“We meet again, little one.”
Seth’s eyes shot open to a familiar black room. A jingle of metal to his right confirmed Seth’s dread. He slowly got up and turned to the dark being wrapped in multiple hued chains. Seth gnawed on his lip to steady his emotions and looked up to the awful grin plastered on the creature’s face.
“Long time no see.”
Folly cackled for a moment, causing crimson and black liquid to dribble from his mouth. “Look how far you have come little one! To act so nonchalant in the face of one so powerful!” It giggled at its own observation.
“I am surprised at you. To ignore me for so long, only to continue with the cold shoulder even after I invite you to my domain.”
The being’s face took on a slightly more serious expression, one that made Seth’s blood run cold. A tidal wave of pure terror hit Seth and he found it impossible to breath.
“One with less patience might kill you where you stand.”
Seth attempted to answer, now truly terrified of further upsetting the monster. “I-I apologize. The voices are so prevalent that I have a hard time believing anything they say.” He looked cautiously back up to the creature, only to find the horrible presence he felt earlier was nowhere to be found.
“They are quite annoying aren’t they.” It laughed. “I will allow you to get away with that excuse as long as you do not attempt to ignore me in the future.” Folly grinned. Seth grimaced before replying.
“So what exactly do you need from me?”
The being’s chains shifted as it leaned forward, stopping mere inches from Seth’s face as its unnaturally ice-cold breath caused him to shake.
“A favor of course.”
--------
“Wake up man!”
Seth erupted from his slumber, almost striking Will in the face. The meeting with Folly still had him on edge, and for a second, he hadn’t registered his friend’s presence.
“Jeez man, you have a nightmare?”
Seth shook off his grogginess and got up to address Will.
“Something like that. What’s going on?”
The whole room had a thick tension in the air.
“Something is coming.”
Sydney’s voice cut through Seth’s attention as he turned to the wall she was staring at. Seth understood what she was talking about as he felt a growing wall of energy approaching. Although most in the room were not able to accurately sense dimensional energy, they could still feel something was wrong. Weapons were summoned and abilities were activated as everyone prepared for the undeniable battle that was coming their way.
Seth hesitated for a moment before activating his passive abilities and summoning Anar. He wanted to keep Specter State and Wicked Being a secret for the time being so instead, he only activated True Sight and Stalker’s Anthem.
He glanced down at himself and noticed a thin blur in the air around his skin. It was the first time he had activated Stalker’s Anthem and Seth found that even he couldn’t look at himself for more than a couple seconds before his gaze seemed to slide off onto the floor. A rumbling took over the room and Seth tensed as the wall everyone was staring at began to slide open.
The dimensional energy radiating from the opening wall was so powerful that some in the room fell to their knees while others were barely able to hold onto their weapons. A figure finally emerged from the darkness of the wall and with it a huge wave of suffocating power. It was so immense that those who weren’t already on their knees fell down to them and the ones already there looked like they were going to throw up.
Only a few people were still standing after the wave. Seth, Ty, Sydney, and a woman in fiery red armor were barely holding themselves upright. They watched as the familiar patchwork creature stepped forward and stopped at the front of the room. The creature’s attention seemed to rest on the remaining individuals that were still standing.
Abruptly, a second much stronger pulse seemed to erupt from the monster and Seth as well as the rest of them were forced down. They stayed like that for a moment before the suppressive pressure slowly receded back into the figure. Everyone was finally able to catch their breath, but no one dared to rise just yet.
“I trust I have your attention now?”
---------
The robotic voice of the creature rang out amongst the crowd, but still no one moved.
“Rise my friends, there is nothing to fear. I apologize for the discomfort, but I had to show who exactly was in charge before some unsavory individuals might attempt to do something they regret.”
Everyone slowly got up and wearily looked upon the new arrival.
“Fear not, you have proved yourselves worthy of respect, so I will treat you accordingly. I want to first thank you all for your participation in our experiment! Your help has allowed us to make leaps and bounds in our research, so after the last round of tests, we will compensate you for your time.”
Seth became still as he listened to the thing’s words. The creature’s attitude was a total one-eighty from their last interaction. He also didn’t like the sound of more tests, and neither did anyone else in the room.
Thank god no one is stupid enough to bring it up though. Seth thought to himself.
“Uh, what do you mean ‘last round of tests?’ Also, who are you?” A wavering voice said from across the room.
All eyes in the room turned to the poor stupid soul who had spoken up. Seth cringed inwardly at the sight of Ryan’s oblivious face staring at the rest of them. Everyone looked back at the hooded figure, waiting in mute horror for it to respond to the idiot.
“Thank you brave soul, for your question. Yes, there will be one more test all of you will have to go through. Worry not, there is no pass or fail for this test, we are simply filling in the blanks of what we have accrued so far. As for your second question, you may refer to me as commander. Now if we are done with the questions, please follow me to the examination room and form a line along the wall until I call you in.”
The commander pivoted off its silver gorilla-like legs and walked toward the opening it came out of. After an exchange of looks between the other participants in the room, they all gradually dismissed their weapons and abilities and followed after the monster. They walked through a narrow white hallway that was identical to the room they were just at. After a couple turns, they stopped in the middle of the hall where a section of the wall evaporated.
