Chapter 94: The Mausoleum.
We entered through the breach in the outer walls. Passing through stagnant ponds that, contrary to normal logic, carried no insect larvae or bits of blossoming plant or fungal matter.
It was as if some mad janitor had taken care to sterilize the place throughout all these years. Spraying ethanol and other disinfectants on every surface they could find.
‘Not that it would have kept the kaiju away. Which is even more weird because they inexplicably did stay away.’
My Intruders were already flooding the place too. Though they at least seemed unbothered by the lack of life.
Indeed, they seemed unbothered by anything that was going on in general. Their minds, or what passed for minds among their kinds, singularly focused on finding anything or anyone that may not like me.
I used my cobweb then, to get a better feel for them as individual units.
Solomonling
(Intruder) (Rare)
(Psy: 700 / 700)
An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter.
These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter’s domain.
Solomonlings represent the least devout of those chosen to continue their service after death. They, like all of Solomonite variants, are re-born in the visage of humans, no matter what they originally were. They can usually be spotted in the service of Solomonite Chanters, where they act as shock troops or as the entourage of Solomonite Flagellants, where they lavish cruel punishments upon those who have strayed from the word of Solomon Carter.
These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them.
Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter’s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter’s will and defend his honor regardless of cost.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 3.
These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Chanter
(Intruder) (Rare)
(Psy: 1500 / 1500)
An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter.
These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter’s domain.
Solomonite Chanters represent those who wholly accepted Solomon Carter into their mortal lives. Upon being exposed to his presence, they chose to travel throughout their worlds, spreading his word, healing the sick and combatting corruption and injustice wherever it might be found. Once given sternal life, their faith is redoubled and they gladly choose to continue their mission beyond the death of their mortal bodies. Giving succor to the needy and inspiring the faithful to new heights of raw psychic power.
These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them.
Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter’s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter’s will and defend his honor regardless of cost.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 7.
These Intruders have access to [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], and [Incite II] at level 10.
These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Flagellant.
(Intruder) (Rare)
(Psy: 1500 / 1500)
An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter.
These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter’s domain.
Solomonite Flagellants represent those who did not convert to the word of Solomon Carter and further chose to harm or persecute his loyal followers. Solomonite Flagellants are therefore made to serve their betters unto eternity. Only enjoying the bliss of Solomon Carter’s realm after hunting down those mortals who would follow in their footsteps. They use Solomon Carter’s gifts for healing but rather, to inflict pain and suffering on those like them. They do this in equal parts to satisfy their base thirst for blood and to spare their victims an eternity in their own roles.
These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them.
Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter’s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter’s will and defend his honor regardless of cost.
Scour the Guilty: These Intruders are compelled to inflict pain and suffering wherever they manifest and cannot remain in prime material reality for long if these urges are not acted upon. These Intruders lose 50 Psy per ever ten minutes that they are not engaging in combat.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 5.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 5.
These Intruders have access to [Torment IV], [Mindscape II] and [Incite II] at level 10.
These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Gnomeburner.
(Intruder) (Rare)
(Psy: 2500 / 2500)
An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter.
These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter’s domain.
Solomonite Gnomeburners represent those saved entities within Solomon Carter’s realm that saw the true evil of Gnomes once their master made his return to Pandemonium. They are created to be lesser copies of the Cherub of Austin, who follow in their example to cleanse the rot of gnomes from the face of creation. Solomonlings, Solomonite Chanters and Solomonite Flagellants may evolve into Solomonite Gnomeburners given enough time and gnomish deaths at their hand.
These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them.
Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter’s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter’s will and defend his honor regardless of cost.
Scour the Gnome: These Intruders are compelled to inflict pain and suffering on gnomes and cannot remain in prime material reality for long if these urges are not acted upon. These Intruders lose 150 Psy per ever ten minutes that they are not engaging in combat with gnomes.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 10.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 5.
These Intruders have access to [Torment IV], [Pyrokinesis III], [Telekinesis III], [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], [Mindscape II] and [Incite II] at level 15.
These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Anchorite.
(Intruder) (Rare)
(Psy: 3500 / 3500)
An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter.
These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter’s domain.
