always. It seems appearing out of nowhere to save the day is becoming a habit of yours. Not that I'm complaining, of course."

    The comment drew a slight chuckle from the gathered Slatewalkers, while Alpha turned and waved back in "Lord Protector" mode. A hard-faced Artemis wasn't so easily amused. She folded her arms and frowned up at the metal war machine that outweighed her a two hundred times over. "So this is the fool who let my sister get kidnapped. What have you to say for yourself, 'Lord Protector'?" she said. As she stared at Alpha, several of the elite Akh'lut appeared behind her.

    Alpha slowly turned to stare at the woman. He pointed toward her, but a different voice cut him off before he could speak. "A fool he may be, but the young pup would do well to distinguish friends from foe." Jīshí pushed her way out of the TAWP's front and smiled down at the Akh'lut woman.

    Artemis froze, her eyes wide. Artemis had noticed the woman when she'd blocked her attack, but only now was she getting a good look at her. The blood drained from her face, and the Akh'lut woman knelt down to one knee, followed by the rest of the Akh'lut.

    Her eyes on the ground, Artemis stuttered out, "This one greets the Prima!"

    —————————

    Ganbaatar wasn't ashamed to admit he barely knew what was happening anymore.

    Only a few short weeks ago, he'd been an apprentice trapper with broken dreams of being a Guardian. Now, he stood on a battlefield surrounded by elites, fighting a war that could very well decide the fate of the entire Radian Sea, if not beyond.

    Despite that, he knew he was where he needed to be in the end, even if it was not where he thought he should be. He stood by what he'd told Zolzaya; this wasn't a fight in which they could stick their hands without consequence. Yet she and Yutu were determined to see this through, so he would stand by them for as long as possible.

    That said, the whiplash of it all was getting to him. This latest revelation was just another drop in the bucket. He'd heard of the Prima, of course. Who hadn't?

    The Prima.

    The Sovereigns of Nature.

    The First Elementals.

    They were four beings of that stood at the top of the Prima Temple. Despite the temple's claim otherwise, many worshiped them as deities. Even the Slatewalker village had a small shrine dedicated to them.

    They were also said not to have been seen by mortal eyes for… well, centuries. The only "evidence" they were even still around was the word of the high clergy, who claimed to speak for them, and the occasional rumored blessed.

    Ganbaatar would have thought Artemis was simply mistaken, were the Akh'lut woman anyone else.

    The stone woman labeled as a Prima pulled herself out of Lord Protector and sat cross-legged on one of his metal horns. That the Lord Protector even allowed this only added further weight to the claim. After all, not even the Lord Protector could stand against a god, right?

    Artemis fell to both knees and placed her head against the ground before speaking. "Lady Prima! I implore you! A foul enemy has invaded your city, slain your people, and stands poised to complete their dark plans! Your power could be all that sta—"

    "Nope. No can do," the Prima spoke, cutting the warrior off.

    Artemis lifted her eyes to stare at the Prima, the Akh'lut woman's voice cracking as she asked, "I… I don't understand, my Lady. Surely you could—"

    Again, the Prima cut her off with a raised hand. Frowning, she rested her head in her free hand and said, "I'll stop you right there and clear up a misunderstanding. It's not that I don't want to. It's that I physically can't. This is a third-generation incarnation and linked to the city's walls. I'm already cut off from most of the city. The enemy might not have known about me, but they knew enough about the systems in place to ensure none of it could be used against them."

    Artemis stared back, eyes wide and speechless. Ganbaatar turned to Yutu and asked, "Third-generation incarnation?"

    Yutu shrugged. That wasn't part of the information he'd been given. Instead, it was someone else who spoke up. A strange person spoke beside Ganbaatar. "It means she's a clone of a clone." Ganbaatar jumped and turned to the mysterious figure who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The adventurer leathers they wore seemed plain enough, but the bone-white, featureless mask that hid their face instantly drew one's attention.

    Ganbaatar didn't know who this stranger was, but he recognized them as the one who had been slaughtering the cultists only moments before the Lord Protector had arrived. The masked figure turned their gaze to Ganbaatar, and the young man shivered, an icy chill running down their spine.

    The mysterious figure spoke again. "Elemental reproduction is complicated. Most assume they naturally appear in places with high Spirit energy. But the truth is something different. All elementals have the ability to… split themselves. With enough raw materials and Spirit energy, they can create an exact replica of themselves for one purpose or another. Thus, all elementals, in one shape or form, are copies of the original four, the Prima."

    Ganbaatar furrowed his brow, frowned, and said, "That doesn't make any sense. Are you telling me that her—" Ganbaatar gestured to the woman sitting on the Lord Protector, "and that… thing—" he gestured to one of the gargantuan walking rubble piles visible over the courtyard walls, "are the same?"

    The masked figure turned and looked at the giant elemental in the distance, then looked back at Ganbaatar. "Nope. Two totally different beings," he said.

    Ganbaatar's frown deepened. "But you just said…"

    The masked figure signed and continued, "Look, I said it was… complicated. When an elemental splits, lots of things can happen. If there are insufficient materials or Spirit energy, or something disrupts the process, the 'Bud' can come out… wrong in ways. For those closer to the Prima, this might manifest as a drift in personality or a decrease in power. But the further and further the generations grow apart, the more these 'drifts' accumulate. Eventually, you get those things."

    The figure gestured to the elementals in the city. "Lesser beings with no true will or even real sapience. As for Jīshí… your friend isn't wrong, per se, to call her Prima. The first few generations are typically so similar that they are identical, to the point that the 'True' Prima can use them as body doubles, hopping between them at will. It's like splitting your mind into different parts so you can focus on new things."

    They pointed to the city wall in the distance. "The problem is that. Being only third generation, this particular bud is about as close to the true Prima as it could physically be. But they were made to manage the city's wall, not act as a mouthpiece for the Prima. While mentally and even spiritually, they are essentially the same, she wields only the barest fraction of her true power."

    Yutu was the one to ask the next question. Ganbaatar turned to see the young man had never taken his eyes off the stone woman as he spoke. "So elementals create copies of themselves to perform a duty. But sometimes, that process goes wrong and creates variance. Those variants then create other copies, and the process repeats itself until eventually, the copy is so different from the original that it's no longer even the same being?"

    The masked figure paused but nodded and answered, "Yes, that's one way to think of it. However, it doesn't have to be that way, either. Theoretically, under perfect conditions, a copy can continue to replicate perfectly with little to no drift, into infinity. At the same time, a Prima can purposefully choose to create an entirely different being, even from the second generation. The Forgeking, Elemental Lord of Flames and Smoke, is said to have hundreds of nearly identical buds, all working on various projects, allowing the Prima to be in many places at once. In contrast, the Herald of Storms, Elemental Lord of Storm and Sky, has never once made a true copy. Every one of his buds has been distinct individuals by design."

    They turned and stared back at the Prima while the others talked, then continued, "As for Jīshí… even among the Prima, the Queen of the Underworld has always been more… reclusive. She keeps her cards close to her chest. I can't honestly say I know how she does things, but I question why a third generation has been left alone for so long…"

    Ganbaatar turned and looked at the others and asked, "Do you think we can trust her, then?"

    He glanced at the figure out of the side of his eye. The irony of asking that of someone he didn't even know the name of wasn't lost on the young Slatewalker.

    The masked figure laughed. "Do we have any other choice?"

