“This is her trick, I’m sure of it” Devon had never rolled her eyes harder. It had been barely any time since they were captured, and Adam had come up with three separate theories on what Yucian’s Trick could be.

”She can charm others, make them bend to her authority” said in response to how the ships crew did their job and lead them below deck. If this was a Trick it was one the entire town was under.

”She can manipulate space, matter, oh grand, she can interface with the past” Devon had no idea what that meant, but it was triggered by Yucian petting the cold steel floor, cooing something that was either a song or words in a language she did not know.

They both had plenty of time to dread. In the cargo hold Devon had been bound tightly, and Adam had been placed in a cage. He had been hitting the bars like a rioter, even though they both knew it was useless.

Her own fear seemed to be heightening him. The knowledge your superiors had powers you couldn’t even fathom was old hat to Devon. She had become apathetic to it. For Adam this was all brand new, and he was having trouble adjusting.

“It’s far too large, far too large for a ship of this size.” His newest theory, and the only one with weight. He was referring to the cargo hold. A large cavernous room that seemed to dwarf the diameter of the ship itself. There was a portion of it they did not see, dipping off into darkness. Who knew how deep it went.

Every so often 37 would glance at her, the womans massive steel jaws glinting as it reflected off of the harsh coral surface. Confirming her commitment, it seemed. Can you kill a Constant? Of course she wanted to, the question was if she could.

The Constants were Constants, on a universal scale. Like the setting of the sun or the death rattles of the butchered, they would exist long after Devon and everyone she knew was dream dust.

That was their reputation at least. Only one had ever been killed, and the manner the perpetuator was dealt with made it clear this was not something to attempt lightly.

They acted like Gods. Nothing they did would ever taint them. Engaging in acts of public cruelty and wanton violence that even for the low low standards of Gutworth was a bit much.

“The interior decorating is atrocious” Yucian said, giving the room a 360 glare. It was the underside of a hollowed out shell, so there was no interior decorating to speak of outside of the large metal floor bolted in. “This is supposed to be a private room for Constants to enjoy themselves and travel in style.” Hailien gave the Constant a confused look but remained silent. “Now I understand why we rarely use this dump.” She completed her assessment by zeroing in on Devon, giving her a grin so big the Constant seemed moments away from unhinging her jaw. “I don’t deserve these filth quarters, do I, darling?” The Constant stroked her stained dress pants in a ritualistic fashion.

When it came to Constants, she was face to face with one of the worst. All she could do was nod, smile and hope that she truly was strong enough to hold a God accountable.

“Ah, see that? Our prisoner has more manners then you Hailien.” She flexed her ring finger and her Remark origamied into existence. It was a short blade made out of newspaper print, headlines scrolled through like the bottom of a tv screen. She approached Devon and laid the blade at her throat. “How do you want to do this?” The question felt directed at her, but Hailien answered.

“Lets give her the Triage Dillenma.”

Yucian twirled her head around and pouted. “Why not just kill her?”

“Outside of her name we know nothing. Trav and Lemsk wanted to make her a Number, incredibly odd under the circumstances. She was just a mediocre reserve member. Then she kills two of our men in a similar manner to Adam. And yet he was found dead in the same hotel room, who knows for how long.”

Devon looked at Adam, locked in a box, fearing less for him and more that he would lash out and try and escape at such an in-opportune time. He gave her sensations that expressed that he was calm, or trying his best to be, despite the rattling to the contrary. “The name Triage is familiar to me.” But how or why wasn’t shared.

“This is foolish darling, theres nothing more to it.” She pointed a white powdered hand at Adam. “This is her Remark. Ergo her power. If we kill her then it stops existing and we can all go home.”

“The Remark we think, acts as a parasite, latching onto another person once their user is killed.” Hailien said. “The Triage is the easiest way to confirm this. We’ll give the basic scenario, nullify the Remark if neccesary, and then announce that Adam is dead.”

