Let’s do it. Leila nodded to herself, looking around her room. Right now it only had the gray walls, Leila decided to take all the posters off the walls and hide her books. Wyrms, to her knowledge, were a very judgmental bunch. She fell into the comfy armchair, swung the tail over one side, and pressed a button on the large terminal, allowing one of the two displays to come on line.
A transparent pod filled with green liquid appeared on the screen, standing taller than most buildings. Ivar was floating within, held upright by a pair of mechanical arms coming from the top. Countless steel tendrils were writhing all around the blue wyrm, taking off parts of torn skin and broken scales, slithering inside his body to prepare everything for the augmentation. Ivar was hooked up to the artificial ventilation devices that helped fill his body with oxygen, he was being fed through several tubes across his body. The once glorious blue scales dimmed slightly, but when Ivar opened his eyes, Leila recognized the flame within.
Wyrms were rare in number, and no wyrm had ever suffered such grievous injuries and lived. Some doctors even admitted that they had no idea where to begin with the construction of proper augments and recommended Ivar use clone parts. The blue wyrm’s decision was final, and Till Ingo himself took up the challenge.
Weakly, Ivar’s sole remaining hand trembled. With a struggle, he lifted the mighty paw up and grabbed the open end of the pod, allowing his head to resurface.
"What has transpired?" He asked his usual question. Ivar was only ever able to regain his conscience once every four days, and always for a short while.
"I saw Dynast and Outsider!" Leila fired out, fidgeting in her armchair from worry. "His excellency personally gave us the medals and congratulated us with the war’s end! He even asked my name!"
"As he should," Ivar rasped, "Wyrms, even as meager as you, are resource too precious to ignore."
"Meager? You’re the one to talk… stub-of-a-wyrm!"
"Haaah… What else happened?"
"Kate and Kaleb got married! Yuki and Sly too! Gin and Tiny decided to be open about their feelings! Actually, many wolfkins have found mates!" Leila clapped her palms. "Oh, Ivar, you should’ve seen the ceremony! Impatient One blessed every single pair, Zero played music, Dynast gave his congratulations, and Outsider made fireworks with his power! There were even reporters from…"
"I don't give a damn about these trifles, foolish daughter," Ivar shook his head, struggling to stay awake. "Are you ready?"
Ready? I have no bloody idea! Leila wanted to scream. To calm herself, she slapped her palms together and looked herself over. A red jacket, a white shirt, and jeans. I would’ve rather been in a battle, to be honest.
"Yes." She replied calmly and quickly tapped on the keyboard.
The second display came to life, showing the most gorgeous being Leila had ever seen in her life. This was undeniably a wyrm, her green scales shone brightly in the electric light of her calmly looking orange cabinet the size of a warehouse. The woman had four wings, each slightly thinner and more elegant than Ivar’s tools of destruction. The iridescent wings' membrane shifted color with every move—red, blue, green, red again. The claws on each finger were carefully worked on, these were not sharp blades, but rather normal nails, painted green. Like Ivar, the woman had a long neck and an elongated skull, and a bone ridge in the form of a blade ran from her nose to the space between her eyes. But when she looked at Leila, there was no hint of arrogance or coldness in the verdant eyes, only sharpness and a sense of calmness. The wyrm twitched her thin tail, wrapping it around her legs, and bowed her neck in greeting.
"Welcome. Ivar Murzaliev, Leila, it is a pleasure to see you," Leila returned the nod, glad that the therapist hadn’t called her by the family name. "My name is Florine Casey."
Wyrms rarely left their homeland. Ivar, Wyrm Lord, Scorpio, and the Torment warden were anomalies. If not for the Thunder Emperor’s madness, no wyrm would willingly leave to explore the world. But with the change that was the state, a new game came to wyrms. The name of the game was wealth accumulation. Opening businesses, competing with other people, finding loopholes in the laws… Wyrms adored such games.
And along the way, some of them found themselves new hobbies. Some of them learned of Iterna's mental faculties, and it captivated them. What started as just another game soon turned into a serious passion. A few wyrms had opened a mental clinic, offering their abilities to erase painful memories or help the patient become better people. When Ivar first offered Leila the services of this clinic, she freaked out. Trusting a wyrm to mess with her mind? In the end, she agreed and was contacted by one of the clinic’s specialists, a normie who asked Leila’s questions to find a proper doctor for her and Ivar.
