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Page 3819

Yes. Real flesh. Not a trick. Not another illusion. He felt the crunch of bone, tasted the blood, and sensed the wound in the soul.

Ettol struggled. Of course he did. Flailed at him. Cast out more illusions. Attempts to overload Koh’s senses. Attempts to pierce his mind’s newly reforged protective barrier.

All in vain. In a few more seconds, Ettol would be in his stomach. Torn from this realm once again. On his way back.

There was something, though. A pang of guilt. Pity. Not for Ettol, but for the flesh he inhabited. Having spent so much time with him, Koh knew of the particularly strange nature of Ettol’s current incarnation.

Of the poor boy named Jonah whose mind persisted alongside Ettol’s. A boy who had never agreed to incarnation. A boy who had always rebelled against it to no avail.

Even while consumed with the rage of the Hunt, there was still a place in Koh’s heart that wept for the boy. Might there yet be some way to rescue him from this madness? Was it not too late?

Folly. Of course it was. The Prime Hunt must continue. Collateral damage was nothing new. ‘Twas a tale as old as he. He was only feeling this way because he’d spent so much time with Jonah. Because he’d become so familiar with the boy’s struggle for existence.

Because on some level, it struck a deeply personal chord. Because he understood it just a bit too well.

Which was, no doubt, yet another of Ettol’s machinations. A subtle play, long in the making.

And damn him, Koh found himself hesitating. Just enough. A few more seconds. And then a few more still. Putting it off. Playing with his food. Ragdolling the flesh around in his mouth instead of simply chewing through and devouring it.

Someone had reacted. A powerful soul coming to Ettol’s defense. Koh sensed it. Knew the problem in advance. And he could have hurried himself along. Could’ve finished this already.

But he didn’t. He let the interloper reach him in time.

And when Gohvis’ hands found his bloody maw, Koh knew this was about to get much more complicated. He’d missed his chance to keep everything simple.

Because that was no mere projection of the Black Scourge. Koh could tell after having wrestled and brawled with the projection so many times in recent days.

Here and now, this was the real thing.

Page 3818

He recognized this legion. The Mendocava, some called them in this world. Or the Void Riders. But their true name was much more mundane. They were of the Outerdark Patrol. An endless division belonging to the Lord of Bones, who preferred his minions to maintain a skeletal or rotting visage.

This was predictable, of course. The legions of the Bone Lord were usually at the periphery of the kingdom, so it was only natural that they would be the quickest to respond to his call.

Koh might’ve preferred one of the dragon legions, instead. He was on better terms with them. As a reckless young pup, he’d harassed the Bone Lord and his legions quite a bit, so they probably did not harbor much love for him.

But oh well. They were still his brethren of the Dark. They would serve just fine here.

And then he felt it. Full control. Full dominance over this blackened, hulking body of his.

He badly wanted to let loose and run down Ettol at this very moment, but he held the howl for a while longer so that the Patrol could finish crossing the bridge.

And he sent them silent word, as well. They needed to know who was friend and who was foe.

Unfortunately, even Koh himself only knew so much about that. He was keenly aware of how this situation must have been appearing to all of the onlooking servants. Most likely, none of them would understand what was happening, other than the fact that he was perhaps more powerful than any of them.

So he told the Patrol to ignore anyone who did not attack them first. Whether that would actually be enough to avoid utter mayhem here was questionable. Fear would no doubt play a role in these events today.

But he couldn’t allow anyone to get in the way of the Prime Hunt. Especially now, when he finally had his most elusive prey in sight.

And then, at last, he let himself free. The howl ended, and with it, his gargantuan form torpedoed across the drizzling battlefield, straight toward Ettol, whose presence he’d locked onto right away.

There was no escape now, Trickster.

There was an illusory form in the way. A false target. Even now, Koh only sensed it at the last moment. He blitzed through it and pursued the real one, concealed beneath a cloak of supposed Invisibility.

Found you.

His teeth sunk into Ettol’s flesh.

Page 3817

The fissure in the sky grew wider still, and through it, with a powerful wish in mind, he could sense even deeper beyond the Veil. Towards the very source of the Darklight itself.

And there, of course, lay an entire kingdom. The Realm of the Living Dark.

Home.

He would return there, one day, willingly or not. Even if he ultimately failed in his quest, he would be returned there. To the side of his master.

But here and now, it was not the pangs of homesickness or nostalgia that drive his thoughts there. No, he sought assistance. The kind he had never before felt strong enough to ask for. Never strong enough to reach across the great gulf between realms and make his will be known. In fact, never before would he have even thought that such a thing might be possible.

But now he did. With Kallmakk’s power came also knowledge. And confidence. A heart that dared to dream bigger.

So he sent the message along through the howl, too. He called for aid from his otherworldly kingdom.

From the Horde of the Living Dark.

Would they hear him? He was certain of it. But could they actually come here? That was more dubious. He would have to provide the bridge. They could not manifest in this realm unaided. Even his master was limited in that capacity, though it be in part due to his old wounds.

That was why he had given Koh form, after all. Why he had raised him from a pup with such love and discipline.

To have Koh do what he alone no longer could.

There. The bridge was set. A paltry construct, but set nonetheless. It would certainly not be able to support the passage of the Dark Horde’s infinite legions, but that was fine. He did not require such unfathomable strength. A morsel was all he hoped for.

And already, it was beginning to arrive. From the rift in the sky, along a narrow bridge blacker than even the night that surrounded it, they descended.

Their forms changed visibly from moment to moment--and they would continue to do so, until they passed fully through the Veil and into this world. At which point, most of them settled on the form of skeletal beasts and warriors. Some on horseback. Some horses themselves. All towering in height and breathing ghostly white flame.

And all wreathed in the swirling power of the Darklight.

Page 3816

Even after all of that, however, he did not immediately regain full control of himself. Between the ensuing merge with Kallmakk and the overwhelming ferocity that still consumed his physical form, it was all but impossible to not get lost in the mayhem.

He was battling the Mad Demon again. Of course he was. The object of Ettol’s ire. One of the greatest obstacles to his grand plan of Reemergence. The Child Trickster wanted nothing more than to have Koh eliminate this problem in his stead.

And Koh, therefore, wanted nothing more than to stop himself, but it was difficult. Instincts had taken over. The instincts of the Beast of Ardora: the monster that ever thirsted for blood and hungered for war.

The blessing and curse of his master.

To truly break himself free of these instincts, he would have to overwhelm his own senses. Blank his own mind. And along with it, probably everyone else’s as well.

He knew just the thing.

He used the merge. Leaned into it. Focused on its transformative effects on his body. Let them grow and radiate outward from him, flowing over and through everything in the area on a tidal wave of darkness.

And he howled.

So deep and sustained that it could have been a roar. The sound carried with it his soul, his aura, and all the torment that Kallmakk had been amassing for countless years.

It was a sound that rent the sky in two. Where before there had been a hole in the clouds above the battlefield, now there was a fissure all the way into the horizon. And the sea was no different. It parted like a great canyon, perfectly straight into the distance as mountains of displaced water splashed up and away from the immense divide.

The world shuddered and blinked. For a few fleeting moments, he could even sense beyond the Veil. He thought, perhaps, that he felt his master there, observing in silence, but that might have only been wishful thinking.

His body grew in size. It had already been enlarged by the power of the Darklight, but now there was even more to pull from as Kallmakk connected with that self-same power.

The feldeath’s instincts competed with his own, wanting to take over, but he couldn’t allow that, either. Duty and reason needed to win now, not instinct. Neither his nor Kallmakk’s.

And so the howl continued. Tearing the world asunder. Until everything but his own will was suppressed.

Page 3815

He wasted no time in accepting the offer. Immediately, a change began to take place. A familiar verve flowed through him. Ancient and powerful. The inky blackness of the Darklight enveloped him, both body and soul.

As expected, it was ferocious and hungry, but that, too, was no great departure from his own spirit. Whenever he embraced the Darklight on his own, it felt just the same as this.

The only difference was intensity. There was more now than he’d ever felt before. More than he’d anticipated, even.

This Kallmakk had harbored greater strength than he’d realized. In their multiple days of combat, they’d apparently not breached the true depths of its power.

Intoxicating.

If he had not already been possessed of a single-minded pursuit, this would have almost certainly been too much to endure. It would have tempted him to all sorts of ends, no doubt. To take its power and run free. Do as he pleased, the master’s will be damned.

Perhaps it also helped that he’d already experienced such indulgences. Already seen what fruitless ends they amounted to. Thanks to Ettol’s interference.

Yet another lesson from the Child Trickster. Koh intended to remember it well.

This slowed space was a problem, however. The merge was being slowed along with it. In order to complete it within a timely fashion, it seemed he would have to release himself from this place.

And frankly, he was not entirely sure how to do that. Moreover, there was the additional concern of the cage’s suppressive effects on his mind. The cage had not actually disappeared or diminished. He could still sense it all around him, clear as day. He very much did not wish to rush headlong back into it.

So he had to break it first, then release himself from this strange state of consciousness.

Hmm.

He felt, perhaps, that he could simply wish for it, and it would be so. There was enough dormant power here now, even disregarding that of Kallmakk. Power all his own.

Power that he’d been holding back, subconsciously, for years now. Decades, maybe.

Yes. Storing and waiting. Biding his time until a day like today. Even under Ettol’s influence, he’d managed to keep something to himself.

He gathered it up. Let it pierce his soul and embolden it. And then he made his wish known.

The cage shattered. Time moved quickly again. And the rage of his body filled his mind once more.

Next page on the 25th

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Page 3814

Yes. His recent memories knew what it was. Kallmakk the Nightspinner. Collectively, they had been locked in battle with it for days now. Of course. It was wounded but not defeated. Recovering quickly. Soon, it would rampage again.

