Kade felt cold stone under him as he coughed and heaved. Every inch of his body was ablaze with an agony that felt distantly familiar. For long, painful minutes he could do nothing but writhe on the ground as he spasmed and his insides were fire and ice. As his mind slowly cleared, he began to recognize the pain. He’d felt it…years ago? Eons ago? Moments ago? It was the same torment he’d experienced when the Gods had rebuilt his body.
No, that was Karavash, not him. Where had he been? How had he experienced the Elder’s life in such, vivid, brutal clarity. He could still remember exactly how it had felt when the First Prince had annihilated him with the overwhelming power of Oblivion, as well as the unmatched need to rip Karthas apart as the last threat to his own generation. And yet that wasn’t him.
When at last the pain dimmed enough that Kade was able to pry his eyes open, he saw that he was once more in front of the lake of power that was all that remained of the Great Karavash. Remarkably, he could barely feel the pulse, though it was still there, quietly echoing deep inside him. With a mind growing clearer than it had been in weeks, he pushed himself to his feet, and reflected on everything that happened, his memories slowly catching up to the present.
Had someone pushed him into the lake? The thought brought back everything that had happened on the way to this chamber, and finally what happened inside it. He’d heard screaming, and maybe fighting? He began to spin around wildly, looking for any sign of his companions, but quickly confirmed that he was utterly alone.
At last he looked back to the glowing purple lake, and recalled something that he thought Edwin might have told him long ago. Dead Elders can leave behind Chaos Remnants, and unpredictable things could happen near them. Perhaps that included experiencing the life and death of the Elder itself? But that wasn’t all that had happened he realized, as the pain at last faded from him.
He felt powerful, in a way he never had before, and he looked down at his bracer, suspecting he knew what he’d find.
Attention! You have attained the Rank of Primus! Congratulations, I knew you had it in you!
Your power has greatly increased, as have the limits of your body! Here’s your updated status!
Name: Kadeus (House unknown)
Race: Child of Korthos (Variant)
Soul Core: Chains of Fate
Rank: Ascended Awakened (Dual-Path)
Lifeforce: 100%
Mana: 545/545
Chaos: 977/977
Strength: 48 (+9)
Speed: 40 (+7)
Endurance: 30 (+6)
Magic: 38 (+7)
Energy: 59 (+12)
Ancestral Totem 1: Altera Vil Lothra
Class: Chaos Energist
Creed: Mine is the will that shapes worlds. Mine is the power that ends them.
Ability 1: Chaos Energy Blast (Rank 9, 12%)
Ability 2: Energy Construct (Rank 7, 65%)
Ability 3: Aspect of Oblivion (Unsealed!)
Augmentations: Mentor’s Amulet (Integrated!)
Ancestral Totem 2: (Name and House Unknown)
Class: Vanguard
Creed: Ever moving, ever forward, ever fighting.
Ability 1: Relentless Pursuit (Rank 8, 23%)
Ability 2: Challenger’s Might (Rank 6, 49%)
Ability 3: (Tier 2) Aspect of Metallurgy (Rank 3, 25%)
Augmentations: None
Ancestral Totem 3: None
Kade stared at the bracer alternately in shock and excitement. He still wasn’t sure how he should feel about his interface growing more insane with every update, but for now the other information pushed that thought away with ease. He’d expected the power gains after he recognized the sensation of having his body rebuilt, but he was surprised to see that the bracer now identified Altera as the origin of his Energist class. Something discovered through his odd connection to Karavash?
More exciting than that, though, he’d unsealed a new ability, and it was another Aspect. He wasted no time in selecting it from the bracer’s interface.
ABILITY (New!)
Aspect of Oblivion (Rank 0, 0%)
Cost (First summon): Soul Fragment (Small)
Cost (Empowerment): Extreme Mana, Extreme Chaos
Description: Creates a permanent Bond with a sentient Fragment of the realm of Oblivion, allowing that Fragment to manifest in local reality. Abilities and attributes are determined by the power of the summoner. Can be infused with additional mana or Chaos to temporarily increase attributes.
