!!!!! Pr Credits To Draconis Von BloodTrap & [Peter1765
Who Help With SR chapters, Please take the time to rep them for their work :)
Sponsored Release A Big Thank you to Tobias Klauke for sponsoring this 2nd chapter of the day.
2nd chapter of today enjoy
--------------------
“Great One... have you come to punish us?... We have been working hard, this was an accident!” the Warden managed to say, breaking the nervous atmosphere.
Avrin looked at them carefully. He was somewhat confused. “I'm not here to punish anyone. Why are you speaking in such a way? Have you all been treated badly?” Avrin could tell by the words and tone the Warden used that something was a little off. He was interested to see how Ailirion and Tardiff had been handling everything.
“Not at all! Only those who do not want to work and want to stray and do different tasks are punished, so says Lord Ailirion. After all, we are meant to be used as tools for you, Great One! It is an honour that you have bestowed us the chance to experience thought and intelligence, it is the least we could do.”
Avrin watched at the Warden carefully, he felt his heart seethe with mixed emotions from anger to sadness to disappointment. Could he blame Ailirion for doing such a thing? Avrin had ordered him to assist him and have the tunnels mined, but Ailirion seemed to have treated his own kin as if they were replaceable. The hive mentality was still within his head. That mentality made one believe that if one perishes ten more could be fetched to replace it. Avrin didn't doubt this fact because he was 100% certain that the biology of the ants would have changed to allow different functions such as reproductive organs considering they no longer had a queen.
“All of you return to the main underground chamber. Take the wounded with you and wait for my instructions.” Avrin’s voice wasn't harsh but it held a commanding force that made the Spectral ants listen carefully.
The Warden was quick to stand up and reply. “Of course, Great One! You all heard him, assist who you can and let us return.” the Warden rushed over to help carry an ant that had already had a limb half repaired but was still unconscious due to the pain.
Within the main chamber, was a building that seemed to be crafted into the surface of the man-made chamber which spanned hundreds of feet high and nearly a few thousand feet wide stood strong like an ominous fortress. Within this building, Ailirion was standing over a large boulder that had been cleanly cut in half. It was now a makeshift table with a long beast skin parchment laid flat across it, littered with drawings and markings. This, of course, was a map of the underground, constantly being edited and corrected. Around this half boulder table, four other Spectral ants were surrounding it adding their own touches. Two female ants that indeed had attractive faces and long hair to a degree yet they held a tough fierce aura around them as if they would show mercy to no one who crossed their paths.
The other two were a brawny and skinny ant that gave off the feeling of having killed many before. “Section 4 tunnel 14A needs maintenance…” the skinny male ant spoke as he pointed to the right lower half section of the map to a small near insignificant purple coloured tunnel marked with a small x sign. “Urgh… they should work more carefully. Having to wait for reports coming in the entire time is irritating... have they not learned to control their streams of Nebula Mist yet?” the bulky ant replied with dissatisfaction.
Ailirion was carefully analysing the map while occasionally drawing new markers on based on the information Avrin had given him. He paid little attention to the bickering of the four Arch Knight ranked ants as they continued on. “Maybe we should send the Knights again to correct them… those that aren't useful can be disposed of.” one of the female ants who seemed to emit no aura but looked as if she would kill the instant someone offended her spoke carefully.
“Disposed of?” a voice echoed from within the chamber. The air seemed to feel heavier and the large glob of dark matter that fully lit up the chamber dimmed down as if it were a light that was dying out. The entire chamber was nearly covered in an impenetrable darkness except for the table area where the ants and Ailirion were located.
This darkness was no shadow but a swirling mass of dark matter that covered the entire room. The five of them trembled with fear. Ailirion, despite feeling nervous and afraid, was excited as he knew this could only be done by one person. Ailirion quickly spoke out with a welcoming voice. “Great One, I welcome you to our home! You fools, kneel down!”
The Arch Knights that were quivering were quick to kneel, and as they did the swirling, near silent yet chilling mass of dark matter slowly dispersed to reveal a figure sitting on a simple chair with his right hand holding up his right cheek, glancing at them silently. This was Avrin, who was pondering something carefully as he looked at them. He heard their conversation and was truly disgusted, but he wasn't sure how to handle it.
Avrin remained quiet and the silence was a little awkward. Ailirion had his hands extended yet when he looked at Avrin he could feel he didn't look too pleased. Ailirion finally managed to speak up. “Great One. Our progress has had a few ups and downs but we have managed to maintain quota! In just a little-”
Avrin’s brows furrowed slightly and he spoke out. “Quota... what quota?” Avrin looked at Ailirion curiously. Ailirion, hearing Avrin speaking, instantly shut his mouth. He then replied. “Great One, the quota you-”
Avrin again interrupted him. “I never gave any a quota, you did that yourself, and I am curious about some things. The first thing is why is there a quota?” Ailirion wasn't sure why Avrin was displeased but he felt he could find out if he just answered properly.