Solomonite Anchorites represent those martyrs who faced persecution for their faith in Solomon Carter, in a time when his control was not yet total and unshakable. Those who become Anchorites took up his cause and stood up to corrupt rulers or advocated for the freedom of slaves. Choosing to save the weak without regard for their own well-being. Their new potent forms celebrate their sacrifice as they are given the power to continue their acts of charity for all time.
These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them.
Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter’s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter’s will and defend his honor regardless of cost.
Shield of his People: These Intruders are compelled to stand in the way of danger so that weaker entities may live. These Intruders lose 50 Psy per every minute that they are not affecting a living creature with their passive boosting or healing abilities.
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These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 10.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 7.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Shifter abilities at level 5.
These Intruders have access to [Battle Ballad IV], [Telekinesis III], [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], [Mindscape II] and [Tranquil Mind II] at level 20.
These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Inquisitor.
(Intruder) (Rare)
(Psy: 4500 / 5500)
An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter.
These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter’s domain.
Solomonite Inquisitors are the second-most ardent of believers that Solomon Carter has ever had. Lagging only behind Solomonite Paladins in their righteous zeal. These souls gave up all their mortal ties upon first hearing the word of Solomon Carter and embarked on holy wars of conquest or subverted existing power structures in his name. In death, they seek to continue their work by making it so that no mortal is bereft of his blessings.
These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them.
Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter’s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter’s will and defend his honor regardless of cost.
Mouth of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to turn those who act or think against Solomon Carter to his word and protection. These Intruders are forced to conspire against those who resist their teachings and may become obsessed with systematically destroying targets they find problematic on social, mental, and physical levels. These Intruders lose 50 Psy per minute if they resist these impulses but may be anchored in prime material realities for extended periods if they are currently engaged with a target.
Brand of the Guilty: These Intruders may brand a living target for the pleasure of The Tall Man. Branded targets are singled out for duty as Flagellants upon death.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 15.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 7.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Shifter abilities at level 15.
These Intruders have access to all Tier I Projector abilities at level 7.
These Intruders have access to [Battle Ballad IV], [Psychoshock IV], [Torment IV], [Pyrokinesis III], [Telekinesis III], [Life Hunt III], [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], [Incite II], [Mindscape II] and [Tranquil Mind II] at level 20.
These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
By themselves, this would already be far past the point of overkill.
Add in the Tall Man silently stalking behind us and it was a wonder that I could still feel small and uneasy.
Yet the feeling was annoyingly persistent. Refusing to leave me in spite of the sheer weight of numbers pressing down the moldy forgotten hallways of this place.
‘Actually, no.’ I noted with some confusion. ‘There isn’t actually any mold on the walls beyond the entrance that had been gouged out. Which is a wonder in and of itself.’
That only made my instincts more obnoxious in the way they kept pestering me. All my knowledge about the subject insisting that if mold could be somewhere, it most definitely was there unless people were fighting it back with chemicals or other such repellents.
‘But hey, what’s another mystery to add to the pile?’
The lights began to flicker on then. Despite there being no energy source in the whole damned pyramid and the fixtures being at least a few centuries old.
“Okay, someone tell me that was caused by the veil breaking down.” I said aloud.
“Of course it was!” Serpent-Tongue exclaimed, with no small amount of excitement. “This humble one merely thought that the master and his allies could do with some proper illumination! So that all may stare in awe at the majesty with which he conducts himself!”
“Nice. Great job. Don’t do it again. We’ll rely on torches from now on.”
And so we did. Lighting up whatever dried bits of wood we could find outside before heading even deeper into the place.
From then on, well. I wasn’t scared, strictly speaking. But I did find it odd how off-putting a common office environment could be when it wasn’t lit properly.
I don’t know how else to put it.
It was like searching the ruins of Chernobyl or something. Getting an eerie glimpse of normality through the lens of a bygone era and the knowledge of the doom that had befallen the people here.
“So, does anyone else have any ideas as to why there’s a big kaiju-made hole on the side of the pyramid and no life, kaiju or otherwise inside the actual thing?”
“Maybe they came and left soon after?” Slab offered. “I don’t see there being much to forage inside the actual walls. We’ve been walking for twenty minutes and the only things we’ve come across are the steel outlines of furniture whose leathers and cushions have rotted off. That and old bricks of plastic filled with wires.”
“Computers.” I corrected. “They’re called computers.”
