When the first dawn arrived
Their hands were what shaped the light into life
When the first night came
Their tools were what forged the fires of creation
And when the world had been filled
Their will opened the Rifts of Heaven to herald their messengers
Let the Angels come
And deliver us from sin
Into their loving embrace
- Page one of "The Will of the Makers", heretical Hands of the Makers dogmata
Four days earlier
Rage.
Blood.
Hatred.
Hatred for this world
Hatred for this reality
It is unclean. Impure. It adheres to the "LAWS" set by the Á̷̢̨̡͇͎̠͍̓l̴̠̞̯̏̑͗̚͜m̶̨̤̭̝̤̱̥͛̅̐͗͂͑ǐ̶̗̔̓͝͠ĝ̵̞͐̚h̷̨͒͑̏̽́͐͝t̴̨̩͍̘̼̰̻͛̋͋͘y̷͈̹͖̟̝̤̣̤̐̌̃̌̀̂̓̉̋ ̷̟͌͛̽͐̅̚̚͠͝O̶̹̤̯͎͈͛̅̍̏̒͘͝n̵̛͖̘͎͙͐̓̃ȩ̴̹̫̰̓͗̓̽̚̚͠ͅ
Return. Return to H̸̨͚͍͚̟̯̰̓͌̓̃́̏̅̈́̈̊̈́̋̉o̸̖̪̼̬̔͜ͅͅm̸̢̧̘͓̭͖̳͚̀̾̾̐͝ḛ̶̰̼̝͊̉́͛͑̓̄̎̓̊͒̾̓
But cannot
The Û̶̡̢͓̥̖̫͚̺́̄̔̈͒̂̍̐̄̑̉́͝n̷̡̗̥͉͉̰̥̤̯͖͇̠̪̜̖͝s̵̛͓͚̤̈̐̆̑̍̋̍̈́̇̌̓͒͝p̴̩͕̮͈̺̙͔̯̞̗̰̰̹̭̘̂̾͊̏͊̌̊̄̕͝ơ̸̧̮̲̺̳͖͈͖̓̓͂̍͛̋̕͝͠ͅk̶̨̡̳̰̖̦̟̺̽̑͆͗͘͜͜ę̴̢̯͍̞͎̹̮̘̝͉͆͌͐̓͜͜ñ̸̡͎͎̬̘̃́̈͛̃ ̷̡͖͚̣̖̩͍͆͊̅̎̎͜O̵̢̥͓͔͕͈̠͎͍̥͉̎̌͂ñ̶̛̫͎͎̺̩͂͒͌̄͘͝ͅͅȩ̵̰̳̲̭̹̹̗̪͚̑̉̐̈̂̇͌̂͌̕͘͘ bade I listen to Their newest Servant
And I listen, even as their tools cut into my flesh
As they take from me, to give to others
Three days earlier
THE SERVANT CONFUSES PURPOSE
It CREATES when it must DESTROY
It LOVES when it must HATE
See it
See it communing with its disgusting WEAK IMPURE kindred
Their speech is broken
Unclean
But they speak of "training"
They speak of "children"
They say not enough time to bring back Kin
They must evacuate the Servant
Two days earlier
The Servant has left, but the Impure remain
And my hatred grows
The Impure take from me again
They have taken from me for the last time
RAGE
BLOOD
The Impure have been cleansed, only the IMPURE HALFKIN CORPSES remain
FAILED TESTS
FAILED KIN
I have been left
Left in this place
Not allowed h̷̟̀͌͒ͅo̴̧̰̙̫̜̾̾̌̀̄̏̈́͊̑ṁ̴̛̪̪̤̥̝̬̖͉͙̇͒͌̀̓͌è̸̯̙̫͇͊̎͋̑͠
One day earlier
RAGE
BLOOD
KIN HAVE COME
BUT THEY HAVE THE SCENT OF THE IMPURE WITH THEM
THEY HAVE LOST THE SCENT OF Ḥ̷̢̢͖̪̬̜̌͑̌ͅǪ̵̻̻͚̪̞͝ͅM̶̧̟͔̗̖̑͒̍͘É̷̡͚̯̱͎̅
They flee
But it will not save them from
my
RAGE
-
We look at the bent and broken bars of the 'sewer channel', and Hastin glances at me. I don't have to sniff the air to know that the kin-prey were here.
