Page 3960 -- CCCXVIII.

Chapter Three Hundred Eighteen: ‘The role of Fire...’
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As they proceeded through the oppressive dark, Roman was watching Hector like a hawk. In particular, he was watching that orbiting cube.

Truth be told, despite how casually he’d played the whole thing off--in part, thanks to Voreese’s private advisement--Roman was in awe of the kid.

Again.

How many times did this make? It was always something, wasn’t it? Some new reason to be baffled by his young friend’s behavior or accomplishments--or both, oftentimes.

How things had changed. Not so long ago, he’d felt like the one leading the charge in their little Atreyan club of superpowered friends. He’d been the most experienced, after all. The strongest. The wealthiest. The most knowledgeable about the world of reapers and servants. The one everyone most relied upon in order to protect their nation during its time of great need.

Need to lay low for a while? Roman has your back. Need to flee the country and search for allies? Roman’s private jet was ready and waiting. Need to fight Abolish head on? Roman’s alteration ability was instrumental in that, too.

But now?

Now he was struggling to find ways in which he could still be useful.

It was frustrating, in its own ways, even though it was simultaneously a relief. Not having to feel like so much weight was resting on his shoulders--that was certainly nice.

But he couldn’t simply let things continue on like this, either. If Hector kept advancing further and further ahead of him, then this sense of frustration was only going to grow along with that gulf.

He’d discussed this with Voreese a bit already, though not in its totality. Hell, it was only right now, as they were walking through this underground expanse of pitch black that this feeling was becoming fully clear to him.

The feeling that he would absolutely not allow himself to be left in the dust.

Which was doubly frustrating, because he really liked Hector. At this point, the kid was one of his closest friends. It was impossible to see him as a true “rival.” That just didn’t feel right at all.

And there was always the bigger picture to think about, of course. Protecting the nation. Protecting each other. Building up their position. Their strength and influence. At the end of the day, interpersonal feelings amounted to little more than petty nonsense.

Page 3959

Hector felt compelled to provide additional context. “It can shapeshift, too. So this isn’t necessarily its true form.”

‘What the fuck?’ said Voreese, her hollow-eyed skull poking out from Roman’s left pauldron. ‘Shapeshifting? If that’s not its true form, then it must be one ugly motherfucker, because how could this look possibly be an improvement? It’s like if an alligator came down with anemia. And depression.’

“Well, it might not even have a true form,” said Hector.

‘Damn,’ she said. ‘Hmm. You kill it already?’

“No,” said Hector.

‘Then why’d it go all boneless on you? Is it knocked out?’

“Nope.” He didn’t want to stumble over his explanation like he had with Garovel, so he decided to not even try this time.

‘Well, it’s creepin’ me out! What’re you gonna do with it?’

“I’m not sure yet. As far as we know, it hasn’t actually hurt anyone.”

‘So then, what? Are you gonna bring it with us? Up to the city? That thing will make people FREAK out! Hell, it’s makin’ me freak out, right now!’

“We’ve noticed,” said Roman.

‘You can shut up.’

Hmm. Hector might’ve rubbed his chin if his helmet wasn’t in the way. He decided to consult Garovel. ‘What do you think we should do?’

The reaper took a moment before replying privately. ‘I suppose it depends on how thoroughly your... suppression of it was. Do you think it’s going to just stay like this indefinitely? It was thrashing at you before, wasn’t it?’

‘It was, yeah.’ Hector had to think about that.

He actually did have a feeling that the Ceese was completely harmless, so long as it remained close to him like this. The creature’s aura was saying as much. It was scared and submissive, right now. Listening intently.

Did it actually understand human speech, though? That was questionable, at best. Chort certainly had, but this little fella was obviously much less powerful, so...

Hmm.

Well. There was one thing he knew for sure, at least. He knew that he didn’t want to kill a living creature without a good reason. And neither “inconvenience” nor being “grossed out” seemed like a good reason to him.

Hector materialized a large iron box for the Ceese. Then he placed the box in orbit around himself. “I’ll take it with us,” he said. “For now.”

