Corvayne fell through tumultuous storm clouds colored blue, red, and purple. The misty clouds were lit by lightning bolts, but they didn't shatter him nor his eardrums, instead rumbling as he whistled through the air.

He had cleared more than a few Towers since his self destructive power nearly killed him, but had not been whisked away to this place since then. He had wondered if perhaps the black crystal explosion had damaged him in some way. Falling through the sky, he figured he'd find out when he landed.

He hit a clear patch and could see islands in mist, arranged haphazardly in a ring around a titanic central gate. He could see the vines just before he hit the ground. Even though he had been diving face first, he was standing on his feet unharmed the moment after his forehead impacted the stone paved hill.

Around him were the marked gates, some with vines coating them and closed stone doors, and others open. All of them had strange pictures carved into the stonework that formed them, which he knew now that represented a potential or unlocked power. Why it picked a stormy island in a sea of fog-covered thorns to represent himself, he couldn't say. Nor what the vines around ones he had not unlocked really meant. They were a sign of curses, he knew, but beyond that he couldn't tell if they were suppressing abilities he should have, or were just adding a barrier onto the cost of awakening those powers, or... if they were traps he kept plunging his hands, his mind, his soul into.

He had few choices. Wick was not safe unless he created or conqured a place for her to be safe. A spear moves forward.

He then remembered the resident who was there every time he fell in. He turned and saw the twelve foot figure of an armored being, radiating lightning from it's luminous form. He held up a hand to wave hello, and it saw him and said the same line it always did, voice booming with the inevitable rumble of a dark storm rolling in.

“NOT. READY.”

Corvayne continued waving goodbye as the being took off, leaving a trail in his vision from how bright it was compared to the dim yet colorful surroundings.

He saw two things that were new. First the large obsidian gate, the one that he figured given it's black crystal texture was the Adept power that nearly killed him, was glowing with red cracks and rippling with obsidian waves in the stone. It was also open, free of thick black vines. Beyond it was a bridge now, a path to the central island.

The second was a figure sitting by the pillar. It was wearing a purple tattered robe, and it's face was hodded. But he could see four sets of red eyes under said hood, and it had four clawed arms coming from within the robe. While it looked more humanoid, it felt familiar and safe despite outwardly looking like a monster.

He walked up, and he saw the hood move a little.

“Greetings, Growl-Whine.”

The figure lifted an arm. “Greet.”

Corvayne sat near it. “Can you understand me?”

“Poor.”

Corvayne frowned. He was pretty sure the spider was smart. He'd seen it write things out. Something in his head told him that the creature had done a sort of hack job getting him to understand it at all.

“Do you understand me?”

The thing waved it's hands. “Translation.” Her hands, the raspy voice sounded spidery, for sure, but also female.

“Are you a connection our minds have?”

Growl-Whine scratched the ground. “No. Fragment, guide in you.”

It stood up, turning it's lower arms into legs to skitter over to jagged black pillar that had thrust up out of the stones between two gates he hadn't planned on opening.

“Pacts.” It said, then pointed at the pillar. Corvayne could see for all the spines the top was smooth and had a place for his hand. “System from home. Use words.”

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He shrugged and tried it, letting his hand rest on the stone. A moment of contact and he felt his hand stick to it, then...

(((((System unlocked)))))

A key seemed to twist inside his head, and looking up at the storm clouds in him they parted when he touched the pillar, instead showing him faintly glowing stars. Some near, some far. One was right beside him in the air, dim but close.

They were waiting for something to bind them together.

Growl-Whine's voice rasped. “Pick good words. Pacts change... everything.”

(((((Enter a new pact word to begin. You have no pacts to enhance. You have no pacts to discard.)))))

He thought back to the dust covered man he had spoken with before. He had suggested thinking about [[Growth]], [[Understanding]], and [[Unity]]. The thought stopped him first because he was stunned he remembered it. Every other system related thing was usually a struggle to retain. He didn't think of himself as a great scholar, but it was possible that a curse had it's thorny fingers in it.

