Mark looked out over the rubble the warehouse had become, he hadn’t expected to be rebuilding this tunnel so soon. This time though it was more as an overseer than a direct contributor.
The tunnels leading directly into the underground had been collapsed by Gibby to avoid anything chasing them while they were fighting for their life on the battlefield.
Mark had to agree with his decision, but he hadn’t expected them to call the Caretaker here of all places.
Yesterday had been a hard decision for Mark, and so he’d taken pretty much whatever task Ethel had offered him to keep busy.
He’d put people on the creation of a new clinic, but that would take a couple of days, luckily the logistics had found a new architect. Mark had spent his whole morning speaking with her.
In the afternoon he had come here to lend a hand in widening the tunnel so that multiple teams could head down into the dungeons at once.
As it turned out one of the major downsides of the spire was that its light couldn’t scare off Corrupted residing in dungeons, as it couldn't reach them through countless layers of concrete.
NAS had been making routine excursions into the dungeons, though nothing as deep as they had before.
Karter had raised the idea of sending their fighters down there to train. So Mark had worked throughout the afternoon and well into the evening to get the opening wide enough to handle at least one hundred individuals at once.
At this point, he was more of a project manager than anything else. Once all the heavy lifting had been done, it was down to the more detailed work.
Luckily it was just one massive hole in the ground with several layers of protection to avoid disaster. Though with the light from the spire, Mark was pretty sure nothing would come up here, even if it could make it past all the layers of their defense.
The evening was just beginning to show up when they put the finishing touches on the place, and when all the casters were clocking out for the day, Sam arrived.
Mark had been confused at first, but then she explained what she was there for, it was finally time they set up for the First Rite.
Karter, Ethel, and Jonathan showed up around twenty minutes later. After the fight with Jonathan, the two of them had not spoken about it, but there was a quiet understanding. At least Mark could see where he was coming from now.
They had cleared away a corner of the warehouse and were just getting ready to start when Karter took out a handheld video recorder of all things.
“What is that for, I don’t think it will catch anything useful,” Mark said with a raised brow.
Sam looked over as Karter took out a tripod and slotted the camera into it. Setting it up to face where the three of them had gathered.
“Actually, that was my idea,” Sam said as she chewed the inside of her lip.
She was hoping that while it may not be able to capture the exchange, perhaps it could give them some ideas as to how the process itself worked.
She knew it was a long shot but Mark saw no harm in giving it a try.
When they were all set up and the three of them were sitting in a circle, Mark brought up his system.
The message from yesterday popped up.
Spell acquired: Fend Pain
The user had learned to push down other's pain, dulling the physical and mental woes of the world.
The strength of this spell is based on the user's Prana attribute.
Multiple persistent effects can be maintained at once.
Warning: overuse of this spell can lead to permanent loss of emotions or sense of touch.
The spell was useful but Mark would have to make sure to use it sparingly. Especially on himself. This type of spell could easily get out of hand.
Sorting through the rest of his notifications was easy as there was only one other one he was looking for.
The First Rite.
Mark connected the three of them with [Telepathic link] and waited til they were ready. When they each gave the ‘okay’. Mark hit his prompt in time with them, and it was as if someone had flicked a switch.
All at once they were back in that blinding white void of the First Rite. For a moment Mark tensed, thinking that uncaring power would try to drain them again, but he soon realized the situation was different.
The white void was completely still and calm. Then as though their sights were expanding, black stars began to dapple the horizon.
Turning the world into negatives as though light were dark, and shadow were brilliance. Once more the presence of the Caretaker arrived, only this time it had form again.
Unlike last time it did not take on the likeness of any of them, instead, it appeared in that same androgynous form.
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Its skin was made of the same light as the void, making its location hard to pinpoint. Only the barest hint of shadow near its silhouette seemed to frame it. A single black dot in the center of its forehead seemed to represent its eye, as it began to circle them. Mark could hear its footsteps throughout the void, as it broke the silence first.
“you lot are the most impatient kin I’ve ever known, yet you waited so long to use your rights. I’m excited to see where this goes. I am compelled to answer three questions in full. What should we start with?”
Honest it didn’t sound like it minded, there was even the slimmest hint of mirth in its voice.
They had already discussed this and Sam took a step forward. Her question held her curiosity and at the same time, it held importance with everyone in the city.
“We completed the First Rite and helped build the Spire, but none of this means anything without an explanation. So.. What is the spire?”
They had chosen to keep the questions as vague as possible, in the hope they would get more information.
The Caretaker stopped in front of Sam.
“Ah, that’s a good one. Simply put, it holds two functions. The first is to act as a portion of your world conduit, allowing the system more access to your world. You would not believe the amount of energy it takes to keep the basic day-to-day functions running. That's what Sp is, pure energy, and why items cost anything at all, creation and transportation, but I digress.”
The Caretaker seemed to shift its shoulders in a very human gesture.