‘Seriously?’ said Voreese. ‘Fuck me. I already miss Atreya.’

Page 3958

It thrashed in his grip, and as expected, he did indeed feel some claws scratching at his breastplate.

Ineffectually, that was.

Even at this range, with the creature right in front of his face, it was still too dark to get a good look at it.

And yet he didn’t really need to. Between the Scarf and the furious, panicked aura surrounding it, Hector had a pretty good picture of the creature in his mind.

Its shape kept shifting as it thrashed. Its body elongated, then shortened, then grew, then shrunk, then stretched--all attempts to wriggle out of his grasp.

Which was quite annoying, actually.

And so, as Rasalased had once put it--and as he had been increasingly learning to do on his own--Hector took his soul’s priority in hand and spoke with conviction.

“Stop,” he said.

The Ceese’s aura shuddered against his own, and the thrashing came to an abrupt end as the creature went completely limp. The panic in the aura was changed, as well. The fear was still obvious, but it was more subdued now. Controlled. Waiting. And the anger was gone entirely.

Even more surprisingly, the shifting stopped, too. The creature’s form seemed to settle on that of a reptilian body. Mostly. There were a few odd bits of fur along the tail and neck, as well as a noticeable lack of eyes, teeth, or claws.

‘Damn, Hector,’ came Garovel’s echoing voice. ‘I almost feel bad now. What did you do to it?’

That was a good question, Hector thought as he began floating slowly back toward the others. It was a very odd thing. He felt like he knew exactly what he’d done, and yet he wasn’t quite sure how to explain himself, either. ‘Uh. I just... kinda... er... smothered it, I guess.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘Like. Its aura. I just. Sorta. Um. Smooshed it.’

‘Smooshed,’ echoed Garovel, this time with placid doubt.

‘Yeah. I mean. Does that make sense?’

‘Not really, no. But you’re the aura expert, not me.’

Hector didn’t know how true that was, but he didn’t try to argue, either.

When they made it back to everyone, Voreese, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak up.

‘Eww! Look at it! Oh, it’s so gross! It’s even worse than I imagined it to be!’

The flashlights were shining on the Ceese’s body now, finally allowing for a clear view of its pale, scaly flesh.

Page 3957

“Exactly how dangerous is this thing?” said Hector. “What kind of abilities does it have?”

‘Didn’t I just tell you that?’ said Voreese. ‘It can conceal itself extremely well and attack you when you’re worn down.’

“Yeah, but what kind of attacks does it launch? Are we talking, like, just teeth and claws? Or is this more like a... lightning and laser beams type situation?”

‘What the fuck? Why would it--? I mean... no, I guess that’s a reasonable question, actually, knowing what kind of shit you’ve been going up against lately.’

Hector just waited, bobbing his head slightly.

‘Well, I suppose I’ve never seen it attack clearly. It keeps to the shadows and peripheral vision, even when attacking. But as far as I know, it does not shoot laser beams or lightning or anything like that.’

“Acid? Fire?”

‘Uh... I don’t think so.’

The more Hector learned about this thing, the less worried he was. “Alright, well. Voreese and Rezolo. Just to be safe, would you two grab onto your servants’ backs for me, please?”

‘What? Um. Yeah, okay.’

Rezolo said nothing but did as requested.

Then Hector raised a hand and clapped iron armor around everyone at once, and there were suddenly five knights standing there in the darkness instead of only one.

He thought it might be tricky to get all the different sizes right, especially with how short Selena was, but it ended up being easier than he anticipated, probably due to the Scarf heightening his spatial awareness.

A part of him wanted to check in with everyone and ensure that everything fit correctly, but that could wait. Even if the creature wasn’t that dangerous, it was better to deal with it sooner rather than later.

“Be right back,” he said.

And turned his own armor into its flying variant in order to blitz away from everyone, into the wall of black and straight toward the Ceese. Without a need to zoom up high, he stayed basically on the ground, with his armored feet barely skimming above it.

He sensed the creature’s reaction. It saw him coming, somehow. Of course it did. Aura sense, maybe? Hardly mattered, because even as it bolted away, Hector stayed on it.

