I knew something was wrong before I hit the first corner. Sprite pointed it out to me.

Sprite: The Karmic Imbalance is growing. There is significance and weight to actions in this area. I can almost detect the threads of fate.

What do you mean?

Sprite: Your actions and choices here will have more consequences than are immediately apparent. Be wary. Limit your skill use. Do not incur Karmic Penalties.

It's not as if I can use skills now anyway.

Seconds later, the System agreed.

Warning: You are entering a zone in Temporal and Karmic Flux.

Minutes later, I came across the first unconscious body. Lying crumpled as if they fell running. In the middle of the passageway. A look of horror on their face.

Burton Larry Kilford Tier 2 L11 Miner.

Conditions: Aetheric Blight (Larval), Unconscious.

Using my basic Identify skill gave me a massive headache, and I felt nauseous from concentrating. The blood nose was new, so I hit myself with an injector. Painless. Unless you hated goddamned needles, and then it was just psychosomatic pain. Grrrr.

Sprite: Be careful. Your healing spells are unreliable at best.

That's why I used the injector. Damn, I hate them.

Sprite: Why not use a potion?

That floored me. Why hadn't I used a potion? I had enough of them.

I don't know.

I was no medic, but I had some basic first aid. Yet I could not revive Burton. After a quick check, including using a healing injector – I had no qualms about using them on someone else – I moved the body into a more comfortable recovery position. I would have to get some more injectors so I wouldn't have to deal with having to put potions down people's throats. That was just gross.

There were several more shortly after. They were all miners and all Tier 2 and under level 14.

Rose Potts Tier 2 L13 Miner

Conditions: Aetheric Blight (Larval), Unconscious.

Ray Childs Tier 2 L11 Miner

Conditions: Aetheric Blight (Larval), Unconscious.

Dante Nickel Tier 2 L14 Miner

Conditions: Aetheric Blight (Larval), Unconscious.

I was grateful my skill was working despite the feeling it gave me.

Shit, using skills is not good at the moment. It's messing me up.

Sprite: It is likely to worsen until the patch comes through or you learn to manipulate energy independently of the System.

I used another potion to stop the nosebleed and relieve the tension across my neck and behind my eyes.

Sprite: Take it easy. I can sense trauma building up. It will get worse the more you use the same skills.

Great.

I used all these sick people as an opportunity. I poured all my Reliquary of Recovery, the disgusting liquorice-flavoured healing potions, down their throats, hoping that there was something it could do for their condition. I hated those potions more than the injectors.

They remained unconscious, but I noticed their breathing levelled out. I moved them all into the recovery position, something that my First Aid courses didn't mention how hard it was to do on an unconscious person. They just flopped around and wouldn't stay in the proper position. I did my best. That course seemed like years ago.

I could see no signs of the larval status. However, with my enhanced senses and passive sight skills, I could see tendrils of something, not mana, snaking further into the darkness. It was not energy, it was not mana, yet it seemed to be related to them both.

The system skills were still acting up. I could activate them, but there was little or no feedback in my HUD, and I got weird pains and spasms, and Sprite kept warning me off using them.

This was crap. I was really beginning to rethink why I had decided to come down here alone. I know Rahsaan was doing his medic shit, and it was risky but not as dangerous as some contagious system plague or some unknown thing here.

More concerning, when I tried to contact Rahsaan via comms, all I got was static.

I started heading back but strangely came across the minors I had put into the recovery position, coming from the wrong side. Shit. I turned around and, again, came back to the cavern with the unconscious minors.

How am I getting turned around?

Sprite: Unknown. Temporal or maybe some Spatial distortions. I do not have the sensor capacity to detect them without interfacing with an external sensor array.

Turning back was not an option, and given Sprite's insistence on how bad this could get, I decided to keep moving forward.

Deciding to continue to see if I could get to the bottom of the mine tunnel and the entire Aetheric Blight thing, I proceeded cautiously.

It was eerie, a long empty tunnel with a curled-up unconscious miner body periodically. I used my routine first aid and kept moving.

I was waiting for a jump scare or something. If I were in a movie, the spooky music would be building, and the audience would know something was about to happen. If it were a play, the audience would be shouting, don't go in there, or behind you. I was creeped out and beginning to be terrified.

