POV Main

Not all info from Dee was depressing. On level three he could support me greatly. He was able to produce new three part mixture, that would provide me with strength and to some extend speed. It worked based on animal physiology.

Muscles in body are stretching themselves all the time. Even if you do nothing. They are stretching just a little in opposite directions, so overall they do nothing. It’s as idle drive in a car, some fuel is used, no move changes from it. When muscle is working, it uses sugars in its vicinity and electrolytes, mainly potassium to stretch and contract completely. Nerves are controlling directions of stretch and contraction to make them work to the same aim fluently. There are three ways to stop muscles from working. It’s electrolytes deficiency, which is main reason with untrained people, that they are tired quite fast. It’s also sugar deficiency, as there is limited amount of fuel in muscle itself, and blood can provide new sugars only at the rate of heartbeats. It’s normal for people that are training regularly, that their body and muscles are changing gaining better storage for sugar and electrolytes near muscles. Last way is to destroy muscle tissue by overworking. Muscles during their work damage themselves. Usually damage leads to micro inflammation. Gym frequenters have inflammation and its aftereffect muscle swelling. Normally people have limits, as pain limit, that stops them from overworking muscles toward their destruction. But under some vectors, as threat or fear, body produce hormones, that are lifting this limit and muscle destruction is available.

Dee was able to produce liquid that for part one, was creating special storage in muscle tissue that was storing electrolytes, sugars and anti-inflammatory substances. Partially it could store substances provided by body, and overall was enhancing strength and speed. But when second part of mixture was used, there were stored special, more efficient substances. It additionally was enhancing strength and speed that way. But, as these substances wasn’t natural to body, they were used in limited quantities by muscles. Third part of mixture, after intake, was able to activate all of the stored substances in muscles. It was also helping to preserve muscle tissue, was anti-inflammatory and helped provide oxygen to muscles. It worked like that, after intake one would be twice as strong for ten minutes as before intake. And other two parts of mixture were already enhancing strength beyond human limits.

Then, there was mixture of choice. It was eighter two part mixture for temporary enhancement of [Will resonance] or two part mixture for lowering defense against [Will resonance]. I wanted enhancement. After Dee got ability to produce mixture for enhancement of [Will resonance] he explained, that one part of mixture was passively strengthening defense against [Will resonance] to a point and perhaps creating some storage of psychoactive factors inside person. Other part of mixture was activating these factors and boosting them. It created flat boost to [Will resonance] for two minutes. There was side effect of high fewer afterwards. Boost was of around twenty percent of base stat.

Dee was also able to create and show me stat page of people in the vicinity. It took some time and was unreliable, as his pseudo-bacterial influence needed to be in contact with person, but was also huge step for safety. I was almost sure, that it didn’t work on hosts with stones on the same level.

My stat page changed a little too.

Name

Nameless

Daevo

Equilibrium indicator

Efficiency status

Compared worth

Muscle

99%

98%

14 (14)

Body integrity

98%

100%

15 (15)

Nervous system

97%

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

99%

16 (18)

Metabolism / Stamina

93%

99%

13 (14)

Will resonance

--- offence

18%

25%

--- defense

12%

13%

12 (12)

Flow bending

15%

22%

Dee said, that compared worth of twenty was average upper limit for human being, as far as he could see. That meant that some individuals could be over limit. I would even say, that culturist and other strongmans, thanks to doping could cross their biological limits quite easily, but with heavy costs to one’s body. For example, there is a lot of culturists from the top that die young. It’s because they use too severe chemistry to sustain unnatural state of their body.

[Metabolism rate] was widened to include [Stamina]. Dee could monitor [Stamina], but said that, that was cheat stat. It was like a bag with many things inside. In fact, all things that animals or humans do are using local resources. Sugars and electrolytes in muscles, sugars and neurotransmitters in brain, some hormones and chemical factors in organs. Resources are restored mainly by blood circulation. So, you can use all resources in your hand by boxing, but you will still have stamina to move legs. There is this overall tiredness, that would build through blood circulation as free bodily resources would be drained, which was closest to stat page [Stamina].