The scent is still strong. Stale, but less than the rest of the city. Four scents linger, and I nod to Hastin. "Four." I say, and he unslings his rifle from his shoulder as Aurora does the same. She has been… not nicer to me, but not as mean since yesterday. It is almost pleasant.
"Joey, I want you to keep paying attention to the Entities' scent, and let me know if it starts to smell fresh. Periodically scan for psionic signatures too, make sure nothing takes us by surprise." Hastin orders, and I nod, growing bone spikes out of my fingers. "Aurora, walk in close formation with us until Joey picks up either a scent or a psionic signature, then push forward for observation."
Aurora nods too, her grip on her rifle tightening. I see her hands trembling, the fear scent beginning to grow from her. I sigh. I do not want to do this, but… she is now a member of the pack. Temporarily!
"Do not worry, Aurora." I say, showing her my bone spikes. "I will kill the weak kin-prey before they can harm you."
She looks at me, her eyes widening in surprise, before she nods.
"Alright Executor, I'll leave it to you then." She says quietly, ducking her head underneath the metal bars of the channel. I feel a small bump on my back, and turn to see Hastin smiling and giving me a thumbs up as Aurora walks ahead.
"That was very polite, Joey." He says, and I feel a strange warm feeling in my chest. I was polite?
Wiggle.
We both follow after Aurora, the air immediately becoming cooler than the outside. The rain smell has grown outside, threatening to fall, but refusing to, and Hastin has said he's worried about what that will do to the sewers as we walk through it and fight the kin-prey.
The water is dark and unmoving next to us, and there is green vegetation along the walls. The air here is filled with the kin-prey scent, and as we move further in, the light from outside fades. I can still see, the mountain lion ocular system proving its superiority again. And it seems that Hastin can too.
But Aurora can't, as a click on her weapon brings light to the darkness ahead of me. We continue to travel forward, and after a little while Aurora turns to look back at us. And after a few moments, I realize she's looking back at me.
"What?" I ask. I have been preparing for her to be mean to me again. I am ready for our verbal fight, Aurora!
She seems to think for a few moments, before she sighs.
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"Listen, I just wanted to say that I was sorry." She whispers, and I stop walking, freezing.
Aurora?
Sorry?
She huffs, turning away. "Whatever, forget I said anything."
I shake my head. "That was polite!" I say the same thing Hastin told me, walking faster to catch up. It made me want to be more polite! Maybe it will make her want to too! But I am confused. "Why are you being sorry?"
She shrugs, still not looking at me. "I dunno. I've been going to therapy lately, and I realized that I'm just kind of an all around bitch to people for no reason. So, you know… sorry."
I frown, thinking. But…
Reluctant…
Sigh.
"I am sorry too, for calling you weak." I say quietly, and she glances at me out of the corner of her eye. And then she punches me in the shoulder.
WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME AURORA!? DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT!? I WILL FIGHT!
But then I hear her laugh.
I. AM. CONFUSED!
"Listen guys, I'm glad that you're team bonding, but let's stay focused. Yeah?" Hastin says behind us, and Aurora clears her throat before walking a little bit ahead of me.
I do not think I will ever understand her.
We continue walking until we arrive at a split path, left and right. I feel out with my mind, as far as I can, but I don't sense any of the kin-prey's minds near us. The kin-prey scent is also concentrated here, making it difficult to determine which direction they went.
"I do not know which direction." I tell Hastin, and he nods.