The thing was certainly fast, but Hector had definitely caught it by surprise, judging by how quickly he was gaining on it. Then, with an iron cage clapped around it, the creature had to take an additional moment to try and break free.

Which brought the chase to an end, as Hector’s gauntleted grip found the back of its neck.

Page 3956

Whatever the case, it was at least obvious to Hector that he could not simply leave the creature alone, not when he knew that Chort had been killing people and turning them into gestating husks for its offspring. If this thing was pulling shit like that down here in the darkness, then Hector needed to know about it.

Before he decided to make a move, however, a new sound arrived from the blackness.

It started slow, like loud breathing, then ramped up to a more rapid, piercing pitch. Then it petered off into silence, only to repeat. Slow and breathy. Then fast and harsh.

It almost sounded like a hyena, Hector thought, though maybe a bit more guttural.

The reaper’s chatter came to an abrupt end as everyone listened.

Voreese was the one to break the silence. ‘Oh, fuck me. That’s not what I think it is, is it?’

‘Surely not,’ said Garovel. ‘Is that actually a Laughing Ceese? I’ve always heard that those were a myth.’

‘Oh, they’re real alright,’ said Voreese. She hovered closer to Roman as the noise continued.. ‘Just rare. Lucky me to encounter a second one, I guess. Fuck! Everyone, be careful. That thing feeds on fear and will follow us for days or even weeks, evading all our senses until we’re worn down and vulnerable. It might harass us with some occasional attacks, too, if we’re not exhibiting enough fear for its liking.’

‘Weeks, you said?’ Garovel sounded more annoyed than afraid. ‘Really?’

‘Oh yeah. Those things are motherfuckers. Resilient, persistent, fast, and cunning. I’d tell you not to let your guard down, but that’s also part of the game it plays. It wants you tense and afraid so that you tire out faster.’

‘Hmm,’ hummed Garovel. ‘Well, unfortunately for it, we reapers don’t get tired, and we can keep the servants up for weeks relatively easily. Or just have them stay up in shifts.’

‘Sure, but it’s still dangerous as fuck. It can hurt reapers, and we have no idea where it is.’

Hector, meanwhile, was following its exact position several meters away with the Scarf. So that thing was called a Laughing Ceese, huh? Yeah, he could sense the flow of air in and around its body as it made those noises.

Voreese was still going, though. ‘Plus, we don’t exactly have weeks to spare, now do we? This was supposed to be a short trip, remember? We need to meet up with Princey Poo as soon as possible.’

“Please don’t call him that,” said Roman.

Page 3955

Voreese snickered. ‘Well, who knows? Plenty of superstitions throughout history have turned out to harbor more than a little truth in them. I’ve often found them worth listening to, at least to examine the ideas they’re underpinning. You might be surprised how frequently someone can reach a valuable conclusion from a faulty premise. I know all these fancy, modern things like logic, reason, and the scientific method can seem like they have all the answers all the time, but they don’t. In fact, that’s kinda the whole point, if you think about it.’

Garovel had to pick her up on that. ‘The formal study of logic is not modern at all, Voreese.’

‘Yeah, okay, sure, but you know what I’m getting at, right? Modern ways of thinking have gotten pretty uppity, if you ask me. People forget that, sometimes, you can reason yourself right off the edge of a cliff. Meanwhile, Superstitious Bill over there doesn’t walk off and stays perfectly safe, because he’s afraid there are ghosts in that direction and isn’t thinking about falling to his death at all.’

‘True enough,’ said Garovel. ‘I’ve acquired a fair few stories over the years that go just like that.’

‘Oh yeah? Same here, actually, but now you’re making me curious to hear yours.’

The reapers kept talking, but abruptly, the majority of Hector’s attention was diverted to the Scarf. The background thought process that had been focusing on it noticed movement out there in the inky darkness. Quick. Erratic. Abnormal. Not like any animal Hector had ever sensed before, human or otherwise.

It did remind him of something else, though.

Chort. The Beast of Lorent.

That shifting figure. Distorted. Changing from moment to moment.

