And when I passed through the last gateway and entered the Claimed Hells, the true games began, and I learned. Under the instruction of the Harbinger, I learned.

But more meaningfully, I grew my power, and the hunger of my ambition as well.

The Inheritors took my home.

And so I would take theirs.

Before anyone else knew, before even I knew truly knew, Earth was to be mine to conquer.

-Wei An Wei The Realmbreaker

95

Welcoming (II)

“Oh, golly gee, client, you sure lived a rough life. And with some many people acting against you too. Don’t worry though: we’ll sue those Inheritors! We’ll sue them good and hard! I’m drafting the first of my documents up as we speak across the Courts—we’re going to bring OUR SCORN down on their little tushies so hard, the Circle of Pride will have to launch a countersuit against us to stop us from obliterating the Inheritors before they can get a piece…”

The little demonic sprite danced from place to place on Wei’s spear, pulling comically large papers out of its tiny briefcase. Soon thereafter, the others sported their own lawyers—though theirs different slightly in aesthetic compared to his. All of them were two-dimensional tongues, but their color palates fit the Path they were treading upon, and their ties also gave indications of their client’s class.

Agnesia had a raw-red lawyer with a blackfire tie. Roggi’s lawyer, on the other hand, was a bit bloated, seeming more akin to a rotting worm than a tongue, and their tie was likewise a tendril of pure decay. Rafael, ultimately, was snarling at a near-transparent lawyer. Curses were exchanged between them about how the market was a vile thing or how the Crossroads technically did nothing wrong under a set of articles and numbers.

It was all frankly a lot for Wei to take in: It had been a long day. A long few weeks. His mind was weary, and his spirit remained fractured from Ellena’s near death earlier. He was spent. And so, his focus finally drifted as the lawyer prattled on, and Mepheleon led them toward the last gateway—the last trial before they were full accepted into the Claimed Hells.

For a good half hour they walked and Wei finally spent some time taking in the scenery to his—this place wasn’t his home. He would never really have a home again. That was lost to him. But it was a new horizon; a realm of opportunity and refinement. Nearing the base of the tower, he saw massive rings passing above the encroaching gateway, its surface dense with lights and structures.

There were eight layers that revolved around a core. A core that sprouted burning arteries—the incubators that formed the Claimed Hells’ heartblood. Each ring was many times the size of an ordinary realm, and even from afar could Wei feel the crushing Essence signatures of greater powers than he.

A mere month ago, he was but a boy in a backward realm, thinking that his sect was the final pinnacle before one could trespassing into the heavens. Not so. Not so. The Fathoms were far more than he could have ever anticipated, and the black fate of his sect had been writ in betrayal for reasons they couldn’t have known.

The edge of Wei’s Omniscience slipped beyond the final gate, and he found a gravity vector symbol—the same kind down in the anchor cities—at the very base of the tower. There, a wide plaza sporting painted tiles of obsidian awaited them. This would be their entry into the first ring of the Claimed Hells, then. This place, called Preceptor’s Descent.

“There is a cost to resurrection, you know?” Mepheleon said, speaking casually as he levitated Ellena’s head. The former queen blinked, face contorted in permanent horror. It hurt to look upon her, and the ghost of Wei’s mother wouldn’t stop lingering below as a body. Wei cursed internally; his damned System must still be trying to manage itself. That was what he wanted to believe, anyway. “It will take time and focused effort on my part. It is no small feat, denying death its due.”

“What do you want?” Agnesia murmured. Her gaze was locked to Ellena, flinching each time her mother’s head dipped. “Whatever you desire, I will give it. Whoever you wish killed, whatever you want taken, I will promise—”

Her lawyer sudden bounced on her head, causing Agnesia to stumble forward. “Don’t say that crap, girlie! Hey, Harbinger! She didn’t mean it!” Agnesia growled and snatched at her lawyer, but the demon just phased through her hand before bouncing off her head again. “Stop!” It slammed into Agnesia’s chin, making her grunt but not actually hurting her. “Screwing yourself over. We gotta negotiate! Let him finish his terms first! Hells! I hate new clients!”

A low chuckle sounded from Mepheleon as he enjoyed the scene. All without turning around once. “Don’t worry princess. You will have your own tale to create. But your mother… her fate rests not with what you choose, but what our young master Wei here decides.”

Wei’s gut clenched. What was the Harbinger playing at now.

“Don’t worry,” his lawyer said, boucing up his shoulder. “The goon probably trying to drive a bargain. Whatever price he’s trying to pull, I’ll find a way to bring it down. Be sure about that.”

Wei hesitated before giving the small Demon of Law a brief nod. The creature was strange, and he still wasn’t sure about how he truly felt. At least it was upbeat and helpful. It occupied a space parallel to his Eidolon, bonded with his Class. That didn’t mean he trusted it. Wei didn’t trust anything anymore, and should Mepheleon will the lawyer to betray their clients, then they would. Of this, the young master was sure.

