I was making Nuralie MVP of this Delve, and I would hear no argument about it.

We had problems. The loson had chemical solutions. Nuralie and Xim had both popped one of Nuralie’s antidotes while I went on crusade with Grotto, and I eagerly accepted one for myself now that the immediate threat had ended. It knocked sixty stacks of toxicity off my debuff, which got me back into the black with my health regen.

Xim had also emptied the rest of her mana using Cleanse to purge the remainder of Nuralie’s toxicity, and most of her bleeding. Unfortunately, this left Xim with nothing to remedy the rest of her own afflictions, but Nuralie had two health potions left. They took one each, which got Nuralie comfortably regenerating health. It still wasn’t enough to offset all of Xim’s ticking damage.

After Orexis’ laser to Xim’s gut, she’d gone down to sixty-eight health and was currently taking a net value of twenty-eight damage an hour from the specter’s afflictions. The bonus to her regen from the health potion would wear off in an hour, at which point she’d jump up to losing 172 HP an hour. Xim would get enough mana back for a Cleanse or two by that point, but it wasn’t enough to deal with the problem.

The cleric had less than ninety minutes to live.

“Can you take another mana potion?” I asked. Xim had returned to her normal, humanoid form and held a hand pressed to her gut. Blood dribbled from the hole punched through it.

“I’m out,” said Nuralie, as Xim shook her head. “It would cause mana toxicity as well.”

“What about a chip?” I asked.

“Chips are the core ingredient in mana potions,” said Nuralie. “She would suffer mana toxicity from another potion or chip.” Pause. “The chip would be far worse.”

[She also does not have a bonded Delve Core to offset the mana overload. Her mana structures could be irreparably damaged. Even your own may have suffered harm despite my efforts. I’ll need to examine you. Although…]

“Fine,” I said after Grotto trailed off. “No potions, no chips. Does anyone have any healing or cleansing abilities I’m not aware of?” There was a round of shaking heads and muttered no’s.

I considered the spells I had seen in the past, bringing up the list to review. I couldn’t copy Xim’s healing–it was Divine-type and my Dimensional attunement didn’t give me access. I did have access to physical magic, however, which was the school that Cole’s healing had used.

“What about the spell Surgeon?” I asked. “I could put it into one of my open skill slots.”

“It requires competent medical knowledge,” said Varrin. “Is that something you possess?”

“No,” I said. “Other than basic stuff. Not to the level of surgery.”

“The spell augments your capabilities,” said Varrin. “It won’t make up for lack of knowledge.”

“Then we haul ass out of here,” I said. “If Orexis Prime was chased off by the Dukgriens, there’s bound to be someone that can help in the area outside the Delve.”

“What about Cage?” said Nuralie.

{Me?} Cage’s voice came into our minds. {I’m just an administrator. You all are the god-slayers. Also, I appreciate your crisis, and thanks for dealing with the specter, but there’s still an outstanding problem to address!}

“What?” I asked, somewhat testily. I was distracted by Xim’s condition, still running potential solutions through my head.

I was also still bleeding and poisoned, just healing faster than the damage. Blood dripped from my eyes and nose. Dark splotches emerged on my skin then sloughed off, replaced by fresh tissue. My shoulder was dislocated, as well, and the hole in my chest continued screaming for my attention.

The Delve shuddered again.

{The void sphere in the reality anchor!} Cage thought to us, his psychic voice tinged with creeping hysteria.

“Dammit!” I said, pushing my hood back and grabbing a fistful of my hair. “Ok. The anchor is outside, so we have to get out of here to deal with either problem. Most direct route to the exit, Cage?”

{I’ll do better than that! I’ll open a portal directly to the anchor. It’s back in Hiward, so you can just walk out of the Delve once you’re done.}

“Why didn’t you open a portal for us to get in here then?” I asked. “Instead of making us do all the lock bullshit?”

{One, it was locked. Now it isn’t! There are five other good reasons. Do you want to hear them?}

“No, never mind,” I said.