“No. They were called computers. Once. I’m fairly certain my description is more correct now, given how none of them look like they’ve been turned on for centuries.”
Well, he had a point there at least.
While I could still sense working computers down in the basement sub-levels, the things we found up here might as well have been paperweights for all the good they were.
A few had even been purposely smashed in by mutated claws. Indicating that kaiju-spawn did make it here at one point or another.
Though their motives for doing so were still a mystery.
If they wanted to bring down this place, then they had plenty of time to go about doing so while humanity delved ever deeper into the earth’s crust. It wasn’t as if there was anything up here capable of stopping them.
But that hadn’t happened and I could still not arrive at anything resembling a logical reason.
The air inside the pyramid felt different from the air outside of it. Despite there being no objective difference as far as I could tell. It was as if my sense of sight and sound and smell kept insisting that nothing was wrong, while my proprioception argued that there were many, many oddities about the walls and the floor and the overall lack of life.
Moreover, my psionic senses seemed to disagree as well.
My cobweb, with all its Telepathic might and future seeing capabilities, told me that it was merely a stagnant pile of rubble.
It was empty and dead now, and it would only hold life when people came back. When new generations came and tore apart the structure to build their own homes and tools. The old and decayed serving as fertilizer for the civilizations that would follow.
I foresaw children playing nearby then. Seeing years and years ahead of the current hour and watching as a pale boy tackled a red-haired girl into the ground. The latter turning him around and shoving him. Both laughing until their faces were red and raw and their lungs struggled to draw in fresh breaths.
I foresaw their later years as they saw each other as a man and a woman, instead of just friends.
I foresaw their own children playing in a bigger house, a bigger neighbourhood. More and more adults having pruned the pyramid for their own needs.
Then I saw their children’s children playing in even deeper parts of the pyramid without consequences. Even after two more layers of walls and support beams had been taken apart and re-purposed.
None of them seemed to suffer from being near the hollow tomb.
At the same time, [Predator’s Instincts] really wasn’t having it.
It kept blaring like an alarm. The hairs on my body standing straight and bristling at the unknown force.
‘No. Not unknown.’ I thought sourly. ‘There is something eerily familiar about this place. Something I have known before.’
If I had to compare that feeling to anything, it would be more or less the same as what I’d felt after meeting Dolce for the first time. Way out there in the pitch-black abyss beyond the Labyrinth’s normal borders.
It felt as though I had come across some higher Tier of predator. Something that could not be bothered to actively hunt me, only because it was so much stronger than me that the effort wasn’t worth it.
‘And yet, I can’t see a future where any of us are harmed.’ I considered. ‘And I know that the futures I see are not illusions of false positives of any kind. We aren’t in danger. Strictly speaking.’
Yet that did not mean the danger wasn’t there.
Fighting the Dragon had been a wakeup call in that regard. [Limited Omniscience] was potent, but not to the point where it would make any encounter a breeze. If I was fighting another Esper who was more or less on my level…
Oh.
Ooooohhh.
I turned to Dusty.
“Man, you ancestors were horrible, horrible people.”
“Where did that come from?” She asked. Obviously taken aback by my comment.
I connected our minds and explained what I’d figured out.
“Oh.” She said.
“Oooooh. That’s really bad. Wait! How did that even happen?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Lots of information to parse through right now, but I imagine it had something to do with space exploration. Maybe they were trying to build a prototype wormhole or… actually. Never mind. I just saw the vision. That’s exactly what happened.”
She scowled.
“You’re telling me that this world was doomed by…”
“No!” I corrected her. “Of course not. There’s nothing here that could make Kaiju like that. Not in the way they came out at least. The people had to actually work with what they found. It is still completely on them.”
I glanced her way.
“Which might explain how easily the people here found and tampered with Esper powers. That… could be a problem later down the line. Potentially.”
“What are you people talking about?” Glossy asked from the back.
“It’s nothing!” I called back to the main group. “Nothing at all. Also on an unrelated note, Mittens? Could you come over here for a second.”
“Mittens appears!” Anezka’s possessed face answered. Mittens moving her body over to where me and Dusty had been whispering. “Mittens is near! Mittens is here!”
“Yeah yeah. Love you too. Now, how much Psy would it take to, oh, I don’t know. Wipe this pyramid off the face of the earth forever?”