The second thought that stopped him was: Did he trust the stranger? Perhaps the system he was touching right now could help him better than a stranger at a bar making Faustian pacts would.

In the stories where there was a system that actually told it's users anything, there were ways to get it to work. “Help menu? Info? Status?”

He felt something stab his mind for a moment saying the word status, but it faded. At this point, he was almost certain it was a curse thing slapping down text from the system. He should say, from another system. It was clear this thing was... not the same.

Growl-Whine was next to him.

“Hmm. I help. Growth for strong Adepts. Understand others, to make allies. Unity... form a tribe.”

She held a claw up to her hood.

“Dimension... shortcuts. Dungeon... master them. Information, wiser. Beware, some two edged swords. Haunted... Damnation... Death... Cursed... Monster... all dangerous words.”

He could feel as he thought about those words a faint desire to push them through his hand.

“What is this for, you said tribe. Is this some sort of leadership thing?”

Growl-Whine made a gesture with her hands. “Tools... build empire. Tools, make a few strong. Can also affect others, if strong enough.”

He resisted the urge to throw Empire into the machine as a word. He had worries about that. It seemed like, given it was inside him, he'd be adding some sort of modifier at least to himself. Or, from what she was saying, modifiers to what he did.

“I think I get it. Is there a limit on pacts?”

“Expensive. Essence.” The spider raised it's fingers, and rubbed them together. “Worth.”

“Uh, how many can I afford?” He asked Growl-Whine, but felt the answer pulse up his hand.

((((( You feel like you can make a few raises. Costs increase with successive levels.)))))

Corvayne decided to see what a safer option did. “Raise, uh, [[Understanding]]”

((((( Pact not found. Do you wish to create a pact of: [[Understanding?]] )))))

“Yes.”

He felt cold water wash over him for a moment, then it was gone and he felt... well mostly the same.

“Is it safe to do a few, Growl-Whine?”

“Good words?” She asked, and Corvayne was surprised that she sounded a little less raspy.

“Yes. I made a pact for Understanding. Why are they called pacts?”

“Binds and makes stronger idea...” Corvayne could see the figure's frustration. “Stronger idea onto to all Adepts. To all places near. Do Growth. Do Unity.”

Corvayne shifted his focus back to the pillar. “Create a pact for [[Growth]] and [[Unity]].”

((((( 2 pacts forming. )))))

He felt more sensations, water washing through him, then he though the stars he saw were closer after a moment.

“... How many raises do I have?”

((((( One pact to three, or two to two. Pacts: Growth 1, Understanding 1, Unity 1 )))))

Well, it felt like Understanding let him get a bit more of Growl-Whine's meaning. He got a bit of a headache still when she spoke, clearly taxing his own mind to give him rough translations of the thoughts, or to process what he was saying and try to match it to something she knew. If there was another power that helped with that it might let him speak to the REAL Spider and given what Hari had told him... it would make her a potent ally if they could talk.

“Raise [[Understanding]] to 3...”

He felt the cold water feeling once more, then the pillar unstuck from his hand and sank into the floor, as everything faded. Possibly because he had only so much essence to spend, and he had nothing else to do.

A moment later he awoke.

Undine was there, arms folded. “And so Hari, what you are saying is now YOU pass out as well?”

Corvayne held a hand up. “I'm awake. I'm awake.”

They had moved down to the dusty arena floor. Corvayne was a little surprised. “How long was I out for?”

Nyx looked annoyed. “A whole ten minutes! Usually you are much quicker. Spending too long shopping for powers?”

Corvayne felt a weird little surge in his mind as he picked up that Nyx was... actually worried about how long he was out. It was something he might have gotten if he had sat and thought about it before, but it felt like now it was much more obvious.

He stood up. “Sorry Nyxion. I promise to pick which sweater I put on for the power faster next time.”

He rolled his eyes. “The whole process sounds stupid and annoying.”

Corvayne shrugged. “I can't help that my world is opaque. Would your version be a fancy restaurant where a waiter bring you a menu?”

What followed reinforced that [[Understanding]] was helping his insight into the universe, as Corvayne was only somewhat surprised when Nyx fell over after hearing it.