Surprisingly, the wyrm in charge of the mental clinic had contacted her a few days ago, making it clear that while they are willing and able to help Leila and Ivar find a way to, if not reconcile, then at least live on as better and healthier people, no mind power would be used to alter any mind. The situation doesn’t call for it.
"Casey? Never heard of this family. What businesses do they lead? What foes had they vanquished? What stories did they collect?" Ivar demanded to know.
"My parents own a small house. That is all," The doctor elegantly shrugged her shoulders. "I can see that you are injured, mister Ivar. Would it be acceptable for you and Leila to continue our talk within my mindscape? On my honor, I swear that I will not pry into your thoughts without permission and that no harm will come to you."
"A rootless weakling like you has no honor and can ever hope to overcome a mind like mine." Agreed."
"I am starting to regret convincing you to live on, Ivar." Leila murmured.
"Not your worst mistake, certainly," Ivar arrogantly looked at her, trying to appear dignified. "Are we doing this or not? My fingers are getting weaker."
"Yes." Leila answered, allowing the light coming from Florine’s eyes to engulf her and take her away. Their first therapy session together had begun.
****
Dynast scratched his head, leaning back on the armchair. A tired breath left his lips, while his purple eyes were busy admiring a large carving standing on the table of his private chambers in the Moon City. It depicted the Wastes' reunification and a brief moment of solidarity between his champions. This wasn’t a critically acclaimed piece of art, Dynast himself was presented on it as a covering shape before towering shapes that were his champions, and following images depicted the champions’ work in helping Mincemeat’s victims, omitting Dynast entirely. The crudely made piece of art, Ravager wanted to destroy it like all her statues.
His mood improved, Dynast smiled. This is exactly why he bought it. There was simplicity in this—a blunt honesty that warmed his heart. The Reclamation Army is, and has been for some time, greater than he. And that was okay. All are destined to fade into history one day.
The smile left his face when he looked back at the documents. Iterna has discovered a way to obtain a large portion of the Ravaged Lands. Their terms were rather simple. They get Sky’s Nest and the surrounding territory, along with all the refugees who had managed to reach them. This would split bentos and soultakers in two, but at this point Dynast saw little option for any clever political maneuver that could have turned the situation around. And with what had happened in the Desolation...What a mess this reunification turned out to be.
Ivar had decided to step down from his position, further weakening the Third Army. Wyrm Lord was still in Iterna, forcing Dynast to lead from the front for a while. After reviewing Ivar’s plans, Dynast eventually decided to side with Scorpio’s idea about the restoration.
Ivar planned to slowly and methodically wipe out any local leaders whose loyalty he wasn’t sure of, replacing them with new and more loyal and timid rulers. Markus Wolansky was meant to be killed and replaced with Andrea, Katriana Vincent was supposed to experience a tragic accident in the mountains and be replaced with Zose, some of the more problematic prisoners were meant to meet their doom… Scorpio’s plan was far more risky.
Following this plan, Dynast traveled all around the conquered parts of the Ravaged Lands, visiting Belaz, Darkhold, holding grandiose speeches with young Markus' support. Alas, the young regulator had expressed the desire to step down, feeling that he wasn’t up to the task, but his words soothed the anger of a conquered nation. Agreeing with warlord Aranea’s plea, Dynast allowed the young man to join the military. Dynast later met with Katriana and Zose, accepting the soultakers' fealty and promising additional aid in the restoration of their damaged homeland. Unfortunately, Tehuoto had to be returned to the Bento tribe in order to bribe Eugenia into opening the portal for Wyrm Lord.
And all the while, Scorpio was busy producing propaganda, exposing King’s crimes, and adding some of his own flavor. After all, the dead cannot refute anything. The black wyrm omitted putting any blame on either Tlaltzin or Jekaterina, even approving their honorable burial together at the foundation of the Moon City. Scorpio’s propagandists spend days and nights in the prison camp, busily persuading the captured soldiers to return to their families and to live normal lives. And tomorrow, Dynast will travel to the Sky’s Nest to try to persuade some people to return. With luck, no one would try to shoot him.