    —————————

    Alpha was frustrated. The leaders of the human group were busy arguing about their next step while their soldiers rested and recuperated. His own plan of "charging through the enemy lines and making a break for the center of the city" had been unanimously shot down. Alpha had thought it was a good plan, personally. With him leading the charge and Jīshí's guns taking out the larger threats, the humans could easily guard their flanks, especially with their numbers.

    But issues of -Cultivation levels- had been brought up. Most of the soldiers could only deal with some of the stronger creatures currently roaming the city by working in teams. Their stronger fighters, including Alpha, would be spread too thin to risk a fast march. The danger would only increase the closer they got to the city's center and the storm. More so with the black-clad 'cultists' running loose.

    Alpha had long suspected some form of power scaling among the local's abilities but hadn't had the chance to investigate yet. Until now, straight-up asking would have risked blowing his cover, while he hadn't had time to ask Jīshí herself any details. He questioned if keeping his cover was even worth it at this point or if it had all been a symptom of the supposed 'soul damage' magnifying his paranoia.

    Either way, questions could wait for a later time.

    He would wait while they devised a plan for now, but it was boring. He'd entertained himself for a short while by chasing a familiar face around with a [Wasp]. The pale-faced man in flashy armor had taken one look at the drone and paled even further. He then dropped the large mace he was carrying and ran away, screaming, much to the confusion of those around him.

    That only lasted long enough for Jīshí to slap Alpha's chassis and frown at him. The AI tsked and dissolved the drone. The armored man collapsed into a fetal position and shivered. Alpha didn't miss the slight smirk on the young Zolzaya's face as she calmly walked over to "treat" the man.

    After nearly half an hour of fruitless planning, one of the young men he'd saved prior, Yutu, approached wearily.

    The young man stopped in front of him and bowed, though his next words weren't for Alpha but for Jīshí. "Lady Prima. I have a message for you, from… well… yourself." The group paused and turned their attention to Yutu.

    Jīshí raised a brow, then leaned down from atop Alpha and cupped the young man's chin. Two pairs of matching concentric ringed eyes stared into each other, and she smiled at him. "A message important enough to bless you for. Interesting. What do you have for me, young man?'"

    Yutu stepped back and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

    Instead of speaking, however, he stretched out his hand. The air pulsed, causing several gathered to reach for their weapons, though Jīshí's calm demeanor eased any worries.

    Then, slowly, something pushed its way out of the young man's chest, causing space to ripple slightly, like water. At first, it was just a point of stone, then more and more of the object pushed itself out until a miniature obelisk appeared. It righted itself and moved to float over Yutu's outstretched hand, slowly spinning. The miniature obelisk was made of the same black material as the larger one behind them, but only a hand's length tall.

    Jīshí's eyes widened, and she stood straight. "Oh? Ohhhhhh!" she explained before grinning ear to ear and crooking her finger toward herself.

    The miniature obelisk flew out of Yutu's hand and floated to Jīshí, who stared at it like it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Then she laughed. A musical, cascading thing that drew every eye.

    When she spoke, everyone listened. "Well, isn't this great? Maybe the fates truly are helping us if they brought us this."

    Kallik was the one to ask, "What is it?"

    Jīshí turned to the Grassreader and, still grinning, said, "A key."
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • I'd like to appreciate that while Alpha certainly isn't fully on board with the whole Soul damage thing, he's at least considering it and how it could be affecting his actions.

    He even noted significantly earlier on that he knew something was wrong and needed to do much more thorough diagnostics and thought.
     
    Book 1 - Lesson 62: "Knowledge Is Key"
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    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 62: "Knowledge Is Key"
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    "Come on, work, you stupid thing!" the nervous man breathlessly yelled at the small black jade. Occasionally, he'd glance over his shoulder or jump at some new sound. He had to hurry and inform the others before it was too late. Everything had gone to the nine hells and back, and nothing was happening how the Mistress said it would.

    When the army of Iris appeared ahead of schedule, the conclave rushed to activate their sleepers and enact the plans already in place. They'd managed to destroy the communication arrays and several minor systems, but the temple was on high alert after some fools screwed up a simple assassination of a few interlopers. As a result, the walls were raised, and their easy victory was stolen from them.

    To make matters worse, the Jadewalkers were somehow still coordinating without their arrays! Through interrogation of captured soldiers, the conclave had tracked the meddling insects (literal insects! Some kind of unidentifiable wasp) to a warehouse in the city, but the Guardians were one step ahead of them. The place was heavily guarded and covered in arrays they hadn't yet been able to crack. How this backwater place even had something of that quality boggled the man's mind.

    Now, those interlopers that the conclave elders had dismissed as a hassle to deal with had somehow raised an entire city where the Earth Shrine was. The conclave had tried to stop them from activating the teleportation array at the shrine center, but the daughter of the previous high priestess had proven too strong. Now, he was stuck trying to contact the elders at the Prima Temple and warn them about the coming danger.

    "Ahhh, so this is where you ran off to."

    The man froze, then slowly turned to face the source of the voice with a weak smile. "P-priest Tarkhan. I-I'm sorry for disappearing like that. Just… needed to get some air. I'm sure you… understand."

    Priest Tarkhan walked out of the shadows, his hands behind his back, and nodded. "Yes, yes, perfectly understandable, my boy. You've had a rough day. We both had, what with being strung along by these damnable cultists, right? It's not your fault they tricked you and used you like they did. You're just a simple temple messenger; you're not trained to spot… deceivers like that."

    The man gave the priest a nervous laugh and agreed, "Y-yes, sir, it's as you say. They r-really pulled the wool over our eyes. I'm just ashamed I couldn't do… more."

    Priest Tarkhan laughed and patted his shoulder. "Don't feel bad. They fooled even me. I must say, it's been quite an eye-opening experience for me. Even someone such as I can be humbled, it seems."

    The nervous 'messenger' raised a brow, a slight smirk hidden by the darkness of the hallway. "Is… that so, sir? I'll keep that in mind for next time. Thank you for the lesson," he said. The messenger turned to leave but was stopped by Priest Tarkhan's tight grip on his shoulder.

    "Ah! Before you leave, let this priest pass on one last lesson to his junior." Priest Tarkhan pushed the man against the hallway wall and said, "Deceit is tricky. Used correctly, it can be a powerful tool. If used foolishly, then all it does is dig your own grave. After all, no one enjoys being lied to."

    The messenger nodded, a cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Something was wrong. The icy smile of the priest sent shivers down his spine. Slowly, he reached for the [Black Blossom Dagger] hidden in his robes. The dagger was an artifact blessed by the Mistress herself. It was only a single-use item but was strong enough to kill even a [Earthly Transcendent] with a single blow. The plan had been to use it on the Head Priest, but he'd never gotten a chance. Using it on a senior priest like Tarkhan might have been a waste, but it would throw the temple into chaos for a while. That could buy them the time they needed to smooth things over and for him to escape.

    The messenger smiled up at Tarkhan and said, "Thank you for the lessons, Priest Tarkhan. As always, your wise words have enlightened me. I'll be sure to remember them… even after you're gone." The man's smile twisted into something vile as he pulled the dagger from its hidden sheath.

    Only to freeze mid-swing.