But... it could sense him in turn, couldn’t it? He could feel the feedback. After being quieted by Dozer, it had been rendered curious. Now, it observed the battlefield, waiting for its moment. And it was lingering on him.

Feldeaths. He had encountered them countless times before. Fought them countless times, too. But not every time. Not every encounter had resulted in battle.

They were creatures of pure instinct. Consumed by pain. Angry at the world. Seeking its destruction. But also trapped. Without hope. Drowning in despair.

That was the only reason why they did not rampage more frequently than they already did. Why they did not make more of an effort to bring the mortal world to ruin.

Because they were too distracted by their endless misery.

It was the font of their terrible strength, after all. The glue that bound so many poor souls together.

And on occasion, Koh had seen this before. Their curiosity towards him. He never entirely understood why or how it manifested, but perhaps, when they were calm like this, they could sometimes discern that he was not of this realm. That he was therefore undeserving of their rage.

And this one. It had a powerful affinity with darkness, as well.

Just like himself.

A rare connection.

The souls. They felt it, too. They were here with him, in this slowed space. They were crying out. Begging him for help.

Begging him to save them from their despair. To send them onward from this realm.

And perhaps he could. It was not his purpose, but perhaps he could.

Once his task was complete.

In the meantime, they could join him. Lend him their strength.

Did they understand that? It would be a long journey yet. The Prime Hunt must continue. But when it was done, he might finally return to the master’s side himself. And he could take them with him, if they wished.

It might not be their proper place. It might not be the faded dream at the root of their despair. They might only find more misery there. But perhaps the master would be able to aid them, if so. If he chose to.

That was no guarantee. Did they understand? Could they reach such an accord?

Hmm.

It would seem so.

Page 3813

All had been done in order to distract him from his cause. This new, nomadic life. This suppression of his mind. This cage.

It was the children’s attempt to pull him away from the very reason he was born. Despite their many attempts, they’d never been able to kill him, so they always had to resort to some alternate stratagem. Making hostages of the hapless mortals whom he grew to care for. Crafting elaborate illusions to deceive him. Imprisoning him in empowered chains. Sealing his soul away in some chaotic realm. And now this. Directly enslaving his mind.

Who was it this time?

The exact knowledge was missing. Torn from him, no doubt. But that was an answer unto itself. Their names, temperaments, and abilities were all baked into his very soul by He Who Is Not.

It could only be Ettol’s doing. The Child of Impulse, Deceit, and Rebirth. Ever a problem, that one. Evasive and cunning. How had he managed to enrapture his mind?

Ah. He recalled. Caught him in a moment of weakness. Normally, his mind would have been protected from such manipulation. But after wasting away in a long imprisonment and engaging in a subsequent battle with a possessed servant emperor, he’d been rendered vulnerable to the Child Trickster’s power.

And even now, he could feel Ettol’s lingering influence. It had gone beyond even enslavement, hadn’t it? These intervening years had been spent imprinting on him. Linking their souls together.

Building a friendship between them. Planning for his eventual escape. Yes.

Ettol would have known that this circumstance could not last indefinitely. That the deception would sooner or later be broken. So he had planted a kernel of camaraderie in his heart. In the hope of creating hesitation when the time finally came that they were enemies once again.

Yes. Ever the schemer. Truly, Ettol had changed the least of all the children. Perhaps because suitable vessels were such a comparative rarity for him.

Koh had to wonder if any of that scheming would matter, however. Rather than anger, he instead pitied the struggling child. The Prime Hunt must continue. There was no stopping it. He would send Ettol back to the unhallowed side of the master, regardless of any personal attachments.

It was inevitable.

But what was this? He could sense something else here, too. A familiar mass of power. Of gathered souls in furious agony.

A manifestation of the great curse upon the mortals of this realm. And the great sin of the children.

Page 3812

He could still feel the cage around him. The maze. It hadn’t gone anywhere. But it felt... farther away, somehow. Like he had more space to move. To navigate.

To think.

About what? That was question. About his predicament. About where he’d been. Where he’d come from. Where he was going. Where he wanted to be.

About who he was.

Anything besides the maze. Anything besides trying to find the way out.

Gragh. Confusion. That didn’t make sense. He’d been searching for that way out for longer than he could remember. And yet, he knew that there was none. The maze went on forever. That was its purpose. That was the cage. The nature of it. How it kept him in.

But he was only now realizing this? No. He’d known that all along, too. So why hadn’t he done anything about it? Why had he kept trudging through this endless labyrinth of the mind?

And this calm. So strange, yet so familiar. He’d been angry a moment ago. Mind-numbingly angry. That was still there, too, in fact. He felt it. But he’d gained distance from it. The anger was like a piece of clothing now. He could put it back on, if he wanted, but he didn’t have to.

This slowness. That was the culprit here. The reason for the shift, he realized. The cage’s hold on him was slackened now. It couldn’t account for the new speed of his thoughts. The world had slowed for him, but to the world, he will have sped up.

How fast, he wondered? Curious.

The labyrinth seemed so trivial now. As fragile as glass. He felt like it would shatter if he only reached out and touched it.

And he already intended to. Without even thinking on it any further, he knew that it was the correct course of action. That this cage was not his ally.

But he held a bit longer. Would this wonderful slowness disappear along with the cage? He didn’t think so, but if it did, then he should prepare now, while he could.

He needed to find answers to certain questions. Things that the cage had been trying to hide from him. They were clearer. He could find them. What was most important? What was the cage trying the hardest to conceal from him?

The Hunt.

Yes. Of course.

The Prime Hunt must continue. The numinous children had to be culled. Rent from their vessels. Brought to justice.

Nothing was more pressing than that. And nothing terrified the cage more.

He understood.

Page 3811 -- CCCX.

“Hail, Peacemaker,” said Lamont. The man looked ragged beyond measure. His overcoat was in tatters and sopping wet, and it seemed like there were more scuff marks than visible flesh on his face, arms, and chest. That sharp gaze was unmistakable, though. Always so piercing and intense, even when he was obviously exhausted.

Those harsh features weren’t really to her taste, necessarily, but she did have to admit that the man had a certain something that other men seemed to lack. She’d never quite been able to put her finger on it, though, despite the many long years of silent appreciation for all things masculine.

“Greetings all,” she said with composure, eyeing the gathering group of onlookers, including the Abolishers. Many in the back were struggling to not get swept away by the still-chaotic waters, but many others appeared to be tending to them.

“This is quite the rare visit,” said Sanko from behind her mask. How she managed to prevent that thing from falling off her face in the middle of so many ferocious battles, Sai-hee had never quite figured out.

“I would like to bring this madness to an end,” said Sai-hee.

“As would we all,” said Lamont. “But it is never that easy, is it?”

“No,” said the Peacemaker with a frown. “It never is.”


Chapter Three Hundred Ten: ‘O, howling Death...!’
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Something had changed. Something in his perception. Something scratching on the glass of his mind. Rattling the cage.

Agh.

Not right. Nothing felt right.

But then, that wasn’t exactly new. Things hadn’t felt right for a very long time.

So, so long.

Too long. In fact, maybe they’d never been right. Maybe that was an illusion. A false memory.

He knew all about those, now didn’t he? The great spiral. The lost self. The endless labyrinth.

Wandering. Forever, perhaps.

How had it come to this? Trapped like any other animal. Reduced to his most simplistic impulses. He felt like he could remember a time when he was free. When his mind was clear. When his thoughts were his own. But it was so long ago. Maybe it never happened.

But this wasn’t what had changed. He’d thought about this many times before. To no avail, of course.

So what was it, then? He sensed it. The shift. The world around him.

It had slowed. To a crawl.

He felt... unburdened here.

What was this place?

Page 3810

Their attacks on Dozer were accomplishing very little. Waves crashing against a cliff. A storming mess of ice and metal, mud and liquid, acid and lightning, blades and explosions.

And the Living Void merely took it all, unmoving. His aura was the same, holding strong against theirs, unbothered by their collective heat and scratches.

Then he brought his hands together with a single great clap, and the resulting force was so strong that, for a moment, Sai-hee thought that perhaps he’d torn a hole in reality itself. The shock wave it created blasted the Vanguardians back like leaves caught in a gale. The greater whirlpool around them ripped apart, splashing back to even larger distances and sending tidal waves roaring off into the horizon.

Even Sai-hee herself was made to budge, if only a little. This weightless form was not entirely immune to the shock wave, as he had of course empowered it with his soul.

What a mess.

When she first arrived, she’d been quite pleased to see that they were already within the Void State. It meant that negotiations could be conducted quite easily and leisurely, with virtually no risk to the Vanguardians here.

But apparently, that wasn’t to be. And if she was going to intervene before things got any worse, it would have to be here, she knew. Sanko and Lamont might survive this encounter with Dozer--just as they had many times before--but their subordinates? Those were not going to last much longer, she felt.

So she moved. She put herself in front of Dozer and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Hold, please. Let us resume negotiations, first. This time, with the Vanguardians included.”

Dozer’s wrinkly face merely stared back at her for a moment, unsurprised. He was standing quite steadily on seemingly nothing, though she knew it to be an invisible platform of altered air, created with his power over inertia.

He spared a glance in the direction of Morgunov and Koh, who’d also been knocked away by the shock wave yet had apparently not been deterred from continuing their mid-air brawl. Morgunov seemed to have gotten free of the beast’s mouth, at least, but it still wasn’t clear if he’d gained the upper hand or not.

“Are you not going to stop them?” said Dozer.

“Do you really want me to?” she said.

“...No.”

She could sense some of the Vanguardians approaching from behind and turned to look at them. Thankfully, they seemed to understand that the battle was now on pause. She always hated it when she had to make them listen by force.

Next page on the 17th

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Page 3809

That particular sight caught Sai-hee’s attention. She’d never seen the Man-Eater fight before, nor had she been paying him much mind until now, but she could have sworn that his fur had been white a moment ago. Another of his monikers was the Silver Devil of Dante after all, according to Dreivox’s memories.

