“Five thousand years...” the rabbit/bunny/hare man growled. He was still in his seated meditation pose, but floating a good pace above the ground. “So much time spent Shaping this forsaken fragment, and now, you…Ancient, you come waltzing in, and upset the balance.”

Yuriko stared at the man, who had been the First Archon, Casper Nichols. Or rather, perhaps he still is. Her eyes drifted to the Chaos shard, which was large enough to dominate the room. She felt a nearly uncontrollable urge to touch it, and absorb it, not just for her, but also for Fri’Avgi, who she’d fed enough distilled Chaos to be halfway lucid. All the artefact spirit could communicate was hunger. A desperate craving to devour, that was more than enough to drown whatever trepidations and cautions a rational mind could conjure.

The bunny man’s words caught up to her wandering mind. “Five thousand years? Since before the Shattering?”

Casper glared at her. “Yes, another mess your kind made.”

“But that was three thousand years ago,” Yuriko protested.

“So? You think after all that mess time flows the same everywhere? What are you doing here anyway? Bad enough you’re tainting my expe…er, people’s methods with yours.”

“Who are you?” Heron growled as he stepped up next to her.

“Hmph! And who are you? Her attack dog? No,” Casper frowned. “You’re an Ancient, too. A nascent one, unlike her.” He shifted his gaze to Yuriko, “Casper Nichols is my current identity, but I’m sure you’ve known others like me. Ancients like you get around.”

“No, I don’t…” Yuriko paused. There was that one humanoid beast she met back in Rumiga, on the roof of the obsidian tower. Sage, an anthropomorphic monkey, and he named himself as Progeny, spawn of the Sky Spirits. “Progeny? On your coming of age trials?”

“Yes,” Casper growled as his ears flicked in annoyance. “So what do you want? I’d rather you leave this world fragment. The sooner the better. Ah, after you clean up your mess.”

“What mess?”

“What mess? Are your senses that weak? You left open rifts to the Outer Abyss and those daemon spawn, are pouring through. Right where you came from! Go there and wipe them out, they leave!” Spittle flew out of Casper’s mouth as he gesticulated furiously, “And why are you here?”

Yuriko pointed at the giant shard. Unlike one that came from a Wyldling, which was usually greenish, this one showed all kinds of hues, spanning from red to purple and everything in between. They flowed and swirled, looking much like the Chaos flows in the night sky. Back in Rumiga and the nearby planes, anyway, not the strange empty skies this place had. Her Chaos Sight was active, it showed her that ambient Chaos flowed into the chamber, and was either merging with the crystal or swirling around it.

“You want the Chaos Crystal?” Casper frowned. “Or, no, you probably sensed its seed. Don’t be foolish! That much Chaos unleashed would flood Lindorn with so much Chaos that it would be a miracle if any of them survived it.”

“You’re awfully chatty, aren’t you?” Yuriko remarked.

“And? What, did you expect me to fight you?” He landed on his feet. “I haven’t completed my ritual, I’m not an adult, and I’ve not come into my own powers. No doubt I can put up a fight, but I’ve no illusions over winning against one such as you.” He stalked closer but kept carefully out of reach. He was well within her Anima reach, however, but then again, she could reach the entire room from where she stood.

“Yuri?” Heron murmured when she didn’t respond. Her mind felt as though it were wrapped in wool. She could feel the Chaos Crystal calling to her. She could feel Fri’Avgi’s hunger. Her Anima flared and Casper leapt back with a hiss as the golden light covered the chamber. The Chaos Crystal began to hiss and sizzle.

“What are you doing?” Casper shrieked. “You’ll destabilize the entire array!”

Yuriko didn’t listen, or rather, she heard his words but couldn’t, wouldn’t respond. Her senses were on fire as the bits of Chaos she melted off the shard bled into her Anima, which drank it down like a desert after rain.

“Stop!” Casper yelled as he leapt for her. Heron growled and encased himself with his Anima, and intercepted the bunny man’s lunge.