“Well... Great One, our progress, your improvement… if we are to strengthen ourselves I felt pushing our race to fulfil our need was the right thing to do.” Ailirion knelt down and bowed respectfully. “If I have wronged you I deserve to be killed… but may I know why you are displeased…?”
Avrin gave a soft sigh and then took a deep breath. “The five of you are treating your… no, our kind like things so easily replaced, just because you want to strengthen us? By using such methods you are actually doing the opposite.”
Ailirion and the others were confused. Avrin, after all, only gave them so much knowledge that was passed down from Ailirion. “Great One... this lowly servant is confused. Can I humbly ask you to clarify?”
Avrin continued. “You all should know our races potential, yet you are wasting possible talent and making our people think that they are cattle that is so easily replaced. Every Spectral has thoughts that are different and thoughts that may lead them down different situations. There may be a small child, although that child used to be a mindless ant that was converted, that child may stumble upon a method that could possibly assist us greatly! Yet you are making him or her work in the mines and threatening to dispose or correct them?”
Ailirion quivered as he began to think about it, but when he listened to Avrin’s words he felt it was a little unfair. He felt Avrin was being a bit too harsh. He couldn't help but speak in his own defence. “B... but Great One… with... with your ability, we could have so many more of our race... we could even conquer this planet… all life could be like us right?.... Why don't we do that... who could possibly face us then?... What... would a few billion or trillion drones dying mean... w...we could have our race be near infinite!”
Avrin finally understood something about himself as well as his ability in regards to creation. “-This fragment I have….I always felt it was perfectly neutral… but it seems a side can overcome the other... was this why my predecessors died? Did they experience something like this? Did they become evil and try to convert a universe?-”
Avrin pondered silently for a moment. Ailirion was both right and wrong. Avrin didn't want to force his ideals onto them, but he felt he should give his own stance on things. “What will happen after we convert a universe, Ailirion?”
Ailirion, who had a slight smile on his face as Avrin was silent felt he had managed to make Avrin understand. The question Avrin gave him made him reply quickly as he felt he knew. “That is simple, Great One. You can rule it in any way you wish. We are your servants and we will fight in your name. We will do whatever it is you want. The universe will tremble before your might!”
The other four quickly spoke as they wanted to get into Avrin’s good graces as well. They repeated a phrase taught to them by Ailirion when faced with a situation in seeing Avrin. “May he live for all eternity, our Primogenitor!” their voices all wrung out in unison.
Avrin slowly stood up which made them all return to being quiet. He casually made his way over towards Ailirion and the others, the sound of his metallic boots clanging against the rocky ground. He stopped in front of Ailirion and glanced down at him. “Ailirion… look at me…” he spoke softly.
Ailirion who was knelt down facing the ground suddenly looked at Avrin showing an expression of respect and nervousness. Avrin spoke out. “I don't want to rule a universe… I don't want to rule anything… I simply want my people, those who had nothing and gained something to live well without fear of dying or being threatened... what you are all doing here, you are threatening your people… my people… had it been anyone else that tried to enslave them… I would strive to remove them from existence... I need followers who will help protect them and let them live without worry. What right do we have to force others to live our lives? Your words have an endgame that you think is my goal when it is not.“
Ailirion trembled a little. He realised that he had somehow argued with Avrin. He felt he knew what Avrin wanted but in the end, he didn't. He realised how irresponsible he had been and gritted his serrated teeth. He quickly bowed down again, his forehead smashing into the ground and causing the surface to tremble and crack slightly. “Forgive this fool, Great One! Your hope for our people to live safely without worry... I will strive to protect our people… no…. we will strive! Will we not?”
Ailirion spoke those last three words to the Arch Knights who had remained quiet. They all began to agree as they had felt they were enlightened somewhat. They began to praise Avrin in their own words. When Avrin looked at them he wasn't sure how they felt about him, they truly seemed somewhat fanatical. It made him feel uncomfortable when it came to other things. It seemed as if they showed their true selves but when it came to him they would all bow and not dare to utter any disrespect, but what Ailirion said gave Avrin an idea.
Avrin spoke out. “How many of our kinsmen have perished here?” Ailirion, hearing this, felt his heart tremble. He wasn't sure how to answer it. “Several... thousand, Great One… some to collapses in the tunnels, others to… well... being disposed of.”
