The chain guns fired in a continuous whirl straight down the tunnel and into the swarming antibodies. The bullets left an afterimage—a line of yellow fire across the air—and Johann couldn't help but whistle at the technological marvel as it decimated the horde. The munitions were thermal rounds that started heating up a fraction of a second after they left the barrel.

The heat, he was told, was the only way to destroy the antibodies, but it also empowered the system producing them, allowing it to make more of the horde. Thankfully, the Conclave helped determine the tipping point, the balance between the energy needed to make more antibodies compared to how much they could siphon from the thermal rounds. For every three antibodies destroyed, only two would return.

Johann Larson stood on the retaining walls. It wasn't all that talk, just three paces or so. The turrets were about three paces apart, and manned by a couple of Milstate soldiers each, one to aim and fire, another to make sure the chain gun’s ammo didn't run out.

His Anima extended out ten paces, each corded into tendrils touching the guns. His senses mapped the complex machinery and electronic circuitry that allowed the thing to actually work. He reinforced the bits that were turning fragile, and made sure the chambers and barrels didn't jam.

Come to think of it, he didn't expect to be in a warzone when he arrived here a few weeks ago. Dragon Fall City was simply one of the Eternal Tower’s gathering points in its lobby, and there were a dozen other such places, separated from each other by thousands of longstrides. His pilgrimage simply started here, though it was mostly by blind chance. Oh, not that he didn’t know he would end up here. He had a list of places he wanted to see, after all. Places that had access to advanced mortal technologies, and those with advanced spellcraft.

“Something’s riling them up,” the grizzled sergeant muttered beside Johann. “Your Grace,” he added hastily while Johann shrugged uncomfortably, but nodded in acceptance.

He was still somewhat unused to receiving that kind of address since he only recently achieved Actualisation. He achieved it a year ago when he was twenty three, receiving acclaim as a prodigy and some censure from his peers and relatives for rushing his foundations.

That wasn’t really his fault!

Learning and researching different styles of technology was just so fascinating. He achieved two Truths as well, and the enlightenment was what pushed him to Actualised. The World Trials descended and he used his insights to merge the two Truths, one of Harnessed Lightning and the other of Shaped Metal, into the Ennoia of Electromagnetism. The trails allowed him to pass then.

In truth, his Anima reach was barely at the acceptable threshold at the time—just a single pace radius. It strengthened to ten paces once he passed, and hadn't grown much since. The more Anima reach one had, the more excruciating the process of Anaflexio, Anima Ignition, was. That was one of the only ways to reliably strengthen and expand Anima, and only if he had the necessary treasures to support his growth.

Anaflexio. Many Ancients of the Conclave, especially those who’ve reached Actualisation, hated the technique. And loved it, too. It burned their Animas, ruining painstaking accumulation for momentary power, but once it grew back, the Anima became more resilient and powerful.

Even if his Anima reach wasn’t as expansive as it could be, Johann thought it was fine. He didn’t have the mental capacity to handle too wide a reach anyway, and he believed being able to control what he had was more important than brute strength.

Either way, after he achieved his enlightenment, he applied to go on a pilgrimage to experience as many things as he could before he returned and accepted his duties within the Conclave’s capital, Sofrugious, the Floating City. His family purchased a recently acquired Tower Entry Token, and he chose Dragon Fall City as his entry point, more to explore the area’s unique advancement method, which was a mix of body refinement and technological dependency. Well, that and Conclave oversight here was practically nonexistent. There was a branch, of course, but the branch master was also only in Actualisation.

Emmanuel Silva had lingered in his current stage for more than a century, but that wasn’t really all that unusual. Johann reached up and stroked his long ears idly. He was a mix of Sha’ledras and human, though the only thing he inherited from his Sha’ledras grandfather was the long and pointy ears, and the metallic quality of his silver hair. He kept it short since it got in the way when he tinkered, though his mum and sisters tried getting him to grow it longer so it would be more stylish in civilised company.

“What could rile those things up?” he commented drily.

The sergeant grunted, “Fools and the desperate.” He spat over the wall, though all it accomplished was to wet a bit of the dirt in front of the wall. The fortifications were within a large cavern within the perimeter mountains, inside a place of great importance. It was the site of a Climbers' Hub.

He looked back towards the center of the chamber. The Gate wasn’t open yet, but it would within a few weeks. Johann intended to enter it. Unlike the Delvers’ Gate, the Climbers’ version did not lead to a Tower Floor that could be harvested for resources. Instead, it would lead to a trial space where success would aid greatly in progressing enlightenment. Many insights could be gained from the trials, but the scenarios were many and varied enough that none have ever been repeated. He was looking forward to it.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Still, it would be a few more weeks. Maybe soon, as the window of opening changed unpredictably. The length of time it remained open varied to, but it would last for an hour, at least. That was why he was here, in the depths of the mountain, rather than in the heart of the city.

But it looked like things would be a bit more interesting.

“What kind of fools?” he asked idly, though he had an inkling. The mountain was once alive, after all, yet not all of it had died. There were those who were desperate and had nothing to lose, who would risk their freedom and sanity to make the attempt. It was all in the briefing reports he’d been forced to read before he was allowed anywhere near the city. Mum and Dad were overprotective of their little genius, after all.

