And that’s the last little singularity I’ll be eating for a long time. Now. To all of you how spent so very much delaying me, parting my focus…
Run.
Take your families with you too.
No one has managed it before, but perhaps, just maybe, you might be the first.
There’s always hope if you try. Because if you don’t, you will learn of pain only spoken of in myth.
Oh. And Inheritors… Gather your Consuls. I will have words with you shortly…
-Mepheleon the Harbinger
89
Time’s Up
Mulver Groon was having a good time. It wasn’t every day you got the official go ahead to dress up as an Inheritor to hit those Gluttony fucks. False flags were always funny affairs, and Mulver loved each and every one of them.
He and ten other Knights did the usual thing. They slipped down along the Black Tower using their Navigators and started doing a little rampaging across the Moongraves of Gluttony. It took a while to get some heat, but after smashing up a couple of Bastions, stealing a few Sinners, and burning a couple of contracts, Mulver and his Knights had a sizable contingent hounding them from Moongrave to Moongrave, which led into the next part of the plan.
Leading them right into the Inheritor base.
Mighty big brawl happened after that. With the Archdevil constantly siphoning Essence away from the Inheritors, smashing through their protective wards and spreading a blood hydra through their base was pretty straightforward. Mulver kept his attacks fast and quick. He flooded the hallways, he took his damage, he killed who he could, and he kept moving.
Meanwhile, hidden within his hydra were the other Knights that came with him. The Knights snuck out through his red, butchering Inheritor rearguard and logistical assets with an explicit focus on going after their psionics and teleportation network.
Things deteriorated more after that, and Mulver loved to see it. A glass blade had just punched through his skull when the confirmations started coming in.
“Rift one is down. Got the defenders here too.”
“Rift three heavily defended. Dropping bomb and leaving.”
“Rift five down. Proceeding to rift six.”
The Inheritor trying to kill Mulver was a little slip of an elf. A series of gleaming blades hovered behind her like a set of wings, from their tips formed a lattice of light that spawned an Aura of Incineration. She cried out as she drove her blade deeper into the orc’s skull. He missed her during his initial rampage through the base; she took her shot. But she should have gone for the decapitation rather than the stab.
Mulver yawned. Mulver’s blood quivered and slashed out from his wound in a pressured jet, severing clean through the elf’s blade—and leaving a neat little hole through her left eye. She managed a disbelieving blink before she toppled off his blood hydra and fell down into the rising fires below. Another wave of devastation crashed down over the groaning outsider base. Its outer walls had already been melted, leaving it looking like a warped cake folding in on itself. The ciphers protecting its innermost layers were flaring its last, and Mulver made one of his hydra heads squeeze tighter, watching the symbols flicker with dying motes of light.
Won’t be long now. Three beams punched through his chest, but his lungs regenerated as fast as they were destroyed. He could feel something eating him from the inside, and had to use his blood to kill the parasites as well. By the Harbinger was dealing with these Gluttony fucks a chore.
A dozen more confirmation followed thereafter. More Inheritor rifts were being closed for business. Wouldn’t be long now till they lost any semblance of ground control completely, forcing their Knight-Tiers into a bad choice: do they make a break and run to save themselves, or do they pull a last stand, hoping their one Marquis pulls something fast to save them.
A tide of hungry demons poured down from the sky, flooding the gaps in the base. A few tried going for Mulver, but he used a spare head to swallow them before they could become an actual problem. The few Inheritor fliers and speedsters were being encircled and torn apart too.
Not bad for a day’s work. Not bad.
Then, something tugged at his senses. He’d taken a Potion of True Seeing before he arrived, and saw a strange shape phasing through the top of the base—even through Mulver’s blood hydra. It resembled a serpent as well, though far smaller than the appendages Mulver controlled. Focusing his Perception, he gleaned what he could for this unidentified foe before he prepared to strike them down.
Rico the Snake: Psi-Shaper Lv. 95
Rico the Snake? He knew that name. There was a price on that one’s head with the Circle of Envy. Something about going turncoat. Guess Mulver knew where the bastard’s loyalty shifted. Mulver expected Rico to run, but instead of feeling toward the great rift leading out from the Hearted Realm, he opened a slit in space and tunneled through using some kind of psionic Skill.