    The messenger's vision swayed, and the still-smiling face of Priest Tarkhan seemed to double. The sound of dripping liquid and sharp pain in his chest drew the man's eyes downward. A thin stone spike protruded from the messenger's chest, piercing his heart. Slowly, he raised his head, followed Priest Tarkhan's free hand, and found it pressed firmly against the stone wall behind him, glowing with a faint, near unperceivable pulse of Spirit energy.

    The messenger's grip weakened as both the dagger and the black jade fell from his hands.

    Priest Tarkhan straightened, and the stone spike retracted back into the wall, letting the body of the 'messenger' fall to the ground. Tarkhan reached down and plucked both items from the slowly growing puddles of blood.

    He turned and bowed, presenting both items in open hands as he spoke. "I trust this is enough to prove my sincerity? Head Priest?"

    Head Priest Erden emerged from the shadows, frowning as he spoke. "Honestly? No. Your mistake almost cost us everything, Tarkhan. But this is a start." The head priest reached out and picked up the black dagger. He sneered at the evil thing before a pulse of energy turned the entire artifact into brittle stone. It crumbled away into dust in the next instant. Erden then picked up the black jade and turned it around in his hand, wiping off the blood stain. He carefully placed the jade into a robe pocket before turning around.

    Erden then called over his shoulder, "Come, Tarkhan. We still have rats to sniff out and things to do. If we're quick about it, we might actually make it out of all this alive…"

    Priest Tarkhan bowed and quickly followed behind.

    —————————

    Thump!…Thump! Thump!

    The distant sound of the wall guns firing was strong enough to be heard even from here. As were the rumbling screams of the giant elementals as the massive projectiles slammed into them. Sometimes, the voices of the elementals, which sounded like a falling avalanche, were replaced by the soul-chilling scream of one massive undead or another. The giant undead were far rarer than the elementals, however. The danger of the undead came from their sheer numbers and the black-clad figures directing them.

    A wild woman swinging a long monk's spade sliced one such figure in two. A floating, phantasmal shield pressed the severed halves into the ground. They struggled for a moment, then burst into black flames. The surrounding undead fell into chaos, all sense of order lost as they fell back into their base, feral instincts.

    "Charge!" Juatan gave the order from atop Alpha's back. 50+ Guardians and one war machine slammed into the enemy lines. Dozens of forearm-thick nanite tendrils erupted from the sides of the TAWP and spearing trice as many undead at a time. They weren't effective killing blows, but the Guardians who followed behind and destroyed each of the trapped undead's cores ensured they stayed dead. Even the young Slatewalkers were doing their part, through watched over by Ulagan.

    This was their fourth such engagement since leaving the teleporter node, and everyone was getting into the rhythm of things. Thanks to the support of the humans, Alpha had saved a ton of supplies so far. Pinning the enemy down and letting the humans finish them was far simpler. The big boys were handled by the stronger members of the group or Jīshí's guns. So far, the only time Alpha had to step in was against a group of flying undead that were too numerous for the humans but too small for the wall guns. A quick round of turret fire had erased that problem before they could even draw near, and the enemy hadn't attempted it again.

    Instead, they seemed content at throwing more and more undead at the small, advancing group, seeming less to truly stop them but rather slow them down.

    And for all they knew, it was working. The group had made slow progress through the city so far, and at their current pace, it would take hours, maybe days, to reach the pyramid at the center of the storm. Thankfully, that wasn't their destination… yet.

    Artemis lept into the air, landed on Alpha, and bowed to Jīshí. "Your plan is working, Lady Prima. The enemy is attempting to force us to take shelter in the library," she said.

    Kallik stared at the large building a few blocks away, one of the largest still standing in the city. She frowned and said, "It's likely a trap. They've either booby-trapped the building or plan on pinning us in once we're inside."

    Juatan nodded, "I don't doubt that, but that's all part of the plan," he said.

    "Why do you have a passage leading to the center of the most important location in your city, hidden under a library of all things, again?" Alpha asked.

    Jīshí chuckled and responded, "You have it backward; the passage leads from the Heart to the library. It was created as an emergency escape route, while the library itself is designed as a bunker. The Heart can be an extremely dangerous place under the right circumstance."

    "And you're sure I'll be able to fit through?" Alpha asked.

    Jīshí waved the worry off. "The passage was designed to accommodate hundreds of staff at once. You'll be too big to fit through some of the side passages, but we only care about the main corridor to the Heart."

    "Good enough for me," Alpha responded.

    Ten minutes later, the small army was pushing its way into the library's main building. As soon as the last Guardian crossed the threshold, there was a pulse of dark Spirit energy, and an array carved into the outer walls flashed to life. In an instant, the building was covered by a dome of deep, black fog. One of the nearest Guardians pushed their spear through the fog, only for it to instantly rot away. The Guardian dropped the weapon, and everyone backed further away from the fog-filled archway. Even the metal spearhead had corroded.

    Artemis wrinkled her face and said, "Looks like you were right. That's some nasty stuff. Let's get gone before they pull out whatever else they're planning. Where is this passageway?"

    Jīshí led the group deeper into the building. It was a massive place, easily a square kilometer on the ground floor alone. Alpha could see how such a place might have been used to shelter civilians at one point. Now, most of the shelves were barren or covered in dust and rotting paper. Like much of the city, the library had seen little use from the current Akh'lut clans occupying the city. They much preferred the inner areas and the main temple, stripping the city of anything valuable while abandoning the rest. The Akh'lut may have been powerful, but they were too few in number to keep such a large city from falling into disrepair in places.

    Nonetheless, it was still a place one could get lost in if they didn't know the way.

    A short while later, Jīshí led them to an open lounge area as large as a town square, sprinkled with the semi-rotting remains of hundreds of desks, chairs, and other seating arrangements. Jīshí gave the area a sad look before waving her arm to one side. In one motion, all the rotting furniture was pushed to the side, and the dust lifted from the tiles to reveal the intricate mosaic scene of four faceless beings.

    In the upper left, a massive man with burning hair and more muscles than anything stood at a glowing forge, shaping metal with his bare hands. Weapons, armor, and various gadgets flowed from the forge to be gathered by the tiny men below.

    In the upper right, a young girl floated in an endless ocean, her eyes closed as if asleep. Behind her, countless men and women stood in shining armor as they pushed back a billowing black tide into the depths. Black, crooked arms reached from the dark waters to grab who they could, only to be chained by the very tides themselves.

    In the bottom right, a young boy flew through the air, grinning ear to ear. As he passed the land, black fog receded, blown away by strong gales and fierce rains, as fertile lands bursting with life took its place.

    And on the bottom left, a woman wearing a dress of soil and grasses raised her hands to the sky. Behind her, tall walls and study buildings pushed their way out of the earth. An endless stream of people flooded into the walls, fleeing the chasing darkness.

    Finally, at the center, there was… nothing but a blank square.

    The middle of the mosaic was just a large, empty indent in the ground. As if whatever had been there had long been pulled up. The group spread around the area, some pointing at the mosaic and muttering, while Jīshí directed Alpha toward the center.

    He stopped a few meters away, and Jīshí held out her hand. The obelisk appeared in a flash of light, hovering over the center of the mosaic, gently spinning. Then, in the blink of an eye, it expanded and fell to the ground, neatly slotting into the blank slot.

    There was a pulse of energy, and four light lines pushed their way out of the obelisk's corners. They swirled around the floor, following the lines of the mosaic, until they reached the pictures of the four figures in either corner. The eyes of the figures lit up with a bright white light, and the building shook.