Yucian thought about that, all expression left her face, like a machine that had stopped working. She clapped her hands and that wide smile returned. “Okay darling, it’s your assignment! I’m just here to clean up if you fail, let’s give it a chance.” She waved her hand.

Nothing happened until Hailien did the same.

A large rectangular cube rose out of the metal floor. This again seemed normal to Adam, and he said as much to Devon, letting her know that things were shaping up well for them, even if he couldn’t yet explain why. Despite this he didn’t stop attacking his cage.

There were three slots, one in the middle and two others on the smaller ends. Devon was escorted to the one in the middle. Her hand was forcefully placed in the slot. A cold liquid enveloped her and then solidified around her like a glove. She tried to yank her hand away on reflex, terrified that she couldn’t see what was causing the sensation. 37 gave her a look, and that put an end to that.

“I see the word Constant in your mind, Yucian is one of them, you fear her even more than the others. Is it a position of power here?”

The only one that matters, she thought.

“I wasn’t told about the Constants. There was another who tried to help me, Tremble was her name. Whatever this metal jawed woman hopes to accomplish, maybe she is on the same side. But why didn’t she tell me about them.” Devon didn’t know Tremble well enough to offer a suggestion (She had crossed paths a few times and found her annoying. They were neighbors as kids she thought?) but she doubted how truthful a rank and file Number could be about bringing down Lemure. Hailien was no exception to this cynicism. They always had an angle.

”Lets check her ADM first.”

Adam perked up at the name, through she was sure it was a coincidence. Devon was dimly aware of it, some way of assessing a Remarks strength.

A digital haze consisting of Orange, Green, and Purple coated the cube in three sections. Concrete shapes of each respective color were birthed from the haze with a sort of staticky squelch. The Orange one, closest to Devon, grew a tiny spike made out of a harsh metal substance, poking out like a weapon waiting to be used. Words appeared orbiting it, like the fated halo of Serach (who was that, why did her mind conjure up that name?)

Designation: [Error/ Not Commited]

Applicability: 19.7

Density:100.10

Miracle: Plague Ridden City W/ No Casualties

Overall Level: Netzah

Yucian whistled. “That Density level explains a lot, it’s an incredibly cultivated Remark.” She said, almost enviously. Hailien stuck her hand into the second slot. The violet shape pulsed in recognition, and that same metal substance grew out of the top like a foreign colony overwhelming it’s host.

Designation: Accelerando

Applicability: 36.5

Density:80.1

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Miracle: Your Fathers Eyesight Returned

Overall Level: Hod

Yucian jammed her hand in, for a second it seemed the machine could not handle it, and her orange shape toggled between existing and not. When they came back for certain, the shape was now a deformed twisting segmented thing that suggested a many jointed serpent, or a worm tied up in knots. Devon stifled a gasp. Hailien didn’t seem surprised.

Designation: Occam’s Scalpel

Applicability: 17.0

Density: 55.5

Miracle: We Escape Gehenna

Overall Level: Sammael

“That must be wrong” Yucian said, mumbling into her fur, the holograph reflected in the dead eyes of the crywolf head that hung loose around her shoulder.

“I remember this” Adam said, doing the mental equivalent of a stage whisper. “We would do this on anyone new, or if there… if there was a problem that needed to be fixed.”

“Hailien, this is your show.” Yucian said, eyes fixated on her level.

“Of course. Right.” Hailien looked at the board. To Devon it looked like she was as clueless to the meaning as she was. This was all bullshit right? (“I can assure you it is not”) After a moment recognition came, and Hailien looked up from the board with glee “Activate scenario 17b”

“This is an Orphan case, darling, if you’re correct.” Yucian Vast said, staring at her submerged hand like she could still see her nail polish “The protocol for that is 2c. You know, Unu and Du are superiors of Tri. Pressures only one way-“

“Activate scenario 17b” Hailien said again, now with more confidence.