“But, I want to hear about it,” said Xim with a bloody grin. “Don’t hurry for my sake.”

“Uh-huh,” I said. “We’ll come back once you aren’t in mortal peril. Can ask Cage all about it then.”

{Um, no you won’t! As soon as you are gone and the void sphere is taken care of, I’m closing the hidden access point inside Calvani Caverns. Since, you know, it isn’t hidden anymore. And if anyone comes knocking on either of the other two entrances, I’m collapsing the portal on their way in!}

“Do what you gotta do,” I said. “Let’s get that exit portal now, please.”

{As you command, Godsbane!}

“Godsbane?” I said as a swirling blue hole appeared before me. “That’s a pretty good name.”

“Spectersbane is more accurate,” said Nuralie. She touched the portal and disappeared.

“Avatarsbane is also more accurate,” said Varrin, reaching for the portal while supporting Xim. “And it sets out our ambitions.”

“Ambitions?” I said. “Wait, why are we ambitioning to be the bane of godly avatars?” Varrin was gone before he could hear my question.

“I want to contribute,” said Etja, “but I don’t know what we’re naming!” She went through the portal as well.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

[With how you are developing your divine gifts, Bane of Souls is the most fitting. It also has the greatest chance of inspiring fear in the hearts of those who would resist our conquest.]

I scowled at Grotto, then slapped the portal myself.

Your party has slain the Specter of Orexis: Divine Soul Fragment, Grade Unknown. Your party receives the following rewards:

1) 10 Diamond Chips

2) 1 Lesser Divine Soul Essence

3) 1 Get Out of Cage Free Card

Party Leader has set chip and currency allocation to Even Distribution.

You receive: 2 diamond chips.

Party Leader has set loot distribution to Master Looter. Party Leader receives all other loot.

The notifications hit just as I exited the other side of the portal. On my feet, this time.

Your party has completed 1 of 2 objectives for The Cage: Neutralize the specter of Orexis.

Remaining Objective: Prevent Delve collapse.

Time Remaining: Unknown. Delve eruption imminent.

I brushed the notifications aside to inspect the room we were in. It was tall and ovoid, with long rib-like protrusions running up and down the dark surface of the walls. At its center were two obelisks. One hung down from the ceiling like a stalactite directly over the other, which rose from the floor like a stalagmite.

The fact that I remembered the difference between those two geological structures was a point of pride.

There was a space of about six feet between the tapering points of each obelisk, where the anchor hung suspended, incomprehensible to behold.

When I looked into the anchor, I was bombarded with innumerable viewpoints within a massive structure. The architecture flooded past, rooms displayed a thousand ways. Angles so wide that I saw omnidirectionally. Perspectives so close I could taste the ground. Vision that moved and changed in real-time.

It was The Cage. It was The Cage all at once.

It was too much information to absorb, much less process. I looked into it for a second, and it offered me a lifetime’s worth of experience. More than that. Reeling from the exposure, I politely declined the offer. I’d had my fill of the place. Instead, I focused on the black jewel in its center.

The void sphere was obvious. The black, marble-sized jewel was a concrete, identifiable object amidst a sea of mind-warping panoramas. It was the only thing that I could perceive normally within the anchor, but it was so deeply wrong, so profoundly out of place.

“I hate this,” said Nuralie, holding up a hand to shield her eyes from the anchor.

“What do we do?” asked Xim, leaning against Varrin. The big man stared into the anchor, eyes wide and transfixed. I hoped he wasn’t trying to incorporate what he saw.

[You must remove it,] Grotto thought to us.

“We know,” I said. “How?”

[Reach in with your crude extremities and seize it!]

“You want me to put my hand in that?” I said, chancing another look at the anchor and focusing on the void sphere. The endless sights encompassing the jewel faded into a penumbra between the eternal and the fleeting. The penumbra roiled and shook, and I could see the void sphere beginning to crack, gouts of mana surging out and piercing the anchor.