“Please enter one by one after the current occupant leaves. When you are finished, please form up on the parallel wall.”
The commander walked into the room and the first person in line, a thin middle eastern woman, hesitantly followed it. The wait was slow going. Seth was around the middle of the line and he noticed that each person came in and out at irregular patterns. Some would be in there for five minutes, while a couple were there for almost half an hour. No one spoke while waiting, everyone was too anxious for what was to come.
Finally it became Seth’s turn, Sydney had just gone in before him and did not make eye contact when she past him. He let out a breath and walked in. He was surprised at first when he noticed that the whole room perfectly resembled an investigation room. It consisted of a white table with two chairs. It even had a reflective window on the far side for someone to watch through. The commander was sitting in the chair facing away from the window. Even with its odd position in the human sized chair, the commander dominated the room with its presence.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Seth stiffly marched to the chair across from the commander and sat down.
“Why hello there Subject 50.” The commander rumbled from under the purple hood. Seth nodded passively in response.
“So there is just one thing I need to ask you. What is your new race?”
Seth’s face became a picture of confusion.
It that seriously all it needs to know?
Why have some people taken so long. He was about to answer when the commander interrupted him.
“You must be curious why that is all I need to know. We have collected a large amount of data on you over the last six months, and the only thing we cannot gauge from this data is your specific race.”
Seth was uneased by how accurate the commander guessed his thoughts.
“It’s Fiend,” he claimed bluntly.
“I surmised as much. Did you know that the race of Fiend is actually quite rare? They are not originally from any dimension we have documented. There is a theory that states one can only evolve into a Fiend, and that it is impossible to be born one.”
Seth could practically hear the hunger in the commander’s tone. It was a researcher through and through.
“That is interesting.” He stated blandly.
The commander leaned back in its small chair.
“Well, as I said, that is the only thing I needed to ask you, so now is the time to ask any questions you might have. Please do not hesitate to ask anything, this will most likely be the last time you have the chance before we release you all and my kind does not lie.”
Seth debated it for a minute in his head.
Why didn’t he ask about my Umbra? Of all things you would think that is what they would want to know, right? He looked up at the hood enveloping the commander’s face. What the hell am I even thinking about this for? I am pretty sure it can read me like a book.
“Why didn’t you ask about my Umbra?” He inquired.
“Great question. The answer is that we are not permitted to ask about them. They are a power beyond any mortal such as you and I. A long time ago we did ask about them, but certain events took place and we learned about the power such beings contain.”
A short silence ensued before Seth asked the next question.
“What tier are you?”
The commander showed no sign of interest in the question.
“I am unsure why it is relevant, but I am a tier six.”
Seth was on a roll now.
“What race are you? How did you find me specifically for the experiment? How were our tests decided? Where are we going after you release us? How do you find Anomalous Gems? How are Anomalous Gems created and what exactly are they for?”
Now the commander did seem surprised.
“Well, that is quite the list! Congratulations subject, you have thoroughly piqued my interest! I do not believe I have ever encountered a subject that has asked such involved inquiries.”
The commander got up and began to pace around the room, analyzing Seth.
“Fine then. I am in the Automaton race. We found you through one of our AI systems because of a specific set of markers you portrayed. You had a more combat oriented series of tests due to the way you passed your first test. We will be transporting you to Dimension 101, specifically one of the main cities on the galactic plane. We find the gems through an analysis of each dimension, looking for largescale influxes of dimensional energy in concentrated areas. The Anomalous Gems are created by Umbras by unknown means and from our understanding, they are used to develop influence amongst each Umbra.”
Seth sat there to absorb all of what the commander said.
“Is there anything else you would like to know my friend?”
Seth looked at the commander, fear from before totally forgotten. A chuckle escaped his mouth.
“Well, that was a lot of really vague and uninformative information.” Seth grinned.
“What specific race in the Automatons? What markers did I portray? What is the city called and what do you mean galactic plane? What special way did I pass the tests that warranted for such harsh parameters? I can understand not knowing the reasons of an Umbra, but do you really not know how they create the gems?”
As Seth finished with a smirk, the commander stopped cold in the middle of pacing.
“Why would you ask me that specific question again after I already told you I cannot lie?”
Seth furrowed his eyebrow, confused at the commander’s response.
“Aren’t you going to answer my other questions?”
The commander stepped uncomfortably close to Seth.
“Were you told something about how the gems are made?”
Seth’s fear was rising. Something was wrong.
“Uh no, no I was just curious because I thought it was a simple question.”
He had gone too far and he knew that his coverup was not good enough. A trickle of the powerful presence from before hit Seth like a train. The commander raised its glass arm and set it firmly on Seth’s shoulder.
“Tell me what you heard.”
Seth knew that he had to answer the question, or the commander was going to do something horrible. The only hitch was that his Umbra had told him that information and the commander said they can’t ask about it.
“M-my Umbra told me, you said you aren’t permitted to ask.”
The strong grip on his shoulder began to tighten and hurt Seth.
“Do not tell me what I can and cannot do. Now tell me what you were told boy.”