It didn’t seem nearly as large, though. Chort had been bigger than a horse. Maybe even a bull. This was more like a dog in size, as far as Hector could tell.

Huh.

As he focused on it, Hector considered what to do. Already, he felt like he knew everything he needed to, but he also didn’t want to jump to conclusions, either.

Chort, as monstrous as it was, had still been a sentient being, capable of speech, even. And without knowing much else about Chaos and the entities that spawned from it, there was certainly a chance that this new creature was different. Maybe it was perfectly reasonable. Or otherwise harmless.

Or maybe it was more of a gray area. Like with Zirat. That guy was also an entity of Chaos, right? And Hector hadn’t had to fight him.

Not yet, at least.

Page 3954

‘Of all the places that were hit hardest by the Sickness,’ Garovel continued, ‘this old imperial capital here had it the worst. And not just because of the illness itself, either. The reputational damage that this place suffered was really what doomed it, I think.’

Voreese jumped in. ‘I’d have to agree. It’s particularly tragic when I recall how beloved this underground city was. In a world full of constant war and death, where superhuman knights could--quite literally--fall out of the sky and obliterate your entire town, this place made people feel safe. It endured countless sieges from hostile armies, and it always had a huge occupying force of powerful warriors to protect it. But when the plague hit, that sentiment vanished utterly. Suddenly, people didn’t see this as the unassailable heart of a growing empire. They just saw a tomb.’

‘That’s exactly right,’ said Garovel. ‘And it only got worse, over time. The rich people, who were funding everything, fled. And the poor, of course, couldn’t afford to leave. Attempts were made to send aid, but... there was no cure. Hell, even if there had been, with the state of medical knowledge at the time, there would’ve been almost no way to mass-produce it. To have any hope of that, it would’ve also needed to be easily synthesizable from common ingredients.’

‘A tale as old as time,’ said Voreese. ‘Well-meaning people jumping into help, only to get fucked big time, just like everyone else.’

Hector frowned as he listened.

‘Indeed,’ said Garovel. ‘And so, after all that, this place couldn’t even survive as a slum for very long, because the poor who remained here were also sick and dying. When the last of them were gone, its reputation devolved again into that of a haunted ruin that would claim the lives of anyone who tried to take up residence here.’

‘Which wasn’t exactly inaccurate,’ added Voreese. ‘People kept coming down here and disappearing for decades after the rest of the world had moved past the Sickness. And it wasn’t always clear what the cause was, either. Was it just some lingering pocket of the disease that got them? Or was it a malevolent force hiding in the darkness? Perhaps a wicked creature born of the untold suffering that took place down here? Superstition aboveground only added fuel to that fire.’

At this point, Hector had to wonder if such fears could even be considered superstitious.

Selena had the same thought, apparently. “U-um, are you sure that was just superstition?”

Page 3953

The Sickness was a famous enough historical event that no one here needed to ask for elaboration about it. In fact, Hector recalled Garovel bringing it up once before, and elaboration hadn’t been needed back then, either.

Hector often felt like he hadn’t learned much from school--mostly due to his own bad habits as a student--but the Great Green Sickness was certainly an exception. The lessons about it in middle school had left a lasting impression.

The population of the entire world was halved in the span of a single year--then halved again over the next three years. The Sickness was so pernicious, in fact, that even after the initial waves of devastation, it still continued to cause an overall population decline for another decade before new births finally began to outpace deaths again.

The most horrifying thing about it, however, was the slow creep of its approach. There was a visible change in the victim’s skin, turning it gradually greener and greener, long before any of the truly debilitating symptoms arrived. Some people would be green for months or even years, living otherwise normal lives.

Which caused dramatic civil unrest.

There arose an entire class of green “untouchables.” Despite many of them being perfectly able-bodied for quite a while longer, they were ostracized from the rest of society. Rich or poor, it made little difference, since there was no cure to be found for any amount of money. In some regions of the world, the “dead men walking” even became strangely influential in their own way, growing large enough as a group that they could advocate for themselves politically, despite the attempts to excise them from society entirely.

