Many powers had been given to the Failstate by her master. Her greatest power, of course, was still hidden from her, presumably because the conditions for its activation had not been met yet. But here, standing in front of Tolliver, viewing the mass of chaos that was his link to the Essence, she had plenty of other options to choose from.

Not the one she might have wished, unfortunately. Had she been given free reign, she would have severed him completely from the Essence and left him a shriveled husk outside of her master’s grand plan. But no, hers was the power to push and pull, not to cut or break.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

So be it. If she could not sever his connection, then she would pull upon those threads which caused the greatest chaos. His guardianship of the Sisters, his abilities to shape and control the world through their influence, was her target. In times past, had she been awake, she likely would not have interfered in this manner. The sisters had once been a whole entity, their guardians had been within the systems limitations just as surely as the Lich which she now worked alongside. But with the sisters split, with Tolliver’s strange powers growing by leaps and bounds… No.

So she reached into him with her power, wrapped unseen hands around specific threads of the Essence flowing through him, and pulled.