“Wait no. Cease scenario?” But Yucian couldn’t. For she was Du, not Unu, Devon figured. Admittedly this was all new to her, but she could at least understand the pecking order of this strange machine. The Constant’s proxy shook and withered, the contorted worm becoming less stable, more infernal.

Hailien worked fast, moving her hand in a flurry of motion. The board (thats what it was, a board, Adam said) changed in turn. The avatars representing Hailien and Devon were now side by side, facing down the Yucian avatar which continued to mutate. Hailien read from a prompt only she seemed to see.

“The year is 96 after Deluge, we have reason to believe that all of us are our own recursors, doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.” Devon’s trapped hand was being pierced but there was strangely no pain, only the sensation. There was pressure building around all three avatars, and that pressure carried over in her head.

“We cannot all terminate” Hailien continued, “only one of us has to, as our Tris becoming Dues would be a new instance. A new instance unburdened by the past is why this world was ripped open and plundered. As I possess this knowledge, and cannot be doomed to repeat it, I can’t be sacrificed for the simple reason of causality. I take no pleasure in saying this.” The visual pressure dissipated around Hailien’s avatar, compiling itself on Devon and Yucian’s. The Constant was uneasy, and twitched underneath her bright yellow fur coat, the dead lupine heads seeming to come alive and yowl in pain.

“This is good. This is great even. She’s a natural at this.”

Devon did not know what to say, so Adam spoke for her. “And it cannot be me, for I am the mediator between Cain and Abel, the sister they both had, Sarach, who lived forever.” Her head was moved forcefully in Hailien’s direction with a sickening crack. “Cain, we must get rid of Abel, the source of your ire. He knows nothing but peace and we subsist on war. If he stays and you die, we will lose your strength and the advantages that violence brings. But if he dies by my hands, we shall finally succeed in overcoming original sin, keeping you blameless in the eyes of the lord.”

“No! Stop it!” Vast yelled, her spit staining the board. Devon had no idea what was happening, Adam was driving. (“I told you. this is good” Adam said)

“So we are agreed. Recognize majority!” They both said in unison. And with that, Devon and Hailen’s arms were suddenly released. Yucian Vast, their Abel, was still trapped. She was gnawing at her own arm with strangely sharp teeth. Hailien rushed to free Adam, bursting open his cage with a single punch, who rocketed across the room to Devon’s outstretched hand.

The way he used her feet to glide over and through the table like it wasn’t there, how he was passed from hand to hand as an idle game to prime his strike, it was strenuous on her body, at times almost disagreeable, but it was clear that for Adam this wasn’t even taxing him, that he could have done far more if there were not her pesky mortal limits.

And yet, even in a body that had never before today ran more than a block, he got to the Constant before Hailien. All Devon could take credit for was preventing heart failure.

The hand that was more Adam than her aimed straight for the eye, but Yucian deflected by shoving her free hand straight through the blade. Devon showed shock, but her body didn’t, it followed through by twisting the now bleeding arm at the wrist and pinning it to the table. The Constant grunted and brought a well muscled leg onto the table, trying to use Devon’s face as a boost to rip her other arm free.

It was a victory for masochists. The purple muscle and spiderweb like veins were freed, but the skin of her arm remained pinned below Adam. Devon choked out a gasp. She yanked the other arm out and the restraint came with it, her hand encased in a solid block of tech that sizzled and sparked.

“I can do this all day, darling!” Yucian yelled, and the speed at which she began pummeling Devon gave credence to the claim. Each attack was more viscerally disgusting than the last, as her exposed flesh would get on Devons face and then soak into wounds that the block covered other hand had made.

With Adam at the helm, they tried to regain their advantage, but Adams form was still embedded in the right hand's skin.

“Get the remark, get the goddamn remark” Devon yelled as Yucian joyously continued the pummeling, the beating, the oh fuck this is what I deserve isn’t it. Where the fuck was Hailien?