He reached up and grabbed Casper’s wrist, but the bunny man immediately twisted it out of his grip. His leg stomped on the air, changing the trajectory of his lunge to the side. Heron dug his heels in and yanked, succeeding in diverting the other man’s momentum before he lost grip entirely. Casper spun as he retreated, giving out an indignant squawk in the process.

“No, you don’t understand! If you destroy the crystal, it would return Chaos to the surface!”

“You mean the low ambient Chaos is your doing?” Heron growled.

“No, it’s not! This was like this when I arrived here,” Casper rebutted. “Please, you’ve no idea what disaster will occur!”

“Oh, we know,” Heron said fiercely. “It will allow those poor people a chance to increase their Anima strength and stop being sheep!”

“No! They’ve been bereft of Animus core for millennia! Introducing strong ambient Chaos now would destroy them!”

“That’s rich coming from someone who manipulated them in the shadows!” Heron yelled back, but Yuriko could barely keep a string of attention to their…argument.

Not a single whiff of ambient Chaos escaped her grasp. Her Anima liked the taste of the solidified Chaos very much. It wasn’t ambient, heterogenous Chaos that had been packed tightly enough to liquefy, then crystalize at all. Instead, it was pure, unadulterated Chaos, almost akin to Ambrosia, but not quite as versatile or pure.

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Her Anima pulsed and expanded, and almost at once, she felt the blockage preventing her from reaching a full ten paces of reach crumble. She reached ten paces easily, and then her Anima stretched and stretched. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen.

The crystal began to visibly shrink, which caught the attention of both men. Casper’s eyes widened, and he yelled. He flung several spell cards and activated them. A rain of fire bolts, lightning zaps, ice shards, and stone bullets struck Heron, who yelped as the attack broke against his condensed aura. He staggered back at the assault before firming his stance, but Casper took the chance. He squeezed himself to a crouch and sprang past Heron’s guard.

He closed with Yuriko, hands outstretched to grasp, but he was well within her Anima reach.

Thunk!

He slammed against a wall, Yuriko’s Animakinesis, and was repulsed right into Heron’s path. Her friend tackled the bunny man and tried to bring him to the ground, but Casper was far too slippery. Literally. A sheen of oil materialised around him and he squirted right out of Heron’s grasp.

He slid across the floor until his shoulder struck the base of the crystal.

“Ahh!” He screamed as his coat started to smoke. He scrambled out of the way even as a tongue of flame rose from the cloth. And then, his slippery oil ignited and covered him in flames. “Aieeee!”

He ran towards the wall, slammed into it, then dropped prone, and then began to roll around. He did so for a few seconds, before all of the oil burned away, revealing a practically unharmed bunny man underneath. Heron was goggling at his antics and could do nothing but stare as Casper clambered to his feet, breath heaving in anger and a tinge of fear.

He didn’t try to charge at Yuriko again, instead, he looked at Heron and begged, “Please, stop her! The Chaos!”

Heron shook his head and growled, “Look closely! None of it is escaping!”

“Eh?” Casper blinked, then his jaw fell exposing his prominent front teeth. “Oh, you’re right.” The man’s frenetic energy settled down for a long moment, but then, “Wait! Please stop anyway!”

“What now?” Heron asked crossly as he folded his arms imposingly, which also had the effect of making his biceps contract prominently.

“If you shatter the crystal, who knows how long it would take to reform! Also, the seed! Don’t take…”

Screeeeeek!

And that was when the crystal cracked open right in the middle, with both sides falling to either side. At the very centre of the mass, was what Casper said was the seed. And it was then that Damien roared to full wakefulness.

Take it!

Yuriko’s Anima moved before she could think. It wrapped around the seed, which was nothing more than several motes of light. It was different from ambient Chaos, denser. They orbited around each other, and she counted a dozen such motes. As her Anima took hold of it, she felt the impulse to absorb it. It was almost unbearable when she forced herself to stop.

What are you doing! Take it before the others feel it!

‘What is it?’ She sent him through gritted teeth. She wasn’t about to follow his Will blindly, not when he was acting all crazy. That and the fact that her Anima felt such yearning for the lights that it was practically quivering. But, she didn’t know what it was, so she couldn’t just take it.