Anezka’s face twisted into a rictus grin.
“Mittens imagines. Mittens considers. Mittens thinks it a mere trifle.”
He said at once.
“Mittens is in the walls and in the floors. Mittens is in the glass panels and steel doors. Mittens is in the stagnant water and the deadened air. Mittens savours the history tinged with dark despair. Mittens knows no songs that were sang here. Mittens knows a happy future will very soon appear. Mittens will happily knock down the pillars for his master. Mittens shall dye the swamp a lovely alabaster.”
That sounded good enough for me, given what I’d just deduced.
“Okay. Keep bringing Intruders along and cover the whole interior. Take anything that isn’t nailed down, but be very, very careful with the machines. In fact, make sure to take any computers you find back to the manse. Keep them safe and keep them dry. It is very important to me that you do so.”
Mittens nodded and I turned back to the rest of the party.
“Okay guys! That’s enough! Nothing to see here! You can all go back home!”
Glossy stared at me as if I were speaking Mandarin.
“The fuck do you mean, go back home? After we came all this way?”
“Yes.” I said simply. “That is exactly what I need from you all. I have the Intruders here in case I need to carry anything and I pretty much figured what made this place so scary to the kaiju. Believe you me, they were right to be scared. I wouldn’t even be staying if it weren’t for the computers in the basement. Now get going.”
----------------------------------------
It took two other warriors to carry her out. Kicking and screaming the whole way.
In her mind, this was some great injustice I was committing. Keeping Slab and Dusty here so they could claim all the glory later.
If only she knew.
“All right then. Let’s get going.” I told them.
Slab and Dusty nodded at once and continued to follow me down the tunnels. Past a few re-enforced steel containment doors and out of commission turrets.
From there, it was another hundred metres or so of stairways. All going down, down, down. Deeper into the bowels of the earth.
Every other intersection contained either a collection of cubicles, or else another chemical lab or machine shop. All of them placed behind two or three more layers of shock-resistant glass and thick, unrelenting concrete.
In truth, the equipment in each one would have made the old me salivate like a starving bloodhound. This version of me knew better though.
In fact, every subsequent step made me more and more hesitant to take anything out. No matter how banal it might seem. The risk for potential failures or oversights was much too grave, after all.
Eventually, we reached the basement level. Or at least, what the designers had intended to look like the basement level.
I searched the place top to bottom with my cobweb once more. Making damn sure that not a single one of its cells had ever been here.
Then I called on the gaggle of Intruders that had been streaming in just behind us.
“Okay guys! Here we are. As I said, take everything that isn’t nailed down. Then take the nailed stuff too. All the loot we salvage goes to the mansion first. I want guards posted around every item. From the smallest pen to those industrial fans over there. If anything, and I mean anything, so much as twitches, you are to burn it. Down to the atomic level. Then you burn everything around it too. Just in case.”
The Solomonlings giggled past me. Their little hands picking up computers and monitors and keyboards by the score.
Anchorites followed after them. Their massive, rock-solid forms picking up desks and old extra servers as if they were paperweights.
I nodded at them and made for the hidden entrance to the actual basement floor.
“Dusty? Would you do the honors?”
She kicked it. Making the hunk of titanium bend inwardly.
Then she kicked it again and again and again.
By the time she was done, ten minutes had passed and all my Intruders had stripped the room down to the copper wiring inside the walls.
“On second thought. Take the copper too.” I ordered them. “Not like the natives are going to use it anytime soon.”
Then I turned to Dusty, whose chest was heaving from the exertion.
“Excellent work. As always.”
“It doesn’t feel excellent from where I’m standing.” She groaned. “That took way longer than It should have.”
“On the contrary.” I rebutted. “It was much faster than I imagined. The barricades from this point on should be on the higher end of excessive. Anything else would be the height of stupidity.”
I turned to the beckoning darkness. Torch in hand.
“I mean, honestly. They might not have known exactly what they were dealing with, but even someone who was tap-dancing down the lab as a mad scientist must have known the repercussions of it getting loose.”
I chuckled dryly.
“Your ancestors must have been borderline insane to not burn it the second they found it, but even they had some sense. Even if it wasn’t enough to save them. Honestly, who would dream of leaving a piece of the Seeking Drake unguarded?”