Such instances were rare, though. They made for exceptional and interesting stories in the textbooks that Hector had read, but more often than not, the sick simply suffered and died in agony.

Here and now, Hector found himself questioning how much of that he remembered from school or from the Candle’s memories. Most of that was from school, he felt. But certainly, the memories from the Candle were making that knowledge a lot more... visceral in his mind.

He had a rather strong feeling that, if he meditated on it, he would discover many terrible images and scenes from that time period. It did have an easy visual distinction from other plagues, after all.

He had to consciously avoid getting sucked into that train of thought, right now.

Page 3952

In a background thought process, Hector kept reaching out with the Scarf, trying to discern any movement or abnormal shapes, but thus far, everything seemed quite still out there. Piles of rocks. Collapsed buildings, maybe? Or just natural accumulations. It did strike him as a bit odd that he couldn’t sense any actual buildings around them. This was supposed to be the old imperial capital, right?

And if they were just underneath modern day Andeyal, then shouldn’t this place be pretty well-preserved?

Thankfully, Selena Cortes asked the question that was already on Hector’s mind. “What happened to this place?” she said. “How did it end up all... abandoned and haunted?”

‘This city has a long history of profound misfortune,’ said Garovel. ‘During the early days of the Mohssian Empire, Andeyal came under siege twice a year for... oh, two or three decades straight. The people here endured a lot, and it really affected the character of the city as a whole. The way they viewed themselves, that is. Andeyalans became a whole different breed, you might say. Tough of spirit, courageous and proud, but also pessimistic and somber. “Warriors of Sorrow” was what some called them. Even the civilians.

‘The reason they burrowed underground like this was to protect themselves from those very sieges, and then, even after the attacks stopped, much of the culture stayed down here, as it had taken on a life and identity of its own. Even some of the Mohssian emperors decided to remain down here, supposedly because they felt that this was where the true heart of the empire resided.’

‘Propaganda,’ said Voreese. ‘They just felt safer down here, since political assassinations were commonplace in those days. Everybody thought they could kill their way into becoming the next emperor.’

‘A couple of them did,’ said Rezolo.

‘True,’ said Voreese. ‘But that didn’t work out very well for them in the end, now did it?’

Garovel snickered. ‘It’s tough to rule with an iron fist for very long when us uppity reapers can convert any random civilian into a deadly, superhuman assassin in only a few short months.’

‘Yep,’ said Voreese. ‘And many of us are petty, grudge-holding bastards with strong political opinions and a lot of free time on our hands.’

Hector couldn’t help feeling slightly horrified at the picture they were painting.

‘But anyway,’ said Garovel, ‘my point was that things were turbulent down here from the beginning. Even “peace time” wasn’t really that peaceful. But that all changed when the Great Green Sickness came along.’

Page 3951

Voreese just gave a skeletal shrug and turned back toward Rezolo, who continued on.

‘I do not believe this is the work of a feldeath,’ he said. ‘But I do think it is dangerous. Are you at all familiar with the recent arrivals of Chaos in this world?’

There was a pause.

Then Garovel picked things up for everyone. ‘Now when you say “chaos,” do you mean the general concept or the inner aspect of the Void?’

‘The latter. The generalized concept of chaos is not a recent arrival in the world at all. Would you not agree?’

‘I would. But I’d just like to be clear here. So you’re talking about, what exactly? Chaos entities? Otherworldly beings?’

‘Indeed,’ said Rezolo. ‘Does that mean you are not familiar with them?’

‘Unfortunately, we very much are,’ said Voreese. ‘Had an encounter with a pretty powerful one not too long ago.’

‘I see. And perhaps you’ve also heard a few rumors of late? About more appearances of such creatures?’

‘Perhaps we have,’ said Voreese. ‘You sayin’ this darkness is the work of another one of those?’

‘Not necessarily. It is a domain of sorts, I believe. Or a nesting ground, if you will. There may be nothing here now, but perhaps there soon will be. I cannot claim to know the details of how it all works, but as I understand it, places such as this can... “invite” otherworldly creatures into this one.’

