The Hearted Realms are domains of chaos.

You cannot plan for what you will encounter within them. Whatever Archdevil you dwell within, they will use your memories as clay and your weaknesses as a foundation to create something anathema to you. Something you cannot overcome. You will drown, whatever your power, no matter your power.

But the Hearted Realms are dubbed the Trials of Despair for a reason.

You are not meant to triumph against the Archdevils; you are meant to triumph against yourself. Those who pass through without seeking the aid of a higher power, such as a circle or one of the many organizations that exist within the Claimed Hells, are those that do not need it.

They have already saved themselves.

They have already won.

-The Trespasser’s Compedium

77

The Plan (II)

For a good long moment, John Bishop stared at the Knight of Lust, his frown growing deeper with each passing second.

Severan was a ruined shell of a person. A constant twitching and the hollow-eyed stare she possessed revealed the whole truth of that. But even so, they knew why the Trespasser was annoyed.

“Son,” Bishop began with a sigh, “are you telling me that you had a fully intact Knight-Tier vessel for me to pilot, and you decided to give me this old-ass man anyway?”

“Yes,” Wei said without any hesitation, “that is what I’m telling you. I still have need of her, and I am worried she is compromised.”

The Trespasser shook his head. A derisive chuckle escaped from John Bishop, and he shook his head like a father would when facing the excuses of a particularly dishonest child. “Well then, I suppose I should thank you for looking out for me, young master.”

“I suppose you should. Your appreciation has been received, Master Bishop.”

The poor Trespasser thought he was attuned to passive-aggressiveness. Not so, not so. Wei was a cultivator born and bred, and the ways of the subtle insult were as ingrained in a sect as its forms, techniques, and philosophies.

Brushing off his annoyance, John Bishop continued to examine the Knight of Lust. Tendrils of purple brightness extended from the Trespasser’s mind and burrowed deep into the Knight’s being. She flinched before the approaching essence, but as soon as they coalesced within her, her expression slackened, and all semblance of a fight vanished from her being.

Seizing the opportunity, Wei applied his Outsight to the Knight of Lust, curious about Bishop’s power. As the Knight’s perception superimposed over his own, he felt nothing in particular, just a vague sense of unshakable tranquility.

Wei eyed Bishop from the corner of his eye. Direct assaults on another person’s consciousness were one thing. Wei could disrupt such Essence and vectors of attack using his Form of the Resonant, but subtle manipulation—the amplification or suppression of another’s mood—this was by far a more insidious technique, something the young master needed to watch out for. Without hesitating, he applied Lesser Hollow Mind to himself to keep his mental state in a muted rationality.

“Good Christ, son, you broke her something bad. No Will left in her, no Will at all.”

All of a sudden, the purple tendrils vanished and Bishop looked away. “Yeah, yeah, she’ll do. Broken though her essence is, she’s still got plenty of power inside her, enough to make a proper bomb.”

Wei frowned at that, and a question was carried by Rafael. “A bomb?” the lich said. He shot the Knight of Lust a glance. “Forgive me, Mr. Bishop, but are you talking about overloading someone’s spirit?”

That captured Wei’s attention. Essence Overload, like what he could do by infusing his Eidolon with a catalyst.

“Yeah, something like that.” The briefness of a feral grin passed over Bishop’s features, reminding Wei of a slavering dog, a juicy slab of meat left just beyond the iron bars of its kennel.

Turning to the others again, Bishop spent a few moments in silent contemplation, while the rest looked at each other, warily awaiting the Trespasser’s words.

“So, you got three problems to contend with. The first is the Archdevil of Gluttony. Whatever Hearted Realm you choose, it don’t matter which one you pick, you’re gonna feel the effects almost immediately. You’re gonna feel like you haven’t had a single meal in your life, and you’ve been wandering the desert for the past thousand years, as soon as you get in that Hearted Realm. No countering that, no resisting that. Not for me, and certainly not for the rest of you. Not even for John Bishop.”

It took great confidence to admit one’s vulnerabilities, or perhaps this, too, was another layer of deception. It would be easy for Bishop to feed others false information—that seemed to be how he operated, anyway.

“Second problem on the list is the Inheritors and their erstwhile friends. That would be pretty bad. I don’t think this big can’s gonna get past them, not without some serious finagling on our part.”

“And the third problem,” he said, “and a problem that might just see you all dead before any of the actual fighting even starts, is all of you. Namely, how fucked up each of you already are.”

“Excuse me?” Ellena said, sounding most offended.

Bishop continued without a hint of remorse. “I know what happened to you. All of you.” He looked at Agnesia. “I know what you had to do to get here. Who you needed to kill. Who you didn’t want to kill.” His eyes were on Roggi now. “I know your regrets and your shame.” Finally, he swept over to Rafael. “And I know what you’ve done in the name of liberty, despite what you tell yourself.”

An oppressive silence consumed the room. Even without his Outsight, Wei could sense a palpable dread mixing with the bitter tang of rising despair.