“The second function is as an ark for humanity. It's a place where you can keep your people safe, but be aware it's not invincible. The spire will offer you the same technological advantages you are used to in exchange for its upkeep. One hundred tenders have been assigned and can control all the functions of the spire.”
Mark's eyes narrowed at this. The fact it was safe was amazing news, but putting all that power in the hands of random people was probably going to be a disaster. If the tower could be controlled, whoever had the most Tenders on their side had control of everything. What if they could deny people entrance?
The Caretaker seemed done with his explanation, but he did add one more thing.
“In my opinion, it also stands as a decision. Abandon your world or use it as a base to turn back and fight the invaders of your home, because honestly, this is just the beginning.”
The three of them glanced at one another. They had not expected him to be so forthright, expecting him to talk in riddles. But frankly, the direct answers were a refreshing change.
“Alright, next question…” Jonathan said as he walked forward.
“The system said the Earth is classified as a Filter world, which means we have a function. What’s the next step after this?”
This time the Caretaker seemed to take longer to think.
“Also a good question, there is just a lot that comes with that with that… Right the most brutal answer I can give you is that right now your world has no mean to the system. Instead, your home acts as a run-off mechanism for Corruption. Whenever the system's reserves are running too full, it sends the Corruption somewhere to be purified or diluted into a new world.”
Mark frowned.
“Wait, you said this was like an inoculation for us, it sounds more like you’re using us to fight your battles.”
The Caretaker didn’t seem to mind Mark's interruption.
“And that was true, but your question was ‘what was next’, and this is it. Your ultimate goal should be to evolve your world from a ‘Filter world’, into something the system can make use of. That, or abandon everything and flee entirely into the system's embrace.”
The Caretaker spoke as though it were not part of the system or at the very least, outside its bounds. But Mark didn’t want to waste their last question on something like that, so he left the Caretaker to continue.
“To evolve your world, you use the spire and all its features. Something like a Manufacturing world is always useful. Many of the items you got as a reward had to come from somewhere right?”
Mark looked down at his equipment in surprise. Had another world made this? Mark had already assumed there were other lifeforms out there but to have them crafting the things he used daily made it feel more real.
“Or perhaps a warring world, that one is self-explanatory, but it is an option you have the makings of a conquer. Regardless of what you choose, the next step is simple. Battle for your world, unite your sectors and after that… well let's see if you can get there first.”
Mark didn’t like the way the Caretaker said to ‘unite’ the sectors, something felt off, but he seemed to have answered all he would on the subject.
Finally, the Caretake turned its single ‘eye’ towards Mark in waiting.
Mark had discussed it with the others and decided he needed no preamble, so he just spoke his question.
“What is Corruption?”
The Caretaker paused for the longest time yet, and when it finally spoke, it sounded like it was smiling, even though nothing showed on its featureless face.
His words were lost to a sudden piercing tone that rippled through the void. The system chimed in Mark's ears as though the Caretaker was incapable of imparting those words to them, even when asked through the First Rite.
The tone faded and the Caretaker’s voice returned, clearly still amused.
“The one, and only, question I am incapable of answering in full. But suffice it to say it's one being's revolt against the powers that be… Choose another question.”
Mark got the feeling the caretaker wasn’t supposed to say anything at all, but the little it did, must be more common knowledge.
Mark thought on his feet, running over all the questions they had gone over just minutes ago, and one kept rising to the top.
“Can we end this? Can we get out from under the Corruption, the System, and make our own path?”
The smile that must have been on the caretaker's face, grew into full-blown laughter that caused ripples of gold to disturb the plane of white around them.
Jonathan frowned at the space.
“Answer our question, Caretaker!”
The ripples of golden joy bounce through the space for a moment longer before the Caretaker quietened down.
“Yes… there is. I will choose to answer one of those for you. Can you make your own path? For so long there have only been two options. If you wish to have your freedom, your…path, then you will need to become something more than already exists.”
The void began to ripple as though the space was collapsing in on itself, it felt like the system was shutting down and the first rite was drawing to a close.
The world of white shrunk, but gold wrapped the four of them up into a sphere, the caretaker clearly not finished.
“If you wish for something like this, then your journey is going to be long and arduous. I couldn’t manage it, but I wasn’t in your shoes a millennium ago, to be fastened together this early is unheard of. But I digress, if you want to take the first step, then when it comes time to complete your cores, don’t just accept what the system gives you, force yourself into the process, and make something no one else ever has.”
The wall of gold was fading incredibly fast but the caretaker leaned in closer its voice taking on a whisper.
“I've extended our time together to give you all that tip at great cost, so use it. The ears of the system are never far but that is not always a bad thing, trust it, but don't rely on it for everything."
The gold burned back to white and began to fade faster, and the Caretaker's voice once more gained its strength.
"I have answered your questions, and I'll keep my promise to compile a set of instructions for your populace. Let's meet again in the joining phase, I wish you luck till then kin of humanity.”