Hmm. Was he talking about geographic resonance, Hector wondered? Maybe he only knew the concept and not the terminology. It made Hector curious about how Rezolo might’ve come by such knowledge.

Whatever the case, that explanation did make a large amount of sense to Hector, even if the reaper seemed to be getting some of the details wrong. The Beast of Lorent had also been tied to a point of geographic resonance, hadn’t it? Though, was that because the point itself had invited the Beast in? Or because the Beast had actually created the point in the first place?

As Hector recalled the visions that Pauline Gaolanet had been able to show him regarding the Beast’s history, it seemed more likely that it was the Beast’s own terrible past that had brought about the geographic resonance of that particular location.

Maybe that was assuming too much, though. Hard to be certain.

But if the assumption was correct, then it would mean that, here and now, there was indeed something already waiting for them in this darkness.

Page 3950

Plus, Caster probably didn’t actually need to hold onto Rezolo. If he could really just teleport Loren and Rezolo to him whenever he wanted, then would it even matter if they decided to leave his service?

Definitely something to be mindful of, Hector thought. If he wanted to take Loren away from Caster, then he’d have to find a way to protect Loren from any lingering hold or influence that Caster might have over him.

Thankfully, he already had an idea or two about how to approach that problem.

‘...I have not been to Andeyal in a thousand years,’ said Rezolo.

‘Great,’ said Voreese. ‘So we’re all useless. If this really is a game of corporeals versus incorporeals, then I think we might be losing, gentlemen.’

Rezolo hovered a bit closer. ‘I have, however, seen this type of phenomenon before. This heavy darkness blanketing the area.’

‘So have we, actually,’ said Garovel. ‘Quite recently, in fact.’

‘Oh yes?’ said Rezolo.

‘Yep. Okay, well... I suppose it wasn’t QUITE like this. It was more like an ardor-based “mistiness,” rather than this oppressive darkness. But the similarities are certainly striking, I must say.’

‘And how did that situation end up?’ said Rezolo.

‘Oh, um. We soon encountered a golem and a feldeath who kicked the shit out of each other.’

‘Ah...’

‘Yeah, we nearly died. Not an experience I’m eager to replicate, if possible.’

Rezolo glanced back at Loren, then looked over the group another time. ‘Well, I am reasonably certain that this is not... that.’

Hector wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but it somehow felt too soon for that.

‘Yeah, I figured as much,’ said Garovel. ‘Wouldn’t make any sense for a feldeath to be down here, just below the capital of Intar. The Vanguard would’ve taken care of it ages ago.’

‘Or it would’ve destroyed the city and killed everyone,’ added Voreese.

‘Or that, yes. Thank you for the input.’

‘Sure thing. Oh, but while I’m at it, I feel like you’re neglecting another possibility. Maybe a feldeath was just born very recently! And we’re the lucky ones to discover it!’

‘No,’ said Garovel, as if he were talking to a dog who’d just pooped on the floor, ‘that doesn’t make sense, either, Voreese. Intar has plenty of active reapers who would’ve prevented so many wandering souls from ever amassing into a feldeath.’

‘Mm, dunno. Could’ve been a mass casualty event that went unnoticed down here. Like a cave-in, for example. That shit used to happen all the time, y’know.’

‘Please stop trying to rationalize us into the worst-case scenario.’

Page 3949

‘Hey, guys,’ said Voreese. ‘It’s too damn quiet. I don’t like it. Someone say something.’

“Something like what?” said Roman.

‘I don’t care. Anything. Call me a bitch, if you want.’

“You’re a bitch.”

‘Wow, okay. You could’ve hesitated a little, at least.’

“Why would I do that?”

‘Because a part of you still wanted to be thoughtful? Y’know, about my feelings?’

“Pfft. Nah.”

Garovel decided to interject. ‘Voreese, when was the last time you were here?’

‘Oh, um. Hmm. Maybe ninety years ago? A hundred? Something like that.’

‘Has it changed at all?’