    Then, slowly, the mosaic fell away, piece by piece like crumbling stone, until two large, spiraling staircases were revealed, each wide enough to fit ten men standing shoulder to shoulder. The staircases spiraled downward into the darkness.

    Juatan and the Scions began directing the Guardians down the stairs while Artemis walked closer to Alpha, her eyes never leaving the stairs. She shook her head, eyes wide as she spoke. "I… used to explore the city all the time. There are dozens of interesting places in these old ruins. Hell, I've been in this very building half a dozen times. How did we never know there was something like this here?"

    Jīshí laughed and responded, "What use is a hidden passage if it is easily found?"

    No. 7 folded their arms and stared. The masked figure had been awfully quiet since meeting up with the humans. Alpha figured they just weren't much of a people person, so it was almost surprising when they asked, "Though that begs the question. If this was an emergency passage, why was the 'key' with a different 'you' so far away? Doesn't that negate the purpose?"

    Jīshí shrugged. "It's supposed to be with the high priestess. Why she hid it with my other self, I don't know. That 'me' was still asleep at the time. Maybe she knew the enemy was closing in on her and didn't want it to fall into their hands. Or maybe it was her way of ensuring we could get past them. Either way, what matters is that we're here now."

    Artemis clenched her fists at the mention of her mother. Her eyes burned as they walked toward the nearest set of stairs, and she called out over her shoulder, "Then let's finish this. No more games."

    The others shared a nod, and Alpha moved toward the stairs as well. Despite the tight squeeze, the TAWP could still fit on the wide stairs, and they held surprisingly well under its weight.

    Alpha was the last one down the stairs, and as he passed the threshold, the colorful mosaic rebuilt itself above them, piece by piece.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Book 1 - Lesson 63: "When the clock is running down, switch in fresh players."
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    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 63: "When the clock is running down, switch in fresh players."
    ————————————————————————​
    "What do you mean they're gone?!" the woman's voice shook the very room.

    Tuguslar didn't flinch when the shockwave hit him, nor when the sharp black steel knife flew past his head, leaving a shallow cut. An outsider would think the man was stoic, the perfect picture of calm. The truth was, it could be dangerous to take your eyes off Hera when she was in one of her… moods. A lifetime of dealing with the woman's outbursts had honed his defenses against her wrath to their peak.

    The others in the room were… less adept at such. One of the six black-clad humans gathered in the Heart stepped forward, wringing their hands as they spoke. "Y-your lady, it-it's not our fault! As planned, we led the interlopers into the library, and the [Death Veil] array activated without a hitch. Yet, when we checked, there were no bodies. Do not fear though, I can asu—"

    Hera snarled and waved her hand. Instantly, all six humans burst into black flames. They screamed for only a moment before collapsing into piles of ash. Tuguslar stared at Hera, his hands behind his back, a bored look on his face the entire time.

    Once the screaming stopped and the flames died out, Tuguslar stepped forward, brushing a bit of ash off his robes. Hera sneered down at him and said. "What is it, halfbreed? Come to give me excuses as well?"

    Tuguslar's mouth twitched slightly, but he turned it into a smile at the last moment, spreading his arms out wide. "Why, of course not, High Priestess. Everything is going according to plan, is it not?" he said.

    Hera ground her teeth. "I don't remember a bunch of insects running around my city being part of the plan, boy! Now, the streets are filled with raging elementals, and even the very walls have turned against us. Please… enlighten me."

    Tuguslar nodded and responded, "True, the elementals are causing problems, but they're also causing problems for the enemy. It doesn't matter where the humans and that dog Artemis have disappeared to. Time is on our side." He waved to the to the Heart behind Hera. Three of the five altars were silent, the keystones sitting atop them dead and drained. The fourth directed a beam of white energy toward the heart, but even now, it was dimming, flickering. Soon, it would be as lifeless as the other three. Tuguslar continued, "Even if they somehow slip their way through both the elementals and the elites around the outer temple, they're out of time. We've already won."

    Hera paused, frowning, and turned to face the floating Heart. The iridescent rainbow light still fought against the black, inky darkness above, but without the support of the keystones, cracks were already forming along its surface. Tuguslar was right. There's no way the interlopers could interfere now. And once the ritual was finished, not even the Prima could stop her.

    Her frown slowly morphed into a smile as the fourth keystone sputtered and died.

    She turned her gaze to the small Akh'lut pup chained to the final altar. Yes… It was time they finished this.

    ————————————————————————

    The Captain's grip on his spear tightened, and his frown deepened. Things were… not going well. The city had put up a valiant defense, but the enemy was endless and tireless. Even with the four gate houses pushing themselves to exhaustion, the city's defenses were being chipped away little by little. If things were kept as they were, something would eventually give. One of the lines would collapse, and the undead would flood over the wall and into the city beyond.

    He stood on the top of the wall and looked beyond. The undead seemed endless, and the horde grew thicker by the moment. Their front line had already been pushed back several times, and it wouldn't be long before the soldiers fought with their backs to the wall. The Captain turned to General Westgate beside him and asked, "Any news?"

    General Westgate shook his head and responded, "No. The children's artifacts haven't been able to reach the other cities. The chaotic Spirit energy in the area seems to be throwing off their controls. Even your daughter can only reach 10 kilometers away from the city before losing control, and she's proven to be the most adept."

    The Captain could only sigh. That was a shame. Not that they were expecting any genuine support. If the Jadewalkers were struggling this badly against the enemy, then it was likely the other cities wouldn't be able to help either. He looked off into the distance and said, "Then we can only pray the Runners could make it…"

    They'd sent every Runner in the city toward the edge of the Radiant Sea the moment the undead had been spotted. It was a long shot, but at the very least, the Sects needed to be made aware of what was happening.

    The general turned to look in the same direction and nodded.

    ————————————————————————

    John clutched his bleeding arm to his side and lept over another undead as it pushed its way out of the ground, then twirled around the blow of another. It scraped across his shoulder, drawing another red line, but John barely felt it.

    If he was honest, He didn't feel much of anything anymore.

    Over 700 Runners had departed from Jadewalker city. A small number, considering it was such a large place, even with all the runners from the smaller outlying villages gathered together. But most of those were true city runners, strong cultivators who ran the prairies alone, transporting important documents and packages between cities.

    Those runners like himself who stuck to their village were an anomaly. Such duties were typically given to young and inexperienced runners. Not that John was ashamed. He knew himself and knew that he wasn't suited to that kind of life. There was no shame in that, he felt.

    So how did he end up in this mess?!

    When the runners had left the city, they had eventually split into smaller and smaller groups until only teams of five were left. The idea was to spread out along the border and hit as many target locations as possible. It had been going well at first. It might take a caravan two or three weeks to reach the Sects from the Earth Shrine, but a trained Runner could make the same trip in only two days.

    Yet, as the Darkest Night progressed, things started to shift. The prairies were becoming more dangerous as time passed, and the groups began being harassed by the undead. Not just Grassbreakers but a wide variety of undead began appearing from the grasses as the Runners passed by. John remembered hearing some Guardians mention a sharp decline in wildlife over the last few months.

    Most had assumed it was just creatures preparing for the Apex like everyone else. When the survivors from the disastrous graduation trip returned, speculation and rumors shifted to the Beast Lord and his army. Even then, no one could explain why the Beast Lord would do such a thing. Even an army could only eat so much, after all.

