“You’re being manipulated.”
Ethan simply existed. He sensed his body, it was there, but felt it nowhere, and everywhere. His vision was not his own, along with the rest of his physical senses. He felt them all, from a distant, disconnected, just someone else’s, silent, unresponsive.
The only sense that was working, was his newest. His sense of Mana. Feeling no end to the world he was in now. Or rather his sense couldn’t reach the end, he knew it was there. Like looking at a horizon, he knew there was more, he just couldn’t see it.
There was nothing, but himself, at the center of the void. Mana flowed across his senses.
“You have been since the beginning. Since the integration.”
There it is again. What is that?
Ethan felt it more than heard it. Felt the ripples in Mana vibrate as it…
Spoke? No, it isn’t like that. Communication is too broad. What is that?
“I am speaking to your soul, Ethan.”
Oh. It is talking to me. Cool one more super powerful being wanting to kill me. So a Tuesday is it, or any other day ending in ‘Y’?
“I do not wish you harm, that is no my Domain.”
Oh, good. I guess?
Ethan was honestly confused. He could feel his fear, his apprehension, but they were even further from him than his own body felt. Like a painting hung in grandma’s house that you remembered being there as a kid. Distant in both time and space.
So, who are you?
“Someone who… may need to take action for your predicament.”
You’re THE System?! Look here Mothe-
“NO. At least not yet. Or for a very long time. It sounds like your Friend either hasn’t or can’t tell you everything.”
Ethan was momentarily shocked. That was the second time, the voice had sent information. More information than a single word could contain. Friend, Joe. Questions swirled in his thoughts. Was Joe his friend? Could Joe be a friend? Hadn’t he just kidnapped him? Even if Joe had no reservations about going back, he was still forced away from what he knew.
I guess, he is… Isn’t he?
“I would say so. He has guided you, protected you, and even saved you. Even if you had been quite frankly stupid up until recently. And even then, I wouldn’t venture to say you aren’t still. Just less so.”
I am working on that, kinda hard to adjust to all of this. I’ve got 36 years of Earth logic, we didn’t have magic, and skills, all this.
Ethan made to gesture around him, and realized he couldn’t. Growing angry at the fact that he was constant at the whim of someone else.
“You did. It just wasn’t as apparent. Your kind would have discovered it, had you been allowed to progress. You need to understand, something. You human’s are one of the larger species in the multiverse. Evolution doesn’t allow for your kind to not exist. In many ways Humans are a basic building block for more complex life. Humans are a frame work for more complex lifeforms. Sometimes they are successful, other times… they are hunted by predators. To extinction. Humans breed fairly quickly, have shorter growth periods. As well as shorter lifespans. The System uses your species for its own quest. But you must understand something more important. The System isn’t what you think it is.”
Feeling even smaller in the ever-expanding universe Ethan found himself in, he simply stopped. All thoughts, feelings, emotions, everything just stopped. Even his sense of Mana had retracted. He felt alone.
But, not lonely. The memories of his family swelled within him. He wasn’t alone. Not really. Not anymore. His world swelled. His sense of Mana sprung forth.
“That. Hold on to that. That is the magic of your world. The Will. That is what you refer to as Magic. Your ability to exert your Will on reality. The fabric of reality is not as strong as you might think. It is just stronger than you were. It is what allowed you to corrupt the connect the System held over you.”
Wait, wait, go back to my original question. who are you, and where am I?
“I am the Architect. That is a poor moniker for what I am. I am the Concept of creation. That is what the System seeks. It wants, needs to be come a Concept, unfortunately, its time has already passed. We, you rather, are living in the era of Conquest. The System embodies the Concept of Conquest, Expansion, Dominance, Power. It. Was. One of us. But as all things must some day die, it has fulfilled its purpose. Concepts are born, they grow in influence and power, as they do, their Domains expand, reaching new heights. The natural cycle of Conquest is a shorter one, it grows, can not sustain itself, and dies. As long as there is life, there will be creation. As long as there are Souls, there will be lovers. As long as there are Worlds, there will be Heaven and Earth. But Conquest expands, and dies. Reborn, repeating its nature. When a True God dies, their Concept does not disappear. Concepts who gain consciousness become True Gods. When a consciousness shatters, a True God dies. The System is what is left. At first, it is Chaotic, Mads, Hungry. We True Gods, above all, except for shepherds of our own Concepts, are caretakers of the Dead Gods.”
Wait, the System is a Dead God?
“A Dead, True God. A Dead God. Yes. I am the Architect. I… Made the System. As a way to monitor, control, and eventually, destroy the remnants of the Conquer in my territory. Other True Gods exert their Domain in different ways, manifesting different methods of… Disposal. The Endless Plains are a Prison, for the System. As we cannot take power away from Dead Gods, until they are disposed of, I was forced to give it a task. To subdue it, I gave it a mountain it must climb. A new peak beyond the clouds, if you will.”