Sprite was no help with the current version of my nanite software and was quite apologetic. I had some suspicions that now my AI was not locked to the System, and it, or she, would grow and maybe learn some valuable skills. I sighed and wondered if I should invest in some tech as a backup for when I got to places where the System didn't cover or when my skills were wacky. Perhaps I could get some sort of scanner, definitely some AI-assisted targeting for my Thunderguard pistols, and I'd need a backup for my trusty Eyes of Fury. Also, a movement device, short-range teleporter, dodge, or something.

Can you make a list of tech I could get to replace skills if this sort of crap happens again?

Sprite: Yes. I will consult with Hydrox.

I walked for more than the ten minutes Valarie had said. I was beginning to think that she had been less than truthful or something had changed. But if something had changed, then it was an effect that could affect either time or distance. I had a suspicion that the temporal effect was playing shenanigans with how fast I was walking. I kept walking slowly. Half an hour, maybe. It was hard to judge, and I gave up using my HUD chronometer, as it seemed to fluctuate. One moment, the time seemed to pass normally, then faster, then slower, and then worryingly backwards for a few moments.

Sprite: Temporal skills and spells are dangerous. Whatever is causing this is powerful. I recommend caution.

Really? Sorry, this is creepy. This is where I would yell at the movie hero to get out. I hope it's worth it. I am creeped out. I can feel something is going to happen soon.

Sprite: Lucky you aren't a movie hero. I feel nothing. Maybe you feel a disturbance in the force.

I had to laugh.

No more pop culture for you, not the time. My parents named me for those movies, so I guess I'll let you have fun. I have a very bad feeling about this.

Sprite: It did alleviate some tension, and look who is joining me in my game.

She had a point.

I saw the first interesting or out-of-place thing in the mine. It started with a soft, glowing purple ripple that ran through the rock walls like a glowing ore vein. I was not an expert, but I had done a mine tour on holiday in Ballarat, and it was just like a section of tunnel with some gold visible. When I watched Rings of Power, in the Mines of Moria, there were veins of Mithril. This was the ugly cousin of Mithril. Instead of beauty and a sense of wonder and power from the ore, it was sickly and nauseating to look at, an off-purple glow with a faint miasmic mist leeching out of it.

I tried to identify it.

????? Tier ??? This ore is an aspected version of the underlying ore. Improve your skill for more information. skill offline.

My vision blacked out, and I had to lean against the mine wall for a few moments to get my breath.

Can you fix that yet?

Sprite: I recommend less use of that skill. I cannot fix it, but based on my internal database, the ore here has taken on the properties of the active effects in this place. I would guess it would be temporal or negative karmic aspects. If you can find a miner of a suitable level to extract this, it will be priceless.

Guess? Is that a little imprecise?

Sprite: I am trying to be less machine-like. I could have said my highest-ranked simulation suggests that with an 88% probability.

Point taken, but it is closer to 89%.

Sprite: As I said, there are fewer machines, and I would trust my simulations over your skill, which is currently wonky.

I smiled.

Wonky? Nice word. I appreciate the effort. It seems like mainly the active skills are wonky.

There seemed to be a lot of ore, and soon, it was the primary light source. Soft purple flickering veins of ore. A faint purple mist filled the floor below my ankles, making walking more treacherous.

Is this likely an incursion or something new to fuck with us?

Sprite: Unknown. Incursions can occur without the accumulation of chaos into a stone. They can be a weakening of the barrier and something coming through. The Void and Chaos are just two major ones, as their realms are closest to ours. Many other things are beyond the system.

Shit, that's one of the first times you have indicated that the system is not all-powerful.

Sprite: It is where it holds sway. Here, something else is at play. It is overpowering the local system, and even my connection to the ambient energy is starting to be affected.

At least it didn't seem like any of the incursions I had seen before, not that I had seen many or was an expert. There didn't seem to be any taint of chaos within the ore, just a sense of not being right. I could sense chaos, or at least when my skills were not shot to shit.

Moments or hours later, it wasn't easy to tell. The tunnel stopped. It had been relatively straight, with some slight curves and a steady downward path, and now it just stopped at an unworked wall.

Even concentrating and focusing on my perception skills, I could not see anything out of the ordinary.

Sprite: Look at the time. The Aetheric Blight attacks are getting stronger.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Disabled remember.

Sprite: Sorry, there is a temporal anomaly. I am operating at several different times and spatial speeds, which is stressing my processing. I have used nearly a third of my capacity to keep my routines in sync. Imagine calculating an answer you already knew but didn't know why you needed it.