Kade couldn’t imagine what a living embodiment of Oblivion would be like as a companion, but a look around the empty, lonely chamber was all it took to convince him that he could use more allies. Feeling like it was appropriate, he called to Drake, and in a moment the enormous form of the silver knight was standing over him, the gaze of the dark helm passing over the chamber, searching for threats.
“Well buddy, I hope you don’t mind it getting a little more crowded,” the helm cocked to one side in curiosity. “Just keep an eye on me while I try this, alright? I need to remember something I only said once…” Kade closed his eyes, and heard the telltale sounds of the massive armored frame moving around him, no doubt taking his request with absolute seriousness. He tuned the sounds out, thinking back to that day in the courtyard of the abby.
“I offer this piece of my Soul, that a Bond may be shared, that a life may be lived as one. Hear my call and come to my side, accept this humble offering, Aspect of Oblivion!” Kade felt a tugging once more, but with greater awareness this time, he realized that while a piece of his Soul was taken, it was also replaced by something, presumably the bond with his new companion.
He opened his eyes expectantly, but belatedly remembered it had taken a moment for Drake to arrive. Kade was hit with a moment of panic when he recalled that his first companion had actually fallen from the sky, and looking up at the domed ceiling he wondered if he’d just summoned an Aspect of Oblivion to the top of a mountain. Then he noticed the small lights gathering in front of him.
The lights were tiny, barely as large as the tip of his smallest finger, but more and more appeared, and they began to slowly rotate around a central point. Kade watched in fascination, and even Drake turned to observe the phenomenon. Soon there were hundreds of the lights, most shades of yellow, red, and blue, and they spun faster and faster, as Kade stepped back, unsure of what was happening.
Suddenly two of the lights collided, and then more and more followed suit, all being pulled into some invisible central point. As the lights disappeared, Kade realized there was something in the center of it all, it was just difficult to see. He moved until the strange sight was backlit by the light from the purple of the lake, and saw that indeed there was a small orb of darkness forming where the lights disappeared.
The orb reminded Kade of the gravity wells that Sal could create, except it was somehow darker, as if light couldn’t touch the strange orb. Minutes passed as countless lights were born and then sacrificed to the growing darkness, until something changed. When the orb was nearly the size of Kade’s torso, it abruptly and rapidly collapsed in on itself, nearly disappearing before bursting outward once more, thousands of lights spinning around as if in orbit, before they once again started to crash into one another as they were pulled into a central point.
Kade was almost hypnotized as the process repeated itself faster and faster, until the whole cycle was happening in a matter of seconds. At last a barely visible sphere of energy materialized around the whole display, leaving a fully contained little universe of collapse and expansion, repeating endlessly. Kade wasn’t sure what to do next. This was supposed to be a sentient companion, but it was so alien that a helmet on a body of chains was comparatively commonplace.
He looked up at Drake, who shrugged immense shoulders before turning away, once more watching the shadows. When Kade turned back, he had the briefest impression of a tall, dark figure standing before him, but the moment his eyes focused on the orb flashing between lights and perfect blackness, the image was gone. Confused, Kade turned away, then whipped his head back to repeat the experience, only to find that the entire orb had disappeared.
The sounds of Drake’s massive body moving suddenly made Kade look up at the giant knight, only to be shocked to see the same vague form of a shadowy person perched on his companion’s wide shoulder. This time Kade managed to just catch what was happening, as the lights exploded outward in their cycle, but instead of collapsing back inward, they were pulled to a new central location, right in front of Kade.
The dark humanoid form appeared a moment later, with the lightshow still playing out in the center of its chest. This time the form didn’t disappear, and Kade was able to get a better sense of it. While it gave the impression of being made from shadow when glimpsed briefly, closer inspection showed that it was more like a dark mist swirling out from the explosive core, which in turn filled out the clear, hollow form of a person.
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Anywhere the mist flowed revealed the creature in perfect detail, and when Kade looked at the being’s face as the dark flow passed over it, he saw the empty pits of two dark eye sockets gazing at him. Under any other circumstances he would have been terrified, but inside his Soul he was as sure of this being’s loyalty as he was of Drake’s. Without realizing why, he reached out a hand, which stopped as it connected with whatever his new companion’s strange body was made of.
