Abbas sat up more fully in his bed. “...Personality-wise, you say? So you have already managed to communicate with it?”
“Yeah,” said Hector.
“How in the world did you accomplish that? I have not yet created instructions for its use.”
“Oh, uh. I just kinda... connected it to the Big Candle and dove right in.”
“The Big Candle?”
“Right, uh. Since we’ve got this Mini-Candle now. Big Candle and Mini-Candle.”
Wow. Abbas needed a moment. “Alright, well, before you go renaming my creations permanently, that object is called the Living Core.”
“Oh. Huh. Okay. I guess that sounds better than Mini-Candle, anyway.”
“If you were able to communicate with it, then I am surprised you were not able to learn its name without my help.”
Hector paused for an odd look, then clicked his tongue. “Uh... well, there might be a reason for that...”
“What do you mean?” said Abbas.
“Ah... I’m not sure how to tell you this, but, er... this thing, the Living Core... it doesn’t seem to like you very much.”
Abbas blinked again and furrowed his brow. “Excuse me?”
“Like I mentioned, it’s kind of a dick. It doesn’t appreciate you. In fact, that’s why you and Worwal both nearly died.”
Died? Hmm. Yes, this was the second time Hector was mentioning that, but only now was it beginning to sink in. “How... how did it nearly kill us?”
Hector took a long breath. “Well, from what I’ve been able to piece together, this Living Core here... ah... it led you astray. Technically, I guess it didn’t try to kill you directly, meaning with its own power, but... it was the equivalent of leading you into a minefield. With a blindfold on.”
“...How do you know this?”
Hector scratched his brow. “It’s hard to explain. The power that this thing can tap into is the same as the Candle. Or maybe that’s only when it’s connected to the Candle. I’m not sure yet. But the point is, it leads to a deep, dark place. Full of... incredible power. Infinite, maybe. It might be what they call the Void.”
Abbas remained quiet, though he exchanged looks with Worwal.
“I’ve felt it once before,” Hector went on. “Recently, actually. In my meditations. So I knew a little of how to deal with it. But you...” Hector leveled a stare at Abbas. “Was that the first time you’ve ever encountered it?”
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Page 3698 -- CCCIV.
Chapter Three Hundred Four: ‘Awakening of the Sun...’
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Abbas Saqqaf groaned as his eyes eased open. They resisted. They wanted to stay closed. And he wanted to let them, too. But in his gut, he knew he couldn’t. He knew something was amiss.
He tried to sit up and encountered more resistance there. He pushed through that, too.
He found a dimly lit room around him. A bed beneath him. The smell of morning dew in the air.
“There you are,” came a voice on his left. “Welcome back.”
It was the Lord of Warrenhold sitting there, he realized between blinks. The young black man had a grip on Abbas’ forearm. Instinctually, he wanted to ask why, but when he laid eyes on the glowing object in Hector’s other hand, he became much more interested in that.
The Living Core. Hector was holding it. Hector was using it.
Abbas stared.
“Your family has been worried about you,” said Hector, letting go of him, “but not as much as they would have been, if they knew just how close you and Worwal came to killing yourselves. Before I let anyone else in here, you and I need to have a talk.”
Worwal? Ah, there he was on the right. To his eyes, reapers were regal horned lizards with ethereal black-and-white flames tracing the outlines of their bodies.
‘It seems we’ve upset our host,’ said Worwal.
“I’m not mad,” said Hector, sounding quite mad. “But this thing you’ve created is incredibly dangerous. I wish you would’ve at least told me more about it before actually trying to forge it.”
Ah...
Abbas had to clear his throat before speaking. “Yes, well... with the benefit of hindsight, I would have to agree. It did not seem such a dangerous idea at the time...”
“Creating a living, thinking interface didn’t seem that dangerous?” said Hector.
The doubt in the young man’s voice made Abbas feel suddenly defensive, but he had to ask something else first. “What have you learned of it so far?”
“Oh, quite a bit,” said Hector. “I’ve learned that it’s capable of making moral judgments. I’ve learned that it can influence you emotionally. I’ve learned that it can manipulate soul power and ardor. But most importantly, I’ve learned that, personality-wise, it’s kind of a dick.”
Abbas almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Almost.
When dealing with this particular person, Abbas was somehow beginning to feel as though incredulity was to be expected.
Click to display entire chapter at once -- (mobile link)
Abbas Saqqaf groaned as his eyes eased open. They resisted. They wanted to stay closed. And he wanted to let them, too. But in his gut, he knew he couldn’t. He knew something was amiss.
He tried to sit up and encountered more resistance there. He pushed through that, too.
He found a dimly lit room around him. A bed beneath him. The smell of morning dew in the air.
“There you are,” came a voice on his left. “Welcome back.”
It was the Lord of Warrenhold sitting there, he realized between blinks. The young black man had a grip on Abbas’ forearm. Instinctually, he wanted to ask why, but when he laid eyes on the glowing object in Hector’s other hand, he became much more interested in that.
The Living Core. Hector was holding it. Hector was using it.
Abbas stared.
“Your family has been worried about you,” said Hector, letting go of him, “but not as much as they would have been, if they knew just how close you and Worwal came to killing yourselves. Before I let anyone else in here, you and I need to have a talk.”
Worwal? Ah, there he was on the right. To his eyes, reapers were regal horned lizards with ethereal black-and-white flames tracing the outlines of their bodies.
‘It seems we’ve upset our host,’ said Worwal.
“I’m not mad,” said Hector, sounding quite mad. “But this thing you’ve created is incredibly dangerous. I wish you would’ve at least told me more about it before actually trying to forge it.”
Ah...
Abbas had to clear his throat before speaking. “Yes, well... with the benefit of hindsight, I would have to agree. It did not seem such a dangerous idea at the time...”
“Creating a living, thinking interface didn’t seem that dangerous?” said Hector.
The doubt in the young man’s voice made Abbas feel suddenly defensive, but he had to ask something else first. “What have you learned of it so far?”
“Oh, quite a bit,” said Hector. “I’ve learned that it’s capable of making moral judgments. I’ve learned that it can influence you emotionally. I’ve learned that it can manipulate soul power and ardor. But most importantly, I’ve learned that, personality-wise, it’s kind of a dick.”
Abbas almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Almost.
When dealing with this particular person, Abbas was somehow beginning to feel as though incredulity was to be expected.
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