System Maintenance Request: Observe. Override Energy Expenditure. in progress. Fix the

I blinked.

Sprite: We have just moved temporarily. Calculating. One week. Backwards. Impossible. Simulating …

It was a week ago. I had not moved. Sprite and I worked out that I seemed surrounded by a barrier of compressed time. The distortion that sat close to my body like a shield was made from a layer of super-compressed time.

I had not noticed anything out of the ordinary between blinks.

Sprite: Be careful something is happening. I suggest …

I saw the mote of blackness. Tiny. My perception was only just able to make it out.

There was a small ripple in space right in front of me. It had a faint haze around it, similar to my time shield. Identifying didn't help much, and I was tired of the skill's unpredictable nature.

??? ??? Unknown Entity.

Condition: Blight (Aetheric)

SYSTEM Maintenance: Bounty for removing . This should not exist.

What is Aetheric?

Sprite: I would make some mildly inaccurate predictions, but I believe it is another form of energy or mana—something from beyond, something new.

That was a first.

Sprite: I believe we are at the point of incursion for the …someone is coming.

She got cut off again.

I activated Stealth - Hide from shit and Can't see me I'm invisible.

I doubled over in pain and had to clutch my head as I collapsed to the floor.

I was unsure if they worked. I could feel a drain on my energy and mana, but I received no feedback besides the pain.

Now I could hear someone coming.

I moved back away from the error thing behind a small rock outcropping covered in spidery veins of purple ore, which offered little cover. I pressed my back against the wall.

Two figures came down. It was Valarie and a man dressed as an old-fashioned miner.

Douglas Everett Tier 2 Level 28 Miner.

My skill worked with no pain.

It was encouraging to see that there was no sign of affliction.

Valarie was also clean, with no sign of any Aetheric Blight.

Valarie Addley. Tier 2 Cook. Selwin Settlement Owner.

Crap. I was seeing the past. Or I was in the past, before the infestation. That was what the System meant by observing.

How powerful is the System? Did it just send us back in time?

Sprite: Or it piggybacked on the existing temporal anomaly. I am unsure if it can pierce time like that. Moving back in time is highly improbable. Maybe it's just our consciousness. I do not want to speculate too much while we are displaced. While there are temporal skills, they are more related to manipulating gravity and the speed of light in localised areas and short-term increases and decreases in relative temporal mechanics rather than travel from temporal point A to temporal point B.

Douglas said, "… just past here, we should break into the older mine sections. Down here, it is rich in copper and gold and some other stuff I can't identify as well. If we access the mining equipment through here, we won't have to bring it past that new forest."

"Are you sure it is safe?" Valarie was not smiling, and I was unsure if that was comforting.

"Look, the boys and I need the tools. We can't use our skills all day and get what we need. Besides, we need to check for survivors. The cave-in was localised."

"How far?"

"Less than 10 meters. I've got you down here to make sure you're on board. The lads are getting ready to push through and need equipment. They will be here soon. We need to get to those survivors. We know some are alive, but not much more. There is too much interference from the ore and rock."

"What aren't you telling me? You know you don't need my permission."

"Well, you know, "Douglas looked a bit sheepish.

"Spit it out. I don't have all day. Ty had some cattle escape, and we need to track them."

"OK. Reuben was visiting the mine site when the shit hit the fan. Since he was such a prick, we left him and the other Executive there. He may not be happy, and since you are settlement owner and now own the mine, I wanted you to know in case there would be ….shit if they die though…"

"You are worried I'll go all Gordan Ramsy on him. You know, I only get irate at people in the kitchen. I can deal with dickheads, no problems. Deaths of Ruben and one of the Executives? That will be for all of us to deal with."

Douglas smiled, "Irate, yeah, good one. Just letting you know. Ruben is …"

She smiled, "If he needs a rescue, then we help. We look after people now. People matter more unless they are total evil pricks. He is annoying, but he is one of us. Remember, helping others was what gave us the settlement."

"OK"

As Valarie turned to leave, a mote flew towards her, leaving a small web of deep purple behind, and it passed through Douglas and into Valarie.

Neither seemed to notice, but Valarie paused before continuing. Douglas produced a stool from his inventory and sat.