    As John observed the various undead creatures along their path, a new theory formed in his mind. What if the Beast Lord wasn't feeding an army? What if he was building one? The Runner had quickly pushed the chilling thought from his mind; that was way above his pay grade, after all.

    Nonetheless, the undead had soon started to become a menace and then a serious problem. Not long after, they started losing runners. Only a few at first. Sometimes, they'd be driven into an abyss, those great sinkholes dotting the praises. An unlucky few had larger undead pop up right from under them. While others still simply couldn't keep up the pace needed to outrun the undead.

    Soon, John was the last remaining runner of his own group of five. Something he only attributed to his acute sense of danger, honed over decades of avoiding the sometimes malicious pranks of the Slatewalker children. He'd long passed the point of exhaustion. He didn't even know how the other groups of runners were doing.

    Not too long ago, he could still hear them running far in the distance. Or the soul-chilling screams. Had they pulled far enough away he couldn't hear them any longer? Or had they all fallen? Was he the last? He didn't know. The only fear and the unrelenting undead drove him on.

    Now, the only thing he could hear were the moans of the undead and his own racing heartbeat.

    John dodged another undead as it snapped at him, barely catching the hem of his ragged uniform.

    That's all it took.

    The sudden jerking motion threw off his balance, and John didn't have the Spirit energy to correct himself. He stumbled, then fell, bleeding off his remaining momentum as he tumbled through the grass several times. John pushed himself up on shaking arms and coughed up a bit of blood. His vision blurring, John turned and looked at the undead that had grabbed him as it slithered out of the grass.

    In life, it would have been a regal thing. A long, serpentine body with glossy scales that could mimic the color of the surrounding grass. Deep red eyes that looked down on everything and a thick 'hood' that had always reminded John of a snooty noble's popped collar protecting its head. The Phantom Grass Emperor was one of the apex predators of the prairies.

    Although its scales were now dull and peeling, its hood torn, and its head half-skeletal, John knew he wouldn't have ever stood a chance against this creature, even if he'd been in peak form.

    The creature slowly slithered closer, a rotting tongue flicking in and out. It stopped a few meters away, and John's body froze. Maybe something of the creature's arrogant nature was still left, as the runner could have sworn he saw the thing smile as it leered down at him.

    As he saw his death approach, John clinched his heart, feeling a pain distinctly different from the physical soreness of the overworked muscle. Was this really all his life would amount to? Regret filled his heart, and John clenched his teeth. Even at the end, he hadn't been able to help anyone.

    The Phantom Grass Emperor hissed, a rattling thing caused by a rotting throat, and reared back to strike, its mouth opening even wider than possible when it was alive.

    Twang!

    The zombified Phantom Grass Emperor screamed as a dozen icy arrows slammed into it, covering it in a layer of frost. The creature hissed again and turned around, attempting to escape into the cover of the grass.

    Twang! Twang!

    More arrows crashed into it, pinning it to the ground and encasing the top portion of its body in ice. A shadow erupted from the grass behind John. His blurry vision could barely make out the form of a muscular woman swinging an enormous flail. The metal ball hit the frozen Phantom Grass Emperor with an explosive bang, shattering the creature's top half into dozens of icy chunks.

    The woman landed in front of John with a light touch despite the massive size of the weapon in her hands. She grinned like a wild woman and stomped on the largest chunk of the creature's frozen head, shattering it further. She then turned to John and winked before vanishing into the grass further ahead.

    A flood of weakness swept through John, and he collapsed. Only to be caught in delicate arms. He slowly turned his head to look into the eyes of an angel dressed in a black sundress. The young woman smiled sweetly down at him and raised a glowing hand to his chest.

    Intense pain shot through his body, to where he almost passed out, but it was soon replaced with a warm comfort that made him feel like he was melting.

    A third figure, this time an old man dressed in elegant white robes, walked into Jonh's vision. The old man stroked his beard and asked the angel-in-black, "How is he?"

    The angel answered in a soft voice. "That he's even awake, let alone able to move, is a miracle. I've never seen a body of this low cultivation pushed to such extremes. It's impressive in its own right. But… I think he'll make it."

    The old man nodded. "Good. Good. Bring him to the others in the back, then let's move on."

    The angel nodded, then lifted a limp John in her arms. Before she could move, however, John reached out and hooked the old man's robe with a finger. The old man paused and turned, an eyebrow raised.

    His hand shaking, John slowly reached into his runner's satchel, removed a single letter, and passed it to the man. The old man's eyes widened, but he softly smiled as he took the letter and placed it in the sleeve of his robe. He then spoke to John. "You've done well, young man. Now leave the rest to us."

    The last thing John saw before the warmth and darkness dragged him under was the sight of countless shadows rushing through the grass past them and the undead swept away in their wake.

    ————————————————————————

    Elder Wu Song frowned as he watched Qi Mingxi bring the unconscious runner to the back of the small army. This was the first living runner they'd come across, though reports from the scouts suggested there were still a good number along their path yet to save.

    "Ohy! Tha' boy's impressive. For a mailman, at least. Might see if he wants a job after'll this mess is done."

    Elder Wu Song frowned and turned to the mountain of a man who'd appeared beside him. How such a large man was so quiet astounded the Elder. Though maybe that was to be expected of No. 1.

    The Leader of the mercenary group, simply called 'the Camp,' couldn't be someone so simple as his "bandit king" appearance might lead others to believe. The short time Wu Song had spent with the man left no doubt that the Camp Leader's mind was as sharp as his blade.

    Wu Song turned and looked deeper into the Radiant Sea. "It seemed your intel was accurate, No. 1. I'm glad we could catch this when we could. If the undead had spilled out of the prairies…" he said.

    The large man laughed and responded. "Aye. Though I'm surprised you Origin folk were so quick on the draw yourself. Almost like you knew something was 'bout to happen…"

    Wu Song coughed and turned away. "We have our ways."

    The old man turned, frowned at the swirling dark clouds in the distance, and muttered. "I just hope we're not too late…"
     
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    • Book 1 - Lesson 64: "Expect the unexpected."
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    • ————————————————————————
    Book 1 - Lesson 64: "Expect the unexpected."
    ————————————————————————    ​
    "I signed up for a cult! Not to sweep the floor!" the black-robed, red-headed woman threw the broom to the ground. She turned and kicked a nearby wooden chair. It flew across and shattered against the stone wall of the courtyard. A few wandering undead turned at the sound, but otherwise didn't react.

    Another broom-wielding cultist, an older man, shrugged and said, "Meh, it's not that bad, newbie. Gotta start somewhere. Besides, someone's got to clean up the place. Otherwise, the undead just shed everywhere, stinking the place up." A nearby zombie tripped and fell, leaving behind a dried piece of rotted flesh as if to punctuate the man's words. It stood back up and walked off as if nothing had happened. The black-robed man sighed and swept the mess into a nearby pile.

    A younger man with slit eyes leaned on his broom, resting his chin on the hand, and grinned ear to ear, "Old Hos, to hear the way the uppers talk, you've been sweeping up after the undead since most of um were still fresh."

    'Old Hos' smirked and pointed a thumb deeper into the courtyard. "Aye, but it's better sweeping up after the corpse than ending up like that lot." The group peered deeper into the courtyard, where a group of cultists surrounded a bloody ritual circle. Five men were chained to the ground in its center, surrounding a pile of bleach-white bones.

