Neshamah Rex walked down the dark hallway of the undercity, not bothering to look at the hanging strands of dread that coiled in the dark corners of the corridor. At this point, she had grown used to the way that the Nexus was changed by the fickle moods of the most powerful man standing behind it. The metal mesh clacked with each of her steps, a harsh metronome that cataloged her advancement through the otherwise absolute silence.
The pipes and around her didn’t even dare breathe.
An emergency meeting, Neshamah kept her expression schooled, even alone in the undercity. Despite the utter stillness around her, you never knew who might be watching. Called by Elhume himself. Should I… have woken father from his slumber…?
Neshamah arrived at the steam elevator, opening the copper cage and pulling it shut behind her with an echoing rattle. The metal frame groaned as the mechanisms activated, carrying her up into the Nexus proper. To the nervous Neshamah, the ride was all too short; soon she stepped out of the service elevator and into the solemn halls of the Nexus Labor Council headquarters.
The silence of space and flimsy metal barriers was replaced with the heavy silence of coiled tension and marble. Her steps echoed just as much in this new environment as they had in the old.
When she reached the door to the meeting room, she took a moment to take a slow breath. She savored the feeling of her lungs inflating, the certainty of her physical body reacting to her commands. That touch was enough to mask the storm of negative emotions that hung across this whole place, for the briefest moment. She pushed open the door, affecting a trademark look of boredom.
Eight heavy gazes glanced up from their impatient vigil to examine her. In the eyes of some, she recognized a brand of the same nervousness that she carried. In others, there were vague suspicions and hostility. Ignoring all of it, Neshamah walked around the side of the table and took her usual place, although things were slightly off with these extra attendees.
“You are late,” Methualla, said quietly. The woman’s heavy-lidded eyes narrowed at Neshamah. As one of the original students of Lathis N’Gick, her presence here meant that the Engraving Guild took this threat very seriously. Their two Nether Aura’s pressed up against one another, spiraling quickly for purchase.
In addition, Neshamah believed her to be the most self-involved individual in the entire Nexus. With neither willing to draw too much attention to themselves, the Nether clash ended in a draw.
Neshamah shifted in her seat and took the temperature of the room; very few other emotions stirred at the Nether Lattice representative’s words, so Neshamah didn’t even bother to respond verbally. Instead, she cataloged the sitting persons. Methualla and another Nether Lattice Crony. Two Commandants from Military High Command. An exhausted-looking Octavius Shrike, who likely didn’t need to be here at all. A floating jellyfish wearing the insignia of the Xyrt Brigade. An ancient humanoid with a long, straw-colored beard and no powerful image to speak of.
And of course, at the head of the table, the flickering form of Elhume. The bringer of the emotional storm that tainted the main spire of the Nexus, although few seemed to notice his cloying breath clouding the air. Even through the blurring, it was obvious his features were harsh and heavy, even more so than usual. The edges of his spectral body undulated, buffeted by the harsh winds of his fury.
Once everyone was in place, the slightly insane Commandant Wick looked around the table. “...since we are all here, I’ll begin with a brief summary of events. Early yesterday morning, a group of Pinnacle Seekers including the Dusk Jackal, Wind Scythe, and two unknown entities attacked a Swacc Family facility. From their actions it was clear that they were aware of their target and had inside knowledge to quickly dismantle the engraved defenses and penetrate into the core area. There, they obtained the rumored Skull of Truth-”
“Why the hell,” The Xyrt Brigade leader quivered in tightly suppressed fury. “Did the Swacc Family have that holy treasure? I believe some amongst us have claimed that particular object is secured.”
The lines around Commandant Wick’s mouth tightened to be interrupted, but he endured without comment. The question seemed to be directed at the elderly being with a straw-colored beard, who released a deep sigh. “The Nexus Vault has been sealed for almost fifteen hundred years, during my time as a trainee. It is not impossible that some of the items that are alleged to be there are replicas, with the originals still at large. The Nexus is not yet a place without mystery.”
Suddenly, Neshamah recognized this man, at least by reputation. He was the Loreholder, the greatest historian and record keeper in the Nexus, Yimeon. As she looked at him, she had to school her expression to remain neutral. Yes, either your precious records were made incorrectly, or someone has found a way to break into the Vault under your nose. In the end, I wonder which you would prefer?
“All the more reason that the Nexus Vault should be opened for a thorough-” The Xyrt Brigade member began, up until a horrifying, grinding voice spoke across him.
“The Nexus Vault will not be opened. Allowing some pieces of history to see the light of day once more would be… catastrophic.”
Except for the flickering figure that led them, the rest of the group shivered as one. To hear Elhume’s voice was to experience a significant while being unintentional mental attack. Neshamah drew strength out from her Nether Core in order to stabilize. To her satisfaction, a flicker of pain crossed Methualla’s features.
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In the silence that Elhume’s pronouncement, everyone wanted another individual to be the one that came under the scrutiny of their unhappy leader.
“As I was saying,” Commandant Wick gave the Xyrt Brigade member a small smirk, as though the words of Elhume should be considered a targeted rebuke of his earlier poor manners, “The Pinnacle Seekers retrieved the Skull of Truth and fled to a base they had already prepared in the depths of their solar array.”
“What does the Skull of Truth do?” The other Engraving Guild crony asked.