“You know nothing,” Agnesia growled as her wreath of flames began to crackle.

“Agnesia,” her mother said, approaching with a placating hand.

“No!” the girl roared, and the shadow of a draconic titan echoed around her being, materializing for a scant second. “You have no idea what it was like, how it felt, to watch your home turn against you. To see your father’s head on a pike. To see your brother turned into a monster. A monster that was little more than a dog, crawling along the road with a collar at his neck and one of the Dying Queen’s bastard children holding his chain.” Something between a snarl and a sob escaped her. “He fed my brother… He fed my brother my father’s blood. That’s how they turn him. That was his first taste of being Embraced. And after that, they breached our homes. They turned everyone close to us. Everyone—citizens… nobles... They turned themselves. They turned themselves out of fear of death. And they thought that being monsters, being little more than subhuman vermin, was preferable.”

But rather than roar, her flames began to dim as the strength left Agnesia as fast as the outrage began. “I tried fighting them, Mother,” she said, a single teardrop escaping her. “I tried, and in my defiance, they turned, and they turned… and they turned.”

“I know.” Ellena approached, embracing her daughter as both wept. “I know.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Wei’s mind whirled back to the Trial of Retribution. The two burned twins, the kindred that used them to taunt Ellena and Agnesia. Wei had expected them, but he didn’t broach the topic. He dared not. His own wounds had also been raw, and he wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Well, not anyone he liked.

As mother and daughter sought comfort in each other, Wei took a single step closer to Bishop.

“You do this again, and we will discover just how much more powerful you are than I. Be you prepared, live as an Aspect cripple,” Wei said, his veiled threat brimming with gravitas and aggression.

But instead of meeting the young master’s threat with defiance, Bishop simply sighed. “Listen, son, I know what you’re doing, but it doesn’t matter. If my words can do this, then going into the Hearted Realm will see them torn to pieces. They’ll see apparitions, specters of their regret. The Hearted Realms bleed over into each other. The realms of Gluttony and Wrath ain’t so far apart, and Wrath can make someone commit a lot of things.”

He let out a breath. “And the Inheritors will know how to use this too. That vampire that’s got it in for them? Reunion? I guarantee fucking to you that he’s gonna do all this and more to twist, break, bleed, and butcher everyone who isn’t crown Princess and Queen of Dawnrest. They want them alive, and alive doesn’t mean whole.”

Shifting his posture, he spoke out loud. “I apologize if my words have caused you any kind of discomfort or trauma, but it’s gonna get worse. You’re gonna face worse, and that’s the problem here. You can’t afford to be brittle. Not now.”

Facing the Oathbearer, Bishop cocked his head, and Rogi took two lumbering steps forward before speaking. “I’ll tell him myself,” Roggi said, staring at Wei. “He’s seen my hammer break. He’d probably knows.”

“Right then,” Bishop said, and that was the end of that.

At that moment, a whisper also passed over Wei’s ear. “I have something to discuss as well,” Rafael said.

Wonderful. Instead of creating a united front for everyone to face their difficulties, the arrival of the Trespasser inflicted a black note upon the group’s morale.

“Issues aside, however,” Bishop said, “I can help you. I can hide memories, and I can blunt the effects of your emotions. It’s one solution to the third problem.”

Unable to help himself, Wei seethed at the Trespasser. “Why couldn’t you lead with that?”

“Would you trust me?” Bishop replied. “‘Let me twist your minds.’ Seemed like a better pitch to show you the problems first.” He waved at Agnesia and Ellena. “Especially the obvious ones>”

“Don’t trust you now,” Wei hissed, exasperated.

Bishop continued. “Ultimately, though, your prep work is plenty commendable. This big fortress—it’s a large, fragile target, but a large, fragile target’s what we need. It’s just that when the time comes, I don’t think any of you want to be on it.”

“What do you mean?” Wei asked.

With a wave of his hand, the mindspace changed once more. The barracks blurred as if the surface of a disturbed pond, and a ruined landscape came into form before them. The terrain was coated in what looked like thick, viscous flesh and translucent membrane. Chasms lined with jagged teeth clamped and bit at nothing in particular. Flicking tongues forded rows of enamel—razor-sharp, utterly wrong to look at—assailed Wei’s vision. And everywhere, small, fat, grub-like creatures squealed and fled, their only fate to feed the hungry earth, their bodies sizzling as acidic rain fell from diseased clouds.

“Here is the Hearted Realm you’re about to head into: the Archdevil of Gluttony. There are no maps for you that can help you traverse this place. The concept of distance, of time, doesn’t work the same here. And as soon as you enter, you’ll be included as a member of this realm. And from your aspects, from your powers, demons will spawn. Demons formed from your past, and demons perfectly suited to make you their prey. Don’t matter how powerful your Class is, how high your Aspects are. You are not greater than an Archdevil.”

