~~~~~~~~~~~
Samara,
I’ve finally made it to their inner circle. They seem to trust me. I still haven’t forgotten my abduction at their hands. Taken to calling themselves “The Followers of Dave” as I found out. They do seem to want the best for the people though. In a way this gilded cage has been to my benefit.
There’re a lot of people out there who are worse off than me. Almost all the old governments have fallen, or are well on their way. People have learned how to game this System that has been watching our lives, gaining in power through horrific acts of slaughter. Entire towns set to the sword, I’ve seen the aftermath myself. Instead of punishment, they become demigods. I’m only level 67 myself. If it weren’t for my skills I’d probably have been tossed out long ago. I don’t want to leave here.
Some of our colleagues made it out safe. You’d be glad to hear that. I don’t think they’ve all made it though. In a way I envy them. At least they don’t have to watch as everything they once knew burned down around them or be pumped dry for the next new advantage in this series of petty wars. I’ve heard rumors that a mass teleportation matrix is in the works. If we can get it running, we might be able to make headway against the raiders that keep attacking us night after night.
I’m glad you’re not here, but I miss working with you,
Percy
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey...you,” Colette pulled the dagger out of the dwarf and pointed it at me while trying to catch her breath. “That... was the worst first date ever.”
I started laughing. Blood splattered our of my mouth as I tried to breathe properly.
“Well, maybe...,” I hacked a bloody cough, “maybe next time I’ll pick the location.”
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“Wait right there, I think I still have a couple healing potions stashed away.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning on going anywhere. Not that I could if I wanted to,” I tried to grin but the pain was too much. I could only imagine how bad I must have looked.
I closed my eyes to wait for her to return.
***
When I opened them again, I found myself in an increasingly familiar place.
“How...how long was I out?” I asked the room.
“No quips about my bed this time?” I heard Colette respond from outside the room.
“Well I would but without you in here it seemed to be not worth the effort,” I tried to sit up and my back cried out in a sharp jolt of pain. “Aaghh!”
“Quit moving around or you’ll make it worse! I barely managed to keep you together as it is. You better help me restock my potions,” She yelled through the door.
“Wasn’t I the one that came to your rescue?” I asked.
“I had them handled. You managed to get yourself shanked, then turned your back to their leader so he could finish you off. But...thank you.”
I saw Colette walk in with a plate of food. Real food, not the snacks we’d had. My stomach growled.
“You didn’t answer my question, how long was I out?”
“...about a day and a half.”
“Damn. Well...thank you. Again. I’d like to avoid making this a regular thing if you don’t mind,” I forced a grin to my face, though it didn’t reach my eyes.
Colette brought the plate over to me, still laying in her bed.
“Here, you need to eat this,” She said.
I went to reach for the food.
“But, I need answers. All of them, the truth and nothing but,” Her face took on a grave expression.
“Where do you want me to start?”
“For starters, how did all this happen? Are you really two people inside one body? How do you function? I’ve heard legends of people who tried it, but they always failed. And it hasn’t been possible to try since the Cataclysm. What makes you different?”
“That’s a lot of questions that I don’t know how to help with. Samara is the researcher here,” I told her.
”Truthfully, I don’t know how it happened, but I do have an idea as to what might have occurred. Give me a second to formulate my thoughts...” I took at bite of a biscuit from the tray and chewed it while thinking of how to properly explain my theory. Fabius was too ill informed to bounce ideas off of, so it was mostly my own conjecture.
The first week was also a lot of me pretending I was stuck in a game and none of this was real. In reality, I’d maybe spent a week thinking about the how behind what happened. Clearing my throat, I swallowed and prepared to give my best explanation.
“I was channeling a spell through a runic focus to breach another dimension with the intent of obtaining an inexhaustible power source. My initial testing showed that it was a success. Relatively low but stable concentrations of matter to be converted to energy, no evidence of other sapient life.”
Colette nodded her head, absorbing the information.
“As it turned out, this particular attempt got lodged. Something was stuck in the aperture so I tried to flush it. That caused a cascade reaction where the energy conversion matrix was then able to sustain the reaction without my input.”
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“And then my men threw rocks into it from our side.”
“Yes. As my... companion so delicately worded it. They overloaded the mass intake and were causing an energy surge. So we sent the Kirg brothers through to close the rift before it could destroy the city.”
“We’d never seen kin or orcs before and thought we were under attack by demons from the underworld. So I charged through to defend my home.”
“In so doing, all this mass,” I motioned to my body, “was converted to pure energy. Which destroyed the city of Eshix. It hurt. Then, I woke up here in this body.”
“That we somehow seamlessly share. Except for when the professor here has outbursts that make it apparent that something isn’t right.”
“Well to be fair, you just needed to move it along!”
“Hey,” Colette snapped, “no bickering you two. Besides, I think I have an idea that might add some light to your situation.”
“Wait, you’re going to believe me just like that?” I was flummoxed.