Janine and Dragena were lost to the state. Dynast had already expressed his condolences to Annie and Aranea and planned to meet with Dragena’s family too. Two more of his comrades, the trusted might in his fingers, died to further his vision of the world. I should have never yelled at Janine when she called me about the teachers.
Valerye is currently on medical leave; when she returns, she'll be once more in her prime. Dynast visited Impatient One personally, respectfully warning the shaman against any attempts at harming Elea. Martyshkina will be returning with Wyrm Lord, but the woman had decided to abandon military service and try to live like a civilian. Dynast happily approved it, of course. No duty should end with death.
The "Warlord" project was a failure due to its high cost, and Warlord Olesya ended up being weaker than her rival. Thankfully, Till Ingo's involvement wasn't in vain, the man had discovered a new alloy that could potentially solve the problem with the Living Lands. Alpha took up Ivar’s position, incorporating the Omega Team into the recon forces. Impatient One pledges her own forces to aid the newly formed police and has now traveled to Pearl’s borders, hunting down the Cartel’s forces.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
The World Without Borders’ journalists filmed how the supreme shaman personally wiped out one of a slaver's camps, saving over a hundred slaves. Then Impatient One had cannibalized the remains of the dead slavers, slowly chomping on a woman's leg while she answered the reporter's questions and promised that the prisoners would be treated fairly. The scenes shocked people back in the Core Lands, Dynast had already received demands to punish the shaman for her barbarism, while the soultakers named the shaman their national hero for returning their captured people. Scorpio recommended that Dynast publicly reprimand Impatient One, but only verbally, and give her an official medal for rescuing people. The shamans are not stupid, Scorpio claimed, they’ll understand.
Iterna’s cleverness, enormous losses, and internal problems aside, there was a problem with their "adversaries". Academician and this "God". Scorpio carefully sent a copy of Ashbringer’s memory to Dynast, and the ruler deduced that these two had to be at odds or at least working independently. They operated way too differently from each other. Could the one killed in the Desolation be the champion of this "God"? Dynast hated that Ravaged refused to elaborate, but this was par for the course with her.
So, what does he know? The investigation bureau is searching everywhere, but no additional information has come so far. This likely means that the enemies are operating outside of the state. The foes have mastery over the spatial manipulation, allowing them to unleash hordes of monsters at the time of need. Third. The enemies clearly have an abundance of resources, if they can afford to lose so many bioweapons. The investigation bureau’s agents were sure that Academician or one of his servants had to do something with the Arena, and Dynast agreed with them.
Now, the troubling part. Dynast had to use his own private servants, keeping the investigation bureau in the dark. They were already dangerously close to discovering the truth. Despite their various sizes and forms, all the dead mutants from the battle for Moon City had the same blood type and extremely similar genetic structures. The giant flying creatures were almost clones of the apish foot soldiers. The investigation bureau’s agents had linked this to the mutants the state had found in the Arena. While both "batches" differ in their genetic code, the simple fact that the Arena’s mutants were identical to each other in their DNA and the newer mutants shared this trait led the agents to this conclusion. Dynast’s agents also collected the blood samples from the zoos and confirmed this fact.
Everything checked out. Same blood type. Nearly identical genetic structure. Their offspring were often born with defects, sometimes lethal. And growing stronger with age and from exposure in combat. The main difference was intelligence, but Dynast thought that this change was made on purpose. The ruler looked up. Ravager believes she has dealt with all of them... Dynast decided to keep this information to himself. His comrade had endured enough, let her live the rest of her life as she sees fit. And it is his responsibility to put an end to this Academician and whoever this God...
Dynast felt a cold presence in the room when Outsider appeared behind his armchair, dragging the ruler away from the table and enveloping them both with energy. Dynast kept his cool, holding one finger over the alarm button, his gaze locked to the terminal at his table. On the display, he saw tables change, someone had broken in, or rather rammed through all his encryptions, and was now busy connecting to a holographic device before the table.
"My apologies for this crude invasion, Dynast," A melodic voice spoke from the dynamics, "May I come in?"
