The realm is dying. The words hung in the air like a weighted blanket, stiffing further conversation. There was an element of unreality to it as if those specific words strung together didn't make any sense. Arthur didn't even know why he was reacting so strongly to the revelation. The realm had survived for seventeen thousand years. It would certainly survive for a few thousand more.
It's because I know I'll still be around. Arthur knew exactly how powerful he was and if things went well, he knew just how powerful he would become. Unless the fallen realm suddenly ceased to be a threat, this would eventually become his fight. So long as he lived long enough- which he certainly would considering how high his Draconic Vitality was getting- war would find him. I guess that's why I'm taking this so seriously, Arthur realised. This isn't some abstract threat but my inevitable future. One day, he would have to fight, or die. Unless I suddenly drop dead, that is, the more cynical part of his brain reminded him.
"So I get that we've got doomsday approaching sooner or later," Arthur said. "That still doesn't explain why you got so angry at the end of the last fight. It didn't even look like you were angry at Frankenstein either, so what was it?"
Iris didn't answer straight away. She bit her thumbnail and chewed on it, a stress response that she somehow managed to make look cool.
"Long story short, there are multiple phases to a planet's integration into the System Collective. The first phase, the one you're currently in, usually lasts six months give or take a few days."
She gestured at herself. "During that phase, a world is allowed to adapt to the changes brought on by the planet's evolution. We also limit the contact and interference of alien races to those who can claim some kind of familial connection to the planet. People like Ayesha who have a single parent from the planet and their entourages, though there are a whole new set of rules to dictate who they're allowed to bring."
"To sum things up, we like to take a hands-off approach in the first phase of integration and let the native population find their feet." She smiled sadly at Arthur. "That's why we didn't interfere with threats like Shade and the Silver Rose even when they started breaking galactic law. Even the Lich Queen falls into the category of what we allow the natives of a fresh planet to deal with themselves, though I'd normally expect the integration administrator to send more assistance. I'm guessing it's a mixture of the Harvester's agent showing up here and a few other Anomalies." Iris said the word with a strange emphasis and looked at him pointedly.
"You're staring at me like that's my fault," Arthur grumbled.
The seer chuckled. "I'll get to that soon. The most important part of the first phase of integration is that we, and by that I mean... hmm, how would it translate to English? Exercitus Systematis. The System's Army protects the planet. You see, the moment a world evolves for the first time and reaches tier 1, it becomes a point through which the fallen realm can launch an invasion into our own. Of course, as a tier-1 planet, the world will only have to face threats limited to the same tier and a few weaker enemies from the tier above."
Arthur could see where this was going now. He'd be an idiot not to figure it out.
"During the first integration phase, the established planets handle the invaders for us, don't they?"
It wasn't really a question. Arthur already knew the answer.
Iris nodded. "For the first six months, we handle all the threats a planet faces from the fallen realm. We have to if we want the natives to survive long enough to become useful."
"So where's all this fighting happening?" Arthur asked. "I'm sure we would've noticed a war taking place at our doorsteps or something at least."
"You'd be surprised what we can do with a few well-placed arrays and some ritual magic," Iris smirked and raised an eyebrow suggestively.
"Right now, we've been redirecting all the invading forces to a single point in the north pole where one of our tier-1 battalions is stationed. We've got cloaking magic locking down the whole area and that's after our dimensional mages relocated the death zone into an isolated sub-dimension," Iris said proudly as if she was personally responsible for setting up such an impressive system. Knowing her capabilities with ritual magic, she probably was.
"So what happens when the second phase starts? You stop helping."
"Not exactly, but yes, I guess," Iris replied. "The System's army still deals with any tier-2 threat that tries to make it through but anything else we leave to the natives. We streamline all the invasion points to certain zones and dimensionally relocate the battle zones semi-off-world to limit collateral damage to the planet."
"Like the dungeons in the stories Mathew used to read?"
"Exactly like those stories. Who do you think fed the ideas to Earth's novel market?
Although Arthur knew aliens had played a significant influence in Earth's culture and history, it always surprised him when he was presented with such blatant evidence for it.
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"We try to limit it to one invasion point every hundred miles or so and keep them all landlocked, at least for planets where the native species aren't adapted for aquatic combat. Experience has taught us that this is the best way for a planet to survive and grow."
"So why has the six months been cut down to three for us?" Arthur asked.
All traces of humour immediately vanished from Iris' face.
"You really know how to kill the mood, don't you, Arthur." She shook her head wryly. "It's about time I tell you, I guess. I've beat around the bush long enough. Three months ago, on integration day, a few red flags were raised. For starters, the System spent an exorbitant amount of energy compared to usual and handed out an extremely lucrative Beginner's Quest, one that provided stats outside the normal levelling curve. Both things were noteworthy enough, but what really took the cake, was the notification that someone had returned from the dead. A reincarnator had returned to us."
Iris raised a hand to stall any questions.
