Max

In a place slightly closer to home ...

What in the world am I doing?

The wind rages around me as the lost souls continue their endless march. No one bothers to spare me a second glance. After all, I'm already on all fours, desperately hugging the ground to avoid being sucked into Foundation Four's pit. And the moment my grip loosens, I'll be thrown into the carcass of the dead goddess to be devoured without any further ceremony. Foundation Four's gravitational pull increases a few notches, steadily dragging me forward.

My operative powers haven't returned, despite me getting closer to Foundation Four. The gamble I made failed.

Damnit.

The invisible force continues to reel me in and I flatten myself across the ground, my fingers digging as deep into the earth as they can. A losing battle. I'm just playing out a scene that has occurred countless times in this blasted place already. Some of the lost souls make vague noises of condolence as they march in their loop around the crater.

I've been written off. And I have been here for barely a few hours.

My ruined bulwark makes unhealthy noises as its hull scrapes against the ground. My fingers have reached the very edge of the crater. This is it. Its almost over.

Then the horned head of the dead goddess moves. And her mouth opens with a groan. The lost souls nearly jump in surprise at the string of gibberish coming from Foundation Four. But not me. Because I understand what Foundation Four is saying.

"SPEAKER, REPORT." Flawless earth english.

"Help! HELP!" I yell at the top of my voice, struggling for dear life with the last of my strength.

"COMPLETING LOCK ON TO YOUR POSITION, SPEAKER. ENGAGING TOMBSTONE SYSTEM'S JAMMING PROTOCOL. PLEASE HOLD."

"I can't hold for much longer!" I shriek in panic as my head is dragged over the crater's edge.

"THE CONSENSUS IS FIRING THEIR PSI ARTILLERY AT THE DIRAC SEA AGAIN. WE ARE DOING THE BEST WE CAN IN LIGHT OF THE BACKGROUND INTERFERENCE."

"Oh fuck." I groan, taking in the sight at the bottom of the crater.

Mist churns at the crater's base, but a bright flash of green light immediately scatters it. I blink reflexively, managing to stop my corneas from being burned out. When my eyes open again, I'm greeted by a bird's eye view of a city shrouded in red mist, right at the bottom of the crater. Several towers have been set up in the middle of the city, resembling giant tuning forks. The towers rotate as sinister power gathers at their apex, building into massive braziers of green fire.

"PSI ARTILLERY STRIKE INCOMING. WE RECOMMEND YOU BRACE, SPEAKER."

"Brace where?" I demand as a howl echoes from the depths of the pit. Another invisible yank sends me exposed to empty air by the waist. The wind around me strengthens by several magnitudes as the towers belch their payload of green fire straight through the crater. I cower helplessly as the green fire rushes out of the crater, where it is intercepted by the miniature typhoon. The two forces battle and the green flame is relentlessly ground down, losing its cohesion before dissipating into a swirl of embers.

The Tears of Iros.

"DONE. JAMMING FIELD ESTABLISHED." Foundation Four announces as the carcass of Haiwal starts to emit a static hiss. The invisible force pulling me abruptly disappears and I quickly pull myself back over the ledge to safety.

"Took you guys long enough." I sigh in relief, plopping down on my butt, "That was way too close."

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"YOU HAVE LOST THE HOST BODY?"

"How did you know that?" I question, playing with the loose skin drooping from my face, "Anyway, how did you manage to find me in the first place? I'm probably not in any place that can be located on a map."

"REMEMBER, YOUR BODY IS STILL WITH US ON EARTH. YOU EXPERIENCED AN ADRENALINE SPIKE BEFORE ALL VITAL SIGNS BEGAN TO DECLINE DANGEROUSLY. OUR DOCTORS MANAGED TO STABILIZE YOU."

"Huh, thanks for that." I say sincerely. The Directorate's intervention is probably the only reason why my soul survived the destruction of Don. If my real body died from shock, it would have been curtains for sure.

"AS FOR HOW WE LOCATED YOU, THE TOMBSTONE SIMPLY CONDUCTED A TRACE USING YOUR REAL BODY. IMAGINE OUR SURPRISE WHEN WE DISCOVERED YOU WERE LITERALLY AT FOUNDATION FOUR. WE THEN BEGAN DIRECT INTERFACE WITH YOU."

"Right, I remember something like this in the initial briefing. An operative exists in two worlds at once. Our souls straddle both dimensions." I recall, thinking back to the briefings on the Tombstone System.

"CORRECT. NEVERTHELESS, IF YOU ARE AT FOUNDATION FOUR, IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE FAILED YOUR MISSION."

"I, uh, there was a situation -" I begin to stutter, trying to explain.

"WE UNDERSTAND. THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO PARCEL OUT BLAME, SPEAKER."

"I mean, when I tried to perform the hit on the Saint -" I continue to babble, my mind not quite fully caught up with the situation.

"SPEAKER, PLEASE FOCUS. THE SITUATION HAS BECOME GRIM. THE DIRECTORATE HAS NEITHER THE TIME NOR INCLINATION TO PLAY USELESS BLAME GAMES."