And then, a faint smirk spread across Bishop’s features. “Not unless you’re a System host specifically designed to kill other systems.”

“What then?” Wei asked. “Are you expecting me to contend against the full might of an Archdevil, broken and impaled as it is?” Wei had no shortage of pride, but he still remembered his encounter with the Riftblade and the Count. The old man had left him cowed to some extent, but all that power paled before the pressure exerted by the very existence of the Archdevils. It was the kind of pressure you’d feel deep underwater—the knowledge that all that mass above was crushing down, even when it was still, even without any exertion, sheer dominance by existence alone.

“No, I sincerely doubt that you’ll be powerful enough to even leave a chip in the Hearted Realm.”

“Then what?”

John Bishop shook his head. “You’re not using your powers against the Archdevil, boy. You’re going to use your power on yourself. This is why I asked if you’ve developed your boundaries yet. You must have a Liminal Bridge already, right?”

“Perhaps I do, but seeing as you are most knowledgeable in the inner workings of my System, I suspect that you also understand how much Source that demands from me.”

“Yeah, that’s a hefty portion of your total pool, but that makes sense, since it’s basically allowing you to occupy two points in space at once.”

Was that how it worked.

Yes.

Wei frowned internally. Would be nice if you came with a cultivation manual.

That was not the creator’s will.

No. His will was that I should wander in the dark while every other person taunts me with their greater knowledge.

Unlikely. This Trespasser—

I was being sardonic, you bastard spirit.

Understood. Would you like to change my designation to bastard spirit.

No! I—No!

“Wei?” Bishop interrupted the young master’s internal dialogue. “You doing all right there.”

“Hm? Yes. I’m just considering your words. I have to test this Sourcery, if I am to be truthful.”

“Right. It just looked like you were trying to pass a kidney stone there for a second.”

Dammit. Now Wei needed to watch his facial expression. Damnable System.

“Whatever the case, the bridge will allow you to move freely. Freely, as in the Archdevil can’t stop you from leaving since you’re a System host as well. Boundaries are yours to control—”

“How do you know so damned much about my Concept-Breaker,” Wei growled, unable to take the taunting anymore. “Are you a host as well? Is that what it is?”

“Nah. I ain’t nothing special. Just killed a Keter before is all.”

With that, a new tension sprouted its branches in Wei.

“Way I see things, we’re going to need to do a little skirmishing. A little guerrilla warfare. On the surface, I recommend you all keep to your original plan. Keep telling the others what you’ve been telling them. But we’re going to make some alternative arrangements in the meantime.”

“Alternative how?” Wei asked.

“We’ve already gone over what we know. Let’s go over what the Inheritors probably know. They know that you all are going to try a fast traversal across the Hearted Realm of Gluttony. They know that you’ll be moving within an Oathbearer-created vessel. Unenchanted, mundane hull, high energy consumption, extremely vulnerable. What we also know, though, is that they all want some of you alive, so they can’t just blow you out of the air. More likely they’ll ground you and peel you out from the can.”

“Thus luring them in close,” Wei said. Following along, a twinge passed through his Aspect of Enlightenment, and he glanced at the Knight of Lust. “So, she is to be the key here after all?”

“She’s gonna be a lot more than just explode. We’re gonna hide a few people in her as well. Those compromised by the Inheritors mostly.”

Wei’s expression flatted. “I… might have taken her Inventory.”

Bishop paused. “Well, that’s fine. I’ll find you another modification shard and we can bootstrap ourselves another slave-taking Skill. But ultimately, we need the Inheritors to have a trace on you—to not suspect a thing. They’ll be trying to exploit you, so you should exploit them back.”

“And their trackers will still be in effect?” Wei asked. “Even when their assets are stored in another’s Inventory?”

“Worked for me before,” Bishop said simply.

“And what about the rest of us?” Roggi said. “What are the ‘trusted ones’ supposed to be doing?”

“You all? You all are gonna be hitching a ride in Wei using his Inventory. How many of you are past the level 25 threshold?” Agnesia pushed away from Ellena. Tears still lined her face, but her composure had been regained.

“I crossed it,” she said quietly, “not too long ago.”

“Alright. One of you. That’s doable.” Bishop said. “Might put some more strain on you, Wei, but you’re level 28: you can take it.”

“And why am I putting my companions into my Inventory?”

“To ferry people from one place to another. We’re trying to get everyone through the Hearted Realm, right? Best that only one person stand against tribulation. One that can face it. One with the greatest capabilities. You can bring out whoever when you need them. That, and it’ll be safer for them too. We can do a test first.”

“A test?”

“Yeah. We can all take a little walk in the Realm of Gluttony. Let you all get a feel for how shitty it all is. Wei can get some more Advancements, and after that, you can all return via his Liminal Bridge. Just so you know what you’re up against.”

With that said, everyone shared look of hesitation before Roggi shrugged. “Rust it. Let’s take a look at the bastard Archdevil’s insides, then. No sense pissing around here.”