The praetors and my companions celebrate one final time before I begin construction of the Gate. I seclude myself to my study. Julius walks in and says, "Come! Join us! You have not had a single bite to eat or drink to drink since I met you!" I turn my head to look at her.
"I cannot do either. My physiology disallows it."
"Have you tried?" She asks.
"…No…" I end up joining their celebration after all.
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I have the praetors put the tower on maximum security a final time before I begin the long process of engineering the Gate. Let us begin.
I begin drawing up plans for the Gate of Heaven before I encounter my first major roadblock. I see. Flux rifts can’t just target places outside reality, which is where the Veil is. To get there, I will need to create some sort of four-dimensional tunnel. Space is not easily bent this way, however, with enough soul power, I should be able to channel enough vis to bend it to my will.
It takes me about six hours to draw up the blueprints. Now the construction must begin.
I gather my materials and begin tinkering, testing, and building. Sparks of magical power and malicious origin fly from each swing of my hammer. Eventually, I reach a roadblock. Damn! There’s no material conductive enough for the power circulator. After pondering for hours, I sense that perhaps darker inspiration may be what I require.
I slowly remove my mask and let the warp consume my mind for a few moments. The room floods with fog, and the eldritch abomination once again emerges from it.
"Do you know a material that will work for the power circulator?" I ask it. It slowly walks over to my blueprints and stares at them. Up close, it is truly a grotesque being. It grunts and walks over my desk where I have a block of cesium for magical study and points to it. Of course! I have recently confirmed cesium acts as an excellent vis conductor due to its abnormally high concentration of Praecantatio (Magic). I replace my mask and resume my tinkering.
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About halfway through the construction of the gate, Victor bursts into my room, panting like a mad dog.
"Sir!" He shouts. "Come out here! It’s—"
"VICTOR! I told you all NOT to disturb me during my work!" I scream angrily.
"Sir… LOOK!" His words are filled with true horror, so I immediately realize something must be terribly wrong. I rush out of my study and look out the window of the tower. Oh… my… God…
A massive tower with millions of people raising its front doorstep. [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1136080780368543925/1146769604740382780/IMG_4015.png]
Millions, no, billions of people must be the sheer quantity that sits just outside the warding stones of my tower. Fires erupt in the crowd, presumably from siege weaponry or gods. I run outside. The roar of the people is deafening. They are all chanting something in a language I am unfamiliar with. I walk out to the crowd. An old man with white hair and blue robes, who I can tell has a noble soul, begins floating above the rest of the crowd and begins talking in an impossibly loud voice.
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"Silence!" He shouts. Everyone goes quiet. "Today we take revenge on the Thaumaturge! He has taken more from us than we can quantify! Today we kill him!" The crowd erupts in a cheer. "Everyone give a round of applause to Derone! Had he not shown us where the odd portal was, we would have not been able to find this place!" A familiar face emerges from the crowd. …Derek? You bitch! They must have used the ambient leftover flux from my activities and coalesced it into the rift. Those around him pat his back and applaud him. Furious, I rapidly walk towards the crowd. They all spot me and start shouting unknown slurs and cusses at me. They pound on the barrier created by the warding stones uselessly. I amplify my voice module ten thousand fold so they can all hear me.
"Leave now, or I will kill each and every one of you!" I yell. "We are so close to our goal! I will not let you do this!" Derek looks at me.
"Fuck you! You ruined Sophia’s life! You killed all of our gods! I’m going to make you pay with your blood!" He raises his sword. Everyone in the crowd raises their weapons as well, chanting, "Kill him!" The fools. Do they not realize we are mere moments away from salvation for all?
I walk back to the tower, confident the warding stones will hold up. However, I notice several gods begin pelting the barrier with magical energy. Derek must have told them that their usual spellcasting won’t work here. The gods will be a major problem. I return to my study and continue my tinkering, the roars of the angry crowd still piercing the walls. "Victor, monitor the barrier and make sure nobody breaks through. If they do, send in Tetrax. He will slaughter them all." He nods in compliance.
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Another hour into tinkering, my companions enter my room; Jack, Ican, Julius, and Winter. Jack looks angry.
"What the fuck did you do to these people!?" He screams. I notice his hand is on his sword.
"Think carefully before you make your next move. If you attack me, you know I will easily dispatch of you. Winter, stand down and get your ass over here." His eyes flash red and he moves to stand by my side, now putting himself between us. "I did nothing but liberate them. Their gods toyed with the souls of innocents and so I killed them. Do you truly tell me I have done wrong by killing them?"
"That’s fine. That’s what I signed up for. I already knew you did that. But did you ever even stop to ask the intentions of the gods you were killing? Like Winter! From his perspective, he was just defending his home! And you slaughtered him!"
"You told them about that?" I ask him. His robotic head turns towards me and nods. I clench my fist in anger. "I did what had to be fucking done. If you don’t agree with it, you may join the angry army at my doorstep. I estimate they will break through the warding stones soon anyways. Julius and Ican, you agree with him on this?" Ican bears his fangs and growls at me. Julius lowers her head in shame. My anger swells beyond belief, even more so when every new recruit moves into view, standing behind them.
"Come quietly," says Ican. "Answer for your crimes."
"Why the sudden change in heart? Why betray me now?"
Julius finally speaks up. "We’ve considered this carefully," she says. "The cost of innocent lives on your crusade has been too great. We’ve decided to force you into banishment. Leave now and never travel through dimensions again, or we will kill you." My praetors are all preoccupied with the army outside. Very well.
"Winter, kill them all. Do not let them inside my study while I work."