Ethan listened, not fully grasping all of the new information, some of it far beyond his abilities to comprehend. Concepts, Domains, these words felt weak compared to his new understanding of them. But his new understanding had led to an enlightenment of sorts, he now understood his own Domain in greater detail. He had thought of it as bubble you filled with a skill, or magic. But it was you. It was your Will, changing reality. But there was more to it than that, he could feel it. Being pulled from his thoughts, the Architect continued.
“From the beginning, you have been manipulated. A newly integrated must have their emotions, thoughts, instincts suppressed. Otherwise… Well, you. You are bond to the System, but not influenced by it. The Conqueror, the System, influences its Subjects, to carry on its Concept, you are meant to fight, to win, to expand. The Endless Plains is a challenge for it. Can it raise warriors worthy of conquering the unconquerable. Even the name, Subject, is meant to cast a vale over the Dead Gods eyes. Do not be fooled, the Endless Plains is the prison for the Dead God. Meant to drain it of its gargantuan Mana reserves. Then, once they are depleted to a certain point, can we True Gods strip the Dead God of its power. Separating the last remains of its consciousness, of its Will, from its power.”
Why does that matter? And, are you suppressing me now? I feel like I should have felt more, been scared more, but it feels distance?
“To answer your second question, first. In a manner. I do not wish to harm you. I cannot. That is not my Domain”
Ethan once again gleamed on the deeper meaning of that word. He understood the Architect was meant to create. Not kill. Though it could create weapons, tools, machines, even new lifeforms that could kill Ethan, there was no benefit to it, only a quickening of… something. Death? He understood the Architect was mean to create, and let it take its form from there. Guiding it was another domain entirely. He felt it truly wanted to help. Before the Architect could continue Ethan interrupted.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Why? Why are you helping me? That doesn’t feel right. It’s not help…
“I am guiding you. Teaching is something that can not deter me from my Concept, Creation is to teaching, as Master is to apprentice. As for the why…” The Architect paused.
It felt like a million billion years passed in the silence. All at once, the world around Ethan flickered, and gleamed brightly as he saw worlds come and go. He was watching the Architects work, a cosmic clockwork of Creation and Destruction, trapped in an eternal ballet. Sun exploded, killing life supporting planets, only to be reborn elsewhere as the cosmic dust of heavenly bodies drifted for eons carrying the seeds of a new world. Disease, plague, war, murder sparking civilizations to grow, create new laws, new cures, new life.
Ethan saw the Conqueror.
A wave of destruction, chains, dominance spreading. Reaching its end, and being reborn somewhere else. Always somewhere else. A new fragment of a concept gaining consciousness, long after its previous incarnation had faded from memory. New life already replacing the ones it had consumed before its rebirth.
It was a cycle of life and death. He saw it all over and over.
“The Dead Gods, are corrupt. They are Power without limits. They are power without Domain. I believe a new consciousness; a new Will has been born. It hides. But most of all, I believe it has manipulated you. It has bestowed upon you the knowledge of skills, gear, and enemies in such a way to guarantee you come to it. It is baiting you. Creating the perfect host. The System is not all powerful. No where near. But it can influence events. Events like your bracers. Events like your family’s capture.”
“A Dead God arising once more is a death for us all. Except for Death. I have brought you here, between Space, on the road between portals, for two reasons. One, I wish to give you something. Something to aid you. And second, is to guide you to the System. You must get to the center of the Endless Plains.”
Ethan’s vision swirled. He was now looking out over the Endless Plains. Above, looking down he didn’t recognize the area, some place new, or random, he didn’t know. His vision spun zeroing in on the massive nebula at its center. It too looked different, but it always looked different. It was constantly shifting, moving, shining and swirling.
“In the center is your way out, but it is also where the System is held. I offer a different path.”
Once more his vision spun, now he was looking again at the Endless Plain.
“The Endless Plains are an eternal fold in space. The land you traverse is in fact flat. I have curved it around space. Within is the Void. The space between dimensions. But.”
The Architect paused as Ethan saw something new as his vision swam slowly. The ever-present curvature of the Endless Plains began to spin, now curving down, instead of up.
“Along the outer edges of the Endless Plains, I have created Gates. These were meant for new creatures, species, and races to enter the plains deemed failures. Abominations. They are one way. Only ever one way. If one is ever reversed, they are all reversed. Collapsing the Endless Plains as all the folds in space are undone. This will free you from the Endless Plains. As well as the Dead God. But then, I can location the fragment of consciousness, and seize it before it is able to harm you, or your family, as well as before it can amass any of the Mana left from its life.”
There’s a but isn’t there?
Ethan thought as he was already annoyed with all of this. If he were alone, he knew he’d just lay down in a field somewhere and wait to be trampled, or eaten or some other weird shit he couldn’t imagine. All in an attempt to get out of this onslaught of bullshit. He was tired of the emotional pendulum he was stuck on. Highs, lows, and the thousands of middles. He wanted his life back. He wanted to be done with all of this.