Please, I beg you!

It was that Damien begging, that unnerved her more than anything else. What was it? He wouldn’t answer and only exhorted her to take it. She felt something within her hungering for it, but she resisted. She would not be a puppet!

The Chaos Crystal was slowly sublimating, into ambient Chaos. It was converting at a pace her Anima couldn’t swallow. Her reach was already at fifteen paces, and it was showing no sign of slowing. It was as if getting past ten paces was the most difficult part of the process, and afterwards, it was only a matter of swallowing enough Chaos. Sixteen.

With some effort, she pulled Fri’Avgi out of her Anima and stabbed her to the floor. Almost at once, the artefact’s red gem glowed fiercely and swallowed the sublimating Chaos. It wasn’t distilled Chaos, but apparently, her artefact liked it well enough.

The crystal shrank faster as Fri’Avgi ate her fill. In the meantime, Casper was practically spluttering.

“No, no! It’ll be another thousand years before another crystal that big gets formed! Ooooh! I’ll lose my bet!”

Yuriko felt her eyelids twitch in annoyance at his words. Everything that had been going on was a game? The war, the sparse ambient Chaos?

But the sudden loss of focus allowed Damien to seize control. The multihued motes were dragged closer to her body before she managed to stop herself.

‘What is it? Tell me and I’ll decide if I want it!’ She yelled mentally at Damien.

Her ancestor paused, somehow taking control of himself. I…I think…that is a part of me.

Yuriko stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’

I…I don’t have all of my memories, and whatever I have in your mind, is but a tiny fraction of what I was. I don’t even remember how I died or how I came to be in your Anima. His voice had a desperate tinge, as well as more vulnerability than she ever expected from the man. Those…I think with those, I could remember more of what I was.

‘And then what? It’ll make you stronger so that you can take control more easily?’ While Damien had been a tremendous help, his control over her had always made her feel violated. Never mind that it only happened during times of great need, but still…

It’s not just I who will grow stronger. Damien whispered, You as well. Please, I just need to know. The lights hold power and knowledge. Insights. You can advance your Ennoia, your Radiant Body Refinement.

‘Didn’t you say those were up to me?’

Yes, but you’ll have more information to cross-reference. The only thing I can do is set you on your path, and beyond that, I lack the knowledge. His voice grew heavy with regret. Already I’m close to the limit of what knowledge I could grant you. I’m sorry.

‘You mean to tell me you don’t know how I can continue to progress?’

No, I know. But as I’ve said, walking the Ancient’s Way is a personal thing. But our paths are similar enough to each other that seeing mine would illuminate yours. And, his voice turned a bit sly, We desperately need the power to fight against a Chaos Duke. As we are, we’re only food.

That, more than anything else, convinced her. But she didn’t just want to give in. So instead, she demanded, ‘Fine. But Damien… I want you to swear not to take control without permission.’ She’d extracted a promise from him before, and he’d given it with the loophole of emergency situations. But… it seemed that what constituted an emergency was entirely up to him. So she was determined to close that path, especially since he’d tried to take liberties before. ‘Swear it.’ She insisted.

I swear it.

His response came so easily that she wondered if he actually gave it any thought, or if he really understood what she wanted. But, that was good enough. She reached for the multitude of lights, but before her hand could touch them…

“No!” Casper yelled and struck with a wave of Animus that came from nowhere, taking all of them by surprise. The blast struck the edge of the multitude’s orbit and shattered whatever it was holding it together. A single mote flew to her hand, while the rest scattered. And just as she was about to take hold of them with her Animakinesis, the air ripped, and a passage to the Chaos Sea, barely big enough to accommodate a single mote, opened, and swallowed each of the rest, much to her and Damien’s consternation.

She rounded on Casper, only to find the bunny man agog. “I…I didn’t mean to…”

Yuriko growled, her voice echoed by Damien’s in her mind. But before anything else could happen, the remaining mote melted into her Anima and shot straight to her core.