At some point, Lu had chewed through his lower lip without noticing. Even now, he could barely feel it; it was the taste and smell of blood that alerted him to the injury, rather than any sensation of pain.
Dreamfever’s prediction was entirely too optimistic. How many hours has it been? In the small chamber under the earth, they were cut off entirely from Salt’s tepid day/night cycle, and since he had regained his cultivation (and began a regiment of grain liberation pills) his body was free from many of the various necessities of mortal life. Hunger couldn’t be used as a rough timepiece, nor fatigue.
But if the number was anywhere below ten hours, he would be extremely surprised.
The walls were no longer mud; they were nothing but steaming ice, outside of which was a white-hot sea of glowing sky pus. Lady No and Ging continuously refreshed the barrier with fresh ice, using a spell Lu didn’t know to create and mold it to keep the little bubble of safely in a livable state.
Probably a variation on Cho’s Lesser Ice Sculpture. Not higher realm – the fluctuations are too simple – but maybe a version more suited to bulk-movement of ice. Or more likely the ice-sculpting art was the variation, and whatever more combat-useful version they were using was the original. Usually he would be interested enough to ask about it, but at the moment his love of spellwork was failing to manifest itself.
Their situation was simply too dire. Not hopeless – he could still breach through using the splinters – but sufficiently close that it was sapping his willpower. My life might not be forfeit, but the likelihood of rescuing Bull seems smaller and smaller with every passing moment.
Every now and then Scarlet or Hu Kuon would give him a pointed look, and it was increasingly likely that he would have to acquiesce to their demands, no matter how many speeches Ging made. If we had tried running, maybe that would have worked. I should have…
Done what? I didn’t know this would happen. How could I have predicted that the Sun would just sit on top of us for seemingly no reason?
And it was sitting on them, almost literally. The chamber was actually quite bright now, lit not only by the glowing pus but by a radiance coming from directly above, visible through the soupy mixture that the ground had become. The light felt oily on his skin, somehow, though it didn’t seem to be having any deleterious effects on their health. To his newborn ki-senses, it was much worse; that dirty-soap smell had intensified to the point he had learned how to block off his Comprehension purely through survival instinct. Horrible, just horrible. He almost felt that just the rot smell on its own would be preferable – with that cleanliness behind, there was something pleasant for his brain to latch on to, making the mixture seem almost desirable. The urge to go out and look at it, but in scent form.
“[Need another pill, here.]”
Lady No’s voice jarred him from his thoughts, and Lu winced as he felt around in his purse.
“[I…]” I’m almost out, just a handful left. “[…Have one right here, senior.]” He tossed the pill, and No started going through the hassle of negotiating something from the outside into her suit – a process that was deliberately complicated, to reduce the chances of it happening by accident. I’m glad Space Ripper can invalidate all that.
He should probably tell the group he was nearing the end of his pill supply, but… I won’t leave until the absolute last moment. If there’s even the smallest chance that we’ll be able to keep going, then I’ll bet on it. As much as he knew it to be unlikely, the Sun could leave at any moment. I’ll keep holding on.
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The Pit was mobilising the dregs of its power, and Sulphur Grip was torn.
Not a lot torn, obviously. But just a little. That long, barely-comprehensible conversation he had had with an alien had tilted the world on its side.
Again, just a little. But a little was a lot, when it was the whole damn world. Aliens. Hot damn, that’s weird as fuck. In hindsight, some of Lu’s oddness stood out like a cut wire, live and sparking – the skittishness, the strange techniques.
The not knowing how fucking time worked, or a bunch of other basic stuff Sulphur had glossed over as the guy being young and from far away. I guess he was from far away. Ha! But, saying it again, it was only a little world-turning revelation. Because aliens and other planets and crap like that? That didn’t affect him, his life – he was a mostly normal guy in a big clan, bordered by other big clans of mostly normal guys. This whole alien thing, it was too big for him to care about – it changed everything, yeah, but not by a lot.
Like swapping out a gas engine for electrics. Changes how stuff needs to be done, but it’s still doing roughly the same stuff in roughly the same way. A big thing that’s noticeable from high up, but invisible from down below.
Or maybe the other way around, every little thing different when you look at it precisely, but looking the same when you step back?
Whatever, he wasn’t a wordplay kinda guy, as much as he liked to talk. Neither was Ded, for that matter.
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So they had kept quiet about it. The grandmasters and various bosses probably already knew, and also who the fuck would believe them? A couple of old, solidly-above-average warriors? Nah, that would be dumb. Just keep it in the back of your head, and let life go on. Nothing needs to change too much.
He would keep saying it to himself, so that hopefully one day it would stick.
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Junk Dog had called an assembly, and Dog Eats Dog’s mind was made up. The moment this thing is over, I’m going to get a posse of Raidbosses together. He had been procrastinating, but seeing the crowd all grouped up had firmed his resolve. We’ll take it to the Clanboss himself. And once everything is out in the open, I’ll ask him to let Cobo back in. Junk Dog was a great man, and Ded was certain that if he explained things properly everything would fall into place.
Stinger-Tail wasn’t wrong to make him Lonesome, he hurt the clan pretty bad, but she wasn’t completely right either. We were all fooled – Cobo’s only crime was being a more useful kind of dumbass than the rest of us.