Yes, there was definitely something peculiar about him. She could see him growing in size, too. Quite rapidly. He’d been maybe the size of a small car before, but now he was like a truck.

What a peculiar creature. Just observing him fight like this was tickling something in the back of her mind. Something from Dreivox? She wasn’t yet sure.

The beast was all over Morgunov, biting into his shoulder and ragdolling him around like a chew toy while a few of those rumored robots swarmed around them both like flies. And they seemed to be about as effective, too, for all the damage they were doing. Flames, lightning, spinning saws, and mechanized tentacles lashed against the Man-Eater’s body, apparently not bothering him one bit.

In fact, the blackness of the wolf’s fur seemed to only be growing deeper. Darker. Until it, too, had tendrils extending out of it, lashing back at the machines’ attacks and knocking them around like buoys at sea.

As for her own position, Sai-hee settled into a hovering, weightless form above the gargantuan whirlpool. It was a rather delicate technique, requiring precise use of pan-rozum so that her body retained its shape, but she was very well-practiced in it by now.

She smirked a little as she continued watching. Getting to see Morgunov in such dire straits here was quite the welcome surprise. It seemed too optimistic to humor the notion that he might actually die here today, but she certainly still appreciated the spectacle of it.

Dozer, meanwhile, was dealing with the Vanguardians. The prior lull in combat had not lasted long at all, and now everyone seemed to hardly be paying her any mind.

Not surprising, she supposed. These were some of the Vanguard’s most veteran warriors. And their collective aura was as intense as she’d ever sensed. Their single-minded determination was bleeding together, spurring one another on, keeping their morale strong in spite of everything.

Admirable, she thought. Facing down two hostile emperors without so much as a crackle of noticeable fear. Foolish, perhaps, but admirable, nonetheless. Was her presence helping them in that regard? Tough to say.

Page 3808

Sai-hee could feel shock waves tearing across the space around her. What were they? Not words. Not thoughts. Raw emotions?

Whatever they were, they were destabilizing this place. Threatening it.

‘Dozy!’ said Morgunov over the still-increasing tremors. ‘Can’t you do something about your stupid dog, already?! He works for you, doesn’t he?! He’s been a real pain my ass, you know!’

‘I suppose I could. But his presence here makes me curious to see if he can actually kill you.’

‘Agh, you son of a bitch! I am gonna have SO much fun getting back at you for this!’

The shaking reached a critical pitch, and Sai-hee could no longer tell what Morgunov was saying. All she could hear was the sound of a great fissuring--both physical and not. Enormous cracks appeared in her senses, everywhere at once. Tearing cloth. Breaking glass. And earthy rumbling. All rolled into one tremendous noise.

Then it was overtaken by a howling snarl. And suddenly, the Man-Eater’s presence was quite dominant within the Void State. Demanding her attention.

And unlike the three of them, it was moving. Across this subspace or pocket dimension or whatever it was. The dog’s aura and soul moved through it, heading straight toward Morgunov.

‘Nope! Don’t like that! Bad dog! Very bad dog!’

It reached him and chomped down.

When their two souls collided, the entire space shattered. The cracks running everywhere gave way fully, and the Void State was no more, leaving only the disorienting chaos of the churning ocean in real-time.

Sai-hee was at a loss. But also intensely curious. Honestly, she didn’t blame Dozer for wanting to see what would happen here. Perhaps it went against her reputation as a negotiator and lover of peace, but she abruptly felt as though she shouldn’t intervene.

Not yet, at least.

Why not let this strange creature take its shot, she wondered? As long as it didn’t attack her, she didn’t see a reason to get in its way.

Hells, depending on how this went, she might even decide to lend the beast her aid.

The ocean was forming into a whirlpool around the battlefield now, as if it knew better than to try converging back in on everyone again. An enormous hole in the otherwise dark and cloudy sky was allowing plenty of light to shine down as well, making the Man-Eater’s pitch black body stand out all the more in the ensuing mayhem.

Page 3807

Before anyone could either answer or inquire further, another rumble arrived, this one much more vigorous.

Alarmingly so, she felt.

There was something else, too. Something she was having trouble pinning down with her senses. Something disorienting.

In the few times she’d experienced this space before, she’d never felt anything quite like that here. This place was always calm. Tremors like that had always been mild, at most. Never enough to disrupt her senses in the slightest. But now, she could almost feel herself slipping. The time distortion between the real world and this Void State was weakening. Shuddering. Threatening to dissolve, perhaps.

The next tremor was stronger still. And the world blinked in and out for her, swapping between the Void State and the Luthic Ocean in its disturbed fullness.

She was forced to concentrate. To hold onto the Void State or be torn from it.

But she held. Maintained herself. Stayed in the space. There was still plenty of negotiating left to do, after all. She couldn’t let it end yet.

There was indeed a new presence, however. A fourth soul manifesting in this privileged space. She heard one of the others mention Sermung’s name, but she was still too distracted to tell which of them had said it. And she already knew that it couldn’t be him, besides. If he’d been able to come here himself, then he never would have sent his Magician to persuade her.

No. As her mind settled, she became even more convinced that the fourth was not the Crystal Titan. She could sense the aura therein, and it was not Sermung’s. Not in the slightest.

It was ferocious. Burning so hotly that she could almost feel her skin tingling in the real world. But not like Jackson, either. That man’s aura was always warm and composed, even in combat.

This was wild. Raging. Bloodthirsty and hungry.

‘Oh, ffffuck,’ said Morgunov, having apparently figured it out before her. ‘Not him! He can’t be here, too! Go away, you bastard!’

Who?

Then she pieced it together. The shape of the accompanying soul. It was not one she’d met very often before, but she could see the connection to the physical body that was already on the oceanic battlefield.

It was the wolf. The Man-Eater of Melmoore.

His mind was breaching through the Void State with all the serenity of a smacked hornet’s nest.

Page 3806

She could work around that, though. Just as she’d done countless times before. It was just a matter of staying vigilant and prepared. That was never going to change, even if these two somehow did.

‘Perhaps I could offer you both a precious relic,’ she said.

‘Oh?’ said Morgunov with obvious interest. ‘I do always love those. What did you have in mind?’

Ideally, such gifts would be valuable but not dangerous. And in Morgunov’s case, it would be better still if it was something that would keep him busy for a while, too. That was usually asking too much, though. From her observations of him, technical complexity was what usually acquired his interest, but it was danger that maintained it.

‘Before I go into that,’ she said, ‘understand that I will be wanting much more than a mere ceasefire.’

‘So dinner and a movie, too?’

‘Amusing. But no, darling. I will want treaties. Written and signed. For every nation currently involved in this conflict.’

‘Mm, sounds like a lot of work. Better be some darn good relics if you’re askin’ for all that.’

‘And how many years of non-aggression will you be seeking from these nations?’ said Dozer.

‘The number is negotiable, as always. But given both of your track records with breaking terms, I am thinking that the punishment for not upholding them this time around should be quite severe indeed.’

‘“Our” track records?’ said Dozer. ‘And what of yours? Or Sermung’s? You speak as if you have spotless histories, when you certainly do not.’

‘Now, now,’ said Morgunov. ‘Let’s not go down that road. We may have plenty of time on our hands in here, but if we start arguing about that stuff again, I’m sure we’ll all still manage to die of old age before reaching any kind of agreement.’

How uncharacteristically reasonable of him. Sai-hee could hardly contain her surprise. ‘Nibas. You had a passing interest in Rainlord culture, did you not?’

‘I did. Why are you bringing that up?’

‘I have a fragment of the Fountain of Lhutwë. I thought that might serve as your relic, if you are interested.’

‘Oooh...’

‘And for Medan, I thought--’

A sudden tremble cut her off. It wasn’t terribly violent or enduring, but given the mysterious nature of this Void State, she couldn’t help but be distracted.

‘What was that?’ said Morgunov. ‘Not another new arrival, surely?’

Page 3805

‘Certainly not,’ said Sai-hee. ‘You know I always prefer to gamble on peace, however fleeting it might be. But let’s not pretend that you are in such a favorable position here as to be demanding gifts from me. This war has not been going terribly well for your side as of late, and I could make it go even worse. In fact, perhaps you should be offering me something to help broker this peace deal with the Vanguard.’

‘I see your arrogance remains firmly intact,’ said Dozer.

‘As does yours,’ she said.

‘I have a counteroffer,’ said Morgunov. ‘Teach me the secret of how you and Sermy are able to teleport so far, and I’ll call this whole thing off faster than you can blink. Dozy won’t even have to lift a finger to help.’

‘You surprise me, Nibas,’ she said. ‘Isn’t cracking the secret on your own the whole point? Surely, you’re not giving up and asking for help after all this time.’

Morgunov was quiet a moment. ‘...Tsk. I know you’re just tryin’ to play me... but you’re right, damn you. You’re so right, it hurts. Agh.’

‘In that case, tell me and not him,’ said Dozer.

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! No way, no how! If you can’t tell me, then you can’t tell him, either!’

‘Be silent, fool. Your nonsensical code has no relevance to my affairs.’

‘Don’t do it, Saya! No peace if you tell him! I swear!’

Sai-hee tittered again. Admittedly, she did sometimes enjoy how predictable this mad idiot was. But given how much he seemed to hate being called predictable, she also wondered if that was a concession that he was making for her sake. Another component of his strange affection.

Morgunov had to know that she would never give up that knowledge in the first place, least of all to them. If these two gained the power of long-distance teleportation, it would cause no end of new problems. No amount of peace would be worth such an exchange, especially knowing how unlikely it was that such a peace would last.

That was the real trouble when parleying with Abolish. It was always fleeting. No matter what they said, no agreement could be expected to endure indefinitely. But trying to set a more “realistic” time frame was also a trap, because shortening it would only embolden them to break it even sooner.