"Uh, how grim exactly?" I question cautiously.

"EXTRAORDINARILY. WITH YOUR DEFEAT, WE NO LONGER HAVE AN OPERATIVE AVAILABLE TO CARRY OUT THE HIT. OUR PLANS ARE IN DANGER."

"Oh, I see." I shrink backward, embarrassment heating up my face, or what's left of it. The Directorate might claim they did not blame me for what happened, but those guys were still sending a veiled message.

"What about Sheryl?" I answer hopefully, "She told us that she wanted to go deep cover using Jasvinder's body."

"OUR SENSORS SHOW THAT OPERATIVE SHERYL HAS CONTROL OVER HER HOST BODY. UNFORTUNATELY, SHE HAS NOT CONTACTED EARTH. WE ALSO HAVE NO WAY OF SENDING HER A MESSAGE."

"What about the others?" I continue in a rush, "Like Wu -"

"OPERATIVES WU AND SARKAR ARE CURRENTLY OCCUPIED IN ASSISTING OPERATIVE LISA'S ASCENSION AS THE SAINT. THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ASSIST."

"But if Lisa ascends, then wouldn't everything be fine then?" I query, "As the Saint, she would be able to fully control Foundation Four and bring the other Divines to heel."

All the Divines are linked together. The Cathedral even has a phrase for it. The Seven who are One. And once Lisa ascends, the Directorate would be able to channel the Tombstone's jammer through her, downing all the Divines in a single blow.

Leaving earth in charge.

"TRUE. BUT WHAT IF THE REAL SAINT RETURNS TO THE CITADEL AND CHALLENGES OPERATIVE LISA? WE WOULD BE LEAVING THINGS TO LUCK, WITH EARTH'S FATE HANGING BY A THREAD."

"Three operatives together?" I scoff, "They can handle anything this world throws at them."

"LIKE YOU COULD?" the Directorate demands, displeasure evident in its voice.

"Uh, no. Sorry." I look down, deflating substantially.

"THEN THERE'S THE PRESENCE OF BLUE OCEAN TO ACCOUNT FOR. NO SPEAKER, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO STAND IDLE. A CONTINGENCY HAS BEEN EXECUTED AT OUR END."

"A contingency?" I repeat, a bad feeling creeping up my spine.

"WE HAVE BEGUN INCREASING EXTRACTION OF DIVINE ENERGY FROM THAT DIMENSION. WE ARE USING CLOSE TO THE TOMBSTONE'S FULL CAPACITY FOR THIS TASK."

"But that's crazy. It would just cause the dirac sea to collapse even faster!" I object heatedly.

"WE WILL NOT LEAVE WITH NOTHING. THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO THE DIRECTORATE OR TO EARTH. IF OPERATIVE LISA COMPLETES HER MISSION, WE CAN STABILIZE THE DIRAC SEA. IF NOT, LET IT COLLAPSE. IT MATTERS LITTLE."

"Hey, I noticed something in the bombardment by the Consensus just now." I say nervously, "I could actually see out of the dirac sea when their psi artillery was charging up. Like, I could look into the real world. The real world of this dimension."

"YES. THE DIRAC SEA IS ALREADY THINNING OUT. SOON THE HEAVEN OF THAT DIMENSION'S EXILED GODS WILL CRACK LIKE AN EGG. ALL THE MORE REASON FOR US TO EXTRACT AS MUCH DIVINE ENERGY AS POSSIBLE WHILE WE CAN."

"Because the Consensus will grab everything if their psi artillery manages to do its job?" I conclude.

"PRECISELY. THE CONSENSUS WILL SCOOP UP ALL THE REMAINING DIVINE ENERGY LIKE SPILLED EGG YOLK IF THEIR PSI ARTILLERY DESTROYS THE REST OF THEIR FORMER GODS."

"Like how Haiwal was killed in the Time of Strife." I sigh, rubbing my leathery torn up brow in consternation.

"WITH ALL SEVEN DIVINES DEAD, THERE WILL NO LONGER BE A LIVE TRANSMISSION LINE TO THAT DIMENSION. THE TOMBSTONE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A CONNECTION TO ANY OF THE FOUNDATIONS. WE WILL BE EXPELLED."

"I get it. Serious problems need serious measures." I nod despondently. Wow, I really fucked up this time, huh?

"HOWEVER -"

"However?" I immediately perk up.

"YOUR PRESENCE AT THE BREACH IN THE DIRAC SEA AFFORDS US A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY."

"Unique? What do you mean by that?" I get back up to my feet, heart beating fast.

"THIS IS HIGHLY THEORETICAL. BUT OUR SCIENTISTS ASSURE US THAT IT WILL WORK."

"Out with it then." I urge, "Anything is better than this place. Take my word for it."

"WE WILL BE USING THE TOMBSTONE TO REDEPLOY YOU OPERATIVE MAXIMILLAN."

"But -" I blubber in surprise.

The Directorate interrupts, already having the answer to my incoming question.

"AS YOURSELF. WITHOUT A HOST BODY."