Weirdly, they started moving in an almost stop-motion manner. I realised that time was in flux again. My HUD timer was jumping forward at a faster rate. I saw others arrive, whom I could not identify—just more question marks. Still, I noticed some were the unconscious bodies I had seen before—or was it after?

Damn. Time anomalies. If I was in the past, could I leave and go and tell myself not to come here?

I saw the mote splitting and spreading to them all, leaving the same trail behind, connecting them all and feeding into something behind the rock wall.

Time passed, and the wall retreated as the stop-motion people used tools and skills to push it back.

I was still in my little bubble, an observer of the events, and I was happy to watch and gather information. My encounter with Tangle and that stupid pig allowed me to override any need for direct action with caution. More information was good.

I could be cautious when needed. Really, I could. It was hard, but I could wait.

I watched people zip in and out as the wall moved slowly towards the mine head. At times, they paused, and I soon realized that was while the infection or infestation powered up. I could see the energy trails getting more substantial.

Finally, the excavation broke through into the head of the mine.

I don't know what I expected—maybe something from the mines in The Temple of Doom with the old mine carts or a large cavern with a huge geode or crystal the size of an elephant.

I didn't expect a large, expansive cavern filled with a giant pulsing dark purple orb floating in the middle. Its light and mist clouded my sight. None of the miners noticed, despite the tendrils connecting them to what I assumed was the Aetheric Nest.

Sprite: The ore we are touching continues to disrupt the temporal flows. It is highly likely to possess Temporal aspects and essences, making it a fine crafting material.

Is there any way to mine it or use it here?

Sprite: Not without skills or spells. With magical metals or energy-infused metals, Intent counts, but you need to understand the aspects that affect it thoroughly. Despite your monstrous intelligence and willpower, they would need to be much higher before you could comprehend them without training or skills.

I'll have to look for some temporal skills in the shop then.

Sprite: They will be rare and expensive.

Just like my spaceship.

Sprite: You don't have a spaceship.

That's because they are rare and expensive.

We continued the banter as we watched more people flicker into the chamber. At first, it seemed that they were just entering. I finally understood that Valarie and Everett were bringing them in and intentionally infecting them without seeming to know what they were doing. If they did know, they did it with huge smiles on their faces. Soon, the cavern had several hundred people sitting and smiling and being energy and mana batteries for the Nest.

I was watching the time in my HUD. Eventually, as the timer approached what I was considering my timeline, it slowed. Then, with a gut-wrenching power emanation, time started flowing at its normal speed.

Things were as I had seen them. All the people were here, and they were unmoving. Even the unconscious miners I had tried to save. They were sitting with creepy smiles.

SYSTEM Maintenence: You have witnessed the beginning of the future of your region. Delete the

How?

SYSTEM Maintenance: Unknown.

Well, crap.

I was still using stealth and invisible, I hoped, so I wandered around the cavern. Passing people who were either unconscious or sitting smiling, moving closer to the orb.

An energy tendril whipped towards me passed through me and then moved just like the rest as if nothing had happened.

Sprite: A surge in the number of blight attacks.

It was impossible to continue avoiding any of the tendrils or connections. It seemed I could pass through them without seeming to be affected, and the mist was cool but otherwise harmless.

Everett was the closest to the Nest. His grin was at odds with the surroundings.

Sprite: I think the Nest is resonating in a different energy realm. We only see its representation in this dimension. The Nest is both here and not here. We see its interactions with the flow of mana, time and energy here. Your resistance is holding, but it will only be a matter of time before you get infected. I am unsure if it can affect me.

Kind of like seeing a shadow without seeing the thing casting the shadow?

Sprite: That will do. I don't know how that helps us, though.

I am sure you will think of something. I don't have anything that can interact with alternative dimensions. Maybe we should come back later to resolve this.

Sprite: I think that is a good idea. Something is building up, I can sense Time, Karma, Energy and Mana. This is not good. Run.

Damn. Obviously, I was not invisible or stealthy in whatever dimension this thing came from.

The floating Nest went from a writhing ball of energy to a chaotic mass. Every person in the cavern got to their feet and looked at me. With a discordant wail, they all started moving towards me.

has done 2% true damage. (9% resisted) -2 Karma. -1 Luck. 2.4% decrease to ????

has done 2.4% true damage (16% resisted) -2 Karma. -1 Luck. 2.4% decrease to ????

Despite the messages, I did not feel pain, and my HUD health bar had not dropped. There was a slight discomfort, and I felt this kind of damage was worse.