If she asked for a hundred years, they’d break it within fifty. If she asked for fifty, they’d break it within thirty. And so on and so forth.

That was how their twisted minds worked.

Page 3804

‘I am amenable to your proposition,’ said Dozer.

Oh?

‘What the--?! Dozy! Bro, c’mon!’

‘I have no personal stake in this war. I’ve thought it was pointless from the beginning. But the fool also has a point. Ending it quickly would indeed be a headache. Can you offer us something to soothe such pain?’

So it was as she thought. This continental war had indeed not been launched with Dozer’s approval. It only made sense, given how disorganized the whole thing appeared to be, but this confirmation was still quite the relief, nonetheless.

If the Living Void had a strongly vested interest in continuing this conflict, then these negotiations would’ve had almost no chance of succeeding, she felt. That man was an entirely different level of obstinate.

Thankfully, despite the rather sudden and haphazard nature of her intervention here today, she’d been deliberating on the matter of peace negotiations for a while already. It was a long-held habit of hers, whenever some new war broke out in the world, regardless of how big or small it was. A mental exercise, of sorts. How might peace be achieved over there? Or there? Or between those two groups? What was motivating the opposing sides? Even if she never ended up getting involved, it always made for an engaging thought experiment.

Whenever Abolish was in play, it naturally complicated matters. They liked to puppeteer things and frequently disrupted negotiations, meaning her people then had to track the bastards down and deal with them directly. Sometimes, that meant further negotiation. Other times, it meant showing no mercy.

And here, things were no different. Higher stakes, perhaps, but no different. With how long she’d known these two, she had a fairly good idea of what might entice them to strike a deal with her. It was really just a matter of how much posturing they wanted to do. How much they allowed their egos to get involved.

Not that she was immune to that herself. She knew her own tendencies well enough by now, too.

It was best to play a bit coy to start things off. ‘How about I promise not to join up with the Vanguard and kill half your men?’

‘Hah! Scary!’

‘An interesting idea,’ said Dozer. ‘A true war involving all of us might actually be worth my time to invest in. But are you sure that is what you would like to gamble on?’

As expected. They could show no weakness, of course. Too often, people mistook her reputation as the Peacemaker for one of having no stomach for war. No spine. These two knew better, but it was still worth reminding them of the possibility--and that she didn’t consider it off the table, either.

Page 3803

‘You say that like it’s a ridiculous idea,’ said Morgunov. ‘I’m all about fairness! Just like you, my dear!’

What an absolute load of horseshit. He was just trying to get a rise out of her, though. She wouldn’t take the bait, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t still communicate her displeasure with him. ‘Is that so? Was it fair when your men slaughtered defenseless civilians in the Tabori Highlands?’

‘Oh, well, hey, that was more--’

‘What about the when you invaded the Steccati coastline and conducted a genocide on the Jemani people? Was that fair? Or you, Medan? Any of your countless incursions into Korgum? Were those fair?’

‘“Fair” was this fool’s word, not mine.’

Hmph. At least he was consistent.

‘Alright, alright,’ said Morgunov. ‘We’ve all done things. And some of us feel regret for those things. But let’s not get bogged down in the past. “Ancient history,” right? Those were your words, Saya.’

‘Then let us speak of the present,’ said Sai-hee. ‘You are both being obnoxious, and one way or another, this mess of yours must come to an end.’

‘Ooh! So serious all of a sudden. Giving me the hot-and-cold treatment, eh? Can’t say I hate it.’

‘Keep up this flippancy, and you’ll soon be receiving only cold. Is that what you want?’

‘Eheheh. I suppose not. But the way you said that is still tempting me, somehow.’

‘Which “mess” are you referring to, precisely?’ said Dozer. ‘This one battle? Or the entire war?’

‘Now that you mention it, the entire war,’ she said with certitude. ‘The two of you could bring it to an end tomorrow, if you wished.’

‘Mm, I’m flattered, but I don’t know if that’s actually true. Dozy here didn’t have anything to do with it until a couple days ago when I kinda just dragged him along for the ride. And I haven’t really been keeping up with the state of things around Eloa for a while, so I’m not even sure how I’d go about bringing things to such a swift conclusion.’

‘Nonsense,’ she said. ‘Between the two of you, every aggressing nation could be brought to heel overnight.’

‘Heh! Maybe! But that’d still be a lot of work, you know! And I’ve already been up for several days straight. I could really go for a nice, long nap, right about now.’

She wanted quite badly to slap him. In her heart, she felt that there was probably some way to pull that off within this so-called Void State, but she still knew too little of its nature.

Page 3802

‘If your desire was to catch up, then all you had to do was gimme a call,’ said Morgunov. ‘No need to risk your life in a battle with a feldeath.’

Frankly, when it came to him, she’d choose the feldeath every time. ‘That would be far too dull,’ she said. ‘Can’t have you growing bored of me, now can I?’

‘Ooh! In a flirty mood, are we?! You must want something from me!’

Well, he wasn’t wrong. ‘From a man who has so much to offer, how could I not?’

‘Eheh. No matter how many times you play me, it never seems to bother me very much.’ A beat passed. ‘Apart from that one time, during the Clog.’

She could practically hear him frowning, even though she knew his physical expression could not possibly be shifting at all in this space. ‘Ancient history, darling. You can’t keep holding that against me. We weren’t even emperors back then.’

‘So you keep reminding me.’

Irritating. Morgunov didn’t often get one over on her, but it wasn’t an impossibility here, either. There were certainly times in the past when she’d gotten too confident in her dealings with him, when she’d thought she had him quite thoroughly wrapped around her finger, only for him to demonstrate otherwise at the last minute.

She shouldn’t get too comfortable, she knew. There was a reason everyone called him mad, after all. And in recent decades, the game that he liked to play with her seemed to be one of stroking her ego, pretending to be her obedient little puppy.

And here, he seemed to be mixing it up yet again: being playful with her, yet still reminding her of past grievances. That was more straightforward than usual.

‘Have you come to parley for these Vangaurdians’ lives?’ said Dozer.

Okay, now that was truly straightforward. As expected of the Living Void. ‘No,’ she said, ‘but it does seem a waste to let them all die here. I suppose I’m still mulling it over.’

‘A waste in what sense?’ said Morgunov. ‘Far as we’re concerned, it’d only be balancing the books. They’ve been bringing the fight to us for a while now, murkin’ our boys left and right. Wasn’t so long ago that we lost both Gunther and Dunhouser, y’know. Lamont and Sanko seem like a fair exchange to me.’

‘Oh, it’s a matter of fairness, is it?’ She allowed a hint of severity in her tone.

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Page 3801

There was no point in speaking her mind about that, however. They’d had such conversations countless times before, and this man’s mind was virtually impossible to change.

Plus, there was utility in keeping up an appearance of amicability. Rebuking these two, no matter how much they deserved it, was not the road to resolving conflicts such as this one.

The centuries-long stalemate between them all was proof enough of that, even if Sermung and his high-minded followers refused to acknowledge it.

‘It has been some time, Saya,’ said Dozer. ‘How have you been?’

Cordial as ever. ‘Very well, Medan. And you?’

‘Perturbed, to be quite honest. This fool has been even more of a nuisance than usual.’

‘Eheh, he says that, but without me, he probably would’ve died of boredom eons ago!’

Sai-hee allowed herself a titter. ‘Oil and water.’

‘Why have you chosen to intervene here?’ said Dozer.

‘Can you not guess?’ said Sai-hee. ‘You have been making quite the mess, you know.’

‘Yeah, but we do that all the time,’ said Morgunov. ‘Doesn’t usually provoke a direct response out of you.’

‘Indeed,’ said Dozer. ‘What makes this time different?’

An astute point. One that she needed to counter, so as not to draw needless suspicion. ‘Usually, I am too busy with my own business,’ said Sai-hee. ‘But I happened to have some free time on my hands now, so I thought I would step in. After all, it HAS been a while, as you said. I would say this is as good of an excuse for us to catch up as any, wouldn’t you?’

A brief silence arrived. Were they buying it? Probably not. They were both too paranoid by a half. But that was alright. She really just needed the plausible deniability. If they knew for certain that she’d come here at the behest of the Vanguard, then it would complicate negotiations.

Which wouldn’t be the end of the world, of course. Just a nuisance that she’d prefer to avoid.

She used the short lull in the conversation to continue assessing the battlefield. The temporal dilation of this “Void State” as these two liked to call it certainly had its benefits. The three of them could hold long, exhaustive discussions within a matter of real-time seconds.

In fact, this entire battle could be concluded by the time most of these hapless Vanguardians even had a chance to say one word to her.

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Page 3800

As for the Abolish side of things, she noticed a few familiar faces there, too, though not because she harbored any affection for them. It was much more difficult for her to drool over any of the men over there, regardless of how hunky they might’ve been.

Something about being associated with psychopathy, narcissism, and mass murder made each and every one of those men look utterly repulsive to her--even the ones that she was on relatively amicable terms with.

Such as the Monster of the East over there. Granted, he was also more lizard than man. That was rather tough to overlook.

Poor mutant bastards. Now that was a curse from Xixa.

The world slowed to a crawl as she absorbed the scene around her. So many combatants out here in the middle of the ocean. Even more than Xander had mentioned. Perhaps he hadn’t known all the details. It would’ve been strange if he had, she supposed, given how chaotic this all looked, even in the midst of this small breather they were taking.

One thing was missing, though. One very important thing.

The feldeath. There was supposed to be one here. So where was it? Had they killed it already? Xander had said that it was quite a powerful one, even by feldeath standards, so she’d been expecting to see it running amok.

‘What in tarnation are you doin’ here, you old bat?!’