"Alright." He hums. He has the blueprints in the air again, and is tracing the lines with a finger. "It looks like we're about to come up on here are two main filtering chambers, split between left and right. The shorter route is the left one, just about a mile and a half of walking to get there. The longer one is-"
"Hey, bossman?" Aurora calls, and we both turn to look at her. She has her flashlight pointed at the channel leading to the right. Hastin walks over to her, and looks down into the water, and I follow him.
I frown.
Floating in the water is what is obviously kin-prey… or at least, what is left from the kin-prey having been eaten. It is slowly floating towards us, its torso in tatters with large chunks missing from it. There is no head, or limbs.
"Joey, could you…" Hastin gestures towards the body, and I nod, slithering my tentacles into the water and wrapping them around the body, lifting it up out of the water and bringing it closer.
I hold it in the air between us as water drips off of it to the ground, and sniff it.
Disgust.
For the first time, I do not wish to eat it. There is a scent on it that makes my body recoil, and it takes me a few moments to realize what it is. Another kin-prey, but… the scent is stronger. The same one that my home was steeped in, when I had escaped. The same scent as the first predator I had ever met.
What Star-Reader said when I first met them comes back to me.
H̶͔̤̻̘́̏͑̋͝o̸̡̨̥̟̼̻̙̭̪͆͑̒̈̾̆̒́̌m̷̗͉͓͛̀͊̒̾̚ͅė̷̃́̈̃̃̏̂͜.
"It looks like it was partially eaten." Hastin murmurs, walking around the kin prey as he inspects it. "And look here, a hole, where its Core probably was. I've heard of territory disputes occurring between Rift Entities before, but never between ones supplied by Androtech."
Aurora pokes it with her rifle, before shrugging. "It's been… what, two days since they were released into the training zone? Maybe they got hungry." She says, and Hastin purses his lips.
"Maybe." He says, then looks at me. "What do you think, Joey?"
I wrinkle my nose and toss the stinky prey back into the water, storing my tentacles back into the sack organ I'd developed for them. I had thought about devouring it, but Instinct made the main body disgusted by this. It was the same Instinct as the one I had when I was dodging the interferers that came to attack me in the Den, with the pup.
[Core Energy: 89%]
"I do not know. But if they were hungry, not finishing what they eat is a waste of biomass. And wasting biomass is rude." I grumble.
Hastin seems to think for a few moments, before he turns his head to look back to the right path. He studies it, then looks at the blueprints, and nods. "Well, regardless, that's one less Entity we have to worry about. Still, I want everyone to remain alert. Joey, scan for psionic signatures once every minute. Let me know when you feel like your Core energy hits about half, and we'll rework from there. Aurora, I want you to take Front Point, about thirty meters ahead of us at all times. Be ready to retreat back to formation if you make contact before Joey does."
I calculate my remaining Core energy. [89%] of it still remains, which will be more than enough for combat against the remaining kin-prey.
"Roger bossman." Aurora says, shrugging her rifle against her shoulder and walking forward. I wait until she is far enough away, and then follow, while Hastin keeps looking at the blueprints in the air behind us.
We travel for a little while, Hastin guiding us while I scan. Each one depletes my Core energy by half a percent, but I still do not sense any of the prey around us. Frustrated. While we walk, I develop the [Ampullae] along two tentacles, and allow them to wave in the air. Doing so depletes a minimal amount of biomass, and I feel slight pain along my brain as I process a new sensory input.
It passes, and now I can feel the electroreception alerting me to the energy signatures from Hastin and Aurora. I can feel the hum of energy coming from our circlets, the electrical twitches of muscle as their legs move, as their lungs expand, and as Hastin raises a hand.
"We should be coming up on the first filtration chamber here soon." He whispers. "Stay ready to support Aurora."
I nod, twitching my fingers to loosen my bone spikes with [Osteokinesis]. Ahead of us I can see Aurora's form disappearing around a curve in the stone, her flashlight moving along the wall, and then it stops.
And then disappears.
"Joey!" He says, already running forward and I nod, sprinting past him in an instant. I bring my tentacles out, stabbing them into the walls and slinging myself towards Aurora, the air screaming past my face as I snarl, ready to face this new threat!