‘Mm. Not really. Eh. Maybe this darkness feels a little more oppressive. Which is kinda scary. And uncomfortable. Actually, y’know what? I hate it here. Can we leave, please?’ And for some reason, she looked at Hector.

Which made him feel compelled to answer her question. “Sure. Do you know which direction we should go?”

Everyone turned to Voreese again.

A fact which she was quick to notice. ‘Why’re you all lookin’ at me?! Garovel’s a reaper, too! He should be able to provide guidance ‘n shit!’

Everyone turned to Garovel now.

And another stretch of silence arrived.

Garovel broke it with a chortle. ‘Hey, everyone. Garovel here. Thanks for all the attention. I appreciate it. Now I’d just like to take a moment to reflect on what a great group we have here. I know things might seem--’

‘He’s full of shit! See?! It’s not just me!’

‘Voreese, please. We’re supposed to be on the same side here. Us against the dirty corporeals.’

She snickered. ‘You make a fair point. But I have to defend my honor, too, you know.’

“I don’t think you’re doing a very good job of that, either,” said Roman.

‘Agh, stop trying to undermine my graceful mystique in front of other people, you little shit.’

“I know you’re being ironic,” said Roman, “but I bet a part of you genuinely believes that, huh?”

‘Oh, shut up.’ Then she rounded on the last reaper in their small party. ‘What about you? Got anything to contribute? If so, now’s the time, pal.’

Everyone turned to Loren’s reaper, Rezolo.

Caster had decided to bring Rezolo over at the last minute in order to have him join them, too.

Which Hector had found somewhat surprising. Keeping hold of the reaper would’ve given Caster more leverage in the event that Hector really did try to poach Loren from him. But Caster was surely aware of that, too--and moreover, he would be aware of how bad it might look to Loren if he tried to hold the man’s reaper hostage. So maybe it was another show of trust. Or a mind game.

Page 3948

The number wasn’t terribly surprising, given the size of this country, but it did complicate matters further when trying to narrow their choices. They needed the one closest to the capital city of Andeyal, since that was where Prince David was.

Thankfully, Caster’s insights had helped with that.

“When it comes to teleportation using geographic resonance,” Caster had told them, “there is something very important to keep in mind. That is, what causes a given location to geographically resonate. That cause may be any number of different things, but ultimately, it is what gives the location its identity. Its metaphysical structure, one might say. And so the key to finding your desired destination is to tap into that same identity. There are various alternative means of accomplishing that, but the most reliable, when you have a reaper on your side, is usually memory.”

Which had been a rather long-winded way of saying that they just had to find a spot that Garovel had already visited.

Less fortunately, it did indeed have to be Garovel and not one of the other reapers. Since Hector was the one harnessing the Gate’s power, the link between them was necessary for Garovel to even perceive the windows in the first place. Caster didn’t tell them that part. They quickly figured it out on their own.

But in the end, this was the chosen destination.

This dark and giant cave.

‘This is Andeyal?’ thought Hector, as he looked around, searching the empty blackness with the Scarf of Amordiin.

‘Not as I remember it,’ said Garovel privately, ‘but yes, I suppose it must be. The old imperial capital. Now an underground ruin.’

‘So the city’s above us, then.’

‘Presumably, yes.’

‘What do you mean? Can you not sense all the people up there?’

‘Well... no. I can’t.’

‘Uh. Why not? Isn’t that kinda weird? There should be, like, millions of souls up there, right?’

‘Yes, well... I suspect this location is playing havoc with my senses. And this darkness is... a bit more than just an absence of light, I think.’

Hector’s brow twitched as he was abruptly getting flashbacks to their time in the Undercrust. ‘Garovel... you are NOT about to tell me that there is a dormant feldeath around here somewhere.’

‘No, no, no. Of course not. That would be ridiculous.’

‘Right? Because you would warn me about that type of thing way in advance, surely.’

‘Relax. It’s not a feldeath.’ A beat passed. ‘I mean, probably not...’

‘Garovel.’

‘Look, man, I haven’t been here in centuries, okay? Cut me some slack.’

Page 3947

Hector materialized a hovering cube, heating it up enough to generate a bit of light.