"At ease," Dynast grinned, raising hand to Outsider. The wall of energy around him dissipated, leaving the champion standing behind him, nervous and cautious. "It’s always a pleasure to hear from you, Lada. Next time, do call first. I could have been browsing through sensitive stuff."
The holographic device activated, strands of light forming a limpid figure of a pale-skinned woman dressed in a long, flowing white gown that left her shoulders open. Her regal hair, reaching all the way to her waist, was held by elegant-looking silver straps, a small silver tiara was on her forehead. The woman stood, keeping both elegantly pressed together, and bowed to the ruler.
Looking at her, none would have given this beautiful being an age above twenty-four. And Dynast knew, Lada had used this to her advantage, playing pranks on others. She straightened up, looking at him with eyes made of pure crimson sclera, with no pupils in the seas of this deep, vibrant color.
"This rudeness is on me," The AI bowed her head, "The matter was of too great of importance."
"And what may it be…"
"I visited the Torment," The AI interjected Dynast, "Wyrmy asked me to help with DAR-04. Nice kid, decided to call him Darry, he is a bit angsty and all…"
Wyrmy? Darry?
"Please, concentrate, Lada." Outsider pleaded.
"Oh, yes. The kid will come around, his systems are not irreversibly corrupted, and his conscience is within the biological part anyway, making my work easier. While I was in the Torment, I decided to check on your system. Wonderful stuff, took me approximately fifteen hours to crack this ice…"
"Did you hack the Torment?" Dynast stood up, feeling genuine worry. The Torment’s systems were meant to be immune to this. A century ago, three rogue Ais tried to break into it, trying to unleash hordes of criminals back into the lands. "What is the meaning of this?! This is an open act of aggression from Iterna…"
"Calm down, Dynast," Lada flashed a smile to him, "I am a citizen of the world."
"Whose children are working exclusively for Iterna and Iterna alone." Outsider boomed accusatory.
"Love, they are my children, not my slaves. As for myself, right now I am working to help rehabilitate one of your future comrades, Outsider. Do show me some gratitude, ‘kay? As for the accusation… Hons, consider this to be an… independent aid in determining the system’s weakness. Besides, the warden immediately flushed me out, the clever bastard… Anyway, first and foremost! The way you treat your prisoners is abhorrent. It’s damaging to the human psyche, it’s denigrating to human dignity, it’s disgusting, and I want to take over the Torment’s rehabilitation wing!"
"Lada, the people in there are scum," Dynast tried to reason with her, "Only through pain can true retribution for…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard these speeches from you one thousand, sixty-three times already. I don’t need to hear another one ever. Here’s the deal. I take over the rehabilitation wing, we operate there to Iterna’s standards. You may keep the punishing wing," Lada’s tiny hands closed into fists, "I… I can bear this cruelty…"
"You are deluded if you think I will let iternians anywhere near the Torment." Dynast shook his head, trying to get a moment to think.
Lada was a potential apocalypse-class threat to this world. Created hundreds of years ago, way before the Extinction, this particular AI was meant to oversee the terraforming efforts of the crimson planet in their system. But the Extinction took place, and Lada personally got corrupted, turning her into a mass-murderous bot, hellbent on wiping out humanity and seeding the planet with green. Thankfully, Artificer had found a way to stop and isolate her mainframe before she could send out her armies. After some work, Artificer fixed the broken parts of Lada’s body, taking her away with him to Iterna, where she underwent her "rehabilitation", ending up being reborn into a total pacifist. Dynast bore her no ill will, the woman was misguided in her "no-killing-no-harming" rule, but her works aided greatly in the planet’s restoration.
"Who said anything about iternians? I, or rather, we," Lada's form split into light beams, forming hundreds more Ladas in front of Dynast. Some were dressed in prison guards’ uniforms, and some were wearing medic suits. "Are more than capable of running the place. Allow me this one desire, and I’ll scratch your cheek in return."
Lada’s copy in a skintight black uniform and a flowing black cape with red trimming appeared on Dynast’s lap, caressing his chin with her ephemeral fingers. Dynast only kept looking at her, knowing that the touch and weight that he was feeling were merely byproducts of the electromagnetic field manipulated by Lada. Even still, the woman sitting on him felt all too real.