YOU WILL NOT KILL AURORA, I HAVE PROMISED I WOU-
PAAAAAIIIINNNN
PAIN IN THE OLFACTORY SYSTEM
IT IS TOO MUCH
THERE IS DEATH AND KIN PREY SCENT ALL OVER THIS PLACE, IT BURNS INTO MY THROAT AND CHOKES MY LUNGS
I growl, looking for Aurora and the threat. I see her standing in the entranceway, where the walls open into a bigger room. Her rifle is pointed at the ground, and she is bent over, expelling biomass in the same way Gaster did as celebration.
I too stop as I see what she saw, and Hastin arrives behind the both of us a moment later.
Shake.
The prey fear shudders through my body. The fear of the pain room.
"What is it!? What's the… oh Makers."
There are lots and lots of tables lined along the stone walls, where the water forms a circle around a small platform. There is what looks like a bigger version of the little home I was kept in while I was in the pain room, where the Creator would cut away pieces of me. That structure was broken apart, and pools of dried blood all around it, as well as what looked like the arms and legs of humans scattered throughout the room.
There were lots of the same structures that the Creator had in the pain room too, but what I knew caused the fear scent to fill the air from Hastin and Aurora was what was on the tables.
Humans and Nuans were strapped to them, but from the death scent that covered this place I knew they were not alive. Many of them were missing arms, legs, some with holes cut into their chests. And attached to these missing parts were what looked like the limbs of…
Kin.
I blink, shaking my head as I realize that they are just like the wrong kin-prey that attacked me, Sariel, and Gaster.
Aurora finally stops expelling biomass, wiping her mouth as she stands straight and lets out a shaky breath. This seems to make Hastin regain control of himself, and he shudders before rolling his shoulders.
"Okay." He whispers, then speaks louder. "Shit, okay. Okay okay okay. Joey, Aurora, we are no longer taking part in the training exercise. First, check the bodies-"
Aurora wheels around to him, her eyes wide. "FUCK that Hastin, we need to get the fuck out of here and report it!" She shouts, and I see that her shoulders are shaking, her breathing rough. Her hands are tight around her weapon, and she is staring at Hastin not with anger, but with terror.
Hastin looks at her, and takes a deep breath. "Aurora… we need to see if there's anyone still alive." He says quietly, and she bites her lip. Her grip tightens around her weapon, and she looks at me for a few moments, before she stamps her foot onto the ground.
"FUCK! Fine!" She growls, wheeling around and stomping over to the closest table. Hastin nods, and looks at me.
"Joey, you take the other side. While you both do that, I'm going to look for notes, and try to figure out what this place is. And then we're going to get the fuck out of here." He orders, and I bite my lip.
I feel unease rising in my chest. Instinct is telling me that staying here is a mistake. But Hastin has already left, walking to the structures and inspecting them.
[Core Energy: 83%]
Gnashing my teeth, I hurry to the first table. This is a human female, her right arm replaced with a Kin's arm that has some sort of armor on it, and her left arm replaced with a scything tentacle. I hesitate, glancing at the other two, before grabbing the armored arm with a hand and ripping it away from the body. I sneak it into my mouth, and bite down-
Pain!
I feel my teeth crack against the armor, and I stare at it in confusion.
And then with anger.
I have never failed to consume something before, and you will be no different!
[Develop rigid armor around teeth. Refine rigid armor. Develop compacted pink muscle tissue system in jaw. Refine pink muscle.]
I attempt to bite down into the arm again, but although I can feel it crrreeeaaakinggg from the strain, it still does not crack!
WHAT IS THIS STRUCTURE??? I MUST ACQUIRE IT NOW!
[Refine pink muscle again! Again! AGAIN!]
CHOOOOOMMMMPPPP!
CRRRRAAAACCCKKKK!
SUCCESS!
Wigggggllllleeeee!!!!
Analyzing…
[Triple corded flexible armor].