"I don't have enough time to explain what a reincarnator is, nor do I have the clearance to tell you, suffice to say such individuals are appointed the title of Anomalies. After meeting you, I can say with certainty that you're not a reincarnator, but no one else knows that. Unfortunately, that's not even the problem. A single anomaly, even one as rare as a reincarnator, isn't enough to hasten the first phase of integration. The problem is... the System found someone far more interesting than a reincarnator. For starters, there's Kazi Alukai. Even for a Prime, his power far exceeds the norm, enough for him to gain anomalous status himself without it. I suspect he would have been a legendary classer if the world hadn't made him Prime. Then we have the Ice Princess, the uncrowned queen of New Normandy. She possesses a tier-4 bloodline that allows her to use a pseudo-tier-5 ether affinity, one step below my hellfire; Void Ice. That's power that galactic empires would go to war over, but not enough to change the millennium-old laws of the integration phase."
She looked at him solemnly. Arthur's mouth was oddly dry and his mind was reeling,
"That responsibility rests solely on your shoulders, an existence unlike any other. You see, Arthur Ward. You are an Originator." Iris said the word like it contained the answers to every question in the universe.
"What's an Originator?"
Iris coughed in embarrassment. "Right, I forget how new you are to all this. You really are great at killing the mood. That was like the mother of all grand reveals. An Originator is a unique existence. Like, that's exactly what they are. Across the vast multiverse, throughout thousands of different realms and countless dimensions, there are very few truly unique existences. Vampires, kobolds, orcs, humans, fae, wyverns, elves, dragons; every species has an origin point and every creature can be traced back to a common ancestor of some kind. You can do whatever you want with your DNA. Change your soul in some fundamental way. The chances are, someone has done it before you."
"But not you, Arthur Ward. You're an Originator, the first of your kind. A human who consumed a monster core. I've heard of many who've derived power from cores, but never someone who literally ate them. Whatever strange combination of species went into you, your first refinement changed EVERYTHING. You became an existence beyond legend, someone that even Transcendents would covet. Across all of existence, there is no one like you. It sounds like a simple thing, but it is anything but."
Every word Iris said was another nail in Arthur's coffin. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he did know he'd been thrust into the limelight in a way he'd never wanted.
"So I get that Originators are crazy rare, but I don't see why they'd cut down the rest of the integration phase because I simply exist. Besides, I'm sure the System would have told me something if I was an Originator."
Iris chuckled mirthlessly. "Originators fall very far outside the purview of the System. It wouldn't know what to make of you if you hit it on the nose. An Originator is a special existence in that concepts and eventually, laws will come far easier to you when you start to learn them, and they'll be far stronger in your hands than someone else of equal mastery. You have a bunch of other things going for you, but the reason why the integration phase was cut short, the reason why even Transcendents want you, is because Originators represent the only sure fire way to gain a bloodline in the multiverse. If someone were to get their hands on your Origin blood, they'd gain a tier-4 bloodline straight off the bat. Perhaps even higher. They'd also gain an affinity for all the branches of ether you hold mastery over. As a soul mage, Arthur, you are the single most perfect golden ticket to power the universe has seen in the last ten thousand years. Even my mother would want to get her hands on you."
"And I'm guessing them getting their hands on my Origin blood isn't as nice as me donating a bit of blood?" Arthur asked hopefully.
"Nothing so sweet. They'd have to kill you first. Even the least invasive methods of extraction will most probably kill you and definitely leave you in a vegetative state regardless."
"So is that it? As soon as the second phase of integration begins, powerful aliens will be allowed to come down and kill me?"
"Not exactly," Iris replied. "There are laws in place to protect Originators. They tend to make the most powerful soldiers for our war against the fallen realm, after all. My name will also offer a little protection. Whilst people don't fear me, my father isn't a man to cross. That being said, a lot of people will come after you. They'll mostly be limited to tier-1, but you'll get a few unscrupulous tier-2 bastards trying to get lucky too." She looked at him consideringly. "Right now, your power makes you the equivalent of an above-average tier-2 awakened, someone who's gone through their second class awakening at level 200. Those who look at your level and expect easy tier-1 prey will be in for a rude awakening. You'll have to deal with this stuff for a while. I'm trying to work things on my end to get you protected status, but it'll take time. Anywhere from two weeks to a couple of months depending on the pushback the brass gives."
Iris' body was starting to flicker in and out of focus and Arthur could tell that the teleportation spell that had taken everyone else away had finally come for her. She was resisting for now, but the spell was only growing more insistent the more time passed.
"Arthur, don't let any of these lowlife bastards get the better of you." Iris' voice sounded like it was coming from far away. "I swear, you better not die, or I'll bring you back as a ghost and make you haunt a communal toilet."
"Survive three, no, two months and I promise I'll have everything sorted out."
She reached into her pocket and quickly threw a small object at him before the teleportation spell whisked her away.