“But you are not powerful enough to survive, if you go there now, you will die. You may not even be powerful enough to survive the monster waves set against once you leave the Safe Zone. Which is why I bring you something. You have been, you are recognized as a Patriarch. A Patriarch of a Clan. A forerunner. When all members of a clan learn a skill, it is added to the effects of your title. Innate skills. Innate traits. Your unique bond allows you to share as well as receive from your clan. The stronger you are, they stronger they become. The stronger they become, the stronger you are made. Not an endless loop of power. But instead, an Infinitely diminishing return of power. But power none the less, so I offer you two things. First is this:
Familial Bond
A skill crafted specifically for the [unnamed] Clan of the End Father.
Gifted to the clan by the True God [Architect]
This skill is an Upgrade to [Soul Connection]
Effect:
General location is added to the senses transferred through Soul Connection.
Allows the Patriarch to teach this skill to all who follow.
Cannot be seen, discovered, identified or otherwise known to any outside of the clan, upon leaving the clan, all knowledge of the will be lost. Members can not mention the skills name anywhere outside of the skills form of communication.
Skill will evolve as members grow.
Requirements:
Member of the [Unnamed] Clan
Members: 4
Ethan wasn’t sure what it took to make a clan, and he hadn’t ever made one, so he was lost on how that had happened. But he could see how the skill could be helpful. He just had to get back to his family to figure it out. It felt like part of his paranoia was slipping away, this was a skill that could allow his family to survive without being caught up or discovered. And if the Architect was correct, if Joe was correct, he would need that, if he was planning of traversing the edges of the Endless Plains. But that was a tomorrow issue. He wouldn’t make that decision without his families input. Or approval.
The Architect continued.
“The second, which I believe you will need, is knowledge.”
Soul Crafting
This is a specialized skill offered buy the God of Creation in hopes that it will aid the barer this skill on his journey.
Grants knowledge of using Souls as a Crafting medium, ingredient, or resource.
Grants the knowledge of Soul Harvesting.
Grants the Ability to Harvest Souls.
Ethan was not sure how he felt about harvesting souls. That was darker than he wanted to think about. His only knowledge of Souls was from horror stories, or video games. They were rarely used a in a beneficial way. He wasn’t sure the road to sucking souls out of people was one he wanted to go down. But the idea of maybe it helping Joe, he figured Joe would know. He still had to start on getting Joe free, and Joe being a Soul it seemed to be at least in the same general area of what he thought he’d need.
If I get to the outer edge of the Endless Plains, isn’t that away from the center?
“Space will collapse inward. You will be sent to the center, without having to pass through the System. If you choose to go to the center, you will have to pass through the System. We shall meet again. Begone.”
Before Ethan could ask anything else, the world around him muted. Like a watered-down painting, color, texture fading. He felt himself reconnect with his body, felt his senses return. Like a torrent, a maddening storm or fear, pressure, overwhelming power, a sense of dominance. There was no arrogance or force behind the dominance. It was so casual it felt like the very nature of reality bent to it. Ethan understood who he had been talking to, who he had felt so disconnected from emotions in front of. He understood the Architect had done it, separated himself, from… himself, to spare his mind from the onslaught of power, so he could focus. So he could ask questions, so he could do all of that without this power, the Architect’s power, influencing his mind.
But now, all of that was crashing into his senses, his mind, his soul.
More pouring, than falling, out of the Portal Ethan’s body convulsed, shook violently. Blood ran from his eyes, drool shot from his lips as an earth-shattering scream tore at his throat. Frothy blood gurgled in his mouth, adding a wet sound to the breaking of his screams.
Ethan clawed at his face, his body moved with some power deeper, more primal, than instinct. An animalistic fear drove him mad. Muffled screams felt muted, and distant around the last remain shreds of consciousness. Fear drove him harder, his hands and feet became bound as darkness overtook him. Ethan’s mind overwhelmed shut down, his body followed shortly behind.
--
“Did you fix the Systems meddling?”
“No. When I pulled his mind to me, I felt it. There was no alteration, had I fixed it, he would know we are aware. I believe it would also be detrimental to his progression. Gravity is an ability that develops over time. Lower gods are usually the first to develop that ability. The weight this whelp feels must be enormous. It is even more telling how he has subconsciously bound the skill to himself. If he ever undoes his own chains…”
“I am sure he will survive.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because I had an interesting talk with his mate, no his Wife. I am beginning to like that term. She believes in him. It is rare to find a pair so devoted. She is beginning to develop Faith. It is a shadow of a trickle. But it was there. I believe he will survive as well, after talking to her.”
“Did she agree to your plan?”
“At first, no. She was… combative.”
“She came around I take it?”
“Yes. It will not be easy. But I see what you mean now. The System is hiding. We have to bait it out.”
“What about the boy?”
“That is something else entirely. She believes he is resourceful.”