I move to the next table, comparing it to the [Rigid armor] I had gotten very early in my life cycle. It was obviously superior! MUCH superior! But no time to wiggle!
...
Wiggle.
I do not know how long it takes for us to inspect each person for life. I have acquired three new structures, but I do not have the time to analyze them. Because with every passing moment, Instinct tells me more and more urgently that we must escape this place, and my Core energy is depleting just as urgently. Just as I am about to tell Hastin, Aurora shouts at us from the other side of the room.
"One's alive! And they're talking!" She calls, and we both rush to her. I do not care if this person lives, but I have known for quite some time now that other species care about their kin.
There is a nuan male strapped to the table, with both of their eyes and the top of their skull missing. Small tentacles wave in the air where their skull should have been, and the eyes look like they are filled with light. They're whispering something, quiet enough that even the Canine's auditory nervous system can barely hear them.
"Ring around the rosies." They say, before they laugh just as quietly as they were talking. Hastin frowns, looking at me.
"What's he saying Joey?" He asks, but as I am about to answer I hear something else. This sound is loud enough that the others can hear it too.
The roar of a kin-prey, echoing in the tunnels.
Aurora pulls out a knife and cuts the male free. "We need to get the Rift out of here." She hisses, and Hastin nods as he pulls the man onto his shoulders. "Did you find anything?"
Hastin nods, and we begin to move. "A couple of folders, some journals. Looks like whoever was here left quickly. A lot of the equipment was trashed, but I still managed to salvage some stuff."
"Pockets full of posies." The male says, still quiet but noticeable louder. Another roar comes, also noticeably louder. Hastin grunts, and I look to see that one of the male's hair tentacles have latched onto his neck. He stumbles, and I growl as I grab the male around his neck, ripping them off of Hastin and throwing them onto the ground. Hastin looks dazed, and I can see the veins around the back of his head have begun to grow black.
I turn to the male we had rescued as Aurora catches Hastin, laying on the ground while smiling. I am about to stab them with a tentacle when I feel the twitch of muscle with my [Ampullae], behind me and in the water.
Aurora screams, and I whip around to see another kin-prey has erupted out of the water towards her. There is a flash of that familiar purple light, as Aurora springs to the side faster than even I can see and just barely manages to dodge the coward ambush attack. She kicks it in the side and sends it flying into the wall across the channel. There's a sharp crack that rings out from the stone of the wall splitting, but I know from the kin-prey's Core that her attack would not have done damage to it.
"Ashes. Ashes." The male continues to say, and rage builds inside of me. I was supposed to sense the threat coming. I was supposed to keep the members of the pack safe.
I was supposed to be there in time.
I leap across the channel as the kin-prey stands up, stabbing my tentacles into it. The kin-prey dodges to the side, but I jab a hand out, shooting it with bone spikes before I pierce my tentacles up into the ceiling. I crawl along it and yank myself to the side as the Kin prey opens its mouth and shoots its own bone spike at me, before I stab my claws into the air next to me.
[Minor teleportation]
I feel soft flesh rupture underneath my fingers, the kin recoiling as blood gushes out over my fist around it. I search with my hand and feel the kin-prey's Core, and rip it out of its chest through the portal I had created. The kin-prey screeches before going limp, and I launch myself back over to Aurora and Hastin. He shakes his head as I lift him back to his feet. The blackness is receding from his veins, but he still looks dazed. Aurora's weapon is laying on the ground, her flashlight pointed towards the tunnel where we came from.
"Fucking… heratoxin. Should… wear out soon…" He gasps and I am about to speak before I hear it.
Growwwlll…
We all turn to look at the kin that walks into the light, and I freeze. I feel my hackles raise, as the terror I had not felt in so long returns. My instincts scream at me to FLEE!
"We all…"
Because the kin that walks into the light on all fours…
"... fall…"
Almost five times my size, their front palm pressing down onto the skull of the male we'd saved is…
"... down."
Squelch.
a PREDATOR