    The younger male cultist grimaced and asked, "Oooof, Bonetaker? What'd they do to deserve that?"

    The red-headed woman sneered and shook her head. "From what I heard, they let the interlopers escape. Had um locked nice and tight, and still slipped through their fingers. Ridiculous. Heard their squad leader got dusted by the lady when they told her, too," she answered him.

    The younger cultist looked at her, his eyes wide. "Seriously? I honestly can't tell which is worse. Remind me never to apply for management. Grunt life for me!"

    Old Hos shook his head, "It's a waste, is what it is. I've worked under half a dozen cult leaders, and not a one of um knows a damn thing about proper workforce management. It's all 'fear me!' this or 'conquer the world!' that. Bah!"

    The younger cultist pointed toward the circle. "Looks like they're starting".

    The bloody ritual circle deeper in the courtyard glowed an ominous red. It started as a faint light but intensified in pulsing waves as the surrounding cultists chanted their dark verses. As the light grew brighter, the screams of the chained men grew louder.

    After several minutes, the light, chanting, and screams all reached a crescendo, and the bodies of the chained men burst from within, spraying blood over the circle. From the bloody remains, pristine white bones rose into the air, untouched by the blood or gore. Slowly, they floated to the circle's center and added themselves to the pile.

    A man in an ornate robe walked forward, holding a dark orb as the cultists continued to chant. He stopped at the circle's edge, careful not to cross over the line, and held out the orb. Both the orb and the pile of bones pulsed together like a single heart beating. Dark smoke poured from the orb, and it soon filled the circle until only the red light of the ritual lines could be seen glowing within, though the smoke never spilled from the boundary line.

    The orb then softly floated away from the man toward the bone pile. It hovered over the pile for a brief moment before dropping inside. The chanting ceased, and all was still. Then, suddenly, the bone pile began to rattle and shake, slowly rising into the air. As it did, it took on a humanoid shape, though with a far broader chest and longer limbs. Its 5-meter-tall figure was heavily armored with various bone plates, and its long arms ended in vicious claws.

    The newborn Bonetaker spread its arms wide and roared, sending shockwaves through the air. It stepped out of the ritual circle and bowed to the ornately dressed cultist. The man smiled and turned around. The Bonetaker stood and silently followed, with the remaining cultists filling in behind it.

    As the group passed Old Hos and the younger cultists, the slit-eyed young man whistled and muttered to himself, "Man, that thing's a beast. Literally. Can't wait to get one of those myself."

    The red-headed woman huffed and whispered. "Bruiser types like that are a joke. Sure, they pack a punch, but they're stupid as all hell and barely have any mobility."

    Despite being some distance away, the ornate-robed cultist stopped, then slowly turned and stared at the young woman, his eyes narrowing. The woman froze, a cold sweat dripping down her back. Slowly, the man approached, the massive Bonetaker following close behind.

    He stopped a few feet from the woman and frowned at her. "Would you mind repeating that, neophyte?" he asked.

    "Th-that, I mean, I-well…" she stuttered.

    Old Hos stepped forward, smiling as he bowed. "She didn't mean anything by it, Lord Riaser. You know how the youngins can be. They read a few books and think they know how things are. Please, don't concern yourself with such petty things."

    'Lord Riaser' turned and frowned at Old Hos. After a long moment, the ornately robed man humphed and turned away. Old Hos let out a sigh of relief.

    "Murh mirh hrmrih muhum."

    Lord Riaser snapped back around, his eyes red and glowing. "What was that?!"

    The young female cultist took several steps back, her eyes wide and hands raised. "I-it wasn't me! I swear!" she said, her voice rising higher with each word.

    Lord Riaser spoke through gritted teeth, "Do you think I'm a fool, girl?! I was going to dismiss you for Mr. Hos' sake, but it seems the younger generation needs a lesson on why they shouldn't mock their betters."

    "Murmruhr Hurhrhrhrhrhrrhrhrh,"

    There it was again, louder. Though this time, Lord Riaser could see, indeed, the girl hadn't spoken. He frowned and tilted his head.

    "Hey! I think it's coming from the wall!" the slit-eyed young man said, his ear pressed up against the nearby wall. Lord Riaser's frown deepened, and he walked closer to the walk, pressing his ear up against it.

    ("Now? How about now? Can I do it now?")

    ("No. I said wait. You're like an overeager puppy.")

    Lord Riaser grinned, then pulled away from the wall. "It looks like we have some rats in the walls. Interesting," he said, waving forward the Bonetaker.

    The surrounding cultists murmured among themselves while Old Hos grabbed the collars of his fellow sweepers and dragged the two farther away. "Hey! I wanna see the show!" the slit-eyes young man complained.

    The Bonetaker rolled its shoulders and raised one of its massive, clawed hands, preparing to punch through the stone wall. One of the nearby cultists whispered to the other, "You think it's the Temple Inquisition? Or hired Adventurers? I haven't caught up on the latest betting pool odds."

    The cultist he was addressing rolled her eyes and slapped his chest. "You Idiot, why would it be the Inquisition? We already killed everyone in the temple. It's not like one of the other temples would send templars this quick."

    No sooner had the words left her lips that the stone wall exploded in a shower of debris… toward the courtyard. A massive, three-horned metal beetle erupted from the stone wall, slamming into Bonetaker.

    "NO ONE EXPECTS THE INQUISITION!" it yelled.

    Lord Riaser stared wide-eyed, only to be flattened by the beetle's massive limb the next moment. The Bonetaker roared and tried to swing, but the awkward angle and lack of footing caused the blow to glance off the metal horns, dealing no damage to the other creature.

    The Bonetaker wasn't so lucky. At the same moment, the beetle's two smaller horns pulled back and struck the Bonetaker's bony armor one after the other.

    Thunk! Thunk!

    The Bonetaker screeched as the metal horns slammed into its chest, sending spiderweb cracks throughout its armor. While the Bonetaker reeled, the beetle's larger central horn pulled back with a hiss. The Bonetaker tried to dodge what came next but was too slow. Faster than the mortal eye could see, it shot forward with a sonic boom, slamming into the creature's weakened armor.

    Crack!

    With the sound of shattering bone, the Bonetaker's chestplate broke into a thousand pieces, and the massive bone construct was sent soaring through the air. It hit the ground a dozen meters away and rolled several times before slamming into the opposite wall.

    The cultists stood in shock at what they'd just witnessed, but soon fell into panic as the metal beetle pulled itself free from the wall, and dozens of armored humans poured from the opening. A stone-faced woman stood atop the beetle and frowned down at it. "Alpha, I told you to wait. I haven't finished checking the area yet," she said.

    "I regret nothing!" was the creature's only response.

    As the Guardians filed into the courtyard and the cultists either fled or were cut down, Old Hos pulled the young red-headed woman and slit-eyed man into a nearby room, out of sight, before closing and baring the door.

    As the three paused to catch their breath, the red-headed woman sneered and said, "See? What did I tell you? No mobility."

    —————————

    The trip through the secret passageway had been uneventful. It was little more than a wide hallway designed to let as many people through at once as possible. Occasionally, there would be a few side rooms, presumably leading to other bunker areas or rest stops. The Guardians had scouted these passages as they passed, but had found little of interest in them. These pathways hadn't been used in decades, maybe centuries. At least not since Artemis was born.