Seth had no choice.
“I was told they were created when an Umbra enters the mortal realm.”
The commander’s grip instantly relaxed and fell off Seth’s shoulder.
“But why would…”
it trailed off. An eerie silence followed as the commander straightened and marched back over to the chair it had originally been in.
“You are free to leave.”
The commander stated. Seth took the chance and quickly began to leave the room.
“Before you go, would you mind telling me your name?”
He froze at the doorway and glanced over his shoulder.
“It’s Seth.”
The commander nodded.
“My given name is Lyak.”
Seth appraised Lyak for a moment before finally escaping into the hallway. He took his place behind Sydney in line and waited in silence. Strangely, every meeting after his did not last any longer than a couple minutes. Before they knew it, the meetings were over and the commander stepped out into the hallway with them.
“Thank you all for your cooperation. I am sorry to say that I will not be able to escort you to the cache warehouse due to a prior commitment. Please follow my assistant, Shilung, and he will show you where to go.”
The commander gestured behind the line of people where a new figure had arrived out of nowhere. It seemed to Seth that the new concealment skill he picked up from Ty was popular amongst these beings. The humanoid figure was entirely made out of a beautiful collection of colored glass. It looked like a living, breathing mosaic. On top of the rainbow shards was a surprisingly human-like head.
It had not a spot of hair on its cream-colored skin yet it also did not have a mouth. It was a genderless picture of beauty that had two diamond orbs peering at the line of people.
“Why hello subjects! Thank you commander for your time. Please allow me to take care of you all for the rest of your stay. We will now be going to the cache warehouse for you to pick out your reward! Follow me please.”
The line of people herded after Shilung while Seth watched the commander march in the other direction.
---------
“Welcome everyone, to the cache warehouse! Here you will choose from a catalog of our finest catalyst items for one that you believe would be a great addition to your aligned abilities! But please choose wisely my friends, whatever you choose will go forward to be a large part of what you will be able to attain in the future!”
Shilung gestured to a row of consoles on their left.
“Please step forward and pick your prize!”
Everyone eagerly surged forward to any free console they could find. Countless screens flickered to life in front of the participants. Seth was blown away by the sheer amount of items on the screen in front of him. Thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of items were listed. There were descriptions under each individual item as well. They detailed what type of ability the user would receive upon consumption. One item caught Seth’s eye and he began softly chuckling under his breath.
Fossil of the Devarger:
-The user will receive the power of the Devarger’s glorious buttocks.
Seth was about to continue scrolling when he heard Will stifle a laugh next to him.
“I see what you are going for there champ.”
Seth glowered at Will. “Shut it man."
Will grinned and turned back to his console. Seth had a similar grin as went back to work. Finally, he found the section full of manufactured items and promptly picked the top one. He made his way over the opposite wall, waiting for the rest of them to finish. Shilung noticed Seth almost instantly. It strolled over to him and stood against the wall right next to Seth.
“Forgive my forwardness, but I have been hoping to speak with you Subject 50.”
Seth side-eyed Shilung.
“What exactly did you want to speak with me about?”
Shilung locked its glassy eyes on Seth with an uncomfortable hunger. Seth had seen it before on the commander’s face but this was on a whole different level. Seth was sure that if Shilung had the opportunity, it would dissect him right here and now.
“How did you come up with the plan that defeated the tier three Xtrey Hound?”
Seth shifted his gaze away from the humanoid.
“It was just a fluke. There are some stories on my planet with similar types of schemes.”
Shilung’s eyes widened.
“Intriguing! Do you even realize how unlikely your plan was to succeed? It was roughly a million to one odds! Had you run any slower you would have been devoured. Had any more of the ceiling fell, you would have had a cave in! Did you even realize that? If even one of the Xtrey Hound’s abilities were uninhibited, your chances would have dwarfed to one in a quintillion!”
Seth sat there, letting Shilung drone on.
“You know, outside of this facility, you will find that higher tiered individuals will not be so forgiving of rudeness.”
Seth faced Shilung with contempt.
“So why are you allowing it here?”
A metallic hum started emitting from Shilung and Seth realized it was laughter.
“Members of Origin value information and discovery over everything else. Some may be offended enough to act when a lower lifeform disrespects them, but I am not one of them. Like I mentioned, you will find those outside of our organization will not hesitate to strike you down for little more than a dirty look. Let me give you a piece of advice young subject. The only thing that is a constant in this reality is power. Without it, you will not get anywhere.”
Shilung finished then began to pull away.
“It seems your fellow participants are about done picking their item.”
Seth watched Shilung return to the front of the line and shortly after fell into line himself. “Alright friends! I trust everyone is satisfied with their reward?” Everyone nodded in mute excitement at their new valuables.
“Wonderful!”
Shilung reached out a glassy hand to the space in front of him. Before their eyes a large blue crack began to fester its way into reality. As it finally opened, Shilung lowered its hand and turned back to the crowd.
“Now is the time friends! Walk through this crack and into your new life! On the other side there will be another member to help you all settle down. It was fun while it lasted my friends, I hope to see you again someday!”
One after another the crowd disappeared through the crack, into the unknown.