Chapter 40: Into the Depths II_Fracture: Tales of the Broken Lands

Jack inhaled sharply. Kafkë’s gaze drifted slowly down to where the Blue Heart rested beneath the yellow robes. For a few seconds, he stopped breathing, stuck in a lengthy moment of surreal shock. The presence within the Blue Heart stirred again pushing outward. His heart drummed a staccato beat in his chest and a mild burning sensation spread throughout his veins. The voice spoke again.

“More,” it whispered into his mind. He gazed at the fading tendril sprouting from Kafkë. It was a font of energy that he could tap into with ease. He could use any Relic, artifact or otherwise. All he had to do was grab the skull and activate its power.

His hand twitched. The power from the Well of Souls could do a lot for me. Maybe Kafkë lied about its viability for my World Core. I won’t know for certain unless I find out for myself. I…

Jack took a step away from the floating skull. He forcibly banished the thoughts seemingly sprouting from his mind with increasing urgency. Within the Blue Heart, the foreign presence flared and the pain intensified. He gritted his teeth against the pain while directing his thoughts toward the Blue Heart.

“What are you”

The presence continued to push outward probing at the edges of the Blue Heart and ramping up the strain on his heart. Jack started to feel cold despite the burning. With no heed for his question, it said, “I hunger.”

Another wave of thoughts about seizing hold of Kafkë washed over Jack’s mind. He fought back trying to steady his breathing and calm his heart all the while. The struggle was difficult. The thoughts emerged like any other. The presence’s hunger became his own. His emotions and instincts became his enemies. Meanwhile, the pain poked holes in the stability of his concentration.

“Talk to me, Jack. What happening?” Kafkë’s tone was calm and measured. It watched as he struggled with the thing inside him.

Breathing was becoming difficult due to his growing discomfort, physical and mental. Meeting Kafkë’s eyes, he said, “It’s... messing with my head… it wants the power of the Well of Souls.”

“Interesting. Your guest started acting up as soon as I used the Well’s power on you,” said the skull. “What does it feel like on your end? From where I’m floating it looks like there’s a dark hole in your World Core.”

A hole in his chest. Jack had to agree with Kafkë’s assessment. Sadly, he was too preoccupied to voice his agreement. The entity was pushing its influence against the boundaries of the Blue Heart. He shivered.

When did it get so cold? He wondered. He drew another labored breath gripping the front of his robes. His heart was hammering in his chest now. He took another look at Kafkë and gritted his teeth as more suggestive thoughts drifted into his mind. Fuck off whatever you are! Get out of my head!

Jack struggled to understand what was happening. He comprehended that the entity was infiltrating his thoughts somehow but its touch was insidious. He could barely tell the difference between his own thoughts and those stemming from the thing inside him. The inside of his nose tingled as something wet trailed from his nostrils and dripped onto the ground. The liquid hit the tunnel floor and began to hiss. Another drop fell eliciting another hiss. The smell that filled his nostrils was unmistakable— blood. His blood.

How did it get this bad so quickly? Jack watched his blood drip onto the ground and sizzle like acid. His mind went blank as confusion took hold. The cold pierced his body. He felt like a corpse. Wait… Am I dying?

As though in response to his question, the entity nestled in the Blue Heart said, “Feed.”

An overpowering hunger seized Jack’s mind. Suddenly, everything became simple. He needed to survive. It was such a basic instinct; one he had grown intimate with over the years. He knew how to survive. Sometimes it meant running, sometimes it meant fighting. However, he didn’t need to run or fight this time. He just needed to consume the feast in front of him. He lunged for Kafkë.

The skull darted out of his reach. “Guess that answers my question.”

He swiped at Kafkë again but it dodged again. Internally, Jack cursed his low Dexterity and Agility attributes. He needed to utilize his other tools to catch the nimble skull. He activated Magician’s Manipulation and called out to the air around them. I will survive. I will eat.

***

Kafkë found itself in an unexpected situation. It regarded Jack like a once-beloved pet that had gone feral. The strange soul inside of his World Core had been a red flag. Whatever was inside the Blue Heart, it had been fixated on Kafkë since its arrival. It was for that reason that the sentient artifact had chosen to leave Jack’s body despite the danger of being detected by Bohum. It didn’t trust the strange soul in the slightest.

A not-so-subtle disturbance in the air warned it to dodge. The skull barely got out of the way as something unseen passed through the space where it had just been. Jack glared at it with eyes full of accusations and frustration.

“Stay still, Kafkë!” He shouted.