Commandant Wick grimaced in distaste, but he looked at Yimeon. The old man cleared his throat, looking everywhere but at Elhume. “The Skull of Truth can be considered an evolved chunk of Aetherium, left behind after the tragic sacrifice of the Patron of Truth in the Second Cohort. According to the records of my predecessor, the Skull of Truth is able to illuminate flaws in your image. The effect is not limitless, but for Pinnacle Seekers, it is perhaps a priceless treasure.”
“Will its activation weaken it?” Neshamah asked. “Aetherium is a finite resource, yes? Are we worried that the Pinnacle Seekers will drain its remaining charge?”
“The records claim that this object is special, and constantly renewed by the blessings of the Patron of Truth.” Yimeon shrugged and fell silent.
Commandant Wick tapped the table to bring the attention back to him. Neshamah almost snorted at the obvious annoyance building in his features; he really could not stand everyone getting in the way of his moment in the spotlight. “Originally, we believed this attack was due to the negative image spreading about the Swacc Family. Only when the Swacc Family deployed their entire reserve army in response did we understand how precious an item was taken. Both the Engraving Guild and Military High Command sent observational forces, hoping to prevent the clash from escalating. According to reports, most of the Engraving Guild’s force was annihilated immediately, when the Swacc Family attacked observers-”
“We were ambushed,” Methualla hissed. “And due to our sacrifices, your forces could safely retreat-”
“I believe my subordinate single-handedly fought and defeated the squad that so decimated your forces,” Wick sneered over at Methualla. “How fragile, your defenses must be, that the element of surprise is so determinative in your battles. Perhaps this is indicative of insufficient training?”
“It was only due to the wounds inflicted on that squad during the clash with our Nether Rituals-”
“Hmmm.”
The words gurgled to a stop in Methualla’s throat at the noise from Elhume. Most of the other attendees also went pale; such a casual noise from the leader of the Nexus was unusual. The last time Elhume had been so vocal at a meeting, one of their number had been erased from existence and replaced.
“Let’s continue to the actual reason that we called this emergency meeting then,” Commandant Wick said quietly. It was a needle at Methualla, but a quiet one designed not to draw Elhume’s ire. “While both of our forces fought against a portion of the Swacc army, their main force fought their way through the solar array, mainly against the subordinates of Wind Scythe. As they neared the core area, the unknown figure who had assisted in the heist, and perhaps leaked the Swacc Family information to make the theft easier, opened the Path to the Pinnacle.”
Commandant Wick steepled his fingers. “Reports concerning what comes next are messier and conflicting, mostly due to the fact our two most powerful combatants were occupied by other confrontations. But it does not appear that this figure immediately stepped onto the Path to the Pinnacle. None of the usual phenomena manifested that would indicate their image was being tested. Instead, they activated the Skull of Truth, which released a strange image pulse that affected not only themselves, but the entire battlefield.
“What follows is even more chaotic. There are reports of a fourth Pinnacle Seeker flaring their image as the Swacc Family unleashed an unknown Speculum tier-combatant to try and reach them before the Pinnacle Seekers could take any further action. Using whatever insights gleaned from the Skull of Truth, the one who opened the Path to the Pinnacle began adjusting their image on the fly. This continued for almost ten seconds, but my subordinate was unable to determine how or why their image was adjusted. After this individual then stepped onto the Path to the Pinnacle… well, you’ve all heard, I’m sure. The Nether King that previously attacked the Fifth Cohort and escaped our combined offensive stepped back out.”
Commandant Wick chose his next words carefully. “A second powerful, Speculum-tier, figure revealed themselves in the Swacc Family base and lashed out against the Nether King. This we believe to have been the Patriarch of the Swacc Family, although the image manifested for such a brief time that we cannot confirm this fact. Instead of fighting against this figure directly, the Nether King ripped through the solar array, causing the several white dwarfs to collapse inward and amalgamate into a monstrously large neutron star. The force released by this process allowed the Nether King to vanish without a trace.”
“And the Swacc Family?” The other Commandant asked.
Wick shook his head. “Unknown. It is believed that much of their army was directly annihilated, but their core fighters should have escaped-”
“You should have observed them more closely,” Yimeon interjected. “What if they possess more treasures?”
“-but the most fruitful of the discussions is on the state of the returned Nether King,” Wick spoke without acknowledging the Loreholder. “First, he held the Skull of Truth, which appeared exactly as described in the records, as resting woman. There were no clashes between the Nether King and Pinnacle Seekers, which leads us to believe they were working together the whole time. Second, he held some other strange item in his other hand, perhaps some other precious tool that he had obtained on his invasion of the Path to the Pinnacle. And upon his head-”
“A crown,” Elhume mused. “A true Nether King walks within the Nexus once more,”
Everyone winced, enduring the raw power contained in his voice. Before anyone else could speak, Elhume’s blurry gaze swept the table. Neshamah tightened her grip on the chair’s armrest, suppressing a groan of pain. “Find the Nether King. Spare no effort. Fully deploy the Xyrt Brigade. I will… handle the Swacc Family.”
It was a relief when he flickered out of existence.
Goodbye, Gabriel, Neshamah thought of her longtime rival and his family being hunted by that monstrous storm of an individual. It has been nice knowing you.
Commandant Wick looked around gravely. “Alright. Let’s discuss a partial deactivation of the Nexus Ways, so we can limit the movements of the Pinnacle Seekers.”