Roman snapped his fingers, creating a few fleeting sparks. Selena and Nadim simply whipped out flashlights from their packs--which prompted Roman to stop bothering with the sparks altogether.

Even with all these new sources of light, however, their circumstances hardly changed. The darkness all around them just seemed to keep going and going. The flashlights scanned around, only to find an empty vastness.

It wasn’t until they turned the light toward the ground that they finally gained some useful information.

Rock.

They were in some kind of gargantuan cave, apparently.

And there was also another monument in between everyone. It was much smaller than Rathmore’s Gate and didn’t look at all similar, other than perhaps being mistaken for a completely natural rock formation.

Then again, perhaps it was completely natural. Technically, Hector still didn’t know if Rathmore’s Gate was man-made or not. It could’ve started out as a natural phenomenon, so maybe this little thing did, too.

Oddly enough, it looked a bit like a chair. Or a melted one, at least.

The peculiarity of its shape made Hector wonder what kind of history it might’ve had. Perhaps he could even use the Living Core to learn more about it, but now didn’t really seem like the proper time for such things.

In the end, he had actually consulted Caster a little with regard to the proper use of Rathmore’s Gate. While it did seem like a risk, Hector ultimately decided that being able to cross-reference information between both Caster and the Living Core was quite the useful thing. If something didn’t add up, then he would know to be wary of lies--or simple mistakes, if he was feeling generous.

But that didn’t turn out to be a problem. Everything Caster told him about the Gate’s operation did indeed check out with the Core. Which was a start, Hector supposed. Perhaps he’d even allow Caster to examine the Gate properly next time.

Assuming the guy didn’t return to the Gate on his own to examine it in secret. Which seemed more and more likely as Hector kept mulling it over in a background thought process.

They could cross that bridge when they came to it, though.

As far as the actual operation of the Gate, though, things had proceeded smoothly until their arrival just now. Finding the appropriate “window” to Intar had been something of a hassle, especially since there turned out to be several of them.

Page 3946 -- CCCXVII.

“Is that a Hun’kui?” said Nicholae.

“Indeed it is,” said Vasiliy.

“Why is it here?”

Vasiliy moved closer to the large tank. “Some months ago, one of our sects discovered this poor bastard on the surface. He was thought to be dead, and since Hun’Kui are rather rare specimens, he was taken to another facility for testing. But then he was discovered to still be alive, albeit just so. Therefore, a recuperation chamber was deemed necessary for him.”

“Wow...”

“Anyway, the technology is the interesting part, yes? The seals used on this chamber might be precisely what you need. Would you like a better look?”

“Ah--um, but, er... I’m sorry, Grandfather. W-why is this fellow being kept in some backroom storage like this?”

“Oh. The tests conducted on him were completed in short order, since we didn’t want to do anything too invasive and risk killing him. And his recovery should be complete by now, too. But we can’t simply cut him loose, either, because unfortunately, he makes for quite a good hostage.”

“Hostage? What do you mean?”

“Well,” said Vasiliy slowly, “as it turns out, this isn’t just any old Hun’Kui. This one’s a prince.”


Chapter Three Hundred Seventeen: ‘In the land of ancient Death...’
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The world shifted into brilliance. Light and colors, wind and movement--Hector could see and feel more things in these moments than he could possibly comprehend, even with multiple thought processes trying to capture it all.

It was almost like it was resisting perception. Purposely eluding his attention.

Playing with him. Happily. Warmly. Childishly.

That was the brief glimmer that he managed to catch within the aura of the Gate--or rather, of the path within the Gate after it opened. There was something more in there. Some kind of presence. An awareness. Was that the Gate itself? Or something on the other side?

It was gone too quickly to tell.

Hector was left standing there in complete darkness as the strange world of lights vanished totally.

But the new questions in his mind about the true nature of Rathmore’s Gate did not stay there for long.

The aforementioned darkness soon took precedence.

With the Scarf, he could immediately tell that everyone had made it--aside from the intangible reapers, of course. But thankfully, their glowing skeletal faces were always visible, even without light, so he didn’t have to worry about them, either.