“Alaric…” he whispered, and once more he was as sure of the name as he was unsure of its origins. The creature showed no reaction, instead moving to stand next to Drake, as if indicating it was ready to begin its duty. As if on queue, a distant rumble came from the dark passage that led back down the mountain. “Well, boys,” Kade said, moving his tired body between his two Aspects, “it looks like we won’t be lonely for long.”
***
Day 51
312 Dead
Remaining Keepers: 467
Disciples of Kadeus: 59
Gwen had never felt more powerful, as every attack, every movement, every gesture meant the death of one or more hellish creatures. She’d also never been so supported, as she’d been disturbed to find that Kade had apparently told the strange group of followers he’d amassed, to follow her around in his stead. She would have told them to go away, as the strange near-worship they showed for the odd man made her uncomfortable, but they hadn’t revealed themselves until the camp had been attacked four days earlier.
Like every Keeper, she’d been hard pressed by the constant waves of monsters that pushed at the entrenched army. The defenses they’d raised had made things easier than previous battles, with the land itself reshaped to create bottlenecks and high ground, but the enemy appeared to be truly endless this time. Just as her small group was in danger of being overwhelmed, dozens of warriors raced to their defense, turning back the hordes.
She’d tried speaking to the group during a lull in the fighting, but they only grew unreasonably upset when she’d told them to return to their lines, as if the idea was unthinkable. This left portions of the front undefended, so Gwen had sought out the highest ranking Keeper she knew: Eleonora, four-armed leader of the misfit squad. The powerful Secundus warrior had a reputation for tactics, and she’d already been aware of the strange behavior that had overtaken the ‘Disciples of Kadeus’, and she’d quickly made use of them.
The first day of defense had been a strange experience for Gwen, as Eleonora had ordered her to throw herself into danger wherever combat was thickest. The Disciples raced after her, fighting with terrifying ferocity to keep their charge safe. She’d fought furiously herself, reveling in her new abilities since banishing the Flaw. Jothus and Ryndal fought elsewhere even now, trying to reproduce the odd circumstances that had finally broken Gwen, but she hadn’t been able to speak to them since the battle had begun, and wasn’t sure if they’d made progress.
As night had fallen and the flow of monsters and Elders hadn’t slowed, Gwen had kept her mind focused always on the next target. Throughout it all there were two constants: Eleonora’s stabilizing presence, and the crashes of immense power deep behind enemy lines, as Lothros and Bandal raced to destroy any Elder before it reached the army.
The second day had passed the same as the first, but even as their casualties mounted, the Keepers still cheered at every distant flash of power which signaled another felled Elder. When the flash was white, cheers of “Bandal!” would roar across the army. When it was red, a more subdued murmur of “Lothros…” could be heard, most still struggling to believe the High Priest had chosen to dirty his hands. But it was the dawn of the third day that everything went wrong.
Gwen looked up as the now familiar cheer of “Bandal!” came once more, and she fell back a moment to gather herself. The Disciples rushed forward to cover her as Gwen searched for the Elder that the High Keeper had slain. Strangely she saw nothing, and when a moment later a flash of red appeared, the telltale murmurs didn’t follow, as other Keepers apparently took notice of the odd display.
The flashes were continuing, and they were growing closer together, but there were no Elders to be seen. Gwen couldn’t make out what was happening through the thousands of smaller monsters that were still endlessly charging at their ranks, but soon it was undeniable that the flashes of light and color were practically on top of one another. More and more Keepers couldn’t help but gaze into the distance with her, and soon the army was overtaken with suspicious whispers and confused voices.
The flashes continued for several more minutes before Bandal’s energy seemed to light up the entire horizon, and then there was simply nothing. Eleonora was screaming at the frozen Keepers to get back to the fight, as the army’s lines were starting to buckle with so many distracted. Gwen raced into the fray once more, but she could feel the tension all around her. What in the name of the Lost Gods had happened out there?