So he would beg, and hopefully Junk Dog would see things his way. Now he just had to do the thing, which started with listening to his boss’s words.
Almost all the residents of the Pit were lined up out on the surface. It was mostly weak guys unaffiliated with any brotherhood; the mixed-consumption miners and agriculturists and paper pushers. Engineers and non-Mechanical mechanics. Sharpie wranglers, and their sharpies too; there must be thousands of the things, more than he had ever seen in one place.
The dregs who had been too weak to even use as fodder, and those with more value tucked away belowground.
But there were still a few stronger men – Raidbosses waiting for new squads to be put together mingled with Joeists and Smokers who had retreated from the disastrous assault on Clan Dragon Eater, while a bare handful of Stinger-Tail cultists stuck out in their heavy robes and wooden masks. Even less numerous – and more conspicuous – were the Mechanicals and Psychokinetics; there couldn’t have been more than five of them each in the crowd of hundreds.
They all stood on the sand, surrounded by the new buildings – which weren’t exactly new at this point, but that was what they were called. In the middle distance everything grew muddy, objects seemingly both too close and too far away. And even further, the world was completely obscured by an off-white dome; Junk Dog’s pure power, forming a massive barrier over the entire Pit. Ded hadn’t seen it get made – a fact he regretted, since demonstrations of the Clanboss's abilities were always a spectacle.
But beyond anything, it was hot, to the point that Ded could close his eyes and imagine he was standing with his bare feet pressed to the wall of a roaring furnace. But nobody was complaining; Junk Dog was present, towering above the tents and brick constructions with his wide smile and bright eyes. Not a single person was going to breathe a word before he had spoken.
Or at least, that’s what Ded had assumed. But one of the psychics tottered forward, crossing the invisible line around Junk Dog and going all the way to within touching distance. He was heavily mutated, with long rodent-like feet that led up to a pulsing sack of a torso. When he breathed, it was made abundantly clear that if there was a skeleton inside, it was little more than a spine.
Junk Dog’s head tilted down, and they seemed to have a brief conversation before the psychic turned back and melded into the crowd once more. Ded’s brows rose at the audacity. Maybe I should do that. Seemed to work out well enough… But I wonder what that was all about. Maybe that torture device shaped like a tree would be getting a new set of occupants.
But the next moment Ded’s head cleared completely, as Junk Dog straightened up and addressed his clan.
“Warriors of Junk Dog, hear my words.” The crowd, which had been nearly silent for such a mass of people, became almost deathly quiet as everyone ceased shuffling and gave the Clanboss their complete attention. At the sound of his voice, Ded’s blood quickened in his veins. “This is a time of great upheaval, not only for our clan, but for the entire world.” He raised one massive arm and pointed upwards. “Notice the shield I have laid across the whole of our Junk Pit – observe carefully as I weaken it ever so slightly.”
His pointing hand closed into a fist, and the dome became bright, so bright that his eyes watered even under his protective goggles. Damn, that’s like getting a whole-
The thought was cut off as the rotting, beautiful stink reached him. He went stiff, his eyes widening even as they continued to water in the extreme light. The dome isn’t bright. That’s..!
I WILL DESTROY YOU
YOUR BONES SHALL TURN TO ASH, YOUR MEMORY TO ASH, YOUR EXISTENCE TO ASH
BURN
The crowd erupted in a flurry of emotions, fury and terror and a dozen other reactions taking hold. Junk Dog merely observed for a moment, letting his hand fall to his side.
“You understand. You understand the gravity of the situation.” His lips split, teeth becoming visible as his smile widened. “But that is only the second most important thing to be happening today.”
Ded felt like his head was filled with steam, battle-lust mixing with panic and confusion as the giant’s words set in.
“Right now, as we speak, our world is being invaded. No, perhaps that is the wrong way to phrase it.” His eyes gleamed in the harsh light, not even wincing despite his lack of protection. “Let me correct myself. Two things, long separate, have joined together into one again. A wall that was once impenetrable has fallen, revealing a fertile land beyond, ripe for harvest.”
Like his pulse, thoughts raced in and out of Ded’s head. Does he mean..? He has to be talking about it, there’s no way it’s something else. Each breath drew the scent of mingled glory and hate into his lungs, invigorating him even as it caused his guts to churn with ill intent.
“The Sun’s wrath is merely a symptom of this conjoining. It smells the fresh blood, and its hunger rises. But it is not the only one; our Great Ancestors, too, stir in their graves and private corners. All across the land, great beings raise their heads and take notice.”
Cobo can come back- they’ll want him to come back. He knows more about Lu’s techniques than anyone. The thing inside him that was a sturdy rock and a crackling bonfire and a roaring engine all at once screamed triumph, coiling denser and denser in his stomach with each passing moment. The air was like a thick stew, heavy with the Sun and Junk Dog and all the surrounding warriors gathered together, their hearts beating as one.
“Can you feel it? Even now, one approaches. Listen.”
The riot obeyed. At first there was nothing. But then…
A thump, very soft, more suggestion than sound. Then another, just slightly louder. Another.
Ded’s spine tingled. The crowd held its breath.
Junk Dog’s smile reflected the light of the Sun as if it were his own, his white skin almost glowing. “You feel it.”
I feel it. Fuck, I do.
“Big Joe approaches. He who chases the sun across the sky – perhaps this time, he will finally catch it.”