But then again, what Mepheleon willed often simply was. There were only a few things Wei had to offer that the Harbinger couldn’t simply take, and the big one was his System. Keter. Concept Breaker.

Wei was tired. Tired of schemes. Tired of games. And so he went on the offense. “It is the vault, isn’t it?” Wei guessed. “The Antediluvian Vault connected to Earth?”

“Oh. So you’ve done some reading,” Mepheleon turned, and lowered his head toward Wei. His glasses slid down his nose, and the dark pools that were his eyes seemed to shine with the celebratory lights. “Why, I suppose you’re right. But it’s more than that. I will ask you personally in a moment. I have a feeling you’ll like what I have to say.”

“An’ what about the rest of us,” Roggi spat. “Are we supposed to just go along with whatever you have planned?”

“Well, once you pass the last gate and receive your seal, you may do as you please, provided you don’t break any contracts or offend any actual powers. You are on the verge of citizenship, my dears. Meager Sinners no more.” And almost boyishly, Mepheleon leaped from the path and clicked his heels together. When he landed, Wei and the others were standing right before the final gateway—the span of several kilometers crossed in a single click.

But the young master caught something that time. There was a trickle of Essence peeling away from the Harbinger—and it wasn’t the black of space. Whatever that power was, Wei didn’t know, but it was unique to the Harbinger so far, and might’ve been the primary force behind his greater miracles.

“Here we stand,” Mepheleon said, gesturing toward the final gateway. No corpses dotted its exterior this time. No outlines either. Instead, it was just a pool of pure white, giving off a constant whine.

“The Creator…”

“The Creator…”

“This work divine…”

The Trine sang out at once, each of them reaching out toward the gate. They took a few steps forward, but Roggi and Agate sudden shifted in their paths, stopping them.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Hold!” Agate growled. The Trine didn’t respond. Instead, they continued walking forward. “Wait, what are you—”

Then, uncannily, they opened their mouths and sang in a unique note. A unified note that matched the whine of the gate. As the pitches aligned, their bodies came alight as well, and Wei felt a lightness come over them. They grew translucent and phased through the two Oathbearers as a group.

Wei’s eyes widened as he felt them disentangle from material reality.

“What is this?” Roggi said. He tried grabbing at the Trine twice more before spinning on Mepheleon. “You! Stop this!”

“I cannot,” the Harbinger said. “For it is not my doing. The Bearers of the Creator’s Hymn have found another piece of the song in this great artifact. I suspect they will be joined with the Highest Symphony for a while. Don’t mind them. They’ll just be a while, soaking in some new tunes.”

“The Highest—” Agate’s words trailed off as he looked upon the gate. “How?”

“How is it here…” Roggi murmured, finishing his forgekin’s words.

Wei looked between the Oathbearers but it was Mepheleon who offered an elaboration. “There are fragments of the Creator everywhere. This one has been here for a thousand years. From the time the Creator was first broken. I suspect the old fool foresaw his breaking, and hid bits of himself around. It’s what I would have done anyway.”

“And you’ve been usin’ it as a bleeding hellgate?” Roggi practically roared.

“Hellgate? Oh, no, it’s just something to alter your spiritual frequency. Make you more… divine, should I say. After all, the old lore goes thusly: be not all demons once angels descended from heavenly grace? When you pass through, you will officially be a citizen, and more than that, you will be able to return to the Claimed Hells any time you so wish, for its resonance will be bound to yours.”

That gave everyone pause. “This is a binding ritual?” Rafael asked.

“No, Platonist,” Mepheleon sighed. “This is simply Spiritcrafting, Platonist. Weaving a place close to your heart. A home you can always return to, no matter where you are.”

“And what if we refuse,” Rafael said, speaking to Mepheleon with far more braver than he ever did Wei. “What if we decide we desire destruction over this bondage.”

“Then stay here. Or find a way around the gate. But understand that you will be stranded out in the abyss and consumed by Source should someone, say, teleports you. Serious, old chum, the paranoia act was charming at first, but you need to understand that if I truly meant you harm, you wouldn’t even know it.”

Rafael let out a low scoff at that, but complained no more.

‘Well, then,” Mepheleon said, bowing to the group. “I bid you a most delicious welcome to our home, my empire, and your place of infinite opportunity, should you be powerful enough to seize them. Step through and be free, oh members of the Drowned Sky Sect. And don’t worry about this one.” Mepheleon made Ellena spin on one of his fingers. “She’ll be made perfect in due time.”

Agnesia bit her lip and clenched her fists. She didn’t like this, but what else could she do? What other choice did she have if she was to keep her mother alive. “Mother? If you can hear me, I’m… I’m sorry I couldn’t…” That was as far as she got before she brought a hand up to her face and collapsed into a miserable grimace.

Her lawyer clambered out of her hair and patted her on the head. “There, there, little lady. You’ll get her back. She’s just going to get a new body.”