Avrin’s face twisted slightly. His heart weighed down somewhat. He didn't know those ants that were converted, not one ounce of connection other than the fact that their power originated from his own, yet he felt incredibly burdened by their deaths. “I don't want any more mining… it’s gotten too dangerous and I won't risk lives even if the reward is more beneficial. I have also obtained a proper source of currency so it's no longer viable. You two go gather the remaining Arch Knights and the other two go make the arrangements to cease all mining. Everyone is to focus on building habitable structures and to relax.”
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Yes, Great One.” one of the male and female Arch Knights left to go get the other Arch Knights to gather here, the other two immediately left to go hand out the order that all mining will be stopped. They felt honour that they were carrying out an order from Avrin himself.
“Great One... I understand the intention to let our people relax after working so hard... which is my fault altogether... but we could achieve much progress if we think of a lighter method to use them to help?” Ailirion spoke, seemingly wanting to make every second count.
Avrin looked at Ailirion carefully and replied. “If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that people will love a great leader more than they fear a cruel one. If you give them what they need and let them know you are looking out for them they will make the effort themselves to assist. I can't carry this race on my own, I have enemies that I will make in the future and I won't be able to protect you all forever and you should know that being a pure blooded Spectral doesn't give you immunity from being overtaken by those more impure than you. I value those who show effort and strive to reach hard gains more than those who have been given a handout without much progress, so you need to train hard as well.”
“Forgive my ignorance, Great One!” Ailirion again began to kowtow towards Avrin “Moving on to different matters, it seems Tardiff is doing well. I won't bother him as I am short for time. I want you to announce that mining will be ceased after you inform the remaining Arch Knights. I'm quite sure the two individuals I sent before don't have enough authority.”
Ailirion stood up and nodded as he replied back. “Indeed, My Lord. Our people are very loyal to you, they will think suspicious to halt something that is needed for your goal unless I speak of it myself. I will handle this all, please go settle the matter you need and I will manage things until you return.”
Avrin looked carefully at Ailirion. He could see he was easily swayed by his words but if it was someone else it wouldn't have been such a simple task. Avrin wasn't sure why Ailirion treated him with such reverence, he simply felt that regardless of the matter it couldn't be bad.
“Good. I will not be far at all, I'll pick a chamber here and use it myself. I do not want to be bothered so be sure no one disturbs me. This next step is very important for me.” Avrin began to walk off with Ailirion simply tilted in a bow as he didn't respond but his actions showed that he would obey.
“And Ailirion… you may think we do not have a universe of our own, but we in fact do. It is made up entirely of matter suited for us. That being said, we shouldn't tinker with what is set in stone. We cannot be greedy. One day I will find a way to bring us all there.” Avrin wanted to say more but he was short on time. He wanted to firm the stance and make sure Ailirion’s scraps of negativity were ironed out with this. From the trembling and the excited look on Ailirion’s face, Avrin felt it worked. The entire day afterwards quite a commotion arose from the entire underground society. The miners had all been gathered immediately into the largest underground chamber where Ailirion with his Arch Knights by his side gave a speech informing them of it all. He even went as far as to admit his own mistakes, but not the dire ones as it may make many think twice about his leadership.
In the end, using his way with words and his strong tone he was able to rally everyone together, as he assured them that they would have more freedom and be able to relax with no one losing their lives. The focus now was for them all to improve.
The hundreds of thousands of Spectral ants had immediately begun to work under the supervision of the Arch Knights. Underground plots of land was being measured out and assigned as they began to plan. Not all of the ants were averagely intelligent, some lacked a lot and needed to be guided while their mind absorbed everything properly. These ants were given the more simple tasks and were looked after by their fellow kin.
If one were to look carefully from a height they wouldn't see a hive of humanoid ants they would see a society being built with individuals conversing with friends they had made. These attachments, even with Ailirion’s previous stance showed it was impossible to not form such bonds after being converted. This would have been impossible in the previous hive where there was only a queen who organised several minor colonies that were ruled by a higher ranked ant that supervised the workers and drones. But now each of these individuals seemed to have a life of their own.