Of course he would be the first to say something. She was tempted to ignore him for a bit, but that would probably just provoke him into being even more obnoxious. ‘For a man who claims to be smitten with me, you have an odd way of showing it. Do you think calling me old will make me swoon?’

‘I’ve been listenin’ to some young folk on the internet. They say it’s better not to compliment a lady too much. What do you think? Is it working?’

‘No.’

‘Dang it. But they said you’d think that way.’

‘I know you have wooed plenty of women in your day,’ she said. ‘Are you playing dumb in order to sound more youthful?’

‘Eheh! I don’t need to do that! I’m the youngest one here! I’m practically bursting with youthful vigor!’

Indeed, that was exactly his problem, she felt. Despite his age, he acted too young, even for her tastes. He wasn’t just a boy in a man’s body. He was a toddler. And the most demented one she’d ever known, to boot.

Page 3799

First of all, this chaos in the Luthic could not continue. Every coastal nation in the world was being affected, which included several that were supposed to be under her protection. If the Crystal Titan couldn’t make time to come settle this matter, then she was the only other person in the world who could.

The only public person, at least.

Secondly, letting Iceheart and the Gargoyle both die here would certainly not make the world a more peaceful place. Of course, chances were good that they would’ve found a way to wriggle their way out this tight spot, just like they usually did, but still. It was a fair reason, nonetheless.

And thirdly, this would give her tremendous negotiating power. Over both of the other factions, that was. Over the Vanguard, of course, since she was doing them an incredible favor by minimizing their losses, if not outright saving their lives. And over Abolish, too, because neither of these wrinkly old maniacs would want her to commit herself fully to supporting the Vanguard against them.

They were going to pretend otherwise, naturally. Keep up appearances, if nothing else.

But she knew them quite well by now. And they, her.

While much of the world still thought of her as the gentle, peace-loving “empress,” these two had seen what happens when someone pissed her off. More than a few times, in fact.

Hells, that was probably why Morgunov was in love with her. The sicko.

Her arrival on the “battlefield”--if it could even be called that--was a suppressive event, as she preferred it. The raging winds, the surging waters, the chained explosions, the spinning blades of jagged ice, even the lightning crackling through the clouds--it all came to an abrupt end, becalmed in an instant as she exerted the full breadth of her soul power over the area.

The combatants, too, were made to give pause. None could be unaware of her presence now. And all would pay heed to her will.

For a time, anyway. This was quite the formidable crowd, gathered here. None of the eyes on her were couched in fear, not even among the faces she didn’t recognize. Among those she did, she spotted Vernon, Kehl, and Jules.

And plenty of uggos, of course.

Not that she held that against them. Despite how much she appreciated a beautiful man, she actually harbored quite a bit of sympathy for the poor sods who’d apparently been cursed by Xixa since birth.

It was still tough to remember their names, though.

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Page 3798 -- CCCIX.

Chapter Three Hundred Nine: ‘O, sighing Maiden...’
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What a bother. It was times like these when she wished she wasn’t such a sucker for a pretty face. That Magician of Light was a dangerous boy, indeed. Kept himself nice and young, too.

If only he didn’t have the spirit of an old bore. She would’ve fallen for him years ago, if he acted as youthful as he looked. Hell, she might’ve even allowed herself to age a little in order to give him a child or two. Only a few men over the course of her very long life had ever earned that honor from her. And Xander certainly had both the brains and the beauty to qualify.

Just not that certain x-factor. That spark.

Of course, it might’ve also helped if he didn’t rebuff her every advance, but she was sure she could’ve overcome that little hiccup, given time.

Sai-hee could be a very persuasive woman, after all.

She’d kept her own youth well intact, of course. Of the four emperors, she looked the youngest by far, still in her mid-twenties. Her long, flowing locks would have been black as night if not for their silky sheen, and her unmarred skin was as pale as the moon itself.

She’d been in the midst of dealing with a rather stubborn clew of greatworms when Xander found her. The silly boy had nearly gotten himself killed--or seemed to, at least. Perhaps that had merely been one of his holographic projections. Jun had told her that there was some trick to seeing through them, but she hadn’t really been paying that close attention. That lady, as much as Sai-hee appreciated her, had always had a way of wearing down the patience of her listeners.

But that Sermung was certainly a shrewd one, sending his Magician like that. Only Jackson might have made for a more compelling messenger, but from what she’d heard, that poor fellow was thoroughly indisposed, at the moment. Too bad his bitch wife was too busy to take care of him, for once in her useless life.

Instead, the harpy was here, in the middle of the Luthic Ocean, risking her stupid neck in yet another unwinnable battle.

Ugh. If Xander had mentioned she would be here, Sai-hee might’ve refused him.

Okay, no, she wouldn’t have. But she would’ve wanted to.

The pretty boy had posed his case well. Distracted though she may have been by his oblivious charm, it didn’t change the fact that this was indeed the right move, for a variety of different reasons.

Page 3797

‘I don’t sense any kind of change in them yet,’ said Dozer.

‘Could still be a ways off,’ said Morgunov. ‘If the Void State is only preparing for the new arrival, then maybe it’s still a few minutes away. Or hours, even! With how long these fights can last, there’s no telling!’

‘If that is so, then it is almost as if the Void State is telling us to kill them both before one of them breaches through.’

‘Eheh. Maybe it is! Do you think the Void cares about the two of us that much?’

Now there was a loaded question. He decided to ignore it. ‘There IS another explanation for this, you know.’

‘Sure. But if it’s Sermung, he wouldn’t already be attuned to the Void State, right? He’d need a bit of time within the fury of battle.’

‘Unless, perhaps, he has been fighting elsewhere.’

‘What, you mean he’s pre-gaming? For a fight against BOTH of us? I mean, that’s just insulting. He wouldn’t want to come into this tired.’

‘Tired? You and I are not tired, and we made it here. Why would he need to be?”

‘Actually, I’m feelin’ pretty winded.’

‘Mm. Pitiful.’

‘Okay, man, I’ve been fighting for like two weeks straight. You don’t get to make fun of me yet. Not until your old ass has been in the fryer for at least as long.’

‘If it is Sermung, then he must be about to teleport in, because I do not sense his presence anywhere nearby.’

‘Tch, I hate that he can do that.’

‘You hate that you were not able to replicate it.’

‘I could’ve! If I’d kept working the problem, I could’ve!’

‘So why didn’t you?’

‘I got distracted.’

‘That is equivalent to failure.’

‘Nuh-uh! A victory delayed is still a victory earned!’

‘Not if Sermung kills you today.’

‘Puh! Worry about yourself, old man.’

‘That was not worry. I assure you.’

‘Whoop. I sense another change. Whoever it is, they’re close now.’

Indeed, Dozer could sense it, too. The Void State was practically trembling. A hidden earthquake, of sorts. Perceptible only to him and Morgunov.

And then there was enough. The new presence began to crystalize, and he could finally tell who it was.

‘Nooo!’ laughed the Mad Demon, disbelief in his tone.

It was a rare moment of shared sentiment between them, because Dozer could hardly believe it himself.

How many years had it been since Sai-hee, the Empress Peacemaker, had decided to make such a bold move as this?

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Page 3796

‘Good luck with that,’ said Dozer. ‘He’ll never show himself before you unless the stakes are sufficiently high.’

‘Yeah, he’s been a real jerk about that, lately. Even more so than you, actually! And you never do shit! Maybe you could help me test my Roberts out, then!’

‘I don’t think you want me to do that.’

‘Pah! Why? Because you you’d destroy them totally? Big talk, old man! I bet they’re tougher than you think!’

‘Is that another wager I hear?’

‘It might just be!’

‘Interesting. Once we’re done here, bring them to my camp and have them assist against the Mendocava. If they prove useful in concluding my business there, then I will test them for you.’

‘Mm, tempting, tempting! But I feel you’d be getting way more out of this than I would!’

‘We can work out the details of the wager later, once it is assured to occur.’

‘Sure, but I’m still lending you my toys. My toys that I’ve spent years working on, by the way! You gotta give me something more for that kind of assistance!’

‘What do you want?’

‘Hmm! Mmm! How about Lucky?!’

‘Why are you so fixated on him?’

‘Honestly, I dunno! He just seems like a funny little guy! Piqued my curiosity, somehow!’

‘Honestly, you’re lying.’

‘Bah, you always think that!’

‘Because it’s always true.’

‘Is not!’

‘What if I offered some land, instead?’

‘Land? I got plenty of land. What do I need yours for? You’re just being stingy because I expressed an interest in something! That’s so spiteful! Just gimme--’ Morgunov cut himself off, and a beat passed. ‘...You sense that?’

He did. A new presence. Faint but distinct. Even the Void State itself was beginning to shudder. But why?

Because it was preparing.

To welcome another into this place. A third mind capable of existing here.

‘Who is that?’ said Dozer.

‘Can’t tell yet,’ said Morgunov. ‘Ooh, maybe it’s one of these two here. Finally manifesting a presence of their own, hmm?’

Sanko or Lamont? He greatly doubted that, but it was possible, he supposed. Even he and Morgunov still knew very little of this Void State, since it was virtually impossible to study. Neither of them had ever been able to find mention of it in any of the Archives around the world.

Though, admittedly, Morgunov could have been lying about not finding anything. The man liked to claim that he did not hoard knowledge for himself, but Dozer knew better than to take him at his word by now.

Taking a day

Next page on the 26th. Thanks for reading.

Page 3795

‘Good,’ said Dozer. ‘Now how much longer should we draw this out?’

‘Mm, getting bored already? We have all the time in the world here. We shouldn’t let it go to waste, y’know.’

‘Yes. So let’s go on with it, then. Tell me of your long-term plans for this continental war that you started.’

‘Long-term plans?’

Dozer wanted to shake his head. ‘I knew it. You have none. You started it on a whim, didn’t you?’

‘Well, I mean, all that geopolitical tension was just sitting there...’