A blade of curving force cleaved Mulver in half, distracting him from his ruminations as he forced his body to regenerate fast. “Goddammit,” he muttered. That one actually hurt a little. Withdrawing his hydras, he cocooned himself in a shell of blood before gliding over the Inheritor base. The Circle of Gluttony was bringing in some actual heavy hitters. High Knights by the feel their Essence. They could have the base and the Inheritors. Mulver had other matters to handle.
Equipping a Potion of Greater Stealth and a Potion of the Wallflower from his Inventory, Mulver gulped them both down at the same time to shed the heat and regroup with Wei. Both of these potions put together cost half a billion Sins, and it was only thanks to the Old Man’s generosity that Mulver got to sample them for this job. The kid was still pretty far out there in the thick of things, and might appreciate a hand soon.
Potion of Greater Stealth: Masks your scent, body heat, mutes all noise in your vicinity, and turns you utterly transparent to everyone with sub (10,000) Perception.
Potion of the Wallflower: Merges your Essence with ambient Essence.
Also, Mulver had a feeling the False Hydra hadn’t just run off. Considering the amount of spatial interference, the Hearted Realm inflicted on teleportation Skills and how Rico wasn’t any more than Knight, he was going somewhere local. Nearby even. Either running for one of the other great departure rifts, or, equally likely, where the Unfallen and Kindred were.
So. The game wasn’t over. Inheritors were that desperate. But why? From what he figured out with the dragon-princess and the Trine, he could see why the Unfallen and the Dying Queen wanted them. But Wei? The kid was a menace, but what about him demanded all of this? What was the Inheritor’s angle? All this mystery got Mulver feeling curious.
“Alright, kids, I’m going after our, uh, client. Handle the rifts and bug out. Think our part is approaching done soon. I’m going to stick around for a little longer. There’s something I want to take a look at.”
“You getting greedy, Mulv?” One of his Knights asked. Another orc named Franks or something. Trespasser fuck. New guy. Too personable. Mulver didn’t like him much—liked being called Mulv less.
“More like cleaning up shit. You’re welcome to participate if you want, but you’ll have to talk with the Old Man after, give him a debrief—”
“Yo, lead with that next time, motherfucker. I’m out.”
Mulver snorted. Worked every time.
Looking behind, he felt hundreds of Essence signatures converging around the Inheritor base. Shadowy maws formed in the air, with fangs the size of mountains closing around the entire space. Damn. That might’ve been an Epic Skill. The Gluttony fuckers were pulling out the big guns already. Probably meant they had a Marquis in the field as well. The orc shook his head. Not a moment too soon.
And without further ado, he slithered onward toward the horizon, avoiding swarming demons and hopping over the massive jaws lining the land. A single string of Essence became his compass—his link to Wei.
Soon, if all went well, he’d be getting out of here with a new member for the Circle of Pride.
But if the False Hydra was going after Wei… Well, Mulver started getting thoughts.
Sure, he could intervene immediately and remove the problem for the kid now, but… maybe that wasn’t the best way things could turn out. Maybe the kid could stand to lose a couple of friends in a tragic encounter—give him a reason to hate the Inheritors more. Maybe he’d find himself on the verge of death against the ambushing hydra and Mulver could swoop in, cementing his goodwill and fully capturing the cultivator for the Circle of Pride.
His commission wasn’t done, anyway. Not until the kid signed on. And Mulver knew the game he was playing. Little shit was shrewd, but the Old Man knew better.
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Pride wasn’t here to serve anyone’s need but theirs.
And that, above all, was a lesson Wei probably should’ve figured out before making any choices.
There were so many opportunities that could be created in the Claimed Hells. But with every choice you made, an opportunity might just pop up for someone else too.
***
Authority Advanced > 43
[10/10] Aspect Advancements to Core Ascension
Core Ascension Available
Fortification Charges gained! [+344]
Strength Damaged!
Constitution Damaged!
Athlon writhed on the edge of Wei’s spear, twitching like a smoking insect. Still unsatisfied, the young master channeled another flood of lightning out from his spear, and the Unfallen’s wails echoed for leagues. A dense haze of Source swirled around Wei, the connection between him and his scythe closer than ever before. With every wound he inflicted, he carved away more of the skeletal warrior’s spirit as well.
Whatever happened to ascend his Intent to Ambition prematurely had given him more internal awareness; finer spiritual control. If gaining Intent was like opening his eyes to the existence of concepts and the potential to break them, now, he could sense the architecture of things in the finest detail, grasp the flowing of Essence as they made up each part.