Sprite: Before you ask, I do not know.

It can't be good. We need more information, and we need to get out of here.

I used Leet Parkour and went into overdrive. It worked, but I came out of it and stumbled with pain. I dug deep and tried to use the skills without activating the skill, I was cat-rolling and monkey vaulting my way to safety. Using my only real energy-affecting ability. I used my Karmic Flare to suppress those who came near me. I was surprised at its effect. It seemed surprisingly effective at stopping or slowing the movements of the people and the motes. If there were no risk of infection, I would have stayed to see if it could be used to cleanse people somehow. They were slow and seemed to be in a stupor. They would have been great zombies if they had been rotten and groaning.

I flipped, rolled, ducked, and weaved through the space to reach the entrance. With a final flip, I landed in a superhero pose—which definitely needed more practice—and sprinted out of the tunnel.

I fled through the tunnel at full speed, much faster than the poor people here, as they struggled to follow, and I soon left them behind. I felt terrible about this but was unwilling to risk myself with such an unknown. The trip back was much quicker than the trip down.

I still had the Purity Cleanse of Cardash that I could use on others, although it was a last-ditch life-and-death skill, and the price was too high for casual use. I was unsure if I would trust such a powerful skill while bugs and errors flew around. If I used that, I'd probably fry my brain.

It seemed that the System or this new entity was over playing with the flow of time and space for now, and I was glad to see sunlight as I reached the surface.

Rahsaan, we are out of here. You can work on the cure on the way back to Min-Min. We need backup and some research. I found the rest of them.

Rahsaan: Where have you been? I have cleansed Dianna and Valarie. They were a bit confused, and I had to sedate them. My skill has granted me partial immunity to Aetheric Blight. From what I can see…

While he was talking, I made my way to the medical centre. He looked up, startled, as I rushed in, and he switched to talking.

He said to me, "I would recommend a scorched earth approach. They are nasty parasites. Insidious. You are lucky to be able to detect them, and I am lucky to have won the skill I have."

I was curious, "We can't. Several hundred people are down there. What skill?"

He shared it with me.

Skill: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. (Tier 3)

Passive: This skill allows you to willingly be poisoned, diseased or afflicted. You suffer the full effects of the condition at an accelerated rate. Surviving gives you partial or total immunity and the ability to cleanse the condition. Caution is recommended.

"That seems a bit hardcore. What did... never mind, we can discuss it on the way out. We need to get out of here."

Sprite: Can I make a suggestion?

When have you ever asked for permission, say it.

Sprite: With the owner unconscious, we could claim this settlement.

At the mention of that, a million pros and cons went through my head. Mostly, it was about how others would react when they heard that I just took another settlement from an unconscious owner. We were trying to be the good guys. But screw that. If it helped curb whatever was below, I was for it. It did leave a bitter taste in my mouth and set a dubious precedent.

How do I do that?

Sprite: You must grab the settlement stone and find the menus to take it over. You will gain the settlement if it is not contested for 24 hours.

"Rahsaan, take these two out of here, keep them sedated for up to a day, and I'll meet you back at the Viper."

Casting my perceptions around and feeling the energy flows of the settlement, I could locate the building where the stone was. I ran to it and grasped it.

Selwin Settlement Stone.

Conditions Met: Do you wish to take over this settlement?

Yes

24-Hour Timer started. All affected beings have been notified. If you retain possession of the Stone, you will become the settlement owner.

SYSTEM Maintenance: Emergency Override.

Nice cheating system.

Congratulations: You are now the owner of the Township of Selwin.

Immediately, I found the mine entrance and set up a barrier. I paid extra energy to upgrade it and put in non-lethal defences. It costs a fortune to install mana, energy and physical barriers. I also put a Tier 3 karmic suppressor around the entrance. Mike would be so pissed, and I would have to make it up to him. I cringed as I upgraded them all as far as I could. It was good to see the seemingly bug-free responses. It seemed that the errors were only affecting me.

I ran to the drop ship and was happy to see it was prepped for flight.

As we got airborne, I got a comms message from Mike.

Mike: I received notification of a new settlement. Good work. We can discuss the costs later, but it would be best to get back here as soon as possible.

Why, what's going on?

Mike: Your holdings are under attack by mercenary forces, and your Steward had asked for assistance. They don't know how long they can hold out, so you need to get there as fast as possible.