It was only minutes before another Elder appeared in the distance, and Gwen could feel countless Keepers staring at it with fear and trepidation. She was shocked to hear a quiet string of “Please, please, please…” from Eleonora nearby, and the doubt in the enormous woman’s voice was somehow more frightening than anything else Gwen had experienced on this horrible quest. When the Elder continued to approach unaccosted, whispers began.
“They’re dead, they must be.”
“Never let an Elder get that close before.”
“You saw the lights, there weren’t any Elders to fight out there!” By the time the Elder was nearly upon them and Eleonora was hastily organizing a new defense, the tone of the whispers had changed.
“Bandal couldn’t stand someone out there showing him up.”
“This is just like what happened to the First Bringer!”
“He did it himself, he must have!”
“Bandal murdered High Priest Lothros!” The last seemed to echo, even through the noise of the constant battle, and Gwen shuddered as she tried to focus on the battle before her. What was happening?
***
As monsters poured through the cave mouth, Kade had to keep reminding himself that he was alone, and his allies were missing and possibly in danger. He should not be having this much fun. But he was in his element. An enclosed space, the enemy forced through a natural choke point, and Kade more powerful than he’d ever been. Plus, he had a new friend.
At first he hadn’t been sure how he would integrate such an odd being into the combat style he’d been building and polishing through endless battle. He and Drake had learned to work together so smoothly that the idea of adding another combatant to their partnership had been an intimidating prospect. Alaric had proved that concern to be unnecessary.
It was still hard to see the Aspect of Oblivion at work, but Kade had quickly realized he could feel the entity’s presence the same way he could Drake’s, and it was sometimes easier to track it without using his eyes. At first Alaric’s actions weren’t even clearly attacks, as it seemed to be studying the monsters as they raced through the intricate webs of silver and black chains toward the waiting warriors. But Kade quickly realized that the mysterious being was catching the occasional beast and feeding it to the explosive mass in its chest.
This continued for nearly an hour, and while Kade and Drake focused on slaying the beasts as quickly as they could, Alaric focused on eating. Kade didn’t have time to instruct the creature to do anything more helpful, and wouldn’t have known what to tell it regardless. But as time went on, he realized that his new companion was growing. The crash of light and the explosion of darkness that made up the being’s core were easily three times as large as when it had first formed, and Alaric felt…satisfied in Kade’s mind.
When he felt the odd sensation he couldn’t help but stop to look, and he wasn’t disappointed. Alaric, who had stayed in nearly the same spot since the attack, suddenly pulled himself into the center of the cave mouth, right where the flood of enemies was deepest. As Kade watched, the vague humanoid shape collapsed in on itself, until it was a perfect sphere once more, then the lights cut out entirely, leaving nothing but a hovering ball of impossible darkness. From that darkness, came the chains.
“I guess he’s part of the family after all,” Kade said with a grin. Surprisingly, the chains were remarkably white, as if they’d just been pulled from a forge. Dozens of them shot forward, each one spearing a different monster, some wolfrens, others flyers, and many were the ape-like creatures that Kade found particularly annoying, but each was similarly unable to stop themselves from being pulled toward the ominous black orb. They scratched, clawed, and even grabbed other monsters as terror seemed to overwhelm them.
Kade could understand their fear, there was something disturbing about how slowly they were pulled in, as Alaric appeared to be in no hurry. He was causing absolute chaos among the creatures, so Kade couldn’t fault the strategy, however inefficient it might appear. He noticed that Drake, and even some of the more intelligent monsters had paused to watch as the first beast was pulled into the waiting sphere.
The ape screeched and tore at the leg that was impaled with a white chain, but it was useless. As soon as its flesh touched the edge of the blackness, its body began to distend and tear as it was pulled inside, and as it was slowly swallowed, a dim red glow appeared in the otherwise perfect darkness of the orb. As more and more of the beasts disappeared into the bottomless void, the glow continually increased, until the cave was as much lit by the red of Alaric as the purple of the lake.