“I just always thought your voice did weird things. Now knowing what you just explained, I can easily tell who’s talking, Samara.”
“That seems like a big stretch to just accept at face value. I was convinced that I had a demon in my mind for the longest time.”
“Fabius, right? Let me explain, I think we can put the pieces together between ourselves. Or at least have a better picture than we do now. And then maybe you and I can go back to flirting properly, assuming Samara’s on board with that?”
“Yep, like he said. Seamlessly integrated, except for our consciousnesses and individual memories. Wants, desires, physical action, all the same. No fighting over walking around or slapping ourselves in the face shenanigans. Me running my mouth is just complementary,” the feeling of being recognized as my own individual person again was gratifying in the extreme.
“Understood. I’d be even more concerned if there wasn’t harmony between you two.”
“Kind of don’t have much say in the matter, we are stuck together so might as well use it to my advantage,” I told her.
“Reasonable enough! So, this is just my theory, but it might line up with what you experienced. During the Cataclysm itself, kin the world over saw and heard Dave. At least that’s what the sources do agree on. Beyond that...the sources vary.”
“Vary, how so?”
“The Ecclesiarchy preaches that the Cataclysm was punishment for the sins of Eshix. For daring to peer beyond the veil and defile Dave’s sanctum. A place of utmost holiness, with our view limited to a small subset of his domain. The Four Walls is what they teach. Each high enough to block view beyond, but for the one. In that one lay the opening into Akasha, the great beyond. At his seat he stayed while delivering judgement from his Reader, the device which holds all knowledge.”
“Sounds like something I’ve seen before.”
Colette coughed, “Continuing on. In the moment of judgement he gazed upon the Architect, the one who defiled his sanctuary. The Architect begged and pleaded for life, but Dave saw fit to punish him by trapping him between worlds for three centuries. After the announced time, he would call the Architect back to Azur to herald His coming.”
“Doesn’t sound that different from the stories of my own world,” I noted.
“There’s more to it though. Have you heard of The Mechanist?”
“Can’t say I have.”
“The Mechanist is supposed to be the antithesis of Dave. A mortal who sought Godhood after the Cataclysm. Used their own power to bring ruination to the lands and the reason why we’re so far fallen from what we once were. A selfish individual who would break away from the light of Dave and turn the people against him.”
“You don’t sound entirely convinced of that if I’m reading you correctly. What’s the view from the other side?”
Colette smiled deviously, “That’s not quite so widely spread. If what you’re saying is true though, this knowledge might be more helpful than the teachings of the Ecclesiarchy. The followers of the Mechanist believes that there are no Gods as so defined. Beings of great and unfathomable power beyond our current understanding yes, but not an omnipresent and omnipotent guardian of our world.”
“And you’re one of them?” I asked.
“A lady won’t kiss and tell,” she winked, “besides, calling yourself a follower of the Mechanist is a great way to mysteriously disappear.”
“I haven’t seen anything like that in the little time I’ve been here. Mostly charity work and a sermon I overheard. They don’t seem to be a malignant force.”
“And they’re not. At least the vast majority of them. Everyone gets enough to stay fed and housed, services are voluntary. It’s just us troublemakers that they go after!”
“Us?”
“Grrr... hey, I’m the one interrogating you here!” Recomposing herself, Colette continued. “As I was saying, the followers of the Mechanist believe that everything is to be questioned, but also that the Cataclysm was a freak accident accentuated by the greed of kin. The Mechanist fought in a glorious battle against the nascent Ecclesiarchy and nearly ended them.”
“Did they ever say why?”
“He never shared his reasons why but those who followed him into the last battle spoke of horrors committed by the Ecclesiarchy, likes of which have never been seen since. A few decades after the great battle, the Ecclesiarchy took hold of the political structure and outlawed the Mechanist’s association. It’s name has been lost to time and now only a loose affiliation of similarly minded individuals follow his teachings. Or so I’ve heard. Through rumors.”
“I won’t press you on your affiliations, it’s obviously a delicate subject. But what does this have to do with believing my story?”
“That’s... personal. I’d like to get to know you better. Both of you. Then I might feel more comfortable explaining my thoughts.”
“Would you mind answering a few of my own questions?
“You’re free to ask, but I might not answer depending on what it is you want to know,” Colette fidgeted nervously.
“Hopefully nothing too much. But I have never encountered this level system before. How does it work?”
“That’s one I can answer. You earn XP from doing work that is relevant to you. Trading, exploring, teaching, crafting, or combat are the main ones. How much XP you gain is personal and affected by your level.”
“How much so?”
“Those low level thugs that wrecked the shop? I only got around 140 XP for all three combined.”
I reflexively sputtered, “Those were low level!?”
“Well yeah, bunch of layabouts that do nothing with their lives? Lots of kin get to around level 10-15 unless they find something they really enjoy doing.”
“What level are you then?”
