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Johnny Caldwell

I position the books all down on the desk that Isaac moved to, the man flipping through the pages of one on his own while he waits. He looks up at me with a chuckle as he sits up from his position on the chair.

"Well, you sure took advantage, didn't you?"

I grow a bit concerned and try to explain myself, but he cuts me off.

"I just–"

"It's fine, Johnny. Loosen up, and you're a grown man. Have some pride in yourself. I may be able to kill you a hundred times over, but you must have a spine."

I nod at him as he turns his attention from me to the books.

"Let's see what we have here… hmm… interesting. I can only give you one book on Dzils, however, so you will have to choose. Within are bits of the writer's Ether that can help one visualize how the skill works, so they cannot be reproduced. As for the other ones, they are good choices, though risk does come with the Daemonicon. The stuff written within is hazardous yet very powerful. Only give it to people who synergize aptly with the information inside or know the perils."

His words sadden me but are about what I expected, if not just a bit better. I half expected him to say no to everything but one. Leaving with five books is far more than I can ask for, especially with the contents of said five.

But it will be hard to choose between the Dzil books. It all really boils down to a simple question, though, which is needed the most and has the most potential?

I ask Isaac about the three I have on the table. I have one for myself, one for Earl and his unique gift, which is indispensable, and two for any who might be able to glean use from them. This last one should be special. I can't help being a bit selfish, but at the very least, we need that book for Earl. History has been changed the most by two things. The invention of black powder and the First. No one will be able to copy the latter, but I think we can follow up on the creations with some more.

"Isaac, which of the three between Salamander's Flesh, Azure Bulwark, and Excavator is best for building an army?"

Isaac's fiery eye focuses on the three books, and after a few seconds, he gives out his wisdom.

"Hmm… The choices here are quite good for that purpose, but I must remind you, these skills are beyond difficult to learn. Perhaps one or two may learn one in an army of a thousand. They are not simply something that can be picked up with enough practice, like most skills. No, these are Dzils. Reaching the peak is not something anyone can do. Few have the control, will, and devotion to the art to reach this level. Most won't ever even reach the stage below a Dzil, where most Forerunners lie, let alone one. Choose not what brings the most benefits to the most, but instead, choose the most benefit to those who could take the most advantage. Every ounce of power matters, Johnny. And for that purpose, is what you must choose."

His worlds bring my imagination back to reality. Of course, everyone can't learn these incredible skills. If they could, then they wouldn't be that strong, would they? So, I have to choose the one that will make the strongest of my group more powerful. Hmm…

Salamander's Flesh is not that interesting in that case. Healing is always helpful and is commonly the difference between life and death, but if only a few can learn the skill, then those few would likely have access to a doctor like Heath. I was thinking of an entire army with this skill of which no doctor is needed, but that is unrealistic. I would pick it if it could heal Wyatt, but the kid is not only in a coma but also far away from reaching this level of Ether control, even with his Sigil's help.

Azure Bulwark and Excavator are the two in question now then. Which is more useful to strengthen us? Defense is good, and all, but the utility of Excavator sounds beyond powerful. Being able to save an entire skills activation for later instantaneous use is… unbelievable, to say the least. But I have to ask about it before I make my choice because it sounds too good to be true.

"Then, I have another question. Excavator. How powerful is it? And the man who made it, do you know them?"

Isaac reaches out to the book with a plain cover and brushes his fingers against it fondly.

"This… this skill is one of the most powerful I've ever seen. It uses the one unique thing about a human, our lack of innate Ether, to store a whole skill's usage in the bones. The man who made it, though, Louis, was a mysterious man. He is the one who rebuilt order after the demons invaded. The first Supreme and only human to ever make an attempt at Apotheosis. As far as I know, the information from that time is muddled as everything was in chaos, for at that time, even the newly corrupted Gods commonly walked the earth, but in the end, he failed. But that doesn't make it any less of a feat. I made it my mission when I first gained access to the books within this Archive to learn this skill, and I do not regret it. It is one of my four Dzils; if I could only choose one, I'd take it. I wanted to enhance it to be my Sirza, but I was incapable. Instead, another Dzil took that space. Should you or anyone else you know manage to learn this skill, it will be a massive increase to your strength."