Kafkë decided to retreat while it processed the phenomenon happening within Jack. It glanced back after dodging a small vortex of wind that tried to encircle it. It sensed the strange soul observing its movements. That thing really has its hooks in him.

The soul’s influence radiated out of the Blue Heart and into Jack’s body in slow pulses. Said influence was taking subtle control of Jack’s own soul. The skull saw the struggle unfolding and knew Jack was losing yet it wasn’t sure it could help. The power from the Well of Souls had clearly invigorated the entity as much as it had Jack, if not more, so it might do more harm than good. Unfortunately, Kafkë couldn’t make out the exact nature of Jack’s passenger. At first, the entity had appeared like a vague shape hidden behind a layer of obfuscation; however, it looked more like a dark hole in the center of the Blue Heart now. Neither of these gave the skull a clear idea of what it was dealing with though it certainly had its suspicions.

Several fragments of earth exploded from the nearby wall forcing Kafkë to drop closer to the ground or be knocked out of the air. Another blast of earth shard burst from the ground before the skull fully recovered hitting it full-on. Kafkë fell to the ground rolling a short distance as it lost its bearings. This isn’t good. I need to snap Jack out of it somehow.

Jack dove at Kafkë yet the man was a brute with little finesse. His movements were wide and clumsy leaving the skull with plenty of avenues to escape. It darted forward passing under Jack as his hands closed around the space where it had been. Following its escape, it drifted to the side to avoid another entrapping vortex. It’s a good thing he isn’t precise with whatever magic he’s using or I’d have been caught by now… Wait a minute! That’s it. I need precision. If I can use the Well’s power to bolster Jack’s soul but not whatever is in the Blue Heart, he might be able to take back control.

The task would be tough to accomplish. In order to succeed, Kafkë would need to take a big risk by submerging itself in Jack’s body again so it had direct access to his spirit.

The skull watched Jack struggle to his feet. The man looked like he was in an extreme amount of pain. Blue blood ran from his nose onto the ground and the front of his robes which were not faring well against the corrosive liquid. Kafkë lacked a body or memories of one but it still didn’t want to imagine what kind of suffering corrosive blood would inflict on someone.

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I sure hope this guy is worth it or Terras might be doomed. Kafkë rushed forward before Jack could recover. He whirled on the advancing skull making a grab for it but Kafkë dipped under his arm. Its pearlescent white bone turned ephemeral as it pushed directly into the Blue Heart.

Immediately, it grasped hold of Jack’s soul and poured restorative energy from the Well of Souls into it. The entity within Blue Heart revealed itself. Kafkë got its first look at the “soul” and lamented. Bohum, you fool. What have you done?

***

The world shattered into focus as a flood of invigorating energy filled his body. The thing’s influence was pushed back momentarily. He sensed Kafkë inside of the Blue Heart struggling with the entity that had been controlling. Jack took a gasping breath.

His body rebelled against his control. Plagued by weakness and pain, he slammed his fist into the stone gritting his teeth. He was angry. This thing had taken control of him, treating him like some kind of puppet. It had used his own body and mind against him. It was the second time in not-so-many days that he had been stripped of his free will. Enough is enough.

He activated the Ore Father’s Token. The pain and discomfort instantly vanished. The underlying causes were still there beneath the surface but they no longer affected him. He had ten seconds.

Jack opened his World Core Status.

[World Core Status]

Blue Heart

Maturation Level

Logos

???/10000

Links

1/1

[Abilities]

View Skills?

View Traits?

Initiate Relic Creation? [LOCKED]

With the last two lightweavers he had killed and their lanterns, he had fifteen thousand four hundred and fifteen Eidos or a bit over fifteen hundred Logos if converted. His World Core Status listed three question marks under the Blue Heart’s Logos value denoting an unknown value of Logos or that the Logos itself was problematic. Given the warning message for Eternal Light’s Embrace had cited corruption in the ambient Logos as the cause for his ailment, Jack was certain Bohum had injected his World Core with a similar agent. He didn’t have any tools to combat the entity yet he could give the Blue Heart uncorrupted Logos so it could fight for itself. Assuming the question marks correlated to the value itself, the amount of corrupted Logos was anywhere between one hundred and nine hundred and ninety-nine. He would need at least a thousand Logos to counteract the corruption though he couldn’t be sure it would work that way. Oh well, I’ve got no time for second-guessing.