    Had her mother known about these passageways? She had to have. How else would she have had the key? Why had she never spoken of them then? Or about the Prima bud in the wall? Or about any number of things that were only now coming to light? Artemis had loved her mother, and even if she'd not been a warrior, Metis was a woman who had commanded respect from everyone she met.

    Not just because she was the High Priestess of the Earth Prima Temple, but because she was the kind of woman you could trust with your life. The kind of person who you never had to question their motives or what they were trying to get out of you. Artemis had learned long ago that people like her mother were rare in this cold world.

    So, learning that same person had been hiding so much from her own daughter…

    It had been… unnerving.

    Nonetheless, Artemis pushed those concerns down for the time being. There would be time later for questioning all she thought she knew. She'd pry the answers out of even the Prima herself if she had to.

    But not now. For now, she had a job to do and cultists to kill. Maybe in the course of things, some of those answers would come on their own.

    When they reached the end of the tunnel, they came across another massive staircase leading up. Instead of leading to a trapdoor like the last, this one opened into a large, walled-off room with no visible entrance. Once everyone had exited the staircase, the Prima addressed the group. "This is the staging area for the temple's entrance. It's situated just outside the primary complex and heavily charmed. The systems have degraded somewhat from neglect, but not even a mid-step [Earthly Transcendent] could spot this place. That means we have some time to prepare and plan."

    Alpha looked around and asked a similar question to what Artemis was thinking. "Isn't it kind of a security risk to have such a hidden location so close to your HQ? I mean, what's stopping someone from doing exactly what we're doing now?"

    Jīshí sighed. "Originally, this place was supposed to be constantly monitored. There are various arrays and sigils throughout the tunnels and on both ends that would trigger defenses if anyone unauthorized tried to force their way in. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for us at least, the damage to the city's systems has also affected those arrays," she answered.

    "I don't know… still seems like a terrible idea to me…" the strange creature responded.

    Artemis still wasn't quite sure what to make of this Alpha, or 'Lord Protector' as the Slatewalker humans referred to him. She'd never seen or heard of any Spirit Beast quite like him, and unlike the vast majority of Radiant Sea natives, she'd explored the world outside the prairies for quite some time.

    Even if the Grassreader's theory is correct, and the creature was a Progenitor, records said you could typically at least guess at their Origin. But Alpha seemed like a total mystery to everyone but the Prima, and she was being tight-lipped about the matter. Whatever the case, one thing was for certain.

    They were powerful.

    Maybe more than Artemis could truly understand. Just the Spirit waves they were passively giving off boggled her mind. The sheer ease with which the creature had dealt with the undead and elementals on their way to the library had frightened her a bit, if she was honest. The Prima seemed to trust him, but part of Artemis wondered if even everyone gathered here could stop Alpha if he decided to turn on them.

    A more…excitable part of her wanted to try, regardless.

    That, too, she would have to put down for another time.

    As the others gathered and discussed their plan, Artemis' mind wandered toward a faint but familiar spiritual signature.

    She gripped the handle of her weapon a little tighter {Hold on just a little longer, Athena… we're coming for you.}
     
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    Book 1 - Lesson 65: "When in doubt, beat them with their own kind!"
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    • Annnnnnd We're back!
    Good break, though not nearly as productive as I was hoping.
    Here's the chapter for today!
    Only 2 more weeks until the end of the first book!
    With patreon already in the 2nd! wooooot!
    Take a look if you feel like supporting the story!

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    Book 1 - Lesson 65: "When in doubt, beat them with their own kind!"
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    "Fallback! FALLBACK!" the Captain yelled as the Guardians protecting the wall breech were pushed back or swallowed by the approaching tide of undead.

    The city had been slowly losing ground to the undead for the last few hours as the Darkest Night progressed. The combination of the increased yin energy in the air and the dark, swirling miasma covering the ground had empowered the undead as time passed. To make matters worse, the cultists seemed to have abandoned espionage attempts and were now directing the undead from behind.

    It wasn't clear if this was because the cultists had become desperate thanks to the temple's witchhunt in the city proper or simple confidence in their inevitable victory. Whatever the reason, the result was the same: the undead had become stronger, more numerous, and better organized. It had been a heavy blow for the already exhausted defenders of the city.

    Their defensive line had collapsed in places. Slowly at first, but then more frequently, the city defenders were pressed against the walls.

    The final nail, though, had been one last act of petty trickery. No one could tell what the cultist had done to the Elder Grand Elk, but one of the massive, [Golden Spirit] ranked creatures had erupted from the holding area within the inner city, its eyes filled with madness and its skin covered in pulsing, black veins. The rampaging creature had cut through the city like a scythe, the [Silver Spirit] guards watching the herds, unable to contain the powerful creature.

    Before any of the [Golden Spirit] Guardians or adventurers could respond, the Elder Grand Elk had thrown itself at the wall, its massive bulk and unmatched physical power breaking through the thick stone battlements. The nearby Guardians had tried their best to stop it, but it had only taken a few strikes, and whatever the cultists had done to it had seemed to empower the creature somewhat.

    Now, its broken and battered body lay in the gap it had opened, as hundreds of undead crawled their way over it, a small army of Guardians doing their best to keep the tide out of the city. It hadn't taken long for the undead to notice the breach, either, and word came from the top to fall back into the streets. The civilians had long since been evacuated into the inner city, and the plan was to use the narrow corridor created by the cart buildings to funnel the undead as best as possible. Many of the homes and other buildings had already been rearranged to create effective kill zones and hallways.

    Not that those would stop some of the larger, or even stronger, undead. The homes were reinforced to survive rough travel on the prairies, but not to be used as makeshift battlements. But the elites were taking care of most of those, even if they were tiring.

    The Captain stood atop one of the house carts and stared through the gap in the wall in the distance. Beyond was a seemingly endless sea of undead. His eyes dulled a little, and he frowned. General Eastgate appeared next to him and spoke, his voice flat. "The council has decided. We start evacuating civilians through the teleporter in the shrine within the hour."

    The Captain's eyes snapped to the general. "That's insane! That place is still swarming with elementals. There are over 15 million people in the city; there's no way we can keep that many people safe. We'll have to abandon the Grand Elk, too!" he yelled.

    General Eastgate nodded in agreement. "They know. But the council's willing to risk it. The hope is that some will make it safe between the protection from the army, infighting between the undead and the elementals, and the narrow confines of the shrine city."

    The Captain stared at the general and asked through clenched teeth, "Some?! How many is some, Temüjin?!"

    General Eastgate refused to meet the Captain's eyes. "… estimates are at 15%," he softly said.

    The Captain swayed, the blood draining from his face. He stared at the general, wide eyes and mouth agape. "Fifteen…" he whispered before grabbing the general's shoulder and forcing him to face him. "… FIFTEEN?!" the Captain yelled this time. The outburst drew some eyes, and the Captain lowered his voice. "What do you mean, '15%'?! Do they expect us to abandon everyone else?! They can't be serio—"

    The Captain paused, a sick feeling growing in his stomach. His face fell flat. "Temüjin… how exactly do they plan to distribute that 'protection'?" he asked the general.

    General Eastgate didn't respond, only turning his face away. The Captain's grip tightened, and even the general's armor crumpled slightly under his [Golden Spirit] strength. The Captain's face flashed through several emotions before settling on a flat, emotionless stare. He released the general and turned around.