“I can’t move it” Adam said to her between the blows. Her body was moving furiously in a way that was either a spasm or a desperate attempt for escape, she couldn’t tell. “So much of my efforts right now are in keeping your pain receptors distracted and repairing nerve damage, you don’t want to feel how this-“

“I don’t care!” She really didn’t, whatever pain she would feel, she knew she could handle it. She had placed her hand on an open stove habitually for years. She was a fucking freak.

Hailien was at her periphery, her Remark ready for a swing that was on track to decapitate both of them. “DO IT.”

Adam did. A battle whose true pain had been muffled was experienced all at once. She fell back not as a strategy but as a reaction. Yucian was distracted by Adam suddenly flying around her body and pecking at her like a floatrat.

This charade did not last long, as Hailien’s swing connected.

There was a flash of light that absorbed all color in the room.

For a split second there was only blackness and the the thick white trail of her swing.

When the light came back, and it came back gradually, the room was silent, and Yucian was still in one piece. This didn’t last long.

“I knew it, I always fucking knew it.” Sliced all the way through at an angle, Yucian’s body from lower torso up was sliding off slowly. “You were never reformed, you couldn’t be. That level of evil can’t be rooted out.” She took a sideways step and angled her hips to slow the descent. “I hated the one you killed. His name was Terrible. He was deserving of it but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a torment thrice as bad. The last names matter more than the first, have you ever noticed that? Have you ever noticed that we can’t give ourselves our own names? They speak a language we don’t. The Wyrm helps us learn it.”

Devon was on the ground, panting out blood. Hailien and Adam as Remark stared at the Constant, letting the dying woman rant.

“Vast is a name that means “first to succeed” but I don’t think thats true, not by half.”

At this point the fact that Yucian was still alive had shifted from novelty to a potential concern. Her Remark was shifting, branching out into individual paper strands that curved around her body.

“Lemure gave me a boon when I became a Constant. He called it his… Contrarians Needle. There are atleast *Seven*” she put focus on the number, something that made her eyes sparkle, “It gave me powers far better than a fucking Remark, ones you have yet to see, and it also revealed my name, what it truly means.”

She said a single syllable that was foreign to them. The vowels echoed in the room long after it was spoken. “Not my name, darlings, but what my name truly means. The far, the spacious, a lifetime of possibilities made manifest. The ground I walk on- the gap between you and me.

“I do not like this” Adam said “She made a pact with something unreal.”

“Does it matter who they are?” There was an audible gasp by Adam.

Yucian could hear him, and was responding. Hailien was the only one not privy to this conversation. “Lemure is power, and power is safety. Whatever the source of his power is, I worship it completely. May I ask who it is I’m speaking to right now, is this Adam?”

“You know me by name.”

“So what is your pantheon Adam? Where you born from the Deluge, like Morgan? Or did you die in it… like Morgan?”

Devon saw images superimposed over the real. Armies marching into water, the sick and the dying trampled underfoot, saved only by the sea and it’s buoyancy. She had no idea if these were lived in experience or visceral metaphors, but they felt just like the visions of war she had seen at the hotel. She understood the pain.

And then, just for a second. A woman who looked exactly like her, but better. Watching the army submerge.

She was frowning upside down.

“A hapless foot soldier… so no real power there.” The Remark of Paper had spread to her forehead. Her head became a replica of the Death Wyrm mask but with the mouth unadorned. They could see the way her teeth multiplied as she spoke. “You are an inconvenience to superiority.”

She spread her arms wide, so long now they scraped the walls.

“I merely want to leave. Devon can attest to that.” It felt a little late to try and bargain for an exit, but she nodded in agreement. Even if like, no that wasn’t true, they were gonna try and kill her.

“You move that puppet well, but I understand what’s moving here, darling. Who’s moving who. You are a hypocrite” Her hands covered her face, they were growing layer after layer after layer of sharp sharp skin “let me show you how a master pulls the strings.”