Avrin was within a lit chamber by himself sitting cross-legged. His eyes were open as he began to focus. This step hinted in the book after he discovered shreds of information by guessing was a serious one, “-Ethereal Prise, where all the previously advanced particle types strengthened as they continued to maintain the outline of one’s body, when they gather enough dark matter one must perfectly allow them in unison to push and prise space as well as stabilise it to from a peeled ethereal outline of one's body. Of course it is incredibly dangerous, prising space within one's body well the very words themselves speak of the danger. My particles are still particles after all they aren't strong enough to handle such a force if I don't stabilise it immediately. That being said... I have more than enough to get me through this..or at least I think I do-”
Avrin gave a forced smile as he turned to look at the side. Using his Divine Sense he had brought over several chests filled to the brim with Lucent crystals, from Haze to Unclouded. He reached over to the enchanted sack at his side and emptied it's contents on the floor, not caring if it was messy or not. He took a deep breath and began to focus again. He started to feel for every particle of his body. It was much easier because he was the owner of the fragment, but the difficulty meant that his people would struggle without proper resources. This made him realise that, despite their potential being limitless there needed to be massive give and takes to sustain that potential. Not all of his people would be powerhouses and maybe only a handful would ever reach boundless strength.
Avrin slowly shut his eyes in a way that made it seem as if he were drifting to sleep. When his consciousness swept itself away and turned to move to his inner workings he glanced from a distance with his vision, carefully looking and feeling for all the minuscule particles of his body. The size of a particles was insignificantly small. When one thought of how many it took to form his body it might as well be comparing a particle to a star and his body as a super massive galaxy, yet he needed to feel all of them in unison. He was thankful that they didn't need much energy, and he of course had a good supply right now.
“Let's begin.” he willed his subconscious body to raise its right finger and Nebula Mist flooded out from the tip, engulfing every single Lucent crystal and bringing it together to form a massive clump. Moments later, the entire mass of Lucent crystals seemed like a miniature blue star that glowed with a boundless, soft light. The air itself felt cleaner and more pure despite the mass of mana that had been ripped from the Lucent crystals.
Avrin gave a thought and the large mass floated over to him. It moved over his entire body as his figure vanished within. The mass of energy was impressive. He had used nearly two-hundred-thousand Haze crystals and fifty-thousand Unclouded crystals. He estimated the total mass of mana would be equal to three of Septim’s Sigil weapons. All in all, if one looked at it carefully like Avrin the amount seemed a bit pitiful when one thought about what was out there. This was 90% of the profit he had made, as he didn't want to use it all just in case.
With his silhouette going dark as he was at the centre of this mass of mana, the mana began to coat him as if wet silk was being draped over him; his skin and particles began to jump excitedly, his complexion turning a paper white as he began to emit a light. He began to will his particles to absorb this mana. This was mana only for them and not to be stored within his dark space.
The mass of mana trembled as Avrin’s body became a vortex. In a near instant, the entire mass of mana vanished and a swishing sound echoed within the room. The ground underneath him cracked suddenly as the pressure from the vortex had been quite intense. This mass of mana was still not enough to sate his appetite, but it had filled all his particles to 100% capacity from the previous 90%. Since the mana was pure, the dark matter had been purely formed. From there, he began to will his particles to condense further. This was the moment of truth. His body began to reform and distort as his particles began to twist and turn and form the shape of needles. The points of these needles were incredibly sharp.
Avrin had to thank God for this. He remembered the time where he was incredibly angry at the scene of his grandfather attacking his parents. The tips had sharpened so immensely that the tips had penetrated space. He was using what he saw from that as an advantage for this.
With all the billions upon billions upon billions of his particles forming into space piercing needles, his body had retained its shape as the particles hadn't moved an inch, but through all his layers space was distorting and it was causing him to feel troubled. He wanted to get this over with as the more he kept his particles like this the more dark matter would be needed to supply them. He suddenly willed all his particles to press forward just a minuscule bit but this was enough to cause them all to perfectly move in unison with all the tips of these needles piercing into space. It made his body vibrate violently and phase somewhat. Ripples from the torn space began to form but Avrin knew this wasn't enough.
He was starting to lose dark matter and his particles had 90% capacity left. He began to will them to push further and penetrate deeper. They followed his command and it caused the space inside him to distort even more. The ripples perfectly formed an outline of his body and the minuscule tears began to move together to form a larger, single rip in space.
Avrin was incredibly nervous because right now he was relying on the book in his consciousness to guide him with what he discovered by the second. “-Then this..-” he thought as he suddenly willed the particles to immediately coat that window that connected the side of ripped space with stable space. This coated patch would solidify his entire body in a hardened solid shell of metallic dark matter until he looked like a lazily made metal statue.
He, of course, ignored what happened on the outside. This next step was crucial and he began to focus carefully on it.
---------------
EDIT: Fixed spelling mistakes
Avrin's Inner Workings Status
][tr]]
Dark Stage Control ParticlesType 12100%Dark Stage ParticlesType 12100%God Essence WeaponsAstaroth-ScytheLimos-VajraGod Essence EquipmentSarcanus-Armor