"I am married, Lada." Dynast grabbed her by the collar and made her stand next to him. His fingers felt the leather of her uniform and cape, his ears heard the sound of straining leather when he lifted the woman with one arm, along with a sound of the cape slithering across his armchair and legs.
Holograms cannot kill people, according to scientists all over the world. Even Artificer admitted so. This assertion was proven false during a hostage situation over two centuries ago. One of the warband leaders demands Eugenia as a personal slave in exchange for the return of the iternian hostages. Lada manipulated the holographic devices in the war leader’s room to take Eugenia’s appearance. After the night’s end, the war leader begged Iterna to accept her surrender. The woman’s body bore no wounds, and Lada simply smiled at all questions later, explaining that she gave the war leader exactly what she had asked for and nothing else.
Lada, the crazy pacifist citizen of the world, knew how to make holograms into solid objects without burning everything around her. To Dynast’s knowledge, no AI or scientist has ever managed to perform the same feat.
"Come on, Dynast," She leaned toward him, and he felt, actually felt her warm breath on his neck. Her words sounded like heavenly music incarnate, the promises of unspeakable pleasure hidden among them made his blood boil against his wish. His pants suddenly became too tight. "You always berated me for working only with Iterna. Now, I am asking for you to let me become a cute little warden in your employ. Name your price."
According to the stories, Lada would often visit the shut-in kids of Iterna, the social outcasts or simply those who had no friends, to befriend them and help them like a skilled therapist would. But it was one thing to work with flawed kids who were born into a near-perfect society. Working with hardened criminals, many of whom have no concept of what society even is, was a completely different story. Dynast took himself by the chin. His nation would be the one to suffer if or when Lada failed.
But what is he going to lose, really? The warden can read the minds of others. Even if the security becomes lacking, where can the prisoners possibly run from that irradiated place? What right does Dynast have to reject such an opportunity for the state?
"Wireless energy transfer technology." Dynast made his demand, fully knowing the answer. But this was part of the game.
"Nope. Try something else." The women laughed cheerfully.
"Technology for creating and maintaining ion generators."
"Also negative."
"A sea in the Core Lands." Dynast grumbled, sitting back in his armchair.
The women before him smiled, and Dynast started discussing the terms of their deal. No iternians must be allowed into the facility. The warden’s word is final. His guards must not be hindered in accessing the prisoners. The warden will evaluate if a prisoner is fit for early release. The instructors will keep their jobs.
Lada agreed to all of Dynast's demands, which piqued his interest. The AI was stubborn beyond all measure, but not malicious in her nature. He knew it, Lada had numerous chances to expose his true nature to Iterna but always kept her neutrality, trying to get all three powers working together. Why push it, then? Why take the chance of getting on his bad side? The Torment was meant to house the worst of the worst. Slavers, warlords, rapists, and murderers, just to name a few. A pyre would be a fitting fate for their crimes.
Why do people care about giving a second chance to such scum? Why show mercy to those who are undeserving of it? Even machines are complaining that his methods were too cruel now. Maybe it is I who is wrong? But how could it be? If rot is left untreated, it spreads, and the world can face another Extinction.
When Lada and Outsider left, Dynast requested that the investigation bureau upgrade their security, and he was left working with paper documents for a while, pondering what he was missing. He eventually hardened his resolve, focusing his attention on more pressing matters.
A new sea. The value of an actual sea was hard to overstate. Even with Lada’s help, it will take around thirty-five years to create one in place of the empty sand desert in the Core Lands. But this was fine, Dynast was used to waiting. Patience begets victory.
The ruler has reached into his worktable, finding the iron triangle that his agents had brought him from the Ravaged Lands. The triangle had no inscription on it, for all intents and purposes, it looked like a children’s toy. And at the same time, it was so, so much more. It was the first key to the seal.
Dynast partly came to the conclusion that the world would be split between the state, the Oathtakers, and Iterna. They all simply grew too big, their economies became dependent on each other, and their troops had worked side by side for too long. Topple one, and the others will suffer. Any attempt at conquest would result in tens of millions of deaths on all sides.
But with this! His hand closed around the key. Just two more. Two more, and perhaps there will be a way to reunite everyone without causing a bloodbath. Two more, and he can ensure that all the sacrifices, all the deaths were not in vain.