When at last the final chain dragged in its victim, the red light shifted, concentrating at a single point on the orb, pointing at the oncoming monsters. There was a strange concussion to the air as the orb seemed to burst outward, and a thin beam of red and black energy lanced forth. Nothing it touched seemed capable of providing even slight resistance to the blast, and it penetrated as easily through the dead Elder-flesh that made up the cave as it did the hundreds of beasts it sliced through.
The beam continued for nearly a minute before the black orb at last returned to its original explosive lightshow, and then the humanoid form of Alaric was back. As if content with exploring that new ability, the Aspect reached up and experimentally grabbed one of Kade's chains. A moment later, he was duplicating Kade’s own style, sprinting through the cavern, his odd core pulling him from chain to chain, not dissimilar from the erratic way Kade would pull himself around in battle.
When he and Drake refocused on fighting, Alaric seemed to take note of their use of weapons, and a heartbeat later two thin blades of darkness extended from each hand, barely visible at all. Then the three warriors were all fighting together, with the smaller Kade and Alaric dancing around the enormous knight, whose left arm held an immense shield, as his right swept the bladed silver spear through lines of monsters.
Kade could feel himself getting lost in the thrill of the battle, but the three companions were now making steady progress back down the mountain, which appeared to be the only real option anyway. Soon he realized his own laughter was echoing back at him. Disturbingly, it was mirrored by a similar laugh, strangely alien and uncanny, and with a start Kade understood it was coming from Alaric, evidently mimicking more than just his combat style.
The three continued forward for some time, until finally a light in the distance heralded the way outside. Kade decided to shelter behind the tireless Drake for a moment to collect himself. His body hadn’t entirely recovered from its transformation to Primus, and he had likely pushed himself harder than he should have. He leaned heavily on the greatsword Spite as he stared longingly at the light at the end of the tunnel.
He rubbed his eyes a moment later, wondering if he was more fatigued than he realized, but when he looked again he was sure of it: the light was moving toward him. In moments any doubt was replaced with concern, as the light raced upward, countless monsters being knocked aside or even vaporized as it advanced. Kade readied his weapon, Alaric falling in beside him as Drake reinforced his massive shield.
When at last the light reached the trio, every monster was either dead or fleeing. Thankfully it slowed down as it neared, and Kade cautiously relaxed as the brightness gathered above them, illuminating the dark cave, and the ragged form of High Keeper Bandal. The man looked grievously injured, which on a Quartus meant he must have been near-death, otherwise his immense lifeforce would have rejuvenated his form with little difficulty.
One eye and a good portion of the right side of Bandal’s face was missing, and the armor on his upper body had been entirely destroyed, revealing a burnt and ravaged torso. These injuries did nothing to slow the man however, and there was fury in his single remaining eye as he walked menacingly toward Kade.
“High Keeper–”
“WHERE IS HE?” Bandal roared, and Kade’s two companions braced themselves for combat. Kade wasn’t sure if he should stop them or not, given the madness he saw in the man.
“Edwin? Or do you mean Cerano? I’m not sure, they were–”
“Not them! LOTHROS!” he screamed as he came even closer. “There’s nowhere else on this cursed plain for that man to hide, so where is he!?” Kade just kept shaking his head in confusion, and more than a little fear.
“I swear, I don’t know! I was alone when I woke up–”
“Woke up? What in the names of all the Lost Gods have you been doing here? While my Keepers die you’ve been sleep–” this time it was Bandal who was cut off, and he and Kade both looked down at the man’s chest in disbelief. An arm’s length of a red staff was sticking out, glowing dangerously. Bandal looked up at Kade, shock and confusion on his face for the split second it took before the staff was suddenly torn downward, the reverse end of it spinning in from above a moment later to complete the rotation.
Bandal split into two raggedly torn halves before Kade’s eyes, revealing the utterly pristine form of High Priest Lothros standing behind him. The man’s blue eyes inspected Kade with practiced scrutiny, while he completely ignored the fallen form of the dead Keeper. After a moment, the silver-haired man smiled softly, and gave a small nod.
“At last, Kadeus, it appears you’re finally ready.”