‘You really are a fool.’

‘Alright, look, man, I wanted to do something that would ruffle a few feathers. And the war provided me with some excellent cover for it. But now I’ve basically accomplished my objective, so what happens now with the war doesn’t really matter to me.’

‘Ah. Are you referring to your little escapade in Sair?’

‘Got wind of that, huh? Of course you did. How much do you know?’

‘Not as much as I’d like. I know you ventured out into the Uego Desert, made Jackson and Lamont look like children, kicked off an incursion into Sair, and then left your incompetent men behind to see things through. Which they have not, of course.’

‘What, you disappointed? If you wanted to mount some kind of massive assault on Intar through Sair, then you could have. No one was stopping you from heading over there and picking up where I left off.’

‘I have no desire to get involved in your messes. That is almost always how I end up in situations like this one.’

‘Oh, come on! I know you’re secretly havin’ fun, right now! Just embrace it! If I can admit I lost the bet, you can admit to enjoying my company just a little!’

‘I’d rather saw off my own hand.’

‘That doesn’t mean much when you can just grow it back. Anyway, pushing harder into Sair would’ve been pointless. Yeah, I probably could’ve conquered it ‘n everything, but there’s no way I would’ve held it for very long. Intar would’ve mobilized once things got bad enough, and I’m sure Sermung would’ve shown up soon or later and massacred a buncha my boys.’

‘Were you not looking to test these “Roberts” of yours against him?’

‘I was, but preferably in a lower-stakes setting, first. Without more data on how they’d perform against him specifically, I’d rather not gamble too much on an all-or-nothing battle. Not yet, anyway.’

Page 3794

Dozer had said he was “about to move,” but the truth was, in fact, the opposite. He intended to prevent his movement entirely. So he just braced himself and took it. The window of response was short, but within it, he pumped the inertia of his body up to even greater heights. As much as he could with what little time was available.

The force against his body was tremendous. A tidal wave crashing against a cliffside, trying to break it apart. Tear off a chunk. Pull it into the ocean.

And it didn’t stop, either. After the initial impact, it turned into a storm unto itself, focused entirely on him. Swirling, lashing, swarming.

Dozer barely budged. Even suspended in midair, with nothing to brace himself against but his own power, the attack pushed him hardly a foot backwards before turning into a swarm.

Satisfactory. The bet was his.

Sanko and Lamont did not realize that they had just disappointed Morgunov, however. Nor would they have cared one iota. They resorted to an imprisoning technique, instead.

A wise move. If they could not make him budge, then perhaps they could lock him down.

The temperature plummeted. The water and sediment encased him totally.

A frozen prison, meant to suppress not just his ability to move but even his ability to think.

The numbing of the mind was an especially potent trick against servants. It was the main reason why Iceheart was such a problematic enemy. Wave after wave of servants could be sent against that man, but unless they had a sufficiently powerful method of countering his nigh-unrivaled ability to manipulate atmospheric temperature, those servants might as well have been normal human beings, for all the damage they would be able to do to him.

What a valuable subordinate he would have made. If only Dozer had found him before Sermung.

Rather than breaking himself out right away, Dozer decided to stay in this prison for a few moments. A bit of peace and quiet was a welcome change of pace in the middle of all this mayhem, he felt.

And he still had the Void State. Which he dove back into.

‘It’s my win, fool.’

Morgunov groaned. ‘You can still talk from in there? Shouldn’t Sanko’s cage be blocking your thoughts from me? What, is she not even empowering it with her soul?’

‘She is. I can sense it.’

‘Then how?!’

‘Because this is the Void State, I suppose.’

‘Because this is bullshit, more like!’

‘Stop looking for excuses to delay your concession. You’ve lost. Admit it.’

‘Agh! Fine!’

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Page 3793

‘Alright, well, if I win,’ said Morgunov, ‘then I want the Black Hand and the Demonic Tornado. Everyone already thinks that guy works for me anyway, so we might as well make it official.’

‘The latter is fine. The former is not.’

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, we just went over this! You don’t get a say! It’s my choice!’

‘If I told Ito that he now works for you, he would commit suicide. In fact, I recall him telling you as much himself.’

‘Oh, I remember! That’s why it’d be funny! I wanna see if he’d really do it!’

‘Of course he would. I will not abide such wastefulness. Pick someone else.’

‘Psh. Fine! Hmm!’ The Mad Demon paused for a snicker. ‘The Monster of the East!’

‘He is not a Judicator.’

‘So demote him! C’mon! It’d be hilarious!’

It actually might, Dozer thought. ‘No. Pick seriously.’

‘The Liar of Lyste, then!’

‘He is not a Judicator, either.’

‘Eh, he might as well be! Promote him! Hell, it wouldn’t even BE a promotion! More like a side-motion! A transfer! C’mon! Imagine the look on his face!’

‘Pick someone you actually wish to use and not kill.’

‘What if I promised to let him live?’

‘For as believable as that would be, you might as well promise to never speak again.’

‘Tch! You’re as bad as Bool, y’know that? I swear I’m gonna find your sense of humor, one of these days!’

‘I am about to move. If you do not choose, the bet is off.’

‘Alright, alright! I want Lucky!’

Dozer might’ve blinked at that if he could have. Lucky? That was probably the least accomplished Judicator in his entire army. His moniker--if it could even be called that--stemmed from his reputation of supposedly failing upward. Why in the world would this idiot pick him? Did he know something that Dozer did not?

Agh. After all this back-and-forth, however, he didn’t feel like questioning it, nor did he have any real justification to refuse like he had with the others. ‘Fine.’

And he returned the majority of his attention to the present world.

To the avalanche of destruction heading his way.

A torrential wall of mud and water. A dozen spears of jagged ice, all spinning with such force that the wind and water around them distorted with tornadic fury.

Everything fell upon him simultaneously.

Page 3792

The fool was playing it up now, Dozer knew. When it came to the men working under him, Morgunov was not nearly as flighty or mercurial as he wanted people to think. It was part of the game that he played as the leader of so many absolute lunatics. An idiotic strategy, to be sure, but one that had somehow managed to keep his half of Abolish from collapsing in on itself dozens of times over.

‘Don’t try that with me,’ said Dozer. ‘I know you obsess over all of your men’s abilities and accomplishments, down to the middle ranks at least. And Judicators are far above that.’

‘Nah, nah, maybe I used to be that way, but I’ve been out of sorts for years. Too busy workin’ on my inventions and stuff. I barely know who’s who, anymore!’

‘You just don’t want to tell me who your best are. Afraid you’ll lose your favorites over a trifling wager. Which, to use one of your favorite words, is quite cowardly of you.’

‘Hoh. Ahh... The c-word, is it? Resorting to that now?’

‘If the shoe fits.’

‘Well, too bad! Not fallin’ for it, this time! The wager is for the winner’s choosing, right? So if I do lose, then that means you have to pick them yourself! Not get me to do it for you! Lazy bastard!’

Hmph. Unfortunately for Morgunov, it would likely make no difference. ‘I want the Crazy Bull and the Jackrabbit.’

‘Agh, you bastard. Why even say all that, huh? When you already knew who my favorites were!’

‘Why would I pass up an opportunity to point out your hypocrisy?’

‘Prick! C’mon, sure you don’t want someone else?! How about the Man of Crows?’

‘The Man of Crows is dead.’

‘Ah. Heard about that already, huh? Your spies’ve been busy.’

Agh. A mistake, Dozer realized too late. He shouldn’t have let slip that he knew about that. Morgunov had said that as a trap for him. A fool as always, yes, but the man was still, at times, a clever fool. ‘I cannot help it if your men like me more than you. When they come to me with information, should I turn them away? Punish them for their ambition? I think not.’

‘Okay, now THAT’S bullshit. My men don’t come to you and yours for anything. Or if they do, it’s to try and swafferdonk your boys out of some resource or another. You’re just tryin’ to prevent me from hunting down the moles you’ve sent over.’

‘Delude yourself however you like.’

Page 3791

‘Ah. The Dulvani. Hmm. The Dulvani and the Mendocava. Never knew of a connection between them.’

‘I do not know if there is one,’ said Dozer. ‘I’ve not uncovered any communication between them, but admittedly, matters are still unclear.’

‘Sounds like some interrogations are in order.’

‘Indeed. I was hoping to employ a softer touch with the Dulvani, but if you kill Germal, that option may become untenable.’

‘Softer touch? You mean like asking them nicely for information? Saying “pretty please?”’

‘Better than wasting resources on a needless fight.’

‘Bah. Resources, shmee-sources. You’re always so obsessed about that. Resources are meant to be used! Not hoarded and hoarded for some rainy day that’ll never come!’

‘It’ll never come, will it? Look around, fool. This very day seems quite rainy indeed.’

‘Oh, please. You’re not actually worried about this little tussle, are you?’

‘I am not, but that is beside the point. Crises have a way of sneaking up on the unprepared and careless, such as yourself. This situation still has the potential to begin spiraling.’

‘Mm, I disagree. Now that we’ve both entered the Void State, these poor saps are all pretty well screwed. Doomed. Hecked, even! Our reaction times are through the roof. We can talk as much as we want. Assess the battlefield as much as we want. Coordinate our attacks as much as we want. Even plan far into the future as much as we want! In fact, I’d say that not only is this fight already over, it’s also the beginning of far bigger problems for the rest of the world! Eheh!’

‘Your arrogance will be your undoing, one day.’

‘Promises, promises! You keep telling me that, and yet it keeps not happening! At this rate, they’ll get you before they get me! And then who’ll be the fool, huh?!’

‘Still you.’

‘Hmph! Anyway, those guys are gettin’ awfully close to you over there. You gonna do something about that, or what?’

‘Still mulling it over.’

‘Hah! What, are you thinkin’ you can withstand this simultaneous assault from Sanko and Lamont when you’re already off balance?’