He converted nearly all of his Eidos into Logos. He wasn’t going to be stingy and chance not having enough. He also kept his hand on next to Lightbearer’s Lantern hanging from his waist in case he needed more. As soon as he completed the conversion, a notification appeared.

[15410 Eidos has been successfully converted into 1541 Logos and absorbed into the Blue Heart.]

[Logos detected. Lifting stasis...]

Reattempting purge of incompatible Logos…

Purge successful…

1000 Logos was used in the purging process…

[World Core Status Updated.]

The purge was fast and violent. The Blue Heart released a sharp whirring like an engine powering up. The front of Jack’s lightweaver robes was blasted away as the Blue Heart expelled a gout of cold darkness. The darkness coalesced into a figure similar in size and build to Jack but without any other distinguishing features. Before Jack could recover, it launched a heel kick into his midsection. It did no damage thanks to his temporary invulnerability.

Not one to back down from a brawl, Jack threw a jab at the dark creature catching it in the head. It recoiled from the attack and Jack followed up. He stepped forward and sent his best right hook into the general area of where the creature’s ribcage if it even had ribs. Hitting the dark figure felt like punching a cloud of freezing gas. The creature responded to his attacks but the impacts lacked substance making him unsure how effective his strikes really were. As he went to draw his club, his ten seconds ran out.

[Endure has expired. Would you like to reactivate? Y/N]

As the skill ended, the pain and abuse his body had gone through returned. Jack flinched from the sensations flooding his mind. Sensing its opening, the figure clawed at him. He barely blocked with his free arm but discovered a shocking detail in the process. When the blow landed, his Ethos didn’t block the damage.

It was his turn to recoil as icy lines of pain flared across his forearm where the creature struck. He glanced at his Ethos and saw that the value hadn’t changed. He was so surprised he failed to block the savage kick to the shin and punch to the jaw thrown by his attacker. It sent him stumbling backward until he fell on his ass. The figure looked down and said, "The tear widens. It is inevitable"

It lifted a hand and a spray of dark gas spewed forth. Jack rolled away from the attack putting himself in a precarious position. He looked up, alert for another attack. Yet instead of pressing its advantage, the dark figure turned tail and fled down the tunnel at a full sprint.

“Fuck,” Jack swore as he clumsily got to his feet. His leg and jaw were numb where the creature hit him. What's more, the stone had crumbled and collapsed in the small area affected by the creature's gaseous attack. That thing was dangerous.

He noticed Magician’s Manipulation was still running so he deactivated it frowning at the realization that the skill had basically drained his Mana pool dry. He had enough to refresh his Mantle but not much else. Next, he turned his attention inward. Kafkë was still inside his body but was no longer within the Blue Heart. “Kafkë, what in the hell was that thing?”

“That... was a Dark One. I’ve never seen one or at least I don’t remember it, but that thing was exactly like in the Chthonic stories.” A chill completely unrelated to the temperature or the creature’s influence traveled down Jack’s spine. “If Bohum put that thing inside of you during the Illumination then that means—”

“Bohum is working with the Dark Ones,”

“I know he’s insane but the Dark Ones are the very antithesis to life and light. Why would he work with them?”

“It's possible he doesn’t even realize their true nature. That thing made me think its thoughts were my own. It used my fear and paranoia against me. Even though I realized what was happening, I couldn’t stop it. I don’t know what would have happened if the Illumination had continued.”

“I knew something was off. Things are worse than I thought. This is—”

“Fucked. This whole situation is fucked but I’ll be damned if I’m letting that thing escape.”

He took off down the tunnel after the fleeing Dark One. A helpful surge of restorative energy passed through his body healing the damage that had been inflicted.

“Thanks, Kafkë. I’m glad you’re here.”

“No problem, chief but be careful. That was my last dose of energy. I won’t be able to heal you again until I return to the Well of Souls and replenish.”

“How long does it take to replenish?”

“Usually around three days but with the Well falling apart, it could take longer. I haven’t had to replenish in years.”

“Fuck,” he said under his breath.

Dozens of questions and fears tumbled through his mind while he sprinted deeper into the tunnel system beneath the Eternal Light’s Bastion. However, one question dominated all others leading to a fear born from his earliest memory. For five years, he had wondered why W had sent him to Fracture. He had come up with all manner of answers from personal torment to unhinged hedonism. Many of those answers had come from speculation on his part; speculation about W’s true nature and his own relationship with the strange entity. The sad truth was that he knew almost nothing about W.

So, as he chased after the Dark One, he couldn’t help but wonder why it reminded him so much of the dark indistinct figure that welcomed him to Fracture.