I nod and ask him about Azure Bulwark next, with my decision already on Excavator for the most part. It would be worth it if I could somehow store a use of Golden Eyes, Bonfire, a blast of Blaze, or Wyatt, a gasp of Strugglers Gasp. Very little could outdo that.

"What about Azure Bulwark? Would you say it's as powerful?"

Isaac puts his thumb on his chin, thinking for a few seconds while looking between the two.

"Depends. An Occultist who fights based on regeneration or someone else whose main strategy is to endure hits would likely receive a boon from this greater than any other skill. But at the same time, it wouldn't really matter to someone who primarily fights at a distance. Should an enemy get close, you're likely dead anyway."

I ask one last question before making my choice as I think about just how hard these skills are to learn.

"How long do you reckon it would take to learn either of them? And are there any requirements for Ether manipulation? Like Steel, Steam, or Willful Strands being the bare minimum?"

Isaac nods to me as he stands up from the desk, grabs his book, and closes it.

"It will take, at the very minimum, a year for either of them. The manipulation of Ether for Azure Bulwark is not as difficult, but the requirements for the body are steep. Meanwhile, the only requirement for Excavator is perfect manipulation of Ether. And you should know this, any Dzil has the requirement of six Ether types, their combination creating the raw power needed. Willful Strand is the minimum for Azure Bulwark, so none can really learn it below the 6th Sigil except for those geniuses of Ether, while Excavator's minimum is Living Strand."

The term Living Strand is familiar, but I do not know it in depth. It is the technique that Angels typically obtain. I inquire into its details just in case I can somehow learn it before then. It's not impossible, after all, only very difficult.

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"Living Strand?"

Isaac just gives me a quick rundown on its effects, opening a whole new world of Ether manipulation that I didn't really know existed.

"Yeah, Living Strand. Unlike other Sigils, not all 7th Sigiled instantly gain the ability upon advancement. It takes a whole bunch of practice for them to learn, but it allows one to imbue their Ether into an object almost indefinitely. This allows for the object to retain the trait of the Ether put in for a long time, or it's said that it can also put a single skill into something for someone to use later, though even I have never seen the second one. Truthfully, I believe that one usage doesn't exist."

Now that I know just how difficult the skill is to learn, I hesitate to take it. Do I have to wait until I'm an Angel? That… might not be worth it. But at the same time, the requirement speaks volumes of its power. This is the first time I've ever heard of a general skill that had a condition even above the 4th Sigil and its Steel Strand.

And wait… putting Ether into an object? That sounds like both what Silas did to the Drachma he gave me and what Alexos did to the paper he gave to Wyatt. Silas' is likely the skill directly from his Sigil, for skills from Sigils can go beyond the limits of an individual's personal skill with Ether, but I don't think Alexos' is like that. That man truly has a gift. Too bad he is as rotten as they come.

Isaac sees me hesitating and gives me a few more words of wisdom as he hands Salamander's Flesh to Stanley to put away.

"Either one you choose, Johnny, it will still take a while to see any benefit. If I were you, I'd choose the one with the greatest potential. The other books you have will carry you to the point where you can learn Excavator."

His words cement my choice. The future it is. I hand him back Azure Bulwark and place the other books into my bag carefully. I'm now a walking Archive. I cannot endanger these texts under any circumstances.

Isaac nods at my choice and hands Azure Bulwark to Stanley as well. Then, he guides me out of his Archive.

"I hope those books will aid you in your purpose, Johnny. I loath to see the Hunters fall to such depravity, but in my mind, it is simply inevitable. Having power without fighting for it only breeds insolence, while being the only one with power will bear tyranny. Before your Prime dies, I hope he at least dares to take a shot at one of the Lords, the Creator and his Architects, or the Council. "

I thank Isaac for his help as he walks me toward the entrance to the building, but a thought does come to my mind. Where are the past Primes? There have been a dozen or so, right? How come none of them are down here? When we reach the large double door of stone, I ask the man most likely to know.

"I have one last question, sir. What happens to Primes when they die? Surely one of them would be down here and still kicking, right? They are the strongest of each century, or am I wrong?"