‘I know I can. It is just a matter of whether I want to or not.’

‘Tough talk! Wanna make it interesting?’

‘...What do you have in mind?’

‘I’ll bet you two Judicators that they’re about to send your old ass flying.’

‘Two? Of the winner’s choosing?’

‘Of course.’

‘Do you even have two Judicators in your entire army that I would want in mine?’

‘I don’t know. Do I?’

Page 3790

‘Anyway, I should relax. Shouldn’t get too worked up about something tha hasn’t even happened yet. Tell me what’s been goin’ on with you, old man! We shouldn’t waste this opportunity to bring each other up to speed on everything!’

Ugh. Unfortunately, he was correct about that. This Void State was not something that they could harness at will. It was an emergent phenomenon that only manifested during furious clashes. As much as he might’ve liked to ignore Morgunov’s rambling--or at least postpone it for another occasion after the battle--that would not be a very efficient use of their time.

‘I encountered the Mendocava on the Gettira Plains of Ardora.’

‘Oooh! The skeleton guys?! Our undead cousins?!’

‘You sound even more surprised than I expected. Did your men tell you nothing of what my forces have been up to?’

‘Oh, they probably did. And I probably wasn’t listening. Been kinda busy with my own stuff, lately, y’know? Startin’ a war ‘n all. And besides, I’d rather get the details from the horse’s mouth! Which is you, big fella!’

‘Do you know anything about the Mendocava that might prove useful to me?’

‘Mm, well, now, lemme think here... Haven’t thought about those guys in an Age. But I do recall studying them fairly extensively for a while. Back when I was just an uppity little snot, myself. Historically, the Mendocava are something of an anomaly. They pop up every now and then, cause some sort of ruckus, only to disappear for centuries thereafter. Or longer, even. And this, despite many curious historians’ and adventurers’ best efforts to locate and learn more about them. I remember reading one sad book about a guy who spent his whole life searching for them. Literally, his whole life. From when he was a child until he penned his final work on his death bed. Never encountered them even once. And yet, here you are, stumbling onto them by total accident!’

‘Lucky me.’

‘Benefits of living so long, eh? Now you’re makin’ me want to encounter them, myself!’

‘Join my campaign in Ardora, and you will.’

‘Huh?! You’re really offering me that?! How unexpected! They must be annoying the shit out of you over there!’

‘Not just them. The Jaskadan Forest and the Dulvani, too. It has all devolved into quite the tedious affair. One I’d see resolved sooner rather than later, if at all possible.’

Page 3789

‘You’re impossible to work with sometimes, y’know that? I don’t know how Suresh did it so much. Did he just have a much higher tolerance for your abuse, or were you actually a nicer guy back then, huh? Tell me, please.’

‘Hardly. He hated me far more than you do now.’

‘Psh! That’s difficult to believe!’

‘He plotted my death constantly. You only do that occasionally.’

‘Eheh! Maybe that was just how he demonstrated his affection!’

‘If that is so, then perhaps this entire mess is the same. Perhaps Germal is secretly enamored with you.’

And to Dozer’s muted surprise, that actually gave the Mad Demon pause. A brief silence intervened before Morgunov picked the conversation back up.

‘...Y’know, I hadn’t even considered that.’

Dozer might’ve sighed if he could have. Of course, on the rare occasion when he’d deigned to make a joke, this idiot would take it seriously. He didn’t know whether to feel further amusement or merely pity.

‘I mean, he DID try to recruit me,’ said Morgunov. ‘And he nearly believed me when I said sure! You might be on to something!’

Pity. He definitely felt pity now. What a chaotic fool.

‘Shame I promised I’d kill him. Too late to go back on my word now, even for a secret admirer. But talk about flattering! A Primordial crush, eh?! How adorable!’

‘What makes you so convinced that Germal is one of these so-called Primordials?’

‘So-called? How much do you know about them? I’ve been studying them, on and off, for centuries. But especially recently.’

‘Personally,’ said Dozer, ‘I have never been convinced they were ever real to begin with. It has always been just stories and myths. And we both know how those propagate themselves over the eons. How they stretch the truth and exaggerate. How they become narrative tools, more than anything else. To strike fear in the weak and discourage undesirable behavior.’

‘Oh, so you just think it’s all a buncha hooey, huh?’

‘Even if not, why should we worry over them? In their own tales, they were, in the end, as nothing before power of the Void.’

‘That’s what I’m sayin’! And that’s also why I hope they’re real, too! So I can bring ‘em down a peg! I gotta tell ya, if it turns out that ol’ Germy actually ISN’T a Primordial after all this, then I am gonna be in SUCH a sour mood! Warnin’ ya now, pal! If that happens, ya better not bother me for a while, unless you’re spoilin’ for a real fight!’

Hmph. A tempting notion.

Page 3788

‘Every child I have ever sent to study under your tutelage has come back either unrecognizable or not at all,’ said Dozer.

‘But not stupider! Never that! And c’mon. Let’s not pretend like this is some one-sided thing. You’ve offed plenty of my little fellas.’

‘I’ve dealt with raving lunatics who you failed to control, yes. That is not the same.’

‘Sure it is! And that’s perfectly fine by me! Nothin’ to be embarrassed about! If anyone is ever gonna finally stand alongside us, then they’ll have to be capable of dealing with all of our unfair bullshit! Trial by fire is the only way!’

Hmph. A rare point of agreement between them. Dozer didn’t want to acknowledge it, though, so he merely said nothing. That was no problem, of course, because one of the things that made this man so insufferable was his ability to ramble on endlessly with no input from whomever he was supposedly having a conversation with.

‘Don’t be coy, Dozy! I know you well enough by now! You’re just as uncompromising as I am when it comes to disciplining the so-called “rising stars.” Sure, I may do it more often, and sure, you may not make as much of a show of it as I like to, but that doesn’t change the fact that, ultimately, we’re cut from the same cloth, you and I. More in common than not, I’d say. In fact, that’s probably why we’re so good at getting under each other’s skin, eh?’

Nonsense. They couldn’t have been more different. But saying as much would only provoke further irritating remarks, no doubt. He wanted to move the subject back to something more utilitarian. The slowed down mayhem before him was still inching closer. He’d have to decide what to do about it soon. ‘You should be aware that if you do manage to kill Germal, I will require tremendous compensation. He has proven immensely useful to me. Replacing him will not be a simple task.’

‘Hmm! Sounds like a you problem!’

‘I will ensure that it is yours, as well.’

‘Ugh, come on. What am I even supposed to do for you, huh? Every time I offer you a favor, you tell me to screw off! Kinda hard to compensate you when you’re always acting like such an unpleasable ass.’

‘That is because your “favors” are always poisoned.’

‘They are not!’

‘Lies upon lies.’

Next page at noon

Just want a little more time wtih it. NO BIG DEAL, RIGHT? GOOD, I'M GLAD YOU AGREE. Thanks for reading.

Page 3787

Morgunov was still blabbering on while Dozer hardly listened. Doubtless, the fool would never give up trying to convince the entire world--including himself--of his ultimate and noble brilliance, but Dozer had no patience for that, right now. Even if they had all the time in the world, it wasn’t enough.

Dozer had seen and heard that song and dance far too many times. Morgunov was an ally, but only in the most superficial sense. The appearance of their partnership was more important than the actuality of it. In the end, the so-called Mad Demon could never be trusted in any meaningful capacity.

The only thing he could ever be was useful.

‘--stick in the mud! I’m offerin’ to help you out, y’know! Just like always! And yeah, I might get a little silly with it, every now and then, but I always come through, don’t I? When have I not, huh? I mean, besides the rocket prank.’

‘Do you know why Sermung is not here?’ said Dozer.

‘Hmm? That dull jerk? No idea. I keep expecting him to, and he keeps not showing up. Honestly, it’s kind of disrespectful, don’t you think? I mean, how often do we give him a prime opening like this? And what, he’s too busy to make time for us, these days? Don’t make a lick of sense, if you ask me. But I know one thing: if he keeps on leaving us hanging like this, then pretty soon, I’m gonna make sure he’s REALLY got somethin’ to keep him busy.’

‘Is that right?’

‘Sure is. Curious? Go ahead and ask. Maybe I’ll tell you! If you start being nicer to me!’

‘I’d sooner die ignorant.’

‘Pah! You’re certainly on course for that!’

‘What about Sai-hee? Do you know anything of her whereabouts?’

‘Maaaybe. Why? Think she’ll decide to make an appearance, too? Seems doubtful to me, but I wouldn’t mind seein’ that old bat again!’

‘She will never warm to your advances.’

‘Says you! So negative! I’m telling you, one day, she’ll come around! And then our children will become the stuff of legends!’

‘The stuff of nightmares, more like.’

‘Well, that’d be cool, too.’ Morgunov broke for a telepathic cackle. ‘What about you, old man? Made any new lady friends since I last saw you? Any new kids? Hmm? Hmmmm?’

‘Even if I had, why would I share that information with you?’

‘Uh, because I’m the best godfather ever? Obviously.’

Page 3786

‘A nice moment,’ echoed Dozer flatly. ‘Now what might that look like for you? Perhaps like the moment when you sabotaged my project that was decades in the making?’

‘Hey, man, that was just, like, a prank. Y’know?’

‘I lost twenty of the brightest minds working under me.’

‘I offered to replace them! You said no!’

‘Tens of thousands of hours of labor. Lost in a single explosion.’

‘Technically, it was more than one. Chain reaction ‘n all.’

Dozer might’ve paused for a deep breath to steady himself, if his physical body wasn’t in this veritable stasis. Instead, he had to satisfy himself with merely ignoring Morgunov and taking a moment to instead reassess the field of battle.

Everything was moving so slowly that it might as well have been motionless. Even himself. That was how this strange Void State worked. It allowed him time to stop and think, even in the middle of utter chaos.