    General Eastgate grabbed the name arm. "Nergüi, wait!"

    The Captain didn't bother to turn around as she spoke, "And why should I?! You expect me to sit by and let them use the people as bait?! What happened to everything you taught us in the Academy, Temüjin? Since when are we just the bodyguards of the pompous nobility? Why would you agree to this?!"

    "I DIDN'T!" the general was the one to yell this time. His face twisted with barely contained emotion before returning to a calm facade. He looked into the Captain's eyes and continued. "I didn't agree to this. I and General Northgate tried everything we could do to stop them. But the others…" the man shook his head. "We don't have much of a choice at this point. We're stuck between the undead and the elementals," he said.

    He released the Captain and spoke in a low voice. "We can't save everyone. The teleporter can only support some many, and we don't know what's on the other side. Or if it even still works."

    The Captain didn't respond. He only stared at the older man with a sad look before shaking his head and turning away.

    Before he could leap from the roof, however, the general's hand grabbed his shoulder. The Captain spun, his eyes blazing and his fist raised. However, his swung fist stopped short as he noticed the general wasn't looking at him. Instead, the older man stared wide-eyed off into the distance through the gaping hole in the wall. The Captain furrowed his brow and lowered his fist, then turned and looked in the same direction.

    At first, he couldn't tell what had caught the general's eye, but after a few moments, his eyes too widened.

    There! Again!

    Off in the distance, almost too far to be seen with the heavy, chaotic yin energy clouding the sky, was a flash of light. Then another, slightly farther away. A third flash lit up the night, illuminating the tiny forms of distant figures in the grass. The figures were moving with far too much fluidity and purpose to be undead. Another flashed, closer this time, and more figures could be seen.

    The Captain and General Eastgate shared a look before both men broke into wide grins. The Radiant Sea was flooded with undead, and the Jadewalker's Earth Shrine was comparatively deep into the prairies. If there was someone out there fighting, it could only mean one thing.

    General Eastgate reached into his pouch and pulled out a small jade seal. He looked hard at the Captain before placing it in the man's hands. The two men only shared a nod before the Captain jumped from the room and rushed deeper into the city, jade seal in hand.

    General Eastgate turned the other way toward the wall breach and drew his war spear. With a yell, the man leaped from the rooftop and landed deep in the throng of undead.

    The tired Guardians turned at the sound to see the general leaping over their heads. They paused for a moment before giving their own war cry and pushing the undead horde a little farther back.

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    "ALPHA SMASH!"

    On the back of the TAWP, two dozen nano-skin tentacles flailed through the air, at the end of which was a giant bone the size of an adult human. Each swing of the tentacles made contact with a target. Some were cultists, others undead, but most of them hit the massive creature made of bone. Even now, the creature's remaining armor was cracked and splintered in most places, and it was missing several major bones, including an arm.

    Another tentacle whipped through its defenses, grabbed a loose rib, and yanked it away. The primitive intelligence driving the Bonetaker couldn't help but complain internally. Why was it the one having its bones stolen?! That was supposed to be its job! Not that it could do anything about it, as it was currently being beaten to death with said stolen bones.

    Alpha quickly learned that his turret fire was next to useless against the Bonetaker. The thing was too heavily armored with ultra-dense bones, with no soft squishy bits to hit even if they broke through. The [Tri-Horn Pile Bunker] had done a fair amount of damage, but it was slow and made the TAWP too unwieldy on such a chaotic battlefield.

    So, instead, he'd resorted to more… primitive methods.

    The time-honored strategy of 'beat them with their own kind'!

    The same ultra-dense bones that made the Bonetaker into such a terrifying force were used by Alpha to devastating effect. Alpha wasn't sure how the thing kept together with no discernible connective tissue… or organs of any kind. But he didn't question it; that just meant the process was less messy. Win-win for everyone! Oh, sure, they were stuck on pretty tight, but it was just like pulling a tooth.

    You just had to knock it around, wiggle it a bit, then… yoink!

    The Bonetaker roared as its clavicle was ripped away from it.

    Alpha whipped the same bone around and up to uppercut the Bonetaker. Then again, with another bone from the side.

    "Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?" Alpha asked, laughing.

    The creature reeled backward. It didn't have a brain to jar, but the force of the blow was enough to disrupt the flow of Spirit energy that animated it, resulting in a similar effect.

    Around them, the courtyard was in chaos. Guardians battled both the undead and the cultists, who had either not escaped or been killed in the initial assault. Despite the home-ground advantage, the cultists found themselves on the back foot. The undead in the courtyard were the older and more worn-down bodies slated for reprocessing into bone golems or flesh constructs; they were no longer suited for combat. The cultist, meanwhile, had been caught with their pants down, metaphorically. Most present were on their rest cycle or performing duties that would be cumbersome with their typical equipment.

    The Guardians, on the other hand, while still worn from recent combat, had time to rest and were properly equipped. It was no stretch to understand who would come out of time. A few cultists on the peripherals of the battle seemed to sense this, as they quickly fled deeper into the complex.

    The Bonetaker looked around, unsure of what to do. Its master had been killed at the start of the fight, and while its primitive, semi-sentient intelligence was enough to follow simple commands and react to threats, it wasn't smart enough to really think for itself.

    Instead, it took the cue from the fleeing cultists and turned away, escaping from the strange monster that was trying to kill it with its own bones.

    Alpha shook his makeshift bone clubs in the air. "Where do you think you're going, young man?! I'm not done with you yet!"

    ————————————

    The cultist ran into the Heart chamber, tripping over one of the bodies that had yet to be moved for processing. He flipped head-over-heel and rolled several times. He pushed himself up desperately, gasping for breath, only for his heart to nearly stop when he saw the High Priestess staring down at him from across the room. Behind her, an unconscious Akh'lut pup struggled in the air, a thin beam of light connecting it to the giant crystal at the center of the chamber.

    All thoughts of standing fled as he scrambled to his knees and bowed with his head to the floor. The High Priestess frowned and yelled, "What is the meaning of this?! I distinctly remember saying not to disturb me until the ritual was complete."

    The cultist dared not raise his head as he spoke. "Y-Yes, my Lady! B-but there's been an issue!"

    Hera tilted her head, hearing the faint sound of chaos in the distance, before asking, "What? Did one of the golemancers screw up again? I keep telling you that flesh and bone are not the same as stone or metal. Get Lord Riaser to deal with it, and Do. Not. Disturb. Me. AGAIN!"

    The cultist lifted his head, panic in his eyes. "M-my Lady! That's not it! L-lord Riaser is dea—"

    CRASH!

    The cultist's words were cut off as the wall to his left was blasted open, and what little remained of the Bonetaker was sent flying across the room. The Bonetaker rolled several times before stopping against a stone pillar. It tried to push itself up on its one remaining arm, but the red light in its eyes flickered and vanished. The Bonetaker crumbled, falling to the ground in a heap, and stopped moving.

    As the dust settled, another figured, a large metal beetle-like creature stepped out of the hole in the wall, two dozen bone-tipped tentacles waving in all directions.

    Alpha pushed his way into the chamber and turned to face Hera.

    His optical plates spun, and he focused on the floating figure of Snowball behind the large woman.

    Alpha turned to the High Priestess, pointed the longest, sharpest bone in his possession toward her, and said. "Hello, my name is Alpha. You stole something from me. Prepare to Die."
     
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