Wei, too, was anxious about what Mepheleon intended to do, but he was done waiting. Offering a weak salute, the young master hardened his resolve and strode forth into the light of gateway. It was time to bring his trials to an end.

“Be seeing you soon, Wei,” Mepheleon sang.

The young master ignored him as he crossed into the threshold.

Reality vanished into a reverberating note. All around him was an expanse of whiteness. Being here infused him with a sense of tranquility. Oneness. Like he was a note among a symphony, a unique entity unto himself and also a part of a greater whole. The resonance passed into him, and Wei felt the song pulse out into the world around him as well.

“It’s really quite something to have home follow you wherever you go,” Mepheleon said, voice whispering the back of Wei’s mind.

The young master closed his eyes and fought back a sigh. “You weren’t kidding about the ‘soon.’”

“Of course. But I didn’t want to do this where drifting ears might catch me saying anything. Those Inheritor cockroaches… they have offended me. Insulted me in my own home and burned yours down to cinders. For years, I found them overly self-important annoyances, but now… now things are finally getting… exciting.”

“Exciting?” Wei asked.

“Of course! They’ve been biding their time, building their power to make a play for Earth and the vault. And with the destruction of your realm, the currents are flowing right, and the way is clear. All they lack is a System capable of breaking into the vault, and here you are… a faction unto yourself.”

“What do you want?” Wei asked.

“For you to conquer Earth. As you said to that idiot, Seever, earlier.”

Wei frowned. “Why?”

“Because it would offend the great System hosts among the Inheritors to see you debase their homes and claim their rightful treasures. And that will set the ground for my desired war.”

“What games are you playing, Mepheleon? What is your goal here?”

“What it always is: control and influence. I wish for you to give me proper casus belli while my hand seems feeble and clean after this… unfortunate attack against me.”

A dark cloud spread through the young master’s mind. “You seek to use me as your dagger, then. A tool for your war?”

The Harbinger just laughed. “You’re close to your second gate, are you not? Cross through and reward yourself. You deserve it. And be not afraid for the queen. Her part in this is not yet done. In fact, I will improve on her fragility.”

And with that, Wei felt the Harbinger’s presence recede from him, and the light begin to dim as well. A final pulse of sound carried Wei forward, and he found himself emerging through the others side of the portal, stepping out onto a plaza that stretched kilometers wide and leagues long.

The first thing he noticed were the other gateways to his left and right. Each one had a kilometer of space between them, and he saw other triumphant sinners passing through. They came in counts of one to five people but never more than that. Behind, Roggi, Rafael, Agate, and Agnesia emerged soon after.

But it was the sight a few steps in front of them that rendered Wei speechless. True to Mepheleon’s word, the disciples of the Drowned Sky Sect stood there as a messy blob, waiting for the arrival of their patriarch. Wei spotted the orc wearing a chef’s hat, the Hivekin with a crown, the elf he saved from the Hearted Realm of Greed, Angeleous’s Shadow Archer lieutenant, and hundreds more.

They weren’t the only ones there to greet him. In front of the disciples were three other individuals. The first was a three-meter tall woman with pale-eyes. Wei nearly flinched as he felt her Essence.

The Moonscar: Lv. ???

A coat composed of drifting slabs of stone—each one aglow with an inscribed Cipher—hovered around her body. When Wei met her gaze, he felt a spirit-rending chill pass through him. He had no idea who she was, but right next to her stood John Bishop in the flesh and with his spirit on display as well. Once more, Wei winced. Putting the Trespasser in Angeleous’s body was an insult. The man was at least as powerful as the Count of Pride. But it was the third person in the group that made his heart twist in agony.

Wei’s focus tunneled in on the man, and everything else ceased to matter. Across from Wei stood what might as well be an older version of himself with short hair. Other than they, they had the same jaw, same cheeks, same glare, but different eyes.

Veins of red crept along the periphery of Wei’s vision as his hands shook. William Yu—his father, his mother’s murder—was right there in front of him.

Finally. After all he suffered, he could…

He could…

He could what? Break the man? Torture him? Kill him?

No. it wasn’t enough. Not anymore. The Inheritors were still alive. Their families were still alive. And William Yu owed the Drowned Sky Sect much more than a single death could provide. A mere day ago—perhaps minutes before killing Seever and earning all those Advancements even—Wei might have chosen violence. But now, he wanted more than just one death, one life.

The hatred Wei felt toward his father was ineffable and borderline unbearable, but bear it he did. For he needed to learn about his enemy and set some things right.

The young master held his Broken Crescent high before his father’s gaze. And then dismissed it.

William Yu blinked. His posture loosened ever so slightly as well.

“Wei,” he said, his voice low.

“William Yu,” Wei replied, unwilling to claim any kind of relation with his father. “We have matters to discuss.”

A flash of grief and regret passed behind his father’s eyes, but he just nodded. “Yeah. I suppose we do.”

Enlightenment Advanced > 40

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