Isaac smiles at me grimly with a shaking head. His answer depresses me quite a bit with what it entails.

"Her Majesty has limits, especially as she has become more and more dormant. When she first bestowed the Gift Of Undeath, she could bring Dominions back to life like me, not that there were any, but not anymore. Her current limit is those who have not yet taken the step to Angelhood, 6th Sigils. Any higher, and when you die, you will merely reach here as a soul for devouring."

The news surprises me. When someone reaches for Godhood, they are shutting off any chance of an afterlife. Damn.

"So, you mean you, Warren, and Iva came down here as 6th Sigils?"

Isaac shakes his head affirmatively.

"Yes. To break any stage as well, going from 6th to 7th, one must accomplish an Absolution which is far more difficult once you're dead. It is sad to know that our most powerful in life don't have a chance to shine down here, but it is poetic, right? Those who reach for eternity in Godhood will never have a chance to live after death."

I can only sadly agree with him, even if it makes the future bleak. If I ever want to become truly powerful, then I must cast away an afterlife and any hope of one. I wave goodbye to Isaac as I depressedly leave the building I regained my sight in. Outside is Birdie speaking to another undead about something, but as I leave, Isaac gives me some final words before closing the door.

"Should you ever come back, know that you are welcome. I do hope your travels are dangerous yet rewarding; one never wants a safe trip. Those are just boring, aren't they?"

I talk to myself as I walk over to Birdie.

"No, no, we don't. Without danger, how will we grow?"

**************************************************

A whole day later, I, Otto, the undead Marion, Blake, Silas, and even Dakota all sit in the room with the comatose Wyatt. We've been discussing it for a while now, but we need to leave. We expected the trip to take a while, but we need to get going for Wyatt because he's deteriorating mentally and for everyone up on the surface so they don't think we're dead. We waited long enough for Wyatt to stabilize so that he could be moved, but now's the time.

I speak to the whole group as they all pay close attention to me, save Blake, who is nose-deep into the Daemonicon.

"We will leave today. Too much time has been spent waiting for Wyatt, and even though I want to wait for him, I'm sure the others are waiting for us. Darkstep has likely found my lie to be false and is now hunting us down. Any problems with that?"

I see Silas' eyes flick over to Wyatt's unconscious body as Marion and Otto keep looking back and forth between each other. I expect the duo to open up first, but Silas does instead, showing concern for Wyatt in his own way.

"What about Wyatt? Are we just gonna carry him across dozens, if not hundreds, of miles all the way to Starkbluffs? What about if we run into the Blight Raven you spoke of, the current Pillar?"

I nod to his question sadly.

"We really don't have any other choices, but I'll take the burden if no one else wants to. And I doubt Howard Strafe will do anything. He spends most of his time having a pissing contest with the Nahullo in the Frozen Wastes north of Starkbluffs or mingling with the remnants of the Bado. Chances are he won't know we're there, let alone look for us."

Silas just blows out his mouth, pushing his hair up as he goes quiet. He is relatively new to our group, so I don't fault him for not knowing. We are experts in hauling unconscious friends at this point, with me being the worst offender. That, and it's been a long time since he was on the surface. Only a few people are the same as forty years ago.

Only Darkstep, Marshal Travis, the Prime, Ed Summers, the Hallowed One of Green Hallows, and Eli Weiss, the Underground Tree of Timberlands, are the prominent ones that are still around from back then. Most of the other Pillars have risen since then, like Kai Vinson, the Rougarou Hunter, or Ashley Franklin, the Chilling Fire. Both of whom are young Pillars in their late thirties that guard Sinscreak and Blackreach, respectively. They weren't even born before Silas died. The undead will see a very different world from the one he left.

From there, I turn to Marion and Otto, who are acting weird. Blake having her face in a book, even during important times, is nothing new, and I won't judge her for trying to get stronger with whatever crazy shit might be in that thing.

They notice my gaze and start to talk over each other. Haah… back to usual, it would seem. Even death can't stop these two idiots.

"So, Johnny, I was thinking–"

"No, I thought of it first!"