Colette’s face took on a pained expression as she wrestled with her response.
“Okay, we are going to need to trust each other somewhat if this is going to be anything. So I’ll go first. I’m at level three now. The fight with the thugs was enough to put me over to level five. I haven’t done it yet though seeing as I just woke up from my nap.”
“Are you serious?” Her jaw hinged open slightly.
“Deathly so.”
“I could squish you like a bug!” She squealed in delight.
“Please don’t, I’m not sure all my blood is back in me yet.”
“I wouldn’t silly! But you’re serious aren’t you? Wow, that’s got to be amazing. How many skills do you have unlocked so far?”
“I’d have to check, don’t remember off the top of my head.”
“Don’t remember? How’s that even possible? At level three you shouldn’t have more than a small handful, at most. Kids usually reach level five before unlocking enough skills to spend their points.”
“Checked while you two were chatting. Currently at thirteen.”
A razor sharp set of claws raked across my face.
“Oww what the fuck gives?”
“Ha. Ha. Really funny aren’t you? Trying to get me to believe in some sob story. What’s your game? You actually had me going there for a minute. How long did you spend learning what it’d take to get me to believe you? Trying to get off on the gullibility of Colette the bimbo alchemist? You’re a sick kin Fabius Dansin.”
“She is telling the truth Colette! Oww that stings like a mother. What would it take for you to believe me?” My face stung, but the skin didn’t seem broken.
“Like I can believe anything you say. Dave above! Why am I always so stupid when it comes to the cute ones. Thirteen skills my fluffy ass. That’s pushing it too far even for me to believe. You want to prove it to me? Show me your full status!”
I wasn’t sure how to do it, but instinctually I felt what was needed to comply with her demand.
So, I did.
I watched her angry face suddenly look at me in shock. Her eyes began moving across invisible lines of text. Was that how I looked when reviewing my own stats?
“You really are level three,” Colette mumbled, half question and half statement.
“How are your stats so high as a baseline?”
I shrugged, “They started at ten when I woke up.”
“You might be under leveled, but your stats are beyond what they should be. Still have twenty available from the level ups...at least that progression is normal.”
She sat down with a stupefied look on her face. Presumably my skills list.
“You...weren’t lying?”
“Nope, I might run my lips overtime, but I try to tell the truth.”
“I don’t understand... how? This doesn’t make sense. By the Mechanist, what’s that even about? [Siphon]?”
“I cant explain that one either. All the other skills are things Fabius or I knew from our prior lives.”
“Fascinating. That explains the number of skills. But to have so many unlocked? And 14 unspent skill points??”
“Just look at the perks,” I informed her, feeling a very intimate invasion of my privacy even if I had shared my status. No wonder she didn’t expect me to share it with her. Having your entire personhood disassembled into numbers and words was very...disturbing.
”There really are two of you in there, aren’t there?”
“Yep.”
“Yes.”
“I... I apologize for not believing you. It was... I don’t know,” Colette left the sentence unfinished.
“Unbelievable? I know how it feels. Imagine waking up with her in your mind.”
“Or worse yet, wearing this body AND having to share it with a superstitious nut job that’s convinced this is some place called ’the underworld’,” I was so grateful that we had worked through that period of our relationship.
A strained giggle escaped from her lips, “That may be, but I am sorry. For pressing you and the slap. Sharing your status is... very personal. Family type of thing. But I can see why you’d want to be believed. Stuck out of time in a strange place? That’s got to take guts.”
“I’d take the combo deal in place of just being out of time. I feel like a relict.”
“Adaptation to the entirely unknown is easier when you have no preconceptions of how things are supposed to work. I’m just taking it day by day.”
“I suppose that makes sense. So... you probably already guessed it but I consider myself one of the Mechanist’s. For whatever that means now. Your presence here and now, you could be a harbinger. The piece to start the return of the Architect!”
“Please, don’t start that. I don’t want hero worship. Even if what you say were true, which I don’t believe it is, I don’t want to be anyone special. I just want to find a way to get my own body back and separate the two of us in a way that doesn’t result in mutually assured destruction.”
“Right, I’m jumping to conclusions. Not looking at what’s in front of me. You are... extremely low level. But you have advantages I’ve never seen or heard of. It’s... it is what we have been waiting for since the fall. But exposing yourself too early would end poorly for all of us, even if none of the sayings are true.”
“I’m still just another person though. Well two if we want to be specific. This reverence thing makes me feel awkward. Can we keep this between the three of us, and not tell your contacts that I presume you have?”
“I,” the indecision on her face worried me as the gears spun, “I don’t like it, but it’s your secret to share. Not mine. I’ll keep quiet for your protection as well as my own.”
“We did have one more question to ask you though, if you want to answer,” I asked
“That only seems fair, especially given the last couple days.”
“I only see one bed in your home, where did you sleep while we were out?”
“Well I wasn’t about to sleep on the floor,” Colette answered with a wink.