“E-enough,” Athlon growled, shrieking through the electricity. Wei ignored him. Though the young master taunted her upon his return, a particular loathing was born when Wei laid eyes on Agnesia’s brutalized state. And here was the culprit who thought he could harm a member of the Drowned Sky Sect without recompense. “The Court of Ruin will see you—”
Instinctively, Wei flicked his scythe out with a push of willpower. It didn’t even need to accompany his strikes anymore. The naturalness of his spiritual attack nearly took Wei by surprise, but the shattering of Unfallen’s Constitution became cause for celebration. The skeletal warrior’s armor shattered, his bones broke, and even his ghosts poured out in bleeding ruptures.
“No! No, what have you—”
Wei flicked the disgusting insect from his spear and released his Form of the Martial Harvester. Unfallen struck the ground head first and the darkness constituting his face splashed away into the motes of nothingness. Contrarily, The Source Wei radiated receded into his being, and a new System prompt appeared.
Choose Harvest [ERROR FUNCTION UN/LOCKED]
>SKILL — CREATE POLTERGEIST: CARVE AN UNLIVING CONSTRUCT FROM A FALLEN ENEMY’S (MIND) THAT CAN BE USED AS A PHYSICAL OR MENTAL MISSILE IN COMBAT
>ASPeeeeeeCT ADVANCEMENT — +5 TO ALL ASPECTS
>TITLeeeeeellllee — PALADIN AGAINST THE VOID: GRANTS YOU INCREASED ABILITY to INFlicttt hARMM ON/..asd…….rrrrrrrlocked
Wei blinked as poorly spelled characters and random bursts of static spiked through his mind. System. What is with you? Did the Dying Queen leave us with lingering damage?
Unable to confirm. Error. You have accessed Aspect Ascension before prerequisites have been met. System imbalances detected.
What does that mean?
Uncertain. This should not be possible.
The young master rolled his eyes. Thank you System. You are a great help. As always.
Be respectful to me. I will not take such disrespect for a mere host.
What?
But his System said no more. For a moment, Wei could have sworn the damn thing cursed back at him using his own voice.
“Wei? You alright.” the young master blinked and found Bishop standing next to him. Not far away, Athlon lay shivering on the ground, more of him breaking with each minor movement. A layer of ciphers folded over him as Rafael secured the Unfallen. Ellena’s summoned demons stood guard over their new captive’s form while Agnesia advanced with her bone-blade slung over her shoulders and a sneer on her face. Not far away, Wei also sensed Roggi growing a new wing from a rotten stump as he stomped over to Agate and his Trine.
They were alive. Well, not the Knight of Lust, but her purpose had been reached anyway. Without her as a bomb, the Inheritors wouldn’t have been so diminished.
“Wei?” Bishop asked again.
“I am… fine,” Wei said, trying to ignore how fragmented his thoughts were.
“You don’t feel fine. The Dying Queen—“
“I dealt with her,” Wei said. “She won’t be returning. I severed her connection. I killed the Kindred.” Hearing his words, Ellena and Agnesia both looked at him. “I could keep him alive. He was too dangerous. I tried… I gave them peace. Your brothers. The children. They were at peace in the end.”
“Thank you,” Ellena said, her voice thick with grief. Agnesia reached out to squeeze her mother’s arm in a show of support, but winced as her mangled limb was still in the process of healing. “I… thank you…”
The young master just nodded, too spent for anything else.
S-system error
Aspects Imbalanced
CHOOSEee PERMENANTNG HARVEST
“Shut up,” Wei breathed, as the System screamed in the back of his mind again. Bishop flinched next to him. The young master gave him a look. “You heard that too?”
“Yeah. Damn loud. Shit, son, what did she do to you?”
“I don’t think it was her doing,” Wei said. The moment he cleaved through his mother, something had broken inside him. But something was unlocked as well.
“Well, we’re getting out of here,” Bishop continued. “Inheritor base got hit. Their forces are getting culled thanks to your other friends and—” The Trespasser went still. His eyes narrowed.
“What?” Wei asked.
And then he felt it too. A trickle of Essence leaking out from Athlon—Wei’s Ambition felt it coming from the undead’s Mind specifically.
“Get back!” Bishop roared. A flood of psionic power rushed out from his eyes, punching through Rafael’s shielding just as something tried to emerge out of the Unfallen. Cracks began to spread down Bishop’s vessel. Angeleous’ body was coming apart—this was too much Essence for him to channel even as a conduit.