"Shut up! You said—"

"Nah, we agreed!"

"Just be quiet; you're the dead one, y'know!"

"That's… fine."

"So, Johnny, I was thinking that I'd stay here for a little while. You were telling me all about those books Isaac had, and quite honestly, I'm eager to learn them all. Imagine the power I could gain if I could master even just a tenth of that Archive."

My eyes go back and forth before sitting on Otto as he elaborates on his idea, but it seems to be missing some detail.

"And how will you come back to the surface? How do you know that Isaac will even let you into the Archive?"

Otto seems to have an answer for the second but skirts past the first.

"Well, I was hoping you all could just come back down and get me in, say, a year or so. And I spoke with Birdie, who asked Isaac. He said it was fine as long as I helped fight demons."

I look him in the eyes, knowing the true reason he wants to be down here.

"You sure it's not because you miss your best friend and want to wage some mischief before leaving?"

Otto smiles a serpent's grin alongside Marion as he partially denies me.

"No… well, a little. But you know I'm good at learning skills, and if I have a whole library to learn from, the power I can gain in a year will be huge. Far more than if I stay with you all up top. Can't learn all that much when I'm constantly fighting for my life. I'm no Wyatt or Abraham. I can't just grow from that constant pressure."

I can only shrug at his choice. I can't make him come with us, well I could, but it wouldn't feel right. Before I agree, though, I check on him to ensure he thought this through.

"And what if we can't come back down to get you? What if that Crossroads closes, and we can't find another one or dig down to get you?"

He just shrugs back.

"It's fine then. I've spent most of my life fighting anyway. At least down here, I got Marion."

I stand and shake his hand. He seems surprised at the gesture, but I reassure him.

"It's been an honor to fight with you, Otto, and if this is the last time I ever see you, then I hope you live a good life. And Undeath."

He shakes my hand powerfully as I do the same to Marion. Then, I call out to Blake before we start grabbing our things. I ensure not to forget the gift from Biride, a bunch of Underworld-only medicine, and a bag of demon flesh we were given as sustenance. It tastes terrible, but with nothing else to eat, we can't be picky. And after about an hour of getting everything and making sure we don't forget anything, we leave the building we've lived in for a few days.

I already said goodbye to Birdie earlier today, and Silas did the same, pushing his responsibilities to the kind woman so that he could leave. So, without waiting any longer, we head toward the Gate Of Death to leave. I carry Wyatt carefully on my shoulders as Dakota walks just beside me, the fox never leaving his owner's side ever since they reunited. The loyalty is commendable, even if I'm unsure Wyatt did anything to deserve such devotion.

The journey from Heights in the New Fields into the Old Fields is far less exhausting than the other way around. We only run into a few groups of Fading, but they are easy to put out of their misery. I don't even need to join in to help. But as we walk through, Silas starts to grow confused as we haven't seen any Stoneclads the whole way. They aren't common, but you usually see one every few days in the Old Fields.

His curiosity makes me think back to Lennox, who left us shortly after getting his Sigil. The little kid was odd, but I could see an innocence deep within that I just wanted to protect. Just as I start to wonder where he is, I hear a crash far into the dark depths of the Old Fields. The light of Death's Lantern only goes out so far, and the sound is much further than its radiance.

I look at Silas, wondering if we should investigate, and the man pulls out a coin with a sigh.

"Heads or tails?"

"Heads to investigate."

"Okay… I call heads to investigate the loud noise, tails to keep onward to the Gate Of Death."

Silas flips the coin up into the air, the coin constantly shifting in colors and metal until turning to wood on his arm. Heads are facing up, the lady with a scythe meeting our eyes.

Silas just curses as he throws the coin to the ground.

"Fuck. Why can't we just get out of here!?"

I laugh and check Downpour out of habit. The gun is perfectly fine, like usual, but I have to nudge Blake to stop reading her book. She looks up and shakes her head to clear the text from her mind.

"I'm good. What's up?"

I place a hand on her shoulder and haul her to follow me toward the loud noise as Silas kicks rocks with his feet. I feel bad for the man, he just wants to get out of this place, but the coin has decided and has yet to lie.