But it was flexible, too. He was still present at the normal speed of the world, as well. It was more like his mind had been divided by two, and this one here, within the Void State, was nearly detached from the thread of time.

It was a supremely odd feeling, one he’d never even attempted to explain to anyone before. Here, time didn’t feel “slow,” exactly. Rather, it felt almost non-existent. As if it held hardly any sway over him at all. So even though this half of his mind may have been “dragging” behind the other half at a snail’s pace, it wasn’t bothersome in the slightest. There was no sensation of having to “wait” or “catch up” to the present.

And not only that, if he concentrated on it, he could actually perceive events across a range of time, both forward and backward. If he missed something amid the chaos, he could go back and inspect it more closely. If he wanted to predict what was about to happen--such as what Iceheart and the Gargoyle were about to do--then he could do that, as well, though it wasn’t always as clear or reliable.

Especially against certain opponents. And these two absolutely qualified, even though they were still apparently not on a high enough level to speak to him and Morgunov here. Perhaps they’d already developed some awareness of this space, too, even if they couldn’t yet breach it.

Next page on the 13th

Thanks for reading, everyone. Hoping your 2025 is going well so far.

Page 3785

‘Hmm! Gotta be honest, pal. Was really hopin’ you hadn’t noticed that.’

‘You’ve never been known for your subtlety.’

‘Eheh! True! But look. Guy’s a traitor. He’s the mastermind behind this entire operation to kill me.’

‘The entire operation? All of Blacksong?’

‘Oh, I don’t know about all. But this part of it, certainly. Admitted it to me himself, when we had a nice little heart-to-heart of our own. Not unlike the one you and I are having right now, actually.’

That piqued Dozer’s curiosity. ‘Germal can access this space? I do not sense him here.’

‘No, no, it was a different thing. Similar, but different. More hostile, too. Guy really hates my guts. And he might be an ancient Primordial, too. Or possessed by one, maybe. Tough to say for sure. He IS the Liar of Lyste, after all.’

Possessed? Hmm. Now that was an intriguing little revelation. The leader of the Freemen Fellowship, possessed by one of the so-called Primordials?

Questions pooled in his mind as he humored the possibility. Germal had indeed always been something of a curiosity, ever since appearing before him and Gohvis as a sickly child all those years ago. Dozer recalled Gohvis mentioning the child’s oddness many times. The split personality, among other things.

And naturally, Dozer had experienced his own strangeness with Germal, as well. The man’s ability to charm people was certainly no normal thing. The immense utility of it was why he’d allowed Germal to form his little Fellowship in the first place. And it had proved plenty useful, too.

‘If he is a traitor as you say,’ said Dozer, ‘then it is my responsibility to deal with him, not yours.’

‘Oh, believe you me: this is one responsibility I don’t mind unburdening you from, my friend. He needs to die. As soon as possible. And I’m going to make sure that happens.’

‘You do not appear to be doing a very good job of that so far.’

‘Hoho! Now you’re TRYIN’ to piss me off, aren’tcha?!’

‘You have been fighting for many days now, and he yet lives. Do you require my help?’

‘Hah...’ Morgunov fell briefly quiet. ‘And here I was, tryin’ to be nice to you. Tryin’ to keep things light. Pleasant. Tryin’ to not hate you. So why ya gotta say stuff like that, huh? Why can’t you just be a little courteous, instead of slappin’ my hand away whenever I reach out, hmm? What, are you just too broken inside, old man? Can’t allow us to share a nice moment, every now and then?’

Page 3784

‘Gave me quite the scare, too, when he suddenly popped back up, even angrier than before! Thrashed me somethin’ fierce! So look forward to that, buddy!’

A part of him was. He wasn’t about to admit that to this fool, though. ‘I cannot sense Kallmakk’s presence clearly any longer. If he is not dead, then where has he gone?’

‘Everywhere. All around us. I think he’s melting into the shadows as we speak. Then, when he’s ready, he’ll spring out again and smack you upside the head. Probably via some kind of sucker punch, too. Real sneaky jerk, this fella. So don’t say I didn’t warn ya.’

Hmph. Morgunov was being oddly helpful. And Dozer had an idea as to why. Before potentially burning that bridge, however, he decided that he should get a bit more use out of it. ‘You’ve been studying these creatures extensively, have you not?’

‘Sure have.’

‘And you have discovered no common weaknesses? Nothing we can exploit here?’

‘Nope. Every feldeath is unique, just as the old masters claimed they were. I really hate it when old wisdom turns out to have been right all along, but I also gotta give credit where credit is due, I guess.’

‘Hmph.’

‘But for Kallmakk here, I’m thinking maybe we need more light. If it’s escaping into the shadows when it’s wounded, then perhaps the solution would be to remove all shadows from the area, eh?’

‘Interesting.’

‘Easier said than done, though, since the bugger can generate its own new shadows. Doesn’t have to rely on the environment.’

‘What do you mean it can “generate” them? Surely, it is merely the suppression of light, not the generation of anything new.’

‘Oh, yeah, if feldeaths were bound by the laws of physics, then sure, you’d be right. But from what I’ve observed, Kallmakk’s shadows have actual mass to them. Which, frankly, is making me slightly worried that it’s going to start slinging black holes at us one of these days, but that hasn’t happened yet. Thankfully.’

Wonderful. ‘So we will be needing a truly overwhelming source of light, then.’

‘That’s what I’m thinkin’. Not quite sure how to pull it off, though.’

Dozer paused. He supposed he’d gotten enough. He could push now. ‘Is that the truth? Or have you simply not been trying hard enough?’

‘Excuse me? You callin’ me lazy? I am offended, sir!’

‘Perhaps because you have been too preoccupied with trying to kill Germal, instead.’

‘Ah...’

‘Explain yourself.’

Page 3783

It was much clearer, yes, but not much calmer. The ferocity of the surrounding hurricane only became more apparent. The Vanguard was still after his head, after all.

But how much longer would their fighting spirit last, he wondered?

He couldn’t yet tell if the feldeath was dead, but if it was, then the Vanguard were about to become desperate. Which would make them temporarily more dangerous. One last assault. Trying to catch him while he was still on the backfoot.

Once that was broken, though, they would be done. Their morale would plummet, and they would scatter like the roaches they were, hoping and praying for Sermung to show up and save them.

Because they would know that nothing less would suffice. Dozer would make them pay sorely for this overextension.

But that was only if Kallmakk was truly dead. Dozer didn’t get the opportunity to check, because Iceheart and the Gargoyle were both bearing down on him at the same time.

Aiming to keep him suppressed at the very least, no doubt. Couldn’t very well let him run loose, now could they?

Ah.

But he’d already entered the Void State.

That was what he called it, anyway. Truthfully, he had no idea if it was the Void’s doing. It just seemed like the most reasonable explanation for this phenomenon that he’d been experiencing for over two hundred years now.

In the beginning, he’d thought it was perhaps a byproduct of his power. That, somehow, his ability to manipulate inertia could also affect his perception of the world writ large.

Of time itself, even.

As if he’d become so immovable that he could even resist the flow of the future. Watch it unfold more slowly. Perceive it more deeply.

But sadly, that explanation didn’t appear to be quite accurate.

‘Wow, nice one!’ came that all-too-familiar voice.

Dozer’s head began turning, though only very slowly. Thankfully, he didn’t actually need to look over in the direction of Morgunov in order to know that the voice belonged to him. ‘Already here, too, are you?’ said Dozer.

‘Oh yeah,’ said Morgunov from afar. ‘All this fighting opened the place up for me days ago. Nice to not be alone anymore, though! Been a while since I got to experience this with you! How nostalgic! We HAVE been through some stuff together, haven’t we? What a couple of cards we are, eh?! Ehehehe!’

‘Do you think Kallmakk is dead?’

‘Mm, probably not. A few days ago, I got the sucker pretty good, too, and he only stayed down for like four minutes.’

Dozer wanted to sigh.

Taking one day

Just the one. Thanks for reading, everybody.

Page 3782

He went for a ride. The feldeath carried him along as if on the nose of a train. Together, they quickly reached the edge of his emptied sphere of influence and splashed through a towering cliff of seawater.

Dozer’s fingers sunk into the monster’s hulking, ethereal body as he held onto it. The force against his back was even greater than he’d expected, to the point where he could hardly move a muscle as they torpedoed through the Luthic Ocean.

That wasn’t right. This force pinning him down was more than just that of speed and water.

Ah. So this was the power of the Nightspinner’s domain. Its own sphere of influence. Was it trying to absorb him?

It was in for a rude awakening, if so.

The torpedoing soon began to slow, until it was more like crawling, and then it stopped all together. He could feel the beast still pushing against him, thrashing ever more wildly with each passing second, like a great eel that had suddenly discovered the wall of its aquarium.

He was that wall. And he would not budge.

With his own body’s inertia cranked up this high, the feldeath could have been replaced with a rocket ship for all the difference it would have made here.

But Dozer could still move himself, if he wished. It took immense concentration and effort, but he could. That had been one of the most difficult things to master: how to control his body with such precision that, when inertia was maxed out, it would still listen to him.

How to become one with inertia. How to make the world break upon his immovable form without actually becoming immovable himself.

A delicate balance. More about refining mental precision than about summoning new strength. Fragile. Disciplined. Experienced. Tedious, even.

But the payoff had been enormous.

Because when he moved his body in this state, the world could only crumple before him.

With both of his arms spread wide as he gripped the feldeath’s body, Dozer brought his hands together.

And Kallmakk the Nightspinner, this dark serpent of the ocean, combusted like a popped balloon.

There wasn’t nearly enough light to see it with his eyes, but he could certainly sense the change. The oppressive interference over his mind, the blanket of ardor covering everything around him, just had a great hole punched through it, and suddenly, the world was much less murky.