Also, what was important in long term planning, Dee was able to absorb third memory snippet. There was some info about stones at large. It was quite unbelievable, that there would be one batch of stones coming from Earth’s deeper layers with twenty one year frequency. It would appear on some designated area. Most likely not in neighborhood of last batch. It could appear on land or under water with equal chance. So most batches would end up in oceans and seas. There should be very likely twenty three stones in a batch. Places like volcanos could destroy stones.

After meeting on Mokotov field I knew about twenty stones. It meant we were lacking three more, with two hosts known. If area of appearance was about area of Poland, which is three hundred thousand square kilometers, that meant, that there are about one hundred and sixty similar areas around the globe, mostly under water. And living stone occurrence was event cycling once in three thousands two hundred years. For Dee there was info, that stones were required to, at least once, visit depths. There was no info under what circumstances.

To tell you the truth, this info about stones life cycle took some tension out of me. There was many frightening ideas what bio-stones were. They could be forefront of demon invasion or alien invasion or leftovers of dino civilizations. But if they were part of some cycle occurring time after time, responsibility lying down on me wasn’t that huge. There was some responsibility as bio-stones life cycle looked evil aligned. But I knew, that there is no evil aligned cycle in the whole universe, that could sustain itself. Evil is eating things, that are close to it, without restrain. That way it builds desolation around itself. In the end it eats itself and dies, as it can’t stop. In opposition, nature is not evil because it restraints itself.

POV Andy

I and cultist Adam were promoted to the rank of higher cultists by Diana. Diana was voice of Ahriman, our bloody shining star. I provided accommodation after the meeting, helped organize and carried out orderly attack on squat. Provided many things and lots of time, to arrange our new headquarter.

Adam had some very rich uncle, who was invited to talks with Diana. It seemed, that she convinced him to join Ahriman’s Order as acolyte. He even was offered heart enhancing mixture for huge amount of money. It was big deal, as only two possessed among us were able to provide heart enhancing mixture. Rest of us chosen fast killing mixture.

Diana moved to the headquarters as permanent resident. Now we had chance to redecorate building and restore it. And we were working on that in days, hunting at nights. Our another acolyte, we got with the building, helped us catch some abandoned and lost LGBT+ community members, that accepted invitations on secret meetings.

Voice of Ahriman decided on our colors. It would be deep purple with silver lining. Other secrets of cult origin would be revealed after another growth. We all felt highlighted, that we could provide souls for rituals for Voice of Ahriman’s growth.

Our appetite for people was higher than we could provide. Beria, which was alias for the one, that got info about squat, was promised promotion from middle to higher cultist, if he could find another viable target. He was working hard on that.

Higher rank in our Order meant, that we were provided with better resources. More resources we had, faster raised our power. We could feel difference in power when our stones influenced each other.

I was dreaming of getting to even higher rank, as I had idea for sacrifices provision. I wanted to check War-Saw stations for runners from their homes. Or if that would be inefficient, to check internet for that kind of people. Ahriman could provide them help initially. If many come, some could even become acolytes, as I felt, that I was worth to be served and having slaves. For now although, I was sticked to headquarters and its renovation.

POV Mary, Alice’s sister

After few days I knew, how much of mistake was taking stone from Viki. Stones were influencing one another and mine was weaker. Stones needed blood and flesh and we couldn’t provide them enough. Even worse, our parents noticed, that we were acting different, strange, and started putting attention on us.

It wasn’t even all, as my connection to stone was chimeric and flawed. I had headaches and moments of disorientation. I was getting better, but in meantime was as load putting my sister down. When two of us cared for the same stone, times were better.

Because of all of that, my mental health wasn’t good.

Then one day Alice said, that she is searching for some place for rent. It hurt me, because I knew, that she didn’t have much money. I told her, that when we were together, there was at least some emotional support. She answered, that in two weeks she should be ready to move out, as our fates was hurting each other.