He sighed. Thankfully, he managed to persuade them not to saddle him with bodyguards. He was an Ancient of the Conclave and could take care of himself. Especially here where there was no one strong enough by themselves to defeat him. At least outside of the zealots beholden to Ondarion. Those Lawbringers were a heretical mix of too many disciplines, Johann thought. The repercussions were uncertain and steeped in Chaos.

“The Dragon Blooded, obviously,” the sergeant muttered. “They want this heart chamber back.”

Heartguard Fortress, as the place was unimaginably named, was manned and operated by Millennium State Conglomerate exclusively. As for Milstate’s relationship with the Conclave…well, it was complicated. Johann didn’t know much since he was young for an Ancient and he hadn’t delved into the histories beyond the very basics.

Ratatatat! Ratata~

The chain guns slowed and powered down. Johann checked the internals and determined that nothing was wrong, and it was only then that he looked down the passage. The antibodies were retreating. They left puddles of their kin, still bubbly and steaming, behind. A couple of chain guns released another volley, but other than another half dozen antibodies killed, not much resulted from it.

“Retreating?”

“That is unusual,” the sergeant said. “They might be gathering for a stronger push, or we may have Hunter-killers incoming. If you’ll excuse me, Your Grace, I need to report to the fort commander.”

“Granted,” Johann said absently while he idly stared down the tunnel. He only came to this particular wall because he was drawn to the guns firing, but now that they stopped, it was time to take a closer look.

He walked up to the gunner, who saluted him nervously.

“Let me take a look.”

“Y-yes, Your Grace,” the man stuttered.

It was somewhat amusing considering he, and the sergeant, were clad in powered armour while he was in what amounted to civilian clothing. He deployed his Anima to envelop the chain gun, and nodded as he made his observations.

“Steel alloyed with the local Ossifrum,” he muttered. “Makes it sturdier and less prone to jamming. Electromagnetically accelerated.” He paused. “Bullets encased rather than bare, filled with thermal powder.” To increase the bullet’s heat so it could actually hurt the antibodies. It made the bullets bulkier and more expensive. How much was the corporation spending to protect this place? The Climbers’ Hub didn’t produce material resources, how are they bankrolling this, and why keep it to themselves?

He looked at the private, whose transparent faceplate revealed a nervous young man. He doubted the soldier would know, only that he would get paid and the benefits were worth risking his life.

The cavern wasn’t that big, only a couple of hundred paces across, but was nearly double that in height. It was labeled Heartguard simply because the cavern was part of a five-chamber heart structure. The other chambers were sealed off from this one since there was really nothing of value there. Three large tunnels branched off from the fortress, and each was protected by walls and gun turrets. The structures were liberally reinforced with Ossifrum alloy bracings, but the bulk was simple stone.

Shwing!

“Eh?”

A strange sound echoed down the tunnel. The straight path was only about three hundred paces or so, then the tunnel bent to the left. It was a major artery, roughly fifty paces wide, and twenty high. The chain guns were accurate until the bend, and any antibody that peeked out of it would be shot, though that really depended on the gunners’ reflexes. Johann wondered why they didn't automate the turrets but he supposed there was a good reason not to. He just hadn’t brought himself to ask. He could certainly detect the systems in place for automatic tracking and fire. Perhaps it has to do with the Hunter-killers the sergeant mentioned?

Shwing!

The high-pitched noise reverberated in the air and tickled his ear. It was actually a familiar sound. What was it?

He heightened his senses and focused them towards the bend. He heard more of the same, but softer than the loud ones. He also heard…footsteps?

Steady, confident steps. Unhurried, but with a measured cadence. It was coming closer to the bend.

“Stand ready, something comes,” Johann said, then added, “but I’m not sure if it’s hostile.”

“What do you sense, Your Grace?” the gunner asked even as he took back control of the gun turret.

“Footsteps and sound of cutting air.”

“A Dragon Blooded, Your Grace?” the man asked nervously.

“I don’t know what those are,” Johann admitted. He’s heard of them from scuttlebutt, but nothing more than that. Just that they were dangerous.

“Worse than unBlessed,” he man said even as Johann’s eyebrows climbed up to his hairline.

UnBlessed were those citizens who replaced too much of their organic bodies without awakening their Anima.

“Are there a lot of them? The unBlessed, I mean?”

“At least one every week, I hear,” the gunner said. “They kill a bunch of people, then get picked up by the Lawbringers.”

That was strange. Wasn’t Branch Leader Silva’s job to anoint as many as he needed to? Sure, not everyone could awaken easily, but shouldn’t those at risk be easily tracked? It wasn’t as if replacing body parts with Ossifrum ‘chronian gear could be done in secret.

Whatever he could have said was squelched by the vision of absolute beauty that walked around the bend. He absently noted a puppy perched on Her shoulder but most of his attention was on Her. Then, he noted the telltale sign of awakened Anima around her torso and head, as well as her gorgeous mane of golden hair.

He was filled with reverence and fear at the same time, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. But what was another Ancient doing here? Her presence would have been noted by the embassy and Silva never mentioned her.

He couldn’t help but frown. What was that man scheming?