[You can use Shortcut to appear with your hand grasping the void sphere, then use it again to extricate yourself. That should minimize any catastrophic internal injuries you might suffer. Beyond that, Shortcut is dimensional magic. It should have the least volatile interaction with the anchor, which is also dimensional.]

“Why don’t you do it?” I said. “Those feelers aren’t part of your real body. If they get vaporized, you can make new ones!”

[I am certain there are ways to regrow your hands if they are lost, Arlo.]

“I don’t wanna regrow my hands, Grotto!” I looked to the group for support.

“I’ll do it,” said Varrin. “This is my homeland, my thundry that is threatened. If a sacrifice is needed, it should be my own.”

“Uh,” said Etja, taking a tentative step forward. “I could just use Siphon.”

“Siphon?” I said, bringing up the list of spells I’d seen using my Magical Thinker evolution. The Cage had been a non-stop sprint, and I’d sort of ignored the ability while inside.

“My gravity magic,” she said. “I’ve got a little mana back. I can cast it on something that small.”

“Oh, yeah. I see it.”

Grotto’s tentacles undulated, and he swiveled from Etja toward the anchor.

[There is no way that spell works.]

“Why not?” I said. “It’s a dimensional spell, too.”

[The gravitational array required to anchor a dimensional membrane of this complexity is so intricate that there is no conceivable way the engineers did not shield it against gravitational manipulation.]

“Hmm? How did Orexis get it in there?” I said. “Think he used his crude extremities?”

[The methods of divine avatars are many.]

“Just let her try,” I said. “Actually, why am I petitioning you over this? Etja, go ahead and give it a try.”

The golem nodded, then brought up her lower pair of arms and focused on the void sphere. There was a light glow along her fingertips, and the black jewel floated right out to her.

“It worked!” she said as the void sphere landed in her palm.

Then, she screamed.

Etja’s fingers snapped shut over the jewel and her back arched as though she’d grabbed onto an electrified pole. I dashed to her and pried her fingers back, forcing her to dump the jewel onto the ground. Her grip was tight, and so I wasn’t gentle. Her fingers made a few sounds they weren’t supposed to.

When the void sphere left her hand, Etja collapsed, and I checked her status in my HUD.

Mana Overload: This party member has had their mana veins damaged. They cannot regenerate mana for 24 hours. Any further attempt to regenerate mana will result in loss of health.

Her HP had ticked down ten. It didn’t look like she was in any more danger, but if she’d held that gem for too long…

“What happened?” I asked, kneeling next to Etja to check on her. She was unconscious.

[The housing of the void sphere continues to degrade. It is releasing vast quantities of mana.]

As if to accentuate his words, we got a new notification.

Warning! The area you are in has a very high mana density. Continual exposure to excess mana levels may result in negative status effects or loss of health.

“I vote we leave,” I said, inspecting Etja’s hand. Definitely dislocated a finger. “We got the thing out of the anchor. That was our job. We can let someone higher level come to deal with this.”

[If the housing breaks down completely, the void sphere will release a mana cloud on a scale similar to a Delve eruption.]

“Of course it will,” I said. “Thus rendering a large part of Ravvenblaq uninhabitable. Suggestions?”

[We’ll need to mitigate the mana output or slow the process somehow.]

“Hey, Grotto,” I said, “you’re always looking for sources of mana for the obelisk.” I gestured at the void sphere like a gameshow host.

The mini-c’thon’s feelers froze, then he shot over to me.

[Open the Closet!]

I began focusing on the ability, relieved to find that it was no longer being blocked. Whether that was due to being in the Hiwardian section of the Delve, something else, I didn’t know. I mana shaped the ability and forced the closet open in a few seconds.

“Arlo,” said Varrin as the door-shaped portal opened. “What obelisk?”

The big guy had an eyebrow raised, and I was receiving similar looks from Nuralie and Xim.

“Shit,” I said. “I never told you guys about the Pocket Delve.”