“Wei!” Bishop cried. “Break him! Break him completely!”
The young master didn’t hesitate. A scythe manifested over him. He cleaved distance—exploded across space with his spear raised, intent on finishing the Unfallen for good. He thought the undead warrior finished after the destruction of his head, but clearly Wei had become too hopeful during the delightful time he spent in the Claimed Hells. But before his final strike could descend, and pillar of opalescent psionic energy exploded up into the sky like a pillar, and Wei felt Bishop’s vessel crack open—a mortal wound for Angeleous.
The young master was flung back, the force pressing against him overwhelming, and through the psionic maelstrom, his Aspects of Omniscience and Enlightenment both trembled as he saw a nest of large undulating snakes swirl about.
False Hydra. Good thing he got in the habit of drinking those Clarity potions.
Unleashing his Heart of Calamity, Wei pressed against the repulsive waves with a force of his own and also triggering his Form of the Resonant. He slashed out with his spear. And a chunk of psionic Essence vanished outright.
PERRNNAMMENT HARVEST>SKILL — TELEKININNEESSSSSSSSS: MOVE STRET NGTH SNTNREGBNG
Between his System screaming inside his head, the ache he felt after slashing through his mother, and the mind-shredding pressure pouring free from the psionic storm, Wei felt his ego flay before a grinding onslaught. Yet still he pressed on. For what other way was there? How else was he supposed to be.
“He’s here!” A shrill, sibilant set of voices cried. “They’re all here! Get over here! Now!”
Wei took another step, gritted his teeth, felt his other companions barely clinging to the ground—felt more of Bishop break away—and he brought his spear—
LESSER TIME STOP
The world halted. A sphere of static gray exploded outward, swallowing Wei and all his companions. It continued going for about twenty meters before it finally traced out a border. Arms extended from the center of the sphere where the hydra twisted, and they ticked, swinging clockwise with each second.
Wei’s Aspect of Relativity shuddered as space around him broke into fractals. He could move. But barely. It felt like he was swimming through unmoving stone. But stone was nothing to him now. With each flex of Authority, more of the static field around him shattered, allowing his scythe and spear to inch closer down on the Unfallen.
Until a figure blinked beside him.
The suddenness of their appearance made Wei’s thoughts go blank. Just a meter away stood a tall man with slick, black hair, a nice blue suit, and a strange round-rimmed hat. In his hands, a what looked to be a round contraption of some kind turned to dust. From it released a truly staggering amount of Essence—the very same kind as the static field.
“You know,” the stranger said, turning to face Wei. “That was an epic rarity artifact. Single use. Fourteen billion Sins. And gone. Like that.”
Wei wasn’t sure why the man was unaffected, but a sense of wrongness swelled inside him. The young master needed to—
“But hey, it was all worth it in the end. Managed to catch you in a net after all. See you got rid of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum for me too. Well. Just the same. I need a patsy and the corpse-knight’ll do. Rest you’s though? You’re coming with me.”
He took a step close to Wei, and through the swirling haze of chaos that were his thoughts, Wei finally managed to put two and two together. “Seever,” he seethed. Even speaking was a struggle. “Inheritor.”
The man cracked a winning grin at Wei. And his hand shifted, the flesh peeling back as a large protrusion extended. It looked a barrel of bone. Instead, a twisted swirl of Essence leaked out, promising death. “Howdy, kiddo. Please to finally meet you. Gotta say… you look just like your old man. Jaw. Face. Everything. Maybe not the eyes though… Eh. We can fix that. Hell, we can fix a lot of things.” Seever licked his lips. “I gotta say. We were just going to kill you before, but now the thought of using you to deal your old man in? Now that’s the kind of poetic cruel sadism that tickles me.”
Wei twisted his spear aside while his scythe continued toward the Unfallen, cleaving through the field of halted time.
CALCCULANTE CNCN T INTEEGRITn
21;1./441f
Come on, Wei roared internally.
The Inheritor arced a brow at Wei’s struggle. “Well. If nothing else, you got bones, kid. Most people would’ve dropped. But not you. Ain’t no quit. Down even know the word. But that ain’t enough to win in this town. Sometimes, the game’s just rigged, and a bullet is fired as you even know the fight’s begun. Shitty fate’s all. Better luck next life.”
And letting out a contemptuous breath, the Inheritor lined his bone-cannon of an arm directly at Wei’s face, and fired.